Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling.

Some of the concepts that will be in this fic are from other Fan fictions about Harry Potter with my own twist on them. So I would like to acknowledge all the Harry Potter fan writers on this site for great work and hundreds of hours of reading. This is an AU story.

Chapter 22

Fragile Mind

The mind, to normal humans, non-magicals, muggles, it is a fortress that no other can look in to, control, or ease drop on. To the muggles their minds are the one place that no one can intrude on. One muggle could stand next to another, look at the person next to them, come up with an opinion of that person, and voice that opinion all within the confine of their own mind and no one would be the wiser. Muggles have spent hundreds of years studying the mind; psychology, the human psyche and neurology, the physical brain but they were no closer now to unlocking the mind than a hundred or a thousand years ago. Sure there were a few groups that believe in mind over matter, Master martial artists, some Asian monks, professional athletes and a few crackpots.

To the magical world the mind is an open book at least for some and for others it is a fortress. In the wizarding world you could never be completely sure if the wizard or witch standing next to you is capable of reading your thoughts, so it's always best to keep your thoughts buried deep in the mind. But even in the magical world not everyone is capable of the mind arts or in fact even heard of them. For those wizards and witches that are aware of the mind arts, it is only to protect themselves from those that would invade their mind. If there was one mind in the magical world that could truly be called a fortress it would be Harry Potter's. Harry had spent the last several years building his fortress, though at first he didn't understand that that was what he was doing, it all started with his minds library.

Now, after a year living in the magical world, reading more books on the subject of the mind arts than just about anyone on the planet save maybe Albus Dumbledore and Voldemort, he could truly call his mind a fortress. With defenses to disorient, trap, repel, even injure an attacking mind, Harry felt secure in his own mind. For all the protections that closed Harry's mind off from the outside world there was one thing that could still bring his mind to a crashing halt, himself.

Sunday morning Harry woke with a profound feeling of loneliness. Opening his eyes all he could do was look at the stone of the ceiling above him as tears trickled down the sides of his face. The logical part of Harry's mind couldn't understand the emotion that was currently washing over him like it was. He had friends, his godfather, aunts, uncles, and Tula the house elf who had become more than just family to him.

That logical part of his mind looked inward to his library; the eleven year old Harry avatar appeared in the center of his library. Harry looked around his mind, the library looked as it always did, perfect, clean, in order. As he stood there looking around him for anything out of place he heard soft crying coming from the section of his library that housed all the memories of his parents.

Rounding the corner of an isle of shelves, Harry found a young child sitting in the center of the isle with a book in his lap. The child looked just like he did when Harry was two years old. Green eyes meet green eyes; Harry approached the child and sat down next to him. The child again looked up at Harry then back down at the book in his lap. He pointed to a page in the book and said one word. "Mama".

When Harry looked down at the book he found it was now in his own lap. The child touched his arm and faded away as the tears started flowing from Harry's eyes. The picture in the book was of his mother, a memory of her reading to him as a baby. In that moment, the loneliness, the loss, hit Harry so hard that his mind and magic fell apart.

-oo00oo-

In another part of Harry's library, held tight in one of the many traps, the silence that had been a constant was shattered as the mind of Severus Snape heard a cry of anguish and despair that he hoped to never hear again. The sound filled every corner of the small room he was held in. In that moment the walls that held him shattered, the mindscape that held him exploded outward. In that moment he was able to see into the mind that was holding him. In that moment what he witnessed, Harry Potter, the son of James Potter, the man he hated with his entire being was curled up inside his mind, sobbing uncontrollably with a book laying open next to him. In the next moment Severus Snape felt pain like he had never felt before, the Dark Lords Cruciatus curse did not even rank in the same realm. As with any explosion things get thrown outward. The last thing Severus Snape saw before losing consciousness was Lily Potter standing over his broken and battered mind in a broken and battered landscape.

-oo00oo-

The old lady appeared within Harry's mind, the avatar of Hogwarts. She had felt his sorrow and had come to help. It was lucky that she arrived when she did; Harry's outcry had released a wave of power within his mindscape and his mind had shattered. His library had crumbled down around him, his mind lay in ruin. Using a fraction of the power that had built up within the walls of Hogwarts over the millennium, the lady waved her hand around the mindscape to try rebuilding it and contain the power that Harry had unleashed. She could not use more power or she risked damaging Harry's mind further.

She found Severus Snape's mind battered and bloody in the ruins. His mind was not in much better shape then Harry's. Though Hogwarts did not like the current potions master, she was not about to see his mind die within her walls. While still holding Harry's power back she drew the mind of Severus Snape into herself, down through the walls of the castle, through the floor of the infirmary where his body lay and back into his own head.

With that accomplished Hogwarts turned her attention back to Harry. She started by trying to rebuild Harry's mindscape but she was having a great deal of trouble, Harry was still throwing out waves of magic. He needed to be calmed mentally and comforted. The old lady started looking around for the boy in the ruins. What she found first was another, a dark shadow, a ghost, a young man who had gone as bad as anyone can, she found Tom Riddle.

It was only a piece of him, like Snape it was battered and bloody, dark black blood. The old lady looked down on the piece of Tom Riddle and shuttered, she could not draw him out like she had Snape, she had no where to put him if she did. She could not hold him within herself, the piece of his soul was strong enough that it would start to corrupt even her. She could not destroy the bit of Tom Riddle, the magical backlash would destroy Harry's mind beyond repair if it didn't kill him. Taking a page from Harry himself she constructed a stone coffin as far from the center of Harry's mind as she could. The old lady then placed the battered soul fragment of Tom Riddle within and sealed it shut. One solid piece of stone, she then constructed a small building around the coffin sealing it shut as well. It would have to do for now.

If there was a measure of time, all of this happened within a few seconds. While trying to keep Harry from destroying his own mind, saving Snape, and sealing away the soul fragment of Tom Riddle, Lady Hogwarts also sent a very loud call for help to the Sorting Hat.

-oo00oo-

Albus was just entering his office from his private quarters when a load gong sounded throughout the castle. It was a sound he had never heard before and was confused by it. It was not the signal that the wards of the castle where under attack.

"Headmaster!" the Sorting hat called out to him.

"Gideon, what is going on?" asked Dumbledore.

"Headmaster you need to get Filius up to the Founders Tower now."

"What has happened?" Albus asked again.

"Lord Potter is having a mind quake; Lady Hogwarts is trying to keep his mind from destroying itself as we speak. You need to get Filius to the tower now." Gideon replied with a great deal of urgency.

It took Dumbledore just a second to process what the Sorting hat was telling him before he was on his knees in front of the fireplace making a floo call to his charms professor. When he pulled his head out of the fire he looked up at the Sorting Hat, before he could even ask the question, Gideon responded.

"Yes Albus, Lady Hogwarts is requesting your help as well, this is a onetime admittance to the tower. She says she will be watching your every move." With that the portrait that Filius had entered his office through last week opened. Dumbledore raced into the portrait and found himself in a hall full of doors at the same time as his charms professor appeared out from another door.

"This way Albus." Flitwick spoke as he rushed to the portrait at the end of the hall. Flitwick lead the way directly to the rooms he knew Harry was using. What greeted them was utter chaos. Harry was lying on the bed thrashing around with a hysterical elf trying to hold him down. The room appeared as if a wave of magic had washed through it destroying all the furnishing.

Albus immediately pulled out his wand, casting a full body bind on Harry as he rushed over to the bed.

"Harry very upset, he is crying when Tula popped in to wake him. Then wave of magic come off and damage everything." It was at this point that both Albus and Filius noticed that the house elf was injured. She had a bloody nose and it looked like she had broken a leg.

"Tula, we will take care of Harry, you need to go to the infirmary." Filius tried to order her.

"No, Tula stay with Harry until Harry is better." replied the house elf with a fire in her eyes that neither Albus nor Filius had ever seen in a house elf.

"Ok Tula, let me and the headmaster have a look at Harry." replied Filius with a calming voice. Dumbledore had already moved over to the bedside.

"Legilimens!" Albus spoke the incantation quietly and entered Harry's mind. He appeared in a mindscape that was shattered; the only building he could see was what looked like a mausoleum of solid stone. The rest of the mindscape was in complete ruin. The great building he had seen for that brief moment during the opening feast was gone. Books upon books lay thrown around, some ripped to shreds, and others looked burnt, but most still looked intact.

Albus turned around to take in everything and came face to face with an old lady, a beautifully aged and majestic lady. Next to her was an older man with long gray hair and a short gray beard.

"Headmaster," spoke the man, "This is Lady Hogwarts and I am Gideon, the sorting hat. I speak for her as she does not have a voice of her own."

Albus bowed his head to the lady.

"It is nice to meet you Lady Hogwarts. I now understand where Harry has been getting some of his help from." Albus knew the moment he said that, that he had said the wrong thing. The eyes of the lady darkened and a look of anger appeared on her face.

"Headmaster, I would suggest you do not try to make this a fact finding opportunity or try to snoop around, we are here to help Harry, not invade his mind." replied Gideon with no small hint of threat.

"Of course, how can I help?" Albus asked with a little fear. It would not be good to upset Hogwarts in any way.

"The Lady needs you to take over controlling Harry's magic; she does not want you to be seen by Harry in his mind. If you can hold off his magic she can repair his mindscape."

Dumbledore nodded to both of the avatars and pulled his wand from his sleeve. With a flick and a muffled incantation he nodded again to the lady. He felt the difference when Lady Hogwarts stopped helping to control Harry's magic. It took a great deal of his power to counter what Harry was unleashing but Albus stood his ground within Harry's mind as he watched the old lady walk deeper in to the Mindscape.

-oo00oo-

Harry felt a soft hand touch his shoulder, he flinched away from it at first, it was never good to cry or show emotion around the Dursleys. Then he remembered where he was and looked up into the eyes of Lady Hogwarts who was kneeling next to him in his mindscape. The loving, caring expression on her face gave Harry some comfort. Seeing that she had Harry's attention she looked down at the open book he was still cradling in is arms.

Smiling, she held out her hand for Harry to let her have it. Harry didn't want to release the book that he held but eventually and reluctantly he handed it to the lady who started looking through it with reverence. After turning the last page she closed the book softly and hugged it to herself before putting it back on a shelf that appeared next to her. Lady Hogwarts then looked down at Harry who was now sitting on the floor having uncurled him self. She extended a hand down to him that he reluctantly took, helping him to stand back up on his own two feet.

Once standing she pulled Harry into a hug holding him there for a moment that Harry would remember for the rest of his life. In that moment his library started to rebuild itself with a new bookshelf appearing in his family section. The new shelves started filling up with memories, memories of his mother and father's time at Hogwarts. From the moment his mother and father crossed the wards as first years to the day they left the wards for the last time as graduates were all given to him by Lady Hogwarts. She did filter the memories, no need for Harry to see his mother taking a bath or the snogging with his father in the third floor broom closet. But she did give all the good and the bad, his parents had not been perfect and he needed to see that as well.

It took some time for Harry to realize what had happened. He had read about Occlumens that had suffered mind quakes. It was a rare problem and those that had survived the experience never suffered from it again. Harry was feeling very lucky at the moment that Lady Hogwarts came to his rescue.

Once the process of rebuilding his Library began it moved forward rapidly, all the damaged books repaired themselves, even the books that had burnt pages somehow became whole again. Harry's library rebuilt itself around him as he stood there with Lady Hogwarts.

-oo00oo-

Dumbledore was sweating, he had been holding Harry's magic back for what felt like hours but could not have been more than a few minutes. It wasn't just his avatar currently in Harry's mind that was sweating his physical body was sweating as well. It had been a long time since he was in the presence of anyone that could rival his own magical power and Harry was darn close to it.

He watched as the mindscape started rebuilding itself and felt the force of magic he was holding back lessen. When it was to a point that it would cause no more damage, Albus knew his time in Harry's mind was up. He withdrew from the child's mind and stepped back from the bed.

Seeing Albus step back on unsteady feet Filius conjured a chair behind the headmaster just as he feel into it.

"Albus?" Filius questioned.

"He will be fine in a few moments I suspect. His mind is repairing itself very quickly. If you don't mind I would like to just sit here for a few moments to catch my breath." replied Albus.

At the moment Hedwig appeared in the room, in her beak was the sorting hat. After making one pass around the room she dropped the hat on Harry's bed and flew to the perch in the corner. She didn't take her eyes off the Headmaster for a moment after settling onto the perch. It was giving the Albus a very uneasy feeling being the center of attention of a Moon Owl.

The sorting hat took that moment to speak. "Headmaster Dumbledore, Lady Hogwarts would like to thank you for your help. She will let Harry know that you assisted her. I thank you as well Albus. Harry is a special young man; this will make up for some of what you put him through."

Albus nodded his head with a small smile. "Many people have told me recently that I have lost my way, this was a small thing I could do to make up for that. Harry has a destiny, true or false no longer matters. He will have my help when he wants or needs it." Fawkes appeared over the Headmaster at that moment, Dumbledore reached up and grabbed a tail feather and disappeared in a ball of flames.

"Always has to make a grand entrance or exit that one." The sorting hat grumbled but he had a smile on his brim.

-oo00oo-

It took Harry another hour to wake up from the trauma of the mind quake. He was able to repair all of the damage to his mindscape and knowledge but he was going to have a headache for a few days. The new crypt that Lady Hogwarts built for the part of Tom Riddle was stronger than the room he originally contained it in so he kept it. Professor Flitwick stayed with Harry for a couple hours to make sure has was okay before leaving to inform the Headmaster. Lady Hogwarts had explained to Harry what happened and the help that the Headmaster had provided. He was grateful to the Headmaster for what he did but was still having trouble trusting him. It was a step in the right direction though. Harry spent the rest of the day in the tower, mostly lying in bed.

Tula quickly returned from the infirmary after having her injuries look at and healed. Harry was dutifully upset that he had hurt her in any way but she put a stop to that by telling him that it was not his fault. Throughout the day Harry's friends visited him in the tower but left him to rest after finding out what had happened. Even Hermione let him be after getting some of the details with a promise to spend as much time in the library to find ways of preventing it from happening again. Harry tried to explain to her that it wouldn't happen again but she just wouldn't listen.

-oo00oo-

Alone in a room in the dungeons of Hogwarts, not far from the Slytherin common room but far enough away that no one would stumble in on him by accident, one lone first year was contemplating his lot in life. This past year had gone from bad to worse. First his father had been found out to be a death eater and had to go into hiding, then his mother disowns him for being sorted into Slytherin. Everything his father taught him was now in question.

To top off the bad year, the boy his father had taught him to hate, the boy that defeated the greatest dark lord was in fact greater than anyone had imagined. He was the heir to Hogwarts, he had more wealth and power than the Malfoy family could ever dream of having.

Draco was in a desperate situation, he just didn't know where to turn. His only other avenue, his godfather, had been in the hospital wing since the start of term. Draco desperately needed someone to talk to; the entire Slytherin house was ignoring him or worse now. He had been humiliated during the sorting and it had not stopped there. He had been turned into a virtual house elf by the upper class Slytherins and his own year was avoiding him like a plague. The small accomplishments he made the first couple days within Slytherin house had evaporated within hours of them finding out his mother had abandoned him too. Crabbe and Goyle only stood by him because of his father's influence over their fathers.

His father had sent him a letter, telling him how proud he was that he had followed in the Malfoy tradition but in the same letter asked him to spy on Potter, to get close to Potter, he had already burned that bridge. He could already tell that Potter was not one to forgive or forget lightly. He was starting to see the error of following his father. His mother had tried to explain it to him but he didn't want to listen.

Flashback

"Draco, your father is a bad man, who followed a bad man. You heard your father say that no Malfoy bows down to anyone." Narcicca explained.

"Yes Mother…" droned Draco.

"I watched your father bow down and kiss the feet of that so called Dark Lord only to be cursed for the effort." Narcicca continued.

"Yes Mother…" drones Draco again.

"Are you listening to me Draco?" asked his mother rather forcefully.

"Yes mother I am…" Draco rolled his eyes.

"If you follow your father, the Malfoy way, you will end up a murderer before you graduate Hogwarts. Is that what you want?"

Draco rolled his eyes again.

End Flashback

Now Draco wasn't so sure his mother was wrong or telling him some trumped up story. His mother had been accepted back into the Ancient and Noble House of Black; the announcement had been in the Prophet. If only he had listened he would now be above the Malfoy name, he would be a Black.

Lifting him self up off the floor where he had been sitting with his back to the wall. Draco walked out of the room and the dungeons, thankfully not running into any of his housemates. Still deep in his thoughts, Draco wondered the halls of the castle. Twenty minutes later he found himself in front of a Gargoyle statue, he knew this was the Headmaster's office but he couldn't remember making the choice to come here.

Draco was just about to turn around when the gargoyle moved aside revealing the staircase. With a deep breath Draco made a decision. He started climbing the stairs, he wasn't sure if this would work but he couldn't live like this anymore. When he reached the top of the stairs, he stood there outside the closed door for a moment.

Just as he was about to knock…

"Come in young man." Draco heard the Headmaster call out.

-oo00oo-

Poppy Pomfrey was keeping a close eye on her latest long term patient. This was the patients second time in the hospital wing of Hogwarts in as many weeks since the start of term. The first time was unexplainable, as much as she disliked the potions professor, seeing Snape like this was troubling. The Headmaster's diagnosis of Snape having an out of body experience didn't sit well with her.

Poppy was a fully trained healer, she had spent several years at St Mongo's practicing her art but she was not a mind healer. All healers had to have some Occlumancy training to keep patient information confidential but that was the extent of the mind arts that she knew or cared to know. Poppy was not a specialist in any field. She knew enough to treat most injuries and curses. This however was well beyond her experience and she didn't trust the Headmasters opinion on Severus at the moment.

She had just finished her morning round of the hospital wing, two first years with broken arms from broom flying classes. The bones in both students had been broken in several places having to be vanished and regrown. One sixth year student had been working on a new spell for Defense against the Dark Arts and it had backfired when she was testing it. Poppy was still debating on sending her off to St. Mongo's; the spell had damaged her ability to produce new red blood. How a sixth year could think that she could create a spell to replace the standard Blood Replenishing potion was beyond Poppy's imagination.

As she was entering her office the alarm spell she had placed on Severus sounded indicating that he was awake again. Poppy rushed to the private room he was being kept in to find him rolling around and groaning. She immediately pulled her wand and started running diagnostic spells over him. Again she found nothing physically wrong with him.

"Severus can you hear me!?" she forcibly asked him. "Severus!?" again she asked him.

Severus opened his eyes and looked up at Poppy for just a moment than went back to shaking his head back and forth. "Who… Who are you?" Severus managed to get out as he clamped his hands on either side of his head. "Head… head hurts…"

Poppy summoned a pain relief potion from the potion cabinet, uncorked it and pressed it to Severus's lips. Snape was able to get the potion down; within moments his hands feel from the sides of his head. "Better…" he groaned out.

"Severus, how are you doing? Do you recognize me?" Poppy asked.

Severus opened his eyes again and looked at Poppy for a moment.

"No… who are you..? Who is Severus..?" Severus had an almost blank look on his face. Poppy was confused, the last time he woke and remembered everything, well except that he had lost a mind dual.

"Severus Do you know where you are?" Poppy asked.

Snape looked around the room for a moment than back up at Poppy before shaking his head no. Poppy was panicking on the inside, wizards that had lost this much memory in the past ended up spending a long time in St. Mongo's, generally the rest of their lives.

"I'm Madam Pomfrey, I'm a healer and you're in Hogwarts Hospital wing. Your name is Severus Snape. Now please stay here Severus I am going to go get the Headmaster and a mind healer from St. Mongo's." Poppy had made up her mind and was calling in a specialist, Dumbledore be damned.