Title: The Boys Who Lived
Author: Shara Lunison
Beta: Batsutousai
Rating for this Chapter: K+
Pairings: Harry/Henry (OMC), several others—none of them canon XD
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: This chapter is awesome, if I do say so myself.
Chapter Seventeen: Reconnaissance
McGonagall peeled off, probably to issue curfews to the other houses, and Professor Dumbledore led them through the seventh floor corridors to a statue of a rather ugly gargoyle on the side opposite the Gryffindor tower entrance.
"Lemon drops," he said cheerfully, turning to wink at the twins as though they had shared some kind of secret.
The gargoyle jumped aside at once and they followed the Headmaster onto the spiral staircase and let it carry them to the door at the top. Inside, they were confronted by a large round office with numerous contraptions littering every available surface. A bird stand to the side of the desk held a bird with brightly orange and red plumage that they immediately recognized to be a phoenix.
"Sit, please," the Headmaster invited. "Tea?"
"Yes, please," Harry said, accepting a cup. Henry declined.
"Despite what your Gryffindor housemates are probably now thinking, I have not called you up here to accuse you of being responsible for these attacks," Dumbledore said.
Henry frowned. "Then why are we here?"
The old man considered them from across his desk, his fingers steepled together in front of his face. "Is there anything you boys would like to tell me? Anything at all?"
The twins exchanged a wary glance. What did the Headmaster already know?
"No sir," Harry said finally, "Nothing."
Dumbledore sighed in disappointment, but stood to walk around his desk and show them their way out. "Well, if you think of anything, please don't hesitate to come back. I would like to prevent this year from being quite as traumatizing as your last." He smiled kindly down at them and held the door open for them to leave.
Harry bit his lip and glanced at Henry, who shrugged minutely.
Taking a deep breath, the younger twin offered up a bit of the information they had gathered, "There's a book…"
The Headmaster's brow furrowed and he allowed the door to slowly close once more. "A book?"
Henry nodded. "A book that used to belong to Voldemort. A diary, really."
Dumbledore's eyes widened and he motioned them back to their seats, new energy filling his own steps as he returned once more to the other side. "What does it do?"
"When you write in it, the ink disappears. If you write as if you're talking to it, it talks back. The 'voice' inside is Tom Riddle at sixteen years old," Henry said.
"How troubling," the Headmaster mused, stroking his beard. "How did you come to know of this diary?"
"Lucius Malfoy tried to give it to Ginny Weasley over the summer, but Hen stole it," Harry said. "It started taking control of him and I took it away and hid it in the room of requirement. But someone's found it and is using it again. When we went back to find it, it was gone. Whoever has it is responsible for the attacks."
"Excellent!" Dumbledore said, "So, if we find whoever has the diary, the attacks can be stopped. I see, I see. I think finding it is in both of our best interests. The Board of Governors is threatening to remove me and close the school, and I believe that you will both be faced with the persecution of most of the school starting tomorrow when everyone finds out about Justin."
"We've already started looking for it, Professor," Henry offered. "We're going to start spending as much time as we can in the common rooms of all the houses and see if someone uses it in public."
"That's probably for the best. A mass search of everyone's belongings would only breed suspicion and panic as everyone tried to hide the less dangerous things they aren't supposed to have inside of Hogwarts." His eyes twinkled with amusement. "I'll leave you and your friends to it, then. But please come to me if you have any trouble or news."
The boys nodded with hesitation. Dumbledore saw it clearly.
"You distrust me that much?" he asked gently. The boys looked away and he sighed. "I will admit that I made some bad decisions regarding you boys, both last year and after your parents died. But if I am going to make amends I will need you to, at the very least, acknowledge that I am trying," he said drily.
Harry smiled slightly, but Henry frowned.
"Perhaps if you tell me why…?" the Headmaster trailed off and waited.
"You spied on my heart's desire in the Mirror," Henry said.
"Ah. Yes, I can see why that would upset you. I am sorry." Dumbledore looked away for a moment. "With most people that you know very well, as I feel I know you both, it is easy to figure out what they would see in the Mirror of Erised. Harry's desire did not surprise me, but you would not speak of yours, Henry. I was concerned for you. I felt that if you did not acknowledge your heart's desire it would eat away at you slowly, much as if you had spent every waking moment in front of the mirror as Harry tried to do. I was clearly wrong."
Henry nodded his acceptance of this explanation, but did not speak.
"How about a trade? I saw your heart's desire, so I will tell you mine."
Both boys looked up at him curiously.
The Headmaster took a deep breath. "I see my family, much as Harry does. My mother and sister both alive and well, and my brother standing at my side with the easy camaraderie we had when we were boys. And my father…before he attacked the boys who hurt my sister and was sent to Azkaban."
Henry let out the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Thank you, sir."
Dumbledore nodded solemnly.
Harry nibbled his lip. "I spoke to your sister, sir. The painting of her in the Hog's Head."
His brother and the old man both looked at him with interest.
"She said that Abe had told her stories about an orphan who came to the school while you were teaching here. That you distrusted him immediately, and were always watching him as though you were waiting for him to do something wrong. You tried to manipulate him into revealing his true nature. And that, because of that, he ended up joining the dark side." Harry took a deep breath and met the Headmaster's blue eyes with a haunted gaze. "That is why I don't trust you. I know it's not the same, but Henry and I are orphans, and you keep doing what you think is right for us. But you're not always right, Professor. You've proved it time and time again that you are not infallible. With Grindelwald, and Abe, and Ariana, and that orphan, and us."
Dumbledore reeled back slightly as though he had been burned. "The greater good," he whispered, a faraway look in his eyes.
"That was Grindelwald's motto, wasn't it?" Henry asked. "Why are you still following it even after what he did to your sister, and to you?"
The old man shook his head slowly. "Perhaps I really have been a fool all these years. The orphan she told you of was Tom Riddle, who you know now grew up to become Voldemort. I was so afraid that he would become like Gellert. They were so alike. It did not help that Tom hated me from the very beginning when I visited him in the orphanage to tell him about magic. I was so certain that such hatred was a sure sign of his dark spirit."
The twins remained silent, taking in the story with sympathy. Dumbledore was not a bad man, they were beginning to see. But perhaps he had been more than a little misguided.
"Am I responsible…?" Dumbledore whispered.
The red and orange bird hopped from its perch to the Headmaster's shoulder and began preening the long white hair while crooning softly. Sensing that the meeting was over and they should leave, the twins stood and slipped from the office to return to Gryffindor tower and their own troubled dreams.
-o-0-o-
As the Headmaster predicted, life became difficult for the twins after that. Most of the school shunned them, only the Slytherins believing their story and protecting them from the jeers of the other houses. The second quidditch match (Slytherin versus Hufflepuff) came and went, Slytherin winning by a wide margin now that Draco had realized his broom did not suit him and traded it in for a Nimbus 2001 instead.
Christmas holidays approached with the speed of a rampaging rhinoceros and with them most of the Slytherins went home to their families for the break. Luckily, the rest of the school were all eager for a break from the attacks and most of them went home as well. Two more muggleborn students had been attacked in the month since Justin and the Gryffindor ghost had been found.
Draco, surprisingly, approached the twins a few days before the break began to extend his father's "request" that they join the Malfoys for the holidays. They respectfully declined, remembering that the Dark Lord was likely also currently a guest at the manor.
The small group of spies had thus far had no luck catching someone in any of the common rooms writing in the diary. They kept trying up until the last day before the holidays, and decided to take a break since Hermione would be going home to her family anyway.
Christmas morning dawned bright and cold with piles of brightly wrapped presents at the foot of every student's bed.
Before they knew it, classes had resumed and all the second years were faced with the decision of what electives they would take starting the next year. Ron signed up for Care of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies, Hermione signed up for everything, Henry signed up for Ancient Runes and Arithmancy, and Harry added Care of Magical Creatures and Ancient Runes to his schedule.
In March another student was added to the hospital ward and disastrous news struck the castle.
"Dumbledore has been removed!?" Ron asked, panicked.
Hermione nodded. "I saw Mr. Malfoy come to inform him myself. He's head of the Board of Governors, so it would have to be him who would come."
"This is terrible!" Harry cried. The twins had not spoken to the Headmaster since November, but without him there they had no way of stopping whoever had the diary when they were caught.
"I know," Hermione said. "I don't understand why we've had no luck catching the person, either. I would think they would want to write in the diary at every waking moment they possibly could. The only thing I can imagine is that a teacher might have it instead. I was going by the assumption that they would recognize it for what it is and be able to combat it, but…"
"Maybe Lockhart stumbled across the RoR and that's why he's been such an abysmal teacher this year," Henry said drily.
"Yeah, right," said Ron. "He was already lousy to begin with, I don't think he'd need the diary to help him."
"He does seem the most likely to be susceptible to its charm, though," Hermione mused. They had cured her of her hero-worship before Christmas.
"Well, there's nothing for it," Henry stood and prepared to leave the common room where they had gathered.
"What?" Harry asked.
"Trying to catch them is doing us no good, so I think we should find out where the Chamber is and let the teachers or the Ministry stop the basilisk directly."
"But the teachers have been searching for it all year…" Hermione argued.
"Then it won't hurt to have another four or five pairs of eyes searching as well. Come on." He led them to the library for yet another search among the stacks. He grabbed some books on subjects that might be related to whatever the diary was while he was at it.
The end of the year was fast approaching, still with no sign of where the Chamber was or of the return of Dumbledore. The Governors had agreed to keep the school opened so long as there were no more attacks, and it seemed that whoever was responsible had staved off for the moment.
Then, in May, disaster struck yet again.
Ron, Harry, and Henry were studying in the common room when McGonagall entered. Hermione had rushed off to the library earlier in the evening to research something on the spur of the moment. The head of house came over and looked gravely at the three boys.
"I'm afraid I have some bad news," she said.
Ron stood, his charms text slipping from his fingers to land on the floor. "It's not Ginny, is it? She didn't suddenly die because the petrification lasted too long…?"
"Oh, goodness no," McGonagall grasped her chest at the thought. "Your sister is fine, Mr. Weasley. It's Ms. Granger, however…she seems to be the newest victim of the basilisk. Only petrified, of course—she was holding a mirror like most of the victims."
All the boys turned white regardless.
"Can we see her?" Harry asked.
"Well, it's not as though she can hear you, but I don't see why not. The school is going to be closed by tomorrow, I'm sure, and everyone sent home. The mandrakes are almost finished so she'll be home by next month anyway."
She led them to the hospital wing and the strange statues that occupied the beds in numerous different poses. Hermione's eyes were wide and terrified where she lay against the white sheets. Another girl, Penelope Clearwater, had been attacked with her, and was holding a mirror in her outstretched hand much like Ginny.
"We think Ms. Granger saw the basilisk in Ms. Clearwater's mirror," McGonagall explained.
"Thanks for letting us come, Professor," Ron said softly, visiting with his sister as well as their best female friend.
"I'll just leave you here for a few moments," she said, and left them at that end of the ward alone.
Harry reached out to take one of Hermione's cold and lifeless hands, curling his fingers around hers and immediately feeling something wedged there in the crevices. "Hold on," he said, and carefully wiggled it out. The other two boys came over and looked over his shoulder as he unfolded it.
"A blueprint?" Henry asked with confusion. It was a page torn from a library book (he was more than a bit shocked that Hermione had dared such a thing under Madam Pince's nose). "But it's from the 1800's when they remodeled the castle for indoor plumbing…"
He stopped and they all exchanged glances as they realized what this meant. Across one corner of the parchment Hermione had scrawled the word 'pipes'.
"The pipes!" Harry cried, the pieces coming together. "That's how the basilisk is getting around. But what about the Chamber? How are they connected?"
Henry's brain was going a mile a minute. "Pipes…Myrtle was killed in a bathroom. What if the girl's bathroom is the entrance to the chamber?"
They peered closely at the blueprint, trying to find that particular room. Hermione had ripped out the page that contained the plumbing designs for the second floor.
"There!" Ron pointed. One of the circular sinks drained into an especially large pipe in that bathroom—one without a marked end on the blueprint.
"They probably thought it was the original drainage pipe and didn't bother to investigate further," Harry laughed.
"Are you boys finished?" McGonagall returned, her head tilted curiously at them.
Harry quickly folded the parchment and shoved it in a pocket.
"Yes, Professor," they said obediently.
"Then I will escort you back to your common rooms."
They followed willingly. As they walked, Henry asked, "Professor, what's going to be done to get rid of the basilisk once all the students are gone?"
She sighed. "I'm reluctant to tell you, Mr. Potter, but we have been unable to find the entrance to the Chamber. The Headmaster will likely be allowed to return in a few days to help remove the monster, but until then I think even the other professors will clear out for a short time."
He nodded. "And Harry and I will be staying with Abe at the Hog's Head again this summer…right?"
"Yes, I believe that is Albus' wish," she answered with a smile.
They arrived at the tower and she shooed them inside.
Upstairs in the boys' dormitory, Henry laid out his plan. "Harry and I will be in Hogsmeade when the Headmaster returns. We'll let him know what we found out so that the entrance can be found and the basilisk got rid of. That way, the school will be able to open again next year without any fuss."
"What about the diary?" Harry asked. "Whoever has it will probably either try to stay here in the Chamber or take it home with them."
"Well, without the basilisk around, I don't see what damage the book could do next year. And if they try to stay, all the better. We'll know who is responsible and they'll be caught when they go down into the Chamber to get rid of the snake."
"Sounds like a plan," Ron said. "I'm knackered. Let's get some sleep."
They curled up in their beds, anticipating the need to leave sometime the next day and wanting to be well rested for whatever happened.
-o-0-o-
They were awoken early the next morning by the deputy Headmistress' voice amplified to echo through every room and corridor of the castle. "All students, report to your common rooms. Your head of house will be there to speak with you shortly. I repeat, all students, report to your common rooms."
Stumbling, the second year boys threw on the nearest clean clothes and joined the rest of their housemates in the common room. After five minutes of milling around, McGonagall came to speak to them.
"Is everyone here? Good. I need your utmost attention." She took a deep breath, as if steeling herself. "A student has been taken down into the Chamber. Everyone is confined to their dormitories until a professor or other adult comes to get you. There will be aurors and other officials from the Ministry in the castle today aiding in an evacuation. When I leave, return to your dormitories and pack your things. House elves will be on call to collect luggage and will take your things as soon as you are done with them. We will start by removing first years and continue up to seventh years. I would not expect you will be able to leave until early afternoon at the earliest. Meals will be provided as needed. Are there any questions?"
Shakily, one of the first years raised her hand, "W-where's Colin? D-did he get attacked?"
McGonagall closed her eyes for a long moment. "I'm afraid it was Mr. Creevey who was taken into the Chamber, Ms. Willow. Professor Lockhart has also gone missing." Her lips thinned as she said this.
Several other students gasped and many of the first years who were friends with the boy started crying.
"I know this is very distressing. You are safe in the common room and you will be able to leave and see your families soon." Nodding to the older prefects, she turned and left through the portrait hole. An ominous locking sound came from it a moment later.
Harry sat heavily in one of the chairs while everyone else went up the stairs to pack or tried to comfort the first years. "Poor Colin. What are we going to do? We know where the Chamber is…if he stays down there too long, what might happen to him?"
Henry bit his lip, feeling guilty. "Maybe we should have told McGonagall last night," he said.
Ron clapped them both on the shoulder. "You had no way of knowing Colin would be taken. We can tell her when they come to take the first years to the station."
The twins nodded, the new plan filling them with purpose. The three boys went upstairs to pack. Harry decided to hold on to their invisibility cloak just in case. A trio of house elves appeared to take the trunks as soon as the latches were closed. With nothing else to do, they returned to the common room where everyone who had finished packing was waiting tensely for news from outside.
Hours passed, they nibbled on breakfast, pushed lunch around their plates, and finally, finally the portrait opened and a group of professors entered to escort the first years to Hogsmeade.
"Professor!" Harry, Henry, and Ron all rushed forward to try and get McGonagall's attention.
"What is it, second years will be leaving shortly," she answered, distracted as she counted heads.
"We know where the Chamber is!" Ron gasped out quietly so that only she could hear.
She looked at them sharply, eyeing first Ron and then each of the twins. "I made the mistake last year of not listening to you, and you ended up throwing yourselves into danger to protect the Philosopher's Stone. I will listen this time, but you will have to wait until the first years have been removed from the castle. A group of aurors will arrive in a few moments to collect the second years. Wait for me at Hogsmeade Station, since you won't be returning on the train anyway."
"But Professor, what about Colin?" Harry asked, feeling that waiting for McGonagall would take too long when the boy was in danger.
She breathed deeply, her eyes closing. "'His bones will lie in the Chamber forever', that's what the message on the wall said this time. He's been down there since last night, probably directly after the attack on Ms. Granger and Ms. Clearwater—that may even have been a distraction for his abduction."
The boys paled quickly. "You mean…" Henry said.
"It is possible, even probable," McGonagall said gently. "At least with your help, we can return him to his parents."
She turned and gestured for the other teachers to begin leading the first years out of the portrait hole. Harry, Henry, and Ron sat heavily in the nearest chairs.
"What have I done?" Henry asked.
-o-0-o-
A/N: Ask and ye shall receive? :)
~Shara