Embracing His True Self
Chapter 99
"You do know you could levitate it?" Dolohov told Harry, eyeing Dumbledore as if he was a slab on particularly unappealing meat. He didn't see Dumbledore as a person, and the very word 'it' gave that away. The disgusting gaudy robes he'd always loved wearing was gone, his frame was rail thin, he looked like a pathetic old man, not this godly figure he loved portraying to the world.
"Yes," Harry answered, "And?" it wasn't as demeaning as this was, he wanted Dumbledore to suffer in all possible ways before his end.
Antonin chuckled, shaking his head, "Far be it for me to spoil your fun," he told Harry stepping aside.
Harry snorted, "Like that's going to happen," giving the wizard a pointed look before smirking, and dragging the groaning wizard further into the room. Dropping his wrists like hot coals when he was in the circle. Only then did he realize what Tom had said, looking around the room, it didn't take long to find him. He made his way over, "You said that he doesn't know anything, but what made him get into this in the first place?" they had no part in the last war, and it's not like the new war had begun and that they could possibly be afraid for their parents' safety.
Voldemort smirked, "I was wondering how long it would take you to ask," he confided.
"Well?" Harry frowned, he was manipulated in all ways, this whole thing stank something foul.
"He believed the pictures were fakes," Voldemort said, sounding deeply amused. "Posted them anyway, in a pathetic attempt to draw you out. So that you would defend your reputation, he just wanted to see you again."
Harry blinked, stomach churning, "That's…disgusting," shuddering anew.
"You should see his dark room," Voldemort added darkly, there was no way Creevy was leaving alive, the sort of staking he'd done to his partner was abominable. "And his spare room, you'll find all four walls are covered entirely in pictures of you."
"How far did it go?" feeling ready to be physically sick.
Voldemort eyed Harry, able to feel the way Harry was reacting, "If he'd been an adult, he would have been in Azkaban for child pornography and distribution of it."
"He took pictures of me undressed?" Harry hissed out, acid stirring in his mouth from his gut.
"Many," Voldemort revealed, not about to lie to Harry, but refraining from telling him the whole truth unless that's what he wanted.
"Any after I left Hogwarts?" Harry asked sickened to the core, he doubted even Severus knew about this or the extent of Colin's depravity.
"Many, of you in the Ministry, Diagon Alley, Muggle London." Voldemort replied, as always, truthful with Harry. He knew that Harry detested lies above all else, and would never forgive a lie. "I've sent Severus and Rabastan to clear out the property." If the rest of the Creevy's happen to be there, then that was on him.
Harry shifted uncomfortably, "I wish you wouldn't have done that," grimacing, he didn't want Rabastan and Severus to see him naked, hell, he felt disgusted that Colin had taken pictures with him that way. "I'd have rather have gone myself."
"Would you?" Voldemort asked, staring pensively, he was getting mixed signals from the bond right now. He didn't feel any emotions as strongly as Harry did, and he didn't understand them all.
Harry swallowed thickly, "I'd have likely set the place on fire."
Naturally, Severus and Harry were far more alike than either realized.
"I sent them for a reason," Voldemort explained, "It will never be brought up again, and everything will be destroyed." If anyone had attempted to bring it up, he would have killed them. If anyone else had been sent, it would have been their last mission. He would have killed anyone else he sent because nobody got to see Harry like that, except him. He trusted Severus and Rabastan's discretion on the matter, Severus more so, of course.
Harry licked his lips, shaking his head, wishing he could have gone himself and destroyed it all. Still, at least Tom had picked someone they both trusted…although again, he wished it was someone different. Unbeknown to him, Harry was feeling the embarrassment of a parent finding something…they shouldn't. "I assume we're waiting until they return before we begin?"
"And let them come back to see it over? Would you dare?" Voldemort said wryly, smirking a little.
"Good point," Harry said, Severus had a reason more than most to hate Dumbledore with a passion. If anyone deserved to see the old fool tortured and killed…it was him. "It can't hurt to get started though." Staring at Dumbledore's form, imagining all the tortures they could dole out.
"That is not what Muggles wear," Severus lightly reprimanded his partner, lips twitching in hidden amusement. "It was admittedly the height of fashion in the sixties." The trousers with the flowers inundated, the shirt and tie and the awful yellow cardigan its as if Rabastan had attempted two different looks simultaneously. How could he be so good at wizardry fashion but so bad at Muggle ones?
"What's wrong with it? I thought Muggles liked bright colours? Isn't that the reason they like Dumbledore?" Rabastan asked staring down at his outfit, grimacing, it was gross, this was why he hated the Muggle world.
"Hardly," Severus said dryly, knowing Rabastan was being ridiculous on purpose. Flicking his wand, Rabastan made no effort to move, and his clothes changed. Instead of the awful clothes he now had a black suit – and tie – along with a white shirt and a pair of black shoes. "Now that's better." giving him a once over, the suit made him look over a decade younger.
"See something you like?" Rabastan teased, watching his partner hotly, and watched hotly in turn.
Severus shook of his low-grade arousal, "Later," Rabastan would either crash heavily tonight or they would be…busy all night. He knew what one he was looking forward to, until he remembered his current mission. "Maybe," what the Dark Lord had told him…hadn't painted a pretty picture at all.
"Which number again?" Rabastan asked, changing the subject and he and Severus began walking quickly down the road. Neither of them was exactly recognizable, either. As they moved their features changed entirely. It wasn't exactly a lovely area to live, the houses were old, and some gardens sat in a disrepair. Filled with nothing but weeds, trees and grass taller than the broken garden fences.
"Number ninety-two," Severus recalled, he had a very good memory for recalling details, Rabastan still had difficult from his time in Azkaban. Numbers always slipped by him, when he'd been very good at them before.
"How do you feel about the Dark Lord not informing Harry?" Rabastan asked, as they passed ninety and ninety-one before turning into the ninety-two.
"He will," Severus said confidently, flicking his wand, he melted the entire lock mechanism on the door. The spells prevented a weak 'alohomora' working, but it did nothing against a fully grown adult wizard. He banished the molten metal and slid into the home. No surprise there was no alarm, this wasn't a particularly good area where alarm systems were easily bought.
"I don't think I'd want to know," Rabastan confessed, a twisted grimace of disgust on his features. Glancing at Severus as he checked that nobody was in the house, and the shake of his head indicated that nobody was home. "So, dark room in the basement?"
"Muggle houses don't have basements or cellars here, the property would need to be built before 1960s." Severus informed Rabastan, "The extra cost of digging down further into the sub-soil and requirement for much deeper foundations and waterproof tanking."
"Then were else would you find a dark room? And this place is tiny, haven't they heard of expanding charms?" Rabastan asked irritated, the hallway was so small that both of them couldn't walk down it together. Even their cupboards at home were bigger, it was diabolical. "I mean look at their living room, my bedroom's larger!" peering around the small living room, with the two sofas and TV along with a few knickknacks on the fireplace and some video's on a stand on top of the video player.
"Just check every door, and the loft," Severus told him, and they began to check everywhere, Rabastan even checked the cupboard in the kitchen – which happened to be the boiler – and anywhere a dark room could conceivably be. The loft or attic didn't seem likely, not here, everything was aged and peeling. It didn't seem likely that they'd have a loft conversion. Even with magic it could cost money they clearly didn't have. They kept a tidy house though, despite its aging. Well, cared for, back and front garden all neat. Just because you don't have a lot of money, didn't mean you were dirty or untidy, as many liked to think. No, being dirty or untidy was a choice, a choice you take from your children as well.
"Is this how muggles live?" Rabastan called out, to Severus who was peering up the loft, unsurprised to find it empty of anything other than Christmas decorations. Or the meagre lot they actually had, one was definitely the tree and a medium sized box for the rest.
"Yes," Severus replied wryly, "Wait until you see Spinners End," which he hadn't taken Rabastan to see. Not out of embarrassment, he had never felt embarrassment for something that had been beyond his control. Plus, growing up the way he had…it allowed him to become determined enough to be the youngest Potions Master in the world.
"Is it the same size?" Rabastan asked incredulously.
"Smaller," Severus replied. A locked bedroom, he used his shoulder to shove his way inside, and froze. The room was worse than the image he'd conjured when the Dark Lord told them. When he said four walls, he'd assumed one layer of photos spread out. Unfortunately, there were about a dozen layers on each available surface of the walls.
"Well," Rabastan said clearing his throat, "I get why he was tortured so long when he didn't know anything." the only bit of bareness in the room was the ceiling and floor, even the floor had dozens of pictures strewn on the floor. "I'm surprised it didn't go on for far longer."
Severus had his eyes narrowed, lips curling in disgust, he looked as if he had something foul stuck under his nose. With a vicious flick of his wand, every single picture tore itself from the wall, and began to burn. The cinders falling onto the carpet before catching fire. He didn't even want to look at them, they were indecent, Harry as young as twelve changing in the dorms, showers, how he'd succeeded in doing that was beyond his understanding…unless he had two different cameras, one for every day use to keep everyone oblivious and another stealthier one in use.
"Whoa that's really catching fire, we have to go," Rabastan stated, backing away from the flames licking across the carpet and rushing up the wall. Magical fire was very difficult to put out, even for wizards. Anything Creevy has in here would be destroyed. "We should find his black room…I don't want to report back that we didn't find everything…" coughing a little as the smell began to overwhelm him a little.
"Already found it," Severus declared, pointing towards the cupboard in the bedroom sliding open, it was painted entirely black with two shelves with trays and pegs. It was far from professional; in fact, it was cheap and he supposed half decent job. There was a lightbulb missing, that was the last thing they saw, before they had to leave, the room was entirely engulfed in flames.
They didn't Apparate, they didn't want to risk any more magic usage.
By the time smoke was bellowing out of the Creevy property, the two wizards were well out of the area. The only wizard had approached the area was Dennis, by then the firefighters had succeeded in putting the blaze out. They'd always be confused by the fire (that they could have sworn was accelerant caused) when they found that it was nothing but an accidental fire that started in the eldest son's room, Colin Creevy.
Given his erratic behaviour and secretive nature it was hardly surprising that they didn't notice he was missing right away. In fact, it would be a few weeks before the parents had him reported as missing.
Harry playfully whistled at them as they walked back into the Grand Hall, grinning widely, "I really should take a picture…because it's highly unlikely to happen again. You really look good in Muggle fashion." The tight clothes, especially trousers just added that little something.
"Bite your tongue!" Rabastan said, glancing down at his attire.
"He's right you know," Severus murmured so quietly on his partner heard.
Harry laughed; it became a smidge more hysterical when he felt the jealousy through the bond. He considered Severus a father, for Merlin's sake, and he was related to Rabastan…however, distantly it may be. He'd never do that to Severus, even if Rabastan was interested. All it would do was result in all their deaths.
Tom would never allow that disrespect.
Neither would Harry come to that.
"Aww, you waited for us," Rabastan teased, seeing Dumbledore still alive, before pinching Harry's cheeks after approaching him, "Aren't you the best Lord Consort ever?"
"Get off!" Harry complained laughing a little, and rubbing his cheeks, they were a little red, and not just because of the pinching, but because of the embarrassment. "Don't make me kick you in the balls,"
Rabastan backed up immediately, hands crossing in front of himself, "You Neanderthal!" gasping out in mock dramatics, it seemed to be what Harry needed. He certainly had relaxed a little since they came in. Embarrassment, he had been told, Rabastan realized, and he expected something from him…being mocked? Pitted? Why he'd think that, Rabastan wasn't sure.
Maybe it's just what he was used to, and still didn't know or fully understand the brotherhood offered here.
Harry would learn, it had taken Severus years too.
They would do anything for each other, even if they were trying to outdo each other.
Sure there were a few others that wouldn't piss on to save them (Bellatrix) and a few others he couldn't stand much (Lucius, Draco) but generally they'd anything for each other even if its only tolerate.
Rabastan stepped aside when Harry stepped down, walking over to Dumbledore who had been largely ignored until now.
"They're using you, my boy," Dumbledore rasped out, his voice rattling as well as his teeth, sickness and cold having done untold damage. "They'll kill you when you're back is turned." As always trying to prey on someone's worst fears.
Harry crouched down, knees planting on the floor, feet keeping up the majority of his weight. "I really should thank you, Dumbledore…for helping me to embrace my true self."
A/n – if you want to see more about primary schools and things like that, you'll find you are better off reading My Time (my OrionxHarry story) where it will be explored fully, although some details are going into Lord Of Time (my TomxHarry story) sorry there's not going to be much in the way of political intrigue or world building here. 😊 the story is all but finished you see it might be mentioned in the epilogue but that's about it! and yeah, it's probably the smallest chapter since the first chapter 😊 but I'm afraid I had a busy few day's and didn't get to write much R&R please and do I need a trigger warning for Creevy do you think? I'm still not used to all these trigger warnings being needed…