The Unbreakable Vow 11

by

Ash Darklighter

It all belongs to JK Rowling and I thank her for her inspiration – There are no galleons to be made from me. This little story is my first Harry Potter fic. It is AU and of course comments are welcome. My thanks to Tad and Mona for their help.

Harry returned to Grimmauld Place from his trip to secure some sort of hopeful future for himself and Ginny an hour later. The members of the Order of the Phoenix had already gathered for the meeting and he knew that his late arrival would be noted and commented upon. Head aching, Harry wandered into the library to find that everyone present stopped talking and just stared at him.

"Sorry I'm late," he said unapologetically.

"Harry," Remus Lupin walked forward and hugged him. "We were getting worried. You didn't tell us where you were going or ask for an escort."

"I just wanted to be by myself for a while," Harry mumbled, not looking anyone in the eye. There were too many people capable of Legilimency around the table and he wasn't sure how far his fairly recently acquired Occlumency skills would hold out or how his dwindling magic would affect him if he tried. "I had a wander round Diagon Alley…"

"Now, Harry," Dumbledore said genially, hiding his unease. The boy was too valuable to be risking his safety by wandering round Diagon Alley unescorted – especially now that he couldn't protect himself properly using magic. Of course, the boy didn't know that but... "I thought we'd discussed this…" he began.

Harry closed his eyes for a moment trying to hold onto his fraying temper. "No, as always you talked and I, as usual, listened," he said heavily. "I did hear what you said. I couldn't fail to," he griped bitterly. "But we didn't discuss anything and I certainly didn't agree. I was probably safer by myself than trailing several Aurors after me – no matter how discreet they were. I was in no danger and I didn't go and do anything foolish." At least, his inner voice reminded him, he hadn't done anything foolish yet. "Is there any law against buying toothpaste and other such necessities?" The bag emblazoned with the name of a Muggle chemist shop hung limply from one hand.

"I could have picked them up for you," Remus murmured.

Harry managed a weak smile. "I wanted to do it myself."

Severus Snape, at Order headquarters against his wishes, frowned. He would bet his entire stock of valuable unicorn hair that something was wrong with the whelp and as usual, Potter wasn't talking to those that knew better. This wandering off by himself would only end in tears. He glanced towards Granger and Weasley but he could also see them looking at Harry with concern. The 'boy wonder' rubbed a grubby hand across his forehead.

"Headache, Harry!" asked Hermione, her face creasing in concern.

"Yeah," he said reluctantly. "But it'll be okay."

"You had one the day of Ginny's birthday party," Hermione persisted, her face creased with worry, "didn't you, Harry."

"I'm just tired," he said dismissively. "I'll take an aspirin."

"Come with me, Potter," ordered Snape, offended at the mention of an aspirin. "I have pain relieving potions stocked in the lab." His lip curled disdainfully. "You don't want to be messing around with Muggle remedies."

"They both utilise willow bark or once did, and they work," Harry retorted flippantly.

"Eventually," Snape allowed, surprised at the reference to willow bark. His headache potion did indeed contain willow bark. "But my pain-relieving potions work far more swiftly than Muggle remedies."

"An aspirin will save your precious potions for a more worthy recipient. You don't normally consider me to be worthy of your skills."

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione moaned. Why couldn't he stop trying to antagonise Professor Snape? But the comment had lacked the usual bite that marked Harry's typical exchanges with the Potions master.

"Is it…You-Know-Who?" asked Ron worriedly glancing at Harry.

Harry shook his head wearily and winced as his head throbbed in protest. "No, for some reason Voldemort's not bothering me at the moment." He made an attempt at a cheeky grin and missed it by miles as the assembled company, apart from Dumbledore, all reacted in some way to the Dark Lord's name. "Must have been something I said." That was completely true, he thought darkly. The Unforgivable Curse had certainly done the trick. He stomped on the feeling of guilt that threatened to swamp him at the sight of the worried faces around him. They would imprison him in the misguided hope that he would be safe. He'd had enough of his freedom being curtailed. He was an adult wizard and shouldn't be kept anywhere against his will. "No doubt, he'll be back," he muttered. "He doesn't seem to get the message that he's not wanted."

"Ron glanced at Hermione. "Harry…"

"Potter!" ordered Snape, losing patience with the inane chattering of the Boy-Who-Lived and his blathering sidekick, could see the tight edges of pain around Potter's mouth and in the darkening green of his eyes. "Today, if you please." And pointed the boy towards the door which led to the potions lab which Snape had set up in the basement. The door closed behind them with a dull thud.

"He says that it's not Voldemort causing the headache," Hermione said quietly, once the echo of their footsteps died away. "He would tell us if it were. Harry cannot lie. Well, he can, but he's no good at it."

Dumbledore's eyes had lost their twinkle and he looked old and tired. "Yes, he would tell us."

Remus Lupin's eyes followed the direction of Harry and Snape. "Would he tell us?" he asked worriedly. "Are you sure about that? He keeps far too much to himself, Dumbledore. He thinks that he's protecting us and he's only a boy."

"He's been different since the last Hogsmeade attack," muttered Ron. "Almost like he was after Sirius died in the Department of Mysteries – sort of sad. Mind you, I'm not surprised he's like that with You-Know-Who backing him into a shop window. It's enough to make anyone mental."

"I didn't realise that Voldemort got that close to Harry." Lupin's brow furrowed worriedly. "I couldn't see what happened as I was at the other end of the village trying to keep Fenrir Greyback from getting involved in the fighting." Greyback was the werewolf who'd bitten Remus as a child and retained a twisted desire for maiming and killing.

Dumbledore made a tiny abrupt movement with his hand. "Yes, I'm afraid he did get that close."

"It's the closest Harry's been to V…You-Know-Who since the fight at the Ministry. When Sirius…" Hermione's voice tailed off.

"What is it, Albus?" Minerva McGonagall asked quietly, she'd noticed, where the others hadn't, the headmaster's tiny giveaway gesture. She would ask him about it later. "I'm worried about Harry. This situation with Miss Weasley…"

"Professor McGonagall," Hermione said, interrupting. "He's said very little about poor Ginny's situation since it happened."

"To be fair, Hermione," Ron interrupted. "We've hardly seen him since Percy gave us the glad tidings. What could he say? I'm finding it difficult to talk about it and she's my sister. He's either here at Grimmauld Place or at Hogwarts. He was supposed to be with us at The Burrow for the whole summer."

"Harry's presence at The Burrow is no longer possible because of the marriage contract," Dumbledore said patiently. "It's for his own good. Harry is not a relative of Miss Weasley and from now on must not be alone with her."

"That's very…Victorian," declared Hermione indignantly.

"Perhaps it is to you, Miss Granger," said Dumbledore. "But that is the way things are done in the wizarding world and attempting to change it now will not assist Miss Weasley. It will be difficult enough for her as it is, and we want to make her transition into her new life as smooth as possible."

Minerva McGonagall sniffed. "He's probably not said very much to you, Hermione, because he's been spending his time in research."

"Harry is?" said Hermione, her face showing disbelief. "That's not like Harry."

The Head of Gryffindor house frowned. "I know that you spent a vast amount of your school career supervising Mr. Potter's homework, Miss Granger. But do remember that he has an extremely good head on his shoulders when he wants to use it. He has indeed spent most of the last few days in the library at Hogwarts searching through books for anything that might free Miss Weasley from this most unwelcome alliance. I've racked my brains trying to think of something that might help them both and so far I cannot think of anything."

Hermione looked ashamed. Ginny was her only real female friend and she'd abandoned her to the Malfoys without a fight. "It's more than we've done," she admitted. "Even if it came to nothing, we should have helped him look. At least we could have tried."

"There is nothing to be done," said Dumbledore with a weary sigh. "I don't want to see Miss Weasley under the control of the Malfoy family any more than you do but she may be the making of Draco. Perhaps under her influence he will not pledge his allegiance to the same faction as his father has."

Ron snorted. "I think it's too late," he whispered loudly to Hermione.

Dumbledore shot him a quelling glance. "We can only hope that it's not, Mr. Weasley. Now if we could move on to other business."

Ron continued to shake his head. How could Dumbledore be so blind?

Lupin stared at the door to the basement and then glanced at Tonks. The Metamorphmagus had been uncharacteristically silent during the conversation. For all her youth and apparent clumsiness, Nymphadora Tonks was an intelligent woman and a shrewd judge of character. It would be interesting to see what she thought. Ginny Weasley was being handed without a protest to those that were more dangerous than he was fully transformed on a full moon. Added to that, something was definitely off with the cub. But if Harry hadn't talked to Ron and Hermione, it was either nothing or everything. There was no one else in the Order that the boy would tell. If it was important and Harry was endangered in some way, Ron and Hermione would tell Dumbledore. He would have to trust to that.

xxxxx

"Here, Potter." Snape thrust a vial containing a murky looking potion at the waiting boy.

"Thank you," Harry said, without looking at the Potions master.

Snape noted that Potter was avoiding his gaze as if he thought he might try to Legilimise him. It wasn't a bad idea, but he suspected that the brat had finally been practising his Occlumency – better late than never. He'd not shown any aptitude for the art of Occlumency when Snape had tutored him in the subject before, but he'd suspected that the boy had made minimal effort at the time. Snape conveniently ignored his own part in Potter's unwillingness to learn.

However, after the death of his godfather, Snape had noticed that Potter was a completely different animal. Circe, he'd hated and despised Sirius Black but he hadn't truly wished the man dead – not when so much was riding on the boy's shoulders. Black had genuinely cared for Harry Potter. It had taken the distraught boy a long time to return to his normal arrogance. Looking at the boy now, you would have thought that he'd lost Sirius yesterday instead of over two years ago. Was the loss of Weasley's sister affecting him that much?

"Something bothering you, Potter?" he drawled, watching as the boy flipped open the lid and tipped the contents of the bottle down his throat.

"Why ever would you think that?" Tired green eyes finally met the Potion master's dark ones.

"There is nothing you can do for her," Severus finally said, his voice unusually gentle. The barb he'd thought to utter dying on his lips. For once he almost sympathised with the boy. "We'll see that she's protected…even at Malfoy Manor."

Harry paused and handed Snape back the bottle. "If you can…which I doubt." There was a strained silence until Harry asked quietly, "Did you know what they were planning to do?"

Snape shook his greasy head slowly. "No. The Dark Lord hasn't called me quite as often of late and I have been unable to talk to Lucius or Draco Malfoy. I expect that the Dark Lord is becoming suspicious of my loyalty. I suppose this was inevitable as the Dark Lord trusts no one. I am surprised to have lasted this long as a spy. The Dark Lord has no real proof of my unfaithfulness…at least, I don't think he has…yet."

Harry nodded. "But you assume that he will have soon."

Snape screwed the lid tightly on a jar of black beetles' eyes. "Yes. Eventually I will make a mistake and I will be called upon it. I am only human."

Harry took a deep breath and suddenly asked, "Is Percy Weasley a…"

"Death Eater?" Snape gave a short bark of derision. "No. His only loyalty is to Fudge and the Ministry and his driving force is ambition. If there was a mark to indicate that, then he would have it. It's a dangerous combination. Power corrupts even the best of men."

Harry nodded, flooded with relief. Molly would never have to discover that her son had the dark mark tattooed to his left arm. It would have destroyed her.

"I would know, Potter."

"Thank you." It must have been the first time ever that he'd had what amounted to a civil conversation with Snape.

The man's eyes narrowed. "Whatever you're hiding, whatever you're up to, Potter. I suggest you drop all the foolish notions that have entered your empty head and listen to the adults."

"Yeah," Harry muttered, rolling his eyes. So much for their short-lived civility. "Sure, why not? They've given me such good advice so far." Part of him hadn't really believed Madam Pomfrey about the curse damage at first but it was proving to be the case every time he cast a spell. The mild glamour he'd used had lasted less than twenty minutes and afterwards his head had pounded just as badly as during a visit from Voldemort once had. He moved his head gingerly from side to side glad that the pain had gone. "Thanks," he muttered. "That feels better."

Snape's dark eyes glittered in the dim light. "So you admit that you're up to something."

"I'm not admitting anything." Harry opened the door. "What could I possibly be up to? Wherever I go, someone from the Order accompanies me. I can still go to the bathroom by myself but I'm expecting any day for that privilege to be rescinded."

"Potter…"

"And don't bother mentioning how like my father I am. I've heard it all before and it's becoming rather repetitive. As I said already, thank you for the potion, Professor Snape. Take care of yourself and be cautious in your dealings with Tom. You should be fine for a bit longer…I would think."

The door banged behind him and Severus heard the boy's feet clattering angrily up the stairs. 'Tom?' he thought and then it clicked. 'Tom'. Only Potter…or Albus would refer to the Dark Lord in so casual a fashion.

He turned to the cauldron simmering behind him and adjusted the heat. It wouldn't do to have Lupin's next flagon of Wolfsbane ruined because he was distracted by Potter's stranger than usual behaviour. He decided to mention his concerns to Dumbledore when they returned to Hogwarts. It was the first conversation they'd had in years that was almost civil. Yes, the boy was planning something. For a Gryffindor, Potter exhibited many Slytherin traits. His gaze fell on one of the books open on the table - antidotes. It wouldn't harm him to brew some of the antidotes to the more virulent of poisons. Miss Weasley may have need of them one day. He almost felt sorry for her. It was a total waste of a very bright witch even if she was a Gryffindor and a close friend of Potter's.