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In Servitude of the Dark: The Hand That Guides Me	By : xXxLuckyxXx Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Voldemort Views: 74965 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: All things Harry Potter belong to JK Rowling and her publishers. I just play in her world.

Chapter List
- 21
- 22
Oh thank you all so much. I was stunned by the deluge of reviews I got…my computer was beeping at me nonstop! You guys managed to keep me smiling all day long and convinced me to post this last chapter early. It really feels like we are some kind of a community...you know how one family suffers a tragedy, asks for help, and everyone in the neighborhood suddenly pitches in with money, support, food...that's how it feels to me. My grandmother just got diagnosed with liver cancer, and all your reviews and warm thoughts have helped put a smile on my face.

I would have loved to respond to reviews individually here as I do on FF.Net. If you really like a response from me, I invite you to review on FF.NET instead...now on to the story!

Chapter 21 : End of Third Year – May 20, 1994

At first, the school didn't notice anything odd about their missing DADA teacher. ProfessorLupin was known to miss several days out of month, and it was nothing special when Professor Snape subbed for him. But then, the rumors started going crazy when ProfessorFlickwick subbed for DADA and Professor McGonagall subbed for Potion's.

Only Harry and his small circle of friends knew the truth. Today Professor Snape was called by the Wizengamut to testify against Peter Pettigrew. According to Andromeda, it was going to be an easy case, with the use of Veritaserum and Pensive memories as evidence. Her prediction proved correct when Hogwarts got its Potion's Professor back the very next day, to the disappointment of nearly three quarters of the school.

Following his return was the Daily Prophet's ground breaking announcement, "PETER PETTIGREW FOUND ALIVE BY HOGWARTS PROFESSOR!" in 20 font bold on the front page. Under the fold was another headline, "PETER PETTIGREW : GUILTY OF POTTER'S MURDER!"

What followed after was a poorly controlled chaos. Both Harry and Ron were attacked by well meaning sympathizers (Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs) and stalked by the curious (Ravenclaws and Slytherins). Harry was just glad he had the foresight to tell his friends what was going on before the school went crazy. He couldn't imagine how hurt Ron would be if he had to learn that a cold blooded murder was living as his family's pet rat from the newspapers.

Harry was not surprised at how well Ron took the news and the sudden publicity. Ron was only mildly shocked and disgusted that he'd actually slept in the same bed as a criminal, but after the shock passed, he swore he always knew "there was something funky" aboutScabbers. After all, rats even magical ones didn't live for more than 12 years, and it was already full grown when Percy found it. While Ron and Hermione enjoyed the attention, Harry found sanctuary within the RoR and Snape's private quarters.

For several days the newspapers filled their pages with Pettigrew's veritaserum confession and all the political speculations from so-called experts in their field. Some speculated that this might cause the entire Wizengamut to reform how they handled criminal cases. Already there was a legislation submitted mandating the use of Veritaserum at all criminal trials. There was also talk about retrying all those wizards in Azkaban who confessed and were not given trials either.

Finally, on the third day, the newspapers finally tackled the difficult and controversial issue of his godfather's innocence. On the front page was, "SIRIUS BLACK : RETRIAL?" and in it was the Wizengamut's decision to grant Sirius Black a retrial.

The very moment Harry found some time alone, which was actually harder than you'd think, he activated the charmed mirror. "Hey, Sirius! They've announced it!" he said excitedly and put the paper's headline in view of the mirror.

"I know, Pup," he replied, even more excited. "Everyone in town is talking about it." He had his own copy of the Daily Prophet, and hadn't put it down since.

Harry smiled at the sheer happiness radiating from his godfather's light blue eyes. The man looked 100 times better than when Harry first sought him out. Over the last few days, Harry and Severus were diligent in sending him food and nutrient potions by way of a house-elf, and the man no longer looked half-starved with sunken cheeks. With hope just beyond the horizon, Sirius even began taking care of himself with liberal use of cleaning and shaving charms.

"Andromeda's daughter, Nymphadora, is a new auror," Harry said. "I'll have them both meet you with a clean set of robes at the shrieking shack and escort you to the Wizengamut."

Sirius nodded, rubbing his hands. He could feel this 12 year long nightmare coming to an end. "Yes, I remember her, though the last time I saw her she was only a few years old."

"Good luck, Sirius, not that I think you'll need it," Harry said before de-activating the mirror. Because of the urgency of the matter, Harry decided to send a patronus message to his lawyer instead of using Hedwig. According to Snape, it was the fastest and most secure way of sending messages.

Despite all these distractions, their professors were adamant in keeping the students on schedule with their tests, especially since tests had been cancelled last year. But while Harry's classmates were preparing for their end of the year exams, Harry was preparing his testimony against Remus Lupin before the Hogwart's Board. The day was scheduled the weekend before the end of school in deference to Harry's exam schedule and Severus' summons to the Wizengamut to testify on behalf of Sirius Black.

Harry had the choice of requesting legal counsel, but chose not to so Andromeda could concentrate on building her case for Sirius. Besides, this was just a hearing against Lupin, not an actual trial. All the legal documents were already filed and an agreement was already reached by the two parties, so this was merely a formality and to give Lupin a chance to present his side of the story.

The Hogwart's Board of Governors historically consisted of 13 seats. Four of the seats were permanently assigned to the heirs of the Founders. When no Founder Heir existed, the seat must be held by a member who graduated from that particular house. A Founder's seat got two voting points each, which meant when Harry graduated, he had 4 votes out of a total of 17, because he was heir to two Founders. One seat automatically belonged to the Headmaster, who only voted when there was a tie. The other 8 were filled by respected members of the community, each of which had their own political leanings, and had one vote each.

Formality or not, Harry still dressed in his fine formal robes, displaying his family Potter Ring prominently on his finger. Snape, also a member of the injured party, also displayed his Prince family ring. On the other side was the opponent, Remus Lupin, and speaking for him was Albus Dumbledore. This was Harry's first glimpse of his former DADA teacher since that morning in the infirmary. To Harry's critical eye, the man did not look well, and it wasn't because of post-transformation symptoms either. It was already several days since the full moon, and werewolf healing should have kicked in, but the man still looked like he was in the midst of the full moon. Dark rings circled his eyes, he sat with a slump that didn't look possible, and even his clothes looked more ragged.

Harry wasn't sure when the man last slept or ate or took a shower. He also wondered ifLupin even regretted putting so much trust into the Headmaster now that Peter Pettigrew was found guilty. With the way Dumbledore hovered over Lupin, as if he were the injured party, Harry could only assume that not only was Lupin's faith unshaken, but it was strengthened by the Headmaster's support in this hearing.

Not surprisingly, every member of the Board showed up for this unprecedented hearing. Never before in the history of Hogwarts had a Headmaster acted so negligently in the care and safety of his students, which should be his top most concern.

Normally, in such hearings, the Headmaster played mediator, but in this case the Headmaster was defending one of the parties involved. So by some random voting system, a man who Harry didn't know, Lord DeLaney, was chosen to as spokesman and mediator of the hearing. He opened the floor by introducing everyone, mostly for Harry's benefit. Out of the ones introduced, Harry only recognized the names, Longbottom, Abbot, and Malfoy who held theSlytherin seat.

"I have read and re-read both summaries of the events that occurred the night of May 28th, and I still cannot believe that this atrocity could occur within the walls and wards of Hogwarts," DeLaney said, waving a sheaf of papers in his hand. "It is the public's right and expectations that when they send their children to a magical boarding school, their children will be safe. It is the responsibility and burden of Hogwart's faculty to ensure that this remains so. That being said, we on behalf of the Board of Governors offer our sincere apologies to Mr. Potter for having his life endangered, and we are all glad that you did not suffer any permanent harm."

Harry stood up and nodded his acceptance. "Thank you, sir. But I wouldn't have faired so well without Professor Snape's protection. He truly went above and beyond."

"A Commendation of Bravery will be added to Mr. Snape's file," Lord DeLaney assured him before turning critical eyes towards Lupin. "Mr. Lupin, this is not a trial to determine guilt or innocence. You've already signed and confessed to the events that occurred that night. However, there are a few things we would like some clarifications to. Is it true that theWolfsbane potion was provided for you, free of charge?"

"Yes, sir. It was. It was part of my contract that I had to take Wolfsbane every month and Professor Snape was the one who brew it," Lupin answered.

"And is it true that this Wolfsbane was provided in a timely and consistent manner?" Lord Delaney asked.

Lupin's shoulders hunched over. "Yes that is also true. The first night of every full moon, Professor Snape would hand a goblet of the concoction to me. If I could not be conveniently found an hour before the rise of the moon, then he would leave it on my desk."

"So there really is no excuse for you to forget to take the Wolfsbane?" DeLaney said rhetorically and turned to his fellow colleagues. "It appears, Ladies and Gentlemen that this really is a case of simple negligence, although how a werewolf could possibly forget something as important as his medication, still perplexes me." Then he looked at Lupin disapprovingly. "If there is anything you would like to add, now would be the time."

Lupin stood up and attempted to smooth his robes, but they were so wrinkled that Harry didn't even think an anti-wrinkle charm could fix it. "Thank you Ladies and Gentlemen," he began in an admittedly strong and dignified tone. "First I have to apologize to Harry," he continued, turning sorrowful and blood shot eyes at Harry. "You must know it was never my intentions to hurt you or any other student. My only excuse was that I was consumed by a need to find my friend, Sirius Black. It was all I thought about as the months passed, and in this obsession I grew careless. But Lord DeLaney was right. There is no justification I can offer for my irresponsibility and it tears my soul apart to know that I almost killed another human being, let alone a defenseless child. If I had any money or any way to repay you, I would. But all I can do is gladly accept the terms of the agreement, knowing that I got off rather easily considering the damage I could have caused."

Again, Harry nodded in acceptance, but offering no sign of forgiveness yet.

"You are correct, Mr. Lupin," DeLaney said. "It is unanimously believed by this Board that Mr. Potter and Professor Snape's terms were indeed too lenient under the circumstances. If it were up to this Board, this case would be taken up by the Wizengamut and tried for criminal charges. However, we respect the decisions of the injured party. From this day forth, you will not hold any paying positions that put you in the presence of wizards and witches under the age of 20 years, this includes your current employment as a Hogwart's professor. We will file your misconduct into our records, and in compliance with the terms, it shall be sealed unless you re-offend."

"Yes, I understand, sir," Lupin replied. "Is that all?"

"Of course not," Lord Malfoy answered, and turned to Dumbledore with an almost predatory look, while maintaining his composure. "There is a second issue at hand. Although, Lord Dumbledore, you are not on trial nor was this hearing specifically assembled for you, it was decided among us that we take this time to address your misconduct as well."

Dumbledore, and all the parties involved, were honestly surprised by this announcement. "I apologize," Dumbledore said politely, directing his question to Lord Delaney. "But on what grounds of misconduct are you referring to?"

Delaney and a few of the board members looked at the Headmaster as if he were crazy. "For the obvious reason of employing a known werewolf in the first place," Delaney answered, flipping through some pages. "According to this summary written by Mr. Potter, Mr. Lupin had attacked a fellow classmate in his 7th year as a prank, a matter that you failed to bring up to the Board as per regulations. Then, you hire this same werewolf to teach our children without first consulting the Board!"

"I have always believed in second chances," Dumbledore replied. "What we do as children, foolish as it may be, should not haunt us in our adult lives. Furthermore, Professor Lupin's affliction only affects him three nights out of a month. My contract with Professor Lupin was contingent on the fact that he would religiously take his Wolfsbane potion. I should not be held liable for every action of my staff if they break the terms of their contract with me."

Unfortunately for Dumbledore, DeLaney was a Lord in his own right, and was not going to be intimidated by the Headmaster. "It is the decision of the Board that you not only be held partially liable, but you will also be held on probation for the next year."

"You have no grounds for such an invasion of my rights and privacy," Dumbledore argued back. "Hogwarts has only gained its reputation as the safest place in Britain because I have held the wards."

"We are not saying your contribution to the Hogwarts wards is insignificant," another man, who was introduced as Lord Oswald, spoke up. "But in the past three years, you have shown a disturbing interest in Mr. Potter's personal affairs that go beyond your duties as his Headmaster and his Keeper. Since Mr. Potter's re-emergence to the wizarding world, Hogwarts has seen three consecutive years of danger and threats, beginning with the nebulous events surrounding the Philosopher's Stone, a matter that you still have not clarified to the Board's satisfaction."

"And let us not forget the debacle of last year," Lord Malfoy added, to which the members all nodded their heads in agreement. "Five students, a cat, and a ghost were petrified under your watch. Thank Merlin, they all survived with little complications, but such a threat to our children should not have even occurred. We are still waiting for your report on what caused those pretrifications and what stopped the attacks."

Harry attempted to appear as innocent and invisible as he could. This was no longer a hearing between a werewolf and a student, but somehow turned into some kind of political attack against Dumbledore, and he wanted nothing to do with it. Thankfully, before Harry could get dragged in, Lord DeLaney, as mediator, put a stop to the argument.

"I believe we are digressing off the subject," he said, glaring at everyone in the conference room to make them all settle down. "We can argue politics all we want and never be satisfied. The final decision of the Board is a 1 year probation. We, all of us here," he waved his hand to take in all the members. "Appreciate your vast wisdom and your services to our community. However, you wear too many hats, as the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamut, the Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, and as Headmaster of Hogwarts. We suggest if you take your duty as Headmaster seriously, you should consider limiting your other obligations. You have a reputation for being omniscient, but Hogwarts needs a full time Headmaster, not only when you can find the time to squeeze some hours in."

"Your recommendations are duly noted," Dumbledore answered solemnly, though everyone knew he wasn't going to step down from any of his leadership roles.

"Then this hearing is adjourned," Lord DeLaney declared.

O o 0 O 0 o O o 0 O 0 o O o 0 O 0 o O

June 1, 1994

"I am so sorry for all the trouble I've caused you, Albus," Remus said later that day as he cleaned out his office. "I know you stuck your neck out when you hired me."

"Think nothing of it. It was merely a game of politics. I only wish I could do more," Albus replied as if he didn't care about the decisions of the Board. "What are your plans now, my boy?"

Remus shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe I'll travel around, join a nearby pack. I just need some time to process everything that's happened."

"What about Sirius?" Albus asked. He couldn't let Remus just disappear after all he did for him. "Surely you're not going to leave him to fend for himself."

"I don't know," Remus mumbled. It seemed, all of sudden, everything in his life was falling apart, and he was regretting ever coming back from his self-imposed seclusion. The things he learned that night in the tunnels made him feel so weighed down, like he'd swallowed a cannon ball. And now, he wasn't even sure what to think about the Headmaster, who had always been his safe harbor, his rock. What he craved was time to work all this out, about Dumbledore, about Harry, and Sirius… "I've been a horrible friend to him. Do I even have a right to call him my friend? What if he doesn't forgive me?"

"I'm sure in time he will. He has a forgiving soul. But if you leave now, you'll never get the chance to rebuild your relationship." Albus put a supporting hand on the other man's shoulder. Remus tensed a little, but forced himself to relax. "Besides, even if Sirius doesn't forgive you, don't you think you owe it to him to help him reintegrate into the community? Whether he'll admit it or not, he needs his friends now, more than ever."

Remus let out a breath of air. "I suppose you are right."

Albus beamed back, privately relieved that the weary werewolf was not going to suddenly disappear to parts unknown. "Excellent, my boy. I am visiting him this afternoon, before his trial tomorrow. Is there anything you'd like me to tell him?"

"Yes. Tell him how sorry I am that I didn't believe him," Remus answered. "And that I'll visit him as soon as the Wizengamut will let me."

Albus nodded and left the werewolf to pack up his office in privacy. When he reached the sanctuary of his office, he allowed himself to express the sheer frustrations and worries that plagued his mind. The hearing did not go as planned at all. He expected there would be some kind of black mark on his record, but he didn't think the Board would actually push forward with an actual probation, not to mention how the Board was going to look at his past performance as a Headmaster.

Now in hindsight, he knew it was rather foolish to hide the Philosopher Stone inside the walls of Hogwarts, but he really needed to see what the boy was made of. Did his years of abuse with the Dursleys ruin him, as it did Tom Riddle 50 years ago? Or, as Albus hoped, the years of abuse made him stronger, more ready to martyr himself as Albus needed him to. He was delighted when the boy passed the tests set up in the third floor corridor, despite needing some hints here and there. In fact, Albus could not be more pleased at how Harry Potter handled his first year at Hogwarts and most of his second year as well.

This year, thankfully most of the incidences were out of his hands. The Board couldn't fault him for Sirius Black's escape and they could not fault him for the Ministry's dementors. If it weren't for Remus' carelessness, he could have turned this whole year around to his advantage. It was such a shame too, because it was time to test his little weapon again.INext year, Harry Potter would have had 4 years of Hogwart's education, and Albus needed to know where Harry rated in magical skills. If the Prophesy was accurate, then Harry was pivotal in this war, and Albus could not risk Harry becoming too advanced, not if he needed to die to destroy the Horcrux living inside of his scar.

But how was he going to test the boy with the meddlesome Board members monitoring his every decision? Albus sat back in his chair, watching Fawkes preen himself thoughtfully. It had to be similar to the test he devised in the third floor corridor, something the boy doesn't expect and was challenging enough to test him. The other problem was to get Harry to cooperate. He didn't think he could lure the boy into any traps again, not since second year when he became more secretive and less trusting.

Six lemon drops and two cups of tea later, Albus was struck by a brilliant idea. He would revive the old and somewhat unethical tradition of the Triwizard Tournament! Albus could set up some kind of safety wards to keep the Board happy, but of course he'd rig the cup to choose Harry Potter as Hogwart's champion. It also had the added benefit of bringing the other two magical schools right to his doorstep. As Voldemort grew stronger, and Albus just knew the second war was right over the horizon, it became even more important to see what the other schools were up to.

Admiring his own brilliance, Albus pulled out some stationary and began the paper work that would make Hogwart's host to the Triwizard Tournament. He sent the letters and documents to the ministry and the ICW by way of Fawkes before preparing for his visit with Sirius Black in a much better mood than he had before.

O o 0 O 0 o O o 0 O 0 o O o 0 O 0 o O

June 5, 1994

Unlike Peter Pettigrew's trial, Sirius Black's was a multiday affair, which meant ProfessorSnape was also gone for those several days. It was also a public trial, requested by Andromeda, just to make sure the Wizengamut or the ministry couldn't hide anything, as they sometimes did to salvage their reputations. And the case of Sirius Black, if found innocent, was like a giant slap to the wizarding government's face. After all, Sirius Black is the current scion of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black, a Lord in every respect. If one such as him could be locked up in Azkaban for over a decade, then no one was safe. This was in addition to the bad publicity of actually placing dementors at Hogwarts, for a man who was innocent all along.

It was only the first day of trial, and Harry was hiding in the RoR with the two way mirror in his hands. "Why is it taking so long?" he complained. He had hoped it was like Pettigrew's trial. A couple of veritaserum drops, and it should be done and over.

"They just don't want to admit they locked an innocent man up for 12 years," Sirius answered. "But everything is going smoothly on my end." Sirius grew quiet for a moment, and Harry already knew the man well enough to know he didn't go quiet unless something bothered him.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, suddenly worried.

"Albus paid me a visit this afternoon," Sirius admitted, his eyes looking troubled.

"What did he want?" Harry's eyes narrowed suspiciously. He had been expecting a summons to the Headmaster's office since Lupin's hearing, but to his surprise, nothing happened. Still, he knew better that the Headmaster would retaliate sooner or later, especially having been embarrassed by the Board.

"The usual stuff at first," Sirius answered. "How am I doing…? If you need anything…? I am so sorry…blah, blah, blah." Sirius rolled his eyes. Though his tone was playful, Harry could tell there was still a lot of bitterness inside his godfather. "But then he asked me about my plans after I get out. More specifically, he asked about my plans for you."

This was not unexpected, but Harry didn't think the Headmaster would try to influence his godfather so soon.

Sirius saw the fear flash across Harry's face and hurried to reassure him. "Don't worry, Pup. I won't give you up, and Albus won't have any say in your life. I promise."

Harry let out a sigh of relief. He reminded himself that Sirius was nothing like Lupin. His godfather was raised in the dark ways, in a family of Slytherins, and was notoriously a rebel. He wouldn't get duped by the Headmaster's kind words and silver tongue so easily this time around. "So what did you say?"

"Snivel…er Snape," Sirius quickly amended when Harry frowned. "Just told me to ask you. He said you have some grand plan in that head of yours that not even he knows, and not to say anything definite until I spoke with you first. So here I am."

Harry nodded thoughtfully, glad that Snape had the foresight to prepare his godfather. "I'll have to get back to you on that. Just keep stalling. I'll have some kind of answer by tomorrow."

"Make it tomorrow morning," Sirius suggested.

Harry nodded. They decided on a time of 6 am before Harry deactivated the mirror and took out the diary. Since the night Marvolo helped him scry for Pettigrew, nearly three weeks ago, the specter had regained enough strength to come out for short periods of time. As their usual routine, when Harry opened the diary, Marvolo floated out from the pages, something Harry would never be tired of seeing. Then his ghostly form would circle his before settling at Harry's back, his arms wrapped snugly around the smaller boy.

"How is the trial going?" Marvolo asked in that smooth baritone voice of his.

"Slow," Harry answered before twisting around to face his friend. "Old Dumbles is already starting on Sirius. He wants to know what his plans for me are."

"He doesn't waste time, doesn't he?" Marvolor replied.

"What should I tell Sirius to say?"

"Well, that all depends on what you want to do this summer," Marvolo said inquisitively.

Harry shrugged. He really had no plans of his own, other than homework. "Just whatever you want, I guess. We should start on getting you your body back though."

"Yes, before my other foolish self decides to do something ridiculous and risky," Marvolo agreed.

"Like what?" Harry asked, always a little morbidly curious about Voldemort.

"Knowing myself as I do," Marvolo answered. "He'd probably devise some kind of overly complicated plan to kidnap you and use your blood in a sacrificial resurrection ritual."

Harry's eyes grew wide, knowing Marvolo was completely serious. He'd been in danger plenty of times, but he'd never been kidnapped before. "Well, I definitely don't want to get kidnapped this summer."

"You certainly aren't ready to meet my other self yet," Marvolo agreed. "I want to start you on Battle Magic, and apply all the things you've been learning. You'll never be left so defenseless before any dark creature again."

Harry was sure if Marvolo had a real body, he'd be crushed in the tight embrace. When he first told Marvolo what happened with Lupin, Marvolo's eyes flashed ruby red. Harry'd never seen the apparition's eyes that red before, and he was afraid his friend would attack the werewolf right then and there, despite still being in his weakened state. Even disembodied like this, Harry was sure the former Dark Lord could still do some damage to a dark creature.

The intensity of Marvolo's rage and possessiveness frightened Harry, even though a little part of him was flattered that his friend was so protective of him.

"How much do you trust your godfather?" Marvolo suddenly asked.

The change in subject made Harry switch mental gears. "I trust him a whole lot more thanLupin and my friends. He knows how to keep a secret, and is following my lead for now because he wants to be close to me. But I don't trust him nearly as much as I do Snape."

"Do you think he will spy for you?"

Harry realized where his friend was going with this. "You mean like get him on our side?" he asked. "I don't know him that well. I don't think he'd serve you like a Death Eater would. Plus he's still very hurt about losing his friends. But I know he isn't going to be fooled by OldDumbles again, not after being left and abandoned in Azkaban for 12 years."

"He doesn't need to be initiated into the Death Eater ranks," Marvolo said. In fact, having one crazy, impetuous Black was enough. He didn't need another, who would likely have loyalty issues. "Now that Severus is openly defying Albus, I need someone to keep me informed onAlbus' plans, someone that he trusts."

Harry agreed. Already, they were feeling the lack of information coming their way because Severus was no longer trusted. They didn't even know what the Headmaster's plans for this summer or next year would be, and against a master chess player like Dumbledore, keeping well informed was their best weapon.

The next morning, too early for Harry's comfort, he laid out his plans for his godfather. They wanted him to re-establish the trusting relationship he had with the Headmaster, so they could be kept informed of his plans. Of course, Harry didn't tell him that this information would ultimately go to Marvolo/Voldemort. At first, Sirius was reluctant to go with it, but not because of loyalty issues. Harry was right when he said his godfather resented Dumbledore for abandoning him to the dementors for 12 years. It was because all that time spent in misery seriously weakened Sirius' occlumancy shields. So they also made plans for Snape to help Sirius brush up on his occlumancy.

When Harry suggested this, he didn't know which man was more angry at him.

Back and forth Harry and Sirius conversed secretly. When the verdict of Not Guilty finally came-no surprise there-Sirius was again approached by the Headmaster. According to Sirius, the Headmaster spun a very convincing story about how Harry needed to return to theDursleys to recharge the bloodwards. He explained how the blood wards worked, the impending danger of the dark side, and how Voldemort was growing in strength.

Unfortunately for the Headmaster, Sirius was a former dark wizard, and he told Harry that no such wards existed. Since the blood was linked to Lily's, just having Petunia or even Dudley there all year round was enough to keep the wards running.

Thankfully, being sorted in Gryffindor, Sirius hadn't lost all his Slytherin wits and managed to give the perfectly balanced impression of reluctance and acceptance. So now, the plan was for Harry to go back to the Dursleys, kicking and screaming, but still deferring to his godfather's authority. Before Sirius agreed to this plan though, he made sure that Harry really would be okay left alone with the Dursleys.

"I remember that Victor…Vinny…Vincent…"

"Vernon," Harry provided.

"Yes, him," Sirius said. "I do remember that Vernon fellow Tuny married is a nasty character. Are you absolutely, positively sure you'll be okay with them, Pup?"

Harry sighed in exasperation. "Yes, Sirius," he said, rolling his eyes as all teens did. "I've got them under control since last summer. Plus with my second wand, I can do magic without anyone detecting it. I'll be fine," he assured his godfather for what seemed like the dozenth time.

"Alright then," Sirius said reluctantly. With Harry at the Dursley's, Sirius was going to use this time to check up on his accounts and find a place to live. Maybe even track Mooney down and repair their friendship.

June 11th was a big day. It marked the last day of Hogwarts and the day that Sirius Black was exonerated and given a public apology on behalf of the ministry in addition to 5 million galleons for reparations. It was also the day he was granted guardianship of Harry James Potter as per his parent's wishes.

A/N: Well, that's the end of the third year, but only the beginning of Harry's adventures. Sorry about the lack of Marvolo in this one, but it will be all him in the very first chapter of the sequel, I promise. In fact, 4th year is basically all about Harry, Marvolo, and Voldemort, more than enough to sate your obsessions.

There will be another posting, but that's just a way for me to segue into the next installment. I don't mind if you skip it...its only there to help those who are on my Alerts to know when I am posting the next installment!

(¯`·._.·(¯`·._.·(¯`·._.· In Servitude to the Dark : My Obeisance ·._.·´¯)·._.·´¯)·._.·´¯)
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In Servitude of the Dark: The Hand That Guides Me