Scabbed Wings
AN: after replies
-Dave, no worries, no slash, and thanks!
-Rdprince29, Harry will need support and they'll be more Ron and Hermione etc. in the next few chapters. Harry will be staying with Ginny, I actually wasn't very attached to the new HPGW canon two weeks ago, but it's really starting to grow on me. Thank you!
-Rkhiara, thanks!
-GravityDrop, don't worry, no slash. And thanks!
-Andy May, thank you!
-Fernnu, yeah, I'll be sticking to the cannon couples pretty much. Thanks!
-Slytherin Shaman, sorry, I think HGRW has to stay, but don't worry, it's not very centric. :) There will be a much better explanation for the Agoncrux in coming chapters, no worries. And thanks for the review!
-SpiffySquee, they ARE cute, aren't they? Thanks for reviewing!
-Emziwilson, smiles I hope you liked this chapter, lots more explanations to come.
-A Phantom Moon, I love tortured Harry too! Reg is a little too crazy for my likin' but he looks like Sirius so he's definitely pretty :) Scrimgeour is in the next chapter, argh, oh well…thanks for reviewing!
-Honey P, no worries, no Evil!Harry. Thanks!
-Ronniekinzluvr, thank you. Don't worry about Agoncruxes yet, they're supposed to be a mystery right now.
-Potterfanforever, that's just the way Harry is. He's got issues…needs a shrink real bad.
-Sahaqiel89, don't worry, no slash. And I corrected Occlumency and Legilimency yesterday, thanks for the tip. I'm forgoing a beta on this story in favour of quicker chapter postings so a few errors are bound to get through. Thanks for the review.
-ZanyMuggle, this fic will be stick close to some of the canon so slash is out. Maybe the next if will have some, I don't know yet. The thing is, I wrote up the plan to this less then an hour after finishing HBP so there are parts of the plan that I thought 'wow, this is such a cool, original idea' and now, reading through other fics, I see lots of them have them too. But there are other parts, like Alive!Regulus that I thought would be really common but turned out to be kinda rare at this point post-HBP. Thanks for the review!
-xXxPirateChicaxXx, thanks!
-Halfcrazy, thank you. Regulus is useful in a demented sort of way, lol.
-Phat Paul, don't worry, the fic is safe from crazy slash bunnies.
-Magnus Thorson, no slash, don't worry. As for dark magic, that's kind of what Harry is trying to decide too, how much intentions matter. Agoncruxes are a mystery right now but they'll become clearer. Even Hermione has no idea what it really means, she just thought it sounded bad and realized how big a deal Harry knew it was. Thanks for reviewing!
-Soymaid, thanks for reviewing. I'm going to try and work out a lot of the grammatical issues and spelling and stuff as soon as possibly but I truly hate proof reading…my English teacher's brain just exploded somewhere because I finally admitted it, lol.
-Camron, no slash, don't worry. You're actually not the first person to mention my dialogue is a little…"odd." I think the problem is I'm a bit of a minimalist when it comes to dialogue, but nothing else so the story comes out sounding a little awkward sometimes. You're review actually put what I'm trying to write about Harry's confusion perfectly. And I did think about the lack of guidance he was left with at the end of HBP, part of the reason I wanted to give him Regulus (who is completely insane) to really help him see both how much and how little Dumbledore's guidance meant. I hope I didn't give too much away. Thanks for reviewing!
-someone, thank you!
-RaeRoark, THANKS!1
-Jeefus, thank you! He's got a long to way to go to 'happily ever after though', lol.
-VinnyRoxyFrankie Numair's Girls, I have to add an 'eye cancer' disclaimer anyway, can't be too careful:) and don't worry, there will be a nice, complete explanation of agoncruxes soon enough. Thanks for reviewing!
-lluvatar, no problem, you're welcome.
-lisi, thank you so much. This one was a little bit faster. So far I've been good, 6 days was my longest wait and that was for the last chapter. That's amazing for me, I hope I can keep this up.
-afireinside89, thank you!
-Shang Warrior Phoenix, no worries, no slash. The object(s?) was hinted at a bit in this chapter, but the whole concept is still supposed to be mostly unknown.
-Julia, there will be an in depth explanation of agoncruxes soon enough. All anyone really needs to know right now is that they're something that makes Harry feel supremely upset and incredibly guilty. EVERY REVIEW MAKES A DIFFERENCE! I'm incredibly guilty…in case you didn't notice. I'm on my computer most of the day working and I must refresh the 'story stat's page a dozen times a day when I have a fic up because I'm an idiot and I love reviews. Snape is important, but he doesn't actually show up that much. I don't like him either (don't worry, there won't be that now classic scene where Dumbly asks Snape to kill him- though I kind of like that theory) the way he treated Harry and Sirius alone is enough to make me hate him. I have Tonks and Remus popping up somewhere because I love that couple! So cute! I am a girl…if I didn't give it away with that NTRL gushing. Thanks for reviewing!
-hazelle, I 3 dark bits, lol. Thanks for reviewing!
-XXRoseDawsonXX, Harry's still got a soul, but don't worry about agoncruxes, Regulus or Harry will explain them soon enough. There won't be any slash, but I still think this whole story is ridiculously complicated anyway. Thanks for reviewing!
-atexasphoenix, you're right; I did say I'd be gentle with the cannon, so there won't be any slash. I honestly believe RAB is Regulus (I don't believe JKR has actually kept him alive, but I thought I'd be interesting in this fic) if only poor Harry could put the pieces together, oh well, I guess JKR could still just be throwing us a curve ball. Thank you so much, I hope it does evolve ok.
-Quill Mistress, poor Harry…I love him but he's really stuck in a difficult position right now. Thank you so much (and thanks again to atexasphoenix) I hope you like this slash-free chapter too.
-Charmina, thanks for the review. Harry should be very careful he suffers so badly at the hands of angst ff authors. He didn't get quite as pummelled in this chapter though:)
-Jayde Green, lol, I was actually really surprised at the number of reviews. I posted the first chapter fully accepting there wouldn't be anyone finished or reading fan fics for weeks or months, I remember not getting back into the world till the end of the summer for both GOF and OOP, but apparently there are people out there reviewing. I actually laughed at your Harry-Chair idea for a moment, then I realized it's probably the closest to what I'm thinking so far, lol. Snape…darn angry at him…oh well. Thanks for the review!
Harry stared lazily out the window. He had been hiding, coped up in the old teacher-suite the entire day and hadn't seen anyone since Hermione left the night previous. Snow was drifting down gently that evening but Harry could see storm clouds in the distance. The giant squid had been working on cracking the ice lining the lake for the better part of the hour and had finally succeeded.
It had been the quietest, most empty day he had had in months and, while Harry knew he should be appreciating the silence, he found it left him alone with his thoughts- not a pleasant experience. Two days ago, when he walked up the Hogwarts drive with Ginny in his arms, he had only planned to make sure no one was hurt then leave as quickly as possible…but being back at the school, he found the thought of being alone chasing down Death Eaters more unbearable than being alone and avoiding people.
His stomach growled dully, as it had been doing most of the day. He hadn't eaten since the morning of the Hogsmeade attack. He wondered briefly if he could make it down to the kitchens unnoticed but decided against it.
Harry had retired to trying to charm a small hole in his cloak shut when he heard a knock on the door. It was difficult to sense anything in Hogwarts, too much magic and too many people. Harry silently unlocked the door from his seat by the window.
'Harry?'
It was Ginny. She slipped in the door, rather difficultly because she was holding a large tray of food. Harry got up and helped her with it, putting it down on an old coffee table in front of the empty fireplace. It looked like she had got half the food for the entire Gryffindor table for him.
Funny the way things work out sometimes, Harry thought.
'Thought you might be hungry,' she said, sitting cross-legged in front of the coffee table and setting up two places with plates, forks and knives, 'I would have come yesterday but Hermione said you probably needed to get some sleep.'
Harry smiled and sat down on the carpet, across the coffee table from her, glad he was no longer alone, and even gladder that it was Ginny and she had food, 'I don't know. The night in the hospital wing was probably the best sleep I had in a long time,' he tore into a roll almost violently. He was hungrier then he had thought.
'Yeah…me too…' Ginny paused, setting down a fork; something was on her mind, 'how did you do that? Mme Pomfrey said she'd never seen anyone heal people like that.'
Harry blushed faintly while helping himself to a potato open, 'It's really not that tricky to do, just exhausting and I can't heal myself with it.'
'Why not?' she asked, pouring a goblet full of pumpkin juice.
'Because it's not really healing. "Vigoratus" just transferring a kind of magical energy, I'm not completely sure how it works and I don't know if anyone ever used it for healing before- kind of impractical, when I was taught it was intended for something else.'
'What was it intended for?' Ginny asked.
'Not important,' Harry lied. He looked away from her and began cutting up a piece of roast chicken, 'that storm came in fast,' Harry said, changing the subject and looking at the window. It was true, the snow had changed into sleet and though it was early in the evening, the sky was impenetrably black.
Ginny eyed him for a moment, the subject change had been far too obvious, then took a bite of Shepard's pie and spoke, 'Yeah, I hope Lupin's not out- oh he's went to London to talk to the Ministry,' she added, seeing Harry's blank look.
He felt absolutely no reason to use Legilimency on Ginny while talking to her; it would feel immoral and like a breech of her trust. Plus, she wouldn't lie to him.
'Why does he need to go to the Ministry?' Harry asked.
'Um…I- er- think he has to talk to them about Order business.'
Ok, Harry rationalized, she would lie a little, but she's not very good at it.
'And to ask them not to use Veritaserum on me,' he guessed.
'That too,' she smiled bashfully.
'It's ok. I just don't know why he's bothering, I thought he was just as curious as the Ministry about the last few months,' Harry said.
'He is,' Ginny said, 'but he trusts you and doesn't think you need to be poisoned and shackled to a chair with aurors around to tell us, when you're ready.'
Harry didn't answer for a moment. The wind howled outside. 'So is he living here again?' Harry asked.
'In Hogsmeade. There are Ministry aurors living in the castle, in the dungeons I think, and most of the Order is staying in Hogsmeade these days.'
Harry noticed Ginny pull her cloaks tighter in the cold.
'Incendio,' Harry aimed his wand at the fireplace and it immediately sprang into bright, dancing flames, which matched Ginny's hair. The sitting room was suddenly bright and warm.
'That's better,' Ginny said, the flames casting soft light on her face.
She was gorgeous. And Harry was selfish, because he definitely didn't deserve her, he thought. She looked up, noticing him staring, and smiled.
'What? Have I got something on my face?' she asked, and began dabbing at her lips with her napkin.
Harry laughed a little and shook his head. He got to his knees and carefully lent across the food laden coffee table, he kissed her softly just beside her smile.
'What was that for?' she whispered in his ear.
He pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear, 'You're perfect…'
She blushed and shook her head a little, then looked up and caught Harry's lips very suddenly. Harry shifted his weight onto one hand and his knees as he brought his other hand across the table and cradled her head with it.
Ginny rose to her knees with him but she lost her balance after a moment and fell backward, pulling Harry and half the food on the table with her. Harry came to rest next to her on the floor while pumpkin juice slowly stained the carpet. He started to laugh. She pulled herself off the carpet and onto his chest.
'Sorry,' she said quietly.
'I wasn't hungry anyway,' Harry said. He stretched his neck up and kissed her again.
She rested his head on her chest. Peaceful moments, like good things, never last though.
There was a knock on the door. Harry didn't move, he didn't want to. The knocking persisted.
'…Maybe it's just Ron,' Ginny said hopefully but she still got off of him.
Harry groaned, it wasn't Ron, it was Professor McGonagall, when he was calm it was easier to sense things, even in Hogwarts, but as Ginny let him get up and began to pick up carrots, he felt that serenity slip away and his mind become clouded again.
He straightened his robes and opened the door for her. McGonagall's face was serious and grey.
'Good evening, Mister Potter…and Miss Weasley,' she said, noticing Ginny over Harry's shoulder but not looking entirely surprised. Harry stepped aside to let her in.
McGonagall looked appraising at the sitting room for a moment and, with a flick of her wand, the carrots jumped back into their bowl and a napkin began mopping up the pumpkin juice. She sat down in one of the arm chairs. Harry sat down on the grey sofa, as did Ginny.
'I'm afraid I have some bad news.'
'I have to go back to the Ministry?' Harry guessed and, again, he was right.
'Tomorrow morning,' she said darkly, 'do you know anything about the Veritaserum procedure?'
Harry shook his head, though apparently it involved being shackled to a chair and surrounded by aurors.
'Since you aren't under arrest, it's technically voluntary, but if you try to resist they'll get a warrant for your arrest, and warrants aren't hard to come by lately. They'll also have to have you approve the five questions before asking you, but,' she said, stressing the word, 'if you don't agree after three revisions of the questions, they can get a warrant for your arrested- these laws are full of loopholes favouring the Ministry.'
'Five questions?' Ginny said, 'isn't that a lot? Dad says they usually only ask one question, or three for really complicated events.'
'They were very militant in demanding maximum Veritaserum use,' McGonagall said, 'not that you have anything to worry about,' she said seeing Harry raise his eyebrow, 'just choose your battles during the question-approval session and do try not to anger the Minister again.'
Harry nodded.
'I also need to inform you, if you do decide to take off tonight and not show up for the questioning, they'll have to put an arrest warrant out, not that I think it would to much good. They've already been exhausting their manpower trying to track you down. To think of it, Death Eaters out there and the Ministry decide their aurors would be better put to use trying to find a seventeen-year-old!'
It was sad, really.
'Do you have any questions?'
'I don't think so,' Harry said.
'Then I'd best leave you to get a good night's sleep. You should close those drapes too, these suites tend to get drafty and the storm is getting worse,' then she reconsidered simply offering it as a suggestion and, with a flick of her wand, the drapes closed the now completely snow caked window out of view, 'but I doubt anyone would mind you staying in the Gryffindor Tower, Potter.'
'Thanks Professor, but I'd rather stay here, if you don't mind.'
'Of course not, I'll see you at nine tomorrow.'
'G'night, Professor.'
She left Harry and Ginny in a silence only interrupted by the fire's quiet noises and the wind outside.
'Are you going to leave?' Ginny asked.
Harry shook his head, 'You know there are some people who have nice simple lives that don't involve Ministry vendettas.'
'Sounds dull. I'd much rather have you.'
Way too good for you, Harry thought.
'…Stay with me tonight,' Harry said, he scolded himself again mentally for daring to keep her but he also couldn't help the thought that the Ministry might want to arrest him and he'd have to go on the run again, making it their last night together.
'I was hoping you'd say that.'
'You weren't kidding. This is a good place,' Regulus said as he and Harry rounded the path leading to Godric's Hallow.
Harry hadn't been comfortable staying in Grimmauld Place partially because Sirius's lingering shadow there and partially because he doubted there were any wards preventing anyone from simply stopping in. Bella may notice her cousin's house had mysteriously popped back onto the radar after the Order left or an Order member may return and Harry wanted to be disturbed by neither.
Godric's Hallow was much the same as he remembered it from only days ago. Regulus seemed elated at seeing it. When they reached the end of the road, where the rusted gate stood, Regulus paused. Harry had gone a few steps before he noticed.
He looked curiously back at Regulus. The gate was now open and the ivy had been trimmed back (assumedly by the house elves).
'What?'
'You have to formally invite me onto the property or the house will just toss me back out. Old homes always have wards connected to the gates.'
'Oh. You can come.'
'That should do it.'
Regulus stepped through the gates with no opposition.
Two cheery house elves greeted Harry once he'd stepped inside. Cheshire left to get food, swearing her life not to let anyone know who she worked for, and Smithy stayed with Harry and Regulus. He was looking rather coldly at Regulus and neither house elf had acknowledged him.
'Should I be preparing a room for you, Master Harry?' the house elf asked.
'Yes.'
'Prepare two,' Regulus said piping up.
'As you wish,' said Smithy, though he didn't look as eager at the idea of Regulus staying.
But Regulus didn't care in the least; he pushed aside the elf to explore the house. He showed mild interest in the paintings around the entrance hall, but when he reached the dining room, Regulus was sucked into the same trance Harry felt in front of the cabinet.
It still contained the necklace, old wand and empty crystal bottle, but Harry once again found them incredibly interesting.
'…Thought they were just legends…' Regulus muttered. He reached to open the cabinet but jerked his hand away from the lock as though it burnt his fingers. Harry stared at him.
'What?' Harry finally asked, snapping Regulus out of his trance.
'Nothing…' he said, unperturbed by not being able to open the cabinet, 'have you ever heard of an Agoncrux, Harry?'
'No.'
'Right…well, never mind. Let's get to work.'
Smithy appeared next to Harry with a quiet popping sound.
'I have made the master bedroom for you, Master Potter, and a room for your associate,' he said, without looking at Regulus.
Something suddenly struck Harry, 'Smithy,' he asked, 'have you been able to get the nursery back to normal?'
Smithy hung his head in shame.
'Master Potter, I am very sorry. The room has been active these last few days but it is not improving.'
'It's ok, Smithy,' Harry said, slightly disappointed.
'What's this?' Regulus asked.
'The room Voldemort killed my mum in is cursed or something, I think,' Harry said to Regulus, he turned back to the still-shamed looking Smithy, 'what do you mean it's "been active?"'
'More furniture has been raised.'
Though Harry hadn't planned to return to the room if it was still cursed, his curiosity got the best of him and he navigated his way back to the room with Smithy and Regulus on his heels. Harry felt the magic even more strongly then last time before he approached the room. The air almost tingled.
He braced himself. Harry pressed the ice cold door and let it swing open slowly, which creaked a long, low scream.
Just like last time, the room sucked in all light. There was large window on one wall with black vines cracking it, twisting and leaking so that only a murky grey light came through. The walls were more warped then they had been and the entire floor was covered in a thin layer of the mysterious dark liquid that glinted and shone oddly.
Unlike last time, however, this time, Harry stepped in. He walked a few paces into the centre of the room, Regulus followed but Smithy remained on the threshold. The room groaned bizarrely and Harry coughed at the smell of infected skin and swamp land.
Also unlike last time, there were now objects in the room. A broken dresser leant against a wall, dripping the liquid and looking as though it would fall over at a slight wind. There was also a crib in front of the window. The wood forming the bars of the crib splintered and twisted into more of a cage and the blankets looked brittle and burnt.
Harry looked up at Regulus to ask him what he thought, but Regulus was preoccupied, staring at a large painting on one wall with rapt attention. Harry turned his attention to it too and gasped.
A barren waste land under a blackened sky, the figures lay anaemic and dying. Harry moved closer too it. They weren't human, the figures had to be demons or some horribly distorted angels. Their skin was pale white with open wounds traveling up and down their skin, which shone bright red and white through their shredded robes.
Each had large wings growing from their shoulder blades, but they were broken and covered in huge black scabs. Some had patches of grey feathers on them but most of the angel wings, if that's what they were, had moulted and were left bony, brittle and bat-like. An androgynous-looking one looked at Harry with bloodshot eyes.
'Master Potter,' Smithy squeaked, 'I am not thinking it is healthy to be in there too long.'
'Yeah,' Harry murmured, pulling his eyes away from the painting. Both he and Regulus left, shutting the door tightly behind them.
'Your parents must have been twisted to but you in there…' Regulus said.
'It wasn't always like that,' Harry said, 'what was that painting?' he asked Smithy.
'It used to be very beautiful, Master Potter. They used to guard you when you were an infant; I think the canvas and paint is now cursed like the walls and floor.'
Harry's mind was completely preoccupied with that image. Even after they left the area and retreated back to the ground floor. When Cheshire returned with food and the delicious meal following, Harry couldn't clear his mind, there was something so intoxicatingly desperate about the angels.
However, when Regulus decided finally they had to start working on Occlumency and Legilimency in the drawing room, his fascination with the angels became a real handicap.
'You were better yesterday,' Regulus said, successfully seeing Harry playing with spiders as a child, 'your problem is that your emotions are on the surface. Get control of yourself, and for Merlinssake, get that painting out of your mind.'
'Right,' Harry said, though unsure.
'Just think of it like the Imperius Curse, you mentioned you could throw it off, it's the same theory.'
'I just don't know how to not concentrate on anything,' Harry said.
'It's not that you concentrate on nothing, it's you're simply not letting me grasp onto any emotions because emotions are how I get into your mind.'
'Oh,' said Harry, though thinking that was an entirely different thing all together.
This time, when Regulus tried to penetrate his mental wall, Harry kept the outer, surface of his mind unemotional and detached, but he was concentrating on something secretly.
'That was much better, Harry, even better than yesterday.'
But Harry was troubled, 'Dumbledore thought Snape was a better Occlumens than Voldemort was a Legilimens, but Snape was a better Occlumens than Dumbledore was a Legilimens, and Voldemort was probably a better Legilimens than both of them or Dumbledore would have known about Snape betraying him while Dumbledore and Voldemort met at the ministry. Snape wouldn't need to be better at Occlumency than Voldemort was at Legilimency because he wasn't lying…'
'You've lost me,' Regulus said, but Harry didn't care, 'you need to become better at Occlumency and Legilimency than all three of them though.'
This brought Harry back to the present 'Sounds easy.'
'I hope so. You said Dumbledore wanted you to learn Occlumency to keep Voldemort out of your head. He must have had hope it was possible for you to become better at it than he was at Legilimency.'
'Yeah, I guess.'
And once Harry had grasped the concept, and remembered the faith Dumbledore had had in him, he was much more successful and improving with every attempt. By the end of the night, he had made more progress then he had in a year with Snape. Perhaps it was simply that it wasn't Snape who was teaching him, he was suddenly more willing to learn. Or he didn't want to admit Dumbledore had been wrong twice.
Even the painting was out of Harry's exhausted him when he fell asleep that night.
He was more than willing to resume the crash-course in mental strength the morning after an early breakfast, during which Smithy apologized to Harry for burning Regulus's bacon. The bacon they served Harry was curiously delicious and unburnt.
They once again went to the drawing room. Harry chose the armchair he had the night before but sat on the edge, eager to get started. Regulus stifled a yawn and collapsed into another chair.
'Ok Ha-rry,' he said, yawning again, 'I think you'll be good at Legilimency, and it's easier when the person you're working with it tired. Basically, a lot of it has to do with empathy and your sheer strength.'
'Empathy?' Harry asked.
'You look through the connection, which would be my eyes, and just press mentally, trying to pick up on emotion. You just use empathy because it's much easier to follow that emotion into the mind if you have a good idea how the mark feels.'
'Alright…' Harry said.
'Let's give this a try.'
The most curious thing happened when Harry tried to penetrate Regulus's mind. He succeeded, more or less; at least he thought he did.
There was an old man. Reverence. Curiosity. Jealousy. Snape too. Friendship. Inconsequential. A sense of foreboding. A darkly lit room, near a fire. The fire was dying. No one else cared but Regulus was getting cold.
'…He's got one, maybe more...' A thick accent, south-eastern Europe, almost Mediterranean.
The bottom fell out of his world. Voldemort's immortal. Nearly immortal. He couldn't be destroyed. Horcruxes. The old man knew everything. They'd all be killed. For hearing something. That sentence.
It faded away.
Harry was left mainly confused; surely Legilimency had to be clearer than that for Snape, Dumbledore and Voldemort to use it so effectively.
'You get in?' Regulus asked.
'I think so.'
'Good. But don't be too proud of yourself. I'm almost a squib these days; it's much easier for a powerful wizard to do this.'
'Sure,' but Harry was still proud. If only Dumbledore could see him…
'Why don't you give it another go?' Regulus said.
Harry nodded.
He tried again, this time much clearer on what he was trying to do. He felt restlessness in Regulus's eyes and followed it deeper, letting the emotion drag him into his mind.
'…You know what the mark means…'
Eternity. The mark. The dark mark. Death. Prison. In Azkaban. In Voldemort. The mark meant eternity. Until death.
'…Until death…'
Until death. Those damn red eyes. Crimson red. Crimson blood. Horrific. Disgusting. Until death. Death. Green light.
Silence. Murky silence.
Except Snape. Snape was there.
'…Hold still…' said Snape.
Wasn't he dead? He was still. He wasn't dead. He was tired. Sleepier and sleepier as Snape's wand moved over him.
It faded away again.
'I'd almost forgotten that,' said Regulus, reflecting, 'I thought I had forgotten, spent the last two years trying to remember; now you manage to get it out.'
'What was it?' Harry asked thoroughly confused. He had never thought of Voldemort's eyes as 'disgusting,' unnatural and disturbed, yes, but not 'disgusting,' that was Regulus's thought, but it was in Harry's mind. The whole sensation was unpleasant, like the confusion he would sometimes feel early in the mornings when he was half asleep and thought he was back at the Dursleys. But this, Legilimency, was without the happy afterwards when Harry realized he was far away at Hogwarts.
'Those were the last things I remember of 1980.'
'The year the prophecy was made.'
'The year I died.'
They spent the rest of the day working on Legilimency. And, while Harry was disappointed to realize as Regulus woke up he became much more efficient at keeping him out, he was happy to realize he was still quite good at it. The occasional flash of Sirius in Regulus's mind made him work even harder.
They ate early and Regulus left Godric's Hallow to collect potion ingredients in the forest, his inability to do magic didn't hinder his potion-making talent. Harry slipped away from Cheshire and Smithy quickly and went to his bedroom.
He drew the curtains and locked the door. He sat down on the bed with wand-in-hand, just in case. Harry wondered briefly if Regulus would be mad if he found out what Harry was attempting, but he couldn't broad on the thought. His mind had to be clear.
Harry even managed to push down the voice in his head that kept yelling at him for his stupidity.
Dumbledore wouldn't want you doing this, a voice in Harry's mind thought; it's incredibly dangerous and utterly dumb. Do you really want to loose this war before you've even began it?
Harry ran his index finger over his scar. He closed his eyes and concentrated hard on the scar, on Voldemort, on the part of his mind just beyond him that Voldemort had once influenced his thought from. He pressed as hard as he could.
Harry felt happiness. Voldemort's happiness. Something slipped past him.
'…Careful, Harry, Dumbledore can't help you…'
The words, the idea, forced themselves into Harry's mind. They slipped in pasted his disappointment. Harry's eyes shot open. The thought was still there. Harry's scar twinged for a second. He was breathing hard.
Red sparks danced on the end of Harry's wand with his fear for a moment. He would try again another day, when he was better at Occlumency. Voldemort had realized Harry's mind was open for a moment. If it had been only a second longer he could have seen Regulus or Godric's Hallow.
But Voldemort's taunt remained and filled his sleep with nightmares worse than he'd ever had before. Even worse than the nightmare that Voldemort had once inflicted upon this home, which now soaked Harry's old nursery and injured the angels that once stood guard over his innocence.
Harry suppressed a groan as he woke up in the dark. He felt Ginny, warm and curled up next to him, lying on his arm. He didn't want to leave her or the warmth of the thick quilts and feather-filled duvets but he definitely felt a presence trying to enter the teacher's suite.
Familiar, Harry thought, but it couldn't be Regulus…he couldn't get into the castle.
Still, Harry gently rolled Ginny off his arm and slid out from under the warm blankets into the cold air. He pulled on a cloak and tucked his wand into the elastic waist of his pyjama pants.
He moved stealthily through the dark, not bothering to light a torch, inspecting the sitting room before moving to the door. He placed his hand on the wood. He opened it a crack, sure enough, through the crack in the door, Harry saw the familiar face of his Godfather's brother. Familiar, though he hadn't seen it since months ago when he ran away from Regulus and Bella's body.
'Regulus?' Harry asked.
'No, Sirius,' he said sarcastically, 'yes, it's Regulus.'
'Why are you here?' Harry hissed, not wanting to wake Ginny in the next room and definitely not wanting to let him near her.
'Let me come in.'
Harry considered his options. Regulus being found in Hogwarts was one thing; he'd tell the Ministry everything they'd done. He let Regulus in; anyway, it wasn't like Regulus could overpower Harry or anything. Ginny would be safe.
'Light a fire, will you?' Regulus said, rubbing his hands together. Harry revived the black embers in the fireplace to roaring flames with a flick of his wand.
'How did you get in?' Harry said, still whispering.
'It wasn't hard. I thought it would be with all the aurors and wards, but it really wasn't. I'm a little disappointed,' Regulus said, not bothering to keep his voice down.
'Who helped you?'
'No one,' Regulus shot, looking a little hurt, 'they never bothered to fill in the passage from the Shrieking Shack to the school.'
Harry made a mental note to warn the aurors about that one.
'So, I haven't seen you in months and you don't even apologize,' Regulus said.
'Apologize?' Harry could have laughed, 'why would I apologize? It's your fault I have to lie under Veritaserum tomorrow. Your fault the Ministry wants to arrest me.'
'Hey,' Regulus said angered, 'I've been following you. Do you really think you would have been able to do half that stuff without me? You should be thanking me and apologizing the deviating from the plan and leaving me to clean up Bella. In case you didn't notice, I can't do magic.'
'I didn't mean to kill her!' Harry said, his voice rising slightly, 'it was an accident.'
'Yeah right,' Regulus said, not believing him, 'I was still left getting away from the scene of a high profile Death Eater's murder without magic and following you around the country-'
'I didn't ask you to do that! I didn't ask you to make me a criminal either!'
'You-'
'Shh!' Harry said, he flicked his wand and Regulus's mouth shut tightly.
He heard Ginny moving in the other room. He tried to sense her to see if she was still sleeping but he was too anxious. Thankfully, it seemed she was.
'Is that Ginny?' Regulus asked, regaining his ability to talk, and apparently not wanting to argue anymore.
'Don't go near her,' Harry said with dark, steely eyes, which glinted in the firelight.
'Wouldn't dream of it,' Regulus said, even as he walked past Harry and peaked in the doorway to the bedroom. Harry grabbed him by the shoulder and wheeled away from the doorway. He glanced at Ginny's sleeping form and shut the door tightly.
'Just wanted to get a look at her, she's in a lot of danger, you know,' Regulus said.
Harry knew he shouldn't rise to the bait. He looked into Regulus's dark eyes and searched for a lie but couldn't find one.
Draco Malfoy. Death Eaters. Tracking Harry. Found Harry. Found Ginny. Ginny. Danger. Murder.
'See, just thought I'd warn you,' Regulus said.
Safety. Godric's Hallow. Wards. Strong wards.
'We could just talk instead of you digging through my mind,' Regulus said.
'I can't bring her to Godric's Hallow,' Harry said. That was what the suggestion was in Regulus's mind. She was definitely in danger, the Death Eaters knew about her, how, neither Regulus now Harry knew. He seemed to think brining her to Godric's Hallow would keep her safe, Harry knew this was true, but didn't like the idea.
'Why not?' Regulus asked.
'Because…she has to stay here. She's got school and her parents wouldn't like her suddenly falling off the map and staying in Godric's Hallow,' Harry said.
Regulus looked disappointed.
'…Don't say I didn't warn you.'
'I think you should go,' Harry said.
Regulus sighed, 'When she's dead you'll come around.'
When he said that, Harry searched Regulus's eyes, but he found no trace of deception or any hint of doubt.
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