Chapter 09

Harry's body was drifting off, he slowly became aware of being in the yard behind the house, where he as crawling under the bushes.

"Oh, great! I seeing through the snake's eye again. At least it is only Shadow this time. I hope she doesn't attack anybody it was bad enough when her mother attacked Mr. Weasley last year, that is not an experience I look forward to repeat"

His attention was drawn by the sound of an angry voice, he stuck his tongue out to smell who was near, he knew that smell, two people, two people he knew. Curiosity got the best of him and he allowed the snake to get closer, it seemed safe enough, so far he had no troubles controlling shadow.

"They are upstairs right now you know, as we speak, they are there, touching each other. How can you be so calm?"

"There is no use to get upset. We will find a way to either use this or break them apart. You know how far we came, I won't let all go to waste because the boy decided to play around before finding the only and true love of his life and getting married. It's alright, child, by this time next year the two of you will be together"

"How can you be so sure? We know how resistant he is to mind altering spells. He will never let go Ron and fall for me! Not to mention the fact that Ron will put up a fight"

"Mr. Weasley will be the unfortunate victim of a Death Eater attack at the end of the school year or during the next summer vacations, Harry will be heart broken and you will be there to console him... with the aid of a very strong potion to help him make up his mind."

"A potion? Do you think it will work?"

"Why not? It worked on his mother when I convinced her that James was Harry's father and I assure you... she loved Severus very much. It was quite hard to make him forget also, if memory serves"

"What? What the hell is this? Who is talking?" Harry started to became more agitated in his sleep and hurry the snake to move closer and take a look at the people talking in the yard.

"Oh! I have to tell you... the glamour spells are becoming less effective"

"Really? With all the reinforcement I just placed on his uncle's house and with your help as well? How can that be?

"I don't know, maybe he is getting stronger. I know it was supposed to last until his seventeenth birthday but..."

"Yes, yes, he is too strong. It's not a complete surprise you know. Lily was a powerful witch and Severus is very powerful himself... Well, I guess we will have to accelerate the whole thing then"

The snake came out from under the bush and stare strait in to the two people talking in the old gazebo in the back yard.

"Thank Merlin! So, when do we kill Ron?" Asked a very business like Hermione.

"Soon, I believe we can stage a Death Eater attack even before the school starts. Yes, that would be better, that way the two of you could arrive as a couple. The sooner we establish you as Harry's loved one the better" Answered Dumbledore

"Can I do it?" Hermione asked smiling.

"Oh, Dear! Why so eager?" Dumbledore was smiling now.

"I hate when people get in the way of my plans. I should have been the one to get Harry out of the Dusley's. I should be the one upstairs. Why did he have to go there in the first place?"

"I told you to not under estimate the feeling Mr. Weasley harbours for Harry. When Harry failed to send news for a certain amount of time, he acted like any other sixteen years old in love, he when to rescue his beloved from his evil relatives. It was just bad luck the he got there before you and Remus. If all went as planed he would be at your side, I have no doubt."

"Well, it doesn't matter now, the fact is that they are together and I don't..."

"Shh! Remus is coming" Dumbledore interrupted Hermione suddenly.

"Albus, Hermione. Is everything all right?" asked Remus stepping in to the gazebo.

"Oh, yes!" asked Dumbledore with the usual twinkle in his eyes "Miss Granger was just telling me how worried she was when the two of you did not find Harry at his uncle's house"

Remus looked touched by that. He put his arms around Hermione and pulling her in to a protective embrace.

"Oh, Hermione! I was very scared too, but it all turned out alright" he said trying to comfort her.

"Yes, I know but..." she answered with watery eyes "Harry could have been hurt..."

"I know, I know. It all right now" he said still holding her "Don't think about it anymore"

"Did you wanted something, Remus?" asked Dumbledore

"Oh! I'm sorry, Albus. Molly would like a word with you" he said letting go of Hermione.

"Let's see what she wants then. Are you coming, Dear?" said Dumbledore getting up.

"No, I'll stay out here a little longer" answered Hermione as the two wizards made their way back to the house.

Hermione sat in the gazebo bench and pulled a small hard covered book from one of her pockets and began to read. Harry was shocked beyond words. Dumbledore was using him a lot more than he had ever dreamed about it.

"Snape is my father... SNAPE!... his FATHER? How? When? WHY? And Hermione? It has to be a dream, a nightmare. It is a trick sent by Voldemort. Of course! How thick would I be to fall for the same trick twice? It may had worked last year, and I did paid dearly for it, I've lost Sirius, but it would not work a second time. Nope, no way in hell. Never. "

His attention was drawn back to the gazebo as a second figure stepped in front of him. A rat with a silver paw.

Wormtail.

The rat began to change and, sure enough, in a few seconds Peter Pettigrew was standing near Hermione.

"Good afternoon, Miss Granger."

"Wormtail! I though you had orders not to came here when there were others in the house" snapped Hermione.

"Oh! but I have important news..." said the ratman.

"Well, deliver them and go away. What is so important that you had to came here to say?"

"Something that I will say only to Dumbledore, child"

In a second Hermione was at her feet with her wand pointed at Pettigrew.

"I'm not a child, rat, and I'm not scared by you"

"I'm sorry, Miss Granger" said the ratman cowering and stepping back from the witch "but I really must speak to Dumbledore. It's urgent"

"What is so 'urgent', rat? And why should I believe a traitor?"

"I've never betrayed Dumbledore. I've been his faithful servant for longer than you have lived. Ask him if he had any reasons to complain of my services for the past 20 years. Go on, ask him. I'm no traitor and I do have urgent news."

"Oh! have it your way than. I'll call him. Wait here." Said Hermione leaving.

Pettigrew looked around nervous and transformed back in to his rat form, hiding in the bushes not far from where Harry observed everything through Shadow's eyes.

"It's a nightmare, it's a nightmare" Harry kept saying to himself "but... what if it's not a nightmare? What if it's real... I have to do something... Shadow get him, get him, get him" Harry began to repeat in his dream.

"How should I do it, master? Do you want him to yourself or do you want him dead?" Harry could hear the snake voice inside his mind. Suddenly, Harry realised two things, first it was not a nightmare and second, he knew that because he just realised he had never fallen asleep. He was awake and painfully aware of that.

"Can you bring him to me? Alive? "

"Yes"

"Do it"

While still lying in bed next to Ron's sleeping form, Harry kept his eyes closed and watched as the snake crept closer so the rat and struck a blunt blow to the smaller creature's head and then wrapped her body around it's dizzy prey, strangulating it until it fainted. Shadow than swallowed the unconscious rat and crawled back to the house, crossing with Hermione and Dumbledore on their way back to the yard.

Miles from there, the Dark Lord woke up and gaze at the ceiling, his anger boiling inside him.

"A traitor, well Two of them no less... in my inner circle! Well, That sure was a useful gift. I must thank the seer for her suggestion"

Chapter 10

Harry sat on the bed very carefully not to wake Ron. Now he was glad he hadn't mention the events on the Leaky Cauldron to anybody, but he recognised that he had being lucky. One more day and he would have told everything to Ron and Hermione, like always, so they could figure out what was going on.

Hermione. No, Merlin, no. He heard wrong, that was no way Hermione could...

"So, when do we kill Ron?" he remembered his best friend saying "when do we kill Ron?". Kill Ron? He was one of her best friends too. The three of them had been together since the first year, they had faced death, saved each others lives... Harry's head started spinning. He didn't need more questions right now. He needed answers.

Shadow entered the room a few minutes later and regurgitated the unconscious form of wormtail at his feet, crawling away at Harry's command, remaining at striking distance.

Voldemort couldn't help but smile, his gift to the boy was turning out to be better than he expected. There was a lot he could learn now, not only on how to get close to his grandson without having to use threats like last time or the latest plans of the old fool and his merry band but also about the flaw in his ranks he knew nothing about, and all this time he though Severus was the only spy. Well, Severus was being manipulated far more than he originally though, maybe he was a spy as well, but without the memory charm, where would his loyalty be placed?

The little conversation between the old bugger and the mudblood was most informative, Severus was the boy's father and a possibly an unwilling spy, but his memory had been altered which could mean that he could be brought back to his side, which was not a bad thing. That way he would be able to keep his potion master, the man's skills were unparalleled for Merlin sake, and provide a father to the boy, something he would not be able to resist for long. Yes, all he had to do was to find out what had been changed in Severus memory before bringing them together, no need to jeopardise anything and lose them both.

"Well" he heard Harry saying in parseltongue and turned his attention back to the scene unfolding at the boys room "what shall we do it him now, my beautiful?"

"He was suppose to serve my mother's master but he just claimed obedience to another. He should die"

"Yes, but he knows a lot of things we don't, a lot of things I don't know and they concern me. How can we make him talk?"

"Don't you magic users have a beverage that makes the drinker speak the truth?"

"Wizards, we don't call ourselves magic users, the word is wizard and yes, we do, but Snape is the only one that could get me some and I don't know if I can trust him"

"Who is this Snape?"

"A potion master, the bane of my existence at Hogwarts and apparently, my father! Isn't live a beautiful thing? On top of everything SNAPE of all people is my father. How did that happen?"

"well, not very happy are we?" Voldemort chuckled "Severus can have that affect on people"

"You should be able to trust your own blood"

"I should be able to trust my headmaster and mentor, I should be able to trust my muggleborn best friend, I should not accept gifts from a crazy old man who has being trying to kill me ever since I was born, specially when the gift turns out to be a poisonous snake, and yet, here you are... so, let's not talk about what I should or should not do"

Ron moved on the bed catching his attention. The bed sheets wrapped around him as he made himself more comfortable and continue to sleep. Harry dropped his voice to a whisper, realising that he had raised it without noticing.

"They want to kill him" he said half to himself half to Shadow "I can't lose him too, I've already lost everybody else"

"Maybe we should talk to my mother's master..."

"No Shadow, we stay the hell way from him, the least he knows the better... only family can tap in to our bond, right?"

"Yes, master. That is the truth. It is a blood bond"

"Good, he knows nothing of these then..."

"Master, there is something you should know..."

Harry looked at Shadow, She looked... embarrassed? Was she deliberately not looking him in the eye?

'oh-oh, this can't be good'Harry though at the same time he said out loud "Oh! There is more that is being kept from me?"

"Actually, no. It has being said, you just didn't realise the full extent of it. My mother's master has kept no secrets from you, master. He was just not too obvious about it"

Harry raised his brow at the snake "what is she going on about?" and suddenly he remembered something.

"the tournament. In my fourth year Voldemort took my blood. He can tap in to the blood bond..."

"No, Master. It's a complete different matter, the bond created by that spell or by the spell that gave you that scar is not the same bond we share right now"

Something caught Harry's attention. There was something there... He couldn't quite place... and then he remembered. Those were almost the same words Voldemort had used when they met.

"Your confidence in the old fool in remarkable, but so you know, there is a lot he is not telling you, a mistake that I don't intend to make. And I can assure you that from my part is not a trick of any sort. The spell to bond the two of you together can only be accessed by someone from the same family. If we are not related I'll never be able to use it to see how your doing or where you're going. You see, it's not the same bond that we share right now, that is a complete different matter"

"and what is the difference?" asked Harry, he felt uneasy and was almost sure he would not like the answer he was about to receive.

"I don't know much, Master."

"Tell me what you know and we go from there"

"The blood taken from you did not create a bond, just restored the Dark Lord's body... mother says thank you, by the way"

'I did not just hear that, I'm not having a conversation where I've just been handed the thanks sent by my pet snake's mom for helping restore the body of the Dark Lord' Harry's head was not only spinning but also starting to hurt.

"and the spell that created the scar linked you to his spells, not to his familiar" he heard Shadow add.

"Good, that means we don't have a blood link, he can't see through your eyes like... Oh, Merlin like I can see through Nagini's eyes"

Shadow looked him strait in the eyes now, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

"Shadow..."

"Yes, Master."

"Can anyone besides family tap in to the familiar's bond"

"no, Master"

'Oh, Merlin, please, no' "Why can I tap in to Nagini's bond?"

"You can tap because it's a family bond"

"and who... "

"Master, the rat is awaking!"

"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS" Harry didn't even stop to think., a plan was forming in his mind and he had no time to lose.

"Shadow, can... he meet us at the Leaky Cauldron?

"I don't know, Master. He can only see and hear through me, but I don't send things as I wish and I don't know if he can send anything"

"Try, I need him to met us at there as soon as possible"

Voldemort was pleased to see the boy wanting to meet so soon, but he could understand his reasons. He wanted the truth. Voldemort only hoped that would be enough to win him over. He send
his answer through Nagini.

"Tell your daughter I'll be there tomorrow at 10 in the morning"

"Mother tells me he will be there at 10 tomorrow morning" Shadow told Harry.

"Good, I'll see him there, same room, tomorrow morning." Harry knew there was no point in playing naive now. The Dark Lord most likely knew everything he had found out in the last hour... SNAPE! He knew about Snape. Harry hurried down stairs.

"Remus, Mrs. Weasley" he burst in to the kitchen and found them sitting there with tea cups on their hands "Voldemort, he found out we have a spy in his fold, he is going to get Snape. We have to warn him, now"

"Oh! dear" Molly's tea cup fell on the floor as she ran into the next room to talk to Snape through the floo network while Remus ran outside to apparate as close as possible to Hogwarts.

Snape was sitting in his study at Hogwarts. All he had been able to do in the last few days was think and drink, but no matter how much thinking or how great the amount of alcohol he drank he could not find a solution for his situation.

He could not remember everything yet, but the memory block was starting to break. He was starting to remember.

He came to Hogwarts with all the pureblood believes one could expect from a member of a family as old as his and then he met Lily. Merlin, she was a dreamland creature. There could be no other explanation. A fairy with green eyes and red hair. He fell for her the minute he saw her. They were eleven.

It took him years to build up the courage to talk to the girl, specially after defending him as he was been attacked by the marauders one day. They had hang him up side down, showing his boxers to the whole school. Merlin, he was so humiliated... and SHE came to his rescue. Of all people, she had seen him hanging there. He wished he was dead that day. He was so rude to her he was certain she would never look his way again, but in the very next day she smiled at him across the library.

Only a few weeks later he had the nerve to go up to her and ask her something... he couldn't remember what it was, something about a book or a class assignment. They became friends, started to date and finally got to the point where they couldn't wait anymore. Harry was conceived that afternoon. They were so happy.

Of course, there were clouds in the horizon. His father wanted him to join the ranks of Lord Voldemort and the Dark Lord was welcoming the idea. He was a pureblood. That would put Lily and the baby in danger. They knew that and decided to turn to their headmaster for help.

They knew the man was organising a resistance, a force outside the ministry to fight the Dark Lord, all they had to do as to join in. Right?

Snape almost laugh at his own innocence. His and Lily's.

Dumbledore had other plans for them. He needed a spy and Snape was in the best position to infiltrate Voldemort's ranks. He was even being invited. He wanted Snape to accept the Dark Lord's offer to receive the dark mark and became a spy for the light. Snape refused.

Dumbledore apparently accepted Snape's answer and volunteered to perform the bonding ceremony for the two lovers. Lily was very happy.

And then it happened.

It was just a flash of bright light, Snape didn't even remember any sound, just the light and suddenly he was standing at the corner of the room with Remus Lupin at his side who also looked very lost and watching Lily and Potter get married.

"Remus, I'm glad you could make it. I was worried you would feel up to it because of the full moon last night" said James coming their way.

"What? Oh! Yes! Full moon... no, I'm alright" Remus did look confused. Snape finally understood, the werewolf was recovering from a spell as well, he had no idea what was going on. Snape forced his memory, Black had been sitting on a chair, also exhibiting signs of a spell and Pettigrew... was fine, grinning like mad standing by Dumbledore. No signs of spell at all.

'What had been going on? What was Albus playing at?'

A sharp pain in his left arm got him out of his thoughts. Lord Voldemort was calling.

"I just hope I can hide all this from him, today is not a good day to die" said Snape throwing his cape over his robes and walking out of the room seconds before the fireplace became green with the head of a very preoccupied Molly Weasley peering in the empty room.