Author's Note:
This has been something I've been wanting to add for a while now. I'm sad that it never "officially" went into canon, so I am going to place it in here, a little bit… slowly, over time. I have my own headcanon of how I think they ended up so, let me work on it. Also, I think it's time for Harry to meet that first crush, don't you? And no, it's not Ginny — not yet.
Also, for those of you who have read my work before — I enjoy alternating POVs and telling multiple stories within a story to tell a story. I have a lot of elaborate plans (many of them finished and written out, but I need to write up to the appropriate scenes to finish said story). When your brain writes and writes, but doesn't seem to fill in the blanks in between, it gets complicated. Anyway, hope you enjoy.
Reviews and Comments: To QueenLinear: Everyone definitely hates Dementors! To Claire Fraser: Yes, some similarities, but some differences. Thanks for liking that Ginny spoke to her parents and I agree, there are some parts she may never be comfortable telling them, but it was good she spoke to them. Aww, I'm honoured your heart broke a little when Harry woke up and found Padfoot in bed with him. Sirius is definitely carrying a lot of inner turmoil on keeping Harry in the dark. He will tell him. Soon. Thank you! To Steelcode: Yes, how are the prisoners going to influence third year — stay tuned to find out! To darkhk: Happy to provide a good chapter for your holiday. To Guest: Yes, another year, another drama LOL. Thanks for being brave enough to read my chapter! I hope I keep you guessing on what's going to come. Thank you for saying Sirius and Zee are so perfect for each other, I quite agree. Sirius will help Harry, Dementors or no Dementors, no one is going to keep him away from his son.
To PolarWriter95: Thank you! I'm glad my Prisoner of Azkaban twist managed to impress you. I hope I continue to do so. To Devereaux13: Thank you! I love that you get excited when you get a notification update and I'm so glad you love all of my characters! To Guest: I don't think Sirius is full of cover-ups and lies, he is just trying to figure out when and how to tell his son about these terrible things. Zee supports Sirius and in her defence, she sees Harry as a thirteen-year-old-boy even more than Sirius and wants to protect the child from harm. Harry will be prepared a lot sooner than in canon, but Sirius wants to make sense of what he knows before he tells it to Harry and is unable to answer any of his questions. Harry will learn the Patronus Charm, yes, and they are aware of the threat of Abraxas Malfoy being able to control the Dementors. It will be addressed. Harry is intelligent, but Hermione is smarter when it comes to book smarts. I do not think Harry is too intelligent in ASC to be friends with his friends. Thanks for your thoughts.
To alix33: Thank you! Yes, the claddagh has such lovely symbolism, I couldn't resist adding it as a charm to her bracelet. I would use my coat as a blanket if I was sleeping in public LOL. Thanks. To Matt9917: Thank you! To septemberbells: Thank you! The kids will be all right.
Thank you very much for reading and please, please review!
Your reviews give me life! They give me inspiration! And they make me want to keep writing for more than just myself! Thank you!
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN:
The One Where Harry Sees More Than He Should
Between His Roommates
By the time that they arrived at Hogwarts, everyone seemed to know that Harry had collapsed on the train. He glared at Draco, who was making fainting motions near the carriages, and he walked purposely forward. He didn't understand how one minute Malfoy could be in his treehouse chatting to him about his potentially evil grandfather and the next moment he was the pompous git that he had always been two seconds later. He found it rather annoyed him as he honestly had no idea where Draco stood on the scheme of things.
The only thing he did know was that Draco Malfoy was a git.
Dumbledore's announcement about the Dementors staying at Hogwarts until the prisoners were caught only made him feel more uncomfortable. But Dumbledore insisted that they would only be surrounding the castle and would not be directly on school grounds, but all students were still warned to be cautious.
The feast ended and everyone left the Great Hall, chatting and talking amongst themselves about their summers. When Harry reached his dorm after the welcome feast, Ron was telling Seamus and Dean about the Dementor on the train. Harry shivered at the memory. He closed himself off in his four poster, shutting the curtains tightly around him and he used the mirror to call Sirius. Sirius was not pleased when he heard that the Dementors had stopped the train, but he was relieved to learn that Harry was all right.
He wrote in his journal before he went to bed. It was almost eleven by the time he shut his eyes, but his dreams were full of Dementors surrounding Black Cottage… Dementors trying to take Sirius away, back to Azkaban… and Dementors leaning in to kiss him as a woman screamed his name.
Harry woke with his head pounding. He wasn't sure what it was about the Dementors that terrified him so much, but after seeing that one today he knew that he could happily go his entire life without encountering another one of those creatures. He wiped sweat from his brow and sat up.
It was quiet in his dormitory and he knew that everyone was probably sleeping. The thought of taking a hot shower sounded wonderful right about now. It might even help him clear his head, he thought.
He grabbed his toiletries from his trunk and a new pair of pyjamas before he made his way to the bath The light was on already and he realized that one of his dorm mates was awake as well.
He slipped inside, closing the door behind him and placed his bag on the sink. He was about to say hello to let whoever was in there know that he was there, too, when he heard a low moan. His ears perked up in curiosity at the same time that his neck flushed in embarrassment. He grabbed his bag, thinking that it was probably best to sneak back to his bed quietly, but the curtain by one of the showers opened a crack, surprising him since the shower wasn't running, and his eyes widened at what he saw.
Seamus was kneeling in front of Dean. His hand was wrapped around Dean's erection and he was pumping it back and forth as Dean moaned in pleasure, his eyes closed.
Harry's mouth dropped open.
He couldn't tear his eyes away.
He watched as Dean's hands moved from the wall into Seamus' hair, holding him in place as his hand pumped him. Seamus' hand was moving faster now and he used his other hand to cup Dean's balls, tugging on them, and Dean's head fell back as he groaned.
"Seam," he gasped, "I'm gonna come!"
Harry grabbed his bag and booked it out of the bathroom just as Dean came, his ears burning red as he heard him groan. He closed the bathroom door behind him, hurrying into his own bed and shutting the curtains.
What had they been doing in there?
He shifted and realized that he was hard and he blushed further. He had no idea that Seamus and Dean did stuff like that… how long had that been going on, he wondered. And he had watched them like a pervert! He looked down at his erection, afraid to touch it. If he was hard now, did that mean that he liked blokes, too? He didn't think that he liked blokes, but Seamus and Dean obviously did, and now he had a painful erection to deal with after seeing them together.
He double checked that his bed curtains were closed before he leaned back and carefully slipped his hand underneath his pyjama pants. He touched himself carefully, not entirely sure what he wanted to do. He had only fondled himself a few times in the past and this was the hardest that he had ever been. He thought of what Seamus' hand had been doing and he blushed, wrapping his hand around himself in a similar fashion and began to pump himself. The sensation felt incredible and he wondered what it would be like to have someone else's hand on him.
The thought made him moan and he bit his lip. He didn't want any of his dorm mates to hear him as he pumped himself faster. He imagined a hand touching him and he used his other hand to fondle his balls and when they tightened in his hand, he hissed through his teeth. He kept pumping himself, faster and faster, and his mind went to the posters in Sirius shed… the blonde straddling the bike with the huge breasts and the brunette with the big brown nipples… Harry wondered what it would be like if those breasts wrapped around his cock and he came, spurting all over his hands in relief.
He flushed, quickly cleaning himself on his pyjama bottoms. He heard movement now in the dorm and realized that Seamus and Dean had left the bathroom. Harry grabbed his toiletry bag, sneaking past them as quietly as he could, and closing the bathroom door behind him.
Now he really needed a shower.
~ ASC ~
Ginny made her way up the stairs to the girls dormitories slowly, stopping in front of the door marked 'second years' and took a deep breath. She was surprised to find herself almost scared to go inside. After everything that had happened last year, she had spent almost two weeks in the hospital wing and every time that she had been in her dorm, her roommates had always hurried off as if she had a contagious disease of some kind. She really didn't want to go inside, she realized.
She jolted when a finger tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around, surprised to see her brother's friend, Hermione.
"Want to come up to my dorm for a bit? I'd like to show you something," Hermione said kindly.
Ginny's chocolate brown eyes widened in surprise and she nodded. "Okay."
She followed the older girl up another flight of stairs to the door marked 'third years' and she stepped inside. A pretty blonde girl with long curly blonde hair was laughing with pretty girl with mocha skin and dark hair. A tall girl with light brown hair was sitting on the edge of another blonde girl's bed, talking animately with her hands as she spoke. Hermione led her over to the far side of the room to the bed near the window.
"This is me," she said with a smile. "I was originally in the middle, but Lavender and I traded in first year. She wanted to be closer to Parvati."
Ginny only nodded again and sat on the bed where Hermione gestured.
Hermione smiled warmly at her. "I just wanted to talk to you for a moment. I really appreciated the letter you sent me this summer, but it wasn't necessary. I don't blame you at all, Ginny, and frankly I hope that we can be friends. Harry always has good things to say about you and you are Ron's sister, I'd like to get to know you — if you'll let me?"
Ginny bit her bottom lip. "I'd like that."
Hermione smiled before she snapped her fingers and a bushy-tailed squash-faced ginger cat hopped up onto the bed. "This is Crookshanks," she said as she rubbed him behind his ears. "He's new to me, but a real sweetie, and Ron told me that you like animals."
"I do," she said. "We have a black cat at home. His name is Raphael. He's kind of a prat though and hides from everyone. When I was little, I used to put jumpers on him and he wasn't impressed. Percy told me that I insulted his cat dignity."
Hermione chuckled. "Crooks is much more social, but I imagine that he wouldn't be impressed if I tried to put a jumper on him either."
Ginny reached a hand out to stroke the cat and Crookshanks immediately walked into her lap, eager for attention. She smiled and stroked him. "He's sweet, Hermione."
She smiled at her. "Anytime that you want to come see him or me, you're welcome to, and if you ever need to talk about anything, even if it's about Harry or Ron, I'm your girl. Honestly, sometimes they drive me bonkers and it would be nice to have someone to complain to who understands how frustrating boys are."
Ginny chuckled.
"I know that Harry misses you, and he mentioned that he hopes you two can be good friends again this year."
She nodded, blushing. "I…"
Hermione smiled kindly at her. "Go on."
Ginny sighed, taking a deep breath before she spoke. "It's just… I sent him a singing Valentine last year and then he saved me from a giant snake and from… V-Voldemort. It's hard to just say hello after that."
"I know," Hermione said. "Did Ron ever tell you how we became friends?" When the younger girl shook her head, she smiled. "He said some hurtful things to me about not having any friends and he made me cry. Then Professor Quirrell, our Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at the time, let in a troll. It somehow found me in the girl's bathroom and Ron and Harry came to find me and… well, Harry jumped onto its back and shoved his wand up its nose and Ron levitated its club over his head and knocked him out. Then I told Professor McGonagall that they had saved my life and… at first it was awkward to say thanks, but then we became friends: Best friends."
She nodded. "I did say thanks and he sent me postcards all summer telling me about his trip with Sirius, which sounded amazing. Other than our brief interlude on the train when the Dementors came in… I haven't reached out to him and then the Dementors… Merlin, Hermione, how are we supposed to go to school with those things here? It was like I was back in the Chamber of Secrets all over again and all of my progress over the summer… it was like it was for naught."
Hermione smiled sympathetically. "To me it seems like that would be something you and Harry could talk about. He didn't exactly find the Dementors comforting himself."
Ginny swallowed. "But last year… I looked at him and all I could think about was his beautiful green eyes and his smile and I realized that I liked him a bit more than a friend and I sent him that stupid singing Valentine and embarrassed him in front of everyone… and then he saved my life by slaying a Basilisk for me and…"
"And it kind of made you remember those stories about the prince rescuing the princess and they fall in love?" Hermione supplied.
Ginny blushed. "He doesn't like me like that, Hermione, and I know it and I'm afraid that my stupid crush is going to ruin our friendship and that's the last thing that I want. I don't know what to say to him and I don't know how to… I need to think on it some more."
"Just tell him that then, he'll understand. And Ginny?"
"Yeah?"
"It's okay to have a little crush, but it's up to you if you're going to let it define you."
Ginny only nodded. She would talk to Harry, she just need a bit more time to work out her thoughts. And the fact that Hermione Granger seemed to be on her side made her feel a bit braver. She wasn't alone. She had friends, and a potential new friend. She just had to find her footing again.
And she was going to do everything in her power to make sure that happened.
~ ASC ~
Sirius greeted Dumbledore and McGonagall as he let them through the front door of Grimmauld Place the first Sunday of the school year. After what had happened the other night with Narcissa, Sirius was more determined to figure out what was going on. He had spent most of the night talking to Zee about it after Harry had gotten on the Hogwarts Express and then they'd spent the following day talking about it again with Remus and Tonks.
Once they were all seated, Sirius cleared his throat. "After thinking a lot about it, I think I agree with the idea — we do need to start off by entering the Chamber of Secrets. However, if Harry changes his mind, and he decides that he doesn't want to go down there — we don't go down there. I will not force him to revisit the Chamber of Secrets and the same goes with Ginny."
McGonagall nodded. "I agree with that assessment."
Dumbledore sighed. "As do I, but do I think that you should try to make sure he knows how important this is."
"Albus, I don't care how fucking important it is! He's a thirteen-year-old-boy who has spent the summer having nightmares about what he saw down there, and I am not going to force him to relive that experience if he isn't ready to."
Dumbledore nodded. "You're right, Sirius, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking."
Sirius glared at him. "Minnie, you're the only one in this room who isn't completely up to date here. After term ended, I spoke to Albus about the diary and also about a few other items that I believe are something far more dangerous than we could ever imagine. Something called Horcruxes."
He spent the next forty-five minutes outlining finding the locket at Grimmauld Place, all the way to the discussion of what the diary truly embodied.
McGonagall was pale by the time he was done. "And you both believe that he made seven of these?"
"It's a thought," Sirius told her. "We all know how important the number seven is, and what it entails, as well as the power that it holds. I also don't think that it was a coincidence that he used Ginny Weasley the way that he did — she is the seventh child of Arthur Weasley and the first daughter born to a Weasley in seven generations — that's a lot of power potential right there… and to feed on a soul with power like that would definitely only make him stronger."
Remus nodded, his fingers tapping on the kitchen table. "We know that Lucius Malfoy gave her the diary and his wife confirmed that he did it out of malice towards his father, who had kept the item belonging to Voldemort in his personal vault. However, she claims that Lucius had no idea what it was."
"I didn't believe that either," Tonks told them. "He's slimy that one and always looking out for number one. He may not have known the specifics, but there's no way he didn't know that diary was dripping in dark magic."
McGonagall nodded. "But we don't have any proof saying otherwise, Miss Tonks. Not to mention that it sounds like Narcissa Malfoy wants to help, and I can't imagine she would be so keen on that if her husband was behind all of this."
Sirius hesitated. "She knows that I have the power here, Minnie. I am head of House Black, and am de facto Lord Falmouth until Draco takes over the mantle when he turns seventeen. I'm in control over a good part of her son's future. Also, Cissa is a lot of things, but she loves her son above all else. She will do almost anything to protect him, and right now, she doesn't trust her father-in-law; frankly, she never has. Abraxas Malfoy wanted his son to marry Bellatrix and was beyond furious when he married Cissa instead, especially since they did it behind his back."
Remus nodded. "Abraxas went to school with Voldemort and we believe that he was friends with him back then when they were students together."
Dumbledore tapped his pointer fingers together as he spoke. "He was in the same house and year, but Slughorn was Head of Slytherin back then. He would know better than I. We should look up who the other boys who were in the dorm that year. It might give us a better clue as to who was in his main group and how many of them are still alive and could still be supporting him."
"I remember from Peter's trial that those select few he trusts most, the first followers as you will, were not branded with his mark," Remus said. "The mark was for his new followers, which means that finding them will be even more difficult to prove. It sounds like the younger followers, at least in terms of Lucius Malfoy, were offered to Voldemort almost sacrificial like, as Narcissa did say that Abraxas held Lucius down while Voldemort marked him."
"So, we should start looking into the fathers of the Death Eaters we do know?" Zee asked. "That could be difficult, not to mention hard to prove."
"And convincing the Ministry that they are bad news might take some work," Tonks added. "As far as the world is concerned, You Know Who is dead, so, somehow going to the Ministry of Magic is going to become a question in itself. Prof-Albus, are your sources still telling you that he's in Albania?"
Dumbledore nodded, tapping his longer fingers on the kitchen table. "Yes. And I am just assuming that it is Lord Voldemort, as it sounds like it could be him, but no one has any proof that it is. There have been reports of something dark living in the woods: Bodies of reptiles have been found, particularly that of large snakes that seemed to have burned up from the inside out. The only thing that would do that would be a form of possession. And there were many reported sightings of dead unicorns, exsanguination of those unicorns in the forest that can't be explained."
"If these are documented problems why hasn't the Balkan Ministry come forward?" Remus asked.
Dumbledore sighed. "I have spoken to my friend Dmitri Horvat about the incidents; I've mentioned to him that it sounds like dark magic. He agreed with me and he and his Aurors have been searching the forest for signs. The signs are there, of course, but nothing definitive has been found. He has hidden his tracks well, and without a form, finding the dark wizard in question becomes more probable."
"But he does have a form, right? At least a wispy ghost-like form of some kind because Harry saw him inside of Quirrell during the possession almost two years ago, there was something there," Sirius insisted.
"Yes, but again that's proving it and finding it — and if he is the one possessing the reptiles, it hides him once again from anyone looking, until he leaves the body behind. This is not going to be an easy task," Dumbledore said carefully. "A lot of this is going on heresy. I will use as many sources as I have available to me to try to keep track of him, but in the meantime, I think building a timeline of where he's been is an excellent start."
Remus nodded. "If we can find these Horcruxes and eliminate them, it will be detrimental in ultimately destroying him."
"But if he is this wispy form thing, how will we destroy that? Won't a part of him always exist in the world?" Tonks asked.
Zee shook her head. "No. No I don't believe so. As long as he continues to not retain a body, if all of the Horcruxes were found and destroyed, in theory — he would disintegrate and be gone forever."
"I agree with that theory because it is these objects he's created that are tying his soul to the earth. Without them, he would have nothing left, and his soul would be drawn to the afterlife," Sirius explained. "I brought Bill Weasley in on this. He's a curse breaker and he's been doing a lot of research this summer on Horcruxes: How to make them, how they work, and what are some examples of them. He's well aware that it was a Horcrux that possessed his sister with the Chamber of Secrets fiasco. He's more than willing to help and wants to be involved in this op."
McGonagall nodded. "A curse breaker would be quite beneficial, but we do need to first find out what other objects Voldemort used to house his soul."
"Which is where we're hoping Albus comes in," Remus said. "This is going to be our formal base of operations." He pointed his wand at the chalkboard that he and Sirius had brought into the kitchen. Across the top in Remus' neat writing it said:
Operation FUVP (Operation Fuck Up Voldemort's Plans)
➾ Horcruxes (7?) — locket, diary, potential signet ring?
➾ Voldemort's past
➾ Albania
➾ Abraxas Malfoy
➾ Peter Pettigrew
➾ Bellatrix Lestrange
➾ Potential DE's?
Sirius gestured to the chalkboard next to it. "We're going to build a timeline of Voldemort's life step by step and start organizing everything here until we figure out what these Horcruxes could be, how to find them, and how to destroy them."
Dumbledore smiled. "It seems like a worthy plan to me. I am still looking back into Tom's life, but I do have quite a bit so far. Once we get the new term up and running, I will be able to focus more on my research and we can put it up there."
"Other than Bill Weasley, this is our current need-to-know group," Sirius said.
At everyone's nod, Zee cleared her throat.
"So, as listed above, we know about the locket and that Harry destroyed the diary. We've discussed how to destroy them and there are two known ways to us: Fiendfyre and Basilisk venom. The fangs are one of the reasons why we want to go back into the Chamber of Secrets," Zee said, checking off the points on her fingers as the two known ways to destroy a Horcrux appeared on the chalkboard.
"A valid reason for sure, as having the fangs on hand would be very beneficial when we do have a Horcrux to destroy," Remus agreed, "but we do also have the Sword of Gryffindor in our hands, as I understand it is now residing in the Headmaster's office?"
McGonagall looked bewildered. "Goblin made objects are immensely powerful, Remus, but I don't think that it would be powerful enough to destroy a monstrosity such as this."
"Yes, it would be, Minerva. If you remember from legend, the sword absorbs anything that it comes into contact with as part of the enchantment. So, when Harry stabbed the Basilisk with the sword, the venom would have become part of the sword's enchantment."
Dumbledore's blue eyes widened. "You are correct. I'm ashamed to say that I didn't think of that immediately, Remus. As long as we have the sword at our disposal, that should also help us destroy the Horcruxes. Of course, we still need to find them first."
"And we will," Sirius said simply.
If the prophecy was indeed true, he'd be damned if he wouldn't do everything in his power to weaken Voldemort before Harry was forced to face him. And if he was lucky, he wouldn't have to face him at all.
~ ASC ~
Peter still wasn't entirely sure how he had found himself in this situation. Azkaban had been much worse than he could possibly have imagined. It was damp and cold, despite the summer months, and the feel of the Dementors hovering did more than bring about unhappiness. He was finding himself reliving the worst moments of his life. Not only the torture and the rape, but of being forced to relive the worst mistakes that he had ever made — like betraying his best friends and ultimately getting them killed.
He leaned back against the wall of the cell that he was currently residing in and let out a long sigh. Once again, he had made the wrong choice, and he had found himself in a situation that he didn't know how to get out of. The prison had been full of movement and flurry when the presence of the Dementors had seemed to vanish at once, but the second that he had felt the wards disappear around his cell; he had transformed. He hadn't even thought about it. The comfort of being an animal, something that he had clung to desperately for so long, was suddenly available to him again, and he had slipped swiftly through the iron bars and towards freedom; towards the area of the warding that had seemingly collapsed.
Then her hands had grabbed him.
The long, sharp, dirty fingernails digging into his fur as he struggled in her grasp, eyes wide in terror as he looked into the dark, haunted, and manic eyes of Bellatrix Lestrange. Those memories that he had been reliving had seemed to pale in comparison, sending a sharp dagger of terror straight through his heart.
Peter knew what she was capable of better than anyone.
"Put the rat down, Bella," the voice had said in amusement.
But Bellatrix had shaken her head, claimed that he would be useful, and had ordered the voice to cage him. Peter had been carried out in a wooden box inside of Bella's pockets and the cage was warded to prevent him from transforming and escaping.
He had come around long enough to realize that the voice who had captured them while simultaneously freeing them from prison was Abraxas Malfoy and that he was in Malfoy Manor somewhere in Wiltshire. He had caught a glimpse of a pale-haired young teen standing alongside Lucius before he had been ushered into the dungeon and then immediately portkeyed them somewhere else.
They had stayed in France for a while. A house elf had forced potions on him and fed him, helping him get his strength back, but he had yet to obtain a wand. He knew that Malfoy didn't trust him, which was why he had been contained in the cell in the dungeons. But he could hear them talking and he heard the names: Malfoy, Lestrange, Selwyn, and Avery. He heard other things that chilled him to the bone: The Dark Lord was still alive… Albania… a blood ritual to reunite him with his body… the death of Harry Potter…
Each one made him shiver.
He closed his eyes against the cold stone. He had spent over a decade as a rat, hiding from the very people who now were holding him hostage; from the very people who had brought him over to their side in the first place, who had forced his hand, and most of all, he had been hiding from himself. He had betrayed the people that he had loved most in the world: His family.
After learning about Harry Potter's triumph against the Dark Lord in his attempts to get the Philosopher's Stone, his curiosity about his nephew had drawn him closer. Stumbling across Sirius in Diagon Alley that day had been a stroke of luck and he hadn't let his old friend out of his sight. He had talked himself out of approaching him a hundred times, but he couldn't stop following him; couldn't stop watching him.
The moment that Sirius had captured him, Peter had felt his first real emotion in years and his desire to run for his life had taken over. But then he had stopped. Sirius had always had a temper. Sirius would do what he didn't have the guts to do and kill him. But Sirius had taken him to the Aurors instead, and despite how much he had baited his old friend, Sirius had left him alive and the Aurors had brought him to the Dementors. And here, Peter had thought, here he was finally able to find peace.
But then they had denied him the Kiss.
Forced him to relive his worst memories at even more stressful heights, he had run towards the opportunity for escape. But now, he wished that he had stayed locked in his damp cell.
They wanted to bring the Dark Lord back.
The thrilling mix of awe and horror that filled him, both revolted and excited him. How was it possible for a wizard to have been defeated by a child, yet to have not died? To have the ability to return to his body? He heard the rumours about the presence of such darkness living in reptiles; hiding away, possessing innocent souls, and feeding on them. Was it true? Was the Dark Lord still out there? Did this mean that he truly still could be victorious in another war?
Sirius would move land, sea, and sky to keep Harry safe and he knew with absolute certainty that Remus would do the same. Was it possible for Harry to defeat the Dark Lord again? Peter didn't know, and he didn't know which side he wanted to be on. He knew that neither side truly trusted him and in all likelihood both sides wanted him dead, which didn't give him an adequate cause to choose either side.
But for the moment, he was trapped here, in this unknown dungeon, without a wand and only hearing tidbits of plans and ideas on how to return the Dark Lord to power.
Selwyn seemed the most ambitious, he thought, straining his ear against the stone to listen through the cracks. He wanted pureblood authority, wanted all Muggleborns removed from the government, from the hospitals and from the schools, wanted anyone with magical creature blood registered and wands removed, and most of all, he wanted to round them up and hunt them down like the dirt that he believed they were. Avery merely wanted more power. When the Dark Lord had been in control, Avery had gained a great deal of political power both within the government and among the pureblood elite, most of which he had lost once the Dark Lord had fallen. Lestrange wanted justice for his sons and seemed hellbent on revenge for anyone who had harmed his family. Malfoy wanted the glory, the praise for having brought the Dark Lord back, to have helped his return.
But none of them seemed ready to actually go out and find him or to bring him back, and Peter knew why. As much as they were in awe of him, as much as they respected him and the great power he had wielded — they also feared him. The Dark Lord led his army through fear, through the power of control, and he knew how to feed on the dark thoughts of every man and woman who followed him, to feed those thoughts and to help them grow.
Peter shuddered as he remembered the first time that he had tortured a Muggle in the Dark Lord's presence; how he had encouraged him like a father at his son's first Quidditch match, how he had praised him, and how despite the horror that he felt at what he was doing, felt glee and respect and ultimately pride for what he had done, under the praise of his master. It sickened him to look back upon it.
He jolted when the iron doors to the cell opened tearing him from his thoughts and his bottom lip quivered when he recognized Bellatrix standing there. The house elves had obviously been taking good care of her as well. She was in black leather pants, tall black boots, a black leather corset top over a white blouse with a black cape over her shoulders. Her long black curly hair had streaks of grey in it, but she wore it loose around her shoulders. She looked healthy. She looked good, but she still had that gleaming, manic look in her eye.
"Wormtail," she said delightedly, leaning against the door. "I see that you've been treated well."
"Well, enough," he said carefully.
She twirled her wand through her fingers with a smirk. "We could use someone of your talents, Wormtail. Someone with the ambition to help, someone eager to please and someone willing to do the grunt work."
"And you think I'm that someone?"
Bellatrix sneered at him. "Would you rather I had left you in Azkaban to be fed on by Dementors? Brax has a plan, Wormtail. A plan to return the Dark Lord to his former glory, to bring our master back to us."
Peter swallowed. "He was defeated by Harry Potter."
"Cut down, but not defeated; wounded, but not ended. He survived death! He who has gone further than anyone in obtaining immortality!" Bellatrix exclaimed in reverent awe. "We owe it to him to find him; to bring him back to us." She tapped her wand against her leg as she spoke. "You betrayed your friends for us, sent the Dark Lord to his downfall, and lost friends and gained enemies. I think that it's high time for you to choose a side, Wormtail. Are you going to be loyal to the man who you swore to swerve, to the wizard who gave you everything that you could ever want, who promised you the world? Or are you going to choose to be loyal to the former friends who sent you to Azkaban, who gave you to the Dementors, and who wish you were dead?"
He trembled for a moment. He didn't want to choose a side, but he did know with absolute certainty that he didn't want to die.
"I have always been loyal to the Dark Lord."
Bellatrix snorted. "Lies, but you will prove useful either way. And if you fail to be of use to the Dark Lord once he returns, I will ask him to let me keep you as a pet." She stepped into the dungeon to run her wand along the side of his cheek, a slicing charm cutting into his face. "I do miss my pets, but Brax says that I must wait until the Dark Lord gives me permission to obtain new ones. It's too bad Barty isn't around. He always appreciated my genius the most when it came to my playthings."
Peter's bottom lip trembled. "I am loyal to the Dark Lord," he said more sternly.
Bellatrix nodded. "Well, we'll see, won't we? Selwyn is bringing us to his estate in Croatia soon. From there we will travel to Albania. Dumbledore let it slip to dear Lucius that he believes the Dark Lord resides there in some form. Fenrir shall meet us there. The whole band is getting back together; it's quite exciting, don't you agree?"
Peter managed a small smile, trying not to wince as she sliced his other cheek. "Fascinating. How will we find the Dark Lord in Albania?"
"He will make himself known to us once he hears we are there," she said calmly. "In the meantime, Wormtail, make yourself comfortable in here and try to think up ways that you could be useful to us."
When the door locked behind her and he was left in darkness, he turned and vomited on the stone floor.
Once again, he found himself in the wrong spot, and once again he had no idea how to make it out alive.
~ ASC ~
Harry tried to avoid his roommates for the next few days as he got into the rhythm of school again. Snape was his usual surely self, but having Remus around as a professor again made him feel lighter. His mood improved a bit as well when he almost walked into a short, black-haired girl with dark eyes.
Her hair was shiny and hung just past her shoulders. She smiled warmly at him and he got a little tingle in his stomach that surprised him.
"Er, sorry," he said quietly, smiling kindly at her.
The girl smiled back and the butterflies in his stomach intensified. She was so pretty. "It's all right. We'll meet again soon anyway when Gryffindor plays Ravenclaw."
"Oh yeah?" Harry said, swallowing slowly. His mouth suddenly felt very dry.
"Yeah, and as one Seeker to another — watch out. We're going to win."
Harry only smiled widely at her. "Well, I don't know about that."
The dark haired girl smiled wider. "I'm Cho."
"Harry," he said offering his hand.
She shook it, her smile making her prettier. "I know who you are. See you on the pitch, Harry."
Harry watched her walk away, the sway of her hips making more than just his stomach flop to attention. He desperately tried to think of something else and the sound of Snape's voice coming from the corridor quickly quashed that thought. But he kept thinking about Cho for the next few days, the mysterious Ravenclaw Seeker with the shiny black hair.
The next morning, after spending the last two weeks mostly avoiding Seamus and Dean altogether, Dean asked him if he had seen his other sock and Harry blushed in embarrassment, making Dean raise an eyebrow at him in question.
"You okay, Harry? You've been acting funny lately."
Harry squirmed uncomfortably, glancing around the room. Ron and Neville had already gone down to breakfast, but Harry had wanted a shower and told them that he would meet them down there. "Er… I saw you and Seamus the other… the first night back."
Dean blanched. "Saw us?"
"In the shower. Seamus was… he had his hand wrapped around your…" he blushed and pointedly looked away.
Dean let out a short laugh. "Ha, yeah we were just, you know, fooling around. He was helping me out."
Seamus stepped out of the bathroom, drying his hair with the towel and looked between Harry and Dean's horrified faces. "What's going on? You both look guilty of something."
"Um, Harry saw you giving me a hand job in the shower," Dean said quickly.
Seamus shrugged. "I was just being a good friend. It didn't mean anything."
"You two aren't together?" Harry asked, his brow crinkling in confusion.
"No!" Seamus said, eyes wide. "What do you think we're gay or something? 'Cause we're definitely not!"
"Absolutely not," Dean insisted.
"I got up to piss," Seamus said simply. "I found Dean wanking and I told him that it was interesting how different our pricks are, you know? Not just because his is black —"
" — Chocolate," Dean interjected.
"Right, his prick is chocolate and mine is vanilla, but that they look different. His is larger and not circumcised like me so, I was a little curious… nothing wrong with that is there?" he demanded.
"No," Harry answered quickly as Seamus was staring at him, almost daring him to say otherwise.
"Right, so, I asked him if he wanted me to use my hand and he said yes, so I did. I was just helping out a friend to see if it felt different than wanking on my own. A little rub down, hand job or knob job combination… but we are not gay, Harry!" Seamus insisted.
Harry shrugged. "It doesn't matter if you are. I just… I saw you and I was embarrassed that I'd seen you, that's all. I felt guilty keeping it a secret."
Dean nodded, his hand going to the back of his neck. "Nothing to be embarrassed about, Harry. But let's keep it between us, yeah? Last thing we need is for the whole school to start thinking we're poofters!"
Seamus nodded. "Exactly and besides, I'm kind of dating Lavender."
Harry only nodded, blushing again. "Right. Well, I'm going to head down to breakfast now."
"Good, see you there," Seamus said.
"We're minutes behind you," Dean added.
Harry only nodded as he hurried out of his dormitory. He was glad that he had told them, but now he felt even more awkward then before. They had just been friendly. Friends helping friends. He supposed it made sense that Seamus was curious about other pricks. Harry had noticed the subtle differences between his and his roommates. Not that he had been looking, mind you, but he had noticed it.
His own was the biggest and had gotten fairly thick in the last year, but Dean was a close second and he noticed that Neville had the largest balls and the thickest prick of the five of them; Seamus' was stocky, but on the chubbier side and Ron's was long and freckled like the rest of him with thick ginger hair under his navel. Harry had dark hair above his own now. It had come in over the last year almost out of nowhere, surprising him when he had touched the coarse dark hair there in amazement, looking at the happy trail that started at his belly button. But he couldn't imagine any of his roommates touching him there.
He shook the thoughts from his head, smiling when he recognized the long black shiny hair in the crowd. But he could imagine Cho touching him there and he blanched when he felt himself grow hard under his robes at the image.
Yeah, he was pretty sure that he didn't like blokes.