Title: The Boys Who Lived
Author: Shara Lunison
Beta: Batsutousai
Rating for this Chapter: K+
Pairings: Harry/Henry (OMC), others
Warnings: SLASH, eventual twincest, slightly manipulative!Dumbledore, grey Harry/Henry, OoC-ness, others as I think of them.
Summary: The Potter twins are attacked by Voldemort and somehow defeat him. Now the Dark Lord has returned and they have to choose between light and dark. SLASH, Twincest, rated M for later chapters.
Disclaim Her: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: I don't normally have trouble with characters listening to me… but Snape simply insisted on spilling the beans on several things. Sigh. But it's nothing you lot shouldn't already be able to figure out, so…
Chapter Fifteen: The Chamber Opens
"…rip…tear…kill…"
Harry paused in alarm as he heard the murmuring voice nearby. He was just climbing tiredly back up to Gryffindor tower after a particularly wet and muddy Quidditch practice. Wood was driving them all to illness with his endless practices, and it didn't help that he and Henry's bond was stretched to the limit while he was down on the pitch and his brother in either the dungeons or the tower.
"…sooo hungry…for so long…"
It was coming from somewhere up the corridor he had just turned off of. Jogging lightly, Harry ran back to the corner and peered around, only to find it empty.
"…kill…time to kill…"
It was moving away from him now. Moving upwards, though he couldn't imagine how. Biting his lip worriedly, Harry dashed the rest of the way up to the tower, ignoring Filch's screeches about his muddy prints and the brooding form of Nearly Headless Nick.
"For the cup!" he gasped to the Fat Lady and crawled through the portrait hole she revealed. Hermione, Ron, and Henry looked up as he entered, smiles on their faces until they noticed his flushed and worried appearance.
Henry came over and enveloped him in a hug. The ache from the bond eased at once and Harry took a few moments to bask in the warmth and get his breath back. "I just heard the strangest thing—a voice somewhere talking about killing and being hungry. But when I looked I couldn't find anyone."
Ron frowned. "That does sound weird. Has anyone else heard it?" He looked at Hermione and Henry, but they both shook their heads.
"I would say that I'm just exhausted from Quidditch training, but I know what I heard." Harry sighed and plopped onto one end of a couch, his brother sitting cross-legged beside him.
"Well, there's no sense in worrying about it for now. We'll all just have to keep an ear out for it to happen again. Though whatever they were saying is a bit disturbing…" Hermione reasoned.
Harry nodded, feeling his eyelids drooping shut. "Listen, I'm beat. I'm going to get some actual sleep before Wood comes to wake me up again."
"I'll come with you, I'm still feeling a little sore." Henry rubbed the area over his heart so that they would know what he meant and the twins went upstairs to sleep.
Curled around one another in their bed, Harry murmured, "Only another week until Halloween."
Henry nodded against his hair. "I was thinking we could skip the feast and hold a vigil for mum and dad outside for a couple hours."
"I'd like that," Harry mumbled sleepily. He snuggled further into Henry's chest and began to breathe deeply, already asleep.
-o-0-o-
Halloween dawned frosty and clear that Saturday. The twins disappeared before the others woke and spent a quiet morning in the kitchens (Fred and George having long ago given up that secret) having tea and scones and laughing over the eagerness of the elves. While everyone else was having their own breakfast, they snuck out of the school and took a long walk together around the lake.
By the time Ron was awake enough to notice they were missing, Hermione had worried enough to remind both herself and him that it was Halloween. They both agreed to leave their friends alone until they reemerged.
After a few hours of skipping stones across the surface of the lake and watching the giant squid trying to catch them, the boys returned inside and headed this time to the room of requirement. The room they stepped into was cozy and warm after their time outside and supplied them both with a cup of hot chocolate and a slice of warm pumpkin pie piled high with whipped cream.
When they finished their snack, the room changed again, making their mugs and plates disappear and filling a small cupboard on one side of the room with a jumble of muggle board games. They played Frustration, Chutes and Ladders, checkers, and Risk until it was time for lunch.
Feeling that it was probably time to spend a little of the day with their friends, they ate in the great hall with everyone else and informed Ron and Hermione that they would not be at the feast that evening before sitting with the Slytherins. Draco sat down across from them and gave them both a solemn nod before pretending to ignore them.
At the end of lunch they switched back to the Gryffindor table and played chess with Ron while Hermione alternated between reading and watching their matches.
Just as the other students began to gather for the feast, the twins said goodbye to their friends and made to slip out the front doors of the castle, only to find Professor Snape blocking their way.
"Where might you be going?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"We're going to go outside and light candles for our parents," Henry told him softly.
The professor's gaze softened slightly. "You should not go alone. I will accompany you."
Harry started to protest, but Henry cut him off. "It's all right, Har. I think the professor needs to pay his respects to Lily Potter just as much as we do."
Snape stiffened slightly but did not disagree.
As they had done the year before, the twins lit two black candles and then sat cross-legged on the ground beside them. After a reluctant sigh, their professor joined them.
"Will you tell us more about our parents, Professor?" Harry asked the dour man.
Snape continued to stare into the flames of the candles for several long moments. They thought that he would not speak, and then his lips parted and he whispered the story to them in the cold air. "Lily lived down the street from me. My parents were not terribly kind people, and I would spend most of my days wandering the streets alone. When I first saw her, she was doing magic for her little sister, Petunia. My mother was a pureblood witch and my father was a muggle, so I knew all about magic. I found Lily…enchanting."
"You loved her," Henry whispered, the puzzle pieces finally starting to fit together.
Snape nodded imperceptibly. "From then on, instead of wandering randomly I would search for her. I watched her do incredible things with magic—most children do not gain the same control over it at such a young age. When I realized she was muggleborn, I was very surprised. And then one day, I slipped in my hiding place and they heard me. I had to reveal myself and I told Lily all about magic and Hogwarts. I knew her sister was just a muggle, so I'm afraid I pushed the other girl away and caused Lily to do the same." He looked up from the candle, his dark eyes sad as he looked at the twins. "It is probably at least partially my fault that Petunia treated you so horribly."
Harry shook his head. "Aunt Petunia was bitter." The other two looked at him with surprise. "She wished that she could do magic, too. I remember when Hen and I first started showing signs of it, she got this really pinched and painful look on her face. She was jealous of mum, and of us, and of you, professor."
Snape looked away and closed his eyes. "Jealousy," he whispered. "That emotion has done so much harm to your family."
"You were jealous of Lily and James getting together?" Henry asked shrewdly.
"It was more than that. From the moment we laid eyes on each other, James and I hated one another. And Sirius Black as well—he was James' best friend along with Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin. But those two were the worst. There was barely a day that passed that they didn't play a prank or a cruel joke on me." Snape's voice was bitter but not filled with hate. "Finally one day I snapped. Lily tried to help me, and I called her a mudblood. From then on she would barely even speak to me. It was the worst day of my life."
The twins watched the wax dripping from the candles for several minutes as their professor collected himself.
"I had already fallen in with what your mother called a 'bad crowd'. After that I immersed myself in learning the dark arts and sequestered myself in Slytherin house." A bitter smile twisted his lips. "Oddly enough, it was then that I found someone else to love, though it lasted only a few short years."
Harry looked up curiously. "What happened?" Henry nudged him a second too late. "Er…I mean, if you don't mind me asking?"
Snape actually chuckled. "He went mad."
They blinked, trying to process several things at once. Snape had switched from loving their mother to loving a man. And then said man went mad. And he thought it was funny.
The professor noticed their blank looks and smiled sardonically. "If you knew the circumstances, you would find it funny as well. But I do not think you are ready to know just yet. Perhaps at the end of the year…"
Henry nodded and glanced back up at the castle. "Looks like the feast is almost over."
Snape stood fluidly. "We should return inside, then. If you're lucky you might be able to grab something to eat before it all disappears."
Grinning, each boy picked up a candle and gently blew it out. They placed the stubs in their pockets and followed the professor back into the school. Students were beginning to break up into groups to walk back to their dormitories. Harry and Henry grabbed a few pumpkin pasties apiece and followed their professor as he headed for the dungeons. They were among the first to leave the great hall and immediately noticed the water covering the stones of the second floor corridor.
"Myrtle must have flooded the bathroom again," Harry said.
Snape sneered at the flagstones as though his expression could make the water evaporate.
"What's that?" Henry asked, his head cocked to the side.
"…I smell blood…I SMELL BLOOD!"
"That's the voice I heard earlier this week!" Harry cried.
The two boys rushed into the corridor with the professor following curiously behind. There, between two of the torches opposite the girl's bathroom, was a message written in what looked suspiciously like blood:
THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED.
ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.
And hanging above it was the still form of Mrs. Norris frozen in her most intimidating stance, fur puffed up, eyes wide, and teeth bared.
"You two stay here. I'm going to go fetch the Headmaster," Snape said tersely.
Henry noted that the potions master didn't seem terribly surprised by the message.
Shortly after Snape disappeared, the corridor began to fill with those who were now leaving the great hall. Everyone stopped dead upon seeing the Potters standing next to the incriminating message and the apparently dead form of Mrs. Norris.
"Enemies of the heir beware! You'll be next, mudbloods!" Draco emerged from the crowd to cast slander as he was expected, but shot Henry a questioning glance.
Before Henry could tell the waiting crowd what had happened, Filch pushed his way to the front and shook an accusing finger at them. "You killed my cat!"
"We did not! We just found her there!" Harry protested.
"But you weren't at the feast, were you?" a Hufflepuff boy accused. "Everyone was talking about how you were missing."
Henry's eyes narrowed dangerously. "We were outside paying our respects to our parents. Or did you all forget that they died today?"
The boy looked slightly chagrined, and Snape reappeared with Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall in tow at the same moment.
"They're telling the truth. I went with them to keep an eye on them," Snape told the Headmaster.
Filch looked heartbroken. "Well if they didn't kill my cat, who did?"
Dumbledore approached the wall and looked closely at the hanging form of Mrs. Norris. "She is not dead, Argus. She has merely been petrified."
"What does that mean?" Filch cried. Several of the students echoed his sentiment.
"With a properly prepared potion, she will be restored once more. Do not worry overly much, my friend." Dumbledore looked around at the students who were peering over each others' shoulders trying to see the message and the cat. "Everyone, please return to your dormitories for the night. We have everything well in hand."
Grumbling slightly, those present turned to leave. Harry and Henry joined the tail end of the crowd and found Professor Snape beside them a few moments later.
"My office. Now," he said sternly.
They followed him into the narrow space that was decorated by slimy things in jars. Put there, Henry was sure, to unnerve the students forced into their presence. The professor's black eyes studied them as he sat behind his desk, motioning them to take the chairs opposite the door.
"What did you hear?" he asked them curiously.
Harry's brow furrowed before he realized what their potions teacher meant. "I heard it last weekend as I was coming back from quidditch practice. A voice talking about killing and eating. Tonight all I heard it say was something like 'I smell blood'."
"It was the first time I heard it," Henry admitted. "But it was definitely talking about killing someone and then started screaming about smelling blood. But when we rushed around the corner, there was nothing there."
"Yes," Snape murmured. He sat up and leaned his elbows on his desk, threading his fingers together as he looked at them intently. "What has me concerned is that I did not hear anything at all."
Both boys shared a confused look. Henry spoke, "But it was really loud. Literally screaming about blood and…" he trailed off as something occurred to him.
Black eyes seized on the tidbit of information. "What?"
Gulping, Henry decided it was all or nothing. "You didn't hear it because it was parseltongue. The basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets has been let out and now it's hunting in the school. But I don't see why Mrs. Norris wasn't killed…"
Snape's eyes narrowed. "The water on the floor. She didn't see its eyes, she just saw the reflection."
"That would explain it," Henry said.
"You're parselmouths? How did you figure out it's a basilisk? And how do you know about the Chamber? Most of the students in the school have never heard of it," Snape asked.
"Mostly deduction, sir. But Lucius Malfoy planted a diary that once belonged to Tom Riddle on Ginny Weasley this year. I stole it and…"
"The diary!" Harry cried, interrupting. "If the Chamber has been opened, then someone must have found it and is writing in it. We have to go and check!" He stood and made to dash out the door, but Henry stopped him.
"Wait, Har! We need to finish explaining to Professor Snape about what's going on! The whole school is in danger now!"
"Indeed." Snape stood. "But I believe Harry is correct. We should check to see if the diary is still there."
"You know more than you're letting on," Henry accused.
The potions master stopped cold and looked at him with calculating eyes. "Perhaps…" he said hesitantly.
Both boys stared at him, trying to figure out the puzzle that was their potions professor. Harry remembered the conversation that he had overheard in the Hog's Head during the summer break.
"Lucius has been in contact with Him. He wants them protected as well," Snape had said.
"You're… you work for him!" Harry cried.
Both boys were suddenly made immobile by a full body bind jinx, and the door behind them locked shut with a snap, a silencing ward clicking into place around the room.
Snape brandished his black wand at them, his dark eyes glittering brightly. "What have you figured out? Tell me everything you know about the diary and Tom Riddle." The curse was removed from the neck up, allowing them to speak.
Despite their circumstances, Henry still felt he would trust Snape with his life. "I wrote in the diary at first. It tried to control me, control my emotions. Harry took it away and hid it. We've been trying to figure out what it is and how it works since then. The library doesn't seem to have any information that isn't in the restricted section. And we know that Tom Marvolo Riddle is really Lord Voldemort."
The black wand lowered and Snape turned to pace behind his desk, regarding them both with an intelligent gleam in his eyes. "You're close. What do you remember from your reading about soul bonds?"
Henry frowned. "How did you…Madam Pince?"
Snape nodded, waving his hand for the boy to continue.
He frowned, trying to remember. Nothing about the passage from the book seemed relevant, and he had had to ask Madam Pince a few questions about it…yes! "Madam Pince told me there is a way, using dark magic, to split your soul and place it in an object to protect it. That way, if you die or are killed, you will continue living on because a piece of your soul remains protected on earth. She said they're called Horcruxes."
Harry's eyes widened. "Is that what the diary is? A piece of Voldemort's soul? That's why he didn't die when he tried to kill us?"
And that's what I am, Henry thought, his stomach sinking. I have a piece of Voldemort's soul in me.
"Yes!" Snape cried triumphantly. "That is his greatest secret, and something Dumbledore does not want you finding out for many years yet."
"But why are you telling us this? Why do you want us to know?" Harry cried. "You're a Death Eater!"
"Because the Dark Lord made a mistake. He made too many Horcruxes, and turned into a monster. I am telling you simply because Dumbledore ordered me not to," Snape told them with satisfaction. "He does not want you to know that he is manipulating you towards a destiny where you will have no choice but to destroy the Dark Lord. He does not want you to know that Tom Riddle was once a good leader who had suffered too much at the hands of muggles. He does not want you to know about a prophecy supposedly foretold by that crackpot old woman who hides in her tower. He does not want you to know that neither you nor the Dark Lord can live so long as the other survives. Dumbledore thinks he knows what he is doing, he thinks that he is manipulating you both for his 'greater good', but he does not know Tom Riddle the way that I do. He does not know that the true Dark Lord can be restored."
Snape breathed harshly through his teeth as he finished his speech and took in the shell-shocked expressions on the boys' faces. He had told them too much, too quickly. They weren't ready yet.
"Too soon, too soon," he muttered. Looking first Harry and then Henry in the eyes, he asked, "Where did you hide the diary?"
"I-in the room of requirement," Harry stuttered. Henry looked at him in surprise.
"Thank you," Snape said, recapturing their attention. "Obliviate."
Two blank expressions gazed up at him, the first lights of confusion beginning to show already in their eyes. "You came in here and told me about the basilisk and I promised to warn the Headmaster that the school is in danger. You did not tell me about the diary. The next time you face the Dark Lord you will remember our conversation, breaking my spell." The clause at the end made the memory spell risky—such a clause would make it easier for the two boys to break it as they tried to identify their disoriented feelings. But with any luck, it would hold long enough for his master to return. "Now thank me and return to your common room."
"Thank you, professor," Harry told him with a warm smile. Henry echoed him and they left the room to go to the Slytherin common room.
Severus waited for them to leave and then ran from his office all the way to the seventh floor and the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy.
I need somewhere to hide, I need somewhere to hide, I need somewhere to hide, he chanted in his mind. A door appeared in the wall and he entered and cast a quick accio spell to fetch the diary. Nothing. Frowning, Snape tried again, "Accio Voldemort's Horcrux." This time the two shattered pieces of a very familiar tiara zoomed into his hands. Gasping, Snape gently ran his fingers over the last Horcrux his master had created. Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem was broken now, the piece of soul that once resided in it gone. There was no clear way of knowing how such a thing had happened. And it appeared that the diary that the Potter twins had hidden in this room was gone as well. But who had it now?
-o-0-o-
A/N: Some info on horcruxes that may not get mentioned: in this story, every time you make one your soul is split in half. So a complete half of Voldie's soul is in the diary, while only 1/32 resides in the diadem. Henry has 1/64. I have also decided that when you use another living thing to make a horcrux (like Henry or Nagini) you receive a part of their soul in return. But you receive the same amount. This is my theory for why Voldemort became snake-face in canon. Nagini is not going to be a horcrux in this story, so that won't happen.
~Shara