Beta: Julie. fjad

Chapter Six

Frenemies

—

It was almost two a.m. and the lake shimmered in the bright moonlight, granting an illusion of serenity for those who needed it the most.

It was a necessary decision to make, and he didn't regret a thing. Harry could not be given the truth potion, as Albus didn't want to destroy the last connection he had to the boy, making Harry hate their kind. As for the muggle terrorist…

Let muggles deal with muggles. Harry was worth much more than a vial of potion.

Albus Dumbledore was standing near the window, looking outside, still deep in thought.

His companion was sitting still like a rock, not moving at all.

"Albus, you have to promise to not keep any more secrets from me," Severus finally voiced his first sentence since Albus had told him about the Deathly Hallows, and one particular wand that was now in the possession of one Harry Potter.

A sad smile stretched old lips, and Albus Dumbledore nodded. "I am an old man, Severus, and I am afraid I cannot deal with everything on my own, like I did before. I need your help. Harry needs your help."

"Potter?" Severus sneered. "What Potter needs is a permanent place in St. Mungo's."

"Harry is not a bad boy, Severus."

"Let me get that straight, Dumbledore. Potter is not a bad boy? Are you completely out of your mind? The boy is a sociopath, and you have witnessed with your own eyes Potter's irrational behaviour. And where are the Dursleys? Are they even alive?" Severus was right, but hope was all they had left. "He might not be completely bad yet, but he definitely isn't the sanest of the bunch; he has no empathy, and adding to that his illegal guardian's influence, what do you get, Albus?"

"I shall stand by my belief that every person deserves a second chance. You should know that better than anyone, Severus."

"Potter is not me, Albus. I didn't have a nuclear bomb and an Elder wand that would respond to insanely powerful magic, and I definitely wasn't raised by a complete psychopath. My father was a bastard, but not a mass-murderer, and look how nicely I lived my happy life."

"Harry has a good heart, like you do. He needs time and understanding."

"You checked that yourself?"

"Lily and James were good people. Harry cannot be the complete opposite, even with everything he went through. He is just eleven."

"Yes, let's wait till Potter blows up the bomb, and what then?"

"The bomb is no longer a threat, Severus."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Mycroft Holmes will deal with the bomb issue before sunrise. There is nothing to worry about anymore."

"And this Doctor Watson?"

"He shall be found today as well."

Dark eyes were drilling a hole in him, and, and for a second, Albus even felt a touch of Legilimency, which quickly left when he raised his Occlumency barriers.

"What have you done now, Albus?"

"I provided Mister Holmes with the potion he had requested in exchange for Harry's freedom."

"I hope that Veritaserum wasn't taken from my storage?" There was no need to explain to a Potion's Master what kind of potion Albus had given to the muggle authorities.

"It was a ministerial vial, Severus."

"It's against the magical law to provide muggles with magical potions, and Veritaserum is second on the list, straight after Amortentia. Both you and I have signed the contract, when we received Professor's degrees, that we shall never provide Muggles with magical potions, no matter the reason. And you are the head Warlock. But law does not matter when it comes to Potter, does it, Albus?"

No, it didn't. He had to win no matter the price.

xxx

"Harry needs our help. We need Harry when Voldemort returns."

"You are lucky the contract isn't magical, otherwise you'd end up as an old, useless squib." Severus sneered at Dumbledore's sad face, which had zero hint of regret on it.

Dumbledore was a double-faced fanatic, and the only reason why the wizarding world was still standing was because of the old man's essentially good heart and a very heavy burden of guilt for whatever had happened in his past. And now, Dumbledore would bend the wizarding rules to fit his created scenario for the boy, with no one to stop him.

"Cornelius approved of that decision, and that automatically cancels my interference as Fudge is the Minister of Magic."

Dumbledore controlled the whole Wizengamot, and one idiot Minister didn't stand a chance against the old man, who was believed to be the most powerful sorcerer of their time.

"I am more afraid that the Dark Lord will adopt Potter, upon seeing a carbon copy of himself. They'll be play-pals, Albus. You cannot really expect the boy to stand against the Dark Lord when he is more likely to join him."

"Why are you against Lily's son?"

"That is low, even for you." Severus pursed his lips and shook his head. "I am not against Potter, I am trying to be a realist. Nature versus nurture, does that ring a bell, Albus? Potter has left his muggle family willingly, otherwise the wards would have alerted us, and he had helped Moriarty out of his own free will. You know that, and I know that. What is there to save, Albus?"

"Harry's soul is pure, no matter what. I believe in the boy, and so shall you, Severus. This is not negotiable. Treat Harry well, or the consequences might be very unpleasant for the whole world."

"And the wand?"

"I hope Harry uses it wisely."

"If you want to know my honest opinion, Albus…" Severus trailed off as he waited for Albus Dumbledore to nod with a curious glint in his again twinkling, blue eyes.

"You're an idiot who plays with fire." Severus held the eye-contact, to make sure Albus got his message. "And when the fire escapes your imaginary control, it won't be just you who will be burnt."

"He has Lily's eyes. Did you notice that, Severus?"

It was a hit clearly under the belt, and it echoed somewhere in his heart.

You bastard.

Solemn, sad, but determined blue eyes closed for a second and Severus Snape got up and turned towards the door.

"Your good intentions will be the end for everyone, Albus. Mark my words." And with that, he left with a twirl of his long, dark cloak.

Xxx

Harry was lying on his back, on the new bed in his new room, and he didn't know what to do.

Hogwarts was magnificent, even if he had just seen the castle in the evening, when their merry band of wizards had brought him here for the night. He was sure Dumbledore was afraid that Mycroft Holmes would simply kidnap him, so the Headmaster had again made an exception and allowed a boy, who wasn't even a student yet, to stay in the castle. He was allowed to stay in the muggle world as no official charges had been pressed, but Iceman did not play by the rules.

What did Dumbledore offer Iceman to let him go today? If only he could already leave Hogwarts and find out...

He was in love with the old castle, but there was one big problem: he couldn't block his magic while on the territory of Hogwarts.

Happy Birthday to me.

He was so tired, Harry thought before his eyes closed and he fell asleep.

'Avada Kedavra!'

Green light was accompanied by the feeling of flight and joy, red eyes looking at him with horror, flying motorcycle, and the ring with a large, round stone, an image which was accompanied by the hissed word…

'Harry…'

Harry shot up in his bed, soaked with sweat, and looked at his watch: five a.m.

Trying to get rid of the metallic taste in his mouth, he took a sip from the glass on the nightstand, and yawned.

The hissing from the dreams was still there, somewhere in his mind, and Harry bit his lip, trying to remember where he had heard the name before.

Who were the Gaunts?

Xxx

Wizards were lucky that muggles didn't know about their existence. Had the secret gotten out…

Three drops of only one potion solved their problem, and Mycroft was ready to find out what other potions he could use for the well-being of the nation.

He still had enough Veritaserum to find out a few international secrets that could potentially threaten national security, or bring enormous advantages on the world arena. He had thought of taking the vial with him to the United Nation's assembly, but it would lead to a world catastrophe if everyone started telling the truth, so Mycroft had crossed out the idea out.

He could meet some people privately, though…

And when the potion would end, he'd have Boy Wonder to bargain for. If Dumbledore refused to cooperate, Mycroft would order the boy to be shot on the spot. Eleven or not, no one played with the nation he had promised to protect.

A large container was opened by the specialists, and there was the nuclear bomb with a timer that wasn't on.

Strange.

John Watson was standing near Sherlock, alive and well, and Mycroft was pleased. Moriarty did not stand a chance when he had been forced to take the serum, and now their problems were solved, and the game could go on.

In the morning he'd sign the documents for the court, and then Potter and Moriarty would officially lose, before the whole nation.

He'd like to see the reaction of the wizarding population to Harry Potter being the accomplice of a well-known muggle terrorist. It was just too funny.

It was an emotional thing to do, to press charges so early, but he wanted it so badly...

What a good day it was turning to be.

Xxx

His face hurt, his beaten body pulsated with every movement, and the straight-jacket didn't add to his comfort, but he loved it.

Who ever said the British Intelligence Services weren't very friendly, was wrong.

He rather liked his solitary small room, with walls made of soft material, and the chain on his neck and hands.

You have to enjoy the pain to overcome it.

He had to give credit where it was due, and it looked like Iceman was in the lead. Officially.

Not officially, Holmes was in for a nice surprise, but no one needed to know that before the time is ripe.

Such a smart adversary, and to make such a simple, stupid mistake…

Tsk, tsk…

Jim Moriarty smiled through the pain, and coughing blood, he laughed as he imagined Sherlock's and Iceman's faces when they would find out the whole truth.

Yes, he had hidden the tritium nuclear bomb in Cardiff, and it was already in the hands of British government.

Yes, John was alive and well, and had just been kidnapped .

Yes, Harry had helped him willingly, and he had never, not once, made Harry do anything against his will.

The three most important first questions that anyone would have asked.

Iceman asked all the right questions, but when it came to magical potions, Moriarty knew a little bit more than the others. Maximum questions asked from a muggle was four, after which the muggle lost consciousness and couldn't be questioned under the truth serum for another day, as then his heart would simply stop, and he knew both Holmeses were too greedy to allow him to take his secrets to the grave if they could easily crack them. Apparently, the wizards had warned Mycroft of this possible side-effect as only four questions were asked before he was left alone in his cell, drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness.

He had known about Veritaserum for a long time, and he knew it was possible it would be used against him.

The problem with the potion was that you had to ask absolutely perfect questions to get clear answers, especially if one's mind control was as perfect as his. Harry's aggressive Legilimency had taught him how to arrange his mind-order, and he could resist Veritaserum, but only a bit.

And only a bit was all he had needed.

Three questions had been correct, but the fourth one was wrong. Emotions and business never mix well together.

When Sherlock Holmes had asked him if he had any other bombs, he had said no.

Which was correct.

He had only one nuclear bomb.

And two chemical ones.

Since he wasn't Harry, he therefore had no more nuclear bombs.

Since nuclear bombs worked differently than the chemical warfare, it meant that the answer was correct; it was the question that was wrong. Sherlock should have worded the question "Do you or Harry have any more weapons of mass destruction?" and then he would have gotten a "Yes".

He had kidnapped John to secure one question, gave away information about the bomb before leaving Pakistan, and allowed Mycroft to find out about Harry for the third question. He was hoping Sherlock would ask the last question instead of his brother, as John's disappearance and Harry's act had to disturb Sherlock's perfect mind, and push him to make the mistake. Mycroft suspected something was off, but until he could be questioned again, it would remain a secret.

Oh, Sherlock, Sherlock…

Daddy wins this round.

Xxx

"Oh, Lucius, I am so relieved, so relieved." Fudge kept on his rant, but Lucius wasn't listening anymore.

Veritaserum…

That old coot Dumbledore was playing without any rules, and he had full support from the wizarding ministry. And now their Chief Warlock had simply given the Truth serum to a muggle.

A very dangerous, smart muggle, which was even worse, if you asked him. The old fool was insane and he had to be taken out, but how, if even the Dark Lord couldn't remove Albus Dumbledore's influence from the magical world?

Potter, however, could be the necessary person to overthrow the old fool, and establish a new order.

Lucius had to choose his side, and he had to do it now. Potter was pro-pureblood, while Dumbledore was pro-muggle, and no matter how crazy Potter was, he would grow up to be a very powerful wizard with a lot of criminal connections and influence. It was a gamble of apocalyptical—for all the Malfoys—proportions, and it could either turn out to be his biggest win, or his biggest mistake. If he wanted to be honest, it was so boring being good.

Yes, he broke many laws and his money was "bloody"- except for the twenty-five high-quality candy stores in Britain—but that was it. He had to behave well at home and he had to behave well while outside.

In the night he slept, so he could be bad only in his dreams, as in the morning he had to behave again.

Looking at the rising sun, Lucius Malfoy made up his mind.

All-in.

xxx

Minerva drank her tea and observed Harry Potter, who was sitting at a table in the Great Hall, twirling his full cup of pumpkin juice, but not drinking it.

Albus, Severus, Hagrid and Quirinus Quirrell were the only ones present at breakfast, and they all kept staring at Harry's figure. Hagrid had gotten a polite "Hello" when he ran to hug Potter.

"My dear boy, is something the matter?" Albus asked Potter and was rewarded with a heavy sigh from the boy.

"I need my milkshake," Potter replied while pushing the glass with pumpkin juice further away from him.

Styled black hair that was still naturally messy reminded of James Potter, while the eyes were definitely Lily's.

"Drink juice, Potter, it's healthier for your brains. Merlin knows you need all the help you can get." Severus's biting remark got a frown from Albus and a tiny smirk from Quirrell, while Harry simply glared.

Oh, Severus...He had been like that since he was eleven.

"Now, now, Severus. Mister Potter is a guest here before he gets sorted, and if a milkshake is what it takes to start the day, then why not?"

Minerva silently shook her head, still angry at her old Professor, who had refused to share any information when she had cornered him yesterday.

Harry's brilliant smile was now directed at Dumbledore, who looked as happy as Harry, especially when a house-elf appeared before the boy.

Xxx

He was fascinated.

This was the boy-who-lived?

This boy was their Savior?

He wanted to take off the turban and just laugh in Dumbledore's face, but alas, he had to wait.

The boy—Harry—was now ordering a milkshake from a house-elf, going through the ingredients one by one.

"Take strawberry ice-cream, but not sorbet, and add 3.8% cold milk. Fresh, by the way. Then add a bit of whipped cream, to give a rich flavour, and then a drop of peppermint liqueur. Mix it well, and then add a slice of lime to the side. Not lemon!"

The house-elf's large eyes were almost the size of its head, as the creature silently listened to the order.

"DID YOU WRITE THAT DOWN?"

Potter's demanding scream was sudden, and he heard McGonagall choke on her tea, while all he wanted to do was laugh out loud.

Potter was as sane as he was.

"Harry, the elves work for free because they enjoy it, so please, we have to treat them with respect." Senile old fool who couldn't see further than his long nose.

"For free? Like slaves? Wow." Potter's mood swings were even bigger than his own, and with morbid curiosity Lord Voldemort watched through the eyes of Quirrell as the pinkish drink was brought to the awaiting boy.

His gaze did not leave Harry until he saw one more person enter the Great Hall.

Well, well, well...Luciusssss.

Xxx

Severus wanted to strangle Potter when he saw Lucius walk in. No matter where he looked, Malfoy was now everywhere.

Malfoy was playing a game Severus did not understand yet, and that meant he had to keep an eye on his slippery friend. Dark eyes were watching the figure of Lucius move closer to where they sat, when Severus saw something that made him feel very uncomfortable.

Malfoy had looked Potter directly into the eyes before greeting him with a nod and simple "Mister Potter".

Lucius always tried to avoid eye-to-eye contact with him, Dumbledore and the Dark Lord because of Legilimency, but knowing that Potter was a Legilimens as well, Lucius locked their gazes for a few seconds anyway.

Why?

Before Severus could think any further, he had to protect his face when all the windows in the Great Hall exploded and the glass flew in every direction.

Thank Merlin it was summer and the hall was empty.

Taking out a sharp shard from his hand, Severus tried to suppress the urge to hurt the boy.

"Sorry. Gases," Potter explained as he remained seated, sipping his milkshake, not bothered by the explosion of his magic.

What had happened?

What did Malfoy say to Potter for him to lose control like that?

"No worries, my boy. I can totally relate to your little problem." Dumbledore smiled, while removing the glass from his beard and restoring the windows with his new wand.

Gases, my arse.

xxx

Harry was pacing his room, wondering what to do.

Mycroft Holmes had Veritaserum and had used it on James.

Lucius Malfoy earned his son a few extra years today, and Harry patted himself on the head for correctly choosing the first ally.

The weird wand was in his hand, as he twirled it slowly—a new nasty habit—and he thought about his plans. He was so, so bored. Tomorrow he'd know if he could live in the muggle world without the outcome of being kidnapped. He had a meeting with the Headmaster at three, and it was nine a.m.

He needed to learn magic, he needed to know spells to help himself and James.

Now, he knew zero.

Well…actually, that was wrong. He knew one spell, he just didn't know what it did in detail. While he had read a lot about potions, history and culture, spells did not fascinate him, as he had needed a wand first.

A house-elf appeared in his room, offering him a new glass of his milkshake, and Harry bit his lip.

"Say, what's your name?" He asked the house-elf which was now almost crying from joy, its large eyes looking at him in adoration.

"I am Tinky, Harry Potter."

"Hi, Tinky, I am Harry, but you already know that. Can you help me learn something new?"

The happy elf nodded herhead so fast, Harry was afraid it'd fall off.

"How about you stand over there, Tinky, and I'll try a spell, alright, buddy?"

Harry pointed to the place where the house- elf should stand and levelled his wand, wanting to find out what the spell did exactly.

"Are you ready to fly, Tinky?" Harry asked the now frightened elf, and pointed the wand at the creature.

Now, what were the exact words of the spell?

Ah, yes.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A flash of green light, and Harry almost fell onto the floor from the rush of magic.

Managing to compose himself, he looked at the elf, which was now lying quietly on the floor.

Huh? Why didn't it fly like he remembered from the dreams?

The house-elf's eyes were open and looking at the ceiling, and the tongue hung from the side of the opened mouth.

Harry poked one eye with his wand, and sat onto the floor, next to the corpse he would have to hide now.

Shiiiiiit.

xxx

He wanted to see Potter, as the boy fascinated him, so he was standing near the door, ready to knock, when he heard muttering from the other side, and casting a magnifying spell, Lord Voldemort listened quietly.

It was just after breakfast.

"Damn wizards with their idiotic spells."

A loud thud later Potter continued, "No, Tinky, this drawer is a bit too small for you."

Tinky?

A sound of broken glass was accomplished by cussing, and then by a repeated loud banging.

"Why are you so stiff, Tinky? Get the fuck in!"

Interesting...

"How about the fireplace, huh? Are you cold, Tinky? Don't worry, uncle Harry will warm you up."

What?

"Where are my matches when I need them? James said to be prepared no matter what, and what is the first thing I do when I'm on my own? I don't even have a knife. Bummer."

Insane, just like he had thought.

"Why are you being so uncooperative, Tinky?" He heard Potter romp around the room and curse a few times more.

Fascinating what vocabulary the boy had at age eleven!

"Anyway, Tinky, I think I'll have to put you here first and then we'll take a walk, alright?"

Quirrell took a step back when the door opened and he saw Potter with a bag behind his back.

"Ooohh...Hello, Professor."

Xxx

Professor Quirinus Quirrell was looking at him as if he had grown a new head, and Harry frowned. Was his hair all messy again? Then again, this guy smelled of garlic and looked retarded, so who was he to judge?

He needed this Professor Quirrell to get lost so that he could get rid of the body. Thank you for not being SS!

As far as he knew, all Legilimenses were accounted for, so there was no need to worry about this ugly character.

Concentrating, Harry looked into the eyes of his future Professor and almost screamed when his mind locked with another.

'Hello, Harry.'

Harry saw the same man he had seen in his dreams, only he had no solid body and was sitting—if you can put it that way— in another man's brains.

Yuck.

Harry wanted to severe the connection between their minds, but he couldn't when the pull from the other side was so powerful.

'I think it's time we have a talk, Harry Potter.'

The connection was broken by the Professor as he pushed Harry into the room and closed the door, adding a few spells.

"Who are you?" Harry asked the man, who was now staring at the contents of the bag, which had fallen open when Harry had dropped it.

"What is this, Potter?" Professor wasn't stammering, like before, and his voice was clear and commanding.

"This is Tinky. She's tired, so I decided not to wake her up…" Harry trailed off when Professor's foot kicked the bag and the dead elf rolled onto the floor.

He was in so much trouble now…

The Professor's eyes were shining, changing colour from brown to red, and the man looked very close to laughing.

"My, my, Mister Potter…"

"Who are you?" He asked again, not knowing what to do with this man who had two minds.

Why were the fates so against him? He knew no spells, he had only one ally, his friend was being tortured under Veritaserum, he had killed—accidently, mind you—the house-elf and got caught while in action, and all in all it looked like shit from every position…

"I am Lord Voldemort."

Looking into the red eyes that held power and knowledge, Harry closed his mouth.

He would say he was shocked, but considering the books were full with propaganda, it wasn't a miracle that the main villain was alive and relatively well, instead of being dead.

Just look at Hitler and his dogs, who most likely had managed to escape to Argentina…

If Voldemort was alive, it meant all his plans had to be changed. Not that it was a bad thing, considering the amount of shit he had managed to create in just two days.

"Say, do they teach Dark Lords how to make corpses disappear?"

A few seconds of silence made Harry really nervous, especially when those red eyes didn't leave his face.

"They teach much more than that, Harry. Much, much more." A wave of the wand and the bag with the dead elf was gone.

"Bye, Tinky," Harry said to the empty space and saw a smirk directed at him.

Maybe he'd have two accomplices now, one of them having the needed knowledge? His own, personal encyclopaedia of wizarding magic…

Ooooooh….

What a good day it was turning out to be.

xxx

a/n Thank you for your reviews. I am invested in this story, and it's not my first story, so I won't abandon it just because only 1 percent of the readers review. I don't ask for much, just your opinion regarding the plot, characters and the story in total.

Elisa Mirror- Just like you requested :) Mr. Voldemort is all yours :) And thank you. Seriously ;)