Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters.

Web of Lies: Revelations.

When Severus entered his bedroom, he saw Alec sitting up in bed and engaged in a silent glaring contest with the house elf he had left to take care of him. The boy looked up when he heard the door, his glare immediately died when he saw who was standing there, and his gaze moved down to the covers that were still lying over his legs.

Snape approached the bed and, after dismissing the house elf, sat down in the chair that had taken permanent residence besides the bed. "I thought I had made it clear that you weren't going to put yourself in danger, didn't I?"

Alec nodded reluctantly. "But Granddad..."

"Would have killed the lot of us if we had allowed you to leave, and you know that as good as we do."

Harry knew that he was right. He knew that Dumbledore would have grounded him just for trying to do something as foolish to get out so that Voldemort could get his hands on him. But the problem was that Dumbledore wasn't there to ground him. He was trapped by an insane maniac and who knew if he were still alive. It was taking everything he had to not just curse Snape and leave.

Seemingly reading his mind, Severus quickly started to speak.

"We have found a way to get to Voldemort, one that doesn't involve you being captured. Against our best judgement, we have been advised to take you along. But if you decide to come, you will have to promise me a few things first."

Harry looked up at him warily, he trusted the man without a doubt, but he refused to stand back and watch as the others fought. Of course, he admitted that there were very few things that could hold him back and that going with the others would be much safer, so he settled down to listen to what the man had to say.

Seeing the quiet acceptance, Severus started to list his demands. "Firstly and most important, you will always remain at my side. I don't care what happens, I want you to stay close to me. Should something happen to me, you will go search for the nearest auror or professor and stay with them. No running around on your own."

Harry was frowning. "You don't honestly expect me to leave you alone if you're injured."

The older man looked down at him sternly. "This isn't about me; I want you to be safe. So, yes, if I was to be injured, I want you to leave me be and look for someone else. I don't want you to be left on your own in the midst of Death Eaters. And the last rule, I will give you a portkey, should you be injured, I want you to portkey back immediately. Is that clear?"

Alec was about to shake his head, he certainly didn't agree with the second rule. But one look at the man's face told him clearly that he either agreed or that he would be staying behind. He hoped that the man would be alright, because he really didn't want to break his promise to him as he knew he would not leave the man alone. Sighing, the boy nodded quietly.

Severus frowned down at him. "Promise me, Harry."

The boy finally looked up at him. "I promise."

About half an hour later, a large group was formed in the Great Hall. They were mostly aurors, who had continued to ignore Fudge's orders to not intervene in Hogwart's matters because they thought it was the perfect chance to get rid of as many Death Eaters as possible and had come to help out.

The teachers were standing a bit separated from the main group. A few seventh years had insisted on going with them, and while they could force the youngest to remain behind, those of them that were of age could do as they wished, despite their professor's disagreement.

The youngest of the group, by far, was Alec. Severus had told him that he should go as the Headmaster's grandson, this way the Death Eaters wouldn't pay so much attention to him.

Resigned, Alec allowed the older man to put a dark cloak around him and then turned his attention to the proceedings. It had been decided that the first group would use a portkey and once they arrived, they would send out a magical surge that would allow the rest of the wizards to apparate to where they were. This would have to happen very quickly since they were expecting a welcoming committee to be there to greet them upon arrival.

The small group that would be using the portkeys led the way outside. They needed to be all out of the wards so they would not waste time to get to Voldemort's lair. Harry walked silently between Severus and Minerva. The two adults had agreed to keep the teen close to them, neither wanted him there, but now that Minerva knew the truth, she agreed that it might be the chance they had been waiting for. Just before they all passed under the wards, Alec stopped short, a pensive look over his face as he narrowed his eyes. His hand shot out and clutched Severus', who stopped to see what was wrong.

"Alec?"

The boy tilted his head slightly. "They have put something over the wards. As soon as I cross them, Voldemort will know I have left the castle."

The Potions Master frowned darkly. He hadn't thought of that, and they certainly didn't need to warn Voldemort that they were on their way. Minerva shot them a questioning look and walked back the few paces that brought them to their side.

"What's wrong?"

Sighing, her colleague explained their worries and the three of them stood quietly, contemplating what they could do about it. Severus was about to suggest that they better leave Alec behind, when a ghost appeared in front of them. At first, the Slytherin thought it was Salazar, but soon he recognised the Ravenclaw ghost. The transparent woman paid the two adults no heed and instead focussed her attention to their young companion.

"I have a message from the Lady to you, young Ravenclaw."

Harry nodded and waited patiently for her to elaborate. Some of the others were now looking at the trio, wondering why they weren't moving. Unperturbed by all this, the ghost continued. "She tells you to remember your lessons with her. Your abilities to shield your mind can be applied to your magic. You should be able to mask your presence easily since you usually already do it subconsciously."

Those words surprised the boy. "I do? What does she mean by that?"

The ghost's shimmering eyes looked at him intently. "Young one, you have an enormous power, you know that, you've been training to control it for months. But not many people can sense it. Ask anyone around here how strong you really are, and they will probably consider you a rather common wizard. Since you were a child you have masked most of your power, now you only need to extend that mask a bit more so that it covers you completely."

Alec looked a bit lost. What the ghost said made sense, but he wasn't sure he would be able to pull it off. He hadn't even managed to completely shield his mind, how was he supposed to extend the same concept to his magic? He was about to question the ghost again when a warm hand came to rest on his shoulder. Looking up, he came face to face with his former head of house.

"Alec, while I don't know much about shielding a mind, I learned a long time ago how to shield my magic. It was an old trick Dumbledore used to teach those of us involved in the war against Grindewald, since he wanted to destroy the most powerful wizards so they couldn't fight against him." Squeezing the thin shoulder gently, she closed her eyes. "Close your eyes, Child, I'll show you what you need to do."

Reassured that someone was guiding him now, the boy complied with her orders and followed her lead. He soon found himself in what he had come to recognise as his mind. The room was exactly like he remembered it, peaceful and beautiful. The only thing that was different was the small tabby cat sitting next to the glowing orb. Recognising his professor, he raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to tell him what he should do.

To his surprise, she jumped down from the table and moved to a side of the room. There was a large painting there, and unlike the peaceful atmosphere that surrounded them, it was showing a rather violent thunderstorm. Frowning, he reached out and was about to touch it when a soft voice touched his mind.

"Careful, Child. Behind this painting rests all your power and it is through the images of this painting that it comes out of this chamber for you to use. What you need to do is try to change the feeling of it. Your power represents thunder, try to calm it, and try to mold the picture so it shows something else. But be careful, should you change it too much from its true nature, you might lock it in and that would be very bad."

For a few long moments, Harry contemplated the picture, he needed to change it. The only question was what should he transform it into? Suddenly, inspiration struck. Putting both hands on the painting, he concentrated very hard on the image he had seen in one of Salazar's books. Ever so slowly, the picture of the thunderstorm started to change. In its wake, a body was formed.

Minerva looked curiously, trying to not make any noise that could break the boy's concentration. She could barely contain a gasp of surprise when she saw a large dragon moving under the boy's hands. She recognised it from the few times Hagrid had talked of them to her. There were myths that said that a really strange breed of dragons lived in thunderstorms. They travelled with them and fed themselves from the electricity formed in there.

The images Hagrid had showed her were mostly guesses to what they might look like, but Minerva was sure that that was what Harry had been aiming for when he started. When the wings were finally formed, the child opened his eyes and looked satisfied at the large dragon. It had started to move around, thunder still crackling around him. Turning around, the boy looked intently to his professor.

"Do you think that will be enough?"

The tabby rubbed her head lightly against his legs and the gentle voice once again ran through his mind. "I'm sure it will be more than enough, Harry."

The boy frowned and lowered his eyes.

"Uncle Sev told you."

The cat looked up at him and nodded. "He had to; it was too dangerous for him to keep this from me. But don't worry, no one else knows yet." Smirking slightly, or at least Harry thought that was a smirk on the cat's face, the woman continued. "And what did Severus tell you would happen if you ever called him Uncle Sev?"

The child chuckled lightly. "I think that he would make me clean cauldrons no matter what I called him if it started with Uncle."

The cat frowned lightly. "You can't seriously think that, Harry. Everyone can see that the man cares deeply about you; he has known for several days, and in those days he has continued to keep care of you. Do you really think that he would have done that had he been angry with you?"

Harry shrugged lightly. He knew she was right about Severus taking care of him. But if there was one thing Harry had learned from the man, that was that he had a deep feeling of responsibility and that once he had promised Dumbledore that he would take care of him, the man wouldn't back out.

The gentle voice pulled him out of his morose thoughts. "Now is not the time to start doubting him, Harry. He cares enough to keep you safe and comfort you when you need it. Everything else you'll have to work out with him when all this mess is over." The tabby cocked her head as if listening for something and then spoke again. "Come on, let's get out of here. I'm sure Severus is growing impatient."

With those words, the room started to fade and Harry opened his eyes. He was immediately pulled in a warm embrace.

"Are you alright?"

Smiling slightly up at the man holding him, the teen nodded. "I'm fine, everything went alright."

Looking at the Gryffindor head of house, the man nodded and then turned to where the others had finished their preparations.

"Come on, they are waiting for us."

To be continued...

A/N: Thanks for all reviews and thanks to my beta reader, Vinnie.