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Harry Potter and the Breeding Darkness	By : Danyealle Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Voldemort Views: 297652 -:- Recommendations : 54 -:- Currently Reading : 184
Disclaimer: I am not J. K. Rowling. I do not own Harry Potter. This is a work of fanfiction and no profit is being made. It is a for-fun endeavor and no infringement is intended.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
This chapter is written by: Aya Macchiato

Beta done by tannne and Danyealle-sama

Again, I remind everyone that the amazing Aya Macchiato has given me permission to continue this story for her. This is another of the chapters that she already had done. All I've done with this one is some basic beta work, nothing more, it's as she wrote it!

Link to the first story...

http://hp.adult-fanfiction.org/story.php?no=600095391

-Danyealle

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Chapter 14

Severus Snape was not having a good day and he suspected that it was only going to get a lot worse. He just knew it was. He wasn't even sure why. On one hand, it could easily be construed that the news he was going to be delivering to the Dark Lord could be considered good news. Despite this, he had the sinking feeling that something bad had happened.

Of course, as far as Dumbledore was concerned, and the wizarding Light in general, something bad had happened. But that was the part that was likely the good news for the Dark.

Late the previous night, he had received an almost frantic firecall from the Headmaster requesting his immediate assistance. He had flooed directly to Dumbledore's office to discover the man in the process of trying to counter one of the Darkest curses Severus had ever personally witnessed any man be afflicted with and not instantly die. But this was Dumbledore he was dealing with and he realized he shouldn't be surprised.

Despite all of Dumbledore's boundless knowledge and experience, the fact remained that Severus was far more knowledgeable when it came to Dark curses and counter-curses. He had done everything in his power to fight against the curse that had been centrally focused on the man's right hand because the stupid old fool had put on some sort of cursed ring. Severus had just barely managed to contain the curse in the hand and keep it from instantly spreading to the rest of Dumbledore's body, killing him then and there. But the curse was not gone. It was not destroyed or cured. The curse was still there, locked within the now shriveled and blackened hand. A curse that would slowly and painfully kill the ancient wizard.

Dumbledore's days were now numbered. This was tremendous news for the Dark, and yet Severus could not help but worry that something bad was about to happen.

He Apparated into the entry hall of the Dark sect's headquarters and paused, wondering where to check first for the Dark Lord. He was about to simply call one of the house elves to him and ask it to contact his master for him,when he caught sight of the man in question descending the stairs, glaring at him.

The Dark Lord was not in a good mood. He could already tell just from the man's aura and what little of his expression was distinguishable on his serpentine features.

Severus bowed low and spoke. "My Lord, I have important news."

The Dark Lord came to stand before Severus, glaring down at him for a moment before turning and making his way towards the long hall.

"Come, Severus." He said in a cold, high voice.

Severus quickly righted himself and followed. He was led to the conference room and the two entered. The Dark Lord took his seat at the head of the table and Severus sat across from him. A quick motion of Voldemort's long bony fingers and an impatient expression was all Snape needed to quickly begin his tale.

He told the Dark Lord about being called to Dumbledore's office. About the curse and having to work to counter it. He told him how he had contained it but that it was not cured. He made it a point to emphasize that Dumbledore was truly as good as dead.

"How long do you suspect he has?" the Dark Lord asked, interrupting Severus' tale.

"I would wager he has no more than a year before the curse destroys him."

Voldemort nodded slowly and his eyes looked cold and calculating. "The ring on his finger... did it appear in tact?"

"It... appeared to be, yes. The curse was gone from it, since it had transferred to Dumbledore himself and had been neutralized on the original ring. He was still wearing it even when I left."

The Dark Lord's eyes narrowed and Severus could feel the waves of fury emitting off the powerful Dark wizard that sat before him. The hair on his arms stood on end and, in that moment, he truly feared that he would get cursed, and he wasn't even sure why.

"I want you to try everything in your power to retrieve that ring for me, Severusss," Voldemort said after a long, tense moment. "It is of tremendous value to me, do you understand? Dumbledore must not be allowed to destroy it!"

"Yes, m'lord," Severus said instantly.

"If at any point you see a difference in it, if it suddenly appears damaged or if he stops wearing it, I want you to inform me or Harry, immediately."

Snape blinked, slightly stunned, and definitely bewildered as to what Potter would have to do with it but he kept his curiosity to himself. He also couldn't help but note that the Dark Lord had called him 'Harry' and not 'Potter'.

"You will need to watch Dumbledore very closely from here on out, Severusss. Now that his days are numbered, he's likely to become desperate. His actions will be less predictable. Even I do not know what to expect from him now..."

Severus nodded slowly. "Yes, my Lord. I will not fail you."

"See that you don't."

Harry had managed to dodge the questions of his fellow teens for the rest of that day by acting moody and grumbling about a migraine. He had asked Sirius about the book for Hermione. Sirius had scoffed and said Hermione could have it. He didn't give a damn about any of the books in the library and he would likely see them all burned if it were up to him. Harry had glared at him and told him if he ever did that, Harry would be extraordinarily angry with him.

Sirius had laughed but Harry had been quite serious.

After dinner, Harry's 'friends' finally cornered him about what had happened earlier that morning, insisting that he be honest with them because they were his friends and he could trust them. Harry had fought the urge to roll his eyes.

He finally told them that he really wasn't sure what had happened since he had only felt pain in his forehead and gotten hazy impressions of emotions. There had been no images to go with his scar pain, so it wasn't a vision. Just a massive migraine.

Oddly enough, it was almost the complete truth.

Hermione was the one to pick up on the 'impressions of emotions' part, and inquired further on that.

He sighed and told them that it was anger. A lot of anger. Again, almost entirely true.

The others were clearly concerned and kept shooting Harry worried glances. Ron was the first one to actually ask Harry if he thought that it was from 'You-Know-Who' and if this actually confirmed Dumbledore's suggestion that Voldemort was back.

Harry had just sighed and shrugged, insisting that he really didn't know.

Harry managed to escape the constant presence of his 'friends' and slipped up to the 3rd landing again and made his way to Sirius' room. He knocked lightly and heard Remus' soft voice beckoning him in. He pushed the door open and peered in to find Remus sitting at a desk with a book in his lap, looking up curiously. A quick glance around told him that Sirius wasn't there.

"Sirius is up tending to Buckbeak if that's who you're looking for," Remus Lupin said with a soft smile.

Harry just smiled back and shook his head. "Actually, I'm here looking for you."

Remus blinked. "For me?"

"Yes, do you have some time to talk? It's... well, it's important, and it's going to take a while to cover everything, too."

Remus sat up a bit straighter and set the book down on the desk. "Of course, Harry. What is it?"

Harry took a few steps in, turned back then closed the door while quietly hissing a parseltongue privacy ward that would prevent any eavesdropping, and alert him if anyone approached the door.

As he turned back he saw Remus's brow was furrowed and he was looking at Harry cautiously. Harry realized suddenly that Remus likely had heightened hearing as an effect of his lycanthropy. He took a few steps forward giving Remus an apologetic, but reassuring, look as he pulled another chair forward and sat opposite Remus.

"You cast a spell," Remus stated cautiously. "I felt the... magic."

Harry distinctly heard the word left unsaid. Dark. The Dark magic.

"I did," Harry said slowly with a small nod. "It's parselmagic. With all the wards and protections around this house, underage magic can't really be detected by the Ministry. But even without that, my parselmagic tends to go unnoticed by my trace since it's wandless."

Remus' brow rose with mild surprise but he didn't comment further. "You needed to talk about something?" he asked, instead.

Harry nodded his head and reached into his pocket and pulled out a small round orb. It was basically the same thing he'd used on Snape at the end of the last school term although he had no intention of making use of a few of its features.

He looked at the orb in his palm hesitantly for a second before looking up at Remus. "Do you trust me?"

"What?" Remus blanched.

Harry held his hand out, offering the orb to Remus. "I have some things I want to reveal to you, Remus. You, Sirius, and my father were best friends. I've already told Sirius and you deserve to know the truth as well but I can't take risks right now. There's so much at stake and, if the information I'm going to share with you gets into the wrong hands, I'm as good as dead. If you touch this orb, it will protect the information I am going to give you in your mind. Will you do this for me?"

Remus looked stunned and his eyes drifted down to the small glass-like orb in Harry's hand. His brow furrowed as he looked at it intently for a moment. His eyes flickered back up to Harry's. "It's Dark magic, Harry..."

"I know. It won't hurt you. I won't use it to do anything harmful to you, I promise."

"What does it do, exactly?"

Harry sighed. "Quite a few things but I'm not going to use most of its functions. The part I intend to use will protect the information you learn from the moment you touch the orb until I cancel the spell."

"Protect in what way?"

"Legilimency can't extract it from your mind, and truth serums can't force you to speak of it. Also, I have the option to revoke the knowledge."

"What does that mean?" Remus said, sitting up straighter and looking confused.

"If, at the end of our talk, I don't believe that you are handling the information well I can remove it instantly. The information is enclosed by the magic of the orb. The orb can protect it or it can dissolve it away and you won't remember me telling you anything."

"And you think this is a necessary precaution?"

"I do."

Remus sighed and carded his hand through his short, graying hair. "Alright... fine." Remus extended his hand and hesitated over the orb for the briefest of moments before taking it from Harry's grasp.

It glowed as soon as Remus took it and Harry felt the magic take hold.

Harry sighed and smiled at the aging werewolf. "Thank you. Okay, now I want you to understand that what I'm going to tell you is extremely hard to believe and, worst of all, I can't provide you with proof of what I'll claim. I showed Sirius memories in a Pensieve but I couldn't bring it with me so we don't have the luxury here and tomorrow I have to go back to Hogwarts." Harry huffed a bit in annoyance.

"Okay, I'm just going to tell you what I've managed to piece together. Explaining to you all of the steps and discoveries I went through to gain all of this information would take too long as well as be too confusing. Just believe me when I say that it took me nearly a year to figure out everything that I'm about to tell you and that I swear I'm not lying or making any of it up. I don't have proof and, as such, I acknowledge that you'll likely feel less inclined to believe it, but I swear to you that I am absolutely convinced that what I'm about to tell you is the truth."

Remus was looking concerned and wide-eyed. "Alright, Harry. I'll listen with an open mind."

Harry grinned thankfully. "I really appreciate that, thanks." Harry took a deep breath as if to center himself and gain his strength before looking Remus in the eyes with determination.

"Nearly sixteen years ago, at the height of the first war, Dumbledore bore witness to a seer's prophecy. It said, 'The only one with the power to match the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... The Dark Lord will come for him and mark him as his equal. He will have two paths from which to chose. From one path, the End will fall upon us all. From the other, we shall be saved. The Dark Lord and his Equal will either rule together, or destroy each other. For either to die, it must be at the hand of the other for neither can die while the other survives."

Harry paused and waited a moment as a wide-eyed and pale Remus took in his words. "After Dumbledore heard that prophecy he came to the obvious conclusion that it meant two possible paths lay before us. One path where a savior would be born that could defeat Voldemort and another path were the Dark Lord's equal was about to be born then would eventually join his side, making him unstoppable. Maybe you've realized this, and maybe you haven't, but Dumbledore is always working from the shadows to control and manipulate everything. He makes it seem that he's doing nothing at all when, in reality, he's quietly controlling all of the chess pieces. He saw this prophecy as an opportunity to create the Light's savior. In an attempt to guarantee that the outcome he preferred came to pass, he staged an encounter with one of Voldemort's spies.”

"He had the seer come back and meet with him again but this time in a more public place, in the Hog's Head pub in Hogsmeade. He imperiod the seer and forced her to fake a prophecy but an altered one."

Remus' eyes widened and he looked as if he were about to protest but Harry held up his hand to silence him.

"The seer's fake prophecy went like this," Harry continued, "The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not...and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives..."

Again, Harry waited for Remus to go over it in his head. "One of Voldemort's Death Eaters overheard a portion of this prophecy and believed that it was a true prophecy about his master. He would have overhead all of it but was interrupted part way through. The point of this altered prophecy was to get Voldemort to personally go after this child. For him to attack the child. With the modified prophecy, the child was clearly a significant threat. Pure and simple. So Voldemort would attack the child. But according to the real prophecy, 'For either to die, it must be at the hand of the other for neither can die while the other survives.' Dumbledore's hope was that if Voldemort attacked the child, he would destroy himself. It was a naïve hope, honestly."

Harry sighed and shook his head. "It quickly became clear that the child the prophecy spoke of was most likely the child of James and Lily Potter although the potential existed that it could have been Frank and Alice Longbottom."

Remus' eyes widened and his lips parted slightly but he didn't speak.

"Dumbledore told my parents the fake prophecy. My father even told Sirius about the prophecy but didn't tell him what it actually said, just the gist of it." Harry paused. "Did they tell you?"

Remus sighed and shook his head. "No, they never told me."

Harry nodded his head, having expected as much. "They were worried. There was a traitor in the Order and you, being a werewolf, made them all suspect you." Harry snorted in mild disgust. "Light wizards would never truly trust a Dark creature." he sighed and shook his head. "Dumbledore was the one who suggested to my parents that they should go under the Fidelius charm. He even offered to cast it for them, which they accepted." Harry paused and gave Remus a pointed look.

The werewolf frowned and his brow furrowed in thought.

"This is the part where I know many people would have trouble truly believing what I'm going to tell you," Harry said then, "you see, Remus, Dumbledore needed Voldemort to try and kill me. His whole plan had been leading to this. A direct, unencumbered encounter between myself and Lord Voldemort. So he actually needed Voldemort to be able to get to me easily but he also needed for there to be little to no resistance and no chance that my parents could escape with me.”

"The house was cut off from the floo network, and there were powerful anti-apparition and anti-portkey wards around the house. Erected by Dumbledore. The Fidelius was cast by Dumbledore. Do you realize what that means, Remus? The person who casts the Fidelius knows who the secret keeper is. He sets it himself. Dumbledore knew it wasn't Sirius. He knew it was Pettigrew. In fact, I suspect that he even knew that Pettigrew was a Death Eater. It was he who really put the idea into my dad and Sirius' head to switch to Peter. He wanted Voldemort to be able to waltz right into our home without any resistance and that gave him the perfect opportunity to do just that."

"Harry..." Remus whispered, shaking his head slightly in disbelief.

"Dumbledore handed us to Voldemort on a silver platter. He was willing to sacrifice the lives of my parents, and of me, all for the greater good of ending the war and destroying Voldemort. And, perhaps, that may seem like a reasonable sacrifice but it was my life, damn it!" Harry growled. He took a deep breath to calm himself and continued.

"The thing is that Dumbledore's interpretation of the prophecy was incomplete and there were factors at work that he was ignorant of. Voldemort entered our home, killed my father, killed my mother and shot the killing curse at me. I suspect that a combination of things played a role in my survival. A slew of coincidences that, on their own, wouldn't have been enough but, together, created an unexpected surge of magic that prevented Voldemort's killing curse from killing me and set the rest of the prophecies' events in motion.”

"You see, Remus, my mum was related to Voldemort. They were basically cousins," Harry smirked and chuckled at Remus' stunned expression. "My mum's great-great grandmum was Voldemort's great aunt. My mum actually carried the blood of Slytherin in her veins. I also think that she had prepared a sacrificial blood ritual in anticipation of Voldemort coming for me. They knew that the Dark Lord was coming for me and were in hiding for several months before that Halloween when he came so she had time to prepare for the worst case scenario.”

"The ritual she used wouldn't normally protect against the killing curse. Just about any other curse but not the killing curse. Nothing can block that. But the fact that it was a blood ritual, invoked powers from her Slytherin heritage, and reacted to the spells that Voldemort had performed in preparation for a very dark soul ritual, it reacted unexpectedly. That was combined with the fact that her life was an actual, legitimate, sacrifice. You see, Voldemort wasn't going to kill her. He was willing to spare her life so, when she refused to stand aside and was killed by him, it was a legitimate life-for-life sacrifice.”

"So I lived and Voldemort's body was destroyed. But the key here is that I lived. I now had a mark on my forehead and I lived. It was obvious to Dumbledore that the prophecy had only begun. It was not done, and as such, he knew that Voldemort was not truly dead either. If the real prophecy held true, then it meant that there was still the possibility that I could choose to join Voldemort, or I could choose to stand for the Light and sacrifice my life in order to destroy the Dark Lord.

"But he didn't trust a child with such an important role. He needed to manipulate my entire life to mold me into the type of person who would choose to be a martyr to the Light. He couldn't allow me to be raised by a Black because, at the end of the day, Sirius was still a Dark wizard and Dumbledore would never fully trust him. He also knew that Sirius would have raised me to be a strong, self-sufficient wizard, and I would not be easily manipulated by Dumbledore then. So Dumbledore allowed Sirius to get sent away to Azkaban without a trial and left him there to rot."

Remus' face was a mask of horrified disbelief and barely contained fury.

"He needed me to be weak," Harry continued, "malleable, submissive, and desperate for any sort of praise or approval so he left me with abusive, magic-hating muggles who destroyed my self confidence, making me feel worthless and powerless. Completely ignorant of the magical world, it's politics, and history. A blank slate so that when I entered Hogwarts he could fill my head with his ideals and goals, to mold me into the savior that he needed me to be. Since I entered Hogwarts, he's even used Legilimency on me to implant subliminal suggestions in my head just to make sure I really would follow the path that he had chosen for me. The path that he set me on when he started this whole shitty thing."

Harry's voice had risen a bit throughout the whole rant, and he found himself snarling and sneering in disgust. He paused and took a few deep breaths to recover himself. Finally he spoke again in a deathly quiet voice.

"Well it's not his choice, is it? It's my choice. And I refuse to be his pawn. I'm not some ignorant, beaten-down little boy. Not anymore. I'm a powerful wizard, Remus. I am my own man and I can make up my own damn mind."

Harry paused again and remained quiet as Remus' face went through several transitions as he processed everything. Finally, some sort of dawning realization came to him and he looked at Harry with wide, almost horrified eyes.

"Are you suggesting that you intend to join Voldemort?" Remus whispered.

"Dumbledore is the reason my parents are dead even if Voldemort cast the actual killing curse. It was war, Remus, and my parents chose to fight in it. They knew the risks. Plus, he would have never had any reason to personally target my parents if Dumbledore hadn't set the whole prophecy bullshit in motion. Dumbledore got us targeted. Dumbledore left Sirius to rot in Azkaban. Dumbledore left me with horrid abusive muggles, knowing how they would treat me. Dumbledore arranged for me to come face-to-face with Voldemort in my first year by luring him to the school with the Philosopher's Stone in hopes that we would go head-to-head and kill each other. Dumbledore allowed the students to be endangered and get petrified my entire second year in hopes that I could end up confronting Voldemort again. Then left a twelve-year-old child to face a fifty-foot basilisk, all on his own! Dumbledore is the bane of my fucking existence, not Voldemort! As far as I'm concerned, my enemy is Dumbledore! Not Voldemort!"

"Voldemort is a murderer!" Remus gasped in horror.

"And Dumbledore isn't?" Harry snapped. "If anything he's worse because he tricks other people into committing murder for him so he can keep his own soul untainted by it. He manipulates other people into dirtying their hands while his stay apparently clean. He's a bastard, Remus! He's a lying, deceitful, manipulative, nasty old bastard! He wants to use and throw me away. To allow my entire life to be utterly miserable until the point in time when I will fulfill my usefulness and destroy Dumbledore's biggest mistake."

"Dumbledore's mistake?" Remus whispered in confusion.

"Voldemort." Harry whispered softly. "He was raised by abusive muggles too, you know. A wizarding child left to grow up with muggles who didn't understand him or his powerful accidental magic. Who thought he was evil because of the strange things he could make happen. Who beat him and tried to exorcise his demons through horrific muggle religious rituals. And Dumbledore was the one who came to collected him when he turned eleven and was accepted to Hogwarts. Dumbledore knew how they treated him. He knew the horrors that he had to go back to each summer and, yet, he refused to help him. He didn't trust him. He could have done something about it, Remus. He could have saved the Dark Lord from becoming the miserable, bitter, empty monster that he became for so many dark and lonely years. And, in the one moment, when Voldemort attempted to take another path, the one, deciding moment when he could have become something other than a Dark Lord, Dumbledore, once again, stood in his way and refused him because of his own paranoid, suspicious mind.”

"Dumbledore's actions created the Dark Lord, and now his actions have created the Dark Lord's equal. I stand by Voldemort, Remus. That's my choice."

Remus gaped at him, stuck dumb and stunned, utterly. Several long minutes passed before Remus seemed to come to his senses. He swallowed thickly and took a shuddering breath. "What about the part of the real prophecy that says one path will lead to the end? What if this path is the one that destroys the world?"

"I'm fairly sure it isn't. There's a whole other prophecy... much older and far grander. It seems connected to all this. I'm convinced that if I join Voldemort's side, we'll be working towards the right path. There's something coming, Remus. Something big. Dumbledore doesn't even realize it but I truly do believe that his actions are only going to make things much much worse. He's blinded by his desire to see the best in everyone and his blindness will result in all of our deaths if something isn't done to stop him."

Remus stared at Harry with wide, stunned eyes for a long minute. "You're not going to explain that, are you?"

Harry sighed. "Not yet. I'm sorry, but it's some fairly sensitive information."

Remus chuckled humorlessly and gave a long heavy sigh. "All this stuff about Dumbledore, and you joining Voldemort, Sirius knows all of this?" Remus asked weakly, looking at the floor.

Harry nodded his head. "He does. Why do you think he's refused to join the Order again?"

Remus' head came up and he looked at Harry with wide eyes. "He hasn't joined Voldemort, has he?"

"No. We even gave him the opportunity to have Pettigrew handed over on a silver platter in exchange for him joining the Death Eaters but, in the end, I knew it wouldn't work out. Not for Sirius. He offered to follow me just out of loyalty and his duty as my godfather, but I knew I couldn't really ask that of him. So, instead, I simply asked that he remain neutral."

"And that's what you're asking of me?"

Harry looked at Remus for a long minute before sighing. "I suppose. Honestly, I can't understand why you stand by Dumbledore at all. I imagine it must be out of loyalty since it was his actions and protections that allowed you to get a wizarding education, despite your affliction. But, in the end, Dumbledore is the Light Lord, and his duty is to the Light wizards, the Light creatures. He has no respect and owes nothing to the Dark creatures he's trying to enlist.”

"Those werewolf packs he did manage to convince to follow him in the last war were left to their own devises once Voldemort fell. Dumbledore didn't follow through with any of the promises for equality or increased rights that he made them. Not one promise that he made was kept."

"He couldn't get anything through on his own," Remus defended, weakly. "He is only one man. He..."

"He is the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, and Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards! He defeated Grindlewald and received an Order of Merlin, first class! He has more respect and influence than any other single man in wizarding Europe, and has a hoard of powerful political allies! He could have done something! He never had any intention of fighting for the rights of werewolves! He is a Light Lord and werewolves are Dark creatures! He used them and he's been using you!"

Remus's face once again looked defeated and broken. "You know the worst part of all this, Harry?" Remus asked, rhetorically.

"Hmm?"

"I think part of me already knew. Not... not all that about the prophecy but I knew he wanted you for something. I knew that Sirius couldn't have been the one to betray your parents. It just couldn't have been him. But I did believe he had killed Peter and those muggles. Just the same, I wanted him to have a trial. I couldn't understand how Sirius could have been locked up without even being questioned! It wasn't right!”

"And... and when I realized that Albus was sending you to live with Petunia... oh, Harry, I'm so sorry. I was horrified, and I tried to talk him out of it. I tried to explain that she was an awful woman and she had hated Lily. She had caused your mother so much grief. But he insisted that he'd taken measures to guarantee your safety with them. That Petunia would treat you as if you were her own son. Despite his guarantees, I still asked him if I could just take you. I even threatened to petition to the Ministry."

Harry's eyes grew wider as Remus talked. He could see how broken the man's face looked.

"But he... Merlin, I should have known something was horribly wrong. He threatened me, Harry. Not in so many words. Not in any obvious way but the threat was definitely there. He said that he would have exposed my condition to the Ministry if I had tried to claim custody of you. To prevent it from having gone through. He said that it was far too important a piece of information for the Ministry to consider my custody application without knowing of it. So I gave up. I let you stay with those awful people, even though I knew, deep down, that it was a terrible idea.”

"But I also wanted it to all be easy. For it to be true. That you really would be safe and loved there. I wanted it so badly that I allowed myself to be pushed aside. And now... having read the interview you gave... knowing how they treated you. Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry."

"You can't blame yourself, Remus. You did everything you could. I understand, and I certainly don't blame you." Harry said, in a reassuringly soft voice.

A heavy silence fell upon the room for a long minute before Remus let out a slow sigh. "I've suspected that there was something bigger going on between you and Albus for a while now, especially during your third year when he allowed those dementors around the school. He claimed that he couldn't do anything about it, that he couldn't fight Fudge but..." Remus sighed and shook his head. "You know, he was the one who suggested I try teaching you the Patronus. I thought he was mad for even suggesting it. Teaching a thirteen year old kid a spell like that..."

Harry's head shot up and his eyes widened slightly. "He knew I'd be practicing it all year long. That much time constantly practicing such an advanced Light spell... he wanted me to do it because he knew it would affect my affinity!" Harry exclaimed in a hushed voice.

Remus looked up with a slightly confused expression on his face.

"My magical affinity was definitely Light at the start of my fourth year," Harry explained. "Pure Light. But it was forced. It was an unnaturally acquired affinity. It was like that because of all the training with the Patronus charm! Remus, do you understand what it means that Dumbledore is the Light Lord?"

Remus blinked and shook his head. "What it means? No. What do..."

"It's a position granted to him by Magic itself. It's a title that has to be won through a set of tremendously difficult trials that have to be completed in absolute secrecy. He had to have done it in his youth, many, many years ago. Voldemort did the same sort of thing when he decided to become the Dark Lord."

Remus gaped at Harry, but didn't interrupt.

"The thing is that the lords of affiliated magic are tied to all wizards and creatures of their affinity. They are duty-bound to protect those of their affinity and to fight for their cause, but the wizards and creatures of their affinity are bound to their lord as well. They are magically compelled to give their absolute loyalty to their lord. If I had remained a Light wizard, I would have felt magically compelled to swear my loyalty to Dumbledore.”

"It's the biggest reason that Dumbledore has never truly trusted your or Sirius. You, being a werewolf, naturally have a Dark affinity. Sirius has a Dark affinity because of his ancestry and his upbringing. Neither of you will ever be magically compelled to serve Dumbledore with the level of unwavering support and loyalty that he gets naturally from any Light wizards. Do you see? He allowed the Ministry to place dementors around Hogwarts knowing that they'd come after me. He did it so that I would feel the need to find a way to protect myself. I would be driven to learn the Patronus charm and he instructed you to teach it to me. He wanted me doing it so that my affinity would go Light and he'd get my loyalty!"

Remus' jaw had fallen wide open and his eyes were giant circles. Slowly he closed his mouth and looked away, unfocused, at the opposite wall. "Merlin... it's just too much..."

Harry sighed. "I know, believe me. I know. So what will you do, Remus? Now that you know?"

"What would you have me do, Harry? I'm just one man and I'm not a very powerful one. I have no influence. I have nowhere else to go. I have nothing right now. Even if I don't like Dumbledore ,or what he's doing, I don't know what else I can do right now. Leave the Order, I suppose, but where do I go? I..."

"You are not 'just one man' nor are you weak! You are a werewolf, Remus! The Lycans are a powerful race! It is not an affliction that you should be ashamed of! You have spent your entire life surrounded by Light wizards who have destroyed your spirit, filled your head with self loathing, and Light agenda propaganda! You fear what you are so you deny it and hide from it. It only makes you suffer more!"

"Harry, you don't understand! It ..."

"I understand, plenty, Remus! You're allowing yourself to be used by Dumbledore and the Order. I'm not saying that you should join Voldemort but I truly do believe that you need to reconnect with what it really means to be a werewolf. Dumbledore has you going to visit the various lycan clans right now, right?"

Remus nodded his head hesitantly and Harry continued.

"Don't waste all your time there trying to convince them to join the Order's side or remain neutral from Voldemort. Take advantage of the opportunity to get to know them. Learn about them. Embrace your inner wolf and see for yourself what life as a werewolf can mean for those who do not shun their true nature as you have your whole life. That is what I ask of you."

After a bit more discussion, the two finally ended their talk. Harry left Remus with his memories intact but the power of the orb would prevent Remus from revealing anything that he and Harry had discussed with anyone else. Using the orb, he gave Remus permission to discuss what he had told him with Sirius but no one else. If he tried to fight against the magic and reveal any of what Harry had told him to anyone else, the magical compulsion would seal his mouth shut and knock him unconscious.

Any new discussions or thoughts that related to this topic would be included in the magical web inside his mind, also protected from mental intrusion or truth serums, so any additional information revealed by Sirius would still be protected.

After leaving the room, Harry sought out Sirius, who was sitting up on the terrace of the room Buckbeak was staying in, staring up at the stars. He told Sirius that he had told Lupin and gave Sirius permission to discuss the things he had told Sirius with the other man. Finally, Harry retired to his and Ron's room and sighed, trying to clear his mind of all the things that had happened that day.

Shortly after that, Tom slipped into Harry's mind and filled him in on Severus' visit. Harry was shocked to learn that Dumbledore was actually dying. The idea that Dumbledore had less than a year to live was strangely startling and, oddly enough, Harry wasn't sure how he felt about it.

He certainly wasn't saddened by the thought. Although, if he were being honest, he felt a bit cheated. It was awfully anticlimactic for the old Light Lord to go out in a slow painful death from a Dark curse.

But at least he would die because of one of Tom's curses.

Still, definitely disappointed. Harry realized that he really had wanted to be the one to do it. The one to end Dumbledore. But, still, he wasn't convinced that he could do it with his current skill level. Dumbledore was Dumbledore after all. Harry had anticipated having more time to prepare. That there would be some sort of epic battle in the end, where he could give some sort of dramatic monologue, rubbing his turn to the Dark side in the old bastard's face.

Which was really a rather naïve idea, if he was being honest with himself. After all, wasn't that now most villains met their ends in stories? Because they got lost in some idiotic monologue and allowed their opponent to get the upper-hand?

Still, he couldn't help but imagine it that way in his head. Gleefully picture the look on the damned fool's face as he realized the full extent of Harry's switch in loyalties.

But all his imagined scenarios involved Dumbledore on the ground, or on his knees after falling from some epic duel, and Harry had to admit that, despite all his tremendous advances in skill and power, he really had no idea how he would compare to Dumbledore. He knew he wasn't really ready yet but could he possibly get ready during the year that remained until the damned old man died on his own from the stupid curse?

Harry scowled.

How anti-climactic.

Stupid old fool. Harry was honestly surprised that Dumbledore had been careless enough to put the ring on. It seemed obvious that it would be cursed. Dumbledore had to go through several layers of curses and protection spells before getting to the actual ring so why would he suddenly get so sloppy then put the damn thing on?

It was just... weird.

He was shocked that Dumbledore would wear one of Tom's horcruxes at all, if he was being honest with himself. He hoped that Dumbledore didn't make a habit of wearing the thing constantly. It would make it a lot harder to steal if the old bastard never took it off.

And he had to get it back. It was a piece of his Tom! He couldn't allow another piece of Tom's soul to get destroyed. He just couldn't!
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Harry Potter and the Breeding Darkness