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Balance Factor Chapter 10

Year Two

Revelations

A/N: I made it quite early when Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape realize who Harry really is. This is because I find it highly unbelievable that Harry would be able to hide such a big for a long period of time. He's never had to hide his identity before from people he likes.

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Snape was stunned silent. Within seconds however, McGonagall and Dumbledore had both burst into the room, having felt the surge of power. Both of them pulled out wands and started firing curses at him.

Kazuki held up his left hand, a white barrier forming instantly. The spells bounced harmlessly off.

"This wasn't the greeting I was expecting," Kazuki said calmly, looking at the Professors. They circled him, blocking his exit. Kazuki looked down at his spear and held it up, causing the other Professors to raise their wands again. But the spear merely dissolved into shadows.

"As usual, you've made a mess of things, Potter," Snape said, striding towards him. Kazuki smiled.

"So sorry. I did warn you though. Human magic sure is lacking," Kazuki said, crossing his arms, the metal rings around his forearm clinking against each other. "Those wards were child's play. You may be accomplished in Potions, Professor Snape, but your magic is weak."

"Potter?" McGonagall asked, her brow furrowing. Kazuki turned to her and sighed, running a hand through his long black hair.

"I think this calls for an explanation, doesn't it?" Kazuki said.

"I'm ready!" Lockhart burst in the room and fired off a spell in a random direction. Kazuki didn't even bother with the barrier, the spell going right through him and hitting the wall.

"I would appreciate it," Snape said silkily, "If you did not destroy my classroom, Gilderoy. I still do have to… teach."

"Huh? Where is the enemy? The whole monster of the Chamber?" Lockhart asked.

"Normal humans, witches, and wizards cannot see me," Kazuki supplied, "However, in the castle, the magic is saturated enough to filter me in. Considering that he still cannot see me means that he's below the level of average." Snape's mouth twitched.

"I think you should leave now, Gilderoy. Obviously, there is no monster here," he said, his eyes flashing. But he didn't give him a choice in the matter. He waved his wand and Lockhart was shoved out of the room. He waved it again and he was locked outside.

Kazuki tapped his chin, thinking about how he was going to explain this. He glanced around and hummed thoughtfully.

"When this world was created, there were two beings created. Entities. Light and Dark…"

-0-

After the complete rundown, Kazuki looked at the faces of the Professors. "Any questions?"

Dumbledore reached over and placed his hand on Kazuki's cloak. Kazuki looked at him.

"Then… Harry Potter…?"

"Dead. His soul has long since passed," Kazuki said. "He's probably frolicking in some field somewhere in his new life. I merely possess his vessel." He glanced up as Snape uncovered his Dark Mark. "A binding contract?"

Snape looked at him. "If you are Balance, this should be "child's play" to you." He held up his arm and looked at Kazuki. Kazuki sighed deeply, placing his white gloves over Snape's mark. It glowed brightly, the light almost blinding.

"Darkness return to Darkness. Light return to Light. The balance is kept in equilibrium. Free this man of his bindings to Darkness," Kazuki said softly. When the light faded the Dark Mark dissolved into shadowy mist, right off Snape's arm.

Snape stared at the dissolving mark in shock. Kazuki smiled.

"Of course, that was not free. It was payment for allowing this to be somewhat private," Kazuki said, smiling at Snape. "You protected my secret from the other students. I have no doubt they would have suffocated under the pressure. Hogwarts was kind enough to lessen that."

Kazuki turned to the board and closed his eyes. "My vessel is still physically weak. Though my memories and power all exist in this body, the vessel contains most of it. It is just enough to remain undetected from my father's murderer." He turned to Dumbledore.

"Though I am not Harry Potter, my purpose is balance. I exist in this world as such and will not interfere with it unless I absolutely must," Kazuki said. "That includes fighting Voldemort. He does not rank high on my list of things I must do at the moment. Instead, my duties come first. But if Voldemort insists on hunting me down, I have no claims about ripping him apart. If he thought severing his soul was painful, what I could do to him would destroy him…."

"Potter, you're quite the Slytherin, aren't you?" Snape sneered, crossing his arms.

"Draco, Hermione, and Ron all know this. Last year with the troll, I was forced to show a bit of my power to them. Granted, it was only a very small sliver of what I could actually do, but it was my true power, none the less," Kazuki said. "Professor Snape, will you agree to take care of this body? My vessel. The body is weak, much weaker than I would have liked. But the body is becoming more in sync with me, which could prove to be problematic. It means I can use more of my true power in my vessel, but also that my power is more visible to my enemy. I do not think I am strong enough to take down the Shadow King in my state. If he was able to kill Father and chase my other Father away, he is beyond my level. Far beyond my level."

Snape gave a sniff and a stiff nod.

Kazuki walked up to Snape, placing his hands on Snape's upper arms and resting his head on Snape's shoulder. "At my current level, I cannot remain in this state for long. I must revert back." He smiled a little, closing his eyes. "Thank you, Professor Snape."

There were small bubbles of light coming from Kazuki's body and then Harry Potter was back, slumped against Snape's shoulder. Snape held the boy steady as Harry opened his eyes, looking exhausted, but no longer stressed.

"I feel better," Harry said quietly.

"Well, good, because you'll be serving detention with me for a month for your disruption in class," Snape said flatly. Harry laughed.

"Now, Severus, it's hardly fair to blame Mr. Potter for something he couldn't control," McGonagall protested. Dumbledore raised a hand.

"No, Minerva," he said quietly, his voice sad and soft, "Harry did disrupt the class. Severus has every right to give the boy detention because of it." He looked old, frail. "I'm sorry for the trouble, Harry, my boy. I did not mean to put so much pressure on you. But tell me this: that cane head…"

"Ah, yes. It reeks of Shirogane's Darkness. His power," Harry said, nodding. "It can help me balance out darkness when I need to. But only darkness. Darkness always draws more darkness. I hold both in my power and need both to keep the equilibrium."

Dumbledore nodded, moving towards the door. Harry closed his eyes, completely slumped against Snape.

"I felt him, you know," Harry said, letting himself be dragged to Snape's personal quarters. Snape slipped him on the couch, moving away to grab a blanket. "Shirogane… He's made another child." Harry closed his eyes. "I wonder what he's like…"

"Potter, you need rest. I'll call for dinner later today," Snape said. Harry thought his voice seemed very far away as he slipped into dreamless sleep.

Snape looked at the child sleeping on his couch.

His story was nothing short of incredible.

Rubbing the area where his Dark Mark used to be, Snape sighed, closing his eyes. To think there was another world out there. Other beings that far outstripped wizards and witches. Entities. And even more powerful beings that could create and destroy life like it was a toy.

Severus Snape didn't know what to think anymore. His entire world had been turned upside down. But what bothered him the most, was that there existed a being that could kill the entity of Light. And that enemy was the person Potter was going to fight against.

Potter was balance. Did he not know how important his existence was? If he died from the battle with that man, then the balance would crumble. At least until another being was created to keep the equilibrium. Potter admitted to them that he had no idea what came after death. A new future? Or something akin to Heaven? He had no idea. But he knew that humans reincarnated, so he had supposed that perhaps he would too, if he had died.

Snape opened a bottle of firewhisky as there was a knock on his door. He hesitated before flicking his wand at the door, allowing them entry. It was Draco.

"Professor? Is Harry…?" He spoke quietly. Ron and Hermione were behind him. Snape stepped aside to show them their sleeping friend and sat down again.

"He's alive," Snape said, leaning back to sneer at them. He sipped the strong alcoholic beverage, far too tired to care at the moment that he had two Gryffindors and one Slytherin in his private rooms. Draco must have showed them the way.

"Do you know?" Draco asked quietly. "We felt it in the Great Hall too. Everyone did. For a minute, I thought Potter exploded."

Snape sneered with discomfort, looking at the Potter boy. He had thought that Potter wouldn't last five minutes against the Dark Lord. Now…

Perhaps they had a fighting chance.

He felt the firewhisky come up his throat a little. Problem was, perhaps Potter had his own ways of fighting already. He easily blocked two spells from the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress. Teaching the boy how to shield his mind from influence should be a simple task. Kazuki seemed powerful, quite possibly more powerful than the Dark Lord. If Kazuki was serious in battle, he might be able to win.

Briefly, Snape wondered if Harry knew how to use the spear he had been holding.

-0-

Harry woke slowly, his body warm. He listened to the crackling of the fire for a while, the fire warm against his senses. He opened his eyes.

Snape was sitting in the armchair, his head tipped forward. He appeared to be fast asleep. Harry looked around, frowning and closing his eyes and relaxing. He slid off the couch, looking up at Snape, padding slowly towards him placing a hand on his shoulder. Snape shifted a little and Harry sighed contentedly, letting his light warm Snape.

"Potter…?"

Harry looked at him in the face, dropping his hand. Snape seemed to be awake, looking up at him, surprised that he was awake.

"Yes?" Harry asked, moving back and sitting on the couch. Snape touched his shoulder where Harry had touched him, slightly confused. There was a warmth in his touch that he had never felt before…

"You will serve your detention Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 8PM," Snape said. Harry tipped his head.

"As you wish," Harry said, looking at Snape. Snape yawned and called a house elf for dinner despite that it was very late already.

Snape tilted his chair back, waiting for the food to come. Harry closed his eyes, smiling a little.

"Potter, how much do you know of Legilimency?"

Harry glanced at Snape slowly. "Absolutely nothing, I would guess. I have never heard that term before." He looked back at the fire, smiling as a house elf appeared with a tray of food. "Thank you."

The house elf bowed, popping away. Harry didn't move to eat. Snape pushed the tray at Harry. Harry absentmindedly reached forward and took the cup of tea that was prepared for him, taking one of the sandwiches. Snape did the same.

"Legilimency is the art of navigating through minds," Snape said. "Occumency is the art of protecting your mind."

"I see," Harry said. "I have done meditation before. But I have not had any formal training in protecting my mind against wizards. I have never gotten attacked by wizards before since my interaction is limited to people who visited me in the Light Palace. Ryuuko did not feel I was ready for travel in the human world, though I knew I was. Assault of the mind was considered a coward's way of fighting."

"I see," Snape said slowly. "I will be teaching you during our detentions, though it might come naturally to you. If it does, I'd like to see your skill in battle before teaching you more spells."

Harry laughed, highly amused. He ate his sandwich and leaned back. "Alright, Professor." He closed his eyes and hummed. "Does Voldemort use it too?" He supposed that, even if he didn't, he would be able to use it against any potential mind readers. Though he seriously doubted he'd ever be able to fool Shisui. Shisui read intent, not memories and minds.

"He has in the past and he may in the future," Snape said, a frown on his face. Harry smiled.

"I look forward to our meeting then."

-0-

Harry didn't know what possessed him to think that joining a Dueling Club would be a good idea.

Oh yeah. It was the petrification of Mrs. Norris and Colin Creevey. After the first match of the season, Harry had dislocated his shoulder from a rogue Bludger. He had caught the snitch with his good hand, but his other arm had been twisted the wrong way. Lockhart immediately tried to help, but Harry wordlessly snapped his shoulder back into place with a sickening crunch.

Apparently Madam Pomfrey wasn't very happy about that. She insisted he stay for the night, scowling at him, but saying nothing to his response.

"Would you rather have me as a patient due to Lockhart's incompetency?"

When he was resting, Dobby had showed up, giving him another warning and admitting that he was the one to set the Bludger to attack Harry and seal the platform. Harry had not been very happy to hear this, but let it go. He did swear to himself, though, that if Dobby tried anything like that again, he'd ask Draco why their family house elf was trying to send him home in pieces.

Colin had arrived shortly after, being levitated. Harry had been resting, but not sleeping, listening to the conversation going on in the bed next to them. It took him a while, but he finally dozed off when they had left.

Since the disastrous first class, Lockhart had not brought any more magical creatures in. Instead, he would constantly pick on Harry to be an actor for one of his books. Harry refused to participate in any way, forcing Lockhart to use him as a standstill model for demonstrations from his books. His friends were less than pleased.

Snape glanced at Harry, noting that the boy didn't look particularly happy to be at the first meeting of the Dueling Club. He couldn't blame him though. They had started their training sessions last week. This would seem like nothing to Harry.

Ron and Hermione spoke with Draco about the Heir of Slytherin. Together, they searched through the library, looking for books. Draco agreed that they should leave his father out of it, as his father might have started the whole thing.

Lockhart stood proudly as he looked around. Harry raised an eyebrow at him, watching him get blown back by a spell and his wand flying in the air. Personally, he'd rather fight Snape than Lockhart, as Lockhart was as unpredictable idiot.

"Potter. Malfoy. Come here," Snape said, barking at them. Draco climbed up instantly, standing on the platform proudly. Harry sighed and stood opposite him.

"Disarm only," Lockhart said, despite both boys not paying attention to him. Snape whispered something in Draco's ear, causing Draco to smile at Harry.

"Scared, Potter?" Draco asked.

"Of course I am. You can be scary," Harry said, smiling back. Although he said it, there was not a hint of fear. He bowed to Draco, who bowed back.

"One… Two… Three… Go!" Lockhart said. But Draco had already started on two.

Harry dodged the spell and Draco fired off another one. A snake erupted from the end of Draco's wand, hitting the floor with a thud.

"What in the-" The snake hissed, looking like it had just woken up from a nap.

"Don't worry, Potter," Snape said. "I'll get rid of it." He pulled out his wand. Lockhart was faster, shooting a spell at the snake. The snake flew up in the air, swelled two feet long, and landed with a heavy thump.

"SON OF A-" Now the snake seemed very angry. It reared up towards the direction of the spell, directly in front of Justin Finch-Fletchley. Harry groaned.

"He did it," Harry spoke calmly, pointing at Lockhart. The snake turned towards him sharply but then reared towards Lockhart, furious. Lockhart stumbled and backed away from the snake. Snape's lip twitched, his smile seeming more like a sneer.

"I WAS SLEEPING YOU LITTLE-"

"He was sleeping. Your summoning probably woke him up. And he's more pissed at Lockhart for his spell than your summoning," Harry said, looking at Draco. Draco was looking at him strangely. Now that he had bothered to look around, most people were looking at him strangely.

"You're a Parslemouth, Potter?" Draco asked, frowning deeply.

"Hm? Oh… Well… I suppose that's what you'd call it," Harry said casually. "Snakes talk to me and it would be rude to ignore them. But I talk to other animals too. They understand me, though snakes talk back." He was watching Lockhart scramble off the platform and wave his wand in some flamboyant manner. The snake wasn't pleased, but it slithered back towards Draco and Harry. Harry looked at it. "You should probably put him back though. Sorry for bothering you." He spoke the last phrase to the snake. The snake looked miffed as Snape made it vanish in a puff of black smoke.

Draco grabbed Harry and dragged him out of the room. Both Ron and Hermione tailed behind.