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Inter Vivos	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 42948 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, and I am making no money from this writing.

Chapter List
- 24
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Chapter
Twenty-Five�Run

�� Bellatrix
and Snape struck at the same time, Bellatrix with a Cutting Curse and Snape
with a curse that Harry hadn�t learned but which looked like a forked green
bolt of lightning.

�� It must be like, Harry thought, and
didn�t even finish the thought, his memory leaping ahead of him to one of his
training sessions with Sirius last year. He flicked up a Shield Charm to handle
the Cutting Curse and turned to meet the green lightning, casting the
countercharm to the spelled Sirius had fired at him with a circle of his wand
in the air and a strong, steady chant.

�� The
lightning hit the suddenly solidifying air in front of him and faded away
entirely. Harry leaped back instead of grinning in triumph the way he wanted
to. This wasn�t a dueling session with Sirius, and no one would pause to praise
him. And it wasn�t a dueling session with Snape, where the spells would never
have their full power behind them so that he couldn�t be hurt�

�� He wanted
to laugh madly the moment he had that thought. Except that it kind of is.

�� He wanted
to get out of sight. It was the only chance he stood against two Death Eaters.
And he had to think of Snape that way for the moment. If he had a chance to
hide and recover himself, then he could think of the best way to get Snape to
stop attacking without hurting him and capture Bellatrix.

�� He dropped
into a hollow between the roots of the nearest tree, and a red curse went over
his head and filled the night with dazzling radiance. Harry shut his eyes and was
glad that Snape had made him practice a little with blind dueling.

�� Not enough. Not nearly enough to survive
this�

�� But there
was no reason that he had to think like that, and so Harry forbade himself to
do it in the next moment. He began moving instead, aiming back towards the
school, glad that it was spring and the grass had mostly replaced the fallen
leaves. But then his hand landed on a leaf and crunched anyway, and Bellatrix
laughed wildly and sent a blue burst like a firework after him.

�� Can�t hide,
little baby,� she said, crooning. To Harry�s disgust, she sounded exactly like
the way Aunt Petunia used to tell Dudley he had birthday presents waiting. �My
little baby, who I�m going to dandle and hold close and bundle up tight.�

�� That was
the only warning Harry had before a bright silver web unfolded in the air above
him and dropped over his head, binding his hands to his sides.

*

�� Draco
pounded through the school to the doors of the Great Hall and hesitated a
moment outside them. He wondered if he should just burst inside, the way he
wanted to do, and rush up to Harry. Finnigan would probably be sitting at the
Gryffindor table with him, and Draco wanted to make this revelation in private.
It would take some time to convince Harry that Finnigan was even in the wrong,
since he was so intent on forgiving him. And then they would need to make sure
that Finnigan couldn�t escape before they questioned him.

�� On the
other hand, maybe it would be good to be public about this from the beginning,
the way that his mother had been in asking for Harry�s protection.

�� As he
waited there, worrying his lip, a hand clasped his shoulder. Draco spun around,
his wand raised, but Narcissa seemed to have guessed he would do that and was
already out of range. Her eyes, serene and patient as the full moon, were fixed
on his face.

�� I knew
something was wrong, given the way you ran out of our rooms,� she said calmly.
�Draco, what is it?�

�� Draco
paused and swallowed. Then he shook his head. What am I thinking? Of course Mother is on our side, and of course she
isn�t going to order me back into hiding as if I were a child or take this less
than seriously. I�m almost of age, anyway, and she�s sensible.

�� I
discovered some information that Harry needs to know immediately,� he
whispered. �Finnigan, the boy who burned his possessions and was under
Bellatrix�s fear spells earlier in the year, is also related to the Lestranges. I wanted him to know that. I wanted him
to realize that Finnigan might still be under her influence.�

�� His
mother�s eyes showed grim comprehension, of course. She knew, as well as he
did, that pure-blood magic could be linked to family inheritance, and it wasn�t
out of the question that Bellatrix was still influencing Finnigan. If the fear
spell had impressed itself deeply on his spirit, then she might be able to make
it come and go at will, and Finnigan would
think he was behaving normally when she let him have his mind back.

�� Narcissa
lifted her wand and performed a quick spell that Draco didn�t know, but which
made a small sphere of blue light appear before her, crosshatched with silver
lines. Whatever it showed her made her lips tighten. �Neither Professor Snape
nor Potter is in the school right now,� she said. �They�re in the Forbidden
Forest.�

�� Draco�s throat
went tight with fear again. Why would they be out there? There was no plausible reason. Even if Snape had wanted to
tutor Harry and had ordered him to go on a �detention� into the Forest, it
wouldn�t be during dinner.

�� Draco began
running again, this time lighting his wand so that he could see any signs of a
passage into the Forest. His mother followed without pause and without
complaint.

*

�� Harry
wanted to scream as he discovered that the web wound itself more tightly around
him when he struggled. It tangled his legs and even sank between his fingers,
trying to force them apart so that he couldn�t hold his wand anymore.

�� So stop struggling.

�� Harry froze
when he had that thought. It was the same kind of cold command that he�d given
himself at the Dursleys� the summer before last, when he�d been starving. It
was no use thinking about food, so he wouldn�t think of it.

�� And it was
no use panicking or kicking out right now, so he wouldn�t panic or kick out.

�� He had been
in tighter situations in the past, like facing Voldemort. He had managed to
escape them. He would escape this time.

�� Facing Voldemort�

�� And Harry
had his idea. He still had hold of his wand, and he could still perform a
simple pass. He whispered a spell that he had used before and then slumped back
against the trunk of the tree, letting his eyes roll. Bellatrix would think
he�d fainted, he hoped. If she was crazy and proud of her own reputation, then
it should be a natural thing for her to conclude.

�� Thrashing
accompanied by soundless steps, and then Bellatrix was in front of him with
Snape trailing behind her. Harry watched him carefully, as much as he could
under his slitted eyelids. His eyes were way too wide and blank, and he walked
as though someone else was manipulating his limbs with strings.

�� He didn�t attack me willingly. It was all
Bellatrix�s doing. Her and her fear spells.

�� Harry felt
a bit of hatred creep into his heart and push out into a black plant. If he had
to spend all night doing it, he would make
sure that Bellatrix was captured and put away in Azkaban. It was cruel of her
to hurt Snape like that.

�� I think
we�ve got the baby,� Bellatrix said, and began to sing in a cracked voice.
�Hush, baby-bye, hush baby.� Her hands reached out and caressed the web as if
she weren�t the one who had used the spell, and had no idea of its results.

�� Harry felt
her nails touch his skin, and fought the urge to vomit. You�re unconscious, remember? You don�t know she�s here.

�� And then he
heard the snap of a branch torn off by something flying past it really fast,
and he heard Bellatrix�s startled shriek, and he forced himself to roll to the
side, using the little movement he had left in the net.

�� The web
stuck to the broom, as he had hoped it would, and then the Firebolt was
carrying him above the trees. Harry lay there and laughed for a moment, despite
the fact that the web was still around him and the wind almost tore the wand
from his hand. He had used the Summoning Charm on the Firebolt for the third
time, just like he had with the dragon and Voldemort. And it had worked.

�� He felt
powerful, not useless. He felt like he didn�t need to wait for Snape or Draco
to rescue him.

�� But then
two spells exploded near him, with sharp sounds that told him they were
Blasting Curses or close relatives, and he realized that he had to stop
congratulating himself and actually sit up and do something. And he had to find something that would get the web
off him whilst not hurting him or the broom, and not require a lot of wand
movement.

�� He thought
about using a Cutting Curse as he steered the broom with his legs and ankles
over the Forest�s highest trees, but he decided the web had probably been made
to resist such spells. The web and the Cutting Curse were both Dark Arts, and
wizards who used them tended to think of other Dark spells first when they were
trying to come up with magic that couldn�t be easily countered.

�� Snape was the one who taught me that.

�� But he had
to push aside his grief and concentrate on acting instead. It was the only
thing that would help both Snape and him.

Besides, he doubted that he could
use the Cutting Curse at close quarters like this without cutting himself
instead.

�� He steered
the broom higher as something scraped past his leg. He shivered and watched his
breath form in front of him, wondering if he�d be able to manage a Warming
Charm with his fingers tied like this�

�� And then
the perfect countercharm for the web came to him. A Chilling Charm didn�t need
much movement of the fingers. He twitched his wand and whispered, �Derigesco!�

�� The web
turned brittle and silver at once. Harry moved his fingers again, and this time
the slender splinters of ice that the web had become fell away from him and
pattered on the ground far below. He laughed and swayed from side to side,
breaking the web with easy movements.

�� Then
something hit the bristles of the broom, and the Firebolt was turning parallel
to the ground instead of still rising the way Harry wanted it to, and he
realized that someone had seized control of it. He cursed and sat up, shivering
and aiming his wand at the ground. The minute he found Bellatrix, he would do
something permanent to her.

*

�� Draco had
found a faint trail in the grass that seemed to be making for the Forest, but
for long moments he was afraid he wasn�t going to find Harry or Professor Snape
after all. It was getting dark, and his Point-Me spells were useless, as were
his mother�s. Narcissa had said, when Draco asked her about it, �I am afraid
that someone has them under several Baffling Charms,� and then shut her lips so
hard they made a thin white line in her face.

�� But it
turned out that he didn�t need to worry. Harry seized the most dramatic method
of doing things, as usual.

�� A broom
circled past the moon, with a slender figure riding it. Draco saw it at the
same moment as a pair of giant pincers encircled the broom�s tail and started
steering it back to the Forest. He knew that spell. It was a Guide Spell,
banned from Quidditch so long ago that it was usually found only in history
books now.

�� He aimed
his own wand, not knowing what he would do with it, when he didn�t know the
countercharm to the Guide Spell and he couldn�t see the person casting it. But
his mother stepped past him and spoke confidently, a rumbling mix of Latin
words that made the pincers vanish and a brilliant white star flare into being
over the Forest. Draco watched the star send out beams. Narcissa nodded when
one of them vanished among the trees.

�� That will
be Bellatrix�s location,� she said. �I will handle her. You stay and help your
Harry, Draco, as you would be distracted by grief and worry over him
otherwise.� And she broke away and strode into the Forest before Draco could
object that Finnigan might be with Bellatrix and he should come to help.

�� He
swallowed his protest and turned to look up at Harry. For some reason,
something like rain or snow was falling away from the broom, and Draco supposed
that Harry might have had to cast some strange spells. He Summoned a broom from
the school for himself, and made the charm as strong as he could. The sooner he
could join Harry in the air and explain that he had friends here to help him,
the happier he would be.

*

�� Severus
felt as though he were climbing, precariously, to the top of a ladder made of
sludge. The moment Bellatrix�s attention had shifted away from him and Harry
had flown up on the mysteriously appearing broom, his mind had started to
change.

�� He could
feel some of the fear easing, and suddenly Bellatrix�s conclusions seemed
strange. How in the world could he save Harry by killing him? Bellatrix had been the one assigned by
the Dark Lord to kill Harry. Of course what she said to him couldn�t be
trusted, and Severus felt like a fool for ever doing so.

�� But when
she spoke to him in the context of his fear, it all seemed so reasonable�

�� And then
another rung solidified beneath his hands, and he understood. She used a fear spell on me. She made me
believe that I was going mad and that no one else would share my emotions,
which prevented me from confiding in Harry the way I would surely have done
otherwise.

�� Finally
released from a prison he hadn�t known was holding him, Severus saw and thought
clearly for the first time in months, and outrage raced through him like a
brushfire. The fear was still there, clinging in smoky clouds to his thoughts,
but it no longer ruled his actions. He could even turn his wand on Bellatrix,
who was occupied trying to curse Harry, as long as he kept the movements slow
enough that his limbs didn�t stiffen with rejection.

�� She made me do this. She is the one who made
me act in a way that ensured I might lose Harry�s trust forever. She is the one
who is responsible for this suffering of mine.

�� Rage
threatened to cloud his perceptions in the same way the fear had done, but
Severus managed to hold still and breathe until it had passed. He recited some
of the properties of fear spells to himself in an effort to calm down. Fear
spells turned the mind against itself, and they were most effective against
precisely those who were most able to think their way around fear naturally,
which was one reason they had so often been used in the production of traitors.
The greater rationality one possessed, the more excuses one could come up with
as to why actions under the fear spells continued to be rational.

�� He had
known all that, and he had still allowed
himself to be influenced. Severus was disappointed in his own will and
fortitude. He had come to think that he was the strongest figure in Harry�s
life, the most dependable, compared to the smitten Draco and the crippled Black
and the manipulative Dumbledore. He had been corrupted.

�� But that
was not his fault, it was Bellatrix�s.

�� And he
would compel her to pay.

�� He began
carefully, painfully pulling in his energies, ready to send them through his
wand in a coordinated blast when he had gathered them enough.

�� And then
Narcissa Malfoy burst out from between the trees, and his and Bellatrix�s plans
both changed in the sliding of an instant.

*

�� Harry shed
the last of the ice and promptly cast a Warming Charm on himself. He didn�t
know why the force pulling on his broom had vanished, but he was grateful it
had.

��

�� Maybe Snape came back to himself and gave
Bellatrix something to think about.

�� But Harry
ended up shaking his head, because from what he had seen of Snape�s face, he
was going to need help to recover, and simply hoping he would was stupid. Someone
needed to rescue him. Harry pivoted his broom back towards the Forbidden
Forest, confident that Bellatrix would reveal herself with another spell in a
moment and then he could swoop down to help. His wand tingled in his palm, and
his breathing was softer and smoother than he�d expected it to be. He�d trained
for a duel like this for two years now, and he hadn�t actually been injured. He
could do this.

�� Harry!�

�� Change of plans, Harry thought, turning
and staring incredulously at Draco. Draco was speeding towards him on a school
broom, his face so pale that Harry automatically looked for some sign of
flowing blood. But Draco flew up to him and grabbed him around the shoulders
instead, pulling him in for a long, silent hug. Harry hugged him back, though
he was more anxious now than ever. If Draco was on the battlefield, then there
was a high chance Bellatrix would hurt him.

�� Draco?
What are you doing here? How did you know I was out here with them?� He jerked
his head at the Forest.

�� I learned
from my book that Finnigan is related to the Lestranges,� Draco said in a
distracted voice, running his hands over Harry�s shoulders and down his back.
Harry wasn�t sure if he was looking for injuries or just trying to calm
himself, but either way he tried to hover as motionlessly as possible so that
Draco could touch him. �I wanted to come tell you, and then I realized that you
weren�t at dinner when my mother cast a spell to help find you.�

�� Your
mother?� Harry cursed under his breath and looked down into the Forest. �Snape
is with Bellatrix, Draco. Under her control or something. Your mother might be
walking into a trap.�

�� Well,
then.� Draco pulled back onto his own broom, in control again so fast that
Harry was amazed. He pointed his wand towards the trees and moved it up and
down as if he was writing the number 11 in the air. Nothing happened to Harry�s
eyes, but Draco seemed satisfied. �She�s over here,� he said, and dived.

�� Harry
followed without hesitation. If he could dodge in and out between the stands in
a Quidditch game, then he could do the same through the branches in the
Forbidden Forest.

*

��

�� Draco kept
his eyes on the soft white glow, which only someone with Malfoy blood could
see. It would make everyone who was of the family, or married into the family,
shine when a certain spell was cast.

�� He was
worried, remembering that Bellatrix was mad and Snape was a great duelist, but
he was confident that they would reach his mother in time. Harry was safe. That
meant his mother had to be.

�� He twisted
around to avoid a branch, and then Harry was right there with him, head ducked to
the point that Draco winced for his neck. He dodged around a trunk, and Harry
was there with him, flying sideways. They flew beneath a rustling canopy of
leaves together and suddenly came into open air over a broad clearing.

�� Two figures
were dueling below. Draco recognized his mother by the movement of her bright
robes. And the woman facing her had to be his aunt Bellatrix. Draco shuddered.
She looked like Black, but the expression of twisted madness on her face was
horrifying and half-destroyed the resemblance.

�� Swaying
next to them was Professor Snape, whose wand kept wavering back and forth. He
looked as though he wanted to fight against whatever Bellatrix was doing to
him, but Draco didn�t know if he would be able to.

�� And Draco
knew he would have to handle the main
part of the Snape-rescuing, because Harry wasn�t a good enough Occlumens. He
pulled himself up, drew his wand, and said, �I�m going to make sure that
Professor Snape joins the battle on my mother�s side, Harry. Guard my back and
defend my mother if you can.�

�� He hurtled
down thirty feet, to a height where he trusted that he would gain Bellatrix�s
attention. She looked at him briefly, cackled, and then turned back to
Narcissa. But Snape, his eyes following Bellatrix�s command the way they had
to, looked at him and went on looking.

�� Draco was
glad. Legilimency was easier with eye contact�not that anything would be easy about this, but he didn�t need
obstacles that he could get rid of with ordinary precautions.

�� Legilimens,� he said, and then a
ravening whirlwind ripped him from the broom and drowned him in fear. The last
sound he heard that he could be sure belonged to the real world was Harry�s
voice yelling Latin words in a mixture of grief and pain, fury and love.

*

�� Severus was
still struggling against Bellatrix�s commands. Now and then she wanted him to
hurt Narcissa, but she didn�t seem to notice yet that he hadn�t done so. She
thought it was too good a joke that her sister was fighting her, Severus
thought bitterly. So far, Bellatrix had made at least three disgusting jokes
about times she and Narcissa had been together as children that Severus never
wanted to hear again.

�� So he could
hold out against her, but for how long? Severus had seen Bellatrix in battle
before this. Her amusement would last until she herself was seriously wounded,
and then she would shift to hysterical rage in an instant and think only of
destroying her enemy. And Severus was still not completely free of her hold on
his body, though his mind cleared every movement.

�� Something
dropped from above like a dragon. Severus would have looked up instinctively,
but it helped that Bellatrix looked at it, and she didn�t follow the movement
with an immediate command, so Severus could keep looking.

�� And then
Draco�s eyes were boring into his, and his mind was reaching out, sliding into
Severus�s like a hand sliding into one poised to receive it.

�� I�m here, Professor Snape. I�ll help you if
I can.

�� It was the
first reassuring Legilimency that
Severus had ever experienced. When his mind made contact with the Dark Lord�s,
it was in battle, and the same thing had occurred with Dumbledore in the past
when the Headmaster attempted to read his thoughts without Severus�s
permission. Trying to teach Harry had been a disaster. But this was the work of
someone not as delicate as Severus himself, but experienced enough to lend
strength where it was most needed. Severus seized control of the power and
pulled it like a rope covered with cleaning cloths across his mind, scrubbing
fiercely at the oily patches of fear.

�� The emotion
fled, and when Draco caught on to what he was doing and began doing it himself,
then Severus was free to try and regain control of his body. He sent his will
flooding into his arms and fingers, forcing his fingers to move independently,
and then to clench on his wand. His arms relaxed from the stiff posture
Bellatrix had kept him in, and then he whirled on her.

�� Bellatrix
had just forced Narcissa into a defensive posture, and was cackling insanely as
she dug at her feet with red spells that Severus knew mimicked the effects of
particular poisonous potions. Narcissa showed no more sign of effort than the
pallor of her face, but Severus knew that maintaining such a strong,
all-purpose Shield Charm was draining her quickly. She would have lost if
Bellatrix had forced Severus to join the fight.

�� Severus
knew exactly what spell he wanted to cast on Bellatrix to pay her back for the
months of terror, the visions of his mother, and the idea that Harry would die
at the Dark Lord�s hands no matter what happened. His lips barely moved as he
spoke the syllables; he could have cast it nonverbally, as strong as he felt
then, except that he didn�t want to take the smallest chance that something
might have gone wrong. �Implico mentem!�

�� Bellatrix
uttered a short cry as the spell reached her and surrounded her in a green
prism. Then her body slumped forwards and she began to grope at the air around
her with shaking hands. Her wand dropped unnoticed into the dirt. Severus
summoned it to him with a contemptuous flick of his own wrist and tucked it
carefully deep into a pocket. He thought it best if he kept it for some time,
even avoiding its surrender to Dumbledore. In misguided compassion for one
Severus knew was a merciless beast, Dumbledore would probably place it too near
her.

�� Draco
landed his broom next to his mother, reaching out and encircling her shoulders
with an arm as if he wanted to hold her close and prevent her from ever having
to battle again. Narcissa let her shield fall and smiled gently at him. Severus
thought she was amused at the reversal of roles, considering how often and for
how long she had protected Draco from the harsher realities of his life as a
Death Eater�s son, but Draco didn�t notice. He was staring at Severus with a
serious, searching expression, as if trying to learn from the outside whether
all traces of the fear spell were gone.

�� What did
you do to her?�

�� And that question is Harry�s, Severus
thought, as he turned to him and caught the boy�s eye. Harry had landed his
broom not far from Draco and turned his face cautiously between Severus and
Bellatrix. Of course it is.

�� I have
entangled her mind,� Severus said, making sure to keep his voice gentle and
reassuring. No need for violence at the moment, especially when violence would
probably only make Harry flinch back from him and return to the distrust that
had endured since last year. �She does not see the world as it is, but a mental
prison of her own nightmares.�

�� Harry
winced. �That�s��

�� She has
controlled my mind for the last four months,� Severus said sharply. He couldn�t
help the sharpness, not this time. He deserved some of the kindness that Harry was forever flinging away on those
who did not deserve it. �Would you have me spare her this? The mildest
punishment that is sure to hold her until we can decide what to do with her?�

�� Harry took
a deep breath and looked up at him. �No,� he said. �I know that you did what
you had to. But I�ve suffered nightmares myself, and I just�I just can�t look
at anyone suffering from them and not feel
that they don�t deserve them.�

�� Severus
calmed a little himself at the sight of Harry�s distress. He had to remember
that Harry didn�t know what he�d suffered from these last few months,
either�had no idea of the dark visions that had plagued Severus as he thought
of Harry inevitably dying at the Dark Lord�s hands. This was the time to make
peace.

�� She put me
under a fear spell,� Severus said. �It corrupted my rational faculties and made
me unable to confess my emotions to anyone else, for fear that they would scorn
me. And of course, with my past and my pride, it was very easy for her to
convince me of that.�

�� And so
that was why you didn�t come talk to me, and that�s why you�ve been acting like
you have,� said Harry, as if he were talking to himself. He straightened his
shoulders a moment later. �I�m glad that you�re free of it now, sir,� he said.
Then his eyes narrowed. �You are free
of it, aren�t you?�

�� Yes.�
Severus took a moment to scan his own mind, just to be certain, but nodded in
satisfaction when he could find no more greasy tatters of the spell. �Draco
helped me rid myself of it.� He nodded to Draco in approbation. �I had no idea
that you were so proficient in Occlumency and Legilimency, Draco.�

�� Draco
nodded back instead of displaying the false pride and stammering modesty that
Harry would have. �I have to know it, to make tutoring Harry possible,� he
said.

�� Harry
smiled as if he appreciated the jibe, and then stepped up next to Draco. The
glances they exchanged told Severus more than he wished to know about the turn
his students� lives had taken whilst he was under the spell and unable to
notice it. He felt a little ill, but he pushed aside the reaction. If this was
what both Harry and Draco needed to be happy�if this would give Harry a reason
to survive and Draco no reason to regret turning against his father�then surely
he could not begrudge them what they felt.

�� In the
meantime,� Severus said, and wished he didn�t sound quite as much as if he were
trying to convince himself, �we must take Bellatrix back to Hogwarts.� He
grimaced. �Quite obviously she was the one who enchanted the package that you
received, Narcissa, which bore the touch of Dark magic��

�� She did
not,� Narcissa said decisively. She had been so silent in the past few minutes,
and had spoken to him so little�that he remembered�for the past few months,
that Severus started. He had forgotten she could be forceful when she wanted
something. �I would have recognized the taint of my sister�s magic. It is hard
for blood relatives to hide from each other. Besides, I strengthened the wards
placed around my rooms the moment I heard of Bellatrix�s escape from Azkaban,
and I brought the knowledge of those wards with me to Hogwarts.�

�� Severus
frowned, baffled. He had been sure that Bellatrix had managed to reach Narcissa
if she had managed to reach him.

�� But then he
remembered something he had almost forgotten: his Dark Mark burning the night
he had received the vision of his mother. Yes, it was possible Bellatrix had reached
him through that.

�� And she could have commanded me to do any
number of things, Severus thought, with a grimace at the woman kneeling
next to him and groping her way in front of her as though through a thick mist.

�� Then
perhaps I��

�� I moved
Draco to rooms in Ravenclaw Tower because I was concerned about your erratic
behavior.� Narcissa arched an eyebrow. �I would also have recognized your
magic. Indeed, I rather expected it at first.�

�� Isn�t it
obvious?� Draco broke in impatiently. �That was the information I found out and
came to tell you in the first place. Finnigan is related to Lestrange. She must
have forced him to get the package past the wards.�

�� But
Professor Snape took away the fear spell on him,� said Harry, his voice full of
stubbornness.

�� Gryffindors, loyal to a fault, Severus
thought, but it was only an idle thought to occupy the surface of his mind
whilst the underlayers sped towards a conclusion. When he reached it, he sucked
in a sharp breath.

�� I never
freed Finnigan from a fear spell,� he said.

�� Harry
turned to face him, hands clenched into fists as if he thought that Severus
might mean to betray him again. �Yes, you did,� he said. �You told us you did,
and his symptoms were consistent with fear spells��

�� They were not,�
Severus said shortly. He chided himself for not realizing this earlier, but
then, under Bellatrix�s control, he would have been lucky to have a moment of
clear thought to realize it. �I did
not find the same patches of drifting terror in his mind that I encountered in
my own.�

�� But the
shaking in his hands was��

�� The
shaking in his hands could have been faked,� Draco interrupted this time, which
made Harry toss him an irritated look. Draco didn�t take notice, which, Severus
thought, was as it should be. �Especially if he was working with Bellatrix or
the Dark Lord at the time. They gave us symptoms of what we expected to see, and we went along with
them and thought exactly what they expected us to think.� He made a soft
disgusted noise and shook his head. �I thought it was too simple when we
�freed� Finnigan.�

�� But then
what did he suffer under?� Harry
snapped, not sounding willing to let the argument go. �You can�t tell me that
it was part of Voldemort�s plans to have him attack me openly like that. He
should have either killed me right away, or waited until there was a better
time to do it.�

�� He
suffered from nightmares,� said Draco, thinking aloud. �Inability to control
his actions. Extreme emotions, but maybe that was him fighting back against
whatever the Dark Lord had done and getting desperate.� Harry relaxed a little
as he spoke that last sentence, and Severus muffled his snort. Yes, Draco had
learned well how to handle Harry.

�� There was
evidence of some kind of mental tampering in his mind,� Severus admitted. �Some
of it could have been feigned to convince me that he had been under the fear
spells, but I believe some of it real. It looked as though many wounds had been
opened at one time and then clumsily allowed to heal.�

�� Voldemort possessed
him,� Harry whispered.

�� Draco moved
closer to his mother, as though the mere speaking of the words aloud threatened
her. Severus turned to face Harry, whose face was as pale as the moonlight.
�You don�t know that, Harry,� he said gently. He thought the contention might
actually be right, but the evidence was scant, and he didn�t want Harry
erupting into another of his misguided bursts of pity for Finnigan.

�� I think he
did,� said Harry. �I had nightmares. I remember fighting in desperation against
Voldemort�s control. And there were wounds in my mind. Still are.� He wrapped
his arms around himself.

Draco stepped towards him, but
Severus was faster. Harry stiffened as Severus embraced him, but didn�t reject
it, which made Severus glad that he had risked the motion. �It could still have
been Bellatrix controlling him, and not the Dark Lord,� he said. �There are
spells that will allow pure-bloods to control those who share blood descent
with them, no matter how distant. And certainly the Dark Lord would have made
sure to learn them, so that he might control any wizarding relatives of his
that remained.�

Harry met his eyes. �But Bellatrix
married into the Lestranges, she wasn�t born into them.�

Severus paused. �It does not
matter,� he said, with a shrug. �Her husband could have taught them to her.�

�But for her to use them, it would have meant that he
had to share her blood, right?� Harry shook his head, his eyes shut and his
face sick. �No, I think that Voldemort has been possessing him all along. He
knew the powerful Dark magic that destroyed my Invisibility Cloak. And he was
frantic when he found out I spoke Parseltongue. I thought it was strange that
Seamus hated Parselmouths so much, when he wouldn�t have known his mother�s
relative. But what if he was really expressing Voldemort�s fear that another
Parselmouth existed, someone who could challenge him?�

�You�re wrong,� Draco said, his
voice shattering in its impact and loudness. �You must be wrong. The Dark Lord
was in spirit form during our second year. He couldn�t have possessed
Finnigan.�

�He�s not the only kind of spirit
that could have done possession.� Harry massaged his forehead over his scar, as
if it hurt. �What if Seamus was in contact with a Horcrux?�

�� And then
Severus did feel like cursing himself
for a fool.

*

�� But where
could he have got one?� Draco was insisting, as they took Bellatrix back to the
school. Neither he nor Professor Snape had wanted to take Bellatrix to
Dumbledore, but Harry had pointed out that they sort of had to. Dumbledore
would probably have seen Snape and Harry running out, at least, and he would
want an explanation for that. And he would feel Bellatrix�s passage through the
wards, too, which ruled out trying to hide her inside the school. �We don�t even know where the Horcruxes
are.�

�� We know
where three are,� Harry said tiredly, rubbing his scar. It didn�t hurt, but it
retained a memory of pain. He was
sick just thinking about Seamus being possessed by Voldemort. He was frightened
for Seamus, and for his friends, who had spent years sleeping next to someone
who would probably have gladly murdered them all in their beds. Seamus burning
his things was bad, but it was so small compared to what could have happened. �The diary and the locket are destroyed. The
stone�Dumbledore�s having difficulties with it. It�s harder to destroy, I
think. And then he thinks that Nagini, Voldemort�s snake, is one. And we know
I�m one.�

�� Draco
growled under his breath, the way he usually did when Harry referred to that.
Harry ignored him. Refusing to mention Voldemort�s piece of soul in him
wouldn�t make that piece of soul go away.

�� The other
two or three�I don�t know. But you said that the Lestranges were Voldemort�s
most ardent followers. What if they had the Horcrux, just like your father had
the diary and the locket? And then Seamus�s mother or Seamus came in contact
with it somehow.� Harry shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets. �Maybe the
Ministry gave the Finnigans the Lestrange vault when the Lestranges went to
Azkaban. Stranger things have happened.�

�� That is
rather excellent reasoning, Harry.�

�� Harry
started and looked over his shoulder. He had somehow managed to forget that
Mrs. Malfoy and Snape were walking behind them, with Bellatrix floating between
them, still trapped and scrabbling at the air. Snape was studying him with a
keen eye that made him wish he could go on forgetting. He turned back to face
the castle with a soft snort. �I don�t know what happened. I just think that�s what happened.�

�� At some
point,� Snape said, his voice so soft that Harry thought Draco and Mrs. Malfoy
wouldn�t have overheard him, except that they were walking so close together,
�we must address this lingering distrust you and I have.�

�� Except it�s not going to be right now, Harry
thought, and that was good enough for him. �We have to do something about
Seamus,� he said, glad to change the subject. �But if we confront him, then
he�ll just run, and if we try to force Voldemort out of his body�I�m not sure
we can do that, not if he�s been possessing him for years.�

�� The
guardian spirits of the Horcruxes should be weaker than the spirit of the Dark
Lord himself,� Snape said in the strangest tone, as if he wanted to be gentle
about Seamus for some reason. Harry knew that couldn�t be true. He hated
Seamus. �And the link may be weaker than the special link that your scar
creates.�

�� I hope
so,� said Harry, and then turned determinedly back to the school. They were
almost to the entrance now, and luckily it was late enough that most of the
students would be in their common rooms. He turned and cast a Disillusionment
Charm at Bellatrix just in case, though. �For now, we have to go to Dumbledore.
Maybe he�ll even have some ideas about how to handle Seamus.�

�� Snape�s
snort said that he doubted it, but he didn�t protest. No one had protested for
the last little while, Harry realized. Maybe they were all too tired to do it.

�� Or maybe
his arguments about going to Dumbledore made sense, and they trusted him.

�� Harry made
an uncomfortable shrugging motion as they arrived at the gargoyle and it leaped
aside when Snape spoke the password. I
don�t want to be in this role. I mean, maybe I�ve had to be the rescuer and the
savior before, but I�ve never been a leader. I don�t want them to look at me
that way.

�� But they both know about the prophecy now.
They probably will look at me that way, whether I want them to or not.

�� Harry
brooded in silence as they rode the moving staircase up to the office. But he
straightened up when they got there and tried to put his best and most
persuasive expression on his face. He would have
to convince Dumbledore that it was for the best to do something about
Bellatrix without sending her back to Azkaban. She would just escape again, or
Voldemort would find some way to rescue her. And he had to persuade him that
hitting Seamus hard wasn�t the answer, either. Seamus�s spirit was still in
there, somewhere, just like Harry�s soul had been there, struggling against
Voldemort�s possession. If Snape had rescued Harry instead of destroying him, they
could do the same thing with Seamus.

�� The door
opened. Harry stepped into the office.

�� His mouth
dropped open. Dumbledore stood behind his desk, clutching a stone that Harry
recognized at once as the stone that had been in the Slytherin ring�the third
Horcrux. His eyes were fixed wistfully on a shimmer in the air in front of him,
which looked like a little girl with a bright face and hopeful smile. She had
one hand extended to touch him.

�� That could be the guardian spirit of the
Horcrux! What is he doing? Harry drew his wand without thought and yelled,
�Accio stone!�

�� The stone
leaped out of Dumbledore�s hands and into Harry�s. The little girl vanished.
Dumbledore spun around, his mouth wide in astonishment.

��

When he saw Harry, with Draco and
Snape crowding in behind him, and Narcissa and Bellatrix after that, he sighed
and stretched out a hand. His voice was calm, but it would have been more
convincing if his hand hadn�t trembled. �Harry, listen to me, my dear boy. It
isn�t what you think.�

�Isn�t it?� Harry backed away from
Dumbledore until he felt Draco standing behind him, his eyes fixed on the
Headmaster�s face. The stone burned him with the same taint of oil and blood as
ever, and now his scar really ached. There was no temptation to surrender to
the guardian spirit of the Horcrux, luckily. �This is the real reason that you
didn�t want to destroy the stone, isn�t it, sir? Because the spirit had got to
you and was using you somehow.� He
spat the last words, trying to ignore the overpowering sense of betrayal he
felt. He was ready to excuse Seamus falling to the guardian spirit. Why not
Dumbledore?

Because
Dumbledore is older and wiser, and he knows this is a Horcrux, the thought
came back at once. He should have
realized what was happening and torn himself away from it, no matter what the
cost.

�The stone is not just a stone,
Harry,� Dumbledore said. He began to move around the desk, but Harry bristled
and, from the movements Harry could sense out of the corner of his eye, Dumbledore
was at once the target of three wands, so he stopped. He still spoke with
clarity and emphasis, though, and he still stared into Harry�s eyes as if he
thought that could convince him. �It is the Resurrection Stone, one of the
three Deathly Hallows.�

�I�ve never heard of them,� Harry
said. He clutched the stone closer to him, though it was starting to burn
against his palm, too, like a brand. �I think you�re just making up plausible
lies to get me to believe you, like Seamus.�

�� Dumbledore
looked startled. �I believed young Master Finnigan was cured. What has he done
now?�

�� Do not let
him distract you,� Snape breathed into Harry�s ear.

�� This isn�t
about Seamus,� Harry said, with a short nod for Snape�s advice, though he had
already figured that much out for himself. �This is about you. What does the
Resurrection Stone do, if this is really it?� He rubbed his finger over the
stone. The burning grew fiercer, and Harry held his hand still with a grimace.
But he would rather burn all the skin on his palm off than let Dumbledore get
hold of it again.

�� The
Deathly Hallows are powerful magical objects,� Dumbledore said, in a voice that
Harry recognized as meant to be low and soothing. Well, he can speak like that all he wants, that doesn�t mean it�ll
work. �Supposedly, they were given by Death to a trio of brothers. The
Elder Wand was one of them, the most powerful wand in the world�but every
master of it dies when someone else tries to take it away. The third gift was a
powerful Invisibility Cloak that did not decay or ravel away like most of them
do after a short time. I have come to believe that your particular Invisibility
Cloak was this one, Harry, and that is why it took such a powerful Dark spell
to destroy it.�

�� The
Resurrection Stone,� Harry said. He spoke through gritted teeth now; the stone
was sending violent jolts of pain up his arm. Snape reached down as if he
wanted to take it away from him, but Harry shifted sideways impatiently. Who
knew what a bit of Voldemort�s soul could do to someone who had the Dark Mark?
�Get to that.�

�� It brings
back the spirits of the dead.� Dumbledore�s eyes were bright and haunted,
yearning. �It allows one to talk to them. I swear, Harry, I was only speaking
to the spirit of my sister, who died on my watch, and who is the reason that I
have so rarely dared to exercise my power in the past.� He held up a hand that
made Harry tense, but he only pressed it to his heart. �That is all I was
doing.�

�� Harry
stared at him for a moment. Dumbledore, it seemed, hadn�t been lying. If these
Hallows really existed�and neither Draco nor Snape had said anything to
contradict it�then it would take a
more powerful spell to destroy the stone than it had to destroy the locket.

�� But Harry
could see the way Dumbledore went on staring at the stone, even though it was
folded in Harry�s fingers and he couldn�t see it, and he began to doubt whether
Dumbledore would really allow him to get away with destroying it.

�� I still
think you shouldn�t have it,� Harry said, trying to control his breathing.
�I�ll keep it now. I won�t be tempted to call back the spirits of my dead,
since I didn�t really know my parents, and�� He cut off what he had been about
to say. Yes, he felt as if he had friends dear enough now that the loss of his
parents didn�t cut quite so deep, but that was none of Dumbledore�s business.
�And I don�t know how it works,� he finished.

�� Harry.�
Dumbledore�s voice was so quiet that Harry had to strain his ears to hear him.
�You don�t know what the stone does for me. You don�t know what it means to me,
to speak to Ariana again and know that she doesn�t blame me for her death.� His
eyes were enormous, and he inched forwards one step and then another. Harry
watched him warily. �You can�t�I can�t let you destroy the stone.�

�� I was right, but I was wrong about the
reason. Harry tightened his grip on the stone again and shook his head, but
he tried to keep his voice as soothing as Dumbledore�s had been a little while
ago. �If I take the stone with me, sir, that should give you a chance to
recover and think about what you�re saying. Voldemort probably made this stone
a Horcrux because he knew that anyone who realized what it was wouldn�t want to
destroy it. It was an extra level of protection. But I won�t be tempted the way
you be. I can��

�� Dumbledore�s
wand moved.

�� But Snape
and Draco and Narcissa had all moved at the same time. Snape conjured a
shimmering shield in front of Harry that looked like a rainbow spreading in an
oil slick, and whatever spell Dumbledore had hurled at him rebounded from it. Narcissa
conjured a web like the one Bellatrix had used and caught Dumbledore�s arm with
it, spinning him around and making his aim falter.

�� And Draco
screamed, �Expelliarmus!� and
Dumbledore�s wand soared from his hand to Draco�s own.

�� Harry stood
there in shock for a few minutes when it was over, his heart thundering in his
ears. Then he swallowed and began to back up. Draco stepped up beside him,
shaking all over and clutching Dumbledore�s wand as if it were a talisman.

�� You don�t
understand what you�ve done.� Dumbledore was still trying to make his face
normal, but desperation and despair leaked in around the edges of his
expression. And maybe some rage, too, Harry thought. He�d got very good at
recognizing rage when he was still around Uncle Vernon. �Harry�you must give me back my wand, and you must give me back the stone. I will give
you an Unbreakable Vow that I am not under Voldemort�s influence, and the Vow
would ensure that I died before I surrendered to him. But I must have my wand,
to keep�to use in the war, and I must use the stone one more time.�

�� No,� Harry
said. His tongue was thick in his mouth and his heart heavy with sorrow, but he
forced his tongue to move anyway and say what had to be said. �No. The stone is
too great a temptation to you. And the wand�I�m sorry, but I think Draco did
the right thing.�

�� Too bloody
right I did,� Draco said in a low voice.

�� You cannot
stay in the school and keep my wand from me,� said Dumbledore, his eyes
darkening. Still, he didn�t make a threatening motion. Harry thought he still
really wanted to persuade them to hand the wand and the Horcrux back over. �You
know that.�

�� Narcissa
laughed. Dumbledore�s gaze shifted to her, and his eyes narrowed. �I will
revoke my protection of Mrs. Malfoy if you do not give me the stone back,
Harry,� he said, �and I won�t care about the consequences.�

�� A great
blast of calm blew into Harry. No one else would do this, so he had to. That
was as simple as it got.

�� You keep
threatening that, sir,� he said. �And you say that you won�t fall under
Voldemort�s influence, but I can feel it in this stone.� He winced absently,
because his arm was throbbing now. Good
thing those years of starvation left me with a high pain threshold. �It�ll
snare you in the end.�

�� You can�t know
that.� Dumbledore took another cautious step forwards, and now he wasn�t even
pretending to look at Harry. He was searching hungrily for the stone with his
eyes.

�� But I fear
it,� Harry said, and half-turned so that he was speaking to Snape and Draco and
Narcissa as well as Dumbledore. �And I think the wisest thing, given the danger
that you�ll try to take the stone from me by force or tear it away by magic or
wits, is for us to leave the school.�

�� Another
cool rush of resolution touched him the moment he spoke the words. Yes, this
was the right decision. How were they supposed to kill Nagini or search for the
other two Horcruxes if they were in school all the time? And he didn�t want to
become a sitting target for Voldemort, especially the way he would once
Voldemort figured out what had happened to Bellatrix. And the fewer people he
managed to endanger with his presence, the better.

�� Moving around. Free. That�s what I�ve wanted
to do for the past year, and I was getting more and more bored with the things
they were teaching me that didn�t have anything to do with defeating Voldemort.
I only really paid attention in my Occlumency lessons with Draco and my dueling
lessons with Snape.

�� You cannot
be serious.� Dumbledore�s voice was so soft that Harry knew he must have really
surprised him.

�� I can�t
trust you, sir,� Harry said, with real regret. The shock on Dumbledore�s face
said that at least part of him was
still trying to do good, and that he would probably have struggled against his
fascination with the stone if they had stayed. But Harry had assumed that
Dumbledore had changed and was making a real effort before, and all the time he
had been lying to Harry about the nature of the Resurrection Stone. �You�re
always trying to get around my actions, and you think threats against people
I�ve sworn to protect are the way to get me to cooperate. It�s best if we just
go.�

�� There is
no stronghold as safe against Voldemort as Hogwarts.� Dumbledore spoke
earnestly, but Harry counted the seconds, and he only managed to look at
Harry�s face for a count of five before his eyes flickered back towards the
stone. �And Professor Snape is a marked Death Eater, and Draco and Mrs. Malfoy
have Lucius hunting for them. Harry�this is madness. You need safety. You need protection.�

�� Harry
smiled sadly and flicked his fringe away from his forehead with his free hand.
�Even if I consented to stay,� he said softly, �there�s still the problem of my
own scar and what it means. Voldemort would come for me sooner or later. Yeah,
I need protection, but I think Professor Snape and Draco and Mrs. Malfoy can
provide that.� He hesitated, suddenly realizing that he hadn�t asked them. �If
they�ll go with me.�

�� Snape�s
hand clenched down on his shoulder. Harry heard the rustling of Mrs. Malfoy�s
gown as she moved closer to his back. Hardly daring to risk it, he glanced
sideways at Draco.

�� You really
are an idiot,� said Draco, with
admirable calm, although his cheeks were flushed, �if you think that I�m going
to let you go.�

�� What about
your friends?� Dumbledore insisted. �What about Sirius? He can�t visit you
safely anywhere but Hogwarts.�

�� I�ll cross
that bridge when I come to it.� Harry shifted so that Draco was at his back
this time, because Dumbledore had moved around the desk whilst he was
distracted. �I�ll manage everything, sir. Just stay here and get a new wand and
be the Headmaster that Hogwarts needs you to be.�

�� The
library, Harry,� Dumbledore said, his desperation showing this time in the way
his words rushed along. �The research you need, and the spells you have to
learn. Everything is here.�

�� I�m going
to be sorry to leave,� Harry said. But
not nearly as sorry as I would have been a year ago, when I thought there was
still some chance I could trust you and when I wouldn�t have thought Snape
would come with me. �But this is the way it has to be.�

�� I don�t
want to lose this war,� Dumbledore said, speaking quietly but forcefully, as if
he imagined that would catch and keep Harry�s attention when nothing had worked
so far. �Harry�I am sorry.�

�� Harry had
been expecting it from the beginning, really, so he wasn�t surprised when Dumbledore
touched something in his desk and lines of light began to cross from silver
instrument to silver instrument, forming a cage of light. It seemed as though
everyone was thinking of imprisoning him in cages or webs today.

�� Snape
barked out two short, sharp words that seemed to hurt his mouth, and certainly
hurt Harry�s ears. He thought they were Dark Arts that Snape hadn�t trusted him
to learn yet. The cage of light turned yellow, withered, and died before it got
properly formed. For a moment, they were surrounded by what looked like falling
leaves of ancient parchment.

�� That�s it,�
Harry said, though his throat felt cramped and the corners of his eyes were
stinging. �We�re going.�

�� He backed
carefully out the office door, leaving Snape and Mrs. Malfoy to face down
Dumbledore. Draco was at his side, his eyes blazing like stars.

�� As they got
onto the moving staircase, Harry looked sideways at him and whispered, �Do you
regret this?�

�� Draco
abruptly pushed him backwards, holding him against the twisting wall as he
kissed Harry, his tongue and teeth scraping Harry�s mouth. Harry opened to him
with a gasp, raising his free hand so that he could cradle the back of Draco�s
head.

�� Tell me,�
Draco whispered then, his voice so soft that Harry could barely hear it under
the gallop of his heart. �Do I taste like
I regret it?� He took Harry�s hand out of his hair and brought it down to touch
the distinct bulge at his groin. �Or feel it?�

�� And Harry
had to smile.

*

�� I knew a time would come when I would break
with Albus. I did not imagine it would be like this.

�� And Severus
understood, as he looked at his old mentor, why Harry had questioned him so
extensively and listened to him so patiently. The thought of parting with
Dumbledore, and giving up the access to strength and wisdom that the Headmaster�s
presence had always meant, was wrenching.

�� But it had
to be done.

�� If you are
wise,� Severus told him, keeping his words as calm and simple as he could, �you
will not try to contact the boy again, or to imprison him.� He backed out of
the room with his eyes on Dumbledore�s face, floating Bellatrix to the side and
with him. But the Headmaster didn�t make a move. He simply stood still, shaking
his head and frowning, as if he could not believe how soon it had all gone
wrong.

�� Narcissa
followed Severus, her expression pale and serene in the gloom of the moving
staircase. Severus cast a few spells that would warn him if Dumbledore tried to
make the walls close in on them or any other feeble trick, and then studied her
from the corner of his eye. She caught him doing it and faced him full on.

�� You don�t
mind coming with us?� he had to ask. �You have more to lose than anyone else if
we leave the walls of Hogwarts.�

�� I know
that,� said Narcissa. �And where my son and the man who swore to give my
protection go, there I will accompany them.�

�� Severus was
about to answer, but the staircase brought them around a corner then and in
sight of�something he did not want to witness. He jerked his eyes away and
determined to teach Draco how to cast more powerful privacy spells as soon as
possible.

�� Or perhaps simply the discretion to wait for
the right time and place.

�� But the
disgust could not hide the way his hands shook or, he knew, the flush of
excitement and adrenaline in his cheeks.

�� He was
going to war at last.

*

�� NobbyPotter:
It�s different being under the spell as compared to dealing with it from the
outside. And as you know now, Severus didn�t actually rid Seamus of a fear
spell.

�� MewMew2:
Thanks!

�� Sneakyfox:
Yes. And Snape�s mind constructed all kinds of justifications for not telling
anyone.

�� Thrnbrooke:
Here it is!

�� Fallenangel1129:
Here�s the next chapter.

�� Tabini:
Thanks very much! I do kind of hope to publish original stuff one day, but not
sure it�ll happen.

�� qwerty: Thank
you! I hope Snape�s explanation in this chapter clarified why the fear spell
would have affected him.

�� Tree: Thanks!

�� Ayla Rouge:
Thanks! That�s an inventive conclusion, but I�ve chosen a different fate for
the Horcrux in Harry. I hope you enjoyed the other HBP parallels in this
particular chapter.

�� SP777: Thank you!

�� Harry is
16, soon to be 17, and close to the same height as Draco.

�� Narcissa�s
calmness is definitely a poise, but also a weapon. She sees no reason to let
everyone around her know about her emotions.
- 24
- 25
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Inter Vivos