Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything from his universe, or the original work which inspired this.

AN: Thank you all for reading, following, reviewing and favouring. It's like getting chocolate or salted caramel ice-cream - I love salted caramel ice-cream.

I know this update took a while, but RL was demanding my whole attention and I could only write a little here and there, mostly in between breaks, in the train and mostly at night (my husband is not happy with me because of it XD).

As I am still searching for a beta for this one, all the mistakes are my own and I am terribly sorry about them.

Have fun reading.

On with the story

Chapter 11: Epiphany

Harry stomped through the hallways, hands clenched into fists, lips pulled back into a silent snarl. His magic still answering to his anger, boiling under his skin, making it itch, so alike to the signals for a major vision that Harry had to remind himself that a cut would not help with this kind of itch.

How dare the bastard presumed he owned him!

He was a person! With his own mind and no one was privy to it!

Slytherin certainly lost the plot if he thought that Harry would simply bow and cower and say "Yes, my Lord.", like a good subject or servant.

That'll be the bloody day!

His fist shook. He wanted to punch the tosser!

He really really wanted to smash something, preferable the Lord's nose. Only once in his life had he punched a wall in fury, it had broken the skin on his knuckles and had thrown him into a vision. He got rid of that habit immediately.

He clenched his fist tighter to prevent himself from physically lashing out. His nails cutting into his palms, nearly breaking skin and the sharp pain of it brought him back from the depths of his rage.

Glancing at his hands, Harry groaned. He had forgotten to put on his gloves again, after he removed them on Xerxes' request. Severus would be so disappointed with him, not only because he totally forgot his gloves, but also because he lost control of his temper.

His guardian had told him over and over again, how important it was for him to keep his temperament in check. It had been months since Harry had lost it the last time.

But never like this. Never had his temper spiralled out of control to such an extent.

Oh Merlin…

He had screamed at the leader of wizarding Great Britain, at the man who had vowed to protect him.

Shame and guilt mixed with the anger in him.

Yes, he should not have yelled at the Lord. But he had been so infatuating!

Still fuming he reached the portrait door at their quarters and let himself in. He saw Severus sitting in the living room but went straight to his room without saying something or even glancing at the man. He needed a moment of solitude.

Needed to calm his emotions and his thoughts.

The volatile reaction of his magic under skin frightened him a little bit. His magic had always reacted to his emotions, but never to that extent. He knew from Severus that it was a common occurrence in normal wizards. But his magic existed for one reason, to reach out through the veil and connect with the river of time.

Yes, he could manipulate the length of his visions by staying calm and enduring the pain, but never had his magic reacted to his emotions like it wanted to break out of him, like it wanted to do something.

Pacing in his room did not help and he had nothing to throw beside his books, the small clock he owned and his nightlight, which he did not dare to. Falling face down unto his bed, he screamed into his pillow. But whoever had said that it would help to get frustration and anger out of the system was lying.

Harry did not feel one ounce better.

He felt so out-of-control… of his life, his body (which was always controlled by his ability) and in the moment of his emotions.

Rolling on his back, he brought the pillow with him, hiding his face under it.

Why was he so out-of-control? It certainly was not the first time in his life someone was trying to decide everything for him.

What was so different with Lord Slytherin?

Was it because he decided even the small every-day stuff without asking him? Was it because he had shown in small and big gestures that he did cared for more than Harry's Blood Seer abilities? Was it because, despite the amends to control and manipulate him, Harry had started to feel a tiny bit respect and gratitude towards the Lord? Or was it because he had started to trust him?

Harry bolted upright in shock.

What?

The realization that he had started trusting the Lord hit him like a raging Hippogriff. It had taken him months to trust Severus. When had he started to give his trust so easily? Or was it only the Lord?

Slytherin had manipulated him, made decision for him and had managed to overturn Harry's life in a frightening short amount of time. But his manipulations had been obvious, like he wanted Harry to realize what he was doing. He had told him outright what he wanted. Lord Slytherin had been truthful with him as far as Harry could see, demanding, arrogant and controlling, but truthful nonetheless.

He fell back unto his bed und pressed the pillow against his face, groaning. Yes, he definitely trusted him, to an extent. He was confused, different emotions swirling him, making him dizzy. Not even his natural ability of Occlumency was helping, his shields insufficient in the moment.

"Harry?"

He moved the pillow and glanced at Severus, who was standing at his bedside, watching him with a concerned expression.

He sighed and moved a little to make space for Severus, who settled beside him on his bed.

"What happened? It is not even lunchtime, Lord Slytherin informed me that the appointment would take some time and you would be eating with him in his office."

Harry scowled when Severus mentioned the Lord. His guardian narrowed his eyes when he saw his reaction.

"Harry."

He sighed. Severus would not go away till he had been told what occurred. He glanced shortly at the man and resolved himself for a scolding.

"I may or may not have yelled at him." Before his guardian could even react to that statement he went on. "I may or may not have compared him to Dumbledore." He cringed as he saw the dark look in the Potions Master's eyes. They both knew how the Lord would react to that.

"I may or may not have hinted that I do not respect him."

Severus stopped him with a gesture and took a deep breath. "I think it would be better if you start at the beginning."

And that Harry did, telling him what had happened from the moment he stepped into the office till he stormed out of it earlier. "And I don't understand. Ok, I understand why I am so angry, but it is not the first time I feel so out-of-control because of someone. And he is nothing compared to Dumbledore in that matter. I always had a good control over my emotions or I would be already dead or crazy. Why is Lord Slytherin bringing so much more out of me?"

Severus had listened silently, but now when Harry looked at him, hoping his guardian had an answer, he chuckled. Chuckled! Harry was indignant.

"Don't look at me like that, Harry."

"But you laughed! What is there to laugh?" He demanded to know.

Severus sighed and smirked at him.

"Welcome to a rather small circle of privileged individuals. Every one of us, who have the unfortunate fortune to interact with Marvolo on a more individual and personal level, were at the point you are now. We all wanted to scream, yell and, in most cases, maim him. Some of us did. Marvolo is a born leader, charismatic, brilliant, he easily can move the masses. He has a strong, unyielding character. Marvolo evokes strong emotions, that is the reason why so many people give him their loyalty and why Dumbledore seems to hate him so much."

Harry could only agree. Lord Slytherin certainly evoked strong emotions from every side of the spectrum.

"But Marvolo is a very private person and only a few selected ones are allowed to see the whole package. The ones he trusts enough not to take advantage of it, the ones who will not reject him, even if we don't like what he might say or do. The ones he takes objections and disputes from and thinks about them. Would they come from anybody else he would reject them automatically and punish the one for even daring to speak to him. The ones he tries to convince to do something instead of manipulating or ordering them."

Severus expression was - all Harry could think of as a definition was soft. And he realized that he had completely forgotten, that Lord Slytherin was not only his guardian's Lord, but also his friend. It was sometimes hard to link the Lord to Severus' friend.

"And we clash and that's horrifying to witness but also good. Because as brilliant as he is, he is not perfect. He makes mistakes and he allows us to point them out or prevent him from doing them. But he is very controlling, stubborn and dogmatic and that doesn't make it easier. So, we get furious because he drives us insane."

Harry remembered Severus storming into the living room a few months ago, muttering darkly under his breath and had disappeared into his private potions' lab for hours. Harry knew his guardian had went that day to a meeting with the Lord.

"So, you… also screamed at him?" He asked, he never had heard Severus scream at someone, not really. Normally he went colder, his voice more like a precise knife then a sledgehammer.

Severus chuckled again and shook his head. "No, I did not exactly scream at him. Lucius also never screamed, he told me it was undignified for a Malfoy, but Lucius scolds, a lot. I witnessed it once and I think for Marvolo it was worse than yelling, if his face and how his magic reacted is any indication, because it sounded like Lucius was scolding Draco. But Barty and Bella teamed up once and yelled at him together."

"The Headmaster?" Harry interrupted astonished.

"Yes, but he was not Headmaster at this time. I think it was actually about him being pushed into the position."

"And you?" Now Harry was curious. Yes, Severus had also a temper and he could see them clash, but over what matter?

"On which occasion?" Severus asked with a smirk and Harry had to grin in answer.

"The worst one."

Severus face softened and leaned against the headboard. Harry rolled unto his side to better watch his guardian. "That was actually because of you."

"Me?!"

"Yes." Severus confirmed. "A few months after I brought you with me to be precise. You remember those months?"

Harry nodded, remembering his astonishment not to be dead, his fear that Dumbledore would find him, his fear that someone else would find out about his ability. The first month had been hard.

"I was actually thinking to resign as a Potions teacher and buy a house, somewhere quiet in the country side. I was thinking that Hogwarts was too much for you and I wanted to be able to focus solely on you, which was not possible as the Slytherin Head of House and as a teacher. I told Marvolo one evening and he was far from pleased. He had already made many adjustments of the job, everything so that I would take it. I can hire as many assistants as I need, the availability of every potion ingredients I can think of. Every potion discovery and patent solely in my name as Potions Master. The previous Potions Professor all had to publish their research in the name of the Hogwarts institution."

Harry listened fascinated. He had not known that the Lord had taken that much measurements to ensure that Severus was at Hogwarts.

"My feelings for Hogwarts were always ambivalent, and I originally started teaching here to be close to Dumbledore, during my spying days. After Hogwarts was in our hands and we opened the school again there had been nobody else who could have done the job, so I stayed, first only for a year. But I always wanted to be able to do my research and Marvolo knew it."

"What changed your mind? Why did you stay as a teacher when you don't even like teaching?"

"You are right, most of the time I despise teaching, or at least the younger years. But as I already told you once, I don't mind the older years, the ones who are really interested. And every few years I am finding someone who is really exceptional in the arts of potion making, who is a natural and the feeling to see these people grow and give them the opportunity to discover their skills, makes teaching all the other dunderheads bearable."

"And you were angry with Lord Slytherin because he didn't want you to resign?"

Severus looked at him, smirking.

"Angry doesn't quite fit it. He ordered me not to resign, actually. He wanted me to be here at Hogwarts. I don't know his reasons why he wants me to stay at Hogwarts, but I assume he was afraid to lose me, not only as a Professor, but also as a Lieutenant and friend, perhaps he thought I would completely disappear. Marvolo is very possessive and could never handle losing something or someone he regarded as his very well."

They were quiet for a few moments. And Harry pondered over the fact that the Lord certainly was thinking of him now also as his.

"So, when I told him about the idea to resign, he made it very clear that I would not go anywhere without his permission, and, in the end, it was better this way. After I discovered your magical gift no place beside Hogwarts would have been safe enough. Nevertheless, at that time, I thought it would be better for you if we leave. He told me outright that I had to stay, that you were not worth it to throw the life I had build here away and I should simply give you up if it was to much for me. In his eyes you were just a worthless Squib. We hadn't test you yet, but I could not feel any magic from you at that time, and you did not show any magical power, so we presumed you had no magic."

Harry gulped and was ironically hurt by the words, even if he had decided himself months later to official go with the classification.

"I told him clearly what he could do with his 'order' and it went downhill from there. We did not scream but were very vicious with each other. I don't remember who threw the first curse… afterwards Persephone and Narcissa scolded us both while we were patched up in the Hospital Wing. An entire wing of Hogwarts had been destroyed, the house-elves were bad-tempered for over a month towards us." Severus amusement at the memory was visible.

"And…"

"How Marvolo and I resumed our relationship?"

Harry nodded.

"We did not talk to each other for a few days. In the end Marvolo reluctantly admitted that he could have phrased his request better and I hinted that I would stay."

"Why did you decided to stay at Hogwarts?" Harry enquired, inwardly touched that his guardian had been that angry on his behalf.

"I couldn't get you to leave your rooms."

Harry had to laugh at that, the anger had left him during the conversation. With a glance at the small clock Harry had standing on one of the bookshelves, Severus stood up and walked to the door of Harry's room, clearly ending the conversation.

"It is lunchtime."

"I don't want to." Harry grumbled.

"Nevertheless, you will accompany me. Show Marvolo that your argument with him doesn't take over your whole life." Severus looked at him expectantly. "And Draco will be waiting."

Still grumbling Harry stood up and followed Severus. Draco would be whining if he did not appear and if there was something Harry did not want to have to handle more than an angry Lord, was a whining Draco.

A shudder went threw him at the thought.

Marvolo thanked Salazar that he had learned steel hard control over his magic quite early in his life or his office, Xerxes and a good part of Hogwarts would be destroyed by now. Smashed into little pieces by his magic fuelled by the fury rushing through him.

How dare the boy defied him like this!

He was Lord Slytherin, he demanded respect!

The boy owed him respect! It was only to him, that he could live safely in Hogwarts and that he would be acknowledged as a wizard.

How dare he refused him like this! The irreverence!

The scar was linked to his Seer abilities, he was entitled to know how he acquired it! He was the Blood Seer's Lord! Everything about him was in his right to know.

His magic soured around him, reacting to his fury, filling the office with oppressive power. It threatened to rush out of him in a maelstrom. Not even Dumbledore had ever brought him that close to the edge of losing control.

The pain from his fingernails cutting into his palms brought him back, he had not even realised he had clenched his hands into fist. He took deep breath to calm himself. How could one young man rattle him that much? Was it due to is defiant attitude or his comparison with Dumbledore?

The thought to be compared and placed on the same level as the old man fuelled the anger in him again.

The presumption! The disrespect!

The sheer nerve of the boy to deny him the respect he was entitled to!

Respect has to be earned. A small voice in his head whispered, a voice which sounding like the boy. Marvolo snarled and struggled again with his fury-ignited magic.

The Seer certainly knew how to defy him and rile him up. A flash of angry defiant emerald eyes cut through his anger, lifting the red haze.

A small grin stole itself on his lips as he thought how the little imp had stood up against him like only the few who were close to him and trusted dared to, Severus and Lucius among them. Marvolo realised that he liked how the young man braved him, not one sign showing that he had been intimidated by him, not one sign of fear.

The only once who ever had yelled at him had been Barty and Bella, and both were magical powerful, from his inner circle, both were slightly crazy and still they only had dared to do it together.

Marvolo was used to awe, worship, hate, fear and the more level-headed objections from Severus and Lucius, not to such a spitfire and defiance, especially from someone that young, someone who was practically helpless against his magic.

And how magnificent he had looked, his eyes burning and nearly spitting green fire, his lips pulled back to show gleaming white teeth in a snarl. He had been radiant.

Marvolo was not stupid and he was very observant, that included himself. So, the realization what exactly he wanted from the Seer, what had grown in his subconscious over the last days, was no real surprise to him.

He certainly had felt sexual attracted to other people and he had his fair share of bedpartners over the years, but that had been solely based on their outward appearance and merely for sexual release.

But Mr Potter intrigued him beyond this. Oh, he certainly was attractive, but Marvolo appreciated far more his fiery spirit, his backbone, his independent nature and his resilience. The Seer had surprised him nearly every time they had interacted and Marvolo was curious what else was hiding behind the young face.

Based on what he had learned about his education and what Severus had told, Mr Potter was also intelligent and persistent, as so far everything was self-taught or with some help of his guardian.

What a fascinating specimen the Seer was.

He certainly was not in love with Mr Potter, but fascination… relationship started with less.

There was nothing of his earlier fury left, replaced by desire and arousal. His magic heating the air around him in a different kind of way now.

Marvolo smirked, he had two days till the Ball, two days to plan how he wanted to start the wooing of Harry Potter. He knew he could not rush this. The young man was certainly more mature then other boys his age, but in other parts he was still innocent. He was hoping for a long and entertaining chase.

Oh, it will be so much fun.

He knew that the Seer was more than angry with him in the moment, and he was prepared to do some grovelling, at least in private. Perhaps even let him scream at him again. He wanted to see the fire in those green eyes again.

Arousal spiked once more as he thought about the possible ways to make the Seer scream and an image of those green eyes bright with pleasure popped up in his mind. Closing his eyes and focusing in his breathing, he shoved his desire behind the strongest Occlumency shields he could raise, his bodily reaction would only be a distraction for now.

With what he knew of the Seer's live so far, he had to strep carefully and convince Mr Potter of his sincerity. The young man should not think that it was just another attempt to control him in a different way.

He wanted the chase, he wanted the willing submission of the Seer. He wanted the Seer in every possible way. He would be his!

However long it would take to convince the young man.

Marvolo smiled again, oh the fun.

His magic settled inside of him, no longer volatile.

Somehow, he had feeling he had been standing in the middle of his office for hours, but only a few minutes had gone by. Xerxes was still standing in the open doorway looking unsure.

He smiled and gestured at him to step inside. Xerxes was not magical powerful and would not have any change to protected himself against the angry volatile magic Marvolo had emitted. Therefore, his hesitancy was understandable.

"You can come inside Xerxes." Marvolo made his way to the tea table and prepared himself a cup after settling into an armchair. He did not smile at Xerxes again to reassure him, that would have been too much out of character for him, but he pulled his magic deeper inside of him, showing the tailor that he was completely in control again.

Tentatively the man stepped inside and closed the door behind him. When the tailor sat down and prepared himself a cup of tea, Marvolo went back to business.

"So, make only half of the dress robes with low collars. His everyday robes with high collars, as well as his student robes. I want you to include some turtlenecks and shirts with high collars."

Xerxes nodded, taking a sip of his tea, relaxing now that they were back in familiar ground. "Which robes do you want have ready for the New Year's ball, for you and Mr Potter?"

Marvolo contemplated over the matter shortly. "I will be wearing the black dress robes with the dark green lining and the silvery embroideries at the rims. Dark green ribbons to keep the sleeves firmly around my arms, you know I don't like those wide sleeves."

Xerxes noted everything down.

"For Mr Potter I want complementary robes, dark green with black linings and rims, thin and fine silvery embroideries overall. Make the sleeves as wide as you want. Include thin black silk gloves, impenetrable and skin-tight."

The tailor looked up, raising both eyebrows in surprise. Marvolo smirked at him, knowing exactly what message he would send with those robes.

"If you think it is not too much, black silk ribbons criss-crossing at the small of the back to adjust the waist accentuation." Xerxes suggested, while drawing a rough sketch of the robes.

Marvolo nodded his approval. Xerxes adjusted the drawing.

"Good luck, my Lord."

Marvolo laughed at the small suggestive grin the tailor sent him.

Throughout lunch Harry avoided to look at the Head table, but he practically felt the gaze from those crimson eyes on the back of is head. It distracted him the whole time and he only managed to listen to the conversation around him with half an ear.

If they could not resolve the tension, how would the Ball go? Harry sighed, imaging a strenuously stiff and polite evening with a passive-aggressive Lord. But perhaps he did not want to have him there any longer? Perhaps he did not need to attend. He knew it was only a wishful thinking.

Someone pocked him into the side to gather his attention. He looked up from the last bite of his treacle tart. Everyone was looking at him. "What?"

"Potter, do you know how rude it is not to listen when someone is talking to you?" Parkinson chided.

Harry made a dismissive gesture. "So, what? Nobody keeps me around because I am polite."

Draco across from him snickered. "We were talking about the arrangement for this afternoon. As I recall you are free?" The blond glanced at him expectantly.

Harry frowned, yes, he was free, he had planned to use the time to brew. He needed a relaxing activity. But the way Draco was asking was suspicious and the carefully blank faces of the others made him even more wary.

"Theoretically…"

"Wonderful." Parkinson clapped her hands. "Then after lunch we will all go together to the Slytherin common room."

"For what?" Harry focused his attention at the girl, from the edge of his vision he saw Draco shaking his head at her, but Parkinson only grinned, wide and a little scary.

"Your dance lessons of course. You said you never danced and as the companion of our Lord you will have to dance at the Ball. You don't want to embarrass him and yourself, do you?"

It was asked in a way that Harry knew the correct answer would be no.

Embarrassing the Lord was not something he had thought up till now, but with the still present frustration over the whole debacle in the morning, Harry was not completely adverse against the idea. Something must have shown on his face because Draco suddenly looked alarmed.

"Harry…"

The black-haired Seer only grinned at his friend and picked up his teacup for a sip.

"Harry!" Draco sounded more then alarmed now and Harry chuckled, his finger circling the edge of the teacup. A short sharp pain made him drop it.

"Oh, bugger…"

"Harry?" His friend sounded confused and Harry lifted his gaze from his right index finger to meet the gaze from concerned grey eyes. He sighed and showed Draco the small cut and the few drops of blood already gathering outside of the wound. Draco's eyes went huge and Harry could see the panic settle into them, he was sure his friend remembered the last and so far, only time he had witnessed a vision. The blessing did not count.

"Harry, what should I do? What can I do?" Draco's voice trembled slightly.

Harry heard a sharp inbreath from someone at his side, but he focused on Draco, keeping the now spreading pain at bay. His magic followed the few drops of blood, starting to gather around him.

"Draco be so kind and move beside me so that I can lean against you, I really don't like to fall on the ground and the stone floor is really cold."

The blond climbed immediately over the table, while Parkinson moved to make space for him.

Harry leaned against his friend, sweat already forming on his forehead.

"Should someone inform our Lord?" Someone asked, but the tongues of burning under his skin distracted Harry from the speaker. His whole being focused on not succumbing to the all-consuming pain spreading through his whole body. He tried to answer, he certainly did not want to have Lord Slytherin here.

"No… Severus… get Severus." His voice trembled as the pain intensified. His skin was burning, his blood was boiling, and his bones felt like they were shattering. The magical pressure grew around him, the air was already charged with power.

Hasty steps moved away from the table.

Someone moved his body, so that he was sitting sideways, his back to someone's chest, arms around him, holding him securely. Warm brown eyes caught his pain-glazed gaze, giving him something to fixate on.

"We've got you Harry." A comforting voice in his ear.

The magical pressure around him skyrocket and reached beyond them. Harry felt his magic connect with the river of time, the moment his eyes rolled back into his head.

Laughter filled his ear and he found himself in a huge comfortable dungeon room, filled with dark green settees and armchairs. Music was playing… before him Zabini was swirling Davis around… Greengrass was watching, amused smile on her face… Parkinson was nearly falling out of an armchair because of laughter… Harry turned around only to be confronted with the picture of himself led around the room by Draco in a slow waltz…

fog dissolved into a huge black dog barking at him…

Lord Slytherin cladded in dark robes was dancing with him on a dancefloor, smirking…

Dumbledore talking with a strange woman with large eyes behind thick glasses…

Himself speaking with a snake in strange hisses…

A rabid wolf, howling and growling…

A rat…

The ceiling of the Great Hall came into focus, someone was still holding him against a warm chest. Blinking Harry tried to make sense of the lingering images of the visions, but his mind still felt fuzzy and his body felt heavy from the exhaustion. Struggling to focus he realized that someone was saying his name.

"Harry… Harry are you here again?"

He moved his head and the concerned face of his guardian came into view. Severus let out a relieved sigh.

"Do you want to talk about it now or after your nap?"

Harry would have glared at his guardian if he had the energy for it. "No nap, not a child."

Someone beside them chuckled and the smooth amused voice cut through the last dizziness left from the vision in Harry's mind. He sighed and glanced at the Lord standing beside the table. The figure of Lord Slytherin brought out the images of the vision and a whole lot of conflicted emotions, but no real anger. Harry was too tired to feel angry.

As it had been a small cut and only a few drops of blood it also had been a short and vague vision, but one part had been clear.

"You will have your dancing lesson, Parkinson." Harry searched for the girl in the small gathering of people around him. The brown eyed girl looked a little pale but when she saw him looking at her a grin appeared on her face.

"Naturally."

He practically could feel the tension leave the people around him. Severus caught his attention again. "What happened Harry?"

"I think my cup at a crack or something, and I cut my right index finger on it." He sighed, he knew what it meant. He was in for a big scolding because he had not mentioned to Severus that he had forgotten to wear his gloves.

"Your gloves?" Ah, perhaps he should try out divination without cutting himself open.

"Forgot to put them on again after the tailoring." He glanced behind him. "You can let go, Draco. I am fine." Hesitantly the arms holding him moved away. Harry yawned and reached for his cup of tea on the table. Theoretically it should still be hot, the vision had only been a handful of minutes long.

Before he could pick up his cup a hand settled on his arm to stop him, while several other hands crabbed for the cup. He blinked and looked confused around him.

"What…?"

Severus examined the cup and banished it with a flick of his wand. "I will order the house-elves to be extra careful with the tableware from now on. They are already checking the ones we use in our quarters regularly, but I forgot to tell them that we are eating now sometimes in the Great Hall." He said to someone behind Harry.

"And I am certain that the ones eating and interacting with him will be extra careful from now on. That was an avoidable accident." The smooth voice of Lord Slytherin came from somewhere over Harry and he realized that the hand holding his arm belonged to the man.

His arms were manoeuvred till the Lord could examine his right index finger. Seemingly satisfied that it really left only a small scar, the man lowered his arm but did not let go. Severus handed him a fresh cup of tea mixed with a Pepper-Up Potion and gestured him to drink it.

He sighed, trepidation growing. Would now everyone watch him like a hawk? But he drank the tea nonetheless, the potion mixed in the tea helping a little with his exhaustion.

"I thought you wanted me to have visions." He avoided looking at the red-eyed man, but it was clear whom he addressed.

"Not in this manner. These visions are painful and exhausting for you and therefore accidental ones should be avoided and prevented when possible. It is clear that even such a short one is draining on you."

Harry was sure he had imagined the concern in the voice but when he glanced at the Lord the emotions in those red eyes made his exhausted brain dizzy. He cleared his throat.

"Yeah, well… you can't prevent them all."

"But we will try." The conviction in the statement made Harry smile slightly.

"Did you see something interesting?" The quiet voice full of awe belonged to the bushy haired witch standing among the group of people around them. What had been her name?... ah Granger. Apparently, his episode had caught the attention of everyone present in the hall.

"Not directly." He eyes flicked to the Lord still standing beside him, he did not want to admit that he would have a dancing lesson for the Ball while the man was present. Or that he had seen them dancing together.

"Mostly just glimpses… a huge black dog, Dumbledore talking with a woman." He frowned and recalled the images, they were getting clearer now that he was not completely drained anymore. "Dumbledore was definitely younger, so it was from the past. The woman reminded me of an insect. Her eyes looked huge behind her glasses." He did not entirely miss the glances Severus and Lord Slytherin exchanged but decided to ask later.

"There was a rabid wolf, and a rat… oh and I was hissing at a snake."

The hand still holding his arm jerked and Harry looked surprised at Lord Slytherin. "What?"

"You hissed at the snake?" The man enquired with an intense expression.

"Err… yes. Why?" Harry was utterly bewildered by the Lord's reaction.

"Harry, do you know what a Parselmouth is?"

"Sure, someone who can speak with snakes in their language. Why?"

"I am a Parselmouth and as far as I know I am the only one in Britain. Did you ever speak with a snake?" The red-eyes bored into his own.

"Err… not that I know. I often handle snakes, to harvest their venom and so on, for potions."

"Did you understand what they were saying, when they hissed I mean?"

Harry shook his head in negation and bewilderment. How could he be a Parselmouth?

"A peculiar detail of the vision. Perhaps you merely hissed at the snake, it does not mean that you actually spoke with them." The Lord contemplated.

Harry shrugged. "They often make no sense at first. But when the things are actually happening, the things which were confusing make a lot of sense." He shrugged again, knowing he sounded vague at best.

"And how often does your visions come true?" The Lord enquired.

"As long as I don't prevent them or do something to change the direction of a specific path, each and every one of them." He yawned again and felt his body trembling, the last bit of energy the Pepper-Up had supplied leaving him. He hated the aftereffects of a vision. They weren't as bad as the pain before one, but they definitely annoying. The pain was no problem, but the exhaustion… he could really do without it.

"Harry, you will go and have a nap, at least for an hour or two. I will send Draco to wake you up later, for whatever he and his friends had planned to do in the afternoon. You know better than me that you need at least a short nap after a vision, a full night of sleep would be better. But as it was a small one, I only insist in a nap now and an early bedtime in the evening."

Severus looked sternly at him, took hold of his other arm and together with Lord Slytherin helped him to stand up. Harry sighed. There was no arguing with his guardian and he was right, unfortunately. But he hated how it sounded like he was a small child and that in front of so many people.

But he let himself led out of the Hall without further protest. A nap really sounded heavenly.

He was woken later by a full cohort of Slytherins, invading his bedroom. Before he even could register what was happening, someone jumped on his bed, nocking the breath out of him.

"Wakey wakey!"

"Pansy, darling, let him live." Harry heard Draco drawl and blinked confused into the barely lit room.

Pansy Parkinson was sitting on top of him, grinning, her eyes sparkling in a way that Harry considered his changes of hiding under his blankets. They were zero.

"Merlin, Potter, did someone steal your stuff?" A bewildered looking Zabini was standing in the middle of the room glancing around him.

Harry sighed, clearly, he would not be allowed to stay in bed and sat up slowly. "Err… no."

"But… the room contains nothing!" The dark-skinned boy sounded indignant.

"And?" Now it was Harry who was confused. He looked around, there were his books and the clock on the shelves, some clothes were laying on a chair and his nightlight was on the bedside table. Everything was how it should be.

"What do you mean with nothing? Everything is here."

Draco was the only one who was not staring at him now. He was already used to Harry's room.

"But… where are your things?" Parkinson was sitting in the middle of his bed, the same look of bewilderment and confusion in her face like Zabini. And Harry remembered that these students were all coming from rather wealthy families, most of them purebloods.

He had only once visited Draco and had been completely overwhelmed with the blond's room - or more accurate – rooms. For these kids his processions looked meagre.

"That's all I have." It came out harsher then he had meant it.

Several pair of eyes went wide in horror. Harry crossed his arms and stared at the invaders defiantly.

"What? I had nothing when Severus found me, and I was never comfortable with a lot of stuff. If you have not much, you will not miss much when it is taken away."

His statement was answered with silent. Draco cleared his throat.

"We are not here to talk about Harry's strange ideology but to get him for the dance lessons. I am fairly sure it will be more than enough work to teach him not to stumble over his own legs." The blond grinned at him as Harry tried to decide if he should be offended by the statement or thankful that his friend dissolved the strange atmosphere in the room.

Draco herded the others out of his room and Harry pulled on some fresh robes, his usual, grey with a high collar and long sleeves. Opening his drawer, he crabbed a pair of gloves. Severus would kill him if he forgot them again and went into the living room, where the others were waiting for him.

"How come Severus let you in?" Harry asked as he followed them out of their quarters to the Slytherin common room.

Parkinson laughed. "Theoretically he only let Draco in."

"And Draco let you in?" Harry looked at his friend. "Are you insane? Wait till Severus knows about it, you will be scrubbing cauldrons till you are thirty."

"Not if nobody tells him." Draco smirked.

"It's Severus! He will know! He knows everything."

Draco shrugged and pointed at the others. "They were not taking no for an answer." Harry sighed and looked at the mischievously grinning Zabini and the gleeful Parkinson.

"You are crazy."

"Only the best are. Now let's dance." Parkinson opened the door to the common room. Harry stepped inside, a looming feeling of doom settling into his stomach.

Two hours of dance lessons later, Harry was sure of one thing. He could not dance! His feet were completely incapable of moving in the right steps during the right time. That Parkinson was hitting him over the head every time he looked down was not helping.

"Pansy, stop! It is not function." Draco was standing at the side-line while Zabini was swirling Davis gracefully to the music. Greengrass and Davis had waited for them in the common room, preparing the wireless and moving furniture to make space for a dance floor.

"Merlin Harry, you are hopeless."

Harry glared at his friend defiantly. "What does it matter? I am only there to be announced as a Court Seer. If the Lord wants to dance, he can ask someone else." Draco's head snapped to him, grey eyes wide.

"Of course, how could I forget."

"What?" Harry exchanged a bewildered look with Parkinson.

"You are there with our Lord, as his companion. Merlin we are stupid!" The blond looked at Parkinson and grinned.

"We tried to teach him the wrong steps."

"Of course!" Parkinson also started to grin, Harry took a step back, away from the two lunatics.

"Draco get your arse over here."

Draco moved towards Harry, took his hands and moved them to the right position.

"You do not need to lead. Our Lord will lead, you only need to follow. Much easier to teach in such a short time. And as I recall from the balls I attended so far, Lord Slytherin is a marvellous dancer. Now, follow my lead." And Draco began moving him, without Harry even realizing how.

They moved to the music around the room and Harry remembered the vision with a sigh. He really had hoped to prevent this. From the edge of his vision he saw Parkinson laughing so hard she nearly fell out of the armchair. Greengrass, who had watched Zabini and Davis, stepped up to them and took Davis position.

Draco swirled him around with an amused grin on his face.

"You see Scarhead, even you can dance. You only need a good lead. We will have to ready for the Ball in no time, perhaps we can even teach you the more complicated and faster dances. With your petite figure the female part is actually perfect for you." Draco smirked at him, his friend definitely had fun. Harry did not raise to the bait, which left the blond pouting a little, before he winked mischievously and lifted him from the ground.

Harry sighed again but did not prevent Draco from swirling him around again, moving into faster steps, dipping and lifting him. An uncomfortable feeling settled into Harry with the thought that he would do this with Lord Slytherin. Yes, the Lord had held him after a vision, had seen him naked already, but somehow Harry was sure that dancing with him would feel much more intimate. And Harry was not sure what he should think of it.

AN: Thanks for reading, let me know what you think.

First published: 26th of October 2018