Dream
Harry came awake, drew his wand, and rolled over all at once, but it wasn't one of his dorm mates stumbling around in the dark, it had been a hand laid on his shoulder. It probably had been intended to be gentle.
...-...
Last time it had been Luna because Ginny hadn't been in the mood for company. He'd let her stay for half an hour, then Nim interrupted them with her return from hunting, he decided Luna needed more talk therapy than he could stay awake to listen for, so he suggested they talk in the morning, and offered her the choice of sleeping in his bed without him, or in the common room by the fire, or go back to her own bed, and take Nim with her.
She'd opted for the last.
After she was gone he'd realised that might have been a significantly more scandalous outcome than letting her stay, but that was before he'd really come to terms with the idea that she'd been intermittently spending the night with Ginny for years. And that he'd spent the night with Hermione for over a month, and less than half those times had he let anything sensual happened to him. Opportunity didn't need to mean action. He could have let her stay and kept her safe himself, rather than pretend that the rules of situation interpretation Hermione's parents and Nim were trying to teach him were the way things had to happen, just because that was the way adults around him might assume they had happened.
Besides the only people who could have seen her leaving his room for breakfast were Hermione and Ginny. Oh and McGonagall, maybe it was better that way.
...-...
But this time it wasn't Luna. And Nim was already back from hunting.
"Hello," he murmured and lit his wand.
"Harry?" whispered a voice he didn't think he'd ever heard whispering before.
"Parvati?" he said, "do you need a snuggle or a talk?"
She blinked, "Both?"
He nodded, "Let's not talk here, come on." He got up and led the way down to the portrait hole, and out to his office.
She looked around as if trying to memorise the wall, "Is this the office Neville and Hermione talk about?"
Harry shrugged, "Probably, might be easier with your eyes closed."
"No kissing until after the talking," she said.
"Padma told you all about that then?" He said.
"Yes."
"Did she tell you she started the kissing?"
"No, but she said you were a fast learner once she tried to explain with words."
Harry snickered, "Yes, I suppose. But she used examples too. She's a good teacher."
Parvati smiled wryly.
Harry extended his hand, "Follow me?"
"Will I be able to see the door from the inside?"
"Yes?" he said.
"The way Padma set up her and Luna's office, I cannot."
Harry stared at her, then shivered, "That sounds like it would be disconcerting."
She nodded. Then smiled and took his hand.
He led her through the door and over to the intermittent lounging area.
"Couch or bed?" he said.
"Let me?" she said.
"Sure," he said.
She made two fainting couches, one green and one yellow. She took the yellow.
He took the other and waited.
She looked away and shuddered.
"What's wrong?" he said.
"I really want that hug you offered, but … I need to talk first … but I need the hug first," she shuddered again.
"Both at once?" he asked.
"That would be even worse," she said.
"Would you rather me get Padma?"
"You can't get to her any more than you could have gotten to me."
Harry shrugged, "I could send Nim."
Parvati looked up, then shrugged.
"I can talk, just, could you not look at me for a while."
"Oh," he said, "alright."
He turned and leaned back against the end of the couch.
She glanced at him one last time and did the same.
"I had a dream," she said, "You were in it."
"Oh, um?" said Harry.
"You've been in my dreams a lot recently, I only really started to believe that the lion I was seeing represented you when Padma mentioned being allowed by you to use haree aankhon vaale sher ka sanket, and that it was your own sign."
It took him more than a moment to guess that probably meant 'the sign of the green eyed lion.' "Ah."
"Then today."
"Then today," agreed Harry.
"I don't want to chase you away, and I don't want you to be confused about my dream possibly predicting something. It wasn't the predicting kind of dream."
"You can tell the difference?"
"Yes, definitely," said Parvati, "the … the types of symbolism is different."
"Alright."
"Anyway, none of this was symbolic, it just … well most of it wasn't symbolic, I think it was just my subconscious running through the scenarios that it understood might be possible. My waking mind already knows that some of them aren't."
"Alright," said Harry, "subconscious suggests silly things, but they make you think, and sometimes help you think."
"Right," she said, "It was … it wasn't the silliness that was the problem, I just want to make sure you understand the situation. I know you aren't taking Divination."
"I read several passages on Hermione's insistence. Also the rough draft of an essay she wrote on why she dropped it, which when I tried to help correct it she told me wasn't for homework, or for an application to drop it or anything."
He shrugged, "I know more than 'nothing' about it, but not much more, and some of it biased. But nothing you've said so far confuses me. I often have dreams about the recent past, usually make-believe about making different decisions than I made. Probably my subconscious hoping to handle things better next time, if there is a next time."
"Exactly," said Parvati, "and sometimes doing the same make-believe about near or far future, whatever you've been worrying about?"
"I suppose," said Harry.
She nodded, "That's the sort of dream it was, just make believe, not a prediction."
"Alright," he said.
"I dreamed we had sex."
Harry nodded.
"All nine configurations," she said.
"Configurations of what?"
"Which animagus form we were each in, You as a man, a stallion, and a lion, I as a woman, a mare, and a lioness."
Harry blinked, "That's what you meant by some things obviously impossible."
"Yes."
I could transfigure you into a form other than your animagus form, but … I'd need several months to research. Also—
Nim, Not now.
"Alright, go on."
"When you're a lion, your sexual part is like a stinger."
"It is?" said Harry, "I hadn't noticed that."
"Huh?" she said.
"Not having stayed that shape long enough to need to piss, I hadn't focused on that part of my anatomy." And Hush Nim, I remember you mentioning that male cats are like that.
"Uh, alright, whatever," she said, "My point is, I don't want that to ever happen."
"Understood," said Harry.
She nodded, "I know you cannot turn into a stallion."
"From the way Professor Moody mutters, I get the feeling that it's not impossible to transfigure people. Polyjuice is partly so dangerous because is almost rather than fully capable of that sort of thing."
Parvati sighed in the same tone that Hermione sighed in when she was also rolling her eyes.
"So yes, I cannot do that by myself."
She nodded, "And I cannot be a lion, so that leaves two configurations."
Harry blinked.
"Me as a human, and as a mare."
Harry nodded, "right."
She sat up and stared at him.
"Am I allowed to look now?"
"Humph," She shrugged and leaned back again.
"What's next?" said Harry.
"What?"
"What do you want me to say?" said Harry, "That it sounds like a disturbing dream? Because it sounds like … like something I'd want to only have to confront in a fully conscious daydream, where I could maintain some control over it, not something I'd want to surprise me in my sleep."
"A nightmare," she said.
Harry shrugged, "maybe not, my worst nightmares are full of fear or anger or both, not usually … that kind of worry."
"Yes well," she said, "I … I did want you to understand, but … but it wasn't a nightmare, just parts of it were hypothetically painful. Mostly it was just, imagined experiments."
Harry nodded, "alright, I understand."
"And I wanted … I wanted to give you a turn to analyse, or ask, or anything."
"Not really any comments to make," said Harry, "but, just to clarify, you've crossed out the row of me as a lion, by your own preferences, and the row of me as a horse and the column of you as a lion, by merely analysing what is easily possible with magic we're likely to learn any time soon. That leaves like you said, two configurations."
"Do you have a preference?" she said, "if you say 'yes,' and 'human only' then I can safely ignore the whole dream."
"That's fair," said Harry, "But … but I don't have enough experience to say, 'human only, please' right away, if you have additional things to tell me about any of it, I might could guess. Otherwise, I just don't know."
"Oh," she said.
"I will say this however: unless the animagus form is … very very meaningful to you, like more meaningful to you than your human form, I'd suggest your first time, and however many more times it takes you to be comfortable with sex itself and sex in connection to your human shape, before you try out your animagus shape for that."
"Ah," she said, "alright."
They were quiet.
"Is that close enough to an answer to be helpful?" said Harry.
"Yes," she said, "you didn't say, 'no, never' but you did say, 'I don't ever need to ever worry about it, unless I want to.'"
"Exactly," said Harry.
"Do you have any possible deal-breaker preferences you want to mention, while we're on the topic?"
"Any what?"
"Anything that you're afraid will make me decide not to be your girlfriend, that you want to tell me about before we waste each other's time and emotions."
"Now that Hermione and Susan aren't listening?" said Harry.
"Something like that."
"Things like: Hermione was … the first student about sex I ever took."
"Padma told me that."
"Did she tell you that … that Hermione hasn't said she's had enough lessons and agreed to find her own partners by herself, and therefore … I'm not quite ready to abandon her and tell her I'm not going to teach her anymore."
"No, but she … sort of hinted that you sort of expected she might, after taking Mr. Krum to the Yule Ball."
"That was then, but now we've seen how she acted when you asked for a clothes shopping date right under her nose."
Parvati shrugged, "I wasn't sure whether to interpret that as jealousy, or as blessing."
"I think it was both," said Harry, "also elder sister being protective of younger step-brother."
"Also, though maybe not until a bit later: elder sister being protective of younger dorm sister."
"Ah," said Harry.
"So you're not going to swear off Hermione, just to be with me, or with Padma."
"Yes, I'm not ready to do that yet. Maybe someday I will, but … not right away."
"If you had to estimate?"
"Hermione has promised that when she marries, she will not stray from whoever that is, and therefore not to bother asking, at that point. But since I don't ask her anyway. I'm not sure how much difference it would make."
"You've never asked her?"
"I have not," said Harry, "I … told her I was available enough that she should consider asking me when she wanted, and sometimes she wants, and sometimes she asks, and some of those times, I say yes."
"Oh, alright," said Parvati, "Do you have someone 'available' to ask when you want?"
"Only sort of," said Harry.
"Padma, I suppose?"
"Padma wanted to start a close collaborative friendship, and to seal the creation of that friendship with sex," said Harry, "we both implied that we wouldn't mind for sex to be available, but neither of us … implied either of us had the job of asking or of answering, only that such events would be properly negotiated and consented to."
"Is she really your girlfriend?"
"Not sure," said Harry, "She's the closest so far, I think."
"If I told you, that you're in charge of asking me," said Parvati, "would I be closer to being your girlfriend?"
"No idea, maybe a little, there's so many different things that people seem to want in a dating relationship, that I have no idea which of them are essential."
"Hmm," said Parvati, "and you might should say 'essential to you'. I'm not sure if I have enough of an opinion, or even heard enough opinions from people I trust more than I trust myself."
"What?" said Harry.
"I'm not sure that 'girlfriend' or 'boyfriend' needs to have a specific definition, or rather, I don't think it's always the same for everyone. It might be equally important for you to choose for yourself what is essential in the definition, and what is merely part of the average definition."
"Oh," said Harry, "Probably both: I ought to figure out what is the average definition, so that even if I don't like it, I can explain how my definition differs?"
"There is that," agreed Parvati, "Any more deal-breakers or just regular preferences?"
"I want to say, 'no fighting with Padma or Hermione about sharing me.' But … I think that Hermione's argument style seems like fighting to people who aren't used to it, so I'd rather … ask for peaceful negotiation rather than forbidding fighting."
Parvati said, "it's a nice ideal, but … not sure if anyone could promise it, it takes two to fight, and two to negotiate."
"True," said Harry, "How about you, any preferences?"
"I … kind of do want to try sex as a mare sometime, just to double-check what I experienced in the dream. But I … kind of have a preference against it already."
"Alright," said Harry, "Not promising anything, but I probably won't be the first to ask for that."
Parvati nodded, "I also have a preference for … sometimes I want you alone, and sometimes I want to … be watched over by Padma."
"Huh," said Harry, "That's …" well given that I'm used to Nim watching over me, I cannot argue. "What does Padma think of that idea?"
"It was sort of her idea," said Parvati.
"Hmm."
"No," said Parvati, "It was my idea too, it's just that she managed to say it out loud before I did."
"Ah!"
"Sometimes it's like she's so close that she's just another part of me, and other times I just want to be away from her eyes and ideas for a few hours. So I have time to have some of my own."
"Yes, I see," said Harry.
"I have another … not preference exactly, something from a dream that I'd like to try, sometime, not sure if I'll really like it the way I did in the dream."
"Alright, I'm listening."
"A bridle and reigns."
"What?"
"The straps that go around a horse's head to control it."
"What about them."
"I want to … I want to try wearing them, as a human."
Harry shrugged, "why does that … you mean during sex?"
"Yes, or … maybe only right before."
"Do they even make bridles for people?"
"I figured on needing to conjure it actually," said Parvati.
"Oh," said Harry, "Yeah, that should work."
"Are we done with your dream?"
"My dream, and the revelations that followed from it."
Harry looked at her, "The realisations that followed from it include the reigns thing?"
"Yeah."
"How?"
"After the episodes with lions holding me down by my scruff or by biting my neck or ears, something seemed missing. So a few configurations repeated but with the addition of reigns."
"Oh," said Harry, "now that makes sense, but … it can be good, for a bad thing to be missing."
"Yes, but it wasn't entirely bad, not like the spur scraping inside me was."
Harry shrugged, "ah, alright, if you're sure."
"I'm sure." She said, "when I … when we're both ready, we can try it."
"It sounds like bullying," said Harry.
"It felt like ownership symbols to me," said Parvati.
"Which is either bullying or protection," said Harry.
"Or both," agreed Parvati, "It also felt like … clear communication." She continued, then explained, "When I gave you a ride, and we played with balance, then turned it into a game about negotiating direction. That was fun, but it took a lot of concentration, on my balance and your balance and my … err … model of your mind."
"Right," said Harry, "But it's probably good practice too, for … if you ever give rides to a kid who doesn't keep their balance very well."
"True," said Parvati, "or for someone busy fighting. Not that I wouldn't usually be more of an asset wielding a wand."
"True," said Harry.
"But reigns, if we'd even had them as an option, would have been less like a guessing game and more like clear communication."
"There's still a difference between clear communication of a command, and of a suggestion toward a negotiated plan."
"Very true," said Parvati, "I just … kind of like to imagine that one plan we could negotiate toward from time to time, might be, 'you're in charge, tell me what to do,'"
"Oh," said Harry, "Yeah, but …" He stopped because her mouth was open. He closed his mouth.
Parvati closed her mouth, and stared right at him for several more seconds, then said, "I had something else to say, but I want to hear your response. Go on."
"I wouldn't want to take charge like that, unless … well … not until I know your preferences well enough to choose something that doesn't violate them. Not just in the large details but in the small as well."
Parvati opened her mouth, and then paused, then smiled and nodded, "I was going to say the same thing. I was going to say it about getting to know each other and building trust, instead of about preferences having details."
Harry shrugged, and nodded.
"Now, that's everything about my dream."
Harry turned and lay back, "then we should probably go back to bed."
Parvati slumped sideways also, and sighed.
"You sound disappointed."
"Sort of," she said, "was there anything we need to talk about?"
"Nothing that cannot wait until morning," said Harry.
She sighed again louder.
"What do you want?" he said.
"You were all set to either hug me or let me spend the night earlier?"
Harry sat up and stared at her, She was still facing him, just slumped sideways against the end of her couch.
"You were giving a lot of mixed signals earlier, I thought a dose of physical affection might help set the anxiety aside for a while, but you look fine now." She seemed about as cosy as she could get without a quilt on top.
She shook her head, "And I didn't say I didn't want physical comfort, I said it would confuse things, if it was happening while we discussed imaginary sex, of either the pleasing or the terrible varieties."
Harry nodded.
"You still want your after-nightmare snuggle-sleep?"
"Yeah," she said.
"But you don't want sex?"
Her eyes widened and she shivered a little, "In general: yes. With you specifically? Probably. Tonight? No, that's not what I'm asking for."
He stood, "Thank you, The last answer was the one I need, at the moment."
She stood up also, "Then you could have asked more specifically."
"Sorry," he said, "do you want to sleep here or in my room? Or now that we're done talking, do you merely want enough of a hug to tide you over until you find your way to your sister's bed?"
"Padma's probably already got her arms full of her invisible Luna," said Parvati.
"That does seem possible," said Harry.
"Here seems nicer, will your transfigurations last through the night? Through the rest of the night."
"Certainly," said Harry. He waved his wand, cancelling her transfiguration and creating a four-poster with the yellow-orange from her couch for the bedding and red for the canopy. "Nice," she said.
She got in and started fussing with the covers.
Harry quickly realised that she wanted the side that Padma had assumed he'd be in last time. Which reassured him even more than her previous answer that his role at the moment was replacement sibling for sleeping company, not to gently flirt to wash the aftertaste of her dream from her mind.
She curled up on her side facing away from him.
He knew better than to try back to back, at least on first night. And he knew better than to try on his back with her on her side facing away. That left spooning. He didn't mind.
She stiffened slightly.
"Are you alright with this?" he said.
"It's fine," she said, "It's not what I expected."
"Do you want something different?"
"Lock the door if neither of us is facing it?"
"Sure," he said, rolled far enough to see that and cast, then rolled back.
"Thank you for the wand holster, by the way," she said.
"You're welcome," he said.
She slid her arm back far enough so that he could feel it through her sleeve.
"Is it comfortable enough to sleep in?" he said, "Good, I wasn't sure if it would be a good enough fit, without letting you try them on."
"It's fine," she said, "having my wand that much closer does help me sleep, I think."
"Good," he said.
.
"Why did you ask about sex but didn't seem disappointed when I said 'no'."
"Huh?"
"You didn't seem disappointed, do you not want me?"
"I like you alright," said Harry, "More again after last Saturday, more again tonight."
"But not enough for sex?"
"I never said that."
"But you weren't disappointed."
Harry sighed, "First of all, it's the middle of the night, and I'm fairly sure no one actually wants sex as much as boys in general are rumoured to want it."
"Hmm," she said, "or the difference of your reaction to veela is proof that you're outside the normal range anyway?"
"Possibly," said Harry, "Or growing up, wanting so many things that I wasn't allowed to have, gave me the focus or self discipline or whatever necessary to resist their allure, and the imperious curse."
"Maybe," said Parvati, "Padma told me you basically tore her clothes off the moment she gave permission."
Harry shrugged, "there was no tearing, only speed. Anyway, there had been a lot of tension built up over the course of the evening. She redirected as much as she could at herself, and then she also demonstrated her … I don't even know what to call it. She said she'd help me take care of Luna. It made me feel things about her that I'm only barely beginning to feel about you."
"I'm beginning to think that you don't care at all about how pretty I am."
"Pretty is a signal, I think it's meant to be specifically about health and hygiene. You have it, but those are hardly the only things I'd want in a friend, or a sex friend, or a mother for my hypothetical future children. I have no idea why it would be the first, or even the only thing a boy would look for."
"Interesting," she said, "What do you look for?"
"I watch out for victims in need, and for allies in helping me save them."
"And which am I?"
"You were the victim of a dream earlier," he said, "You're also very careful and alert about it, you take divination, which I think expresses your desire to be alert."
"Yeah," she said, "or that I already am alert in ways that confuse me, so I wanted help interpreting them."
"Fair enough," he said, "and you have the personality that magic chose a war horse for you, in a process that is widely agreed upon to be very symbolic."
"Well, of course," she said.
"Whatever your war horse nature is," said Harry, "I hadn't noticed it ever needing to be expressed around here."
"Yes, well, 'safest magic school on the planet' and all that."
"I suspect your alertness must be significantly less than mine if you …" Harry stopped, "Never mind, I'm sorry."
"My job isn't to go out of my way looking for trouble," she said, "My job is to get there fast when I'm called on, and to be skilled enough to be helpful, and calm despite average horse nature."
Harry nodded, "and to lock the door when you sleep, when the option is available to you?"
"I always sleep facing the door," she said, "but you made the bed the other way."
"Ah," he said, "sorry about that."
She shrugged, "I also always lock it if I have the choice. Habit from parental instructions, back when Mum and Dad operated a business out of the front room. We'd sometimes have lost customers go past looking for the washroom."
"Ah," said Harry, "well it seems a very sensible habit, I might adopt it."
"Good," she said, "at least when I'm in the room."
"I've noticed several other sensible things you do, ever since you flirted hard enough at me to get me to pay attention."
"But you're not asking for sex, so … What does all that mean for me in practice?"
"You have my attention," said Harry, "and you've proven yourself interesting enough to deserve it, but not yet … I don't know, I guess I just don't know you well enough yet to notice missions to send you on alone, which doesn't mean I don't trust you, it just means I don't have proof of just how much I trust you."
"Hmm," she said, "I noticed a lot of trust this afternoon when we were cantering around and making crazy turns."
"Well, sure," he said, "well … that's my point, that proved to me how much I could trust you teaching someone to ride who isn't sure of their balance, like Hermione. It didn't prove to me that … oh, never mind, it's a continuum, and you're progressing along it, Padma did several things to jump very far along it very quickly, that probably won't need to happen again. Just be yourself, and I'll be myself, and we'll get to know each other and be ready when we're ready."
"Alright," said Parvati.
.
"You said you waited until she gave you permission to take her clothes off."
"Yes."
"If I gave you permission to take my clothes off, would you?"
"Parvati!" said Harry.
"What?"
"I need you to be very honest with yourself," he said, "I don't need you to tell me the answer, but I need you to know it about yourself so that in future you can negotiate in good faith."
"What?"
"Do you want sex with me?"
"I … of course."
"Shh," said Harry, "I said be honest, and I said, don't tell me the answer until you're sure."
"Oh," she said, and took a deep breath.
.
"I do want sex, a little," she said.
"But not with me?" he said.
"I didn't say that," she said.
"Sorry, go on."
"I want to be wanted."
"Jealous of your sister?"
"No," she said, "well maybe, but this predates ever suspecting you'd want her more or first or anything."
"Padma wants things very much," said Harry, "and every once in a while tells you what. You try to keep up?"
"The first part is true," she said, "the last part is true. I'm not sure they're related. Certainly not by the way you're thinking of."
"Oh, Alright."
"Padma is oldest and knows it, and can be herself. I am always trying to compete, I cannot keep up with her academically, I could not catch your eye without her help either it seems."
"She didn't try to catch my attention for you, you did that all by yourself."
"But not by catching your eye."
"No," agreed Harry, "by negotiating honestly, saying what you wanted, asking for what you wanted in a way that didn't imply my cooperation would only be fate, not my own choice."
Parvati snorted, "that's not the way fate works I don't think."
Harry shrugged, "some people seem to think so."
"You have a lot of weird fans, don't you?"
"Yes."
"I'll try not to take your preferences for granted, ever. They are obviously different than any stereotypes I've ever heard of."
"Thank you."
"May I ask my previous question again?"
"Which one."
"If I gave you permission to take my clothes off, with an understanding that there would be no sex tonight, how many would you take off, if any?"
"Maybe our shirts," said Harry.
"Hmm," she said, and it seemed to mean interesting.
"Hmm," she said again, and it seemed to mean, I just realised I'm far too comfortable to move far enough to take my shirt off.
"We might have to conjure another blanket if we did that," said Harry.
"Mmm," she said, which seemed to mean, true.
"Why just our shirts," she yawned.
Harry shrugged, "Maybe, I like tummies."
"Maybe, I do too," she said, "I … If I didn't take my shirt off, but gave you permission to slide your fingers anywhere you'd be able to get to, if I did take my shirt off, would you want to?"
"Yes," he said, "no idea if you'd find it ticklish though."
"Move slow, it shouldn't be a problem."
He hugged her around the small of her back, and settled his hand across her navel. And relaxed.
She moved one of her hands inside to rest on top of his, and relaxed.
.
"Good morning," said Harry.
"Mpu ma?" moaned Parvati.
"Nope, I'm Harry."
She tensed for two seconds, then relaxed, "you might be a better snuggler than Padma."
"Should I tell her you said so?"
"No," she said, "better to have more experiments first to be sure."
"Right," said Harry.
She sat up and fixed her arm back out of her shirt.
She looked around and drew her wand to cast the time telling charm.
"Hmm," she said and climbed out of bed.
"Is that how long it took you to plan your day?" said Harry.
"No," she said and stared at the door, "that's a Hermione thing."
"Alright, fine," said Harry.
"We're out of bounds," she said, "Can you give me a mark to help me sneak back into my dorm?"
"You are my friend," he said, "But I'm not yet aware of a way in which you belong to me."
"I don't belong to you," she said, "Yet?"
Harry shrugged, "was that an invitation—"
"That was not an invitation for you to try to err … rape? me," said Parvati.
Harry shuddered, "I'd hope not, also that sounds like … an equation where the consent in the 'invite' would cancel out with the 'dis-consent' in the 'rape' and leave it all very awkward and un-directed."
"No," said Parvati, "The parenthesis in the 'try' protects them from each other. it would just be an offer for another kind of wrestling match, just that the goal position is something other than, 'pin'."
Harry blinked, "that might be true, but since that's not what you offered? What did you mean?"
Parvati shrugged, "what did you think I meant?"
"I don't know, maybe that you'd heard my offer Saturday afternoon, but you didn't have any good ideas for a contract, and wanted me to propose a few, either to reduce the quiz to multiple choice, or to provide inspiration towards inventing your own."
She tapped her chin thoughtfully, "I still don't have any idea what kind of contracts I might be supposed to want, so maybe some multiple choice examples would help, but … maybe before the examples, explain why are they even necessary?"
Harry sighed and closed his eyes. "The activation phrase of the mark is 'mine' I have to mean it and you have to agree to it, in order for that to happen, we'd need to agree in what way I own you."
She raised a concerned eyebrow, "If you want to own me, all you need to do is send my father a couple hundred thousand galleons, and a marriage contract, or a betrothal contract, depending on your preferences. He'll either sign it and send it back for you to get me to sign, or he'll send you a counter proposal."
Harry shivered, "I don't want a slave, not for a servant, not for a wife."
She narrowed her eyebrows, "Do you or do you not, consider yourself a slave of the House of Potter?"
"I'd never thought about it," he said, "I … how would that even —" He stopped, … "duty."
She waited several seconds, watching his expression.
"Exactly," she said.
"Not in those terms exactly," he said, "But … I can see the point of such a comparison."
She nodded, "and have you accepted that such a duty would exist for you, toward every member you accepted into your house?"
"Yes," he said.
"Then I wouldn't mind joining," she said, "But it's still something you'd have to negotiate with my father."
"But it's at least a year and a half early," said Harry, "And that's for starting negotiation."
"Only in Britain, with its formalised schooling and certifications. There's a wider range of opportunities in other places, with the predictable result in a wider range of achievements attained by children of various ages and backgrounds."
"Sure," said Harry.
"So he'd either take you seriously, or write back to tell you to wait a couple years, or a decade, or increase your bid to prove you were serious."
"Alright," said Harry, "And is two hundred thousand a reasonable opening offer?"
"For a girl desirable enough to catch a noble's eye even before cultural context says it's likely: yes, I think it's about right."
"Oh, alright," Harry shuddered.
"What?"
"I wrote him a letter asking for advice about a gift I was thinking about giving you."
"And it's significantly less than that, but expensive enough to mean monetary seriousness."
"Worse," said Harry.
"What's worse?"
"It's worth more than that."
Parvati paled, "you … were thinking of … a gift worth more than … and you asked for advice … and last night I was berating you for not wanting … Harry, what?"
"Custom tailored duelling armour," he said.
"Dragon hide?" she said, "oh, that's thoughtful and reasonable, within … my perception of your worldview."
Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Except it implies you're more aware of me as a soldier than you seemed ready to admit to last night."
Harry shook his head, "I've given some to a lot of my friends, some of them aren't soldiers, just … hang out around me often enough I'm concerned that my troubles might miss me and curse them by mistake … or on purpose."
"We need to have a serious conversation some time about your luck and whether something can be done to alleviate it," she said.
"That sounds like it could be interesting," he said.
He sighed, "anyway, if your parents send you weird and probing letters about how well you know me or why I would want to buy you armour, now you know why."
"What do you want me to answer?"
Harry shrugged, "whatever you want to, or think is the culturally appropriate way to communicate to them what is really going on."
"Or at least whatever portion of what I want them to think is going on?"
"I'm not asking you to lie to your parents."
"I was hoping not to need to ever mention the topic to either of them, let Mum assume sex was happening but was nothing to worry about as long as we never hint that there might be emotional connections or any failures of contraception or anything, and let Dad assume neither sex nor dating nor anything else was happening, and never have to tell either of them anything to upset their preferred worldview."
"Hmm," said Harry, "I don't know if that … I apologise for ruining your strategy."
"Don't be," she said, then shivered, "I mean, … I'm sorry too. I really wish you hadn't, and it will be horrible drama. But … you giving me armour before you dared to … get emotionally invested in me, that fits. That fits you like … like."
She sniffed hard and grabbed him in a tight hug.
"What?" he said.
"I don't know what it's like to be an orphan," she said, "I hope I never have a better idea than I do now, but … but any time I try to imagine it, I … my brain starts shutting down, and I have to stop trying."
"I think you're describing grief," said Harry, "and please don't do that to yourself before it's time."
"But I want to understand you," she said.
"Then imagine not having anyone as a strategy puzzle," said Harry, "Don't try to imagine losing the people you do have. There's a difference."
"What difference?"
"One is economic and strategic, the other is … emotional and social. I lost my family before I could talk. You aren't going to lose yours, I hope. You have family members to ask for advice and help, I have only my friends, and they're …"
"Less reliable?"
"Not that," said Harry, "Just … not … as capable or as duty bound as a family might be."
"Any adults?"
"Nim and Sirius are adults, sort of, Mrs. Malfoy and Mr. Weasley will answer some questions, if I can figure out a way to ask that is about how magical society functions, rather than about me and my place in it."
"Hmm, ok whatever."
"On the other hand," said Harry, "It's kind of nice knowing that none of them are duty bound to me and if I ask for something that I shouldn't they'll tell me 'no' and 'why' and 'the sensible way is like that over there instead'."
"Ahh," said Parvati.
Harry hugged her tighter, then relaxed, but didn't pull away.
"So now what?" he said.
"If … if there's reason to bet that Dad will ask Mom to check whether I'm a virgin, I'm officially taking sex off the table until things are settled."
"Ah," said Harry.
"Actually," she said, "Hmm, I'm taking vaginal sex off the table, I hear it's almost as good from behind."
"I've heard rumours both ways," said Harry, "and especially I hear that without lubrication it is dangerous. Also that it's even messier than the, err, 'standard' way."
"Hmm," she said, "something to worry about later."
"Alright," said Harry.
"Right now," she said, "sneaking back into the tower, I hear you also have an invisibility cloak?"
"In my day bag," said Harry, "not in my pyjamas."
"Makes sense," she sighed, "and you cannot put your charm on me without me wanting it?"
"I cannot put it on you unless you are mine."
She frowned and looked away.
"Oh," he said, "Give me your holster."
"What?"
"Give me back your wand holster."
She frowned at him, then reluctantly emptied it, unbuckled it, and handed it over.
He turned it over and used a small transfiguration charm to score his mark into the underside. It was draining. The dragon hide's magical resistance absorbed most of the charm before more than a tiny amount of leather could be changed into leather polish, which also was absorbed almost as quickly as the magic had been. But an etched mark was left behind, and for the moment, a stripe of polish.
"With this mark I claim this wand holster as my own forever," whispered Harry, He felt the magic drain, but it was different than anything he'd marked before, except Luna and Padma. Except Luna and Padma were already full of their own magic, and their marks had only taken a tiny trickle from him. Letting him know, when he concentrated, that they were still there and were being protected.
This absorbed quite a lot before it slowed, but when it finished, it wasn't a holster and a magic mark, it was seemingly living dragon skin, and a mark. But the mark wasn't drawing nearly as much as it should with two people looking at it… maybe it had taken extra and was trying to send some back?
"What's wrong?" said Parvati.
"It's not acting right," said Harry.
"It went invisible, which I think was what you meant it to do."
"Yes, well," said Harry, then turned to her and stared her in the eyes, "by lending this to you, I extend to you my protection and the protection of the House of Potter." He held it out, "use it well and honourably."
"For how long?"
"The lend of the holster is for as long as you need or desire it. The protection is for whenever you need or desire it, until you choose to renounce my friendship or protection."
"Hmm," she said, "how about until I choose to signal that by giving it back to you in return for one without your mark on it?"
"Sure," he said.
"Or for a new one, with a mark, if I ever wear this one out."
"Fair enough," he said.
She nodded and reached for his hands, and felt around until she'd found the holster and took it from him. She tried to fumble it on, but only succeeded in looking awkward.
"May I help?" said Harry.
She nodded.
He helped, she buckled it and slid her wand into it. And pulled her sleeve down around it.
"It's weird," she said, "I don't mean cold from being off for a minute, I mean, it doesn't feel like dragon hide anymore."
"The mark let it suck up so much of my magic that it may not try to absorb any of yours for a while."
"Oh," she said, "That's nice." She smiled fondly, "Thank you for lending me my wand holster back, and your protection."
Harry nodded.
"So is it working?" she said.
Harry shrugged, "I can always see my things, even when I'm hiding them, I can only feel how much magic they are drawing to stay hidden, and only if I pay attention."
"Oh," she frowned, "is there an easy way for me to tell?"
"I think, that you'll be able to see it, when you are currently using my protection," said Harry.
She pulled up her sleeve and tucked it under the corner of her err his holster, so that she could glance at it.
"It feels normal enough," she said, "I wanted not to have to look at the precarious way my wand just hangs there on nothing."
"Fair enough," said Harry.
"But … I don't know how to want your protection."
"You already wanted it," said Harry, "To have asked for it three times, but unlike the others you said 'no' the first two times I offered something in return."
She tensed and shivered, then nodded and turned resolutely toward the door, "Let's go out into the corridor. Maybe, I'll have to need it the first several times," she said, "then when I know what I'm doing, I'll be able to merely want it."
"Sounds like a possibility," agreed Harry. And drew his wand to untransfigure the bed and set some other minor things to rights.
She got to the door and opened it and stared out.
"I would feel a lot more protected," she said, "if you went out first."
"Sure," he said, and went out.
Somehow he remained aware of how close she was following him, in spite of the very light-feet way she walked. Seemingly exacerbated now by her tentative... There, what happened just there?
"I can see it now," she whispered.
"You might find," said Harry, "That no one but marked people can hear you while you're invisible and speaking to me or to someone invisible."
"Interesting," she said, increasing her pace to walk beside him.
Padma had walked on his other side while trailing him through the castle. Or when leading him.
The question remained: would they want him in the middle, or did each only see him as a surrogate / replacement for the other.
"You said you can feel more magic flowing to it, when I'm using it?"
"Yes," said Harry, "though the flow is very different going to a piece of dead parchment, or nominally dead dragon leather, rather than nominally living skin of a mage."
"What do you mean, nominally dead?"
She lifted her arm and stared at her his holster.
"It does seem … err fresher than when you gave it to me before."
"Dragon hide is magical resistant because—" started Harry, but Parvati interrupted and finished the standard introduction to dragon hide in at least double speed, "What's your point?"
"It seems to use some of that magic to repair itself," said Harry, "almost like healing, almost like it was still alive."
"Hmm," she said, "and you think you gave it enough that it repaired itself."
"Repaired itself, and topped up its reserves," said Harry, "But weirdly, the magic in its reserves … feels slightly like it is still my own magic. The mark pulls from those reserves as well as from my own, an increased or decreased flow from working to hide you resonates through that buffer reservoir before drawing from me, making it less informative what's going on… or at least slower to inform."
"Ah, alright," said Parvati.
"It also feels like … a very very stupid familiar."
"What does?"
"That dragon hide," said Harry.
"In what way?"
"A few senses, and no mind or instincts."
She lifted her right hand and stroked the length of the diamond shaped piece of material.
Harry shivered.
"You really can feel it?"
"Yes," he said, "I really can feel it."
"Where?" she said.
"Along the back of my right shoulder, I presume that's where on the dragon it came from."
"Perhaps," she agreed, "The password is direcawl."
The portrait didn't notice.
"Direcawl," said Harry.
The fat lady yawned and swung out of the way.
"Good to know," said Parvati and stepped through.
Harry followed her.
Hermione was at one of the tables, working on an essay, she looked up and shot Harry a curious stare, then caught sight of Parvati, and stared for long enough that Harry wasn't sure what she was doing.
Parvati ignored her and went upstairs.
Harry went and sat down across from Hermione.
"Do I want to know?"
"When did Hermione Granger not wish to know something?"
Hermione shrugged, and shook her head, "Who was that?"
"Parvati."
"Why can't I see her?"
"Maybe because you're part of the general audience who she wanted privacy from."
Hermione flinched, "did you sleep with her?"
"Err… by denotation yes, by connotation no."
"Err. Wha? Ah, Ok, why?"
"She had a nightmare and wanted talk therapy, I didn't want to wake the others."
"And you marked her?"
"I marked her wand holster and offered it to her as token of my protection."
Hermione nodded, "I've been watching how she and her sister have been interacting since you stepped into Padma's life."
Harry nodded.
"I cannot make out if it's jealousy, or something else."
"Neither can I," said Harry, "if it is, so far it's been pulling the three of us together, not pulling us apart, I have no idea how stable that is."
"What are your instincts telling you?"
"Nim and Hedwig fought for my attention for a long time. They haven't stopped exactly, just, they've figured out that my attention isn't a resource so limited that they need to pursue the competition with heedless abandon. Their lives don't depend on it. Padma and Parvati never were so foolish as to think that my attention might be survival related."
"Hmm," said Hermione.
"And they each have class work too, so at least they understand the demands already on my time. They also might have a firmer sense of family obligations, and are observing how well I measure up, where I only have a sense of protecting the weak, rather than only the weak that are in some way already my responsibility to protect."
"That's all circumstantial. How do you really feel about the share and being shared dynamic they're pushing at you?"
"I'm not sure they know how to not share a desirable thing that they are both aware of each other wanting."
"Hmm," said Hermione, "How much have you told them about me? I haven't been able to get a clear read on their attitudes towards me either."
"I told them that you were my first student, and hadn't yet formally resigned that role, I think they both understood, but in a different way, that per our tradition you always ask, and I accept or refuse your propositions. Padma immediately seemed to interpret that as she could and should take the initiative to negotiate for what she wants. Parvati took that to mean … I wouldn't have practice asking for what I want and she should give me inspirations, then sit back and wait for me to make a move."
Hermione gave him a very Snape-like raised eyebrow.
"Padma expects to take charge and instigate, Parvati expects to be given orders, and the responsibilities and authority necessary to fulfil them. They both want more behind-the-scenes roles than you want."
"Hmm," said Hermione, "You like them."
Harry nodded.
"I knew you liked Padma, and trusted her a great deal already, I haven't been as sure about Parvati."
"I like her too," said Harry, "they both … Padma will try to do what's right at the first provocation, but only if she thinks authority won't object. Parvati will do what's right as soon as authority has given her permission, the difference is more stark when they are in different houses and their heads of house are so different in temperament, I think when they are under a single more reliable authority structure, they'll be more indistinguishable."
Hermione blinked, "you're actually dating both of them, not pretending to for the fun of it?"
Harry blinked, "I'm not clear what you're asking, but yes, that is what they asked of me."
Hermione huffed, "is that even legal? Marrying two I mean?"
"I haven't checked yet," said Harry, "I should."
"Yes, you should," said Hermione, "although, now that I think about it, there are enough other forms of breed contracts around here, that the three of you could for sure find a legally acceptable nomenclature for whatever it is you decide you want. As long as each of you is alright with ignoring any negative connotations to those names, rather than concentrating on the rights associated with them."
"An interesting point," said Harry.
"What do you want?" said Hermione.
"Lots of capable allies that are willing to help me protect people," said Harry, "a reputation that doesn't get in my way when the time comes to protect people, and in general, people not needing protection in the first place."
"Don't we all," sighed Hermione, "though I guess most of us don't mention it ahead of our other desires."
"What?" said Harry.
"Most of us say, 'I want 'success' or whatever, and 'a good relationship with my family,' instead of saying, 'I want a family to have a relationship with,'."
"Yes, well," said Harry.
...-...
2nd Dark
"Professor Snape?"
"Finally decided to use office hours for their intended purpose?"
"I suppose," said Harry.
"What do you need?"
"Are you aware of the Defence professor's role in the last war?"
"Yes."
"How about his position on the war and err… reliability?"
"Yes, I am aware."
Harry stared at him, then sighed, "How much would I owe you for that intelligence?"
"I might wish to know why you need to know," said Snape, "It might help me not waste either of our time."
"If I told you that there are objects in existence which contain sufficient magic left over from the last dark lord, that his magic isn't fading the way it should from his death, would you … already know what I'm talking about?"
"I might," said Snape, "what do you intend to do about them?"
"Two of my allies have been collecting them for disposal, at least one such object is inside the Hogwarts wards, I … am given to understand that it's better to have a team while confronting them."
"And you're trying to decide whether to recruit the defence professor."
"Yes, sir," said Harry.
"Why him?"
"He's more disposable to me than you are," said Harry.
Snape stared at him.
Harry stared back.
"Perhaps there are additional things we need to discuss," said Snape.
"There are, but … there are rules of magic and rules of law that conflict."
"How so?"
"There are also rules of respect among non-opposing extra-governmental defence groups."
"Very true, what's your point?"
"I wish to transfer your legal custody to myself, and your magical custody from the last dark lord, but I would also prefer not to … arouse the enmity of either faction at this juncture."
"You make it sound like I am a rook rather than a pawn."
"You'd be at least a rook to me," said Harry.
"Then your group of allies might be very much too small," said Snape.
"I'd rather fight a chess game with five queens and two horses, rather than the normal starting line up."
"And how many queens do you have?"
"I think Nim and Sirius are horses," said Harry, "the rest might be more interested in law than in battle."
"Are you more interested in law than in battle?"
Harry shrugged, "I'll do whatever I can to protect the weak, the law seemed merely both the biggest bully and the biggest weapon, until Nim watched my memories of the basilisk fight for the third time and realised that the diary wasn't the only such remnant in need of destruction."
"Did you mean to imply earlier that the last dark lord might be your ally?"
"His organisation might have marginally parallel goals to mine, if it were aware of my goals," said Harry, "But I suspect he has as much animosity toward me as I have toward him."
"Do you actually have a method of 'transferring my magical custody' as you term it."
"Yes," said Harry, "I already have Nim."
"So you do," said Snape.
"Knowing the contents of your vassalage oath if any, might speed the process, or it might distract," said Harry, "you may tell me if you wish."
"I do not wish," said Snape heavily.
Harry snatched his left wrist.
Snape drew his wand but the teen made no move to uncover or gawk, only focused inward and closed his eyes.
"As heir of Lily Potter, the defeater of your master, I claim you and everything of yours, for the House of Potter, by rite of conquest, by rite of inheritance, as is my right."
The thing in the side of Severus' mind that was the dark mark, baulked and struggled, the parasite that was the dark mark in the periphery of Severus' magic went cold and hungry.
The brat opened his eyes and sent a questioning expression.
Severus again almost blasted him across the room, or yanked his hand back, but … didn't, curiosity such as it was, overcame him for the nonce.
"That wasn't a spell or a legal brief," said Severus, "you might need to say it several times."
Harry nodded and took a breath.
"And rituals require sacrifice," said Severus.
Harry frowned.
"As heir of Lily Potter, the defeater of your previous master," he started again, but this time instead of claiming Severus, he offered protection.
It wasn't an offer Severus particularly believed the boy could honour, but it was telling that he thought to offer it, Dumbledore hadn't exactly offered him 'protection,' it was all part of a package deal, an unnegotiated bargain to avoid Azkaban, a fate he most certainly had done nothing to deserve.
"Be mine," finished Harry, and without waiting for an answer started the whole thing over again.
Severus wondered what Harry would say if he knew what his vassalage oath and counter oath had entailed.
The whole litany again ended in, "be mine," and started again.
I think I'd like that. Thought Severus. And his mark was scared. Which nothing previous had ever managed to make it.
The little peer thought that he'd best Dumbledore at his manoeuvrings and the dark lord at his confrontation of ministry corruption.
It would be good for a laugh at any rate.
It wasn't like…
"Try, I, say your name, by right of inheritance, by right of conquest, etc." suggested Severus.
"I, Harry James Potter, by right of inheritance, by right of conquest, claim you, Severus Tobias Prince Snape, to be my vassal and ward, and a retainer of the House of Potter until the day of your death, or until you attain a title of your own, or discharge your debts in a manner pleasing to me or the then current Head of the House of Potter. So mote it be."
The boy's intelligence network must have grown … for him to have found my middle name and Mother's maiden name. I wouldn't have expected 'Nim' to know that much for instance.
"So mote it be," agreed Severus.
Sweat suddenly poured off Harry and he rocked back as if struck.
Severus sighed, he'd had so much hope, and yet his wrist still had a burning itch.
The mark wasn't gone.
Harry caught his breath and leaned forward again, and pushed the sleeve back, and smiled.
Severus stared at him, then at the mark. It was no longer a fading grey brown. It was strong and vibrant black, an omega, sowilo, and … a … cat's eye? in a familiar death-green.
"There," soothed Harry, rubbing a finger over it, and erasing most of the itch and the drain on Severus magic, "Isn't that better."
Severus went looking for the intruder that had required the … creative architecture in his occlumency barriers. It was gone. In its place was a small and rather pathetic compulsion 'to stay aware of Harry's goals, and not work counter to them,' and likewise, 'to not spread intelligence about the members and allies of the greater House of Potter to non-members,' Severus rearranged his defences as appropriate for the new threat.
"Do you have any orders, my lord," said Severus.
"Not yet," said Lord Potter, "I do have three questions, were you of age when you became a vassal of the last dark lord?"
That was uselessly specific, given that 'of age' was an arbitrary law, not a recognised concept within the theory of magic.
"I was."
Lord Potter looked a bit disappointed.
"I would like to know your contract," said Harry, "But will not demand you tell me before you are ready."
"I contributed some small pieces of intelligence," said Severus, "the dark lord agreed to spare Lily Potter."
"The breaking of that oath might have played some small part in weakening or disorienting him to the point that Lily's trap could dispatch him," said Harry.
"What is your point?"
"I judge the contract may have been in breech before I inherited it," said Lord Potter, "I can release you if you wish."
"If I refuse, would that refusal be permanent?" said Severus.
"Permanent until I came to owe you a life debt of some sort," said Harry.
"The broom de-cursing in your first year doesn't count," said Severus, "as that was a repayment of a debt to your father."
Harry's eyes widened, and he nodded.
"If I chose to accept freedom," said Severus, "would that choice be permanent?"
"It would merely last until we negotiated a new contract, if you should ever wish for one."
Several life stories stretched out before Severus, each more impossible and more dangerous than the last.
"What would you suggest?" said Severus, it was almost as much a test as it was a request for intelligence.
"You should claim your freedom," said Harry, "and take several weeks to consider what sort of contract you'd wish, and whether you even wish for my continued protection."
"So be it," said Severus.
Harry drew his wand, narrowed his eyes, and tapped the mark on Severus' arm with a forceful, 'finite,' and the mark shrank and was gone.
Harry put his wand away with a trembling hand and wiped away yet another sheen of sweat. He took several deep breaths before he chose to speak again.
"My last request, Professor Snape," said Harry, "is whatever help you'd like to give me, regarding the finding and disposal of the last dark lord's remnants, or assistance convincing the defence professor to help."
Professor Snape considered the request, and the wording and change in posture, Harry was again acting as student to professor, instead of Lord to minion.
"I'll help you gain his attention," said Severus, "but first, give me ten minutes to change," and he stepped into his quarters, he threw off his normal jacket and donned a bright green acromantula silk kimono with elbow length sleeves, a gift from Narcissa, and over that the jacket of his dragon hide duelling armour.
He stepped back through to his office and found Harry still seated, now slumped back and at ease, with Nim on his lap. When had she arrived?
Had she brought the large dragon hide bag?
"I'm ready, Potter."
"Thank you again," said Harry, standing and picking up the bag.
For once Nim seemed content to walk beside rather than ride on his shoulder.
.
"What's this all about?" said Alistor, through the crack of his barely opened door.
"Mr. Potter has informed me that he has come into some intelligence regarding the late dark lord, we wish to consult with you, about optimal next moves."
There was some grumbling, then the door opened and they were waved inside. Severus did not miss the critical glance Alistor gave his quiescent foe-glass and alarming sneak-o-scope.
Harry also seemed to catch that and took a seat, and demanded Nim to 'stop snooping and come and sit.' She obeyed and the sneak-o-scope quieted significantly.
Severus smirked and doffed his armour revealing the bright green and elbow length sleeves. Deliberately relaxing and letting his bare arms speak for themselves.
Alistor seemed to get the message.
"Who are you?" he demanded, "and why are you here?"
"I am Severus Tobias Prince-Snape," said Severus, "And I am here to avenge the boy's mother, just as I have long lived to protect her."
"That's dragon shit," said Alistor.
"Believe what you wish," said Severus, "listen to the boy's information."
"Hmm," said Alistor, "I'm listening."
"In my second year, I had to battle a wraith by the name of Tom Marvollo Riddle, as it was performing a ritual to come back to life. I won by using a basilisk fang to pierce the relic from which it err … to which the memory of it had been anchored."
"Ah," said Alistor.
"In the process of trying to distract me from realising that I had the means to attack it, or even to interfere with it at all, it admitted to creating the name Voldemort as an anagram of his own name."
"Bloody dark lords," said Alistor, "Should have been in Ravenclaw and left the rest of us alone."
Harry nodded, "anyway, when I told the story to … a friend of mine," Nim began purring, "she asked for my memory of the event, and after examining it, said she knew of another such object, and left in a great hurry."
Alistor stared at him, "and then?"
"She retrieved that object, and after examining it herself, constructed an artefact to track down others like it, which she brought me.
Harry held up the dragon hide bag. "My godfather helped her, apparently Regulus Black had already started the collection process but hadn't worked out a method of cleansing or destruction."
"May I?"
"You may open the outer bag," said Harry, "the inner bag contains one of them separate, for a reason, I'm strongly advised not opening it until we're ready to destroy them. All of them we are advised not to touch, or expose any emotional weakness towards, whatever that means."
"Do you have occlumency?"
"A bit," said Harry, "not sure if it helps with defending my mind, or only increasing the detail and duration of my transfigurations."
"Your father was also a dab hand with transfiguration," said Alistor.
"If it's all the same to you, I'd prefer if we didn't speak of him in front of house-master Snape," said Harry.
"Oh?"
"Not now," said Harry.
"Alright," said Alistor, and opened the bag and stretched it out on the desk.
There was another package of dragon hide, as well as a locket and a cup, and two branched blackthorn sticks intermittently stripped of bark, and engraved with runes.
Alistor examined one such stick, then levitated the cup into the crook of it, then levitated the stick. It rotated in the air to point vaguely toward the locket.
"A dark detector," said Alistor, "But with a more specific focus."
Harry nodded, "I was told that the other one could take two of them, and give a more complex output, but not how to work it. Only that it gave a reading of, 'another somewhere inside the Hogwarts wards.'"
"What other instructions were you given?" said Alistor.
"Bring them to Dumbledore or you, help you find the last one, destroy enough of them to check again, when only two are left, and they cannot find more, destroy the last two."
"How are they to be destroyed."
"We know basilisk venom works," said Harry, "theory says fiendfyre could cleanse or destroy them, but it was ineffective at destroying the box that holds that one," he pointed at the package obscured by its own bit of dragon hide.
"Ah," said Alistor, "has dragon fire been tried?"
"I don't know," said Harry.
Alistor nodded.
"Sirius said that the killing curse might be effective, but he wasn't confident, and unwilling to try the experiment himself."
"Smarter than I remember him," said Alistor.
Harry shrugged.
"Still a virgin too, I shouldn't wonder."
Harry and Nim both snorted.
Alistor glared at them both.
"Is your cat registered," said Alistor.
"She is in my custody," said Harry.
"Are you sure that's sufficient," said Alistor.
"Absolutely certain," said Harry.
Their gazes locked for several seconds.
"Pending the completion of her pleading," said Harry, "Bellatrix is in the custody of House of Potter."
Alistor's eye snapped around to point unswerving at the cat.
"Is that so," said Alistor, "and where is your investigation stalled at the moment?"
"Well," temporised Harry, "among other things, I could find no dark mark on her."
"That's impossible," said Alistor, then he frowned and stared at Severus, who nonchalantly scratched his left temple.
"And I've been having trouble tracking down the circumstances she thinks the Lestranges were blackmailing her mother and aunt about.
"I don't think inter-family blackmail is as cut and dried an acquittal as the imperious, but it would be nice to have a little more to go on than hearsay."
Alistor looked troubled.
Harry wasn't very deft with direct lies, but he seemed a dab hand at snow jobs.
Harry shrugged, "It's really not that important, I've got another fifteen months to file my findings, can we work on the relics?"
Alistor stared at him, "How sure are you that your supposed allies aren't merely using you to collect the whole set, in order to perform some ritual to summon their dark lord back from death?"
Harry shrugged, "Wars are expensive, lawyers and lobbyists are cheaper, most of them are old enough to know better by now. Also I think resurrection only takes one, not the whole set."
So Bella and Regulus could each have resurrected the dark lord, and Lucius as well, if certain rumours were to be believed. It was a cunning plan, as soon as each of them realised what they held, and that their rivals also held them, it would amount to a race against each other to resurrect the dark lord before one of their rivals succeeded and gained the larger reward. Except none of them realised until much too late, Regulus was dead, Bella in prison, and Lucius's attempt was ham handed. … or prioritised deniablity much higher than efficacy. Rather shrewd actually.
.
Alistor bundled up the other two and levitated the detector again, it still pointed at the bundle, but not as strongly.
"Snape," said Alistor, "take the bag in the other room."
Severus did, "Boy, get against the corner over there."
Harry scrabbled up and crossed the room.
"I'm going to try something that none of you want to witness," said Alistor, "take your cat and both of you face the wall."
Severus returned, hoping to catch Alistor in the act of casting something dark, but only arrived in time to see Alistor put the detector down in disgust, "Time for the other detector," he said, "bring back that necklace."
Severus grunted his annoyance but complied.
They fit the second detector together, added the parchment and inkwell where it seemed to be required and set off through the castle.
It led them toward the centre of the castle, and then up, not that Severus could figure out what the lines and splatters of ink on parchment were supposed to mean.
Several floors up they finally stopped beside a blank wall. Facing what Harry said should be a roof once you went up gryffindor tower and looked down. But Severus was sceptical, however, he didn't patrol this corridor all that often, and even more rarely in daylight.
They almost checked that perspective, but Harry suggested that all of gryffindor would have heart attacks to see Snape inside. So they went to the astronomy tower instead.
There was a blank stretch of roof where Harry predicted, except it was at least two stories up from the corridor in question.
On their way back down, they met Miss Bones, who tagged along, seemingly for no other purpose than to make eyes at Harry.
He acknowledged her presence but not her attentions, seemingly too busy examining the architecture, or rather the lack of it.
At a distracted moment, she managed to extract an explanation of their current activity from Harry.
"Is it part of the curse on the defence post?" she asked.
"Maybe," said Harry, "If that's all it's up to, that might explain why it seems to have such a different agenda than the diary which loosed the basilisk on the school."
"Killing or maiming forty people in fifty years is not less destructive than petrifying a cat and a few students to make a statement," grumbled Alistor, "On the other hand he never did have much sense of proportion."
"Yes, sir, sorry sir," said Harry.
.
They didn't find anything else, but Alistor did request Harry's permission to contact Sirius regarding using the device to search central England which seemed to still contain at least one more relic.
Harry agreed, and wandered away with Miss Bones.
.
Alistor turned to Severus, "three here, the diary already destroyed, and one on the seventh floor, that's a total of five."
Severus nodded, "and one in England?"
"At least one," Alistor nodded, "Unless that is a similar relic of someone else."
"Will that thing track down the shade of Tom Riddle as well?" said Severus.
"Don't know," said Alistor, "If it doesn't, that comes to a total of eight, which isn't as ideal as seven would have been, but perhaps one was made since Harry destroyed the first?"
"Six is the number of precision, Seven is the number of plenty and completion, eight is the number of rebirth, renewal, grace, sometimes the thematically correct number is more effective than a general purpose number of stability."
"No doubt," said Alistor, "But if it is finding you-know-who, and then there were seven relics, and by their very existence have tainted him into a resonance of their darkness."
"It sounds like the sort of risk he'd be willing to take to live forever."
"Exist forever, yes, not live."
Things fell into place, Severus totalled them up again, "Harry was one also."
"Was?"
Severus turned to stare, "is or was?"
"You tell me?"
"How would I know?"
"What do you know already?"
"Neither can live while the other survives," said Severus, "He had to all but die before he could begin to live."
"So you've heard that," said Alistor, "What do you mean 'all but die'?"
"Basilisk venom again," said Severus, "the wraith set it on him."
"Ironic."
"Also his soul shows signs of wounding or … contact taint, perhaps from having a parasite ripped out, perhaps from guilt."
A nod, "How did he survive?"
"Fawkes' tears."
"A balm for body and soul," Alistor grunted, "I should talk to Albus."
"I'd rather you not mention anything that Harry has confided to you, except the story of his basilisk adventure."
"Why not?"
Severus motioned to the sack Alistor had just finished repacking with the detector equipment, "I fear he would take risks that are not wise at his age. Enough for now that he know you are looking into it."
"What do you want to know?" said Alistor.
"I want to know if the basilisk cleansed Harry, or if being too close to the diary's destruction tainted him, and whether he contains enough of the dark lord's power to … become a threat to that which is good."
"Nothing is perfectly good," said Alistor.
"Dumbledore's corollary to that is that nothing is perfectly evil," said Severus, "While both are technically true, between both of them it is easy to become immobile, unable to take any action toward order and away from entropy, for every action contains the seeds of both. And yet we must act, and so we must each choose a threshold beyond which the mostly good is worth protecting and likewise a threshold beyond which the mostly evil is worth destroying, and between the two is the margin where we live and let live. And hope for the best."
"When did you become a philosopher and poet?"
"I've always been a poet," said Severus, "you just never listened before."
Alistor rubbed his eyes and pinched himself.
"I need a drink," he muttered.
"I need to know if keeping Potter alive, or killing him is the essence of my duty to his mother."
Alistor grunted, "Keep him alive for now, by your interpretation, perhaps neither of us can kill him until the prophecy is complete, after which point perhaps it would be unnecessary."
"Point," said Severus.
"And I should get hold of a dossier on Tom Marvollo Riddle, and see how much of it Potter already knows."
"As a test how much he's interacted with Quirrell's possession and the wraith and diary he dispatched?"
"And as a test if he has continued access to a shard of the man's soul."
"Oh."
"And to give him intelligence on his enemy," said Alistor, "Just between you and me, I had enough of you-know-who, if it's a choice between him and Potter, I'd rather try to keep an eye on Potter."
"Quite," said Severus.
...-...
{End Chapter 14}