Chapter 28

The Bond - Harry Shows His True Power


It had been a week since Harry had found out about Alfred Dumbledore, grandson of Albus Dumbledore. Since he had found out who had killed his baby. Since then Severus had hardly been able to keep Harry out of the library. Harry was reading the Darkest books known to man, and leaning Latin at the same time, as most of the books were in Latin. In those days, killing people through torture was allowed, encouraged even. The books that Harry had read were dated back to the Roman times, so needless to say, there were some very painful spells, curses and hexes in those books. He got up, showered, had breakfast and went straight to the library and read there until dinner. Severus had resorted to sending a house elf up with lunch, breaking his own rules. Those books were too old to have food and the likes near them, yet he was allowing it. Harry was a man on a mission and even Severus, his lover couldn't stop him.

It was later at night, exactly the seventh day since they had found out, since Harry had also gotten his wand. When Severus entered their room he was surprised to see Harry still awake. For the last week he only ever saw Harry asleep or in the library. He had been getting updates from both Bill and Draco on the bastard that killed his baby. He might not show it, but he had hurt when he realized what had happened. He didn't even know what his child would have been, a boy or a girl. Contrary to popular belief, he didn't hate all children, just snivelling children who were no good at potions and didn't take a telling. In other words, he truly loathed spoiled children, something he had assumed his lover to be for a good while. He wasn't proud of the fact it had taken him so long to come forward and tell Harry the truth. There hadn't been anything he could have done though, Harry was too enamoured with Dumbledore. Saw him as a grandfather; even if Snape had showed him everything, it would have mattered little. Harry would have run straight to Dumbledore and he would have had to flee. Dumbledore might think he was scared of him, but the truth of the matter was he knew just as much as Dumbledore did. In fact he knew more; he knew spells that would make Dumbledore shudder in revulsion.

"What happened, then?" asked Harry his green eyes searching Severus' for new information.

"Nothing new yet, they are still checking them all," said Severus softly. Dumbledore had many homes; they had to keep watch for days at a time to see if anyone was there from a distance. The wards stopped them from going further; or rather they didn't pass the wards. They didn't want to alert Dumbledore that another of his homes was broken into. It might make him go on the defensive and remove his family, putting them under the Fidelius charm. It was the only reason Severus could come up with as to why no Dumbledore had gotten their Hogwarts letter, or was put on the registry for magical children. They were magical, it was the only way they could have a magical birth certificate in the Ministry. No one looked at them though, so it was a good thing or maybe a bad thing for those concerned.

It would soon be Christmas, then in another six months time Harry would be due to 'Graduate' school. It was unfortunate Harry didn't have any friends he could confide in. The selfish part of Severus was very pleased with that, but the part that was willing to share him knew how lonely it could be. Perhaps he would let his Slytherins come during the Christmas holidays. Harry didn't know how to be around Draco Malfoy, so he just ignored him basically. It didn't sit well with Draco being ignored; he had never been ignored before in his life. He knew better than to start anything though, and for that Severus was thankful. Perhaps a few of his other Slytherins might be more suited to befriend Harry than Draco. Draco wasn't there all the time, he just attended the meetings, using the floo fire he had set up in the Dungeons. Of course, Dumbledore was ignorant of it. It was unregistered with the Ministry as well, which was a good thing really. N.E.W.T.s were an extremely exhausting time, so he tried to refrain from meeting up too much.

"I was looking through the books today and found something interesting," said Harry cautiously. He was nervous about how Severus would react to it, but he wanted to do it.

"Did you, now; and what would that be?" asked Severus curiously as he took his clothes off and slid into his nightwear, never taking his eyes from Harry. He was curious about what Harry claimed he had found.

"One that would bond us together as one, merges our magic, makes us more powerful. It says we could eventually start being able to hear one another's thoughts. In essence, it would marry our magic, souls, and well, us really," explained Harry.

"What makes you want to do that?" asked Severus, genuinely surprised. It was the bond he wanted to perform on them when the time was right. It would in essence give him the Slytherin heritage; he would be able to understand Parseltongue, but not speak it. He would be able to dismantle the wards surrounding Hogwarts if need be. It would also enable him to make them stronger, and throw whomever he wished from Hogwarts. Basically, he would become the Headmaster of Hogwarts, as the heirs were supposed to be. He hadn't expected Harry to find it, never mind want to do it... well, at least not yet. The only downside some might see to the bond would be should one die, the other would too, within days. Their soul and magic would literally fade, and the other half die in their sleep. Just drift off and never wake back up; those kinds of bonds weren't popular anymore.

"It would give me more magic, ground it as well," said Harry by way of explaining. Severus could sense Harry was leaving something out, he had a feeling he knew what it was. Harry wanted to belong to someone, properly and permanently. He was obviously still scared of being left behind; he wanted Severus, and this was his way of testing to see if Severus truly wanted him.

"And you would want to do this?" asked Severus arching an eyebrow in inquery. The beauty of such bond was it could be performed without witnesses, no need for tasteless words and romantic illusions. Severus wasn't a man for such things, which was why he had thought of using that bond.

"Yes," said Harry, his voice showing his adamancy.

"Then nothing would make me happier than to bond with you," said Severus softly. Sliding into the bed, he was surprised when Harry practically threw himself at him. Shaking his head in amusement he wrapped his arms around Harry and brought him flush against him.

After a few minutes of kissing, Harry drew back and gave Severus the book. He pointed towards the Latin spell that would bind them; it was a very simple string of words. Severus just sat there for a good few seconds, stunned; he hadn't expected that Harry meant right now. He had hardly seen Harry for a week, now he was trying to bond them together? He noticed Harry getting more nervous and worried as the seconds passed.

"You want to do it now?" asked Severus his voice a little higher than normal.

Harry couldn't explain it, it was just one of those feelings he had. Just like the time in the Ministry when he knew something was going to go wrong. Just like when he knew Quirrell hadn't been Quirrell. Just like when he knew something was going to happen during his sixth year. He had felt a sense of foreboding all day, then come night he was kidnapped. It mattered little that he had escaped... But he had that feeling again, and something was urging him to do this. Before when he'd had felt those feelings, they had been dulled by the Potions he had been taking. Now that his mind and body was clear of any influence he could feel it much more strongly. Unknown to Harry, it was something he had gotten from his mother. Lily had been like that as well, especially on Halloween, when Lord Voldemort, aka The Dark Lord, had attacked.

"Yes," admitted Harry softly.

"Very well, little one," sighed Severus, looking impatient but if you knew where to look you could see he was happy. The only way Harry knew was because his body wasn't tense and his eyes, well, they were gleaming with pride and happiness. Harry didn't know how he had gotten so good at reading Severus but he had.

Both of them retrieved their wands, solemnly clutching them, surrounded by bedding. They both chanted the words that would irrevocably bind them together for life. They had to say the chant three times and mean it, or it wouldn't work. Nobody could be forced into such a bond; it was too sacred for that. This bond was for lovers, no place for reluctant partners or people being forced into it. Magic always knows the intents and purposes behind it.

"Ut vinculum mens veneficus somes quod animus," said Severus.

"Ut vinculum mens veneficus somes quod animus," repeated Harry.

Magic began swirling around them, making them shiver all over. They couldn't get distracted by it; they had to repeat those words another two times for the bond to complete.

"Ut vinculum mens veneficus somes quod animus," repeated Severus with difficulty. Harry's magic was much more powerful than he had ever thought; he couldn't help but think as it invaded him.

"Ut vinculum mens veneficus somes quod animus," repeated Harry loving the feeling of Severus' magic enveloping him with warm.

The magic was gold, as it surrounded them, making everything in the room shake and tremble. The amount of magic both men had was astonishing, to say the least. The magic was so much that the manor had to take some and add it to the wards, the very foundation of the house, making the place even more secure than before. Magic was alive all around you, all magic had a purpose, even warded houses.

"Ut vinculum mens veneficus somes quod animus," said Severus once more, his entire body shaking with the amount of magic they had both just expended to become bound to one another. Only the magically powerful could do this spell, to attempt it without much magic was dangerous and could be lethal. It wasn't something Severus or Harry had to worry about though.

"Ut vinculum mens veneficus somes quod animus," said Harry for the final time as the magic began to settle.

Severus slumped onto the pillows exhausted; Harry followed him, snuggling into Severus' chest, smiling a small secret smile. He had gotten his way; he was bound to the man he loved ... forever. Nobody could hurt him now, or use him in any way, shape, or form. If he was taken, he knew he could go right home; no wards could keep him separated from his Severus now. Their magic was too strong for that, it would always unconsciously seek each other out.

Severus' side already knew about the bonding, you could tell by just looking at Severus that something had happened. He had always had a demanding aura and presence, now it was even more noticeable. It was impossible to hide from Bill Weasley anyway, as he could see magic. He could see both Harry and Severus' magic had expanded within a few days. They received a lot of congratulations and presents as tradition demanded. A lot could change in two days, and not just the bond. They got word, Severus and Harry had finally got the news they had been waiting for.

"I've found him," said Bill.

"And?" asked Severus, keeping a grip on Harry who had stiffened and looked about to stand up and leave right away.

"He's living in Wales…with a wife," said Bill, smirking in bitter amusement.

"Is Alice Dumbledore still alive?" asked Severus smoothly.

"No, she's dead," said Charlie before Bill could answer.

"So there's only Alfred Dumbledore and his wife. Aberforth is too old to have children. So it looks like the Dumbledore line will truly come to an end then. Dumbledore was a half blood, his father was a Muggle born who had been arrested and put in Azkaban. Unless of course he has more little families stashed around somewhere," said Severus, his lip curling in disgust. Dumbledore would have had to have been a hundred years old when he slept with a woman; it made his stomach rebel in disgust. That woman had Alice, who in turn had Alfred Dumbledore. The line would cease to exist if he had anything to say about it.

Harry looked sick at that, of course he was showing it a lot more than Severus who was used to hiding his emotions. His lips curled in amusement at Harry before he got back to business, his emotionless masks back up.

"We keep this as low key as possible, a small gathering only," stated Severus calmly.

"Then why don't us four just go?" asked Charlie enthusiastically. He had been dying for some action, anything to get back at Dumbledore for what happened to their mother. He knew it was wrong to take it out on the man's family, but Alfred Dumbledore was no innocent ― he had killed Harry and Severus' child. So he truly deserved everything he got at the end of the day.

"If you cannot sense any more than two people in the house, then yes," said Severus. He wasn't going to be too proud and risk anyone's life. He wasn't like Voldemort or Dumbledore that way, all lives counted to him. He, true to his words, didn't send children to do a man's jobs.

Charlie took Severus and Bill took Harry and apparated to their destination. What people didn't realize other than Severus, and now Harry, was that Charlie and Bill were actually really powerful themselves. The most normal Wizards and Witches could do was apparate around their country (England or Scotland) but when you apparate to a different country, it took a lot of magical energy. Considering they had just come from there, well…it didn't take a genius to realize what it meant.

"There's three magical signatures; one's weak…I remember something like it…it's a baby. I remember Ginny being like that when she was a very small kid. Before their magical cores become stable, and then accidental magic starts," said Bill looking satisfied that he had managed to remember.

"You aren't born able to use your magic?" asked Harry curiously.

"Not that I know of, usually takes from nine months to a few years for the magical core to form," said Bill.

"So it's not a case of being born a squib, then, it's a case of whether your magical core connects then?" mused Harry out loud, missing the astonished blinks given by the three older men. They hadn't actually thought about it that way, but it would explain how squibs could see things normal Muggles couldn't.

"Let's get this over with," said Charlie; his eyes blazing with anger. Dumbledore would feel the wrath of the Weasleys; he had picked the wrong family to mess with. They had yet to go and see their father, they wanted to wait a few weeks until the potions and spells wore off.

Bill was already dismantling the wards, sweat pouring off him as he concentrated on not tripping them. That would alert the people inside, and possibly Dumbledore, to something happening. Not only did Bill have to look for visible magical tripwires, but also hidden ones as well. So he had to take them down little by little, when his magic just wanted to tear them down. It took him ten minutes to get the wards down; another five to put up anti-apparation, anti-Portkey and anti-floo wards. The last had been created by Severus half a year earlier, before Harry joined. It would be all too easy to get to the floo before they got to them.

"CONFRINGO!" snarled Harry as soon as Bill Weasley was done. His anger, which had been bubbling under the surface just standing there waiting, had exploded. Which by the way caused a very big, er... hole the size of a crater to be blasted in the doorway. Or rather, what used to be a door and doorway; unfortunate it was neither now. It was just a useless mess of stone, wood, glass, and probably a thousand years' worth of magical mites.

Even from where they stood, they had a clear view of the living room, thanks to Harry's awesome magic. What they saw made Harry snarl viciously and Severus' face to close off even more: a sign of fury no one had been unlucky enough to provoke from this man. The woman had in her arms a very premature baby, one both Severus and Harry knew to be their child. The magic was familiar, and parents always had a bond with their child, which had just very powerfully sprang to life.

Alfred Dumbledore paled drastically just seeing who it was and promptly tried to disappear; needless to say he didn't succeed. He backed away petrified, not even thinking about going for his wand. Four against one―he didn't like the odds at all. He could only hope his grandfather got here! And quickly. Preferable while there were still bits of him to be found actually would be nice. He finally withdrew his wand hoping to buy some time until help came.

He was in trouble and he knew it.

It would be hard not to, faced with four pissed-off, obviously powerful people standing outside his house. Which had practically been demolished; his wife was no help, she was heavily pregnant.


Edited by Jordre.