The year of Chaos

Harry and his friends sat in what they called their compartment in the Hogwarts Express. Everyone had something exciting to share. The twins and Lee thanked Harry for the recommended books and told them about their encounter with the new DADA Professor, Gilderoy Lockhart. They all laughed as the twins and Lee, who had gone for shopping together, explained the overgrown peacock of a man they met at the book store. He was signing books (as Harry already knew). Blaise said that he read the books out of curiosity and he had interesting theory over the man. Came out that many of the events written in different books were overlapping each other. Seems the man had superpowers to be at three different places, in three different corners of the world at the same time. This task was impossible even with a time-turner. They decided to keep an eye on the teacher and expose the peacock if they got their hands on any proof. If not, they will not place themselves in trouble by accusing a public figure without any proof.

Draco said that he had procured some interesting reads from France and also an obscure translation charm so that they could read it. They were on different subjects. They could all get together to read them. Neville was almost jumping for his turn. So when everyone turned to him, he said, "Gran finally permitted me to set up a greenhouse of my own. I have spent all summer setting up the greenhouse and it is now filled with various plants from around the world that she let me order. For now, I have assigned two of our house-elves to take care of it and I have a request letter signed by my gran to ask Dumbledore to allow me to visit home at least once a month." Everyone laughed at Nev's excitement and congratulated him.

Now everyone turned to Harry. He thought for a moment about what to say and what to keep from them. He finally decided to spill it all. After all they will know about it sooner or later. Better not get them angry on him for not warning them before hand, "My vacation was the best I had ever had. You know I told you briefly that Severus and my God father Sirius had some bad blood between them? Turns out Sirius could not handle a rejection when in school."

"You mean your God father is gay and he proposed to Prof. Snape when they were in school and got rejected?" said Lee.

"Tell me Lee. Are you homophobic? 'coz if you are, you should think before sitting with me."

"Oh come on Harry. How can I be against gay men when I myself am bisexual?"

"You are?"

"Yep. I was just astonished Prof. Snape rejected him. Your God father is fairly handsome." Lee said, with a wink.

"Well turns out my father threatened Severus with exposure to stop him from accepting the proposal. Severus was worried it would ruin Sirius so he relented. And don't try to hit on my god father, he is taken" Harry smirked.

"Whoa! Selfless and Severus? That's a new combination." That was Draco. Harry looked at him and quickly looked away. He needed to wait for a few more years to make his move on Draco. But he looked so adorable with that dreamy look. Focus Harry focus.

"Yes well. After I yelled at my God father that I loved Severus and was not going to give up the first Adult who showed me kindness, he relented and called Severus for a talk. I and Severus were alone in the living room and were talking why he rejected him and Sirius overheard. Sirius wanted Severus back in his life and Severus was being stubborn as ever. Being an ex death eater rendered him unworthy in his eyes. We all made him see reason and he finally, after much deliberation, shifted permanently with us."

Everyone's mouths were hanging open by the end of it. Severus Snape was in a relationship, sort of, and was now living with Sirius Black. But that was not all. Harry took a deep breath and said, "What I am going to tell you next, please listen with open minds." Everyone nodded at Harry's serious tone.

"The Dark Lord is back but with different agendas this time. He was inhabiting Quirell's body last year and now has his own body due to a potion made with the help of the Philosopher's Stone. He contacted Severus for medical aid for Quirell and we all decided to accommodate him. We spent almost two months with him. He had apparently broken his soul into seven pieces. With the help of the Stone, he retracted those soul shards within himself again and is now whole again. He has seen the error of his ways and realized his true calling is teaching. Yes he still wants to reform the wizarding world but now it will be purely political. His ideas are fair as far as I have talked to him. Right now he is recuperating and trying to build a new identity. He will soon call all his followers and retract his mark and set them free. He has already done that with Severus before he left for Hogwarts. So far, I trust him but we all have made clear that if he does anything to endanger the balance or threaten our loved ones, we will kill him without a backward glance. He has agreed." Harry paused to see their reactions. There was shock, but not disbelief but contemplation.

Fred spoke next, "We knew something was off about Quirell. We had seen him earlier. He was the muggle studies teacher when we were in first year. The seniors said he was fairly good at his subject. Explains much the sudden change in demeanour on an interesting DADA question."

"You noticed?"

"We notice everything little one. What is Quirell going to do now? Is he alright?"

"Yes he is fine now. He will be spending the next year in the muggle world and learn more about them before applying as the muggle studies teacher again. Tom is staying with him. He has taken him in as a younger brother."

"Who is Tom?" Neville spoke for the first time since the discussion started.

"Voldemort's original name is Tom Marvolo Riddle. So are you guys okay with what I said or are you going to outcast me?"

"Well, we cannot say we like it a lot but if you have met and trust him, we will give it a chance. We trust you Harry. And Severus and Sirius and Remus will not lead you into anything that would prove dangerous for you. We would like to meet this new version of Dark Lord before we think about supporting him or not."

"Ever the voice of reason aren't you Nev?"

"Oh stop teasing me you asshole. Now I have a very important question."

"Ask away"

"Why were you so defensive about the homosexual issu? I could see it was not just your God father and Severus. Is there something you are not telling us?"

Harry blushed. He was seeing anywhere but at Draco. "Didn't I tell you guys? I think I may be more interested in men."

"No you did not tell us that." With that the twins jumped over him, touching him in every place possible.

"Get off me both of you. I not interested in you guys in that way. And you guys have girlfriends."

"Didn't we tell you? Angelina and Alicia broke up with us. Angelina is now dating Oliver Wood and Alicia is with Katie, something about exploring her sexuality before getting into a serious relationship." They did not move their hands away from Harry who was trying desperately to extricate himself from them.

"I don't care if you are single. Get off me right now. Stop giggling you guys and help me will you."

" … we will leave you only when you tell us who has captured your heart so much that you are denying us a little fun and exploration of our own."

Harry froze. "How do you know that I lo.. Like someone? I may not just be interested in you two. It doesn't mean I am interested in someone else."

"Oh really! Then why did you turn crimson at the mention of that secret someone?"

"Just stop it okay and stop pawing at me."

The twins extricated themselves from a struggling Harry with a sour expression, "Alright fine spoil sport. But we will find out whether you tell us or not."

"You wish."

Everyone was giggling, Draco included. Only Blaise saw that his eyes did not contain that light.

In the common room later that night, Blaise cornered Draco and asked him what the matter was. Draco denied everything at first of course. But at the constant pestering, he gave in. "He loves someone else Blaise. He doesn't love me. He has a secret crush. What am I gonna do?"

"And how do you know that this secret crush is not you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Oh come on Dray. Everyone in the group except you two know how you feel about each other. Didn't you notice? He was especially avoiding looking at you when he confessed he was gay. He was looking anywhere but at you when he unintentionally confessed he secretly loves someone. He is very close to the twins yet did not let them near. He bloody blushes like a maiden when you compliment him. What other proof do you want?"

A rare smile blossomed on Draco's face, "Are you sure Blaise? He won't reject me if I confess to him will he?"

"Of course I am sure you git. Dray what do you think about the Dark Lord?"

"I trust Harry. If he believes that this is the right thing, I will support him."

They both smiled and went to bed. They knew they will hear from their parents soon enough.

This year, Slytherins and Gryffindors shared Potions, Herbology and Defence classes together. Defence was a joke as was expected. The thing that most infuriated Draco was that the stuttering peacock first let Cornish Pixies loose on them and then asked Harry to meet him after dinner for help he needed in answering his fan mails. Of course Harry couldn't reject a direct request from a teacher, but Draco was feeling rather uncomfortable. The boys did not know about Harry's new protector though. He had yet to tell them about Diana. Harry had wanted to tell them on the train itself but the twins distracted him.

So, Harry was sitting beside Lockhart in his office (Why the peacock shifted the chair from across to beside, Merlin knows). Harry could tell that Diana was in the room, hidden in the shadows, ready to come out if needed. Harry was on his fifteenth letter when he felt a hand in his thighs, followed by Lockhart's voice, "My dear Harry, I hope you are able to understand now that being famous is not easy. You see, we have to keep these fans pleased, yet live our own lives. How would you like to come here every evening and I will guide you through handling your fame better?"

"Would you mind keeping your hands to yourself Professo? You are making me rather uncomfortable."

"Don't be shy Harry. I know you like me. I have seen you looking at me. I like you too Harry. Maybe I can teach you more than just handling your fame?"

Lockhart started to rub Harry's thighs, slowly making his way upwards, bending forwards, coming nearer to Harry every moment. Harry had had enough. He got up abruptly, dislodging Lockhart's hands and throwing the chair back in the process. He had his wand pointed at Lockhart's chest, before he even registered that Harry was now standing over him. Harry's eyes were blazing. He looked into Lockhart's eye and said, "If you dare touch me with your dirty hands again, I will kill you in the most painful way imaginable."

"You are taking a wrong decision Harry. You will regret it."

"We will see."

With that, Harry left his office and moved straight up to Dumbledore's office. When he told Dumbledore what happened, he was shocked to hear his reply. "My boy, you must have misheard. Now I must request you to keep it to yourself. It won't be good to accuse a public figure with such false accusations."

Harry could not believe his ears. False accusations? The little respect left in his heart for this man, who was his mentor in the former life, was lost forever. He turned around and stormed out of his office, and went straight to the Dungeons.

Harry entered Severus's office without even knocking. Locking the door behind, he started pacing in front of his table. Severus knew by looking at him that something was wrong. "What happened Harry? You don't look alright."

"That's because I am not alright. That old coot how dare he tell me to keep quiet. I am going to kill them both."

"Harry please calm down. You are not making sense child. Tell me what happened."

Before Harry could say anything, there was a timid knock on the office door. Severus went to see and send away any student who came to disturb them just now. Turned out, it was his friends which were feeling worried because of Draco's jittery nerves. Severus invited them all in. When they saw Harry sitting there, fidgeting, they rushed to him. That was it. He would tell them all together. It would save him the effort of narrating it twice.

Harry took deep breaths and launched into his tale, from the moment he stepped into Lockhart's office till the moment he left Dumbledore's office. By the end of it, Severus was fuming. All the others sat there stunned. A teacher had tried to take advantage of a second year student and threatened of bad consequences when he protested. Draco was equally as furious as Severus. Nobody touched what was his.

"Well he may be famous and all, but he forgot he is dealing with the boy-who-lived. Sure Harry did not use his name for the past year, but we could cook up something to our advantage." Draco smirked, though the anger in his eyes did not diminish. The twins looked evilly at him. Oh yes the git was going to pay.

Severus was on a different tangent all together. He knew well that the boys would deal with Lockhart. No, he was not his concern. His concern was the man who claimed to be the leader of the light. What good and noble wizard would not care about a child's safety? He had to do something and soon. He would not let the Great Albus Dumbledore ruin another life. There will not be another Tom Riddle or Severus Snape or Harry Potter. He will see to it.

"Professor Snape? We have thought of a plan and we need your suggestion if it would be okay to go with it." Said George.

"And what is it?" Severus drawled in a bored manner. Inside, he knew how devious the twins could be when it came to protect their own.

"Well as you know, the sensational writer Rita Skeeter is an illegal animagus, a beetle to be specific. We want to send her an anonymous letter that Prof. Lockhart is not as good as he seems and that we want her to investigate. The same evening, Harry will go to apologize to the stuttering peacock and we are pretty much sure that he will make his move again. We just need to give Rita a scoop. When Harry thinks he cannot handle it anymore, he can hex the git before leaving for all we care."

"No." Draco said instantly. "Harry won't go."

Harry came to sit beside Draco and said quietly, "Trust me Dray, I can handle this. And I promise I won't leave without shooting a hex or two. And believe me, his night won't be pleasant either today or tomorrow." He smirked. At everyone's questioning look, he elaborated, "Well you both distracted me in the train so I could not tell you. I have been graced with the pleasure of bonding with a Shadow Phoenix just a week before coming to school. Her name is Diana. She is my protector. She did not attack Lockhart straight away because I told her not to. But both Lockhart and Dumbledore are going to have nightmares which would feel absolutely real to them. I could not stop her from that. She wouldn't listen." Harry shrugged. Everyone relaxed a bit. Harry was amazed at how accepting his friends were. He had the habit of explaining his every action at length with Hermione and Ron. This was different. This felt true and he felt free rather than constrained.

Draco was not exactly happy but he accepted the idea. He would be there for Harry when he came back tomorrow.

So, as per plan, an anonymous letter was sent to Rita Skeeter, promising breakthrough story on the lecherous DADA Professor of Hogwarts if only she managed a spy within the walls. Severus, with the help of Sirius and Remus, had charmed a coin to detect an animagus in a radius of a 100 metres. That should tell them when Skeeter was among them and when she leaves. The coin will heat more when she is nearer. It was also added that Harry will go to Dumbledore again. They needed some dirt on that person too. Then he would come to Severus where his friends will wait, in pretence of studying under his guidance. Plan was to loose Skeeter on the way but if that did not happen, Harry did not mind flaunting his connection with these people. Now that there was no Voldemort to think about (As Tom had given that name up totally) and Severus's dark mark gone, they did not care even if Dumbledore came to know about Severus being nice to Harry.

Harry knocked at the DADA Professor's office precisely at 8:00 p.m. just after dinner. At hearing the command to enter, he went inside. Instantly, he felt for the coin. He will not do this if nothing was going to come of it. To his utter relief, the coin was warm, and in fact bordering hot. Rita was there and quiet close. So he shouldered on, "Professor, I came to apologize. I misunderstood your intentions. I am sorry."

"That's perfectly alright Harry. Come sit with me."

The chair was again beside Lockhart instead of across, and he pulled it closer. Harry felt sick. Yes his mental age was 19 but not even a 19 year old likes to be molested by his almost 30 years old professor. He shouldered on. He went and sat on the chair offered. Instantly, Lockhart's hand was on his upper thigh. He came forward, so close that Harry could feel his breath on his cheek. "It's okay Harry. Mistakes do happen. Don't worry, I will not hold it against you."

Harry gulped. "Are you sure professor this is alright?"

"Trust me Harry. Kids always like to be touched. You can ask the others who love to help me answer my fan mails."

Harry's mind was reeling. There were others? Why didn't anyone say anything? Did Dumbledore silence them all or were they afraid of the threat Lockhart gave them? He was jolted out of his through when Lockhart's hand suddenly squeezed his cloth covered crotch. He jumped up but was caught by Lockhart and pulled into his lap. "Don't worry Harry. I will take care of you. You just need to relax."

"Let me go please. Let me go" He shouted. He could not take this anymore. When he finally freed himself from his lap, Lockhart pushed, rather threw Harry onto the table, everything on the table swiped away in one swift motion, and pressed himself over Harry. Harry began to panic. This was not in the plan. No. He cannot do it. He screamed, "Get off me. I will kill you, you pervert. Get off me now."

Lockhart had a dangerous gleam in his eyes, "Shh… don't worry Harry. I will make you feel good. Just cooperate okay."

Harry had had enough. He gathered a little amount of magic in his hand and pushed Lockhart with force. He fell off on the floor. Harry took out his wand, just to show Skeeter and said "Petrificus Totalis" aloud for Skeeter's sake. It was a low powered one. He knew Dumbledore would do nothing. So, the charm should wear off on its own in an hour or two. Harry ran out of the room and straight towards Dumbledore's office. He kept the coin in his hand to feel that Skeeter was following. The gargoyle, somehow sensing the urgency, moved aside without a password. Harry rushed up two steps at a time, all the while making sure Skeeter was following.

As soon as Harry knocked on the door, he was welcomed by a smiling Dumbledore. He did not wait for a cheery welcoming offer of tea and burst out, "Lockhart came all over me when I went to apologize for accusing him yesterday."

Dumbledore looked grim, "I told you yesterday Harry to keep false accusations with yourself. Professor Lockhart has my confidence. He will not touch a student inappropriately."

"He said that I would enjoy it if I cooperate. He said other students who help him with fan mails always enjoy it."

"Well, I never have had any other complains. So it's evident that you are exaggerating things."

"Is touching my intimate areas outside the realm of molestation?"

"Enough Harry. You are crossing your limits."

"Okay! If you are unwilling to take action towards the safety of your students, I will have to ask for the help of the Ministry and Aurors."

Harry turned around to leave but was stopped by the angry voice of Dumbledore, "If you so much as speak about this Harry, I am sorry to say I will have to expel you."

"On what grounds?" Harry's voice quivered with unshed tears. Everything was finally catching up on him.

"For defaming a teacher and putting forth false accusations against the said teacher due to some personal agenda that I don't know of."

"Very well." That was all Harry said before opening the door. He stood there for a moment but then left.

Rita was of two minds. She wanted to wait and see what Dumbledore did but her curiosity over the boy wonder won out. She could see that the boy was close to breakdown. That would be an interesting scoop of gossip. So she followed. She was confused at first, why was the boy going into the dungeons? Then the boy opened a door and went in. She quickly followed.

As soon as Severus saw Harry come in, he stood up and met him half way across the room. Harry rushed to him and hugged him rather tightly. Severus could feel silent tears running down Harry's face and vanishing into his own robes. "What happened Harry?" he did not care if Skeeter had followed him or not. Harry was crying, that meant Lockhart had done something or said something awful.

Harry's silent cries turned to sobbing. The rest of the group also abandoned their act and rushed around the two men clinging to each other. Harry looked up into Severus's eyes, his eyes swollen and red, and said, "He… he… he touched me there… And… and threw me over the table… And… it was awful… it was very awful… I petrified him and went to the Headmaster… and he said he will expel me if I took any action on my own… Lockhart said he had done it with others too" with that Harry went silent and buried his face into Severus's robes, who was still standing there only because of Harry. If his legs would be free, he would have reached the DADA office by now and Lockhart would be writhing on the floor in agony.

Draco hugged Harry from behind and tried to sooth him with small words of encouragement. Harry moved away from Severus and hugged Draco. Quietly in his ears he said, only for him to hear, "I should have listened to you. I thought I could handle it but I couldn't. I couldn't push him away soon enough. He was so strong. I was scared. I was so scared."

"Shh… it's okay. You are here now. You are safe. We will protect you. You will never have to do any such thing ever again. You will not face him ever again. If he so much as tries to come near your shadow, I will kill him." Draco said just as quietly. Once Harry was calm enough, he turned and saw Blaise and Neville partially holding Severus. He realized Severus was in a killing rage. He went and hugged Severus again. "I am fine now. Please calm down. I don't want you to leave me to go to Azkaban." That seemed to calm Severus considerably, yet not completely. He wanted to kill someone, most probably both Lockhart and Dumbledore.

"Do you think we should tell Prof. McGonagall? She is our head of house. She may be able to help.", said Fred. That was a secret plan of Harry and the twins. Nobody else knew about it.

Severus was stunned at the question. Did they think he will not be able to do anything? But Harry's answer made him realize what the boy was doing. "No. She did not even bother to check if I was okay when she saw a scrawny, small 8 year old looking first year in her house. And not just me. She doesn't bother to check the others in our house even if all the signs of abuse are there. Severus meets all his students on the first day of school right after the welcoming feast, so does Professor Flitwick. Professor Sprout spends at least one hour per weekend sitting in her common room where any of her students can approach her with anything. If nothing comes up, the younger years sit around her in a circle to listen to stories of man-eating plants and brave wizards who tame them. Though there are office hours but tell me Fred, how many times have you visited her in your three previous years of school?"

"Not once. Alicia had once gone to her during our second year. She was feeling anxious about something at home. She had said she would better go to Professor Snape instead of going to the unreceptive Professor McGonagall next time. I am not complaining, she is not so bad, she is just… just not someone you would go to in times of distress."

"And Professor Snape has helped me, all of us, since we stepped foot into Hogwarts. I would rather ask for his help than my head of house. In fact she should learn a few things from the other heads. Right now, I would have been glad if I were a Hufflepuff more than being a Gryffindor."

Severus could not contain himself, "Are you saying that you are averse to being a Slytherin, Mr. Potter?"

Harry took a deep dramatic sigh and said, "If only I could resort myself to Slytherin, life would be so easy." Severus smiled that rare smile of his, Harry knew Rita would have been swooning over him if she had been in her human form, and told everyone to sit down. He called a house elf and asked for Milkshakes and cookies for all. "The weather is still hot after all. A cool drink would not go amiss."

Harry had calmed down considerably. Now he was feeling self-conscious. He had cried on Draco's shoulder, clutched at him like a needy person. He had decided to show his best attributes to him, his strength, his endurance, but here he was. He was pretty much sure Draco was never going to like a pathetic man like him. His mood went upset again, within moments.

The coin was still clutched in his hand. He felt it cool down slowly and in about 10 minutes, it was absolutely cold. Rita Skeeter was off of Hogwarts grounds. He pointed it out and they all relaxed. Severus did not want to part with the boy he had come to see as a son just yet. But he knew they shouldn't be caught all together after curfew. So he sent them away, with a tight hug to Harry and a promise to not go hunting to kill in the dead of the night. Outside the Potions Master's office, Draco pulled Harry into another hug. "Don't overthink it okay. We are all here. Nobody will hurt you. I… we all love you Harry. Take care."

With that, Draco kissed Harry on the forehead and left quickly. Harry stood there, touching his forehead, till the twins dragged him along towards the common room. Harry climbed up the stairs in a daze. Draco didn't even know what he did. At least that was what Harry thought. On the other hand, Draco knew exactly what he had done. He had initiated what he thought would become something special by the end of this year. Instead of the direct approach, he had decided to do little things and give Harry time to back out if he so wanted.

That night, Harry slept with a smile on his lips, all thoughts of Lockhart and Dumbledore thrown out of his mind.

The next morning, they waited eagerly for the Daily Prophet but were disappointed to see there was no article. Did Dumbledore or Lockhart know about the article and stop it from getting published? That would be disastrous. Dumbledore will make his life hell. Or maybe not. The prophecy was still there and Dumbledore wouldn't lose his weapon as he did not know that Voldemort will never rise again, at least not in that sense.

Everyone's mind was reeling. They were walking on eggshells all day, looking back every once in a while, expecting Dumbledore or Lockhart to come out and snatch Harry away. But their fears were proved unfounded when the Prophet sent out special evening editions, and there it was, in bold screaming letter

Hogwarts' DADA Professor and the renowned writer GILDEROY LOCKHART- a CHILD MOLESTOR.

This reporter of the Daily Prophet received an anonymous tip on the happenings inside the huge castle walls of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I, of course investigated the authenticity of the tip and what I found out would leave your minds fuming ladies and gentlemen. Yes you guessed it right. I found that Gilderoy Lockhart calls children to his office in pretence of helping him to answer his fan mails and then molests them. If they are uncooperative, which all of them are, he threatens them to ruin their grades and/or accusing them of making the first advance. Most of them give in and do what is said; some make the mistake of going to the Headmaster for help, guess what, the Headmaster tells them to keep shut or he will expel them. Yes you heard me right ladies and gentlemen. The leader of the light, the Great Albus too many names Dumbledore, threatens his molested students who come to him for help to shut up or be expelled. Of course the students shut up after that. Then who does the student go for help to? The head of house maybe? I have also discovered that the head of Gryffindor House is not very receptive to her children's problems. Students hesitate to go to her as she has dismissed many students before when they go to her with personal problems. She is not interested if it's not academic related apparently. Pity.

On the other hand, the other heads of houses are more than welcoming for their students and truly serve as loco-parentis in the school. I also found had that a few Gryffindors, who could not find solace in their own house, now seek the Slytherin head of house for the comfort. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the stern looking Professor Snape is actually taking care of more children than you and I knew, including our Saviour, Harry Potter, who was distraught after being groped and manhandled by Lockhart yesterday evening. He is the same student who went to the Headmaster for help and was turned down with the threat of expulsion. Instead of going to his head of house, Mr. Potter turned to the dungeon dweller Prof. Snape. Prof. Snape, who was tutoring two Slytherin and four Gryffindors at the time, was enraged and ready to take law into his own hands when he heard what happened to Harry and that Lockhart confessed to him that he was not the only one, but the students restrained him and made him see reason. We are sure that the DMLE will get a written complaint from him soon.

If it does happen, I, your servant, will bring any news of the proceedings directly to you. Right now, I am trying to arrange an interview with any member of the Hogwarts Staff to know their reactions but am unsuccessful so far. Let us all pray that Justice will be served.

Rita Skeeter.

"Woa. That is explosive." Neville said. Harry looked up at the head table to see an enraged Dumbledore glaring at Severus and an equally enraged Severus glaring back. "Ah.. Oh… that does not look good. We need to get Severus out before he kills Dumbledore."

They all got up as one and went to the head table. Harry said, "Professor Snape, can we have a word with you?"

Snape gave a sharp nod and got up. All the five Gryffindors and two Slytherin followed him out. Once they reached the Potions Master's office, Severus threw the inkwell which crashed on the well, colouring it red. Harry came and hugged him from behind, followed by Draco who held him from the front. Slowly, all the others circled around and held Severus. He slowly calmed down. Somehow reading it again had made him angrier. Thank goodness Lockhart was not there otherwise he would have been dead. They knew that Sirius had already filed a case earlier that day and the Aurors will be there soon to arrest Lockhart for questioning.

On the other side of the castle, Lockhart was packing his things in a haste. Just as he finished and was about to leave, the door burst open and the Aurors entered. Lockhart tried to stupefy them but before he could even utter a syllable, he was disarmed and his wand was caught by a trainee auror, Nymphadora Tonks. He was promptly subdued and taken away. They could not touch Dumbledore, not yet.

An hour after that, Sirius floo-called and informed them that Lockhart was arrested and was being questioned. The trainee auror on the case was Sirius's cousin (Tonks, Harry recalled) so he had also shared the kids' suspicion about his works and they would be questioned too.

Once everything was calm again, Harry said, "In all this stupid complications we forgot one thing."

"And that would be?" Severus asked.

"We all are ready for the animagus revaleo potion."

"Very well. It will take three days to sit though it needs only an hour to brew. Meet me here in three days."

With that, they all left, happy and content. They had come over yet another obstacle and were now nearer to become an animagus.

McGonagall looked ashamed. She had not thought that her distant and strict demeanour was doing such damage that her students feared to come to her for serious problems. She contemplated her role in her students' life more thoroughly after that and she did not like what she realized. She had neglected her duties. She needed to correct that. But how. Trust, once lost, was not easy to regain. And she had done nothing to gain that the first time even.

Exactly on the third evening, the group gathered in the Potions Master's office, excited to know their animagus forms. Severus gave them each a parchment and asked them to make pairs. Each person will write in detail what they see of the physical appearance of their partner's animagus forms. He explained that the more details they have, the easier the first transformation will come to them. So, they sat in a circle, with their parchments and quills. Harry had other ideas. He sat with a sketch book and colours. They started with the eldest. Fred drank the potion and took his meditative stance. As he went deep into his meditation, his animagus form was revealed as a hologram in front of him. George took notes for him while Harry sketched away. His form was a black winged fox. The wings expanded like that of a Hippogriff's. All the fur and feathers were pitch black. Only the eyes of the fox was bright crystal blue. Fred slowly came out of his meditation. George went next. He was also a winged fox, but silver. His body and feathers were soft but their tips shone sharp, like a knife. His eyes were sapphire blue. Next went Lee. George took notes for him too. Lee turned out to be a Demiguise. Pure white long hairs and huge brown eyes, as if they will pop out, like those of house-elves. Blaise went next and Neville took notes for him. Blaise turned out to be an occamy. His scales were a beautiful peacock blue and green. His eyes had the most beautiful shade of purple pupil which covered half the eye with brown iris which covered the rest. He had two thin but sharp horns, lowered on his head, mostly hidden by the feathers in the crown area. Next was Neville whose notes were being taken by Blaise. Neville turned out to be a surprise. He was a Thunderbird, with gleaming golden feathers, amber eyes and slit pupils. He had three sets of wings with a wingspan of the largest pair being a little more than an adult hippogriff's. The second one was a little smaller than the first and the third a little smaller than the second. The tail feather looked like two snake tails flowing freely in the air. Draco and Harry were the last remaining. Draco volunteered to go first. Draco turned out to be true to his name. He was a Swedish short snout Dragon. His skin was stretched delicate but strong on its frame. His colour was silver all over the body and blue over the spikes on the back. His eyes we're molten silver and the fire coming out of his snout was blue and icy. To Harry, he looked majestic. Harry too turned out to be a dragon. Guess they were meant for each other. Harry was a Hebridean Black. His whole body and skin were pitch black but the spikes on his back were the same shade of blue as that of Draco. Though Harry and Draco could not compare yet, the others did not fail to notice it.

They exchanged their notes and Harry gave his sketches of all the others to them. they began to picture their animagus with the descriptions. Severus promised to also arrange for a pensieve and let them view their animagus so that they had a better idea. The only one not happy was Lee. "You all got such cool animals. Why did I get such old looking one?"

"Don't go with the look Mr. Jordan. Demiguise are master seers. When in demiguise form, you will be able to foresee what is going to happen in the place you are standing in and its surroundings. Demiguise can also turn invisible at their will."

"Oh! I didn't know that. That is so cool."

"Yes it is indeed very cool as you put it. Do you all realize that you all are magical creatures? It is practically unheard of. It is said that only extremely powerful wizards and witches can transform into a magical animagus. I myself am a muggle bird as you know. You all are extremely powerful. Use this power well. And now gentlemen, I am very tired. Off you go."

About two weeks after Lockhart's arrest passed in a blur. Severus received a letter from Tom to try and hold off any appointments for some time. He had earlier decided that he would take the year to sort out his affairs but that will have to wait. His priority now was the safety of the children, the future of wizarding world. He will take up the post as soon as he establishes himself a new name. It was under process, with the help of the account manager Harry had introduced him to, Bubdook, and it would take only a little over a week to be complete. He would apply in two weeks' time.

During this period of time, the other teachers were covering the class so that students don't fall behind in syllabus. As the book was a joke, teachers had started to handover notes. Harry and his group were helping all the teachers to make said notes. It was in such a meeting with Professor Flitwick that Harry met Luna. She was an eccentric girl, who saw and talked about creatures who no one else could see. Harry had totally forgotten about her in his busy second life. It's been months since she started school and Harry was meeting her just now. Harry knew from his previous life that the things Luna talked about did exist; at least some of it did. So, they bonded over copying texts for Professor Flitwick, which he was going to distribute the next day in their class. Luna was copying text for first years. Professor Flitwick was covering first and second years, professor Sinistra had taken up third and fourth. The fifth was being seen by professor babbling and the sixth and seventh year was being covered by Severus. Their schedules had become very hectic and hence the students had decided to help the teachers.

After meeting Luna for a few more days, Harry had invited her to the group, so as not to arouse suspicions. Blaise had taken an instant liking of the girl, as Harry had suspected, what with both of them being lovers of magical creatures. So, Luna became the first female to be included in the otherwise all boys group. Harry suspected they would all fill up soon when the other boys got involved with girlfriends and boyfriends.

After the newspaper incident, Ginny had stayed away from Harry for a few days but within the next week, she made her advances. She would try to come and sit near him in the common room but never got a chance as Harry was already surrounded by the other four Gryffindors of their group or he was not in the common room at all. She was getting rather frustrated so she decided to skip the friendship part and use the love potion already. She told her plan to Ron who agreed. Unknown to them, the shadows were listening in on them.

Harry and the others were sitting in an unused classroom when Diana flashed into Harry's shoulder. "Is that a Shadow Phoenix Harry?" Luna asked. The others were also fascinated as they had heard about Diana from Harry but had never seen it. Diana looked magnificent. Her black feathers, interspersed with grey, long black tail and dark grey crown, she looked like a queen.

"Yes. She is. Her name is Diana. But you cannot tell anyone about it Luna. She is a secret."

"Oh don't worry Harry. I know people will perceive you evil if they know you have a Shadow Phoenix as well as a snake as familiars."

Harry was absolutely shocked. "Ah… Luna… I never told you about my snake."

"Oh but it speaks to you quietly sometimes. Don't worry. Others don't hear his silent commentary which makes you smile in between serious discussions sometimes. Don't worry. I won't tell you talk to snakes either."

Others were a bit sceptical but Harry just smiled. That's how Luna was and he trusted her that his secret will remain a secret with her. Harry turned to Diana and looked her in the eye. After a few minutes, she vanished away. Harry turned to his friends with a sigh.

"It would seem wherever I am, trouble finds me. Fred, George, your siblings are planning to dose me with love potion to make me fall in love with your sister."

"What?" Draco's voice was incredulous. How dare those cheap people dose His Harry. Harry gave another sigh. "Well it's evident to them that I won't fall in love with her without aid. Question is what do we do about it?"

"I have a plan." Fred said, rubbing both his hands together. He looked at his twin as if having a silent conversation. They had some sort of a telepathic bond which was pointed out by Neville sometime during the last year, and they made full use of it to make their plans better. George smirked in a very devilish sort of way and said, "Well, the potion is keyed to Ginny. So anyone who drinks the potion will fall in love with her right."

Slowly the same devilish smile crept into the faces of all the faces. Luna, even more the voice of reason than Neville, "Ginny always had the habit of doing everything a little extra. It is possible she will put a double dose of potion into Harry's drink. Solid food is not very conducive to love potions. We can exchange it with more than one people. Maybe of different genders. It would be fun." They all nodded in thought.

Blaise spoke up, "Tell me one thing. How can an 11 year old girl think this way? And where the hell will she get hold of an illegal potion?"

"To understand that, you need to understand the dynamics of the Weasley family. Our mother, Molly Prewett, was an only daughter, much like Ginny. She got everything she wanted. So when Arthur Weasley rejected her in school, she began giving him love potions. His rejection was a private one, he was always a good man, so nobody knew about it and everyone accepted the sudden closeness of mum and dad as acceptance of the proposal by dad. All through seventh year of school and way into their marriage, mum continued to give him love and then lust potions. Bill, Charlie, Percy and the both of us are the result of that lust potion. Mum thought, with her hands full with us, she had no time left to brew them. Dad, having come out of the potion induced love and lust, realized that there was nothing he could do. He could not take care of five children alone. So he resigned to his fate and accepted mum as his wife but never loved her. Mum did not care. She got what she wanted. When we grew up, Bill told us all about it. Ginny and Ron are also not love children but the outcome of alcohol and duty. Since Ginny, dad has not touched mum. While we five were more close to dad, Ron and Ginny took after mum. She doesn't even realize what she has made of them. They are greedy and think and talk like adults. I wouldn't put it past Ginny that she will not stop here and try again and mum will keep supplying her love potions. In a year or two, when she hits her puberty, she will try to induce you with lust potions too. Just like mum. That's how it is."

Everyone was looking at George, flabbergasted. This was unreal. "This is how Voldemort came into being you know."

Everyone turned to Harry as one. Seeing their confusion, Harry elaborated, "Merope Gaunt, Tom Riddle's mother, was a pure-blood witch, though her family was rather poor. She fell in love with a handsome and wealthy muggle boy in her neighbourhood, Tom Riddle Sr. Merope was not a good looking women in any sense, and Tom did not even look at her. To have what she wanted, she fed him love potions. When he was under her spell so to speak, she eloped with him. The gaunt family disowned her. She had no way of going back to them. They lived in a small home in London. When she became pregnant, she decided to stop giving Tom the potions, thinking that by this time, Tom would accept Merope as they were already married. This is where the story deviates. She was wrong. Tom did not want anything to do with her anymore. He fled back to little Hagleton, their hometown. Merope could not go back in fear of her father and brother, who would probably kill her on sight. She had nowhere to go. She fell into a deep depression which she never recovered from. She became ill and pale. She took shelter in an orphanage, the Wool's orphanage in London. She gave birth to Tom Riddle Jr. there. She only survived long enough to give him his name, the name of her husband. Voldemort was told all about his mother and father by the caretakers who had taken care of Merope in her last few weeks. Naturally, he hated his father, uncle and grandfather. Merope was from the direct line of Salazar Slytherin hence could speak parseltongue. The ability was passed on to Tom. This set him apart from everyone in the orphanage and people fear what they cannot explain, just like my aunt and uncle. He was bullied and neglected in the orphanage. Dumbledore brought him to Hogwarts, but when he was sorted into Slytherin, he too ignored him as well as his bullies. The final nail to the coffin fell when Tom came to apply for the job of DADA professor here at Hogwarts, his first true home. Dumbledore rejected his application and hired a man with less than half of the achievements which Tom carried. It hit hard. We all know what happened after that."

"That makes sense. I always thought the headmaster a little… weird… and selfish… maybe even cruel in some ways, since I came to Hogwarts." Luna said.

Everyone nodded. They knew Harry had met the man, but to hear about him like that, things made a bit more sense.

Blaise suddenly had an idea, "Tell me Luna, when you talk to us, you don't mention any invisible beings. But with others, you go all whackspurts and nargles."

"Harry answered that already didn't he? People are afraid of what they cannot explain and in this case see. I still believe that whackspurts and nargles exists and may be one day I will prove it too. But for now, they keep unwanted people away from me."

"Woa Luna, you are a little gem aren't you?"

"Are you flirting with me Harry?" Luna asked in her dreamy voice.

Harry looked at Blaise's angry face and smirked inside. On the outside, he said, "Wouldn't think of it little sister. And everyone here knows I am not interested in girls."

"Good for you Harry. Sometimes, even I don't understand girls."

They all laughed at that. Then Fred asked, "So, what's the plan?"

"You guys decide who you want to be your sister's boyfriend. Leave the rest to me." Harry smirked. The twins did want to ask him how will he do it but they knew well that Harry won't divulge it if he did not want to. So they began to brainstorm over who will be the lucky victim. Teachers were rejected on the spot. Hufflepuffs were not a good challenge for the girl. Ravenclaw…may be. And definitely a Slytherin. A second year Slytherin boy and a third year Ravenclaw girl were selected to be Ginny's love potion induced lovers. Hades had his own suggestions of poisoning, or constricting Ginny within his coils and biting her nose off. Everyone laughed at that when Harry translated it.

Diana was keeping a constant eye on Ron and Ginny. So, the boys came to know an evening before the incidence. They also knew that his pumpkin juice, which he definitely drank every morning, would be dosed; heavily. Shadow said she saw Ginny mix a few drops of another potion into a large red potion phial. It could be anything but Harry did not have to worry. But seeing the amount of love potion (this is what happened when you let eleven year olds play adult games), they decided two won't be enough. They decided on seven. It was a magical number after all. He had already talked to Sally. She said she would exchange the goblet with fresh juice and tap Harry's knee to let him know that it's done. Then she would pour the potion mixed goblet into the seven students' pumpkin juice equally, without them knowing. He just had to distract the red haired bitch (sorry witch) for a few moments. Sally was becoming quite bold with her words these days.

The morning turned out to be the morning when their new DADA professor was introduced. Harry and all his friends pretended to be concentrating totally on Dumbledore's announcement to give Ginny the window to pour the potion. Harry was sitting at the last from his friends and Ginny had taken the seat just next to him. She thought she was tricking them. Fool.

Harry was pretty much excited about the new DADA classes. He very well knew that Professor Francois Beaumont was none other than Tom Riddle. He had chosen a French Alias. Professor Beaumont was from the Pyrenees region of France which borders on Spain. He was a researcher of dangerous animals in that area and researched on methods to overpower them. The area was also famous for Vampires. At least this was what Dumbledore told them. Tom had changed a bit of his appearance too. He was sporting the tell-tale French hazel eyes, his hair was long but straight now, unlike his 16 year old self. He preferred to tie the hair into a half bun, just like Harry. His cheekbones were high and lips a bit fuller than his original self. Harry believed these changes were permanent too. It would be difficult to keep up a glamour or use potions constantly and not get caught.

Just as the new professor bowed to the students and sat down, Harry felt the tap on his knee. The plan was in motion. In about a couple minutes, he felt another tap. The deed was now done. Ginny will have seven people moving after her come tomorrow morning, or may be by the end of the feast? Harry smirked at his friend, they understood that the fun had begun. Harry saw the six people drink their juices and Harry picked his glass too. It would not do to make Ginny suspicious. On the Ravenclaw table, Cho Chang and Terry Boot could not concentrate on the intellectual discussion going on around her. Her eyes were searching for the redheaded witch of her dreams. On the Slytherin table, Theodore Nott, Marcus Flint (Ha ha yes that's true) and Millicent Bulstrode were sweating and loosening their ties as if it was suffocating them. Hufflepuff Justin Finch-Fletchley and Gryffindor Parvati Patil were in similar conditions, all searching for only one face, licking their lips hungrily. Harry then realized that the potion Ginny mixed with the love potion was a mild lust potion. At least he thought it was mild.

Nott was looking towards the Gryffindor table and was biting his lips. That did not bode well. Theodore Nott was known as the bad boy of Slytherin since his first year. He had not touched Harry the entire year only because of Draco. But feeling lust at 12? This did not bode well. Boys who are just about to hit puberty were the worst kind. To top that up with lust potion; very bad combination indeed. Harry bent towards Fred, who was sitting beside him and whispered in his ears about the lust potion. His eyes widened for a moment but he whispered back, "Let it be. She has called this upon herself. Let it be a lesson." Harry just hoped that this doesn't go out of hand. Ginny did not even know what she had done. After breakfast, Harry asked Draco to keep an eye on Nott. He told him about his observation and Diana's warning. He also sent a request to Diana to keep an eye through his mental link. Wrapped around his belly, Hades was having a fun time giving a commentary over how much he would like to see the evil girl mate and lay eggs. It was not a good picture at all. Ginny was only 11. Molly will regret this for ever if something untoward happened.

The last class of the day was Defence. It was as good as Harry had thought it would be. Professor Francois asked him to stay behind after class. Once everyone left, Harry turned to the man and said, "Yes professor Beaumont?"

"Don't play coy with me Harry. You very well know who I am."

Harry smiled a mischievous smile towards Tom and said, "Of course I know who you are. But you were to arrive the next year. What happened?"

"Well, I did not want to leave the task of gaining another teacher to Dumbledore. Merlin knows his choices are abysmal. My plans can wait for the summer. Now, what mischief was being planned or carried out on the breakfast table?"

"You noticed?"

"Not only me but Severus too. Now spill."

"Well, Ginny Weasley decided that if she cannot befriend me, she will bewitch me. I mean to say, she planned to dose me with love potion and Diana heard the plan and informed me. We made seven other students drink the mixed juice."

"And how did you do that?"

"Will you keep my secret for now?"

"When haven't I?"

"Nice one. I have a house-elf."

"Indeed. Very well. Let us see what happens till the potion is in their systems. Who are the students by the way?"

"3rd year Ravenclaw Cho Chang, 2nd year Ravenclaw Terry Boot, and 2nd Year Slytherins Theodore Nott and Millicent Bulstrode, 6th year Slytherin Marcus Flint, and 2nd Year Gryffindor Parvati Patil."

"You mean to say Albatos Nott's son?" (A/N: I did not find Nott Sr.'s name anywhere. So here we go)

"I don't know his father's name."

"Well. It cannot be anyone else. I hope the son is not like his father."

"Why?" Harry asked fearfully.

"Albatos was known in his time to be the ladies' man. He… was quite passionate… for the lack of a better word." Harry paled. Tom dismissed him and he went to find his friends to tell them. He needed to find Ginny. This is not good.

He did find Ginny, before he found his friends, near a deserted room, being kissed by Nott on the mouth and Cho on her neck while Justin was licking her fingers. Ewwww. The others were not in sight. Ginny looked delirious with pleasure. Harry could not decide if he wanted to intervene or not. At least Ginny did not share house with any of these. He decided to wait and intervene only when needed or things got out of hands. Harry sent a mental message to Diana to bring his friends here somehow. He did not know how she did it but within five minutes, all the group was there.

After a few more moments, Fred tapped his feet in such a way, as if someone was approaching. They hid behind a giant tapestry and saw all the four students leave in a haste. They were all rather dishevelled.

George followed Ginny till she reached the Gryffindor Commons, then returned to his friends. For the next three days, they stalked Ginny and intervened wherever necessary, but let the kids have their fun with Ginny within limits. Ginny was frustrated and irritated but when caught with any of them, her moans described her pleasure. This girl will be the downfall of the Weasley name in Hogwarts in a few years' time. The potion worked out of their system in a week's time. While researching, Lee found out that if the love potion was imbibed by the giver themselves, they will fall so much in love with themselves that they would not accept advances from anyone else for a long time.

It was all Hallows' Eve when Ginny tried to dose Harry again. he simply asked Sally simply exchange their glasses. The next morning, Ginny was late for classes, as she was busy admiring herself on the mirror. Unlike dosing someone else, dosing oneself lasts for months. By the time Ginny will come out of her stupor, seeing the dosage she used, the school year will be over. Hades too laughed at the shallow witch's antiques. On the other hand, Cho and Nott were giving each other twinkle eyes and puppy dog pouts. Interesting.

The group began to meet in an empty room in the dungeons. When Severus came to know, he converted the room into a common room with couches and chairs. Draco and Harry often took the couch in front of the fire. Harry would just lean over Draco and Draco played with his soft long hairs while reading. He now kissed Harry good night everyday but Harry could not find the courage to profess his love to Draco. It was now evident even to him that Draco had feelings for him. But could he say it out loud? He had never said that to anyone. But he wanted to confess to Draco. He decided he would somehow convey it though his Yule present.

Harry was going home for Yule as were all the other members of the group. Luna was preparing for her own animagus test and will probably be ready when they returned. Harry was super excited as he would be able to go shopping for his friends and family and Severus will be there to celebrate it with him and most probably Tom and Quirinus. And he will not have to call Severus Professor Snape all the time. That was exasperating.

So, the very second day of vacation, found Harry on the streets of London, hunting down gifts for his friends and family, except Remus, as the man was with him. He will have to come back with someone else to get his gift. When they reached the jewellery shop in Diagon Alley, he asked Remus to give him some privacy to buy his gift for the boy he so loved. Remus smiled at him and said he would be back in half an hour, and to wait for him if he finished earlier. Harry had already planned what he wanted to give Draco. It had to be custom made and would need some time. He had sketched a drawing of two dragons, intertwined together, a Habridean Black and a Swedish short snout. Harry had sketched them to utter detail of their animagus forms. He had shown the sketch of his own animagus to Severus. Draco's animagus was etched into his mind, fresh as the day he saw it. So, he had made the sketch as if the two dragons are embracing, inseparable , one of their wings spread behind them while the other wrapped around each other. Together they looked majestic and strong. He wanted it on a chain of white gold. The jeweller looked at the drawing and smiled, "It's rather challenging but I will take the challenge. You can look around while I see what I can do." Harry roamed around the shop, looking at the various jewellery pieces. On one of the shelves at the back of the shop, he saw a pendant of a thestral, made of some black material, he knew his pupil less eyes were moonstones. It oddly reminded him of Luna. The first time he had met her in his earlier life, she had assured him that he was not mad and that she could see the thestrals too. Harry asked the nearby shop attendant to pack it for him along with a white gold chain. He looked around for some more time when the jeweller called him from the front to take a look at the pendant. When Harry saw it, he fell in love with the pendant. He commissioned two look-alike pendants which the man assured will be ready in 10 minutes as the design was already made and copying it won't take as much time as creating it anew. Harry saw that Remus wasn't back yet so he nodded and the jeweller continued his work. Harry took the three packages and opened the shop door just in time to see Remus rush to him. "Sorry Harry. It took longer than I thought."

"No worries uncle Moony. I finished just now." Remus raised an eye brow. "Don't look like that. I haven't had it packed. I want to ask of your opinion on it anyway. Just a moment ago it seemed a good idea but now I don't know. Would you help?"

"Of course I will. Let's get this finished quickly then."

It took another four hours roaming the streets of muggle London and Diagon Alley to find appropriate gifts for all his friends. And luckily, for Remus too. When Remus was busy in a store buying gifts for someone Harry did not know, Harry spotted an appropriate gift for him and snatched it. It was an obscure and very old book of History of the development of Defence Against the Dark Arts.

That evening, they sat packing their gifts. Harry left Sirius and Remus's gifts upstairs to pack later. He showed the two men the gift he had got for Draco. They both assured him that the gift would surely help get his point through to Draco. Harry was not so sure. It was good, it was beautiful, but it was not enough. An idea clicked in his brain then. He put the dragon pendants aside and wrapped the rest. This year, he had got Neville a sapling of a rare magical tree, the Dracaena Cinnabari, commonly known as the Dragon's blood tree. The sap from its bark, which is red in colour, is used in healing potions and the bark itself is used in various healing pastes and salves. For Lee he had got a book he had seen in the same shop he had bought Remus' book from. It was on detailed information about Demiguise. Hope this will placate the boy further. For the twins he had got walky-talkies and a manual for them to handle it. He thought it would be a good one for them, and probably Arthur too. Luna got the thestral pendant of course. Blaise had been a difficult choice. At last, he had found a Lady selling trinkets on an alley. A single earring of a silver occamy had caught his eye. He vaguely remembered Blaise mentioning that he wanted to have his left ear pierced. It was a simple stud, of an occamy in coils in a circle with its wings widespread. It would look nice on him. He got it packed and bought a book on how to care for piercings from a tattoo shop in muggle London who did piercings too. Harry was too attracted to the tattoos again but knew he had to wait some more. May be he and Draco could have similar tattoos some day?

Remus got the book and for Sirius, Harry had got a book on marriage rituals in the wizarding world in the old ways, partially to indicate it was high time he popped the question. Unknown to him, that was Sirius's gift to Severus this Christmas, a proposal. For Severus, Harry had got the set of rare phials, similar to that the twins had gifted him last year. Quirinus got a set of muggle books on latest inventions and the latest Guinness book of world records. The Resident Dark Lord was the hardest to buy for. Harry had at last found a book on how to use runes in defence which he found fascinating and a muggle hand to hand combat book too. He got them both for Tom. There was an additional gift for the residents of the house, but that will come later.

The day of Solstice came bright and cheerful. Like every year, Draco got up, got ready, and went down to open his gifts. Like children his age, he did not go to wake his parents. He had always celebrated every occasion alone and now he liked it that way. He requested a house-elf Dobby for breakfast who squealed as he always did. Draco liked Dobby. Putting everything aside, Draco opened the gift from Harry first. Inside, there was another small box and a portrait. In the portrait, Draco and Harry were standing face to face, very close, as if captured moments before their lips would meet. Portrait Draco-s hands were on portrait Harry's waist and they were looking into each other's eyes. Draco was mesmerized. Then he opened the small box and found the pendant. There was a small piece of paper inside it that said Harry had an exact same one made for himself. Draco was ecstatic. It was practically a declaration for screaming out loud. For the rest of the day, nothing could dampen Draco's mood, not even his parents' absence.

When Sirius went to wake Harry up for Christmas, the boy wasn't there on his bed. When he and Severus came down, they saw Harry sitting by the fire, looking haggard. Severus came and sat beside him, enquiring without asking. That was the level their relationship had reached. They did not need words to communicate anymore. Harry replied without hesitation, "I… I don't know if Draco will like my gift."

"Of course he will like it Harry. You are worrying for nothing. Come. Let us open gifts."

Harry reluctantly agreed. He had his usual books and chocolates. He picked Draco's gift at last. It turned out he was actually worrying about nothing. Draco had sent him a vial of his blood. That was a great deal of trust and love. Blood was only shared among spouses in the wizarding world. Harry held the small vial in his hand, stunned. Infact, all other occupants of the room also looked towards him in stunned silence. Quirinus finally broke the silence, "Whoa! Does the child know that by wizarding standard he just proposed Harry for marriage?"

Harry broke into a smile, then a grin. He got up saying, "I have a letter to write. Oh! And Sirius, Hades wants to stay here with you. Says he is fed up being in a smaller body and wrapped around me all day. Do you mind?"

"No". With that Harry climbed his stairs to his room. He had a letter to write. Half way up the stairs, he looked back and said, "Oh and I forgot to tell you. I had got myself a house-elf when I had first visited Diagon Alley. She goes by the name Sally." Harry turned around and walked away, leaving three dumbstruck men behind.

By the end of the first week of school after Christmas holidays, Harry and Draco were the hot topics of discussion all over the school. They were practical joined at the hips (no pun intended). As soon as Harry had seen Draco in their regular compartment, he had jumped over him and kissed him senseless. Breath was not a necessity at this moment. They only separated when they heard their friends clearing their throats, most probably for the tenth of twentieth time. Harry showed Draco that he had the identical pendant that he had sent him. Draco helped Harry wear it. They both wore their pendants with pride. It was the mark of belonging to each other. To say that Dumbledore was unhappy was a gross understatement.

Even Severus now openly favoured the whole group. They visited him in the evenings openly now. On the first evening, Luna took her animagus potion. Draco volunteered to write the details while Harry took out his sketch book. Luna turned out to be a mystic white bird, her feathers as white as snow. Severus explained to them that it was a caladrius, a magical bird which has the ability to heal any disease known to man and wizard kind. They all requested Severus to show his animagus form. After much pleading, Severus relented. When he changed into his Falcon form, everyone was mesmerized. They all were looking at him wide eyed. Harry went close to it. Severus has never allowed anyone to come near him in his animagus form as nobody knew it was not regular bird but an animagus.

When Severus turned back, Harry quietly said, "You said your form is not magical."

"And it is clearly not."

"Dad! You are almost twice the size of a normal Falcon and you have thin sharp pitch black horns on your head that are so flat on your head that I wouldn't have seen it if I didn't go near you."

Now Severus was looking at Harry wide eyed, "But we have never heard of a magical Falcon before."

Harry smirked, "I think we have found a new species then. A magical horned Falcon."

Everyone smiled at that. This would mean Severus was a very strong wizard too.

In the following month, Dumbledore called Harry to his office three times. Each time he tried to use legilimency on him but failed. This time, Harry let him see how Severus helped him all through his first year and even now. Each time, he complained of headaches and escaped and told Severus about it.

Dumbledore was growing desperate. Harry needed to do something, but what? He decided it was time to use his powers as the child of death. One night towards the end of February, Harry turned invisible and trudged the stairs towards the Headmaster's office. He needed to find something, anything which would incriminate him.

After nearly three hours of futile search, Harry was frustrated. Obviously Dumbledore won't keep a journal of all his manipulations. He knew that. But he had hoped he could get something at least; anything. But no. There was nothing he could hold against Dumbledore right now.

Just when Harry gave up and was about to leave, his eyes fell on a crumpled parchment below Dumbledore's desk. Harry picked it to find a list of names, against which was written name of either of the four houses. Harry was astonished at first. Who were these people? Harry began reading the names. It was when he recognized a few names from his DA that he understood. These were the students who were to come to Hogwarts the upcoming year. But without being sorted, why were the house names written against them? Was Dumbledore planning something? If yes, why would he leave a proof behind? Harry needed more proof and solid ones. This would not prove anything.

When Harry reached an empty corridor, he summoned Diana. "Diana, right now only you, Tom and Quirinus know my secret. I need your help."

"Say what you wish, child of death."

"I want you to keep an eye on Dumbledore 24x7. I want you to find something that will incriminate him, sully his name. Before we launch a direct attack, we need to show people he is a manipulative bastard. Can you do that?"

"Of course I can. I will see you soon."

With that, Diana flashed away, most probably into Dumbledore's chamber.

In one place, Harry was enjoying his close proximity to Draco immensely, whereas on the other hand, he was feeling guilty that he has not yet shared his identity with the three most important men in his life. He wanted to tell them everything but was afraid that they would hate him. He knew Severus would. He himself had manipulated the man into trusting him and then loving him. He would hate himself if he would have been in his place. But this guilt was eating at him, especially now that he did not know how to explain to them his need to expose Dumbledore. As for Draco, he felt like he was cheating the boy by keeping such a big secret from him. He decided to start with Draco. If Draco did not accept him after knowing the truth, he will fight the war alone.

So, on Saturday, after breakfast, Harry pulled Draco away from the group and took him to the seventh floor. For the first time in this timeline, Harry was going to get into the Room of Requirements. Draco was astonished to see a door coming out of a blank wall. It was a simple sitting room with plush couch and a roaring fire. Harry invited Draco to sit beside him on the couch. Draco could feel that Harry was nervous about something. What was there to be nervous about? "Harry! Is everything alright?"

"Yeah… No… actually not… I want to tell you something."

"Go on. I'm listening."

"If after hearing this, you hate me and not want to be with me, I will understand."

Draco interrupted him. He was getting worried. "Harry what are you talking about? Please tell me."

"Draco I have kept something from you and the others. Something big. Please hear me out first. I am not from this time Dray. I am from the future. In the year 1998, Tom, who had not regained his Horcruxes and was of unsound mind, waged war against the wizarding world. He attacked the school. I was the prophesied saviour, the only one to kill him. To save everyone, I had to give up my life willingly. Unknown to Tom, I was one of his Horcruxes. When he killed me, I was sent to a limbo instead of being dead. There I met Thanatos, the Master of Death. He said that he needed me to teach Tom a lesson as he had cheated Death by splitting his soul. He gave me choices to return to my old life. I chose to be 11 again. He gifted me with memories. I and you were not friends in my old life. Though you showed you hated me, inside you loved me and saved me several times. Severus pretended to loath me but he too was protecting me all the time. I never knew. The story about dreaming about my parents not wanting me, were memories of my parents; Real memories. Whereas Dumbledore, who I had thought to be my mentor, had only manipulated me into a convenient weapon. He knew all along that I was a Horcrux but did not do anything about it. He knew about how my relatives treated me but choose to stay silent. He threatened Severus when he demanded that I be checked when I came to the school the first time. He was always painted bad in front of me. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger were my best friends then. I came to know that they were with me only because Dumbledore had told them that by being with me they will also get the fame. They were with me for fame. They did not like me at all. When I met you for the first time, I could not resist myself. My love for you is real Draco. But now that we are taking a step into a relationship, I did not want to hide anything from you."

There was an eerie silence in the room. Harry waited. The silence was killing him; but he wanted to give Draco his time to process everything. But each passing moment was breaking Harry's heart. Very silently, in a whisper, he said, "Please say something."

Draco had not even realized how much time had passed. He was just trying to process so much information in his head. When he turned towards Harry, he saw Harry was looking towards the floor and… crying… profusely… without a sound… just tears rolling down his cheeks… his face, a mask of pain. Draco pulled him towards himself and Harry broke down, crying for all the insecurities he was feeling within.

"Stupid git. Did you really think I will leave you for this? I am actually happy that one of us is at least a little experienced."

Harry slowly wiped his tears and said, "Ah… Draco… when I died, I was a virgin. I had kissed one girl and one boy by that time only. And made out with two. Fully clothed." Harry somehow wanted to clarify that, he didn't know why.

Draco narrowed his eyes, "Who were they?"

Harry blushed, "Ah… Cho Chang in my fifth year. And just the next day, the twins showed me what I was missing. It never happened again I swear."

Draco's eyes narrowed even more. "Do you like any of them?"

"No… No, I don't. I love only one person. And only one person that I have ever loved, this life or that."

That pleased Draco. He pulled Harry closer again and gave him a breath-taking kiss. "Now. Never ever think I will leave you. As you are saying, it took me two lifetimes to get you. I am not letting you go. But you must think of telling Severus. He will not like it but it is the right thing to do."

"I know. And I have thought over it. I will tell them during the Easter holidays. I am going home for that."

"Good idea."

For Harry, Easter came way too early. Sitting in the living room of Silva cottage, after much encouragement from the adults, Harry told them his story. When he finished, Severus got up and left the room without a word. Harry felt his heart break. He knew Severus would be angry but he had hoped that he will see that Harry loved him dearly. Remus came and sat beside him to sooth him but nothing helped. He wanted his dad to accept him, to talk to him. Harry started crying, clutching Remus. He was jolted out of his moaning by a gentle hand on his shoulders. He looked up to see his dad standing in front of him with a sheet of paper. He sat on his knees in front of Harry and asked, "I am not angry Harry and I am not going to leave. Yes I am upset that you kept so much to yourself, hurt alone, without letting us help. But not anymore son. These are the formal adoption papers. You are the son of my heart. Would you like to make it legal?"

"Yes…" Harry leapt from the couch and landed upon Severus, crying and laughing at the same time. So they both signed the papers with a special blood quill and Sirius kept it for safe keeping to be registered in the Ministry the next day.

The next day, Tom came by for a visit. He had something important to discuss, "I have a few seats in the Wizengamot as Tom Riddle aka Voldemort. Obviously, I cannot access those seats. Hence those seats remain dormant and the scale is tipped towards light. Now, light wizards are the once who don't want to pass any laws giving any sort of freedom to what they call creatures. Right now I cannot do anything. But I have an Idea. The only person these titles and seats can be transferred to is Harry, by annexation. By killing my body in 1981, Harry had become eligible to claim my titles."

After a few more discussions, everyone agreed. So the next day, they went to Gringotts to get the claims. Sirius also filed the adoption through the goblins. It was more accurate and effective. Now, Harry had 38 seats in the Wizengamot instead of the 17 he had earlier. Harry chose Severus to be his proxy, as Sirius had his own seats and Remus will not be even considered. Dumbledore will get a shock when he came to the next Wizengamot meeting. That won't be until school ends.

Diana kept reporting to Harry that Dumbledore destroys all written proofs of his misdoings but keeps memories. That was good with Harry. He asked Diana to keep an eye on where he keeps them. He will get them on the last day so Dumbledore doesn't have a chance to know before the students leave.

The rest of the year was peaceful and full of study and revisions and competition. Exam came and went. The results were almost same as last year. Neville and Harry were toppers in Gryffindor. So were Blaise and Draco in Slytherin. Luna topped the whole first year while Fred, George and Lee topped their own year. Hermione stood fifth, again, much to her annoyance while Ronald Weasley was nowhere in sight in the rank list. Ginevra Weasley was so absorbed in herself that even her books did not interest her. She would probably get the first genuine scolding of her life at home. Fred and George planned to gather the older men of the house and discuss Ron and Ginny's behaviour with them. They would also get permission to visit Harry this summer. They wanted to meet the DADA professor in the different setup.

The last day of school, just before breakfast, Harry slipped into Dumbledore's private chambers where the vials of memory were kept. It was not difficult to find with Diana's instructions. Harry made duplicate vials which looked the same but had nothing more than condensed air inside them. With the original vials secure in his bag, Harry went to breakfast. Another year had ended. And the whole group was eagerly looking forward to the summers.