Chapter 82 – Getting a Handle on Things

It was a good two hours after their usual rising time that Dobby finally woke Severus and Harry. Professor Dumbledore had been asking to see them when they awoke, and Dobby was not persuaded by that request to hasten their awakening. Severus was particularly piqued that a house elf had interfered with his schedule in this way, but when Dobby did something to protect Harry Potter, he neither apologized nor backed down if challenged.

By the time the two arrived in the Headmaster's office for an update on what had gone on overnight around the world, Madam Bones and Auror Kingsley Shacklebolt were already waiting there to see Harry. Cornelius Fudge's perception to the contrary, Albus Dumbledore was actually very careful to keep his roles as Hogwarts' Headmaster separate from any other role he might play in the wizarding world. He allowed the meeting to occur in the Headmaster's office because he'd taken a quick look in the space that he'd had the house elves prepare for Harry's use, and he was reasonably certain that Harry would be mortified by the enormous throne room done in Gryffindor colors. Let the boy see it in private and adjust it to his tastes.

Based on Fudge's reaction to the news that Harry had sealed the Well of Despair in the Winter Lands, he was a bit nervous that he and the Headmaster would be in trouble now with Madam Bones for having acted in casting the spell as they did last night without Ministry involvement. That wasn't it, at all. Unlike her self-aggrandizing predecessor, she was very thankful for their help, and wanted to update Harry and Albus on the outreach the Ministry had done overnight.

"We've spoken to the wizard leaders in nearly every country across the world. The casualties are enormous, both to muggles and to wizards, and the damage is horrific. However, we know that those muggles who survived the casting of the sleeping spell and its immediate aftermath are at least likely to survive the spell itself. This morning, I created a new Emergency Situation Office in the Ministry to coordinate the magical response to the situation here in England, and collect and disperse information about the event and the recovery efforts. It will also be our point of contact on this matter to the governments of other countries, for coordination of efforts and mutual assistance. I've invited the wizard leaders to assemble in our Ministry offices tomorrow to discuss our responses and resources as we plan to act. The muggle world is in an absolute shambles, and we need to do something now if we want it to be available to them when they wake up."

Harry did not want to get involved in what he saw as the civic responsibility of the wizard leaders, and he felt that Madam Bones might be expecting him to do so. "I have great faith in the leaders of each country to determine what steps we with magic need to take to repair and preserve as much of the muggles' world as we can. It's also a matter of finding and helping squibs who did not know they had magic, and who are probably frantic now about what they see; we brought quite a few here when we retrieved the family members of students. I look to you and the other leaders to develop the plans to address what needs addressing, and to mobilize the resources that are available to them. I am not going to play a role in that work, or direct it. You do not need me for that."

Madam Bones nodded in understanding. She had not expected Harry to want a role, but thought it was probably appropriate to ask him.

Harry asked her "Might you permit Mr. Shacklebolt to work with us here on some issues we want to pursue? If we need to go into the community, or to connect with the Ministry on certain things, his participation as part of the Hogwarts team would be very valuable."

Kingsley looked pleased to be asked. Madam Bones did not say "no" but she did want to know what, exactly, the Hogwarts' team was going to be doing.

Severus sketched out the areas that seemed to bear most immediate work. "We noticed the impact of the casting of the spell by Voldemort on those who bore the Dark Mark – a few deaths, several reduced to squib or even muggle status, a massive drain on their power. I believe that Voldemort sees this as a perpetual power source for himself, and we want to learn as much as we can about the Dark Mark and how it operates, to find ways of removing, blocking or reversing the process. We have a group here with access to some ancient texts that might shed some light on this, but we'd like to find more of the Death Eaters and begin to publicize their current situations. I suspect many never realized this was what Voldemort planned to do to them, and if they learn of the fates of some of their ranks, at least a few might come forward and work with us. We would need Kingsley's assistance in reaching out to them, and in making sure information then reaches the right hands. Is your Press Office involved here?"

"We put a member of the Press Office staff into the Emergency Situation Office, and have already made our contacts with the newspapers. The Daily Prophet has been astonishingly responsible about this. Their coverage, for once, is straightforward and honest!"

"That's surprising, but good news. Would you agree to seconding Mr. Shacklebolt to Hogwarts knowing at least this much of the general focus of our work? As events unfold, we might proceed in other directions, and there might not be opportunities for updates to you in advance."

Madam Bones looked thoughtfully at Severus, then at Harry. "I think it would be good to have Mr. Shacklebolt here, perhaps to provide security assistance, and whatever else is appropriately required of him, or the Ministry, if necessary. I'll designate him as my Special Representative to the Ministry's Hogwarts Annex."

Harry chimed in again. "We don't know what Voldemort plans to do next. If we can find someone in whom he confided any element of his plans, or who observed anything that might give us a hint, or who has any theories about his intentions, we want to find them and learn what they know. We also have to plan for his reaction to what we've done to alter his plans. Clearly, he expects the muggles to die off; how will he respond when he learns they will live? I assume he expects many witches and wizards to die off as well, and we are all awake because of the pulse of magic I sent out. How will he respond to seeing us all up and about? We've heard the house elves here refer to Voldemort as 'He Who Would Walk Alone.' How will he react when he finds us all walking on the same path as he is?"

Kingsley nodded at that. "So this is not over, is it?"

Albus answered for them all. "I fear it may just be beginning."

X X X X X X X X X X

As Albus escorted Amelia Bones to the floo, Harry and Severus had a private word with Kingsley. "I suppose I can see your interest in removing or inactivating the Dark Mark, Severus, but helping Death Eaters – they are the enemy! Why on earth do we want to protect them from their chosen master?"

A flicker of annoyance crossed Severus' features, but for once, he held back his temper. "I am sure none of them expected to be used in this manner, and from what we've seen, many of them are in very bad shape, and a few are dead. I believe that more than a few will rethink their choice of Voldemort as their master and be glad for a way to desert him. Voldemort joined many of the strongest witches and wizards of our world to him, so if they remain with him, they will be powerful enemies. Better if they are our allies, or at least not part of the fight. Lucius Malfoy was brought to Hogwarts by his son yesterday; we've provided him a room in Slytherin House for his recovery. He told me months ago that he thought the Dark Lord had gone insane. I don't think he actually parted from the Death Eaters until that fracas at the Ministry. I suspect that Voldemort saw that as desertion from his ranks. However, Lucius was already worried some time before and might have information of use to us. I suggest we speak to him first."

Kingsley was both fascinated and appalled. "Do you really think you can trust someone like that?"

"Harry does. And I trust Harry."

Harry smiled warmly at Severus at that statement. "He is on a new path. I saw it that day at the Ministry. Once he made his choice that day, he set foot on this path and there is no retreat. He has no choice."

Kingsley furrowed his brow at that – he had no idea what they were talking about and made a mental note to ask Severus for an explanation later.

Kingsley joined Severus to floo to his office in the dungeons, and Albus asked Harry to join him for a minute to take a look at the space being created for his use. As the floo wooshed him away, Severus was certain he heard a loud, pained groan from Harry. As Albus suspected, it needed to be toned down a bit.

Albus offered Harry the use of his floo for Harry to depart as well, but Harry wanted a brief walk to clear his head. Before stepping on the revolving stairs, he asked "Why on earth would they look to me to sort all this out? What can I possibly do?"

"You did just want they needed you to do, my boy. Give them inspiration, encouragement and a purpose. Amelia here in Britain and her counterparts in countries across the globe – they are the ones who know what their countries need right now, and what their resources and infrastructure can provide. Leave them to it. Where we need you, Harry, is where we've always needed you, to help us understand Voldemort's plan, and then to help us thwart it and defeat him. That will not be a country-by-country exercise. Your position will be essential in unifying the wizarding world's resources to rid us all of Voldemort's evil and insanity."

"I should go back to translating those notebooks then. There might be something in there that would help you and Severus in spotting anything in Slytherin's Light work that would help us defeat someone pursuing ideas he offered in his Dark work."

"Yes, and no. Right now, if I may suggest, I believe you need to visit with your godfather and Remus and with your friends and classmates. Find out what they are doing and experiencing, and listen to their stories. They need your inspiration, too. Your friend Ron knows the ways of battle, so engage him in thinking about the battles to come. The ones who have been out rescuing people – what have they seen and how do they feel about it? Have they any ideas or observations? And my goodness, one can only imagine what Miss Granger is researching as we speak! In guiding you to discover your true nature, she has already done so much, and yet I suspect so much more is still to come from her! We can gather together after lunch, and devote time this afternoon to the business of translations and strategy."

Harry nodded. He knew that Professor Dumbledore was right. But it wasn't just his family and friends who needed Harry. He just as desperately needed them, for a breath of normalcy, a few moments to remember who he was and that others loved him. He headed down to the Great Hall to find out what was happening there.

X X X X X X X X X X

The Great Hall was a raucous hubbub of activity and chatter, which Harry found incredibly comforting. Of course, he could not slip in unnoticed, but as a swirl of people congregated around him, just as fast, Ron, Neville and Sirius were by his side, and gently eased him out of the throng and over to a seat at the Gryffindor table. His friends were all clearly happy to see him, and it was wonderful that with them, he was just Harry. It was almost like a normal day here, except for the fact that Sirius was sitting with them, and Charlie Weasley was at the table, with Draco looking slightly out of place amid all the Gryffindors. "Well, looks like you lot had a good time last night! So, what's going on? Have I missed anything?"

Amid gossip and commentary from the others, Ron provided an update on the expanded and still on-going rescue efforts, now reaching out to extended families and best friends, and with Remus' help, some efforts to extricate people caught in crashes on their way home. He'd discovered that in Moony form, he was able to lift small automobiles, and even half-collapsed walls of buildings, feats that clearly impressed the others.

"Who's out there helping? Anybody not from Hogwarts?"

Neville took that one. "No wizards, but the places we've gone haven't been where you'd expect to see wizards anyway. We did see quite a few squibs wandering around. Professor Dumbledore asked us to get their names and addresses, so the Ministry can get help to them, and maybe get them involved in the rescue efforts."

"Madam Bones was here this morning. The Ministry will be organizing efforts to do what it can to preserve the muggle world, and I'm sure they'll be doing something to look after the squibs. She assigned Kingsley Shacklebolt to the Ministry Annex here at Hogwarts, so he can help us and keep them informed. It really bothers me that we don't know if Voldemort knows about what we've done yet, or what he'll do when he does find out."

Hermione looked up from a stack of books. "You've always been able to sense when Voldemort experienced high emotions, so I expect you'll know if he's really upset. I can't imagine him not being upset when he realizes how completely you spoiled his plans! What he'll want to do might not be clear, but I suspect you'll know as soon as he learns."

"Well, we'll have to be ready then to adjust our strategy on the fly, if we can't plan it out in advance. Ron, if you have any thoughts about a strategy for this, let me know. Hermione, have you found anything interesting there?"

Of course, Hermione had found many interesting things, but she realized she had to edit herself for this audience. "I've been looking into Black Wyrms. The records that identify them as mere animals, as Fudge described them, go back just two hundred years. There's absolutely nothing about them before that. Then I remembered that you called them "dragons" so I looked into that. No current information about dragons includes anything like what you described, but I found an essay about the creation myths associated with dragons, so I researched the creation myths." She extracted a particularly worn and dusty book from the stack before her and opened it to a page she'd marked with a small bit of parchment. There was a pen and ink drawing that she showed around to the others, drawing looks of vague disgust and alarm from all but Harry and Sirius. They merely looked at each other, nodded and Sirius confirmed "That's them, that's exactly what they look like."

"Well, the thing is, this book says this is a drawing of a mythical creature, one that never existed. The story goes that these were a race of creatures that lived both on the land and in it, who were very magical, very intelligent. Their hearts were set on the sky, and over millennia, they traded much of what they had as Black Wyrms for the ability to fly, to become the flying dragons we know."

Harry shook his head and shrugged. "No, Mione, they're here today. Just like in the picture. The ones I spoke to in the ley lines did say that they were all born knowing how to travel within the earth, although they preferred the sun over the shade so few of them went into the earth."

Hermione frowned in annoyance at the book. She did not blame the book for being wrong, but she was very annoyed at the long-ago researcher who wrote it for being so mistaken about his topic. She'd look further into mythology then, to see if there was useful information about Black Wyrms. If Harry said they would be his allies, she felt he should know in what ways they might be able to contribute.

Sirius was curious about Harry's visit from the acting Minister. "I asked Professor Dumbledore about that myself. He thinks she just wanted to tell me in case I did want to be involved. I told her this was her job and she and the Ministry should do it, and that seemed to be fine. It looks like my job will be to ultimately deal with Voldemort. He's seen as more of a global, rather than national, scourge these days, and I seem to represent the international response."

Sirius looked at his godson with such sad eyes at that; what an awful burden to put on someone so young, and how sad that the young man accepted this burden as his lot in life! Harry caught the sad expression, and gave Sirius a smile. "It's OK, Padfoot. Really."

Harry listened in one the gossip and banter for a while, until he noticed Severus in the door to the Great Hall, apparently looking for him, at which time he took his leave, promising to check back in with his friends later.

X X X X X X X X X X

Severus and Kingsley had just had a very interesting conversation with Lucius Malfoy. Both Kingsley and Lucius were wary of each other, and it was only the assurances from Severus that Harry trusted each of them implicitly that either would share much of anything, but once past that hurdle, the information flowed.

Lucius had not been in a fit state for any conversation until today, and he was still quite weak. He expressed his gratitude to Severus for the hospitality of Slytherin House, and the care of Madam Pomfrey. Suddenly, Malfoy Manor did not feel as safe as it once did, and Lucius did not yet trust the brave new world forming up around Harry Potter to be comfortable going to someplace as public as St. Mungos.

His normally smug and controlled expression completely faltered when Severus shared the news of the fates of some of the other Death Eaters. Severus thought he saw horror and fear, for sure, in the motions Lucius could not hide, but also rage.

"Severus, I told you months ago that I thought the Dark Lord was completely insane. He had become very secretive. Maybe not suspicious or distrustful overtly, but he suddenly did not want his Death Eaters around him. Narcissa mentioned that he even sent Bellatrix away. When he did summon any of us, it was for very specific, narrow tasks, for which we were never told the larger purpose. His snake Nagini was with him constantly, and they were forever whispering to each other, even though obviously none of us could understand the snake language in which they were speaking. In the past, when the Dark Lord was planning something, he was very boastful. Even if he chose not to share the details of what he was doing, he made frequent references to events that would remind the world of his greatness. He said absolutely nothing about his plans or their impact, but he did have a smugness, a certainty, about him. After the calling, we heard absolutely nothing from him at all, until he drained our power." Lucius sounded stunned still by those words as he spoke them.

"Mr. Malfoy, Mr. Potter told us that he wants to research the Dark Mark, and see if there is some way to block the drain, remove the Mark, whatever, to prevent He Who Must Not Be Named from drawing on power through the Mark."

At this, Lucius cast a totally disbelieving look at Severus. "Potter? I concede fully that his magical strength is almost beyond comprehension. But some of the most brilliant minds in the world have tried for years to undo these Marks, without success."

Severus smiled at that, and tried to keep a smirk off his face. "Actually, Lucius, I suspect this research will fall to his friend, Miss Granger. Did you know that it was she who discovered the ancient royal spells and taught them to Mr. Potter? Plus, they have access to some ancient texts which I suspect are contemporaneous to the ones I believe the Dark Lord consulted in creating the Dark Mark. I am rather optimistic."

Lucius turned disbelieving eyes back to Kingsley, who seemed completely unfazed by this side conversation. "As I was saying, Mr. Malfoy, there is interest in finding a way to shield those who bear the Mark from further drain on your powers. While the impetus is to deprive He Who Must Not Be Named from access to your power, there will be benefit to you in this as well. I would like to ask two things of you. We are going to begin publicizing the stories of the impact of the casting on those who bear the Dark Mark – the Daily Prophet will begin running obituaries this afternoon. I assume that most of your associates will be in worse shape than you are now and will be quite distressed to learn that others died of this experience. They might also need medical assistance, so I would ask if we may establish an infirmary at Malfoy Manor, to provide needed assistance in a more private setting. Second, Professor Snape and I drew up a list of those he knew to bear the Dark Mark, so I can try to quickly locate them and bring them to Malfoy Manor. Would you please check it over and let us know if you think there are others I should reach out to?"

Lucius really did not know what to make of this. Was it a trap – gather all the Death Eaters together and kill them? He trusted Severus, at least not to be behind a plot to execute a group of depleted and essentially defenseless witches and wizards. Potter was more of an enigma with every passing day, but his Gryffindor nature should assure that he would not be duplicitous. A service like this might be to his advantage down the road, with minimal risk to himself, at least for now. With a nod, Lucius reached for the offered list. "I will make arrangements with my son, Draco, to adjust the wards at the Manor to admit you and those Death Eaters who ask for admittance, and to set up a suitable space within the Manor to care for those who need it. I will give him the contact information for the mediwizards I would trust with this work and ask him to arrange for that, as well. All should be ready by mid-afternoon." He reviewed the list, and added two names of persons he thought had taken the Mark after Severus broke faith with the Dark Lord.

X X X X X X X X X X

Severus provided a quick overview of what had been discussed with Lucius. Harry had some questions about the idea of an infirmary at Malfoy Manor. Severus had been a guest there many times, and he described the large ballroom in the main house, and a pavilion in the garden with several good-sized rooms. "Lucius has enviable contacts in a medical world – he will know very skilled, very discreet mediwizards. And the wards at Malfoy Manor, which extend over the gardens, are rumored to be the strongest of any over a private residence in Britain. Kingsley, we've already brought the Death Eaters who have children attending Hogwarts here. If at some point, we feel they should move to Malfoy Manor, we can arrange for their transfer. For now, do you plan on handling these visits alone? Or would you like me or one of the others to go with you?"

"I doubt that will be necessary. If the destination is Malfoy Manor, I don't expect that they will object to coming along, if they are in a fit state to protest at all, that is. I'll get portkeys made for transport, just in case, once I get the coordinates from young Malfoy. If you don't mind, I plan on telling them that Harry Potter and Lucius Malfoy offer them sanctuary and an opportunity to recuperate at Malfoy Manor under the care of one of Malfoy's personal mediwizards. Is that acceptable?" Harry agreed, while Severus went once again to the door of the Great Hall, this time to summon Draco, so he could speak to his father.

While Draco and Charlie Weasley (Draco insisted that Charlie accompany him) went to visit with Malfoy, Senior, Harry asked Severus "Do you think I might have a word with Mr. Malfoy after they've gone?"

"I have to imagine he will be very flattered, Harry. What did you want to speak to him about?"

"I want to go over in greater detail some of the changes he observed in recent times in Voldemort's behavior. He had months of contact with him after you left your role as spy, so maybe if we do this very carefully, and in a more private setting, you might recognize little changes to his patterns or plans."

Severus was secretly relieved that Harry intended to include him in the meeting. There was no way in the world he would have allowed Harry to meet with Lucius without him being present, and he was glad not to have to make an issue of it. He just did not trust Lucius with Harry.

"Also, Hermione mentioned something to me that Sirius said to her. He'd offered to get her some books from the Black library at Grimmauld Place – remember, Remus brought them to her yesterday in the Headmaster's office? He said the Black family library was one of the largest private wizarding libraries in Britain, second only to the Malfoy library. I'm hoping he will grant us access. And remember, Voldemort gave Mr. Malfoy Tom Riddle's diary for safe-keeping. That's how it got to Hogwarts my second year; he put it in Ginny Weasley's cauldron when we ran into the Malfoys in Diagon Alley. I'm really hoping that Voldemort entrusted him with more than just that diary – maybe some notebooks, for example?"

Severus was amused at Harry's persistent use of titles when addressing adults; he knew that would really shatter any hopes for intimacy harbored by the elder Malfoy! He was also impressed with how quickly Harry and his little band seemed to knit facts together, and come to some intriguing conclusions.

"An excellent idea, Mr. Potter!" Harry smiled at the praise.

X X X X X X X X X X

While Harry and Severus waited for Draco and Charlie to leave Lucius' room for Malfoy Manor, Severus slipped into his office and quickly set up some parchment and quills with a dictation spell, and linked it to a ward that would identify the speaker. Once they were in Lucius' room, a quick charm embedded in a silencing spell would activate the quills, and a transcript would be made of the meeting. If nothing else, Miss Granger would have a document to review – he was sure she'd love that. Plus, this was so much easier than taking notes!

Harry was shocked by how bad Lucius looked – tired, shrunken in on himself, even frail – and he was one of the lucky ones! But as Severus predicted, his ego was puffed by Harry's personal visit. He could almost see the wheels turning in his mind, how to take advantage of this situation.

"Mr. Malfoy, I do hope that you are feeling well enough for some further conversation with Severus and me." Smoothly (too smoothly for Severus' tastes), Lucius responded "Please, call me Lucius."

To Severus' relief and/or glee, he was not sure which, Harry did not acknowledge the request and continued "We would like to review as many details as you can recall of Voldemort's behavior over this past year or so, when you noticed the changes that caused you to tell Severus you thought he was insane, as much as you can think of. With your permission, Mr. Malfoy, Severus has charmed some quills in his office to take notes of this conversation, so we can work with it later." Severus cast his spell to activate the quills at Lucius' nod. For nearly an hour then they went back over the some of the general topics they'd discussed with Kingsley, but in far greater detail, with Harry and Severus probing and asking more questions.

"Thank you for all that detail, Mr. Malfoy. I'm hoping we can discern some clues from all of that as to what Voldemort has planned, if there is something bigger than what he's already done planned. I have just a few more questions, if you're up to it." Actually, Lucius appeared to be fading, but aside from accepting a cup of tea from the house elves, was willing to proceed.

"I've heard of your library at the Manor, reputed to be the largest private wizarding library in Britain. We need access to very esoteric, ancient materials, not available at Hogwarts, or pretty much any other general library, and I am very hopeful that you will agree to grant me, Hermione Granger, Severus, and Professor Dumbledore access to your library. I'd like Draco to work with us, although I assume he has access already. I suspect that you have the kind of material we need." Lucius was quick to agree to that.

"Also, Mr. Malfoy, I believe at certain times, Voldemort entrusted you with some of his old books, for safekeeping. I'm particularly interested in knowing if he gave you any that were particularly ancient, or written in a foreign language." Lucius was clearly taken aback with that question. He'd never admitted anything about Tom Riddle's diary to Harry or anyone else at Hogwarts, but he knew what Harry believed. He thought about the other books the Dark Lord had given him. With a fatalistic inner shrug, he realized he had no choice. His feet now trod along Potter's path, not the Dark Lord's. The secrets and confidences that had once been between him and Lord Voldemort could no longer be maintained, if Potter had need of them.

"The Dark Lord has given me a number of volumes over the years, some for safe-keeping, and some to add to my personal collection. I kept them all together in a warded cabinet, because frankly, I did not know what to make of them. Most are in a very old form of English, although several are in a language neither I nor any of my researchers over the years were able to identify."

"As I'm sure you realize now, while he was at Hogwarts, Tom Riddle found the Chamber of Secrets. The Chamber wasn't just the home of a basilisk. During the time he was at Hogwarts, Salazar Slytherin used it as his own retreat, and most importantly, he kept his personal library in the Chamber. He had a remarkable selection of books, at a time when any book was rare and precious. Severus, about how many books and manuscripts would you estimate are in the library?"

Severus caught what Harry was doing and was quite impressed. Lucius was positively salivating over news that Salazar's library had survived, and Harry was reinforcing Lucius' understanding of Severus' role in his life by sharing that they had been in the Chamber together. Harry would have been a positively frightening Slytherin had he accepted the Sorting Hat's initial suggestion – the others in Slytherin House would not have stood a chance!

To Harry's question he replied "It's hard to day, although now that you mention it, we should at some point catalog everything in the library carefully. I would hazard a guess that there are maybe five hundred or so books and manuscripts there, including the notebooks. The empty shelves held maybe another twenty or thirty books and notebooks, and of course, you took, what, a dozen notebooks?"

Lucius' eyes were bulging at that information. Was it possible that he had held, in his very hands, material that had actually belonged to the legendary Salazar Slytherin?

As if Harry had read his thoughts, he continued "I'd like to see these books. Of course, they might just be old books that Voldemort bought on his own, but it is possible that they are books he'd taken from the Chamber as a schoolboy. Either way, seeing what sort of things were of interest to Tom Riddle or Voldemort might help us understand more about the direction he is contemplating now."

Severus was really enjoying this, watching his old friend squirm. And he knew that the best was yet to come; he allowed himself an inward smile at the pun. From the looks of things, it was indeed possible that Lucius would come, in his pajamas, when Harry brought up the notebooks.

"And the notebooks, in the strange language, what can you tell me about them?"

"There may be half a dozen or so. The Dark Lord gave them all to me about twenty years ago and asked me to keep them safe. He did not seem to have any further need of them; he never asked for them. I looked them over, but could not read the language. I have had my researchers, as well as some well-regarded epigraphers, study them as well, but the language or script is not known."

Harry nodded at that. "Actually, Mr. Malfoy, I believe that the existence of the language is known to many, but the ability to speak or read it is exceedingly rare. It is very likely that the notebooks are written in Parseltongue."

Lucius actually gasped at that.

"I found about a dozen notebooks in Parseltongue that Tom Riddle had not bothered with. They were the notes Salazar had made on topics pertaining to Light magic. On the other side of the library, there was empty space on a number of shelves, where other works, mostly about Dark magic were removed. I believe Tom took all of Salazar's notebooks on Dark magic. I am hoping that he gave at least some of those to you, and that you will permit me to borrow them."

Lucius seemed to need a moment to find his voice. When he did, all he could manage was a fairly breathless "Of course, Mr. Potter." Beyond that, words seemed to fail him.

Severus had already determined the logistics that he wanted to put in place. "Draco is adjusting the wards to admit Kingsley Shacklebolt, your mediwizards, and those Death Eaters who wish to come to Malfoy Manor, and he's setting up appropriate accommodations to deliver needed care. Might I ask him to further permit an open floo connection between the floos in the Manor library and Mr. Potter's offices at Hogwarts? It will be a small group wishing access, and I want them to be able to do so quickly and privately. Would you permit us to remove materials of interest to Mr. Potter's offices here for quick reference? Obviously, we will put ancient materials into the heavily warded cabinets where the other ancient material is being kept; if necessary, we could also store them in the Chamber."

Lucius hated giving up control of the access to his prizes like this, but he did not see a way around it. He might be able to parlay this accommodation to Potter now for something later – assuming, of course, that there was a "later." Possibly some translations? Maybe a visit to Salazar's Library? He saw some potential here. "Of course, Severus."

"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. I'll ask Draco to give us a quick tour of your library first, and we'll set up a system to track any materials we remove, so there is no confusion and we are sure to return all of your books and other documents when we are done."

X X X X X X X X X X

After Harry and Severus left, Lucius took a moment to reflect on what absolutely astonishing luck that ugly bastard Snape had in being bonded to Potter. Completely putting aside that the boy had matured into an absolutely delectable young man, the power he had! Access to Salazar Slytherin's personal library, and his own notes, in his own hand! Nothing had been said, but Lucius assumed that Potter could translate those Parseltongue documents, too.

Lucius did not "do" jealous, not with all his resources, his exceptional good looks, his pedigree. At least, he did not do jealous until today. "Damn you, Snape!