The original story has so many… Issues. It's really hard trying to decide what to keep as far as trying to remain honest to the original. I'm also running into a lot of "wth was I thinking when I wrote this?" but I guess that's what happens when you're writing anything at the age of eleven or twelve. (I really can't remember if I started this at the beginning or end of that school year.)

Also, I ended up obtaining two fish… It was not planned. I was saving their lives. It's been an utter nightmare trying to keep these things alive. I had NO idea how much went into maintaining a fish tank. I feel like I'm conducting chemistry experiments daily, bright and early and panicking the rest of the day, trying to correct the results. I cannot wait until this thing is officially established and all I have to do is feed them and change the water.

Notes: (X) is pov change and or time jump

Chapter 25: The Aftermath

The flames surrounding Harry parted as Aderes approached him, his hand held out. 'Let's get out of here.'

Harry shook his head, not sure, nor caring if Aderes could tell since he was shaking so badly. He could still hear Umbridge making what sounded like choked crying sounds from somewhere further into the room, similar to the ones Dudley had made after his run in with the Dementors.

"Harry?"

"... Just go."

"I'm not leaving you here," he said, sounding amused. He knelt next to Harry, softly touching his arms, hands, and face. His hands would stop at every cut Umbridge had caused, his eyes lingering a moment before traveling to the next. "That bitch," he hissed.

"I'm fine," he muttered, wanting Aderes to leave him alone, sort of. It terrified him that Aderes had done this. The Defense room was practically gone and Umbridge was a quivering mess. One wrong move and Harry wouldn't still be sitting on the floor, clutching his knees, or breathing. And yet, somewhere deep inside him, a tiny sliver of him was okay with this, and that scared him even more than what Aderes had just done.

"Harry, you need to go to the infirmary."

"Later."

"Later you'll have bled out," he snapped.

Without warning, Harry felt himself lifted into the air, his heart going crazy. It took him a second to realize Aderes had picked him up. "P, put me down!"

"No." The door to the Defense room flew forward, slamming into the wall outside with a loud crash. Umbridge screamed again, and Harry found himself burying his face into Aderes's robes. "You're okay and if it's any consolation, physically that thing is not harmed." The distaste in his voice was clear.

'G, good.' A hiss escaped his lips, the cold air around him hitting his cuts. Within seconds, without the flames, Harry could feel his body temperature dropping. How could the hallway be so cold?

(X)

"You've completely lost your mind! There's no other explanation!"

"Mm…"

"I had it under control." Aderes's hand covered Harry's.

"You destroyed the Defense classroom," Dumbledore shouted.

Aderes snorted. "Have you seen it lately? I did you and the room a favor."

"You melted her shoes off her feet! Not to mention you destroyed her wand!"

Snickering.

"WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE IF SHE'D DIED!?"

"Thrown a party."

"This isn't funny!"

"Perhaps the curse on the teaching position compels me to act out more towards Defense…" he sighed dramatically. "Even in jest I cannot consider that toe rag a professor."

"And what would you have done if you'd harmed Harry?!"

Aderes's grip tightened. "I wouldn't have." His voice had lost all its humor. "And if you didn't notice, the bloodstains on my robes from Harry, are because of her! She's lucky I didn't return the favor!"

"You don't—"

"I would never risk Harry's safety. I had the flames direct him to a safe location."

"You are impossible! You'll be serving detention with me for the next few weeks for this!"

"You are mistaken if you think I care. Keep that toad under control and away from Harry. If she tries harming him again, I'll be melting more than her shoes and her wand."

"You can't threaten people like this!"

"Who's going to stop me? You? You couldn't even get the door open," Aderes laughed.

"Because I feared for Harry's safety! Fyre Fiend is unpredictable at best—"

"I had it under control."

"I should have you expelled."

Harry's eyes shot open. He could just make out the enraged look on Dumbledore's face and Aderes's back directly in front of him.

"What good would that do? It's not like you could remove me from the school."

Silence.

"Your detention will start after breakfast. Keep this up, I'll take you to Azkaban myself."

"And risk Harry's sanity? His safety? Don't bother with idle threats."

Harry was sure Dumbledore was going to explode. He tightened his hands into fists, his face visibly turning purple before he stormed out of the infirmary.

"He needs a calming draught," Aderes chuckled, turning to Harry. He brought his hand to Harry's face, stroking it gently. "You passed out on me on the way here, probably from blood loss. Madam Pomfrey had to give you a potion to restore it." He pulled his legs onto the bed. "How do you feel?"

Huh…? Had he really lost that much blood? He knew Umbridge had sliced into him quite a few times, but they hadn't seemed so bad. "I'm okay…." Wasn't he? His body seemed sore, but nothing like it had when Aderes had picked him up. He moved closer to Aderes until his body was directly against his boyfriend's. "I'm still kind of cold…."

Snickering, he wrapped an arm around Harry.

I can't keep doing this. Someone's going to die.

"I promise, you're safe here and I will never leave you alone with that thing again."

"Aderes…" It was all he could get out before he started to cry. I've already lost too much. I've given up so much. He couldn't just let Aderes go. He refused to let him go, but his boyfriend couldn't stay on this path. Aderes seemed obsessed with keeping him safe, and it was going to get him thrown into Azkaban.

(X)

Harry blinked awake to see a stream of light pouring into his room from the window across from his bed. No one else seemed to be in the dorm, and he wondered where Ron could possibly be. The thought didn't stay with him long though as his gaze shifted back to the light. It was so calming, and he could feel himself relaxing. And with Aderes behind him, holding him against his chest, the rest of the world no longer mattered.

At least until everything that'd happened the night before came rushing back. He sat up in bed, Aderes glaring up at him at the sudden moment. Someone had dressed him in his pajamas. He pulled the sleeves up and examined his arms and hands. There were no cuts on them.

"What are you doing," Aderes asked, clearly annoyed.

"I… I was… Weren't we at the infirmary?"

"Huh?" Aderes sat up. "What are you talking about?"

"My detention with Umbridge, you!" He turned to look at Aderes. "You tried to kill her!"

Aderes made a face. "Your last detention had Snape supervising. He made you scrub the Defense room's floor with a regular Muggle brush. Are you okay?"

No. That wasn't what happened. He climbed out of bed fast, falling right back onto it as his world began to spin.

"Harry!"

"You're lying," he whispered, closing his eyes.

"I am," he admitted. "But that's the memory I put into Umbridge's head."

Harry opened his eyes, gaping at his boyfriend. "What?!"

"It was my first act of detention handed out by Dumbledore. I had to erase all traces of the trauma I caused," he sighed. "What a waste." He ran his hand through Harry's hair. "I left just enough of unconscious uncertainty, so she'll think twice about hurting you ever again."

So that was it? Aderes just wiped Umbridge's memory, replaced it with a new one, and all traces of his attempt at murder were gone. The only ones who knew were Aderes, Dumbledore, and himself. He was safe? How was Aderes supposed to learn not to be a murderous arsehole if he could get away with every bad thing he did?

Still….

"You can't just erase things from people's minds and expect it to be okay!"

"It's not like I hurt anyone. I merely scared her. And even if I had, it was just that thing." It was obvious he didn't care at all.

"That doesn't make it okay to just rewrite people's memories for your own convenience!" His eyes widened. "How many times have you altered my memory?"

A dark look crossed Aderes's face. "Once and with your permission."

"What did you erase?"

"..." He sighed when he realized Harry wasn't going to let it drop. "You were convinced you'd murdered someone, but you didn't."

"Who did I think I hurt?"

"Me."

Harry blinked. He hadn't been expecting that. "I can't hurt you."

"You can, but you wouldn't. You mistook a Boggart's transformation as real. That you'd killed me. So, when the Boggart transformed into your biggest fear, I was dead, and you were standing over my body."

"You can't just…. Ugh." He brought his hand up to his eyes. "Any other memory alterations you've done to me?"

"No."

"Prove it."

Sighing, Aderes opened the bond. He could feel that his boyfriend was still hiding something, but it wasn't about him messing with his memories.

"I really hate you sometimes," Harry groaned.

Surprise and slight hurt. "Why?"

"Because no matter what you seem to do. Burn people, destroy things, wipe a memory clear from my brain. You threw my best friend into a wall; you keep hiding things from me. You smuggled yourself into the Dursley's house. You are an absolute arsehole," he said, flipping over onto his stomach. "You show me just how heartless I'm capable of being and it scares me."

"W, wait—" He looked terrified, fear pulsating in rhythm with his frantically beating heart.

"And I still can't get myself to tell you off or dump you, because I'm completely in love with you. Whether it's this bond or you screwing with my memories, I cannot get myself to care because I am so in love with you, I rationalize every bloody horrible and questionable thing you do." He leaned forward, kissing Aderes.

The fear and shock melted into relief. Aderes's arms wrapping around Harry tightly. 'I love you too.'

Harry's face flushed. He'd finally gotten Aderes to say it back. "Good." Because admitting his feelings outright not only put him further at Aderes's mercy, it also made him admit he wasn't any better than the dark witches and wizards he was trying to stop, and that wasn't easy for him to accept.

"You aren't dark."

"I should have broken it off with you the first time you hurt Ron. Or after I saw the horrible things, you're willing to do. You could have killed Umbridge last night, hell I thought I was going to die last night, and I still can't bring myself to be mad about any of it. I'm only mad at myself for being so heartless… Okay, I'm a little annoyed you could have roasted me in the fire."

"The fact that you're in such a panic about all of this just proves you do care. You just don't want to acknowledge it because you don't quite understand how you could not want the toe rag responsible for your torture to be harmed. If you'd rather I put her memories back—"

"No," Harry screamed, grabbing Aderes's pajama shirt. He dropped his gaze when Aderes tilted his head in question. The irrational fear of losing Aderes swept over him again, worse than ever. If Aderes ended up in Azkaban, he wouldn't come out alive. His lack of remorse and feelings of justification for all the horrible things he'd been doing would keep the Dementors away, but it wouldn't stop the other prisoners from harming him.

"Harry, I'm not going anywhere. Even if she remembered everything, there's nothing she, nor anyone else, could do to take me from you."

"Any time I think you're leaving, it feels like you're never coming back." It was stupid. Beyond Dumbledore or the Ministry dragging Aderes off in chains, there was no reason for him to feel like his boyfriend was going to just disappear. He frowned, looking at Aderes. Had the lost of his parents and now Mrs. Weasley instilled an underlying fear that anyone he loved was going to be taken away?

"And yet here I am. Even when you purposely try to get rid of me, I always come back to you."

Harry nodded, his fingers easing up on Aderes's clothes. The fear ebbed slightly, but not enough for him to truly relax.

"Let's just spend the rest of the morning together."

"... I really need to finish my letter to Sirius and send it to him." Though what exactly he was going to tell Sirius he didn't know. He wanted to tell his godfather everything but didn't think he'd be too pleased with Aderes and his complete lack of morals. Or his attitude. Or… He stared at Aderes. Well, he is hot, and he's really smart. And protective. Somehow, he didn't think those traits would outweigh all the bad ones for Sirius.

It should be the same for him, really.

"So, destroying a classroom and setting that toad on fire makes you uneasy, but the thought of your godfather's disapproval makes you consider leaving me?" He snorted. "You are definitely confused."

"I would not leave you," he muttered.

"Harry, you can no more lie to me than I can you." He let out a sigh, surprise coming from the bond when Harry placed his head on Aderes's chest and laced his fingers between the Slytherin's own.

"Even if I think something it doesn't mean I'll act on it. Unlike you, I have self-control."

"Do you now? Is that why you're still wearing the necklace?" Amusement.

"Jerk," Harry sighed.

"What do you want to do today?"

"Besides finish my letter and think of some way to convince Dumbledore not to send you to Azkaban, even though you deserve it?"

Aderes snickered.

"It's not funny. I bring out a really dark side in you and that scares me too. I don't want you going anywhere, and I don't want to be the reason you go anywhere."

"I make my own choices for my own reasons. If you think you actually have any impact on them, you're thinking far too highly of yourself.

Harry blinked a few times, sitting up and pulling his hand away from Aderes's. "Excuse me? If I hadn't screamed and brought you back to your senses, you wouldn't have stopped at the body binding!"

"Harry, I'm going to do whatever I want, regardless of your input. So whatever guilt you're feeling, it is not warranted."

"You are such an arsehole!" He grabbed his pillow and hit Aderes in the face with it before climbing off the bed. "Keep talking like that and I'll have no problem breaking up with you." He walked over to his trunk and started going through it.

Aderes appeared, his upper half hanging over the edge of the bed. "Anyone else would be dead for such an infraction, in case you were planning something even remotely worse," he growled.

Harry looked up at his boyfriend. "Go for it. My days have been numbered since I was born."

Aderes narrowed his eyes, then realized Harry was being literal in the sense that any living thing starts a countdown to death once born. Groaning, he dropped his head onto the bed. "I take it back, you're as dark as I am."

Harry smirked before going back to his task of locating his half-written letter to Sirius. "I told Ron I'd start explaining your situation today."

Hesitation. "I don't mind you telling them about the bond. But leave details about the necklace to a minimum for now."

"Really?" He'd been sure it'd be the other way around.

"...You fear me being taken away." He slid his hand into Harry's shirt and grabbed the pendant. "I am temporarily bound to this necklace. Should it be destroyed, I'll die."

Harry stopped what he was doing, his eyes glued to his boyfriend. "Wh, what!?"

"Or parts of me will, and truthfully, I have no idea what parts are still lingering in there." He removed his hand, Harry's look of shock transforming into one of horror.

"Why did you trust me with this!? I'm the least safest option in Hogwarts! You should be wearing it! Or Dumbledore!"

"I believe the least safest option would be Neville or that useless redhead."

"I mean it!"

"So do I. Think of this as proof of my trust in you."

"It's not about trust! It's about the target I have on my back! And…!" All the damage he'd done to the necklace at number twelve rushed through his mind, his stomach clenching. "I really could have killed you..."

"It would take a lot more than what you did to destroy whatever parts of my soul are left in there."

"I really shouldn't have this." He touched the pendant, frowning. There was no way he could keep it safe. He moved to take it off.

"Don't," Aderes warned, placing his hand on top of Harry's.

"But—"

"You're the only one I trust to keep it."

"Dumbledore—"

"No." Harry looked at the pendant again and their hands covering it. "We will keep it safe together, but I want you to have it."

He took every thought about Aderes being a genius back. There was no way Aderes had even a fraction of the intelligence he seemed to have. Not if his idea of keeping something safe was to give it to Harry. Dumbledore was by far the safest option.

"If you give that necklace to that old man permanently, ever, I will not forgive you," he hissed at him. "At least wait until after my soul is whole again."

"How long will that take?"

"Given the rate of healing, if we continue to keep the bond open, another month at most."

A month!? He had to protect a pendant holding pieces of his boyfriend's soul for an entire month?! What kind of relationship had he gotten himself into? "You're joking."

"You know I'm not."

"How did you get pieces of your soul stuck inside this necklace in the first place?"

"It's a bit of a long story, but to keep it brief. I was working with someone on ways to prevent or at least stall death. I succeeded, but not quite the way I had intended." His smile held no warmth or joy in. "It was my own fault, but it served its purpose."

"This thing can keep you from dying?"

"In a sense. It doesn't make you Immortal. Rather, it's like freezing something."

"...You froze your soul in a magically altered necklace you created and mailed it to my house!?" This story just kept getting better and better. No wonder Aderes liked him, he was utterly mad! "No wonder Dumbledore fears what you'll do next, it could be anything!" And not just a small list of random things, quite literally, anything.

"If it wasn't for that necklace we never would have met, or rather, we never would have been able to be together."

Scowling, Harry grabbed a fresh piece of parchment, his quill, and ink. "Now I have to start my letter over again."

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to have to edit your whole life's story or Sirius is going to think I'm as mad as you are!"

"I thought you didn't want to lie to Sirius."

"I'm not. I'm just leaving everything out."

"That's going to be one rather short letter," he chuckled.

"And whose fault is that!?"

"Maybe this will help." He disappeared for a second to the other side of the bed and when he reappeared, he was holding a copy of the Daily Prophet in his hand. He dropped it in front of Harry. "Second page."

He didn't see how the Daily Prophet would help him with his letter to Sirius, but he opened the paper to page two. "Headmaster enraged at torture tactics used by ministry official working at Hogwarts," he read aloud. He read it again to make sure he was reading it right. His eyes fell onto the picture of his hand. It clearly showed the sentence Umbridge was attempting to have engraved into it and that it was bleeding.

Sirius knows about the blood inking. It was unlikely anyone besides the people directly involved knew that this was Harry's hand, but at the least he didn't have to explain to Sirius what was going on. He'd just have to gently let him know that he was the one enduring the torture.

Movement to the right caught his attention. Sirius? He noticed the infamous arrest photo of his godfather on page three. "The Ministry of Magic has received a tip-off from a reliable source that Sirius Black, notorious mass murderer… is currently hiding in London," Harry read aloud. His stomach clenching as he read on. "Do you think someone spotted him?" Had Sirius left number twelve without drinking Polyjuice potion or had he run out and turned back before he could hide?

"Calm down," Aderes said, sliding off the bed and sitting down on the floor next to him. "The Daily Prophet has been printing lies for months. Does it say where he was seen and was it close to the area?"

He read through more of the article. Surely Lupin or Dumbledore, someone would have told him if something had happened to his godfather. "I'm not…" Harry could feel his heart speed up. Nothing else mattered right now. Without reading the rest of the article, he started going through his trunk, pulling out clothes.

"Harry, calm down. I'm sure he's fine—"

"You don't know that!"

"Dumbledore will know. Instead of panicking, let's just go ask him." Harry nodded. "Get changed. I'll meet you in front of the Great Hall."

"Okay."

"I promise you, he's fine." He kissed Harry gently and left.

(X)

Growling, Aderes threw the Daily Prophet across the room. The pages scattered, some landing on the floor directly next to his bed, others flying and landing on Draco.

The younger Slytherin's eyes opened, and he frowned. "What's wrong now?" He yawned.

"I didn't notice someone had written an article about Sirius Black on the opposite page of Dumbledore's reveal about the blood inking." He stomped towards his truck and flung it open. "Harry's in a panic that something has happened to him."

"What does the article say?" He sat up, running his hand through his hair. When Aderes didn't answer he began searching through the pages on his bed.

"Just that some reliable source saw him in London." He looked at the outfit he'd set out days before and sighed. If he went upstairs looking like he was ready for a date, Harry would get even angrier. He didn't have the luxury of time to get a new one together either, but… I look good in anything. He dropped the outfit onto the floor, instead grabbing a regular set of casual black robes.

Draco's laughter had him directing a glare at his friend. His fellow Slytherin had better hope he'd lost his mind, or he was going to rip it from Draco's decapitated body and force him to watch Umbridge eat it.

"Did you even read this?"

"Part of it." He pulled his pajama top off and chucked it onto his bed. Harry had gone into a mild state of panic and any common sense he'd had had vanished. Ask Dumbledore? That was the last person he wanted Harry to speak with today.

"It says Sirius Black was seen speaking with known werewolves."

Aderes stopped. "... does it give the werewolves names?"

"What are the chances—"

"Did you forget Sirius is sleeping with Remus Lupin," Aderes snapped.

Draco swallowed, looking embarrassed. "Oh… well… The article says he was with Greyback and Westcomb."

Aderes nodded, wishing he'd read the whole thing before leaving Harry's dorm. "Neither would get near Sirius unless it was for a fight to the death."

"Exactly." Draco dropped the piece of paper onto the floor. "If you'd read the entire article, you would have been able to calm Potter down. That's not like you to skim through something that might be important."

"Harry's confused and angry with me about Umbridge," he said, pulling the black robe on.

"You knew he would be."

"I wasn't about to let that thing add another scar! Everyone is lucky I didn't kill her last night!" He kicked his pajama pants off and took out a clean pair of slacks.

"Potter would never forgive you."

"I'm well aware," he hissed. "Regardless of that, he panicked, and so I panicked."

Draco rolled his eyes and lied back down. "You don't need me, right?"

"What could you possibly do? I have to let Harry talk to that cursed old man and make sure he doesn't convince Harry to break up with me." He moved to the full-sized mirror, examined himself, and reminded himself yet again there was no time. If Dumbledore got Harry alone, it would take months to get Harry to trust him again.

"Just making sure."

Scowling, Aderes grabbed his wand and left the room.

(X)

Harry looked at his watch, frowning. 'Where are you?' It wasn't like Aderes to be late… or was it? He had no idea if Aderes was normally punctual or not. I don't even know what his favorite color is. The thought hurt, but he could worry about having fallen in love, or he was pretty sure he was in love, without even knowing the guy's favorite color after he found out that Sirius was okay.

'I'm coming, but Draco read to the end of the article. There's no way Sirius would be seen with Greyback or Westcomb unless he was seen murdering them.'

'Sirius wouldn't—"

'I know in your head he's perfect, almost a saint.' He came out from the door that led to the dungeons. 'But Greyback is the one who turned Remus. Anyone sided with Greyback is automatically an enemy to Sirius.' He stopped in front of Harry. 'We can still ask, though.'

Would Sirius actually…? He'd begged Sirius and Lupin not to kill Pettigrew, that he, nor his father, would want to see his friends become murderers, and they'd listened. But…

'We're at war, Harry. Sometimes you don't have a choice in taking a life and sometimes you do it anyway, even when you have choices, to ensure the safety of those you love. You don't think we're going to just slap Voldemort on the hand, do you?'

"Of course not," he said, walking past his boyfriend and towards Dumbledore's office.

"Just making sure. You are quite naïve at times."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You know, since I've met you, I've been in the headmaster's office and infirmary more than I ever have, and it's still the first week of school."

Aderes opened his mouth to protest, thought about it, and began laughing, "so you have."

"It's not funny."

"I've only been responsible for a few of those visits. The rest were in direct response to that toad."

"That doesn't make it funny."

"What exactly do you want me to do about it?"

"Maybe promise it won't happen anymore?"

"What point would there be in my lying?"

Harry sighed. "I don't know."

"Would you like me to lie?"

"No. You do plenty without me asking you to."

Aderes stopped in front of the gargoyle and gave the password. Together they started up the steps. Aderes knocked once, tried the door handle, and glared at it. "He never locks this door."

"Maybe we should wait?"

Scowling Aderes waved his hand over the door. A small click followed the door opening. "If he wanted privacy, he wouldn't be doing it at Hogwarts." He stepped into the room. "Fawkes!" He sounded absolutely delighted, the bond mimicking the feelings.

"One day he's going to set you on fire," Dumbledore's voice said.

"If he hasn't rejected me yet, he won't now."

Harry poked his head into the office. Dumbledore was reclining in his chair, and despite all the anger he'd shown the night before, he looked genuinely amused as he watched Aderes and the phoenix bond. Fawkes had jumped onto Aderes's arm, fully grown, the Slytherin stroking his neck. The sounds coming from Fawkes were definitely ones of content.

"Eh…." Harry stepped into the office. For some reason, he felt like he was intruding. Dumbledore looked to him, Aderes oblivious. "I'm sorry for bothering you so early, but…"

"Early," Dumbledore laughed. "Harry, it is past noon."

"It is?" It surprised him, even though it shouldn't have. According to Aderes, he'd lost a lot of blood and he'd been in the infirmary for some duration. "We saw the article in the Daily Prophet about Sirius," he said, moving towards the headmaster. "It's not true, right?"

"Of course not," Dumbledore said. "I imagine if Sirius was ever within cursing distance of Greyback, the werewolf would have been torn apart and his blood used to paint the nearby buildings."

Harry nodded slightly. It was the same thing Aderes had said. I really need to talk with him.

(X)

Harry leaned against the tree he was sitting under next to the Great Lake, quill in hand, parchment on a book propped on his knees. Aderes had drifted off next to him, no doubt exhausted from all the spell work he'd been doing lately.

He tapped the parchment lightly as he tried to piece his thoughts together. Would Sirius get mad if he asked him straight out? Not that he could actually write the question out in case someone read his mail.

I have so many questions right now, and none of them seem appropriate to ask on paper. I managed to find a boyfriend. Well, he found me, and I don't know what to do. I hope you're doing well.

It would be another three months before he saw Sirius in person again and could talk to him about any of the things he desperately wanted answers to. Sighing, he shoved the finished letter into his bag and absently began playing with Aderes's hair.

Would he be willing to kill someone to protect someone else? Or out of revenge? He knew he had to kill Voldemort, everyone told him there was no other choice, but wasn't there? Why weren't they trying to get Voldemort sent to Azkaban and handed over to a pair of Dementors? Why was it okay to kill Voldemort and no one else? It couldn't be because he'd killed so many people, plenty of Death Eaters had, but he'd never wanted to kill any of them, even when they were chasing after him. Is it just me? Was it his own moral compass telling him that everyone else was off limits?

He looked down at Aderes. Would he really have stuck with his initial thoughts over the summer on killing anyone who tried to harm the pendant?

Even though I'm the idiot who harmed it the most. He would have never forgiven himself either if he had destroyed it. And now that he knew his boyfriend had lost his mind and left pieces of his soul in it? He would have gone mad with guilt if he had. Could he even live with killing anyone? Most fifteen-year-old don't have to have this moral dilemma.

"You look sick." Draco dropped down beside him and removed his bag.

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

Draco stared at him, his face turning red, "no!"

"Aderes… hurt someone last night. He claims all he did was scare her, but I saw the images. He burned her, badly."

Draco shrugged, looking towards the lake.

"He pointed out Sirius would kill Greyback given the chance, but… there's a big difference in deciding to kill someone because they destroyed someone you love's life and me failing to endure some torture."

"Failing," Draco asked, turning back to him and snickering. "How do you fail torture?"

"It wasn't the physical harm that broke me, but mentally… I was fine in the classroom, but after I left, I broke down in tears." Why was he talking to Draco so openly? There was no telling how the Slytherin might use this information against him.

"That's the point of torture though, and Umbridge has had plenty of time to perfect it."

"I didn't think about that."

"She's hated at the Ministry, a pure blood sympathizer without the guts to admit she agrees with the dark lord. A complete coward, but very smart."

"Would you do it?"

"Maybe, if I had no other choice."

"Aderes is going to get himself sent to Azkaban."

"That's the scary part, Potter. He won't end up there. He could murder the entire school and get away with it if he wanted, and worse, he knows that."

"Aderes isn't a god," Harry protested. His arrogance might be in level with one, but that was it.

"No, he's not," Draco agreed. "But that doesn't make him any less dangerous or what I said any less true."

(TBC)