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Shades of Grey	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 103926 -:- Recommendations : 6 -:- Currently Reading : 21
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor do I make any money off this dance in the realm of strangeness and smut

Chapter List
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Chapter 21

Beta'd by the amazing Tenchi. You're the best, woman, and thank you!

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Grinning, Remus chuckled as he watched Harry and Sirius horsing around in the pool. It was amusing to watch, that's for sure! They were playing some kind of game with a ball, batting it back and forth, but seemed to spend more time trying to dunk each other or wrestling around than playing the game. Which was fine, really. After all, the two were having a great time. That's all that mattered.

Looking at Lucius, who was seated near him under the umbrella with Kaliya draped around his shoulders, then over to Severus, who was lounging in slacks and a short sleeved shirt, he found himself quite pleased with the change of circumstances that had happened. Though dubious, as anyone would expect, of just who was looking out for Harry, he found that had pretty much been set aside. It was apparent there was really nothing to worry about so he wasn't going to do so. No, this was all good so he would work with it from there.

Taking a sip of his drink, he then sat it down on the small table and asked, softly, deciding to bring up one of the topics that probably did need to be hashed out still, or at the very least the start of it needed to come about, “That memory you showed us—Albus said something about thinking there are more of those—nasty things out there. Any idea what he meant by that? Or how many there might be?”

“Not really, no,” Severus said, shaking his head. “However, if he’s created at least two, and from what Lucius was able to determine with Narcissa’s help it’s probably a safe bet that he did, we don’t think, and what Albus said seems to back this theory up, that he intended to make the one embedded in Harry’s scar. It was a mistake he made, nothing more.”

“Narcissa was of the opinion that his soul was unstable enough from having done it before that it was accidental. That would mean there are more as it would take more than one to make your soul unstable enough to cause that kind of accident. However, I'm at a loss as to where to look either or how many there may be. The diary is the only one we can pinpoint. The only other assist we can find is not one that's big. It's just a spell that can detect one. If we can find something, we can confirm it. That's not what we need, though.” Lucius told him, sitting his glass of wine down, stroking Kaliya's head.

“I'll give you a copy of the spell before I take you back. If you run across something suspicious, you can try it. It's as Lucius said though; we have no idea where to look for such a thing,” Severus told him with a sigh. “If Albus is leaning in that direction and has hints as to what they could be, it's also doubtful he's going to tell anyone. After all, he hordes such information closely with no one knowing just what he's doing. Nor do I know a way to get him to open up and impart what we need without it looking suspicious.”

Hissing contentedly as Lucius stroked his head, Kaliya was listening in to what was being said. After all, such discussions were fascinating to him. Besides, he liked being able to assist when he could. The topic, as it had been discussed before, at least part of it, was easier on him since he understood it. While listening in, something hit him. Head coming up, he thought it over for a few minutes, tuning out the discussion, then slithered off Lucius and made his way to the pool. Wary of getting in because Harry and his godfather were playing around roughly, he hissed Harry's name until the young man looked his way. Asking him to come over to the edge, something Harry did, he quickly conferred with the young man over what he was thinking, trying to get some information that might confirm his suspicion.

Eyes wide as he listened to Kaliya, Harry held up his hand to stop Sirius from splashing him, then looked at Severus and Lucius, “Um—Kaliya thinks he might know where one of the Horcruxes is.”

Brow drawing down, Lucius glanced at Severus, who also looked slightly bewildered, then back to Harry. Waiting for Black to join them, he asked, “Where? And how does he know?”

“Remember that discussion we had about Nagini and how she's changed?” Seeing the two men nod, he looked at Severus then asked, “Didn't Lord Lunatic kill some witch when he was hiding out before the World Cup? In Albania?”

“Bertha Jorkins, yes,” Severus confirmed.

“It was after that Nagini began to change. Kaliya says the evil taint from the chunk of his soul would be enough to mutate her,” Harry explained, looking around while rubbing the snake's head.

Eyes wide, Severus looked at the snake then to Lucius, who also appeared stunned. “It—that might be the case. It would also be the reason they are so close and he is so rabid about protecting her.”

Listening in, Sirius reached out to stroke the snake's head, nodding, “Yeah, well, if that's the case and the snake is one, we're going to have a bitch of a time getting at her to kill her. I can't see her allow us to remove it either, at least without a fight that we won't want to have.”

“Though she would be perfect to attempt a removal of the Horcrux to see what we can do with such an operation, that's not something I would chance,” Lucius said with a shake of his head. “I wouldn't even know how to grab her, let alone subdue her enough to get her here. Then would come the issue of keeping her calm enough to attempt anything. After all, if she contains a piece of him, he's going to know something is off and move everything to find her once more. Not to mention sending him off the deep end and causing him to be worse than he already is. That—it might make matters all the worse in the end.”

Listening in, Kaliya's head swiveled between all the parties then he said, “If what you have said is correct in that Dumbledore thinks that your death will remove the Horcrux from you but you won't really die, wouldn't hers do the same? It may not as we snakes don't have the complex bodies you do not to mention the intelligence, at least not the most common snakes, that humans are gifted with.”

After translating that, Harry said, “Well, yeah, but I don't think any of us want to get close enough to her to even try it! I mean, she's all but attached to him at all times. He doesn't even let her far out of his sight from what I know. Not to mention she's rather vicious to deal with, especially now.”

“I could do it,” Kaliya said, curling up then his upper body rising off the ground as he looked at the others gathered there. “My venom would be enough to kill her. The taint wouldn't be enough to stave that off. Death would come quickly with enough of a dose applied. Nor am I worried about taking on a snake like her. No, I could easily manage that, especially if we could formulate a way for me to have the element of surprise in doing so. And, if it's as this Dumbledore character says, and death wouldn't actually happen, she wouldn't contain that taint anymore. After that, I could easily fill her in on what is truly going on. This—it has to be a torturous existence for a serpent. I understand she is loyal to him for some reason, but an evil such as this possessing you, especially for an animal that doesn't have the capacity for choice as humans do, has to be like a living hell. If we could manage that, she would be able to assist, provided it hasn't driven her into madness. Then, well, though I don't say this often, death would probably be something far preferable to that as it would be a hopeless situation.”

Leaning forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped between them, Lucius looked at Kaliya then around. Sighing, he said, “It is a good plan that I do like. However, the issue is getting our hands on her. Mayhaps we could subdue her with a spell long enough to get her here, especially if we could find one somewhere in books that's used for anesthetizing animals. That would work and 'killing' her would be something easily done then. However, after that is where the issues come in. I'm not certain that we could get her to listen. Madness, as you said, may be an issue as well. It could assist, no doubt there, and might be worth looking into. It's just I don't know how we would manage! He is very protective of her. We can't just go in and kidnap her with no one being the wiser. It would take some serious formulation of plans to get her alone then one of us vanishing with her without the Dark Lord knowing who did it.”

Lowering his body, head resting on his coils, Kaliya thought it over then told Harry, “If Severus could only talk to her! He could persuade her with some ruse to come with him! Or at least confuse her enough that he could stun her in some way then remove her.”

“That's the problem; he can't,” Harry sighed after translating what was said. “The only one in Britain other than Lord Loony that can talk to snakes is me. And there is no way I can go and try. He would know in seconds it was me then all hell would break loose.”

The tip of his tail twitching in an agitated way as he thought, Kaliya harkened back to what he was thinking about the night before. Head rising slightly, he asked Harry, “Can you inquire of Severus that if I could find a way to where he can speak the language of serpents if he would be willing to attempt such an endeavor? It is risky, this I’m aware, but it may be worth it. Her assist would be an immeasurable help! And if she's here, I'm certain that if madness hasn't taken hold I can persuade her to give an assist. After all, the three of you are wonderful companions that treat me well. I could easily explain that to her. I'm certain you would do the same for her, would you not?”

“Sure! I mean, she's not evil herself. It's what's in her that's making her that way,” Harry said. “I don't have a problem with her other than what's going on. If she's like you and doesn't go after us, I don't think it would be a problem.” Translating the conversation, he looked around, waiting.

Rubbing his upper lip with one finger, Severus looked at the snake and thought it over then said, slowly, “I'm not sure even if I could speak Parseltongue I could manage to convince her of anything! However, I could attempt it, especially with a ruse of some kind that would confuse her. It would just be a cautious dance. The rub comes in here as to how I would manage to learn to speak such a thing. From all we know, it's not like a foreign language; you can't just learn it. It has to come from birth, usually something that is gifted only through certain familial lines. And, as far as I'm aware, there is only one of those in Britain nor is it one I'm descended from.”

“I may know a way,” Kaliya said, hissing softly, lowering back down. “I need an assist though. Some research has to be done. There are books I know from my homeland that talk about a bond between my kind and those that attend to our temples. It's something that, I believe, can create the ability. If it can't, there may be another way as you, Harry, can speak our language. It, of course, comes from a bond I would create. I'm unsure what that all entails, however. As I was taken away before I could fully learn how to attend to such matters, I'm not certain how to go about such delicate operations.” Looking around, he said, “The bond, though, might assist. In more ways than just being allowed to communicate. It is a powerful one, something that can override others. The issue for me is that I know not how to do it. Those books may give me the rudimentary knowledge that I would need to attempt it.”

Having been listening in, Remus hadn't said anything up to this point. Part of that came from wanting to hear what was said and digest it. Another part was he was stunned by what was being imparted. He remembered Lucius saying how smart Kaliya was. As he had no way to communicate with the snake, and nothing up to this point had shown it, he hadn't thought much about it. This, though—it was astounding! It also was something that could work, if they could manage it. “What kind of bond? Do you know? Bonds are very tricky things with strange side effects. We have to be cautious about what we do with them. Is it reversible or something you have forever?”

Swiveling his head to look at Remus, Kaliya imparted, “This is why I would like an assist. There is one I know of that is rather like what is termed a hive mind, thought not exactly like that and not all things are shared. It can bind beings together and they can share abilities that are there. However, it's something I want more information on before I would even attempt it. As you said, there may be consequences I don't know about. Those I want to try to find before I attempt doing so. I do believe, with what I remember of what was imparted to me from my time in the temple, that all such bonds we make are breakable. My kind makes them with those that attend to our temples so they can learn certain aspects, such as our language, then the skills that are needed become permanent as it's come about from a passive way to learn them. Once that is done, the bond is broken so neither party suffers. As I said, however, I don't want to attempt this without knowing what else may come from it. There are books on the topic. I thought, mayhaps, if any of you could find them, one of you could read them to me and I might be able to garner the knowledge I need to meld it with what I already know to be able to figure out how to go about such a binding.”

“You tell us what you're looking for and we'll find them,” Sirius told the snake. Hauling himself out of the pool, he sat on the edge, reaching out to rub the snakes head. Thinking it over, he looked around then asked, “You said they can override other bonds?”

Hissing contentedly at the head rub, Kaliya said, “Oh, yes, they can. They are quite powerful. The bonds that are shared with those that attend to our temples are among the most powerful out there as they are specific. It overrides many others, including mating bonds. It was my thought that if I could garner the knowledge needed, mayhaps that would assist in breaking the bond that is there for Harry and Lucius through those marks. It is something I should be able to target. However, as I stated, I want information before I attempt it. These books—I know not what is in them or what they may impart. There are ones, though, that are written by our temple guardians. Those should have the information I need, at least the basics of what is there. As one of our temples isn't close enough so I could visit to garner the knowledge from the old and wise ones, this is the only way I see to attempt to find what I need.” Stopping, lowering down, tail twitching as Sirius rubbed the spot he really liked, he let out a long, contented hiss, “Yes, he is good at this!” Focusing once more, he said, “I do believe, though, you will need to find the tomes that have a translation spell on them. Most, if memory serves, would be written in Hindi.”

“Give us what to look for and we'll find them,” Severus said with a firm nod. “Then we'll go from there.” Looking around, he saw everyone nod then added, “Even if Nagini, and though this is putting the cart before the thestral here, won't help, I’m sure we can find somewhere to put her where she won't be harmed until the nightmare is over and we can find somewhere that will take her where she won't be mistreated. We won't, of course, harm her in any way unless we need to defend ourselves.”

Grinning at the snake, rubbing his head more, Sirius said, “Alright, I take it back. You're better than any cute dog out there! You're great! If you had hands, I'd give you a high five, Kaliya!”

Giving a hissy chuckle, Kaliya chortled, “He is so amusing! I do like him. That sense of humor—yes, it's quite hilarious!”

Hearing Harry's translation of that, Lucius groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose, eyes shut, shaking his head. “Black, you are incorrigible! Don't corrupt the snake with your pedestrian sense of humor!”

Grinning at that, Harry stroked Kaliya's back then told him, “See? I told you he's brilliant!”

“Yes, he is quite amusing! I do like him,” the snake agreed before his attention was drawn away by one of the male peacocks approaching the pool area. Galvanized, he uncoiled then quickly headed in the direction of the bird, muttering, “Dastardly, stupid birds! No, you will not interrupt us just because my presence upsets you! You will get used to me or you will fight a battle you will quickly lose!” Slithering to the edge of the pool area, he rose up, flaring his hood open and hissing at the bird that was now putting on a display to try to frighten him off.

Hauling himself out of the pool and grabbing a towel, Harry began to dry himself off, watching the snake, grinning. “Lucius, I think you're going to lose another peacock.”

Sighing, Lucius shook his head, watching the display. “The birds are quite moronic. Any creature with more intelligence than a rock would know not to take on a cobra. Apparently, peacocks don't have even that much intelligence.” Sighing and rolling his eyes when the bird decided to charge the snake then Kaliya ended the battle before it even started by spitting venom at the bird, he summoned an elf to handle the bird's carcass. “And I will not get any more after these are gone. No, that's enough. Kaliya is far better to have around than some ornamental idiotic bird.”

Slithering back over, still grumbling about the dumb birds, Kaliya moved to coil in the shade under Harry's chair. Huffing, he said, “Do they think they can win against me? Are they that foolish?”

Peering down at the snake, Harry grinned, “They are. Don't worry about it.” Grabbing the duck, he touched it with his wand then it was off with a loud quack.

On full alert, with a happy hiss, the snake then took off after the duck, launching himself into the pool to partake in the chase.

Plopping in his chair and picking up his drink, Sirius chuckled as the snake chased the duck. “Alright, that's pretty damned funny! He seems to like it!” Reaching over, he ruffled Harry's still wet hair and said, “You know--” trailing off as he was about to say something regarding Harry having weird but wonderful friends, he looked at Remus, brow furrowing. Opening his mouth, he shut it as an idea began to form. Eyes widening, he asked, “How many of your old school things do you still have, Remus?”

Looking at Sirius, Remus shrugged then said, “A few. Why?”

Glancing at Severus, he asked, “Do you know a spell to extract hairs from something and tell them apart? I know that comes with potions in trying to detect some things. I just don't know it.”

“I do,” Severus said, nodding. “Several of them, actually. Why?”

“Peter,” Sirius said, eyes widening. “My school trunk—it still has clothes and other things in it. To hide out in the dorm, Peter used to use our trunks because some of the others liked to torment him when we weren't around. I would bet my wand there is still some hair in there from him. If he stayed with Ron in the dorms, Harry's might as well, especially if Crookshanks was after him all the time. If we could get those hairs, we could plant them. It would not only look like Peter was the one that has Harry, but, maybe, help me by showing he's not dead.”

Head coming up, looking at Black, eyes wide, Lucius then looked at Severus. Nodding, he said, “Oh, yes, this would work well! If there is some, I’m certain Severus can duplicate them to where we have plenty to use. Then, with the contacts the Dark Lord has in the Ministry, he'll find out what they are. The minute anyone says rat animagus, he's going to know who to look at. It will cause a nice diversion.”

“It will,” Severus told them with a firm nod. “And I can. I can also ensure they test as though they are fresh. This will work very nicely! Pettigrew is such a coward and traitor that no one would think twice about him attempting something such as this to get himself out of the mess he's in. We all know he's in disfavor with the Dark Lord. That would make it look as though he were trying to switch sides yet again. Yes, this could work quite well for all of us!”

Nodding vigorously, Sirius said, “I'm going to send everything back I have in my trunk. You lot go through it from there to see what you can find. Before we go, we'll comb Harry's stuff for hairs to use. Hell, even the smallest bits we might be able to find will help with this. I'll let you have at it and do what you do, Severus. When we get ready to start planting things, you can pass them along to us. That'll be the easy part as you're at Grimmauld Place often enough and it won't look odd.”

“Too bad you can't get your hands on that sheet he left his blood on,” Harry said. “I don't know what happened to it, though.”

Thinking that over, Severus said, tone thoughtful, “It was probably thrown out, but let me check. One never knows with Dumbledore.” Nodding once more, he said, “No, this is all good. We have plenty to work with here. It'll assist in many ways.”

Leaning back after having an elf refresh their drinks, Lucius couldn't help but be pleased with how things were going. Oh yes, this was a plan that would work well! Despite being leery of what could come of it when he thought up the way to grab Black and Lupin, he was pleased at the outcome.

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Shades of Grey