The Rose in the Dark
Summary- What happens when someone slips Harry a box of drugged chocolate on Valentines Day?
Disclaimer- I own only the plotline, not the wonderful characters. They belong only to that gorgeous goddess of ingenuity, J.K.
Warning- Kinda smutty, then it gets dark and tragic, then it might get a happy ending. Contains implied yaoi, slight lemon, mpreg, the mebbe death of a character of my own making. I was pms-ing when I wrote this. RATED M FOR A REASON, FOLKS!!! Oh, and it is a Severitus, just for my sister, Netrixie. This is evil Dumbledore bashing. I needed to write one to get the bile out of my system, so I can concentrate on my good Dumbledore stories.
Author's Note 1- in my story, the tables are arranged in the Great Hall in the following order, if you are overlooking the Hall from the staff table- Slytherin on the far left, then Hufflepuff, then Ravenclaw, with Gryffindor on the far right. Don't yell at me, this is just for this story. I think.
Author's Note 2- there's nothing going on between Remus and Sirius, other than the fact that they are really good friends. What might look like a threesome including them and Snape is just the awesome coolness of how close they get to each other.
Author's Note 3- Don't freak. I'm reposting the whole bulk of the original story in 9 parts. Chapter 10 is when the new stuff appears, for those of you who have this on Author alert.
Part 6
He glared, but didn't seem like he was trying. In fact, it looked like he was trying not to smile. He swished his wand at the door, and it thudded shut ominously. Another swish, and the door was locked. One last flick had a silencing spell going up.
He settled on the edge of his desk, looking at each and every student in the classroom. They shifted, nervous under his gaze. Finally, his eyes came to rest on Harry. Abruptly, he raised his wand and pointed it at the boy.
"Who is this child?" No one in the class moved.
"Well? Zabini?" Blaise swallowed, then said, "Harry Potter?"
"Correct. Who is this child, Parkinson?"
She looked at him, then said in a low voice, "The-Boy-Who-Lived."
"Correct. Who is this child, Nott?"
The shy boy could barely be heard when he answered. "The Golden Boy."
"Correct. Who is this child, Granger?"
The girl took a deep breathe and said, "My friend."
"Correct. Who is this child, Malfoy?"
The blonde smirked slightly and said, "The Savior of the Wizarding world."
"Correct. What are you, Harry Potter?"
Harry knew, somehow, what Snape wanted him to say. "A weapon."
"Correct. Who is the hand that wields you?"
"Dumbledore."
"Do you trust him?"
Harry thought about that. He remembered how the man had helped him over the years, remembered all that had made him ever trust the old man.
He weighed that against all that had happened since he'd met the man- Cedric dying, almost getting killed once a year, and finally, the greatest betrayal- trying to take his baby away from him.
He looked up at the Professor with cold eyes, hearing the gasps of astonishment from his classmates.
"No."
Snape looked around the class, trying to will them to listen to what he was going to say. "Your Savior has just admitted to not trusting the man who controls all of our lives. He has made the choice to be his own person, to make his own decisions, to bow to no one. Commendable."
The Slytherins remembered the phrase from the meeting and began to understand what was happening. The class listened with rapt attention as the teacher went on.
"Now you have the choice, the chance to do the same. You can make a difference. You need only choose the means of change." He looked over the class, seeing with relief that they were taking in what he was saying.
"Do you understand what is happening here? History can be changed because of the choice of one person. Imagine what your choice can do."
He finished his speech and waited. He knew that one of these impetuous seventh years would be the catalyst that started the revolution. For that was the one thing he could not do. He could give them hope, a means to break free, but what he said was truth- they had to make the choice.
His thoughts were interrupted by the scrape of a chair. He looked over and saw Draco standing up. "Snape's right," he said with a careless flick of his wrist. "We do need to make a choice. How fortunate for me that mine was made long ago."
He turned and spoke solely to Harry. "I know that loyalty is not a Slytherin concept, but I think I like it. You will have mine until such a time as you do not want it." He leaned down and whispered into Harry's ear,"Both of you."
Snape wasn't surprised at who the catalyst had been. His godson had been spending a lot of time with those bloody Gryffindor's recently. He watched as Draco sat back down and Blaise stood up.
"You have mine as well, Harry."
Pansy and Hermione stood at the same time, looked at each other, then Pansy said, "You have our loyalty as well." Snape raised an eyebrow at that. He hadn't known they were a couple. Granger must be more discrete than the average lion.
He watched with a swell of pride as student after student stood and declared their loyalty to a slightly stunned Potter. Finally, everyone in the class had declared of their own free will, and Snape spoke up.
"This will not be an easy journey. You need to convince the other students to join with you, and you need to do it without attracting attention from Dumbledore. Tell me right now if you can not handle this, and you can leave." No one so much as twitched.
He glanced at the clock. They had about an hour left of class. He turned back to the students and started talking. "Get together. Figure out how to get the other years in on this. I suggest that you approach the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff seventh years first, and have them work on their owns houses."
He waited, but when they didn't do anything, he snapped, "Well, what are you waiting for?" The normal tone jumpstarted the students, and they quickly got to work. "Potter."
The boy in question turned to the teacher, who said, "Get yourself and your circle up here. I need to talk to you." He nodded, got their attention, and they went up to his desk.
Snape stared at the students standing in a semi-circle around him, then sighed, and rubbed his face with a hand. "Potter, you are going to need to do something about your predicament. Dumbledore will use it against you. Draco, assist him. Pansy, Granger, I need you two to find anything you can on escaping binding vows, and I need the information as fast as possible. Blaise, take Weasley and start a list of Order members who would be open to this. You might start with Remus Lupin and Sirius Black."
His expression was grave as he watched the six.
"Remember this. This war is not worth risking everything. Do not give up what you hold dear for a cause. There will never be any reason compelling enough to do so."
They stood silent, sensing that he spoke from experience. "Never do anything unless there is something in it for you. However Slytherin, however callous, that may sound, it is good advice. I suggest you take it to heart."
He waved his hand in dismissal, and they walked quietly back to their seats.
Ron was the first one to break the silence. "I never thought there would be a day when I was in awe of Snape, plotting with Slytherins, and working on subverting the Order. Wow."
The others laughed, and Harry said, "This is one hell of a Potions class."
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The next couple of weeks passed in a flurry of whispers and clandestine meetings. Slytherins and Hufflepuff's plotting in empty bathrooms, Ravenclaw's being snuck into Gryffindor tower, letters sent back and forth between Remus and Sirius and Blaise and Ron, Pansy and Hermione in the library at all hours of the day and night, and Harry and Draco in the thick of it all.
It became commonplace to walk into Slytherin common and see representatives of all the houses engaged in heated debates, discussions of secret passageways, practicing wandwork and spells. Ginny had set up a martial arts salle in the corner. Someone had gotten a couple of Ravenclaw's to agree to tutor the younger years, and to help the others with their homework.
The Hufflepuff's had shown a surprising knowledge of the secret passages and knew how to control the moving stairs. They could even convince Hogwarts to create new rooms, or take away old ones. Gryffindor's were giving lessons on defensive spells, while Slytherins were teaching offensive spells just this side of legal.
And somehow, in the midst of all this, Draco and Harry got closer. They were always together. When teachers tried to split them up in class, they were ignored. Not that the teachers tried very hard. They sat together at meals, even though the sight made Dumbledore loose his twinkle.
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The library had recently been the only place where you could find Pansy or Hermione between classes. Harry went there, wanting to ask Hermione something about placing a Fidelus Charm on his baby, when he found her by following the sounds of her curses.
He rounded the corner of a book case and saw her thump a book shut, then bang her fist on it. "Every single book! We've searched everyone and there's nothing!" Pansy leaned over and placed an arm around Hermione's shoulders.
"It's there, 'Mione. It has to be." They saw Harry then, and they waved him over to a seat. "I find I'm glad Pince decided you two can be left alone in the library, cause if she'd seen that, she'd have kicked you out."
The two girls laughed. "Yeah, we know. So, what can we do for you?" Harry leaned forward and spoke quietly. "I was wondering if you can put a Fidelus charm on a baby while it's still in the womb."
Hermione looked thoughtful. "I never thought about it… Let me look it up, and I'll get back to you. Okay?" Harry nodded, then got up and started to leave. "I asked Draco too, and he said he'd ask his mom to look through his library. He didn't think she'd find anything, though. Their stuff is mostly on dark arts." He didn't see the thoughtful looks on the girls faces, or their renewed fervor.
