A/N: *Singing off-key* Who has really great readers? I dooo-ooooo! Who has really awesome reviewers? I dooo-ooooo! Who wants to say a big thank you? I dooo-ooooo!* …Sorry. Lol, don't know where that came from…Thank you though for all the reviews and alerts and favorites. You guys are totally rockin', man.
All hail the mighty Beta Invader Shawn. Who was nice enough to beta this chapter for me. Thank you so!
Alrighty, as you all may be wondering. I am already to chapter 9 and it seems the story is still in the beginnings. You would be correct. I have so many idea's for this story that there is no way this is going to be the twelve chapters like my three previous stories…more like…I dunno…18? Maybe even more….Is that too long?
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Chapter 9: The Game Gets Harder
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It's like when you're little and you're told by your mum that you can have a cookie, but you're too scared that you're still gonna be punished when you take the cookie. – Ron Weasley
It really hadn't been much of a fight at all.
When they had gotten the alarm, Harry had expected it to be similar to the last battle—well, the last battle before they had rescued Severus, that is.
Instead, it had resembled something more like the skirmishes that had occurred before Christmastime. There had only been a few Death Eaters attacking a muggle vacation spot, and they had retreated after a very brief confrontation with the Order.
There were a few things, though, about the fight that seemed off to Harry.
For one thing, it was during broad daylight. The Death Eaters had attacked some during the day, but usually reserved their schemes for the cover of nightfall. At first, Harry had thought that it was a strategic element, now he simply thought it was because they thought it made them look cool.
Another difference was the obvious absence of three key Death Eaters. Though they normally wore masks, it was very easy to pick out one of the Lestrange brothers. It was even easier to identify Bellatrix, since the demented witch always went without a disguise. Harry hoped beyond hope that the three had been severely punished for failing Voldemort by letting Severus get away. From his visions that he had gotten before Occlumency, Harry knew that Voldemort did not take too kindly to weakness of any kind and doled out punishments as if he were bestowing gifts on his followers. Harry knew that it was quite wrong to hope the group met some sort of painful comeuppance, but he could not help it, considering the way they had tortured his friend.
Finally, to the green-eyed teen it seemed that the dark minions had been focusing their attack on him alone. Though they did throw hexes and curses at the others, they cast twice as many at him. He dodged and blocked and cast as many spells at them as he could, hitting a few, but with nothing that caused any damage. Harry really didn't think too much about it. Several times in the past saw Death Eaters getting very exuberant in their attacks on him with the thought that if they fell the Boy-Who-Lived then they would be exalted amongst Voldemort's followers. It was just a little odd that it had been all of the Death Eaters. Perhaps he was just paranoid.
Harry was just putting his wand back in the holder around his thigh, when his two friends approached him. The rest of the Order present was busy modifying the muggle witness's memories, while the few aurors were already leaving to file their reports to the ministry.
"That was very smart, Harry," Hermione said as she took him by the arm and began to lead the two boys to the designated apparation spot away from the campsite.
She had been hit by a few cutting hexes, but had almost instantly healed them. Her skin was pink and slightly raw where the cuts had once been.
It appeared Ron had also been healed, though he did have a cut on his right arm that looked like it would require more advanced magic to heal, but nothing out of Hermione's knowledge. Harry also noticed that it had ruined the sleeve of Ron's newest sweater from his mum. Would Mrs. Weasley simply fix the sweater, or knit him a new one?
Harry himself hadn't really suffered any ill effects aside from a few cuts and burns. Easily healed.
"What was smart?" Harry asked as they neared the dense grouping of trees that would serve to hide their departure. "And doesn't all of us walking into the woods look a little suspicious?" He craned his neck to look behind him and saw both Remus and Tonks following them.
"Not nearly as suspicious as all of us disappearing into thin air right in front a group of innocent muggles. Don't worry, Kingsley had their memories modified to where they won't come out of their trance for about thirty minutes. It would seem they decided to have a lie-in today," Hermione said with a smirk as they entered the trees.
"Wish we could have a lie-in sometime," Ron said with an overly dramatic sigh. "Been a hundred years since I've slept in."
"Didn't you sleep in just this past Saturday?" Harry queried.
"Yea, but that was a hundred years ago."
"Man, time flies," Harry said with a lopsided grin.
The three stopped in a small clearing, then one after another they dissapparated away and reappeared back in the foyer of Grimauld place.
Hermione didn't even wait for Harry to catch his breath from the instantaneous travel. She had gone into business mode. She walked off into the drawing room, but called out to the green-eyed teen as she left.
"We never got to finish our first conversation."
"What one is that? Usually we don't finish the conversations we started."
Harry and Ron followed her and sat on the couch. While the fight had not been an overly difficult one, it had been tiring nonetheless. As soon as Harry's back hit the couch he relaxed to the point that he thought he and the throw pillows he was sitting beside had the same consistency. Hermione was pacing around the room. Unless a battle was particularly grueling, Hermione was always hyped-up on adrenaline after a run-in with Death Eaters. Ron had once tried to liken it to another occurrence where Hermione would be on an adrenaline high, but Harry had hit him with a silencing curse before he could get the point across.
"What has got you bugged, 'Mione?" Ron also had relaxed into the couch and had even gone so far as to close his eyes. Harry knew that, if allowed, Ron would sleep right then and there.
He also knew that Hermione would never allow it.
"Ron! Wake up. This is no time to sleep."
See?
"What?" Ron cracked open a blue eye.
"Neither of you were the least bit concerned about what happened back there?"
"Uhhhh…"
"And there's my answer." Hermione shook her head. Harry didn't think they were in trouble though for their lack of brain power at the moment. The small scowl on her mouth didn't reach her eyes. "That was a scouting mission," She began again. "They were scoping out Harry's new powers."
"I haven't got any new powers," Harry replied as he brought his head up from the back of the couch to look over at his brunette friend.
"Course you do, mate," Ron laughed and closed his eyes again. "The power to tame the Snape."
"Don't start," the young witch warned. "Harry, as I have said, when we rescued Professor Snape you exhibited some pretty advanced magic."
"Yea, but we thought it was linked to the white space and so far we haven't found anything about that. It was probably accidental magic."
"That could be, but those shields you put up around yourself were very powerful and even. I doubt they could have been accidental."
"Then maybe I'm not the one who cast them. I mean, I don't even remember thinking of shielding myself."
"Exactly."
"Huh?"
"Oh, honestly. The point is, it is obvious that when Voldemort confronted the Lestranges about letting Professor Snape get away that the three mentioned your new powers. This was Voldemort's way of seeing if they were being truthful or not. You did a very smart thing by fighting normally back there."
"But I didn't do anything different!" Harry was getting somewhat frustrated with this conversation.
"Wait, Harry's right," Ron finally spoke up. "How's old snake-face gonna know for sure if Harry has these new powers? He wasn't there both times. Plus, the Death Eaters that attacked us didn't fight very hard. I mean, can't've Harry known this was a set up and hidden his powers? Kind of a 'he knows, that we know, that he knows' kind of thing?"
Hermione finally sat down in one of the chairs across from the couch. "That makes sense, Ron."
"It does?"
"It does?" Harry echoed.
"Yes, but that works in our favor. This was more of a prod, to see if Harry would use his powers all of the time. It was a test. Voldemort hoped that Harry would show off his powers as a message, that way he would have at least an idea of what he was now up against. Harry is a powerful wizard already—don't give me that face, Harry—and now, Voldemort will have to guess just how powerful he is. Underestimate and the consequences could be severe."
"Which only leaves him with overestimate, which trust me, is very easy to do."
"Hush, Harry. By overestimating, he will be more cautious in approaching you himself. He already has been overcautious with you because the prophecy, and now, he has that, plus the idea that you know something he doesn't."
"So…you want him to wait to show off his new powers?" the redhead asked as he leaned a little forward on the couch. Hermione's explanation had seemed confusing, but maybe that was just him.
Harry was getting really frustrated and confused now. They were missing the key aspect in all of this. "But I haven't got any powers!"
Hermione chose to ignore Harry and looked directly at Ron. "Precisely. That way, when the time is right, we will have the element of surprise!"
The bespectacled teen huffed. "Well that's just great. It'll be a surprise to me as well!"
He watched as brown eyes, belonging to his dear, witch friend, rolled towards the ceiling. The young woman then got up from her chair and moved over to the couch where she sat in between the two boys.
"Harry, everything will be fine. You may not think it yet, but whatever you did back there at Spinner's End can be duplicated. And if we can figure out what it is, then hopefully we can control it."
Harry turned his head to look into Hermione's eyes. The two had what could have been considered a staring contest for several moments, until the messy, black-haired teen spoke.
"Yea…Okay," he said as he turned his head again to rest against the back of the couch, "We'll keep looking. And I won't show off my nonexistent new powers when we fight Death Eaters."
It was all another move in this game.
How would Voldemort move now that the Order had supposedly gained a trump card?
Wait.
'I thought this war game was like chess.'
Now we are throwing in cards as well?
'The game is always changing,' Harry thought as he ran his hand through his hair.
Hermione patted him on his knee. "All I am asking is that you keep an open mind, to keep training and keep looking. Now, I am starving." She pushed herself up from the couch and began to walk out of the room. "Anyone else want lunch?"
Lunch.
Severus!
"I was supposed to take Severus his lunch and give him his potions!" Harry said as he stood quickly from the couch.
He looked at the clock against the wall and swore under his breath as he hurried out past Hermione and up the stairs. He didn't have time to see the look his two best friends exchanged. He was in too much of a hurry.
Harry took the steps two at a time and made it to the landing and to the guest door in record time. The teen slowly opened the door, fully expecting to see an alone Severus looking quite put out and irritated with him.
Two out of three isn't bad.
Severus did look very much put out and irritated, but he wasn't alone.
Madame Pomfrey was sitting in the chair by the bed, chattering away as she would ever so often feed Severus a spoonful of soup.
"Uh," was all Harry had gotten to say. The small noise alerted the two occupants in the room, both turning their attention solely to him.
"Ah, Mr. Potter. I take it that the emergency did not leave any injured?" the Medi-Witch said as she stood slowly from the chair.
Was it just his imagination, or did Severus look relieved that he was there?
He did have an active imagination.
"No, ma'am. There was only minor injuries, and Hermione took care of most of them."
The elderly witch beamed. "That's my apprentice! Now, I must be getting back. The Hospital wing will not run itself. Severus, I shall be back to check on you in a few days."
Harry watched from the doorway as Pomfrey gathered up her things and brushed past him into the hallway. She turned back to him after a few steps.
"Take care of the patient, Mr. Potter. He is…quite stubborn."
'I am sure he is.'
"Will do!" He gave a small salute to the graying woman. She nodded, then continued to walk down to the entryway.
Harry stayed where he was standing, hearing the footsteps of the Healer getting quieter and quieter.
"I thought she would never leave," Severus finally voiced when he was certain the witch was out of earshot.
"She was nice to keep you company."
"Oh yes, very nice," the Potions Master said sarcastically. He shifted some in the bed, jostling the tray that still had the soup on it.
Harry didn't even have to think twice. He walked over and sat down in the chair and went straight for the spoon to give Severus another bite. He did not say anything during the time. He had a feeling Severus more preferred to eat in silence. That was, at least, a working hypothesis, until Severus began to talk a few spoonfuls later.
"There was one beneficial thing to having Pomfrey here."
"Oh, what is that?"
"Tell me, Potter," Severus began.
Uh-oh.
Back to the last name.
That cannot be good.
Harry was trying to go through the list of things Severus could accuse him of, but was cut short when the man got to the point.
"Did you think it was acceptable to keep the information that you had performed wandless magic and had these…visions during the night of my attack from me?" Severus asked in his best teacher-mightier-than-thou voice.
Oh.
"Oh."
"Yes, oh. Here we have been trying to accomplish that goal for months and you just happen to leave off the piece of information when you talked about that night. You have got to have no brain in that head of yours to think that you can go around talking in half truths just for the sake of some hare-brained sense of modesty and humility that will not help us win this war!"
Harry could tell that Severus was upset, but trying not to let himself get too worked up because of his condition. While the man's voice was still at a normal volume level, it was very strained and there were signs of pink in the older wizards cheeks that belayed his growing disapprobation.
He had to calm him down before he popped something.
Either a blood vessel…or the back of Harry's head.
'He wouldn't hurt me…maybe…'
The green-eyed teen set the soup spoon back in the bowl and looked at his former professor. It wouldn't do to get defensive about this. Just best to tell the truth.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. Honestly, I don't really know what happened." He was met with a skeptical glare. "It's the truth. I didn't really feel like I was doing anything. Ron, Hermione and I have been looking for an explanation to all of this. No such luck though."
"Perhaps it may be wise to actually tell me the full account of what happened, hmm?"
Harry was secretly pleased to note that, while he still seemed highly irritated about being left out of the loop, the dark Potions Master had calmed down significantly. It didn't look as though he were about to have a conniption, but only that he might fling a spoonful of soup at Harry's face. The teen really hoped that didn't happen. It looked like split pea. Harry stared at the bowl.
"You actually like that stuff?"
"You are far too easily distracted. Focus, you little airhead."
Harry looked back up. "Sorry."
He went back over the account of the night, leaving nothing out this time. It was a much shorter tale than the first one he told, but, then again, Severus had heard most of it and was really only interested in the little parts where Harry's magic had been different. Finally, after he was done talking, he picked up the spoon again and offered the recovering man more soup.
"That is everything?" Severus asked, not taking the offered food
Harry did not attempt to put the spoon in Severus's mouth when it opened, either. He might lose a finger.
Or two.
Perhaps even the whole hand.
He did, though, keep the spoon in front of his face. Harry wondered if feeding Snape was always going to be this taxing.
So far, they were on a roll.
"Lord, I hope so," the green-eyed wizard answered.
"And you have been doing research in order to find the cause?"
"Yep, it was Hermione's suggestion."
"Of course. I expect to also be brought books to read on the subject. While I am sure Ms. Granger is able to read and gleam a substantial amount of information from doing so, I have my doubts about you and Mr. Weasley."
Hidden somewhere in that insult was an offer to help.
Harry gave a lopsided grin, "Sure, I'll bring up some books about it, though I think we are starting to run out of useable options."
"I highly doubt that."
"I am sure you do."
Severus looked up at Harry as if he were about to say something else, but then simply decided to take the spoonful of soup that the teen was still holding in front of him.
Harry decided the subject was dropped, at least for now, and they continued with lunch. Towards the end of the soup, the younger caregiver had called Kreacher in to politely ask the house elf to also bring him some lunch. He asked for just a sandwich, fearing that there was any leftover pea soup.
Kreacher returned a short time later with the requested lunch. Harry held his sandwich with one hand as he fed Severus the rest of the soup and handed the man his tea. The teen noted that the older man's hand was shaking some, but none of the tea was sloshing out, so he left the man with the little bit of independence.
"Severus, can I ask you something?"
"I believe you just did."
"Hmmm. Careful with that joke, it's ancient. 'Course—"
"Finish that sentence with anything about my age and I will throw this tea at you."
"You like to throw food at people, don't you?"
"I believe you had a question for me?"
Harry chuckled lightly. "Right. So, why didn't you tell anyone about what was happening with the Death Eaters? I mean, they found out you're a spy, right? That's why they attacked you?"
"That was more than one question."
"Never was good at math."
Severus sighed and looked down at his reflection in his cup of tea. He noticed that the image was wavering and lowered the cup to his lap before it spilled. "You are correct. I was discovered as a spy. I did not tell anyone because there was nothing to tell."
He saw that the boy was about to interrupt and continued quickly. "If I was to disclose that information to the Order, then Dumbledore would have ordered me to stop spying that instant. My role as a spy was crucial to the Order's plans. Now that I am unable to do that, I have no useful purpose. Even though I knew that I was to be found out eventually, I wanted to do my job for as long as I was able."
"What…what happened that night?" Harry was arguing in his head whether or not he wanted to know.
"Are you certain that you want to know?"
It was as if he had read Harry's mind.
Wait…he can read his mind.
Were his occlumency shields up?
Yes, yes they were.
So, it was just a coincidence then.
"Yes, I want to know."
The older, longhaired man gave another, long-suffering sigh and then began a tale of his own. About the wards going off at his house, the Lestranges and Voldemort and the ensuing torture at the hands of his captors until he had lost consciousness. Harry listened in rapt attention to the man's tale, his sandwich all but forgotten on the plate in his lap.
"So Voldemort had been there? Why did he leave?"
"The Dark Lord…Voldemort, has always been hypocritical, as you have discovered in your own encounters with him. That hypocrisy has gotten worse over time due to his increasing instability."
"Instability?"
"He is going insane, or more insane that before, if that is possible. Voldemort is letting power, paranoia, and greed affect his mind so much that his actions are becoming more unpredictable. Before my untimely departure from the Death Eater ranks, he was discussing going out on attacks into the muggle world, something he would never do. Back during the first war, Voldemort would not have even stepped foot in Spinner's End, lest he be contaminated by a half-blood's home." He saw that Harry was about to say something, but knew what he was going to say and already began answering the question.
"Just because the man used me as a spy and a potion brewer does not mean the man wanted to sit down and have tea with me. I can only be proud that my betrayal angered him so much that he decided to grace me with his presence in my own home." Severus finished sarcastically as he brought his teacup to his lips for a sip.
Harry sat there for a moment taking in all that Severus had said. If Voldemort was becoming more unpredictable in his actions, then would that mean that the game just got harder…or easier?
"So…he is even harder to predict…but still just as powerful and cunning?"
"Correct."
The game just got a helluva lot harder.
"Damn," the teen swore under his breath.
"My sentiments exactly."
The two wizards let their minds drift to their own thoughts about the future of this war. Harry absentmindedly picked up his sandwich and began to eat again, but he really didn't taste anything. How can he fight with an enemy that he couldn't predict?
"Maybe we will get lucky and Voldemort's insanity will lead to the destruction of his following like the fall of Rome."
Severus's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "That is not the only factor that led to the fall of the Roman Empire."
"Having crazy rulers didn't help, though."
The Potion Master's lip twitched upward, "Indeed. How did you know—"
"Like I said, I have been reading…a lot."
"I see."
"You're wrong, you know."
Severus was not expecting that. He turned and looked at the green-eyed teen. "I beg your pardon?"
"Even though you aren't a spy anymore, you still have a purpose. You are a really good fighter."
Severus rolled his eyes, "Do you think that I can step on a battlefield now? Forget if I am ever able to truly walk again, I am sure that I would be killed on the spot as soon as a Death Eater or Voldemort saw me. Your encouragement is noted, Harry, but illogical."
"You'll get better. You're too much of a stubborn, old fool to let this get you down—"
"Why, you little—"
"And as for fighting, I bet you're in my club now."
Dark eyes were still narrowed from the comment Harry had made a moment ago, but he asked the question anyway. "What club is that, pray tell?"
"The club where Voldemort has ordered all his little minions to leave killing you to him and him alone. There aren't many members, but Albus did mention one time that he would make shirts or matching hats for all of us."
"You are joking."
"Nope. Though I hope it's the latter. I've seen some of the hats Dumbledore used to wear."
It had been light at first. A low sound that Harry almost missed, but seeing the Potion Master's shoulders shake slightly, he realized what the sound was.
Severus was laughing.
It was quiet and deep.
Nevertheless, it was there.
The teen felt a smile tug at his mouth. He was still worried something terrible about the war, as he was sure Severus was too. It was all becoming more and more complicated by the day, it seemed. However, Albus had said time and time again about spending time with friends and enjoying peaceful moments.
'Because who knows what's going to happen next,' Harry thought solemnly.
"Harry."
Green eyes blinked and turned back to Severus.
Harry wondered if Severus was thinking the same thing he was. His face was not as harsh as normal. "Madam Pomfrey administered my midday potions before you came. If you need to, you may take your leave and join your other friends."
"You don't need anything?"
"No."
"You don't need to…go anywhere?" the young wizard was too embarrassed to ask the more direct question.
Severus's face darkened minutely. "No," he said with tight lips, "Madame Pomfrey was not impressed with my mobile adventure to the lavatory and when I asked for her assistance again…she took care of it with a spell."
Harry tried not to let his jaw drop. "There's a spell for that?"
"Of course there is!"
Now, it was Harry's turn to laugh. His wasn't low and quiet like Severus's, though.
"Oh, yes, quite humorous," Severus said in a louder voice so that the teen could hear him. "My bladder was violated and you find it so funny."
"I'm sorry," Harry said as he wiped a tear away from his eye, "But I get this image of your face when that happened and—"
He succumbed to another bout of laughter.
"Very amusing." Severus replied dryly as he waited for the teen t recover from his little giggle-fit. "Are you quite done?"
Harry still had a large grin on his face and Severus felt himself staring at the mouth and the sparkling green eyes.
"Yea, I'm done." Harry said lightly, not noticing the man's distraction.
Severus cleared his throat and quickly picked up a book to hide the lapse he had just had. Whether from Harry or from himself, he wasn't sure. "Well, as I said before that overly exaggerated display of merriment you just exhibited, I am fine and do not require anything else. You can go join your friends."
The messy haired wizard thought about what he wanted to do. No doubt, he should be going back to look, once again, through the books to try and find something that would help them or solve the mystery of the white space and then spend his time with Ron and Hermione, who were probably still in the drawing room or, if Hermione had her way, they were in the library. Did he really want to go though? His two teenage friends would like the personal time together, plus, well, he was happy where he was.
"I think I'll just stay here." He leaned back to get more comfortable in the chair, showing he wasn't about to move.
"You do not have to stay on my account."
"Good," Harry said with a smile. "Read anything interesting while I was gone?"
Dark eyes narrowed in a challenge. "What if I said that I wanted you to leave?"
The teen shrugged. "Then I would leave. Are you asking me to leave?"
Silence.
"No."
"Then I'll stay."
Severus opened his mouth, as though about to argue the point further, then simply closed it, and gave a single nod of the head. With that little sign of acquiescence, Harry began to talk about the small conflict that had occurred with the Death Eater's that morning and Hermione's theory of why the battle had taken place, then began to ask Severus questions about the book he was reading. The Potions professor realized that he probably would not get a moment's peace for quite some time, but the conversation was infinitely better than the one with Pomfrey, and he was slightly happy for the fact that Harry was back in his chair.
Yes, only slightly.
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In the few days that followed, life at Grimmauld Place took up a routine. There had not been any more attacks, no doubt Voldemort and his followers were planning their next move, and the Order did not have any missions in the works as of yet, so the three teens and the recovering Potions professor spent their days mostly reading. Harry and Ron had a few mini dueling sessions in the house, but were stopped every time by a very annoyed Hermione or, worse yet, a very irate Kreacher. Harry would spend mealtimes and a few hours a day with Severus, either talking, eating, or simply reading. Severus had been slowly getting stronger and the trips to and from the loo were becoming easier and less taxing for the wizard.
Madame Pomfrey had been by once more for a visit, but since there was no emergency for the teens to run off to, the woman had only stayed a little while and the fact that he was getting up and walking around was never mentioned. Mrs. Weasley had been by to visit four times, Tonks had dropped by with a note from Kingsley, and Remus was due to come home from a mission in two days time. Albus had also been by to check on his Potions professor and to assure him that his classes were in excellent hands. Somehow, Severus highly doubted that. The rest of the headmaster's visit was not as pleasant. Harry, who had been there when the elderly wizard had arrived, was asked to leave for a moment so that the two older wizards could have a private conversation.
It wasn't until much later and through a lot of annoying that Severus finally revealed that the headmaster had given him a lecture about not telling him or anyone else about the danger his life was in. From the look on Severus's face, Harry guessed it must have been a doozie of a lecture.
It wasn't until one afternoon five days later that something happened.
Harry was sitting in the library with Ron and Hermione reading. Ron had started back his training with Kingsley and was reading one of his armament books, while Harry and Hermione were still on the hunt for information about the white space. Harry had just made it back from visiting Severus after lunch, having only left when the man said he wished to rest and had picked up one of the many books in the stack Hermione had set out and sat down on the floor by the low burning fire in the fireplace. The teens did not talk; the only real sound was every so often Hermione would scratch down a note or two on a piece of parchment.
It was a comfortable silence, one that can only be achieved with really close friends, but Harry found himself being lulled by the popping of the fire and the boring words on the pages of his book. Before he knew it, instead of sitting on the floor, he was laying on it, and though he tried to keep reading his book in this reclined position, his eyes began to droop shut. He shifted once or twice, trying to wake himself up. The green eyed, sleepy wizard then thought maybe he was getting too warm and pushed the sleeves up on his sweater. It was one of his older ones, though; the sleeves were stretched beyond hope and doomed to fall down his arms as soon as they were pushed up. He finally gave up, laid his book down on his chest, and closed his eyes.
"I think I've found something!"
Harry jumped at the loud exclamation in the quiet room and turned his wide, green eyes to the source of the commotion.
Hermione wasn't sitting in her chair anymore, but standing with the book she was reading held open and out at arm's length and a look of pure triumph on her face. Harry stole a glance at Ron to see he had been surprised by his girlfriend's outburst as well.
"What's going on Hermione?" Harry finally asked as he stood up and walked over to the witch, followed shortly by Ron.
"This is it! The white space! I think I have found it!"
"Really?" Ron asked in astonishment.
"Yes, really."
"Hey," Harry said as he read the spine of the book, "this is the book about wizarding meditation that Albus gave me."
"Yes it is. And on that note—" Hermione popped him in the back of the head.
"Ow! Hey, what was that for?"
"This should have been the first book you looked in!"
"Well, you didn't think of it either!" Harry rubbed the back of his head.
Hermione thought about that. "You're right. One of you pop me in the head. I should have thought of that. Come on!" She closed her eyes and braced herself for the hit.
Ron looked like he was about to do just that, but then put his hand back down, too scared about what would happen if he actually did.
After a few minutes of nothing happening, Hermione cracked an eye open. "Why are none of you hitting me?"
"We're too scared," Harry answered. Ron nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
"It's like when you're little and you're told by your mum that you can have a cookie, but you're too scared that you're still gonna be punished when you take the cookie," Ron then tried to explain.
Hermione gave a frustrated huff and opened her eyes.
"Tell us what you found," Harry said quickly, before he and Ron got into any sort of trouble by their brunette friend.
It seemed to do the trick, since Hermione instantly was back to being excited and looking at her place in the book. "Oh, yes, I think this is it, though it does not match up exactly, it makes the most sense since you were meditating when you went into the white space."
"So…what is it?" the redhead prompted.
"The white space is Harry's magical core…I think."
Harry blinked. "That's it?"
Hermione whipped her head around towards him. "What do you mean, 'That's it?!'"
"Well, I mean, it just seems so…I don't know. We were looking through all these crazy books and all this time it was just my magic. It just seems, well, sorta—"
"Lame," Ron finished for him.
"Ron!"
"What?" the redhead asked incredulously, taking a step back. "It's true! It shoulda been the time traveling one."
His girlfriend rolled her eyes in irritation. "Well, I for one am glad it's your magical core, Harry."
"Why?"
"Because, look here," she brought the book closer and began to quote from the passage, "'If a witch or wizard is in possession of a strong magical core, they may experience a phenomenon where they are able to enter into their magical center. This is extremely difficult to do, and can manifest itself in many different images and sensations, but if the feat is achieved, then the result can be anywhere from a better understanding of one's own body and magic to a full integration of magic, spirit, mind, and body, the latter being a true ascension of magic.'"
The young witch looked up from the book, smiling at the two boys, only for her face to fall at the blank look on both of their faces.
"Oh, come on guys! This is big!"
"That seems so vague though," Harry said as he picked the book up out of Hermione's hands gently and turned to look at the passage himself.
"Yea, this just sounds like a bunch of hookie. The time travel one had more of a matching description then that one," Ron said hopefully. He walked over and leaned over Harry's shoulder to also read the page in the book.
"It's not time travel, Ron," Hermione said in exasperation. "This may not have a great description, but now it gives us something more to go on. We have been looking at outside forces causing the white space. Now, we look for internal causes."
"Well," Harry said as he finished reading through the passage for the second time, "it's something to go on, and right now that's all we got. Are there books here that talk about magical cores?"
"I'm sure there is."
"Uhg," Ron groaned. "Do we have to? We have been reading forever!"
"You're over-exaggerating, Ron," Hermione said as she walked around the library, set to find the next book that would help them.
"Only a little bit. That's the bad part," the redhead grumbled as he walked over and sat back down in his chair.
Harry just grinned at his friend's comment and started to look around the shelves with Hermione. He was stopped, though, by the same witch he thought he was helping.
"Nope! You already have a book to read. You should have already read all of that book Dumbledore gave you," Hermione said when she saw him moving around the many books. She pushed him back towards the sitting area.
"But he just gave me the book for Christmas!"
"Exactly! It's been over a month! You should have had it read twice by now! How many pages have you read?"
"About…forty?"
Hermione pointed at the book that lay on one of the tables. "Go. Read. Now."
"Yes, ma'am."
Harry picked up the book and turned it back to the page that Hermione had been looking at.
"And no reading from the page I left off either! Start where you stopped!"
'Darn it.'
He heard Ron chuckling from his chair.
"Oh, shut it," he said half-heartedly as he took up his spot on the floor again and started to read.
That lasted about an hour or two more until Harry and Ron started having a paper airplane war, much to Hermione's chagrin.
"You two are five, I swear!"
Speaking of five.
Harry looked over at the clock. Sure enough, it was getting close to the time for Severus's afternoon potions and while Severus's arms had gotten strong enough to hold the vials on his own, Harry still went up there to make sure the professor did not need anything else.
It also was another chance for the two to talk.
"Well, not that this hasn't been a blast," he said as he stood up, "but I must go."
"Oh, yes. Tell Professor Snape we said hello!" Hermione said as she continued to walk around the shelves. She had yet to find any relevant books, but was not daunted.
"Hey, how come you get to get out of reading?" Ron said as he looked up from his book.
His girlfriend answered from behind one of the cases, "Because Kingsley is coming over tonight, you haven't read all of your assignment from him, and Harry needs to go take care of Professor Snape."
"You're welcome to come with me, Ron," Harry said with a smile. "I'm sure Severus would love to see you."
The red head visibly shuddered. "No thanks."
Harry gave a laugh, shrugged and walked to the large double doors; he decided to take his book with him to show Severus. "Your loss," he called back.
"You just go on thinking that, ya loony!" Ron hollered back as the doors closed.
Harry just laughed again and shook his head as he walked from the library to the stairs and on up to Severus's room. It was a path that he had walked so much that he swore he could do so in his sleep.
The door to the room was closed, something that Harry did not remember doing when he left at lunch, so he was hesitant to open the door. He pushed it open lightly to see that Severus was sleeping soundly; his book had slid off and was laying spread opened on the floor.
Harry carefully opened the door all of the way, praying that the old door didn't creak, and tip-toed into the room to pick up the book and set it back of the bedside table. He checked the time again. It was still a little while before he was suppose to take his potions, so Harry decided to let Severus sleep a little longer. The man seemed determined to move as much as possible in an effort to accelerate his rehabilitation and Harry knew he got tired trying to do everything that he did.
The teen looked back at the sleeping wizard. His brow was furrowed, as though he had fallen asleep thinking about something serious or he was in the middle of a dream. Harry reached down to the fallen blanket to better cover the man; though the room was heated with charms, the old house and cold weather made the spells wear off at sporadic times and the rooms would get drafty very quickly.
Harry had just started to pull the quilt up when a hand shot out and grabbed his wrist. Harry gave a yelp of surprise, and then another as the same hand pulled him forward suddenly. The teen lost his balance and ended up sprawled in the bed along with the Potions Master, who had just actually woken up.
"Potter!—Harry! What in the hell are you doing?!"
Harry scrambled franticly to try to get up, it didn't help that Severus was also thrashing around in alarm.
Finally, Harry managed to get to the edge of the bed and fell over onto the floor, quickly standing as soon as he hit.
"Is this going to be a common occurrence, you clumsy fool?!" Severus said irately as he fixed the quilt and glared at the young teen.
"Sorry!" Harry said. He was really sick and tired of being embarrassed around Severus. Really, it needed to stop. "You were sleeping and I guess you were dreaming and you grabbed my arm and pulled and caught me by surprise and what in the world were you dreaming about anyway?"
Severus realized what must have happened and took a deep breath to control his anger. It really wasn't the teen's fault. Well, perhaps a little bit. The little brat needed to learn how to stay on his feet.
"I was having a dream about the night I was attacked."
Harry blinked. His embarrassment faded some as those words sank in. "Oh. I'm sorry I—"
"It is nothing to concern yourself with. It was merely a dream. I sincerely hope that you never wake me in such a manner ever again, though."
"Trust me, I do, too…" Harry said as he brought his hand up to rub the back of his neck as he finally felt the red in his cheeks going away.
Severus looked at the flustered teen, deciding that he should spare him, though he was not quite sure why. "I take it that it is time for my afternoon potions, correct?"
Harry seemed confused for a minute, and then his eyes widened as he too remembered why he had came up there. "Oh! Yes, yes it is. Here," he said as he handed over the necessary potions. He didn't even need the color codex anymore. He just knew.
The teen watched as the Potions Master dutifully drank down each of the potions—his hand only shaking slightly—before handing the empty bottles back to the boy. Harry set the last of the vials back onto the table and took his chair as he had the previous days, the familiar actions helping to erase the humiliation of landing on top of the man in a bed.
"Do you—uh—want to talk about the dream?"
Severus thought for a moment. "No."
"Oh." Harry looked down at his feet. They seemed to be moving on their own in a little shuffle pattern.
He looked over at the bedside table at the vials and books.
That's when he remembered his book.
"Oh!" He reached over and grabbed the volume. "We think we found something out about the white space." He opened the book back to the page Hermione had found and handed it over to Severus, who took it and immediately began to read. "Well, Hermione is the one that found it and thinks this is it. I'm still not sure and Ron's still holding out hopes that it has something to do with time travel."
"Mr. Weasley is an idiot." Severus was only halfway listening. He was too absorbed in reading the part of the book that obviously was what Harry was talking about.
So, the boy could access his magical core.
"Severus?"
The somber man looked up from the passage to the green-eyed teen.
"What do you think?" the young man asked in earnest. He really did want to know what Severus thought about this whole thing.
What did he think?
He thought that if this were true, then he would have to admit that the meditation was actually a good idea.
"This…could actually work."
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Thanks so for reading chapter 9!
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Teasers for next chapter:
--I never like it when your eyes twinkle.
--You stink. You need a bath.
--Well, isssssn't thissss interessssting…
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Reviews are loved!!!