Ch 20: Hogwarts

Harry stepped through the Narcissus portal, still not sure how he managed to be so lucky. Or did Hermione leave him alone in that suite of rooms on purpose? And what was with that suite of rooms, anyway? From the first time Hermione had led him inside, Harry had the strangest feeling…. as if someone was walking on his grave, or maybe that he was somewhere where he really ought not to be. And despite the obviously pristine condition, he could have sworn he felt dust tickle his nose when he first stepped through… the heavy kind that permeates even the air in a room due to years of sealed-up disuse. None of which could describe the room. It had smelled crisp from airing with an undertone of life; of having been lived in not long before. Certainly not so long that dust could have made a significant presence, even without cleaning. Were the strange sensations simply due to Hermione's narration of everything, or had he really felt like some of the objects held significance…to him?

And what about his broom? Harry was quite positive it was the very one Siri had given him; right down to that nick in the wood from when Ron had accidently knocked into him and the scuffmark (that even spells could no-longer remove) from standing on it a few too many times. But the broom had been broken; shattered clear in two long ago. Another thing from his past that was not as gone as it should be. Not that the prospect of his broom being back wasn't a welcomed one; just unnerving.

Shaking himself from the weird vibes of the room he had just left, Harry looked around whatever place he'd just stepped into. If this was some kind of cruel joke, someone had better stop, and soon. Now, somewhere deep inside, he was well aware that Slytherins got private rooms; if their families were willing to shell out a ton of Galleons above the normal tuition that is. Still, for never having seen one of these private rooms, he was entirely too sure of exactly where he stood. It was as if the feeling he had before he entered the portal had amplified tenfold. Now, not only was the weird feeling back; he could better identify it. Well, not identify it, per say, but he could easily tell anyone who asked where things were around the room. A potions book he did not remember having ever heard of before, a secret stash of butterbeer and other beverages not actually allowed within the school… personal items he would denounce with all his might. Everything. It was not that he recognized it; at first glance he honestly had to stop and question if he might not have gone somewhere else entirely, but still, there was an echo of knowledge to the room … without familiarity. The effect was more disconcerting than if he had felt some long-lost memory surface, as that he could at least have identified and investigated, this…this was simply information without source or possible logic.

Not wanting to spend any more time in the room, he took a deep breath and prepared himself for what would be the Slytherin common room. With a last backward glance at the Narcissis portal, he opened the door. What greeted him was a deserted room (thank Merlin), which he vacated with all due haste. He really had surpassed his Slytherin quota for the year if not lifetime with the few days he spent at Snape Manor in utter confusion. He was ready to get some answers; real answers. The trek up from the dungeons took longer than he would have liked, but Harry kept walking despite a growing awareness of the castle itself. Never, not even when he became the Phoenix, had Harry felt so in tuned into the workings of the Castle proper. He had heard that the Headmaster was given special insights by the castle to help him monitor the students… but this was different. Here and now, Harry felt as if the stones were at once probing and welcoming him back. And it wasn't his sentimentality or some other such externalized perception. Vague, but most certainly there. He kept walking, making a bee line to the Headmaster's office. About half way there, he was stopped by a familiar voice from a side hallway behind him; Professor McGonnagle. Part of him wanted to backtrack and ask her what was going on. Surely, he should have had to dodge at least a couple students by now. Instead, she was literally the first sign that the castle was not wholly deserted. That, mixed with the unusual impact of the castle itself were summing up to a disproportional sense of wrongness.

He kept walking, assuming that an unknown person sneaking up on her might have the Professor a bit too wand happy, especially if there was a reason there were no students in the halls or their common rooms (though maybe just the Slytherins were gone, while the other three Houses were asked to stay?). McGonnagle was far less likely to wait and listen to him explain the situation than Dumbledore… especially since he didn't know what the situation was. Hell, she would probably bring him to the Headmaster anyway, so why involve her at all? A flash filled his vision, fading just as quickly. Hogwarts. The castle was letting him know there were no students in the castle (oddly, it did not count him as a student, either. Was the castle similarly fooled into thinking him the spawn of Snape?). He sent a mental 'thank you' to the castle, knowing how testy it could get if you took its help for granted, though the flash of knowledge was more worrisome than welcome. The castle had never done that before, not for Harry… even when lives had been at stake. Why now? What had changed? Another flash had him stopping in his tracks, suddenly deathly cold. It was actually visual this time, though more abstract. In an instant, he saw the four house crests melt and congeal; first the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor swirled together, followed by Ravenclaw and lastly Slytherin to form the Hogwarts crest that quickly splashed into the form of a deeply cloaked figure with seemingly glowing green eyes. His eyes. What the hell did that mean? Harry knew he was the heir of Gryffindor due to his father, and grudgingly assumed he might be co-heir to Slytherin due to Voldy… but… but the rest didn't make sense. The old pile of bricks had obviously lost its magically-endowed head. He only hoped that didn't mean that the moving staircases were likewise chaotic or he might need a year to reach Dumbledore's office.

The walk to the Headmaster's office yielded no further surprises, unless you count the lack of scorch marks and other reminders of the battle that happened when a few foolish Death Eaters had decided to storm the place while Dumbledore and he were out doing their own little raid. He had not thought the damages would be repaired so quickly, but with Hogwarts one never knew what the castle could fix at will. Still, something about their absence rubbed Harry the wrong way. Dumbledore would know, and his office was not far now. Still, something kept bothering him as he walked. Things on both sides of the mirror were not adding up as they should; nothing as profound as having a (semi) relaxed chat with Malfoy Jr, but…

He changed direction before he was even aware of fully making the decision. The Room of Requirement was on the opposite end of the corridor; he might as well see where he stood, power-wise, before something else flipped on its ear around him. He walked back and forth wishing for a well-warded place where he could let his magic run without anyone knowing. When the doors opened, he was greeted with a plain stone room bare of any furniture, though on the far end of the spacious chamber there were several targets he could shoot at. Perfect.

Sirius tried. Really, he was seriously trying to keep calm and let them explain. His godson was gone, again… albeit less permanently. For the last, he was immensely thankful, unsure if he could survive hearing Horris was dead again.

"How?" he demanded, though he berated himself for acting so accusing when Snape was doing so good a job of not strangling either teen. He had less right to want to see their heads roll, and he was supposed to be the Gryffindor of the bunch.

"Lea thought taking him to the heir suite might stir up some memories; by the time I got there he was gone." Draco explained again, though Sirius had heard it twice already.

"You are the best candidate to go get him back," Snape explained, "I will not risk sending Remus with the full moon tonight, and his trust in the rest of us is dismal at best." Sirius had already been told about Horris thinking he was Harry; something that a while ago Sirius would have reveled in. Now, his delusion could only turn into disaster unless it was righted, and soon. Already he could see it was breaking Snape, who was fragile enough after Horris' death to lose him again to some kind of mental manipulation. But could the Headmaster really do something like this? Something so utterly against the Light? The only harder question was who but the Headmaster could pull it off at all. The old man was powerful as hell, and no matter how impossible it was, bringing Horris back had to have cost a ton of magical energy… and pooling energy was not something people engaged in on such a scale; the backlash were even one of the contributors out of sync could kill all those involved, and he doubted the only group organized enough to try (the Death Eaters), would want Horris back.

Sirius nodded, already walking towards the heir suit and letting the others follow. No sense waiting. The quicker he got Horris back, perhaps the sooner they could start making it right. Still… "you're sure he's not Shadowed?"

"None of the signs were there."

"He had gold flakes, not black in his eyes," Draco hurried to add after Snape. Something about that nagged at Sirius. Obviously, it worried Snape as well.

He stepped through before contemplating it further. The lightheadedness that always accompanied his travel through the mirror was fleeting, though he welcomed the presence of a nearby chair in the deserted room. As soon as he oriented himself, he was off. He damn well did not want to deal with Dumbledore, but he assumed that was where Horris would have gone (Horris turned Harry, anyway) so that was where he had to go. He took the halls at a rolling lope as Padfoot, knowing that the students would have been ushered home before the castle was sealed up. Still, professors could roam the halls, so he kept an ear out for any approaching feet.

The office's guardian offered him no resistance, which at the same time Sirius found lucky and somewhat worrisome. Why wouldn't Dumbledore have a password up? He froze as soon as he walked in. They had told him Horris was back from the dead, alive for all intents and purposes except for some weird memories screwing with who he thought he was. Still, being told and seeing the boy looking over some knickknacks on the Headmaster's desk were two very different things. A whine came out before he could stop himself, alerting the boy to his presence. Frist, he whipped around as if Voldemort was standing behind him, then adapted a wide-eyed expression that would have been mirrored on Sirius had he been back in human form.

"Siri?" Horris asked just as Sirius was about to shift, kneeling down to hug him before he could start the process, "how are you alive?"
At that, Siri decided to forego the one-sided conversation.
"Hey kiddo," he said, hugging the boy himself still overwhelmed with having Horris back, alive and there.
"I saw you die, Siri… how-"
"Look at me, it's me.," Sirius insisted, not letting him trail down any messed up thoughtpaths,

"I'm real and I can promise I've never been dead; close, but never made the plunge. Whatever you remember is wrong, and I don't care how long it takes me to make you believe it." In answer, the boy hugged him back tighter and Sirius reveled in the all-encompassing sensation. He was here and he was warm and he could hear his heart and feel his breath on his shoulder. After a couple minutes, something on the Headmaster's desk caught his eye.

He reluctantly eased himself away from Horris, giving him another smile before walking toward the desk.
"It was broken when I got here," Horris told him as Sirius neared the thing, "Though when I touched it-"
"You touched it?"
"Yeah… and it sorta lost its color. I'm gonna tell the Headmaster right away; I promise. It just sorta fascinated me and I was bored of waiting and… well, it's just a broken ruby. Or so I thought. Dumbledore's said he never leaves anything here that he doesn't want his students to find… certainly nothing lethal."

"And it was red?" Sirius asked slowly, hesitantly picking up the crystal by the gold chain holding each of the broken halves.
"More pink than red, why?"
"And it became clear after you touched it?
"It sorta looked like it drained into my finger… I got scared for a minute but the portrait said-" Horris looked back to one of the frames, "huh, he's gone."
"He said?" Sirius prompted, still looking over the crystal. He knew the crystal, and it could very well explain how Horris was back.

"He said it won't hurt me, that the magic was lost the moment it shattered." Not all, Sirius corrected the boy mentally, not if it had color in it yet. Still, the portrait had been correct; taking back what was held within could only help Horris, no matter what it have been used for between then and now. He pulled out a handkerchief lodged under a candy dish and wrapped the crystal and chain in it before putting it in his pocket.

"We need to go." "Go?" Horris asked him uncertainly, "I need to wait for the Headmaster," he insisted, "you won't believe-"
"Trust me, I will," Sirius promised, sighing heavily and hoping the boy did not run from him, too. "Someone changed your memories, and we think it's Dumbledore. We need to get you back home where it's safe."

"Back… back to the Asps, back to Snape? Seriously! You of all people?"
"Yes, me of all people," he agreed sternly, "Or do you think I've become a servant of Moldy Shorts as well?"
"No… but Siri-"
"He's your father, and he loves you. It took me a long time to accept it, but it's the truth. I know it's a bitter pill to swallow. Hell, I'm still trying to wash the taste out, but that's how it is." Sirius insisted while making Horris look him straight in the eye, "And I think I know why you think you're Harry," he added, "but I don't want to discuss this here; not where Dumbledore could come in at any moment and try to take you again."
"Why would-"

The door opened, cutting Horris off, but thankfully it was not Dumbledore who walked in.
"Sirius? Is that you? I thought you were with Remus at Snape Manor."
"I was, Minerva," he agreed.
"Do you know why Dumbledore ordered an evacuation of the students and locked down this castle for the first time since Merlin knows when? And how did you even get here?"
"I have an idea," Sirius snorted, "he probably thought the Asps were going to tear it apart looking for him." Sirius could feel Horris's eyes on him as he said it, though for now he chose not to comment.

"Why in the world would the Asps want Dumbledore? I know he was a bit harsh on Draco about their involvement in fighting the Death-" she stopped, her expression changing when she apparently noticed the third occupant in the room "Horris? How?"

She shifted her attention to Sirius again since Horris retained a confused face, "He was dead."
"Apparently, everyone who's supposed to be dead isn't," Sirius couldn't help but comment, having heard from Snape that he (like Sirius, apparently) was supposed to be six feet under in Horris's altered memories, "but in this case, I think Dumbledore messed with things he should not have."
"You think Dumbledore found a way to bring him back?"
"Actually, I think that was an unforeseen… maybe even for him an unfortunate, side-effect rather that the goal. I'm here to take him home."
"Of course, Severus must be beside himself," she agreed, though he could tell he was not taking his earlier statement at face value. Still, he was not about to explain things to her, not when all he had to go on were a few hunches and a broken crystal. Severus would know more.
"Why is everyone so insistent I go back to those Asps?" Horris demanded, glaring at both of them,
"Horris-"
"Something was done to his memories. He thinks he's still Harry," he cut off Minerva, seeing no way around allowing that piece of information to slip into their hands.
"Oh poor dear," she responded, "you really cannot catch a break child."

"No, he can't," Sirius agreed, "though we're hoping we can fix things. As you can see though, he's quite primed to fall back under Dumbledore's thumb."
"The last I saw him, Dumbledore was otherwise occupied, you shouldn't have to worry he will come in for another half hour or more. He has not been acting like himself since he found that new warrior of his… and that one is even scarier than Mad Eye. I agree he should not know Horris is back, especially after what happened last time he tried to gain control of the Asps."
Sirius started to ask, but she must have seen the question forming in his eyes, for she insisted she had already said too much.

"As for you, Horris, Severus is a good man. You can trust him, and I'm sure if you ask he can tell you how this all happened," she promised him, giving him a kind motherly smile, "I have not always done right by you Child, but that is my failing and for that I am deeply sorry. I can say, however, that you were far more alive as Horris than you ever were in the years I have known you as Harry. I pray you do not waste this, however it came about."
"You know I'm Harry?" he asked, obviously confused.
"Yes, Dumbledore told a few of us after… after your passing."
"Dumbledore knew?"

"We should go home," Sirius insisted, not wanting Minerva to be the one to tell him everything here. She could not answer most of the questions he knew Horris would soon ask, and it was neither of their places. That, and the damn crystal was burning a hole in his pocket. A figurative one, thank Merlin, but still. He wanted to go back to the manor, "Severus was there through the whole thing, he can explain things far better than Minerva or I. Though it will probably be better if Minerva confirms that Dumbledore not only knew, but arranged the whole thing, from the moment Remus realized what James had done."

"I didn't know James was involved," Minerva told them, "but yes, Dumbledore said he arranged everything, from Harry going away on 'special training' to Horris being brought in soon after. And yes, I believe the best place for you to be right now is Snape Manor, and the best person to ask about this is Severus," she agreed, her eyes fixed on Horris and leaving no doubt as to her sincerity. Then, turning to Sirius with a hard set to her features, she asked, "this was about Cecilia, I suppose? James never could let it go."
Sirius nodded briskly, just a confirmatory tilt of the head. He did not want to so much as think about the woman.
"We need to go," he said as soon as she saw the nod, turning to Horris, "please, you have to trust me."