Fickle Fate:Chapter 25

Guys my last semester starts in 2 days...I'm freaking out! It is going to be my busiest semester yet so please be understanding if my updates aren't as strictly scheduled as they have been.

Warnings: Angst and a bit of cursing in this chapter!

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter I wouldn't have to apply for so many scholarships to get through school.

Please enjoy!

Sparks to Flame

Harry looked down at the food on his plate and bit the inside of his cheek.

"I'm fine," he muttered. He just barely kept himself from jumping when Hermione lightly elbowed him in the ribs. Harry looked over at his friend and she silently passed him his glasses. The young Gryffindor wizard blushed as he finally realized he had run out of the Infirmary without his glasses.

"My Lord, will Harry be resuming his lessons soon?" All eyes jumped from Harry to Draco in moments. Harry was shocked to realize that his once-rival deliberately took the attention from him because it made him uncomfortable.

"Why do you care, Malfoy," Ron asked, suspicion clear in his voice. Draco rolled his eyes.

"Because I could use the extra practice to ensure I keep up my usual phenomenal performance at school, and I thought I'd join." The blond's over the top answer solidified Harry's suspicion that Draco was trying to help him. It was…odd but Harry would take what he could get. Voldemort cleared his throat.

"Well, I would suggest that this situation with our new guests gets settled today and then, as long as you are feeling well, Harry, lessons will start back up tomorrow." Knowing there was no point in objecting, Harry reluctantly nodded. If he was being honest a (VERY!) small part of himself missed calm potion lessons with Professor Snape.

The rest of the meal was spent in relative silence. When it finally ended Voldemort surveyed the room before sighing internally. He just wanted to get everything over with. So instead of having their guests introduced to his followers and the students in small groups, he would just have everyone meet at the same time. Tom assumed it would just lead to one larger explosion than multiple small ones.

He called for the Lestranges' house elf and when she arrived, asked her to fetch the band of rescuers and lead them to the welcoming room near the front of the Manor. Tom told everyone present the plan and they all made their way to the appropriate room. They arrived first and Harry found he couldn't sit down. He felt like everyone was watching him and wanted to hide again. Nagini had followed them into the room and tried to convince the young man to calm down and seat himself but Harry just hissed back that he was to anxious to.

After what seemed like forever the door to the room opened and Sirius, Remus and the Twins appeared. Harry let out a breath he didn't know he was holding and ran to throw his arms around Sirius.

"You're okay!"

"I told you they were," Tom spoke into his mind.

"Shut up," Harry mentally spat back. Harry was so absorbed in reuniting with his godfather and mentor that he didn't really notice Ron reuniting with the Twins. The group of Gryffindors also didn't notice a certain Potion's Master growing more and more tense and angry.

Severus found himself irrationally jealous upon seeing his…his son fling himself onto the animagus and Snape tried to fight off the unpleasant feeling with anger. Lucius watched his friend out of the corner of his eye and waited for the inevitable clash.

When Harry finally pulled out of the embrace from the two ex-Order members, he was pulled close to Sirius' side.

"Well," Remus started after awkwardly clearing his throat. "I suppose I'll just say hello then. I'm not going to apologize for coming to save my cub and his friends." Internally, the human part of Remus winced at his phrasing while his wolf-half stuck his nose up in its surety. The wolf refused to apologize for protecting children of his pack, especially one so close to him.

Tom tilted his head in acknowledgement while Severus sneered. Harry blushed a bit at being referred to as cub, even as a warm feeling in his chest grew. That warmth was quenched, however, when he looked to the Potion's Master and saw such familiar anger.

"Who does your wolf acknowledge as pack, for future reference," Rodolphus suddenly blurted out. Everyone turned to him in surprise but he simply raised a brow that said, 'It's a good question and you know it.' Remus cleared his throat to cover his momentary shock. He wasn't used to being asked about his wolf side other than whether he could restrain it. The lack of disparagement in the question also was a pleasant change from the norm.

"My wolf considers Sirius as a brotherly pack mate. James was too before…and Lily by extension was another sisterly, sometimes motherly pack mate. Harry…is considered my cub, especially now since his parents are gone." For the next part, Remus purposely did not look at Harry. "Since my wolf considers itself the alpha of my pack and Harry being my brother's cub, it naturally falls to me to take care of him as my cub…according to instinct. Hermione and Ron and the Twins, through their connection to Harry, are also considered part of my pack. The pack bond with them is not as strong as with Sirius or Harry but it is present." He sent the witch and wizards in question a soft smile and was pleased to find that they didn't show any disgust at being considered part of his pack.

"Fascinating. So how much of your action is driven by instinct from the wolf and-" Rodolphus was cut off by his brother.

"You can pester Lupin about werewolf instincts and the like later, Rodolphus." Turning his attention to those still standing he said, "You can take a seat, you know." When Sirius seemed reluctant, Harry dragged him and Remus over to a love seat so they could all sit together. Hermione and Ron squeezed together with the Twins on another love seat. Hermione flashed Harry a smile when he met her eyes which he returned.

Before anyone else could say anything Nagini slithered over to Harry and raised herself up to rest her head on Harry's knee.

"Who are these new people, Young One," she asked as her tongue flickered out to taste the air. "You seem quite happy they are here though they do not." Harry did not know that he was giving his godfather a heart attack when he gently pet Nagini, stroking the scales on her head between her eyes.

"This is my godfather and…a very good friend that I look to as a father figure. The two who look alike are my friend's brothers. They came last night to rescue me and my friends from Tom and aren't happy that I…I have to stay." Harry caught himself before he said 'want' instead of 'have.' He couldn't quite come to terms with the fact that he actually…liked staying at Lestrange Manor. Harry finally noticed the slightly strained atmosphere when Lucius cleared his throat to get the boy's attention. The young Gryffindor saw his godfather's terrified expression and grinned sheepishly at the man.

"As I told you last night, while you are here, remember that you are guests. You are only here for the sake of Harry and his friends. I expect everyone to comport themselves appropriately. Even if you cannot stand each other," here Voldemort looked pointedly between Sirius and Severus, "you will at least behave civilly. I will not put up with any fighting. Perhaps as incentive you should know that the children have been doing a marvelous job following the same request." The condescension was clear in the Dark Lord's tone.

"Where's my favorite psychotic cousin," Sirius asked instead of acknowledging Tom's warning. The Dark Lord raised an unimpressed eyebrow and simply said,

"I killed her." The Golden Trio were shocked. Harry hadn't ever thought to ask what had happened to the Dark Lord's number one fan and was just happy that she was gone. Neither him nor his friends ever thought that Voldemort would kill Bellatrix. Judging by the other Gryffindors' expressions they felt the same way. Harry squashed the small part of him that was happy and wondered whether Neville would be happy to hear she was dead or upset that he wasn't the one to put her in her grave. "It was brought to my attention that she was acting in a way that I disapproved of. I took her aside, Crucio'd her a few times and then gave her a choice. I told her the Dark side would be moving in a new direction from that point on and she could either change with it or leave England and never come back. She snapped, thought I was an impostor and attacked me. Clearly her mind was more addled than I imagined. She had become a liability and instead of subduing her I put her down."

Harry clearly saw Draco's relief when the Dark Lord left out just what Bellatrix had been doing that Voldemort disapproved of. He knew the Slytherin boy was mortified that anyone had found out even if it meant he wasn't getting hurt anymore.

"Well," Sirius drawled after a few moments of awkward silence. "Can't say I'll miss her. Now, what exactly do you expect to happen here?" Lord Black gestured generally to the room at large, hoping to convey the entire convoluted situation.

"Harry has been training in a number of subjects with my followers here. Ms. Granger, Mr. Weasley, and now the younger Mr. Malfoy will be joining him. I had it in mind that you two could assist in the teaching," Tom said indicating he meant Remus and Sirius. Then he looked at the Twins. "You two however," he paused in contemplation. "Perhaps…target practice?" The Gryffindors (sans Harry) in the room began to immediately protest, not cottoning on to Voldemort's humor, while the Slytherin's bit back smirks.

"Tom, I think they might be more helpful with…retrieval of…you know. I know they said they'd be neutral but Fred and George know Hogwarts inside and out. Besides, do you really want these two getting bored here," Harry cajoled. The Twins seemed intrigued at the mysterious mission and the Inner Circle paled at the thought of bored Weasley Twins burning down the Manor. Voldemort didn't answer right away, narrowing his eyes at the Twins thoughtfully.

"I will consider it," he finally said. "However, should I decide you could be of use and you accept, you will need to take an Unbreakable Vow. Think on that before you make your decision. Rodolphus, Rabastan, go and make my Death Eaters be productive. I fear they will begin to act out of turn without orders soon. Lucius, contact the wolves in the north. See if they will meet with me. Draco, I'm sure you can occupy yourself, perhaps with preparation for the lessons you will start attending tomorrow." The wizards in question all nodded their acceptance of the tasks assigned and left the room.

Lucius shot Severus a look before he left that clearly said to play nice. Once they were gone Voldemort wordlessly summoned something.

"I found this in the foyer last night. I think, perhaps, it belongs to one of you." Tom held out a stuffed animal in the shape of a fluffy black dog. Harry cocked his head to the side as he looked at the toy, some memory stirring in the back of his brain.

"We used that to get here," George said.

"Yeah, Sirius found it," Fred added. Snape sneered at the toy.

"Your vanity encouraged you to create a replica of your animagus form, did it, Black?" Sirius scowled at the Potion's Master and growled.

"It's Harry's! It was his favorite toy as a child. Lily made it for him, you nasty git." Tom handed the toy to Harry who slowly took hold of it. Harry's fingers slid through the fur and he was hit with a strong feeling of happiness and warmth. He clutched it to his chest and buried his face in the toy dog's fur.

"Paddy," he whispered, suddenly recalling the doll's name. Remus smiled beside him.

"We needed something soaked in your magical signature to locate you. We found that in James's trunk in the attic. It held items that mattered to him the most and was sent to Sirius's home when he died, likely according to his will," the werewolf explained to his cub. Severus' control snapped as they brought up James Potter, the man who got to raise his child for a year and made his school years a living hell.

"What else was in there? Stupid quidditch trophies? A book detailing every prank the Marauders ever pulled? Photos of himself?" Sirius was on his feet before anyone could blink.

"You shut your mouth! James was a great man, you snake! He had morals and honor!" Everyone was on their feet as the two men flew at each other.

"Don't speak to me about honor! That scoundrel didn't have an honorable bone in his body! He held a married woman captive and claimed a boy that was not his own!" Tom raised his wand, ready to curse the two men when Harry ran to his father and godfather, getting in the way. Ron and Hermione called out to the friend, afraid he'd get hurt.

"Harry, don't," Remus yelled.

"Stop it! Stop fighting!" Harry cried out as he hurried to stop them from hurting each other. At that point Sirius had one hand fisted in Snape's collar, pressing the man against the wall, and his other wrist was locked in Severus's own hand. The two grown men seemed likely to trade physical blows with their fists as if they forgot they had wands and magic at their disposal. They were so focussed on each other and their rage that they didn't notice Harry coming over.

Sirius yanked hard with his trapped arm and finally pulled free of Severus' grip. Unfortunately, momentum carried Sirius' fist directly into Harry's face, sending the boy crashing to the ground, crying out in pain and surprise.

Nobody moved. Sirius looked between his godson and his hand in horror. Harry knelt on the floor, cradling his bruised cheek, tears leaking from his eyes.

Suddenly the world started again. Nagini slithered over and reared up, hissing at the two men who had fought and hurt the Young One. Hermione, Ron and Remus rushed to Harry's side, while the Twins turned their wands on the Potion's Master and animagus, in case the men tried to make the situation worse.

Ron and Remus each took hold of one of Harry's elbows and helped the stunned boy to his feet.

"Take him to Lucius. He will help the boy," came the Dark Lord's icy tone. Certainly, all knew it was Voldemort speaking in that moment, not the warmer, more human Tom Riddle. The three Gryffindor's rushed Harry from the room, and at Voldemort's gesture the Twins slowly followed.

This left Severus and Sirius alone with Nagini and the Dark Lord. Neither man was sure they would survive, but then again, neither of them were certain they should.

I laughed when I read a review by...I think RRW who guessed this happening exactly. Way to go! :)

PS I don't know a thing about wolf packs, so take everything with a grain of salt here!

Please review!