Title: The Art of Necromancy

Author: Artemis Luna Diana

E-Mail: artemislunadiana@yahoo.com

Rating: R

Pairing: Harry/Severus

Time: begins right after GoF

Summary: Harry returns to Hogwarts to spend the summer. Out of sheer boredom, he scours the library for books to read and stumbles across a book that will change his life…

Disclaimer: I own not a thing

WARNING!!!! THIS IS A SLASH STORY!!!! IF YOU DON'T LIKE SLASH OR THIS PARTICULAR PAIRING… LEAVE NOW!!!!

Chapter Nineteen: Wolves and Dogs

Harry woke slowly; he could feel a warm breath ghosting across the back of his neck. He then registered the arm draped over his waist, and the hand that clasped his own. The form molded to his back was next. Without opening his eyes, he smiled and snuggled back into his mate's embrace.

Severus felt Harry move closer to him and tightened his embrace slightly. He'd been lying awake for nearly an hour just listening to Harry breathe, rolling the idea of being bonded around in his head.

"Good morning," Harry whispered huskily and rolled in Severus's embrace to face him.

Severus stared at Harry's sleepy countenance a moment before leaning in and pressing his lips to Harry's. "Good morning," he said once they parted.

Harry smiled and blinked slowly, still sleepy. "What time is it?" he asked closing his eyes and snuggling closer.

"Breakfast isn't for another two hours."

"Oh." Harry opened his eyes. "What can we possibly do until then?" he asked smiling.

Severus smirked and indulged his mate. "I'm sure we can think of something."

"What did you have in mind?" Harry's grin seemed to have gotten wider.

Severus pulled Harry tight against him and rolled so that he rested on his forearms pinning the sexy Necromancer to the bed. He saw Harry's eyes sparkle with delight before his lips descended to capture his mate's, and Harry's eyes closed.

***

"You sent for me?"

"Yes, yes, I did. Lemon drop?"

"No. Get on with it."

Albus grew serious. "Well, Voldemort has discovered that Harry has some pretty severe weaknesses, so he can't go out into the field anymore. We need operatives to go out when Harry has a vision."

Sirius shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He wanted to ask what weaknesses the Headmaster was talking about, but he squashed that feeling down. Harry had Snape now. "What did you call me for? I can't go running around the country. I'm a wanted criminal."

"We've others who will be going in first to get the people out. What we need now is volunteers to try and capture the Death Eaters." Albus frowned slightly. "Take all the time you need to decide, Sirius. You can stay here in one of the hidden rooms until you make your decision. If your answer is yes, then we'll move you to a more secure location inside the castle. If not, I suppose you'll go back to your search for Peter."

"I don't need time to think. I'll do it."

"Thank you, Sirius."

***

A white wolf lay in the top-most room of an unused tower at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Troubled green eyes stared out towards the empty balcony, where the soft blue sky could be seen. The wolf released a barely audible sigh. Its ears twitched. A few moments later, the door to the tower opened.

An old man walked in and stood beside the troubled wolf. "Sirius is here," he said after awhile. "He agreed to help capture the Death Eaters."

The wolf released a huff of breath.

"Tomorrow will be the first counter-attack," the old man continued. "There is a meeting tonight. I want you to be there."

The wolf lifted it's head and looked up at him.

"These people can be trusted with your identity and it isn't as if Voldemort doesn't know. Only the general populace doesn't know where you are, although they have figured out that you're back."

The wolf rested it's head on it's paws.

"Will you be coming?"

The wolf whined.

"I'd really like it if you came," the old man coaxed.

The wolf lifted it's head again. It stared at its companion for awhile before giving a slight nod of its head.

"Thank you. I'll see you tonight, in my office. Eleven o'clock."

The wolf huffed and set its head back down on its paws. The old man smiled slightly and left the room. The wolf's eyes turned away from the balcony and stared at the closed door for a moment. It stood and walked to the balcony. Lifting up, it placed its front paws on the railing. It heard the door to the tower open again and dropped to the floor.

This time it was a middle-aged man. The wolf did not hesitate to approach him. The man sat down on the dusty couch, looking around slightly amused at the wolf's choice of rooms. The wolf leapt onto the couch and rested its head in the man's lap.

"What are you doing up here?" the man asked. He looked down. Instead of a wolf, a young man was sprawled out beside him, with his head resting on his lap.

"Feeling melancholy. I sensed Sirius when he came to the school. Albus was just here and confirmed it for me." The young man felt the older tense.

"And?"

The young man turned slightly so he could look up at his companion. "Albus wants me to go to some meeting tonight. He's going to be there. I said I'd go, but…" the young man paused. "Will you be there?"

The older man seemed surprised by the question. "Yes," he said neutrally, wondering if he was wanted there or not.

The young man sighed in relief. "I'm glad."

The older man watched as his companion got more comfortable and then dozed off. He brushed aside the hair that fell in the way of his perusal of the young man's face, revealing a lightning-shaped scar. "You never cease to amaze me, Harry Potter," the man said quietly.

***

TBC…

A/N: well! I finally am done rewriting. I had this chapter done over a month ago, but hated the way that Albus was behaving so much that I rewrote chapter seventeen, edited eighteen, and rewrote most of this chapter as well. I hope that you all read the redone chapter seventeen before you read this, but if you didn't, I don't think there was anything to confuse you just yet. That would happen in the following chapter. So. Just remember to reread seventeen before reading chapter twenty, which should be out this weekend.

Thanks for reading and for your reviews and e-mails, I really appreciate your support and am very sorry about how long it took me to straighten out my little plot wrinkle. I'm also sorry about how short this chapter is, but since the meeting scene is so long, I decided to separate it from this chapter since it would make it so much longer than normal.

~Artemis Luna Diana~