A/N: Hey everyone, I know I know, people be hating Ginny and wish I would kill her off already, but believe me, when she dies she'll be going out in the most torturous was possible! Anyway, on with the story!
Disclaimer: I'm not J.K, but you know this plot is mine :P
Warning: Slash, mentions of violence, language – the usual!
Parsel
Chapter 40:
It took more effort that Harry was willing to admit to get himself out of bed and in to the shower Monday morning, his entire being was screaming for him not to but he knew he didn't have a choice. He knew that Dumbledore would be watching his every movement, his every expression, and he knew that if there was even a tiny slip up from him then it could end it all. Both he and Tom were silent as they prepared for the day, they knew that they were not going to like what was about to happen, but they could do nothing to stop it; not yet.
Tom kissed him fiercely, leaving Harry breathless, before the man swept from the room and in to the role of professor. Harry sighed and trudged out after making sure his glamour was secure, he made his was down to the great hall, going the long way around just to kill time but even that didn't help. She was there, waiting for him outside the hall and Harry fixed a smile on his face as she rushed over and threw her arms around him. As to not appear wooden, Harry returned the gesture before stepping back and taking her hand.
"Good morning," He greeted, locking the smile on to his face and Ginny beamed.
"Hi," She returned, "Are you feeling better? Professor Dumbledore said you were feeling ill." Harry fought back his twitch and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine now." He answered, "Breakfast?" He led her in to the hall and they sat down near the end of the table, Harry braced himself for the customary flare in his scar only to blink when nothing came. He didn't dare glance up at the head table, instead he focused all of his attention on keeping Ginny talking and happy so Dumbledore's eyes would leave them. He smiled and nodded, choosing to picture her being skinned alive and then burned; that made his smile brighten.
"Come on, I'll walk you to your lesson." Harry said, "What do you have?"
"Transfiguration," She told him and Harry mentally sighed, he was almost guaranteed to be late for potions, but he ignored that and led her through the halls holding hands.
"So how's Quidditch? He asked, "You're back with the team now?"
"Yes, Katie is glad to have me back." Ginny said, "After the defeat we suffered while I was in the hospital wing is making them desperate. And Sloper couldn't pick up my slack basically leaving it to Katie, but she has NEWTS so it was really hard."
"I had forgotten that this was Katie's last year, Merlin knows how Oliver did it." Harry mused, and he didn't even have to fake his curiosity; he genuinely didn't know how Wood did it. The other guy had to be inhuman.
"It puzzles Katie too, but I'm back now and I'm determined to win our next game and get us back in the running."
"I am sure you'll be able to do it," Harry said confidently. They arrived outside the Transfiguration classroom and Ginny kissed his cheek before entering the room, Harry took a deep breath and left. He slipped through halls as fast as he could, using shortcuts and even going as far as leaping down half a staircase and landing in a roll in a bid to lessen the time he was going to be late to Snape's class. He was mildly impressed with himself, while he was late, something he knew which was inevitable, he was only late by eight minutes. Not surprisingly, Snape removed twenty points for tardiness, but it could have been worse, so Harry merely shrugged and dropped himself down next to Draco.
"How's is it so far?" Draco asked in a low voice, his tone clearly concerned and Harry offered him a small smile.
"It's not too bad. I know it's going to get worse, but I also know that everything that could possibly being done is being done." Harry returned, his expression going wry. "I have to deal with it."
"How's your head?" Draco questioned and Harry blinked, it took him a moment to realise what Draco was talking about and then he shook his head.
"Oh its fine, not a peak so far."
"Really? Well, at least your headache won't be blinding."
"That is always a bonus." Harry agreed, "What are we supposed to be doing?"
"Reading up about the properties of the Erumpent potions that makes it so volatile." Draco explained.
"You mean other than it contains Erumpent horn?" Harry questioned sarcastically and Draco nodded solemnly.
"Yes, other than that." He said it so seriously that Harry snorted.
"Right then, at least I have an advance on that seeing as I didn't make the potion." He tugged two books out of his bag and flipped them open, he flicked through 1000 magical herbs and fungi searching out all the ingredients listed in his other book, which held the recipe of potion he was breaking down. The classroom was peacefully silent, not even Snape's swooping disrupted the peace of reading and the occasional scratch of a quill; it was nice. It allowed him time to think, to mentally prepare himself for what he would be doing for the rest of the day.
He would be meeting the twins for sure, and then he would be checking in with Paws before seeing if there was anything else that he could do with the Dumbledore situation and if there wasn't then he would have to focus on anything and everything else. He had to keep focused lest he do something remotely stupid. Despite how peaceful the class was, it didn't stop Harry being up and out of the room as soon as the lesson was called to a close, and he headed back up Transfiguration for his own lesson.
He shot Ginny a bright smile as she left the classroom and her answering one was equally as sunny, Harry let the expression drop as soon as he took his seat at the back of the room. He almost groaned when he realised it was going to be all theory for the lesson, it was because it was close to Yule and the teachers didn't want their students forgetting anything new they could possibly be taught before they departed for the holidays. It was annoying, but it was easier than having to purposely sabotage his own work with mispronunciation or faulty wand movements. With his lack of focus, he doubted he would be able to keep up the effort it took to make his work look worse than it was, and the very last thing he needed was for McGonagall rushing to Dumbledore to exclaim about the miracles he was suddenly performing in her class.
He had a free period next, but so did Ginny and Harry knew he was going to be expected to spend it with her, that was going to be the real challenge, but he could possibly make take her to the library to help do her work – she did have OWL's after all. Yes, he liked the sound of that plan, now he would just have to make sure she couldn't argue her way out of it. Harry jumped when he was pulled back to the present when the class was dismissed and there was a sudden scraping of chairs, he pulled himself up and hitched on a bland expression as he went down the entrance hall to wait for the she-weasel to appear. He was, unfortunately, not disappointed with her timely arrival and she all but threw herself at him, much to his disgust, but of course, on the outside, he was only too happy to see her and he wrapped his arms around her.
"Hey Gin," He greeted brightly, "How's class?"
"They've been ok," She allowed, taking his hand, "It's been extra hard his year due to OWLs."
"Yeah, I remember last year." Harry said with a shudder, "It was like the teachers were trying to kill us with the sheer amount of workload."
"I know! And most of it is expected to be done in the holidays too." She added in outrage, "How unfair is that? We only get two weeks for Christmas."
"I know, its awful." Harry agreed, "How about we go and tackle some of it now? That way, when we finally do break up we can both relax without having to rush anything for school on the last day." She brightened at the mention of their both relaxing, and it wasn't Harry's fault if he forgot to mention that they would be relaxing at completely different places during the Yule holidays; she shouldn't assume things.
"You're right, Harry." She said enthusiastically, "That leaves us more time to spend some quality time together. Alone." Harry wasn't so sure he managed to have the right amount enthusiasm in his expression when she said that, but she didn't comment so he led her up to the library praying for a grain of patience to allow him to get through this without issue. Instead of going to his usual hidden spot within the library, he took an open table, anything to make sure Ginny censor her behaviour under the watchful, and absolutely fantastic in Harry's opinion right now, eye of Madam Pince. Ginny pulled out McGonagall's latest essay and Harry grabbed the only one he actually had left, which was Herbology, and they set up their things on the table.
"I can't wait to go home for the holidays." Ginny declared, looking at her work in distaste.
"Nor can I," Harry agreed, "Its been quite stressful these few months."
"What with Dumbledore getting attacked, You-Know-Who coming after me and all of this work on top of that." She shook her head, "You would think, surviving an attack from You-Know-Who himself would tell the teachers that I'm going to be fine for the exams." Harry very nearly choked on the breath he just took; what in Merlin's name? She couldn't be serious? He looked at her and noticed her was waiting for a response so he nodded hurriedly, putting on a serious expression to add emphasis.
"They really should, I mean, you were at the Ministry last year too." He added.
"I know!" She exclaimed, "But its like all of the teachers have forgotten, I would have thought Professor Dumbledore would have told them."
"Perhaps he didn't want to be seen as favouring students." Harry suggested, "Look at last year and how Umbridge attacked me because Dumbledore put faith in me, and with the papers how they are now… well, the ministry will take anything they want to make the Headmaster look bad."
"You are right." Ginny said, "I hate the ministry, it will be better when we have a good minister in charge."
"Yeah, but Fudge won't go down without a fight." Harry pointed out, scribbling down the last sentence for his introduction.
"His position of power will be over soon, Professor Dumbledore said so." Ginny said firmly and Harry grinned.
"Well that's ok then, I mean, if Dumbledore believes it then it must be true." Harry replied, and it was said so bitingly sarcastically that it didn't sound sarcastic at all and she beamed at him.
"Exactly," She nodded and turned to her work, "Harry, can you help me with this. I just don't know how to explain it properly."
"Let me have a look," Harry said, holding out his hand, she smiled and pushed it over. "What grade are you getting in Transfig at the moment?"
"E's usually, why?"
"Well, I don't want to put anything in there that makes it look like you didn't do it. McGonagall is very good at spotting things like that, she used to catch me and Ron all the time when Hermione was helping us and we would have to do it again." Harry explained and he wasn't even lying, the head of the Gryffindor house knew how to spot edited work better than anyone.
"Ah, that makes sense." Ginny mused, "I'd never thought about it like that."
"That's because you are probably smart enough to not have help on most of your work." Harry complimented, and mentally heaved when she smiled and blushed slightly. They fell in to blissful silence while Harry looked over her work, surprisingly it wasn't actually bad, but then, he had never said that Ginny wasn't intelligent, just plain thick when it came to common sense, or rather, misguided when it came to her upbringing – the only female influence she had was her mother, after all. Didn't make Harry hate her any less, she used said intelligence to attempt to drain him dry and kill him so she would die eventually.
Harry looked up when he felt familiar magic and saw Alina enter the library, she spotted him and made to come over but Harry shook his head and had a 'stay away' signal with his hand. She frowned at him and Harry pointed at his watch and then up at the ceiling, her eyes narrowed but then her expression cleared when she got the message that he would speak to her later. Harry breathed in relief and turned back to Ginny, he handed back the essay with a smile.
"It's really good," He told her honestly, "I've just outlined what needs to be in the last paragraph, and then you've just got your conclusion."
"You are the best, Harry." She said enthusiastically, kissing his cheek and taking up her own quill. Harry went back to his own essay, biting back a groan and jotted down a rough outline, he would bribe Badger to do this for him later, it was his favourite subject after all and Harry was sure he could find some mysterious plant in one of his vaults. When they had both finished their essays, Harry politely escorted Ginny down to the Great Hall for lunch, she was practically sat in his lap as they ate a small lunch. Harry made sure to laugh in all the right places as he picked at his food, his arm not once leaving its place from where it was wrapped around her shoulders, allowing her to lean on him. Harry had never been so pleased to hear the bell go as he was at that point, Ginny frowned and he mirrored her expression as they began standing up.
"What do you have next?" He asked and she huffed.
"History,"
"Oh lovely." He muttered, "I'll walk up and then head to charms." Harry said holding out his hand for her to take.
"I really cannot wait until I can drop history." Ginny sighed, "It will be the best thing to happen to me."
"The very best huh?" Harry questioned jokingly and she rolled her eyes.
"You don't count, it was fate that brought us together." She insisted, "It was just something that was meant to be." Yeah, because that's the reason, Harry thought with derision.
"Of course, Gin," He said instead, "Though, I have to know, how is the rest of your family going to take this?" he indicated their joined hands and she waved him off.
"Don't worry, mum thinks of you as family anyway, so does dad, and my brothers won't say anything if they don't want to be on the receiving end of my wand."
"That's ok then."
"Though, mum might insist on a promise ring until we are formally engaged, just to 'protect me'." Ginny said with a roll of her eyes, but Harry barely stopped himself from laughing. Molly Weasley would have to do a better job than that to protect her daughter, the girl had begun sleeping around when she was thirteen, her birthday was late, in August if Harry remembered correctly.
"I think I have one of those in my vault, something Si-someone mentioned before." Harry changed what he was going to say, not being able to bring himself to utter his precious godfather's name in her presence.
"You should have, the Potter Promise ring, it would match the Potter Signet ring and possibly the marital bands."
"I'll write to Gringotts and see what they send back, you never know, you might get a surprise for Christmas." Harry said lightly and she beamed.
"I'll see you at dinner?" She asked and Harry nodded surely.
"Definitely, I'll wait for you in the entrance hall." He assured her and accepted the kiss on the cheek she gave him before leaving and sprinting down to the charms classroom, falling in to the room just behind the last student. Flitwick, like the rest of the teachers, didn't give them anything new, but he did have a practical lesson where they reviewed all the spells they had done so far in silence. He awarded points to those who managed to do them all silently, which meant that Harry earned points due to his 'tutoring' with Professor Drield, and it also meant that he didn't have to butcher his own work because he was expected to have covered this and more' thankfully.
The tutoring that Dumbledore set up for him was becoming more and more helpful, and he said as much when Flitwick asked him about his progress, of course no one, other than Ron, Hermione and Neville understood exactly what he meant and they were snickering to themselves. Harry headed down to the greenhouses with the rest of the Gryffindors, they were all talking quietly to themselves as they went, walking next to Neville unconsciously. He flicked up a warming charm as they hit the cold December air, it was going to snow soon, that much was obvious, but Harry wanted to be away from the castle when that happened. He remembered to remove the charm when he stepped in to the greenhouse and frowned slightly when Professor Sprout told them that they were merely doing maintenance for the lesson.
It was very simple, so simple that Harry felt his mind drifting to their latest plans, he wasn't worried per se, but he hadn't expected to be backed in to such a corner. There was a lot riding on so much and he really didn't want to be trapped, he couldn't afford to be and the fact that he had to deal with Ginny on top of all of that was not sitting well for him. Sometimes he thought it would be better if he hadn't ever broke through the enchantments, that way he would be ignorant, he wouldn't be stressed and everything would be in an order he understood; instead of the heap that it was currently in. Harry sighed to himself as he watered another plant, he wondered what he did in a previous life to piss off fate so much.
The final bell rang and Harry headed up for dinner, and just like he promised, he waited for Ginny in the entrance hall. She all but ran in to his arms and the distaste he felt for her welled up inside of him, it was almost like vomit and he had to forcefully swallow it down as he hitched on a smile and led her in to the hall.
"Good rest of the day?" He asked.
"Yeah, it was ok." She said, "Arithmancy is such a drag."
"I'm so glad I never took that subject." Harry said surely, "It looks way too complicated."
"Well, Bill told me to take it because it would help out later in life." Ginny said, "But, the only career I would want would be Quidditch and even then, I'll have other obligations to see to first."
"That's why I didn't take it." Harry agreed, "I mean, I think I could make it as a Quidditch player?"
"You would be the best they could ever hope to hire, you are the youngest seeker in a century, AND you've only ever lost one game." Ginny praised. "You could play for England."
"That would be amazing, wouldn't it?" Harry said. They sat down at the end of the table and this time Ginny really was on his lap, but Harry remembered that the compulsion wanted him to sleep with her, so he wrapped his arm around her waist and set his hand high up on her thigh; much to her pleasure. Harry had to fight his very instincts to stay in that position, but he did notice that they were not the only people sat in such an open position. There were couples all over the hall wrapped around each other and Ginny was only too happy to imitate them, she kept leaning down and kissing him, on the cheek and chaste ones on the lips, ones that Harry's mind rejected instantly, and she actually fed him a strawberry at one point. So by the time the end of dinner arrived, Harry was feeling violently ill and he wanted nothing more than to curl up and hibernate for the rest of the week.
"I have tutoring tonight," He told her, as they left the Great Hall together and she looked put out.
"Oh, do you?"
"Yeah, but I'm free tomorrow I think, so I'm all yours." Harry told her and she perked up, "I was thinking that we could spend some time together tomorrow, just the two of us." Ginny looked thrilled at the prospect and Harry prayed to whatever entity that the twins and Luna would be ready by then, they should be, Luna would have probably heard what he just planned so he had high hopes.
"That sounds brilliant." Ginny remarked, "We could go back to your rooms."
"We might, but I think I have a better idea." Harry informed her, "But it's a surprise."
"Ok fine." She huffed. They had reached the tower and Harry almost sighed in relief, but he stopped himself when she turned to face him. "Well, I guess this is goodnight."
"Yeah, goodnight, Gin," Harry murmured and then she was kissing him. His first immediate thought was that it was much too soft, she pulled herself flush against him and Harry was forced to put his hands on her waist. There were too many curves and fleshy parts, and she tasted way too sweet, and she was making this odd sound, and she was doing this weird thing with her tongue, and Harry was too pleased for words when it was over.
"Wow," She breathed, and Harry made a noise in the back of his throat.
"Yeah," His voice was slightly hoarse and he could feel the tell-tell stirring in his gut, and the rising bile in the back of his throat that told him that he was going to be sick and very soon so he spoke again. "I'll see you tomorrow."
"Bye Harry,"
He watched until she was in the portrait hole before turning and calmly walking away, he got to the end of the corridor and to a blank stretch of wall before he shadowed straight to his rooms and bolted for the bathroom. Once his stomach contents had left his body, Harry shot multiply teeth cleaning and freshening charms at his mouth, and he even disinfected it just to be on the safe side. He still felt as if his skin was crawling, he could feel her on him, on his lap, kissing him, holding his hand and Harry shuddered. He hated her, and he hated Dumbledore for forcing his hand, he felt vile and he could still smell her on him. Harry threw of his robes and set them on fire before heading to the shower, he turned the water up to hot and started scrubbing his body. Again and again he washed, until he was red raw and his fingers ached, but it still wasn't enough, and Harry realised he was starting to hyperventilate as he tried to clean her from him.
"Shit," He gasped, stumbling from the shower, managing to grab a towel before falling in to the bedroom. He wasn't surprised when Luna rushed over to him, gently rubbing his back and murmuring to him until he got his breathing under control.
"I'll have the blood for the twins tomorrow, we have Herbology first period." Luna told him softly, "Just hang in there."
"I can't do this," Harry croaked, the emotions that were welling up inside him made him dizzy and he shook his head as if to clear it. "It's too much."
"You can do this, as horrible and disgusting as it is, you can and you will do this." Luna soothed.
"I can still feel her everywhere," Harry shuddered, "Pressing up against me, kissing me, touching me,"
"Hey, calm down." Luna ordered when his breathing picked up again, "Once you are dressed, take the blood bank information and go and take your mind of this whole day, go to His rooms and be distracted."
"Ok, I can do that." Harry allowed, nodding his head as he listened to her soothing voice. "I just need a distraction."
"Exactly,"
They stayed in that position for ten minutes, Luna rubbing Harry's back and stroking his hair while Harry settled himself enough to get up and get dressed. Harry pulled on his black skinny jeans that, he now noticed, were sporting a few rips in them, but he pulled them on anyway and he was quite pleased with the effect.
"Could you do this to a few of my other my jeans, better yet could you get me some more jeans?" Harry asked Luna and she smirked.
"Check your wardrobe." She informed him and Harry grinned, he kissed her cheek once he had pulled on a white top and grabbed the file she handed to him.
"You are one of the best things to ever happen to me, Miss Lovegood." Harry stated seriously before he vanished in to the shadows. Tom wasn't back yet so Harry took a seat and began looking through in detail, what Paws had sent back to him. It was brilliantly done, as was everything that Hermione put her mind to, and he was pleased to see that the only thing they were really waiting for is the information from the vampires themselves. Harry was considering having a discussion with the head vampire, if Tom could get in contact with him again, and running the idea past him, that way, he could have all the ideas from a vampire's perspective making it more accessible to the race itself. It would be a topic for discussion anyway, right now he had the skeleton and it was ready to go.
His attention snapped up when Tom walked in, he didn't think it would be too long before the man came here and he felt his entire body relax when the man's magic washed over him. It was like his body was waiting for the confirmation that it was away from the harpy and he was finally back to himself, back to who he was supposed to be. He didn't take the time to analyse his feelings too closely, now was not the time so he focused back on the man that had just walked in to the room. He had found it extremely weird that he hadn't felt so much as a flare of anger or possessiveness all day, nothing at all, not even a twinge of emotion from the link and it was only now that he was with Tom that he realised how much he had missed it. Having a blank wall in his head where usually there was some feelings or presence was odd, and it was glaringly apparent that the entire connection had been shut because his mind didn't even twitch now that Tom was close to him.
The lack of anger and possessiveness, though, was somewhat alarming, and Harry played with the idea that Tom had let his ingrained ideas go, but when he really looked at the man he dismissed that notion entirely. Tom was absolutely livid. His face could have been carved from diamond, it was white with utter fury and his hands were shaking in rage. His eyes, now that they were released from their silvery glamour were a flat black, but were somehow managing to flash dangerously, and Harry was genuinely surprised he had managed to hold his glamour with such a reaction. Tom's magic was stifling the room, icy and biting, it was clawing its way through every crack and crevice and Harry felt his breath catch slightly as it swarmed him. Harry got up and walked slowly over to the Dark Lord, he knew that he was going to be in a lot of pain tomorrow, and he knew that there was probably something severely wrong with him when that thought only saw fit to excite him.
He took one of Tom's shaking hands in his own smaller one, stilling the violent tremors by squeezing slightly as he looked up in to the black eyes. He almost sighed in relief when he felt the traces of blind rage and inhuman possessiveness slipping though in to his mind, assuring him that their unique link was finally opening up again. Harry leaned up and kissed him gently, stepping closer to the unresponsive body in front of him and the iron control Tom had been holding throughout the day snapped. Their link burst open flooding Harry's head with mindless rage and possessiveness, making his gasp in a mixture of shock and pain, and Tom used that to seize control of the kiss.
The Dark Lord growled in the back of his throat and slid his hands all over Harry's body before taking an almost violent grip on the teen's hips, pulling them closer together as he searched out every part of his teen's willing mouth. When the need for air became too great they broke apart, but Tom didn't stop his assault, his mind was screaming at him repeatedly and he kissed and bit down Harry's jaw and neck, removing the glamours Harry kept on his marks and biting down on the claiming bite he had given the teen a few days ago. Hearing Harry blissfully moan out his name soothed him ever so slightly, but not enough for him to stop at all, and when he felt the mark was vivid enough to last at least until the Yule holidays he began kissing the teen again.
He realised that Harry was just wearing too many clothes, something the teen seemed to believe in himself because both their top halves were suddenly bare. Tom pushed Harry back until he hit the wall and Harry retaliated by bracing himself and wrapping his legs around Tom's waist, creating wonderful friction and Harry groaned, needing more. He needed to be cleansed of the taint that she left behind, and Tom seemed to be thinking along the same lines because the rest of their clothes vanished and Harry felt more magic wash over him, preparing him for what was about to come. He yelled when Tom filled him in one swift motion, the familiar burn of pain running through him, matching the tingling pleasure he felt. He was barely given time to adjust, not that he minded, as Tom was relentless and immediately began moving. The man knew his body well by now and found that bundle of nerves that set him on fire, dropping his head back and crying Tom's name repeatedly.
Are you still thinking of that little bitch, Snake? Tom hissed, thrusting in sharply and hitting Harry's prostate hard, the teen all but screamed much to Tom's pleasure.
Wh-what- AH- m-more, ah- TOM! Harry cried out his name again and Tom hissed wordlessly.
Is she still on your mind as she was on your body?It came out as a hissed grunt, his own release was building as he slid in and out of his willing partner. He wanted Harry's mind wiped of the disgusting cretin that was pawing over him earlier.
Who?-Ah, Tom- FUCK!Harry held on to Tom's shoulders tightly, he was near the edge and he could feel it building as Tom repeatedly hit his prostate creating floods of pleasure. He screamed out Tom's name as his release hit and Tom bit down on his neck, his vision blanking for a second and Tom managed a few more powerful thrusts before following Harry. It was smug satisfaction soothing his possessiveness as Harry yet again shouted his name as his release hit, it was he who had fucked the teen in to an incoherent mess (albeit an extremely hot mess, but a mess none the same), it was he that created the look of utter debauched pleasure on the teen's face, and it was he who Harry was clinging too as pleasurable aftershocks rippled through his body.
Harry was making no attempts to even move, and Tom would be less inclined to do so if he didn't know they had loads of work to be doing. He pulled out of the teen and muttered a cleaning charm, he then gently placed Harry back on his own feet and flicked his wand to dress them both, though his arm didn't move from where it was locked around Harry's waist.
"You know we have things to do." Tom murmured, tracing Harry's taunt stomach lightly. The teen was feeling extremely satisfied and content and Tom couldn't help but feel smug as he was the one to create such feelings.
"The amount of smugness coming from you is unbecoming." Harry informed him, finally standing up properly and looking at Tom. The Dark Lord merely smirked.
"Who's on your mind right now?" Tom asked lightly and Harry glowered at him, though it lacked any real heat.
"Yeah yeah, cocky bastard." He grumbled, but he smiled when Tom kissed him and allowed the man to lead him over to sit down.
"It's not cocky when its true." Tom corrected, "Now, I have to finalise the plans for the ministry wards, I think I shall have enough information to send our ward experts out very soon."
"Brilliant. I have everything and nothing to do, though I can feel Paws at the back of my mind screaming at me right now, but I think if I answer it she may want to kill me." Harry said with a grin, chuckling when Tom rolled his eyes.
"Were you not the one to tell me that she's the genius in the group?" Tom pointed out, "Shouldn't you be keeping her happy, lest she find some way for revenge. It's what I do with Narcissa." They both shuddered at the thought of an angry Lady Malfoy.
"You are wise, oh Lord of Darkness." Harry said, putting on a mystical voice, making Tom snort.
"Dear Merlin, that was strange even for you."
"I try my best." Harry agreed. "I have a question."
"Go on?"
"Would it be possible for you to contact that Head Vampire again for me please?" Harry asked, "Only, Paws and I have a skeleton draft for our blood bank idea and I thought it might be beneficial to actually get a vampire perspective on it. After all, I did have Moony and then Alpha and Ellen's advice on the Sanctuary."
"I do not see any problems with that." Tom allowed, "Though, I am still waiting on the envoys, I can send the request back once they arrive. They are due the first week of the Yule holidays."
"Wonderful, thanks." Harry offered him a grateful smile. "Ok, now I need to see what Paws wants." He opened the connection between him and his best friends and was rewarded with the largest mental huff imaginable.
Finally. She explained, I've been waiting for like twenty minutes. What in Merlin's name have you been doing?
Um getting my brains thoroughly fucked out. Harry answered honestly, Its been a really hard day.
Oh Harry, She sighed, Are you ok?
I am now, He said, the leer blatantly in his voice.
Oh you. She laughed, I won't comment due to the horrific strain you've been under today, so don't get used to it.
Yes, Ma'am.
Now, to the reason I have been prodding you. She began, You can come and check the locket, I'm going to need you to make sure it feels legit before I hand it over.
You are a goddess amongst us, Hermione, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Harry could practically hear her blush as she cut the connection and Harry grinned up at Tom.
"I've got a locket to go and collect."
"She has worked quickly." Tom mused and Harry nodded.
"If its ready to go, are you ready to go to the cave?" He asked and Tom nodded.
"Yes, the defences will recognise its caster, and I know how to dispel them all. Though, should the need arrive, I am well equipped at casting fire spells."
"Infiri?" Harry questioned, and Tom smirked.
"Many,"
"Thanks for the heads up." Harry stood up and stretched, hissing slightly when he felt his body twinge. "I won't be long." He left right after Tom stole a kiss. He shadowed to the sanctuary and ran straight in to Moony, the werewolf looked busy but that didn't stop him from scooping Harry up in to a tight hug before setting him down and going on his way. Harry smiled to himself, heading up to the ritual room where Paws should be, he conjured up a purple gladioli flower, knowing them to be Paws' absolute favourite and knocked on the door. She threw open the door looking distracted but one sight of the flower and who was holding it and she brightened, shooting Harry a delightful smile as she took the offered bloom.
"It's beautiful, and it's my favourite." She commented, eyeing him and Harry offered her a somewhat arrogant smirk.
"I know,"
"Honestly," She rolled her eyes but was still smiling. "Come on then, let's keep you alive."
"It sounds so much worse when you say it." He mused, entering the room. The bare stone room was as daunting as usual, but in the centre lay a locket which was positively pulsing with magic. Harry inhaled deeply, surrounding himself with the magic and he grinned, it felt just like the locket and it was only because he was deeply entwined in his best friends magic did he feel the minute traces of her own cleverly masked signature.
"Wow," He murmured, "This is fantastic." He picked up the piece of jewellery carefully and looked it over, it had a resemblance to the Slytherin locket, but if you knew what the real one looked like you would be able to spot the differences.
"Thanks," Paws replied, pleased. "It was less difficult than I anticipated."
"That's good, this should set us up for the beginning of Yule too." Harry said, "If the article comes out within the next two days, it leaves us with time to finish the school term in relative peace and prep for the holidays."
"Sounds like a plan," Paws agreed, "Which means I am going back to the laws I was working on with Venom and my search for the Hufflepuff heir."
"I'll see you later. I'm off to bait Lemons." He told her, she waved him off with a fond laugh and Harry vanished back in to the shadows. He appeared next to Tom, who didn't even blink from reading his book, and grinned.
"My best friend is really a genius." Harry informed him brightly, and Tom raised an eyebrow, finally looking at him.
"Oh?"
"Yes, feel this." He handed the man the locket and his grin stretched when the man's eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"If I didn't know any better I would assume that this is the real thing." Tom said surprised, "This is very well done indeed."
"I know, I'm surprised myself. I didn't think she would be able to create a masking so similar."
"I believe that this shall pass inspection. Let us leave now." Tom decided, rising to his feet. They both cast multiple fire resistant charms on their clothes and their bodies before summoning cloaks and shadowing to Malfoy Manor. Tom them took Harry's arm and apparated them to a rock in the middle of the ocean, wrapping an arm around the teen's waist to stop him from falling in due to his reaction to side-apparation.
"What the fuck!" Harry yelped over the crashing waves, "You really are a vengeful person."
"Oh and you are so forgiving." Tom scoffed.
"I wasn't judging, merely making a statement." Harry informed him, shooting him an innocent smile, to which Tom rolled his eyes.
"We have to climb from here." Tom told him, not rising to the bait and smirking at Harry's pout.
"Fine, where am I going?" Harry asked.
"You see that small ledge, down at the bottom?" Tom pointed to the ledge in question and Harry raised an eyebrow. It was a very small ledge, barely over a foot deep but he nodded anyway.
"I commend you for getting here as a child." Harry said.
"It's not as bad as it seems, there is a port as such on the other side, but there is a ward that prevents near all forms of magical transport and I didn't think you wished to take a swim." Tom explained and Harry nodded.
"Tell me why we didn't just get Kreacher to pop us in to the cave?" Harry asked.
"Because he is currently trying to entice the headmaster in to coming to said cave." Tom answered and Harry sighed.
"That's right." He remembered, "So, how far down do you think that ledge is?"
"It's about a twelve foot drop." Tom calculated and Harry nodded.
"Right, this should be fun." With that he jumped from his position and used the shadows and his magic to cushion his landing, though he still nearly pitched forward in to the ocean and only Tom suddenly grabbing the back of his top stopped him.
"Oh hey Tom, thought you were still up there." Harry said breathlessly, his eyes light up with the thrill of the drop. Tom shot him a dirty look and physically whacked him around the back of his head.
"You are an idiot." He stated simply, "Your Gryffindor blood rings true."
"Thanks," Harry said with a proud smile, which Tom ignored, "So how did you get down."
"I said it was warded against nearly all magical transportation. I am one of, if not, the only persons who can fly unattended." Tom pointed out, "I am unsure if I can take passengers."
"Ah smart." Harry complimented, "Well then, oh sly one, after you." Tom led him down the precarious ledge and in to the aforementioned port, Harry looked around in interest, sensing rather than seeing the magic present.
"A blood sacrifice?" He questioned and Tom nodded.
"Yes, it triggers the traps on the inside of the cave depending on the power of the blood."
"Even smarter," Harry acknowledged, "That genius status of yours was well earned."
"Of course it was." Tom sniffed. He waved his wand and the cave opened to admit them both, the magics didn't react given that they were being commanded by their caster. Harry looked around and he could feel the smile creeping on to his face, the cave was, for lack of a better word, dark. It had dark and murky waters, thick and stifling air and an island in the middle of the water that held this creepy glow in the very centre.
"Not. One. Word." Tom ordered him, obviously following his train of thought and Harry snickered.
"I wasn't going to say a thing." Harry assured and Tom hmmed, obviously not believing him for a second.
"Can you get us to the island? I do not wish to take the boat."
"Yeah, 'course." Harry said, he took Tom's arm and they shadowed to the centre island, lading shakily on the uneven stone. Harry hopped up to the podium and was surprised to see it was a bowl filled with a greenish liquid that held its own glow, he hovered his hand over it and could feel the barrier preventing him from going any further.
"What potion is this?" Harry asked, looking at it as closely as he was able, "I do not recognise it. Not that I am an expert on potions in the slightest, but I've never seen a potion this colour."
"You wouldn't have seen this potion before, even if you were a master of the art." Tom informed him, "This is something that I created personally."
"Oooooh, really?" Harry asked, looking at the potion with even more interest than before. "What does it do?"
"It's a nightmare potion, it forces the drinker to relive their deepest fears as if they were happening at this very moment. What makes it so unique is that the potion uses the drinkers own magic to recall the memories." Tom explained and Harry looked at him impressed.
"Please tell me you suck at Quidditch." Harry begged and Tom smirked.
"Fortunately, the sport has never been my strongest point. Flying on the other hand…" He trailed off and Harry rolled his eyes; yeah he knew the man could fly unattended, and he would be teaching Harry how to do that.
"It's a bit like my nightmare curse, the one I tied in to the quill." Harry mused, "Though, mine will actually make the person feel the pain of their fear and eventually break their minds."
"That sound's delightful, you will have to show me that some time." Tom said with interest and Harry smiled slightly.
"Of course."
"The potion was merely a way to incapacitate the drinker enough so they fell prey to the infiri."
"A much more fitting way to go." Harry agreed. "How do you go about making sure they drink it?"
"Ah, I simply charmed the bowl. It cannot be broken, moved, transfigured, banished, burned, carved, vanished, shattered, charmed or anything you could possibly thinl of." Tom explained, "As for the liquid itself, it is the same as the bowl. It also cannot be poured away because it will just appear back in the bowl."
"You, my wonderful Dark Lord, are utterly vindictive." Harry said sincerely and Tom looked pleased. "Now, with all of that brilliant magic. How do we get access to the bowl?"
"Ah, well, I did put a safety feature in." Tom said proudly, "Here," he tapped the barrier of the potion and hissed at it Empty. The liquid drained away and Harry could see it collecting in the bottom of the podium, making the crystal look an eerie green.
"You are just showing off now." Harry pointed out, "Hey!" He looked in to the bowl and was astounded to see another locket lying innocently at the bottom, he reached in and grabbed it cleaning it with an absent wave of his hand.
"What is that?" Tom asked and Harry shrugged.
"No idea," He replied, "But it has a clasp." He flicked the locket open and a note fell out, Tom snatched it from the air and unfolded it, his eyebrows raising as he read.
"Well?"
"To the Dark Lord, I know I will be long dead by the time you read this message, but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more. R.A.B." Tom read out, his voice oddly mesmerising and Harry had to shake his head to focus again.
"Regulus?" He confirmed and Tom nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face.
"Yes, but this note is most unusual."
"Oh?"
"Hm, simple things, such as the words and the phrases." Tom admitted.
"Why? I mean, it's a perfectly normal letter, and if I wanted to goad you I would write exactly that."
"Which is why this seems all the more strange." Tom told him, "You would write something like this, someone who, despite the fact they know and can play the game, would rather not and would want to bait someone simply."
"I don't understand." Harry said confused, "Isn't that the point of the letter?"
"Yes, but you also have to remember that Regulus was a pureblood Black. Even to his closest of friends etiquette was presented." Tom pointed out, "Think of something the littler Malfoy was write as a taunt." Harry's eyes lit up in understanding and then his eyes narrowed.
"I know I was candid about it the other day but do you think it could have been Dumbledore?" Harry wondered, "I know he doesn't know about his cave or even about the locket, but it is a possibility that he managed to get hold of Regulus and turn him against you."
"Yes, but without information what would be the use?" Tom pondered and Harry shook his head.
"Simple, it would cause a huge discord within your ranks. He would be controlling someone within your Elite, those who are your most trusted and privy to near all your plans. He wouldn't need the information, merely someone informed enough to disrupt your plans from the inside." Harry pointed out, "He knows of your paranoia, and it would have been crippling at the height of the war. I am guessing, and it is literally nothing more than speculation at this point, that he somehow ordered Regulus to 'disrupt the war to the highest degree' or something along those lines, to which, instead of causing discord amongst the ranks, Regulus went after you."
"That is surprisingly logical," Tom mused, "It could be plausible, and with this note it is like someone other than Regulus wrote it. We have no way of verifying any of this, however."
"We have no way of verifying this yet." Harry corrected, "Let me check in with Ray, she might be able to shed some light."
"I really need to know how she gets her information." Tom stated and Harry laughed.
"I'm not sure myself. I have my theories, and she'd probably tell me should I ask seriously, but I like the mystery that is Luna." Harry said with a shrug.
"It's certainly different." Tom allowed. "Now, to business."
"Right," Harry pulled out Paws' charmed locket and dropped it in to the bowl. Tom tapped the crystal again and hissed Fill.
"That will hold." Tom said and Harry nodded.
"It was rather anticlimactic." Harry decided and Tom rolled his eyes.
"For you, I'd say that was an achievement."
"Hey!"
"Don't bother denying it." Tom told him, "Come on, let's go back to the port. I need to check the enchantments."
"Yeah yeah," Harry shadowed them to the port and watched as Tom scanned his magical protections, he nodded once to show everything was in order and Harry took them back to the Tom's rooms in the castle.
"We merely have to wait for your elf to alert us to Dumbledore's actions." Tom said and Harry nodded. He was about to sit down when he tilted his head and smiled.
"I'll be right back." He vanished before Tom could even blink and he was back before the man had summoned his drink, only this time he wasn't alone. He has a small child sat on his hip, one he recognised as the first year Ravenclaw, Alina Dean, and Tom had to bite back a sigh of exasperation. Of course Harry would take it upon himself to look after the little girl, Tom didn't blame him, but he often wondered if Harry had any self-preservation skills whatsoever. Harry was smiling as he listened to the little elf speak, and then grinned when she noticed the different rooms.
"Where are we?" She asked him in wonder.
"We're currently in our defence Professor's private rooms." Harry told her, smirking as her eyes went wide and he spotted Tom roll his own.
"Wow, really? But what are we doing here and where is he?"
"Something came up and I've relocated until everything is sorted." He answered simply, walking further in to the room, "And you have eyes," she shot him a dirty look at the comment but looked around anyway, and her eyes became impossibly huge when she spotted Tom. She tugged on Harry's top urgently, her eyes not moving from the Dark Lord's form as the man calmly gazed back at her.
"Harry." She whispered and Harry had to hide his growing grin.
"Yes?"
"I think the Dark Lord is sitting on the sofa." She whispered again and Harry burst out laughing.
"I know." He assured her, smothering his laughter at her indignant expression.
"But what if he kills us?"
"You've been staring at him for the past five minutes, I think you're safe." Harry said, as he went toward the kitchen "Besides, he's a big kitty cat. He won't hurt you." The glare he got for that remark was enough to freeze a volcano, Harry merely shot him a sweet smile and pressed a kiss to his cheek as he passed, making Alina giggle. Tom grumbled to himself in parseltongue, promising to curse him in to the next century much to Harry's amusement.
"Now, the reason I brushed you off earlier is because I'm currently acting as if I am under a compulsion web." Harry explained, "Which means I'm going to be acting as if I'm in love with Ginny Weasley and think Dumbledore is a god amongst men." Alina wrinkled her nose cutely and shook her head.
"When can you stop hiding?" She questioned and Harry sighed.
"I really hope it's going to be this week." Harry stated, "I don't think I can carry on."
"Course you will, you're Harry." She said brightly, "Luna says that you're the most brilliantest person she knows, and that's you'll get through anything." Harry smiled at that.
"I'm thankful for both of your faiths." Harry said, "But this does mean that until Ginny is off my back you can't see me in the library, though you can still come to my rooms."
"That's fine, we were hiding from the Ravens anyway."
"True." Harry acknowledged, "Now, I didn't make these but my house elf is amazing." Harry offered her a brownie which he guessed Winky had sent up, seeing as nothing went to Tom or his rooms without her knowing.
"Ooo yummy!"
"You'll be alright until the Yule break, won't you. Just in case I'm stuck."
"Yeah, I'll be fine, and Luna is always around when I need her."
"Yeah, she's good at that." Harry agreed, "Alright then, Little Elf. Bed time for you, and make sure you have Professor Drield's essay in, I'm told he can be very mean." He mock whispered and she giggled as Tom glared over at them both. Harry made the shadows swarm around them and motioned for Alina to jump in, she did without a care and offered a wave before she vanished to outside the Ravenclaw common room.
"You are completely destroying my reputation." Tom informed him grumpily and Harry laughed. He leaned down to kiss the pout, which the man would deny was there in the first place, from his lips, allowing Tom to pull him on to his lap.
"You are still the all-powerful, fear inducing Dark Lord you have always been." Harry placated and Tom looked at him shrewdly.
"With you around that will change soon enough." Tom quipped and Harry offered his most innocent look possible.
"Then you must punish me, My Lord. For I shall truly not learn otherwise." Harry told him, his voice low and sultry. The smirk that curled on to Tom's face was positively sinful and Harry knew it was going to be a long night; he was completely ok with that.
So there we have it folks, Harry's day with Ginny, the locket solution and Alina finally meeting the Dark Lord. I think we covered quite a bit in this chapter even if it was only one day and I do hope you liked it. Please let me know what you think, and the next chapter should be up ASAP!
Thanks guys,
Jess*