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Chapter Twenty-Eight—The Slytherin in His Power

Harry lay in the bed in the hospital wing and looked at his blasted hand.

He would have done more this, and worse, to free Alphard from the cage that Riddle had had him in. But he did regret that he had lost some of his fingers. It would slow him down, maybe unacceptably if Riddle targeted other people and Harry couldn't get to them in time.

And it hurt. A slow, steady throb of pain made its way up his arm to his shoulder.

Harry sighed, moved his fingers that were still there, and leaned back against the pillow. Orion was dozing in the chair at his side. Harry looked at him, and felt his face soften in a way that he didn't think he would have tried to hide even if Orion had been awake to see it.

Even if Harry was afraid that Orion had condemned himself to Riddle's vengeance because he had made Riddle swear that oath to leave Alphard and other students below sixth year out of his games.

Orion had been obviously upset about the damage Harry had done to himself breaking the cage that held Alphard prisoner, but he'd made Riddle swear the oath anyway. He'd accepted that Harry's desire to keep the children safe came before his own desire to keep himself safe.

And despite all the things he had muttered on the way to the hospital wing, Harry was pretty sure Orion would do the same thing again if Harry asked him to.

It's terrifying having such power.

That was a mistake Riddle had made that Harry couldn't understand. He had gone for the power that lay in pain, in making others fear him. But it was nowhere near as strong as the power that lay in having others follow you out of love, or desire.

His face is handsome enough that he could have gone that route. Why didn't he?

But after a few minutes of thought, during which he watched Orion's chest rising and falling steadily in his sleep, Harry thought he had the answer. It all circled back to what Dumbledore had once told him, in the time Harry had come from. Love was the greatest power of all.

It probably terrified Riddle as much as it might have terrified his enemies. If it had ever occurred to him to walk that route, he'd probably shied away from it, and then come up with all sorts of excuses to himself why ruling by terror just made more "sense."

Do you have the right to make Orion and the others love and follow you when you have responsibilities in another time? When you might vanish back to that time as abruptly as you came here? When you know the truth about your own family heritage and what you once were, and they don't?

Harry swallowed. The last question was the one that bothered him the most.

He couldn't do anything about going home, not yet, not when there were people here who needed him and depended on him for protection. And he hadn't chosen to come here, and if he vanished again without deliberately making the choice to, it wouldn't be his fault, either.

But he knew exactly who he was and where he had come from. When he had come from. He knew about the kind of person he was, who had caused his godfather's death. Orion's son.

Would Orion want to be with Harry if he knew?

At the moment, Harry thought, leaning back in the bed and flexing the remaining fingers on his left hand to feel the pain run up through his arm again, he couldn't do anything about that. It wasn't safe to tell Orion too much. Riddle could get to hear of it, if only because he could use Legilimency on Orion, and Harry didn't know what he would do then.

But when it was safer, when Harry had used the diary or something else to remove Riddle from play entirely…

Then he would have to tell Orion. And even if he was able to accept the rest of it, Harry doubted that Orion could accept Harry coming from the future, and owing a debt to the people there that could easily make him disappear any second.

Just the thought of Orion's face turning cold and angry was enough to make anxiety squirm to life in the pit of Harry's stomach. But he was resolute. He would do what he had to, to make sure that Orion knew exactly who Harry was and the kinds of perils that would come along with loving him.

It was love. Harry no longer doubted that.

He just had no idea what he was going to do about it.

"Why is everyone staring at me?" Harry mutters as they walk through the Slytherin common room on their way to breakfast a few days later. "I don't think everyone could have heard about what happened with Riddle at the trial."

Orion keeps quiet, but that doesn't stop Harry from turning his head and narrowing his eyes. "Orion.'

"Hmmm?" Orion knows it probably won't work, but he tries to look innocent.

Harry, just like Father and Mother, isn't fooled by the act for a moment. "What did you do?" he hisses, just barely loud enough that Orion can hear him over the sound of their footsteps as they leave the common room. "Why—if you told them the truth, it would just make me look pathetic, to get attacked by Riddle when he was supposed to be chained up—"

Orion is pleased that, even as angry as he is, Harry obviously doesn't think Orion would tell anyone about the time travel. He shrugs. "I let it be known that the Wizengamot was so charmed by Riddle and so determined to give him an equal chance that they let him escape enough to attack you."

"But why? What advantage does that have?"

"It makes our fellow students realize they weren't weak, themselves, to be taken in by Riddle," Orion points out quietly, lowering his voice as they pass into the judgmental territory of the corridors outside the common room. Harry is watching him with a frown, but keeps walking next to him. "It makes them realize how strong you are, that you stood up to him and resisted that charm when no one could have blamed you for succumbing. And it shows that you still consider it your duty to defy Riddle and fight him off."

"Yeah, but this time he just attacked me. Not them."

"A fault of some so-called leaders is that they give up when the immediate threat is out of sight. You don't."

Harry darts glances around as they enter the Great Hall, and no doubt sees even the students in other Houses staring at him and murmuring about him. He sighs a little as he sits down next to Orion near the end of their bench. "It feels like a lie."

"Why?"

"You know the truth about where I come from and why I fight Riddle. That—"

"It's a truth the rest of us would be interested in learning."

Abraxas's voice is light as he takes his place on the other side of Harry, but Orion sees the way his friend is eyeing him. He sniffs a little. Abraxas would give a great deal to be in Harry's confidence. Orion knows he has no interest in taking Orion's place as Harry's lover—

As if he could—

But it must be driving him mad that Orion has secrets which could easily explain Harry's power and past and won't share them. Orion lounges back in his chair with a smug smile and watches Abraxas's face twist with a frown.

"Maybe someday," Harry allows, reaching for a piece of bread with butter. "If I trust you enough."

He's political without even knowing that he is, Orion thinks in amusement, watching as Abraxas practically laps up the dangled bait. He binds them closer to himself without even intending to do so.

It's one reason that Abraxas and the other Slytherins will follow Harry, Orion knows, and keep following him. Harry and Orion barely have to encourage them at this point. Harry shines bright enough, and who can keep from turning to the sun?

"Why are you smiling so smugly?" Harry mutters out of the corner of his mouth.

Orion does his best to wipe off the smile and looks down at his own breakfast. "Just thinking about how much better the school is going to be without Riddle here," he says. And it's partially true.

It's just that he was thinking about how the school is going to be better because they'll have someone taking the reins in Slytherin politics who has a modicum of compassion for other people.

"Huh," Harry says.

Orion glances at him to see how annoyed he is, and surprises a quicksilver smile on Harry's face. Orion leans back with a long sigh of relief and shake of his head.

Yes, everything is working out fine.

Or so Orion thinks until he and Harry and Abraxas come back to the Slytherin common room that evening, anyway.

Abraxas is arguing mildly with Iseult Travers about a problem in Arithmancy that Professor Jenson assigned them when he abruptly breaks off. Orion looks away from Harry, who is trying to explain a Defense spell to Alphard. Alphard is working ahead of his year now, and it seems to be entirely due to Harry's tutoring. "Trouble?"

"I think so," Abraxas says softly, eyes fixed ahead. Orion follows his gaze and sees Kestrel Montague rising to her feet.

Montague's family doesn't have that much political power themselves, but they're disgustingly rich from the sale of house-elves, which gives them the money to bribe anyone they want. And Kestrel makes Orion a little wary. She's a fifth-year, one of the ones that Riddle was trying to recruit for his Knights, and quick to snap and cast in the way that Orion is used to his own relatives being.

"Potter," Kestrel says softly, and tosses her waves of soft brown hair. "A moment of your time."

"Sorry, do I know you?" Harry blinks at her in a way that makes Orion bite his lip to keep from laughing and Abraxas stare desperately at the ceiling.

Kestrel's smile becomes a bit fixed. "I hope so, seeing as I'm one of the people you fought Riddle to set free."

"Oh, right, because he did sometimes recruit women," Harry says, a statement that Orion thinks only fully makes sense to someone who knows that Harry time traveled. He wonders idly what the makeup of the Knights looked like in Harry's future. Perhaps someday he can ask. "So what else do you want?"

Kestrel blinks, but rallies. "I was wondering if we could spend some time together studying. I saw you tutoring Black—" she darts a glance at Alphard "—and thought I could benefit from that as well."

Harry shrugs. "Sure."

Kestrel pauses again. Abraxas is now staring at the floor. Orion spends some time biting his lips again. It's so obvious that Kestrel wants to flirt with Harry or get him interested in having more than just a studying partnership, but Harry has already turned away and is talking to one of the Quidditch Beaters about possibly joining the team next term.

"Potter," Kestrel murmurs.

"Yes?" Harry glances at her over his shoulder.

"I hoped that I could study with you alone. And now." Kestrel holds up her Defense book, which she seems to have plucked from thin air. "I have a Defense exam coming up, and the OWLS after that."

"Oh, well, I have other things to do right now," Harry says calmly. "And when I study, it's in a study group. But you're welcome to come and talk with me and Alphard and Iseult and Orion and Abraxas tomorrow."

Kestrel flushes. Orion makes sure to grin at her over Harry's shoulder. Kestrel narrows her eyes back and goes straight for the jugular. "It seems that your fiancé doesn't trust you, Potter."

"What do you mean? I'm confident in Orion's trust."

"If he won't let you study alone with someone near your own age—"

"I don't have any interest in studying alone with you. And I'm the one who makes that decision, not him. Not you."

Kestrel opens her mouth, then closes it. She bows her head, but her fingers are cramping around the edges of her book. After a long moment, she turns and leaves the common room without a word.

Harry shakes his head. "I'm not that oblivious," he says, loudly enough that everyone who's watching them and pretending not to can hear, and then he turns around and walks towards their dormitory. Orion and Abraxas scramble after him.

Harry flings himself down on his bed and stares at the canopy of the bed with his arms sprawled out to the sides. "I remember her," he says, while Orion and Abraxas take seats on their own beds. "She said something the first month I was here about me being a half-blood and how no one should pay attention to me, right?"

"Yes," Abraxas says. "But I think she would change her mind without requiring you to date her, my lord."

Harry rolls over and raises an eyebrow. Abraxas flushes. "I know you don't like the title, but it's who you are, in truth."

"Not necessarily," Harry says, and shakes his head as he focuses on Orion. "What do you think, Orion? Can I negotiate with her or make her leave me alone or—whatever without dating her?"

"Of course you can," Orion says. "Since I would never stand aside for her. You can do anything you want."

"Is she useful?"

"The Montagues are rich. It would probably be a good idea not to alienate her. Don't bring up the comment about blood status to throw it in her face, for example. She might have relatives on the Wizengamot. I have to admit that I can't remember right now."

Harry nods slowly. "Yes, all right. I can live and work with that, if that's what we have to do." He rolls over and snorts at the expression on Abraxas's face. "Did you think that I would just insist on righteously pushing her outside my political orbit forever?"

Abraxas clears his throat. "Well, yes. Because that's what you did to Riddle."

"Riddle hurt people," Harry says, and his voice is cold. Orion rejoices in the crackling power that surrounds him like a shield of invisible lightning, but Harry doesn't seem to notice it. Maybe he's used to this happening when he gets angry enough. "He put Alphard in a cage and used the Imperius Curse on him. He used the Cruciatus Curse on you and Orion. He kept all of you in terror for years, and was trying to expand his efforts to keep the Knights of Walpurgis in line and loyal to him. I don't have any evidence yet that Montague did something similar. If I find it, then yes, I'll do to her what I did to him."

Orion thinks about Harry's words, frowning. Of course Harry's right, and Kestrel hasn't cursed anyone as far as he knows. She prefers to cut them dead with snobbish insults. But it still seems to Orion that something is missing, or Harry is ignoring something.

"What about you?" Abraxas asks quietly.

"Huh?"

"Riddle hurt you, too. Are we supposed to ignore that? Montague made a comment about your blood status. Is that why you think that you can forgive her, but you wouldn't forgive her for harm that she did someone else?"

Harry frowns a little. "Do you think it would make me look weak if I don't respond to Montague? That's not what I want to do, but I do agree that throwing the blood status comment back in her face wouldn't do anything for us, either."

Abraxas fidgets back and forth for a moment. Orion waits. He agrees more with Abraxas than with Harry, but he also thinks his friend is going to have to come up with his own reasons to convince their lord.

A lord in all but name, Orion thinks, as he watches Harry roll over on his elbow and watch Abraxas with interest.

Abraxas takes a quick breath and shakes his head a little. "I agree that confronting her with that and antagonizing her isn't a good idea, with the money her family can command. And she does have a cousin on the Wizengamot," he adds, making Orion nod in satisfaction. It's good to know that his memory isn't going. "What you should do is try to include her and some of the others who are disgruntled about the Knights being disbanded in study groups, your conversations at meals, your partners when we practice spells or potions in the classes you share. That should satisfy their desire to associate with you and divert them from confronting you over things you're not willing to yield on."

Harry blinks a few times. Orion winces. He thinks the plan sounds perfect, and he hopes that Harry doesn't reject it because he doesn't want to be that powerful or something.

"Huh," Harry says, thoughtfully, tapping his fingers on the bed. "That could work."

Abraxas shivers and releases a quick breath. Orion winks at him when Harry isn't looking. It seems that Abraxas has forgotten they won't suffer the same sorts of consequences for disagreeing with Harry that they used to with Riddle.

Abraxas scowls back at him. Harry looks up and catches the byplay, but he only smiles.

"If you think it would work," he says, "I see no reason not to try it. I just don't think that it'll satisfy them. They want a strong leader, and to them Riddle was the definition of strong, and I'll never be that. But maybe it'll show them that I have no intention of being like him and they can't influence me to be, so they'll drift away."

Abraxas looks at the ceiling again. Orion schools his expression and nods. "It might do that," he says.

And it might, with a few of them, like Kestrel, who want to feel special and important and elevated over other people. But Orion doesn't think the effect is likely to be widespread. If anything, people will probably figure out that they like Harry's style of leadership better and want to follow him more.

But Orion finds Harry's innocence charming, so he doesn't think they need to spoil it right now.