Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Arcane Academy	By : fazed Category: HP Canon Characters paired with Original Characters > Slash - Male/Male Views: 67604 -:- Recommendations : 8 -:- Currently Reading : 29
Disclaimer: All characters, settings, etc. of Harry Potter are the property of their respective owners, J.K. Rowling. The author in no way profits from this story.

Chapter List
- 20
- 21
- 22
Chapter 21

Albus looked at the heritage tapestry and tapped his chin thoughtfully. The tapestry only recorded the last seven generations, but that should be more than sufficient to narrow down the magical creature heritage Potter recently received. The names on the tapestry were written in red for wizard, blue for full-blooded magical creature, and purple for wizards with a magical creature parent. Non-magical ancestors were left off entirely. Unfortunately, since he'd had to use Harry's human blood to create the tapestry, it didn't show Harry's inheritance.

Starting from the top, Albus saw three silver names. However, his eyes widened in surprise when he saw that the children of two of the names were red instead of purple. He placed his finger on Amity Dubois's name and traced it down two generations, where her granddaughter's name was written in silver. Apparently, the Siren ancestry could skip generations. He looked at the other name and traced Raja Kadel's name down three generations, where two of his great-grandson's names were written in silver. So the Heliopath ancestry could skip generations, as well.

Scanning the rest of the tapestry, Albus saw two Veela, one Wood Elf, and one Snake Demon, but all of the names directly under those names were written in purple. Albus grinned smugly. Now that he had Potter's inheritance narrowed down to two, it should make finding the brat much easier.

Albus pushed the tapestry aside and looked out the window, a scowl crossing his face when he saw Fawke's empty perch. He suddenly growled softly and set the perch on fire. If it weren't for him telling everyone that it was mating season for phoenixes, Albus’ reputation would have taken a serious blow from the bloody bird's disappearing act. Fortunately, most people weren't that knowledgeable about phoenixes, so no one doubted his claim. No doubt, the traitor had fled to Potter’s side the first chance he got.

Voldemort’s horcruxes was another issue Albus still needed to deal with. He found the diadem in the Room of Requirement over the summer and destroyed it immediately. He found another horcrux, the Gaunt ring, over the Christmas holidays, but he hadn’t destroyed it yet. He also had a good idea of where to find the locket, but the goblet and Nagini were still out of his reach for the moment. Of course, once those were destroyed, Albus still needed Potter in hand to destroy the final horcrux within the brat before he could defeat Voldemort.

Albus reached into his desk drawer and picked up the Gaunt ring. He held the ring reverently as he stared at the engraved stone. He just couldn’t bring himself to destroy this horcrux simply because it was so much more than that. This ring was also the famed Resurrection Stone, one of the three Deathly Hallows, and the Hallow that he’d spent the majority of his life trying to find. With the Resurrection Stone, and the judicious use of a few spells he’d found over the years, he could control the spirits the ring called forth.

Holding the ring delicately in his fingers, Albus stared at the symbol on the ring in fascination. Trying out the ring before the horcrux within had to be destroyed wouldn’t hurt anyone, would it? He wouldn’t wear it long, certainly not long enough for the horcrux to try to gain control over him. With that thought in mind, Albus confidently slid the ring onto his right ring finger.

Unfortunately for Albus, it wasn’t the horcrux he had to worry about. As soon as the ring was on his finger, a deadly curse on the ring became active. Albus’ right hand began to blacken and shrivel up before slowly spreading up his arm. He quickly ripped the ring off his finger and grabbed Gryffindor’s sword off the wall, cracking the stone with the blade, hoping that would be enough to break the curse. His hopes were in vain, however, as the deadly curse still continued to spread, creeping up his arm toward his elbow.

Stumbling to the floo, Albus frantically fire-called Severus.

XxX

Severus scowled as he graded his last class’s exams. If these scores were any indication, he wouldn’t have to worry about admitting any of them into his N.E.W.T. level classes. So far, the highest score was an A, and that was being generous.

The floo in his office suddenly activated, and Severus wanted to curse viciously. There was only one person who would be bothering him right now, and that was Albus Dumbledore. A second later, he was proven correct when Albus’ head appeared in the flames with a frantic shout of Severus’ name.

“What is it now, Albus?” asked Severus with a weary sigh.

“Severus, I need you in my office as quickly as possible, and bring some healing potions with you,” Albus ordered quickly.

“What kind of healing potions?” asked Severus warily.

“Bring them all if you have to, but hurry,” snapped Albus before ending the call abruptly.

Severus stared at the fireplace for a long moment before a slow smile curled his lips. It seemed that Albus had gotten into a little trouble and needed his help to fix whatever mess he’d managed to make. Perhaps Albus’ end would come sooner than he thought. Grabbing a phial of every single healing potion he had in stock, Severus stalked to the fireplace and flooed directly to the Headmaster’s office.

When Severus stepped out of the fireplace, Albus immediately help up his blackened, shriveled hand. “Fix it, Severus. That damn ring had a curse on it.”

Severus stared incredulously at the Headmaster. “You mean the ring you found over the Yule holidays? The one that was turned into a horcrux?”

“Yes, Severus, that one,” snapped Albus impatiently.

“What in Merlin’s name possessed you to put that ring on your finger? You knew it was dangerous,” asked Severus irritably.

“Never you mind about that, Severus. Just fix my arm,” said Albus.

Severus scowled at the old man and stepped forward to examine Albus’ arm. He promptly had to bite back a smug grin at the results of his examination. He recognized the curse on the Headmaster’s arm, and there was no cure for it. Albus was going to die, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

“Albus, there is no cure for this curse. The most I can hope to do is to slow the spread of the curse, but it will only extend your life a few more months,” said Severus with false sympathy.

Albus stared at Severus in horror. “A few months? That’s it?”

“Albus, the curse was designed to kill its victim in a matter of hours,” Severus patiently explained. He grabbed one of the healing potions and handed it to the old man. “Take this. It should slow the curse down long enough to give me time to make a more suitable potion.”

Albus cursed softly and drank the potion. Of all the rotten luck. All of his carefully laid plans were ruined by one moment of stupidity. He should have known the ring was cursed, considering the family it came from, but he’d ignored common sense in his desire to use the Resurrection Stone before it had to be destroyed.

Albus suddenly paused thoughtfully. Maybe he could still continue with his plans. He could create his own horcrux and have Severus revive him once the curse was complete. But who should he use to create it? The Malfoy boy! The little brat already had a mission to try to kill him. Instead of using the Malfoy boy’s mission to fake his death, lulling Voldemort into a false sense of security and cementing Severus’ role as a loyal Death Eater, he would kill the Malfoy heir to create a horcrux for himself.

Severus stared at the Headmaster warily. He didn’t like the look in the old man’s eyes. It was a look he’d seen far too often these days, and it never boded well for anyone but Albus.

“Has the Malfoy boy made any progress in his mission?” asked Albus quickly.

“I don’t know. Draco hasn’t seen fit to confide in me these days,” said Severus slowly, a sense of dread settling in his stomach.

“Well see if you can find out. I need to know when he makes his attempt so I can be ready for him,” said Albus calmly.

Severus silently cursed. He never should have told Albus about Draco’s mission. Regrettably, he’d informed the Headmaster before the Potter incident, when he’d learned the truth about the old wizard. And now the old man had something vile planned, something involving Draco.

“I doubt you actually have anything to worry about with Draco,” said Severus. “It should be fairly simple to stun the boy and create a memory of me killing you.”

A strange smile crossed Albus’ face at that. “It’s best to be prepared for any eventuality, Severus.”

Severus felt a chill climb up his spine at the sight of that smile, and he silently vowed to get Draco out of Hogwarts as soon as possible. There was no way in hell he was going to give Albus the chance to do whatever he had planned to Draco. “Indeed. Then if that is all, I need to start brewing your potions.”

“Of course, Severus,” said Albus benignly.

Severus immediately turned and flooed back to his office. He had his own plans to make.

XxX

Lupin,

As much as I hate to say this, I need your help. I swore an Unbreakable Vow to Narcissa Malfoy, swearing to protect her son’s life, and unfortunately, Draco Malfoy’s life is now in grave danger. I’m afraid that Albus plans to kill him to either make a horcrux of his own, using Draco’s death to create it, or to perform a ritual of some sort to transfer a deadly curse from his arm onto Draco’s body.

To fulfill my Vow to Narcissa, I’m asking you to provide a safe haven for Draco until the war is over, Lupin. There’s nowhere else safe enough for him to go.

Severus Snape

Remus slowly set the letter aside with a loud sigh. He didn’t know why he was constantly surprised by the evil deeds Dumbledore continued to commit. After all, he’d willingly left Harry to die at the hands of his abusers. But it did. There was still a small part of him that still saw Dumbledore as the kind old man that planted the Whomping Willow and provided him a safe place for his monthly transformations while he attended Hogwarts. How could that kindly old man turn into something so twisted and dark that he was willing to sacrifice any one to gain more power?

Bill walked into the kitchen with Gwen asleep in his arms. He paused slightly at the pensive look on his lover’s face. “What’s wrong, Remus?” he asked as he sat down at the table.

Remus just handed Bill the letter.

Bill looked at the letter warily as he took it from Remus and began to read. He shook his head in disbelief. He hadn’t thought Dumbledore could sink any lower, but apparently he was wrong. He looked up at Remus and said, “I don’t mind the kid staying here as long as he swears an Unbreakable Vow not to harm Gwen or Harry. After all, we certainly have plenty of room.”

“Right now we do,” said Remus dryly. “But I imagine it’s going to be pretty crowded once the summer holidays start.”

Bill frowned slightly in confusion. “Why do you say that? It’ll just be us, Harry, and the Malfoy boy.”

Remus stared at his lover in disbelief. “I would think your parents would want to visit to see the baby, and I’m quite sure they’ll be bringing the rest of the family, including Hermione. And if you think Harry’s three mates are going to allow Harry out of their sight for the entire summer, you’ve lost your mind. Those three are very possessive of Harry, after all. And then there’s the fact that we promised to allow Grey to visit his daughter any time he wishes, so he’ll probably spend a few weeks here over the summer. Plus, we’re already one room short because we turned one of the guest bedrooms into a nursery for Gwen.”

Bill’s eyes widened in panic, having only heard the first sentence of Remus’ rant. He knew he’d forgotten something. “Mum’s going to kill me! I completely forgot to tell her about Gwen.”

Remus snickered softly and took Gwen from the redhead. “Maybe you’ll luck out, and she’ll be too ecstatic about being a grandmother to even consider killing you.”

“I can only hope,” said Bill miserably as he grabbed a piece of parchment and a quill.

Remus just grinned and carried Gwen out of the kitchen. He had a letter of his own to write. He needed to give Harry fair warning about the Malfoy boy's impending stay at the cottage.

XxX

Harry was startled awake by a flash of fire. He sat up quickly, forgetting that he’d fallen asleep on the sofa while doing his homework, and almost fell to the floor. He gasped in surprise when he saw Fawkes standing on the coffee table.

As soon as Harry was looking at him, the phoenix pushed something across the table toward the brunet. Harry looked down curiously and saw a large red, speckled egg. “You want me to have this?” he asked slowly.

Fawkes dipped his head in agreement. Harry carefully picked up the egg, surprised at the warmth exuding through the shell. However, as soon as the egg was in Harry’s grasp, the phoenix burst into flames, but no baby phoenix emerged from the ashes. Instead, a sudden breeze swept through the room, scattering the ashes everywhere.

Harry blinked back tears when he realized what that meant. Fawkes was dead, and the only thing Harry had to remind him of the dear phoenix’s presence was the egg cradled in his hands. Unbidden, a tear slid down his cheek and landed on the egg. The teardrop sizzled briefly, and then the egg shook.

Harry jumped in surprise and looked down at the egg just as a long crack appeared in the eggshell. Several more cracks quickly followed before a small piece of the shell broke off and fell onto Harry’s lap. A moment later, a tiny beak gripped the edge of broken shell and pulled, breaking the shell further. Then a tiny red and golden head poked through the hole and chirped softly.

“Hello, little one,” whispered Harry, helping the tiny phoenix the rest of the way out of the shell.

The phoenix chirped happily and ruffled its tiny sparsely feathered wings.

Harry smiled softly and stroked a finger along one of the phoenix’s wings. “Now we just need a name for you.” He stared down at the phoenix for a long moment before a smile crossed his face. “How about Pyralis? It means ‘of fire.’ Appropriate for a phoenix, don’t you think?”

Focussed as he was on his new phoenix, Harry didn’t hear anyone enter the room until Tristan said, “Harry, what in the world is that ugly thing?”

“A baby phoenix,” said Harry.

Tristan stared at Harry in shock. “Where the hell did you get a baby phoenix?”

“Fawkes gave him to me just before he died,” said Harry sadly.

“You mean your old Headmaster’s phoenix?” asked Tristan incredulously. “Phoenixes are immortal, Harry. Maybe it just had a burning day, and you didn’t see it revive.”

“Tristan, Fawkes burst into flames, turned to ashes, and then scattered in the wind,” said Harry calmly. “Nothing is truly immortal, Tristan. Everything dies eventually.”

Tristan sighed and sat on the sofa beside Harry, looking at phoenix chick curiously. “So have you named it yet?”

“Pyralis,” said Harry softly. Before he could say anything else, Dobby popped into the room with an excited bounce.

“Harry Potter Sir, your wolfie has a letter for you.” Dobby started to hand the letter to Harry, but then he saw the phoenix. His eyes widened in awe at the sight. “I knew Harry Potter Sir was a great wizard, and now Harry Potter Sir has phoenix familiar.”

“Thanks, Dobby,” said Harry. He suddenly smiled as a thought occurred to him. “I don’t suppose you can get me some treats and food for my new phoenix, could you, Dobby?”

“Dobby be happy to, Harry Potter Sir,” said Dobby eagerly. “Dobby be right back.” Almost tossing the letter in his hand to Harry, Dobby disappeared from the room with a loud pop.

Harry shook his head in amusement and opened the letter. As he read, however, a anger began to build inside him. Dumbledore was absolutely insane to even consider the idea of creating a horcrux. He knew what such dark magic did to people. He’d seen Voldemort in all his reptilian glory, after all.

“That man is going to come to an unpleasant end one day soon,” said Tristan coldly.

“Yes, he will,” Harry agreed softly. ‘Be careful, Snape. Dumbledore is far from a helpless old man.’

Dobby popped back into the room just then with a huge burlap sack. “Here is Harry Potter Sir’s phoenix treats and food.”

“Thank you, Dobby. I appreciate all your hard work,” said Harry sincerely.

Dobby promptly burst into tears. “Harry Potter Sir just gets kinder every time Dobby see him.”

Harry smiled fondly at the house-elf. Dobby was certainly an indispensable ally and a great friend.

Dobby suddenly scowled and sighed irritably. “Dobby must go. Dumbdore be calling Dobby to him.”

“Be careful around, Dumbledore, Dobby. He’s-”

“Dobby knows. Dumbdore bad wizard. Dobby always careful around him,” said Dobby firmly. With that said, he popped out of the room.

“He’ll be fine, Harry,” said Tristan reassuringly. “Now let’s see what he brought us.” Tristan got off the sofa and grabbed the burlap sack. He opened it and peered inside, jaw dropping in shock at the sheer amount of food packed into the bag. “I don’t think your phoenix will go hungry anytime soon, Harry.”

Harry grinned at the redhead. “That’s Dobby for you. He always goes that extra mile for his friends.” He looked at the tiny phoenix in his arms and looked back to Tristan. “Is there anything a baby phoenix can eat? You know, something soft?”

“There is, actually,” said Tristan, pulling a small tin out of the bag. He opened it open and promptly grimaced, carrying the tin over to Harry. “Have fun with that.”

The contents of the tin didn’t bother Harry one bit. After all, he had owned an owl before, and Hedwig was quite fond of leaving him partially eaten mice and snakes as gifts. Harry scooped some of the sliced worms onto a transfigured bowl and set Pyralis on the table to eat. The phoenix chirped happily and promptly dug in.

“Have you thought about when you want to bond with us?” asked Tristan abruptly.

“I’m curious about that, as well,” said Octvaius, stepping out of the shadows and pulling Zenith with him.

“Stalker,” muttered Tristan.

“How did you get your hands on a newborn phoenix, Harry?” asked Zenith, staring at the phoenix curiously.

“Fawkes brought it to me,” said Harry with a sad smile. “Pyralis hatched less than an hour ago.”

“It looks like a plucked chicken. Are you sure it’s a phoenix?” asked Octavius bluntly.

Harry snickered at that. “When I saw Fawkes’ rebirth for the first time, I thought he looked like a half-plucked turkey.”

Octavius just shrugged and flopped down beside Harry. “Now what have you decided about our bonding?”

“I thought we could bond a few days before school let out for summer holidays,” said Harry hesitantly.

Zenith nodded approvingly. “That’s perfect, actually. There are no classes the last week of school to give the professors time to grade and return all of the end of year tests.”

“Yeah, and I need to talk to Healer Carrington about contraceptives because I am nowhere near ready for children,” said Harry emphatically. “I still have another year of school and a Mastery to pursue. Not to mention having to deal with Voldemort and Dumbledore.”

“Time to celebrate!” cried Octavius gleefully. He pulled Harry off the sofa and ushered him toward his bedroom, stripping the brunet’s shirt off as they went.

Tristan and Zenith quickly followed the pair. They were all for a little celebration.

Pyralis looked up from his food and chirped in amusement. Life with these four certainly wouldn’t be dull.

XxX

Molly bustled around the kitchen, busy preparing breakfast, when an owl swooped through the open window and dropped a letter on the table. Before she could even offer the owl a treat of any sort, the bird hooted softly and flew back out the window. She shook her head and picked up the letter, smiling when she saw Bill’s familiar handwriting on the envelope. She eagerly opened the letter and started reading.

Mum,

I hope you’re doing well and that Dumbledore isn’t causing too much trouble. If he is, though, I have some news that’s sure to cheer you up.

Remus and I are fathers now. We adopted a baby girl a month ago and named her Gwendolyn Grace Lupin, but we call her Gwen. She’s perfect, Mum, like a little angel.

As her grandmother, you are, of course, welcome to visit any time. However, you should know that we have a few extra guests staying this summer. Snape asked us to allow Draco Malfoy to stay with us, and we agreed. Gwen’s carrier will also be spending part of the summer here to visit with his daughter.

Sorry for not telling you sooner, but we’re still adjusting to having a child. It’s a lot of work, and I have newfound respect for you for having seven of them. We look forward to seeing you soon.

Love, Bill

Molly stared down at the letter in shock before a happy squeal escaped her mouth. Her oldest son had finally granted her deepest wish and made her a grandmother. She quickly grabbed the picture that was sent along with the letter and cooed at the adorable baby girl. She was simply gorgeous with her cute little tufts of golden blonde hair and wide grey eyes.

Molly couldn’t wait to meet her new granddaughter. She was a little worried about the fact that Draco Malfoy would be at the cottage with the new family, though. There was also the matter of the baby’s biological carrier being involved, but she trusted Bill’s judgment. If they were alright with all this, then she had no room to complain.

“What’s got you in such a good mood, dear?” asked Arthur as he walked into the kitchen for supper. He sat down at the table and poured himself some pumpkin juice.

Molly smiled happily and said, “Bill has finally done his duty as our eldest son and has given us a granddaughter.”

Arthur promptly choked on the pumpkin juice he was drinking. “W-What? When did that happen? I didn’t even realize either of them was pregnant.”

“Oh, they weren’t,” said Molly dismissively. “They adopted a little girl. Isn’t she beautiful?”

Arthur took the picture Molly was waving in front of his face and looked at his new granddaughter. He smiled warmly at the scene. The baby was lying in Remus’ arms as Bill kissed her little hands. It was obvious to him that the two men were already head over heels for the little girl. “She certainly is, Molly.”

“Oh, I wish they’d told me sooner. I have so much knitting to do for the baby,” said Molly. With that said, she hurried out of the kitchen to do just that, forgetting all about the cooking food.

Arthur just shook his head fondly and finished the cooking. It was nice to see his wife this happy again. With all the stress from Dumbledore’s manipulations and schemes, those times were few and far between these days.
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Arcane Academy