Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Shades of Grey	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 104018 -:- 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
- 24
- 25
- 26
Chapter 25

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

Planted in his normal place in front of the low table in the library, Harry was reading through the list of charms for the duck and checking what was on it to make sure they were all working correctly. A moment ago he had finished applying the last one, the sealing charm, so it should be done. He just wanted to make sure before he set it off on a test run with Kaliya. Looking up, he grinned as he saw the cobra wrapped around the stuffed dog, navigating it around the room. Chuckling, still finding the dog a riot, he asked, looking back down at the list, “Enjoying yourself, Kaliya?”
“This is most amusing! I do find it quite enjoyable. It gives one a different perspective on what you normally encounter,” the snake told him, tapping the stuffed animal on the side to pilot him over by Harry at the table. Stopping the animal by the young man, he was pleased since he got it right and had a better feel for what it took to maneuver the animal around. “Oh, this is good. I'm used to viewing the world from two perspectives, of course, but this adds a third. Not to mention, I do like how I can dictate where we go. Yes, this is most pleasing.”
Snickering, Harry said, “Yeah, it's pretty neat, that's for sure. I bet it's great for you since, though you can do the stairs, this might make it easier. Plus, you seem to be having fun with it.”
“I am,” the snake admitted then slithered off the stuffed dog and curled into Harry's lap, lifting his body so he could watch what his young man was doing with the duck. “It's a new adventure, one I do like.” Eyes on the duck as Harry tested it, he inquired, “How close is it to completion?”
“I'm doing the final testing on it right now. Then you get to give it a trial run in here. Just be careful when you do so you don't hurt yourself.”
“Never fear, Harry, I'll be cautious,” Kaliya assured him. “It'll be most enjoyable. Something like a maze, I would think. No, that's good. It means better exercise and using other skills I don't normally get a chance to put into practice.”
Sitting the duck on the table, he nodded. From what he could tell, everything should be on right and fully functional. “Almost ready here. One thing, though; it can fly a little. Tell me if it's too high for you and I can adjust how low it'll be to the ground.”
“Oh, this will be enjoyable,” Kaliya told him excitedly, tail twitching slightly.
Grinning, petting the snake, Harry tapped a sign he had made up then watched as it lit up the doorway with the words Duck Testing Area! Caution; Snake Chase in Progress! Snickering at that, though wanting it there in case Lucius came in so he could keep an eye out for what was going on, Harry looked down at Kaliya and asked, grinning bigger, “Ready to give this a try?”
On full alert, stiffened up, Kaliya watched the duck and said, “I'm prepared! Let's see how it works, Harry!”
Snickering to himself, Harry tapped the duck with his wand then it ran around with a panicked quaking sound. The stuffed animal then let out a squawk when it appeared to see Kaliya and dashed off the table, stuffed wings flapping, screaming about a snake.
With a happy hiss, Kaliya uncoiled and took off after the duck, slithering over the table and onto the floor in hot pursuit.

Stopping at the door to the library, Lucius was completely amused by the warning sign in bright red flashing letters. Shaking his head, he cautiously took a step in, looking around. Letting out a soft snort as the stuffed duck flew by him only a few inches off the ground screaming about needing rescue, and that there was a snake, with Kaliya in hot pursuit. Oh yes, this was amusing! Observing the snake trailing after the stuffed duck that was insisting it was having a coronary, he watched the two until they disappeared under the furniture. Shaking his head, he walked over to where Harry was sitting. Conjuring a pillow, he seated himself with a soft groan and said, “Well, it appears the duck is functioning as it should! That is very impressive, Harry. You've done quite well with it. The nasally voice is very apt for the creature.”
“Yeah, I thought it fit.” Harry chuckled as the duck ran by the table in a complete dither, screaming about needing a savior with Kaliya right on its stuffed tail.
Watching the chase, shaking his head and smirking, Lucius said, “I do believe that rates an O for the assignment. Severus is bound to agree as well.” Settling in and sending an elf for something to drink, he said, “Tomorrow we'll all sit down and go over the list of charms you used to see where you had problems and try to figure out what the issue was. Then, I believe, we'll take a few days break before pressing on to the dog.” Eying the large stuffed animal, he asked, “How does Kaliya like him?”
“He's having fun with Padfoot and about has steering him down pat,” Harry chuckled, taking a butterbeer from the elf when the creature popped up. “I think it's like a toy to him, something he's having fun playing with.”
“As long as he is enjoying it I don't take issue with the beast,” Lucius snorted, shaking his head. Relaxing, watching Kaliya and the duck make another pass by, he asked, tone slightly distracted, “Did you discuss the purification Severus brought up with him?”
“I did,” Harry said with a nod. Putting the bottle down on the table, he shifted around then said, “He won't even try it. From what he said, he thinks the 'purification' part might be a mistranslation of some kind or not mean what we're going for. I'm gathering he thinks they mean when it comes to something like diseases and curing them. There is too much risk of harming me, even if the venom from the second set of fangs is used, for him to be willing to agree to it. There was something else he mentioned though, something that he said might be along the same set of lines that may work,” Harry explained.
“We knew it was something odd and weren't sure it would work. What did he suggest?” Lucius inquired, interested. So far, Kaliya had been most helpful so he was more than willing to take a suggestion and look into it.
“Something that is a purifying agent. The only two things I could think of were unicorn and phoenix tears. Severus might know more. He said if you can find something that is truly used to purify, it might work. Though he doesn't know how safe it would be to inject it into the scar.” Harry told him.
“I'll bring it up to Severus to see what he has to say. With what I know on the topic of purifying agents, it may work to drive it out. At least in theory. Real application is another matter,” Lucius sighed. “Nor am I sure how to go about getting what we need to where the Horcrux is without harming you or it being incredibly painful. If we don't know just what we're doing, it could be catastrophic. Mayhaps this is something we might not want to even attempt. I'll discuss it with Severus, of course, but I'm leery of even trying this,” Lucius told the young man with a shake of his head.
“Yeah, honestly, it's not something I would want done here unless as a last resort,” Harry told him, chuckling softly.
“I think tabling it unless we can't find something else and the matter is pressing is warranted. I'll pass this along to Severus, as well, but I don't think it's viable as an option.” Lucius told him. Distracted by a screaming quacky type noise from the duck that said it was caught and dying, he snorted as he watched Kaliya slither over to them.
Sliding onto the table, depositing the duck that now had x's for eyes and its stuffed tongue lolled out the side of its beak, little feet stuck in the air, the snake said, completely amused, “Oh, that was good, Harry! A most merry chase. The height is just right on the flying. I did enjoy that! Outside will be even better I think.”
Grinning at the snake, Harry asked, “Anything off with it? It worked fine and no weird behavior?”

“It was all fine, Harry,” Kaliya told him, slithering into his lap and curling up. “Quite enjoyable. It is faster than the other duck and the flying was good, something I did like. Yes, this is good. You did very well with it.”
“Glad you liked it. We'll take it outside later and try it in the pool. It's supposed to swim more realistically and faster.” Harry told him while stroking his head.
Hissing contentedly, the snake replied, “Oh, that should be fun, yes! A good chase is always something to partake in.”
Reaching over and rubbing the cobra's head, Lucius said, “As soon as Severus and I test it, it's all yours.” Then he began to question Harry about the charms that gave him the most problems to see if there was a pattern to them he could find or if it was the charms themselves.

Rubbing his eyes and grinding his teeth, Severus actually flinched at the uproar that came when Dumbledore announced that the clothes that had been found were Harry's and the evidence on them pointed to Wormtail as a suspect in his disappearance. This was madness!
For the first time in memory, it was actually a full meeting with everyone there. That meant that everyone was wary coming in, expecting something bad. To announce this to everyone was something that brought out all kinds of emotions. Molly Weasley was actually sobbing loudly, tears streaming down her face. Some of the others weren't in much better shape. Black was shouting, something he knew was for show rather than the real thing, because it was expected of him. By now, his head was ringing. He just wanted this to end, that's for damned sure.
Thankfully, Albus quickly got everyone calmed down and walked them through what evidence was there and how he wanted it handled. As he was masterful at such maneuvering, everyone was listening rather than talking as he doled out assignments, walking those present through what he planned to do. On full alert as the old man talked about plans, Severus gave an internal sigh at some of what he was hearing.
Most of it wasn't anything that would cause issues for them. It was just scouring places for clues and interviewing possible witnesses. As he knew what Black and Lupin had done, he wasn’t worried about it. When the old goat got to the part about the psychic, he mentally rolled his eyes. They had been concerned, of course, not knowing what to expect. Now? He wasn't worried about it. He knew the name mentioned. Though she was one that did seem to have some kind of gift, he was sure most of what was there were theatrics. She was a 'touch/know', someone that could supposedly touch an object owned by the person and tell them where they were. He wasn't worried about that as the wards would block such an attempt. Albus then yammered on about tracking spells and seeing what they could do there. Again, that was something he wasn't worried about as Lucius had already gone through what he brought and came up with runes to negate anything they would try with such an attempt. Everything else wasn't anything they needed to concern themselves with. However, when the old goat pressed on to the school year and what the Ministry was going to try, Severus gave an internal sigh. That didn't sound good to him.
Shifting around as the old man went over that and Minerva added in what she had found out from contacts in the Ministry, a sour looked passed over his face. He didn't want to go back and face this madness, that's for damned sure. That offer by Black and Lupin—it was looking better all the time. He was already stretched thin as it was, what with the three sides he was working with. If the Ministry really was trying to get its fingers into Hogwarts, he didn't want to be there, knowing the Dark Lord would rely heavily on him for information. Right now he wasn't sure he could pull this off anymore and take the stress that was sure to come. Maybe, just maybe, it was time to do that bond and be done with it, letting Lupin and Black handle any research on the Horcrux issue. He didn't know, but his gut was telling him it was time to get out. As he knew to listen to that, he was planning to and would talk it over with Lucius before deciding. He wanted out, that was all there was to it.
Looking alert when Albus said his name, Severus gazed in the old man's direction.
Quietly, Albus asked, “Do you have anything on your end? Has Tom said anything about this?”
“Nothing,” Severus told him honestly, folding his arms over his chest. “Wormtail has been on the receiving end of plenty of curses over the last couple months for being his usual inept self. He's said nothing. Nor has anyone else, despite how bad this has gotten. With all the Crucio's thrown at people, something would have come loose by this point. The Dark Lord seems as much at a loss as we are as to who has Potter. It's actually an issue that doesn't seem to be helping his mental state in the least, driving him further into the madness that is already there, making him paranoid.”
Nodding slowly, looking down at the table, Albus sighed heavily, shoulders slumping. Quietly, he asked, “If you were to hazard a guess, what do you think Tom's theory is as to who has Harry?”
Looking down, pretending to think that over, Severus finally imparted, tone distracted, “His leanings seem to be that the Ministry is involved. What with the mess with Fudge and how no one was bothering to look for Potter, his thinking seems to be going that way. With Lucius Malfoy having vanished off the face of the earth, he doesn't have the contacts there like he did before and information is just not coming like it was.”
“Could Lucius have Harry?” Arthur asked quietly, looking at Severus.
“I don't think so,” Severus said with a shake of his head. “If he did, he would have turned him over to gain favor. I think it's a case of Lucius seeing how bad this is getting and wanting out. We all know Narcissa was the one that was firmly in line with the Dark Lord, despite what was going on, because she didn't have to deal with him like Lucius did. I think this is just what it appears; she's mad because Lucius wanted out so she divorced him. Lucius is probably hiding, hoping this all blows over soon. Once that happens, he'll pop back up and resume his life much the way it was.” As this was the story he and Lucius had concocted long ago, it was easy to get it out and sounded authentic.
Stroking his beard with one hand, looking down at the scarred table, Albus asked, quietly, “From your end, what do you think could help us? I mean, Tom is more apt to jar something loose than we are. Is there a way to push him to where he might be able to come up with something we don't? Though it galls me to say that, because of what I know he'll do to someone, we're flying in circles here.”
Thinking that over, Severus said, tone distracted, wondering if this might only help them and run everyone in bigger and more circles, “I say let me take the information you have on what was found to the Dark Lord. By now, the Dark Lord knows something was found as it made the paper. Let him take it from there. Either he will go after Pettigrew or the rat is going to run scared and press forward with what cockamamie scheme he dreamed up for this. Either way, it's bound to get us some answers, one way or another. If he does have Potter, as it sounds, he's not going to hurt him as he's too big of a bargaining chip for him. Potter is the one thing that could get him out of the mess he's in, he has to know that. I say let's turn up the heat.”
“If Peter does have him, you can't count on him acting logically, Severus,” Remus said, quietly. Right now, he was getting what the Potions Master was going for and was playing along with the role that would be expected of him, nothing more. He was all for this as it would distract everyone from both sides. “This whole—whatever it is, isn't logical at all. Peter never did think anything fully through when he did something. I'm betting that's the case here too. If he does have Harry, it might push him over the edge and Harry could be in worse danger than he already is.”
“Or it could push him to make a mistake,” Sirius snarled, eyes flashing. Actually, he liked this idea, a lot. Peter would panic and do something very stupid at some point, something that could only help him. “He's an idiot, we all know that. So far he's managed to pull off a good one and not get caught. We know Wormtail, that's not going to last. When it looks like he's in real trouble or that he's going to be on the receiving end of something he doesn't like, he's going to panic. When he panics, he makes mistakes. It's only blind arse luck he's managed what he has so far. I say turn up the heat. Harry is no fool. If Wormtail has him and starts to panic, it might be the chance Harry needs to get out of the mess he's in. Let the jackarse deal with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He's going to run like a scared rabbit when he sees someone's figured out what's going on. While he deals with that, the rest of us can look for his traitorous arse. If he has all three sides of this thing looking for him, he's going to stumble. When he does, it can only help us.”
Looking at Severus, Albus thought it over then began to nod slowly. “Give it a try, Severus. Gauge by Tom's reactions what to do from there. If he seems receptive, keep pushing. I'll leave it up to you as to what you do there.” Seeing the man nod, he then looked at Tonks and Kingsley, “Both of you see what you can to do start pointing the DMLE where we need them with the evidence. While you do that, we'll focus on finding Peter. We might have more luck there than what we've had trying to trace Harry. We'll keep looking for Harry, of course, but maybe shifting this slightly might get something to pop its head up that we can work with better.”
Liking this, Severus said, “I'll go tomorrow and feed him what we know. He has his own contacts within the Ministry. I'm sure whatever they'll find will back up what you have. Then he's going to go push in a way we can't. I agree; Pettigrew backed into a corner is going to make him look for an out. As he doesn't have an ounce of loyalty to anyone but himself, he's going to do something stupid or pop up to try to save his skin. This might work.”
Though the thought of Tom torturing someone turned his stomach, Albus nodded. “Let me know what you find out or if I need to keep an eye on something. We'll go from there. Hopefully, this will break something loose and we at least get a hint of something that can help.”
Nodding, Severus said nothing, pleased that the old man seemed to be at a loss enough that he was going in the direction they wanted him to. That meant that he could probably nudge him in the direction of the books he wanted to see. At least he hoped so. If there was something in those about how to get rid of the Horcrux in Harry's scar, he would pull himself out. Then he wouldn’t have to worry about the nightmare looming during the school year. This was good. Or so he hoped.

“I want out,” Severus said quietly, looking down at the floor while holding his snifter of brandy in both hands. Shaking his head, he looked up at Lucius and Harry, who were seated across from him. “This is—madness. It's only going to get worse when school starts if the Ministry plans to push their agenda there. If I can get to the books Albus has on the Horcrux issue and find something, I want out. If I can't, I think I need to find a way to get out nevertheless.”
“Then do it,” Harry told him softly, stroking Kaliya's head as the snake was curled in his lap, listening to the conversation. Shrugging, he said, “Remus and Sirius can help from that end. It should be all we need.”
“I concur,” Lucius nodded, leaning back in his chair. “We push for what we can get until that point, then you make an exit. The elves can move your things over here and duplicate them to make it look as though they are yours, putting them in the place of the originals, then let Black and Lupin have at it. I'm sure that between the three of you that you can make it look like a battle took place there. If we play it right, we can turn the heat up for all sides by making it look as though Pettigrew and some others took you out. Pettigrew alone wouldn't be able to take you on, we know that, but I'm dead certain we can come up with a couple patsies that we can pin it on. You're good, Severus, but a small group isn't something you could win against, especially if they have the element of surprise. That's what we'll do.”
Looking between the two, Severus nodded slowly. “It can work. I say we start making plans. I'll do what I said and go to the Dark Lord tomorrow then the meeting with Albus in a couple days. Once I do that and have a feel for what I'll be able to manage, all of us get together and start to hammer this out. We also need to see about working on implementing the bond. We're going to need that, I think. All of us.” Taking a sip of the brandy, he set the snifter aside and leaned back, shaking his head. “I think we can get everyone moving where we want them before I pull out. In fact, it might aid everything we want anyway by pushing forward a confrontation with the Dark Lord and Albus. That—it's going to set something ablaze, that's for sure. Albus is more than capable of taking the Dark Lord out, we all know that. I don't think he will, as he's laying too much stock in this Horcrux business, but it'll remove the focus and put it elsewhere. If I calculate right, this will also send the Dark Lord further off into madness. That can only help things as well. Something, somewhere is going to pop soon. And I want out before it does.”
“You do what you need to this week. Harry and I will take on looking into the bond. We have it narrowed down to the one we want. We just need to do some checking to make sure nothing off happens with it. Honestly? I think we need to anyway and deal with whatever consequences come of it. The benefits, from the sound of it, will far out weight anything that may result.” Stopping and glancing at the young man seated in the chair beside him, Lucius said, “I say that after next week, on Harry's birthday, we do the bond. Once done with that, we work on pulling you out. It should give us enough time before the start of term. It'll be cutting it close, of course, but it won't look odd to either side to have you starting your pre-term preparations either. While doing that, we make sure we get a list together of what we'll need and start stocking up. Then we go from there.”
“This sounds good. Let's see what the next two days bring then we press on from there. Let's focus on the last two days before the term starts as an out date and move with what we need to.” Looking at the other two, seeing them nod, he leaned back, relaxing. There was much that needed done, no doubt there, but he felt better knowing that he was going to be out of the worst.
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Shades of Grey