Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/9946460.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Harry_Potter_-_J._K._Rowling
  Character:
      Harry_Potter, Lucius_Malfoy, Severus_Snape, Draco_Malfoy, Original
      Character
  Additional Tags:
      Sexual_Content, Spoilers, Angst, Tragedy, Drama, Romance
  Collections:
      HPFandom
  Stats:
      Published: 2006-05-27 Completed: 2010-09-26 Chapters: 11/11 Words: 41922
****** Dragon Rose ******
by vbollman
Summary
     Harry meets two new friends and is told one of their biggest secrets.
     Just who is their Father and what does it mean to Harry.
Notes
     Note from SeparatriX, the archivist: this story was originally
     archived at HP_Fandom, which was closed for health and financial
     reasons. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its
     works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in August 2016. I
     e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but
     may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator,
     please contact me using the e-mail address on HP_Fandom_collection
     profile.
***** One *****
A/N. For those of you reading this for the first time, you have my many thanks
for you time. For those of you reading once again, you may notice that I have
rewritten many parts, and have added to the story. Which of course made me redo
where the chapters ended. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your
patience. Vbollman.
Disclaimer- don't own them, don't want them (except for Snape) Just like
playing with them.
Thanks to Kei and Sandra for their Betaing job. Much luv to both of you.
Chapter One.
Morgan-Ann Rose Annerson and her twin brother Galahad Tristan, stepped through
the barrier at Kings Cross Station, and entered Platform 9 ¾ early on September
1st. It was only 6:00 am, and the train didn't leave the station until 11:00,
but they were both in need of doing some shopping in Diagon Alley before they
left for the new school term.
Picking a secluded corner to place her bags, Morgan sighed in disgust at the
turn of events in her life. Pulling out a folded, much creased letter from the
inner pocket of her jacket, she reread what her father wrote to the two of them
a month ago.
~My beautiful Dragon Rose and her Knight Gallant
I am extremely pleased, that you both will be joining me at Hogwarts for this
coming school year, even though I wish that it could have happened under better
circumstances. Even though your mother and I rarely got along anymore I did
care for her, in my own way, and did not wish for her death, however it came
about.
This next year will be extremely difficult for the two of you, in a number of
different ways, the biggest one of course being starting a whole new life
without your mother by your side. This is also made more complex by the fact
that we cannot acknowledgment each other due to my spot in this war. No one,
outside of those who already do, can know that I am your father.
I will do what I can to make your new life as easy as possible for you, but I
know it will not be enough. Especially as Draco Malfoy will be in the same year
as yourselves, and is a member of my House. Do try not to do anything that
would be irreversible to hurt him please.
If you find someone that you feel you can trust without a doubt, I give you my
permission to share your secrets. Just use discretion, and choose your
confidant(s) carefully.
I will do my best to join you early on the 1st to bring you to Diagon Alley. In
the mean time, I will also do my best to convince the old meddler to allow us
to portkey to Hogwarts instead of making you suffer by taking the train. Merlin
knows that it will not be safe for Draco if you catch him without a plan to
withdraw and hide from you My Rose.
See you soon my Knight and Rose
All my love
Papa.~
Sighing once again, she refolded the letter and hid herself in the partial
shadows, cast by the early morning sun, and watched as her brother inspected
their surroundings. She really hated the fact that they had to move from their
farm in Canada, but was glad that they would be closer to their father. Galahad
on the other hand, she knew, was glad to away from the farm. He had hated
living in the middle of nowhere, and home schooled.
Hopefully joining the rest of the Wizarding World wouldn't be to stressful. But
then again, she would need to deal with Draco Malfoy on a daily basis. And she
had promised her Father not to hurt him to badly, damn her luck anyway.
~~hp~~
Harry Potter stumbled his way through Kings Cross station hoping he could get
to platform 9 ¾ before he was spotted by anyone who might be watching the
station. He knew that as soon as he crossed the barrier, he would be able to
replace the glamors hiding his condition without being noticed by the Ministry,
because of all the other ambient magic used on the platform. Only a low level
glamor was needed until he could reach Hogwarts and Poppy. She healed his
injuries every September, and helped him place a higher level glamor, to hide
everything that she could not heal.
At the end of last term, Poppy had told him that she would be informing the
Headmaster if he came back with more then the usual injuries. Wither he liked
it or not. The only reason she had not told anyone before then, was because
Harry made her promise, on her magic, each year not too.
Relief washed through him as he finally crossed the barrier, he was finally
safe. Or as safe as he could be with a snake-faced madman after him.
That relief though, was extremely short lived.
Much to his surprise, Harry found himself face to face with another teen his
age. He stood about a foot taller then Harry, with a long lean body, honey
brown eyes, and black hair with streaks of deep copper red. Stumbling back
slightly, Harry hit a corner of the wall behind him, and he hissed in pain and
grabbed his ribs.
Galahad, even in the surprise of coming across someone else this early in the
morning, had also taken a few minutes to study the smaller boy in front of him.
Emerald green eyes had dulled to jade with the pain, that the boy was trying
his best to hide. A to thin body, but visibly muscled all the same, and shaggy
black hair topped of the look. The overly large clothing gave off the
impression of an almost fully starved orphan. Although the crowning future, was
the lightening shaped scar on the boys forehead, telling for all the world to
see that Harry Potter was now on the platform. What concerned Galahad the most
though, were the bruises, and cuts over Harry's body, along with the pain his
ribs were obviously giving him.
Galahad made a split second decision, knowing in his heart, that it was the
right choice. “Hey Morgan-Rose. Get your lazy arse over here. Your healing
expertise are needed.” He called out to where he knew his sister was hiding in
the shadows. Grabbing hold of Harry's arm, he gently maneuvered the smaller boy
onto one of the benches, before he could get away, and waited impatiently for
Morgan to join them. Extending his hand in greeting he was extremely glad when
Harry responded. “Hi, I'm Galahad Tristan Annerson, and that's my sister
Morgan-Ann Rose. What year are you in?” He asked in a friendly tone, although
he already knew that answer.
Giving a small pain filled smile Harry answered. “Harry James Potter. Nice to
meet you Galahad. I'm starting my 6th year. I take it you and your sister are
new, what year are you going to be in and do you know what House you will be
sorted into?” Grateful that he wasn't been shown the awe and fear he normally
saw in those around him, Harry allowed himself to relax slightly, it seemed
this other boy was willing to treat him like just another normal kid.
“Don't really care what House I go into." Galahad told him, much to Harry's
surprise. "Although father would be most pleased if we where both sorted into
Slytherin. Personally I really don't see that happening. We'll both be starting
our 6th year also.” Galahad continued.
Before Harry could ask him more, a hand settled on his shoulder, causing him to
panic and fall off of the bench. A young woman who must be Morgan, since she
looked a lot like Galahad, reached down and helped him up. “Merlin, I'm sorry
Harry. I didn't mean to startle you. As my brother already told you I'm Morgan,
and yes, before you ask we are twins." she said with a smile, and hiding any
concern she knew would be in her eyes.
Holding his ribs and breathing through the pain, Harry studied the second
figure. You could tell they were related as they both looked almost identical,
the only real difference being their hair. Morgans hair was red with streaks of
black, the exact opposite of her brothers. Accepting the hand that she held out
to help him carefully stand once more he attempted to answer he, “Nice to meet
you Morgan.” He finally managed to gasp out.
Morgan, like her brother watched Harry with concern that she finally let show.
“Are you okay? Those injuries look awful.” She said softly
Harry snorted and instantly regretted it. “I'll survive.” was all he said in
response, 'after all, I've had worse,' he continued silently.
Morgan narrowed her eyes, not really liking the answer she had been given.
“Alright then, I guess you have a two choices. Take off your shirt so I can
heal you, or I have Galahad remove your shirt so I can heal you. Either way
that shirt is coming off.” She said, immediately taking charge.
Harry blinked at her in confused surprise, before he finally found his voice,
and a little of his anger. "Is there an option that does not require me to
remove my shirt? I would honestly prefer to leave it on.” He said with a little
of a bite to his words.
Morgan crossed her arms against her chest. “Nope. Sorry. Those are your only
options.” She said with a mild glare, ignoring Harry's tone of voice, after
all, her father's bite was much worse.
Harry looked at her for a minute, and felt his anger melt away, no matter how
much he didn't want it to. The pose she took, along with the glare that went
with it, reminded him of someone but he could not place his finger on who.
Finally he answered, “Look, I'm not trying to be rude." He told her, "but the
only way you will have me remove my shirt, is by giving me your oath that
nothing you see, or nothing I do or say, will go any further.” A slight note of
defeat had crept into his voice and was reflected also in his posture.
Galahad stepped in before his sister could say or do anything that she would
regret later, and tried to reassure Harry. “We do understand what you are
saying. I have read enough in the papers about you to understand that you don't
want anything getting back to them. But I will tell you now that we can be
trusted.”
“I'm sorry.” Harry said, shaking his head. “I can't take anyone or anything for
granted any more. It's cost me to much over the years.”
Morgan grabbed hold of her brother's arm, as an idea came to her. “Excuse us
for a few minutes. We need to discuss what to do next.” She told Harry and
without waiting for a reply, she dragged her brother off onto the other side of
the platform.
Harry watched for a moment as the two of them argue on the other side of the
platform, but he was in too much pain to really care what was going on. It only
took them about five minutes to come to some sort of decision, and from the way
they looked he could not tell who actually won the argument.
Galahad gave his sister a dirty look before turning to Harry. “Like I said
before, we do understand where you are coming from. What we would like to do,
is give you knowledge of us in exchange. What we were arguing over is if we
should take your word not to tell anyone, or use a spell that allows the three
of us to share each other's secrets without fear of anyone, but those who
already know, to talk about them. I have decided that the choice should be
yours.”
“And Morgan wanted to make the decision herself.” Harry said with conviction.
“Yes. I don't think that would be fair to you though.”
Harry thought about it for a few minutes, mentally arguing with himself to
trust these two, who he had just meet, with his secrets. Shifting slightly as
his ribs twinged, he came to a decision. “I would like to use the spell. This
way I would have a way to talk about the things that are eating away at my
sanity. I have been told often enough that if I don't talk about them, then
they will end up killing me before Voldemort has a chance to do it.” He told
the two of them bitterly, before adding in a slight whisper, "besides, my
instincts are telling me to trust you with this, and my instincts are rarely
wrong."
“Thank you Harry, to tell you the truth, my sister and I feel the same way
about you. But I must warn you that the spell we will be using has some side
effects, that you should be aware of. It will also connect you to one other
person.”
Harry didn't know what to think about that, and this information almost made
him back out. “What side effects and who else would it be connected to?” He
asked Galahad, hoping that he would put his doubts at ease.
Morgan smiled slightly, and answered for her brother. “Depending on the amount
you actually are willing to trust the other person, depends on the side
effects. The deepest amount of trust will allow us to be able to Mind Speak, if
you only allowed yourself to trust a slight bit, the worst effect would be
someone who you can yell and vent at without worrying about it getting out to
the rest of the world. The only other person who would be connected to you
would be our Father, and the reason for this is because the spell is Blood
Magic, and will effect those who have a close Blood tie to us, and vise versa.”
“No worries about that from my side, there are no close blood ties. Can you
explain to me how I would be connected to your Father?”
“Nothing really drastic Harry. You would also be able to tell him the truth,
and not have him tell anyone. He would also be able to tell when you are lying.
And depending on the relationship you forge with each other, will also dictate
the level of the trust bond between the two of you." Galahad explained.
Harry thought about that for awhile weighing the pro's and con's. 'An adult I
can trust,and who will believe me, hmm.' he thought to himself, “I think I can
handle that.” He said out loud.
Both of the twins smiled in pleasure. “Good. Shall we begin then?” They said
together.
Harry groaned silently in dismay at the double answer, but nodded his head in
agreement anyway, and watched as the siblings went to work. Within a matter of
minutes they had everything they needed to complete the spell, especially since
they only needed two things. A small crystal bowl, and a silver dagger. At this
point Harry started to get nervous and asked in concern. “What about the
restrictions for underage magic?”
“They won't be able to detect this Harry, it's one of the benefit for having
creature blood.” Morgan told him with a smile.
Harry let the matter drop with a slight smile of his own. He knew that the laws
around those with creature blood were different then those that where pure
human, instead he just made a mental note to make sure that he questioned the
two of them about what kind of creature blood they had.
 
The three of them made themselves as comfortable as possible on the ground
while making sure their knees touched, and placed the bowl in the middle. With
the dagger, Galahad slashed each of their left hands and they allowed the blood
to drip into the bowl, when the level of blood reached a certain mark, Morgan
started to chant and Harry almost couldn't contain his surprise. The words were
in a different language, he knew, but what caused his surprise was the fact
that they were close enough to parseltongue for him to understand.
{We three
Together be.
Share our trust,
With minds at ease.
Secrets shared,
With spoken words,
And,
Open hearts.
Bind us now,
Together we trust.}
With the last word, the three of them put their palms together to allow their
blood to mix. As soon as skin met skin, bright white light surrounded them.
:Wow: Harry said in his mind.
:Indeed: Both twins said at the same time, and the same way, once again
reminding him of someone.
“I take it that we all went in with full trust in the others, since we can now
talk using Mind Speak?”
“We must have. I didn't know that is was possible to trust someone this much.”
Morgan said in awe.
“Me either.” Galahad informed them.
Morgan quickly shook of her awe and gave Harry 'The Look'. “Shirt off Mr.
Potter, and let me see how bad the damage is.”
Harry knowing that it would be easier and less painful to obey, finally
complied with her request, and carefully slid his shirt over his head. Shocked
gasps met his ears as the twins saw the damage.
“Harry what happened? Who did this to you?” Morgan asked with a mixture of
anger and disgust in her voice.
Harry sighed in resignation, knowing he would not be able to get out of the
questions coming his way. “To answer both question, my Uncle. He hates magic,
almost as much as he hates me." Harry told them, and after receiving a pointed
look from Galahad, figured he better explain a little bit more.
"This past summer he took things further then he has before, I'm not really
sure what exactly set him off, but something happened and he blamed it on me
like usual. In retribution he destroyed everything I owned from school, or at
least everything he could find anyway. My surrogate Godfather asked me for my
invisibility cloak, the map of the school that I have, my broom and my photo
album for something he needed to do, and I had just sent them off with my owl
Hedwig, when my Uncle came into my room. I really don't remember much after
that, and I woke up a few days later, only to find that I was once more locked
in the cupboard under the stairs. They let me out a week ago, and pretty much
ignored me for the rest of my time there. Or at least they did until early this
morning, the damage you see now was a going away gift from my uncle.”
“Harry that's horrible. Why didn't you tell anyone?” Morgan asked in concern.
“I've tried to tell the Headmaster, he keeps saying that I'm stretching facts
to suit my needs. The only other Professor who I could have trusted with this
information hates me.”
“So what are you going to do?”
“Go to school, have Madam Pomfrey place a stronger glamor then I can do on my
scars, try to get through another year without getting any more people close to
me killed, and then go back to the Dursleys next summer. I'll only have to stay
there for a few weeks and then I'm free to do what I want. Or at least as free
as I can be with a madman on the loose.” He gave the twins a small smile. “In
other words I'm going to survive to live another day.”
“I don't like that idea very much.” Morgan told him with a glare, while healing
the last of his injuries.
“There is really not much more I can do.”
“You can tell our Father, he would know that you are telling the truth.”
Galahad pointed out. “Besides he's told us about you in his letters. He
respects you greatly.”
Harry was about to respond when he felt a slight tingle across his spine, and
he instinctively knew what that tingle meant. “Do one of you know how to cast a
strong glamor? I really need one done now.” He asked, desperation coloring his
voice.
“We both do Harry, why?” Galahad asked in concern even as he pulled out his
wand.
“There's no time to explain, please, I just need you to cast a glamor now.”
Harry's desperation was turning into panic as the tingle became more
pronounced.
Galahad knew that he would get an answer sooner or later and had just raised
his wand to cast the glamor when a dark figure crossed the barrier and into his
line of vision.
“To late.” Harry moaned, and dropped his head in resignation.
“Well, well, well. If it isn't Dumbledore's Golden Boy.” A voice sneered from
behind Harry, causing the twins who where facing the barrier to stiffen in
shock.
“What the hell do you want Snape.” Harry snarled back, not bother to turn and
look at the Potions Master.
“I'm here to escort two of our newest students to Diagon Alley in order for
them to do their school shopping. It seems though, that you've already put them
under your spell.”
“Any spell casting that has been done here this morning has not been done by
me, not that you would care anyway. Just one more reason for you to try and
expel me.” Harry said as he turned and finally faced the man, trying to keep
his voice neutral as he did.
“I but do my best to make sure all students are treated the same way.” Snape
answered smoothly back.
Before Harry could reply to his least favorite Professor, Morgan who had
finally shaken off her shock, jumped up from where she was sitting, and ran to
Snape throwing her arms around his waste in a hug. “Papa!” she cried. “Be nice
to Harry. He needs our help.”
Harry looked over to Galahad, it was his turn to be in shock. “Papa!? Professor
Snape is your Father?!” He exclaimed in disbelief.
Galahad gave Harry a wide smile before joining his sister. “Father I've missed
you.”
Snape relaxed enough to give both his children a hug, before stepping back and
looking them over sternly. “I thought I told you that no one could know that I
was your father.” His whole body stiff in anger, even as he tried to keep it
out of his voice.
“Actually Father I believe your words were, *'If you find someone that you feel
you can trust without a doubt, I give you my permission to share your secrets.
Just use discretion, and choose your confidant(s) carefully.'*” Galahad pointed
out, not bothered in the least by his fathers attitude.
“So you trusted Harry Potter? I told you not to let other's now I was your
father so you wouldn't be made into a target. Befriending Potter is worse then
having me for your father.”
Both twins answered him with a single look, letting him know that they didn't
care that they had just made themselves targets.
Snape dropped his head, and rubbed the bridge of his nose in irritation. While
he stood there, the twins rejoined Harry, standing on either side of him.
“How do you know that Mr. Potter will not say a word to anyone else?” he asked
quietly.
Instead of giving him a verbal answer the twins held up their left hands, and
Morgan grabbed hold of Harry's hand. Showing him the identical scars.
“I see. Mr. Potter...”
“Harry, Papa. His name is Harry.” Morgan pointed out to him, determined that
they all be on first name basis.
Harry was wise enough to keep his mouth shut, while Snape glared at his
daughter. “~Harry~ then, you do realize how much damage this information could
do, I assume?”
“Yes Sir...”
“Severus, Harry, he's name is Severus.” Galahad pointed out, taking his cue
from his sister.
Harry leveled a very Snape like glare at Galahad, before glancing at Snape for
permission, when he received a resigned nod in response he continued. “I know
better then most people what is at stake here Severus.” Harry told his
professor, almost stumbling over the man's name, in his mind though he was
yelling at the twins.
:Are the two of you trying to get me killed?:
:Why would he kill you Harry?: Galahad asked.
:Do you remember the one Professor I was telling the two of you about? The one
that hates me?:
The twins moved away from Harry to stand side by side. “That's not possible
Harry.” Morgan told him out loud.
“She's right, it's just not possible.” Galahad agreed.
“Of course it's possible. What ever gave the two of you the idea that it
wasn't?” Harry told them in expiration.
Galahad looked over to his Father. “Tell Harry you don't hate him.” He
demanded.
“And why would I do a foolish thing like that?” Snape asked with an arched
brow.
“Because it's the truth Papa. You have never hated him, you've told us often
enough how much you respected him.” Morgan said with a glare.
“I have no idea on what the two of you are talking about.” Snape sneered back,
before getting a thoughtful look on his face and asking, “Would one of you like
to tell me just how deep the trust bond goes?”
Harry threw his hands into the air, and turned his back on the three of them
arguing. He had just reached down for his shirt, when the tingle on his spine
increased and the shirt was snatched out of his hand.
“Tell me ~Harry~, just what did happen for you to get all of those scars?”
“That's what Harry needs your help for Father.” Galahad said quietly.
Harry and Snape both ignored Galahad. “That all depends on which ones you want
to know about. A few are quidditch scars as you know, one is from the bite of a
Basilisk, a couple of them are curse scars. There's one from Wormtail when he
took my blood to bring Riddle's body back. The rest of them are from my Uncle.”
Harry told him, keeping his voice steady throughout the listing of his scars,
while making sure to keep his back turned towards Snape.
“Your Uncle?” Snape asked in disbelief.
“Yes ~Severus~, my Uncle. Unlike what most people believe, you included, I do
not come from a loving home. My family, if you really wanted to call them that,
did everything possible to stomp the magic out of me. This summer he used a
knife and the belt. Something pissed him off and he took it out on me and my
school things.”
“And your wand?”
“Needs to be replaced. The only thing I was able to retrieve after they were
done playing with the fire pit, was Fawkes's feather. The only things that
survived were the pictures of my parents and my invisibility cloak. Remus asked
to borrow them so I sent them out with Hedwig. He also asked me to send him the
Marauders Map and my broom.”
“What about clothing?”
“You're the spy, Professor, you figure it out. Think about all the times you
have seen me without my school robes on over the years.”
“Did you tell the Headmaster?”
“According to him, I am only stretching the truth to met my needs.”
“You could have told me during our extra lessons last year.”
Harry finally turned around and looked Snape in the eye. “Would you have
listened? Would you have cared? Or would it just be another bid for attention
from Dumbledore's Golden Boy?” Harry saw the truth reflected back at him. “Do
you know how much I hate those titles and the so called fame that goes with
them?”
“You lived through hell at home, and then came to Hogwarts only to receive the
same treatment from me." Snape whispered, comprehension dawning on his face.
"And I never believed you about how much you hated your fame either." He
continued, knowing it to be truth this time, as the spell cast by his children
latched onto his own soul and magic.
"Yes Sir. But to tell you know the truth, when I first entered the Wizarding
World, the fame almost did get to me, and the only thing that stopped it from
doing so was you. For that I am truly grateful. I knew that no matter what
happened, you would always be the same. Thank you.” Dropping his voice he
continued softly enough so that the twins could not hear. “I'm sorry for last
year Severus. I hope you can forgive me.”
Harry got all the answer he need when Snape responded. “As long as you can
forgive me for the way I have treated you over the years.”
Nodding his head, Harry reached for his shirt. And was totally surprised when
Snape banished it.
“Galahad, I'm sure you have an extra set of clothing in your trunk that Harry
can borrow. There is no way I will be seen in Diagon Alley with him wearing
those rags.”
Harry watched as Galahad ran to his trunk and started digging through it.
Morgan just stared at Harry with worry in her eyes.
:Are you Okay Harry?:
:I will be Morgan-Rose, I will be. But I have to say that getting him to
believe me was just to easy!:
:It's the Trust Bond. We've explained that to you.:
:It was still to easy.:
***** two *****
A/N. For those of you reading this for the first time, you have my many thanks
for you time. For those of you reading once again, you may notice that I have
rewritten many parts, and have added to the story. Which of course made me redo
where the chapters ended. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your
patience. Vbollman.
Disclaimer- don't own them, don't want them (except for Snape) Just like
playing with them.
Thanks to Kei and Sandra for their Betaing job. Much luv to both of you.
Chapter Two.
After changing into the clothes that Galahad handed to him, and having them
shrunk to fit, the four of them made their way to the Leaky Cauldron. There
they stopped and had breakfast before heading to the Alley to do some major
shopping. Harry was not looking forward to being the center of attention once
again, but to his surprise, Snape kept everyone away with his glare.
Giving Snape a grateful look, he murmured so only the older man could hear him,
"Thanks for keeping them away. I really don't think I could handle dealing with
the hero-worship today." He said, not expecting a response since they were in
public.
Entering Gringotts, Snape waved the twins ahead, and pulled Harry to the side.
"Do you have your key?"
"I haven't had my key since the summer before my third year. It was never
really deemed safe enough for me to be here, so Mrs. Weasley always did my
shopping for me.”
Snape sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose again. “Do you know how hard
it's going to be to convince the Goblins to give you a new one.”
Harry smiled at him, “Not as hard as you may think Sir. The Goblins are aware
of the fact that I may show up at times without my key. I notified them by
letter at the end last term when I did not receive it from the Headmaster, and
they sent me a letter back saying that I was to ask for my account manager when
I did make it in.
"Who is your account manager?”
“That would be Donk I believe.”
Snape did not get a chance to respond as he was cut off when a Security Goblin
bowed before them, “Mr. Potter, please follow me. I will take you to your
account manager.” he said in a condescending tone, completely ignoring Snape.
Harry not liking how this Goblin treated his professor assumed a mask of slight
cockiness combined with the authority that usually made others listen to him,
“I have others with me.” He said in a firm tone.
Reacting to the authority in Harry's voice and stance that was not apparent
moments ago, the Security Goblin bowed his head before he answered, slight fear
showing in his voice. “They may join you if you wish Sir, or you may point them
out to me and I will make sure that they are informed of your whereabouts and
shown to a place that they may wait for you.” He along with the other Goblins
knew how important this human was, and was honestly fearful that he had just
annoyed the one Wizard who would also save their nation.
“If you would be kind enough and wait while I gather them to join us.” Harry
started to say, only to be cut off.
“No need Sir. Just give me their names, and I would be happy to do so for you.”
“Very well then, please ask Morgan-Ann and Galahad Annerson to join me.
Professor Snape will also be joining me of course.”
“Yes of course. Excuse me for a just a moment while I gather the rest of your
companions.” he said, before walking away.
Snape had watched the whole thing with slight amusement. “Harry, I must
honestly say that I have never seen any one handle the Goblin Attitude like
that before.”
“It's the curse of being The Boy Who Lived. I wouldn't have reacted that way if
he hadn't treated you the way he did.” Harry said, shrugging his shoulders.
“Thank you Harry.”
Harry just smiled, as he saw the Goblin approaching with his two new friends
following behind. “Please follow me.” he said, anxious to get away from the
humans, before he made a major mistake.
“After you.” Harry told him with a slight smile.
The four of them followed the Security Goblin deeper into the bank. It wasn't
long before the four humans found themselves moving towards what was obviously
Goblin Territory, and Harry noticed that Snape seemed to become more and more
tense the deeper they were led. After walking for about 20 minutes, the Goblin
finally stopped before a richly carved door. “Here is where I leave you. Your
account manager is just inside.” He said before hurrying away.
“Well, that was nice of him.” Harry said sarcastically.
“Indeed.” came three identical responses, which Harry decided to ignore.
Knocking on the door, Harry was surprised to see it open right away by a
familiar red head. “Bill!” He exclaimed.
“Hey there Harry. Professor.” he said, while giving the twins a nod of the head
in acknowledgment of their presence.
“Mr. Weasley. I'm sorry for your loss.
Thank you Professor.” Bill replied with a slight nod of his head.
“Not to be rude Bill, but what are you doing here?” Harry asked
“I'm here unofficially to see you, and tell you that we still consider you our
brother.” He told Harry, noticing the look of pain and sadness passing through
Harry's eyes, he continued. "It wasn't your fault that The Burrow was attacked.
Or that mom and dad were to blind to see that Percy was a threat, until it was
to late. Things would have turned out differently, if he would not have
attacked at night." He said softly while wrapping his arms around Harry.
Bill stood that way for awhile, letting the slight teen mourn the loss of his
two best friends and surrogate family. When Harry finally pulled away, Bill
handed him a few tissues, so that he could clean up his face a bit. "Feeling
better Harry?" He asked and received a nod in response.
Officially, Mr. Weasley is here on my request.” A gravelly voice said from
behind Harry. “But we will get to that later. I am Senior Manager Donk. Your
accounts are in my care.”
“Accounts?” Harry questioned.
“Yes Mr. Potter accounts. If you and your guests would be seated, I will do my
best to explain everything to you.”
Harry and the others seated themselves on the offered chairs and waited for
Donk to explain.
“First Mr. Potter, I would like to offer you my condolences also. I have heard
a lot from Mr. Weasley here, about you and the place you had amongst his
family. It is dirty work indeed, when you find yourself betrayed by a member of
your own family. If I remember correctly, this is the second time you have
betrayed in this way.
My third Sir, although I do not recall the first time very well, I do remember
extremely clearly the death of my Godfather at the hands of his cousin.”
“That is understandable, and unlike in the human world, the Goblin Nation did
not believe that Sirius Black was the reason behind your family's betrayal. We
have managed to have the Ministry of Magic release his accounts, as he is now
no longer among the living.”
“Thank you Sir, but how does that effect me?”
“According to your Godfather's will, you are his Heir, and as such, you became
the Head of the Black Family.”
Harry stared at him in shock. “I'm sorry sir. I don't think I understand.”
“You Mr. Potter, are now Lord Black, along with being the Lord to a few other
families.”
Everything after that became a blur for Harry.
~~hpss~~
Harry was finding it hard to wrap his mind around what happened through out
that day. He had found new friends, and found out said friends where the
children of Professor Snape. He found out that he was the richest man in the
Wizarding world, with four seats on the Wizengamot, and three on the Hogwarts
Board of Directors. He also found out that he had more property then he knew
what to do with. On top of all that found out that he was just not the Head of
two Pure Blood Houses, the Blacks and Potters, but three more on top of that.
The Annerson's, which Morgan and Galahad were the last members of, and they
wanted nothing to do with the duties being Head of Family meant. And the
Olmsted's.
The most surprising, in Harry's book at least, was the Weasleys. Bill had
insisted that no one who remained in the family had wanted the title, and over
Harry's protests, signed over all of the rights, making Harry, Head of the
Weasley Family as well. Both the Annerson's and the Olmsted families had willed
everything to Harry, without them ever knowing more about him, other than the
the fact that he was The Boy Who Lived, and he still did not understand how
people could do that. He had talked to the account managers of all the families
after, and had decided to leave everything the way that it was set up for the
time being.
The only thing he really had to do was sign the paper work that allowed the
Goblins the power to choose who would be the best witches or wizards to fill
those seat on the Board of Directors and the Wizengamot. The only thing he
insisted on was that Bill and Charlie Weasley and Remus Lupin be given a seat
on each, if they so wished. He then directed the Goblins to contact Remus Lupin
with the news that he had also inherited a sum of money as well, as in about 4
million galleons. He also sent an owl to the twins stating that he had given
them an amount of money for Research and Development, with orders not to tell
anyone of course. He had also set up accounts for Charlie and Bill, so that
they would never have to worry about money again.
That had taken most of the afternoon, and he now wore around his neck three of
the five Head of Family rings. The only ones that he would wear unless he
needed to see to something personally were the Potter and Black rings. After
signing all the required paperwork, which seemed to take forever, Harry,
Morgan, Galahad and Severus left to do some shopping before the shops closed
for the night. They made a stop at Madam Malkins, and picked out a few pairs of
casual pants, and a few button down shirts. along with underwear, socks, and
nightclothes. finishing that off with a pair of shoes and pair of slippers,
Harry promised to be back the next day in order to be fitted for everything
else he needed.
Severus had sent a message off to The Headmaster with the twins earlier, when
they had left to finish their own shopping, telling him that, do to
circumstances beyond their control, the four of them would not be returning to
the school in time for the Welcoming Feast, but would be back before school
started on Monday. All of them thanked Merlin that the first of September came
on a Friday that year.
After that they made a stop at the Wizards General store, and Harry picked up
the toiletries he needed, while the other three picked up some fresh food.
Returning to the Leaky Cauldron, they had a late supper, and Morgan who was
barely able to keep her eyes open, went of to bed her twin following close
behind her. Harry who was also feeling pretty tired did the same and bade
Severus a good night. It was then that Harry found himself unable to sleep.
Finally giving up, Harry slipped into an emerald green satin dressing robe,
feeling slightly uneasy wearing such fine things, but Morgan had insisted. He
made a mental note to find a plain cotton robe when he did the rest of his
shopping the next day. The slippers he loved though, and made yet another
mental note to pick up at least one more pair. Made from dragon and sheep skin,
the outside being made from dragon skin made them nonslip, and able to be worn
outside if required, while the sheep skin keep his feet warm no matter what.
Hearing slight noises coming from the kitchen area attached to their rooms,
Harry silently moved in that direction, knowing instinctively who he would
find. Leaning against the doorway, Harry watched as his Professor threw
together a light salad.
"You do know Mr. Potter, that staring is rude?"
"Yes Sir. I couldn't help myself though.” Harry replied.
“And why is that Mr. Potter?
“I've watched you for a number of years, all for different reasons. This time
it was without fear of being caught.”
“And why have you watched me?”
“A number of reasons like I said, and each year for a different one. It was all
depending on what was going on around me at the time. Mostly though, it was
because I really didn't want to be caught doing something that you would have
punished me for.” Harry said, and then added to himself, 'besides, I like what
I see.'
“Tell me Harry. How many times have I almost caught you?”
At this, Harry had to laugh, and actually moved into the kitchen and sat down
at the table. "Which year?" He returned. "I can remember one vivid almost
meeting in my first year, during Christmas break. If you would have reached out
your hand a few inches more, you would have had me." he said with a grin.
And your second year?”
“Not that I can recall right now. I can tell you that it wasn't me who broke
into your personal potions cupboard. That was Hermione. And before you ask it
wasn't me in forth year either. Blame that on a certain house elf.”
“Combine your other years. How many times have you managed to get out of
detention with me?”
“To many to count. Third year was the best though.”
“Care to explain?”
“That would be breaking confidence with the Marauders. I really don't feel like
getting on Remus's bad side.”
“One of these day I will get that out of you.”
“You mean you can try.”
Snape inclined his head in acknowledgment of that statement and finished
chopping the fresh greens for the salad. Filling two bowls, he joined Harry at
the table and handed him one.
"Now that we have that out of the way, care to tell me why you are not asleep?”
Harry ate silently for a few minutes before he answered. “To much has happened
today, and everything keeps running through my head.”
“I see. Have you tried clearing your mind?”
“How?” Harry asked looking Snape straight in the eye. “You never told me how
Sir.”
Snape sighed, he knew Harry was right. “You may call me Severus in private
Harry.” he said quietly before continuing. “I think for tonight, we will leave
that subject alone. Tomorrow, we will see what books we can find on that
subject. For tonight, I will give you some Dreamless Sleep.''
“Thank you Severus, but I can tell you now, that the Dreamless Sleep won't help
me tonight.”
“Explain!” Came the clipped response
It was Harry's turn to sigh. “How much have you been told about my connection
with Vol ... I mean Riddle?”
“The connection was never explained to me. Just that you did indeed have one.”
Harry pushed his empty bowl to the side. “My scar connects me directly to
Riddle's mind, and I can feel most of his emotions, especially whenever he is
feeling something strongly. When he starts to 'play' with his Death Eaters, or
whoever he's torturing, I am literally pulled into his mind and can see what he
sees. I also feel whatever curse he is casting, like I'm the one he is casting
them on.” Harry explained. “My scar has already been hurting tonight because he
is mad. Probably because I was wondering around Diagon Alley, and not on the
train. I fully expect to have another vision tonight, as he punishes whoever
told him the news.”
“That could cause problems then.”
“You're telling me.”
“Harry, there is something you are not telling me.” Severus said with a slight
warning in his voice.
“Last year, at the Department of Magic, Riddle possessed me, and tried to make
the Headmaster kill me. It didn't work obviously. While he was in my mind, he
found the link and made it stronger. He can now pull me into his mind whenever
he feels like it, but it takes a lot of energy away from him. He's been using
that against me all summer.”
“How much of your mind was he able to read.” Concern evident in his voice.
“Just my surface thoughts. Mostly the anger I held for you. I can promise that
he never found out from me that you were the spy. I was able to hold that
information to myself, as well as everything pertaining to the Order.”
“You where there when he found out I was the spy.” Needing to know, but hoping
that Harry didn't see exactly what happened to him. Having the Inner Circle
take their turns with someone was not something that made for pleasant dreams.
“Yes. I managed to distract him enough for him to lose control, and I was able
take over for a few seconds, giving you enough time to get away.”
“Thank you Harry.”
“I just wish that it would have been possible for me to do so earlier. It would
have saved us both from a lot of pain.”
Severus shrugged that off. “How much did you see?”
“Everything Severus, I was there even before you where. I was able to pull out
shortly after you escaped and called Fawkes to help you.” Harry told him,
remembering both the rape and torture of the man before him.
“For that, I am more grateful then you could ever know. I'm not sure if I would
have survived long enough to make it into the castle, if he didn't show up when
he did.”
The two of them sat in silence for a few minutes before Severus broke it.
“Harry, you should try to get some sleep tonight. For that matter so should I.
We have a lot to do tomorrow, before heading back to the school.
Harry nodded his head and started for the door, before hesitating and turning
back. “Severus, I know this is going to sound strange coming from me ...” Harry
started to say, before stopping, not sure how to continue with his request.
“But you don't really want to be alone tonight, just in case you do have a
vision.” Severus finished for him.
“Or a nightmare.” He whispered, barely loud enough for Severus to hear.
Severus nodded his head in understanding. In truth , he didn't really want to
be alone tonight either, but refused to say so. “Go to bed Harry. I'll be there
as soon as I clean up here.”
“Thank you Severus.” he said before leaving the room.
It was only a few minutes later when Harry felt Severus enter the room. He laid
in bed facing away from the Potions Master, and waited on the edge of the bed
for the older man to join him. When he finally did join Harry, Severus could
feel the anguish that today caused in the young man, and after hesitating for a
moment, reached over and pulled Harry against him. This opened up the flood
gates to Harry's tears, and he laid their holding him until Harry finally cried
himself to asleep. A few minutes after that, he followed, still holding Harry's
warm body close.
***** three *****
A/N. For those of you reading this for the first time, you have my many thanks
for you time. For those of you reading once again, you may notice that I have
rewritten many parts, and have added to the story. Which of course made me redo
where the chapters ended. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your
patience. Vbollman.
Disclaimer- don't own them, don't want them (except for Snape) Just like
playing with them.
Thanks to Kei and Sandra for their Betaing job. Much luv to both of you.
 
Chapter Three.
Harry was awakened the next morning by Morgan and Galahad, talking and giggling
in his head. Snarling quietly to himself, he snuggled further into the warmth
behind him and tried to go back to sleep.
:No way sleepy head, we've been trying to wake you for the past half hour.:
Morgan told him.
:Don' wanna wake up.: He mumbled back.
:Sorry Harry, but you need to wake Father up, and come out here.:
This comment was enough for Harry to clear his sleep fogged mind and realize
that Severus was the warmth he was snuggled up against.
:WHAT!: He yelped in his mind.
The twins both started laughing out loud at that, so Harry could hear them both
in his mind, and from the other room. The stiffening of the body behind him,
let him know that Severus was now also awake.
“Harry?” He mumbled in confusion.
“Yes.” Harry replied with none of the unease he was feeling in his voice. He
was rewarded with Severus relaxing and pulling him closer.
“What are they laughing about?”
“I'm not sure exactly. It could have been my reaction to waking up in your
arms.”
“I'm sorry.” Severus replied letting go of Harry and starting to move away.
Harry did not like the withdrawal and snuggled back toward the older mans
warmth. “I'm not.” He said softly.
“Hmm?” Severus questioned, wanting to know why Harry was not allowing him to
move away.
"The twins want us to get up and join them.” Harry said instead, not really
sure how to explain what he was feeling at the moment.
This was enough to distract Severus. “Why?”
“Good question. I'll ask.”
:Severus would like to know why you want us to wake up:
:Because Kitten ...” Morgan started
:Kitten?:
:Yes, Kitten. We checked on you both earlier when we couldn't find Father in
his room. You looked like a kitten curled up against him.:
This caused Harry to groan out loud
“What's wrong?”
“Those two evil children of yours have just given me a new nickname.”
“And that would be?”
“Kitten.”
Harry heard the one sound he thought he would never hear from his Professor. A
gentle laugh. “I'm guessing they came into the room?”
“Yes.” He said out loud and then continued in his mind. :Are you going to tell
me the reason yet?:
:Of course Kitten. It's called you both come out here or we send the Headmaster
in to you. I'm sure he would love to see the two of you wrapped in each other's
arms, if of course, I was reading the twinkle in his eyes correctly when we
told him where you both where that is.: Galahad informed him
“Shite.” Harry said both out loud and in his head.
More laughter came from the other room, and Severus sat up slightly to look at
Harry. “What's wrong now?”
“There's a set of twinkling blue eyes waiting in the other room for us.”
“Shite.”
“I've already said that.” Harry had to point out.
“Is it to much to hope that he doesn't know that we spent the night in the same
bed?” Severus groaned, while reluctantly releasing his hold on Harry and
sitting up.
“I believe so, considering the twins already told him, and are still laughing
about it.”
:Do you two want coffee or tea?: Galahad asked, breaking into the conversation.
“Gali, would like to know if you would like coffee or tea?”
“Tea, strong and black. I think I'm going to need it.” Severus responded and
then paused, “Gali?”
“If he's going to call me Kitten, I'm going to call him Gali!”
:Severus would like tea, strong and black. I'll have tea also please with two
sugar and a dash of cream. Thanks Gali.: Harry said, laughing when Galahad
started to sputter.
:Oh I like that one. Thanks Harry.: Morgan sent, laughter in her voice also.
Harry gave Severus a grin, as he rolled out of bed. “I don't really care what
the Headmaster thinks at the moment. I refuse to get dressed before the sun is
up.” he said, while pulling on his dressing gown.
Knowing there was no sense in hiding the fact the two of them shared a bed from
the Headmaster, since he already knew anyway, Severus followed Harry's lead and
pulled on his dressing gown, instead of going to his room to get dressed, and
held the door open for Harry.
The two of them walked side by side out into the kitchen and met the twinkling
eyes of one Albus Dumbledore.
“Good morning My Boys. Sleep well?” he greeted them cheerfully.
“Good morning Professor.” Harry replied, ignoring the question.
Severus also ignored the question and took the cup of tea his son held out to
him. “Morning Albus. What brings you here at this God awful time in the
morning?”
Albus's eyes just twinkled brighter as he looked at the two of them, and
chuckled when the twins chorused a greeting to them.
“Good morning Kitten. Good morning Father.”
Harry just threw the three of them a disgusted look and took a sip of his tea,
before sitting down between Morgan and Severus.
“Well, to answer your question Severus, I came to bring the twins to Hogwarts.
Even though your spying days are over, Morgan and Galahad could still be used
against you. And it would do no good to have the four of you arrive at the same
time. I can explain Harry and you showing up together as added security
measures, but the twins would be harder to explain.”
“That's understandable Albus. I assume you want them there for breakfast so you
can have them sorted.”
“Yes. Though I'm sure we can wait for that until you get there if you want to
see it.”
“It would be better if I wasn't. I might not be able to contain myself, if one
or both of them are sorted anywhere else but Slytherin.”
Harry laughed at the expressions on the twin's faces. “I'm sure if you want to,
you will be able to convince the Sorting Hat to put you anywhere but
Slytherin.” he said.
“You cannot convince the Hat to put you in a different House then the one that
it first chose for you.” Severus said, a slight sneer on his face.
“You go on believing that Severus. I know better.”
“And just how would you know that?”
“If I hadn't convinced the Hat to put me in Gryffindor, I would have had to
endured having you as my Head of House.” Harry laughed.
“Merlin Forbid. You would have never survived your first year, for that matter
nether would I.”
“Agreed.”
“Besides Papa, do you really want me and Draco in the same House?” Morgan asked
sweetly.
“NO. anything but that! Do what you have to, in order to stay out of
Slytherin.”
Albus glanced around the room and then looked at Harry. “Now that, that is
taken care of, would you like to tell me why you where not on the train Harry?
And why I had one extremely angry Nurse demanding that I find you immediately?”
Harry put down his tea and gave the Headmaster a steady look, “The reason I was
not on the train, is an easy question to answer. I was busy in Gringotts
arguing with the Goblins about inheriting the titles to five different
Families. Don't ask me, I still don't understand what's going on. As to Madam
Pomfrey, lets just say that I was disproving your theory that I was stretching
facts to meet my needs.” Harry told him.
Albus was not allowed to say anything about that because said nurse walked into
the room followed by Galahad, who had gotten up to answer the door, while
everyone else was talking.
“There you are young man! I have been worried sick about you. Why didn't you
send a note telling me that you where fine?” She demanded.
“I'm sorry Madam. I had a lot on my mind last night and letting you know that I
was safe and healthy kind of slipped through the cracks.” Harry said wincing
slightly.
“Very well then. Since I didn't see you last night, you will tell me everything
I need to know now. Lets start with you removing your shirt so I can see any
new injuries.”
“I'm fine honestly.” Harry started to say.
“I will be the judge of that. Now you have two choices ...”
“I know, I know. Either I remove my nightshirt or you remove it, either by
yourself, or by having someone else do it for you.” Harry muttered while
undoing the buttons of the shirt.
“Gee Harry, doesn't this conversation sound familiar?” Morgan said sweetly.
“I have a few words to say to you about this set of options, but I'm pretty
sure that if I said them, I would end up hurt.” Harry told her, while slipping
the shirt off.
“Aw but Kitten,”
“Don't start Morgan. This is really not the time.” Harry said, really not in
the mood to deal with both females that early in the morning.
Harry waited patiently as Madam Pomfrey ran her tests, knowing that soon the
questions would start. Glancing up he gave the Headmaster a look that clearly
said, 'Do you understand now?' and watched as the twinkle died.
“Any new broken bones?”
“Not that I noticed.”
“Infections from unhealed and/or uncleaned cuts.”
“Not that I noticed.”
“Is that the only answer you are going to give me?”
“You would be better off asking Morgan about any new injuries. She's the one
that healed me yesterday morning.”
Pomfrey turned her attention to Morgan. “How bad was he?”
“Two cracked ribs, three bruised ribs, a hairline fracture on the left shoulder
blade, and numerous healed, partially healed and new cuts, along with a lot of
bruising.” was the immediate response.
“Do you understand now Albus. You left him in that house to protect him from
You-Know-Who, but who is protecting him from those monsters?” She all but
shouted.
“Madam Pomfrey, He has no choice. I may be able to find another safe place to
stay, but in order to renew the wards around the house, I need to stay there,
in order to keep them safe.” Harry told her, trying his best to avoid the fight
he knew would happen between the nurse and the Headmaster.
“You still want to protect them after that?” She demanded.
“I will not have their blood on my hands. There is already enough there as is.”
:Harry you don't....: the twins started to say.
“If the two of you have anything to say regarding my treatment at the hands of
my relatives say it out loud Better yet don't say it at all because it won't
change matters. I need to stay in the house where my mother's blood dwells in
order to renew the blood protection she granted me, when she gave up her life
to save mine. Nothing you or anyone else can say will change that.” Harry cut
them off.
Albus gave Harry a look of pride mixed with sadness. “I am sorry My Boy.”
“I know Sir. I understood your reasoning once I had a chance to study the
information you gave me last term.” Before anyone else could say anything he
firmly stopped them. “Enough. It's in the past and can't be changed. Now that
Professor Dumbledore knows the full extent of their treatment of me, I'm sure
he will do his best to give me added protection for next summer.”
“Fine Mr. Potter. As I am going to be needed at the school soon, I suggest that
we start on the rest of your start of term questions.”
“Yes Ma'am.”
“How did you sleep over the summer?”
“Same as usual. Nightmares and visions. Nothing new.”
“And last night?” she asked
Harry blushed into his cup of tea, while the twins and Dumbledore snickered. “I
slept fine last night.”
“Are you sure, no nightmares, and no visions.”
“No Ma'am.”
“Did Severus give you anything to help you sleep.”
“No Ma'am. I was half expecting a vision last night when the news that I was in
Diagon Alley and not on the train to Hogwarts reached Riddle. Thankfully it
didn't happen.” he said not daring to look up at the others.
“And I'm to believe you?”
Morgan managed to contain her laughter long enough to answer. “It's kind of
hard to hide the screams when someone is in the room with you.” she pointed
out.
“Not when you are as good with silencing spells as Mr. Potter is.”
“Not when you're sharing the same bed.” Galahad told her. And then added
silently to Harry, :Silencing spells? Just what did you and Father do last
night?:
:Shut up Galahad. Or I'll make sure you regret it.:
Pomfrey turned on the one adult who was keeping extremely quiet, and who she
knew also spent the night, “Severus Snape, are you telling me that you let
Harry and this Young Lady spend the night together.” she demanded.
Harry's head had dropped to the table when the questions about his sleeping
habits had started, provoking Galahad to start teasing Harry, but he snapped up
with this last question. “I did not sleep with Morgan. If I did, I'm pretty
sure her father would have killed me!”
“And who is her father?”
For the first time since the conversation started Severus joined in. “I am,
Poppy. And Harry is correct. If I would have found the two of them together,
one of them would have been dead.”
:Did you notice he didn't say 'you' would be dead Harry?: Galahad asked.
:I'm trying not to think about what that means at the moment Gali.:
“Who did he spend the night with then?”
Albus decided to break in. “I do believe that Severus and Harry shared a bed
last night.” he said. “It is my understanding that after everything that has
happened, Harry was unwilling to spend the night alone.”
“And you are okay with this Albus?”
“Under the circumstances Poppy, I really must insist that we leave the subject
alone.” Dumbledore said firmly. “I do believe that we must be getting back to
the school. Morgan, Galahad, gather your things. If you need anything else, you
can always have it delivered or buy it in Hogsmeads.”
“Yes Sir.” They both said and left to get their things.
“Severus, Harry, I expect to see you both by lunch time. That should give you
all the time you need to get your shopping done.”
“Yes Sir. I'll just go help the twins.” Harry said while Severus just nodded
his head in agreement with the Headmaster.
Harry made a quick retreat out of the room, and joined the twins in the room
they shared. Throwing them both a glare, he flopped down on one of the beds and
watched them do what little packing needed to be done.
“Harry are you going to be okay?” Galahad asked.
“It's going to be a little awkward between us I believe, but we'll manage.”
“If you're sure Kitten.”
“If you don't mind, I would like the story of how I got that name to remain
between us.”
“Of course Kitten.”
“Morgan, can you do me a favor?”
“Sure Kitten.”
“Don't do anything to Draco until I get there. I want to see it.”
“That I can do.”
“Good.”
“Alright, we're all packed again. Don't do anything foolish with Father while
you're alone okay.” Galahad couldn't help but teased.
“I'm sure we'll manage to behave ourselves.” Harry replied dryly.
“Indeed.” Morgan intoned.
“You sound like your father when you do that. If you plan on keeping the fact
that he is your father secret, I suggest you break that habit. Both of you.”
“Yes Kitten.” they both answered.
“Are you coming out to say goodbye?”
“No Morgan. I'm going to go take a shower. I'm still feel filthy from
yesterday, even after my shower last night.”
“Alright, we'll tell Papa.”
“Thanks. Both of you.”
“Not a problem Kitten.” Galahad said.
:Just remember Harry. We are only a thought away.:
:I'll remember that. You better get going.:
Harry waited until he was sure the only one left was Severus before leaving the
room to gather what he needed for the shower. 15 minutes later, he was as ready
as he could be to face the world once again. He followed his nose to where
breakfast was waiting and took a seat across from Severus.
“Harry?”
“Yes Severus.”
“Do you regret asking me to stay with you last night.”
Harry looked up in surprise. “No. I'm more worried about what excuse Morgan and
Gali will come up with on why they gave me that nickname.” he said honestly.
Harry wasn't sure but he was pretty certain that a lot of tension left Severus
at his answer. “Do you regret staying with me?”
“No. But unlike you, I'm more worried about what the staff will say, if Poppy
tells anyone.”
“They won't believe it. As far as anyone else knows we hate each other.”
“And that's another thing. We put our past history behind us awfully fast.”
“I said the same thing to the twins. It was too easy to put everything behind
us. They assured me it was because of the Trust Bond I have with them. It
allows you to know when I'm being truthful and stuff along that nature.”
“There's more to it then that.”
“I know. I'm just not going to worry about it at the moment.”
“And if along the way our past history comes up?”
Harry finally looked up from his plate. “Not if Severus, when. When it comes up
between us, we'll deal with it then. There's no sense doing so now. For one we
just don't have the time to do so.”
“Agreed. Where should we start on our trip through the Alley today?”
“I guess we should start with my OWL results and the list for my school
supplies. Professor Dumbledore left both here. And then I guess our next stop
after that should be for a new wand. I need to find out if Mr. Ollivander knows
what to do about Fawkes's Feather.”
“I can help you with that. We'll need Fawkes permission first, but I'm sure
I'll be able to weave added protections into it, that will also allow you to
focus your power.”
“That would be great. The feather still feels like my wand. Just with a higher
concentration of power.”
“I think you should explain that to Mr. Ollivander. I'm sure he'll be able to
explain to you why it feels that way.”
“Shall we go then?”
The two of them made themselves ready and started out the door to get all of
Harry's shopping done. To Harry's surprise, he found that he was once again
taking potions, and laughed when Severus insisted on picking all of Harry's
potions supplies that he would need for the coming year. And more besides.
“Are you planning on starting remedial potions with me again this year?” Harry
asked.
“Worse. I've been asked to train you in everything I know about Defense. Wither
it be dueling, hand to hand or potions. Anything that can help you, I'm suppose
to teach you.
“And how does the Headmaster plan on hiding that from everyone?”
“I'm not sure exactly but I have an idea.”
“Planning on sharing that idea?”
“No.”
Harry started to comment when Galahad called him.
:Kitten? Are you sitting down?:
:Why?:
:I have news you both need to hear. And you both better be sitting down for
it!:
:Give us a minute.:
“Sir, I think it's time for a break before we go and get my new wand.”
“As you wish Mr. Potter. Just keep in mind that I don't have anymore time to
waste on you then necessary today.”
“Yes Sir.” Harry sighed.
To all outward appearances, nothing had changed between the two of them. The
difference was in the eyes. He knew from a slight glint in his Professor's dark
eyes, that he didn't mean it. The two of them entered a small coffee shop and
ordered before Harry got back to Galahad.
:Ok Gali, go ahead.”
:First tell Father that he has two more Gryffindor's to deal with this year.:
“Gali says that you have two more Gryffindor's to deal with, Sir.”
“Wonderful, just what I need to hear.”
:Okay. Now why did you want us sitting down?:
:Dumbledore announced that Father was a spy for the Light this morning.:
“Sir, did you know that the Headmaster was going to tell the school that you
were a spy?”
“No I did not.”
:Anything more?:
:Oh yes Kitten, there's diffidently more. The Gryffindor's are refusing to let
you back into The Tower. It's been decided that it's too stressful to deal with
your demanding personality, along with being too dangerous. The Headmaster has
decided moved you into the Dungeons, I believe that you have a room directly
next to Father's.:
:How are the two of you dealing with everything?:
:We plan on getting ourselves thrown out of the Tower real soon. I Just wanted
you to let Father know that he would have company in his quarters, or better
yet, that you will have company.:
:Don't do anything stupid Gali. You have no idea how fast Hogwarts can turn on
you.:
:It's not us being stupid Kitten. They are supposed to be your friends.: Morgan
almost screamed through the link.
:Morgan keep it down. I don't need a headache. Besides, my friends in
Gryffindor were killed over the summer. That's the reason for the others
wanting me out of The Tower.:
:I refuse to be in the same place as these bigots. We are either joining Papa
or you. Now hurry and come back.:
Harry found that both twins had cut off the link so that he could not argue
with them further.
“Do you want the bad news or the really bad news?” Harry asked.
“What are they planning now?”
“Oh I don't know exactly, but I have the feeling that everyone will know that
you are their father by the time we get back to the school.”
“And why would they do something that foolish.”
“Because I have been kicked out of Gryffindor Tower, and they do not wish to
remain in a the same place as those 'bigots', to put it in Morgan's words.
Why did they kick you out of Gryffindor Tower?”
“Ron, Hermione and Ginny.”
“I see. Where will you be staying.”
“Gali said something about there being a set of rooms directly next to yours.”
“Yes, it comes complete with a connecting door.”
“Then that's where I'll be staying. And it the twins can work it, they will be
staying with either you or me.”
“More Gryffindor's in my dungeons. What is that man thinking?”
“If you be nice, I might be convinced to reopen the Chamber of Secrets. There
is a huge Basilisk down there.”
“Really? Tell me how you plan to get around the killing gaze h'm.”
“Oh that's easy. You let a 12 year old kill it to begin with!”
“What?”
“The beast from the Chamber of Secrets. I killed it four years ago. I was under
the impression that all the Professors knew that.”
“I never believed the story the Headmaster gave us, so I will get you to
explain that to me later. But we should get going, you still need to get your
wand.”
“Of course Sir. I was just waiting for you to finish your tea.”
“Humph.”
It didn't take the two of them long to finish shopping. And Harry found himself
the owner of another rare wand. It seemed that earlier in the summer, Fawkes
had once again donated another feather to have made into a wand, and that wand
had also chosen Harry. Mr. Ollivander had warned him about the wand, saying it
was an extremely odd combination. Fawkes, at the same time he delivered the new
feather, had also brought in a piece of fang from a basilisk, which had also
been added to the wand's core. As to what to do about the first feather, his
only suggestion had been to make it into an amulet, and either keep it for
added protection or give it to someone Harry cared about enough to want
protected.
They both were quiet as they headed back to the Leaky Cauldron to pack up all
of Harry's supplies in his new trunk. It wasn't until they were just about to
leave that the silence was broken.
“Do you know what you are going to do with the feather?” Severus asked.
“For the moment, I'll just keep it. It's going to take a lot of research to
make it into a proper amulet.”
“If you need help, just let me know. That includes a pass into the restricted
section of the library.
"Thank you Severus.”
“Not a problem Harry.”
“How are we getting to Hogwarts?” Harry asked a few minutes later.
“I've made arrangements with Tom to have a private Floo connected to this room
for our use. I remember how much you hate portkeys.”
“Thank you for that. Even though in my opinion using the floo is not much
better.”
“You don't floo very well?”
“No. If you don't mind, can you go first?”
“I can't. I'm going to need to be last in order guard your back.”
“Damn. Lets hope that there is no one in the Headmaster's office then.” Harry
sighed and taking a fist full of floo powder, threw it in the flames and called
out his destination. Moments later he landed at the feet of the one person
Harry really didn't want to see.
***** Four *****
A/N. For those of you reading this for the first time, you have my many thanks
for you time. For those of you reading once again, you may notice that I have
rewritten many parts, and have added to the story. Which of course made me redo
where the chapters ended. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your
patience. Vbollman.
Disclaimer- don't own them, don't want them (except for Snape) Just like
playing with them.
Thanks to Kei and Sandra for their Betaing job. Much luv to both of you.
 
Chapter Four.
“Lucius Malfoy.” Harry snarled, pulling himself up off the floor.
“Mr. Potter.” he returned coolly.
“Ah Harry. It's good to see that you made it safely. Is Severus on his way?”
Dumbledore asked, drawing Harry's attention away from Lucius Malfoy.
“Yes Sir. He was right behind me and was just giving me time to pick myself off
the floor.” Harry said just as the flames turned green and Professor Snape
stepped out of the fire.
“I see you managed to keep yourself in one piece Mr. Potter.” Snape said, all
his masks back in place as soon as he saw that someone else was in the
Headmaster's office
“Yes Sir.” Harry replied following his lead.
“Headmaster, if that is all? I have things I need to do." Snape asked while
already moving towards the door.
"Severus, I need you and Harry to remain here for a few moments. There are a
few things that need to be discussed. Most especially, living accommodation for
the next school year for four of our students." Dumbledore told him. "Harry, if
you would be kind enough to call the twins and ask them to bring young Draco up
as well.
Yes Sir.” Harry said resigned. He had an awful suspicion that he knew what was
coming.
:Galahad Tristan, and Morgan-Ann Rose! Just what the hell did the two of you do
during the past few hours?: He yelled
:Kitten? Are you back?: Morgan asked, totally ignoring the question.
:What's wrong?: Galahad added.
:I don't know what in Merlin's name is wrong, but the Headmaster wants you and
Malfoy in his office right away. The two of you are to bring him with you.:
:I didn't do anything to him Kitten. I swear.: Morgan half pleaded.
:Just get yourselves and him up here. Your father is with me, along with Mr.
Malfoy.:
:Alright. We're on our way.: Galahad said. :Be there in a few minutes.:
Harry opened his eyes and gave the three men a shrug of the shoulders. “They're
on their way.”
Mr. Malfoy gave Harry a considering look. “You have a mind link with the
twins?”
“We have a trust bond between us deep enough to have developed a mind link.”
Harry explained. Knowing by the looks he was being given by the Headmaster,
that if he didn't answer fully, Dumbledore would.
“I see. This should be a most interesting conversation.”
“Indeed.” Severus replied.
The four of them waited in silence for the other three to make their way up.
The only sound in the room was the sound of Fawkes singing softly in the
background. A few minutes later and the three of them came through the open
door.
It was then Harry received the second major shock in as many days.
“Uncle Luc.” The twins called out in unison.
“Uncle Luc?” Harry questioned.
Galahad gave Harry a wide smile. “Is this going to be a repeat of yesterday
morning Kitten. You know, when you found out about Father?”
Harry managed to close his mouth and proceeded to shake his head. “No Gali,
this is worse then yesterday. Would the two of you like to tell me anything
else, before you manage to kill me?”
“Aw Kitten. It's really not that bad.” Morgan replied.
“I should have turned around and walked away from the two of you yesterday.”
Harry mumbled.
“Why didn't you Potter? It would have made all of our lives easier.” Draco
sneered.
“Shut it Malfoy.” Harry snarled, but was stopped from saying anything else.
“Harry. Do you regret anything at all from yesterday?” Severus asked dropping
all notions of keeping their friendship( if you wanted to call it that)
private.
“No Severus I don't. I told you that this morning.” he sighed.
“Good, then you must also trust me now.”
“Alright. I'm listening.”
“Thank you.”
“Kitten are you tell us that the two of you actually talked this morning after
we left?”
“Yes Gali. What's your point?”
:Oh nothing at all. I just expected something else out of last night: he said
in Harry's mind.
“Galahad Tristan!”
“Ouch. I take it that means I should keep those thoughts to myself?”
“Indeed.” Severus replied for Harry.
“What's going on here?” Mr. Malfoy demanded.
“Nothing at all Mr. Malfoy.”
“Lucius, Harry, his name is Lucius." the twins said together.
Harry didn't even bother to answer, instead he just shrugged his shoulders and
turned to the Headmaster, who was once again twinkling at full force. “Why are
we all here? I would like to know where I will be staying this year so I can
unpack.”
“And that My Boy is exactly what we are here for. It seems that when Lucius
changed his alliances over the summer, being in Slytherin became unsafe for
Draco, which he found out last night, when he was attacked in his bed. It has
also been brought to my attention that you have been kicked out of Gryffindor
Tower, and the twins refuse to stay there unless you are allowed back in.”
Dumbledore started.
“In other words Sir, it is no longer safe or possible for reasons beyond your
control, for any of us to stay where we are supposed to be. Which means in your
mind that we must stay together.” Harry said.
“But of course My Boy. What better way to keep you all safe?”
“Right. And how do you purpose that we get around the idea of killing each
other?'
“By enlarging Severus's quarters.” Dumbledore said with his twinkle going full
blast.
“You should have expected that one Harry.” Severus snorted.
“Yes, I should have.” Harry sighed.
“Is there anything else you would like to know Harry?”
“Nope that about covers it.”
“Wait a minute Potter. Are you just going to agree to this?” Draco demanded to
know.
“When you've dealt with the Headmaster as many times as I have over the past
few years, you learn that there is really no use in arguing with him. He always
gets his way.”
“Indeed I do, Indeed I do.” Dumbledore agreed. “Did you want to know why Lucius
is here?”
“I figured you would get to that in your own time. And asking you for that
information before you are ready to tell us is just pointless. Besides I have
the distinct feeling that he will be staying with his son for awhile, more then
likely as this years Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.”
“And exactly how long did it take you to figure that out Mr. Potter?” Mr.
Malfoy asked.
“Harry, Uncle Luc. His name is Harry.”
“Drop it you two. It's not going to be like yesterday. And to answer your
question Mr. Malfoy, I pretty much had it figured out when Headmaster
Dumbledore asked me to inform the twins and your son that they where needed up
here.”
“Kitten?”
“What?” He snarled, and catching the look on Severus's face apologized, “Sorry
Gali.”
“Right. Have you had lunch yet?”
“No.”
“Did Father make you eat breakfast?”
“Yes.”
“And you did get enough sleep last night right?”
“Go away Galahad. Your starting to piss me off.”
“Aw Kitten. That hurts.”
Harry just sighed and looked at the Headmaster. “Sir are we done?”
Albus couldn't help but laugh he knew what was coming. “Yes Harry, you have my
permission to do what ever needs to be done at the moment.”
“Thank you Sir. I promise not to kill him.”
“When your done with him, you can deliver him to my office. I'm sure I can find
a few things for him to do there.” Severus told him.
“Right, thank you Severus. Just call Dobby and he'll take my trunk wherever it
needs to go. Galahad, are you still here?” was all the warning Galahad got
before he was being chased out the door by Harry.
Morgan watched with amusement as Galahad ran down the stairs, before turning
back to her father. “Papa, are you really going to punish Galahad for that?”
“Yes, I do believe I will.”
“Why? It's not like we're being mean about it?”
“Morgan, put yourself in Harry's place. How would you feel about being teased
about it all the time. Pretty much everything that Galahad has said to him
today, has to do with the circumstances around the nickname the two of you gave
him. And all of it while Harry has been trying to figure out what else could go
wrong in his life.
"I never thought about it that way. And I don't think Gali did either.” Morgan
said with a small voice.
“I don't think that the name or how he got bothered him. It's just the two of
you bringing it up at the wrong times.
I'll talk to Gali.”
“You do that.”
~~hpss~~
Harry was in time to see Galahad disappear around a far corner as he exited the
Headmaster's office. Pacing himself so not to tire out, he set out after him
and was just about to turn the corner when a voice behind him made him stop.
“Mr. Potter. I hope you have a good reason to be running in the school,
especially since you where not here when you where supposed to be.” Professor
McGonagall's voice rang out.
Harry sighed as he skidded to a stop and turned back to his Head of House. “Yes
Ma'am I do. But it's not something I can really explain.” He said.
“I see. Can you at least tell me why you where not here yesterday?”
“I had business in Gringotts.”
“That, Mr. Potter, is not good enough. You had time over the summer to do any
business there.
I'm sorry Professor, but yesterday was the first chance I had to be in Diagon
Alley.”
“Not another word out of you. I'm sure the Headmaster is just as interested as
I am to here your reasons.”
“Yes Ma'am.” Harry sighed once again, and trudged back towards the gargoyle
guarding the Headmaster's office, and preceded her up the revolving staircase.
“Ah, Mr. Potter. Back so soon.” Dumbledore called out when he caught sight of
Harry.
“Yes Sir, I was detained before I reached Galahad.” Harry explained with a
glance over his shoulder.
“Minerva, what brings you here at the moment?”
“I found Mr. Potter running through the halls. When he could not give me an
appropriate reason as to why, I brought him here, so he could explain to both
of us.”
“Harry will you ask Mr. Annerson to rejoin us.”
“Yes Sir.” closing his eyes Harry focused on finding Gali.
:Gali, where are you?:
:Kitten? I don't know. I got turned around. Where are you?:
:I got caught by our Head of House. She dragged me back to the Headmaster's
office.:
:Tough luck.:
:Tell me about it. Can you give me landmarks on where you are?:
:Not really. All I can tell you is that it's dark. I was running down a hall,
not paying attention and turned into a side hall. I can't even tell you if I'm
in the dungeons. All I can see is blank walls.:
:Damn. Alright I'll see what I can do from here. Can you do a point me spell
with your wand?:
:I don't have it on me. I left it in my trunk.:
:FOOL!! You never leave your wand behind.:
:I know. Kitten I don't like it here, this place is creepy.:
:Alright, stay put. I'm working on it.:
Opening his eyes Harry gave the Headmaster a concerned look. “He's lost,
afraid, and without his wand. He cannot even give me which direction he in, or
if he's in the dungeons or not.” he said, and heard Severus muttering about
foolish children.
“This place is huge, how the hell are we going to find him.” Morgan said in a
panic.
Albus sighed. “I can call in the ghosts to help search, and alert all the
Professors. But it's going to take time.”
“Not really Sir. Has Remus left anything here for me?” Harry asked.
Albus got up and retrieved a wrapped bundle from one of the many cupboards in
his office. “He delivered this a few days ago.” He said, handing it to Harry,
figuring out what was in the package.
“And how is that going to help my son?” Severus sneered, trying to mask his
concern.
“First you are going to take a deep breath and relax." Harry stated and waited
for Severus to do just that. When he had he asked him a question. "Do you
remember the Zonko's product you tried to take from me in third year?”
“Yes.”
“It's actually a map of Hogwarts. It shows everyone in the castle regardless of
concealing spells, polyjuice or animagus form.” Harry explained opening the
package and pulling out the map.
:Kitten?:
:Just a few more minutes Gali. Just try to relax.:
:I'll try.:
Harry unfolded the map, and pulled out his wand. “I solemnly swear that I'm up
to no good.” he said and tapped the map.
Spreading it out over a table, he started searching for Galahad, but could not
see him. “Damn.” he muttered.
“Language Mr. Potter.” McGonagall snapped.
Ignoring his Head of House, he tapped the map once again. “Show me Galahad
Annerson.” he commanded. The map blanked itself, and then moments later
refocused on a older section of the school. “Got him.” he announced.
:Gali, I need you to walk to your left.:
:Alright.:
The dot labeled Galahad Annerson, moved further away from the more traveled
parts of the school and Harry was quick to stop him.
:Gali, stop. I've got your directions worked out now. All you just need to
follow all of my instructions to bring you back to the land of the living.:
:How are you doing that?:
:I have a map of the school that my father and his friends made years ago. It
shows everyone on the school grounds on it. It will lead me right to you. Or in
this case it will lead you right to me.:
:Alright Kitten, I trust you.:
:Of course you do. If you didn't, you would be in real trouble.: Harry snorted.
:Just so you know, I am really sorry. Morgan has already given me shit over
teasing you. It seems Father chewed her out for it.:
:Don't worry about it at the moment. We'll talk after I kick your ass for being
an idiot.:
:Deal. So which way do you want me to go?:
:You need to turn around and go to your left. You'll come to an intersection
and you need to go left when you get to it.:
:Alright. Are you going to meet me?:
:Would you like me to?:
:Yes. You and Father both.:
:Alright. We're on our way.:
Harry turned to face Severus. “Severus, he would like the two of us to meet
him.”
“Good. I have a few words to say to that boy.”
“I know. I've already given him hell.”
“Lets go.” Without waiting for an answer he stalked out of the room.
Harry looked at the others and sighed. “How long before he figures out that
without me and the map, he's not going anywhere?” Harry asked the others
waiting in tense silence before following him out.
Harry found Severus waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. “Which way?”
he asked.
“We go down towards the dungeons. Just follow me and you won't get lost.”
“Aren't you the cocky one.”
“No. I'm the one with the map. And I know who made it, and that it can be
trusted.”
“Who did make the map?”
“The Marauder's.”
“And you expect me to trust a map that they made?'
“No, Severus. I'm asking you to trust me.”
For the next ten minutes the two of them walked in silence. With Harry giving
the occasional direction to Galahad. Finally Harry stopped at a blank section
of wall. With Galahad directly across from him.
:Gali, I need you to start looking for a etched snake. When you find it, put
your hand on it and let me know.:
:Why?:
:Because if I'm right. The password for this wall will have to be in
parseltongue.:
:And you plan on inviting the Dark Lord in here just to get me out?: he asked
incredulously.
:NO. I'm a parselmouth. As soon as we find the snake, I can let you out. Now
stop panicking and start looking.: Harry commanded.
“Severus, we need to look for a carving of a snake. If I'm right, the password
will be in parseltongue.”
“Can't you just command it to open without finding the snake?”
“I might be able to. But I'll still need a snake. I need it to focus so that I
can actually switch languages. I don't realize when I do go between English and
parseltongue.” Harry explained while searching the wall.
:Kitten? I think I found it.:
:Alright Gali, give me a minute to check where you are, and I'll concentrate
from there.: Harry checked the map, and moved so he was directly opposite
Galahad. :How far up the wall?:
:About half way:
Harry started looking around the halfway mark until he found the small snake. :
I got it Gali. It will only be another few minutes.:
:Hurry Kitten: Gali replied, the strain he was feeling clearly showing in his
mind voice.
Harry blocked everything else from his mind, and focused on the small snake.
When it was all he could see, Harry started to speak.
{In the name of Lord Salazar Slytherin, I command you to open!} he hissed.
Harry held his breath and waited. For a moment he was afraid that it didn't
work, and then the wall dissolved, and a very pale Galahad fell into his arms.
Harry wrapped his arms around the shaking teen and slowly lowered him to the
floor, cradling him against his chest. Severus joined them, and wrapped his
arms around them both, and together they comforted Galahad as he finally fell
apart.
“That's right Gali, let it out. We've got you.” Severus whispered to his son.
“Harry, let the others know we have him, and tell them to wait for us in my
office.” Severus said.
Harry nodded his head. :Morgan?:
:Kitten. Did you find him?: she asked worry strongly coloring her mental voice.
:Ya, we have him. Your Father says to take the others and meet us in his
office.:
:Thank Merlin: She breathed. And Harry could clearly hear her start to cry. :
We'll be there in a few minutes.: she managed to say.
Harry looked up at Severus and gave him a small smile. “They'll meet us there
in a few minutes.”
Severus released his hold on both teens and stood up in order to gather his son
in his arms. When Harry stood beside him, he leaned over and placed a light
kiss on Harry's forehead. “Thank you My Harry.” he whispered, and then waited
for a dumbfounded Harry to lead them back to the dungeons.
***** five *****
A/N. For those of you reading this for the first time, you have my many thanks
for you time. For those of you reading once again, you may notice that I have
rewritten many parts, and have added to the story. Which of course made me redo
where the chapters ended. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your
patience. Vbollman.
Disclaimer- don't own them, don't want them (except for Snape) Just like
playing with them.
Thanks to Kei and Sandra for their Betaing job. Much luv to both of you.
Chapter Five.
Harry used the map to make sure that the three of them didn't meet up with any
of the other students. After all It wouldn't do for them to see their Potions
Master, acting like a human being. He had finally managed to work his way out
of the daze he fell into when Severus had kissed him, and whispered the words
'My Harry', just as they reached Severus's office door.
It was a good thing he did manage to shake it off when he did, as they found in
the office waiting for them, everyone who was last in the Headmaster's office.
Including Professor McGonagall. Not feeling ready to deal with his Head of
House, Harry made sure that Severus was the first one to enter the room, and he
stood slightly behind Severus, hiding, or trying to anyway. He knew it wouldn't
really work, but if it kept him from dealing with McGonagall, then it was worth
a try.
Taking a chance Harry glanced at McGonagall's face and groaned in dismay. Nope,
there was no way he would get out of dealing with the Witch, and his only hope
was that the others would protect him from her wrath. Following Severus across
the room, Harry waited as he tapped a sequence on a section of wall, and
watched as the wall slide away to reveal a passage leading to the Potions
Master's personal rooms.
Upon entering his rooms Severus carried Galahad to one of the new rooms that
had recently been added, and motioned for Harry to follow. “I need you to go
back into my office and bring a vial of calming potion and one of Dreamless
Sleep. You'll find both in the cupboard above my desk. I don't have the
password set for it as of yet, so you should have no problems.”
Harry nodded his head in understand and left the room and headed for the
passage leading to Severus's office. Making sure to keep someone between him
and his Head of House at all times. It didn't take long for him to find the
potions needed, and by the time he returned with them, Severus had Galahad
stripped, cleaned, and redressed in clean clothing once again. Harry handed
over both potion vials and went to leave again when Galahad called him softly
from the bed.
“Kitten?”
“You should be resting.”
“I know, but my head is all fuzzy, so I can't call Morgan-Rose. And I really
need her here.” Galahad rambled.
“Alright Gali, I'll let her know. You just sleep.”
“Alright Kitten. Papa, will you stay also?”
“I'm not going anywhere My Knight. Rest. Harry will get Our Rose for you.”
Severus said wrapping his arms around his son.
Harry left the room and walked to Morgan. “Morgan, your brother wants you. He's
wrapped around your father at the moment.” He said, and then added for her
alone, :He's the one looking like a kitten at the moment. I don't like seeing
him that way:
:I know Harry. But Papa will make sure he's back to his old self in no time.:
:I hope so My Rose, I truly do hope so.: Harry replied, unconsciously imitated
her father, and tilted his head up to accept the kiss she placed on his cheek.
Looking over at Professor McGonagall as Morgan walked away, he barely managed
to suppressed the flinch that wanted to come out and waited for the verbal on
slot that he knew was coming, just like he knew the Headmaster wouldn't be
willing to head off for him. 'Here we go' he thought to himself, and meet her
gaze.
“Mr. Potter.” she started in a voice every student in her house learned to
dread in their first week if not sooner, “Would you explain to me why you are
on such friendly terms with a student you just met today, and why you are
calling one of your Professors by their given names?”
Ignoring the snickering coming from Draco, Harry started on an over simplified
explanation. “I met the twins early yesterday morning when my Uncle dropped me
off at the station before 7. As I already told you, due to circumstances beyond
my control, I was unable to do any of my school shopping, and Gali and Morgan
convinced Professor Snape to take me with them, when they did their own
shopping. A few things came up while I was in Gringotts, and I found myself
unable to return to the school before the feast started. I have Professor
Snape's permission to use his first name while we are in private, and since we
will be sharing quarters for this school year at least, I am well within my
rights to use his first name. As to my friendly relationship with Morgan, I can
assure you that nothing is going on, and nothing will be going on between us.
The twins and I have a trust bond, which allows me to speak my mind and not
worry about anything I tell them ending up on the front page of the Prophet."
he explained, and then added. " I do believe that I have covered everything
that you need to know. And I will not answer any more of your questions about
the things that have happened before this term started."
“Very well Mr. Potter. I assume by your attitude, that you have been informed
of the decision, to remove you from Gryffindor Tower for your own safety. I
still fully expect you to live up to the rules governing my House.” Disapproval
for Harry's answer and attitude that she didn't bother to mask laced her voice.
“No Professor, I was thrown out of Gryffindor Tower, because your House
believes it will be to stressful to deal with my demanding personality, and the
danger it involves. Your House has shown on more then one occasion that it
would rather turn it's collective back on one in need. On those grounds, I
would rather be resorted to another House, then deal with a bunch of cowards
who refuse to stand with one of their own.
Harry watched in satisfaction as McGonagall went red with fury to the insult of
her house. Albus was also not pleased with the turn of events, but unlike
McGonagall, he was angry on Harry's behalf.
“Harry, My Boy. Is that truly your wish?” He asked doing his best to make sure
that Harry understood that he was not angry at him.
“No Headmaster, it's not. I would rather not be in any House, for one simple
reason, I refuse to deal with House Rivalries, when we have a larger war to
fight. The only reason I would consent to be in any House, is for quidditch.
But that really doesn't matter, as I am under a life time ban for playing.”
“Your ban has been lifted. If you wish, we can have you placed in the Sorting
Hat's first choice for you."
"I believe that will be best Headmaster. Unless of course by know the Sorting
Hat has changed it's mind about where to place me.”
“That is an easy matter to discern. I will need to call in all of the Heads,
for this though.”
“Of course Headmaster. If you would be kind enough to point me in the direction
of my room, I will unpack my belongings, while I wait for the other two Heads
to arrive.”
“I have taken the liberty of placing you in the room next to Severus's. It's
the second door on the left.”
“Thank you Headmaster.”
Harry left the living room, and went to check on Galahad. Looking into the
room, he found both twins asleep, with Severus watching over them. Smiling when
Severus looked up, Harry walked into the room and sat on the edge of the bed.
"How much of that did you hear?" he asked softly
"Enough to know that I wish I would have been in the room to see Minerva's face
when you told her off. Do you expect to be placed in any other house, other
than Slytherin?"
“Not really. But I figured it would be easier this way, with no one being able
to say that I was being favored.”
“Indeed. I'll show you to your room. I believe that Albus had an ulterior
motive in placing you there.” He said as he led Harry out of the room.
“And that would be?” Harry questioned.
Severus pointed at a seascape on the wall. “through that portrait, you will
have direct access to my bedroom.”
“The Headmaster is throwing us together in other words.”
“Yes, I believe that, that is his intent. Does it bother you?” Severus asked
softly, not looking at Harry.
Harry wrapped his arms around Severus from behind, and placed his cheek against
his back. “No Severus, it doesn't bother me. I was just hoping that for once,
the meddlesome old coot would keep his twinkling eyes out of our lives.” he
said just as softly.
Severus smiled and turned around to wrap his own arms around Harry. The two of
them stood silently for a few minutes, each feeling as if they had come home.
Albus Dumbledore watched the two of them from the doorway before making himself
known. Clearing his throat softly, he walked into the room. "I see I was not
mistaken in putting Harry in this room. I just ask that the two of you use the
utmost discretion. I will be reviewing Harry's potions work so no one can call
foul play." He told the two of them. And not giving them a chance to respond he
continued, "The other Heads have just arrived so we can go on with Harry's
resorting."
"Thank you Headmaster. When we are done, I would like to request the time to
speak with Fawkes. I am going to need his permission to turn the feather from
my first wand into a protective amulet.”
“Of course Harry. He has already made it clear that he will answer your call at
anytime.” he said, before walking out of the room.
“I'm not sure which is worse, a meddling old coot or his bloody bird.” Severus
muttered.
“The bird. He has a habit of changing everyone's mood to suit his own needs.”
Harry laughed. He stepped back far enough to look up at Severus. “Do I really
want to know why Fawkes will answer to my call?”
“I'm sure you'll find out when he wants you to.” Severus told him, before
releasing Harry and starting for the door. “Come, lets go see what the Hat has
to say about you now.”
“Nothing I haven't heard before, I'm sure.” Harry pointed out laughing, as he
followed Severus out the door.
The two of them walked into the room, and Harry saw the beat up old hat sitting
on a side table, next to a large winged back chair.
“Ah, Mr. Potter. I see you have finally come to your senses. Do you really need
to me to go through your head once more.”
“I believe it would be best for you to go through my mind again. This way no
one can call favoritism.”
“Very well, Mr. Potter. I just need to know if you will fight my decision once
again.”
“No, I won't. I will willing go where you place me, as long as it's not in
Gryffindor.”
“As you wish, come and let me enter your mind.
Harry settled into the chair and placed that hat on his head. 'Do you plan to
drop another sword on my head?' he asked.
'No Mr. Potter, I do not. Though I must say only the heir of Goldric Gryffindor
would have been able to pull that sword out. So in truth I could leave you in
Gryffindor House.'
'I think not. I was removed from the Tower, by those to afraid to stand up and
face their problems.'
'Good point. How about Ravenclaw? You have some of her blood in your veins.'
'Would that be the best place for me?'
'In truth Mr. Potter, you could be placed in any House. The blood of all four
Founders runs through you.'
'Interesting. Is there a way I can use that to my advantage, and remain out of
all the Houses?'
'I am unsure. Would you be willing to bring me the portrait of the Founders so
this can be discussed?'
'Where would I find it?'
'In the Chamber of Secrets.'
'Ugh. I suppose that I could go down there again. I would prefer to have
Goldric's sword before I go this time though.'
'Remove me from you head. I will summon the Sword for you.'
Harry did as he was told, and placed the Hat on the table once more, and looked
at the others. “He needs to discuss my situation with the Founders.” he told
them, just as a metallic clink sounded from under the hat. Harry placed his
hand under the brim, and grasped the handle of the Sword before lifting the hat
up.
“And what are you doing with that Sword this time, Mr. Potter.” Mr. Malfoy
inquired.
“I prefer to be armed before opening the Chamber of Secrets this time. I was
informed that the only place I will be able to find the required portrait would
be to retrieve it from Slytherin's Lair.” Harry responded. “Since you missed
the trip last time, would you like to join me this time. I'm sure the snake is
dead, but you never know what other creatures you will find down there.” he
asked snidely.
“You plan on reopening the Chamber? Are you mad?” Severus demanded.
“Not really. I already told you I would consider going back down. Just think of
all the potion ingredients that are available from a 60 foot basilisk.”
“You are not going down alone this time.” Severus told him, as his fury began
to grow.
“I never said I was. In fact I do believe I had just asked Mr. Malfoy to join
me. Did you wish to join us also? Besides I wasn't alone last time, it's just
that the Professor who joined me last time was unqualified for the job.” Harry
retaliated while doing his best to hide the shudder of fear that passed through
his body at the visible sight of the Potions Master's fury.
“I believe Harry, that we will all go with you. I must confess that I find
myself wishing to see the private workrooms of one of the Founders.” Dumbledore
said, cutting off Severus's angry response.
“As you wish Headmaster, the entrance to the Chamber is located in Moaning
Myrtles bathroom, I will wait for all of you that are going there.” Harry told
him, and stalked out of the room and slammed the portrait closed behind him.
Dumbledore once more cut Severus off before he could follow the teen out of the
room, by placing one hand on his arm, “I would be very careful in what you say
to him at the moment Severus and remember that he can read emotions and body
language extremely well. Keep in mind his years with the Dursley's, where that
knowledge was a necessity for his survival, and think about what kind of
treatment he had at their hands no matter what." He said softly to Severus,
before walking out to join Harry, calling over his shoulder. "I will ask him to
open the Chamber in 10 minutes. All of you that are going should be there at
that time, or risk getting lost. Severus, I suggest that you call Poppy to
watch over the twins."
Severus stared in shock after the Headmaster, before giving his head and a
shake and walking towards the fireplace, he was just about to contact the nurse
to have her keep an eye on his children, when the twins stumbled out of the
bedroom. “Papa, why is Harry so mad? He won't answer us.” Morgan asked in
concern.
Severus ignored the question and instead leveled a glare at the two of them.
“You are both supposed to be asleep, and should have stayed that way even
without the Dreamless Sleep potion.” he told them.
“By your avoidance of the question, we will assume that you are the reason
Harry is upset." Galahad replied matter of factly, " besides it's really hard
to sleep when someone is cursing in your head in two different languages."
Galahad continued.
Severus closed his eyes and breathed deeply before looking at the twins again.
“If you can get through to him, tell him that I'm sorry. And ask him if we need
anything to bring down to the Chamber.” he told him softly.
Morgan maintained her glare at her father, while Galahad contacted Harry,
blocking out his father's emotion riddled eyes. :Kitten? I have a message from
father for you.: he sent softly.
:What the hell does he want now? Planning on ordering me not to live my life?:
Harry snarled, turning his fear into anger in order to hide it from Galahad.
:Not exactly. He says he's sorry.: Galahad replied, hoping that Harry would
open up a little, over what happened between him and his father.
Galahad winced at the deep silence in his mind, and snapped his eyes open to
join his sister in glaring at his father. "What the hell did you do?" He
snarled, and had the satisfaction of seeing his father step back away from him.
:He did nothing to me Galahad, don't take this out on him.: Harry came back
finally, his mental voice quite.
:I'm not sure if I believe you or not Kitten.:
:Believe what you will. I only telling the truth." Harry said, before
continuing, "tell Draco that he will need his broom if he's coming down to the
Chamber, unless he's scared of course. It will be easier to get around that
way. In fact all of those coming should have a broom." Silence fell for a
moment before he continued, "also tell your father that he may bring something
to collect parts of the Basilisk in, but keep it small. If he plans on taking
back any of the venom, make sure that whatever he brings is highly protected.
The stuff is extremely potent and will kill in just over a minute.:
Galahad turned to Draco and started to relay the message. “Harry says to bring
your broom, unless your too scared to go down with him. He says it will be
easier for all those going to be on a broom." Looking at his father he relayed
the last of the message, "he also said father, that you may bring what you need
to collect ingredients, as long as it's small, and that if you want any of the
venom to make sure the container is highly protected, since it will take a
little more then a minute to kill.” He finished only to hear Harry once more.
:Gali, don't forget your wand this time. I don't feel like having to save your
arse like that again.:
:Thanks Kitten.: He said sarcastically.
:Your very welcome Gali. Do hurry though, I don't want to be sitting around all
day.:
“Kitten is getting impatient, he says to hurry, because he doesn't want to sit
around all day.” Galahad told everyone, before walking back to his room to
collect his and Morgan's brooms. He was just about to go and collect Harry's
broom, when his father walked out with it. Placing a hand on his arm, Galahad
stopped his father from walking away. “I'm still not sure what happened, but he
said it wasn't your fault. Don't give me a reason to doubt his word.” he told
him, and then joined the others.
It didn't take long to find Harry, who was sitting on one of the sinks in the
second floor girl's bathroom with the sword resting across his lap, talking
with one of the school ghosts. When Harry saw them, he jumped down and smiled.
"Everyone ready to go?" he asked cheerfully, doing his best to hide his true
feelings, and received nods in return. "Good." he replied before throwing a
small smirk towards Draco, "Scared Malfoy?" He asked slyly.
You wish Potter.” came back the instant reply.
“Ah, second year all over again. All that's missing is watching Lockhart get
blasted across the hall in a duel.” Harry commented a small grin on his face.
“But I'm sure I can arrange to have it happen again. It would be nice to keep
the idiot in St. Mungo's for an extra few years.”
“What did happen to the buffoon anyway Potter?” Draco asked.
“He tried to oblivate Ron and myself, with Ron's wand, and just like when Ron
tried to curse you, had it backfire. I'm glad it happened though, at least I
didn't have to worry about getting killed by someone supposedly on my own side,
while I was facing off against a young Tom Riddle.” he said, and walked over to
one of the sinks. Bending down, he focused on the snake carved on the plumbing,
and hissed at it to open. When it had opened as far as it would go, Harry
looked back at them all. "Alright then, there's about a 4 foot drop at the end
of the pipe, it's going to be a slimy and fast trip down, so try not to break
anything when you land." he told the group before stopping, "and watch out for
the smell it's really bad, and I doubt it's gotten any better over the years."
He told them as an afterthought. He was just about to jump into the opening
when he looked back at the Professors, "I'm going first! There will be no
arguments about this, for the simple reason as I can talk to snakes and will be
able to tell any that are around to stay away, none of you can." And then he
was gone.
The twins both glared at their father and followed right behind, and Severus
was left muttering about turning his children and Harry into potion
ingredients. Albus just chuckled before he to, stepped into the opening,
followed by everyone else.
When Severus landed at the bottom, Harry had his wand lit, and was examining a
section of wall. Walking over, he lit his own wand and held it up so he to
could see what Harry was looking at. Harry gave him a small grin, and with a
hissed word, a steady glow lit up the tunnel.
"Salazar Slytherin left instructions for the next person who came down here.
It's basically a list of commands on how to light up the tunnels.” He explained
to the Headmaster's curious look.
“Well that's handy.” Albus commented.
“Yes it is. I'm afraid we will have some work to do further in, part of the
tunnel collapsed, so we are going to have to make a passage way through the
rubble. Ron managed to clear a big enough of space for Ginny and myself to get
through, but it won't be big enough for any of us now.” Harry said as he led
them deeper into the tunnels.
It didn't take long for all of them to clear a way through the rock slide. And
when they came to the other side, they all got their first look at just exactly
how big the basilisk was.
“If this skin is any indication, then the basilisk was over 60 feet Harry.”
Professor Sprout told him.
“I wasn't really paying attention to how big it was at the time. I was more
worried about getting Ginny and myself out alive." He replied back, "we're
almost to the main chamber, I'm not sure what kind of condition the carcass is
in, but I figured I'd warn you before we got there. I am asking that you don't
get to close to the snake. I'm not sure if there is any residue venom from the
fang that broke off, when it bit me.”
“You survived a bite by that monster?” Mr. Malfoy asked in disbelief. “And were
coherent enough to free that house elf afterwards?”
“Fawkes showed up and decided to save me from the venom.” Harry shrugged. “I
used the fang to destroy the diary first though.”
“Remind me to thank that bloody bird later for saving your life.” Severus
murmured from beside him.
“I will.”
When Harry opened the main chamber, he ignored the gasps of shock from those
with him, and concentrated on finding the opening to Salazar's inner chamber. A
flash of silver heading towards the Potion Master, broke his concentration and
almost stopped his heart.
{Stop} he commanded, and was instantly obeyed by the snake, Severus and Mr.
Malfoy, with everyone else followed the other's two mens example. “No one move,
I'm not sure if he will attack or not.” Harry told them in English.
The only movement in the chamber came from the small snake as it moved closer
to Harry, but stopped about five feet away and lowered itself into a
nonthreatening position.
{You speak.} The snake hissed in delight.
{Yes.} Harry answered hesitating only slightly
{The last speaker who entered here killed the King. You smell like him} The
small creature continued
{I am he.} Harry said cautiously, getting ready to defend himself just in case.
{Then I and the others here owe you our thanks. The King was brought here to
kill all who entered. Including other animals} The snake explained.
{This was not the beast left here by Salazar Slytherin?} Harry asked taking a
few steps closer to the snake.
{No. Lord Slytherin only left my kind here. We where created to guard the Inner
Chamber.}
{I see. Will you attack those who are with me?}
{I was not attacking. The Dark Man smells interesting and I was only trying to
get closer}
{I see. Would you like me to introduce you to him?}
{What would you require in return?} came the suspicious question.
{We are looking for a portrait of the four Founders. A problem has arrived with
the placement of a student of the school. The Sorting Hat wishes to ask for
their advice.} Harry replied, his mouth twitching with the effort not to laugh.
'I guess not only human snakes are suspicious.' he thought.
{My name is Slyth. I will bring you to the Inner Chamber, if I have their
permission to do so.} Was the answer to his un-voiced question.
As the snake disappeared into a crack of the statue, Harry faced the others.
“It's alright. He wasn't going to attack. His name is Slyth, and he is asking
for permission to allow us into the Inner Chamber.” Everyone sighed in relief
and Harry wondered over to where the two older Slytherins stood talking. "You
both understood the command to stop, didn't you."
“Over the years a number of us learned to understand a few commands in
Parseltongue." Severus answered for them both. "I'm not sure about Luc, but I
also understand my name."
Mr. Malfoy gave Harry an unreadable look before replying, "Knowing a few
commands along with my name has saved my life a few times over the years." He
told Harry.
"I can see where that can diffidently come in handy." Harry replied, and
watched as Severus walked away to where the King of Serpents lay.
It didn't take long for an answer on wither or not they would be allowed into
the Inner Chamber came. Instead of the verbal reply Harry was expecting, part
of the statue of Salazar Slytherin, rolled away, and Slyth waited on the other
side.
{Lord Slytherin, Lord Gryffindor, Lady Ravenclaw, and Lady Huffflepuff, wish
for all of you to come forward.} He announced.
Harry looked at the surprised faces of those who came with him. “We've been
summoned.” he said with a shrug of his shoulders, as he followed the silver
snake into the Inner Chamber of Salazar Slytherin's private workshop.
***** six *****
This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK
Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books,
Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being
made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Thanks to Kei and Sandra for their betaing Job....
Enjoy.
Chapter Six
Harry was slightly amused as both Severus and Mr. Malfoy came to stand shoulder
to shoulder, directly behind him. Both had their wands out and were scanning
the area, looking for any threat as Harry stepped forward into the Inner
Chamber. Surprisingly enough, the thought of having Lucius Malfoy standing
behind him with his wand out did not put Harry on his guard like it should
have, but instead gave him an oddly comforting feeling.
The others in the group ranged themselves out behind the two Dark Wizards, and
had their wands out as well, which caused Slyth to hiss in amusement. {They do
realize that it's not a human threat they need to worry about, as they are the
only humans in the room? Not to mention the fact that, as you are coming down
to see the Four Founders, you are all safe from harm, and that if anything was
down here that could harm you, we would protect you all.}
Harry snorted in amusement and shook his head. {Nope don't think they noticed.
But then, I think the only ones who expect an attack from below would be the
two directly behind me, even without the proof in the Outer Chambers,} Harry
replied. {That and the fact that nothing is really known about the Founders
today, well, you can understand why they are nervous, I'm sure,} he added
thoughtfully.
“Harry my boy, what are the two of you discussing?” the Headmaster asked,
curiosity coloring his voice, cutting off Slyth's answer.
Harry blinked his eyes as he turned around, and looked at the Headmaster in the
space left between the two Dark Wizards, before smiling slyly. “Oh, nothing
much Headmaster. We were just discussing how blind some humans can be when it
comes to being attacked. Slyth was just saying that he wondered if any of you
realized that you are the only humans in the room that would be attacking, and
then pointed out that anything else will be attacking from low to the ground.”
“And we leave the saving of the world in the hands of a bunch of nitwits.” Mr.
Malfoy snorted softly as he watched the others hastily search the ground. “And
what did you tell your little friend in return?”
“That more than likely only the two of you even realized that the greater
threat came from the ground, even with the evidence from the Outer Chambers. As
it is, we are all under the protection of the Founders, and nothing will harm
us while we are down here.” Harry directed the first part of this statement to
Malfoy Sr., before directing the last part to the others. “You can put away
your wands; I'm not sure insulting the Founders would be a good idea,” he
pointed out.
Dumbledore, Sprout, Flitwick, and McGonagall put away their wands, and were
soon followed by the twins, although the three Slytherins kept theirs out. In
response to Harry's pointed look at Severus' wand, he received a sneered, “I'm
sure that, although the other three Founders may feel insulted, you must admit
that Salazar Slytherin would feel insulted if we put them away.”
'Must be a Slytherin thing,' Harry thought before shrugging. “Can't say I
didn't warn you if this turns out bad,” he answered before continuing on into
the tunnel leading down into the actual Chambers, with the others following
close behind.
The group followed the tunnel even further under ground before it started to
rise again slightly before leveling out. Their progress was halted by a heavy
oak door that was bolted into the wall, carved with all four of the house
symbols, the main one being a giant snake. As the group approached, the snake
slowly opened its eyes and studied them all for a moment, before speaking.
{Only with the Blood of all four Founders may you pass this door,} came the
rasping hiss and, before Harry could reply it continued, {Only in this way may
those secrets inside remain away from prying eyes,} it finished before closing
its eyes and remaining still once again.
Harry's eyed the door in disgust before turning and stalking away from it,
cursing under his breath. Turning his back on everyone, he started to pace as
he thought through the problem.
“Kitten, what's the problem?” Morgan asked him softly.
:Nothing, absolutely nothing. I just have to admit that I'm the only one who
can open that door to people I really don't know that I can trust. So like I
said nothing is fucking wrong,: Harry snarled at her.
“It can't be that bad Kitten,” Gali said out loud.
“Of course it can.”
“Who do you trust to know this?” Morgan asked.
:The two of you and your father,: Harry said in their minds.
“I guess that is a problem then, huh?”
“I've already said that.”
“What did the Snake say?”
:Only the blood of all four Founders could open the door, so that all the
secrets behind that door would remain that way.:
:So you not only have to keep the fact that you have their blood flowing
through you, but you are also unsure if you can trust everyone here enough to
let them into that room as well,: Morgan summarized.
“I thought that was obvious,” Harry snarled.
“Would the three of you explain the problem to everyone, speaking one at a
time? The three of you sound worse then the Weasley twins,” McGonagall asked
tightly.
“NO!” came from all three at the same time.
“Excuse me? As your Head of House…”
“As my former Head of House, you have no claim over me or my actions, or have
you forgotten that I was kicked out of Gryffindor?” Harry cut her off. “I do
not have to explain anything to you, or anyone else I do not trust. As there is
only one here that holds my complete trust other than the twins, you can see my
problem,” he continued coldly.
“Harry My Boy, I know that I do not have your complete trust, but everyone here
would be willing to help you. You do not have to go this alone,” the Headmaster
said quietly, as he came to stand before the young man, and placed a hand on
his shoulders.
Harry sighed and dropped his head. :Tell your father I really need his advice
at the moment,: he said quietly in his mind as he sunk down the wall to sit on
the floor.
The twins nodded their understanding and pulled their father aside and cast a
quick silencing charm around them as they informed him of what was going on. It
only took a few minutes for them to explain, and it took only seconds after
that for Severus to join Harry on the floor, and cast his own silencing spell.
“Would you care to explain to me what's going through your mind at the moment?”
he asked softly.
Harry sighed and rested his head against the wall. “I’m confused more than
anything. What that snake said is forcing me to deal with a few things that I
really don't want to deal with at the moment. Matters of trust. I know I can
trust you and the twins, but I don't know Professors Flitwick and Sprout well
enough to trust them. McGonagall has almost lost my trust completely,
especially when she tried to hide the actions of the rest of her House. Then
there is Lucius and Draco Malfoy, and doesn't that bring up oh so many more
issues.”
Severus sighed and also leaned against the wall, “Filius and Pomona always
stood up for you during meetings. Every time something else happened, they were
always thinking of ways to help you, even if nothing was used. Instead they
tried to make your time in their classes as easy and stress-free as possible.
Minerva has always defended you. No matter what you did, she was there trying
to protect you. This recent behavior has to do with a lot of grief at the
moment, I believe. The Malfoys I can understand you not trusting with their
past treatment of you. I can tell you that the twins do trust Draco with their
lives, as I trust Lucius with mine.”
Harry opened his eyes and looked up at Severus, trying his best to read the
dark eyes in front of him. Nodding his head in understanding, he closed his
eyes again. “Thank you.”
Severus sighed and reached out to gently touch Harry's arm. “I can't tell you
who to trust Harry. But I do know that you can trust Albus.”
Harry sighed deeply before dropping his forehead against the Potion Masters
shoulder and nodding wearily. That was all Severus needed to drop the spell and
ask the Headmaster to join them. “Harry, you need to trust him with this. We
all know he made mistakes when it came to you, but he's trying to make up for
it. Tell him what's happening,” Severus whispered in his ear as the Headmaster
sat in front of them and cast his own silencing spell.
Glancing up into the dark eyes for reassurance, Harry turned slightly to look
at the Headmaster, and from him to the others. “Only the Blood of the Four
Founders can get past that door. It was warded that way so that their secrets
remained safe,” Harry told Dumbledore softly.
“I see.” After a few minutes of thought he continued, “The way that I see it,
we have a few options available to us. We can go back out and find the Heirs of
the Four Founders and come back, or you can decide which House you want to go
into.”
“The decision that the Hat was trying to make was not on which House to put me
into, but on whether or not I needed to be in a House at all. I think that the
Hat has something else it wants to show me while we are down here, but that's
only a feeling I have. The only decision that needs to be made is whether or
not we can trust the others with both the knowledge of who the Founders’ Heir
is, but also with the knowledge of the secrets behind that door,” Harry told
them.
“Explain!” Severus half snapped.
“I can open the door on my own. I just don't know if that knowledge should be
given to the others. I don't know who to trust anymore,” Harry admitted.
“And that's what you were arguing with the twins about,” Albus stated
knowingly.
“I wouldn't call it arguing,” Harry muttered.
“Would it help if I told you they are all members of the Order?” Albus asked.
“You mean the bunch who were supposed to protect me over the past few summers?”
“I can see why you are reluctant to trust them. But if you don't start trusting
some of them, you are going to end up so very alone.”
“I trust Severus and the twins.”
“Yes and I'm extremely happy that you have found that trust in the three of
them, but you need to open yourself up to trust others around you,” Albus said
softly.
Harry closed his eyes against the pain that started to well up in his heart,
and the tears that wanted to fall. “I did trust others,” he said softly before
taking an uneven breath as he tried to push all the emotions away, and
carefully hid behind his masks once again. “I really don't want to discuss this
here and now,” he said. His voice trembled softly with suppressed emotion. “For
now, I guess I will just have to ask them to give me their Oaths that nothing
is said beyond those who are here.”
Albus and Severus shared a look of concern, but carefully hid it so the others
did not see it. “For now that is all I ask, Harry,” Albus said instead of the
many things he wanted to say, knowing it was the wrong place and time to go any
further with the conversation. Breaking the silencing charm, he carefully stood
from his uncomfortable position on the floor and with a small smile commented,
“I'm getting too old to sit on stone floors. I do believe that I'll leave that
to you youngsters.”
Severus snorted softly as he also stood. “Then why do I feel twice my age after
sitting there for a few minutes?” he remarked softly as he helped Harry to
stand as well.
“Its times like these that make me wonder if the two of you have the stamina to
keep up with us at times.” Harry smirked as he dusted off his robes as much as
possible, his masks once more firmly in place.
As Albus walked a way with a twinkle in his eyes, Severus growled softly in
Harry's ear. “Try me Harry, I promise that you'll regret those words,” causing
Harry to look up at him with wide eyes, before he blushed bright red. With a
small chuckle, Severus turned away from the young man and joined the others,
smugly waiting for Harry to join them over by the door.
Harry continued to stare at the Potions Master as he tried to wipe his mind of
the images that comment pulled up, and set his mind once again at the task at
hand, but not even seeing everyone waiting on him helped, so he did the one
thing he could think of. :Distract me… please… your father… evil man…: he
stammered to the twins.
Galahad and Morgan looked from Harry bright red face to their father's smug
smirk, before breaking down in laughter. :Aw, did he say something you liked?:
Gali snorted in amusement.
Morgan tried to bring herself under control, but one look at Harry's face set
her off again. It took a few tries before she managed to a reply: :The Dark
Lord in a bright pink tutu,: before she started to laugh again.
Malfoy Sr. arched a brow at Severus, his mind working furiously at everything
he had seen and heard that day before coming to the only logical conclusion and
drawling out, “My my, Severus, what ever did you say to young Mr. Potter to get
that reaction from the three of them?” putting only slight emphasis on the word
'young'.
Instead of answering Severus just leaned back against the wall and watched his
children in amusement for a moment and then shifted his eyes slightly in order
to watch Harry also. He did so just in time to see Harry's shudder of revulsion
and see the disgust in his eyes. For a moment he felt hurt well up in his
heart, but Harry's next words calmed that feeling.
“Thank you for that image, Morgan. I don't think I'll ever get the sight of
Voldemort wearing a bright pink tutu out of my head.”
Everyone else also shuddered as Morgan got her breath back. “You’re very
welcome Kitten, but you can't really blame me, as you gave very short notice.”
“Yeah yeah yeah, whatever,” he muttered as he walked back to the group. Turning
serious he continued, “I am of two minds about trusting you all with this
information, but, as it has been pointed out to me, I am going to need to trust
you all to some extent. In order to get this done and get out of here sometime
today, I'm going to need you to all vow on your magic that nothing is said to
anyone other than those here, and especially not in a place where you may be
overheard. The information you will learn today may be just the thing that Tom
Riddle will need to destroy us all.”
“Surely it cannot be that bad?” Professor Flitwick asked, only to be answered
with four heads nodding that yes it was. “Alright then, in that case, I Filius
Flitwick, give Harry Potter an Oath on my Magic that nothing I hear or see
today will be found out by any means by another being. I also hereby Vow that I
will do everything possible to help Mr. Potter in any way that is available to
me, so mote it be.” As soon as the last words left his mouth, a deep blue haze
surrounded him, before moving towards Harry, and absorbing into his skin,
showing all that the Oath was given in good faith, and had been accepted.
One by one the others made the same Oath, the only difference being the color
of the spell themselves, as their own aura was made available for all to see
for that single instant in time. As the last Oath was made and accepted, Harry
had to catch himself from staggering under the power that each Oath gave him,
as a small part of everyone’s magic joined with his.
Catching his breath after a moment, Harry walked over to the door, and ran a
nervous hand through his always messy hair. He still did not think even with
the others’ Oaths that this was a good idea, but knew that Severus and
Dumbledore were both correct, and with a last look in Severus' direction, took
a deep breath and hissed at the snake guarding the door. {In which way would
you like the Blood of the Founders?}
A slight grinding sound echoed in the chamber as the snake once more came alive
{I will need to Taste it,} came the reply.
{Then it is my blood you need to Taste.}
The snake became even more animated as it raised his head to take a closer look
at Harry. {In that case, young Heir, place your hand on the door amongst my
coils so that I may Taste and judge your blood,} came the hissed instructions
as it watched Harry carefully.
Harry took another deep breath before placing his hand on the door. He watched
in awe tinged in a little fear as the coils of the snake came alive and wrapped
around his arm. Trying to flex his fingers he found that he could not do so.
Yanking on his arm also did nothing but hurt his shoulder, and as he felt
something sharp pierce his arm in the same spot Wormtail did a few years
before, what was left of his rational mind disappeared and panic took over, as
a sob escaped his throat before he could choke it back.
~~~~
Morgan and Galahad had a bad feeling the moment the snake coiled around Harry's
arm that something was really wrong. Moments later, the feeling was confirmed
as they almost fell with the force of their bond mate’s panic as it slammed
down the mind link. Instantly the twins went into action, one trying to reach
through the bond to Harry, and the other trying to beat back the panic so that
all three of them could function.
Wrapping his arms around Morgan, Galahad pulled his mind desperately away from
Harry, and turned pleading eyes on his father. “Papa, please, he needs help…
please… help him,” he moaned as both twins lost the battle against Harry's mind
and collapsed on the ground, unconscious.
~~~~
Draco was the first to react, and leaped from his spot against the wall to the
twins’ side, running his fingers over both of their pulse points; he was
relieved to feel a strong pulse. Sitting himself so he was touching both twins,
with Morgan’s head settled in his lap, he placed his finger tips against her
temples and followed his own link with Morgan down into her mind and started
searching for the link between the twins and Harry, hoping to shield their
minds enough for them to function.
What he found was pure chaos, the link between the three of them, fluctuating
dangerously as, from what he could see, Harry tried to destroy it
subconsciously in a bid to protect the twins. Growling deep in his throat he
grabbed at Harry's end of the link and held tight, using his own magic to keep
the panic-stricken boy from severing it completely. Sending a snarled, 'Hurt
her Scarhead, and I'll have your head mounted on my wall by the end of the
night,' through the link, Draco was gratefully when the pressure eased off
slightly.
Draco was not sure what exactly happened next, but a power surge knocked him
off his mental feet, and he had just enough power left to stand between Harry
and the twins and put up a shield to protect all of their minds from
shattering, before he too saw nothing but black.
~~~~
Severus Snape almost reacted as fast as his Godson. With a glance he took in
what the blond teen was doing, before reaching out to Harry. Wrapping one hand
around his waist and the other around the arm being held tight by the wooden
snake, he started whispering words of comfort, trying to break through the
panic. His touch he knew would do one of two things, calm the teen or break
him. He really had no idea what exactly the young man in his arms was reacting
to, but he would do everything in his power to keep Harry safe.
It seemed like an eternity passed before he felt Harry reacting to his constant
stream of soothing babble, and relaxed his arm around the teens waist, only to
have Harry lean against him more fully. He also felt the jolt of surprise that
ran through Harry's body, and knew instinctively that Draco had somehow managed
to reach Harry's mind. The relief that washed through him was quickly replaced
with surprised horror, as a jolt of power raced through Harry's body and
exploded around them in a shower of bright light, throwing everyone in the
chamber to the ground. His last thought before the world went black was a
desperate wish that all four teens linked together remained whole.
~~hp~~
Draco woke slowly, but refused to open his eyes, knowing that it would cause
the pain in his head to increase if he did so. 'Potter, I'm gonna kill you,' he
whimpered in his mind.
:With the way I feel at the moment, I'll gladly let you, Ferret,: came the
whispered reply.
With a startled mental yelp which caused all four teens to moan in pain, Draco
opened his eyes slightly and turned his head to where he sensed the Boy-Who-
Lived lay. :What the fuck is going on?: he growled
:Settle down, Dragon. As soon as we relieve the pain in our heads, we'll figure
it out. There's no sense growling at anyone until then,: Galahad cut in, with
Morgan murmuring her agreement softly.
Gentle hands raised Draco's head, and the mouth of a potions bottle was placed
against his mouth. Tipping his head back slightly, he allowed the potion to
flow down his throat before he was allowed to lie back once more. A sigh of
relief escaped him as the pain disappeared, echoed by three other identical
sighs. Opening his eyes he meet the concerned gaze of his Father and Godfather
and gave them a slight nod of acknowledgment, and watched as the concern turn
to relief as he gently pushed himself up to a sitting position and looked
around in amazement at the room he found himself in, before his eyes settled on
four separate portraits along the wall.
“Welcome back to the land of the living, Mr. Potter, Miss Annerson, Mr.
Annerson and Mr. Malfoy. You had the adults with you most concerned,” a warm
voice said softly from the portrait of the blond woman.
“You did indeed. We, too, were concerned. If we would have known that the four
of you were mind linked, we would have proceeded in a different manner,”
rejoined the stunning dark haired woman on the left of the blond.
Harry's eyes opened wide in astonishment as he looked at the four portraits,
before he focused on dark man dressed totally in green. {Salazar Slytherin,} he
said lapsing into Parseltongue.
{Indeed, young Heir,} came the reply in the same language, before he switched
to English. “Welcome to the Chamber of the Founders. It's been many years since
we have had visitors,” Slytherin said to everyone.
“That's because it was your bright idea to make sure no one but a Parselmouth
could reach us,” said the last of the four.
“Hush Godric, you agreed to the security as well as the rest of us,” the blond
scolded.
“Could the two of you not argue in front of our guest, Helga? It's awfully
rude,” the woman who could only be Rowena Ravenclaw asked softly.
Helga blushed slightly in embarrassment. “Of course, Ro. My apologies to all of
you. Like Sal said, it's been a long time, and I'm afraid that I've become too
accustomed to just having the four of us here.”
Lucius, seeing that the four Heads of House and the Headmaster were still in
shock of being in the presence of the Hogwarts Four, took it upon himself to
answer. “Your apologies, kind as they are, are not required, Milady,” he
replied smoothly. “As we were all occupied with the health of the children when
we arrived, please allow me to make introductions,” he continued and waited for
the acknowledgment to continue. When he received it, he started with the
Headmaster. “This gentleman is Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster and Master of
Defense against the Dark Arts and Transfigurations. This lady by his side is
Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and Mistress of Transfigurations as
well as Head of Gryffindor. This is Filius Flitwick, Master of Charms and Head
of Ravenclaw. This lady is Pomona Sprout, Mistress of Herbology and Head of
Hufflepuff. To my left, Severus Snape, Potions Master and Head of Slytherin. I
am Lord Lucius Malfoy and this is my son Draco. The twins are Morgan-Ann and
Galahad Annerson-Snape, and last but certainty not least Harry Potter, The Boy-
Who-Lived and the apparently your Heir,” he finished, motioning to each person
in turn.
“Distinguished guests, all of you. As you may have guessed, I am Helga
Hufflepuff, the others are Rowena Ravenclaw, Godric Gryffindor, and Salazar
Slytherin.” Each, as named, acknowledged their name with a nod of the head.
When Helga was done, she once more turned to Lucius, seeing that the others
were still not going to be able to answer any questions. “Lord Malfoy, why have
you all come to us?”
Harry, finally coming to his senses, stood up and walked over to Malfoy Sr. on
unsteady feet, and was extremely thankful to the older man for the arm he held
out to help keep Harry balanced. “I'm afraid that they all came down because of
me, My Lady. There was a problem with the sorting of one of the students and
the Sorting Hat requested that I bring it down here to you,” he answered,
standing firm as all four sets of eyes settled on him.
“My old hat, had a problem with sorting a student? That should not be
possible,” Godric said in surprise.
“I believe the reason is more on the fact that this student does not want to be
sorted into any House, then what House to put him in,” Harry answered.
Rowena watched the young man like an eagle would her prey. Noticing how pale he
still was as well as how tight he held onto the arm of the older wizard, she
decided to take matters into her own hands. With a wave of her hand enough
seating for all of the living glimmered into view. “Please have a seat. There
is no need for any of us to stand,” she said, while directing a small sofa
right behind the Heir and his Protector.
Lucius directed Harry to sit in the middle of the seat and took his place
beside him, knowing that Severus would take the other side. When everyone was
sitting comfortably, the group turned their attention back to the Founders.
“Good, now that we have that taken care of, we can get down to business. Who
exactly is that old hat having troubles placing?”
Here Albus spoke up. “I think in order to understand why the Hat is having
trouble with this student you will need some back ground information. Six years
ago, the Hat first had problems with this same student. It seems that there
where two houses that would have suited him fine. Due to prejudice propaganda
that the young man heard, he begged the Hat not to place him Slytherin, so he
was placed in Gryffindor. Over the past five years, he was often hailed as the
ultimate Gryffindor, along with two of his greatest friends. This past summer,
his friends and their family were killed by Lord Voldemort, who claims to be
the Heir of Slytherin, and is trying to bend the Wizarding world to its knees.
In the aftermath, those in Gryffindor Tower have placed the blame directly on
this young man’s shoulders and have denied him entrance into the tower, and it
was the wish of all that he be removed from that House. When the Hat tried to
make a decision on where to place him this time, the sorting proved to be
difficult indeed, especially since the young man in question would rather not
be placed in any house at all.”
The Founders stared at the group before them in shock for a few minutes before
Slytherin started to hiss in anger {I knew that there where problems amongst
the Houses, but to be this cowardly…} Getting up and pacing behind his chair he
continued to hiss, his words no longer making sense to any who could understand
Parseltongue.
“Salazar, you need to calm down and repeat what you just said,” Godric said in
exasperation.
“Um, Lord Gryffindor, you really don't know what he's saying about the group of
cowardly lions taking residence in your Tower,” Harry said with a snicker.
Godric stared at Harry and then at Salazar before nodding his head in
agreement. “You're right, I don't want to understand what he's saying, as I
would more then likely agree with him, and then I would never hear the end of
it,” he said with a glare at the current Head of Gryffindor. “Now tell us, who
is the student in question?” he demanded of the living.
“Harry Potter,” Albus said.
This brought Slytherin back to himself as he stared at Harry before snarling a
few more well chosen words in Parseltongue that had Harry blushing in
embarrassment. When he once more brought himself under control, he sat down in
his chair, and started talking. “The House Ghosts keep us informed of what goes
on in the Castle. We have heard much about how at the age of 15 months Mr.
Potter survived the killing curse and exactly what has been down to him in the
years he was a student here. Having his own House turn on him is almost an act
of treason. Having most of those living in the Castle turn on anyone, for any
reason is in itself another act of treason. The punishment for these types of
crimes is expulsion from this castle and they never will be allowed to return
again. This includes any of the Professors,” he told them all in a cold voice.
“This is the Law sat down by us, the Founders when the school was still new.
And this Law exists to this day.”
As his words sank in, the Professors blanched. Not even the Headmaster had
remembered this Law, and as a whole everyone but three were exempt from this
law: Harry, being the victim, and the twins, being new and already extremely
loyal to their new-found friend.
Harry felt the men on either side of him stiffen with concern, and reached out
to grab hold of both of them. “Lord Slytherin, it is also written that the
choice of whether to remove those from the school remains in the hands of the
victim, correct?”
Slytherin and Harry's eyes locked. “Yes my Heir, you are correct.”
“Then there is nothing more to say on this subject. I refuse to allow anyone to
be removed from the sanctuary of these walls. To do so would be a crime with a
deserved punishment equal to one worse than death itself, for it is written
that premeditated murder within these walls is met with a half life, a life of
being struck down by the actual fires of hell itself,” Harry pointed out.
“Besides, it was a hypothetical situation. As long as there were at least five
people in each house plus three professors who did not turn their backs, then
that Law could not be invoked,” Harry added calmly, much to everyone’s
surprise.
{I see Rowena gave you a working knowledge of the Law,} Slytherin hissed in
disgust.
{Actually I do believe that part came from you,} Harry replied.
{Using my own words against me Little Snake?}
{Of course Lord. I have a reputation of being a cheeky brat to live up to!}
Harry said with a smirk.
Slytherin throw his hands up into the air, before turning on Rowena. “That
Child takes more after you, Fair Raven, then any one else,” he said in disgust.
Rowena raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side. “And, if I may ask,
Sal, how did you come to that conclusion?”
With a sneer directed at Harry he replied, “Because he is nothing more than a
cheeky little brat!”
“Ah, in that case, young Raven, you have my congratulations. Not many can
affect his Royal Snakeness in that way,” she replied with a mischievous smile,
amongst the laughter from almost everyone in the room.
Harry returned her smile with one that matched. “I've had a lot of practice
when it comes to getting on the nerves of Slytherins. It's a hobby I've
perfected over the years,” Harry told her.
“Indeed,” both Severus and Lucius intoned, causing even more laughter.
McGonagall watched the proceedings, her eyes cold, before she turned back to
the matter at hand. “I do believe, Ladies and Gentlemen, that we should get
back on track. We do have a school to run,” she said, her voice stern.
“Quite right, Minerva,” Albus said calmly before turning back to the Founders.
“How do we proceed with young Harry?”
:I really wish the lot of them would quit with the 'young' part. I've never
been a child, and I don't like being treated as one,: Harry snarled in the
minds of Draco and the twins, causing the twins to giggle and Draco to snort
with laughter
“Is there a problem Mr. Potter?” McGonagall asked.
“No Ma'am,” Harry said out loud. :Just the fact that you seem to have a stick
shoved up your…: He trailed off mentally.
:Kitten!!: the twins exclaimed in shock as Draco stared at him in disbelief.
“Alright, I do have a couple questions for the four of you,” Harry said to the
Founders. “The first of which would be, just what happened outside that door? I
felt like someone had washed me in liquid fire,” Harry told them all.
“Tell me about it. It felt like something exploded in your mind, and the
backlash came flowing through me, and into the twins” Draco added.
“We were already unconscious, so I don't remember exactly what happened, but I
do remember a lot of light and heat flowing over us. I'm not sure our minds
would have survived if Draco hadn't thrown up a shield,” Gali also added,
Morgan nodding her agreement beside him.
Rowena looked at the four of them thoughtfully before replying. “That was a
spell that we added to that door to ensure that only our true Heir could get
in. The 'liquid fire' you all felt was the unlocking off Harry's true power,
and a lot of knowledge that we gave him. I just never suspected that you three
would be caught up in the Awakening,” she told them.
Severus cleared his throat softly gaining Rowena's attention. “Four. I was
holding him at the time. That snake sent Harry into a panic attack and I was
doing my best to bring him out of it when the power surge hit.”
The Founders exchanged a long look before turning back to the others. “We are
honestly not sure what will happen to the four of you,” Salazar said with a
small nod towards Severus. “The best that we can do is wait and see what's
going to happen now.”
The news brought silence to group for a few minutes as they allowed this
information to sink in. Draco was the one that broke the silence. “We already
have a side effect” he said quietly. “When Potter's panic attack caused the
twins’ collapse, I used the Bond I have with Morgan to enter her mind, and
searched for the connection between the three of them. When I felt it start to
break I grabbed hold and kept it together for as long as I could. It was then
that the power surge came. I've been hearing the Prat-That-Lived in my head
ever since,” he told them.
:Yeah, like I'm thrilled to have you in my mind either Ferret,: Harry replied
mentally, although he said nothing out loud, only dropping his head into his
hands.
“Anything to add Mr. Potter?” Helga prodded.
“Why me?” he asked, already knowing that no one had the answer to his question,
so he continued. “Never mind answering that. There are two things more I would
like to ask, before we need to go back to the main part of the castle. One,
what are we going to do about what House I am going into?”
It was Godric that answered, “As the Heir to all of us, you are above the House
system. The only one who you can answer to is the Headmaster. And that's only
if you break any of the major rules.”
This caused all six adults to groan, although it was Severus who commented.
“Like that's going to be any different then any other year. He's broken more
rules in his time here then anyone else I know off. The only thing keeping him
in check was the lost of points to his House.”
“Actually that's not true,” Harry told them quietly. “The only thing that
stopped me from doing anything really dangerous was Hermione. She was the voice
of reason amongst the three of us,” he finished, before turning and buried his
head in Severus shoulder as he started to shake.
Ignoring everyone else around them, Severus pulled Harry into his lap and
wrapped his arms around him, once more speaking to him words of comfort as
Harry tried his best to keep his grief at bay for a little while longer. When
Severus looked up, he met the twinkle in the Headmaster’s gaze and the
disapproval in McGonagall's. His glare clearly told her to keep her thoughts to
herself while Harry was around to hear them. “Harry, what was your second
question?” he asked softly.
“Can we take them out of here? It would be a lot easier if we didn't have to
come down here to talk to them,” he murmured. Severus looked up and repeated
the question, knowing the no one else heard it the first time.
The other founders look to Salazar for the answer. {As our Heir you can order
this room to move closer to your own. You already have the knowledge to do so
since we gave it to you with that power transfer. There are many things in here
that may be of help to you, but don't reveal it to anyone you doubt your trust
in. You cannot remove these portraits from this room. But there are smaller
ones in that small chest under Rowena that you may give to the Headmaster. Keep
the chest with you, though; you never know when it's going to come in use.}
Harry nodded his head in understanding and unwrapped Severus' arms from around
his waist. Walking over to the indicated chest Harry attempted to open it, only
to have it refuse. Casting a glance over his shoulder at the original Snake, he
raised an eyebrow. “Would you, My Lord, be kind enough to tell me how exactly
I'm to open this box?” he asked mockingly
“And here I thought you were our Heir,” Salazar mocked back. “I'm sure you
remember how to open up the Snake’s Lair. Just adapt it to fit your needs.”
“Oh of course, if that's all that’s really needed,” Harry snorted before
turning back to the small chest and studying it intently. It took him a moment
before he was able to distinguish the pattern carved in the chest but when he
did, he almost laughed. Smothering the sound, he placed his fingers so they
touched each of the animals representing the Houses, and felt the tiny pins
prick his fingers. {In the name of the four Founders of Hogwarts school of
Witchcraft and Wizardry, I command you to open,} he hissed, and watched with a
small smile as the box opened.
***** Seven *****
A/N... I found the aura colors at reiki-for-holistic-heath.com, just in case
anyone wanted to know. The meanings of colors are at the end of chapter.
Disclaimer....This story is based on characters and situations created and
owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury
Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is
being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
 
{Parseltongue}
:Mind speak:
 
Chapter Seven
As the lid of the chest opened completely, Harry couldn't help but gasp out
loud. :Oh Dear Merlin!: Harry sighed into his mind as well, not realizing that
he was allowing the other three to hear him.
:What?: he heard asked back, and turned around to face his bond-mates, smiling
for the benefit of the adults present. :Nothing I can explain here. It will
have to wait until we are behind closed and silenced doors.: he told them as he
turned his back on them once again.
Gently taking out the shrunken portraits, he turned to face Salazar, {Is it
safe to shrink this chest, My Lord?}
{Yes,} Salazar returned immediately, almost like he expected that question.
{Good. Expect me to rant at the four of you later. Right now I want to get back
to the upper levels. No offense but this place brings back a lot of bad
memories.}
{I expect no less from you Young Snake. We will await your Call.}
Nodding his head, Harry turned back to the chest, and with a casual wave of his
hand, shrunk it down before putting it in his pocket. Turning back to the
other's he grinned. “We really should be getting back. We've been down here
long enough.”
“Indeed, my boy. Did you get everything you needed?” Albus asked.
“Yes Sir.” Walking over to him, Harry carefully laid the four portraits into
the Headmaster's hands. “I believe that you can consult with them on any number
of things now,” Harry finished.
“Very well. My Lords and Ladies, it has been a true pleasure to meet you,”
Albus said as he turned to the Founders and gave a short bow.
“The pleasure, Headmaster Dumbledore, has been ours. Please make sure to place
our portraits in a well-traveled area. We would love to be able to converse
with the students that now occupy our school,” Lady Ravenclaw stated, giving
him a regal nod.
Harry simply waved to his ancestors, while the others made their own good byes.
He knew that soon after he got upstairs he would be calling this room to him.
Making his way back through the tunnel, with the others following behind, his
mind kept going over just what else was in that box, and prayed that his bond
mates did not pick up on any of his thoughts.
When they reached the Main Chamber once more, Harry turned sharply to the left
instead of going back the way the came, and with a hissed command at a
seemingly solid wall, opened up another, smaller chamber. Motioning for the
others to join him, he closed the door once again, before closing his eyes and
placing both hands on the walls and released a steady stream of his magic.
“What are you doing, Mr. Potter?” Lucius drawled, hiding his nervousness.
Opening his eyes, which were alight with power, Harry grinned at the elder
blond. “This room is a magical lift. I'm not sure exactly how the one at the
Ministry works, but this needs someone to directly feed it magic to go from one
spot to another, at least the first few times anyway. I'm taking us to the
dungeons, and we should come out near an unused corridor by the potions
classroom,” he explained, closing his eyes once again.
“Does this 'lift' only go to the Dungeons?” Flitwick squeaked in excitement.
“Would you like me to drop you off in your office, Sir?” was Harry's distracted
reply, and brought the lift to a halt. Taking his hands off the wall, he
allowed himself to slump tiredly against it. “I would have taken us further,
but it's been a long day, and I think I'm starting to reach the limits with my
magic,” he said with a soft, tired voice.
:Yeah right, Kitten,: Gali said in his mind while the other two snorted their
own disbelief.
Harry flashed them a mental grin. :Ah, but they don't need to know that,: he
admonished. :So be good little bond-mates and back me up. I'll explain when we
get back to our rooms.:
Gali and Draco flashed each other a glance, amusement dancing in their eyes,
before moving to either side of Harry. “Come on, Scarhead, let’s get you to
your room so you can rest,” Draco said, while pulling one of Harry's arms
around his shoulders and one of his own around Harry's waist, Gali echoing his
movements. Then, they waited for the door to open once again at Harry's
command.
Morgan slid one hand across Harry's shoulders, before turning to the others and
bowed to them all. “If you will all excuse us, as Harry said, it has been a
long day, and fighting Magical backwash is not my favorite past time,” she said
to them all, and the led the three boys out, careful to keep her laughter to
herself.
The four of them kept up the charade right up until they reached their suite
and Lucius and Severus had all joined them. As soon as the door closed and was
warded the teens dropped to the floor with laughter.
“Magical backwash, Morgan?” Harry choked through his laughter. “That was
brilliant!”
“I thought so,” Morgan said while giggling. “Imagine that rush of pure power
being anything but invigorating?” With that, all four started laughing once
again.
Lucius looked at the four teens with a slight tint of shock in his eyes. “Are
you telling me that Mr. Potter lied to the Headmaster?”
Severus gave him a look of amusement. “Why yes Luc, haven't you figured that
out yet?”
The four of them settled down quickly, and three of them even managed to
actually sit on the furniture other then the floor. Harry, for his part, just
sat with his back against Severus's chair. Morgan kept giving her father
confused looks, which almost set Harry off once again. “How did you figure it
out Papa?”
Severus sighed and summoned a house elf to get drinks and snacks, before
answering, combing his fingers lightly through Harry's hair. “I expect it's one
of the side effects from being connected to Harry while that power surge came
through, just like your Mind Bond. Instead of hearing Harry though, I feel him.
I knew he wasn't tired, the same way I felt his flash of wicked amusement over
putting one over on the Headmaster,” he explained finally.
Harry kept only part of his attention on the rest of the conversation, after
hearing Severus' explanation. Instead of listening, he allowed himself to sink
into his mind and study any and all new connections, focusing on the fingers
running through his hair to help calm his thoughts. This was something he
learned over the summer, and he found that even though he could not occlude his
mind, he was able to clear and organize it. Standing in his mental room, he
could clearly see the double bond he shared with the twins, a strong sharp
blue, and a fainter purplish one that after 'tasting' it, he found went to
Draco. A bright gold connection he found led to Severus, and much to his
astonishment, a faint dark green connection had started to form between him and
Lucius. Tracing each of the bonds so that he could find them again easily, he
took another good look around the room, carefully avoiding the dark, hidden
parts, before opening his eyes, only to find everyone staring at him. “What?”
Draco took a slow deep breath before answering, “We could feel you! What ever
you did, we could feel you.”
“Would you explain to us what you did Harry?” Severus asked.
Harry sat back and tried to put the words together to explain what he saw.
“Over the summer… Hermione… sent me a book on meditation. It was the last time
I heard from her.” Here Harry broke off, fighting the tears that wanted to
break free, and took a few deep breaths to bring his emotions back under
control. The gentle mind touches by his bond-mates helping to ground him once
again; Severus's fingers no longer ran through his hair, but had slipped down
to lightly message his neck. Once more in control he let out a deep shuddering
breath and continued, “I spent every free moment over the summer practicing,
and eventually I found myself inside my mind. The first thing I noticed was how
cluttered it was, so I went to work clearing out the clutter and organizing it.
After that I found that I could pick out different areas specializing in
different gifts. Some of those places haven't opened up yet, but it looks like
the seals are starting to break on them,” he explained.
Here Severus broke in. “That's exactly how your mind should be: clear and
organized. And you're right, those would-be new gifts that are starting to open
up.”
Harry nodded his head in understanding. “The only downside to this is the fact
that I still cannot close my mind to invasion,” Harry spat in disgust.
Lucius looked at him with faint shock showing in his eyes. “Why can you not
occlude? That's the next logical step, to keep someone out of your mind.”
“That, Mr. Malfoy, is a long story. Just suffice it to say that you can't keep
someone out when they are constantly there,” Harry replied, not failing to
notice the sharp glance he received from Severus. Taking a deep breath he
continued with his explanation. “Thanks to the Founders, I found that the best
way to find what to expect is to look at my magic and see what has been altered
or added. When I entered my mind, it was clear that there were a number of
changes: some of the areas which represent my gifts are opened part way, a new
section of knowledge has been added, the gifts I did have are now strengthened-
- how much, I'm not sure, but I could tell that they are much stronger then
they were. The most important changes would be the bonds. I'm assuming that
each color represents either what you mean to me, or your auras.” Here Harry
looked at the two men for clarification.
Lucius looked thoughtful for a moment before answering. “That, I guess, depends
on what colors you found. My aura is a deep red, while Draco's goes through the
range of earth tones. Morgan's is a yellow-green with shades of emerald green,
Galahad is an orange-red with shade of deep red and emerald green and Severus
is also red, but his is a clear red,” he explained.
Sighing, Harry shook his head. “Then it's what you mean to me,” Harry told
them. “My bond with the twins is blue, while Draco's is a pale purple, moving
towards blue. Severus is gold. The most surprising thing, though, is yours Mr.
Malfoy. Yours is just starting to develop but it's coming in a dark green.”
“You share an unknown bond with Lucius,” Severus asked, startled. Jealousy
flared inside him.
“I told you it was surprising, Severus,” Harry replied reaching out to touch
the other man’s arm, feeling faintly from their bond the jealousy Severus was
feeling. Reaching out he placed a soothing mixture of magic and thought across
it, and was rewarded when Severus relaxed, not noticing when the others smiled
slyly.
Harry looked over at Draco, and locked his eyes with the other teen. Putting up
a shield so only Draco could hear him, he continued the next part mentally. :
I can break this you know, if that's what you truly want. Neither of us asked
for this bond, and it's still weak enough that it's possible at the moment.:
:How much time do we have before it's no longer an option?:
:Not long-- a few hours at most. The bond is getting stronger by the minute. If
you want it done, it needs to be done now.:
Draco sat back and looked around at the others. “I think, Harry, that this
should be done verbally. It's too important to leave the others out.”
“As you wish. I wasn't sure if you wanted everyone to know.”
“What are the two of you talking about?” Gali asked.
Harry sighed and rubbed his temples softly. A headache was starting to form,
and he wasn't exactly surprised about it. “The mental bond that Draco and I
share is not yet permanent. It will be in a matter of hours, though. I can
break it, if that is Draco's wish, especially since neither of us asked for
it.”
“Are you sure you can break it Harry?” Severus asked in concern.
Harry simply nodded his head.
“Kitten, are you sure that it's a good idea?” Gali asked
Harry glared at him. “If I was sure that it was a good idea, I would never have
agreed to ask the rest of you. I would have simply asked Draco if he wanted it,
and then done whatever. Hell Gali, we've spent years hating each other only to
be hit with this!” he snarled in anger and confusion.
Lucius, Severus and Draco were all silenced by Morgan calmly raising her hand.
“What do you want Harry?” she asked.
“It doesn't matter what I want. It never has, and I don't expect it to start
now.” The anger in his voice was winning over the confusion, and that anger was
quickly turning to fear at what Draco would choose.
“Yes it does Harry. It matters to us.” Galahad told him.
Harry stood and started pacing. He needed to lose some of the energy he could
feel building. The distress he was feeling was clearly being bled through the
connections he had with the others, to the point that even Lucius was able to
feel it, even though his link was the weakest.
Watching Harry pace back and forth Severus thought he knew the reason for him
wanting to break the connection, but he needed to hear Draco's thoughts on the
subject. “Draco? What do you want?” he asked softly.
Leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees and lacing his fingers
together, Draco continued to watch Harry, going through in his mind everything
that the Boy Wonder had done over the years before forming a reply. “In all
honesty, Uncle Sev, I'm not sure. This had to have happened for a reason, but
what that reason is I don't know.” Taking a deep breath he sent his own mental
caress towards Harry, and felt fear and panic from the bond. “For whatever
reason Harry seems to fear having this bond, and I feel it as well, but I don’t
think it’s for the same reasons. I think the best idea is to keep it.” With
these words, the bond flared with an even greater sense of panic before going
dead. Instinctively knowing that it had not been severed, just blocked fully,
Draco looked up and met shimmering green eyes that reflected many different
emotions.
Harry wasn't sure what he was expecting, but for Draco to keep the bond was not
it. Looking into his grey eyes, Harry could only see how serious the other teen
was being. Feeling panic start to overwhelm him, Harry spun on his heel and ran
to his room. The door slammed shut and, without thinking about it, he sealed
and warded it so that no one could come in, and collapsed on his bed shaking,
where he finally let go of the emotional storm within and let it flow over him
with a howl of agony.
Morgan and Galahad were only steps away from Harry when his bedroom door
slammed shut, and had just reached it, with Draco a step behind, when Harry
screamed out his pain. The wash of magic behind that one scream sent all three
teens flying across the room, and knocked them as well as the two adults
unconscious.
~~hp~~
Bill, Charlie, Fred and George Weasley sat sitting outside the Headmaster's
office as they waited for Dumbledore to return from where ever had been.
Fortunately they had only been waiting for about fifteen minutes when the sound
of voices reached them. Standing from the spots they had taken on the floor,
they were greeted with the sight of three of the four Heads of House and the
Headmaster talking excitedly amongst themselves.
Dumbledore looked up when a flash of red caught his attention, and gave the
four remaining Weasley boys-- the last of their entire family-- a sad smile.
“Good evening, my boys. Would you like to join me in my office?” he asked
softly. When he received nods of agreement, he turned to the others with him.
“See to your Houses; we will continue to discuss this issue when Severus is
free to join us,” he told them while motioning the Weasleys up to his office.
When they where all seated with the required cups of tea and lemon drops he
finally asked, “What can I help you with today?”
Fred and George gave Bill an uneasy look, and motioned for him to continue.
Sighing softly Bill looked into a pair of sadly twinkling eyes. “This past
summer has been… hard… on all of us,” he started, blinking tears away from his
eyes, and taking a bracing sip of his tea. “One of our mother’s greatest wishes
was to have all of her children finish their schooling. We were wondering what
needed to be done in order for Fred and George to be readmitted to finish their
last year and a half here.” he questioned, his voice soft.
Of all the things he expected to hear, this, the Headmaster had to admit was
not one of them. Sitting back in his chair, he studied the Weasleys as he
thought about what to do. “Well, this was not what I was expecting,” he said to
buy a little time.
Fred looked up at the Headmaster and gave him a small smile. “I know that this
will surprise everyone, but we do have more then one reason for wanting to
return,” he said.
George took the explanation from there: “We do want to honor our mother's
request, but we also don't want to leave Harry. He's going to need our support
more then ever.”
“I see.” Taking a sip of tea, he continued, “You do know that Harry has the
support of others within this school?” Dumbledore asked.
Bill gave him a small smile. “Severus and the two teens I saw with him
yesterday? Yes, I know. I also know that Harry broke down in my arms yesterday
morning, and that he blames himself for what happened. Having the twins here
will reassure him that we don't blame him, and that we support him even now,”
he said sadly.
“I see,” Albus said once again. “I must admit, my boys, that this situation has
never happened with me before, and that I have never heard of anyone actually
coming back to this school after they have quit,” he told them.
All four Weasleys seemed to draw in on themselves, the same thought going
through all of them. No chance of coming back.
Albus' eyes twinkled as he gave them his next bit of news. “Fortunately, we
have just come into possession of portraits of the Four Founders. Maybe they
will be able to come up with a solution to this problem.”
Fred and George's heads snapped up as the Headmaster stood and retrieved the
portraits from his pocket and resized them, hope reflecting in their eyes.
The Founders blinked their eyes as they became full sized once more and turned
as one to look at the Headmaster. “How may we help you, Albus?” Helga asked.
“Yes Albus, and do explain why we are here instead of where we asked to be
hung?” Rowena questioned.
Albus smiled and quickly explained the problem before asking, “Is there
anything we can do for the Messrs. Weasley?”
Salazar and Godric looked at each other, and then the four Weasleys before
responding. “There is a clause in the governing rules of this school that
states that students who have had to leave or were forced to leave may be
readmitted into the school as long as their Head of Family agrees. As long they
have that permission and agree to resorted, there should be no problem with
them coming back.”
The twinkle in Albus's eyes died just a little as he turned to the Weasley
boys. “With the death of your father, I do not know who your current Head of
Family is, as I don't see any of you wearing the Family Ring,” he said in a
questioning voice.
Bill grinned slightly before responding. “No, none of us wanted it, so we made
sure it went to someone who would not be… persuaded… to use it against us. I
believe that you would be interested to know our new Family Head goes by the
name Harry Potter,” his grin reflected on each of his brothers.
The Founders looked startled for a moment before Salazar started laughing. Even
the Headmaster couldn't believe what he had just heard. “Harry Potter is your
Head of Family?”
“Yes Sir. We signed over all of our rights yesterday while in Gringotts,” Bill
answered.
“Well then, I do believe that we need to go find our young Mr. Potter.”
Albus ushered the group down towards the dungeons, his eyes twinkling brightly
when they finally arrived outside the Potions Master's doors. As he went to
knock, a blast of magic pushed them away. The Weasleys exchanged astonished
looks, and as one came all to the same conclusion.
“HARRY!?”
 
A/N #2: Aura Colors and their Meanings
EARTH AURA COLORS: Soil, wood, mineral, plant. These colors display a love of
the Earth, of being grounded and is seen in those who live and work on the
outdoors....construction, farming, etc. These colors are important and are a
good sign.
Yellow-Green: Creative with heart, communicative
Bright emerald green: A healer, also a love-centered person
Orange Red: Confidence, creative power
Clear red: Powerful, energetic, competitive, sexual, passionate
Deep Red: Grounded, realistic, active, strong will-power, survival-oriented
***** eight *****
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned
by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury
Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoat Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is
being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Thanks to Kei for her lovely Beta work.... If not for her my work would be a
true mess...
Chapter Eight
Bill and Charlie were quick to pick themselves off the ground where they landed
from the blast of power, and immediately rushed through the door of the Potions
Masters chambers. A quick glance around the room had Charlie going to help the
five unconscious people laying in the living room, while Bill moved towards the
area with the highest magical concentration.
Albus and the twins were only steps behind Bill and Charlie as they also moved
to enter the chamber’s main room. The twins almost stopped in surprise at the
destruction, but moved forward, following their older brothers in order to help
Charlie bring the others back to the land of the living. Albus, for his part,
only stopped long enough to fix the door and send a message to Madam Pomfrey
asking for her assistance before joining Charlie and the twins in making sure
the others were alright.
Bill traced the magical blast back to its starting point, knowing without a
doubt that Harry would be at the end of the trail. Looking beyond the shattered
door at the apex of the blast, he saw a mop of black hair attached to a slight
body collapsed on the ground. After making his way carefully through the debris
caused by the blast, Bill knelt down beside Harry. “Harry?” he called softly.
Red rimmed green eyes raised slowly to meet his own, and Bill could see the
haunted pain clearly in them. His heart went out to his youngest brother as he
gently gathered the shaking teen into his arms. “Oh Lovely, let it all out,” he
murmured softly into silky black hair.
Harry didn't argue as, for the second time in as many days, he curled up in the
embrace of this Weasley and let all of his grief pour out.
Bill was unsure of how long he sat amongst the wreckage holding his adopted
brother and new family head. He almost forgot that here were others nearby, and
it wasn't until Charlie cleared his throat gently from the doorway, startling
the both of them, that Harry started to pull away.
Scrubbing his hands across his tear-stained face, Harry looked around the room,
horror reflected in his green gaze. Starting to move with the intention of
standing in order to peer around Charlie's form in the doorway, he asked
softly, “I did that?” Harry really didn't need the silent confirmation from
both Weasleys that he was the cause. As he silently took in the damage once
more, his eyes slowly rose to meet Charlie's. “The others?” he asked in fear.
“Headaches, but that's all they're admitting to. Madam Pomfrey said they would
be fine,” Charlie quickly assured him.
Harry breathed deeply in relief before attempting to complete the action of
standing, only to fall back once more into Bills arms when his legs wouldn't
support him. A yelp of surprise was startled out of him when Bill carefully
scooped him off the floor and seated himself down on the only chair still
intact, with Harry still cradled in his arms.
“Not happening, Lovely. You expended an awful amount of energy in that blast. I
can guarantee you won't be moving on your own for awhile yet,” Bill stated
calmly, not at all concerned about having the teen in his arms, despite the
very faint blush that crossed Harry's cheeks.
“But the mess…” Harry trailed off.
“Won't take me more then a few minutes to clean up,” Charlie stated cheerfully,
already busy sweeping his wand across the room to set it to rights.
Giving up, Harry allowed himself to relax back into Bill's embrace and watched
as Charlie cleaned up the mess. As soon as Charlie was done with the room
itself, he replaced the door, closed it and then layered as many locking and
silencing charms that he could recall on it, before coming over and sitting on
the floor at Bill’s feet.
“There now, we can talk and no one can interrupt us,” Charlie said with a smile
that made Harry think of the twin brothers. Turning serious he continued, “What
happened Harry?”
The Weasleys sat quietly while they waited for Harry to gather himself enough
to answer. Finally Harry took a deep breath and proceeded to explain everything
to them: meeting the twins, finding out about Snape, Diagon Alley, and finally
the midnight conversation. “Gali thinks that it's the effects of the trust
bond, Severus and I getting along so well, and from their point of view I can
see that. But…” he trailed off again.
“But you felt something for him before then,” Bill said in a knowing way.
“Yah. Somehow, I knew where he was, and if he was getting closer. It starts out
as a tingle down my spine and the feeling intensifies as he gets closer,” Harry
explained.
“What happened after you talked Harry?” Charlie prodded.
Harry hesitated slightly before answering. “My scar started to tingle, and I
assumed that someone told Voldemort that we had been wandering around Diagon
together when I should have been on the train. I fully expected a Vision, and
if that didn't happen, a nightmare. I… I really didn't want to be alone, and he
agreed to stay with me for the night.” Harry once more trailed, feeling lost
and confused. “I didn't react well to finding out everything at Gringotts and
it just became too much for me.” Looking between the two Weasleys, tears once
more gathering in his eyes, he said softly, “he held me as I cried, and I ended
up falling asleep in his arms,” he admitted
“I'm going to take a guess and say it was the best night’s sleep you've had in
a long time,” Bill stated just as quietly.
Harry just nodded his head. “Today, I got into it with McGonagall. She said
something about being removed from the tower for my own safety. I told her
exactly what was being said about me and informed her I refused to stay in a
place full of cowards who wouldn't stand with one of their own when things
became rough. Dumbledore agreed to let me be re-sorted, and the Hat said that
as the Heir to all four Founders, I could go to any House. I asked if there was
a way I could use that to stay out of all the Houses. I was informed that the
only way that would be possible was in the Founders agreed and then was told
where to find their portraits. It meant a trip down to the Chamber of Secrets
once again. While down there, I was tested and approved as the Heir, the
results pushed past me and into anyone that was in any way connected to me as
well. The twins are connected with a mental bond, and Severus was holding me at
the time. What I didn't know was that Draco has a bond with Morgan, and he was
trying to keep them both sane by placing himself mentally between me and the
twins. When the power coursed through me, it created another mental bond
between Draco and myself,” he said, giving a highly abridged version of things
to make the story go faster.
“What kind of bond?” Charlie asked
“We don't know exactly. I know that we can mind speak, but not much else yet,”
Harry told them before falling silent.
Bill and Charlie exchanged a look. It was clear to both of them that this was
when things started going wrong. “What happened, Harry?” Bill asked, repeating
Charlie's question from earlier.
“After we returned here, and things had started to calm down, I checked to
ensure that that blast of power had not affected my mental shields, and to see
what was new when it came to my magic. I found a few more things then I
expected; new bonds that should not have been there,” Harry said in a dull
voice.
Bill tightened his hold on Harry slightly in worry before loosening it once
again. “Do you know who they go to?”
Harry nodded his head slightly. “Morgan and Gali, both Malfoys, and Severus,”
he said softly. “But I don't know what they mean.” Taking a deep breath, he
continued. “I offered to break the bond with Draco. I was trying to protect
him, and his was the only one that I could break.” In a softer voice laced with
a touch of panic he added, “He refused.”
The three men sat silently for a few minutes before Bill shifted Harry in his
lap. “Will you allow me to See? I can help you figure out the meanings behind
the bonds,” he asked. A quick glance at Charlie told him that he also figured
out what made Harry lose control.
Dropping his head forward to make sure no eye contact could be made, Harry
contemplated that idea. It was true that he needed help to figure out what was
going on, as well as to sort out his own very confused feelings. He knew that
one of the Founders would be able to help him with the meanings behind the
bonds as well, but wouldn't understand his feelings and frustrations with them;
Bill and Charlie would. “I'm so confused,” he whispered in order to keep back
the tears he felt forming in his eyes.
“Let us help,” Charlie said just as softly.
Harry finally nodded his head in agreement, and held his hand out to Charlie
even as he brought his head up to make eye contact with Bill. Moments later he
was leading Bill deeper into his mind and to the area where all his bonds,
broken or otherwise, lay.
Bill looked around the “room” that he was brought to in amazement before
starting to study each of the bonds in turn. There was no need to tell him to
avoid the dark corner of the room; indeed it really didn't take much to figure
out that the huge heavy ironwood door that was banded shut with thick steel
shadowed there was the connection with He Who Shall Not Be Named. Avoiding that
like the plague, he moved towards the familiar bonds with his family, the
vibrant color all in different shades of green. Even the broken bonds still
claimed some of their lost color. With a sad smile he gently ran his hand over
the broken bonds, one each for Ron, Ginny and their parents with an extra one
thrown in for Hermione. To his surprise, there was even a small one for Percy
which, if given half a chance, would have bloomed between the two of them. He
was startled from his soothing of the raw spots, by a hum of pleasure from
behind him. “You still feel them?” he asked, amazed.
“Yeah, it gets better little by little, but I can still feel them, just like I
can still feel the one from Sirius.”
Nodding his head in understanding, Bill continued to exam the rest of the
bonds. The colors told him what the relationship to each was, but he still
needed to hear it from Harry. “You've told us a little about how you feel about
Severus, and I'll try not to pry into that to much further, but can you explain
to me what you think or feel about for the others?”
Harry nodded his head slightly before slipping into thought. “I explained to
you that Severus is Morgan and Galahad’s father, right?” Seeing Bill nod, he
continued. “I'm a little mixed up on them, considering that I just met them
yesterday morning, but it was almost like the first time I met Ron: instant
friendship. I knew I could trust them and the bond between us confirmed that.
Now, however, I increasingly find myself wanting to check on them all the time,
like I should protect them and make sure that nothing will ever happen to
them.” Looking over at Bill he asked, “I just met them, Bill, how is that
possible?”
Sighing softly Bill shook his head. “I'll explain in a few minutes. Now, what
about Draco?”
Here Harry snorted. “I still want to slap the prat, if for no other reason then
to wipe that smug look of his face! Now… Now I don't know. Having this bond
with him is extremely strange as well as extremely dangerous for him. I feel
like I can, with some time, start to consider him one of my closest friends,
like with what happened with Hermione. I didn't care for her either when we
first met. At the same time, I feel like I'm betraying both Hermione and Ron.”
Sad green eyes pierced straight through Bill’s heart when they met his own. “Am
I betraying them, Bill? Is all I’m doing is finding something to replace what
they mean to me?”
Bill quickly gathered Harry back into his arms. “Absolutely not. And just think
about what those two plus Ginny would say if they ever heard you say something
like that. It is my belief that they would be happy to see that you are willing
to let someone back into your life, even if it's the biggest prat who ever
lived.” Harry leaned silently in Bill's arms for a few long minutes before,
much to Bill’s relief, nodding his head in understanding, even if his body
didn't relax all that much. He knew it would take some work in order to make
Harry believe what he just said. “Lucius Malfoy?” he questioned in order to
keep Harry's thoughts from lingering in darker emotions.
“When we were down in the Chamber, he took a spot to guard my back. I knew his
wand was out but instead of being nervous about having it practically pointed
at me, if felt oddly comforting almost like...”
“Almost like you knew he would do everything in his power to keep you safe,”
Bill finished.
“Exactly!” Harry exclaimed. “And then after, while we were talking to the
portraits, I was still not steady on my feet after that blast of power. I tried
to stay on my own feet, but he held out his arm, and I knew he wouldn't let me
fall.”
“Isn't that how Severus makes you feel?”
“Yes and no,” Harry replied. “Severus makes me feel so much more. There’s
warmth and safety, the sense of coming home…” he trailed off.
“Knowing without a doubt that he'll keep you safe while giving you the strength
and support you need to face everything on your own,” Bill added. “Do you see
the difference between the two?”
Nodding his head Harry summed it all up. “Severus would stand beside me, but
Lucius would stand in front while shielding me from everything,” Harry replied.
“But how could that happen in only a few hours? When I first saw them today I
wanted nothing to do with them. Now I don't want anything to happen to them.”
Bill smiled faintly, nodding his head in understanding. “Come along Harry,
let's go back to Charlie and I'll explain the bonds.”
It only took seconds for them to rejoin Charlie in the physical world, and then
with a look at Charlie that was laced with both sadness and amusement, Bill
started to explain. “From the looks of things, it seems you have some kind of
creature blood. I'm not sure what creature, and more than likely won't know
until you come into your inheritance on your next birthday. That blast of power
from the Founders opened up more of your gifts, and will continue to open them
a little bit more as time goes by. In fact I'll hazard a guess that they will
continue to grow as you master what you already have, and then will open up
fully on your seventeenth.” He stopped to give Harry a few moments to absorb
that information. “Now, as for the bonds, I'll start with the ones you have
with us, which will also in a way explain Mr. Malfoy and, to a lesser degree,
Draco. Your bond to us is the same as to any sibling: a vibrant bright green.
It's the same color no matter if they are a blood sibling or an adopted
sibling. The one from child to parent is also green, but a darker shade. In
fact, you can almost call it a forest green,” Bill said, and waited for Harry
to make the connection himself.
“Wait… That would mean that Lucius Malfoy could be considered my father!” Harry
exclaimed in shock.
“Yes. I won't be surprised if Draco's bond goes from the purple it is now to a
light blue, and then darkens into green.”
“HOW!?”
“They only thing I can think of is that trust bond that you started with Morgan
and Galahad yesterday. These are probably side effects that they were not aware
would happen.”
“The twins consider the Malfoys family, though I'm not sure how.”
“That would make it possible for you to bond with the Malfoys through the
twins.”
“But then why is my bond with the twins blue and not green?”
“Blue?” Charlie asked sharply.
“Yes, it's a nice sharp blue,” Bill answered Charlie, and then went back to
explaining to Harry. “You said that you were able to feel Severus even before
the bond was preformed. Do you remember for how long?”
“Since I started here at Hogwarts. I figured after I found out about the Dark
Mark, that it was because we are both connected to Riddle and through him each
other.”
“It's possible, I suppose. With the two of you being in close contact over the
years, it would be able to allow you to sense each other instead of every other
Death Eaters, but I'm afraid it's a bit more complicated then that.” Taking a
deep breath he continued. “Severus Snape is your Mate, both the Creature’s Mate
and your Soul’s Mate. Your bond with the twins allowed you both to finally see
each other, instead of just being able to see the outside, you are now able to
see the inside as well.”
“I see, then my bond with the twins would mean…?” he asked.
“While a sibling bond and a bond from a child to a parent is green, the bond
from a parent to a child is blue: a nice, sharp blue.”
***** Nine *****
A/N This chapter at this time is unbeta'd... I'm sorry.
Disclaimer.... Not mine ~sighs~
 
Chapter Nine.
 
Bill and Charlie rejoined those in the living room, both slightly drained from
their talk with Harry. Gratefully accepting the offered tea, Bill looked around
at the others, and smiled weakly when he met Severus' eyes. “He's asleep.” He
told them all, and watched as the tension immediately decreased.
“Did he tell you what caused him to explode?” Lucius asked.
“Yes, Mr. Malfoy he did. And knowing him as well as I do, I'm not surprised in
the least.”
“Explain!” Severus demanded sharply, the only one in the room who did not
totally relax when informed that Harry was asleep.
“Easy Severus, I'll explain.” Bill said raising his hands in submission. “It
seems that when Ma.. Draco decided to keep the bond between him and Harry, he
triggered a panic attack that Harry was already fighting to keep under control.
In his own way, Harry was hoping that Draco would agree to break the bond in
order to keep himself from becoming an even larger target then he already was.
It's really no secret that anyone close to Harry will be taken out in order to
break his support system, effectively rendering him harmless, or at least to
the point that one tiny shove would break him beyond repair.”
“It is as I expected then.” Albus sighed. “I'm truly surprised that he allowed
Galahad and Morgan to get as close as they did in such a very short amount of
time.”
“That we can explain as well.” Charlie said into the silence.
“Well.” Morgan demanded.
“Headmaster did you know that Harry has some creature blood in him?” Charlie
asked.
“No I did not.”
Sighing Charlie and Bill shared a long look, trying to decide exactly what to
tell everyone, without breaking trust with their younger brother. Before either
of them could say anything, Gali, Morgan and Draco all went stiff for a moment
before relaxing. “Potter said to tell you to tell us everything.” Draco told
them all.
“And how do we know that you're just not saying that to get what you want to
know?” The Weasley twins said as one glaring at the younger blond.
“Mischief Managed.” The Annerson twins replied with a glare of their own.
Both sets of twins continued to glare at each other for a long moment, before
Fred turned to George. “Well Forge?”
“Oh indeed Gred, having anther set of twins in the family is going to be just
grand.”
“I agree totally. We'll just have to figure out how to use this to our
advantage later.”
“Oh yes.”
Turning to look at their older brothers, and ignoring the looks they were
getting from the others they nodded their heads. “It's true, go ahead and
explain.”
Groaning in unison, Charlie and Bill shared a pained look with everyone before
settling down to explain everything that they had gathered to the rest of the
room.
~~hp~~
Three hours and many questions later, Severus and Lucius finally managed to
kick everyone out of the apartment and sat sipping at glasses of single malt
scotch, each lost in their own thoughts.
The Weasley twins and Draco had been sent to show Morgan and Galahad around the
castle, Albus had gone back to his office, his twinkle going full blast due to
what he had just heard, and Charlie and Bill had gone back to their own homes.
Sighing deeply Lucius looked over and caught a set of black eyes. “This is
going to be a really interesting year.”
“Indeed. More so then usual.”
“Father figure to the Boy Who Lived.” Lucius commented softly, “I'm really not
sure if I'm up to that challenge.” he admitted.
“How very un-Slytherin like Luc, admitting that outloud.”
Lucius smirked, “Oh, like you can say you saw being his mate in your future.”
he snorted.
“I should have.” Was the very quiet reply
Lucius knowing his friend as well as he did, just sat silently and sipped his
drink, and let Severus proceed in his own time.
“I have always known where in the Castle he was, it made trying to keep him out
of trouble easier.” Severus started, as part of a longer explanation
“I don't even want to count how many times you complained about him getting
into life or death situations. Every time you did, I could see just how the
effected you.” Lucius said softly. “I thought of first that it was pure hate.
But looking back now, I can see something different.” When no answer was
forthcoming he added on last thing before leaving things alone. “There's a very
fine line between love and hate.”
A nod of his head was his only response.
~~hp~~
Harry woke slowly from his nap, and stretched like a cat, causing vertebra to
pop all the way down his back. Curling up into the warmth of the covers, he
allowed the comforting sound of chatter in his mind loll him back to a light
doze. A familier drawl in one of the voices had Harry shooting up in bed, :
Malfoy!:
:Yes? Did you need something Scarhead?: The voice came again, this time laced
with amusement.
:Ah hell, I thought I had dreamed it all!: Harry whined.
:Sorry Kitten, but it's all true.: Morgan giggled.
Grumbling to himself, Harry once again made himself comfortable within his
blankets. :What are you three up to at the moment?:
Draco snorted softly and cast a look at the two sets of twins that he was
following. :I'm being shown more of Hogwarts then I had ever hoped to know.:
:Ah, a tour of Hogwarts, Weasley style.: Harry snickered back.
:Indeed. Maybe you can join us?: Questioned Gali.
:No, I think I'll stay here. I have things that I need to discuss with the
elders for this school year.: Was the quiet reply colored with a yawn.
Harry felt a shield go up and two of the voices became muted. :Are you alright
Harry?: Draco asked softly.
:I think so.: Harry replied after a moment. :I'm sorry I freaked out like that.
It's just that – I just can't – I just can't lose anyone else Draco.: He tried
to explain.
:I know, and I understand. If I was you I more then likely would have done the
same thing.:
Draco was content to follow along behind the others, knowing that nothing would
happen with the Weasley twins there to retaliate, as he waited for Harry to
respond, either by acknowledging what he had just said or by changing the
subject. He suspected it would be the latter of the two. His suspicious were
confirmed a few minutes later.
:Are all the Weasleys with you?:
:The twins are more then enough thank you very much.: Draco responded, his
mental tone snotty.
:Yeah yeah yeah. Please be kind enough to explain why the Twins are still
here.:
:Well from what I could understand, all four of them came here to ask the
Headmaster if the Twins could come back to finish there schooling. The
Headmaster asked the Founders what they thought, and the four of them said if
they had permission from their Head of Family they could re-enroll and be
sorted once again.: Draco explained. :Now I guess they just have to contact
whoever is the new Head of the Weasley Family.: he finished.
By the time Draco had finished explaining, Harry was howling with laughter.
~~hp~~
Pulling himself together, Harry allowed himself another stretch before
uncurling from the blankets and headed for the shower, his skin crawling from
the dirt he could still feel from the summer past.
Half an hour later, feeling somewhat better, he made his way nervously into the
living room, stopping just outside the room when he saw both men sitting there
quietly. Glancing around the room, and not seeing any damage from earler, he
let out a shaky breath and slowly stepped into the room, the movement drawing
the attention of both its occupants.
Finishing the last of his drink, Lucius stood and moved towards the door. “I
think this conversation is best left to two of you. I'm sure I'll find
something that needs my attention within my new office.” He stated softly.
Harry, unsure on how the news that Bill and Charlie gave had been taken, looked
down at the floor for a second before reaching out and stopping the man from
leaving. “Mr. Malfoy – Lucius....” he trailed off, not knowing how exactly to
voice what he was feeling.
Glancing down into green eyes filled with uncertainty and fear, Lucius felt his
heart swell for the young man before. “I know Harry.” He whispered, “no more
needs to be said. Fate has a way with playing with our lives, but in the end it
will all work out for the best.” Without giving Harry a chance to reply, Lucius
left the room, closing the door softly behind him.
Harry stood watching the door for a few minutes before slowly turning to the
man who sat in front of the fireplace, the play of flames casting flickering
shadows on his face, and hiding his eyes from view. But Harry could tell the
that those dark eyes would be glittering in their intensity as the watched him.
“S..Severus?”
“Come here Harry.” Severus' voice was just above a whisper, and he watched as
the teen moved towards him, and could see the tremors going through the young
man that he was just figuring out he had always loved. When Harry stopped just
within arms reach, he moved forward slightly and drew him onto his lap and
wrapped both arms firmly around him, not letting go when Harry stiffened in his
embrace.
Slowly Harry relaxed and allowed himself to be cradled against the strong body
holding him. Fingers nimble from years of working with delicate potions and
their ingredients, started to run through his hair, and Harry melted fully, a
contented noise voiced deep from the back of his throat.
Severus chuckled slightly at the sound that could almost be classified as a
purr. “I think my children were correct in calling you kitten.” he stated
softly, never stopping in his movements.
Allowing the silence to go on for long moments, Severus finally started talking
once again, his voice just loud enough to be heard. “Whatever this is between
us, I never would have expected it to happen. Especially with the past five
years between us, and the bad blood between myself and your family before.”
Harry opened his mouth to defend both of them, only to be stopped by a gentle
finger against his lips. “Shh, let me finish. I'm not one for speaking my
feelings or thoughts out loud, and I fully expect this to be the last time I
ever speak of this again. Just let me finish. Please.” Harry found himself
nodding in agreement. After all it was the only thing he could really do.
“I am not a nice man. I stepped into the Dark Lords service eager to please
Him, thinking a finally found a spot that I belonged. It took only weeks for me
to figure out my mistake, and even longer to find away out of it. Over the
years, I have killed many, either directly or with the use of the potions that
I created for His pleasure. My saving grace came the day that you stepped into
this school, and my task became clear, when I was set as your protector. I
never expected anything more to come of this, and fully expected to die to save
your life. My redemption would have come in the form of saving you.”
Stopping for a moment to refill his glass, Severus held it in front of Harry
silently asking if he wanted a glass himself. His surprise was almost complete
despite everything else when instead Harry reached out and took a small sip
from his glass and handed it back. Repeating the same motion for himself, he
set the glass to the side and continued. “My world turned upside down yesterday
morning when I saw you with the twins, and my every belief was torn away as I
learned the truth about you. Learning today that I was your mate, was perhaps
not as surprising to me as it was to the others, almost like I have always
known that you were more important to me then I would ever allow myself to
admit. Now I can only promise that I will do everything in my power to prove
myself worthy to stand at your side.”
Harry sat silently for a few more mintues before pulling away gently from
Severus' warmth. “My life until I found myself here at Hogwarts was not
pleasent, and nothing can ever change that fact. When I came here, I thought my
life would get better, but then I ran into the Boy Who Lived nonsence and I
realized that I had only exchanged one prison to another. My only constant
during all this time has been you. No matter what anyone else said or did, no
matter if I was being made out to be the villian or the hero, you were always
the same.” Locking his eyes with the dark ones before him, he finished all he
was going to say on this subject, before putting it behind them both. “No
matter what else happens Severus Snape, promise me one thing. Never change. I
like you just the way you are, complete with your evil, snarky attitude. Never
change.”
Severus let out the breath he had been holding and smiled slightly. “You have
my promise Harry Potter, now until forever.”
~~hp~~
After another good nights sleep, this time with the help of a few sips of
Dreamless Sleep, Harry found himself walking with Draco Malfoy of all people,
to the Great Hall for breakfast. Neither of them talked much, and Harry could
already hear the new set of rumors whispered as he passed his follow students.
Pausing just inside the door, Harry glanced around trying to figure out where
to sit, knowing that he would not be welcomed at the Gryffindor table, even
with twins sitting alone at one end of it. Running his eyes over the Ravenclaw
table, he was surprised to see Luna looking back at him with a vague smile on
her face, that fooled everyone but him. Shrugging his shoulders slightly, he
made his way towards her, when she waved him over, and almost collapesed in
shock when she threw her arms around his neck in a giant hug. A glance at the
head table reassured him that everything was alright, and Harry happily took
his place beside her and dug into the food set out in front of him,
occasionally adding to one of the conversations going on around him.
Finished with his plate, Harry enjoyed the way the Ravens didn't block him out,
or try to blame him for what happened over the summer, and he could tell that
those who didn't know what to think had decided to suspend judgement until all
the facts where in. So deep into the converstation with a 7th year debating
Dark vs. Light magic, he wasn't aware of the growing silence until his debate
partners eyes grew wide as he stopped in mid sentence. Tipping his head back to
see who was behind him, even though he knew only one person could cause this
reaction, Harry looked up into the glittering eyes of Professor Snape. “Good
morning Professor.” he greeted, forcefully holding down the smile that wanted
to spread across his face.
“Mr. Potter, if you are finished with your meal, the Headmaster would like you
to join him in his office.” Snape stated coldly, though Harry could see the
warmth in his eyes.
“Of course Sir. I'll be up in a minute.” Turning back on the Potion's Master,
knowing it would cause the older man to seemingly grow angry, Harry made one
last point to the 7th year. “Light doesn't mean good, and Dark doesn't mean
evil. After all 'Avada Kedavra' in the hands of a healer can give a merciful
ending to one suffering saving them from an even more painfilled years, just
like 'Wingardium Leviosa' can kill if you direct a person high enough into the
air.” he stated calmly, hopeing it would make those around them to rethink some
of their ways.
“Now Potter!” he heard growled behind him.
“Yes Sir.” Harry stated, grabbing a final peice of bacon, and hurrying after
his Professor, letting his smile out when no one else could see.
***** Ten *****
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned
by J.K Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros,
Bloomsbury. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement
is intended.
Once again many thanks to Periculum for her beta work. Without her I’m sure
everyone would be out for my head.
 
Chapter Ten
Harry trailed after Severus, doing his best not to watch the way the man
walked, and thinking (where someone just might be listening!) that it was a
shame that the Potions Master preferred to wear such billowing robes. A quiet
snicker deep in his mind let him know that the thought was not as hidden as he
had thought. :Hush.: He snarled softly, not really sure who it was that had
decided to eavesdrop.
“Mr. Potter, I have better things to be doing today than babysitting you. If
you do not start paying attention to your surroundings and keep up, I’m going
to have you in detention with Mr. Filch for the next week,” a dark voice
purred, snapping Harry out of his thoughts.
“Yes Sir, sorry Sir.” Harry was quick to answer, and hurried his pace slightly,
making sure not to lose himself in thought again; after all, if he was going to
get detention it would be with Snape himself, otherwise it just wasn’t worth
the effort.
It didn’t take long for the two of them to reach the gargoyle, which moved
aside, even without the password, much to Harry’s surprise. By the slight
widening of Severus’ eyes, it appeared this was as unusual to him as it was to
Harry.
As soon as the entrance closed behind them, Harry moved slightly closer and
leaned his head in the center of Severus’ back, causing the older man to turn
around and wrap his arms around the teen, for once allowing the revolving
stairs to carry them up instead of making the trip faster by walking. “How did
you sleep last night, Harry?”
“Once I opened the portrait between our rooms slightly, much better than I have
been,” Harry mumbled in return, wrapping both arms around Severus’ middle,
knowing that the embrace would end sooner than he would wish.
“Hmm, I noticed this morning when I woke up that it was open. I had thought for
a moment that you had tried to get my attention, so I peeked in on you.”
Flushing slightly, Harry looked up into dark eyes. “It sounds stupid, but I
just wanted to be able to hear you,” he said, before stepping back as the near
the top of the staircase.
“Not stupid, Harry. Everyone needs reassurance at some time. If having it open
helps you then so be it, we’ll leave it open” Severus replied, brushing one
knuckle across Harry’s cheek.
“Thank you,” Harry whispered, leaning into the caress briefly, before pulling
himself together. “Do you know why the headmaster wanted to see me?”
“No, I don’t. But I think it has something to do with the reason the Weasley
twins are still here.”
“Draco said something about them coming back to school last night, but needing
the permission from their Head of Family,” Harry informed him.
“And as you are their Head…” Severus trailed off. “Oh Great Merlin, you’re
going to give them the okay, aren’t you?!”
His only answer before the office door opened was a bright smile.
~OoO~
It never failed to surprise Harry that no matter how many people were in this
office, it never seemed to get crowded. At the moment it contained Fred,
George, Charlie and Bill Weasley, all four Heads of House, Lucius Malfoy
(representing the Board of Directors), the Headmaster and Harry, as well as the
portraits of the Four Founders settled for the moment on easels on either side
of the Headmaster’s desk, and of course Fawkes on his perch directly behind the
Headmaster.
Bowing respectively to each of the Founders, Harry turned his attention to the
Headmaster. “Good morning, Sir.”
“Good morning, Harry. How are you this fine day?”
“Very well, Sir. How may I help you this morning?” Harry asked. His smile
turned mischievous, letting Albus know that he had a basic idea of what he
wanted.
Blue eyes twinkled brightly as he gestured to a chair situated with the twins
on one side of it, and Bill and Charlie on the other. “It has come to our
attention that we have a couple of young men that would like to re-enroll in
our fine school. After discussing it with the Founders, I have found out that
they may re-join us if their Head of Family agrees, and they agree to a re-
sorting. Fred and George have agreed to a re-sorting; now we just have need of
the agreement of their Head of Family. You wouldn’t by chance know who that is,
now would you, Harry?”
McGonagall huffed from her seat and sent a mild glare at the Headmaster. “I
still don’t see why you needed to drag Mr. Potter all the way up here. It’s
plain to see that he would have no more idea who the new Head is than I do,”
she said stiffly.
The remaining Weasleys opened their mouths in outrage, along with everyone
else, but quickly subsided when Harry held up a hand. Shifting his position in
the chair slightly, Harry looked at his ex-head of house with cool detachment
and waited for everyone to settle down enough that he could be heard.
“I understand, Madam, that you were close to both Molly and Arthur, and that
you are grieving their loss along with their children. I, too, am suffering
from their loss, as is anyone who knew what a truly exceptional couple they
were.” He spoke with a quiet dignity that surprised everyone, including
himself. “While you lost close friends that day, I lost my family.” Closing his
eyes to hide his pain, Harry gave himself a few moments to bring himself back
under control. “Bill and Charlie both gave up their rights by blood to accept
the Lordship of the Weasley family, and instead gave them to someone they both
knew would not use it against them. Much to my dismay, I was the one they
selected to lead their family,” he said softly, after he had opened his eyes
once again. “It was with a great deal of honor that I accepted, along with a
feeling of being completely unworthy of that honor.”
“Since I have entered this school this year, you have made it abundantly clear
that you, along with the rest of your House, blame me for what happened, and
I’m not sure if I can completely disagree with that fact. After all, they would
have all been safer if they had never taken me in. But I will NOT allow you to
keep belittling me or anyone else. If you cannot detach your feelings and
remain neutral in dealing with me as a student, no matter what, I suggest,
Madam, that you step down from your position as Deputy Headmistress and
consider retiring from your position as Head of Gryffindor as well.” Harry’s
eyes had turned hard by the time he was finished, and held McGonagall’s eyes
until she was shamed enough to turn away.
“As Head of the Weasley family, I give my permission for Fred and George to re-
enroll here at Hogwarts,” he said gravely when he turned back to the
Headmaster. Reading the shock that was in Albus’ eyes, along with the shock
that fairly radiated from everyone else, Harry knew he had to lighten the mood.
“If, of course, Sir, you think that your school will survive having the Weasley
twins once again as students,” he added, a slight smirk decorating his face.
Shaking the shock from his system quickly, the Headmaster returned Harry’s
smirk with a twinkle of his own. “Oh, I think we can survive another year with
the twins in attendance. Although I think we might just have to let the Sorting
Hat also judge what year they should be attending.”
Donning a look of horror, Harry looked at the Sorting Hat, and could have sworn
that the damn thing had a smirk on its ‘face’. “Please not sixth year, please I
beg of you!” he pleaded.
“This reminds me of the first time you put me on your head. ‘Not Slytherin,
please anywhere but Slytherin.’” The hat mocked him.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” Harry stated, turning his head in a
mock huff, much to the amusement of those within the room.
“Are you saying, young man, that you convinced that Hat not to put you where it
wanted you to go?” Professor Sprout asked.
“It wasn’t that hard,” Harry murmured, looking down in embarrassment.
“Indeed it was not. He could have gone anywhere at that point,” the hat
reassured them all. “Now enough with young Potter. Let’s continue on with
sorting these fine young men,” the hat announced, moving things along.
After that it only took a few minutes for Fred and George to be re-sorted into
Gryffindor for their seventh year of school, much to Harry’s relief. After the
twins received copies of their school list, Harry asked for and received
permission to walk the Weasleys down to the entrance hall, promising to return
to the Headmaster’s office immediately after.
With a quick glance at the twins, they said their farewells to Bill and
Charlie, and Harry led the way down to his rooms. Once there, he locked and
warded the door before turning to the twins with a somewhat worried look.
“Do you need any help getting your supplies?” He asked.
“Nope…”
“Not a thing...”
“Business has been good...”
“And the account you set up…”
“Allowed us to hire full time staff…”
“The only thing we need to do…”
“Is getting permission to leave…”
“So we can do the trickier brewing…”
Fred and George answered him, both wearing matching grins.
Used to the double speak, Harry just nodded his head in relief and headed for
his trunk. “Alright then, I won’t bother with helping you buy your supplies.”
“Harry, don’t feel like you need to provide for us financially,” George said
seriously. “We do really well with the joke shop.”
“Oh, I’m not worried about providing you with money for that now. If you say
the shop is doing well, then it’s doing well,” Harry said, turning back to them
with a money pouch in hand.
“Then what is that for?” Fred asked, gesturing to the pouch.
“Well you see, since I’m not an actual member of the houses, and therefore more
than likely not going to be playing Quidditch unless the professors actually
work out a system between them, I feel no real harm in helping you kick
Slytherins butt when you do start playing once again,” Harry said with an evil
smile, holding out the pouch. “I would appreciate it if you bought me a new
broom as well,” he added as an afterthought, not wanting his first gift from
his godfather to be wrecked.
The twins looked at each other, before turning to Harry with matching evil
grins. “There seems…”
“To be…”
“A lot more money…”
“Than just for three brooms.”
“Oh well, I guess there might be enough for new brooms for the rest of team…”
Harry trailed off.
“Donated by us in memory of our siblings.” Fred nodded in agreement.
“And if there is extra after that, well it would be blamed on me if you managed
to smuggle in a few extra…pranks,” Harry added slyly.
“Of course not,” Gred and Forge said together, practically rubbing their hands
together in glee.
“Just in Merlin’s name, don’t get caught.”
“What do you think we are Harry, amateurs?” They said in dismay.
“Of course not. Just making sure that you understand that I had nothing to do
with this.” As an afterthought Harry added, “And please keep your marks up. I
really don’t want the professors looking to me for your bad grades.”
~~OoO~~
Harry returned to the Headmaster’s office, to find the Headmaster was the only
one remaining. Retaking his seat and the cup of offered tea, Harry turned his
attention to the portraits. “So which one of you do I have to thank for that
lovely speech?”
Helga looked at Harry with a smile on her face. “Well, you certainly behaved
rather like Salazar.”
“But you sounded a lot like our dear Rowena,” Godric added.
“Well thank you both, then. I’m not sure how I would have handled that without
making the situation worse.”
{You did well, youngling. With practice you can become a great leader} Salazar
hissed at him.
{I don’t want to be a leader. I just want to be Harry} he grumbled back, much
to Salazar’s amusement.
Looking at the Headmaster, Harry sighed. “How are you planning on dealing with
me not being in an actual House?” he asked.
Albus looked at the young man, the twinkle dimming slightly in his eyes. “As
you may have guessed, you won’t be able to play Quidditch, but if you would
like you may be able to help train any of the Seekers who ask for your help.”
Waiting for Harry’s nod, he added, “If you would like, you may also be able to
help referee a few of the matches as well.”
Smiling slightly, Harry nodded, “I would like that. It would allow me to be
able to still be part of the whole thing here.”
“As I thought. As for your classes, it would seem we have to make up a new
House patch for your robes. It has been agreed that you will take classes with
all houses, and any points you receive will be split evenly between all four
houses. The same will also be said for any points you lose. I have already
informed you that I will be reviewing your potions work. Otherwise it will be
business as normal.”
Harry smiled and took another sip of his tea. “I like normal,” he stated.
The Headmaster smiled back at him. “Incidentally, Harry, how was your private
meeting with the Weasley Twins?” he asked, eyes twinkling brightly.
Harry’s eyes sparkled as an evil smile once again stretched across his face.
“Productive, Headmaster. Very productive,” he nearly purred.
Albus, much to Harry’s amusement, threw his head back and laughed. Moments
later Harry joined him.
***** Eleven *****
It's late. I know that and I apologize. No excuse I can give will do justice to
this little fact, especially since I've had the beta'd version on my computer
for awhile now.
 
I'M ASKING FOR YOUR HELP!!!
I need ideas for the pranks the twins can pull on the rest of the school, most
especially Gryffindor. Any ideas will be welcome.
Once again many thanks to Periculum for her beta work. Without her I’m sure
everyone would be out for my head.
And finally….
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned
by J.K Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros,
Bloomsbury. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement
is intended.
 
 
Chapter Eleven (Sunday September 3rd)
Harry sat silently sipping his tea for a few minutes after the laughter died
down, content in the feeling of calm that the moment shared between the two. It
really didn't take long before Harry's mind started to puzzle through the last
few days, checking and re-checking the facts as they presented themselves.
“Lady Ravenclaw?” he finally started to ask.
“Oh please, young Raven, call me Rowena, or Ro as the others do,” she
interrupted. “There is no need to stand on such formality.” Godric and Helga
nodded in agreement, both murmuring their permission for him to use their first
names, before glancing over at Salazar to see if he would also add his
permission.
Salazar Slytherin gave the three of them glares that would put Severus to
shame, before turning the look on Harry. “I believe that a degree of formality
is always needed when dealing with youths,” he stated arrogantly.
It took a few seconds before Harry could stop staring at the portrait in shock,
before an innocent look came across his face. “I've never had a grandfather
before.”
The other four occupants of the room roared in laughter at the sight of the
great Salazar Slytherin stuttering in shock. After a few minutes, he finally
managed to get himself under control, and then turned his glare up a notch.
“You may call me Salazar.”
Harry bowed slightly from his chair in the portrait’s direction. “Thank you,
but you’re absolutely correct. A certain amount of formality is needed when
dealing with my elders...Grandfather.”
{You have to be one of the most annoying younglings I have ever had the
misfortune to teach!} Salazar hissed menacingly.
{And as I've already informed you, it's an art that I have perfected over the
years.} Harry answered back with a grin.
“Humph!” Salazar huffed, and turned his back on the rest of the room, but not
before Harry saw the suspicious brightness in the man's eyes.
Sending a fond look in Salazar's direction, Harry turned back to the others,
“Rowena, what knowledge did the four of you add in that power blast?” Harry
asked, giving the Elder Slytherin time to recover.
“Now let me think, young one,” she replied, tapping her finger against her
chin. “There was general knowledge in working theory for almost everything,
including law, politics, languages, and etiquette. As well as everything else
we figured our Heir would need to know about the school. We all gave you a
boost in our own specialties, that would be Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, and
Transfiguration from myself, Herbology and Healing from Helga, Charms and
Defense both magical and non from Godric and Potions, Mind Arts, and the Dark
Arts from Salazar.”
“Dark Arts!?” Albus stated in dismay.
“Yes, the Dark Arts.” Salazar growled from his frame, as he started pacing
through all four of the frames. “There is nothing inherently evil about the
Dark Arts, it's all about the intention behind the use of the spell. From what
I have heard from the Bloody Baron, you all seem to think that to use the Dark
Arts, one most lose their soul, but that isn't true. If your intentions are
pure, then the magic even though the spell itself is dark, will be pure.
Parseltongue, for example is a Dark Magic, but it can be used in conjunction
with light magic to make it stronger. A simple 'lumos' done in Parseltongue
will create a light ten times brighter than one done in Latin,” Salazar
started, getting into his rant.
“If you'll pardon my intrusion into this conversation, Grandfather, but I
happen to agree with you,” Harry broke in before Salazar could really get
going. Hearing a sound of dismay from the Headmaster, Harry focused his
attention on him. “I was having the same argument this morning with Josh from
Ravenclaw this morning at breakfast. Many of the spells we learn in our first
year, when you put enough power behind them, will kill, Headmaster, but even
you must admit that the uses of the three Unforgivables by someone who cares
can be extremely helpful. The killing curse to end the life of someone
suffering when other avenues of recourse have been exhausted, the Cruciatus can
be used to see how bad nerve damage is, and to monitor the effects of treatment
for the same thing. The Imperius can be used in a situation where some one is a
serous danger to themselves and others, like a suicide attempt. I know there
are inherent problems with using these spells because they leave a taint on the
soul, but still, if there are no other ways around the problem they 'could' be
used.”
Before Albus could say anything to refute that statement, Rowena cut him off.
“Young Harry is absolutely correct. What you consider Dark Arts, and what we
consider Dark Arts are two different things Headmaster. Blood magic, for
example is now considered Dark Arts, but when we were still alive, it was not.
We signed contracts with our blood, adopted people into our families, even
marriages were made with the use of blood to make the bond between the couples
stronger. There is nothing evil in it.”
Breaking in finally, Albus leveled a glare at them all. “The Dark Arts
incorporate sacrifice in many of the casting in order to work! There is no way
around that.”
Godric looked at the headmaster as though he was insane. Pulling himself
straight to argue the matter, he was silenced when Helga gently cleared her
throat. “My dear Headmaster, I think you are distinctly confused. I will give
you one little piece of information to meditate on and then this part of the
conversation will be over. I happen to agree with Harry about the uses for the
Unforgivables. From a Healer’s stand point they could indeed be used as he
suggested, if there were no other choices available. I also understand your
point of view, about how many of the spells used within the Dark Arts do indeed
require a sacrifice. But the problem as I see it at the moment, is more in the
definition of a word. You seem to think that sacrifice means death, but I'm
here to tell you it does not. The whole definition of the word when it comes to
the Dark Arts includes not just the giving up of a life, but the giving of
something personal. Think on that, Headmaster, and we will continue this
discussion at a later date. Now this conversation is closed, Harry was asking
about the powers he inherited, and I think he has a reason behind his questions
that I personally would like to hear.”
Albus sat back thoughtfully, before nodding his agreement, “Very well. I will
agree to thinking about what you have said, and we will discuss it at a later
date.” Looking over at Harry, he smiled slightly. “Other than learning what was
done to you, was there another reason behind your questions?”
“Yes, in a way there was, Headmaster. Firstly, I'm trying to figure out what
exactly to expect over the next little while. Power boosts that I'm going to
need to manage so I don't overpower my spells and hurt someone. Magical theory
that I have to make into working theory, new gifts that I might expect that I'm
going to need to master in order to keep myself and others safe. Is my temper
that I'm just learning to control, going to be worse? How is this going to
effect my interactions with the other students? My professors?” Harry started
to question. “How much knowledge was passed down to me, and in how many areas?
Am I going to be able to take classes that I don't have OWLS in, or do I need a
tutor? And then there's the connection between myself, the twins and Draco....”
“Harry, my boy, take a deep breath and slow down. I see that you've been
thinking about this quite a bit, and we can't answer anything until you give us
a chance to.” Albus broke in.
Harry flushed slightly before looking down. “I'm sorry, Sir, it's just that so
much has happened over the past few days, that everything is just spinning
around in my mind, and I'm not sure what exactly to do anymore. Especially when
you add in the other students and how they are going to act around me this
year, when over half of them are blaming me for what happened over the summer.
I mean, if the Weasleys weren't safe for being best friends/family to me, what
makes anyone safe when I'm around?”
“Now see here, young man, that kind of thinking is just going to cause
problems,” Godric stated firmly. “You can't allow yourself to think that way.”
Harry's head snapped up, and defiance flashed briefly through his eyes. “I
didn't say that I think that way, Godric, but the rest of the students will.”
“Then ignore them,” Godric said with a careless wave of his hand.
“That's easy enough for you to say, My Lord!” Harry growled, bolting to his
feet and glaring at the portrait. “Ignore them! Sure, I'll ignore them, just
like I ignored them when I first entered this school, and came face to face
with the fame, the way people stared at me like I was a God walking amongst
them. Ignore them like I did in my second year, when everyone thought I was the
next Dark Lord when they found out I could talk to snakes, or when they thought
I was a glory hound because of a stupid tournament that I was entered in
against my will. Or how about I ignore them like I did when no one believed
that the Dark Lord had returned, and they all thought I was mentally unstable
at best and about to go into a murderous rage at the worst. How exactly you
would like me to ignore them this time, My Lord Gryffindor, I would really like
to know.”
Harry was so intent on the Founder’s portrait in front of him that he didn't
notice the waves of magic rolling off him, nor hear the frantic calling of his
bond-mates in his mind. He didn't feel the waves of calm that Severus attempted
to send his way or the sound of the staircase to the Headmaster's office
activating. It wasn't until his line of sight with the Founder was blocked by a
black-clad chest and a set of strong arms wrapped around him that he realized
what exactly was going on.
Breathing in the earthy scent that permeated from Severus' robes, he wrapped
his arms around the older man, and allowed himself to lean fully against
Severus. “I think the control I had over my temper is shot,” he mumbled
“Indeed,” Severus whispered into his hair.
~~OoO~~
After a calming draught fetched from Severus' office, the Headmaster attempted
to explain what had set Harry off to Severus, Lucius, the twins and Draco, but
kept being interrupted by the Founders adding in their own opinions. Finally,
Harry let out a growl of frustration and sunk into his mind, determined to do
this in the easiest and fastest way possible. Gently touching the connection he
had with Lucius, he silently asked permission to strengthen it. Receiving a
mental nod, he used the magic still running rampant through his body and made
the connection hopefully strong enough that he could 'send' the entire
conversation to Lucius and everyone else. He knew he had succeeded when the
faces around him went blank, as they reviewed the relevant parts of his
morning.
:Sorry Scarhead.: Draco said, being the first to recover. :just don't expect me
to say that where anyone else can hear!:
:Wouldn't dream of it, Ferret. Thanks though.:
:You gonna be alright?: Gali asked.
:I'll let you know once the extra strength calming drought wears off.:
:Kitten?:
:It's fine, Morgan.:
“Harry, my boy, what did you just do?” the Headmaster asked.
“He showed us exactly what happened, Headmaster,” Lucius stated.
Rowena looked surprised at this. “How is this possible?”
Looking between Severus and Lucius, Harry sent a silent question, not even sure
what exactly he was asking, and received nods of understanding from both of
them. A single glance had Draco and the twins getting up and the four of them
left the office to the adults.
Please drop_by_the_archive_and_comment to let the author know if you enjoyed
their work!