From Within

Co-written by Jhoy and Followthedarke

Chapter 4

Harry twirled the small silver sieve between his fingers as he waited for the right moment to use it. The lacewing flies had been stewing for twenty days, twenty-three hours and fifty-five minutes. The muggle alarm clock, that he took from his former home, would be going off in five minutes to tell him to take out the stewed substance, bottle the remaining liquid and store it in a dry, even temperature place. He was nearing the end stage of his brewing but he still had so much to do.

As the alarm started to ring at his side Harry swiftly moved to sieve the remaining organic matter out of the the liquid and disposed of it in a bag that he was going to burn in a fire later. He then poured the filtrate into a flask and placed a stopper in it. 'I have two days to get the last ingredient,' Harry reminded himself as he carefully stowed the bottle away in his trunk.

He had spent a long time following his target around, both in his home and when he went out. Harry was very pleased with the person he had chosen. He was perfect for the part Harry wanted him to play. Harry had one last owl to send to Augustus Pye then he would be ready to make his move. Harry smiled at Ras as he walked over to her as she sat on her perch looking at him. The owl had shown herself to be intelligent, loyal and so friendly to others that they assumed that he had had her for ages.

He spent a few minutes standing next to her and running his fingers over her head and feathers and trying to scratch behind her ears as she sat there quietly with her eyes closed. When Harry was satisfied that he had given her enough attention, he walked over and sat down on the floor next to the coffee table. He ignored the books scattered across the surface of the table and pried some parchment out from under a book about pure blood etiquette. The ink bottle was stoppered and sitting on the side so it was easily found, but he had to look for a quill before he was able to write a quick note to the Healer.

I'll be over today with my twin.

Talk to you then.

Harry didn't sign the note or put it in an envelope. He just wrote Healer Augustus Pye on the other side before standing up and walking back over to Ras to have her deliver it for him. Harry knew that all the letters were being intercepted and read, but by who no one really knew. The ministry said that the Death Eaters were doing it, but they were doing it too. Anyone who really knew the ministry knew that they were doing it. That was most likely how they know that the Death Eaters were intercepting the owled post in the first place.

As Harry carried Ras into the bathroom to have her leave via that room's window. He was confident that if she was ever captured and his message was read, it wouldn't be understood. He kept his notes short and simple with out saying something other people would understand and when he had to write something longer he wrote it in a code that he and the healer had come up with before he left Hogwarts. Harry also hasn't signed anything he sent to the Healer or anyone else for that matter, for months now to make it that much harder for those who may get their hands on any of his messages to connect the dots back to him.

'Having any link to the Harry James Potter was a serious risk these days,'Harry thought with a frown.

"Off you go Ras. Don't stop for anything and don't wait for a reply from Healer Augustus Pye," he told his attentive pet. She hooted once in understanding before turning around on his arm and flying out of the window. He left it open incase she made it back before he did, but place a ward on it so only his owl could enter. As Harry walked out of the bathroom his mind picked back up on what he was thinking before he sent Ras off.

Speaking of the the Harry James Potter, The Daily Prophet had declared him missing about two weeks ago. He wondered who missed him first and leaked it. There had been pictures that didn't look like they were obtained by any means that were honest. They seemed to have been taken through a window and showed a tear stained Hermione being held by a pale Ron as they stood in the middle of his home with a shaken looking Mrs. Weasley sitting in her favorite armchair.

It hurt Harry to see them this way but he couldn't reassure them that he was alive and well without ruining what he had already started. He may never get a chance to do it again if he stopped now. Harry wanted this all over as soon as possible and it was going to take a long time as it was. Harry looked around his room in the Black Asp, it was more his home than number four Private Drive had ever been, as he took stock of what he now needed and where they were.

Harry grabbed his dragon hide boots from their place by the door and slipped his feet into them. With the invisibility cloak tied around his shoulders and his new wand and trunk in his pocket he considered himself ready. This was when things were going to start getting hard for him, but it had to be done. He took a deep breath, pulled the hood up so he disappeared completely and left his room.

Tauri Rosier smiled at Tom the barkeep as he dusted off his robes. Tom just nodded back before he continued with what he was doing after seeing who entered his pub. Flooing is so troublesome in this colour, Tauri thought. The season's colour was currently morning blue. While it looked horrible on most it seemed to bring his hazel eyes to life. His pallor seemed to also improve and all in all it made him look even more dashing. Tauri didn't stay in the Leaky Cauldron but went directly to the back and its stone wall. As he stepped outside he took a deep breath of fresh air that he didn't take for granted. He only got to leave the manor once a week as his mother was still convinced that the Death Eaters wanted to recruit her other children for their cause.

Fabian, his older brother, had died along side their father when they had been cornered by the Aurors. His mother had insisted that he was trying to save their father, but that wasn't the story he heard from others when Even Rosier's name was brought up. In fact it didn't seem like anyone even knew that his brother was there.

The poor woman who was his mother, hadn't been the same since her husband Evan died in the first wizarding war, taking Fabian with him. But she had started to relent lightly on some of the restrictions that she had on her second oldest son, Tauri, now that she believed them to have been forgotten by the rest of the wizarding world. He was grateful to be allowed to leave the oppressive manor he called home, and while he was experiencing this new freedom he met a witch here Diagon Alley and if he were honest with himself he was quite smitten. Gabriella Selwyn worked in Borgin and Burkes in Knockturn Alley. She replaced the last assistant there after he was cursed blind while cleaning some candlesticks he believed to be harmless. Tauri constantly worried about Gabriella but it didn't appear that he could do anything about it. Every time he told her of his concerns, she would say that it was sweet how he fussed, but that she could take care of herself and had for the year she had been working there.

He would like to offer her marriage so she wouldn't have a reason to work there at all, but he didn't feel that he could do that. His family had been in hiding for nearly a decade and their fortune had steadily dwindled away as it kept them alive and hidden for so long. He was not of high enough social standing to propose to Gabriella since most people didn't even know they existed and then there was her father. He was a known Death Eater and even though his father died bravely as one of them, he may not look that kindly on him and what is left of his family for staying out of the war and not on their side for all these years. He would never allow such a union Tauri believed. Still, Tauri visited Gabriella every Saturday at exactly 1pm. Maybe if he kept it up, he would find away to fix everything between them. Maybe hear the news that her father had been killed or other wise detained from the realm of the living.

Routine was about to be his downfall. Tauri entered Knocturn Alley as he has done for over two months now and a hand shot out of nowhere grabbing his beautiful morning blue robes and pulling him into a darker side alley. He struggled bravely but his enemy was both strong and invisible. It wasn't long before he was wrestled to the ground as he continued to fight but just making contact with air most of the time. His mother had been right, he should have been more careful, he should have noticed who was around him more. Tauri felt someone's hot breath as it moved across his cheek as his back was being pressed to the ground. They whispered word "Stupefy," and that was the last thing he was aware of.

He had done it. Harry was proud of himself at having brought him here without being seen. After making sure Tauri didn't have a second wand on him, Harry made sure that the ropes were secure as they held him to the chair since he wasn't going to stay unconscious forever. Tauri was taller but not as strong as Harry. Playing competitive quidditch had given Harry a muscular edge. Once he was satisfied with his knots Harry retrieved a vial from the desk.

"Rennervate," Harry said as he pointed his wand at the young man sitting before him. He watched as he came to and looked around. "Do you want to live Tauri?" Harry slowly asked as he allowed the sibilant edge of parseltongue enter his voice. Harry was once again in disguise and thought that this would effectively distort his voice too. The other boy nodded desperately. Harry then held the vial up in front of Tauri's face. "You will drink this, every last drop, or I will kill you and your precious Gabriella," Harry threatened. Tauri's eyes widened as he realized that the person who stood in front of him knew about Gabriella and was willing to hurt her too. He opened his mouth obediently and swallowed the potion. He even opened his mouth after wards to prove it had been completely swallowed.

"Who are you and why are you doing this to me...ughhh," Tauri started to yell before an odd pain stopped him. "I don't feel well," Tauri now whispered. Harry grimaced at the pain he was inflicting on him, but he calmed his conscience by reminding himself that he wasn't really harming him. He reached out and pulled a few brown strands from Tauri's head. With a small knife Harry now cut his palm and soaked the hairs in Tauri's blood. Harry walked them over to his make shift potions lab and added them to the goblet that he had waiting for him.

With the sounds of Tauri writhing in pain Harry took a deep breath and drank everything that was in the goblet. It had a deep gray colour but it tasted almost neutral but quickly developed a very bitter after taste. Harry swallowed again as he tried to keep it down, but he was soon rushing past a once again silent Tauri as he made his way to the bathroom, felling as though he really was going to be sick and wouldn't be able to keep it down.

When a tall brown haired youth stumbled out of the floo at Saint Mungos, everyone but Healer Augustus Pye was surprised. In his arms he held someone who appeared to be his twin.

"He's been poisoned," the boy wailed as he staggered some more before falling to his knees as he continued to hold on to his human cargo. Internally Augustus was surprised at the acting skill being displayed but on the outside he was acting as concerned as everyone else as he did his part. He manged to lead them away from the other healers and assistants when the young man said that something ran out of Knockturn Alley and had bitten his brother. Augustus levitated the unconscious young man down the hall and into a room in his ward and unto the bed with Harry right behind of him continuing to play his part of distraught sibling.

He was grateful that his own assistant wasn't present at the moment. He checked over Tauri first to make sure that he was still alive before turning his attention towards Harry. They were both healthy and the potions they took seem to be doing what they wanted them to do. A few minutes later when Tauri woke up not being able to remember his arse from his elbow, which was what they were hoping for, they were fully sure that the potion had worked.

"There's the antidote," Harry said as he handed the healer a small green vial. "Either give it to him when you hear of my death or when you receive word from me," Harry told him before turning to look at the young man that he now looked like due to the permanent polyjuice potion he drank. "He will be taken care of right?" he asked as he looked back at Healer Pye with a new set of worried eyes.

"Yes Mr. Potter. I shall transfer him to Farthilu's Hospital for Magical Injuries in America this evening. They have a specialist in brain injuries incurred from black magic there who is a friend of mine," Augustus answered as he looked at him. "I do wish you luck in whatever you are up to Mr. Potter," Augustus told him as he now stood. Harry nodded and thanked him for his help before turning and leaving the room.

Harry was glad that the potion appeared to have worked without any ill effects. He had found it scribbled in the back of the Half-Blood Prince's book. It stated that adding everlasting elixir and ground beazor to the polyjuice potion would make the effects permanent. Well permanent until the drinker drank the counter potion of course and that was written right below it.

Harry was about to floo back to his room at the Black Asp so he could quickly do what he had to when the Welcome Witch called to him from her desk.

"You can't use that to leave young man. That is only for the admittance of severe cases to the hospital. You will have to leave the normal way," she finished as he pointed him towards the front of the building.

"Yes ma'am," Harry said with his new voice before turning around and quickly leaving through the magical gateway. 'Briliant,' Harry thought as he was now left standing in the muggle world. He hadn't expected anyone to stop him from using the floo network to get back. 'There was no way to avoid this,' he told himself as he made sure the street was empty before raising his hand and summing the Knight Bus with his wand again.

He told the old man to take him to the Leaky Calderon but he didn't look at Harry until he asked for his fare. Almost as soon as they took off they arrived at his stop. Harry all but ran through the building so Tom wouldn't see him and exited into Diagon Alley. Harry knew that he couldn't walk into the Black Asp so he looked for the only story in Diagon Alley that had a working floo so he could get back to his room unseen.

There wasn't a line but as he neared it a shop clerk called out to him. Harry turned to see a young man walking towards him. He had long back hair and wore a rather friendly smile.

"Tauri Wilks," he said as he came to stop in front of Harry. Harry smiled back at the shop clerk since Tarui was generally friendly with most people he met. Tauri had been told not tell anyone his real last name so hearing himself being called 'Wilks' wasn't a surprise to Harry.

"Hi," Harry said in return since he hadn't seen Tauri come in here and didn't know the man's name. 'Keep it simple,' he told himself.

"I was wondering how much longer it was going take you to buy some flowers for your lovely young miss," he told Harry.

"Yes," Harry said as he quickly tired to think of something. "I was on my way to meet her but I remembered that I have to be somewhere else at the moment," he came up with. "I need you to deliver some flowers to her for me," he said. All the while the other guy nodded his head at story he was being told.

"Do you want to include a note with that?" he asked as he extended his hand for Harry to walk with him to a counter that was to the right of the floo.

"Of course," he answered before he quickly thought of one. "I'll explain everything later. Love T," he told him.

"Alright," the clerk said once he was done writing that down. "And what kind of flowers would you like to send that with?" he now asked Harry. There weren't any flowers in Knocturn Alley, how was he suppose to know what flowers to send her? Harry looked around and pointed a bunch that appeared to be still living but were not overly colourful. As the man turned to look at what he had pointed out, Harry dug his hands into his pocket and pulled out what he was sure was more than what everything was worth and moved to grabbed some floo power before he turned turned back around.

Harry didn't tell him good bye before he stepped into the floo and told it's his destination. Once he arrived back in his room he quickly covered himself in his invisability cloak and made his way to the Manager's office where he left a significant amount of galleons on his desk before going back to his room and packing. Midway he remembered that he hadn't told the man where to send the flowers. He made a floo call to the store and got the same man right way.

"The flowers go to Borgin and Burkes and her name is Gabriella," he said to a now very surprised looking clerk.

"Yes Mr. Wilks," he said weakly before Harry pulled his head out of the floo and returned to his packing. After he was dressed in his new pieces of clothing that he had taken off of his ill twin, he packed everything else into the trunk and locked it before shrinking and pocketing it.

Harry now once again stood in front of his fireplace. He was about to leave the Black Asp behind to advance onto the next stage of his plan. This was the dangerous stage, but for some reason Harry was excited. Maybe it was the thrill of having his life fully in his hands for the first time in his short life. He took a deep breath and flooed to a house on the outskirts of Sussex where the Rosiers where currently in hiding.

Tomorrow he would tell Mrs. Rosier of his relationship with Gabriella and his intention of joining the Death Eaters in order to marry her.

Sieve - A sieve, or sifter. Separates wanted elements from unwanted material using a woven screen such as a mesh or net.

Tauri - Constellation Taurus. Most pure-blood names are from constellations or the stars in the constellations.