Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Carefully Tangled Webs of Darkness	By : Ladygreychaton Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 37460 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: Do not own Harry Potter, characters, rights to, any books, movies, songs, poems or references made. Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling, this is just for fun, with no intentions of profit.

Chapter List
- 16
- 17
- 18
[[Do not own Harry Potter, characters, rights to, any books, movies, songs, poems or references made. Several hints to Harry Potter books, but again belong to J.K. Rowling. Any further things belong to their original owners, aside from original characters. Used with no intention of profit!

Quotes from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Pottermore, Wikia, hints at other books, or other things I may have forgotten, none of them belong to me! ]]

(( Sorry for the delay, things were a bit difficult. No, I have not abandoned this, and I still have plenty of ideas. In an effort to sate your appetites, I'm going to submit two chapters! Hope you enjoy, hm? ))

Sleep did not come easily, but with the help of the woven runes aligned above him in webs, Harry fell into sweet Morpheus' arms. Pulled under the heavy wave, he had to consciously fight back to the surface of his mind, struggling for awareness. Dimly he knew he had things to do, and could only preform these tasks if he was in control. But lucid dreaming was no easy task, and even with years of practice, Harry fought against the deeper pull of the land of nod.

Slowly, little by little, Harry felt himself slide into an alert state within his mindscape. Wiggling his fingers and rising to stare at the small cottage before him. This time had felt like falling, and he was struggling to focus and retain his sense of self. Nonetheless, Harry felt confident--- after all, he had things others did not. The boy had the dark, he had the webs and the spiders. He was hardly alone on this venture, after all. With that thought encouraging his stride, he moved forward, turning the handle and heading into the small home.

Up the decript steps, his mind supplying the creaks and spell ruin that he knew to be there, the burn marks and soot. Harry moved to the door at the end of the hall, noting that the dim light was on, and it was open. Had the other been waiting up for him? Hoping for a visit, and impatiently pacing?

Harry resolved himself for any outcome that walking through the doorway might deliver, but still found that he was not prepared for what followed. For when his feet carried past the frame, furiously glowing red eyes settled on him and a high pitched hiss was his only warning before a hand was closing around his shirt in a fist and yanking him forcefully from his feet.

Dragging him into the room, Diabli was practically spitting in his face. "Foolisssshh boy! Do you have any idea whaaat could have hhhaaaappend to you today?" Here the shrouded figure shook him for emphasis, as though he could somehow make his point through actions, if not words.

Curiously, Harry was not afraid. He was well aware of what the other might attempt to do to him. But his mind was whirring away, and slowly, green eyes focused on ruby. Sharply, with a sense of intelligence that most would envy, Harry stared at the figure in the toddler's bedroom.

"You were worried about me...?"

It wasn't a question, but the surprise in his voice, the wonder poised it as such. Somehow, he hadn't expected the other capable of such emotion. Altruistic behavior was beyond him, he'd have bet. If Harry had to be perfectly honest, he would call the other a narcissist. A great conversationalist, highly intelligent to be sure. The strange and slightly mad scholar that occupied his mind-scape was hardly kind, or sociable. For him to be... compassionate or concerned? Unheard of!

The shrouded figure made a sound of disgust, clenching his hand around Harry's shirt and giving him another shake. For a moment it seemed like he wanted to toss the boy from him, but seemed to decide against it at the last moment. Perhaps it was another sign of weakness he couldn't afford, or perhaps it would prove Harry right. Either way, he didn't.

"Insssolent whelp!" Diaboli continued, giving him a shake so hard he was sure his teeth rattled and clanked together. Curiously his mind wandered for a moment, wondering if his teeth had hit together in the waking world as well. Would he wake up with a sore jaw in the morning?

"You let your emotionsss get the betterrr of you! What haaaave I taught you? Nooothing? The old fool will be waaary now, idiot child," Diaboli released him and moved off to pace, his claw-like grip leaving Harry's shirt in a bunch around his throat. With a sigh, the boy adjusted it, frowning at the black cloaked figure.

"While it isss good of you to make friendsss with the purebloodsss," he went on, then flicked his ruby gaze back to the boy. It was burning brightly, and he seemed to smirk as he went on, "You even subtly hinted you're not a part of this new muggle-loving crazzze. Ohh, Dumbledore will love hearing about thaaat..."

Harry frowned, shaking his head. "Actually, if you're referring to the incident on the train, in particular? I was only correcting her on proper manners. I have nothing against muggleborns--- I kind of pity them, actually. They weren't taught like I was, taken aside, which makes them ignorant. But I don't dislike them." He felt it necessary to correct this, being who he was. The green-eyed boy didn't particularly like or dislike anyone so far. Well, he was interested in Blaise and Draco a bit, but aside from that, nothing else stood out as note-worthy.

Diaboli waved his hand dismissively, huffing. "A trivial thing, specificssss... Dumbledore will see it as a technicality only. It'sss a fine edge you'll walk at Hogwartsss, Harry Potter... you'd bessstt be more careful in the future." Despite his warning, the shade seemed thoroughly amused by some of Harry's current antics.

"As a Ssslytherin, you'll be under susspiscion enough... though I approve of your house. Ravenclaw wouldn't have been terrible, but," Diaboli paused. "Had you been in the same housssse as your parentsss, well... it would have been a wasssttte of talent."

The maddening glint was receding already, the brush with insanity that seemed ever-present in the Shade dimming. Harry wasn't sure why the scholar seemed so very off his rocker--- but then, he didn't know entirely too much about him. The shade knew a lot about him, and Kali knew the details on who Diaboli was. Harry had a hunch on who the other had been, but didn't like to consider it. How the cross and rather crazy elder had come to be in his mindscape, hissing and spitting like a king cobra, he wasn't certain. But Harry was not afraid. For the other could not hurt him here, and in fact needed him for survival.

Diaboli also proved to be an interesting source of information, especially when it came to politics or social niceties. If there was something one didn't know, but desperately wanted to know, you could usually count on Diaboli to know.

Another topic Diaboli was vastly learned on the subject of spells, but especially when it came to rituals or the Dark Arts. While this was slightly perturbing to the green-eyed child, he knew how to make use of a resource by now. Living with the Dursleys had taught him many things, survival being first and foremost on that list. Never second-guess a resource, even if it lacked moral fiber, for it could prove highly useful indeed.

Now that Diaboli was 'back on track', so to speak, they went on to discuss the rest of the trip to Hogwarts and various things. The cloaked man liked to vent his knowledge on the topic, and Harry was more than willing to soak it all up. Eagerly, he listened while the ruby-eyed figure went on about various subjects, from the layout of the castle to things he might expect.

At one point, Diaboli began scratching a blueprint of the Slytherin Commonroom into the toddler's bedroom, causing Harry to wince slightly at the sudden and brutal influx of knowledge. Nonetheless, he found it useful as the man went on to point out various ways in and out of the dungeons. Quick ways up, and which ways were likely to belong to upperclassmen. He also was quick to point out that the castle rearranged their rooms as they aged, so that Harry and his roommates wouldn't have to worry about it as 3rd years vs. 1st years. They would always be in the same location they had originally found them in, and always belong to the same boys--- provided none of them were made Headboy.

Diaboli promised to show various hidden passages, shortcuts and reveal details about the school that many didn't know some other time. At the moment he was more interested in discussing the teachers and the cirriculum, making sure that Harry was ready for his first day of classes. To Harry's chagrin, though he was rather knowledgeable on various topics, when Diaboli tried to stump him on the course books with a few questions of the first few chapters, he found that there were things he did not know.

As the Shade was quick to point out, First years were not expected to know everything, but excellence was important when it came to magical theory. Practical was one thing you could always improve on through patience, but the point of understanding the theory was to make sure that you had a good grasp of the topic. To make sure that your magic rose accordingly and bent to your will.

Practicing magic was a dangerous art, and one that could go wrong in various ways. It was one of the reasons that Masters were often very hard on students, picky when it came to choosing an apprentice. Professors were much the same, and known to have short tempers when it came to mistakes. A mistake with a spell, a mispronounciation could lead to injury or death in some cases. With potions, it could cause disfiguration, explosions, or again, death. Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures was much the same, where the living inhabitants were to be respected and treated with a sense of dignity. If you did not follow a specific coded guideline when handling them, you would regret it.

Harry found the whole thing fascinating, despite his mild humiliation upon realizing that he was not perfect, eager to learn. Because of this, they spent much of the night discussing magic, his classes, his teachers, and the Houses. It was well into the night before the green-eyed child bid the Shade goodnight and slipped into actual rest, with warnings to speak to Kali about his mind-nets and to hold tightly to his emotions. The boy promised to work on it, not wanting to get in trouble with the wizarding world. Albert had warned him of something similar, but he didn't want to think on it seriously.

Still high on the events of the day before and the discussion with Diaboli, Harry slipped carefully from the cottage and the toddler's bedroom--- heading into the deeper realm of nod in the hopes that tomorrow would be a good day. After all, tomorrow would be Harry's first day as a student of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It was to be expected that he was excited...

******

The next morning the three Slytherin boys feeling like a colony of bees had made a nest in their stomachs, their heart in their gullet. Morning ablutions were done with mild chatter and minimal teasing--- the boys mostly focusing on getting ready for the day as quickly and thoroughly as possible. They wanted to look their best, so as to make a good impression on the Professors and student body.

Naturally, there was a bit of good natured ribbing when Draco used entirely too much hair product to slick back his hair. His huffy retort was met with giggles when he pointed out he wasn't the only one with 'unusual grooming', arching a pointed brow at the green-eyed child.

Harry had blushed bashfully, his silk ribbon tucking back the strange tendrils of 'hair' with minds of their own. After all, only his rune and spider-spun silk could hold back his, quite literally, 'wild' hair. Otherwise, it tended to move about and attack various objects or pillows. Snagging in clothing, or simply refusing to lay flat. Harry often wondered what it was about his prehensile hair, but could never seem to put his finger on it, (or through it).

When they had properly buttoned their silken shirts, securing their cufflinks and ties, laced the boots of their shoes and ensured that the leather wasn't scuffed the three glanced around. Smoothing the lines of their pants, making sure the creases ran just-so, the ironing performed by the house elves matching perfect length and fold. Their ties were green and silver, the Crest of Slytherin in the form of a pin, a rising snake about to lunge, securing the tie to their shirt. A charcoal wool cardigan followed, also sporting the Slytherin Crest, and finally their black school robes. The Hogwarts Crest was front and center here, making it known that they were a unit, all students of a whole. But should one be curious, they had only to look at the tie and find out which house they belonged to.

A pair of gloves was the final addition, at least for Harry. The other boys smiled indulgently, noting that though the green-eyed Slytherin's long sleeves hid most of his scales, he didn't seem keen on taking chances.

Clean and fresh, the boys moved out to the Common Room, meeting the other First Years from the night before. They were also greeted by several upperclassmen, who seemed surprised and slightly appreciative that they did not have to 'waste their time', dragging first years out of bed to show a united House. They had, perhaps, won points on the first day with the elder years. A little, but important thing in the scheme of politics and social niceties.

As a group, they walked down various corridors and navigated back the way they'd come the night before. Up through the old castle they came, finally exiting by the grand staircase, the place seeming far more familiar to Harry thanks to Diaboli's map. Up ahead and to the left was the Great Hall, the place they had been Sorted and where they had eaten the night before.

Trickles of students were moving through the large doors, and the chatter seemed to echo into a booming din. The Slytherins filed in and followed after, trying to ignore the width berth or jostling, depending on the House the students they met with. The best was when they were just ignored, and they moved quietly off to their long table, seated near the end in front of their Head of House.

It was still rather early, so there were only a small percentage of students up at this hour, mingling amongst their housemates and trying to find a pecking order. Some groups seemed more solitary, a lone student now and then. Whilst others were grouped together like a bunch of loud, boisterous, and cackling jackals. If one didn't seem to belong, they were quick to pick it apart, Blaise astutely noted. Draco huffed in response, but seemed a bit disturbed by this information, making no comment. Yes, things at Hogwarts would be difficult.

This was the reason it was so important to establish a good reputation amongst the upper years in your own House, Harry recalled. This was why Diaboli wanted to give him information on families, spells and maps of the school. The Shade wanted him to be a step ahead, to come out on top. A first year or no, he didn't want Harry to slide out and fall flat on his face, being squashed by his own House.

If you lost the faith of your own House in Slytherin, you lost their protection. That, Harry had learned, was a very important thing. The Slytherin House was prepared to lie for their own, to do favors for their members. Even former housemembers were said to 'let things slide' in the name of Slytherin. It was a code, and if you had good backing, if you had good social politics... the world opened for you.

Harry didn't especially like the idea of manipulation, this eternal game of cat and mouse, or fox and hunter as it were. But it was important that he protected his own skin. His sense of survival had got him where he was today, his belief in himself. He wasn't about to stumble now.

The green-eyed boy smiled at his companions, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, making his seat. The first years normally sat near the very end, closest to the door, but Harry, Blaise and Draco were nobleborn. They bumped several students down because of this, naturally. Introductions were made, and Harry and his friends offered to send gift baskets or apology letters for troubling them, as etiquette dictated. A few girls agreed to the baskets, while the most of the boys accepted the apology letters. They didn't seem terribly upset, but Harry made a mental note to watch them, something Sobek quietly agreed to as well.

Crabbe and Goyle had managed to move seats with them, as they were Vassals of a future Lord. They needed to be within reach, should Draco need protection, and Draco needed to be within reach of Harry. Another student, a girl named Greengrass had bumped seats due to her status and was seated near them. She smiled rather frostily, and motioned for her own Vassals, two girls by the names of Bulstrode and Davis to join her. Milicent Bulstrode didn't seem like pleasant company, much like Crabbe or Goyle, but Tracey Davis seemed quick-witted and amusing enough.

With the seating settled, the Slytherins moved about selecting food. Harry was dismayed to notice so much of the table filled with skewers of buttered toast and glass jugs of orange juice or pumpkin juice, the occasional plain water commingling amongst them. But for the large part of it, there was very little fare to offer the green-eyed wizard.

His heart was in his throat, nausea threatening to overthrow it when he spotted fried eggs. Could he tempt his palate with the protein infused, gelatinous globs of...

Harry's stomach roiled and his mouth tightened, feeling like his facial muscles were working hard. There had to be something that he could eat, something that was more suitable to his tastes. Surely he wouldn't be expected to skip breakfast everyday?

Blaise sighed, shaking his head. "Absolutely hopeless, aren't you mate?"

With that, the dark mocha-skinned boy proceded to tap Crabbe on the shoulder, murmuring quietly to the rather large child. After a moment, Vincent grunted and nodded, leaning over to mumble something to another person next to him on the other side. Within a short time, a platter of sausages and ham was being passed down towards Blaise, Crabbe spearing a few for his plate as they came his way.

Blaise smirked, taking a few himself and looking rather pleased with his overall abilities. Harry would have scowled at the smug golden-eyed boy, but he was a bit busy covering his plate in as many sausages and ham as he thought was socially acceptable. Draco choked on an orange slice when he noted his roommate's enthusiasm, trying not to laugh, and even Pheobe was twittering and clacking quietly.

The morning mail began to slowly flock in on the wings and call of many a proud avian. More students were stumbling in, some more awake than others. Pots of hot english tea were appearing on the table, something many seemed to be grateful for if the groans were anything to go by.

Harry was in the middle of sampling a heavenly bite of bacon that someone had managed to proffer from somewhere down the table, when he heard a familiar caw! Instantly, his arm was up and bent at the elbow, a firm hold, but not completely locked. With a small smile, he waited for his friend to make her presence known.

Amongst various owls, ranging in size from large to small, Hecate stood out. A raven nearly the size of an Eagle Owl, but far more slender in comparison, the familiar was a true sight. Her black and sleek plummage spoke of good care, grooming and either her master's or her own ability to provide for herself. Though, when it came to her size, there was little doubt that she could hunt, and do so proudly.

When Hecate spotted Harry, she let out another Caw! this one louder, more joyous than the other. The large feathered fiend circled the Great Hall for a moment, lowering her alititude slowly so she could gently alight on his forearm. The grip of her talons was familiar, and very gentle as she bobbed once, shifted to get comfortable, and then proceded to chide him and attempt to groom his hair and search for treats.

Harry laughed, amused at his familiar's behavior by now, and not the least bit surprised at her superior and overly-affectionate nature. He'd often teased her back at the Dursley's that she ought to have been a Hen and not a Raven, what with how she she acted. Hecate had not responded favorably to this, swatting at him with both wings and threatening to claw his face.

But now, here she was, following him to Hogwarts. A part of his family, when he was vulnerable and feeling exposed. Hecate croaked a warbling trill, sounding a bit confused at the influx of his emotions, her smooth beak moving to nibble at his earlobe gently.

"I'm fine, 'Cate," Harry mumbled gently, stroking the soft downy feathers around her neck. He recalled belatedly that he was supposed to send a message to his Aunt and cousin, but hadn't found time last night, nor this morning. Perhaps he'd have to sneak in time this afternoon?

"Come back this evening, if you don't mind. I haven't a letter for you yet, but I might by then. It's good to see you, though, lovely 'Cate," Harry whispered, nuzzling his nose close against her. Her feathers felt wonderful against his skin, and were rather soothing to his nerves. A comfort, or normalcy in a place that he hadn't quite understood yet.

Blaise looked up from a small note from his mother, his expression brightening slightly. "It's not even been twenty-four hours, Harry. Really, it'll be alright. Just relax... we haven't even gotten our... oh, but here comes the Professor now. Spoke too soon, I bet."

Hecate gave him a nibble and stole the last of his bacon, taking wing quickly as she now had her objective and had essentially ensured the health of her owner. Harry didn't watch her go, instead turning to look, wondering at what seemed to have caught Blaise's attention. Making his way quickly down the table was Professor Snape, his black robe billowing behind him like clouds of smoke. His expression was stern and impassive, as though he didn't particularly care one way or another, but it didn't seem overtly cruel, the boy thought.

In his left hand, he held a pack of parchment schedules, shuffled and flicking through them he'd pass through the students with a comment now and again. Harry noted the other three Heads of Houses were doing the same at their tables, though some seemed to have brighter expressions than Professor Snape. Gradually, he made his way closer to the small group of first years, going through the Slytherins bit by bit, ensuring that any questions were answered swiftly and efficiently before moving on down the long table.

A bubble of anxious excitement settled in Harry's stomach, and it was all he could do to hold still. Things were finally starting!

CDGamer : Mm, generally I like the idea of moving people around, but sticking to canon a bit. Their characteristics will generally be followed, as best I can--- their... core? Personalities, that is. Events can change them, but I'll try to hold true to who they are.

Tesgura : Draco was a bit... tense. He's not sure how to handle this, to be honest. You'll see that in the coming chapters. I kind of like the bratty, childish Draco. After all, he's only 11, he'll have time to mature. But changing him completely would be extremely out of character, in my opinion.

David : Ahh, no! Sorry, I didn't abandon this. I'm baaack. I have two chapters posted shortly. Please don't fret, there will be more. I plan on going through all the years, there are so many ideas and things buzzing in my head... I have to open up several different windows to write them all down for future years! I write down backgrounds and ghost plots and details about such things... no, I don't plan on being done. This is not abandoned.

OfStoriesTold : Mm, that I can't reveal too much about the colors. Harry's colorblind, but it comes into play what he 'can' see and why later. As I said, I have entire documents saved on details, mapped out for things... backstorys, future plots, details, etc. If somemthing seems interesting, I want to write about it... but I can't rush ahead too much, or it'll seem all jumbled and rushed. So I'm trying to slowly, slowly work into Hogwarts years. I have details saved about bloodlines that most likely will never come up for four years! But... they're important to remember, at least for me. As for Adultfanfiction... I'm not quite sure? You can add it to stories reading or rec. reading, or something... I'll be updating it more often now... again. Have a good one!

Texas Turtle : Ahh, you're welcome! I'm glad you liked it!

Sera21: I'm not a big fan of angst. I mean... yeah, sometimes it plays a part, but I prefer something interesting. Something amusing, something to draw attention and make you wonder. I'm glad you're continuing to enjoy it ~
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Carefully Tangled Webs of Darkness