Title: The Black Star
Author: AileenDickinson
Summary: His godfather is dead and Harry decides that it's time to cut the strings from the old twinkle eyed puppeteer, start revealing his secrets and live his life as he wanted to. There's a new star in the Black tapestry. Independent! Smart! Powerful! Harry - Character bashing- slash-
Pairings: Harry/Draco
Genre: Romance, Adventure
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
Warnings: There will be Character bashing, mainly Dumbledore/Ron/Hermione/Ginny/Molly Bashing!
Slash pairing(s ?) . Don't like, don't read.
Author Notes: First of all, I would like to remind you that I'm Italian and there is a possibility that you will find spelling mistakes or the occasional wrong word, I will do my best to write correctly and double check.
Now, onto the story, I know that many love the old headmaster but personally I don't like him very much. Dumbledore will not be evil, but the greater good often makes him lose contact with reality and forget the difference between people and pawns, and the fact that everybody looks up to him like he can do no wrong does not help. Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Molly are another matter.
For those who follow my other story, Love of Legend, I'd like to say that I did not abandon the story. I found a bit of a writer's block, maybe it's because I have too many things I want to write about and no idea how to. I hope that maybe writing something else for awhile will help me.
§The Black Star §
-Chapter 25-
"This year we have different things to do" drawled Severus. At his side Remus nodded, letting the other man talk. He was better at making them stay silent even when excited at the new things they would teach them.
"First of all, you will all continue to perfect your fighting skills, both with the sword and hand to hand. Those of you that opted for healing will learn more advanced material, so that once out of there you will be able to be certified healers." He continued.
Susan was happy about that, already having decided that she would like to work as a healer. Not in St. Mungus though, they were too much reliant on the ministry and she didn't like them. Maybe she would succeed Madam Pomfrey at Hogwarts.
"Your new subject of study will be elemental magic." He announced, quickly glaring at everyone to stop the cheering before it even started. But it didn't do anything for the starry eyed look they had on their faces. They really liked to learn new things.
"Elemental magic is not much different from the elemental based spells you already use, but much different at the same time." He started to explain. "You can cast a simple 'incendio' without not knowing the first thing about elemental magic but you can't cast a 'fiendfire' and expect to control it without mastering the fire element."
"Basically" stepped in Remus "Elemental magic means understating and mastering the element. It is not taught at school because unlike light magic it needs certain feelings to cast. For example to cast a powerful fire spell you need to feel either great passion or anger. For water you need to feel calm and peaceful, unless you're trying to form a tsunami that is"
"For a light spell to work you just need wand movements and the words, for an elemental spell is much like dark magic. You need the feelings behind it. Unlike dark magic it is not addicting, so don't worry to be placed in danger. Nothing will happen to you apart risking to be burnt like a crisp or drowned like a rat" Severus assured them, enjoying a bit to see them so afraid.
"We will start easy of course and in the course of the year you will master each element. Don't worry if some don't come easy for you, or even impossible. It's normal to be suited for one and hopeless for another element." Reassured them Remus.
As usual they gave them a number of books to read before starting to teach them anything. It was important that they understood the subject and the basics before starting.
For Harry's birthday they did something special this year. Following the proposition of the twins they decided to prank him to death.
The day started for him when the sheets stated sexually assaulting him, making him flee in the bathroom scared. His hair stood up resembling the fur of a hissing cat.
Opting for a calming warm shower he couldn't have thought that he would end with brilliant blue hair when he stepped out. Still it wasn't bad that.
The bad thing was having to go back in the bedroom with the molesting sheets to get dressed. Ready to stun the bloody things he ventured out of the bathroom.
At the beginning the sheets seemed to be behaving so he turned to his walk in closet to dress. When he was trying to put on his boxers though they came back to life and he had to wrestle with them to prevent them to molest him and to get dressed as quickly as possible.
As he exited his bedroom he was panting and sweating, leaning against the door contemplating if he would ever enter the room again or just move in another one free of sheets. Just to be on the safe side.
During breakfast everything he tried to eat was extremely spicy, so much that he felt his mouth ready to breath fire at a moment notice. The strange thing was that everyone else was eating without a care in the world. They took things form the same plate as him, so it couldn't be only his food that was like that, but they never complained and looked at him funny when he asked them.
On his way to the potion lab the stairs kept changing into a slide every time he was halfway up, making him slide to the bottom. The first time he almost lost his nose that way, stupid stairs.
In the end he decided to jump on the ladder as soon as the slide appeared and climb the rest of the way up.
In the potion lab the cauldrons wouldn't stand still in one place, hopping all over the place and spilling everything that was inside. The stirring rod even tied to whack him on the head when he stunned the thing, not that it worked. It just duplicated the cauldron, so there were two of them hopping.
Lunch was both better and worse than breakfast. Food wasn't trying to burn his tongue anymore but it tasted like ash. No matter how much condiment he added. His stomach was torn between eating itself in hunger and making him throw up because of the ash feeling in his mouth.
When he tried to study in the library the books vanished when his hand was near them, making him run all over the place trying to get the book he needed to read.
When he finally got the book, jumping on him in his animagus form, he even hit his head on a table in his efforts, then the armchair tried to swallow him. The couch tried to bite his arse and the chairs walked all over the place with him on board or tossed him on the floor.
When it was time for dinner he was spent, so hungry that he could eat his own arm and sweaty.
A chorus of 'Happy birthday' greeted him at his entrance. The dining room was decorated for the occasion and a feast was laid out on the table, complete with a chocolate cake.
From his gob smacked expression they decided they did such a good job pranking him that he even forgot it was his birthday. Today he became nineteen.
The twins high fived, grinning like loons while Blaise and Neville snickered beside them.
"You.. this.. I" Harry was really at loss for words, it took his sometime to regain his composure and when he did he glared at them and yelled "Who the fuck spelled by basted sheets to molest me?"
Everyone couldn't help but laugh at his indignant expression. Trying to control his breathing Draco raised a shaking hand, while supporting himself on Blaise with the other.
"You?" asked Harry. He couldn't believe his fiancée could be so cruel "You're evil" he stated trying not to pout. The twins he could accept but Draco was supposed to be on his side!
Smirking the blond stalked over to him and leaning to whisper in his ear he said "I was trying to compensate for my absence this morning"
"Well, you failed" he muttered equally soft to not be overheard "They just scared me to death. I prefer when it is you to sexually molest me"
Remus tried hard not to cough in embarrassment, 'stupid werewolf earing' he thought. He didn't need or want to know about his honorary godson sexual life, thank you very much.
Deciphering the look on the wolf's face Severus groaned, his thoughts matching the other's.
The night passed nicely, after Harry was fed a pepper up potion and a lot of food to make up for the missed breakfast and lunch, as well as dinner. He was so pleasantly full in the end that he was almost whishing he could go to bed right away. But his friends had done much for his party and he wanted to celebrate with them.
When he finally made it to bed it was after four in the morning. He checked and double checked the sheets before even getting near the bed, much to Draco's amusement.
When he noticed the blond snicker at him, he pounced on him. So he actually got to sleep at six after a couple of rounds of love making with his fiancée.
He couldn't get enough of calling him that, but he couldn't wait to call him husband either.
"What do you suggest we start with? Fire? Or maybe wind.." asked Remus.
He and Severus were in the library collecting other books for their students to read. After the basic ones they needed to learn about the specific element.
"Not fire. Too dangerous and unpredictable" the man muttered without raising his head from the books he was checking.
"Maybe water then, or earth" with a flick of his wand all the books about fire magic returned to the shelves.
"I suggest earth. It is the most calm for of elemental magic but still require a bit of effort to manipulate"
"You're right" another flick and only the earth books remained, placed in neat stacks on the long table.
Severus still hadn't raised his eyes from the book. He couldn't let himself.
Those days he constantly found himself looking at the wolf, without even consciously doing it. He also thought of him too much for it to be normal or even healthy. He didn't like it. And he most certainly didn't like the possible causes of his actions.
Lupin was a smart man, sure. He could compare to his own intellect and share an interesting conversation with him. He was also quite good looking, the few gray hairs didn't ruin his appearance and his scars made him even more appealing and sexy..
He shook his head hard 'What the bloody hell am I thinking?'
Lupin was a member of the group that bullied him as a boy, he almost killed him in fifth year during the full moon.
HE COULD NOT BE DEVELOPING FEELINGS FOR THE WOLF!
No matter how much he tried to delude himself that he was indifferent to the sandy haired man, he could not ignore his thoughts or even his body responses to the other's vicinity.
His feelings, something he buried for far too long, were starting to resurface back since he came to stay in Pegasus Heaven. It was miraculous what a bit of time away from the pressure of being a spy and the war could do to a person.
He started feeling content again and relaxed. He found his love for teaching back, it was impossible not to with such eager and successful students.
He didn't feel angry and resentful anymore. The only problem was his damned attraction to the wolf.
He didn't know if he wanted to really acknowledge it, he sure as hell wasn't ready to at least. Admitting to have feelings to someone was risky. You put your heart on the line when you do and when the other rejects you, it gets crushed.
He couldn't deal with a rejection, that much he was sure of. He had too much of that in his life. His father, his mother, his year mates at Hogwarts, general people who knew him as a death eater. Lily.
His beloved Lily who rejected him when in a fit of anger and embarrassment after the last prank of the marauders he called her a mudblood. It didn't pass a day he didn't regret it.
He always loved her, she was his sister and not having her in his life, knowing that it was his fault she was dead pained him.
He raised his eyes a bit and saw Lupin engrossed in a book. He found endearing the way he bit his lip in concentration and his hand itched for the chance to pull those misbehaved locks away from his eyes.
He sighed thinking it was a lost cause. Getting to his feet he excused himself and went to his bedroom for a bit of meditating. He really needed it those days.
Theo was pouring over a book, a most normal thing for a bookworm like him, sitting under a tree. Susan was laying on the ground with him, with her head on his lap. With a hand he was holding the book, the other was caressing her strawberry hair.
"Theo?"
"Mh?" he was not the most eloquent bloke while reading he could admit.
"Have you ever thought about the future?" she asked "the' how do you see yourself five years from now' kind of thing"
He closed his book after carefully bookmarking it and looked at her. "Why do you ask?"
"Just.. curious, I guess." She replied, not meeting his eyes.
"Well, five years from now, we'll still be there or about to get out I suppose" he replied. Kind of a smartass answer, but he liked to rile her up a bit sometimes. Seeing her all flushed ready to yell at him was something he liked very much, it made her so beautiful and sexy. Not that he would ever tell her, he valued his mainly parts too much to do it.
"I'm serious!" she whined, slapping his chest without much force. He was glad for the training, it made him more filled out, he never thought he would have muscles on him but it was a welcomed change from sickly abused Theo.
He chuckled catching her hand in his and holding it against his heart "I was just messing with you,Susie"
She pouted and looked at him knowing he couldn't resist her doe eyes.
"Okay, okay. In the future, I guess I'll be Lord Nott and will run the family business."
"What kind of business?" she interrupted him.
"Rare artifacts and books mostly. Antiques and we also fund some archeological sites." He explained.
"Sounds cool. At least now I know where your immense love for books comes from" she smiled cheekily.
"Not really, it's from my mum" he said softly "she loved to read and always read to me. I got the love for books from her and after her death it became even greater. It made me feel closer to her."
"Oh, Theo" Susan sat up a bit and enveloped him in her arms, knowing he needed a good hug right now.
After a few moments he mumbled that he was fine, leaving a little kiss on her neck.
"Well, back to your question. Yes, tending to the business and also joining the Wizengamot. I hope I'll be married by then, maybe a few kids too. Does that answer your question?" he asked looking at her.
She nodded, feeling a little put out or sad but she didn't understand the reason.
He noticed though and could guess why. Wrapping her in his arms and pulling her frame on his lap he whispered "maybe I'll be lucky enough to have you at my side".
She immediately brightened up and blushed a bit, but nonetheless she placed a loving kiss on his mouth. A kiss that lead to a full out snog.
A group of man covered in black hooded cloaks and masks were slowly making their way towards the place designated as the apparition point for them. There were five in total, with another two groups coming from different ways.
It was a cold night and the place they were in made it even colder. The winds were strong and it looked like a tempest was about to begin.
As they arrived at the meeting point one of them, the leader of the mission, ordered "Let's go". One by one they appareted away, ready to being and more than eager to go back home.
"You wanted to see me?" asked Harry upon entering the sitting room. Severus, Remus and Andromeda were there waiting for him, having asked an elf to fetch him for them.
"Yes dear, come in and sit. We need to talk about something" answered Andromeda.
"Is it something bad?" it was a while since something bad happened to him and it was almost too good to believe. He wouldn't be surprised if all the peacefulness and happiness in Pegasus Heaven were destroyed because of Voldemort or Dumbledore.
"No, it isn't cub" Remus assured him.
"We decided to wait to talk about the matter since it would be difficult to you, especially so soon after losing Black, but now that you had time to mourn and heal it's time." Started Severus.
"As you found out at the will reading Minerva is your godmother and it would be better if you decided what to do in regard of that information"
"I.. to be honest I forgot about it until now" admitted Harry "And I'm not sure about it"
"Maybe talking about it would help you." Suggested Andy without forcing him. He was an adult and perfectly capable of making his own decisions.
"Andy is right. We can consider point to point so you can get a better idea about it" added Remus.
"I don't know how I feel about it. I mean, she's my godmother and never bothered to take me in or tell me for that matter" Harry started with a frown. Sirius had been a convict fugitive but at least he had offered him a home and told him he was his godfather right away.
"From my knowledge and her expression during the will, she was as surprised as you from the knowledge" observed Severus "She never told anyone that you were her godson and knowing her she would have boasted about it and tried to raise you herself from the start. She never liked those muggles and would not have left you there if she had the power to do take you away"
Harry thought about it. Could it be that she didn't really know? That would explain why she didn't raise him nor told him.
"She worships Dumbledore. Anything he says, she does. It was proven again and again" he made his second point.
"That is true. Minerva always put the man on a pedestal, he was her mentor and the leader of the light. But she is also a very independent woman with a strong morale. She would be revolted if she knew all the things Dumbledore did behind her back" Again Severus was right. She seemed to value justice and moral values very much, but she was loyal too. Who guaranteed him that she wouldn't follow the headmaster anyway?
"She never believed me when I asked for her help. I was always left alone" that one really bothered him. if that was the kind of godmother she was, then he was good without it.
"Explain" demanded Andromeda. Refusing help to a child was something unconceivable for her.
"In first year. She send us to detention with Hagrid in the forbidden forest at night"
"What?"
"Yes, it was the time we run into Volemort drinking unicorn blood. She didn't even know Hagrid had in mind for our detention, thing that she had to make sure about, let alone what happened that night. No one asked me about what I saw or if I was alright."
"That's.. I can't believe it" whispered Andy "He could have killed you that night" she could feel her body trembling in fear of what could have happened to her darling Harry.
"It is not like Minerva.. but again she always is packed with work. Her teacher and head of house duties, her deputy headmistress job and all the work that the headmaster doesn't do, preferring to meddle in other people's life and manipulating his pawns, she has to do it too. She's so stressed everyday that she needs galleons of pepper up, sleeping drought and calming potions." Revealed Severus. He should know, he was the one to brew them for her. He always told her to stick with her responsibilities and let the headmaster do his work, if he was sacked for incompetency all the better. But she never listened to him and went along with her inhuman workload.
"It's not an excuse. At the end of the year, we told her someone was going to steal the philosopher's stone and she didn't believe us. Told us that there were protections and run along. Some protections they were, three eleven years old getting right through them" he grumbled.
"I told Dumbledore they were pathetic but he insisted." Severus sneered.
Remus after inquiring about those protections shook his head. "It was like asking for the stone to be stolen."
"In second year she never did anything when everyone was making my life difficult for being a parselmouth. She just watched" Harry continued "I could go on for the other years too, but you got the drill.."
" Harry. I think you're blaming her for being a bad godmother, but she wasn't your godmother. Not in her head because she didn't know, and neither did you. She may have been an absent professor, both for not helping you or watching out for her house like she was supposed to do, but she has excuses. It doesn't make it better but it was not all her fault." Told him Andy "What you need to think about now is if she would make a good ally for you or not. Leave the godmother part for later"
"Well, she is a transfiguration mistress and a good dueler from what I've read from my parents and grandparents journals. But can we trust her not to be loyal to Dumbledore anymore?"
"We can try to contact her and tell her our side of things." Remus proposed to him "If she accept to help us we'll make her swear an oath to be loyal to us and not reveal anything to Dumbledore. Amelia or even Moody can do that part for us"
"I guess. Would you mind writing to her?" he asked Severus "I don't think I would do a good job of it right now, all things considered"
"Of course" the dark haired man nodded.
"Thank you. If that was all I'm going back to training. I was about to wipe the floor with Bill" he grinned cheekily before stalking away.
Thank you everyone for your support and understanding in such a difficult time for me after the loss of my great aunt, I appreciate it.
As always, thank you everyone who added my story to their favorite or alerts lists and left a review.
Clover-night: Draco does not need Harry's protection, he is more than able to kick anyone's ass on his own. Maybe it wasn't seen much until now, but all of them are training for war when they get out and Draco would never remain behind he others and let someone protect him. He is too powerful and prideful for that to happen, he is still a Malfoy after all. I will be sure to show more his growth -training wise- in the future chapters. =)
Sonnenfrost: the wedding will be in the next chapter maybe or the next, I'm not sure yet. The only other married couple is Charlie and Lorelai for now.
My alternate reality: when the time dome is over they will look 24 (Harry and year mates) or older. People will get quite a shock for that =)