"He can't do that!" Harry yelled after Severus had told him what the Headmaster had said.

"Of course he can. He's Albus Dumbledore. Who will take the word of an ex-Death Eater over the great Albus Dumbledore?"

Harry scowled and fell back against his pillow. "Do you think he knows about what happened to Uncle Vernon?"

Severus shook his head. "No, he doesn't check up on you, he leaves that to me. I don't plan on making you return to that wretched house."

Harry nodded then continued to another thought. "I read that book."

"What book?"

"The one you gave me to read… the remedial potions book."

Severus sighed. "I was hoping you had forgotten about that."

Harry scoffed. "As if. I am ready to be quizzed whenever you can. I can guarantee I won't get anything wrong. I figure that since the year is almost over we can work at Malfoy's house. I'm sure we can go undetected there. Plus, now that I've gotten my wandless magic down I won't need my wand."

"It will still be hard without your wand. Dark magic, wandless or otherwise is hard to learn. I will tutor you but we will not begin until you are at the Malfoy Manor."

"Well… actually, um, I've already done a bit of research already and I've maybe tried the a couple dark curses once or twice."

Severus' face turned a harsh shade of red. "What were you thinking?" he roared.

Harry flinched and curled in on himself. "I-it was only two times a-and I did it out of the castle," was the small frightened response.

Severus calmed at Harry's reaction. "I'm sorry Harry," he said calmly. "It's just, you cannot do that while you're still at Hogwarts. If the Headmaster had found out you could have-."

"If I had found what out Severus?" the Headmaster said from the door.

Severus stiffened and Harry sat up.

"I-if you had found out that I told someone about the Chamber," Harry said, embarrassed.

Severus followed the lie. "I have already taken care of it Headmaster. The child has been obliviated. I was scared that Harry would have gotten expelled should you find out. My apologies."

Dumbledore walked next to the bed and looked down on Severus. "I understand that Severus but Harry must learn from his mistakes. I will let this incident slide since it has already been handled, but Harry, please do not let any other students know of the chamber. Understand?"

Harry nodded. "Yes Headmaster. I'm sorry for telling, I know now I shouldn't have."

"Very well. Tomorrow before you board the train home Harry I would like to collect your wand again. I noticed it was acting strange lately and I would like to look over it again. Surely you have no use for it right now so I'll assume you will be okay without it?"

Harry nodded. "Of course, whatever you think is best."

Dumbledore smiled at Harry then nodded towards Severus before leaving the infirmary.

"I don't know how much longer I can kiss up to him," Harry said.

"The year is almost over Harry. I'm sure you'll be fine. You should rest. You drained a lot of your energy in the chamber. You need to sleep. Your things are already packed for tomorrow so you won't need to worry about that. I'll be at the station to see you off."

Harry nodded and got into his bed. He smiled at Severus before turning onto his side and quickly falling asleep.

The whistle blew and Harry waved to Severus as the train started off to King's Cross. "So," he said when he turned back to Malfoy, "have you talked with your father?"

Malfoy nodded. "Yeah, he said he would meet us at the station and we'd apparate back to the manor."

Harry smiled. "Good. You need to make sure your father knows Uncle Severus is going to be stopping by."

Draco leaned his head against the window. "Why? I mean, other than just visiting."

"He's going to be giving me private lessons."

Draco's eyebrows rose. "What for?"

"That's my business thank you."

Draco sighed and looked outside. "Fine."

The summer started slowly for Harry, his lessons with Severus were few and far between because of "private projects" Dumbledore had Severus working on. However, what Harry had learned so far, he excelled at. The results of his spells were unbelievable for someone his age. As far as Severus was concerned the only person to ever do so well in the Dark Arts so young was the Dark Lord himself. He watched in awe as Harry performed spell after spell, learning all that Severus knew, faster than Severus learned it. Near the end of the summer Harry was more powerful than Dumbledore himself, more dangerous than the Dark Lord and he hadn't even learned the Unforgivables yet. Severus had saved it for last.

Harry sat on the floor in the lower levels of the Malfoy Manor. The room was dark and dingy but it suited their purposes. It was a large stone room, which Severus had set with training devices and mats.

The air was chilled and Harry breathed deep, letting the cold fill his lungs. The feeling relaxed him, it kept him aware. There was a noise to his left but he held still. The sound was too indistinct… it could have just been a rat.

Harry froze. The air went still. He turned quickly, pointing his wand – a small stick in place of his real one – at the dark figure hovering above him before the other man could attack.

"Very good," Severus said.

Harry lowered the makeshift wand and smiled. "Thank you."

"I have tried to hold off on this aspect of your training for as long as I could. However, it appears that I have run out of reasons to put the inevitable off. We are going to start with Imperious first. It is the less serious of the three but still extremely difficult." Severus left the room, disappearing into the hall that led to the stairs. He walked back into the room carrying a white ferret.

Harry walked towards the center of the room as Severus placed the cage in front of him.

"What is the goal of this curse?"

"To gain control."

"Why do you need control?"

"To be able to control my enemies."

"Why must you control them?"

"So that they don't control me."

"Very good. Now, focus on that. Focus on the need for control. If you need, hold your hand out to it. Feel its thoughts, its wishes and bend them to your will. Say the curse."

Harry kept his hand at his side, felt the ferrets mind, felt its presence. He only had to whisper the spell before the ferret went stiff.

"Good, now, keeping you concentration, make it move. Make it do what you want it to do."

Harry didn't even twitch before the ferret started chasing it's tail and rolling around on the floor.

"Good," Severus said quickly, "Stop."

The ferret stopped and curled tightly against itself, huddled against on side of the cage. Harry turned towards Severus. "What next?"

Severus smiled. "I don't think I have ever known someone so eager to learn. However, we will continue on another day. You've trained enough for one day. I know you're tired."

Harry's shoulders slumped in exhaustion. He was tired but he wanted to learn everything before he had to go back to Hogwarts. "Alright."

The two walked up the stairs and into the library. Severus sent for tea and sat down on the sofa. Harry curled up next to Severus then locked the door with a wave of his hand. "Uncle Sev, does it bother you?"

Severus looked down at the curled up figure "Does what bother me?"

Harry turned his bright green eyes up to Severus "The fact that I'm turning into him."

Severus was taken aback at the innocence in Harry's eyes. It overwhelmed him, took the breath from him, aroused him. And he hated himself for it. He cleared his throat before talking, "You're not becoming like him Harry." His voice was slightly hoarse as he continued, disgust with himself rising in his stomach. "You're acting for a purpose. I'm worried that you will get lost in it all, that you will be overcome with power. You deserve you revenge, just not at the cost of your humanity." Severus paused, not looking back down at Harry. "Now, it is late. You need to get to bed. Rest well because we are going to train more tomorrow. I was given leave to replenish my potion ingredients.

Harry nodded and walked to his room. Something had changed between him and his Uncle Sev. He could sense it. He just didn't know if it was good or bad.

"Concentrate Harry."

"I'm trying!" Harry hissed through his teeth.

"Not hard enough."

The Cruciatus curse was proving to be exceptionally hard for Harry. He couldn't find the will to put something through that amount of pain. Avada Kedavra was easy, it didn't hurt, or at least it didn't appear to. It happened so fast you could hardly tell. But Crucio was pain. Harry new pain.

"I can't help it! Uncle Severus the ferret doesn't need to be in that pain. It's not fair! It didn't do anything wrong, you don't punish something when it didn't do anything wrong!" Harry was red in the face. He was angry. They had been in the cellar for hours now and Harry hadn't been able to cast the curse yet.

"I know it's hard for you to do this. I know you think it is unjust, but Harry, the people who this spell will be directed towards will be bad people and if you don't attack them first they will attack you. You cannot allow for them to attack you first!"

"Fine!" Harry yelled. He pointed is wand at the ferret and shouted "Crucio!" Harry's voice cracked at the word but a light shot from his wand and the ferret began twitching painfully on the ground. Harry collapsed.

Severus rushed forward, grabbing the boy and holding him against his chest as he cried. He fought the other feelings that curled in his stomach, like a predator. That's what I am, Severus thought, a predator. Severus pushed the feelings away as well as he could and focused on comforting the child in his arms.

Harry's thirteenth birthday came and went without any word from Dumbledore or Severus. Harry waited all day for Severus to send some word but he got nothing. Harry figured maybe Severus had been kept back by Dumbledore or something along those lines but the next week went by without word from Severus. Harry was lost. He was convinced Severus had finally abandoned him, finally realized what Harry was and couldn't take it anymore. Harry was sure it was because he was a freak. It was the only thing that made sense.

Harry drifted along during those days. He refused to shower or eat. He stayed in bed all day and wouldn't see Malfoy or open his letters from Hermione. Inside, Harry's soul was like a thunder cloud. Black and full of fury.