Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Bloody Skies	By : TokiMirage Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Slash - Male/Male Views: 44832 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 4
Disclaimer: JKRowling owns Harry Potter. Everything else is mine. I do not make any money writing this fic.

Chapter List
- 1
- 2
- 3
Bloody Skies
oOo
Chapter Two:
oOo
An aching pain was the first thing that registered in his mind when Harry awoke. Groggily, he opened his eyes to survey his surroundings. From the horribly disgustingly despicable wallpaper, he was at 12 Grimmauld Place. What a wonderful place to wake up and face the world.
His mind trailed off to the last things he remembered, and a stab of pain shot through his chest. He felt like someone had taken a spoon and carved his heart out. The memory of Hedwig, splattered across his floor... Tears started leaking down his face anew, and he closed his eyes with every intention of ignoring the world just a little bit longer.
"Harry?"
He kept his eyes closed and hoped the intruder would just leave him the fuck alone. He didn't want to talk to anybody.
"I know you're awake, Harry."
Absently, he wondered if he could wandlessly cast a hex at the person disturbing him. Couldn't they read the obvious signs?!
A cool hand smoothed the hair back from his head, and Harry sighed softly at the soothing temperature. His headache eased, making him wish for a cold, damp cloth.
"It's okay if you don't want to talk. I won't tell Dumbledore that you woke," the slightly rough, tenor voice said. It held a gravely texture, as if it had screamed too many times.
Curious, Harry peeked open an eye and saw tawny eyes staring down at him. They blinked at him before crinkling at the edges in a slightly worried smile.
"How are you feeling?" he asked softly.
Harry closed his eyes and turned his head away in disgust. How could he even ask such a stupid question? After everything the wizard had lost?
Remus swallowed nervously and removed his hand from Harry's forehead. "I... ah, I'll let you sleep," he muttered awkwardly before standing to leave the room.
"Remus..."
The man turned around and stared at Harry curiously, who was now looking at him with dead, emerald eyes.
"What... happened at the house?" Harry managed to rasp out, his throat parched. How long had he been sleeping for?
"That's what Dumbledore wants to know. A few minutes past midnight, the blood wards on the house just suddenly collapsed."
The memory of a golden dome of light flashed through Harry's mind, along with the crumbling chain of runes that orbited it. Blood wards? Oops.
Remus looked at him with an unreadable expression. "Do you know what happened, Harry?"
The adolescent stared at him for a moment. He almost opened his mouth to answer yes, but instead shook his head. Remus paused before nodding and leaving the room.
Why hadn't he just said it? Why hadn't he just told Remus that he hadn't been able to see anything but that dome and those runes? Why hadn't he just told him that he had broken the blood wards when his control over that weird power had snapped?
Dumbledore. To put it simply, he despised the man. It was because Dumbledore hadn't explained things earlier, in fifth year, that Sirius died, and it was because of the old man that Harry had had no contact with the Wizarding World or any of his friends for a month. But was that really reason enough to be unhelpful and keep such a huge secret?
He scoffed. He was as entitled to holding a grudge as the next person.
When no one entered the room ten minutes after Remus had left, Harry was pretty sure that the older man had done as he said he would, and didn't tell Dumbledore that Harry was awake. Grateful, the emerald-eyed wizard closed his eyes and almost instantly fell into a deep, healing sleep.
oOo
"-don't see why we can't tell him what's really going on, Severus. Why keep it from him?"
A disparaging snort cut through the room. "Oh yes, tell him all the little lies he's been told since he came to Hogwarts. I'm sure he would believe you."
Remus sighed. "You and I both know who's been behind the scenes, pulling the strings this entire time. Is it wise not to tell Harry? He deserves to know the truth about Dumbledore, about all of this."
By the tense silence, Harry figured Snape had employed one of his best sneers. "He won't believe you, as I have said countless times before. Dumbledore was far too extensive in his subtle manipulations."
There was a rustle. "I disagree, Severus. I think that Sirius's death may be the catalyst to opening Harry's eyes."
Silence ensued. Sensing an end to the conversation, Harry subtly twitched in his 'sleep', and felt two intense sets of eyes land on him. He hoped they didn't realize he had already awakened, since they had been so deeply entrenched in their argument.
"Harry?"
Green eyes groggily opened, and Harry didn't have to fake the yawn that nearly split his face in half. He was still tired, but at least his headache was completely gone. He focused on where Remus sat on the left side of his bed, completely ignoring the presence of Snape.
"Remus?"
The werewolf smiled. "How are you feeling?"
Harry blinked languidly and pondered how he would respond to that. "Fine," he settled on. He did feel fine, physically that is, and he really didn't want to go into any deep and emotional shit right now.
Remus and Snape shared a dubious look. Harry just pretended not to notice.
"How were you feeling when you first awoke, Potter?" Snape asked, not sounding like he really wanted to know. Harry wondered if he was just asking the question for the benefit of Remus, though he had no idea why the Slytherin would do that. Snape hated Remus ever since the werewolf had almost eaten him back in school.
Harry turned to look at the man and blinked. Snape looked younger, for some reason. Well, in comparison to Remus, who was looking even more run down than he had the last time Harry had seen him. He wondered why that was. "I felt like shit." Snape raised a depreciative eyebrow. Curiously, he remained silent and didn't shoot off any cruel remarks. "My head hurt," Harry elaborated, hoping he wouldn't have to... wouldn't have to what? Tell them about seeing glowing lights? He hadn't wanted to tell Dumbledore, because he hated the prick, but why not tell these two?
Snape glanced at Remus. Where had Harry been when those two became friends? Where was the animosity that had tainted all of their interactions in the past? "Do you know why your head ailed you, Potter?"
Harry shook his head and did his best to look innocent. He could tell that neither Remus nor Snape completely believed him, but they didn't push for anything else. It was almost like they knew each other well enough that they could silently communicate.
"Very well. I shall report to Dumbledore that you are awake," Snape said and stood up.
Pain lanced through Harry's head as if someone had just hit him with a sledgehammer. He gripped it with both hands and tossed slightly under the covers. Remus was immediately at his side.
"Harry? Are you alright?"
'What an incredibly stupid question,' Harry thought to himself as the pain slowly began to fade, leaving his body with an unpleasant ache. When had the pain traveled farther than his head?
He lay there for a minute as he felt something inside him shift and settle. What, he had no idea. But now he felt strange... no, normal. Perfectly normal.
"Should I tell Dumbledore about his headaches, Remus?" Snape asked. Harry wondered why he was deferring to Remus’s judgment. Why would the Slytherin do that? Snape hated Remus ever since the werewolf had almost eaten him back in school.
"-best that he doesn't know. Something is obviously not quite right with Harry, but Dumbledore would just tear into his mind demanding answers," Remus was saying. Snape seemed to think over his response for a moment.
"Perhaps, but we can't keep him out of the loop forever. He will begin to question us, Remus. He will want to know what happened five days ago at Potter's house."
Remus ran a hand through his hair. "What do we tell him, though?"
Snape shrugged. "The best lies are hidden in truth. Tell him Harry doesn't know what happened, or doesn't remember at least."
Remus raised a dubious eyebrow. "And he'll just leave it at that?"
"Perhaps."
Harry was watching the volley of conversation with a confused expression. Why weren't they going to tell Dumbledore? The Professor needed to know everything that was going on, for the greater good.
Dumbledore had always been very kind to him, had helped him settle in Hogwarts, had been there if he had questions or prob-
What a pile of shit.
Harry's thoughts came to an abrupt stop, derailed by the stray string of words. He blinked and frowned. What had he been thinking before? What was a pile of shit? Confused, he brought a hand up to his head and closed his eyes. He felt... odd. Something was wrong up here, in his head. There was a foreign... something... but what?! It was driving him crazy! All these unanswered-
What unanswered questions? Those by Dumbledore? The Professor was just looking out for his best interests, telling him what he needed to know when he needed to know-
"Harry? Are you alright?"
Harry looked up at Remus with a blank expression. Snape was staring at him with a funny look on his face. "What?"
"I asked if you were alright. You were gripping your head in pain a moment ago."
Harry frowned. What was Remus talking about? Why would his head hurt? It had completely healed after the incident on his birthday. Speaking of which, he needed to tell Dumbledore about it right away.
"Dumbledore knows Potter's awake," Snape said carefully, slowly walking away from the door and closer to the bed. He and Remus traded looks.
Harry smiled. "He does? Bring him here, quickly. I have to tell him what happened on my birthday."
Remus frowned, and Snape subtly sent a wordless locking ward at the door. "What do you mean, Harry? I thought you... What happened that night?"
"I broke the wards." Remus gaped at him and Snape's eyes widened imperceptibly. "It was an accident, really. I couldn't see anything, but there was this dome around the house and weird chains orbiting around it. My head was hurting, and I started touching the chain of runes to distract myself. My control slipped, the chain broke, and the dome shattered."
A knock sounded on the door, and Remus turned to look at Snape with a mixed expression of panic and shock. "Dumbledore, he-"
Snape shook his head. "Potter, are you going to tell Dumbledore what happened?"
Harry frowned at him. "Of course!" Why wouldn’t he? Dumbledore was a good Headmaster, and he had the Order of the Phoenix to run. He needed to know everything, for the greater good!
Before he could even move, Snape had grabbed his forehead with a hand and wouldn't let go. "This will be easier with skin contact, Potter, so don't move." Harry's eyes widened, but before he could open his mouth and yell for Dumbledore, his vision plunged into black.
He stared around in confusion when the darkness slowly lifted and he found himself in a graveyard, of all places. The sky was a gloomy gray, with no sun in sight, and the tombstones seemed never ending. The only flash of colour in the entire place was from golden brambles, which had entwined themselves almost all over the place.
"A graveyard, Potter?"
At the sound of a voice, Harry turned around and came face to face with an expressionless Snape. The black robes he wore made him look not unlike a grim reaper in the dreary landscape.
"Snape? What... Where are we?"
Snape smirked in amusement. "We, Potter, are inside your mind, and we have a few things to fix quickly so you can keep your secret from Dumbledore."
Harry frowned in confusion. "Secret?"
"What happened the night of your birthday, Potter."
Harry frowned. "Why would I keep it from Dumbledore?"
Snape's eyes narrowed. "Even in here, he has you wrapped around his finger." Before Harry could react, Snape pulled out a dagger and sliced away at him, fast. Inhumanly fast.
Harry flinched, but felt no pain. Curious, he looked down at himself and saw golden brambles in pieces at his feet. He blinked.
"Unbeknownst to you, Potter, Dumbledore has been manipulating you for the past five years. Remus and I have decided that it's finally time you knew about it. We hoped that if you stewed for long enough during the summer, Dumbledore would be unable to undo the damage that was the result of Sirius's death. Earlier, we knew you were awake, and we hoped that carrying on our conversation so that you could hear it would let us know if you had the same opinion of Dumbledore as we do."
Harry's eyes widened, and the memory of Sirius, and the newer memory of Hedwig, flashed through his mind. Along with them, came a gut wrenching pain worse than any portkey. Dumbledore... It was all Dumbledore's fault. He had made him stay at the Dursley's, he had... he had done so much! But why, moments ago, had he been prepared to spill his guts to the old bastard? And why was his memory of that time so hazy?
"I can see you are confused, Potter, though I can't say I'm surprised," Snape mocked, though it didn't hold nearly as much venom or heat than it had last year. What had changed? "I managed to catch Dumbledore before he could make the changes in your psyche permanent."
Harry's eyes widened in alarm. "Changes? What? What was Dumbledore doing?"
Snape leaned casually against a large tombstone, as if he hung out in graveyards all the time. "He was manipulating your mind, Potter. You see all those golden brambles in this desolate landscape? Those are Dumbledore's. He was using them to mold your mind into something that would be more beneficial to him than your newfound loathing."
Harry gaped at him and looked around the graveyard with wild eyes. The brambles were everywhere. They were also growing at an incredible speed. "How do I stop him?"
Snape shook his head. "You are no master of Occlumency. The lessons I had with you last year are proof enough of that. You can't stop him at all. I will be removing his influence from the main facilities of your mind for the time being, until we can properly remove him. This will be... a very hasty job. I've already started removing him from your decision-making center, and your current thoughts. Lucky for you, it isn't an active manipulation. It only comes into effect in Dumbledore's presence and isn't directly attached to the old man, so he won't be able to detect any changes I make in it. In a few moments, you will be able to resist Dumbledore's influence enough to lie about what happened five days ago, and to convince him that you are in his control enough so that he can leave the room with a free conscience. He mustn’t know about this power of yours, or he will put more compulsions on you."
Harry stared.
A slow smirk spread across Snape's face, though Harry thought could detect a hint of worry in his eyes. "Let's hope your acting skills are up to par, Potter."
The graveyard swirled around him and was swallowed in darkness. Harry felt a jolt, and then he was back under warm covers with a pillow behind his head. He opened his eyes to see Remus staring down at him, the skin around his eyes wrinkled with worry.
"Let's hope it was enough," the werewolf whispered to himself before nodding at Snape. The dark man went to the door and opened it for Dumbledore.
"Severus, my boy!" the old man greeted, eyes twinkling. "There was no need to lock the door," he said reasonably, "there are no threats to young Harry in this house."
"Of course, Headmaster," Snape said, lowering his head in deference.
Harry, meanwhile, lay completely still and watched the exchange with wary eyes. Snape shot him a look, reminding him of the professor's last words to him. He closed his eyes and forced himself to relax. Dumbledore had to believe that he was being completely truthful, but what if he used Legilimency?
"Harry, my boy, how are you feeling?"
When Harry opened his eyes, he put a smile on his face. "Just fine, Professor."
Dumbledore nodded amicably, and Harry felt guilty for a moment for doubting the Headmaster before he mentally bashed his skull against a wall. That was the golden bramble talking.
"Excellent! Then you're feeling well enough to tell me what happened on your birthday?" Grandfatherly blue eyes twinkled down at Harry from where he lay.
Harry laughed nervously. "Er, well you see, Professor, I don't actually know what happened. You probably know more about the whole thing than I do."
Dumbledore frowned and watched Harry with perceptive old eyes. "Really, Harry? You don't remember anything?"
Harry closed his eyes and shook his head, so he could break eye contact for a moment. His head hurt just a bit. "No, sir." Perhaps it would be best to not lie completely, and just withhold a little information. It would seem rather strange for him to just suddenly, and conveniently, forget everything that happened that night... "The last thing I remember is feeling a lot of pain, and then I passed out..." Harry tried to look concerned. "I thought... Was it Voldemort, Professor? Did he..."
Dumbledore's eyes narrowed in thought for a moment before returning to normal and twinkling happily. "It may have been, my boy. Though Severus didn't report any plans to attack your mind." At this, he turned an intense gaze to Snape.
"He didn't tell any of his servants plans of an attack, Headmaster, but he may have wanted it to be secret."
Dumbledore nodded slowly. "I see. Very well." He turned to Harry with a smile. "I will look into it. Get well soon, my boy," he said jovially before popping a lemon drop in his mouth and leaving the room.
It wasn't until the old man had left that Harry realized that he, himself, didn't really know what had happened. Why had he seen those runes? Was he seeing magic? And if he was able to do it five days ago, could he still? And why had it happened on his sixteenth birthday? Weren't inheritances supposed to come into effect during magical maturity on a wizard or witch's seventeenth birthday?
He also noticed that Dumbledore hadn't mentioned... what had been in Harry's room at number four Privet Drive. He must have seen the blood, and all of Harry's burnt belongings... hell, his wand was gone, too. Yet he hadn't said a thing. Hadn't asked why it had happened, hadn't asked how Harry felt about it all, hadn't even shown concern for Harry's well being.
What a fucking bastard.
"Remus?"
The werewolf looked at him, mildly surprised. "Yes?"
Harry bit his lip, and glanced at Snape before turning back to the werewolf. "Am... am I going to have to stay here, with Dumbledore, for the rest of summer?"
Surprisingly, Remus gave a small smirk. "Do you want to leave?"
Harry bit his lip. "Well... How can I, without Dumbledore getting in a fit about it? I... I don't want to be under his control. What if I lose sense of myself again, and I don't even realize it? Like what just happened earlier?"
Remus looked at Snape, who just shrugged, a gesture very out of place in the stuck-up potions master. He and Remus seemed to be pretty buddy-buddy... Again, Harry wondered why he had failed to notice it earlier. When the werewolf turned back to Harry, he had his full attention. "I think... the easiest and most efficient way for you to get away from here would be for you to 'run away' and vanish." At Harry's confused expression, he elaborated. "Severus and I will take you to his home, and you can stay there. When Dumbledore looks for you, we'll just say that we have no idea where you are."
Harry felt hope build in his chest. "Really? You can do that?"
Remus nodded, and was entirely unsuspecting when Harry launched out of bed and hugged him tightly. They fell to the ground with a thud, and Remus laughed. He looked down on Harry's messy head of hair and smiled.
"We'll take care of you, cub."
oOo
It was pathetically easy to sneak out of Grimmauld place. All they had to do was wait for Dumbledore to leave, then Harry walked right out the front door with a disillusioned Snape beside him, ready to side-along apparate him out of there. Remus had stayed behind because he supposedly 'didn't have a place to live', being a werewolf, and it wasn't at all unusual for Snape to be somewhere else. Besides, who would believe Snape of all people helping Harry Potter, his eternal enemy, escape? It was ridiculous.
Harry hadn't actually known where they were going beforehand. He didn't really know the reasoning behind it. He just hoped that Snape wasn't spiriting him away right into Voldemort's hands or something equally redundant and cliché.
Therefore, he was quite surprised when they arrived upon a cute little house on a muggle street in the middle of god only knew where. It was a quaint little place. A two-story building with small windows and an herb patch growing out front.
Entirely un-Snape-like.
"Hurry up, Potter. I may not look busy, but I have things I'd rather be doing than watching you stare at my house all day," Snape sniped. Harry mentally shook himself out of his stupor and followed the dark man into the house.
It was small, but seemed very open due to good lighting and warmly painted walls. They walked right into the kitchen, which was decent-sized for such a small place. Attached to it was a living room and a set of stairs.
"Your room is upstairs, the first door on the left. Don't touch anything in the house and break it. The door in the living room leads to my study. Don't go in there," Snape brusquely ordered, shutting the outside door.
"Since you don't have any personal belongings, I will be going to Diagon Alley tomorrow to shop for some essentials, like clothes. You can shop for more on your own, once you have learned Occlumency, and how to Apparate." Snape walked over to the counter and wandlessly warmed the water in the teakettle to boiling temperature. Harry stared. Snape poured the water into an odd kettle-strainer thingy. He could smell coffee. He just didn't know that one could make it without a coffee machine, like at the Dursley's.
"Why do I have to wait until I learn Occlumency?"
Snape looked up from the counter. He raised a cynical eyebrow. "What's the point of escaping from Dumbledore if you're just going to get caught by the first member of the Order that reads your surface thoughts and ruins your disguise?"
Harry, reluctantly, had to admit he had a point.
When his coffee was finished, Snape poured himself a cup and loaded a bunch of cream and sugar into it. Harry watched the man, not knowing what to think.
Snape sat at the table and saw Harry's expression. He raised a defensive eyebrow.
Harry blinked. "I just never took you for a cream and sugar kind of guy. I thought you'd like it black."
Snape snorted. "Remus likes it black, thought I can't imagine why." He scowled and shook his head. "Disgusting."
Harry chuckled slightly at the disgruntled look on Snape's face. Who would have thought.
There was an awkward silence, something not so out of place where Snape and Harry were concerned, without Remus there to mediate. Eventually, Harry just got sick of standing and looked for something to do with himself.
"You hungry?"
Snape looked up from his coffee and raised a disparaging eyebrow.
Harry shrugged. "Well, I just thought I'd cook us dinner. You mind if I use your kitchen?"
Snape seemed to deliberate over the question for a moment before he nodded almost imperceptibly. Harry took the initiative and looked through the cold box that wizards used in place of a fridge. There was, surprisingly, quite a bit of food in the box, though some of the vegetables were looking a little down. He wondered how often Remus or Snape cooked.
Harry pulled out what food he could save and tossed out the rest. Nearly emptying the cold box revealed a couple packages of steak hidden in the back. They weren’t even brown.
Meanwhile, Snape was watching Harry scrounge through his kitchen in interest, while trying not to look interested. He didn't really see what Harry was trying to accomplish. Since when did the boy cook?
Eventually, Snape got bored of watching Harry and left for his study, tossing a comment 'not to burn down his kitchen' while he was at it.
Harry ignored the slur.
When Remus came home later that night, it was to a delicious aroma wafting through the house and a reluctantly impressed Snape sitting at the table as Harry served up some grub.
"Well, this is certainly a welcome sight to come home to," Remus said jovially as he slipped out of his shoes and shuffled over to the table.
Harry looked up and smiled. Home? Remus lived here? "Hey, Remus! How are you?"
Remus sighed and fell into his chair. Harry hurried to set a plate for him. "Dumbledore's gone crazy, though I can't say I am surprised. He has the entire Order running all over the place trying to locate you, and no one is having any luck." He turned to Snape, amused. "The look on his face was quite entertaining, Severus. I'm sorry you had to miss it."
Snape chuckled, and Harry, who had been serving Remus some salad and steak, couldn't help but stare. The evil greasy git potions master Snape was laughing? Harry mentally gave himself a shake. Really, what was he doing thinking things like that now? Snape had been greasy and a git when Harry had been at Hogwarts. Here, in this house, with Remus, the man wasn't half bad at all. Had he always been that way? Had Harry just been too blinded by Dumbledore's influence? Or had Snape just been acting a git back then to play the part? It was all very confusing.
Without saying a word, he served himself some food and sat at the table. Dinner was a quiet affair although not surprising considering recent events. They didn't have much in common to talk about, either. Harry's wandering thoughts eventually lead him to the question how had Remus and Snape gotten so close? And living together?
Near the end of the meal, Harry couldn't hold back his curiosity anymore. He just had to know. "So, um... Remus, how long have you and Snape been..." He trailed off.
Remus smiled brightly. "It was a strange ordeal, really. I met him during my first year, and we often did potions homework together in the library. It was the only subject that James, Sirius and... Peter didn't like, so I had to try and find a study partner for it." He flushed slightly, embarrassed. "You see, I wasn't terribly good at potions, but I didn't want to keep such a bad mark like James and Sirius were content to do. We met for the first time in the library, me surrounded by a bunch of potions text books." He smiled wistfully. "Severus tossed a degrading comment, as he is woe to do, and I... er... told him to keep his trap shut and bugger off or help me out." Remus laughed. "The look on his face was priceless, and to my shock, he actually agreed to do it."
Harry watched the memories flash behind Remus's fond eyes. "I thought... Didn't James and Sirius hate Snape?"
Remus shook his head. "They didn't hate him right off the bat... It was... A few things added up..." At Harry's incredulously raised eyebrow, he sighed. "Well, James and Sirius were never very understanding or open-minded as children, and Peter just followed them around mindlessly. They, like kids will be, were possessive... When they found out I was hanging out with a Slytherin, they almost had aneurisms. They started picking on Snape, just because I was his friend. Through some misunderstanding, Snape thought I had turned my back on him and refused to talk to me, and I just didn't understand what had happened." Remus didn't sound sad, though, and the corner of his lips twitched upwards. "It wasn't until Sirius tricked Snape into going to the Shrieking Shack that things changed."
Harry frowned. "I don't get it. You seem almost happy that Snape started hating you after first year."
Remus smiled. "That's the part that's so ironic. My being a werewolf is actually the thing that brought Severus and I closer. If we had remained friends in school, the secrets we kept from each other would have eventually driven us apart, but because my secret was revealed to him, he was a little more open minded about being friends again."
Harry still looked confused.
Remus laughed. "You see, Harry, Severus is a vampire." When Harry's eyes widened in surprise, the werewolf grinned. "When he found out I was a werewolf, it gave us a bond. We were both classified as dangerous creatures by the ministry, and we were both hiding it from a school full of 400 children. We decided to pretend that Snape hated me, just so James and Sirius wouldn't become complete asses about our friendship again."
Harry's lips formed into an 'O'. "But then, why do you live together?"
Snape and Remus traded a look that had unease curling in Harry's stomach. What secret were they keeping?
"Harry... what's your opinion on homosexuality?"
Harry blinked, the question totally throwing off any nefarious plots being cooked up in his mind. "Huh?" He stared at the two for a minute, but both vampire and werewolf were just waiting for an answer. "Er... well, I know that in the muggle world it's not entirely accepted, and... that's about it."
Remus blinked. "Well, the Wizarding World accepts homosexuality as a very realistic occurrence, which is rather strange considering how anal they are about everything else. It depends on what country you're in, too..." He trailed off thoughtfully. "The only reason it ever becomes a problem is if the heir to a family line wants to marry a man, as a child can't come of the relationship."
Harry blinked. "Okay, what does that have to do with my question?" Then it clicked, and his jaw just dropped. "No... you two aren't..."
Remus chuckled nervously. "I've been with Severus since the end of seventh year, and I've been living with him for about ten years now."
Harry's brain just shut down. Remus... Snape... together? Did not compute. And Snape was a vampire. From what he remembered in DADA, vampires hated garlic, burned in the sunlight, and killed their victims when they drank their blood. Though, it was probably all a load of crock, as Snape had loved the garlic Harry had cooked the steak with, had walked in sunlight many times, and... blood. Hm...
"Er, do vampires kill their victims when they drink their blood?" he asked, putting aside the whole 'relationship' thought for another time. Better to deal with the immediate possible threat.
Snape stared at him coolly over his coffee. "It is indeed a possibility, but generally, no. If we did, we would have killed off the human race a long time ago. Our victims also don't turn into vampires with one bite. Most myths are incorrect. We can also eat solid food, though it doesn't give us any sustenance."
Harry hummed thoughtfully to himself. Snape had also been very fast, inhumanly so he remembered, in Harry's mindscape. Vampire, huh.
He had a lot to think about.
oOo
The first few days at Spinner's End, as Snape called it, Harry didn't really do much. For the most part, Remus and Snape just let him adjust to the house and his new situation. The only interaction they had for the first three days was when Snape gave Harry a mixture of muggle and wizarding clothes, and when Remus updated him on the 'Dumbledore Situation', as they liked to call it.
On the fourth day, however, the monotony changed.
Harry awoke instantly at the sound of a sharp rap on his bedroom door. Groggily, he rubbed his eyes and frowned. What in the world...?
"Potter, I know you're awake. Be downstairs in ten minutes." Snape's voice was slightly muffled. Harry didn't hear him leave, but then again, vampires were a quiet species, right?
It creeped him out, sometimes. Now he knew how Snape had always snuck up on him in the corridors to give him detentions.
With a giant yawn, he sat up in bed and tried to wake himself up. He had ten minutes to get dressed.
When he had finished, Harry walked down the stairs and entered the living room. He was a minute late, but who was counting?
"You're late, Potter."
Bugger.
Harry blinked innocently. "Good morning, Snape."
Snape's eyebrow twitched, but other than that, he was expressionless. Arms crossed over his chest, he gave off a daunting aura with his entirely black clothes.
"Legilimens."
It came out of nowhere, and Snape didn't even have a wand in his hand, so Harry was completely unprepared for the attack on his mind. Pictures of his summer at the Dursley's passed his vision: doing the chores, cooking all those delectable meals, eating the leftovers, looking through newspapers for any sign of Voldemort, taking the knife to the park, Vernon's 'birthday present', Hedwig, his wand, the shattering dome above him...
When Harry came to, he was flat on the floor, an ache bashing against his temples.
Snape was silent, for once, and didn't put forth any nasty comments on Harry's capabilities. When he finally spoke, all he did was ask, "How long have you cooked for them?"
Harry blinked slowly, the pain muddling his thoughts. How long... Why would Snape care? He'd just blasted through Harry's mind like that, and he wanted to know the answer to that kind of question?! He glared. "I started when I was five."
Snape watched him with black, emotionless pits. He felt them read into his eyes, but no memories started flashing, so he assumed Snape wasn't reading his mind. Finally, the vampire sat down in a chair, and an uncomfortable silence followed that was only broken by Harry sitting up slowly on the floor.
"I see," Snape conceded. The vampire blinked slowly at him and leaned back in his chair. "I will teach you proper Occlumency."
Harry frowned, confused. "What?"
Snape considered his words carefully. "I was teaching you in an ineffective manner." Something strange flashed behind Snape's eyes. "And you... are different than I allowed myself to believe."
He stared at Snape for a few moments, his mind uncomprehending of what the vampire was trying to say. Slowly, he realized exactly what was going on, and anger flared inside him from a pit of hatred. He was pissed. "You... you never even tried before?!" Flashes of Sirius falling through the veil superimposed over his vision. "You never even tried to teach me Occlumency properly?!" The conversation with Kreacher came to mind, the way the little wretch had made him think that Sirius wasn't at home. "You fucked with my head on purpose!!" The visions of Sirius being tortured by Voldemort. The false visions. "If you had taught me how to 'clear my mind' instead of bashing through my head yelling legilimens every night... SIRIUS WOULDN'T HAVE DIED IF YOU HAD JUST TAUGHT ME RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!!" Tears flowed down Harry's face, the first since the death of Hedwig.
Snape didn't even twitch. "There are many reasons you weren't taught properly, Potter." Seeing that Harry didn't look particularly willing to see reason, he ploughed on through. "Dumbledore was, of course, the main reason."
Harry's anger only increased as he switched targets. "What did the old bastard do this time?"
Amusement brought a bit of life to Snape's dark eyes. "He didn't want you to learn Occlumency, Potter. He wanted your mind weak to Voldemort's visions, and to his own manipulations."
Harry frowned. "But... he was constantly telling me to resist Voldemort, and to clear my mind before I went to bed."
Snape raised an eyebrow. "Clear your mind. Do you even know what that phrase means?"
Harry blinked. "Er... think of nothing?"
A slow smirk spread across the vampire's face. "My point exactly."
Harry just looked confused.
"You have absolutely no idea what that phrase means, and it's not your fault. I never explained it to you, because I was ordered not to. If you knew Occlumency, then Dumbledore wouldn't get his clues from Voldemort through you, and you would find out about Dumbledore's presence in your mind."
Harry stared at him, running the facts over again in his mind until they started to make a small bit of sense. "So... it was Dumbledore's fault that Sirius died?"
Snape gave him a look. "You can blame just about every bad occurrence in your life on him, Potter. And you could probably blame most of your brash behaviour on his influence as well. He wanted you to be in Griffindor, after all."
Something clicked, and Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "The hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, initially."
Snape's eyes widened imperceptibly. "You... could have been one of my snakes?" The idea seemed completely foreign to him.
Harry nodded, and took the time to sit down in the lull of conversation. “I argued with it, because I met Malfoy… and Ron, McGonagall, and Hagrid… they all said Slytherin was full of dark wizards.” He wondered what it would have been like, if Snape had been his head of house. It seems the 'greasy git' wasn't much of a git after all, though his hair was still as greasy as ever...
So, Dumbledore was behind everything, huh? But some of it was Harry's fault. If he had just been thinking straight, he wouldn't have run off to 'save' Sirius on his own, and then his godfather wouldn't have died...
"You're wrong, Potter."
Harry looked up and blinked. Had he said that out loud?
"He was going to get himself killed sooner or later, Potter."
Harry gaped at him.
"Black wasn't entirely lucid after his little trip to Azkaban." His eyes were uncaring, bottomless pits, but Harry could see a small ember flicker in the coals. "Dumbledore locked him away in that house, a place full of nothing but bad memories, and wouldn't let him leave, help the Order, or see you, the only thing that kept him sane in Azkaban.
"Even if Dumbledore hadn't affected your logic and sent you running to the Department of Mysteries, Black would have escaped Grimmauld Place and killed himself some other way, Potter. He couldn't have stayed locked up forever. It would have driven him mad."
Snape watched Harry carefully. If the boy couldn't accept this, he would never be able to learn Occlumency. It would haunt him for years, and would serve as a weakness, a back door into his mind if an attacker knew what to look for.
Harry stared down at his feet. He wasn't sure if he was ready to accept that. Sure, Dumbledore had manipulated him, but Sirius was still dead. The pain wouldn't disappear just because he knew it wasn't entirely his fault. Just like the ache in his chest from his more recent losses wouldn't fade.
"Dumbledore... he really is a complete bastard... isn't he?" It was more of a statement of fact than a question. "He influenced my mind, my decisions, my life..." Warm liquid built in Harry's eyes, blurring the vision of his clenched hands. "How far did he go? Where... where does it stop? Why did he do it?" Harry was ashamed to admit that his voice cracked on the last syllable.
If Harry had looked up, he would have seen pity flash through Snape's eyes. "Never teach a tool to think for itself, Potter. I don't know the extent of it myself, but from the moment you met the Weasleys, you were being manipulated by him. I don't know when the compulsions, the brambles, were implanted, but he's been influencing your mind and coercing your decisions for a while now, Potter. The... damage will take some time to repair."
Harry wrapped his arms around himself, stubbornly refusing to let the tears fall. "Damage? How long?"
Snape shifted in his seat. "That depends entirely on you. If you take easily to Occlumency, it could take a month. If you have difficulty with it... it could take years."
Harry's eyes widened. That was a long time. "Well, when do we start?" he asked, determined to get rid of Dumbledore's control over his life as soon as possible. The moisture evaporated from his eyes.
Snape smirked slightly. "Right now."
-Toki Mirage-
Bit of a cliffhanger, I guess, but it's a good transition point.
Let me know what you think! I’m not taking the story in a completely different direction, but I am making Harry’s transition to Shikaan a little more realistic, and adding lots of new touches along the way. (grins) I’m very happy with how this is turning out. I spent quite a bit of time on the Snape/Harry confrontation, trying to get it right, because Snape wouldn’t suddenly and magically just care about Harry and stuff. I think Snape and Remus adopting Harry in my previous version was quite unrealistic, as many readers have noticed in the past. Thank you all for your support!
Again, I’m sorry about the review thing. If you have a signed review on any of these chapters, FF won’t let you write another. I understand it can be irritating.
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Bloody Skies