Harry Potter and the Curse of V'Ardian

Chapter 24

Of Dreams and Deception

Standard Disclaimers Apply

oOoOo

It was so early in the morning that Harry didn't meet anyone as he made his was slowly back to Gryffindor tower. He walked almost in a dream, slightly shocked at the reality of his situation. He had been hurt before, quite seriously, but everything had always been able to be fixed. It was hard to believe that he was blind in his left eye.

It was unusual seeing the world through only one eye. He bumped into things on his left more often, and everything seemed somehow unbalanced. He passed a bathroom and took a sudden detour, needing to see himself. Madam Pomfrey was right; there was a scar, and it was quite large. It cut through his eyebrow and curved around the outer edge of his eye, ending quite close to his bottom lashes. Harry thought that soon his body would be one massive scar.

He turned away from the mirror in hatred of what he saw and left the bathroom. He sat in front of the dying fire in the common room until he heard people rising and left for the Great Hall before anyone could see him.

oOoOo

"Albus, when are you going to tell him?"

"Soon, Severus, soon," sighed Dumbledore wearily. He seemed to pause and reconsider his answer. "Possibly tonight."

"Are you going to tell me?"

"You will find out in due course, I am sure."

Severus sneered in displeasure.

"I despise waiting. What is such a great secret?"

Dumbledore shook his head slowly.

"I cannot say, Severus," he said softly. "Lest the world come crashing down around our ears."

oOoOo

Harry was the first to enter the Great Hall for breakfast that morning and he felt decidedly conspicuous as he sat down by himself. After a few minutes other students started filtering in, pointing and whispering so loudly that Harry could hear them. He glared down at the table, his hand massaging the burning Dark Mark under the table.

As soon as the food appeared Harry began filling his plate, the scent of the bacon making him realise that he was ravenous. He ploughed in to the food, only noticing his friends entering the hall when Hermione's squeak of surprise alerted him to their presence. She bundled him up in a hug and Ron gave him a gruff pat on the back.

"All right, mate?"

"Yeah, Ron, I'm good," he said, giving him a small smile. Hermione raised her hand and traced the thin scar around his eye with a small 'oh' of surprise.

"Madam Pomfrey did a good job," she said.

"Yeah," Harry agreed, smiling tightly. "Fantastic."

The Great Hall filled quickly after that, though nobody was eating much. Most of them were too busy staring at Harry. He looked around uneasily.

"Listen, guys, I'm going to head back to the dorm and get ready for classes. I'm not feeling too much like eating," he said.

"Do you need us to come with you, Harry?" asked Ron, pausing between mouthfuls. Harry shook his head as he stood.

"No. I just need to be alone right now," he said. Ron and Hermione nodded in understanding and Harry flashed them a bright smile to allay their fears before heading down the space between the table and the wall and out the door, many watching him as he went.

He walked quickly back to Gryffindor tower, thankful that there was no one to waylay him, and muttered the password to the Fat Lady. The portrait swung open and he was about to climb through when a voice came out of one of the secret passages near a tapestry.

"Harry. Wait."

Harry turned to face Katherine as she walked over to him, her gaze flitting up and down the deserted hallway. She appeared slightly nervous, but Harry had to admit that he would be too if he had been snatched right off of the Hogwarts grounds. When she noticed him staring at her she adopted a calm façade and he grinned slightly.

Same old Katherine.

As he thought that, he thought of tonks, who had been anything but normal lately. He wasn't quite sure why he hadn't told Dumbledore about her, but he was hoping he was wrong. Oh, how he wished he were wrong.

"What do you want?" he asked as she came to a stop in front of him, her eyes travelling over the scars she could see. They lingered on his eye.

"Madam Pomfrey did a good job," she said, echoing Hermione's words.

"I suppose when you say it, you mean it," he said, "Because you saw how bad it was. It's a pity though, that appearances can be deceiving."

She raised an eyebrow in confusion and Harry gave her a small smile and lifted a hand to the slightly raised scar around his eye.

"Don't go around telling anyone I'm half-blind," he said. "It would put me at a disadvantage if my enemies knew I couldn't see them."

Katherine's mouth dropped open slightly in surprise and she looked at the ground. Did she feel guilty? Harry silently cursed the fact that she was a Snape. They hid their feelings so well.

"Is there somewhere more private we can talk?" she asked, looking up at him again. She looked down the hallway. "I don't really want anyone to see us together."

Harry nodded and gestured towards the common room.

"In there?" she asked, looking uncertain.

"Everyone's at breakfast." She shrugged and climbed in before Harry, a small smile gracing her lips when she saw the warm-coloured room.

"It's like it," she said, glancing around in what could nearly have been envy. But only nearly. If there was one thing Harry knew it was that Slytherins were proud and would never admit that another house had something better than them. Harry smiled and nodded at the stairs leading up to his dorm. Katherine followed him and he cast a strong ward at the bottom of the stairs.

He shut the door behind them and pulled his cloak from his trunk, putting it at the end of the bed before turning to face Katherine. She held another small vial of clear liquid in her hands.

"Well?" she asked. Harry felt something in his chest lurch in anticipation and he stepped forward in undisguised eagerness.

"Yes," he croaked, his voice catching slightly. He hadn't realised how badly he craved it. As soon as she drained the vial Harry strode forward and slipped his hand to her neck, bending down. Without hesitating he plunged his teeth into her neck and gave a slight moan as her blood flowed over his tongue. He began to suck, drinking as though his life depended on it. He slipped his other hand around her waist and she angled her head slightly so he had better access.

"Not to hard," she whispered softly and he slowed down, enjoying it more. The blood was to him as water was to a parched man; he felt life return to him as he drank his fill and he stopped almost reluctantly, even though he was full.

He licked the last droplets of blood from her neck, feeling the softness of her neck beneath his tongue. It raised an almost irresistible urge in him and instead of drawing back he placed a small kiss on her neck. He felt her breath catch, but she didn't pull back and he kissed her again, and again. He moved up to her jaw, smelling the sweet scent of her shampoo.

"Katherine," he murmured, his eyes closed in pleasure. He vaguely wondered if what he was feeling for her was real, or if it was his vampiric temperament surfacing, but he felt the fangs recede into his gums and he smiled when he felt the same. Katherine seemed to relax as he murmured her name and she took a small step forward, closing the distance between them. Harry raised his head to look down at her and his mouth quirked slightly as she stared back at him.

He removed his hand from her waist and smoothed her hair where he had disrupted it, bringing it to rest on jaw as he slowly lowered his lips to hers.

He paused slightly, feeling her warm breath on his cheek, and it was then that he heard, or rather felt, the wards at the bottom of the stairs disturbed. Closing his eyes in annoyance he reached over and grabbed blindly for the cloak on his bed. He pulled it over her, hiding her confused face from view a second before Ron and, to Harry's surprise, Neville, walked in.

Harry grinned widely.

"Neville!"

"Hi, Harry," said Neville, returning the smile after a second of hesitation. Ron looked at Harry strangely, confused at his change of mood.

"Feeling all right, Neville?" Harry asked, taking a small step away from Katherine. Neville looked at the ground shyly, his expression embarrassed.

"Yes. I have to thank you, Harry." He looked up. "You saved my life."

Harry's smile became slightly grim before brightening again.

"I'd do it again, Neville. You're a good friend."

Neville smiled sheepishly.

"You too, Harry."

Ron seemed unwilling to question Harry's sudden change in temperament and disrupt his good mood and for that Harry was thankful. Still, it was with great reluctance that Harry left the seemingly empty dormitory behind Ron and Neville and followed them down the stairs.

oOoOo

"Mr Potter, I am to escort you to the headmaster's office," Professor McGonagall told him, peering down at Harry sternly. Harry looked back at her in surprise.

"Dumbledore wants to see me?"

"I believe that is what I just said, Mr Potter, now if you will kindly follow me…"

Harry nodded in reply and stood, wondering what Dumbledore wanted to speak to him about now. With a sense of apprehension Harry followed McGonagall out of the common room and towards Dumbledore's office. Whatever it was, Harry had the feeling he wasn't going to like it. Suddenly Harry realised that they weren't heading towards Dumbledore's office.

"Er, Professor, where are we going?" he asked.

"We are getting Professor Snape. The headmaster has requested his presence."

Harry narrowed his eyes but didn't respond. They entered the dungeons and Professor McGonagall rapped smartly on the door of Snape's office. She didn't wait for a reply and opened the door, startling Snape who was bent intently over a cauldron of slightly smoking and translucent liquid. He frowned slightly at the interruption.

"Severus, Albus has requested for you to come and see him." His frown deepened.

"Now?"

"Right now," McGonagall confirmed. The frown did not leave Snape's face as he stood and turned off the heat beneath the cauldron.

"Very well."

As they walked, Harry thought that McGonagall and Snape must have had some kind of disagreement; there was clearly tension between the two, and no one talked. Snape swept along ahead of Harry, robes billowing even more so than usual and Harry wondered what he had been working on that had him this upset at leaving it.

Snape snapped out the password as they reached the gargoyle and Harry stepped straight on to the sliding golden elevator. The heavy sense of foreboding only increased as they rose higher.

oOoOo

To all outward appearances, Snape might have been irritated to be here, but inwardly he felt an inward sense of excitement and doom. Conflicting emotions, he knew, but what news could Dumbledore possibly have that was so bad? The prophecy was old news, to everyone except maybe Minerva. No, it wasn't about the prophecy. It was obvious that Potter didn't know. Snape sneered. Potter was hopeless at hiding his feelings when he thought no one was watching.

When the trio reached the top of the sliding staircase, they were surprised to see Dumbledore standing there waiting for them, albeit leaning heavily on a cane. He didn't greet Harry and his eyes were sombre.

"Severus, Minerva, please wait here for a moment. You will need to hear this also."

He turned around and shuffled quite quickly back into his office and sat behind his desk. With a slight nudge from Professor McGonagall, Harry stepped forward and approached the doorway into Dumbledore's office. As he reached the threshold he paused and his eyes scanned the office.

From behind, Snape saw Harry's body tense, his head turned to looked at something out of view. Then Harry spoke a name, his voice hoarse, and it broke slightly with emotion. He spoke the name, and Snape felt forgotten memories tugging at his consciousness, urging him to remember.

Emily.

The name that Potter had just spoken. It swirled through his mind, demanding acknowledgement, and he realised that magic was at work, though what he wasn't sure. Snape watched as Harry's gaze turned back to Dumbledore and an uncomfortable wave of magic swept across the room. It crackled silently in the air, but Snape could feel it, and it wasn't pleasant. He realised with a shiver that this was the Dark Lord's magic felt like; dark and overpowering. He heard Dumbledore's voice echo unusually sharply from within his office.

"Harry! Sit down and we will discuss this," he ordered, and his expression left no room for argument. Harry's gaze flickered once back to the unseen person (Snape assumed it was a person, a girl, given the name), before he answered Dumbledore.

"How could you do this?" he croaked, and the words seemed hard for him to get out.

Inside, Harry longed to scream, take things and destroy them as he had done at the end of his fifth year, but that was not a possibility. He felt like he was choking. He felt betrayed, worse than he had ever been before. It couldn't be possible, was the only thing he wanted to think, but upon seeing the girl sitting there in the office, vague memories had come rushing back into his head. Based on those alone, Harry could have, with some difficulty, dismissed the whole thing as a big joke, but accompanying those memories came almost overpowering emotions, and Harry had to grip the door frame for support.

"How could you do this?" he repeated when Dumbledore didn't answer.

"It was necessary, Harry. Please sit down and-"

"No," Harry spat, his tone vindictive. He spun to face the two teachers. "Did you know?" he asked fiercely. He seemed to be on the virge of exploding and the air crackled with unrestrained magic.

"Mr Potter, control yourself!" reproved Professor McGonagall in incredulity, though she too seemed to be struggling with something.

"Take a look," Harry said, gesturing back behind him. Dumbledore was standing, about to come out. He said a few words to the person who still sat out of sight and Professor McGonagall seemed to take this as her cue. Clearly something was wrong here, and she was determined to find a resolution. She stepped around Harry into the room and raised a hand to her mouth in surprise.

Harry seemed about to lose control and he closed his eyes, trying to calm himself.

"Occlude your mind, Potter," Snape said. Whatever was happening they couldn't risk the Dark Lord finding out. Harry trembled and when he opened his eyes they were a crimson red, and his lips parted slightly to reveal elongated teeth.

"Potter!" Snape hissed, drawing his wand. Snape checked that Dumbledore and McGonagall were still busy. Harry snarled.

"I could do it, you know. I could go back in there finish him off. It would be so easy."

Snape felt his heart skip a beat and his face went pale. He could nearly believe the truth of those words. Nearly.

"Control yourself, Potter. Occlude your mind and calm down," he hissed quietly. "You do not want anyone finding out about this."

It was only the threat of this that forced Harry to calm down, though inside he was furious. His gaze shifted quickly to Snape's wand and back up to his face and he laughed quietly.

"What were you going to do, Snape?" he challenged, and Snape got the feeling that he was trying to avoid something. He nodded to Dumbledore's office.

"Go in there, Potter."

Harry stilled.

"I can't go in there," he insisted, his face fearful.

"Why not? What is in there, Potter?"

"My sister," he whispered.

oOoOo

A/N: That turned out a heap differently from how I thought it was going to be. The next chapter was originally going to be the end of this chapter, but I was in a bad mood and decided that that would be a nice little cliff hanger. If you're lucky they'll be posted at the same time. If you're not, you'll have to wait a month until I get back from holidays ;) If I get lots of reviews between now and when I leave, I'll post it. Hope you enjoyed it- Wujjawoo

Chapter 25: Of Secrets and Sisters