"Truly a Gryffindor"
Prologue:
It has been six years since Harry Potter graduated from Hogwarts. He is now twenty-four years of age, and the youngest person in the history of the Ministry of Magic to become an Auror. His two best friends from childhood, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger also work at the Ministry of Magic. Ron has taken over his father's position as head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts branch, and plays as Quidditch Keeper for the Kenmere Kestrels. Hermione is slowly working her way to becoming the next Minister of Magic, and is slated to take over as Minister sometime in the next seven years when Percy Weasley resigns. Sirius Black, his name now having been cleared for almost a decade, works alongside Harry as an Auror, helping him whenever he can. Severus Snape has declined several positions in the Ministry, remaining at his usual station as Potions Master and head of Slytherin house at Hogwarts. Rumors are circulating that he may become the next Headmaster of the school, following current Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Draco Malfoy has changed for the better since the events of his sixth year at Hogwarts, and has become one of Harry's friends. He works at Hogwarts as, ironically enough, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, a job that he has held for two years running.
Despite the good state that the wizarding community is in, Harry feels a certain sense of apprehension, mostly because of the great pains his lightning bolt scar has been giving him lately. Although Harry is yet to reveal his splitting headaches and nervousness, he is not the only one feeling these same feelings of unease.
It is a quiet evening in Hogsmeade when Harry awakens to a searing pain in his forehead...
Harry sat straight up in bed, sweat pouring down his face, and gasping for breath. He'd seen something...a dream, but what it was he could not remember. It was slipping away so quickly he could barely remember anything; but there was something. A high cold laugh. He knew that laugh. It was a laugh he hadn't heard in years; a laugh no one wished to hear. A laugh that meant death.
"Voldemort," he whispered.
* * *
Severus almost jumped out of his skin, and sweat was dripping down his face. No, no, no. He refused to believe it. A lifetime spent hunting him down to kill him, but you didn't see things like that in your nightmares every day. He got out of bed and threw a handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace. "Harry Potter 731 North Hogsmeade!" he said when he'd gotten into the hearth. 'I hope he's up,' he thought as he whipped past several other fireplaces and came to a stop in Harry's. He was surprised to find him awake, and looking quite shaken indeed. "Oh hi Severus," he said quietly. He clambered out of the fireplace and dusted himself off, "I know this probably doesn't mean anything," he began, but Harry stopped him. "Did you see him? My scar woke me up; it was hurting again. I saw Voldemort and someone else. I don't know who though. Someone...familiar. But I still can't put a name to that face; I can't even remember what he looks like now that I'm awake."
Severus let out a sigh of discomfort, "I saw something like that, only it was a bit different; more Voldemort than anything else." Harry looked out the window; it was already growing light outside. "I'm getting hold of Ron, Hermione, and Draco the moment the sun comes up." Severus held back a smile; he had just been thinking along the same lines only instead getting hold of Sirius, Dumbledore, and Arthur Weasley. Harry let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes, "Every time I think I'm through with Voldemort he keeps coming back. But this time he had somebody's help; he looked so familiar." Severus didn't say anything; he didn't want to tell Harry that he recognized the mystery person too, but he couldn't quite put the name to the face. He was just about ready to head back to Hogwarts when Harry stopped him, "Stay for a while. Sun's almost up anyway; no point in going to bed." "I wasn't thinking about sleeping," said Severus, sitting down in one of Harry's chairs. "More along the lines of getting hold of some people that I think might want to hear about this."
* * *
Harry used the Floo Network to get Ron, Hermione, and Draco to his house. He told them about what had happened and Draco tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair nervously. "I dreamt something like that," he said finally. "What?" said Harry, "I didn't know you had them." "And I didn't know Professor Snape did either, but you don't hear me complaining," he said. "That's odd. You, Professor Snape, and me. Voldemort almost killed you, I almost became a Death Eater, and Snape was a Death Eater until he switched sides. Are you seeing the connection here?" "You three were the most heavily involved with Voldemort," said Ron. "Almost, with the exception of my father. And, of course, whoever is helping Voldemort return to power," said Draco. "Wait a minute! Snape used to be a Death Eater so he's got the Dark Mark burned into his arm! If it's getting clearer..." There was a scramble for Floo Powder as everyone quickly jumped into the fireplace, heading for Hogwarts.
* * *
Harry was a glad it was a Saturday; he didn't want to come bursting into the middle of a class and scare all the kids by demanding where their Potions Master was. He opened the door to the empty room and said, "Severus?" He heard a shouting noise from his office and immediately ran in, Hermione, Ron, and Draco in tow. "What's going on?!" said Harry, running in. Severus was leaning over his sink, running cold water over his forearm. He looked up at Harry, a pained expression on his face, "Look." He thrust his forearm out for them to see the Dark Mark, burning a deep black. He rubbed it sorely, "Stupid, stupid young fool." "Who?" said Hermione. "Me; even now all these years later after switching sides I'm still paying for what I did as a Death Eater with this damn tattoo," he said angrily. "Yeah, but at least it can tell us important things like whether or not Voldemort is coming back!" said Ron, trying to turn it into a cheery situation. Obviously, it didn't help. Severus continued running cold water over his burning forearm, "I'll admit that is the only advantage to it; we know just as well as he does that he doesn't have a complete surprise factor because of this stupid thing. And the clearer it gets, the stronger he gets."
"What did it start out as?" said Harry, peering over at it. "It looked like a mass of black up until about three days ago. I thought I was just seeing things but about fifteen minutes ago it started burning; I haven't felt it burn like that since...since the days when he was first in power," said Severus quietly. Ron and Hermione exchanged glances, both looking very worried. "Perhaps I should go get Percy Weasley," said Hermione, "I know he wouldn't be as foolish about this as what Cornelius Fudge was back in our fourth year." Severus looked down at the tattoo and touched his tender, burning flesh; "I think you're right."
* * *
Hermione returned with Percy half an hour later, and Harry thought he hadn't changed much since they'd last met a few years ago. 'Still looks like a know-it-all,' he thought. They told Percy about what had happened over the past twenty-four hours and he examined Severus' forearm carefully; he leaned back against the sink and thought for a minute. "I was hoping this would never happen when I was Minister," he said finally, "but I can't ignore the signs. We'd better start alerting the regulars about this; Dumbledore already knows right?" Severus nodded, "Yes, I told him about it a while ago. He doesn't know about the Dark Mark though," he said, gazing down at his arm. "It's best we tell him soon then," said Percy, "if there's anyone who will know what to do at a time like this, it's Headmaster Dumbledore." He shut his eyes and let out a sigh, then opened his eyes again, "I'll need to contact Azkaban and the rest of the Aurors. I hesitate to get more involved with the Dementors again though; they'd switch sides in a heartbeat if Voldemort promised them more souls to suck out and more people to torment."
"Don't bother with them," said Ron, "all they're good for is being the Azkaban guards. Even then they're blind, so if you're an Animagi you could do what Sirius did; transform and escape." "That's not the only thing Ron," said Percy with a frustrated look. "Supposedly the Patronus spell is becoming more and more popular among the small circles still left of Death Eaters. They're learning it in case they're captured and sent to Azkaban so they can ward off the Dementors and escape. At least, that's what our sources have been telling us." "So the Dementors are useless now," said Hermione, "and we cannot find anything else to take their place." "When did you find this out?" said Harry. "About two weeks ago," said Percy, "we haven't known for long, but we're trying to make do as best we can." "You are leaving the Dementors there until then?" said Severus. "For now, yes, but as soon as we can find a decent replacement they'll be gone," Percy replied. "You'll need some sort of a spell then," said Draco, "because you know wizards can't hold Death Eaters in their cells. They'll just bust them open and kill their guard." "We know," said Percy, "but we don't know anyone who could possibly come up with the sort of spell we need. This is heavy magic that we're going to need; not just any spell can block all the power of a Dark wizard."
Draco shrugged, "I'll do it." "What? You can't do it; you're twenty-three. What makes you think you can do something that no one else can?" said Percy. "Oh quit your condescending," muttered Ron with a roll of his eyes; Percy pretended not to hear. "Look at it this way; my father taught me enough about the Dark Arts that by the time I was fifteen I could have outsmarted a thirty year old wizard with all the things I knew. And since I'm the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher...it seems only fitting that I at least try to figure out a spell that would work," he said promptly. "Of course I'm open to help from anyone who wants to," he added. Percy let out a sigh, "All right, if you think you can do it...fine, but try to hurry it up, will you?" Draco headed for the door, "I'm already working on it," and he left. "I hope he finds a way," said Percy, "it's our last hope for containing the wizards of Azkaban."
* * *
Draco worked constantly on new ideas for spells, spending more time in the library than most of them thought possible, and beginning to surprise even Hermione. Harry, Ron, and Hermione tried to help him whenever they could, although Ron and Hermione weren't half as effective as what Harry, Sirius, and Severus were, being Aurors and Severus having tons of experience with the Dark Arts as it was. Harry and Severus, however, had other problems as well; they were still trying to solve the mystery of who was helping Voldemort. They both searched constantly for pictures of young wizards around Harry's age, and checked up on their recent activities, trying to discern the possible suspects from those they knew were safe. "This is impossible," said Harry one day, "the only thing I can remember is that he's almost the same age I am. How can I find someone when I can't remember what they look like?" "Just keep trying," Severus told him as he continued to look at the files in Harry's Ministry office, "we're bound to hit pay dirt sometime."
Despite Severus' encouraging words, Harry had a hard time believing he would find someone he couldn't see; until one night he remembered something from his dream. He bolted out of bed at two o'clock in the morning and threw Floo Powder into the fireplace. As he came spinning out of Severus' fireplace he was practically shouting, "Dark hair! Dark hair! Dark eyes!" Severus had been sure Harry had gone mad until he was fully awake, "You remember who it was?" "Sort of," said Harry, rubbing his forehead as it still hurt from the painful twang of his scar. "He had very dark hair, almost black; and dark eyes that looked like a deep brown color or something like that. I wish I could remember more..."
So they looked at different profiles of wizards with only dark hair and eyes. Still, Harry hadn't found one who looked like the shadowy man from his nightmares. That was, until he looked down at Vincent Crabbe's profile and felt his scar surge with pain, and his nightmares came rushing back to him. "No, no, not yet," said a voice; 'Voldemort's voice,' thought Harry. "I need more time to regain my strength; but you have been very useful to me indeed. You've brought me back from the dead as Lucius Malfoy once did. But he was weak; you, however, are different. But now, my friend, we must work for the next level of my transformation. It will be difficult, yes, but the end results shall be worth it. I shall have my body back once again, and I shall make those fools pay dearly for the years they have denied me. Severus Snape and Harry Potter will die before the year is gone. How? Ahh, the affection they share for each other runs deep, we know that. And it shall be their affection that will become their undoing; love does not strengthen, it weakens those who can feel it. Potter, his friends, and his family Snape and Black will fall by my hand, mark my words..."
"Harry! Harry!" said a familiar voice. His vision was blurry; tears were in his eyes. Severus was standing over him, shaking his shoulders, "Snap out of it! You've been convulsing on the floor like you've gone mad! What happened?" Harry hugged and held him tight till Severus felt the air being crushed out of his lungs, "Promise me you'll never go anywhere alone," said Harry. "And you'll always have your wand with you no matter what." Severus practically had to pry Harry off of him, "What happened?" Harry told him everything, not knowing what else he could do. Severus looked away grimly when Harry had finished; "Well don't worry about any of us just yet Harry. If he doesn't have his body back yet, then we're not in too much trouble so far." "I'm not concerned about now, I'm concerned about later when he does get his body back," said Harry. "Besides, for all we know he could get his body back today, tomorrow, or next week." "Or next year, or next decade," said Severus, trying to be more reassuring.
It didn't help.
* * *
Harry told Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Sirius about what had happened an hour later. "What do you think caused you to have one of those nightmares in the middle of the day?" said Ron. "I don't know," said Harry, "but I have a guess." He pulled out the profile on Vincent Crabbe without looking at it and tossed it to Hermione. "I had barely looked at it when it happened." "You don't think he would be smart enough to help Voldemort do you?" said Ron laughingly. "I mean he wasn't exactly bright at Hogwarts now was he?" "Yes he was," said Severus from the corner. It was around then that Harry noticed he was clutching his forearm; the Mark was burning again. "What? You're joking," said Ron. "No; he passed all of his classes easily. Despite how stupid he might look it's completely different from how stupid he actually is." Ron stopped laughing, "I thought he had a hard time passing his classes." Draco spoke, "He was smart enough that he was helping other students in Slytherin. If any of them had problems with anything he was the one to go to. He was quite good with the Dark Arts too; we'd talk about it all the time." Ron sighed, "Well I guess you learn new things every day." "Look, how stupid he is isn't the point; how smart he is...well that's another subject," said Hermione. "Has there been any Death Eater activity with him recently?" said Sirius, leafing through his profile. "None, but of course that only goes by when the Aurors can catch these people doing it," said Hermione.
"So basically the reported Death Eaters we have are really a small percentage to how many Death Eaters there actually are," said Draco with a roll of his eyes. "Hey! We're working on it okay?" said Harry with frustration. "That's another thing to add to our to do list," said Hermione, "we need to find a better way to catch Death Eaters. As of right now, this won't cut it; especially with Voldemort coming back. Already we're starting to hear stories about Muggles or other wizards being tortured, or walking into a forest and not walking out again. Unfortunately since most wizards don't read the Muggle papers it's harder to keep track of Death Eater movement." "How can you even tell when a Muggle has been killed by a Death Eater versus when a Muggle is killed in a car accident?" said Ron. "I mean I only work in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department so I really wouldn't know too much about it." Hermione shrugged, "You know how the Death Eaters used to leave the Dark Mark over the person's house before they were about to be killed? Well the papers have been reporting a 'lingering green haze' over the house of the dead person. They think that they're having freak gas line explosions but I know better. They had a picture in one of the papers; I could tell what the haze used to look like before it was swirled around by the wind." "A skull eating a snake?" said Harry.
"Exactly," said Hermione, "and if that isn't the Dark Mark then I'll eat the Sorting Hat."
* * *
By the end of the day each person (besides Draco who was already working on a spell) was given a set task. Ron and Hermione were going to be researching the papers, trying to narrow down the area they'd have to cover when it came to looking for Death Eaters. Harry, Sirius, and Severus, however, were going to be out checking up on some of the more suspicious looking wizards. As Harry got up to leave one morning to meet up with Sirius and Severus at the Ministry, Harry glanced at his old broomstick Sub Zero lying in the corner of his room. He picked it up and felt the handle; it was all battered from the years of use it'd had. He hadn't needed a faster one since at the time this one had been the top of the line; now it was probably considered a mediocre racing broom. For some reason he had the strange feeling that he might be needing it, so he hefted it over one shoulder as he climbed into the fireplace and cried, "The Ministry of Magic!" and was gone.
"What're you doing with that old thing?" said Sirius, noticing his old broomstick. "I really don't know; I just had the feeling like I'd be needing it today so I took it with me," said Harry. Sirius shrugged, "All right, if you say so." The three of them left for the Leaky Cauldron via Floo Powder and arrived a few minutes later, trying to find out what the latest news was amongst the other wizards. Because there were all sorts of strange folk in the Leaky Cauldron, you could find out many things from around the world; and they needed all the information they could lay hands on. The three of them had been talking to a goblin when Harry felt a funny presence from behind him; a pair of eyes boring into the back of his head. He looked over his shoulder to see a shadowy figure in the corner; who it was he could not say. Harry shook it off and kept talking to the goblin when he felt it stronger this time; now he was sure that the figure, whoever he was, was staring at him. He stood up and turned around fully; the person got up quickly and left the Cauldron, making a hasty removal. Harry immediately followed him out of the Leaky Cauldron and down Diagon Alley. The man started walking faster and soon was running full pace away from Harry; he kept after him and shouted at him to stop but to no avail.
Harry was losing his pace and the distance between them grew wider until Harry knew it was useless on foot. He leapt on his broom and went soaring after him; following him into Knockturn Alley. He had to catch him before the Alley ended; the only good thing about the Alleys was that you couldn't Apparate and Disapparate in them; at least he had a small chance that way. But if he reached the end of the Alley before Harry, he could Disapparate, then Harry would never be able to find him. Harry swooped over crowds of people, annoying some and amazing others. He was only a few feet out of his grasp now, and Harry stretched out a hand to grab the back of his robes; then Harry realized they were almost to the end of the Alley. Just as he felt his fingertips close in the Alley ended and waving his wand frantically the man disappeared; but not before leaving a high, cold laugh behind.
* * *
Harry didn't feel like doing much for the rest of the day; he went home instead and thought. Severus and Sirius joined him later, both looking very exhausted indeed. "Will you tell us what happened in Knockturn Alley now?" said Sirius. "Sure, now that I've had the time to think," said Harry, and he told them about what had happened. "You don't think it was Voldemort do you?" said Sirius. Severus laughed, "It couldn't have been; he would have killed Harry right then and there if it had been." "That's what I was thinking," said Harry. "But it couldn't have been just anybody either." Although he didn't voice his thoughts, Harry had an idea of who it might be.
Vincent Crabbe.
* * *
His skull felt like it was about to split open it was hurting so badly; Harry could barely see and he stumbled out of bed at three in the morning, clutching his head. The pain kept at it for five more minutes, Harry feeling close to passing out when it suddenly stopped. The abruptness of it frightened him and made him wonder; he could feel a ball of dread growing in his stomach, but why he didn't understand. He found himself running through the nightmare that he'd been afflicted with a few weeks ago when he'd first looked at Crabbe's profile, remembering what he'd heard Voldemort say. What was it? He was going to kill him, his friends, and his family. He hadn't mentioned...no...he wouldn't...but he would, and even though Harry had hated them for so many years for the first time in his life he was scared of what might have happened to them. He dressed quickly and Apparated as fast as he could.
To Number 4 Privet Drive.
* * *
Harry shut his eyes and looked away, unable to believe what he was seeing. The house was quiet, showing no signs of anything that had gone wrong. The last he'd heard Dudley had been attending one of the local universities, and was still living with Vernon and Petunia Dursley, his horrible uncle and aunt that had trapped him in the cupboard under the stairs for so many years. Truly there was no sign that anything was wrong at all, and at first Harry had been relieved; but then all his hopes had been dashed to the ground. For over the house lingered a green haze that all wizards feared.
The Dark Mark.
* * *
Harry hadn't bothered going inside; he knew what he would have found. Three bodies that looked normal, except for the fact that there was no pulse; it was the same with all people killed by Avada Kedavra. There was no sign that you were dead; your heart just stopped beating, and the breath was taken from your very lungs. That was it. Harry didn't go back to sleep that night; he went to Severus' house and told him what happened. He'd tried to console Harry as best as he could, but it didn't make Harry feel any better about it. He finally fell asleep in one of Severus' armchairs, exhausted and scared. He was awakened a few hours later by a shout; a shout of happiness, much to Harry's relief. Draco was climbing out of Severus' fireplace, dark circles under his eyes and he was practically shaking with exhaustion. "I've found it! I've found it!" said Draco, clutching a piece of parchment in his hand. "What? What're you talking about?" said Severus. "Look!" said Draco with glee, shoving the parchment into his hand.
"I don't believe it..." said Severus, his eyes widening, "...you did it." "You bet I did!" said Draco, practically jumping up and down with happiness. "Do you realize how great this is?!" said Severus, a grin on his face, "This is excellent! You're amazing! No one else could have done this!" "What's going on?" said Harry sleepily, getting up from the chair slowly. "Read it Harry!" said Severus, thrusting the parchment into Harry's hand. Harry read it quickly, "Wow, this is something else. And this...this really works?" Draco nodded, "Already been tested by yours truly. We can start using it as soon as it's approved by the Ministry!" Harry smiled weakly and slumped back into the chair.
They'd finally found a way to keep the Dark wizards in Azkaban.
* * *
The Death's Imprisonment spell, as Draco had titled it, was approved by the Ministry in record time; fifty-six hours to be precise. Percy had been ecstatic and had awarded Draco the Order of Merlin Second Class, despite his protests that he was just doing his job. The Dementors were banished from their posts as Azkaban guards, and they went back to inhabiting all the dark places of the world as they had at one time. Draco went down to Azkaban two days later to perform the Imprisonment spell on the cells containing the evil wizards. He came back looking older; "It's horrible in there," he said quietly, "I'd die happy never seeing that place again." Sirius shut his eyes, "I know what you mean."
Harry, in the meantime, had been doing some thinking. "Draco," he said, "if you found a bug in your house that you couldn't kill, what would you do with it?" He looked at him strangely, "Well I'd catch it in a glass or something then pitch it out the window. Why do you ask something like that?" Harry grinned, "Because we've got a big bug to catch."
* * *
Harry didn't enjoy the summer at all that year; he was inside Hogwarts most of the time, having been excused from his duties as Auror by Percy for quite some time now. He, Draco, Hermione, Dumbledore, Professor Flitwick, and many others were combining their efforts to create the most powerful magical item ever created. Harry had explained to them all after asking them to meet him in the dungeons at Hogwarts; "We cannot kill Voldemort, we know that much. No matter how many times we try someone is always there to summon him back from the dead using the hidden copies of the book we found several years ago. But if we cannot kill him, then we shall capture him; his soul specifically, and keep it in a vial, or something of the sort like that. We'll need to put it somewhere safe, somewhere where no one can get to it. I'm getting off track though, and my point is this; if we can create something powerful enough to contain his soul, we can rid any chance of him being resurrected ever again. After all, you cannot resurrect that of which is already alive, and if we put enough spells on his container no one will be able to break it open and release him. Do you follow me?" They followed, and everyone agreed that it was their best shot yet.
They spent many long hours down in the dungeons, all concentrating their efforts on a small crystal vial. Dumbledore made it Unbreakable and Non-Penetrable; Hermione coated the insides of it in unbreakable Fire Walls while Professor Flitwick stuffed it with Memory Charms to dash Voldemort's memory to pieces when he was captured inside it. Severus let the vial soak in a potion of his own Unbreakable charm, and when it came out again it was harder than diamond. Sirius contacted a few other wizards he knew and had them put their own charms on it, while Dumbledore got hold of a goblin wizard and an elf wizard so they could put their own brand of magic upon it. Soon the vial was coated with charms, spells, and potions of all the races of the world; Voldemort would never escape from it once he was inside. Harry held it up after they had finished with it and looked at it in the light; it looked like an ordinary vial, but it was something much, much more than that. He clutched it tightly, "Now how can we get him in?"
Ron, who had been sitting on the back shelf looked up, "Erm, I have an idea." "What is it Ron?" said Harry, very curious indeed as Ron had not helped them at all since they'd begun their experiments. Ron simply wasn't much of a help since he wasn't as good a wizard as Hermione, nor was he as brilliant with ideas as Dumbledore. Most of the time he'd simply tried to stay out of the way or help in whatever little ways that he could. Ron hopped off the shelf and took the vial from Harry's hand, "Er, well, I was just thinking about how maybe we could suck him into the flask using a Vacuum Charm. Just pop off the cap of the flask and the Charm starts working and sucks in the nearest person, then it sucks the cap back onto itself. You'd have one Voldemort packaged and ready to go." "Ron that's brilliant!" said Hermione, "That's a great idea!" Ron shrugged and his face turned a little redder, "Thanks."
So they used Ron's Vacuum Charm as the final capper on the vial, and Harry was now sure that it was complete; except for one thing. "It looks so plain and ordinary," he said. "It is, but it's meant to be that way," said Sirius, "so he can't tell what it is." Harry frowned, "Yeah, but what if we lose it? How are we supposed to tell it apart from any other flask?" For that question there was no answer, "But I have an idea as to what we can mark it with. It'd be a good reminder for him too." "What is it?" said Dumbledore. Harry drew his wand in the air and formed a symbol:
"What is it?" said Severus. "A backward G and a regular G," said Harry; "It stands for Godric Gryffindor." "He'll recognize that very quickly Harry," said Dumbledore. "Are you sure? Because I want him to know what it means so he can stare at it and know he was defeated by quite a few Gryffindors; no offense Severus." "None taken," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Voldemort will surely recognize it," said Dumbledore, "because Godric Gryffindor signed his initials that way; but you weren't aware of that, were you?" "Er, no, I wasn't; I thought I was just making something up." Dumbledore smiled, "Harry, I think perhaps you knew that because maybe you have some of Godric Gryffindor's blood running through your veins. More than likely through your father's side." "I doubt that," said Harry with a shrug, "I'm just Harry." Dumbledore sighed and said, "I must be going, now that everything is done with." He walked to the doorway but stopped, looking back at Harry, "Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled Godric's sword out of the Sorting Hat as you did in your second year. Have you ever looked at his portrait hanging in the common room Harry? You might notice something peculiar Harry, very peculiar." And with that last curious statement he left. They looked at Harry strangely, "I don't know what he's talking about so don't look at me," said Harry uncomfortably. But Severus was looking at him differently than the rest; he had seen the portrait of Godric Gryffindor before, and he had already noticed that peculiar thing that Dumbledore had spoke of.
* * *
Harry stared and stared at the portrait; stared until his eyes burned. Godric Gryffindor was a slim but muscular looking man, with dark, untidy hair and a dark stare in his eyes. In the portrait he wore a green cloak and black robes, a black belt round his waist with a silver buckle on it, a large backward G forward G symbol on it. He'd been sitting there for over an hour when Severus came in and found him in one of the armchairs, staring at the portrait. He was trembling from nerves, knowing that what ran through Harry's blood in turn ran through his; he'd never bothered drawing parallels before when he'd looked at the portrait. Just then Harry got up and stood face to face with the portrait; he could feel something nagging in the back of his mind, a voice asking him to do something...Move me aside, move me aside, it said. Harry pushed the portrait aside and saw a small door behind it; he was very surprised indeed to see it there and he pulled on the little silver ring that acted as its' doorknob and it creaked open. Inside was something glinting; he pulled it out and stared at it. "What is that?" said Severus slowly. Harry shut the little door and put the portrait back, then he held it up; "It's Godric Gryffindor's belt buckle, just look at the picture."
The same GG symbol was on the buckle Harry held as the one in the portrait, and Severus was growing more and more nervous. Harry couldn't possibly be the descendent of Godric Gryffindor, he just couldn't be; if that were so then why had Severus been put in Slytherin? Wouldn't all of Godric Gryffindor's descendents have been put into Gryffindor as well?
* * *
Severus burst into Dumbledore's office, surprising Albus as he strode to the corner of his office, picked up the Sorting Hat and promptly put it on his head. Dumbledore didn't bother questioning what he was doing; he'd wait till later to do that.
"Ahh, Severus Snape," said the Hat, "it seems like just yesterday I Sorted you. Something the matter?" "Am I Godric Gryffindor's heir? Because if I am then it makes no sense that I was put into Slytherin," he thought. "Mmm," said the Sorting Hat, "but you came very close to not being put in Slytherin. Don't you remember that day?" Severus shut his eyes, trying to recall everything of his own Sorting.
"Snape, Severus!" Flitwick called. Severus stepped forward and put the Hat on; "Ahhh, you have plenty of courage, and a great mind," it said. "A decent heart too; you would make an excellent Gryffindor. But...your skills could be used for other things; great things, yes. You would be a most profound Slytherin indeed; it would certainly help you on your way to greatness. What do you say young Severus Snape?" He thought about it for a minute, trying to decide what he wanted. James had already been Sorted into Gryffindor, so he didn't want to be there... "Slytherin," he thought, "put me in Slytherin." "SLYTHERIN!" shouted the Hat.
He opened his eyes again and realized that he had come very, very close to becoming a Gryffindor. "I cannot tell if you are the heir of Godric Gryffindor," the Hat said, "but there are signs that make it appear so. You, James and Harry Potter seem to be the most likely candidates for being related to Gryffindor. What say you, Severus Snape?" Severus hastily removed the Hat and slapped it back down in its' usual place. "Is something the matter?" said Dumbledore from his desk. "N-No, nothing, nothing at all," said Severus.
He left Dumbledore's office without so much as another glance back at the Hat.
* * *
Harry fingered the belt buckle with concern; he didn't know how he'd come by it. He had never even known about the compartment behind the portrait until he heard that voice, itching for him to move the portrait aside. Severus came into through the portrait hole all of a sudden, hefting a large book under one arm and looking very shaken; "Harry, how did you know where to find that?" he said, looking at the buckle. "I don't know," he said with a shrug, "I just sort of found it." Severus slammed the book down on the common room table and said, "Here, read this." Harry got up and began to read the page:
"Perhaps more than legend, Godric Gryffindor is said to have left three things behind for his true heir. These three possessions are said to hold very powerful magical qualities, although what they are remains a mystery even to this day. Gryffindor is said to have left the three items behind to help his heir when a time of true crisis has arisen; as to what this crisis might be, we may never know. The only thing known for certain is that Gryffindor left behind a necklace, belt buckle, and sword for his true heir to find. Supposedly clues to finding them are somewhere in Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, although these rumors have never been checked.
Harry's eyes grew wide, "The sword...I pulled his sword out of the Sorting Hat in my second year!" "And you just now found the belt buckle," said Severus excitedly. "But if we have those two, then where's the necklace?" said Harry in a puzzled tone. He shut the book and began to pace the room, thinking about it adamantly. After ten minutes he stopped and looked at the portrait of Godric Gryffindor again. It wasn't until then that he noticed he was pointing at something; a very subtle gesture, yes, but he was pointing at something. Harry stepped forward and gazed at the portrait; Gryffindor's arms were crossed over his chest, and he looked like he was almost angry about something. But one finger was pointing to his left; Harry turned his gaze from the portrait to where his finger was pointing. Nothing other than the wall, just the plain, brick wall. But then he noticed a groove cut into the brick directly next to the portrait; a small, rectangular space cut out of the brick that one might never have noticed unless they looked for it. Harry felt it with his fingertips then realized what it was; "It's a lock," he said. "But where's the key?"
Severus stood next to him and stared at the carving, unable to think of where one might find such an unusual key. Then everything clicked in Harry's brain; he put the buckle into the carving and the brick glowed a warm, orange color, then vanished. Harry peered into the space and saw a glittering, silver necklace lying inside the space. He pulled it out and fingered it slowly; there was a small, silver charm on the chain. It was none other than Godric Gryffindor's symbol, GG.
Harry and Severus both scrambled out of the portrait hole, running as fast as they could to get to Dumbledore's office, where Gryffindor's sword lay.
* * *
The door bashed open and Dumbledore jumped; "Now really Severus, you can't come barging in all day long. I've got to get some work done." "Professor Dumbledore look!" cried Harry, shoving the buckle and necklace under his crooked nose. He picked them both up slowly, "You found them," he said softly. "Found the buckle behind the portrait of Gryffindor and the necklace inside a brick next to the portrait," said Severus, still gasping for breath from the long run. "Harry that means that you're Gryffindor's true heir," said Dumbledore, "and so are you Severus. You're both in his direct lineage." Harry nodded rapidly, "Exactly! And we both came up here because..." "The sword is here, and when all three are together they're said to have strong magical properties," finished Dumbledore. "Go get it then! It's right over there!" Harry ran over and picked up the large sword then set it down on Dumbledore's desk. He put the buckle and necklace down and they waited; nothing happened. "Harry, put them on," said Severus. "Erm, I dunno," said Harry nervously.
"You've nothing to fear Harry, go ahead," said Dumbledore kindly. Harry picked up the buckle and snapped it onto his belt, then put the necklace around his neck. He gave Severus and Dumbledore one last look of anxiousness as he picked up the sword with both hands. There was a blast of wind and light and both Severus and Dumbledore were pushed back against the walls from the power of it, papers and books flying everywhere around them. Harry almost dropped the sword he was so surprised but he kept hold of it, and he felt himself glowing with a huge aura around him. The sword shone brightly, and Harry looked down to see that both the necklace and the buckle were glowing with internal energy. The powerful aura slowly began to diminish, until there was no more light and wind, except for a quiet, glowing light within the three magical items. Harry put the sword back down on Dumbledore's desk, "What was that?"
Dumbledore let out a sigh, "It is as I thought; you are truly the heir of Godric Gryffindor." Harry looked down at the necklace and picked it up; it was glowing with its' own green light. He unsnapped the buckle and saw that it was not glowing, but there were runes on it that were. "I'm not at all good with Arithmancy," said Harry, "but I can tell there are runes on here." Severus picked it up and looked at the glowing green runes; "It says 'Only the true heir of Godric Gryffindor may wield his power.' Harry..." But he didn't have to say anymore; Harry was just as amazed as he was.
* * *
Everyone ate a quiet dinner in the Great Hall that night; quiet mostly because of Harry's story. But Ron and Hermione were looking at him with awe; their best friend was the heir to Godric Gryffindor. Severus, however, had something important nagging on the back of his mind. "Harry, I want to talk to you after dinner, right?" he said. "Sure Severus, whatever you want," he said absent-mindedly. Dinner came and went, and soon Harry found himself following Severus all the way to the Slytherin common room. 'Funny place to talk," said Harry. "There is a reason I chose this place," said Severus. "Come over and look at that portrait," he said, wheeling Harry around so he was facing a portrait of Salazar Slytherin. Harry didn't see anything until he realized that Slytherin was in the exact same pose as Gryffindor had been; pointing one finger at the wall. "Severus, tell me Slytherin didn't have the same idea as Gryffindor," said Harry, realizing what was going on.
"That's just it Harry," said Severus, "Gryffindor came up with the original idea and Slytherin didn't like the idea of his own heir being without a weapon or anything of his own magical specialty. You never read the rest of that passage in the book did you? If you had you would know that Slytherin left behind three things; a ring, a staff, and a bracelet. They're all meant for his own heir." Harry swung the portrait aside and saw another little door with a silver ring for a handle; he opened it and found nothing inside. "But Severus, there's nothing in here," he said, then his eyes widened. "Someone else already figured it out," he said softly. He slammed the portrait shut and tapped the brick on its' other side, "You can't open it, you don't have the key," said Severus. "But I believe that would have unlocked the staff, and as to where the bracelet is...I have no idea."
Harry stared at the portrait again and thought about it; then he noticed the dark band across Slytherin's wrist. He felt it; it was a groove cut into the portrait, as if something had once held a place there. "That's it, the bracelet was in the portrait," said Harry, "it had its' own little notch cut into Slytherin's wrist." "Yes, excellent Harry! But who took them?" said Severus. Harry looked up at him, "That's it; Voldemort was the heir of Salazar Slytherin when he was here. Remember that the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets could only be controlled by the Heir of Slytherin? When he was still Tom Riddle he had discovered it, but obviously he hadn't found where Slytherin's three items were. He got Crabbe to find them for him when he was here at the school, and now he's helping Voldemort. It all fits! Now all we've got to do is find him and capture him!" said Harry. "Although I'm glad you solved the puzzle," said Severus, "how are we to find him?"
* * *
Harry got hold of Hermione and asked her where the most Death Eater activity was centered around and likely places to find Voldemort; "Well the most likely one so far is the Black Forest in Germany. At least, that's where Voldemort might be." "Great, thanks Hermione; bye!" said Harry before she could say anything more. That night Harry paced his room anxiously; it was best he get it over with soon and without his friends getting involved, after all, he didn't want them to get hurt. He was getting dressed when he remembered the portrait of Gryffindor; a green cloak and black robes. He rummaged through his things until he found a green cloak and black robes; if he was going to do this with the help of Gryffindor's belongings, he might as well follow in his ancestor's footsteps.
Harry Apparated to a small area outside of the Black Forest, the sword under his belt and the buckle clipped to the old battered black belt. He fingered the necklace slowly as he walked to the edge of the forest; he gripped the hilt of the sword with one hand and fingered his wand with the other. He'd probably need both. He had also hung the vial off his belt, and it looked perfectly harmless to everyone else. 'But it isn't to Voldemort,' thought Harry as he entered the forest. It was pitch dark in the forest, and now he understood why it was called the Black Forest; you could get lost in here if you didn't watch your step. "Lumos!" he whispered, his wand now alight. He continued on through the forest for some time when he saw a speck in the distance; it appeared to be a fire. Harry kept walking toward it and it steadily grew closer until he realized that there sat Vincent Crabbe, and with him was Voldemort. "Ahh how I've waited for this," he was saying as he placed a small, silver ring on his finger. A silver bracelet was dangling on his wrist, Harry noticed, and a brown, wooden staff was by his side. "The true Heir of Slytherin has risen again, only more powerful than before," said Voldemort.
Crabbe bowed his head, "Yes my Lord." "And you young Vincent Crabbe!" said Voldemort, "What do you wish for? Does it remain the same as it ever was during our first meeting many years ago?" "Yes my Lord; I wish for immortality," he said. "Of course, of course, and who wouldn't? You shall have it my dear boy, and join me in slaughtering all those Mudbloods and Muggles." Harry stepped forward into the firelight, "He shall not have it if I have anything to say about it." "Harry Potter!" said Voldemort, red eyes gleaming, "What say you of the Heir of Slytherin now?" "I don't know, what say you of the Heir of Gryffindor?" Harry retorted. "Heir of Gryffindor?" Voldemort noticed the sword, buckle, and necklace, "Ahh, of course. It would only be fitting that my greatest enemy is also the heir to my own ancestor's greatest enemy. But enough talk; I've waited for this day over and over again, each time for it to be dashed to pieces by you or one of your friends. But not this time; not again," he said, a hiss in his voice, "now we shall fight as Heir of Slytherin against Heir of Gryffindor. Are you ready young Harry Potter?"
Harry's eyes narrowed, "I'm more than ready." Just then they heard voices in the forest; "Harry! Harry!" called a familiar voice. It was Hermione, and Ron was following, then Severus and Sirius, then Draco, and finally Dumbledore all stopped just short of the firelight, all of them forming a large circle around Voldemort and Harry. "You shall not interfere this time I'm afraid," said Voldemort, and he slammed the staff hard into the ground. Flames erupted in a circle around them, keeping out Harry's friends. "Vincent dear boy," said Voldemort, turning to his helper, "stand aside for this no matter what happens; I want Potter for myself. But you may take the others later if you wish." Crabbe smiled a disgustingly evil smile and stepped back from Harry and Voldemort. "Ready boy?" said Voldemort, clutching the staff in one hand and his wand in the other. Harry gritted his teeth, "Don't call me 'boy.'"
Voldemort's eyes flashed as he leapt at Harry and they began to fight; Voldemort would hit him with the staff and then try to hit him with a spell, but Harry was too quick and he parried off the blow with his sword and blocked the spells with his wand. Harry's friends could only watch helplessly as their friend fought without them, and Hermione put her head in her hands, unable to look. Harry was handling the situation quite well, actually, until Voldemort whipped about and hit him in the stomach with his staff as hard as he could. Harry tumbled backwards, the wind knocked out of him, and Voldemort pointed his wand down at Harry. "Goodbye Harry Potter," he said with a grin. But Harry would not be outdone and he held up the necklace and it blasted Voldemort over backward. "ARGH!" he shouted angrily, "You're going to suffer for that you fool!" He clenched his hand into a fist and pointed the silver ring at Harry, and a jet of green light came out of it. Harry barely managed to roll out of the way as it blasted a huge hole in the ground.
He was still lying on the ground, and he fingered his belt buckle; he felt two switches there that he hadn't noticed before and pressed them. A jet of pink light shot out of his buckle and hit Voldemort in the knee. He fell and grabbed his knee, groaning in pain. Voldemort picked up the staff with one hand and limped over as quickly as he could to Harry, who was now scrambling for his sword. They both stood back up again, Voldemort and Harry now feeling very sore from their own injuries, and Voldemort tried to bring the wooden staff down on Harry's head. Harry brought the sword up to meet it and they both lit up with light, looking very lethal. Voldemort was gritting his teeth as he pushed back against the sword, trying to drive the one edge of the blade into Harry's skull. "Hey Riddle," said Harry; "What?" said Voldemort, "Don't you dare call me by that name." "Look down," said Harry with a hiss. Voldemort looked down to see Harry's one hand clenching the vial, "What is that boy?" said Voldemort. Harry popped the cap off and the Vacuum Charm began to howl like the wind, and it started sucking Voldemort inside it.
"NOOO!" cried Voldemort as it began sucking his legs in. He dropped the staff and soon he was into the vial up to his waist. In a last desperate effort he pressed two small switches on his bracelet and shot Harry with a spell of blue light, knocking Harry over backward. Harry looked back just in time to see Voldemort trying to pull himself out of the vial, now into it up to his armpits. "DAMN YOU POTTER!" he screamed as he was completely sucked into the vial. The cap was sucked back onto it and the vial lay there silent on the ground. Harry was gasping for breath, and wanted nothing more than to rest when Vincent Crabbe let out a screech of anger. "MASTER!" he shouted, picking up the vial and trying to crack it open. "It's Unbreakable, Crabbe," said Harry with satisfaction, "don't even bother." Crabbe dropped the vial and stared at Harry with pure hatred.
He picked up Voldemort's staff, "You're dead." He came running at Harry faster than Harry could have expected, and not knowing what else to do as he lay there on the ground he picked up the sword at the last second. Crabbe never saw it, and it plummeted into his stomach. He let out a choking sound and dropped the staff, falling to the side. Harry got up slowly, gasping for breath, and limped over to the dropped flask. "I told you not to call me 'boy,'" he said smugly. He picked up the staff and slammed it down on the ground twice, muttering a spell beneath his breath, and the fire ring that had once surrounded him disappeared. His friends came running to him all at once, and Harry found himself being hugged left and right. Then he heard a loud gurgling sound and he noticed that Crabbe was still alive; he limped back to him and bent over. Blood was pouring from his mouth; "Harry Potter..." he said softly. Harry leaned closer, barely able to hear the hoarse whisper; "...the Dark Lord will rise again," he said. His eyes closed, and Harry checked for a pulse; nothing. He looked up at Severus without saying anything; Severus returned his stare.
"We must always be ready for the unexpected," Severus said wisely.
* * *
The newspapers had a field day with what had happened to Harry that night. 'The Boy Who Lived: Man or Legend?' Harry chuckled as he put the Daily Prophet down on the table; Rita Skeeter could say what she would, it really didn't bother him either way. He drank his orange juice in silence in the Great Hall, wondering what was next for him. Severus, however, seemed ready to answer that for him as he came running into the Hall and slammed another book down in front of him. "Look at this Harry," said Severus, gasping for breath, "there's something very important about it." "Oh for God's sake no more riddles okay?" said Harry with a weary smile, "I've had enough riddles with those stupid portraits for a lifetime." "No Harry, listen to me," said Severus excitedly. "This is a copy of the book Crabbe and Lucius Malfoy used to bring Voldemort back from the dead." "I'll not have anything to do with a book full of Dark magic," said Harry promptly, moving away from it slightly. "No, that's just it Harry! This is a White magic book; do you know what that means?" Harry stared at Severus and Severus stared back; "It's not possible Severus."
"And why not?!" he cried happily, "Why can't we do it?! It's White magic, so it won't bother you or I, and it most certainly won't bother them. Harry, at least try this with me once, just once, please, I'm begging you." Harry felt adrenaline coursing through his veins; he wanted to, but did he dare? "All right, let's go!" said Harry, leaping over the table easily. They both ran out of the Great Hall as fast as they could, Severus leading Harry right out of Hogwarts.
* * *
The spell wasn't easy, but with their combined efforts it worked; and of course Severus had no problem with the potion part of it. They worked for two and a half hours until it was complete, "All right, it's done. Are you ready?" said Severus. Harry nodded slowly, "Yeah, I think so." They each took a cup of the potion and cast the spell over it; the potion changed from yellow to icy blue, and they exchanged glances nervously. Harry poured the cup over the one grave and Severus over the other. Then they waited, waited and waited until they heard a funny noise from under the ground. The graves were shuddering, until Harry saw one pale white hand protrude from the grave, covered in dirt. Then another hand appeared, and they began to work away the dirt until a head seemed about ready to protrude. The same thing happened in the other grave, only the hands were a much paler white. Finally a head burst out of the nearest grave; it had untidy black hair, and as it came out Harry recognized it easily as his father James. "Ugh! How did I end up in this?" said James as he pulled himself out of the grave. "Disgusting! Dirt everywhere! I'll never get this out of my clothes!" "The last time I checked, James Potter, you were into getting dirty," said Severus with a frown.
"Severus?!" said James with a happy smile; then his eyes fell upon Harry. "Harry?" he said softly. Harry felt tears forming his eyes, "H-Hi dad." Meanwhile a red-haired woman had burst out of the other grave, "Oh how gross, dirt everywhere! I think it's under my fingernails..." She stopped and stared at Harry, "Er, hi mom," he said slowly, unsure of what exactly he should say. "Harry..." she said slowly. Before Harry even knew it both of his parents were hugging him so tightly he could barely breathe. "We missed you so much!" she sobbed into his hair. "I know I missed you too," said Harry, tears pouring down his cheeks. If time had frozen then, Harry would have died happy; he just wanted to hold his parents for the rest of eternity. For ten minutes they must have looked odd to other people; four people standing in a graveyard, three of them hugging and two of them covered in dirt. But Harry couldn't have cared less. Harry caught a glimpse of Severus over James' shoulder and noticed that he had covered his mouth with one hand; he was clearly in shock.
James noticed where Harry's gaze had fallen and looked over his shoulder, "How are you over there?" he called. Severus couldn't answer; he was still too shocked. "Oh come on," said James, walking over and hugging his brother, "say something!" Severus hugged him back, "Stupid Gryffindor!" "Nerdy Slytherin!" retorted James with a laugh. "Ugh!" said Lily in an aggravated tone, "All these years later and they're still doing that. Grow. Up." "Doing what?" said Harry. "Oh their idea of being funny," she said with a sigh, "back at Hogwarts they'd pretend like they weren't brothers, so they'd throw people off by calling each other nasty names even though they were just joking. It's so stupid." "It is not!" said James as the four of them began to walk back to Hogwarts. "You just can't take a joke." "Yeah, sure, that's it," said Lily sarcastically. "You know you say that to everyone? You said that to the groundskeeper when you blew up his hedges." "Now that was Sirius' idea, not mine," said James hastily. "Maybe, but you still went along with it," warned Lily. Harry gave Severus an odd look; 'Just ignore it,' he mouthed. James caught on and said, "No Harry! Don't ignore it! You'll need to know this stuff for any practical jokes you want to play on your friends!"
Harry grinned, "That reminds me, I don't think you've met the Weasley twins, but I believe you, Sirius, and Professor Lupin would get along with them just fine." "Professor Lupin? Ha! What a laugh!" said James; "And I suppose next you'll be telling me Sirius works for the Ministry of Magic." "Actually yes he does James," said Severus, "he's an Auror." James rolled his eyes, "All my friends gone off to be careerists with professional jobs. What is the world coming to?!" "Yes Harry," said Severus as James and Lily continued arguing, "I do believe he'd get along very well indeed with the Weasley twins."
* * *
They reintroduced Sirius to Lily and James later on that day, and he fell to his knees with shock. "P-Prongs? Lily?" he said slowly. "Oh get up Padfoot old friend," said James, helping him up. "B-But you were..." "Yes dead we know," said James, "but what can you do?" he shrugged. Sirius hugged him and Lily both, practically on the verge of hysterics, "I don't believe what I'm seeing..." he said.
Professor Lupin didn't either. "Moony! How've you been?" said James. Remus Lupin could only stare in amazement; "G-Good...surprisingly good." "Oh come on now don't stare!" said James. Remus hugged James tightly and then stopped, "This is incredible."
They all ate dinner in the Great Hall that night, and Ron, Hermione, and Draco had glassy looks in their eyes whenever they fell upon James and Lily Potter. "Harry...this is amazing," Hermione told him. "I can't believe this." Harry nodded, "Yeah, me neither." Dumbledore came walking into the Hall just then; they'd been unable to find him all day so his presence was now a very much welcome sight. "Professor Dumbledore!" said Harry, "Where've you been?" "Hello Harry; off at the Ministry on some busine-" his eyes fell on James and Lily, who waved at him. He peered over his half-moon spectacles at them, clearly not sure he was seeing correctly. "James Potter and Lily Evans?" he said slowly. James nodded, "Hello Professor Dumbledore!" "Hello Headmaster," said Lily politely. "Astounding..." muttered Dumbledore, "...absolutely astounding..."
* * *
Harry was present at the end of the following year, eagerly awaiting Dumbledore's end of year announcement. Ron, Hermione, James, Lily, and Sirius had also managed to make it as well, and Harry was glad for it. "I would like to say something a bit more than is typical of me at the end of the year," said Dumbledore. "I have spent fifty years of my life here at Hogwarts as Headmaster, and another twenty as a Hogwarts teacher and head of Gryffindor house. But now my time here has come to pass, and I have enjoyed every bit of it so much that I cannot possibly express it to you in words. However, my age, I'm afraid, is beginning to catch up with me; dear Hogwarts students and good friends, may I introduce to you your new Headmaster, Professor Severus Snape!" The students broke into a loud applause, which Harry was glad to see; since Harry had found out about his relation to Severus he'd warmed up quite considerably as a teacher and a person. Obviously, he was now popular with the students versus how it was when Harry was at school and everybody hated him.
Severus stepped up to the podium, and Harry could tell he was a bit nervous. "Despite my new appointment as Headmaster, I will not be continuing on as your Potions Master. Therefore, to take my place, I have appointed Professor Harry Potter as the new Potions Master and head of Gryffindor house!" Harry waved from his spot at the staff table, feeling a bit nervous himself. Draco nudged him, "That means we can't like each other anymore, what with me being the head of Slytherin." "Yeah right Draco, we'd never fight over something so childish as that would we?" said Harry. "Have you forgotten all those Slytherin versus Gryffindor battles when we were here?" "No, of course not; how could I forget?" said Harry.
* * *
Harry went into his office, holding a plaque in his hands. On it was engraved, "Professor Harry Potter, Potions Master and head of Gryffindor house." The years would be added in later when he retired from his job. Harry looked around the office, trying to decide where to put it.
He found the perfect spot right next to his family portrait.
Prologue:
It has been six years since Harry Potter graduated from Hogwarts. He is now twenty-four years of age, and the youngest person in the history of the Ministry of Magic to become an Auror. His two best friends from childhood, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger also work at the Ministry of Magic. Ron has taken over his father's position as head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts branch, and plays as Quidditch Keeper for the Kenmere Kestrels. Hermione is slowly working her way to becoming the next Minister of Magic, and is slated to take over as Minister sometime in the next seven years when Percy Weasley resigns. Sirius Black, his name now having been cleared for almost a decade, works alongside Harry as an Auror, helping him whenever he can. Severus Snape has declined several positions in the Ministry, remaining at his usual station as Potions Master and head of Slytherin house at Hogwarts. Rumors are circulating that he may become the next Headmaster of the school, following current Headmaster Albus Dumbledore. Draco Malfoy has changed for the better since the events of his sixth year at Hogwarts, and has become one of Harry's friends. He works at Hogwarts as, ironically enough, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, a job that he has held for two years running.
Despite the good state that the wizarding community is in, Harry feels a certain sense of apprehension, mostly because of the great pains his lightning bolt scar has been giving him lately. Although Harry is yet to reveal his splitting headaches and nervousness, he is not the only one feeling these same feelings of unease.
It is a quiet evening in Hogsmeade when Harry awakens to a searing pain in his forehead...
Harry sat straight up in bed, sweat pouring down his face, and gasping for breath. He'd seen something...a dream, but what it was he could not remember. It was slipping away so quickly he could barely remember anything; but there was something. A high cold laugh. He knew that laugh. It was a laugh he hadn't heard in years; a laugh no one wished to hear. A laugh that meant death.
"Voldemort," he whispered.
* * *
Severus almost jumped out of his skin, and sweat was dripping down his face. No, no, no. He refused to believe it. A lifetime spent hunting him down to kill him, but you didn't see things like that in your nightmares every day. He got out of bed and threw a handful of Floo Powder into the fireplace. "Harry Potter 731 North Hogsmeade!" he said when he'd gotten into the hearth. 'I hope he's up,' he thought as he whipped past several other fireplaces and came to a stop in Harry's. He was surprised to find him awake, and looking quite shaken indeed. "Oh hi Severus," he said quietly. He clambered out of the fireplace and dusted himself off, "I know this probably doesn't mean anything," he began, but Harry stopped him. "Did you see him? My scar woke me up; it was hurting again. I saw Voldemort and someone else. I don't know who though. Someone...familiar. But I still can't put a name to that face; I can't even remember what he looks like now that I'm awake."
Severus let out a sigh of discomfort, "I saw something like that, only it was a bit different; more Voldemort than anything else." Harry looked out the window; it was already growing light outside. "I'm getting hold of Ron, Hermione, and Draco the moment the sun comes up." Severus held back a smile; he had just been thinking along the same lines only instead getting hold of Sirius, Dumbledore, and Arthur Weasley. Harry let out a sigh and rubbed his eyes, "Every time I think I'm through with Voldemort he keeps coming back. But this time he had somebody's help; he looked so familiar." Severus didn't say anything; he didn't want to tell Harry that he recognized the mystery person too, but he couldn't quite put the name to the face. He was just about ready to head back to Hogwarts when Harry stopped him, "Stay for a while. Sun's almost up anyway; no point in going to bed." "I wasn't thinking about sleeping," said Severus, sitting down in one of Harry's chairs. "More along the lines of getting hold of some people that I think might want to hear about this."
* * *
Harry used the Floo Network to get Ron, Hermione, and Draco to his house. He told them about what had happened and Draco tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair nervously. "I dreamt something like that," he said finally. "What?" said Harry, "I didn't know you had them." "And I didn't know Professor Snape did either, but you don't hear me complaining," he said. "That's odd. You, Professor Snape, and me. Voldemort almost killed you, I almost became a Death Eater, and Snape was a Death Eater until he switched sides. Are you seeing the connection here?" "You three were the most heavily involved with Voldemort," said Ron. "Almost, with the exception of my father. And, of course, whoever is helping Voldemort return to power," said Draco. "Wait a minute! Snape used to be a Death Eater so he's got the Dark Mark burned into his arm! If it's getting clearer..." There was a scramble for Floo Powder as everyone quickly jumped into the fireplace, heading for Hogwarts.
* * *
Harry was a glad it was a Saturday; he didn't want to come bursting into the middle of a class and scare all the kids by demanding where their Potions Master was. He opened the door to the empty room and said, "Severus?" He heard a shouting noise from his office and immediately ran in, Hermione, Ron, and Draco in tow. "What's going on?!" said Harry, running in. Severus was leaning over his sink, running cold water over his forearm. He looked up at Harry, a pained expression on his face, "Look." He thrust his forearm out for them to see the Dark Mark, burning a deep black. He rubbed it sorely, "Stupid, stupid young fool." "Who?" said Hermione. "Me; even now all these years later after switching sides I'm still paying for what I did as a Death Eater with this damn tattoo," he said angrily. "Yeah, but at least it can tell us important things like whether or not Voldemort is coming back!" said Ron, trying to turn it into a cheery situation. Obviously, it didn't help. Severus continued running cold water over his burning forearm, "I'll admit that is the only advantage to it; we know just as well as he does that he doesn't have a complete surprise factor because of this stupid thing. And the clearer it gets, the stronger he gets."
"What did it start out as?" said Harry, peering over at it. "It looked like a mass of black up until about three days ago. I thought I was just seeing things but about fifteen minutes ago it started burning; I haven't felt it burn like that since...since the days when he was first in power," said Severus quietly. Ron and Hermione exchanged glances, both looking very worried. "Perhaps I should go get Percy Weasley," said Hermione, "I know he wouldn't be as foolish about this as what Cornelius Fudge was back in our fourth year." Severus looked down at the tattoo and touched his tender, burning flesh; "I think you're right."
* * *
Hermione returned with Percy half an hour later, and Harry thought he hadn't changed much since they'd last met a few years ago. 'Still looks like a know-it-all,' he thought. They told Percy about what had happened over the past twenty-four hours and he examined Severus' forearm carefully; he leaned back against the sink and thought for a minute. "I was hoping this would never happen when I was Minister," he said finally, "but I can't ignore the signs. We'd better start alerting the regulars about this; Dumbledore already knows right?" Severus nodded, "Yes, I told him about it a while ago. He doesn't know about the Dark Mark though," he said, gazing down at his arm. "It's best we tell him soon then," said Percy, "if there's anyone who will know what to do at a time like this, it's Headmaster Dumbledore." He shut his eyes and let out a sigh, then opened his eyes again, "I'll need to contact Azkaban and the rest of the Aurors. I hesitate to get more involved with the Dementors again though; they'd switch sides in a heartbeat if Voldemort promised them more souls to suck out and more people to torment."
"Don't bother with them," said Ron, "all they're good for is being the Azkaban guards. Even then they're blind, so if you're an Animagi you could do what Sirius did; transform and escape." "That's not the only thing Ron," said Percy with a frustrated look. "Supposedly the Patronus spell is becoming more and more popular among the small circles still left of Death Eaters. They're learning it in case they're captured and sent to Azkaban so they can ward off the Dementors and escape. At least, that's what our sources have been telling us." "So the Dementors are useless now," said Hermione, "and we cannot find anything else to take their place." "When did you find this out?" said Harry. "About two weeks ago," said Percy, "we haven't known for long, but we're trying to make do as best we can." "You are leaving the Dementors there until then?" said Severus. "For now, yes, but as soon as we can find a decent replacement they'll be gone," Percy replied. "You'll need some sort of a spell then," said Draco, "because you know wizards can't hold Death Eaters in their cells. They'll just bust them open and kill their guard." "We know," said Percy, "but we don't know anyone who could possibly come up with the sort of spell we need. This is heavy magic that we're going to need; not just any spell can block all the power of a Dark wizard."
Draco shrugged, "I'll do it." "What? You can't do it; you're twenty-three. What makes you think you can do something that no one else can?" said Percy. "Oh quit your condescending," muttered Ron with a roll of his eyes; Percy pretended not to hear. "Look at it this way; my father taught me enough about the Dark Arts that by the time I was fifteen I could have outsmarted a thirty year old wizard with all the things I knew. And since I'm the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher...it seems only fitting that I at least try to figure out a spell that would work," he said promptly. "Of course I'm open to help from anyone who wants to," he added. Percy let out a sigh, "All right, if you think you can do it...fine, but try to hurry it up, will you?" Draco headed for the door, "I'm already working on it," and he left. "I hope he finds a way," said Percy, "it's our last hope for containing the wizards of Azkaban."
* * *
Draco worked constantly on new ideas for spells, spending more time in the library than most of them thought possible, and beginning to surprise even Hermione. Harry, Ron, and Hermione tried to help him whenever they could, although Ron and Hermione weren't half as effective as what Harry, Sirius, and Severus were, being Aurors and Severus having tons of experience with the Dark Arts as it was. Harry and Severus, however, had other problems as well; they were still trying to solve the mystery of who was helping Voldemort. They both searched constantly for pictures of young wizards around Harry's age, and checked up on their recent activities, trying to discern the possible suspects from those they knew were safe. "This is impossible," said Harry one day, "the only thing I can remember is that he's almost the same age I am. How can I find someone when I can't remember what they look like?" "Just keep trying," Severus told him as he continued to look at the files in Harry's Ministry office, "we're bound to hit pay dirt sometime."
Despite Severus' encouraging words, Harry had a hard time believing he would find someone he couldn't see; until one night he remembered something from his dream. He bolted out of bed at two o'clock in the morning and threw Floo Powder into the fireplace. As he came spinning out of Severus' fireplace he was practically shouting, "Dark hair! Dark hair! Dark eyes!" Severus had been sure Harry had gone mad until he was fully awake, "You remember who it was?" "Sort of," said Harry, rubbing his forehead as it still hurt from the painful twang of his scar. "He had very dark hair, almost black; and dark eyes that looked like a deep brown color or something like that. I wish I could remember more..."
So they looked at different profiles of wizards with only dark hair and eyes. Still, Harry hadn't found one who looked like the shadowy man from his nightmares. That was, until he looked down at Vincent Crabbe's profile and felt his scar surge with pain, and his nightmares came rushing back to him. "No, no, not yet," said a voice; 'Voldemort's voice,' thought Harry. "I need more time to regain my strength; but you have been very useful to me indeed. You've brought me back from the dead as Lucius Malfoy once did. But he was weak; you, however, are different. But now, my friend, we must work for the next level of my transformation. It will be difficult, yes, but the end results shall be worth it. I shall have my body back once again, and I shall make those fools pay dearly for the years they have denied me. Severus Snape and Harry Potter will die before the year is gone. How? Ahh, the affection they share for each other runs deep, we know that. And it shall be their affection that will become their undoing; love does not strengthen, it weakens those who can feel it. Potter, his friends, and his family Snape and Black will fall by my hand, mark my words..."
"Harry! Harry!" said a familiar voice. His vision was blurry; tears were in his eyes. Severus was standing over him, shaking his shoulders, "Snap out of it! You've been convulsing on the floor like you've gone mad! What happened?" Harry hugged and held him tight till Severus felt the air being crushed out of his lungs, "Promise me you'll never go anywhere alone," said Harry. "And you'll always have your wand with you no matter what." Severus practically had to pry Harry off of him, "What happened?" Harry told him everything, not knowing what else he could do. Severus looked away grimly when Harry had finished; "Well don't worry about any of us just yet Harry. If he doesn't have his body back yet, then we're not in too much trouble so far." "I'm not concerned about now, I'm concerned about later when he does get his body back," said Harry. "Besides, for all we know he could get his body back today, tomorrow, or next week." "Or next year, or next decade," said Severus, trying to be more reassuring.
It didn't help.
* * *
Harry told Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Sirius about what had happened an hour later. "What do you think caused you to have one of those nightmares in the middle of the day?" said Ron. "I don't know," said Harry, "but I have a guess." He pulled out the profile on Vincent Crabbe without looking at it and tossed it to Hermione. "I had barely looked at it when it happened." "You don't think he would be smart enough to help Voldemort do you?" said Ron laughingly. "I mean he wasn't exactly bright at Hogwarts now was he?" "Yes he was," said Severus from the corner. It was around then that Harry noticed he was clutching his forearm; the Mark was burning again. "What? You're joking," said Ron. "No; he passed all of his classes easily. Despite how stupid he might look it's completely different from how stupid he actually is." Ron stopped laughing, "I thought he had a hard time passing his classes." Draco spoke, "He was smart enough that he was helping other students in Slytherin. If any of them had problems with anything he was the one to go to. He was quite good with the Dark Arts too; we'd talk about it all the time." Ron sighed, "Well I guess you learn new things every day." "Look, how stupid he is isn't the point; how smart he is...well that's another subject," said Hermione. "Has there been any Death Eater activity with him recently?" said Sirius, leafing through his profile. "None, but of course that only goes by when the Aurors can catch these people doing it," said Hermione.
"So basically the reported Death Eaters we have are really a small percentage to how many Death Eaters there actually are," said Draco with a roll of his eyes. "Hey! We're working on it okay?" said Harry with frustration. "That's another thing to add to our to do list," said Hermione, "we need to find a better way to catch Death Eaters. As of right now, this won't cut it; especially with Voldemort coming back. Already we're starting to hear stories about Muggles or other wizards being tortured, or walking into a forest and not walking out again. Unfortunately since most wizards don't read the Muggle papers it's harder to keep track of Death Eater movement." "How can you even tell when a Muggle has been killed by a Death Eater versus when a Muggle is killed in a car accident?" said Ron. "I mean I only work in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department so I really wouldn't know too much about it." Hermione shrugged, "You know how the Death Eaters used to leave the Dark Mark over the person's house before they were about to be killed? Well the papers have been reporting a 'lingering green haze' over the house of the dead person. They think that they're having freak gas line explosions but I know better. They had a picture in one of the papers; I could tell what the haze used to look like before it was swirled around by the wind." "A skull eating a snake?" said Harry.
"Exactly," said Hermione, "and if that isn't the Dark Mark then I'll eat the Sorting Hat."
* * *
By the end of the day each person (besides Draco who was already working on a spell) was given a set task. Ron and Hermione were going to be researching the papers, trying to narrow down the area they'd have to cover when it came to looking for Death Eaters. Harry, Sirius, and Severus, however, were going to be out checking up on some of the more suspicious looking wizards. As Harry got up to leave one morning to meet up with Sirius and Severus at the Ministry, Harry glanced at his old broomstick Sub Zero lying in the corner of his room. He picked it up and felt the handle; it was all battered from the years of use it'd had. He hadn't needed a faster one since at the time this one had been the top of the line; now it was probably considered a mediocre racing broom. For some reason he had the strange feeling that he might be needing it, so he hefted it over one shoulder as he climbed into the fireplace and cried, "The Ministry of Magic!" and was gone.
"What're you doing with that old thing?" said Sirius, noticing his old broomstick. "I really don't know; I just had the feeling like I'd be needing it today so I took it with me," said Harry. Sirius shrugged, "All right, if you say so." The three of them left for the Leaky Cauldron via Floo Powder and arrived a few minutes later, trying to find out what the latest news was amongst the other wizards. Because there were all sorts of strange folk in the Leaky Cauldron, you could find out many things from around the world; and they needed all the information they could lay hands on. The three of them had been talking to a goblin when Harry felt a funny presence from behind him; a pair of eyes boring into the back of his head. He looked over his shoulder to see a shadowy figure in the corner; who it was he could not say. Harry shook it off and kept talking to the goblin when he felt it stronger this time; now he was sure that the figure, whoever he was, was staring at him. He stood up and turned around fully; the person got up quickly and left the Cauldron, making a hasty removal. Harry immediately followed him out of the Leaky Cauldron and down Diagon Alley. The man started walking faster and soon was running full pace away from Harry; he kept after him and shouted at him to stop but to no avail.
Harry was losing his pace and the distance between them grew wider until Harry knew it was useless on foot. He leapt on his broom and went soaring after him; following him into Knockturn Alley. He had to catch him before the Alley ended; the only good thing about the Alleys was that you couldn't Apparate and Disapparate in them; at least he had a small chance that way. But if he reached the end of the Alley before Harry, he could Disapparate, then Harry would never be able to find him. Harry swooped over crowds of people, annoying some and amazing others. He was only a few feet out of his grasp now, and Harry stretched out a hand to grab the back of his robes; then Harry realized they were almost to the end of the Alley. Just as he felt his fingertips close in the Alley ended and waving his wand frantically the man disappeared; but not before leaving a high, cold laugh behind.
* * *
Harry didn't feel like doing much for the rest of the day; he went home instead and thought. Severus and Sirius joined him later, both looking very exhausted indeed. "Will you tell us what happened in Knockturn Alley now?" said Sirius. "Sure, now that I've had the time to think," said Harry, and he told them about what had happened. "You don't think it was Voldemort do you?" said Sirius. Severus laughed, "It couldn't have been; he would have killed Harry right then and there if it had been." "That's what I was thinking," said Harry. "But it couldn't have been just anybody either." Although he didn't voice his thoughts, Harry had an idea of who it might be.
Vincent Crabbe.
* * *
His skull felt like it was about to split open it was hurting so badly; Harry could barely see and he stumbled out of bed at three in the morning, clutching his head. The pain kept at it for five more minutes, Harry feeling close to passing out when it suddenly stopped. The abruptness of it frightened him and made him wonder; he could feel a ball of dread growing in his stomach, but why he didn't understand. He found himself running through the nightmare that he'd been afflicted with a few weeks ago when he'd first looked at Crabbe's profile, remembering what he'd heard Voldemort say. What was it? He was going to kill him, his friends, and his family. He hadn't mentioned...no...he wouldn't...but he would, and even though Harry had hated them for so many years for the first time in his life he was scared of what might have happened to them. He dressed quickly and Apparated as fast as he could.
To Number 4 Privet Drive.
* * *
Harry shut his eyes and looked away, unable to believe what he was seeing. The house was quiet, showing no signs of anything that had gone wrong. The last he'd heard Dudley had been attending one of the local universities, and was still living with Vernon and Petunia Dursley, his horrible uncle and aunt that had trapped him in the cupboard under the stairs for so many years. Truly there was no sign that anything was wrong at all, and at first Harry had been relieved; but then all his hopes had been dashed to the ground. For over the house lingered a green haze that all wizards feared.
The Dark Mark.
* * *
Harry hadn't bothered going inside; he knew what he would have found. Three bodies that looked normal, except for the fact that there was no pulse; it was the same with all people killed by Avada Kedavra. There was no sign that you were dead; your heart just stopped beating, and the breath was taken from your very lungs. That was it. Harry didn't go back to sleep that night; he went to Severus' house and told him what happened. He'd tried to console Harry as best as he could, but it didn't make Harry feel any better about it. He finally fell asleep in one of Severus' armchairs, exhausted and scared. He was awakened a few hours later by a shout; a shout of happiness, much to Harry's relief. Draco was climbing out of Severus' fireplace, dark circles under his eyes and he was practically shaking with exhaustion. "I've found it! I've found it!" said Draco, clutching a piece of parchment in his hand. "What? What're you talking about?" said Severus. "Look!" said Draco with glee, shoving the parchment into his hand.
"I don't believe it..." said Severus, his eyes widening, "...you did it." "You bet I did!" said Draco, practically jumping up and down with happiness. "Do you realize how great this is?!" said Severus, a grin on his face, "This is excellent! You're amazing! No one else could have done this!" "What's going on?" said Harry sleepily, getting up from the chair slowly. "Read it Harry!" said Severus, thrusting the parchment into Harry's hand. Harry read it quickly, "Wow, this is something else. And this...this really works?" Draco nodded, "Already been tested by yours truly. We can start using it as soon as it's approved by the Ministry!" Harry smiled weakly and slumped back into the chair.
They'd finally found a way to keep the Dark wizards in Azkaban.
* * *
The Death's Imprisonment spell, as Draco had titled it, was approved by the Ministry in record time; fifty-six hours to be precise. Percy had been ecstatic and had awarded Draco the Order of Merlin Second Class, despite his protests that he was just doing his job. The Dementors were banished from their posts as Azkaban guards, and they went back to inhabiting all the dark places of the world as they had at one time. Draco went down to Azkaban two days later to perform the Imprisonment spell on the cells containing the evil wizards. He came back looking older; "It's horrible in there," he said quietly, "I'd die happy never seeing that place again." Sirius shut his eyes, "I know what you mean."
Harry, in the meantime, had been doing some thinking. "Draco," he said, "if you found a bug in your house that you couldn't kill, what would you do with it?" He looked at him strangely, "Well I'd catch it in a glass or something then pitch it out the window. Why do you ask something like that?" Harry grinned, "Because we've got a big bug to catch."
* * *
Harry didn't enjoy the summer at all that year; he was inside Hogwarts most of the time, having been excused from his duties as Auror by Percy for quite some time now. He, Draco, Hermione, Dumbledore, Professor Flitwick, and many others were combining their efforts to create the most powerful magical item ever created. Harry had explained to them all after asking them to meet him in the dungeons at Hogwarts; "We cannot kill Voldemort, we know that much. No matter how many times we try someone is always there to summon him back from the dead using the hidden copies of the book we found several years ago. But if we cannot kill him, then we shall capture him; his soul specifically, and keep it in a vial, or something of the sort like that. We'll need to put it somewhere safe, somewhere where no one can get to it. I'm getting off track though, and my point is this; if we can create something powerful enough to contain his soul, we can rid any chance of him being resurrected ever again. After all, you cannot resurrect that of which is already alive, and if we put enough spells on his container no one will be able to break it open and release him. Do you follow me?" They followed, and everyone agreed that it was their best shot yet.
They spent many long hours down in the dungeons, all concentrating their efforts on a small crystal vial. Dumbledore made it Unbreakable and Non-Penetrable; Hermione coated the insides of it in unbreakable Fire Walls while Professor Flitwick stuffed it with Memory Charms to dash Voldemort's memory to pieces when he was captured inside it. Severus let the vial soak in a potion of his own Unbreakable charm, and when it came out again it was harder than diamond. Sirius contacted a few other wizards he knew and had them put their own charms on it, while Dumbledore got hold of a goblin wizard and an elf wizard so they could put their own brand of magic upon it. Soon the vial was coated with charms, spells, and potions of all the races of the world; Voldemort would never escape from it once he was inside. Harry held it up after they had finished with it and looked at it in the light; it looked like an ordinary vial, but it was something much, much more than that. He clutched it tightly, "Now how can we get him in?"
Ron, who had been sitting on the back shelf looked up, "Erm, I have an idea." "What is it Ron?" said Harry, very curious indeed as Ron had not helped them at all since they'd begun their experiments. Ron simply wasn't much of a help since he wasn't as good a wizard as Hermione, nor was he as brilliant with ideas as Dumbledore. Most of the time he'd simply tried to stay out of the way or help in whatever little ways that he could. Ron hopped off the shelf and took the vial from Harry's hand, "Er, well, I was just thinking about how maybe we could suck him into the flask using a Vacuum Charm. Just pop off the cap of the flask and the Charm starts working and sucks in the nearest person, then it sucks the cap back onto itself. You'd have one Voldemort packaged and ready to go." "Ron that's brilliant!" said Hermione, "That's a great idea!" Ron shrugged and his face turned a little redder, "Thanks."
So they used Ron's Vacuum Charm as the final capper on the vial, and Harry was now sure that it was complete; except for one thing. "It looks so plain and ordinary," he said. "It is, but it's meant to be that way," said Sirius, "so he can't tell what it is." Harry frowned, "Yeah, but what if we lose it? How are we supposed to tell it apart from any other flask?" For that question there was no answer, "But I have an idea as to what we can mark it with. It'd be a good reminder for him too." "What is it?" said Dumbledore. Harry drew his wand in the air and formed a symbol:
"What is it?" said Severus. "A backward G and a regular G," said Harry; "It stands for Godric Gryffindor." "He'll recognize that very quickly Harry," said Dumbledore. "Are you sure? Because I want him to know what it means so he can stare at it and know he was defeated by quite a few Gryffindors; no offense Severus." "None taken," he said with a roll of his eyes. "Voldemort will surely recognize it," said Dumbledore, "because Godric Gryffindor signed his initials that way; but you weren't aware of that, were you?" "Er, no, I wasn't; I thought I was just making something up." Dumbledore smiled, "Harry, I think perhaps you knew that because maybe you have some of Godric Gryffindor's blood running through your veins. More than likely through your father's side." "I doubt that," said Harry with a shrug, "I'm just Harry." Dumbledore sighed and said, "I must be going, now that everything is done with." He walked to the doorway but stopped, looking back at Harry, "Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled Godric's sword out of the Sorting Hat as you did in your second year. Have you ever looked at his portrait hanging in the common room Harry? You might notice something peculiar Harry, very peculiar." And with that last curious statement he left. They looked at Harry strangely, "I don't know what he's talking about so don't look at me," said Harry uncomfortably. But Severus was looking at him differently than the rest; he had seen the portrait of Godric Gryffindor before, and he had already noticed that peculiar thing that Dumbledore had spoke of.
* * *
Harry stared and stared at the portrait; stared until his eyes burned. Godric Gryffindor was a slim but muscular looking man, with dark, untidy hair and a dark stare in his eyes. In the portrait he wore a green cloak and black robes, a black belt round his waist with a silver buckle on it, a large backward G forward G symbol on it. He'd been sitting there for over an hour when Severus came in and found him in one of the armchairs, staring at the portrait. He was trembling from nerves, knowing that what ran through Harry's blood in turn ran through his; he'd never bothered drawing parallels before when he'd looked at the portrait. Just then Harry got up and stood face to face with the portrait; he could feel something nagging in the back of his mind, a voice asking him to do something...Move me aside, move me aside, it said. Harry pushed the portrait aside and saw a small door behind it; he was very surprised indeed to see it there and he pulled on the little silver ring that acted as its' doorknob and it creaked open. Inside was something glinting; he pulled it out and stared at it. "What is that?" said Severus slowly. Harry shut the little door and put the portrait back, then he held it up; "It's Godric Gryffindor's belt buckle, just look at the picture."
The same GG symbol was on the buckle Harry held as the one in the portrait, and Severus was growing more and more nervous. Harry couldn't possibly be the descendent of Godric Gryffindor, he just couldn't be; if that were so then why had Severus been put in Slytherin? Wouldn't all of Godric Gryffindor's descendents have been put into Gryffindor as well?
* * *
Severus burst into Dumbledore's office, surprising Albus as he strode to the corner of his office, picked up the Sorting Hat and promptly put it on his head. Dumbledore didn't bother questioning what he was doing; he'd wait till later to do that.
"Ahh, Severus Snape," said the Hat, "it seems like just yesterday I Sorted you. Something the matter?" "Am I Godric Gryffindor's heir? Because if I am then it makes no sense that I was put into Slytherin," he thought. "Mmm," said the Sorting Hat, "but you came very close to not being put in Slytherin. Don't you remember that day?" Severus shut his eyes, trying to recall everything of his own Sorting.
"Snape, Severus!" Flitwick called. Severus stepped forward and put the Hat on; "Ahhh, you have plenty of courage, and a great mind," it said. "A decent heart too; you would make an excellent Gryffindor. But...your skills could be used for other things; great things, yes. You would be a most profound Slytherin indeed; it would certainly help you on your way to greatness. What do you say young Severus Snape?" He thought about it for a minute, trying to decide what he wanted. James had already been Sorted into Gryffindor, so he didn't want to be there... "Slytherin," he thought, "put me in Slytherin." "SLYTHERIN!" shouted the Hat.
He opened his eyes again and realized that he had come very, very close to becoming a Gryffindor. "I cannot tell if you are the heir of Godric Gryffindor," the Hat said, "but there are signs that make it appear so. You, James and Harry Potter seem to be the most likely candidates for being related to Gryffindor. What say you, Severus Snape?" Severus hastily removed the Hat and slapped it back down in its' usual place. "Is something the matter?" said Dumbledore from his desk. "N-No, nothing, nothing at all," said Severus.
He left Dumbledore's office without so much as another glance back at the Hat.
* * *
Harry fingered the belt buckle with concern; he didn't know how he'd come by it. He had never even known about the compartment behind the portrait until he heard that voice, itching for him to move the portrait aside. Severus came into through the portrait hole all of a sudden, hefting a large book under one arm and looking very shaken; "Harry, how did you know where to find that?" he said, looking at the buckle. "I don't know," he said with a shrug, "I just sort of found it." Severus slammed the book down on the common room table and said, "Here, read this." Harry got up and began to read the page:
"Perhaps more than legend, Godric Gryffindor is said to have left three things behind for his true heir. These three possessions are said to hold very powerful magical qualities, although what they are remains a mystery even to this day. Gryffindor is said to have left the three items behind to help his heir when a time of true crisis has arisen; as to what this crisis might be, we may never know. The only thing known for certain is that Gryffindor left behind a necklace, belt buckle, and sword for his true heir to find. Supposedly clues to finding them are somewhere in Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry, although these rumors have never been checked.
Harry's eyes grew wide, "The sword...I pulled his sword out of the Sorting Hat in my second year!" "And you just now found the belt buckle," said Severus excitedly. "But if we have those two, then where's the necklace?" said Harry in a puzzled tone. He shut the book and began to pace the room, thinking about it adamantly. After ten minutes he stopped and looked at the portrait of Godric Gryffindor again. It wasn't until then that he noticed he was pointing at something; a very subtle gesture, yes, but he was pointing at something. Harry stepped forward and gazed at the portrait; Gryffindor's arms were crossed over his chest, and he looked like he was almost angry about something. But one finger was pointing to his left; Harry turned his gaze from the portrait to where his finger was pointing. Nothing other than the wall, just the plain, brick wall. But then he noticed a groove cut into the brick directly next to the portrait; a small, rectangular space cut out of the brick that one might never have noticed unless they looked for it. Harry felt it with his fingertips then realized what it was; "It's a lock," he said. "But where's the key?"
Severus stood next to him and stared at the carving, unable to think of where one might find such an unusual key. Then everything clicked in Harry's brain; he put the buckle into the carving and the brick glowed a warm, orange color, then vanished. Harry peered into the space and saw a glittering, silver necklace lying inside the space. He pulled it out and fingered it slowly; there was a small, silver charm on the chain. It was none other than Godric Gryffindor's symbol, GG.
Harry and Severus both scrambled out of the portrait hole, running as fast as they could to get to Dumbledore's office, where Gryffindor's sword lay.
* * *
The door bashed open and Dumbledore jumped; "Now really Severus, you can't come barging in all day long. I've got to get some work done." "Professor Dumbledore look!" cried Harry, shoving the buckle and necklace under his crooked nose. He picked them both up slowly, "You found them," he said softly. "Found the buckle behind the portrait of Gryffindor and the necklace inside a brick next to the portrait," said Severus, still gasping for breath from the long run. "Harry that means that you're Gryffindor's true heir," said Dumbledore, "and so are you Severus. You're both in his direct lineage." Harry nodded rapidly, "Exactly! And we both came up here because..." "The sword is here, and when all three are together they're said to have strong magical properties," finished Dumbledore. "Go get it then! It's right over there!" Harry ran over and picked up the large sword then set it down on Dumbledore's desk. He put the buckle and necklace down and they waited; nothing happened. "Harry, put them on," said Severus. "Erm, I dunno," said Harry nervously.
"You've nothing to fear Harry, go ahead," said Dumbledore kindly. Harry picked up the buckle and snapped it onto his belt, then put the necklace around his neck. He gave Severus and Dumbledore one last look of anxiousness as he picked up the sword with both hands. There was a blast of wind and light and both Severus and Dumbledore were pushed back against the walls from the power of it, papers and books flying everywhere around them. Harry almost dropped the sword he was so surprised but he kept hold of it, and he felt himself glowing with a huge aura around him. The sword shone brightly, and Harry looked down to see that both the necklace and the buckle were glowing with internal energy. The powerful aura slowly began to diminish, until there was no more light and wind, except for a quiet, glowing light within the three magical items. Harry put the sword back down on Dumbledore's desk, "What was that?"
Dumbledore let out a sigh, "It is as I thought; you are truly the heir of Godric Gryffindor." Harry looked down at the necklace and picked it up; it was glowing with its' own green light. He unsnapped the buckle and saw that it was not glowing, but there were runes on it that were. "I'm not at all good with Arithmancy," said Harry, "but I can tell there are runes on here." Severus picked it up and looked at the glowing green runes; "It says 'Only the true heir of Godric Gryffindor may wield his power.' Harry..." But he didn't have to say anymore; Harry was just as amazed as he was.
* * *
Everyone ate a quiet dinner in the Great Hall that night; quiet mostly because of Harry's story. But Ron and Hermione were looking at him with awe; their best friend was the heir to Godric Gryffindor. Severus, however, had something important nagging on the back of his mind. "Harry, I want to talk to you after dinner, right?" he said. "Sure Severus, whatever you want," he said absent-mindedly. Dinner came and went, and soon Harry found himself following Severus all the way to the Slytherin common room. 'Funny place to talk," said Harry. "There is a reason I chose this place," said Severus. "Come over and look at that portrait," he said, wheeling Harry around so he was facing a portrait of Salazar Slytherin. Harry didn't see anything until he realized that Slytherin was in the exact same pose as Gryffindor had been; pointing one finger at the wall. "Severus, tell me Slytherin didn't have the same idea as Gryffindor," said Harry, realizing what was going on.
"That's just it Harry," said Severus, "Gryffindor came up with the original idea and Slytherin didn't like the idea of his own heir being without a weapon or anything of his own magical specialty. You never read the rest of that passage in the book did you? If you had you would know that Slytherin left behind three things; a ring, a staff, and a bracelet. They're all meant for his own heir." Harry swung the portrait aside and saw another little door with a silver ring for a handle; he opened it and found nothing inside. "But Severus, there's nothing in here," he said, then his eyes widened. "Someone else already figured it out," he said softly. He slammed the portrait shut and tapped the brick on its' other side, "You can't open it, you don't have the key," said Severus. "But I believe that would have unlocked the staff, and as to where the bracelet is...I have no idea."
Harry stared at the portrait again and thought about it; then he noticed the dark band across Slytherin's wrist. He felt it; it was a groove cut into the portrait, as if something had once held a place there. "That's it, the bracelet was in the portrait," said Harry, "it had its' own little notch cut into Slytherin's wrist." "Yes, excellent Harry! But who took them?" said Severus. Harry looked up at him, "That's it; Voldemort was the heir of Salazar Slytherin when he was here. Remember that the basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets could only be controlled by the Heir of Slytherin? When he was still Tom Riddle he had discovered it, but obviously he hadn't found where Slytherin's three items were. He got Crabbe to find them for him when he was here at the school, and now he's helping Voldemort. It all fits! Now all we've got to do is find him and capture him!" said Harry. "Although I'm glad you solved the puzzle," said Severus, "how are we to find him?"
* * *
Harry got hold of Hermione and asked her where the most Death Eater activity was centered around and likely places to find Voldemort; "Well the most likely one so far is the Black Forest in Germany. At least, that's where Voldemort might be." "Great, thanks Hermione; bye!" said Harry before she could say anything more. That night Harry paced his room anxiously; it was best he get it over with soon and without his friends getting involved, after all, he didn't want them to get hurt. He was getting dressed when he remembered the portrait of Gryffindor; a green cloak and black robes. He rummaged through his things until he found a green cloak and black robes; if he was going to do this with the help of Gryffindor's belongings, he might as well follow in his ancestor's footsteps.
Harry Apparated to a small area outside of the Black Forest, the sword under his belt and the buckle clipped to the old battered black belt. He fingered the necklace slowly as he walked to the edge of the forest; he gripped the hilt of the sword with one hand and fingered his wand with the other. He'd probably need both. He had also hung the vial off his belt, and it looked perfectly harmless to everyone else. 'But it isn't to Voldemort,' thought Harry as he entered the forest. It was pitch dark in the forest, and now he understood why it was called the Black Forest; you could get lost in here if you didn't watch your step. "Lumos!" he whispered, his wand now alight. He continued on through the forest for some time when he saw a speck in the distance; it appeared to be a fire. Harry kept walking toward it and it steadily grew closer until he realized that there sat Vincent Crabbe, and with him was Voldemort. "Ahh how I've waited for this," he was saying as he placed a small, silver ring on his finger. A silver bracelet was dangling on his wrist, Harry noticed, and a brown, wooden staff was by his side. "The true Heir of Slytherin has risen again, only more powerful than before," said Voldemort.
Crabbe bowed his head, "Yes my Lord." "And you young Vincent Crabbe!" said Voldemort, "What do you wish for? Does it remain the same as it ever was during our first meeting many years ago?" "Yes my Lord; I wish for immortality," he said. "Of course, of course, and who wouldn't? You shall have it my dear boy, and join me in slaughtering all those Mudbloods and Muggles." Harry stepped forward into the firelight, "He shall not have it if I have anything to say about it." "Harry Potter!" said Voldemort, red eyes gleaming, "What say you of the Heir of Slytherin now?" "I don't know, what say you of the Heir of Gryffindor?" Harry retorted. "Heir of Gryffindor?" Voldemort noticed the sword, buckle, and necklace, "Ahh, of course. It would only be fitting that my greatest enemy is also the heir to my own ancestor's greatest enemy. But enough talk; I've waited for this day over and over again, each time for it to be dashed to pieces by you or one of your friends. But not this time; not again," he said, a hiss in his voice, "now we shall fight as Heir of Slytherin against Heir of Gryffindor. Are you ready young Harry Potter?"
Harry's eyes narrowed, "I'm more than ready." Just then they heard voices in the forest; "Harry! Harry!" called a familiar voice. It was Hermione, and Ron was following, then Severus and Sirius, then Draco, and finally Dumbledore all stopped just short of the firelight, all of them forming a large circle around Voldemort and Harry. "You shall not interfere this time I'm afraid," said Voldemort, and he slammed the staff hard into the ground. Flames erupted in a circle around them, keeping out Harry's friends. "Vincent dear boy," said Voldemort, turning to his helper, "stand aside for this no matter what happens; I want Potter for myself. But you may take the others later if you wish." Crabbe smiled a disgustingly evil smile and stepped back from Harry and Voldemort. "Ready boy?" said Voldemort, clutching the staff in one hand and his wand in the other. Harry gritted his teeth, "Don't call me 'boy.'"
Voldemort's eyes flashed as he leapt at Harry and they began to fight; Voldemort would hit him with the staff and then try to hit him with a spell, but Harry was too quick and he parried off the blow with his sword and blocked the spells with his wand. Harry's friends could only watch helplessly as their friend fought without them, and Hermione put her head in her hands, unable to look. Harry was handling the situation quite well, actually, until Voldemort whipped about and hit him in the stomach with his staff as hard as he could. Harry tumbled backwards, the wind knocked out of him, and Voldemort pointed his wand down at Harry. "Goodbye Harry Potter," he said with a grin. But Harry would not be outdone and he held up the necklace and it blasted Voldemort over backward. "ARGH!" he shouted angrily, "You're going to suffer for that you fool!" He clenched his hand into a fist and pointed the silver ring at Harry, and a jet of green light came out of it. Harry barely managed to roll out of the way as it blasted a huge hole in the ground.
He was still lying on the ground, and he fingered his belt buckle; he felt two switches there that he hadn't noticed before and pressed them. A jet of pink light shot out of his buckle and hit Voldemort in the knee. He fell and grabbed his knee, groaning in pain. Voldemort picked up the staff with one hand and limped over as quickly as he could to Harry, who was now scrambling for his sword. They both stood back up again, Voldemort and Harry now feeling very sore from their own injuries, and Voldemort tried to bring the wooden staff down on Harry's head. Harry brought the sword up to meet it and they both lit up with light, looking very lethal. Voldemort was gritting his teeth as he pushed back against the sword, trying to drive the one edge of the blade into Harry's skull. "Hey Riddle," said Harry; "What?" said Voldemort, "Don't you dare call me by that name." "Look down," said Harry with a hiss. Voldemort looked down to see Harry's one hand clenching the vial, "What is that boy?" said Voldemort. Harry popped the cap off and the Vacuum Charm began to howl like the wind, and it started sucking Voldemort inside it.
"NOOO!" cried Voldemort as it began sucking his legs in. He dropped the staff and soon he was into the vial up to his waist. In a last desperate effort he pressed two small switches on his bracelet and shot Harry with a spell of blue light, knocking Harry over backward. Harry looked back just in time to see Voldemort trying to pull himself out of the vial, now into it up to his armpits. "DAMN YOU POTTER!" he screamed as he was completely sucked into the vial. The cap was sucked back onto it and the vial lay there silent on the ground. Harry was gasping for breath, and wanted nothing more than to rest when Vincent Crabbe let out a screech of anger. "MASTER!" he shouted, picking up the vial and trying to crack it open. "It's Unbreakable, Crabbe," said Harry with satisfaction, "don't even bother." Crabbe dropped the vial and stared at Harry with pure hatred.
He picked up Voldemort's staff, "You're dead." He came running at Harry faster than Harry could have expected, and not knowing what else to do as he lay there on the ground he picked up the sword at the last second. Crabbe never saw it, and it plummeted into his stomach. He let out a choking sound and dropped the staff, falling to the side. Harry got up slowly, gasping for breath, and limped over to the dropped flask. "I told you not to call me 'boy,'" he said smugly. He picked up the staff and slammed it down on the ground twice, muttering a spell beneath his breath, and the fire ring that had once surrounded him disappeared. His friends came running to him all at once, and Harry found himself being hugged left and right. Then he heard a loud gurgling sound and he noticed that Crabbe was still alive; he limped back to him and bent over. Blood was pouring from his mouth; "Harry Potter..." he said softly. Harry leaned closer, barely able to hear the hoarse whisper; "...the Dark Lord will rise again," he said. His eyes closed, and Harry checked for a pulse; nothing. He looked up at Severus without saying anything; Severus returned his stare.
"We must always be ready for the unexpected," Severus said wisely.
* * *
The newspapers had a field day with what had happened to Harry that night. 'The Boy Who Lived: Man or Legend?' Harry chuckled as he put the Daily Prophet down on the table; Rita Skeeter could say what she would, it really didn't bother him either way. He drank his orange juice in silence in the Great Hall, wondering what was next for him. Severus, however, seemed ready to answer that for him as he came running into the Hall and slammed another book down in front of him. "Look at this Harry," said Severus, gasping for breath, "there's something very important about it." "Oh for God's sake no more riddles okay?" said Harry with a weary smile, "I've had enough riddles with those stupid portraits for a lifetime." "No Harry, listen to me," said Severus excitedly. "This is a copy of the book Crabbe and Lucius Malfoy used to bring Voldemort back from the dead." "I'll not have anything to do with a book full of Dark magic," said Harry promptly, moving away from it slightly. "No, that's just it Harry! This is a White magic book; do you know what that means?" Harry stared at Severus and Severus stared back; "It's not possible Severus."
"And why not?!" he cried happily, "Why can't we do it?! It's White magic, so it won't bother you or I, and it most certainly won't bother them. Harry, at least try this with me once, just once, please, I'm begging you." Harry felt adrenaline coursing through his veins; he wanted to, but did he dare? "All right, let's go!" said Harry, leaping over the table easily. They both ran out of the Great Hall as fast as they could, Severus leading Harry right out of Hogwarts.
* * *
The spell wasn't easy, but with their combined efforts it worked; and of course Severus had no problem with the potion part of it. They worked for two and a half hours until it was complete, "All right, it's done. Are you ready?" said Severus. Harry nodded slowly, "Yeah, I think so." They each took a cup of the potion and cast the spell over it; the potion changed from yellow to icy blue, and they exchanged glances nervously. Harry poured the cup over the one grave and Severus over the other. Then they waited, waited and waited until they heard a funny noise from under the ground. The graves were shuddering, until Harry saw one pale white hand protrude from the grave, covered in dirt. Then another hand appeared, and they began to work away the dirt until a head seemed about ready to protrude. The same thing happened in the other grave, only the hands were a much paler white. Finally a head burst out of the nearest grave; it had untidy black hair, and as it came out Harry recognized it easily as his father James. "Ugh! How did I end up in this?" said James as he pulled himself out of the grave. "Disgusting! Dirt everywhere! I'll never get this out of my clothes!" "The last time I checked, James Potter, you were into getting dirty," said Severus with a frown.
"Severus?!" said James with a happy smile; then his eyes fell upon Harry. "Harry?" he said softly. Harry felt tears forming his eyes, "H-Hi dad." Meanwhile a red-haired woman had burst out of the other grave, "Oh how gross, dirt everywhere! I think it's under my fingernails..." She stopped and stared at Harry, "Er, hi mom," he said slowly, unsure of what exactly he should say. "Harry..." she said slowly. Before Harry even knew it both of his parents were hugging him so tightly he could barely breathe. "We missed you so much!" she sobbed into his hair. "I know I missed you too," said Harry, tears pouring down his cheeks. If time had frozen then, Harry would have died happy; he just wanted to hold his parents for the rest of eternity. For ten minutes they must have looked odd to other people; four people standing in a graveyard, three of them hugging and two of them covered in dirt. But Harry couldn't have cared less. Harry caught a glimpse of Severus over James' shoulder and noticed that he had covered his mouth with one hand; he was clearly in shock.
James noticed where Harry's gaze had fallen and looked over his shoulder, "How are you over there?" he called. Severus couldn't answer; he was still too shocked. "Oh come on," said James, walking over and hugging his brother, "say something!" Severus hugged him back, "Stupid Gryffindor!" "Nerdy Slytherin!" retorted James with a laugh. "Ugh!" said Lily in an aggravated tone, "All these years later and they're still doing that. Grow. Up." "Doing what?" said Harry. "Oh their idea of being funny," she said with a sigh, "back at Hogwarts they'd pretend like they weren't brothers, so they'd throw people off by calling each other nasty names even though they were just joking. It's so stupid." "It is not!" said James as the four of them began to walk back to Hogwarts. "You just can't take a joke." "Yeah, sure, that's it," said Lily sarcastically. "You know you say that to everyone? You said that to the groundskeeper when you blew up his hedges." "Now that was Sirius' idea, not mine," said James hastily. "Maybe, but you still went along with it," warned Lily. Harry gave Severus an odd look; 'Just ignore it,' he mouthed. James caught on and said, "No Harry! Don't ignore it! You'll need to know this stuff for any practical jokes you want to play on your friends!"
Harry grinned, "That reminds me, I don't think you've met the Weasley twins, but I believe you, Sirius, and Professor Lupin would get along with them just fine." "Professor Lupin? Ha! What a laugh!" said James; "And I suppose next you'll be telling me Sirius works for the Ministry of Magic." "Actually yes he does James," said Severus, "he's an Auror." James rolled his eyes, "All my friends gone off to be careerists with professional jobs. What is the world coming to?!" "Yes Harry," said Severus as James and Lily continued arguing, "I do believe he'd get along very well indeed with the Weasley twins."
* * *
They reintroduced Sirius to Lily and James later on that day, and he fell to his knees with shock. "P-Prongs? Lily?" he said slowly. "Oh get up Padfoot old friend," said James, helping him up. "B-But you were..." "Yes dead we know," said James, "but what can you do?" he shrugged. Sirius hugged him and Lily both, practically on the verge of hysterics, "I don't believe what I'm seeing..." he said.
Professor Lupin didn't either. "Moony! How've you been?" said James. Remus Lupin could only stare in amazement; "G-Good...surprisingly good." "Oh come on now don't stare!" said James. Remus hugged James tightly and then stopped, "This is incredible."
They all ate dinner in the Great Hall that night, and Ron, Hermione, and Draco had glassy looks in their eyes whenever they fell upon James and Lily Potter. "Harry...this is amazing," Hermione told him. "I can't believe this." Harry nodded, "Yeah, me neither." Dumbledore came walking into the Hall just then; they'd been unable to find him all day so his presence was now a very much welcome sight. "Professor Dumbledore!" said Harry, "Where've you been?" "Hello Harry; off at the Ministry on some busine-" his eyes fell on James and Lily, who waved at him. He peered over his half-moon spectacles at them, clearly not sure he was seeing correctly. "James Potter and Lily Evans?" he said slowly. James nodded, "Hello Professor Dumbledore!" "Hello Headmaster," said Lily politely. "Astounding..." muttered Dumbledore, "...absolutely astounding..."
* * *
Harry was present at the end of the following year, eagerly awaiting Dumbledore's end of year announcement. Ron, Hermione, James, Lily, and Sirius had also managed to make it as well, and Harry was glad for it. "I would like to say something a bit more than is typical of me at the end of the year," said Dumbledore. "I have spent fifty years of my life here at Hogwarts as Headmaster, and another twenty as a Hogwarts teacher and head of Gryffindor house. But now my time here has come to pass, and I have enjoyed every bit of it so much that I cannot possibly express it to you in words. However, my age, I'm afraid, is beginning to catch up with me; dear Hogwarts students and good friends, may I introduce to you your new Headmaster, Professor Severus Snape!" The students broke into a loud applause, which Harry was glad to see; since Harry had found out about his relation to Severus he'd warmed up quite considerably as a teacher and a person. Obviously, he was now popular with the students versus how it was when Harry was at school and everybody hated him.
Severus stepped up to the podium, and Harry could tell he was a bit nervous. "Despite my new appointment as Headmaster, I will not be continuing on as your Potions Master. Therefore, to take my place, I have appointed Professor Harry Potter as the new Potions Master and head of Gryffindor house!" Harry waved from his spot at the staff table, feeling a bit nervous himself. Draco nudged him, "That means we can't like each other anymore, what with me being the head of Slytherin." "Yeah right Draco, we'd never fight over something so childish as that would we?" said Harry. "Have you forgotten all those Slytherin versus Gryffindor battles when we were here?" "No, of course not; how could I forget?" said Harry.
* * *
Harry went into his office, holding a plaque in his hands. On it was engraved, "Professor Harry Potter, Potions Master and head of Gryffindor house." The years would be added in later when he retired from his job. Harry looked around the office, trying to decide where to put it.
He found the perfect spot right next to his family portrait.