The Pureblood Conspiracy Chapter 12: The Prince of Potions, a harry potter fanfic

A/N – I make no apologies for cliffhangers at the end of chapters. I reserve the right to use them whenever I like. ;)

Once again I thank all of you who take the time to review. I enjoy reading every review and your suggestions give me ideas of where to take the story. Percy's eventual choices in the story come from some of your suggestions. On with the story.

Chapter 12 – The Prince of Potions

Voldemort snarled, "Bad answer Harry. I don't ask twice." With that he pointed his wand at Hermione whose eyes grew wide in surprise and terror when they heard him say, "Crucio."

Hermione stood frozen as the dreaded spell was cast. At the same moment, Luna pushed her to the floor and ended up on top of her as the spell past overhead and exploded against the wall. Harry stepped in front of the two girls to block the next spell.

"OK, OK, it's just this," he produced a stack of papers he had been holding in his hand.

Voldemort looked at the papers, "Severus, take those from Potter and find out what Harry felt was so important to hide from me."

Voldemort kept his wand on the three as Snape stepped forward and took the papers from Harry. Once Severus was in front of him Tom winked at the three teens. They had pulled this off perfectly. He put on his Voldemort face again.

Severus for his part started reading the papers – Harry had already given his permission since he could not even try to picture Snape in any erotic story. He read the first page and just kept on reading. "This can't be true," he thought, " but it makes logical sense and explains a lot of seeming inconsistencies in the world."

He was so engrossed in what he was reading that he did not notice that Tom had lowered his wand, Harry had relaxed and Hermione and Luna had stood up and they were all just waiting for him to finish.

When Severus finally finished, he remembered where he was and looked up to see the other four starting at him. "My lord," he paused, there was something a little to surreal about the situation. His master had his wand holstered his expression didn't seem the same – it was more 'human'. The other funny thing was that the three teens were also relaxed and everyone was looking at him expectantly. He was shaken out of his stupor by the sound of his master's voice.

"Severus, please call me Tom. Why don't we go back downstairs and talk about what you just read."

Snape's brain had gone into overload. No only was it busy trying to incorporate the paradigm-shattering information he had just read, but here was the Dark Lord using his own muggle name and openly being polite and almost friendly to the others. Then it hit him like shrapnel from one of Ron Weasleys exploding potions (i.e. 95 of his potions assignments) – the four from the prophecy.

He looked at Tom who had conjured a comfy chair to sit in, "You are the heir of Slytherin. That means," he swung around and looked at the teens. In Sequence, Luna Harry and Hermione said, "Hufflepuff", "Gryffindor" and "Ravenclaw". Everyone looked at Severus as they watches his eyes show the pieces falling in place.

Tom spoke again, "Severus, think about I everything you read. Think about your life and the decisions and paths you have been forced to take and all of the inconsistencies in our world that no one questions openly. Does it not begin to make sense now?"

Snape shook his head, "Albus?"

"Is the mastermind behind it all," said Hermione, "he is controlling both sides, ensuring that the half-bloods and muggleborn are the villains and the majority of the victims. They are weakening the will of the potential opposition in order to get consensus for pureblood supremacy. "

Harry spoke, "Professor – Severus – the four of us are offering you the same choice we offered Tom a few nights ago. We can obliviate any memory of this meeting and you can continue to believe you are a double agent while in reality you are setting yourself up as a half-blood sacrifice, or you can choose to work with us and gain independence in thought and action from the master manipulator. Our group is small and we have no single person in control. We have to build on all of our strengths to out-think and out-maneuver our opponents."

He continued, "I know we have had a complex history. But knowing what I know and how we have all been manipulated in our lives and beliefs, I'm willing to put our history aside. Hell, if Tom and I can patch things up and work together, we should be best friends soon." He smirked and held out his hand to the Potions teacher.

Severus looked at the four and then at Harry's gesture of goodwill. "I choose to live my own life and make my own decisions. I accept your offer," and took Harry's hand. The other three smiled at their new ally.

"I have one question though – why the act earlier? I know the spell was real – I've felt it enough times – but looking back, I can see now you three knew it was coming and choreographed it perfectly. Luna's reaction was a bit too fast for the situation."

Luna laughed, "If you had come in and found Lord Voldemort having tea with his mortal enemy and his friends, the sheer audacity of it would have caused you to not have any trust in us at all. We had to put you in a believable situation where you would have an open enough mind to read those documents."

"Quite clever. I commend you all."

Tom chuckled (something that was not lost on Snape), "we all played our parts, but Luna was the architect of the plan. Altering the reality of a situation is something she seems to have a particular knack for."

Severus considered this for a moment and then nodded.

"Severus, the Death Eaters already know I will be gone for a week and that you would be coming with me. What did you tell Albus?"

"I told him that I would be traveling with you for the next week."

Harry spoke up, "so your presence won't be missed?"

"No."

Harry said, "I'll be right back." He touched his ring and disappeared. In the few seconds he was gone, Severus felt a tingling in his brain and suddenly he knew something he didn't before. When Harry popped back, he asked, "Will you join us at the Manor?"

Severus nodded again.

Suddenly an elf appeared. "Master Harry! They are coming to Privet Drive. The Headmaster!"

Harry said, "Oh crap – gotta go!" and with that he was gone.

The rest of the group just looked at each other – Hermione and Luna were shaking their heads. Severus looked at them questioningly.

"Harry needs to keep making appearances at Privet Drive so his Order guards think he's there. This is the second time this has happened," explained Luna.

Severus nodded once again, "I've had a couple of shifts. You mean to tell me we've been guarding an empty house?" There were nods all around. He did something that the girls had never seen – he burst out laughing. "Dumbledore doesn't even suspect anything. This is too much."

The four of them laughed as the girls activated their necklaces and Tom and Severus apparated back to the Manor.

/Scene Break/

Harry had prepared this time. He had the ring take him to the basement of number 4. He quickly sat in the corner and picked up the items beside him. They were meant to send a message, but he doubted Dumbledore would receive it. That made it even sweeter.

Albus Dumbledore and Alastor Moody came through the front door of number four and headed straight up the stairs.

"Just as you had suspect Alastor, the room is empty. Where can Harry be? He made a promise not to leave the house."

As they stood in silent thought they heard a sound.

Thump-thump.

They slowly made their way downstairs.

Thump-thump.

The sound seemed to be coming from the basement. Wands drawn, they opened the door.

Thump-thump. Slap.

Thump-thump. Slap

As they went downstairs, the sound grew louder.

Thump-thump. Slap

Then they saw it. Harry was sitting against one wall and throwing a type of ball at the floor near the opposite wall. It would hit the floor, bounce off the wall and then rebound back to Harry and he caught it in some sort of oversized glove.

Dumbledore spoke up, "Harry?"

Harry looked startled. "Professor, what brings you here?"

"We thought you had disappeared. What are you doing down here?"

"Well, I've been watching a lot of television lately and I saw a movie where one of the characters spent a lot of time alone and did this to pass the time. Dudley had a baseball and glove so I thought I'd give it a try. It's very relaxing. In fact, I now know what Professor Snape meant when he told me to 'Clear my mind'."

"How long have you been down here?'

"A couple of hours. Why?'

"We could not see you and assumed you were missing."

"What do you mean 'could not see me'? Do I need to stand by the windows all the time?"

"No, for instance Alastor's eye can see you as you move about the house." Dumbledore was not going to tell him only Alastor could do that.

"Professor, I find this lack of privacy disturbing. Are your guards watching me at all times? Even when I take a shower?" His voice was rising.

"Harry, it's for the greater good."

"It's for the greater good that you have people spying on me? Watching me shower? I thought the P in the name was Phoenix, not Pedophile!"

Albus winced – this was not going how he planned. "Harry it's for your own protection."

"PROTECTION? Protection from what? You put up the wards around this house. Not even you can apparate in or out. You've even told me portkeys won't work inside the wards. No one can get in the house without having to walk across the bloody road first. So tell me again, why are Order members watching me shower?" Harry was seething outside. Inside he was pretty sure that only Moody could look into the house, but he saw a chance for a bit of freedom here.

"Very well Harry, maybe this is not completely necessary. I will instruct the order members not to look into the house."

"Not good enough. You've already violated my privacy. I want an oath from both of you that you will not watch me while I am in the house and will ensure that no other Order member does the same. Headmaster, our ongoing relationship depends on this oath."

Dumbledore thought hard on this. The boy wasn't asking for much, just some privacy. He deliberated silently with himself, "One little victory for him could strengthen my control in the long run. Refuse this and I may lose control of Harry completely."

"Very well Harry," Albus and Alastor gave the oath. There was a brief flash of light as their magic accepted it.

"Thank you." Harry clamed down while his brain was celebrating. "Now was there anything else?

"No, Harry."

"Professor, when do you think I will be able to contact my friends? It is pretty lonely."

"Harry, right now the situation is very unstable and this is the only place you are safe. I will see what I can do. Perhaps I will be able to get Ron to visit you however I can't do that until I know it will be safe for both of you. That may not be for a few more weeks."

Harry thought, "Gee I wonder if that will not be until after the will reading." He put on what he thought was a slightly sad and deflated posture. "I understand Headmaster."

"We'll be on our way Harry. Good night."

"Good night. I take it you can see yourselves out?"

As Albus and Alastor walked back up the stairs the sound started again. This time joined by Harry whistling a strange tune. (A/N The theme for the particular movie)

Thump-thump. Slap

They walked outside and as soon as they were at the edge of the wards they apparated away.

A lone figure remained on the street hidden under an invisibility cloak. Nymphadora Tonks was settling into her favourite place to spend her shift guarding Harry. Her mind was filled with a number of different thoughts and she was fighting an internal battle. She knew it wasn't right for Harry to be completely isolated especially after the loss of his godfather. What she had heard about his life up until now from Sirius and Remus was disturbing.

"What the hell is Dumbledore thinking?" she thought to herself. She was surprised no one else in the Order except for Remus questioned Dumbledore's actions with Harry. She even thought about going in there herself to talk to Harry but the extra wards Dumbledore place recently made that impossible. Albus had put wards on both the front and rear doors that would warn him if anyone tried to enter or leave the house.

"I'll talk to Remus after the meeting tomorrow. Maybe we can convince Albus to let us spend some time with poor Harry.

Meanwhile back in the house 'poor Harry' was having a good laugh. He had received magical oaths from Dumbles and Moody not to use magic to spy on him. That means that he really didn't have to spend a lot of time here and he shouldn't have any more of these emergencies. Harry headed back to the Manor to get some sleep.

When he got back to the Manor, the other four were waiting for him. As he explained the situation Alastor and Albus found him in Hermione giggled. The others had blank faces until Harry explained the symbolism and then they chuckled as well. Harry then told him about the oaths he made the two of them give which now allowed him to even spend less time at Privet Drive.

He found out that while he was dealing with Dumbles, the other three founders had brought Severus up to date with everything including the potion required for the rituals. Severus was already deep into studying the recipe and making notes about the ingredients.

Harry took Tom aside while the girls were helping Snape. "Tom, Remus Lupin will be coming over tomorrow, and then on Saturday we will be having the girls' parents and the Longbottom's over as well. I'm not sure yet who we can tell about the four of us. What I'd like to do is offer you and Severus the use of one of the guesthouses to prepare for the ritual."

"Thank you Harry that is very thoughtful of you. I'm also not sure about announcing my involvement to anyone yet. Perhaps Remus can be trusted with everything but I'll let that be your decision. As for the rest of the people, I would think that the girls should decide about what to reveal to their parents and the three of you decide what to do with the Longbottoms. I will take the most secluded guesthouse available. If what I suspect is true, the ritual may make you call it another Shrieking Shack."

Harry nodded. It was late and he bid everyone a good night. As he was settling into bed, he heard his door open and close quickly. In normal circumstances his night vision was bad but without his glasses he could not see a thing. Sitting very still trying to discern movement or a noise he was suddenly caught unaware by a pair of warm lips on his. After a smoldering kiss, he heard a familiar voice whisper "you forgot the goodnight kiss," and a moment later his door opened and closed again.

/Scene Break/

There were two people who couldn't sleep no matter how hard they tried. Fred and George had what many would consider an eventful evening. They had gone back to the Burrow to investigate what was happening.

/Flashback/

Fred and George had apparated back to the Burrow with a loud Crack! They could apparate silently, they both felt it took a lot of the fun out of it They were greeted with the familiar bear-like hugs of their mother who was happy to see them every chance she could get.

"Fred, George, it's so nice of you to come home. We weren't expecting you until Sunday.

Fred started, "Well mum"

"We heard some news today about"

"Our younger siblings and we"

"Wanted to get to the bottom of it."

Molly wondered what this was about so she called out, "Ronald! Ginny! Can you please come down to the kitchen?"

Ron and Ginny came into the kitchen to see Fred and George sitting there. Ginny ran over to hug her brothers and Ron said, "What brings you guys here?"

The twins became serious. Fred started, "We had a visitor today who gave us some news."

George continued, "What's happening between you two and your friends?"

Ginny decided to play it coy, "Which ones, I have so many…"

That irked Fred, "You know who we mean! But just in case let me be more specific – Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood."

George said, "Remember the people you fought Death Eaters with?"

Ron looked at them, "Nothing's wrong. In fact I'm going to ask Hermione to be my girlfriend when we get together."

Ginny added, "As for Harry, he needs to apologize for dragging us to the DoM. He could have gotten us killed and ended up getting Sirius killed."

Fred and George were speechless. George finally sputtered, "WHAT!"

Ron defend his sister, "It's true. It's all Harry's fault. He allowed himself to get tricked by Death Eaters. But then again, that was his whole plan when he formed the DA."

Fred could not believe what he was hearing, "Hang on, you and Hermione had to convince him to start the DA in the first place."

"It just shows how sneaky he is manipulating us into asking him. Harry was preparing us for his own personal war."

Molly spoke up, "Exactly. Harry has gone too far. He should not be convincing children to fight. He should be letting the Order and the Ministry handle things. I just hope he can be turned away from becoming a dark wizard."

Fred and George were beside themselves, "Dark Wizard? Harry? Are you out of your mind? Do you remember he fought a Basilisk single handed to save Ginny? Do you remember who saved DAD by letting us know he'd been attacked?"

"Well that's how Dark Wizard's start. They get the confidence of people as they grow in power."

Fred said, "I don't believe what I'm hearing. This is Harry bloody Potter we are talking about. He's like a member of this family."

Molly agreed, "That's why we have to help him stay light. We have to do what we can and help Albus steer him in the right direction. We need to keep him on our side and doing the right thing."

Fred gave George a look. George immediately understood. They had developed a secret method of communication that no one else knew. Fred got up and stormed out. George looked at his Mother, "Mum, I understand. I'll talk to Fred. Don't worry we'll do the right thing." With that he got up and left.

/End Flashback/

Fred sighed, "Did you believe that story?"

"Not a word. Harry taught us to help us survive."

"And knowing him he tried to go to the DoM alone and the rest of them refused."

"Sounds like he's rebelling against Dumbledore."

"He rebelled when he invested in our business."

"He rebelled when he agreed to teach us."

"Brother dear, I don't think we are in a position to condemn anyone who flaunts authority."

"I completely agree oh brother of mine."

"What do you think about Ron and Hermione?"

They said in unison, "Never happen."

/Scene Break/

Far away from Diagon Alley in another part of the country a blonde boy was having problems sleeping. The same thought had been going through his head for several hours, "How does he expect me to kill Dumbledore?"

/Scene Break/

Another boy was having problems sleeping for a different reason. "I have to meet her father!" The thought was keeping Neville awake.

/Scene Break/

Albus Dumbledore was pacing in his office. He was trying to figure out what to do with one Harry Potter. Harry seemed to still be confrontational with him. Perhaps the isolation wasn't working as well as Dumbledore hoped. He knew that Harry had been home for less than a week, but Harry's resolve seemed to be getting stronger, not weaker. This needed to change.

He thought about finding a reason to bring the Dursleys back from their vacation. However Vernon was not easily controlled. While Albus did not care about Harry getting roughed up a bit, he thought Vernon might actually kill Harry if he was forced to come back from vacation too early. Dumbledore did not want Harry dead – yet.

Harry was naturally resistant to the imperious curse and obliviate was a bit too much of a risk.

Suddenly he had an idea. Harry has too much freedom. He was still a bit limited in what he could do. It would take a bit of planning and moving up some schedules, but the sooner he got this done the better. He had to get Harry back under his thumb.

Albus sighed and decided he needed to get some sleep. Tomorrow would be a very busy day.

A/N – I still haven't decided what role Tonks will play. I'm on the fence as to whether she will play significant part in the story or not. Any opinions either way?