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diff --git a/tex/NoMoutHButSomeSerpents.tex b/tex/NoMoutHButSomeSerpents.tex new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a994342 --- /dev/null +++ b/tex/NoMoutHButSomeSerpents.tex @@ -0,0 +1,19900 @@ +\section{No Mouth But Some Serpent's}\label{no-mouth-but-some-serpents} + +\textbf{Story:} No Mouth But Some Serpent's\\ +\textbf{Storylink:} \url{https://www.fanfiction.net/s/2612486/1/}\\ +\textbf{Category:} Harry Potter\\ +\textbf{Genre:} Adventure/Horror\\ +\textbf{Author:} Lightning on the Wave\\ +\textbf{Authorlink:} \url{https://www.fanfiction.net/u/895946/}\\ +\textbf{Last updated:} 11/08/2005\\ +\textbf{Words:} 169197\\ +\textbf{Rating:} M\\ +\textbf{Status:} Complete\\ +\textbf{Content:} Chapter 1 to 33 of 33 chapters\\ +\textbf{Source:} FanFiction.net\\[2\baselineskip]\textbf{Summary:} AU of +CoS, Slytherin!Harry. Harry goes back to Hogwarts, determined to protect +his brother Connor, the BoyWhoLived, and stay in the shadows. But last +year two people learned the truth about Harry\ldots{} and this year, two +more will. COMPLETE + +\subsection{*Chapter 1*: The Scabbed +Summer}\label{chapter-1-the-scabbed-summer} + +\textbf{Title}: No Mouth But Some Serpent's + +\textbf{Disclaimer}: The recognizable characters, settings, and events +in this story do not belong to me, but to J. K. Rowling. I am writing +this story for fun and not profit. + +\textbf{Notes}: Hello, and welcome to the second installment of the +Massive Freaking AU I find myself in the process of writing. + +This is the sequel to \emph{Saving Connor}, and will probably make no +sense at all if you haven't read that story. This is the version of +Harry's second year at Hogwarts, in a world where his parents are alive, +Peter was sent to Azkaban, and his brother Connor is believed to be the +Boy-Who-Lived, thanks to a heart-shaped scar he bears. Harry is Connor's +guide, guardian, and protector, and proud to be so, despite being Sorted +into Slytherin and picked at to be more Slytherin by both Draco and +Snape. + +That's enough, I think. You already know what to expect if you've read +\emph{Saving Connor}, and if you haven't, no summary's going to be +enough. + +\textbf{Warnings:} Language, violence, eventual HP/DM slash in fourth +year and beyond. Also, beyond this point, \textbf{multiple character +deaths}, including ones that do not happen in canon. \textbf{No one is +safe.} If you find it very hard to read a story like that, bail now. + +This story is also considerably darker than first year, and the series +will go on getting darker from this point on. + +That's it, I think. Here we go. + +\textbf{No Mouth But Some Serpent's} + +\textbf{Chapter One: The Scabbed Summer} + +``Harry, are you all right?'' + +Harry swallowed a groan before it could form, and smiled at his brother, +who was sitting up in his bed. Connor was usually too heavy a sleeper to +awaken for any sound in the same room. Harry must have sat up harder +than he thought, or cried out when the dream let him go. + +``I'm fine,'' he murmured. ``Just a nightmare. I'm going outside to sit +for a while.'' He threw the covers back and checked to make sure that +his pyjamas were fastened all the way up. Then he threw on the jumper +he'd worn that day, which was tossed over the end of his bed. + +``You're sure that you don't want me to come with you?'' Connor's words +were already slurring, though, and a yawn slipped out from his throat. +Harry let out a grateful little breath. He might wake up, but nothing +could keep his twin from going back to sleep. + +``I'm sure. Thank you.'' + +``All right\ldots{}'' Connor was snoring before he could finish the +sentence. Harry carefully crept out of their room, shutting the door +behind him, and down the stairs. No sounds came from his parents' +bedroom beyond the stairs, and no lights moved in the kitchen. Just to +be sure, Harry used a \emph{Lumos} spell to look at the family's clock +on the wall. Sure enough, everyone else's hand pointed to IN BED, even +Sirius's and Remus's, though they weren't in Godric's Hollow right now. +Harry's hand pointed to TRUANT, but moved to TRAINING as Harry decided +what he would do with his extra time. + +He might as well, he thought as he slipped out of the house, just as +silently, and padded to the edge of the front lawn. He wouldn't get any +more sleep tonight. + +It was two weeks since they had returned from Hogwarts for the summer, +and every night Harry had dreamt of two dark figures. One curled in a +place far too small for it, crying out in pain and misery. The other +thrashed in a place that seemed only slightly larger, a steady stream of +whimpers coming from its throat. Harry had no idea what to make of those +dreams. He supposed they might be leftovers of the confrontation with +Voldemort, but he didn't understand why they would be attacking +\emph{him}. He could understand if Connor were to have them. His twin +was the Boy-Who-Lived, the one with the heart-shaped scar and the +connection to Voldemort. + +But Connor slept undisturbed, while every night, Harry dreamed. + +He shook his head and put it from his mind. He'd had odd dreams during +the school year, too, and worrying about them got him nowhere. When and +if the significance of the two dark figures ever revealed itself, then +he would be ready to do something about it. + +For now, he would run through his array of wandless spells. + +"\emph{Wingardium Leviosa}," he said, concentrating, and when he pulled +his hand back, his wand floated in the air. Harry smiled and glanced up +at the bright crackle of isolation wards that surrounded their house and +separated it from the rest of Godric's Hollow, somewhat dimming the +sight of the stars beyond. The wards had been there all their lives, +preventing attack by vengeful Death Eaters and other minions of +Voldemort. They also prevented the Ministry from sensing the use of any +underage magic within them. + +Their mother had once claimed that was an accidental side effect of the +wards. Harry doubted it. Lily Potter seldom did anything on accident. +Besides, it somehow never got reported to the Ministry. + +He hurtled easily through the array of spells he'd practiced so long +without his wand that he came near to doing them in his sleep, and which +therefore made good spells to use during the transition between sleep +and waking. \emph{Nox, Lumos, Finite Incantatem, Wingardium Leviosa, +Incendio, Accio, Protego, Reducto,} the Blasting Curse, and several +others, raced forth from his mouth, had their effects, and left him +feeling nothing but relaxed and slightly more awake. + +Harry frowned when he was done with the lot of them, concentrating. He +knew what spell he most wanted to perform next: the cage spell that +Voldemort had used on Connor during their deadly battle at the end of +May, \emph{Cavea}. Harry wanted to see if he could do it, and, +importantly, reverse it. If he'd known how to reverse it during the +battle, he could have spared Connor some pain and panic. + +But the last time he had tried it, it had resulted in a pulse of +blinding blue light which had beamed through the windows and awakened +their parents. Harry had had to apologize and make up a tale of +accidental magic while sleepwalking for James, who didn't know about +Harry's extra training and silent vow to protect his brother. Their +mother had taken him aside after that and warned him not to try it again +until she was there to guide him. + +She was not here now. + +Harry closed his eyes and thought of a different spell, \emph{Diffindo}. +He was about to try it when a voice spoke from the grass beside him, +startling him badly. + +"\emph{What are you doing? The magic is disturbing my sleep."} + +Harry whirled around and gathered his magic into a single focused point, +calling the \emph{Protego} shield up. That would defeat most hexes, and +after so much experience, it was his as swift as thought. + +But he saw no one standing on the grass, and he blinked, hesitating. +Perhaps Connor had come out to play with him, but he didn't think his +brother was so good at hiding in plain sight, nor at sounding so +petulant. + +\emph{It could be a trick of Sirius's}, he thought, and smiled. His +godfather often visited Godric's Hollow, and he would think it a grand +joke to come sneaking up in the darkness and scare Harry like that. + +``Very funny, Sirius,'' he called back. ``You can come out now. You +caught me. I was bored and practicing my magic.'' + +"\emph{Who is Sirius}?" + +Harry saw a movement at the edge of his \emph{Lumos} spell this time. He +stared as the grass parted and a small snake slithered out of it, +halting to look at him inquiringly. Her tongue flicked as if tasting his +scent. + +Harry hardly breathed. He recognized the snake's markings, variegated +black on gold. If he tilted his head to the side and squinted just a +bit, he could make out the shape of a skull and crossbones, repeated +several times. This was a Locusta snake, a magical creature rare in +Great Britain. One small bite from it could kill a man, and one snake +contained enough poison altogether to down a whale. Worse, the venom +itself was magical, altering from hour to hour to try and counteract any +antivenin applied to it, and the snakes were clever and sadistic enough +to hunt small children when they were angry, and to direct their poison +to linger instead of killing at once. + +Harry did not know how a Locusta had crossed the wards into Godric's +Hollow. He did not know how it was speaking to him. He did know that he +didn't want it anywhere near Connor. + +``Go away,'' he whispered, wishing he knew \emph{Avada Kedavra}, and +readying his magic in an attempt to put all his will behind the Blasting +Curse. ``Just go away.'' + +"\emph{Why should I? I just arrived here. And I am rather enjoying your +company.}" The snake slithered a few inches nearer. "\emph{It is not +often that one finds a mortal who can speak to serpents. I knew one, +once, but she and I did not have much in common. She spat at me and told +me to leave after less than three seasons around me."} The snake lifted +her head and twined back and forth in dancing patterns, which made the +skull shine forth from her all the more strongly. "\emph{Am I not +beautiful?}" + +``I don't know what you're talking about,'' said Harry. ``I can't talk +to snakes.'' The fact that he was, and understanding this one right +back, was beginning to bother him. He tried not to let it. The important +thing, as always, was to protect Connor. + +"\emph{Oh, yes, you can,}" said the Locusta, sounding amused. She +lowered her head and blinked her eyes at him. They were a stunningly +bright green, like Lily's when she was angry. "\emph{You could some time +ago, at least, when your battle disturbed the Forest I was living in, +and I watched you fight the other one who talks to serpents. He gave an +order to his snake."} The Locusta gave a small angry hiss which Harry +thought meant the same thing as an offended pureblood matriarch's sniff +of disdain. "\emph{Degraded creature. That she lets him so command her! +I would die before submitting to such control.}" + +``You saw Connor's battle with Voldemort?'' Harry breathed. He +remembered Voldemort speaking to Nagini, ordering her to attack, +but---``He talked in English.'' + +"\emph{He did not,}" said the Locusta, and inched a bit nearer. +"\emph{He commanded her in Parseltongue. You understood him. You speak +Parseltongue even now, but to your ears it sounds as your own language. +I do not know why that is.}" She did not sound very interested in it, +either. "\emph{I followed you because I was curious about you, and from +what I have seen, you will do very well.}" + +``Do very well to do what?'' Harry kept his wand leveled at her, and +remembered other things he'd heard about Locusta snakes. They struck +very fast, nearly as fast as runespoors. They were self-willed, serving +no master for very long. The wizards who kept the snakes to breed them +or observe them or milk them for their venom almost all died, and the +snakes wandered on, free, making the mere possession of a Locusta a high +crime in Britain. + +Of course, from what Harry could remember, none of the wizards who had +studied them had ever been Parselmouths. + +\emph{And neither am I,} he thought at once, his mind abruptly boiling +on the edge of hysteria. \emph{Only Dark wizards have that talent, and +I'm not Dark. I'm not. The Sorting Hat put me in Slytherin, but Connor +said I was still good. I must be.} + +"\emph{Take care of me,}" the Locusta said, pulling his attention back +to her. Harry scolded himself for having lost it in the first place. +Whether or not he was a Parselmouth, it was not as though he was ever +going to use the gift, so he would not worry about it. "\emph{I require +someone to care for me, to burnish my scales and tell me I am beautiful +and feed me the choicest bits of their food. I like eggs. And milk. And +the flesh of birds. And sweets. And---}" + +``I am not going to take care of you!'' Harry hissed back at her, and +for a moment, he thought he heard his voice the way she must be hearing +it, full of intricate twists and turns and soft sibilants. It was +certainly not speaking English. + +He blocked the thought from his mind. He was \emph{not} evil. He would +not let himself be. + +"\emph{Yes, you are,}" said the Locusta. "\emph{I've watched you. Your +dearest possession is that lump of a boy who shares your nest. If you do +not take care of me, I will bite him.}" + +Harry swallowed. He knew she could do it. There was no way he could +watch Connor every moment of the day and night, and unless he destroyed +her now, she would find some way through and bite him. + +\emph{Unless I destroy her now.} + +He lifted his wand, about to unleash a curse, but the Locusta +\emph{moved}, darting forward, looping herself up his leg, and coiling +around his left arm. Harry prepared to be bitten, but changed the angle +of his wand. He would still kill her, even if she died. He had always +been prepared to sacrifice his life for Connor. He could do it now. + +The Locusta did not bite him. Instead, she shimmered once, and then she +was gone. + +Harry brought his wand closer, to see his arm by the light of +\emph{Lumos}. The Locusta was a bright golden-and-black pattern on his +left forearm. Harry poked it with his wand. He felt nothing but skin. + +\emph{Like the Dark Mark,} he thought, and for a moment trembled with +revulsion. + +\emph{My name is Sylarana,} said the Locusta's smug voice in his head. +\emph{You will care for me and make much of me, while I stay with you +like this, or I will come to life and bite your lump of a boy. Or anyone +else I want to.} + +``How can you?'' Harry whispered. ``I never heard that Locusta snakes +could do this.'' + +\emph{We can, with one who speaks to serpents. And I want to. Now, pet +me and make much of me.} + +Harry stroked the skin of his arm, feeling ridiculous, but not daring to +do anything else. He thought up a few compliments that made his mouth +feel full of sugar, and murmured them. + +Her contented hissing resounded in his mind a moment later. + +Harry fought back the desire to be sick, and went on petting her. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Mum! Mum!'' + +Harry looked up, smiling. He and Connor had spent most of the day +outside---Harry doing the extra homework that Professor Snape had +assigned him over the summer, Connor studying the books of magical +history that Lily had insisted he start reading---and the heat had +struck Connor half-stupid. Harry wasn't at all surprised that, when the +Weasleys' battered old owl, Errol, had stumbled through the special hole +created in the isolation wards for him, Connor had seized on both Errol +and the letter he carried to distract himself. + +From the sound of his twin's voice now, Harry thought the letter had +carried good news. + +``What is it?'' Lily Potter asked, stepping out of the house. Harry felt +himself relax a bit. Their mother was the only one who knew everything +Harry had trained and prepared and put himself through, who had +encouraged him to be Connor's secret guardian, who knew that Harry was +to sacrifice his life for his brother's if necessary, and stay in the +shadows, protecting him and not outshining him, at all other times. She +didn't know everything about Harry, but she knew most of it, and so he +could let down his guard with her, no longer careful to keep up a mask. + +``The Weasleys want me to come shopping with them on Diagon Alley on +July thirty-first!'' said Connor, jumping up and down. He paused for a +long moment, then added, as if Lily would forget the significance of the +date, ``That's our birthday!'' + +``I know,'' Lily said, and glanced once at Harry. Harry shrugged and +blinked, letting his mother know that Connor going to Diagon Alley was +all right with him, as long as he had proper protection. Their mother +turned back to Connor, whose hazel eyes were beaming at her with hope. +``All right, Connor. You may go. Your father and Harry and I will come +along. We could certainly buy school supplies that day as well.'' + +``Yes!'' said Connor, and hugged Lily around the legs. ``Thank you, Mum! +I'm going to go write Ron right now!'' + +He darted into the house, presumably to find a quill and parchment. +Harry shook his head. Connor had left all the writing implements he'd +been using to take notes right beside his books, and could have used +them. + +Lily stood looking into the house for a long moment. Then she turned and +strode over to Harry, sitting in the grass beside him. + +\emph{What does she want?} + +Harry ignored Sylarana's question, though he did touch his left arm to +gentle her. Sylarana seemed more curious than threatening whenever she +asked questions about their parents. And she was willing to wait for the +answers, which their mother gave in the next moment, talking in a low, +intense voice. + +``Harry, how would you say that Connor's training is going?'' + +Harry sighed and let the last trace of the smile slip off his face. When +he spoke with Lily, very nearly equal to equal, and one guardian of the +Boy-Who-Lived to another, he could not lie. ``Not as well as I hoped, +Mother. He doesn't see why he needs to learn all this history and +politics now, after we've kept him ignorant of it for so long. I've +talked with him a few times, about the Boy-Who-Lived needing to unite +and lead the wizarding world so that he can get rid of Voldemort, but he +doesn't see it that way. He sees it as a dramatic battle between him and +Voldemort, the way it was in May. He doesn't think about what happens +after, or about having help.'' + +Lily sighed in return and nodded. ``I thought so,'' she said. ``Well, I +will keep giving him books and telling him that he needs to learn. I'll +also tell Remus to give him a few stories about life among the +werewolves. That might let the virtues he needs to learn slip in +unguarded. Connor likes stories better than history.'' + +Harry nodded, feeling a glow of fondness deep in his chest. Connor liked +stories better than history, and tales of duels best of all. He liked +sweets better than learning. He knew the first-year spells he should +know, and performed them competently, without any ambitions to have +greater power. Until his confrontation with the Dark Lord, he had known +little even of true evil; Voldemort had come hunting him, and scarred +him when Connor reflected the \emph{Avada Kedavra} back upon its caster, +at an age when he was far too young to remember anything about it. + +But Connor was marked for a life of hardship, and Harry was not about to +let that hardship corrupt him or kill him. He would know the history, +the pureblood courtesies, the spells---Dark and otherwise---that Connor +had no time or use for. Perhaps that was why he had been placed in +Slytherin, so that he could seek the best path among Dark wizards for +Connor to take. It was the only reason that made any sense to Harry. + +\emph{You are a fool,} said Sylarana comfortably in his head. + +The aspect of his relationship with the Locusta that most disturbed +Harry was the way she seemed to see into his thoughts. He told her now +that she was beautiful like the sunlight in grass, and she hissed and +let herself be distracted. + +``Harry?'' + +He blinked and came back to the present, the reality that was their +mother bending over him. + +``Sirius is coming with you to Hogwarts this year,'' Lily began. + +Harry stared at her. Their mother quickly put her hands on his shoulders +and shook her head. + +``Not because of that,'' she said. ``Not because of anything you failed +to do, Harry. No one could have known that Voldemort was hiding in +Quirrell's head. No one.'' She gave him a little shake. ``Do not blame +yourself for that.'' + +Harry nodded, but slowly. He thought the guilt was valuable. If he took +it to heart, then he would be more alert in the future, when the Dark +Lord's attacks on his brother might become even subtler. + +\emph{A natural-hatched fool,} Sylarana announced. + +``Officially, he'll be Madam Hooch's assistant, and help referee the +Quidditch matches,'' Lily continued, smiling at Harry. ``Unofficially, +he'll keep watch over Connor, even in the Gryffindor Tower and the +classes where you might have difficulty going. Just a little help, +Harry. He'll think he's Connor sole guardian, of course, since he +doesn't know about you, but we both know what a wonderful job you've +done for him.'' She hugged him and held him close for a long moment. + +Harry let himself relax, little by little. No, he \emph{hadn't} failed. +He'd guarded Connor from a troll, and from the Lestranges, and helped +hold Voldemort off until Connor could defeat him with the pure love he +bore in his skin. He could do this. Really, he should welcome Sirius's +presence. Their godfather was wonderful fun to be around, he would help +with Connor, and he had no tolerance at all of Slytherins or anything +Dark. If Harry started to slip into murky, shadowy pathways, then Sirius +would be sure to tell him, and haul him back to the Light---by the +scruff of his neck, if necessary. + +``Remus can't come?'' he did ask. Remus was Connor's godfather, and as +protective of Harry's brother in his own gentle way as Sirius was in his +rough one. Plus, he was the best one at enchanting Connor with stories. + +Lily shook her head. ``They still haven't perfected the Wolfsbane +Potion. Until they do, the parents wouldn't tolerate Remus being at +Hogwarts.'' + +Harry nodded. Well, even the addition of Sirius was good fortune he'd +had no right to expect. He would enjoy his godfather's company. + +\emph{He is someone else I would like to bite,} said Sylarana dreamily +in his head. + +Harry opened his mouth to say something, nearly forgetting his mother's +presence, and then heard her exclaim. Harry looked up. + +A black eagle-owl was fluttering about outside the isolation wards. +After a moment, it found the hole Harry had cut in anticipation of its +arrival, and soared regally downwards, landing a few feet away from +Harry. It held out a talon, around which a letter was bound. + +``And who is this?'' Lily's eyebrows nearly reached her hair. + +Harry flushed as he freed the letter. He had thought he would have time +to explain to his mother before this actually happened---especially +since he hadn't thought it would happen at all. ``Um, Mother, this is +Imperius, Draco's eagle-owl.'' + +Imperius stared at Lily with brilliant yellow eyes. Lily stared back +with brilliant green ones, which narrowed. + +``A Malfoy owl can find its way in through our wards,'' she said. + +Harry winced. ``Um. Yes?'' + +``Harry,'' said Lily, in the gentle, sorrowful voice that showed she was +most disappointed in him. ``That was dangerous.'' + +Harry ducked his head, flushing. ``I know. But Draco wanted to write to +me, and I thought it would be less dangerous for an owl to come here, +maybe, than for Hedwig to be seen leaving.'' + +``You could have refused him,'' their mother pointed out. + +``It was hard, without telling him why,'' Harry admitted. His mother +hadn't been there to hear Draco's gaily chattering voice, and she +certainly hadn't been there to see the shock and dismay that crumpled +Draco's face when Harry hinted they might not be able to communicate +over the summer. ``And I didn't think I should tell him why.'' + +``Well, of course not,'' said Lily, and went on staring at Imperius for +a moment more. Then she shook her head. ``What does young Malfoy say?'' + +Harry scanned the letter, then closed his eyes with a sigh of +exasperation. ``He wants to meet me in Diagon Alley. On our birthday.'' + +``Of course he does,'' muttered Lily. ``Well, now it is imperative that +we go with you and Connor.'' She rose to her feet. ``Write him back and +tell him you will come.'' + +Harry nodded, standing. ``And do you want to check for tracking and +tracing spells on Imperius?'' he asked, but his mother's wand was +already out. + +Quietly, he went into the house, to find writing implements and to fetch +food for Sylarana, who was indicating that Connor-flesh would taste +quite good if there weren't Chocolate Frogs about. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Lily sighed. She had performed every detection charm she could think of, +and nothing had shown up. Imperius shifted from foot to food and gave +her a look of quiet disgust, then took wing for the impromptu owlery in +the back of the house, where the family's owls spent most of their time. + +\emph{Maybe it was silly to worry,} Lily thought, sitting back and +letting the sun and the wind stroke through her hair. \emph{But these +are the Malfoys.} + +She had been almost frantic with concern after Harry's first letter of +the last school year, when he wrote that he was becoming friends with +Draco Malfoy. What did the Malfoy boy plan? More, what did Harry think +he was doing? He knew the Malfoys were Death Eaters. He had studied, in +detail, all the families who were enemies to Connor or might be. + +But the necessity of keeping Harry's power and position relative to +Connor a secret had encouraged her to allow the friendship. So far, it +had not had many negative consequences that she saw; Harry had even +survived a visit to Malfoy Manor last Christmas intact. + +So far. + +Lily closed her eyes. \emph{The Malfoys have always been drawn to power. +And Harry\ldots{}} + +Harry was the most powerful wizard of his age she had ever seen, bar +none. Since the night when she and James had reached the deserted house +where the Dark Lord supposedly held their sons captive and realized, in +awful blinding fear, the trick that Peter had played on them, and had +charged back to the house at Godric's Hollow to find the wards down and +the Dark Lord dead or less than dead on the floor, it had been so. +Harry's power boiled around him restlessly, seeking something to do. It +could easily have drawn him into the Dark. Lily had arranged for him to +be protector to Connor for his sake, too, so that he could learn spells +and even wandless magic with a dedicated purpose, working for the Light +instead of against it. + +But only partially for his sake. Connor was the Boy-Who-Lived, the most +precious figure in this war. Harry was the sacrifice, the knight in the +shadows to Connor's brilliant king. If Harry had to die, or give up life +and safety and health and a normal childhood to guard Connor, then he +would do it, Lily knew. He would do it gladly, after his long training. +He thought there was no higher purpose in life. + +She knew it was the right thing to do, since the prophecy had proclaimed +so clearly that the younger twin of the two was their savior. + +Lily Evans Potter ducked her head and clenched her fists together. + +\emph{I know it was the right thing to do. But I still lie awake at +night and wonder if it was the} fair \emph{thing to do.} + +Thoughts like that were another thing that encouraged her to allow +Harry's friendship with the Malfoy boy. Until Draco did something to +hurt Connor, he might still be all right, even a consolation prize of +sorts for a boy who had given up so much else. + +\emph{But the moment he does\ldots{}} + +\emph{Well. The moment he tries to hurt Connor, Harry will know what to +do.} + +``Lily?'' James's voice called from behind the house. + +Lily rose and reached for her smooth, happy mask, tucking the edges back +into place. She and Harry had given up their innocence; Connor and James +retained theirs. It was too precious to stain. James must never know +what was wrong. + +``Here, James,'' she called, and let her husband rush around the side of +the house and embrace her. + +She closed her eyes as she leaned against him. \emph{Hold me, please,} +she thought and dared not say. \emph{When you hold me like this, then I +can believe that everything's going to be all right, and I don't have to +believe in Dark Lords.} + +\subsection{*Chapter 2*: Old Family +Rivalries}\label{chapter-2-old-family-rivalries} + +Wow, thank you very much for the warm reception! Responses to reviews +will be up in my LJ in a few hours. + +For now, enjoy the second chapter! + +\textbf{Chapter Two: Old Family Rivalries} + +``Ron!'' + +``Connor! Happy birthday, mate!'' + +Harry concealed a smile as he watched Ron and Connor rush together as if +they'd been separated for a year instead of a few weeks. They didn't +seem to quite know what to do when they'd reached each other, but they +settled for one-armed hugs and slapping on the back. Then Connor stepped +back and peered around Ron at the other Weasleys, who had met them just +outside the brick wall at the back of the Leaky Cauldron. + +``Gred and Forge,'' he said, with a grin, which Harry thought was +probably a private joke that he didn't get. ``Invented anything +interesting lately?'' + +``Yes,'' said one of the twins at once. Harry had never learned how to +tell them apart, since he hadn't spent enough time in Gryffindor Tower +last year. He resolved to do it this term. It would help keep him from +becoming more Slytherin, and that was all to the good, after the +extremes to which Professor Snape had been willing to take his +``persuasion'' last year. ``Try it.'' He held out a flat yellow cake to +Connor, who eyed it nervously. + +``Uh---no thanks, George,'' he said. + +``I'm Fred,'' said the twin. + +``No, I'm Fred,'' said the other. + +Connor laughed along with Ron. Harry watched. He sometimes wished he +could be as easy around other people as his twin was. Connor had adapted +wonderfully well when he had to leave Godric's Hollow and go into the +wider wizarding world. Things that others had taken for granted he +learned to take for granted, too, even if he never appeared all that +comfortable with his fame. + +But then Harry pushed away his yearning for a life that couldn't be, and +reminded himself that it was better this way. If he really \emph{were} +in the middle of everyone like that, he would have to pay too much +attention to other people. This way, he could watch out for Connor. + +``Connor, dear,'' said Mrs. Weasley, embracing Harry's brother hard +enough to squeeze the rest of the air out of him. Harry studied her face +for a moment. He knew she had lost two brothers in the first war against +Voldemort. But she didn't show any trace of buried sadness. Perhaps the +loss had been long enough ago that she had gotten over it. ``I'm so glad +that your parents agreed to let you come.'' She looked up at Lily and +James then, and extended a hand, with a slightly nervous smile. ``Molly +Weasley. This is my husband Arthur.'' She nodded to the red-haired and +slightly chubby man beside her, who was engaged in reassuring an +anxious-looking red-haired girl, probably his daughter. He looked up, +abashed, when his wife hissed at him, and moved forward to offer his +hand. + +``James Potter,'' said their father with an easy smile, and clasped +Arthur's hand back. ``This is my wife Lily.'' Their mother nodded, her +eyes scanning the way that Connor stood between the twins and Ron. Her +face relaxed a second later when the girl eased nearer to Connor. Harry +understood. Surrounded by so many people, his twin made a harder target +to strike. + +``You'll have heard of our son Ron, of course,'' Molly Weasley was +fussing. ``And this is our daughter Ginny. She's just starting at +Hogwarts this year.'' Ginny ducked her head and flushed, hard enough to +make her face compete with her hair. ``These are our twins, Fred and +George---'' She pointed, a trifle uncertainly. + +``Wrong again, Mum,'' said the twin on the left. "\emph{I'm} George." + +Molly Weasley ignored him, to her credit, Harry thought, and indicated +the older Weasley boy who'd just stepped up behind Arthur, his hands +calmly folded in front of him. ``And this is our son Percy,'' she said, +pride unmistakable in her voice. ``He's a sixth-year, and a Gryffindor +prefect, aren't you, Percy, dear?'' + +Percy nodded. Harry stared at him for a long moment. Percy had huge dark +circles under his eyes, and his hands weren't really folded so much as +clenched. He looked as though he had been under some great strain or +worry lately. But his voice was calm and polite as he said, ``Yes, +Mother. It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Potter.'' He took Lily's hand, and +she stared keenly into his eyes for a long moment before smiling. + +``It's nice to meet you as well, Percy,'' she said quietly, and then +steered Harry forward with a hand on his shoulder. ``This is our other +son, Harry. He's coming back for his second year at Hogwarts, along with +Connor.'' + +Mrs. Weasley blinked at Harry, then said, to cover her confusion, ``Oh, +how nice.'' She paused for a long moment, then said, ``I didn't know +that you had another son.'' + +James coughed and leaned around Lily to mess up Harry's hair. ``Harry's +our quiet boy,'' he said fondly. ``He's Connor's twin, but you'd never +know it, they're so different. Our Harry likes books and studying, don't +you, Harry?'' + +Harry smiled back at their father. This was the way that things were +supposed to be going. Harry often got the feeling that James loved him +without quite understanding him. How could anyone \emph{not} want to +spend more time playing Quidditch and pranks than sitting around with +dusty old books? But that was to be expected, since he didn't know about +Harry's efforts to protect Connor. ``Yes, Father,'' he said. + +When he glanced back at Mrs. Weasley, her face had cleared a bit. +``Percy was the same way as a child,'' she confessed, in that whisper +that was never a whisper. + +"\emph{Mother}," said Percy, in long-suffering tones. Harry regarded him +again. His face was still strained, and his cheery smile emphasized that +instead of hiding it. Harry supposed it was family problems, which +everyone else knew about and was ignoring. There was no law saying that +the Weasleys had to share all their secrets with the Potters, or that +Connor, if he knew, had to share the whole thing with his family. + +``But you must be in Gryffindor, surely,'' Mrs. Weasley prattled on, +ignoring her son. ``Why hasn't Ron talked about you in his letters at +all?'' She frowned at her youngest son, who was currently daring Connor +to eat one of the twins' cakes. + +``I'm in Slytherin House, ma'am,'' said Harry softly. + +He winced inwardly as the shine of her eyes dimmed a bit, but he told +himself that he had to expect it. He didn't think that he could change +his House, not any more; Dumbledore wouldn't permit it. But he could act +as like a Gryffindor as possible. That was what he would do now. + +\emph{Why would you want to?} Sylarana asked him. + +``Oh,'' said Mrs. Weasley, after a long, awkward silence. +``How\ldots{}nice.'' She perked up after a moment, though, and clapped +her hands to gather her family together. ``We're going to buy robes +first, of course,'' she said, to the accompaniment of her children's +groans. ``But then we can go to Florian Fortescue's, I think.'' She +smiled as Connor cheered. Harry smiled, too. Neither of their parents +was particularly adept at the charms to make ice cream. ``And from +there, it's a surprise!'' + +She glanced at Harry. ``You're welcome to come with us, dear.'' + +Harry shook his head. ``Thank you, ma'am, but I'm meeting friends.'' + +Molly nodded, and then she and Arthur, who had been involved in a +discussion of Quidditch with James, began to herd Connor off. Lily +waited until they were almost out of sight, then turned to James. + +``Sirius is following them?'' + +James snorted lightly. ``Of course. He didn't work as an Auror for +nothing, Lily.'' + +"He didn't \emph{stay} an Auror," said Lily, with a tartness that Harry +had never heard in their mother's voice before. Of course, he thought, +when Connor was behind the wards at home, his safety didn't depend on +Sirius alone. + +``That wasn't his fault,'' James said at once. ``If Mrs. Zabini could +only take a joke---'' + +``Regardless,'' Lily all but snapped. ``He's following Connor?'' + +``Yes, my love,'' said James, gathering his wife close. ``Of course. You +don't need to look so worried.'' + +Harry thought she did. This was the middle of Diagon Alley, and it +seemed as though half the wizarding community in Britain had chosen +today to shop. Still, they could probably trust Connor's safety to the +Weasleys and Sirius for now, and they would have to, since Connor +wouldn't want his parents tagging along and Harry couldn't follow +openly. + +``Harry!'' + +Startled, Harry had only half-turned when Draco Malfoy crashed into him, +hugging him at least as tightly as Mrs. Weasley had hugged Connor. Draco +then abruptly loosened the embrace and tried to offer his hand the way a +pureblooded heir would, his face slightly flushed with excitement and +his eyes shining. ``Harry Potter,'' he said. ``I welcome you to Diagon +Alley on this, the occasion of your birth.'' + +Harry blinked, but returned Draco's handclasp. ``Thank you, Draco,'' he +said. He found himself smiling nearly helplessly. It made no sense. The +Malfoys were one of the greatest threats to Connor, and Lucius Malfoy +had been a willing Death Eater---no matter \emph{what} Draco thought on +that particular subject---and they were all Slytherins to the core, and +Draco had even made it his task to insure that Harry spent as little +time with his brother as possible during the school year. Harry could +think about all that when he was in Godric's Hollow, and scourge himself +for allowing the friendship. But when he was with Draco, none of it +tended to matter. + +``Mr. Potter.'' + +Harry turned swiftly at that. Lucius Malfoy was making his way towards +them with leisurely hauteur, his wife Narcissa on his arm. Narcissa +smiled when she saw Harry, the odd mixture of predatory interest and +warmth that she had shown him during the Christmas holidays, when Harry +had last seen her. Lucius locked his eyes on Harry's and inclined his +head slightly in a bow. + +His gaze moved on to James and Lily, and grew icy. ``Mr. Potter, +again,'' he murmured. ``And the lovely Mrs. Potter.'' + +Harry glanced at their parents, and was startled at the transformation. +Sometimes, he tended to forget that they had both fought against +Voldemort, enough times to have made their destruction a priority for +the Death Eaters. James had his wand out, and was trembling with the +need to strike. Lily had her arms folded. Harry knew she could be ready +to hurl spells in an instant from that position. + +``Don't you hurt my son,'' James growled. "Don't you \emph{dare} hurt +him, Malfoy." + +Lucius blinked. Harry had the feeling that he was truly discomfited, and +tucked that odd fact away for future reference. However, it turned out +he didn't need to, as Draco's father arched his brows and explained the +blink at once. ``I have no intention of hurting your son,'' he said, and +his gaze swept back to Harry. ``Young Mr. Potter impressed me very much +on his visit to our Manor. We understand each other.'' He looked at +James again. ``I admit to being impressed that you could raise him in +such a fashion, Potter. More wizarding than I suspected of you.'' + +Harry winced. The backhanded compliments weren't \emph{that} cutting, +compared to some of the things Lucius had said at the Manor, but James +had a hot temper. + +James actually pointed his wand and began, "\emph{Diff}---" + +"\emph{Expelliarmus}!" Lily said clearly, and her husband's wand soared +into her hands. She frowned at him. ``Honestly, James.'' She turned back +to Lucius and Narcissa, and while her manner was no warmer than it had +been, at least Harry felt sure she wasn't about to hex them. ``Please +forgive my husband,'' she said. ``He sometimes has\ldots{}problems being +reminded of things he would rather forget.'' She flickered another frown +at James when he tried to protest under his breath. + +``Of course,'' said Lucius, the picture of courtly grace. \emph{One +would never know that he's talking to someone he thinks of as a +Mudblood,} Harry thought, watching him. He felt a tiny bit of +admiration; he knew how hard it was to maintain that emotionless mask, +since he'd needed to perfect it himself. ``We should depart, in any +case, if we are to buy the boys' school supplies and Harry's birthday +gift.'' + +Harry stared openly. ``Mr. Malfoy,'' he managed to say after a moment, +``thank you, but that's really not necessary---'' + +``Of course it is, Harry,'' said Narcissa, her smile widening across her +face. Her voice was gentle, the exact opposite of her eyes. "Draco has +talked about your birthday for most of the summer, until we are quite +excited about it ourselves. I would feel \emph{so} remiss if we did not +give you a gift. Please, will you come with us and let us have the gift +of presenting you with a small token of our esteem?" + +Harry knew of absolutely no way to refuse something like that without +the most appalling rudeness, so he managed to duck his head and murmur, +``Of course, Mrs. Malfoy.'' + +``Such a polite boy,'' said Narcissa, and nodded to Lily and James. ``A +credit to his training.'' + +Neither of their parents appeared to know how to respond to that one, so +they let it go. Lily did say, as she turned away, ``Harry, we'll be in +Flourish and Blotts when you're done.'' + +``All right, Mother,'' Harry said. + +Draco waited until they had rounded the corner before he burst out with, +"That's \emph{appalling}, Harry. Do they always treat you like that? And +what about family friends? Do they always stare at them as if they were +something the Kneazle dragged in? As if---" + +``Draco,'' said Narcissa, in the mild way she had, and Draco cut off. He +fumed, red-faced, for a moment, and then brightened. + +"Wait until you see what we bought you, Harry! It's \emph{wonderful}. +And you can't guess what it is! Go on, guess!" + +\emph{Why does he think that you can guess what it is when he just told +you that you couldn't?} Sylarana hissed into his mind. \emph{This one is +my second choice for someone to bite, if I cannot find your brother. He +is} spitting \emph{on me. Tell him to stop it.} + +Harry spoke a few hasty compliments and drew his robe's sleeve over his +left arm, to shield Sylarana from Draco's spittle. He caught Lucius +Malfoy's eye as he did, and the raised eyebrow. He met the elder +Malfoy's curious gaze with a cool one, and then turned back to guessing. + +``A---a Snitch,'' he said. + +Draco looked alarmed for a moment, then laughed and shook his head. +``No! I want you to concentrate on catching the real one.'' + +``Another owl?'' Harry guessed. + +``You already have Hedwig.'' Draco danced in front of him as they moved +further down the Alley. ``Go on, guess!'' + +Harry continued to guess, as well as to reassure Sylarana. It wasn't the +easiest task in the world, and for once, he was grateful that he didn't +have Connor around to take up his attention. + +He was especially grateful that his brother wasn't there when he saw +what the Malfoys had bought him. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``I---I can't accept it, Mrs. Malfoy,'' Harry stammered, staring down at +the Nimbus 2001 broomstick that he held in his hands. ``It's too much. +Please. I can't---I feel embarrassed. I haven't done anything to deserve +this.'' He tried to push the broomstick back at the beaming shopkeeper +who'd brought it out from the back of Quality Quidditch Supplies. + +Narcissa seized it before the shopkeeper's beam could change into a +frown, and pressed it gently back at Harry. She handled it with such +reverence that Harry felt ashamed of his clumsiness, and this time +cupped his palms to receive it, as one was supposed to with a gift of +such great price. But he continued to shake his head and try to say +something, at least until Narcissa leaned down and put a finger on his +lips. + +``It's true that you've given us no gift of equivalent price, Harry,'' +she said gently. Her smile reminded him of Sirius's when he had played a +particularly good prank, but with a different twist to it. ``You've +given us something greater.'' She glanced sideways at Draco, who was +examining the broom in silent rapture, and lowered her voice. ``I have +never seen my son so happy as he was this summer.'' + +Harry blinked. ``And you think I had something to do with that, Mrs. +Malfoy?'' + +``Quite the contrary,'' she said. "You had \emph{everything} to do with +it." She tossed her head at Lucius, who had remained near the front of +the shop. ``My husband knows so, too, and that is one of the reasons +that we agreed on this gift.'' + +Harry stiffened at that. The Malfoys had all given him different gifts +for Christmas last year, all with subtly different meanings. Lucius's +had been a Foe-Glass, an ironic salute to an honored enemy. That he had +agreed on this broom, which seemed to be a gift of friendship, if +Narcissa was telling the truth\ldots{} + +Harry did not know what that meant, not exactly. He did know it would be +an insult to the Malfoys if he didn't accept it. + +He nodded and let out a deep breath. ``I'll accept it, then,'' he said, +his voice slightly hoarse to his own ears. ``Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy.'' + +Narcissa kissed him on the cheek, and nodded to the shopkeeper, who once +more wore a smile. ``We'll take it.'' She smiled at him. ``Happy +birthday, Harry.'' + +``I can't wait to ride it,'' said Draco dreamily. + +\emph{I still want to bite him,} Sylarana pointed out. + +Lucius stared from the front of the shop. + +Harry spared a brief moment to hope that things would be simpler when he +got to Hogwarts, or else he did fear that he would go mad. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Such a commotion,'' said Lucius, curling his lip, as they came into +Flourish and Blotts a few hours later. + +Harry had to agree. Apparently, some new celebrity was advertising his +books here, and the shop was full of excited witches, crowded in to see +him, craning their necks and cooing like doves. + +Harry made out the ``celebrity,'' Gilderoy Lockhart, before he saw his +parents. He stood on a stage in the center of the shop, waving to the +constant click of cameras and now and then holding up a copy of a book +entitled \emph{Magical Me.} Harry curled his lip much as Lucius had. +Lockhart looked like everything negative about a famous person +distilled. Harry would not be surprised if--- + +Then Lockhart lunged downward, saying, ``Two celebrities for the price +of one!'' and dragged Connor onto the stage beside him. Harry's brother +stood there, looking extremely uncomfortable, while Lockhart hugged his +shoulders with one arm and beamed out a smile too white to be real. +Cameras clicked and flashed constantly. Connor blinked. + +Harry's irritation reshaped itself into rage. He felt Draco wince beside +him, the way he always did when Harry grew angry. He'd tried over the +summer to find some way to confine his magic behind a shield, so that he +didn't give other wizards headaches when he lost his temper, but that +hadn't worked so far. + +And right now he wasn't concerned about it. He focused on the cameras +aimed at the stage and whispered, "\emph{Obscurus}!" + +The cameras continued to click, but no flashes came from them anymore. +Lockhart's smile dropped away. He took a few steps forward and waved +\emph{Magical Me} half-heartedly, as though that would make new pictures +of him appear out of thin air. Connor took the chance to hop off the +stage and back into the comforting embrace of the Weasleys. + +Harry smiled, then paused. \emph{Was that a smirk?} + +\emph{That was good work,} said Sylarana. \emph{Now, hurry up and get +home. I want food, and I don't want to bite someone just yet.} + +Draco chuckled beside him, and thumped Harry on the back. ``Good +spellcasting,'' he said. "I hope that utter \emph{prat} isn't really +going to be our Defense teacher." + +``Draco,'' said Narcissa. ``You will show respect to your professors.'' + +Draco turned and gave his mother an innocent look. ``Even to him?'' + +Narcissa's lips twitched, and Draco beamed. Harry relaxed, though he had +what Draco had said to think about. He hadn't connected Gilderoy +Lockhart's name to the one on their list of books to be purchased this +year. He didn't like the thought of this man coming to Hogwarts and +continuing to harass Connor. + +He forced himself to shrug it away. \emph{I'll deal with that if and +when it comes.} + +He and Draco went about getting their books and loading them into their +cauldrons. Harry was resigned when he found out that most of them were, +in fact, Lockhart's books. He supposed that the Defense teacher couldn't +be worse than Quirrell. He couldn't picture Voldemort hiding on the back +of that useless fool's head. + +``Harry!'' + +Harry turned around with a smile as Connor found him, though Connor +paused, eyes flashing, at the sight of Draco beside him. Then his glance +went to the Lockhart books, and he sighed. ``We're going to have to deal +with him, aren't we?'' he asked. + +``Yes,'' Harry said. + +Connor pouted. + +Arthur Weasley came up behind Connor, herding Ginny along. He smiled at +Harry. ``I see that you boys found---'' + +``Weasley,'' said Lucius's voice from behind Harry. + +Arthur's gaze snapped to him, and he reacted much the way James had, +though he didn't actually draw his wand. ``Malfoy,'' he said, face +clouding. "What do you want? Come to practice your sneer in warmer +surroundings? I suppose one can't stay in a Manor packed full of Dark +artifacts \emph{all} the time." + +``Your Aurors' latest search found nothing, Weasley,'' said Lucius. +``And that's the way it will remain.'' He shook his head slowly, sadly. +``You cannot let grudges go from the war. Tsk, tsk, Weasley. We are on +the same side now.'' + +"You were never on anyone's side but your own, Lucius, you +\emph{snake}," said Arthur, and took a step forward. + +``I am, at least, on the side of my own family,'' said Lucius. He looked +at Ginny, who seemed to be trying to will herself out of existence, and +raised an eyebrow. "For example, I can afford to buy them robes that +\emph{fit.}" + +Arthur lunged at Lucius, shoving him into the bookcase behind him. Harry +jumped out of the way, checked to make sure Connor was all right, and +then shielded Draco and Ginny from the falling books as best he could. +Ginny's face was pale when he stood up, but she nodded that she was all +right when Harry asked her. + +Lucius rose, brushing dust off his robes, his face carefully controlled. +"You will \emph{pay} for that, Weasley," he said. ``Be assured. Come, +Draco, Narcissa.'' He completely ignored his son's half-formed protest, +and Draco gave Harry a disconsolate look and one final hug before +trailing after his father. + +Lucius passed behind Ginny as he stalked towards the door. His hand +moved, snake-quick, and dropped a small black book into her cauldron. + +Harry made his decision quickly. He didn't think that anything Lucius +Malfoy might drop into a Weasley child's cauldron was innocent, his +friendship with Draco notwithstanding. Draco was not his father. He +darted his own hand in a moment later and picked up the book, putting it +underneath his robe. + +Lucius turned in time to catch the motion. He stared at Harry. Harry +stared back. + +Lucius shook his head, smiling faintly, after a moment, and then turned +and left the shop. Narcissa moved after him, murmuring a farewell to +Harry, a moment before Lily and James found him and Connor and bundled +them back to Godric's Hollow as swiftly as possible. + +Harry held onto the book. He didn't know what it was, but he would study +it until he did. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Dear? You're smirking.'' + +Lucius smiled at his wife and murmured, ``I'm well,'' before he returned +to his private contemplations. + +He hadn't \emph{planned} for the Potter boy to receive the book that +he'd held onto since fetching it from a secret hiding place on discreet +instructions last Christmas, but it could be interesting. Lucius wasn't +sure exactly what was in the book, only that at one time it had been +very important to the Dark Lord. He'd thought it amusing to give it to +the youngest child of a man he had good reason to hate. + +And now it was in the hands of the brother of the Boy-Who-Lived, a boy +who had shown himself formidably powerful and unexpectedly educated in +pureblood courtesies---and unexpectedly important to Draco. + +\emph{One could do worse,} Lucius thought as he and his family made +their way back to the Leaky Cauldron and the nearest Apparition point, +\emph{than to have it in such a child's hands. At the very least, the +results will be interesting.} + +\subsection{*Chapter 3*: A Touch of +Sirius}\label{chapter-3-a-touch-of-sirius} + +Wow. I am shocked by the enthusiasm for this story. Hopefully I'll +continue to meet people's high expectations. Thank you for letting me +know that you like it so much! + +A few important scenes in this chapter. Also, Sirius is Irresponsible. + +\textbf{Chapter Three: A Touch of Sirius} + +``Hello, Harry.'' + +Harry blinked. He was dreaming; he knew that, because in front of him +the dark figure curled in the space too small for it screamed in pain +and the figure in the space only slightly larger whimpered and writhed. +But for the first time, he wasn't looking at the images like a painting +in his head. He seemed to be standing back from them, in a cool, dry +place. + +He looked around. There was a stone wall at his back, like one of the +corridors at Hogwarts. It stretched away beyond the dark figures, then +curved back and vanished behind them. Harry studied the floor underneath +him. It was made of stone, too, he thought, but covered with sand. + +He thought he should be more frightened than he was. \emph{At least,} he +thought as he touched the familiar weight in his sleeve, \emph{I still +have my wand.} + +``Hello, Harry,'' the voice repeated, and this time Harry became aware +of someone leaning on the wall next to him. He turned his head. + +The figure was a young man, tall enough to be a sixth-year or +seventh-year at Hogwarts, his face sharp and arresting. He had dark +hair. Harry found himself looking automatically for scars, but couldn't +see any. His fingers were long, though, in a way that reminded Harry of +Snape's. He wondered if this man was also a Potions Master. + +``Hello, Harry,'' the man said a third time. There was an impatient tone +in his voice now. + +Harry saw no reason to answer strange people who appeared in his dreams, +who might be only dreams themselves. He watched him instead, and said +nothing. He had his wand ready to draw in an instant. + +The stranger took a step forward, and Harry drew his wand. That made him +pause. He tilted his head to the side, and Harry felt a brief bolt of +pain in his forehead. It was similar to the pain he had felt in his scar +during the last school year, when Quirrell tried to reach the hiding +place of the Philosopher's Stone. Well, that only made sense, Harry +thought. This was another prophetic dream, or at least an odd one. + +``My name is Tom Riddle,'' said the man at last. ``Do you know me?'' + +Harry shook his head. He thought his best course for now was to stay +silent and alert. He might have tried using pureblood courtesies, which +put an acceptable distance between the speaker and strangers, but Riddle +was no pureblood family name he had ever heard, and he couldn't be sure +the man would understand them. + +``I thought you didn't,'' mused Tom, and glanced at the two dark +figures. For a moment, he blinked, as though he didn't understand what +he was seeing. Then he sighed and waved a hand. + +The images vanished. Harry saw another stone wall where they had been. +He brought his wand and his guard up. Perhaps Tom Riddle \emph{was} just +a dream, but he didn't trust other people who could do wandless magic. +Harry himself had only learned it because he wanted to defend Connor. +Who knew what purposes, obscure or even Dark, someone else might have +for learning it? + +Tom turned back towards Harry, his smile pleasant. Harry wondered if the +presence of the images had been bothering him, and he had banished them +because of that. Then he frowned. \emph{Even if he did banish them +because of that, that doesn't excuse the fact that he's doing wandless +magic} in my dreams. + +\emph{No, it doesn't.} + +Harry jumped for a moment, then felt a twist of motion about his arm and +glanced down to see Sylarana moving there. She said nothing else, +however, and after a moment faded into his skin again, this time on his +right arm near his wand. Harry let out a shaky breath. \emph{My dreams +are getting rather crowded,} he thought crossly. + +``You aren't going to speak to me at all?'' Tom asked. ``That isn't very +nice.'' + +Harry heard the hard undertone in his voice, and knew that Tom was +probably approaching the end of his patience. He decided it would be +worthwhile to speak. If he could be sure that Tom would leave, he would +not, but an attack by a powerful, peeved, apparently dream-walking +wizard was not something Harry wanted to deal with. + +And dreams could be real, could leave lasting effects. He had had enough +nightmares this summer and last term to know. + +``Hello,'' he said, and then waited. + +Tom smiled, his bad mood seeming to vanish. ``Hello,'' he said easily. +``I know that your name's Harry Potter. But I don't know that much else +about you yet. Why don't you tell me about yourself?'' He leaned on the +wall, a comfortable slouch that made Harry confirm his impression of him +as not pureblooded. Draco could not have leaned that way. He seemed to +fear his mother's voice appearing out of thin air to scold him if he so +much as slumped in his chair. + +``Why would you want to know?'' Harry asked. He stepped away from Tom +and mimicked his posture. That won him an even brighter smile. He didn't +know how much he had managed to fool the other wizard, but he thought it +possible that Tom would underestimate his intelligence. ``I'm nobody +very special, really. Just Harry.'' + +Tom gave a different kind of smile, a quirk of his mouth that made him +seem younger than before. ``I think that's wrong,'' he said softly. ``I +wouldn't talk to `nobody very special.'\,'' + +"Who \emph{are} you?" Harry asked. + +``I live in the diary,'' said Tom. + +Harry shook his head. ``How can you live in that boring old book?'' He'd +examined the diary, performing every spell he could think of short of +actually damaging the book. Written words sank into the page, but that +was the only remotely magical thing he'd found. The diary, which Harry +hadn't even known was a diary until now, was tattered, and old, and +apparently Muggle-made, and entirely blank. Harry couldn't figure out +the purpose of it. + +``I'm a memory,'' said Tom. ``A dream. The book is a kind of Pensieve +for me.'' He sighed. ``I'm afraid that something happened to me the next +year, something not very pleasant. I don't remember what it was, of +course, since I'm still sixteen years old, stuck here, and I would have +been seventeen when---whatever it was happened. But after a while I +never saw my older self, and I can't feel him anymore, the way I could +when he was alive. I think he's dead.'' + +``Oh,'' Harry murmured. It \emph{would} be rather a terrible thing, +stuck in one place with no one to talk to and nothing to do--- + +\emph{Except that he's talking to you, isn't he?} hissed Sylarana. Tom +gave no indication that he could hear her, which Harry thought meant she +was speaking in the dream equivalent of his inner mind. \emph{I wonder +how he can do that. Ask him, and hurry up about it. I want to go play in +the grass. I will hunt mice, and you will make up stories to amuse me.} + +``Why did you talk to me?'' Harry asked. + +Tom clapped his hands. \emph{That gesture doesn't fit,} Harry thought. +\emph{He's too old for it.} "Because \emph{you're} interesting, Harry," +he said. ``I don't know very much about you, but what I can feel of your +thoughts intrigues me. I think we're a lot alike.'' + +``Really.'' Harry peered at the man skeptically. Tom was guarded, like +him, but Harry knew it couldn't be for the same reasons. He was the only +brother of the Boy-Who-Lived. + +``Yes,'' said Tom. ``I can look around, you know, when you open the +diary, even if I can't see very much. I saw the robes with the Slytherin +crest on them. You're in Slytherin House, aren't you? So was I.'' + +Harry lifted his magic quietly into place and held it there. No, not all +Slytherins were evil; some, like Draco, were charming in an annoying +way, and others, like Blaise Zabini, were merely annoying. And some were +enormous gits, like Snape. But given everything else that Tom could do, +it was a black mark against him. + +``Don't you like being in Slytherin?'' Tom asked, apparently +misinterpreting the quality of his silence. \emph{Apparently,} Harry +stressed to himself, his senses alive and alert now. He still didn't +trust Tom to be as oblivious as he appeared. ``I loved it there. I'd had +a lonely childhood. My parents died before I was born---'' + +``Your mother can't have died before you were born,'' Harry couldn't +help but point out. + +Tom's eyes narrowed for a moment, and then he shrugged and gave a +careless little laugh that didn't fit him, either. ``Well, that's true +enough! She didn't. She died as I was born, and my father before that, +and I was given to an orphanage.'' He paused, and an anger that seemed +genuine filled his face. ``I hated the other children there. They were +Muggles. They hated me and made fun of me for doing magic.'' + +Harry couldn't help but nod at that. The only time their whole family +had ever left Godric's Hollow before they went to Diagon Alley to buy +school supplies last summer was on a visit to the Dursleys, their +mother's Muggle relatives, when Harry and Connor were six. Harry still +remembered the terrified, half-crazed silence of their aunt, and the +rude blusterings of their uncle, and how their cousin Dudley had +screamed when Harry made a sweet float into the air. Harry had been very +glad that he \emph{wasn't} going to meet any more Muggles, not if they +were all like that. + +``See?'' Tom said, and his face and voice softened. "You know it, too. I +think that's another thing I already know about you. You're lonely, and +you're powerful, and every so often you look around and see that +everyone else is just so \emph{ignorant} and full of themselves, and you +want to do something about it." + +Harry hesitated. It was true that he felt that way sometimes, but--- + +\emph{You feel that way hardly any of the time,} Sylarana informed him +crisply. \emph{Now, wake up. I desire mice and stories.} + +Harry stepped away, sliding along the stone wall. ``I'm going to wake up +now,'' he said. ``It was---pleasant meeting you, I suppose. At least +different.'' + +``Oh, don't!'' said Tom, all petulance. He took a step forward. ``It +took me a long time to get your attention.'' + +``I know,'' said Harry. ``I can come back and talk to you---'' + +\emph{Not tonight.} Sylarana slid back up his arm under his sleeve. +\emph{Mice and stories!} + +``---but not tonight,'' Harry finished. + +Tom sighed and stopped walking. ``All right. But leave the diary open so +I can see sometimes, will you? I don't know you very well, and your +brother hardly at all.'' He shrugged and gave a helpless little wave. +``Bye, Harry.'' + +Harry opened his eyes, and found himself lying in his bed. Connor snored +in the other one. Sylarana was awake, slithering onto his chest so that +she could stare him in the eyes and speak aloud. + +"\emph{Mice and stories! Now!}" + +``I know,'' Harry said, not caring at the moment if he spoke in English +or Parseltongue, and glanced to the side. Sure enough, the diary lay on +the table next to his bed, open to one of the blank pages. + +He reached over, only daring to touch the cover with the tips of his +fingers, and shut it. + +There were some things that no powerful, wandless-magic-wielding, +dream-walking wizard needed to see. + +Once he'd done that, Harry felt a few inches better, and went outside to +give his Locusta what she wanted. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Harry! How's my favorite godson?'' + +``Hi, Sir---'' was all Harry got out before his godfather half-crushed +him, swinging him up and around in a circle, then putting him down on +the grass and proceeding to mess up his hair thoroughly. + +\emph{I don't like him, I don't like him, I don't like him,} Sylarana +sang in a tone that put Harry's teeth on edge. \emph{He has twenty +minutes to spend with you. That is all.} Harry felt her come to life and +slither up his arm to his shoulder, where she coiled. He swallowed and +hoped with all his might that Sirius wasn't watching the way his robes +hung around his shoulders. + +``I'm fine, Sirius,'' he said, when he noticed that said godfather was +still watching him expectantly. ``I didn't know you were coming today.'' + +Sirius grinned and winked, tilting his head towards the house. ``Neither +did your parents,'' he whispered. "\emph{Or} Connor. This is a +surprise." + +``It is?'' Harry blinked. Usually, Sirius brought Remus along on his +``surprises.'' ``Is Remus going to be here, too?'' + +Sirius snorted. ``No. He'd fuss too much. He thinks I'm not healthy or +something.'' He pounded a fist into his own back, then bent over and +coughed gratingly. ``Must be getting old,'' he wheezed. ``I'm already +thirty-two, I am! Bury me in a grave in a Muggle cemetery. Try not to +cry too much. After all, I've already lived almost as long as Albus +Dumbledore!'' He laughed, the barking laugh that Harry had heard most of +his life and associated with sudden presents and equally sudden pranks. + +Harry smiled at him and shook his head. He supposed that Sirius was who +Connor might grow up to be, although Connor didn't have \emph{quite} +Sirius's fondness for jokes. Harry also thought that Connor would need +more gravity, as the leader of the wizarding world he had to become, but +getting him there alive and still able to laugh were Harry's primary +responsibilities. + +``Wish I could make you laugh, sometimes, Harry,'' Sirius muttered as he +straightened up. ``I haven't heard you so much as chuckle since you were +a baby.'' He brooded for a moment, then shook it off and smiled +brightly, pulling a tiny object from his robes. ``Ready to give them a +good scare?'' + +Harry drew in his breath to answer, but caught his first clear glimpse +of his godfather's face and wound up exhaling without answering. He +could see why Remus thought Sirius was sick. His face was pale, his face +bearing lines that made Harry think of Percy Weasley in Diagon Alley, +and for the first time that Harry could remember, his smile didn't reach +his gray eyes. + +``Sirius?'' Harry whispered. ``What's wrong?'' + +``Wrong?'' Sirius winked at him. ``Nothing, of course! Why would +something be wrong?'' + +Harry swallowed. ``You don't look like you've been sleeping well,'' he +ventured. + +Sirius lost his smile all at once, and sighed. ``Yeah,'' he said. ``It +was Daphne Marchbanks. I---I thought we might have had something +special, Harry. And you know how I get when I realize it's not +working.'' + +Harry nodded. He'd been awake several times over the years when James +and Remus brought Sirius back to the house at Godric's Hollow after +another bout of it ``not working'' with some other young witch, and kept +him behind the isolation wards by main force. Harry had once heard their +father say that his friends were the only reason Sirius didn't drink +himself to death when he was depressed. But it didn't happen often. A +few more days, Harry knew, and Sirius would be flirting with someone +else and talking gleefully about marrying a Muggleborn to vex the ghost +of his mother, who had died of apoplexy, apparently, about her only son +not following her rigid pureblood ways. + +``But you're all right to play a surprise?'' Harry asked. + +Sirius won his grin back in an instant, and this time it did reach his +eyes. ``I'm sure,'' he said, and then put the object on the ground. He +drew his wand, tapped the tiny thing, and stood back as it grew. + +Harry felt his eyes widen as he realized what it was. He'd known that +Sirius had a motorbike he'd enchanted to fly, but he'd never seen it. +Sirius supposedly couldn't use it that often, for fear of the Misuse of +Muggle Artifacts Office finding out about it, and for fear of leading +Death Eaters to Godric's Hollow. + +Sirius put a finger to his lips and nodded at the house. Then he stepped +back from Harry and started yelling. + +``Oi, Harry, what do you think you're do---Harry! They're Death Eaters! +Coming through the wards! Run!'' + +Harry stared at him as shouts erupted from inside the house, but Sirius +was paying no attention. He waved his wand and said, "\emph{Praestigiae +Draconigena!}" + +A green smoke boiled from his wand, forming itself into the illusion of +a dragon that Harry recognized as a Common Welsh Green. It turned +towards the house on Sirius's low-voiced command and roared. + +``They've got a dragon!'' Sirius shouted, cupping his hands around his +mouth. ``Run, Harry, run!'' + +The door to the house flew open with a bang, and James charged out, his +wand already spitting sparks. "Sirius, if this is a prank, \emph{I am +going to}---" + +Sirius, laughing, grabbed Harry around the waist, sprang onto the +motorbike, and kicked it into life. The dragon illusion foamed up around +them and accompanied them. It would block anyone below from seeing the +bike, Harry knew. + +He could feel his heart pounding in his ears, his breath coming faster, +and Sylarana slithering around on his shoulder, apparently trying to +decide on a way to bite Sirius that wouldn't make the bike crash. He was +not sure what he felt. Blank surprise was starting to give way to +something else. + +``Sirius! Damn you!'' + +Sirius laughed. Harry whipped his head around to see their father riding +close beside him on his own broom, his wand still clutched in one hand. +He was close enough now to see through the illusion, though, and know +that it was Sirius, and not Death Eaters, who'd kidnapped Harry. James +immediately began a long and impressive list of obscenities, including +Muggle ones that Harry hadn't thought his father knew. + +``Don't, James,'' said Sirius, slewing the motorbike around in a +maneuver Harry wouldn't have tried on a broom, and turning them half +upside-down. He ended up facing Harry's father, holding Harry securely +in his lap. ``Little children have big ears.'' + +James snapped "\emph{Finite Incantatem!}" and the dragon illusion broke +apart and melted away. He steered the broom forward, fuming. Harry held +grimly onto the bike's handlebars. He was sure that he would fall off +before his father could rescue him, with the way Sirius was howling with +laughter, his head bent and his arms clasped around his belly. + +Just as James touched Harry's arm, a bang and a loud scream came from +the house beneath. + +James whipped his head around. Harry joined him, feeling his heart speed +into a frenzy and his magic snap into place around him. + +\emph{Connor. That was Connor.} + +James flew straight back down to the ground, shouting out obscenities +again. Sirius followed him, fast enough that Harry felt the wind sting +his ears. He clasped his godfather's hands, silently willing him to go +faster. \emph{Anything} could be happening to his brother, and he was +stuck in the air on a bike, playing a stupid joke! + +James landed first, but Harry flung himself off while Sirius was still +five feet from the ground. He rolled, taking the fall the way he'd +learned to in Quidditch, and then raced for the front door. His wand was +already in his hand. Sylarana clung to his shoulder and hissed out a +melody of complaint. + +Harry entered the kitchen just in time to see a frightened-looking house +elf vanish with a crack. A hovering mass of Connor's school books and +robes dropped to the ground with a complementary crash. + +``What happened?'' Harry asked, turning to Connor, who stood backed +against the wall, and Lily, who stood in the doorway. + +His brother shook, tried to answer, and then started crying. Harry +immediately went forward and took him in his arms. Connor clung to him, +and Harry let his tears soak the front of his jumper while he looked to +his mother for an answer. + +Lily spoke slowly and calmly. ``That house elf appeared and started +talking about how Connor couldn't go back to Hogwarts this year, that +it's too dangerous for him. Then he tried to hurt his school things. He +kept me from entering. I was afraid he would hurt Connor, if necessary, +to stop him from going back.'' She closed her eyes. Her face was white. +Harry could guess why. He'd be surprised if his wasn't the same way. + +James and Sirius came tearing in then. Lily explained the story for +them, this time adding that the house elf had called himself Dobby and +said that he belonged to a powerful pureblooded family who intended to +try and hurt Connor. + +Amid Sirius's angry growls of vengeance, and James's many scattered hugs +for both his wife and his sons, Harry held his brother, and crystallized +his rage, carefully packing down and tamping all his emotions into one +shining block of anger. + +\emph{I won't let anyone hurt you,} he promised Connor, who'd finished +crying but showed no impulse to move away from him just yet. \emph{Not +Voldemort, and not Tom Riddle, whoever he is, and not Dobby or Dobby's +family. Not Draco, if it comes to that. Not anyone,} ever. \emph{I'm so +sorry I was away today. I won't be ever again. I'll be right here.} + +He looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder, and saw his mother +staring down at him with those eyes that were mirrors of his own. + +``Watch over him,'' she whispered. ``I trust you even more than +Sirius.'' + +Harry nodded, accepting both the explicit message in her words and the +implicit one: he was forgiven for not being there today when Connor +needed him to be. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +"Come \emph{on}, Sirius! We're going to be late!" + +Harry studied his brother closely as Connor ran on ahead through King's +Cross Station, now and then turning to shout impatiently at his +godfather, who seemed determined to take his time strolling through the +Station and talking with their parents. It had been two weeks since the +incident with Dobby, and he sometimes doubted whether Connor was really +all right. He'd had his first nightmare just a few days ago, and crept +into Harry's bed for the rest of the night, much to Sylarana's +displeasure. Harry had had to stay awake the rest of the night and +entertain the Locusta to make sure she didn't bite Connor. + +But Connor seemed aglow now, running in place and dancing with +impatience when he couldn't run. Maybe it was just going back to +Hogwarts, but he'd been healed of some of his pain. + +Harry was glad of that. It gave him time to think about the vows he'd +worked out during the last days of summer, a whole new set of them to go +with the ones he'd had since he was a child, sworn to protect Connor and +stay in his shadow. + +He was \emph{not} going to act Slytherin. If Draco softened the image of +the House for him, Tom Riddle, with his endless inane conversations +during which he tried to learn more about Harry for no reason he would +state, had solidified it as one Harry would rather not belong to. And +then there was the memory of Snape, and what he'd tried to encourage +Harry to do: abandon Connor. + +Harry permitted himself a small smile. Snape had given him extra +homework over the summer to encourage his Potions talent. Harry had +learned other things from the homework, though, things that he thought +Snape wouldn't have wanted him to learn. He looked forward to employing +them in the Potions class. + +He was going to be as Gryffindor as he could. That meant not lying as +much, and walking a fine edge between encouraging Connor to do more +heroic things and apparently not encouraging Connor at all, acting like +an ordinary student. Harry was confident he could do it. The strange +attack by Dobby had given him a new resolve. Never again was he not +going to be there when Connor got attacked, and his methods last year, +all of which had relied on Slytherin cunning and deception, hadn't +worked, so he had to try new ones anyway. + +So he would get to know his brother's friends, too, Ron and Hermione and +Neville Longbottom and the other Gryffindor second-year boys, and the +half-giant Hagrid, and the Weasley twins. He would make them see him as +more mundane and less irritating and Dark than they might think him. +Then he could spend more time with Connor without anyone questioning him +about it. + +And he would put away as much of his potential Dark talent as he could. +He would ignore Tom Riddle. He would speak with Sylarana only as much as +he had to to prevent the whole school from suffering a plague of Locusta +venom. He would work on defensive magic rather than offensive. He'd +asked their mother for books on medical magic, and planned to start +studying it as soon as he could. That would be of the Light, surely, a +talent for healing and not for killing. + +Harry knew he wouldn't slip from the Light, that his commitment there +was firm. But it was important that other people \emph{see} him that +way, or he would spend all his time suspected of being Dark---and +getting noticed. + +\emph{That is very Slytherin of you,} said Sylarana, in that bored tone +she adopted when everyone in the world except Harry knew something. + +Harry ignored her. He could, without trouble, when she sounded like +that. She sounded bored more and more often. Harry hoped he would wake +up one day and find himself without her, since she would have wandered +off to more interesting pastures. + +Sylarana flexed; she was curled about the place where his right arm +joined his shoulder like a huge bracelet, and Harry could already feel +her whenever he shifted the path of his trolley a little. This was +harder, indicating her irritation. \emph{I am never going to get bored +of you. You speak with serpents. That is rare. You are} my \emph{human, +and I am going to defend you from other snakes who might try to take you +away.} + +Harry sighed. \emph{I know}, he told her in his thoughts. + +``I can't get through!'' + +Harry looked up, blinking. Connor was standing by the barrier that led +to Platform 9¾, his hands clenched at his sides. He looked back at Harry +and waited a moment until a crowd of Muggles had passed by. He was +chewing his lip, his eyebrows pulled into a frown. + +``Watch,'' he whispered. + +He stretched out an arm and ran at the barrier. His arm reflected off it +as if it were solid. + +Harry stared. The platform barrier was made to be passable to any +wizard. He'd never heard of it doing this before. + +He stepped up next to it and pushed with one hand. He couldn't feel +anything but solid brick. He turned back to his parents and Sirius, who +had noticed something was wrong and sped up a little. + +Sirius reached them first, dashed a hand into the barrier, and stared +for just a moment before smiling. "Well, I \emph{am} going to be +teaching at Hogwarts," he said, ``and it's my responsibility to insure +that all the students get there on time.'' + +``Yes, it is,'' said Lily, her eyes icy. ``That means that you have to +ride the Express. And as it's going to leave in five minutes---'' + +``Don't be so picky, Lily,'' said Sirius, holding up a placating hand. +``I meant that I have a way that Connor and Harry can get there on +time.'' He pulled out what Harry just knew was the motorbike. +Instinctively, he looked at their father. + +James wore the quiet, grave expression that made Harry pay more +attention than any of his rages. ``No tricks, Sirius,'' he said. ``I +want my boys to reach school safely.'' + +Sirius lost his smile briefly, and nodded back. ``No tricks,'' he said. +``I wouldn't take any more risks with Harry and Connor than I would with +my own sons, if I had any.'' + +``Are you sure that you're all right to drive it, Sirius?'' Lily asked. +``Your face---'' + +``Another bad night,'' said Sirius lightly, though Harry could see his +face tighten when he said it. ``I promise I'm all right to drive it, +Lily. I brought James and Remus back from our drinking bout our last +night at Hogwarts safe and sound, didn't I?'' He grinned at James. +"Drank you under the table \emph{that} time." + +``You spiked my Firewhiskey,'' said James, but he was smiling, too. He +nodded at Lily. ``Let them, love. This might be the only chance that +they ever get to ride it while Sirius is being responsible enough to +trust with them.'' He gave Sirius a stabbing glance that said he hadn't +forgotten or forgiven the fake kidnapping he'd played with Harry. Sirius +wore a half-second look of remorse before breaking back into his smile. + +``Someone might see them,'' said Lily, but Harry thought she was +wavering, not least because Connor had joined the match with a silent +pleading look. + +``The motorbike has a Disillusionment Charm,'' Sirius told her. ``And we +can follow the train once we're past the barrier,'' he added, playing +what was obviously a trump card. + +"\emph{Fine,}" said Lily, with an explosive sigh. + +Connor almost squealed and hugged her around the waist. ``Thanks, Mum!'' + +After that, it was a matter of finding a quiet corner where the Muggles +couldn't see them, shrinking Harry's and Connor's school things, and +setting Hedwig and Godric free to fly to Hogwarts. Harry asked Sylarana +if she wanted to crawl, and got nothing but an irritated squeeze in +return. Connor was bouncing up and down. + +Sirius grinned at them, restored the motorbike to its original size, and +then climbed aboard. Harry and Connor sat behind him, Harry relaxing as +he noticed the charms to keep passengers in place. + +``Bye, Mum!'' said Connor, waving frantically. ``Bye, Dad!'' + +``Goodbye, boys,'' said James, smiling at them. ``Stay safe. Don't +forget to write.'' + +``Stay safe,'' Lily echoed, and met Harry's eyes in a private message. +He inclined his head in a nod to her, and then nodded to their father, +too. + +``Enough farewells, they always depress me. Let's get flying!'' said +Sirius, and kicked the bike. + +It roared into life, and they sprang forward, then left the ground as +the Disillusionment and Silencing Charms took effect. Connor was +whooping with excitement. Harry looped his arms around his brother's +waist and held him safe and secure. + +\emph{It really will be nice, having Sirius at Hogwarts,} he thought. +\emph{Connor and I will have a better year with someone who can make him +laugh. He's going to need it when Voldemort attacks again, as I'm sure +he will.} + +Then Sirius said, ``Look back, Connor. Are your parents out of sight?'' + +``Yes,'' said Connor, an undertone of mischief creeping into his voice. + +``Good,'' said Sirius, and sent the motorbike into a faster plunge. +Connor shouted himself hoarse. Harry leaned his head forward and clung +on. + +\emph{Gryffindors, the both of them,} he thought fondly. + +\emph{Yes,} Sylarana agreed, her tone not nearly so complimentary. + +\subsection{*Chapter 4*: Snape Baiting}\label{chapter-4-snape-baiting} + +Thank you for the reviews! Responses will be in my LJ. + +I love this chapter. It's ugly, but it's true. + +\textbf{Chapter Four: Snape-Baiting} + +Sirius brought the bike lower as they came in towards Hogwarts, much to +Harry's relief. They could see the castle glittering across the lake +now, and the towers reflected in the water. Harry shielded his eyes with +one hand, until he grew used to the dazzle of spells and wards. He had +not realized until that moment what the purpose of some exercises Snape +had given him was. They had strengthened his ability to see magic. He +could make out lines of blue and green and gold that he knew hadn't been +there last year. + +``There's Hagrid!'' exclaimed Connor suddenly, and leaned off the bike +at a crazy angle to wave. ``Hagrid! Hagrid, up here!'' + +Harry looked down, even as he pulled his brother back to a firmer seat +on the bike, and saw the half-giant leading a creature out of the +Forbidden Forest. Hagrid looked up and waved, calling back to Connor, +but it was the creature next to him that caught Harry's attention. It +appeared to be a black horse, but bat-like wings spread from its +shoulders, and when it slewed its head around and looked up at them, +Harry caught a glimpse of glowing white eyes. + +"What is \emph{that}?" he managed to say, strangled. If Hagrid brought +such creatures out to play when Connor was with him, Harry had never +heard of it, and he would certainly have to reevaluate how dangerous it +was for his brother to visit the gamekeeper. Perhaps he could arrange to +go on most of the visits from now on. That would serve his own goal of +getting to know Hagrid, too. + +``What is what?'' Connor asked, this time leaning off the left side of +the bike and looking at the ground. + +``That thing next to Hagrid---'' Harry started, and then looked up and +caught Sirius's eyes. His godfather shook his head, face gone dark and +sad again. Harry blinked, then laughed. The laugh sounded forced and +shaky to his ears, but Connor turned around and looked at him +expectantly, so he said, ``Oh, it's just a tree. I thought it was +something dangerous.'' + +``Hagrid's pets aren't all that dangerous, really,'' said Connor, and +waved a final time to the half-giant as Sirius turned the bike to land +in Hogwarts's courtyard. ``Everyone thinks they are, but they're more +misunderstood.'' + +Harry kept his opinion of that to himself, and sighed in relief as the +bike touched down. Sylarana writhed on his shoulder, and then said, +\emph{I did not know that you could see thestrals.} + +Harry was sure she could see the blank incomprehension in his mind, +because she once again adopted the bored, lecturing tone. \emph{A +thestral is a creature of death and bad luck, originally. They live in +the Forbidden Forest. No one can see them who has not first seen death.} +She sounded as if she were quoting a book in that last sentence, though +Harry was not sure if snakes read books. + +\emph{I didn't}---he started, and then remembered that he had seen +Quirrell die. He shuddered. That had been a bad death, a frequent +feature of his nightmares, when he wasn't dreaming about the two dark +figures or Tom Riddle trying to cajole the answers to silly questions +out of him. He was glad that he had prevented Connor from seeing it. + +\emph{So Connor could see the thestrals if I hadn't prevented him from +watching Quirrell's death?} he asked. + +\emph{Yes}, Sylarana confirmed. \emph{Of course, he would not know what +they were, and would shriek. He is a great lump of a boy, really.} + +Harry said nothing to that. They were always going to disagree about his +brother. He climbed off the bike as Connor did so. Connor promptly began +chattering about the flight to Sirius. Harry looked around. They seemed +to have arrived before the majority of the students, as he couldn't see +any of the carriages pulling up yet. + +\emph{In fact, that was probably where Hagrid was taking the thestrals,} +he realized abruptly. \emph{They probably pull the carriages that the +older students take.} + +Feeling pleased with himself for having figured it out, Harry turned +back to watch Sirius restore their school things to normal size, and +then stopped. A dark figure stood near the castle wall, staring at them. + +Harry thought it was one of the two shapes from his dream, for a moment. +Then it straightened and took a step forward, and he recognized it. + +\emph{Professor Snape.} + +Harry wondered what to say, what to do. He had his battle plans for +facing Snape, but most of them depended on specific scenarios and +places, such as the Potions classroom or during detention. He hesitated, +and in that moment Snape revealed himself with a lazy drawl. + +``Black. I suppose that Potter hired you to bring in our arrogant +celebrity, who is clearly too good to ride the Express with the rest of +the commoners?'' + +Sirius shot around as though a bee had stung him, and Harry saw a fierce +gladness in his eyes. Here was someone to rouse him from mourning about +Daphne Marchbanks, or whoever had come after her. He was grinning, but +it was not the kind of grin he used in his mock-fights with James and +Remus. ``Snivellus!'' he called. ``Good to see you. It was good of +Dumbledore to turn out a welcoming committee for us, even if it's just +one greasy-haired git.'' + +Snape strode forward now, his robes billowing around him. His eyes had +found Harry, and he stared at him even though the words that followed +were clearly addressed to Sirius. ``As you know, Black, it is against +the rules for students to arrive at the school by any means other than +the Hogwarts Express. I can and will take points from Mr. Potter. +Gryffindor will begin the year in negative points.'' He smirked. Harry +folded his arms and glared. That just made Snape's smirk grow wider. +Connor looked too astonished to protest, his mouth simply gaping open. + +``That's where you're wrong, Professor Snivellus the Sneery,'' said +Sirius cheerfully. ``I'm going to be helping Madam Hooch with the +Quidditch matches this year. That means that I'm technically a +professor, and can take away points, too---and give them out.'' He +glanced at Connor and smiled. ``Ten points to Gryffindor for being in a +House without a bunch of slimy snakes,'' he said. + +Harry was watching Snape, and saw his face go dark with rage. He edged +away. He didn't think that he wanted to be in the middle of a contest of +insults as foul as this one was about to become. He wanted to put his +school things in his room and then slip back into the Sorting Feast +without attracting any attention. Draco, doubtless, would badger him +with questions if he were late. + +That movement, unfortunately, drew Snape's attention. ``Potter,'' he +said, his narrowed eyes saying that he hadn't forgotten the end of last +year. ``Come with me. There are matters that we must discuss before the +school year begins, you and I.'' + +``No can do,'' said Sirius, still with a manic grin on his face. ``I +need to take both Connor and Harry to the Headmaster. He'll want to see +and hear that they've arrived safe and sound.'' + +``I am the boy's Head of House,'' said Snape, his hiss a rival to +Slytherin's mascot. + +\emph{But not to me,} said Sylarana smugly from under Harry's jumper. +\emph{No one hisses better than I do.} + +"But \emph{I'm} his godfather," said Sirius, He shot out an arm and +grabbed Harry's shoulder, pulling him in close against his body. Harry +stumbled and then turned to make sure he could draw his wand, should he +need it. Snape's fury was such that he thought he might. "And I don't +intend to let you hound him and ride him like you were doing last year, +either, Snivellus. Harry should have been in \emph{Gryffindor.} He'll +take lessons in courage and fairness from me, since he's hardly going to +learn them with your little vipers." + +Harry blinked, then relaxed. This was special treatment he would hardly +have dared to ask for, since Sirius was here to protect Connor, but he +would welcome it. Sirius was actually going to watch out for him, not +just protect him from the Dark if he noticed Harry backsliding. Harry +was relieved. It made his plan to act like a Gryffindor this year much +easier. + +Snape didn't say anything. Harry thought that might be a good sign at +first, an indication of his bewilderment in the face of such a sudden +assault, but when Snape spoke in a voice almost too soft to be heard, he +realized it was a very bad one. Other people shouted when they were +deeply angry. Snape whispered. + +``Shall we make a bet, Black? Shall we make a wager? I recall +Gryffindors to have been rather fond of them, in such days when I +noticed anything about them other than their overwhelming incompetence +at Potions.'' + +``Professor Snape,'' began Connor, and he sounded nervous now, as if he +could sense that a bet between professors might be bad for the school. +Harry was proud of him for showing such concern, but he suspected that +both men were too far gone to pay attention to the Boy-Who-Lived, and he +was right. + +``Of course,'' said Sirius at once. ``What bet? And what stakes? They +should be fair, Snivellus, since I recall Slytherins to have been rather +fond of cheating, myself.'' His eyes shone. + +``By the end of the year,'' said Snape, nodding at Harry, ``I would +wager that this Potter twin will have acted more Slytherin than +Gryffindor, that he will have learned more from me than you will ever +teach him.'' He paused, and Harry could almost see him debating as to +whether what he would say next was a good idea. But the imagined sound +of the words was too attractive, apparently. ``And I will wager,'' Snape +whispered, his voice on the edge of hearing, ``that Harry Potter is the +true Boy-Who-Lived.'' + +Sirius burst out laughing. Harry could hear the dog's voice in his, and +cringed. He knew, then, that Sirius was not going to resist the worst +words he could speak, either. + +``I'll take that bet, Snivellus, since there's no way I can lose,'' said +Sirius, and put out a hand. Snape clasped it. Both men shook their hands +off afterwards, as if to remove an invisible film of grease. Harry might +have found that part amusing if he wasn't in such shock. ``Connor's the +Boy-Who-Lived, I know it,'' Sirius continued. ``And Harry was always +more Gryffindor than Slytherin. I don't know why the Sorting Hat decided +he should be placed in your hissing House, but he'll be free of it +before the end of the year.'' He paused. ``And what are the stakes if +one of us loses?'' + +``I will not try to influence Mr. Potter again,'' said Snape. ``I will +support his transfer to Gryffindor House myself.'' + +Sirius nodded. ``Accepted.'' + +``And if you lose,'' Snape said, ``then you will step aside as Potter's +godfather, and relinquish all control of him.'' + +Sirius stopped smiling. "That is \emph{not} accepted." + +``Your stake matches my own,'' Snape said. He paused, then, and taunted, +``What are you afraid of? Not losing the bet, I hope?'' + +Sirius again jerked as if stung, and shook his head furiously. ``Not at +all,'' he said. ``I should have known you were the kind of bastard who +would try to separate a boy from his godfather, Snape.'' He bared his +teeth, and all the amusement was gone from his voice. ``You're on.'' + +``Stop it!'' + +Harry blinked. Connor had darted out to stand between the two men, +staring from one to the other of them. His dark hair had been mussed, as +though he'd raked a hand through it. His fists were clenched in front of +him now, and his eyes blazed with a force that Harry thought would have +made James step back from him. + +``You don't have the right to do that!'' Connor said. "He's standing +right there. You can't make bets about him as if he were---as if he were +a \emph{thing}, a Galleon!" He turned around and glared at Sirius. ``How +could you do that?'' + +Sirius knelt down, instead of exploding or trying to defend himself with +bluster, the way Harry had expected. His face was grave, and that +probably restrained Connor's tongue, too. Harry even found himself +leaning forward to hear what his godfather would say. + +``You don't understand where the rivalry between Slytherin and +Gryffindor comes from, Connor,'' Sirius said gently. ``We're good. +They're scared of being good. They have to hide from the light, because +otherwise it blinds them, destroys them, like snakes or cockroaches.'' +Harry heard Snape suck in a breath, but Sirius went right on talking. +``Snape wants to turn Harry into a cockroach like him, teach him the +Dark Arts and make him a Dark wizard. I'm going to make sure that that +doesn't happen. Don't worry, Connor. We won't lose Harry. And we'll make +sure that the Slytherins are sorry that they ever tried to harm someone +who's a Gryffindor, even if he sleeps in the wrong room and goes to the +wrong classes.'' His smiled widened across his face, and he clapped +Connor on the shoulder. + +Connor glanced back at Harry. His eyes showed uncertainty. Harry could +understand why. Connor had suspected him of being a Dark wizard last +year, given his attempts to lie and his temper and his powerful magic. +It only made sense, in the words Sirius was speaking, that someone like +that had a greater chance of being lost to Slytherin than someone like +Connor. Of course his brother would see that they needed to guard Harry, +put that way. + +And a bet would be a way to humiliate the Slytherins for ever thinking +that they could take Connor's brother away from him. + +Harry understood all that. + +The odd thing was that he found \emph{himself} wanting to protest, to +say that not all Slytherins were like that, that Snape had healed the +damage he'd taken from \emph{Crucio} last year, that Draco's family had +gotten him a broom for his birthday. + +But he couldn't say any of that. Connor still didn't know about the +broom, since Harry had decided it would only cause trouble and kept it +packed away. Snape's healing had been followed by his giving Harry +Veritaserum, which Harry knew he couldn't forgive. And if he thought +Sirius was wrong about Slytherin\ldots{} + +That only showed how little he knew, didn't it? It only showed how +deeply the Snake House had already gotten its fangs hooked into him. +Harry closed his eyes and shook his head. + +\emph{This is a gift. This is the excuse I was looking for to be more +Gryffindor. I} have \emph{to become that way, or the Slytherins will +corrupt me. And I can't let that happen. I'm no good to Connor if I'm +Dark, or if I'm thought to be.} + +His breathing relaxed. He opened his eyes and managed to smile at +Sirius. + +\emph{You are such a fool,} said Sylarana. \emph{There is food in the +castle. I can smell it. And you are standing out here, talking.} + +Snape hissed. For one wild moment, Harry thought he must have heard +Sylarana, but then he realized that Snape had been waiting to see how +Harry would react to what Sirius had said. + +``I will destroy you, Black,'' Snape whispered. ``You will never see it +coming, what will happen to deprive you of the rewards you expected to +win. You will be, in the end, as ground down under my heel as a +flobberworm is. And in the end, crawling on the ground, crying and +screaming out to the stars, you will know this moment as the beginning +of your end.'' + +Harry had never seen such sheer hatred on anyone's face as was on +Snape's when he looked at Sirius---except last year, when their parents +had come to the Slytherin-Gryffindor Quidditch match and Snape had +glared at James that way. + +And then, in a flash, he understood. He wondered how he could \emph{not} +have understood it before, or excused it. + +``You hate my godfather,'' he said quietly. Snape turned and looked at +him, but did not relax the glare on his face. Harry had not really +expected him to. "You hate our father. Of course you're going to do +this. It doesn't really matter to you, whether I act more Slytherin than +Gryffindor. What matters is that I'm \emph{Sirius Black's godson}, and +\emph{James Potter's son}, and \emph{the brother of the Boy-Who-Lived.} +You're only making this bet to get back at people who've wronged you, in +real or imagined ways." Harry paused, thought about trying to articulate +everything that he was feeling, and in the end shook his head. ``You +don't care,'' he said, and was startled to hear a wistful tone in his +voice. Had he \emph{wanted} Snape to care? + +\emph{Maybe}, he answered that part of himself, and lifted his head to +meet Snape's eyes. ``You don't care anything about one student acting +Slytherin or Gryffindor,'' he repeated. ``You care about revenge.'' He +shrugged. ``I can't do anything to stop you from making the bet, or +trying to fulfill it, but I can refuse to go along with you.'' + +Snape's face was wiped clean of all expression. Harry knew by the slight +widening of the professor's eyes, though, that Snape had received his +silent message. Harry wasn't referring just to resisting whatever Snape +tried to do to him in the name of making him more Slytherin. He was +referring to the private dueling lessons that Snape had given him last +year, and the extra Potions work Snape had had him do in class, and +trying to win games on the Slytherin Quidditch team, and everything else +where Snape had blackmailed Harry into doing what he wanted. + +First it had been threats against Harry's free time, and then against +Connor's. That wouldn't work anymore, Harry thought, oddly detached, as +he watched Snape's face. Oh, Snape would put Connor into detention, no +doubt. But detention was a small price compared to the devastation +Connor would feel if Harry became a Slytherin. + +He thought of Draco, then, and winced. But that was on the same order of +things, really. He would hurt Draco when he turned away from him. Draco +would scream and rage and demand explanations. And Harry could tell him +the truth. + +Connor came first. Connor would always come first. Harry had thought, +someday, that he would regret the friendship he was forming with Draco, +and he now had cause to regret it. Yes, he didn't really want to hurt +Draco, but he wanted to hurt Connor even less. + +``I choose you, brother,'' Harry told Connor, not caring that everyone, +even his brother, was staring at him. He didn't have any responsibility +to be a respectful student, or someone who didn't say things that made +other people uncomfortable. He had \emph{every} right to be what he was +born to be, his brother's protector. This was merely the first public +declaration of his allegiance. ``I choose Gryffindor, and all the things +that you love and value.'' + +Connor's face lit like the sunrise. Harry basked in it, and didn't turn +to take in Snape's expression. He knew that he wouldn't see anything +valuable there. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Snape had never been in such a foul mood, and he knew it. + +\emph{Now if only the recipient of said foul mood knew it, too.} + +Harry Potter gave no sign that he knew he'd displeased Snape. He gave no +sign that he knew he'd displeased Draco, even, and last year the brat +had responded to Draco when he responded to no one else. Draco was +sulking because Harry refused to spend time alone with him, and sought +out his brother instead. He had had a screaming match with Harry in the +corridor last week, just after Snape released the second-year Slytherins +and Gryffindors from their first Potions class. Snape had watched. Harry +had kept walking, his gaze fixed straight ahead, no sign of strain in +his posture. It \emph{must} be a strain on him, but he showed no sign of +that. He made his resistance to Draco's pleas look effortless, and that +just drove Draco into more and more angry displays. + +\emph{Or tearful ones.} Snape grimaced. \emph{If I never have to spend +another evening in my office while the Malfoy heir rants at me about a +Potter} ignoring \emph{him, then it will be too soon.} + +Harry had not come, once, to Snape for dueling lessons. He had suffered +pranks from his roommates, and never retaliated; he came to breakfast in +the Great Hall with boils growing on his face, or hair on the palms of +his hands, and calmly ignored the laughter. It had grown less frequent +this week. Snape had had the deep displeasure of listening to the +second-year Gryffindors, who included Ron Weasley, agreeing that anyone +who could take a joke like that wasn't half-bad, and they ought to +encourage Harry to come up to the Tower sometime. + +And Harry no longer did the work Snape wanted him to do in Potions +class. + +Snape had realized he had made a mistake the first time Harry looked up, +green eyes wide and innocent and perfectly clear, over a perfectly-made +Hair-Changing Potion---which should have been a perfectly-made potion +that would help the victims of the Cruciatus Curse recover from their +shaking. In fact, he had made several mistakes, and the first of them +was giving Harry extra homework over the summer. Harry had learned how +to turn one potion into another with the addition of a very few +ingredients. He didn't make noisy mistakes. He made quiet ones, and then +widened his eyes and suggested that the potion would \emph{work}, just +not the way that it should have, had he followed the original +instructions. + +The potions were always perfect. + +That only enraged Snape further. + +He assigned Harry to work with Neville Longbottom. That was another +mistake. He had intended to frustrate Harry, condemning him to work more +slowly and with the chance of singing off his eyebrows or melting +through his cauldron in every class. Harry had happily trooped off to +the other side of the classroom, however, and was soon instructing +Neville in whispers and patiently coaxing him through his mistakes. +Neville's potions improved, Harry did second-year work instead of the +advanced work Snape had planned on instructing him in, and he sat among +the Gryffindors, who now appeared to close ranks around him and bristle +slightly whenever Snape came near. + +By the end of the second week of the school year, Snape's colleagues had +taken to avoiding him. Sirius Black, of course, grinned from a distance, +and Minerva now and then looked at him as if asking why in the world +Snape had made such a ridiculous bet, but none of them willingly shared +a conversation or even a meal with him, eating quickly and leaving the +Great Hall as soon as possible. Snape knew he spent too much time +glaring at the Slytherin table, and the stubborn boy who had managed to +defy him as he had never been defied before. The only exception, the +only possible outlet for his rage, was that fool Gilderoy Lockhart, who +made ceaseless conversation about himself and never seemed to notice +Snape's insults---and whom it was not permissible for Snape to hex. + +Something had to give. Something would crack. + +Snape did not know what it would be yet, but he was determined to +\emph{find} the weakness, and exploit it. No twelve-year-old boy was as +competent at defending himself from insults as Harry seemed to be. No +student could consistently stand up to his professor like this and get +away with it. + +He found the weakness during the third week of school. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Snape was patrolling the corridors near the dungeons---something he +trusted not even the Slytherin prefects to do properly---when he heard a +low, continuous, disturbing sound. It made his spine stiffen with +memories of some of the stranger curses performed during the Dark Lord's +reign. He gripped his wand and eased around the corner, pressing his +shoulders flat to the stone. + +Harry Potter knelt on the floor not far from the Slytherin common room, +hissing at a black-and-golden snake that Snape recognized in instants as +a Locusta. Not far from him lay a broom finer than any the school +possessed. + +Snape lingered a moment, to absorb the scene and savor his triumph. The +snake hissed back at Harry, whose face became a grimace. He shook his +head and said something else in the snake-tongue, then sighed and +reached out to stroke the serpent's back. She accepted his touch, +something Snape had thought was impossible for a Locusta, and even +twined under his fingers, as if enjoying it. + +\emph{The boy is a Parselmouth.} + +Snape felt victory like ripe fruit in his mouth. He had only to bite +into it. + +And the broom---it was obviously Harry's. Harry had given no indication +that he possessed it, and certainly not to Marcus Flint, who would have +found some means of insuring that a member of the Slytherin Quidditch +team rode it, even if Harry refused to participate. So far as Snape +knew, Harry had not yet informed Flint of his decision not to play. + +\emph{And now he never will.} + +Snape stepped out of hiding. Harry whipped his head up and stared, +caught. Snape let his smirk widen across his mouth. The Locusta turned +and hissed at him, but when Harry hissed something else in a commanding +tone, she twined up his arm. Harry bowed his head and rose slowly to his +feet. + +``What do you want, Professor Snape?'' he asked. + +``I want to know things,'' Snape said quietly. \emph{Never let it be +said that I rush my revenge.} ``Why are you outside your common room?'' + +Harry looked up again, and this time there was a spark of hope in his +eyes, as though he hoped he might get away with this. ``Because I go +flying at night, sir,'' he said, and indicated the broom next to him. +``I just---need to relieve the pressure.'' + +Snape nodded gravely. The admission was sweet to him. + +And it was only a taste of the promises he would now extract from Harry. +Snape felt near giddy with excitement and power. He pushed back the +feelings, though. The last thing he wanted to do now was distract +himself and let the chance slip past him. + +``And why were you talking to a snake?'' + +``She introduced herself over the summer,'' said Harry, and gave a sort +of helpless shrug. ``She's a Locusta. Her name's Sylarana. She said that +she would bite Connor if I didn't take care of her, and since then she's +threatened to bite other people. So long as I take care of her, she +doesn't.'' + +Snape felt a faint shadow touch his good mood; of course the boy would +have sacrificed himself to save his witless brother. But he pushed it +away. Harry was still--- + +``You are a Parselmouth,'' he whispered. + +Harry nodded. ``I know it's a potentially Dark talent, sir.'' + +``Yes,'' said Snape, and paused a long moment. ``And one that you would +give a great deal to keep concealed, yes?'' + +Harry stepped away from him, putting his back to the wall in turn. His +magic was rising around him. Snape was glad that he had strengthened his +shields. The exercises he had assigned Harry over the summer had worked +almost too well. His power was tremendous now, leaping easily to his +call. Snape wondered if Harry had yet noticed that he was reaching for +magic more and more often, something that the seemingly harmless +homework had made him used to. + +``If you reveal this---'' Harry began. + +Snape shrugged. ``You seem Dark,'' he said. ``Slytherin.'' He paused. +``And I win the bet. Do you imagine that your godfather and your brother +will take you back when they find out you can speak with serpents, just +as Voldemort can?'' + +Harry snarled at him, and for a moment the pressure of his magic broke +through Snape's shields. Snape calmed his breathing and hoped that the +strain of fighting the agony in his head didn't show. + +Harry was caught, though, and he knew it. He dipped his chin and looked +away after a moment. ``What do you want?'' His voice was strangled. + +``Two things,'' said Snape. ``In return, I keep two secrets: that you +are a Parselmouth and that you fly outside the school.'' + +Harry stared at him, calculating, then nodded. ``That sounds fair.'' + +Snape bit his cheek to restrain a delighted edge to his sneer. The boy +spoke like a Gryffindor, but he reasoned like a Slytherin. He would win +the bet with Black, after all. A dazzling rush of much-deserved good +fortune had come on him tonight. + +``The first,'' said Snape, ``is that you will play on the Slytherin +Quidditch team, and that you will use that broom.'' + +Harry nodded slowly. ``And the other?'' + +``That you will repair your friendships with your Housemates, or at +least with Draco Malfoy,'' said Snape. ``Such resentments and rivalries +could turn out to be deadly to our success on the Quidditch field.'' + +Harry stared at him. Snape knew that he didn't understand. He would have +expected Snape to ask him to let Snape win the bet with Black, or to +stop making mistakes in Potions class. + +What he didn't know was that neither of those would have worked half as +well for the professor's ultimate goals. Snape intended to win the bet +with Black on his own efforts, more subtle ones, that Harry would not +see well enough to oppose. And there was nothing particularly Slytherin +about a talent for Potions, though it would make Snape grind his teeth +to see such a talent go to waste. + +Forcing Harry back onto the Quidditch team and into the company of his +Housemates would increase his Slytherin tendencies. It had worked last +year. + +And that would help Snape win the bet. + +Harry bit his lip. It was obvious he wasn't happy, but he slowly nodded. +``All right, then. And you'll keep the secret that I'm a Parselmouth, +and you'll let me fly at night.'' + +Snape nodded back. ``I am not surprised that you need to fly at night,'' +he added delicately, as he turned away. ``Fighting what you truly are +surely requires a good deal of effort on your part.'' + +He could feel Harry's eyes on his back, but he didn't turn around. He +also resisted the temptation to put a spring in his walk until he was +around the corridor. + +He was winning. He would plant doubts in Harry's mind and draw him back +to his own Slytherin qualities with stratagems too subtle to resist. The +direct approach did not work with Harry. It had to be the indirect one. +He would win the bet with Black, and put one over on two men he hated. + +\emph{And the boy is a Parselmouth.} + +Snape could not restrain a shiver that he told himself was more +excitement than fear. The Dark Lord had been a Parselmouth as well, +true. + +\emph{But this simply marks the boy as Slytherin---beyond all question, +Slytherin. When he finally takes his place as the Boy-Who-Lived, he will +be} ours. \emph{No one will dare call him a Gryffindor then.} + +\subsection{*Chapter 5*: Like A +Gryffindor}\label{chapter-5-like-a-gryffindor} + +Thanks again for the reviews! It seems I'm making people \emph{feel} a +lot more with this story than I ever expected to. Review responses will +be up in my LJ in a short time. + +Um. Yeah. This chapter is entirely new. It was not in the original +outline. I hope it works, since it's just ripped the story in the +direction of Harry being more disturbed than I ever thought possible. +Here we go. + +\textbf{Chapter Five: Like a Gryffindor} + +"\emph{How could you let him do that to you?"} + +Harry shook his head and closed his eyes as he leaned on the wall of the +common room. There were two seventh-years asleep on one of the couches, +drooling on each other. He hoped they didn't wake up. He didn't think he +could explain the broom in his hand, nor the snake hissing questions +from his shoulder, nor the swimming confusion in his own head. + +How \emph{had} Snape caught him? Why hadn't Harry come up with some way +to resist Snape's insinuations? + +"\emph{I know,}" Sylarana announced, making Harry jump. + +``How?'' he asked, once again checking the seventh-years. They didn't +look any closer to waking up. Harry relaxed a bit. He preferred the +moments when he didn't have to worry about whether he was speaking +English or Parseltongue. + +"\emph{You aren't sleeping well enough.}" + +Harry blinked at nothing, then shook his head and made for his bedroom, +despite the fact that he would have to stop talking to Sylarana aloud +when he reached it. Blaise was a light sleeper, and Draco would probably +attempt to ask him where he'd been, unless he gave up in disgust as he +had the last few nights. Harry knew his friendship with the Malfoy heir +was dissolving. He was pleased. + +\emph{I} am \emph{pleased}, he thought. \emph{Just not happy. And I +don't want to have this conversation with Sylarana.} + +"\emph{Think about it,}" she said, poking her head out from under his +sleeve to look up at him. Her eyes actually shone in the dim light of +the common room, which Harry found unnerving. "\emph{You spend your +dreams staring at dark figures who do nothing interesting, or talking to +the equally boring Tom Riddle. Then you wake up and you fly, or you +practice spells, or you talk to me.}" + +``I'd be happy to stop talking to you,'' Harry muttered as he reached +his door. He touched it lightly with his fingertips, but didn't open it +yet. He did want to say these next words aloud, for emphasis. ``And I +need the flying. It's the only thing that's keeping me---grounded for +right now.'' He pushed the door open. + +\emph{An interesting way of putting it,} Sylarana said, her voice +retreating into his mind as she sank into his skin. \emph{I know you're +happy when you fly. And that is why you will join the Quidditch team. +Then you will be happier, and you will sleep better, and I will not have +to spend all my time talking you away from a precipice. And there will +be flying. I like flying, but not when you are so tired that you are +like this.} + +``I'm not tired,'' Harry whispered as he made his way between the beds, +ignoring the risk of waking someone up. Vince and Greg's rumbling snores +said they weren't going to wake, and Blaise and Draco had the curtains +on their beds drawn. ``I'll be fine. These weeks are hard, but I knew +they would be. I just have to keep going until I can---'' + +``Until you can what, Harry?'' + +Harry nearly leaped out of his robes. Draco's curtains were open after +all, just on the side next to Harry's bed instead of Blaise's. He had +his wand out, with a \emph{Lumos} spell glowing steadily on the end, and +he was staring at Harry. + +Harry shrugged at him and shrank the broom with a tap of his wand. Then +he reached for his trunk. He would put on his pyjamas, and lie on the +bed, and close his eyes. Eventually, he would sleep. If Tom Riddle was +there, he would deal with him. Sylarana was silly to worry. + +\emph{If you're going to be all stupid and silly, then you should have +let me bite him,} Sylarana sulked. \emph{Then he couldn't tell anyone +that you speak to serpents. Though I don't understand why you wouldn't +want to tell anyone. They would all be charmed to find out that such a +beautiful snake deigns to talk to you.} + +``No, Harry.'' + +Harry looked up. Draco had gripped his arm where it rested on the trunk. +His face was slightly flushed, his hair mussed. Harry supposed he'd been +sleeping before he heard the door open. + +As he had for the past three weeks whenever Draco tried to cajole a +response out of him, Harry fixed his eyes on a point past Draco's left +shoulder and waited with a bored expression for him to give up. + +The force of Draco's punch sent him reeling back, crashing through his +curtains and sitting down on his own bed. Sylarana hissed in agitation, +and Harry put one hand down on his arm, hoping to calm her. + +\emph{It's not that bad,} he said, lifting his other hand to feel his +face. And it wasn't. One cheek was bruised, and he'd probably have a +faint black eye, but the hexes had been worse. He could bear far worse +pain. It only took an effort of will. + +\emph{You are only saying that because you are stupid and silly with +lack of sleep,} Sylarana said, but at least she wasn't slithering down +his arm anymore. + +``We're having this out now, Harry,'' said Draco, and climbed into the +bed beside him. Before Harry could object, he drew the curtains, then +cast a Silencing Charm and another one Harry didn't know, but which +caused a pink tracing of light in the air that he recognized from Malfoy +Manor. Some kind of ward, then, he surmised as Draco turned to face him. + +``No one is going to bother us,'' said Draco. ``And you're not going to +sleep until you answer me.'' + +Harry shrugged and stared at the curtains. He could wait. + +\emph{No, you can't,} said Sylarana sharply. \emph{Answer him, so you +can go to sleep, and I can go to sleep, and we can stop all this +nonsense. It is making my scales dull.} She paused suggestively. +\emph{Biting an annoying pureblood wizard might put the shine back on +them.} + +Harry sighed and met Draco's eyes. Snape had ordered him to make up his +friendships, after all. The trick would be doing it on the outside while +leaving the core hollow. ``What do you want, Draco?'' he asked. + +"I want to know what the \emph{fuck} is going on," said Draco, his voice +all the more impressive for being low, level, almost conversational. He +moved his wand so that Harry could see only his face, all piercing gray +eyes and set jaw. "I want to know why the \emph{fuck} you're ignoring me +and acting like a---like a Gryffindor. I was your friend all last year, +Harry. We spent Christmas together." He paused, then said, wielding the +words like a whip, ``You accepted a life debt from me. That creates a +bond between wizards. I deserve an answer.'' + +Harry winced. He had hoped that Draco would not bring that up. He +hadn't, so far. It was considered bad manners to mention a life debt +once the one under it had fulfilled his obligations. + +And then, as if borne on the singing of a phoenix, the answer came to +him. + +Here was a way out of Snape's blackmail, and to grow closer to Connor at +the same time. He had been deceiving Draco about the real causes of his +sudden uninterest in him---which was something a Slytherin would do, and +something he had sworn he would stop doing. And he had concealed his +Parseltongue talent, too, and that would give Snape something else to +hold over him. + +\emph{He thinks I'm like a Gryffindor?} Harry smiled, and saw from the +blink and the sudden mild falter in Draco's face that said he didn't +know what was happening. That didn't matter, as Harry was about to +explain it to him. \emph{Then I'll behave like one. I should have from +the beginning. I said that I would, and I didn't. I fell right back into +Slytherin lying, Slytherin deception, Slytherin manipulation.} + +\emph{Time to show who I really am.} + +``You're right, Draco,'' Harry said calmly. ``I should have told you +from the beginning what I'm doing and why I'm doing it.'' He met Draco's +eyes. He could do it more easily now that the wand, and thus the +\emph{Lumos} spell, had drifted a bit away from Draco's face in his +befuddlement. ``I'm sorry. Will you accept my apology?'' He held out his +hand. + +Draco clasped it, still staring at him. Harry shrugged, feeling innocent +and free of burdens, almost ready to laugh. Was this how Gryffindors +felt all the time, when they acted with clean consciences? He envied +them more than he ever had, if so. + +\emph{That's the lack of sleep talking,} Sylarana informed him +haughtily. \emph{Their mascot is not a snake. Therefore, they are +deprived, not blessed.} + +``So. Why?'' Draco asked. + +Harry realized he had sat in silence for a moment, and Draco might think +he was going back on his resolve to tell him. He hastened ahead. "I want +to be closer to Connor. I don't really want to be a Slytherin. I'm tired +of having my brother think that I'm a Dark wizard, that I don't support +him or that I'm going to wake up one morning and say \emph{Avada +Kedavra} to him. My duty is to protect him, Draco. It always was." That +last was a risk, since he had promised their mother to keep \emph{that} +secret---there were too many people outside the family who wouldn't +understand the importance of Harry's mission and might try to stop him +from doing it---but Draco knew that, or could guess it, from having seen +what Harry had done last year. + +Draco's face went ashen, and then pink with anger. Harry nodded. He had +expected this. It would be much easier, and in the end much less painful +for the both of them, if he let Draco's rage sever their friendship. + +``If Connor thinks you're Dark, that's his bloody problem,'' Draco said, +leaning close enough that Harry felt spittle hit his cheek. Sylarana +made a prim comment from under his jumper that Harry didn't bother +paying attention to. "I \emph{know} you're not, Harry. And I \emph{know} +that you're a Slytherin. And I don't \emph{care} that you want to +protect him more than you want anything else. You're not losing me as a +friend, Harry." + +Harry blinked. Somehow, acting like a Gryffindor wasn't going the way he +had planned. + +``But, Draco,'' he said, ``it's not fair to you. Don't you see? You +shouldn't have a friend who thinks of you as second best to his brother. +You should have an equal friendship. Besides,'' he added gently, +stirring in a truth he had learned last year, ``I know that you're +mostly fascinated with my magic, for whatever reason, and maybe with how +a Potter ended up in Slytherin. You'll get bored of that someday. It's +not enough to build a friendship on. I'm surprised you haven't got tired +of me already, that this matters to you so much.'' + +Draco sat there for a moment, chest heaving. Harry had the impression he +was trying to speak, and that anger was stifling his words. + +``Has it occurred to you,'' he finally said, sounding the most like his +father that Harry had ever heard him, ``that your two statements there +are contradictory?'' + +Harry shook his head. ``No, they aren't---'' + +``Yes, they are.'' Draco was holding Harry's arm, luckily not the one +that cradled Sylarana, hard enough to hurt. Now he shook it, sending +vibrations all the way up to Harry's shoulder. ``If you think I'm only +fascinated with you, that I don't like you at all, you shouldn't care +about my feelings. They'd be only the rantings of a spoiled child who's +had his favorite toy taken away. And you do care how I feel. You care +that your tie to Connor might put me second best.'' He tilted his head +like a hawk, or his eagle-owl, and made Harry feel transparent with the +way he stared at him. ``That means I matter to you, Harry. That was all +I wanted to know. I'm staying your friend.'' + +Harry shifted his hand to intertwine his fingers with Draco's. ``It's +not fair to you,'' he said. + +``I'll choose what's fair,'' said Draco. "And I think fair is your +apologizing to the rest of our House, and---and doing whatever you have +to do to prove that you're some kind of bloody Gryffindor-Slytherin +hybrid, whatever you are. It doesn't matter. I \emph{know} you're +Slytherin, so your little missteps along the path to reality don't +concern me." He smiled. It wasn't quite like any smile Harry had seen +from him before. ``You're being honest with me, telling me that Connor +matters more to you than I do. I know that. I accept that. I'm still +here. And Connor means more to you than the whole bloody world does, so +I'm hardly in a unique position.'' He leaned back, smiling easily, not +letting go of Harry's hand. ``Besides,'' he added, ``I want to be there +when you wake up to the fact that you're a Slytherin, and that Connor +might not be the most important thing in the world after all. Should +cause a big fucking bang, shouldn't it?'' Now he looked like a child +anticipating sweets for Christmas. + +Harry stared steadily at him. ``That's never going to happen, Draco.'' + +``Yes, it will.'' + +``No, it won't.'' + +``Yes, it will.'' + +``No, it w---'' Harry cut himself off. He was acting like a child, in +Merlin's name. He sighed. ``I'm tired,'' he admitted. + +``I know,'' said Draco, and didn't let go of his hand. ``You're always +creeping about at night. What do you do?'' + +Harry started to tell him, but ended up yawning. Draco let go of his +hand at once, and nodded to him. ``I'll let you sleep. But I expect some +answers in the morning, Harry Bloody Potter.'' + +He released his ward and his Charm on the curtains, and slipped off to +his own bed, leaving Harry to blink at the ceiling of the four-poster. +Then he shook his head, and went to slip into his pyjamas. + +\emph{I can sense what you're going to do tomorrow,} said Sylarana. +\emph{I heartily approve. It is time that you stopped letting these +silly children with their even sillier fears control you.} + +\emph{Snape's not a child,} Harry felt compelled to point out. + +\emph{He's an idiot. Let me bite him.} + +\emph{No.} + +Harry kept up that steady argument until he managed to reach his bed and +fall asleep. He felt Sylarana's presence slithering into his mind. He +waited, in that brief half-moment of consciousness, for the nightmare +dark figures, or Tom Riddle. + +Neither came. For once, he slept soundly. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Harry leaned in through the doors of the Great Hall and checked the +House tables one more time. He nodded to himself. He didn't think every +student was there yet, since it was only halfway through breakfast, but +the tables hummed with noise and there were few empty places. +Conscientious students and early risers would be leaving soon. Even +better, all the professors were there, including Sirius. This was the +best chance he'd have. + +He strode in, and made his way towards the middle of the room instead of +towards the Slytherin table. More and more people turned to watch him as +he went, and the buzz of conversation died a bit, then altered. Most of +the people who were talking about him seemed puzzled. + +\emph{You don't have long to wait,} Harry promised them, and halted in +the dead center of the Great Hall, between the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff +tables. He turned to face Connor, who was staring at him with his mouth +half-open, full of food. Harry smiled despite himself. His brother was +being disgusting. + +His brother was a twelve-year-old boy. + +His brother was the Boy-Who-Lived, and he deserved to know some things +about Harry now. + +``Good morning,'' Harry started. His voice hushed most of the +conversations in an instant, and now everyone was staring at him +goggle-eyed. Harry stiffened his muscles against the pressure of a +thousand eyes and carried on. ``I'm glad that you're all here, since I +would have hated to make this announcement to just one person.'' + +He looked straight at Connor and extended his arm. \emph{Are you ready, +Sylarana?} + +\emph{They are all going to get to admire me?} she asked, with a +languorous slide to the last few words. + +\emph{They are.} + +\emph{Then I am ready.} + +She slithered out of his sleeve and coiled about his wrist, showing +herself off to dazzling advantage; the Great Hall's ceiling mimicked the +sunny day outside, and beamed off her scales. There came gasps from the +people nearest Harry. He couldn't tell if they were gasps of wonder or +fear. Most likely both, though he thought the latter emotion would come +from Sylarana being a snake. He doubted that many of the students knew +what a Locusta was. + +He darted a glance at the staff table, and saw from the dropped jaws and +staring eyes that most of the professors did indeed recognize a Locusta, +and had no idea what was happening. + +Harry couldn't take the chance that one of them would interrupt him, but +he did manage to savor Snape's thunderstruck expression for a moment +before he turned back to his brother. He was breathing slightly faster +now, a consequence of all the people staring at him, but he knew he +could bear it. He would have to. This was for Connor. + +``Connor,'' he said softly, deliberately not looking at Sylarana so that +he could speak in English, ``I'm a Parselmouth. I only found out a few +months ago. I kept it from you because I thought you would think I was a +Dark wizard, and I didn't want to hurt you that way. Now I'm admitting +it. I'm sorry. Keeping that from you wasn't really Gryffindor.'' + +He sank to one knee on the floor and bowed his head, the old gesture of +surrender to a power greater than one's own. Sylarana, obviously +concerned that people couldn't see her now, twined up until she crowned +his head, her tongue flicking out and tasting the air. A low murmur of +fear was rising from the students. + +Harry glanced at the tip of her tail, which hung past his nose. +``Sylarana, don't attack,'' he said. + +The gasps increased tenfold, and Harry knew he'd said the words in +Parseltongue. He closed his eyes and waited. + +He'd chosen this. He couldn't let Snape have control over him. He +couldn't run anymore from what he really was. He had to be brave, to +face consequences, to do what he did for other people and not for +himself. That was what Gryffindors did. + +It would be easier if they weren't \emph{staring} so hard. Harry +clenched his fists and fought to stay calm. The long-repeated words of +his vows were pushing against him, insistent now. + +\emph{To never compete with him, never show him up, and never let anyone +else know that I'm so close to him. To be ordinary, so that he can be +extraordinary.} + +He was in the middle of the Great Hall, with all the students standing +on tiptoe to get a better look at him. He'd just revealed that he +carried a dangerous Dark gift, one that Voldemort had had most famously. +He'd addressed his words to his twin, but drawn attention to himself. + +There was a maelstrom of shrieking voices in his head, blending with the +faster and faster beat of his heart and his breath, until he was close +to hyperventilating. + +\emph{You can't draw attention to yourself. You're doing it. Why are you +doing it?} + +Harry fought with his training. He'd already broken the letter of his +vows to preserve their spirit when he told Draco about protecting +Connor. He could do this, because it was temporary, and only in the +service of a higher good, and it would be over soon. He could do this. +He could \emph{do} this. + +\emph{You're not a real Gryffindor, not if you feel afraid.} + +He held still. \emph{No}, he answered that particular claim. +\emph{You're a Gryffindor if you feel afraid and still don't run away, +and do what needs to be done.} + +He heard a wild hiss, and felt the hex coming at Sylarana. He threw up a +hand and called \emph{Protego} around him, wandless, his lips barely +shaping the word. The Shield Charm deflected whatever spell it had been. +Someone cried out, and then the rest of the Great Hall was in motion, +its tableau broken. + +Harry looked up. The students were shoving back from their tables, some +running to the door, some drawing wands---most especially the sixth- and +seventh-year students---and some standing frozen as if they thought +Sylarana couldn't see them if they were motionless. The professors were +coming around the staff table, walking hastily towards them. Snape had +his wand out, and Sirius's teeth were fixed in a snarl, and Professor +McGonagall was shouting something stern about foolish boys who brought +dangerous snakes into Hogwarts. + +Harry glanced back at his twin, the only one who mattered. Connor looked +frozen. + +``Stop.'' + +The voice spread out over the Great Hall like a sea of calm, powerful, +lapping them all in its embrace. Harry found himself breathing more +easily. The pressure of the stares no longer seemed as disorienting as +before. + +"\emph{What is he doing in your head?"} Sylarana said. "\emph{I don't +like him there."} There was the feeling of a scuffle, as though someone +had bounced a stone off the inside of his skull, and Harry winced. + +Then the calm faded, and he threw himself to his feet, gasping, wanting +nothing so much as to get out of everybody's sight and hide in the +shadows--- + +``Harry.'' + +Harry glanced up, eyes wide, to see Headmaster Dumbledore in front of +him. Dumbledore had one hand extended, touching but not beaching the +Shielding Charm. His eyes were calm, and wise, and very blue. Harry +realized then who the source of the powerful voice had been. + +He didn't understand why the tranquility had left him, though. He tried +to put his hands behind his back so that the Headmaster wouldn't see +them shaking, but they betrayed him. Dumbledore gave him a keen glance +and seemed to understand. + +``Everyone, calm down,'' he said, and the noise in the Great Hall +diminished by half. ``I will take young Mr. Potter to my office and +discuss this matter with him further.'' He turned and nodded to Connor. +``And you, Mr. Potter, please come along as well.'' + +Harry sagged, relief washing over him like the tide. Connor stood up and +hurried forward, as though Dumbledore's statement were the final answer +he was waiting for. He enveloped Harry in a tight hug, and Harry let the +\emph{Protego} fade, his arms shaking as he clutched Connor back. + +"\emph{You may do that, since everyone has admired me,}" said Sylarana. +"\emph{And I threw the other one out of your head.}" She twined through +his hair in a small victory dance. + +Harry swallowed. The mere thought that Sylarana was so deeply embedded +in his thoughts that she could throw off Dumbledore's influence--- + +``Boys?'' + +Harry looked up. Dumbledore stood near the entrance of the Great Hall +now, motioning them along. He did look back at the staff table, though, +and the professors standing frozen near it. + +``Severus, if you would excuse the boys from your Potions class this +morning?'' he asked. There was a strength to his tone that Harry knew +made it an order, and not a request. + +Snape nodded. ``Of course, Headmaster.'' He turned away, but not before +giving Harry a quite vicious final glance. + +Harry didn't care. Connor's arms were around him. Connor was whispering +into his ear. + +``I don't care that you're a Parselmouth. I don't care. It took courage +for you to do that. Oh, Harry, you're a Gryffindor after all!'' + +\emph{No, I'm not,} Harry wanted to say. \emph{I manipulated this. I set +this all up. I would have just found you and told you alone, except that +I wanted everyone to know so that they couldn't hate me if they found +out later. I made myself the center of attention. Why do I never notice +that I'm acting like a Slytherin until it's too late?} + +He didn't say that aloud, though. That, he was too much of a coward to +do. He let Connor escort him with an arm around his shoulders, and they +followed the Headmaster to his office. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Sit down, boys. Would you like a sweet?'' + +Connor accepted eagerly, though without taking his arm from around +Harry's shoulders. Harry shook his head in numb negation. He was still +staring straight ahead, trying to reconcile what he'd done to what he'd +\emph{thought} he was doing. + +Sylarana was no help, hissing on his arm and commenting on her own +appearance and how she couldn't go back to sleep yet, Connor had his +lump of an arm on her favorite resting place. She wouldn't bite anyone +for the next little while, though. Harry knew that. + +Dumbledore sat down behind his desk, after conducting an odd argument +entirely in whistles with one of the small silver instruments he kept on +the wall. He folded his hands and beamed at them. Harry lowered his +head, unsure if he should meet the Headmaster's eyes. He didn't need to +distract himself by looking around the office. He'd been here before, at +the end of last year, after Connor defeated Voldemort. He knew what it +looked like. + +``Well, young Harry,'' Dumbledore said cheerfully, ``you've caused quite +a stir.'' + +Harry winced. ``I know, sir. I'm sorry, sir.'' + +``Nothing to be sorry for,'' said Connor fiercely, and gave him a +one-armed hug. "I'm glad you told me. I'm glad you told \emph{all} of +them. They can think you're a Dark wizard, but I can say that my twin +never lies to me!" + +Harry swallowed. + +``There is the matter, of course,'' said Dumbledore in a considering +voice, "of your being a Parselmouth. And having a Locusta on school +property, Harry. She \emph{is} quite a dangerous pet, my boy. I would +not advise keeping her." + +``I know,'' Harry whispered. ``But she keeps threatening to bite people +if I don't keep her. And---well, sir, she was on school property last +year, too. She told me that she came from the Forbidden Forest.'' + +``Really?'' Dumbledore chuckled. ``I am amazed that Hagrid never +discovered her, then. He would admire you,'' he added to Sylarana, in an +aside. ``He has a deep admiration for the dangerous and beautiful +magical creatures of our world.'' + +\emph{I like him,} Sylarana hissed sleepily. \emph{Sometimes. But he +still should not have been in your head. It's mine.} She curled up and +dropped off to sleep. + +``So you will keep her, then,'' said Dumbledore, nodding. ``I really see +no way to part her from you without killing her, and I am told that a +Parselmouth can control a Locusta better than anyone alive.'' He reached +out and tapped another of the small silver instruments hanging on the +wall. Harry felt a faint buzzing start in his teeth. ``Nevertheless, I +will ask you to submit to a ward-setting, Harry. This insures that your +little snake can never get too far from you without an alarm sounding in +my office, which will alert me at once, and a cage coming down on her. +That will be all right?'' + +Harry nodded. ``Of course, sir. But won't the parents of the other +students complain?'' + +``Undoubtedly,'' said Dumbledore. He chortled. ``But they have been +complaining about various things as long as I have been Headmaster. I am +sure they will keep complaining when I am in my grave and another +Headmaster sits in Hogwarts. It is a reality of our lives'' He popped a +sweet into his mouth and chewed it gravely. Harry wondered if he ever +really stopped smiling. + +He turned abruptly to Connor. ``Mr. Potter, had you truly suspected your +brother of being a Dark wizard?'' + +Connor flushed. Harry glared at Dumbledore. \emph{Why does he have to +put him on the spot like that?} + +``I---well, ah, I don't know,'' Connor hedged, looking sideways at +Harry. ``He's in Slytherin, and he has a temper, and he's powerful, and +Sirius said---'' + +Dumbledore closed his eyes and sighed. ``Unfortunately, Sirius Black is +no more willing to let childhood grudges go than---various other members +of our staff,'' he murmured. ``A fine man, an even finer Gryffindor, but +he does have his limitations.'' + +He leaned forward, his eyes open once more. Harry felt Connor wince, and +wished he knew of a way to distract Dumbledore's attention, short of +suggesting that Sylarana attack him. + +``It is important that you understand this, Mr. Potter,'' Dumbledore +said, his words grave and slow. ``The survival of the wizarding world +depends on unity. It was our fragmentation that allowed Lord Voldemort +to attack us in the last war, the distrust that set pureblood against +Muggleborn, the Ministry against its own Aurors, and---'' He paused for +only a moment. ``Peter Pettigrew against your parents.'' + +Connor flinched again. Harry had to stifle a growl. \emph{Must he bring +up Connor's most painful memories?} + +Dumbledore touched a hand to his temple as though it hurt, briefly, then +pulled it away. ``In our school,'' he said, "unity is represented by the +Houses. Most students think in terms of their own House. Few look +outside them. And, in \emph{some} cases, the rivalries linger even when +one has left Hogwarts. + +``It will be up to you to change that, Mr. Potter.'' + +``Me?'' Connor squeaked. He sounded terrified. + +Dumbledore nodded. ``Yes. You must learn to see the good in Slytherins, +in Ravenclaws, and in Hufflepuffs as well as Gryffindors.'' + +Connor bit his lip and plucked at his robes with his free hand. +"But---some of them \emph{are} Dark wizards, Headmaster." + +``Yes,'' Dumbledore acknowledged. ``That is very true, Mr. Potter. But +your own twin is a Slytherin who acts like a Gryffindor. He has had you +as an example all his life, and that may be---I think it is---why he is +so different.'' His gaze slid sideways to Harry again, who felt pinned +in turn. ``Imagine,'' Dumbledore said softly, ``what could be, Mr. +Potter, once you take your rightful position in the fight against +Voldemort. Imagine whom you might inspire to turn to the Light.'' + +Connor was silent for a long time. Harry waited, no longer sure what to +feel. Maybe it was for the best that Dumbledore had done this, since +neither Harry nor their mother would have had the heart to slam the +truth so fiercely at Connor. + +Finally, Connor said, in a heavy, reluctant tone, ``I'll think about it, +Headmaster. But I don't know how to inspire anyone yet.'' + +``Young Harry can show you,'' said Dumbledore, and smiled again. ``He +knows well your influence in his life, don't you, Harry?'' + +``I do,'' Harry said, and turned to Connor. ``You gave me the courage to +do what I did today. You're the most important thing in the world to me, +Connor. I love you, and I promise you, you can do this.'' + +Connor just stared at him for a moment. Then his eyes filled with tears, +and he grabbed Harry and crushed him into a hug, stirring a protest from +Sylarana. + +``That is all I wanted to talk to you boys about,'' said Dumbledore, and +this time he had a smile for both of them. ``From here, you must find +your own paths forward at least a short part of the time. But remember: +do not hesitate to come to me for advice.'' He nodded to Connor. ``You +are in a unique position, Mr. Potter. It is understandable that you will +have troubles. But you are never alone.'' He cast Harry a single oblique +glance. + +``Thank you, Headmaster,'' Connor whispered. ``I'll remember that.'' + +He steered Harry gently from the room then. Harry, in love and in pride +and in relief that this had turned out so much better than it could +have, went with him. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Dumbledore sighed and sank back in his seat, putting one hand over his +face. Fawkes, the phoenix, gave a questioning trill from his perch, then +flew over and landed on his friend's shoulder when Dumbledore said +nothing. He rubbed his warm head on the old wizard's cheek until a hand +rose to stroke him. + +\emph{Sacrifices,} Dumbledore was thinking as he gazed at the closed +door of his office. \emph{We all make sacrifices, for the sake of +lifting the burden from those who cannot bear it.} + +He was thinking of a young Gryffindor marked with a heart-shaped scar, +and a young Slytherin with the Dark Mark branded on his arm swearing +that he would turn against Voldemort and be loyal to the Light, and a +young Slytherin with the heart of a Gryffindor. + +And another Gryffindor, whom Dumbledore had watched, and pondered upon, +and finally, against his will, chosen and explained a problem to. And +that Gryffindor had made a sacrifice that still echoed down the years +and troubled his mind to think of. + +\emph{It was willing,} Dumbledore thought, gently caressing Fawkes's +glorious plumage. \emph{It was made with eyes open, with clear heart, +with full knowledge of the choices.} + +That was the only thing that let him sleep at night. + +\emph{Harry's sacrifice is the same way.} + +But when he'd seen the boy kneeling in the center of the Great Hall, a +snake twined around his head, it hadn't felt that way. He was only +twelve years old. + +With a heavy heart and a heavier conscience, Albus Dumbledore turned +back to his work of making decisions that no one else was prepared to. +There was another wizard he must speak to, about choices and sacrifices +and how he could help the Light, given that he was in a unique position +to do so. + +\subsection{*Chapter 6*: Moons and Wouldbe +Stars}\label{chapter-6-moons-and-wouldbe-stars} + +Ah, good, the last chapter worked in with the rest of the story instead +of changing it entirely. We are back on track now. + +Thank you again for the reviews! Review responses up in LJ this +afternoon. + +\textbf{Chapter Six: Moons and (Would-be) Stars} + +``Do you think he'll use the snake to cheat on exams?'' + +``No, I bet he uses it to plot the deaths of innocent people!'' + +``No, I bet he uses her to help him\ldots{}'' And Harry couldn't hear +the last word, as the sentence trailed off in a burst of laughter. + +Harry kept his eyes forward and his feet moving. He had known this would +happen when he revealed that he was a Parselmouth. He had \emph{known}. +And he'd done it anyway. At least he had practice ignoring this kind of +thing from the first three weeks of school, when he'd done his best to +ignore his Housemates. + +``I could hex them,'' Draco, walking beside him, offered in a low voice. + +"\emph{All} of them?" Harry asked dryly. They were passing a group of +fourth-year Ravenclaws, who hooted loudly and hailed the ``Snake +Prince.'' Harry fought the impulse to hunch his shoulders. ``Then you'll +have three-quarters of the school reeling around with boils on their +noses and legs locked together. And you'd land us in detention +besides.'' + +``We could do it,'' said a voice behind him. + +Harry turned and glanced at Marcus Flint. The older Slytherin's eyes +were burning, and he had his wand drawn. He hadn't fired any hexes at +anyone yet, but from the look on his face, it was only a matter of time. + +Harry wasn't sure what to make of Flint, nor the rest of Slytherin +House. He'd annoyed them by ignoring them the first few weeks, and by +not retaliating when they jinxed him. But since the moment he revealed +he was a Parselmouth, they seemed to have closed ranks around him, +determined to protect him as one of their own. + +Harry enjoyed it, while trying not to, mostly because it puzzled him. He +was sure it had to end soon, when their annoyance at him outweighed +their pride that there was someone with Slytherin's talent in their +House. Or when he told Flint that he had a Nimbus 2001 broom. Flint knew +he \emph{was} planning to play on the Quidditch team. He didn't know +about the broom yet. + +\emph{There hasn't been a right time to tell him,} Harry defended +himself. + +"\emph{Of course there hasn't,}" said Sylarana. Since his show in the +Great Hall, she'd taken to hissing aloud more and more often, not caring +if anyone heard her. Draco, as always, tried to peer under Harry's +sleeve at her; he never seemed to understand that a Locusta was both +highly dangerous and highly unpredictable. "\emph{Keep telling yourself +that, if it makes you feel better.}" + +Harry didn't respond. He didn't feel like arguing in his head, and +speaking with Sylarana in Parseltongue in the halls made him feel +self-conscious. The other Slytherins had assured him they didn't mind. +That only made Harry mind more. + +They walked past two older Ravenclaw students, who half-turned towards +Harry and smirked at him. ``Maybe he keeps the snake on his pillow,'' +one of them whispered, voice low and vicious. "\emph{There's} some +pillow talk." + +``He's touched in the head,'' said the other one, and snorted. "Thinking +he can control that beast at \emph{all.} I bet the snake's just waiting +until a certain point in the year, and then she's going to devour +everyone in the school." + +The return laughter had a nasty edge that made Harry more concerned than +usual. Joking about him was one thing. Spreading rumors that Sylarana +wanted to hurt the students might result in them trying to take her +away, and that \emph{would} result in someone getting hurt. + +``I don't think he's mad,'' said a small, calm voice. ``If you can talk +to a Crumple-Horned Snorkack, I don't see why you can't talk to a +snake.'' + +Harry blinked. The Ravenclaw students reversed towards the sound of the +voice so fast that he was left staring at their backs. They had someone +cornered against the wall, he thought, someone small enough that he +couldn't see anything of---her?---over them. + +``Loony, Loony Lovegood,'' said the first student, the one who'd +mentioned pillow talk, in a voice with an even nastier edge than he'd +used to talk about Harry. ``You're not the best witness to someone's +sanity, are you? You and your Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and your radish +earrings---'' + +Harry edged back, gently pushing aside Draco and a few third-year +Slytherins who were bristling to strike back at the Ravenclaws. He could +see between the two students now, and they'd edged a small girl towards +the wall, a girl who seemed all straggling blonde hair and enormous eyes +behind equally large glasses. She did indeed have radish earrings, +dangling low enough to brush her shoulders. She blinked at the older +students, even when one of them reached out and snatched her wand from +behind her ear. + +``You shouldn't keep it there, Loony,'' he said in a lecturing tone. +``You could blow your own ear off.'' + +The girl nodded. ``Yes, that's true,'' she said. ``Thank you for the +advice.'' She held her hand out. ``I'll keep it behind my left ear in +the future.'' + +The student who held her wand laughed. Harry growled softly. He didn't +\emph{like} that laughter, which was of the same kind that Ron and +Connor had used towards Hermione last year before they became her +friends. + +``I'm not giving this back to you, Loony,'' said the Ravenclaw boy. +``I'll keep it safer than someone who believes in Hellpaths or whatever +you call them.'' + +"\emph{He}-lio-path," said the girl, carefully enunciating each +syllable. ``And it's true that they exist. Just not often in Britain. +But the Ministry keeps an army of them. They don't want you to find out, +of course. It's all very hush-hush.'' She turned and looked at Harry, +suddenly, disconcertingly, through the same gap he was using to look at +her. ``But brave people put the truth forward, even if they're not +believed.'' + +Harry decided at that point that he'd had about enough, and called his +own magic. ``Give her back her wand,'' he said. + +The Ravenclaw boys blinked and looked at him. Harry had the feeling that +they'd forgotten all about him, that the girl was their more favored +target. + +\emph{So they tease her this often?} + +That irritated Harry. It was one thing for them to tease him; +Parseltongue was a Dark talent, and he'd put himself forward, as the +girl said. But all she'd done was defend him, and, apparently, talk +about creatures that didn't exist and wear radishes as earrings. Those +weren't enough to justify this kind of teasing. And she looked to be a +first-year, so she couldn't have built up any long-standing grudges. + +``Why should we, Snake Prince?'' the one holding the girl's wand asked, +grinning like a fool. ``We just want to keep herself from doing harm. +You can't trust these mad witches. Quite mad, her mother,'' he added, +raising his voice to the students who had stopped and were watching the +growing fight. ``Destroyed herself in an experiment.'' + +``Yes, she did,'' said the girl calmly. ``I was there. I saw it +happen.'' She paused. ``I miss her sometimes.'' + +Harry felt sick. He couldn't imagine losing a member of his family like +that. And for the boys to use that to \emph{tease} her\ldots{} + +And she'd defended him. + +Harry narrowed his eyes at the boys and whispered a spell he'd never +tried wandless before. "\emph{Apis Occaeco.}" + +The Ravenclaw holding the wand shrieked and abruptly dropped it, +clutching his hand. Harry nodded. The Invisible Bees hex was a mild one, +but it did cause a sharp, stinging pain in the center of the hands, and +that was worth it. Harry scooped up the wand swiftly and turned back to +the girl. + +``Thank you,'' she said gravely, taking the wand from him and tucking it +behind her left ear. ``My name is Luna Lovegood. What's yours?'' + +Harry blinked. "You were standing up for me, and you didn't even know my +name?' + +``We haven't been properly introduced,'' said Luna, and extended a hand. + +Harry shook it, ignoring the stares he could feel behind him. ``Harry +Potter,'' he said. ``Pleased to meet you.'' + +"I am going to \emph{mess you up}," snarled a voice behind him, and then +the Ravenclaw not whimpering over his stung hand grabbed Harry on the +shoulder and swung him around. + +Harry met his eyes and thought of Sylarana. When he parted his lips, he +knew the words came out in a hiss. ``Can you come out of my sleeve and +just coil on my wrist, not attacking them? I only want to remind them of +you.'' + +"\emph{There is an audience?}" + +``There is.'' + +"\emph{I am coming.}" + +Sylarana poked her head out of his sleeve and coiled on his wrist, in a +perfectly lazy motion that Harry had to admire. She opened her mouth in +an imitation of a human yawn, tongue flicking around her transparent +fangs. + +The Ravenclaw who'd been ready to beat Harry up had gone dead white. +``Don't let her hurt me,'' he whimpered, shrinking away from Harry. +``Please don't let her hurt me.'' + +``Oh, she's not going to hurt you,'' said Flint, who had his wand +trained on the Ravenclaw, ``because I'm going to hurt you first.'' + +``No, me,'' said Draco, and cast the Jelly-Legs Jinx. The Ravenclaw +student sagged to the floor, half-screaming, as if Sylarana had already +bitten him. + +"\emph{Stop this at once!}" + +Harry winced as Professor McGonagall rounded the corner and bore down on +them. Only Dumbledore would have been worse. The Head of Gryffindor +House had her lips clamped together so hard that it was a wonder that +she hadn't bitten through them. Her wand was out, and with a sweep, she +ended both Draco's jinx and the Invisible Bees hex. Her eyes traveled +through them all in the sudden silence, fell on Harry's face, and +narrowed. + +``Mr. Potter,'' she said. + +"\emph{Professor McGonagall}," said Sylarana, her intonation a +near-perfect mimicry of the woman's voice. + +Harry had never been more glad that there wasn't another Parselmouth at +the school. ``Professor,'' he acknowledged, dipping his head, and waited +to be given detention or have points taken away. Probably both. + +``What happened?'' + +Harry blinked for a moment, then remembered the one good consequence to +Professor McGonagall catching them. Unlike Snape, the Head of Gryffindor +House was scrupulously fair. She would listen to all sides, and since +there were no Gryffindors involved here, she wouldn't be personally +prejudiced--- + +Except that he \emph{was} a Slytherin, and a Parselmouth. + +Harry shrugged. He would have to accept what she chose to give him, in +that case. + +``I heard these two Ravenclaws speaking some of the gossip that's spread +around the school in the wake of my announcement, ma'am,'' he said, +gesturing at the boys. ``Then Luna defended me, and they turned on her, +teased her, and took away her wand. I interfered, and asked my snake to +defend me. One of them didn't like me, and tried to attack me. Draco +cast the Jelly-Legs Jinx. Then you appeared.'' + +McGonagall's eyes narrowed further. ``But you didn't use magic?'' + +``I didn't have my wand out, ma'am,'' Harry started, since he knew he +could get away with that much. He'd reveal his ability to use wandless +magic if he had to, but he preferred not to. + +``And second-year students can't cast magic without a wand,'' said +Flint, intruding. He didn't even flinch when McGonagall's glare came +down on him---well, not much. ``Everyone knows that, Professor. None of +us saw Harry draw his wand. We'll all swear to that.'' His face was the +picture of innocence. + +McGonagall sighed, then murmured, ``Well, that is certainly true,'' and +stabbed Harry with a glare. ``Why did you interfere, Mr. Potter?'' + +Harry blinked. "They were \emph{teasing} her," he said. ``She didn't +deserve it.'' + +McGonagall glanced at Luna. ``And this is true, Ms. Lovegood?'' + +``On my honor as a future trainer of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks,'' said +Luna with perfect gravity, ``it is.'' + +McGonagall nodded briskly. ``Very well. Forty points from Slytherin, Mr. +Malfoy, for using magic on a fellow student, and a week's detention to +be served with me.'' + +Harry waited for Draco to object. He didn't. He simply looked smug. +Harry didn't understand \emph{that}, and resolved to ask him about it +later. + +McGonagall turned abruptly on the Ravenclaws. ``Forty points from +Ravenclaw for fighting in the corridors,'' she said. "Twenty points from +Ravenclaw for harassing a student younger than you are. You should be +\emph{ashamed} of yourselves, Mr. Gorgon, Mr. Jones. Casting aspersions +on a student in your own House?" She shook her head in clear disgust, +while Gorgon and Jones gaped at her. + +Harry had just let his breath out when she turned to him. ``Mr. +Potter.'' + +Harry tensed, expecting points off from Slytherin for lying or fighting +or calling his snake out to defend him. ``Yes, Professor?'' + +McGonagall glanced at Luna, at him, and at the Ravenclaws. ``Fifty +points to Slytherin for showing that House loyalty is not the only thing +that matters,'' she said. ``And for defending a student younger than +yourself.'' She had a funny sort of smile on her face when she looked +back at him, one that just made Harry blink at her. ``Now, Mr. Potter, +if you do not wish to be late for Defense Against the Dark Arts, I +suggest that you hurry.'' She turned and swept away up the corridor. + +There was a long, stunned silence, and then Flint said, in the voice of +someone trying not to question a miracle lest it turn out to vanish when +looked at too hard, "That means we came out ten points on top. +McGonagall? \emph{She} just gave ten points to Slytherin?" + +"She gave ten points to \emph{Harry}," said Draco, and nudged Harry with +one elbow. ``I think that's important.'' + +``You'll pay for this, Potter,'' said one of the Ravenclaws---Gorgon, +Harry thought---as they backed away. ``I know you used magic.'' He held +up his red, puffy hand accusingly. + +``Come here and say that,'' said Harry, and Sylarana stirred menacingly. +Gorgon and Jones swallowed and hurried away. + +Harry turned towards Luna. ``Thank you,'' he said. ``For defending me +earlier, and with Professor McGonagall.'' + +Luna simply nodded solemnly at him. ``Parselmouths aren't evil,'' she +said. ``Wrackspurt-speakers, now they could be evil, because they would +set Wrackspurts on people and make their brains go fuzzy.'' + +Harry blinked. He hadn't ever heard of Wrackspurts. But since Luna +didn't seem to think there was anything unusual about what she was +saying, he decided that he wouldn't think it, either. + +``Thanks,'' he repeated, and went on his way to Defense, the Slytherins +chattering around him. A glance back showed Luna marching determinedly +down the corridor, wand tucked behind her left ear, alone. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Why did you look so smug to have detention?'' Harry whispered to Draco +as soon as they were seated in Defense. Lockhart hadn't arrived yet, +which made Harry happy. When he was in the room, it was hard to +concentrate on anything but how much of a fool he was, and he wanted to +hear Draco's answer. + +Draco hummed under his breath, and went on about setting his books on +the edge of the desk. Harry eyed them in resigned distaste. They were +doing \emph{Adventures with Acromantulas} this week. He had already read +more about what Lockhart ate for dinner each night in the remote +villages he traveled to than he had ever needed to know. + +But he shook the thoughts away as he realized that Draco had his chin on +one hand and was simply studying him, a bright smile on his face. +``Well?'' Harry asked. ``It's not like McGonagall makes detentions +fun.'' Harry had never heard that she did, even for her Gryffindors, +according to Connor. It mostly consisted of writing lines or scrubbing +things without magic. Connor had seemed aggrieved that McGonagall wasn't +at least a bit fairer to her own House. Harry had to admire her for it, +in a perverse way. McGonagall was consistent, and principled, and +unbending, and never let anyone around her forget it. + +``I know,'' said Draco. ``But I protected you.'' He sounded as delighted +as though his mother had sent him a whole box of chocolates from home, +something she did about once a week. + +Harry blinked. ``I don't understand.'' + +``I protected you,'' said Draco. ``It was the first chance I've had +since you announced you were a Parselmouth---the first time it's come to +drawn wands instead of stupid insults that a Slytherin could do ten +times better.'' He gave a little wriggle of something Harry thought was +more delight. ``I've wanted to do that, Harry,'' he finished. ``I know +that you don't think of me as a very close friend yet. But friends +protect each other. So I did.'' + +Harry sighed, but found himself smiling. Something like that +\emph{would} be Draco's reason. + +Of course, his good mood was ruined in the next instant when Lockhart +swept in, beaming at them. Harry comforted himself with the thought that +at least the Defense professor's teeth were not as blindingly white as +they could have been. A progressive \emph{Obscurus} placed on his smile +and hair had been Harry's revenge when he saw Lockhart once again urging +Connor to appear in pictures with him. The smile and the hair would both +grow a little dimmer every day. Harry hoped to be there when Lockhart +first started peering into the mirror, thinking his hair was turning +gray or his teeth yellow. + +For now, though, the Defense professor was as annoying as ever. He swept +up to the front of the room and clapped his hands. ``Who knows what +today is?'' he asked brightly. + +``Your birthday,'' said Pansy Parkinson from behind Harry, sounding +dreamy. Harry cast her a disgusted look, and was just in time to see +Millicent Bulstrode, with an even more disgusted look, elbow Pansy in +the ribs. + +``Act like a Slytherin, for Merlin's sake!'' the bigger girl whispered. +``Stop drooling over him!'' + +Lockhart went on before Pansy could retaliate. ``My birthday, yes, +excellent. Ten points to Slytherin.'' Pansy beamed. Draco made discreet +gagging sounds beside Harry, and Harry was inclined to agree. ``And that +means,'' Lockhart announced, ``that each of you has my permission to +practice what spells you wish until the end of class, at which time you +can present me with the gifts you used the spells to make!'' + +He grinned at them, the perfect, polished smile that was on the copy of +\emph{Witch Weekly} that Pansy kept with her at all times. Harry could +see the darkness haunting his front teeth. He kept his thoughts on that +and not on the chaos that could result from a class of second-year +Ravenclaws and Slytherins flinging around spells as he drew his wand. + +``Is he barking, or just bloody stupid?'' whispered Draco next to him. + +``Bloody stupid, I think,'' Harry whispered back, and shook his head. +Lockhart \emph{was} stupid, and it was a waste. Defense Against the Dark +Arts was the most important class at Hogwarts, to Harry's way of +thinking. The students \emph{had} to learn how to defend themselves +against curses and Dark creatures, or they would be helpless when +Voldemort returned. + +For now, though, he could content himself with thinking about the +``gift'' he would create for Lockhart. He closed his eyes for a long +moment, then smiled and opened them. The best way of doing this would +have been via a potion, but since he didn't have any potion ingredients +here, he would do the best he could to approximate them with spells. He +thought he could do it. + +``What are you making?'' Draco said, as he swished his wand and +Transfigured a piece of paper into a slightly larger piece of paper. +``I'm going to make something simple and pretend that it's something +complicated and very ancient and pureblooded. The idiot won't know the +difference.'' + +``Watch,'' said Harry, and performed his own Transfiguration, turning +one of Sylarana's scales into a sticky orange paste. Draco raised his +eyebrows and started to ask a question, but Harry warmed the paste and +stirred it in quick succession, then made it float into the air and +twist around itself. He could feel his magic almost purring with +happiness at the use, and shook his head. Sometimes he got very strange +ideas about his own magic, and they seemed to be more frequent than +usual since the summer. + +He smoothed out the paste, and then glanced around for a container. +Lockhart had an empty jar on his desk that he'd used to contain Cornish +Pixies on the first day of class. Harry raised his hand demurely. + +``Sir?'' + +Lockhart turned to him. ``Yes, Mr. Potter?'' + +``Could I borrow that jar from you?'' Harry asked, lowering his eyes. +``I need a container for my gift, and it would be an honor to touch +something you've touched.'' + +Looking positively delighted, Lockhart said, ``Certainly, Harry,'' and +tried to levitate the jar towards him. He mispronounced the Charm, and +the jar shot up to the ceiling and nearly cracked, before Harry took +control of it and floated it towards him. Lockhart chuckled. ``I don't +know my own strength, sometimes!'' + +\emph{What is that, one multiplied by the power of idiocy?} Harry +thought, and grabbed the jar, directing the orange paste into it. He +cast a final spell, a simple one that turned the orange color to gold +and made it look irresistibly beautiful. Harry held the jar solemnly out +to Lockhart. + +``Happy birthday, Professor,'' he said. + +``Why, thank you, Mr. Potter,'' said Lockhart, and took the jar from +him. ``What a surprise.'' He looked at the golden paste for a moment, +then frowned, as though he hated having to admit this. ``Er---what is +it?'' + +``A paste to help you take care of your skin and hair, Professor,'' said +Harry earnestly. "I noticed that you were looking just a \emph{bit} +peaky at breakfast this morning. I hope this helps." + +Lockhart turned faintly green. ``Peaky? Really? Thank you, Mr. Potter. I +will certainly apply it.'' He walked back to his desk, already dipping a +finger in the paste and smoothing it over his right cheek. + +Harry turned at a tap on his right arm. ``Really?'' Draco whispered, +staring at him. + +``Of course not,'' Harry said, taking care to keep his voice low. +Lockhart probably wouldn't hear him, but there were plenty of people in +the classroom who would take offense and hex Harry for daring to play a +prank on him. ``It'll make his hair shine brighter for a week, then turn +his skin orange.'' + +Draco's eyes widened, and he began to laugh. Harry smiled at him and +leaned back on the table, ready to be pleasantly bored until the end of +class as he watched Lockhart apply the paste liberally. + +A mutter behind him warned him, but didn't give him \emph{quite} warning +enough. A voice that wasn't Slytherin said, "He hexed Gorgon! I +\emph{know} he did." + +``This ought to teach him, then,'' said another voice, and Harry turned +in time to see a brilliant green spell flying towards him. He panicked +for a moment. He didn't think that he could get up a Shielding Charm in +time, and he definitely didn't want to raise one in front of everyone. +The students could think it was a professor who'd done it in the middle +of the Great Hall, but here? + +\emph{Let me}. + +Harry's body vibrated with the force of that voice, and the world in +front of him warped and spun. He saw colors dragging against each other, +turning into sunburned smears. He watched his own hand move in a lazy +gesture, and the green hex turned red and flew back towards the +Ravenclaw who'd cast it. He felt distant, detached, as though he hadn't +done that. And he hadn't, not really. + +Harry heard soft laughter in his head, and then Sylarana's agitated +hiss. The next moment, the colors in the room stopped blurring, and he +was back to normal, staggering, as the world appeared to begin again. +Sylarana was visible, dancing on his wrist and lashing at nothing, as +though she could bite whoever had spoken the words to Harry and laughed. + +Draco grabbed his shoulder and stared into his face. ``Harry? Are you +all right?'' + +Harry nodded shakily. He still couldn't believe what he thought he'd +seen. How could he have turned a hex red, particularly when he didn't +know what it was? + +``He hurt Margaret!'' + +Harry looked up swiftly, his heart pounding. A Ravenclaw girl, +presumably the one who'd thrown the spell at him in the first place, was +lying on the ground. Her eyes were closed, her face pale, and she had a +mark like a handprint on her right cheek. The handprint spread as Harry +watched, turning the whole of her face red. Margaret whimpered softly in +her sleep. + +``There, there,'' said Lockhart, rushing over, his own face half-gold. +``Bound to be accidents with these spells flying all over the place, +yes? I really should have asked you to make small gifts for me, not +special ones. Just take---er---Margaret to the hospital wing, +Miss---er---'' + +``Turtledove,'' sobbed the girl crouching beside Margaret. She shot +Harry a look of sheerest hatred. "Professor Lockhart, aren't you going +to do anything to punish him? What did he \emph{do} to her?" + +``Er, well, I don't know,'' said Lockhart, and turned to Harry, +attempting to look brave and heroic and failing miserably. ``What did +you do to her, Mr. Potter?'' + +``I don't know,'' Harry whispered. ``I saw her spell flying towards +me---'' + +``She didn't cast a spell!'' Turtledove interrupted hotly. + +``Yes, she did,'' said Millicent, leaning forward from the seat behind +Harry. ``I saw it. Harry deflected it. I don't think he meant to hurt +her, but that's what happened.'' She shrugged. ``She shouldn't have been +playing around with spells like that in class. None of us should have.'' +She cast Lockhart a pointed glance that he missed entirely. + +``So it was just a case of dangerous magic meeting dangerous magic, +then,'' Lockhart said, brightening. ``So, please escort Margaret to the +hospital wing, Miss, er, Turtleshell, and I'm sure she'll get better.'' + +The Turtledove girl and three of her classmates helped carry Margaret +out of the room. Harry could feel them glaring at him. He shook his +head. He hoped that Luna wouldn't suffer from her Housemates turning +their anger back on her. + +And he hoped that \emph{he} wouldn't suffer anything like that again. He +touched his forehead and shivered. Then he paused. There was a specific +pain in his head, and it was coming from his scar. He brushed his +fingers over it, then flinched. It \emph{burned}. He wondered that he +hadn't noticed it before. + +\emph{I felt him!} Sylarana hissed in his head. + +\emph{Who?} Harry asked. He thought the last thing anyone needed now was +to hear him hissing aloud in Parseltongue. + +\emph{The one who visits you at night! Tom Riddle!} Sylarana twined +around in circles. \emph{I don't know what he did. He was---there, for a +moment, and you weren't. Then I pushed him out, or he left, I don't know +which.} Harry had never heard her sound so worried. + +Harry let out a breath, and glanced up when Draco touched his arm. +``What happened, Harry?'' he whispered. + +``I don't know,'' Harry said back, watching as Lockhart moved up to the +front of the room to daub the golden paste on his cheeks again. The joke +seemed hollow now. ``But I don't think it was anything I want to +experience again.'' + +``We'll fight it together, then,'' said Draco, and looped an arm through +Harry's. + +\emph{Yes, we will,} said Sylarana, and now she sounded grimmer than she +ever had. + +Harry closed his eyes. \emph{If---whatever that was---happens again, +does that mean I'm a danger to Connor?} + +He decided quickly that that wasn't the kind of decision he could make +on his own. Nor could Sylarana or Draco, from lack of knowledge. But +there was someone whom Harry needed to talk to who might know, who'd +grown up around Dark magic and then fought it as an Auror. + +\emph{After lunch,} he decided. \emph{I'll go and talk to Sirius then.} + +\subsection{*Chapter 7*: Lessons In +Courage}\label{chapter-7-lessons-in-courage} + +Thank you so much for the reviews! I'm happy that so many readers are +happy with Luna and the Slytherins' reaction to Harry's abilities. +Responses will be up in my LJ in a short time. + +This chapter has teeth. Sorry about that. + +\textbf{Chapter Seven: Lessons In Courage} + +Harry slipped rapidly down the second floor hallway to the office that +Dumbledore had given Sirius. He had abandoned lunch early, which had +made Sylarana protest and Draco, stuck in a conversation with Blaise, +scowl at him, but Connor and Ron hadn't been at lunch, either. Harry now +had an extra urgency to his need to speak with Sirius. If they were in +trouble\ldots{} + +He heard Ron's voice coming from the half-open office door, and relaxed. +They were well, then. It seemed that he hadn't been the only one who had +decided to seek out his godfather. + +``---slimy Slytherin!'' said Ron's voice emphatically, just as Harry +reached the office door. + +Harry froze. Then he leaned gently against the wall and cocked his head +so that he could see in around the door itself, heart pounding hard. + +Sirius's office was the usual mess it had been since he moved in, +crowded with photographs of himself and Harry, himself and Connor, the +entire Potter family, Remus, the Potters' wedding, and some of his +innumerable girlfriends. His own broom and motorbike stood in the far +corner, accompanied by a school broom that Harry thought Sirius was +checking over for jinxes. Gryffindor banners, or pieces of cloth +Transfigured to look like them, hung jauntily from every available hook. +Sirius's desk in the middle was buried under an accumulated load of +paper, covered by a prominent Quidditch schedule with each Gryffindor +match marked in red and gold ink. + +And there were three chairs, now pulled into a triangle. Sirius sat in +one of them, face like a thundercloud. Connor perched on the edge of +another, almost vibrating with what Harry recognized as a mixture of +anxiety and anger. Ron paced up and down in front of them, his back to +the door so that Harry couldn't see his face. + +\emph{Perhaps now isn't the best time,} Harry thought. + +\emph{You're eavesdropping}, said Sylarana quite mildly. + +\emph{I know,} Harry snapped back. \emph{Shut up.} + +She just chuckled at him, which was an unexpected reaction. Harry went +back to listening. + +``He's not going to get away with this,'' said Sirius, voice like a +growl. "The Ministry has \emph{no} reason to sack your father, Ron, and +surely not over something as mild as an altercation with Lucius Malfoy +in a bookshop." + +Ron spun around again, and Harry could see that his face had turned +almost entirely red, obscuring his freckles. ``But what if they do?'' he +whispered. ``Dad's always told me that Lucius Malfoy had tons of friends +in the Ministry, and now---'' + +``Not nearly as many since he was a Death Eater,'' said Sirius, and +snorted. ``Oh, yes, he has influence---every pureblooded wizard with +money has a hold over that bastard Fudge---but that doesn't mean so much +when anyone can look at his left arm and see the Dark Mark.'' He paused +for a long moment, then, and a sly smile began to grow on his face. + +``What is it, Sirius?'' Connor had an echo of the same smile in his +voice. He knew what it meant, almost as well as Harry did. Ron just +looked from one to the other with a bewildered expression on his face. + +Sirius coughed a bit. ``Well, Malfoy's gone out of his slimy way to make +this look all proper and legal, right?'' he asked. + +Ron nodded. ``Advocates and everything! But---'' He flinched and hunched +his shoulders. ``Well, my family can't respond as well because\ldots{}'' +His voice trailed off into a mumble. + +Kindly, Harry thought, Sirius didn't refer to Ron's poverty. ``I know,'' +he said. ``So what you need is another pureblooded wizard with money to +fight for you.'' + +Ron just blinked, but Connor leaped up and threw his arms around Sirius. +``Sirius,'' he whispered. "You would? You \emph{really} would?" + +Sirius messed up Connor's hair, affection in that gesture that made +Harry smile a little, despite the way that the news of Lucius Malfoy +going after Arthur Weasley had wound up his nerves. ``Of course, brat,'' +he said. "I still have my contacts in the Ministry, and I have a Black +fortune lying around and not being used very often. Did you think I was +going to spend it \emph{all} on gifts for irresponsible godsons?" + +Connor grinned at him. Ron caught on. ``Oh, sir, no one would expect you +to---'' + +Sirius held up a hand. ``I know. I want to. It's not going to cost me +anything I can't afford, Ron.'' His eyes narrowed, and he grinned in +that way that always made Harry expect to see a tongue loll out of his +mouth. ``And I'll enjoy putting paid to that bastard Malfoy. I don't +trust him any more than I trust Snivellus. Once a Slytherin, always a +Slytherin. Once a Death Eater, always a Death Eater.'' + +Connor paled and fell silent for a moment. Then he said, in a low, +troubled voice, ``Sirius, do you think that's true of Harry?'' + +Harry swallowed. + +\emph{They are ten motions of my body away from me,} said Sylarana +thoughtfully. \emph{I could bite both of them before the ward would +descend and cage me. Just say the word.} + +Harry pushed his angry refusal at her, and waited to hear what Sirius +would say. The longer his godfather waited, the more tense he got. +Sirius stared into space for long moments, then sighed and swiped a hand +through his hair. + +``I don't know, Connor, honestly,'' he said, shaking his head. ``He's my +godson, and a great kid. I always thought he studied a little too much. +But I would never have said he was evil.'' + +``But?'' Connor asked, pressing forward. Ron was listening intently, +too, Harry noticed. Ron had been at least a slight problem in his +interactions with Connor since he and Connor became friends. He accepted +Harry right now, but he would be glad to turn on him if Sirius said so. + +``But he's a Parselmouth,'' said Sirius. ``And he's made up with the +Slytherins again even after he openly proclaimed his devotion to you, +which I don't understand.'' + +\emph{That was them, not me!} Harry thought. + +``I see,'' mumbled Connor, looking stricken. + +``I'll never abandon him, of course,'' said Sirius, reaching out and +giving Connor a rough shake and then a hug. ``I've got the bet with +Snape to win, haven't I? But I don't like that he waited so long before +telling us he was a Parselmouth. It makes me uneasy around him.'' He +blew out a sigh. ``I'm still fighting for Harry, Connor, but it's going +to be more of a battle than I thought.'' + +Harry closed his eyes. He fought the temptation to walk away. He knew, +now, that Sirius wouldn't take the news of what had happened in Defense +Against the Dark Arts well. Harry would have to explain about the diary, +and Tom, and what in the world he had thought he was \emph{doing}, +keeping it all concealed. It would be so much simpler to scurry off. + +\emph{So do it,} Sylarana urged him. \emph{I can help you fight Tom when +he appears again.} + +Harry shook his head slowly. He had meant to be Gryffindor, he +\emph{was} meant to be Gryffindor, and if that was so, then that meant +facing his fears. He'd done it once in the Great Hall, but that didn't +mean that he got to stop doing it. + +He knocked on the door. + +There was a brief, startled silence, and then Sirius called, ``Come +in.'' + +Harry poked his head around the door, and was greeted with a variety of +expressions: surprise, relief, worry, antagonism. Harry swallowed. +``Sirius, can I talk to you in private?'' he asked, darting a glance at +Connor. + +Sirius narrowed his eyes. ``Why, Harry?'' + +Harry let out a little breath. ``Something happened to me today. +Something Dark. Something Slytherin, I think.'' + +Sirius sat back in his chair, considering him. Then he shook his head. +``I think that it's time for the first of the lessons in Gryffindor +qualities I promised you, Harry,'' he said gently, but with a tone of +steel in the back of his voice. ``I'm sure that you can talk about this +in front of Connor and Ron. We can trust them not to spread it any +further, can't we?'' His eyes lingered pointedly on Ron, who, Harry +remembered, had had a tendency to blurt out some of his friends' secrets +last year. + +A bit of the red returning to his face, Ron nodded. Connor was already +nodding, his hazel eyes going wide with fear as they fixed on Harry. + +``Tell me now,'' Sirius said gently. + +Harry told them the story of the diary, the nightmares of the two dark +figures, the dreams of Tom Riddle, and ended with what had happened in +Defense Against the Dark Arts earlier. He forced all the emotion out of +his voice, and kept his tone equally bloodless. His eyes fixed on a +point on the wall above Sirius's head, so that he didn't have to watch +all the changes of his godfather's expressions. + +Finally, when he was finished, Sirius whispered, ``Oh, Harry.'' + +Harry turned slowly to face him. He couldn't tell what emotion +predominated in his godfather's eyes---there were too many---and he +didn't dare look at Ron or Connor. He nodded. ``I think that I'm being +possessed,'' he whispered. ``But I can't figure out how. I haven't +studied the diary in weeks.'' + +``But you kept it?'' Sirius pounced on that. + +``I didn't know what else to do with it,'' said Harry, shaking his head. +``It didn't seem that dangerous---'' + +``I think it is.'' Sirius stood up and came forward, kneeling down in +front of him. Harry actually relaxed a bit again when he saw the look in +his eyes. This was the way that Lily sometimes looked when she explained +some facet of the adult world he didn't know about yet to him. +``Anything that can cause dreams and possession like this is dangerous. +Go and get the diary, Harry. I need to see it. There are a few spells I +know about that you don't which I can perform on the diary to test for +any hint of Dark magic.'' + +Harry nodded and turned towards the Slytherin dungeons. He could hear +talk break out again behind him, but this time he didn't stay to listen +to it. He had had no right to listen to the first conversation. + +He lengthened his strides, rubbing at his scar, which had begun to burn +faintly again. Then he heard a startled hiss from Sylarana. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Harry opened his eyes slowly, carefully. It felt as though they'd been +gummed together by sleep for a long time. His head hurt. He glanced +around and didn't understand what he saw. He was lying in a bed in the +hospital wing, with Madam Pomfrey standing not far away and talking to +Sirius in a low, urgent voice. + +``Sirius?'' he said. His voice croaked. Harry shuddered. He sounded as +though he'd spent hours screaming. + +Sirius burst past the matron, ignoring her shocked cry, and knelt beside +Harry's bed. He clasped Harry's right hand in his and reached up to +brush back his fringe. He sucked in his breath. + +Harry winced. Apparently his scar gave some sign of the intense pain he +was feeling. + +``It's changed color,'' Sirius whispered. + +``What has?'' Madam Pomfrey bustled up behind him, her hands on her +hips. ``If you are suggesting that the pain Mr. Potter sustained came +from a bump on the head, then I am afraid I must---'' + +``No, his scar,'' Sirius whispered. ``It's red. Why is it?'' + +"I'm sure \emph{I} don't know," Madam Pomfrey said. ``Now if you will +clear out of the way so that I can run a few scans, Sirius\ldots{}'' + +Sirius backed off, though he didn't stop holding Harry's hand. His +worried gaze warmed something inside of Harry that he hadn't been aware +was frozen. He closed his eyes and moved his left arm carefully, to feel +the weight of Sylarana. He was surprised she hadn't commented yet. + +She wasn't there. + +He opened his eyes and started to ask, but Madam Pomfrey began chanting +her spells then, and he felt obliged to lie still and be quiet. He +didn't recognize any of the spells, but tried his best to shut the +syllables away in his head so that he could remember them. Medical magic +would come in useful if he ever had to heal Connor's wounds. + +The matron sighed and stepped away from his bed at last, lowering her +wand. ``Nothing is physically wrong with him,'' she said. ``There is no +bump on the back of his head, no concussion, no broken bones.'' + +``I don't understand,'' Harry said, and winced at the sound of his +voice. ``What happened?'' + +``What is the last thing you remember, Mr. Potter?'' Madam Pomfrey +asked, her voice softening a bit as she stared into his face. + +Harry shook his head. ``Not much. That I was on my way back to the +dungeons to fetch a book Sirius wanted to look at, and then---then +Sylarana hissed---'' He stared at his empty left arm again. ``Where is +she?'' + +``Right here, my dear boy.'' + +Harry turned his head and breathed a sigh of relief. Dumbledore had come +into the room, holding a glass cage in his hands. Sylarana wriggled +inside it, hissing furiously. Dumbledore placed the cage gently on the +bed and opened it. + +``Headmaster, that is not wise---'' Madam Pomfrey began, her voice +shrill. + +Sylarana shot away from the cage as though it were charmed to sting her +and slithered up Harry's chest, coiling around his neck. She was +demanding, "\emph{Where did you go? I couldn't find you. I couldn't} +feel \emph{you. Where did you go}?" + +``I don't know,'' Harry said, and saw from the minute flinches of the +adults that he'd spoken Parseltongue. He sighed and turned back towards +them, making sure to keep Sylarana out of his range of vision. ``I don't +know what happened,'' he said. ``But we'd both like to know. Tell us, +please?'' + +``It's disturbing, the way he refers to that snake,'' Sirius muttered. + +Dumbledore ignored him and nodded slowly, his eyes less clear than they +had been the last time Harry had seen him. ``The ward in my office went +off when your Locusta got a certain distance from you, my dear boy---or +perhaps I should say, when you got a certain distance from her. When I +went to fetch her, my way led me past a certain broom closet on the +second floor. You were lying outside it, unconscious.'' He paused, +staring intently at Harry. ``You truly remember nothing of what +happened?'' + +Harry shook his head, dazed. ``But Sylarana should be able to tell +us---'' + +"\emph{I can't,}" she insisted. "\emph{You put me down and told me to +leave you alone. And the memories aren't in your head. They're gone.}" + +``What's there instead?'' Harry asked, turning towards her and not +caring if he did hiss. + +"\emph{Nothing. A hole.}" Sylarana tightened the hold of her tail around +his neck a bit. "\emph{It was disturbing."} + +``But no sign of Tom Riddle?'' + +"\emph{Nothing,"} said Sylarana. "\emph{I can't feel him anymore."} She +paused a long moment, then added reluctantly, "\emph{Perhaps he grew +frightened at the dog's suggestion that we examine his first home and +fled.}" + +Harry let out a slow breath. So that was one danger averted, then---the +main one, that Tom Riddle would possess him again and let fly a +dangerous spell of some sort at Connor or another student. He let the +tension in his stomach relax, and looked up to meet Dumbledore's +questioning gaze. + +``I had a presence in my head, sir,'' he said steadily. ``Possessing me. +A young man with dark hair, who said that he'd come from a certain book +I acquired from---'' He faltered. Could he betray Draco's father like +that? + +``From?'' Dumbledore prodded gently, his eyes like daggers. + +Harry shook his head. ``I picked it up in Flourish and Blotts,'' he +said. ``I didn't know there was anything wrong with it at first, but +then Tom started talking to me---'' + +``Tom.'' Dumbledore's eyes widened the slightest bit. ``Tom Riddle?'' + +Harry blinked. ``Yes, sir. How did you know? Did Sirius mention it?'' He +flicked a glance at his godfather, but Sirius, though he still clutched +Harry's hand, was watching Dumbledore with as much bewilderment Harry +himself had showed. + +Dumbledore sighed. ``I am afraid that I have good, though unhappy, +reason to think of that name first when I hear of any Tom,'' he said. +``And no, your godfather did not mention it to me.'' He paused for a +long, long moment, and then said, ``Tom Riddle was Lord Voldemort's name +when he was a student at Hogwarts, Harry.'' + +Harry clenched his hands so that his fingernails dug into his palms. His +skin crawled as if it had dirt on it. + +\emph{Voldemort.} He'd had \emph{Voldemort} in his head. +\emph{Voldemort} could have gotten out and hurt \emph{Connor}. + +He could have made \emph{Harry} hurt Connor. + +Harry was shaking. He leaned to the side, and Madam Pomfrey gave a sharp +exclamation and waved her wand once, moving a basin over to the side of +the bed for him just as he threw up. + +Sylarana, meanwhile, was hissing like a dragon disturbed on her nest. +"\emph{The degraded one who forced the snake to obey his commands? The +one you fought last year? He could have controlled me. He was trying. I +am glad he is gone.}" And then her tail tightened enough to force Harry +to pay a bit of attention, if only because she was choking off his air. +"\emph{You are not dirty.}" + +Harry rubbed a hand over his mouth and gave a weak nod to Madam Pomfrey +in thanks, wishing he could agree with Sylarana. He did feel dirty, +still, and horrified in a way that had nothing to do with the mere +presence of possession. It had been \emph{Voldemort.} The primary threat +in Connor's life, the one he was supposed to protect Connor from. + +And he would have made Harry into a traitor. + +Guilt and self-loathing were unfurling in the middle of his chest, and +would eat him alive if they could. Harry took a deep breath and put +them, carefully, into the secret box of his thoughts, the one where he +pressed all his complaints and the occasional unfairness or jealousy he +thought he experienced around Connor. The box had been holding things +like that since he was five years old. It was bottomless. Harry thought +it could hold a bit more. + +``No one was hurt?'' he whispered. ``What about Margaret, the girl I hit +with the hex earlier?'' + +``She's awake now,'' said Madam Pomfrey firmly, ``and back in Ravenclaw +Tower. Quite honestly, Mr. Potter, it was only a simple variation on an +old spell. Beyond the skill of our Defense Against the Dark Arts +professor to reverse, of course---'' her voice went acid on those words +``---but not impossible for someone trained in medical magic.'' + +Harry nodded, his resolve to learn medical magic only growing stronger. + +``Do give Professor Lockhart a chance, Poppy,'' Dumbledore chided the +matron gently. Madam Pomfrey only snorted. Dumbledore turned and met +Harry's eyes, his own expression thoughtful. + +``Mr. Potter,'' he said, ``I know that what I am about to ask of you is +unusual, but I feel that I have no choice.'' + +Harry nodded, his heartbeat spiking. Sylarana just uttered a hiss that +was either wordless, all anger, or some obscene curse word that Harry +didn't know the translation for. + +``I am afraid that I must ask you not to tell your brother, nor anyone +else, about your possession by Tom Riddle,'' Dumbledore said quietly. +``Or, at least, not that Tom Riddle is Lord Voldemort,'' he added, +perhaps seeing a shadow in Harry's eyes. ``Young Connor already knows +about the possession itself, I take it?'' + +Harry nodded. ``And so does Ron Weasley. They've both promised to keep +it quiet, Headmaster,'' he said. "They \emph{promised.}" + +``I did not think they would break their words, Harry,'' Dumbledore said +gently. ``But it is extremely important that no one else find out. I am +afraid that it would mean your expulsion from the school. There are +parents, as you know, frightened by the mere mention of His name. To +find that a student had come into possession of an artifact to which a +shred of his soul, or a memory of him, clung\ldots{} they would demand +your expulsion, and I am afraid many of the teachers would join them.'' + +Harry swallowed. "Why aren't you \emph{pushing} to expel me, sir? For +that matter, why didn't you do it after I revealed that---that I can +speak with serpents?" + +Dumbledore reached out and gently patted his head. Harry shivered. There +was a weight to the older wizard's hand, a feeling of immense strength +and power and sorrow, and he was the only person besides their mother +Harry had ever met who didn't muss his hair further. + +``Because there is no law that says a Parselmouth cannot attend +Hogwarts,'' said Dumbledore. ``That would be rather hypocritical of us, +when one of our Founders was a Parselmouth himself. And I have known +many of Voldemort's victims.'' For a moment, his eyes flicked sideways +to the door, and then came back to the bed. ``I know that you are one of +them, rather than a perpetrator of his evil.'' + +Harry nodded and closed his eyes. + +``Headmaster,'' said a cold voice from the door. + +Harry's eyes flew open again, and he turned to see Snape standing there. +The Potions Professor's eyes were fixed on him, of course. + +Sylarana started to unwind from his throat. + +``No,'' Harry told her firmly. ``Don't bite him.'' + +"\emph{You don't control me,}" Sylarana snapped at him. + +``Then I'll force you to leave,'' said Harry. ``If nothing I can do +keeps you from biting anyone, then I don't want you around.'' + +Sylarana hesitated, as though weighing her options, but in the end gave +up and coiled herself around him like a living necklace again, giving +complaints that Harry didn't bother to listen to. + +``You have searched, I presume, Severus?'' Dumbledore asked +conversationally. + +``I have.'' Snape strode towards the bed with his robes swirling around +him, his gaze still never wavering from Harry. ``There is no sign of the +book within the boy's bedroom.'' + +Harry closed his eyes. He was so used to feeling terrified now, he +noticed dully, that he barely noticed when a new level of fear piled +atop the rest. + +``I feared it would be so,'' Dumbledore said with a sigh. ``I assume +that Harry was possessed one more time and forced to hide the diary, and +then his memories were taken, so that he could tell no one where he had +hidden it.'' He looked at Harry and gave him an encouraging smile. ``But +at least, my dear boy, you are no longer possessed. Where the book goes, +the---presence---must go. He has no foothold within your mind anymore.'' + +Harry nodded, though he was hardly comforted. What he \emph{had} done +was enough. He had no idea how he would live it down, or make it up to +Connor. + +``Who possessed you, Potter?'' Snape sneered. + +Harry tensed. Would Dumbledore force him to tell Snape, since the man +was another of Voldemort's victims? + +But Dumbledore said only, ``Harry has agreed to tell only a select +number of people, Severus. We, in turn, have agreed not to spread it any +further.'' His gaze went to Madam Pomfrey and Sirius. Sirius nodded at +once, of course, while Madam Pomfrey paled at whatever she saw in the +Headmaster's face and lowered her gaze. + +``The boy is in my House,'' said Snape. ``He is in my care. I have a +right to know.'' Harry didn't need to look up to know that Snape would +be watching him again. + +``Really?'' Sirius said, with that bark-like laugh. "In \emph{your} +care? When you didn't even know that he was a Parselmouth, or that he +was being possessed?" + +``And did you know those things before he came to school, Black?'' +Snape's voice had gone soft and eager. "Did you know that your +\emph{godson} possesses Salazar's talent? Or that---" + +``Severus. Sirius.'' + +The Headmaster's voice appeared to flash-freeze both men. Harry saw +Sirius bow his head, a flush suffusing his cheeks, and Snape stiffen. +Dumbledore looked from one to the other of them and sighed. + +``When grown men cannot put aside their grudges, how shall we persuade +our students to do so?'' he murmured. + +Neither of the men said anything. Dumbledore sighed again and looked +back at Harry, his eyes gone quiet. + +``I am so sorry this happened to you, my boy,'' he said. ``Nothing like +this should have been able to hurt you at Hogwarts. Please consider +yourself under my personal protection. You may come to me at any time +with any concern that you have.'' + +Harry nodded. He planned to take the Headmaster up on it if something +else dangerous happened that might concern Connor. He would have to +tighten his vigilance, step up the amount of attention he paid to his +brother. What if Tom Riddle had planned something else, or was lurking +in the shadows? What if someone else found the diary? + +Harry did not like to think of what might happen then. + +``Headmaster,'' Snape said abruptly, in a voice still cold, but less +provocative than he had used before. ``If I might make a suggestion that +should root out any lingering traces of possession in the boy's mind?'' + +``Of course, Severus,'' said Dumbledore, sounding surprised and pleased. + +``I extend an offer to train our accident-prone Mr. Potter in +Occlumency,'' said Snape. ``Legilimency, as well. At the very least, it +will heal the hurts this possession has left behind. At the best, I may +be able to make sure that the boy learns how to guard his mind against +further intrusions.'' + +Harry pushed himself back against the pillows, as far as he could +without irritating Sylarana or making Sirius let go of his hand. A +Legilimens! Snape was a Legilimens! + +And Harry had trusted him without thought, and even looked him directly +in the eyes too many times to count, his memories burning and flashing +near the surface of his mind. Merlin only knew how much information he'd +let slip directly from his mind into Snape's, information that could +damn Connor. + +There was no way that he was letting the Head of Slytherin House look +into his thoughts again, now that he knew. + +``No,'' he said firmly. + +Snape turned and gazed into Harry's eyes. Harry immediately looked away, +and Sylarana supported him with a stern hiss. + +``And why not?'' Snape had lowered his voice. ``Are you afraid of what I +might find, Mr. Potter?'' + +``Yes,'' said Harry bluntly. ``I am. You hate our father, sir. You have +already proven that.'' He looked back in time to see something flash in +Snape's eyes, and found himself smiling, oddly, bitterly. ``I think +you're only doing this because you want to find memories of a time when +James Potter did something embarrassing and taunt me with them.'' + +``One might almost think you don't trust me, Mr. Potter,'' said Snape. +Harry did not know what to make of his voice, which was free of +inflection. + +``I don't,'' said Harry. ``You know why.'' He met Snape's eyes head-on +and let the memory of taking Veritaserum shimmer on the surface of his +thoughts. + +Snape jerked back as if he had been stung, his eyes widening for a +moment. Then they narrowed. + +``Nonetheless,'' he said. + +``Professor Snape would be an excellent choice, Harry,'' Dumbledore +said, a tone of regret in his voice. ``He knows---certain essential +things about the presence that possessed you already. And he is your +Head of House. He is also an expert Occlumens and will, I am certain, +agree to an oath not to reveal what he finds in your mind to anyone +else, unless compelled to legally.'' He turned and met Snape's eyes. + +``I will,'' said Snape, with no hesitation. + +"\emph{I won't allow it!}" + +Harry yelped as Sirius jumped to his feet, tugging viciously on his arm. +He pulled his hand free, shaking it. Sylarana hissed, but once again +said nothing in the hiss. Harry didn't know what to make of her. + +"Harry is \emph{my} godson," Sirius snarled, leaning forward. "He's also +a twelve-year-old boy who's just been possessed, and needs rest and good +food and the company of his friends. You are \emph{not} going to go +poking around in his head, you slimy, greasy-haired, yellow-toothed, +sniveling, \emph{Death Eater}!" + +Snape did not smile. He merely watched Sirius with cold disdain, then +turned to Dumbledore. ``Headmaster?'' + +``We must do what is best for Harry,'' said Dumbledore. ``And I do think +that Severus will be able to help him, Sirius. I will make him agree to +the oath in front of you, if it will---'' + +Sirius stomped out of the hospital wing. Harry listened to each step he +took out, and closed his eyes, knowing what would happen now. + +Dumbledore explained the situation to Snape, softly, and took his oath. +Harry didn't look up the entire time. He was already sinking deep into +himself, reaching for the courage Sirius had wanted him to show today, +and which he would need to defend his twin. + +Every movement he made to be Gryffindor only seemed to tug him back +towards being Slytherin. He had to try something else. + +It was a shame that he was no longer sure \emph{what} he should try. + +"\emph{Sleep}," said Sylarana forcefully. + +Harry sighed. She was right. No one would blame him for going to sleep, +and it might help relax him and give him ideas when he woke in the +morning. + +He turned over, made himself comfortable, and let his mind drift into +darkness. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Snape waited until he was back in his office to let his stoic face slip. +Then he drew his wand, conjured a dueling target, and flung hexes at it, +one after another, charring it and melting its limbs, scarring and +chopping it, and finally making it explode. It was a reflex he'd trained +himself into long ago, since throwing things was hardly advisable in a +room full of valuable potions and potions ingredients. + +Finally, the initial edge of his mood taken off, he Vanished the target +and the marks he'd made on his walls, and sank into his chair, closing +his eyes. + +Two memories burned clear as day in his mind: the night he'd force-fed +Harry Veritaserum, and the words that Dumbledore had spoken as he warned +Snape what he would probably see in Harry's mind. + +"\emph{Tom Riddle is here, Severus. And his diary is now missing.}" + +Snape knew what it meant. He'd barely let the thought enter his mind, +though, before he shut it away. + +Now, he could shut it away no longer. + +\emph{The Second War has already begun.} + +And Harry Potter was at the center of it, as Snape had suspected he +would be. As recently as a week ago, a day ago, the announcement would +have made him smile. It was only more proof that Harry Potter, and not +his brother, was the Boy-Who-Lived. + +Not now. Not when Voldemort had gained such a direct link into Harry's +mind, and Harry had shown, clearly, that he did not trust his own Head +of House to protect him against and help him with such a challenge, and +had not for months. + +\emph{I was blind.} + +Snape knew he had made mistakes in the past, even great ones, even +horrific ones---sometimes it seemed as though his life had been one long +mistake---but, at the moment, the only one that rivaled losing Harry's +trust and making the bet with Black was the night he had chosen to join +the Death Eaters. And that would come rolling back on him, repercussions +in all their myriad forms, if the Dark Lord returned. Nothing he had +done in the past twelve years to make up for it would matter anymore. + +\emph{I will not allow that to happen. Against this, it does not matter +that Harry is James Potter's son or Sirius Black's godson. It matters +that he stands at the center of this.} + +\emph{And if I do not help Harry, then the other Houses may blame +Slytherin for His return indeed.} + +Snape stood up, letting out a harsh breath, and composed himself. He +would have to teach a class of mingled third-year Hufflepuffs and +Ravenclaws soon, and he had to be ready. It would not do to let the +students see their cool, calm, controlled Potions Professor with rage +and agony in his eyes. + +\emph{The Second War has begun,} he thought, addressing the boy in the +hospital wing who could not hear him. \emph{We are both soldiers in it. +You stand not alone.} + +\emph{The trouble, of course, will be making you see it.} + +\subsection{*Chapter 8*: Interlude: Lily's +Letter}\label{chapter-8-interlude-lilys-letter} + +Thank you for the reviews! Review responses up in my LJ in a little +while. + +This is an Interlude chapter, and therefore short, but a new full-length +chapter will be up in just a few moments. They are both Depressing, just +to warn you. + +\textbf{Interlude: Lily's Letter} + +\emph{October 7th, 1992} + +Dear Harry: + +I have heard from both Sirius and Headmaster Dumbledore that Professor +Snape wants you to take Occlumency lessons with him. Sirius, of course, +urges us to refuse. Headmaster Dumbledore urges us to agree. + +I have spoken with your father, and we agree that you should take them. + +The reasons for this are complicated, but I will explain them, as I know +that you, of all children, will understand the even deeper reasons that +underlie them. + +First, Professor Snape is in a unique position to understand someone, +such as yourself, who might be tempted to turn to the Dark but is loyal +to the Light. He overcame a year of working as a Death Eater to return +to the Headmaster's side, and then served another year as a spy. I +understand that he hates James, and that he might take that hatred out +on you, as he has in the past. But I believe that that instinctive +understanding will compel him to fairness soon enough. Even James cannot +deny---though he would kill himself before admitting admiration of +Severus out loud---that it took courage to acknowledge his mistake and +return. + +Second, there is a possibility that Occlumency and Legilimency +themselves will be weapons you will need in the coming war---not only as +shields, but as blades. The Dark Lord, the Headmaster has written me, is +an accomplished Legilimens. His successful possession of even a mind +trained as yours was proves that. If you would use these weapons, +perhaps someday you could not only defend your own thoughts, but pierce +his. This, I need not tell you, would give us an incredible advantage in +learning Voldemort's strategies. + +Third, I, too, fear what might happen if the Dark Lord gained control of +such power and talent as you possess, my son---power and talent that is +so much greater than Sirius realizes. It is our fault, of course, and +not his, that he does not know. Still, you know what a disaster it might +be if you turned against your brother. + +Please, Harry. For Connor's sake, and for all of ours, I urge you to +accept Professor Snape's teaching. + +I love you, my son, and know that you will make the right decision. + +\emph{Lily Evans Potter.} + +\subsection{*Chapter 9*: What A Tangled Web We +Weave}\label{chapter-9-what-a-tangled-web-we-weave} + +This chapter is part of the reason that I see the book definitely +getting darker. + +\textbf{Chapter Eight: What a Tangled Web We Weave} + +``Someone's coming,'' rasped a low, urgent voice from ahead. + +"Oh, shit, it's \emph{him}," said someone else, and then the noise of +pounding feet grew stronger. Harry stepped around the corner just in +time to see two taller students hurrying away from him, giving him a +distrustful glance. Harry found it funny until he looked sideways and +saw Luna Lovegood stuck to the wall with some kind of web that looked +like it was made of chewing gum. Pink strands clung to her hair, her +face, and her robes, and twisted her mouth shut. + +``Harry!'' Draco scolded as Harry stepped forward. ``What are you doing? +We're going to be late for Potions---'' + +Harry gave him a look that shut him up entirely. Turning around, Harry +pointed his wand and murmured, "\emph{Finite Incantatem.}" + +The web vanished. Luna dropped to the floor and shook her head, then +stood. Her wand was still behind her left ear, Harry noticed, the long +flow of her hair nearly obscuring it. She gazed at him with solemn eyes. + +``Thank you,'' she said. ``But you didn't have to do that, you know. +They were under the control of Wrackspurts.'' + +``Did they hurt you?'' Harry asked. He didn't think they had, but he'd +never seen that particular hex before, and for all he knew, the web +could have pulled free skin or hair when it vanished. + +``No,'' said Luna. ``I think they meant to humiliate me, if you want the +truth. Wrackspurts like making people's minds fuzzy, but they can't +change them. They wouldn't really have hurt me, because they didn't want +to hurt me before the Wrackspurts possessed them.'' + +Harry wasn't so sure of that, but he let it go. Ignoring Draco's +impatient shifting, he stepped forward and surveyed Luna for a moment. +She tilted her head back so as to see him better; even for a first-year, +she was small. This morning, she wore a necklace of bottle caps as +jewelry. Her face was utterly smooth and calm. Harry had no idea what +she was feeling. + +``If anyone hurts you like that again,'' he said, ``and I'm not around, +then I want you to find the nearest Slytherin when you're free. Tell him +or her that you have a message for Harry Potter, and tell them what your +attackers looked like.'' + +Luna nodded. ``But why?'' she asked. + +``What do you mean, why?'' Harry glared up the hall where the older +students had gone. They weren't Gorgon and Jones, he knew. They hadn't +shown that extreme a level of fear. But he was fairly sure they +\emph{had} been Ravenclaws. ``I don't want them hurting you.'' + +``They want to humiliate me,'' Luna corrected gently, ``not hurt me. I +said that once before.'' + +Harry took a deep breath. ``Then maybe I want to humiliate them back,'' +he said. Draco drew in a breath beside him, but when Harry glanced at +him, the other boy shut his mouth and gave him a pointed look. +\emph{We're going to be late for Potions,} said that gaze, \emph{and you +shouldn't be doing all this anyway, since you just got out of the +hospital wing.} Harry ignored that in turn. + +``Do you have a Wrackspurt in your head, too?'' Luna asked. + +``Maybe,'' said Harry. ``I don't know. What does a Wrackspurt feel +like?'' + +``Fuzziness,'' said Luna. ``Not remembering what you're doing. Thinking +odd thoughts, like hurting people.'' + +Harry tried to smile, though he was afraid it didn't come out exactly +the way he would have liked. ``Why, yes, then. That feels like something +I've been experiencing a lot of lately.'' + +Draco clutched his arm. "Are you \emph{blind}?" he hissed. + +"\emph{What he said,}" said Sylarana. "\emph{And tell him to kindly take +his hand off me.}" + +Harry shook his arm free and watched as Luna drew a clacking necklace +from the pocket of her robe. It had small silver charms on it, including +a horse and a bird that Harry thought was a swan, but also many more +ordinary objects---more bottle caps, sweet wrappers, pierced playing +cards. Luna held it out to him, and nodded solemnly as Harry accepted +it. + +``That will protect you from Wrackspurts,'' she said. ``I offered some +to the people who bound me to the wall, but they didn't want one. I +don't know why,'' she added. ``I think the Wrackspurts were confusing +them further.'' + +``Thank you, Luna,'' said Harry. He put the necklace around his neck. +Draco spluttered, but didn't actually manage to say anything, which was +most gratifying. Harry nodded to Luna. ``I think I can feel the +Wrackspurt fading away already.'' + +"\emph{No, that's your stupidity coming back,}" said Sylarana. + +``You're welcome,'' said Luna. ``Now, I have to go to class. Someone +might miss me, and then they would think Heliopaths had taken me.'' She +turned around and walked away without a further word. + +Harry watched her go with a faint smile, and then Draco grabbed his +arm---luckily, not the one Sylarana was wrapped around---and dragged him +off in the direction of Potions. + +``Professor Snape'll be furious with us if we're late,'' he said. ``And +why did you take that necklace, Harry? They're going to think you're as +mad as she is.'' + +``Some of them already do,'' said Harry softly, tugging the necklace's +string so that it rode higher around his neck. ``Speaking Parseltongue, +fainting in a corridor upstairs\ldots{}'' + +Draco stopped abruptly and reached out, clasping Harry's shoulders. +Harry looked into his eyes. + +``I don't think you're mad, Harry,'' said Draco. ``I think you're +unusual, and always will be.'' + +Harry smiled slightly. ``Thank you, Draco,'' he said, and stepped around +him. "Now, as you pointed out, Snape \emph{will} be furious with us if +we're late." He started down the corridor, and Draco followed +obediently. + +"\emph{Do you like Luna more than me?}" Sylarana was obviously sulking. + +Harry looked down at her head poking out of his sleeve and responded in +what he was sure was Parseltongue. ``Of course not. I would think you +would be happy about my helping her, in fact.'' + +Sylarana turned her head and fixed him with brilliant green eyes. +\emph{"Why would I be}?" + +``Because sometimes I might think you should bite a stupid Ravenclaw,'' +Harry pointed out. + +Sylarana crooned at him for the rest of the way to Potions, telling him +what a good human she had, such a \emph{smart} human. Harry smiled to +himself. By the time that he found the Ravenclaws hurting Luna, he might +be in a bad enough mood to at least let Sylarana threaten them, and that +would probably content her. He was learning how to manage her now. + +His anger tried to return at the thought of older students tormenting a +first-year, at the thought of students hurting someone in their own +House, at the thought of no one \emph{doing} something about it, but he +shoved it away. He was going to be angry enough tonight, after his first +Occlumency lesson with Snape. But he had promised his mother to try to +be as cool and composed as possible. He had to be, for Connor's sake. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Snape raised an eyebrow when Harry and Draco came in just before he +would have closed the classroom doors, but he said nothing---until Harry +turned to take his usual seat beside Neville Longbottom. Then his +eyebrow climbed higher, and he said, ``Up front, Mr. Potter, if you +please. I think that you should partner Mr. Malfoy today.'' + +Harry saw Neville's face fall out of the corner of his eye. The timid +Gryffindor really wasn't so timid when Harry partnered him. Harry didn't +point out all the obvious mistakes, the way that Hermione did, but tried +his best to let Neville figure them out on his own, only lending help if +he really needed it. That seemed the best way to teach Neville---in +fact, the best way to teach a lot of the more fumble-worthy Potions +students. Harry could only wonder that Snape didn't realize it. + +``Are we starting a new potion today, sir?'' Harry asked. + +``No, Mr. Potter, we will be continuing our work on the Calming +Draught,'' said Snape, his voice growing a bit sharper. + +``Then I would prefer to remain and work with Neville, sir,'' said +Harry, sitting down. Neville beamed at him. Harry smiled back. ``After +all, we started the Calming Draught together, so I think we should +finish it.'' + +Snape swept forward to stand over him. Harry looked up and met his eyes. +Sylarana hissed softly, and he felt her sink into his skin. Her presence +was in his mind now, and if Snape tried to read his thoughts in the next +few moments, he was going to get a nasty surprise. + +Harry had agreed to take the Occlumency lessons, and listened to +Sirius's raging about it, and answered his mother's letter with a calm +and reasoned one of his own, telling her that he understood and accepted +every point she made. But it had been more than a week since his +possession, and he had had that time to think on his own strategies for +learning from Snape while keeping the man from seeing more than he +should. Sylarana was one of those strategies. She was in his mind +anyway, so he would make use of her willingness to be so. + +And he would force Snape into the open and make him lose as many minor +battles as he could. It was \emph{important} that Snape know he +distrusted him, and Snape hadn't won over Harry just because Harry would +take private lessons from him. Whatever mad, conceited, Snapeish reason +that the Potions Professor had had for thinking Harry would still trust +him after his use of Veritaserum might possess his thinking again. + +\emph{Snape wants honesty, does he?} Harry thought. \emph{He wants me to +open my mind to him? This is a place to start.} + +The air grew more and more tense as the Professor stared Harry down. +Harry could see Connor leaning from two rows in front, looking at him. +His face was pale, and so was Ron's. Hermione, who sat at the table in +front of Harry and Neville, was staring at Harry in absolute shock and +horror. + +At last, Snape said, ``Perhaps you are right, Mr. Potter. Mr. Zabini, +return to Mr. Malfoy. You may partner Miss Parkinson at another time.'' +He turned away and swept back to the front of the room. + +Harry let out a small breath and faced Neville again. Neville was +shaking, his head buried in his hands. + +``Hey,'' Harry said softly, concerned. + +Neville looked back up at him and shook his head. ``Did you mean that, +Harry?'' he whispered. ``Did you really want to work with me?'' + +Harry blinked. ``Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?'' + +``I melt all the cauldrons,'' whispered Neville, as he began to copy +down Snape's instructions for the Calming Draught. "And I'm just not +very good at Potions. You're \emph{really} good, or P-Professor Snape +wouldn't have given you points last year." + +Harry shrugged. ``Then I should work with you, since I am good at +Potions. Besides, I like you.'' + +Neville's face lit up at that. Harry hid a sigh as he went to fetch the +Calming Draught ingredients. Did no one \emph{ever} tell Neville that +they liked him? Harry couldn't see why. Neville had always been +perfectly polite to Harry whenever he visited Gryffindor Tower, and he +\emph{listened} to other people's words, like he was going to be tested +on them later. Harry couldn't imagine a less likely candidate for being +pushed out and ostracized by his own House. + +Of course, Luna got ostracized by the Ravenclaws, too. + +Harry frowned and carried the ingredients back to the table he shared +with Neville. So, what was it about Luna and Neville that made them +targets? He could understand why \emph{he} was a target, since most of +the students in the school now seemed to think he was Dark. But Neville +just wasn't talented at Potions, or Snape wouldn't let him be, and Luna +wore odd jewelry and said odd things and carried her wand behind her +left ear. Harry couldn't imagine that the others really thought those +were Dark activities. + +\emph{They get pushed out because people are stupid,} said Sylarana. +\emph{I thought you knew that.} + +``Mr. Potter.'' + +Harry glanced up. Snape stood over them, and Neville was obviously +shaking, trying not to slip out of his chair in a dead faint. + +``I shall expect you tonight in my offices at eight-o'-clock sharp,'' he +said. + +Harry lowered his eyes and nodded, turning back to look at the +instructions for the Calming Draught. He knew how to make it, but it was +always good to double-check. + +``Did you hear me?'' Snape demanded. + +Harry blinked up at him. Perhaps Snape expected defiance in all things, +even this. But Harry had agreed to the Occlumency lessons. He wouldn't +fight the lessons actually taking place. + +``Yes, sir. Eight-o'-clock in your offices. I'll be there,'' he said. + +Snape eyed him once, then turned away. Neville let out a shaky breath. +"How do you \emph{stand} him?" he whispered. + +``I don't, really,'' said Harry, dropping in the first pinch of +shrivelfig. ``He stands me.'' + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Harry let out a deep breath, put his anger in the box---this was for +Connor---and knocked on the door to Snape's office. + +``Come in,'' said Snape's voice, perfectly polished and cold. Harry +opened the door and stepped inside. + +He'd been within Snape's offices before, and so he knew immediately that +something was different. The countless bottles of finished potions and +their ingredients were gone, the shelves standing empty. The desk and +chairs that usually sat in the middle of the office stood against the +wall, and there was a long stretch of floor Transfigured to look like a +mattress. Harry stared at it, then up at Snape, who leaned against the +far wall of the office and watched him. + +``Why is the mattress there, sir?'' he asked. + +``To catch you if you fall, Potter,'' Snape said equitably. ``Occlumency +is a trying task. I fully expect you to collapse at some point during +it, if only because you are keeping too much attention focused on your +mind and not enough on your body.'' He shrugged. ``It happens to many +students. It happened to me.'' + +Harry blinked. He was thrown by Snape's tone, by the look in his eyes, +by the fact that he had bothered to explain---and do it without +snapping. + +A moment later, as Snape stepped forward and pointed his wand, he +thought he understood the purpose of answering his question like that. +He stiffened his shoulders, and Sylarana took up her guard position in +his mind. + +"\emph{Legilimens!}" + +Harry felt as though someone were pushing at him, stepping through his +eyes and into his mind. He fell through a tumbling chaos of impressions. +Sylarana coiled around him and held him, and he stopped a few of the +memories from escaping with her help. + +Others, though, stormed past him and fled. He saw, briefly, the first +time he managed to master wandless magic, the endless hours he'd +practiced with \emph{Protego} before understanding it, the time three +autumns ago when his magic unexpectedly sprang up around him and whirled +around his head like a ball on the end of a string when Connor had taken +the last Chocolate Frog from a box of them--- + +And then Sylarana \emph{twisted}, and pulled, and Harry found himself +kneeling on the mattress, breathing hard. + +He closed his eyes, not wanting to see Snape's expression just yet. He +had survived the first time. And he thought he could figure out the +pushing motion Snape had made. There was a certain \emph{direction} to +the magic, a certain way one sent his will when performing it. He could +learn quickly, and if he could keep Snape from seeing important memories +each time, then he might be out of danger in a few weeks. + +``On your feet, Potter,'' said Snape quietly. + +Harry stood. Snape's face was utterly blank. This time, he said, "I am +going to seek out a memory you do not wish me to see. +\emph{Legilimens!}" + +Harry grimaced as the force pushed into his mind again. He tried to +stand to face it, and it was too strong for him. + +He dropped into the second of the strategies he had worked out with +Sylarana, choosing shreds and shards of memory, the flashes of tiny +things he might remember of a summer when he was six, and sending them +up like a cloud of butterflies before Snape's reaching will. Snape +paused to examine some of them, and Harry whipped around and dived. He +had a brief sense of vast, overarching corridors and deep black waters, +his mind as wilder and stranger than he had ever thought it was, and +then he felt Snape break through at his back. + +Sylarana lunged and lashed, but she was too slow. Snape didn't know +Harry's mind well, but he knew \emph{minds}, and Harry caught a glimpse +of what a skilled Legilimens could do, in that moment, how his own +expertise might overpower even someone who knew his own mind well. Snape +knew the general form of what he was looking for, while Harry knew only +the memories he wanted to protect, and thinking of them would reveal +their presence to Snape. + +A memory exploded before Harry's eyes like a shower of Muggle fireworks. + +\emph{``To keep Connor safe. To always protect him. To insure that he +lives as untroubled a life as he can, until he has to face Lord +Voldemort again. To be his brother and his friend and his guardian. To +love him. To never compete with him, never show him up, and never let +anyone else know that I'm so close to him. To be ordinary, so that he +can be extraordinary.''} + +\emph{Lily knelt in front of him, her clear eyes filled with love and +sorrow, and kissed the top of his head. ``That is correct,'' she said. +``I'm so proud of you, Harry, for saying them all the way through and +knowing what they mean.''} + +\emph{It was the first time he'd known, really} known\emph{, what the +vows meant. He was six years old\ldots{}} + +Harry shoved Snape violently out of his head. He looked up in time to +see Snape stagger back against the far wall, while Harry sat down on the +mattress again. Harry was pleased to see Snape sweating and panting, +just as he himself was. + +\emph{I'm sorry,} said Sylarana miserably. \emph{He was too fast. Too +strong.} + +\emph{Don't worry about it,} Harry told her. \emph{We'll just have to +try something else. Now that we really know what he can do, it'll be +easier. And we still have some other strategies that we didn't try.} + +``Potter.'' + +Harry glanced up. Snape was holding his wand before him, but loosely, as +though he didn't intend to aim it. + +``What was that?'' he asked. + +Harry blinked. ``You know what it was,'' he said. ``Sir,'' he added +hastily, as the professor's face clouded. ``It's one of the memories you +tricked out of me with Veritaserum last year.'' He couldn't keep the +hatred from coming out in his voice then, but he grabbed the worst +vestiges of the emotion and stuffed them into the box. He \emph{had} to +learn from Snape. He couldn't afford to anger him too badly. At the same +time, it was a relief to speak openly of an incident he'd kept from +everyone. ``You know that I made vows to protect Connor. Those were +them.'' + +Snape stood still for a very long time. Then he shook his head. ``I can +see the wounds in your head, Potter,'' he said. ``Gaping ones, where Tom +Riddle touched you and tore the memories from your mind.'' + +Harry shuddered. Snape said \emph{Tom Riddle}, but he heard +\emph{Voldemort.} + +``How do I get rid of them, sir?'' Harry asked. + +``You do not,'' said Snape. ``Not easily. That is what the Occlumency is +for. Eventually, it will fill those holes with fog, with defenses, and +they will not be the pits they are right now.'' He paused again. ``And +you must learn to defend yourself without your snake. Did you know that +she is woven throughout your mind now, her thoughts braided around +yours?'' + +``I knew,'' said Harry steadily. ``We planned that. We didn't want you +finding humiliating memories of James Potter, sir.'' + +Snape's eyes narrowed. ``So anxious to protect your father, are you?'' +he whispered. His wand came up. "\emph{Legilimens}!" + +Harry tried to avoid the push of the spell, but he was too late. Snape +was in his head again, and this time he was hunting memories of James. + +Harry created a false one as fast as he could, an ordinary time when he +and James played Quidditch together, and set it in Snape's way. He +barely paused before plunging on, however. Harry knew he was aiming for +a specific area of his mind, but he didn't know where it was, or how to +anticipate Snape's movements. + +Snape found and pushed past something, a curtain that parted on a +veritable storehouse of memories. + +They came out in a flood. + +James helping him practice Quidditch\ldots{} James playing pranks with +Connor while Harry watched with a fond smile\ldots{}James flying a kite +in spring with Connor outside the house in Godric's Hollow while Harry +sprawled on the grass with a book and read about defensive +magic\ldots{}James tossing Harry in the air and spinning him +around\ldots{}James drawing his wand on Lucius Malfoy in Diagon +Alley\ldots{} + +James expressing concern to Lily over Harry's total dedication to +learning magic, the way he never laughed or had fun--- + +Harry pushed, and Sylarana pushed, and Snape was out again. Harry wasn't +sure that it wasn't partially willing, however. Snape seemed to have +found what he was looking for. + +Snape was pacing up and down, rapping his wand against his knee. Harry +closed his eyes. He didn't have to look at him, he thought. There was no +\emph{law} that said that he had to look at him. Keeping his eyes closed +allowed him to better think about the techniques of Legilimency, in any +case, and Occlumency, which was its counterpart. Snape had pushed, had +parted a flimsy barrier. That meant that the best chance of Harry +concealing his thoughts was to hide them behind a hard one. + +What was hard? + +\emph{Metal}, said Sylarana helpfully. \emph{Stone. Scales. The ground +when it hasn't rained.} + +Metal would do, Harry thought. He wondered if he should envision a metal +door, or--- + +``Potter.'' + +Harry looked up, then remembered who he was dealing with and snapped his +eyes sideways. Snape said only, ``That is enough for your first lesson. +I want you to practice clearing your mind before the next time we meet. +That is the necessary first step for Occlumency.'' + +``Why didn't you tell me this before, sir?'' Harry asked quietly. + +``I wanted to see how strong your defenses were,'' said Snape. ``And +what wounds Riddle had left in your mind, that I might know the best way +of healing them. Clearing your mind is the first step.'' + +``What about solid barriers?'' Harry asked. ``Metal doors to stop +you---to stop Riddle from peering into my thoughts wherever he wants?'' + +``That will not work, Potter,'' said Snape, all inflection stripped from +his tone. ``Occlumency and Legilimency are both arts of motion. A +Legilimens confronting one barrier will turn around and go somewhere +else. You may have felt the motion in your mind as swimming, or darting, +or hunting. You will have noticed yourself that your best tactics came +from moving about, either your sense of self or your memories. It is not +unlike the pureblood dance, which I now know you to be skilled in. +Clearing your mind is necessary because it give the invading Legilimens +nothing save blankness to swim in, no matter where he goes.'' + +Harry lifted his head. This had to be spoken, given what Snape seemed +intent on revealing. ``Will you be telling anyone what happens in these +lessons, sir?'' + +``No,'' said Snape, his voice like a whip. ``I will not. Will you?'' + +``I would prefer they were not happening at all, sir,'' said Harry. +``So, no.'' He turned away and walked to the door. + +``You must learn to defend yourself,'' said Snape at him. ``You must +learn to do so without the use of your snake. And you must heal your +wounds.'' + +Harry didn't see any reason to respond to that, since Snape already knew +what he would say. He pulled open the door and left. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Snape Transfigured the mattress back into the floor, moved his desk and +chairs into their rightful places, and reversed his earlier Vanishment +spell, summoning the potions back to their proper place. He did all that +before he allowed himself to think about what he had seen in Harry's +mind. + +The wounds were one thing. He had expected them. They were gaping and +ugly, sunken holes stained with foulness from Riddle's touch. He had had +no reason to be gentle, and he hadn't been. Snape was confident that, in +time, as Harry learned Occlumency, he could heal them, or fill them and +make them neither vulnerable places nor wounds any longer. + +The depth of the Locusta's intervention was also worrisome, but not a +surprise. She was a glowing golden braid, intertwined so deeply into +Harry's mind that Snape knew trying to tug her out would cause Harry +permanent damage. He would still insist that Harry learn to defend +himself without her. All the Dark Lord would have to do at the moment +would be to kill the Locusta, and Harry would be rendered screaming and +defenseless, overwhelmed by agony. A careful, a proper, training would +prevent that. + +Two things did worry Snape, and they were not what he had expected at +all. + +The first was the sheer form of Harry's mind. Snape had walked in many +different mental conceptions since he became a Legilimens, and seen +innumerable wizards and witches defend and define themselves in +innumerable ways. He had seen houses of the mind, labyrinths, forests, +cave systems, oceans, replicas of Hogwarts or the Ministry, gardens, +single large rooms, planes of drifting fog. + +Harry's mind was meshed webs, strands of thought and training and memory +and belief twined into one another, tangling with each other at every +point. Riddle's wounds were holes in those webs, places where the +strands gaped and fluttered. The Locusta was another thread in them, a +new and prominent one. + +Snape had searched, and sought, even as he distracted Harry with +memories that did not truly matter. He had not seen one place where the +webs yielded, where Harry's sense of self was free of them. Any thought +he had took a tangled route along spirals and circles and branching +intersections, bound as far as possible into the webs that he had +already woven. And all of them wrapped as tightly as they could around +the same goal, the one Harry had already told Snape mattered to him: +saving and protecting Connor. + +Snape did not know how such webs could have evolved on their own. They +had been carefully tended. + +He understood how and why, with Harry's memories of his vows and of +studying. Lily---not James, evidently---had trained her son to be like +this, weaving as many expectations as she could into the webs, teaching +Harry what to think about the future before the future had happened. + +He could not examine his own feelings on the matter, not yet. He knew +that his emotions would burst from their own cocoon and savage him if he +tried it. There was howling anger there, and the old hatred directed +towards James Potter, and a sickness so great that he had no appetite +for the late dinner he had planned--- + +Snape moved a sharp hand, cutting his own thoughts off. That was the +reason he had decided not to think about them, because it would take him +time to contemplate the full extent of what had happened. + +The second thing that worried him about Harry's mind was the box. It +appeared in Harry's thoughts as a small, low container of dark wood, +padlocked with a strength that had stunned Snape. It floated like a +ghost over the webs, indicating that Harry consciously thought about +that part of his mind that way. It was not an unconscious way of seeing +himself, as the webs were. It edged itself into view whenever Snape +hunted, but darted away when he looked directly at it. + +The box had opened, once, when Harry had cut himself off from the tirade +Snape was sure the boy was about to give on the Veritaserum incident. +Harry had \emph{thrown} his hatred into the box, and it had slammed shut +in the next moment and ghosted away again. Harry had done it with +absolute ease, indicating yet another skill he had practiced for years. + +Snape thought about at least six years---if he counted from the time +that Harry had apparently fully understood his vows---of hatred and +resentment and bitterness and any other emotion that might possibly +damage his relationship with Connor, or the training he needed to help +Connor. He thought about it all contained in one place, separate from +the rest of Harry's mind and strictly ignored. + +He decided that he did not want to think about it any more. + +Snape pushed himself wearily to his feet. He was a Slytherin, and he was +a former Death Eater, and he was a Potions Professor who had managed to +teach for twelve years despite disliking most of his students. There was +no reason for him to feel as weary and discouraged as he currently was. +He had met challenges and overcome them. He would overcome this one, +too. + +Why did he feel as if the ground had dropped out from under him? + +\emph{Because,} he decided, \emph{I never expected to have sympathy for +any bloody Potter.} + +It was not entirely true, but he made it be true for right now, and +turned to his own preparations before bed. + +\subsection{*Chapter 10*: That Sharp Spark of +Betrayal}\label{chapter-10-that-sharp-spark-of-betrayal} + +Thank you for the reviews on both the Interlude and Chapter 9! I'll put +up review responses in my LJ later today. + +I didn't like writing this chapter. I think I did it well, but it hurts. + +\textbf{Chapter Nine: That Sharp Spark of Betrayal} + +Harry's hand darted out, snatching the Snitch as it tried to bolt around +him, and Flint bellowed twice, signaling an end to the Quidditch +practice. + +Harry turned and dived towards the ground. He barely remembered to pull +up at the last moment. Part of him wanted to keep going, to see how low +he really could skim over the grass before gravity and momentum caught +up with him. His blood was thrumming, filling his veins the same way +that the air filled his lungs. The broom the Malfoys had given him was +\emph{brilliant}. Harry had never known that a different kind of broom +could make such a difference in the way he flew, adding an extra +lightness to his turns and an extra speed to his motions. + +He landed with a light roll and flip off the broom, and turned to see +the Quidditch team staring at him. Harry paused for a moment. They +hadn't been that pleased with him, particularly Flint, when Harry had +had to admit at the first practice a week ago that he had a Nimbus 2001 +broom now, and hadn't told anyone. They had got over that soon enough, +but from their expressions now, Harry wondered if they were remembering +it. + +Then Flint grinned, an expression that made him look like a bulldog, and +said, ``We're going to pound the Gryffindors into the ground next +Saturday.'' His gaze traced around the team. ``We've got the toughest +Beaters, the fastest Chasers---of course---the meanest Keeper, and the +best Seekers.'' His eyes came back to Harry. "\emph{Don't} we, Potter?" + +Harry looked back calmly, undaunted now. He hadn't worked out exactly +how he was going to throw the next game back to Connor, but he knew he +was. Connor was flying beautifully. Harry knew he wouldn't have to do +much to make it look as though Connor had beaten him on sheer skill +alone. + +Then Flint leaned forward and said, "It's obvious now, the way that you +were holding yourself back in the first game last year. I know you +didn't do it in the other matches, Potter, but this time you're not +going to do it in \emph{all} of them. Slytherin plays to \emph{win.}" + +Harry figured it was best to back down for now. He bowed his head, as +though Flint had managed to convince him, and murmured, ``Of course.'' + +Flint drew back, satisfied, and made his way towards the showers. He +said something to Adrian Pucey that made him laugh loudly, and the rest +of the team bunched up close behind, leaving Harry to walk slightly on +his own. That suited him just fine. He'd seen the shy figure lurking +around the edge of the Pitch during practice, and Harry wanted a chance +to speak with him. + +``Harry,'' came the expected voice from the side. + +``Connor,'' said Harry, turning around and smiling at his brother. +``Coming to spy on our practice?'' He smiled even more widely, to show +it was a joke. + +Connor jerked, once, but didn't let the teasing distract him. He was +looking at the broom in Harry's hands. ``When were you going to tell me +that you had a Nimbus 2001?'' + +Harry sighed. ``The day of the Gryffindor-Slytherin game, if I could.'' + +``Why?'' Connor lifted his head and met Harry's eyes. ``I thought that +you weren't going to lie to me about anything any more.'' + +``It would have caused a lot of arguments during the summer,'' said +Harry. "And you had enough happen to you then. We \emph{still} don't +know who sent that house elf, do we? And I know about the other things +now," he added. ``You should have told me if you felt you couldn't +sleep, Connor. I could have helped.'' + +Connor stared at him for a long moment. ``What are you talking about?'' + +``Ron told me,'' said Harry. "That's how concerned he was, that +\emph{Ron} willingly talked to me without you around." + +``He likes you---'' Connor began defensively. + +``No, he doesn't,'' said Harry. ``I know he doesn't. But just listen to +me, all right? He told me that you were having nightmares about +Voldemort's attack last year, and that you'd been taking Dreamless Sleep +Potion to combat them.'' He shook his head. ``At least now I know why +all those owls came with packages for you last summer. I thought there +were only sweets in them.'' + +Connor lowered his eyes. ``I didn't want to disturb you,'' he muttered. +``And the potion handled the nightmares. I slept without dreaming for +most of the summer.'' He abruptly raised his head and stared Harry down. +"And what about \emph{you}, anyway? Why did you wake up and sneak +outside so many times at night?" + +``To play with Sylarana,'' said Harry. ``That was when I didn't think +you could stand to find out that I'm a Parselmouth.'' + +Sylarana stirred lazily on his shoulder. "\emph{He} can't \emph{stand +it,}" she said. "\emph{He never looks at me.}" + +\emph{You're under my robe right now,} Harry pointed out. + +"\emph{That is no excuse.}" + +Harry glanced up and surprised a disgusted expression on his brother's +face. Harry shook his head. ``Is she really any different from the +magical creatures that you go with Hagrid to see?'' he asked Connor. + +``Yes,'' huffed Connor, crossing his arms. ``They aren't snakes.'' + +Harry rolled his eyes. ``I think we should see what Hagrid makes of her, +myself. I know that you visit him on Saturdays. Are you going there? Can +I come with you? I think it's time I met him properly, and thanked him +for carrying me back to the school last year.'' + +Connor nodded at him, looking baffled. ``I'm not staying for very long. +The Halloween Feast tonight, you know. But I did say that I'd visit him. +And---well, he probably would like to get a look at a real live version +of that thing,'' he said, glancing at the arm that Sylarana wasn't +coiled around, an expression of distaste twisting his mouth. + +"\emph{Would he like to look at a real live Locusta bite}?" Sylarana +asked. "\emph{That can be arranged.}" + +Harry gave his own shoulder a light smack to shut her up, and then +nodded at Connor. ``Let me get changed, and then---'' + +``Harry!'' + +Harry turned in surprise. He hadn't seen Draco watching the Quidditch +practice, but evidently he had been, and now he was jogging across the +pitch towards them, looking as wind-blown as though he'd been flying. He +halted beside Harry and gave Connor a cool stare, as much to ask, +\emph{What are you doing here?} + +Connor curled his lip. ``Malfoy,'' he said. + +``Draco,'' said Harry. ``I'm not going to be long. I'll see you at the +Feast.'' + +``Such a welcoming committee,'' Draco drawled, his eyes half-lidded and +every bit of his attention on Connor. ``It's Saturday afternoon, and I +haven't spent any of the day with my best friend.'' Here, his glance +came back to Harry, whip-quick. ``I don't want to talk to you just at +the Feast, Harry. I'd much rather play Exploding Snap with you this +afternoon. And talk about your private lessons with Professor Snape,'' +he added, as a warning, Harry supposed, that he wouldn't let Harry put +it off much longer. + +Harry still hadn't explained who had possessed him to Draco, and so +hadn't explained why the Occlumency lessons were necessary. He didn't +want to, either. Draco's father had been a Death Eater. It was possible +that he was still obeying Voldemort's commands, in whatever form the +Dark Lord could send them, and his being in possession of the diary +argued that. Harry was \emph{not} going to make Draco choose between his +family and Harry. It would end up happening anyway, of course, if Draco +insisted on staying friends with him, but then the War would break out, +Harry would fight at Connor's side, and Draco would choose the Malfoys +with a clear conscience. It was not going to happen like this, when +Draco might feel horrified at what Lucius had done, and torn between his +friend and his family. + +Harry hadn't been sure how he would avoid Draco's probing questions, but +luckily he didn't have to, now. ``I'm going to shower and then visit +Hagrid with Connor, Draco,'' he said. ``I promised. I have to thank +Hagrid for what he did for me, anyway, after the encounter with +Voldemort last year.'' He noticed with private amusement that Draco +still flinched at the Dark Lord's name. ``I'll see you at the Feast.'' + +``No, you won't,'' said Draco. + +``Going to spend the night sulking in your rooms?'' Connor mocked. + +Draco didn't sneer at him, but gave him such a cold and piercing look +that Connor's smile faded and Harry felt a snake of uneasiness coil in +his belly. + +"\emph{Another snake?}" Sylarana half-unfolded herself from his +shoulder. "\emph{Where? You're my human. Don't forget that.}" + +\emph{It was a metaphor,} Harry explained, and then looked at Draco. +``Do you want to explain what you mean by that?'' + +``I'm coming with you to visit Hagrid,'' announced Draco haughtily. + +``I---but you can't!'' Connor said. He was actually spitting as he said +it, and Harry winced and was glad that there were no potential allies +around, to see Connor looking as bad as that. ``Hagrid doesn't like +you!'' + +"He's never \emph{met} me," said Draco, all aristocratic iciness. + +"You're a \emph{Malfoy}," said Connor. "You're \emph{impossible} to +like." + +``My father's influence at the Ministry argues otherwise.'' Draco curled +his lips in a smug smile. ``As does my friendship with Harry.'' He moved +sideways until his shoulder bumped Harry's. + +Connor met Harry's eyes and held them. Harry sighed. ``Can you give me a +few minutes?'' he asked. + +Connor nodded. ``You'd need them to shower, anyway,'' he said, still +staring at Draco. ``I'll be waiting for you at the edge of the Pitch.'' +He turned and walked away, shaking his head. + +``Don't start, Harry,'' said Draco, before Harry could try to persuade +him not to come. ``You spent the first three weeks of term ignoring me, +and now you want to spend more time with your brother than me. No.'' His +face was stubborn, and sulky. Harry let out a little hiss. + +``If you insist---'' + +``I do.'' + +Harry rolled his eyes. ``Wait here, then,'' he said, and went in to +shower. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``She's beautiful, Harry,'' said Hagrid appreciatively, caressing +Sylarana's scales. He looked as though he were barely keeping himself +from picking up and cuddling the Locusta, much to Harry's surprise. It +seemed that Hagrid really did love magical creatures, no matter how +dangerous, no matter how unpredictable. The half-giant looked up, +beaming. ``What does she say abou' me?'' + +"\emph{That he had better not stop doing that,}" said Sylarana, arching, +as Hagrid stroked her behind the head. + +``She really likes being petted,'' said Harry, feeling a sense of +unreality take him over. \emph{He} had never touched Sylarana as much as +Hagrid was, and watching his Locusta twine around someone else's hands +with that kind of enthusiasm, and no sign of biting, made things odd. + +Even odder was the fact that Connor and Draco had been in Hagrid's house +for half-an-hour, sipping tea and munching biscuits only a little less +hard than rocks, and hadn't yet drawn wands on each other. Oh, they'd +come close a few times, when Draco made a remark about pureblooded +wizarding customs and the absolutely \emph{shameful} lack of them in +Gryffindor House, or when Connor muttered something about Narcissa +Malfoy looking as if she needed to be scrubbed inside and out to be +freed of the taint of Dark magic. But so far it was going\ldots{} + +\emph{Well}, Harry thought firmly. \emph{It's going well.} + +``Hagrid,'' he said again, ``I'd like to thank you for carrying me back +to Hogwarts last year---'' + +Hagrid waved one hand at him, blushing, once again not letting Harry +complete his thanks properly. The other hand remained occupied with +Sylarana, who now uttered the sort of crooning hiss that Harry had heard +in the past only when he offered to let her bite something. ``Don' be +silly, Harry. Yer Connor's brother. And yeh were sick.'' He leaned +forward abruptly and peered at Harry. "What \emph{did} yeh get into, +anyway? I never did get the chance to ask." + +Harry coughed a bit. Connor had told Hagrid about You-Know-Who, as +Hagrid would put it, but not that Harry had suffered \emph{Crucio} at +the end of Quirrell's wand. Harry didn't think he'd been able to hear +the exact curse under Voldemort's cage spell. And Harry had not told +anyone else, either. It was enough that Snape knew, and that he had used +the weakness the curse inspired that night to give Harry +Veritaserum\ldots{} + +He caught the anger that memory inspired and tossed it into the box with +practiced ease. The box had come in handy the past weeks, allowing him +to slide past the Occlumency lessons and the times that he had wanted to +get angry at his brother or Ron. + +There was another reason he wasn't about to tell anyone now, he thought, +looking up, and catching Draco's intent stare out of the corner of his +eye. Draco would \emph{fuss}, if he knew. Perhaps Connor would, too, +though he was more practical about things like that; it was done and +past, he would say. Draco never seemed to understand that part. + +``A spell from You-Know-Who's wand,'' he said, avoiding Voldemort's name +out of deference for Hagrid's sensibilities. ``I'm not sure what it +was.'' + +``Of course you aren't,'' said Draco from the side. + +Harry glared at him. Draco never flinched, and never blinked, either. +Harry looked away. Draco \emph{bothered} him lately. He wanted to spend +time with Harry all the time, and Harry no longer believed that it was +solely to keep him away from Connor. That left the problem of what it +was, though. It couldn't be true friendship, Harry thought, even if +Draco thought it was, because that would mean that Draco would have +trouble breaking away from Harry when it was time and rejoining his +family. He understood the Slytherins' behavior not at all in general, of +course, but Draco was the worst of them. + +``Ah, well,'' said Hagrid, with a sigh. ``I'm glad yer out of it now, +Harry. And yeh, too, Connor,'' he added, with a nod to Connor. Then he +looked back down, and a goofy, blissful smile widened across his face. +``Would the beautiful Locusta like some eggs?'' he crooned at her. + +"\emph{Tell him the beautiful Locusta would indeed like some eggs,}" +Sylarana instructed Harry, turning so that the sunlight falling through +Hagrid's window glinted off her scales. "\emph{Phrase it exactly like +that.}" + +Harry shook his head and phrased it exactly like that, determinedly not +looking at Connor and Draco again. At least the afternoon was a success +for two of them, he thought. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Harrysped up a little as they came closer to Hogwarts. Connor and Draco +had started to bicker on the way back from Hagrid's cottage, and it was +growing steadily louder and more annoying. That they were bickering +about \emph{him} only increased Harry's annoyance. He didn't understand +why they would. He'd made it clear where he stood with them---Connor +first, Draco second; Connor his brother, Draco his friend; Connor his +family, Draco his Housemate. Harry had said that outright on more than +one occasion. Draco had even seemed to accept it when they made up after +their fight in September. + +And now, this. + +``But he really should have been in Gryffindor,'' Connor was saying. +"\emph{Everyone} knows that." + +``Someone forgot to tell the Sorting Hat,'' said Draco, his voice smug. +``And Headmaster Dumbledore. And Professor Snape. And me. And---'' + +``Whatever, Malfoy,'' said Connor. Harry didn't need to look back at him +to know he would be waving his hand, as he did whenever he wanted to +clear away what he thought was a stupid line of argument. "I saw the +broom that your parents bought for Harry today. Do you really think +it'll make \emph{that} much difference when it comes to the match next +week?" + +``Of course it will,'' said Draco. "But that's not why they bought it, +you halfblooded \emph{prat}. They bought it for Harry because he's my +\emph{friend}, and because it was his birthday, too, not just yours." + +``I'm wondering just how much longer he should stay your friend,'' +Connor said, and lowered his voice. Harry, pausing near Hogwarts's front +doors, looked back at them in irritation. Connor had his face close to +Draco's. As Harry watched, he whispered, ``You know that he would stop +being your friend if I asked him to.'' + +Draco's eyes widened, and for a moment he didn't seem to know what to +do. Then he drew his wand. + +Harry snarled and sprinted back towards them, ignoring Sylarana's +complaints as she was jostled. Connor had his wand out, too, but +luckily, Harry darted in between them before either could fire a spell. +He put his back to his twin. He trusted Connor not to do something +sneaky behind him more than he trusted Draco. + +``Both of you are acting like first-years,'' he said, his anger nearly +choking him. He thought about putting the anger in the box, but he +didn't think he could. He had to spit it out instead. If nothing else, +it might help them understand the simple concepts that they just +\emph{refused} to grasp so far. ``Or babies fighting over a toy, at +that.'' He darted a glance back at Connor, who flushed. He particularly +hated being called younger than he was, one reason Harry had chosen this +line of reasoning. Harry looked back at Draco, whose face was burning +with unshielded fury and who still had his wand up. ``I said I was your +friend,'' said Harry. "I meant it. And I said Connor was my brother, and +I meant it. What part of this don't you \emph{fucking} understand?" + +His rage left him breathless. He shook his head. He \emph{had} to calm +down, or he would say something he really regretted, and not just +something unfortunate. + +He stuffed this anger into the box, too, and sighed at how that cleared +his head. He looked back at Connor, and found his brother's cheeks even +more flushed. He opened his mouth to speak. + +Harry shook his head again. ``I don't want to hear it,'' he said. "I'm +your brother, Connor, and that's not \emph{ever} going to change. You +know it, so stop acting like an idiot around me." He glanced at Draco. +``And Draco, I'm your friend. We've been over this before. You know the +limitations and the necessities of our friendship. Have I ever lied to +you about that?'' he added quietly. + +Draco lowered his wand and rubbed his face with one hand. ``No,'' he +whispered. ``But, Harry---'' + +Harry took a slight step forward. Connor would be fine, and so it would +cost him nothing if Harry listened to Draco right now instead. ``Yes?'' +he asked. + +He never got to find out what Draco would have said---at least not right +then---because someone came flying out of the school screeching at the +top of his lungs. "\emph{Malfoy!}" + +Harry swung around. It was Ron, and he had his wand out and pointed at +Draco. With a small groan, Harry reversed himself, so that he got +between Draco and anything Connor's enraged friend might throw. + +``Something wrong, Weasley?'' + +Harry grimaced at the tone in Draco's voice. This wasn't anything like +the enmity Draco had for Connor. It was pureblood hatred. Whatever feud +lingered between the Malfoys and the Weasleys---and none of the history +books Harry had read explained the origins of that feud---both families +were feeding and encouraging it. + +Then Harry looked into Ron's red, tear-streaked face, and thought he +knew what was wrong. This round had almost certainly gone to the +Malfoys. + +``You want to know what's wrong, Malfoy?'' Ron bellowed, halting a few +feet away from Harry. "You want to know what's \emph{wrong}?" He was +breathing hard now, and his hand was clenched so tightly around his wand +that Harry feared it might snap. "Your father got mine \emph{sacked}!" +Ron yelled at last. "That's what's \emph{bloody wrong}!" + +``Ron!'' + +Harry shook his head as Hermione hurried out of the doors. He didn't +think she'd be able to intervene this time. He only hoped it wouldn't +come to hexes. + +``Ron,'' he began soothingly, ``if you think about it, that was Lucius's +fault. He must have---'' + +Ron wasn't listening. "\emph{Tarantallegra!}" he shouted, and the spell +flew from his wand and towards Draco. + +Harry brought up a hand. "\emph{Haurio!}" he said, without much time to +make the decision. He couldn't use \emph{Protego}; that would reflect +the spell right back at Ron, and there were no professors around to +shield students from the effect of the hexes this time. + +A dark green shield formed in his palm and spread rapidly outward from +there. The light of Ron's hex hit it and vanished. Harry let out a short +breath. \emph{Haurio} worked as he'd read it would, then, absorbing the +spell instead of bouncing it back. + +Ron didn't give him much time to congratulate himself. "\emph{Petrificus +Totalus!}" he tried this time, and the Body-Bind Curse also made +excellent food for Harry's shield. Ron huffed out a breath. ``Drop the +shield, Harry!'' he screamed. ``Let me at him!'' + +``No,'' Harry said, and then felt slight movement behind him. "Draco, if +you fire a spell at him, I \emph{will} drop the shield, and then +\emph{I'll} hex you," he added. + +Draco stopped moving. Harry glanced backward briefly to make sure he was +all right, and found Draco, oddly, \emph{smiling} at him. + +``My hero,'' he said. + +Harry rolled his eyes and turned to face Ron. Ron was aiming his wand, +but Harry saw something he didn't and relaxed. + +"\emph{Expelliarmus!}" + +Ron's wand soared through the air and settled firmly into Hermione's +hand. Ron swung around. ``Hermione!'' he yelled, his rage appearing to +change direction mid-flight. ``You were supposed to---'' + +"\emph{Calm down,} Ron," said Hermione. She'd come up beside him and was +panting. Harry imagined her chasing Ron all the way from Gryffindor +Tower and winced. ``It'll be all right,'' she added softly, rubbing +Ron's back. ``We can go to talk to Professor Dumbledore. I'm sure +he'll---'' + +``Harry.'' + +Harry snapped his head abruptly back around. Connor hadn't said anything +during the battle, and Harry had thought he would be content to let Ron +and Draco fight it out---or not, as the case might be. Now, though, he +stepped forward. His face was intent, and Harry shivered at the +expression on it. He supposed, distantly, that it was an expression he +had wanted his twin to wear: one of awareness of power, composed and +testing. He was seeing how much he might be able to order someone +around, because he was the Boy-Who-Lived. He would need to get used to +taking command if he was going to save and lead the wizarding world. + +Harry really, really wished that Connor hadn't decided to be commanding +\emph{now}. + +``Harry,'' said Connor. "Step out of the way and let Ron have him. What +Malfoy's dad did to Ron's dad was \emph{horrible.} You have to see +that." + +Harry closed his eyes. He felt Draco's hand touch his shoulder. +\emph{Where are the prefects when we need them?} Harry thought. +\emph{Where are the professors?} + +Probably getting ready for the Halloween Feast, of course. That Harry +knew the answer didn't comfort him. + +``I see that,'' he whispered. ``But, Connor, I can't. Ron would hurt +him. Or Draco would hurt Ron. Or they would hurt each other. I don't +want anyone hurt.'' He didn't dare open his eyes and look at Connor +again. + +``Harry, look at me.'' + +\emph{Shit.} + +Harry managed to force his head up and his eyes open. Draco's hand was +clenched on his shoulder now, and Sylarana was silent. Then she said, in +Harry's mind, \emph{I am going to kill him.} Her voice was quiet and +resolved. + +\emph{No!} Harry said, but he couldn't think of much more than that. He +was caught by the look in Connor's eyes. Love and loyalty, yes, but +there was a calculating edge there as well, as though Connor were really +seeing Harry for the first time. + +``Harry,'' said Connor softly, ``if you really think that you should +have been a Gryffindor, step out of the way. This is Gryffindor +vengeance. You've got to see that. And Draco had his wand out first.'' + +``Connor, we're not supposed to use magic on each other outside of +classes!'' Hermione tried to intervene. + +Connor raised a hand. ``Well, Harry?'' he asked, calm and implacable. +"What do you think? \emph{Should} you have been a Gryffindor?" + +Harry was breathing fast, his thoughts near to being caught up in the +maelstrom again. If Connor said something about him, it was true. He +knew that. He had used it to reassure himself both last year and this +one, when Connor had said he couldn't be evil for being Sorted into +Slytherin or speaking Parseltongue. He clung to it. + +If Connor said he should step out of the way or that would prove that he +wasn't really Gryffindor--- + +And if Connor said that being a Gryffindor, Sorted into the wrong House +by mistake only, meant that he was still good--- + +Harry wanted to run and scream and vomit. Of course, one of those would +involve him stepping out of the way, one would involve bending, and he +thought that he wouldn't be able to stop if he started screaming now. + +But he stood there. And wasn't that really his choice, after all, made +and proclaimed in the open where anyone could see it? + +He looked up in time to see Connor nod, once. His eyes were sharp with +betrayal as he stared at Harry. + +``The Sorting Hat wasn't wrong after all, I see,'' he said, and then +turned around and walked over to Ron, escorting him back into Hogwarts. +He didn't turn around, not even when Harry tried to call after him, in a +hoarse, strangled voice that didn't sound like his own. + +Hermione lingered for a moment, looking at Harry and biting her lip. +Harry thought she was trying to decide what to say, without making it +look as though she either sympathized with Draco or was betraying +Connor. + +At last, she shook her head, whispered feebly, ``He didn't mean it,'' +and ran back into Hogwarts after Ron and Connor. + +Harry closed his eyes and stood still, body tensed as though to absorb a +blow. He \emph{had} to put this into perspective. He \emph{had} to try +to tell himself that just because he had a fight with Connor didn't mean +that he'd disobeyed his twin or taken the opposite side against him. +Sometimes he'd had to disagree with him, in the past, when Connor was +wrong, like last year when he'd insulted Hermione on Halloween, and +Draco on the Hogwarts Express. + +He'd seen those hazel eyes filled with shame before, he argued with +himself. + +\emph{But never betrayal.} + +He'd done things Connor didn't want him to before, when Connor was +wrong. + +\emph{But always before, he knew he was in the wrong at once.} + +Harry lowered his head and drew in a few deep breaths. He jumped when a +pair of arms wound around him in a fierce hug. Finally, he let the +\emph{Haurio} shield go and turned to face Draco. + +``My hero,'' said Draco. ``I meant that, Harry. Thank you.'' + +Harry nodded. He didn't think he could speak. Luckily, Draco seemed to +understand that. + +``Do you feel up to going to the Feast?'' he whispered. + +Harry shook his head. Draco sighed. ``I'll escort you back to the +dungeons, then,'' he said. ``And we'll talk after you've had some +sleep.'' + +Harry turned blindly towards the Slytherin common room, Draco's arm +around his shoulders. He \emph{did} want to sleep, he thought. He waited +for Sylarana to make a comment on that. + +"\emph{I want him} dead," Sylarana said. + +\emph{You can't}, said Harry wearily. \emph{That would make me hurt +worse.} + +"\emph{I know,}" said Sylarana. "\emph{I did not promise that I was +going to kill him. I promised that I wish to.}" + +Harry thought about questioning her on that point, but in the end, let +it go. They made it through the Slytherin common room and up to their +dorm, drawing no more than a few curious glances. Draco pushed Harry +into his bed and hovered over him for a moment. + +``I'm going to the Feast,'' he whispered. ``I'll tell the others what +happened.'' + +Harry opened his eyes and glared at him, as much as he could in the dim +light of a bed with curtains mostly drawn. ``Don't hex Ron.'' + +Draco only nodded, gray eyes solemn. ``I won't, Harry.'' His hand +descended, smoothing over Harry's shoulder and tangling briefly in his +hair. Then he gently drew the curtains and walked out of the room. + +Harry lay where he was, breathing, for a moment. Sylarana crawled out +and coiled on his chest. + +"\emph{Can you weep?}" she asked. "\emph{I think it would make you feel +better if you could.}" + +``I can't afford to,'' Harry muttered, and set about the long process of +tucking up all the anguish, all the pain, all the exhaustion, and +putting them into the box. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Harry blinked and woke. He didn't know how much later it was, though +judging from the cramped state his body was in, he'd slept without +moving for a good long time. On his chest, Sylarana hissed at him. + +"\emph{I didn't know you could do that,}" she said. + +``Do what?'' Harry asked as he stretched. He had to admit, he felt +refreshed, more than he usually would after a session with the box. That +let him function, but did not give him his strength back. + +"\emph{Put me to sleep like that,}" said Sylarana, arching her neck +luxuriously. "\emph{I admit, I needed it, but I'm the one who influences +your thoughts. Not the other way around.}" + +Harry lazily stroked her neck. ``Do you want to go see what's left of +the Feast? Or we can go to the kitchens and beg food from the house +elves if you want.'' Sylarana had sniffed out the way to the kitchens +the second week of school. + +"\emph{Let's}," said Sylarana. She slid under his jumper, and Harry +stood, smoothing as much of his hair as possible. He wondered if putting +Sylarana to sleep was part of the reason he'd slept so well. He really +\emph{had} needed to rest. + +His mind turned back to the fight as he exited the Slytherin common +room, but he forced himself to put it in perspective. Yes, he had done +something else that Connor found wrong, and he would have to find his +brother and apologize. But that didn't mean he'd chosen his allegiances +and set them in stone. He would fight with his brother if necessary, to +make him see that. He would point out that Ron would certainly have lost +Gryffindor House points and landed in detention if he had succeeded in +hexing Draco. He would say--- + +He froze and glanced around carefully. There was a strange---sensation +in the air. That was the only word Harry could think of for it. It felt +like a mixture of Dark magic and a powerful earthy scent. + +"\emph{I smell it,}" hissed Sylarana, and once again, there was no humor +in her voice. "\emph{Coming from upstairs.}" + +Harry hurried. He had reached the second floor when Sylarana poked her +head out from under his sleeve, swinging like a compass. "\emph{To the +left.}" + +Harry turned the corner. Then he halted, fighting hard to keep from +crying out. + +He stood outside a girls' loo, just beyond a massive puddle of water. +Above him, cut into the stone, letters the color of blood declared: +\emph{The Chamber of Secrets has been opened. Enemies of the Heir, +beware!} + +Beside the puddle, just under the writing, lay the motionless body of +Luna Lovegood. + +\subsection{*Chapter 11*: Fugitivus +Animus}\label{chapter-11-fugitivus-animus} + +Thank you for the reviews, especially on the last chapter! Many were +detailed and thoughtful. Review responses will be up in my LJ later this +afternoon. + +I can safely say now that this book will be longer than \emph{Saving +Connor}, since the chapters don't want to contract in length, and now +there are \emph{more} of them. + +\textbf{Chapter Ten: \emph{Fugitivus Animus}} + +Harry turned as he heard footsteps coming up the hall. He knew who it +would be. It was about time for the Halloween Feast to let out, and this +loo was on the route to Gryffindor Tower. + +Percy Weasley rounded the corner first. He stuttered to a stop at seeing +Harry there, and stared at him. Harry stared back, and ducked his head. +He could have ducked into the loo and hidden, he supposed, but that +would have been worse. Everyone would suspect him anyway, given that +they thought he was Dark, and he had associated with Luna in the last +few days. At least standing in the open would look less suspicious than +trying to run. + +Harry wondered if he should be disgusted with himself, that his mind was +working like a Slytherin's even under the shock, trying to calculate +damage to himself and what would happen next. At least he could be +partially rational, he supposed. That was a gift. If it were Connor +lying on the floor, he didn't think he could have been rational in the +slightest. + +\emph{That means that you are intelligent, not disgusting,} said +Sylarana. \emph{Although I think you might have tried to distance +yourself from standing exactly at the scene.} + +As he looked up and met Percy's widening eyes, Harry was inclined to +agree. + +The Gryffindor prefect shook his head, then turned and shouted to the +younger students spilling along the corridor behind him. ``Stay back! +We've got an injured student here, and signs of Dark magic!'' He drew +his wand. + +Harry was grateful for Percy's words, especially since he had assumed +Luna was injured and not dead, but he knew they wouldn't work. It was a +group of Gryffindors that Percy was leading, not a group of Hufflepuffs. +One head, then two, popped around the corner, and then someone gasped, +and Harry heard the burgeoning whisper of the message being passed back. + +He knew what would happen next. He watched in detachment as Percy knelt +beside Luna and cast a simple Life-Sensing Charm on her. He closed his +eyes and sighed in the next moment. ``She's Petrified,'' he said. "Not +dead. \emph{Finite Incantatem}!" + +Luna lay there, unaffected by the spell. Harry nodded. The fading traces +of Dark magic in the air argued that this was nothing as ordinary as a +Body-Bind, nothing that could be undone with a simple sweep of a wand. +Still, he should have tried himself. He should have thought of that. + +\emph{Do you always blame yourself this much, or is this a special +occasion?} Sylarana demanded. + +\emph{You've only lived with me for four months,} Harry told her, as he +waited for the inevitable confrontation. \emph{You haven't seen me in +all my moods.} + +\emph{I've seen enough. HarryÂ---} + +He didn't get to find out what she would have said, since Connor and +Ron, followed by the Weasley twins, came around the corner just then. +Connor halted and stared at the water and the bloody writing. + +Then his eyes came back to Harry's face, and Harry let out a slow +breath. If he had thought Connor was wounded earlier today, when Harry +had chosen to show his Slytherin colors, then he had had no conception +of pain. There was betrayal and worse than betrayal in Connor's gaze +now, a kind of soul-deep horror that Harry knew he would have expressed, +in a lesser form, towards anyone who had done something this heinous. +But this was his brother who had done this. + +\emph{You didn't do it!} Sylarana was making his sleeve bulge and ripple +with her dancing. Harry hoped that she wouldn't come into the open right +now. The last thing that anyone needed to be reminded of was that he was +not only a Parselmouth, but had a dangerous snake. \emph{Doesn't that +matter to you? Don't you remember it?} + +Harry shrugged slightly. He would have answered her, but Connor stepped +forward and spoke then. + +``I don't understand,'' he said, his voice shuffling to a halt as he +stared some more. "Harry---did you \emph{always} hate me and want me +dead? Or did you just start serving Voldemort this year?" + +Ron jumped at the mention of the Dark Lord's name. Other students piling +around the corner flinched. Fred and George Weasley were silent, looking +from one face to another. Harry grimaced. He disliked their probing +gazes most, since they would no doubt remember most of what was said +here and then repeat it as the twisted gossip they delighted in. + +``I don't serve Voldemort at all, Connor,'' he said. ``I didn't do this. +I came upon it as I was coming to the Feast.'' + +``Good job, that,'' said Ron loudly, his face turning red as he strove +to make up for his earlier fear. ``Since this hall isn't on the way from +the Slytherin dungeons to the Great Hall at all.'' + +Harry shook his head. ``I sensed Dark magic---'' + +``Stand clear, Mr. Weasley. The rest of you, stay back.'' + +Professor McGonagall was among them then, like a cat among the chickens, +Harry thought. Even Percy Weasley stepped back for her, his head bowed. +She knelt beside Luna and checked her over, then stood and looked at the +red writing on the wall. Harry saw her face briefly tighten with a spasm +of some very old pain. + +Her gaze slid to him, and softened slightly, which Harry didn't +understand at all. ``Always in the middle of great events, aren't you, +Mr. Potter?'' she murmured. + +Harry blinked at her, and could think of nothing to say, though Sylarana +was suggesting several ways of phrasing his innocence. + +Professor McGonagall turned, moving in front of the writing and Harry +both, shielding them from sight. But it was too late for that, Harry +knew. If nothing else, the Weasley twins had seen them. It would be all +over the school by the next morning---the writing, Luna, and how Harry +had Petrified his friend. + +He wished he could spare more time thinking of it, but the only thing he +really wanted to pay attention to was Connor's words. + +\emph{He thinks I serve Voldemort.} + +Harry looked up and tried to catch his brother's eye, but Connor had +already turned away. Harry thought he was crying. Ron, extremely +embarrassed, was patting his back and muttering something. When he +noticed Harry watching, he gave him a glance that \emph{burned}. Harry +looked away. + +``Proceed to the Tower immediately,'' McGonagall was telling the +Gryffindors. "You are to stay there for the rest of the evening, unless +you are a prefect specifically summoned by a Professor. \emph{No} +side-trips," she added, her gazing lingering darkly on the Weasley +twins. One of them put his hands in his robes, while the other began to +whistle in an innocent manner. McGonagall did not look impressed. ``Yes, +Miss Granger?'' + +Harry turned to see that Hermione had edged around the corner to join +the gaggle in the hall. She had her head craned, as though trying to see +past the edge of McGonagall's robe at Harry. ``What do the words mean?'' +she asked now. ``Who's the Heir?'' + +``All of that will be answered in the morning,'' said McGonagall +briskly. She ignored the chorus of groans and the buzz of whispers from +her students. She nodded to Harry. ``If you will accompany me to the +Headmaster's office, Mr. Potter.'' + +\emph{She thinks I did it, then,} Harry thought. \emph{Or she thinks +there's a reasonable chance that I did it.} + +But he was still thinking about Connor. + +\emph{My brother thinks I serve the Dark wizard trying to kill him.} + +Harry rubbed his face absently. Sometimes it \emph{would} make things +easier if he could cry, he thought. But he couldn't. So he followed the +gentle grip of McGonagall's hand on his shoulder, towing him towards the +Headmaster's office. Sylarana writhed out from under the professor's +hand, but did not offer to bite her. Harry believed her too furiously in +thought to notice. + +``Harry.'' + +And oh, he \emph{knew} it was a bad idea, but he turned and looked. +Connor had broken away from Ron's grip again and stood watching him. His +face had already gone beyond fear and horror, and into anger. The other +emotions lingered behind his eyes, though. Harry wondered if they always +would from now on. + +``What, Connor?'' he asked, when it became clear that his twin was +waiting for a response. So was McGonagall, who had stopped walking. And +the rest of the students, for that matter. Not even Percy or Hermione +had moved. They stood as part of a silent tableau, waiting for what the +heroic brother would say to the disgraced one. The Boy-Who-Lived +speaking to the Snake Prince. Harry was not surprised that it made for +good theater. + +``When you can look me in the eye, and honestly tell me that you +renounce all the Dark gifts that you have,'' said Connor, ``then I'll +trust you again. In the meantime, I'm going to do what I should have +done when you started turning Dark. I'm going to catch and stop you.'' + +He turned and walked away. + +Harry closed his eyes. \emph{Now} the shock came, and the weight of the +pain. He wanted to crawl into bed and sleep again. He felt as if he +hadn't napped at all. + +``Come along, Mr. Potter,'' said McGonagall, once again unwontedly +gentle, and led him off. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Ah, Minerva, young Harry. Do come in. Have a seat. Lemon drop, +Minerva?'' + +``I think not, Albus,'' said McGonagall primly, and gestured for Harry +to take a deep-cushioned chair in front of the Headmaster's desk. She +sat in another one, and divided her gaze between Dumbledore and Harry. + +``Harry?'' + +Harry looked up to make sure the Headmaster was really offering him a +sweet, hesitated for a long moment, and then took it. He hadn't eaten +dinner at all, and he was starving. It was better not to be hungry than +to be hungry. + +\emph{Now you are thinking,} said Sylarana. \emph{I will still want to +know why you did not run away and hide immediately, but this is better +than nothing.} + +``Now, Minerva, what seems to be the problem?'' Dumbledore asked, +sitting back and smiling at both of them. Harry kept his head bowed. He +didn't really need to see the expression on Dumbledore's face. He could +imagine how it would turn grave when McGonagall said he'd Petrified +Luna. + +As it turned out, the Head of Gryffindor House didn't say that, but +whispered instead, ``Albus, the Chamber of Secrets has been opened.'' + +The Headmaster was silent for a long moment. Then he said, ``Are you +sure, Minerva?'' There was a heaviness in his voice that pierced even +Harry's daze of shock and pain. He blinked at the Headmaster's desk, +without raising his eyes. + +``I am,'' said McGonagall. ``The message on the wall said that the +Chamber was open, and that the enemies of the Heir should beware. +Beneath it was a puddle of water, and Luna Lovegood, a Ravenclaw +student, had been Petrified. All the signs are the same as they were +fifty years ago.'' She was silent for a long moment, and then said, +``Albus, I know how the problem was solved the last time the Chamber was +opened. How could the same thing have happened now?'' + +``I don't know,'' said Dumbledore quietly, and then, ``Harry?'' + +Harry blinked and looked up. The Headmaster leaned forward, staring +deeply into his eyes. + +\emph{He's a Legilimens, too!} Sylarana did not sound pleased with that +discovery. \emph{Out, you meddling old fool, out!} + +``I'll tell you, sir,'' said Harry, and glanced down, breaking the eye +contact. ``There's no need to read the information from my mind.'' + +``I am sorry, Harry,'' said Dumbledore softly. ``This is serious. I must +know exactly what happened.'' + +Harry nodded and told the story, including the way he had found Luna's +body. McGonagall interrupted at that point to ask, ``But why didn't you +run? Why didn't you come and get a Professor?'' + +\emph{I like her,} said Sylarana. She \emph{has sense.} + +``Because I thought that would look suspicious,'' Harry whispered. +"Everyone was going to suspect me \emph{anyway}." + +``That much is certainly true,'' Dumbledore murmured. ``And was there +anything else after that, Harry?'' + +``No,'' Harry said. ``I waited by Luna's body until Percy Weasley came +around the corner.'' + +``Albus,'' McGonagall said then, ``I would wager against Severus that he +did not Petrify the girl. He saved her from a pair of bullies in her own +House the other day. Mr. Potter is innocent.'' + +Harry closed his eyes, and felt as if he were falling. He had not +realized how fervently he wanted someone else to say that. + +``The circumstances will conspire to make him look guilty, alas,'' said +Dumbledore softly. ``Harry, the Heir the message refers to is the Heir +of Slytherin, the only one who can open the Chamber of Secrets.'' Harry +lifted his head, since he thought this was important, and met the +Headmaster's eyes. They showed nothing but fathomless sorrow and +weariness. ``Long ago, Salazar Slytherin built a mysterious chamber and +buried it somewhere in the school itself. There is a legend that a +monster lives in the Chamber, but it would only rise on the word of +Slytherin or one of his blood descendants. The monster would stalk the +school, killing children of Muggleborn descent---the ones that Slytherin +did not wish to let into Hogwarts.'' + +``That is another anomaly, Albus.'' McGonagall seemed determined not to +be ignored. ``Miss Lovegood is a pureblood, or at least a halfblood; I +knew Aurelius Lovegood when he was a student here. Why would she have +fallen victim to the Chamber's monster, whatever it is?'' + +``I don't know, Minerva,'' said Dumbledore, and turned back to Harry. +``You must understand there will be a clamor against you.'' + +``There already is,'' said McGonagall. Harry heard a faint noise that he +couldn't identify at first, and then realized was her teeth grinding. +``His brother has declared him guilty, and where Mr. Potter goes, a +large portion of my students follow. To my shame,'' she added. + +A shadow slipped across Dumbledore's face. ``Please bring Connor to me +when I am finished with Harry,'' he said. + +``With pleasure,'' said McGonagall, and Harry glanced at her sidelong, +in bafflement. Why was she so upset with Connor? \emph{He} hadn't done +anything wrong. + +Dumbledore turned back to Harry. ``We do not know what happened tonight. +I do not know if perhaps there may be an ancient and unsuspected +connection between the Slytherin line and the Potter line. That is one +of the things we must find out. Your gift of Parseltongue argues that it +is possible. Also, we must take every precaution that we can to minimize +the level of fear that will now infect the school.'' + +Harry nodded; he thought that was obvious. + +``Do not go anywhere by yourself,'' Dumbledore said. ``Do not speak in +Parseltongue unless you must. Do not threaten anyone with Sylarana. Do +not, especially, wield any Dark magic, Harry.'' + +``I don't know any,'' said Harry in bewilderment. ``Unless you count +Parseltongue, sir.'' + +Dumbledore nodded firmly. ``We must, for right now.'' He paused, eyes +darting over Harry's face. ``I am sorry to do this to you, Mr. Potter,'' +he said. ``I for one do not believe that you opened the Chamber. But +there are unanswered questions here, and we have to tread carefully or +risk becoming enmeshed in the mysteries. Do you understand?'' + +``Of course, sir.'' Harry shook his head slightly. He understood the +commands. He didn't understand, though he was grateful, why Dumbledore +had explained the reasoning behind them. + +``For now,'' said Dumbledore, ``I will ask Professor McGonagall to +escort you back to the dungeons. And I will ask that you attend a +special Occlumency lesson with Professor Snape tomorrow. I will inform +him of this.'' + +``Thank you, sir,'' Harry whispered. It wasn't Sunday he was thinking +of, but Monday. The school would get to stare at him, then if no other +time. + +``Is there anything else you can think of, Harry?'' Dumbledore asked. +``Anything else at all that might possibly help?'' + +``No, Headmaster,'' said Harry. ``I wish there was.'' + +``Thank you, my boy,'' said Dumbledore, and gestured to the door. "If +you need to speak with me, the password is \emph{persimmon beans.}" + +``Thank you, sir,'' Harry said, and stood, Professor McGonagall keeping +close at his side, as they exited the office. + +The Gryffindor Head of House was silent as she led him into the dungeons +and paused outside the blank stretch of wall concealing the common room. +Only then did she say, voice sharp as the point of a sword, ``Mr. +Potter. Harry.'' + +Harry looked up at her, wondering if she was about to tell him that she +didn't believe in his innocence after all. McGonagall knelt down next to +him instead, and gave him a fierce hug. + +Harry stood there, and tried to figure out what he had done to deserve +this. + +``If you do not want to go to the Headmaster,'' said McGonagall, +``please come to me. I do not believe that you have done evil, and today +I saw you face both accusations and your brother's words with courage +worthy of someone in my House. I would welcome the opportunity to talk +to you.'' She stood up and stared down at him. ``You are going into +darkness,'' she whispered, ``and you are unarmed. I would change that, +if I could.'' + +``Why?'' Harry whispered back. + +McGonagall blinked once, and then her face hardened. ``What will be done +to you is neither right nor fair,'' she said. ``I remember how cruel +children can be.'' And then she turned and was gone, her robes swirling +determinedly around her, before he could say anything else. Harry +watched her stiff back, and hoped that Connor wouldn't catch it too +badly from her. He hadn't done wrong, had only spoken what he thought. + +He murmured the password to the door---\emph{pureblood valor}---and +stepped into an immediate onslaught of questions and murmurings. Harry +answered all those he could, with Sylarana tightening steadily around +his arm until she said, \emph{That is enough. You need to sleep.} + +\emph{Again}? Harry protested, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to +keep up the mask for much longer. He nodded to the questioners and made +his way to his room. He could feel eyes on his back. He walked tall +under them anyway. None of them were as bad as Connor's accusing gaze +had been. + +He stepped into their room, and Draco grabbed him and spun him around +twice, then pulled him close and held him there. Harry blinked. He +seemed to be getting an unusual amount of hugs this evening. Unlike +Professor McGonagall, though, it felt safe to embrace Draco. He +tentatively stuck his arms out and hugged him back. + +``I thought something had happened to you when they said someone was +lying there Petrified,'' whispered Draco. "I thought you were in the +hospital wing, that your brother had done something to you, that you +were \emph{dead}, oh Harry\ldots{}" + +Harry patted his back gently, and felt an echo of sadness, that so few +people cared about Luna her name had not even survived the exchange of +gossip. ``It wasn't me. It was Luna.'' + +``The mad girl?'' asked Blaise from his bed in surprise. + +Harry glared at him, and then came and sat down on his bed for a gentler +round of questioning. Luckily, his roommates were much more inclined to +let him go to bed when he wanted, not least because Draco sat there with +an arm around his shoulders at all times and keenly watched his face, +and announced that he had to sleep halfway into Blaise's fourth +question. + +Harry lay down gratefully. At least he might find some refuge in his +dreams, as long as he didn't dream of the screaming and writhing dark +figures. + +\emph{You will not,} said Sylarana, slithering into his thoughts. +\emph{Trust me to guard your sleep tonight.} + +And he did, and he passed into slumber and darkness. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Mr. Potter. Come in. Take your place in front of the mattress.'' + +The office looked much the same as it had for the last lesson, but +though Harry took his place in front of the Transfigured stretch of +floor, Snape did not at once move to practice Legilimency on him. He +spun his wand in his hands instead, and stared moodily at Harry. Harry +blinked at him. Always before, Snape had attacked him, and then they had +discussed what defensive strategies Harry could employ to counter the +attack. A patient Snape was an oxymoron. + +So was an uncertain Snape, Harry knew, and yet that was what he thought +he saw after a few more moments. Snape paced back and forth, his robes +snapping, and then spun and launched---not a mental push, but a +question. + +``Mr. Potter. Are you aware that there is a box in your thoughts, one +which you open several times a session so that you may slip your anger +into it?'' His eyes were narrow, his voice clipped, but not icy with the +rage that Harry would have expected about such a question. + +Harry froze. Snape could sense the box? He had been sure it was a +private part of his mind, that his movements were so swift and +well-trained that Snape couldn't actually sense where the anger went. + +``Mr. Potter.'' + +Harry took a deep breath, lifted his head, and nodded. ``I am, sir,'' he +said. He waited, then. If Snape wanted to talk to him about the box, +then he would have to \emph{ask}. Harry was not going to volunteer +anything. + +Snape clenched one hand around his wand, but asked the next question in +an almost neutral tone, perhaps because of its rapidity. ``What do you +put into the box?'' + +``Anger, mostly, sir,'' said Harry. ``And sometimes other emotions that +I don't want to feel.'' + +``What are those?'' Snape asked, after another staring contest. + +``Resentment,'' said Harry. ``Jealousy. Envy, sir. Anxiety. The +unattractive emotions.'' He shrugged. ``The box contains them all.'' + +Snape hissed air in and then out. "Are you aware, Mr. Potter, that +keeping so many of your emotions closed off from the rest of your mind +is extremely dangerous? The theory of Legilimency and Occlumency +explains why it should be so. The mind is a moving thing by nature, with +memories and thoughts free to come and go. When one part of it is +constricted---as by an \emph{Obliviate} spell, or by the Imperius +Curse---then that part cannot move as it should. It will settle into +place, and do, potentially, massive damage when disturbed. The rush of +returned memories after someone has been Obliviated, for example, has +driven some wizards insane." + +Harry blinked. ``But that's only if the constructs are disturbed, sir, +isn't it?'' + +Snape bared his teeth. ``Did I not just say so?'' + +``So as long as I don't disturb the box, then, I should be safe.'' Harry +shrugged. ``It seems simple to me, sir. I can keep the box locked up. +I've had lots of practice. It's been with me for a long time.'' + +Snape took a single long stride forward. ``So imagine what is in there +now, Potter,'' he whispered. ``Years of, as you put it, `the +unattractive emotions.'\,'' His voice edged the words with acid. +``Imagine what will happen when the box shatters, as it must with the +pressure that you put on it. Imagine what will happen when those +accumulated years of rage flood your mind all at once. They could ignite +your magic, and perhaps damage your sanity beyond repair.'' + +Harry shivered at that. He didn't want to be left unable to help Connor. +But, at the same time--- + +``But if I open the box at all, Professor,'' he asked, ``won't the same +thing happen?'' + +``Not if it is drained slowly,'' Snape answered. ``One emotion at a +time, one memory at a time. Put them back into your mind, allow them to +mingle with your other thoughts, and they should dissipate their force +on their own.'' He narrowed his eyes and leaned forward. ``Of course, +that does mean---'' + +``That I would be angry with Connor,'' said Harry. He shook his head. +``I'm sorry, Professor, but I can't do that. I would have to stop using +the box in the future, wouldn't I?'' + +"That is precisely the \emph{point} of this exercise," Snape began. + +``I can't,'' said Harry firmly. "I don't \emph{want} to be angry with +Connor. If I really were above all the petty emotions, then I shouldn't +feel it, and that would be the best solution. But since I keep failing +to do that, due to defects in my training or defects in myself, then the +box is the best solution. That way, I can protect my brother without +fearing that I'll suddenly break out in hostility towards him." + +He breathed more easily as he pronounced the words. Yes, this was the +best solution, the first time he had ever justified it aloud to himself. +He would be no use to Connor dead, or brain-damaged, or raging at him. +Confining his emotions and memories like this was the best thing he +could do. + +``You fool.'' + +Harry blinked and dragged his attention back to his Professor. Snape had +his wand out and a bone-deep rage on his face. Harry stepped back +warily. + +``If you do not drain that box,'' Snape whispered, "it \emph{will} burst +open someday. Some crisis will come upon you, or you will attempt to +tuck one fury too many into it, and it will break. I will not have that. +I will not see you broken beyond repair. And what if it happened in +Hogwarts, Potter? Would you see your precious Boy-Who-Lived in such +danger?" + +Harry recoiled. ``I---I can't be a danger to him, Professor,'' he said. +``I have to be there, with him, beside him---'' + +"\emph{Legilimens!}" + +Harry found himself staggered, thrown, whirling hard. Snape pushed into +his mind and turned in the direction of the box. + +Harry fought. He hid the box behind curtains of drifting mist the way +Snape had taught him, tossed memories into the air to distract him, and +thought deliberately of what had happened with the Chamber of Secrets, +though Snape must know that by now. Professor McGonagall had told him +this morning that the professors knew, and that Luna would be in the +hospital wing until the mandrakes they were growing in Herbology were +ready to be harvested and heal her. + +Snape strode through the puffing mist of that memory and knelt beside +the box, reaching out to grasp its lid. Harry thought of suddenly +suffering the strange thoughts he'd had about Connor yesterday---that it +was unfair of Connor to put him in that situation with Draco and +Ron---and panicked. + +He didn't know what he did, but in the next moment he heard Sylarana +say, \emph{On your word.} + +Harry opened his eyes. Sylarana was coiled around Snape's throat, her +fangs glistening like Veritaserum a few inches from his skin. Snape +stood very still, his head tilted back to accommodate the snake. His +face wore an expression of utter disdain. Only the sweat on his forehead +betrayed his fear. + +"\emph{I want to kill him,}``said Sylarana. Her voice lacked the teasing +tone that Harry had heard her use every other time she said that. +''\emph{He should be dead now. What he did was stupid and dangerous.}" + +Harry swallowed and shook his head. ``Don't kill him,'' he whispered, +and heard Snape draw in a sharp breath. It probably sounded like +hissing. Harry didn't care. ``Come back, Sylarana, please.'' + +"\emph{You are sure}?" She was already uncoiling, however, and making +her way gracefully across the floor to him. Harry knelt and put out his +left arm. She coiled around his wrist and laid her head out along the +back of his hand. Her eyes stared directly into his. "\emph{I would have +killed him.}" + +``I know,'' Harry whispered back, and glanced up at Snape. + +``We are done for today, Potter,'' said Snape, betraying nothing by his +tone. ``You will return for your lessons this week at the same time you +always have.'' + +Harry nodded, not daring to say anything, and slipped out of the room. +It seemed Snape would pretend the next lessons were normal, and Harry +saw no alternative. Death had been with them in that room. It was not so +easily dismissed, but it could be ignored by mutual effort. + +One thing was certain, however. The box was not going to be enough +anymore. Harry had to find something else. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Harry sighed softly and slumped back in his seat. He'd been in the +library for the past three hours, and hadn't found any spells that +sounded like what he was looking for, even granted that he was looking +through spells intended for use by adult wizards. + +Then he turned the page. + +\emph{Fugitivus Animus.} + +Harry let out a small gasp and slid closer to the page. The description +of the spell lay there invitingly, as if waiting for him. + +Fugitivus Animus, \emph{or the Fugitive Soul, is a spell designed for +concealment in particular difficult situations outside of battle. Its +limitations make it impractical for use in a battle environment, unless +one has a target already chosen and highly visible.} + +\emph{With this spell, the caster transfers attention from himself to +someone else. He does not become invisible, but slips from the grasp of +all thoughts in the area. Thus he reorders the perceptions of those +affected by the spell, so that he drops from whatever position of +importance he may originally hold to lowest priority, worthy of less +notice than a fly that wanders through the room.} + +\emph{There are two orders of this spell. The first is} Fugitivus Animus +Cogitatio, \emph{which is performed with three sweeps of the wand to the +left at brow height, emphasizing the three words of the spell, and +transfers attention from the caster to one person in the immediate area. +The caster may leave unnoticed, as everyone else in the vicinity will +begin paying attention to the target. Anyone who departs the area of the +target, however, will remember the caster, often quite suddenly.} + +Fugitivus Animus Amplector \emph{will permanently transfer attention +from the caster to the target, and last as long as both caster and +target are alive. It is performed with three sweeps of the wand to the +left at brow height, as its lesser cousin, and then a sweep of the wand +to the right at heart height. The caster must use much more of his will +in casting it, as it is a harder spell by three degrees of magnitude.} + +\emph{The counter for both spells is the} Finite, \emph{or} Reparo +Mentis. \emph{However, in dispelling the} Amplector \emph{spell, the +caster must use as much strength as the original wizard who created the +spell.} + +\emph{Because both versions of the} Fugitivus Animus \emph{spell +interfere with others' thoughts and feelings, this spell is classified +as \textbf{Dark.}} + +Harry let out a small breath and closed his eyes. He was sure the spells +would be difficult to perform; if not, this book would be in the +Restricted Section, rather than kept in the open for students to +research spells they would never be able to cast. + +But it was what he needed. It was perfect. + +He could keep people from looking at him while he struggled to deal with +whatever emotions he was currently experiencing, if they couldn't go in +the box. And if Connor was in the same room, then Harry could make +everyone else pay attention to him, as befitted the Boy-Who-Lived. + +\emph{This is a bad idea,} Sylarana hissed at him. \emph{It is Dark +magic.} + +\emph{Are you afraid?} Harry challenged her. + +\emph{Of course not! It's just a bad idea.} + +Harry went to put the book away, ignoring the small part of his mind +that agreed with Sylarana. He had to do \emph{something.} It seemed that +the world was closing in on him, not letting him do \emph{anything} +right. Every move he made was anticipated, tracked, and turned aside. + +He needed to figure out some way of keeping his vows, and until he came +up with a better one, the \emph{Fugitivus Animus} spell was it. + +\subsection{*Chapter 12*: Threats and +Throws}\label{chapter-12-threats-and-throws} + +Thank you once again to all my reviewers! Questions and such will be +addressed in my LJ later. + +The plot takes another bound here, as Harry talks with his family and +tries to throw the Quidditch game. + +\textbf{Chapter Eleven: Threats and Throws} + +Harry never wanted to go through a week like that again. The sooner he +mastered the \emph{Fugitivus Animus} spell, the better. + +Monday had begun with a murmur of noise as he walked into the Great +Hall, one that might have built to hexes and flung food---\emph{would} +have built, Harry was certain, if not for the professors seated at the +staff table. Though he sat beside Draco at the Slytherin table, and the +Malfoy heir looked as if he would kill the next person who so much as +breathed wrong at Harry, he could still feel the stares. They made his +breath short and his legs shake, and he ate little and left soon. +Sylarana protested. Harry told her to shut up, and she sulked for the +next three hours. + +The Ravenclaws' taunts had grown worse now that he had, as they saw it, +actually put a Housemate in the hospital wing permanently. Harry watched +them, at least, with no emotion more complicated than bitterness. +\emph{They didn't appreciate Luna while they had her, did they?} + +``Did you get your little snakes to hold her down while you Petrified +her, Snake Prince?'' one of them asked as he headed to Charms. ``Was it +fun?'' + +``Not fun enough for him,'' said a seventh-year Ravenclaw knowingly. "I +heard he forced poison down her throat while she screamed for mercy, and +then cast \emph{Crucio} while she was still recovering from that." + +``He probably bit her himself,'' said another. + +Draco spun around, wand in hand. Harry touched his arm. ``Don't,'' he +said softly. ``It's not worth it.'' + +Draco spluttered and protested at him for the rest of the day about +that, which at least gave Harry something to listen to beyond the +taunts. + +On Tuesday, Ron stomped up to the Slytherin table. Draco bristled. Ron +ignored him entirely, though, and spoke to Harry through clenched teeth. + +``This isn't over,'' he said. "I know there's some kind of, of +\emph{plot} afoot. There's no way that my dad could get sacked and his +brother betray Connor in one week unless there was a plot. We'll stop +you. You just wait." + +``Oh, very good, Weasley,'' said Draco, leaning forward until he had +almost shoved his face into Ron's. "I had no idea that you knew the word +\emph{afoot.} Picked it up from Granger, did you?" + +Ron turned red in the face, but Harry asked quietly, ``Why was your +father sacked? What was the charge?'' + +"That \emph{git's} dad said that if he couldn't control himself in a +bookshop, he couldn't control himself in the Ministry," said Ron, +through clenched teeth. ``They did an unfair review of him, and he got +sacked.'' + +``And the truth finally comes out,'' Draco drawled. ``Your father should +have been forced from his job long since, Weasley. What my father did is +a favor to the Ministry, the rest of the wizarding world, and humankind +in general.'' + +"I'm going to \emph{kill} you," said Ron, and reached for his wand, at +which point Hermione came up to him and slapped him on the side of the +head. Harry stared in shock. Hermione met his eyes for a fleeting +moment, and Harry blinked at what he saw there. She looked sorrowful, +tired, but not contemptuous, nor as if she had decided he were the +source of evil. + +"Ron Weasley, you are going to come sit down \emph{right} now and +\emph{shut up} before you lose Gryffindor points," she hissed at him. + +Ron opened his mouth to protest, but Draco said, ``Oh, come, come, +Granger. He was just showing us his new vocabulary, weren't you, +Weasel?'' + +Harry hissed at him. ``Draco. Be quiet.'' + +Hermione nodded to Harry, as one ally to another, and marched Ron back +to the Gryffindor table. For a brief moment, Harry felt as though this +day might not be so bad after all. + +Then he caught Connor's gaze, merciless in judgment, radiant in +innocence, and looked away. What did it matter if Hermione or anyone +else believed he was innocent, as long as his brother thought Harry had +betrayed him? + +In Transfigurations class on Wednesday, someone Harry never saw +enchanted the needles they were turning into quills. Several of them +flew over, hovered in front of Harry, and spelled out T-R-A-I-T-O-R and +S-N-A-K-E. + +That turned out to be the only good part of the week, unexpectedly. The +needles had just gone into their second spelling when McGonagall +banished them with a wave of her wand, and turned a fierce gaze on +Harry. + +``Mr. Potter, stay after class, please.'' + +He did, and much to his surprise, she took him up to her office, gave +him tea, and insisted that he discuss the finer points of +Transfiguration theory with her. Harry let himself be drawn out on a +subject he knew only from books, and found his knowledge matched and +countered by McGonagall's experience. Her description of what it felt +like the first time she underwent the Animagus transformation---``as if +my stomach were running out my ears''---made him choke on his tea and +smile at her. McGonagall smiled back. Harry could almost ignore that her +eyes were haunted, and, miraculously, McGonagall never reminded him why. + +On Thursday, he went to the hospital wing to try and see Luna. Madam +Pomfrey proved willing to let him in, and he sat by Luna's bedside for +an hour, his eyes fixed on her wide blank ones, trying to think of +anything to say that didn't sound self-serving. + +He stepped out of the hospital wing, and someone ambushed him. There +must have been a group of them, Harry thought later, since Sylarana +didn't even have time to hiss, and the hexes that hit them both flew +from all directions. He went down stunned, body-bound, with an Obscurus +charm over his eyes, and then they began using both wands and fists on +him. + +It only lasted a few minutes before Sylarana managed to shed whatever +spell the ambushers had put on her to keep her immobile and slither out +from his sleeve. The hexers shrieked and ran. Sylarana, in a rage, +slithered after them until the ward rang and the cage came down around +her. Dumbledore came to fetch her and release Harry from most of the +hexes a short time afterward. + +Harry spent Friday in the hospital wing for his bruises and what Madam +Pomfrey called his exhaustion, visited by a rotating group of anxious +Slytherins, who told him that there were rumors that he'd set Sylarana +on the ambushers deliberately. By Friday evening, there were people +speaking of him as the new Dark Lord. + +Given all that, Harry was actually almost glad to face his brother in +the Slytherin-Gryffindor Quidditch game that Saturday. At least he knew +that he'd be able to control what happened. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Harry closed his eyes and pushed open the door of Sirius's office. The +voices inside stopped speaking at once. He knew that several pairs of +eyes had turned to him, but it was a long moment before he managed to +gather up his courage and face them. + +Their parents stood in front of Sirius's chair, Connor, already in his +Quidditch robes, between them. Remus sat in a second chair, his head +cocked to the side, eyes soft and smile just fading. All of them, +including Sirius, looked at Harry as if they had seen a ghost. + +``Hello,'' said Harry softly. + +Remus unfroze first. ``Hello, Harry,'' he said calmly, as if nothing had +happened. ``I was just telling your mother how much I look forward to +seeing you both fly today. It's a perfect day for Quidditch, isn't it?'' +He turned and smiled at Sirius, as if inviting him into the +conversation. Sirius sat there, and stared at Harry. Harry looked away +from him, too. He hadn't been near Sirius since Luna was Petrified, and +Sirius certainly hadn't come to see him. He'd wanted to put the pain he +felt about that in the box, but hadn't quite dared, so now it drifted +along beneath the surface of his mind and made him uncomfortable. Harry +had no idea what to do about it, what to say. The only comfort in this +situation was that no one else seemed to have any idea what to do, +either. + +Except Remus, whom, Harry had noticed before, would carry on a +conversation in the middle of a raging battle between James and Connor +about how high he was allowed to fly on his broom. + +``A beautiful, bright, sunny day,'' said Remus. Harry glanced up from +beneath his fringe to see that the werewolf's amber eyes had chilled +slightly, but he was looking at Sirius, not Harry. "A day for Quidditch +games, and a day for families. There will be many parents here to see +their children fly, I imagine. And godparents, too. I'm sure that true +\emph{godparents} wouldn't abandon their godchildren without even +talking to them, would they?" He leaned back and turned a grim smile on +James. ``Or parents, either.'' + +There was a long, long pause. Then James said, between his teeth, +``Connor, would you wait in the hallway, please? We'd like to talk to +Harry alone.'' + +Connor opened his mouth to protest. Harry shot him a glance of sympathy +that he doubted his brother noted. Connor \emph{hated} being treated +like a child, and James doing so wasn't the best way to get through to +him. + +``Come on, Connor,'' Remus said, standing and extending a hand to him. +``I don't think I ever showed you the tunnel behind the statue of the +humpbacked witch, did I?'' He leaned nearer and lowered his voice, eyes +warm. ``It goes straight into Honeydukes.'' + +Connor perked up a bit, but still turned his head and looked back at +Harry. Harry nodded. He understood the import of that look. \emph{I am +doing everything I can to stop you.} + +He certainly seemed to be, Harry thought, as he watched his brother +depart. He was plotting something with Ron and Hermione, walking with +them in close concert through the corridors. Every now and then Hermione +made a muffled protest, but Connor would hush her, and explain something +else that made Hermione bite her lip and nod thoughtfully. + +``Harry.'' + +The door shut behind Remus and Connor, and Harry turned with a sigh to +face their parents and Sirius. + +Sirius still slumped in his chair, scowling. Lily stood in the same +place she had been since Harry entered the room, eyes fixed on his face. +It was James who spoke, his voice earnest but clumsy. Harry knew how he +felt. + +``Connor told us what happened,'' James said. ``All of it. The fight +between Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy---'' his distaste for Draco's last +name was boundless, Harry noted ``---and then how he found you standing +in the corridor beside the Lovegood girl's body that evening.'' James +closed his eyes and drew a deep breath. ``And the Parseltongue, and the +way you've used magic on Ravenclaws before now. You sent some poor girl +to the hospital wing, didn't you?'' + +Harry nodded. No point in denying it. + +\emph{I can deny it,} said Sylarana in his head. \emph{But none of them +would listen to me.} + +\emph{None of them could understand you,} Harry corrected her. + +\emph{None of them would listen even if they could understand me.} The +Locusta's thoughts had a sulky tone that would have made Harry smile at +any other time. But this was a conversation with his parents. + +``And you were being possessed by You-Know-Who,'' said James. "Or, at +least, his younger self. I don't \emph{understand}, Harry. I thought the +private lessons old Snivellus is giving you were supposed to help with +that?" + +He paused, and this time he clearly expected a verbal answer. ``They're +helping,'' said Harry quietly. ``And I don't think I Petrified Luna, +sir. I was asleep when it happened, so I don't know who did, but I don't +think Tom Riddle possessed me.'' + +"So he's possessing someone \emph{else}?" James asked. ``But why?'' + +``James.'' + +Just a single word from their mother, Harry thought, and the room was +already calmer. Lily came forward and knelt down in front of Harry, +brushing his fringe back from his eyes. Harry watched the lines around +her mouth tighten as her finger caressed his lightning bolt scar. + +``I think we have to tell them,'' she whispered. + +Harry let out a short little breath, pitying her. He knew that she had +wanted to keep their father innocent for much the same reason that they +had wanted to keep Connor innocent. That clarity of mind, that purity of +soul, was something worth fighting for. + +But, if it came to telling a few people what Harry was instead of the +whole world, then that was a better solution. + +Lily stood, moving behind Harry and putting her hands on his shoulders. +``I've been training Harry for most of his life,'' she told James and +Sirius. ``I've asked him to learn all the spells he could, all the +wandless magic he could, all the theories and pureblood customs he +could, in case Connor needed them later.'' + +James managed to stutter out something that sounded like, ``What?'' +Sirius was staring at both of them wide-eyed. Harry put his head up and +reminded himself that the stares were tolerable. His mother was here +with him. He did not stand alone. + +Lily nodded. ``Connor is Voldemort's enemy,'' she said. ``You know it. +Both of you know it. But he couldn't continue as a normal child unless +he had some kind of extra protection.'' She gestured at Sirius. ``You're +here this year, Sirius, and I appreciate it more than I'll ever be able +to tell you. But you can't go everywhere, can't be with the students in +the way that another student can. Harry's been guarding Connor since +last year. I've been training him to do so for most of his life,'' she +repeated. She closed her eyes and let out a long breath. + +``It is no wonder that Voldemort has come after Harry. His raw power and +his importance to Connor both make him a target. If Voldemort could +corrupt Harry, it would be the ultimate strike against the +Boy-Who-Lived, short of corrupting Connor himself.'' Lily's hands +tightened on Harry's shoulders, and he could feel the way she tried to +restrain herself from pouring forth everything at once. There were some +things that Sirius and James would take time to understand, no matter +how much preparation she tried to give them. ``So, while I hardly think +this possession a good thing, I do not blame Harry. I blame Voldemort.'' + +There was thunderstruck silence for a long time. Harry looked from James +to Sirius, and found nothing worrying in their eyes. Both looked +shocked, but that was understandable. James was opening and closing his +mouth as though he wanted to figure out what question to ask first; that +was nothing Harry had not expected. Sirius slumped back in his seat, his +face dreadfully pale. Harry was a bit more concerned about that, but his +godfather had grown up around Dark magic and warrior wizards. Of course +he would be worried that a child was going to encounter them. + +\emph{He's worried about Connor, not you,} Sylarana said to him. + +\emph{Shut up,} Harry warned her, and shoved the pain away again. + +James at last said, ``But that means that you've kept the secret from us +all for years?'' + +``Yes,'' said Lily. ``I wanted you to be ignorant so that I could have +your unthinking support in times of trouble, James. It was selfish, and +I am sorry.'' She spoke like the witch Harry knew she truly was, her +voice unflinching. ``And I have kept Connor innocent because he needs to +be innocent to defeat Voldemort. But now, when both of you might +interfere with Harry's guardianship, there is no reason for you to be +ignorant any more.'' She turned to Sirius. ``Will you still obstruct +him?'' + +Sirius shook his head. His face had grown paler. ``But I thought so +differently,'' he whispered. ``Harry, I'm sorry.'' + +``You can tell Connor the truth now, can't you?'' asked James, his voice +eager. ``He doesn't need to fight with Harry any more.'' + +Lily sighed. ``No,'' she said. ``It is still true that Tom Riddle +possessed Harry, and that we don't know who Petrified Luna Lovegood. +It's true that Harry has had his mind invaded by a powerful Dark wizard. +And telling him all this might well sully his innocence. I don't want to +do it, not yet.'' She paused. ``Besides, there is one good consequence +to Connor's suspecting Harry.'' + +``What is that?'' Sirius demanded, his voice rough. ``I can't think of +anything good about it, myself.'' + +Lily moved around in front of Harry and knelt down again instead of +answering him. She looked into Harry's eyes. ``Harry, do you remember +our discussion of the First War against Voldemort, and the reason the +Prewett brothers led the Death Eaters such a chase before they finally +caught them?'' she asked. + +Harry's eyes widened as he recalled the story. Gideon and Fabian +Prewett, Molly Weasley's brothers, had been devastatingly powerful +wizards, but more than that, they had been clever ones. They had run a +deception only uncovered after their deaths, a deception worthy of a +Slytherin. + +They had made themselves into targets on purpose, irritating and +distracting the most important Death Eaters from other tasks---tasks +that would have included the execution of helpless Muggleborn families +who were not nearly as well-trained as Gideon and Fabian. The Death +Eaters had united to take them down at last, but while they did that, +fifteen wizarding families escaped via Portkey to safehouses. By the +time the Prewett brothers fell, Voldemort's inner circle could have +taken vengeance on them for months and not been satisfied. The hunt had +encouraged all the traits that Gideon and Fabian had wanted to encourage +in the Death Eaters, including mutual suspicion of each other; they had +begun to think that someone on their side was a traitor and \emph{must} +be helping the Prewetts escape each confrontation. + +And Harry understood. + +``You want me to do the opposite of that with Connor?'' he asked his +mother. ``Act like a stag so he can act like a hound?'' + +``Like the leader of a hunt,'' Lily corrected him, giving him the gentle +smile which, reflected in her green eyes, showed that he'd pleased her +very well indeed. ``Connor has to grow wise to the political realities +of the wizarding world, but he's not going to do it the way you did, +especially now that he's made friends among the purebloods devoted to +the Light. He'll grow wise through action. Let him unite the school +around one cause, and that will be good practice for the future.'' + +Harry nodded. He could feel his guilt and darkness of mind dissipating, +centering on a new excitement. It was all right, now, if Connor +suspected him and stirred the other students up against him. Those +students would get used to following the Boy-Who-Lived. When the real +perpetrator was found, it might make Connor look ridiculous, but Harry +suspected it was likely that the real perpetrator was an innocent +victim, not a willing servant of Voldemort. Connor could forgive that +victim, perhaps rescue them from Voldemort's control, and then turn +around and forgive his brother, showing the height of Gryffindor justice +and mercy. Harry's acceptance of the forgiveness would show his own +absolute loyalty. + +It would require very careful planning, Harry knew, and there were half +a dozen things that could go wrong. But it was \emph{a} plan, one that +would serve both his goals in defending Connor and making him look good, +and that made it one he could live with. + +``I don't understand,'' said Sirius plaintively. + +Lily explained the plain in more detail to him and James, and Harry +luxuriated in the silence. Yes, this was the best way to do things. + +\emph{If you are an utterly mad human, then yes, it is.} + +Harry jumped. He always managed to forget Sylarana when she had been +silent for a time, it seemed. And she hadn't objected to the plan so +far, so why was she objecting now? + +\emph{Because this is madness,} said Sylarana flatly. \emph{How can you +hope to make it work? And how can you hope to have time to feed me while +you are making it work?} + +Harry touched his left arm above where she rested as a mark on his skin. +\emph{I'll always make certain to feed you first, I promise.} + +He barely listened as his mother hashed things out with James and +Sirius. He knew things were going to be better now. If he did have +Slytherin qualities, as the Sorting Hat and Draco and Snape insisted, +then he was finally going to put them to good use, in the service of the +Light. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Harry was confident, as he swooped and turned and tumbled through the +air, in a way that he had not been at last year's Gryffindor-Slytherin +Quidditch game. + +Connor was aloft, of course, and there were the Bludgers to watch out +for, but this time the Lestranges were not coming after him. Their +parents, Sirius, and Remus sat in the stands below, and this time James +and Sirius, at least, knew that Connor would win, because Harry would +not let it be otherwise. It amused Harry that one of the last things +their father had asked him before he went to dress in Slytherin green +robes was whether Harry was the better flyer than Connor. Harry had been +able to lie about that, since he'd never told their mother the true +extent of his flying abilities, either. He'd assured James that Connor +won the games on his own merits. + +It was a small lie, especially compared to the ones he would tell and +live in the coming months. But it was all going to be worth it in the +end. It had to be. + +\emph{Mad}, Sylarana insisted in his head. She'd spoken little since +they came onto the Pitch, except in words of one syllable. Harry +supposed she wanted him to divine what the words meant. He refused. He +had more important things to worry about right now. + +There were the Bludgers, and the Snitch, and Connor on his broom, and +hundreds of eyes watching from below, from both sides of the Pitch. He +had all of them to fool. Luckily, most were easy. He flipped upside down +almost lazily as one of the Weasley twins swatted a Bludger at him, and +heard it go by, singing, above his broom bristles. The Nimbus 2001 was a +great gift, he thought. It made maneuvers like these so much easier. + +As he hung upside down---with Sylarana, forced to tighten her coil on +his left arm, complaining about that, too---he saw the Bludger make a +strange, wide circle and head back towards the game. It ignored the two +Slytherin Chasers in the way, and actually made a circle around the +Weasley twins. It was homing in on--- + +\emph{Connor.} + +\emph{I see that it was a mistake to assume this game was going to be +safer,} Harry thought, and shot forward. + +He flew parallel to the Bludger, the wind tearing at his hair and +glasses, the broom giving him all the speed he asked for and more. Harry +timed the Bludger's impact with Connor and reached out, intending to use +his will to yank it to the side, much as he'd used his will to make it +hit the Lestranges last year. + +It didn't work. Someone already had the Bludger. Harry felt it as a +sharp cone of power twisting and steering and blowing the ball, one that +sparked against his and forced it away. His eyes narrowed as he watched +Connor go into a spiraling dive, avoiding the enchanted thing's first +strike. It wasn't wizard magic that held the ball. + +\emph{A house elf.} + +\emph{Dobby?} + +Probably, Harry thought. And that just made him angrier that he hadn't +thought much about the house elf since school began, assuming that every +other threat was a greater one. + +That could change, now. Harry called his magic up around him, comforted +in the knowledge that most people wouldn't be able to sense it. +Dumbledore, of course, because such a trick should be in his power, and +Draco and Snape, but they were the only ones who had ever reacted like +that when he got angry. + +And he \emph{was} angry now, a roaring, frothing rage that he indulged, +because it was for Connor. Harry watched as the Bludger curved back +around, and reached out with a different kind of will. This time, he +didn't want to affect the ball. He wanted the air in front of it to turn +solid, hard as ground without rain, refusing the Bludger passage. + +There came a loud \emph{poing} sound, and the Bludger bounced back. +Harry gasped and released the wall of air. That had been harder than he +thought it would, probably because he'd had to call and release the +magic suddenly. He would do better to anticipate the Bludger's next move +and get in front of it, so that he'd have time to use all the +precautions he needed to. + +``And the Snitch has been spotted!'' Lee Jordan's voice rose with a +triumphant roar over the suddenly screaming crowd. + +Harry snapped his head around, and saw Connor pursuing the Snitch, a +gleam of gold fluttering madly ahead of him. It changed direction +several times, but Harry's brother was never far behind. His hair +streamed in the wind, his face shining with determination. Harry +relaxed. Slytherin had been sixty points ahead the last time he looked, +but if Connor caught the Snitch now, that wouldn't matter. He'd end the +game, get safely out of the air, and secure the victory for his team all +at once. + +Then the Bludger began to move again. + +Straight for the back of Connor's broom it went, this time ignoring the +other targets completely in its haste. Angelina Johnson, one of the +Gryffindor Chasers, got caught in its path and spun out of the sky +clutching her stomach. She righted herself before she hit the ground, +though, and Harry heard no commanding whistle from either Madam Hooch or +Sirius to end the game. + +Connor was utterly involved in claiming the Snitch, which had managed to +fool him with a sudden course change and was now busily darting and +spraying around the sky, leaving Connor to do the best he could in +catching up with it. + +That meant that it was up to Harry to do something. + +Fierce, clean excitement took him over, and he knew he was grinning as +he let all his speed, and the Nimbus 2001's speed, go. + +The air narrowed to a short, defined tunnel in front of him. He flew +past Angelina as if she were hovering rather than circling. He heard +startled gasps and saw eyes turned to him, but didn't mind them. They +would only think that he'd seen the Snitch, too, and wanted to claim it +from Connor. + +\emph{Do.} + +Harry felt the intrusion of Sylarana's mind into his as a distant +ripple. He rolled over twice as the other Bludger screamed past him, and +as he came out of the tumble, he had to decide which way the enchanted +Bludger would go. It was almost to Connor now, and his outstretched hand +grabbing at the Snitch. + +\emph{His outstretched hand.} + +Harry chose. + +He dived, to get the right angle, and then came up in a single blinding +burst of speed. Up he rose, and got in between the Bludger and his +brother. He would take the hit, Connor would take the Snitch, and all +would be right with the world. + +Connor gave him a single, bewildered glance, before fixing his eyes back +on the tiny golden ball. Harry smiled, not caring. + +The Bludger halted beneath him, twisted, and then tried to rise between +Harry and Connor, and slightly ahead, so that it could hit Connor full +on. + +Harry made another choice, and shot straight across in front of his +brother. Their broomsticks smacked together, but he wasn't close enough +to foul Connor, and--- + +\emph{Crack.} + +The Bludger hit his right arm, making Harry gasp and lean to the side as +his bones went liquid with pain. His left arm, caught wide of the broom, +faltered and grasped for some kind of handhold. He found something small +and grabbed it, thinking Connor had extended a hand to help him. + +He wheeled away, right arm clutched close to his side, to see Connor's +eyes going wide, a scream forming on his mouth, and the Bludger, free of +Dobby's magic, falling limply to the ground beneath him. Everybody was +shouting. Sylarana was hissing at him. Harry managed, by dint of +concentration, to hear what Lee Jordan was shouting. + +``Potter's caught the Snitch!'' + +\emph{Well, of course Connor has, what---} + +Then Harry became aware of the small, madly dancing thing in his palm, +that thing he had grabbed in his desperate search for support. + +``Slytherin wins!'' + +One side of the Pitch went mad, green banners fluttering in the air, +hoots and catcalls ringing. The Gryffindor side was silent. Harry kept +his head tucked carefully into his shoulder, and concentrated on the +cool shock washing through him. He did not dare look at his parents +right now, nor Remus. He had \emph{promised} that Connor would win. + +``Good game, Harry.'' + +Harry dared to glance over at his brother, and wished he hadn't. +Connor's face was red with humiliation, his eyes glazed with tears. + +``If you hated me so much that you wanted to humiliate me in front of +our parents,'' he whispered, ``why didn't you just tell me?'' + +He dived then, and the rest of the Slytherin team was between Harry and +the Pitch, offering loud congratulations. Harry accepted them as best he +could, riding the cresting wave of his utter surprise. He hissed out +loud when Flint embraced him and jostled his broken arm, though. + +Flint blinked at him, then said, ``Come on, Potter, hospital wing for +you.'' He gave Harry a large wink. "Madam Pomfrey should be able to fix +you \emph{right} up." + +Harry closed his eyes as they escorted him back down like a gaggle of +geese. All his good intentions were \emph{gone} again, burned to a crisp +by circumstances that Harry did not know how to prevent. He wished he +could cast \emph{Fugitivus Animus} right now, and simply vanish from +everyone's attention. + +\emph{I don't think it would work even if you could,} Sylarana said, her +voice oddly gentle. \emph{I think you're always going to be showing up, +not shown up. I know that isn't what you want, but that seems to be the +way it is. And snakes deal with reality, you know, not hide from it. +It's no good pretending you've got a mouse when you don't.} + +\emph{I'm not a snake,} Harry said back. + +She didn't bother responding. + +Harry took Draco's embrace when they were on the ground, and accepted +his congratulations, though Flint kept him from hugging Harry too +tightly. And then off he went to the hospital wing yet again, his memory +of Connor's betrayed look hurting more than his arm. + +\emph{What am I going to do? How can I keep from betraying him when I +don't even mean to? How can}--- + +He gave in to temptation, and threw the circling thoughts into the box. +His head cleared at once. His breathing calmed down. He was able to open +his eyes and walk along with the Quidditch team instead of being +half-carried. + +\emph{Snape's wrong. This has to be a good thing. It's going to let me +plan.} + +\emph{Mother said to lead Connor a hunt. I will. I only have to figure +out how to do it, and I should have some time alone in the hospital +wing. I'll tell Madam Pomfrey that I'm tired.} + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Harry woke, alone, in the middle of the night, his repaired right arm +curled over his chest and Sylarana curled on top of it, and blinked. It +was a long moment before he could remember what he'd been thinking of. + +The middle of the night. Their parents had probably left Hogwarts, +without coming to see him. + +Harry told himself that he hadn't expected them to. + +When the anger would not go away, he relegated it to the box, without +waking Sylarana, and then went back to sleep, levelheaded and serene. + +\subsection{*Chapter 13*: Paralysis}\label{chapter-13-paralysis} + +Thank you very much for the reviews for the last chapter! Review +responses in LJ this afternoon as per usual. + +And \emph{on} we go. + +\textbf{Chapter Twelve: Paralysis} + +\emph{Harry isn't going to like this.} + +\emph{I don't care,} Draco reassured himself fiercely as Harry stirred +slightly in the hospital bed and then opened his eyes. \emph{He doesn't +have to like it. He has to put up with it, though. I'm not leaving him +alone.} + +Draco clenched his teeth. He intended to tell Harry the truth about what +he had seen yesterday, and then heard while Harry was in the hospital +wing last night. Harry wouldn't like that, either. + +Draco didn't care. Sometimes friends had to do things that friends +didn't like. + +``Draco,'' Harry said, staring up at him with obvious surprise, as well +as other emotions that Draco didn't bother taking the time to figure +out. Harry wouldn't want him there. He already knew that. It was time to +move on to other, more interesting facts. ``I didn't know that you would +be here. Don't you have studying to do?'' + +``It's Sunday,'' said Draco, and leaned closer to him. ``No classes. No +homework unless I want to do it.'' He spent a moment studying Harry. +Harry just kept on blinking at him. His eyes were clear and very green +from this close, but wary. He had his head tilted so that, for once, his +fringe revealed his lightning bolt scar. Draco smiled despite himself. +Harry made him feel helpless in so many ways, and this was one of +them---that he could simultaneously be powerful enough to make Draco's +head ache and vulnerable enough to make Draco want to grab him and hold +him close. + +``It's Sunday, then,'' said Harry. ``But aren't you hungry?'' He turned +and glanced out the window of the hospital wing. ``I think it must be +near noon already.'' + +``I ate a big breakfast,'' said Draco. He decided that he could be +patient. Diverting Harry's attempts to get rid of him one by one was +good practice for dealing with the distinctly peeved Harry he would be +facing in a moment. + +``Oh.'' Harry paused and tried to think of something else to say. Draco +watched his mind work, and the lazy loopings of Harry's Locusta on his +chest. Sylarana fascinated him. She fascinated all the Slytherins, and +some of the House practically worshipped Harry for being able to talk to +her. Draco didn't think that Harry had caught on to that yet. ``Um, +well, didn't you want to celebrate the Quidditch victory yesterday?'' + +``There wasn't much of a celebration without you there,'' said Draco. He +took a deep breath. ``And no, Harry, I'm not tired myself, and I don't +think that I ought to be in the library studying ahead for Professor +Snape's class, and I'm not interested in a walk around the lake today. I +even brought food for Sylarana. Here.'' He dipped a hand into the pocket +of his robe and found the treacle tart he'd put there from dinner last +night. He extended it to Sylarana, who uttered a hiss that Draco dared +to imagine was pleased, and swallowed several pieces whole. Draco saw +her folded fangs gleaming as she ate delicately. + +``Oh,'' said Harry again. ``Thank you.'' Sylarana faced him and hissed +something then, and Harry's eyes widened. He hissed back. Draco +half-closed his eyes. He had heard tales of Parselmouths, but had never +imagined he would meet one, unless the Dark Lord returned someday. Even +after a month of knowing Harry could do it, it still startled him, and +touched off a shiver deep within a part of him that he had no name for. +The most Slytherin part, perhaps. + +``What did she say?'' Draco asked, when the conversation seemed to have +finished, and Sylarana went back to eating the treacle tart. + +``She thanked you for bringing the food.'' Harry's eyes were carefully +watching the door to the hospital wing now, as though he expected +visitors at any moment. Draco allowed himself a smirk. Harry wasn't +really all that transparent. But Draco had been close to him for more +than a year now, and had watched him carefully in all that time, and he +knew what those tiny facial expressions meant. + +``You aren't going to be able to get out of this conversation, Harry,'' +he said. ``I think we should have had it the first day we met, but I +didn't know you then. And since then, well, you've been busy being +Connor's brother, and I've been busy being a Malfoy.'' He shrugged. + +Harry winced. ``Yes, I know,'' he said. ``I did tell you that Connor was +more important to me, remember---'' + +``I can't see why,'' Draco interrupted, struggling to keep his voice to +a level tone. If he thought too hard about the Boy-Who-Lived, he would +begin shouting. ``He treats you\ldots{} Harry, he would treat dung on +his broom better than he treats you. At least the dung would +inconvenience him a bit, and he wouldn't expect it to lie down beneath +his feet and apologize for getting in his way.'' + +Harry's chin rose, and the sense of magic he exuded when angry started +chewing at the outer edges of Draco's shields. Draco winced and +strengthened them again. He'd had to do that constantly since the +beginning of the year. Harry's power continued to grow. Draco had never +heard of that before, but then, he had never heard of someone like +Harry, either. He would face both, and do what he needed to do to make +sure both survived. + +``He's my brother,'' said Harry. + +``That doesn't excuse the way he treats you!'' Draco found himself +yelling abruptly, and tried to rein in his voice. Madam Pomfrey had told +him that if she found him making too much noise, his visit with Harry +would be over. ``It doesn't, Harry,'' he went on after a moment, lower +but no less intense. "\emph{Nothing} could, not even if you owed him a +life debt and this was the way you were repaying him." + +Harry shook his head. ``You don't understand,'' he said. ``She told me +that you wouldn't.'' + +Draco blinked. ``Who?'' For some reason, bizarre visions of his own +mother telling Harry such a thing filled his mind. + +``Our mother,'' said Harry. "Lily. She told me that no one outside the +family would understand why I had to protect Connor. Or no one else +\emph{in} the family, even, except me and her. She told James and my +godfather yesterday, and they didn't take it well." He shook his head +and sighed. ``It doesn't matter, though,'' he went on after a pause so +brief that Draco had no chance to fit in a word in edgewise. ``I'll keep +doing what I have to do. I hardly need anyone's approval to do so. That +includes yours, Draco.'' The edge of his magic sharpened once more. + +Draco raised the shields a little higher. ``I'm not talking about +approval,'' he said. ``I'm talking about disapproval of the whole bloody +thing. Don't you notice what he's doing to you, Harry? Don't you care?'' + +Harry shook his head slowly, his fringe once more brushing over and +hiding his scar. ``I know what it probably looks like from outside, +Draco---'' + +``No,'' Draco interrupted slowly. ``I don't think you do.'' + +Harry just waited. When Draco closed his mouth again, he went on, +patient as the streams that Draco had watched running on the edges of +the Malfoy estates. "But \emph{I} know what it looks like from the +inside, and no one else except Lily does. I was trained to be a guard +and a protector to Connor. That's what I am. Yes, I've suffered +setbacks, and I've betrayed him." He closed his eyes for a moment, +wrinkling his nose. Then he opened them, and his gaze cut through Draco. +``I betrayed him the moment I was put into Slytherin, in many ways,'' +Harry said, his voice so detached that it made Draco want to weep. ``But +there are subtler ways than that---doubting him, holding him back, +outshining him. I've done all of them. But I am going to try to recoup +them, to change myself back into the brother he wants and needs.'' + +Draco slammed his hands down on the bed, then glanced hastily over his +shoulder. Madam Pomfrey was nowhere in sight. She had, in fact, murmured +something about being grateful that Draco was here to take care of +Harry, just in case any more ``mysterious hexes'' manifested themselves. +Maybe she'd meant it. + +``Damn it, you shouldn't have to do that,'' said Draco. "Harry, don't +you \emph{understand} this? Just because you're in Slytherin doesn't +make you evil. Do you think I'm evil?" + +Harry paused, a faint shadow on his face. ``Of course not,'' he said. +``But---it's different for me.'' + +``Tell me,'' said Draco. ``Tell me how.'' + +Harry pushed himself back into the pillow. Sylarana lay motionless on +his chest. Draco was interested to notice that she watched Harry and not +him. Harry had told him that she could speak in his head. Draco wished +there was a way that he could eavesdrop on those conversations. + +``It just is,'' said Harry quietly. ``You're not Connor's blood +relative, and---well, your father was a Death Eater---'' + +``Under Imperius---'' + +"\emph{Not} under Imperius. I have the evidence---" + +Draco recognized the diversion tactic for what it was, then, and had to +smile. ``Very Slytherin of you, Harry,'' he said. ``Change this into a +different argument. But I'm not letting you. Not this time. We've had +the other argument often enough to satisfy me. We haven't had this one +yet. Tell me how it's different.'' + +``I'm his brother,'' said Harry. "His \emph{twin}. It would be too easy +for people to compare us, Draco. I don't \emph{want} them to compare us. +I want to be ordinary." Sylarana apparently said something. Harry +ignored her, or at least gave no reply that Draco could hear. ``He's the +Boy-Who-Lived. He's going to have to unite and lead the wizarding world +someday. He needs to be set higher than he is. If I can do things that +make people think better of him, I will. If I can do things that protect +him, I will. If I can do things that make myself smaller so that he can +stand taller, I will.'' By the time he finished, his eyes were shining, +as though he regarded some sacred thing. + +``But you shouldn't have to,'' said Draco. ``My parents wouldn't have +made me do that if I had a brother.'' \emph{Horrifying thought. Imagine +having to share my toys!} + +``Yes, but your brother wouldn't have been the Boy-Who-Lived,'' said +Harry, giving him a smile of such patience that Draco wanted to slap +him. "That's the difference, the grand difference that I don't think +you'll be able to get past. Our mother would never have asked me to do +this if Connor was anyone else, or even if he was important to the war +but not in the way he is. But he \emph{is} the key to defeating +Voldemort. I know it. That's the central truth of my life, Draco. I live +to serve him." He took a deep breath and watched Draco carefully. "You +\emph{still} don't understand," he added a moment later. ``I can see it +from your eyes.'' + +Draco was shaking with anger and disgust. Of course, if he yelled out +everything he was feeling, then Harry would just turn away from him, and +perhaps the last chance that he had to get through Harry's barriers +would be lost. + +He forced himself to speak calmly. ``Of course I understand,'' he said. +``I just don't agree.'' + +Harry smiled at him. ``That's because you're not inside the family.'' + +``Do you have an answer for everything?'' Draco snarled at him. + +``Of course,'' said Harry. ``Our mother trained me in what kinds of +arguments someone outside the family would make, the kinds of +misunderstandings they would have, the ways they'd try to coerce or +persuade me otherwise. I know them all. I know the counters to all of +them. If I can defeat my own doubts, then I can surely defeat someone +who doesn't know that first thing about me.'' For a moment, a pensive +look crossed his face. ``She never did tell me why someone would be so +eager to convince me otherwise,'' he added in a whisper. "That's the +part I don't understand. Can you tell me, Draco? Why anyone would +\emph{care}?" + +Draco laughed hollowly. \emph{I'm not the only one who can't understand +something, Harry.} + +But he didn't think he would make much progress with that line of +reasoning, either. He turned, instead, to what he thought Harry should +know. ``Do you know what your brother said about you yesterday?'' + +Harry's head turned to him like a flower to the sun, his eyes wider and +clearer than they had been, his lip snagged between his teeth, hope +scorching his face. Draco caught his breath, and then remembered that +Harry was only looking at him that way because he was talking about +Connor. + +Jealousy crackled and flared in him. He hadn't envied the Prat-Who-Lived +all that much before. Why should he? Connor was a complete Gryffindor, +and that meant he had nothing Draco wanted. + +\emph{Except Harry's loyalty. I want him to look at me like that. I want +him to pay attention to me because I'm his friend, not just because I'm +talking about his brother.} + +``It wasn't anything good,'' Draco warned, to give Harry some excuse for +his stare-filled moment. + +``I know that,'' said Harry. ``It couldn't be, after yesterday. But tell +me.'' + +Draco swallowed back another surge of sickness, that Harry would welcome +even taunting words from his brother, and leaned close. ``He said that +he thought you were still possessed,'' he said quietly. ``That there was +no other way that you would foul him like that, reaching for the Snitch. +That there was no way that you could hate him this much, could act +opposite him instead of on his side, if you weren't still possessed.'' + +Harry closed his eyes. This time, his expression was that of someone who +had received an answer to a prayer. Draco found that he had to turn +away. He wanted to punch something. + +``Ah,'' Harry whispered at last. ``That means that I just have to try +harder. I haven't tried hard enough yet.'' + +Draco turned back. ``And so you don't care about that at all?'' he +asked. "Tell me, Harry. What's your \emph{first} reaction to hearing +Connor say something like that? To know that you've worked so hard not +to betray him, as he sees it, and still he thinks that you have, because +you won a game for your House?" + +Harry opened his eyes. Maybe it was the question. Maybe it was the fact +that he'd obviously been feeling strong emotion a moment ago, and so was +caught off-guard. Maybe it was just Draco's hopes that he would see a +somewhat more normal side to Harry if he pushed hard enough. + +But, whatever the cause, Draco was sure that he saw rage flaring in +Harry's eyes for a moment. + +Then it was gone, sudden as a bolt of lightning. Harry shook his head. +``I'm angry, of course,'' he said in a completely level tone. ``But I'm +not supposed to feel that.'' + +``Why not?'' Draco challenged. + +Harry watched him patiently, head on one side. He reminded Draco of no +one so much as Snape trying to coax a particularly stupid student along. + +``I wouldn't understand,'' he summarized, feeling a dull flush start in +his cheeks. + +Harry nodded and started to open his mouth to say something else, but a +loud crack echoed through the middle of the hospital wing then, and +startled Draco. He turned around to find, of all things, one of the +Malfoy house elves standing at the foot of Harry's bed. Dobby's eyes +widened and he squeaked at the sight of Draco, and he lifted a hand as +if he would leap away again. + +``Dobby, stay!'' said Draco commandingly. The Manor's house elves didn't +obey him exclusively, but when neither his mother nor father was in the +room, he was the one they looked to first. + +Dobby lowered his hand, shivering, and stared at them both for a long +moment before he abruptly began to beat his head on the floor. ``Dobby +is sorry!'' he wailed. ``Dobby came to apologize, and found Master here, +and Dobby---Dobby does not know---'' + +Draco gasped abruptly and sagged backwards as his head began to pound +like a timpani. Harry had sat up in his bed. His magic was rising around +him. Dobby stopped talking and stared around himself as the air turned +into a clear cage of blue glass. He reached out one hand and felt at the +glass, then turned and stared at Harry. + +``Mr. Harry Potter, sir?'' he squeaked, all trace of fear gone. ``Mr. +Harry Potter is---is like this?'' + +``I'm powerful, if that's what you mean,'' said Harry, his voice full of +command. "And now I want to know why you tried to hurt my brother. I +\emph{know} that you threw that Bludger at Connor yesterday, and come to +think of it, you probably prevented us getting through the barrier at +Platform 9¾ too. So tell me what you thought you were doing. Why were +you trying to hurt Connor?" + +Dobby abruptly began to wail and sob again, beating his head and his +hands on the glass cage. It didn't break. Draco cautiously took one hand +off his head. Harry was determined, now, not angry. Draco could lean +back and admire the crafting of the glass. He knew of no one who could +make a cage like that, especially so suddenly, and especially not one +that was apparently resistant to house elf magic. He wondered idly if +Harry realized that he'd done the spell without his wand, and also +without speaking a word. + +``Dobby cannot tell!'' the house elf was saying. ``Dobby---Dobby cannot +let Mr. Connor Potter be hurt, but Dobby---Dobby serves his +Masters---his Masters wouldn't want him to tell---'' + +Draco narrowed his eyes. \emph{What is the idiot elf babbling about?} +``I am your master in this room, Dobby,'' he said. ``And I want you to +tell me what you're talking about right now.'' + +Dobby flung himself on the floor in misery, gripping his ears and +banging his forehead into the stone. Draco put a hand on Harry's arm +when he tried to sit up further. The house elf wouldn't seriously hurt +himself. He wouldn't be allowed to. He had to address the master who +commanded him, and he had to be in good enough shape to do that. + +Dobby sat up at last, and wiped at his streaming mouth and nose. Then he +looked Draco in the eye, sniffled, and said, "Dobby---Dobby has heard +Masters talk about Mr. Connor Potter. Dobby has heard them say that +there is danger at school this year for Mr. Connor Potter. Master went +and fetched a book. An \emph{evil} book." Dobby shivered. ``Master put +it at school here to harm Mr. Connor Potter this year.'' He looked up, +eyes large and pleading. "So Dobby tried to keep Mr. Connor Potter safe. +Dobby is a \emph{bad} elf." + +Draco stared, as shocked as if the house elf had flung a Blasting Curse +at him. \emph{An evil book.} + +\emph{He can't mean the diary Harry was talking about, the one that +possessed him? He} can't! \emph{Harry would hate me forever if---} + +Then he glanced to the side, and saw Harry giving him a watery smile. He +shook his head as if he knew exactly where Draco's thoughts were going. + +``That book did come from your father,'' he said quietly. ``He was going +to put it into Ginny Weasley's cauldron at Flourish and Blotts. I took +it instead. I didn't know exactly what it was, but I knew it was +probably Dark.'' He shrugged as Draco stared at him. "I took the risk. I +don't blame you, Draco. Will you \emph{please} stop looking at me as if +I should?" He squirmed under Draco's gaze and turned his face away. + +``My father hurt you,'' Draco whispered. + +Harry whipped back around. ``No! Draco, don't say that. I don't think he +knew what it did, or why give it to Ginny? It would have made more sense +to give it to me or Connor in the first place, since we're the ones that +Voldemort would most want to possess---'' + +He stopped talking, and looked as shocked as Draco had. Draco couldn't +appreciate it properly. He was reeling. + +\emph{The Dark Lord. Harry had the Dark Lord} in his head. \emph{And my +father was the one who gave him the book that made it possible.} + +He found himself stumbling to his feet. Harry watched him with wide eyes +and shook his head once. + +``I haven't told anyone,'' he whispered. ``Your father isn't going to +get into trouble, Draco. Please. I promise. I took the risk. I don't +think he knew.'' + +``Master knew the book was evil,'' Dobby volunteered from his cage, and +then began beating his head on the floor again. "Dobby is \emph{bad}! So +\emph{bad}!" + +Draco just shook his head back at Harry. He wanted to scream and cry +now, but for different reasons. His father had put Harry in danger, even +after knowing how much Draco valued Harry, even after listening to him +talk about Harry all summer. + +``Harry,'' he gasped. ``Harry, I'm so sorry. I just---I have to think +about this.'' + +``Draco, wait---'' + +But Draco bolted and ran out of the hospital wing. His heart and his +head thrummed with something near to madness, and he was sobbing as he +went. The only good thing he could hear behind him was the crack that +meant Harry had let Dobby go. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Harry stared at where Draco had been, and then closed his eyes. +\emph{That did not go well.} + +"\emph{The boy had to know about his father,"} said Sylarana, and then +she crawled up his chest towards his face, and laid her head on his +chin. "\emph{He should know his father is loyal to the one who degrades +snakes to do his bidding, and what his loyalty means.}" + +``But I didn't want him to find out like this,'' Harry muttered. He +rubbed his head. It ached, probably from lack of food. ``I didn't want +to force him to choose between his friend and his family. This wouldn't +have happened if I'd just pushed him away from me in the first place. +I---'' + +His voice choked off abruptly. Colors blurred and swam across his +vision. He felt Sylarana give a single cry and then fall silent. When he +reached out for her, someone swatted his reaching mental hand away. + +\emph{There. That is better.} + +Harry tried to scream. He knew that voice. Tom Riddle. + +\emph{Not so strong without your little snake, are you?} Riddle purred +at him. When Harry's eyes closed briefly in a blink, he could see the +young man, standing in front of the stone wall he had first seen him +near, his face fixed in a smile. His eyes were bright, and his cloak +blew around him in a storm of power. The power stabbed dark fingers into +the stone walls and sandy floor. Harry didn't have to think long to knew +that that power was being used to control him. \emph{Now, I've waited +long enough, and I'm bored, and I want to hurt you some more. Let's have +some fun.} + +Harry felt himself stand and begin moving out of the hospital wing. +Riddle laughed and adjusted the tendrils of power that he held. Harry's +walk altered slightly, as though he were a horse on a rein. + +Harry fought. He used all the Occlumency that Snape had taught him +against Riddle, flinging up visions to distract him, tempting memories +to make him let go of his power, curtains that would part on deeper +areas of Harry's mind and let Riddle have a firmer grip. Riddle ignored +them all, and finally snorted and clenched one hand shut. The storm of +images ceased. Harry felt a firm door close on that part of his mind +that knew how to practice Occlumency. + +\emph{I know you,} Riddle told him in a bored voice. \emph{I've been in +your mind all the time that Severus Snape}---his voice on those last two +words was absolutely vicious---\emph{tried to teach you any of the +mental arts. When I have a firmer grasp on you, when I have} become +\emph{you, then I intend to wait for a session when he isn't expecting +it and leap on him.} Riddle was hissing now, and Harry thought the next +words he spoke might have been in Parseltongue. \emph{I've read your +memories, Harry. Severus Snape is a traitor. He will pay. I swear he +will pay.} + +Harry tried again to get away, calling to Sylarana. She didn't respond. +Riddle snorted at him. \emph{Did you think I would overlook her? Of +course not. She is asleep, the way that I put her once before.} + +Harry's world collapsed inward like a dark star. \emph{That means---that +means---} + +\emph{That you were the one who Petrified the mad girl? Of course.} +Riddle sighed. \emph{I could simply have killed her, but I find that I +prefer this way.} His voice turned abruptly cutting, slicing, making +Harry writhe in pain in his head, but not in his body. His body was +still walking steadily down the stairs and along the hallways, pausing +in a hidden corner whenever someone might come by. \emph{I want to hurt +you, Harry, and Petrifying your friends one by one will do that to you.} + +\emph{I don't understand,} Harry thought. He couldn't win the struggle +against Riddle, not yet. Now was the time to save his strength and try +to figure out some way that his possession could still help Connor. +\emph{Why do you want to hurt me so specifically? Why not my brother?} + +Riddle laughed, sounding like a dragon gone mad. \emph{I know what you +are, Harry. How do you think that I was able to hide in your head?} He +paused a long moment, then added impatiently, \emph{Your scar. A conduit +to me. So peaceful here. So at home.} + +\emph{I can tell Snape about you,} Harry said, as they rounded the +corner to the third floor. \emph{He'll get rid of you.} + +\emph{No}, Riddle disagreed cheerfully. \emph{I don't think he can. He +never found me in all his searches of your head, did he? And he won't +get the chance. You'll be suspected this time, Harry. Either you'll tell +them the truth, or they'll catch you at it. I haven't decided which is +more fun yet,} he said. + +\emph{Then I'll be expelled,} Harry snarled. They were proceeding +rapidly along the third floor now, and he readied himself to watch for +the entrance to the Chamber. Perhaps he could throw all his strength +against Riddle there, and resist opening it. \emph{Fat lot of good I'll +do you then.} + +A flare of fire down the middle of his head silenced Harry. He doubled +over briefly, clutching at what he guessed was his scar, and then kept +walking. + +\emph{I don't like defiance,} Riddle said calmly, but with a dangerous +undertone to his voice. \emph{And you are defying me, Harry. How, when +you are mine? You'll Petrify another friend of yours now. You'll turn +the school, and most especially your brother, against you, even if you +tell them the truth. Possessed by Lord Voldemort? Who would shelter you +then? And then, when I'm strong enough, you'll bring me back to life. +How does that sound, Harry? Months and months waiting for something to +happen, while I gather my strength?} + +Harry didn't answer. It would probably be counted as defiance again if +he did. He kept to himself, breathing carefully, seeking areas of his +mind that were beyond the control of those fingers of power. + +He thought he had one. He readied himself. He had to see, if nothing +else, where Tom Riddle was hiding in his head that Snape hadn't managed +to find him. + +\emph{Sorry, can't let you see this part,} said Riddle abruptly, and the +colors in front of him turned the shade of sunburn. Harry found himself +blinking a moment later. He stood in front of a large puddle of water, +once more, and this time the message cut into the wall said: \emph{Who +shall resist the Heir? Stand before him and despair!} + +On the floor lay Neville Longbottom's Petrified body. + +Harry sagged to his knees and clutched his burning head. That was as far +as Riddle let him get before he reasserted control. + +\emph{You'll stay here until someone comes,} Riddle murmured. \emph{I +hope it will be your brother, but I suppose I can't plan on that.} He +sighed. \emph{Meanwhile, I think I should tell you what I'll do to your +brother, when I have him in my power---in your power. It will be the +same thing soon.} + +\emph{Fuck off!} Harry yelled, and accepted the pain that answered him. +That was better than doing nothing. And he was still watching from the +unoccupied corner of his mind. + +Footsteps sounded abruptly around the corner. For a moment, Riddle stood +to attention in Harry's mental vision; then he frowned and shook his +head. + +\emph{It} would \emph{be him}, he muttered. \emph{I am not ready to face +him, not yet.} + +He dived. Harry watched him, and watched him go, and felt the control +leave his body at the same moment as Sylarana came back to life, hissing +furiously. Harry sagged to the ground, tears on his cheeks. + +He heard the footsteps round the corner, pause, and then come running +towards him. Someone knelt beside him and turned his head around. Harry +found himself staring into Snape's face. + +The pain in his head grew worse. Riddle was trying to incapacitate him +before he could tell, Harry knew. + +He held onto the strong stare of Snape's black eyes, and forced the +words out before he let pain and guilt together whirl him into the +darkness. + +``Tom Riddle is hiding in the box.'' + +\subsection{*Chapter 14*: A Grim Hope}\label{chapter-14-a-grim-hope} + +Thank you for the response to the last chapter! I'm so glad that so many +people liked it. Review responses will be up in my LJ later. + +Now, this chapter, I enjoyed writing. + +\textbf{Chapter Thirteen: A Grim Hope} + +Later, Snape reflected that it would have all gone far differently if +Draco hadn't caught him before he could bundle Harry into his office. + +``Professor Snape.'' + +He turned, because the tone was not one he had been expecting. He could +have ignored the hysterical crying of a child, or a mere innocent +question about Potions homework. Those were less important than finding +some way to heal Harry and help him control Tom Riddle. + +But Draco spoke in the coldly courteous tone of a pureblooded wizard, a +tone that Snape had learned very early in life not to ignore. When he +turned around, he blinked. For the first time, he could see Lucius +Malfoy in Draco---Lucius as he had been the night he helped initiate +Snape into the Death Eaters, Lucius the night he explained the power and +glory of the cause. + +Snape found himself with the urge to bow his head. That, of course, only +irritated him further. He wasn't young anymore, and he certainly was no +longer an idiot. + +``Draco.'' He made his own tone scathingly cold. He might never be able +to imitate Lucius Malfoy himself, but he had developed his own brand of +ice to hurt people who made inane requests of him. ``As you can see, I +am quite busy---'' + +Draco caught sight of Harry then. His mask only grew firmer, which Snape +did not understand. He had thought Harry and Draco were close, at least +after the screaming tempter tantrums Draco had indulged in earlier that +term because the boy had ignored him. + +``He's had another attack, hasn't he?'' he asked. ``The Dark Lord's in +his head.'' + +Snape narrowed his eyes. \emph{Has the idiot boy been telling the truth +to everyone who crosses his path?} ``That is not your concern, Draco,'' +he said. ``Return to the Slytherin common room at once. You may tell +anyone who asks that I will be unavailable for the rest of the day.'' He +attempted to brush past Draco. Harry was growing heavy in his arms, and +the Locusta had not stopped hissing once. Snape did not want to have her +wrapped around his neck again, as he suspected she would be if she +thought for one moment that he was not doing everything possible to help +Harry. + +"It \emph{is} my concern," said Draco. ``And take him to your private +rooms, not your offices. I'll come with you.'' + +"You dare to order \emph{me}?" Snape swung around. Harry was in danger, +but he could not allow such disrespect to go unpunished. ``I will not +hesitate to give you a detention.'' + +``I have to firecall my father,'' said Draco, his face perfectly calm. +"He was the one who gave the book that held the Dark Lord to Harry. And +Harry didn't tell anyone. He \emph{protected} him." There was some +intense emotion behind his voice, but Snape could not tell what it was +yet. ``My father owes Harry a debt of honor. He is going to pay it, +right now.'' + +Snape narrowed his eyes further, ignoring the shock that the news had +given him. He would deal with it later. ``Do you really think that your +father will be of any help in prying the Dark Lord out of the boy's +head?'' + +``Not with that,'' said Draco. ``With the far-reaching consequences.'' +He only stood mutely when Snape stared at him, before adding, with a +viciousness that made him sound more like a Death Eater than ever, +``That, and I want him to see what he did.'' + +Snape decided that he could not waste time arguing. Harry was moving, +about to wake up. His shields of guilt and self-loathing would rise +then. Snape wanted to peer into the boy's mind while he still slept and +see if Tom Riddle was lurking about. ``Very well,'' he said, and swept +down the corridor to his offices, whispering the password to the wall. +It slid open. + +Draco followed him into the room and went immediately to the hearth. +Snape decided he was not going to watch. Draco would oppose Lucius and +lose. But his concern still had to be Harry. + +He laid the boy out on a low divan and paused to watch his breathing. +Harry's scar stood out on his forehead, more than the general shape of +it lost under a thin film of blood. Snape hissed between his teeth. +\emph{A curse scar. Of course. That must be what gives the connection +between Harry and the Dark Lord. I do not think I can remove it, but I +might at least ease the pain.} + +He reached out and laid one hand on Harry's temple. When necessary, he +could use his Legilimency without eye contact. It would leave him with a +pounding headache a day or so afterwards, but that was the price he +paid. And there was no price he would not pay at the moment to be free +of Tom Riddle. Snape suspected that, if he had shared the boy's +memories, he knew about Snape's betrayal. He himself was in danger. + +"\emph{Legilimens}," he whispered. + +He sank into a mind gone far too still. Snape glanced about, and +recoiled. The reaction was one of instinctive shock, fear, and disgust. +A moment later, he thought about what pain Harry must be feeling. He +knew he was clenching his teeth, a muscle jumping in his jaw. + +He forced the physical sensations away. He had to be utterly +concentrated to accomplish this. + +He moved slowly forward. Around him, the edges of webs flapped and +unraveled in a foul-smelling wind. The Locusta was woven all through the +boy's mind, a recklessly bright thread that had only sunk in further +since Snape had last looked. The plunging center of Harry's thoughts +remained the solid block of protecting his brother, but more webs than +ever were woven about it now. Snape thought it looked as though some +thoughts had struggled to escape, and Harry's training had tied them +down. + +And the box was there. + +Snape shivered at the sight of it. The padlocks on it had grown more +extensive, and he could feel the touch of Dark magic on the locks that +was not Harry's. Tom Riddle had been here. He was indeed hiding in the +box. Snape steeled himself. He would have to force it open. + +"\emph{Do not.}" + +The voice was cold, and everywhere, and beat on his skin like sunshine. +Snape turned. The golden thread had moved towards him. For the first +time, he heard the Locusta's voice wash over him. + +"\emph{If you open the box now, you destroy him. Tom Riddle is waiting. +He would prefer not to fight you now, but open the box and he will, +desperately. At the very best, that would tear Harry's mind apart at the +seams. At the worst, Riddle would gain command of Harry's magic and +possess him completely."} + +Snape considered that, or tried to consider it; the thought sent up one +long scream in his mind. He shook his head. ``But if we leave the box +intact, then Riddle can hide and grow stronger.'' + +"\emph{I know.}" The Locusta arranged herself in front of said box, her +head half-lowered. "\emph{But there is no choice. At least Harry is +alive now, and while he lives, he can fight."} The voice acquired a tone +of flat amusement. "\emph{While he has me, he} will \emph{fight."} Her +head swung towards him again. "\emph{But if you crack the box, you break +his safeguards. You bring Tom Riddle. You bring the emotions that Harry +has been hiding. You bring out darkness.}" + +Snape did not like the way she said that last word. ``You do not speak +of Dark magic.'' + +"\emph{I speak of Harry's unattractive emotions} blended \emph{with his +magic, and released all at once, and under Riddle's control.}" The +Locusta sounded impatient. "\emph{Think of that, Snape, if you will.}" + +Snape let out a slow, shaky breath. ``But then what do you suggest we +do?'' + +"\emph{Ask Harry. It's} his \emph{mind. And he's waking up now, so he +will want to talk to you anyway.}" The Locusta lowered her head and +twined herself about the box like a second lock. "\emph{I will prevent +Harry from putting any more emotions into this thing.}" + +The webs around Snape abruptly contracted, flinging him outward and to +his knees. He opened his eyes. Harry was gazing back at him, wild-eyed +and panting. He turned his head away, his face a mask of concentration, +and then let out a soft cry. + +Snape didn't understand what he said next, since it was in Parseltongue, +but apparently his Locusta did not yield and let him store his emotions +away. Harry's next tactic was to hide. He hunched into the divan, his +shoulders rising up around his ears, his hands clasped in front of him. +Snape could hear his breath rushing fast, mingled with small moans of +desperation and pain. + +``What is wrong with the boy?'' + +Snape turned abruptly. Lucius Malfoy was just stepping from his hearth, +dusting soot off his cloak and glancing about with a slightly curled +lip, as though he had to disdain Snape's rooms on principle. His gaze +came back to Harry, and he smiled slightly. + +``What's wrong is with him is that he has the Dark Lord in his head.'' + +Draco stepped forward to confront his father, face still a mask of +perfect ice. Lucius glanced at his son, then looked at him again for one +long moment. Snape saw no yielding or curiosity in his expression, but +he did frown, looking like a man who had laid his wand down somewhere +and did not want to use a Summoning Charm to find it. + +``What are you speaking of, Draco?'' Lucius asked. ``You coaxed me with +talk of a debt of honor, but I cannot see that I owe a debt to a child +who cannot even control himself.'' Harry uttered another moan, more +urgent, as though in answer. Snape turned back to him and saw tears +leaking down his face, mingled with a thin stream of blood that had +probably come from the scar. + +Snape hesitated for a long moment, then blew out his own breath in +irritation---with himself, with Harry, with the situation---and moved +forward to arrange his arms carefully around the boy. The Locusta, lying +motionless on Harry's left shoulder, brushed against him but did not +bite him. Snape, more grateful for that than he should be, sat back +carefully and balanced Harry against his chest. + +``Hush, Harry,'' he said softly. ``It is all right. We will fight him.'' +Harry stiffened and tried to pull away. Snape held him closer. So long +as the Locusta didn't react, he thought Harry wasn't in danger of +injuring himself or anyone else with his actions. ``Hold still,'' he +whispered, forcing affection, or a parody of it, into his voice. ``You +need to be held.'' + +Harry went still, though Snape had no idea if it was his voice or what +his Locusta might have said in his mind or something else. He was still +breathing hard, and his heart thrummed against Snape's chest, fast as a +small bird's. Snape gently stroked the boy's hair back from his face, +relieved to see that the scar had stopped bleeding. Harry had his eyes +clenched tightly shut. From the look of it, he never wanted to open them +again. + +``The debt of honor, Father, is one that you incurred when you gave the +book to Harry, and then he told no one of it.'' + +Snape looked up. Draco had moved between Snape and his father, or more +precisely, between Harry and his father. + +He was holding his wand. + +Snape narrowed his eyes. He understood only a very little of what was +happening here, but if it was what he thought it was\ldots{} + +``I see no reason to hold myself responsible for a child's foolish +pride,'' said Lucius. His gray eyes contained no emotion except boredom, +now. Even the slight frown Snape had seen was gone. ``He could have told +his guardians that I gave him the book, or, more precisely, that I +dropped the book into the youngest Weasley brat's cauldron and he chose +to pick it up. I would have weathered the storm. I fear no wrath of +Potters.'' + +"He \emph{chose} not to," said Draco. ``Dumbledore knows about this +possession by the Dark Lord, and Harry still concealed you from him. Do +you really think that you could have stood up to Dumbledore, Father?'' + +Lucius hissed softly. ``Draco,'' he said, shifting so that his gaze +rested on his son alone, ``I will tolerate no disrespect.'' + +Draco glared right back. Snape had never seen his student so still, his +eyes so wide, or his stance so poised. His voice did not falter for a +moment. ``This is not disrespect, Father. This is honest truth. Harry +Potter has gone out of his way to grant the Malfoy family his protection +and patronage---'' + +"\emph{Patronage?}" Lucius repeated the word in his shock, and then +clamped his mouth shut. A faint blush touched his cheeks. Snape dimly +remembered that such a flinch would lose him a step in the pureblood +dance. As if to confirm that, Draco gave a smile as faint as the blush, +as cold and distant as the moon. + +``Yes, patronage,'' he said, as if savoring the word. "He has protected +you from Dumbledore, Father. He has protected me, first from the wand of +Ron Weasley and then \emph{from his own brother.} The Boy-Who-Lived +ordered him to stand aside, Father, and he would not. He tried as hard +as he could to prevent me from finding out that you were the one who had +given him the book in the first place. And do you know why?" Draco's +head rose enough that Snape could see his pulse. It beat slow and +serene, a definite contrast to the pulse he could feel racing against +his chest. + +Lucius shook his head, as if hypnotized. + +``Because he did not want to force me to choose between my friend and my +family,'' said Draco, every word sharp. ``He wanted me to believe that +you were still honorable, that you had not given such a Dark artifact +into the hand of one who had never done you harm---and who was my friend +besides. He cared for my well-being, for my safety, for my lineage.'' He +paused. ``He has been a better protector of our honor than you have +been, Father.'' + +There was a long silence after that. Snape found that he could not quite +watch the two Malfoys. He gave his attention to Harry instead, stroking +the boy's hair and murmuring reassurances. He didn't let himself hear +the reassurances. He could not live with himself if he did. + +Harry quieted at last. Then he spoke, in a voice scraped so raw with +tears and rage that Snape was surprised he could speak at all. + +``Mr. Malfoy.'' That made Lucius stare at him. ``I never meant for you +to find out about this. I am sorry. I don't want the Malfoys in my debt, +and you need not fulfill any claim that Draco has made on you.'' Harry +leaned around Snape's neck to glare at Draco. ``Leave it, please, Draco. +I would rather you choose your family.'' + +Draco shook his head. ``I already made my choice, Harry. You had your +say. You undertook your actions to spare me and keep the Malfoy honor +safe. Now I'm doing what I want to do.'' He turned, degree by degree, +until he was facing his father. ``And I want the Malfoy honor back.'' + +Snape saw the shot go home. Lucius turned white about the lips. Then +each cheek flushed with a spot of red, and he inclined his head to +Harry. + +``Mr. Potter, I am sorry for whatever inconvenience you may have +suffered from that book,'' he said. ``I will swear on the Malfoy name +that I did not know what it was. I was instructed to fetch the book from +a secret hiding place and insure that it reached Hogwarts. Allowing you +to take it reveals a level of carelessness unbecoming a Malfoy, the more +so when the one who came into possession of it was a friend of my son's +who has always treated us with grace. I beg your forgiveness.'' + +Harry nodded. ``I don't need anything from you, Mr. Malfoy---'' + +``But you do,'' Draco interrupted. ``Harry, when they find someone else +Petrified, which I assume must have happened from the state you're in, +they'll try to expel you. My father is among the governors of the +school. He can keep them from doing it.'' Draco looked up at his father. +"He can \emph{persuade} them otherwise." + +Snape held his breath. He feared Draco had gone too far. But, after a +long moment, Lucius smiled, and actually knelt down and embraced his +son. + +``If I must be out-danced by someone,'' he murmured, "I would rather it +were my son. Well \emph{done}, Draco." + +``Thank you, Father,'' said Draco, and embraced him back. Snape shook +his head. Despite devoting himself to their ideals for a time when he +had joined the Death Eaters, he still found pureblood families hard to +understand. + +``I go now to repay my debt of honor,'' said Lucius, and inclined his +head to Harry. ``Mr. Potter. I look forward to our meeting again, +under\ldots{}less extreme circumstances.'' + +Snape glanced sidelong at Harry, certain his face would wear a look of +horror. But Harry actually had a faint smile of his own. ``Thank you, +Mr. Malfoy,'' he said. ``I don't blame you for the diary, you know. I +knew your loyalties when I became friends with your son.'' + +And he probably really didn't blame Lucius, Snape thought. He shook his +head again. There were times Harry acted more like a pureblood than +Draco did. \emph{Although today,} he thought, his gaze drifting back and +forth between the two boys, \emph{I believe they are evenly matched.} + +Lucius nodded slowly, his eyes narrowed and distant. ``Draco has told me +that you are a Parselmouth,'' he said abruptly. ``Is that true?'' + +Harry closed his eyes, as if concentration, and began to hiss. A moment +later, his jumper wriggled, and his Locusta pushed her head around the +edge of it, hissing back at him. + +Lucius's eyes narrowed further. Snape watched him appreciate the snake, +and knew that he understood his old friend and old enemy this time. +Lucius had been a Slytherin long before he had been a Death Eater. He +would respect the gift of Parseltongue, find it fascinating\ldots{} + +\emph{Be drawn to it?} Snape thought as he watched Lucius's eyes follow +the dart of the Locusta's tongue. \emph{Perhaps.} + +Lucius nodded once. ``I shall look forward to watching your exploits in +the future, Mr. Potter,'' he said, and then swept back to the fireplace. +He Flooed out as Snape watched, and the flames snapped green briefly +around him. Draco watched him go, his head high and his neck unbending. + +Then he turned around, came over, and tried to pry Harry out of Snape's +arms. Snape gladly let the boy go. He would help Harry, for their sakes +and the sake of the school and the sake of the war, but he was not meant +to hold little boys who had Tom Riddle in their heads. Draco, cradling +Harry against him and not moving until the other boy gave in and held +him back, was a much better choice. + +Draco met Snape's eyes over Harry's head. ``What are we going to do?'' +he asked. One of his hands rested on the back of Harry's neck, fingers +tangling in his hair. Snape wondered idly if Draco realized how +possessive the gesture was. + +``We must find some way of fighting Tom Riddle,'' said Snape, when he +had cleared his throat. ``He is hiding in a box in Harry's head, one +that Harry has used to contain strong emotions.'' He wondered for a +moment about the wisdom of speaking of this in front of Draco, but the +boys had shared enough in the last few minutes that he would have felt +odd hinting about. And Draco could not help at all if he did not have +specific information. ``We cannot open the box without releasing Riddle, +who will fight us, and we would also, his snake assures me, destroy +Harry's sanity.'' + +``That choice is gone, then,'' said Draco, in a voice that showed, so +far as he was concerned, it had never been an option. ``So what else can +we do?'' + +Snape leaned back and touched his fingers together. ``I have been +teaching Harry Occlumency,'' he said. ``We could try to construct +shields within his mind, to hold Riddle. But I fear they would not +endure forever. And we cannot destroy the box for fear of what would +happen, and we cannot drain the box a memory at a time, which would be +my preferred course. I fear Riddle would try to prevent that.'' He +remembered what the snake had said, and shuddered. \emph{I cannot fight +the Dark Lord, young or not, in Harry's head, with him having access to +all or even part of Harry's power.} + +``Those are out, too, then,'' said Draco, sounding undaunted. ``What +else is left?'' + +``To grow strong enough to fight him.'' + +Harry had lifted his head and finally started to strain backwards +against Draco's embrace. Draco hesitated, then let his arms fall. Harry +turned around, his hands clenched in front of him, his face +half-streaked with blood from his scar. + +His eyes were furious, with the kind of deep and focused rage that Snape +knew Harry would ordinarily have put in his box. He breathed deeply. +Harry was frightening, but not as frightening as Riddle, and if he +contemplated one without fainting, then he could face the other. + +``I know what has to be done,'' Harry told Snape. "I don't know +\emph{how} to do it. But you'll teach me, won't you?" + +Snape lifted his head. "I will. I will \emph{not} see Voldemort +returned." He heard Draco gasp softly, and wondered if it was at this +final declaration of his loyalty or because he had spoken the Dark +Lord's name. He did not care. He could see nothing at the moment but +Harry's eyes, the fury in them, and the need to answer that fury. + +He found himself remembering Harry's talents in Potions, on his +broomstick, at defensive spells. Harry had used them all well, but +without delving as far into them as he could have, because his attention +was always elsewhere, on his twin. The same thing had happened with +Occlumency; for all that he knew it was important, he had passively +resisted the lessons, Snape thought, because he could not immediately +apply them to saving his brother. + +Now that Harry knew he must defeat Tom Riddle or die or become his +brother's enemy\ldots{} + +Snape felt a hard, grim hope catch him about the heart and begin to +squeeze. + +``Then I know how I'll do it, too,'' said Harry. ``First of all, +Professor, can you surround the box with a shield so that Riddle doesn't +know what we're doing?'' His eyes had frozen hard. ``I don't want him to +know what we're doing.'' + +``I can try,'' said Snape carefully. ``I was a better Occlumens than he +was a Legilimens, or I would not have survived. But you realize that he +may be listening to us now, and so know the plan?'' + +``Do it,'' said Harry. + +``You trust me this much?'' Snape had to ask, because he could not help +himself. + +``I don't trust you at all,'' said Harry frankly. ``But I know it has to +be done. It's for Connor. He's the only reason I would ever agree to do +something like this, the only reason that I wouldn't go and give myself +up to Dumbledore. Dumbledore would want to put me in St. Mungo's or +something for my own safety.'' Harry shook his head. ``My safety is less +important than Connor's.'' + +Snape noticed Draco about to say something before he caught himself. He +arched a brow. \emph{The boy has already shown loyalty to a fellow +Slytherin, to at least one person besides his brother. I wonder if he +noticed that?} + +But the important thing at the moment was doing what Harry asked of him, +so Snape met his eyes and intoned, "\emph{Legilimens.}" + +In moments, he was back among the foul, fluttering webs, but this time +Harry was with him, urging him forward, parting the barriers that would +have naturally stood in Snape's way. Snape watched him at it even as he +swam towards the box and prepared to weave the shields. Harry seemed to +have accepted, finally, that the art of Occlumency was about motion and +not stillness. The webs almost danced in the wind of his power, and that +same wind rose behind Snape and urged him forward the last few lengths +to the box. + +\emph{The boy will be a natural Occlumens, if he puts this much effort +into it,} Snape thought as he laid his hands around the box. \emph{And +he will, if he thinks it will save his brother.} + +He had made many mistakes, Snape had to admit, but none as profound as +trying to use Harry against his loyalty to Connor. That would not break. +Snape would remember it in the future. + +He began the shield. + +He had been a Death Eater, and then a spy, and as a result he could +safely say that he knew Voldemort better than anyone alive. Dumbledore +might come close, but he was too much a part of the Light. He could have +matched Voldemort at Dark magic; he had chosen not to exercise his power +in that direction. + +Snape, meanwhile, had once reveled in casting whatever strength of Dark +spells his Lord would let him get away with, and had invented several +potions that Voldemort had delighted in, all for the purpose of causing +pain. + +He knew what to make the shields out of. + +He wove memories of Harry weeping on the divan, his face covered with +blood. He inscribed the agony he had seen on Harry's face in the moments +before Riddle knocked him unconscious, as he whispered that Riddle was +in the box. He recalled, deliberately, the helplessness that had +assaulted Harry when his own Locusta prevented him from dealing with his +emotions as he was used to doing. + +The snake, wrapped around the box still, hissed then. Snape nearly +faltered. But she went silent again, and watched as the memories rotated +around each other and assembled. + +Now came the difficult part. Snape worked fast but delicately, not +allowing himself to falter, his magic answering his mind the moment a +thought came into being. He trailed threads from the edges of the +memories, linking them together, using the webs of Harry's mind for +inspiration. So that Riddle would not grow suspicious after he saw the +same memories over and over, Snape spun slight variations of them, +similar images of Harry in pain and agony that would content and +fascinate Voldemort's sadism. He arranged the threads behind each other. +They would spring into view slowly, and make Riddle have a sense that +time was passing and still Harry was writhing in anguish and terror of +the possession. + +Snape wove a final cloud of fog as a shield around it all, and as a +last-minute precaution. Should Riddle burst free of both Harry's and the +snake's restraints, the fog would baffle him and give them at least a +few moments' warning. + +Snape tugged the threads into place, used one moment more to admire his +fine work, and then launched the shield. + +Images of Harry in pain began to play around the box. Snape closed his +eyes, exhausted, and let himself fall out from the boy's mind. + +He must have been more exhausted than he thought, as he went unconscious +for a few moments. When he came to, the boys were arguing quietly. + +``\ldots{}cannot possibly be as fine as you look.'' That was Draco. + +``Fine?'' Harry's voice was edged with something Snape had never heard +from him before, something that might almost have been humor. ``Of +course I'm not fine. But I can put it aside, Draco. I have to. I have to +focus on Connor, on helping him and protecting him and saving him. +When---when I can collapse, I promise you, I will. When I've driven +Riddle out of my head.'' He gave a sound half-snort, half-sob. ``I don't +have the box to put my emotions in any more.'' + +``That's not good enough,'' Draco demanded, and Snape opened his eyes to +see the boy move over in front of him. ``Professor Snape,'' Draco said, +"is there a way that you can connect me to Harry's mind? Can you let me +watch over the box? Can't I help \emph{somehow}?" That last was the +closest to a child Snape had heard him sound in an hour. + +``Since you are not an Occlumens, it would take deep trust---'' Snape +began. + +``I trust Draco,'' Harry cut in. + +Snape did not understand himself at all, because that statement gave him +hope. He sat up and squinted at Harry. Harry gazed back. His emotions +were clear across his eyes, fear and resignation with that adamant fury +and resolve cutting it all, and Snape caught a glimpse of the possible +future in that moment. + +It was \emph{only} a glimpse, and he told himself to distrust it. Harry +would probably still try to go back to the box, from sheer force of +habit. Riddle was powerful, and they might not win. Should they win this +battle, there would be hundreds of others to fight. + +But Snape saw, in that glimpse, something grander and more glorious than +a world without Voldemort, or even a brighter reputation for Slytherin +House. He saw the whole wizarding world changed, transformed into +something better. He saw, for once, a powerful wizard who could bend his +strength to improving matters with all his will, and not crack and +change his ideals into a reign of terror, or cloak it in riddles and +talk of sacrifice. + +It gave him hope. It broke parts of his heart that he had not thought +were still there. + +\emph{It is making you sound like a babbling idiot,} Snape told himself, +and nodded shortly. ``Then there is a way that I can link Mr. Malfoy to +your mind, and myself as well,'' he said. ``There will be three +guardians on the box, then, with your snake and ourselves---'' + +``Four,'' said Harry quietly. "It will be hard, I know, but I +\emph{will} do this." + +Snape had to turn his head away. He was liable to show an entirely +embarrassing reaction if he continued to look at Harry. + +``Four,'' he agreed, voice rough, and they would only think it was with +sarcasm, wouldn't they? He got to his feet. ``There is a potion to be +prepared as well as the mental link. I suggest that both of you rest for +right now. Stay here. We are not telling the Headmaster about this, I +presume?'' + +``We aren't,'' Harry agreed. ``He'd never let us do it. And, Professor +Snape?'' + +Snape turned and looked at him. Those green eyes cut through him again. + +``Thank you,'' Harry said. + +Yes, Snape thought, matters would have resolved rather differently if he +had taken Harry to his office and Draco had not stopped him. + +But, he was inclined to think as he tried not to feel hope, the way they +had fallen out was better. + +\subsection{*Chapter 15*: Paying the +Piper}\label{chapter-15-paying-the-piper} + +Thanks again for the reviews! Look in LJ later for my review responses. + +Wow, when Harry changes, he really\ldots{}changes. + +\textbf{Chapter Fourteen: Paying the Piper} + +Harry told himself he was ready when someone knocked on the door of +Snape's office. + +He wasn't, not really. He could feel Sylarana shifting where she held +the box, agreeing with him, and the distant, prowling guardian presences +of Draco and Snape near the back of his mind. Both had their eyes +focused on the door. Harry was faintly surprised to notice that he +couldn't tell much difference between their emotions. He had assumed +Draco would feel distinctly annoyed, but Snape felt annoyed in almost +the same measure. Harry didn't think their irritation came from the same +source, though. + +He took a deep breath, throat still tingling from the potion he'd +swallowed which bound him and Draco together, and then walked over to +the door and opened it. + +Professor McGonagall stood there, her eyes aimed higher than his head +and her mouth just opening to say something. Then she lowered her gaze, +and an expression of blank surprise washed over her face before she +turned it into sheer blankness. Harry watched her and waited. + +Regret drummed in his head. McGonagall had been pleasant to him when her +entire House suspected him of evil. That would have to change now, +though. Now, one of her Gryffindors had been Petrified. + +McGonagall said nothing about Harry being the embodiment of evil, +however. She only said, ``Mr. Potter. This saves me the trouble of a +search. I was going to ask Severus if he had seen you.'' Her eyes darted +to Snape, too quickly for Harry to read the meaning in them. ``The +Headmaster wants to see you right away.'' + +Harry nodded. ``I thought he might, Professor McGonagall.'' He scowled +at himself when he heard his voice. \emph{Must} it sound so breathy, as +if he actually feared what Dumbledore would do to him? + +\emph{You don't need to fear what he will do,} Draco said, his voice +seeming to spring from the left side of Harry's skull. \emph{My father +is going to take care of everything.} The iron-hard faith in his voice +made Harry smile. + +Professor McGonagall gave him an odd glance as she escorted him out into +the hall, Draco and Snape remaining behind. Harry suspected the +unusually free play of emotion on his face had caused it. + +\emph{What? Is she surprised to see me feeling?} + +He calmed his irritation. It took effort, far more than it would have +when he could use the box, and the irritation remained just below the +surface, as if someone speaking harshly to him would make it erupt +again. + +\emph{Do other people feel like this} all the time? + +The thought made him experience a vague nausea, and for a long moment he +didn't hear the question Professor McGonagall was asking him. + +``\ldots{}must ask if you've been with Professor Snape for the last +hour, Harry,'' she said at last. + +Harry coughed and focused on her face. His experience was still shot +through with bright streamers of trailing emotion, including resentment. +He forced himself calm again. It would not do to ache like this when he +faced Dumbledore, for all that he did resent the Headmaster for +promising and failing to keep him safe. ``Yes, ma'am, I was.'' + +Professor McGonagall glanced around once. They were in the corridor that +led to the Headmaster's office, Harry noticed, but no one was with them. +Professor McGonagall sighed and knelt down in front of him. Harry +stiffened, ready to bolt if it looked like she would hex him for his +actions. + +``Mr. Potter,'' she said softly, ``did Professor Snape do something to +you? You look---odd. Peaky. Not like yourself.'' + +Harry shook his head. ``No, ma'am.'' \emph{Unless you mention the little +matter of shields of pain built around a box in my head and creating a +potion and a bond for a second person to be in my head, and then leaving +a bit of his attention there himself to hold the shields.} He swallowed +a giggle that he suspected would turn into full-blown hysterical +laughter if he let it out. Then he paused. That thought was unexpected. +Harry could not remember the last time he had laughed. + +Professor McGonagall gazed at him for a long time, then nodded, +troubled. ``If you say so, Mr. Potter,'' she said, standing, ``I think I +can trust you.'' + +Harry winced. He would have liked to tell her the truth, of all people. +She had been kind to him. She seemed wise, and not just in the matter of +Transfiguration theory. She could help him. + +But her help would almost certainly consist of urging him to trust the +Headmaster and accept \emph{his} presence in Harry's head instead, and +Harry did not intend to do that. He trusted Sylarana and Draco. He +didn't trust Snape, but he knew the man was necessary to maintain the +shields. The Headmaster he didn't even trust to serve the agenda of +keeping this safe and secret and trying to fight Riddle out of Harry's +head. Dumbledore was too unpredictable, and Harry hadn't managed to work +out what his ultimate goal was yet. + +He was so involved in that kind of thought that he didn't notice they +had arrived at the statue, nor who waited there, until Professor +McGonagall said, ``Mr. Potter,'' in a sharp voice. Harry glanced up. + +Connor turned around from the gargoyle, face red with startlement for a +moment before it fell into wariness. His gaze jabbed his brother. + +Harry would have looked calmly back, or sorrowfully, he thought, +imploring Connor to trust him again, only a few hours ago. Now his brain +raced and sparkled with anger bordering on the urge to scream and throw +things. + +\emph{How could you distrust me like that? I'm your brother. You were +swearing that you would trust me when I was put in Slytherin and when I +showed you I was a Parselmouth. Yet you turned against me the moment my +friend's father did something wrong and I refused to let Ron hurt my +friend. Why, Connor? What is it about that one thing specifically that +set you off? I don't know, and it's} wrong\emph{, and it} hurts--- + +He halted the flow of his thoughts as he realized Connor was backing +away from him. His brother had actually drawn his wand before McGonagall +said, "Mr. Potter! That is \emph{quite} enough. Why are you here?" + +``I have to see the Headmaster, Professor McGonagall, ma'am,'' said +Connor, looking as if he wanted to glare at Harry around her robes +again, and not quite daring. ``There's been another Petrification. +Neville, this time.'' + +``Yes, Mr. Potter, I am aware of that,'' said McGonagall. ``I am taking +your brother to see the Headmaster now.'' + +Connor's face transformed like the sunrise. ``Does that mean he did +it?'' he asked. ``Does that mean I was right?'' + +\emph{You were right, Connor, and you didn't deserve to be. You never +deserved to be. All those times that I---} + +Harry stamped down the flow of his thoughts again and reduced them to +another lava flow hiding beneath a scab, frightened at the turn they had +taken. His brother was making a mistake now. That did not mean that he +had made mistakes his whole life, as Harry might have shouted out if he +decided to speak right now. Indeed, Connor's judgment had been clearer +than that of many children his age. Harry could picture other brothers +turning their backs the moment they found out a sibling was a +Parselmouth. + +\emph{You have no right to feel like that,} he told himself firmly. +\emph{None. Anger is one thing, irrationality another.} + +``Mint Humbugs,'' McGonagall told the statue, and it leaped aside. Harry +followed her towards the staircase. He was breathing softly now. He +could make it up the stairs. He would count the stones in the walls, and +watch the way that the professor's robes swished ahead of him, and he +would ignore Connor. + +Then Connor spoke again. + +``You didn't answer me, Professor McGonagall,'' he said, voice that of a +teacher chiding a student for an oversight. ``Does that mean that I was +right? Does that mean that he was the one who's the next Dark Lord?'' He +nodded his head. Harry saw it as a glimpse of blurred motion in the +corner of his eye. "I knew it. No one could have \emph{that} many Dark +traits by coincidence. Be Sorted into Slytherin and be a Parselmouth, +maybe, but not stand against the Boy-Who-Lived." + +The flood of his rage was instant. It didn't help that neither Sylarana +nor Snape and Draco, though his sense of their presences had faded with +distance, objected to the flood. + +Harry swung around and glared at Connor. This time, Connor blinked and +fell silent. Then he smirked and opened his moth to add something else. + +"\emph{Silencio}," Harry snapped at him. Connor blinked one time and put +a hand over his mouth. His resulting wail---apparently it was a +wail---made no sound at all, of course. Harry stepped back and let his +shoulders rest against the wall, never taking his eyes off his brother. + +That wasn't enough. He wanted to use his magic in other ways, or maybe +his fists, to make Connor hurt as much as he'd hurt Harry that week. + +But he couldn't. There was a professor here with him, a professor who +was looking at him strangely. + +"I did not realize that you actually \emph{could} perform wandless +magic, Mr. Potter," she said. + +Harry nodded. He hadn't meant to reveal that, but it was revealed now, +and there was no turning back time. He just watched his brother instead, +and breathed. The shame would be along any moment now. It hadn't come +yet, but it would come. He was wrong to use magic against his brother +like that. He would have been wrong to use it against any student +without cause, but most especially the Boy-Who-Lived, the one he was +sworn to protect. He knew that. Any moment now, surely, he would +experience the red face and the apologetic stammer that were the natural +consequences of such an act. + +\emph{It isn't happening yet,} he reassured himself. \emph{But it will +happen.} + +McGonagall spoke at last. ``Ten points from Slytherin for hexing a +fellow student, Mr. Potter,'' she said at last. "And ten points from +Gryffindor for accusing a fellow student without proof, Mr. Potter. +\emph{Finite Incantatem.}" + +Connor let out a loud, angry breath, and stood staring at Harry for a +moment. Harry just looked back. He didn't think his brother knew how to +accept this open attack. Of course, given that he hadn't known how to +accept Harry standing up for himself earlier in the week, this would +only be harder. + +\emph{I wasn't standing up for myself,} Harry thought. \emph{I had +betrayed him.} + +His mind felt very odd right now. He seemed to believe that line of +reasoning and disbelieve it at the same time. He could feel his heart +thundering in his ears. He could hear Sylarana's mental hissing, turned +almost to a croon. He could feel his magic, swirling about him in +exaltation. + +None of them seemed to argue that he had betrayed Connor. The old +training said that of course he had, and he knew that Connor would write +to their mother almost immediately and tell her so, and then Lily would +write a letter to Harry, and he would feel crushing disappointment in +himself when he read it. He \emph{knew} all that was going to happen, +and always before that clear vision would make him recoil and beg +forgiveness. + +It was not happening now. Oh, doubtless he would feel the shame and +disappointment in time, but that was in the future. For now, he savored +the uncertainty that crossed Connor's face. + +``Go back to Gryffindor Tower, Mr. Potter,'' said Professor McGonagall +at last, her voice weary. ``I will come and speak with you later.'' + +Connor turned and trotted off, back stiff and head high. Harry watched +him go. He wanted to say something, but he had no idea if it would come +out as an insult or a cry for reconciliation, so he kept his mouth shut. + +``This way, Mr. Potter.'' + +Professor McGonagall led him up the stairs again. Harry walked with her, +and listened to his magic singing. He had thought himself the victim of +odd thoughts this summer, when Snape's exercises had led him to +attribute a strength and motivation to his magic that he wasn't certain +existed. + +Now he thought it was no coincidence. He had acted without the box, and +his magic moved around him like a stream of singing birds, brushing him +with warm feathers. Harry knew that might not be an entirely positive +thing, but for now he would enjoy it. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Ah, my dear boy,'' said Dumbledore. He was sitting behind his desk +when they entered, and leaned across the desk, smiling pleasantly, when +he saw them. ``Minerva, leave us, please. I would like to speak to Mr. +Potter alone.'' + +Harry cocked his head. He could feel the slight edge of magic that rode +those words, briefly parting his hair like a thrown blade. It didn't +bother him, as it was aimed for McGonagall, but it was interesting that +the Headmaster felt he had to make sure that the Gryffindor Head of +House would not stay. + +McGonagall shut the office door behind her, and Dumbledore turned his +attention to Harry. + +\emph{He is too strong a Legilimens for you to conceal your thoughts +from him,} Sylarana advised him. \emph{Bow your head slightly. He'll be +looking for shame. You can feign that.} + +\emph{Or not,} Harry added. Shame was waiting there, too, another of the +emotions that he could reach up and snag from the mental air---though it +really should have been there earlier when he confronted Connor. He was +ashamed that Riddle had managed to gain such a foothold in his head, +that he had not been strong enough to resist. He had trained to fight +against Voldemort since he was a child. He had lost the first battle, or +perhaps the second one if he counted last year, spectacularly. That was +something to be ashamed of. + +He felt a blush heat his cheeks, and then the shame hit him, so that he +was actually feeling it. Harry winced. Why \emph{had} Riddle held him so +easily? Could it be that the similarities between him and Voldemort went +deeper than one shared Dark gift? + +\emph{I wish you would stop thinking Parseltongue was Dark,} Sylarana +complained in his head. \emph{I am not accustomed to being kept in the +background and scorned or ignored, as you know. I am only agreeing to +stay in your head for right now because someone has to keep this damn +box shut.} + +Harry concealed his smile. The Headmaster would hardly understand it if +he saw it. + +``What happened, Harry?'' Dumbledore's voice was steady, and infinitely +reassuring. It made Harry relax, and then he reminded himself that the +Headmaster wanted that. + +\emph{Why do you distrust Dumbledore this much?} That sounded like +Draco, but it could as easily have been the voice of his own thoughts, +his younger and more innocent self, the one that had trusted the +Headmaster because he had been a Gryffindor and was the leader of the +Light side. + +\emph{He doesn't share my goals,} Harry answered, and then said, "It +\emph{was} Tom Riddle, sir. I felt his presence this time. There's no +doubt that he's the one who's managing to Petrify those students." + +Dumbledore went still for a moment. \emph{Which didn't he expect?} Harry +thought, shocking himself with his own cynicism. \emph{The information, +or that I would admit it?} + +Dumbledore moved past his own shock quickly, though, and sighed. ``That +is bad news, my boy,'' he said. ``I fear that many parents will be +clamoring for your expulsion after this. One Petrification, in which no +one could prove the culprit, they were willing to let go. But another +one, in only a week\ldots{} And you say that you know that Tom Riddle +was behind this one.'' + +Harry nodded. ``I felt him in my head, sir.'' + +Dumbledore froze for longer this time. Harry was sure that this news was +completely unexpected. + +The Headmaster sighed again, but the sound was shaky. He extended a +hand. His phoenix rose from his perch and soared across the distance +between them, landing on the Headmaster's shoulder and laying his head +against Dumbledore's cheek. The Headmaster turned his face into the +feathers. Harry blinked, moved against his will by the display of +despair. + +\emph{That is what he wants you to think,} said Sylarana. + +\emph{Probably,} Harry admitted, and waited until Dumbledore gently sent +the phoenix back to his perch and turned to face Harry once again. + +``I am sorry, my boy,'' Dumbledore whispered. ``I thought, from what I +had heard about this book that you held, that Tom Riddle's home was the +diary. He could only venture forth from that for short periods of time. +Instead, it seems that he has made his home in your mind. I am sorry,'' +he repeated. ``That is supposed to be impossible.'' + +``I think I'm used to impossible by now,'' said Harry softly. ``It +should have been impossible for Connor to survive the Killing Curse, +too, shouldn't it, sir?'' + +Dumbledore nodded. He looked distracted. ``But there remains the +question of what will happen to you, Harry,'' he said. ``If many of the +parents ask that you be removed from the school, I may have no choice +but to do so. And I must consider it in the best interests of other +students as well. If you are gone from Hogwarts, the Chamber cannot +open, and the attacks will cease.'' + +``Where would you put me?'' Harry asked, as though a voice had not +opened up just behind his forehead to chant \emph{No, no, no!} He could +conceal his emotions better from the Headmaster than from Connor, he +thought, as long as he didn't look Dumbledore in the eyes. The +Headmaster could be infuriating, but he didn't tug and pull on the +chains of Harry's heart in the way that Connor did. + +``St. Mungo's would be the best place,'' Dumbledore murmured. ``There +are skilled healers of the mind there, who helped many of the former +Death Eaters who had been under Imperius.'' + +Knowing how many Death Eaters had managed to escape imprisonment by +proclaiming they had been under the Imperius curse, Harry was skeptical +about these skilled healers of the mind. He went for an attack instead. +His road lay clear before him. Dumbledore didn't have Connor's status as +a beloved brother who simply didn't understand Harry, nor Draco's status +as a confusing friend or Sylarana's status as a Locusta willing to speak +with him. He was only an obstacle in the way of protecting Connor, and +that meant Harry could lay aside some of the confusing emotions that +poured through his mind whenever he made a move and concentrate on +defying Dumbledore. + +``But what would happen if they tried to help me, and Tom Riddle +possessed me?'' Harry asked. ``It's true that he couldn't open the +Chamber at St. Mungo's, sir, but he told me that he could use my magic +if he possessed me completely.'' He was sure that Dumbledore's pallor +this time was not feigned. ``Would they really be able to stand up to an +angry young Voldemort in a hospital? And what happens if Riddle found +some of the patients who were there to be treated?'' + +Dumbledore closed his eyes. ``I am sorry, Harry,'' he said. ``This +should not have been able to happen.'' + +His words carried another edge of magic this time, one that Harry +thought the Headmaster had sent forth automatically. He wanted to make +Harry believe that he \emph{was} sorry, and that this would never have +happened if only things were a little bit better. Harry ducked the +power. He didn't want to believe the way that Dumbledore wanted him to +believe. It was probably true, but if it was true, then he could come to +understand that for himself. + +``There is another solution,'' Dumbledore was saying now. ``You may be +able to stay in Hogwarts and undergo the theoretical part of your +education, Harry, though not the practical part, if you will allow us to +cage your magic. With a close watch on you, you would not be able to go +to the Chamber without our knowledge, but---forgive me, dear boy, but I +cannot trust someone with your power and Riddle in his head even if we +find and seal the entrance to the Chamber.'' He opened his eyes and +looked at Harry, sad and stern and commanding. ``Surely you must see +that this is the best solution.'' + +Harry had angry words on his tongue. He wanted to say them. He wanted to +ask Dumbledore if he would consider suppressing anyone else's magic, +such as Connor's if the suspicion for the attacks had fallen on him. He +wanted to say that Lockhart was more a danger to the other students than +Harry was right now, now that he knew about Riddle. He wanted to ask +Dumbledore why he didn't prevent Snape from making any Potions involving +half a hundred ingredients, all of which could potentially scar or +disfigure a student for months or years. + +He swallowed them all. Rage, good as it felt to entertain it, would not +serve him right now. + +"Do you really think you \emph{can} cage my magic, sir?" he asked +quietly. + +Dumbledore's gaze came knifing to his face. This time, Harry met it full +on. He trusted Snape's shields to hide the box and Sylarana, and Snape's +skills to hide himself. Only Draco might be left out in the open, and +Harry was willing to take the risk. He wanted to show his magic to the +Headmaster. + +He called on it fully, the way that he would if he were about to defend +Connor, and let it rise around him. + +He started as one and then another of the delicate silver instruments +the Headmaster kept began to chime and vibrate. Fawkes lifted his head +and trilled. A few dozing Headmasters stuck their heads towards the +front of their portraits, or cupped their hands around their ears. Harry +briefly thought he could hear something himself, a distant voice singing +in happiness and glad, confident power, before the room filled with +stronger sensations to catch his attention: warm pressure over most of +his skin and a clean smell like a waterfall. + +He sat there in wonder. \emph{Why have I never felt this before? Was I +putting part of what I felt about my magic in the box, too?} + +``Harry.'' + +Harry looked back at Dumbledore. The Headmaster's face was calm, and if +Harry squinted, he thought he could make out a white shell around him, +probably locking his own magic in and keeping it from mingling with +Harry's. If he didn't, Harry supposed, then there might be an explosion, +or Harry might possibly learn things about the Headmaster that +Dumbledore didn't want him to know. + +Harry wanted to know them, suddenly. He wanted to sing and wander +Hogwarts's corridors with his magic showing him secret tunnels and +ancient wards just for the fun of it. What good was magic, after all, if +one tamed and constrained it and used it for only a few simple tasks? + +``Harry,'' Dumbledore repeated. + +Harry took a deep breath and reined his power in as he had earlier +controlled his anger. Yes, magic could show him wonderful things, but he +didn't want it to get him thrown out of Hogwarts, and right now he +thought there was a danger of that. ``I'm sorry, Headmaster,'' he said, +listening to the last coil of wild song fade. ``I went a little too far +in making my point.'' + +Dumbledore beamed at him. ``Quite all right, my dear boy! And you are +right, caging your magic would not work. I think it best if you stay +here in Hogwarts, where the wards can protect you. You are never to be +alone. If you are, it will result in detentions for you and lost points +for Slytherin, I am afraid. I will ask Professor Snape to strengthen the +wards on the Slytherin common room, and construct one that will alert +him if you are wandering after curfew. And there will be a few other +precautions taken to insure that the students stay safe. I think +Hogwarts is the best place for you, after all.'' + +Harry raised an eyebrow. \emph{What made him decide that?} + +\emph{Your power,} said Sylarana, in the bored tone that indicated +everyone in the world knew this except him. Given how serious she had +been lately, Harry was just as glad to have it back. \emph{He doesn't +want someone with magic as powerful as you are in St. Mungo's, or +anywhere that isn't under his immediate control.} + +Harry blinked. \emph{But I just called it up. And Dumbledore is the +strongest wizard in the world.} + +\emph{That may not matter,} said Sylarana cryptically. \emph{Sometimes +the thing we fear most is what might happen.} + +\emph{Who's this `we?' All the other snakes who speak with +Parselmouths?} + +She sulked at him. Harry surprised himself by smiling. He had not often +teased her like that before. He wondered if it would be an obstacle on +his road to defending Connor and getting Tom Riddle out of his head, but +it did not seem as if it would be. + +``You do realize,'' Dumbledore was saying, ``that the governors of the +school might object to having you stay. Most of them have children here, +and the threat from the Chamber and from a powerful young man possessed +by Tom Riddle---'' + +Fawkes turned his head abruptly and trilled. A knock sounded on the +door, and when Dumbledore called, ``Come in,'' Professor McGonagall +walked in, carrying an enormous golden-colored owl with a letter tied to +its leg. She had a peculiar expression on her face. + +``This is a letter from the school governors, Headmaster,'' she said, +and extended the owl to him. + +Dumbledore's eyes flickered to Harry. Harry looked down so as not to +meet his gaze. + +``How strange,'' said Dumbledore cheerfully. ``We were just discussing +them.'' He took the letter from the owl's leg and broke the seal, then +read the letter within. His happy, patient expression did not change, +except at the end, when he looked up and beamed at Harry. ``Wonderful +news, my boy! It seems that Lucius Malfoy has firecalled the other +governors, and they have agreed that you should stay in school, as it is +the best and safest place for you. Mr. Malfoy also pointed out that so +far the attacks have been against purebloods, which is not what the +legend of the Chamber points towards, and suggests that we may be +jumping to conclusions, that this is a particularly nasty and vicious +prank.'' + +Harry knew that Dumbledore did not believe that. He also knew that +Dumbledore was wondering how Lucius Malfoy had learned of Neville's +Petrification so fast, and why he had made it a point to put himself +between Harry and harm's way. + +\emph{Not telling,} said Sylarana, in a voice of utterly childish +delight. \emph{Not telling. We have a secret. It is fun.} + +Harry bit his lip to stifle a snort, and looked back up to see +Dumbledore nod to him. ``If you will escort Harry back to his common +room, Minerva,'' he said. ``I think we have reached an understanding. +Even the governors of the school seem to agree.'' + +``But, Albus---'' + +``I will explain later, Minerva,'' said Dumbledore calmly. ``In fact, if +you wish to return immediately after escorting Harry down, I can explain +it to you then.'' + +Professor McGonagall nodded uncertainly, and led Harry down the stairs. +This time, unlike last Saturday, she did not speak with him. Harry read +her darting glances and the hesitant way she clenched one hand in her +sleeve, and knew she could not decide what she wanted to say. + +Well, for that matter, neither could he have, and he was not sure what +his response to one of her overtures would have been. His heart was +pounding, and he was biting his lip until it was close to a bloodied +mess. He was starting to feel the shame he had expected for hurting and +humiliating Connor, but he also still felt the delight in fooling the +Headmaster, and irritation with Dumbledore's intent to ship him off to +St. Mungo's, and determination to protect Connor, and, and, and--- + +The emotions kept going off like firecrackers beneath the surface of his +chest. Harry told himself he would only feel them as long as he needed +to, only until Tom Riddle was flushed from his mind and his brother was +safe. Then he could use the box again, surely. + +\emph{No,} said Sylarana calmly. + +\emph{No,} Draco agreed, as they came nearer to the common room and +Harry could hear him again. \emph{I like you better this way. I want to +see what happens the next time Weasley says something.} + +Harry put aside the temptation to revel in the emotions. He had letters +to write, and, surely, letters to receive---mostly from his parents. +Connor would write to their father and wail that Harry had betrayed him. +James would write sternly to Harry. Harry would explain; he thought he +could do a better job of staying calm in writing than he was doing right +now. And then their mother would write him, giving him advice on +protecting his brother and staying true to his cause, and then Harry +would reply and explain what had happened. + +He was not sure what would happen then. Neither their mother nor Harry +had ever thought that \emph{he} might be possessed by Voldemort. Lily +had theorized once about telepathic connections hidden in curse scars, +but perhaps Voldemort was strong enough to possess anyone he wanted. + +\emph{I'll get books on Occlumency. I'll study. I'll do whatever I have +to,} he thought, the edge of his will slicing through his crowding +emotions again. + +\emph{I'll master my mind, and then thank Draco and Snape for their +assistance and get them} out \emph{of my head. This is only a temporary +change. Given that, I can handle it, surely.} + +He ignored the part of him that hummed and sang in his magic, that +enjoyed the emotions, and wanted to make the change more permanent. + +\subsection{*Chapter 16*: No One Ever Notices a +Hufflepuff}\label{chapter-16-no-one-ever-notices-a-hufflepuff} + +Reviews up in LJ later this afternoon! Thank you again! + +Well. I \emph{like} this chapter, since it advances three subplots as +well as the main one. + +\textbf{Chapter Fifteen: No One Ever Notices a Hufflepuff} + +\emph{\ldots{}never knew that there would be such a problem with one of +my sons acting Gryffindor\ldots{}just can't understand why you would do +it, Harry\ldots{}Connor told me that you used magic against him, +against} him\emph{, when you've never done that before\ldots{}} + +Harry closed his eyes. He'd read his father's letter, which had come in +early on that morning, a Wednesday, several times. Each time, one more +emotion broke free and joined the mess of emotions swimming around his +head. + +Disappointment (it had had to turn out like this, hadn't it?), worry (he +didn't want to anger his father at him, he really didn't), regret (he +would have chosen a different way of dealing with Connor if he'd thought +about it), sorrow (he was sorry that James was angry at him), despair +(if Connor was angry at him, Harry wanted to find him at once and +apologize, never mind that he wouldn't accept the apology), satisfaction +(he probably would cast \emph{Silencio} on Connor again, given the +opportunity), anger (why had Connor had to tattle to their parents about +something so minor, rather than about suspecting Harry of Luna's and +Neville's Petrifications?)\ldots{}. + +He could not master them, not yet. They swam and swarmed around him, and +sometimes slipped from his grasp completely for a moment, the way that +his goals to protect and defend Connor did. He could be thinking quite +firmly of how he would never use magic on his brother again except in +Connor's defense, and then that definition would suddenly expand to +self-defense and stopping Connor from doing something stupid, and then +it would narrow again. + +``I don't understand that part,'' he muttered aloud. + +\emph{I do.} + +Harry started and looked up. Draco stood in front of him, one eyebrow +cocked expressively. He tossed Harry's tie at him. ``Breakfast is over +in ten minutes, Harry,'' Draco pointed out. ``And you've just been +sitting here and staring at that letter. I don't think you're going to +get anything new out of it.'' + +Harry stood up and knotted his tie, looking to be sure that Sylarana was +still wrapped about his arm. Of course she was. She had not moved away +from him since she had coiled herself in a kind of Gordian knot about +the box. \emph{What makes you say that you know what's happening?} he +asked Draco as they fell into step on the way down to the Hall. He had +not exactly reveled in speaking in his head over the past few days, but +he had grown used to it. It had to be done. It was silly to whine about +it, even mentally, given that it wasn't just Sylarana who could overhear +him and scold him about it now. + +\emph{Because of the holes in the webs,} said Draco. \emph{Snape told +you about the webs?} + +Harry nodded. He had been disturbed that he saw his mind that way, or +that other people saw his mind that way, or whichever it was; he had had +two lessons with Snape since Sunday, and still he did not understand +everything there was to know about Occlumency. The crowding emotions and +thoughts might have had something to do with that, of course. + +Worry (was he ever going to master Occlumency?), pride (he had done well +so far), grim determination (he would have to be ready when Riddle broke +free, because he would set the timetable and not Harry or Snape or +anyone outside the box), dread (he feared what would come forth from the +box)\ldots{} + +The emotions abruptly danced madly and then flew away from him. Harry +blinked and looked up at Draco, who had a hand on his shoulder. + +``Harry,'' said Draco soothingly. ``Look at me. Breathe. I can help you +clear your mind some of the time, but not all.'' + +Harry glanced around nervously, but there wasn't anyone there to hear +them. He glanced back at Draco, nodded, and managed to make himself +breathe and think, for at least a few moments, the way a normal person +would have. + +Draco went back to the mental speech the moment he seemed to think that +Harry was stable enough to hear the truth. \emph{Riddle tore some holes +in your webs the first time he possessed you, and then again the other +times. So now your patterns of thought aren't exactly the way they used +to be. You can have thoughts that you wouldn't be able to have the rest +of the time. You can think about hurting your brother, if you want, even +turning against him.} + +Harry recoiled from Draco--- + +For a moment. Then a rebellious voice in his head muttered that that +wasn't such a bad idea, especially after the rumors that had spread +around the school in the wake of Harry's \emph{Silencio.} + +\emph{Do you see?} Draco asked him. His voice was calm, but Harry +thought it was only with an effort. \emph{Your mind is different from +what it was, Harry. Snape is working to fill the breaches with mist, but +he can't heal all the wounds. Your mind has to do that, has to fill the +spaces in the webs with new weaving.} + +Harry nodded. \emph{So the more I think about protecting and defending +Connor, the likelier I am to think like that?} + +\emph{You could say that,} said Draco, and glanced ahead. They were +almost at the doors of the Great Hall. \emph{Better prepare your spells +now.} + +Harry nodded again and called on the \emph{Protego}, which he wrapped +around himself just a few inches above his skin. It caused all the +malicious hexes that the other students cast at him when the teachers +weren't around to bounce right back at them. Next, he cast a spell that +Snape had shown them, \emph{Muffliato,} one which made the voices of the +other students sound like a distant buzzing in Harry's ears. Snape had +looked vaguely ill-at-ease when Harry had managed to change it so that +it obscured the conversations of not just one person but all of them, +except Draco, the other Slytherins, and the professors. Harry did not +know why. It was a useful spell, and the variation was easy to make, +just involving a bit more emphasis on the first two syllables than +normal. + +It was necessary, he reassured himself as he and Draco dashed into the +Great Hall, snatched a few hasty bites of breakfast before it +disappeared, and then hurried on their way to classes. He had been able +to hear the students' taunts on Monday, and his reaction to them had +been---unpredictable. Some he could shrug off or ignore as if he still +had access to the box, some made him flinch and turn away, and a few had +caused him to pull out his wand and hex the students teasing him. Snape +had hauled him into his office on Monday night and taught him +\emph{Muffliato}, not letting him go until he mastered it. \emph{To +prevent accidents,} he'd said, one of the few times he'd ever actually +spoken in Harry's mind, his voice sharp. Most of the time, he seemed as +uneasy in Harry's thoughts as Harry was to have him there, and +restricted himself to maintaining the shields. + +Things were better now, Harry told himself firmly. They \emph{were.} The +other professors merely thought that Harry had learned to ignore the +other students after an intense scolding by his Head of House, and none +of them knew about the \emph{Protego}, since the students picked times +that the professors were safely distant to try and cast magic on Harry. +So what if the students had started a rumor that Harry really +\emph{must} be a Dark Lord in training, to reflect spells back so +effortlessly? + +One of the suits of armor they were passing at that moment shook and +rattled and detached itself piece by piece, clanging into the wall, +falling precisely in time with the angry beat of Harry's heart. + +\emph{Are you all right?} Draco asked. + +\emph{Yes,} Harry said, and pushed the rage through one of the holes in +his mind, so that it would slither around in the darkness and not bother +him for a while. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +By Friday, Harry felt as though he had gained some semblance of control +over his swimming emotions. It wasn't perfect, of course, and it still +disconcerted him when he uncovered something he had never suspected he +was capable of feeling. But he could sit down and write a letter to his +parents, or concentrate on the simple, well-known spells they were +learning in Charms or Transfiguration, without having to deal with half +a dozen exaggerated reactions. Then he would relax the control and live +in a world of mad colors for a time before he needed to summon his +concentration and buckle down to a certain task. + +Draco was grinning at him as they came into the Great Hall for breakfast +Friday morning. \emph{Pretty impressive, Harry,} he said. \emph{Most of +the holes are filled with mist already. I think you'll be ready by the +time Riddle breaks free.} + +\emph{Tell him to stop talking about Riddle,} Sylarana instructed Harry +primly. \emph{He rattles the box when he's talked about. He can hear us +or sense us doing it, though imperfectly. And I want some treacle tart.} + +Harry shook his head. There was no treacle tart at breakfast, but he +soothed Sylarana with promises of a sausage. "Sylarana says to stop +talking about \emph{him}," he murmured aloud. He had to keep reminding +himself that the link between the four of them was temporary. Draco +seemed quite at home in Harry's head, speaking mentally even when he +didn't need to. Harry would move it back to audible conversation +whenever possible. + +Draco tended to resist the subtle suggestion, or just pretend he was +immune to it, and he did so now. He only shrugged and danced backward in +front of Harry. \emph{Don't look now, but I think you have someone else +who wants to talk to you.} + +``Harry!'' called a voice from behind him just then. + +Harry turned slowly. It was Sirius. Apparently, he had left a gap in the +\emph{Muffliato} spell that he hadn't noticed; he still thought of +Sirius as a professor, so his godfather's voice could get through. + +Harry braced himself for a scolding or a berating about how no Potter +had ever turned to the Dark Lord. But Sirius staggered up the aisle +between the tables and collapsed to the ground in front of Harry +instead. He was breathing loudly, as though he had run all the way from +his office. His eyes were wild and staring. He started to speak and then +stopped, choking. + +As he studied Sirius, Harry was struck by just how bad he really looked. +The dark circles around his eyes had increased until they looked sunken. +His hair had grown longer than Harry remembered seeing it in years, +almost to his shoulders, and was tangled and clotted with sweat, as +though he hadn't bothered to brush it when he got out of bed. He was +gaunt, and Harry had no idea why. It wasn't as though the overabundance +of food in the Great Hall would let anyone starve, and Sirius certainly +knew where the kitchens were if he needed to eat. + +But the oddest change was the way that Sirius reached out and clutched +at Harry's hands as if Harry could save him from drowning. + +``Harry,'' he whispered. ``Harry, forgive me.'' + +Harry blinked. "\emph{What}?" he said after a moment. Most of his +emotions had melted away in the sheer shock of confronting Sirius, and +the only one left was surprise. + +``Forgive me,'' Sirius whispered, nodding earnestly. "I should never +have said the things I said. I should never have let the problems +between us go unreconciled for so long. I'm your \emph{godfather.} What +kind of godfather have I been, always believing other people before my +godson?" He shook his head. The gesture just alarmed Harry more. It +didn't look like ordinary negation, but as if Sirius had palsy. ``I've +been wrong, so wrong, and I want the chance to make it up to you. You +have every right to refuse me, of course.'' He tightened his grip on +Harry's hands and waited. + +Harry's thoughts were swimming in disjointed circles once again. Forgive +him, tell him there was nothing to forgive, argue, turn his back and +walk away? + +But his love for Sirius, which was older than the wounds in his mind, +prompted him to ask at last, ``Sirius, what's wrong with you? You don't +look good.'' + +Sirius uttered a hollow laugh. ``No, I don't, do I?'' he muttered. "But +it's no more than I deserve, Harry. Moony sent me a---a \emph{very} +stern letter. You wouldn't \emph{believe} what it said. And I think he +talked to Lily and James, too, because their next letters to me were +more subdued. You know how Moony can be, all those soft words that turn +hard just when you're least expecting them?" + +``I suppose,'' said Harry doubtfully. When their father told tales of +his time in school, he usually said that Remus was the most reluctant +rule-breaker, but still a rule-breaker, one his friends could coax into +going along with them even when he knew it wasn't right. Nothing like +Peter, of course, who had wound up a traitor, but still with not such a +strict sense of right and wrong that Harry would imagine him writing +Sirius a stern letter. + +``He is,'' said Sirius. "He \emph{is} like that." He was almost +babbling. ``And then---then, Harry, I realized that I hadn't thought at +all about what Lily told us, that you were trained to protect your +brother.'' Harry glanced around nervously, but Sirius's voice had calmed +somewhat from his initial shout, and Draco was holding his wand +casually. No one tried to inch nearer and listen to Sirius's confession. +``And that was wrong,'' Sirius rambled on. ``Imagine, my godson prepared +to defend his brother, and I never saw it. And you trained yourself all +those years, and you never wanted recognition for it. I would have. I +would have. I would have given myself away, I think, if I did something +like that for Regulus.'' + +``Who's Regulus?'' Harry asked in mild confusion. He could not remember +hearing the name before. + +Sirius shook his head so fast that his hair whipped around him. +``Nothing,'' he said. ``That is, no one. Someone I knew once, who needed +protecting, and I thought about giving him protection, but in the end I +didn't. In the end, nothing I did was enough.'' He abruptly burst into +noisy tears. Harry could \emph{feel} Draco's lip curling without even +looking at the other boy. + +\emph{Shut up, he's tired,} Harry snarled in his head, taking Draco by +surprise, and then he tucked an arm around his godfather's shoulders. +``I think you need to go to sleep, Sirius,'' he said. ``You haven't been +sleeping well, have you?'' + +Sirius let out a little breath. ``No,'' he whispered. ``Nightmares. +About protecting you, mostly, and failing.'' + +Harry felt a small spark of compassion ignite in him. It was a welcome +respite from the mad emotions. ``I would feel the same way about Connor, +if I failed to protect him,'' he said. ``I do think that you were wrong, +Sirius, but I accept your apology. Why don't you go and get some sleep? +You don't have to referee a Quidditch practice today, do you?'' + +Sirius shook his head. ``No.'' He sounded dazed. + +``Then go back to sleep.'' Harry urged him to stand and turned him +gently towards the door. ``I think you should. I forgive you. That +should ease some of the nightmares about failing to protect me, +shouldn't it?'' + +``Not all of them,'' muttered Sirius, but he looked appeased. ``You +really mean that, Harry? You forgive me?'' + +Harry hesitated for a long moment, and then gave in to his curiosity. It +wouldn't be fair to go back and ask the question later, when Sirius had +managed to smooth over these emotions in his mind. ``Yes. But I want to +know why this happened so suddenly. Why could you not forgive me for a +week, and it only happened now?'' + +``Because it took that long for the full impact of what Lily said to hit +me,'' Sirius whispered in a brooding tone, eyes fixed on Harry. "You +trained to sacrifice your childhood, Harry. You gave up everything for +Connor. I \emph{know} that I couldn't have done that." + +``You never had a brother,'' said Harry gently. ``It's different for +only children, Sirius.'' + +Sirius's lip trembled, and he looked as if he were about to say +something for a moment. Then he shook his head, and his lip firmed +again. ``And I'm sorry about that stupid bet,'' he said. "I should never +have made it. Not only was I going to lose, you wouldn't let Snape win, +either. You would do whatever you had to do, Slytherin or Gryffindor, to +protect your brother, wouldn't you? And you're so devoted to him, and of +\emph{course} he's the Boy-Who-Lived." + +Harry nodded. ``Of course he is,'' he said. + +Draco snorted in his head. + +\emph{Shut} up, said Harry, and did something he hadn't known he could +do, shutting Draco out of his immediate thoughts. Draco's presence +flailed, closed into a small corner of Harry's mind concerned with him. +Harry ignored him for the moment. He had more important things to do. + +``I'm sorry about the bet, Harry,'' Sirius said, and looked as if he +would start crying again. ``Forgive me for that, too?'' + +Harry nodded, hesitated, and then hugged his godfather. That soothed +some of his less attractive emotions, especially when Sirius hugged him +back, his arms catching Harry's shoulders in an almost desperate clutch. + +``Of course,'' Harry whispered. "You were only doing what you thought +best, Sirius, and sometimes that \emph{isn't} the best." He was thinking +of the way that their father had told him the story of Sirius's prank on +Snape in their school days, when Sirius had acted as if Snape wouldn't +have \emph{died} confronting Remus in his werewolf form. ``Just come and +talk to me in the future before you blame me, all right?'' His +resentment wouldn't let Sirius leave without twisting that particular +knife. + +Sirius winced. ``You got it,'' he said, and then he messed up Harry's +hair and turned away. + +\emph{At least he is entertaining when he is wrong,} Snape's voice +remarked from his distant corner of Harry's mind. + +\emph{Shut up to you, too,} Harry thought, and released Draco from the +corner of his mind. Draco flailed and complained about that, until Harry +shut him in the corner again and then adjusted his \emph{Muffliato} +spell to exclude Draco's voice from his ears. That lasted only until +lunch, but in the three hours in between, Draco had to make his +apologies in complicated sign language, which entertained Harry. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Someone tapped him on the shoulder. Harry turned around carefully, his +hands full of the pot containing the Mandrake. He assumed that someone +wanted to use the raw dirt, which he was standing in front of. By now, +two weeks after Neville's Petrification, most students seemed to have +resigned themselves to the fact that Harry was ignoring them, and simply +maneuvered around him with gestures as needed. + +To Harry's surprise, the student---Justin Finch-Fletchley, one of the +Muggleborn Hufflepuffs who shared Herbology class with them---didn't +move around him. Instead, he caught Harry's eyes and slowly, carefully +mouthed a few words, letting Harry read his lips. + +\emph{Drop the spell. I want to talk to you.} + +Harry blinked and thought about it. It \emph{was} true that he hadn't +heard any taunts out of Justin in the past few weeks, but then, he +hadn't heard any taunts out of anyone thanks to the \emph{Muffliato.} He +missed hearing Connor's voice more than he could say, and he was tiring +of Draco's and Snape's and even Sylarana's presences in his head, but +dropping the spell was just too great a risk. + +On the other hand, he had grown more and more used to the +\emph{Muffliato}, and he could adjust it easily. He decided he could let +Justin in for a moment. If the curly-haired wizard said something +stupid, Harry would just exile him from being heard before he could lose +his temper and throw a hex. + +At least, Harry hoped so. He had not realized how quick his temper would +be once he stopped putting all his anger in the box. + +Cautiously, he turned the buzzing around and let Justin in. ``I can hear +you,'' he said. ``Talk. And if you say anything insulting, you should +know that I'm quicker with my wand than you are.'' + +``I know that,'' said Justin. There was something odd in his eyes, +something that Harry finally identified as a mixture of respect and +curiosity. That increased his worry. Ron, Hermione, and Connor hadn't +come to him, instead sticking with their whispering and plotting and +planning, and Harry had thought---or \emph{hoped}, at least, he admitted +to himself---that they would be the first ones. To see a Hufflepuff +looking at him without hostility was odd. + +``The rest of my House sent me,'' said Justin. ``I said I was willing to +talk to you, and they figured I wouldn't be in much danger, since I'm +Muggleborn and the attacks have only been on purebloods so far.'' He +shrugged. ``So, tell me. Is it true that you're evil and you go around +Petrifying people?'' + +Harry glared at him. Justin shivered a bit, but stood his ground. ``It's +only what everyone is wondering,'' he added defensively. + +``If you think I would do that to my friends,'' Harry snarled, moving +past him to set the Mandrake carefully in its new place in the +greenhouse, ``what makes you think I wouldn't do it to you?'' + +``Well, I don't know, really,'' said Justin amiably, following him down +the rows. "But, see, that's one of the nice things about being a +Hufflepuff. The Ravenclaws think that you have some deviously +intelligent plan that your every motion is part of. The Slytherins +think---or would, I assume, if any of them were aligned against +you---that you're just lying about everything. The Gryffindors are sure +that you're Dark, and they're in an agony trying to make everyone else +see it. But Hufflepuffs rely more on common sense. So I thought I'd ask. +\emph{Are} you evil and Petrifying people?" + +``Everyone thinks I am,'' said Harry, and carefully packed the soil +around the Mandrake. This far along towards winter, the plants were +nearly docile, and they didn't have to take the special precautions that +they did earlier in the year to keep from hearing their cries. Harry +watched his breath puff out in front of him as he tamped the soil down, +and focused on both the sight before his eyes and the sensation between +his fingers to keep from getting angry at Justin. ``So that should be +enough for you. After all, everyone knows that what everyone says is +true.'' + +``That's the problem,'' said Justin. "Everyone says that you're the next +Dark Lord in training, and that you must be near the end of your plans +to take over the world, or you wouldn't be running around Petrifying +people in the open. On the other hand, \emph{I} think Headmaster +Dumbledore would be fighting against you if you were the next Dark Lord +in training. He doesn't like Dark Lords. And why would you Petrify a few +random people in the halls when you could Petrify the whole school at +once, or kill them? It doesn't seem like a very efficient plan. At the +very \emph{least}, you could sneak out here and sabotage the Mandrakes +some night, so that we can't wake up the people you Petrified and hear +whatever it is that you don't want them telling us." + +Harry shot a sidelong glance at Justin. ``You're really not afraid of +me, are you?'' he asked, finally. No one else in his head was commenting +on the conversation. Harry suspected that they didn't know what to make +of Justin, either. + +The Hufflepuff grinned at him. ``I'm terrified. Utterly shaking in my +boots. That's fear, of course, and not cold.'' + +``Why?'' Harry asked. + +Justin cocked his head to one side and assumed a pensive expression. +``You're the evil House, you know,'' he said. "Everyone always tenses up +when there are Slytherins around. And they relax with Gryffindors, or +the Gryffindors think they do, and the Ravenclaws get asked for help on +homework. But we just get \emph{ignored.} It's \emph{weird.} But I like +it, sometimes, because it means that I can get close enough to +conversations to overhear them without anyone paying attention to me. + +"And I heard your brother talking in the library yesterday to Weasley +and the know-it-all. I sat at the table right next to them. They gave me +these \emph{looks} that said, `Oh, it's just a Hufflepuff,' and I was +able to listen to them. And do you know what they said?" + +``No,'' Harry admitted. ``That spell keeps everyone out, even my +brother.'' He yearned to know what they had said. + +\emph{It'll be something hurtful, because Connor's a prat,} Draco said +darkly in his head. \emph{You} know \emph{that.} + +\emph{Hush,} said Sylarana. \emph{I want to know what the prat said. +It's been too long since I was able to be sarcastic about his +stupidity.} + +Harry ignored them both, and fixed his eyes on Justin's face. + +``They said you must be Dark,'' said Justin. ``It sounded as though they +were trying to prepare some speech to convince the school, and they +listed all the justifications they could think of. There were the +Petrifications, of course, and the fact that you can talk to snakes.'' +Justin did give a slight shudder there, and Harry decided he must be at +least a little afraid. + +\emph{Well he should be,} Sylarana said. \emph{I am a Locusta.} + +``And then there were---other things,'' said Justin, his lips quirking +in a smile that Harry didn't quite understand. "That you beat him at +Quidditch, and that you cast \emph{Silencio} on him, and that you were +ignoring him instead of coming to him and apologizing." Justin shook his +head. ``That's just stupid. I have a younger brother, and I do the same +things to him. Well, okay, he's a Muggle, so I beat him at football +instead, but you know what I mean. That's just sibling stuff. I think +Connor's jealous of you, and that's all. That other `Dark' stuff is just +him being stupid.'' + +``Then how do you explain the Petrifications?'' Harry challenged him. + +``Lots of people being stupid,'' said Justin without hesitation. +``Including whoever's doing it. Neville and Luna are going to get +better, eventually. And I know that you go and see them in the hospital +wing every few days, and Madam Pomfrey trusts you to come in and sit +with them.'' + +"How do you know \emph{that}?" Harry asked before he could stop himself. + +``No one tends to notice Hufflepuffs, I told you,'' said Justin. "You +Slytherins lose something swaggering around and \emph{proclaiming} that +you're above the other Houses with every breath. We Hufflepuffs just +\emph{know} we are." He assumed a densely superior expression cracked by +a smile in less than three seconds. + +Harry laughed before he could stop himself. Then he touched a hand to +his mouth, and blinked. Justin gave him a different kind of smile and +nodded. + +``I don't really know what to think about you, Potter,'' he said. "But I +know that I don't want to think what your brother thinks about you, +because he's being a \emph{brother}, and not the Boy-Who-Lived, when he +goes around proclaiming that you're this and that and the other thing +just because you beat him at Quidditch. Well, the whole school's not his +parents." + +Harry nodded once. He had wanted to hear those words, or something like +them, he thought. Connor's perceptions about good and evil were quite +often correct, but this time he had the facts wrong. And anyone could be +factually wrong. It was a way he could think about his brother being +mistaken without wanting to panic that Connor being mistaken meant that +he, Harry, wasn't really good. + +``I'll go back and tell the rest of my House that you're all right, +really,'' said Justin, and glanced over his shoulder. Harry followed his +gaze, and blinked. Professor Sprout stood over Hannah Abbott and Ernie +Macmillan, who were asking her countless innocent questions about +repotting the Mandrakes, and about the consistency of the soil, and +about many other things. The Herbology Professor was answering them, her +face alight with pleasure at having two such eager students. Harry had +to admit it was quite an effective way to keep her from interfering with +his and Justin's conversation. + +``Did they do that on purpose?'' he asked Justin. + +``Of course,'' said Justin. ``But they really needed help in Herbology, +too. They've spent too much time in the last few weeks collecting +Chocolate Frog cards instead of studying. They're worried about exams.'' +He gave Harry a gentle push on the shoulder. ``Be seeing you, Potter.'' + +He sauntered back to his Housemates. Hannah and Ernie finished asking +their questions, and Professor Sprout swept on around the greenhouse, +carefully adjusting her hat on her head. + +"What was \emph{that}?" Draco asked then, pouncing on him, upset enough +to speak aloud---at least in a whisper, though, since Professor Sprout's +glance briefly flicked towards them. + +``I was making a new friend,'' Harry answered blandly, checking his +Mandrake one more time. He found that he rather enjoyed the expression +of frustration on Draco's face. Draco got his own way with Harry much +too often, especially now that he was in his head. + +``But I'm your best friend,'' said Draco. + +``Of course,'' said Harry. ``But Justin's a new friend.'' He looked over +his shoulder and smiled at the Hufflepuff, who was watching him. Justin +nodded back and then leaned over to whisper to Hannah. Hannah glanced +back at Harry, her eyes speculative, wary but not angry. + +"He's a \emph{Hufflepuff,}" said Draco. "And a \emph{Mu}---" + +Harry's hand was near Draco's arm. It was a simple thing to reach over +and pinch Draco on the shoulder, hard enough that his arm went dead. + +\emph{Ow}! Draco wailed in his head. Harry could hear Sylarana +snicker-hissing. + +``You were saying?'' Harry asked, without glancing up. + +``A Muggleborn,'' said Draco. ``That was what I was going to say. +Really.'' + +\emph{Liar}, Sylarana accused him. Harry nodded in agreement. + +Draco rubbed his elbow and glared sulkily at Harry for a moment. ``I +don't always like you when you're like this,'' he muttered. + +Harry shrugged and stripped off his gloves. Herbology class was almost +over. + +Abruptly, his vision warped sideways and bled colors. Sylarana gave a +hiss of anger and bore down with her body. Tom Riddle stopped bucking in +the box after a moment, and Harry's vision returned to normal, but he +knew it was the first test. + +Riddle might have sensed the conversation with Justin, he thought, as he +nodded to a worried Draco that he was all right. He might have decided +that Justin was his next logical target. + +And, abruptly, Harry realized that he had a plan for dealing with +Riddle. + +He found himself smiling, and ignored the bubbling curiosity from Draco +and Sylarana for right now. Sometimes, it was nice to have a secret. + +\subsection{*Chapter 17*: Battle Plans}\label{chapter-17-battle-plans} + +Thank you for all the responses on the last chapter! Review responses up +in LJ later. + +For now, enjoy this chapter, and Harry's attitude. Or not, as it pleases +you. + +\textbf{Chapter Sixteen: Battle Plans} + +Harry knocked on the door to Snape's office in high good humor, and felt +the man's presence inside his mind grow cruel with suspicion. Harry was +never in a good mood when he came for his lessons. Either he was +stressed, after dealing with the emotions that swam his thoughts and the +other students all day, or he simply was grim and determined, wanting to +master the new Occlumency techniques as swiftly as possible. + +``Enter,'' Snape said after a moment, and Harry stepped inside, glanced +quickly around just to make sure that no one else was here, and shut the +door behind him. + +``Professor Snape, sir,'' he said, feeling rarely-used emotions of +excitement and hope rise to the surface of his mind. Snape leaned +forward from behind his desk, eyes intent. Harry suspected he was about +to get some lecture on how Occlumency was an art of motion again, and +that he had to be able to shut away happiness as effortlessly as he was +working to shut away grief and anger. ``I have an idea for a plot on how +to defeat Tom Riddle.'' + +The box bucked in his mind, and Sylarana hissed at him. \emph{Could you +avoid talking about him unless you absolutely must? You know how he +gets.} + +\emph{I do know,} Harry told her, and stroked her back where she lay on +his arm. \emph{And you are a wonderful snake, a magnificent snake, for +holding him in so effectively.} + +Sylarana made a small suspicious sound under her breath, but accepted +the praise and the petting. Harry looked back at Snape, who had his head +on one side and had already stood up from behind his desk. + +"You \emph{think} you know a way, at least, Mr. Potter," he whispered. +"Can you keep thinking of it even as I attack? \emph{Legilimens!}" + +Harry rolled his eyes and leaped aside in his mind as Snape started to +probe it. Their training lessons were always like this, now. Snape +provoked Harry's anger and frustration on purpose, and then told him to +keep that concealed or steady while he searched Harry's thoughts. Harry +suspected it was indeed useful training, but Snape was growing +predictable in the way he maneuvered. + +\emph{He shouldn't be predictable. That could be bad news for Connor as +well as for me. Snape is the only well-trained Occlumens I can persuade, +certainly the only one Dumbledore and other adults would be inclined to +listen to. I have to make sure that he keeps up with his own training, +too.} + +He launched his plan as hard as he could, into Snape's face. Snape +gasped and reeled back from him, and Harry could see something other +than darkness swarming with colors. Snape sat down hard in his seat and +blinked at Harry, then shook his head. + +``That was---impressive, Mr. Potter,'' he said, in a tone from which all +colors had been bleached. + +Harry rolled his eyes again. ``Thank you. But what do you think of the +plan? Or are you referring to the plan as well as your expulsion from my +thoughts?'' + +``You would want to kill me, of course, if I were a real enemy, or at +least disarm me,'' Snape went on, sitting up in his chair and folding +his hands in a lecturing pose. ``After all, if I escaped knowing your +plan, you would not be pleased.'' + +Harry nodded. ``And what do you think of the plan?'' + +Snape clenched his hands in front of him. ``That is insanely +dangerous,'' he said. ``The kind of risky scheme more likely to be +concocted by a Gryffindor. In a fever dream.'' + +``If you compare me to my brother, Professor Snape, you're complimenting +me, not insulting me,'' Harry said, his tone pleasant with sheer +determination. ``And having Tom Riddle in my head is already insanely +dangerous.'' + +``That it won't work,'' said Snape. ``The whole thing depends on a +combination of timing and skill that is hard in the extreme to +achieve.'' + +``I believe it can work,'' said Harry, meeting and holding his eyes. The +fact that Sylarana had not objected to it gave him hope. Her support +would probably be the most important element of this. "No, we can't do +anything about \emph{his} growing restlessness, but we can make sure +that I defeat him." + +Snape leaned forward across the desk. "That it requires---a \emph{depth} +of magic that you do not have yet, Harry. Strength, yes, of course, but +you cannot fight the Dark Lord on the grounds of magical strength alone. +He knows more. He knew more even when he was his present age, and he may +have drawn more of your magic through the box. It is impossible to know +that without venturing past the shields, which I will not do." + +Harry nodded. ``By depth, sir, do you mean something like this?'' He +closed his eyes and brought his magic up around him, the way he had in +Dumbledore's office. He smelled the clean scent of the waterfall again, +and heard the bells ringing, and the voice singing in the distance. + +The magic \emph{was} coming from some place under him, for lack of a +better word, he thought. If his mind was a series of webs, the way that +both Draco and Snape insisted, then this came from beneath the places +where the webs ran out, slender bridges over a black gulf. This was the +magic beneath, the magic embedded in his body and his bones and his +heart. + +``Mr. Potter.'' + +Harry opened his eyes. He could just barely see Snape through a +shimmering, swimming haze of power. The professor's eyes were slits, and +he had his wand in one hand. Harry hoped that he wouldn't try to read +Harry's mind right now. Harry was not entirely sure whose mind he would +get. + +``That is something like what I meant, yes,'' said Snape quietly. ``Put +it away now.'' + +Gently, Harry folded the magic back into its proper place, tucking the +folds of cloth and wings in place over each other. His magic grumbled +about it. Now that it was properly awake, it wanted to be used. There +were spells he could do with it about him like this, protections he +could create, small discontinuities in space that it could mend for him +if he wished\ldots{} + +But it listened to him when he told it to go, and sank away from sight. + +Harry shook his head. He felt diminished, somehow, after standing in the +midst of all that power. But he reminded himself, as Lily always had, +that there were greater things than power, greater things than magic. +Love was one of them, and he had to love Connor, for his innocence, his +purity, even his stupidity that insisted standing with Slytherin House +equaled to being Dark. So long as his brother could think those things, +he was still a child, his heart unstained. + +Harry, meanwhile, made insanely dangerous plans for getting Voldemort +out of his head. + +He felt Tom Riddle buck in the box again, but ignored it. He looked up +and held Snape's eyes, and waited for his verdict. + +Snape shook his head once, slowly. His eyes were the least blank that +Harry had ever seen them, though he could not tell what emotion +struggled behind them. He was still not good at reading anyone else's +feelings save for Connor's. ``I could wish that you had no necessity to +do this,'' he murmured. ``That you had never been trained into the +warrior that it seems you are becoming.'' + +Harry tilted his head to the side. ``That's an odd thing for you to +wish, sir. If I were more like my brother, you would hate me. If I were +not what I am, then you would not like me as well as you do.'' + +Snape flinched at that, actually \emph{flinched}, though Harry supposed +his chances of seeing it that way were heightened by Snape's presence in +his head. The professor closed his eyes and shook his head. + +``It is a dangerous plan,'' he said. ``And one that depends too much on +power. And I think that once such magic as you possess is summoned +forth, it may not tamely lie back down in its place again.'' + +Harry waited. + +Snape opened his eyes and nodded to Harry. ``But it is the only plan +that will work. We will work on it. In the meantime, I suggest you go to +the Headmaster. You will need to stay in the school over Christmas +holidays for it to have any chance of working.'' + +``Yes, sir,'' said Harry. ``Thank you, sir.'' He turned and left. It +wasn't very late yet, but the Headmaster might go to bed soon. Harry +didn't know what kinds of hours he kept. + +\emph{That's bad,} he thought as he trotted along the entrance hall. +\emph{I have to know his hours, He's not my enemy, but he could not be +my friend without a strange twist in circumstances, and I should know +him better than I do.} + +``Brother.'' + +Harry turned slowly. He realized, finally, that he hadn't renewed the +\emph{Muffliato} spell when it ran out after dinner. He had gone to see +Snape, unable to think of anything else, and now it was being taken +advantage of. + +A huge crowd of students stood around the hall, an obviously arranged +crowd. They formed a rough circle. Harry had walked into the middle of +it without so much as noticing. + +He bared his teeth despite himself, fury and anxiety surging to the +front of his mind. Connor, who was stepping forward from the far left +side of the circle, flanked by Ron and Hermione, smiled thinly at him. + +``See how he shows his teeth like a beast?'' he asked the other +students, mostly Ravenclaws and Gryffindors. ``I can't believe that the +professors let him stay here in school with us. It's only a matter of +time before he loses control completely and attacks someone else.'' + +Harry held his brother's eyes. He saw nothing of compassion in them, +nothing of mercy, nothing of forgiveness. He saw nothing of the +innocence he always looked out for. Connor looked like nothing so much +as a bully getting ready to enjoy the tears and wails of a captive +victim, like the Ravenclaw bullies who had tormented Luna. Harry thought +he could see them out of the corner of his eye, in fact---Gorgon and +Jones, pressing forward and ready to enjoy the show. + +Harry's resolve hardened and pinned down the other emotions. He had his +new plans and his new priorities and Tom Riddle in his head, yes, but +his first and oldest duty was taking care of Connor. He had indulged his +brother thus far. They had been childish games, things that could not +truly hurt him. + +But now Connor was getting ready to make the kind of mistake that his +future leadership in the wizarding world might never recover from. Harry +had to stop him. + +Sylarana started to stir on his arm. \emph{No}! Harry snapped at her, +and she stopped. She said nothing, knowing better than to contest him. + +Draco felt his danger then, and sat up in his bed down in the Slytherin +dungeons. \emph{I can be there in two minutes with five other +Slytherins, Harry. Just say the word.} + +\emph{There are too many of them,} Harry disagreed calmly, his eyes +never moving from his brother's. \emph{And I want to handle this one by +myself. It's been a long time coming.} + +Draco grumbled in his head, but said nothing else. Snape's presence was +watchful and silent. Sylarana coiled herself about the box and said +nothing, either. + +Because he was looking for it, Harry saw the motion near the edges of +the crowd. He turned his eyes in that direction without turning his +head. Sure enough, Justin and several other Hufflepuffs stood there, +watching intently. He could not tell if they were more interested in him +or Connor. + +\emph{Equally, probably,} he thought, and then turned back as Connor +pulled a piece of parchment out of his robes and began to read aloud. + +``We, Connor Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger,'' he began +officiously, ``have compiled the following list of evidence that Harry +Potter is a Dark wizard, and should be banished at once from Hogwarts +School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, for the good of all other students.'' + +Harry sighed. Sometimes his brother crossed the line into foolishness, +and this was one of those times. + +``Who are you going to present the list to?'' he asked, cutting his +brother off in mid-pontification. It wasn't even hard. His voice was +mild, but it could slice through the crude logic Connor was spouting. +``By law, a list like this has to be presented to the Headmaster if +you're on school grounds, or to the Ministry if you're not. You should +know that, Connor. Several Dark wizards were removed from school grounds +during the First War. There's a procedure for it.'' He let his eyes +flick sideways and catch Hermione's. ``Someone should have told you +about the legal precedents.'' + +Hermione flushed in such a way that Harry thought she knew exactly what +the list should have done. He held her gaze for a long moment, wondering +why she had gone along with this. Was it just because Connor was the +Boy-Who-Lived? Or was her friendship with him deeper than Harry had +thought? That satisfied him, if so, that she would think she should +break the rules for the sake of friendship, but he wished she had chosen +some less conspicuous way of doing so. + +``Shut up,'' said Connor, his face flushing. ``I know that it has to be +presented to the Headmaster to be legal. But I'm reading it out here +first because I want the whole school to know your crimes.'' He drew in +a breath to continue. + +``The whole school?'' Harry looked around again, but his first +impression had not been wrong. The students standing there were +Ravenclaws and Gryffindors, with a smattering of Hufflepuffs on the +edges of things. Not a single Slytherin, nor most of Hufflepuff House, +nor even all of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor; Harry knew that the two +prefects Dumbledore had assigned to watch him, Percy Weasley and +Penelope Clearwater, were missing. ``No. I think that you should have +done it in the Great Hall at mealtime if you wanted to catch +everybody---'' + +``Shut up!'' said Connor again, and this time rattled the parchment for +emphasis. ``Unless you fear the proof that we have made up to convict +you.'' + +``Made up,'' said Harry, turning back and smiling at Connor. He was +starting to enjoy himself now. Guilt lay twined with the enjoyment, +running alongside it, and yet he did not think he could have kept +himself from speaking if he had tried. ``That's an interesting slip of +the tongue, brother.'' + +"Shut \emph{up!"} Connor yelled, and then began to read hastily. ``We +have reason to believe that Harry James Potter is responsible for the +Petrifications occurring in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. +One victim was Luna Lovegood, a pureblood Ravenclaw first-year whom the +accused was often seen near in the weeks before her Petrification. The +other was Neville Longbottom, a pureblood Gryffindor second-year whom +the accused often worked with in Potions. He was found near Lovegood's +body, and could easily have been found near Longbottom's body.'' + +``Opportunity doesn't mean that I did it,'' said Harry calmly. + +Connor's eyes flashed viciously at him over the top of the paper. ``The +accused would also have had the time and opportunity to do it against +his own will. He was possessed by an artifact, a book, which apparently +whispered into his head and made him forget his surroundings. Could that +book be involved in the Peterifications that followed? Could the +possession have made the accused into a Dark wizard? Investigations are +pending.'' + +Harry froze for a long moment as the whispers escalated around him. That +Connor would expose this secret to the people around him\ldots{} + +He had gone too far. He had forgotten family loyalty and the forgiveness +of enemies, justice and mercy both, in his pursuit of this silly +rivalry. + +Harry closed his eyes. A moment later, his brother yelped. Harry looked +again to see the paper flickering and flashing and falling to ashes. + +``I can guess the other things that were on there,'' Harry said softly, +his eyes never straying from Connor's face. His magic trembled around +him, raised wings, wanting to strike. Harry ignored that impulse. He was +always going to defend Connor, never hurt him, even if right now his +brother would have a hard time seeing how Harry defended him. "Beating +you at Quidditch. Not letting Ron hurt Draco. Speaking to snakes. +Casting \emph{Silencio} on you. Not trusting you as much as I should +have." He paused, then added, ``Being Sorted into Slytherin. Did I get +all of them?'' + +Connor's face drained of blood. ``How did you---'' + +Harry sighed aloud. "Has it occurred to you that only possession and +Parseltongue are Dark traits out of those, Connor? I could defeat you in +Quidditch and still not be Dark. I prevented Gryffindor from losing +massive House points by protecting Draco from Ron and not hexing Ron +myself---or you. I cast \emph{Silencio} on you because you were being a +prat, and you know it, ordering Professor McGonagall around. I didn't +trust you because I thought you would probably do something like this, +something that's going to damage your reputation with adults and +Slytherins alike." He let out a soft breath. ``And if being Sorted into +Slytherin means I'm Dark, why were you telling me last year that I was +still good, still part of the Light, still a potential Gryffindor?'' + +He could feel his riled emotions calming. He was still speaking back to +his brother instead of bowing his head and taking this in silence, but +he was not striking back. That should work. It \emph{would} work, he +thought, since he could feel the insistent brush of magic along his +sides and knew he could do much worse than this, should he choose. + +``You were good then, I think,'' said Connor, his face a horrible +mixture of red and green and pale. ``But not now.'' + +``You didn't start getting upset at me until after I beat you at +Quidditch, though,'' Harry pointed out. + +``That's not true,'' Connor argued. ``I was upset about Luna's +Petrification.'' + +"But the first thing, the very \emph{first} thing, even before that, was +about my not moving out of the way so that Ron could hex Draco," said +Harry. ``You were telling me to give up my friends for you. What kind of +brother does that make you?'' The other students were being very quiet, +he noted. Not even Ron and Hermione looked as if they would interfere. + +``A true brother!'' said Connor, clenching his fists. ``I put loyalty to +family first. You should have, too!'' + +``Ah.'' Harry nodded slightly. ``Then you would have let Draco hex Ron, +if I had asked you to?'' + +Connor's face turned entirely pale, and he clenched his hands. He knew +what he had to say next, Harry thought, lost somewhere beyond the swirl +of both his emotions and his magic, in the plotting that he knew +exemplified pureblood wizards. Connor knew what the situation would +demand of him. And he was self-aware enough to realize how utterly +ridiculous it would sound. It could have drama in the right situations, +but this was not one of them. It had ceased being one of them the moment +Harry argued back with logic instead of falling on his knees and begging +forgiveness, or striking out with Dark magic to slay them all. + +``But I'm the Boy-Who-Lived,'' said Connor, and then flushed. + +``I know,'' said Harry. "But even the Boy-Who-Lived doesn't have the +right to demand everything from his brother that he likes. He +\emph{certainly} doesn't have the right to demand that his brother let +him hurt other people." He swallowed, since he would have argued with +that if Draco or someone else brought up it to him, but they weren't +speaking of Harry and Connor here, a Harry who had been trained to serve +his brother that way and a Connor worthy of being served. They were +speaking of Boys-Who-Lived and brothers in the abstract. So long as +Harry thought of it like that, and focused on the fact that this would, +eventually, make Connor a better leader, repaying him in the future for +what it would cost him now, then he would not go mad. ``The +Boy-Who-Lived is shining forgiveness and compassion, Connor. Where has +that gone with you?'' + +"But you---you're a \emph{Slytherin,"} said Connor. + +``The Boy-Who-Lived should reach out and unite all the Houses in the +school,'' said Harry. \emph{Breathe. Breathe. Think of the future. Don't +think of the dawning look of betrayal in his eyes.} ``Or doesn't that +matter to you? Are you only going to recruit Gryffindors and Ravenclaws +because one's your House and the other hates me? And then what happens +when I die? The Ravenclaws have no other reason to hold with you. And +what about the Hufflepuffs and the Slytherins? Do only Gryffindors fight +with you on the final battlefield, Connor?'' + +``That's a long way in the future,'' said Connor. + +``The War is here now,'' said Harry. ``And you made it a legal matter +when you accused me of Petrifying Luna and Neville.'' He turned his head +to look upstairs. ``I'm on my way up to see the Headmaster. Did you want +to come and recite your accusations to him, so that you can get me taken +out of school?'' + +His brother made a tiny little sobbing sound. Harry looked back at him, +and saw Connor's face crumpling as his head turned away. + +And then Harry understood. + +It really \emph{had} been about what Justin had told him it was about: +jealousy and a child's wailing uncertainty over the new place of things. +Connor just wanted Harry to break and admit he was wrong. That was +\emph{all} he wanted. He hadn't prepared for opposition at all, even for +Harry to take this seriously as a legal matter. He just wanted his +brother to say he was wrong. He just wanted to win the argument. No one +more stubborn than a spoiled child sure he was right, after all. + +Harry felt an enormous weariness come over him. While Connor's failure +to take this as seriously as he should have meant there was no deep and +irreconcilable rift between them, it did mean that Connor still wasn't +thinking about the War, about the future. He still thought as a boy. +That would have to change. + +``Connor,'' said Harry softly, taking a step forward. + +``Don't talk to me,'' he wailed in Harry's direction, backing away a +step. ``You were right, all right? You were right.'' He turned and fled +in the direction of Gryffindor Tower, crying. Harry knew he could have +done nothing else, as strongly as he was feeling right then, but he also +knew what Connor would feel when he came back to his senses. He had +started \emph{crying} in front of everybody. + +He would only be more embarrassed and furious than ever. + +Harry sighed and glanced at Ron and Hermione. Ron's eyes were wide, and +he couldn't seem to say anything. Hermione glanced away from him. + +``You should have known better,'' Harry said, speaking mostly to her. +"If you were going to accuse me legally, then you should have made sure +it was \emph{legally}, and that all the proper forms and procedures were +followed." + +Hermione nodded once, her lips pressed together. + +Harry shook his head and turned to go up to the Headmaster's office. +Gorgon and Jones were in his way. They scrambled out of the way when +Harry made a little impatient gesture, but they looked stunned as their +eyes followed him. + +Harry was stunned himself. That wasn't what he had expected to happen. +He had thought he would explode at any moment, or use his magic to +strike out at Connor, or give in and just do whatever his brother wanted +of him. Any of those would have suited what he knew of himself +lately---emotional, obsessed with his power and in danger of being +corrupted by it, still obedient to Connor's every whim if Connor was +deserving of such obedience. + +\emph{Deserving.} + +Harry breathed more easily. His vows. + +\emph{To be his brother and his friend and his guardian.} + +Only one of those was a term of blood relation, and only one of those a +term of companionship. Harry's responsibility as a guardian came first, +given the weight of his other vows. His primary duty was to +\emph{protect} Connor, not make him happy. He had made his brother +unhappy last year in the name of performing his duty. He could do it +again. + +He could ride out this strange course his life had taken and return to +what Connor needed him to be. At the end of the year, if no sooner, he +could explain to Connor what had happened and receive him as a brother +again. + +For now, he had a Headmaster to talk to about staying over the Christmas +holidays. + +He climbed. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Of course, my dear boy,'' Dumbledore agreed calmly. ``I would have +suggested your staying here over the holidays myself, if you had not. I +think that Hogwarts's wards are the best protection for you in any +event, and that it would not be wise to take Tom Riddle within the walls +of Godric's Hollow.'' + +Harry sat back in his chair and narrowed his eyes slightly. The +Headmaster beamed at him. His face showed nothing wrong, while his hand +moved steadily to a bowl of sweets on his desk and popped them into his +mouth. Harry could smell the strong tart scent of them from here. + +But around Dumbledore, his magic was coiled, ready to strike or enforce +his will. Harry didn't know why. Was it simply because he had walked +into the office with his own magic roaring around him? + +``May I ask what your plan to deal with Tom Riddle is?'' + +Harry did not want to tell the Headmaster. Ducking his head slightly, so +that he didn't meet Dumbledore's eyes well enough to let the man read +his mind, he murmured, ``I have it set, sir. Tom Riddle has one +particular weakness, and I'm playing to that. I'll make sure that he's +taken care of and that no other students are in danger, sir.'' + +``And what about you, Harry?'' Dumbledore leaned forward over the desk, +the very picture of a concerned mentor. ``You would be in danger, +still.'' + +Harry decided abruptly that he wanted to know something. He raised his +eyes fully to Dumbledore's and asked, "Sir, you know what my mother +raised and trained me to be, don't you? You \emph{must}." + +Dumbledore's eyes widened in brief surprise. Harry felt his mind pass +effortlessly into his thoughts. His Occlumency technique was different +from Snape's. Instead of swimming and hunting among the various +memories, he shone light instead, and called up certain thoughts so +gently that Harry barely felt them hum along the surface of his mind, +barely glimpsed them himself. + +Harry waited for him to see and sense the box, and Snape's shields, and +comment on them. + +To Harry's astonishment, Dumbledore didn't seem to sense them, or even +Draco's and Snape's presences in his mind. He merely looked about, +humming, and then floated back out again. When Harry blinked and looked, +Dumbledore was crunching sweets behind his desk again as though nothing +had happened. + +``It happens that I do,'' said Dumbledore. ``A powerful warrior of the +Light. You know defensive magic and wandless magic well already, I +think?'' + +Harry swallowed slowly. \emph{Is he playing with me? How could he not +know about the Dark that's hiding within me?} ``A guardian of Connor +first and foremost, sir,'' he said. ``And I couldn't let him just accuse +me of being a Dark wizard and possibly get me taken out of Hogwarts. Do +you understand that?'' + +Dumbledore chuckled. ``Of course I do, my dear boy. It is as I told +Connor when you first revealed you were a Parselmouth: he must learn to +unite the Houses and lead the wizarding world. And throwing a Slytherin +out of the school, and encouraging House prejudices, is hardly the way +to do that.'' + +Harry leaned forward in his seat. His emotions had let him have too much +peace, apparently, as they were now returning with a vengeance. Anger +and worry and something perilously close to hatred choked his voice as +he spoke. "Then why didn't you \emph{tell} him that, sir? Why did you +let him go around spouting this nonsense that I was Dark and that +Slytherins were evil? For that matter, why do you let the other students +say that so often?" + +``Because Connor must be the one to unite them, and not I,'' said +Dumbledore, and his face became ancient and sad. "You know that many +people follow me, Harry, but I will not last forever. Connor must take +my place as the leader of the Light. It will do no good if someone else +earns that loyalty and then transfers it to him. It \emph{must} be him. +I have done what I can and remained out of the way." He turned his head +and fixed his eyes to Harry's face. ``But rest assured, I would not have +done so if he were attacking students who could not bear it, true +innocents. You know far more about the world, Harry, and you are +well-trained to be anything that Connor needs you to be, including a +target. You could bear what he was doing to you.'' + +Harry felt the breath rush out of him. The Headmaster regarded him as a +sacrifice, much the same way that Lily did. + +He \emph{understood.} + +That had been what Harry really wanted to know. Anyone could know about +the extent of his training, as Snape did, and still not understand. It +was the concept of sacrifice they needed to grasp, that Harry was +secondary in emotions and everything else to Connor's need of him. + +``You have given up much,'' Dumbledore went on quietly, never looking +away. ``That includes your brother's good opinion of you, for the +moment. But it will return, and it will be the stronger for what you +have done tonight. Connor needed to look in a mirror and see himself +reflected. He will sorrow for it, but he will be stronger in the end. +Thank you, Harry. You are doing as you should. You are fighting your +part in this War. If you gave in and did as Connor the boy demanded of +you, you would not be strong-willed enough to be of use to Connor the +war-leader.'' + +Harry bowed his head. It was comforting to have someone say that to him, +and really believe it. It made up for the breaching of the box, for +having Tom Riddle in his head, for his parents' and Connor's tangled +opinions of him. + +``Thank you, Headmaster,'' he whispered. + +``It is my pleasure, my dear boy,'' Dumbledore replied, beaming at him. +``Now, pursue your plan for getting rid of Tom Riddle however you must. +I will leave the details up to you. I trust you.'' + +Harry was not sure, as he slipped out of the office, that that was true. +He and Dumbledore were not allies, not really, not yet. + +But they were something like it. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Fawkes barely waited until the door had closed behind Harry before +giving a trill of disapproval and turning his back. + +Dumbledore blinked at the phoenix. He had been feeling relieved +again---Harry was doing as he should, Connor had learned a lesson, and +having Tom Riddle in Harry's head would not prove so disastrous after +all, even if Dumbledore had been unable to see Harry's exact plan, +wrapped and shrouded as it was in Dark magic he would not touch. But +Fawkes rarely expressed disapproval so obviously unless something was +wrong. + +``What is it, old friend?'' he asked softly. + +Fawkes tucked his head under a wing and said nothing. + +Dumbledore stood. ``I know it is unjust that a child should have to pay +such a cost,'' he said, walking over to the perch. ``But he is willing. +And he will spare many others from having to pay a similar cost.'' He +reached out to stroke Fawkes's feathers. + +Fawkes fluffed his tail and edged along his perch, then stuck his head +back under his wing and went firmly to sleep. + +Dumbledore was left to wonder what he had done wrong, if something +\emph{was} wrong, and what it might be. Phoenixes often had too pure a +view of the world, but he had come to trust Fawkes's judgment. + +In the end, when nothing was forthcoming, he shook his head and went to +prepare for bed, leaving the slight uneasiness behind him. Matters were +unfolding as they should, given the sacrifices and that they were living +in a time of war. + +It didn't help that he dreamed of disapproving phoenix eyes that night. +But he had lived a long, long time, and dreamed of them before, most +often twelve years ago during the height of the First War with +Voldemort. As the Second War began, it was only natural that he would +begin dreaming of them again. + +\subsection{*Chapter 18*: Comes the +Test}\label{chapter-18-comes-the-test} + +Review responses up later! Thank you for so many responses, and such +detailed ones! + +And here we \emph{go}. This chapter was a \emph{blast} to write. + +\textbf{Chapter Seventeen: Comes the Test} + +Harry was standing before the dark figures in his nightmare again, one +screaming in a confined space, the other whimpering in a larger one, and +trying to figure out what they meant when Riddle attacked. + +The first he knew about it was Sylarana's hiss, trailing overhead like +the hiss from Nagini, Voldemort's snake, when he flung her over the +Forbidden Forest. Harry turned swiftly. Snape's shields were fraying. He +could feel Riddle bucking in the box, while Sylarana fought to keep her +coils lashed around it. The box's lid was starting to rise, Harry's own +padlocks and chains fraying. + +\emph{Wake up!} Sylarana commanded him. \emph{You don't know your own +dreams well enough to face him here.} + +Harry opened his eyes, and pain slammed into him. He moaned softly and +touched his head. His scar was on fire, and already slick with blood. + +The curtains jerked open on the right side of his bed, and Draco was +there, his hands clenched on Harry's wrists, taking his hand away from +his scar. Harry was grateful for that, and tried to convey as much with +his gaze. Draco smiled back, but it was a grim smile, and his face had +gone nearly as pale as it had when confronting his father. + +``I'm here, Harry,'' Draco said, and his voice in his corner of Harry's +mind echoed him. \emph{I'm here. It's all right.} + +Harry felt Snape wake in the next moment, worried for just a moment +before he hid his worry under the coldness, and then flow to the attack. +The shields strengthened. Snape would hold them so that Riddle could not +rip through them, if Harry only asked. + +Harry didn't want him to. That would assault the professor's mind, too. +And he meant to use this as a test of his plan. + +\emph{Let a bit of him out, Sylarana.} + +\emph{I should not---} + +\emph{Just a bit,} Harry insisted. \emph{I know it might harm me, but +we're never going to know if this works unless we try.} + +Sylarana relaxed her clutch on the box, and Snape stirred his shields +backwards like curtains. Riddle was apparently suspicious at the sudden +lack of pressure. The lid of the box opened, just a bit, and a fleeting +black tendril stuck out. + +Sylarana slammed the lid shut again, and the tendril, cut off and +isolated in Harry's mind, slithered out, looking for some way to link to +Harry's thoughts and control them. + +Harry floated around it, using the training Snape had given him in +Occlumency over the last two months to make himself look as +insubstantial and fleeting as a mere memory. He felt rage flow around +him, adding a red tinge to the haze inside his head. Behind him darted +Draco. He often seemed to be almost as at home within Harry's mind as +Sylarana or Harry himself did, and Harry wasn't worried that he would be +hurt unless the tendril turned suddenly. + +It tried. + +Harry raised his magic, just a small portion of it---it wouldn't do to +have Riddle figure out what he was doing from inside the box---and +wrapped the tendril within it. The magic abruptly took form, when he +thought of it, as a whirling, cutting maelstrom, edged with knives +instead of winds. The knives stabbed down several wild times, slicing +and dissecting. + +When Harry dissipated the magic, Riddle's tendril was gone, one piece of +him destroyed forever. Harry found that he was not sorry for it. It was +less than Riddle would have done to him. At least the rest of his +personality survived in the box. Harry doubted that he would have +anything of himself left, if once Voldemort possessed his mind. + +Besides, it wasn't destruction of Riddle's personality that he planned, +so it wouldn't matter that much even if Riddle figured out what he had +done just now. + +He opened his eyes and nodded to Draco, the signal that this contest was +done. Draco uttered a shaky breath and sat back on his heels, rubbing +one hand across his own forehead. He was sweating, Harry saw with some +surprise. + +``I'm sorry,'' he said. ``Did that frighten you?'' + +Draco glared at him. "I was frightened \emph{for} you, you prat. This +plan of yours is insanely risky." + +Harry shrugged. ``I know, but it's the only one that has a chance of +succeeding.'' He glanced up as the curtains on the other side of his bed +shivered and opened, and Blaise stood looking in, frowning at them. + +``What's the matter, Potter?'' he asked, with not quite a sneer in his +voice. He knew Harry and Draco had a secret of some kind, and it was +obviously driving him mad. ``Nightmares?'' + +``Yes,'' said Harry calmly. + +Blaise blinked for a moment, the wind taken out of his sails, and then +winked at Draco. "Yes, of course it's a \emph{bad} dream," he said. +``That's why it requires Draco to be in bed with you.'' + +Draco flushed and sputtered out a denial as he scrambled from Harry's +bed. Harry didn't see why he bothered. Blaise was going to think what he +liked, and it wasn't as though the accusation was \emph{true.} Harry +didn't have time for that kind of thing yet. + +\emph{Nor will I ever, with Connor as the center of my life,} he +thought. + +\emph{You're a prat,} said Draco childishly into the forefront of his +mind. \emph{And Connor's a prat.} + +Harry shut Draco away into his corner again as Snape rewove the shields +to keep Riddle blind and uncertain. They had proved what Harry had +wanted to prove, that they could act together as a team when danger +threatened. Obviously the test of facing Riddle himself, and not just a +piece of him, would be different. + +But Harry was confident, now, that he could face it. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``All right there, Potter?'' + +Harry blinked and looked up. A green tinge had covered his eyes since he +got up that morning. It was the eighteenth day of December, and Harry +had held Riddle captive for nearly a month and a half. He was quite +obviously getting tired of it, since he was twisting Harry's vision +whenever he could. + +But he wasn't free. Not yet. + +Justin Finch-Fletchley was staring at him in concern from in front of +the table, ignoring the Slytherins, including Draco, who gave him odd or +resentful looks. Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott stood at his +shoulders, and they were---well, they didn't look \emph{concerned}, +exactly, Harry thought, but they weren't screaming in panic about there +being something wrong with Harry, either, and that was enough for him. + +``I'm not exactly fine,'' he said, and closed his eyes with a sigh. +``But I should be better with a little food and sleep.'' He poked +ineffectually at his dinner. He hadn't eaten more than a few bites, +despite Draco urging him to and Sylarana making a point of humming in +delight whenever she took a mouthful. + +``Take care of yourself, Potter,'' said Justin, and gripped his shoulder +briefly. Then he turned and strode out of the Great Hall. Ernie and +Hannah peeled away from him as he reached the doors, heading in the +direction of the Hufflepuff common room. Justin looked as if he were +going upstairs, probably to the library. + +Harry's vision warped and twisted and swam, and Harry heard Sylarana cry +out in surprise and pain. + +Harry let out a low breath and tried to calm himself, though his heart +had picked up enough speed to sing in his ears. + +\emph{It's now,} he told Draco and Snape. \emph{Tom Riddle is attacking +now.} + +He heard a sound from the staff table, where Snape had set his goblet +down a little too loudly. He didn't think that anyone else was +suspicious, though. Draco stood, one arm around Harry's shoulders, +urging him forward. Harry moaned despite himself. The room was entirely +a blur now. His scar burned as though doused in oil. His body shook, and +he fought the need to be sick. + +``Here we go,'' murmured Draco as they left the Great Hall. ``We can get +you to the dungeons, and---'' + +``No,'' Harry said, pulling away and drawing his wand. He wasn't sure +that he could perform the spell that he needed to without his wand. "We +\emph{discussed} this, Draco." Every word came harder and harder through +the haze. He could hear Riddle's voice now, as he hadn't heard it in +months, whispering and laughing, promising Harry rewards if he set him +free and pain if he didn't. ``You have to go back to the dungeons and I +have to face him alone physically, except for Sylarana. You'll hold +yourself back as an alarm system.'' + +\emph{And I?} Snape asked in his head. Harry started. Snape spoke so +rarely that, were it not for the spiked feel of his mind, Harry would +forget he was there. + +\emph{Stay where you are, thank you,} Harry told him. \emph{Or anywhere +else where you can sit in comfort and hold the shields, sir. You're the +last line of defense if the rest of this doesn't go as planned.} + +\emph{You give me such confidence, Potter.} + +Harry took comfort even in the sneer. It was the same. Everything about +it was the same, and he was about to do something entirely new and +unexpected. + +He looked through the Great Hall doors, and forced his eyes to focus by +sheer effort of will. He could see Connor sitting at the Gryffindor +table. He'd looked up when Draco took Harry out, but then glanced back +down at his plate. He'd made a point of not looking at Harry lately, and +going out of his way to avoid a confrontation. Harry didn't know what +that meant, except that he wasn't going to take it for an apology until +his brother actually offered one. + +\emph{Stop thinking about that, Harry. Concentrate.} + +He did, bringing up the battle-trained well hardened to steel in the +last months by his struggles with his emotions and his training with +Snape, and whispered, "\emph{Fugitivus Animus Cogitatio.}" + +The air stirred, and he felt the spell rush away from him in one long, +cool purl of strength. It hit Connor, and to Harry's eyes, he acquired a +faint shine. Everyone around him, except Snape, turned towards him like +flowers to the sun. There were low murmurs about him, and Harry could +hear speculations about how good he was at Quidditch, whether he had +been right about his brother, whether he would defeat Voldemort again at +the end of this school year, and more. + +\emph{Mr. Potter.} Snape's voice was a snarl. \emph{Where did you learn +that?} + +\emph{From a book,} said Harry blandly, and then winced as his sight +fled again in the wake of Riddle's attack. \emph{We don't have time for +this right now, Professor. I have to make sure that no one wants to +leave the Hall. This is between me and Riddle alone, and someone +intruding will just make it harder.} + +Snape said nothing, which Harry took to be agreement. He couldn't really +care if it wasn't, he decided. He had other things to care about. + +He felt Draco squeeze his shoulder and whisper, ``Good luck.'' +\emph{Good luck,} his thoughts echoed, with an edge of warmth to them +that was buried by fear in his voice. + +Harry nodded, and then headed upstairs. + +He had deduced that the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets had to be +\emph{somewhere} on the second floor, since all the attacks had happened +there, and he didn't think that the monster could have roamed around +from floor to floor without encountering and Petrifying more students. +It was a gamble, of course, an educated guess, but one he had to make. +Riddle had shut away or stolen his memories of opening the Chamber +completely; Snape had encountered no trace of them in his thorough +searches of Harry's mind. + +Harry climbed the stairs, his head bowed and his will bent. He gathered +strength around him like lassos, like claws, like coils. He could not +know what form Riddle's strength would take when it finally came out of +the box, and he prepared several forms of his own, mind shifting from +shape to shape. + +He had just reached the top of the staircase to the second floor when +Sylarana screamed. Harry closed his eyes and felt her near to tearing +apart at the seams. + +\emph{Let him out!} + +\emph{But you---} + +\emph{I'll be fine}, Harry lied, his pulse high and fast and thready in +his throat. \emph{Let him out. You know what you have to do.} + +Sylarana released the box. + +Riddle boiled out, a cloud of fury and power and loathing, and aimed +straight for Harry. Harry wondered if he was even aware of Sylarana +looping around the box again, locking his retreat against him. + +Now Riddle couldn't go back, and neither could Harry. They faced each +other in his mind, and Harry smiled. He felt much the same way he had +when facing the Lestranges last year. It was dangerous, it was battle, +it was war, but it was what his training had bred him to answer, and +there was a certain satisfaction in knowing that his highest purpose in +living was about to be fulfilled. + +Riddle presented a less composed picture to Harry's mental eyes than he +once had. His hair stood out wildly from his head, his mouth was pursed, +and his eyes flashed dark lightning. He extended one hand towards Harry, +a gesture that was menacing enough in and of itself, never mind the +words he said. + +"Do you know what I am going to do to you for keeping me cooped up in +there? Do you know what I will \emph{make} you do?' + +``I can make a fairly good guess,'' said Harry. He spared a brief moment +to wonder what was happening to his body, if he had fainted or stood +upright and said these words to no one at all, but that did not matter. +He was fighting Riddle now. ``You will possess me and make me use my +magic against my friends, and make me open the Chamber of Secrets and +set free the monster inside again.'' + +Riddle laughed, a laugh that was too knowing and too cold for someone +his apparent age. \emph{Do not be fooled,} Harry reminded himself as he +gathered the last breath and the least burst of strength he thought he +would be permitted to before the battle began. \emph{This is Voldemort.} + +``That is only the beginning,'' Riddle whispered. ``I have had a month +to think.'' And then he sprang, and his magic came with him. + +Harry rolled, not directly engaging him but coming in from beneath. His +magic lifted and lashed in firm coils around Riddle's, binding him to +Harry and not letting him fly too far. Riddle let out a surprised gasp, +then spat and turned on Harry, wielding his own magic like claws. + +Harry found the limit of his power almost immediately. Riddle was +stronger, that was all, and he knew techniques of sheer raw battle that +Harry had never learned. Harry could hear him muttering spells, and +almost enacting them. The spells were spells of compulsion and control, +and they would flood every corner of Harry's mind soon, giving him other +enemies to battle. + +Harry dived. + +He left some of his magic behind, so that Riddle rolled and bounced +about for a good while before he realized Harry wasn't there and tore +loose to follow him. Harry felt him dive through the Occlumency fog that +filled the wounds in his mind, now and then pausing to rip at them. + +Harry felt the pain, but did not let it settle at the top of his mind. +For the first time, he could see his own thoughts as webs, spiraling +around him in vast dizzy patterns just as Draco and Snape had said they +did, and he knew where he had to go. He plunged towards the center of +them, and Riddle came behind him. + +He could feel Draco's and Snape's anxious presences, waiting to assist +him if they could. Harry knew they wouldn't be able to. This was a +contest of strength, not to destroy but to win, and he knew, without +having to brag about it, that neither Draco nor Snape were as magically +powerful as he was, though Snape was, in some ways, close. + +Down he plunged, down, and the webs whipped past him, faster and faster. +Riddle came along, never far behind, snarling. Harry controlled his +fear, and replaced it with confidence, not quite blithe but close. He +had practiced for this and practiced for it, and in the end, he would +drive Riddle from his head. He did not have to destroy him. + +They reached the center of the webs, and Harry dropped past what he saw +as an enormous glinting block of white marble, wound with strands of +silk. That was his goal of saving, protecting, and defending Connor, and +it sang out as Harry dropped past it. It gave him a renewed surge of +strength and reminded him of why he was doing this. Harry smiled and +increased the speed of his fall. + +His thoughts were lessening as he dropped, thinning, becoming a narrow +and focused cone. For a moment, he still felt Riddle above him, pausing +to consider the white marble block and then deciding that it wasn't +worth the effort to destroy. Then he lost the sensation of that, and +fell through the hole in the center of the webs. + +Riddle would not be far behind, he thought, his thoughts coming as +difficult bursts, even though he could not feel him. + +Harry whirled in the blackness beneath the webs and called on his magic. + +It rose in answer. + +Harry felt it as cold water, streaming around him and up through him and +past him, the relentless tides of a black sea, eating the barriers that +had kept it pinned so far. Harry drew and drew and drew, called and +called and called, and still the magic answered him, wave after pulsing +wave of power. He sent down one final call, hoping this would be enough, +not sure if it would. + +An icy voice spoke in his head, a new voice, neither Draco nor Snape nor +Sylarana nor Riddle, but resembling Riddle's more than any other of +those voices. + +\emph{I come.} + +And a freezing tsunami caught him, howling, and bore the faint spark +that Harry still clung to as himself in the midst of all that power back +up through the gap in his webs, back into the flickering light of memory +and conscious purpose. + +Riddle was screaming. That was the first thought that came to Harry, and +he rejoiced in it. The icy voice laughed around him, and he found +himself laughing with it, pushing forward, crashing over Riddle and +drowning him. + +Riddle also held furiously to himself in the middle of that, as Harry +had suspected he would. This was Voldemort, the man so determined to +live that he had not been killed when hit by Connor's reflected +\emph{Avada Kedavra.} He would not die that easily, even if he was a +fragment of himself, a memory of sixteen years old. He turned, and Harry +felt him whisper a spell that he didn't recognize, caught and glittering +in spikes. It floated towards Harry's webs, landed on them, and began to +tear them apart, chewing them wildly, sending memories flickering and +spinning through the water. + +Harry closed the waters around Riddle, pincering him in pure magic, and +began to squeeze. + +Riddle screamed again, but did not stop whispering his spells. And now +he was drawing power from somewhere \emph{else}, a warm funnel of magic +that sprang from far above them and felt like Harry's own. Harry +stretched out a brief flicker of perception in Sylarana's direction, and +found her still locked about the box. The magic was not coming from +there. + +Then he remembered what Riddle had said to him when he first let Harry +know he was still in his mind, just before he had Petrified Neville. + +\emph{Your scar. A conduit to me. So peaceful here. So at home.} + +Harry had no bloody clue how his scar was a conduit to Riddle---it was +Connor who had taken the curse scar from Voldemort's wand, not him---but +he was sure that that was where the magic came from, skimmed off his own +being and warmed and twisted to Riddle's own foul purposes. The problem +was that he didn't know how best to fight it. He had planned only so far +as enraging Riddle, blocking his retreat, fighting him and trying to +drive him out of his head, and then having Draco and Snape wait in the +background as last-minute guards. + +The icy voice laughed at him. \emph{He is reaching high, taking the +magic from the conduit. You know what you must do. The opposite.} + +``Sap magic from my feet?'' Harry sniped, and bore down harder on +Riddle. He tore more viciously at Harry's memories in response. Harry +blinked away a sudden intense vision of himself at his and Connor's +tenth birthday party, and listened intently to the voice's answer. + +First a sigh, which blew across him hard enough to leave a pattern of +frost on his skin, Harry was sure. Then the voice said, \emph{No. Go +deeper.} + +Harry swallowed. He had already gone as far down as he dared, drawing +all this magic that he had floating about in him to combat Riddle, and +that had not been enough. He feared that if he reached down any further, +he would find only the scraped and belittled dregs of his magic, all of +it drained for this duel. + +\emph{No, you won't,} the icy voice said, and caressed his mind. It +sounded eager. \emph{Go down deeper. Further. Is there any end to the +heart of a wizard's magic? No, not until he finds it, and you have not +found it yet.} + +Harry reached down further, plunging through dark water and tearing +webs, and back into the hole underneath the webs. It seemed almost tame +now, no longer seething with power, and he sank through it, and down, +and down, and still found no trace of new magic waiting for him. + +Then he called. + +With wild rejoicing, with a glad cry, the power was free, and rushed up +and around him. Harry had never felt such magic. It was mad. It would +tear everything apart if it could, take the sun and the moon from the +sky and use them as juggling balls. It knew no boundaries, no +limitations. + +\emph{Except that it will,} thought Harry, and brought down his own will +upon it. + +The magic bucked and fought him like a wild horse, and it was ten times +worse than Tom Riddle's fighting had been, because Riddle was at least +foreign to his mind, and this was familiar. But Harry was stern. He +would call that power to defeat Riddle and to help Connor. He was never +going to call it simply to sit around awash in it, as he had that day in +Dumbledore's office. Their mother had trained him well. He could be +corrupted if he did that, and he would not be corrupted. + +\emph{This is for you,} said the icy voice. + +\emph{This is for my brother,} said Harry, and bore down, and the icy +voice died with a snap and a wail, and Harry was back in his mind, fully +in control of his own actions, identifying Tom Riddle as a drifting +speck, identifying\ldots{} + +He stood on the second floor. The shadow of an enormous snake played on +the wall. It was just around the corner, and was writhing eagerly, +hungrily, wanting to come around the corner and feed. + +In front of him was Justin, one hand extended and nearly touching him. +``Harry?'' he breathed. + +Harry felt a surge of pure fury. Riddle had brought forth the monster in +whatever memory-destroying way he had while Harry was engaged in battle +with him, and he would have Petrified someone else whom Harry considered +a friend. + +The snake started to come around the corner. + +\emph{Snake who Petrifies people,} Harry's training whispered to him. +\emph{Basilisk.} + +Harry swung to face the shadow. He held up one hand, and pushed both +down and out with his magic---down on Riddle, outward to the waiting +basilisk. "\emph{Stay}," he said, and knew it was in Parseltongue, and +heard Justin gasp, and did not care. + +The shadow continued moving forward. + +Riddle laughed at him---pained and breathless, but still a sound of +amusement. \emph{Any Parselmouth can speak to a basilisk. Only the Heir +of Slytherin can control the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets.} + +Enraged, Harry whirled on him, and managed a grim smile as Riddle +squeaked. \emph{Thank you for telling me that, Tom.} + +He tore Riddle's voice out and forced it through his own mouth, the same +way that Riddle must have before, when he used Harry to open the Chamber +and command the snake. "\emph{Back! Back to your nest. Wait there until +I, and only I, instruct you to come forth again.}" + +The basilisk responded in a voice nothing like Sylarana's, a voice of +mindless hunger. "\emph{I want to rip. Tear. Grind bones. Crunch. Blood. +Kill.}" The basilisk's shadow grew a flickering appendage that Harry +suspected was its forked tongue. "\emph{I can smell the Mudblood. Want a +proper feast.}" + +Harry felt his lip curl, and wasn't sure if that was his own reaction or +Riddle's. He decided it didn't matter right now. "\emph{Back to your +nest. You have no choice. Slytherin raised you, made you, tamed you. +Obey me.}" + +The basilisk whined for a moment longer, and then turned and slithered +back down the hallway. Harry waited until the shadow faded and stuck his +heard around the corner, hoping against hope that he would not see +another Petrified student lying there. He did not know how long the +basilisk had been free. + +The hallway was empty of both students and basilisk. Harry let out a low +breath, and then turned his attention to Riddle, still lost in both pain +and astonishment in Harry's mind. + +\emph{I don't want you here any longer,} Harry thought, more determined +than he could ever remember being, and bore down with all his weight. + +Riddle crashed against the webs of Harry's mind, against the marble +block, and barely escaped the black hole waiting to eat him. He wailed, +his web-shredding spell and his sheer presence ripped and torn between +the force of his unyielding will, Harry's unyielding will, and Harry's +magic. + +At last he screamed. \emph{You have not seen the last of me, Harry +Potter!} + +\emph{What an insipid thing to say,} Harry said, and squeezed one last +time. \emph{Go away now, little boy.} + +Riddle wailed again, and was flushed from his mind. Harry felt his scar +briefly burn as Riddle shot away, and opened his eyes swiftly to make +sure that Riddle didn't go into Justin. Justin only stood there in +bewilderment, however, and Harry felt Riddle's presence shoot away from +him, curving downward. Harry smiled. \emph{Probably going back to the +diary, which I would bet a dozen Galleons is in the Chamber of Secrets. +I don't think he could survive anywhere else outside it.} + +And then it was done. + +Harry sagged to his knees, breathing harshly. His scar felt like an open +wound, and blood poured steadily down his face. Every muscle in his body +ached. Sylarana shifted weakly on his arm. But none of those was as +great a potential problem as the magic shifting and beating its wings +around him. + +He lifted his head and felt the magic snap to attention. It would do +anything that he wanted of it. He was stronger than he had imagined. He +could perhaps have killed Tom Riddle after all, though he didn't want to +count on it. He was certainly stronger than Connor. What did he want his +magic to do? + +``What I want you to do,'' Harry whispered, ``is to go away.'' + +The power reared in protest, but Harry was already catching it, binding +it in the coils and ropes he hadn't used to catch Riddle, dragging it +back down. He put it in the hole under his webs, pumped his mind clear +of the cold water, and ordered the magic to shut its eyes and go to +sleep. He would content himself with the ordinary, everyday kind of +magic he could carry in his mind and being most of the time. + +He thought he heard a snarl from the icy voice before it shut its eyes. +He did not care. He was master of himself, and he \emph{would not} use +his magic for evil. + +``Harry.'' + +Harry lifted his head. He could feel Draco pounding upstairs from the +dungeons and Snape making his way swiftly along the corridors, but it +was Justin who stood over him now, one hand extended and his face +solemn. + +``I saw the monster's shadow,'' he said. "And I know that something was +wrong, that you were fighting---something. The possession that your +brother talked about, maybe, assuming that he isn't \emph{always} full +of shit. Thank you for my life." + +``I'm sorry for endangering it in the first place,'' said Harry, +clasping the hand and letting Justin shake it. He couldn't stand yet. +``I didn't know you were there until it was almost too late.'' + +Justin shrugged. ``Can't change the past. Besides, it was my fault. I +thought I saw you following me, and I doubled back to talk to you.'' He +eyed Harry's face and grimaced. ``Merlin, you look bad.'' + +Harry nodded, not surprised. ``Will you excuse me a moment?'' he asked. +``There's something I have to do.'' + +``I don't think you can walk to the hospital wing,'' said Justin, +kneeling down beside him. + +``Not that,'' Harry murmured, and closed his eyes. He could see the +bonds with Draco and Snape now that he looked for them, not the golden +braid woven deep into his thoughts that Sylarana was, but clear strands +running from the very outer edges of his central web. + +He broke them. There was a brief flare of pain, and of surprise from +both Snape's and Draco's sides. Harry didn't care. He had studied up on +the potion that created the bonds in the first place, and learned how to +cleave them. He wasn't living with other people in his head. + +\emph{Except for me,} said Sylarana. + +\emph{You're a special case,} Harry pointed out as he dropped forward. +His body had decided that it had enough of sitting up and wanted to lie +on the floor. + +\emph{I'm very special,} Sylarana agreed dazedly. + +\emph{Such a beautiful snake,} Harry murmured. \emph{And such an +obedient one, to hold the box through all that battle and not come +rushing to my aid.} + +\emph{I don't obey you,} said Sylarana. \emph{I judge you. And you +looked as if you had the battle well in hand. I will take the other +compliment, though.} And then her voice cut off, and Harry knew she'd +fallen asleep. + +``Harry!'' + +Harry heard the rush of footsteps across the floor, and smiled as he +felt Draco drop down beside him. ``I'm all right, Draco,'' he said, his +voice slurring with exhaustion. ``Or I will be.'' + +``If you will stand aside, Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Finch-Fletchley,'' said +Snape's cold voice, ``I will escort Mr. Potter to the hospital wing.'' + +\emph{More like carry,} Harry thought, and then he was gone. + +\subsection{*Chapter 19*: Recovery}\label{chapter-19-recovery} + +Thank you for all the reviews! I'm glad that most people enjoyed the +chapter as much as I did. Review responses up in my LJ later. + +This is now definitely the eighteenth chapter of 31, not counting the +interludes. + +\textbf{Chapter Eighteen: Recovery} + +Harry opened his eyes slowly. The hospital wing bed was not +uncomfortable, but he could feel the sheets scraping against him when he +tried to roll over. It felt as though Madam Pomfrey had wrapped him as +tightly as she possibly could, for fear of him escaping. Harry snorted +at the thought. He was tired and had a pounding pain in his head. The +last thing he wanted was to leave. + +``Harry. Oh, thank Merlin.'' + +Sirius loomed into view for a moment, staring at him, then fell into a +chair beside the bed and clenched Harry's hand in his. For a moment, he +tried to say something, but he ended up bowing his head. Harry felt a +touch on the back of his hand, tears and a kiss. + +``Hi, Sirius,'' he said, and blinked. His throat didn't feel as though +he needed much to drink, but his voice was hardly louder than a rat +scratching around a well. ``How long has it been?'' + +``A week,'' Sirius whispered. ``Today is Christmas Day.'' He smiled. +``And this is a pretty great Christmas gift.'' He messed up Harry's +hair. + +Harry nodded slowly. ``Can you get me some water?'' + +Sirius already had a goblet from the nearby table in his hand, and he +helped ease Harry up the pillows so that he could drink. Harry was +annoyed to find out that he couldn't move by himself, even when he +tried. It was the effect of a week of bedrest, he knew rationally, but +he didn't \emph{like} it. He had important things to do. + +``Has anyone else been visiting me?'' he asked Sirius. Many things could +have changed in a week, even his relationship with Connor. He had to +know so that he could figure out what to do next. + +``Oh, of course,'' said Sirius. ``Malfoy every day---and he really does +seem to be your friend, Harry, though Merlin knows why. Snivellus +sometimes.'' Sirius frowned as if he didn't like that, but hadn't yet +come up with any arguments to refute it. ``And Lily and James came +yesterday. The Headmaster's been in at least once a day to inquire about +your health.'' He smiled, but his eyes were misty. ``We were so afraid +that you weren't going to wake up again, especially after what +Sn---Snape told us about the damage to your mind.'' + +Harry touched his head. ``My scar hurts, but what does he mean by +damage?'' + +``Apparently, during the---battle with Tom Riddle, you lost some +memories,'' said Sirius carefully. ``Sn---Snape thought it should be +restricted to mild gaps, but he couldn't be sure. The longer you +remained asleep, the surer he was that there was some other, more +permanent harm done.'' He smiled, and this time it looked more like the +carefree grin Harry knew. ``He's a gloomy bastard. I'll tell him so.'' + +Harry smiled back, then hesitated. There was a question he really wanted +to ask. But the answer was obvious from what Sirius had said. + +In the end, though, the pressure, the hope that Sirius had just +forgotten to mention the answer somehow, was too much. + +``Did Connor come and see me?'' + +Sirius's eyes lowered. ``No,'' he said quietly. ``I'm sorry, Harry.'' + +Harry breathed in, out, in, out. His eyes fixed on the wall. ``Why +not?'' he whispered. ``I know that he was embarrassed about facing me, +but I could have died.'' Then he winced. He was whinging. He did +\emph{not} want to sound like he was whinging, and he knew now that he +shouldn't have asked the question. + +``I think he's embarrassed, even now, that he didn't believe you at +first and tried to get you expelled from Hogwarts,'' said Sirius. ``I +know that your parents had a very stern talking-to with him about that, +and I think Professor McGonagall also had something to say. But---he's +not ready, Harry. I don't know why, but he's just not, yet.'' + +Harry nodded. He could accept it. He \emph{had} to accept it. He didn't +know everything that was going on in Connor's head yet. Until he did, +then he had no right to judge his brother, no reason to think that +Connor hadn't come to the hospital just to punish him. It could as +easily be the bewilderment and confusion that Sirius believed it was. + +He became aware that Sirius was making a show of looking around the +hospital wing, his eyes darting in every direction. Harry raised his +eyebrows and looked back at Sirius, who laughed at him and scooped him +out of bed. + +``Sirius?'' Harry squeaked. He felt weak, still, but he didn't object to +being carried---until Sirius began to walk out of the hospital wing. + +``You've been cooped up in here too long,'' Sirius said firmly as they +trotted down the halls. ``Madam Pomfrey isn't here right now, she went +to visit some niece of hers. And the Headmaster and Sn---Snape and all +the students who stayed are down at the Feast. There's no one to see us +if we go flying.'' He turned Harry around and winked at him. ``And I +have to give you your Christmas present.'' + +Harry fell silent as they sneaked through the halls. He knew that trying +to talk sense into Sirius was no good, and if no one really would see +them\ldots{} + +He just hoped they could be back before Draco and Snape left the Feast. + +Sirius took a side door out of Hogwarts, one that Harry had never seen +before. \emph{Of course,} he thought, as the door opened onto drifts of +snow and a wide, glittering expanse that shone with blue shadows in the +sunlight, \emph{if anyone would know secret ways out of the school, it +would be a Marauder.} + +``Here we are,'' said Sirius, and cast a warming charm on Harry. ``Now, +your choice. Would you rather fly on my motorbike or your broom?'' + +``The motorbike,'' Harry said at once. He thought it was safer. At the +least, it had more room for two people. And he was going to do what he +could to preserve their safety, if Sirius wouldn't. + +He supposed he should protest. He couldn't bring himself to do so. He'd +missed this casual camaraderie that his godfather showed him, including +Harry in his pranks without thinking twice. And if this was what would +make Sirius comfortable, serve as an apology of sorts for what he'd done +over the school year, then Harry was willing to indulge him. + +\emph{So am I.} + +Harry started. He'd forgotten Sylarana until she spoke, though the +presence of a weight on his left shoulder had led him to assume she was +there. + +\emph{Thank you so very much,} she said, and stretched. \emph{The +warming charms feel nice. I'm hungry.} + +\emph{We'll go and get some food after this,} Harry promised, as he +watched Sirius put the motorbike on the ground and bring it back to +normal size. \emph{But he wanted to be nice. I think we should let him.} + +\emph{Are you still angry at him?} Sylarana asked. + +He was, Harry acknowledged. Not that he had any right to be angry. He +started to put the anger in the box. + +He couldn't. Harry frowned. He tugged, but the near-instinctive motion +produced no effort worthy of note. The box remained closed. + +\emph{I locked it,} said Sylarana. \emph{With a pattern that Locustas +know, and only Locustas. You can't open it unless I let you or something +cancels the pattern.} + +Harry felt irritation at that, too. But he refocused the irritation +towards the need to know things. \emph{Why didn't you just use that +pattern when we were training to fight Riddle?} + +\emph{Because I didn't have the time and the peace necessary to make +it,} said Sylarana. \emph{This week has provided me with plenty of +that.} + +She shifted out from beneath Sirius's hand as he lifted Harry onto the +motorbike by the shoulders. Then Sirius put his arms around Harry's +waist, settled behind him, and kicked the bike into life. + +Harry leaned against Sirius's chest and listened to his godfather's +laughter while his breath steamed in front of him. He was not sure how +to feel. The irritation at Sylarana and at Sirius and at Connor---even +though he told himself several times over that he shouldn't feel +irritation at Connor---danced along the surface of his mind like +lightning in a dark sky. He could live with it, he supposed. But it +would have been simpler and easier to put it in the box. + +\emph{I didn't think that you wanted to do things the easy way,} +Sylarana remarked. \emph{You never have so far.} + +Harry frowned at her and went back to work on controlling his emotions. +He didn't have the goal of defeating Riddle to occupy him now. He would +have to find something else. + +Then he found it---the goal that was never far from his mind, the one +that he had devoted his life to. + +\emph{Protecting Connor. But what would be the best way to protect him, +now that I've sent Riddle away and I'm no longer a danger to him?} + +\emph{Make him a leader, of course. And show him that I'm really not a +danger to him anymore, no matter what he thinks.} + +Harry had just started to think of ways to prove that when Sirius +stopped the bike and made it hover. Harry twisted around to stare at +him. Sirius's face was solemn as he pulled something from a pocket of +his robe. + +``I wanted to give you this when no one else was around,'' he murmured. +``It's private and special to me, Harry. I want you to---well, keep it +with you, and never feel that you have to hesitate before using it.'' + +Harry traced a finger along the edge of the object. It was wrapped in +black cloth, so thick that he could make out nothing more than a general +round shape. The cloth itself had a pair of small words stitched in +silver along the bottom edge. Harry squinted to read them. \emph{Tojours +Pur.} + +Harry sucked in his breath. He recognized the Black family motto. +``Sirius, is this---'' + +``Something from my family,'' said Sirius. ``Something from the last +War, in fact. Go ahead, Harry. I promise. I want you to have it.'' + +Harry slid the cloth away. Beneath it was a round circlet of metal, made +of some black material that Harry didn't recognize and edged with +shimmering silver. The silver made it difficult to see how wide the +circlet was, flashing and playing tricks with his eyesight when Harry +tried to squint at it. He couldn't tell if it was meant as a bracelet, a +crown of some kind, or something else. + +The silver pattern didn't only exist on the edge, he found out as he +turned the circlet around. It dipped down into the middle of the black +material, and finally coalesced into a single figure. The figure was a +serpent, rearing, its mouth portrayed as open. Harry saw a tiny thread +of silver in the very center of the mouth that might have been a forked +tongue. + +``I don't understand,'' Harry whispered. + +``This belonged to an ancestor of mine who was a Parselmouth,'' said +Sirius calmly. Harry could hear the strain beneath his voice, and didn't +quite dare to look at his face. ``Supposedly, it strengthens a +Parselmouth's magic, especially as it relates to serpents. Dumbledore +thought it might give someone who couldn't understand snakes an edge +over Voldemort in the last war. It didn't, though, and eventually we put +it back among my family's treasures and just forgot about it.'' Sirius +let out a small breath. ``But I don't have a son of my own, and you're a +Parselmouth, Harry. You should have it. After all, I'm not going to give +it to Voldemort, am I?'' He smiled at that, and looked more like himself +again. + +Harry couldn't speak for a long moment. He stared at Sirius's face and +then at the circlet again, which he thought was meant for his upper arm. +Sirius had done more than just give him a Christmas gift. He had shown +that he accepted what Harry himself still thought of, automatically, as +a Dark gift. + +\emph{It isn't,} said Sylarana, and Harry sensed her shifting closer to +the edge of his sleeve. \emph{And I can't sense anything from that +thing. Perhaps you have to be wearing it in order for the magic to +manifest? As if you need help being stronger.} + +\emph{Maybe,} Harry answered her absently, and slid the circlet into the +pocket of his robes. ``Thank you, Sirius,'' he whispered. ``Merry +Christmas. I'm sorry the gift I got you is at home, but---'' + +Sirius messed up his hair. ``It doesn't matter, Harry. I'll probably +visit Godric's Hollow in a little while. I don't know if Dumbledore will +let you go with me yet, but---'' + +"\emph{Harry!}" + +Harry looked down resignedly. Draco was standing in the snow beneath +them, so bundled up it was nearly impossible to tell who it was---except +that he was shrieking in a voice that Harry knew very well. + +``What are you doing out of bed? Madam Pomfrey said---you +couldn't---just wait until I tell Professor Snape---'' And he started +hopping up and down in rage, as though he couldn't think of anything +else to say. + +Harry looked at Sirius. ``I suppose we should go down.'' + +``I suppose we should,'' Sirius said. He put a hand on Harry's shoulder +and squeezed, briefly. ``I'm glad that you're still here, Harry.'' + +Harry nodded. He felt the weight of the Black circlet in his robes all +the way down, and held Sirius's acceptance tightly to himself. It seemed +as though his reunion with someone else who claimed to care about him +was not going to be nearly so happy. + +Sure enough, Draco began shouting again just as the motorbike landed. +"\emph{Harry!} Why didn't you wake up while I was there? I come back +from the Feast, with some treacle tart for you and that damn snake---" + +\emph{Treacle tart!} Sylarana sounded delighted. She stuck her head out +of Harry's sleeve, then shivered as her neck met the edge of the warming +charms, but didn't withdraw. \emph{Where, where, where?} + +\emph{Probably back in the hospital wing,} Harry replied, his eyes on +Draco in fascination. He wondered if Draco realized how much he sounded +like his mother, or if that was just coincidence. + +"---and, and, and you were gone, and no one could tell where, and +Professor Snape's running around the school thinking you've been +kidnapped, and I finally came out here and you were flying like a +\emph{prat}, and I decided to stay here and miss Christmas at the Manor +for \emph{this}, and---" + +``Draco,'' Harry managed to cut in. Sirius was coughing, the way he did +on the (rare) occasion when he didn't want to laugh aloud at someone. +Harry suspected he would start chuckling in a moment, and he didn't +think Draco would take that well. + +``What?'' Draco paused, his face flushed and his breathing difficult as +he glared at Harry. + +``Thank you for staying for me,'' Harry said. + +Draco's face melted into a dazzlingly sweet smile. He reached forward +and actually dragged Harry out of Sirius's loose half-embrace, something +Harry hadn't thought he was strong enough to do. ``Prat,'' he muttered, +his face in Harry's hair. ``And it's more than you deserve, too, after +the way that you shut me out of your mind so rudely. Well, not to worry. +Professor Snape can make that potion again, and---'' + +Harry put a gentle hand on Draco's shoulder. This was something he had +thought was clear the moment he severed the bonds, but perhaps it +wasn't. ``Draco,'' he said. ``I only had the bonds because I needed your +help to defeat Riddle. I won't be renewing them. My task now is guarding +Connor and keeping him safe, and I don't think that's something that you +need to be in my mind for.'' + +Draco pulled back and gaped at him for a moment. Then he began to +splutter. Since Harry had expected that that would happen, he managed to +look calm, he hoped, instead of as exasperated as he felt. + +``But I liked hearing your thoughts,'' said Draco, who had evidently +decided that the best way to get Harry to change his mind was to pout +about it. ``And I thought that you needed someone in your mind now to +help you heal the damage. Professor Snape was telling me about it. You +could have wounds from your battle with Riddle. I could help fill them +in.'' + +``Occlumency will do that,'' said Harry firmly. "And I thank you for +wanting to share my thoughts, but \emph{I} don't want you to." + +"Why \emph{not}?" + +``You would tell me to do things differently,'' said Harry. ``Not just +try to help me heal the wounds or protect Connor. You would tell me that +protecting Connor was wrong and that I should be doing something else, +and---well. I just can't do that, Draco. Being available to my brother +is always the most important thing.'' He braced himself, hoping that +Draco would understand. + +Draco stared into his face. Harry wondered how deeply he saw. Someone +trained by a man like Lucius Malfoy should see quite a bit more than was +apparent on the surface, in Harry's view, but Draco had surprised him +before, especially when he was determined to get his own way. + +Draco looked away from him then, and muttered something that Harry +couldn't make out. It had words on the end about ``come first,'' but +when Harry asked him to repeat it, Draco shook his head, his face gone +cold and closed. + +Then he smiled again and hugged Harry hard around the shoulders. +Sylarana moved out of the way again with a patient sigh. ``But I'm still +glad that you're better,'' he said. ``And I can't wait to give you my +family's gifts.'' + +Harry blinked, then flushed. He had forgotten entirely about getting +Draco or the Malfoys gifts---or he had thought of it once, in early +October, and then it let it slip his mind again once Riddle started +possessing him. ``Ah, Draco, I---'' + +``That doesn't matter,'' Draco interrupted him. ``Really, Harry, since +you woke up on Christmas Day and you're going to come back to the +hospital wing with me now, you don't need to give me a gift.'' His voice +challenged Harry to comment on anything at all in that sentence. + +Harry shook his head and gave in. He knew he should ask more about what +was troubling Draco, should apologize more about not giving a gift, and +should attempt to reason out just \emph{why} Draco was so troubled about +not sharing his mind any more, when it had always been a temporary +thing. But that would involve digging into subjects that Harry wasn't +sure he was ready to see, subjects that would hurt both him and Draco. + +Harry could see the edge of an abyss he had nearly tumbled within, and +was glad to step away from it as he said farewell to Sirius, hugged him, +and then followed Draco back to the hospital wing. + +\emph{I know I can't be too close to Draco, or it would get in the way +of my friendship with Connor. I} always \emph{knew that having friends +in Slytherin might do that. And even though he's shown me loyalty so +far, and even chose me over his family, this is one choice I don't want +to ask him to make yet. If we just ignore it, then we can pretend we're +untroubled for a little while longer.} + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Snape was waiting for them when they got back to the hospital wing. He +narrowed his eyes at Harry and glided forward from the bed, his robes +sweeping behind the way Harry imagined the basilisk's tail moving. ``And +where have you been, Mr. Potter?'' he whispered, hard enough to make +Harry feel as though frost still nipped at him. + +``Black took him flying,'' said Draco, and bundled Harry back into bed. +``Even though he's not strong enough yet, and started shivering on the +way back from outside.'' + +``Draco,'' Harry managed to say half-heartedly. It was true that he'd +started shivering. It was not true that he saw any need to bring this up +to Snape. + +``Flying,'' said Snape, in a voice that promised doom and gloom. + +``Flying,'' said Draco, with a nod, and then turned away and gathered up +three gifts from beside the bed. He dumped them in Harry's lap. ``Does +that potion send Harry to sleep, Professor Snape?'' + +``Yes,'' said Snape. ``It prevents Mr. Potter from doing more damage to +his mind. Of course, he seems determined to do that on his own +already.'' + +Harry ignored him as he opened the first gift. He blinked. He'd had no +idea\ldots{} + +``Draco, where did you get this?'' he whispered, tilting the object so +that he could see it better in the hospital wing's light. + +``Oh, my family's had the frame for ages,'' said Draco airily. ``Genuine +dragon's tooth, mixed with crystal and---'' + +``Draco.'' Harry turned the picture around so that Draco couldn't +pretend to ignore that it was a photograph of them together, walking +down the hall at what must have been some point early in the year. The +Draco in the picture was poking the Harry, who looked to be trying to +sidle away from him without being obvious. The Harry had a fond smile on +his face that Harry found deeply familiar, and the Draco was trying to +keep his own face from breaking out in a smile of glee. ``This, I meant. +Where did you get it?'' + +``Around.'' + +Draco's face had that shuttered look again. Harry decided not to ask, +lest it would mean discussing all the \emph{other} uncomfortable things +they had lying around. He gently put the photograph back in his lap and +stroked the crystalline frame, which shimmered with light and subtle +facets under the surface. ``Thank you,'' he said. + +Draco shrugged and dipped his head. A light blush had started on his +face. + +Harry sneaked a glance at Snape, only to find the man simply standing +there and watching, his face neutral. Of course, it sprouted a sneer the +moment Harry looked at him. Harry rolled his eyes and opened the second +gift, which turned out to be Narcissa's, a regal sculpture of a phoenix, +made of what Harry thought might be genuine gold, with rubies for eyes +and the tips of the feathers. Giving in to temptation, he stroked its +breast, which, though made with metal, looked real enough to shed downy +feathers and let them drift around the room. + +The phoenix began to sing. Harry had to close his eyes when he +recognized the song. It was one that Narcissa had sung and played for +them when he'd been a guest in the Malfoy Manor last Christmas. One of +the old history songs of the wizarding world, about the founding of +Hogwarts and the final exile of Salazar Slytherin. + +Harry swallowed around the lump in his throat. ``Tell you mother thank +you for me, Draco,'' he whispered, taking his hand away. The phoenix +hushed at once. + +``You can write to her and say thanks yourself,'' said Draco. ``She +would welcome a letter from you, you know.'' He had an intent look on +his face now, which didn't reveal anything of his other emotions. + +Harry shook his head, too overwhelmed to start speaking, and then, with +some caution, opened Lucius's gift. It had been a Foe-Glass last year. +Harry expected something else like it this year, double-edged and +ironic, a sharp reminder that they were on different sides. + +He frowned in puzzlement to find only a ring. He turned it around in his +hand, flinching, half-waiting for a needle to sprout from the stone on +it and stick him with poison, or for his hands to swell and turn blue +with some horrible contagious disease. + +It remained as it was, though, a simple silver ring set with a single +clear stone the color of snow that picked up light and reflections from +everywhere in the room. Harry knew the stone wasn't a diamond, but he +wasn't sure what it was. He touched it, at last, flinching just in case +the needle was activated by touch. + +The stone was shockingly cold, and Harry understood, then. It wasn't a +jewel. It was a piece of ice kept frozen by charms Harry had never heard +of. + +He half-closed his eyes as he remembered his training. Ice rings were a +rare gift now, but they had once been common, just like so many of the +pureblood traditions Harry had insisted on learning. They meant a +balanced regard, acknowledging the danger and power of a potential enemy +while showing that the giver wasn't exactly ill-disposed towards him. + +They were also, or had been once, the very first gift given when a truce +was being negotiated between two powerful wizards. + +Harry blinked at nothing, then shook his head. He knew that Lucius +Malfoy wouldn't abandon Voldemort, not after the things he had done in +his name. This ring was a token of regard, probably to satisfy his son, +and not the opening move in a truce. Harry couldn't imagine why Lucius +would want to do that. + +He could very well imagine why Lucius would want to play a game like +this, though, and a grim smile formed on his lips. He thought he might +ask Sirius to visit Diagon Alley for him and buy the next gift in the +game, a triangular piece of ebony cut exactly like the ice on the ring. +That answered power with power and announced lingering suspicion. Harry +knew Lucius wouldn't continue the farce for long, since the gifts grew +steadily more serious and expensive, but it would be interesting to see +what he did when he'd received Harry's gift. + +``Thank your father for me, Draco,'' he said, slipping the ring onto his +left middle finger. ``And tell him his message was accepted.'' He +paused. ``No, wait. I'll tell him myself in a letter.'' + +Draco eyed him for a moment. ``You won't write to my mother, who likes +you,'' he said. ``But you'll write to my father, who's a political +enemy. I don't understand you at all, Harry.'' + +Harry shrugged. ``That's all right. And maybe I'll write to your mother, +too.'' He picked up the photograph and the phoenix from his lap and +stuck them carefully on the table next to the bed. ``Thank you, Draco. +Very much.'' + +Draco flushed again, then leaned forward and hugged Harry. ``Merry +Christmas,'' he said. + +"If you are \emph{quite} finished, Mr. Malfoy," said Snape, ``I should +present Mr. Potter with his potion.'' + +Draco nodded, whispered a farewell, and slipped away. Harry turned to +face Snape. He had noticed that Snape hadn't interrupted the ritual of +gift-giving, for all that he'd sneered at it. Harry was under no +delusions that Snape \emph{liked} him, or even really that he liked +Draco, but at least Snape was fair enough that he was no longer +unwarrantedly hostile. + +\emph{Towards me}, Harry amended, when the first question out of Snape's +mouth was, ``Do you have any idea what you are doing to yourself in the +name of serving your feckless brother?'' + +Harry shook his head. ``I know very well. You keep assuming I'm a child, +sir. I wish you wouldn't. These actions are all the results of decisions +that I made a long time before I came here.'' + +Snape snorted at him. ``You cannot tell me that you expected to be +possessed by Tom Riddle.'' + +``Of course not,'' said Harry. "That was an unpleasant surprise. But I +expected that I would face Voldemort. And learn Dark spells, before you +can ask about the \emph{Fugitivus Animus Cogitatio.} I really did get it +from a book. I'll use it again if I have to, and others like it, to make +people pay attention to Connor. I assume it dissipated when people +finally did leave the Great Hall and escaped Connor's presence?" + +``Yes,'' said Snape grudgingly. ``It worked as you expected, Mr. Potter. +But that is not the point. You have dozens of new wounds in your mind +now. You are missing memories. I suspect that your magic has been +strained, and that it will be some time before you can perform as +competently in class as you have done.'' He paused, then added, tone +etched with acid, ``I sincerely hope that this upset has not affected +your potion-making skills.'' + +``If it has, sir,'' said Harry, never looking away from Snape's eyes, +``I promise you that I'll study to get them back.'' + +Snape shook his head and dragged in a breath. When he spoke again, his +voice was rough. "Why are you \emph{doing} this? There is no reason to. +Others can protect Mr. Potter---that is to say, your brother. I was +under the impression that Black was here for the express purpose of +doing so. And he must face the Dark Lord on his own terms sooner or +later." + +``Of course he must,'' Harry said calmly. ``And when he had to do that +last year, he did very well, and burned Quirrell to ashes. I'm here to +handle the other threats that might come his way, lesser ones---'' + +"Tom Riddle is hardly a \emph{lesser threat,} you idiot child!" + +Harry waited a moment, just to be sure Snape wouldn't interrupt him +again, and shook his head. ``Yes, he is. He's only a fragment of +Voldemort, not the whole thing. Connor didn't need to deal with him. He +needs to reserve his resources for the bigger prize. So I'll get in the +way as long as I can, and also work on making him a better leader and +more skillful---something I've sadly neglected so far. There's a limit +to how far I can train him, of course, since I can't show how advanced +my own skills are. But I promise you that he'll save us, sir.'' + +Snape looked at him in silence. Then he handed the potion over, saying, +``We must resume your Occlumency training after the holidays. That is +the only way to fill in and eventually heal the wounds in your mind.'' + +Harry nodded, drank the potion, and lay down to go to sleep. It was a +relief to escape the probing eyes of his Potions Professor, and the +nagging guilt that, once again, he'd failed to convince Snape of +Connor's importance. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Snape stood watching Harry for long moments after the boy's eyes had +closed. He found himself grateful that Harry had not awakened until a +week after his battle, for all that Snape had been more certain with +each passing day that he would never return to consciousness. + +The delay had given Snape time to deal with his own emotions---the shock +he'd experienced when Harry's magic expanded from the depths of his +being, the fear he'd felt that Tom Riddle would break free, the sudden +release of growing weeks of tension and fear. + +And the grudging pride, or something very like it, that Harry had used +Occlumency and knowledge of his own mind as well as he had against +Riddle. + +Snape reached over, hesitant despite his knowledge that the potion would +keep the boy firmly asleep, and carefully brushed his hair away from the +lightning bolt scar. It still burned fiery red. It had not calmed since +Harry arrived in the hospital wing, though at least it had stopped +bleeding after the first hour. + +Snape had heard fragments of Riddle's conversation with Harry, so hard +had he been concentrating. He only believed it more likely, not less, +that Harry was the Boy-Who-Lived. How else could he have such a deep +connection with the Dark Lord? + +But he also knew that trying to convince Harry of that truth would be +nearly impossible. + +\emph{So don't speak to him about it,} he decided as he stepped away +from the bed. \emph{Let him believe what he needs to believe, or wants +to believe, in regard to his brother. Instead, offer him training, what +he doesn't have and will yet need in the battles to come.} + +\emph{It is more important that he succeed than know why he is +succeeding.} + +\emph{But if and when he ever changes his mind\ldots{}} + +\emph{I will be ready.} + +Snape turned and left the hospital wing, cloak swirling determinedly +behind him. He meant to find and taunt Black into a guilty rage about +taking his godson out of the hospital wing while he was still weak. It +would please him, and Black had truly been stupid. + +Besides, Snape had to do \emph{something} to keep up appearances now +that he had decided the bet with Black had also been a mistake on his +part. + +\subsection{*Chapter 20*: Coterie}\label{chapter-20-coterie} + +Thank you for the reviews! Review responses up later. + +All good things must come to an end eventually\ldots{}but not in this +chapter. + +\textbf{Chapter Nineteen: Coterie} + +Harry didn't like what he had to do. + +But he knew it had to be done. + +\emph{You've been thinking those two thoughts for the last half hour,} +Sylarana pointed out, sliding up towards his neck. \emph{Think about +something else. This is boring.} + +Harry reached up and stroked her back. \emph{I'm sorry. I'm just---I +don't want to do this.} + +\emph{That's only a small variation on the general theme,} said +Sylarana. \emph{Vary it more. I would like to see some variation in your +head. Think about food. The Feast will start soon.} She sounded as if +she would be drooling, if snakes could drool. + +Harry nodded. They were already sitting in the Great Hall. The doors +would soon open, and food would appear on the plates, and the students +who had gone home for the Christmas holidays would reappear\ldots{} + +And his thoughts stuttered to a halt and returned to their circle. + +\emph{Harry.} + +He blinked and looked down as Sylarana stuck her head out of his robe. +She almost never called him by his name, as though she thought her +intimacy in his head would give him a good enough idea of who she was +talking to. \emph{Yes, Sylarana?} he asked, since that seemed to be what +she wanted. + +\emph{It will go well,} she said, and nudged at the side of his neck. +\emph{Relax. You have me in your head to warn you if you're about to do +something stupid.} She turned and slithered back down his arm again. + +Harry let out a short, harsh breath and turned as the doors opened. +Draco, sitting beside him, the only other student at the Slytherin +table, squeezed his arm. ``I'll be right behind you,'' he whispered. + +``Only if you promise not to talk,'' Harry muttered out of the corner of +his mouth. + +"Would \emph{I} say anything to mess this up?" Draco said back. His face +was the picture of shining innocence when Harry looked at him. + +``Yes, you would,'' said Harry darkly. "Well, fine then. You can come +with me, but if you annoy him in \emph{any} way then you're not getting +your Christmas present." + +Draco perked up. ``You got me a Christmas present?'' He said it loudly +enough that heads started to turn---including, Harry saw, heads among +the returning Gryffindors. He grimaced. He wanted things to happen when +they were supposed to. He was going to have a confrontation with Connor +and force his brother to acknowledge him, but only on his own terms. + +``Yes!'' he hissed back. ``Why do you think I made you leave the +hospital wing those times that Hedwig returned with my post? Now, shut +up. Or you won't get your gift.'' + +``What about my parents?'' Draco asked with a slight whine in his +throat. ``It wouldn't be fair to punish them for something I did.'' + +``When did you ever care about fair?'' Harry could see Connor now, messy +dark hair marking him out in a crowd of red-haired Weasleys. He didn't +look at the Slytherin table. From the way he walked and laughed and +talked, it might as well not even have existed. Harry swallowed bile, +which burned all the way down. \emph{Not this time, brother. This time, +you are going to acknowledge me.} + +``I care about fair,'' Draco insisted. "When it applies to my family, at +least. And why are you watching that prat \emph{now}? You're supposed to +be talking to me." + +Reluctantly, Harry shifted his attention back to Draco. ``I got your +mother a swan,'' he said. ``It's made of crystal, and enchanted to act +as a mirror when she, and only she, speaks her name to it. Saying her +name twice will cause it to animate and fly to you or your father as a +message if she's in danger.'' + +Draco looked impressed. "That's a paranoid gift, Harry, even if it +\emph{is} brilliant." + +Harry shrugged. ``I thought it would work,'' he muttered. ``And I got +your father a triangular piece of ebony, cut like the ice on my ring.'' + +There was a long moment of silence. Harry could see Draco trying to work +that one out, and failing. He really didn't have as much of an education +in the ancient pureblood ways as he should, though Harry supposed he +couldn't blame him for that. Draco had been educated in the modern +dances, and that was the most anyone could expect of a normal wizarding +heir. + +``Why?'' Draco asked at last. + +``He'll know why,'' Harry answered. ``Ask him, if you really want to. It +was the same reason he sent me the ice ring.'' + +Draco looked as if he would ask more, but Blaise dropped into a seat on +the other side of him just then and leaned over to ask how Christmas +holidays had gone, giving Harry an abstracted smile while he was at it. +Draco turned away to answer, and left Harry free to watch Connor. + +For a moment. + +``Potter.'' + +Harry blinked and glanced over his shoulder. Millicent Bulstrode, who +never talked to him much at all, stood there, frowning at him. She had +her arms folded across her chest, making her an even more impressive +sight; she was both taller and stronger than he was. Her dark eyes were +fastened to his face as if nailed there. + +``Yes, Bulstrode?'' he asked at last, when it became clear that she +wasn't going away. + +``Are you recovered from your possession by Riddle, then?'' she asked. + +Harry stared at her. Then he said, ``Who said that was what happened to +me?'' + +``I hear things,'' said Millicent vaguely. ``I just want to know if +you're recovered, or if you're going to come at night and kill us all in +our beds.'' + +``Of course not,'' said Harry, still trying to figure out what the fuck +was going on. + +Millicent eyed him, then added, ``I hear things on the second floor,'' +and turned away. Harry watched her back as she sat down, then decided +she'd been trying to unnerve him. After all, the bathroom the basilisk +had somehow come out of was on the second floor, and the attacks had +happened there, too. Of course it would make sense to say that she'd +heard about Riddle on the second floor. + +Dinner appeared then, in the midst of a speech by Dumbledore that Harry +didn't pay any attention to. Dumbledore knew what he was planning to do +tonight, and he'd given Harry not only approval but permission. \emph{It +is time that Connor be made to understand what his actions do to +others,} he had said. \emph{They might cause people to turn against him +someday, and then how can he be a leader?} + +Harry had pointed out that he would never turn against his brother, and +Dumbledore had laughed indulgently and patted his shoulder, pointing out +that loyalty had to expand outwards from him. Connor would hold him, of +course, but at the moment, it looked as though he and Harry had turned +against each other. Other students had to see that Harry and Connor were +loyal to one another before they could be loyal to the future savior of +the wizarding world. + +Harry barely knew what he was eating, as he stared across the room at +Connor throughout dinner. The only interruptions were Sylarana nudging +him for a piece of food, or asking when the treacle tart would arrive. +\emph{Treacle tart!} appeared with regular exuberance in Harry's head, +making an odd contrast with the focus of his thoughts. \emph{Want +treacle tart!} + +Dinner finished at last. Harry stood up. Eyes came to him at once, +mostly curious. Everyone knew by now that he'd fainted and spent time in +the hospital wing, though Harry hoped most of the students---Millicent +excepted for whatever reason---remained ignorant of why. + +He pretended not to notice the glares among the glances, mostly from the +Ravenclaw table, and ambled out of the room. He would wait for Connor to +leave. He was not going to force his brother into acknowledgment of him +in front of the Great Hall. He thought their last confrontation hadn't +worked well partially because it was so public. If he faced Connor in an +isolated corner of the entrance hall, his brother's reactions were more +likely to be sincere. + +\emph{Perhaps,} said Sylarana, who was so full of treacle tart that +Harry had thought she'd gone to sleep. \emph{On the other hand, he is a +prat.} + +``I don't think he's a prat all the time,'' Harry whispered, pacing back +and forth to work off some of the nervous energy that filled him. Draco +gave him a curious glance, than an annoyed one. His latest trick was to +be jealous of Sylarana, because she could speak into Harry's thoughts +and he couldn't. Harry thought that was absolutely ridiculous, and did +them both the favor of ignoring it. ``Just some of the time. And this +time---well, I just need answers. That doesn't mean that he's a prat to +ignore me like he's been doing.'' + +Draco began speaking in a bored drawl, as though he were musing aloud +and Harry just happened to be in the vicinity. ``Prats accuse their +brothers of going Dark. Prats don't see the desperate measures that +their brothers are taking just to try and stay alive. Prats don't visit +their brothers in the hospital wing. Yes, I think Connor fits all the +characteristics of a prat perfectly.'' + +Harry spun around and glared at him. "It wasn't his fault! He's just a +child, and I kept the measures from him, and, well, I'm sure he had a +good reason for not visiting me in the hospital wing! He \emph{must}." + +``Harry,'' Draco said, catching and holding his eyes, ``has it occurred +to you that you think about him a lot more than he thinks about you?'' + +``Of course,'' said Harry. ``That's the point. He has to divide his +attention and time among many people who all need it. I'm just one +person.'' He wondered why Draco had chosen to bring this up again. It +was irrelevant. Or, rather, it was Draco understanding but then refusing +to take it to heart. + +``Maybe he doesn't deserve your intense consideration, either,'' said +Draco carefully. ``Maybe other people do.'' + +``Like you,'' Harry said, with a sigh. ``Yes, Draco, I know I haven't +been the best of friends---'' + +``Like yourself,'' Draco cut in. + +Harry didn't bother justifying that with an answer, as he looked +sideways and saw Connor emerging from the Great Hall just then. He only +had Ron and Hermione with him, wonder of wonders and thank Merlin. Ron +walked close at Connor's side, as though he were going to take his wand +out and hex anyone who so much as greeted him. Hermione walked a short +distance behind, her face troubled. + +``Connor,'' said Harry, and took a step forward. + +Connor hunched his shoulders and kept walking. + +Harry narrowed his eyes. \emph{Forgive me for the insult, brother, but +you go too far.} ``Aren't you going to face me?'' he asked. ``I think a +true Gryffindor would have. You lot are the House of courage, aren't +you?'' + +That brought Connor spinning around, and Harry saw the mask on his eyes +and face shatter, the anger and jealousy spewing forth in the next +instant. "\emph{You} lot?" he spat. ``I should have known that you've +given up wanting to be in Gryffindor, Harry. Getting all nice and +comfortable in the viper pit?'' + +``Oh, no, you don't,'' said Harry, his voice so fierce that Connor +stared at him and blinked. "We aren't talking about me now. We're +talking about you. Why didn't you come and visit me in the hospital wing +when I was sick? Were you too proud? Too nervous? Too \emph{afraid}?" + +Hermione turned a horrified gaze on Connor. Ron gave him a puzzled +glance. ``What's that, mate?'' he asked. ``You told me you visited him. +That was the day you couldn't come to the Burrow because you were +Apparating here with your parents, remember?'' + +Harry stared. \emph{He didn't tell them, either? He is acting like a +coward, a liar---a Slytherin. I can't let that happen. If he keeps +showing those qualities instead of the Gryffindor ones he needs, then +Dumbledore is right, and no one is going to follow him.} + +And, of course, it made the confrontation much nastier than Harry would +have envisioned, because it meant that Connor was forced into defending +his honor. His eyes flashed, and he voiced a low growl that reminded +Harry a lot of Sirius in his Animagus form. + +``I didn't visit him because I couldn't stand to be in the same room +with him!'' he yelled, looking back and forth between Ron and Hermione. +"For eleven years, he's always been there for me, and then---then he +just \emph{turned} on me, started acting like other people were more +important, started acting like \emph{he} was some big important +\emph{someone}! He should have been expelled, you know that! Any other +student who went around Petrifying people would have! But no, not Harry +Potter." Connor whirled, and his eyes were filled with loathing. "We +were the ones who went around trying to save the school, just like last +year when we guarded the Stone and defeated Voldemort. And my brother's +trying to \emph{ruin} it all." + +``Bollocks,'' said a very loud voice behind Harry, before Harry could +say anything. + +He turned, ready to hiss at Draco for interrupting, but he realized +quickly that Draco was standing, mouth open, just as dumbfounded as he +was. Justin Finch-Fletchley was the one who had spoken, and he was +striding forward from one cluster of students lingering around the +argument, his wand out. Flanking him were Hannah Abbott and Ernie +Macmillan, and behind them trailed a blond boy whom Harry knew only +vaguely. He thought his name was Smith. Zacharias Smith, or something +similar. + +The Hufflepuffs stepped up around Harry, and stopped. Smith worked his +way to the right, but Hannah and Ernie stood on either side of him like +guards, and Justin stepped out in front of him, his wand leveled +Connor's way. + +``What are you doing?'' Connor asked. He looked as though someone had +hit him in the head with a Blasting Curse. Harry, a little dazed +himself, wondered if it came from the sight of other students defending +Harry, or from the sight of \emph{Hufflepuffs} doing so. ``You know that +he's evil. You were there when we made the accusations. You know that he +only got away with them because he's Snape's pet.'' + +``He saved my life,'' said Justin, loudly enough to be heard all over +the entrance hall. Harry winced, but he didn't think he could step in; +his shock had closed his throat off. ``The monster was right around the +corner. I saw its shadow. And then he shouted at it and made it back +off. And since then he's been fine. He beat the possession. I've asked +Professor Black about it. You should have, too,'' he added, eying +Connor. "He's \emph{your} brother, and I'm just his friend." + +Connor worked his mouth, but apparently couldn't think of anything else +to say. + +``I don't know what you think you're playing at,'' said Justin, ``coming +up with high and mighty reasons to object to Harry when you're really +just a jealous brat. But it's hurting Harry. So grow up, and get a mind, +and stop it.'' + +``I don't have to,'' said Connor, and Harry saw his inherent +stubbornness come to life. ``I'm trying to protect the school from evil. +That's my duty.'' + +``Oh, good,'' said Justin, giving him a fierce smile. Harry was reminded +that, while snakes and lions might be more purely dangerous, angering a +badger was a really bad idea. Also, a badger was much harder to detach +from one's leg. "I was \emph{hoping} you'd say that. That means that we +have an excuse to stay around Harry and protect him from the kind of +ambushes that your little friends will engineer." He glanced over his +shoulder at Harry. ``Sorry about this, mate, but I think it's the best +course. Merlin knows what he'd try, otherwise. I know that you were +ambushed and beaten once already.'' + +``I really don't think that was Connor,'' Harry said, stating the truth. + +Justin shrugged. ``Yeah, but he was part of the reason that someone else +did it, I bet. So we'll just stay here and make ourselves nice and +comfortable.'' + +``You can't come into the Slytherin common room,'' said Draco, +snobbishly. + +``Yes, I know that,'' said Justin patiently. ``But we trust you to look +after him there. We'll help guard him in the hallways outside.'' + +``I really don't think this is necessary,'' said Harry as calmly as he +could. He could see glimpses of Connor's face from the corner of his +eyes, and that told him this was going all wrong. Connor was flushed and +looked ready to cry. Harry had planned to be gentle, so gentle that his +brother would forgive him almost before he knew what he was doing. It +would show Connor to be capable of gentleness and mercy on his own, +rather than being forced to them. And now the plan was in ruins again, +and all because of something that, though Harry thought he might want it +very much---he was tired of being alone---he did not \emph{need}. +``Thank you. I consider you a friend, Justin. But Connor doesn't need +this, and neither do I.'' + +``Oh, yes, he does,'' said Justin. ``I think your brother needs to be +taken down a peg or two. Zacharias?'' + +Harry blinked and looked at Smith. He sauntered forward a step, his eyes +bright with an odd glow. Harry thought it very similar to the feverish +look he'd seen Hermione get in pursuit of new knowledge, but with a +distinctly cruel edge. + +``Why did you decide that Harry was evil?'' Smith asked Connor, in a +calm and casual voice. + +``Because he started possessing people,'' said Connor. + +``How did you know he was possessing people?'' Smith asked. + +``It was obvious,'' Connor said shortly, and his face started to turn +such a deep red that Harry was momentarily afraid he would snap and +start shouting. ``Once I heard what he was doing, and he---'' He +stopped. + +Smith leaned forward and peered into Connor's face. ``See,'' he said, +with the air of a professor lecturing a student, ``if I were thinking of +reasons why my brother might do such things, then I would not think +`possession by an evil Dark Lord' right away. I would probably think +that there was something else wrong. That he'd been falsely accused, +maybe, or that he'd been blackmailed and forced into this, or even that +he'd been tricked into it and honestly didn't think he was doing +anything wrong until the first Petrification happened. It seems that you +did none of those things. What a shame. Why did you think of +possession?'' + +Connor mumbled something. + +Smith cupped a hand around his ear and coughed politely. ``I can't hear +you,'' he said. + +``Stop it,'' said Harry, abruptly knowing what Smith was trying to make +Connor admit. He started to push forward, but Justin shook his head at +him. + +``He needs to be knocked down,'' said Justin. ``Let him, Harry. He's an +overbearing, pompous arse right now. Everyone in Hufflepuff thinks so, +and I would imagine that even some of the Gryffindors are starting to +believe it.'' + +Harry stared at him. + +Justin stared back, and then smiled, a smile with an emotion +uncomfortably like pity somewhere in it. ``I thought so,'' he said +quietly. ``You thought everyone believed him and hated you? Because that +was what he said, wasn't it?'' + +Harry nodded, his head spinning. Did that mean that most of the school +didn't think Connor was wonderful? Harry would have to not only repair +the damage Connor had done but the damage that had gone on in people's +minds? His title as the Boy-Who-Lived and the defeat of Voldemort last +year hadn't sufficed to make most people listen to and trust him +instinctively? + +That put a different light on things. Harry stopped trying to move +forward. + +``Let Zacharias do this,'' Justin whispered. "He's the best I've ever +heard at this. He's skeptical of \emph{everything.} He even talks back +to Professor Snape if he doesn't think the potions are made right. And +people will take it better if they see it coming from someone who's not +the person he's accusing, or a Slytherin." + +Harry let Zacharias do it, but it was still painful to watch. He kept +coaxing Connor to speak loudly, until Connor erupted in a burst of anger +and humiliation, and then nodded like a wise parent. + +"So you heard that your brother was possessed in confidence and then +repeated it aloud for the whole school to hear? Tsk, tsk, Potter. That +imaginary brother I don't have would have received my full support. I +can't \emph{imagine} having You-Know-Who in my head, and I don't want +to, either. I'm sure it's not hygienic." Zacharias shuddered +fastidiously. Someone laughed. Harry thought it was Millicent. ``And +then Harry beat him, and saved Justin's life,'' Zacharias went on, his +voice effortlessly sliding into scorn. ``That rather makes you look bad, +doesn't it, that you're accusing him of being Dark? Especially since you +betrayed him before anything happened.'' + +Connor clenched his fists near his knees. ``Then you tell me why he +isn't Dark!'' + +Zacharias shook his head slowly. ``You can't prove a negative, Potter. +Pay attention to elementary logic, next time. And you have the burden of +proof, since you're the one making the accusations.'' + +``Fine!'' Connor shouted. ``Why do you think he's in Slytherin?'' + +``Because the Sorting Hat sat on his head and put him there,'' said +Zacharias. There came some more open laughter from the gathering crowd +at that. Harry could see his brother biting his lip until it turned +bloody. "Slytherin isn't the evil House, you know, and Gryffindor isn't +the good one. Try again, Potter. I \emph{am} interested in seeing what +you come up with next." He looked it. + +``He beat me at Quidditch!'' Connor tried. + +``Someone has to win a game when two people play it,'' said Zacharias. +``And he won that one, just like you won the one last year.'' He paused +for a moment, then added, ``Apparently, anyway.'' + +Connor let out a screech and lunged for Zacharias. + +``Forty points from Gryffindor for attacking a fellow student,'' said +Snape's voice, and he swirled down on them. Harry frowned at him. He +would have bet a large amount of Galleons that Snape had been watching +the argument for some time, and hadn't made a move to interfere until +Connor attacked. Snape simply returned Harry's gaze for an opaque +moment, then smirked at Connor. ``And a detention with me on Saturday +night, Mr. Potter.'' + +``Professor!'' Connor wailed. + +``Twenty more points for acting like a first-year,'' said Snape, and +then swooped away. Harry scowled at his back. Snape didn't seem inclined +to treat Connor any better than he had. Harry had hoped that Snape's +slowly lessening hostility for him would eventually include his brother. +Why not? Connor was the Boy-Who-Lived, and Snape hadn't been insistent +that Harry was, lately. Perhaps he had finally seen the light. + +\emph{Apparently not,} Harry thought. + +``Where do you want to go, Harry?'' Justin asked as Zacharias sauntered +back over to them, dusting his hands off and coolly accepting Hannah's +and Ernie's congratulations. ``We're entirely at your service tonight, +since classes haven't started yet.'' + +``The library,'' murmured Harry, trying to figure out how he was +supposed to be in charge of four second-year Hufflepuffs. ``If none of +you mind?'' + +``Of course not,'' said Justin. ``Like I said, yours for tonight. We'll +work out the guard schedule later.'' + +"I don't need a \emph{guard} schedule---" + +``Yes, you do,'' said Ernie. Harry had always thought of him as pompous. +He had forgotten that pomposity could hide immense seriousness. ``You +need some kind of protection, Harry. I think Riddle could come back. And +there are any number of people who might still like to hurt you until +you get your stupid brother under control. The Ravenclaws are being +idiots about it, still. The professors won't do anything because they +don't know enough. We're coming along with you.'' + +``We really don't mind,'' Hannah said, giving him a soft smile. "Justin +told us how you saved his life. That \emph{matters} to us, Harry. +Justin's our friend. So you're our friend. And you saved a friend's +life." + +``Hufflepuff loyalty,'' Draco muttered. + +``Would you like to explain why that's less than Slytherin loyalty?'' +Zacharias asked, leaning forward. + +Draco declined hastily, and they trooped off to the library. Harry went +along, his brains still scrambled, trying to decide how he was going to +rescue Connor from the depths of his own stupidity. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Harry. I need to talk to you.'' + +Harry turned around, his eyes wide. He had gone into the shelves to +return a book on Transfigurations to its proper place, barely out of +sight of the table where Draco and the Hufflepuffs sat making idle +conversation, and he hadn't heard anyone come up behind him. But there +stood Hermione Granger, one of her hands yanking at her a curl of her +hair. She caught his eye, then looked away from him and flushed. + +``Is it Connor?'' Harry asked, his mind springing to the worst +possibility. ``What's wrong?'' + +Hermione folded her arms and glared at him, her nervousness apparently +dissipated. "Not him. Don't \emph{worry} about him. He got exactly what +he deserved. Harry, I wanted to say---that I'm sorry. I don't know why I +went along with Connor for so long. I just felt \emph{compelled}. On the +other hand, I let him mess everything up with that legal document that I +prepared against you. I knew it had to be read to the Headmaster to be +legal, and I let him read it in the entrance hall anyway." She closed +her eyes. ``And he said there weren't any Gryffindor Death Eaters, and I +thought of Peter Pettigrew, and didn't say anything. I was being stupid, +or making myself be stupid, because I think there's something good in +Connor, and I thought he was trying to do a good thing. And then it +turned out that you fought off the possession and saved Justin's life, +and I didn't know what to think. Tonight was the last straw. If +Hufflepuffs think you're not evil, you're not evil. I trust their +judgment over anything Connor says.'' + +Harry let out a slow breath. As much as he appreciated the apology, he +thought that Connor needed her friendship more than he did. ``Don't you +want to stay friends with Connor, Hermione?'' he asked. ``I don't think +he would like you coming to me and talking to me like this.'' + +Hermione huffed and put her hands up. ``You're just like him +sometimes,'' she said. "And like Ron. \emph{Boys.} You tell girls what +to do, and you don't even realize you're doing it." Her glare this time +was more pointed. + +Harry felt himself flush. ``Sorry,'' he muttered. ``I didn't mean it +that way---I mean, I didn't mean it the way it sounded. I meant that I +thought your friendship with him was important to you.'' + +"It \emph{is}," said Hermione, and for the first time, Harry detected a +slight red puffinessa round her eyes, as if she'd spent some time crying +about it. ``But it's not more important than truth and sense! I'd break +all the school rules to help Connor if he wanted me to. But he's +breaking too many principles. If I'm going to do the right thing, then I +have to apologize to you and then tell him that I can't support his +ridiculous campaign of rumors against you anymore.'' + +Harry swallowed. He knew that feeling. He was doing the right thing now, +he thought, but it would put Connor's back further up and hurt him in +the meantime. Harry was determined to reach the day when he could put +his arms around Connor again and know his brother truly welcomed him, +and wasn't just embracing him for the sake of their parents or their +blood birth. He would work towards it as hard as he could, even if he +made it harder for himself, because, in the end, it \emph{would} be +better for Connor than coddling and being lied to. It had to be. + +``So,'' said Hermione, when they'd stood in silence for a moment. ``Do +you accept my apology?'' Her hand had gone back to yanking at her hair +again. + +Harry nodded. ``Thank you, Hermione. I know this was hard for you. +And---well, come to me if you want to talk about anything.'' + +``Thank you,'' said Hermione, and flashed Harry a small smile before she +turned away. Harry watched her go. He wondered if he would have the +strength to choose the right thing over friendship with Connor, if he'd +still been in his brother's good graces and this was happening to +someone else. + +Well, he'd already done it, in a way. He'd defended Draco against what +Connor wanted him to do. + +That wasn't the start to this whole mess, he thought, but it was close. +The mess had really started the day he was placed in Slytherin. If he'd +been strong, if he'd been true to Connor, he would have ignored Draco's +attempts at friendship and simply stuck to Connor's side no matter what. + +But that would have hurt Draco, and surely that wouldn't have been +right, either. + +Harry shook his head and gathered up the book he'd come to find. In a +way, perhaps he \emph{had} made the right decision. Connor was made of +stronger stuff than Draco. They would get past this eventually, and +repair their brotherhood. Draco would have sulked and sulked forever if +Harry had refused him, his happiness becoming bitter resentment. + +\emph{And that may still happen in the future, when you finally make him +understand Connor is most important.} + +Harry shoved that thought away. He thought of Draco's Christmas present +instead, and the expression he would wear when he received it. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +As it turned out, his first expression was puzzlement. He held up the +crystalline bottle Harry had given him and tilted it back and forth, +staring at the lights in it. The lights had turned out rather well, +Harry thought. They swarmed and sparkled through several different +colors, red and purple and green and gold, all deep and jewel-like in +hue. + +``I don't understand,'' Draco finally admitted, after studying the +bottle for several moments. ``What is it?'' + +Harry smiled at him. ``Gold represents calmness and contentment, red +means anger, green means fondness and friendship, and purple means +protectiveness,'' he recited. The description of the spell he'd used to +create the lights said as much. + +Draco stared at him. ``And?'' + +``Those lights are the emotions I feel for you,'' said Harry. He +shrugged when Draco stared at him harder. ``I know that you miss the +mind-bond, but no, I'm not going to let you back into my thoughts. But +this way, you'll still know how I'm feeling about you. You can look into +the bottle whenever you think that I might be ignoring you or losing +interest in our friendship, and be reassured.'' + +Draco shut his eyes. Harry watched the bottle glow bright green, and +then looked back at Draco's face as his eyes opened. There was a +distinct shimmer there. Harry blinked. \emph{Are those tears? Why?} + +``Thank you,'' said Draco. ``Thank you, Harry.'' He lay down, the bottle +cradled in his hands, and stared at it. + +Harry, glad that his gift appeared to have gone over well, turned to +studying the Transfigurations book he'd taken out of the library. A +moment later, Draco reached over and caught his hand tightly. + +Harry peered at him, but Draco didn't look at his face, just held his +hand. Harry shrugged, deciding that it would work and he would never +understand Draco anyway, and started reading again, while the light in +the bottle alternated steadily between green and gold. Draco never took +his eyes off it. + +\subsection{*Chapter 21*: Lockhart's Very Special +Idea}\label{chapter-21-lockharts-very-special-idea} + +Thank you again for all the reviews! Review responses up in my LJ in a +bit. + +Still not the end of the good stuff. Hee! + +\textbf{Chapter Twenty: Lockhart's Very Special Idea} + +``Connor, if you would just listen to me---'' Harry began soothingly, +hoping it would stop the spiraling, out-of-control mania that his +brother seemed to have developed. + +"\emph{No!}" shouted Connor, and stamped out of Sirius's office. For +good measure, he slammed the door behind him, making one of the banners +hung on the wall sway and collapse across the chair beneath it. + +Harry sat down in a free chair and breathed to calm himself, while +Sirius hung the banner back up. Neither one of them said anything. Harry +didn't think he could, and Sirius was probably blaming himself for +suggesting the meeting in the first place. His office, with him looking +on, had seemed a safe enough room to Harry. He had very firmly +disinvited Draco and the Hufflepuffs from the meeting. They had been +present during the three confrontations he and Connor had had throughout +January, and their presence always made things degenerate. + +But it had gotten out of control yet again, the moment Harry mentioned +the Quidditch match. Connor's face had turned the color of spoiled meat +as he yelled. In retrospect, Harry thought he might have been worried +about the upcoming Gryffindor-Hufflepuff match, but that was hardly an +excuse. + +\emph{No, of course it is,} insisted his mind the moment he thought +that. \emph{You've never felt nervous before a match, but you have more +talent than Connor.} + +Harry paused. The thought was on the right track, in the right tenor, +and yet---something was wrong. + +He had had these thoughts more and more often since December and +Riddle's possession of his mind. He would be thinking, believing, +behaving as normal, and then some suspect thought about Connor, some +backhanded compliment where he should have admired his brother +unconditionally or a resentment that had no place being there, would +come slithering through. Harry was sure that that would stop once he +managed to fill the gaps in his mind-webs with Occlumency fog, but for +the moment, it was disconcerting. + +\emph{And in the meantime, it makes the failures of these meetings my +fault as much as Connor's.} + +\emph{Of course it is. Because I should have anticipated his every move +and known that he would snap like a child when I mentioned Quidditch.} + +Harry jumped to his feet and began to pace around the room in agitation. +Sirius looked at him solemnly over a shoulder. Harry imagined that his +godfather was still too shocked to really give him comfort. It didn't +mater. Since Christmas he'd had a warmer relationship with Sirius, and +if he still mocked Snape and Slytherin and Malfoys without thought, at +least these days he noticed immediately afterwards and apologized. + +Harry would have been quite content with life, in fact, if it weren't +for the holes in his mind and Connor not coming around. + +Someone knocked on the door of Sirius's office. Harry, assuming it was +Madam Hooch come to discuss Quidditch business or one of the team +Captains wanting to ask Sirius for hints, moved to go. + +Ron Weasley stood beyond the door, his face as red as his ears. He +stepped past Harry without even appearing to notice he was there, walked +up to Sirius, and stood there staring at him. + +``What is it, Ron?'' Sirius asked, but he was trying to conceal a smile. + +``You got my dad his job back,'' said Ron, in a voice flat as his face +with shock. "You got my dad his \emph{job} back." He reached out +abruptly and hugged Sirius, mashing his face into his chest. Sirius +chuckled and stroked his hair. Harry smiled inwardly for the way this +happiness lit up his godfather's eyes. Sirius hadn't been sleeping well +again, though he insisted he was and that the few nightmares were about +Daphne Marchbanks. Harry, not feeling it his place to interfere, merely +watched him, and made him go to bed when he could. + +``I thought hearing that Sirius Black favored Arthur Weasley would put a +wind up the Ministry's collective arse,'' he said now, his smile +flashing with good humor as he pulled Ron away from him and pounded him +on the back. + +``But how did you do it?'' Ron asked, his face beaming with something +much like hero-worship. Harry nodded. \emph{Good. Sirius needs it, with +the way that Connor and I both are behaving.} + +\emph{No,} Sylarana said in his head, sounding as though she had just +awakened from a nap. \emph{Only him.} + +Harry shushed her and watched Sirius smile in that mysterious, knowing +way that said he knew about a \emph{really} good prank the victim would +never see coming. + +``I was an Auror, you know, before the misunderstanding that caused the +Ministry and I to part ways,'' he told Ron casually. "But a lot of +people underestimated me, since they assumed I drank \emph{all} the +time. And there might, possibly, just with the smallest tiny smidgeon of +a chance, have been secrets that one drunken Auror could overhear and +remember in the aftermath of Ministry parties. And there might, also +just possibly, have been Ministry officials who would cover up their +oily reputations by making sure that said drunken Auror's friend got +what he wanted." + +Harry blinked. That smacked more of Slytherin manipulation than +Gryffindor courage to him. But Ron's eyes had lit up. + +``Were the Ministry officials Slytherins?'' he asked. + +``Almost to a one,'' said Sirius with a wink, and then flashed an +apologetic look at Harry over his head. Harry flapped a hand in +dismissal. It \emph{was} true that Slytherin produced more than its +share of slimy Ministry officials, as it had produced more than its +share of Dark wizards. + +``That's not strictly true,'' Draco had told Harry once, his chin tilted +at a haughty angle. ``The stupid Slytherins are the only ones who get +caught. The rest of us are pure quality. No one can ever prove we did +anything wrong.'' + +Harry had pointed out that that did not mean they never \emph{did} +anything wrong, and Draco had pouted at him for the rest of the evening. + +"\emph{Brilliant}," said Ron, an almost deliriously happy smile on his +face. ``Wait until I tell Connor!'' + +He ran out, still not seeming to notice Harry. Harry shrugged. It was +Ron's privilege not to. Since he was nearly Connor's only friend by now, +Harry would prefer that the Weasley boy's eyes keep on shining for his +brother. + +Once Justin had called his attention to it, Harry could see how much the +rest of the school despised Connor. He would never know the deepest +reason---whether it was Justin's story or because Connor had been acting +like a prat in their eyes, too---but that was the way it was. Most of +the Slytherins taunted him now, most of the Hufflepuffs went out of +their way to avoid being in his company, and even Ravenclaw had drawn +away and contented themselves with idle glares in Harry's direction. +Gryffindors would still react to insults against their House, but would +uncomfortably look the other way when Zacharias Smith or Draco made a +comment solely about Connor. + +It frustrated Harry to no end, watching the damage his brother was doing +his future leadership ability among the other Houses and even in his +own, but there was nothing he'd been able to do about it yet. His every +argument with Connor ended somewhere on the petty accusations, such as +Harry winning the Quidditch match. Harry couldn't explain the important +things to him. + +He'd written to their mother, suggesting that she start sending books to +improve Connor's political education again---especially talking about +those times in history when wizards other than Gryffindors had been in +power---but she had never replied to him. If she sent the books, Harry +thought, sunk in gloom, then Connor didn't read them. + +``Harry.'' + +Harry blinked and looked up. Sirius had knelt down in front of him, and +his eyes were solemn. He held out his arms. Harry leaned forward and let +himself be hugged, noting the way that Sirius's hands barely paused on +the bulge of Sylarana under his jumper any more. + +``I know it's hard,'' Sirius whispered. "But you'll win him over, I have +no doubt of it. There's such \emph{loyalty} in you, Harry. I never knew +it until Lily explained everything to me, those days that I was home for +Christmas in Godric's Hollow. Then I understood the full extent of your +sacrifice. And I want to say thank you, and to assure you that your +brother will come around someday. He has to. He's a Gryffindor. It's not +in our nature to stay away from our friends forever." + +Harry closed his eyes, let himself soak in the warmth from his +godfather's body, and tried to believe it. + +``Thank you, Sirius,'' he murmured. + +\emph{Now if Connor would only stop being a prat,} Sylarana remarked +wistfully, \emph{then maybe you could think about something else.} + +Harry didn't respond. What she said was true enough, but so obvious that +he didn't think it interesting. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Excuse me! I have a special announcement to make!'' + +Harry blinked and turned his eyes up to the staff table, where Professor +Lockhart had just risen to his feet and was beaming down at the crowd of +students. His skin no longer looked orange, somewhat to Harry's +disappointment; he'd quit using the paste that Harry had enchanted to +glow in Defense Against the Dark Arts. His hair and teeth were still +suffering from the \emph{Obscurus} charm, though. Lockhart had tried to +brighten them, but since he was a less powerful wizard than Harry, the +best he could do was make his teeth and hair flicker like Christmas +lights. He preened under all the attention he drew. Harry managed a +smile now, thinking that Lockhart would probably never understand the +source of that attention, even if someone explained it to him. + +``Today,'' said Lockhart, gesturing at the red and pink hearts hung +along the walls of the Great Hall, and the small floating hearts jogging +in circles near the ceiling, and the stones crawling with pink and red +spells for the occasion, ``is Valentine's Day.'' + +Draco rolled his eyes and mouthed, "No \emph{shit,}" with just the right +intonation. Harry put a piece of sausage in his mouth to keep from +laughing. + +"Because I've been \emph{Witch Weekly's} Most Charming Smile +award-winner five times in a row," said Lockhart, beaming at them while +his mouth winked on and off and on, "I've decided to do something today +at Hogwarts that will put a smile on \emph{everyone's} face!" He turned +to the doors of the Great Hall and clapped, once. + +The doors opened, and a swarm of fairies flew in, all of them beating +delicate wings to which someone had fastened lace. Harry stared. He knew +what fairies looked like in their natural state, and they were quite +pretty and girly enough. Why Lockhart had wanted to add this touch +bewildered him. + +``The fairies will be granting wishes all day today!'' Lockhart finished +triumphantly. ``So long as your wish relates to your true love, of +course. Let's all get started, and smile, smile, smile!'' + +Harry closed his eyes and put his head in his hands. He could feel Draco +patting his shoulder. + +``Come on, Harry,'' he whispered. ``Maybe it won't be so bad---ouch!'' + +The tiny fairy who'd flown up and blown a cloud of glittering dust on +him flew on, giggling. Draco felt his face and then stared as nothing +came off. He looked back up, and Harry choked again. His eyes were big +puddles of gray in the middle of a face gone absolutely silver. + +``Harry!'' he shouted. ``Did you wish for this to happen to me?'' He was +trying to scowl as threateningly as he could, which admittedly wasn't +very much, given the fairy dust. + +``I'm not your true love,'' said Harry, and then put his head down on +the table and gave in to the urge to simply laugh. + +He did manage to stifle it to snorts when someone came up behind him and +said, in a timid voice, ``I wished that for you, Draco. I just +thought---I just thought you'd be so pretty, with your golden hair and +your silver eyes---'' + +"My eyes aren't \emph{silver}," said Draco, as though horrified by the +mere thought. Harry glanced up to see him glaring at a stunned Pansy +Parkinson. ``And you aren't my true love. Sod off.'' + +Pansy's lower lip quivered for a moment, and then she fled the Great +Hall with a sob. Millicent got up to go after her, giving Draco an +irritated look. + +``That was rude of you, Draco,'' said Harry, mildly, more interested in +watching Millicent leave than in examining what Draco's face looked +like. She'd been dropping rumors again lately, this time hints that she +knew why he and Connor still weren't getting along. Harry was fairly +certain that that was shit. She would have spoken outright by now if she +really knew something incriminating. + +"How do you get fairy dust \emph{off}?" Draco whimpered. Harry looked up +to see him rubbing frantically at his face with two fingers. The silver +dust stayed. It looked to be caking as Harry watched. + +Harry tried a Removal Charm---wandless, just to be showy. Then he +regretted the impulse, because since when did he want to be showy? But +Draco's shriek of shock kept him from worrying about it too much. + +In fascination, Harry watched as the silver dust rearranged itself, +gathering thickly above Draco's eyebrows and around his mouth. He looked +like a clown when it was done. + +Fighting to hold back his laughter, Harry shook his head. ``Sorry, +Draco. It's Lockhart's wonky magic again. I don't know what else I can +do but leave it. I don't want to remove your skin next time.'' + +``Harry, what do I look like?'' Draco asked, his eyes narrowing +dangerously as Harry bit his lip and then choked. + +``Funny,'' Harry admitted, and then put his head down on the table again +and howled. + +Draco slapped him several times on the back of the head, and then Blaise +asked Draco if he had any fake wands for the first-years. While Draco +was attempting to hit a grinning Blaise, Harry slipped away and out of +the Great Hall, shaking his head. + +\emph{I didn't know Pansy had a crush on Draco,} he thought absently as +he peered about for Connor, wondering if he could catch his brother and +try to have a private talk while everyone was still screaming and +running from the fairies. \emph{I should start paying better attention +to my Housemates. Those are the kinds of details that could mean life or +death for Connor someday.} + +He got somewhat distracted as a fairy flew towards him and hovered in +front of him, staring intently into his face. Harry folded his arms and +glared flatly back. A spark of magic should send the fairy scurrying if +it tried anything, but he would rather stare it down. He had worked over +the last few weeks on not always reaching for his magic first of all. + +A subtle movement in his sleeve warned him, but he wasn't quite quick +enough. Sylarana lunged, grabbed the fairy in her mouth, and vanished +back under his jumper. + +``Sylarana!'' Harry said. Hardly anyone looked around at the sight of +him speaking Parseltongue now. Harry would have been more grateful for +the change if he wasn't currently bloody furious with his Locusta. ``Put +her back!'' + +"\emph{Yum,"} said Sylarana. + +``She's a fairy!'' Harry tried. ``An intelligent creature!'' + +"\emph{About as intelligent as one of those fat little dogs that Muggles +keep for company,"} Sylarana disagreed as she slithered up to his +shoulder. "\emph{The stupid ones die, and the smart ones survive. And I +am much smarter than she is. Yummy.}" Harry heard a series of small +popping sounds that he assumed were the distinct cracks of fairy wings +bending as Sylarana swallowed the poor thing headfirst. + +He hissed and reached into his jumper, trying to pry his snake out, but +someone loomed over him and boomed cheerfully, ``Ah, there you are, +young Mr. Potter. I wanted to talk to you. Come with me, please!'' + +Harry glanced up, and froze. Lockhart stood over him, and Harry was +pretty sure that he had just seen Sylarana eat his fairy. He didn't +think there was any polite way to refuse, especially with Draco not here +to rescue him. He sighed and followed the great git to his office. + +Lockhart's office, unsurprisingly, was filled with pictures of himself, +winking and waving and grooming their hair in front of hundreds of +different wild and lonely places---caves, forests, cliffs. Harry knew +they were the places that Lockhart had supposedly been on his +adventures, but he found it difficult to believe. For one thing, he +doubted that Lockhart could survive away from a regular source of +running water and hand lotion. + +Lockhart waved Harry to a chair in front of his desk and sat down in the +chair on the other side of it, making a soft pleased noise through his +teeth. ``Now,'' he said. ``Enjoying Defense against the Dark Arts, are +you?'' + +Harry stared at him. Had the man really brought him here just to talk to +him about his performance in the class? + +``Overwhelmed, you're overwhelmed, I know,'' Lockhart chuckled, bending +down and fumbling for something in a drawer of the desk. ``Imagine, +talking privately with a celebrity like me!'' + +Harry gritted his teeth. ``The class is going well, sir.'' He cast +around for something else to say, something that would sound adoring of +Lockhart without actually being adoring. He couldn't think of anything. +That Lockhart was a git was shouting too loudly in his head. + +Lockhart straightened back up and pointed his wand at Harry. Harry was +abruptly focused, his frustration and irritation running away like +rainwater on a glass window. He met Lockhart's eyes, and decided that +the man didn't know about his wandless magic, though Harry had assumed +it was common knowledge among the professors now. Otherwise, he would +have made sure that Harry was gagged before he showed him the wand. Of +course, that wouldn't have done much good, since Harry could also cast +some non-verbal spells, but it would have shown more sense than Lockhart +was showing right now. + +\emph{What kind of idiot leaves his wand in his desk?} Sylarana asked, +slithering to the edge of his sleeve. \emph{Especially when he's just +loosed a lot of fairies in the school that he knows most wizards won't +approve of? Not that I know why they wouldn't approve of them; they are +delicious.} + +\emph{I don't want you to bite him,} Harry told her flatly. \emph{Not +yet, at least. Let's see what he wants.} + +That seemed to satisfy his Locusta, who calmed down. Harry met +Lockhart's eyes and asked, ``What's all this about?'' + +"I traced your magical signature on the \emph{Obscurus} charm," said +Lockhart. His voice sounded different, Harry realized, lacking the +round, full tones that made it melodramatic. It reminded him of +Quirrell, and Harry had the brief urge to close his eyes and groan. +Could Dumbledore hire \emph{no} Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers +who weren't hiding some kind of secret? ``I know that you've been the +one dimming my beauty for the past several months. You're probably +jealous of my monumental good looks. Remove the charm.'' + +Harry blinked at innocently at him. "But, professor, you're a great +wizard, and I'm just a schoolboy. I'm certain that you could remove the +charm yourself if you \emph{really} wanted." + +Lockhart's wand wavered for a moment, and then his face recovered its +mask of arrogance. ``Of course I could. But I don't want to. I want you +to remove it, since you were the one who insulted me by putting it on me +in the first place.'' His wand kept on pointing at Harry. + +Harry studied Lockhart for a moment. He supposed he could remove the +\emph{Obscurus}, and it really wouldn't make much difference. The man +wasn't doing anything to make Connor's life miserable any more. He was +too busy doing that himself to notice even if Lockhart had been, Harry +thought, his mind recalled to its preoccupation with his brother. + +He shrugged. "All right. \emph{Finite Incantatem.}" + +Lockhart's eyes and teeth began sparkling again, and the Christmas +lights effect vanished. Harry was sorry to lose it, but it would have +grown boring in a short time anyway. + +\emph{Now you are learning to think like a Locusta,} Sylarana remarked +to him. + +Harry stroked her back and watched as Lockhart patted at his hair and +teeth with a trembling hand, flashed an exploratory smile at the mirror +that occupied one full wall of the office, and then nodded. ``That will +do,'' he said. ``And I know that you surely didn't mean it for to last +so long, Mr. Potter. After all, you probably intended it for your +brother Connor, since he says you're so jealous of him.'' + +Harry shuddered. He hoped that the desperate desire for company who +could tolerate him hadn't driven Connor to talk to \emph{Lockhart.} +``Can I go now, Professor?'' he asked, thinking that he needed to dream +up a new hex for the git---one that wasn't so immediately noticeable. + +``Of course,'' said Lockhart. Harry hopped out of his chair and made for +the door. He did turn around as Lockhart called out, ``One more thing.'' + +He saw the determination on the other wizard's face, and suspected +something even before the wand was pointed at him and the word +"\emph{Obliviate!}" was muttered. + +Harry felt the spell coming at him and reacted instinctively---not by +moving away, but with Occlumency. The moment the spell struck the outer +surface of his mind and tried to eat those memories concerned with +Lockhart and his asking Harry to remove the \emph{Obscurus}, Harry's +webs flipped it off, bounced it off the solid defenses that he had +locked still in other places, no matter what Snape said, and then +shattered it to dust and silence. Harry shook his head and looked back +up at Lockhart. + +The blond wizard had opened his mouth, probably to give Harry a command +or tell him what false memories would replace the real ones, but now he +closed it and reeled backwards, sitting down hard in the chair behind +the desk. Harry took a step forward. Lockhart's face turned the color of +old cheese. + +``You resisted it,'' he said. + +``Yes,'' said Harry. "And you had no need to \emph{Obliviate} me at all, +except that you tried." He could hear Sylarana's angry hissing and her +pleas to be let at the man who had threatened Harry, but his own mind +was racing, trying to come up with ways to use this situation to his +advantage. "Were you \emph{that} worried that I would tell someone about +that silly charm?" + +But he knew the answer even as he asked. No, Lockhart wasn't that +worried about being embarrassed, certainly not enough to produce the +spell out of nowhere. That had been a long-practiced reaction, coming +from someone who had used the spell so often that it was his first +defense. + +Harry's eyes flicked to the photos on the wall, and he remembered his +earlier thought about it being unlikely that Lockhart had gone to so +many places, fought so many battles, and yet posed for pictures looking +like that. \emph{You'd think}, Harry's mind murmured with the sarcasm +that seemed to have become natural to him lately, \emph{that he'd want +at least one photo where he posed with blood all over himself and the +corpse of whatever monster he killed at his feet.} + +\emph{Unless he didn't really kill them, of course.} + +Harry looked back narrowly at Lockhart. ``You let other people kill +those Dark creatures,'' he said. "And then you \emph{Obliviated} anyone +who could have told differently, didn't you? Those were other wizards +and witches, actual brave heroes, who did the dirty work. You just +showed up and claimed the credit." + +Lockhart became even paler. He tried to say something, but the only +thing that would come out of his throat was a strangled noise. + +Harry prowled closer to the desk, abruptly feeling better than he had in +a month, the last time he'd really had hope that a confrontation with +Connor would go as planned. + +``You know that a secret like that would get you sacked from the +school,'' he said. "And more than that, no one would ever trust you +again. You'd get laughed at and smeared by the \emph{Prophet}. And +\emph{Witch Weekly} would never choose you for their Most Charming Smile +award again." + +Lockhart gave a little gurgling cry and put his hands over his face. He +was shaking badly. + +Harry cocked his head to the side. He knew he was going to blackmail +Lockhart, and he also knew he was doing it for his own reasons. This was +a Slytherin tactic, and he had a Slytherin motivation. He couldn't +really claim he was doing this for the side of the Light, except +insomuch as every action to heal his wounds with Connor was an action +taken for the side of the Light. + +And he didn't care. + +``I think that I know what you should do,'' he said calmly. + +``What?'' Lockhart lowered his hands and stared at him without much +hope. + +``I think that you should stop worrying,'' said Harry softly, and folded +his arms over his chest. Sylarana slithered out of his sleeve, muttering +petulantly that he could have told her if he didn't need her. Harry +ignored that, too. ``I'm not going to expose you---unless you try to +Memory Charm me again, or unless you don't do what I want you to do.'' + +Lockhart's face actually relaxed. Harry blinked, then supposed that this +kind of wizard was more at home with underhanded tactics than fair ones. +Briefly, he wondered if Lockhart had been a Slytherin when he was in +school. Draco would say that he wasn't a proper one, of course, since he +got caught. + +``Anything you like,'' said Lockhart, leaning forward. "Would you like a +photograph, autographed, that would usually go for a hundred Galleons? +An advance copy of \emph{Run-ins with Runespoors?} A cream that---" + +``None of those,'' said Harry. ``I want you to assign me a detention +with my brother, some time next weekend.'' He thought that was the best +time, since Connor would have played Hufflepuff and won by then, and he +couldn't take the excuse of hurrying away for classes or homework that +was due the next morning. ``And then make absolutely sure that we aren't +disturbed by anyone, not even Filch or one of the other professors.'' + +Lockhart gave a slow blink, as though he could not imagine why Harry +wanted such a thing, but then he nodded. ``I can do that.'' + +``Do it,'' said Harry, ``and I'll forget about this.'' He paused, +wondering if the man needed another reminder, and then decided that it +wouldn't hurt as Lockhart's eyes slid sideways to his wand again. He was +entirely too dependent on Memory Charms. "As long as you don't try +another \emph{Obliviate.} Then I'm afraid I would have no alternative +but to go to Dumbledore." + +Lockhart nodded. ``Of course.'' He studied Harry for a long moment, then +said, ``Why?'' + +Harry raised his eyebrows at him. + +``You're a powerful wizard,'' said Lockhart. "I knew it when I couldn't +remove the \emph{Obscurus} myself." Like this, his face was almost +pleasant. Harry wondered if the git persona was part of the act, too. +``Why would you want to make up with your brother instead of just +blasting him into oblivion?'' + +``You don't understand anything,'' said Harry, shifting the balance of +power back, and felt unexpectedly satisfied when Lockhart paled and +looked away from him. ``And you're in no position to be asking questions +of me.'' + +Lockhart nodded, then stood up. ``I'll see you in detention next week, +then, Mr. Potter.'' + +``Actually, you won't,'' said Harry, and made his tone cool and +conversational. ``If you interrupt me while I'm finishing things with my +brother, I'll hex your balls off.'' + +Lockhart swallowed, looking as though he didn't doubt Harry would do it, +and stayed stock-still as Harry slipped out of the office. Sylarana +hissed cheerfully at him as they made their way back towards the Great +Hall. \emph{Now you are acting like a snake. Attacking what you want, +acknowledging reality.} + +Harry barely paid attention to her. He was thinking, the edge of his +resolve slicing through his uneasy thoughts about Connor. + +That was the problem with all their other meetings, he decided: Connor +had felt compelled to play up to their audience, even one as small as +Sirius was, and he could leave the room. Stuck in a place he couldn't +leave, and without anyone else to feel he had to impress, he was going +to \emph{listen} to Harry. + +\emph{He had better.} + +Harry shivered and shook his head. That last thought had sounded like +the cold voice of his magic, like Tom Riddle. + +But he was not like Tom Riddle. He was not. He was not going to turn on +his brother. He was going to make up with him. + +\emph{By force, if necessary.} + +But that didn't mean he was evil. It just meant he was\ldots{}forceful. + +Not forceful enough to keep from dissolving into laughter when he saw +Draco, of course. The other boy's latest attempt to remove the fairy +dust had ended up smearing the silver stuff into a single large splotch +on his cheek, a splotch that just happened to look like the Gryffindor +lion. + +Harry took great delight in pointing this out, and even greater delight +in running down the dungeon corridors while Draco chased him yelling +threats. + +\subsection{*Chapter 22*: A Renewal of +Bonds}\label{chapter-22-a-renewal-of-bonds} + +Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter! Review responses up in a +little while. + +I adore this chapter. It is not entirely happy, but it makes Harry +happy. + +\textbf{Chapter Twenty-One: A Renewal of Bonds} + +Harry glanced up and caught Lockhart's eye a moment before he knocked +his books and his ink off his table. The ink bounced and sprayed in +every direction, coating his books and a good portion of the other +Slytherins' robes before finally coming to rest. Harry bit back a smile. +He should be looking horrified, like everyone else. No one else would +understand that his grin came from the nonverbal Levitation Charm he'd +performed on both the bottle and the ink simultaneously, to insure that +it went in all the right directions. + +``Mr. Potter!'' Lockhart exclaimed as he swooped down on them. "That is +a \emph{very} naughty mess that you have just created! What is your +explanation for it?" + +``Sod off, Professor,'' said Harry pleasantly, and then bent down to +pick up his books. There was silence for a long moment, save for +Millicent's hastily stifled guffaw. Harry could almost feel Lockhart +wondering if Harry was enjoying the opportunity to criticize him without +Lockhart being able to retaliate in any way but the one they'd agreed +on. + +\emph{That's a silly thing to wonder about,} Harry thought as he +straightened and smiled at Lockhart's shocked expression. \emph{Of +course I am.} + +``Mr. Potter!'' Lockhart managed to splutter at last. ``I am surprised +at you! Showing such disrespect to a teacher, and one who has achieved +more than you ever will, no less! Your brother, now, he might rival me +if he applied himself a bit more. But not you!'' + +Harry couldn't help himself. He held Lockhart's eye and raised his +brows. Both of them knew what his ``achievements'' were really worth. +Harry couldn't believe that he'd used that line on \emph{him}. + +Lockhart waved a finger at him. ``Detention, young man!'' he said. +``Come to my office at noon on Sunday. You'll stay until all my fan +letters are properly answered.'' + +``Of course, sir,'' said Harry, and sat down in his seat again, ignoring +the ink that still smeared the legs of the table. Let Lockhart clean it +up. It would do him good to perform a useful spell for once. + +He calmed his urge to grin at Lockhart's back. He was only doing this +for Connor. That was the only reason he was acting like a Slytherin. He +\emph{had} to remember that, or he was too likely to start acting like +one for its own sake. + +``Good one, Potter.'' + +Harry turned around and stared curiously at Millicent. ``What do you +mean, Bulstrode?'' + +``I can't imagine why you want detention with the grinning git,'' said +Millicent, turning back to her quiz on Lockhart's adventures with the +Baden Banshee, ``but it seems as though you're getting what you +wanted.'' + +Harry carried on staring at her for a moment. Millicent, he decided at +last, was just unconscionably nosy. + +``What does she mean?'' Draco whispered to him. ``What do you want +detention with him for?'' + +Harry, too aware of the listening ears behind them, shook his head. +``I'll tell you later,'' he said. + +He wrote for a few more moments, then gave Millicent a glare for good +measure. She just smirked back at him, her eyes sharp with curiosity. + +\emph{Stop looking at me,} Harry thought, and that helped to reassure +him. He couldn't have grown too far away from what he was supposed to +be, if he was still nervous about the attention. + +\emph{} + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +\emph{Did you see the look on his face?} Sylarana asked as they walked +towards Lockhart's office on Sunday. She was wrapped around Harry's +neck, for once, flashes of her golden scales visible where his robes +fell away. Her head rested just below his chin. \emph{Draco, I mean. +When you told him that he wasn't coming with you?} + +Harry nodded. He was too embarrassed to say anything aloud yet. Draco +had assumed he was going with Harry to the detention to confront Connor, +once Harry told him what it was about, and then thrown a fit when Harry +revealed that he wanted to talk to his brother alone. Harry had calmly +answered him until Draco finally flung himself on his bed to sulk. + +Then he had noticed that bloody bottle that Harry had given him, and +noticed that it was purple, which indicated that Harry felt protective +towards Draco. That had made Draco immediately smile and begin teasing +Harry about how he wanted to keep the poor little Malfoy safe from his +big nasty brother. Harry had tried to answer, but ended up flushing and +getting away as fast as he could. + +\emph{Think about the funny things,} Sylarana instructed him. \emph{It +is beyond me why you must think of the depressing ones.} + +Harry sighed in relief as he finally reached the door of Lockhart's +office. He already knew the git wasn't there; he had overheard Connor +talking and saying that his detention began at five minutes before noon, +so the professor would have summoned him and made some excuse to slip +away. + +Harry let out a long, slow breath, then said, \emph{I think it's time +for you to think about something depressing.} He unwound Sylarana from +his neck, and she let him, absolutely astonished. He put her on the +floor. \emph{When I said that I was going to talk to my brother alone, I +meant it.} + +\emph{But if I get too far from you, the ward will sound and the cage +will fall down around me.} Sylarana sounded absolutely childish, her +tail lashing so hard that it hit the wall. \emph{I hurt myself}, she +whined. + +\emph{I must,} said Harry. \emph{And as long as you don't move too far +away from the door, then the ward won't activate. I know it falls at a +greater distance than ten feet.} + +\emph{You think I'm going to sit here and wait for you like a dog?} + +Harry shook his head. \emph{As you pointed out, the ward and the cage +are the only things waiting for you if you don't.} He pushed open the +door and stepped inside before she could complain about anything else, +and shut it behind him. Of course, a piece of thick wood wouldn't stop +her from speaking in his head, but he thought she would respect this +meeting enough not to do so. + +\emph{Maybe.} + +Connor sat in a chair in front of Lockhart's desk, wearily sorting +through a large pile of post. One pile, mostly pink and blue letters on +scented paper that Harry could smell from here, looked like women's +letters. There was a smaller, white pile in front of Connor, and a gold +pile off to the side. + +``I'm almost done with the sorting, Professor,'' Connor said, without +looking behind him. ``Which pile do you want answered first?'' + +Harry closed his eyes. His brother sounded so tired. Of course it was +tiring, having all the school against you. And Connor didn't have the +comfort of an entire House rallying around him, the way that the +Slytherins had rallied around Harry after he declared that he was a +Parselmouth. + +\emph{Truly, his life is harder than mine is. It's easy to forget that +when he's acting like such a prat, but it's the truth.} + +``It's me, Connor,'' he said quietly. + +Connor jumped as if stung, dropped the last few letters he held, and +whirled around without getting out of the chair. His eyes had narrowed, +and so many emotions flashed across them that Harry was momentarily +astonished. He was too used to being around people who controlled their +emotions now, or at most showed only one, the way that Draco tended to. +But in Connor's eyes were weariness, sorrow, anger, desperation, and +fear. + +\emph{He's afraid of me. My own brother is afraid of me.} + +Harry braced himself. This was one of the things they would speak about, +then. At least it made a fresh start to an argument, the way that trying +to talk to Connor about Tom Riddle or Quidditch simply didn't anymore. + +``Why are you afraid of me?'' he asked. + +Connor gaped at him a moment, then drew himself together and snapped, +``I'm not! Gryffindors are never scared!'' + +\emph{Oh, Connor}, thought Harry, feeling as if his heart could break +for his brother. \emph{Your courage is your greatest virtue, but I could +wish you weren't so stubborn.} + +``Yes, you are,'' he said. ``You're scared of me, and I want to know +why. Do you really think that I'm going to Petrify you, or hurt you? I +would never do that, Connor.'' + +``You've been hurting me almost every day since September,'' said +Connor, staring at him. + +Harry winced as he acknowledged the truth of that, but said, ``I +wouldn't hurt you on purpose, then. And I've come here to try to make it +up to you.'' + +``How can you?'' Connor muttered, sounding sulky and rebellious. He was +grinding his chin into the back of the chair now, and his hands were +clenched together. ``You can't change the past, and you can't give me my +Quidditch victory back, and you can't make it so that you never +Petrified Luna or Neville.'' + +Harry held onto his temper. He was not going to let Connor turn this +argument onto those overtrodden paths. ``Connor,'' he said quietly, "I +want to know why you're afraid of me. I want to know why you lied and +told Ron and Hermione that you came to see me when you never did. I want +to know why, every time I've tried to repair our arguments in the past +several months, you've never listened, but always run away like a hurt, +spoiled child. That's not who you are. I \emph{know} that's not who you +are. The brother you are is the one who welcomed me even when he found +out I was a Parselmouth, who said I was good even after I was Sorted +into Slytherin. What's wrong with you? What's the root of all this?" + +The terror in Connor's eyes was growing. He turned away from Harry and +wrapped his arms around himself, shivering. + +Harry took a tentative step forward. This was at least better than +having Connor scream at him, but it felt as though someone were +regularly punching him each time he saw his twin tremble. ``Connor,'' he +whispered. ``What's wrong? It's something more than just having me look +evil, isn't it?'' + +Connor gave the tiniest of nods. + +``Tell me,'' Harry whispered. + +``No!'' Connor leaped off his chair and landed in front of Harry, his +fists clenched and his eyes blazing. Harry recognized another attempt to +move their argument back in the direction of old, familiar territory, +territory where they would \emph{both} be screaming too hard at each +other to speak. "It's nothing, it's nothing you would understand, you +wouldn't even \emph{care}, you're too busy betraying me and hurting me +to notice!" + +Harry held onto his temper again. He wished now that he still had the +box, since his anger was boiling and shifting about under the surface, +and it would have been a great help to clear his mind so easily and +efficiently. + +But he reminded himself that there was something wrong here. There +\emph{had} to be something wrong. Connor had just admitted that there +was. This was the most progress that Harry had made with his brother +since the end of October, and it was now nearly the end of February. +There was no way that he would let this slip away from him. + +He'd missed Connor. He'd missed hearing his brother's voice, joking with +him, laughing with him, trying to provoke him into a scowl. He'd missed +knowing that his place in Connor's life was sweet and simple and +uncomplicated, that Connor considered him always as a brother and friend +and would never go to anyone else, even Ron, with news about something +first. In reality, that part of their bond had disintegrated even +earlier than October, since the moment Connor told Ron that he was +having nightmares about Voldemort's attack rather than tell Harry. + +\emph{It stops now. I want my brother back.} + +``I've never betrayed you, Connor, except in the service of an ideal +greater than just brotherhood,'' he said calmly. + +Connor stared at him, eyes narrowing. \emph{You're not following the +script,} his gaze said. \emph{I don't understand.} + +``I may sometimes have betrayed what you wanted of me,'' said Harry, his +gaze firmly on Connor's. "But that doesn't matter. I've never betrayed +the Boy-Who-Lived. And that \emph{is} who you are, Connor, even though +you haven't been acting like him these past few months." + +Connor paled more than before. He choked out something, then immediately +put a hand over his mouth, as though he hadn't meant to say that. + +Harry stared at him. That---\emph{that} was the thing that had been +worrying Connor? Where had he got \emph{that} idea? + +\emph{If I find out it was from Snape, I am going to set a nasty trap +for him in our next Occlumency lesson, that's for sure and certain.} + +Harry came forward, gripped Connor's shoulders, and forced his brother +to meet his eyes. Miserable hazel eyes stared back. This was the emotion +at the root of it all, Harry could see, though it had become clouded +with self-loathing and self-doubt. Harry gently stroked his brother's +hair back so that he could see the heart-shaped scar on his forehead +more fully. + +"You \emph{are} the Boy-Who-Lived, Connor," he said. ``Who else could +have defeated Voldemort when he was a baby? Who else could have defeated +him last year? I don't know where you got the ridiculous idea that you +aren't. You are.'' He hugged Connor close, fiercely, and shut his eyes +as he did it. + +\emph{No wonder he's been acting like a prat. He thought he'd had his +entire identity ripped away.} + +"No one---no one \emph{told} me," Connor whispered. His words were +barely intelligible, choked with months of pent-up anguish, but Harry +had trained to understand this voice since they were both a year and a +half old. He could make out what Connor was saying. ``I just +started---thinking. I thought about how much stronger magically you are +than I am, Harry. And don't say you aren't,'' he added, though Harry +hadn't gathered breath for a denial. ``I know you are. I can feel it +more, now. And then I thought about how long you fought V-Voldemort last +year, and how you saved me from the troll, and the Lestranges. And I +thought about how fast you fly. I thought it was your new broom that let +you beat me in Quidditch, but it wasn't, was it? It was your own +talent.'' He put his arms around Harry, holding him desperately. "And +V-Voldemort attacked \emph{you} this year, not me. Maybe he really wants +\emph{you} dead. Maybe \emph{you} were the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry. You +even have a scar, too." + +Harry shook his head. He felt warm, and strong, and more certain than he +ever had been of anything. His brother was holding him again. + +``None of that matters, Connor,'' he whispered. + +Connor seemed to be trying to pull away so that he could look into +Harry's face, but Harry wouldn't let him. He just shook his head again. +The world was the way it should be again. If only Harry had known that +this was what was bothering his brother, he could have reassured him +long ago. + +``Power doesn't matter,'' Harry continued. "Voldemort is strong, and +look at \emph{him}. He's a Dark wizard, Connor, unable to love, unable +to live. You defeated him the moment he approached you. Power doesn't +make someone born to do something, not the way that love does. I may be +strong, but it would mean nothing if I didn't love you. I'd turn to the +Dark as easily as Voldemort did if I didn't have some kind of anchor +holding me to the human side. More power just means more temptation." + +Connor had stopped moving. Then he said slowly, ``But Headmaster +Dumbledore is even more powerful, and he's of the Light.'' + +``Headmaster Dumbledore is one in a million,'' said Harry firmly. "He +knows all the temptations, and when a Dark Lord appeared, he defeated +him. That's because he knows that he wouldn't have been happy serving +the Dark, that he would have been defeated eventually. He has +\emph{wisdom}, and that's better than power." He paused for a long +moment. ``Do you know who the next strongest wizard in the school is, +after Professor Dumbledore and me?'' + +Connor shook his head. His hair rustled against Harry's cheek. Harry +breathed in his brother's hesitant belief and felt it burst in him like +song, like fireworks, like the feeling he had when he flew. He was the +one who could give Connor reassurance. And this really \emph{was} power. +He could have thrown Tom Riddle off without a struggle now if he had +tried to take possession of Harry's mind. Sheer magical power was as +nothing against love. + +``Professor Snape,'' he said, and felt Connor jolt. This time, he let +his brother draw back and smiled into his face. ``Yes, I know. That +surprised me, too. But it's true. And Snape turned to the Dark for a +long time, and had to fight his way back to the Light on a long and +bitter road. So you see, Connor, wisdom has to be united with power, or +it means nothing. You have the wisdom already.'' He dared to shove his +brother's shoulder gently. ``Though not so much as all that, or you +could have come to me the moment you started suspecting this and I would +have reassured you. Prat.'' + +Connor slowly nodded. ``And the Seeker talent?'' he asked. + +Harry snorted. ``Do you really think being a good Seeker has anything to +do with being the Boy-Who-Lived?'' + +``Well, no, I guess not,'' Connor said. "But I thought---I don't know. I +thought I was supposed to be the best at everything because I was the +Boy-Who-Lived, and I was letting everyone down if I wasn't. And I +thought I \emph{was} a better Seeker than you were." He leaned back and +stared steadily into Harry's eyes. + +Harry grimaced. He supposed that if he had to shed one of the gentle +cloaks of concealment he'd wrapped Connor in, better that it be this one +than one of the others. He didn't think Connor was quite ready to hear +that Harry didn't expect to survive the Second War, that he assumed he +would die defending Connor as Connor defeated Voldemort, and that he had +embraced his future death joyously. ``You're not,'' he said, and it +hurt, and the expression on Connor's face revealed that it hurt him, +too. + +``But then why?'' Connor asked. ``Why hide that from me?'' + +``Because I thought it would be best if the Boy-Who-Lived looked to be +good at everything, too,'' said Harry. ``But Quidditch is a small arena +to succeed in, in the end. Really, Connor, you've done much more damage +to yourself in the school elsewhere.'' + +Connor blushed and bowed his head. ``In a minute,'' he said. ``Tell me +in a minute. First, tell me more about why you don't think that you're +the Boy-Who-Lived. Voldemort attacked you, not me.'' + +``Because he knew that would be the best way to make you miserable,'' +said Harry sharply. "And it \emph{worked}, didn't it?" + +Connor stared at him with wide eyes. + +``Have you ever felt so bad in these last few months as you felt then?'' +Harry asked, this time shaking Connor's shoulders slightly. He let his +own pain creep into his voice, the mingled pain of losing Connor, of +losing his place in the scheme of things as he understood it, and of +knowing that part of him had rejoiced in the sudden freedom, shaking off +its bonds as though they were actually chains and not bonds of love that +Harry had assumed freely. ``Have you ever spent so many days just +chewing on your lip and wanting things to be different?'' + +Connor closed his eyes and began to cry. + +Harry rocked his brother against his chest, and felt Connor's arms crush +him frantically closer. ``Voldemort did that because he knew it would +hurt you,'' Harry whispered. "He knew that it would hurt you to make you +think your own brother was capable of Dark things, and he \emph{made} +you doubt me, because you're so naturally of the Light." Connor +stiffened in his arms, but Harry pretended not to notice, though he knew +they would address it in a minute. ``You can't let him get to you like +this, Connor. Everyone needs you strong and shining. You've lived +against him twice. You can get past this, too.'' + +``And the scar?'' Connor whispered, as if he were insistent that +everything in his original list needed to be addressed before they could +move on. + +Harry snorted again. ``Didn't you ever listen to Mum?'' he scolded. +"They came back after you defeated Voldemort. They know that you were +the one who had the curse scar, Connor. They could \emph{feel} that. +They knew that a piece of ceiling had fallen and carved my head up. +That's all." + +``If yours was an ordinary wound, then it should have healed without a +scar,'' Connor whispered stubbornly. + +``Then so should yours have,'' Harry pointed out mercilessly. "Besides, +Mum told me about this, the first time I asked her why I had a scar at +all. She \emph{did} try to heal me, but she was scared and shocky. +They'd thought we were Voldemort's captives, thanks to Pettigrew's lies, +and then come back to find us bleeding. She tried to help one of her +children instinctively, but she's never been the best at medical magic, +and she only healed it partially." He shrugged. ``It's been the same for +so long now that it would do me serious damage to have someone try to +heal it again.'' + +``And they tried to heal mine, too?'' Connor whispered. + +``Yes,'' said Harry, on firmer footing now. Lily had told him this part +of the story, too. "They tried, but it wouldn't get further down than +the heart mark it is right now. And then they realized it was a curse +scar. You \emph{are} the Boy-Who-Lived, Connor, and I don't want you to +hear you doubt yourself again without coming and telling me about it." + +Connor gave a little sob, and abruptly started trembling. Harry held him +closer. ``What is it?'' he asked. + +``But the Boy-Who-Lived is supposed to be of the Light,'' Connor +whispered. ``And what if I'm not?'' + +Harry frowned in perplexity. \emph{What can possibly be bothering him +now?} ``What do you mean?'' + +``I---I learned that I have a magical gift,'' Connor whispered. "A Dark +one. Worse than Parseltongue. I don't know what to do, Harry. I didn't +know I was using it at first, and then I tried to quit, and then I tried +to hide it, and it \emph{hurts} knowing everyone would blame me for it +and hate me, and I couldn't tell anyone if I couldn't tell you, and I +was already angry and upset with you because I thought maybe you knew +you were the Boy-Who-Lived and were just lying to humor me, and then I +tried to forget about it---" + +``Show me.'' + +Connor froze, then swallowed. ``But it's Dark.'' + +``I showed you that I could speak Parseltongue,'' said Harry, stepping +away from his brother. Connor swayed as if he would collapse without the +support, but Harry stopped himself from going to him. Connor had to +learn to start standing up and acting like the Boy-Who-Lived again, as +soon as possible. He \emph{was}, but everyone else needed to think so, +too. ``Show me this.'' + +Connor closed his eyes, then opened them again and met Harry's gaze with +a cool, calm directness. + +Harry felt as though a wind had entered his body through his eyes. He +could feel it curling around his mind. He could have stopped it using +Occlumency, but, curious, he watched as it turned and rustled here and +there, seeking he didn't know what. + +Then it vanished, and he found himself taking a step forward that he +hadn't known he was going to take. He blinked. + +``You see?'' Connor whispered. ``I wanted you to take that step forward, +so you did. It's compulsion, Harry.'' He looked sick with himself. "I +didn't even realize I was using it to compel Hermione and Ron to go +along with me at first, and then I let it go, and Hermione stopped +believing in me. So did a lot of other people. Ron just stays with me +because he's my friend, and that's wonderful, but---I used it! I have +it! It's Dark, and I don't know what to \emph{do.}" With a wail of +distress, he sat down hard on the floor of Lockhart's office. + +Harry shook his head, smiling. Then he knelt down and hugged Connor, who +promptly stopped trying to cry in his shock. ``You really are a prat,'' +he whispered to him. ``You should have known that I would accept this. I +accept all that you are, Connor, even when you are acting like a prat.'' + +``But it's Dark,'' whispered Connor. + +``Of course it is,'' said Harry, and ignored Connor's sudden attempt to +break free from him. "\emph{Untrained}. If it's untrained, then you're +going to go around influencing people's minds for selfish purposes, and +they won't know it. But if you're trained, then you can choose when to +use it and when not to, and you'll know when it's best to use it and +when it's not, too." He gave Connor's shoulders another little shake. +``I can't believe that you were so worried about this that you ran +around trying to hide it. Dumbledore has that ability, too, you know. +You remember how he calmed down everyone in the Great Hall after they +found out I was a Parselmouth? And you remember that he's of the Light? +The greatest Light wizard?'' + +Connor sniffled once. Then he said, ``I do remember that. But---that was +a good thing. Someone might have hurt you, or someone might have fired +off a spell meant for you and hit someone else.'' + +``Very good,'' said Harry, and restricted the dry tone to his voice and +the sarcastic things he wanted to say next. Connor wasn't really ready +for that kind of humor yet. "It \emph{can} be a good thing, Connor, just +the way that I could have used Parseltongue to restrain Sylarana or +command her to attack other people. It's Dark if you just let it run +around untrained." + +``Oh,'' Connor murmured. + +``So go to Dumbledore,'' Harry encouraged him. ``He can find you a +teacher if he can't actually train you himself. He'll train you to use +your compulsion ability, and then you'll be even more charismatic than +you were before. This ability can be an asset to the Boy-Who-Lived, +Connor. And once you have Dumbledore's wisdom, then you won't use it +wrongly or selfishly.'' + +Connor sniffled once. Then he said, ``So you forgive me, Harry?'' + +``Of course,'' said Harry, shifting so that his arms were fully around +his brother once more. ``If you forgive me.'' + +``Of course,'' Connor whispered back, and they sat there in silence for +a few moments. Harry closed his eyes and savored the feeling of being +purely \emph{happy}. It had been rare this year. Even when he'd been in +Connor's good graces, he'd been trying to distance himself from the +Slytherins and Draco, and then he'd been their friend but distrusted by +most of the school, and then he'd been Connor's enemy. Now he could +think that everything was going to be all right, for the first time in a +long time. His life had finally resumed the course it was meant to. + +Then Connor stirred and said, ``You said I'd done myself a lot of +damage. What does that mean?'' + +Harry sighed and sat back, taking his brother's hand in his own. +Connor's eyes were big and earnest, and he appeared willing to listen +for the first time. Even this summer, Harry remembered, he'd fussed and +sighed over the wizarding history their mother tried to make him learn. + +``You need to be a leader,'' said Harry softly. "You need to lead +\emph{everybody}. That means that you need to lead Slytherins as well as +Gryffindors and Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and that you need to lead +pureblooded wizards as well as halfbloods and Muggleborns." + +``But I don't see why,'' said Connor, blinking at him. ``I mean, when +the Boy---when I defeat Voldemort, that will be it, won't I? They just +need me to fight him. They don't need me to do anything else.'' + +Harry smiled. If he had to destroy this piece of his brother's +innocence, at least he could give him good news in its place. + +``They do,'' he said gently. ``You're their icon, Connor. You make them +feel safe. You make them feel like you can't do anything wrong. There +will be times when you mess up, of course, but you'll mess up less if +you accept that you're a political leader, a war leader, as well as a +fighter against Voldemort. I think you'll probably end up the next +Minister of Magic if you want to.'' + +Connor just stared at him. Harry could see that those were bigger dreams +than he'd ever cherished. For a moment more, he held on to the idea of +Connor as a child, playing, radiantly unselfconscious and ignorant of +the eyes upon him. + +Then he broke it. It was time to show Connor just who he really was, how +much of the Light was in him. + +``I know that you can forgive anyone,'' Harry whispered. "I know that +you can unite \emph{anyone}, once you put your mind to it. And that's +what you'll need to do. The other Houses here distrust you. You'll have +to put your mind to reassuring them and calming them down." + +``Even the Slytherins?'' Connor asked, with a sharp moue of distaste. + +``Even them,'' Harry affirmed calmly. ``They're not all like me, Connor, +but they're not all like Lucius Malfoy, either. And with time and +pressure enough, you may swing even the Death Eaters to your side.'' + +``What makes you so sure?'' Connor scowled at him. + +"Because you \emph{are} the Boy-Who-Lived," said Harry. He knew his own +faith on this score was absolute, and he let it shine through his eyes. +``You were chosen for that because you have such purity and love. Let it +shine through, and they'll see and accept you for who you are. Who could +choose to follow a madman like Voldemort when they see someone else +standing with his arms open, accepting even purebloods and others who +made a mistake in the past? Yes, they resisted Dumbledore, but he had a +certain reputation long before Voldemort started his rise. You're +different. You're new. You can make an impression on them that the +Headmaster never dreamed of. You'll save us all, Connor. I really +believe it.'' + +Connor blinked, once. Then he said, ``I---I can see it, Harry, and it's +wonderful. I'd like to help make a world like that.'' + +Harry buried his face in his brother's shoulder to hide a smile. He +could see the vision, too: Connor, grown strong and mighty, shining with +light after Voldemort's defeat, with men and women gazing up at him in +awe as they listened to him mend old rifts and rectify old injustices. + +And at his right shoulder stood Harry, wrapped in shadows, with no one +paying attention to him beside his brother, but \emph{there.} + +Of course, they would never get there if they didn't start working to +repair Connor's last few months of horrible, deeply undiplomatic +behavior. + +``The first thing you need to do,'' Harry said, ``is make some gestures +towards House unity.'' + +Connor nodded. ``What would you suggest?'' + +``A visit to Slytherin House,'' said Harry, with no hesitation at all. + +Connor protested, of course, but Harry managed to persuade him after +only a half hour of arguing. Then they left, Connor saying that he would +apologize to Hermione and the rest of Gryffindor House, then go to the +Headmaster and ask for training for his compulsion ability. Harry would +go back to Slytherin and somewhat prepare them for Connor's visit the +next weekend. + +Connor paused at the bottom of the stairs and gazed solemnly at Harry. +``Thank you, Harry,'' he said. ``Thank you for loving me. I would never +have learned this without you.'' + +Harry managed not to wriggle with delight, but only by a stern effort +with himself. He knelt, both to let Sylarana crawl up his arm again and +in a gesture of submission to the Light's new leader. ``Thank you, +Connor. I love you. I believe in you.'' + +Connor nodded once, face still uncertain, then blew out his breath and +climbed the stairs. + +Harry closed his eyes, soaking in the silence. He expected Sylarana to +say something that would ruin the mood at any moment. + +\emph{Of course I am not going to,} she said. \emph{Why would I? It +heartens me to see you so happy. I wish there was a way that you could +be happy and show off at the same time, of course.} + +``There isn't,'' said Harry. + +\emph{I know.} + +Harry decided that he wouldn't ask about the small sad tone in her +words, and instead set off to the Slytherin common room. Draco would +whine and rage and pout, and Millicent would smile too sharply, and the +others would question. + +\emph{Too bad,} Harry thought, chin lifting higher. \emph{I might belong +in Slytherin, but I belong with Connor, too. They're just going to have +to learn to accept each other.} + +\subsection{*Chapter 23*: A Gryffindor Among the +Slytherins}\label{chapter-23-a-gryffindor-among-the-slytherins} + +Thank you again for the reviews! I'm glad that so many people liked that +chapter. Review responses will be up in my LJ later. + +Meanwhile, Harry plays politics, and tries to convince Connor to play +them. + +\textbf{Chapter Twenty-Two: A Gryffindor Among the Slytherins} + +``No,'' said Justin. + +Harry paused and stared at him. They were waiting in the greenhouses for +their Herbology class to begin; since it was a warm day and they would +need to protect their ears when they moved the Mandrakes again, Harry +had thought he'd better talk to Justin before then. He'd assumed it +would be a simple task. He'd tell Justin that Connor had changed his +mind and wanted to make up with the other Houses, and while Justin would +probably be skeptical, and the rest of the Hufflepuffs even more so, it +wouldn't be nearly as hard as it would be with the Slytherins. Then +Harry could move on to Ravenclaw, perhaps talking to Penelope +Clearwater, the prefect whom Dumbledore had assigned to watch him, and +then have another talk with the Slytherins to prepare them for Connor's +visit. The first one\ldots{}hadn't gone well. Harry had expected to +spend the most time on convincing his House of his brother's good +intentions. + +Instead, Justin was proving unexpectedly stubborn about the whole thing. + +``No,'' he repeated, frowning and shaking his head. ``I'm sorry, Harry. +I don't believe that he's suddenly a different person.'' + +``He's not,'' said Harry, quashing his annoyance at Justin. He was +better at controlling his temper than ever now, after living without the +box for two months. Besides, it had probably been something he said, +some odd wording he'd used, that made Justin react this way. "But he +\emph{is} sorry. He was worried about thinking I was the Boy-Who-Lived, +and that influenced his judgment." He wasn't going to tell anyone about +Connor's compulsion gift until his brother was ready to announce it to +the school in general. ``Really, Justin, I promise that he'll try hard +not to act like a git. Can you find it in your heart to forgive him?'' + +``You don't understand,'' said Justin quietly. + +``Obviously,'' said Harry, before he could stop himself. + +The other wizard gave him a small smile. ``We could forgive him, as you +call it, for acting like a prat,'' he said. "\emph{If} it was just +anything he'd said about our House or one of us, and he hasn't said +much. But he hurt \emph{you}, Harry. And we find it a lot harder to +forgive when someone hurts one of our friends." + +Harry blinked. He would not have thought of that objection himself, left +a decade to do it in. ``But I forgave him, Justin.'' Maybe he hadn't +been clear on that part. ``I said that I understood why he'd hurt me, +and he promised not to anymore. We talked it all out.'' + +Justin narrowed his eyes. ``And you think that really excuses four +months of dodging around you and trying to make you look bad? You think +that excuses lying to his friends about visiting you in the hospital +wing?'' + +"Not \emph{excuses}, as such," said Harry. ``Just\ldots{}I understood +why he did it.'' He shrugged. ``And since I've forgiven him, and I was +the one most directly affected, it would look odd for you to go on +disliking him, wouldn't it?'' + +``Not at all.'' + +Harry jumped and looked over his shoulder. He hadn't heard Zacharias +come up behind him. He found himself wondering where Professor Sprout +was. Surely she could get here and save him from having to have a +conversation with the sharpest of the second-year Hufflepuffs? + +Justin, the prat, was stepping back with a small smile and just letting +Zacharias handle this. + +``Now, I've been listening,'' the other boy began, with no immodesty at +all. ``And from what I could hear, I don't know if Potter's suspicions +about you being the Boy-Who-Lived have any basis in reality at all. I +would say they don't, since we all know Potter's not the brightest +candle.'' Harry bristled, but Zacharias kept right on going. ``But, +either way, I think he'll make a poor leader. He didn't even notice he +was alienating people, from what you said. You'd make a better one.'' He +paused and waited to see what Harry would say to that. + +``It doesn't matter what might or might not happen,'' said Harry. "He +\emph{has} to be the leader, because he's the Boy-Who-Lived." + +``I told you, I don't know much about that,'' Zacharias said amiably. +``But I know a little about leadership. My mum took me to watch the +Wizengamot operate, the way that any good pureblooded mum should. And +you're more like them than Connor is.'' + +``He'll lead a different way,'' said Harry. ``It's war-time, after +all.'' + +``And then he'll go into politics?'' + +With the suspicion that he was being herded into a particular +conversational trap, but not quite able to see what it was, Harry nodded +slowly. + +``Ah.'' Zacharias flashed him a cheerful smile. ``And what makes you +think that someone will make a good political leader just because he +made a good wartime leader? The two require different sets of skills. +Not much use saying `Charge!' in the Wizengamot.'' + +``Headmaster Dumbledore is both,'' said Harry. ``Or was both. He led in +the First War with Voldemort.'' + +Zacharias shrugged. ``I told you, I know politics.'' + +``Not as well as you think you do, if you think that someone can't be +trained to be good at it,'' Harry muttered, glancing over his shoulder +and seeing Professor Sprout hurrying through the snow. He sighed in +relief and jerked his head in her direction. ``Looks like we've got to +stop talking.'' + +``In just a minute,'' said Zacharias. ``And I'd rather have someone +who's naturally good at it than someone who has to be trained. Like +you.'' + +Harry shook his head. ``That's not ever going to happen.'' + +``Are you a Seer?'' Zacharias sounded \emph{very} interested. + +``No, I'm not,'' said Harry, and luckily Professor Sprout arrived then +and he could cover his ears. Throughout it, he could feel the +Hufflepuffs' eyes on him, and he frowned back at them. He didn't +understand why they were resisting so hard. Connor had made a mistake. +He hadn't committed a crime. He was only twelve, and he had much, much +more time to grow better. If by some miracle Harry survived the Second +War, then he would continue training Connor, of course, but in case he +didn't, he still expected his twin would do well. That was the reason +he'd been chosen for this duty. + +\emph{And Zacharias Smith wouldn't know genuine innocence and purity if +it bit him on the arse,} he thought. + +\emph{Yes,} said Sylarana sleepily. The cold made her so sluggish that +she barely spoke at all when they were in the greenhouses, but curled up +on Harry's arm and dozed. + +\emph{Yes what?} Harry asked her. + +She was asleep again, so Harry shook his head and turned to tend to his +Mandrake, his mood not much better in shade than the flat white sky +overhead, currently shedding more snow. + +\emph{I don't understand why more of them can't see it. Connor's been +much more pleasant this week than usual. He's won over most of the +Gryffindors. He smiles at me and laughs with me. The Slytherins I +expected would be suspicious, just because of the House rivalry, but why +the Hufflepuffs? I don't understand.} + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Harry braced himself and stepped into the Slytherin common room. He was +going to speak with Draco, Blaise, Vince, and Greg again. Their last +confrontation about Connor had escalated into screaming (on Draco's +part) and thrown objects (on Blaise's part). But Harry was going to +\emph{make} them see reason. Connor was coming for a visit this weekend. +Harry wanted Slytherin House to be following Connor before the end of +the year, or at least be in a tentative alliance with him. + +\emph{It's not like I'm asking them to make nice with all Gryffindors,} +he thought as the wall slid shut behind him. \emph{Just one. And that +one is the Boy-Who-Lived. You'd think that more of them would realize +living under Voldemort} isn't \emph{pleasant and that their parents made +a bloody mistake\ldots{}} + +He paused. It looked as though the entire House had gathered in the +common room, including the sixth- and seventh-years, and they were +waiting for him. Their chatter fell silent as he stepped in, and they +stared at him for a second. Harry blinked at them, and blinked further +when he saw Draco and Blaise sitting on a couch near the fire, a place +that Marcus Flint usually liked to occupy. + +Flint was standing up, though, and walking towards him. He paused, +staring keenly down into Harry's face. Harry cleared his throat +nervously. He'd thought his relations with the Quidditch Captain were +working out well. He'd caught the Snitch when they played Ravenclaw, and +he attended every practice. + +``What is it, Flint?'' he asked, trying to make his voice sound bored +and unconcerned. + +``Draco told me what you said,'' Flint murmured. ``About wanting your +brother to visit the common room.'' + +\emph{Oh, shit. I didn't think they'd tell.} Harry glared at Draco and +Blaise. Blaise smirked at him. Draco just waved a lazy hand. He had his +other hand in the pocket of his robe, holding something. Harry would bet +it was that bloody bottle. Draco never seemed to leave his room without +it. + +``Well, yes,'' said Harry, deciding he would have to tough it out on his +own. Sylarana's mutters of help by biting were nothing he wished to +entertain. ``Why not? People have friends of other Houses in here all +the time. And sometimes more than friends,'' he added, hoping that would +be enough to disconcert Flint. He'd supposedly had a Ravenclaw boyfriend +in here more than once, though Harry had never known if the rumor was +actually true. + +Flint blinked, but all he did after that was give a small smile and +shake his head. ``Not Gryffindors, however,'' he said. ``And especially +not someone who's been trying to discredit and work against one of our +own for most of the year.'' + +``Connor's changed,'' said Harry. ``And he really is sorry for what he +did. But if you just shut him out of the common room, Flint, then you +won't get a chance to see how sorry.'' + +``I say let him in.'' + +Harry turned his head, blinking. That was Vince, who barely said +anything at all when he wasn't in class. Now he stood up, and, though he +flushed, otherwise ignored the eyes on him. + +``Harry's right,'' he went on. ``We'll never know what the Boy-Who-Lived +is like if we don't actually get to see him.'' + +Flint looked thoughtful. A murmur traveled among the older students, and +Harry heard the speculative edge to it. Vince's comment had twisted the +conversation in a new direction. Those Slytherins who were the children +of Dark wizards or Death Eaters must be wondering now if it wouldn't be +better to get a close look at the Boy-Who-Lived, see what he was like, +before he was fully-grown and dangerous. + +Harry set his teeth. He would have to remain by Connor's side every +moment of the time he was here. He wouldn't put it past someone else to +try to curse his brother or slip him some kind of poisoned sweet when he +wasn't looking. + +``That's true,'' he said. ``And you'll never know what other +possibilities he might bring with him if you don't actually talk to him, +either.'' + +Flint's eyes snapped back to him. For a moment, he looked incredulous. +Then his face shut down, except for a small smile that teased the corner +of his mouth. + +``Possibilities, Harry?'' he asked. ``Possibilities like joining the +side of the Light? Dumbledore's side?'' + +Harry kept his gaze steady. There really hadn't been another way to +phrase it. And if this was going to be a political battle, it might as +well be in the open, and not hidden behind slippery words and phrases. +That would give Connor an advantage, rather than giving it to the +Slytherins. + +``Yes, like those,'' said Harry. + +Every eye in the common room was on him now. The silence was growing +oppressive. Harry didn't look at them, though. He only looked at Flint. +He couldn't change everything that had happened in the past. He +certainly couldn't alter Slytherin into a House devoted to the Light +overnight. Connor would have to do that, and it would be a long and slow +process. + +But he could place the possibility on the table, and acknowledge where +he stood: that being Slytherin did \emph{not} mean he would turn against +the Light and serve the Dark. He'd thought that was pretty bloody +obvious, given who his brother was, but if it wasn't, then now was the +time that they could see and understand it. + +Flint leaned slightly forward. He said softly, ``So young, and you've +already chosen your political loyalties, Harry?'' + +Harry let out a long, slow breath. \emph{He really wants to know?} They +\emph{really want to know?} + +\emph{Well, why not? If it will help Connor visit my House, then yes, +I'll bloody well do it. And I think I may surprise them.} + +He glanced at Draco, making the direction of his gaze obvious, and +slowly everyone else turned to follow it. Draco smiled slightly at the +attention, looking very much like his father at that moment. + +``I'm friends with Draco Malfoy,'' said Harry calmly. ``I spent +Christmas at Malfoy Manor last year. I might have gone this year, only I +was rather busy with being possessed at the time.'' That raised a few +chuckles, though not many; the gazes were too intent. And if it wasn't +true, if he would have spent the Christmas with his family instead, then +nobody was ever going to know. ``I know the pureblood ways. My father is +James Potter; my godfather is Sirius Black. I asked and asked and asked +until they taught me how to act like a pureblood, and I read books on +pureblood history myself.'' + +``Yet you were shocked when you were put in Slytherin?'' Flint's voice +had a sneer to it now. + +Harry flicked him a glance. "My brother is the Boy-Who-Lived. I'm a +Potter, and we've \emph{always} been Gryffindors. Family is important, +isn't it? You'd probably stand by yours no matter what?" + +Flint nodded slowly, a faint gleam of appreciation in his eyes. + +``So, yes, I was shocked,'' said Harry, and then shrugged. "But I accept +that I'm a Slytherin now. + +``That doesn't mean that I'm about to abandon my brother. That wouldn't +be very loyal to my family at all. And it's no good trying to pretend to +be something I'm not. My mother is Muggleborn, and she told me stories +about the First War, what it was like, and about the war with +Grindelwald. I've learned more about what happens to Dark wizards who +face Gryffindors than I've ever wanted to know.'' + +``Gryffindors died in those wars, too,'' Flint breathed, just a trace of +warning in his tone. + +Harry nodded. ``And Gryffindors brought down each Dark wizard in the +end. So, no. I can see how history tends, thanks. I want to +survive---which I'm sure is a Slytherin trait.'' + +He asked Sylarana to emerge. She did, sticking her head out of his +sleeve, then her whole body, and coiling on the surface of his sleeve in +plain sight. She flicked her tongue at everyone watching, and Harry +heard a few caught breaths. It was one thing to know he was a +Parselmouth, and another to see his Locusta. + +Harry smiled at her. ``I think it's time that we remind them of +something,'' he said, knowing he was speaking in Parseltongue. He didn't +quite understand the expressions that crept over most of the Slytherins' +faces, expressions of reverence and awe, but he could use them. +``Agreeable?'' + +"\emph{Of course,}" she said. "\emph{For all that I love being so close +to your skin, your sleeve does get hot and stuffy sometimes.}" + +Harry nodded and held up his arm so that Sylarana's scales flashed in +the firelight. She hissed at everyone, darting her tongue out to taste +the air. Delight mixed with a keen dread shone in most of the eyes Harry +met. + +``I am a Parselmouth,'' he said, careful not to look directly at +Sylarana in case he ended up hissing. He wanted to say this so everyone +else could understand. ``And I'm not going to deny that---the same way +I'm not going to deny that I'm friends with Draco Malfoy and the brother +of Connor Potter, the same way that I'm not going to deny I'm a +Slytherin from a Gryffindor family, the same way that I'm not going to +deny I'm a halfblood who knows a lot about pureblooded ways. I don't see +any reason to deny any of what I am.'' + +\emph{Liar}, said a sudden cold voice in his head, the flicker of his +magic that he'd tamed and subdued in the struggle with Riddle. + +Harry ignored this. \emph{It} was the liar. Yes, his magic might be +Darker than most people would think, but it was \emph{his} magic. It +obeyed him. He could ignore anything it might try to say. + +The Slytherins watched him for long moments. Then Flint nodded slowly. +He had an amused expression on his face, but not only or even primarily +amused, Harry knew. + +``I say we allow the little prat to visit Slytherin,'' he said, ``as +long as Harry stays right by his side at all times.'' + +Harry nodded. He had no intention of ever leaving his brother alone with +Slytherins, either---for the safety of both sides. + +He coaxed Sylarana back under his sleeve and went up the stairs to the +second-year boys' room, ignoring the eyes he could still feel on his +back. They seemed to think he was impressive. + +\emph{Let them see Connor when he's defeated Voldemort,} Harry thought +as he got ready for bed. \emph{That'll be impressive.} + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``But I don't think that the Chudley Cannons stand a chance of winning +against the Montrose Magpies, of course,'' said Draco in a bright, +chatty voice. ``What do you think, Potter?'' + +Harry could feel Connor fuming at his side. He knew well enough why +Draco had chosen the Chudley Cannons to pick on---after all, they were +Ron's favorite team, and Connor had made them his, too, out of loyalty. +It was also true that they weren't a very \emph{good} team. Draco had +been casually mentioning this many different times while Connor visited, +but now was the first time he'd actually spoken about it directly to +Connor. + +Harry willed his brother to respond calmly. The visit had gone much +better than he had expected so far---which meant, no one had actually +tried to punch or hex anyone else. It probably helped that there was a +small central group of them: Harry, Draco, Connor, Blaise, Vince, Greg, +Millicent, and Pansy. Other Slytherins wandered past from time to time, +as though to stare at the tame Gryffindor out of his natural habitat, +but no one stayed long. + +``I think,'' said Connor at last, his voice carefully neutral, ``that +everything depends on circumstances, Malfoy. You can't deny that the +Cannons have a brilliant Seeker this year.'' + +``Yes,'' Draco acknowledged, which made Harry blink. He should have +guessed what was coming next. ``Too bad she can't make up for the other +six dead logs in the air that fill the rest of their positions.'' + +Harry clenched his hand on Connor's arm---a good thing, too, or he +thought his brother might have exploded out of his seat. Connor closed +his eyes, breathing tightly, then opened them and went for the meat of +the matter with his usual Gryffindor directness. + +``Why are you doing this, Malfoy?'' he asked. ``I'm supposed to be here +as a gesture of peace, of sorts. Shouldn't you be trying to be, well, +peaceful, instead of insulting me all the time?'' + +Draco opened his mouth to make some crack, but Harry said, ``Draco, why +don't you check your bottle?'' + +Connor glanced sideways at him, curious. Harry just raised his eyebrows +and waited until Draco opened the pocket where he kept the bottle and +checked it. His face turned paler than normal. He would have seen, Harry +thought, that the bottle was gleaming red as a ruby right now. Harry was +angry with Draco, though he wasn't showing it openly. + +Draco swallowed, let his pocket fall closed, and said, ``It's just hard, +Potter. You're a Gryffindor. We're Slytherins. This is unnatural.'' + +Connor barked a laugh. ``It feels that way, doesn't it?'' he murmured. +``But my brother says that I need to unite all the Houses, and I think I +should listen to him. So I'm here, trying to make nice. The least you +could do is play along.'' + +``Why did he say that?'' asked Pansy, speaking up for the first time. +She leaned forward and stared at Harry. Harry met her gaze as calmly as +he could. He didn't really know what to make of either of the +second-year Slytherin girls. He hadn't paid them enough attention, and +now that was coming back to bite him on the arse. He would have to +remedy that next year. + +``Because I'm to be the leader of the wizarding world someday,'' said +Connor, thankfully sparing Harry from having to answer the question. +``And I don't think that he wants me to leave the Slytherins out.'' He +half-smiled at Harry, who smiled fully back. There was a reason that he +was at Connor's side on a couch across from Draco and the others, who +were arranged in chairs around them. He wondered if any of the +Slytherins had noticed the political dimension of his positioning yet, +or if they simply dismissed it as Harry needing to be close enough to +restrain his brother in case Connor did something foolish. + +\emph{Both,} Harry thought. \emph{Whoever said that a gesture should +have only one meaning? I'm a Slytherin, so I get to make sly little +double-handed gestures too.} + +``You really think that?'' It was Millicent's voice, elevated a little +in surprise, and the question was directed at Harry. + +Harry shrugged. ``Of course I do,'' he said. ``The Boy-Who-Lived, +Bulstrode. Who else would do?'' + +Millicent blinked as if he'd slapped her, then sat back in her chair and +scowled thoughtfully at Connor. Harry didn't know what was going on with +her, but then, he didn't know what was going on with Millicent in +general. She could play her little games if she wanted, but if she +really thought that someone else would have a better chance at Minister +of Magic than Connor, then she was living in a dreamworld. + +``We were talking about Quidditch,'' said Blaise. ``And now we're +talking about politics. I find both of them boring.'' \emph{Or +uncomfortable,} Harry thought, watching the small smile on the boy's +dark features. Blaise had tried out for the Quidditch team as Chaser and +failed to make it, and his mother, Arabella Zabini, though Dark, was +notoriously unaffiliated with anyone except her husbands, who kept +dying. ``I'd like to talk about something else. Namely, why you've gone +from such a prat to someone trying to `make nice' with Slytherins.'' + +``I don't think those things are too far apart, really,'' Connor +retorted. + +Harry could feel the tension rising, saw Draco's eyes narrowing, and +knew he was about to say something unfortunate. He intervened. ``We had +a talk,'' he said firmly. ``He came around, Blaise. He apologized. I +told you all this already.'' He really couldn't comprehend why Blaise +had brought this up again. It was part of the original argument that had +led to Harry insisting that Blaise was being more of a prat than Connor, +and the other boy throwing a book at his head. ``He really does want to +make friends, or he wouldn't be here.'' + +``Actually,'' said Connor, ``I wouldn't be here if not for Harry. He was +the one who convinced me to come.'' He leaned back and looked seriously +at Harry. ``And he's the only one convincing me to stay.'' + +Harry sighed. Now all the Slytherins, except Millicent who still +appeared lost in her own world, were fuming at the implication that they +weren't good hosts. ``Does anyone want to play a game?'' he suggested. + +``Of course,'' said Draco at once. ``Wizards' chess.'' + +Harry winced. Connor \emph{hated} chess, not least because Ron could so +easily beat him at it. ``Not that one,'' he said hastily. ``What about +Exploding Snap? Or---'' + +``I want to go flying,'' said Pansy, her voice abruptly bright and +mindless. ``Ooh, doesn't that sound marvelous? I love seeing you on a +broom, Draco. Your golden hair blows so beautifully in the wind.'' + +\emph{I know she isn't that stupid}, Harry thought in confusion. Then he +understood. \emph{She's} pretending \emph{to be that stupid. And, damn +it, Connor's playing right into her hands. Look at that condescending +look he's giving her. Merlin take you, Pansy. And you, too, Connor. Just +because a girl sounds as if she's giggling all the time doesn't mean +that she doesn't take time out in between the giggles to think. You've +been spoiled with Hermione.} + +``Of course,'' said Connor. ``I love flying. And no one's on the Pitch. +The Hufflepuffs should have finished their practicing by now.'' He stood +up and grandly motioned for them to follow him. ``Come on, everyone!'' +He sprinted for the entrance to the common room. + +Harry took the opportunity to hiss at Pansy, his voice covered by the +noise of moving bodies. ``What are you doing?'' + +``You'll see,'' said Pansy, her voice self-satisfied. Then she giggled +and blinked her lashes. ``And what makes you think I'm doing anything, +Harry?'' she asked. + +Harry ground his teeth. ``Just leave him alone,'' he said. + +``Oh, I'm not going to hurt him,'' said Pansy. ``Why would you think I'm +going to hurt him? Would I really attack him using spells? I'm just a +poor widdle girl, Harry.'' She swept past him towards the door. + +Harry followed, agitated, doing his best to get in front of everyone and +beside Connor. It did no good. Blaise, Vince, and Greg had stood up +before him, and Draco was in front, walking beside Connor and actually +\emph{complimenting} him on his performance in the Hufflepuff-Gryffindor +game. Harry was beginning to suspect a plot, and not just on Pansy's +part. + +``Oi, Potter, you forgot this.'' + +Harry turned, just in time to catch a shrunken package that Millicent +flung at him. He recognized his Nimbus 2001 after a brief moment. He +shook his head. ``I'm leaving it behind,'' he said. ``I'll fly a school +broom.'' + +``Why?'' asked Pansy, and she giggled. ``I think it's wonderful to watch +you fly on your broom, Harry.'' She giggled louder, attracting Connor's +attention. ``Just wonderful,'' she said. ``You never lose when you're on +it.'' + +Connor's eyes narrowed in competitive fervor, and Harry began to have +some inkling of what the Slytherins were doing. + +``No, damn it,'' he said. + +``Why not?'' Connor asked, sounding curious. ``I'd like to see what you +can do when you're flying full out, Harry, and we're not both after the +Snitch.'' + +\emph{Shit.} Harry knew what was going to happen, and he disliked it +\emph{immensely}. He made one more attempt to break free. ``But you've +seen me and Connor fly against each other,'' he said. ``I think it'd be +more interesting to see Connor and Draco race. Draco's a good flyer.'' + +``This isn't a game,'' said Draco, who'd turned backward so he could +keep an eye on Harry. ``It's a race, and that's different. Just a +contest of speed, instead of seeing who can snatch a golden ball out of +the air. I want to see you fly, Harry. I know you're fast.'' + +Connor's eyes sparked even more. + +\emph{Shit,} Harry thought sickly. If he lost this contest, Connor would +assume that Harry was lying to him again, since he'd already admitted to +being the better Seeker. And if he won\ldots{} + +His brother might take it like a good sport, but Harry knew it would +drive a little wedge between them that didn't need to be there. + +``I want to race you,'' said Connor, and that sealed it. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Harry and Connor stood on the far end of the Quidditch Pitch, each with +his broom lying beside him on the grass. It was an unexpectedly pretty +day, with the sky a very sharp, pale blue, and looking higher than +normal. Draco and Blaise stood at the far end of the pitch, with the +other Slytherins arrayed in a ragged line along it, to see how the race +might vary as the twins actually flew it. + +``Come on, Harry,'' said Connor out of the corner of his mouth. ``This +is going to be fun.'' + +\emph{No, it's not,} Harry thought. His stomach was roiling and +clenching in misery, and Sylarana's soothing thoughts did little to help +him. + +"\emph{Tempus!}" Draco intoned from the far side of the pitch, and a +small hourglass appeared in the air beside him, filled with tiny grains +of sand. One would fall for each second it took them to race, Harry +knew. + +``I'll call when they should start,'' said Pansy. ``Stand ready. On +five, gentlemen. One---'' + +``Show me everything you've got, Harry,'' Connor whispered. + +Harry stared at his brother. Connor nodded back at him, then turned and +fixed his gaze on the far side of the pitch. + +``Three---'' + +\emph{How can I disobey that? If my brother asks me to do it\ldots{}} + +``Five!'' + +Connor was on the Cleansweep in a flash, but Harry had already called +his Nimbus 2001 up and was mounted. Connor rose, striving for height, +and Harry followed just behind, fighting for one more moment. + +Then he remembered again that Connor would think he was lying if he +lost. And he would rather see a small spark of betrayal in his brother's +eyes than a large one. + +He let his breath go and unleashed his speed. + +The Nimbus seemed to dance beneath him as he soared upwards and sped +past Connor, and Millicent and then Pansy yelped as he blasted over +them. The feeling that always filled his chest filled it now, as though +nothing could happen to him when he was up here except triumph, and he +swooped past Vince and Greg and touched down beside Draco and Blaise +like a swallow come home to roost. + +``Well bloody done, Harry,'' said Draco, and then grabbed him and held +him tightly in a hug. Harry turned his head to look at the hourglass. A +tenth grain of sand was just falling. + +Connor landed five grains later. He was quiet for a long moment. Harry +fought his way out of Draco's embrace and turned to face his brother. + +Connor drew in a deep breath, nodded once, and then said, ``You told me +the truth, Harry, and you did as I asked. Thank you.'' He reached out +and clasped his hand. ``If you say that making up with the other Houses +is a good idea, then it is.'' + +Harry felt a surge of dizzy joy. Connor trusted him the way that he +trusted Connor, then---implicitly. He swallowed and swatted at his eyes, +which wanted to tear up. + +The other Slytherins were clustering around them. Harry thought he could +hear Pansy chattering about what a beautiful sight he was on a broom, +but he didn't care. If they'd tried to tear him apart from his brother, +then they'd lost. This was what Connor had needed to lose the last of +his doubt. + +He turned briefly, and caught Draco's eye. Draco didn't look +disappointed. He looked smug. He caught Harry's gaze and winked. + +Harry shook his head. \emph{I don't know what his goal was, then, but +it's not going to deter me. They} will \emph{learn to accept each other +sooner or later.} + +And, abruptly, he knew what the next step was. + +\subsection{*Chapter 24*: Two Snakes in the Lions' +Den}\label{chapter-24-two-snakes-in-the-lions-den} + +Thank you very much for the reviews! Responses up in my LJ later. + +\ldots{}And then there's this chapter. Which is not going to change the +whole course of the plot, but which I envisioned turning out rather +differently. \emph{Honestly}, story. + +\textbf{Chapter Twenty-Three: Two Snakes in the Lions' Den} + +``You are not visiting Gryffindor Tower without me,'' Draco declared, +looking as though Harry had decreed he was going to go jump off the +Astronomy Tower. + +``I know that,'' said Harry, glancing casually up from the latest +Transfiguration book he'd borrowed from the library. It contained +interesting information on how to see someone in Animagus form. Harry +didn't know if Voldemort had any unregistered Animagi running around his +ranks, but he wouldn't put it past him, and in any case it might come in +useful someday. \emph{Everything} might come in useful someday. ``I +wasn't intending to.'' + +That caught Draco with his mouth open and his eyes slightly widened, as +though he were a cornered mouse McGonagall had decided to play with. +Harry had often thought the Head of Gryffindor House must be more +terrifying as a cat than she was as a woman, at least to things smaller +than she was. + +They sat there in silence for a while, and Harry learned that one sure +way of telling an Animagus in animal form was to look at the color of +their aura. Of course, he couldn't see auras yet. He bit the inside of +his cheek thoughtfully and wondered if he could learn. + +\emph{Not yet,} said Sylarana abruptly. Harry jumped a little. He had +thought she had gone to sleep in the room's warmth. \emph{I think you +might have the gift for it, but it takes more concentration than you +have. And a more focused mind,} she added. \emph{You're still using +Occlumency to get through day-to-day.} + +Harry narrowed his eyes. \emph{I think I'm doing very well, +considering---} + +Sylarana's head nudged him under the chin. \emph{You are doing very +well, considering. Is that what you wanted to hear? But not well enough +to see auras yet.} + +Harry felt irritation trying to rise, but he caught it and bounced it +off one of his Occlumency shields, sending it into a dark and quiet +corner of his mind. Sylarana hissed something about that becoming a +second box if he kept it up. Harry ignored her. It was true that he +needed Occlumency to get through day-to-day, but Snape had assured him +that the breaches Riddle had opened in his webs were steadily filling +with fog, and in some cases healed completely. He appeared to have lost +no memories except a very few of his childhood. + +``What?'' Draco croaked at last. + +Harry glanced up at him. ``I thought we could visit Gryffindor Tower +together,'' he said. "It's not going to make enough of an impression if +I go by myself. The Gryffindors are uncertain right now, shifting +around. They don't know \emph{what} to think. And I think having someone +they associate for sure with Slytherin among them will make it more +difficult to ignore what House we come from." + +``What if I said that I don't want to go now, and I don't want you to +go, either?'' Draco folded his arms and glared mutinously at him. + +``You will,'' said Harry. + +``Why?'' + +``Because otherwise I'll get annoyed at you for forcing me into that +stupid race with Connor last weekend,'' said Harry. ``I haven't got +annoyed so far. I could, you know.'' + +``That wasn't just my idea,'' Draco protested. + +``I know that. But you're the one who cares the most if I'm annoyed with +you,'' said Harry. "And you \emph{participated} in it. You made sure +that I couldn't get to Connor in time, along with the rest of them. And +I heard you buttering him up about his performance in the last Quidditch +match. You were trying to set him up for a fall, weren't you?" + +Draco turned his head sulkily away. + +``It was a stupid idea,'' said Harry, and turned pointedly back to his +book. + +``Harry?'' + +Harry ignored him. + +"Harry? \emph{Please} don't ignore me." The absolute desperation in his +voice made Harry twitch, but he didn't turn back around. "All right, it +was a stupid idea. And all right, we can visit Gryffindor Tower. Just +don't be annoyed with me. \emph{Please}. I went through that in the +first weeks of last term, and I can't tell you how I suffered." The bed +beside Harry dipped, and an arm wound through his. ``Please?'' + +Harry sighed and clasped Draco's hand, glancing up at him. ``Tell me +what you were trying to do with that race.'' + +``Separate you from your brother,'' Draco admitted, without enough of a +flush for Harry's taste. "Harry, I don't understand why you want the +Houses to unite so badly. We can learn to tolerate the +Gryffindors---maybe. But does it have to be \emph{right now}? And does +it have to be behind Connor? I think you're pushing this too fast. +Everyone thought you were mad and a Dark wizard, and then they thought +Connor was a prat, and now suddenly you're back together and pushing +pretty openly for us to join Dumbledore's side---Connor's side, I +suppose, if you want to look at it that way. You \emph{know} it's not +that simple. You're not the only one doing a balancing act in Slytherin, +you know. There's my father, for me." + +Harry blinked once, then twice. ``Then you admit your father was a Death +Eater?'' he asked at last. ``And not under Imperius?'' + +Draco winced and glanced away from him. + +``Draco?'' + +``I don't know,'' Draco whispered. ``I think that it's likely, at least, +and isn't that enough for right now?'' He abruptly buried his head in +Harry's shoulder, and shivered once, a bone-deep tremble that seemed to +run from his shoulders to his toes. "I don't \emph{know} what to do. I +can't give up being a Malfoy. I love my parents." + +``I would never expect you to give up being a Malfoy, or to stop loving +them,'' Harry began gently. + +``But I can't give you up, either,'' said Draco. "I \emph{can't}." + +Harry shifted around so that he wasn't twisted in quite so awkward a +position, and draped his arms around Draco's shoulders. Sylarana hissed +as she was forced to move. Harry ignored her again. ``I don't want this +struggle to tear you apart, Draco,'' said Harry. ``I want you to be able +to make a decision.'' + +``But no matter what happens,'' Draco whispered, ``I'm going to regret +this decision.'' + +Harry nodded. He wanted to say something comforting, but he didn't think +he could. He switched the conversation back in its original direction +instead. ``And you think there are a lot of other Slytherins in the same +situation?'' + +``Oh, Harry,'' said Draco, looking up with an unhappy smile, ``I know +there are. I'm sorry, but there are certain things they're just not +going to talk about in front of you. Part of it's a pureblood thing, and +part of it's a---a political thing. They've known me from childhood, a +lot of them. They didn't know you.'' + +Harry nodded. His head was throbbing, and he felt a bit numb. He +\emph{had} been moving too fast. He didn't want to take back his promise +to visit Connor in Gryffindor Tower, but it seemed that it was going to +be more complicated than he had thought it was. + +Then he shook his head. \emph{It was} always \emph{going to be more +complicated than I thought it was. And I need to remember who I'm +dealing with} all the time. \emph{The children of Death Eaters are +different from the ones who might be more receptive to the Light, and +Gryffindors who think Dumbledore is great are different from the ones +who don't care about him, and Ravenclaws who tease Luna are different +from the ones who don't\ldots{}} + +He caught his breath and leaned away from Draco. The other boy's hands +tightened convulsively on him for a second, and then let go. Draco was +watching him carefully, as though he expected Harry to leap up and +declare that he couldn't stay in the same room with someone whose father +had been a Death Eater. + +``Make the visit to Gryffindor Tower with me,'' said Harry. ``After +that, we'll discuss different strategies for working in Slytherin. Will +you help me?'' + +Draco smiled at him. ``You know, all you had to do was ask.'' + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Mr. Potter.'' + +Startled, Harry turned. He was just leaving Defense Against the Dark +Arts, and here was McGonagall, swooping down on him. Harry braced +himself, trying frantically to remember if he'd done anything wrong. +``Yes, professor?'' + +``Come with me,'' said McGonagall, sweeping past him. ``I would like to +see you in my office, please.'' + +Harry nodded to a bewildered Draco and followed McGonagall, now feeling +more curious than concerned. Usually, if she really meant to get a +student in trouble, her voice would have been cold and her eyes +narrowed. Harry had the feeling that it was something else, this time. + +They reached her office, and McGonagall led him inside, gesturing him to +the chair Harry remembered from the time they'd discussed +Transfiguration theory. He sat down, and accepted a cup of tea from her, +all the while trying to keep his eyes from straying around the room. She +had charts of things he didn't even \emph{recognize} on the wall, and +thought must be descriptions of esoteric transformations. He itched to +study them, and see if he could work out what they meant. Perhaps they +would be useful in battle. + +McGonagall took a cup of tea herself and sat down across the desk from +him. Her eyes narrowed at him for the first time, and Harry saw a glint +of---worry?---in them. He shook his head, not understanding. + +``Mr. Potter,'' said McGonagall quietly, ``Headmaster Dumbledore has +spoken with me.'' + +``About what, ma'am?'' Harry asked. He had no need to try and appear +clueless, he thought. He really was. + +``About---the argument that you and your brother had, about your new +efforts to promote House unity and why that's important to us, and about +why he is pleased to see Connor Potter turning into a leader.'' +McGonagall sipped at her tea. ``About everything, really, including why +you care so deeply about your brother's success at this.'' She raised +her eyebrows at Harry. + +Harry let out his breath in a rush. So here was someone else he could +speak to honestly. He was not sure if he should feel relieved or ashamed +of his relief. It wasn't \emph{that} difficult to keep the secret his +mother had entrusted him with, or shouldn't have been. + +``I'm glad you know, ma'am,'' he said. ``You're Connor's Head of House. +I thought you should know. I thought maybe you did,'' he added, ``but +not how much.'' + +``I knew a little,'' said McGonagall, her voice treading carefully. +``But only bits and pieces. And---I do not think I understand now, not +fully. There is a difference between knowing and understanding, as I +have often tried to remind Miss Granger.'' She put her teacup down on +her desk with a faint \emph{clink}. ``In particular, Mr. Potter, I +brought you here to answer a question, one that I believe only you can +answer fully.'' + +Harry arched his brows curiously. ``I'll answer it if I can, ma'am, but +I'm not sure what it can be. I'm trying to help Connor, but I can't see +everything he'll become. Headmaster Dumbledore would be better at +that.'' + +``The Headmaster has told me what he can,'' said McGonagall. ``Now, +Harry, I need you to tell me something.'' + +``Of course,'' said Harry, sitting up attentively. She had used his +first name for a reason, he was sure. It was important. He wondered if +she had noticed some oddity in Connor's behavior that she wanted +explained. + +``Did you choose this?'' + +Harry felt his jaw drop open, and he stared at her. McGonagall was +gazing at him sternly, her hands clasped in front of her. There was such +a confusing mixture of emotions in her eyes that Harry was not sure +which one he should pick out to address first. There was sorrow, and +anger, and shock, and pity. + +Well, that last one he didn't understand at all, so he would approach +the others instead. + +\emph{I know why she pities you,} Sylarana whispered into his head. + +\emph{You be quiet,} Harry snapped back, and said, ``You're talking +about my duty to my brother, Professor McGonagall?'' + +She nodded, once, a sharp bob of her head that reminded him of the way +an eagle might peck at something. Her eyes certainly seemed eagle-sharp +now, with the anger tightening her face. ``Yes, Harry. I want to know if +you chose it. Headmaster Dumbledore has assured me that you did. Now I +want to hear it from you.'' + +``Of course I did,'' said Harry, his puzzlement growing by the second. +He knew the reasons and ways that Professor McGonagall was loyal to +Professor Dumbledore. He could not fathom why she wouldn't trust his +word. But, if she wanted additional reassurance, then she would get it. +Their mother \emph{had} warned him that it would be hard for someone +outside the family to understand. + +``Of course I did,'' he repeated, when he saw that she didn't seem to +believe him. ``Really, Professor McGonagall, I did. I've trained hard +all my life for the moment when I can defend him. I'm trying to help him +with politics and House unity now, but I'm afraid it's not working out +well yet,'' he added, with a small smile. ``And then we had this +argument, and it was nasty for both of us. But it's been resolved. In +fact, Draco and I are coming to visit Gryffindor Tower and Connor this +weekend.'' + +McGonagall closed her eyes. Harry was beginning to wonder what she had +wanted to hear. His word was not enough, and neither was Professor +Dumbledore's. Perhaps he should owl their mother. Lily was good at +persuading people of the truth; she had persuaded Sirius, after all, and +from what she had said in her last letters, she was working on +persuading James. + +``I would normally trust the Headmaster's word,'' McGonagall whispered +at last. ``But for something as profound as this---the sacrifice of a +child\ldots{}'' + +``Lots of people sacrificed in the First War, Professor,'' said Harry, +and then shut up, because doubtless she'd sacrificed a lot, too, maybe +even seen some students die, and he didn't think he had a right to +lecture her. + +``I know that, Mr. Potter,'' said McGonagall, and opened her eyes. ``But +even the youngest who fought were older students, old enough to know +what the threat of You-Know-Who meant. You are the youngest warrior I +have ever heard of.'' + +``Connor was younger when he defeated Voldemort, ma'am,'' said Harry, +comfortable now. She was about to accept his word. He was sure of it. +There was no reason she wouldn't. ``Much younger.'' + +McGonagall smiled faintly, but her eyes were troubled, and too intense +when they rested on him. ``You will come and talk to me, Mr. Potter, if +you ever feel---pressured or constricted by your role?'' + +``Of course,'' said Harry. ``I can't imagine that happening, ma'am, but +it's true that we've got a long road ahead of us, and I might like to +talk to you sometimes.'' He could feel himself relaxing. It was no good +going to Draco about these things, not when he had his own burdens, and +Snape would snap at him. McGonagall was a good choice, a safer choice. +She was a Gryffindor. Gryffindors understood sacrifice better than most +Slytherins would. ``If you don't mind?'' + +McGonagall shook her head, eyes shadowed. Then she stood and moved +around the desk, kneeling in front of him. Once again, as she had when +he was being accused of Petrifying people, she hugged him. Harry hugged +her back this time, because, \emph{this} time, he thought he understood. +She wanted reassurance that he was not going mad because of his role. He +was not. He was happy, busy but happy. + +``Please come talk to me, Mr. Potter,'' she whispered, ``if what you +think is impossible happens, and you grow tired.'' + +``Of course,'' said Harry, still not comprehending how he could, really, +but willing to say that, since it made her relax and let him go. He +smiled at her and trotted off, his mind already filling with plans. + +Tomorrow was the visit to Gryffindor Tower, the first time he had been +there in months. He wanted to make sure that everything was ready, +including his new goal for the time he left. + +It was time to see how well Connor had made up with his Housemates. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Honeysuckle,'' said Harry to the portrait of the Fat Lady, and she +swung outward, though she was still staring at the Slytherin crests on +their robes as though she couldn't believe they were there. + +``Did Connor give you the password for this week?'' Draco asked behind +him, as they stepped into an immense silence. + +``Of course,'' Harry muttered. + +``And you didn't use it to come in and play pranks on the Gryffindors?'' +Draco shook his head and clucked his tongue. ``Harry, Harry, Harry. I am +so very disappointed in you.'' + +``This is exactly the kind of stupid thing I don't want you doing,'' +Harry muttered at him, and to his gratification, Draco shut up. + +``Harry! Malfoy!'' + +Harry turned his head, smiling, ignoring the frozen, hostile stares from +the chairs around the hearth. It seemed that Connor hadn't told his +Housemates that two Slytherins were visiting. Or perhaps he had told +them it was only his brother. The Gryffindors were used to Harry +visiting them. They wouldn't be sure about a Malfoy, especially a Malfoy +who was currently sneering at the common room's color scheme. + +Connor came down the stairs from the second-year boys' room, waving at +them. His eyes were so bright that Harry relaxed further. It was going +to be all right, he told himself. It really \emph{was.} They wouldn't +achieve House unity today, or tomorrow, or next year, but eventually, +they would. And Connor would know how best to do it in Gryffindor House, +as Harry had in Slytherin. + +\emph{Except that it turned out you didn't know very well how to do +that, did you?} a voice that sounded like his own murmured to him. + +Harry ignored it. No, he hadn't. He had made a mistake and he was going +to fix things, with Draco's help. He didn't see why his mind muttering +at him about mistakes was going to change things. A mistake was not a +crime. + +\emph{But it can still cost. Look what Connor's mistakes have cost him.} + +Harry ignored that, too, because Connor had reached the bottom of the +stairs and was hugging him. Harry returned the embrace, then stepped +back and looked expectantly between Draco and Connor. + +Draco stuck out his lower lip, but Harry's gaze didn't yield, so he +stalked forward and put out his hand in Connor's general direction. +Connor shook it with equal stiffness, and said, from between gritted +teeth, ``Malfoy.'' + +``Potter.'' Not even Snape could have sneered their last name so +effectively, Harry thought. It made Connor flush and drop Draco's hand. + +``Look here---'' he began. + +``Harry. Malfoy.'' + +Harry blinked as Hermione came down the stairs from the girls' +dormitory, her footsteps loud even among the mutters that had sprung up +around their entrance. She walked straight past Connor as if he didn't +exist and stretched out a hand. Harry shook it. She turned and held out +her hand to Draco then. + +Draco frowned. Harry could almost see him recoiling at the idea of +having to \emph{touch} a \emph{Mudblood.} + +Then he met Harry's eyes and stretched out his hand. His shake with +Hermione was perfunctory, but still less stiff than the one he'd shared +with Connor. Hermione nodded, as if satisfied, when he let go of her +hand. + +``You can come sit over here,'' she said, and marched them both off to a +corner of the common room. There were several first-years sitting there, +but she made them move with a \emph{look}. Harry raised an eyebrow. For +some reason, he hadn't thought Hermione was as bossy outside of the +classroom as she was inside it, but it seemed he'd been wrong. + +``Sit down,'' said Hermione, and Harry made himself comfortable, while +Draco made himself the least uncomfortable he could. Hermione took a +seat across from them and gave Harry a bright, brittle smile. ``So. +How's your month been?'' + +``Less eventful than it seems yours has been,'' Harry muttered back to +her. ``Did Connor not apologize?'' + +``Not enough,'' said Hermione tartly. "He did \emph{that} to me, and +then he just thought he could wave it off." + +``He did what?'' Draco asked in interest. + +``Nothing you need to know about,'' Harry told him, and Draco pouted and +sank back on the couch. He turned back to Hermione, trying to conceal +his surprise. Connor had seemed so sweet with him, and had taken his +loss of their race last weekend so well, and had done very well among +the Slytherins, considering. That he hadn't managed to make up with one +member of his own House was surprising. + +``Harry.'' + +Harry glanced over the back of the couch. Connor was standing there, +biting his lip and fiddling with his hands. + +``I'm sorry,'' he said. ``I'm trying. But it's an uphill struggle with +some people.'' He scowled at Hermione. + +"You were in my \emph{head}," said Hermione, standing up and putting her +hands on her hips. Harry, for the first time, reflected that she could +be intimidating when she wanted to be, and not only because of her +intelligence. "And then you tried to make a \emph{joke} out of it. I +don't \emph{like} that." Her voice was rising, and heads were turning +all over the common room. Or perhaps they'd always been turned, Harry +reflected, and he was noticing their gazes more. + +``I didn't mean to do it, though,'' said Connor, a flush coming into his +cheeks. ``Doesn't that mean anything to you?'' + +"Not when you treat it as a \emph{joke.}" + +Harry stood up in alarm. Hermione's friendship with Connor mattered to +him, or he would never have tried to compel her belief in the first +place. And it seemed as though he was close to inflicting a few more +months of wear and tear on that friendship. + +Harry caught sight of Ron, frozen on the stairs, and looking as though +he didn't know whose side to take. Harry made a silent appeal to him for +help, and Ron shook his head, but jogged over. + +``Hey, mate,'' Ron said, putting a hand on Connor's shoulder. He spared +the obligatory scowl for Draco, but was more focused on Connor, for +which Harry was grateful. ``Maybe making it a joke wasn't the best thing +you could have done with Hermione.'' He shrugged. ``It worked with me, +but I'm different.'' + +"You're a \emph{boy}," Hermione uttered direly, as if that explained +everything. + +Ron glanced at her nervously, then looked back at Connor. ``Yeah, and +girls want apologies,'' he said. + +``I apologized.'' Connor looked stubborn. + +"Not the right \emph{way.}" Hermione stamped her foot. + +Harry shot a quick glance around the Gryffindor common room. He saw +interest on many faces, but not a whole lot of sympathy. He sighed. It +seemed that he had assumed Connor'd made much more progress here than +was actually the case. + +``Connor, can you apologize the right way, please?'' he asked. ``It +won't take all that much more time, and then I think Hermione would +think of you better.'' He looked at Hermione, to see if this was +actually the case. + +Hermione nodded. ``Well, a little, anyway,'' she added. "And then it +wouldn't be a bloody \emph{joke} to him." + +Harry winced. When Hermione swore, things were serious. + +``But I apologized,'' said Connor. ``I don't see why I should have to do +it twice.'' + +``You apologized to me more than once,'' Harry said quietly. ``Connor, +she's one of your best friends---or she was. Please?'' + +Connor glared at him, then at Hermione, then at Ron, who just nodded +slightly, instead of giving him the support for only one apology that he +obviously wanted. Connor sighed huffily. + +``All right, I'm sorry,'' he said. ``There. Is that enough?'' + +Hermione eyed him for a long moment. Then she said, ``Maybe. If you +still mean it in the next week, then I'll accept it.'' She turned and +glanced at Harry. ``Thank you, Harry, for making your brother see +sense.'' + +She went off, head held high. Harry shook his head at her back and +glanced back at Connor. ``Rocky road, then?'' + +Connor tightened his lips for a moment. Then he said, ``She just wasn't +in the right mood to hear it joked about, I guess.'' + +``Wonderful. A deduction that didn't come from either Granger or +Harry,'' Draco drawled from his corner of the couch. ``I sometimes have +hope that you use your brain for something other than screaming at your +brother about Quidditch games after all, Potter.'' + +Connor flushed further, and took a step forward, as though he would go +around the couches to get at Draco. Harry stepped in front of him, and +Ron tightened the clasp of his hand on Connor's shoulder. + +``Don't, mate,'' he said. ``He's not worth it.'' + +``I heard that, Weasley,'' said Draco. "I am \emph{too} worth it." + +"Will you \emph{shut up}?" Harry appealed to Draco, and then faced +Connor. ``Please, Connor. You know what Draco's like. And you know what +Hermione's like.'' He paused, considered rephrasing the question, and in +the end decided he had to know what Connor's answer would be when it was +phrased exactly like this. ``Why did you apologize to her that way, when +you knew she wouldn't take it well?'' + +``I apologized to Ron that way, and he took it well,'' Connor defended +himself. + +``But he's not the same person as Hermione,'' Harry pointed out, +controlling his exasperation with an effort. "Never mind that he's a boy +and she's a girl, she's a \emph{different person}, Connor." + +Connor bit his lip. Harry could see him struggling with the temptation +to admit that he knew that, to admit that he'd been wrong, and that his +stubbornness was once again costing him one of his friendships. + +But it seemed that he wasn't quite ready to admit that, at least in +front of everyone else. Harry thought he would have done it if they'd +been alone. Instead, he raised his chin and said, ``Why can't anyone +just take a joke?'' + +``That's what we've been wondering,'' said a voice from behind Connor +and Ron. ``Many times a day, I say to myself, Fred, why can't anyone +just take a joke?'' + +``That's right,'' said a second voice. "And I say to myself, George, +\emph{anyone} ought to be able to take a joke, especially people who +complain about others not being able to take a joke." + +``Right,'' said Fred's voice. ``And when they don't---'' + +``Then we show them up. Ready, Fred?'' + +"Ready, George. \emph{Exhibeo!}" + +Connor's robes, and the clothes under them, abruptly shimmered and +turned transparent. He gave a shriek and tried to cover himself, +hunching over as though he thought that would protect him. It couldn't +protect him from the shocked laughter already ringing out across the +common room, of course, laughter that even Ron was apparently having +trouble refraining from joining in. Of course, he turned around in the +next moment and bellowed, "\emph{Fred! George!}" + +``Yes, Ronnie-kins?'' asked one of the twins. Harry, pulling off his own +robe to toss around his brother, saw them both standing behind Connor +and grinning like idiots. From the voice, he thought it was Fred who +responded. ``Did something happen to one of his friends that ickle +Ronnie-kins doesn't like?'' + +Ron bellowed and ran at them. The twins nimbly dodged his fists and ran +off around the common room, heading for their own room. Ron made it as +far as the stairs before he slipped on something that definitely hadn't +been there when he came down and slid back into the common room. + +``Anyone should be able to take a joke, Ron,'' George called back down. +``Remember that!'' + +And then they slammed the door of their room behind them, cutting off +their own congratulatory chortles.. + +Most of the people in the common room were still laughing. Harry tuned +them out and bent over Connor. ``What is it?'' he asked. ``Something on +your robes, or on your skin?'' + +``Must be my robes,'' Connor whispered back. ``I th-thought they felt a +little heavier this morning, but I didn't know what---'' He turned his +face away, breathing hard, so deeply embarrassed that Harry thought it +would be cruel to make him speak again. + +He felt a small round object in one of Connor's pockets, and levitated +it carefully out; he didn't \emph{think} touching it would make his own +clothes go transparent, but he couldn't be sure. He examined it as it +floated in front of him. It looked like a gray stone, probably an +ordinary pebble, imbued with a spell Harry had never seen before. It +would be the spell to turn clothes transparent when the command word was +uttered, Harry was sure. He scowled. There was no denying the twins were +magical prodigies, but why did they have to pick on his brother, of all +people? + +``It's gone now,'' Connor whispered, shrugging off Harry's robe. +Underneath, his own clothes were back to normal. ``Thanks.'' + +Harry nodded, then turned and looked at the little pebble. Drawing his +will up wasn't a problem under the circumstances, and the pebble cracked +clean through and shattered. + +He caught Connor's wide eyes and shrugged. ``At least they'll have to +make another one if they want to do that to you again,'' he muttered. + +``Thanks,'' Connor repeated, and then closed his eyes, his cheeks +reddening further at the furtive snickers still sneaking around the +common room. ``I think you'd better go, Harry.'' + +Harry sighed. He agreed. Their visit had been an unmitigated disaster. +He nodded to Draco, who popped to his feet and dusted off his robes as +though dusting loose all the Gryffindor diseases he was sure to get from +sitting on Gryffindor furniture. Luckily, he followed Harry without much +prompting, and without, most importantly, saying anything until they +were outside the portrait. + +Then he said, "I \emph{told} you he was still being a prat." + +Harry scowled. ``You made it worse,'' he said. ``Well, you, and +Hermione, and the twins.'' He started back to the dungeons at a pace +that forced Draco to hope and scrabble to keep up. + +``Really?'' Draco echoed mockingly. ``All of us? None of this would have +happened in the first place if your brother weren't so stubborn, Harry. +I'll grant you he's changed a little, but I don't think it'll be enough +until he changes towards other people and not just you.'' + +``He made a mistake,'' Harry muttered, knowing he sounded sulky, and not +caring. + +Draco gripped his arm, forcing him to stop. ``Yes, he did,'' he said +calmly, meeting Harry's eyes. "And the sooner you make \emph{him} see +that, the better off everyone will be." + +Harry nodded. Perhaps he \emph{did} need to have another talk with +Connor, before all was said and done. + +He ignored the worm of doubt that was squirming at him, the part of his +mind laughing in the same taunting voice as before. + +\emph{You don't want to admit that it's} Connor \emph{who's the problem, +not everyone else. You don't want to admit that maybe} Connor \emph{just +isn't what you want him to be---not smart enough, not perceptive enough, +not talented enough yet, not committed to all the things that you think +he ought to be committed to.} + +``Shut up,'' Harry muttered, glad that Draco would only think he was +talking to Sylarana. + +\emph{Actually, I agree with your thoughts this time,} Sylarana said +primly in his head. \emph{You'll have to shape and mold Connor himself, +not just the others, if you want him to be a leader.} + +Harry nodded quickly. He'd never doubted that, he reassured himself. Of +course Connor needed practice. Of course he knew this would take time. + +But he would never think that his brother just wasn't the right +\emph{person} for the task. The Boy-Who-Lived was going to be important +to the wizarding world, like it or not, by simple virtue of who he was, +and Harry would much rather that it be a good importance than the kind +of importance that would make the \emph{Daily Prophet} attempt to smear +him and call him mad, the way they had done to Headmaster Dumbledore in +the past. He would be their hero, or he would be their scapegoat. They +weren't just going to forget about him. + +\emph{Maybe he just isn't right for this task at all, and you should +abandon your hopeless efforts to make him so.} + +Harry threw that thought through one of the holes in his mind not yet +filled with the Occlumency fog. There were some things he refused to +think. + +\subsection{*Chapter 25*: The Past Comes Home to +Roost}\label{chapter-25-the-past-comes-home-to-roost} + +Thank you for the reviews! Responses will be in my LiveJournal (which is +linked from my profile/bio; I had a few questions about that). + +And I'm sorry for all the mysterious and new stuff in this chapter, but +I'm really going to need it for the end of this book and the third one. +Don't you want to drive yourself crazy with guessing? + +\textbf{Chapter Twenty-Four: The Past Comes Home to Roost} + +Harry let his breath out slowly, and didn't know if he was doing it in +the physical world or in the dream. All he knew was that he was +\emph{going} to figure out what these two dark figures meant this time, +or wake up trying. + +Still they hovered before him, exactly the same as always---solid +figures filled in with black, not silhouettes that might reveal details +of their features, nor yet people that he could examine and identify. +One curled into a small space and cried, his voice so wracked with pain +that Harry thought he must be mad by now. Was that a vision of Azkaban? + +If so, he didn't know why he would be having it, but then, he had never +understood his dreams. He'd had dreams about Quirrell last year, too, +and he had not understood why they would come to him and not Connor. + +The second figure writhed on outlines Harry had finally decided, +tentatively, made up a bed. His whimpers were louder, and he definitely +had more room than the cramped figure on the left, but Harry could tell +no more than that. What was he in pain from? Harry didn't know that, +either. + +\emph{Well, I have to figure it out.} + +If his dreams about Quirrell had been warnings, then perhaps these +dreams were, too. And Harry was certain that he wanted to grasp the +warning in time. It would do less than no good if he learned it too +late. He would blame himself forever if something happened to Connor +that he could have prevented. + +The dark figures abruptly vanished. Harry frowned. Was he waking up? + +But he remembered, then, when and how that had happened before, and he +was ready when Tom Riddle came slicing into his mind like an angel of +vengeance. + +Harry ducked and dodged and rolled around him, in constant motion, +luring Riddle towards the center of his Occlumency shields. He would +prefer to bewilder the boy in fog than call up his magic and drive him +out of his mind again. He had no wish to wind up in the hospital wing. + +Part of him marveled at how calm he was being about it all. + +\emph{Well. I can panic when I'm awake.} + +"Hold \emph{still}!" said Riddle, his voice a whipcrack, as he flew +around Harry, attempting to grab him. Harry ducked again, and he heard +Riddle let out an audible, huffing breath. ``Or are you too frightened +to stand your ground?'' he taunted. + +``That only works with Gryffindors,'' Harry pointed out, and then called +on Sylarana. + +She was beside him in a moment, a hissing vibration that seemed to run +all along the webs. Well, she was deeply entwined into them, Harry +thought, as he stopped to catch his breath and rest his mind. She would +be able to defend him almost as well as he would himself. + +Sylarana lunged at Riddle, twisting the webs up around him. Riddle +reached down as if he would shred and tear them again. + +\emph{No}, Harry thought, and the thought rang like a bell in his head. +\emph{No. I cannot afford to let him do this, not again, not when I'm +finally making some progress with Connor.} + +This time, it was not darkness but light that answered from the depths +of his mind, red and gold like fire, and singing like---like nothing +Harry had ever heard, but like something he wished to hear again. The +light and the song together struck Riddle and simply blotted him out of +Harry's mind. Harry was left alone, blinking, in his own head. Sylarana +twined around him and hissed at him to wake up. + +Harry sat up in his bed, feeling it wrong that the room was still dark +around him. It had been so bright in his mind. + +Sylarana stirred on his shoulder, and said, in a voice loud enough to +wake his Housemates, "\emph{He came for the box. He was aiming for it.}" + +Harry nodded. He had not been able to see that, not in the chaos of +battle, but he had guessed it. He was more interested in something else, +though. ``What was that light and song in my head? Did you cause that?'' + +"\emph{I had nothing whatsoever to do with that,}" said Sylarana, and +performed a looping motion with her head and tail that Harry had learned +was her equivalent of a shrug. "\emph{I would not have arranged for a +defense so showy.}" + +Harry chuckled, but most of his mind was busy with the voice---the +singing voice, not Tom Riddle's. There had been little surprise in +Riddle's attack. Harry supposed it was valuable to know he was still +there, still a threat. + +``I know I've heard something sing like that before,'' he whispered. +``What?'' + +"\emph{I don't know, and I don't care."} He could feel Sylarana sliding +gently through his mind, poking at the webs. "\emph{It doesn't look as +though you've taken any damage. Go back to sleep. I certainly will.}" + +Harry nodded, absently, and then lay back down. He would have to go to +Dumbledore tomorrow, and tell him about the attack. Perhaps he could +also ask the Headmaster what the flaring light in his mind might be. +Snape could, possibly, know, but if he had seen this radiance before and +simply refused to tell Harry that it was there, then he had his reasons +for keeping silent. If he hadn't seen it\ldots{} + +Harry wondered where it could have been hiding, even as he fell back +asleep at last. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Professor Lockhart, I need to go see the Headmaster,'' said Harry in +the middle of Defense Against the Dark Arts the next day, and yet +another quiz on yet another one of Lockhart's interminable books. + +The professor's head jerked up, and he stared worriedly at Harry. Harry +blinked, then smiled. \emph{He probably thinks that I'm going to tell +Dumbledore he's a fraud.} + +He looked back coolly, and gave the tiniest shake of his head. Of +course, Lockhart would understand that Harry revealing the secret was an +option, should Lockhart displease him. + +Such as by keeping him in class when he asked to see the Headmaster. + +Harry could see the exact moment when Lockhart figured it out. He waved +a hand at Harry. ``Off you go, then,'' he said. "But you'll miss the +next exciting revelation from \emph{Year with the Yeti.}" + +``I'll try to hurry back, then, sir,'' Harry said, not letting any of +his sarcasm into his voice, and ignoring Draco's gaze on his back, too. +He could tell Draco what was happening later, if and when the Headmaster +said he could. + +Harry was rather proud of himself for that thought, he acknowledged as +he slipped through the halls towards the Headmaster's office. He was +being more responsible, more like an adult than he had been in some +time. He was letting Connor go on at his own pace with making friends in +other Houses. He wasn't \emph{entirely} pleased that the first Ravenclaw +friends Connor had chosen were Gorgon and Jones, the bullies who had +harassed Luna the first day Harry met her, but he could hardly forbid +his brother from extending the hand of peace to certain people. They +were responding better to him than they ever had to Harry, that was for +sure. + +\emph{Like calls to like}. + +Harry started, thinking that had been one of his own, angry, odd +thoughts, and then recognized Sylarana's voice. He frowned. He hadn't +known she could hide so deeply in his mind that she sounded exactly like +him. + +\emph{Stop that,} he reprimanded her as he reached the gargoyle and +began trying out various sweet names to open the door to the +Headmaster's office. + +\emph{Why should I?} she asked. \emph{There are things you need to hear, +things you will barely acknowledge when I say them. But when your own +mind throws them at you, then you respond.} He felt an odd rustle, as +though her place in the webs was shifting. \emph{And there's that dark +corner where you've been throwing everything lately. You're not to throw +any emotion in there again.} + +Harry ground his teeth. His temper could still surge with frightening +quickness, when he let it. ``Fizzing Whizbees,'' he said, and the +gargoyle leaped aside. He stepped onto the staircase. \emph{I have to +get rid of them somehow, Sylarana.} + +\emph{Why? Because you might listen to them otherwise, and begin to make +your own decisions?} + +\emph{You don't have the right to say what I should put where.} + +\emph{Yes, I do,} she said, and then she shifted the corner where Harry +had started to pile his irritation and anger, locked behind one of the +Occlumency fog-shields in his mind, and he couldn't feel it anymore. + +\emph{You're annoying.} + +\emph{I'm practical. And always right. You would do well to remember +that.} + +Harry shook his head and knocked on the Headmaster's door. He had more +important things to think about than an argument with his snake right +now. He was being responsible. He was telling Dumbledore about something +that might become a threat to his brother before it could manifest as a +threat. + +``Come in, Mr. Potter.'' + +\emph{How does he do that?} Harry wondered, but he knew a few simple +spells on the staircase were all it would take. He dismissed the +question as likewise unimportant and opened the door. + +Dumbledore sat behind his desk with a Pensieve in front of him, and his +beard dripping with the silvery liquid that filled the bowl. Harry +smiled in spite of himself. He must have interrupted the Headmaster just +as he was reliving a memory. Judging from the smile on his face, it had +been a pleasant one, and not one related to the First War. Harry was +sorry for stepping in, but he really didn't think he should wait. + +``Sir---'' + +A trill interrupted him. Blinking, Harry turned his head and watched +Fawkes fly over to him, landing on his shoulder and lowering his head so +that his beak brushed Harry's chin. Sylarana complained and shifted out +from beneath the phoenix's talons, but did not actually dare to bite +him. Harry raised his hand and smoothed slowly down the shimmering +feathers. + +Fawkes chirped at him, eyes brilliant, and then abruptly loosed a short +phrase of song that made Harry snap straight. + +\emph{That was it. That was the voice that I heard in my head last +night. It was a phoenix singing. Was Fawkes somehow watching over me in +my sleep?} + +``My familiar seems to have taken quite a shine to you, Mr. Potter,'' +said Dumbledore, chuckling. ``He only lets people he likes touch him. +Now, was there something you wanted to see me about?'' + +Harry ceased blinking at the phoenix for a moment and sat down in one of +the chairs in front of Dumbledore, Fawkes a warm weight on his shoulder. +``Yes, sir. Tom Riddle attacked me again last night.'' + +Dumbledore's face became grave at once, and Harry was surer than ever +that he had interrupted a happy moment. The Headmaster sighed, and his +blue eyes pinned Harry with the gaze of an old warrior. ``I see. And +were you able to send him from your head again? Or do you fear that he +remains lodged in your thoughts?'' + +Harry shook his head. ``Something else sent him away from my head, sir. +A flash of flames, and a voice I didn't recognize until I heard Fawkes +sing.'' The phoenix gave another trill, as though responding to his +name. Harry found his hand rising to stroke the feathers again. The +warmth they gave was deep and subdued, like a room where a fire had +burned for a long time. ``I wanted to ask what it meant, if you knew, +sir. Perhaps Fawkes was somehow watching over me in my sleep? Or could +another phoenix have been doing the same thing?'' + +Dumbledore closed his eyes. Harry was surprised to see that his face +took on an even heavier look, as though the news were unwelcome. + +``I do know what it was, Harry,'' he said quietly. ``But I cannot tell +you what spell it was for right now. There were---spells of protection +that your mother asked me to place on your brother when we first +understood that he was Voldemort's destroyer. They are not to activate +except in the last extremity, since they have dangerous effects on the +world around them. We thought you had escaped contamination by them, but +it seems you have not.'' He sighed and opened his eyes again. ``I am +sorry, my boy. This is yet another burden that you must bear in an +overcrowded brain. I would spare you it if I could. I think a Locusta +and Tom Riddle's attacks and Occlumency shields quite enough.'' + +Harry nodded slowly. ``Can you tell me why it had a phoenix's voice, +sir?'' + +Dumbledore nodded at Fawkes. ``As Fawkes is my familiar, he had some +influence on the spells as they were cast. There is a remnant of that +influence within you, Harry. It will be even stronger with your brother, +of course, given that his wand actually contains one of Fawkes's +feathers, and so does Voldemort's wand. I am sorry,'' he repeated. "We +wished to preserve you from the possible dangers of sharing this kind of +bond with your twin, but since you \emph{are} twins, and not only +brothers by blood, the connection is extremely hard to block. It seems +so far that the bond has protected you only, and for that I am pleased +and grateful. But please do not rely on it." + +Fawkes uttered a low croon this time. When Harry looked at him sideways, +he found the phoenix's head bowed, pressed against his neck so that it +was difficult to see anything but his beak. A moment later, gentle wet +drops fell onto Harry's neck. + +``Fawkes?'' Harry asked, wondering if he had somehow hurt or upset the +phoenix. He didn't think so, as he'd only been sitting there, but he +didn't know very much about phoenixes, either. + +Fawkes lifted his head, and Harry could see that his eyes were filled +with tears. They fell on his shoulder as he watched in fascination, warm +and soft and smelling slightly of spring flowers. Fawkes laid his head +against Harry's temple and wept. + +``A phoenix's tears heal,'' said Dumbledore quietly. ``I believe that +Fawkes is attempting to heal you of spell contamination.'' + +The phoenix gave a low musical sound that might or might not have been +agreement, and shifted a little closer to Harry. Harry turned his head +slightly away. This close, the heat was stifling, and Fawkes's golden +tail-feathers brushed along his cheek like the very touch of fire. + +``Not too close, Fawkes,'' said Dumbledore. ``Mr. Potter needs to be +able to breathe.'' + +Fawkes uttered a loud chatter that Harry couldn't take for anything but +a scolding, and continued to weep for a few moments. Then he lifted and +flew back to his perch. Harry rubbed his shoulder gingerly. It wasn't +scalded. He hadn't thought he would find it so, but the imprint of the +phoenix's talons lingered anyway, as though Fawkes were still sitting +there. + +Dumbledore cleared his throat. ``Given that we cannot trust the spell +contamination to protect you again, Harry, I think it is time to turn to +weapons that can.'' He leaned forward and stared intently at Harry. "You +must understand how important this is. Voldemort \emph{must not} be able +to turn you against your brother." + +Harry opened his mouth to say that he would never turn against his +brother, then shut it again. That was the whole point of Dumbledore +phrasing his statement the way he had. Voldemort had proven that he +could turn Harry without Harry knowing in his conscious mind that he was +being turned. + +Dumbledore reached behind him and drew forth a long, slim sword from a +glass case on the wall that Harry hadn't even noticed. He held it +solemnly towards Harry. ``This is the Sword of Gryffindor,'' he said. +"When Tom Riddle was a student here, he several times took books from +the library that contained information on the Founders' artifacts, and I +believe that he tried to, ah, \emph{acquire} the sword several times +before he was finally convinced not to try again." Dumbledore's eyes +gleamed, and Harry wondered for a moment just who had convinced him; he +thought he knew. ``I believe he was interested in it for a reason. It is +a powerful artifact. Do you think you could use it to defeat him?'' + +Harry hesitated for a long moment, meeting Dumbledore's eyes, then +reached forward and curled his hand around the hilt of the sword. + +He snatched it back a moment later, gasping, and stared at the red +center of his palm. This time, he thought grimly, he knew the difference +between the gentle heat that Fawkes shed and true fire. His hand was +already beginning to blister. He shook it and tucked it into his lap, +shaking his head at Dumbledore. + +Dumbledore's eyes were narrowed speculatively. ``I see,'' he said +quietly. ``Well. I am sorry, Harry. I am not entirely sure what +happened.'' He turned and put the Sword carefully back in the glass +case. ``Perhaps it would not be a good choice, anyway, given the damage +that Tom Riddle has already inflicted on your mind and how close he has +come to winning over you. It would not do to give him what he wants.'' + +Dumbledore was diplomatically not mentioning how much the sword had hurt +him, Harry thought, and certainly not \emph{why.} He gritted his teeth. +He thought he knew. \emph{I'm not meant to be a Gryffindor.} + +``Sir,'' he said, ``Sirius gave me a gift for Christmas that he found +among the Black family treasures. He said it was an armband that was +supposed to amplify a Parselmouth's power. He did say that the Order of +the Phoenix had tried to use it during the First War, against Voldemort, +and it didn't do anything.'' Harry let out a long breath. ``But I'm a +Parselmouth, sir.'' + +\emph{Make sure you remember it,} came Sylarana's stern voice in his +head. + +``Could I try that?'' Harry asked. + +Dumbledore regarded him for a long moment in silence. Harry could almost +feel the tenor of his thoughts. \emph{A Slytherin, with serpent magic. +That does not mean he is evil. And yet, the Sword of Gryffindor burned +him.} + +Dumbledore nodded in the end. ``Yes, I think that would be an excellent +candidate, Harry,'' he said cheerfully. ``I don't think Sirius is busy +right now. Would you like to go to his office? I will grant you special +permission to be out of classes myself.'' + +Harry thought about it, then decided he had better. He had an Occlumency +lesson with Snape that night, and most of the material they were +covering in their other classes was what he had already learned on his +own. ``Yes, sir. Thank you.'' + +Dumbledore smiled and waved him on his way. Harry slid out of his seat, +inclined his head, and set off. + +Fawkes trilled once more to him before he left the office. Harry met the +phoenix's dark eyes and saw they were sad again, glimmering with tears +that Fawkes did not seem inclined to let fall. + +\emph{He certainly is a sorrowful bird,} Harry thought as he shut the +door behind himself. \emph{Not at all what I expected of a phoenix, and +especially Dumbledore's familiar.} + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +"\emph{Protego!}" + +Harry waved his wand and cast the spell perfectly, enunciating every +syllable with what he knew was total control. The armband was clasped +snugly around his upper left arm. He could feel it as he waved his wand. + +Nothing happened. The shield simply snapped into place and hovered there +in front of him. + +"\emph{Finite Incantatem,}" said Harry, disgusted, and watched the +shield fade. + +``Well, not defensive magic, then,'' Sirius murmured soothingly from the +other side of the office. ``We can try medical magic next. You said that +you knew a few of the spells for that?'' + +Harry nodded. He was becoming more and more frustrated. No matter which +spell he cast, the armband did \emph{nothing} to help his magic---or to +hinder it, from what he could see. He performed every spell exactly as +normal. + +So far they'd gone through hexes, jinxes, simple household cleaning +charms, most of the spells that Harry knew to affect someone else in a +gentle way such as sending them to sleep, and now most of Harry's +defensive spells. He supposed medical magic might be it. For all they +knew, Sirius's ancestor who was a Parselmouth could have been a +Mediwizard. + +\emph{Not much use in battle, though, unless Connor falls dying at my +feet,} Harry thought morosely. + +Before he could begin the spell to remove boils, he heard a grumbling +sound. Surprised, he looked down and blinked. He supposed he \emph{had} +missed dinner, but usually his stomach didn't complain so loudly about +it. + +``Thought that might happen,'' said Sirius, and ducked, rummaging behind +his desk. He came up with a pair of apples, one of which he bit into +himself. ``Catch,'' he added, and tossed the other in an arc that Harry +knew would fall far short of him. His godfather's idea of a prank to +lighten the mood, probably. + +Irritated, Harry cast \emph{Wingardium Leviosa}, both wandless and +nonverbal, to pull the apple to him. + +The armband grew warm around his skin, and then the apple soared across +the office and smacked into the wall beside him. Harry turned to stare. +He found the fruit actually \emph{embedded} in the stone. He lifted a +hand and tugged gently at it. It was no use. It didn't move. + +Harry stared some more, then licked his lips. He glanced at Sirius, who +had his mouth open, some pieces of half-chewed apple still visible +within it. When he became aware of Harry looking at him, Sirius shut his +mouth and shook his head. + +``Well,'' said Sirius. ``I suppose we know what kind of magic your +armband works with now.'' + +``Wandless,'' said Harry. ``Or is it only wandless and nonverbal?'' More +carefully this time, he looked at the apple in Sirius's hand. +"\emph{Accio} Sirius's apple." + +Once again, he felt the warmth, and then a wild surge of power. The +apple darted out of Sirius's hand and towards him. Harry barely caught +it in time. He bit into the side that Sirius hadn't touched, feeling +vindicated. + +``That's mine,'' said Sirius, but it was a mild protest. He was still +staring cross-eyed at Harry. ``That's it, then,'' he breathed. "None of +us thought to try it with raw magic, or wandless. Of course, none of us +could perform wandless magic but Snape anyway, and like we were going to +trust \emph{him} with something like this. And perhaps it really does +work only for wandless magic performed by Parselmouths." + +"\emph{Yes}," Sylarana said abruptly, making Sirius jump badly as she +emerged from the collar of Harry's robe and slithered under his sleeve +to nudge at the armband. "\emph{It is no accident that it bears the +image of a serpent, and that the black coating is made of scales. It was +made to call only to the magic that other wizards considered Darkest and +most primal, magic performed without a wand in the minds of those who +could speak to beasts.}" Sylarana flicked her tongue out, and Harry felt +it against his skin, still warm from the armband. "\emph{But that is +only the knowledge that comes from the thing itself.} Beasts, +\emph{indeed. Something like the basilisk is. But some of us are more +civilized.}" + +``What did she say?'' Sirius's voice was still incredulous, as though he +couldn't believe he was asking what a snake had to say. + +Harry translated, looking away from Sylarana so he couldn't accidentally +speak Parseltongue. ``She says that---that the serpent in the band is +calling out to the serpent in me,'' he added, as Sylarana hissed at him +again. + +Sirius sighed and closed his eyes. Harry tensed, wondering if his +godfather was about to say something about no Potters before him ever +having a trace of serpent in them. Hard as Sirius was trying to +understand, Harry didn't trust him not to make an unfortunate remark. + +Sirius came forward abruptly and embraced him. ``Don't look at me like +that, Harry,'' he whispered into his ear. "Lily explained everything to +me. It's \emph{fine}. I'm living proof that you can grow up with a touch +of the Dark in you and still turn out fine. And Peter came from a good +home, was wonderfully taken care of and pampered and spoiled and had all +our friendship, and look where he is. In Azkaban." His hands tightened +on Harry's shoulders. ``I won't reject you again, I swear it.'' + +Harry breathed out shallowly and nodded, daring to hold Sirius back. He +forced his mind past the moment, to concentrate on what really mattered. + +\emph{At least I have a weapon to use against Tom Riddle.} + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +The boy was unusually distracted tonight, Snape thought, which was +probably the reason that he was able to push past Harry's defenses and +enter his mind so easily. That was no longer a simple task. Of course, +part of that difficulty came from the composite state of Harry's mind, +both so wounded and so healthy, and Snape didn't wish to encourage Harry +to keep it that way. His compliments were few and sparse. + +This time, he dodged past the shimmering golden thread that kept the +Locusta in touch with Harry's thoughts at all times, only noting that it +now lit nearly all the webs with its fire, and the locked box, and the +simple well of webs that led downward to Harry's ultimate goal of +protecting his brother. He wished to see how well the specific wounds +that Tom Riddle had left in his battle with Harry were healing. + +One of them was nearly gone, he thought with subdued pleasure. The +Occlumency fog had provided a gentle, cool place for the webs to connect +and heal, and if Harry had lost any of his memories there, he would not +be able to tell now. Better an oddly seamless summer or birthday party, +with the nagging feeling that he had forgotten something, than the sheer +gap that it would have been otherwise. + +Snape swam on to the most chewed web. This one, the Locusta had taken it +on herself to repair, and that, Snape was not so pleased with. She was +too much a part of Harry's mind, had made herself too integral, for him +to be easy with her. Not even wizards who had familiars let them this +far into their heads. + +\emph{Perhaps it is a special case for Parselmouths and magical +serpents,} Snape thought, absently dodging a whirlwind of false memories +that Harry wanted him to look at. \emph{But still, I must speak with the +boy about it. When he can hold all the other wounds shut, then he must +learn to unwind her and function without her help. She is not a good +enough guard against the Dark Lord.} + +Snape was drifting towards the third wound when Harry hit him with his +most powerful attack yet, a flung hammer of remembered pain from Tom +Riddle's cutting spells that drove Snape downward. Before he could +recover himself, he found the dark well of the boy's magic before him, +the place all the webs spiraled inward to meet. Snape hurriedly shielded +himself from the pain with a darting, slicing push from his Legilimency, +and floated away from the hole. He had no wish to go into the blackness, +not after feeling the barest part of what Harry could do when he had +battled Tom Riddle in December. + +Yet, for a moment, he was looking straight down, and he caught a glimpse +of something that was not darkness. It took his breath. + +A glorious web of light ran deep beneath the surface of Harry's +thoughts, glittering with red and gold and sometimes flashes of blue and +white as if it would imitate fire. Snape noticed its intricacies, its +dense patterns, as well as he could while Harry was trying to push him +out of his mind, and thought the web was at least as complicated as all +the others combined. + +Then he landed in his chair, sent staggering by Harry's push, and +thought, \emph{No. That is the} guide \emph{for Harry's mind. It anchors +the webs above it. It shows them where to run, like ley lines beneath +the surface of the earth.} + +Snape found himself immensely curious about what exactly that made the +web of light, especially since he had never seen it before. He recovered +himself, and found Harry's face gone shuttered and wary, his head +lowered and his eyes a dark instead of a brilliant green. Snape nodded. +He had no chance of fighting his way in again tonight. That was all to +the good. + +``What is the web of light in your thoughts, Potter?'' he asked. + +Harry blinked. "You \emph{saw} it?" he blurted. + +Snape sneered. ``Control, Mr. Potter, control,'' he said. "Yes, I saw +it. If you reveal it when you lower your guard, then I can only instruct +you not to trust me. We \emph{must} guard your mind at all costs if +Riddle is attempting to find his way in again." \emph{We cannot have +Voldemort taking over the body and magic of the Boy-Who-Lived,} he +added, but only inwardly. He was glad that he had made the choice not to +try and convince Harry of that again. Harry had dedicated a good portion +of his time lately to making sure everyone thought his brother deserved +the title. + +But Harry was shaking his head. ``I don't know what it is,'' he said. +``It showed up in my dream last night when Riddle attacked, and drove +him away. It was gold and red, and sang like a phoenix---like Fawkes.'' +He hesitated a long moment. ``Headmaster Dumbledore said it was spell +contamination, from magic that they cast on my brother to protect him,'' +he said at last, a question in his voice. + +Snape stared at him. \emph{Spell contamination? With the web running at +the deepest levels of his awareness? Not bloody likely.} + +But, of course, Dumbledore would have known that. He was a Legilimens +himself, a better one than Snape. He would have seen the web of light +long since, and understood its significance if not its full meaning or +origin. + +And yet, he had told the boy this. + +Snape wrestled with himself for a long moment. If he spoke the truth, +said exactly what he had seen, he stood some chance of building trust +with Harry. And perhaps he could encourage the boy's mind to heal +further if he told him about this important part of it. + +On the other hand, he would be acting against what the Headmaster +evidently wished Harry to believe. He would encourage Harry to distrust +Dumbledore, when that could lead to utter disaster. And he could not say +beyond all doubt what the web was. Perhaps it truly was spell +contamination, from a spell that Snape had never heard of. Dumbledore +was a more powerful wizard than he was, by several orders of magnitude. +Perhaps he was only telling the truth. + +Snape met Harry's eyes, and chose the middle road. + +``I would not say that is what it is,'' he said carefully. ``On the +other hand, I have never seen anything like it before.'' He did not need +to view the web again, he knew; the sight was burned into his memory. +``You say it sang like a phoenix?'' + +``The flash that showed up in my dreams did, sir,'' said Harry, head +tilted to the side, watching him carefully. + +``And you have never seen it before?'' + +Harry shook his head. + +Snape nodded. ``I will research this, and offer you further answers when +I find the information out. I have none at this time.'' + +Harry stood watching him for a moment longer, then said, ``Am I +dismissed, sir?'' + +``You are,'' said Snape, and watched him leave. Then he sighed and +turned to the shelf of books behind his desk. He doubted he would find +anything, but he felt compelled to start the research he had promised +Harry. + +\emph{Every time I think this is becoming easier, it becomes harder +instead. Who would have thought a Potter could be so} complicated? + +He scowled as what Harry had said about Dumbledore's words returned. + +``Old friend,'' he whispered as he opened the first book, +\emph{Side-Effects of the Dark Arts.} ``What have you done now?'' + +\subsection{*Chapter 26*: Over Easter +Holidays}\label{chapter-26-over-easter-holidays} + +Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter! Review responses up in LJ +later. + +Well, \emph{damn}. + +\textbf{Chapter Twenty-Five: Over Easter Holidays} + +Draco was fussing and whining about Harry not coming to Malfoy Manor for +Easter, and he'd been doing it since yesterday, so Harry was paying more +attention to his breakfast than Draco when the other boy abruptly +gripped his arm. ``Look,'' he breathed. "What's \emph{he} doing here?" + +Harry looked up, blinking, but saw no one looming in front of their +table; he'd assumed Connor had come over to visit, from Draco's +incredulity. Then he realized Draco was looking upwards. Harry followed +his gaze. + +A great horned owl had swept in majestically through the windows, +circling over the tables as though it didn't know its ultimate +destination. The post owls had come and gone, so everyone's eyes were on +it. Harry shook his head slightly. ``You recognize that owl?'' he +whispered to Draco. + +``It's Julius,'' Draco said, which wasn't an answer. He still hadn't +looked away from the bird. + +``What?'' Harry attempted to convey in that one word that he had no idea +what Draco meant. + +``My father's---formal owl,'' said Draco, as though he had looked for a +better way to phrase it and hadn't found one. ``I've only seen him send +Julius with a message once, when he'd argued with Pansy's father and +wanted to talk to him about it. I don't know what it means that he sent +him now.'' + +Harry watched in silence, and wasn't surprised when Julius swept one +more circle and then alighted on the Slytherin table in front of him. +This close, the bird's size was even more impressive. Harry met the +immense golden eyes under the swept-back tufted horns, and waited. + +Julius, never looking away from Harry, extended one talon. Harry took +the small bundle from him and unwrapped it. It was folded in a silken +mesh, woven to be both delicate and strong. Harry had heard of it, +though he'd never actually seen it before. It would have acromantula +silk somewhere in the weaving. + +Inside, as he had half-expected---but really, no more than half---were a +piece of parchment, folded in half, and a small green stone. Harry +turned the stone over. It was carved in the shape of a fingernail, and +it wasn't an emerald, though it had the color of one. + +He glanced at the parchment, more a note than a letter. + +\emph{For Harry Potter, on this first day of spring. May our truce in +the future grow as bright and green as the stone that binds us.} + +\emph{Lucius Malfoy.} + +Harry smiled thinly and looked at the stone again. Yes, today was the +vernal equinox, the first day of spring. Lucius was following the very +oldest of traditions in sending his truce gifts near the turn of the +seasons; the first had probably even arrived on the winter solstice, +though Harry had still been unconscious in the hospital wing at the +time. By linking the truce gifts to the natural cycle of the solstices +and equinoxes, Lucius demonstrated his sincerity and his earnestness to +make the truce as long-lasting and permanent as the seasons themselves +were. + +Supposedly. Harry still did not trust the elder Malfoy to do +\emph{anything} that was not for his own benefit. This was a game. He +was intrigued that Lucius had gone this far, and he knew he could afford +to respond. He would send the next gift in plenty of time to let Lucius +send the fifth gift on Midsummer. He really did not think it would +happen, however. Sooner or later, practicality and prudence would +overcome whatever perverse enjoyment Lucius was getting out of this. + +``What does that mean?'' Draco asked, his attention caught. He took the +green stone from Harry and stared at it. ``It's pretty. But what does it +mean?'' + +``Tell you later,'' said Harry, and scooped the stone back into his own +hand, and then into a pocket. + +``Harry,'' Draco whined. ``Tell me what it means.'' + +``If I do,'' said Harry, standing up from the table to make his way to +Charms, ``does that mean that you'll stop pestering me to go home with +you over Easter?'' + +Draco pouted. ``Can't I have both?'' + +``No,'' Harry pointed out. + +Draco shut up. + +Behind him, Harry heard Julius's wings unfold as he took to the air. It +was an insult to feed or pay a formal owl, so Harry hadn't tried. He +watched as the great bird skimmed to the window and rose out of sight. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Come on, Harry!'' Connor yelled from the bottom of the stairs. He'd +been permitted into the Slytherin common room, though not actually into +the room covered with clutter from five busily packing Slytherin boys. +``Sirius said he'd meet us out in front of the school with his motorbike +in five minutes, and that was five minutes ago!'' + +Harry scooped the last of his clothes into his trunk and hugged Draco +one-armed. Sylarana was on the other arm, sleeping so deeply that Harry +didn't want to disturb her. Draco turned his head sulkily away. + +``I'll see you when the summer term begins,'' Harry reminded him. "It's +not as if it's that long, Draco. You \emph{know} it isn't." + +``But you could have come to the Manor,'' said Draco. ``You could have +spent time with me outside of school. And you didn't.'' + +Harry huffed out a little sigh. \emph{This has gone on long enough,} he +thought. \emph{I've tried to be patient, but there's only so much I can +take.} ``I spent Christmas with you,'' he said. ``And last Christmas +with you. And now I want to know what my parents have been keeping from +me, why they didn't come to visit me at Christmas, and what they'll say +to Connor. I've no doubt that I'm due some scolding, too.'' He shook his +head. "I \emph{need} to see my family, Draco." + +Draco closed his eyes. ``I know,'' he said in a small voice. ``But every +time I lose sight of you, I'm afraid that you might not come back.'' + +Harry stared at him for a moment. He had not realized Draco was that far +gone down the road of his strange obsession with him. + +He reached out, clasped Draco's hand, and said, ``Draco, the enchantment +on the bottle---it's permanent, you know, unless the bottle is broken or +unless something happens to me.'' + +Draco opened his eyes and fixed them on him. + +``If I die, you'll know,'' Harry whispered. ``I promise. The colors will +stop shifting and shining, because there will be no one there to feel +them any more. I know it's not much, but it's knowledge.'' + +Draco swallowed once, then said, ``All right.'' He looked as if he would +have said more, but Connor yelled from the bottom of the stairs again. + +"Harry! Come \emph{on}!" + +Harry smiled slightly at Draco and levitated his trunk behind him. He +had to hurry back, though, for the small object and letter he'd hidden +behind the books on his shelf. It would not have been a disaster if he +had forgotten to send them now, but he didn't want to concern himself +with it while he was home. + +Connor perked up at the sight of him and gestured Harry grandly towards +the entrance to the common room. ``Come on,'' he said. ``I've been +shouting for you for ages already.'' + +``I know,'' said Harry, his mind on the object in his hands and on +Draco. He really should have been thinking more about his family, he +knew, and about Connor. Here was the chance to find out the answers to +the questions he'd thought of over the last few weeks and grown steadily +more frustrated about. One way or another, when he returned to school, +he expected to know more than he did now. Even his parents' refusal to +answer the questions would tell him something. + +But he thought instead of what Draco had said, and the object in his +hand burned like a hot coal. + +\emph{But every time I lose sight of you, I'm afraid that you might not +come back.} + +It made sense on one level, Harry acknowledged. He had faced Tom Riddle +this year, and helped Connor battle Voldemort last year, and his life +would be in more danger as the War mounted. But he was worried about +what it might indicate for Draco. How far was he willing to go? What was +he willing to risk, in the impossible---well, impossible at least for +someone with the name of Malfoy---attempt to float between the two sides +of the struggle? + +He would have to have a serious talk with Draco when he came back, Harry +thought. He would have to convince him that easing off on their +friendship was the best thing for him. He had been willing to let it +play out for as long as he had because he enjoyed Draco's company, and +enjoyed him for what he was, for being so pure an example of his +particular personality. But it was selfish. He had made another mistake, +just as he had when trying to press Connor's friendships too fast, but +now he would correct it. + +\emph{Yet he's not going to take it well, is he?} + +Harry sighed. He would still hurt Draco less if he told him now than the +War would. + +``Mr. Potter.'' + +Harry blinked and glanced up. He hadn't realized that Connor had been +talking until he hushed, nor that they were almost out the front doors +of Hogwarts. Snape had stopped them, standing in front of them like a +wall of shadow. A quick sideways glance showed Connor scowling. Harry +wasn't sure if Snape had been speaking to him, but he spoke quickly just +in case. + +``Yes, sir?'' + +Snape nodded at him and extended two slim books. Harry took them +gingerly. They sparkled and crackled with wards that fell still when +they felt the touch of his fingers. + +Harry turned them so he could look at their spines, since neither bore a +title on the covers. There were no titles there, either. He lifted +questioning eyes to Snape. + +``These are the only books I was able to uncover with information on the +odd phenomenon in your mind,'' said Snape curtly. ``I have sorted +through them myself, but since I have only secondhand information and +not your firsthand experience, it is up to you to make sense of them.'' + +Harry nodded, dazed. He was amazed that Snape had been this much help to +him. He had assumed the professor would either find nothing or not +report it to him if he did. It was not as though Harry \emph{trusted} +Snape to be anything other than a bastard out for himself. + +Snape's lips tightened, and Harry was reminded that Snape could read his +thoughts. + +He dropped his gaze and shifted his grip on the books, so that he was +holding them firmly under his left arm. Sylarana still slept on, +thankfully. ``Thank you, sir,'' he said quietly. ``I will study them. I +should have something to report to you after the holidays.'' + +``See that you do,'' said Snape, and swept away. + +Harry continued walking, and Connor had no choice but to follow. He +waited until Snape was probably out of earshot before asking his +question, at least. ``Why did you accept the books from him, Harry? And +why take so long in the Slytherin dorms? I thought you couldn't wait to +be home and rid of all this Slytherin nonsense.'' He gave a dramatic +shudder, as though someone had enchanted serpents to crawl up his legs. +Then he hurriedly patted his robe pockets. Harry hid an exasperated +smile. Connor had developed a nervous habit of that every time he had a +potentially frightening thought, as though he believed the twins would +read his mind and come up with another pebble that did what he'd +imagined. + +Of course, not all his exasperation came from that. ``Connor,'' he said +quietly, as they emerged into the sunshine and saw Sirius waiting for +them with the motorbike and Hedwig and Godric in their cages, ``you +should know that I can't forget about this `Slytherin nonsense.' +Wherever I go, I'm Slytherin, at least until I'm out of school.'' + +Connor gave him an odd look. ``But you don't have to act the same way +you do when you aren't around Malfoy and Snape and all the rest of them. +Why would you keep acting the same way?'' + +``Do you consider yourself less a Gryffindor because you're out of the +Tower?'' Harry shifted the small object and the letter he held to his +right hand. It was becoming tricky, juggling those things and the books +while trying not to wake Sylarana, but he would be rid of the stone and +the letter in a moment. + +``Well---no,'' said Connor. "But I'm not acting a particular way because +that's my House and that's how people expect me to act. I really +\emph{am} Gryffindor, Harry." He gave his brother a winning smile. + +Harry could see where this was going, and that it would all end in +tears, and he decided he needed to say it anyway. He had been mistaken +in trying to direct how Connor related to everyone else in the school. +But he could refuse to live up to his brother's misconceptions. ``And +this is how I am, Connor,'' he said. "I \emph{am} Slytherin." + +Connor froze and turned to stare at him. Harry met his gaze as steadily +as he could. Of course, after a moment, shame overcame him, and he +looked down and away. He could feel Sirius's grin dying as he watched +them, though they were still too far away for his godfather to hear what +Connor said next. + +``I thought---then there's something wrong, Harry,'' Connor began +slowly. "I thought all Slytherins were false and fake and only cared +about money and blood status. I thought most of them were \emph{evil.}" +He bit his lip. ``So either I was right in what I thought earlier this +year and you're evil, or I was wrong about Slytherins. And how can +either be true?'' + +Harry breathed carefully, his eyes never moving from his brother's. He +had a chance to make this right, as long as he didn't screw it up. +``Connor,'' he whispered. ``Which do you think is true? If one thing or +the other has to be true, which do you choose?'' + +Connor stared back at him, his eyes widening. Then he said, "But I +\emph{can't} be wrong about Slytherins, Harry! How can I be? Dad and +Sirius always told me how evil they were!" + +Harry closed his eyes and was conscious of his heart beating rapidly in +his ears, over and over again, like the sound of velvet being crushed. +Connor had passed the test. He was on the road that would lead him to +the right conclusions in the end. Harry could hardly speak, he was so +dizzy with relief and joy, but he tried. + +``Maybe they were wrong, too,'' he whispered. ``Adults can be wrong, you +know.'' + +Connor drew breath as if he were about to respond, but Sirius called +out, ``Hey! What's up with the two of you?'' + +``Coming, Sirius!'' Connor called, and started running. Harry followed +behind him, more slowly. The morning shone around him, and he was no +longer as delicately balanced as he had been. He smiled oddly, knowing +that Sirius and Connor were staring at him, and largely indifferent to +it. He thought he could grow used to feeling his emotions more freely, +if they would always be emotions like these. + +He was so distracted that he almost forgot to take Hedwig from her cage, +bind the stone and the letter to her talon, and whisper, ``Take this to +Lucius Malfoy, Hedwig.'' + +She hooted at him obediently, nipped at his hair, and then jumped into +the air, wings spread wide. Harry watched her vanish, and then climbed +onto the bike as Sirius shrank their trunks. + +``What was all that about?'' Connor asked. + +Harry smiled mysteriously. He didn't care if it was a smirk. Connor +would have to get used to them sooner or later, now that he had a +Slytherin for a brother. + +His mind had wandered back to the package now winging its way to the +Manor, the small red stone, and the simple note: + +\emph{If you mean to bind yourself to me in green, then you must first +overcome the blood that has been spilled between our families. I await +your bridge, and send this stone to remind you what you must build it +over.} + +\emph{Harry Potter.} + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Harry!'' + +Harry looked up with a smile of pleasure. Remus had finally joined them; +the full moon, and traveling to the safe stronghold that he kept for it, +had kept him away since the boys arrived, but now he was here. Harry +dropped the book on phoenixes that Snape had given him to read, and +hurtled across the room, wrapping his arms around Remus's waist. + +He could feel the werewolf's surprise. Harry was usually much more +reserved than that, especially since Remus was Connor's godfather and +not around as often as Sirius. His hand lingered hesitantly on Harry's +hair for a moment, then smoothed down his back. + +``Harry? Are you all right?'' he asked. + +``Of course,'' said Harry firmly. ``I just wanted to thank you for +whatever it was that you wrote in your letter to Sirius. It was +brilliant. Thank you. He's been treating me a lot better since he got +it.'' + +Remus growled slightly. "And so he should be. If it was anyone else, +then I might have been able to believe the way he was treating you at +first, but \emph{Sirius}, of all people! I'm very glad that he changed +his mind." He embraced Harry, actually managing to lift him from the +ground. Harry hid his surprise. He always forgot how strong Remus was +until he actually saw him demonstrate it. ``He told me that he was doing +better, in his letters,'' Remus whispered in his ear, ``but I didn't +know if I could trust him to tell the truth.'' + +``He was,'' said Harry, and waited patiently to be set back on the +floor. ``And Connor and I have made up.'' + +``I noticed,'' said Remus, tilting his head slightly. Harry supposed he +was catching the scent of happy camaraderie in the air instead of the +scent of tension and stress and fear, assuming that such things had +scents. ``But what about you and your parents?'' + +Harry blinked. ``We didn't argue, Remus.'' + +``You didn't have the chance.'' Remus steered him towards the chair he'd +jumped out of, one of a large number in the Potters' comfortable central +room. When he sat down across from him, Harry realized Remus had wanted +to talk to him privately. He kept his head up, refusing to look down as +he wanted to. He didn't have to hide \emph{everything}; surely not. If +he could be honest with his mother and Sirius, and now his father, then +he could be honest with Remus, too. The intent stare did make him +breathe a little faster, though. ``I want to know,'' said Remus quietly, +``what they said about---about what they've done in the past.'' + +``How much do you know?'' Harry asked bluntly. This conversation was +going to be impossible unless he knew where he had to tread carefully. + +``Almost nothing,'' Remus admitted. ``Lily told me some of it, but then +she kept backing off and saying it wasn't the right time. She promised +to tell me the next time you were home.'' He closed his eyes and sighed, +and Harry saw dark circles under his eyes and a pallor on his cheeks +that he had excused as the effects of the latest transformation. Now, he +wasn't so sure. ``I've been patient, Harry, because you don't just come +out and accuse one of your oldest friends of abusing her elder son---'' + +``Abusing?'' Harry spluttered. He should have asked their mother to tell +Remus at once, he realized. Then he would not have had ridiculous ideas +like this. "That's not true at all, Remus! She's given me extra +training. Taught me wandless magic and pureblood customs and so on. It +was all things I \emph{wanted} to learn." + +Remus opened his eyes, and though his gaze was mild, it still felt as if +it cut right through Harry, which he didn't consider fair. ``Why?'' + +``Why, what?'' Harry rubbed his head. It hurt. "Why did I want to learn +them? I've \emph{always} wanted to learn things, Remus, you know that. +I'm kind of surprised that I didn't end up in Ravenclaw, come to think +of it---" + +``Not that,'' said Remus. ``Why was she training you in it? It would +have made more sense to train Connor, if she really wanted him ready to +face You-Know-Who.'' Then he shuddered. ``Not that I think she should +have done that, either. Connor has time to learn as he grows. It would +be a horrible thing to do to any child, to dedicate his entire life to +learning like that because you fear that---'' + +Abruptly, he cut himself off and made a strangled noise in his throat. +``Oh, Harry,'' he whispered. + +Harry could barely hear him. His head was pounding fiercely, and he +closed his eyes. Behind them, flares and flashes of fire rampaged across +his mind. He felt Sylarana, who had been watching the box closely, turn +with a sudden hiss. She could not stop the agony that grew fiercer and +fiercer, though, or the phoenix song that rang in Harry's ears until he +felt as if all his thoughts were vibrating in sympathy. + +``Remus.'' + +Harry opened his eyes and turned his head, with difficulty. Lily stood +in the doorway between the central room and the entrance hall, her eyes +wide with horror. She shook her head and rushed to Harry's side. + +Harry closed his eyes and let himself slip into darkness. It hurt too +much for him to stay awake any longer. Faintly, he heard Sylarana +calling him, but he couldn't respond. The fire was loose, and burning +every corner of him, and over all of it rode the ringing phoenix song. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Harry.'' + +He heard the voice, but he didn't want to answer it. He huddled in the +center of his bed instead, and sometimes quivered. His head felt hot, as +though fever had hit him with a bludgeon. + +``Harry,'' the voice said again. Their mother's voice. ``I've come with +medicine and food for you, but I can't get past until you ask your +Locusta to stop hissing at me.'' + +Harry forced his eyes open then. Sylarana was on the floor between his +bed and Lily, he saw at once, her head swaying back and forth as she +watched Lily. Her hissing was a steady threat, a stream of words that +Harry could understand. He shivered, because there was none of her usual +teasing tone in them. "\emph{Come near him and I will kill you. I don't +want to, because you are precious to him, for reasons I cannot fathom, +but touch him and I will bite you. The venom will cause convulsions at +first. Then you begin to lose the ability to breathe. Then it dissolves +your stomach and sets free the acid there. Come near him, and that will +happen to you. Come near him, and I will kill you."} + +``Sylarana,'' Harry called out weakly. He knew from his mother's flinch +that he'd spoken in Parseltongue. But it was the one thing that might +calm the Locusta and move her, so he continued speaking in it. ``Please +let her by. I promise that she's not going to harm me.'' + +"\emph{She will. She already has. If I had known where you were, I would +have come here and poisoned her years ago. You are my human. I defend +you against other snakes. She is one.}" + +``Please,'' Harry whispered. ``I want you to.'' + +He knew that he couldn't force Sylarana to do it, and he didn't want to +try. He simply concentrated, opening all his thoughts to her, letting +her see that he really didn't want Lily dead. He might be more confused +than before, less sure of his purpose, but he \emph{knew} that he didn't +want to see what would happen if the Locusta bit her. + +"\emph{You could look away,}" Sylarana suggested, but her resolve was +weakening. + +``Please,'' Harry whispered. + +Sylarana turned and slithered onto his bed, wrapping herself around his +arm again. But she remained present and in sight, tongue flickering +angrily, as Lily approached and set the tray of food carefully down +beside the bed. Lily, in turn, never took her eyes from the snake. She +dipped a cloth in a basin of water, and then held it out to Harry. He +took it and placed it on his forehead. He closed his eyes and sighed. +The coolness soothed the hot ache of the fever somewhat. + +``Harry,'' his mother whispered. ``Harry, you must listen to me. I have +medicine for the ache in your head, but first, you need to tell me what +it looks like. What do you see when you close your eyes?'' + +That, at least, was not a hard question, and Harry was glad to be able +to answer it. ``Flashes of fire,'' he said. ``And sometimes brighter +flashes than others. They were especially bright when Remus was trying +to talk to me.'' He could barely remember what Remus had been talking +about, but he managed to open his eyes, curious to see how Lily would +react. ``And there's a song over all of it. I think it's a phoenix +singing, like Fawkes.'' + +For the first time in his life, Harry saw Lily panic. + +Her body slammed stiff, and her green eyes turned glassy. Then she +closed her eyes and bowed her head. Harry realized a moment later that +she was crying. He would have sat up and tried to comfort her, but the +warm weight of Sylarana on his arm and the agony in his head warned him +not to move. + +``Oh, Harry,'' Lily said at last, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. +She ignored Sylarana's warning hiss. Harry wasn't sure that she even +heard it, so desperately were her eyes fixed on him. ``This should never +have happened. It wouldn't have, if not for Tom Riddle's attack. That's +torn your mind so badly that the spell contamination is showing up, +climbing to the surface. This is a thing better left buried.'' She +reached out and held his hands. ``I know how to make the pain go away. +Do you trust me?'' + +Harry nodded without hesitation, then stopped with a soft moan as that +stirred up the pain in his head again. + +``Good,'' Lily whispered. ``Harry, do you believe that Connor's +innocence and purity are essential to defeating Voldemort?'' + +``Yes.'' + +A good portion of the headache suddenly ceased to bother him. Harry +touched his temple with trembling fingers, but remembered to listen to +his mother. Lily leaned closer to him, and her eyes were the whole +world. + +``Do you believe that you would give up everything else if he asked you +to?'' Lily asked. + +``Of course.'' Harry was puzzled as to why she was having him repeat the +essence of his vows, but he would do it if it pleased her. Besides, it +was nothing but the truth. ``I not only believe it, I would do it.'' + +``Even your friendships?'' Lily's fingers traced the bones of his wrist. + +``Yes.'' + +``Even your life?'' + +``Yes.'' + +``Even your snake?'' + +Sylarana hissed angrily, but Harry knew the truth. She had to have known +it, too, if she could see inside his mind and examine his thoughts. +``Yes,'' he whispered. He didn't want to, no more than he really wanted +to give up his friendship with Draco, but Connor came first. That was +still immutable truth. And, when he was with Lily, all the complications +of life outside Godric's Hollow and the excuses he made to himself about +being part of Slytherin House and wanting to stay friends with Draco and +wanting Connor to grow up and all the rest of it melted away. Here was +only simplicity. Here was only faith. + +His fever melted. + +Lily let out a short, sharp breath. Then she said, ``Good, Harry. That +is good. And now---now I think I need to tell you some things.'' Her +hand skimmed the surface of his forehead, stroking over his scar and +disturbing the cloth. That was all right, Harry thought, never looking +away from her face. He didn't need it any more. He needed far more to +see the truth that made her eyes flare with passion and deep-held +belief. ``There was---there was a prophecy, Harry. A prophecy about +Connor. That's how we know for certain that his goodness and purity are +so essential to defeating Voldemort.'' + +Harry nodded slowly. He had sometimes suspected something like that, +though never known for certain. + +``But prophecies are the wildest form of Divination magic,'' Lily +whispered. "There's a chance that it might mean different things. It +would still come true, but it could turn out meaning something different +from what it seemed to say the night it was made. In this case, we knew, +from other things in the prophecy itself, that it had to be Connor. And +you're in the prophecy, too, Harry. It's essential that you play your +own role, that of guardian to Connor. Otherwise, he'd pass through +darkness that would destroy the goodness and love in him, and we would +be doomed. And we had to do everything we could to lock you into that +role, to sculpt you that way, so that the prophecy couldn't possibly +wander off and mean someone else, someone we wouldn't know in time to +protect, someone that Voldemort could perhaps kill. \emph{Everything} in +the prophecy had to come true. You \emph{had} to love Connor, and before +everything else. We couldn't take the chance that it would be otherwise. +Do you understand?" Her eyes grew brilliant with tears now. "I am so +\emph{sorry}, my son." + +Harry shook his head slightly. The last of the pain had vanished. He +felt calm, and sleepy, and not really inclined to understand what his +mother was apologizing for. ``Of course,'' he said drowsily. ``I +understand. It's what I would have chosen, anyway. I like the way I +am.'' He yawned. ``You could have told me about the prophecy.'' + +More tears fell from her eyes, then, but Harry didn't understand why, +and in another moment he was asleep, anyway. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Lily drew her hands slowly back from her son's face and settled them in +her lap. She was shaking. That had been closer than either of them +knew---than \emph{anyone} had known. The light and the song in Harry's +mind were weapons of last resort. That they had come so near the +surface\ldots{} + +\emph{It was Voldemort's fault,} she reminded herself. \emph{He is the +cause of every evil thing that has happened in this family.} + +She opened her eyes to find the Locusta watching her. Its green eyes +were disconcerting. It hissed at her, and sounded angry. Lily stood and +carefully drew back from the bed. + +Overwhelming sadness and weariness weighed her down, and she wanted +nothing so much as to leave the room and seek James's comfort. He knew, +now, even as she did. And after long months of argument, during which +she'd had to keep him away from Harry in case the sight of him reversed +James's fragile, necessary decision, she'd finally got him to agree that +matters were best as they stood. + +There was Remus to confront, too. + +But she could not take her eyes from Harry, she found, and after a +moment she came back to him and placed a kiss on the lightning bolt +scar. It \emph{was} only a scar from a bit of rubble, she reassured +herself. It could not mean anything else. They would not \emph{let} it +mean anything else + +She touched the pocket of her robe, and the letter that had come from +Dumbledore. He had spoken of the phoenix song in Harry's mind, and the +fact that he had offered the Sword of Gryffindor to Harry. Perhaps they +had been wrong. Perhaps one last test was needed. + +And the Sword had \emph{burned} Harry. The message in that was +unmistakable. + +\emph{No}, Lily thought, as she left the room to seek her husband and +her friend, \emph{it does not mean anything else. We chose rightly how +to raise both Harry and Connor.} + +\subsection{*Chapter 27*: Father and +Son}\label{chapter-27-father-and-son} + +Thank you for all the reviews! Responses in my LJ later. + +This chapter is pretty damn ugly, in lots of ways. Be prepared. + +\textbf{Chapter Twenty-Six: Father and Son} + +Harry woke to the sound of shouting. He blinked and touched his temple. +He felt calm and clear-minded now, though a bit light-headed. After a +few moments of thoughts, he realized it probably came from not having +enough food, and stretched for the tray his mother had left beside the +bed. The bread and the soup were cold, but he would eat them, the way he +was feeling. It was good practice for the future, anyway. He was hardly +going to be able to choose his food on the battlefield. + +The shouting intruded on his consciousness again, just as Sylarana +stirred and said, "\emph{I have wanted to bite everybody who has come +and seen you, except the werewolf.}" + +``You haven't bitten anyone, have you?'' asked Harry, hurtled abruptly +into worry as he sipped at the cold soup. Chunks of slimy vegetables +slid down his throat. He tried to ignore them. ``Please tell me you +haven't.'' + +"\emph{I haven't. Share the soup. The werewolf and your rabbit-father +are arguing now. I hope the werewolf eats him.}" Sylarana slithered up +his arm and laid her head along the rim of the bowl, tongue flicking as +she sipped at the soup. She gave him one glance out of eyes that had +turned almost the color of his own. "\emph{How much do you remember of +what happened before you fell asleep}?" + +Harry shook his head. ``Not much. I know that my mother confirmed the +existence of a prophecy, and Remus---Remus was angry about something. +What---'' + +Then the shouting rose loud enough for him to hear it. Harry had assumed +that it was one of Remus's and Sirius's endless arguments about the way +Sirius went out drinking and womanizing. They were one of the constants +when they were both in the house at Godric's Hollow. But now he realized +that it was their father and Remus arguing. He tensed and listened. + +``---going to take Harry with me,'' Remus was saying, with a raw anger +in his voice that Harry had never heard before. "\emph{Merlin}, James, +can't you see that he'll suffer here? I still don't know what Lily's +doing to him, because she backed off when she saw she wasn't convincing +me, but I know that he needs to be taken away. I'm bringing him to +Dumbledore." + +``You don't understand, Remus!'' James sounded as if he'd been repeating +that for a little while. ``I didn't either, at first. But I promise you, +this is what needs to happen. If you would just sit down and let Lily +explain it to you---'' + +Remus cut him off with a growl. Harry blinked. Remus was \emph{gentle}. +Remus went out of his way to avoid reminding people that he was a +werewolf. That he would do it now was beyond Harry's comprehension. + +"Why don't \emph{you} explain it to me, James?" Remus said, and the +growl was lurking behind his words. "If you understand it so well, if +she convinced you of it, then explain it to me. \emph{Now, James.}" + +Harry heard a solid thump, as though their father had fallen against the +closed bedroom door. ``Remus,'' Harry heard him say helplessly. "There +are so \emph{many} things that you don't understand, so many things that +have to come true." + +``Name one.'' + +``You know about the prophecy,'' said James. + +``Yes.'' Remus sounded as if he had bitten off the word, and his voice +was closer than before. Harry shivered and hugged his arms, fighting the +temptation to go out there. He didn't know what his appearance might +provoke Remus into doing, though. It sounded as though he had managed to +provoke Remus quite a bit already, though he didn't remember how. "And I +know that that can't excuse what you've done, James. There was +\emph{nothing} in the prophecy about teaching one son to master wandless +magic by the time he was twelve." + +``That's one of the requirements, though,'' said James. ``Remus, you +were there, that night---you came back before everything had calmed +down---you know what we saw, what we felt---'' + +"\emph{Damn you, James.}," said Remus, and Harry flinched. "Is +\emph{that} what this is about? I thought you'd got over that when you +befriended me in school. How could someone who wasn't afraid of being +friends with a werewolf be afraid of his own son?" His voice sounded +more weary than angry now. ``Now, step out of the way. I'm taking Harry +with me.'' + +``Remus, don't make me hurt you,'' James whispered. ``Please. We lost +Peter. I don't want to lose you, too.'' + +"I might, \emph{might,} be able to forgive you someday if you step aside +now," said Remus. ``Let me through.'' + +There was a long pause, and then the sounds of scrambling. The door +opened in the next moment, and Remus strode into the room. His eyes came +to rest on Harry, and he let out a long breath and came to him, +enfolding him in a hug that made Harry feel decidedly odd. + +``You survived,'' Remus whispered into his ear. ``But Merlin knows how +much more of this you can take before you crack. I don't intend to let +you take any more. Come on, Harry. I have to get you out of here. +Dumbledore will know what to do. He's protected people in danger from +their own families before. Come on.'' He started to lift Harry out of +the bed. + +Harry resisted, particularly when he found that he wearing only pyjamas. +``I don't understand, Remus,'' he said. ``Why do you think they'll hurt +me if I stay here? I promise, they've never hit me.'' + +``I know that,'' said Remus, though there was doubt in the back of his +voice that it hurt Harry to hear. ``But they've done other things, +Harry. I don't even know the full extent of them. I just know they're +evil.'' + +"They're \emph{not}," said Harry, feeling his headache start again. A +brief explosion of yellow ran across the back of his eyelids. ``If you +understood everything, Remus, you would see that---'' + +``Put him down, Remus.'' + +Harry stared over Remus's shoulder. James was back in the doorway, +holding his wand and---something else. Harry frowned. He thought it was +a knife of some kind, but he didn't know why his father would rely on a +knife when he had his wand near at hand. + +Remus shook his head even as he turned around, still holding Harry. +``This has gone on long enough, James. I---'' + +And then he stopped, and made a strangled sound that Harry felt against +his chest and his throat as well as heard. Then he whispered, ``Silver. +You would actually threaten me with silver. James, what has happened to +you?'' + +Harry recognized the knife in his father's hand then. It came from a set +of ceremonial daggers that Lily sometimes used for drawing runes. It +shed the light in shaky patterns, and Harry thought James's hand was +trembling, but that did not matter. What mattered was that he had it. + +And the Marauders had suffered another betrayal. This one was connected +to Harry in some way, though he couldn't remember what had happened. He +began squirming. + +``Please, Remus, put me down,'' he whispered. + +``Harry, you don't know what you're saying,'' said Remus. He hadn't +moved, but he began to growl now, a sound that made James's hand shake +even harder. ``I can fight my way out.'' + +``But I don't want you to lose your friends because of me!'' Harry +whispered back fiercely. "\emph{Please}, Remus. I promise they won't +hurt me. I want you to leave, to get away from here." + +Remus stood still for a long moment. Then, slowly, every motion +obviously made against his will, he lowered Harry onto the bed. He +backed away, hands up, and James changed the angle of the knife and used +it to point the way sharply out the door. + +``You don't know what you're talking about, Remus,'' he said, quietly +but firmly. ``And until you do, you can't expect to do anything but +anger the rest of us.'' + +``I'm going to talk to Dumbledore,'' said Remus, edging out sideways. +``I swear it, James. I think you've gone mad, the lot of you. And he's +the only one who has a chance of bringing you back to sanity.'' + +``Good,'' said James. ``Speak with Albus. He can explain it to you.'' + +Remus bared his teeth. Harry had never found them threatening before. +Now, with Remus's head slightly bowed, his amber eyes focused, and a +thick, musky smell like that of a wild animal filling the room, he did. + +``If you or Lily hurt him again before we come back,'' said Remus +softly, ``then I promise I'll take revenge.'' + +James paled. He swallowed several times before he managed to say, +``Dumbledore can explain all of this. I promise, Moony.'' + +``Don't call me that,'' said Remus, and half-lunged, his teeth snapping +shut on air. James dropped the knife. Remus didn't move closer, but his +gaze was filled with murky emotion that, in turn, filled Harry with +guilt. ``You don't have the right anymore.'' + +He turned and stalked out, shutting the door behind him. James stayed by +the bed, so silent that Harry could hear the \emph{crack} of Remus's +Apparition a few moments later, when he was outside the wards. + +Then James sat down on the edge of Harry's bed and put his head in his +hands. Harry hesitated. He wanted to comfort his father, but he thought +a touch might set him off. He had a previously unsuspected talent for +making people angry, he thought. + +``It's all right, Harry,'' James whispered, lifting his head and looking +at him, finally. His hazel eyes were clear, though weary in a way that +reminded Harry of Connor's when he thought he might not be the +Boy-Who-Lived. ``Come here.'' He held out his arms, and Harry crawled +into them, leaning his head against his father's chest and hearing the +strong beat of his heart. + +James stroked his hair. Then he said, ``You understand why we have to +keep you here, don't you, Harry?'' + +``Of course,'' said Harry. "I don't know what made Remus so angry. I +mean, you \emph{know}, don't you? You know how Mum trained me, and why, +and what kinds of things I learned?" + +``Of course,'' said James. ``And it took me months to accept it, and I'm +your father. I'm not surprised that it's taking Moony longer. He's +Connor's godfather, and he's always had---well, kind of a soft heart in +some ways.'' He laughed. The laugh didn't sound sincere. ``But I +understand your training, Harry. I know why it was necessary.'' + +Harry felt his incipient headache vanish. He nodded, and James's arms +came around him more firmly. + +``Lie back in the bed, Harry,'' his father said a moment later. ``I +don't think that you're completely recovered yet.'' + +Harry let James lay him down, and tuck the blankets around him. That +felt odd, too, if nice. Harry wasn't used to this kind of treatment when +he wasn't sick or severely injured, and then he usually knew what had +happened to land him in bed. This time, he really couldn't remember. + +James leaned near him and smoothed his hair down over his forehead, much +as Lily had done the last time she came to see him. His gaze was +completely serious. Harry met his father's eyes, squinting a little as +James shifted around in front of the window and the April sunlight +haloed his face. + +``Has your mother ever told you about the capture of the Lestranges?'' +he asked. + +Harry blinked. ``No. She said it was your story to tell, Dad. Are you +going to tell it to me now?'' He felt his heart beat a little faster. He +had already faced Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange in battle last year, +and had regretted his lack of intimate knowledge about the way they +fought, the spells he could expect them to use, then. It looked as if he +were finally going to get that information. If he faced them again in +battle---and eventually, he thought he would; eventually, all the Death +Eaters would rally to Voldemort's side when he found a way to +return---then this would be good to know. + +``Yes,'' James whispered. "It was just after the attack on us, you know. +You and Connor were still healing when we received word that the +Lestranges had attacked the Longbottoms and tortured poor Frank and +Alice into insanity. Or maybe I should say that \emph{Bellatrix} did +that," he added, with a little twist to his mouth. "Rodolphus was never +as dangerous as she was. + +``The Aurors nearly captured them when they left the Longbottoms' house, +but they managed to Apparate away, and they couldn't trace them. They +turned to me, because they knew that Bellatrix was a Black, and I was +Sirius's friend and had some knowledge of Black family homes where they +might be hiding.'' + +``Why didn't they send Sirius?'' asked Harry. + +James closed his eyes and let out his breath for a long moment. ``That +was---two days after the attack,'' he said. "And Peter's betrayal hit +Sirius hardest of all. He was in the Ministry when they interrogated +Peter. I don't think he slept for three more days after that. He had to +hear every last detail, every last confession. + +"Well, I didn't. But I wanted---I wanted to \emph{kill} something, hurt +someone. We'd come so close to losing both of you." His hand came out +and rested tightly on Harry's shoulder for a second. "The Aurors gave me +a purpose and a reason to go looking. When I heard about what had +happened to Frank and Alice, I was even angrier. Neville lived, but he +could have died. He was in that much danger. And what if we'd been in +the house when Voldemort attacked, Harry? He would have killed us, too. +You would have been left orphaned. Neville's situation could so easily +have been your own. I wanted Bellatrix squirming and screaming at the +end of my wand. It was the one time in my life I think I was ready to +perform the Cruciatus. + +``I Apparated to a family home that Sirius told me about, a little +cottage in the woods where he and his cousins used to spend the summer +together. No one was there, but I found signs that someone had been, and +a message in a code that Sirius taught me to read. It directed +Rodolphus's brother Rabastan, and anyone else who could read it, to +follow the Lestranges to another safehouse. And this safehouse was one I +knew well, since it was Sirius's home when he was a child.'' + +``Grimmauld Place,'' Harry whispered, remembering the stories that +Sirius had told him. + +James nodded slightly. He still hadn't opened his eyes. "Yes. So I +Apparated there. I was able to get most of the way into the house before +they noticed me. They'd been expecting company, you see, but of the +Death Eater kind, and they were supremely confident that no one else +could have found them. + +``I dropped Rodolphus while he was still fumbling for his wand. And then +I faced Bellatrix.'' James squeezed his eyes more tightly shut, as +though to prevent the fall of tears. "And we \emph{fought}, Harry. I'd +never been that angry. I'd never wanted to kill someone so much. + +``But Bellatrix is a powerful witch---'' + +Harry shivered in remembrance of the curses she'd cast at him, and +nodded. + +"And she'd had a lot more practice at that kind of hatred than I had. +She fought me to a standstill, and got me to the point where I thought I +couldn't throw another hex. She laughed at me, and even that wasn't +enough to give me extra strength in my wand hand, though it would have +been when we were still in school. + +"And then she said---she said, 'It should have been me going after your +sons, Potter, and would have been if Wormtail were a bit smarter. I wish +it had been. I enjoy the way that babies scream under the +\emph{Crucio}.'" + +Harry found he could envision it well: Bellatrix standing there and +taunting his father, James with his head bowed but eyes suddenly full of +fire as he listened to the Death Eater. + +``What did you do?'' Harry whispered. + +"I held her under \emph{Crucio} for ten minutes," James responded. + +Harry could not help it; he gave a massive shudder, and then raised his +head and stared at his father in disbelief. James was \emph{gentle.} Oh, +it wasn't the same kind of gentleness as Remus's---he would yell and +punish if he had to---but it wasn't their mother's sternness, either. He +was the one who would rather laugh off mistakes than scold for them. And +Harry had never seen him use a curse, only hexes and jinxes on Sirius, +who could return as good as he got. + +``What?'' Harry said at last. + +``Yes,'' James said. His face had a very strange smile on it. Harry +found that he didn't like it very much. ``I did one of the things she +probably did to Frank and Alice---though knowing her, she varied the +timing of the curse and the intensity of it, so as to break them. But I +think I might have driven her partially insane before she ever went to +Azkaban.'' + +He shifted closer to Harry, eyes still shut. ``After I brought them both +in, I gave up my position as an Auror. Part of it was necessity, and +that was what I told Sirius and Remus when they asked. We had to stay +hidden behind the isolation wars while we raised you. If the Death +Eaters---excuse me, former Death Eaters---knew where we were, they would +have spared no effort at that point to destroy your brother. Better to +stay close to home, and only venture out to Diagon Alley or elsewhere +when we absolutely had to.'' + +``But that wasn't all of it,'' said Harry, not having to ask. He knew, +now. + +``No,'' said James. "I'd found something in myself that disgusted me. I +never knew I could torture someone like that. I couldn't believe that, +after I did it, I wanted to do it \emph{again}. I was still shaking with +the urge to make Bellatrix suffer when I handed her over to Alastor +Moody. And the \emph{power} that filled me, Harry, the power was its own +temptation. I knew, then, what kind of magic my grandparents had given +up when they decided to ignore some of the older pureblood customs and +dedicate the Potter line to the Light permanently. It was Dark power. +All purebloods feel it to a certain extent. It's the power that can most +stir up magic, can make it flow through you so that you feel like you +can do anything." + +Harry closed his eyes and sat perfectly still for a long moment, +remembering the magic that had answered him when he fought Riddle in +December. + +``The way the older purebloods lived, the dances and the marriages and +all the rest of it, made that power grow,'' James whispered on, his +voice like water murmuring in the darkness. ``It was a way of sculpting +terrifying wizards. They pruned all the ones who couldn't control +themselves, and that's the part most people don't understand; they only +see the exile of Squibs and the scorning of those wizards with average +or lesser power. But they got rid of powerful dunderheads, too, and +those who just didn't fit. Rodolphus wouldn't be alive if the Lestranges +had followed all the old customs, and that Sirius survived being born a +Black is a miracle. Bellatrix would be alive in that kind of world, +though, and Lucius Malfoy. That's the world I looked into when I +tortured her. It's the world that my grandparents gave up.'' + +For a long moment, he sat there and simply breathed. Harry put out his +hand, and felt his father's heart beneath his fingers, beating as fast +as that of the rabbit Sylarana had called him. + +\emph{The rabbit has fangs,} said Sylarana in his head, subdued. \emph{I +am willing to grant him that.} + +James opened his eyes, finally, and fixed Harry with his gaze. ``And +it's the kind of world that you would have fallen into, that your mother +and I are afraid you would have fallen into, if she hadn't taught you +dedication to your brother,'' he said. ``The dances wouldn't have been +enough, not if you just learned them by themselves. They're designed to +channel power, but for selfish benefit.'' He grimaced for a moment. +``It's not an accident that so many of the powerful pureblood families +went into Slytherin House year after year, you know.'' + +Harry bowed his head. 'And so, when I was Sorted into Slytherin, you +thought---" + +``Your mother was frantic,'' said James quietly. "I didn't know about +your training then. But she feared for a little while that all her +efforts had been for nothing, that you were going to be that kind of +terrifying wizard. + +``We see now that you aren't, that your dedication to your brother is +intact.'' + +Harry nodded, and felt a bright, warm glow fill his heart. He was glad +that his parents could see that. He would have persevered whether or not +anyone else believed in him, because he believed in himself, but it was +nice to have company on a road so lonely. + +``And now she's told me everything,'' said James. ``I didn't understand +at first. I even cursed her, if you can imagine that.'' He smiled +slightly and shook his head. "But she made me remember what I felt when +I captured the Lestranges. I'm not as strong as you are, Harry, and I'd +been trained since I was born to resist temptation, to bow to the Light, +and to be a Gryffindor. And I \emph{still} gave in, even if it was only +for ten minutes." + +He leaned forward and picked Harry up, cradling him against his chest. +``You're stronger than I ever was, son,'' he whispered. "It is +absolutely \emph{essential} that you never feel what I did, the +temptation to make someone suffer like that." He kissed the top of +Harry's head. "I never want you to be able to cast \emph{Crucio}. You +have to \emph{want} to cause someone else pain to do that." + +``And a more powerful wizard would have more of a temptation to do it,'' +Harry whispered, thinking again of Snape, the raw magic he could feel +shifting and snapping under the wizard's tight control. Oh, Snape +controlled it, but it was only too obvious that his shields weren't the +trained ones that Harry had, or the ones based on the dance and +pureblood custom that Draco did. These were reflexive shields, born of +wariness and experience with that power flowing unchecked before Snape +finally dammed it. Harry pitied him, and wouldn't have wanted to be like +him for anything in the world. + +``Oh, yes,'' James whispered. ``And since so many powerful wizards were +born to the pureblood families, and they were taught to control +themselves in such a way as gave priority to their families, and damn +anything else\ldots{}'' + +He wrapped his arms more tightly around Harry. ``I know Remus probably +thinks that we've done the same thing, warping you only to obey your own +family exclusively. But it's the way that Lily chose to control your +power, Harry, the best guide she could give you. And even then, she's +sometimes afraid it wasn't enough. When you fight with Connor, for +example.'' + +``I might fight with him sometimes,'' said Harry firmly, ``but only +because I want him to succeed. I would never want to be Minister of +Magic or something while he was just an ordinary wizard.'' + +James nodded. ``She's finally coming to that conclusion. And Dumbledore +will help Remus come to the same conclusion, I'm sure.'' + +He laid Harry gently back in the bed, and hovered over him. Harry looked +up at his dad, and managed a small smile. + +``I'm so sorry that it took me this long to notice,'' whispered James, +trailing a hand over Harry's forehead. ``Lily didn't think I could be +trusted for a long time. And I probably couldn't. I just wanted to +retreat after what I'd done to the Lestranges. I wanted the perfect +family life. I didn't want any reminders of the outside world disturbing +us. So she and you handled the outside world, and Connor and I grew used +to living behind the isolation wards and not thinking of anything but +our family.'' + +``And now?'' Harry whispered. ``You don't hate me or anything, do you?'' + +``Of course not!'' said James, sounding shocked. ``I love you. I'm sorry +that you were born into this burden, Harry. I can wish you'd been born +with less magic, or that you had been Sorted into Gryffindor, so that +you could be surrounded by people who are dedicated to the Light and +control their power in a different way, instead of purebloods dancing +their dance. But I know neither of those things can come true. So this +is the best compromise. And the moment Lily managed to make me see what +I had in common with you, that she'd been trying to prevent an +experience like my torturing the Lestranges ever happening to you, then +I understood.'' He sighed. ``I only wish Remus had had an experience +like that.'' + +``But he's a werewolf,'' said Harry. ``He has to try and keep that part +of himself under control. Couldn't you use that to convince him?'' + +``No,'' said James quietly. ``That's what we were arguing about before +he tried to abduct you, in fact. He doesn't understand why, if Sirius +and I trained ourselves into Animagi during the school years just to be +with him, we couldn't compromise with your power too.'' He shrugged. +``He thinks we're afraid of you, so much so that we bent and clamped +down on you and twisted you into some foreign shape, instead of +acknowledging your magic and just hoping for the best.'' + +``But just hoping for the best would have been stupid,'' Harry pointed +out. ``It would have been leaving too many things up to chance.'' He +felt a bit sorry for Remus. He clearly didn't understand the devastation +that Harry's magic could wreak if it ever got out of control. + +``I know,'' said James. ``But we'll let Dumbledore convince him.'' He +studied Harry for a moment, his face pensive. ``Are there any other +questions you have?'' + +``No. But I'm really glad you know, now,'' said Harry, leaning back +against his pillow and smiling sleepily at his father. + +James smiled, bent, kissed him on the forehead, and then left the +bedroom, shutting the door gently behind him. + +\emph{They} are \emph{afraid of you,} said Sylarana. \emph{And they +should have hoped for the best.} + +``Why?'' Harry asked, returning to the soup. ``What if I'd been the kind +of child to get angry at Connor for stealing my toys, and my magic had +exploded and really hurt him?'' + +Sylarana did not have an answer to that, as Harry had expected. He +finished the soup and went to sleep. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Harry! Harry! Remus is here!'' + +Harry looked up anxiously as Connor leaped up from reading the latest +Mad Muggle comic and dashed for the door. Remus was ducking in, and he +picked up Connor and swung him around, laughing as his brother laughed. + +Harry studied Remus's face as he came nearer, but though Remus smiled at +him absently and embraced him, he didn't seem inclined to stay and talk. +Harry bit his lip, debated on the ethics of it a moment, and then +decided he had to know. + +"\emph{Legilimens}," he whispered, with a flick of his wand, and pushed +gently into Remus's mind. + +He saw Remus arriving at the school three days ago, having a cup of tea +with Dumbledore, staying at Hogwarts to talk with the professors for a +time---including Snape, on the progress of the Wolfsbane Potion---and +then leaving again. Harry blinked and pushed back a little further. + +He could find no memory of a visit to Godric's Hollow. + +Harry understood, then. Dumbledore had \emph{Obliviated} Remus. + +He sighed and fell back into his own head, which was beginning to ache, +and Remus glanced at him curiously, mildly. Harry smiled at him, sad +that there hadn't been any other option. Of course, this had kept the +Marauders' friendship from cracking completely, which meant it was the +best course. + +``What's wrong, Harry?'' Remus asked. + +Harry shook his head, and Sirius came into the room just then, shouting +``Moony!'' and tacking him. Remus laughed and began teasing Sirius about +which one of the female Hogwarts professors he'd been having an affair +with. + +Harry went back to his book. It wasn't the ideal solution, of course +not, but it was something that had to be done. + +\emph{Liar}. + +That could have been any one of the voices in his head. Harry wasn't +going to bother figuring out which one. He knew the truth, knew what was +really important, and was sorry for what truths and ethics had to fall +between the cracks. That was just the way it was. That was the way he +had to live. + +\subsection{*Chapter 28*: Home Is The +Hunter}\label{chapter-28-home-is-the-hunter} + +Thank you for all the reviews! Responses on my LJ later. Sorry this +chapter is late, but I couldn't log in; in the future, if there's a +problem with that, the chapter will be on my LiveJournal. + +This is the first chapter of five that are heading towards the end of +the story; from the end of this chapter forward, they all take place on +the same day. The tension is going to go \emph{spang}. I can promise you +that. + +\textbf{Chapter Twenty-Seven: Home Is The Hunter} + +Harry wound down at last. He sat back on his bed and wondered what Draco +was thinking. + +Draco sat on his own bed, his legs folded beneath him, in the same +position he'd adopted since Harry had told him he wanted to talk to him. +He'd listened while Harry recited all the reasons that their friendship +should ease. There were his father's status and danger to Harry, of +course, but there were also the future conflicts that would spring up +between Voldemort's side and Harry's, the fact that Draco was obviously +unhappy being second to Connor in Harry's affections and loyalty, the +pureblood customs that said Draco should really pay more attention to +friends who weren't such political liabilities, Draco's dislike of +Connor, Harry's inexperience, even now, within Slytherin House, and +many, many others. + +Harry had spent all the flight back from Godric's Hollow composing them. +He was sure Draco would respond to one of them---to the fondness that he +could sense behind the words, if nothing else. He would know that Harry +wouldn't have wanted him safe so desperately if Harry didn't care about +him. He would agree, because what else could he do? + +``No, Harry,'' said Draco calmly. + +Harry blinked at him. He had expected a thunderous outburst if he did +get disagreement, tears and shouts that he could ease past, and that +would in themselves lessen the friendship between them by introducing +rifts of distrust. This serene refusal was not supposed to happen. + +``What?'' he responded. It wasn't the most intelligent thing he'd ever +said, and the amused smirk on Draco's face let him know it. But the +smirk disappeared in the next second, and he leaned forward, eyes +intent. + +``No, Harry,'' he said. ``None of those matter next to my friendship +with you.'' + +"Family loyalty \emph{has} to, Draco," said Harry. ``Remember, I know +well enough what purebloods teach their children.'' The words made him +wince, for some reason. He supposed he connected them to the +conversation with James. He shoved the thoughts away. Whenever he +thought about Godric's Hollow, he felt all twitchy. + +``It matters,'' said Draco. ``But so far, Harry, I've managed to contain +the damage that could have caused. And until something actually happens +to split us apart, then I'm staying. Unless you don't mean to give me a +choice, of course. Do you mean to use compulsion magic on me?'' + +Harry flinched. ``Of course not!'' His voice carried a desperate edge he +didn't understand. Sylarana hissed soothingly on his arm, and Draco +blinked at him, then reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. + +``Well, then,'' said Draco slowly. "I still have the right and the will +to make a choice. And I choose to \emph{be} with you, Harry. I choose to +remain your friend until something happens that makes me choose to split +our friendship apart." + +``And what if I betray you?'' Harry whispered. ``What if our friendship +lasts until the War begins, and then I leave to fight at Connor's +side?'' + +Draco just watched him. Harry couldn't tell what he was feeling, as he +was deliberately keeping every emotion out of his gray eyes. ``Then it +lasts until then,'' he said. ``That's still years more than you would +let me have if I turned my back on you and sulked right now.'' + +``It's not that I don't want to let you have them,'' Harry said, peering +at Draco. ``It's that---circumstances are forcing this, not me.'' + +Draco snorted, then, and allowed a frown to cross his face. ``Oh, at +least have the courage to claim your own actions, Harry. You should know +as well as I do that that's not true at all. Circumstances would be my +father trying to kill you, or your brother forcing you to choose between +him and me. No one at all is forcing this but you.'' + +Harry put his head down, breathing shallowly. ``I just want you safe,'' +he whispered. + +``I know that.'' + +Harry glanced up to see Draco holding the bottle again. It shone with +the steady purple color of protectiveness, and the only thing brighter +than it was his smug smile. Harry sighed. ``I should never have given +you that bloody thing.'' + +``Yes, you should have,'' said Draco. ``It's reassured me more times +than you can know, Harry. And it reassures me now that you aren't doing +this because you've suddenly turned against me in some fiery burst of +hatred.'' He moved over to the bed with one arm still wrapped around the +bottle, and wound the other around Harry's shoulders. He leaned his head +on Harry's and sighed. ``You came back,'' he said. ``I wasn't sure that +you would.'' + +Harry shook his head. He knew he should be feeling stern and +disappointed, since his attempt to force Draco away hadn't taken. But he +could only smile as he buried his face in Draco's hair and hugged him +back. ``I'll always try to come back.'' + +``You better,'' said Draco. ``Or I'll come after you and drag you back +myself.'' + +Harry opened his mouth, then closed it. He had meant to give some taunt, +but he couldn't, not when Draco's voice was serene affection undergirded +with layers of steel. + +They sat there in silence for a bit longer, until Draco remembered that +he hadn't finished his Transfigurations homework and scrambled for it. +Harry found himself frequently glancing at the bottle as the evening +wore on, as if he needed his own kind of reassurance. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Nothing?'' Snape could not have sounded more disappointed, Harry +thought, if he had confessed that he still wanted to be in Gryffindor. + +``Nothing, sir,'' Harry repeated, and handed him the slim books back. +``The only thing I found of interest is that phoenix magic can't be used +in any Dark Arts spells. That means that the web in my mind, whatever it +is, has to be of the Light.'' + +He blinked when an enormous relaxation flooded his muscles in the next +instant. It was as if he had been carrying a weight he didn't know he +was carrying, and now could let it drop. Was it just the mention of the +web not being Dark Arts that had done it? And why, if so? + +\emph{Do not worry about it,} instructed Sylarana. He could feel her +moving and shifting in his thoughts, though he couldn't always tell what +she touched. \emph{I will take care of it. I will take care of +everything.} + +``Why did the werewolf come to Hogwarts?'' + +Harry found himself abruptly focused outward again, his attention on +Snape's face and his heart pounding hard in his chest. Snape was +watching him. The question had sound casual with a side of irritation, +but Snape's eyes narrowed further the longer Harry took to answer, and +he knew that he would rouse the man's suspicions if he delayed much +longer. + +``He---he wanted to consult with you on the Wolfsbane Potion, didn't +he?'' Harry said, stuttering as he grasped at straws. ``He---he told me +it was nearly done when he came back to Godric's Hollow.'' + +``He consulted with me,'' said Snape, and paced forward a few steps from +behind his desk. "That is not the reason he originally came here. When I +asked him why, he laughed uncertainly, rubbed his head, and said that he +didn't know, really, and he should be getting back to Godric's Hollow +and spending time with his \emph{friends.}" The vicious bite Snape gave +that word was really quite magnificent, Harry thought. + +``He did come back---'' + +``And now, this,'' Snape whispered. ``I know the signs of someone +desperate to hide a secret, Potter, and you are that. The stammering, +the flushed cheeks, avoiding my eyes. What is it? Why do you fear to +talk about the werewolf with me?'' + +Harry forced himself to meet Snape's gaze, all the while keeping his +Occlumency shields up. ``You don't care about Remus. You would have been +just as happy to see him dead if you could.'' + +``And deprive myself of a test subject for the Wolfsbane? Never.'' Snape +was smiling with his eyes, sneering with his lips. "But I find it +interesting that, two weeks after the werewolf leaves Hogwarts +displaying the telltale signs of an \emph{Obliviate}, you come back and +display the telltale signs of someone with a secret to hide." He tilted +his head. "Did \emph{you} do it, Potter? Did \emph{you Obliviate} him?" + +``No,'' Harry whispered. He could feel the world narrowing down to a +tunnel, at the end of which was a light shining as fierce as fire. Hot +hands seemed to squeeze his forehead, pressing in waves of pain. It had +been a mistake to come here, he thought, even if he hadn't had a choice; +Snape had commanded him to attend an Occlumency lesson after a week of +avoiding them. ``No, I didn't.'' + +``But you know who did.'' + +``Don't---'' said Harry, and dropped to one knee as the pain and the +heat grew worse. He felt a hand grab at his arm, but that didn't ease +the agony. He was breathing hard now, memories swimming just under the +surface of his mind, ready to breach it if he looked for them. + +He didn't want to look for them. He didn't want to see. + +``Tell me,'' Snape whispered. "\emph{Tell me.}" + +``Why do you care?'' Harry asked, in a last-ditch effort to make things +go back to the way they had been. Everything around him was light and +fire, and the phoenix song in his ears made it hard to hear his own +words. "You \emph{don't} care about Remus, I know that. And you +\emph{don't} care about what happens to me, beyond it giving you a +chance to humiliate my father and Sirius." + +``I do not give children Occlumency lessons for the pleasure of +humiliating old school rivals, Potter,'' Snape replied, and Harry heard +his robes rustle as he knelt in front of him. "And this has gone beyond +that. You should know that now. It went beyond the first time that Tom +Riddle, and all that he is, tainted your mind. I will not \emph{see} him +rise like this." There was a long pause, and then he added, "And I will +not see him gain a victory by corrupting or distressing you. Tell me who +\emph{Obliviated} the werewolf." + +Harry was falling towards light and fire. If he opened his mouth and +said \emph{Dumbledore,} he knew, the web would snap into the front of +his mind and burn it. He could recover, but it would take time, time +during which he might not be able to help Connor or convince anyone he +was living a normal life. + +And he wanted to convince them of that. He didn't want anyone to find +out about the web. He could hear what his mother would say. \emph{They +wouldn't understand, Harry\ldots{}} + +And inspiration came to save him. + +``Lockhart,'' he gasped. + +The web vanished, and cool darkness appeared in its place. Harry sagged +into Snape's arms, his breathing ragged. He tried to push himself away +again at once, but Snape held him still, hands combing through his hair. +He thought that Snape paused and stared at his scar for a time, but if +so, he wasn't in the mood to make ridiculous comments on it. + +``Lockhart?'' Snape whispered. ``The man is a fool. He cannot tell which +end of a wand is which.'' + +``I found him out,'' Harry whispered, glorying in the relief that +flooded his head and heart as they moved further and further away from +the web. "He didn't really defeat any of those monsters or have any of +those adventures that he writes about in his books, you know. He sought +out wizards and witches who defeated the monsters, took down their +stories, and then \emph{Obliviated} them so they would forget having +done it." Harry breathed for a long moment. "He tried to +\emph{Obliviate} me after I found out his secret, but I bounced it off +me." + +``You bounced it off you.'' Snape's voice was flat. + +``I used the Occlumency shields to smash it to dust.'' The last of the +pain was gone. Harry sat up and propelled himself backwards. Snape let +him go, watching him with fathomless dark eyes all the while. ``It +wasn't something I planned, but I saw it coming at me and then bounced +it several times.'' + +Snape closed his eyes, breathing lightly, before he opened them and +stared again at Harry. ``I have never heard of that.'' + +``It's true.'' Harry took a step backwards, feeling defensive. Sylarana +crooned at him, and this time, Harry could feel her wind herself tighter +into the webs of his mind. + +``I have no doubt that it is true,'' Snape said. ``The impossible is +possible with you.'' He spent a long moment studying Harry, then rose to +his feet in a graceful swirl of black robes. ``You are telling the truth +about Lockhart,'' he said. "I will make sure that Dumbledore knows of +this, though he is unlikely to sack the man before the end of the year. +We \emph{need} a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and he will not +give the post to me." He sneered through his teeth. + +``Professor?'' Harry asked uncertainly, not sure if he should stay or +go. "Is it possible to recover memories from behind an +\emph{Obliviate}?" + +``It is possible,'' Snape agreed, folding his arms and tilting his head +like an enormous bird. "But dangerous. The \emph{Obliviate} is a block +on the mind, and dangerous in the way that solid shields always are. If +it is simply broken and the memories released in a rush, then they can +cause the wizard to go insane." He leaned abruptly near to Harry. "Do +not, do \emph{not}, Mr. Potter, attempt to break the block on the +werewolf's memories. Whatever Lockhart wanted him to forget was no doubt +trivial. I will teach you to break such a block in time. For now, unless +you want your precious Lupin to go mad, do not attempt it." + +\emph{But it wasn't Lockhart, it was Dumbledore---} + +And Harry was on his knees with the roar and whoosh of flames in his +head again, and Sylarana hissing in agitation. He felt her curl around +something and tug, and then the flames quivered and fell still. + +Snape had a hand on his shoulder again. ``Do you want to tell me, Mr. +Potter,'' he whispered, ``what that was?'' + +``I can't,'' Harry whispered, and the pain retreated a bit. ``Not yet. +Sylarana is---trying to help me with it.'' + +``One day, you must learn to stand on your own without the benefit of +that snake,'' Snape murmured, but so softly that Harry could pretend he +hadn't heard him. They stayed like that in silence for a few moments, +and then Snape removed his hand. ``Go,'' he added, turning away. ``There +will be no Occlumency lessons for tonight.'' + +``Why not, sir?'' + +Snape glanced over his shoulder, and Harry told himself he imagined the +spark of compassion in his eyes, or that he had mistaken it for +something else. ``Because your mind is fragile enough already,'' he said +quietly, and then gestured Harry out the door. Harry stepped out, shut +it behind him, and stood in the hall, blinking. + +\emph{He\ldots{}he almost sounded as if he cared what happened to +me\ldots{}} + +But without such strong evidence as there was of Draco's attachment to +him, Harry could shake it off, and he did that, striding down the +corridor towards the Slytherin common room. He had promised to play a +game of Exploding Snap with Blaise, and help Pansy with her +Transfigurations homework. + +He was trying to live like a normal person, he thought. He was trying to +avoid thinking about the web. + +\emph{As you should,} said Sylarana. \emph{The web will be gone very +soon.} + +\emph{How do you know?} + +\emph{I will make sure of it.} + +With that, Harry thought, he had to be content. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +"You can't actually \emph{want} to take Divination," said Zacharias +Smith, leaning over Harry's shoulder to peer at his schedule. Harry +glanced at the Hufflepuff in annoyance. He was sitting in the hospital +wing, between Luna's and Neville's beds, and trying to choose his +classes for next year---and it was no accident that he had come here. He +wanted to do this in peace and quiet, and he had counted on having it, +since almost everyone else was at the Gryffindor-Ravenclaw Quidditch +game, the last one of the year. + +``Yes, I can,'' said Harry, and pointedly turned his back on Zacharias. +Things had been strained between them since Slytherin beat Hufflepuff +soundly in \emph{their} last Quidditch game, mostly due to Harry +snatching the Snitch right out from under Cedric Diggory's nose. Justin +and Hannah had shaken his hand afterwards. Ernie had sulked, but got +over it. Zacharias had immediately started to pick at his technique, and +hadn't stopped picking about something since, in every class he shared +with Harry. + +``Why?'' Zacharias started to sit down on Luna's bed, caught Harry's +glare, and flopped into a chair instead. His gaze remained intent and +interested. "Everyone knows that Trelawney is a fraud. \emph{Everyone.}" + +``I know,'' said Harry patiently, and went back to scanning the +selection of classes he could take in his third year. ``But that doesn't +matter. She might have good material in her class in spite of herself, +and anyway, Connor is taking it.'' + +Zacharias made a mild disgusted noise. Harry ignored that, too. One good +thing about the disagreeable Hufflepuff targeting him was that he no +longer targeted Connor. And Connor \emph{was} doing better, now. He'd +almost made up with Hermione. + +``How long are you going to be in your brother's shadow?'' Zacharias +asked, leaning towards Harry. ``Most of my House might not hate him +quite so much anymore, but we still know that you're more powerful than +he is.'' + +``Power doesn't mean everything,'' Harry murmured, quelling the first +traces of the headache that had sprung up the moment Zacharias began +questioning him about Connor. It did that all the time now. Whatever the +golden web's business was in his mind, Harry hoped it would finish it +soon, or that Sylarana would tug on it---ah, there she was---and quell +the pain permanently. He was breathing more easily in a moment as she +soothed the web. He scratched a firm ``yes'' next to Divination and went +on looking over the other classes. He half-wanted to take Care of +Magical Creatures just because Connor was taking it, but he had promised +Draco that he would at least consider joining him in Arithmancy. + +``It means a lot,'' said Zacharias. ``And sometimes you hear the most +intriguing rumors, you know.'' + +``Rumors?'' Harry kept his eyes on the paper, but he could feel his +shoulders tense up again. ``About what?'' + +``About what power means,'' said Zacharias carelessly. Harry knew that +if he looked up, he would find the Hufflepuff's eyes weren't careless at +all, that he was leaning forward with an intent expression. He didn't +look up. ``About what it might mean if someone has a lot of power, and +is in Slytherin House, and has saved a few lives besides.'' + +Harry sighed as he once more felt the pain well behind his eyes. He took +off his glasses and rubbed them. ``I'm not the next Voldemort, +Zacharias, if that's what you're trying to imply.'' + +Zacharias laughed. ``Of course not! When did You-Know-Who ever save +lives? But I think you might be something else.'' He leaned forward, +voice taunting. ``Don't you want to know what that is?'' + +``I'll pass, thanks,'' Harry said as coolly as he could, and then turned +his head with relief as he heard footsteps outside the hospital wing. +Draco was coming back, then. He'd nipped out to see how the Quidditch +game was going. He couldn't stand not seeing the Ravenclaw Seeker, Cho +Chang, beat Connor. + +Draco dragged back in, looking sulky. Harry hid a smile. ``Connor won, +then?'' he asked casually. + +``Stupid Ravenclaws,'' said Draco, and kicked the foot of Luna's bed. He +went to sit down, but Zacharias was in his chair. He settled for glaring +at the Hufflepuff, then folding his arms across his chest and glaring at +Harry. ``And stupid you. You don't have to look quite so smug, you +know.'' + +``Three Galleons,'' said Harry. "It was \emph{only} three." + +``He probably cheated.'' + +Harry winced as the headache once more began to pound. \emph{Is my web +going to act up every time someone says something negative about Connor? +It's going to hurt me a lot, then.} He let Sylarana soothe it before he +shrugged and said, ``He's just a naturally good Seeker, Draco. I told +you.'' He held out his hand. ``Pay up.'' + +Draco, sulking harder still, dug three Galleons out of his pocket and +slipped them into Harry's palm. Harry took them, gave Draco a beatific +smile, and slid them into his own pocket. He was breathing more easily +now. Keep the conversation away from Connor, and he found that he could +function. He spent almost all his time around the Slytherins now for +precisely that reason. They had more interesting things to talk about, +at least in their view, than the Boy-Who-Lived. + +\emph{The web isn't going to go away if you ignore it, you know,} +Sylarana said abruptly in his head. + +Harry ignored her, too. She was working to soothe the pain, wasn't she? +And she was confident that she was well on her way to controlling it, +wasn't she? He didn't see what the problem was. + +\emph{Harry}, she sighed at him, and went back to whatever problems in +his mind so occupied her. + +Harry shifted to make room for Draco on the edge of his chair, prepared +to ignore Zacharias. He had just about decided to take Arithmancy when +more footsteps sounded down the hall, and Madam Pomfrey ducked into the +hospital wing, beaming. She held a beaker of some thick liquid in her +hand. + +Harry caught his breath. He had hoped he would be here when the potion +was ready, but he hadn't thought it would be this soon. ``Is +that\ldots{}?'' + +``Yes, dear,'' said Pomfrey, bustling over to Luna's and Neville's beds. +``The Mandrakes matured, and Professor Sprout plucked them and Professor +Snape brewed them. We can finally revive Miss Lovegood and Mr. +Longbottom.'' She beamed at him, and then bent over and spooned some of +the lumpy, glistening yellow potion into Luna's mouth, rubbing her +throat so she would swallow. + +Luna trembled, her eyes abruptly blinking for the first time in months, +her limbs shaking after that, her head twitching. Harry watched her +swallow more of the potion, and then she turned and looked directly at +him. He prepared for some form of accusation. After all, he was probably +the last thing she would have seen before she was Petrified, other than +the basilisk's eyes. + +Instead, she said gravely, ``I know it wasn't you, Harry. It was a plot +by the Ministry. They couldn't find a Crumple-Horned Snorcack, so they +had to use a snake instead.'' + +Harry leaned forward and hugged her, not sure how he felt at the moment +as waves of emotion trembled through him. Then they sorted themselves +out, and became relief, and amusement, and a heart-pounding sensation of +joy. \emph{She's still here. She's awake. She doesn't blame me.} + +Madam Pomfrey had moved on to Neville. Harry held his breath, his arms +still around Luna, as the Gryffindor boy jerked back to life. He +trembled far more than Luna had, his eyes darting from side to side as +if he expected the basilisk to emerge from around a corner or under the +bed. Then he saw Harry and paled. + +``It wasn't Harry,'' Luna assured him gravely. ``It was the Ministry.'' + +Neville didn't look as if he understood this at all, but he nodded +timidly. \emph{If nothing else,} Harry thought, as he shifted and +extended an awkward hand to the other boy, \emph{he probably knows that +I wouldn't be allowed in here with them if I'd really meant to hurt +them.} + +``I'm sorry that happened, both of you,'' he whispered. ``I was +possessed. It's gone now, but it was horrible while it lasted, and you +suffered the brunt of it. I'm so sorry.'' + +Luna said, ``I was right. It was the Wrackspurts.'' + +``I---I don't blame you, Harry,'' said Neville, giving him a shy smile. +"You didn't look at all like yourself, you know. I \emph{knew} that you +didn't have red eyes, or hair that stood on end and moved by itself." + +Harry chuckled at the thought of the picture he must have presented, and +leaned closer to them. For a moment, at least, all was right with the +world, and he was intent on leaving it that way. + +``Harry?'' + +That was his brother's voice. Harry sat up, rearranged himself so that +he had his left hand on Neville's shoulder and his right hand on Luna's, +and faced the door. + +Connor lingered shyly there, his hand opening and closing as though he +didn't know what to do with himself. He was still dressed in his scarlet +Quidditch robes, and his hair hung frazzled over his ears. He met +Harry's eyes and then glanced away, looking at the ground and biting his +lip. + +``Connor,'' said Harry. ``I heard you caught the Snitch. +Congratulations.'' He hesitated, then decided he could say it without it +sounding like a taunt to Connor and awakening the web. ``I bet Draco +that you could. He didn't believe me, and so I have three of his +Galleons now.'' + +Connor looked back up at that, smirking. ``You should learn not to bet +against the Potters, Malfoy.'' + +Draco grunted something under his breath. + +Connor appeared to realize exactly what was happening for the first +time, his eyes widening as he looked at Luna and Neville. ``They're +awake?'' he whispered. + +``Yes!'' Harry abruptly laughed, the emotions boiling in him too hard to +be contained. ``Un-Petrified. Awake. Themselves again.'' He wasn't sure +why he said what he did next, except that he didn't think he could +contain the words. ``And they don't blame me.'' + +Connor froze for a long moment, then blinked as if in surprise and +smiled. ``That's wonderful, Harry,'' he said quietly. ``I---I'm going to +go change out of my Quidditch gear now. See you at dinner?'' + +Harry nodded, smiling still, and watched Connor leave the hospital wing. +He rolled his eyes, but said nothing, when he noted that Zacharias stood +and followed him. Sometimes his twin had to fight his own battles, and +he really didn't want to leave Luna and Neville right now. + +The web tried to pulse at him for thinking that, but Sylarana caught and +caged it this time before it could do any damage. Harry let out his +breath, and started answering Luna's and Neville's questions about how +long they had been Petrified, and let himself think it really would be +all right. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Prat,'' Draco said, shoving him in the shoulder as they finally +emerged from the hospital wing. ``Did you have to tell them about the +bet?'' + +"They \emph{heard} me tell Connor about it," said Harry, and gave him a +shove back. ``What was I supposed to do when Neville asked me about it? +Lie?'' + +``Yes. I'm your best friend. You're supposed to lie for me.'' Draco gave +him a glare that would have been more intimidating if it didn't look +like he was going to break into laughter at any moment. + +``I'm a terrible liar,'' said Harry, lying through his teeth. + +Draco laughed aloud, and then Professor McGonagall came around the +corner, and all Harry's mirth died at the expression on her face. + +``Mr. Potter,'' she said quietly. ``Please come with me.'' + +Harry followed her in silence. He knew where they were going before they +rounded the corner on the second floor, but he did not know what he +would see. Nothing in the world could have prepared him for it. + +Zacharias Smith lay motionless beside a puddle of water outside the +girls' loo where, Harry thought now, the entrance to the Chamber of +Secrets had to be located. He was still, but Harry thought he was +Petrified, not dead. \emph{Please let him not be dead. Please.} + +And then he saw the writing on the wall, and was too terrified even to +pray. + +\emph{Potter---} + +\emph{I've taken your brother. So nice a home his scar made for me.} + +\emph{Tom Riddle.} + +\subsection{*Chapter 29*: Walk These +Roads}\label{chapter-29-walk-these-roads} + +Sorry about the problems with updating yesterday! Hopefully everything +is sorted out now, but just in case, \emph{don't} read this if you +haven't read Chapter 27 (``Home Is the Hunter'') or it wouldn't make any +sense. + +Draco chapter, and run-up to the battle. + +\textbf{Chapter Twenty-Eight: Walk These Roads} + +Draco was behind Harry, so he couldn't see his expression as he read the +words scribed into the stone. But he saw the walls of the corridor +change to ice, and he \emph{certainly} felt it when Harry's rising magic +made him black out. + +Luckily, it was only for a few moments, and when he woke up and +scrambled to his feet, Professor McGonagall was obstructing Harry's +passage down the corridor. ``No, Harry,'' she said firmly, one hand on +his shoulder. Draco could see that her face was pale, but she didn't +back down. ``I must know where you are going.'' + +``He's going to rescue his brother, Professor,'' Draco said, forcing his +voice into a drawl. He slipped one hand into his pocket, to feel the +warm glass of his bottle and reassure himself that \emph{his} Harry was +still there, somewhere under the cold rage he'd grown. ``And I'm going +to help him. Now, please step out of the way.'' + +McGonagall whipped around and stared at him. Draco raised his eyebrows. +She was more frazzled than he had thought, if the strands of gray hair +escaping from her bun were any indication. That settled him. + +``Mr. Malfoy, I certainly cannot let two students go into danger---'' +she began primly. + +``Then you'll have to stop me.'' + +Draco closed his eyes and fought back the headache that wanted to +overcome him as Harry turned his attention to Professor McGonagall. +Harry was angry, and it was an anger beyond anything that Draco had seen +in him before. The ice on the corridor walls was spreading, swarming +over the stone in delicate tendrils of frost and probing at the ceiling. + +``Mr. Potter,'' said McGonagall. She didn't sound afraid, but she was a +Gryffindor, wasn't she? Draco knew they didn't know when to turn tail +and run, when it was sensible for their own safety. "I will not let two +\emph{more} students put their lives in danger." + +``Tom Riddle has my brother.'' + +Draco risked a glance at Harry's face, and then wished he hadn't. +Harry's face and mouth were set in grim lines, but from his eyes, he was +screaming steadily, and simply not letting the sound out. + +``That does not mean you need to risk your life, Mr. Potter,'' said +McGonagall. She folded her arms. + +\emph{Interfering old cat,} Draco thought. He wished it had been +Professor Snape who had found them. He would have understood Harry's +intense need to go hunting his brother, at least. He had shared Harry's +mind. + +As had Draco, and he understood that Harry was not going to be turned +aside now. The best thing he could do was keep quiet and go along for +the rescue mission, so that Harry had at least one person there who +understood him, one who could not be possessed and turned against him. +Otherwise, Draco knew, he would go to wherever Riddle had taken his +brother---most likely the Chamber of Secrets---alone. And Draco was not +going to let that happen. + +``It does,'' said Harry. He was speaking through gritted teeth now, as +though he had a headache of his own, and his snake stirred on his arm, +sticking her head through the end of his sleeve. ``I am the best person +to rescue him, for reasons I can't take the time to explain to you.'' + +``Headmaster Dumbledore---'' McGonagall began. + +Harry laughed. The sound was eerie to Draco, utterly flat and cold. It +sounded more than a little like the laughter he'd heard Tom Riddle give, +during the battle when Harry fought against him and Draco hovered in the +shadows, permitted to watch but not help. He edged closer to Harry. It +had nearly driven him mad last time, not being able to help. He clutched +at the bottle, and felt the lights shift and press against his palms. + +``The Headmaster made decisions you knew about, Professor,'' said Harry. +``And you know what he would say if you went to him. He might agree to +help---but he would never go back on those choices. And it's because of +those choices that I have to go after Connor.'' + +Draco blinked. \emph{He blames Dumbledore for this? I never saw that +when I was in his mind. Is this a recent thing? Why didn't he tell me? +Where did he learn it?} Seething curiosity filled him, and somewhat +helped to drive back the pain of the headache. + +McGonagall paled, proof that she knew what Harry was talking about. Her +eyes closed, and she stood as if debating with herself. Draco scowled at +her and then at Harry. \emph{We will have things to talk about when +we're done fighting Tom Riddle, Harry, specifically about why you're +able to trust Gryffindor Heads of House who would stop you from doing +what you need to.} He edged closer to Harry again, this time standing at +his right shoulder, close enough to feel the breaths Harry was drawing +in and the very slight cold aura he was putting out. The ice had reached +the ceiling now. Draco touched Harry's shoulder, expecting it to be +cold, too, and then flinched. His skin felt as if he had a fever. + +And it grew worse the longer Professor McGonagall dithered about whether +or not she should stop them. + +\emph{Hurry} up, Draco thought in her direction. \emph{Deny us and let +Harry hurt you, or stand aside and let him do what he has to. But don't +do this. Can't you see that you're hurting him?} + +McGonagall started as if she'd heard his thoughts, and for a moment +looked straight at him. Draco smirked as he met her eyes. That made her +frown, and she turned back to Harry. + +``I will wait an hour before I go to the Headmaster,'' she said quietly. +``That is all the time I can give you.'' + +``Brilliant,'' said Harry, in a voice that made Draco wince as it +deprived the word of every meaning, and then turned and went to the +Slytherin dungeons. Draco followed him, glancing back now and then at +the Gryffindor Head of House. She still had a frown plastered on her +face, but she didn't seem as if she would renege on her word. +Gryffindors didn't, usually. + +Draco glanced ahead at Harry's straight back and determined stride, and +for a moment wondered if he should insist on stopping to find Professor +Snape. + +Then he shook his head. \emph{No. Harry has to go ahead and do this, and +it will hurt him more if I hold him back. Go alone for the ride now, +Draco. At least you'll be there when the world explodes.} + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +Once they were back in the Slytherin dorms---which were empty, luckily, +as everyone had already gone to dinner---Harry moved quickly. He slipped +over to the trunk at the foot of his bed and opened it, pulling out a +black armband that made Draco blink. He saw the silver serpent on it as +Harry turned it over, though, and smiled slightly. It was a good weapon +to take into a Chamber where he might have to battle a basilisk. + +Thinking that, Draco searched to the very bottom of his trunk for what +he needed, and had just found it when he realized that Harry was walking +out of the room. + +``Harry!'' he cried, standing up. + +Harry glanced back at him, and Draco saw eyes like shuttered windows. +``What?'' + +``I'm coming with you,'' Draco said. + +Harry said nothing for a moment, but the air around him turned cold +enough that Draco could see his breath the next time he spoke. ``No,'' +he said quietly. ``I won't risk your life. You're staying here. You can +go and tell Professor Snape what's happening. In fact, I would prefer if +he knew before the Headmaster.'' + +It probably \emph{would} be a good idea, Draco thought, but he knew +someone else would have to enact it. ``No,'' he said. He removed the +bottle from his pocket and placed it gently on the table next to his +bed. He didn't want to risk it getting broken. He turned back to Harry. +``I'm coming with you,'' he repeated. + +Harry lowered his head slightly, and Draco felt the pain in his brow +spike as Harry called his power. When Harry next spoke, he once again +sounded more like Tom Riddle than himself. + +"I could knock you out and leave you helpless on the floor, Draco. I +could hit you with a spell that wouldn't let you remember that any of +this happened. I could cast \emph{Imperio} on you and make you go at +once to Snape and say whatever I wanted. Given all that, why are you +still insistent on standing up to me?" + +Draco looked at the bottle. There was no trace of red, which showed +Harry's anger with him. Purple and green danced in a fierce mix that +made the glass look like a sky just before a storm. + +``Because you wouldn't really do any of those things to me,'' he said, +and turned back to Harry. ``I trust you.'' + +Harry closed his eyes. ``I should never have given you that bloody +thing,'' he muttered, repeating a frequent lament. + +Draco waited. + +``I have to do this alone,'' Harry said softly. ``You know what I am, +Draco, what I was trained to be. I have to go into the Chamber and +rescue Connor, and I fully expect that I may die. There's nothing that +says anyone else has to come along and die with me. Why would you want +to?'' + +``Because my loyalty is to you,'' said Draco. ``Not to Connor, or +Dumbledore, or whatever fucked-up ideas your family may have had.'' He +was surprised to find that he was shaking, and tried to defuse the tense +emotion that filled him by holding up the object that he had retrieved +from the bottom of the trunk. ``And because I'm the only one here with a +really functioning brain.'' + +Harry blinked at the mirror. ``What---'' + +``I felt you think that the snake was a basilisk,'' said Draco calmly. +"And a mirror is, if not a \emph{very} effective weapon against a +basilisk, at least better than marching in empty-handed." + +Harry's eyes turned frighteningly blank again, and he made a gesture +that could have indicated his magic, or his snake, or the black circlet +he'd slipped around his right arm. ``I'm hardly going in there +empty-handed.'' He reached for the mirror. ``But I could take that. +Thank you for identifying it.'' + +``And you are carrying too many things already,'' said Draco, slipping +the mirror into its cloth and the cloth into his pocket. ``I'll just +hold this for you.'' + +Harry stared at him for a long, long moment. Then he shook his head and +whispered, ``Why?'' + +Draco snorted. ``Do you really want to have this out now, when Riddle is +doing Merlin knows what to your brother?'' + +He was sorry for what he'd said a moment later, as Harry sucked in a +breath and closed his eyes, gripping the sides of his head. Then he +managed to open watering eyes and focus on Draco. "I think we have to. I +don't want to hurt you, and I don't want to let you come with me, +either. Please, Draco. I have to know. You say that your loyalty is to +me. You've defied your father and manipulated him for me. You refused to +give up our friendship even when I made it clear that I thought you +would. \emph{Why}?" + +Draco swallowed. His hands were shaking. It didn't help that his own +truest answer sounded inane, even to him. + +"Because you're \emph{Harry}," he said. "You're \emph{you}. That's all I +really know, Harry. I like you and I'm loyal to you, and if you don't +tie me up or \emph{Obliviate} me or Apparate away from me right now, +then I'm coming with you." + +Harry closed his eyes. Draco stood in silence for a long moment, unsure +what his response would be. He could almost feel the pressure in his +head urging Harry's steps forward along the road to the Chamber. If he +chose to walk that road alone, despite all Draco's impassioned pleas, +there was really nothing Draco could do to stop him. + +And he didn't \emph{want} to stop him, if Harry made the decision to go +alone, he thought. That was the difference between him and someone like +Professor McGonagall---or maybe Dumbledore, if Harry had really learned +something disturbing about the Headmaster. He \emph{trusted} Harry. He +trusted him to make the right decision. He wasn't afraid of his power +except in an abstract sense. He didn't think Harry had to be chained up +and coerced to walk the right road. Whatever road he chose to walk was, +by definition, the right one. + +\emph{And I am such a child, to be standing here and thinking such +wide-eyed Gryffindor thoughts.} + +They were the truth, though. And Draco's parents had always taught him +never to lie to himself. At least he knew he \emph{had} the wide-eyed +Gryffindor thoughts, and could put them to use instead of avoiding them. + +``Thank you.'' + +Draco opened his eyes, and saw Harry stretching out his hand towards +him. He hurried forward to clasp it, before Harry could change his mind, +and leaned his head on Harry's shoulder, trying not to show how +profoundly relieved he was that Harry hadn't simply taken up on his +offer and forced him to stay here somehow. He couldn't even imagine +Harry's torment, lingering up here while Connor was in danger, but he +would have felt a faint shadow of it, if he'd had to stay here while +Harry walked into that same danger. + +Harry turned his head so that his nose brushed Draco's hair. +``Besides,'' he added, ``Sylarana has just reminded me that I don't +actually know the way to the Chamber, so dashing out the door and hoping +to get there first wouldn't work.'' + +Draco's laugh was quiet. In the midst of everything, and even thinking +of facing Tom Riddle and a basilisk, he could feel a great hope bearing +him up. He set most of it aside for right now and said, ``Is there any +way you could find out? What were you planning to do, anyway, if you +went alone?'' + +``Just go to the girls' loo where all the attacks happened and root +around,'' said Harry. "The entrance to the Chamber is there, but I don't +know \emph{where} it is. Riddle took the memories from me---" + +Abruptly, he froze, and Draco realized Sylarana was probably speaking +into his mind. He held his peace. He was jealous of the Locusta's +connection to Harry, of course he was, but now wasn't the time to voice +it. + +``What is it?'' he asked, when Harry just went on staring, white-faced. + +``Sylarana doesn't think Riddle took my memories of opening the Chamber +with him, or destroyed them,'' said Harry, through obviously numb lips. +``She thinks that he put them in the box. It would have been the most +convenient place for him to store them, and now that she thinks about +it, she can remember small sensations in that part of my mind the time +that I Petrified Neville.'' + +Draco clutched at Harry's hand again, convulsively. He had seen the box +while he was connected to Harry's mind. It was nothing he wished to see +again. It had frightened him more than Riddle had, in its way. Riddle +was an open menace. The box was a lurking one. + +``Do you have to open it?'' he asked. + +Harry again paused, apparently communing with Sylarana. ``She'll let +me,'' said Harry, ``but she's afraid I'll get overwhelmed by the +memories without someone to anchor me, and she'll be busy waiting to +shut the box again as soon as I've found the memories I need.'' He let +out a deep breath, and his eyes met Draco's. ``And she says that she can +bind you, briefly, to my mind, since you were already connected to me +once before. Can you hold me steady while I go into the box?'' + +Draco did not even hesitate before nodding. He did not want to see the +box. He was not entirely sure that he wanted to see the inside of +Harry's head right now. + +But he knew, more than either of those, that he did not want to see +Harry dead. + +``Thank you,'' Harry whispered, and extended his hand. He was shaking +lightly. Draco wondered if he was afraid of the box, or of losing +Connor, or of letting Draco into his head. Probably some combination of +all three, Draco thought, as he watched Sylarana move down Harry's arm. + +He took a deep breath, and tried to prepare himself, as Sylarana wound +about his wrist, trying their hands together. + +Nothing could have prepared him. + +He plunged into the middle of gold and light and noise, a dark field +flooded with radiance. He could see little through all that, and he +could hardly hear anything through the deafening song. Draco winced. The +song was beautiful, but so \emph{loud}\ldots{} how did Harry sleep with +it in his head? + +"\emph{I help him."} + +Draco jumped and turned around. A different kind of golden fire shone in +the midst of the fiery gold, and he realized it was Sylarana. He was +hearing her voice, and though she hissed and he knew it was definitely +not English, he still understood her. He let out a little sigh. +\emph{Wait until I tell Father about this. He'll never believe it.} + +If \emph{I tell him. If he would try to use this to hurt Harry\ldots{}} + +\emph{And he was the one who hurt Harry in the first place. If not for +the diary, none of this would have happened.} + +Draco focused on the matter at hand. He had his own tangled and confused +thoughts, yes, but the important thing right now was Harry. He followed +the thread of gold until he reached the box. Beside it curled a tendril +of glittering dark and gold that Draco suspected was Harry, or a +representation of him. The box looked just as bad as it always had, +though this time, instead of the locks that Draco thought it had +possessed, it shone with the Locusta's shifting coils. + +"\emph{Are you ready, Harry?}" she asked, and Harry's voice gave soft +assent from everywhere around them. Draco felt Sylarana turn her +attention to him. "\emph{Hold him as he plunges.}" + +Draco nodded, and reached out, curling his arms around the tendril of +dark and gold. It seemed to be enough. + +Sylarana shifted, and relaxed her hold, and the box opened. + +Draco felt fear seize him as the lid lifted just a bit, and darkness and +cold swarmed around them. But Harry was going into it, was twisting +fearlessly among the memories stored there, searching for the ones he +wanted, and Draco had to go with him, had to fall with him, had to hold +him steady as Harry searched and sorted. + +Draco saw some of the memories himself, of course, because there was no +way to avoid that when he was immediately next to Harry. + +\emph{Harry reading a book under his covers by the light of the} Lumos +\emph{spell, studying frantically to try to get the Shield Charm right, +convinced that Voldemort could come tomorrow and kill Connor, and he +would not be ready---} + +\emph{Lily crouched in front of Harry and asked him to try the spell +again. She knew it hurt, but practice was the only way to get it right. +Harry nodded, and gulped, and tried the spell again. This time, it +worked}--- + +\emph{Lily whispered to Harry that everything would be well, even as she +stroked his head and soothed him. He was four, nearly too young to +remember, but he did remember that he'd had an argument with Connor and +his head had begun to ache, and it had hurt until his mother came and +soothed him with a few words. Words were his medicine---} + +\emph{Remus Lupin, and saying something about abuse---} + +Draco screamed. He was \emph{burning}, the fire behind him surging +forward as they met that memory. The golden light and the beautiful song +didn't like that memory at all, Draco sensed. It was supposed to be +crisped away to ashes and never trouble Harry again. It should not have +been in the box. + +"\emph{No, it should not have been,}" said Sylarana, her voice beyond +anxious. "\emph{It happened after he stopped using the box. How did it +get in there? Harry? Harry!}" + +But Harry could not hear them. He was far beneath them, Draco thought, +plunging further and further into the darkness, and if he had not found +the memories he needed already, then perhaps he was caught up in the +whirl of half-forgotten things he'd placed here, all the resentments and +fears and petty jealousies. + +\emph{He watched Connor at the center of attention, himself so quiet and +reserved that no one really thought he wanted attention. And he didn't, +he supposed, but sometimes he wanted it, and the secret that he and his +mother shared wasn't enough. And he had to stop thinking that, because +then he might be jealous of his brother, and then he might hurt him, and +how could he let that happen?} + +\emph{He watched James flying a kite with Connor, and wished he were as +close to their father as Connor was. But James and Connor were more +alike, and James didn't really understand Harry's liking for books, and +why should he? Neither Harry nor Lily had ever told him what they were +doing. He had no reason to understand them. But that unreasonable +longing was still there.} + +\emph{Harry glanced up from where he'd just wandlessly performed the +Summoning Charm, and his father stared at him from the doorway. Harry +looked back, challenging James to respond somehow, to ask him what had +happened, why he knew wandless magic, and why he was keeping it a +secret. Instead, James stepped back and shut the door and never +mentioned it again. And Harry saw the fear in his father's eyes, and +buried a seed of contempt deep, deep under the surface of his mind, +where it could never flower into full-blown scorn.} + +\emph{Harry lay on the grass in front of their house, beyond exhausted +with all the magic he'd been practicing, and ran lists of pureblood +customs over in his mind. Meanwhile, almost below his level of hearing, +a voice shrieked that he was tired and wanted to go to bed. But he +hadn't had much chance to study last night, because Sirius and Remus had +come to visit, and they'd had a party to celebrate Sirius's birthday. He +had to make up for lost time now. Voldemort was coming, and he couldn't +be a child.} + +\emph{He said his vows, over and over, and sometimes he violently hated +them, but he always caught and extinguished the hatred before it could +go too far.} + +Draco persevered through all of them, though he suspected that he was +crying back in his own body, and kept his hands strongly clasped around +Harry's waist. And then he felt Harry rising back through the box, the +memories of how to open the Chamber of Secrets lodged in his brain. + +Draco caught a glimpse of those, too, as they soared outward again, and +nodded. A sink, then, with a snake on a tap, and when a Parselmouth +commanded it to open in Parseltongue, it would. A good way of protecting +the Chamber from almost everyone but Slytherin's descendants. + +He thought that, because the memories he'd seen had left him numb with +shock. That would end in a moment, and he would speak to Harry, but +until then\ldots{} + +He opened his eyes, and found himself back in his own body. Sylarana was +unwinding from his hand. She darted up Harry's robes to his neck and +wound around it, crooning. Or so Draco imagined her hiss to sound like. + +He wished he could understand what she was saying. He wished he could +find the words for the emotions he'd experienced in the box. ``I'm +sorry'' was not enough, and neither was ``Harry, are you all right?'' He +really \emph{wanted} to say, "Don't you want to cast \emph{Crucio} on +your parents?" but he had the feeling Harry wouldn't want to hear that. + +Harry murmured something in Parseltongue, the hissing words slipping +from his mouth in a fluid stream. Then he took a deep breath and closed +his eyes. Draco watched his mask drop back into place over his pain and +everything else he felt. He scrubbed at his own cheeks, and felt tears +there. + +``Harry,'' he whispered, figuring that was a good start. + +Harry's shoulders hunched, and he snapped, ``Don't. We have to go rescue +Connor. Or I have to.'' + +``I'm still coming with you,'' Draco assured him, patting his pocket to +be sure the mirror was there and then following Harry out the door. +``But I'm worried about the box. Why were there memories in there that +shouldn't have been? How could you use the box when Sylarana locked +it?'' + +``I think the box almost opened when---when that happened,'' said Harry, +his tone thick with an emotion Draco couldn't identify. ``And I managed +to slip that memory in there.'' His voice strengthened. ``It's +ridiculous, anyway. I remember now. Remus was going to accuse our mother +of abusing me.'' He snorted. ``That's rich, isn't it?'' + +``It's the truth,'' said Draco. + +Harry turned and looked at him, and Draco shut up. Harry still had the +cold anger in his eyes, and that desperate need to do something, to go +and fetch Connor, but he was trembling on the edge of an even bigger +explosion. It wouldn't do much to trigger that explosion, Draco sensed. +Seeing his own memories had shaken Harry. And he had plumbed further +than Draco. Merlin knew what else he had seen. + +Draco made a private decision in that moment. When this was all over, +when Harry had Connor back and could think about something else, then he +was going to \emph{drag} Harry to someone who could help, by force if +necessary. Professor Snape would be his first choice. Then he'd go to +his parents. Merlin, he'd fetch Harry's werewolf if he had to. + +No one did \emph{that} to one of his friends and got away with it. + +Harry didn't seem to notice Draco's decision. Perhaps the silence was +all he'd wanted. He nodded, his face smoothing out. ``Thank you for not +saying anything about it, Draco.'' + +\emph{That's what you think,} Draco thought, and followed Harry to the +loo on the second floor. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +By the time they got there, of course, there were students wandering +around and staring, and professors trying to herd them away. Harry cast +a Disillusionment Charm on them both before they rounded the corner. +Draco wrinkled his nose at the unfamiliar sensation, but had to admit it +worked. They sneaked into the loo without anyone noticing them. Not even +the wailing ghost of a young girl who appeared out of a toilet seemed to +see them. Draco found himself slightly relieved for that. + +Harry strode to the sink from his memories and bent down, aiming his +mouth directly at the small carving of the snake. He hissed. Draco +assumed he hissed the word for "\emph{Open}," as the sink began whirling +in the next instant. White light flared for a moment, so brilliant that +Draco couldn't help but glance nervously over his shoulder at the ghost, +and by the time he looked back, there was a tunnel into the floor. + +Draco grimaced, thinking of the slime that was probably down there. + +``Come on,'' said Harry, showing a Gryffindor-like lack of fear, and +jumped into the pipe. Draco gave a grimace of resignation and leaped +after him. + +The slide that followed, twisting and turning in several different +directions and fighting frantically not to lose either his wand or the +mirror, was not Draco's idea of fun. He resolutely ignored the slime +that got on his robes and his longing to shriek like a first-year. He +would land, and everything would be all right, and when +\emph{everything}, including the helping Harry part, was done, he would +make Harry buy him some new robes. + +Harry abruptly vanished ahead of him. Draco tried to be prepared, but he +couldn't find anything to hold onto. + +He shot out of the end of the pipe, and would have hit the ground hard, +but Harry's shouted "\emph{Wingardium Leviosa!}" caught and held him. +Draco floated gently to the floor, patted his pocket to make sure the +mirror was still intact, and nodded to Harry. Harry's wand flared with +\emph{Lumos}, but it didn't really illuminate his face; it made him look +half-mad instead. He nodded back to Draco and then moved forward, his +eyes on the floor ahead of them. Draco swallowed as he heard the crunch +of something that sounded like bone under Harry's feet. + +But he had come this far, and even if he was afraid, he wasn't going to +back off and leave Harry alone simply because of that. He followed. + +Harry walked among the scattered bones as though he saw this kind of +thing every day, and from what Draco knew about his home life, perhaps +he did---or worse. Draco himself cringed and kept away from the +skeletons, though his eyes insisted on identifying them. Rat, mouse, +bat\ldots{} + +Then he squeaked as they caught sight of an enormous snakeskin ahead, +looped over and over itself like a spider's web. + +``What is that?'' he whispered. + +``We're fighting a basilisk,'' Harry said back. + +Draco looked at him, and found him standing with his head tilted back, +studying the snakeskin as though it were a set of Potions ingredients to +be diced and cut into the proper measures. He turned briefly to look at +Draco, and Draco swallowed. Harry had gone cold again. In fact, now that +he was watching for it, he caught the faint gust of ice around Harry as +he moved forward. + +Draco was at a loss for how Harry could have done that, plunged so +deeply into the freezing fury at Tom Riddle when he'd seen his memories +of his parents and what they had done to him, but he could hardly ask. +They were on the verge of battle now. + +Draco wasn't sure what he thought about that. He'd accepted, in a vague +way, that he might have to fight in a War someday, when and if the Dark +Lord came back. But here he was, only twelve years old---\emph{well, +almost thirteenÂÂ}---and going into a room where he \emph{knew} he would +have to fight a basilisk, and maybe Harry's possessed brother. + +More, he was fighting the \emph{Dark Lord.} Or some version of him. + +Draco supposed he knew where he stood then. It was almost comforting. He +set his shoulders back and followed Harry again, more confidently than +before. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +He found Harry standing in front of a pair of enormous stone serpents, +staring up at them. Their eyes shone in the light of the \emph{Lumos}, +and Draco felt an odd shiver in his belly when he realized they were +emeralds, as green as the Locusta's eyes. + +\emph{As green as Harry's.} + +Harry looked at him, his face solemn. ``Last chance to back out, +Draco.'' + +Draco stiffened. ``You insult me by thinking of it.'' + +Harry smiled thinly. ``You're right. I'm sorry.'' He faced the serpents +and hissed again. Draco wished, in a moment of pure selfish jealousy +that he used to distract himself from his sweating palms and rapidly +beating heart, that he could understand what Harry was saying. + +The wall groaned and cracked open, in a jagged shape that reminded Draco +of Harry's scar, and the serpents dropped out of sight. Draco came +forward slightly so that he stood at Harry's shoulder, and they walked +into what waited for them. + +\subsection{*Chapter 30*: Fang to Fang}\label{chapter-30-fang-to-fang} + +Thank you for the reviews! Now that I can access them, I can post review +responses on my LJ. + +This is the point at which I fully expect a lot of people to stop +reading. After this chapter it's uphill all the way, because it's got no +place to go but up. But that means that we hit rock-bottom here. This is +probably the darkest single chapter I will write. I understand if +someone doesn't want to continue after this. + +Ready? Down we go. + +\textbf{Chapter Twenty-Nine: Fang to Fang} + +Harry felt odd the moment he moved into the Chamber, which was as he had +remembered it from the box: long, straight, narrow, crowded with pillars +and filled with grim green light, with a statue of Salazar Slytherin at +the far end. His mind felt pulled and stretched, and his head began to +ache. A moment later, his scar flared with dazzling pain. + +Tom Riddle stood at the base of the statue, nearly fully formed, not a +memory but a dark-haired young man. He held Connor by the neck, one hand +over his scar. At his feet lay the diary, and a thick link, green as the +light, green as \emph{Avada Kedavra}, stretched between the book and his +hand. + +``Harry Potter,'' said Riddle. "Welcome. I have been \emph{waiting} for +you." He clamped his hand onto Connor's scar more firmly. + +Harry called gladly on his magic. It roared up around him, turning the +immediate floor to ice--- + +And springing Riddle's trap. + +Harry felt the magic flood out of him, seemingly pouring out through his +scar and across space to Riddle, tracing the route he must have taken +when he fled Harry's mind after their first battle. Riddle tilted back +his head and laughed as he absorbed the magic, and his image wavered and +grew stronger. At the same time, the link between the diary and his hand +flared with life, and Connor screamed and began writhing in pain. + +Harry gagged aloud as he shared his twin's anguish, flowing down the +connection he supposed they had always shared by virtue of being born at +the same time, but which he had never sensed before now. Dimly, behind +the agony, he heard Dumbledore's words again, speaking of the spell +contamination. + +\emph{``We wished to preserve you from the possible dangers of sharing +this kind of bond with your twin, but since you are twins, and not only +brothers by blood, the connection is extremely hard to block. It seems +so far that the bond has protected you only, and for that I am pleased +and grateful. But please do not rely on it.''} + +Now the bond had been turned against them. And Harry's magic continued +to surge in response to the threat, trying to protect him, and more of +it flowed over to Riddle, and more pain flowed from him to Connor and +from Connor to Harry. It was more intense this time, as the initial +blast of magic had been stronger. Harry could see the world pulsing +white around him. + +``Into the diary, I think,'' Riddle mused aloud. ``Yes, I could put you +both there, and who would think to look for you? Or perhaps I will put +you alone there, as I would rather like to retain your twin in his own +body for a while longer. He is, after all, my greatest enemy.'' + +Harry could not have answered if he had tried. The pain in his head was +total, and not even the urging of the phoenix fire and song could +compare. He felt his muscles trembling, his mouth jerking. A thin line +of drool marked his lips. He was suffering, and his brother was +suffering, and he could do \emph{nothing.} + +``Don't hurt him, you bastard!'' + +But he was aware enough to know when Draco moved forward from the side, +his wand out and his face contorted with a mixture of fury and fear that +Harry had never seen before. His wand lashed, and he snarled, +"\emph{Incendio!}" + +The diary briefly began to smoke, before Riddle gestured lazily, once, +and the fire went out. He smiled at Draco. ``Did you think that you +could stop me, little boy? I am sure that---'' + +It was not enough to end everything. But it was enough to make a pause +in the link, as Riddle's hand lifted from Connor's scar to calm the +fire. And a small interruption was all Harry needed. + +He surged to his feet and called for his magic, plunging deep, gathering +up all he could and spreading it out around him. Anything he could do +that wasn't corrupted or controlled by Riddle could be valuable in this +battle. + +The walls around him turned to ice, and then cracked and crazed, falling +in frozen shards. At the same moment, the armband warmed, and Harry felt +the magic escaping Riddle's control deepen and strengthen. He felt it +asking him what he wanted, trying to follow the desires of his will. + +Riddle hissed, and Harry heard his words. "\emph{Come, creature of +Slytherin, obey your master and Slytherin's Heir!}" The shadows behind +Slytherin's statue began to lash and churn. + +Harry ignored the temptation to try to speak Parseltongue himself, and +control the basilisk. He was fairly sure that Riddle had been telling +the truth, and he would not be able to. Instead, he told his magic, +\emph{I want something that will destroy the diary. Something that will +eat it up.} + +The air in front of him turned dark, as if he had torn a hole in the +midst of the light, and then Harry saw a pair of snapping black jaws. +They were connected to no mouth, but they went soaring at the diary as +if they were. Riddle saw them and snarled at them, flinging out his +hand. + +"\emph{Reducto!}" he shouted, and the jaws shuddered once, though they +stubbornly tried to continue moving forward. Harry turned his attention +away from them briefly. He knew they would keep Riddle busy for at least +another moment, and the vicious, pounding pain in his head urged him to +try and get to Connor. + +\emph{Why should you?} It was the cold voice, and it had more hatred in +it than Harry had heard before. \emph{He is the cause of your pain. He +is the reason that you have suffered as you have, then and now. You know +what your parents did to you in his name.} + +Harry felt the memories trembling in the corners where he had put them, +shuddering and ready to slide out into his awareness once again. He +ignored them. He could not afford to listen to them, nor to the cold +voice. He would listen when he could, and then he was sure he would find +that what his parents had done for and to him was all for the best. + +He whipped his hand in a descending half-circle, sending the cold +blasting before him. It hit the emerging basilisk, and the creature +screamed in Parseltongue, throwing its green head back. Harry caught a +brief glimpse of the long, thin fangs and the staring yellow eyes, and +brought his head down. + +``Get the mirror out!'' he hissed at Draco, hoping he spoke English. He +either did, or Draco was quick enough on his own to understand what he +needed to do. He pulled the mirror from its cloth and his pocket with +fingers that shook and trembled with cold. + +Harry turned back to Riddle as the fragment of Voldemort finally blasted +his attacking black jaws apart, and tried to renew his hold on Connor. +Harry concentrated intensely, and spoke through his magic and his will. +\emph{Fetch me my brother. I want him. I will him to be at my side.} + +All around him, a wind began to howl, rising with a chill in its teeth. +The cold voice snarled at him. \emph{You could do so much more with +this. Why will you not do it? We might---} + +Harry shut it out of his awareness and focused all his attention on +Connor, who lay on the ground pale and still now, his scar seeping red +liquid that Harry did not think was all blood. \emph{Come to me, +brother. Come here. Come} here! + +The wind scattered forward from around him, flinging hail and bits of +snow on the floor. It whirled around Connor, and he shifted and moaned. +Harry concentrated, throwing his magic into the task, hoping that it +would be strong enough to pull Connor back to safety. + +Unfortunately, Riddle turned just then and clamped his hand back on +Connor's scar, trying to renew his link with the diary. He hissed at the +basilisk in the meanwhile. "\emph{Attack them. Kill the one who smells +like chalk. Leave the other one alive.}" + +Harry glanced quickly sideways, to see that Draco held the mirror ready, +and then touched his left arm. ``Sylarana? Are you awake?'' + +He could feel her, but sluggish and struggling. She was as affected by +the cold of Harry's magic as the basilisk was, sending her into a +torpor. Harry cursed under his breath and tried to think of fire spells. + +``You are going to lose, Harry Potter,'' Riddle gloated, even as the +basilisk slid forward around him, in a maze of sea-green motion. ``And +do you know why? I am draining power from your brother even now, and +from you through him. I am going to eat you alive, and then put you in +the diary, and possess him again. Such a tragic story, the Boy-Who-Lived +losing his brother, and coming up from the Chamber alone with such scars +on his soul. And with someone beyond his eyes, looking out, as I have +been for the last five months\ldots{}'' + +\emph{Five months Connor spent alone with that madman inside his head. +Five months he struggled, he screamed, and no one could hear him.} + +Harry closed his eyes, and then opened them. He could feel his magic +rising like wings, as had happened only once before, when he faced +Voldemort in Quirrell's body. This time, though, he faced only a +fragment of Voldemort, and there seemed to be hope that they might be +more equal in power. + +Draco held the mirror high, crowding close to Harry's side, though he +shivered at the touch of the rising cold. The basilisk came slowly +forward, and Draco tilted the glass at it. + +"\emph{Close your eyes!}" Riddle commanded abruptly in Parseltongue, and +Harry saw the wink of yellow vanish as the basilisk's eyes shut. A +moment later, its tongue flickered out, hunting for them by scent. Then +it slithered straight at Draco. + +"\emph{Move}!" Harry shouted, shoving at Draco, making him tumble to the +side. He turned back, feeling his magic soar to an absurd height, joined +by his fear for Connor, his fear for Draco, his fear of Riddle, and his +anger at having to battle Riddle like this at all. + +He focused that all into one enormous blast, back through the connection +between Riddle and his scar, and this time it broke through whatever +shields Riddle had in place. Riddle's head snapped back, and he dropped +to the ground with a cry. The diary flew into the far wall. Connor +moaned weakly, his scar still seeping, and tried to crawl in Harry's +direction. Harry took a step forward to help him. + +And then Draco screamed. + +Harry whirled to face him, his heart pounding in his chest. The basilisk +had managed to corner Draco against one of the pillars that held up the +Chamber. It was swaying, its immense head engaged in a deadly dance, its +fangs sticking out and glistening. + +Harry felt his mind clear of everything but the sight in front of him. +He was fairly sure that he, himself, could take a bite from the basilisk +and survive due to his magic. He hurtled towards the serpent, letting +the vibrations of his feet distract it, and shouted insults in +Parseltongue. He lessened the cold he was projecting as he did so. He +wanted the enormous snake to think he was an easy target. + +The basilisk flickered its tongue out and turned towards him. Perhaps it +would have obeyed Riddle's injunction not to kill him, but its hisses +spoke of hunger and the desire for blood, and Riddle was still trying to +recover from Harry's blast, rather than commanding Slytherin's snake. +The basilisk came for Harry. + +Harry raised his left arm to meet those fangs, his breathing light and +fast, his thoughts crystalline. He was going to do this. He could take +the bite, where Draco could not. He was fairly sure he would not +sacrifice his life. He was--- + +"\emph{No! Mine! My human! I defend him from other snakes!}" + +Sylarana reared out of Harry's sleeve, and as the basilisk's head came +down, she flung herself off his arm, coiling around its neck. She +stabbed her fangs home, once and then twice. + +The basilisk screamed in Parseltongue, a sound of agony that made Harry +want to cower. He watched in wonder as the Locusta venom took effect, +and it began to twitch and convulse, its smooth glide already turning to +jerky angles of movement as Sylarana bit it again and again, hissing in +vengeance. + +Then the basilisk flung its body to the ground and rolled over, still +convulsing, crushing Sylarana between its neck and the floor. + +Harry went to his knees screaming as she died, and the box burst open. + +All the light in the Chamber fled. Harry knelt alone in darkness, and +screamed as the searing pain ran up and down his limbs, worse than +\emph{Crucio}, and the webs of his mind fluttered uselessly in his head, +filling his thoughts with equally useless flashes of light and phoenix +song and vows and memories. + +\emph{So he can be extraordinary\ldots{}} + +\emph{Sylarana coiling close around him and demanding Chocolate +Frogs\ldots{}} + +\emph{Connor grinning at him as they turned seven, and blowing out the +flaring candles on their cake, then frowning again as they flared back +up despite all his breath could do\ldots{}} + +\emph{Sirius frowning at him as Harry demanded tales of pureblood +customs, not understanding, telling him that he had left all that was +Black behind him and he would advise his godson to do the same +thing\ldots{}} + +Claws cut at the inside of his skull, shredded and tore at his brain, +and his vision and world smashed and tilted sideways. Within him, the +cold voice laughed and rose, free from the deep gulfs of its +imprisonment. + +\emph{I told you! I told you that you could do so much more. Would you +like to see the magic they have hidden away from you? Not content to +bind and hold your personality, they have also hidden your power---} + +And then the cold voice was silenced, because a different self had come +forth from the box. + +It had no voice. It had no boasting. Harry could feel its rage, though, +and the coldness of that rage. + +He opened his eyes to see Draco encased in ice, the dead basilisk +frozen, and blue-white fire cutting the darkness and racing towards Tom +Riddle and Connor. In a moment, Connor, too, was a statue, and then the +magic reared high above Tom Riddle and the diary and stared at them. + +Riddle stared back for a long moment. Then he swung his head to look at +Harry, and his eyes had gone mad. + +``Not him,'' he breathed. "Never him. It was \emph{you}, it must have +been, and the nature of our connection---" + +The silent self had had enough of him. Down it coiled, and made itself +into a snake, a constrictor, so black that Harry's eyes bled as he +watched it. His own voice was distant now, a sobbing scream, worse than +a kicked animal would make. He could do nothing but watch. He was not in +control right now. The silent self was. + +It coiled around Tom Riddle and broke his ribs with one squeeze, his +newly formed body with another, and then his life from him with a third. +Then the snake placed him on the floor, stretched its jaws wide, and ate +him. Harry felt, distantly, that cold power settle within him, consumed +by his own magic, adding to its strength. + +The snake flowed over to the diary and ate it as well, tearing it apart +and absorbing every crumb of magic within its pages. Harry felt a brief +knot of resistance at the center of the book, a knot that seemed +self-aware, oddly like a piece of a soul, trying to escape. But the +snake crushed it utterly, stripped it of its magic, and then spat out +the self-awareness. It fled, wailing, naked and alone, and tattered as +it flew. Harry did not think it reached the far side of the Chamber +before it was gone, dissipated into oblivion. + +He knelt there, and screamed, and the pain was very great. + +The magic came slinking back to him. Harry could feel it studying him. +For the moment, he held all its attention in the middle of that frozen +Chamber. He wondered, oddly calm, the pain making him half-crazed, +whether it would destroy him, too, not needing his body as a shelter any +longer. + +He gasped as shards of the phoenix song crunched like glass in his gut, +reminding him of what he had vowed to save Connor. He could not let the +magic hurt Connor. He had already let it freeze Connor. He had to +control it. + +He held up one hand. His fingers were blue with frostbite in the light +of the white, searing cold that marked the magic, and seemed absurdly +small. He reached up towards this immense force that had somehow come +out of him, this force that terrified him and that was his to master, +and waited. He could hear himself screaming, somewhere still, but it was +not important. His throat stung and hurt with the ice particles that had +slid down it, but that was not important, either. + +The silent self did not speak in the cold voice again; nor did it coil +back into his body and let him do what he would with it. Instead, it +showed him pictures. + +\emph{Lily instructing him again and again in the ways of his vows, +repeating it endlessly when he would have faltered.} + +\emph{Harry performing mild hexes and jinxes on himself as he learned to +withstand physical pain, because someday he would suffer pain like this +on the battlefield, and he had to be able to keep going.} + +\emph{The battle with the Lestranges, and how he had given all the +credit to Connor, and how that was not fair, was beyond unfair, was +cruel and unjust.} + +\emph{His envy of Connor for being in Gryffindor.} + +\emph{His envy of Connor for being the favored of their parents.} + +\emph{His hatred of Dumbledore, for agreeing with him and using him as a +pawn, and giving him the Sword of Gryffindor, which had burned him.} + +The shards of the phoenix song in his mind stirred and pushed back, +trying to reassert themselves. Harry had long since lost his breath to +scream, but he knelt, hands around his head, and gasped and trembled. He +could not hate Connor the way the self from the box wanted him to. How +could he? Connor was a child, and had been possessed by Riddle even as +he had, and was a victim of their parents even as he was. + +But how could he hate his parents? + +An absolute torrent of images answered him. + +\emph{Ignoring him in favor of Connor.} + +\emph{Not knowing anything about his wandless magic, or praising him for +keeping it secret.} + +\emph{Their disappointment when they could not get him moved from +Slytherin to Gryffindor.} + +\emph{Lily's suspicion over the Malfoy owl, whether Harry's friends +could be trusted not to betray them.} + +\emph{The way that they had accepted the story last year, the way that +Dumbledore had accepted the story last year, about Connor defeating +Voldemort, and no one had ever asked whether Harry had been hurt or had +suffered in that battle, and no one had known how long he fought against +him.} + +\emph{His parents not coming to see him in the hospital wing when he had +battled with Riddle and lain unconscious for a week.} + +\emph{Connor lying about coming to see him.} + +He couldn't help it! He was possessed! Harry felt himself begin to +dissolve and shred on the edges of that truth. He had to think as he +always had, or what was the use of things? He could not possibly think +badly of Connor. It was not in him to do so. He had to remember that. +The things the magic wanted him to think were not true. + +But the magic steadily presented him with truths, jealousies and +resentments he had forgotten, treatment he should never have had to +endure, and yanked him forward, even as the truths he knew pierced him +again. Harry could feel his mind beginning to unravel, pushed and pulled +between those two opposing forces. + +When he heard the song begin, he thought it was imagining it, or that +the golden web in his head had grown stronger. He gasped and lifted his +eyes towards the ceiling of the Chamber, from which the music came, +blinking away blood so that he could see. + +Fawkes circled there, holding something long and glittering in his +talons. With him came fire, and with him came light, and when he circled +down and landed on Harry's shoulder, dropping the Sword of Gryffindor +not far from Harry's feet, it was as if all the beauty in the world had +entered the Chamber of Secrets. + +The phoenix bowed his head and wept on Harry's temple. His tears melted +the ice that had begun to take Harry's hair, and Harry reached up and +clutched convulsively at the warm feathers. The magic hesitated. + +He felt a third force move into his head, gently inserting itself +between him and the tattered shreds of his duty, and blocking the magic +from showing him any more memories. Relief from pain was the most +wonderful sensation Harry had ever known. This time, the phoenix's voice +that moved through his head brought true beauty and peace, and he could +finally take a breath without the urge to scream. + +Fawkes could not heal everything, of course. Harry was well-aware that +this was only temporary, that his webs were torn beyond all redemption, +and that the magic wanted to reach out and do unforgivable things to the +people who had hurt him unforgivably. But it permitted him a breathing +space, and in that breathing space he reached out and pulled the ice +back into himself. + +It collapsed in ringing shards from Draco, who abruptly gasped and +coughed and spat out half an icicle. He turned and looked at Harry, +stumbling hard enough---he'd been frozen in an awkward position---that +the mirror dropped from his hand and shattered. He didn't appear to +notice. ``Harry?'' he whispered. + +Harry turned his head from the trust and fear in that voice---fear for +him, not of him. He could not bear it. How could he tell Draco that he +was going to die in a short time? He faced Connor, and saw his brother +breathing slowly and regularly, a healthy tint coming back into his +cheeks. + +His magic stirred. \emph{You are not leaving without doing something to +him,} said the cold voice. + +Harry tried to resist, and lost. The best thing he could hope for was +not to do permanent damage to Connor. The magic would be satisfied with +nothing less than an impact on his mind, the kind that he had had on +Harry throughout the school year by stirring up his emotions and doing +unfair things and ordering him to stand aside so Ron could attack Draco +and--- + +Harry gasped and pushed away the anger. There was a time and place for +the rage, and it was not here. He reached out, and, as Connor opened his +eyes, whispered, "\emph{Obliviate}." + +Connor blinked and stared at him with glazed eyes. + +``You fought Tom Riddle,'' Harry told him quietly. ``Fawkes brought the +Sword of Gryffindor for you, and you picked it up and stabbed the +basilisk through the mouth, but not before it bit you and one of its +fangs broke off in your arm. You used the fang to destroy the diary, and +with it gone, Tom Riddle was also destroyed. Fawkes healed your wound +from the fang.'' The lies spilled from his mouth, automatic. He had +always been a good liar. + +\emph{Not for very much longer}. Almost greater than the rage and the +pain was his desire for rest, but strongest of all was his frantic +desire not to hurt anyone. He had to get them out of here as soon as he +possibly could, and then go somewhere else to die and release his magic, +in the fervent hope that it would be content to wreak havoc on its +surroundings and not Connor or their mother and father. + +Connor blinked, then nodded. ``How are we going to get out of here?'' he +whispered, looking up at the phoenix. + +Fawkes trilled once and then turned and swept his tail over them. + +``Phoenixes can carry great weights,'' said Harry, remembering something +he'd read in the books that Professor Snape had given him. \emph{I'll +see him once more, if ever.} ``He'll carry us.'' He reached up to +Fawkes, and grabbed his tail. He felt Draco grab hold behind him, +seething with silent curiosity and questions. Connor picked up the Sword +of Gryffindor, which of course did not burn him, and caught Draco's +hand. + +Up Fawkes soared, away from the Chamber and Sylarana's body, and Harry +leaned his head on the tail and wished he could cry. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +They were in the Headmaster's office. Their parents had Apparated in, +which was not a surprise, Harry thought distantly, when they heard about +their son taken into the Chamber. He knew his safety would have been one +of their concerns, but a secondary one. + +His magic lashed angrily. He calmed it, and felt the walls already +weakening. With Sylarana gone--- + +\emph{She is gone.} + +---he could not hold the cold self and the silent self much longer, but +he would have to hold them until he could fight his way free. He had +already decided what he would do. He only wanted to wait until Draco +left the office. It wasn't fair to subject him to this. + +Draco had at last gone, after admitting that he didn't remember anything +between distracting the basilisk with his mirror and finding it dead, +and Madam Pomfrey had taken charge of him. That left Harry in the +Headmaster's office with Dumbledore behind his desk, Fawkes on his +perch, the Sword of Gryffindor on Dumbledore's desk, Lily and James in +the corner with Connor between them, Sirius kneeling in front of and +hugging Connor as if his life depended on it, and Professor Snape +scowling suspiciously from a chair. Connor was telling his story, his +color high and flushed with excitement. He had no obvious wounds, and +neither did Harry, who had made sure to avoid the eyes of both men who +might be able to read his mind. + +Harry let a bit of his magic free. It was longing to be used, and he +would use it in the best way he could. + +"\emph{Fugitivus Animus Amplector}," he whispered. + +The magic flooded out of him, catching the attention of everyone else in +the room and directing it fiercely towards Connor. Harry slipped in +their perceptions, sliding down the ladder of importance to them. He had +the distinct feeling that Dumbledore had let the spell capture him, and +Snape's mind had already begun subtly struggling against it; its effect +on him would probably end when he left the room. But his parents and +Sirius were decidedly victims of it. It increased their near-obsession +with Connor into true obsession. The magic rather liked that. + +So did Harry, but for different reasons. Oh, they would grieve when they +knew he was dead, but it would be a muted grief. Harry knew Connor's +grief would be true, and he wished he could give his brother another +gift than this, but if he stayed here, he would hurt him. The anger he +had locked in the box and beneath the webs of his mind was wild in him +now, swirling around, and it wanted to hurt Connor. + +No. He could not hurt Connor. + +Harry closed his eyes as the tug-of-war began again, and sighed. He +would find nothing here. He had to leave the school as soon as possible, +and get as far away as he could. He would generate a magical explosion +when he died, he knew, but Hogwarts's wards should protect her. And then +Connor would be alive, and a true hero, and a true Gryffindor, and he +would have done all he could. + +He turned and slipped out of the room. + +He ran, silently, for Hogwarts's front doors. The walls in his head were +already collapsing. He was remembering more and more, a whirlwind of +memories, a maelstrom, dancing and catching him up, flinging him from +image to image and phantom pain to phantom pain. He was dying. He was +going to die. He had never hurt so much, and he did not think that +anything could hurt so much and live. + +He burst free from Hogwarts and ran across the grounds. Night had come. +Harry could see stars, and the rising slim crescent of the moon, and a +distant light growing from Hagrid's hut. The dark shape of the Forbidden +Forest paced him. + +He went to one knee, abruptly, as the last of the walls fell in his +head. He expected a moment of regret that he hadn't been able to get +further away. + +Then the magic roared out of him and into the heart of the sky, and +called down a storm. Harry closed his eyes and let himself be swept +away. + +\subsection{*Chapter 31*: The Heart of the +Storm}\label{chapter-31-the-heart-of-the-storm} + +Thank you so much for all the reviews! I'm glad that chapter didn't +affect people as harshly as I had thought it might. Responses to reviews +will be on my LJ. + +Here we go into almost the last chapter; after this one, there's one +more proper chapter and an interlude, and then Year 2 concludes. + +\textbf{Chapter Thirty: The Heart of the Storm} + +Snape frowned. He could feel an odd pulling sensation in his mind, the +urge to step out of the Headmaster's office and---do something. He +couldn't make out what he wanted to do, whether brew a potion or go to +the hospital wing to check on Draco, but he knew that he wanted to +leave. + +Yet how could he, when there was Connor Potter in front of him, still +listening to Dumbledore as the Headmaster told him what a wonderful +story his tale was, and how it would inspire the other students when +they heard it at the Leaving Feast? + +Snape grimaced. He could translate Dumbledore's words. \emph{Gryffindor +House has just won the House Cup. Again.} + +He glanced away from the insufferable brat, but found his eyes +returning. For some reason, hate him or love him, Connor Potter was the +center of this room. + +That made Snape suspicious. It reminded him of the effects of a spell. +He would remember the name of the spell in a moment, he was sure. It was +on the tip of his tongue, and he could not grasp it. He closed his eyes +and rubbed his head with one hand. + +``Severus?'' + +Snape glanced up. Dumbledore had noticed his distraction and was smiling +at him kindly. + +``If you would like to check on young Mr. Malfoy,'' he said gently, ``I +am sure that he would be happy to see you, as his Head of House.'' + +Snape nodded stiffly. He couldn't quite remember why he'd come to the +Headmaster's office in the first place, he thought as he left. Of course +there was the Petrified student---some Hufflepuff---and a message about +Potter going into the Chamber of Secrets to defeat Riddle, but he hadn't +known then that Draco had gone along. And why should he have? He was +hardly friends with Potter--- + +He stepped out of the office, and out of Potter's immediate vicinity, +and the realization hit him like a blow. + +\emph{Harry.} + +Snape began to run. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +He had aimed for Hogwarts's front doors, guessing that Harry would not +have gone to the hospital wing or back to the Slytherin common room. But +perhaps, he thought, as he sagged against the doors and stared at the +sight in front of him, he had instinctively felt the call of the magic +Harry was projecting. + +It was night. The stars and the moon were blazing somewhere. That +somewhere was not over Hogwarts. + +Instead, a long tail of darkness, black enough to make Snape's eyes +hurt, rose from near the Forbidden Forest and made lazy circles in the +air, growing in speed and power as Snape watched. It formed a solid wall +of whirling black wind, and it brought winter. He could feel the cold +from here. It stung his throat and the inside of his nostrils already, +and he thought that snow probably covered the lawn inside the storm +itself---assuming that there was still lawn there. The winds bore along +branches and slats of wood that might have come from the shed used to +store Quidditch gear, and once Snape thought he saw a whole tree. And +the storm was expanding, slowly but with determination. He had no doubt +but that it would be tearing at Hogwarts's wards soon. + +Worse than the physical power, though, was the magical. He could feel it +spilling over the shields that Lucius had trained him to raise, leaking +into every unoccupied corner of his body and mind and demanding his +attention. It was like the Dark Lord's power, and Snape in fact sensed a +touch of familiarity that made him wonder if it was Tom Riddle and not +Harry at the heart of this storm after all. But no; if it were, then the +power would have that familiar cruel edge Snape had felt night after +night when he still served among the Death Eaters. This was wild power, +with an undercurrent of honest rage. It was so busy exulting in its +freedom that it hadn't attacked anyone else yet. Snape supposed he could +be thankful to Merlin for small favors. + +Harry was in there. + +Harry was in need of his help. + +Snape closed his eyes, breathing lightly, and began carefully to release +the locks he kept on his own memories and his own power. In a sense, he +had had boxes of his own in his head, but fluid and safe, given that he +let the memories out every once in a while and kept them constantly in +motion. And he had seen no reason to tell Harry of the tactic, lest he +think himself justified in keeping his own box. + +These were pools of quicksilver, and from them Snape pulled his memories +of being a Death Eater, of the year that he had served willingly under +Voldemort and the year he had been a spy, of walking among death and +torture and never flinching from either. It was not courage in the way +that Gryffindors would understand it, being dark and hard and bitter, +but he needed it now. And he could not afford to lock away any +experiences he had with Dark magic at the moment. + +He opened his eyes and felt his own magic answering his call, rising in +ridged patterns like steel bars around him. He nodded once and took a +step away from the safety of the school and her wards. + +The winds grabbed him, snarling, and flung him into the air. Snape had +barely enough presence of mind to call on his own wandless magic and +cushion his landing with a charm. He built a shield over himself a +moment later, as the wind screamed and shrieked and swept by above him. + +He eyed the whirling black wall for a long moment. He thought it would +be easier if he could just get past the outer edge, but he did not know +how to shield himself from the physical force of the wind in the +meanwhile. + +So loud was the screaming of the storm, and so heavy the pressure of the +magic, that Snape did not hear the hooves crunching across the grass of +the lawn until they were close. He started and turned. A centaur stood +there, turned pale by the crazed flashes of silver lightning beginning +to play in the storm. + +Snape stared at the centaur. The centaur stared back, then turned and +inclined his head towards the storm. + +``This is the first stroke of Mars's hand, and the most dangerous,'' the +centaur said, in that low-pitched grave tone that all of them used. +``From this we might receive another Dark Lord, another champion of war. +I will take you through the storm to him, that this might not happen.'' + +Snape shook his head slowly---not in denial, but in disbelief. ``Why?'' +he asked, even as he worked his way to the edge of his shield and the +centaur knelt down, waiting for him to scramble onto his back. + +``Because he is ours, too,'' said the centaur, utter seriousness on his +face. His eyes were piercing, bright. "\emph{Vates.}" + +Snape paused for a moment. He knew the word. It meant a poet, but also a +prophet, a seer--- + +A visionary. + +Snape shook his head again and scrambled onto the centaur's back. The +moment his shield left him, he felt the wind try to blow him backwards. +He clung with all his strength, bowing his head, and the centaur bore +him forward into the storm. + +It grew darker and darker as they approached the heart. Snape knew it +didn't all come from the cloud cover that Harry's power had given the +sky. This \emph{was} Dark magic. He had not been wrong. It might be +content to throw trees around and turn the air cold for now, but sooner +or later it would unfold itself and strike, and if anyone but Dumbledore +could stop it, Snape would be surprised. It was stronger than he had +known Harry to be, stronger than he had sensed it was when Harry fought +Riddle, and the rage hovering under the surface could rise at any +moment. + +\emph{All the more reason for me to enter it and help him.} + +Snape shook his head again as the centaur, straining, his legs rising +and falling as though through water, finally took him as close as he +could go. He was not sure how he was supposed to help Harry. He knew +Dark magic, and he knew the arts of the mind---he was sure that Harry's +webs must have shredded somehow, for this to happen---but he had never +seen anything like this storm. + +``You will help him.'' + +Snape started again and turned to the centaur. ``I will try,'' he +corrected the irritating creature. ``That does not mean that I will +succeed.'' + +``The stars do not say that you will succeed, either,'' the centaur +agreed. "They say that you will try, and do a better job than many +others could, and that we will have a new Dark Lord or the beginnings of +our \emph{vates} after this evening." He turned before Snape could +question him, using the sheer bulk of his body to shield him from the +newest blast of air. ``Now, enter the storm.'' + +Snape turned and held his wand out before him. He could use wandless +magic when he needed to, but it taxed him, and he thought he would need +all his strength to deal with whatever he found inside. +"\emph{Diffindo!}" + +The black magic fell apart, cut into two neat halves, and Snape strode +forward. He felt the gap close immediately behind him, and he let out a +deep breath. He was cut off from the outside world now. + +No, that was not quite true. He was cut off from the outside world, but +he was with the small, motionless figure who lay crumpled at the center +of this storm. Snape moved forward, slowly, not able to take his eyes +off the sight. + +Harry did not appear to be breathing, though Snape knew he must be or +the magic would not have been able to continue growing. He lay as though +someone had dropped him, his head lolling to the side and his shoulders +lifted towards the sky. A thin, cold black flame appeared to cover him, +from head to feet, and stretched higher into the sky, thickening until +it gave birth to the storm. + +As Snape had thought, it was calm here, the grass still untouched, +though the air was freezing cold. It was not wind but his own awe and +fear which made him approach the boy slowly. Then he sat down beside +him, let out a deep breath, and caught Harry's chin, tilting the boy's +face towards him. + +His eyes were empty, wide and glassy and without a trace of tears. Snape +knew, had known, that Harry's expression would tell him nothing. + +There was only one way that he might learn more, and, perhaps, stop the +storm from attacking the school---and, if the centaurs and their stars +were right, prevent the rise of a new Dark Lord. + +He pointed his wand at Harry, ignoring how his hand shook. He intoned +the word, ignoring how his voice trembled. "\emph{Legilimens.}" + +Pain swallowed him. + +Snape tumbled and turned, his own consciousness awash in a sea of agony. +He could feel memories and thoughts flashing past him, too swift to be +seen, too scattered to be counted, and then he landed with a crash on +what felt like a solid floor. He fought his way to his feet, terror +making itself known in the wild beat of his heart. He had never felt +such \emph{bodily} sensations when in someone else's mind. That Harry +had created a world like this was an indication of wondrous power. + +And also loss of control. Snape lifted his head, remembering the +spiraling webs he had seen before---lately twined around the marble +block of Harry's devotion to his twin and filled with breaches full of +fog that marked the Occlumency shields. + +It was gone. It was all gone. The mind above Snape was cold and dark, +howling and hardly human, with strands of coherent thought shifting back +and forth like a spiderweb torn apart by a careless hand. He saw +memories spinning like butterflies with nothing to hold them, dying in +the endless wash of magic. He saw the shards of the golden web that he +had noticed once, far down in Harry's consciousness, crouched like a +giant insect on one side of his mind, attempting to repair itself and +failing badly, because it had nothing on the opposite side to cling to. + +It was worse than Snape had imagined, but he knew the cause at once. +\emph{His snake is dead, and in dying, she tore out every web she was +wrapped around.} + +Snape took a deep breath and moved a step forward. + +``Who are you?'' + +Snape froze for a long moment. That voice had been Harry's, at least +nominally, but it sounded like the Dark Lord. He turned, and felt the +floor shift under him, real and solid in the way that ice was. He +quelled his fear about going so far into someone else's mind. He'd had +no choice about it. + +A small figure stood before him, its head cocked to one side. Snape +could not see it very well. It seemed to be made of shadow and ice, +except for the brilliant green eyes that shone when it turned its head, +and the jagged lightning bolt scar that blazed just as green above the +eyes, shining like \emph{Avada Kedavra.} It moved towards him. Snape +felt the cold come with it. The floor beneath his feet firmed and looked +more than ever like ice. The air around him howled in utter mockery. +Snape firmed his grasp on his wand---in this mental world, he had it if +he thought he did---and waited. + +``No, wait,'' said the figure, as though in answer to a question Snape +hadn't asked. ``I know you. You're his Potions Master. The one who told +him that he shouldn't keep a box in his head, or have that snake wrapped +around so many levels of his mind.'' The figure laughed without humor. +``Looks like you were right.'' + +``Who are you?'' Snape kept his voice calm and level. He \emph{had} done +something like this once before, when he had entered Alice Longbottom's +mind on Dumbledore's request and attempted to repair the shattered +fragments of her sanity. It had not worked, but he had met a young witch +who had giggled at him and told him that she was Alice's childhood, one +intact part of her locked behind solid walls. Snape racked his brain for +the questions he had asked then. ``What is your name?'' + +The figure smiled at him, a nightmare grin of icy teeth, and the scar +and the eyes both flared wildly. ``I don't have one. I don't need one. +You could call me Harry, but I'm not all of him. Just his magic, free at +last.'' It turned and gestured at the broken, glowing golden web. ``That +kept me imprisoned. So much of me. You should feel how strong I am, how +deep.'' + +``I could,'' Snape murmured. ``The storm is your doing, isn't it?'' + +The figure ducked its head modestly. ``It is. And when Harry manages to +look out of the center of himself, then I'll expand it, and we'll tear +down the walls of Hogwarts together.'' + +"Would Harry \emph{want} to tear down the walls of Hogwarts?" + +The figure shrugged. ``I don't really care. I've been tied down most of +his life. I should get to do what I want to do.'' + +Snape allowed himself to sneer. This was not as hopeless as Alice +Longbottom's case, after all, where the bars of pain that Bellatrix had +imposed had remained motionless through all of Snape's attempts to +remove them. ``You do realize,'' he asked, coating his tones with false +solicitude, ``that the longer you are free, the less force of +personality you will have?'' + +The figure faltered, blinking at him. ``What do you mean?'' + +``Exactly what I said.'' Snape restrained his temptation to insult +this---this construct of magic, or whatever name would be appropriate +for it. ``Most wizards' magic does not have a personality of its own, +because it is free and integrated with them. You only have one because +you were tied down and compressed for so long, and the power created you +rather than do nothing. But you are free now. The further you spread, +the more things you do, the less strength you'll put towards maintaining +your own identity. Sooner or later, you'll fade, and the magic will +belong to Harry, as it should.'' + +The figure champed its teeth. Snape didn't move. He was thinking of +arrogant wizards he had confronted during his Death Eater days, Dark +wizards who had thought that the Dark Lord would never dare touch them. +He had taken much pleasure in showing them the error of their ways. He +would do the same thing now. He had always enjoyed being right. + +``You're lying,'' the figure breathed. "You \emph{must} be." + +``I am not,'' said Snape, making his voice bored. ``You said yourself +that you cannot tear down the walls of Hogwarts, not yet. You need +Harry's will and consent behind you to do that. You haven't got it. The +longer you spend waiting for it, the more compliant you'll become.'' + +The figure turned and screamed up towards the golden web. The shards of +it stirred and tried to unfold themselves again, then collapsed +crookedly back against the wall they clung to. + +``I want it back, then,'' said the figure, green eyes crazed. "If the +only way I can survive is to be confined, I want it \emph{back.}" + +Snape made a sound that was neither agreement nor disagreement, and +looked carefully back up through Harry's mind. There was a point at the +center of it that exuded the harshest cold, the blackest terror and +pain. He knew that was where he had to go. He was not looking forward to +it. + +``Good luck.'' + +Snape stared briefly at the construct of Harry's magic. It bared its +teeth, and he realized it was laughing at him. + +``Wait until you meet the silent self,'' it whispered, and then turned +towards the golden web again, trying to call it down. + +Snape turned, crouched, and then launched himself upwards, heading +straight for that center of blackness. He felt the walls part to embrace +him this time, without his having to cut through them as he had through +the storm. + +In a moment, he hovered in a second dark well, one that shut out every +sight of the tattered mess that Harry's mind had become. He could see +nothing but blackness, hear nothing but silence, feel nothing but cold. + +It became quite obvious, however, that he was not alone in that +darkness. + +Snape felt \emph{something} else move to encircle him, rubbing against +his body like a snake made of ice. He lifted his imagined wand in front +of him and breathed, "\emph{Lumos}." His voice sounded far breathier +than he would have liked, given everything. + +The thing revealed itself. It was a snake, at least in form, and it +shone silver. It turned and met his eyes with green ones. + +Snape saw. + +He saw the memories that Harry had put in the box, endless arrays of +them, envy shuttered and shuffled aside, talent denied, connections +destroyed, everything but duty forsaken. Cruelty justified and supported +was there, and neglect excused with any one of a thousand breathy +sentences. Snape could hear a chorus of voices crying out in his head, +most of which sounded like Lily Potter, all beginning with "\emph{But if +you only knew everything, then you would understand\ldots{}}" + +Snape did not know how old Harry had been when these memories began, but +he looked young in at least some of them, perhaps no older than three or +four. He felt his breath catch, and then his heart start beating again, +as though it had stopped when the snake began to show him the memories. + +He had been a Death Eater. He had been a Dark wizard, and still was, in +the sense that he knew the Dark Arts. He had sometimes thought that his +sense of right and wrong had long ago drained away from him. He had made +his choices, but for selfish reasons as much as anything else. His +courage was nothing that a Gryffindor would recognize. + +He learned in that moment that he still had a sense of right and wrong. +What these memories indicated was wrongness, and he felt emotions +swelling in him in answer. Because it might have been too difficult or +compromising to separate them all out, he translated the emotions into +rage. That would work better. + +He reached out and put one hand on the snake's head. His fingers tingled +and then lost all feeling. Snape ignored them. He met the snake's green +eyes and spoke the words carefully. + +``Take me to Harry.'' + +The green eyes studied him. + +``I want to help him,'' said Snape. + +The snake---the silent self, the magic had called it---would have known +if he had lied. It turned and flowed away from him instead, leading him +through barriers that parted like smoke around him. They would have held +like steel, Snape knew, if he had wanted to harm Harry. + +Or, more likely, he would have simply died. The silent self was +practical. It would slaughter its enemies, which were Harry's enemies +and those who had hurt him, Snape thought, and never experience a moment +of regret. + +He hoped fervently that there was a way Harry could harness and master +that practicality. + +The last barrier parted, and then they were in front of a small, +shattered, broken heap. The silent self floated away. Snape knelt in +front of the tattered bunch of emotions and memories, and wondered where +he should begin. + +He took a deep breath. There had to be a foundation to any mind, a +guiding pattern that exemplified the shape it took. And much as he hated +it, he knew what the foundation had to be, too. There was only one that +Harry would respond to, particularly in this state, with his own +survival instinct and his power separated from the center of him. + +``Harry,'' he whispered. ``Harry, do you remember your brother?'' + +The heap in front of him stirred. Then Harry's voice spoke from around +him, infinitely weary and infinitely tattered. ``Do I have to?'' + +Snape closed his eyes. He could admit that what he was feeling was pity, +at least to himself. ``Yes. Unless you know of something else that will +anchor you and bring you back to yourself?'' + +He could feel the negation before Harry spoke it. ``No. I---how did you +get in here? Why did they let you through?'' + +``I wanted to help,'' said Snape carefully. ``Harry, it will not be the +same as it was before, even if you use your devotion to your brother as +the anchoring pattern. For one thing, the web tying down most of your +magic is gone. You'll need to master it, and to use it at least some of +the time.'' He extended one arm and let his own magic blaze around him. +``When the effort of not using my own Dark magic is too much, I go into +the Forbidden Forest or conjure a target and spend it harmlessly there. +I can show you how to do the same thing.'' + +``I don't want to,'' Harry whispered. "I swallowed part of Tom Riddle's +power, in the Chamber. I don't \emph{want} that much magic." + +``But you have it,'' said Snape, making sure that his voice sounded +gentle. To his surprise, it really didn't take that much effort. ``And +you should use it, Harry. Otherwise, it will make an impact on the +world, and not one that you desire. It has its own personality at the +moment, and its own desire for freedom. If you try to deny it, the same +thing will happen again. And perhaps this time you will kill someone +else, instead of trying to escape doing so.'' + +Harry let out a little sob. "But the---I---my parents are \emph{afraid} +of me, Professor." He laughed bitterly, and Snape felt the silent self +stir nearby, filled with memories. ``That was why they tried to tie my +magic down in the first place. They didn't want me to become another +Dark Lord. How am I supposed to avoid that?'' + +``You are closer now to becoming another Dark Lord than you have ever +been,'' said Snape. + +He knew he was taking a horrible risk, and he felt the silent self surge +towards him, ready to hurt him if Harry was hurt. But Harry merely +froze, and then whispered, ``Why? I don't understand.'' + +``Because this magic is being ignored,'' said Snape. "Just as your envy +and resentment of your brother built over all the years that your +accomplishments were ignored, the magic built, and what you have done to +exercise and train it is not enough. And now you are stronger than ever. +This \emph{must} be used, Harry, not pushed away or cast aside. I very +much doubt that you could ever cage it again." + +Harry was silent for a long time. Snape tamed his impatience, his fear +that the magic was doing irreversible things to Hogwarts and its grounds +and perhaps the students inside, and waited. Some things could not be +rushed. + +``It's not true that I don't want it,'' Harry whispered at last. ``It's +true that I want it too much.'' + +The air around them surged, and turned noticeably warmer. Snape dared to +breathe a bit more easily. "That \emph{is} the truth," he said softly. +``But consider this, Harry. You have always wanted to defend your +brother, is that not true? And others?'' + +Harry glanced up at him and nodded slowly. + +``Master this,'' said Snape, with a sweep of his arm that was meant to +indicate the storm and the shattered bits of Harry's personality and the +silent self and everything else, "and you can do wonderful things as +easily as hurtful, Harry. You can protect. Defend. Guard. \emph{Heal.}" +He saw the boy's head lift then, as if hearing a trumpet call, and +pressed on. ``There is no law that says every powerful wizard must fall +to the Dark.'' + +``I thought there was,'' Harry muttered. + +Snape quelled the surge of protective fury. \emph{That will wait.} ``I +will help you,'' he said. ``Draco will help you. Anyone whom you choose +to take into your confidence will help you.'' + +Harry looked at him keenly for a moment. Then he said, ``You saw the +golden web, Professor?'' + +Snape nodded. + +``That was meant to tie my magic down,'' said Harry, an edge of +bitterness slipping into his voice. ``Amid other things that I don't +even know yet. And I know who created it.'' He let his breath out. +``Dumbledore.'' He stared hard at Snape. "That means that, if you stand +with me and train me, then you're acting against Dumbledore. And I +\emph{know} you're loyal to him." + +Snape felt the world around him wrench into utter clarity. + +He had suspected this for some time. All he had been able to learn about +the web was that it was most likely powerful Light magic, and compelled +Harry to act in defense of his brother---somehow. But that had been +enough. If it were not a Dark spell, then Voldemort could not have set +it, and the Potters were not that strong. It was Dumbledore's work. + +Dumbledore, who had protected him and believed him when he fled the +Death Eaters. Dumbledore, who had supported him in the Order of the +Phoenix when the others would have cast him out. Dumbledore, who had +saved him from Azkaban. + +Dumbledore, who had protested that Sirius Black was merely playing a +prank when he nearly sent Snape to die on Remus Lupin's fangs. +Dumbledore, who had made no secret in the last years of how much he +favored Gryffindor House. Dumbledore, who had set the golden web on +Harry's magic. Dumbledore who, it seemed, had \emph{Obliviated} Remus +Lupin. + +Snape had accepted Harry's ridiculous story about Lockhart +\emph{Obliviating} the werewolf because he had wanted to. If he could +pretend just a little longer, then he could avoid confronting the fact +that his mentor was someone who would meddle with a child's mind and +magic. He could pretend that his loyalty to Dumbledore was +uncomplicated, that the man was a paragon of Light. + +He had chosen ultimate loyalties twice in his life, twice sworn to +follow a powerful wizard and meant it. Must he do it a third time? + +He opened his eyes and looked down at Harry. + +Yes, he must. And he must do it again and again if he had to. Only +Gryffindors thought the world was so simple as to require one choice and +one choice alone. And Snape was no Gryffindor. + +\emph{I will choose every day if I have to.} + +He stretched out his hand to Harry. ``I will help you,'' he said. ``If +you promise me that you will strive to master your magic and your +memories.'' + +Harry blinked, then gave him an astonishingly sweet smile. ``Thank you, +Professor,'' he said, and moved forward to clasp Snape's hand. + +Snape felt the moment when Harry reached out and claimed control of his +mind. A voice that thrummed in his head and his very bones said, +\emph{That is enough.} + +The pain and the magic both screamed back at him. He could not think to +rebuild himself into a whole person, not yet. The damage had been too +extensive. How was he to deal with his memories? How was he to deal with +his power? He had denied both most of his life. How could he heal +himself wholly in the wake of that? + +Harry's answer was as silent as the cold snake with the green eyes, and +as simple as his destructive rage. He was not trying to heal himself +wholly, not yet. He was trying to heal himself just enough to restrain +his power and learn to master it, Snape thought, watching in a daze. He +had never known the boy could do something like this. + +He had never, of course, been present in the reconstruction of someone +else's mind, let alone Harry Potter's. + +Harry touched the golden web first, unfolding the shattered pieces of +it, testing its strength. It held up under his probing hands, and Snape +heard Harry sigh. Dumbledore's magic was still stronger than Harry's +desire to be rid of it. It had to go somewhere, had to attach to +something. + +Harry found the perfect place for it, winding it around the steadiest +part of himself, his trained devotion to his brother. The golden web +glued itself to the rock and held there. Snape nodded. He was not +surprised that Harry had chosen a foundation of duty. The time when he +could wake from that, if ever, was far in the future. + +Above the web, Harry gathered up the memories that had tossed like dying +butterflies in his mind, drew them in, and breathed them out. Snape +blinked as flashes of color lit the darkness like green and silver and +blue lightning, save that when the flashes faded, they left behind +bridges as well as afterimages, fragile patterns that stretched across +the deepening gulfs. Harry's thoughts were unlikely to be linear for a +time, Snape knew, but this method would work to \emph{let} him think, at +least. + +Between the scattered, acknowledged memories went the memories from +Harry's box, silver webs that filled the color with ice. Snape shuddered +at the sight of them, but Harry simply placed them, one by one, and +moved on. At least he knew it would do no good to ignore them any +longer, Snape thought, though he did not know how long it would take +Harry to deal with them. + +Then he turned and beckoned to his magic. + +It slunk towards him. Snape could feel that it had already lost a great +deal of its sentience, its individual personality, and it snarled at +Harry instead of speaking. It appeared to have diminished in the +shadow-figure it could cast, as well, and now looked to consist of a +pair of green eyes and a green lightning bolt. + +Harry held out his hand, and \emph{pulled}. + +Snape watched as the magic flooded into Harry, and then outward, through +him and around, acknowledged and embraced, no longer denied. Harry +embedded it as jewels in the walls of his mind, green crystals and +golden and black. Snape blinked. It was perhaps the most beautiful thing +he had seen. + +Faintly, he heard a protest. \emph{But I was free---} + +And Harry's voice, impatient. I \emph{was free. You are not just me. You +are mine.} + +The magic's voice fell silent. + +Harry took a deep breath, and then turned towards something behind +Snape. Snape turned, as well, and saw the silver snake floating there, +its green eyes fixed on Harry. Harry closed his own eyes briefly. + +Snape opened his mouth to ask a question, then shut it. Harry had dealt +with the memories from the box that birthed the silent self in the first +place, or had created a way of eventually dealing with them. He had not +yet confronted the rage that lay behind them, the urge to destroy. + +Harry stood there for a long time. The silent self waited. Snape curled +his fingers into his fists. He could not imagine what was racing through +Harry's mind, or why he was hesitating. + +\emph{A new Dark Lord, or a new} vates---\emph{whatever the last is. I +must be mad, to stand here and let him do this on his own.} + +But, mad or not, there was no other option, so Snape waited. + +Harry clenched his hands into fists. ``I want to destroy,'' he said. +``Several people, really. But it will take a while.'' + +The silent self abruptly rushed towards him and slammed into him. Harry +closed his eyes and gasped. Snape could not look away as he watched +black lightning skim up and down Harry's face and body. It tightened, +solidified, and then wrapped him in a dark cocoon. From behind it, +Harry's voice emerged, weary. + +``This is the last time I'll be able to speak to you so clearly for a +while, Professor,'' he said. ``My mind's going to look like a mess from +outside.'' + +Snape was unable to contain his snort at the understatement. + +He could feel Harry smiling. "I---I used \emph{Fugitivus Animus +Amplector} on my parents and Sirius. I should have some time before +they're even able to focus on me and think about me properly. But I +don't trust myself. I can hold the rage, but I can't damp it or get rid +of it. Promise me that you'll get me away from them for at least part of +the summer? I don't trust myself not to kill them." + +Snape nodded. ``Though you mistake the source of my concern,'' he +couldn't help adding. ``I am much more concerned about what they might +do to you.'' + +``Thank you, Professor,'' said Harry quietly. ``Farewell.'' + +Snape found himself abruptly kneeling on the grass of Hogwarts's lawn. +He lifted his head and coughed, staring around. + +The walls of the storm had collapsed. The lawn was scattered with +branches and odd drifts of snow that looked at least a foot thick, but +it was otherwise unharmed. The greatest change, Snape thought, was in +the air. Still cold, it bore the heavy aftertaste of Dark magic that had +come and gone. + +He took a deep breath and looked down at the boy in front of him, just +as Harry stirred and opened his eyes. + +There was still pain in them, and he turned his face away in the next +moment, so that Snape couldn't see the expression in them. But he was +hovering in his rebuilt mind, holding on to a fragile kind of sanity. No +matter how long the road, he seemed willing to walk it. He'd made his +choice. + +And so had Snape. + +Gently, he reached out and scooped Harry into his arms, then stood, +holding him, and began to make his slow way back to the school. There +were so \emph{many} things to be done, so many people to confront and +rage at, and so many decisions to be made in the attempt to heal +Harry---not least, where Harry should go over the summer. + +Somewhat to his surprise and confusion, Snape found that he was quite +looking forward to making them. + +\subsection{*Chapter 32*: The Boy Who +Survived}\label{chapter-32-the-boy-who-survived} + +I'm very, very happy that readers liked the last two chapters so much. +Thank you! Review responses on LJ later. + +This is the last proper chapter of Year 2; there will be an interlude +also posted today, and then Year 2 ends. Year 3, {Comes Out of Darkness +Morn}, begins on Friday. Look for me then! + +\textbf{Chapter Thirty-One: The Boy-Who-Survived} + +Snape hadn't gone far towards the school when he heard footsteps +pounding behind him. Curious, he glanced back. He wondered if Hagrid had +come out of his hut to check on the damage to the Forbidden Forest. If +he had, then Snape would make him useful and send him to Madam Pomfrey +so that she could have a bed ready for Harry. + +His perspective altered dramatically when he realized that the two +figures running towards him were a wizard and witch---in fact, a wizard +and witch he knew, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. They must have Apparated +as close as they could to Hogwarts and run the rest of the way. Snape +narrowed his eyes and waited for them, gently shifting Harry against his +chest when he moaned. + +Narcissa was the first to reach him, her hair trailing behind her like a +cloud of moonlight. ``Severus,'' she said, barely taking the time to nod +to him. ``The wards on the Manor sensed---magic from Wiltshire.'' Even +here, Snape thought, she was not going to say aloud that those wards +were tuned to strong Dark magic, perhaps more keenly than any others in +Britain, and could identify where it was coming from. ``Has something +happened to our son?'' + +Snape said, ``In a sense.'' Narcissa's face tightened so much that he +hastened to reassure her. ``Not to him, but to someone he values very +much.'' He shifted so that she could see Harry lying against his chest. +He did not think that he needed to explain. It would take too long to +probe all the details of what had happened anyway, and she would be able +to sense the power rolling off the boy. + +``Ah, no,'' said Narcissa softly. + +Snape stared at her. She did not look \emph{quite} as stressed as she +had when she assumed Draco was hurt, but it was close. She put out a +trembling hand to stroke the hair back from Harry's forehead, and Snape +was so astonished that he let her. Narcissa winced at the sight of the +red, silver-limned lightning bolt scar. + +``I know that my son values him,'' she explained, without looking away +from Harry. ``He is nearly all that Draco talked about this summer. And +I have reason to suspect that he is a more suitable friend for Draco +than most.'' She lifted her eyes to Snape's. ``Please, tell me what +happened.'' + +He would have, but Lucius came close then and said something +unfortunate. + +``It had something to do with the rising of our Lord, I thought,'' he +said, with a gesture to his left arm, ignoring his wife's sharp glance. +``And now I am here, and there is no risen Dark Lord.'' He paused for a +moment, his eyes narrowed and filled with some complicated, cold +emotion. ``I am disappointed.'' + +That was, perhaps, the most stupid thing he could have said. + +Snape's rage was still very near the surface. And angering him had been +known among the Death Eaters as a tactical error. Only Bellatrix +Lestrange was worse, and Bellatrix was often too angry to take any +coherent revenge. Snape never was. + +He didn't need his wand, which was a good thing, as getting it would +have meant shifting his arms from under Harry. He merely focused on +Lucius and breathed, "\emph{Sectumsempra.}" + +The spell had barely flown before a voice from the general vicinity of +his chest shouted, "\emph{Protego!}" + +Snape's spell hit the misty shield that had formed in front of Lucius, +and Snape barely ducked aside in time as it came back at him. He watched +it fly past, and endured regret---both that he hadn't managed to hit his +intended target, and that Harry gave a little shudder and moan after +protecting Lucius, the effort of actually using his magic still too much +for him. + +Snape moved so that he could see Harry's face, and snarled, ``Why did +you do that?'' + +Harry glared back at him, as much as he could glare when he looked weary +to the bone. ``Because,'' he said, "he's Draco's father. That means I +value him. And honestly, he said that to test \emph{you}. That was part +of the dance." He rolled his neck, slowly, so that he could see Lucius. +``I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy,'' he said formally. ``That spell was launched +to protect me, and I am the one who must ask that you forgive its use. +Do you?'' + +Lucius was frozen. Snape felt a self-congratulatory smirk spreading +across his face despite the mistake that Harry said he'd made (and damn +purebloods, anyway, with their dances and their games). At least events +had moved so fast that Malfoy hadn't been able to keep up with them, +either. + +Lucius gave a deep, choked cough, as though the \emph{Sectumsempra} had +actually hit him after all, and then nodded. ``Of course, Mr. Potter,'' +he said. ``And I ask that you forgive my\ldots{}callous remark.'' His +eyes landed on Snape again, and this time they had the proper wariness +in them. ``I had not known that you had such a fierce protector.'' + +Snape decided there might be mockery in those words. If so, he was +determined to ignore it. He simply nodded and then turned back towards +the school, Harry cradled more closely against his chest than ever. He +was going to put him in the hospital wing, instruct Pomfrey to let no +one near him except Draco, and then go to Dumbledore. There were some +things that needed to be said. + +To his surprise, both Malfoys walked behind him. Snape met Narcissa's +gaze, and only Narcissa's. ``Draco is safe, I said,'' he murmured. + +``I know,'' said Narcissa softly. "And I would still like to know what +happened. I \emph{know} you, Severus. Why did you become so angry at +Lucius when he talked of the Dark Lord's return?" + +\emph{This, at least,} Snape thought, \emph{Harry cannot cast a spell to +interfere with.} ``Because your husband is the reason that Harry is like +this,'' he said, and had the satisfaction of seeing her eyes widen. ``He +gave him a diary at the beginning of the year that turned out to contain +a piece of the Dark Lord's memory. It possessed Harry and destroyed a +good portion of his mental defenses. And now Harry's mind is ripped to +pieces by that and the destruction of his familiar, who was bonded to +his mind. You can see why I would not be in the best of moods around +Lucius.'' + +The rage was still there, but he could contain it, and even better was +watching Narcissa turn around, standing like a wall between Snape and +her husband, and draw her wand. Lucius stopped walking, a look of utter +bafflement on his face. + +``Narcissa---'' + +"\emph{Silencio,}" Narcissa said, and Lucius's mouth refused to work. +Narcissa went on without a pause. ``Lucius Abraxas Malfoy,'' she said, +very slowly. ``Did you think that you could hurt someone who is dear to +my son and not have me find out?'' + +Lucius just stared at her. + +Narcissa moved a step forward. "You \emph{knew}," she hissed, with a +viciousness in her voice that Snape thought would have done credit to +Harry's snake. "You \emph{knew} that Draco needs him, and you still +tried to destroy him." + +Lucius made some gesture that Snape knew would attempt an +explanation---probably trying to say that he had not known the diary +contained a fragment of the Dark Lord at first. From the look on +Narcissa's face, it wouldn't have been enough even if he could say it. +Snape watched in glee. + +``If what I suspect will happen now happens,'' said Narcissa, her voice +gone smooth and dark, "then I \emph{will} make sure he is safe from you, +Lucius. And if that means that Draco and I must leave the Manor for the +summer, so be it." She glared at her husband for a long moment, all +poised, cold beauty. ``I am disgusted with you,'' she added, and turned +towards Snape, holding her arms out for Harry. + +Snape hesitated briefly, then handed the boy over. ``He needs to be +taken to the hospital wing immediately, Narcissa.'' + +``I am not an idiot, Severus,'' she said. ``Unlike some people standing +on this lawn,'' she added, and swept away. + +Lucius must have managed the nonverbal counterspell, as he gasped out, +``What does she think she's doing?'' + +``Choosing her loyalties,'' Snape told him, and then turned away to find +Dumbledore and do the same thing. + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +``Come in, Severus.'' + +Snape determined not to be put off by the fact that Dumbledore had known +it was him before he knocked on the door to the Headmaster's office. He +opened the door instead, stepped inside, shut it behind him, and fixed +his gaze on Dumbledore. + +\emph{How can he look so normal?} he thought, when Dumbledore merely +returned his gaze blandly. \emph{Does he know what news I bear with me? +Does he know what I have discovered? I would think not, and yet\ldots{} +I have been fooled before.} + +Snape called gladly on his rage again. He was not trying to match magic +with the Headmaster, and there was no Harry to interfere this time. He +narrowed his eyes and drawled, ``How long did you think this could +continue before I discovered the truth, Albus?'' + +``I have no idea what you are talking about, Severus,'' said the +Headmaster cheerfully. ``I'm not omniscient, you know. Sherbet lemon?'' + +Snape shook his head. He didn't take a seat, either, even though +Dumbledore was clearly looking between him and the nearest chair. ``I've +seen the web that you put in Harry's mind,'' he said. "I know that you +had something to do with suppressing his magic and changing the course +of his thoughts. Did you \emph{really} think that no one would ever find +out?" + +Dumbledore sighed. ``Ah, yes. The web was necessary, Severus.'' He sat +back and met Snape's gaze calmly, as if he really thought that would be +all. + +``Necessary,'' Snape echoed. "Just as his training in wandless magic was +necessary, I suppose, and his blind devotion to his brother, and the +utter \emph{shattering} of his mind that he's experienced now?" + +Dumbledore's face changed. ``I had assumed that young Harry's familiar +would stabilize him,'' he murmured. + +"His snake is \emph{dead}, Albus!" Snape slammed a palm into the middle +of the Headmaster's desk. ``She died in that Chamber! And don't think +for a moment that I'm accepting Connor Potter's story as the real one. +He believes it, yes,'' he added, as Dumbledore opened his mouth. "That +does not make it true. And I will no longer stand back and allow that +kind of truth to obscure my mind. \emph{I} was the one who stabilized +Harry, Albus. \emph{I} was the one who discovered the truth about what +you've done to him, and about what your precious Gryffindors have done +to him." He was breathing hard by the end of it, his magic sparking and +snapping at its shields. ``Give me one good reason that I should not +take this to the Ministry and see you sacked for condoning and enhancing +the abuse of a helpless child.'' + +Dumbledore's face was stern. ``I had faith in your skills as a +researcher, Severus,'' he said. ``It seems that I overestimated them.'' + +Snape simply stared at him, and waited. + +``If you had studied the phoenix web,'' Dumbledore continued, "you would +have found that not only is it Light magic, but it must be accepted +\emph{willingly.} It is not abuse, and it is not illegal. I could never +have placed the web in Harry's mind unless he had agreed to it. He chose +to become what he is, Severus, and it is our choices that make us who we +truly are. In this case, it is sacrifice for his brother. That is +Harry's role, the one chosen for him by the prophecy and his parents, +but also by his own will. I fear that you have severely underestimated +the depth of Harry's commitment to Connor. I am disappointed in you, +Severus." Dumbledore's eyes shone with that disappointment, which might +have nearly broken Snape an hour ago. + +Snape straightened his back. \emph{That was an hour ago. And if it isn't +as simple as showing the web to the Ministry and demanding they do +something\ldots{}well, I never thought it would be.} He ignored the +slight, sour taste of his own disappointment, and forged ahead. + +``He cannot truly have known what he was agreeing to when you placed the +web, Albus. How old was he? Six? Seven?'' + +``He was four,'' said Dumbledore quietly. "And he \emph{did} know. By +that age, his mother had already taught him his vows, and about the +danger that Voldemort presents to his brother." + +Snape shook his head. He wanted to say something, but his disgust and +his rage were holding him silent for now. His magic reached out instead, +and one of the odd silver instruments on a shelf behind Dumbledore +exploded with a \emph{spang.} + +Dumbledore glanced at it, then turned his calm gaze back to Snape. ``Do +control yourself, Severus,'' he scolded. + +Snape controlled himself with a massive effort. He was obviously not +going to convince Dumbledore that he was wrong. He bowed his head +slightly. ``And you are determined to persist in this?'' he asked. ``The +web has caused damage to Harry's mind, giving him headaches when he +tried to tell me---something that you had done.'' He was not sure it was +the best course to reveal that he knew Dumbledore had \emph{Obliviated} +Lupin. ``It was badly damaged by the wounds in Harry's mind, and by the +death of his snake, since she was involved in it as she was in every +other turn and twist of his thoughts. It has served its purpose. Surely +you could remove it now.'' + +``That would not be the best course,'' said Dumbledore. "I \emph{have} +made tests, Severus, to see if perhaps Harry would be trustworthy +without the web. None of them have proven so." + +``Trustworthy for what?'' Snape sneered. ``Trustworthy to trot across a +battlefield and lay his head on the chopping block?'' + +``Severus,'' Dumbledore chided him. + +Snape once again stared at him, and waited for an answer. + +Dumbledore nodded to the Sword of Gryffindor, still laid across his +desk. ``I tested Harry with the Sword. It burned him. It was reacting to +the potential in him to become like Voldemort. I cannot be sure that +Harry, free of the web, would still continue to act in the name of the +Light and goodness.'' + +Snape braced himself, then reached out his left hand and gripped the +sword's hilt. He snatched it back at once, and showed Dumbledore the +reddened blister in the center of his palm. ``You know well enough that +the Sword reacts to the presence of Dark magic in another wizard,'' he +snarled. "That is \emph{not} a final test, Albus." + +``There have been others.'' Dumbledore's face was gentle, but +implacable. ``I sent Fawkes with the Sword to help anyone in the Chamber +who might need it, the moment Minerva informed me of what had happened. +You heard young Connor's story. He used the Sword to kill the basilisk, +and Fawkes healed him of his poisoned wound.'' + +``Then why do you think Harry's magic was loose in him, if that is all +that happened?'' Snape said. He was beginning to get a headache. He had +hoped for---\emph{something} from Dumbledore. Some concession, some sign +of remorse, some sigh of grief. He had not expected to meet this wall of +quiet stubbornness. ``I know that you felt what was happening to his +mind. You practically sent me after him!'' + +``It was the presence of Riddle that caused him to react that way,'' +said Dumbledore, firmly. ``And I sent you after him because I knew that +you could, and would, choose to save him, Severus. I assume that his +magic is now under control?'' + +``Barely,'' said Snape, forcing out the words that he needed to speak +and not the ones that he wanted to use. \emph{Well, the best expression +of my feelings right now would be a wordless scream.} ``He needs quiet +and privacy for the summer. He asked me to make sure he would not have +to stay with his parents, because he is afraid that he would kill +them.'' He saw Dumbledore's brows draw down, and suspected that he had +just chalked another black mark against Harry on the old wizard's slate. +He hardly cared. ``I was planning to take him to Spinner's End with +me.'' + +Dumbledore was already shaking his head. ``You know that your wards are +not strong enough to contain magic like his, Severus. If it burst +free\ldots{} And, forgive me, Severus, but you are not anyone's first +choice for the caretaker of a child.'' + +Snape clenched his hands into fists. He would not bother addressing +Dumbledore's second accusation, but the first was true enough, and +something he had not thought of. Spinner's End was not deep-warded, +because Snape only lived there two months of the year, and because it +was not a hereditary home. If Harry created another storm, he did not +think he would be able to hold or hide it. + +And then Snape thought of another solution, and smiled unpleasantly. + +``Harry will go to Godric's Hollow for the summer,'' Dumbledore +continued, unaware of Snape's private elation. "I am sure they will +treat him well, since his life was in danger in the Chamber, or else +they will respect his privacy because of the \emph{Fugitivus Animus} +spell. Yes, I felt him cast that, and admired the touch," he added to +Snape's raised eyebrows. ``Either way, he will have the family around +him, and powerful wards.'' + +``I am not a parent,'' said Snape casually. ``And my wards are not +powerful enough.'' He took a deep breath and tried out another smile +that he hoped was less unpleasant than his first one. ``But I know a set +of parents whose wards are the most powerful in Britain, easily able to +contain Dark magic of the kind that Harry wields by nature. And they +would be more than happy to take Harry.'' + +Dumbledore stared at him for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. +\emph{Give the old man credit for that,} Snape thought, in the middle of +emotions that wanted to become laughter. \emph{He has always been +quick.} + +``Harry's parents would never agree to let him go to Malfoy Manor,'' +said Dumbledore quietly. + +"Under the \emph{Fugitivus Animus} spell? They will not care." Snape +shrugged carelessly. ``And Narcissa Malfoy is already here, Headmaster. +If you believe that you can take her from Harry's side now, with Draco +there and Harry so important to her son, then you are a better wizard +than I am.'' + +Dumbledore sat quite still for a long moment. Then he said, ``Severus, +you do not understand a great many of the choices I have made.'' + +``Nor do I want to,'' said Snape, making his voice as cool and polite as +possible. "But I understand what even half-understood truths can do. Try +to remove that spell from the Potters, Headmaster, or try to remove +Harry from the Malfoys before he is ready, and I \emph{will} go to the +Ministry. It will take only a few words in the right ears to stir +suspicion of you." He braced himself and waited. + +Dumbledore's eyes came to him, shining and sad. ``Why have you turned +against me, Severus?'' he whispered. ``I have---'' + +``Done me good, yes,'' said Snape, not in the mood to hear it. ``And +done Harry evil. You forget, Headmaster. I am a Slytherin. I know Dark +magic intimately. Whether it is Dark in name or not, I recognize the +consequences, and I will be more than happy to spread the knowledge I +have obtained---unless you make this bargain with me.'' + +He waited. Dumbledore waited. Snape thought they both wanted some sort +of invisible balance to tip, some way of yielding without losing face. +He wondered if Dumbledore would try to \emph{Obliviate} him, but +suspected that he would have done so already if he were going to. + +In the end, it was Dumbledore who gave in, and Snape suspected he did +only because he still needed Harry for his thrice-damned prophecy. He +looked away and waved a hand. ``In the end,'' he said, ``you will see +that things are falling out as they must.'' + +Snape turned towards the door without answering. He suspected the +Malfoys would already have made their own decision, but he wanted to see +and speak with them. + +And if he had anything more to say to Dumbledore, he did not know what +it could be. + +It was only when he stepped out of the office that he realized Fawkes +had not been on his perch in the corner. + +\emph{} + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +\emph{It was like a fever dream.} + +The first time Harry opened his eyes, it was to become aware of someone +clinging to him like a limpet as he lay in a bed in the hospital wing, +and that someone was Draco. + +\emph{Or maybe it's not like a limpet. Maybe it's like a shark and +remora. I'm a shark, aren't I, capable of destroying?} + +Harry gave a giggle. He sounded drunken. + +``Harry's awake,'' said Draco, in what might have been an address to +himself, or his mother, who hovered nearby, or the universe in general, +and then snuggled into Harry's shoulder and refused to move. + +Harry managed to sit up and fix his eyes on Narcissa Malfoy, who gave +him the faint, cool smile that he remembered from last Christmas. Her +eyes were much warmer, though. Harry told himself to concentrate on +that, and not the faint aura of Dark magic he could see rising from her +like a black flame. + +``Harry,'' she murmured. ``Draco has decided that you should stay with +us for the summer. That is,'' she added, with a gentle glance at her +son, ``Draco has refused to leave Hogwarts unless we let you come with +us to the Manor. And since I have no desire to leave either my son or my +son's best friend here under the control of people who have +proved---less than the best caretakers---'' Harry caught his breath at +the cold rage in her eyes ``---I have opened my home to you, if you will +be so gracious as to accept our invitation.'' Her eyes came back to him, +and her smile warmed. ``Will you accept?'' + +``Mrs. Malfoy,'' Harry managed to say awkwardly, ``are you sure that you +want me there, after Professor Snape attacked your husband?'' + +``Do not be ignorant, Harry,'' Narcissa chided him gently, and Harry +felt himself flush. Ignorance was not an acceptable part of the dance. +``You saved my husband's life, or at least his chest, this evening.'' +She tilted her head, and her eyes were diamonds. ``And I have since +found out that my husband did---certain unfortunate things to you. In +fact, we should offer you the hospitality of the Manor in abject +humility, as you would have every reason in the world not to accept. I +will personally take it upon myself to see that my husband does not harm +you while you are there.'' + +``And me,'' said Draco, tightening his hold on Harry's arm until Harry +thought he might have cut off the circulation. ``He's never going to +hurt you again, Harry. Never.'' He lifted his face, and he was smiling, +but Harry wasn't fooled. Draco \emph{never} gave up when he was holding +his head like that. + +Harry thought for a moment of raising all the potential problems with +that. He thought of cautioning Draco that Harry might someday become the +Malfoys' enemy, and then it would not be Lucius's or Snape's fault that +they were at odds. He thought of saying that he did not deserve this +hospitality. He thought of saying his Dark magic might destroy them all. + +But he could not. He needed this too much. He would warn them about his +magic, but he could not refuse their invitation. + +``Thank you,'' he murmured, and saw Draco's face light and Narcissa's +become softer. ``But---Mrs. Malfoy, my magic---'' + +``We felt it,'' Narcissa interrupted him, calmly. ``The Manor has wards +for a reason, Harry. You will be safe there.'' + +Harry licked his lips. ``You do not think I will present a danger to +you?'' + +``I would never invite anyone into my home who I thought posed a danger +to my son,'' said Narcissa. + +Harry nodded, slowly, never taking his eyes from her face. He believed +that. Draco might protest that he was safe with Harry in total ignorance +of the situation, and Merlin alone knew what kinds of games Lucius was +playing, but he could trust Narcissa. + +Abruptly, the world filled with a drifting golden haze, and Harry felt +his thoughts and magic rise like fire, trying to send him to sleep. He +yawned, and Narcissa reached out and gently touched Draco's shoulder. + +``I think we should let Harry sleep now,'' she said. + +Draco turned around to glare sulkily at his mother. ``But---'' + +``Draco,'' said Narcissa, in that way she had, and that was that. + +Draco sulked a bit, then put a hand on Harry's forehead. ``I'll see you +soon,'' he whispered, and Harry, lost somewhere beyond the gold, nodded. + +The Malfoys headed towards the entrance of the hospital wing. Harry +watched their blurring figures for a moment before his awareness +shattered on the sharp edges of reality as if he were falling down +stairs, and he fell asleep. + +\emph{} + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +\emph{Like another fever dream}: + +Harry woke to a croon he had reason to know, and a high-pitched voice +attempting desperately to keep to a whisper that he recognized after a +moment. + +``Harry Potter? Is Harry Potter awake?'' + +Harry shifted and moved until he found a comfortable position for his +aching head, then opened his eyes. A pair of brilliant black eyes met +his. Fawkes sat on the edge of his bed, and crooned again as Harry +looked back at him. Then a house elf moved into view. It took Harry +another moment to connect Dobby with the voice that had whispered to +him, because the elf wasn't wringing his hands or pinching his ears. His +face was calm and intent. + +``Harry Potter is awake,'' he whispered. ``Dobby is glad.'' + +``What are you doing here?'' Harry asked softly. ``Did you hear the +Malfoys discuss taking me home for the summer?'' + +Dobby nodded. ``Dobby's masters will say that Dobby is a bad elf,'' he +said, still whispering. ``But Dobby will protect Harry Potter. Dobby +works in the Manor. If Lucius Malfoy tries to attack Harry Potter, Dobby +will not let him.'' + +Harry experienced a brief and entirely unexpected stab of pity for +Lucius. + +He did move past it, though, when Fawkes trilled at him and moved +closer, nudging at his shoulder with his head. Hesitantly, Harry lifted +his hand and scratched the phoenix's neck. Fawkes crooned again, and +blinked slowly, like an owl. + +``Fawkes says that Harry Potter is on the road,'' whispered Dobby. +``Harry Potter is beginning.'' + +Harry felt his jaw gape slightly. ``You can understand what he says?'' + +Dobby eyed him. ``All house elves understand phoenixes, Harry Potter, +and all phoenixes understand house elves.'' + +``I never knew that,'' Harry muttered. + +``Harry Potter has never asked Dobby,'' Dobby said simply. He listened +as Fawkes uttered a stream of notes, then smiled. Harry didn't know what +to make of that smile. It was intent and dreamy, as though Dobby saw +something in the future that he truly enjoyed. "Fawkes says that Harry +Potter is on the road to being a \emph{vates}," he said. + +``What is that?'' Harry tried to force his aching brain to work. He knew +the word, he knew that, but he didn't know what it meant right now. + +``All of us know,'' said Dobby, instead of answering. ``All the magical +creatures know. House elves, phoenixes, centaurs, unicorns, dragons.'' +He shuddered convulsively as he spoke the last word. ``We know what +might happen. No prophecies, no destiny, no masters. What might happen, +if it is chosen. We wait, and we hope.'' + +Harry felt his eyes drifting shut again, despite his desire to keep them +open. ``Is that why Fawkes helped me?'' he murmured. + +Dobby's answer was nearly lost between the planes of sleep, but Harry +managed to hear it. ``Not all of it, Harry Potter. Some of it is because +he likes you.'' A pause. ``And because he is sorry.'' + +\emph{} + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +\emph{And a third dream, or occurrence, or odd meeting that Harry would +not have imagined for himself}: + +He found himself abruptly awake, staring straight up at the ceiling, but +with the consciousness that there was \emph{someone} at his bedside. He +turned his head, and saw Connor asleep in a chair, his arms piled on +Harry's bed and his head resting on top of them. + +Harry watched his brother for a moment. Connor's dark hair was ruffled +as though with wind, and the sound of his breathing was soft with +dreaming. Harry reached out a shaky hand and touched his shoulder. + +Connor jerked up, blinked, then oriented himself. They stared at each +other. + +Harry was the first to look away. He'd seen the first cracks of +childhood in his brother's hazel eyes. Connor had started to grow up. +He'd seen horrible things in the Chamber, nearly died there---both in +reality and in his altered memories---and survived. He knew about his +compulsion ability now. And he was free of Riddle's possession, probably +for the first time since Harry had sent the madman from his own mind. + +``Harry,'' Connor whispered, as if reading his thoughts. ``I---I had +Riddle in my head. I understand more about you now.'' + +Harry turned back. Connor met his gaze and gave him a thin, tremulous +smile. Harry let out a harsh breath. ``Was all of it him?'' he asked. +``I mean---were you trying to compel Hermione because of him, and did +you argue with me because of him, and did you act strangely because of +him?'' + +Connor nodded slowly. ``A lot of it. But the compulsion ability is mine. +And he had to let me out to deal with you in our conversation after +Valentine's Day. He has no clue how to confront love, Harry, no clue at +all.'' He smiled grimly, fleetingly. ``I understand him so much better +now.'' His smile dropped away, and he trained his eyes on Harry's face. +``Some of the things you said during that conversation convinced him +that you suspected he was there, so he did draw back and let me act more +naturally in the months since then. But I---I could always feel him.'' +His hand drifted up to his scar. "Such \emph{slime}, Harry, such +\emph{filth.} How did you stand it?" + +``Pretty much the same way you did, I imagine,'' said Harry, and heard +his voice crack down the middle. ``I survived.'' + +Connor caught his gaze, and his eyes were wild and fierce and bright. +Harry had never seen his brother look that way. He felt the shards of +his heart stir, just a little. + +``Yeah,'' said Connor quietly. ``We did, didn't we?'' He stood up +abruptly, and reached across the bed, and put his arms around Harry. +Harry turned his face into his brother's shoulder, and held on that way. + +``I know that something's wrong,'' Connor whispered to him. ``Mum and +Dad and Sirius haven't said one word about you since you landed here, +not one word. They don't seem to see you when I'm here and they come in. +I asked them about you once, and they were on the verge of asking who +you were. It's like you moved away a long time ago.'' He paused. ``Did +you do that?'' + +``Yes,'' Harry whispered, his voice cracking again. "I \emph{had} to, +Connor." + +``Shhh, I know,'' Connor said. His hand moved up and down on Harry's +back. ``When Mum came near your bed, your magic started spitting around +you, and a lightning bolt nearly took her down. I think it's best if you +stay apart from all of us a little while.'' He let out a breath. "I +don't think that going with the \emph{Malfoys} is necessarily the best +choice, but it's not my decision. You're leaving today, you know." + +``Today?'' Harry tried to sit back and see Connor's face, but his +brother wouldn't let him. ``How long have I been asleep?'' + +``Nearly two weeks,'' Connor said. ``They canceled our exams with all +the excitement, you know. Hermione was moping.'' Harry could hear the +smile in his voice. ``Neville and Luna were telling anyone who would +listen that you didn't Petrify them, that it was something called +Wrackspurts. And they got Smith revived, the prat, and he's been poking +me to know when you're going to get better.'' He paused for a long +moment, his hand still. ``Do---do you want to attend the Leaving Feast? +It's tonight.'' + +``I don't think I could,'' Harry said honestly, and closed his eyes. He +was already tiring again. It was less a physical than a mental +tiredness, as though his mind were weary of thinking. "I want to +\emph{rest}, Connor. That's why I'm going to the Malfoys, to rest. You +can tell the others---whatever you want." + +``I'm going to tell them the truth,'' Connor whispered back. ``That we +were both possessed, and you're the bravest person I know.'' His hands +tightened once more on Harry's back. ``And don't worry about Dad and Mum +and Sirius. I'll figure out what's going on. I promise.'' + +Harry tightened his hold back, and felt the first emotion that wasn't +tired in some fashion bubble up inside him. It was fury, and it was cold +and dark and could easily build. + +\emph{If Mum hurt me, she could hurt Connor.} + +``Write to me,'' he whispered. ``Let me know you're all right. And---and +take care of Remus for me?'' + +``Sure, Harry,'' Connor said. ``Don't worry about it. Take care of +yourself.'' + +Harry closed his eyes. The future was coming, and when it got here, he +would have to worry about any number of things. There were still the +memories to face, and his magic, and the concerns about the Malfoys, and +what Dobby had said, and what was going to happen when he finally saw +his parents again. + +But, for now, he could think about resting, healing, taking some time +for himself, and he didn't even have to feel guilty for it. + +``Ready, Harry?'' + +Harry recognized Draco's voice, and drew gently back from Connor. ``I'll +see you soon,'' he whispered. + +Connor hugged him once more, roughly, and then hopped off the chair and +made a beeline for the door. ``Malfoy,'' he said with a cool nod as he +passed Draco. Draco just scowled at him. Harry concealed a smile. + +Draco turned and looked up at him, eyes brilliant with emotions that +Harry supposed he could spend some time exploring. ``Ready, Harry?'' he +repeated. + +``Yes,'' said Harry, and he was, the world stretching clear and +crystalline around him suddenly. He looked up and saw Narcissa Malfoy +standing in the doorway, ready to carry him if he couldn't walk. ``Let's +go home.'' + +\subsection{*Chapter 33*: Interlude: Two +Letters}\label{chapter-33-interlude-two-letters} + +This is the end of {No Mouth But Some Serpent's.} The next story begins +on Friday. (If you want to know for certain when it's up, you can join +the Yahoo!Group). Many, many thanks to everyone who's come to the end of +this story with me. + +\textbf{Interlude: Two Letters} + +\emph{June 12th, 1993} + +To: Auror Department + +Ministry of Magic + +To whom it may concern, + +My name is Severus Snape, Potions Master at Hogwarts School of +Witchcraft and Wizardry. I am currently doing research into the +properties of Pensieves, in the hopes of developing a Potion that will +behave like a Pensieve for short periods of time. + +I should like to view some of the Pensieves that your department has +stored, containing records of trials deemed appropriate for public +viewing, among the following trials chosen at random: + +Trial of Mundungus Fletcher, June 19th, 1980 + +Trial of Flora Skeeter, October 23rd, 1981 + +Trial of Peter Pettigrew, November 6th, 1981 + +Trial of Hawthorn Parkinson, May 11th, 1982 + +Trial of Mundungus Fletcher, September 9th, 1983 + +Please let me know at your earliest convenience whether I may be obliged +in this matter. + +I remain, + +\emph{Severus Snape.} + +\emph{} + +\begin{center}\rule{0.5\linewidth}{\linethickness}\end{center} + +\emph{July 1st, 1993} + +Lucius: + +I trust that you will let no opportunity slip by you as you did with the +diary I asked you to fetch. You know what you need to do, and if you do +not perform your task adequately, there are others, more loyal to our +master, who will. + +I see no need for a name. You do not know who I am, and that is the way +it will remain. Know only that I stand high in our Lord's councils. + +The Dark Lord \emph{will} return. |