Sorry for all the typos and ramblings and such…I think I've made things a wee bit complicated so I'll have to take some time to sort this ever-expanding plot out, before it all falls apart! Thanks to all of you NICE DECENT KIND THOUGHTFUL people who review, hexes on those who don't (but I rarely review either, so I guess I can't get too upset) and whoever has me on their Author Alert, I love you!
Chapter Sixteen
"You're joking!" chorused Ron, Fred and George Weasley. The thought of having to put up with both Draco Malfoy and the Dursleys was frankly revolting.
"I'm afraid I am not," answered Dumbledore, whose face also conveyed the thought that this would not be the best summer of his life.
"Sir, do you think it's wise to have Malfoy around here now, with all that's going on?" asked Harry.
"I agree with Potter," Snape chimed in, his face contorting under the strain of saying that one simple sentence. "At the very least, Arthur Weasley should keep his new friends in Hogsmeade. We don't want Malfoy running off to his new master with information on the Resistance."
"Yes, I'll tell Arthur to take up rooms at the Three Broomsticks. Molly, you're welcome to join him there with the children, if you prefer."
"I'd rather leave the kids here with Harry. Merlin knows I'd rather send the two trouble makers home, but I think Harry will need some friendly faces around," answered Mrs. Weasley, much to Harry's relief.
"You should stick Malfoy in with them Muggles," suggested Hagrid. "If 'e 'ates Muggles so much, you ought give him a reason to."
"I don't understand why he needs to come here," broke in Hermione. "His parents never leave him anywhere, and if they had to, I'm sure they could afford someone to watch him. There must be some motive behind this."
"Maybe he wants a rematch at Quidditch," mumbled Ron. "No doubt he could use the practice."
"Be that as it may," Professor McGonagall interrupted, "Mr. Malfoy will be arriving in the morning and you're all to keep your wands to yourselves. That includes you, Potter, and your new powers."
"You'd best keep an eye on him," suggested Sirius. "His time in Hogwarts will be up soon enough, but any reason to expel him beforehand will be much simpler."
"Now we need to speak to Harry privately," announced Dumbledore. "So if you'll all go back to the Gryffindor rooms, it would be much appreciated. And someone please take Harry's relatives back to their quarters as soon as they are human again?"
Harry waved goodbye to his friends and turned back to the inevitable discussion that he was now not so keen on being part of. "Harry," began Remus Lupin in a tone that did not hide the fact that this was not going to be a pleasant chat. "There are some options we need to discuss with you. We aren't going to make any decisions on this matter without your involvement, rest assured, so we really need to talk about all of the choices."
"You know about the Blood Stone and the known ways to stop it. Unfortunately, Luca can't add to our pool of knowledge on that front, but he is willing to destroy the Stone for us if we can get our hands on it, as only a vampire can crack its surfaces. He would also help on…the other issue, should it come to that." Lupin looked decidedly uncomfortable at the thought of Harry becoming a monster. "On the other hand, no one properly knows if Aglaia's legacy would allow you to block the Stone's power, and Professor Dumbledore has located a text that might be able to help our lessons along. You could choose to concentrate on that route."
"And if I don't?" asked Harry.
"Well, we'd might try a Freezing Charm on you, to make Voldemort think you're dead. We'd have to hide you from Draco Malfoy. But there's no telling when we could lift the charm or even if Voldemort would be fooled by it."
"So, I can either be frozen until the war's over and Voldemort is gone, given that the charm even works. Or I can study up on a Welsh text, hoping that the next attack won't finish me off. Or I can turn into a vampire," Harry summarized, ticking off his limited options on his fingers.
"Basically, yes," answered Sirius, looking ill at the thought.
"So I could be frozen for who knows how long, and Voldemort could still use the Blood Stone on anyone else in this room, Luca excluded. And I wouldn't be able to help. Or I could stay awake, with the possibility that the Stone will get control next time and I'll hurt someone rather badly, and Professor Snape will either be killed or forced out of his spy role. Or Professor Snape will have to put his neck on the line to find the stone, which he might have to do anyway regardless what happens to me, and I know that he's not exactly looking forward to that prospect. Or I can turn into a vampire."
"Yes," whimpered Professor McGonagall. Snape looked ill at having his bad luck spelled out for him.
"And you want me to choose one of these cheery options, do you?" asked Harry, not trying to hide the bitterness in his voice.
"Yes," answered a grave Dumbledore. Harry sat in silence for a few minutes, petting Fawkes, who had landed on his knee and was singing his Phoenix song, trying to boost Harry's courage. Harry wished Hermione hadn't been asked to leave. She would likely have some logical reason behind each scenario.
"Do you want my decision now, or can it wait until morning?"
Lupin looked around at his other colleagues before telling Harry that he needed an answer for them by breakfast, and with that, Harry said goodnight to everyone, including a weary Professor Snape, and returned to the common room, determined to get Hermione's advice.
"They can't make you decide!" Hermione shrieked, once Harry pulled her aside and spelled out all of the options for him. "It's just cruel!"
"Thanks, Hermione, well spotted. But I do have to choose, Dumbledore said so himself, so why don't you help me instead of shrieking in my ear, because I have a decidedly BAD head ache at the moment."
"Wouldn't you rather ask Ron to help?" she asked, and Harry couldn't tell is she was more eager to get out of the responsibility or if she was more elated that Harry had turned to her for help. It was understood that, though Harry would do anything for Hermione, Ron was his best friend.
"No, he'd tell me to do whatever is easiest for me. He wouldn't think it out. I want to do the right thing, regardless what that means for me. And he wouldn't consider Snape's demise as a really bad thing, while we both know better. So I suppose you'd be more help in this." Hermione looked like she was going to burst into tears or, worse, hug Harry. But she just sat back on the couch and set to thinking it through.
"I don't think Snape will be able to get out of finding the stone and destroying it, no matter what you do. You were right about the stone, Voldemort could use it on anyone and I'm actually surprised that he hasn't tried it on Dumbledore. Perhaps there's some connection between you two that makes it easier for him to get to you," she suggested.
"Probably," Harry agreed. "He did leave some of himself in my scar. And he has some of my blood as well. As revolting as that sounds."
"Yes, well, Professor Snape, or somebody else, will have to get the stone. So that one problem is solved, even if it's dangerous for Snape. But for him to get anywhere near it, Voldemort will have to keep him on, which means he needs to think you're dead, which means you'll need to seem dead. I might be able to find something better than a simple Freezing Charm in the library that'll have that effect. I'm surprised Snape couldn't think of a potion."
They both sat silent for a while, watching Ron across the room, whispering to the twins about plans for war against Draco Malfoy.
"Hermione, how much do you know about Polyjuice Potion?" Harry asked, having a sudden inspiration that made him even queasier than before.
"Well, as much as you I suspect. Ingredients, results, it originated in 1107 in Wales, developed by Arsenius Jigger."
"What do you know about the principle behind it, though? How much of the other person's body to you take on? I know we kept our personalities, but is that all we keep?"
Realization dawned on Hermione's face, and she looked as queasy as Harry felt. "Harry, you can't ask someone to take your place! You'll still be here as well, and then Voldemort would know something was wrong for sure!"
"I wasn't planning on remaining myself, you know. I have to go talk to someone. Thanks for your help, Hermione," he said, rushing through the portrait before she had a chance to yell after him.
"Where's Harry going then?" Ron asked, joining Hermione on the couch.
"I have no idea," she answered, then joined the Anti-Malfoy Movement in the corner of the common room.
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Harry would never have thought he'd be voluntarily knocking at the dungeon door leading to Snape's office, hoping the Potions master was in. And judging the look on Snape's face when he saw Harry Potter at the door in the wee hours of the night said he never expected it either.
"What is it, Potter?" Snape snapped, forgetting in his tiredness that Harry held the decision-making power to send him to his doom.
"Sir," Harry began, fighting the urge to kick the man in the shin, "I need to ask you about a potion." This was the last thing Snape had been expecting Potter to say, but then, his expectations had been pretty worthless this summer so far.
Moving aside, he let Harry into his office, pointing out a chair for the boy, and sat behind his desk, his fail-safe sneer firmly affixed to his face. "Well?" he asked when Harry seemed hesitant.
"How much of ourselves to we retain when we take Polyjuice potion?" Harry blurted out, having little doubt that Snape would dismiss his idea as rubbish and laugh him out of the dungeons at once.
"Why do you want to know?" Snape asked, drilling his black eyes into Harry's, trying to read where the conversation is going.
"I'll tell you as soon as you answer my question," Harry snapped, barely believing his own gall, but continuing on. "Is the personality the only thing we hang on to, or is there more to it?"
Snape, despite boiling blood at Harry's impudence, answered as best he could. "You have the same personality, the same memories, a conscience and soul, if you believe in such things, but all of your physical traits become the traits of whoever you transform into. Now tell me what this is about!"
"I was wondering if Voldemort could use the Blood Stone against me if I'm someone else. I don't know how exactly the Blood Stone and Polyjuice Potion work, but if the stone concentrates on the physical part of my brain, would becoming someone else make a difference?"
Snape was floored. Why hadn't anyone else, anyone but Harry Potter, thought of this? Of course, it might not work; he'd have to ask Luca about the fine points behind the BloodStone…
"And who are you planning to become?"
"You."
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"What?!" everyone in Dumbledore's office screamed once Harry explained his idea. Everyone, that is, except Snape, who was sitting in his chair furthest from Sirius, wondering if, given permission, he and Harry could pull this off. He and Harry. That mere pairing was so unnatural to Snape's thought process that he could barely suppress a shiver.
It was morning and, after a rather quiet breakfast, except a brief shouting match between Professor McGonagall and Mrs. Weasley over the scheduled trip back to Little Whinging with the Dursleys to look over the lease of a possible house, Harry had joined the staff in Dumbledore's office and described the plan he had concocted last night.
"Run that by me one more time," Sirius demanded, obviously not hearing right. Harry could not have just suggested what he just did.
Harry sighed and repeated his idea. "If I take the Polyjuice Potion, my physical self will change into some one else's. Now, it's possible that the mind I take with me will still be connected to Voldemort's Blood Stone, despite my brain disappearing, but Luca thinks that the stone picks up on a frequency unique to my brain, not my mind or conscience or whatever it is. Also, you'd have to wonder why Voldemort is using the stone on me, if he could use it on anyone else. And the probable answer to that is he can't use it on anyone else as things stand now, because he'd have used it on Dumbledore or someone more important than me, no matter what grudge he has against me. And maybe he can use it against me, despite the distance between us, because of the connection we have. He left me this scar and I gave him my blood, but if I'm someone else, it could change all that."
"Yes, that makes since, but the rest of it?" broke in Lupin.
"You could become anyone, why Snape?" Sirius growled. For some reason, Sirius sounded more upset about this transformation than when he thought Harry might have to become a vampire. From his corner, Snape glared at Sirius.
"Just hear me out," Harry requested. "Professor Snape would have to get the stone away from Voldemort regardless what happens to me. It doesn't matter that Voldemort might not be able to use it on anyone else at the moment, it's still a dangerous thing for him to have, with all of the vampires he's recruited that can use the Blood Stone properly if in the presence of anyone in this room."
"Yes, and he could take care of that himself," suggested McGonagall.
"But I know where the stone is," protested Harry. "I saw it during the last attack."
"You can just tell him where it is," said Mr. Weasley, who had returned to England and left the new recruits in Hogsmeade to attend this meeting.
"Professor Snape is needed here. He needs to make Remus his Wolfsbane by the end of the week, he needs to help with security around the castle now that Voldemort will know that perimeter defenses, and if you want a back up plan, he could even go with me to the Death Eater meeting. Malfoy will be here in an hour, and no doubt he'll be called as well. Professor Snape could become him if you think it necessary."
"But I don't understand!" barked Sirius, rubbing his temples, annoyed at having to talk his godson out of a dangerous idea. "You say Snape is needed here, then you suggest he come with you. So that's not the real reason why he can't get the Stone himself. Now, the Polyjuice was a good idea, Harry, but this…why don't you want Snape to handle the stone on his own?"
"Because it's dangerous!" Harry yelled.
Until then, Dumbledore had been silently listening to the arguments, but now he spoke up. "Harry, it would be dangerous for you too."
"Because it's my job," was Harry's second, quieter answer.
"Bollocks to that!" yelled Lupin, loosing his calm once again. "Harry, just because Voldemort killed your parents, just because you've always been a brave young man, a hero, doesn't mean that this is your fight alone. You don't have to save the bloody world! You're just a boy!"
Harry was about to respond to this, when Snape finally spoke up. "Whatever Harry might be saying now, those are not the reasons he gave me last night. I do believe he's trying to spare me my honor, but at this rate, you'll never give him a chance. Lupin, Harry isn't looking to be a hero here. The simple fact is that he knows I'm not the man for the job, that he is. I may be able to withstand the Cruciatus curse a few times a month, I may be able to hold my own in the presence of the Dark Lord, but I could never defeat him alone, should it come down to a duel. But Harry could. If he takes the potion now, he'll probably be able to stay here a few more days until the next meeting, giving him time to develop the new powers. Knowing him, he'd master it by then. And when he is called, he will use the knowledge I give him to attend the meeting, then he will go off and find the stone, and use a port key to come back with it to Hogwarts."
Dumbledore considered all of this and nodded his head in agreement, answered by howls of anger and disapproval from the others in the office.
"Albus, surely you don't agree with this?" asked a sputtering McGonagall, Mrs. Weasley nodding along with her, too stunned for words.
Lupin and Mr. Weasley were muttering that it was insane, too dangerous, etc. Sirius, however, took a more volatile approach.
"You put him up to this, Snape?" he yelled, rounding on the Potions master. "I've always took you for a coward, but sending a boy to do your duty, that's just pathetic." Snape stood up then but, before it could come to blows, Harry jumped between the two men, holding both arms outstretched at his side, thus sending both men flying back into their seats. "Wow," whispered an awed Hagrid.
"Sirius, may I remind you that Professor Snape saved my life yesterday?" said Harry, a maturity and authority in his voice that no one had ever heard from him before. For a moment, Lupin thought he was hearing Dumbledore speak. "He has also faced Voldemort at great risk to himself and he knows that, whatever the outcome of this mission, he will be a marked man. Cowardice is not one of the characteristics of this man, and you should know that. Now I suggest that you all ready yourselves for Draco Malfoy's arrival. He's not to see anything of our plans, and once I've taken the potion, Professor Snape will have to remain in out of sight. Professor McGonagall will have to make sure that the Dursleys are moved into their new house. They all need to be out of here before Malfoy sees them. Tell them that I've died, they won't care to ask how. Hopefully, we'll have to alter their memories at a later date to correct that misinformation. Mrs. Weasley will have to see to my funeral arrangements. Voldemort will be expecting the wizard world to mourn me. He might think that you'd want to keep it quiet, so you might want to speak to Hermione. She has a special arrangement with Rita Skeeter. She could write that Hogwarts tried to deny it but finally admitted that I've died. Professor Dumbledore, you might want to take this opportunity to convince the public of Voldemort's return, or you might say that it was an accident. Sirius, work on the defenses using my invisibility cloak. I'd be surprised if Wormtail hasn't given a detailed description of your animagus form to all the new Death Eaters and we can't risk Malfoy recognizing you, however unlikely that seems. Professor Lupin, I'll meet you in your office once I've taken the potion and we'll start the lessons. Now, Professor Snape and I have to go to the potion lab to finish the Polyjuice. Will someone please speak to Ron and the others?" With that, Harry and a shocked Snape left Dumbledore's office, effectively adjourning the meeting and leaving behind several stunned wizards and witches.
After several silent minutes, they all jumped into action, Sirius voicing the thought in everyone's mind: "Are you sure that boy isn't a relative of yours, Dumbledore?"
So that's that! Didn't Harry show all them little people? Ok, everyone but Luca (where'd he go, oh, there he is, he's a shy one, sorry) belongs to Madam Rowling. Of course, I'm carrying Lupin's love child, so he's mine too. Anyone who's looking for more Lupin, I might be putting up a romance with him a little later. Don't worry, Draco will be around some to smarm up to Ginny, and the Dursleys aren't out of the picture yet, so don't get yer knickers in a twist. REVIEW! Or I kill you 'til you die from it!