Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Vulpes	By : Relevant_Peach Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 8819 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters described here. I make no money from this work.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
Harry’s fox form wasn’t named ‘Flash’ for no reason. He had disappeared quickly from Severus’ line of sight, and was now nowhere to be found in the Castle. Under the guise of patrolling the hallways looking for misbehaviour, Severus felt like he'd traipsed every square metre of corridors. He managed to gain a little satisfaction by growling at students and docking points, but his worry over Harry's whereabouts distracted him from its normal joy. As the day waned and dinner approached, Severus admitted defeat and made his way to Albus’ office.

Password given, the Gargoyle leapt out of the way, and Severus rode the stairs, feeling wretched. Albus smiled as Severus entered the room and sank into one of the chairs on the near side of his desk. “Ah, Severus. How are you?”

Severus was unsure how to answer the question, given the upsetting events of the day, so he merely said “Harry has been coming to see me on occasion, Headmaster.”

“How nice. I’m pleased to see that the two of you have managed to mend fences”

“Well, we had, sir. But some recent events have caused some upset.” Albus merely nodded at him to continue, so Severus plunged on. “Harry has shared with me that the Dark Lord has made a series of Horcruxes”

Albus paled a little, and let out a deep sigh. “Ah, yes. Truly disgusting magic, Severus. I had asked Harry not to share this information with anyone, but it seems he's needed someone to confide in. Sometimes I forget that he’s still a child. He has suffered so, but bared it with such resilience. Has he found the work that he and I have been doing upsetting?”

“You could say that, Headmaster. Did you know that Harry is a Horcrux himself?”

Albus sighed again, and placed a wrinkled hand over his eyes. “I fear that he might be, Severus. I don’t know for sure, but there are strong indications. I assume that Harry has come to a similar conclusion?”

“He has. He has been attempting to come to terms with the fact that he is linked to the monster who killed his parents.”

“Oh dear. I don’t suppose that I’ve been helping him by trying to protect him from my suspicion. I sometimes forget how clever he is. I wish that he hadn’t been suffering because I underestimated him.”

“Yes. It’s been difficult for him to realize that he must die to save so many others. He’s been grieving, Albus. He’s sixteen years old, and he’s realizing that there are many things in life that he won’t get to experience. It’s been difficult for him.”

“But Severus, Harry won’t need to die. Whatever gave him that impression?”

“There doesn’t appear to be a great deal of information related to human Horcruxes. I believe that Harry just assumed that he’d need to be destroyed in order to end the Dark Lord’s life.”

“Oh dear. Now I feel doubly responsible for his upset. I should never have attempted to keep him in the dark. But, I had hoped that this would be something that I could address without Harry’s involvement. I wanted to protect him from the information while we destroyed all of Tom’s other Horcruxes, and then tell him when I was ready to perform the spell to remove it. The ritual needed a full moon, you see, and now that Nagini has died, I was simply waiting until next week, when the moon was full. This really is a mess. We are so close. I can’t bear to think that he’s been suffering.”

“Anyhow, it’s a little more complicated.”

“How so?”

“One of the things that Harry has been struggling with is the lack of experience he has had in…romantic matters. He was concerned that he would die without ever feeling loved.”

“Oh dear.”

“Yes, well, he kissed me this afternoon. Of course, I put a stop to it, and he took that as a rejection of him. He was quite emotional, and he ran out of the dungeons. I haven’t been able to find him since.”

“I wonder Severus” Albus said, suddenly looking every inch his age as he regarded his hands, clasped on his desk. “When I reach my day of reckoning for all that I have done in my life, will I ever be able to answer for all of the pain that I have exposed that child to?”

“He’s no child, Headmaster.” Severus reminded him. Truly, he’d never seen Albus so uncertain.

“No” Albus agreed bitterly. “and hasn’t been for most of his life, to my shame.” To Severus’ horror, the crinkled blue eyes that looked up were full of tears. “I love Harry as if he were my own child. Yet I have allowed him to come to such incredible harm while he’s been under my care”

“Lily would be furious with you” Severus agreed. He knew that it was quite unkind to say this, while Albus was obviously already struggling with his guilt, but it had to be said. Severus managed to ignore the niggling sense of guilt that he'd only recently had a change of heart about Harry. He was a hypocrite, certainly, but this was Albus' turn to recognize his wrongs.

“She would, that. I’m rather afraid of the conversation I’ll have with James and Lily, when all of this is finished. I sometimes wonder whether I should simply have allowed Riddle to win, rather than expose Harry to such suffering.”

“Albus!” Severus was scandalized.

“I know. A world led by Tom Riddle would certainly result in Harry’s death, and the end to every value we hold dear. But tell me that you don’t sometimes wonder whether it’s acceptable to allow Harry to hold the fate of our world on his young shoulders?”

“Yes, Headmaster. I wonder that as well.”

“Well, let’s see if we can find our wayward fox, and see if we can’t put some of his concerns to rest. I don’t know what the future will hold for Harry, but I swear on my magic, Severus, I will do everything I can to ensure that he emerges with as little harm as I can manage”

“You might start by telling him a bit more. Harry is incredibly resilient, but he reaches faulty conclusions when he’s kept ignorant. It isn’t fair to him, Albus.”

“You’re fond of the boy.” Albus’ voice had grown soft. Severus felt his cheeks colour.

“I have realized that I treated Harry unfairly.” He admitted stiffly.

“Severus.”

Albus’ gentle voice was Severus’ undoing. His voice was defensive as he said, “What of it, Albus? He’s a student, and he’s incredibly vulnerable. I won’t take advantage of him.”

Albus’ wrinkled hand came to the side of his face. “My dear boy, you know that I am just as fond of you as I am of Harry. I would like nothing more than to see the two of you happy. As you have reminded me, he is nearly of age, and if something were to develop between the two of you, I’d be the first one to congratulate you both”

“Well, be that as it may, if we don’t find him, I fear that you won’t have a chance to congratulate him about anything”

“Indeed.” Albus muttered an incantation, and the walls of his office glowed golden for a moment. Dumbledore cocked his head, as though listening, and then his face fell. “Harry isn’t within the wards” he said. “Where could he be?”

“The forest, most likely” Severus said.

“It’s already dark. Do you suppose he’s lost his way?”

“I don’t know” Severus said, the fear that had grown dormant while he was arguing with Albus gaining strength again, and beginning to gnaw at his gut.

Albus cast him a sympathetic glance, and said “Fawkes? Would you mind having a chat with Ronan and see if they’ve seen him?”

Fawkes trilled obligingly, and disappeared in a blaze of flames. Severus found his hands clenching and unclenching as he and Albus waited. After what felt like an eternity, Fawkes reappeared, and Albus gazed at him intently for a moment.

“The Centaurs have indeed seen an errant fox in the Forest this evening. Let’s go bring him back, Severus.”

The moon was waxing, and so the forest was bathed in patches of gloomy moonlight as Albus and Severus hurried to where the Centaur herd had last spotted Harry. The meagre light emitted from his wand did little to aid the situation, and Severus found himself stumbling on roots at a near run. As they reached the clearing, Severus slowed, not wanting to startle Harry.

A cloud drifted, and the moonlight suddenly became brighter. Severus spotted Harry and stifled a cry of relief. As he crept closer, he saw something puzzling. A familiar form was entering the clearing from the other direction. Severus recognized a familiar hank of dark hair, and the barest glimpse of a slightly beakish nose. “Severus” Albus warned quietly from behind him.

Severus’ brain gabbled in confusion, completely flummoxed at seeing himself approaching Harry from across the clearing. Did he have a time-turner? When his stomach gave a lurch, he suddenly realized with horror what was happening. Harry was edging closer to the other him, and Severus cried “Harry, run!”

It was too late. The other Severus firmly seized the little fox, and disapparated without a trace.
- 7
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- 9
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Vulpes