Severus walked slowly towards Harry's bedroom door. Much as he dreaded it, he needed to speak to his son. He wished he received the information earlier and could have told them over dinner or else asked them to stay for drinks afterward. It would have been so much easier then. Merlin, he could only pray that his son and Weasley weren't…busy.
He knocked hesitantly on the door, listening closely for a reply. Harry's confused "Come in" was heard almost immediately, relieving him of some of his concern. Clearly, they weren't too involved if they were able to answer so quickly. He cautiously pushed open the door and saw Harry and Bill sitting in the chairs by the fire, reading quietly.
"Sorry to disturb you in your room, Harry, but I wanted to give you an update on our plans for next school year."
Harry sat up straighter in his chair, clearly eager for news. "What have you found out?"
"Well, I've received the list of students who attend Rianna's school. Luckily for us, she only opened it four years ago, only accepting a few students in your age range to start with. She added a few students each year. The twenty-five students that she is currently teaching are the only students that we need to deal with in any way."
"That'll make things easier. Can I see the list of names Severus?" Bill held his hand out for the list which Severus passed over.
Harry, seeing that there weren't enough seats, stood up and went to sit next to Bill on the arm of his chair, offering his chair to his father. Severus gave a small smile in reply as he settled down to wait for Bill's perusal of the list.
"Hmm…I believe that 12 are moderately close relatives…cousins or second cousins. All from families that are neutral in the war or else on the side of the light. Three more are very distantly related and their families' politics are rather questionable. Two are from Weasley-Nott unions and one is from a Weasley-Goyle union." Harry wrinkled his nose at the knowledge that his lover was, however distantly, somehow related to Gregory Goyle.
"That was what I thought as well. I have seven relatives, all close enough to ensure their cooperation. That leaves only 3 students that we will definitely have to implant memories in and three that we might need to. Not bad." Snape thought out loud. "Yes, I believe this will work well. We are in much better shape than I was anticipating."
"I'm surprised that you…I mean we have many relatives that would be willing to lie to Voldemort for me" Harry said.
"It is not so much that they will be willing to lie to the Dark Lord as that they will always support family above all else. My immediate family was actually the only branch of the extended family that actively supported the Dark Lord, the rest are either neutral or, at best, unmarked and inactive supporters of the cause. Six of the seven children I spoke of come from openly neutral families. The other is the daughter of a man who occasionally supports the Dark Lord's efforts but who is unmarked and who refuses to allow his daughter to be marked. I am sure that he can be made to listen to reason."
"What if they are talking together about needing to pretend to know me and someone overhears? Isn't this still too easy to uncover?"
"It is a potential problem but all we can do is impress upon them the seriousness of the matter and ask of them not to speak of it to anyone."
Harry sat still for a moment, chewing his bottom lip pensively. "Perhaps…perhaps we could use a spell to prevent them from talking about it."
"But we need them to talk about it. We need them to be able to convince anyone who asks that you did go to school there. If they can't mention you then we won't have achieved anything" Bill explained.
"No. I mean, what if we used a spell that prevented them from ever saying or hinting that your son and Harry Potter are one person or that your son just appeared from no where this summer."
"That would be brilliant, if such a spell existed" Severus said, getting a bit impatient. He knew the plan wasn't foolproof but there wasn't a lot of choice in the matter.
"Hmm…" Harry stood and walked slowly over to the bookshelves and started sifting through the books. Bill and Severus exchanged looks of confusion but remained silent. Harry took down occasional books as he perused the shelves. When his arms were full he turned to Bill and plopped the stack down on his lap and turned once again to the shelves. Harry grabbed three more books and quickly walked out of the room with no further explanation. Severus again looked to Bill for some sort of interpretation of his son's actions and he saw that Bill was just as confused as he was. The two men quickly stood up and followed Harry, Bill juggling a huge stack of books, and just glimpsed him as he turned the corner. Following quickly they saw the door to the library shut slowly and they rushed on to see what Harry was doing now.
They entered the library to see Harry standing on a small stepladder straining on his toes to reach some books on the top shelf. He already had a large pile of the books on the ground around him. Severus and Bill exchanged twin looks of wonder. How in the hell had Harry moved so quickly?
Harry finally reached the book in question and stepped down from the ladder and plopped himself in the middle of his pile of books, flipping through a few almost simultaneously. He would stop and read a passage and then either continue flipping pages or else set it to the side, opened to the correct page. Bill gently placed the enormous stack of books on the ground at Harry's right side, knowing he tended to place books he still needed to consult on his right when he was in his research mode. Severus bent down to see what exactly it was that his son was reading so intently.
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Light Curses to Control the MindAlthough the most well-known mind control spell, the Imperious curse, is dark in nature, there are many light options available for the discerning wizard. This family of spells can be distinguished from the Imperious curse by the ability of the caster to simultaneously cast it on multiple individuals and to influence but not control the receiver. The spells are not as strong as the Imperious curse either, and cannot force an individual to do anything that they do not already have a desire to do….
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Memory Binding Potion
The Memory Binding Potion may be used to help bind a specific memory inside a mind without damaging the drinker of the potion. The memory will remain fully accessible to the person in question but it cannot be reached by any mind magic or forced out through use of truth serums. The Memory Binding Potion should not be used more than three times in any lifetime. Damage to the mind or problems with existing unprotected memories may occur if used too often.
1 shrivelfig, finely sliced
3 ml juiced beetles
2 1/2 tsp dried and crushed dragon heartstrings…
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Setting Your Curse to a Word Controlled Operation
In order to set your curse to be controlled by a specific word or words you must first determine which of fifteen categories your curse fits into. The first category is that of pain inducing curses, those which cause the victim to feel pain but not experience any physical manifestations of the ailment. The second is wound inducing curses, those which create visible wounds on the victim's body as well as the accompanying sensations. This does not include those curses which create physical ailments but do not create the sensations that typically arrive with them….
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Protecting Your Mind
When in danger of mind magics, the victim's best protection comes from a variety of protective mind magics. The most well known skill is that of occlumency which allows the wizard in question to protect their mind by placing it behind a….
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Severus looked at his son, his thoughts running furiously. Most of the books were closely tied in with memory or mind related theories but there was no connection between all of them. Some of them were personal defenses that could not be cast on another person and others were curses that were only intended to be cast against someone. What exactly was he trying to do? "Harry? Harry, can you tell me what you are doing?"
Harry didn't look up, he simple traded the thick tome he was flipping through for another. "I'm researching" he said absently as he looked for what he needed. "Do you have a copy of Desidus Nesterius' Mind Magicks of the Eleventh Century here?"
"I believe so. If I find it will you tell me what you are researching?"
Harry didn't respond, he simply waved his father and lover away to look for the book. Bill rolled his eyes and walked over to Severus to help him locate the book. "Don't worry. He gets like that when he's researching. Not much can stop him now. He'll take a break when he's good and ready. Seems he knows what he's looking for though, he's just double checking passages he's already read. That'll save us some time and stress."
"But what is he researching?"
"Who knows. I' m sure he'll have some sort of crazy explanation when he's done. Do you really have that book?"
"I believe I've seen it before. It should be over here."
The two men located the book and returned to Harry who had already finished with another book while he was waiting for them. He snatched the book out of his father's hands and promptly ignored both of them. "Might as well make ourselves comfortable" Bill said as he walked over to a thickly padded leather armchair. Severus followed, still completely confused. Bill lit the fire in from of the chairs and leaned back in his chair, getting comfortable. He knew they were in for a long night.
"Shouldn't we find out what he's doing?"
"Good luck with that. When he gets into serious research mode he stops hearing us regular people. The only one who can converse with him when he's like this is Hermione and that's mainly because those two are on some sort of freaky bookish wavelength that the rest of us can never hope to experience. It's best just to wait 'til he's ready for us. He'll explain everything then."
Severus shook his head, trying to make sense of everything. "Would you like a drink then, while we wait?"
"Sure. No Weasley ever turns down a drink." Severus quietly called a house elf and asked her to deliver a bottle of bourbon and two glasses. He quickly poured two large glasses for them as they sat back and watched Harry work.
Harry sat on the rug in front of the fire surrounded on all sides by books. His dark head was bent down and his lips formed the words as he read, trying to make out the faded writing in the book that he had asked Severus to find for him.
Bill smiled fondly at Harry. Clearly, this was a sight that he had grown used to in the years that he had known Harry. Severus was still confused but he decided to just sit still and drink his bourbon while he waited for something to make sense. The entire night had become one enormous mess of a contradiction and he knew that if he thought about it too much then his head would explode.
"So Severus, how have you been doing?" Severus threw Bill a look that told him exactly how ridiculous he thought that inane question was. "I mean, I know I have been here for a few days so I clearly know you are alive and healthy, I just wanted to know how you were feeling about…well…everything."
Severus threw back the rest of his drink and leaned forward to pour more in his glass. "It seems to be going well. I am…pleased…to have Harry as my son." It was clear he was not going to expand on this. Bill sighed, knowing that Severus was not one to talk about feelings ever.
"Harry seems to be more comfortable with you."
"I suppose." It was also clear that Severus was still upset that he still couldn't touch his son. It might sound like a relatively small issue but it hurt to know that his son didn't trust him enough to even put him on his warning list, much less his safe list. He, of all people, should be on the safe list! He was the boy's father and no one else cared for his well being as much as he did.
Severus recognized the deception almost immediately. He might now have Harry's well being at the forefront of his mind but it had not always been so. It made perfect sense that Harry did not trust him yet. He had promised himself that he wouldn't pressure Harry at all yet here he was griping to himself about the situation. He knew that just like calling him Father, he would appreciate it much more if it was done when Harry truly felt comfortable doing it and not before. It would be much more meaningful if it were done when Harry wanted to and not because he felt pressured to. "It's hard, sometimes."
Severus didn't offer any explanation but Bill understood what he was speaking of. "I know. He's warming up to you incredibly quickly though. He's already more comfortable with you than he has ever been with my dad and he's known dad for almost six years now."
Severus raised an eyebrow at this. Indeed. Well that made him feel marginally better.
Bill hid his amusement behind his glass. Severus could be so easy to read. Only he would turn befriending his son into a competition of sorts. The Potions Master constantly doubted his abilities to be a good father and to have Harry love him but he was doing a brilliant job. He seemed to know just when to push and just when to back away. He had earned Harry's trust within an amazingly short period of time. Bill wondered absently what exactly had happened in the Headmaster's office that made Harry trust him so much but he didn't ask. He figured that one of them would tell him when it was time.
Severus was incredibly attuned to his son's special needs and he was able to fulfill them without ever looking as if her were doing so, allowing Harry to believe that everything simply worked out the way it did due to coincidence. As much as Harry disliked being pestered about his past he hated special consideration even more. The only thing more distasteful to him was pity. Luckily, Severus seemed aware of this and he was able to hide any hint of pity from his son while he skillfully maneuvered conversations through the past and present, allowing his son to open up at times as well as hide when needed.
Severus poured himself yet another glass of bourbon and offered more to Bill who gratefully accepted. "Can you pick something up for me when you next go in to work?"
"Certainly. I'll need a letter to the goblins giving me permission to enter your vault though."
"Of course. I need you to go to vault 276 and find my focus stone. I'm not entirely certain where it is but it should be in that vault."
"You're going to test Harry?"
"I had thought to, yes. He has some incredible gifts and abilities. I believe it would be prudent to test him both before and after his birthday. We need to know the true extent of his power in order to plan what we are going to do about the Dark Lord…and Dumbledore."
Bill nodded. "Has Harry told you what he wants to do yet about either of them?"
"No. You?"
Bill shook his head. "Not a word. I'm sure he's been turning the problem over in his mind for quite a while. He'll tell us what he's thinking when he's ready."
"He does like to do things on his own, doesn't he?"
"He doesn't confide very easily in anyone. He tends to think his problems through alone and then come up with a viable solution. Once he has at least one carefully thought out plan he'll go to those he trusts to bounce ideas off of."
Severus nodded as he slowly sipped his drink. Harry was still bent over the stack of books which seemed to have grown even larger while they had been distracted.
"So when are we going to pay the muggles a visit?" Bill said, clearly a bit tipsy. They had each had quite a few drinks by this point.
"Soon Weasley, soon."
"Do you know that I have learned twelve different spells to castrate a man?" Bill said lightly as if he were talking about kittens or freshly baked bread and not separating a man's bollocks from his body.
Snape smirked evilly. "Frankly, I believe I might get more pleasure out of doing it the muggle way...more blood that way."
"Hmm…yes, a spell might be over too quickly. My brothers and I have often tried to plan ways to get Death Eaters over to the Dursley house during the school year to treat them to a bit of good old fashioned torture. Never figured out a good way to get them there without tipping them off on the fact that we wanted the muggles tortured. If they knew who they were dealing with they would probably let them join right up—the uncle especially is perfect DE material, apart from his lack of magical ability."
Severus snorted. "It just might be time to plan a little revel at the Dursley residence. I haven't enjoyed a good muggle torturing in many years."
The two men smirked at each other and toasted their plan. They slipped into a comfortable silence as they each planned the curses that they would love to inflict on the muggles as they drank their way through the bottle of bourbon.
Harry's voice sounded suddenly. "Severus, what happens when you add moonstone to a potion with a gryphon blood base?"
Severus thought for a moment. "Mixing a component that promotes daydreams and illusions with something that forces the truth? I believe it would force the illusion or belief rather than the truth. I'm not certain though."
"Hmm…my thoughts too. I wonder if…" Harry's words faded away as he bent over yet another book.
"That's it? That's all we're going to get? What the hell is going on?" Severus said impatiently to Bill.
"He's still working. We'll know soon enough. I might go ahead and get a bit of sleep though. He could be at this for hours yet" Bill said as he stretched his long form out in the armchair, legs sprawling out in front of him. Severus looked irritated by this new turn of events but he didn't say anything and soon he too shut his eyes for a bit of sleep.
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A look in the crystal ball: Ron and Hermione go to Snape manor!
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