Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

In Servitude of the Dark: The Hand That Guides Me	By : xXxLuckyxXx Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Voldemort Views: 74965 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling and her publishers. I just play in her world.

Chapter List
- 13
- 14
- 15
A/N: I had a review asking me doesn't Marvolo have better things to do than babysit Harry all day. And since I believe many of you may be thinking the same thing, I will address it here. I believe Marvolo is in character for 3 reasons:

1. In helping Harry and gaining his trust, Marvolo is securing the most important chess piece for the Dark Side, so he really is doing important work. Look at this like an investment. Marvolo is investing his time and attention and in return he expects Harry to be Voldemort's devoted servant later.

2. Marvolo's just a horcrux, no matter how Harry sees him as a complete person and no matter how 'lively' he is. Marvolo was created to endure long periods of dormancy and has no interest other than his own survival which is closely linked to Harry's willingness to feed him his magic. Therefore, Marvolo's first priority is to train Harry and watch out for him.

3. Finally, Marvolo is still bound to the diary and can't go too far from it anyway, so it's not like he can go out and make megalomaniac plans for world domination.

I hope this answered all those doubts that claim Marvolo is just hanging around and wasting his time. Also, remember, when Voldemort created his horcruxes, it was all the 'soft, weak' emotions that he cut out. So Marvolo is supposed to be more warm hearted than Voldemort.

Now, on to the story….

Chapter 13 : Calling For Sprites – December 19, 1993

Harry watched his classmates board the Hogwarts Express with a breath of relief. Now that he had taken on several personal projects, it was going to be easier to focus on them without worrying about dodging teachers and students. During the winter break, Hogwarts only maintained a skeleton staff that consisted of Hagrid, in his role as the Keeper of the Keys, and two House Heads. This year it was Professor Snape and Professor Sprout. Technically according to the Hogwarts Charter, the Headmaster was supposed to stay too, if any students younger than 15 stayed, but Dumbledore liked to use this time to attend to his Wizengamut and ICW duties, so he would be coming in and out of the castle.

Harry was surprised to learn that Ron and Hermione had also planned to stay in the castle. Their excuse was to work on Hagrid's and Buckbeak's case, but Harry had a horrible suspicion that they would try to make up with him. He wasn't ready to forgive them for spilling his secrets yet, and certainly couldn't trust them with his Yule ritual.

For wizards, the Winter night of magic fell on December 21st, during the longest night of the year. Christmas, set on December 25th, was the Christian's attempt to convert their pagan ancestors to the One God system by selecting a date that was both important and familiar to the pagans. And as the Light wizards encouraged the intermingling of muggle culture into their own, Christmas began to take over Yule. It was sad that Hogwarts, a school of witchcraft and wizardry, have forgotten the Old Ways only to adopt a holiday from a religion that had hunted down, prosecuted, killed and tried to wipe out the very magic that Hogwarts was trying to teach.

To Harry, Christmas had only meant torn socks, pocket lint, and a bent metal clothes hanger, so he was glad to make a holiday tradition of his own.

On the day of the 21st, Harry was relieved to see the Headmaster was absent again from the community meal table. So, the only one who would even notice Harry's poorly disguised excitement was Professor Snape. If he noticed Harry had fasted the whole day, only taking sips of water, or that he stole into the prefects bathroom for a 1 hour long ritual cleansing, or that this unusual behavior fell on a night of magic, he didn't say anything. And the only things he asked when Harry said he'd be unreachable for 2 days was that 1) if he was going to be safe, 2) to tell him when he got back, and 3) if Harry didn't return on the 2nd night than he would use Harry for potion parts.

Harry had chirped a, "yes sir," "I promise, sir," and a "I won't be late, sir," before running out of the office.

At long last, night fell and the 9 pm curfew bell tolled. The new rift between the Golden Trio made it convenient for Harry to sneak out of the Tower without Ron or Hermione getting suspicious. So with his all-purpose backpack, invisibility cloak, and a broom, Harry flew away from Hogwarts, passing a swarm of dementors who all strangely left him alone.

"Why aren't they attacking?" Harry asked. He had been ready, with the patronus on the tip of his tongue, ready to blaze a hole through the dementors.

"They know your mission tonight, and do not bar your safe passage," Marvolo explained from behind Harry, riding tandem on his broom.

"How do they even know what I'm doing?" Harry asked.

"Your magic verily sings this night, Little Serpent," Marvolo chuckled. "They are creatures of the Olden Times, and can sense your purpose, so they approve. Of course, it is only for this night."

"Too bad," Harry muttered back.

Using a compass and map, retrieved from his backpack, Harry flew as fast as he could to make it to their destination before the witching hour. When he and Marvolo planned the Call for Sprites ritual, they initially planned to Call in the Forbidden Forest. It was a logical choice since the Forest already knew Harry's magic by now, especially after one of its inhabitants gifted him a unicorn horn. But that was back in Halloween, when school was still in session and teachers patrolled the grounds regularly. This time, Harry had two days, and Marvolo wanted to take advantage of it.

They were going to where the ley lines crossed.

The closest one and most famous was of course, Stonehenge, but Marvolo suspected many of the dark community was going to gather there in secret. So they selected a less well known one, called Newgrange. As a bonus, its architecture was specifically designed for worshipping and observing the Winter Solstice.

After nearly two hours of flying, and 20 warming charms later, Harry got his first glimpse of the gigantic megalithic mound. From an aerial view, the grass covered mound spanned 76 meters in diameter and was encircled by a ring of standing stones. As Harry's feet touched the ground, he realized how high the mound actually was.

"12 meters high," Marvolo explained.

"Wow…" Harry breathed reverently. He felt so small standing in front of this monument. It practically exuded magic and mysticism. Even the air felt heavy with some unknown energy, making Harry shiver with excitement and a little fear.

Marvolo gestured to the front entrance, a 1.3 meter high stone opening. "This entrance is the opening to a 19 meter long corridor, that stretches about 1/3 the length of the mound. Do you see the smaller opening above it?"

Harry nodded. It was like a square window above the entrance.

"That is called the roofbox," Marvolo continued. "When the sun rises, on the Winter Solstice, the roofbox lets the sunlight in, which will illuminate the entire length of the 19 meter corridor for about 17 minutes. Tonight we Call the Sprites, and tomorrow we watch the sun bless the land."

Harry followed his friend into the megalith, making sure his lumos was bright enough to light their way. Having Marvolo around was like having a very passionate history teacher. It really was too bad that Dumbledore was so prejudiced that he denied the youths of the wizarding word such a talented teacher. And to have someone like Binns as a history teacher felt like a travesty to professors everywhere.

"The Newgrange Mound was built more than 5000 years ago. That's 500 years older than the first pyramids of Egypt," Marvolo continued his history lecture, though his voice was low, in respect for the dead buried here.

Harry paused a moment to run his hand over a carving of what looked like circular spirals. "What do these mean?" he asked, also keeping his voice low.

For a moment, Marvolo looked wistful. "The secrets behind these wall carvings are lost to us," he answered. "There have been speculations, but no one really knows. But if these walls could talk, the secrets it could tell us…"

The two moved on, finally arriving at the main chamber which vaguely reminded Harry of the Chamber of Secrets. Only instead of a smoothed domed roof, this 'dome' was created by slabs of 5 alternating stone that made up the sides of the pentagonal dome.

"It's called a corbelle vaulted roof," Marvolo said, noticing Harry's neck craned up. Then he pointed to the three other entrances that lead off from the main chamber. "Those corridors are shorter and lead to the three burial chambers of past kings. We will not be disturbing them tonight."

"Good," Harry whispered, slightly creeped out by the idea of being inside an actual tomb.

"Go ahead and set up here," Marvolo suggested. "There will be no need for a ritual circle, since this megalith is a circle in its own right."

Harry nodded and looked for a place to change, only to realize that there were none, not unless he wanted to duck into one of the three corridors. But he was more afraid of disturbing the tombs on Halloween night than changing in front of Marvolo. This was the first time though that Marvolo would see him completely naked. Always before, he at least keep his underwear on, but for this ritual, he could only wear special ceremonial robes.

Seeing Harry's dilemma, Marvolo smiled. "There is nothing you have that I haven't seen before," he said, causing the child to blush. "We shared your body for most of 11 years, remember."

Harry wanted to say that it was different now, but was afraid that he'd offend his friend. So, instead, Harry gathered his courage and began removing his clothes, all the while he was aware of Marvolo's eyes watching him intently. Just like changing in the Quidditch locker rooms, Harry told himself, but he couldn't lie to himself. This felt different.

Harry nearly jumped out of his skin when he suddenly felt Marvolo's cool arms around his bare chest, hugging him from behind. "Mar…Marvolo?" Harry squeaked, certain that his friend could feel his heart trying to pound its way out of his chest.

Marvolo chuckled and rested his chin on a bony shoulder, relishing the warmth of exposed skin. "There is no need for you to hide your body from me," he said breathily. "You're growing into a very handsome young man."

Harry ducked his head and blushed even hotter, feeling ridiculously pleased that someone thought he looked handsome. He always thought of himself as a runty, raggedy boy, with knobby knees, wild hair and too many scars on his body. "Umm…thank you, Marvolo," Harry mumbled shyly and stepped out of Marvolo's arms.

Marvolo let the boy go, and watched him cover himself up with the undyed cotton robe, with a pang of regret. Oh, if only this ritual was one of those performed in skyclad nude…But then again, maybe it was a good thing to keep that delectable little body covered. Marvolo wasn't sure if he could keep his hands off otherwise, and after all these months of self restraint, it wouldn't do to scare the innocent child.

Harry was busy unpacking the items from his backpack, too preoccupied with his own thoughts to worry about his friend's. As he pulled out a large pile of candles and their holders, he kept going back to how wonderful it felt for Marvolo to hold him that way. Sure the phantom had held him, touched him, all the time, but this was different. Harry was sure of it. Suddenly, he wondered what it would be like to touch Marvolo with more than just friendship in mind. Was it even possible to have a relationship with a spirit?

Harry was so distracted by all these questions that when he blew gently on the candle wick, only a curl of pale smoke rose from it. He gave a mew of disappointment. He had mastered the Fire's Breath last week!

"You have to want it to be hot enough to burn. Once more," Marvolo said. There was a smile in his voice that indicated he knew exactly what had Harry so distracted.

Harry forced himself to be serious. Focus, Harry! he scolded himself. This is important. You can daydream all you want later. He shook his head to clear his thoughts and tried again, this time managing to make it catch fire. He gave the healthy flame a look of satisfaction before he used the first candle to light all the others and placed them strategically around the chamber.

Extinguishing his black and white unicorn wand, he sat cross legged in the center, bringing a bowl of water with him. Now, he was surrounded by all four elements.

"Remember to pitch your magic and your voice outwards," Marvolo instructed. "It's not about how loud you can sing, but how you project your voice."

When Harry first learned that the Call was actually a song of musical notes, he nearly despaired. He wasn't a musical person, not even in the shower. So in preparation for this moment, Marvolo actually had to give him voice lessons, which was a lot more work than he thought. It was more than just making pleasant sounds come out of his mouth; there was also posture and abdominal muscle control too. Only after he had the conditioning did Marvolo teach him the very specific tones to call each sprite.

The Earth sprite responded to deep baritones that came from the gut.

The Air sprite responded to quick little whistles that needed no more effort than a few puff of breaths.

The Fire sprite responded to long high notes interspersed with slightly lower sweeps.

And the Water sprite was the opposite of that, with long low notes interspersed with slightly higher sweeps.

Thankfully, someone in the Slytherin Line had composed all these random sounds into something that the human voice could sing.

Harry closed his eyes and opened his mouth, throwing everything he had into his voice. It resonate richly within the chamber walls, as if he was reaching out to Magic, herself. And like blooming flower, She opened up the universe to reveal all the mysteries of her domain. And for a moment, a sliver of time, Harry felt truly connected, as if he knew where he fit in on a grander scale. Suddenly, he was both insignificantly small, and yet at the same time he alone had the power to alter the course of wizard-kind.

As Marvolo watched and listened, a proud smile grew on his face. Harry Potter truly was a 'diamond in the rough.' When the boy lost himself in the music's essence, swaying gently with the rhythms, the song seem to take a life of its own, almost as if the boy was possessed by a siren or some other magical creature of perfect pitch. In response, the candle flames flickered wildly, casting moving shadows against the rock walls that danced with the speed and fervor of Harry's invocation. The previously stale non-moving air was whipping around them, tugging on the dancing boy's hair and clothes. All the while, the oldest of magicks was being raised from the earth itself.

Marvolo was so tempted to ride on the intoxicating eddies of power, but resisted for fear of contaminating the most pure magic he'd ever had the pleasure to taste. He would be stunned if Magic did not bless this boy with all four of her elemental sprites.

The first sprite was Air, a tiny little fairy-like creature that glowed and was slightly translucent. It quickly took up the rhythm of Harry's song, flittering and twirling in happiness. Harry continued to sing, oblivious to his new friend. The next sprite, was born out of an abnormally large candle flame, but broke off into a humanoid form. It too joined the aerial dance. Earth came after that, a little being made of tiny pebbles. Earthbound though it was, it easily kept up the pace of its kin. And finally the last was water, erupting out of the bowl in a large splash. Unlike the others, this one was formless, though it could take on a human like form if it wished.

Harry didn't know how long he sung for. It was almost as if something had taken control of his voice, and he couldn't stop even if he wanted to. Even when he became aware that he and Marvolo weren't alone anymore, his voice still carried on. Only when the fourth and final little sprite was born did the mysterious force release its control, and Harry began to wind down, loosing his connection to that strange and wonderful and otherworldly awareness, no matter how hard he tried to keep hold of it.

Feeling a little bereft, Harry eyes blinked open and immediately landed on the two hovering in front of him. Harry smiled widely. Not all of Magic had left him, after all. Some tinkling sounds made him look down and he spotted the other two on the ground. Harry's smile split wide open, lighting up the chamber with his joy. "Oh look, Marvolo!" Harry nearly squealed, making the four little sprites squeal excitedly too. "They all came! All four of them! Look!"

"Yes, I do see them," Marvolo replied in amusement. "You should feed them now before they disappear. Air first, then Fire, then Earth, and then Water," he said, telling Harry the order in which they were born.

Eye widening, since he'd forgotten in all his excitement, Harry extended a finger to the see-through one. It became intangible, its elemental form, and swept across Harry's finger somehow cutting it with a blade of air. Harry flinched in surprise and watched as a drop of blood welled up. On a second pass, the blood vanished, apparently consumed by the elemental sprite.

"Well, that was interesting," Harry noted. "I think I'll name you Aria."

"You're naming your elementals?" Marvolo asked incredulously.

Harry nodded, extending a different finger for the Fire elemental, which did the same thing. "Of course. My magic gave them sentient life, so they need a name." Harry grinned when the newly dubbed Aria tinkled wordlessly in agreement. "See, she agrees. I think I'll call this one Flama. I know, it's not very creative," Harry added seeing Marvolo's look. "But I get the sense that they want to stick to names similar to their elements."

Marvolo rolled his eyes indulgently.

Harry named the Earth sprite Terra and the Water sprite Triton. Now that all the sprites were fed, named, and bonded, they disappeared melting into their elemental forms once again. All Harry had to do to call them back again was give up a drop of blood and hum or whistle the note that associated with the sprite.

"Oh woah…" Harry swayed dizzily when he tried to get up. "Oh, and I ache."

"That's to be expected," Marvolo said. "You had fasted all day and engaged in a rather large magical working. Now that it's over though, you can eat and rest. I want you awake enough to watch the Illumination."

Hearing this, Harry scrambled through his bag, pulling out the food he'd asked the elves to pack for him. A quick warming charm later, and Harry had a steaming chicken steak and hot potato. "I love magic," Harry said absently as he demolished his food. He was silent for a while as he polished off the food. When he was done, he packed all his things away, especially the trash.

"So, how many sprites do other wizards Call?" Harry asked curiously, ending it with a long yawn.

"Depends on the power of the wizard," Marvolo answered. "In my original body, I had also called four."

"Of course," Harry said, not surprised at all. He transfigured a rock into a thick sleeping bag. "I wouldn't expect anything less from the Dark Lord."

Marvolo smirked back. "A wizard like Lucius may call 3, but if rumors are true, he only called 2. It is still a respectable number."

"You mean you don't know?" Harry asked.

"It is not something you ask outright," Marvolo admitted. "Either they volunteer the information or not. To do other wise would be like crass."

"What about Snape?" Harry asked, blinking sleepily, but not yet ready to give in to sleep, even though his words were becoming slurred.

"He never got the chance to perform this ritual. But if he had, I would surmise that he could call up 3 sprites," Marvolo answered, tucking himself up against the slumbering boy's back.

"Mmm…tha's goo'."

As Marvolo watch the boy smile in his sleep, his thoughts went to his most powerful and enigmatic Death Eater. It was too bad Snape had long reached his magical maturity before he could escape his repressive home-life and Dumbledore's school. Neither was conducive to performing the rituals that the other dark children did before Hogwarts. Most great magical workings could only be completed by a mature core, but there were others like this Calling that could only work with a raw and unrefined magic of young children.

That also meant when Marvolo reunited with the main soul piece and build a new body, his core was also too old to redo these rituals.

O o 0 O 0 o O o 0 O 0 o O o 0 O 0 o O

December 25, 1993

Harry was dragged out of bed Christmas morning by his two friends. He didn't have the heart to keep up his anger and ruin their day, so he grudgingly shuffled off to the bathroom to start his morning routine.

It was a surreal experience returning to Hogwarts. Four days ago, he had witnessed a very profound sliver of time, when the Solstice Sun shot down the long corridor, turning the floor, the walls, and the entire chamber into such a rich gold that Harry had to squint his eyes. It bathed him in life-giving warmth and suddenly the old stories of Apollo and his golden chariot, or the never ending battle between night and day came alive in his imagination. It was at this inspiring moment that Harry truly understood that all of magic and all of nature was a balance between life and death, sun and moon, light and dark. Dumbledore was so foolish for only thinking that Light magic was the only magic worth practicing.

"It's amazing," Harry whispered, overcome by emotions, and turned to his friend with a dampness in his eyes that made his emeralds sparkle and glitter in the golden sun. "I think this is a patronus worthy memory. Thank you."

Marvolo didn't think he'd ever seen eyes so beautiful or so full of ancient knowledge. Somewhere between last night and this morning, Harry Potter had learned a lesson that so few others with tens of decades of wisdom to their name still did not understand. "I would have taken you across the world just to see this light in you, my Precious One." And then, as if urged by some undeniable force, Marvolo leaned forward and gently pressed his cold lips against Harry's warm ones.

It was only a glancing touch before Marvolo pulled back, but Harry still froze, his eyes widening like a house-elf's. To him, it felt like someone placed a cooling charm on his lips, but nevertheless his heart pounded like a drum, and his lips tingled oh so pleasantly.

"That was a kiss," Harry said, half in awe and half in disbelief. "My first kiss."

"I know." Marvolo wistfully brushed a finger across the still stunned boy's lips, wishing he could give Harry a real kiss, one that was warm and moist and would convey all the tenderness and the possessiveness he harbored for him. "My beautiful Child."

Harry gave his friend a shy but very bright eyed smile.

On the flight back, Harry felt a pang of regret to return to a cold logical world. Back home, magic was tamed into arithmetic calculations and wand movements. There was no more mysticism left. Human laws subjugated noble magical creatures like the centaurs and Hagrid's Buckbeak. In their egocentric world, humans even tried to tame the dragons reducing them to mere sport animals. It saddened him, and he mourned for what wizard-kind had lost in their quest to cast out the dark with their stark light.

"Dumbledore is killing our world," Harry growled.

Since that morning Harry stuck close to the Room of Requirements, getting to know his sprites better. He learned Aria was the playful one with the heart of a trickster. Terra was either shy or just really like to stick close to Harry. More often than not Harry carried it around or let it ride in one of his pockets. Flama was the opposite and was the more adventurous one, lighting up every dark corner by peaking into it. Harry also learned Flama required the most feedings to keep up her energy. And Triton, Triton was still a mystery to him. He, at least Harry thought it was a he, didn't seem to exhibit any human like behaviors that Harry could see. But that didn't mean Triton was any better or worse than the others. Harry loved each one of them, and they returned it in their own little ways.

The sudden knock on the door quickly brought Harry back to the present. "I'm almost done!" Harry called out, quickly washing his face and finger combing his hair.

"If you'd only grow it out like I said, it will stay down," Marvolo said in amusement.

Harry gave up. It was a waste of effort. "Maybe I will," he said and gave his friend a morning hug. That was another change thanks to Harry's ritual. Even though his friend had tried to stay out of the way, there had been so much magic swirling in that Chamber that Marvolo couldn't help but absorb a good amount of it. It was enough to keep him out of the diary for good long while.

Another change was that they grew even closer, if that was possible. Before, it had always been Marvolo that initiated their physical contact, but now Harry was just as apt to start cuddling and even share an innocent closed mouth kiss or two. He wasn't quite brave enough to go any further yet, but he was certainly enjoying where his nightly fantasies could take him.

Putting on his glasses again, Harry went out to meet his impatient friends. "Good morning, and Merry Christmas," he said cheerily. They were both gathered near their pile of presents, and Harry glanced at the third pile, which seemed larger than his normal cache.

"Happy Christmas, Harry," Hermione replied.

"Yeah, mate," Ron added and pointed to said pile. "You got some really interesting shapes there." Then he turned to Hermione. "Now can we open our presents?" he asked.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "It didn't kill you to wait, you know."

After Hermione gave the okay, they all dived in. They all got Mrs. Weasley's signature sweater. From Ron, Harry got a practice snitch, probably in an effort to entice him back into the game. Hermione, predictably got him a book, this one about healing curses. Before he could get to the other gifts, both of his friends gasped loudly, almost making him draw his wand thinking there was some kind of danger.

"Oh, Harry, it's beautiful!" Hermione pulled out a long, sleeveless, filmy gown of deep burgundy that faded into sparkling black as it trailed on the floor. The colors would make her skin glow pale and make her hair look brighter.

"Is this from Gladrags?" Ron added. His was a heavy, form fitting robe that was long enough to cover the top of his dress shoes. It was also burgundy, because anything else would clash horribly with his ginger hair. It also had intricate gold embroideries at the hem of the sleeves and the thick collar, with shoulder pads to keep Ron from looking too gangly.

Harry gave them each a sincere smile. He was rather proud of those purchases, since both the gown and formal robes were Malfoy ballroom quality. Harry and Ron both laughed when Hermione immediately put her gown against herself and twirled in circles around the room.

"Oh I feel like a princess," she said, finally sitting down again. "But you really shouldn't," she added, though reluctantly. "It's really too much, especially after we've…"

Hearing this, Ron sighed too. "Yeah, we don't deserve this. Not after going to a teacher with your secrets."

"I'm still not happy about that," Harry admitted. "But you two are still my best friends, and if I can't spoil my friends even a little bit, then who can I spoil?" Not the Dursleys, was left unsaid, but was assumed. "Now, both of those come with anti-wrinkle, anti-wear, and drying charms. It will also adjust itself within three inches, but even if for some reason it still doesn't fit right or…" Harry looked at Ron. "…You get another growth spurt, you can have Gladrags make a one-time adjustment on it for free."

Hermione blinked away tears and threw her arms around Harry, while Ron gave him a strong pat on the back that nearly knocked him into the pile of giftwrapping paper. And just like that their rift had been mended, even though Harry didn't expect to make up with his friends today. He was still cautious though, and only time will tell if they would betray him again or not.

The next present was from Snape. Not having expected anything from the man, the enormous and heavy box was a pleasant surprise.

"Maybe you should be careful with that," Ron said suspiciously.

Harry rolled his eyes, knowing Ron was trying to make an effort. He lifted out the small card first.

My Future Apprentice,

Happy Yule

It was a simple card, but said more than enough, so Harry tore into the box excitedly. At first glance, the box looked empty, but when he angled it so the light would hit it, it shimmered in a familiar way.

"It's an invisible cauldron!" Hermione shouted. "Oh take it out, Harry. Take it out."

So, Harry did. It wasn't much to look at, since it was mostly invisible. The only way you could tell it was there was the black etchings on the rim of the cauldron. There was a little information sheet that came from the manufacture, which Harry quickly read. "It's lined with lethifold skin, like my invisibility cloak," Harry said.

"That's amazing, Harry. I read there are some potions that are so finicky that you need something like an invisible cauldron so you could see the changes in the brew from top to bottom."

Harry nodded. "A lot of the complicated healing potions are like that," he said.

"Wow, Snape must really, truly like you then," Ron muttered uncomfortably. "To get you something like this. I reckon only a Potion's Master can get their hands on something like this."

Harry agreed, reminding himself to hand deliver the gift he'd prepared for Snape instead of just letting one of the house elves deliver it. Then he moved on to the next present, which came from Andromeda Tonks. She gave him a magnificent tome aptly titled Greatest Wizard's Hall of Fame. Flipping through it quickly, Harry found that it was like an encyclopedia of every important witch and wizard since the 1400's!

Finally, there was one left, a longish looking box, with no tag. Harry shuffled through his occlumancy honed memories, and couldn't think of anyone else who could possibly get him a Christmas present…unless it was Dumbledore again. But even his invisibility cloak came with a note written in the Headmaster's distinct handwriting.

"Cast the detection spells," Marvolo suggested, also looking at the plain box warily.

Harry did, using up his repertoire and impressing Hermione all over again. Unfortunately it all came out as nothing. "Can I borrow that?" Harry asked, indicated one of Ron's gifts, a dragon hide Quidditch glove.

"Good idea, mate."

Harry pulled it on and flip the lid open. All three peered inside, and Ron gasped, looking just as amazed as Hermione had with the invisible cauldron. Even Harry was taken aback, for inside was a highly polished, streamlined, newest model of racing broom called the Firebolt. Harry was shaken from staring at it when Ron's hand reached in. As if grabbing for a snitch, Harry took a grip of Ron's wrist, stopping him from touching the broomstick.

"Careful, Ron!" Harry glared.

"Harry's right," Hermione added. "We don't know who sent it. It might have some curse or jinx on it."

Ron whimpered pitifully and Harry looked at him in sympathy. For Ron to be within inches of such a broom and not being able to touch it must be torture.

"Whoever sent this has one sick sense of humor," Ron grumbled darkly.

Harry silently agreed, and while his list of enemies were longer than the average student, he could easily narrow it down to one suspect. There was only one person who could afford this, who didn't know Harry had a Nimbus 2000, and would get him a Christmas present.

"Sirius Black," Marvolo said, also coming to the same conclusion.

Ron didn't know how close to the truth he came. Sirius really did have a twisted sense of humor, and Harry felt certain there was some kind of prank left on it.

"Mind if I keep this glove for just a bit longer?" Harry asked Ron.

"Sure," Ron answered, his eyes still glued to the broom. "What are you going to do with it."

"I'm taking it to Snape," Harry said. Snape probably knew every trick the Marauders played and could counter it if needed.

Ron gave another whimper. "He's going to strip it down, isn't he?"

"I'm afraid so," Harry nodded.

Ron sighed. "At least he knows the value of a racing broom and won't do anything unnecessary to it."

Harry gave him a smile for effort. "I'm also going to give Professor Snape his present," he said and lifted the broom out of the box with the dragon hide gloves. "What are you two doing?"

Ron and Hermione traded sad looks. "Probably visit Hagrid again," Hermione answered. "He really is torn up about the whole Buckbeak case."

Harry regretted that he wasn't more help, but his schedule lately was too full. "Make any progress on it yet?" he asked.

Ron shook his head. "The only thing we got is your testimony against a couple dozen students who all saw Buckbeak attack Malfoy. 'Moine's looking up some animal rights thing, but it doesn't look good, mate."

"When's the trial again?"

"It's scheduled April 4th," Hermione answered. "Hagrid just got the news on Christmas Eve."

"Rotten thing to do," Ron muttered. "Giving Hagrid bad news the day before Christmas."

Harry agreed. "Keep me updated, alright," he asked and received nods from both of them. "I'll drop by the hut sooner or later."

Harry dug Snape's present from his trunk, and with the broom, made his way deep into the dungeons. Thankfully, there were no Slytherins who stayed over, so Harry didn't bother with the invisibility cloak. It was sort of a non-secret that Harry was their Head's new favorite, but this only gave him trouble with a few select Slytherins, mainly Malfoy who seemed to think Snape belonged to him.

Harry gave the obligatory knock, although he was sure Snape had detectors that would tell him who was at the door. "Happy Yule!" Harry said loudly, causing Snape to give him a withering glare, which Harry had practice ignoring.

Invisibly, Marvolo went to scan the many titles on the Potion's Master bookshelf.

"And what has made this Yule so happy for you?" Snape asked, placing a ribbon as a place marker in his book before closing it.

"I made up with my friends," Harry declared, honestly pleased with this.

Snape rolled his eyes. "And so the Golden Trio returns," he said, though Harry could tell his teacher was happy for him. "And what is that in your hand?"

No doubt Snape recognized it instantly, but Harry told him anyway. "It's a Firebolt, one of the many great presents that I got, including this awesome invisible cauldron with a note saying something about being a future apprentice?" Harry let the last part hang.

"Indeed," Snape nodded. "I have determined that you are…adequately skilled in the Healing Arts to take up an apprenticeship, if you so wish." Snape put up a hand to stop Harry from answering right away. "Please think hard about this. You have until your OWL year to give me your answer, and no sooner than that."

Harry's eyes flickered over to Marvolo, wanting his input as well.

"It is a large decision," Marvolo warned. "It is in essence taking on a Master. Your life will revolve around your studies and your mentor. It is an honor for certain, especially since Severus swore he'd never take on an apprentice, but I am not sure how this will fit in with our plans."

Hearing this, Harry nodded to both Marvolo and his teacher. "I promise, I will."

"Good," Snape said in satisfaction. "Far be it for me to understand the trivial minds of Gryffindors, but why in Merlin's name are you holding your broom like it is going to bite you?"

"Maybe because there was no name or tag, but I think it came from Sirius Black, so maybe it really can bite me?" Harry answered.

"Idiotic Boy!" Snape rose from his comfortable seat in one graceful move that made Harry jealous and went to fetch some potion's gloves. "That should have been the first thing out of your mouth when you walked in."

Harry gave a shrug and handed over the broom, which Snape received. "I already cast all the 6th year detection charms on it, but it all came back empty."

"Well, at least you do have some sense of self preservation," Snape grumbled as he cast his own series of spells.

Harry wasn't going to tell him that it wasn't his idea, but Marvolo's.

After a while, Snape's spells also came back negative. "I will have to keep this for a while," he admitted, though it was clear he hated to.

Harry nodded. "I suspected that," he said and bounced on his toes, drawing a curious look from Snape. "On a brighter note, I also came down to give you this." Harry pulled the black and green wrapped box out of his backpack and very gently placed it on the table.

Snape shot a surprised look at Harry. "You didn't have to get me anything."

"And you didn't either."

"Touché," Snape nodded before taking the box. It wasn't as heavy or as large as the one Snape gave him, but it did have some weight to it.

Harry watched Snape open his gift with such anticipation, which amused Snape so much that he actually slowed down, just to make Harry squirm.

"Professor!" Harry cried out, impatiently. "Just open it!"

Snape gave him a rare laugh. "Alright, fine." He quickly finished off the rest of the wrapping and opened the box. He pulled out a very well re-enforced robe, held together not by buttons but by buckles and sturdy straps. Though it looked heavy, there were lightweight and cooling charms placed on it so the wearer would not be uncomfortable.

"Harry, these are battle robes," he said, stunned. "Though I don't recognize the material. Not any kind of dragon, the scales are too tight."

Harry gave his teacher a smug look for stumping him. "Maybe you'll recognize it if you had a hint? Look beneath the boots."

At this, Snape dug deeper into the box, realizing it was deeper than it looked. He had to go through all the extra packaging that Harry put in to keep the very fragile glassware from cracking or shaking up the contents inside. Finally, Snape pulled out two small vials, so small that it would only hold maybe 5 ounces of water at most. One was as clear as water, but thicker. The other slightly more cloudy and just as thick.

Harry flinched a little when his teacher broke open the seal he'd placed on the cloudy one, but he had faith that as a Potion's Master, Snape knew how to handle very deadly poisons. Harry's faith was rewarded, when Snape gracefully waved the open bottle, letting the air currents carry the smell to his nose.

His eyes shot opened and pinned Harry down in disbelief. "Basilisk venom!" he said, almost shakily, before very carefully replacing the seal. "How in Merlin's name did you get a hold of Basilisk venom?"

Harry bounced on his feet, pleased that he had got such a dramatic reaction out of his normally stoic teacher. "And it's antidote too," Harry chirped, cocking his head to the other vial. "Apparently one fang is for poison and the…"

"Other is the antivenom," Snape finished, still amazed. "But you didn't tell me how you got it?" Then he narrowed his eyes. "Don't tell me your source actually got this for you."

"Kind of," Harry admitted, getting an encouraging nod from Marvolo. "I still can't tell you who he is," Harry said. "But he told me where I could find a basilisk and with me being a parselmouth and all, I just asked."

"You just asked," Snape repeated dryly. "You just asked the King of Serpents, the most deadly creatures of our world, to give up not only a dram of its venom, but also its antivenom, which is even rarer?"

Harry nodded. "It wasn't too hard," Harry said. Harry had harbored a reasonable fear of Slytherin's basilisk. It had caused so much trouble in 2nd year, had killed a student before, and it was amazing none of Harry's classmates had died this time. But after Marvolo properly introduced Harry to Sekmeth, the 50 foot basilisk, the two became fast friends. "If you show them respect, snakes are the most polite conversationalists." Harry had spent hours that first night talking to Sekmeth and listening to its tales about the Founders.

"Fascinating," Snape said, looking at Harry oddly. "You must live a very strange life."

Harry returned that with a grin.

Snape shook his head in fond exasperation. "So I am guessing that these battle robes are made of basilisk hide?"

Harry nodded. "I know you can duel and stuff, so I thought it'd come in useful someday," he explained.

Snape watched the boy carefully, wondering if this very mysterious child who knew too much had just given him some kind of warning or omen of things to come. He decided to stock up and refresh his battle potions just in case. "I hope you kept enough skin to make your own battle robe," he asked.

To Snape's dismay the stupid boy shook his head, but before he could explode, Harry rushed to explain. "I'm holding out for a growth spurt," Harry said, his voice full of cautious hope. "The tailor that I went to said because basilisk skin resists all magic, but the Unforgiveables, he can't alter it like normal clothes."

"I suppose that is acceptable," Snape said, looking the boy up and down. "Though any growth potions taken now wouldn't fix the damages done by your relatives. You'll have to wait a couple years for your next natural spurt before the potions have anything to work on."

Harry allowed himself a moment of disappointment before letting it go. It was an old issue with him, and he couldn't do anything about it anyway. Harry spent a few more minutes listening to his teacher's theories on basilisk venom before Harry made his excuses, claiming he was so hungry he could smell breakfast from all the way down here.

Snape waved him off even as he searched for his potion's journal to record his ideas. Leaving the man alone, Harry briefly wondered what an apprenticeship with Professor Snape was going to be like.

A/N: I luv all your reivews but it makes me sad that I can't respond individually to all of you as I can on Fanfiction.net. Especially from darkserpentcat and unneeded. You guys gave such in depth reviews that deserve a response. If you guys really want a response from me, PM me at Fanfiction.net. I can answer them there thru their system.

Newgrange really does exist. I wish I could show you the pictures of it, since it really is amazing and beautiful. I had wanted to use Stonehenge at first, but it seems like anything mysterious in Harry Potter happens there, so I decided on a little less known architectural wonder. It was just serendipitous that Newgrange was built specifically for Winter Solstice and the Calling for Sprites ritual happened on Yule. It is also serendipitous that this chapter comes out so close to Christmas. I swear I did not plan this when I first decided to publish this story.

And we've got Harry's first kiss...an innocent little peck on the lips. Bet you guys didn't expect that! Personally, I'm torn between keeping little Harry innocent and child-like OR diving into the really juicy stuff! Both ways appeals to me and can be worked into Harry's submissive persona...oh the choices I have to make.

It may take me a bit to update the next one, since I will be swamped with the Holidays and everything. I hope this nice long chapter will make up for it. If I don't update before then, Happy Holidays to my wonderful audience!

Next up : Harry confronts Dumbles with some discrepancies in his parent's will. See you then!
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In Servitude of the Dark: The Hand That Guides Me