Chapter Eleven
The Sword of Gryffindor
Days turned to weeks and weeks flitted into months, before Harry knew it he had been at Hogwarts for almost an entire two months. Two months which contained anything but boredom. Harry grinned to himself as he travelled down the passage way to the Great Hall, the staring had quieted down considerably in his first few weeks here. Though he still gained the looks and whispers from a few passing students, Harry had become, to some extent, just a normal student at Hogwarts. His parents wrote to him every week now, always asking how he was doing, always trying to rebuild the connection that had been lost between them in those long years of separation from each other. He'd written back, but the conversation never went any farther than offers of encouragement and support.
Love Mum and Dad.
Always the same conclusion.
Love…
It had been out of Harry's life so much, he wasn't sure if he knew what it was and it scared him. Did he love his parents? He thought he did. But what if this feeling inside wasn't love, what if it was something else?
In his life there had been few instances of that kind of experience. He knew he looked at Mrs. Figg and Matron Morgan with nothing but respect and affection. Matron Morgan being the woman who had practically raised him in that orphanage and Mrs. Figg his saviour in a bad time during his life. He owed them a lot.
Then there was Mr. Johnson, the kindly neighbour he used to garden for on Private Drive, if ever Harry had any questions about life or school, he was always there. Then came in Sirius and Remus, the month Harry had spent with them, learning about the wizarding world, he had felt a part of something. Almost the semblance of a family.
Well I guess they are.
That thought stopped him in his tracks, maybe that was the point. Remus and Sirius were as much his family as his parents and Ally were and he felt the same for one as he did the other.
He sighed a little, looking around the hall way for any students loitering, finding none he pulled out the map.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he whispered to the parchment, tapping it with his wand.
The lines that marked out the magical castle drew themselves over the formerly blank page. Harry watched in fascination, as he always did, whenever the wonders of the Marauder's Map were revealed. His father's map.
He remembered when he'd showed it to Ron and Hermione not even a month previously, Ron had thought it was cool and wondered why his brothers had never told him about it. Hermione had looked at the map sceptically, until she learned who exactly had created it, then she admitted, with some reluctance, that it was an amazing piece of spell work. Especially considering it had been done by a quartet of students.
Telling his father and his friends he had their old map…
…well that could wait a while.
He glanced at the map, Lupin was in his office at the moment, just as Harry had hoped. His eyes travelled to Dumbledore's office, the headmaster was pacing again, Harry sighed and shook his head. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, watching the headmaster pace. He didn't know why, but it bugged him.
Over the past few weeks he had heard an increasing amount about Albus Dumbledore, the man was a legend in his own right. He held a seat on Wizengamot, discovered twelve uses of dragon's blood, battled a power hungry wizard by the name of Grindelwald in the 1940's, was friends with the famed alchemist, Nicholas Flamel and was the only living wizard in history that Voldemort was said to fear. There were more listings in the book he'd read, but Harry couldn't for the life of him remember them all. The fact that this great man was pacing in his study seemed worrying, what did he of all people have to worry about?
Harry doubted something like school troubles would even touch him.
His eyes fell on his own dot, and the fast approaching dot of someone he most defiantly did not want to see him using this map.
"Crap!" he cursed, "Mischief managed!"
He quickly stuffed the Marauder's Map back into his pocket and whipped round just in time to see Snape approaching him. The darkly robed man eyed him for a long moment, his black eyes locking on Harry's.
"Potter," Snape greeted, a slight tilt of the head acknowledged the presence of the boy. This surprised Harry, he'd never known Snape to be civil with him and for Snape, this was certainly civil.
"Professor," Harry responded normally, his eyes looking at the potions master curiously. Why had Snape stopped? Why was he talking to him?
"I believe you write your last examination this afternoon, correct?" the head of Slytherin drawled.
"Yes sir," said Harry, forcing back a tired groan.
The past two weeks had consisted of his testing period, between eager examiners and overly exuberant teachers, Harry had somehow managed to get to the end of it. He only hoped he had done well enough to stay in Sixth Year.
Two weeks filled with late nighters, cramming in notes and practising his butt off with Ron and Hermione, Harry was pretty much exhausted.
On the bright side though, today was indeed his last day.
"I understand you managed to scrape yourself an O in potions," Snape continued, "As you know, it is the only passing grade I accept in my class. So I suppose I'll have carry on putting up with you in my NEWT classes. For now."
Harry blinked in surprise, his eyes wide. This was the first test result he'd gotten back, he grinned happily. O stood for outstanding and even if it really was just a scraping pass, it was more than he had hoped for.
"Really?" he asked excitedly, momentarily forgetting who he was talking to, a flash of those black eyes put him in his place, "I-I mean yes-er-thank you sir! Um…"
"Don't strain yourself too much Potter," Snape rolled his eyes, "If Granger could get Weasley into my NEWT class, I suppose she could do the same for someone like you. And you still have two more testings to go, so I wouldn't relax too much."
With that he walked away, his black cape billowing behind him in the dramatic manner Harry had come to expect from Severus Snape. He resisted the urge to scratch his head in confusion, there were just some things he did not want to know.
The inner workings of Snape's mind was one of them.
HPHPHPHPHPHPHP
As Severus walked away swiftly from Harry Potter, it took a lot for him not to look back. From a distance Harry was all James Potter, and the silhouette of his childhood tormentor was too much for him. He kept expecting one of those haunting taunts to echo back to him in the distance, but Snape could only bitterly admit that when their school days had ended, so had the jeering face of bullying James Potter. Whenever he saw the man now, and he did his best to avoid him, James Potter greeted him with politeness, there was a sad look in his eyes that Severus just couldn't accept as regret.
Stupid Potter, he fumed, Stupid bloody Potter and his toe rag brats, they-
But not even Severus Snape could finish that sentence.
It was true, he admitted it even to himself that he had been excited to see the youngest Allison Potter, he had heard so many stories about how she resembled her mother. Indeed, he was not disappointed when the young girl had turned up for class. From her red hair, right down to her small, slender build, he was immediately transported back to happier times. Times before Hogwarts, before the war, before dark marks and evil lords, before James Potter.
He remembered that little girl on the swing, flying above the park, he remembered her red hair whipping in the wind and the excited smile on her face.
Severus Snape remembered his first love…Lily Evans.
The eyes were wrong.
It was when Allison had turned her big hazel eyes on him that he realised, she wasn't there. The looks were there, the same, sweet smile.
But the eyes were wrong.
The right eyes, her eyes, belonged to another.
To her son.
Harry Potter.
In those months before anyone had known Harry's true identity, even himself, he had just assumed this was a talented muggle-born boy. Probably destined for Ravenclaw or Gryffindor and that thought had made the potions professor bitter. Muggle-borns were hardly ever sorted into Slytherin and oddly, Snape had felt a little disgruntled about the fact. The boy, Harry Jameson, worked hard, had some talent, was friendly if a little timid as first and he was polite even when Snape jeered him.
Snape wasn't warm to the boy, he never was, that was his nature, but he knew raw talent when he saw it and he knew determination and inner strength too.
Very few people truly had it any more.
That was the true value of Slytherin after all.
Determination.
But most got in due to their thirst for power, their need to control and their ambition. It was the only reason there were so many purebloods in that house. Severus was a half blood himself and he kept that knowledge closely knitted up tight and to himself, it wouldn't do at all for the parents of his pupils to find out. In a way, Severus lived trapped within his own actions.
He regretted to the core of him the night he had heard that prophecy, he detested the fact that he had betrayed Lily, he hated himself for his blatant coward-ness. He wished he had never made the mistake of insulting her in Fifth Year, he wished he had never gotten involved with Voldemort and his crew.
Oh, and he wished beyond anything he could stop torturing himself with that night, the night he lost Lily forever.
FLASHBACK
"Severus?" said Lily in surprise, looking up from her map, "What are you doing here?"
It had been two weeks since Harry Potter's disappearance and between the tears and worry, Lily was still managing to hang on in her search for her one year old son.
"Lily I-" Severus trailed off and sighed, his dark gaze unable to meet the vibrant green of her own.
"What is it Sev?" asked Lily worriedly.
Severus stiffened at the nickname, it had been years since he heard it fall from her lips and he knew already it was more than he deserved. He swallowed hard, if there was ever a time for him to gather up his courage, it was now. She had recently found out, as had much of the Order, that he had been acting as a spy prior to the fall of Voldemort. When she had first heard, despite her own tragedy of losing her mother and son in one night, she had smiled and welcomed him. There was a wave of relief and pride in her eyes when she had looked at him, as though her confidence in him had been restored.
If only she knew.
"Where's Pot-er-James?" Severus asked cautiously, wanting to delay his confession to her as long as possible. As Dumbledore had promised, he had not uttered a word to the Potters of Snape's betrayal to Voldemort, not that he was a spy, not that he had given the Dark Lord the information that lead to Lily losing two people very close to her.
"He should be around any minute," Lily strained a smile, Severus shifted uncomfortably, "He had something to investigate."
"To find your son?" Severus whispered.
"Yes," Lily closed her eyes, as though fighting a memory, "We're going to find Harry."
"Any leads?" he asked curiously, somehow he had strong doubts about the Potter's ever finding their lost son, but for Lily's sake, he had to believe.
"Not yet," she said slowly, pushing a few strands of red hair from her face, she sighed heavily, "I just hope he's safe."
Severus remained silent, resisting the urge to comfort Lily as he wanted to in that moment, but the friendship had grown colder over the years. He had joined the Death Eaters and Lily had remained in the light, eventually marrying James Potter and joining the Order of the Phoenix.
"Was there something you needed Sev?" she asked again, her bottle green eyes boring into him. It took all Snape could muster not to cringe away from that stare.
That was when he blurted it out and told her everything.
Everything.
Her face grew paler and paler as he spoke, she reached out to grip the chair for support and stared at him, her mouth gaping wide with every word she heard. When he had done she continued to stare at him, just stare. He slowly watched as a tirade of emotions travelled along Lily's features, disbelief, doubt, denial, comprehension and then finally…anger.
"Y-you…why…how could…you told him…you…Harry's gone…because of you! WHY!" she screamed, her face turning as red as her hair, her eyes shining with tears, "How could you?"
"I didn't know it meant you-" Severus began, but he was cut off by the hysterical Lily.
"Would it have mattered?" she asked dangerously, the tears falling freely now, "What about the Longbottoms, huh? Two families applied to those lines! Didn't they deserve protection from him? Alice is lying in a hospital bed right now, the doctors don't know if she'll ever recover! Their one year old son had to watch his parents being tortured and all because you told him about that damned prophecy!"
"I didn't mean-"
"You never mean it!" Lily bit back venomously, "I lost my best friend because you didn't mean what you said and now, I've lost my son."
Her face was filled with such anger and sadness, Severus cringed. Everything she said was true of course, but something inside him wanted to deny everything, go back to leaving her in ignorance of his deeds.
He couldn't bear her hating him.
"You just don't care about anything except what you want," she hissed, "You joined them because you wanted power and you told Voldemort the prophecy because you wanted his approval. You're nothing but a snake, just like the rest of them and I'm just sorry it took me so long to realise that."
She turned away from him, her shoulder's heaving as more tears found their way from her and escaped in great flows of despair. Severus hesitantly tried to put a hand on her shoulder, to comfort her.
"Lily," he began, "Please-"
She stiffened immediately at his touch and whipped round in a great flourish of blurred red, whipping her wand out and pointing it directly at him.
"Don't you touch me!" she screeched, "Don't you ever touch me again!"
"Expelliarmus!"
Severus was surprised when a beam of red light hit Lily's hand, sending her wand flying across the room, a moment later she tried to attack him bare handed, but a large body got between the two of them in an instant. Severus was shocked to find the back of James Potter before him, holding Lily close as though for dear life.
"Let go of me James!" she sobbed, "He told Voldemort! He told Voldemort about Harry!"
"I know, I know," James soothed, hugging her and stroking her back, trying to calm her down, "I heard."
"He betrayed us James!" Lily cried, still struggling.
"Wormtail betrayed us, Lily," James said softly, Lily gave a huge cry and stopped struggling, instead burying her face into her husband's shoulder and bawling her eyes out. All the time, James Potter stroked her back, whispering soft words of comfort in her ear, hugging her gently as they both began to relax.
He turned his head around to look at Snape.
"You better go Severus," he sighed, there was a sad look in those hazel eyes, the same eyes that had once tormented him, now looked on him with sadness and…pity. "Lily needs to calm down a little."
"Potter-" Severus began.
"Please," James begged, his voice straining as though he wished to cry too and turned back to Lily, "Please just leave."
Severus watched them for a moment, his black eyes taking in the sight of Lily being comforted by another man.
By James Potter.
By her husband.
Something tight wrapped itself around his heart that day and in the many years proceeding that moment, it never would loosen.
Because, Severus Snape finally realised after all this time, that he had truly lost Lily.
END FLASHBACK
Snape's teeth gritted together as he walked, the memory sending a wave of guilt and frustration through him. It was true what Lily had said though. It shouldn't have mattered who was effected by that prophecy, but to Severus, it did. Lily was all that had mattered to him and it was only later that he had realised the true repercussions of his actions.
The Longbottoms had been attacked by Barty Crouch Jr. and the Lestranges a few days after the Dark Lord's fall, both had been tortured for hours and Alice Longbottom had eventually broken. After three long months in a coma she had woken up, but instead of happiness, her friends and family knew only despair. Alice had quite literally been driven mad.
He heard that she would moan and babble for hours, not making any coherent words known to those who visited her. She didn't recognise anyone and would sometimes act out violently against those who tried to restrain her, her own husband even.
Snape didn't know much about Frank Longbottom, the man had been in his final years of Hogwarts when Severus had started school. Whilst in Voldemort's service he had heard more than once of the man's prowess as an Auror from defeated Death Eaters. He and his wife had even managed to defy the Dark Lord three times without losing their lives, like the Potters, this made them and their son susceptible to the prophecy's words. Still, he would never wish a fate like Alice's on anyone.
Frank had quit the Order and the Aurors as soon as his wife's torturers had been brought to justice, so even in the aftermath of everything, Snape didn't see him at the final Order meetings. The only Longbottom he had any standing contact with was their son, Neville. The boy was fairly bright, even if he seemed a little slow at times and carried traits Hufflepuff and Gryffindor favoured both. He worked hard despite his clumsiness and was always very friendly, but he was also braver than any Gryffindor could imagine, particularly keeping the tragedy of his mother's fate hidden behind that smiling face. His natural talent and knowledge in Herbology aided him somewhat in potions and made his potions essays almost a pleasure to mark, but the boy was a klutz.
Snape could remember several incidences where his class had been disrupted by the bumbling of Neville Longbottom. Still, the boy had also somehow managed to make it into his NEWT classes.
Damn that Granger, he thought idly, First Weasley, then every other incompetent in my class.
This brought his thoughts back to Harry.
He hadn't spoken to Lily since that night fifteen years ago, hadn't seen much of her either. Sometimes, if she was out in Diagon Alley, he would see her across the street and sneak a glance at her before hiding away. He could never face her again, even now after Harry had been found. He could never face any of them.
James, surprisingly, hadn't hunted him down after that night, instead he started acting truly civil and serious. The James Potter today, despite the fact he had loosened up again over the years, would never be quite the same as the boy Severus had known in school. He had been through too much, seen too much, but still, there was a voice inside of Snape that told him he was still the arrogant toe rag of long ago. Even if another part of him wanted to believe James Potter had truly grown up.
When he looked at Harry, he had expected to see that James Potter. The Bully Potter. The Arrogant, Big-headed toe rag. But he wasn't there.
All he saw when he looked at Harry were Lily's eyes. Lily's manner and Lily's smile. There was a fire in the boy that came from his mother and an automatic caring nature he had notice Harry express with his newly found friends.
Maybe Harry is like Lily?
He pushed the thought away violently.
NO! The boy is just like Potter! Just like Potter. Just like him…
He rounded the corner sharply, firmly marching himself to the headmaster's office, thrusting any thoughts to do with Potter's from his head. He had almost succeeded when he stumbled a little, a sharp pain hitting his arm.
"No," he whispered.
Making sure there was no one around, Snape rolled up the sleeve of his robe and sure enough, there it was, the Dark Mark burning bright and fresh. As though it had just been applied to his flesh, the skull crossed snake burned. Snape took in a sharp intake of breath as the pain took hold of him, he hadn't felt this since…
"He's back!" Snape gasped, "But how?"
There was no time to ponder thoughts, he was being summoned.
"Have to get to Dumbledore first," he gritted his teeth against the pain that slowly crept up his arm, Voldemort wanted him now.
There was no way he'd be able to get to Dumbledore in time. The amount of time it would take to explain to the Headmaster what was happening would only increase the Dark Lord's impatience, if it indeed was him. Taking too long would undeniably mark him as a traitor and then their leverage would be gone. If he had returned, Severus knew he was the only double agent Dumbledore had on that side. There wasn't time to see him and writing a message would take too long and could be easily read by another. Unless…
Biting down on his lower lip, Severus Snape made a decision. Without making a sound he ran towards the exit to Hogwarts, towards the Forbidden Forest. Making sure there was no one in sight, he cast a patronus, the beautiful doe looked at him sweetly and Snape felt a crack in his heart.
"Dumbledore," he said quietly, "The mark burns. I will investigate and report back when I can."
He lingered for a moment, watching the doe run gaily towards Hogwarts and sighed, a few seconds later he had passed the wards and with one last small pop, he was gone.
HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP
"Thank you Mister Potter," the witch said cheerily in her thick, Scottish accent, "You'll have your results by the end of the week. Though judging by today's performance you shouldn't worry too hard."
Harry smiled gratefully to his examiner and picked up his things to leave the empty classroom they had used. It had been his last test, the transfiguration examination, he'd made a few minor mistakes, he was sure, but overall he had managed to do what the examiner had asked of him.
"Thanks ma'am," he said as farewell, exiting the class.
He hadn't taken as many subjects as the other students, only the core subjects, Transfiguration, Potions, Defence, Charms and Herbology. The Headmaster had asked him which subjects he would care to carry on with and those five seemed to be the only choice for him. After talking with Professor Lupin and Sirius over the holidays, an Aurors path sounded just…right.
He quickly made his way back to the Gryffindor Common Room, his eyes were heavy and he suddenly felt extremely tired. Last night had been another all nighter and he was surprised he had been able to make it down the staircase that morning. Ron's snoring didn't help of course, but then, that was to be expected. He sighed as he drudged his way back up the stairs, his mind working through all the other complications in his life now that one of them was over. There was the thin friendship between Ron and Hermione, although Harry could tell they sincerely cared for one another, Ron's girlfriend Lavender seemed to take every moment to shake them into a fight. Still, he was both grateful and surprised by Ron's sudden loyalty to their new friendship.
Flashback
Harry, Ron and Hermione had been sitting down to lunch together, as had become somewhat habitual over their time together, Ally was sitting with them too, waiting for her friends to join her, when Dean and Seamus came up to the table. They looked at the four oddly, particularily at Ron.
"Hey Ron," said Dean, taking a seat, "You want to go to Hogsmeade next weekend? After the match?"
"Sure," said Ron brightly, "Harry, Hermione, you guys want to come too?"
Dean and Seamus looked at Hermione and Harry oddly. Hermione bit down on her lip.
"Um Ron," she began, "I don't think-"
"Come on Hermione," said Ron cheerfully, "You've got to get your head out of the books sometime, right?"
Hermione glanced from Harry, to Ron, to Dean and Seamus. Harry looked at her in confusion. What was wrong?
"Don't you think you should-" she started again, but cut herself off, "Of course Ron, if Dean and Seamus don't mind."
Dean and Seamus however, did look like they minded. That's when it hit Harry, Ron and Hermione weren't usually very friendly towards each other, it had only started when he had arrived. On the train they had even commented on how they didn't call each other by their last names. Which probably meant that they had each had their own set of friends before Harry arrived and-
He felt a pit in his stomach. Had he ruined a friendship? Taken them away from their friends? Was that why Dean and Seamus were looking at him so funny?
Dean Thomas, he shared a dorm with Harry, but they had rarely spoken. He looked at him and Seamus, feeling worse and worse by the second.
"If you want to hang with Dean and Seamus in Hogsmeade, Ron," said Harry quickly, unwilling to break apart any kind of friendship, "Hermione and I can always meet you later or something."
Hermione shot Harry a grateful look, obviously glad he had been able to say something. Seamus and Dean looked relieved and were watching Ron expectedly. Ron, being Ron of course, didn't take the hint.
"Nonsense!" he snorted, "Hermione wont take you to the right places! You've got to see Honey Dukes and Zonkos! Its practically tradition."
Harry cast Hermione an enquiring look, but she was looking at Ron, shaking her head slightly, a tired, but fond look in her eyes. Harry wondered why the sudden change in attitude towards each other, but he guessed that maybe it was just time for a change.
"You guys are going to Hogsmeade?" Ally whined, "That's so unfair!"
Everyone laughed.
"We'll talk later, Ron," said Dean reproachfully, looking at Harry when he said this, "Come on Seamus."
And they left.
"Ron," said Harry softly as he got up to leave, "Shouldn't you be hanging out with your friends…"
Ron looked at him for a long second, confusion apparent in his eyes.
"But I am hanging out with my friends," he said and returned to his lunch without another word.
End Flashback
Still lost in thought, Harry didn't notice someone was calling his name until they placed a hand on his shoulder, pulling him round.
"Harry!"
Harry blinked as he came face to face with a pair of large brown eyes and had to mentally stop himself from cringing away from the girl that was Ginny Weasley.
"Goodness Harry," there was laughter in her eyes, "Lost in thought there, were you?"
"Kinda," Harry admitted, flushing a little out of embarrassment, "Sorry about that Ginny."
"I'd be spacing out too if I'd just written who knows how many exams," she said, waving off his apology, "Thank Merlin I only have it at the end of the year."
Harry grinned, wishing he could relay the sentiment, but he still had another two bouts of these before his own end of year examinations.
"So how was your last exam?" she asked him.
"It was okay," Harry shrugged, "Truth be told I'm just glad its all over."
"I can imagine," Ginny chuckled lightly, then she stopped quite abruptly and took what looked like a Galleon out of her pocket, she looked at it and then at her watch and gave a great, perhaps forced, sigh, "Well, I've got to high tail it over to the library, see you at practice?"
"Yeah, sure," Harry nodded, a little confused as he watched her walked away.
He shook it off.
He'd almost forgotten his first match was in a couple of days. They played Slytherin too and from what Harry could gather from the young Nick Malfoy, his brother was a pretty good Seeker. Harry's stomach did a little flip, his first Quidditch match.
Merlin, but Saturday was going to be busy, match against Slytherin in the morning, trip into Hogsmeade in the afternoon and the infamous Halloween feast that evening.
With a brief thought on what it would be like, he made his way to the Headmaster's office, convinced that this time he would find Professor Dumbledore there and beg him to be allowed to speak with the Sorting Hat. Over the past few weeks Harry had attempted to come up with some kind of reason, other than what he really needed it for, in order to speak with the Sorting Hat. The Hat had been on his mind a lot lately, along with the big brown eyes of Ginny Weasley. Now, with the small confrontation with said Weasley girl, his mind was set, his tiredness gone.
He was going to do it now.
HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP
"So how's life with the lions?" Draco asked, his voice tinged with boredom.
Draco and Nick Malfoy sat together on the top of the Astronomy Tower, there were few places they could really meet without running into Slytherins and their jeers, or Gryffindors and their distrustful looks. Nick had changed his hair to a dull brown, hoping to avoid immediate attention with his lime green locks. He sat beside his brother, looking out over the Black Lake. He felt a little guilty, Draco may have asked him the question in a bored voice, but he knew that was just his brother's way of showing concern. He didn't express his 'unnecessary' feelings very well, something he had picked up from their father.
"They're not so bad," he said carefully, "No ones called me a snake in Gryffindor colours anyway, and I've made some pretty descent friends."
"Girlfriends, you mean," his brother snorted.
"I have guy friends too!" Nick protested.
"Yet you choose to constantly hang around with those two girls?" Draco inquired curiously, "You know, it wasn't that long ago that you were convinced all girls were icky."
"Oh, shut up," he said, rolling his eyes at the older Malfoy, who appeared to be holding back a laugh.
"So what's it like being friends with a Potter?"
Nick smirked.
"Maybe you should try it sometime," he teased, "Harry's a pretty cool guy."
"Please," Draco rolled his eyes, "Be friends with Golden Boy Potter? That'll be the day."
"I take it you haven't told Father yet?" Nick enquired softly, his smile fading.
"The term, 'don't shoot the messenger', would not apply to that situation," his brother drawled, "I just told him the Hat put you where you belonged. You get to break the bad news."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," Nick grumbled, wincing a little from when their father did find out, "Drake, did-did you know father was going to attack the train?"
"Yes," came the small reply.
"Why?" Nick asked, his eyes wide as he searched his brother's face for answers, but Draco just turned away, "Why did he do it? I thought-I thought Mother said he was under the Imperius when he did those things back then. How could he do it now?"
"You haven't told anyone, have you?" was the only reply he got.
"No," Nick admitted, "I don't want father getting arrested, but at the same time I-"
"You?"
"I just-I just don't know what to believe about him anymore," Nick sighed, "Do you know what's going on Drake?"
Draco stayed silent for a long time, his grey eyes searching across the grounds as though he feared someone might over hear them. Nick was nervous too, his brother had been acting oddly since summer and he wasn't sure he understood why. After what seemed like hours, Draco rose to his feet, ruffled his brother's hair a little and started to walk away.
"You're not old enough to understand yet," he said simply, "Enjoy your innocence Nick."
"I don't get it Drake," Nick whispered miserably.
"That's okay," came Draco's voice, "It's a good thing you don't, trust me, just be careful around Potter, alright?"
"Why?" both Malfoys now had their backs to each other, Draco had stopped dead in his tracks and was facing stairwell as Nick sat facing the open grounds and the Black Lake. Draco let out a heavy sigh.
"Let's just say its unfortunate that you made friends with her," he said slowly, "I would start loosening that bond before it gets too tight, or else you'll regret it."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Nick bit out angrily, whipping around to face his brother.
He was already gone.
HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP
"Chocolate Frog?"
"Nope, try again," the gargoyle cackled.
"Pumpkin Pasty?"
"Not that one either.
"Bertie Bots Every Flavoured Beans?"
"Not quite."
"Er…" Harry thought for several long moments, "I don't know! Top Deck? Hersheys? Astros?"
To his absolute surprise, the Gargoyle swung open, revealing a lengthy stair case right up to the headmaster's office. Harry had only entered the office once before, to say goodbye to his parents; his dad had made an offhand comment that even when he had been a student, Dumbledore's password had always been a type of sweet. The headmaster was in his office and he seemed agreeable about most things, so…he'd let Harry have a talk with the Hat, wouldn't he?
Harry was about to knock on the door at the top of the staircase when he thought he heard Snape's voice, it was slightly muffled and Harry only caught a few words.
"…ledore. The mark burns…report back when I can…"
Harry frowned.
He hadn't seen Professor Snape on the map, in fact, he hadn't been anywhere near here. At least, Harry couldn't remember seeing him. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door.
"Enter," came the Headmaster's voice.
Harry pushed open the door just in time to see the fading wisps of silver in the air.
A Patronus?
He looked around frantically and thankfully didn't see the Potions Master anywhere in the room. The only person there was Professor Dumbledore, he was wearing long purple robes and wore a warm smile on his wizened face. Harry couldn't help but smile back at the man as he slowly stepped into the room.
"Mr. Potter," Dumbledore turned his twinkling blue eyes on him, "What can I do for you? Lemon Drop?"
"No thank you, sir," Harry said politely, "Um, this is going to sound a little odd."
"Oh, I find that most oddities usually make perfect sense," Dumbledore pointed out, "Please, sit down. I've been wanting to have a little chat with you."
"You have?" Harry asked in surprise, taking the seat, "What about sir?"
"Oh, we'll get to that," Dumbledore sat facing him, "What did you need?"
"I-I need to speak with the Sorting Hat," Harry said, flinching a little, "Something about what it said on the night of the Sorting, I thought it might be able to clear it up for me."
"Might I enquire as to what it is?" the headmaster asked, Harry could have sworn his eyes were piercing him right to his soul.
"A-a memory," Harry half-lied, unwilling to reveal his true intentions, "Something the Hat picked up on last time, it's been bugging me for a while now."
"I see," Dumbledore looked long and hard at him, he squirmed a little under the gaze, it was like the man knew he was lying, "Well Harry, I'm afraid the Hat is sleeping at the moment, perhaps you could come sometime on the weekend? I'm sure it would be able to help you then."
Harry nodded, feeling a little disappointed.
"Of course sir," he said and smiled, "Thank you."
Harry fidgeted a little under Dumbledore's gaze, he had the distinct feeling that the man could read him like a book and Harry was nervous about the prospect. Usually used to keeping things to himself, the once orphaned boy tried to meet the headmaster's almost hypnotic gaze several times. Never quite succeeding.
"Not a problem," the headmaster smiled, "Perhaps you could do me a favour and pass me the book on that shelf over there, the one next to the display cabinet?"
Harry looked around in surprise, sure enough spotting the book and stood up to retrieve it. As his hand touched the cover he glanced at the display cabinet and his eyes went round with shock. There, lying in the cabinet was a sword, but not just any sword. It may have been dark in those tunnels that night and he might have only held it for a few minutes, but he would recognise the blade anywhere.
"Ah," Harry jumped and turned to see Dumbledore smiling at him from just behind him, "I see you've found the sword of Godric Gryffindor."
"Godric Gryffindor?" Harry nearly chocked.
"Yes," Dumbledore's eyes were twinkling like crazy, "Peculiar story that sword has; it comes to any true Gryffindor who is in dire need of it."
"R-really," Harry said as casually as he could, "That-that's pretty cool."
Harry swallowed hard.
Something told him he would really need to see the Hat now…
"Indeed," Dumbledore continued, "Last time it was summoned was about four years ago. The school was being attacked by a monster and some brave soul drew it and slew the creature, then just disappeared. Curious really."
The poor Gryffindor's stomach started to drop and he could have sworn he was starting to break out in a cold sweat, but he daren't even try and wipe his forehead for fear of what the headmaster would think.
"Sure sounds that way," said Harry weakly, "Um, I should get going. Was-was there something you needed to talk to me about sir?"
"Nothing direly important," the headmaster smiled at Harry, levelling him with those X-ray blue eyes, "You know Harry, if there is anything troubling you, you can always tell me. And I'm sure Professor Lupin would be more than willing to help if you don't feel comfortable with that."
Harry bit the inside of his lip before shaking his head.
"Thank you sir," he said calmly, "I really appreciate it, I might just take you up on the offer someday, but I really have to go now."
"Of course," was Harry seeing things or did he detect a little disappointment in Dumbledore's eyes, "I expect I'll see you soon. Good luck this weekend, by the way."
Harry looked at him in confusion.
The headmaster winked.
"Gryffindor was my old House," he said simply, "I do hope you win. Just don't tell the other houses I said that."
Harry forced a smile, remembering with a cringe that he had his first match coming up.
"Thank you sir," he said again and darted out of the room as quickly as he could leaving behind a musing headmaster.
"Interesting," Dumbledore said to himself, stroking his bearded, his eyes locked on Gryffindor's sword, "Very interesting indeed."
HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP
That didn't just happen.
Of course it happened, you idiot! You were there!
Maybe I'm hallucinating?
Unlikely.
That was the sword! That was definitely the sword!
So now you face facts.
But that means…it means it happened here. At Hogwarts. It really happened! It wasn't just a dream!
You've suspected as much ever since that scar on your arm just magically appeared.
Harry stopped in his tracks, his internal argument making his head spin. That proved it, didn't it? The Sorting Hat, the sword, the fact that a monster had attacked the school, that they didn't know who had slain the beast, that it happened four years ago. His world started spinning; it wasn't a dream!
"Harry?"
Harry very nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden intrusion, with a little surprise he looked round to see Nick Malfoy facing him. He knew the first year was one of Ally's friends and the younger brother of a Slytherin who apparently hated his guts, but he hadn't really had much to do with the child. He thought he might recognise him from Diagon Alley, the same boy who had told him about metamorphaguses, but that didn't seem to be too relevant at the moment.
Nick presently sported deep, chocolate brown hair and was looking at Harry curiously. Harry managed a non committal smile and turned to the First Year.
"Hi Nick," he said cheeringly, "Nice afternoon, huh?"
"Are you okay?" Nick asked, a confused look crossing his face.
"Oh me?" Harry gave a nervous laugh, "Just peachy!"
Yeah right, his inner mind scoffed at him in amusement, if you call having a slight nervous breakdown 'peachy'.
"Peachy?" Nick repeated sceptically, it was as though he doubted Harry's words as much as he did, "Should I go get Ally or Hermione or someone? You don't look so hot."
"I'm fine," Harry said hurriedly, "I'm-I'm just tired."
"Oh," Nick looked a little embarrassed, "Sorry."
"No problem," Harry said in relief and he smiled at the metamorph, "What about you? Going incognito I see."
"Yeah," Nick scratched the back of his head nervously, "I actually went to see my brother, the green hair attracts too much attention and quite frankly I don't think the other Slytherins like me too much."
"I think it's a hazard of being in Gryffindor," Harry sighed, thinking back to his own experience of inter house rivalry, his experiences in Potions being an excellent example, "They don't seem to like any of us that much."
Nick just nodded and Harry wondered, not for the first time, how the young Malfoy hadn't managed to end up in Slytherin. From Draco Malfoy's sneers and the rest of the Slytherins' attitude at the feast, it seemed that Malfoys being in Slytherin was as assured as the sun rising.
"Yeah," Nick looked at Harry guardedly, "Say Harry, if-well say someone you know and care about a lot has done something bad and-and you don't want them getting into trouble…what-what do you do?"
Harry was more than a little surprised. He hadn't though Nick would be the type to ask for his advice, in fact, he didn't think anyone would be. He remained silent for several seconds, mulling over Nick's words.
"It depends I suppose," he said finally, "If it was just a mistake, then you could forgive them cause it wouldn't happen again. But if they were purposefully doing something that could hurt themselves or others and would do it again, then you need to get them help."
Nick regarded him, his grey eyes flicking a little nervously.
"I see," he looked thoughtful for a moment and then shrugged, "Forget I said anything, I was just wondering."
Harry momentarily forgot his own troubles, Nick looked more worried than he had a moment ago and that wasn't good. He was only eleven after all, the most he should be worrying about was who was how to earn points for his house or finishing his homework or something. He opened his mouth to ask, but was interrupted by the familiar and somewhat eager yell of;
"Harry!"
Harry turned to find his little sister dashing down the hallway towards him, followed at a much slower pace by her friend Mickey. Harry momentarily wondered if he had turned into a First Year magnet, or just one for summoning people when he was about ready to panic.
"Hey Ally," he gave a small wave before the eleven year old almost bulldozed him over, she seemed to be fond of doing that lately. Harry, luckily, was expecting this and grabbed her as she launched herself at him, gave a small spin to take care of the momentum she had released with her little outburst and set her down lightly. Ally, for her part, couldn't stop grinning.
"How were your tests?" she asked immediately, "Mum will have a fit if you don't tell her how they went."
With a tired sigh, Harry affectionately ruffled her hair a little, earning himself a minor protest. He instead looked at Mickey, who by far was the calmest one in his sister's little friendship group.
"Too much sugar?" he inquired.
Mickey smiled knowingly, it had become something of a joke when ever Harry had interactions with the First Years. He had been the one to state that eleven year old were prone to sugar highs, the perfect example being in Ally's own conduct when she was happy. Harry was about ninety percent certain she had learned this from Sirius.
"Five table spoons in her porridge this mornin," she shook her head dramatically, "I tried to stop her Harry, I swear."
"Mickey!" Ally whined, but Harry only laughed, seeing this as an opportunity not only to distract Nick from his troubles, but also get away and think.
"Alright then," he said, "I've got to go meet Ron and Hermione, but I will leave you Miss Potter, to the tender care of your friends."
With that, he steered her towards Nick and left with a quick, albeit mocking bow. Laughing at his little sister's face as he did. To be honest she was just too easy to tease. His amusement only increased when Nick's face went a brilliant shade of red as he caught hold of Ally after Harry had pushed her to him. He winked at the young First Year and was off before Ally could get her revenge.
"Harry!" he heard her whine as he hurried away, his smile starting to fade as his previous situation came to mind.
Were his dreams real?
Harry Potter suddenly felt ten times more tired than he had earlier that afternoon.
HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP
For your patience, one of the longest chapters I have written so far.
I do hope you like the way I've revised things. I suppose I could have written the whole thing from Harry's POV, but after reading, or well, getting back into reading, The Wheel of Time books, I was inspired to change things a little. Robert Jordan, bless his soul, liked to chop and change between all sorts of different characters perspectives; doesn't matter if they're a minor or major character either, he just writes with whoever will tell it with the best impact.
So I hope my attempt, which was nowhere nearly as well written or descriptive or even thought through, has helped the story along better.
On a story note, please don't kill me, I have upped everyone's grades in potions as you can see, the reason is simply that I have no desire to write in Slughorn at the moment. So yeah, have to keep them in potions…somehow…
-Southern Hearts-