Harry sat in the room of requirements. Dobby had shown him this room when Harry has asked if there was anywhere in the castle he could be alone. He had called it the come-and-go room but there was a thin book on a pedestal just inside the room titled 'The room of requirements and how to use it'. Harry had ignored it and gone to find something to sit on. He buried his face in his hands.
Cedric was dead and Voldemort had his body back.
Because if him.
He sighed angrily and punched the couch he was sitting on, sending dust flying into the air. This was beyond bad. This was the worst case scenario.
He buried his face into his hands again, desperately trying to stop the tears before they came. This was all his fault. He leant back against the couch and stared up at the ceiling through the piles of junk. He knew this would happen eventually. He tried in first year and then again in second. Last year hardly peaceful either. Harry sighed again. He knew his life was in danger. He knew Voldemort would come back eventually and when he did, Harry would be his primary target.
He had wasted the past three years. Four if you include his first. He should have been training, learning to protect himself. Just because this was the magical world did not mean that there was no one who would want to hurt him. Just because the Dursleys weren't here doesn't mean there is no one who hates him.
He needed to get himself straight and focus on what's important. He needed to know how to defend himself. He needed to know how to defeat Voldemort, since the man would stop at nothing to kill him. Most importantly, he needed to know how to protect his precious people.
THUD
Harry looked to the side. There was a book sitting in a gently settling dist cloud. He blinked at it for a moment, not moving before he shrugged and picked it up. The cover was undamaged but was made of some kind of skin he had never seen before. It seemed untarnished by age. The title on the cover, 'Between Existence and Oblivion: How to Access Pocket Dimensions' was a pristine, glittering gold. A stark contrast to the dull green of the skin the cover was made of. The edges of the pages were fresh and white, as if it had only just been printed.
But something gave Harry the impression that this book was older than anything he had ever seen, and that includes the castle he was living in.
He shook his head and opened the book. It was written by someone named Amidatelion. That sounded like a girl's name though he couldn't be sure. He turned the next page and began reading. The more he read, the more engrossed he became until he was shutting the back cover.
He looked up as his stomach growled painfully. As if reading his mind, Dobby popped in with food. Harry ate quickly, just now realising how hungry he was. After eating he sat back and sighed happily. The elves really outdid themselves this time. He gave a jaw cracking yawn and rubbed his eyes. It must be very late at night by now. He lay down on the couch, toed off his shoes and put his glasses on top of the book on the floor.
He was asleep in seconds.
Little did he know that the castle was using the magic of the room to keep his connection with Voldemort shut off so he could sleep undisturbed by the man torturing his followers.
Harry woke in the morning after the best night sleep he'd had since... Hmmm... Well, all of this year his scar had been hurting and there was the occasional dream of Voldemort, not to mention the nightmares of the tournament, last year no one had slept well because of the dementors, the year before was the worry of the chamber of secrets and all that and his first year he had slept well at the beginning but after that came all the stress of Quidditch, lessons, the philosophers stone, Snape and Quirrel.
He had never slept well at the Dursleys. He had to be on guard at all times.
He frowned. He was always so ready for an attack, always mistrusting those around him. Why was he suddenly so willing to let his guard down? To let himself relax? To not want to learn what dangers there were in this world and how to defend against them? He shook his head. Something was not right here.
He reached down and fumbled for his glasses, easily finding them and putting them back on. He sat up and stretched, slipping his shoes back on. He glanced down at the book and decided to try. If the room had given him the book, it had given it to him for a reason.
According to the book, everyone had an element. It was different for each person. Most people couldn't control the elements but spells that tied in with their element became easier to use, for example, someone with a fire element will find spells like incendio easier than someone with an ice element, who would find it incredibly difficult. Likewise, some subjects became easier with certain elements such as Herbology being easiest for earth elements.
He closed his eyes and pictured the eight elements. Which of them suited him best? Not light, fire or lightning. He didn't like standing out or having everyone notice him, nor was he particularly volatile. Not ice or water, they didn't suit him. He wasn't laid back and he didn't like to take his time. Not wind, he wasn't so fast paced or fickle. Not earth either, he liked having his feet off the ground too much to be an earth elemental.
Darkness suited him.
He liked to blend into the background, to be unnoticed. He liked dark spaces, since they reminded him of his cupboard, which was the only place he couldn't get hurt while at the Dursleys. He liked looking out at the night sky and wandering around at night. He liked the quiet, calm darkness of the night. He wasn't afraid of what was hidden in the shadows.
Yes. Darkness suited him.
He pictured a dark, empty space. An empty Darkness pocket dimension. He felt a tug at his navel and something cool and soothing caressing his skin. He opened his eyes to be met with nothing. Just blackness. But somehow it wasn't over bearing or suffocating.
He smiled and let himself drop backwards slightly so he was floating in the nothing, lying slightly back. He closed his eyes, relaxing slightly before they shot open.
It worked.
He grinned and began shaping the pocket how he wanted it to be. Only he could get here so it was his to do with as he wished. The first thing he did was create a floor. It was a solid disk of pure obsidian. The next thing he created was gravity. His feet touched the floor gently for a moment before he felt the familiar pull of gravity pulling him down.
Now what?
A house, maybe?
He nodded and made a standard house. The walls were pure black and it didn't have any windows or doors. Harry huffed. So, this world wasn't going to just give him everything. He spent a long time designing his house. It was only one floor since he had all the space he needed. He didn't need to build it upwards.
He had a bedroom, a kitchen-dining room combo, a library, though there were no books, a bathroom and a training room. That was all he needed. If he brought anyone else here he would add things as needed.
There was no furniture at the moment, since everything was made of solid darkness and that made very uncomfortable chairs.
He looked around. It was still missing things but he couldn't figure out what. He closed his eyes and focused on the room of requirement the moment he left. There was the slight tug at his naval and the caressing shadows and he found himself back in the castle.
He picked up the pocket dimension book and smiled. This was too dangerous to just leave here where anyone could find it. With it, people could break out of Azkaban or kidnap people so they could never be found and leave no evidence. They could rob stores or people's houses.
Harry nodded. That was only the things people could do with what he had discovered so far, there was so much more he hadn't tried yet.
He reached to the side with the book in his hand and pictured his pocket. It took a few tried before he pictured it right and his hand slipped into a cloud of shadows and into this library. He put the book down on a shelf and then slid into his pocket dimension fully. The book was on the floor in his bedroom. He picked it up and went back into the come-and-go room to try again.
It took him a few more tries before he was able to put the book where he wanted it. He then decided to wander the room and see if there was anything of interest. There was a rather cool looking umbrella stand with a variety of different canes and walking sticks in it. He put it in the corner of his bedroom, it might be useful. A little while later he came across some comfy chairs and a couch of matching design. One of the chairs and the couch went into the library, the other went into his bedroom.
He carried on like this for a while, finding different bits of furniture that he could use. Not all of them matched, none of them were in top condition but all of them had a use. He eventually found the books. He grinned and set to stocking his library. He had to double it in size within minutes and a short time later he had to double it again. Then a third time. The fourth time he only had to expand it a little bit, instead of doubling it. He had no intention of reading all of those books, some of them looked like people's diaries. He would find out who and return it to them or their family if they had already passed.
Some of them were just novels that didn't interest him, like those romance novels or that one that looked like porn.
He stashed the magazines in a trunk he had found. Some might have some value.
He found a section of the room that must be incredibly old as it had spare bits of armour from various different ages and weapons that looked like they came from every corner of the globe. They went straight into his training room. The historical clothes he found not too far away went into some wardrobes he had found and was placed in a new room he created for the things he planned to sell. They had some historical value and might fetch a good price if sold the right way.
He wandered the room for ages, there was so much in here. The things he thought he could sell, he put in the new room. The things he liked, he found a place for in his house. He sat on the floor when Dobby popped in and reprimanded him for not eating and put a tray of food on the floor. Harry laughed quietly and dug into the sandwiches. Once he had eaten his fill he carried on walking.
Once he got bored of wandering the room looking for things for his house he went back into his pocket. He moved the furniture a little and looked over the books in his library, which was about four times the size of the rest of the house. He would need to rearrange them by genre or he would never be able to find anything.
He sighed and decided to make use of the summoning charm. He summoned the books on charms first and had to dive out of the way as they all hurtled towards him. He repeated the spell a few times to make sure he had all of them before trying to put them all on the shelves, arranged by topic and title. He quickly found a book with a spell that would help him arrange the library and after practicing it with the charms books he took a deep breath and cast it over the whole library. He ended up flat on the ground as books flew everywhere to get to the right place.
A few hours later he was lying on his new bed, completely exhausted. He had practiced several different household spells that day, preservations charms on the cupboards, fridge (why was there a functional one in Hogwarts?) And breadbox in the kitchen, cleaning and repairing spells on all of the furniture, sterilising spells when the cleaning spells didn't get rid of the smell and freshening charms to clear the air or all the residual dust.
He sighed and closed his eyes, a bright green light flashing across his vision. He took a sharp breath and sat bolt upright.
"Please, Cedric. I'm sorry. I couldn't save you." He felt his eyes water a bit but he didn't cry. He hadn't cried since he was four. He took slow, steady breaths and tried to calm down. After a moment he walked into his training room and ran until he collapsed and passed out. He didn't dream.
When he woke up he went back to the castle and ate something and turned the room of requirements into a bathroom. He took a long bath and worked on stretching his muscles from where they had cramped from him sleeping on the floor all night.
As he soaked he closed his eyes. The pocket dimension book had mentioned the magical core a few times as if it was a physical thing. He focused inwards and tried to find his. He drew his magic up, as if he was about to cast a spell and held it. He followed it to the source and found a tight, glowing ball.
It was being held by a number of chains one was pure silver and looked like chain mail, it covered nearly the whole thing itself, with only a small patch uncovered where the ball could be seen. It was a deep, almost-black, shade of purple. The other chains where on top of the first one and each was a different colour, thickness or even shape.
He gently tugged at each one in turn, slowly and steadily removing them. As each one slid off completely it vanished into nothing. In the end the only one left was the thin silver one. He couldn't find where it was connected, where it started or where it finished. The only hint was the hole it left. The edge seemed strained.
He managed to break one of the weak links and slowly started to unravel the chain. It was a long process as it was inter connected so many times. Eventually he had only managed to widen the hole to almost twice its size and was now probably about ten percent of the entire ball.
Harry slid out of his magical core and gasped as he looked around the room. The room was saturated in his magic. He quickly drew it back in but he couldn't take his mind off of it. His magic had taken the form of shadows that flew around the room, swirling and changing, morphing from one shape to the next, sometimes something distinct, sometimes something so abstract he could never have guessed what it was.
His element was definitely darkness.
He stood up and went to get out of the tub but slipped and fell backwards. He was glad the bath was like a small swimming pool or large hot tub. He landed on the bottom rather gently and easily stood back up, his back stinging slightly from practically belly flopping backwards.
He dried himself off and got dressed. He sat on a chair that appeared out of nowhere and sighed heavily. He buried his face in his arms and sighed again. He stood up and shook himself. If he kept sitting around doing nothing then he would only end up dwelling on things he didn't want to.
He paced for a moment as he tried to think up something to do. "Dobby!"
There was a quiet crack and dobby popped into existence next to Harry. "Yes Master Harry Potter sir?"
Harry sighed in exasperation and smiled down at dobby. "Dobby, I've told you, just call me Harry. Can you bring my school trunk here? And my bag?"
"Right away Master Harry Potter sir!" The little elf popped out and returned a moment later with Harry's trunk and school bag. "Here you are, Master Harry Potter sir."
Harry smiled and took the bag off the enthusiastic elf. "Thank you Dobby." He knelt down and pulled out his first year charms book. He opened it to the first page and leafed through it. Five pages in, he found the first spell. He already knew the lumos charm and was easily able to cast it first try. The next page held the levitation spell, again easy. He went through the entire book like this, casting each spell as he went. He found a number of spell he hadn't come across before and was able to cast all of them within a few tries.
He then moved on to his second year charms book. He was glad he kept all his school books in his trunk. It wasn't like he had anywhere else to put them or needed the room in his trunk. He didn't have a lot of things like his classmates. By the time dinner rolled around he had gone through the third year book and was working on this year's spells. For some reason it was so easy for him to cast them now. Maybe it had something to do with those chains on his core?
Who was he kidding?
Of course it did. Someone had placed chains on his core. They were restricting him and his powers. Someone wanted him to fail. The question was, who?
After dinner Harry carried on with his charms book and managed to finish it much faster than he thought he would. He pulled out his first year transfiguration text and started on those. By the time he finished this year's text he was exhausted and stumbled into his pocket dimension to sleep. Thankfully he didn't dream.
When he woke up he put all his charms and transfiguration texts on a desk and bookshelf combo in the library. He then ready through his defence texts, completely ignoring all of Lockhart's. The spells came so effortlessly you would have thought he had already known how to cast them.
He read through the potions, herbology, astronomy, care of magical creatures and divination texts before putting them all with his charms and transfiguration books. He spent longer reading through history since he was definitely failing that class. Professor Binns didn't help. A quick look at the book had Harry realising that these books weren't going to help much either. They were all way out of date. A number of events had happened since then they were important to history but these books were written a long time before they happened.
Harry put all but this year's text in the library with his other history books, keeping this year's one with his other books in the desk, and vowing to buy some better ones.
He slept fitfully that night, waking frequently though falling back to sleep easily enough. By morning he felt more tired than when he went to bed. He sighed and pushed himself up, deciding to take another long bath to warm up. He soaked for a while, relaxing in the water. He closed his eyes and tipped his head back against the side. For some reason an image of a shifting shadow came to his mind's eye. It shifted and changed around for a while before settling on the shape of a wolf. He felt a tug on his magic.
He opened his eyes and stared in shock at the shadow wolf standing on the surface of the water. It leant its head forward and rested it's forehead against Harry's. Harry felt a sense of calm wash through him and closed his eyes. His thoughts slowed down and he took a few deep breaths before he and the wolf pulled away. He looked into the deep purple of the wolf's eyes. "Thank you." He whispered.
The wolf barked softly before it looked down. It seemed to think for a moment before looked up at Harry and... Did it just grin? The wolf suddenly dropped into the water, causing a wave to wash over Harry's face. He couched and wiped the water away from his eyes to glare at the wolf which was now happily paddling around the giant bath. Harry sighed and shook his head, smiling slightly.
He looked to the side as dobby popped in with Hedwig. "Hey, Dobby. What's up?"
The little elf shrugged. "Yours owl was demanding to come sees you so I brings her here." Hedwig fluttered off his shoulder and landed on one of the taps. The elf snapped his fingers and a plate of food appeared on a table before he disappeared back to the kitchen.
Harry looked at his owl. "Hey, girl. What's wrong?" He moved closer to her, regretting having wet hands as she would likely poke his eye out if he got her feathers wet. Harry gasped as a wave of heat radiated from Hedwig. Her feathers glowed a bright, brilliant white. She seemed to swell in size, shifting from the size of a regular owl to a large swan. A long, elegant tail spread out behind her, her face shifted and became more angular, her beak longer.
When the light died down Harry gaped in awe at the white and silver phoenix sitting where his snowy owl used to be. Harry took a shuddering breath and looked her over. She was mostly white but her feathers had a slight silver sheen to them. There were silver swirl patterns over her tail and the tips of her wing feathers.
She smiled at him. #Hello Harry.#
Harry stared at her. "H... Uh... EHHH?! What? But! How?"
Hedwig laughed, a light trill that spread joy throughout the room. #I had thought you would react like that. I'm a snow phoenix, Harry. I'm a natural shape shifter. I knew as soon as I saw you that you were the one I had been waiting for but our bond was being blocked somehow. I shifted into a snowy owl and used my magic to make the half-giant buy me for you. If I couldn't be with you as a phoenix, then I would be with you as an owl. You broke what was keeping our bond shut. After you broke the connexion I was sure you would come looking for me but you didn't so I had the elf bring me here instead.#
Harry nodded dumbly. "So... You've been a phoenix all this time?"
Hedwig nodded. #Yes. And now we are bonded and can be together as we should have been from the start. Do not tell anyone though. We do not know who we can trust.#
Harry nodded. "Right. Okay... I'm not sure what to do now..."
Hedwig ruffled her feathers. #How about you get dressed?#
Harry gave a nervous laugh and got out of the bath. "How did I know you'd be just as pushy as a phoenix as you were as an owl?" Hedwig glared at him slightly before hopping over to his breakfast and stealing a piece of bacon. One Harry was dried and dressed he sat and ate his food, watching Hedwig eat the bacon and the wolf paddle in circles in the pool-like bath.
The wolf looked between Harry and Hedwig for a moment before paddling over to the edge and climbing out. Harry cast a quick shield charm as the wolf suddenly shook, spraying water everywhere. Hedwig squawked indignantly and leapt into the air, disappearing into a cloud of snow before reappearing on a fixture on the wall at the other end of the room. Harry laughed as she started grumbling indignantly as she preened the water out of her feathers.
The wolf padded over and sat at Harry's feet, silently begging for food. Harry blinked at it for a moment. "How are you completely dry?"
Hedwig huffed. #He's a shadow wolf, Harry. He is made of living shadow. He can be completely waterproof if he wants to, he just wanted to get me wet.#
Harry chuckled and shook his head eyeing the wolf. "Where did he come from anyway?"
ФI came from your magic, pup. I'm a shadow wolf.ф The wolf looked up at Harry. Now give me food. I'm hungry
Harry stared at the wolf in shock for while. "How can I understand you?" He paused and looked up at Hedwig. "Or you for that matter?" Hedwig shrugged.
He barked in amusement. фSilly pup. You're a beast speaker. Shadow wolves only connect with beast speakers so you must be.ф
Harry tipped his head in confusion. "What do you mean? What's a beast speaker?"
#A beast speaker is someone who can speak all creature languages. I suppose that was what your Parseltongue abilities are. Just a part of you beast speaker abilities.#
Harry nodded. "Makes sense. More sense than me being a Parseltongue actually." He grabbed hold of the plate as it started to slide off his lap while he was distracted. The wolf gave him a look and eyed his plate hungrily.
Harry chuckled and passed him a sausage. He delicately took it from him and munched it down in seconds. He then looked au at Harry for another one. Harry sighed. "Dobby." Dobby popped into the room. "Can you get a plate of bacon for Hedwig and some sausage for the wolf?"
"Of course, Master Harry Potter sir, dobby be doing it right away." The eccentric elf bowed and popped out, coming back a moment later with a plate of bacon and a large bowl of sausage.
Harry looked at the wolf. "I really need to find a name for you." The wolf looked up at him for a moment before going back to his food. "I don't want something to obvious, but it can't be childish or weird... Blackie is out... So is shadow, that would be like calling you wolf... Hmmm... Ebony sounds to like too much like a girl's name... Hmmm... Wait, what about Tenebrae?"
The wolf looked up and tilted its head.
Harry smiled. "It's Latin for 'darkness'. It suits you without being too childish or unimaginative." The wolf barked happily and waved his tail in the air. "Okay, Tenebrae it is."
One the three of them had finished eating Harry sat back on the couch. "I don't know what to do now but I don't think I'm ready to face the school just yet..."
Tenebrae looked up from where he had his head on Harry's lap. ФYou could practice doing spells silently, or wandlessly.ф
Harry nodded absently and rubbed Tenebrae between the eyes. "Yeah, I suppose." He stood up and stretched. "I do what to be able to protect everyone better." He stepped into his pocket dimension and got his charms and defence books out. He stepped back into the room of requirements and put the books on the conveniently located table. He started with the first year books.
By dinner he had mastered all the first and second year spells silently and could do most of the charms without his wand. After dinner he sat back down and searched for his magical core again. He noticed some of the links at the edge had worn and stretched again. He pulled at them and broke a few more bits of the chain off. He backed out of his magical core and opened his eyes, sighing heavily. He always felt batter after breaking off that chain, like a huge weight is being lifted off his shoulders.
Hedwig looked at him. #You know you can't hide from the school forever. You've already been gone a week.#
ФThe ice bird is right, pup. You cannot hide forever.ф
Harry sighed. "I know. I know..." He stood up. "Might as well go and face the music." He opened the door to the room of requirements and headed towards the Gryffindor common room. Hedwig flashed out of sight immediately but Tenebrae stayed by his side. As he walked through the hallway the wolf seemed to blend into the shadows and completely disappear. Harry shook his head. "Magic."
Half way to the common room he heard the distinctive footsteps of his potions professor just seconds before the man himself rounded the corner right in front of Harry, less than a pace away. They both froze for a moment before Snape glared full force down at him. Harry looked up at the man. Just being near him caused a wave of hatred and anger to wash through him, but at the same time... He felt inexplicably drawn to him. Being this close to the man he could smell him. Dark chocolate, warm apple cider and belladonna. He felt heat rise to his cheeks and his knees felt weak. His heart jumped a beat and suddenly started thudding wildly in his chest. He felt light headed and dizzy. His mouth suddenly felt dry. He looked up into those fathomless black eyes and had an unexplainable urge to lean into the man's chest.
He took a step back instead.
Snape sneered at him. "Potter." He spat. "Where have you been? You've had the whole school looking for you. Missing being the centre of attention? Of course famous Harry Potter would-"
"Can you not?!" Harry glared up at the man, the strange feeling from before not depleting in the slightest. "I know, okay! I know I got my parent's killed! I know I'm an orphan so unwanted even Death himself won't take me! I know I'm a freak who can't even die properly! I don't need you to point it out every time you see me. You say I'm an arrogant celebrity, shoving my fame in people's faces. I have never ONCE brought attention to it, or asked anyone to give me special favours. You're the one who keeps bringing it up!" He balled his hands into fists and clenched his eyes shut. "I don't want to be famous! I don't like being reminded of everything bad that's happened to me." His arms dropped down to his sides and almost whispered, "Why does everyone keep reminding me?"
Snape stood in silence for a moment. "Are you done now?"
Harry sighed, feeling ashamed at having lost his cool in front of his professor like that. "Yes sir... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have shouted at you like that... It's just... Everything is really overwhelming at the moment. I just had to watch my friend die... And the man who got my parent's killed used me to bring the man who killed by parents back to life." He sighed and stared at the floor waiting for the man in front of him to do something. When he didn't say anything right away Harry carried on. "I didn't mean to make everyone worry. I just needed some time alone and everyone was crowding me and not letting me get a moment's peace to grieve..."
Snape sighed quietly. "Potter, of course people were going to worry. The Dark Lord just came back and then you go and disappear like that. The headmaster has been searching the school from top to bottom looking for you. The rest of the staff are working themselves into quite the panic, though the headmaster has assured us you have not left the school. Where were you?"
Harry bit his lip. "I'm sorry." Tenebrae materialised behind Harry and head butted him. Harry gasped and stumbled into Snape, grabbing onto the man's robes to stop himself from falling.
Quicker than a flash Snape whipped out his wand and shot a spell at Tenebrae. The shadow wolf disappeared into a cloud of darkness and the shadows in the hallway seemed to become brighter, as if the wolf's presence was darkening the entire hall.
Snape looked down at Harry. "Are you alright Potter?"
Harry nodded slightly. "Um... Yeah..." He felt the man's hard chest pressed against him, one strong arm slung around his waist, keeping his secure against him. Snape felt more muscular than he thought. The man looked like a twig under those robes but from what Harry could tell he was actually rather well built. The man's smell was now a lot stronger and Harry felt himself get dizzy again. His head swam and his knees gave out.
He felt Snape pull him more securely into his chest, holding him with both arms now. "Potter!" He carefully crouched down and sat Harry on the floor leaning against the wall. "Potter?" He gently held Harry's chin and tipped the boy's face up. Harry suddenly found himself staring straight into those bottomless eyes. They weren't completely black. They were an extremely dark blue.
Harry swallowed hard and closed his eyes, shaking his head to clear it. He took a deep breath and tried to ignore the smell of belladonna. "I'm fine. Sorry. Just got dizzy."
He could feel Snape's eyes on him still. "I'm taking you to the hospital wing."
Harry frantically shook his head. "No! No! Not the hospital wing! I'm fine. I just got dizzy for a second. I'm fine."
Snape growled. "Potter, you are far from fine."
Harry shook his head. "I'm fine, really. Just..." He blushed.
"Just what Potter?"
Harry took a deep breath again. "Your smell made me dizzy." He muttered.
Snape glared at him. "My smell?"
Harry nodded. "Mhmm. You smell like dark chocolate, warm apple cider and belladonna."
Snape was silent for a moment. He blinked a few times before shaking his head. "I don't know whether that's a complement or not. Nor do I know if I should address how you can smell me so easily, or why you know what warm cider smells like."
Harry bit his lip. "I don't drink, sir. My Uncle usually has a glass of warm cider at Christmas." Snape nodded. "I don't know why I can smell you so easily sir. I just can. And it is a complement." Harry went very red. "I think you smell nice..." He muttered.
Snape raised both eyebrows again. "I'm taking you to the hospital wing." Before Harry could protest again he scooped him up bridal style and hurried down the hall. Harry tensed up for a moment before he went limp in the man's arms, struggling between being completely at piece and wanting to rip the man's face off.
Snape froze mid step before he quickened his pace. He practically ran into the hospital wing and placed Harry on a bed. Harry sat up. "I am fine, sir."
Madam Pomfrey came bustling over. "I will be the judge of that, Mr Potter." She waved her wand over Harry several times before relaxing. "Well, all seems to be in order."
Harry was about to hop off the bed when Snape stopped him and pushed him down. "Scan him again. Properly this time. Something is wrong."
Madam Pomfrey sighed and did some other scans. She jerked backwards slightly at the results. "Hmm... You're right. Something is wrong. I don't know what though... I'll arrange for someone to come and have a closer look."
Harry groaned. "Can I go back to the dorm? Please? I feel fine."
Snape glared "Potter, you just got attacked by some kind of wolf creature. You don't know what it did!"
Harry sighed. "That was just Tenebrae. He's my shadow wolf. All he did was push me into you. He seems to have a twisted sense of humour." He sent a glare at the wolf which was standing a short way behind Snape, looking rightfully apologetic. "Bad dog."
Snape turned and looked at the wolf in... Was that awe? He looked back at Harry. "That's a shadow wolf? Potter, you realise how rare they are?"
Harry shrugged. "I hadn't heard of them before today to be honest."
Tenebrae huffed and walked closer, hopping up onto the bed when Harry patted it. ФWe are rare pup. We are born from shadow elementals. When you released your elemental powers for the first time, it created me. I was unable to come to you at first because you magical core is bound.ф
Harry tipped his head to one side. "My magical core is bound? What does that mean?"
Madam Pomfrey squeaked and waved her wand over Harry a few more times. "Your core can't be bound. If anything it's bigger than before."
Harry tipped his head to one side. "Could that be because I broke some of the chain?"
Snape froze. "What chain?"
Harry hummed and looked at his potions professor. "I found a book. It told me how to access my magical core. There was a bunch of chains around it. I got rid of most of them but I can't get rid of the small silver one."
Snape frowned. "Is it thin, looks like chain mail and covers a good portion of your magical core?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah. I think only about e tenth of it was uncovered. I broke a bit of it so the hole is about twice its size now."
Snape swore under his breath. "Poppy, could you make an appointment at Gringotts?"
Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Of course." She looked down at Harry. "For now, there is nothing we can do for you Mr Potter so you can go back to your dorm now. Please be careful."
Harry nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." He hopped off the bed, Tenebrae following and practically ran from the room. He somehow managed to make it back to Gryffindor tower without running into any more members of staff and stood outside the portrait. Looked down at Tenebrae and the wolf sighed before vanishing again. He gave the password and climbed through.
Just as he got through he was grabbed by two identical bodies. "Harry." They both whispered. Harry smiled and hugged the Weasley twins back.
"Hey Fred, George. What's up?"
They pulled back. "'What's up'?" They asked. "You go missing for a week and ask 'what's up'? Really Harry? Do you have any idea how worried we've been?"
Harry looked between the two of them. That is probably the most he heard them say simultaneously. He smiled. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you. I just needed some time alone. To process everything, you know?"
They nodded. "Yeah. We get it."
They let him go and Fred clapped one of his shoulders. "Harry, this is gonna sound weird."
"But don't take it the wrong way." George continued.
"We want you to come and sleep with us tonight."
"No homo. We just want to reassure ourselves you're okay."
"You're our littlest brother."
"Besides, you've been through hell."
"You need your family right now."
Harry laughed quietly. "Sure." The twins were very tactilely affectionate. They were constantly hugging each other and Harry. They always hugged him when they greeted him and could usually be seen with an arm over someone's shoulders. Whenever they sat by the fire one usually sat on the floor and rested his head in the other's lap.
The twins dragged Harry through the crowded common room and up to their dorm. He had never been into their dorm before. There were five beds in the room. Four were singles but one was huge. Lee was currently lounging on it. The room itself was way bigger than Harry's dorm was. There were wardrobes and chest of draws next to each of the beds for a start. Fred and George dragged Harry over to the biggest bed and all three piled on, Lee budging up before joining the dog pile.
They lay there for a while in silence before Harry sighed and told them where he had been for the week, explaining everything that had happened. That was something he loved about the twins. They didn't pester him for information, they always waited for him to give it on his own terms. When he finished they all lay in silence for a while. "No homo, but I love you guys."
Lee laughed. "No homo, but we love you too."
After a while a group of other boys came into the room. They nodded to the dog pile on the bed before getting out their own sleepwear. One of them looked over and chuckled. "Another puppy joining your dog pile?"
Lee looked over at him. "Woof." He said rather sarcastically. The four of them got out of bed to get ready for bed since they were all still fully clothed. Harry slipped into the bathroom once the others were done and locked the door before getting changed, pulling his pyjamas out of his pocket dimension to do so.
He slid back into bed with the twins and Lee. Lee pointed at the other boys in the room. "Kenneth 'Ken' Towler, Keise Jackson, Alexander 'Alex' Xaviour, Jason 'Marksman' Markson."
Harry waved at them all. "Hi. I'm Harry. This is Tenebrae." He pointed at the shadow wolf which jumped onto the bead and splayed himself out on the four on the bed, completely crushing them. Harry laughed and shoved the over sized dog down so he was lying over their legs. Really, the wolf was huge. Standing on all fours his shoulder came up to Harry's ribs.
Fred kicked at the wolf so he turned and licked the redhead in the face. "Urgh! Harry! Get your dog off us!" He laughed. Harry shoved the wolf again and he rolled over so he was now lying at the end of the bed. "Thank you." He wiped at his face with a damp cloth he conjured and glared playfully at the shadow wolf. "Keep your slobber to yourself." He looked back at Harry. "What is he? Where did he come from?"
Harry smiled. "He's a shadow wolf. I don't know where he came from."
The rest of the boys shrugged and everyone went to bed. Everyone waved their wands over their bed's casting silencing spells. Harry looked at Fred in confusion. Fred laughed. "Harry, we're seventeen." Harry tilted his head the other way. Fred blinked. "Dreams Harry."
Harry tilted his head back in the first direction. "Like nightmares?"
Fred looked over Harry's shoulder at George and Lee. "Um... No Harry. Not nightmares... Um... Well, sex dreams."
Harry blushed. "Oh... Right." He leant back down onto the bed and the other three chuckled at him. He pouted and huffed. George started rubbing circles on his back. After a moment Harry just let go and held tightly onto Fred and cried himself to sleep.
Long fingers ghosted over his sides. Warm lips caressed the skin on his neck, hot breath causing his skin to tingle. He felt his blood drain south and settle between his legs, filling his member and causing his boxers to feel uncomfortably tight. "Harry."
Harry's eyes snapped open. No way he was just having a dream like that about Snape. He glared down at the tent forming in his trousers. Really? You chose Snape, of all people, to be the first person to get up to. Really? Why him? Why a guy? Why not a girl like normal people?
Harry sighed and leant back into the bed. A flash of green shot across his closed eyes and he snapped them back open. He sighed quietly. At least that sorted out the problem down there. Tenebrae rested his head on Harry's feet and Harry smiled down at the wolf, slowly drifting back off to sleep.
When he woke in the morning it was to someone gently stroking his head. He sighed and relaxed into the hands around him. "Come on Harry." A voice whispered above him. "We need to get up, breakfast starts soon and the school needs to see you are still alive. People have started spreading rumours that you killed yourself." Harry groaned and looked up at Fred who smiled back down at him. "Come on, sleepy head. Everyone else is already up." Harry grumbled and sat up. To his surprise George, Lee and Fred started to pull him in the direction of the showers. "The three of us have nothing to hide. We have all seen each other often enough, sometimes we wash each other's backs. Now strip naked and get in the shower."
Harry froze. "Um... I'd really rather not."
They looked at him for a moment before nodding. Harry smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. He pet Tenebrae until they came out and he went into the bathroom. After a quick shower he got his uniform out of his pocket dimension and got dressed. A quick glance in the mirror showed he was presentable enough and he left the bathroom.
He smiled hesitantly at Fred, George and Lee and the three of them headed down to breakfast. They stopped outside the doors and Harry stopped to take a deep breath before stepping into the hall. There was a moment of deathly silence before the whispers started up again. Harry grimaced and walked over to where Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny were sitting. Harry sat between Neville and Hermione. Fred, George and Lee sat around them instead of sitting with their dorm mates.
Harry smiled nervously. "Hi."
Neville picked up another piece of toast. "Hey. Better?"
Harry nodded. "Yeah."
"Good. Pass the jam?"
Harry smiled. Neville was much like the twins in that. He always waited for Harry to tell him what he needed. He was a quiet, steady presence that was always there if Harry needed him and not in his way when he didn't. Harry passed the jar of jam to him and looked at Hermione and Ron sitting opposite him.
Hermione huffed and folded her arms. "Honestly Harry. You should know better than to go wandering around the school at all hours. Where have you been the last week? What if a teacher had found you? You could have gotten into trouble and lost Gryffindor a ton of house points. What if we lost the house cup?"
Harry looked at her in confusion. He knew she was always a stickler for rules but was she concerned for him at all?
Ron looked at Hermione. "Come on 'Mione. Lay off him." He turned to look at Harry. "Seriously though mate, where were you? You could have taken me with you. "
Neville frowned. "Ron. He doesn't have to tell you if he doesn't want to. Leave him alone."
Ron glared at Neville. "Shut up. Just because he told you where he was doesn't mean you're suddenly his best friend."
Harry tilted his head and frowned. "I didn't tell Neville where I was, Ron. He just doesn't ask."
Ron huffed. "So what, you're replacing me then?"
Harry sighed. "Ron, just because I'm friends with Neville doesn't mean I'm not still friends with you. I'm not replacing you."
Ron sighed. "Whatever. So where were you then? You could have invited me."
Harry tilted his head in confusion. "I just needed some time alone. I didn't tell anyone where I was going because I wanted to be alone."
Ron scowled. "So my company not good enough for you then?"
Harry frowned. "Ron, I just watched the man who got my parents killed, kill one of my friends and then use me in a ritual to resurrect the man who killed my parents. I was then put under the cruciatus twice and nearly died in a duel with the mad man, in which I saw the ghosts of Cedric, two people I don't know and my parents. I needed some time alone to clear my head and grieve for Cedric." And my parents... He silently added. He picked up a bit of toast and was just about to eat when Snape's voice came from behind him.
"Mr Potter."
Harry looked around. "Professor Snape!"
"Madam Pomfrey has arranged that appointment for you tomorrow evening. I wouldn't suggest eating anything tomorrow." The man looked Harry over as if he could find out what was wrong with his eyes alone.
Harry felt a shudder run down his spine as he remembered the dream he had last night. "Um. Thank you, sir. How will I get there?"
"I'll take you. Madam Pomfrey and I are the only members of staff qualified and Madam Pomfrey cannot leave the hospital wing." His eyes sparked with something Harry couldn't decipher and he felt a shiver run down his back and settle between his legs.
Seriously! What the hell is wrong with me?!
"Thank you, sir."
Snape nodded. "I will meet you in the entrance hall tomorrow evening, before dinner."
Harry nodded. "Yes sir." He watched Snape stalk out of the hall, his robes swirling around him. He bit his lip and shook his head. Get yourself together!
Hermione looked between Harry and Snape. "What did he mean by that Harry? What appointment?"
Harry swallowed. "It's nothing."
Hermione frowned. "Harry Potter, I know something is wrong. Tell me!"
Harry shook his head. "I'm fine."
She glared and put her hands on her hips. "Harry. Just tell me what he was talking about."
Neville slammed his goblet down, splashing pumpkin juice everywhere. When he spoke his voice was not above his normal quiet tone, which actually made it all the more threatening. "Hermione, he doesn't want to talk about it. Leave it."
Harry smiled at him and nodded. "Thanks." He stood up. "Well, I've lost my appetite. I'm going to go and do my homework. I'm in enough trouble as it is."
Ron looked up from his food. "Stay, you and me can go play chess in the common room after breakfast."
Harry shook his head. "No, you eat. I'm behind anyway and I'm not doing exams this year so I won't know if I'm failing anything."
Hermione smiled. "Finally, you're taking your grades seriously. Okay, I've got a study timetable all worked out already. Exams are in a few days so we seriously need to study, even you. If we work hard we can fit everything in no problem." She started pulling sheets of paper out of her bag.
Harry raised a hand. "Hermione, I'm exempt from exams, I don't need to study that hard. As long as I don't forget what we did this year I'll be fine." He waved and headed from the hall, Tenebrae at his heels. They went down to the kitchens and slid inside past the portrait. He was glad Dobby had told him where it was and how to get there.
He was immediately tackled by an overly enthusiastic elf. "Master Harry Potter Sir! Welcomes sir! Did sir come to see Dobby?"
Harry laughed and patted the elf on the head. "Yes Dobby. I did." We walked over to the table and sat down, encouraging the elf to sit on the bench opposite him. "How have you been? I hope you didn't get in any trouble this last week." He nodded in thanks to the elf that placed a large bowl of meat down for Tenebrae.
Dobby shook his head. "No, Great Master Harry Potter Sir. Dobby has not been in trouble, nor has Dobby had to punish himself."
Harry mock glared at him. "Dobby, I told you before. Just call me Harry, not 'Great Master Harry Potter Sir'."
Dobby shook his head. "Oh, no Master Harry Potter Sir, house-elveses not be addressing wizards by name only, sir."
Harry tilted his head in thought. "Well, then what about just, 'Master Harry'. It's a lot shorter."
Dobby grinned and nodded his head vigorously. "Oh, yes. Master Harry, Dobby can be doing that."
Harry smiled and chatted with his friend as he ate the fruit salad that was placed in front of him. When he finished, he was about to start on the homework that had been assigned before the final task when Fred, George and Lee came in. Harry smiled at them. "Hey guys."
Lee grinned. "Hey Harry. Wanna go flying?"
Harry looked at his homework. "Sure." He put it back into his pocket dimension, much to the confusion of the other three, and headed off to the pitch, Tenebrae casting a mournful look at his mostly finished food before sighing and following.
When they got to the pitch the four humans got their brooms out of the broom shed while Tenebrae went to sit in the stands.
Harry grinned as he mounted and took off.
He closed his eyes as he rose straight up, grinning at the feel of the wing caressing his face and hair, pulling at his robes. He opened his eyes and sped around the pitch, the wind now whipping at him, grabbing him, trying to slow him down. Harry laughed and leant lower on his broom, weaving around the air currents high above the pitch before diving straight at the ground, the wind now desperately trying to grab hold of him, to stop him from hitting the ground.
Harry pulled his broom at the last second and sped along less than a foot from the ground, the wind kicking up dirt behind him and tugging at the hem of his robes. He sped back into the air, riding an updraft near the goal post and ducked through the hoop before shooting off across the pitch, aiming at the same hoop on the other side.
The wind roared in his ears as his aim held true and he shot straight through without needing to adjust his path at all on the way.
Harry soared upwards and then let gravity take him as he fell backwards, down, down, down. He flipped around and spurred his broom upwards, doing a loop before levelling off above the stands. He loved flying. Being in the air, was a real freedom to him. He took a deep breath and watched Fred, George and Lee throwing a quaffle around. They weren't throwing at each other, though they were throwing too each other.
Harry laughed as George called to Lee before throwing the ball in the opposite direction.
Harry leant back against his broom and shot upwards. Unfortunately the clouds were too high for him to play in today. He loved being in the air. He liked to pretend the wind was his friend as was always worried about him, trying to stop him from going too fast, or crashing. He liked to dive around in the clouds and disappear from the world below.
He shot back down and spun around, shooting like a drill at the ground before levelling off, now flying upside down along the ground. He picked a Daisy that was growing and climbed back into the air, looking over at the stands when he heard clapping.
He looked over to see a group of students, from all three schools, sitting around in the stands. The one clapping at the moment was Victor Krum, who was seated at the visitor seats. Harry smirked and drifted over, landing on the very edge of the stands and balancing there as he looked down at the international seeker.
"Like that?"
Krum smirked. "Was okay. Not as good as me, but okay. For a kid."
Harry narrowed his eyes, feeling restless and in need of an outlet. This man seemed to be the perfect target. "Well then, perhaps you would be interested in a Quidditch game against this kid and my team."
"We beat you into ground, momchentse." The man grinned at the challenge. "But I interested in the challenge. I like to see how you fare against actual player." (A/N: Little boy translated into Bulgarian is momchentse, though when translated back seems to be 'nipper') (English people sometimes refer to children as nippers. What's up with that?)
Harry narrowed his eyes. "Gather your team. You can use the room on the north end of the pitch."
Krum nodded and turned to go and gather his team. Harry hopped into the stands. "Dobby." Pop. "Would you mind getting the message around the school that the Gryffindor Quidditch team is about to play against the Durmstrang team?"
Dobby grinned excitedly and nodded before popping out. Harry shot back into the air and hovered next to Fred. Telling him what just happened. Lee and George came over and the three of them glared at Harry.
George sighed. "Harry! Can you imagine how wiled up Oliver is going to be now? This is his last year."
"Yeah, and he hasn't played Quidditch at all this year. Why not end the year with a match that will likely go down in Hogwarts history?" Harry shrugged. "Besides, I'm bored."
Lee gave him a funny look before sighing and shaking his head. "I'll get the equipment set up for commentating."
Harry, Fred and George nodded and headed off to the south changing room to get their gear on. Within a few minutes Angelina came in and started lecturing Harry while pulling her gear on. "Honestly, Potter, what were you thinking? Springing this on us now? Of all times? This is Oliver's last year! He's going to blow his top! And we haven't played at all this year! We're all out of practice! What were you thinking?!"
Alicia hen came in and joined Angelia in lecturing Harry. Katie and Oliver arrived at the same time and now even Fred and George had joined in on the 'Harry lecturing'. It was a good improvement from 'Harry hunting'.
Harry held up a hand and silenced the others. "We can do it. Oliver, we can't plan since we don't know how they play, they don't know how we play either. Katie, we'll be fine. Not all of them are professionals, just Krum, and I'm sure I can beat him. I saw the snitch long before he did at the Quidditch world cup last year, plus I'm smaller and have a few tricks up my sleeve. I've seen all his moves."
Oliver still looked worried. "But we haven't played all year, and what makes you think you can out fly a national seeker?"
"I can out fly an angry, nesting Hungarian Horntail mother can't I?"
The rest of the team was silent at his casual mention of his first near death experience this year before shaking it off and finishing getting ready.
Once they were all ready they stood by the door, buzzing with barely contained excitement. Harry grinned and bounced on the balls of his feet as he waited. Finally the doors opened and they marched onto the pitch. They met the Durmstrang team halfway, fight where Madam Hooch was waiting.
Standing at the front of the team was Victor Krum. Behind him were two people with a beaters bat each. They were bulky but if the look they were giving each other was any indication they weren't going to have teamwork like the Weasley twins. The three chasers were smaller in build but still large for Quidditch players, the girls would have much better manoeuvrability in the air. The keeper was solid, the girls would have a hard time getting past him.
Hooch warned them all to keep the game clean and Oliver and Krum shook hands. They all took to the air and Harry hovered next to Oliver for a moment. "I know this is gonna sound stupid but, don't let any past you. I don't know if the girls can get past that guy."
Oliver nodded. "I know. I'll do my best, just focus on the snitch."
Harry nodded and floated into position. The bludgers and snitch came out first, Harry watched the golden ball intently, somehow managing to keep his eyes on it better than ever. He kept an eye on the whizzing balls of death as well. He remembered quite well how it felt to get hit by one of those.
Finally, the quaffle was released and the game began. Harry and Krum both hovered for a moment before, by some unspoken signal, shot after the snitch. Harry spun upside down on his broom as he shot under one of the Bulgarian Beaters. Krum pulled up at the last second, even as the other boy swerved downwards, narrowly avoiding Harry.
Harry was now a good few feet ahead of Krum. He spun again when a bludger flew through the spot his head was in just a second before. By the time he had righted himself Krum had caught up. They flew up towards the other players and Harry smirked as he spotted his team all in position for one of the tactics they had talked about last year but never got to use.
Angelina had the quaffle, as she flew she got ready to pass to Katie, a bludger from Fred stopped her getting intercepted and Katie flew off with the quaffle. Harry blocked another chaser while Krum, still on Harry's tail, unintentionally blocked the other so Katie could pass to Alicia who immediately passed to Angelia, a bludger stopping the third chaser from intercepting.
Fred then pulled off the most dangerous part of the move. He hit his bludger right at Angelina. It whizzed an inch over her hand as she threw the quaffle. The bludger flew to the left most goal and the keeper diver after it while the quaffle soared through the goal on the right, completely unhindered.
The stadium erupted in cheers at the spectacular goal, the first one of the game.
Harry then had to play more attention to the snitch as he and Krum chased after the tiny golden ball. Harry pulled his broom into a loop backwards as the snitch changed course. He then flew after it, still upside down on his broom. The ball then shot to the ground and Harry pulled his broom the rest of the way around and dropped after it. His hand outstretched and almost got it but he had to pull his hand back as a bludger nearly took it off. The snitch them managed to get out of arms reach and Harry put both hands on his broom as he pulled his broom up to follow the snitch across the ground, a dust cloud rising up behind him and blinding Krum.
Harry was glad for his goggles.
He and Krum flew around the pitch for almost an hour, chasing the tiny golden ball. Harry somehow never lost sight of it, though Krum drew back several times after it made a sharp movement and almost disappeared. He quickly caught up though.
Eventually Harry pulled away from the chase, anticipating the snitches next movement. He skimmed over the heads of the crowd and towards the teacher's box. Krum pulled up slightly from where Harry had pulled away and looked around before spotting the snitch and diving after it.
There was just one problem.
Krum was a professional player and was used to playing in a much larger stadium. This meant that he wasn't used to having the spectators so close.
Harry's eyes widened as they caught sight of Snape right between Krum and the snitch. The man himself noticed too as his eyes widened in fright.
Time seemed to slow down.
Harry pushed his broom forward, the blood pounding in his ears. He lifted one knee to hold the broom steady against his chest, both arms now free. Everyone seemed to be moving in slow motion as they dived out of the way of the Bulgarian seeker. Harry pushed himself faster. One hand closed around the snitch and the other grabbed the back of Snape's robes as the man dived forwards in an attempt to escape.
He shot out of the way a second before Krum slammed into the stands. Harry sat up and pulled Snape onto the broom in front of him. He held his hand with the snitch high and the stadium erupted in cheers.
Harry locked eyes with Snape.
For once, they didn't hold any malice as the man looked at him. Their close proximity making Harry blush slightly. "Are you alright?"
The man bit his lip slightly and swallowed before nodding.
Harry took a sharp breath inwards and felt himself harden unexpectedly. He then blushed heavily as the man was sitting in his lap and had obviously felt it.
Snape's eyes widened and he glared at Harry. "Put me down, Potter."
Harry sank the few feet between them and the stands and Snape slid off Harry's lap. Harry flew away, down to where his team was now standing and cheering. Harry looked over at the score board.
Gryffindor: 230
Durmstrang: 40
Harry raised an eyebrow. So, Durmstrang had scored four times and Gryffindor scored eight times. Harry grinned as he landed and was immediately hugged by his team. After much squealing on behalf of the girls and back slapping from the boys they all calmed down enough to get a coherent sentence out.
Oliver was the first to speak. "Sweet Merlin you can fly, Potter! I've never seen you fly like that before! That was incredible! And saving Snape like that and catching the snitch at the same time?!"
Harry shrugged. "You were no slouch yourself Oliver. They scored four times, how many did they aim at you?"
Angelina grinned. "About ten. We would have scored more than eight if it weren't for their keeper. He's good but we managed to get past him most of the time." she turned and grinned at George. "We finally got that manoeuvre down pat. Thanks for those bludgers." She then turned to Fred. "This close, Fred. Can you give it a bit more room next time?"
Fred grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. It curved downwards."
Alicia laughed. "Forget that! Harry just beat an international seeker!" She adopted a mock reporter pose and mimed holding a microphone. "How does it feel, Mr Potter?"
Harry faked being overly emotional. "Oh my god I can't believe this! This is the all time best moment of my life!" he fanned himself with his hands and the two of them broke out into hysterical giggles with Angelina joining in.
Angelina waved at the others. "It's a muggle thing." She managed to get herself under control. "But seriously Harry! How does it feel to beat the seeker who caught the snitch at this year's Quidditch world cup?"
Harry grinned. "Fantastic!"
Harry turned around as the entirety of Gryffindor house barrelled into the team, hugging them and clapping them on the back. Harry waved them off when they wanted to carry them across the pitch on their shoulders. "Now now, let's be good sportsmen and talk to the other team before we leave." He and the rest of the team easily made their way through the crowd which slowly departed to the common room for a huge party.
Krum smiled. "Well played. I not see anyone fly like dat in long time. You good. We play again sometime, yes?"
Harry nodded "Definitely. You okay after crashing into the stand like that?"
Krum nodded. "Yes. I'm alright. Would have had softer landing if you not pulled teacher out of way."
Harry smirked. "Ah, but I can't let you squash my teacher. Besides, Snape is all bone, it wouldn't have softened your landing much."
"Oh, charming Potter."
Harry froze and turned his head to look at Snape, feeling a shudder go down his spine again. "Hello sir." He hated this man didn't he? Then why did he want to pull him close and never let go?
"I just came over to ask you not to drink at the party your house will undoubtedly be throwing. It could mess up your results tomorrow." He looked Harry over, his eyes settling on Harry's crotch for a moment longer than the rest of him.
Harry nodded. "Yes sir."
Snape nodded and walked off.
Harry sighed relaxed slightly.
Fred glared. "Not even a thank you?"
Harry smirked. "Well, he didn't take points or give me a detention for calling him bony. I guess that's his way of saying thank you."
George nodded sagely. "He's a man of few words."
Harry laughed. "Come on, it's almost dinner time and I won't be allowed to eat tomorrow. Let's get some dinner." The two Quidditch teams went back to their dressing rooms and got changed before heading to the great hall for dinner. Harry steadily got more and more annoyed with Ron and Hermione and eventually ended up snapping at them both to 'just shut the hell up'.
After dinner Harry went up and lounged on the bed in the sixth year boys dorm, since he wasn't able to drink and didn't really feel up to a big party. After a while Fred, George and Lee came up and the four of them went to bed.
Harry smiled as he snuggled into George's chest. Perhaps things weren't as bad as he first thought. With his brothers by his side and Tenebrae and Hedwig, he was sure to be able to handle anything life threw at him.
Changes from the last version.
I got rid of the rape completely. I have no idea why I wrote it in here in the first place. It gets in the way of my plot. It's gone now. I have made a few changes to the way I've written the first chapter, generally writing it better than before and correcting old spelling and grammar mistakes. I changed a few things around a bit, Harry doesn't have time control over his pocket dimension yet, if at all, and he managed to get rid of all the chains on his magic instead of loosening them.
I moved the scene with Hedwig's reveal from chapter four to here as it made more sense as Harry removed the familiar bond. I find it hard to believe that Hedwig would wait any longer than necessary to bond with Harry. I also included the shadow wolf as I was having a hard time finding a way to fit it in later in the story line.
I added a scene of Snape catching Harry on his way to the common room as Madam Pomfrey doing a medical scan and wanting to contact Gringotts is a lot more believable than Harry seeking emancipation.
I removed a scene where Harry tells Fred, George and Lee the full extent of his abuse, even after deciding not to. This didn't fit in with his character. I also changed the argument Harry had with Ron and Hermione as it was unreasonable given its place in the story. Harry completely over reacted and was acting like a spoiled whiny brat.
I revamped the Quidditch scene. I made it longer and more realistic.
I have tried to work on my characterisation but that is difficult for me to do. I have also been working on trying not to, and I quote, "Bounce around from emotion/Personality like a friggin flubber." Thank you nightwithmoon for pointing out I did that, even if you were trying to flame the story. You were pointing out a flaw in my writing that I have since worked on correcting.