Willing

Chapter 35

Changes

Lucius stalked through the halls of Hogwarts, not having to put on his normal masks, as he was numb, his eyes glinted furiously, reacting to his emotions. The thought of the Dark Lord being a Mudblood turned his stomach; he'd bowed down to the dark wizard, spoke of him in reverence! This couldn't be happening; the Horcrux had been nearly too much information for him to digest but this…this was the straw that broke the Hippogriff's back. His hand clutched at his cane, his knuckles going white. He forced himself to relax as he approached his wife and son. He had to admit that his son's actions had stunned him; he'd always assumed his son knew how much he loved them both. He'd royally screwed everything up. He could console himself with the fact his son wasn't marked by the mudblood, if Potter's claim was true. Potter... that was another surprise; he'd nearly passed out when Severus had introduced the boy.

"Lucius, what are you up to?" Narcissa asked as her husband finally came into view, determined to find out here and now.

"Not here; let's go," Lucius said, taking a hold of his wife's upper arm to lead her out.

"No." Narcissa refused to move, her stance screaming hostility, as she yanked her arm back.

"Leave her alone," Draco snapped, still in the same mood as before.

"Draco," Lucius growled in warning, getting extremely aggravated by his son's attitude.

"I'm not leaving until I get answers, Lucius," Narcissa declared. "I've gone through this for twenty years; well, no more." Ever since she married him, she'd followed him, and would have followed him to hell and back; she'd even turned a blind eye to his infidelity. He knew this of course, Narcissa was a strong woman, but she wasn't about to let it continue. It was alright for him, he could actually do anything he wanted, it was her that had been contracted with a fidelity clause.

"Please?" Lucius begged, praying she'd agree and he could get them out of Hogwarts. It was too crowded here, too noisy and with too many eyes that could report to the Dark Lord where they were.

"No," Narcissa repeated adamantly. There would be no more games, no more stalling.

"I have a safe house set up for you and Draco; I have everything here," he gestured to his pocket patting at it, "That you will need; you will be comfortable, I promise." His voice was barely above a whisper as he reluctantly said this.

"I'm not going anywhere," Draco hissed, his mercury eyes flashing in fury that his father was trying to play the concerned parent and husband now.

"You will do as you are told," Lucius told his son, glaring at him in exasperation.

"You forget I'm legally an adult and able to use magic, father," Draco said, standing up to his father for the first time in his life. "I'm not afraid to use it; you taught me well. I'm staying at Hogwarts; someone has to bring light to the Malfoy name after the disgrace you heaped upon it."

Lucius twitched once more, his ire rising further still. "Draco, you do not understand, things are about to get serious."

"They already are," Draco grimly replied. "Take mum, but I'm not coming."

"Draco!" Narcissa choked out, her eyes wide with terror. What was happening to her family? They had been so close all these years until lately. What had happened to make Draco hate his dad? Did he hate her too? "We should all go. Together."

"I'm sorry, mum, I can't. This is my home, my world; I have to do my part," Draco said soothing her, his eyes solemn.

"I'm not going without you," Narcissa said; she absolutely refused.

"You are both going," Lucius snapped.

"Then you will lose us," Narcissa warned, "I'm not about to stand aside and let my son fight alone."

"You think you will be able to fight your own sister?" Lucius drawled, going for her weak spots. Despite the fact Bellatrix was completely insane, Narcissa loved her for some unknown reason.

"For my son, anything," Narcissa said, angry at Lucius for preying on her emotions, and in public too.

Lucius sighed in exasperation, "The manor isn't safe, Narcissa, even if I evict him…he will do everything in his power to kill us. Do you understand? If Draco stays here, he will have to constantly watch his back."

"I have someone I can ask to take us in, somewhere the Dark Lord won't think to look," Narcissa admitted, worry shining in her eyes. She wasn't sure if it would pan out, but she also knew her sister would still do anything for her. Family always came first; at least it had to the Blacks until everything got screwed up by the Dark Lord, and the beliefs that Muggle-borns and half-bloods didn't belong in the magical world. For a long time she had believed it also; her parents had constantly told her that as a child…and every child believed their parents knew best. Then at Hogwarts her preconceived notions had been shot to hell, but old habits were very hard to break.

"Where?" Lucius guardedly asked. Narcissa didn't have many friends, at least not in the United Kingdom. She had a few in France she liked spending time with, Veelas who liked shopping as much as she did. Since she was adamant about not leaving, it had to be someone in the UK. Somehow, that didn't comfort him.

"I'll need to speak to her first," Narcissa said. "Go back to the manor and close it down; meet me at the Leaky Cauldron."

Lucius opened his mouth to speak but wasn't given the chance.

"No, Lucius. You've been in charge and it's led us here. It's time for me to get us out of it," Narcissa said holding her hand up. This time she wasn't going to let her husband talk her out of it.

"I have homework to do; write to me and let me know what's happening, okay, mum?" Draco said, speaking only to his mother. It had been hell on earth during the summer holidays, cooping himself up in his room for fear of setting eyes on the Dark Lord and being cursed. He had admittedly been curious at first, that was why he'd snuck in through a secret passageway and observed one of the Death Eaters' meetings. It had been one hell of a wake-up call, nothing like he'd imagined it to be like all his life. He'd watched as the Dark Lord cursed them left, right, and centre for not doing something he wanted. He just demanded things without any thought whatsoever. It wasn't the life Draco had envisioned; the thought of turning against his father's wishes made him feel awful but he wasn't about to let it happen to him. His dad had constantly said he'd take his place in the circle after leaving Hogwarts; that was why he was so angry at his father― for duping him, for wanting him hurt that way. A shudder wracked his frame, just remembering the sight of his father writhing in pain.

"Of course," Narcissa agreed, hugging her son close and swallowing thickly, aware of how wrong this could go, and how quickly. "You be careful, son, you hear?"

"I will be," Draco adamantly declared, lessening the fear his mother felt. He was curious about who she was going to go to for help.

"Son," Lucius said, nodding curtly, as always practically emotionless when dealing with his teenage son.

Draco stared at his father coolly before leaving.

"Let's go," Lucius said as he stared around. He had a manor to shut down, and he wanted to do it before the Dark Lord got back. He could barely believe what he was about to do, yet he wasn't about to serve a mudblood. The feeling of humiliation slithered all over him, making him feel disgusted and sick.

"I'll meet you at the Leaky Cauldron," Lucius said. "Please be careful," he said once they were at the edge of Hogwarts' wards.

Narcissa nodded and Apparated away. Contrary to Bellatrix's belief, she had seen and visited her sister Andromeda twice since she'd been disowned.

"Are you ready to go?" Severus asked as he emerged from the bedroom. Harry was sitting at the desk he'd asked Grace to bring down, where he was working on his Latin . The scene should have been strange but it wasn't. It was funny how quickly people got used to changes, even more so for Severus, who didn't usually handle change very well.

"Yes," Harry said, looking up. He abandoned the work he was doing, stretching his hand; it ached from all the writing he'd been doing. He had also memorized the spell he planned on using on Dumbledore, and had written to the twins― not bad for a night's work. He was determined to learn everything he could about his new world. There were also a few questions he actually wanted answers to, things that had come to him a short while ago.

"Then let's go. Do you have your cloak?" Severus asked.

"Yeah," Harry said, nodding as he donned it, knowing that Severus liked him wearing it outside their rooms. He couldn't wait for the day when he didn't have to hide; it was going to be so great being able to go wherever he wanted... with Sev's permission, of course.

Severus and Harry walked stealthily towards the hospital wing. Since it was past curfew, no student was out somewhere they'd be caught by a teacher. They preferred to go to less… frequented areas to get their amusement. Since Hogwarts was a castle, there were a thousand places they could go that a teacher wouldn't check.

"Hey, look a cat," Harry whispered, making no attempt to pet it; if he went near he'd probably scare the hell out of it.

"That is Mrs. Norris, the caretaker Argus Filch's cat," Severus explained.

"Cool," Harry said. Out on the streets he'd become rather fond of cats... well, not the wild ones, they'd scratch your eyes out quicker than look at you. He liked the ones that either belonged to someone else or, in crude terms, had run away and now lived rough.

"You like cats?" Severus asked, his lips twitching.

"Cats and dogs," Harry confessed. "They aren't like humans, they're loyal― can't betray you."

"Indeed," Severus agreed, saddened by the fact Harry didn't trust people, but not surprised by it. At least now Harry had one person he could trust and rely on, and he would make sure that never changed.

"What about you?" Harry whispered as they continued their walk to the hospital wing. There was still so much he didn't know about Severus. Things you didn't think to ask at the age of fourteen or fifteen, as opposed to growing up and becoming an adult and taking a greater interest in their partner. In his own partner.

"I don't bother either way," Severus admitted. Growing up, he'd never had anything, never mind a pet. He hadn't even had a familiar when the rest of his classmates at Hogwarts did. When writing home, he'd used the school owls; during his Mastery studies he hadn't had anyone to write to, so he'd never required an owl. He'd never contemplated having a cat or dog.

Harry rolled his eyes, saying something yet nothing at the same time. Now he realized why he didn't know much about Severus: he never revealed anything about himself.

"As you know my parents didn't exactly have much income; pets not only cost to buy, but they require food that they couldn't afford," Severus added, feeling Harry's emotions.

"Yeah," Harry said, slightly subdued. For him it had been the other way around. The Dursleys had plenty of money but refused to spend any of it on him. It was good to know that they were paying for their crimes against him. After being in prison, they wouldn't have the money they were used to; Vernon wouldn't have such a good job, maybe not even a job at all, once he got free.

Severus opened the door to the Hospital wing; as predicted it was nearly deserted. No student had been hurt, thankfully, so the only patient there was only Dumbledore. Poppy was no doubt sleeping in her quarters behind the hospital wing. Taking a deep breath, he walked in, silent as the night and barely able to see. Only two lamps were lit, creating a warm orange glow on two of the walls.

"Fucking hell," Harry cursed as he tripped over the bars of a bed, rubbing at his knee as if he could remove the pain.

"Shh," Severus cautioned, taking a hold on Harry, who was unfamiliar of his surroundings. He realized that he shouldn't have left the boy to enter alone.

"Lumos!" Severus cast the spell; a glowing ball emerged from his wand instead of just a light shining out of the tip of his wand. It hovered above them; Dumbledore lay asleep, still unaware of what was going on.

"He doesn't look like he's suffering," Harry murmured mulishly.

"Trust me, he is," Severus said wryly, "And will be."

"What now?" Harry whispered.

"Now we begin," Severus smugly said. Casting a sedation spell on Dumbledore, he then gave him a potion to sedate him further. One could fight through a sedation spell, but potions weren't so easy to defeat. The old man would be less likely to remember anything as well, which was a bonus. Once that was done, he removed the sedation spell and waited one minute. Once the time was up, he placed the Veritaserum on Dumbledore's unresisting tongue.

"Does it always work?" Harry asked, watching everything in fascination. His Dom had told him what he was going to do... or rather Harry had wiggled it out of him. Veritaserum... he was far enough into his Latin lessons to know what Verita meant: truth.

"It does," Severus assured him.

"He doesn't look like he will answer anything," Harry said, his hatred already stirring in his heart. He hated the headmaster more than he'd hated anyone, even the Dursleys, and that was saying a lot.

"The responses are automatic, you can't think while under the influence of the potion," Severus explained.

"Ever the teacher," Harry teased.

"I never wanted to be one," Severus admitted, his lip unconsciously curling at the thought of students, classes, and marking horrifically written homework.

"Him?" Harry sneered, his green eyes glinting coldly.

"Not completely his decision," Severus admitted, "But I didn't have a great deal of choice in the matter. Now keep quiet while I question him."

Harry nodded, standing aside but still keeping a good view of the proceedings. His hands itching to use the spell he had specially found for Dumbledore.

"What's your first name?" Severus asked, praying it worked and that the sedation potion hadn't been too powerful for Dumbledore's weakened body.

"Albus," the Headmaster murmured, sounding very groggy.

"Do you know the secret to the Dark Lord's immortality?" Severus enquired.

"Yes,"

"What is it?" Severus asked.

"Tom created Horcruxes," Dumbledore admitted, slightly slurring his words.

"How many?" Severus demanded furiously, barely able to contain his rage.

"I got out of Horace that Tom asked about being able to split the soul into seven pieces," the Headmaster confessed.

"Of course," Severus whispered to himself, wanting to slap his forehead in exasperation.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, his green eyes glowing in the light.

"Seven is considered a… magical number, the most magical number in our world," Severus explained.

"Why?" Harry asked. It was just a number to him; he was admittedly baffled.

"You were born on the seventh month; seven is the age experts believe magic is first accidentally cast. You attend Hogwarts for seven years; it was actually an Arithmancer who first established the magical properties of seven. There is also the fact that the seventh born Weasley, a girl, shows the most magical promise. If she goes on to have seven children… it would be significantly powerful… the seventh child of the seventh child," Severus continued his explanation.

"I did accidental magic before then," Harry said, confused now.

"But that isn't the case for everyone, and nobody has lived through what you have," Severus quietly told him.

"Does that mean you didn't do magic until you were seven?" Harry asked.

"Actually, I did my first accidental magic when I was three or four, I believe," Severus replied.

"What does Horace have to do with this?" Severus asked, turning back to Dumbledore and concentrating on why they were here once again. Harry could distract him from anything, even reading an interesting book!

"He was a teacher here while Tom was a student; he was the one that told him about the Horcruxes," Dumbledore said, a dark tone in his voice.

"You've known since the Dark Lord was in Hogwarts?" Severus asked, his voice raspy with shock.

"No, I only got the information from him two years ago," Dumbledore admitted.

"How?" Harry asked out of curiosity.

"I used Legilimency on him, then Obliviated him," Dumbledore confessed.

"That doesn't surprise me," Harry sneered, infuriated by what he was learning.

"Are any of the Horcruxes destroyed?" Severus asked, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation.

"Yes," Dumbledore responded.

"How many?" Severus asked.

"Three."

"What are they and where were they?" Severus demanded.

"The Gaunt Ring from the abandoned Gaunt shack. Slytherin's locket from Grimmauld Place. Ravenclaw's diadem I found in Hogwarts. I suspect he may have also placed one in Nagini, but I haven't been able to get near the snake."

"That isn't seven," Harry objected.

"Which means he doesn't have them all," Severus said, "There are two more still out there."

"Don't you mean three?" Harry questioned.

"Not when you include the part inside the Dark Lord," Severus said.

"No, I mean the snake," Harry said. "He only destroyed three, which means there are three more out there."

"The diary has been destroyed, there are only two," Severus countered.

"Oh," Harry said sheepishly, of course. "Why didn't he mention it then? Surely that's how he found out about them?"

"Unless he didn't know it was one, and only figured it out later," Severus replied. "At least if he's correct about Nagini, then there is only one unaccounted for."

"Why Hogwarts?" Harry whispered, so softly that Dumbledore didn't hear.

"Actually, it's an ingenious move; nobody would think to suspect Hogwarts of holding such a dark artefact… plus the fact the place is so huge, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack," Severus said.

"True," Harry admitted.

"Does anyone else know about the Horcruxes?" Severus asked.

"No," Dumbledore confessed.

"Go on," Severus said, gesturing for Harry to do what he wanted. He was through with the old fool. He was sickened to the core to learn that Dumbledore had kept this secret to himself; he should have told someone. If he'd died, the secret would have died with him, allowing the Dark Lord to continue returning and terrorising the world until nothing was left but ash and ruin.

Harry's sadistically gleeful grin made Severus shiver, not in fear but pleasure. He had someone as dark as himself, but one who would never turn out like the Dark Lord. He believed the saying there's no good and evil, just what you chose to do with your magic. He was a grey wizard; at least he liked to think himself as such. He used magic; light magic and darker magic, it was all in the intent. He didn't have morals when it came to using magic, just with other things.

"Pestis Signum," Harry cursed in parseltongue, imagining a snake with as much conviction as possible. The spell hit Dumbledore's unresisting body, causing him to twitch as the spell hit him.

"What spell did you use?" Severus asked, biting his tongue as he felt himself reacting to his submissive's speech. There was something alluring, sexy as hell, in hearing Harry speak that language. It wasn't dark, tainted and tarnished like the Dark Lord's was.

"Did you like that?" Harry hissed back, watching Severus with devilment in his eyes. Oh, he was so going to enjoy using this language. He was going to drive his Dom insane with need for him.

"Not here," Severus warned, adjusting himself and regaining control of himself.

Harry pouted, his amusement still evident as he replied in English, "I used Pestis Signum."

"Ah," Severus said, nodding his approval. "Let's go before we are seen."

As they departed they didn't see Dumbledore beginning to groan and clutch his stomach in agony… one of the first symptoms was beginning to make its appearance.

Big thanks to Jake and Jordre for editing!