AN: Once again I want to thank everyone who encouraged me while I dealt with horrible, vicious writer's block. Hopefully you won't have such a long wait between chapters again.

Insanity and Purity

Mid-August 1999

The summer constellations, Sagittarius and Scorpius were barely visible over the horizon, Severus noted distractedly as he gazed out the window. The library of Sinister Place was crowded, the first person to join Harry and Devlin had left the room a moment ago. Wishing Kingsley luck with those two, Severus watched the remaining group in the reflection of the glass. He swallowed a sigh when he noticed a familiar red head approaching.

"Molly," he greeted the woman warily. His patience with the Weasleys was wearing thin.

Seeming to ignore his tone, Molly Weasley stopped at his side and waited till he turned to face her. "I want to talk to you about Harry," she began without preamble.

Snorting disdainfully, Severus rolled his eyes. I suppose I should have expected this, he thought glumly. "Have you come to inform me of exactly how unfit I am to touch your precious savior?" he drawled bitterly. "Or perhaps you'd rather berate me for taking up with a man young enough to be my son?" He glared at her silently, challenging the woman to pry into his life. He would not tolerate yet another Weasley intruding on his relationship with Potter.

Molly frowned at him. "Not at all, Severus," she said, patting his arm soothingly. "I simply wanted to tell you that I've never seen Harry so happy." With a gentle smile, she continued, "I think you'll be good for each other."

It took immense willpower to keep his mouth from dropping open in shock. Severus stared at Molly; his eyes searched hers till he saw the truth. She was truly happy for them. Quickly composing himself, Severus inclined his head. "Thank you," he said tightly.

Waving away his gratitude, Molly patted his arm again. Then she smiled like the mother lioness she was and added, "But if you hurt him, you'll answer to me, Severus Snape." As she turned to walk away, she called over her shoulder, "And I'll make what you did to the twins look like a schoolboy's prank."

Shaking his head, Severus watched Molly walk away and join her husband. Perhaps we should set Molly Weasley on the Dark Lord, he thought with dark humor.

Once the Veritaserum left his system, Harry dropped his head into his hands and groaned. I can't believe I said that, he groused internally. A cut crystal glass of water entered his vision; he snatched the glass and glared at Devlin. "Why didn't you silence me?" he demanded.

Shrugging, Devlin crossed the room and sat regally on the couch. "It wasn't sensitive information," he said nonchalantly.

"Not sensitive?" Harry looked at Devlin incredulously. "My sex life is not open for public consumption," Harry said hotly.

Devlin arched an eyebrow. "Are you upset that your relationship with Severus was made public?" Without waiting for Harry to reply, he continued, "Or perhaps you're distressed to have it known that you do most of the bending over?" Devlin leaned back in his seat and smirked smugly as he added, "Doesn't quite fit your 'warrior' image."

Narrowing his eyes, Harry studied Devlin's face. The arse is fucking with me, Harry realized. His lips turned up in a malicious grin. Without giving Devlin time to react, Harry quickly flung a ball of Black flames at the older man. "You git," he growled. "You shouldn't screw with me like that, can't ever tell when you're serious."

His aim was true; the fire hit Devlin in the chest.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Devlin yelped. "Damn it, that was hot, you deranged little shite."

Harry howled with laughter when Devlin lost his customary precise dictation. In between gasps of mirth, Harry panted, "That'll teach you to pull that again."

The door opened and Harry struggled to compose himself; the glare Devlin shot him didn't help in the least. Still fighting to keep the grin off his face, Harry greeted Kingsley Shacklebolt.

With a relived sigh, Harry shut the front door of Sinister Place behind the last of his guests. He returned to the library where Severus and the Bar were waiting for him. Dropping heavily onto the loveseat beside Severus, Harry let his head fall back and rubbed the bridge of his nose. A vial of blue liquid entered his vision. Harry turned to Severus and raised a questioning eyebrow.

"It's a headache draught, brat," Severus said impatiently. "One you should be familiar with after all this time."

Rolling his eyes, Harry downed the potion. After a couple of moments, his headache eased. Lifting his head, he discovered all eyes were on him. "What? Do I have 'stare at me' tattooed on my forehead?" he grumbled.

Gabriel perked up and offered, "I'd be happy to go with you if you want a new tattoo, Harry."

"Potter does not need yet more body art," Severus growled. Glaring at Harry, he asked, "Perhaps you would be willing to explain why Shacklebolt was unceremoniously escorted out of here?"

Pushing his hair out of his face, Harry sighed and said simply, "Dumbledore sent him."

There were murmurs from the group and Devlin chuckled. "I've never seen anyone so bloody quick with an 'Obliviate' before," he admitted.

"You Obliviated him?" Sebastian asked with a choked laugh.

Harry shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, I couldn't just let him go running back to Dumbledore, could I?"

With a thoughtful expression, Vane asked, "He admitted his loyalties under the Veritaserum?"

"The potion wasn't effective on him," Devlin said with a sneer. "The bastard had taken the antidote before hand."

Vane's brow wrinkled as he frowned. "That's not good," he started, "that means Dumbledore guessed we would be testing them." He turned to Devlin and raised his eyebrow. "If the Veritaserum didn't work, how did you discover his lies?"

Devlin smirked and drawled, "The old man neglected to teach his spy Occlumency."

Not surprised that Dumbledore sent a spy, Severus gave the conversation half his attention and contemplated the problem of Ginny Weasley. The chit's obsession with Harry seemed extreme, far more than simple unrequited love. It bordered on a mental disorder. He turned to Harry and asked, "And how did Ms. Weasley's interview go?"

Still uncomfortable with that interview, Harry sighed. "It was pretty strange," he admitted. "I never knew there could be such a thing as too loyal."

Devlin snorted. "That is an understatement." He stood and poured himself a drink. After taking a sip, he expounded, "The girl tried to swear her undying loyalty to Harry by cutting open her palm for a blood oath." The memory still made him wince.

Severus paled. A blood oath was powerful magic; it bound both parties to the terms of the oath. He turned on Devlin and demanded, "You did stop her, didn't you?"

Rolling his eyes, Devlin drawled, "No, Severus, I allowed Harry to be forever bound to the insane chit."

Luc appeared shaken by the revelation as well. "Where would the offspring of a prominent light family even learn of a blood oath?" he asked incredulously.

Harry'd been thinking about that very thing since Ginny had attempted it. He had only one explanation. "Tom Riddle's diary." It saddened him that it appeared Voldemort's influence on Ginny was felt to this day.

Taking in Harry's pensive expression, Severus offered quietly, "Perhaps if we inform Molly Weasley, she would keep an eye on the girl."

With a grateful smile, Harry nodded. "That would work. In the meantime, we'll have to keep her away from anything sensitive."

Relieved Harry didn't seem to be taking the girl's problem on himself, Severus changed the subject. "I trust Minerva's interview was satisfactory?"

Knowing how much Severus valued Professor McGonagall's friendship, Harry grinned and said, "She was brilliant." Harry stretched his legs out and crossed them at the ankles. With a sideways look at Severus he explained, "She's going to spy on the old man for us."

Severus arched a brow and drawled, "The head of Gryffindor is going to become a spy?"

Harry Potter's new organization, which he'd refused to name, was very efficient. Within a week they had identified another Horcrux and pinpointed a possible location. As he looked over the assembled group, Harry could only shake his head. This was how the Order should have been proceeding. Shaking off his thoughts, he turned his attention to the assembled group.

It was not a gathering he'd ever anticipated seeing work together, but Harry felt confident in their abilities. Remus, Bill, Charlie, Vane, Luc, Devlin, Severus and himself were planning to head to Muggle London to the orphanage where Tom Riddle had spent his formative years. Hermione had the brilliant idea that he could have hidden a Horcrux there. After viewing the headmaster's memory again, Harry couldn't fault her logic.

With one last appreciative look at Severus' lean form, temptingly displayed in jeans, Harry spoke up, "Everyone ready to go?"

At the murmurs of agreement, Harry held out a battered tin plate. When they were all touching it, Harry managed to choke out Hermione's password, "Love conquers all." He saw Severus' disgusted sneer as the Portkey jerked them away.

They landed in a dusty room of the abandoned orphanage. While Harry had learned to exit the Floo gracefully, he still hadn't mastered Portkey travel. He stumbled into Charlie who caught him around the waist and steadied him. Hearing the low growl from Severus, Harry quickly righted himself and stepped away from Charlie with a smile.

Looking around the empty room, Harry felt pity for the children that had grown up in such a depressing place. There were a few windows high on the wall, and even when they had been clean it would have been a dim room. From what he remembered from Hermione's report, there was no garden here. The whole street was close-packed together.

Putting aside his observations, Harry turned to the assembled group. They were chatting quietly and looking over the room. "All right, you lot. Let's get this done," Harry said. He quickly split the group up with two people for each of the four floors. Once everyone was heading off to their assigned areas, Harry and Severus walked up to the fourth floor.

"Potter, tell me again, why did you decree that we do the top story?" Severus groused as he climbed the narrow stairs.

From his place behind Severus, Harry said flippantly, "'Cause I wanted to watch you climb the stairs and oogle your arse." Harry chuckled when Severus glared at him over his shoulder. He heard the older man mumble something about 'impertinent brat' and 'should have worn my robes'.

Deciding to stop aggravating his lover, Harry stopped Severus with a hand on his arm. When Severus turned to look at him with a glower, Harry said seriously, "I have a feeling about the attic." With a grin he added, "And aren't you the one that said I had good instincts?"

Severus rolled his eyes; he was beginning to regret ever telling the brat such a thing. He glared at Harry's arm restraining him and asked tartly, "Then perhaps we might proceed?"

With a shrug, Harry released Severus and gestured for him to continue. Shortly they reached the top of the stairs. While Severus searched the main area, Harry located the rickety attic ladder. As soon as he climbed it, he felt the magic surrounding the Horcrux.

The reek of Dark Magic was overwhelming, and when he opened his senses it was nauseating. In all his training with Luc and the Fianna, Harry had never encountered anything like what was in the attic.

He hastily climbed back down and shouted for Severus. When the older man joined him, Harry admitted quietly, "I have a bad feeling about this." Pulling the sweaty strands of hair off the back of his neck, Harry turned towards the stairs. "See what you make of it, I'm going to call the others."

At the top of the stairs, Harry called up the group with the help of a 'Sonorus'.

The small attic was crowded when they'd all reassembled. Turning to his Dark Arts experts, Harry asked Luc and Severus, "Figured out what it is?"

The only visible sign from Severus was a hint of strain around his eyes, but it was enough to let Harry know the curse was bad.

Luc cleared his throat twice, and then sighed. "He used Ulcisciors as protectors."

Bill and Devlin paled, but a quick glance around him showed that Harry wasn't the only one confused. The other seemed equally clueless as Harry.

"What exactly does that mean?" Vane asked.

"And can we defuse it?" Charlie interjected.

Looking shaken, Luc explained, "Somehow Voldemort figured out a way to force the Ulcisciors to do his bidding."

"But what is an Ulciscior?" Harry demanded impatiently.

When Luc seemed unable to continue, Severus stepped forward. "Potter, an Ulciscior is the mutated soul of a murder victim. Under normal circumstances these souls would search out their murderer and extract their vengeance. How the Dark Lord contrived to bind them, I have no idea."

Seemingly composed once more, Luc took over. "Ulcisciors are usually children. They can't understand why they were killed and it warps their soul. Unlike ghosts, they are not afraid to move on; instead they are searching for a reason, for satisfaction if you will."

"Okay. So, Voldemort used these Ulcisciors to guard his Horcrux," Harry started. "If we release them, won't they just go after their killer?"

"That's the most disturbing part of this," Luc said with a sigh. "The monster convinced these particular Ulcisciors that their murderer lies within the Horcrux." He uncharacteristically pushed a lock of hair behind his ear, mussing the perfect strands. "The Ulcisciors will kill any attempting to take their vengeance from them."

Silence fell over the group as everyone was lost in thought. Pacing restlessly as he racked his brains for a solution, Harry mused aloud, "There must be a way to defeat them."

Bill spoke for the first time since entering the room. "There is." Looking over the group, he added, "But I doubt any of us are capable of it."

Frowning, Harry stopped pacing. "What?" he asked incredulously. "Surely between all of us we could do it," he said confidently.

Shaking his head, Bill said sadly, "To send a Ulciscior on to the next world requires the use of a purifying fire."

Conjuring a ball of Black flames, Harry grinned. "Just point me in the right direction. I'll purify them."

Severus snorted. "It is not a matter of power, brat. A purifying fire is also known as white fire. Only those without blood on their hands can call it forth."

Harry let the flames dissipate. "Shite. Where in Merlin's name will we find a person like that?" He whirled around and faced Remus. "Moony! You've never killed anyone, right?"

Remus smiled wryly. "Sorry, kiddo. I'm a werewolf; my very nature precludes the necessary purity."

"Well, fuck," Harry drawled. "We're all either murderers or dark creatures," he said with a laugh. "Maybe Hermione can do it."

Luc cleared his throat. With a tinge of red high on his cheekbones, he said softly, "I can conjure a white fire."

Eyes wide, Harry turned to Luc. "You? Pure?"

"I have never participated, physically, in any of the Bar's more sordid activities," Luc said regally.

"But the Dark Arts? Wouldn't that, I don't know…corrupt you?" Harry asked.

Luc simply raised an eyebrow and glared. Devlin chuckled, and whispered to Harry, "Don't you recall our conversation when Severus and Luc were hexing one another?"

Harry gave Devlin a blank look. Then he remembered; Devlin had said, "Luc only studies the Dark Arts. Severus uses them."

Turning to Luc, Harry couldn't resist taunting the blonde, "In all these years, you've never been tempted to dabble?"

"No," Luc admitted reluctantly. "There was never any cause for it."

Devlin shushed them and turned to Bill. "Putting aside questions about Luc's purity," he said with a smirk. "What do we need to do?"

Bill quickly outlined the procedure. Severus and Luc consulted and agreed that it would work on the modified Ulcisciors. The group formed a circle around Luc. A slight flush still riding his cheekbones, Luc stripped out of his clothes. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Harry couldn't help but grin behind his hand. Apparently Luc could blithely climb naked into Harry's bed, but stripping down to his skin in front of a group gave him pause.

Forcing his attention back on the goal, Harry spoke to the group. "Okay, remember. Your shielding charms need to form a dome, make sure it merges with both your neighbors." Keeping his eyes on Luc's face, he gave the blonde a reassuring smile. "Just let us know when you're ready."

Luc nodded sharply, and Harry gave him a thumbs up, then concentrated on his shielding charm. No matter how much Luc annoyed him at times, the other man always came through when it counted, and Harry didn't doubt he would do so now.

Feeling the shielding charms lock into place, Harry nodded to let Luc know they were ready. The older man took a deep breath, and then removed the floor board. Harry gasped as two gaunt, strangely substantial figures rose from the floor. At first Harry couldn't make out their faces, but their size revealed that they were children. Disgusted at the lengths Voldemort would go to obtain immortality, Harry pushed away his outrage and concentrated on holding the shield. They only attack those with blood on their hands, he reminded himself. Luc should not be in any danger.

The Ulcisciors hovered above the floor for a moment; slowly they seemed to perceive a threat to the Horcrux. They became more solid, and their skin took on a bluish tint. Suddenly they charged the shield; as one bounced off the section Harry was holding, he was horrified to see that they had no eyes. The sightless creatures began shrieking, the sound sending shivers down Harry's spine.

Completely unnerved, but desperately trying not to show it, Harry looked to Severus. Seeing his lover holding firmly with a determined glare, Harry felt the terror settle back. It wasn't gone, but manageable now. Give me dementors or, hell, Voldemort any day, he thought ruefully. But keep these creatures away from me.

While Harry was distracted, Luc had begun conjuring the white fire. Slowly the flames began filling the dome. Harry finally realized why his playing with the Black flames unsettled people. It was bloody disconcerting to think of Luc in there with all that fire, even if it wouldn't harm him.

The screams from the Ulcisciors reached a fevered pitch, and Harry resisted the urge to clamp his hands over his ears. Sweat started pouring down the back of his neck, and it seemed to go on for hours. The sudden silence took Harry by surprise. He wanted to drop the shield but knew he couldn't risk it. Fearing that the others felt the same, Harry said loudly, "Just keep holding it. We can't let go till Luc gives us the all clear."

A sudden horrifying thought crossed his mind, and he turned to Severus. "Those things can't possess him, can they?" he asked in a whisper.

"No," Severus said shortly. The strain of holding the charm showed in his voice.

Relieved, Harry nodded. The flames inside the circle began dying down; Harry peered through them, trying to locate Luc. No matter that he'd been told that the purifying fire didn't take a lot of effort, Harry was still worried about Luc. He finally spotted the other man. Luc was still standing in the center of the circle; the Ulcisciors were gone.

Harry watched as Luc bent down and pulled a dusty black feather from beneath the floorboard. When the flames were completely extinguished, Luc walked towards Harry and gestured for the shield to be dropped. Harry gratefully let go of the charm, and scooped Luc's robes off the floor. He exchanged them for the feather.

Looking closely at the Horcrux, Harry realized it was a quill. He was unfamiliar with the type of feather it was made from. Turning it over in his hands, Harry felt slightly let down; he'd been expecting something more from the only known artifact of Rowena Ravenclaw.

Seeing the frown on Harry's face, Severus guessed the brat's thoughts. Approaching the younger man, he traced a reverent finger down the quill. "It's a corvus feather," he said softly. "Corvus is Latin for raven. They are often associated with Dark Magic, but in truth they have more to do with wisdom and prophetic dreams," he explained. "Ravenclaw was known for her visions and her wisdom. This quill is said to have been a gift from Slytherin."

Grateful that the soul potion would not harm the quill, Severus took it from Harry and gently laid it on the floor. Pulling the stopper from the vial, he poured the potion over the feather and stood back. Parseltongue still turned him on, to his everlasting regret. One day Harry would realize it and then, Severus feared, the brat would use it mercilessly. He heard footsteps behind him, and turned to find Devlin approaching them with a smug grin. Glaring at the other man, Severus swallowed a sigh. Potter might be oblivious to the effects the serpents' tongue had on him, but Devlin was entirely too observant.

Devlin didn't say anything, this time, but instead asked, "We all done here?"

Harry picked up the quill and joined them. "Yeah, the Horcrux is destroyed." Handing the feather to Severus, Harry smiled. "Hey, there's only one Horcrux left," he said brightly.

Severus raised an eyebrow. "So eager to face the Dark Lord again?" he asked archly.

The brat turned those intense green eyes on him and said, "I just want to be able to get on with my life. With you."

Severus was speechless.