Disclaimer: The characters and settings, including any sentences taken directly or partly from the books or movies, of Harry Potter are the property of J. K. Rowling, Scholastic Books, Bloomsbury Publishing, AOL Time Link and Warner Brothers. I do not make money from publishing my story.
Severus and Harry had been reading and discussing about the wards for approximately two hours. Harry's particular interest in blood wards had shone through and they had found several interesting notions. When Headmaster Dumbledore had cast the blood wards around the Dursley's home, he had incorporated several components; one of which was that Harry should consider it his home. Another was that Harry was required to at least spend one month per year there to reinforce the wards. It was especially strange for Dumbledore to have incorporated the latter, because the minimum amount of time one had to spend within blood wards for them to be active one year, was one day. If Dumbledore had wanted to reinforce the wards thus, he would only have to send Harry home on one of the solstices, but even without the use of a magically potent day the minimum amount was only a week. Apparently Dumbledore had wanted Harry in that house for a reason, which both Harry and Severus had yet to understand.
They decided to let the issue rest for now and focus on the wards that Harry wanted to place around Malfoy manor, when the clock struck twelve times, indicating the beginning of a new day. After the eighth strike, Harry's eyes shot towards the mantle clock, suddenly remembering what day it was. Quickly Harry stood up from his chair and walked towards the window, he was used to getting letters and presents on the stroke of midnight on his birthday, but he wasn't looking forward to getting present nearly as much as we wanted to see his owl, Hedwig, again.
Harry knew he shouldn't have expected Hedwig to arrive this year, as she was currently staying with Hermione. He hoped that his pet would not be used in some plot to track him down or that she was mistreated in his absence. Despite the absence of Hedwig, Harry had to admit that this was one of his better birthdays. No Dursleys, no murderer on his tail and lately he hadn't suffered from nightmares. He would have liked to have his friends present and not have been cooped up in Malfoy manor, but at least Dumbledore wasn't interfering with his life right now.
"Thank you, professor", Harry said, looking back into the room towards his teacher. He stepped away from the window and took his seat again next to the man. "Thank you, for you protection and for everything you have done for me. You have given me the best gift ever! You have given me control of my own life." Harry smiled once more, before immersing himself in his book once more.
Severus felt warm inside as if Potter's words had stirred something buried deep within him. He only dared to look at Potter when the boy had started reading again. Harry had sounded truly genuine, which caused a rare true smile to appear on Severus' face. Something bothered him still, which was what had inspired Harry's sudden urge to look out the window. It remained a mystery to him until the following morning. Long after both Harry and he had stopped researching and had gone to bed.
Harry had arrived at breakfast only minutes after Severus. The latter was currently eating a piece of buttered toast, while reading the Daily Prophet. While Rabastan and Rudolphus were there almost every morning, this particular morning they occupied the seats to Severus' right. Bellatrix was hardly ever present, for which Harry was quite grateful, however as luck would have it, she decided to be there this morning. The Dark Lord was mostly absent as well, preferring to have breakfast served in his quarters. The seat opposite to Severus, Rabastan and Rudolphus were occupied by Narcissa, Lucius and Draco respectively.
It was a surprise really that Harry hadn't had more run-ins with any of the other Death Eaters. The Dark Lord had the greatest hand in this, during the first communal breakfast he had made it extremely clear that Harry Potter was not to be touched. Of course there had been some minor quarrels, mainly between him and either Draco or Bellatrix, but a warning from the Dark Lord himself had clearly hit home. Even though Harry was still on high alert around them, the presence of his wand in his pocket caused him to be the calmest he had been yet.
Harry wished the people at the table a good morning before seating himself to the chair on Severus' right. Tapping his tea cup once, the teapot moved over and filled the cup. One of the Malfoy house elves appeared next to him, asking Harry what he wanted for breakfast. After ordering some fruit, buttered toast and scrambled eggs, Harry focused his attention on the newspaper that Severus held.
Severus handed him a part of the section that he had already went through without fully acknowledging his student. Harry didn't mind the near silence that was present at the table and enjoyed his breakfast while reading some articles. Narcissa was softly talking to her husband about the pureblood book club she had went to yesterday. While Rudolphus and Rabastan were going over a list of potions they would require for their next mission, sometimes including Severus in their discussion.
The silence went from pleasant to deadly in a couple of seconds as the Dark Lord entered the dining room. Chairs were pushed back as the people seated in them stood up in respect of their Lord. While Harry too stood up, he didn't join in the chorus of 'milords' that followed, but only gave a nod of his head.
Voldemort sat himself down at the end of the table furthest away from the rest of the people. A cup of tea appeared instantly as did a plate of food, consisting of toast, eggs, sausage and bacon as well as a cup of what Harry suspected was fresh apricot jam.
Harry and the rest of the group sat themselves at the table again and resumed their breakfast. Seconds later another elf popped in and presented the Dark Lord with a copy of the Daily Prophet as well. It took only one glance at the paper, the date to be more precise, for a sardonic smile to form itself on the snake-like face. "It suppose I should congratulate you with your sixteenth birthday, Harry", Voldemort said, the tone was sarcastic even to Harry's ears.
"Then I suppose I should thank you, sir, for your congratulations. However I think it would be more appropriate more me to offer you my compassion as this is not a pleasant anniversary for you though", Harry said daringly, before taking as sip from his tea. The smile on the Dark Lords face lessened somewhat and a sliver of irritation shone through, before the man focuses his attention on the newspaper once more. The rest of the people were shocked to see that the Dark Lord didn't punish Potter for such a show of blatant disrespect.
The remainder of breakfast went on quietly. Rudolphus and Rabastan had excused themselves not too long after Voldemort had arrived, as had Draco and Narcissa. Harry was about to excuse himself as well when Severus indicated for him to stay behind, something that did not go unnoticed by the others still present. The Dark Lords eyes locked with Severus', "Leave us", the man commanded without specifying who exactly was supposed to leave the room. Lucius and Bellatrix however had needed no time to catch up on the meaning of that sentence and quickly removed themselves from their Lord's presence.
"What is it you wish to discuss, Severus", Voldemort said, slowly standing up and moving towards one of the large windows of the dining room. Even though his back was turned towards the other two men, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that the Dark Lord was vulnerable right now. Harry and Severus would put up a fair fight, sure. However, the Dark Lord they was on a whole other level altogether.
"It has come to my attention that Potter shows an aptitude for wards that is unmatched by my own and possibly even Rudolphus' ", Severus said, standing up from his seat as well, but not really moving anywhere.
Harry tried not to feel awkward as Severus talked about him as if he was not there, even if the professor was complementing him. "That is quite the understatement, I dare say, Severus", Voldemort said, as if it were light conversation, "As I heard it, Mr. Potter's first proper use of wandless magic involved bending a ward within an ancient pureblood mansion."
That was the second compliment Harry had gotten from the Dark Lord in only one week, even though the first one had only been indirect. The same man though had murdered his parents. Yes, Harry still remembered and sometimes it was difficult to keep his emotions back. However, he was truly interested in remaining neutral in this war, especially after Dumbledore had discarded Harry's life so meaninglessly.
"Potter and I have discussed the possibility of him enforcing wards around the manor, milord", Severus said. There were no visible clues to indicate the Professor was nervous, as all emotions were safely kept behind a mask of indifference. Harry was a different story altogether. The boy was anxious and was clearly unable to keep it all under wraps. "Have you now", the Dark Lord said, musing out loud, before directing his attention to the younger of his companions, "And what do you hope to gain from this, Harry."
"I would not directly gain from this, sir", Harry answered as politely as he could muster. Just because he had to live with the man, didn't mean he liked him. Yes, they had reached a mild understanding, but that didn't get him onto Harry's friend list. "While Dumbledore has betrayed my trust, I still have friends that oppose you. I am not just keeping them away from here. Indirectly I am keeping you and your Death Eaters from hurting any of them."
"That sounds like a sound strategy, if not for the fact that Dumbledore and his Order will be coming anyway", Voldemort stated with a sadistical grimace on his face. "And soon too, from what my followers tell me. They will either be coming to weaken me or to capture you, perhaps even both at the same time. You should realize that they betrayed you, Harry Potter, for you will be better for it."HHh