The Bonds That Tie
Harry stood in the room of the secret chamber he'd unlocked using Latin, but spoken in Parseltongue. The room looked to be sitting area/office/library, just as Griphook told Harry was left behind and belonged to him as Lord Slytherin. The room had a sitting area with chairs and couches, a desk, and large work table with chairs too. There was a big fireplace, and shelves filled with books. Small spiral staircases led up to the second level where there were more books and a second fireplace too. Harry took noticed of the other three doors in the room and kept wandering further in to look at it all better, getting to the first door on the left; Harry found it locked and used a wandless and wordless unlocking charm to get the door open.
"Where's that lead?" Narcissa inquired.
"I think it's a bathroom." Harry replied as he directed one of his Lumos orbs to light up the room. "No, bedroom."
"It's Salazar Slytherin's bedroom!" Bellatrix beamed with joy, taking it all in.
"Large, but basic. Closet, bed, nightstands, dresser…" Draco stated. "What are those other rooms?"
"I would assume one has to be a bathroom. I don't assume that Salazar would have spent a bunch of time down here and then have to go all the way back up just to use the restroom." Voldemort remarked.
"Probably right." Lucius nodded. "Still, impressive…"
Harry went over to the next room and found that it was indeed a bathroom, then Harry went onto the last extra door while the others were still admiring the bedroom and bathroom. Harry got the door open and found a brilliant potions lab. It was huge, filled with ingredients and supplies. "Oh, Sev…" Harry called his bonded over.
"What is it?" Severus inquired.
"I think you'll appreciate this room the most," Harry chuckled as he stepped aside and let Severus walk in. "Maybe you too, Dray." Draco blinked it walked over next.
"Holy mother of Merlin!" Draco exclaimed.
"What is it, son?" Narcissa wondered.
"It's a massive potions lab!" Draco and Severus said together.
"That would get them excited." Rabastan laughed with Rodolphus.
"Are there ingredients in there too?" Lucius questioned, wandering in behind Harry, then the rest of the group followed suit.
"The walls are lined with them, and labeled, along with how rare." Draco stated. Severus was still just in a state of shock as he took in the sights.
"Dumbledore would lose his mind entirely over this…" Voldemort mentioned.
"Good thing it doesn't belong to him. It belongs to Salazar's descendants, so Tom and I. Tom as Heir, me as Lord." Harry remarked. "Dumbledore can't touch this," He added. "We should keep it hidden."
"B-But Harry!" Severus protested.
"I said keep it hidden, not that we shouldn't use it. Calm yourself, Severus…" Harry rolled his eyes. "That means we don't tell anyone about what we found and certainly don't draw attention to it. Dumbledore does know where the passageway into the chamber is and I'm sure if he tried hard enough; he could figure out how to get in."
"That would be impossible. This is the only entrance." Voldemort stated.
"It's not, and perhaps I don't know where they are…But how do you suppose the Basilisk got around to petrify students in the library and in the halls? There has to be exits the Basilisk used as it was getting around in the pipes. Also, when Fawkes carried Ginny, Ron, Lockhart and I out, we didn't go through the tunnel that we went in to get here. We went through some network of caves and ended up outside of the castle itself." Harry said. "So yes…He could figure out how to get down here and if he tried hard enough to get through that snake door, I'm sure he could. Ron has imitated my Parseltongue before…" He went on. "Apparently, I speak snake in my sleep or…Did when I slept. Either way, he repeated some sentence to me and I told him what it translated to. Dumbledore could figure out how to get down here and into the chamber. It's best to keep the matter quiet, and hidden. He's a manipulative bastard who is not above attacking people to get what he wants. He can't know about this space…"
"How would he ever figure out the information. Not even we could…" Pansy wondered.
"Though not as good as Severus, probably, Albus does know how to look into my mind. And vampire or not, I never mastered Occlumency. He could get in my head and find out…" Harry reminded.
"Wasn't Uncle Sev teaching you in fifth year?" Draco questioned.
"Was he giving me a hard time because I look like my father? Yes. Was he teaching me anything, not really. But hey, we had that issue in potions class too." Harry folded his arms.
"I'm sorry about that…" Severus looked to the vampire. "Before the alliances, I was supposed to be teaching you how to block your mind from the connection you have with Voldemort. You failed because I did, in teaching you properly." He said calmly. "The same can be said for your abhorrent grades, which was indeed because of me. I shouldn't have taken my hate of your father or godfather out on you. You do have a knack for sneaking around, not following the rules…But you are all your mother, even as a vampire." He admitted. "There is much to atone for, Potter."
"You could start with not calling me Potter, like you did my dad…" Harry muttered.
"In suppose I could do that," Severus agreed. "But I'll have to use it in class or people will suspect something is up and in your logic, there are things that need to be kept hidden."
"I've been meaning to ask, Harry…" Draco paused. "How come you said what you did up there, to Weasley and Granger. You're protecting them? From whom?"
"Dumbledore." Harry responded. Silence and Harry realized they didn't understand what he meant. "If I forgive them and we become friends again, Dumbledore is going to find a way to get to them to get to me. You've seen how hard he's trying to find something to affect me. Compulsion charms, potions, even attacking me and poisoning those I could feed from. Ron and Hermione are safer away from me and knowing nothing for the time being."
"So you do want their friendship back?" Pansy asked.
"And you think they actually want to be friends again?" Theodore wondered.
"Yes and yes." Harry informed. "It was in their eyes. They believed you're forcing me to work for the dark faction, that's why Ron said he was trying to alert the school. They're trying to save me. However, after I told them what I did; I saw that they just wanted their friend back, no matter what I'm doing that they don't know of. They understand I have a reason." He remarked. "But I can't fix things with them yet. Not until Dumbledore is out of the picture or is about to do something to be caught in the act. Before then is asking for my cover to be blown. Sev's too. Or Dumbledore will use them to get to me, hurt them to get to me. So if he still believes we're not close, they're safe and so are all of you. Albus has to keep believing that I'm just being defiant and took extreme measures to get out from under his control."
"So you're waiting for him to get arrested and put in Azkaban?" Blaise questioned.
"Revealed to the public as a master manipulator, and arrested to a degree he could never get out. Like, wand and magic taken. Left a squib…When he can't do anything to anyone." Harry stated. "Or Dementor's Kiss. I don't care what, but it needs to be something to ensure he can't hurt anyone else. If Sirius could escape Azkaban, so could Dumbledore and if he still has his magic; he'll just keep on his attempts to essentially take over the world." He scoffed. "Make everyone his puppet."
"Just wondering, why do you want back the friends who abandoned you?" Voldemort inquired.
"Because they were the first friends I ever made. I didn't have anything before them except my cousin's hand-me-down clothes which were about three sizes too big for me. I was kept in a cupboard under the stairs, locked in it all night. I had to do everything in the house, keeping it clean, cooking, yardwork. I was abused and starved. I was probably five when my aunt started showing me how to do things and then leaving me to do it all." Harry enlightened. "I met Ron on the train, and even though he comes from a poor family; he offered me half his sandwich to eat. But when the trolly came by, I decided to get us both something. We didn't really make friends with Hermione until that Troll incident in first year. It was always us three together, best of friends. I don't want to lose that if I don't have to. If they've realized that I'm still me and they made a mistake in abandoning me, I'm fine with forgiving them. As long as it's safe and Dumbledore can't get to them. His charms and potions might not work on me, but they'll work on them and they'd be none the wiser to falling victim. It's just better this way. Until I know for sure they'd be safe from Dumbledore, it's better they don't know what I'm involved in with you."
"Couldn't you still be friends with them and keep it hidden?" Vincent suggested.
"That falls back on Dumbledore's ability to use Legilimency. He would know something was up if Ron and Hermione didn't act the same during Order meetings. It's the same reason I haven't allowed Sirius to tell Remus everything. Remus only knows I was adopted by the Malfoy's and live with them. He doesn't know that I'm in contact with Tom. I told Sirius not to reveal anything else. Severus gets away with it because he's an accomplished Occlumens. But everyone who doesn't have that behind their skillset is wide open and if Dumbledore gets that information; he could use it against us. And if we want any chance of getting him caught and potentially fixing anything…Then everyone needs to be in the dark who can't protect their minds." Harry said.
"But your mind isn't protected." Severus reminded.
"But I'm safe if I'm not near Dumbledore. If he's not looking in my eyes, or anywhere near me; he can't penetrate my mind." Harry stated.
"That is true…But there could be times he gets close. Like he did when he attacked you." Severus argued.
"I'll survive." Harry remarked. "Seems to be the one thing I'm really good at doing."
"This is war, Harry…Surviving isn't enough if you want to win." Voldemort said.
"Says the guy who has spent most of this war literally surviving by the skin of his teeth…Or should I go over your various close calls with death?" Harry glared slightly.
"I believe what he's saying is that if we want to stop Dumbledore, you need to have every protection at your disposal." Lucius offered.
"As well as having allies." Narcissa added.
"I'm aware…" Harry responded.
"If we could get your other friends on our side…" Draco began.
"I told you that's dangerous." Harry folded his arms. "Dumbledore doesn't need any more ammunition. It's clear he doesn't care who he hurts or uses to get what he wants."
"What if they learned Occlumency? Would it be safe then?" Pansy suggested.
"Given how those lessons went with me and Severus back in fifth year, I'm not seeing it go well with Ron and Hermione…" Harry snorted.
"Severus won't be an ass again." Draco informed. "Will you, Sev?"
"No, I wouldn't be, but Dumbledore will find it odd that I'm taking an interest in Weasley and Granger. Even if I used detention as an excuse. Anyone else in the class could go to McGonagall to say that the two didn't act out to earn detention." Severus informed calmly.
"Good point." Bellatrix mentioned. "Nothing in Hogwarts would be safe…But what about Hogsmead? Students take that trip almost every weekend?"
"McGonagall takes them, not me…" Severus reminded.
"After hours?" Rodolphus suggested.
"Didn't you do that with the army, Harry?" Draco inquired.
"What army?" Voldemort questioned. "You built an army at school?"
"Harry did it in fifth year, he built an army of students to teach them defensive magic against you when Umbridge was the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher." Blaise stated. "Brilliant."
"Did you really?" Severus stared at Harry.
"Yes…Students of all ages, and houses…Except Slytherin because we knew they were in Umbridge's good graces." Harry informed. "We met in the room of re-," He stopped. "Oh my god…I just realized where the horcrux you hid here is." It dawned on him.
"Where?!" Voldemort asked quickly.
"The room of requirement. It's a hidden room and it doesn't show up on the map, just like the chamber doesn't." Harry informed. "The room is rumored to be a huge storage place when not being used by others."
"Harry, you brilliant boy you…" Voldemort grinned. "I knew having you on our side would be helpful!"
"Didn't I say not to say that to me with that smile. It's downright creepy, like in a child predator kind of way." Harry informed.
"Sorry." Voldemort stated.
"I'll find it tomorrow. I know how to get into it…" Harry relaxed some.
"Now…What was this army of students business? We never heard of this, meaning the teachers." Severus said.
"Umbridge wasn't teaching us defensive anything. Just copying things out of a text book two or three times for maximum retention." Draco said. "She always had Harry in detention, the stupid pink nightmare was using a blood quill, making him write I Must Not Tell Lies after he was going on that Voldemort was back and the ministry was calling him a liar. He told us about it when we became friends, I'd asked about the army that he started…"
"It…Had been Hermione's idea." Harry began. "We were fed up with not learning how to defend ourselves and Umbridge believed we didn't need to know because the dark lord was gone…I was the only one with experience fighting him, so I led the class…We met in the room of requirement a few times a week, after hours. I taught them a bunch of defensive magic from like…November to April that year. We called it Dumbledore's Army, and when we got found out, he took the fall and disappeared until the ministry battle."
"We did hear about the group being caught, but never informed what it was. Just something about kids breaking the education decrees regarding clubs." Severus remarked.
"Yeah, we hid in the room of requirement to practice. We had about thirty-five students, of all ages but mainly fifth year and under, and only of Ravenclaw, Gryffindor, and Hufflepuff. We couldn't ask Slytherin to join because well…They were on Umbitch's side." Harry remarked.
Draco and his friends snickered at what Harry called Umbridge. "No need for such language," Narcissa sighed.
"Mrs. Malfoy, your tone tells me you know she was a bitch. She smacked me across the face, wanted Severus to give her Veritaserum to use on me, and she was going to use the Cruciatus curse." Harry informed. "I was also dangerously close to bloodrage when that all went down."
"You're right. I found you just a week later in the room," Draco realized.
"Did she really?" Lucius frowned.
"Ask Draco, he was there…So were Crabbe, Goyle, and Theo." Harry folded his arms.
"It's true, Father…" Draco confirmed. "Umbridge thought Harry was going to Dumbledore and wanted answers. He was actually only trying to get to the ministry to make sure Sirius was okay since he got the visions of Voldemort hurting him."
"And I confirm she asked for Veritaserum. I told her I didn't have any left after her interrogating of students, which she also never used because I gave her a fake one." Severus shrugged.
"You were…Helping us?" Harry looked at the man.
"I didn't know what you were doing, but it was wrong of her to underhandedly slip the brew into their drinks to get answers. It's not even allowed to be used on students." Severus said. "So I gave her water. Colorless, odorless, tasteless."
"What would you have done if someone told? How would you have even known?" Blaise asked.
"We would have known," Harry reassured. "Hermione created a curse into the sheet everyone signed up on. If anyone told about the army, sneak would appear across their face in boils or pimples."
"Marietta Edgecombe had that!?" The friends exclaimed.
"It's still there too. It's never coming off…" Harry chuckled. "And we all knew of meetings because Hermione used the Protean Charm on fake galleons labeled DA, Defense Association, but also Dumbledore's Army." Harry pulled the coin from his pocket and flicked it to Draco to look at with his friends. "Mine is the master coin, I control it to change the information and it sends it out to the others, which would heat up to let them know."
"It looks like a real galleon…" Severus inspected closely when it got handed to him.
"That was the idea. The numbers around the edge change to reveal location, time, and date of meetings." Harry said. "We've all kept them, just in case it's ever needed to resummon the army. Hermione got the idea to charm these because of your dark mark, Tom. How you communicated with your followers through it."
"I inspired this?" Voldemort asked.
"You did. Originally, it was going to be a mark on the skin, but we opted for something less suspicious and oblivious." Harry remarked.
"What spells did you teach?" Severus asked.
"Uh…Expelliarmus, Stupefy, Levicorpus, Reducto, Protego, Everte Statum, Depulso, Immobulus, Episkey and Ferula, Incarcerous, Petrificus Totalus, and Expecto Patronum." Harry listed.
"You shouldn't even know that last one…" Severus said. "That's not taught until seventh year and not everyone can even do it. How? Explain."
"The patronus charm? Remus taught me it in third year…The dementors were overly attracted to me and my tragic ass past, or in Remus's words; you have true horrors in your past that your classmates can only scarcely imagine, so he gave me a way to protect myself." Harry shrugged. "Took me three tries to form a shield and then a couple weeks later when I was protecting Sirius, I cast the corporeal version."
"Corporeal?" Pansy wondered.
"Spirit animal." Harry replied. "Like a guardian angel, but…Animal form."
"Cool….Can you show us?" Blaise pleaded with the other students.
"I suppose," Harry pulled his wand out and gave it a light wave. "Expecto Patronum…" A silvery-blue light erupted from the wand's tip revealing a stunning whip that formed into a Stag that leapt around and finally settled next to Harry. "I haven't quite mastered doing it without the wand, but I can use the wand to produce a shield, barrier, and the Stag."
"I wonder why it's a deer, thought for sure you'd get a snake, or even a bat…" Bellatrix considered.
"My father's animagus form and patronus were a Stag. I believe I have his because of the sacrifice he made to protect me. I mean mum died for me too, but her protection was me surviving the killing curse Tom cast that night." Harry informed.
"What was your mom's?" Narcissa smiled.
"I actually don't know…" Harry replied.
"Doe. Your mother's patronus was a doe, Harry." Sirius's voice claimed from the ring. "It's been said that those who belong with one another either have the same patronus or ones that complement one another. Your father had a stag, your mother had a doe. The male and female deer."
Severus's eyes widened some. "What's up, Uncle Sev? You seem stunned."
"I think it just dawned on him why he has the patronus he does…" Lucius chuckled. "Tell him, Severus. He deserves to know, especially given the situation you two are in…"
"What is it, Severus? What does your patronus have to do with our bonding?" Harry pushed.
"Damn it…" Severus sighed as he cast his patronus to reveal a doe standing beside him.
The doe lightly bowed to Harry's stag, and then Harry's stag walked closer. The doe did the same as they met in the middle space. The stag bumped the doe's head and then the doe set its head under the stag's face as they nuzzled some before wrapping up in a swirl and them the swirl of magic separated and each part returned to the wands.
"Well, Severus…You need any more proof this happened for a reason?" Bellatrix smirked.
"Shut it, Bella…" Severus glared. "And no…I don't suppose I do." The man looked at Harry. "Perhaps this weekend, Harry…We could find some time to finally have that talk…"
"Find me when you have time and if you're truly ready to discuss things." Harry informed as Severus nodded to him.