"Detention."
Harry looked up at the woman who sneered at him as if he were a bug under her foot.
"What ever for Madame Umbridge?" He asked smoothly, eyeing her pink cardigan with the closet thing he could ever feel of the emotion disgust.
"For strutting down the hall like you own it Mr. Potter." She simpered.
"Madame Umbridge." He sighed. "I am terribly sorry but I'm not in the mood today."
"Not in the mood?" She sneered, "You have no choice boy. Another detention."
"You misunderstood." He said. "I am not allowing it at the moment."
She went to snarl something else and his spell hit her dead in the chest. The beautiful jolt of magic was a sickly purple in color and radiated dark magic. Even a child would be able to sense it was not light, but almost the darkest of the dark. The purple flared violently against Umbridge's skin then was absorbed. She let out an earth shattering scream of agony and collapsed like a puppet with her strings cut. With barely a thought he put up a silencing charm. She convulsed and arched against the floor, mouth open in an endless sound of pain that didn't emerge, as if she was being flayed alive and dipped in salt water.
Harry watched her a few moments then smirked. He rarely found satisfaction in such acts other then from the use of dark magic. But he'd make an exception for her. He revelled in her pain. Unfortunately when she woke she would think it all a dream and remember nothing of Harry. He wished he could see the fear in her eyes when she next looked at him, but not yet, soon, but not now. She would be stuck in the nightmare for a good seven hours though.
"Hogwarts, would you be a dear?" Harry asked aloud.
The stones beneath him pulsed with magic and Umbridge sunk away, returned to her rooms. When he turned to gaze at the witnesses of such an event he found Flitwick already bowed on one knee next to a trembling Minerva McGonagall who had copied the movement.
"Stand." Harry ordered. "And tell my why you bow?"
"Does one not bow to Lords?" Flitwick asked with a slight smile that said he knew far more then he should.
Harry felt his lips twitch slightly.
"One does I suppose." Harry said. "But what lord were you bowing to?"
"One of power." The short man said. "Of darkness."
"Hmm. And you Minerva?"
She stared at him with wide eyes and looked at Flitwick for an answer. He shrugged.
"I….You just…" She seemed lost. "You commanded Hogwarts."
"And that is enough reason?" Harry purred. "I also hit a professor with a dark spell."
Minerva winced and floundered.
"What will you do about that?" Harry asked. "Not turn me into the aurors I hope."
He didn't even need to make it sound like a threat, just said it calmly, flooding the area with his aura and she shook her head rapidly. He smiled at the trembling old woman before him, a proud, fierce woman, and knew he had scared the spit out of her.
"Harry."
Harry looked up at the curt voice that snapped through the hall dangerously. The words were harsh and unforgiving and promised many things if obedience was not found. Dumbledore was frowning at him, wand already in his hand, and Harry smiled. Dumbledore's magic flared wildly and slammed against Harry in the way wild animals would snap at another that had entered its territory. Harry could almost picture him giving a soft growl, lips pulled back. He shuddered at the feeling of light magic against his own dark magic but did nothing else.
"I did not know you still had it in you Albus." Harry said. "Threatening me?'
"I will let you get away with much because I know I cannot stop you, but if you go after my own I shall fight you, even should I loose." Dumbledore said simply, stepping up to Minerva's side.
The witch relaxed at Dumbledore's defence, almost going limp, still on her knees. Flitwick watched them all with bright eyes as a neutral of this fight. Dumbledore glanced at Flitwick and in a second Harry knew he had scanned the man's core with his magic. Flitwick, was an odd case magic-wise. His magic was supposed to be light but due to the goblin blood in him he read as dark. He had the choice to choose a side unlike most people born to either.
"Filius." Dumbledore greeted.
Flitwick nodded back to him and then gently tugged Minerva off her knees and towards another hall, talking with her softly. Harry noted Dumbledore's wand was once again sheathed. Harry hadn't even drawn his. For a long moment of silence as they gazed at one another.
"You've been testing me lately Harry." Dumbledore finally started.
"Perhaps." Harry revealed nothing.
"Does this have anything to do with how…shut off I've been feeling."
Harry let a sickly smirk decorate his lips at the unease in Albus's voice. If he could label it correctly, he would say Albus was nervous and scared and hopeful all at the same time.
"How long has it been Albus, since you looked around you, at the people around you and thought on how much you care for them?"
Dumbledore blinked in surprise at the response.
"I care for all my friends, I'm insulted you are implying I don't." Albus scowled.
"Ah, but Albus, how much do you care?" Harry asked. "Compare how you feel for your friends now, how strongly you feel about anyone now, to how you felt about people, say, oh about fifty years ago."
Albus scowled in thought, his beard twitching.
"Do you find your feelings now have less shine, less lustre?" Harry cooed. "Don't you feel as if your emotions now are just shadows of what they used to be? As if they are almost forced, as if you're making yourself feel feelings that don't want to be brought back out."
Albus's eyes grew wide with each word, and he started to tremble, eyes glazed as if he had just reached an epiphany.
"What have you done?" He rasped.
"It is not anything I have done," Harry shrugged starting to walk of, "I have not the power to affect you like that. You know why, but you ignore it."
Harry paused at the corner of the hall. He looked back at Dumbledore and gave his brightest smile that was completely empty of any emotion whatsoever and probably looked quite out of place on his face.
"I would stop doing that soon. You'll need to make a choice soon and that will be hard if you miss the question. Oh, and I think you are far underestimating yourself. If you fought me full out I would be hard pressed to say who would win."
.-.
"Blaise keeps vanishing."
Harry looked up to Hermione who carried a large thick tome in her arms.
"Hmm?"
"Blaise." She prompted. "He vanishes. And not into cupboards with Cedric, but from the school. He has missed some classes.
"Leave him be." Harry said smiling through half lidded eyes. "He is scheming something."
"And it does not sound good for us. Or at least does not seem as such when he does not trust us with it." Hermione said softly stroking the spine of her book.
"Would he ever dare move against me?" Harry asked.
"…I want to say no." She said. "And in a way he would never move directly against you, but he could use you as a mean to an ends in many ways."
"Blaise is smarter then that." Harry said, smiling. "Too smart at times, is what I believe the problem to be."
"You know what he's doing then?" she asked.
"Of course my dear. He's mine and I always like to know where my toys go."
She winced at the word toys but sighed.
"Fine. He'd better be okay though. I worry for him. And you too, you know."
"You need not concern yourself with my safety." He smiled.
"No, I suppose not, but I love you, so I worry anyways."
He gazed at her for a long moment and she met his gaze squarely, eyes open and flooding with emotion.
"Thank you." He said softly, "Now go pack. And when you see Krum, tell him he had better ask his silly question soon."
She stared wide eyed.
"Silly question?" She squeaked.
"Wizard marriages have many steps." He smiled. "Courting and engagement are the first two."
She got a bright look in her eyes that told him she was pleased. Then she turned and hurried off. He smiled after her and turned back to the mirror in front of him. Blaise was hurrying down a ministry hall, yelling at an aide who was obviously failing at his designated tasks.
.-.
"Dumbledore…" Severus started softly trailing his hand over the rim of a cauldron, "Has been very distant lately."
"Oh, is he busy?" Harry purred as he lounged on Severus' leather couch.
"No but…" Severus hesitated. "It is in his actions. No one else has noticed but everything he does is just so…hollow. All his words of reassurance, of hope, of comfort, they are words. They have some form of meaning, but it's as if they have none to him. He means it when he says he'll keep us safe, but it is as if he won't put his heart into those actions. All his words just seem so, so, ….they seem so empty. Like he's not a person anymore, like he has no emotion."
Severus looked up at him with black eyes that burned with all sorts of emotion, fear, hope, concern, regret, and on and on and on.
"He sounds like you."
Harry met his eyes squarely and wondered how much Severus knew. More then Flitwick, but less then Tom. Harry wondered when everyone close to him had started to learn more then they should. Probably a while back. Harry leaned back into the seat and wove a maze of ideas, connecting trinkets, souls, power, gods, and hidden plans, along with all sorts of emotional attachments.
"Severus." Harry said. "Would you do something for me?"
Severus looked up with almost hopeful eyes.
.-.
"Snape is missing."
Harry didn't even look at Nott.
"Yes, he is." Harry said simply as he spun a small knife through his fingers.
There was a heavy silence that weighed down the air.
"Who will watch us now?" Nott asked, almost fearfully. "Snape was the one holding all the school and outside pressure off us. He was our mediator. Snape was our head of house."
"It should not matter for much longer." Harry said.
Nott stared at him with wide eyes, then scurried off.
"He reminds me more of a startled bird then a snake."
"So you have returned Blaise." Harry said.
"Hush Harry, the walls have ears." Blaise hissed glancing about.
"Not these ones." Harry smiled. "I checked. And Nott is just nervous. He knows something big is about to happen."
"What day?" Blaise demanded.
"Day, what ever do you mean?" Harry asked innocently, still twirling the small knife in his hands.
"Harry." Blaise said softly. "Give me a day."
"Summer Solstice, pretty, since you asked so nicely." Harry said, voice cutting through the room.
Blaise flinched back at the powerful tone and dropped to his knees, bowing his head.
"I'm sorry milord. I'm just frazzled."
"I know pretty." Harry said softly dragging his free fingers through Blaise's hair. "Has your mother been very demanding?"
Blaise tensed slightly.
"Not so much." He said lightly, obviously trying to hide something. "Just a few tasks to welcome my newest 'father' into the home."
"And how long shall she keep this one?" Harry breathed softly.
Blaise looked up with dark eyes.
"She likes this one." He whispered almost angrily. "She promised, no more then three months a man when I was a child, but she likes this one. She's had him, followed him, for five. I think she plans to keep him."
Harry brushed a hand over Blaise's cheek, where a faded green bloom was hidden beneath makeup.
"And does he like you, as much as you like him?" Harry asked.
"Even more." Blaise trembled. "I … I ran. But he found me. He asks about you."
"Does your mother listen to him?"
"She is besotted with him." Blaise snarled. "And because of that she listens to the poison he whispers in her ear. He wants me to be marked, to choose his side."
"I suppose he gave you a task."
Now a flash of fear flashed through Blaise's eyes. He had not wanted to bring that up, trying to distract Harry with emotions about his mother.
"Yes." Blaise finally said, almost inaudibly.
"You will do your best to finish these of course."
Blaise looked up sharply, surprise decorating his features.
"If that is what you want." He finally answered.
"Not I, but him." Harry smirked widely.
.-.
End of Chapter 49
Can you guess who Blaise's new 'stepfather' is?