From 68290db9427052215bf6566516e2dbfdbcbe723f Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Tyler Davis Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2016 15:23:05 -0700 Subject: COODM quotations finished --- tex/ComesOutOfDarknessMorn.tex | 912 ++++++++++++++++++++--------------------- 1 file changed, 442 insertions(+), 470 deletions(-) diff --git a/tex/ComesOutOfDarknessMorn.tex b/tex/ComesOutOfDarknessMorn.tex index 820f676..87b2aa9 100644 --- a/tex/ComesOutOfDarknessMorn.tex +++ b/tex/ComesOutOfDarknessMorn.tex @@ -21362,19 +21362,19 @@ something awful to him. They were having a meeting tonight, you know. The vernal equinox. A reconciliation meeting. I'd been training Connor hard for it.'' -Remus felt his eyes widen. "Sirius---you didn't advise Connor to use -\emph{compulsion} on Harry, did you?" +Remus felt his eyes widen. ``Sirius---you didn't advise Connor to use +\emph{compulsion} on Harry, did you?'' Sirius glanced sullenly away from him. Remus strode forward and grabbed his old friend's shoulders, shaking him slightly. He could, if he concentrated, forget that the last time he'd -been this close to Sirius, he'd been trying to kill him. "Sirius, +been this close to Sirius, he'd been trying to kill him. ``Sirius, \emph{wake up.} Harry isn't going to be a slave, not ever again. I would think that you would welcome that and cheer him on. You were enslaved by your family's expectations for so long, until you ran away and hid with James at Lux Aeterna. Why won't you feel grateful that he managed to -escape, and even younger than you did?" +escape, and even younger than you did?'' ``You don't understand anything, Lupin.'' Sirius's voice didn't sound like him, low and chill and dusty. He wrenched himself free from Remus's @@ -21561,7 +21561,7 @@ wasn't surprised. Harry was a hell of a powerful wizard, and it smelled as though he'd finally realized it. Pansy picked herself up and scowled at her. ``Sometimes I don't like you -very much, Millicent,'' she said. "What \emph{was} it?" +very much, Millicent,'' she said. ``What \emph{was} it?'' ``Harry,'' said Millicent, with a shrug, and turned back to her book. @@ -21590,17 +21590,9 @@ some things done.} She wasn't Slytherin enough to conceal her smile. -\chapter{*Chapter 37*: Mastering -Himself}\label{chapter-37-mastering-himself} +\chapter{Mastering Himself}\label{chapter-37-mastering-himself} -Thank you for all the reviews yesterday! Writing that many different -POV's was definitely fun. - -Just one today, but there will be more in the future. - -\textbf{Chapter Thirty-Two: Mastering Himself} - -"\emph{Legilimens.}" +``\emph{Legilimens.}'' Harry stood as still as he could, and let down as many of his carefully trained defenses as he could. It was harder than he had thought it would @@ -21669,14 +21661,14 @@ that didn't work very well. Draco muttered under his breath and caught up with him a few strides later. ``He hurt you. He betrayed you. He kept trying to get that damn web on you even when you didn't want it.'' -Harry shrugged. "And he's too powerful to kill, and he controls Connor a +Harry shrugged. ``And he's too powerful to kill, and he controls Connor a good deal more than I do right now. I still care about my brother, Draco. I just don't care about him \emph{only}. I need to talk to Dumbledore. And that is the reason I need you there. If it seems at any point like I'm willing to sacrifice too much, give up things that you -don't think I should, interfere." +don't think I should, interfere.'' -"Oh, you can \emph{count} on me for that," Draco said. +``Oh, you can \emph{count} on me for that,'' Draco said. Harry gave him a small smile. ``I know.'' @@ -21745,10 +21737,10 @@ suspect that was Sirius's idea. He has been spending almost all his time on the weekends with Connor and Lily, and he seems very dedicated to the idea of renewing your bonds of family.'' -Harry nodded. "Then that is part of my bargain. I will teach my brother +Harry nodded. ``Then that is part of my bargain. I will teach my brother the things he ought to know and hasn't learned---the pureblood rituals, history, how to control his power, how to duel, how to \emph{survive}. -In return, I want him taken away from Sirius." +In return, I want him taken away from Sirius.'' ``You know that Connor will not like this,'' said Dumbledore. ``The boy adores your godfather.'' @@ -21786,10 +21778,10 @@ seemed to be. Harry decided he would have to explain further, despite the tight hold Draco had on his arm. ``Professor Trelawney gave what sounded like a true prophecy early in -February, Headmaster,'' he said. "I only heard the last three words, +February, Headmaster,'' he said. ``I only heard the last three words, \emph{stand or fall}. Ron and Connor heard the whole of it, but Connor won't tell me and Ron won't tell me, either, out of loyalty to his -friend. I thought Connor had probably come and told you." +friend. I thought Connor had probably come and told you.'' ``No,'' said Dumbledore quietly. He sat in silence for some time. Harry waited. Draco shot him a small glare. Harry ignored him. He had done @@ -21803,21 +21795,21 @@ me with your willingness to enter into this. I thought that you would despise him after what happened, turn against him.'' Harry smiled. He knew it wasn't a pleasant smile. ``You trained me too -well for that,'' he said. "I love him, sir. I always will. But I refuse +well for that,'' he said. ``I love him, sir. I always will. But I refuse to simply be a mindless weapon for him, turned against his enemies on his whims. I want to teach him how to recognize his own strengths, and to know the things that any wizard can learn. He \emph{is} the Boy-Who-Lived, but if Voldemort returned tomorrow and Connor needed to defeat him, we would all be doomed. So I think it best that he learn how to defend himself---which he was supposed to be doing by now, anyway, if -my mother's original plan had held true." +my mother's original plan had held true.'' ``He has defeated Voldemort three times,'' Dumbledore pointed out. -Harry sighed. "\emph{Twice}, sir. My magic destroyed Tom Riddle in the +Harry sighed. ``\emph{Twice}, sir. My magic destroyed Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets. I \emph{Obliviated} Connor, because my magic would have done something more permanent to him otherwise, and let him think -that he did it." +that he did it.'' Draco pinched his arm. Harry glared at him. ``What?'' he whispered. ``I would think you would be smug that I told him that.'' @@ -21858,19 +21850,19 @@ and become a war-leader, sir?'' he asked. ``The thought had crossed my mind,'' Dumbledore murmured. -Harry shook his head. "I don't \emph{want} to," he said. ``I know there +Harry shook his head. ``I don't \emph{want} to,'' he said. ``I know there are some things I won't have a choice about because of the sheer strength of my magic, or because of the people I want to protect and free.'' He thought again about the webs that Dobby and Fawkes had shown him, and grimaced. He would choose to walk the \emph{vates} path when he was ready, yes, but in other ways, there hadn't been a choice from the moment he realized what a \emph{vates} was and did. There was no way he -could forget about or ignore it. "But there are other things I +could forget about or ignore it. ``But there are other things I \emph{can} choose. I'm not the Boy-Who-Lived. I'm not the general of the Light; that's you, sir. I'm not going to become a politician of some sort just because that would make people comfortable. And the phoenix web has made me hate giving orders. I can't see myself at the head of an -army. I can't see myself at the head of any sort of force, really." +army. I can't see myself at the head of any sort of force, really.'' Draco pinched his arm. Harry glanced at him, and saw Draco's eyes widened in something that looked like a mixture of surprise and @@ -21900,7 +21892,7 @@ That's one of my major ambitions.'' ``And another?'' Dumbledore was smiling too, encouraging, as though he thought he could trust Harry now. -"To become a \emph{vates.}" +``To become a \emph{vates.}'' Dumbledore's smile vanished, and he sat up. ``I hope that you think on that long and hard, Harry,'' he intoned. ``After all, the wizarding @@ -21943,14 +21935,14 @@ Sure enough, Draco started as they rode the moving staircase downwards. with false sweetness. ``What was that about not wanting to lead?'' Harry shifted to face him. ``I'm hardly going to ignore the alliances -I've forged with the purebloods, Draco,'' he said. "That's not what I +I've forged with the purebloods, Draco,'' he said. ``That's not what I meant. But I'm not going to march out at the head of some army, either. That's absolutely ridiculous. Why should I? When former Death Eaters like Hawthorn Parkinson turn against Voldemort and ally themselves with me, it's not in the hope that they'll be able to sneak back to Voldemort when he rises again. They know that he wouldn't forgive that kind of betrayal. They \emph{are} committed to my goals, and my goals are -Connor's and Dumbledore's." +Connor's and Dumbledore's.'' ``No, they aren't,'' said Draco. @@ -21974,13 +21966,13 @@ He stopped. Draco was staring at him. Harry waited until they were beyond the gargoyle, and then asked, ``What? Are you stunned by my brilliant plan, or by my pretty face, or what?'' -Draco blushed fiercely, but cleared his throat and said, "Do you really +Draco blushed fiercely, but cleared his throat and said, ``Do you really \emph{trust} them, Harry? I don't. I think they'll twist back on themselves the moment they realize that \emph{you} trust them, and don't want to hurt them. There were some purebloods who fought on Dumbledore's side in the last War, you know. And look at them now. The Weasleys are still poor. Black's fucked in the head. Do you think most of us want to -follow their example?" +follow their example?'' Harry groaned. ``The Weasleys have been poor for a long time,'' he said, as he started back towards the dungeons. ``And you know what happened to @@ -21993,18 +21985,18 @@ have helped the Weasleys, if he really wanted to. And he sure hasn't done a good job of helping Black. If that's his `protection' for those dearest to him, then I don't think any of us want it.'' -Harry sighed. "Did any of the purebloods really think that I was going +Harry sighed. ``Did any of the purebloods really think that I was going to turn my back on my brother and plunge wildly into some---I don't even know what it would be they would \emph{want}. Leading a rogue band of -outlaws on a crusade of vigilante justice?" +outlaws on a crusade of vigilante justice?'' -``Of course not,'' said Draco, with a sniff. "Vigilante justice is so +``Of course not,'' said Draco, with a sniff. ``Vigilante justice is so \emph{crude.} No, Harry. What we want is someone who'll speak up for us, who will lead legal fights against the Ministry, who will defend our homes and families and traditions against any kind of threat, whether -that's Mu---Muggleborns trying to destroy our culture---" +that's Mu---Muggleborns trying to destroy our culture---'' -"No one is out to \emph{destroy your culture,} Draco---" +``No one is out to \emph{destroy your culture,} Draco---'' ``Or other purebloods attacking us in the throes of war,'' Draco finished stubbornly, and slapped a hand on the wall that hid the @@ -22012,26 +22004,26 @@ Slytherin common room, preventing the door from opening. Harry turned around to face him, glaring. Draco didn't seem at all intimidated. His own face wasn't worked into a glare, but a simple stern look, as inflexible as the silver masks that Harry knew members of the Malfoy -family had once worn to funerals. "We have a different view of the world +family had once worn to funerals. ``We have a different view of the world than you do, Harry. You know our customs, but you don't know all the political realities. Of course, growing up as isolated as you did, that's not surprising. And we're willing to teach you, and allow you -some time to learn them. +some time to learn them.'' -"But, sooner or later, we're going to need you for more than just sheer +``But, sooner or later, we're going to need you for more than just sheer physical defense against the Dark Lord. We \emph{want} a leader. I know that my father wouldn't have started truce-dancing with you if he wanted no more than a defender. I know what the truce-dance ultimately leads up to, and that's not the sort of connection that two soldiers forge with -each other. It goes much deeper." Draco leaned closer. ``You know that +each other. It goes much deeper.'' Draco leaned closer. ``You know that too, Harry, or you would never have answered him. Why did you?'' ``Because it began as something I could do for my brother,'' Harry said -through his teeth. "If the Malfoys weren't fighting him, then he had +through his teeth. ``If the Malfoys weren't fighting him, then he had less chance of dying. I wanted to turn his enemies into friends. I intended your family to be part of \emph{his} army, originally. Connor really will have to lead armies. Voldemort won't leave him alone until -he does." +he does.'' Draco cocked his head. ``This isn't about your brother anymore, Harry. It never was, but you were too blind to see that. So see it now. I've @@ -22039,8 +22031,8 @@ been writing to my mother a lot, talking to her. You've read those letters. And you read those books on the Guile family and compulsion and Lords that she sent me. People aren't following you just to follow your brother by proxy or to get protection from---'' Draco took a deep -breath, and forced the name out. "\emph{Voldemort}. They're following -you for you." +breath, and forced the name out. ``\emph{Voldemort}. They're following +you for you.'' Harry grunted. He supposed he would have to think about it. What he did know was that he was no more suited to be what the purebloods wanted him @@ -22106,10 +22098,10 @@ makes it less likely to burst out of control.'' ``That sounds like a good thing,'' Harry ventured, hoping to make Snape smile, but his guardian only nodded absently. -``But,'' Snape whispered, "your magic obviously does not have +``But,'' Snape whispered, ``your magic obviously does not have \emph{enough} to do. Or its strength simply overflows your mind. So it is changing a small portion of the world around you into a reflection of -your thoughts." +your thoughts.'' Harry felt a chill travel down his spine. ``I don't know what that means,'' he admitted. ``Are oaks going to start sprouting through the @@ -22127,11 +22119,11 @@ occupying. They may begin hearing what you think, or---'' Snape halted. ``I might start compelling them,'' Harry finished with a sigh. -Snape shrugged. "Yes. Yet a different kind of compulsion from any you +Snape shrugged. ``Yes. Yet a different kind of compulsion from any you have done so far. There, other wizards, dazed by the strength of your magic, simply gave in to your desires. This makes them think that your desires \emph{are} their own. In a deeper form, it might ultimately grow -over their minds so as to make them part of your forest." +over their minds so as to make them part of your forest.'' Harry swallowed. He wanted to panic, and that meant he was not going to. ``Is there any way that I can stop that?'' @@ -22170,9 +22162,9 @@ shapes of trees and flowers, but he found only one that pleased him. ``A garden?'' he asked, looking up at Snape. ``Will that work?'' -Snape's lip curled again. "If you think I am going to teach you to +Snape's lip curled again. ``If you think I am going to teach you to construct mental gazebos and beds of roses, Potter, you \emph{may} think -again." +again.'' Harry laughed, and used the laughter to ease past the moment of blinding, panicked fear, about what his magic might already have done to @@ -22184,20 +22176,13 @@ recognize my mistakes and my shortcomings, and go on.} ``No gazebos or beds of roses, sir, I promise,'' he said. ``I was thinking more a hedge maze.'' -Snape's eyes lit in interest, and he stepped back. "Ready, Harry? -\emph{Legilimens.}" +Snape's eyes lit in interest, and he stepped back. ``Ready, Harry? +\emph{Legilimens.}'' Harry allowed the intrusion, and settled himself to the task of making his incorrigible magic obey him. -\chapter{*Chapter 38*: On the Wings of the -Storm}\label{chapter-38-on-the-wings-of-the-storm} - -Thank you for the reviews yesterday! That was a rather mild chapter. - -Now here comes the angst again! Did you miss it? - -\textbf{Chapter Thirty-Three: On the Wings of the Storm} +\chapter{On the Wings of the Storm}\label{chapter-38-on-the-wings-of-the-storm} A howl of outrage from Pansy distracted Harry from eating breakfast and mulling over how best to word his return letter to Lucius. He sat back @@ -22235,10 +22220,10 @@ laws to control and regulate any werewolves living in Britain. ``It's quite ridiculous, the amount of leeway that we've permitted them,'' huffed the Minister as he met with the press on Friday to -discuss the proposed legislation. "There are much tougher laws on the +discuss the proposed legislation. ``There are much tougher laws on the books, but we've never enforced them, out of the goodness of our hearts. And now, to learn that a werewolf would come into the Ministry and -\emph{attack} one of our valuable employees. It's an outrage!" +\emph{attack} one of our valuable employees. It's an outrage!'' The Minister is referring to Monday's attack on Walden Macnair, an executioner for the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. @@ -22252,11 +22237,11 @@ one. ``Fenrir Greyback is a blemish on all his kind,'' he told this reporter when she caught up with him on Friday after the Minister's press -conference. "He's one of the few who can pass on his bite in human form, +conference. ``He's one of the few who can pass on his bite in human form, you know, because he's so thoroughly embraced the wolf. I'm afraid of him. But that doesn't mean that we should toughen \emph{all} the laws. Other werewolves might live in harmony with us, if we just give them the -chance." +chance.'' Minister Fudge evidently does not agree. @@ -22269,7 +22254,7 @@ The Minister refused to discuss the precise content of these laws, but hinted darkly that they would be much sterner than they have been in the past. -"We can't have \emph{animals} attacking good, decent magical folk," was +``We can't have \emph{animals} attacking good, decent magical folk,'' was the Minister's last word as he left the press conference. ``It's just not right.'' @@ -22327,7 +22312,7 @@ He didn't quite manage to slip out of the Slytherin common room before Draco caught him. ``Going alone to the Owlery, Harry?'' he asked, lightly, but with a familiar tightness around his eyes. -Harry scowled at him. "Well, I \emph{was.}" He hadn't been the most +Harry scowled at him. ``Well, I \emph{was.}'' He hadn't been the most pleasant person to be around since the announcement of the Ministry's betrayal, he knew, but Draco took it in stride. @@ -22367,8 +22352,8 @@ yelped, but tried to step in front of Harry instead of scrambling away. ``Who are you?'' he asked. ``If you want to hurt him, you'll have to go through me.'' -"And you say \emph{I} say melodramatic things when I'm referring to my -brother," Harry muttered, exasperated, and dragged Draco out of the way. +``And you say \emph{I} say melodramatic things when I'm referring to my +brother,'' Harry muttered, exasperated, and dragged Draco out of the way. He nodded to Peter. ``What brings you here?'' ``I found a new hole in the wards,'' Peter murmured, his voice barely @@ -22398,7 +22383,7 @@ find anything, then you might want to go see Snape.'' expression on Peter's face. ``All right, all right, but I'm not promising anything.'' He shifted his wand so that it pointed at Peter---he still didn't trust himself to do this wandlessly---fixed his -eyes on the other man's, and murmured, \emph{"Legilimens.}" +eyes on the other man's, and murmured, ``\emph{Legilimens.}'' A brief, dizzying swirl of motion consumed him. He felt as though he were traveling forward, on the end of an arrow made of pure will. Then @@ -22532,7 +22517,7 @@ a sharp crack from ahead. It sounded like the crack of a house elf's Apparition. When he stepped around the corner, though, there was no house elf there. -Harry hurried to the door, gasped, "\emph{Dragonsbane}," and then all +Harry hurried to the door, gasped, ``\emph{Dragonsbane},'' and then all but jumped inside as the wall slid open. He tore through the common room, earning more than his share of curious looks, and then snatched open the door of their bedroom--- @@ -22659,20 +22644,20 @@ to catch you.'' Harry blinked. ``I thought they were for you,'' he said. ``The clock said you were in danger.'' -``I probably was,'' Draco said. "Snape recognized the spiders---the Dark +``I probably was,'' Draco said. ``Snape recognized the spiders---the Dark Lord had some like them, from the treasuries of some of the older Dark families. They'll obey their master's orders, go into a room and wait for a command to attack, but they're not really \emph{smart}. After a certain amount of time has passed, if they can't fulfill their orders to -attack one particular person, then they'll bite anything that moves." +attack one particular person, then they'll bite anything that moves.'' Harry sighed, as he remembered the crack of house elf Apparition. ``I think someone had a house elf watching for me, to report when I was almost in the room,'' he muttered. ``And I didn't even pause to think about it. I was too worried that you might already be dying.'' -Draco grinned at him. "You don't need to \emph{apologize} for that, -Harry. I'm flattered, really." Then he sat back, and his face assumed a +Draco grinned at him. ``You don't need to \emph{apologize} for that, +Harry. I'm flattered, really.'' Then he sat back, and his face assumed a more austere expression. ``But you do need to explain dashing out of the library so quickly that Millicent couldn't follow.'' @@ -22702,19 +22687,19 @@ Harry of making their mother a Muggle. ``How dare you!'' he screamed in Harry's general direction. -"I \emph{am} going to kill him." +``I \emph{am} going to kill him.'' Draco didn't shout the words, which was what had Harry worried. He -snapped his hand out and cried, "\emph{Expelliarmus}!" as Draco tried to +snapped his hand out and cried, ``\emph{Expelliarmus}!'' as Draco tried to draw his wand. The wand smacked into Harry's palm, and Draco gave him a furious, betrayed look. Connor was still ranting. ``How could you take me away from my lessons with Sirius?'' he shouted. He stood at the foot of Harry's bed and yelled hard enough that Harry could feel the flecks of spittle on his -face. "The Headmaster just told me. I don't \emph{know} what you did to +face. ``The Headmaster just told me. I don't \emph{know} what you did to Dumbledore, maybe you compelled him or something, that would make sense, -that's what Dark wizards do, but how could you---how could you---" +that's what Dark wizards do, but how could you---how could you---'' Connor broke off, breathing raggedly. His face was red with splotches and tears. @@ -22724,29 +22709,29 @@ if he did. Draco punched Connor in the face with all his strength. Harry heard the savage crumple of bone, and his brother fell to the floor, wailing. -"Your brother just nearly \emph{died}," Draco said, and he had never +``Your brother just nearly \emph{died},'' Draco said, and he had never sounded more like Lucius to Harry. He bent over Connor and said the words directly into his face, tone hard and cold enough to make Harry -shiver. "And \emph{you}, instead of coming here to ask after his health +shiver. ``And \emph{you}, instead of coming here to ask after his health like a concerned sibling, come here and \emph{accuse} him of trying to make life \emph{better} for you. So he's taking you away from that insane idiot you call a godfather. He's teaching you himself, did you know that? Giving up time and effort so that you can become a better -wizard." +wizard.'' Connor said something that Harry couldn't understand, given that his fingers were clamped over his face. At least part of it sounded like ``want to corrupt me,'' though. Draco's voice grew harsher and quieter. ``It's beyond me why Harry cares -for you,'' he spat. "But he does, Merlin help him, and so I'm not going +for you,'' he spat. ``But he does, Merlin help him, and so I'm not going to kill you---although I knew a few hexes that would be worth Harry's ill regard for the next two years. I'm going to insure that his life is still good, even with \emph{you} in it, you worthless piece of hippogriff dung. You won't take anything away from him. I'll \emph{drag} you into being a good brother if I have to. I'll make sure that he still smiles and laughs even while he's teaching you. And someday, I'll make -you apologize, and mean it." +you apologize, and mean it.'' He stood and moved away from Connor, who lay on the floor, sobbing. Harry sat in the middle of the bed and had no idea what to say. Draco @@ -22774,8 +22759,8 @@ it over. ``What is all this?'' Madam Pomfrey asked just then, sweeping around the corner with a tray on a strap around her neck. The tray contained -various shimmering vials of potion, Harry saw. "I step out for five -minutes, and a fight happens, in \emph{my} hospital wing?" She shook her +various shimmering vials of potion, Harry saw. ``I step out for five +minutes, and a fight happens, in \emph{my} hospital wing?'' She shook her head and set the tray down on the table next to Harry's bed. ``Into a bed, Mr. Potter---Connor. Mr. Malfoy, please leave now.'' @@ -23001,7 +22986,7 @@ asked, when he finally realized Draco was talking about Connor. the abandoned classroom they sat in, as though the newly cleared dust was about to return. -"Yes, but that doesn't tell me \emph{why}," Harry said, folding the +``Yes, but that doesn't tell me \emph{why},'' Harry said, folding the letter and tucking it in a pocket. ``He said he would be here.'' He held up the piece of parchment he'd enchanted to communicate back and forth with a piece of parchment Connor held. It was a variation of the spells @@ -23019,7 +23004,7 @@ Harry tried to hide a chuckle, though he suspected from the sidelong glance Draco gave him than he'd probably heard anyway. ``You're bored, aren't you?'' -"Well, that and he \emph{was} supposed to be here five minutes ago," +``Well, that and he \emph{was} supposed to be here five minutes ago,'' Draco said. ``You said that you would help,'' Harry reminded him. ``Of course, you @@ -23054,8 +23039,8 @@ and said, ``Welcome, Connor. I'm glad that you decided to come.'' He'd made an obvious effort to strip all the emotion from his tone, but some was still there---bubbling fury. Harry concealed a sigh, making sure he did better at it than he had hiding his laughter from Draco. -"And he told me that I can't have lessons with Sirius any more, either. -\emph{Why} did you do that?" He squinted at Harry, ignoring Draco with +``And he told me that I can't have lessons with Sirius any more, either. +\emph{Why} did you do that?'' He squinted at Harry, ignoring Draco with all the persistence of a child. ``Because I'm worried about you,'' said Harry. \emph{Remus is always @@ -23071,10 +23056,10 @@ Harry sighed. \emph{Maybe this is the place to begin, then.} He'd intended to start with practical lessons first, to get Connor used to some other kind of magic besides compulsion, but he couldn't do that if Connor absolutely refused to learn. ``Do you really think that everyone -in Slytherin is evil, Connor?'' he asked softly. "The little +in Slytherin is evil, Connor?'' he asked softly. ``The little eleven-year-olds who were Sorted into our House this year? Or the people who work in the Ministry and on the \emph{Daily Prophet} and in -Hogsmeade and in Diagon Alley and everywhere else who were Slytherins?" +Hogsmeade and in Diagon Alley and everywhere else who were Slytherins?'' ``None of them work in those places,'' Connor insisted. @@ -23092,15 +23077,15 @@ wizards all day, and he made a vow when he was twelve that he was going to use Light magic only, and he's kept it ever since. Do those sound like evil people to you?'' -"They don't \emph{sound} like it," Connor admitted reluctantly. ``But +``They don't \emph{sound} like it,'' Connor admitted reluctantly. ``But they could be hiding it. Sirius told me. That's the trouble with Slytherins. You think you know them, and then they turn out to be something else.'' He glared at Harry. ``Like you. We thought you were going to be a Gryffindor all the time we were growing up, and then it turned out that you weren't.'' -Harry sighed. "I don't think anybody \emph{planned} where I went, -Connor." +Harry sighed. ``I don't think anybody \emph{planned} where I went, +Connor.'' ``I knew,'' said Draco lowly. @@ -23116,7 +23101,7 @@ brother, under all the rage and the hate and the fear, might miss him. ``Then? I wasn't sure.'' Harry shrugged. ``Now, I think it had to do with how well I'd been trained to hide everything---'' -"Ah-\emph{ha}!" +``Ah-\emph{ha}!'' Harry rolled his eyes. ``That was Mum who trained me to hide things, not anyone else,'' he said sharply. ``No one was ever supposed to know that @@ -23147,7 +23132,7 @@ shoulder. Harry turned to face him. ``What?'' he whispered. ``He's just standing there,'' Draco snarled back. ``Like he doesn't know what to do. Like he doesn't think that his precious Gryffindor Mu---'' -"\emph{Draco.}" +``\emph{Draco.}'' ``Muggleborn, Muggleborn, I was going to say Muggleborn,'' said Draco. ``Like he doesn't think she could have made someone into a Slytherin. I @@ -23172,9 +23157,9 @@ largest number of Death Eaters were Slytherins, Harry.'' Harry shrugged. ``No, I can't. But only because Voldemort was in that House and had the most contacts among them---'' -"Ah-\emph{ha}!" +``Ah-\emph{ha}!'' -``That's really very annoying, you know,'' Harry told him. "And +``That's really very annoying, you know,'' Harry told him. ``And Slytherin House existed for almost a thousand years before Voldemort came to Hogwarts, and it went on existing after him. My \emph{point} is that not everyone who comes out of the House is evil, Connor. I'm not @@ -23184,7 +23169,7 @@ Sorting Hat separates out people who are evil or good, then why do you think there are three good Houses and one evil? Why do you think Slytherins are allowed to stay in Hogwarts at all? Wouldn't it make more sense to just exile them the moment the Sorting Hat chose them as -Slytherin, and refuse to teach them magic?" +Slytherin, and refuse to teach them magic?'' Connor waved a hand. ``It doesn't work like that. Sirius explained it to me. They have to keep Slytherins around to keep an eye on you. It would @@ -23194,11 +23179,11 @@ Light wizards.'' ``And Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw?'' Harry asked. -``I don't know,'' said Connor, with an impatient shrug. "Sirius didn't +``I don't know,'' said Connor, with an impatient shrug. ``Sirius didn't spend a lot of time talking about them. They're just\ldots{}there, I suppose. The wizards in them can be good, but that doesn't mean they're really \emph{important}. They follow Gryffindors when it comes to -fighting Slytherins, and that's enough." +fighting Slytherins, and that's enough.'' ``I resent that highly,'' said a voice from the door. @@ -23318,30 +23303,30 @@ Hermione pretended to debate with herself, pursing her lips in a way she'd got from McGonagall. ``Add another spittle, I think,'' she said finally. ``There's certainly enough flying from his lips.'' -"\emph{Hermione}," said Connor, in a deep, betrayed wail. "You're +``\emph{Hermione},'' said Connor, in a deep, betrayed wail. ``You're supposed to be my \emph{friend}. A \emph{Gryffindor}. Why are you doing -this?" +this?'' Hermione's temper flared abruptly. She wasn't sure why. Maybe it was the overdramatic self-righteous whinging that Connor was doing right now. -``Really?'' she snapped. "I was under the impression that you didn't +``Really?'' she snapped. ``I was under the impression that you didn't call your \emph{friends}, and I quote, `interfering busybodies who should know better than to think their brains give them the right to order everybody around.' I was trying to talk to you about my \emph{own} perceptions, Connor. I wasn't some pawn of Harry's. And I won't be your pawn, either. You're an obnoxious, big-headed, unappreciative, idiotic -\emph{moron} who wouldn't know friendship if it bit him on the arse!" +\emph{moron} who wouldn't know friendship if it bit him on the arse!'' The room was silent. Everyone was gaping at her, even Malfoy---all except Smith, who just turned to her and raised his eyebrows. ``And when did he call you that, Granger?'' he asked. -``Two months ago,'' said Hermione starkly. "In Divination, when I tried +``Two months ago,'' said Hermione starkly. ``In Divination, when I tried to tell him about a subject I'd learned about in a---a private meeting. Yes, I was telling him because Harry asked me to, but it was the \emph{truth.} You can't ignore the \emph{truth} just because you don't -like your brother!" The hurt rushed through her again. Connor had made +like your brother!'' The hurt rushed through her again. Connor had made no attempt to apologize about that remark, and neither had Ron. They both seemed willing to pretend it hadn't happened, instead. Hermione wished she could forget it, but she had an excellent memory, and years @@ -23358,7 +23343,7 @@ have looked more stunned if a Bludger had hit him in the head, she thought. \emph{Well, good. Maybe he can start growing up around} everyone\emph{, not just Harry.} -"Then I think your description of him was a \emph{bit} off," said Smith, +``Then I think your description of him was a \emph{bit} off,'' said Smith, his tone clinical. It reminded Hermione of the way that her father discussed tooth problems in his patients. ``I don't think he would appreciate friendship if it paraded naked in front of him, wearing a @@ -23378,14 +23363,14 @@ she thought, it was bad Muggle novels with villains who twirled their mustaches. She drew her own wand before he could get off a spell, aimed it coolly, -and said, "\emph{Tarantallegra."} +and said, ``\emph{Tarantallegra.}'' Connor began dancing. He yelped, and tried to keep his wand straight regardless, but it fell from his hand as his body gave a particularly violent jig. Smith and Malfoy were laughing openly now. Harry said, in a desperate, resigned voice that made Hermione feel sorry -for him, "\emph{Finite Incantatem.}" +for him, ``\emph{Finite Incantatem.}'' Hermione snorted in annoyance as the spell ended. She'd put a bit of extra force into her wrist when she cast that one, hoping it would make @@ -23404,7 +23389,7 @@ Connor's arm snapped out, knocking it away. Harry winced a bit and touched his wrist. Malfoy hurled a spell at Connor then, but Hermione didn't hear what it -was in the midst of Harry's barked, "\emph{Protego!}" She watched in +was in the midst of Harry's barked, ``\emph{Protego!}'' She watched in envy as the Shield Charm worked, popping up in front of Harry and Connor and deflecting Malfoy's hex, whatever it had been, away. She had tried the Shield Charm several times so far, but she wasn't getting it right. @@ -23414,7 +23399,7 @@ was her wand movement or something else that got in the way. Malfoy said in a tight voice, ``Harry, come out of there. It's hopeless. You have to see that---'' -"It is \emph{not} hopeless," said Harry, in a voice that made Hermione +``It is \emph{not} hopeless,'' said Harry, in a voice that made Hermione think he thought it was but didn't want to admit it. ``And having anyone else here was a bad idea. I need time alone with Connor. Please, Draco, just leave.'' He turned around and looked at Hermione and Smith. @@ -23430,7 +23415,7 @@ She turned around once outside the room, this time towards the library. She really was going to go there and research how best to perform the Shield Charm. -"I can cast \emph{Protego} perfectly," Smith announced from behind her. +``I can cast \emph{Protego} perfectly,'' Smith announced from behind her. Hermione turned and glared at him. Yes, he'd been funny in the classroom, but it was clear that he was still the same annoying @@ -23468,10 +23453,10 @@ hadn't lowered. ``This is important to me.'' Harry shook his head. ``I can prevent that.'' He could, too. Wards wrapped right over his skin would work. -``Not physically,'' Draco insisted. "Mentally. You're going to have to +``Not physically,'' Draco insisted. ``Mentally. You're going to have to listen to his stupid babbling. And then you'll come back to the Slytherin common room all self-doubting and needing to be reassured, -Harry. I \emph{know} it." +Harry. I \emph{know} it.'' Harry straightened his shoulders. ``I was under the impression that you didn't mind the reassuring, Draco,'' he said. @@ -23495,9 +23480,9 @@ disaster, but that wasn't Draco's fault as much as Connor's.} ``It depends on how well this one goes.'' Draco snorted and walked towards the door, pausing to look back over his -shoulder when he was there. ``He's hopeless, Harry,'' he whispered. "Too +shoulder when he was there. ``He's hopeless, Harry,'' he whispered. ``Too far gone for \emph{any} teacher to reach, I think, and not worth what -you're going to do to yourself trying to teach him." +you're going to do to yourself trying to teach him.'' Harry met his eyes calmly. ``It's my decision. And he's my brother.'' @@ -23537,7 +23522,7 @@ thick and choking, and he didn't know how to deal with them. He would just speak aloud for a while and see where that took him. ``I always knew that you were my little brother,'' he said softly. -"\emph{Little}, even though we're twins. And I fought to protect that +``\emph{Little}, even though we're twins. And I fought to protect that innocence in you. Mum wasn't going to tell you about my training, but I could have. Remember all those nights we spent comforting each other when something ridiculous had gone wrong, when Mum or Dad got upset at @@ -23549,41 +23534,41 @@ Remember how nervous you were when we came to Hogwarts? You didn't know how well you'd fit in with other people, because we'd been alone so far. You told me that you envied me for my calmness. That wasn't calmness, Connor. That was purpose. I knew I was always going to be with you. The -future was so clear." +future was so clear.'' -Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "And now, it's not. Well, +Harry took a deep breath and closed his eyes. ``And now, it's not. Well, it never was from the moment I went into Slytherin, but I wanted it to be. And you did make friends, and you did fit in. But now\ldots{}now you -don't. +don't.'' -"That's hard for you to understand, isn't it? Why people dislike you so +``That's hard for you to understand, isn't it? Why people dislike you so much. You know that you're Gryffindor, and Gryffindor is more popular than Slytherin. You know that you're the Boy-Who-Lived, and you get attention paid to you, and you don't see why that attention should be negative. You know you're a hero, and the least everyone could do is -thank the hero who saved them from Voldemort. +thank the hero who saved them from Voldemort.'' -"But, Connor, it's more than that. Dad loves you because you're his son. +``But, Connor, it's more than that. Dad loves you because you're his son. I love you because you're my brother. Sirius and Remus love you because they've known you all your life. Mum loves you insanely, fiercely, -intently. Dumbledore favors you because of the prophecy. +intently. Dumbledore favors you because of the prophecy.'' -"But either that doesn't apply to other people, or they don't care as +``But either that doesn't apply to other people, or they don't care as much. They \emph{can} love you, Connor, but you can't just demand it of them. The Slytherins won't be evil because you want them to be. Hermione won't be your friend unless you apologize or make some other effort at being friendly towards her. I know Ron sticks by you, and the Gryffindors laugh at your jokes, but they're the only ones. Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs are just as important as everyone else, and they're not -going to laugh at your jokes. +going to laugh at your jokes.'' -"I don't know how else to explain this to you, Connor. The world +``I don't know how else to explain this to you, Connor. The world \emph{isn't} the way you think it is. Things are never simple. The sooner you can get that through your head, the better off we'll all be. If Sirius told you things were simple, he was lying. If Mum told you things were simple, she was lying. \emph{She} ought to know how complicated she made her life, and mine, by teaching me to play -sacrifice." +sacrifice.'' Harry closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, ``You know what? I think that's what I hate most out of what she did. I have no idea how @@ -23682,8 +23667,8 @@ don't need to know if you don't come. It's a Dark wizards' holiday, or used to be. Some of them,'' she added, with a glance at Draco, ``think themselves too good to celebrate it any more.'' -``It's a random holiday,'' Draco said darkly. "It makes no -\emph{sense.}" +``It's a random holiday,'' Draco said darkly. ``It makes no +\emph{sense.}'' ``It stands opposite in the year from Halloween,'' said Millicent. ``That doesn't make it random, Draco.'' @@ -23704,11 +23689,11 @@ if they weren't ghosts?'' Harry nodded cautiously. -"Well, you can't see the \emph{spirits} of the dead unless you make the +``Well, you can't see the \emph{spirits} of the dead unless you make the proper sacrifices, and very few wizards or witches are willing to make -those any more." Millicent shrugged. "But \emph{everyone} can see the +those any more.'' Millicent shrugged. ``But \emph{everyone} can see the magic of the dead. And that's what comes back on Walpurgis Night, -Harry." +Harry.'' She knew from the brewing thunderstorm smell in the room that she'd caught him. Harry was possessed of magic, and possessed \emph{by} it. He @@ -23767,7 +23752,7 @@ to Hedwig's leg and asked her to carry it to Malfoy Manor. ``I know,'' said Harry. ``But you can't always get what you want, Draco.'' -"Why \emph{not}?" +``Why \emph{not}?'' Harry concealed a smile---grinning now would only encourage Draco to whine further---and shot him a sidelong glance. ``You know, you can come @@ -23839,8 +23824,8 @@ celebration. Tonight, at least.'' She looked up and winked at Harry. the year.'' Harry shuddered, staring hard at the stone. ``Um, Millicent,'' he said -quietly. "I'm not sure it will work for me. I haven't used \emph{that} -much Dark magic." +quietly. ``I'm not sure it will work for me. I haven't used \emph{that} +much Dark magic.'' ``You're thinking of Dark in terms of compulsion, the way that Professor Lupin taught us, aren't you?'' Millicent asked. The strands of silver on @@ -23850,8 +23835,8 @@ himself. ``Yes,'' he admitted. -``There's another sense of Dark, Harry,'' said Millicent calmly. "And it -holds tonight. Dark magic is \emph{wild.}" She abruptly tossed the stone +``There's another sense of Dark, Harry,'' said Millicent calmly. ``And it +holds tonight. Dark magic is \emph{wild.}'' She abruptly tossed the stone into the air. It hung there like a small dark sun, though its rays were silver instead @@ -23926,10 +23911,10 @@ giggling like a maniac half the time. ``Because of the magic,'' said Millicent, almost matter-of-factly. At least her face was flushed as though the night around them were much colder than it actually was, though, or Harry would have felt inclined -to hurt her for being so unaffected. "It's all around us. You're feeling +to hurt her for being so unaffected. ``It's all around us. You're feeling it much more than anyone else, Harry, because you're so strong. You have your own magic to deal with, \emph{and} the magic around us is drawn to -you." She smiled slightly and inched nearer to him. ``Right now, it +you.'' She smiled slightly and inched nearer to him. ``Right now, it really, really wants to make you feel happy.'' Harry blinked and turned his head to study the fire. He was still @@ -24029,8 +24014,8 @@ Harry suppressed a shiver, and nodded. ``Thank you, sir.'' For a necromancer to respond at all to the greeting was a rare honor. Pansy giggled at him. Harry saw that she had her arms wrapped around her -mother's waist, and she was grinning in his direction. "You look as -though you just \emph{met} a ghost, Harry." +mother's waist, and she was grinning in his direction. ``You look as +though you just \emph{met} a ghost, Harry.'' ``I met one who speaks to them,'' said Harry, and bowed to Dragonsbane. ``I am very glad to have seen you, sir.'' @@ -24101,9 +24086,9 @@ hand to make sure that there were no small pinpricks on it, such as might come from spider bites or poisoned rings. ``It would be crass of me not to suggest it.'' -Arabella studied him in silence for a moment, then nodded. "It has been +Arabella studied him in silence for a moment, then nodded. ``It has been years since anyone \emph{dared} to ask me to make music on a Walpurgis -Night," she said, putting the slightest emphasis on the verb. ``I should +Night,'' she said, putting the slightest emphasis on the verb. ``I should be happy to, Mr. Potter.'' She gave him a calculating smile and swept past him towards the fire. @@ -24125,7 +24110,7 @@ don't make the best of company.} \emph{Yes, but no one said anything about the necromancer and the Songstress.} -"Come \emph{on}, Harry!" Millicent called. She was standing near +``Come \emph{on}, Harry!'' Millicent called. She was standing near Adalrico and a pale, blonde woman Harry supposed was her mother. ``The festival is just about to get started!'' @@ -24212,9 +24197,9 @@ Black silhouettes of beasts were springing down the hills, and curving through the air above them, and rising up from the ground, all moving towards the silver fire. -Millicent's words returned to Harry. "But \emph{everyone} can see the +Millicent's words returned to Harry. ``But \emph{everyone} can see the magic of the dead. And that's what comes back on Walpurgis Night, -Harry." +Harry.'' And, indeed, these did look like the odd form, half-snake and half-lizard, that Harry's magic had assumed in the Chamber of Secrets @@ -24342,8 +24327,8 @@ whispered. ``They're already impressed.'' Harry shook his head again. ``No. I want to see what this ceremony is.'' Millicent said, as they walked back towards the center of the circle -where the silver fire blazed, "You know, Harry, you would make a very -\emph{good} Dark wizard." +where the silver fire blazed, ``You know, Harry, you would make a very +\emph{good} Dark wizard.'' Harry chose to ignore her. @@ -24379,8 +24364,8 @@ else regarded the cylinder with solemn expressions and made no move. ``Does someone have to enter it?'' Harry whispered to Millicent. -Millicent shook her head. "No. This is the part of the ceremony that -most often gets neglected, in fact. It \emph{does} kill people." She +Millicent shook her head. ``No. This is the part of the ceremony that +most often gets neglected, in fact. It \emph{does} kill people.'' She leaned towards him earnestly. ``It separates you entirely, Harry. Every part of you. It detaches your soul from your body, and your magic from your mind, and so on. And whether it puts them back @@ -24558,13 +24543,13 @@ it meant anything good. web, but I didn't cut at them. Only the one, to release my magic-feeding ability.'' -Snape shook his head slowly. "It is not the recklessness I am speaking -of. It is the \emph{thoughtlessness}." He heard his voice descend, +Snape shook his head slowly. ``It is not the recklessness I am speaking +of. It is the \emph{thoughtlessness}.'' He heard his voice descend, becoming icy, and realized he was angry after all. \emph{Well, Harry will just have to deal with it. This should have been solved long -since.} "You do not risk your life or your sanity quite as often or +since.} ``You do not risk your life or your sanity quite as often or quite as suddenly. You think about it first. But you still do not think -about the \emph{danger.}" +about the \emph{danger.}'' ``I do so!'' Harry's eyes flashed, and Snape felt the first faint beginnings of a headache. ``I weighed what you would think of me dashing @@ -24601,10 +24586,10 @@ the problem had been solved until five minutes after he walked out of the room, whereupon Snape would realize the explanation solved nothing at all. That tendency had only become worse in the few days since he returned from Walpurgis Night. Sometimes, Harry could not be allowed to -be as mature as Snape knew he was. "You \emph{must} begin to value +be as mature as Snape knew he was. ``You \emph{must} begin to value yourself for yourself, Harry. Not just for what you can do for others, not just as someone whom anyone else would be sorry to see die, but for -yourself." +yourself.'' Harry blinked at him. Snape fought down the temptation to simply snarl insults until they broke through the mask of indifference. It wasn't a @@ -24649,7 +24634,7 @@ compelled the boy to pay attention to him by the simple expedient of staring him down until he did. ``You need not do everything. Trained Aurors cannot find Bellatrix and her companions.'' And if he had private nightmares about them catching Harry or himself, those were no one's -business. "You \emph{can} take some of your life to do other things." +business. ``You \emph{can} take some of your life to do other things.'' ``Such as?'' Harry folded his arms. @@ -24667,9 +24652,9 @@ still thought Harry's brother a lost cause. ``Not that, then. Cast spells for fun.'' Harry gave him that impossibly gentle and impossibly infuriating look. -"I don't have \emph{time}, professor. I can't afford to use my magic for +``I don't have \emph{time}, professor. I can't afford to use my magic for frivolous things. I might get addicted to the power. Besides, I'm busy -learning spells that can be useful in the war." +learning spells that can be useful in the war.'' Snape's eyes narrowed. ``What does that mean?'' @@ -24735,8 +24720,8 @@ his eyes looked as though he hadn't got enough sleep lately to do anything more than shamble around, for all that he was glaring at Harry. Harry reminded himself again that some of those things were the inevitable consequences of having his brother and his best friend in the -same room. "Say that I \emph{do} believe you, and not all Slytherins are -evil." +same room. ``Say that I \emph{do} believe you, and not all Slytherins are +evil.'' Harry blinked and licked his own lips. He had been giving Connor another lecture for an hour already, and to break through Sirius's training so @@ -24744,13 +24729,13 @@ suddenly was not what he had expected. ``Yes?'' he said. ``Then tell me why Salazar Slytherin left a Chamber of Secrets in the middle of the school, and a monster who could kill Muggleborn -students!'' Connor said triumphantly. "He must have been evil. He could +students!'' Connor said triumphantly. ``He must have been evil. He could actually condone the murder of students, and he helped \emph{found} the -school. Why would anyone who comes out of his House be good?" +school. Why would anyone who comes out of his House be good?'' -Harry shook his head slowly. "Connor. Do you \emph{really} think like +Harry shook his head slowly. ``Connor. Do you \emph{really} think like that? Or do you have a mad gnome in your head who starts yelling -whenever you hear the word \emph{Slytherin} in any form?" +whenever you hear the word \emph{Slytherin} in any form?'' Connor flushed further, but said, ``Answer the question, Harry.'' @@ -24764,33 +24749,33 @@ But Harry did it anyway, and lost his temper. ``Slytherin may have been evil,'' he snapped, leaning forward. He felt Draco jump and look at him in what was probably excitement. Harry didn't -care. "But that doesn't mean that everyone who comes out of his House +care. ``But that doesn't mean that everyone who comes out of his House is. Fuck, Connor, don't you \emph{get} it? If you really think that a founder's character is passed down to everyone in his or her House, then you can't explain Gryffindor Death Eaters. Because how could they be -evil, if Godric Gryffindor was so pure and good?" He was yelling by now, +evil, if Godric Gryffindor was so pure and good?'' He was yelling by now, halfway across the abandoned classroom to his brother. -Connor folded his arms. "I didn't say Gryffindor was \emph{perfect}," he +Connor folded his arms. ``I didn't say Gryffindor was \emph{perfect},'' he said. ``But he was good. And most of the House is good, with just a few bad apples. But Slytherins are all evil.'' -"You great \emph{git.}" Harry felt his magic stir around him and reach +``You great \emph{git.}'' Harry felt his magic stir around him and reach out towards Connor in interest. He tried to clamp down on it, but his temper flared again when he saw Connor just smirking at him, as if to -say that Harry's little display proved his inane theory. "I gave you a +say that Harry's little display proved his inane theory. ``I gave you a list of Slytherins who weren't evil earlier, and you \emph{agreed} with -me!" +me!'' ``They aren't perfectly evil,'' said Connor. ``But they're still evil.'' -"You said they \emph{weren't!}" +``You said they \emph{weren't!}'' -Connor shook his head and clucked his tongue. "Harry, Harry, Harry. You +Connor shook his head and clucked his tongue. ``Harry, Harry, Harry. You don't understand. You can judge someone's \emph{general} character by their House. That means that Gryffindors are \emph{generally} good and Slytherins are \emph{generally} evil. So sometimes you get a few -Gryffindors who falter. It happens." +Gryffindors who falter. It happens.'' ``Then you should get some Slytherins who shine, too,'' Harry said. He barely recognized his own voice. ``That's the outcome of this supposed @@ -24805,11 +24790,11 @@ promptly went wide, but he held still. Harry wondered if he thought it would be a good idea not to anger Harry further, or if the weight of the power on his limbs simply wouldn't permit him to move. -"I don't care \emph{what} Sirius told you," Harry said. "Sirius isn't +``I don't care \emph{what} Sirius told you,'' Harry said. ``Sirius isn't Merlin. He isn't even Dumbledore. He's not right all the time---half the time---a quarter of the time. \emph{Slytherins aren't evil. Gryffindors aren't good.} What the \emph{fuck} do I have to say to get this through -to you?" +to you?'' Connor's face went pale, but he simply hung there for long seconds. He seemed to be thinking. Harry glared up at him, and kept the hope out of @@ -24824,15 +24809,15 @@ hinted, and I came to the understanding on my own. I told you what I think about Slytherins, and about Gryffindors. Those are my own opinions.'' -\emph{Oh, no you don't, brother mine,} Harry thought. "Sirius \emph{did} -tell you those things," he said, and Connor's face could have been made +\emph{Oh, no you don't, brother mine,} Harry thought. ``Sirius \emph{did} +tell you those things,'' he said, and Connor's face could have been made of milk. ``He did not,'' he said, with an undertone of desperation bubbling in his voice. ``I came to them on my own. I told you. I'm the stupid one. Isn't that what you always think about Gryffindors?'' -"\emph{I} do," said Draco. +``\emph{I} do,'' said Draco. ``Draco,'' said Harry, his magic curling around him like the mad tentacles of the Squid, ``could you please do me a favor, and shut up @@ -24854,12 +24839,12 @@ added. ``No,'' said Connor, and he was sweating, his eyes glazed and wild. Harry felt him straining against the weight of magic on his limbs, and -it was now obvious that he couldn't move. "He \emph{told} me. And it---" +it was now obvious that he couldn't move. ``He \emph{told} me. And it---'' He slammed his mouth abruptly. ``Connor---'' -"\emph{No}!" +``\emph{No}!'' Connor's magic turned wandless and fought against his own, and Harry knew he couldn't hold his brother much longer without damaging him. He @@ -24895,7 +24880,7 @@ really formed in his mind, in so many words: \newpage -"Go to \emph{bed}, Harry," said Hermione, pausing behind him in the +``Go to \emph{bed}, Harry,'' said Hermione, pausing behind him in the library. Harry blinked and looked up from the book he was reading. He scowled at @@ -24907,7 +24892,7 @@ reading to do first. But you look half-asleep on your feet, Harry.'' ``I'm sitting down.'' -"\emph{Harry.}" +``\emph{Harry.}'' Harry rubbed his face. It was true that he was tired, and if one of the other Slytherins had been with him, he would have been hustled and poked @@ -25040,7 +25025,7 @@ ban Harry from playing in the Quidditch match against Hufflepuff this weekend. It might cost them the Quidditch Cup if he did, but Harry would certainly know how seriously Snape took his crime. -"But we don't have \emph{time} for that right now," said Harry, and came +``But we don't have \emph{time} for that right now,'' said Harry, and came a step forward. His eyes were wide, his face pale, and when he turned his head, his fringe swished aside enough for Snape to see that the lightning bolt scar on his face was brilliant. ``I just found out @@ -25102,7 +25087,7 @@ Snape told himself he could smirk later, and only nodded gravely, imploring Harry to continue. Harry sprang to his feet and started pacing in front of the chair. -``Because he isn't that magically powerful,'' he said. "Oh, I know the +``Because he isn't that magically powerful,'' he said. ``Oh, I know the Boy-Who-Lived isn't going to kill Voldemort that way, but at the moment, I don't see how he could survive a duel with him long enough to kill him any other way. I've tested his power, and it's at its strongest when @@ -25112,17 +25097,17 @@ others, but if they do something that he thinks of as a betrayal, he turns on them without further compunction. He doesn't \emph{forgive.} He doesn't think of the future. He isn't interested in doing all sorts of things, like learn history and the pureblood dances, that would make him -a better Boy-Who-Lived." Harry turned and glanced sidelong at Snape. "He -doesn't \emph{love} people very often." +a better Boy-Who-Lived.'' Harry turned and glanced sidelong at Snape. ``He +doesn't \emph{love} people very often.'' The smirk would not be restrained. Snape was only thankful that Harry was too distracted to take it personally. ``And because of that\ldots{}'' he prompted. -``Because of that,'' Harry muttered, "I don't know how he \emph{could} +``Because of that,'' Harry muttered, ``I don't know how he \emph{could} be someone whose innocence and purity are essential to bringing down Voldemort. I was the sacrifice to make sure he stayed pure, but all -kinds of impurities were apparently there already." He laughed, and it +kinds of impurities were apparently there already.'' He laughed, and it was the laugh that Snape always hoped he would never have to hear again. ``Surely you do not blame yourself for that,'' Snape said. @@ -25130,11 +25115,11 @@ was the laugh that Snape always hoped he would never have to hear again. Harry gave him an odd look. ``Of course not. Not even I can be responsible for what got mixed into his character when he had the happiest and most peaceful upbringing we could conceive of.'' He sighed. -"I should have told him the truth, yes, and I wish I knew just how much +``I should have told him the truth, yes, and I wish I knew just how much I love him, but I don't think that would have necessarily made him more loving. He's known all his life that he's the Boy-Who-Lived, and the past few years that he would have to work harder, and he \emph{still} -doesn't." +doesn't.'' Snape nodded, and felt triumph irradiate him. ``And what other signs are there?'' he asked. He could give them to Harry, but he knew Harry @@ -25147,9 +25132,9 @@ his scar. ``This bleeds,'' he said. ``And I have prophetic dreams that are usually connected with Voldemort somehow---I think,'' he added. ``I never did find out what the dreams I was having this year were about. But I dreamed about Quirrell. And Tom---Tom Riddle said there was a -connection between us.'' Harry closed his eyes. "I always thought it +connection between us.'' Harry closed his eyes. ``I always thought it meant that I had a bond to my brother, and Riddle was connected to me -through \emph{his} connection to Connor. But\ldots{}maybe not." +through \emph{his} connection to Connor. But\ldots{}maybe not.'' Snape cleared his throat. He did have a bit of information to offer, something Harry could not have known. ``There is one person who might be @@ -25444,9 +25429,9 @@ could grip and lift the spoon. Having someone else feed him was the ultimate in humiliation as far as he was concerned. ``Yes,'' said Draco, crossing his arms over his chest and staring Harry -down. "Trust you to \emph{talk} to someone who just strolls into your +down. ``Trust you to \emph{talk} to someone who just strolls into your head and starts telling you that he came through your connection with -the Dark Lord." He had the sense to say the last quietly, at least, and +the Dark Lord.'' He had the sense to say the last quietly, at least, and with anxious glances at the door to make sure no one was there first. ``Snape told me what happened. Honestly, Harry. Why didn't you come and wake me up? Why did you demand clues to his identity?'' @@ -25454,8 +25439,8 @@ wake me up? Why did you demand clues to his identity?'' Harry blinked at him. ``Because you were already asleep, and I wanted to know who it was. Wouldn't you have done the exact same thing, Draco?'' -"I would have screamed like someone was using \emph{Avada Kedavra} on -me, that's what I would have done," said Draco. +``I would have screamed like someone was using \emph{Avada Kedavra} on +me, that's what I would have done,'' said Draco. Harry shook his head and sipped the porridge again. ``Yes,'' he said. ``We're two very different people, Draco.'' @@ -25468,11 +25453,11 @@ Quidditch match?'' he asked, knowing it would have taken place the first Saturday that he was unconscious. Draco's stare this time was long and slow. ``We did, Harry,'' he said, -as if talking to a first-year. "Honestly. It was \emph{Hufflepuff.} The +as if talking to a first-year. ``Honestly. It was \emph{Hufflepuff.} The only one who's worth anything on that team is Diggory, and he wasn't flying that well. We took the Snitch after only an hour, and we've got the Quidditch Cup unless Gryffindor or Ravenclaw manages to pull six -hundred points out of their arses on the next game." He nodded, looking +hundred points out of their arses on the next game.'' He nodded, looking satisfied with himself. ``Well, good,'' said Harry. ``And classes?'' @@ -25566,8 +25551,8 @@ widen. git earlier in the year.'' Harry stared at him, and lost his voice. When he found it again, it was -to say, "You call trying to kill me, and attacking Snape, and pouring -your brand of poison into Connor's ears, just \emph{being a right git?}" +to say, ``You call trying to kill me, and attacking Snape, and pouring +your brand of poison into Connor's ears, just \emph{being a right git?}'' ``I could use a stronger term, but I didn't know if you would want to hear language like that from your dear old godfather,'' said Sirius. His @@ -25668,10 +25653,10 @@ changing color, and had been seventeen different ones in the last seventeen minutes. Even now, as Snape scattered powdered newt eyes into it, it burped and changed into a purple mass. -``I don't care,'' Snape snapped. "He must have been lying, and if he was +``I don't care,'' Snape snapped. ``He must have been lying, and if he was not, there are potions that will counteract any intrusion. We have worked too long and too hard on your mind, on your Occlumency shields -and your other defenses. I will \emph{not} see you vulnerable that way." +and your other defenses. I will \emph{not} see you vulnerable that way.'' Harry looked over and rolled his eyes at Draco, who stood on the other side of the room, against the wall. Draco didn't roll his eyes back. He @@ -25751,11 +25736,11 @@ need to know the prophecy, so that we can work on it together.'' ``You are not going near anyone but other Slytherins this weekend.'' Draco's eyes were flinty. He held up a hand when Harry opened his mouth -to object. "\emph{No}, Harry. You could have fucking \emph{died.} Yes, +to object. ``\emph{No}, Harry. You could have fucking \emph{died.} Yes, \emph{again}, I know, but that doesn't make it any less important. You had a fucking \emph{voice} in your head, and you can't be trusted not to risk your health on the whim of the moment. You are staying right here -until Professor Snape finishes his potion and tests it." +until Professor Snape finishes his potion and tests it.'' ``But why?'' Harry demanded. He knew it was a stupid question, knew Draco must have been more worried than he let on all along, but this was @@ -25764,7 +25749,7 @@ odd idea that his twin might hurt him. Harry could pin Connor to the wall again if he had to. Draco's face flushed, and he leaned nearer Harry. ``Because I refuse to -let you die,'' he said. "\emph{Sit. Down.}" +let you die,'' he said. ``\emph{Sit. Down.}'' Harry sighed and sagged back into the chair. He couldn't outrun Mrs. Norris at the moment, and he supposed that taking Draco with him when he @@ -25858,7 +25843,7 @@ and Harry could see the ugly flare of the Dark Mark. Just seeing it made his scar burn, and he closed his eyes and fought back pain and nausea and the thick bile of betrayal. -"What do you \emph{want}?" Harry shouted, easing himself off the chair. +``What do you \emph{want}?'' Harry shouted, easing himself off the chair. Snape's screams were inhuman. Harry reached out towards him with magic, but found nothing that he could affect. The pain was coming from inside Snape, through the connection that he had forged long ago and of his own @@ -25883,7 +25868,7 @@ the edge over which panic would bear him. He had to do \emph{something} about that. -Harry focused all his will on Snape, and whispered, "\emph{Consopio.}" +Harry focused all his will on Snape, and whispered, ``\emph{Consopio.}'' The screams stopped as Snape fell asleep. He would have fallen, too, but Draco caught and gently laid him down. Harry stood amid the sounds of @@ -25938,7 +25923,7 @@ latter the moment the team was by. Draco gave him a sharp look. explained, before turning and concentrating on the door to Sirius's office. -"But you \emph{are.}" +``But you \emph{are.}'' Harry ignored that. He certainly was \emph{not}, and if he'd felt a brief moment of surging dizziness and nausea, that didn't matter, did @@ -26129,10 +26114,10 @@ Draco's eyes were almost black. Harry blinked so hard at that that he nearly missed Draco's words. ``If you think I'm going to let you confront your brother in this state, you're mad.'' -``Draco,'' Harry whispered, "we \emph{have} to." +``Draco,'' Harry whispered, ``we \emph{have} to.'' -Draco shook his head. "The \emph{proper} thing to do is turn this over -to McGonagall right away, if you trust her," he said. +Draco shook his head. ``The \emph{proper} thing to do is turn this over +to McGonagall right away, if you trust her,'' he said. \emph{That wouldn't be smart,} the parchment pointed out helpfully. \emph{I can hear every word you see, mark every expression on your @@ -26263,7 +26248,7 @@ has something to do with Sirius, and I know that---'' ``And you kidnapped Sirius so that I would tell it to you?'' Connor backed away from him, eyes so wide that he seemed to be drowning his -face in hazel. "Are you \emph{insane}?" +face in hazel. ``Are you \emph{insane}?'' ``No, no, not that!'' said Harry, and reached for the parchment---only to realize he'd left it on his bed. He cursed and glanced at Draco. @@ -26275,8 +26260,8 @@ and he hand his wand out, though not quite pointed fully at Connor. just going to have to be that instinct for both of us. And I'm not leaving you with your brother.'' -Harry counted to ten in his head, in Mermish. "We do not have -\emph{time}," he said. ``Please, Draco, we have to---'' +Harry counted to ten in his head, in Mermish. ``We do not have +\emph{time},'' he said. ``Please, Draco, we have to---'' ``Come to that, Harry,'' said Draco, in a cheerful voice that didn't at all give Harry warning of what he said next, ``your godfather can go @@ -26299,21 +26284,21 @@ It's important. Please? I have to know it, and I know that you know it.'' Connor shook his head, his face turned pale again. ``It says that you're -g-going to kill him,'' he stammered. "But prophecies can be shifted, if +g-going to kill him,'' he stammered. ``But prophecies can be shifted, if you try hard enough. They can \emph{shift.} If I can make it mean something else, if it does mean something else, then Sirius isn't going -to die." His eyes fixed on Harry's face with a resolve that Harry found +to die.'' His eyes fixed on Harry's face with a resolve that Harry found familiar. It came from their last lesson together, when Connor had started fighting back against him with wandless magic. And he was close to the edge of panic now, his magic plunging around him like a wild horse. ``I'm certainly not going to tell you how the prophecy says you're going to kill him,'' he whispered. -"The exact wording \emph{matters}," Harry said. ``And I need that +``The exact wording \emph{matters},'' Harry said. ``And I need that prophecy, Connor. Please. Give it to me.'' ``You could rip it out of his mind with Legilimency,'' Draco whispered -into his ear. "Damn it, Harry, \emph{do it.}" +into his ear. ``Damn it, Harry, \emph{do it.}'' ``That won't make me any better than he is,'' Harry snarled back, and hated the moment of temptation that he felt. He tried to smile @@ -26332,8 +26317,8 @@ into his own half-conscious rambling. It seemed to work. Connor's eyes turned to him, but they weren't piercing and panicked. They were dreamy, as though Harry were a figure he was seeing in his own mind. -``Yes,'' Connor breathed. "Do you \emph{swear} that you haven't -kidnapped him, Harry? Do you swear that you haven't hurt him?" +``Yes,'' Connor breathed. ``Do you \emph{swear} that you haven't +kidnapped him, Harry? Do you swear that you haven't hurt him?'' Harry nodded. ``I promise you. In the name of Merlin.'' @@ -26360,7 +26345,7 @@ the same thing as being able to prevent it. Connor's gaze moved past him and fixed on Draco, and the next moment Draco grabbed Harry's arms and held them firmly together behind his back. -"I'm \emph{not} letting you go into danger," he murmured fiercely into +``I'm \emph{not} letting you go into danger,'' he murmured fiercely into Harry's ear. Connor nodded to Harry. ``He really wants to protect you,'' he said. @@ -26394,7 +26379,7 @@ attacked, without finesse but with a great pulse of power, then he would hurt Draco. This had to be done with the fine control he had worked on with Snape. -"\emph{Consopio.}" +``\emph{Consopio.}'' Harry felt the sleep spell coming at him, and knew he could bounce it---but that would mean being prepared for an attack in the next @@ -26439,7 +26424,7 @@ anything for him so far. \emph{I am trying to.} The voice sounded injured. -Draco was already aiming his wand again. "\emph{Petrificus Totalus,}" he +Draco was already aiming his wand again. ``\emph{Petrificus Totalus,}'' he said clearly, and the spell's light came for Harry. The snake wound around his shoulders ate it without being asked, and the @@ -26454,7 +26439,7 @@ before. Draco wasn't doing this of his own free will. Harry could return his free will to him. He locked up the magic-eating ability again, caught Draco's eyes, and -whispered, "\emph{Legilimens.}" +whispered, ``\emph{Legilimens.}'' He was past the barriers in a moment; Harry wondered if that was because of the strength of his magic, called and dancing around him, or because @@ -26492,8 +26477,8 @@ Harry with ripples of protectiveness and possessiveness and friendship. Harry stumbled, but managed to retain his grip on the rope, and remembered Connor's words in the same instant. -"\emph{Reinforcing someone's deepest desires is the simplest one. And -right now, I have the perfect candidate for that."} +``\emph{Reinforcing someone's deepest desires is the simplest one. And +right now, I have the perfect candidate for that.}'' Draco really did want to protect him. Draco really did feel this affection for him. The emotions weren't unnatural, but what Draco really @@ -26564,9 +26549,9 @@ You're sweating, and pale, and frankly you look as if you should be in bed.'' Harry nodded distractedly. He didn't have \emph{time} for people -parenting him, no matter how few people seemed to believe this. "Could +parenting him, no matter how few people seemed to believe this. ``Could you reappear on the other side of your portrait and call for Hermione -Granger, please? It's \emph{vitally} important that I speak with her." +Granger, please? It's \emph{vitally} important that I speak with her.'' ``Of course, dear,'' said the Fat Lady, and gave him one more sympathetic look before she vanished. Harry waited, though he did force @@ -26592,8 +26577,8 @@ his sanity. Peter would know exactly what Gryffindors were like, having been one himself. The portrait swung outward just then, and Hermione poked her head out. -Her eyes widened when she saw him. "\emph{Harry?} Why aren't you on a -bed in the hospital wing? I don't think you should be up yet!" Her voice +Her eyes widened when she saw him. ``\emph{Harry?} Why aren't you on a +bed in the hospital wing? I don't think you should be up yet!'' Her voice was shrill, and rising further in her concern. Harry wondered, irritably, why that was the first thing anyone thought @@ -26619,7 +26604,7 @@ prophecy, short of tracking Connor or Ron down and ripping the words from their minds. Trelawney would have forgotten the prophecy the moment she made it; all true Seers did. -"You need to \emph{what.}" The last word cracked like a house elf +``You need to \emph{what.}'' The last word cracked like a house elf Apparating. Harry winced, and glanced at the parchment in his hands, but no new words had appeared. Apparently, the mysterious man, Peter or whoever he was, was willing to wait and listen to what happened. @@ -26627,10 +26612,10 @@ whoever he was, was willing to wait and listen to what happened. ``I need to use your Time Turner and go back in time to that day in Divination when Connor made you mad,'' he said. Still he kept his voice calm, though he could feel the panic boiling and straining at its leash. -"Please, Hermione. This is the only way that I can learn it, and I +``Please, Hermione. This is the only way that I can learn it, and I \emph{need} to know it. I think Connor's run off somewhere because he's so convinced that the prophecy said something about me killing Sirius. -But I don't know that for certain." +But I don't know that for certain.'' Hermione nodded slowly. ``All right. But, Harry, I've only ever gone back as far as three hours. This will be going back\ldots{}months.'' @@ -26785,7 +26770,7 @@ invisibly, and in as much silence as possible, and while keeping the chain of the Time Turner around both of their necks. Harry finally levitated the both of them, hearing Hermione squeak when he used both wandless and wordless magic to do so. But they didn't have time to wait. -Beneath them came the blast of the "\emph{Reducto!"} that had reduced +Beneath them came the blast of the ``\emph{Reducto!}'' that had reduced the spider to smithereens, and past-Harry wouldn't be far behind. Harry kept up the levitation once they were in the Tower, and they @@ -26803,7 +26788,7 @@ Trelawney's voice was a grating moan, a sound that was hardly human, and one that should have been too male to come out of the fluttering woman's throat. -"\emph{Five weeks before the time of longest light} +``\emph{Five weeks before the time of longest light} \emph{There comes one who puts lesser foes to flight,} @@ -26813,12 +26798,12 @@ throat. \emph{Of the black one's power,} -\emph{And he shall die by the wand of the sacrifice.}" +\emph{And he shall die by the wand of the sacrifice.}'' \emph{Oh, Connor,} Harry thought, his heart speeding fast enough to make him sick. \emph{No wonder you thought that I was going to kill Sirius.} -"\emph{Now comes the hour all truth is revealed,} +``\emph{Now comes the hour all truth is revealed,} \emph{Now comes the hour the gray one takes the field,} @@ -26828,7 +26813,7 @@ him sick. \emph{No wonder you thought that I was going to kill Sirius.} \emph{Now soft heart must be bested,} -\emph{And on that test he will stand or fall."} +\emph{And on that test he will stand or fall.}'' Harry saw himself come charging through the classroom at that moment, and he gripped the Time Turner and began to turn it. His past-self's @@ -26919,14 +26904,14 @@ The voice in his head had said this wasn't the kind of pain that would make him sick. ``Hermione, I can't. This is something I have to do alone.'' -"I \emph{knew} it," said Hermione, with the soft, vicious tone of a +``I \emph{knew} it,'' said Hermione, with the soft, vicious tone of a pouncing cat, and then her hand shot out and grabbed the parchment before Harry could stop her. She looked down at the writing, and her eyes widened as she read. Harry simply thanked Merlin that the whole conversation wasn't there. When she looked up, her eyes were still wide, and her face pale enough -to make her gaze stand out as drowning dark. "\emph{Harry,}" she +to make her gaze stand out as drowning dark. ``\emph{Harry,}'' she breathed. ``What is this?'' ``Something bad,'' said Harry shortly. He had to hope that the writer @@ -26934,12 +26919,12 @@ wouldn't consider Hermione's reading of his letter to be a betrayal of the game they had played so far. ``Listen, Hermione, I've got to go.'' Hermione laughed, though it was more like a bark---short and unamused. -"If you think I'm going to let you go into danger when you're this sick, +``If you think I'm going to let you go into danger when you're this sick, alone, you're mad. I won't insist that we tell any of the professors if -you don't want to, but we \emph{are} going together." +you don't want to, but we \emph{are} going together.'' -Harry shook his head. "\emph{Consopio}," he said, and Hermione fell -asleep. "\emph{Wingardium Leviosa}," he added, and eased her to the +Harry shook his head. ``\emph{Consopio},'' he said, and Hermione fell +asleep. ``\emph{Wingardium Leviosa},'' he added, and eased her to the floor. Then he snatched up the parchment, scanning it anxiously. The writer @@ -26989,7 +26974,7 @@ from there he could make his way to the Whomping Willow. He knew from seeing Sirius do it earlier in the year how to open the tunnel that led to the Shack. -"\emph{Impedimenta.}" +``\emph{Impedimenta.}'' Harry let out an involuntary cry as his feet went out from under him, and then the Disillusionment Charm boiled away like so much steam. He @@ -26998,12 +26983,12 @@ his wand out and a gleam in his eyes like some maddened hippogriff. ``You are not going anywhere,'' Snape whispered, as he stalked closer. Harry shivered. The lower Snape's voice went, the angrier he was, and -this time it was so soft as to sound like rat's paws on stone. "You are +this time it was so soft as to sound like rat's paws on stone. ``You are staying right here, and if I must bind you and knock you unconscious to keep you from risking your life, then I will. I am \emph{tired} of this, Harry. You have given me no chance to act like a true guardian. I will protect you from the consequences of your own Gryffindor-like stupidity, -if I must." +if I must.'' ``You don't understand,'' Harry whispered, struggling to stand. The jinx still wouldn't let him go, and the knock he'd taken on the head when he @@ -27015,8 +27000,8 @@ probably die if I don't get to them---'' ``Peter says that he'll sacrifice Sirius to insure the Dark Lord's return,'' Harry hissed, as he found Snape standing right over him, and -his anger came back. The stones beneath him froze. "Do you \emph{really} -want that? Voldemort, risen again and running around?" He glanced +his anger came back. The stones beneath him froze. ``Do you \emph{really} +want that? Voldemort, risen again and running around?'' He glanced pointedly at Snape's left arm. Snape's eyes flickered briefly, and then he said, ``Dumbledore has more @@ -27024,7 +27009,7 @@ than enough power to face Voldemort, and more than enough reason to hunt Pettigrew, if his golden boys are captured. Tell me where they are, and I will alert him. After placing you in the hospital wing, of course.'' -"\emph{No,}" Harry said, even as the parchment rattled. He twisted his +``\emph{No,}'' Harry said, even as the parchment rattled. He twisted his head to look at it, sprawled on the floor beside him, and saw new words appearing. @@ -27193,7 +27178,7 @@ Sirius clucked his tongue at him and lifted the ornament over his head. ``Poor Potter,'' he said, voice almost familiar. The sound was Sirius's, but the intonations were someone else's, Harry knew. ``Do you mean to tell me that you didn't figure it out? I was so sure you would.'' He -tapped the golden ornament with his wand. "\emph{Finite Incantatem}!" +tapped the golden ornament with his wand. ``\emph{Finite Incantatem}!'' The ornament shifted and shivered, and then an intricate illusion charm melted away from it. What was left was heavy and gold, and hung on the @@ -27217,10 +27202,10 @@ Sirius looked down fondly at the locket, shaking his head slightly. When he looked up, Harry could see Tom Riddle in his smile, though the intonations were not exactly the same as Tom Riddle's, and not the same as Harry had heard from Voldemort's mouth when he fought him as -Quirrell, either. "This locket lay among the Black treasures for +Quirrell, either. ``This locket lay among the Black treasures for \emph{years}. They never suspected what they had. And then your old godfather, in searching for weapons that he could use to train your -precious brother, found it and picked it up." Sirius chuckled, a sound +precious brother, found it and picked it up.'' Sirius chuckled, a sound that, like his smile, was turned sideways from what it should have been. ``And I was free. In his head, at least.'' @@ -27326,11 +27311,11 @@ godfather. I pumped your brother's ears full of poison, nonsense about Slytherins being evil and compulsion being good.'' Harry saw Connor flinch as if someone had driven needles into him. Voldemort didn't seem to notice, but his smile did turn a touch crueler, so perhaps he had. -"But, of course, you gave me the best idea yourself, or your godfather +``But, of course, you gave me the best idea yourself, or your godfather did, thinking about what you'd done. So I decided to wait until the second prophecy was about to come true, and seize the chance to take revenge on you, turn the prophecy into what \emph{I} wanted it to mean, -and change your perceptions of those who have helped you all at once." +and change your perceptions of those who have helped you all at once.'' He waited to be sure he had Harry's absolute attention---as if he had a choice about facing forward with his head clasped by the magic, Harry @@ -27422,9 +27407,9 @@ each other's minds. Voldemort had been possessing Sirius for strong, and my desire for justice firm.'' He took two steps towards Connor and moved Polaris in a broad sweep. A shimmering line of connection sprang into being between Harry and Connor, a cord that -manifested as a red glow. "With the power that comes from the connection +manifested as a red glow. ``With the power that comes from the connection between the one who has wronged me and his brother, I draw the magic, -and I draw the will. \emph{Corrumpo castimoniam}!" +and I draw the will. \emph{Corrumpo castimoniam}!'' He brought the knife down. @@ -27435,7 +27420,7 @@ over his face, or so Harry thought in the moment before his head bent back and he felt magic wash from him. He could hear Voldemort repeating, every few moments, his voice as -steady as rainfall, "\emph{Corrumpo castimoniam! Corrumpo castimoniam}!" +steady as rainfall, ``\emph{Corrumpo castimoniam! Corrumpo castimoniam}!'' Harry's mind translated the incantation, whether or not he wanted it to. \emph{I corrupt the purity.} @@ -27527,8 +27512,8 @@ could talk. He worked his jaw for a moment, eyes never moving from Voldemort's, and then said, ``I don't understand why you wanted me to know the second prophecy.'' -Voldemort shrugged. "So that you could lose further hope, of course. You -\emph{do} know that it says you'll kill your dear godfather?" +Voldemort shrugged. ``So that you could lose further hope, of course. You +\emph{do} know that it says you'll kill your dear godfather?'' Harry nodded tightly. He heard Connor's sobs coming from the corner, but couldn't turn his attention from Voldemort to comfort his brother. He @@ -27602,17 +27587,17 @@ Kreacher eased him down in the middle of the circle, his hands tender. Harry stared stonily at him. ``What I gave Severus Snape was only a taste of what I will give him -when we are done here.'' Voldemort's eyes glittered. "Not only is he a +when we are done here.'' Voldemort's eyes glittered. ``Not only is he a traitor, he dared to aid \emph{you}. He will be flayed alive, inch by inch. There are spells that can do that. I will leave him no skin but that which bears my Dark Mark, and cast the Mark on every inch of his skinless flesh. The Mark will keep him alive, but it will also prevent -any healing magic. +any healing magic.'' -"Then I will go after those you are so fond of, the young Mudblood witch +``Then I will go after those you are so fond of, the young Mudblood witch and the Malfoy boy. The Mudblood may have a fairly quick death, I think, with only a few broken limbs and mutilations first. After all, she did -help you to learn the second prophecy, and indirectly to play my game. +help you to learn the second prophecy, and indirectly to play my game.'' ``Draco Malfoy\ldots{}'' Voldemort's eyes were feral now. ``He will stay alive, and come with me. I will send him back to his father, a piece at @@ -27626,10 +27611,10 @@ best weapon right then. But he refrained, and asked, quietly, ``What will you do with my brother?'' Voldemort glanced in Connor's direction. ``Why, I have been training him -these past three months,'' he said. "It would be a shame to let such a +these past three months,'' he said. ``It would be a shame to let such a well-trained and natural compeller go to waste. \emph{Imperio} should remove any obstinate moral fixations he has, and then I have a follower -skilled in doing Dark magic." +skilled in doing Dark magic.'' Harry nodded, calmly. It was what he needed to hear. It gave him the final bit of anger he needed in order to act as he had to, and it held @@ -27641,7 +27626,7 @@ him. \emph{I am not going to fail}. -Voldemort held up one hand. "\emph{Mors Mordre}!" he said clearly. +Voldemort held up one hand. ``\emph{Mors Mordre}!'' he said clearly. A glowing green Dark Mark appeared above his head, casting sparks down into the center of the circle. The magic of the corrupted ritual @@ -27686,8 +27671,8 @@ His snake began eating the gray lump in Sirius's side, and Harry gagged. He felt as though he were drowning in filth. For the first time, it occurred to him that siphoning off Dark magic might not be a good idea. -"\emph{No}!" Voldemort cried, and chanted once again, "\emph{Corrumpo -castimoniam}!" +``\emph{No}!'' Voldemort cried, and chanted once again, ``\emph{Corrumpo +castimoniam}!'' Harry felt the ritual begin fighting him. This was still mighty magic, stronger than he was even with all he had swallowed. The sickly gray @@ -27780,7 +27765,7 @@ But, as it turned out, he did have time to say six words. held. Harry saw the bright Gryffindor courage there, the bravery in the face of death that the other Houses considered them mad for. -"\emph{Avada Kedavra}." +``\emph{Avada Kedavra}.'' And as the green light struck, killing Sirius, killing Voldemort with him, as Sirius died by the wand of the sacrifice, Harry brought his @@ -27939,12 +27924,12 @@ it to be any louder or clearer. This was about \emph{saying} things, not saying them in some dramatic manner. ``I started suspecting you were telling me the truth with a letter Mum -wrote me in February,'' Connor said to his hands. "She said that I had +wrote me in February,'' Connor said to his hands. ``She said that I had to keep fighting you, had to get you back under control. Why would she use \emph{that} phrase? She'd always said before that she just loved you, and you were the one who turned on her. But that phrase made it sound like you were right, and she'd controlled you, and she just -couldn't stand it that you'd broken the control and run away. +couldn't stand it that you'd broken the control and run away.'' ``And then the prophecy came, and I was so frightened that you would kill Sirius.'' Connor laughed unhappily, though for a moment it sounded @@ -27957,11 +27942,11 @@ were paying attention to me and trying to kill me.'' Harry had to close his eyes. \emph{How many sacrifices are there going to be in my family?} -``I was more stubborn than ever,'' said Connor. "Sometimes I was stupid, +``I was more stubborn than ever,'' said Connor. ``Sometimes I was stupid, and sometimes I acted stupid. Sometimes I really believed everything Mum and Sirius told me, and sometimes I didn't. But when I really did, then I was comfortable in what I was doing, and when I didn't, then I thought -at least you would hurt me and not Sirius. +at least you would hurt me and not Sirius.'' ``And by then, he must have been possessed.'' Connor turned his head to stare at Sirius's body. ``He was telling me that compulsion had always @@ -27973,12 +27958,12 @@ one from the basilisk's mouth, and corrupt everything that followed. There had to be absolute honesty between them, now. ``Is that why you tried to compel me in the Owlery?'' -Connor nodded. "I couldn't think of anything else to do. I thought that +Connor nodded. ``I couldn't think of anything else to do. I thought that maybe, just maybe, you would feel sorry for what you did to Mum and reconcile with us, but you didn't, and by then it was a full month after I heard the prophecy. I was getting frantic. I thought that if I could compel you to become part of the family again, then you wouldn't have -any reason to hurt \emph{anybody}, not Sirius and not Mum and not me." +any reason to hurt \emph{anybody}, not Sirius and not Mum and not me.'' ``What did you believe, out of what I said to you that day?'' Harry asked. @@ -28021,10 +28006,10 @@ were going to murder me, thinking that maybe the Headmaster would have to expel you from school if you were thought to be a dangerous lunatic. But that didn't work. And then you started the lessons, and it seemed as though that was my chance to make you so mad at me that you would never -think about Sirius again.'' He squeezed his eyes shut. "But you kept +think about Sirius again.'' He squeezed his eyes shut. ``But you kept mentioning Sirius. You kept \emph{talking} about him. I thought you were taunting me, that you had some plan to get rid of him, and you wanted me -to know that there was nothing I could do about it." +to know that there was nothing I could do about it.'' ``And when I confronted you this afternoon---'' @@ -28069,8 +28054,8 @@ in sight. ``I'm sorry,'' said Peter softly. He waved his wand, and \emph{Lumos} took fire at the tip, lighting up the cabin better than the faint beams of afternoon light still creeping through the boards on the windows. -"But there are some things \emph{we} need to talk about, and we don't -have much time to talk about them." +``But there are some things \emph{we} need to talk about, and we don't +have much time to talk about them.'' Harry frowned. ``What do you mean?'' @@ -28097,10 +28082,10 @@ spells a wand cast?'' Harry nodded, then stopped. Peter smiled gently at him. ``You get it,'' he said. -"But you didn't cast the \emph{Avada Kedavra}," Harry insisted. ``Sirius +``But you didn't cast the \emph{Avada Kedavra},'' Harry insisted. ``Sirius did. We can tell them that.'' -``I'm not sure that you would be allowed to,'' Peter said quietly. "It's +``I'm not sure that you would be allowed to,'' Peter said quietly. ``It's still an Unforgivable Curse, Harry, and I'm still a fugitive from Azkaban. I don't think that Dumbledore would let me tell them the truth, either. The phoenix web in my head hasn't moved on the surface in a long @@ -28110,11 +28095,11 @@ been able to say even this much. But my talking to the Aurors and revealing \emph{everything}? Yes, I think he was saving it for that. He must have decided that the possible damage to him from that was even greater than the possible damage if I told you about the attack on -Godric's Hollow." +Godric's Hollow.'' -His eyes turned flinty, and flashed. "I am \emph{never} going back to +His eyes turned flinty, and flashed. ``I am \emph{never} going back to Azkaban. I want to make sure that the two of you know the truth, all of -it, and then I'll leave." +it, and then I'll leave.'' ``But where will you go?'' Harry asked, feeling helpless. @@ -28129,10 +28114,10 @@ contains memories of him possessing Sirius, I don't think we need to see it.'' He moved sideways until his shoulder bumped his twin's, and felt Connor nod in agreement. -``It doesn't,'' said Peter softly. "It contains memories of \emph{that} +``It doesn't,'' said Peter softly. ``It contains memories of \emph{that} night. The attack. I think even Voldemort was growing tired of you not knowing the truth, though in his case he intended to take away your -magic and then make you despair of what you saw in here." +magic and then make you despair of what you saw in here.'' He glanced at both of them. ``Ready?'' @@ -28227,7 +28212,7 @@ lord. Only what S-Severus told you.'' Voldemort nodded. ``Best to take care of them all at once, then,'' he murmured. ``By now, Bellatrix should have destroyed the other -candidate.'' He held his wand high. "\emph{Avada Kedavra!}" +candidate.'' He held his wand high. ``\emph{Avada Kedavra!}'' The bolt of green light shot forth--- @@ -28249,7 +28234,7 @@ Harry, shaking, buried his head in his hands. Sometime along the route, he had let go of Connor's wrist. He could hear his brother's soft sobs, aching noises of disbelief and confusion. -``That was what happened,'' Peter whispered. "I was behind the Dark +``That was what happened,'' Peter whispered. ``I was behind the Dark Lord, and I could see. He cast the Killing Curse at you, Harry, then turned and cast it at your brother. While the green light still bound him and Connor, your reflected Killing Curse struck him. I've never seen @@ -28258,7 +28243,7 @@ protections against losing his own life, trying to gain immortality, and the curse had to fight that as well as actually kill him. It \emph{struggled} with him before it pulled him from his body, and the light that bound him and Connor flickered out. Then it reduced his body -to ash. His spirit fled, of course," Peter added, a deep, bitter sound +to ash. His spirit fled, of course,'' Peter added, a deep, bitter sound in his voice. ``I know that now.'' ``I don't understand,'' Connor whispered. Harry managed to lift his head @@ -28268,10 +28253,10 @@ does that mean he's the Boy-Who-Lived?'' Peter shook his head slowly. ``He's the one who killed Voldemort with a reflected Killing Curse, yes,'' he said, and gestured at Harry's -forehead. "That scar is a curse scar. But yours is as well, Connor. +forehead. ``That scar is a curse scar. But yours is as well, Connor. Voldemort was busy trying to kill you when Harry hit him. I think the second \emph{Avada Kedavra} had a chance to leave a mark on you, but -nothing else. It got interrupted in the middle." +nothing else. It got interrupted in the middle.'' Connor blinked and swallowed and swiped at his forehead. ``But---I don't understand. Mum and Dumbledore would have been able to tell that Harry's @@ -28279,13 +28264,13 @@ scar was a curse scar. Why didn't they think he was the Boy-Who-Lived, too?'' Nearly numb with shock, Harry saw Peter's face harden. ``Ah,'' he said. -"That's to do with the part that I don't think even Dumbledore knows I -saw. +``That's to do with the part that I don't think even Dumbledore knows I +saw.'' -"After I ran, I came back. I had nowhere else to go, not that night, +``After I ran, I came back. I had nowhere else to go, not that night, though I was meant to be found and go to Azkaban the next morning. And I have to admit, I was curious. I didn't know what I'd expected when I -went into the house at Godric's Hollow, but that wasn't it. +went into the house at Godric's Hollow, but that wasn't it.'' ``I came back, and crouched outside the window. That house was half-destroyed,'' he added to Harry. ``That's why they had to rebuild @@ -28294,8 +28279,8 @@ They came down the stairs with both of you in their arms, your foreheads bleeding. You were both crying.'' Peter spoke with his eyes fixed on the distance, as if that would make the memory easier to bear. -"Lily used a healing spell, and I heard them gasp when the spell -finished. The blood had cleared, but left behind scars. +``Lily used a healing spell, and I heard them gasp when the spell +finished. The blood had cleared, but left behind scars.'' ``Understand,'' Peter said, ``that wasn't supposed to happen. The prophecy said there would be one savior, clearly marked.'' @@ -28303,7 +28288,7 @@ prophecy said there would be one savior, clearly marked.'' ``Can you recite the prophecy?'' Harry asked. His voice was flat and hoarse, and did not sound as if it belonged to him. -Peter nodded, then closed his eyes and began to chant. "\emph{The one +Peter nodded, then closed his eyes and began to chant. ``\emph{The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches\ldots{} Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies\ldots{}He is the younger of two, and he shall have the power the @@ -28314,7 +28299,7 @@ love has but a scant chance of surviving\ldots{}The elder will stand at his right shoulder, loving him, but the younger will love the whole of the wizarding world\ldots{}The Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, and in so doing mark his heart\ldots{} The one with the power to vanquish -the Dark Lord approaches, born as the seventh month dies\ldots{}"} +the Dark Lord approaches, born as the seventh month dies\ldots{}}'' His voice faded, and Harry stared at the wall, and tried to think. Thoughts chased themselves in small pieces around his whirling mind, @@ -28340,22 +28325,22 @@ He shook his head, finally, and turned back to Peter, deciding that he couldn't possibly know the truth with the information he had right now. ``And what did Dumbledore and our parents do?'' -``I heard them speaking,'' said Peter softly. "I will not forget what +``I heard them speaking,'' said Peter softly. ``I will not forget what they said, not until I die. I certainly had enough time to remember -their words in Azkaban. +their words in Azkaban.'' -"Lily said, 'This wasn't supposed to happen. Albus, what +``Lily said, 'This wasn't supposed to happen. Albus, what \emph{happened?} Why do they both have scars? And why does Harry's magic -feel like---like that? It's unnatural.' She started to cry." +feel like---like that? It's unnatural.' She started to cry.'' -Peter darted a swift glance at Harry. "You'd always been a magically +Peter darted a swift glance at Harry. ``You'd always been a magically normal baby, Harry---strong, but well within the bounds of normality. Until Voldemort came. Lying in Lily's arms that night, you would have been a beacon, or a siren, to anyone who wanted to look or listen. I was having a hard time restraining myself from going into the house, just to -be nearer the magic. +be nearer the magic.'' -"Dumbledore sighed. It was a sigh that seemed to come from his bones. +Dumbledore sighed. It was a sigh that seemed to come from his bones. `Lily, James,' he said. `What I am telling you must not go beyond the walls of this house. Voldemort used the Killing Curse on both boys. He must have used it on Harry after he used it on Connor, or Harry would @@ -28397,7 +28382,7 @@ power. In essence, he made you his magical heir, the way some pureblood families do when they transfer powers from parents to children at the moment of death. You have abilities that he does, \emph{because} he had them when he attacked you that night, not because you were born with -them." Peter gave a dusty little laugh. ``You know, things would have +them.'' Peter gave a dusty little laugh. ``You know, things would have turned out differently if you or Voldemort were just a little weaker. If you were, then you couldn't have survived the Killing Curse for the moment it took to smash the barriers and let your deeper magic out. If @@ -28411,7 +28396,7 @@ I am not going to panic. I will not let myself panic.} He lifted his head. ``What did Dumbledore say then?'' -``Nothing immediately,'' said Peter softly. "Your parents were crying by +``Nothing immediately,'' said Peter softly. ``Your parents were crying by then. And then---well, then Sirius and Remus came in, and Dumbledore didn't trust them enough to reveal his full plan in front of them. He told Sirius and Remus that Connor had been marked by the prophecy, just @@ -28419,12 +28404,12 @@ as they suspected, and sent them away with him and James to try and make the curse scar stop bleeding, since it had broken open again. That left him with Lily and you, Harry. -"He told Lily, 'You must make sure that he loves his brother, that he is +He told Lily, 'You must make sure that he loves his brother, that he is his guardian, that all that immense power is trained and bent to a good purpose. You know that otherwise, the prophecy may shift. We cannot afford to have the next Dark Lord, someone with unnatural magic, as our only savior from Voldemort. Harry \emph{must} be the elder, and Connor -\emph{must} be the younger.'" +\emph{must} be the younger.' '' Harry tried to speak. He had no saliva left in his throat. He was grateful when Connor murmured, ``I don't understand. Surely I'm the @@ -28433,7 +28418,7 @@ younger, and Harry the elder?'' Harry opened his eyes far enough to see the savage look on Peter's face. ``Prophecies are the wildest form of Divination magic,'' he breathed. -"Prophecies can \emph{shift.}" +``Prophecies can \emph{shift.}'' Harry felt the words touch a spring in his memory. His mother's words last year, just after the phoenix web had been tripped and Remus had @@ -28465,28 +28450,28 @@ had marked him\ldots{}'' Peter spread his hands. ``But the prophecy says that the one with the power to defy the Dark Lord is the younger of two,'' said Connor. ``I don't understand.'' -``The younger of two,'' Peter pointed out. "It says nothing about the +``The younger of two,'' Peter pointed out. ``It says nothing about the younger of two \emph{brothers}, or the younger of two \emph{twins.} It doesn't even say that both people in the prophecy need to have been born -at the end of July." +at the end of July.'' Harry buried his head in his hands. \emph{So many things in my life have been a lie.} -``A prophecy always comes true,'' said Peter softly. "But we usually +``A prophecy always comes true,'' said Peter softly. ``But we usually can't know how or why beforehand. It can shift in midair. It can take the likeliest person. Human choice works to influence it, though, if we understand it enough, and we can try to make the prophecy more certain. -Its very wildness grants us a little more free will. +Its very wildness grants us a little more free will.'' -"Dumbledore knew he could convince Lily to sacrifice one of her sons. He +``Dumbledore knew he could convince Lily to sacrifice one of her sons. He wasn't sure about anyone else. And he \emph{wanted} to be sure. More than anything in the world, Dumbledore fears uncertainty. He fears waking up one day to find that the wizarding world he's labored to save for a century has exploded around his ears. If he had control of the savior, then he had the assurance that tomorrow would be pretty much -like today, that the future would be pretty much like the past. +like today, that the future would be pretty much like the past.'' ``So he influenced Voldemort as much as he could, to try and insure that the Dark Lord would mark Connor his equal.'' Peter took a deep breath. @@ -28501,13 +28486,13 @@ His eyes burned. He felt as though the walls of the shack had been torn away and they stood on an open plain, under black stars. Peter looked startled for only a moment. Then he nodded, his face -tightening. "So he lied to us, then. He nudged the prophecy along. And I +tightening. ``So he lied to us, then. He nudged the prophecy along. And I think he thought everything was going smoothly up until the point when he realized you had more power, Harry. If \emph{you} were the savior the prophecy mentioned, the one with the power Voldemort knew not, then that meant the elder, the one who would stand at your right shoulder and love you, was still somewhere else---somewhere out of his control. He -wouldn't have a clue who it was. He could not stand that. +wouldn't have a clue who it was. He could not stand that.'' ``So he told Lily to sculpt you and train you to love Connor. If you were his guardian, if you loved only him, then you would be the best @@ -28524,7 +28509,7 @@ across the sky in black streaks. He heard Connor ask, his voice soft and timid, ``What does that mean, then?'' -``It means that we're up in the air,'' said Peter. "We were from the +``It means that we're up in the air,'' said Peter. ``We were from the moment Harry broke his phoenix web, I think. Dumbledore could no longer trust that he would only love you. His power is free, and he might be the one the prophecy will choose. On the other hand, perhaps it @@ -28533,7 +28518,7 @@ Or the elder could be someone else who loves you. Or the younger will be Harry, and his elder someone else. Since you both do bear marks from the Dark Lord, then I think the choices have narrowed, and it can't really be anyone but one of the two of you. But Dumbledore's neat plans are all -smashed." There was a vicious glee in Peter's voice that Harry thought +smashed.'' There was a vicious glee in Peter's voice that Harry thought he couldn't really blame him for. Harry sat in silence for a moment. He couldn't think, couldn't breathe, @@ -28567,11 +28552,11 @@ Connor considered him, then dipped his head once. ``And what else are we going to do?'' he asked. ``I am going to help you learn,'' said Harry, startled by the steel in -his own voice. "Voldemort's not going to get us. He's never going to +his own voice. ``Voldemort's not going to get us. He's never going to kill either one of us. And I refuse to live in fear of what \emph{might} happen. We're going to \emph{make} things happen. We're going to have our own freedom, which should have happened all along. We're going to -fucking \emph{fight}." He held out his hand. +fucking \emph{fight}.'' He held out his hand. Connor took a deep breath, and clasped it. @@ -28639,9 +28624,9 @@ school. Harry didn't think it a wise decision. If there was evil here, then he had to be ready to meet it. Peter smiled, but the smile was strained. ``I've only felt it this heavy -once before,'' he said, still in a whisper. "When I went into Godric's +once before,'' he said, still in a whisper. ``When I went into Godric's Hollow behind V-Voldemort. There's a prophecy getting ready to come -true, Harry. \emph{Damn} it." +true, Harry. \emph{Damn} it.'' Harry closed his eyes and tilted his head back. Now that he concentrated, he thought he \emph{could} feel it, a weight in the air @@ -28882,7 +28867,7 @@ criminals condemned to Azkaban?'' \emph{We would no longer be bound by wizarding notions of morality.} -"So you \emph{would} feed on whoever you wished?" +``So you \emph{would} feed on whoever you wished?'' \emph{We would confine our hunting mostly to the Muggle world. They cannot see us. They would not hunt us. They would not know what killed @@ -28903,7 +28888,7 @@ soulless bodies behind you?'' he whispered. visiting on them the same terror and frustration they have visited on us.} -"That's \emph{vengeance,} not justice," Harry said. +``That's \emph{vengeance,} not justice,'' Harry said. The Dementors stirred around him like a trembling candle flame. The gray Dementor said, \emph{And is it justice to leave us confined in the web? @@ -28969,9 +28954,9 @@ he said, surprised for a moment by the irritation in his tone. Then he remembered that he had sounded this way as a six-year-old when he'd stayed up too late. The recollection almost made him smile, but the gray Dementor was there, and Harry was not sure how it would interpret the -gesture. He kept his face blank. "You're not more important than anyone +gesture. He kept his face blank. ``You're not more important than anyone else. You're just as important as the wizards, and the house elves, and -the unicorns, and not \emph{more} important." He shook his head slightly +the unicorns, and not \emph{more} important.'' He shook his head slightly when he realized he'd repeated that sentiment twice. Fatigue was affecting his eloquence. ``I can't free you if it would hurt everyone else.'' @@ -29039,7 +29024,7 @@ stood alone on the grass, beside a just-barely-stirring Peter. Peter sat up and stared at Harry. -"I don't think \emph{they'll} be bothering you any more, at least," +``I don't think \emph{they'll} be bothering you any more, at least,'' Harry muttered, swaying on his feet. He blinked, then added, ``And I think you should go, before someone sees you with us and Dumbledore calls the Aurors.'' @@ -29048,7 +29033,7 @@ Peter did not move for long moments, despite his earlier urgency. His eyes scanned Harry intently for a moment, and then he nodded, his teeth flashing briefly in a fierce, feral grin. -"The next few years should be \emph{interesting}," he muttered, as he +``The next few years should be \emph{interesting},'' he muttered, as he stood. Harry gave him what he knew was a faint smile. He hoped Peter would @@ -29116,7 +29101,7 @@ Legilimency, if Connor couldn't tell him. That sounded like a Connor drew breath to answer, but his words were drowned by a furious voice. -"\emph{Harry!}" +``\emph{Harry!}'' Harry lifted his head, and blinked drowsily as a black-clad figure swept towards them. ``Oh, good,'' he said. ``Snape's here. We don't have to @@ -29173,12 +29158,12 @@ again, and that side is yours, Harry.'' Bellatrix laughed again, and increased her stride. ``Come to offer yourself and the babies up on a platter, Severus?'' she asked shrilly. -"Our Lord told us all about you, and I must say, I look forward to +``Our Lord told us all about you, and I must say, I look forward to having you in a nice quiet room, with nothing but \emph{Crucios} between -us." +us.'' ``You always did have a stunning lack of imagination, Bellatrix,'' Snape -answered coolly, and aimed his wand. "\emph{Sectumsempra!}" +answered coolly, and aimed his wand. ``\emph{Sectumsempra!}'' Bellatrix sang out a defensive spell as the curse aimed at her, and then fired back a hex whose pronunciation Harry missed under the sudden @@ -29211,7 +29196,7 @@ lack of power and the time it will take to grow a new body, but I am fresh, and I have magic that I know how to use. Unlike you, Harry.'' He clucked his tongue. -Then he aimed his wand. "\emph{Caeco}!" +Then he aimed his wand. ``\emph{Caeco}!'' Harry heard Connor's wild cry from beside him, and whirled, even though he already knew what he would see; he knew the effects of \emph{Caeco.} @@ -29233,7 +29218,7 @@ gave Snape a hopeless look, but Snape was locked in a duel with Bellatrix and did not even have time to look away from the spells he was firing. -"\emph{Imperio}!" +``\emph{Imperio}!'' Harry saw his brother stiffen, and knew what he would be feeling, the soft and coaxing voice that would be invading his mind, whispering to @@ -29352,8 +29337,8 @@ nodded wearily. knife, won't you?'' ``I will.'' Snape sounded shaken for the first time that Harry could -remember. ``Get some rest.'' He paused, and then added, "It was not your -fault, Harry, you realize. You \emph{had} to kill him." +remember. ``Get some rest.'' He paused, and then added, ``It was not your +fault, Harry, you realize. You \emph{had} to kill him.'' ``Rest sounds good,'' said Harry, and dropped away into a blackness that was far less confusing than the world he had just made for himself. @@ -29485,9 +29470,9 @@ won't even let me reach that far?'' he asked. ``You suffered enormous damage,'' said Snape. ``Magical exhaustion, scratches from the house elf on your throat and shoulders, injuries from where the justice ritual held you in place, and mental and emotional -scars.'' He leaned forward. "This time, Harry, your mind is not in +scars.'' He leaned forward. ``This time, Harry, your mind is not in imminent danger of collapse, as it was after the debacle in the Chamber -of Secrets. And this time, you actively \emph{refused} help." +of Secrets. And this time, you actively \emph{refused} help.'' Harry braced himself for a yelling session, for all that he'd never heard Snape raise his voice. @@ -29526,10 +29511,10 @@ Snape briefly raked a hand down his face. Harry wasn't sure what the gesture indicated, anger or weariness. Perhaps both. ``Harry,'' Snape whispered, ``we would have helped you.'' He fixed his -gaze on Harry's face. "Has it occurred to you that the Dark Lord took +gaze on Harry's face. ``Has it occurred to you that the Dark Lord took Black and your brother to lure \emph{you} into a trap? That \emph{you} were the one he wanted to destroy? I have seen the memory in the -Pensieve. I understand why." +Pensieve. I understand why.'' Harry glanced away from him. Once again, as when he had been in Draco's mind, as when he had first come to suspect that he might be the @@ -29538,11 +29523,11 @@ to step into it. ``But it didn't happen,'' he said. ``And if it had, then you would have been busy suffering.'' Snape gave a mutter that Harry couldn't quite make out, except for the -words ``blunt'' and ``utterly serious.'' Then he said, "Harry, your life +words ``blunt'' and ``utterly serious.'' Then he said, ``Harry, your life matters to me beyond what would have happened to me, or anyone else, if you had not lived. Your life matters \emph{for itself.} You are not a sacrifice, not to me. In fact, I would prefer that you stopped regarding -yourself that way, and associating with your brother altogether." His +yourself that way, and associating with your brother altogether.'' His voice sharpened. ``If you had taken me along as help, then you might not have suffered quite so much.'' @@ -29551,15 +29536,15 @@ Harry winced, and regret briefly flooded him, before he shook his head. and I think Connor only did because Voldemort wasn't really concentrating on him.'' -``That was the wrong tack, then,'' said Snape. "Harry---\emph{look at -me.}" +``That was the wrong tack, then,'' said Snape. ``Harry---\emph{look at +me.}'' Harry did, reluctantly. Snape met his eyes fiercely. -"You \emph{matter,}" he said. "You \emph{do.} You are not only a weapon, +``You \emph{matter,}'' he said. ``You \emph{do.} You are not only a weapon, not only a shield or defense or sacrifice. You told me once to stop treating you as a child, and it is true that I should not do so. -However, you are also my ward." He took a deep breath, as though he were +However, you are also my ward.'' He took a deep breath, as though he were dredging up courage from under a dark lake. ``I would appreciate it if you stopped thinking I was lying when I told you these things. And if you have no more need of me as a guardian, then perhaps it is time that @@ -29660,7 +29645,7 @@ appreciated his wit when he tried to use it. ``Hello, Draco,'' said Harry softly, and put the spoon back in the bowl. ``Come to have your say about me running off into danger?'' -"I don't think I need to \emph{say} a lot," said Draco, adopting the +``I don't think I need to \emph{say} a lot,'' said Draco, adopting the posture his mother always used when they were visiting people she considered their social inferiors. ``A few very simple words. The affection you saw in my mind when you thought Connor compelled me? That @@ -29668,8 +29653,8 @@ was real.'' Harry blinked at him, then shook his head, a faint smile appearing in the place of the reserved one. ``No, Draco,'' he said, in the patient -tone that normally made Draco want to scream. "I \emph{felt} it. It was -preventing the passage of normal thoughts into your mind. It was---" +tone that normally made Draco want to scream. ``I \emph{felt} it. It was +preventing the passage of normal thoughts into your mind. It was---'' ``It was a barrier made of what was already there,'' Draco said. It was simple after all, this clear, direct, Gryffindor-like honesty. ``What @@ -29684,8 +29669,8 @@ it.'' ``But what I felt there wasn't the kind of friendship that Connor has for Ron,'' Harry argued. -Draco curled his lip before he could stop himself. "I would thank you -not to compare me to \emph{Weasley,}" he said, and played his trump +Draco curled his lip before he could stop himself. ``I would thank you +not to compare me to \emph{Weasley,}'' he said, and played his trump card. Perhaps it was a bit too soon, but clearly, if he was going about comparing Draco to Weasley, Harry needed the help. ``Malfoys have always done things better than Weasleys. We outfly them, we're better than they @@ -29704,10 +29689,10 @@ pleased to see, without the bloody color that had limned it while Harry lay unconscious. ``But, Draco---compulsion played some part in it, it had to---'' -"It did \emph{not}," said Draco. ``It only dragged what was there to the +``It did \emph{not},'' said Draco. ``It only dragged what was there to the surface, and kept it there long enough that you had to see it.'' He met -Harry's eyes. "You can cast \emph{Legilimens} on me now if you like, and -it will still be there." +Harry's eyes. ``You can cast \emph{Legilimens} on me now if you like, and +it will still be there.'' ``You can't love me like that!'' Harry yelped. @@ -29715,10 +29700,10 @@ Draco laughed. Harry actually looked indignant. ``Why not? I know that you love me as protectively, and your brother, and probably Snape, too.'' -"But---that's what I do, that's what I was \emph{raised} to do," said +``But---that's what I do, that's what I was \emph{raised} to do,'' said Harry, his voice nearly a wail. ``That strength of love has to be unnatural, doesn't it, if it comes from my training? And anyway,'' he -added, "how could it apply to \emph{me}?" +added, ``how could it apply to \emph{me}?'' ``Because it does,'' said Draco. @@ -29732,20 +29717,20 @@ added, "how could it apply to \emph{me}?" ``Then you must only imagine---'' -"\emph{No.}" Draco leaned forward and clasped Harry's hand. ``I've given +``\emph{No.}'' Draco leaned forward and clasped Harry's hand. ``I've given you sight of this before, Harry. What do you think your serpent shows? You should look at it more often,'' he couldn't help adding. While the bottle Harry had given him showing his emotions was important to \emph{him}, the glass serpent Draco had bonded with the same enchantment for Harry's birthday didn't seem all that important to Harry, and that -did hurt. "I told you that I didn't like you going away. I would have +did hurt. ``I told you that I didn't like you going away. I would have been perfectly happy to have you at Malfoy Manor for the entire holiday last summer. I tried to keep you from going after your brother and godfather, because I didn't care that you loved them, too. I was practically shouting it from the \emph{rooftops}, undignified as that would be for a Malfoy. I've tried and tried and tried to make you see it, and you wouldn't, you stubborn prat. So now you don't have a -choice," he finished severely. +choice,'' he finished severely. Harry simply stared at him, then turned his head away. Draco grabbed his chin and turned his face back. @@ -29758,9 +29743,9 @@ prepared by being forced to acknowledge that his life mattered to Snape. \emph{Well, fuck that, too,} Draco decided. This was his victory, and he was going to claim it as such. -``This is so strange,'' Harry whispered. "I don't think this is supposed +``This is so strange,'' Harry whispered. ``I don't think this is supposed to be happening. I don't find out my best friend loves me a few days -after my godfather dies and Voldemort has to leave yet \emph{again}." +after my godfather dies and Voldemort has to leave yet \emph{again}.'' ``When has anything around you ever been normal?'' Draco shoved his chair closer to the bed. ``Do you believe me now?'' @@ -29769,9 +29754,9 @@ Harry nodded, as if hypnotized. ``Good,'' said Draco. ``This is the part where I get to be bossy and demanding.'' He felt a vicious delight flood him as Harry simply -blinked. \emph{Merlin, I} love \emph{this part.} "First, if you start +blinked. \emph{Merlin, I} love \emph{this part.} ``First, if you start mourning over \emph{anything} that happened to you, come and find me. -Immediately. I want to hear it." +Immediately. I want to hear it.'' ``Why?'' Harry whispered. @@ -29872,8 +29857,8 @@ now that it's been a week.'' Draco shot him an irritated look with touches of anxiety visible around the straining eyes. -``It's been a week,'' Harry repeated softly. "I can bear this, Draco. I -\emph{can.}" +``It's been a week,'' Harry repeated softly. ``I can bear this, Draco. I +\emph{can.}'' Draco nodded. ``All right,'' he said. ``It didn't take the Headmaster long to make up a story how Voldemort kidnapped both you and your @@ -29899,12 +29884,12 @@ sucked out Voldemort's soul, and destroyed Rodolphus Lestrange in the process. Then the Death Eaters fled, and the Dementors went after them.'' He sat back and lifted his eyes to Harry's face, and Harry knew without a doubt that Draco was not bored. He looked furious. -"\emph{Nothing} about the role you played, Harry. \emph{Nothing.}" +``\emph{Nothing} about the role you played, Harry. \emph{Nothing.}'' Harry smiled faintly. ``I didn't really expect him to say anything about it.'' -"But aren't you \emph{outraged}?" Draco demanded. +``But aren't you \emph{outraged}?'' Draco demanded. Harry shook his head. ``Dumbledore worked so hard to keep me from finding out the truth. The least he can do now is keep others from @@ -29934,8 +29919,8 @@ either, and having too many people know about the prophecy is dangerous.'' ``Don't you want the credit for what you did, though?'' Draco said, a -whine entering his voice. "You are driving me \emph{mad} with this, -Harry. How can you not want people to know who you really are?" +whine entering his voice. ``You are driving me \emph{mad} with this, +Harry. How can you not want people to know who you really are?'' Harry smiled faintly. ``You told me once that I was a Slytherin in every possible way,'' he reminded Draco. ``And I said that I wasn't, because I @@ -29973,7 +29958,7 @@ her knees, then looked expectantly at him. Harry waited. -"What you did was \emph{stupid,}" Hermione began. ``You put me so +``What you did was \emph{stupid,}'' Hermione began. ``You put me so thoroughly to sleep that I couldn't even wake up and inform someone else where you'd gone. Like Professor McGonagall. She would have helped you, Harry, you know she would.'' @@ -29989,10 +29974,10 @@ have done that part of it without you. Thank you.'' ``But the rest?'' Hermione leaned forward, chin set. -Harry shook his head. "I can't apologize, Hermione. I didn't take +Harry shook his head. ``I can't apologize, Hermione. I didn't take \emph{anyone} along. I'd already stunned Draco by that point, and I stunned Snape when he came after me again. I was as careful as I could -be, and two people still died." His voice cracked, and he blinked hard, +be, and two people still died.'' His voice cracked, and he blinked hard, Sirius's death coming back to strike him unexpectedly. ``What if one of them had been you? Or what if there'd been a third death because you wanted to come along? I couldn't risk it.'' @@ -30006,7 +29991,7 @@ behind,'' he said. ``If we start looking at it from this angle, we can find all sorts of choices to contradict each other's.'' ``I'm willing to forgive and forget, Harry James Potter,'' said Hermione -loftily. "\emph{If} you never do that again." +loftily. ``\emph{If} you never do that again.'' Harry winced. He couldn't imagine that it wouldn't be necessary to do that again. Hermione was clever, and even if he tried to leave her out @@ -30057,7 +30042,7 @@ compelling you?'' ``No,'' said Draco, but his eyes flickered to the right. -Harry frowned. "He did \emph{so.}" +Harry frowned. ``He did \emph{so.}'' ``I don't have to talk about that if I don't want to,'' said Draco, folding his arms. ``It's a private matter between me and Connor @@ -30152,7 +30137,7 @@ The door of the hospital wing slowly swung open, and a slender, hooded figure stepped through. Harry held his wand high enough that the \emph{Lumos} glittered on the shadows under the hood. -``Show your face,'' he said. "Who \emph{are} you?" +``Show your face,'' he said. ``Who \emph{are} you?'' ``I thought the wording in the last letter would have let you know, Harry,'' said a familiar voice, as a pair of hands rose and threw back @@ -30231,8 +30216,8 @@ handwriting was already wavering, controlled by Voldemort in his mind.'' ``How did you know about that in detail?'' Harry asked. -``I have spoken with Severus and with Draco,'' said Narcissa. "Neither -knew I was Starborn, of course. +``I have spoken with Severus and with Draco,'' said Narcissa. ``Neither +knew I was Starborn, of course.'' ``I examined the wards on 12 Grimmauld Place again, and found them in an advanced state of decay. I returned to what had been my original @@ -30243,13 +30228,13 @@ it was probably negligence, failure to keep up the wards on the house that had let thieves in, and failure to protect key information in his mind from a Legilimens. I thought he might even have sold artifacts to pay off gambling debts, and not realized whom he was selling them to.'' -Narcissa closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. "I spoke with both +Narcissa closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. ``I spoke with both Fenrir Greyback and Walden Macnair, pretending to be a reclusive Dark witch interested in the Dark Lord's service, and both of them hinted at a strong ally inside Hogwarts, but my every glimpse of Sirius convinced me that they could not mean \emph{him}. \emph{He} was not strong. I trusted my own conclusions over the evidence, and this is where it led -me, with your life in danger multiple times." +me, with your life in danger multiple times.'' She opened her eyes and fixed them on Harry. ``I owe you the debt of my failure,'' she said. ``I owe you a debt from the family I married into, @@ -30414,9 +30399,9 @@ Harry had to put a hand over his eyes as he squinted. make the earth appear to shake, ``Sirius Black, elder child of Canopus Black and Capella Black, elder brother of Regulus Black, proper heir of the Black line.'' The white light around her twitched, but Narcissa -showed no sign of noticing. "Pureblood wizard, member of Gryffindor +showed no sign of noticing. ``Pureblood wizard, member of Gryffindor House, Auror, godfather of Harry Potter, who died with the courage of -his convictions. \emph{Accept him now}." +his convictions. \emph{Accept him now}.'' Harry felt as if he stood next to a blazing sun---or a star. The world around them had turned brilliant, in a way that somehow left room and @@ -30426,7 +30411,7 @@ Then the light turned flaring blue-white with a touch of silver, and Narcissa's voice soared in triumph. ``From fire we come, to fire we return,'' she said, and gestured with -her wand. "\emph{Sirius abscondit!}" +her wand. ``\emph{Sirius abscondit!}'' A flash of white lightning struck down from the stars, and hit Sirius's body. It went up with a roar, as if he had been oil-soaked tinder. Harry @@ -30519,8 +30504,8 @@ wing. ``Sometimes I frighten myself,'' Harry admitted. He paused at the door and smiled at his brother. ``Ready to go see Dumbledore?'' -"You \emph{were} planning to stop by the dungeons on your way, I -suppose, Harry?" a voice asked from behind him. +``You \emph{were} planning to stop by the dungeons on your way, I +suppose, Harry?'' a voice asked from behind him. Startled, Harry turned, and then had to brace himself on the wall. He lifted his chin. ``Professor Snape, sir. I thought that you were at @@ -30542,7 +30527,7 @@ He couldn't lie to himself for very long about that, though. Snape wasn't objecting because Harry was with Connor. He would object to Harry going to see the Headmaster without him or Draco at his side, though. -``I'm sorry,'' he murmured. "I---I \emph{did} think you were at dinner." +``I'm sorry,'' he murmured. ``I---I \emph{did} think you were at dinner.'' ``If I was, then the Headmaster was likely to be at dinner also,'' Snape reminded him. ``I am certain that he has just now returned to his @@ -30726,8 +30711,8 @@ do whatever the boy asked of him---including putting up with a twin in Gryffindor. ``And you put our lives in danger,'' said Connor abruptly, leaning -forward. "How could you \emph{do} that? Powerful wizards aren't supposed -to put babies in danger. Light wizards don't \emph{do} that." +forward. ``How could you \emph{do} that? Powerful wizards aren't supposed +to put babies in danger. Light wizards don't \emph{do} that.'' Albus blinked. He had not thought Connor would make the leap to this level of accusation so quickly. In retrospect, he supposed, he had been @@ -30743,7 +30728,7 @@ what it had been like to enter that half-shattered room, and feel the power howling around the twin with the lightning scar. ``And there are circumstances that you do not know---'' -``We do so,'' said Harry, narrowing his eyes. "Peter overheard your +``We do so,'' said Harry, narrowing his eyes. ``Peter overheard your conversation, later, with Mum, when you thought it was safe, and he told us about it. I know that I took in some of Voldemort's powers, or at least his magic-eating ability and \emph{then} some of his other powers, @@ -30752,7 +30737,7 @@ because he was, and able to feed on other wizards because he could. I know \emph{everything}, Headmaster. I know that you planned to raise me as a guardian to my brother because you feared me. It was the same reason you put the phoenix web on me, in the end. I don't think that's a -coincidence." +coincidence.'' Terror such as he had not known in a long time flashed through Albus's body. He had trusted in Harry's essential character, chancy as that @@ -30772,7 +30757,7 @@ it back up when he had an immediate use for it. He would absorb it into himself, the way he had done earlier in the year. Harry could become the most powerful wizard in the world that way, if he wanted to. -"\emph{Don't} try that again," said Harry, his voice gone cold and +``\emph{Don't} try that again,'' said Harry, his voice gone cold and distant. ``I don't want to drain you, Headmaster, but try to control me or my brother, and I will.'' @@ -30848,7 +30833,7 @@ ignored his old mentor's voice in his head, the one that said attacking an enemy's wording was the last refuge of the desperate. ``You say they told you they came from nightmares. Could they have been lying?'' -"They spoke to me as \emph{vates,}" said Harry. ``And they certainly +``They spoke to me as \emph{vates,}'' said Harry. ``And they certainly vanished quickly enough when I released them.'' ``Released them?'' @@ -30909,7 +30894,7 @@ of that future. making sure to keep his voice grave. ``What do you want from me?'' ``Little that you won't want to give.'' Harry's eyes were direct, his -voice brisk. "I don't want you to tell anyone about the possible truth +voice brisk. ``I don't want you to tell anyone about the possible truth of the prophecy, not yet. We don't \emph{know} yet which one of us it's going to be. But I do want you to tell everyone that the Dementors are assuredly not coming back. I want you to help us make peace with the @@ -30921,15 +30906,15 @@ Snape, and any other of our allies. I want you to take the phoenix web you put on Peter off him. I want you to stop encouraging subtle prejudices against Slytherin House. I want you to research why the Voldemort we faced could have memories of the night his older self -attacked Godric's Hollow." He drew in a deep breath. ``That will do for +attacked Godric's Hollow.'' He drew in a deep breath. ``That will do for a start.'' Albus nodded slowly. Here was the list of demands that he had expected, but they were more reasonable than he had thought they would be. ``And in return?'' he asked quietly. -"I will work with you to understand the bindings on the wizarding world, -and what the consequences are of being a \emph{vates}," said Harry, his +``I will work with you to understand the bindings on the wizarding world, +and what the consequences are of being a \emph{vates},'' said Harry, his gaze open, and calm, and clear. ``I will work to use legal means of achieving freedom where I can, and not openly antagonize the Ministry; we need them to win this war. I'll help train Connor. If and when Mum @@ -30937,10 +30922,10 @@ ever regains control of herself, I'll try to be open to a reconciliation with her. I won't threaten you or your allies, and will fight to defend you. I will keep certain things that you want to stay secret---the phoenix webs, and the truth about what happened to Sirius---silent.'' He -tilted his head. "If it comes down to it, I'll be the Boy-Who-Lived, or +tilted his head. ``If it comes down to it, I'll be the Boy-Who-Lived, or the guardian of the Boy-Who-Lived, and a warrior against Voldemort, and I'll die in the battles against him. If it comes to that. I plan to -\emph{fight.}" +\emph{fight.}'' Severus shifted. Albus's eyes flicked to him, and he saw the disgruntled expression on the man's face. Harry had not talked to his guardian @@ -30951,7 +30936,7 @@ Severus always had hated to be left out of anything important. but for now he would commit to going ahead. ``I agree,'' he said aloud. ``And, as it happens, I can answer one of your terms immediately.'' -"\emph{Can} you?" Harry sounded wary, but interested. +``\emph{Can} you?'' Harry sounded wary, but interested. ``Yes,'' said Albus, trying to ignore how much Harry sounded like a classically educated pureblood wizard, and how much that disturbed him. @@ -30979,18 +30964,18 @@ but a passive draining from his mind is unlikely to be noticed for some time to come.'' He let out a breath. ``We have a valuable weapon in the war.'' -"\emph{Harry is not a weapon.}" +``\emph{Harry is not a weapon.}'' Albus jumped. He had never heard Severus sound so angry. The words were barely on the edge of hearing. ``I said I'd fight,'' Harry reminded his guardian. -``You are not a weapon,'' said Snape. His eyes had not left Albus. "You +``You are not a weapon,'' said Snape. His eyes had not left Albus. ``You are a fighter, a leader. There is a difference. And I know how difficult and dangerous fighting on a mental battlefield is. \emph{I} will be the one to make the final decision on how you use this link between yourself -and Voldemort, if at all." +and Voldemort, if at all.'' Albus inclined his head. \emph{Not such a weakness. I will have to watch out for him.} ``I quite agree, Severus,'' he said mildly. ``As you will @@ -31053,18 +31038,18 @@ Gryffindor common room, that a lone Slytherin would be of no concern. Instead, most of the Gryffindors were watching in fascination as the Weasley family apparently attacked itself. -"How \emph{could} you do that, Percy!" Ron's face was as red as his -hair. "You \emph{know} that Dad tried so hard to get that position for -you, and---" +``How \emph{could} you do that, Percy!'' Ron's face was as red as his +hair. ``You \emph{know} that Dad tried so hard to get that position for +you, and---'' ``That position isn't worth what he would have paid for it, if he actually had money,'' Percy interrupted. Harry had never heard his voice so cold and distant. Admittedly, he didn't know the third Weasley brother that well, but Percy had always sounded passionate when he scolded people for breaking the rules. This sounded as though he were -trying to imitate Draco. "Mr. Crouch has offered me a \emph{very} good +trying to imitate Draco. ``Mr. Crouch has offered me a \emph{very} good position. Testing the thickness of cauldron bottoms is \emph{very} -important." +important.'' ``You're a self-important bastard for accepting it when you turned down Dad's job!'' Ron howled, and his face turned redder yet. @@ -31095,7 +31080,7 @@ no one else in the family has ever done before, climb to heights that Dad never will, stuck in Misuse of Muggle Artifacts the rest of his life---'' -"You sound like a \emph{Slytherin}, Percy," Ginny said. +``You sound like a \emph{Slytherin}, Percy,'' Ginny said. Percy's face went pale, then flushed red, and then he slammed his mouth shut. He turned his back and stalked out of the room, shoving the @@ -31150,7 +31135,7 @@ experience. ``Yes,'' he whispered, looking away. Harry shook his head slightly. ``Why?'' -"The Ministry's cracking down on \emph{everyone,}" Percy whispered. +``The Ministry's cracking down on \emph{everyone,}'' Percy whispered. ``Dumbledore saw the first signs of it last year, even the summer before last year, and started sending me post. He asked me if I would be willing to pretend to abandon my family for the sake of a post in the @@ -31175,18 +31160,18 @@ Dumbledore never} stop? ``I'm sure they'd understand.'' Percy shook his head at once. ``The twins, Ron, and Ginny are too young -to understand why it's necessary,'' he whispered. "And my mum---I know +to understand why it's necessary,'' he whispered. ``And my mum---I know you only met her the once, Harry, but can you \emph{honestly} see her agree to treat me coldly when it looks like I've never done anything to hurt her? Can you see her agree to stop sending me jumpers for -Christmas, or inviting me home for the holidays?" +Christmas, or inviting me home for the holidays?'' Harry had, reluctantly, to shake his head. It was true that he had met Mrs. Weasley only the once, but she hadn't struck him as a good actor. -``My father is as transparent as ice,'' said Percy. "He can't keep +``My father is as transparent as ice,'' said Percy. ``He can't keep \emph{any} emotion off his face. It's one reason he hasn't advanced. He -wouldn't be able to stop grinning and winking at me. +wouldn't be able to stop grinning and winking at me.'' ``Bill and Charlie might understand, and I might be able to tell them, but I'll have to wait and see. If nothing else, being in communication @@ -31437,21 +31422,8 @@ wing. that Harry didn't understand until the next words. ``Your father's here. He says that he'd like to see you.'' -\chapter{*Chapter 51*: A Conversation With -James}\label{chapter-51-a-conversation-with-james} - -Thank you for the reviews yesterday! - -And here we go! This is the very \emph{last} chapter of {Comes Out of -Darkness Morn}. The next story, the fourth year, will be called {Freedom -and Not Peace}, and will be posted in a few days---I'm unsure of the -exact date, but definitely before the New Year. For everyone who's read -so far, thank you for coming on the journey, and I hope to see you next -story, too! - -Happy holidays! +\chapter{A Conversation With James}\label{chapter-51-a-conversation-with-james} -\textbf{Chapter Forty-Five: A Conversation With James} Harry stopped outside the hospital wing and tried to slow his beating heart. Apparently, James had come into the hospital wing first, under @@ -31466,7 +31438,7 @@ when Connor would get here. ``Harry?'' \emph{Too late,} Harry thought, and turned around to clasp Connor's -hand. "Dad \emph{is} here," he said, to answer the question he saw on +hand. ``Dad \emph{is} here,'' he said, to answer the question he saw on his twin's face. ``But I want you to remember that we don't have to go anywhere with him, not when he hasn't made an attempt to contact us for months.'' @@ -31480,9 +31452,9 @@ powerful,'' he said quietly. Harry leaned against his brother and let his magic rise from its bonds, swirling around him. ``That's what the Headmaster thought, too,'' he -said. "I know someone in the Ministry who managed to resist him. And you +said. ``I know someone in the Ministry who managed to resist him. And you were there when I negotiated with Dumbledore, Connor. I meant what I -said. I won't let him hurt us. I won't let \emph{anyone} hurt us." He +said. I won't let him hurt us. I won't let \emph{anyone} hurt us.'' He met Connor's eyes and waited. Connor swallowed. ``And that includes Dad.'' @@ -31532,8 +31504,8 @@ If I can't, I'll go, I promise.'' He knew how fragile this chance was, how easily he could mess it up. Madam Pomfrey snorted a bit, but her face softened. ``I do like to see -families reunited,'' she said. "I saw enough of them torn apart in the -War. But be \emph{careful} with them, Mr. Potter. I mean it." +families reunited,'' she said. ``I saw enough of them torn apart in the +War. But be \emph{careful} with them, Mr. Potter. I mean it.'' James closed his eyes tightly and nodded. He would be. The confrontations with himself he'd fired in Lux Aeterna had shown him @@ -31621,9 +31593,9 @@ It's not a fact we advertise, given how easily our enemies could damage us if they knew about it, but there you are.'' Harry nodded thoughtfully. Connor looked back and forth from his brother -to his father, and finally burst out, "What \emph{is} a linchpin?" +to his father, and finally burst out, ``What \emph{is} a linchpin?'' -``An estate linked to a bloodline,'' Harry whispered. "More to the +``An estate linked to a bloodline,'' Harry whispered. ``More to the point, linked to a---a major \emph{site} of that bloodline. It could be a place where they won a battle, or a place where they chose to be Light or Dark and committed their family to that allegiance, or a place where @@ -31632,7 +31604,7 @@ It anchors the family, insures they have a source of magical strength to draw on if all is lost, but it demands things from them, too. If the linchpin is ever attacked when the family isn't there, then it draws strength from the family to support itself. It might drain all of us in -maintaining its wards." Harry looked up and met James's eyes. He had +maintaining its wards.'' Harry looked up and met James's eyes. He had settled for looking terribly, gravely impressed. ``I can see why you and Mother didn't want to hide there. Voldemort might have had enough strength to drain us even if we were behind the wards, or to shatter the @@ -31664,11 +31636,11 @@ let out a long breath. ``I thought, and I thought, and I thought. The only person I wrote to was Remus. I couldn't trust myself to be civil to Lily or Dumbledore, not after seeing what they'd done to you, Harry.'' He met his elder -son's eyes for a moment, then looked away. "I didn't know what to do +son's eyes for a moment, then looked away. ``I didn't know what to do about Sirius, and I \emph{still} feel so embarrassed about Peter that I don't know whether he would welcome a letter from me or not. And you boys were what I needed to make up my mind about. What had I done wrong, -and how could I prevent it from ever happening again? +and how could I prevent it from ever happening again?'' ``In the end, I knew it wasn't working. I'd thought, and still I found myself getting stuck in corners. I'd hurt you by being there, but I was @@ -31687,9 +31659,9 @@ Harry started at that word, for some reason. James eyed him and waited, but when Harry said nothing, James decided it was nothing his boy wanted to share right now and went on. -"But I could see that I'd fall right back into being that if Lily asked +``But I could see that I'd fall right back into being that if Lily asked me sweetly enough. She convinced me to \emph{stay away} from one of my -sons when he was hurt from being possessed by Voldemort." James shook +sons when he was hurt from being possessed by Voldemort.'' James shook his head. ``And Albus is worse. Albus has the compulsion gift.'' ``I thought maybe Mum did, too,'' said Connor then, and drew his knees @@ -31796,11 +31768,11 @@ that. It showed me that I was being a coward, hiding from my own capacity for Dark behavior.'' Harry caught his eye then, and James nodded to him. To Harry and Harry alone, he'd revealed the tale of how he'd snapped and tortured Bellatrix Lestrange, probably making her -insane before she ever went to Azkaban. "It showed me that I can't win +insane before she ever went to Azkaban. ``It showed me that I can't win Light by hiding while others do all the work, or glancing aside from things I don't want to see. I've lost my wife, at least for now, and my trust in my mentor, and two of my best friends from school, because I -didn't want to \emph{see.}" He felt tears in his eyes, and wiped at them +didn't want to \emph{see.}'' He felt tears in his eyes, and wiped at them angrily. \emph{I promised myself I wouldn't cry while I did this, Merlin take me.} ``I'm not going to lose any more.'' @@ -31808,12 +31780,12 @@ take me.} ``I'm not going to lose any more.'' forward. James faced him. ``You know a lot about the pureblood dances and the -traditions that the Dark wizards use, Harry,'' he said. "But you don't +traditions that the Dark wizards use, Harry,'' he said. ``But you don't know anything about the rituals and traditions that the Light wizards use, and I think you should. That's your heritage, too. The Potters have been declared Light wizards for two generations, and acted in accordance with the Light and followed Light Lords for a lot longer than that. You -don't know \emph{anything} about that. You should." He turned and held +don't know \emph{anything} about that. You should.'' He turned and held Connor's eyes. ``And you, too. You're both Potters. I've forgotten that for too long.'' @@ -31823,11 +31795,11 @@ brother's eye and nodded, too. James gnawed his lip. \emph{First Snitch caught.} ``And I know that you both need some place to heal,'' he said. ``Sirius\ldots{}'' He didn't know how much he could say about Sirius without babbling like a fool, so -he restricted himself to saying, "Sirius. And Voldemort, Merlin damn +he restricted himself to saying, ``Sirius. And Voldemort, Merlin damn him, from both last year and this one. I want you to have some time to -recover. +recover.'' -"Some time to \emph{play,"} he added, thinking about the house in +``Some time to \emph{play,}" he added, thinking about the house in Godric's Hollow, shut behind isolation wards. Harry and Connor had had only each other to play with, aside from Sirius and Remus and sometimes James, who almost never played with Harry. Harry was always reading, and @@ -31994,7 +31966,7 @@ know just where I am, and you can come visit.'' ``Maybe,'' Draco grumbled. He'd heard stories about linchpins, and a Light wizard's linchpin was unlikely to let someone who bore the Malfoy name within a mile of it, no matter if he'd done any Dark magic or not, -because Light wizards were bigots. "But, Harry, \emph{why}?" +because Light wizards were bigots. ``But, Harry, \emph{why}?'' Harry gave him a curious glance as he shuffled through his trunk, apparently looking to make sure that all his possessions were packed up. @@ -32004,14 +31976,14 @@ be able to do that.'' He shot James a smile that James returned, and which made Draco seethe. It hadn't been too long since he'd been the only one able to make Harry smile that way. \emph{Why do all the obnoxious parts of healing have to come along with the good parts?} -Draco thought. "And we need someplace safe for the summer, so the Death +Draco thought. ``And we need someplace safe for the summer, so the Death Eaters can't get us. Hogwarts would be safe, but the Death Eaters \emph{do} know where we are. Lux Aeterna is safer, more sheltered, and -will protect anyone of Potter blood more fiercely than Hogwarts would." +will protect anyone of Potter blood more fiercely than Hogwarts would.'' Draco put a hand on Harry's arm and forced him to face him. ``All of those are fine advantages for other people or for the war, Harry,'' he -said. "But what about \emph{you}? What do \emph{you} want?" +said. ``But what about \emph{you}? What do \emph{you} want?'' Harry went still, staring at him with wide eyes. Draco waited, his heart pounding unexpectedly hard in his throat. Harry really might change his @@ -32032,10 +32004,10 @@ his chest. \emph{He can't tell the truth to try and get out of this. It's not fair.} ``Then how about remaining with us just because you like being with us?'' he asked. -``I would, if that was the only factor,'' Harry said. "But you know what +``I would, if that was the only factor,'' Harry said. ``But you know what I am, Draco---all of what I am, probably better than anyone else except Snape. I want to help my brother, too. And he's traumatized from the -loss of Sirius, and he \emph{has} to learn." He looked at James, and +loss of Sirius, and he \emph{has} to learn.'' He looked at James, and made sure the man could hear him. ``I don't trust anyone else to train him rigorously enough, yet.'' @@ -32169,7 +32141,7 @@ was a danger to Harry. \emph{No. I will not permit this.} Harry sighed. ``Can I speak with you, Professor Snape? Please?'' ``Yes,'' said Snape, and then stabbed James with a glance when he tried -to move forward. "\emph{Not} you." +to move forward. ``\emph{Not} you.'' James subsided, having the audacity to replicate his son's mildly startled look over Snape's behavior. Snape tugged Harry into the office @@ -32250,21 +32222,21 @@ that.'' Harry stopped backing, and took a deep breath, and looked up at him. ``But the weight of the world doesn't go away just because of where I -am, sir,'' he said. "I know you want to protect me, but you can't. Not -from everything. +am, sir,'' he said. ``I know you want to protect me, but you can't. Not +from everything.'' ``The wounds I took that night were mild in comparison to what's coming. -I know,'' he added, when Snape tried to interrupt. "I've heard and read +I know,'' he added, when Snape tried to interrupt. ``I've heard and read the histories of the First War since I was a child, remember. Voldemort's going to try to do all that again, and probably worse. I'll be in the front lines, fighting, because I have to, and I'm going to -take on the brunt of some of it. +take on the brunt of some of it.'' ``This is the part where I'm your ward, and grateful for it, but also not a child.'' Harry spread his hands. His magic shimmered around him, a palpable force in the room, and Snape had to catch his breath at the -strength of it, for all that he normally didn't notice anymore. "I'm a -powerful wizard, and maybe the \emph{vates}, and a warrior." \emph{A +strength of it, for all that he normally didn't notice anymore. ``I'm a +powerful wizard, and maybe the \emph{vates}, and a warrior.'' \emph{A leader}, Snape almost said, but from the look in Harry's eyes, this was not the time to have that argument. ``I have to get Connor ready, and to help him heal. There's no one else who can.'' He looked at Snape @@ -32300,8 +32272,8 @@ At the same time\ldots{} \emph{Harry forgives too easily. James was part of what happened to him, no matter how sorry he is now.} -"You will tell me in an \emph{instant} if your father does anything to -hurt you," Snape said. ``You will Apparate here if he does it again. I +``You will tell me in an \emph{instant} if your father does anything to +hurt you,'' Snape said. ``You will Apparate here if he does it again. I know that you can get through the anti-Apparition wards.'' Harry nodded. ``I would come to you,'' he said. ``If only because I'd be -- cgit v1.2.3