It's been a little while since I last updated… sorry, I had everything involved with the end of high school to deal with. But I'm done now! And my goal is to finish this story before I head off to college and never have any time to write. That shouldn't be too hard, as this story is coming to a close very soon.

I put a little bit about the Imperious Curse (again) at the beginning because people have been asking. I guess I wasn't clear enough before about the strength of Cepheus's curse.

Chapter Twelve: Remotely Controlled

Harry and Draco had each been under the Imperious Curse before.

Harry's first experience with its icy grip had been under the Death Eater impersonating Alastor Moody and, in that case, it had been a fairly weak use of the curse. They were in a classroom setting after all and, deranged Death Eater or not, turning a student into a veritable vegetable would have been mildly suspicious. Harry had been able to break out of it.

Draco's father had been the one to expose his son to the loss of control that came with the Imperious. He wanted Draco to know exactly what it felt like and be able to ward it off the next time it occurred. And while there was no way of comparing the two experiences, leaving it unknown to Draco or Harry, the curse that Lucius had cast on his son had been stronger and therefore harder to break than the one that Harry had been under. With a little practice, though, Draco had been able to break away as well.

However, the version of the curse that Cepheus Black had placed on his far descendent and the Boy Who Lived was far beyond anything they'd been exposed to before. There was a certain frightening strength behind the old sorcerer's magic power that came from being the original source of the spell he was using. Thus, the two boys had, as of yet, been unable to free themselves.

But the curse was not without its flaws. Much of its effectiveness depended on the concentration of the castor. And in this regard, Cepheus Black was not unflappable, especially when he had to control two victims at the same time (as well as the King, though he was considerably less of a threat). Both boys were struggling and, from the perspective of an outside observer with omnipresent capabilities, one might notice that when the Black patriarch gave his attention to maintaining control over one of the boys, his hold over the other slipped in the slightest amount. Each time this happened, that one boy nearly broke free. And that would prove to be its undoing.

Thus far, Cepheus's plan had been coming together exactly as he had intended. Nothing could stop him now, with both wizard boys under his control― it wasn't as if there were some other powerful sorcerer that could come and stop him.

Merlin had left Arthur alone with his father and with Gaius to fetch some special herbs from the forest just outside Camelot, which the physician hoped would help with King Uther's ailment. He had just bent over to cut a few blades of onion grass when a sudden jolt ran through him, making his fingers tingle and his head swim for a few brief moments. His magic was tugging at him again, and this time it was telling him to go to the castle. He looked up at Gaius, who, in turn, was giving him a concerned look. Then the old man seemed to understand.

"Go," he said; and Merlin went.

Now came the part when Cepheus would need to employ some acting skills. After all, this had to look and sound realistic to Prince Arthur, as he would surely be the one to tell King Uther of what had transpired (and, in theory, the merits of what Cepheus had done). When he was close enough to the door, he began.

"Thank you for alerting me to this matter, Draco," he said loudly enough that the petrified prince would hear. "I shudder to think of what could have happened to him. You say you suspect a magical reason behind his illness? That is indeed a frightening possibility."

Arthur did hear, as he was meant to, and found himself praying that the two of them would enter and save him from his current predicament, in which the wizard boy's deadly stick was aimed at his face. After pausing for a moment, Cepheus began to speak again, the concern in his voice sounding very realistic.

"What is going on here?" he demanded of the stunned guards who, naturally, did not respond. Then he appeared in the doorway, preparing for the real show to begin.

Merlin ran through lower Camelot and was miraculously not out of breath by the time he made it to the inner castle. But he had a ways to go.

Presently, Draco ran at Harry, looking for all the world like he was making a brave move in stopping anything Harry had been about to do. It was then that Cepheus commanded Harry to kill Draco. It was also then that his plan hit its first snag.

Harry's brain recoiled violently from the word "kill" that had been suggested to it. Killing went so much against the core of Harry's being that it was enough to make his addled mind realize that it was not under its own control, and that was enough to bring Harry's consciousness nearly above the surface imposed by the curse. His wand arm dropped back to his side and he blinked in confusion, trying to remember who and where he was. So instead of "dying tragically in the crossfire" as Cepheus's plan dictated, Draco merely tackled Harry to the ground as he'd been instructed. Cepheus redoubled his will over Harry, pulling him back under the curse's control, and told him to fight back. As he did this, he lost a bit of the hold over Draco; the two continued to grapple on the floor, appearing as though in the middle of an intense wresting match.

"Be careful, Draco," Cepheus said in false caring, "He seems dangerous."

Arthur watched this all from the floor, thankful that he'd been rescued (though unwilling to admit that it had been necessary). Everything was happening quickly; he barely even wondered why the old man didn't even try to help.

In truth, Cepheus was growing frustrated. For his plan to work, Harry needed to kill Draco, allowing him to return the favor in a "fit of rage". It was a sacrifice that he was willing to make, but he could do nothing if it didn't happen in the first place. So he strengthened his will towards Harry even further.

And it was then that Draco broke free.

Fret not, the next chapter has already been written. I just needed to split it because it was getting long (and because, as you know, I love cliffhangers far more than any author should). I'll post the next part in a few days.

In the meantime, review, please! Reviews will be used as a flotation device for Harry's mind to resurface.