~Chapter 17~ Ideas and Potions – 30 July 1994~

Harry wondered for the millionth time whether he was doing the right thing as he warily glanced through the book in his hand, and then back to the potion that was nearing its final stages as Severus stirred in the last of the ingredients. He knew he couldn't avoid Voldemort forever and after a long debate with his godfathers, they finally relented.

Sure he could have done it anyway, with him already being well-past 17 mentally at least, but he needed their help in this matter…both with the potion and the story he needed to cook up to make his entire idea work.

It had been a simple thought at first…find a way to avoid Voldemort as Harry Potter while getting closer to him without revealing that he was Ghost…

…okay when he thought of it that way it was pretty complicated.

The fact is that to avoid having Voldemort go all super-overprotective on him due to the Horcrux, while still getting to know the man, he needed to become someone else for a while.

Both Severus and Salazar stated that it was impossible without a Polyjuice potion, but with Death on his side, almost nothing was out of reach. The entity gained the knowledge of all his 'victims' upon death, so he'd merely scoffed when both Salazar and Severus denied Harry's request.

The two men had been quite surprised and wary when a heavy book landed before Harry out of nowhere, and they only seemed to settle down once he smiled. The book held magick spells, potions, and rituals from Merlin's time, and it was easy to see why the man had tried to bury his dark past once he befriended Arthur.

The spells within the book were dark magick bordering on black in some instances and it was quite easy to imagine what could have happened if Merlin hadn't befriended the future king. One potion, in particular, allowed a person to alter their shape for a set amount of time, and the only drawback was that the person wouldn't be able to regain their former appearance until the potion had run its course.

In essence, he'd be able to pass himself off as Ghost's brother because his scent would have been altered, but not entirely changed...and at the same time, he'd be able to hopefully learn more about Voldemort. The potion itself required close supervision, so the four of them (including Sirius) had taken turns to watch over it as they took turns to attend to their other obligations.

It had been a long month, but finally, it was ready and Harry watched as Severus stirred the potion until it turned a light purple. It meant that the potion would last at least two years and if he timed it right, then he would regain his original form on the 31st of July 1996.

Voldemort hadn't yet revealed that Dumbledore was his prisoner, but Harry planned to take the potion the moment the man did. He'd even written out a letter that would be delivered directly to Voldemort the moment he 'disappeared'.

He would of course tell his friends that he would be gone for a while, but hopefully, they wouldn't worry about him too much if he sends them letters now and again.

Severus finally bottled the potion and gave him the vial, after casting it to be unbreakable. Harry gave him a confused glance and the man just shook his head before muttering, "Just because things have been going alright so far, doesn't mean that something won't happen at all."

Harry nodded his understanding, but he was determined to make sure that nothing happened as it had in the past…which was another reason why he had to be close enough to Voldemort to stop him if he decided to do something stupid.

He knew Voldemort wouldn't trust him at first, but he'd already written a letter, as Ghost, that he would give to the Dark Lord as a form of introduction. He just hoped it would be enough…

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

Harry shifted nervously to his other foot and Severus narrowed his eyes before motioning to the row of chairs to the side of the room. Harry sighed and nodded before moving towards them. Severus always seemed to notice whenever something was bothering him.

Salazar gave him a slight nod as he passed him, and a comforting pat on his shoulder before the other man left the room, presumably to go take care of the new lesson plans, seeing as he'd been complaining about the old ones for quite some time now.

Harry sank into the chair and waited patiently as Severus seemed to sort through his thoughts. It seemed as if something had been on the man's mind for quite some time now. Finally, the man fully turned his attention to him.

"Why are you really doing this?" The man looked like he had quite a few questions but in the end, only one came out. But it was the one that Harry mostly dreaded. Not that he was going to get away with not answering though, not when Severus had THAT look in his eyes.

"I don't want to be here when the students and teachers realize that Dumbledore is gone…I don't want their eyes following every move I make when they realize that Voldemort is back, and I don't want them to look at me as if they are expecting a 'fourteen-year-old' boy to fight all of their battles and to solve all of their problems while they hide away in their cozy little homes barely a day or two after another smear-campaign against my name."

Severus frowned, "Is that what happened previously?"

Harry nodded then looked down and sighed, "After Voldemort was 'reborn', Dumbledore declared it in a frenzy of excitement, clearly not expecting that both the Ministry and the public would vehemently deny it because it would ruin their 'peaceful' lives. Honestly, though, most people still held trauma from the first war, and some people even still remembered Grindelwald's war before that, so it isn't a surprise that they would deny that he was back…unfortunately they decided to call me a liar as well."

Harry gave a self-deprecating laugh, "Of course, they expected me to jump in and save them the moment they noticed that Voldemort was really back…and like a fool, I did, when I should've just told them that they should make up their minds about me."

Severus grabbed his hands from where he held them in a white-knuckled grip and he forcefully relaxed them. "That still doesn't completely explain why you would do exactly what Voldemort wants…even if it's in a roundabout way."

Harry felt confused and it must have shown on his face because Severus laughed, "He wants to keep you there to protect you, and you have been fighting against that all along, but now you are willingly going to go live there for a while because you know that no one would be able to find the castle. Subconsciously you have already labeled his domain as a safe place to be, despite the past you remember."

Harry stared at his godfather in shock…was it true? Did that mean he was making the right decision? He sure hoped so…

He looked down at the vial on his lap and gripped it tightly before glancing up and nodding at Severus with renewed determination, "I guess there is only one way to find out. Maybe he will tell everyone about Dumbledore at your meeting tonight…if he does…would you give me a heads up as soon as you get home?"

Severus nodded and the conversation tapered off as both of them were consumed by their own thoughts.

~Severus~

He was rearranging some of his older ingredients in the potions cupboard when the dark mark sent a warning jolt through his arm. It was time for the meeting.

He made his way to a hidden cupboard and removed his cloak and mask before leaving the castle using a secret passage. He made sure he was well away from the castle before he put them on and activated the mark, which sent him directly to the apparation point next to the meeting room of the Dark Lord's castle.

He was about to go in when something occurred to him and his eyes widened as he quickly stepped back and drank the potion that would muddle his scent.

He'd barely put it away when he heard a low hiss and an excited-looking Nagini came slithering into the room before stopping and looking around. Severus could swear that if the snake had shoulders, they would have slumped at that moment.

He had a general idea about why the snake seemed so down because Harry had informed him of the treats that he'd added as Ghost.

He slowly walked past her while she was preoccupied and gave a sigh of relief before heading into the meeting room.

The first half of the meeting was boring, with the usual reports and pandering, and Severus almost believed that the Dark Lord wouldn't reveal that he had Dumbledore, but then the Dark Lord called for silence and the meeting room became deathly quiet.

The meeting room's door creaked open, but no one dared to turn around until they couldn't take it anymore as a repetitive skipping sound echoed through the room. It sounded like a small child…but that couldn't be, right?

They turned almost as one and more than one follower felt chills run down their spines as a miniaturized doll skipped down the aisle. A creepy wide smile was plastered to his face, but his eyes seemed to be millions of miles away.

Finally, the rest of the followers realized that the doll didn't just look like Dumbledore….it WAS Dumbledore.

For a few moments, the room was silent as no one dared to breathe, but then one of the younger followers whooped in excitement and the rest of the followers couldn't help but follow…after they'd first glanced towards the Dark Lord for approval of course…and excited chatter filled the room.

The Dark Lord stood, and the room fell silent once more as he glanced over his followers, "It is time…from now on we work to take the Ministry!"

The room cheered until some stupid idiot shouted out, "Next, we kill Potter!"

Honestly, Severus had never seen the use of controlled fiend-fire, but it was safe to say that the culprit became a smoking pile of ash barely 3 seconds after his exclamation.

It was a clear message to the rest of the followers…touch Potter and you die. Severus was quite impressed with how protective the Dark Lord was of his godson. He was sure that everything would work out as it should once Harry got rid of his insecurity.