Chapter Fifty-One
By the time Harry and Severus made their way to the dungeons (with Harry under his accio'd invisibility cloak), Sirius had been waiting for ten minutes.
Severus said nothing as he opened his chambers and let his invisible lover and his godfather in the room. When the door was shut, Harry slipped the cloak off and he and Severus looked quizzically at the animagus before them.
"Rita Skeeter wrote an article..." Sirius held up the paper and let them read the headline, but pulled it back before either could read anymore.
"Oh, Merlin," Harry murmured, letting himself fall onto the couch. "Let me read it."
Sirius shook his head. "Remus and I don't want you reading it."
"I'm not a child; I can handle it," Harry glared at him. "I want to know what she wrote about me."
"Harry, I don't think..." Severus began.
"Just give me the fucking article!" Harry cut him off angrily. Sirius sighed and handed it to him.
Harry clutched the paper tightly as he read. By the time he was finished, the paper was almost a ball.
"I told Hermione to turn her in," Garry glared at the crumpled parchment.
'Remus Floo'd to the paper and is going to get her fired," Sirius told him.
"It doesn't matter. Everyone knows now," Harry dropped the paper as all anger left him as he looked at Severus's face.
"It'll be all right," Severus started.
"You keep saying that, Sev, but it only seems to get worse," Harry looked up wearily. "I'm going to go for a walk. I need to be alone for a little while."
With that, he grabbed his invisibility cloak and left before either could stop him.
"If he's not back in a half hour, we'll need to go after him. As it is, I have a bad feeling about letting him alone," Severus told his lover's godfather.
"Me too," Sirius agreed as the feeling of dread knotted the two's stomachs.
***
Remus stormed angrily into the owner of the Daily Prophet's office, ignoring the stuttering from the secretary posted outside the door.
"Sir! Sir! You can't go in there!"
Remus stepped around her and opened the door. He walked in and slammed his hand on the desk as he had seen a muggle on the telly his family had owned do.
The owner, a podgy, middle-aged wizard by the name of Francis Key, jumped and then glared at Remus.
"Who, may I ask, are you?"
"My name is Remus Lupin-Black," the werewolf told him. When no recognition showed in the man's eyes, Remus continued. "One of Harry Potter's fathers."
"Ah. Then I imagine you're here about today's paper?" the owner assumed.
"Yes. I want Rita Skeeter fired," the D.A.D.A. professor's eyes flashed when Key laughed.
"Why should we fire her? Again?" Key asked. Rita had been fired by the last owner, Gludgeon Bliggs, sometime after Harry had went into a coma.
"Because if you don't, we will sue you."
"For what?"
"Wizard's Ministry law states that anyone under eighteen cannot be named in an article telling a bout a traumatic event, personal information, or in any criminal accusation. We can, and will sue you for that," Remus said, suddenly glad he had read all of those law books years ago.
"Harry Potter is a public figure," Key argued.
"Harry Potter is a seventeen year old child who has been through enough in his life without newspaper articles telling his traumatic life story!" Remus yelled. "And my son, Draco, is not a public figure, and by all rights, I could sue you on behalf of both Harry and Draco."
"When the article was written, neither were in your care," the brown haired man smirked. "They were wards of the Ministry."
"They were when it was printed, and if that's the case, the Ministry can sue you, and Minister Weasley is a very good friend. Molly Weasley has taken both Harry and Draco in as her honorary eighth and ninth child, and you do not want to face her wrath. If you fire Rita Skeeter, and issue a formal apology to my family in the paper, I will not press charges on you."
Francis Key nodded, knowing he could not get anywhere with the master debater. "All right, Mr. Lupin-Black."
He called for his secretary (Sally) to send Rita in. Within moments, the tacky witch stood before them.
"Rita, you're fired."
The bug-eyed woman gaped at him. Remus grinned slightly.
"Ms. Skeeter, I'm going to press charges against you," Remus told her. "It's against the law to write what you did, and I'll be suing you for slander in your earlier Witch Weekly articles, as well.
Skeeter only recognized him as he walked out the door and Floo'd home.
***
Harry fearfully manoeuvred between the students in the hall, lest they realize that there was an invisible person amidst them. The Boy-Who-Lived made his way through the halls, not knowing where his feet were taking him.
As he reached his destination, he looked around and acknowledged it as the tower classroom that they made potions in when they were required to sit in the sun or moonlight. The large glass ceiling allowed him to view the grey clouds in the sky as he sat down in the back, up against the wall.
As he glared up at the sky, he remembered the last time he was in there.
~~~Flashback~~~
It was the week before classes ended for Christmas break. It was the week before the attack on Hogwarts. They had been brewing the Wolfsbane Potion for Remus the entire month, and it was the day of the full moon. The potion had to be made in the light of the moon for every day its light shone up until the day it had to be drunk.
Severus stood behind him, as if to criticize their (his and Draco's) potion.
"Don't come to my rooms this week. I'll be very busy," Severus whispered. Then he raised his voice for the class to hear. "Mr. Potter, it seems you've gotten even more inept at potion brewing than you were in your first year."
The Slytherins on the other side of the room laughed, and the other Gryffindors glared at the Potions Master. Draco and Harry gave him a glare as well for good measure.
~~~Flashback~~~
What Severus had said had really hurt him. Not the jibe about his potions skills, but that he'd be too busy for Harry. He'd never been too busy for Harry. If Severus had work to do, Harry would just work on homework or read. They would just back in the other's company, hardly talking at all on those nights.
Those words, 'I'll be very busy,' had gripped at his heart. He hadn't told Draco, but that night while Draco had gone to see FrednGeorge, he'd cut himself. And almost a week later, he had severely berated Draco for his hidden, blood covered dagger. It had been a silly thing to do just because Severus had said he'd be busy.
As Harry looked up into the clouds, he saw when flakes of snow began to flitter over the domed glass above. Harry shivered. He hadn't noticed the cold before. Not when he fought Voldemort, or went to Diagon Alley, or when Lucius had been...Harry shivered again, but not from the cold.
Unbidden, a flash of the day before entered his mind.
~~~Flashback~~~
Lucius grinned maliciously.
"Scream," he ordered, gripping lightly at Harry's neck, faintly pressing on his oesophagus. When all Harry did was whimper, Lucius elbowed his stomach, where he'd found something most interesting when he'd tore the cloths on Harry's body.
Harry screamed, not knowing why it hurt so badly.
"You're beautiful when you scream," Lucius pressed his thumb on Harry's neck making him gasp for air until he let up. "You deserve this. You've killed so many people. You deserve all their pain you made them feel. You deserve to die."
~~~Flashback~~~
Lucius had been right. He did deserve it all. He deserved to die, or worse, to live while everyone else died around him. He deserved to know the pain of losing a child.
"I deserve to be in pain," Harry said aloud.
The Gryffindor stood mechanically and made his way to the equipment cabinet. He didn't' know when he'd gotten there or when he picked up one of the preparation knifes. He didn't know when he'd brought it down to his left wrist and pressed down on it.
As he caught the sight of the blood running past the blade, Harry felt warmth spread through his body. He dragged the blade down and let the blood drip to the cobblestone floor. He felt his left hand go numb as his right hand clutched at the knife and continued to move it across his skin, smearing the blood as it went.
Harry dropped the knife and watched as it clattered to the ground and spattered blood. Crimson kept dripping from his arm and made a puddle on the floor. The Gryffindor staggered back slightly as he grabbed the desk before him. He became dizzy. He began to sit, but he lost his balance and fell to the ground. He hit his head on the stone then, and his world went black.
***
At that same time, in the Hospital Wing, Draco awoke with a scream of "HARRY!"
End Chapter Fifty-One
Well, folks, several asked how this could be the last chapter....you have your answer. I'm not sure if the next instalment will be the Epilogue or Chapter Fifty-Two. You guys have to convince me to go for Fifty-Two. If you don't, I will write the Epilogue and it'll be the end. And then Emilea would kill both you and me.
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Thanks to everyone who reviewed! And special thanks to Dark-One Shadowphyre, my 1200th reviewer!
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weaslygurl4- *sniggers, imagining the look on Skeeter's face if the quill actually made it past the stick already up there!*
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leia105- *looks at Rita doll with distaste, before remembering just what a voodoo doll is.....* eg
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