Invisible

Chapter 26

Learning and Hogwarts

Once Severus had sent Harry to bed, with a Dreamless Sleep Potion in his hand, he Floo-called Hogwarts, very much aware that Albus would still be in his office. For an old man, he didn't get much sleep, especially as the Headmaster of such a prominent school. It didn't help that he was very well known and respected in other areas as well; he had people asking for his help, day in and day out, most notably Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic. Severus had been one of them too, when he had spied on the Dark Lord for him. He had lost a lot of respect for Albus, for how he was behaving, regarding Harry. He still respected him a little, though, as it was hard to hate him even if he was being blind and stubborn.

"Severus, how can I help you?" asked Albus tiredly.

"I asked if Harry could return to Hogwarts some time ago. Is it possible?" asked Severus, getting straight to the point since he hadn't been able to last time.

"Of course. I've ensured all the classes he needs are together, Monday and Tuesday," "* said Albus. He had too much respect and love for Severus, as a son, to deny him the only thing he had ever asked for, and it wasn't even for himself.

"Thank you," said Severus.

"You're welcome, Severus," said Albus kindly. "How is it that you managed to teach Harry the Patronus Charm so quickly?" he then inquired.

"He's a Ravenclaw—he wants to learn and has a drive to learn, Albus. Potter doesn't have the same drive. Also, all of Potter's memories are far too shallow to produce the intended result, as he hasn't truly felt caring or love for another in—a very long time. As long as his memories stay shallow and selfish, he won't be able to cast it," said Severus honestly, "It has nothing to do with power."

"Are you sure I cannot get you to teach Nick?" asked Dumbledore, sounding desperate.

"I have too much to do Albus, and I can't teach him something he doesn't have in the first place. My Apprentice comes first, and I have my own potions business to contend with as well," answered Severus.

"Very well," sighed Albus.

"Try and get some sleep, Albus. Goodnight," said Severus.

"Goodnight, Severus," said Albus tiredly.

As soon as Severus' head disappeared from the fire, Albus did as Severus suggested and did indeed go to bed.

Severus withdrew his head from the fire, satisfaction written on every line of his face. Going to his desk, he sat and began making changes to the schedules he had set up. Monday and Tuesday got cleared out, to be replaced with 'Hogwarts' across those days, though nighttime he decided he would use for Occlumency lessons. Wednesday he would teach him Potions all day, Thursday would be Defense Against the Dark Arts. Friday was going to be used for actual Dark Arts. Saturday would be for various different charms and spells he knew didn't fit into any category or day. Sunday was his day off, but Severus also decided to give him Thursday and Friday evenings as free time, too. It was easy to forget that Harry was just fifteen years old.

Putting the original aside, he created another one for Harry to use—no doubt Albus would send him Harry's timetable as well. He left it on the desk and sat back, waiting on the House-Elves sending up his nightly coffee. They knew his preferences and habits so well now they didn't even need to be called. The House-Elf popped in and gave it to him before leaving without saying anything. Severus was too exhausted to even thank the House-Elf, but he did have enough energy to grab it and drink it slowly.

He was worried he was pushing Harry too hard, but if he didn't learn what he needed to, and quickly, there was going to be nothing to regret or worry about. If he didn't learn what he needed, the Dark Lord would kill him. It didn't help Harry was having nightmares and hardly sleeping, though he knew he shouldn't resort to giving Harry Dreamless Sleep Potions. That potion was only supposed to be used in the event of some sort of trauma. A sleeping potion wouldn't solve anything, it just suppressed it, really. Severus was surprised it had taken this long for Harry to have nightmares of his own torture rather than of the Dark Lord's activities. All he could do was be there for the teenager if he ever wanted to talk. The thing was—Harry wasn't used to talking, or having anyone to talk to, to depend on period.

Placing his empty cup on the desk, he got up with a weary sigh and went to his own bed. They had an early start tomorrow, as per usual, and Severus needed all the sleep he could get.

Severus woke up, one hand under his pillow, clutching his wand the other limp at his side. It was a habit he couldn't break; he had been doing it since he was eleven years old. Despite the fact that he knew nobody could reach him here, he continued sleeping with his wand under his pillow. Looking at his alarm clock, he became alarmed when he noticed it was past seven o'clock. Swiftly rising from his bed, he made his way towards his bathroom, quickly taking a shower, brushing his teeth, using the toilet, and all his other morning rituals before getting dressed. That morning, he wore a pair of black jeans, a white t-shirt, and a black, long-sleeved jumper. He didn't bother with his cloak as he made his way down the stairs.

"How did you sleep?" asked Severus when he got to the library and saw Harry there already, waiting on him. "Did you take the potion?"

"I did! Thank you, it was brilliant," said Harry, who looked much better and the bags under his eyes had disappeared. He was his usual, chipper self, and Severus was glad to see his cheer back.

"Good, I'm glad to see that. What are you up to?" asked Severus.

"Just filling out my quiz," explained Harry, passing it along. It was the one they had neglected to do, choosing instead to try the Animagus Forms Potion.

"Have you had anything to eat yet?" demanded Severus, already knowing the answer. The boy really needed to start taking better care of himself.

"No, not yet," admitted Harry.

"Then let's get something to eat before we do anything further," said Severus, so Harry rose and they both went to the dining room.

"When's Eileen coming?" asked Harry. He was dying to see her again.

"As soon as she finds a manager and two assistants for her shop," explained Severus. The new House-Elf, Dobby, popped in with their food. He didn't display the harebrained, hyperactive attitude he had before, so the other House-Elves had obviously been working with him. Well, either that or the gratitude he felt had been toned down with help from the head House-Elf.

"Oh. Well, I hope she finds them soon!" chirped Harry, gratefully eating—he was surprisingly hungry.

"I'm sure she will," said Severus, also eating and drinking a cup of his usual dark coffee.

After breakfast was over with, Harry asked the question he always asked: "What are we doing today, then?"

"This morning, we are going to duel with every spell you have learned, and after lunch, I'm going to teach you the Unforgivables. After dinner is yours to do with as you wish, but I want you to read the book on meditation and Occlumency and try it before you go to bed tonight," said Severus, as usual always outlining everything they were doing to give Harry a chance to change it if he wanted to add something or if there was something he wasn't happy with. Severus always told Harry it was best if he spoke up right away if he wasn't happy with something rather than wait.

He had yet to complain, although he had asked for one thing, the Animagus Forms Potion.

"I also have good news for you," said Severus. Without waiting on Harry asking, he told him, "Professor Dumbledore has arranged for you to go to Hogwarts. You will be there on Mondays and Tuesdays, at least for this term." Timetables changed every term, so the students didn't get too used to it or bored with the classes.

"He actually said yes?" gaped Harry, surprise clearly displayed on his face. Dumbledore had never really spoken to him—well, apart from when he got back from the Chamber of Secrets. He had wanted to know what happened, and after he found out, that was it—Harry was back to being ignored. He didn't like Dumbledore and didn't trust him.

"Despite what you may think, he is not a bad man," said Severus softly.

"Do you know what it's like to be constantly ignored? I thought at Hogwarts it would be different…but I was wrong. Did you know on our first day of Transfigurations, I turned my match into a needle first, followed by the Granger girl, but McGonagall was too busy encouraging Nick to change it to even look my way. She gave him points and ignored me and Granger. She wasn't the only one to ignore me…everyone did, except for Flitwick and you, and that was only in the sense that I wasn't 'invisible' to you," said Harry, bitterness twisting his features and voice. "I was excited when I heard Lupin was going to be our teacher—well, sort of. I was going to try my best, determined to get everything done correctly the first time. Then I saw him on the school grounds talking to Nick, and he didn't even say a single thing to me, like I didn't exist." The bitterness was replaced with a sad, melancholy look.

Severus stared at the teenager, sympathy strumming through his heart. For the first time in a long time he actually confided in someone. "I know how it feels. I too, unfortunately, was a victim of this. You are aware that your father had three best friends at Hogwarts, Remus Lupin, Peter Pettigrew, and Sirius Black?"

Harry blinked in confusion, but nevertheless answered, "I know. I, er, heard James telling Nick all his stupid stories." Those times had made him cry, he had been young, too young to be strong. He had sat on the floor in the corridor, listening to James telling Nick stories at bed time. Never once, not even for ten minutes, had James done that with him. To Harry, back then it had made his heart hurt, made it feel as though someone was squeezing it tightly. Of course, even when James left the room after Nick was asleep, he never spared a glance at Harry, just told him to get to bed before going to Roxy's room to read to her. As he got older, though, once he could read, he read to himself at night—lost himself in the books to get away from the harsh reality his life was.

"I was bullied by them for years. Make no mistake, I did get my own back most times. I was never the willing victim, until one of their pranks almost cost me my life," explained Severus. "Black lured me down to the Shrieking Shack, to where a werewolf Lupin was hiding for his transformation. Potter came at the last minute and saved me, much to my disgust. None of them were punished—instead, I was warned to keep my mouth shut. Professor Dumbledore was forced to make a tough decision to keep Lupin—who had also been an unwilling victim in Black's 'prank'—safe from execution and to keep Hogwarts' reputation from falling apart."

"You're not telling me you forgave them?" asked Harry skeptically. He doubted he would ever forgive any of the others for what they did to him. If it hadn't been for Eileen and Severus, he would have left the Wizarding world to its fate. Voldemort would have been welcome to them. As things were, though, Eileen and Severus had been very nice to him. For them alone he would kill Voldemort, although it was mostly so he could live now. Voldemort was going to come after him; he had cost him his followers and killed his snake. Even if he hadn't done it and hadn't been kidnapped, he was still a Potter by blood, and Voldemort wanted them all dead.

"No. I'm too Slytherin for that, unfortunately, and I'm not suggesting you forgive them, either. I'm just trying to let you see the enormous pressure Professor Dumbledore is under, and to realize not every 'participant' is a willing one," explained Severus wryly—and he wasn't doing a very good job at explaining it, either.

"It's not just him, he's the one I care the least about, he's just a headmaster." Harry admitted, "But I don't want to talk about this anymore." he didn't want to think of them ever, he was finally free of them.

Hogwarts - Potter Quarters

"Get down to the Great Hall now, and eat breakfast! You have a big day ahead of you," said Lily adamantly.

"I'm not training!" yelled Nick furiously.

"Yes, you are!" Lily yelled right back.

"Mum, can I go to Diagon Alley today?" asked Roxy, hoping to diffuse the yelling match and get away from Hogwarts for awhile.

"No Roxy. Move it, Nick!" said Lily, her nostrils flaring angrily.

"Why not?" asked Roxy quietly. She didn't understand it—she'd thought being at Hogwarts would make things better. If anything, it was worse, both her parents were ignoring her in favor of Nick. She had never experienced that before; she was having a little taste of what her other brother's life had been like, and was finding it singularly unpleasant.

"I want my new broom," replied Nick. They had promised him and he still didn't have it.

"We can't get it for you right now, Nick," explained Lily tiredly. She hated letting her children down, but they didn't have a Knut to their name. It was a good thing their Hogwarts tuition had been paid for already. Money would start piling up again after Hogwarts started up, once James started back at work. She was worried, though, that it wouldn't be enough, so she was planning on speaking to Albus before he began training Nick today. "But I promise you will get it, in a month's time, once your dad gets paid."

"Promise?" asked Nick.

"Of course," said Lily honestly.

"Okay, Mum," grinned Nick, pleased to get his own way once more.

"Let's get going, then," said Lily exasperatedly.

Prince Manor Grounds

"Well done! You are doing extremely well, Harry. You almost had me," said Severus, walking towards Harry as he un-stunned him. He was sweating; he hadn't had such a challenge in a long time, though Harry was sweating buckets, breathing heavily, panting on the ground.

"Not good enough," said Harry in disappointment as he sat up.

"I'll hear none of that! You killed a giant snake and Pettigrew with a single Reducto curse, so your magic is strong. Your reflexes are getting there, you just need to get a little faster," said Severus soothingly. "If you had wanted, I have no doubt you could have used that curse on me and taken me out in a single blow."

Harry shuddered at the prospect of accidentally doing such a thing more fatally than he had intended.

"I do not want you holding back. I need to know how good you are so I know best how to train you and what things you need the most work on," said Severus, realizing Harry might have been holding back, not wanting to hurt him. He should have seen it sooner.

"Okay," breathed Harry, trying to get rid of the stitch that seemed to be permanently stuck in his side.

"Good. Now, why don't you go shower, read the books I want you to read, relax for a bit, then come and have some lunch? After lunch, we begin working on the Unforgivables. Until then, try not to use any more magic. To perform the Unforgivables, you need all the magic you can access," said Severus. He had no doubt Harry's magical reserves were quite large, since he had been using complex magic since he was four or so; however, he had used quite a bit of it dueling him for over an hour.

"Brilliant," grinned Harry, happy with that suggestion.

"I shall be in my lab if you need me," said Severus, helping Harry up. "Do you need a potion?"

"Maybe a mild one—that tripping hex made me fall on my side, and my ribs are bruised," said Harry.

"You know where the cabinet is, take it before you shower," said Severus as they walked back into Prince Manor.

"Yes, Sir," said Harry. He headed for the cabinet in the study where Severus kept his potions while Severus continued on towards his lab. He had potions to brew, after all. He had slept nearly two hours longer than he had meant to this morning, for the first time in a very long time.

Great Hall Hogwarts

"Ah, Lily, good to see you. Is everything well?" asked Dumbledore. He was the only person who would still speak to any of the Potters. He had been short with Lily the other day, and he hoped it didn't distance them from him. The world was hanging in the balance, and he needed Nick to train and defeat Voldemort.

Roxy and Nick took their seats and began filling their plates, not even paying attention to the teachers, although Nick looked slightly warily at them, knowing the next year was going to be hard. He hated Harry, he had to ruin everything for him—he was scared and had to have someone to blame. Harry was the perfect target. Nick had lost money, respect, and many friends. He had written to lots of his…ex-friends, but no one had replied. He had even written to Ronald Weasley, only to fail with even him. Although, at least Ron had written back with a short, curt answer saying he didn't want to be friends with him again. He ignored his mother's conversation with Dumbledore, still in a mood—he hated training, broom or no broom.

"Yes, it's alright, but I have a favor to ask you," said Lily. "I was wondering if I could speak to you privately before Nick starts training today."

"Of course. How about we go to my office now?" suggested Dumbledore. He had already finished his breakfast.

"That would be great," said Lily, relieved.

"Then let's go. I shall see you all later at the staff meeting," said Dumbledore to the teachers as he rose and led Lily to his office. At least she was being politer today...

Hogwarts Headmasters Office

"Now, how can I help you?" asked Dumbledore cautiously.

"I need a job," admitted Lily, her face as red as her hair at admitting this. "James' job won't be enough to get us by with food, essential things we need, and things we want to buy Roxy and Nick."

"Perhaps you should spend less?" suggested Dumbledore.

"We can't," said Lily. All of them were too used to getting everything they wanted, including her. She would have to get a job for the first time in her life, and she didn't like it, but she had to do it.

"What are you suggesting, then?" asked Dumbledore warily.

What could Lily want from him now? He wasn't a miracle worker, he couldn't give her money. He wasn't made of it, and all the money he had made went to financing the Order. His mother had been a Half-Blood who had used all her money to try and help his sister. His father had been a Muggleborn and sentenced to Azkaban. It had been his job to keep the family together, or should have been after Hogwarts finished. He had tried to get out of it by focusing his fascination on the Deathly Hallows with Gellert. That mistake had cost him greatly; he had lost all his family now: his father, mother, sister, and at the same time, his younger brother. Aberforth had blamed him, still blamed him, for that matter. He lived so close yet so far away, and Albus hated it. Unfortunately, it had been over one hundred years ago, and nothing was going to change now. The money he made as Headmaster and head of the Wizengamot had gone to financing the Order the first time around. The money he had saved would go to financing the second incarnation of the Order.

"I heard Charity Burbage was missing, and I was wondering…since I know so much about the Muggle world, could I teach it?" suggested Lily.

"She's only just been pronounced missing," said Dumbledore, unable to believe Lily was after Charity's job already.

"I know, but if she's found then I'll step down," said Lily, hoping Charity wouldn't be as she really needed that job.

"If she hasn't been found before Hogwarts starts back up then you can have the job," sighed Dumbledore. It was one less thing for him to worry over. Starting the Order, worrying about Voldemort, training Nick, schedules, timetables, he didn't even have time to think most days, just react. He was also worried about Charity—she had disappeared off the face of the Earth. He was worried that it was Voldemort already making his move, and it looked as though it started with the Hogwarts staff.

"Thank you," sighed Lily, relieved.

"Where is James?" asked Dumbledore. He hadn't seen him this morning.

"We had a talk last night. He's gone back to work early, working overtime double shifts," said Lily, her green eyes sad. "He must know what he's doing to us, it was in the paper! We never meant for any of it to happen. Nick was just more important and he just doesn't understand that!"

"Do you realize you have just called Harry 'HE' three times?" asked Dumbledore, saddened by what had happened to this once close family.

"I cannot even bring myself to say his name," admitted Lily. "I'm so disappointed in him."

"You neglected him," stated Dumbledore. "You made him grow up too soon. He's surviving how he can." For the first time, he openly defended Harry, and it liberated Albus doing so.

"I didn't neglect him, he got food, clothes, attention, just not as much as Nick," denied Lily angrily.

"I do not want to argue with you, Lily. I'd prefer if you didn't mention Harry in front of me," said Dumbledore.

"Okay," said Lily, easily agreeing to that—she didn't want to talk about him, either.

"Now, if you will excuse me, I have your other son to train," said Dumbledore, getting up and leaving the room. He could feel Remus already waiting in the Defense classroom. When the school wasn't in session, he could (thanks to the wards) tell where pretty much everyone was. When the school was in session, he couldn't tell, as there were too many Wizards and Witches roaming the school to even hope to place anyone.

Hogwarts Defense Classroom

"How are you today, Remus?" asked Dumbledore cheerfully as he stepped into the Defense classroom.

"Exhausted. Sirius is completely depressed and keeps waiting despondently for Harry to write to him when he's not working and otherwise, he only sleeps and barely eats," sighed Remus, his amber eyes full of sorrow. "No matter, I'm fine." Perhaps if he said it enough he would believe it himself.

"I see," said Dumbledore sadly. "Well, let's see if we can get Nick to successfully cast the Patronus, since that would be one step in the right direction, yes?" suggested Dumbledore, trying to get Remus' mind off his best friend's sorrow.

"Yes. I can't help again for at least a week, the full moon is in a few days," said Remus in agreement.

"Understood," agreed Dumbledore. He knew it was the full moon, which was why he was adamant to get it done now. If he did, he was going to give Nick that one week break from defense at least. The others would continue training him, but Albus didn't have enough hours in the day to keep this up. He was too old to stay up as late as he had been to ensure he got everything done.

"He's actually not late for once. Then again, it might have something to do with Lily coming," said Remus sniffing the air gently.

"Good," said Dumbledore in satisfaction. Perhaps they would manage to accomplish something today.

"Hi," said Lily gently, shoving her son in before closing the door behind them, leaving Nick with the two teachers.

"All right, Nick, sit down on the floor cross-legged and close your eyes," said Remus, waiting patiently as Nick did so. He was going to try something a little different and truly hoped magic itself would help them find a memory for Nick to use. Dumbledore watched curiously, wondering what Remus planned to try. "Take out your wand, but leave it loosely in your hand. Now, I want you to think back to the stories your parents told you about your accidental magic at the age of one. Your first piece of accidental magic they told you about was when you exploded your bottle because your mother wouldn't give you anymore, do you remember that?"

"I remember those stories," agreed Nick with a small, fond smile as he thought back to what he imagined had happened then. Life had been a lot more simple back then, no expectations on him or people looking to him for a miracle or his family expecting him to defeat a Dark Lord who scared the Hell out of him.

"Good. Keep your eyes closed and reach for those memories, your own true recollection of them, and let them start tracing other fond memories you had from that age. As you do, ask your magic, and all magic, to guide you to your truest, happiest memory," answered Remus in a soft, mellow voice which was, frankly, trance-inducing. After all, he was trying to smooth the way for Nick to remember those memories, to aid him in a truly beautiful, innocent memory that would be enough to enable him to cast the Patronus Charm successfully.

"That sounds so weird...Can magic even do that?" asked Nick as he made a funny face, though he actually kept his eyes closed.

Remus had to give a small, fond chuckle. "It can, because I did it once myself, but the conditions for it to work are limited. It will only help you find a memory if you truly want to find it, and it will only find the most recent fondest memory—if that happened a week ago, it will only take you as far back as a week, but we already know you have no memory of that depth in your recent years. That's why we're trying a younger age."

"...I do want to find a memory to cast the Patronus. I've never had to struggle so much with a spell before, and I guess I can't just order or demand that it work," agreed Nick. "I'll try this. It sounds fun, taking a 'trip down memory lane', not like a lesson at all." And hopefully, he wouldn't be exhausted by the time he left the classroom today.

Nick smiled softly and nodded his head, still recalling those memories he'd only been told about. To that, he added the request to magic to help him find a truly happy memory, for once hoping it would work, because without it, he really didn't understand what he was missing. Things that made him happy, getting what he wanted, being the center of attention—all of that was who he was and should have allowed him to cast a Patronus, yet it never worked. For the first time, he asked magic to show him what he was missing, what he needed to feel in order to draw forth a Patronus.

Suddenly, as he mulled over the memories, it was as if they began playing out across his closed eyelids, and they didn't look or feel like he'd always imagined. These, then, were his true memories of that time. He remembered how happy he was, how much love there had been between him and his parents...and he also remembered the affection, the love, he'd held for his twin brother. His heart ached as he felt how carefree he had been at that age.

Then, another memory flashed before his eyes, of him and Harry in their playpen. It shone, it glowed, and he felt so much love and warmth that it took his breath away and tears began sliding slowly and silently down his cheeks. In that memory, he and Harry had been magically summoning their favorite toys from one another as a sort of game, then giving them back when it looked as though one or the other was going to cry.

"I have..." began Nick, but his throat closed and he couldn't say more.

"All right, then. Think on it completely, let it absorb and surround you, and say the words to the spell," said Remus, hoping it would work—this method was his last resort. He had thought about the problem for most of last night, and had come to the conclusion that Nick had been happiest before Voldemort had attacked. Such an attack at a young age would have been severely traumatic, even years afterward.

"Expecto Patronum," murmured Nick, still replaying the memory and feeling the emotions, completely mesmerized.

Blinding white light burst from his wand, causing Dumbledore and Remus to close their eyes. When they opened them again, a beautiful white fawn was prancing around the room. It was quite fitting because, before Voldemort's attack, James had called both Nick and Harry by the name 'Prongslets'.

"Well done, Nick! For that, you can have the week off Defense," said Dumbledore, staring at Nick with pride, his blue eyes twinkling brightly. He was very happy with the outcome of today's lesson, and it had only been about fifteen minutes.

The boy's eyes snapped open and he quickly scrubbed the tears off his cheeks. "Really? So I can go? Please! I want to show Mum!" exclaimed Nick hyperly. The memory and emotions had receded in their intensity but hadn't been forgotten, though he had no words to express them and wasn't ready to think further on what had just happened. He didn't think he ever would be if he was honest with himself—not with how he felt about his twin now, and with the things he'd done.

"Go on then," said Dumbledore, happy to let him. He had other things to do and now had extra time to do them. Nick was out of the room moments later.

"Thank Merlin it worked," sighed Remus with relief. "I was beginning to lose hope." He had wished he could have sent his wolf Patronus out to play with the fawn, but he couldn't produce it so close to the full moon because the more magic he used, the more painful the transformation was. He had found that out after leaving Hogwarts.

"Indeed," agreed Dumbledore, satisfied that things were finally looking up again.

Prince Manor

"The Cruciatus Curse takes a great deal of anger or a strong—desire—to see the other person in agony to enable you to cast it. I am only teaching you this in case you encounter a dire need to use it. Do try not to use it when there is anyone around because it can land you in Azkaban," said Severus.

"Okay," nodded Harry, staring intently at the man.

"You know the spell, so go ahead and try it on this spider," said Severus, standing back from a large spider in an open cage. He planned to kill the spider for ingredients anyway.

Harry thought about everyone in his life, Lupin, Black, Dumbledore, and the Potters, before he said the dreaded word. "Crucio!" The spider immediately began jerking and writhing in apparent agony. Though, soon after, he felt a bit sick that it had been so easy to harm a living creature—one which had never done anything to him. If it had been Nick there, or one of the others, maybe he wouldn't have felt sick doing it...

"Well, you certainly have that one down. Flick your wand to stop it," said Severus.

Harry did as he was told, already sweating profusely.

"Now, this is the spell which will most likely save you in dire circumstances, the Imperius Curse. I know you can fight it off, and I also realize you know the words, so go on," said Severus.

"Imperio!" said Harry, but nothing happened.

"You need to want to control the spider, to make it do your bidding, will it," said Severus calmly.

"Imperio!" shouted Harry willing the spider to simply move. It surprised him a bit when the spider did.

"Well done," said Severus. Harry had already performed two of them, which was usually a whole afternoon's work,* in all of five minutes. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you!" beamed Harry. This was why he worked as hard as he did to earn Severus' approval and pride. It meant the world to him to hear a man who didn't give praise for nothing give it to him. Those four words made him float on cloud nine and he was glad of the way his life had turned out, just so he could savor moments like these.

"Now, the last one, the Killing Curse," said Severus, barely suppressing the flinch at the memories those words invoked. He hadn't always been a spy, he had killed innocent people. This spell, though, was the best, merely due to the fact that he wasn't hurting anyone and was giving them a quick, pain-free death they wouldn't find with anyone else. Of the three Unforgivables, it was the one he had used most as a spy, to his shame.

"Avada Kedavra," said Harry, suppressing his own flinch as he recited the spell words for it—that one spell had ruined his life. It had created a destiny he couldn't escape because he had gotten attached to five people he'd die to protect: Severus, Eileen, Cedric, Luna, and Fleur. All of them were still in the United Kingdom; Viktor was, thankfully, well away from the war that was starting up.

The green light encompassed the now dead spider before fading away.

"Congratulations, Harry Peverell," smirked Severus. "You have long ago surpassed what I thought you could do. Now, unfortunately, you have finished an afternoon's work in less than ten minutes. So," Severus stopped talking for a few seconds before a small smile replaced the went without saying that nobody would find out about Harry using these particular spells. They were reserved for life and death situations, and given the fact they were on the cusp of war, it was inevitable that he would find himself in some sort of situation.

Harry somehow knew what it meant. "Eileen's here, isn't she?" he asked.

"Indeed she is. Why don't we go and greet her?" suggested Severus, inwardly surprised by his apprentice's deduction.

"Brilliant!" grinned Harry, racing in excitement to see the woman he loved like a mother. Severus and Eileen were both here for him, safely under one roof. Things were indeed looking up for one boy named Harry James Peverell.

Severus shook his head, the small smile still not disappearing as he walked into the house at a more sedate pace.

Edited by Snow Leopard Pasha, thank you so much for all your hard work in making this story so much more than it is :) 9/5/2017