.

#Voldegirl:

Thanks for the review :) Of course there will be Snarry goodness girl, how could I leave my two favourite boys apart. [Hope that's not a spoiler]

Apologies in advance... I have already written this chapter before I read your reviews on Chapter 3... I may need to reinforce that baracaded fort to dodge your undoubtedly vicious attacks upon my person for the contents of this chapter.

It gets better! I promise.

xoxo

Harry made his way to his Physical Education class in the afternoon, he wasn't looking forward to it like he should have been. Whilst he was certain they would benefit from something like this at Hogwarts, he had lost the defined muscle that he had gained from Quidditch earlier in the year and was finding that without much meat on his frame this class seemed to tire him out more than it should. He had been thinking about his eureka moment in his Dark Arts class the day before and was beginning to formulate a way to try and stay out of trouble with the other students. Sure, it sounded great in theory but he really wasn't sure of himself, no matter what Professor Viktor said.

He sighed and pushed the big wooden doors of their make shift gymnasium and stripped his brown sweatshirt off to reveal his tighter brown singlet underneath. His eyes flickered over to where the swords were kept and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that they hadn't been prepared for that days lesson, his day was looking up, if only slightly, at this information.

"Right, you pathetic lot. Hope you brought your running shoes." Professor Belakov spat at them.

He was a burly Russian man who didn't take any prisoners and he walked the line of boys, including Harry, that were standing against the wall. He looked each and everyone of them up and down before stopping at Harry, a small sneer pulling at his lips when he continued to speak.

"You will all, each and everyone of you, leave this room, run to the warf and back before the next class begins," He had turned and walked away from Harry at this point as he addressed the rest of the group, "Therefore, it's your issue if you're late to your next class. GO!" He roared and Harry sprinted off in front of everyone else.

He didn't last too long in front but he maintained a good speed to keep up with the other faster runners. He guessed that it was his saving grace, that he wasn't heavy and bulky like some of the others, his seekers body, which was light and agile even though it hadn't been on a broom from the moment he had arrived, was working in his favor for once.

He was glad he hadn't fallen behind as they made their way through the castle, he was sure that by the time he had run the allotted time, he would have come out at the wrong entrance and would be lost. This castle was worse than Hogwarts. He shook his head; he didn't need to be thinking about that place today, he had to get thinking about how he was going to protect himself without having to show people that he was trying. He doubted they would be merciful if they saw him trying to fight back, and he certainly didn't want to be weak in his retaliation.

Finally after what seemed like hours, he puffed back into the gym with a couple of other students, satisfied that they had arrived first and it was rewarding to see Belakov looking at him in disgust rather than a smirk. I knew you were trying to throw me off, Harry thought proudly before he turned and grabbed his gym bag with fresh clothes for the rest of the day. He needed a shower.

It was on his walk to his next class when Harry realized he hadn't heard from either Severus or Headmaster Dumbledore; Hedwig hadn't appeared over the past couple of days either and he wondered if she was all right. Quickly glancing down at his wrist he decided to send a small hello to Severus, he had told Hedwig to stay a few days but it was coming up to a week now and he hadn't heard anything. He tried to shake the thought off but something didn't feel right so he tried to think of something else as he walked into his Charms class for the next couple of hours without hearing anything from Severus.

Soon enough it was the next morning and Harry woke tired and feeling groggy. He hadn't had the best night sleep, well he hadn't really slept at all over the month and a half he had been at Durmstrang, but this night was different and he felt haunted by something. He looked around the dorm and found everyone asleep so he tiredly got up and started going about getting ready for the day, as he did he wondered why he hadn't heard anything from his ex-Potion's Professor, and most likely ex-lover, he thought sadly when realization dawned on him. It was a saddening thought but again, he had more important things to worry about as he left the dorm for the Grand Hall for breakfast.

When he walked in, the hall hushed a little but he soon forgot that when he saw a familiar white shape on his usual table, but the image was wrong and Harry felt his blood go cold, seemingly draining completely from his face as he screamed and ran over to his owl.

"Hedwig? NO! Wake up, please, no."

He slumped into his seat, cradling his owl as she lay there cold in his arms, blood staining her crisp white feathers and covering Harry's brown uniform. He couldn't understand why anyone would do this, why they thought they could get away with it for a start, but then when he looked around people were just staring at him. The boys across the hall who seemed to hate Harry were snickering and laughing, which was enough for Harry's magic to spark dangerously around him, essentially wiping the smiles off their faces. He imagined his own face looked like thunder, Hedwig had been Harry's friend, she had always been there for him, always there to comfort him at his relatives, always there to deliver his messages and didn't complain. She was the best thing that could have happened to him and what was worse, was that she was killed over some petty school bullying.

Hedwig was dead.

Harry felt a hand on his shoulder and through teary eyes he looked up and saw Christian, his room mate and he reached forward to pick an envelope up before pulling at Harry's arm to get him to stand. He felt numb, he felt mad, and he felt like tearing the whole school to pieces. He was more than angry; he was livid as he was led away not caring where they went.

As it happened Christian, had led him to an empty corridor that opened out into a terrace, the fiercely cool winds whipped past them almost painfully and there Harry sunk to his knees, still carrying his most prized possession in his arms, not really knowing what to do. However, he soon saw his room mate who kneeled in front of him and put his hand on Harry's shoulder again before speaking.

"Harry? Perhaps we could cremate her?" He asked gently, the passion in his voice strong and it made Harry look up at him with a small nod.

After an urn was Transfigured from a rock, Harry put Hedwig on the cold stone between them and pulled out his wand. Initially Christian had said he'd do it, but Harry didn't want that to happen once his brain started functioning properly again and had stopped him, saying that he wanted to be the one. The boy with steely eyes had agreed immediately and came to stand behind him as he cast a strong Incendio over her small form, watching as she quickly turned to ash and was transported into the urn.

There was a moment of pure silence, where the wind had even stopped blowing and the clouds parted where a warm light from the sun hit the spot where Harry was holding the urn with Hedwig's ashes. He looked up at the sky before it clouded over and Harry's magic sparked again with his fury. Christian kept his hand on Harry's shoulder, why, Harry didn't know but it was strangely comforting at this current point as he made a vow to his beloved.

"They are going to pay." Harry hissed and there was a loud crack of thunder before a few spits of rain started to fall and he was pulled into the shelter.

"What are you going to do?" Christian asked, his voice a little shaky.

"Magic. They are going to feel how badly I can retaliate." Harry replied turning to face the teen, his eyes were jaded and passionate, not the bright green everyone was used to seeing.

These eyes looked dark.

Severus was woken that morning with an intense pain on his wrist. He cried out, more in surprise, before gripping onto it and trying to lessen the burning but it was no use and he had to endure it, not wanting to take it off. He was worried, above anything else, about Harry. He realized something must have happened, something bad because he had never felt it this strong before, unlike the many times over the past month that he had felt. He wasn't stupid, he knew Harry was having issues, and after careful thought about the letter that he had been sent he knew for a fact that his boy wasn't happy. Couple that with what he was currently experiencing and he knew something was seriously wrong.

He had tried messaging him through the pain but he received no answer meaning he was going to have to wait. He doubted that the old bumbling fool of a Headmaster would know what was going on, but at this rate, after a solid ten minutes of this torture, someone was bound to notice his discomfort. He shook his head, he wanted Harry back in his arms, back where he could keep an eye on the teen, but alas he was going to, again, wait until he was back at Hogwarts. If he ever comes back, he sighed and went for a shower.

Hermione and Ron were sitting at the Gryffindor table, Ron shoveling food into his mouth as Hermione sat there looking at him with a disgusted look on her face. She shook her head in utter frustration when he glared at her asking what the issue was and she adverted her eyes, resting them on the doors to the Great Hall when a pale looking Professor Snape walked into with pain lancing his face every few steps. She frowned and watched as he walked in front of her.

"I think something's wrong with, Harry." She whispered across the table at Ron, who then looked up and at where she was looking.

"He always looks like that, Hermione. Just ignore the git." He mumbled before starting on another plate of food.

She wasn't convinced.

Meanwhile, Severus took his seat next to Dumbledore and poured himself a strong coffee, his hand shaking under the pressure for keeping a straight face. The bangle may not have been burning but there was now an angry and blistered red mark on his wrist that rubbed against his sleeves. Huffing he pulled his arm back and rolled his sleeve up a fraction so he could function around his breakfast plate. However, as he was finishing up he could feel the Headmaster's steady gaze in his direction and he turned his head to look at the man, only to find he was glancing at his wrist.

"Issues brewing, Severus?" He asked candidly, which made Severus snorted.

"No." He replied coolly before standing with the intention of creating a dramatic exit.

As he stepped off the raised platform he glanced at Harry's friends, the red head was eating like a pig, nothing new there, but Miss. Granger was looking right at him, so thinking of something daring he made sure the mark on his wrist was visible and calculatingly raked a hand through his hair but not without making eye contact with her first. As predicted she gasped, and audibly, which pleased him immensely before he concentrated on leaving the hall. Now it's up to them so say something, he thought smartly, he knew that the Headmaster would not heed anything he said nor take it seriously so he was almost at a loss as to what to do. He still cared about his Gryffindor, even though things between them had changed.

Harry was sitting in Karkaroff's office, he was still reeling from the events that had transpired that morning and had accidentally blown up his cauldron in Potion's due to his unstable magic that flared momentarily, but enough to almost destroy the classroom. If he were to be asked, he wouldn't know how to identify nor classify his emotions currently because he couldn't really think of anything other than the loss he had incurred.

"So, Mr. Potter. I hear there was a little bit of an issue this morning in the Grand Hall?" The Highmaster's voice was rough and deep with a thick accent, possibly Bulgarian.

Harry's head snapped up so he was looking into the beady eyes of his Highmaster. Was he serious when he talked about little when referring to his owl being essentially murdered in cold blood that morning? Has he no heart at all? He wondered before lowering his eyes, he didn't know what he should say back to that, he knew his magic was dancing wildly around the room even though it was only just noticeable.

"Hmm, I see you're not one for speaking," He started, standing and moving towards Harry who was seating in front of his desk.

"My owl was murdered." Harry resigned, his voice forced as he tried to reign in another bout of magical outburst.

"Murdered, you say?" The man was stroking his ratty beard and Harry had to force himself not to roll his eyes.

"Yes, murdered and you're not going to do a damn thing about it are you?" Harry suddenly shouted and stood so he was at eye level with the vile man.

Karkaroff suddenly advanced on Harry and grabbed him by the back of the head, his grip nearly ripping his hair out of the roots and he crumpled to the floor with the pain. He whimpered at the treatment and briefly wondered, again, how the staff of this school could be so callous and cruel.

"You will address me as, Highmaster, Potter," He spat before letting go of Harry's hair and took a large step back, fisting his hands, "As for your owl, that is a shame, however seeing as you can produce no evidence of this being done by students I cannot punish anyone." His voice rung loudly through the room and Harry looked up at him fiercely.

"How am I supposed to write to my friends then?" Harry asked a little quieter and reserved this time even though he was tense with building magic.

"That's your problem, Potter; though I would accept any requests for the purchase of another. Now, on matters that I called you here for, your dear Headmaster at Hogwarts has informed me he wishes for you to stay here over the upcoming holiday break."

"Wha – "

"Enjoy your stay here, Potter. You must have really ticked him off if he doesn't care enough to bring you back. Now get out and find Belakov, I believe he is supervising detention for your outburst." Karkaroff sneered before turning to go back to his desk.

Harry was momentarily stunned and gaped at him before a glare was sent his way. He muttered his leave before his fingers curled around the knob on the door and he made his way out. He couldn't believe it; he was getting a detention because he was sticking up for the injustice. I'll get him too then, he thought vindictively before seeking out the one man he didn't want to see.

On his way he glanced down at his wrist, it was starting to tingle, again, as it had been all day. It seemed that Severus was worried about him but then again he should have been, he was the one that got me into this, this is all his fault, he told himself in defiance and then without batting an eye lid, yanked the bangle off his wrist and slipped it into his pocket. He was angry with Severus too, if he hadn't been so, so… what? He stopped and found a bench in the corridor to sit on. As he sat there his wrist felt weird and the presence of the magic associated with the bangle seemed to be missing. It truly was odd and suddenly, in a gut wrenching feeling, realized that Severus would feel the loss too.

No, it's his fault. He was determined not to cave. Severus had made his bed; it was now time to lie in it.

Harry had been right of course and Severus had been sitting in his office with a couple of detention students when he suddenly felt something pulling at his chest. The feeling then travelled down his arm where the bangle was before he got a chill, one that came directly from the silver that caught the dim light in his office making him frown. Odd he thought, thumbing the silver before he addressed the two students who had been caught entering the forest after classes unattended.

As this was all happening, Ron and Hermione were in the Gryffindor common heading out so they could get to the owlery. Hermione hadn't been satisfied and badgered Ron until he agreed to help her write a letter to their friend across the sea to ask if he was okay. Ron was adamant that nothing was wrong but Hermione kept telling him what she saw and how she felt about it. She really was concerned about it all, she figured that their Potion's Professor was aware about the relationship and was almost impressed that he had used this subtly to get a message across. Of course when she went down this avenue, Ron accused her of seeing things that weren't really there because he believed there was no way that the 'Dungeon bat' would involve them in something so serious.

"Okay, when we send this off, will you please stop with all the worrying." Ron pleaded as they ascended the owlery staircase.

"Yes." Was her clipped answer before they disappeared to find one of their owls.

Over the next couple of weeks, Harry spent his time going to class and then hitting the library before going to dinner and then back to the library. He was determined to become the more proficient in his dueling and charms abilities so that he could get away with paying back the monsters that had hurt him so much. So far he was doing pretty well, but what he wanted to do was hurt them, not temporarily, but indefinitely.

It was then one morning when Harry was sitting at his spot for breakfast that Christian came and joined him. He looked at the boy in caution before he got back to what he was doing. As he did this, the same brown barn owl came and dropped a letter on the table, narrowly missing his eggs, before coming to rest beside him at the next place setting. It was another owl from his friends, he had been conversing with them other the past couple of weeks and they had voiced their concern many times over this period. He was fine with it, although it was getting rather repetitive so he sighed when he inspected this letter and raked a hand through his hair.

Harry,

I wish you were coming to the Burrow or even back to Hogwarts for the holidays, we would love to see you. Is there any way that this can happen or is it settled?

Let us know.

Hermione and Ron.

"You friends?" Christian asked and Harry nodded before screwing up the letter and setting it aside where it burst into flames, he wasn't going to reply this time.

"Your wordless spells are improving." He tried again and Harry this time looked at him, narrowing his eyes.

"What do you want?" He asked rather gruffly and it too the boy by surprise.

"I have been watching you. You seem upset," He admitted before turning back to his breakfast, "Sorry for caring." He added and Harry frowned at him.

"I am upset, but more angry than anything. I need to come up with some unobvious ways to get back at them." He said motioning towards the other side of the hall.

"Do you?" He urged, the same passion filling his eyes as he spoke it.

"Do I, what?" Harry asked confused.

"Come up with spells."

"Uh, what do you mean?" Harry asked curious but cautious.

"Creating you own spells." He whispered and Harry's eyes widened, that was most certainly Dark magic.

He shrugged but Christian got a knowing look in his eyes and winked before standing to leave the hall. Harry watched as he left, he didn't know how he felt about the teen's help because, in all honesty, he still didn't trust him. Only time would tell however, the boy was going to have to prove himself because Harry didn't know if he could go through another bout of betrayal.

Okay, so this is where Harry has hit rock bottom [just to let you know] so things will only get better for him [although having said that the road will not be smooth sailing].

Next chapter shouldn't be too far away.