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Chapter 26: Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

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"Severus, I want you to warn our young Mr. Potter not to leave the safety of his common room until I return. Voldemort is getting desperate and will soon tolerate waiting no longer. Don't let him use the boy."

"Of course. And what of the Omnivieve Glass?"

"It's glowing mightily. No doubt He's searching for it this very moment himself. But it will be safe here, for now. As for Harry, He will be trying to use him through those Dractnox creatures to find its location and the information he seeks."

"He is using the boy already?"

"When I was in his mind and saw Belletrix, I felt something that shouldn't have been there..."

"The Dark Lord?"

"I'm not positive, but I don't like it. It was fleeting, and then it was gone. I think our Mr. Riddle is hiding in there. Would you mind fixing up a potion to hinder him?"

"Certainly. What about Lestrange?"

"Hagrid has taken the liberty to fill her tunnel with Blinkerbugs and juvenile Blast-ended Skrewts, to name a few nasty creatures. I don't think she'll wander through it too soon. But now I must be off. There are some favors I have to call in and organization of our forces that needs to take place. And do tell our Mr. Potter to take heed."

Severus knew that Dumbledore must be concerned and very worried, to mention it so many times. He nodded to the ancient wizard, who gave a twinkling smile before disappearing through the floo network to the Ministry of Magic.

Snape cursed under his breath. The wretched boy always had to make it so easy for Him to use him. And this time Harry was stronger magically and mentally, and he could converse with creatures that haven't been used in centuries. If the Dark Lord got His chance...

He shuddered to think of it, and if He found out that Snape was a traitor in his circle...

He cursed once more as he went in search for Potter, going to the loathed Gryffindor Common Room even and having to deal with troublesome twits and idiot children in his search. Frustration and realization hitting him simultaneously, he coldly took off points here and there from whoever was in his path as he made his way to the dungeons. There was much preparation to be done and even more ordeals to plan for.

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Harry knocked on the door to the dungeons, hoping that the brooding potions master wasn't inside. He didn't know what Snape wanted, but he surely didn't want to be in his path if he was cross, either. Better yet, he hoped the man wasn't inside because all the sane students kept their respectable distances from the dungeons and the dour man residing within them, providing for no witnesses if he up and killed him.

But of course, the chances that Snape would be anywhere else in the castle were slim, and even slimmer were the chances that it was all some misunderstanding. Either way, he knew that whatever it was, he didn't do it.

He knocked once more on the door, louder this time in hopes that the man really wasn't there. Sadly, people's expectations always exceed reality's standards, so it was no surprise that Snape was waiting inside his lair.

"Enter," came a muffled reply through the door.

Abandon all hope ye who enter here, Harry thought dismally upon turning the doorknob. Such a nice day to be wasted for yet another of interrogations and glares.

"I heard you sent for me?" Harry asked as he came into the room. Snape was brewing several potions and looked mighty agitated- even for him.

"It's about time, Potter. You'd think your fanclub would have found you sooner," he replied icily as he worked over a cauldron.

Harry chose to ignore the remark. At least Snape didn't take off any points.

"And five points from Gryffindor."

"Uh-! What for?!" Harry spat. Not even ten seconds with the man and already it had cost his house five points.

"For trying my patience," Snape spat back. "Take a seat, Potter."

Harry frowned but took a seat at one of the tables. He didn't bother asking Snape if and why he was in trouble. You didn't have to do something to be in trouble when it came to Snape and Gryffindors.

"Sir?" Harry started, getting bored and a little agitated at just sitting. Snape could at least insult him or yell at him or something normally Snape-like. Ignoring him was an altogether different matter, especially when it was Snape who'd been searching for -him-, and not the other way around. He should at least be grateful that Harry showed up.

But of course, that wasn't the case with -this- professor.

"Sir?" he tried again after getting no response. "Was there some reason you-"

"Silence, Potter! Unless you want to blow all of Hogwarts to the moon!" Snape hissed as he carefully measured green viscous liquid from a small vial.

Harry hmph-ed in agitation as he waited patiently, entertaining himself by counting the number of sedentary Dractnoxes the room contained.

1...2...3...4...

"Potter."

5...6...7...oh, there's another, 8...

"Potter."

9...well, that's half of one, so that's 10...

"Potter would you pay attention!" Snape snapped, driving Harry from his reverie and back to the cold dungeons that was reality.

"Sorry," Harry said perfunctorily, looking up to see a very cross and very aggravated Head of Slytherin House staring him down.

"Does nothing get through that idiot brain of yours?!"

"Was there something you wanted, sir?" Harry ground his teeth on the last word, trying to control his own irritation. He didn't want to be here anymore than Snape probably wanted him there.

"Tell me, Potter, do you purposely empty that head of yours on entry to my classroom or is that vacant expression one you normally wear?" Snape asked, just looking for a reason to take off house points. He was in no mood to deal with Harry today, and the circumstances of this meeting were far from affable.

Harry glared right back at him, hands balling and unballing into fists from the aggravation Snape caused him. And as if the meeting couldn't get any worse, his fingers started sparking again.

"May I be excused?" he asked with difficulty, the annoyance still in his voice as he tried to keep his hands hidden beneath the desk.

"No, you may not," Snape said, crossing his arms as was his usual way as he silently glared at the boy. There was silence as they glared at one another, the only sounds coming from the boiling of the cauldrons. Harry wondered if he was just to wait until Snape reached the breaking point and cursed him like Lavender said he'd been doing...

Harry became more and more tense as his fingers sparked more and more frequently. He was afraid he'd catch something on fire, and Hermione wasn't here to fire-proof the room. But then again, Snape probably had that covered, what with Neville's daily explosions and all.

"Potter, what contact have you had with the Dark Lord's belongings this year?" he asked suddenly in no more than his cold way.

"Me?" Harry was a bit taken aback at the question and change of mood. That, and his fingertip fireworks were becoming a distraction.

"No, Potter, I meant Weasley. That's why I asked if you have had any contact with His belongings," Snape replied sarcastically.

Harry glowered at the man before him. "No, I haven't," he said with every bit of sarcasm as Snape had used.

Snape leaned forward in intimidation, watching Harry with a glare. "I assure you that if you're lying to me, I will find out, as I'm sure will you. Your life could be in jeopardy this moment and you wouldn't even recognize it."

"What?!" Harry burst out, jumping up in his seat, perplexed and worried and perturbed by Snape's words. Although he knew it was just to try and get him to admit to messing with things he shouldn't be, it worried Harry. Especially with everything that's been going on in his life lately. He didn't need this stress.

"Potter, what is that?" Snape inquired imperiously, seeing a faint glowing coming from Harry's sides.

"Nothing," he said nonchalantly, shoving his hands into his pockets. He didn't care if his pants subsequently caught fire or not. He wouldn't give in and let Snape have his way.

"What do you have, boy?" Snape asked inimically, looking towards Harry's hidden hands. If the man had learned anything from being a double agent for years, it was that he could tell when people were lying, and read them as plain as any book. It was obvious that Harry was hiding something, and rather imperative that he know it wasn't something dangerous.

"I don't -have- anything!" Harry spat as his fear consequently grew larger of being the proverbial 'liar, liar, pants on fire'. "Can I go are is there something you wanted?" he asked with exasperation as he was sure any second he'd go up in flames.

"Potter, whatever you're-"

At that moment, black smoke started billowing from Harry's robes and pockets as his fingertips were smoldering the fabric of his pants. Thus, it was no surprise that after the initial indicator of a fire, flames started licking at the fabric as Harry removed his sparking hands from his pockets with surprise. He would have been terribly burnt, too, if Snape hadn't acted quickly.

"Aquaficio aegis!"

In moments Harry had gone from heated burning to icy wetness. The shocking change wasn't happily accepted as he was now sopping wet, but it was received in gratuity as opposed to being a flaming human torch.

But for all Snape's fire-extinguishing abilities, Harry's fingers still tried to spark back up. Now all he had to worry about was shocking himself to death.

"Potter, what is the meaning of this?" Snape asked angrily, as if Harry had purposely planned this and his present condition (sopping wet with scorch marks) was currently ruining Snape's day.

Harry merely frowned from beneath wet glasses. "I don't know. My fingers have been sparking off."

"For how long?" the dour potions master asked. If he looked threatening before Harry had caught fire, it was nothing compared to what he looked now.

"Since yesterday."

"And tell me now, Potter, before you ignite the whole castle, what contact have you had with the Dark Lord's possessions?!" Snape looked severely bothered as he glared at Harry and Harry's sparking fingertips. He knew something like this was going to happen, he just didn't count on it coinciding with today of all days. Things were happening too fast and not in their favor, and if Harry was withholding anything, it would spell disaster for all.

"I told you I haven't! I haven't touched anything belonging to Him or anything else like that!!" Harry spat, sparks flying from his fingers.

Snape made a noise between a growl and a sigh of frustration as he swooped over to his desk and poured the concoction from one of the cauldrons into a shallow bowl. He muttered a spell over the steaming liquid and determined it was ready. "Come here, Potter," he commanded icily.

Rather than not, Harry moved sullenly to Snape's desk, his shoes making a squish-squish noise as he walked, leaving wet footprints on the stone floor. He frowned right back at the potions master, looking so vexed it wasn't even funny.

"Potter, how long did you handle the Omnivieve Glass when it was in your possession?"

"The- I don't know..." Harry thought for a moment ignoring Snape's glare and the cold he was feeling in his wet clothes. That metal rod thing he'd given to Dumbledore? And then there was the crystalline part of the Omnivieve glass itself...but he'd never even physically seen that. "I guess about five, maybe ten minutes all together...I don't know, something like that," he said to Snape's glare. "I haven't thought of it since then. What's it matter?"

"You foolish, idiot boy!" Snape spat as he quickly made some adjustments to the one of the potions on the boil. "Three minutes is sufficient to make a connection with that glass!" He added something that looked like crumpled leaves to the cauldron. "Just through that silver part alone! Not to mention you already have a connection to the Dark Lord through that-" he pointed accusingly at Harry's scar.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" Harry asked, ignoring his chances of self-electrocution and his present uncomfortable state. His connection to Voldemort? And the glass? The same one that was in His possession?

A simple thought passed through his mind: Oh crap.

"You, idiot boy, have been contaminated by your connection to that glass and to Him!" Snape said as he added a ladle full of a boiling potion to the cooled one in the shallow bowl. "Your magic has been contaminated as well as your control if He's gotten to you without your knowledge!"

"Are you saying Voldemort's inside my head?! Messing with things?!" Harry spat rapidly, panicked. He didn't want that snake in his head, let alone have even -more- of a connection to him.

"That glass wasn't meant to pass through many hands, boy, and those of us who have touched it already have a base connection, but yours is to the source itself! Wash your hands in this, Potter." Snape motioned to the cooling concoction on his desk as poor Harry looked like he'd blow a gasket any minute.

"Are you saying He's in my head?! Now?!"

"Do as I say, Potter, before you burn Hogwarts to the ground!" Snape said coldly, agitated with Harry beyond belief and more than worried about the present state of affairs. How could he willingly handle the Omnivieve Glass without knowing repercussions of these types were always obscure? And he already had a connection to the Dark Lord, and now it was intensified through the call of the glass, that powerful weapon against all touched by evil, Harry and himself included. And if He was already working through Harry's mind, then He would have a chance to take over the boy's body and control the creatures Harry was seeing. And if knowledge was power, then Voldemort would be the equivalent of a living god.

Harry reluctantly put his hands into the mixture, coating them in the thick substance as he felt a tingling starting at his fingertips and working up his arms, neck, and to the tips of his head before traveling the rest of his body. It felt strange but nice, actually, as he allowed his hands to sit in the substance. But that in itself made him wary. Since when did anything nice come from Severus Snape?

"What is this stuff, sir?" Harry asked, feeling a lot more calm, and hell, pretty damn good, than previously. He supposed it was the potion's doing.

Snape watched him and the substance clinging to his hands, slowly disappearing as it permeated his skin. He was worried for one thing- he'd had to use Pure Light in this concoction, and as unstable and as powerful as it was, it was the only thing capable of building a powerful enough block against the Dark Lord, as well as get rid of those wretched sparks. But even in its most diluted form, it was a tricky substance to use, and he watched Harry carefully, deciding that it was brewed properly as the boy didn't disappear before his eyes.

"Sir?"

"It's a reactant to fix your meddlesome problems, idiot boy," Snape snapped. "That sparking is a sign that your magic has been tampered with by another wizard and has been cross-contaminated with another's magic at that, a by-product of non-compatible magics and temperaments." Snape didn't need to mention -who- that other was. It wasn't hard for Harry to guess. "It would be favorable for you if it didn't happen again, but it only works as a corrective block to stop anymore of His interference. He can go no further, but I can assure you that whatever is occupying that empty head of yours doesn't want to leave, now or ever, and it will only try to become stronger, even with my potions."

"How do you know all this? What's happening to me?" Harry asked, now none-too-eager to remove his hands from the viscous substance. If that was what was keeping him safe, then he'd keep the damn stuff on his hands day and night.

"As Dumbledore is currently away from the school on business, I suppose it is my duty to inform you as your trainer that nothing short of death or destroying that glass will separate you from the Dark Lord's influence, now or ever. The bond you share goes beyond ancient magic, and now it's only stronger. You're got yourself into an ancient mess here, Potter. And he is persistent at that, searching through agents right now, here at the castle, for the remaining piece of that glass. And should he get it, Potter, then we're all in very real danger, you above all."

Harry visibly paled. How could things possibly get any worse?!

"And right now, Potter, He is looking for you and that piece He knows you've had contact with. You are the key to his success."

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Well, if ya read it, please review it!

Lady-of-the-Dragon-Flame: Well, I guess we're both isane then:D Heh heh, lovely review:D Most entertaining.

gallandro-83: Alrighty then, thank you.

S.S.I.: Heh, yeah, I'm quite a dunce to be writing so many fics at once. But at least I can satisfy those artistic urges and get it down in writing:D But thanx so much, and I'll tell ya now, this was crazy-fast as opposed to the last times I've updated:D But anyways, thanx so much for your support and reviews!! I always look forward to them (for whatever fic) and it's a delight to know you're enjoying them all:) Thankies!

mrs-osbourne's-class: Well, I'm pretty sure this is sooner than last update:) I've been a real dork lately, but and all:) But thanx so much and here's to wicked ideas!

divinething: Yeah, that bloody parasite...we should look for a way to destroy it:D Harry's getting stronger through everything, so the power-overloaded sparkler fingers and everything else messin' with him, well, he's kinda like a computer overloaded with spam and pop-ups and some of those damn things are virus loaded. :D heh heh...Thankies for the great review!