xikum: evil grin and cackle Yup. And what he has to do later on only makes it that much worse. And as to Lucius and his 'evil, twisted, utterly delicious sense of humor', will, I hope I did it justice. That's what I figure his sense of humour would be like. Heh, sounds a touch like mine.

Plastraa: Osmosis! Science! Biology!! Augh! My brain!! lol Snogging...well...there's something better than snogging. It's coming, I promise! I swear! And life really sucks; I have enough to buy the pimp cane, but I can't; the money is needed for other things. TT I should just do the proper Slytherin thing: blackmail the cash from my prat of a brother. smug smirk

Strawberry Palova: lol Today we have a double serving of Come the Maëlstrom, fresh and ready to read! Enjoy!

MustIBeAMalfoy: Glad you liked it. Computer is still giving me trouble, but that should be over with soon enough. I have another friend that can reformat my comp but says I should try to fix it first before resorting to having him do that. I'm now hoping to have it fixed in a week and a half.

Immortal Memories: Pretty much. Think of it as a smoke screen so Narcissa doesn't suspect that he's seeing someone else, and starts snooping even more.

Jazzylady: Why? It's called....oh wait, that's giving away plot! zips lips Erm, there's a reason. Yeah, it was. The only thing I could think of concerning Severus' reaction was that he would just about have a shrieking fit.

LusikiThanatos: lol Glad you liked it. Two more chapters posted. Read and be happy. I'll try to post again soon. crosses fingers even if I have to kick Jeffy off the comp again...like today when I posted these. .

Shinigami Liliz Black: My dear friend, Lucius almost always has something up those sleeves of his. Severus and Harry...well, they eventually get along. And they eventually get stuck in a room. That is all of future plot that I plan to reveal at the moment. Yay!! Sketch!! Excellent! thumbs up Man, I miss talking to ya on MSN.

A/N: Man, this is why I love my reference books. This chapter gets kinda Quidditchy at the end, so I'll clear this up now. The 'Starfish and Stick' is an actual Quidditch move as described in Quidditch Through the Ages. The moves, the 'Potter Drop' and the 'Weasley Spinner' are ones I made up and will be described in greater detail later on in the fic. koffhinthintkoff And two chapters on the same day!! Yay!!! shuffles off to eat cookies

Come the Maëlstrom

Chapter Five

"Are you even trying?"

"Yes," Harry replied, his face screwed up and fingers clenched tightly around his wand as he repelled Moody's attack with a pale blue shield.

"Give him a break, Alastor." Remus said from his perch on the sides.

"He'll get a break he's mastered it…again, Remus."

At this point. Harry was more than a bit fed up. He dropped his shield and hit the ground, letting the attack fly right over his head to crash into a nearby vase and shatter into jagged pieces. Harry picked himself up, repaired it and placed it back in its spot before he made his way over to a chair and plopped down in it, wiping his brow.

Bucephalus didn't know what to do when Moody and Lupin had showed up and all it had taken for them to gain entrance was one intimidating growl from Moody. That how Harry's quiet breakfast had been interrupted and he found himself here in this unused classroom, going through virtually every single drill Lupin and Moody had taught him in two years in the space of eight hours. He didn't want to hear the words to another curse for at least three days.

"Stick a fork in me," Harry muttered wearily. "I'm done."

"Alastor," Remus began. "Considering that we got started around 9 in the morning and it's now almost 5 in the afternoon, I think Harry has done extraordinarily well."

"Fine, fine," Moody grumbled as he took a swig from the flask from his pocket. "That's enough for today. We can pick up tomorrow morning, bright and early at-"

"Seven?" Harry offered; that was the time Moody usually had him up at for the training.

"Good, you remember," Moody said gruffly. "I'll see you both tomorrow."

Harry gave a half-hearted 'Bye' and wave as he let his head flopped back against the chair. Once the door closed behind Moody, Harry let out a very audible sigh of relief.

"You did very well today, Harry." Remus said as he came over and sat down beside Harry.

"Mergh," Harry grunted as he closed his eyes. "I feel like someone put me through a blender."

"Blender?"

"Muggles use it to mix things up," Harry said before he rubbed his face briskly. "At least dinner's soon."

"You're coming down to the Great Hall to eat?" Remus looked at him hopefully.

"Um…no." Harry said quietly.

"You should Harry," Remus began. "Your friends know you're back and they're starting to think you're avoiding them."

Harry didn't say anything for a moment. "I'm not, I mean…you see…it's just…" he fell silent trying to word it properly. "I'm not trying to avoid them. But the last thing I want is everyone asking me questions about every little inconceivable thing."

"Ah, I see," Remus said with a nod of his head. "That's perfectly understandable. Just, please, for my sake, come down sometime soon; Hermione is driving me nuts. Severus too."

"Hermione?" Harry looked at Remus puzzled. "What's she worried about now?"

"She's afraid you might not be eating enough, and she keeps asking either one of us to see if you're all right." Remus paused. "You're oddly short for your age, but it's nothing to be worried about. And you have been eating…right?"

"Yeah, three meals a day; I'm growing just fine." Harry replied, relieved Remus didn't ask him any more questions.

Lucius was the only person he'd breathed a word to about the abuse he suffered every summer. He wouldn't be bothered about Dumbledore and his opinion on the subject; he'd probably see it as a necessary evil. Harry knew his somewhat short height more than likely had to do with his very poor diet at the Dursleys. He'd always been scrawny as a kid, and his growth spurts had always come late and it wasn't much of a spurt. The poor diet also wreaked havoc with his immune system and he'd found himself sick rather frequently when he was a kid. But he wasn't about to tell anyone else did. But he'd better look into something to fix the problem soon before people starting asking seriously.

"I'll make sure to tell her; at least I'll be able to eat my dinner in peace for awhile." Remus chuckled. "You know, I always thought you'd be a bit taller, but I suppose you'll hit a late growth spurt or something."

"Yeah, I probably will." Harry said, hoping that was the end of the questions. "It's a bit late, but it'll come." He gave another stretch and rose.

"Where are you off to now?" Remus asked, looking at him curiously.

"To do something rather insane."

"And that would be?"

"Invite Professor Snape for tea."

Remus stared at him for a long moment. "That is insane. What makes you think he'd actually accept?"

Harry shrugged. "I guess that's what I'll find out when I ask him."

"Then you may want the password to Dumbledore's office; when I popped out for a moment, that where he was headed, and he's probably still there."

"There's a new password to Dumbledore's office?"

Remus nodded his head. "It's Swedish Berries."

"Thanks," Harry said with a grimace. "You just shot down my plan of attempting to find him for a whole five minutes and then giving up."

"Sorry then," Remus laughed. "If you don't mind me asking, is there a particular reason why you're inviting Snape to tea?"

"Dumbledore feels we should get along better and develop a bit of trust in one another."

"He actually said that?" Remus gaped at Harry.

"Not quite in those words but that's the gist of it. I think Dumbledore's loosing it."

"Well…that's….um…" Remus was obviously struggling for an answer. "He wants you to develop trust with Snape?"

Harry chuckled at the disbelief in Remus' voice. "Yeah; I would have had a good laugh about it if I hadn't known that Dumbledore was serious."

"So would have I," Remus said. "Well, at least you're making the effort…which is more than I could probably say for Snape."

"Well, I figure suffering tea with him for a bit is much better than have Dumbledore possibly locking us together in a room."

"Well said," Remus agreed with a nod. "Guess you'd better get going then."

"Wish me luck. I have a feeling I may need it," Harry said wryly.

"Or something afterwards. I'll send Hermione by with something, all right? It should be useful."

"Thanks," Harry said gratefully as he reluctantly walked towards the door.

He really wasn't looking forward to this. But it certainly beat suffering whatever the Headmaster would come up with if they didn't try. His steps echoed faintly in the empty hallway as he made his way to the second floor. He had just made his way to the gargoyle status when he realized he didn't even have anything set up for tea in his rooms. Swearing a bit to himself, he turned around and hurried up into his chambers, wondering how to get a house elf to come. He spent a good five minutes standing in the parlour trying to think of someway before he finally gave up.

"Um…Dobby?"

There was a soft sound followed by, "Harry Potter is wanting something?"

Harry turned around and saw Dobby standing there looking at him eagerly with a wide smile. "That was awfully quick Dobby."

"Dobby has been brining Harry Potter his meals. Dobby didn't want to see Harry Potter moping around."

"You're the one who's been bringing my meals?"

Dobby nodded his head. "Dobby doesn't mind. Dobby was always hoping that maybe Harry would be up one day when he came."

"Hm, I must have been sleeping a lot." Harry murmured to himself.

"What is Harry Potter wanting now? Dinner? A snack? Or maybe-"

"Actually," Harry began cutting Dobby off from what sounded like a very long list. "All I want is a tea set for two."

"All right! Dobby can do that!" and with that the house elf disappeared only to reappear a few seconds later. "Um…Dobby is wondering who is Harry Potter having over for tea."

"Professor Snape." Harry said a bit glumly.

Dobby made a mournful sound. "Dobby will bring Professor Snape's favourite tea."

And with that Dobby disappeared. Harry shook his head with a small sigh before he left his chambers and made his way back down to the second floor. The gargoyle peered down at him from its perch. He paused for a moment, looking at it. He'd never realised it before, but this gargoyle was odd. The only way in which he could think to describe it was beautifully hideous.

"Heh, there's a contradiction," he muttered. "Swedish Berries."

The gargoyle slid aside to reveal a flight of steps stretching upwards. Harry stared at it in puzzlement for a moment. Since when had the stairs stopped twisting upwards? He gave a shrug before he started walking up. It all seemed a bit puzzling, doing the walking instead of letting the stairs bring him up to Dumbledore's office door. It was probably some security measure implemented. All Harry knew was that he certainly would want to be stuck in this passageway up. His steps halted as he approached the top, hearing loud voices coming from the other side of the door.

"…telling you Albus, it was no mistake!" Severus sounded quite insistent and angry.

"Now Severus," Albus sounded patient; the kind of patient a parent shows with a child. "…you're just overreacting."

Harry moved a bit closer and pressed his ear to the door so he could hear it all as clearly as possible.

"No, I'm not!" the words were a bit muffled, but Harry was pretty sure Snape spat that sentence out. "Lucius knows about the existence of the Order!"

Harry's eyebrows furrowed together; so that's what they were arguing about.

"…think the Order has…badly compromised?" Dumbledore asked softly after a few minutes of silence.

Harry had to strain to hear Dumbledore's words. It sounded as if he asked Snape if he thought the Order had been compromised in some manner.

"I can't honestly say," Snape said after a long moment. "Lucius is puzzling…"

"What do you think he really asked you?"

"Judging from what he said, the Dark Lord has some sort of plan to bring Hogwarts down and ensure his victory." There was silence for a moment as Snape stopped speaking. "It was as if he was offering a chance to get the Dark Lord first and bring him down."

There was a long silence in which Harry found he has holding his breath in anticipation. So Lucius had started to put their plan into action. The mantra of, 'Take it, take it, take it' ran through his mind as he strained his ears to hear the next words spoken.

"Are you sure of this?" Dumbledore asked.

"Like I said I don't know. You know the Dark Lord hasn't trusted me completely for a long time now. This could be nothing more than a very elaborate trap to flush out someone he suspects as a spy. Who knows who else Lucius has put this offer to."

"Do you think he has done that?"

There came an extremely long silence. "No."

"What makes you think that?"

"I don't bloody well know!" Severus exploded. "But I don't think he has."

There came another long silence before Dumbledore spoke. "I see."

"You can't possibly be serious, Albus!" Snape sounded highly affronted.

"My dear boy, I haven't said-" Dumbledore began.

"I know that tone." Snape said in an accusing voice.

"I know you have concerns," Dumbledore began. "But I think they shall have to wait for the moment while you and Lucius craft a plan."

Harry had to bite his lip hard to stop his triumphant cry from being heard.

"Albus!" Snape roared.

"This may be just what we were waiting for. I don't know what may have changed his mind but I believe we should take it. And from all indications this sounds like a genuine offer from Lucius Malfoy. This war could be over before fall comes, Severus."

"This is absolutely ludicrous!" Snape bellowed. "How can you sit there and even contemplate accepting this offer?!"

"Severus," Albus said calmly, "You will-"

Harry decided now was the time to knock, before Snape could convince Dumbledore to not accept the offer.

"Who is it?" Dumbledore called out.

"It's me, Sir." Harry replied.

"Ah, come in Harry!" Dumbledore called cheerfully.

Harry opened the door and stepped in, seeing Snape standing there with the most impressive of scowls and crossed arms. Dumbledore opened his mouth to speak, but Snape beat him to it.

"What do you want?" he demanded belligerently.

"I was trying to find you. I thought I'd invite you for a cup of tea."

Snape looked between him and Dumbledore before he stalked out from the office without as much as a word. Harry watched as he walked out before he waved goodbye to Dumbledore and started down the stairs. The moment Harry stepped off the stairs and the gargoyle slid back into place he found himself prevented from walking anywhere else by Snape, who was standing right in front of him.

"What the devil do you really want?" Snape demanded.

"Tea," Harry said simply. "Or are you afraid that I managed to poison your cup with my inept potion making skills?"

Snape glared at him. "Five points from Gryffindor for your cheek."

Harry didn't do anything beyond smiling as they silently started walking down the hallway towards the flight of stairs to the third floor. Harry knew Snape would never admit it, but Harry had given him the perfect excuse to escape a rather one-sided losing argument with Dumbledore. They arrived at Harry quarters and, five minutes later, were settled into their respective seats with steaming mugs of teas in their hands. Snape seemed to relax a bit from the first sip and the silence didn't seem as tense anymore. Harry wasn't too sure how long they had sat there in silence, sipping tea, but they were on their second cup when he cleared his throat to finally speak.

"Professor?" he asked hesitantly; he wasn't too sure why he was even bothering.

Severus simply glanced over at him, as if wondering why he was risking the rather companionable silence.

Harry took a deep breath, steeling himself before he spoke again. "Can I ask you something?"

The silence definitely changed after that. It was as if Snape were weighing each of his words for validity and any trace of sarcasm. And apparently finding none, Snape finally spoke.

"About?"

Harry opened his mouth to speak, only to find nothing coming out. What was he thinking? Snape would start asking questions, and Harry hadn't even attempted to try and find the solution on his own. And he'd suffered enough of Snape seeing his memories during their Occlumency lessons; if Snape suspected something, he didn't need to provide Snape with verification of any sort.

He shook his head. "It's all right Sir," he said with a shake of his head. "I'll just look it up myself."

Snape regarded Harry for a long moment with a shewd expression. "And possibly kill yourself if you find what you're looking for and attempt to brew it?" Snape sneered.

Harry scowled at him over his mug. "You know, I didn't have to invite you here again…especially after last time. Your attitude isn't helping."

"My attitude has always been the same. Try adjusting yours. It's a touch arrogant."

"Me?!" Harry spluttered at Snape's sarcasm that clearly said it was beyond a touch. "Maybe if you bothered to act human for once in your life rather than some skulking overgrown vampire bat then-"

"How dare you!" Snape said, his own ire rising quickly. He placed his mug on the coffee table, glaring at Harry. "I suffer your ignorance, ineptitude and moronic babblings time and time again, with far more patience than humanly possible and you have the galling audacity to say that I need to act human?!"

"All I ever get from you is sarcasm, sarcasm and more sarcasm! Not to mention the fact that you hate my very guts! What the hell am I supposed to think? That you secretly want to be my best friend and all you need is a fucking hug?!"

"Watch you language," Snape hissed. "And maybe if you used you intelligence, of which I find myself more and more doubtful that you posses each day, we wouldn't have this problem."

"Watch me use it now; get the bloody hell out of my rooms!" he snarled at Snape. "Forget I even attempted this! You can rot in hell for all I care, as can that trust Dumbledore wanted us to have."

"The feeling is mutual." Snape spat out before he quite literally stomped out of the room.

A few seconds later, Harry heard the sound of a portrait slamming shut. He sagged against the couch, sulking rather petulantly at the wall. That was it. Let them suffer whatever Dumbledore had planned. They sure as hell couldn't do this on their own. And Harry would be damned if he had to deal with that bloody insufferable man any more than he absolutely had to. When he heard the portrait creak open, he rose from his seat and stalked to the hallway, quite ready to tell whoever it was to piss off and not bother him. He paused for a moment when he saw it was Ron.

"Don't kill me!" Ron protested, hiding behind a rather large book. "'Mione sent me."

Harry looked at Ron for a bit longer before he stomped back to his seat and flopped down. He waved his wand at Snape's mug so the tea in it disappeared. Ron followed him in hesitantly, sitting on the end of the couch closest to Harry as he slid the book on the table.

"What has you so wound up?" Ron asked.

"Snape." Harry said curtly.

Ron winced. "Ouch. What was he doing here?"

"Dumbledore wants us to develop trust and get along," Harry smiled slightly at Ron's abrupt bark of laughter. "I figured I'd be nice and invite him up for tea. Never again, as long as I bloody well live. Trust Snape, ha!"

"Good call," Ron affirmed with a nod of his head. "You tried and Snape screwed up; simple enough. Don't worry; I'm sure it'll all work out in the end."

Harry simply nodded his head, looking at the book now. "What's that?"

Ron shrugged. "I dunno; 'Mione says it's from Lupin though. She was supposed to bring it, but she just shoved it in my hands in the common room, said to give it to you and then took off."

"Odd," Harry mused. "Where'd she run off to?"

"Dunno. Probably to ask a teacher a question if you ask me."

"Classes are still on?"

"Kinda. Classes outside have cancelled. Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures…"

Harry suddenly had a sinking feeling in his stomach as Ron trailed off with a pained look on his face. "Quidditch?"

Ron nodded his head mournfully. "That got killed me too. Sorry mate."

"Not Quidditch," Harry groaned; Quidditch was one of the things he had been looking forward to. He gave a heavy sigh after a few moments. "Well, what do you mean classes are kinda on?"

"A lot of students got injured in that battle, since they snuck out and all. I mean really, it wasn't that bad that the DA members got out there; they were prepared! But the others that snuck out, the others that had no experience whatsoever or even knew what they were doing…" Ron shook his head.

"I know what you mean," Harry said with a slight grimace. "But you were saying."

"Oh yeah. Well, there were quite a few causalities and a lot of people are still recovering, so classes are kinda of run informally by the professors; you show up if you can. And the professors have been posting a 'recommended reading' list," Ron made quotation marks in the air. "That's been posted on the bulletin boards in the common rooms."

"Recommended reading lists?" Harry repeated with a slight look of disbelief.

"Yup. Which means absolutely no one, except Hermione maybe and a few others bother with it. Dumbledore's already said that classes will resume normally once this is all over with, so I guess they figure they should focus on the more important thing now and worry about schoolwork later."

"I get it," Harry paused for a moment. "But still…Quidditch, gone…"

"I know how you feel. All that practicing in the summer, and we only got to play three games."

"But they were great games." Harry looked at the tea set. "You want some tea?"

"Huh? Yeah, sure, thanks," Ron said. "Remember that Slytherin game, when you hung from your broom and steered it with you legs? You caught the Snitch in both of your hands right as you whipped past Malfoy. I still think you should call it the Potter Drop. It's a great play!"

"You should have seen the look on his face up close," Harry grinned as he handed Ron the mug. "Priceless."

"I'd imagine. Right by him and you nicked it." Ron chuckled.

Harry had to chuckle as well. "Or that Ravenclaw game when you spun your broom around and knocked the Quaffle away with your broom handle. I still don't know how you managed that one, I mean, it's a broomstick; you could have missed the Quaffle completely. It should be called a Weasley Spinner."

Ron chuckled, staring at his mug for a moment. "You know, 'Mione's great and all, but I missed this."

"Same here," Harry said. "Now why don't you tell me about that Starfish and Stick move you pulled in the Hufflepuff game?"