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The house was quiet when Harry woke. He would've thought it was empty if he couldn't feel Riddle's magic. It was dark, and strong, and was spread all throughout the house, betraying his presence.
With a sigh, Harry got up and prepared for what he was sure was going to be a confusing day. At least Snape had done a good job healing him up-he couldn't even feel any of the injuries his uncle had given him yesterday.
He found Riddle in the kitchen, and with a small amount of hesitation, got his breakfast together before joining him at the table. The silence was awkward, but Harry hadn't expected otherwise.
They ate quietly for a little while, before Riddle said, "Have you written to Lupin?"
"Last night, yeah," said Harry. "I'm sure Hedwig will come back with a response soon." Probably, at least. Remus never really ignored him, but at the same time, he'd never really told him anything he wasn't supposed to know-not like Sirius. Sirius had always insisted he be told things, not that the Order had ever really agreed with that. "How is being here going to help me?" he asked suddenly.
Riddle regarded him closely, then said, "I will answer that once Severus returns and I hear what he has to say about your supposed guard."
Things got kind of quiet again after that, and Harry was almost relieved when Snape arrived a little while later. Unfortunately, after the initial greetings where the three of them settled down in the sitting room, the awkwardness came right back, and full force too.
Harry avoided eye contact with everyone by looking around the room. It was getting kind of dark in here, he noted. Maybe it was starting to get cloudy. He was pretty sure there was a forecast for rain today.
He was procrastinating, he knew. He was avoiding their eyes just as much as he was avoiding the questions he wanted to ask, and the answers he knew they were looking for.
The silence was broken when rain began to fall outside, a soft patter against the windows. And at the same moment, Snape spoke, his eyes on Harry.
"There is something we must discuss."
Harry's heart started pounding instantly, the loud thumping deafening him. Snape was looking at him in a way he'd never done before, and the lack of anger on his face was actually only making him feel even more anxious. He knew this was going to be bad news. There was no way around it. Whatever Snape was about to tell him, it was bad.
"Dumbledore has finally decided to give me some information," Snape continued, eyes still on Harry. That was probably another testament to how bad this was going to be. Snape was ignoring Riddle in favour of Harry, even though Riddle had been the one to ask for this information. "Dumbledore cancelled your guard."
Harry wasn't too surprised by that. He knew no one had been watching him, but why not? Why stop them? He asked just that.
"He refused to say. All I was told was that he thought it unnecessary."
Harry's brow furrowed. "He thinks the Order guarding me from Voldemort and his Death Eaters isn't necessary?"
"Apparently so. And no, Potter, I don't understand why he seems to believe this."
"Right…" said Harry slowly. But really, he was only more confused now.
"Listen to me very carefully," said Snape, leaning forward slightly in his seat, the tone of his voice catching Harry's attention again. "You must go speak to the goblins at Gringotts. When there, ask to see the wills your parents and Black left behind, and request a hereditary test."
"W-why?" Harry asked, baffled and concerned at once.
"It seems the Headmaster has decided it is better for you to not know what was written in those wills-that's why he has never mentioned their existence, and the test itself will tell you what I cannot."
"Cannot or will not?" said Riddle tersely.
"Cannot," Snape repeated.
"Out of ignorance or prevention?"
"Prevention," said Snape. He looked at Harry again. "There are some in the Order that can't be trusted-most of them, in fact. Few, if any, are acting maliciously on purpose. Most only do as they're told. Be sure to confirm which ones you know can be trusted before you let your guard down around any of them. Everything you say and do is reported back to the Headmaster with very few exceptions."
Harry stared, hearing the words but his mind slow to process them. He felt numb and cold, and he could feel a tremble running through him. "Who...can I trust?" he asked in a whisper.
"I cannot say," said Snape. "But there is one more thing I have been made aware of. I presume you know about the blood wards?"
Dread only growing, Harry nodded. "They're around Number Four and were created because of mum's sacrifice and will stay up until I turn seventeen. Although, Voldemort can get in now that he has my blood in him."
Snape inclined his head. "You would be correct, had the wards ever been up in the first place."
"W-what?"
Riddle tensed at Snape's words too, his eyes narrowing. "What are you saying, Severus?"
"There are two ways, discounting the Dark Lord taking your blood, for the blood wards to dissolve. Do you know what those ways are, Potter?" Snape asked, passing a glance at Riddle before refocusing on Harry.
Harry's frown deepened. "I already said that they'd go away once I turn seventeen because that's when I'll be of age and be allowed to use magic whenever I want. That's why I have to keep coming back here every summer. No one ever mentioned them going away in some other way."
Snape seemed unperturbed by the answer. "The blood wards only work while you consider that place to be your home. Not a house, but a home. The second you no longer think of it as home, the wards dissolve because it loses the magical bond between your mother, your aunt, and yourself. The blood bond is still there, of course, but the emotional bond ceases to exist, and thus, the ward itself does the same. According to Dumbledore, the blood wards disappeared when you returned to that house at the end of your first year."
"...Because I started considering Hogwarts my home." Harry wasn't sure if he was horrified by that or not. "But that was ages ago!" he said. "Why didn't Dumbledore tell me about it? Why did he keep making me come back here even when I begged to go anywhere else, if there was no reason anymore?"
"I don't know," said Snape. "And even if I did, I would not be able to say anything more. I have already risked my magic by saying what I have. I cannot say anything else."
"You have done well to get this information, Severus." Riddle leaned back in his seat again, expression a mask of calm. "What you've said has finally answered some questions of my own."
Harry looked back and forth between the two men, but when he saw the flicker of confusion pass across Snape's face, realized that he didn't know what Riddle was talking about either.
"You are dismissed, Severus."
With a bow towards Riddle and an incline of the head towards Harry, Snape left the house, leaving Harry and Riddle alone yet again. And when Riddle turned to look at him, Harry got the feeling he was about to receive even more bad news.
Outside the windows, the rain grew louder.
That's it for now. Looking forward to reviews! Laterz!