Yo. It's an actual chapter this time! Well what do you know? It only took nine months, but about five since I posted it, but I finally finished the next chapter.

You may have noticed I took the vote down. I thought it through, and decided to pick the first option: Harry remains neutral, however SS and LM will remain on LV's side, with HP reluctantly helping every now and again. Most voted for that anyway. Don't worry if you wanted to see a fic where HP creates a third side in the war, like 16 of you voted for. I already have ideas for a fic like that. I hadn't thought of a pairing yet, but I can easily make it SSxHPxLM, so you'll still get that, er, eventually. I haven't actually started writing it yet.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters...

HP POV
Harry Potter lay on his four poster bed in his rapidly darkening dorm room. Dinner was approaching very quickly, and Harry didn't know what to do. Snape and Malfoy had been giving him some really funny looks over lunch, and he was worried that they were going to figure everything out. As much as he hated them, even he admitted that they were smart. It couldn't take them that long, especially when there was no one else in the castle for them to focus their attention on.

Harry really wished that Sirius was still here. He hadn't always been the best godfather, but it wasn't like that was his fault. And besides, he understood. Sirius had been through some really shitty things himself, and had known immediately that Harry had been hiding something. It had taken more than a year, but finally, Harry had come clean. Harry had told Sirius everything. Though that was only after his godfather had told him about his own horrible childhood.

Sirius had told him how his parents had practically been grooming both him and his younger brother to become Death Eaters. They didn't do anything bad if they listened and did as told, but Sirius had always been outspoken, and that often meant he was on the receiving end of his mother's wand. She had been very cruel to him, cursing him whenever she could, sometimes for no reason whatsoever. His father had been better, and never harmed him-yet he hadn't done anything to help him either. Neither had his brother for that matter. And that was why Sirius had run away from home when he had been sixteen. Because he knew there was no reason to stay. Because he knew no one would care.

Harry couldn't remember how long he had sat there in shocked silence after hearing what Sirius had to say. But even then, the only thing running through his mind was, 'He understands'. It was like a dam had broken, and everything had come spilling past his lips. He told Sirius how the Dursleys treated him; how they spoke to him-or didn't, starved him, hurt him, locked him up. He told Sirius about how much he despised his fame and the way people treated him for that. He spoke about how much he hated the war and how he felt as if he were being forced to take part in it. He told Sirius everything he had been thinking and feeling and keeping bottled up since he had been left with the Dursleys, and the whole time, his godfather just held him. He held him and let him rant and rave and scream and cry. And when Harry had exhausted himself and fallen asleep right where he sat, his godfather had tucked him into bed and stayed with him all night.

Sirius had promised him that he would never have to go back to the Dursleys again, that he would do anything to get Dumbledore to let him stay with him-with his godfather. Sirius had told Dumbledore everything Harry had told him, and yet, the old man had said still refused. Sirius had been furious at that, and had said he was going to do some sort of blood test at Gringotts, because it would ensure Harry could stay with either him, or someone else trusted. Harry had been confused at that, since his godfather was a wanted man, but Sirius had assured him that the goblins wouldn't care. He belonged to an old and noble family, and business was all that mattered. He had said that he was a Lord, whatever that meant. But before Sirius could do anything...he had died.

And now Harry felt all alone once again. He didn't want to tell anyone else about the Dursleys, or what he was thinking and feeling. He trusted Sirius, loved him dearly, and even then it had taken him so long. Not that it had mattered it the first place. If Dumbledore didn't want to listen, then what could anyone do? No, no one else needed to know. No one had to know that Harry was nearing his breaking point with the Dursleys. No one had to know that Harry hated the old wizened wizard known as Albus Dumbledore. No one had to know that Harry was actually thinking about leaving the Wizarding World to get out of the war. No one.

And that brought Harry right back to where he had started. It was time for dinner and he knew he had no choice but to head down to the Great Hall. Snape and Malfoy would come looking for him otherwise and Harry knew that he wanted to avoid any sort of confrontation. If he was worried about the two men discovering the truth, then he needed to do a better job in hiding it...

As Harry slowly made his way down to the Great Hall, he suddenly realized that he was going to turn sixteen in just a few hours-six, to be specific. Odd how he hadn't noticed before. He generally did, since he'd grown up celebrating his birthday alone. The teen wondered whether his friends would send him anything this time around too. Did they even know where he was? Had anyone bothered to tell them? Why hadn't they contacted him yet? He hadn't gotten a single letter or parcel from them yet-food or otherwise, and Harry doubted Dobby was interfering this time.

Harry was forced to put his thoughts to rest when he entered the Great Hall. Snape and Malfoy were only a few steps ahead of him and both glanced back at him from over their shoulders, abruptly stopping whatever it was that they had been talking about. Giving them a curt, annoyed looking nod-like he'd have done if school were in session, he followed them to the table. They seated themselves as they'd done previously and the green eyed teen waited for the other two to finish serving themselves before he did the same.

The three ate in silence, but Harry was able to feel Snape and Malfoy's eyes on him more than once. He ignored it as best as he could and went on eating, not really wanting to draw their attention, and wishing they would go on ignoring him. Of course, it was not meant to be.

"How was your afternoon, Mr Potter?" asked Malfoy rather suddenly.

"Fine."

"That's fine 'Sir', Potter," corrected Snape.

"Sure, sir." Silence reigned for the next few moments, and Harry, who hadn't taken much food anyway, was quick to finish. "Can I be excused?"

"Very well."

Not even glancing at the two men, Harry pushed away from the table, got to his feet, and walked out of the Hall, fully aware Snape and Malfoy were watching him leave. He didn't acknowledge them at all. It wasn't that odd really, considering he was the arrogant Gryffindor with no care for rules or authority. Harry knew that he wasn't actually going to have to do too much acting, since Snape always seemed to see him as a mini James.

Quickly heading back to Gryffindor Tower, Harry collapsed in his four poster bed in his dorm, and released a deep sigh. He somehow had to trick his mind into really believing that he was safe and not at the Dursleys any more. The teen couldn't risk waiting the two weeks or so it usually took for him to revert back to his normal "Hogwarts mode", especially when Snape and Malfoy were involved. Even just a few minutes ago, at dinner, he knew they had been watching him carefully.

Harry sighed again when he remembered he still had his summer homework to do. He was going to have to make sure he completed it, or he'd probably end up with detention or something. At first he figured he'd begin that evening, but then he suddenly recalled that it was nearly his birthday. He always celebrated the same way every year, and he wasn't going to let homework ruin that tradition. He would begin his homework in a day or two.

Casting a Tempus, he checked the time before sighing a third time and settling down to wait. Harry was going to be turning sixteen in five hours...

SS POV

The moment Potter left the Great Hall after finishing dinner, Severus released a deep sigh, Lucius doing the same from next to him. They glanced at one another before refocusing on the food in front of them.

"His behaviour has changed again," the dark haired man stated.

"I noticed," replied Lucius.

They remained silent for the next few moments, both lost in their thoughts as they finished up dinner. When they had, they retreated into Severus' quarters and took a seat on the couch.

"What has the old man told you about the boy?" asked Lucius suddenly, breaking the silence.

Severus blinked in surprised at the unexpected question, his mind actually needing to take a second to place it into context. When he understood, he said, "He has told me what I have always thought, what I have told you."

"I see..."

There was yet another silence, broken only when Severus sighed again a while later. "I am going to go brew something," he said, getting to his feet. "I need a distraction."

"If a distraction is what you need," began Lucius, yanking the slightly younger man back down onto the couch by the hand, "I'm sure I can provide you with an adequate one..." He tangled his long fingers into Severus' inky and slightly oily (he was used to it) hair, and pulled him closer.

"Adequate, you say?" murmured Severus silkily, breath ghosting across Lucius' lips.

"Oh, yes..."

HP POV

"Harry Potter, sir!"

Harry jolted awake suddenly, looking around in confusion, not realizing he had ended up dozing off while waiting for time to pass. He blinked when he noticed someone standing over him. "Dobby?"

"Harry Potter, sir! Dobby has something for you!"

The teen blinked blearily and sat up, focusing on the House Elf, who had jumped down to stand next to his bed instead. "What is it?"

Dobby held out a roll of parchment. "Fiendy Weezys asked Dobby to give mister Harry Potter this letter, sir!"

"Oh, thanks Dobby." Harry reached out to take the letter, and the moment he had, the House Elf gave a giddy squeal and vanished with a crack, leaving the green eyed teen alone once more.

Harry frowned before unrolling the parchment. He had figured out the letter was from the Weasley twins, but wasn't sure why they had had Dobby give it to him, rather than just sending it by owl. Well, staring at the parchment wasn't about to give him the answer, so he figured he might as well read it.

Harry-Harry

You're probably wondering-

-why we're writing to you so suddenly,

sending the letter with-

-Dobby, no less, but we've got-

something important to tell you.

Dumbledore is-

-up to something, and he-

-doesn't want anyone writing-

-to you again. We-

-didn't listen, of course, but that's-

-why we sent the letter with Dobby instead.

We don't know why he's-

-doing this, but we definitely-

-don't agree. But it seems-

-like Ron and Ginny don't feel the-

-same way, and decided not to-

-write to you at all this summer.

We spoke to Hermione and she-

-doesn't agree with Dumbledore either.

Guess that's it for now-

-we'll write again later.

See Ya!

Bye Harry!

Gred, Forge

The frown on Harry's face only deepened after he finished reading the slightly confusing letter. Dumbledore didn't want anyone writing to him? Again? Hadn't he seen what had happened last year when he had made his friends do the same? Fred and George must have clearly remembered, considering they had decided to write to him anyway, and he was glad Hermione seemed to agree with the twins, not that she would be able to mail him yet, considering she was away on vacation with her parents. But Ron and Ginny... Why were they suddenly so keen on listening to the Headmaster?

Not understanding what was going on, Harry got up to place the letter from the twins in his trunk, and it was only then that he noticed how dark it had gotten. Casting a tempus, he saw that it was already half past eleven. That was one long nap, he thought in surprise. There was only half and hour, just thirty minutes until he turned sixteen.

He needed to get to the Astronomy Tower before midnight, and it was quite a walk away, even with his shortcuts. Grabbing his Invisibility Cloak, the teen wrapped it around himself and left Gryffindor Tower, forgetting the Marauders' Map in his haste...

Harry's trek to the Astronomy Tower was uneventful. He, luckily, didn't bump into Snape or Malfoy, or Peeves, though he did pass a few ghosts, who didn't seem to notice him at all, not that he was complaining or anything.

When he finally made it to the Tower, Harry removed the Invisibility Cloak and stuffed it into his pocket, sighing contently at the feel of the night breeze against his slightly flushed face. Resting his arms against the railing, he looked up at the starry sky, and smiled. He had really needed this, birthday or not. Harry had always preferred night over day, and dark over light, though he figured that was because of all the time he had spent in the cupboard under the stairs.

A few minutes later, Harry glanced down at his watch, and noted it would be midnight in exactly thirty seconds. He wondered what horrible misfortune was awaiting him in his sixteenth year. Something always was.

Twenty seconds.

Were Ron and Ginny really going to listen to Dumbledore and not write to him at all this summer? Was Hermione really going to not listen to Dumbledore and write to him anyway?

Ten seconds.

Sirius was dead, and he hadn't heard a thing from Remus yet. Did the werewolf hate him for what had happened to his friend? Would Remus ever forgive him? Did he even deserve to be forgiven?

Five seconds.

How much longer was he going to have to fight?

Four seconds.

What would happen if he backed out?

Three seconds.

Would they force him to fight anyway?

Two seconds.

They probably would, wouldn't they?

One second.

Harry just wanted to be free...

Raising his head, Harry's gaze returned to the sky. He wrapped his arms around his middle, hugging himself, and with a small, sad smile, whispered, "Happy birthday, Harry..."

LM POV

When Lucius rolled away from Severus many hours later, he was quick to note that the other man had already fallen asleep. How strange this role reversal was. Lucius was normally the one who fell asleep immediately, and Severus the one who would lay awake for many more hours.

Sighing, the older man ran his hand through his tousled platinum hair, shoving the covers off his bare body as he did so. It was too hot in here, despite it being the dungeons. He rolled back over to his side, and examined his lover's sleeping face. Serverus' brow was pinched, his expression grim. It seemed he was deep in thought, even in the midst of sleep. Well, he wasn't the only one.

Lucius too was unable to stop thinking about Harry Potter. The boy was nearly an enigma. He knew teenagers often had mood swings (just look at Draco), but Potter's moods and behaviour were just all over the place. It had only been a day, but he simply couldn't figure it out.

Needing to move, the man slid out of the large bed, and slipped on a dressing gown before quietly leaving the room. There was no reason to disturb Severus' sleep for this. Lucius left his lovers' quarters and began to wander, too lost in thought to pay attention to where he was going.

His feet ended up leading him down the same path they always had back when he had been a student in the castle: up to the Astronomy Tower. Smiling a little when he noticed this, he ascended the long staircase, and pushed open the door. He had barely stepped through the threshold, when he realized he wasn't alone.

He took a few cautious steps forward, cursing himself for not having brought his wand, then stopped when he saw who it was. Speaking of Potter, thought Lucius, catching sight of that dark, unruly hair. He advanced a few more steps, pausing when he saw the profile of the teen's visage. He was about to reprimand him for being out so late, when Potter looked down at his watch.

An odd, almost morbid expression crossed the boy's face, from what Lucius could see, and he continued to stare at that watch for the next few seconds, seemingly focused on his thoughts. Then suddenly, perhaps thirty seconds later, Potter looked back up at the sky, and wrapped his arms around himself, still not noticing the man's presence.

Lucius opened his mouth to speak, but his jaw nearly snapped shut when he saw the small, sad smile, heard the soft, almost sorrowful, yet wishful words of-

"Happy birthday, Harry..."

Lucius fled.

Chapter lengths will vary guys, which is why this one is probably shorter than the last two. Um, hopefully the next chapter won't take me another nine months to write. Oh, and I'm on AO3, check my profile-not much to say yet. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!