Fixing Past Mistakes

Chapter 36

Truth and Trust

"Harry, you need to eat; your dad will go nuts if he knows you aren't eating," Dylan told him, shoving a plate at him, with half his own lunch on it. Half a burger and dozens of French fries, it was better than nothing; he wasn't quite sure why, but Septimus hated when Harry went without food. He always made sure he had more than enough to eat, and made sure he ate his dinner - even when they were over. Although if Harry got into something he would forget to eat, and he didn't ever seem to get hungry.

"Watch it!" Harry cursed, just managing to stop the greasy chips from splattering all over his Alchemy homework. Rolling his eyes, he wiped the salt and grease from his hands down his trouser leg, grumbling inwardly. "I need to get this done."

"Why aren't you taking it home?" Josh asked, gazing at Harry quizzically; this wasn't his usual behaviour. He didn't do his homework here; in fact, he had never seen him do it once in six years of schooling together.

"The book can't be taken from the school," Harry murmured while he chewed on a few French fries; it just reminded him of how hungry he was.

"Rare book section?" Dylan said; it wasn't really a question, more of a statement.

"Yeah," Harry replied, grinning sheepishly, they weren't normally allowed out of the library actually, but he'd convinced the librarian to let him do it during recess. It helped that the book was heavily charmed to prevent any damage... well, accidental ones, like getting food on it or dropping it. It couldn't be taken past the school wards, though. One seventeen-year-old had forgotten about it a few years ago; the wards had locked down on her and the racket caused by the magical wailing had been unbelievably loud. The really rare books weren't allowed to be handled by anyone under sixteen and not without gloves; they definitely couldn't be removed from their cases, never mind the library.

"That's not Latin," Josh remarked, learning over to see the book.

"No, Italian, Ciovanni Carbonelli. I don't have books on Alchemy, but I think I'll ask dad for some," Harry said, his lips pursed. His Italian wasn't as good as his Latin, since he'd been taking Latin lessons since he was four, basically; that language came second nature to him. Italian came harder, especially considering this was an older version of Italian and used words that he wasn't familiar with. His dad had encouraged his love for reading; he had so many books that it was unbelievable that he had none on Alchemy yet, but he was hopeful.

"Well you won't be getting that one," Dylan snorted in amusement, "Do you want something else to eat?" He was still hungry; digging his money out of his pocket, he counted it up. He had enough for some crisps from the machine and maybe a few sweets. They were sitting at a big round table; not many people were left, since lunch was nearly over.

"Actually, yes; can you get me some French fries?" Harry asked, handing over some money without looking at it. "A chocolate bar as well; I really need to get this finished. If you need to use my money to get something else, do it." A frown was building up on his face, before he quickly deciphered what it said and began to write in his own words what he wanted to say in his notebook.

Harrison Regis

year six

What is Alchemy?

Alchemy is an influential tradition whose practitioners have, from antiquity, claimed it to be the precursor to profound powers. As described by Paul-Jacques Malouin in The Encyclopaedia of Diderot it is the chemistry of the subtlest kind which allows one to observe extraordinary chemical operations at a more rapid pace―ones that require a long time for nature to produce. Definitions of the objectives of alchemy are varied but historically have typically included one or more of the following goals: the creation of the Philosopher's stone; the ability to transmute base metals into the noble metals like gold or silver, and the development of an elixir of life, which confers youth and longevity.

Though alchemy played a significant role in the development of early modern science, it differs significantly from modern science in its inclusion of Hermetic principles and practices related to mythology, magic, religion, and spirituality. It is recognized as a protoscience that contributed to the development of modern chemistry and medicine. Alchemists developed a structure of basic laboratory techniques, theory, terminology, and experimental method, some of which are still in use today. However, alchemists predated modern foundations of chemistry, such as scientific scepticism, atomic theory, the modern understanding of a chemical element and a chemical substance, the periodic table and conservation of mass and stoichiometry. Instead, they believed in four elements, and cryptic symbolism and mysticism was an integral part of alchemical work.

"Why did I take Alchemy again?" Harry grumbled, as he put his pen down, this was the sort of thing his teacher should have given them at the start of term, not near the end, although he understood why she had; it was extremely difficult to put into words. He was trying to put it into his own words, but many of them were way over his head. He was only ten years old after all, but he was very advanced. So far he'd only explored in detail the individual symbols that composed alchemical emblems and developed the ability to analyse and read alchemical emblems. A great deal of graphic material, examples of emblems, was contained in these lessons. The lessons included: How to recognise alchemical symbols; the geometry of alchemical emblems; triangles, squares, and circles in emblems; symbols in opposition to one another; resolution of opposites like male/female; resolution of opposites snake; trees; an initial look at birds; variations between different versions of emblems; animals in the emblem space; the human figure; the lion; the dragon; different types of emblems; the general alchemical process.

"Because you thought it would be like Potions?" Josh replied, nabbing a few chips from the plate.

"Well it's not," Harry said, his lips pursed, "It's a mixture of science and potions, magic, faith, and chemicals all mixed into one."

"Why do you think there's only five people in that class?" Dylan enquired, as he sat down, obviously having heard the end of their conversation. He placed the food at the centre of the table, away from Harry's work; the chocolate bar went right next to him. He had decided to get Harry a chocolate frog and a packet of sugar quills. "This is a complicated subject, only really smart people can figure this stuff out. I am smart but I couldn't even begin to understand the complexity behind it. Give me Potions and Chemistry any day."

"But that's all Alchemy is!" Harry protested, "And I think you could do it if you applied yourself." He thought that Dylan was the smartest of them. At test times they all had their good and bad subjects but between them they helped each other out and tutored each other. Dylan was brilliant at Chemistry and Charms, Josh was best at Transfiguration and defence.

"I didn't take Italian, and my Latin is rusty," Dylan said, shaking his head, "It's gibberish to me."

"That's only because you stopped taking Latin lessons as soon as you could," Josh pointed out, nabbing more chips.

Dylan shrugged, "I wanted to learn Spanish, plus I'm still learning Latin, just not in lessons." You couldn't learn magic without learning Latin; it was impossible. "Although I do think about going to the after-school lessons; I like the idea of creating my own spells," he added devilishly. "Like your dad."

"Then you'll definitely need Latin," Harry agreed. His dad always said they could create their own spells, that the possibilities were endless. It didn't surprise him that Dylan wanted to create his own spells, he had every single one of his dad's books, on spell crafting. "I take it you'll be taking spell crafting next year?"

"I thought you had to be thirteen?" Dylan confessed.

"It's on the subject list for our potential classes this year," Harry told them. He was tempted to take it but he couldn't, not without dropping a different subject; his timetable was already full. Or it would be when he added Wandless classes to the list; he'd been given permission by the Headmaster to do it. "Haven't you looked yet?"

"No, I had too much homework last night," Dylan replied. "I know, I know; I should have done it earlier," he added, knowing what Harry and Josh were going to say. "I ended up playing on the computer with my brother, next thing I know my mum's complaining that it's past my bedtime," he said drolly.

"Ah, so that's why you were so tired!" Josh exclaimed, sniggering quietly. He'd been bored and gone over to Harry's for a game of Quidditch; they rarely played in the play park anymore; bad memories. Dylan understood, thankfully, and never asked to go. It had scared them half to death, just how close they'd come to being hurt or worse. Well, it was "or worse;" Josh and Harry had overheard the Auror and their parents talking. The wizard had kidnapped hundreds of children all over the world, getting them addicted to extremely dangerous potions and selling them off to the highest bidder. That was only his "part-time job," the Auror had said, and had gone on to tell them that he was a terrorist. He'd killed many people; the Aurors were only able to prove twenty-two jobs, but suspected he was involved in dozens of others. It had been hugely embarrassing afterwards, with his parents coming to get him from school; they'd only relented on the security recently. That was only because Septimus, Harry's dad, had suggested a Portkey, like the one Harry had wrapped around his neck at all times. It couldn't be removed by anyone; their P.E teacher had tried to remove Harry's, only to end up getting a shock. They weren't supposed to wear jewellery in P.E., but an exception had been made and approved by Headmaster Adison ― for both of them.

Dylan just smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"Finished," Harry said, giving off a quiet cheer. "I'm dreading next year, though; if this is a beginner's course and next year is an advanced course, it's going to be difficult."

"I'm sure your dad will help," Dylan suggested, finishing off his food.

"Dad doesn't know much about Alchemy, it wasn't something he studied," Harry said shaking his head. Hogwarts didn't offer that subject, but people here didn't know his dad had attended school; they thought he was home-schooled. He wasn't sure why his dad insisted on the lie, just like he didn't understand why he was Severus at home but everyone else thought he was Septimus. He'd never asked about it; he was just used to it. It was all he remembered... well, that and bad dreams sometimes that he didn't understand. A purple-faced man, a red-faced woman, and a dark enclosed space and hunger. He had a few theories, but they were probably wrong.

"Come now, boys, shoo!" one of the cleaners said, trying to usher the three children out of the lunch hall so they could clean up. "Classes will be starting soon; go on before you're late."

Harry, Dylan, and Josh jerked their heads up, looking around in surprise. They hadn't even realized everyone else was gone... or heard it getting quiet. Hastily, but carefully Harry put the book in his bag, rolled up his drying homework and slid it inside, as well as his pens. Grabbing his sweets, Josh grabbed the last of the French fries on his plate before they all murmured their goodbyes as they scampered out of the lunch hall.

"I'm going to the library," Harry told them. It got really packed after school with students all wanting to take books out; he didn't want to have to wait in a huge line. He was going straight home today; he didn't have any after-school activities today, they were mostly finished with.

"Our next class is on that level, Harry," Josh reminded him absently. It was his favourite class, Transfiguration; his favourite teacher as well.

"The holidays can't come quick enough," Dylan groaned, as he suppressed a yawn. He would sleep for as long as possible, but they all felt like this by the end of the year and for the first few months of the new term. He had to remind himself he had only two more classes and he was free for months.

"Are you going on holiday this year?" Harry asked both of them as they stalked towards the library quickly. They were very strict about students not being late for classes unless there was a very good reason for it. In fact, the potions teacher didn't allow students to come in if they were late, and the cauldrons had already been set up.

"For three weeks in Aspen; we're going skiing. Dad's an expert and he's wanted to teach us for years, but mum put her foot down, insisting that we would go only when we were old enough." Dylan laughed, "I don't think mum likes the thought of skiing, to be honest; she can't even skate."

"But kids go skiing all the time," Josh said confused, as they stepped into the library, "Don't they?" he whispered... keeping quiet seeing as they were in the library.

"Yeah," Dylan nodded in agreement, "It's just now that we're older, she's run out of excuses." He was sniggering softly, remembering the look on his mum's face when she'd finally had to give in. His dad hadn't even waited, he was out of the house in a shot to book the holiday. He hoped the resort was in a magic part of Aspen, since his mum wouldn't worry so much if she could openly use magic and not constantly keep them under supervision. "What about your parents?" They were both teachers and liked to get away during the summer and spent time with Josh; they usually did every year. Dylan's parents didn't though; in fact, they'd only been abroad three times, this would be the fourth ― although it was always great fun. His dad had brought eight outfits that would be warm enough for such severely cold weather. It was four more times than Harry; he'd never been on holiday, and Harry didn't seem to mind. You couldn't really go on holiday when you had pets like wolves and snakes.

"I don't know, they've not said anything… after what happened last year, I don't think they're keen on me going anywhere. Hell, they wanted to pull me from school and get me taught at home. Dad was this close to agreeing with her," Josh said, illustrating just how close with his thumb and index finger. "But I think he realized that if something was going to happen, it would happen whether they were at home or if I was a million miles away."

Dylan's good mood sobered quicker than lightening, he remembered that week, as if it had happened only yesterday. That wasn't really accurate; he hadn't been told until days afterwards when he'd finally recovered from being sick. Although after he'd found out he'd felt a different kind of sick; he had been horror-struck for his two best friends. They had been different for weeks after it happened, but they'd bounced back with everyone's help; even the teachers had banded together to make it easier for them. He'd wanted to pummel the wizard to death, for daring to hurt his best friends. Especially Harry, who had been absent from school until he was better. It was true about Josh's mum though, as embarrassed as Josh appeared, he could see he was also grateful for her... at least in the beginning right after it happened.

"Ready to go?" Harry asked, returning to them unaware of their previous conversation.

"Yep, I can't wait; we're supposed to be learning about the Patronus charm today," Dylan said, his previous mood disappearing as excitement began again. "And the charm to repel Boggarts."

"We already know about the Patronus charm, and we won't be learning how to cast it," Harry pointed out, but that was only because they'd read ahead. "And I never understood why that spell isn't part of the defence curriculum."

"Well, I wouldn't consider a Boggart dark," Josh commented idly, as they leaned against the wall beside the charms classroom.

"They could be; depends on what you're afraid off," Harry replied thoughtfully. What was he scared of? What would a Boggart turn into with him? He didn't know; he couldn't think of anything that really scared him other than disappointing his dad or losing him. He shrugged indifferently; they wouldn't really be facing a Boggart anyway, would they? "You don't think we will have a Boggart in the class today?"

"No, they tell us before doing practical work; we'll just be practicing the incantation today…" Dylan said, his tone thoughtful, perhaps doubting his own word.

"It's easy," Harry commented, "We'll be doing some practical work today… or a pop quiz."

"Ugh," Josh muttered in complaint, "I really don't want another pop quiz; we've already done our end-of-year tests! If I see one more, I'll scream."

"How do you think you did in the English tests? Did you write a story or a theory?" Harry asked; they'd been too exhausted to talk about it yesterday.

"Theory," Josh and Dylan said in sync, ignoring the other students that were beginning to circle outside the classroom door.

"I decided on a story, although I think I should have chosen theory," Harry admitted.

"Me too," Dion claimed, from across the way. "I hope it doesn't affect my grades." They'd given the students options on what to write about, three in total, and she'd picked one that sounded the best; after writing about her choice, she was less sure.

"Good afternoon everyone," the teacher said, flicking the door open and allowing the students entrance. They all quickly piled in, looking around for clues as to what they would be doing today, but they couldn't find any.

"LUNA!" Harry called out, grinning widely as he jogged over to his familiar. It didn't seem at all possible, but they had gotten even closer since she'd saved him. Without her, who knew what would have happened? If she hadn't distracted the wizardly kidnapper, they could have been taken, or worse, killed right there and then. He'd heard his dad talking to Talin― oops; Headmaster Adison― when he'd said that without the shield charm he could have lost his leg, or potentially his life if it had been left unhealed long enough.

"That's my dad; I'll see you later, Harry," Josh said, running his hand through his hair. He'd just got them to relent on security; why was his dad here? Grumbling halfheartedly under his breath, Josh wandered over, waving at Harry to let him know without saying anything that he would see him later. Dylan had remained behind to ask the teacher a few things, telling them just to head off and not wait for him.

Harry waved back, before hoisting his bag onto his back and wandering back home with Luna flanking him, keeping him safe from all harm.

"School's finished for the summer, Luna; it will be just you, me, and dad for a while," Harry told her as he brushed his hand through her thick hair. He was looking forward to spending time with his dad; all week he only really got an hour or so a day with him, between doing his homework and his dad writing his next book. On the weekends, both of them liked to sleep in a few hours. Then he did more homework, while his dad brewed potions... although Sunday was the one day when they didn't do anything, with the rare exception being if he had too much homework to do on Saturday and couldn't get it all done. It had only happened twice; he'd learned to have all his homework done by Sunday.

Luna nudged him as she agreed with him silently, her sharp eyes keeping a watch on their surroundings as they walked.

"Already home," Harry said sighing softly, feeling his shoulders relaxing as he wandered in. Luna, as always, followed him. Moving into the living room, he saw it was empty, so he did what he always did when that happened. "DAD, I'm home!" he yelled, listening intently for a reply.

"I'll be up in a minute; ask Heather to put the dinner on," Severus called up, from where he was situated in the Potions lab.

-0

Potions Lab

"All right," Severus heard Harry shout back.

Breathing deeply, he was trying to relax, but it was a futile exercise. He had been tense all day; even brewing couldn't help him one iota. Time was running out. He'd been saying he would tell Harry for the past six months; he couldn't, wouldn't spring this on Harry and then take him to the UK― that was wrong on so many levels. No, he needed time to come to terms with what he would be told; as much as he would love to keep Harry oblivious, it just wasn't possible. He couldn't do that to Black, Lupin, or Minerva; hell, even Filius didn't deserve it.

Merlin help him, being here had turned him bloody soft, Severus couldn't help but muse wryly.

They deserved to know Harry was alive and well. His mind travelled to the last time he saw them. Their eyes had been wide with worry, fear, and undiluted hope that the Goblins could somehow come through for them. Minerva cared for him, even if it had taken him a long time to admit it; she didn't deserve to go on thinking something had happened to him, and that he had failed and Harry was dead. While he didn't care for Black or Lupin, Harry's death had destroyed them. While it would have made him smug to see them so desolate after everything they'd put him through, he wasn't that man anymore.

Telling them required his first telling Harry everything. Over the years he had expected Harry to question things. Like why he was Septimus to everyone else but Severus at home when nobody around other than them and the House-elves were there. Yet the boy had never asked. He was ten years old, and extremely smart... and it wasn't just the proud parent in him talking; he was smarter than the sixteen-year-old students back at Hogwarts. Admittedly there were some things that Harry and his classmates hadn't learnt yet that sixth-year students at Hogwarts would know, but there was also a lot of information he had that the students at Hogwarts would be totally oblivious about.

His son had been learning about Alchemy, for Merlin's sake; Alchemy! Before the subject had been removed from Hogwarts' curriculum, you couldn't take it before you were fifteen years old.

He wasn't looking forward to this at all.

Severus closed his mind off, doing the mindless task of filling the vials with the potion he'd just created. He had no idea how to tell the boy he loved more than his own life that the magical world had abandoned him and left him for dead… how he had stood by and done nothing. Well, he hadn't, really; he had always rescued Harry and brought him up, even before... oh, even after all these years, trying to understand this paradox he was in was extremely distasteful, and gave him the worst headaches.

No matter how Harry reacted, he had to give him the time and patience to deal with this.

He just had no idea if he could tell him the complete, uncensored truth.

Edited by Jake and Jordre thank you :)