Thank you for reading! I don't own any of Harry Potter! Please let me know if you enjoy! Updates every Saturday!
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As the next morning dawned, the members of Harriet's encampment shared their most awkward meal yet around the flickering fire that kept the early chill at bay.
While they dined on cooked meat and gathered berries, Harriet, Tom, Ron, Hermione, and Draco all sat in silence as they searched for something to say to one another.
Anuman watched from his cage as his tongue flickered, his belly full from the sustenance provided by a passing forest mouse the previous night.
"Well," Harriet said after the silence became unbearable, "Here we are, I suppose."
Ron nodded as Tom agreed, "...Perhaps we should discuss the next step in our plan."
"Should we go after the ring or the diadem?" Hermione frowned.
"I'm sorry." Draco interjected, "You'll have to forgive me for asking, I suppose, but can someone catch me up a bit?"
"I thought my parents told you everything, Malfoy." Harriet scowled.
"They told me he has five horcruxes and that you lot have been out hunting them." Draco snapped, "Do you honestly think your parents know the details of your adventurers, Snape? You can't even write to them!"
Harriet shrugged aside his rudeness as she regrettably accepted the validity of his claim, "I dunno. They wouldn't be able to, no…….Alright, fine. Five horcruxes, yeah? Tom Riddle's diary, Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's Locket, Marvolo Gaunt's ring, and……."
"...And what?" Draco frowned, "That's only four so-."
"-We aren't certain." Hermione cut in with a frown, "But we believe the fifth may be the snake."
"Nagini." Harriet nodded as she named the deadly reptile.
Draco's pale face twisted into a troubled scowl.
"We already have the diary." Harriet nodded, "It's in my tent, locked inside my trunk…….And we've destroyed the ring and cup."
"Just the locket, the diadem, and the snake to go." Ron echoed.
"It's in your tent? Locked away? Why haven't you gotten rid of the diary?" Draco frowned.
Harriet looked over at Tom and smiled as she took his hand, "Because that's not part of the plan, Malfoy."
Tom raised Harriet's hand to his lips and gave it a gentle kiss before she looked back over at Draco and elaborated, "Every horcrux except the diary will be destroyed, then we'll go after him."
Draco's mouth fell open as melancholy realization slowly washed over him.
"...And then once we destroy him too," Harriet smiled, "...Only Tom will be left, the diary stays."
Draco didn't know what he could possibly say.
In an effort to maintain his place at Harriet's side, he quietly packed his anger and his pain somewhere deep inside his wounded heart as Tom and Harriet exchanged longing glances.
"...Very well." Draco sniffed. Unable to bear the sight of his darling fixated on someone else, he turned to Ron and Hermione as he asked, "What should we do first?"
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As one grief turned into another, young Ellery looked more and more like his father with each passing day.
One rainy Saturday afternoon, Severus found his son sitting on an abandoned bench in a high, unreserved corner at the very top of Hogwarts' library.
"I myself used to spend my weekends studying too." Severus drawled as he silently came to stand in front of Ellery.
Ellery frowned as he glanced up from his book, only to see his father standing there.
"I'm not really studying, Dad." He shrugged.
"Your scowl of concentration suggests otherwise." Severus quipped.
"...Not for class, anyway." Ellery confessed as he held up a book.
Severus's dark eyes narrowed to slits as he read the title:
Broken Hearts Make Dry Wands - A Warning on the Effects of Grief, Sadness, and Despair
Severus silently reached an arm out and opened his hand.
With a hint of resigned reluctance, Ellery silently placed the book into his father's grasp.
Severus's mind was as sharp as his tongue.
It took him only a moment to flip through the pages and skim a couple paragraphs before he realized his worst fears about the title had been confirmed.
"Have you been having trouble practicing magic lately?" He asked.
"I have trouble with everything lately, Dad." Ellery confessed in a defeated sigh, "The world has gone mad and I don't see any reason why I shouldn't follow suit."
"Madam Sprout mentioned you were aloof during classes last week." Severus frowned, "...Yet your cauldron still bubbles when you sit in the presence of your mother and I."
"That's because I have my Potions partner add the ingredients." Ellery explained.
The seriousness of the situation disturbed Severus.
In a subtle invitation that urged Ellery to elaborate, he swept over and seated himself beside his son on the library bench.
Determined to wrestle more of the truth from his youngest child, Severus asked, "And what does Miss Delacour have to say about this?"
"I haven't received a letter from Gabrielle in a long time." Ellery confessed with a sadness that seemed cruel for his age.
Severus and Ellery shared a great many similarities.
Understanding the exact torment of loving someone who did not return those feelings, Severus became engulfed by an unignorable desire to ease his son's suffering.
"As the Dark Lord's power and influence grows, so does the fear harbored by those who live in his shadow." He began. Ellery frowned as Severus added, "...Perhaps Miss Delacour has not returned your letters because her parents see her association with you as a threat."
Ellery frowned down at the floor as Severus realized he had failed miserably at comforting his son.
"Forgive me," Severus sighed, "I meant that to be adopted in a positive light. Once the war has been won and our enemies vanquished, you and Miss Delacour may reunite."
"It's not just about Gabrielle, Dad." Ellery scowled straight ahead as he admitted to his father the concerns of his troubled heart, "It's really scary now. People keep disappearing. The sun rarely shines, even on days without rain. Sometimes I can't even sleep! I'm so worried about sissy! It's just….It's-"
Ellery stopped speaking as he felt a gentle pressure on his shoulder.
He blinked as he looked over to see that Severus had laid a hand on him in a rare, affectionate gesture.
In that moment, Severus chose no cryptic messages or bitter lessons, he merely validated his son's feelings with two simple words, "...I understand."
Ellery scowled, "No, you don't. How can you?"
"...If I may, perhaps you'll see the truth in my claim if I were to share a few memories of my youth." Severus suggested.
Ellery's eyes widened as he nodded, "Sure, Dad…….That sounds……nice."
Nice was still not a word Severus had grown accustomed to hearing often.
His reclusiveness and natural preference for privacy had not allowed him to make many exceptions for his children.
While he had talked to Harriet before, he had never mentioned to Ellery the years he spent pining for Lily or the bitter details of his father's atrocities.
There, on that quiet afternoon, Ellery and Severus enjoyed some of the best father-son bonding they had ever experienced.
By the time they finished their chat and went their separate ways, Ellery's frown had relaxed a bit.
His father could do nothing about any of the problems he currently faced, although knowing Severus had confronted his own set of trials bolstered him with courage.
While Ellery walked away with his heart lightened, Severus's had grown heavy.
He furrowed his brow as a scowl of concern wrinkled his pale face while he stalked back to his office.
Merope Gaunt had served as an excellent example of the fate he dreaded for his only son.
A broken heart could stifle magical abilities, just as ambition and joy could strengthen those same talents.
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Harriet, Ron, Hermione, Tom, and Draco all wore similar, serious frowns of grim agreement as they walked through the woods, safely within a protective charm while they gathered more firewood.
"Are we in agreement, then?" Harriet asked as they walked along.
"Yes." Tom answered first in his smooth voice.
"...Alright." Ron reluctantly replied.
"It's up to you, Harriet." Hermione nodded as she glanced over at her friend.
The two girls walked side by side as the three boys followed them, their eyes scanning the surrounding area for any unseen threat that may suddenly appear.
"Trust me, Snape." Draco sneered, "No one knows Malfoy Manor better than me, except maybe my parents. I can get us in and out before anyone knows we're there."
"...He'll see us." Harriet frowned as she turned to face Draco, "Won't he?"
"Perhaps I can help with that." Tom said as an arrogant smirk curled his lips.
Draco shot Tom a dangerous glare of ominous warning, a silent gesture that his rival only returned with a smile.
Finally, Draco had found a way to be useful to his darling.
He clenched his jaw as he marveled at Tom Riddle's irritating knack for making that about himself too.