Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or FF7, they are the property of Square Enix and J.K Rowling. The only thing I own is my OC for this story.
Chapter 7: Loyalty Shifts
Reincarnation Confusion
Severus was glad he planned to apologize to the Potter Heir as he surveyed the destruction the four reincarnated teens had wrought on the training room.
They had thrown lightning and fire around like confetti and dueled in mid-air like the laws of gravity didn't apply to them.
Then there was the impossibility of them being able to jump that high in the first place. In addition to the terrifying amount of strength that Longbottom must have used to hit Granger with enough force that her body created a crater that deep.
What terrified him the most, the abilities displayed by the two victorious females at the end.
The first spell looked like it drained the target of their magic, the second seemed to reverse gravity and send the target hurtling towards the ground. And the third spell didn't look like a spell at all, but some sort of other ability. He wondered if it came from the swords they wielded, or the two women themselves.
Whatever those last attacks had been, they were staggeringly powerful and left the training room a charred, broken mess.
Even the glancing blow Potter and Longbottom had taken looked incredibly painful. Snape promised himself then and there never to piss off any of the reincarnated teens.
Who knew what abilities they possessed.
If all of the reincarnates had abilities as strong as these four, he pitied anyone that they deemed an enemy (well maybe except Dumbledore).
His thoughts were cut off by the door to the control room being opening by the four teens, now looking rather sheepish.
The look on Draco's face said it all, and the four looked solemn before nodding to the Shinra Lord. Apparently, the method of the four's repayment for destroying the training room had been decided without speaking.
Seeing the conversation over with, Severus hesitantly approached the quintet. After the display, who could blame him for such cautiousness?
He cleared his throat and the gazes of all five snapped to him. His goddaughter's gaze said she knew why he was there.
"Heir Potter".
He began in a very formal tone that made the silver haired teen in question raise a brow at him.
Intrigued, the Potter Heir nodded for him to continue, which he gratefully did
"It has come to my attention how appallingly I have treated you these last four years and I would like to sincerely apologize for this."
Harry and the others, save for Draco and Aurora who found their reactions hilarious, eyes widened in shock at the admission.
He owed his sneaky girlfriend ten galleons, since she thought Snape would eventually apologize to him because there was more to the potions master than met the eye. He had disagreed and said while they might put aside their dislike for the sake of alliance. Snape would never lower himself to apologize to the son of James Potter.
Harry thought it over for a moment, his dislike of the man warring with his common sense for a moment. He of all people knew appearances could be deceiving after all.
He looked into the older man's eyes, and he could plainly see he actually meant what he said.
"I accept your apology," he said.
Snape visibly looked relieved at his acceptance.
"I think we should start over, mister Potter" and he put actions to words. Moving forward and offering his hand to the Potter heir to shake.
"Hello. My name is Severus Snape. I am a potions master and professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
"Hello, I am Harry Potter, a reincarnate and the supposed chosen one destined to defeat the Dark Lord".
This was said with much sarcasm as he grasped the potions master's outstretched hand in a firm handshake. Only someone completely stupid could have missed it.
"Supposedly destined?"
Severus questioned with dread rising in his being. He did not like the implications of that statement, as he was the one to give the Dark Lord the part of the prophecy which led him to murder Lily and James Potter.
He sincerely hoped this didn't mean what he thought it meant.
"Yeah"
The Potter heir grimaced as he explained his choice in the wording of the last part of his previous statement.
"It turns out that there was a prophecy about me and the Dark Lord, we found it when we raided the Department of Mysteries about a year ago, only it was fake. One of the reincarnates, Luna Lovegood in fact, is a true seer in this lifetime. We took the prophecy to her to have it verified after listening to it. She confirmed that the prophecy was false."
Harry watched his potions professor worriedly, he did not look good at all. Sure he was normally a very pale person from spending so much time indoors, but his skin had gone almost ghost white with a green tinge.
"Are you all right sir?"
He asked. Concern lacing his voice.
"No I am not alright"
Harry was grateful for his superior hearing otherwise he would not have caught his professor's words with how softly they were spoken.
He gently led his professor over to a chair, sat him down and waited for him to continue. He wanted to know what had shook the normally unflappable professor so much.
"She died for nothing"
Harry made a questioning sound, urging the potions master to continue.
The professor looked up, locking eyes with him. His obsidian eyes were so full of pain and loss that it took his breath away. In that moment he knew whatever the professor said next would not be pleasant in the least for the both of them.
"Your mother, she died for nothing" Harry's eyes widened. He had never heard anyone sound so broken before as his professor did right now.
This was the first time he had an inkling that his potions professor had known his mother (which also meant he might have known Petunia) although this fact wasn't important right now so he shelved that thought for later. He must have, as no one could be that broken up over someone they didn't know.
Something about the way the professor was acting suddenly became clear to him, and he knew in that moment of clarity that his professor hadn't just known his mother, he had been infatuated, possibly even in love with her.
"You loved her didn't you?"
It was a question as much as it was a statement of fact, because he already knew that what he spoke to be the truth.
His professor dipped his head in the slightest of nods.
"Yes I did".
The professor seemed to shrink in on himself.
"When I was a death eater, during the first war, I overheard a prophecy spoken by Sybill Trelawney to Albus Dumbledore at the Hog's Head Pub, concerning a child who could defeat the Dark Lord."
"Like the loyal Death Eater I was, I went to the Dark Lord and told him the part of the prophecy I had heard."
"Naturally, he decided that he wasn't going to have some child ruin his plans and that he would kill them at any cost before they could become a threat."
"He chose you, the only half-blood out of the two potential prophecy children to focus on. Which led to the deaths of your parents."
Harry inhaled sharply, suddenly understanding why his professor was so broken over the fact that the prophecy was fake. It must have torn him up inside when he realized that he had inadvertently sent a madman after the person he cared about the most.
He knew he had raged when he had learned that his parents in this life had basically died for nothing, because they had trusted the wrong people. The only good thing that had come out of this conversation was that he now knew the answer to a question that had been puzzling him since third year.
Along with his memories from his past life, Harry had also gotten back the memories of the night his parents were killed.
In this memory, the Dark Lord had asked his mother to stand aside and he would let her live, three times, but she had refused each time. He had killed her in the end.
He now had the suspicion that Snape, who was one of his most faithful, had asked the Dark Lord to spare her, and even in his madness, he'd tried to do so.
Harry took a deep breath, having only discussed this particular memory with Aurora before, but his once hated professor deserved to know this. So he could have closure and start to heal from losing Lily.
"If it makes you feel any better, sir, the Dark Lord did try to spare her."
The man's head snapped up plainly shocked by that statement.
"He did." He asserted reassuringly.
"I remember the night that my parents in this lifetime were killed"
He could tell his professor was paying rapt attention to his words, so he carried on hoping he could give the man some peace.
"The Dark Lord told my mother to stand aside and he would let her live three times. She refused, and he was forced to kill her."
With that, the man broke down crying.
Aurora and Draco, who had been silently watching and listening to the conversation, came over to comfort the distraught potions master.
His girlfriend's eyes conveyed her thanks for the words he had shared with the potions master. She knew how hard it had been to open up to a man he had once disliked intensely.
He nodded to her before turning around and walking off to find the Dark Lord, since had yet to speak with the man himself.
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The Dark Lord, who had been observing the room as he thought deeply on all that he had learnt over the last two days, watched as his once nemesis walked towards him.
He had watched, slightly concerned, as Severus confronted the Potter Heir. His dislike of the young man was well known.
He was shocked when Severus lost control of his emotions, looking paler than the Dark Lord had ever seen him. When the man had broken down into tears, he became curious but would not ask the man directly. It was obviously very personal, whatever the two had been talking about.
"Lord Slytherin"
The Potter Heir gave a respectful bow.
"Heir Potter"
The Dark Lord returned with an equally respectful nod.
"I wished to speak with you"
He nodded in understanding
"And getting yourself away from your emotional professor had nothing to do with your decision?" He said mischievously.
The sheepish look that painted the Potter Heir's face said he had hit the nail of the head
"I have never been good with crying people."
He had to chuckle a bit at that admission, even as he empathized (he had never been good at giving comfort either) before moving on to the real reason the Potter Heir had approached him.
"What did you wish to speak to me about?"
The reincarnated teen got an extremely serious look on his face as he hesitantly began "Ah… it's about the prophecy that sent you after me and my parents."
The Dark Lord was immediately hyper-focused on the reincarnated teen, motioning for him to continue.
The teen let out a relieved sigh, not sure how the Dark Lord would take that statement, not wanting to piss off their new ally.
"You recall how we raided the Department of Mysteries about a year ago?"
He nodded
"Well, we found a prophecy orb pertaining to me and you."
The Dark Lord's expression became tight so he hurried to continue
"We listened to it, and it went something like this."
"The one with the power to defeat the Dark Lord approaches. Born to those who have thrice defied him. Born as the seventh month dies. And the Dark Lord shall mark him as his equal. For neither can live while the other survives. The one with the power to defeat the Dark Lord approaches as the seventh month dies."
The Dark Lord looked thoughtful.
"Now we were concerned about the prophecy interfering with our plans since we intended to ally with you once we figured out a way to bring you back with your sanity intact. So we took it to the only reincarnate, who was also a seer, that we trusted to verify the prophecy."
The Dark Lord became hyper-focused once more.
So he happily delivered the news that he just told Professor Snape just minutes earlier "It turns out the prophecy was fake."
He watched the Dark Lord process that, a look of utter rage flashing across his face briefly before cool calculation took its place.
"I see"
Dumblebore had been toying with people's lives again it seemed although he naturally didn't see it that way misguided as he was. Quite a few of those people got burned just like he had been because of the man's actions or inactions as the case may be this time though.
"I can see the wheels turning in your head, Lord Slytherin."
Harry said with a cheshire smirk "Perhaps we should then discuss our plans for the old meddling fool. We have had quite a few ideas for his punishment that I think you would find quite fitting."
The Dark Lord's smirk matched the one the reincarnated teen was sporting perfectly.
"I think you and I are going to get along just fine Heir Potter"
"Call me Harry"
"Then you may call me Tom"
With that the two began plotting the downfall of a man that had failed the wizarding world too many times.
"By the way Harry, how are you here without the old fool knowing about it?"
"I was wondering when someone would ask about that. Well first we removed all the trackers and monitoring spells he had on me and placed them on the candlestick that I have on my desk in my room. I have also been using a Materia that makes a tangible clone of people. Kind of like golems but completely constructed by magic. It even mimic's scent and could even potentially fool a were-wolf. Though we haven't had the chance to test that theory. Perhaps Fenrir would be willing to help us out with that.
Anyway at first I used an obscure concealment spell that makes the caster temporarily intangible, like a ghost paired with what we are calling a disguise Materia. It changes the appearance of anyone or anything it is used on. Like a glamor, only much stronger and more like the metamorphic gift of the Black family since it's tangible to anyone who touches the person. Although they aren't actually changed at all by the Materia."
Tom shot the teen a surprised look. He knew the spell he spoke of, though he had never tried casting it himself. He applauded their resourcefulness in finding such an obscure and difficult spell and being able to master it enough to use it.
"After we raided the Department of Mysteries, I began using an exit Materia paired with a master exit Materia to move from my deplorable relatives' house to here."
That was an interesting strategy, and could be of great use in the future.
Every Death Eater that saw the looks on their faces shuddered, thinking that it might not be such a good idea to properly introduce the two former enemies to each other.
Their lord was devious enough for ten people, and it appeared the Potter Heir was just as devious. They idly wondered why Potter was not in Slytherin.
That thought was abruptly cut off as they contemplated the mayhem that the teen was able to get away with as a Lion in Snake's clothing, and prayed that their Lord never grew enough of a sense of humor to team up and pull pranks with him.
Many of them well remembered the Marauders during their Hogwarts days, and if Harry had inherited even a fraction of his father's pranking spirit as he seemed to have, their sanity wouldn't survive if their lord and the son of James Potter became a pranking duo.
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Bill and Charlie sat nervously across from their father. It had been a week after their shocking discovery at grimmauld place.
At the dining room table in the Burrow, with steaming cups of tea in front of each of them and serious looks on their faces, it made their father frown at their uncharacteristic seriousness.
The man in question was internally puzzled over why his two eldest children seemed to have an air about them like the world was about to end.
Certainly they were serious when they were on the job, and how could they not be when both of their jobs were incredibly dangerous? But they were not usually so at home.
Whatever they wished to discuss with him must have been very important, perhaps even life altering, for them to openly display such seriousness at home.
Arthur would admit it, only to himself, that he was surprised that the two would request a meeting with just him rather than him and Molly. Sure none of his children particularly liked their mother, save perhaps Ginny, and did their best to avoid her where they could, but it was still confusing.
He watched his sons exchange looks before Bill opened his mouth to speak.
"Dad, we found out some rather shocking information last week."
"Yes," Charlie put in
"It was so shocking it took us an entire week to work up the courage to tell you."
Both looked like they were struggling to get the words they needed and wanted to say out.
Arthur's concerned frown deepened.
He would never have expected the next words that came out of his son's mouth, though thinking back on it later maybe he should have.
"We found out that our mother has been dosing you with love potion for years."
Arthur felt his breathing hitch and if it weren't for the calming draught he just now noticed his sons had slipped into his tea, he was fairly certain he would have fainted rather than simply be hyperventilating right now.
As it was, he was barely aware of his sons' fussing over him, pushing his head between his knees to help him get his breathing back under control.
Their concerned voices asked him repeatedly if he was going to be alright.
He wanted to reply that no, he was not alright, and he certainly wouldn't be for a while, possibly not ever again. His world had just come crashing down around him with the information they had just delivered to him.
But he couldn't, because right now he was having a hard time just breathing.
His entire life up until now with the exception of his children had been a lie, and he didn't know how to take it.
Finally though, after some minutes of taking gasping heaving breaths, he regained control of himself and looked up to find his two children watching him with worry in their eyes. He was able to smile for them, even if that smile trembled a bit. It was still a genuine smile and his children looked relieved, although they also looked like they still had more to tell him.
He took another few sips of his calming draught tea, fortifying himself as best as he could, and gave his two children a look that demanded they get whatever else they had to say over with.
"We also found out that Dumbledore, Ginny, and Mum plan on doing the same thing to Harry as Mum has done to you." Bill said.
Arthur clenched his teeth with a look of utter rage on his face at this that swiftly turned to calculation. Hearing what his soon to be ex-wife planned on doing to the young man he considered an honorary son had given him the extra push he needed to set aside his grief for the moment. Over his dead body would they hurt Harry in such a way.
Meanwhile his two eldest sons smirked at the look their father was now sporting, after all it wasn't their mother from whom the twins had inherited their mischievousness. Their mother and Dumbledore wouldn't know what hit them, the Sorting Hat had very nearly put their father in Slytherin for a very good reason after all.
Their father began pacing before making a decision, glad it was his day for guard duty at privet drive today.
He would warn his honorary son and make sure he had what he needed to protect himself from the Headmaster and Molly's despicable actions. Then he would find a trustworthy healer and have himself checked for other potions and spells and have them removed, along with the love potion.
"Come you two, we are going to Privet Drive to warn Harry. It's almost time for the shift change anyway so no one should suspect anything as long as you two keep out of sight until whoever is currently on shift has gone."
They happily followed their father out the door, since it would be easier to hide Bill and Charlie's presence if they apperated close to privet drive rather than floo to Arabella Fig's place.
Unbeknownst to the three elder Weaselys, someone else had heard the conversation and was not pleased.
He took out a muggle cell phone looking device as soon as the other three left and dialed Harry. When the General picked up, he explained all that he had heard and informed him that he would be having guests.
When Harry hung up, Ron no longer held back the urge to shiver.
Harry's tone had been cool and emotionless, a tone he only took now when he was in General mode rather than his default tone as it had been in the past. Dumbledore and Molly had really done it this time.
By plotting to dose him with love potion, they threatened his relationship with Aurora, and Harry would not allow anyone or anything to tear them apart again. Harry might have been merciful before, even if only slightly out of respect to Dumbledore for the improvements to the Wizarding World he had made in the past. That was before the power the people had given him gave him a big head, now neither Dumbledoor or Molly or even Ginny would get any mercy from the former One-Winged Angel.
If Ron had not been so pissed at the situation he might have felt a little pity for the poor fools that had incited the General's wrath, as it was he would make sure he had a front row seat to watch the show when he tore them apart.
'I might bring some popcorn, and maybe some soda too'
He thought with malicious glee.
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As soon as Harry got off the phone with Ron he closed his eyes, clenching his teeth as he did his best to contain the rage that threatened to overwhelm him. He had suspected the old meddler might try something like this, although he had held on to hope that he wouldn't sink so low.
He should have known better.
After all, nothing usually went as he hoped it did when it concerned people like Dumbledore.
Before he might have shown Molly and Ginny at least some mercy. They really hadn't done anything to him besides pretend to be his friend in the case of Ginny, and pretend to care about his well-being in the case of Molly.
That was fine, that he could handle.
It had happened before, and after third year he had better been able to tell when people were being untruthful in their dealings and interactions with him.
'No more'
He thought with the same cold ruthless calculation that had made him such an effective General in the past, and had earned him the moniker the Demon of Wutai during the Wutian Wars.
While he had no doubt if they did manage to dose him he would be back to his normal self in short order, thanks to his fellow reincarnations and allies. He would not let anything get in the way of his relationship with Aurora. He had lost her once in their previous lives, and he would not let anything happen to her a second time.
No, those three had awakened the demon and now they must face its wrath.
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Getting past the guard at Privet Drive had been pathetically easy, thanks in part due to it being Mundungus Fletcher on guard duty. It would have been more difficult if it had been, say, someone like Moody. The drunkard pickpocket had been snoring loudly enough to wake the dead underneath his invisibility cloak.
He had glared pathetically at Arthur, who had woken him up for the shift change with an aguamenti spell to the face.
Meanwhile, his two eldest sons snickered in the background at the poor thief's sputtering, before he unsteadily got to his feet and apparated away.
He was likely going to drink more, find some place to continue napping (aka sleep off his hangover) or steal something from someone.
Honestly, how Dumbledore could see any good in that one none of them could understand.
Getting into Privet Drive without alerting the muggles to their presence was a different matter entirely. Luckily, with a combination of the disillusionment charms and a hastily modified muffliato charm they were able to make it past the muggles and into Harry's room. They had to control their rage upon seeing the cat flap and padlocks on his bedroom door, having to unlock said locks.
What they had not expected was an oddly cool and composed Harry Potter, seemingly calm and awaiting them. He was sitting on his bed with his hands folded neatly in his lap, as if he had known that they were coming.
Now as they stood un-spelled before Harry, unsure of how to respond to the seemingly placid young man they had come to see.
It was like being in the presence of a mafia boss, or some enormously dangerous predator waiting to pounce, and it made them want to back away slowly and hope that the killing intent practically suffocating them was not meant for them.
As quickly as the feeling came it was gone, and the teen before them made a visible effort to control himself at seeing how uncomfortable he was making them.
Seeing his brother and his father still pulling themselves together, Charlie decided to do the talking for the time being.
He was thankful that he worked with dangerous predators on a daily basis, he was able to shake off Harry's killing intent much easier.
"I take it that you somehow already know why we are here?"
The teen nodded jerkily.
"Might I ask how?"
In response, he held up a muggle looking device, from which he could feel a faint thrum of magic. It was mostly a matte silver color with a splash of vivid green on the front. It was a symbol that he was unfamiliar with, stamped into the metal. Judging by the gleam in his father's eye, Harry would be getting interrogated about the device later.
"This is a communication device developed by Hermione and some of my other friends. It allows us to remain in contact undetected. Ron, as I'm sure you already figured out, overheard the conversation between you three and immediately informed me."
That made sense, as Ron was an incredibly loyal friend.
"Now, while your father and brother have decent occlumency shields from what I can tell, you do not Charlie. So it would be best if all three of you vanished so Dumbledore does not discover this conversation or the information you overheard."
Charlie grimaced but nodded, wishing he had put a little more effort into learning occlumency. Inwardly, he was also in awe at the teen's seeming ease with using occlumency at such a young age. He hadn't even felt the teen probing his shields!
His father chose that moment to speak up after regaining his whits.
"I take it, since you suggested that we disappear, that you have in mind a place for us to reside where we won't be found?" Arthur spoke with dry humor at this.
While he normally hated charity, Harry was family so it wasn't really charity. Besides this was all rather sudden and short notice and they had to disappear quickly (and would hopefully get back to their normal routines in short order).
Harry gave them a wide mischievous smirk, and they got the distinct impression that the teen had been the devil or close to it in his previous life either that or he had inherited way too much of his father's pranking spirit. He looked like he was getting ready to play the mother of all pranks on them.
As it turned out they were right, since he broke their brains over the next few hours with the information he graciously decided to dump on them.
"Before I let you go to collect whatever you feel necessary to take with you, there are few things you need to know."
A Few Hours, One Long Explanation and Several Headache Relief Potions Later…
Arthur sat with his head in his hands as a major headache tried to pound his brains into mush with the information overload it was trying to process. He was grateful Harry had taken some pity on them at least, and had provided them with headache relief potions.
The boy's life was insane, that's for sure. He honestly wouldn't have blamed him if he had gone insane back in third year when he had remembered the atrocities he committed. He knew he wouldn't have had the strength to come through such a traumatizing experience himself. It said a lot about the young man's strength of character that he was able to come through with even a miniscule amount of sanity intact.
As a person, he was outraged by all that Harry had been put through past and present.
As a father, he wanted to wrap the young man up in as many protective spells as he could think of and hide him away somewhere where people could never hurt him again.
He knew he couldn't do that, as not only would Harry fight him every step of the way, but he would be doing the young man an incredible disservice if he did.
He would settle for being there for the young man who had had so little parental influence in his life past or present and whom he considered an honorary son.
The first step would be getting his things together and moving to the reincarnates' headquarters, where they would be safe.
The second step would be having a healer clear him of any and all harmful spells and potions he might be under.
The third step would be getting to know his past life's father, and wasn't it shocking that said father was still alive and in contact with him?
Ron was more than happy to help move the process along once they explained what was going on, being a reincarnation himself. Bill kept a lookout for their mother while the others packed everything they thought they'd need for an extended stay. Before Ron took out a small glowing orb he told them it was an exit materia and they were whisked away to the reincarnated teens headquarters.
End Chapter
Next Chapter: The reincarnated teens left one thing out in their explanations and it comes back to haunt them when Aurora takes as group with her to retrieve a new materia she had sensed.
