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Holy crap! I haven't updated in sooooo long! I know I say that with every chapter, but this time it took me even longer! :) lol!
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Apparently, I'm no longer a bitchy, selfish, irresponsible, or disrespectful brat, so I've got my laptop back! Yay!! :)
To my numerous reviewers:
murgy31-- thanks!
Liljen09, anonymous reviewer-- hahah, thanks! FINALLY, someone who agrees with me! ;) I tell everybody I don't like Slughorn, and they're like, "how can you not like Slughorn?" lol!
jimmy-barnes-13-- thank you!! :) I liked that part, too. I think I got it from the book. ;)
witherwings1972-- thanks for reviewing! I didn't think he would, either, but here's my logic on it: if he loved Lily enough to marry her and then let her go to keep her safe, I think he would tolerate the portrait of James in order to have a portrait of Lily.
HappeeGoLuckee-- mwa ha ha ha haaaa! :) you, my friend, shall have to wait and see. It'll be good, I promise. Thanks for reviewing!
cyiusblack-- here's another one, just for you! :)
milliefluff, anonymous reviewer-- thanks! It was fun to write, believe me. :)
Ulifan-- aww, thanks! It made me laugh, too. :)
LoireLoa-- I'm glad you liked it! I wrote it special for you ;) I thought you'd like the twins buying Zonko's.
RonawolfLee33-- thanks! Your review made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside :) lol! I'm glad it's easy to read, I try hard. I like that it does and doesn't go along with the book, too. It gives me something to work with. :) Thanks for reviewing!
Kate Andromeda-- I liked that, too. I figured who would be more amused by a prank than the snarky old Snape himself? :) Thanks!
erised1186-- mwa ha ha ha haaaa! :) You shall find out. And I promise, it will be good. :)
emmy1124-- BROWNIE POINTS!! Do you know that you are the only one who picked up on that? (Or at least, the only one that picked up on it and reviewed?) Bahahahaha lol, apparently I'm no longer a brat, 'cause I got my laptop back! Yay! :) So now I can write some more and not worry about people stealing my files! :) Thanks for reviewing!
Arica, Princess of Rivendell-- thanks!! :)
firefly5151-- thanks!! I liked the prank, too. :)
darkxangelx, anonymous reviewer-- :) I'm glad you were so amused! It was fun to write. Thanks for reviewing!
bored out of my nut-- I like your penname a LOT. :) Thanks for reviewing! That part made me laugh, too. It was fun to write :) lol!
Here's chapter ten, All We Know. Thanks to Paramore for the title. I love this song. :)
Chapter Ten: All We Know
A few days later, the Golden Trio was enjoying a delicious breakfast feast when Ron spotted something flying towards Harry.
"Hey, do you know whose owl that is?" Ron asked, pointing to a large sandy-colored owl as it flew straight toward the Boy-Who-Lived.
"No idea," Harry responded, watching the graceful creature
"It looks like a school owl," Hermione said thoughtfully as she delicately took a slice of bacon.
Harry took the small piece of parchment the bird carried. He sucked in his breath sharply as he read the brief message, which contained but two words, and a set of initials:
I know.
G.W.
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"Hey, Ginny, can I talk to you for a second?" Harry asked casually, though his eyes betrayed his tone. The redhead met his gaze, nodded once, then followed him out of the tower.
I need a place where no one can find us, Harry thought as he paced back and forth in front of the Room of Requirement. Three paces later, a door was revealed, through which Harry ushered Ginny.
"What's up?" she asked, settling herself on one of the dark green couches. A fire crackled in the large fireplace.
"Well, I got this note the other day," Harry said carefully, "and it was in your handwriting, and had your initials on it."
"Did it? And what did it say?" Ginny questioned, leaning forward.
"It only said two words-- other than your initials, that is," Harry said. "It said, 'I know'."
"The question is, what do I know?" Ginny replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't play games with me," Harry said, frustrated. "Just tell me what you think you know."
"Well, I think I know that I didn't leave when your head-voice thingy told me to leave," Ginny informed him, settling back into the couch cushions. "And I heard a few things."
"Like...?" Harry persisted, motioning her to continue.
"Like you calling that greasy git 'Dad'?" Ginny continued, folding her arms over her chest expectantly. Harry fell silent.
"Yes, I do call him Dad," he said quietly. He closed his eyes and placed his fingertips on his forehead. "Ginny, do you know Occlumency?"
"Charlie's taught me a few things," Ginny replied. "Why?"
"Because you are going to need to bury this so far behind your shields that it would take a backhoe to get it out."
"What's a backhoe?" Ginny asked.
"Never mind, it's a Muggle thing," Harry shook his head. "The point is, if anyone found out, even Dumbledore, there will be problems."
"I understand, Harry," Ginny said maturely. "You guys take it for granted that I'm this naïve little girl who doesn't know shit. I know what's going on, Harry, with the war and with everything that's going on. You can trust me."
"I know," Harry said softly, staring into the depths of her deep brown eyes. "This summer, Remus told the headmaster he thought I was in trouble with the Muggles. Dumbledore then contacted my dad and told him to go check up on me. He found me beaten and barely conscious in my cupboard under the stairs. He-- he brought me here, and, after I recovered, I spent the summer at the castle, in my quarters, next to Snape's quarters.
"A few weeks after I recovered, Snape came to my room and told me he had a portrait that wished to speak with me. We'd been getting along all right, and I agreed to go to his rooms. The portrait, it turns out, was of Lily and James. They told us that Dad and Lily had been married for a bit, and were forced to annul their marriage due to the fact that he was a spy. They had-- one final night together, and--"
"Oh, Harry," Ginny whispered, patting his knee gently.
"Your Occlumency barriers are really strong, right?" Harry asked suddenly. Ginny nodded.
"Draco is my father's godson," Harry continued. "We've become...good friends. I think we really understand each other."
"I'm happy for you," Ginny said sincerely.
"Why? I mean, I would think you of all people would hate me because Snape's my father," Harry said, amazed.
"Your life has more or less sucked from that Halloween night until last summer," Ginny explained. "I think it's about damn time that something goes right for you, even if that is Snape being your dad. Even if you are finding a good friend in Malfoy. If it makes you happy, then I'm happy for you."
"Thanks, Gin," Harry said embarrassedly. She reached up and hugged him, and he hugged her back.
"Well, let's get back to the Tower, shall we? The others will be waiting for us," she said pleasantly. Harry smiled and nodded as he followed her out.
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As quickly as November had come, it passed, and the crisp, cool days became snowy, white December days. Harry and Ginny spent time together (as friends, of course-- friends who talked about one friend's dad that nobody knows about!). Christmas came before anyone could have believed it.
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"Have a good holiday, mate," Ron said solemnly, shivering against the cold winter air blowing in from the huge mahogany doors at the front of the school. "I wish I could convince Mum and Dad to let us stay here for holiday, but..."
"It's all right, Ron," Harry reassured him. "It'll be nice to have the Tower all to myself." And indeed he would-- with the news of Voldemort's return, all the students, with the exception of one or two Slytherins (including Draco) and a handful of Hufflepuffs were going home for the holidays.
The Weasleys had decided they would be spending the Christmas holiday visiting Charlie at the dragon reserve. Bill would be joining them there. Hermione was going home, as well-- her parents were taking her on a trip to America for the holidays, and she was incredibly excited to see Muggle America.
"Goodbye, Harry," Hermione said regretfully. "If I could stay here with you, I would."
"I understand," he said gently. "You have fun in America."
"Try to find out more on the Half-Blood Prince, okay?" Hermione instructed as she hugged him.
"I will," Harry promised, hugging her back.
"Have a good Christmas, Harry," Ginny whispered in his ear. "Are you spending it with Snape and Malfoy?"
"I am," he whispered back.
"Have fun," she said in a normal voice as she pulled away. Harry watched as everyone walked down to the carriages to Hogsmeade.
Are the idiots gone? Snape's voice asked inside Harry's head.
Nearly, Harry's voice drawled. They are leaving now.
It's about time they left, the Defense professor's voice resounded, sounding a bit relieved.
I'll be down tonight, Harry returned.
Draco and I will be expecting you, Snape said in closing, and they stopped talking.
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"Who is it?" Snape's voice asked irritably.
"It's me," Harry hissed from underneath his Invisibility Cloak. Snape opened the door and felt a breeze go by him. He closed the door.
"Happy Christmas," the Defense professor said stiffly.
"Happy Christmas to you, too!" Harry exclaimed, feeling a bit giddy at the prospect of having a real family Christmas. All right, so it can't be that traditional a Christmas, considering who my father is, Harry amended his thoughts. But it will be nice-- just Dad, Draco, and me.
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"Harry! Harry! Harry! Harry!" Draco exclaimed as he jumped up and down on the dark-haired teenager's bed Christmas morning. "We've got presents to open!"
"Shaddup and leave me alone," Harry mumbled into his pillow.
"I didn't want to do this, but you asked for it," Draco said warningly. He pointed his wand at the Boy-Who-Lived and said, "Aguamenti!"
"Ahhhhhhh!" Harry shrieked as he became doused in water. "Stop it, Draco!" he spluttered.
"What's going on in there?" Snape asked sternly as he glanced down the hallway.
"Nothing!" Draco called, drowning out the other teenager's protests.
"Are you going to get up?" Draco asked.
"Yes! Now stop it!" Harry shouted. With another swipe of his wand, the waterworks stopped, leaving Draco in the company of an angry, sopping wet teenager.
"Oh, I will get you back for that," Harry said, brandishing his wand.
"No foolish wand-waving!" Snape called down to the teenagers' room.
"Just you wait," Harry whispered as Draco followed him out of the room. (Draco wasn't dumb enough to leave the room first-- who knew what Harry would do to get revenge!)
"Good morning," Snape said stiffly as the boys entered the sitting room. He raised an eyebrow at his soaked son.
"Draco-- er-- woke me up," Harry explained. Snape nodded slowly, waved his wand in the teenager's direction, and he was dry again.
"Thanks," Harry said gratefully.
"I believe there are Christmas presents here for you two," Snape said, pointing to the rather large stack of gifts surrounding the Christmas tree.
"A Christmas tree, huh? I wouldn't have pegged you for one to put a silly tree in your rooms," Harry said, a small smile threatening to spread across his face.
"Yes, well, Draco made me," Snape said laboriously.
"Damn straight!" the blond smirked, giving one firm nod. Harry rolled his eyes, and the two boys sat down to open their presents.
"Hey, there's some here for you, Severus," Draco said as he began to set a substantial amount of presents aside. Harry added to this stack.
"There are, are there," Snape said dryly, though he looked a bit surprised. Harry hoped his father would like the gifts he'd given him; he'd had to go all the way down to the Chamber of Secrets to get them for him.
"Oh, Harry," Snape breathed as he unwrapped vial after vial of basilisk parts, "this is too much, I can't accept this."
"You can and you will," Harry said firmly. "Really, Dad, it wasn't all that much trouble."
"Where did you ever get these?" Snape asked, staring long and hard at each vial. "These are fresh basilisk parts!"
"I'm not telling you, but I did collect them myself," Harry said, "if that makes any difference to you."
"What-- oh, Merlin," Snape gasped. "Harry, there wasn't--?"
"A basilisk down in the Chamber of Secrets that almost killed me second year? Actually, funnily enough, there was," Harry said conversationally. "I went down there last week and collected the basilisk parts for you."
"Oh, Harry, thank you," Snape said softly. Harry smiled and turned to Draco, who was opening his present from the Gryffindor.
"How to Become an Animagus For Dummies," Draco read the title of the book. He and Harry shared a knowing smile.
"Somebody-- or two somebodies-- planning to become animaguses?" the Defense professor asked nonchalantly.
"No, just one somebody," Harry reassured him.
"You don't want to be an animagus?" Snape questioned, astonished.
"Oh, come on, Harry," Draco egged him on. Harry rolled his eyes long-sufferingly.
"Fine," he huffed. Before the professor's eyes, his son turned into a black dog.
"Honestly," Snape shook his head amusedly, "why am I surprised?" The Boy-Who-Lived turned back into his human form.
"Thanks, Harry," Draco added sincerely. "Now hurry up and open your presents!" Harry smiled and took the closest package, which was from his dad. He carefully opened the green and silver wrapping to reveal a rather large scrapbook with a crest on it. Harry looked up at his father questioningly.
"Go ahead, open it," Snape said encouragingly. Harry shrugged and opened the book. A small, sad smile took over his features as he flipped the pages-- page after page was filled with pictures of the happy couple. Lily and Snape at the beach, Lily and Snape at their wedding, Lily and Snape at a dinner, all with Snape smiling and laughing, holding his beloved redhead close.
"Your mother-- Lily made that," Snape said, his voice sounding oddly emotional. "She insisted I keep it. Now I'm passing it on to you." Harry flipped through the pages, a single tear streaking his face.
"Thank you," Harry whispered, his eyes shiny with unshed tears.
"The crest on the front," Snape said hoarsely, "is the crest your mother and I decided was our family crest. The Snape family has no crest, and we made one ourselves. We vowed each of our several future children would proudly bear that crest." Harry smiled sadly and reached over to hug his father.
"Thank you," Harry whispered again.
"You are most welcome," Snape whispered back, hesitantly returning the hug.
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Later that morning, Snape and Draco were called to Voldemort. "I hate that bloody bastard," Draco cursed as they prepared to Apparate. Harry cringed inwardly, knowing he would be yanked into a vision involuntarily, but wished good luck to his father and friend.
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"Good morning, my Death Eaters," the Dark Lord hissed to the circle of masked men and women around him. "I have called you here today to check on your progress. Severus? How is dear old Potter?"
"He is as arrogant as always, my Lord," Snape said, a bit of contempt edging its way into his voice as he knelt down in front of the snake-like man. "He is playing into our plans perfectly, Master."
"Excellent," Tom Riddle said softly, his voice barely audible. "You may step back into the circle." Snape retreated to take his place between two masked Death Eaters, obviously of inner circle ranking.
"Draco, my slippery Slytherin," he purred as Draco bent down, "how are your plans coming?"
"The plans are coming along, Master," Draco said, trying to mask his fear.
"How much longer, Draco?"
"Just a bit, my Lord," Draco promised. "By May."
"Five months, Draco? What do you need five months for?" Voldemort asked quietly.
"I need to finalize my plans, my Lord," Draco said steadily. "I wish not to disappoint you."
"Of course you wouldn't," Riddle said as he gazed down at the blond boy in front of him calculatingly. "I'm not giving you any later than May, Draco, or your task will be done for you. Do you wish for your task to be done by someone other than you?"
"Of course not, my Lord," Draco answered, sounding a bit horrified.
"Then you'd better get that plan worked out by May," Voldemort said dangerously. "Crucio!" The Slytherin writhed and shrieked in pain.
"Step back into the circle," the snake-like man hissed as he lifted the curse several minutes later. The blond boy stepped back.
"Yes, my Lord," Draco said, his head still bowed.
"That is all," Tom Riddle spat with a dismissive wave of his hand.
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"So, what'd Tom want?" Harry asked casually after he finished fixing up the two spies.
"That depends; what did you see?" Snape replied just as casually.
"I watched you, Draco, saying that your plans were coming together, and you'd be ready by May, whatever that means," Harry recapped, "and I saw you, Dad, saying that I was folding into your plans as well as you could have hoped. What plan would that be?" Harry asked challengingly, not lowering his gaze from the black-haired wizard's face.
Harry expected a biting remark, but was met with a defeated sigh. The Defense professor closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, looking very defeated indeed.
"Harry, you know that we can't discuss Draco's plans," Snape began, then massaged his forehead.
"Yeah, and I get it, it's high-security shit you've gotten yourselves into," Harry added.
"The ends will justify the means, son, don't forget that. Ever," the professor said emphatically.
"But what plan am I part of?" Harry persisted.
"The ends will justify the means," Snape repeated.
"If it makes you feel any better," Draco chimed in, "I don't know what this plan is, either."
"Few do," Snape replied. "I am one of the...lucky ones. Harry, I'd really like to tell you, so that you can plan accordingly, but as a spy and as your father, I think it is best you do not know."
"Will you ever tell me?" Harry asked softly.
"When the right time approaches us," Snape promised. Harry nodded, satisfied that this man, who never sugarcoated anything, would keep his promise.
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The cold, snowy days of December, January, February, and even March vaguely turned into the warmer days accompanied by spring. April came before anybody could believe it.
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"Harry," the Boy-Who-Lived heard a voice call behind him. He turned around to see the wizened old headmaster waving to him.
"Hello, Headmaster," Harry said politely.
"Would you accompany me to my office?" Dumbledore asked, although they both knew it was not a request.
"Of course, sir," the teenager nodded.
"Sit, Harry, we have many things to discuss today," the wizard said elegantly, gesturing to the chair on the opposite side of his desk. The two seated themselves.
"Today we must discuss the prophecy you discovered last year," the headmaster summarized.
"But, Headmaster," Harry interrupted, confused, "we always talk about the prophecy in our lessons."
"Ah, yes, but we do not discuss the actual prophecy," Dumbledore reminded him. "Today, we will be taking the prophecy and analyzing every single piece of it."
"This sounds like something Hermione would do," Harry grumbled. "No offense, Headmaster." The old man laughed.
"Indeed, this is something Miss Granger would do, isn't it?" Dumbledore chuckled. "Come, let us pick apart this prophecy!" He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
"Now, by these words, what do you think Professor Trelawney was trying to convey?" Dumbledore asked, pointing to the first set of lines.
"She's describing the people involved and how they will be identified," Harry said, carefully reading over each and every word. "A person, determinedly a boy, judging by the rest, who is born at the end of July will be Voldemort's downfall, and he will be marked."
"Precisely," Dumbledore beamed.
"But, Professor, we already knew that," Harry told him, a bit confused.
"Ah, yes, but continue," Dumbledore nodded. "What about the next part?"
"All right, it says that that person will have a power Voldemort knows not," Harry reviewed. "That means this person will be able to do something Voldemort can't."
"Now, based on the person description, we can safely assume the person is you," Dumbledore concluded.
"That means that I have a power Voldemort doesn't," Harry added. "Well, you always say that I have the ability to love, and he doesn't."
"Yes, but do you think this goes beyond love?" Dumbledore asked thoughtfully.
"Professor, are you saying love doesn't have anything to do with this? What about my mother?" Harry asked.
"No, no, I'm not saying that at all!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "I think-- this is just an old man's ponderings, of course-- that there may be a bigger element in the defeat of Voldemort that we are both missing, some sort of tool, maybe..."
"Where is the Mirror of Erised, Professor?" Harry interrupted the old man's ramblings.
"Why? What is your greatest ambition?" Dumbledore asked, his eye twinkling knowingly.
"My greatest ambition is to find whatever power I need in order to defeat Voldemort," Harry said determinedly. Dumbledore clasped his hands.
"Well then, let's go see the Mirror of Erised!" he exclaimed.
So, what'd you think? I hope you liked it! :) Review and let me know! Oh, and a quick note-- this may be my last chapter for 3-4 weeks. I have finals this week and next, and then I'm going on vacation with my cousin for a week or two. If you're going to get an update, it will be by Friday the 20th. If not, then I'll see you in three weeks or so! Gotta go, I've got back handsprings to teach. Toodles!