You Can Live: Chapter 47
Just another week and a brand new chapter. :) Please enjoy.
I do not have a beta. Any and all mistakes are my own!
Disclaimer: you know I don't own HP. A very rich, brilliant lady does.
Warnings: Still much angst in this chapter!
The Plan
More chairs were conjured so everyone could sit comfortably, and if Harry pushed his much closer to his guardian, no one commented. Albus came back from wherever he had flown off to and settled on the back of Harry's chair, keeping a watchful eye on everyone. Snippy popped into the room once everyone was seated and offered to bring in some tea.
The house-elf was surprised to see the Minister of Magic in the living room, but did not say anything about it. Then her big eyes spotted young Master Harry sitting closer to Master Snape. She could not stop the happy wiggle she did before she popped out of the room. Severus snorted, while Harry rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish smile. While his own reactions had made Harry feel childish, they felt right and Severus seemed okay with them. No one had reproached him for seeking comfort as if he was a toddler, so Harry would continue doing so until someone told him off for it.
Snippy was quick to return with the tea and biscuits. Severus was pleased to see Harry grab a few of the biscuits, until the boy started breaking them up and feeding them to Albus. Severus rolled his eyes, but one look at Weasley and future-Weasley told him this was not unusual. Although,
"Harry, at least have one yourself. You need to eat something." Harry's roll of his eyes was fond.
"Yes, Mum." Hermione opened her mouth to probably scold her friend, when it struck her that she would only be reinforcing his statement. Their attention was drawn away from the amusing interaction when the Minister of Magic set his tea down and cleared his throat.
"So, Severus, are you going to tell me more about this man you plan on killing?" Severus opened his mouth to tell the Minister what he wanted to know, but Harry cut him off.
"You're not going to throw him in Azkaban are you?" Snape held back a rebuke on Harry's manners when he saw how truly concerned the boy was at a possible repeat of his godfather. Kingsley, meanwhile, looked indulgently upon the boy and shook his head.
"I can assure you, Mr. Potter, that the man who killed Frederick Strant would receive the death penalty for his actions should he be caught. If he happens to not make it to trial, however, due to, let us say, someone killing him in self defense, well…there's not much you can do about that, except congratulate the one who took the dangerous man off of the streets." While Harry felt relieved, he could see Hermione out of the corner of his eye straining herself. She desperately wanted to argue points of justice with the Minister of Magic, but looking at Harry and Severus once more, she bit her tongue. She had, of course, been in the war as well and could understand where the man was coming from.
When a temporary silence reigned, Severus took the advantage.
"As we told you upon your arrival, not half an hour before you came here, someone knocked on our front door wearing your face and without setting off the ward alarms. He came into our home and attacked us. We were able to fend him off until he simply disappeared. Harry knew who he was." Kingsley looked to the young wizard in hopes the boy would fill in the next blank. Harry reluctantly obliged.
"His name is Menos. He started tormenting me this summer, showing up when no one was around, making me uncomfortable…threatening me…and invading my dreams." The Minister's eyebrows shot up at the last admittance. "He made me think I was going mental. I only found out last night that Menos has been…harming me every year on my birthday since I was about five…and then Obliviating me afterwards. Menos told me he did it because he was bored." The Minister of Magic looked duly enraged, but took a deep breath to calm himself.
"I understand that this Menos is a dark, sick wizard, but how do you know he was the one to kill Frederick Strant?" Harry steeled himself for the next bit. Technically he had already gone through the hard part.
"Before you came to talk to Draco and Professor Snape about his death and before anyone told me about it, I had a nightmare that I…I was the one that killed him. I watched myself torture him, watched him beg for mercy, before snapping his wand and finally ending his life. It was very much like the nightmares I would have when I was still connected to Voldemort. I would see things through his eyes and do what he did. As far as I know, Menos is the only one who has been messing with my head lately." The boy said it in such a bitter, self-deprecating manner, his guardian reached out and rubbed a hand up and down his back.
The Minister of Magic couldn't quite hide his reaction from his face.
After the war and his work with the Order of the Phoenix and seeing everything Mr. Potter had to go through, there was almost no doubt in his mind that what the boy was saying was true. Harry would not make something like this up for attention. If there was one thing Kingsley knew about Harry, it was that he wanted a quiet, 'normal' life. What he was hearing definitely wasn't something conducive to such a life. He was shocked and pained at what Harry had had to witness. The boy in front of him more than anyone deserved to live in peace.
Harry saw all of that on his face, and the boy bit the inside of his cheek and looked away. Kingsley was suddenly very angry as well, that the young man across from him appeared ashamed at what he was going through. There was more to the story than what the Minister was being told, but he was certain there was no reason for Harry to feel that way.
"Very well. I trust you in this, Mr. Potter. The next question is how do we stop this man?" All eyes turned to Hermione then. The witch sat a bit taller and met their gazes, confident and determined.
"Minister, what you don't know, is that Menos is the originator of Horcruxes. He has been living off of them for over five hundred years, however, his body and magic are deteriorating. He's on his last legs, so to speak. It is quite fascinating, though, that despite this weakness his magic is also quite strong, desperate to 'stay alive' in a way. What we are going to have to do is find a way to combine our magic to overpower his and completely destroy him. I don't believe the Killing Curse would do it." Harry couldn't find it in himself to be surprised that Menos wasn't going to be brought down easily.
"He's as slippery as a snake," Ron pitched in. The Slytherins rolled their eyes. "We can't see him like Harry can. How are we supposed to destroy him if we can't see him?" Draco's expression was carefully blank but the spark in his eyes belied how fast he was thinking.
"We'll have to lure him in…trap him. Which means we are going to need bait."
"Harry could use his head," Luna chirped. The others in the room didn't seem too keen on the idea. "Menos likes Harry's head and Harry. He's the only thing Menos would show himself for." It made sense, but oh how they wished it didn't.
Harry had gone pale at Luna's suggestion. She wanted him to use his mind as bait for a psychopathic wizard? Someone that had hurt him so badly? He wasn't sure he could do it. The room had gone uncomfortably silent and Harry tried to counteract it with an incredulous question.
"You want me to let him into my head? Luna, I'm not sure that's such a great idea. I want him out of my head. I- I don't think I could handle it again." The blonde witch shot him an understanding and sympathetic look, but stood firm in her belief. Severus who had been quiet the whole time finally spoke up.
"I could help you, Harry. I could make sure you are not alone with Menos." Harry whipped his head around to stare at his guardian.
"You- you think I should just let him take over my brain again?" Snape shook his head.
"I would never allow that, Harry, but what Ms. Lovegood said was right. Menos will only show himself for you. We can use that to our advantage. But you don't have to do it alone. There is a spell I can use, similar to Legilimency. However, instead of just viewing your mind, I can be there with you and help you. You won't be alone."
"But once Menos is possessing Mr. Potter's mind, are we simply going to leave him there for him and Severus to take care of? I do not feel comfortable using Mr. Potter's brain as a battle ground." The look on everyone's faces clearly said that they agreed with the Minister.
"You're right, Sir. Which means we have to get Menos out of Harry's head in a way that we can control where he ends up." Hermione pinched her brows together in thought.
"What about memories? You take those out of your head and put them in a vial or Pensieve." They all turned to Ron, eyebrows raised. He sat up a bit straighter and crossed his arms. "What?" Draco opened and closed his mouth before replying.
"You think Harry can stuff Menos into a memory and take him out of his head that way?" The Gryffindor looked about ready to start a fight with the Slytherin, when Hermione kissed him square on the lips. None of them were as shocked as Ron who still looked dazed after his fiancé pulled back. The witch in question was beaming and practically vibrating in her seat.
"Ronald, you are brilliant!" Harry couldn't help the snort of laughter.
"You need to mark the date and time, Mate. I'm pretty sure you'll never hear 'Mione say that again." That shook Ron out of his daze, but he only gave his friend a mock scowl. Severus rolled his eyes at the dramatics.
"Ms. Granger, you can explain any day now." Instead of being peeved, Hermione did just that.
"Like I said before, Menos is more than likely using all of his energy and power to be able to be seen by and touch Harry. The same can be said for when he affects Harry's dreams and interacts with Harry in them. Menos is putting his whole self into Harry mind. So, Harry should be able to turn it around and trap Menos in a dream, draw it from his mind like a memory and relocate Menos into a Pensieve." Draco didn't seem fully on board.
"And then what? We destroy the Pensieve? This seems like a stretch, Granger." Hermione shook her head, still a big smile on her face.
"Pensieves are extremely powerful objects, and only the wizard who put the memory in the Pensieve can take it back out. It will take all of us to destroy it, and by doing so, we'll destroy Menos along with it." Draco looked convinced, as did the others, but Harry still wasn't as confident.
"Hold up there, 'Mione. How exactly am I supposed to trap Menos in one of my dreams and keep him there long enough for me to wake up and take out the memory?" Hermione didn't answer him; instead she let Snape do so.
"Harry, think of it like a backwards Occlumency. Instead of building up a wall to keep someone out, you form a wall around Menos to keep him in. When I pull out of your mind, I will wake you up so you can extract the memory. I also have a Pensieve of my own that I would not be averse to sacrificing for such a task. It has one too many memories that I have no desire to see again." The young wizard lightly scratched at his wrists in anxiety.
"I was never really any good at Occlumency, if you remember, Sir." Severus grabbed Harry's fingers to stop him from scratching.
"And that is why I will be there to help you every step of the way." Harry took a deep breath and tried to give Snape a comforting smile. It didn't exactly come out right.
"We're here too, Harry. Don't forget about us!" Harry snorted and rolled his eyes at his best friend's indignant shout. The red head sent him a fond smile and Harry nodded as his face couldn't cooperate.
"I for one, am insulted, Potter, that you would forget that we're right here. Obviously I'm not enough for you." Harry bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling that time. Draco was such a drama queen sometimes, but this time Harry knew what he was trying to do. It was working.
"I…I am really grateful to you all for being here and being so understanding. I'm just really sorry-"
"Harry James Potter!" The young man in question startled at Hermione's outburst. The brown haired witch narrowed her eyes on him and crossed her arms when she couldn't put her hands on her hips. "Do you really think we wouldn't be here for you because you got yourself in another crazy situation? Honestly! You wouldn't be Harry if you weren't in trouble every couple of months." The little quirk of her lips belied the harsh tone she spoke with.
Then Minister Shacklebolt stood and looked down on Harry with a stern gaze.
"Mr. Potter, I refuse to accept any sort of apology from you for being a trouble magnet. I am here to help of my own accord and will not have my presence explained away as some sort of pity driven drivel." Severus raised a brow in appreciation of the Minister's words. "You weren't alone for most of the War, and you won't be alone now. You won't be able to get rid of us that easily." Kingsley actually did smile after that, and Harry subtly cleared his throat and nodded his understanding with a tiny smile.
Suddenly Harry was being pulled in two directions! All at once he felt his hair being yanked back and his arms full of house-elf.
"Snippy and Albus won't let Bad Wizard take away Master Harry! Master Harry be ours! No, no, no! Snippy and Albus say no!" The owl behind Harry's head hooted and puffed his chest up in agreement with the house-elf's words. Harry couldn't contain his smile then, and hugged Snippy back, after wiping a stray tear from his cheek.
For once, Harry could honestly say, that he didn't feel alone. And Luna smiled on.
For the reviewer last week who said that Luna was getting a tad annoying, I hope she wasn't too terrible in this chapter! :)
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