AN: First I want to apologise for the long wait between chapters, real life got in the way mainly. Secondly I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed, favourited, followed and added my story to different communities, getting it out there to be enjoyed and read, so thank you all again, now on with the next chapter.
Confessions and the Dark Lord
"Morning." Harry said around a yawn as he took a seat at the breakfast table. "Thanks." he smiled as Astoria placed a cup of tea in front of him with a smile of her own and a quick kiss.
"Looking forwards to returning to Hogwarts?" Astoria asked as she watched him take a sip of his tea. However before he could respond, the door to the kitchen opened and Sirius entered the kitchen followed by Remus, both were frowning and Sirius was holding a letter in his hand as he took a seat at the table, Remus sat next to him and within seconds a full English breakfast was sitting in front of each of them curtesy of Dobby the house-elf, who had agreed to bond with Harry.
"What's wrong?" Harry asked Sirius in way of a morning greeting, he noticed the letter and his Godfather's grim expression and after Wormtail's escape from Azkaban and the subsequent theft of Voldemort's wand, he guessed the contents of the letter was not good news.
"Dumbledore has asked that you skip the train ride this year and for us to join him in his office at Hogwarts at our earliest convenience." Sirius explained with a sigh, he'd been looking forwards to and dreading at the same time, taking Harry and Astoria to the Hogwarts Express and seeing them off to Hogwarts for their third and fourth years respectively, since he had missed out on seeing Harry off for his first ever ride on the Hogwarts Express at the start of his first year.
"Skip the train ride." Astoria questioned with a frown, she had been planning to meet up with her two sister's Daphne and Tracey to catch up after spending the last of the summer holidays with Harry, Sirius and Remus. Not that she was in any way complaining about the last of her summer holiday, she had just missed her sister's.
"Is He back?" Harry questioned the two adults as he paused his eating, he wasn't going to complain about missing the almost 9 hour train ride or Malfoy's annual train ride visit.
"I doubt that Voldemort is back to full strength." Sirius replied with a shake of his head as he poured himself a cup of coffee and added three cubes of sugar and a generous amount of cream, ever since Azkaban, he had found that he had a sweet tooth a mile wide.
"But you can bet your last Galleon that it is something to do with Voldemort." Remus spoke up with a frown, the wolf within was restless, almost like it could sense that dark times were just around the corner and his pack would be in the gravest of dangers, especially Harry, who would no doubt be at the top of the Dark Lords kill-list and by association, Astoria, would be high on that list when it became known that she was Harry Potter's girlfriend of almost a year.
"What about me, will you drop me off at Kings Cross." Astoria asked the two men who had begun to eat their food.
"You are coming with us." Harry spoke up before anyone else had the chance. "If this really is about Tom, then I will want you there with me." Astoria looked into his green eyes for a couple of seconds before she gave a single nod of agreement.
"Yes, I'm tired of hiding our relationship too." Astoria agreed with a small smile at Harry, they had been talking about going public for a couple of days now, who were they really hiding it from, Malfoy? Harry would plant him into a wall so fast if he stepped out of line with her even once, not forgetting the training they had been doing nearly everyday for almost an entire year together and with Sirius and Remus during the last of the summer holidays. Plus Daphne and Tracey would have her back in the common room and Daphne could be vicious when pushed and the quickest way to push her would be to harm her baby sister.
"Just like James and Lily." Sirius snorted with a sad smile at the two. "They could have a silent conversation with just a look." He explained at Harry's raised eyebrow.
Harry and Astoria smiled at each other before they went back to finishing their breakfasts so they could go and find out what the Headmaster wanted.
Twenty minutes later found the two men and two teens outside the gates of Hogwarts. Sirius and Remus had apparated a teen each after Harry and Astoria had shrunk their trunks and joined the two men on the front step outside the door, the only spot around the entire property that one could disapparate or apparate to and from and only after Sirius had keyed you into the wards, so far only Sirius, Remus, Harry, Astoria, Daphne and Tracey were keyed into the wards in such a-way as to be able to come and go as they pleased. Tracey's Mother, Eve Davis, was the only other adult that could come and go as she pleased and that was mainly for her own peace of mind with Astoria staying over for the last of the summer.
Tracey's father and Eve's husband Ian, had been a half blood wizard who had been an Auror in the first war, unfortunately, he had been killed during a raid a few weeks before the Dark Lord Fell.
Daphne and Astoria's Death Eater father, Lord Cygnus Greengrass, had killed her sister Eleanor in a drunken rage and had been carted off to Azkaban after Eve had been unable to contact her sister for over a week and Cygnus had been shifty about just where she was.
Eve had demanded the Auror's investigate her sister's disappearance, since it was highly unlikely that she would abandon Daphne or the new-born Astoria. After the Auror investigation, it had been discovered that Cygnus had killed Eleanor and had buried her sisters body in the backyard in a drunken rage after it was learned that due to complications during her pregnancy with Astoria, it was unlikely another baby would survive pregnancy.
Cygnus Greengrass had sweet talked her sister and swept her off her feet to begin with, before he had shown his true colours as a devoted Death Eater or devoted until the Dark Lord Fell and he claimed Imperious that is.
"Enter." came the Headmaster's voice shaking Astoria out of her thoughts of her aunt, uncle, mother and father. She didn't even remember the walk up to the Headmaster's office so lost in her thoughts she had been, luckily Harry had been holding her hand and had guided her along.
Entering a large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. A number of curious silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke. The walls were covered with portraits of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were snoozing gently in their frames. There was also an enormous, claw-footed desk, and sitting behind the desk was the silver haired, long bearded Headmaster in navy blue robes with silver stars and half moons, Albus Dumbledore and to Astoria's and everyone else's surprise, her Head of House, Severus Snape was stood by the window, arms folded in front of him and a scowl firmly in place, although, Astoria noticed his eyes widened in surprise as he noticed her presence and the fact that she was still holding hands with Harry, who along with Sirius was glaring at the Potions Master.
"Ah, young love." Dumbledore smiled at her as he took in her appearance and her holding Harry's hand. "You trust Miss Greengrass completely?" He asked Harry in a soft tone as he looked upon the young teen, whose shoulders would soon be expected to bare the heaviest of burdens.
"I trust Astoria more than any other person on this entire Planet." Harry said in a firm voice as he stared down the Headmaster after tearing his glaring eyes away from Snape.
"Then I shall take your word for her trustworthiness, you know the story of her father?" The headmaster questioned Harry as he conjured seats for everyone and gestured for them all to take a seat, Snape stayed in front of the window which was just fine with everyone else.
"We have no secrets." Harry replied with a nod as he smiled at Astoria who was sitting next to him, Astoria smiled back at him with a beaming smile full of pure love which Dumbledore saw and felt more at ease with than anything Harry had said, not that he didn't believe, Harry but they say that the eyes never lie.
"I apologise my dear, but with your father been who he is, I wanted to make sure that Harry was aware." The Headmaster explained as he turned to Astoria with an apologetic smile.
"I understand Headmaster, I would have been disappointed if you hadn't asked but as Harry said, we have no secrets from each other, well no secrets on that kind of scale but of course, a lady has to have a few secrets to herself." Astoria said with a smile at the Headmaster before turning to Harry with a wink and smile.
"Of course Milady." Harry said with a bow as he kissed the back of Astoria's hand that he was still holding causing the girl to giggle at him.
"Can we bloody well get on with it?" Snape interrupted with a scowl at the teens antics, Astoria was one of his prized students and she'd taken up with a bloody Potter.
"Yes, what is this all about?" Sirius asked the Headmaster with a frown causing the two teens to turn their attention to the Headmaster once more.
"As you are all aware, Peter Pettigrew escaped Azkaban and stole Voldemort's wand." Dumbledore began getting nods from the four sat in front of his desk. "Well since his escape and theft, Peter has manged to track down Voldemort's spirit and has helped Tom to gain a temporary body." Sirius, Remus and Astoria all paled slightly and gulped at the news but Harry just glared at the Headmaster's desk.
"How did you find out?" Harry questioned as he looked up at Dumbledore with a blank expression as he employed his Occlumency shields, a look that was soon mirrored on Astoria's face.
"Because the Dark Lord contacted me." Snape spoke up from his position in front of the window causing everyone to turn and look at him.
"And why would he contact you?" Harry questioned the sallow skinned man with a frown as he fingered his wand in the holster on his arm, ready.
"During the Christmas break of my sixth year, my mother was killed in 'The Christmas massacre of Diagon Alley' and then just after my sixth year had ended, Lucius Malfoy approached me to join the Death Eater's as a potions brewer as the Dark Lord required a potioneer to join his ranks." Snape glared at the floor as he remembered the absolute gall of Malfoy to recruit him after his mother was killed by probably him and his cohort's.
Harry nodded his head, he remembered reading about the Christmas attack on Diagon Alley during the war.
"Anyways, after a few days thinking it over, I came to the conclusion that I could get my revenge by spying on the Dark Lord and the Death Eater's to hopefully help bring them to a stop, and that's when I approached the Headmaster." Snape said with a nod towards Dumbledore, who then took up the story.
"After Severus convinced me to allow him to spy on the Death Eater's, I began teaching him Occlumency, more advanced and difficult potions, advanced duelling and intermediate Alchemy for the rest of the summer and during his seventh year." Dumbledore explained to the four getting nods of understanding from them.
"The day after my graduation from Hogwarts, I found myself in front of the Dark Lord, brewing different advanced Potions and Poisons of the Dark Lord's choosing, once I was able to prove that I could brew anything he asked me to, I received the Dark Mark and the mask and robes." Snape then pulled up his left sleeve to show the faded Dark Mark that was now a dark grey in colour.
"During Severus's time spying on Tom and the Death Eater's, he was able to pass on any information that he learned that helped to prevent the unnecessary deaths of innocent witches, wizards and countless Muggle's."
"That was very decent and brave of you." Sirius said with grudging respect for his old school rival. Snape smirked at him, he knew how much it must had killed Black to admit that out loud.
"A couple of Months before you were born, I was interviewing a young Sybill Trelawney for the vacant Divination position when she went into a trance and gave, what I believe to be her first true Prophecy pertaining to the downfall of the Dark Lord."
"I know the Prophecy." Harry replied to the Headmaster getting a nod of understanding from the man.
Dumbledore might not fully agree with Harry giving up the protection offered by his Aunt sharing his mother's blood but he understood that Sirius was his Godfather and Guardian and it was within his rights of when to inform Harry of the Prophecy and truth be told, Albus was kind of glad that he didn't have to deal with informing Harry about the Prophecy and could concentrate on helping him prepare for Tom's approaching return.
"When you first entered Hogwarts, you were small and underfed, but you was whole and alive which had been my main goal on the night Voldemort fell and when I placed you with your Aunt and Uncle. I knew that I was sentencing you to ten dark and difficult years but I had little choice, back then we did not know who we could fully trust and with Sirius in Azkaban for betraying you and your parents, I did the best that I could at the time to keep you alive and out of Death Eater hands." Dumbledore explained with a sad look at Harry who was nodding his understanding of Dumbledore's plight in trying to keep him safe growing up.
"I understand that you're options were limited at the time, thank you for doing your best and keeping me alive." Harry nodded, he might have hated the Dursley's but at least he was alive.
"Thank you my boy, you have no idea how grateful I am to hear you say that." Dumbledore said with a bow to Harry before looking at the four and conjuring a tea set and pouring everyone a cup with a wave of his wand, he continued his tale once everyone had a cup of tea in front of them.
"Severus here, whilst brewing potions for Voldemort at his headquarters, overheard talk about a Prophecy and when he got the chance, made his way to me to inform me of its existence, I of course, already knew and I knew that a Death Eater had been spying on my interview with Sybill before he had been caught by the proprietor of the Hogshead pub and been ejected but not before he had overheard the first half of the Prophecy and then raced to inform his master." Harry nodded his understanding after a look towards Astoria, who gave him a small smile in return, she was still with him, not that there was any doubt of that.
"What you don't know is that the Death Eater in question was Cygnus Greengrass." Snape spoke up causing Astoria to gasp loudly and cover her mouth in shock.
"I never knew, I promise I never knew." Astoria gasped at Harry as she looked at him with watery eyes, willing him to believe her.
"Of course you didn't know, you wasn't even bloody born." Harry replied as he shot out of his seat and wrapped his girl in his arms and kissed the top of her head.
"After awhile, I found out it was you that the Dark Lord had decided the Prophecy pertained to and with all haste I informed the Headmaster." Snape continued choosing to ignore the fact that Astoria had crawled into Potter's lap after the boy had retaken his seat.
"After some near misses I came across The Fidelius Charm and you of course now know the rest." Dumbledore concluded the to the nods of the four in front of his desk.
"So now what?" Harry questioned his Headmaster and Potions Professor looking between the two, he doubted this was the only reason why he had been asked to skip the express.
"The Dark Lord has given me two tasks to prove my loyalty to him." Snape replied with a sneer at the mere thought of been loyal to the vile creature that ordered the attack that killed his mother and then killed his childhood friend Lily Evans.
"Oh?" Harry asked as he raised an eyebrow at the man.
"The first task is to brew the Regeneration potion." Snape began, getting frowns of confusion from the four sitting in the chairs in front of the Headmasters desk, well, three in chairs, one teen girl sitting in a lap. "It's an ancient dark potion but I'm missing a key ingredient which brings me to my second task, the blood of the enemy, you're blood, forcibly taken."
"Shut it mouthy." Harry said without turning to look but with his finger pointed at Sirius in warning, he then got a faraway look in his eyes as he began thinking hard.
"He's thinking, give him a minute." Astoria explained to the rest as she was rubbing circles on the back of Harry's hand, hoping to provide him some comfort as he was thinking. Sirius just grumbled in response as Remus smirked at him.
" Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken." Harry was muttering to himself so quietly that Astoria could only just make out what he was saying.
"Blood of the enemy, forci-." Harry's head snapped up to look at Snape, eyes slightly widening. "Is it a ritual potion, that's why its forcibly taken?"
"Yes, the words are the ritual part, bone of the father, unknowingly given, flesh of the servant willingly given and blood of the enemy forcibly taken." Snape explained with a scowl wondering what the brat was thinking.
"So, if I were to say, willingly give my blood, it most likely won't cause the potion to fail but it might weaken him or not give him the full effects of the potion." Harry questioned the sour man whose eyes widened as he realised what Harry was suggesting and he quickly began thinking over Harry's idea.
"You smart, devious little bastard that just might work." Snape replied with a dark grin, which honestly was a lot scarier than the mans scowl.
"You should smile more, it's waaay more fucking terrifying." Harry replied getting a snort from the Potions master whilst ignoring the other three adults admonishing his choice words, even if they agreed that Snape grinning was a scary sight to see.
"Harry's crude language aside, would you care to explain just what might work?" Dumbledore asked looking between the two, getting nods of agreement from Sirius, Remus and Astoria.
"The Regeneration potion, is an ancient dark ritual potion, the ritual part comes as you add in the final three ingredients." Snape began the explanation looking between the three adults and two teens.
"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son! Flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed, you will revive your master. Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect your foe."
"It is the last part that we can change and hopefully, not stop completely, but disrupt enough to give Potter here a fighting chance against the Dark Lord." Snape explained getting nods from Sirius, Remus and Astoria as Dumbledore stroked his beard in thought.
"If I were to willingly give my blood and the professor here managed to change the wording, then it just might weaken Voldemort as he regains his body." Harry explained his thinking to the other four getting nods of agreement after a couple of seconds as they each thought it over.
"Yes, that just might work." Dumbledore agreed as he looked at Snape with imploring eyes. "Do be careful my boy." he got a stiff nod in reply.
Snape then reached into his robes and removed a wickedly sharp looking black knife that was covered in Runes and a clean crystal potions veil, both of which he passed to Harry after Astoria had moved from his lap and had retaken her seat.
"I, Harry James Potter, do willingly give my blood to help resurrect my foe, Tom Marvolo Riddle, also known as Lord Voldemort, so mote it be." As he spoke, Harry made a small cut on his thumb and filled the tiny veil with his blood, once he had finished there was a flash of white magic around him and the cut on his thumb was healed over.
"It would seem that even magic herself has accepted your oath and is willingly trying to help you." Dumbledore spoke to Harry with a gentle smile as he watched the boy pass the knife and blood back to Severus.
"H-how long until he has his body back?" Sirius questioned the potions master as he tried to wrap his head around the fact that Harry had just handed over his blood with an oath and Magic seemed to be aiding his Godson in his quest against the Dark Lord Voldemort.
"Tonight." Snape answered simply as he looked Harry in the eyes. "He's waited thirteen years and won't wait any longer, Pettigrew wanted to use the upcoming tournament, involving Potter in an elaborate plan to get him to the graveyard in Little Hangleton." He finished his explanation to his now pale-faced audience.
"This is the best option to keep you safe and out of Tom's hands, but also keep Severus's position as a spy from being discovered." Dumbledore explained to Harry who nodded with a gulp, no doubt, Voldemort's resurrection was very far down on his list of things that would be happening on his return to Hogwarts today.
"If you will excuse me, I have some preparation's to do." Snape spoke up after a couple of minutes silence. Dumbledore nodded his understanding as Sirius and Remus watched him head towards the door.
"Thank you Professor." Harry spoke up with respect in his voice for the first time in his school career as the Potions Master opened the door.
"Don't thank me yet Potter." Snape spoke without turning. "Your about to lead a war." and with that he walked out of the door, shutting it with a violent slam, his own protest of having to be the one who brought the Dark Lord back.
"Now what?" Harry asked his Headmaster after hearing Snape's parting words, he didn't think he would be leading the war, he would just be a another wand in the fight, admittedly a wand that would have to deal the final blow to Voldemort but surely Dumbledore would be leading the war until then right?
"Tell me Harry, have you ever heard of a Horcrux?" Dumbledore asked in reply, getting four looks of confusion back.
HDA
Little Hangleton
Hours later found Severus Snape in a dark and overgrown graveyard; the black outline of a small church was visible beyond a large yew tree to their right. A hill rose above them to their left. Snape could just make out the outline of a fine old house on the hillside, standing a short distance away was Peter Pettigrew, holding a small babylike bundle in his arms.
In front of Snape was a huge stone cauldron, large enough for a fully grown man to sit inside, it was the biggest cauldron Snape had ever used and was filled with what seemed to be water, using his wand, he got a fire going under the cauldron in seconds.
The liquid in the cauldron seemed to heat very fast. The surface
began not only to bubble, but to send out fiery sparks, as though it
were on fire. Steam was thickening, blurring the outline of Pettigrew holding the bundle. The movements beneath the robes became
more agitated. And Snape heard the high, cold voice.
"Hurry!"
The whole surface of the water was alight with sparks now. It
might have been encrusted with diamonds.
"It is ready, Master." Snape replied as he turned towards Wormtail and the bundle.
"Now . . ." demanded the high cold voice.
Wormtail pulled open the robes after placing them on the ground, revealing what was inside them, It was as though Wormtail had flipped over a stone and revealed something ugly, slimy, and blind but worse, a hundred times worse. The thing Wormtail had been carrying had the shape of a crouched human child, except that Snape had never seen anything less like a child. It was hairless and scaly-looking, a dark, raw, reddish black. Its arms and legs were thin and feeble, and its face, no child alive ever had a face like that, flat and snakelike, with gleaming red eyes.
The thing seemed almost helpless; it raised its thin arms, put
them around Wormtail's neck, and Wormtail lifted it. As he did so,
his hood fell back, and Severus saw the look of revulsion on Wormtail's weak, pale face in the firelight as he carried the creature to the rim of the cauldron. For one moment, Snape saw the evil, flat face illuminated in the sparks dancing on the surface of the potion. And then Wormtail lowered the creature into the cauldron; there was a hiss, and it vanished below the surface; Snape heard its frail body hit the bottom with a soft thud.
"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!" Snape began the next part with a wave of his wand, the grave next to him cracked and a fine trickle of dust rose into the air at his command and fell softly into the cauldron. The diamond surface of the water broke and hissed; it sent sparks in all directions and turned a vivid, poisonous-looking blue.
And now Wormtail was whimpering. He pulled a long, thin,
shining silver dagger from inside his cloak. His voice broke into
petrified sobs.
"Flesh — of the servant — w-willingly given — you will — revive — y-your m-master." He stretched his right hand out in front of him the hand with the missing finger. He gripped the dagger very tightly in his left hand and swung it upward.
Severus watched in morbid fascination as Wormtail cut off his hand with a scream that rent the air and a splash as the appendage dropped into the cauldron turning the potion a burning red. He knew that losing his hand was part of the Dark Lord's punishment to the traitor for abandoning him all those years ago, a punishment Severus himself would no doubt receive.
Severus stepped towards the cauldron as Wormtail moved away clutching his bleeding stump and whimpering pathetically as he collapsed against a headstone near the bundle that the Dark Lord had been wrapped in. Snape removed the veil containing Potter's willingly given blood and uncorked it before finishing the final step.
"Blood of the enemy, willingly given, you will resurrect your foe." Snape spoke in the softest of tones as he poured the entire veil into the cauldron, he did not want to chance Wormtail overhearing the changed words and informing the Monster that was about to rise from the pits.
The liquid within turned, instantly, a blinding white. The cauldron was simmering, sending its diamond sparks in all directions, so blindingly bright that it turned all else to velvety blackness. Nothing happened...
And then, suddenly, the sparks emanating from the cauldron were extinguished. A surge of white steam billowed thickly from the cauldron instead, obliterating everything in front of Severus, so that he couldn't see Wormtail or the headstones or anything but vapor hanging in the air.
And then, through the mist in front of him, he saw, the dark outline of a man, tall and skeletally thin, rising slowly from inside the cauldron.
"Robe me," He demanded in his high, cold voice from behind the steam, and Wormtail, sobbing and moaning, still cradling his mutilated arm, scrambled to pick up the black robes from the ground, got to his feet, reached up, and pulled them one-handed over his master's head. The thin man stepped out of the cauldron, skin whiter than a skull, with wide, livid scarlet eyes and a nose that was flat as a snake's with slits for nostrils... Lord Voldemort had risen again.
AN2: So, how was it? please review, review, review until next time...