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To Defeat a Dark Lord.	By : vbollman Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Snape Views: 18429 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-One
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-11
- 12-chapter 12
- 13-Thirteen
- 14-Chapter Fourteen
- 15-Chapter 15
- 14
- 15
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A/N ~whinces~ I know I know!! this is really really late. Truth be told, I had all but the last page or so written before Christmas, but my muse decided it needed Christmas holidays and well....and to that email mix ups, the differences between Windows and Linux and yet get an even longer wait.

For those of you who actually read a/n's and my other stories as well, I am half way done the next chapter of 'Hopes Refuge.' (I blame my muse for the delay!!)

Many many thanks to my Beta Periculum.

And finally the legal stuff, 'cuz just saying that it's not mine and I don't make money off it once during the story is not enough!

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 Fifteen

Harry woke from a fitful slumber shortly after Severus had carried him to the Gryffindor dorms and placed him into bed. Checking the time, he growled softly before flipping the covers back and climbing to his feet. 'Now if I know Severus, and I do, he would have had Dobby set up all my new things just like he would have during the school year,' Harry muttered himself, before reaching for his glasses. Sure enough, there at the foot of his bed was the new trunk Draco had helped pick out.

Grabbing a set of clean clothes and his toiletries, Harry took a quick shower and dressed, stopping only long enough to grab the journals that he had received in Diagon Alley and a box of writing implements and, thanks to a few shortcuts that he had learned over the years, found himself in the infirmary a few minutes later.

Glancing around the near-empty wing, Harry grabbed one of the uncomfortable wooden chairs and carried it over to where Dudley was resting, before transfiguring it into a much more comfortable recliner. A flick of his wand at an empty glass vial had a floating table top for him to work at as well. Settling in, he brought out the first of the two journals, which he just knew he had to read first, and making sure quill and parchment were close by, started to read.

A few hours later Madam Pomfrey peeked into her ward and smiled at the sight. Dudley, it seemed, had shifted in his sleep, turning towards his cousin, who was curled up in a chair sound asleep, an old book in one hand, and his other just touching the bed Dudley slept in, both with deep green comforters tucked in around them.

And deep within the shadows guarding them both was an alert Severus Snape.

~~OoO~~

Dudley woke slowly, trying to figure out what was different. It took a few minutes for his mind to connect all the small things together to form the bigger picture, and he snapped fully awake and sat straight up as he started to search frantically around for something familiar. A figure standing at the end of the bed brought him up short, despite the slight whimper of fear that wanted to leave his throat.

Gideon saw the moment the young Dursley woke up and knew that, if he didn't put a stop to it, he would wake the occupants of the chair. Stepping forward to stand at the end of the bed, he used a tendril of his magic to force the young man to stay silent and look at him. When he had the complete (and silent) attention of the teen, he silently indicated that Dudley look to his left.

Dudley, following the pointed finger, looked over to his left and saw his cousin sound asleep. He took a deep shaking breath and, allowing himself to relax, lay back down in the bed. A second look to make sure that his cousin was at least visibly alright almost had him gasping in shock. Harry's 'chair' seemed to be a man, a somewhat harsh looking man at that. Looking at the other man, he silently asked just what the hell was going on.

Sighing softly, Gideon beckoned Dudley out of the bed and pushed him towards the bathroom. Knowing he couldn't cast a silencing spell without waking either Severus or Harry with his use of magic, he figured the best thing he could do was remove the other teen from the room and leave a note telling the pair where they could be found. When Dudley came back out of the bathroom after a quick shower, Gideon led him out of the room and towards the Great Hall for breakfast, thinking despite everything else, Dudley needed to eat.

Once they had left the room and taken a few turns, Dudley finally gave up on the silence. He wanted answers!! “Who are you? Where are we? What happened? Is Harry alright, and who was that with him?”

Gideon chuckled softly, interrupting the list of questions, and receiving a glare for his trouble. “I cannot answer any of your questions if you don't give me the chance, young man.”

Dudley looked down at his feet and gave a mumbled apology, before looking back up. “Well?” he demanded.

“Very well then, I will answer a few of your questions. First, my name is Gideon, and you are at Hogwarts. Harry is fine and the man with him is my cousin Severus. It seems shortly after coming down to sit with you, Harry fell asleep and suffered another nightmare. Severus was fortunately here to wake and comfort him, and considering the time, it was no wonder that they both fell asleep again,” Gideon told him, avoiding the subject of what else had happened.

Dudley mulled that over for a few minutes, knowing that it wasn't the whole story. Considering that he and his cousin didn't have the best of relationships, he knew that he probably didn't deserve the rest of the explanation. Taking a deep breath, Dudley looked back up at Gideon. “What happened?” he asked softly, dreading the answer.

Placing a comforting hand on Dudley's shoulder, Gideon gently steered him into the Great Hall. “I think any more explanations should wait until after you've eaten, and everyone is here.”

Nodding his head, Dudley allowed himself be distracted by the room he just entered. 'How the hell did they do that, and can I get Harry to create a room like this?' he thought, gazing up at the ceiling.

~~OoO~~

Severus woke to the smell of his Harry wrapped around him and the comfortable weight of the same young man in his arms. Breathing in deeply, he tried to figure out what exactly had woken him, before his eyes snapped open and he glanced at the empty bed. A note placed so he could read it without moving reassured him that everything was fine, and he relaxed once more, enjoying the feel of having Harry to himself.

Half an hour later, the slight hesitation in Harry's breathing informed him that the young man was waking and he braced himself for the full body stretch he knew was coming. True to form, Harry stretched out like a cat, Severus’ arms the only thing keeping him in the chair, before settling back down again.

“Sev?” he questioned in a sleep roughened voice.

“You had a nightmare, once you fell back to sleep again,” Severus answered the silently asked question softly.

“H'm, don't 'member,” Harry slurred slightly, snuggling into the potion master’s chest.

Snorting softly in amusement, Severus shifted both of them into a more comfortable position. “It didn't get a chance to really start. I woke you before it got bad.”

Harry mumbled his thanks before slipping back into a light doze. Warm and comfortable as he was, he couldn't convince his body to let him go back to sleep. Something niggling at the back of his mind wouldn't allow for a deeper slumber. 'Still though, this is nice,' he allowed the thought to continue, breathing in deeply of Severus’ scent. “Aunt Petunia would never allow me to doze like this once she knew I was awake.'

It took a few minutes before that thought percolated through the rest of his mind, and his whole body tensed. His early 'birthday' present, deadly green light, the cupboard under the stairs, and Dudley all came back in flashes. Wait! Dudley! Eyes snapping open, Harry started to struggle to sit up, only to be hushed.

Severus knew the moment the day before came back to Harry. He had hoped that it would take a little longer, but was actually surprised that it took as long as it did. Tightening his arms around Harry, he started to gently hush the young man, offering his comfort once again. “Sh, Harry, it's alright. Your cousin is fine. He's having breakfast with the others right now. The Weasleys and Malfoys will be here at lunch, and the bunch of you can show Dudley around Hogwarts. Sh, little one, it's alright,” he kept repeating, until Harry finally relaxed back into his arms.

“Sorry 'bout that,” Harry mumbled.

“Truthfully, I've been expecting it,” Severus replied.

“Dudley is truly alright?”

“I assume so. Gideon left a note saying that he was taking your cousin down for breakfast with the others. I don't think they'll say much until you are there as well.”

“Not sure if I should be thankful or not about that,” Harry snorted before sitting up once again, when his stomach let it be known that it wanted food. He snorted again, this time in laughter when he heard Severus' stomach rumble in agreement. “As long as the others understand that we need to eat before we need to talk.”

“I don't think that will be too much of a problem,” Madam Pomfrey stated from behind them.

Severus and Harry both tensed in surprise before relaxing once more. “Infernal woman,” Severus grouched under his breath, barely loud enough for Harry to hear, before standing with Harry still cradled in his arms. Gently placing Harry on his feet, he nudged the younger man towards the door to the bathroom. “You first, Mr. Potter.”

“Why thank you, Professor Snape, you’re too kind,” Harry answered, shutting the door on the mild hex sent his way for the sarcasm.

Turning back to the medi witch, Severus hid back the wince at the look in her eye. “Good morning, Poppy.”

“Good morning, Severus. How are you this morning?”

“As well as can be expected.”

“I see, and Harry?”

“Calm at the moment, I managed to stop a minor panic attack earlier.”

Poppy nodded her head in understanding, looking at the Potions Master with an arched brow, ignoring the glare the man sent her in return. Poppy finally smiled and dropped her eyes briefly before looking back up. “I don't think I've seen him sleep that deeply without a potion. For that matter, I know you've never slept so well either.”

Severus' eyes widened slightly in surprise, and he glanced towards the bathroom door, to hide his reaction. “He's not even 17 yet,” he said faintly.

“Physically,” Poppy answered, walking over and placing a hand on the Severus' shoulder. “Mentally he is far older.”

“Nothing is going on, Poppy.”

“I never thought there was. Just don't push him away when it does start to happen,” Poppy counseled. “Now you should get cleaned up as well. I've already had the house elves bring up a clean set of clothing and placed it in the bathroom for the two of you, and have sent word that you are both awake and will join the others in the Great Hall shortly. Hurry up, Dear,” she stated briskly and left the room, barely keeping the grin off her face for getting in the last word.

Sighing, Severus entered the bathroom, allowing the steam to enfold him with the soft scent of Harry's soap, not sure if he should be thankful or not for the enclosed shower stalls.

~~OoO~~

Entering the Great Hall, Harry had to stifle a laugh at the sight of his cousin trying to eat while trying to not stare at his surroundings. It seemed having Flitwick sitting at the table on a floating chair was slowing Dudley down somewhat. Of course that could be true of Hagrid sitting on the opposite end of the table as well.

“Ah, good morning, my boys,” Dumbledore said, gathering the attention of everyone at the table.

“Good morning, Albus.” “Good morning, Headmaster.” They answered at the same time.

Harry nodded a greeting to the other professors and sent a wave towards Hagrid. “Headmaster, I know you like everyone to sit together during the holidays, but I was wondering if you would mind setting up another table for my cousin and me so we can talk?”

“Of course not, Harry. I should have thought about that myself.”

With a wave of his hand, a smaller, second table was set up on the other side of the room, giving the boys some privacy.

Nodding his head in thanks to the Headmaster, Harry gestured to his cousin to leave his plate where it was and move to the other table. Sending Damean, Gideon and Severus a reassuring smile, Harry turned and followed him.

“How are you doing this morning?” Harry questioned, as they settled at the empty table.

“Um, I don’t... I mean I think...um.” Dudley tried as breakfast shimmered in front of them.

Harry smiled sadly and reached over to lay a hand on Dudley’s arm. “You’re confused, upset, numb, trying to understand what happened yesterday, and what's going to happen know. Never mind the fact that you have now found yourself surrounded by everything you have been taught is freakish and unnatural. Am I right?”

Dudley nodded his head silently and picked at the food on his plate. “I don't think that you or your magic is freaky, Harry. After you saved me from those dementy whatsits, I spent a lot of time thinking about what they showed me, and what I could do to make it better.”

“A lifetime of habit is hard to break in little more than a year.”

Dudley nodded once more, and went back to playing with his food. It took five minutes and twice as many false starts before he managed to ask the questions that were most on his mind, but had been unable to ask. “Who was that, Harry, and why did he kill mum and dad?”

Harry pushed his plate away and refreshed both tea cups before smiling grimly at his cousin. “That was the Dark Lord Voldemort; the man who killed my parents and is determined to kill everything he hates, while enslaving everything else. And in all honestly, Dud, the only real answer I can give you as to why he does anything he does is because he's a sick fucking bastard.

“But you have an idea on why he came after them, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. He wanted to give me a birthday present and figured this was the best way to do it, or at least that’s what he told me anyway.”

“I think you're going to have to explain a whole lot more about what's going on, Harry.”

Giving Dudley a considering look, Harry wondered just how much information Dudley would be able to process before he came out of shock, and how many more times he was going to have to explain everything later. He had been trying to keep the information as general as possible so far, but there was no way to really tell how much Dudley was really processing. Giving his cousin a nod, he tapped the table once with his finger, indicating to the waiting elves that they were done, and stood. “Come on, Dud, I'll give you a tour of the school, while I explain how things work around here.”

They could worry about what was going to happen next at a later date. Right now he needed to show Dudley the wonders of Hogwarts Castle. Maybe when the others arrived he could introduce Dudley to Quidditch as well.
- 14
- 15
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To Defeat a Dark Lord.