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Advances	By : SickPuppy Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Snape Views: 11345 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and the Potter universe belong to JK Rowling. I am making no money from this.

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
CH18AN: Book_addict_89: I did giggle at your mature response! And Severus does reappear in the this chapter. Can't promise smut though, sorry.
Thunderbird, thanks for the review. I've now changed 'He was dead' to 'Dobby was dead' in ch17. Kreacher is alive (as you will soon see). I did originally leave it hanging (that 'he was dead' was only written in the day I posted it, basically to torment Book_addict_89) but thought it was nice to have it clarified. Yes, it's just the diadem (and Harry) left. You'll just have to read on to see how I get out of that, and whether the pup survives it. SP
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Chapter 18 – Well, My Brother, Let Me Show You A Better Way
Staring out at sea, Harry saw nothing. At his feet was a small mound, dug by hand, with a flat stone lying on the freshly churned earth. He had used manual labour to dig, but to carve out the letters he had needed magic. Now he glanced down at the words: Here lies Dobby. A free elf and felt his throat tightening. But no tears came.
There had been so much death and destruction. And unless Harry found the last horcrux, it would never end. Forever and ever, innocents would get drawn into the war and obliterated. He hadn't wanted that; had never wanted someone else to suffer because of him. And yet that was what kept on happening. Over and over again.
But he wasn't going to put up with it any longer. He had made a decision to go after the damned horcruxes and had wondered if it was the right one, well, no more self-doubt. Those horcruxes were going to be destroyed and then he was going to speak to the damned evil wizard who had ruined all their lives.
Whilst he had dug, Kreacher had stood beside him explaining endlessly how it had happened until Harry had ordered him inside to get healed. Hermione had helped the elf and had then used the sword to smash the cup to pieces. Tears had rolled down her face, remembering Dobby, and the horcrux's power had been unable to touch her when her heart had been full of love for the dead elf. A great eye had appeared on the surface of the cup, but it had quailed before the waves of love surrounding the witch; protection against the Dark Lord's power.
When, at last, Harry came in, his face was set. His eyes stung with unshed tears, but he was determined to finish things. As much as anything, he now had a fairly noticeable pregnancy bump and he didn't want to risk his child. And he knew exactly where he needed to be.
“We're going to Hogwarts,” he announced, voice hoarse.
As expected, Hermione gave a small cry of horror but he cut her off by holding up an arm.
“You-Know-Who keeps choosing places that matter for his horcruxes. Think about it – the diary was given to a Pure Blood family to care for, a family who have a grand wizarding home; the ring was stored at the home of his ancestors, ancestors who were proud Pure Bloods; the locket he put in the cave he'd visited as a child and where he'd probably first made real use of his magical powers; the cup was at Gringotts – a powerful magical building; even the one in that damned snake was significant: he's a parselmouth, like Slytherin was. So, it makes sense. Hogwarts was where he was happy, where he developed his powers, where he stopped calling himself Tom Riddle. The final horcrux has got to be there.”
Put like that, the other two couldn't argue with his reasoning. It did make complete sense.
“How?” Hermione asked quietly.
Harry had thought about that whilst he had been burying Dobby. “We apparate to the Shrieking Shack so the wards don't go off. Then we can use the passage there to get to the school. But before we do, I'd like to speak to Aberforth too, and tell him about D-Dobby.”
His two listeners nodded, their eyes suddenly shining suspiciously.
“Plus, maybe Dumbledore told him something about where he thinks the final horcrux might be. Dumbledore might not have said anything to me as it was conjecture or a theory, but maybe he shared his ideas with Aberforth.”
Hermione took a deep breath and asked the question she didn't want to ask, but knew she had to. “It does all make sense, Harry, but the Ministry of Magic could be a location too; it's more likely now that it's under his control. How sure are you? And how much is just wishful thinking because you want to see Professor Snape again?”
Harry snarled, lips curled back, teeth seemingly sharp and dangerous. Ron glowered and shifted between the other two. “She's got a right to ask, Harry. We've risked our necks for you, and now you're asking us to go to the school.”
“I'm not asking you to do anything!” Harry snapped with a very faint emphasis on the 'you'. “I'm going. If you both decide to come, great. If not, I'll go alone and face the Dark Lord without you. I will have to anyway. It's always going to come down to him and me. Everything else is just other stuff.”
“Our lives are not just 'other stuff'!” Ron retorted, fists clenched. Hermione pulled on his arm, tugging him away from the other wizard whose eyes gleamed almost golden.
“He's not saying that,” she insisted. “All right, Harry. Hogwarts. But where could the horcrux be?”
Harry wished he knew.
***
Having thanked Bill and Fleur, packed, and said goodbye to Ollivander, Harry, Ron and Hermione stood close together. Luna had left a few weeks previously, after recovering from her ordeal in the Manor.
As only the werewolf had apparated inside the Shrieking Shack, they were relying on him to guide them. It wasn't quite side-along apparition; but it wasn't independent travel.
Spinning and thunking onto the ground, Harry landed. The other two were with him, but he ignored them to crawl towards the hidden space. Inside were the small vials of Wolfsbane, and a note from Severus. Folding it up tightly without reading it, Harry gathered the bottles and stored them in the front pocket of his bag. He then looked at the backpack he carried. He could hardly wander around the school with it on his back. He sorted through the items and pulled out only two snitches. Those would be fine to carry and he would feel like he had Severus close by. He only took Dumbledore's snitch because it irritated him so much that the damned thing had proved so completely useless so far. He was hoping that in the final moments of battle it would somehow be helpful. The bag shrunk and stuffed under the loose floorboard, he then checked his friends.
Ron was rubbing an ankle and Hermione was looking around the room. She took in the dark patch of blood soaked into the floorboards and her mouth tightened. She sent a quick glance to Harry, knowing that that stain had not been there the last time she had been in this room. Judging by the way he was refusing to look at it, her own private suspicions were confirmed. It made her feel ill to think of him here, being hurt and violated by someone who had been trusted.
“Okay,” Harry spoke quietly. “The wards are set to go off if people apparate into them. We haven't, so we should be all right. However, we stick close together and stay under the invisibility cloak, agreed?”
The witch and the red-head nodded.
“Aberforth owns the Hog's Head. We'll head there, speak to him then come back here and get into school.”
Ron didn't look happy at the idea of heading into the school, but he gave a reluctant head bob. Hermione gave a decisive nod and headed towards the door. She stopped before she opened it, pulling the cloak from her bag and throwing it over the three of them.
Outside the road leading to the village was quiet. And even in Hogsmeade itself there were few people about. The Hog's Head was familiar to them all as it had been where they had held the meeting to establish Dumbledore's Army, so they had no problem finding it.
Inside, the faint smell of goats made their noses itch but it was the sight of the large man who made them stop. Although dissimilar to his older brother, Aberforth shared those twinkling blue eyes; even in the dusty gloom of the pub those eyes shone.
Taking a deep breath, Harry pulled the cloak off himself and stepped into view.
“Give a man a heart attack why don't you!” Aberforth grumbled, although he didn't look very surprised.
As it seemed as though he wasn't about to attack, Hermione and Ron came into view too.
“And, of course, Potter's friends. How very lucky I am to have you invading my pub.” He sighed, “What do you want?”
“You sent Dobby to me, didn't you?” Harry asked, throat tight. But he had to get through this bit quickly before they went onto other business. For once, the little house elf came first.
“Yes. What have you done with him? I liked that elf.”
“He's dead,” Harry said, almost choking on the final word. “It's my fault. I sent him into danger and didn't think.”
“Yeah, well, that seems to be a habit with you, Potter,” Aberforth growled. “Lack of thought all round,” he added, eyes piercing Hermione and Ron.
“That's not fair,” Harry argued, “Hermione has done most of our thinking. She...” he trailed off, unable to keep defending his friend because he felt so awful about what had happened to Dobby.
“Erm,” he began awkwardly. He didn't really like Aberforth, not from the little he'd seen so far, but he wanted to find out if this man did know anything to help them. “Did Dumb- er, your brother ever mention where he thought something might be hidden at Hogwarts. N-not necessarily something he was sure about, but a mad theory?”
“All of Albus' theories were mad!” his brother snapped. “And, like you and Dobby, it is the innocent he hurt with those stupid ideas.”
Hermione spoke politely, “Sir, please, can you help us? Your brother gave us a task to do, and we're close to completing it.”
“Nice task was it?” Aberforth asked sarcastically. “Easy to do; something three barely legal witches and wizards could accomplish?” He saw the looks on their faces, “Of course not. Albus was all about grand gestures and sod the consequences.” His gaze lifted to the portrait above the fireplace. “And people get hurt.”
“You can't help us?”
“I don't know anything. In case it wasn't blindingly obvious, I didn't exactly get on with Albus. And you're all doing a great job of pretending not to know, but you must by now.”
“Erm...”
“Goats' balls! Have I actually met the only three people who haven't read that awful Skeeter book?!”
“We've been busy!” Harry defended.
“Hmm. Well, Albus was friends with Grindelwald, you knew that, I suppose?” He saw their nods and went on, “Well they had grand plans to put Muggles in their place, all for their own good, but Albus finally grew up and realised that Grindelwald was mad. There was a fight. Albus and Grindelwald. But Arianna,” he glanced up again at the picture of the smiling girl, “our sister, she got in the middle of it, and I tried to stop it all too. And suddenly she was dead.” His face, which had seemed to sag now hardened. “That's what your precious Albus is like – his own sister was dead because of his mad theories.”
Hermione had tears trickling down her cheeks. “Mr Dumbledore,” she began, “that's awful. And I can't begin to imagine what that must have felt like, but Professor Dumbledore wasn't dangerous. He cared about Harry and wanted him to be all right. Please, we need to get into the school as there is something there that can end all of this. Did he never say anything? Hint anything?”
Aberforth laughed. “You want to get into the school? The one that's run by Death Eaters? You are stupid, boy. But, by all means, go for it!” He smiled at Arianna's picture. “You know what to do.”
The three gaped when, a few minutes later, Neville fell out of the portrait, a smile wreathing his bruised face. “HARRY!” he shouted to much shushing. “I knew you'd come! Wait 'til I tell the others!”
Feeling alarmed, Harry clutched at Neville's sleeve, “No, Neville, no, wait! Look, no-one can know I'm here. It has to remain secret okay?”
“But...” he said, confused. “Dumbledore's Army. We're all waiting for you. We've just been awaiting the word, any word, from you.” He looked angry, “Of course, we lost some people when you were called a werewolf, but most of us saw through the Prophet's lies.” He grinned, “And now you're here! It's brilliant!” Neville did a kind of jig on the spot, eyes dancing.
Hermione took command. “We need to get into the school. You-Know-Who has hidden something there, something secret and dangerous. So, we need time to search. If everyone knows Harry's back the Death Eaters will learn about it and the next thing we know, You-Know-Who himself will be there. Neville, please, it has to stay secret!”
“Okay,” the bruised wizard drew himself upright, “I'll tell everyone we're on Snape-baiting duty. That'll clear the room for you to come through and be safe.”
“Room?”
“Snape-baiting?” Ron and Harry spoke their questions together.
“Room of Requirement.” Neville answered, “And yeah, Snape-baiting. Of course. Greasy git!”
Growling from Harry startled him. It was Hermione who stood in front of the irate werewolf and addressed the newcomer. “Neville, Professor Snape isn't the bad guy,” she saw the look of disbelief, “I know it seems unlikely, but he really isn't evil. He's on our side. So, by all means, cause problems for the other Death Eaters at the school, but leave Snape alone.” She glanced back at Harry, who nodded, calming down.
Mouth twisting unhappily, Neville nodded. “Fine,” he said sulkily. “Follow me in about ten minutes. I'll have cleared everyone out.” He gave Aberforth a smile, “Thanks Ab.”
With Neville gone, Harry turned to the only remaining Dumbledore. “He never forgot what happened you know,” Harry said quietly. “I saw him once, just before he died, and he was reliving his worst memory. I didn't know what it was at the time, but now it makes sense. He was tortured by what had happened. You didn't see what he was like – he wanted to be dead himself; anything rather than have hurt her.”
Voice gruff, Aberforth said eventually, “Maybe so, Potter. But be careful out there, he still got people killed; whether deliberately or not, they still ended up dead. Make sure you're not one of them.”
After waiting ten minutes, and not a moment longer, Harry led his friends into the tunnel. Whilst he had been waiting he had sent a message to Severus: On way. Room Req. ASAP. It made him smile as he recalled having conversations with Snape whilst in bed with him where he had talked about the room. Now, though, he was crawling out into the Room of Requirement which held Neville and Luna only. There were signs of occupation – hammocks strung about, piles of books, desks, and even the faint smell of water and soap.
His face beamed at the sight of Luna. “You're well?” he asked. “How's your Dad?”
Luna smiled, “He's fine. Don't worry about him, Harry. Neville said something about you looking for something secret. Can I help?”
Neville moved to the door and peered out, checking that no-one untoward was approaching.
Harry shrugged. “I don't know. We think the item is something that belonged to one of the Founders. Do you know of anything that could be the object?”
“Well, there's the lost diadem,” Luna offered, “but, of course, the problem with the lost diadem is that it's, well, lost.”
At the door, Neville squeaked. “Snape!” he gasped out in warning, but it was too late, a black clad foot was shoved into the still open doorway, which was swiftly followed by the rest of the teacher.
Neville whimpered and staggered backwards. He was astounded when Snape carefully closed the door and glanced at him to ensure the Gryffindor was all right.
“Harry?” Snape's voice sounded incredulous. “What the hell are you doing?!”
The Gryffindor ran across the room and almost flung himself into his mate's arms. Only a glare from Severus stopped him and he pulled up short, almost smacking into the hard chest. “Severus,” he breathed, eyes shining with love. Louder he said, “one more horcrux is gone. The one at the bank.”
“I heard about the debacle at Gringotts,” Snape replied, “the whole damned world did. And now you're here? Hopefully not to cause as much chaos and mayhem.”
Harry grinned, shrugging, “Can't promise anything.”
---
CH 18 AN: I love how the line of the song fits this chapter so perfectly!
CH19 Preview: He had reached the entrance to the Room of Requirement and was just about to try focusing on what he needed to let him get in and get Ron and Hermione when a voice boomed out. It was Voldemort and it rang in Harry's head, making him moan and slip to his knees.
“Harry Potter. He is among you. I have no interest in spilling magical blood. I wish to look after you all properly. Give me Harry Potter and I shall not harm you. Give me Harry Potter and you will be protected. Give me Harry Potter and you will be rewarded.” There was throbbing silence and then the voice finished, “You have until midnight.”
In the echoing silence Harry heard the door to the Room open and Ron's face peer out.
- 17
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- 19
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