Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. All I own is my original characters and settings that will come up later is the story.

Ok guys, I've been waiting to type all this for weeks so here it is. The next chapter should be out soon since it's been sitting on my hard drive for months waiting for its part in the story. After that I might not update for awhile because I have obsessive classes this semester, so sorry in advance if you don't here from me for awhile. Hugs and kisses all.

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Harry lay across Jason's back as he leaned over the table. He pulled the vial from his pocket and held it in front of Jason's face. "We have acquisition." He jumped to the side and leaned against the table. "Whatcha doing?"

Jason snorted. "Well it looks mysteriously like I'm chopping, so I'm going to go out on a limb and say that I'm chopping."

Harry rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue.

Jason reached to take the vial. "I can't believe you got that."

Harry held it away. "I don't think so. You were mean to me, so now you get nothing."

Jason dropped to his knees and clutched Harry's hand. "Oh great and wonderful Harry Potter, forgive me for my horrible words against you. I throw myself before you and can only pray that you can forgive me. My love--"

"Harry?" Hermione, Ron, and Professor Snape stood in the doorway.

Harry yanked his hand back as Jason fell on his butt laughing.

Professor Snape swept into the room. "What an interesting shade of red Mr. Potter." He snatched the vial out of Harry's hand. "What is this?" He glanced around the table. Megara froze in the middle of chopping the wolfsbane and Jason's laughter died. Professor Snape's eyes narrowed. "What is this?"

Harry took a deep breath and walked over until he was standing inches away from him. "You can't tell Chris. He wouldn't condone this, and if he did he'd be in huge trouble. He's the minister. He can't be involved in this, but it's the only way we're going to find her while she's still alive."

Professor Snape tilted the vial in front of his face. "How illegal is this exactly?"

Harry coughed. "Less illegal since I convinced the donor to give it willingly so he's still alive."

"Mr. Potter enough."

Harry moved a few steps closer so his voice wouldn't carry. "It's centaur's blood."

Professor Snape's eyes widened. "You must be joking. Tell me that this is some elaborate joke you are playing on me."

Harry grimaced. "Sorry. It's from Firenze."

Professor Snape rubbed his forehead. "Do you know how to use it?"

"It speeds up potions."

"I will take that as a no then."

Harry pulled Jason to his feet and glanced back toward the door. Hermione and Ron hadn't moved.

Professor Snape whirled. "Go back to your dorm, the both of you."

Hermione spluttered. "What? We were going to help."

Professor Snape pulled out his wand. He cast a spell and Ron and Hermione stumbled back a few steps before the door slammed. He cast seven separate privacy charms. "Sit. All of you."

Everyone grabbed a stool and pulled it around the table.

"What happened yesterday?"

Harry tipped his head forward to hide his eyes behind his hair. "Nothing happened. Why?"

Professor Snape summoned a stool and sat. "I have no doubt that you are a group of the most insane people I will ever meet in my life, but from what I've seen you are not stupid. This is extreme. What happened?"

Jason nodded, and Harry slipped off his robe. The cut on his arm looked the same. Finger marks stood out as bruises on his arms. Harry poked at the bruises. "These showed up a few hours ago. They don't hurt and they aren't healing. We think that the backlash from the connection is actually transferring, or at least duplicating the injuries Cali's getting. Though if they were transferring to me I think that they'd hurt and I'd have a lot more as they tried to figure out why she wasn't bleeding."

Professor Snape turned his arm and peered at the cut. "You don't believe that there is enough time to allow the potion to progress normally." He dropped Harry's arm. "You are no doubt correct." He set the vial in the test tube rack. "I completed the test on your blood. I could not find any traces of magic, but you were correct in that it will tie the products together. I couldn't find anything that it would conflict with. Using centaur's blood will make this work, but it will cause the entire mixture to be quite unstable. It will have to be watched constantly. I don't know where this can be brewed that would not endanger anyone else. I cannot condone this unless you can devise a way to ensure the safety of the school."

He's not kidding I guess if this potion exploded it would do more damage than I'm imagining. What are we supposed to do? There isn't a place in the school where people wouldn't have a chance to interfere. Harry sighed. I think I'm going to regret this. "I may have a place."

----

Severus followed Harry down the corridors. This is ridiculous. There is no where in the school that you can escape interruptions. The headmaster, if no one else, manages to track you down in even the most remote parts of the dungeon.

Harry stopped in front of a girl's bathroom with an out of order sign of the door.

Jason snorted. "Harry?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "I know it's a girl's bathroom. Just trust me." He glanced both ways and pushed the door open.

The others followed him. Severus sighed and walked in.

Harry was arguing with a ghost. "I'm sorry I haven't been to visit Myrtle. I've been busy."

"Not too busy for anyone else. I hate you. You can't share my toilet when you die anymore." She flew into one of the stalls with a splash.

Diana giggled. "I see you make friends everywhere Harry."

Harry scowled. "Haha. I'm oh so amused."

"Mr. Potter, perhaps you could explain why we are standing in the middle of a girl's bathroom?" Severus crossed his arms over his chest.

Harry hopped onto the edge of one of the sinks. He patted the marble. "This sink is the answer to our problem."

Jason patted his shoulder. "Maybe you should get more sleep."

Harry rolled his eyes "While that's true, it is not relevant here. This sink is the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. The only people who can open it are me and Voldemort, so we should be safe from intrusion." He grimaced. "It may be a little rank though since the rotting basilisk corpse is probably still down there." He swung his legs. "So, what do you guys think?"

Severus stared at the sink. The Chamber of Secrets? The isolation will keep anyone from interrupting the brewing. However, if the basilisk could find a way out so could an explosion. "How far down is it?"

Harry looked back at the sink and shrugged. "The pipe goes a ways down and then there are a few tunnels that take you to the main chamber. I wasn't exactly concerned with the logistics the last time I was down there."

Even if it won't work, how many people can say they've been there? "Well, what are you waiting for? Let's go down and see if it is suitable."

Harry grinned and jumped to the floor. He leaned closer to the faucet and hissed. The sink sank into the floor. He stepped forward and disappeared from sight.

-----

Harry stumbled into the dorm room. He stripped off his dirt encrusted clothes and left them of the floor He pulled on a pair of boxers. He reached toward his pajamas and let his arm drop back to his side. He flopped onto bed and dragged the cover over him.

"Harry?"

"Oh crap."

"What happened?"

"Someone get McGonagall."

Harry forced his eyes open. "What happened? What's going on?"

Everyone stood around his bed. Neville's face was white and Dean's mouth hung open.

Harry propped himself on his elbows. "Well? What's going on? Why do we need McGonagall?"

Seamus glanced at the others and took a step forward. "What happened to you mate?"

Harry frowned. What happened to me? What is he talking about? Oh--crud. His chest was covered in bruises and small cuts. "Ouch." He poked at the second cut across his arm. "That would hurt."

Ron growled and snatched a towel off the floor. "You're bleeding." He pressed the towel against the cut that stretched from his belly button to his side. "Harry, what happened? Why didn't you go to the hospital wing?"

Harry sighed. "I'm fine." He waved away Ron's choking and Neville's nervous, shaking laughter. "Madam Pomfrey can't help. None of these are real."

Ron pressed the towel harder. "It looks like real blood to me."

I wonder if it's my blood or her blood. I hope it's mine. Having her bleed out before we get to her won't help. Then again, they can give her potions to heal her if they don't want to kill her. But they don't know about the healing drains of wand less magic. Crap. I have to find out the last thing she cast.

"Harry?" Seamus waved his hand in front of Harry's face.

Harry shook his head. "Sorry. I'm getting the, um, psychic backlash of someone being tortured."

Dean stumbled back and Ron's arms jerked.

"Look, I've got to get to Jason. He can patch me up the muggle way. It doesn't hurt or anything, so it's not too bad."

Neville chewed on his lip. "I--I'll go get him."

Harry smiled. "Thanks Neville. What time is it?"

"Ten sixteen."

"He'll be in the charms classroom. They're in choir this morning I think."

Neville nodded and slipped out the door.

Ron shifted. "Seamus, grab me another towel?" Seamus tossed one to him and he switched them. Ron stared at the old towel. "Harry, you're losing a lot of blood. You have to go to the hospital wing."

I can't let them take me there. I can't tell Madam Pomfrey why she can't heal me. Harry dropped his head back. I am losing too much blood. Things are starting to get fuzzy.

Fingers trailed across his chest. Harry forced his eyes open.

Jason pushed the piece of tape down. "Welcome back to reality sleeping beauty. You were fading in and out for a few minutes there. You know it's not nice to panic your poor roommates."

Harry snorted. "I guess that's the problem with wounds you can't feel. You don't get woken up by the pain."

Jason pulled the towel off his stomach. "Ouch. That's going to be a problem." He rummaged through the first aid kit and pulled out a bottle. "Drink this."

Harry unscrewed the cap and gagged. "What is that?"

"The only potion we've been able to create that heals at least marginally. You have to ignore the smell and taste. Drink it."

Harry coked down the liquid and shuddered. "God. That was the vilest thing I've ever put into my body.

Jason snorted and wiped the blood off. "I don't doubt it, but it healed all the little cuts and it shrunk this one to the point where you won't bleed to death. I think it's a plus."

Harry laughed as Jason bandaged his stomach and then his arm.

Jason's hands squeezed as they moved own his arms. They pressed against his ribs. He pushed the blankets to the side and ran his hands down Harry's legs. "Your ankle is swollen. I'll wrap it, but you probably shouldn't walk too much."

Harry groaned. "How am I supposed to go to class? We don't know how to fix this."

Jason wrapped the ace bandage one last time and pinned the end. He ruffled Harry's hair. "No worries. We'll just have to work on how to break the link. Everything will work out. I'll make sure of it."

"What is going on in here?" Professor McGonagall stood gaping in the doorway.

Blood stained blankets on the bed, me in bandages, Ron has blood on his hands, they all look nervous, and Jason's in a room he's not supposed to be in. This is going to turn out well. Harry sighed and smiled. "Good Morning Professor McGonagall. How are you this morning?"

She crossed her arms and pursed her lips. "What in the world is going on in here? What happened to you?"

Jason tossed Harry a pile of clothes.

Harry pulled them on and hopped out of bed, keeping most of his weight off his supposedly bad ankle. "I fell down some stairs. I'm fine, but Jason's overprotective." He grabbed his watch off the table and slipped it on. "I actually have to be somewhere." He yanked on his shoes.

Jason grabbed his arm and led him toward the door holding him up a bit.

Professor McGonagall looked him up and down and slowly stepped out of the way.

They hurried past and hopped down the stairs.

Jason led him to the girl's bathroom. "How are we going to get you down there with a twisted ankle?"

Harry shrugged. "I'll manage."

Jason grabbed his shoulder and conjured a rope that hung down the middle of the pipe. "Just grab on before you hit the bottom and shatter your ankle, okay?"

Harry winked. "Of course." He jumped. He grabbed the rope and his arms jerked. He used his arms to climb the last ten feet.

Jason dropped next to him and they moved through the passageway. When they finally made it to the main chamber Harry was leaning against Jason and limping.

Harry dropped to the ground by the cauldron with a groan. "I'm screwed. It doesn't hurt, but I can't put any weight on it. It won't hold me up."

Professor Snape raised his eyebrow.

Harry winced. "Things went further last night."

Professor Snape narrowed his eyes. "How much damage was done?"

Jason sat and tapped his fingers on the stone. "It's a good thing that she's been concentrating on potions to the exclusion of wand less magic. They shouldn't have much trouble healing her until she's at least stable and probably leaving her only mildly injured."

Professor Snape sprinkled blue powder on the boiling liquid and stirred seven and a half times. "And if she were unable to be healed?"

Jason rested his chin on his knees. "She would have been dead by nightfall. Heavily bleeding wound to the stomach. As it is we need to watch Harry to make sure he doesn't pass out from blood loss. I had to use the last of my stock of the healing potion.

Professor Snape nodded and added another scoop of powder.

With the centaur's blood used to full efficiency the potion would be done in a week instead of a month. It would require constant attention and addition of ingredients for four days and would need to simmer undisturbed for the next three.

"How do we break the link?"

Jason started and glanced at Harry.

"You said it was doing this because the connection was breaking down, but it's not getting any weaker. If this keeps up we're both going to be dead before the potion is finished."

Jason shook his head. "I don't know. I thought it would have been severed by now."

Harry watched the wolfsbane disintegrate as the potion shifted from indigo blue to the red of his bed curtains. "What about occlumency?"

"What about it?" Professor Snape wiped his fingers on the towel beside the cauldron after setting the timer.

"I used it to block my connection to Voldemort. Couldn't I use it to block my connection to Cali?"

Professor Snape frowned. "Have you been clearing you mind every night?"

"Yes. Except last night. I fell asleep as soon as I lay down. Um, I may have forgotten the night before too. I remember thinking about the potion." Oops. I know I meant to do something.

Professor Snape rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You apparently have been blocking the connection. If you actually clear you mind as you are supposed to you shouldn't be affected any further. I do not know if that will be sufficient to heal the damage already inflicted, but only an actual test will determine that."

Harry nodded. "Got it."

Professor Snape stood. "When the timer sounds it will be ready for the next segment. You section begins with the addition of mushroom spores?"

"Yep." Jason scooted in front of the cauldron.

"Very good then. Make sure all measurements are precise and the timing is perfect." He walked a few steps and glanced back over his shoulder. "And don't let Potter touch it. He manages to destroy the simplest potions." He continued walking.

Harry sputtered. "Excuse me? Who created this whole bloody potion?" Snape didn't even slow. "Maybe if I wasn't so bored in class I'd--I'd do my homework or something." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Grr."

"Arg." Jason smiled. "That may have been the most ineffectual argument I've ever heard, good indignation though." The timer buzzed and he shook the spores out of the plastic bag and stirred counter clockwise.

"Why don't you try meditating? Cali said something about nearly being able to sense the connection. You've spent more time than her working on sorting out your mind, so maybe you can find a way to shut it down, or at least push it back so you aren't affected by the psychic echoes."

"Is this you telling me to sit down, shut up, and let you make the potion?"

"Yes."

"Very well then." Harry crossed his legs, trying not to jar his ankle even though he couldn't feel it, and closed his eyes. Okay, so what I need to do is search my mind for something unusual. Professor Snape didn't see anything unusual it must be hidden in my memories of her. I was guarding those from him so he wouldn't have seen them. He yawned and looked deeper. Nothing looked out of place. No random strings screamed 'I'm a connection; suppress me.' Geez. It was the memory of the first night they'd fallen asleep watching movies. It was almost dripping with magic. That was the first time he'd believed that she wanted to help him without getting anything in return. How to shut it down? Maybe if I leech some of the magic the connection won't be able to sustain itself. He pulled at it, but it yanked back. He latched on and pulled as much as he could.

"Harry? Ow!"

Harry wrenched his eyes open. Jason shook his hand in the air. "What happened?"

"You shocked me!" Jason flexed his fingers a few times and dropped his arm to the side.

"I think I might have broken the connection. I got hit with the magic backlash." He took a deep breath and unwrapped his ankle. "It's healed!"

Diana smiled as she stirred the potion.

"Woah. Hello Diana." He turned to Jason. "How long was I sitting like that?"

An hour and a half. When I finished my section I thought I'd let you come out of it on your own, but you were taking too long and I started to worry that you were stuck or something."

Harry pulled the bandages off his arm. There wasn't even a line left where they'd been. He pulled the last bandage off his stomach and looked at the unbroken skin. "That was more successful than I'd hoped for. Thought I guess I can't get out of going to class now, huh?"

Diana snorted. "It wouldn't have worked unless you'd been knocked unconscious."

Harry shrugged. "You do have a point. Oh well. I'm going to lunch. See you guys later." He climbed out of the pipe and checked that the glamour was still in place before dashing to the Great Hall.

He slid into his seat at the Gryffindor table. Well at least I managed to avoid all those questions Jason would no doubt have.

He reached for a sandwich and flinched as a hand latched onto his wrist. "Ron? You scared me." He yanked his arm back.

"Oh? You mean like waking up to find your mate bleeding to death and then having him bolt before he tells you what the bloody hell is going on?"
Harry sighed. I should have stayed in bed today with an imperturbable charm on my curtains. I just can't win. "Look Ron, I'm fine now. The connection is broken so I won't be bleeding all over anything anymore. Now can I eat? I'm starving."

Ron dropped onto the bench next to him. "I don't like this. What happened with Snape yesterday? Why did he kick us out? Besides the fact that he's a git, I mean. Hermione's still fuming."

Harry picked up a sandwich. I can't tell them what we're actually doing because Hermione would rant about breaking laws instead of just rules and violating the rights of centaurs and Ron would still want to help, but there's no way he can since the potion is more unstable than ever. I'm not even allowed to help. Maybe that's the way to go. "He found a way to speed up the brewing, but it made the whole thing really unstable so I'm not allowed to touch anything. He's taking shifts with the Advanced Potions class to make it."

Ron scowled. "Bastard. You come up with the whole thing and now he won't even let you near it."

Did I sound upset of affronted? "I don't really mind. I'd be miserably if it didn't work because of something I messed up. At least this way I'll know that it's being done right and has a good chance of working the wary it is meant to."

Ron shrugged. "I guess so."

Harry finished his sandwich.

Ron pushed his food around his plate with his head resting on his hand.

"Come on Ron, if you're not going to eat we might as well get some of our work done."

Ron dropped his fork and pushed away from the table. "I guess."

Harry nudged him forward and led him out of the Great Hall.

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Harry tapped his pen against his book. I shouldn't have broken the connection. I have no way of knowing if she's okay now. She could be dead and I wouldn't even know it. I just should have tried to suppress it. Why do I have to take everything as far as it will go?

"Harry." Hermione wrapped her fingers around his hand. "You are driving me insane. You've been tapping your pen for over ten minutes. I'm about three taps away from wringing your neck. The only thing worse would be if you had a clicky pen."

Ron frowned. "What's a clicky pen?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Wizards need to get out in the world. Harry, what's wrong?"

Harry dropped his pen. "Nothing. I'm fine. I just don't like waiting." That stupid potion needs to simmer, and simmer, and simmer until I've gone insane from the waiting. Why is there never anything to do? "I'm going to go for a walk. I'll be back later." He stood and walked out of the portrait hole. I just need to relax. Worrying is not going to make this potion brew any faster. He stumbled sideways as someone yanked him into an alcove.

Jason clicked his tongue. "Are you lost little grasshopper?"

Harry snorted. "No, and if I was I wouldn't take direction from strangers in the dark."

"That's probably a smart idea. What's up?"

"I'm wandering aimlessly. So if I can get back to it--" He walked back into the hall.

"Wandering isn't going to make you forget about the bubbling you know what in the you know where."

Harry sagged against the wall. "Well then what do you suggest?"

Jason smiled, took his arm, and pulled him down the hall and up a flight of stairs. They walked the wall into the empty lounge. "Sit. Stay. Relax." He pushed Harry onto the couch and hit a button on the CD player sitting on the floor. It was the drum CD. Drum songs of the Iroquois or something.

Harry curled up and closed his eyes. It was nice. The drums were calm and continuous and a flute or something accompanied it. He sat up and slid to the floor.

Jason swept a pack of cards off the shelf into his hand and sat on the other side of the table. "Do you want to play rummy?" He started shuffling the cards.

"You always beat me at rummy."

Jason smiled. "I know."

Harry laughed. "All right. Deal the cards."

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To all of my reviewers, I love you!!! You guys are great and I really appreciate you taking the time to drop even a few words of encouragement. I just have to read over the next chapter and make sure everything still works with where it's ended up in the story.