"So I just drink this?" Harry asked, dubiously.
He swirled the potion around in its vial.
' Looks like blood' he thought, laughing at the idea.
Snape stared at him, shaking his head slightly.
"Yes. Just drink it. It will help. It only takes a few minutes for it to take effect, and then-"
"Then everything will be boring!" Harry interrupted petulantly.
Snape took a deep breath. "Potter" He hissed, his voice tightly controlled. "Please. Just drink the fucking potion already"
Harry almost dropped the vial in shock. He'd never heard Snape swear before.
"Fine. If you're that sure"
He downed it, grimacing at the slimy taste.
He did drop the vial, then.
It was an extremely strange experience, feeling his thoughts change.
He could feel it, as his mind seemed to calm down. A voice in his head, which only moments previously had been shouting something about Sirius, suddenly fell silent.
And then his mind was clear. Blissfully, miraculously clear. As empty as he had ever succeeded in making it with his Occlumency.
His emotions calmed down. His heart resumed a normal rhythm instead of the high-speed it had been beating at.
An anxiety that had been so overwhelming, so omnipresent that he hadn't even been aware of its presence vanished.
And he could think.
"Wow," he muttered reverently, opening his eyes, and seeing as if he never had before.
' Why was I so upset about Sirius? He deserved it!'
"Wow," he repeated, staring into Snape's face.
"How do you feel?" Snape asked cautiously.
Harry's face split into a huge grin.
"Great. I-it's so quiet. I-I feel-like normal"
"May I examine your mind?"
Harry nodded, still marveling over the quiet.
After a few minutes, he felt Snape's presence retreat from his mind and looked up as he heard a sigh of relief.
"Excellent" Snape said, looking better than he had since Harry had left before Christmas. "Your mind-it is so much better than it was"
"I-I can't thank you enough, sir. Really, I-"
Snape waved a hand, cutting off the stammering.
"You must still be vigilant" he warned. "There is a thread of wildness, of recklessness running through your thoughts. You must still make an effort to think your actions through before performing them"
"I-I will"
"See that you do. And do not fall into complacency"
Harry nodded. Snape seemed to watch him carefully, before continuing speaking in a lower voice.
"Your usage of the Dark Arts. It has warped you. You know this. And that is fine. You are in a position in our Lord's service where your desires are not problematic. But you are still at Hogwarts. You are still under Dumbledore's watchful gaze. Do not-do not allow your desires to control you. Not now"
"I-I'll try"
Snape nodded, staring deep into Harry's eyes.
"Now, Dumbledore has arranged a meeting for you with the Wizengamot. Next Sunday. For you to apply for emancipation"
"But-"
"It is purely a formality" Snape interrupted. "And regardless of their decision, by the end of the year, it will not matter. But you must go"
"And what do I say? That there's no-one alive to care for me, and that I'm too old to be adopted? That I'll live in Hogwarts over the summer?"
"Precisely. Dumbledore will speak first, and he will explain the entire situation. You will simply have to show them that yes, you desire emancipation"
"What does it even matter? Seriously, by the summer-"
"By the summer, Dumbledore will be dead, and the ministry will likely be ours. Still, it is important to keep up appearances. And besides all that. Once you are emancipated, you will legally be an adult. The Trace will not apply to you any longer"
Harry scoffed. "As if that's been a problem until now"
"It only hasn't been a problem, because whenever you did magic outside of school you were either in a magical dwelling or you were with the Dark Lord. Do you not wish to be able to carry out your own errands?"
Harry nodded grudgingly.
"Then you will go with Dumbledore. I'm sure he'll meet with you to discuss it further"
Harry rose from his seat, already planning out his day.
' I should probably go over my notes. Now that I can concentrate'
"And Harry?"
He turned back.
Snape looked like he wanted to say fifty things at once. He settled with a nod, and a soft "stay in control"
"I will," he said with a cocky grin, walking out of the room.
"So. How does it feel?"
He ran his hand lightly down her curves, with the other going to scratch at his face.
"Not that different," he said finally. "It's just… a lot quieter now"
"Quiet?"
He gave a light squeeze, loving how her breath sped up at his touch.
"Before. I could hear Sirius. All the time. And I was always thinking about him. Nonstop. Now? I can remember that I loved him. But I can't remember what it felt like. And I don't feel bad about it anymore"
She shivered at that.
"Creepy"
"I guess. But it's helped. I can-I can hear myself think, now. Before, I couldn't. It was just him. All the time. Fucking Sirius Black"
He giggled softly.
"You know," he said, as he repositioned himself, his cock hardening against her ass.
"Draco wanted me to thank you for him. Apparently, you gave Tori some advice?"
She laughed, shifting against him.
"Yeah. So he liked that, did he?"
"Apparently"
He moved one of his hands down her body slowly, circling it when he reached her entrance.
"Is it weird?" He asked, ignoring her soft moans, "that I find the idea of you giving innocent little Tori sex advice to be really, really hot?"
"You find my sister hot?"
"N-n-that's not what I said!"
She laughed again, before moving her hand behind her back and gripping him.
"Good"
She moved her hand so, torturously slowly.
"C'mon" he said with a groan. "You know you're-you're the only one. Except for Pansy back then, and-"
"And?"
"Well. I almost raped Granger once" he said, a bit sheepishly.
"After she slapped Draco, right?"
"Yeah. Forgot I told you about that"
"Well, there'll be no raping for you. Not unless I say so"
"Unless you say so?"
His heart sped up in concert with her hand.
"It could be interesting, couldn't it?" She said breathily, her voice a husky whisper. "Taking someone completely. Making them ours. Making her scream"
Daphne's voice filled his whole world. Her breath was coming quicker now, as his fingers danced around her.
"Cr-crucioing her while we cum. I-imagine-imagine how-how it would feel, the power, the pure-"
He couldn't handle it. He yanked her over roughly and thrust forward.
When it was over, both of them lay there, tousled over each other in the large bed.
Basking in the afterglow, perfect smiles on their faces.
"Did-did you mean it?" He asked hesitantly.
She wavered a little before answering.
"I-I don't know. I-I think it would be fun. But I-I don't know what it would really be like, you know?"
He nodded absently, trying to picture it. He couldn't, not really.
"But I think-I think I'd like to try it. At least, I'd like to Crucio someone. During sex, I mean. I think-I think that'd make everything even better"
"Is that possible?" He asked softly.
"Anything's possible. You just have to take it"
"So, Harry. You ready to start classes again?"
He swallowed his piece of toast and drank a little bit of pumpkin juice before turning to Blaise.
"Yeah. Why not, right?"
"Why not. You ready for all of your classes?"
' Oh yeah. Blaise is joining us. And I haven't said anything to him yet. I wonder if he's gonna cause problems? Maybe I'll make Theo deal with him'
He managed to keep his laugh internal at that.
"Yeah. Ready for all the classes, this week" he said, winking at Blaise.
"Really?" Tracey asked. "You managed to catch up everything?"
He shrugged.
"Most of it, I think. I mean, I barely made any progress with the Theory readings, and still got a ton of Arithmancy and history, but otherwise, mostly caught up"
' Not that my marks will be what they used to be. But they don't matter. Do they?'
"What happened with Quidditch, while I was away?"
"Harper covered for you. He wasn't too bad, actually. Not nearly your level, but not too bad. We beat Ravenclaw"
He nodded to Draco. "So we've got Hufflepuff next?"
"Yeah. But only after Easter"
Daphne poked him in the ribs, then.
"Diggory's coming" she whispered.
He looked up, to see Diggory making his way down to their table. He stopped for a moment by the Gryffindors, saying something that made a few of them laugh, and carried on down until he reached Harry.
"Welcome back, Harry," he said, extending a hand.
Harry took it.
As he shook the older boy's hand, he felt a piece of parchment squashed between them.
"Well," Diggory said, giving him a clap on the back. "Hope you're settled in"
With that, the burly Hufflepuff walked off, whistling to himself.
Harry unfurled the parchment under the table, and read it.
"Meeting Dumbledore tonight" he whispered to Daphne.
She nodded
"So, Harry. How has your first day back in classes been?"
"Pretty good, sir. Thanks for asking"
It hadn't been too bad. In Potions, they hadn't seemed to have moved too far while he was away, and he was still comfortably ahead of the syllabus in both Charms and Transfiguration.
' Probably ahead of the seventh-year syllabus too'
"I am most glad to hear it"
Dumbledore steepled his hands, peering at Harry over his spectacles.
"Before we enter the Pensieve tonight, I must tell you of the outcome of my discussion with the Wizengamot"
"Professor Snape said we'd be going next week?"
But Dumbledore slowly, regretfully, shook his head.
"Unfortunately, the Wizengamot claims to be too busy to process an emancipation request. Even when such a request is as high-profile as yours. Perhaps, precisely because it is as high-profile as yours"
Harry didn't reply.
' What the fuck does that mean? Who-who is my legal guardian?'
"Alas, even as Chief Warlock, my power is not total. I was unable to secure an appointment"
"So I-I don't have a legal guardian?"
"Not quite. I mentioned to you once before, the possibility of you being declared a ward of Hogwarts?"
' Oh. Shit.'
"Yes"
"The Wizengamot has declared it to be so" Dumbledore raised a hand, forestalling anything Harry would say. "If you recall, we agreed that you would spend the summer in the castle?"
Harry nodded, feeling numb.
"So this is merely a legal agreement to do so"
' I'm going to kill you. Well before the summer'
"As it stands, I am your legal guardian. However, that role will be handed over to Professor Snape, if you prefer?"
' You keep it. Then I'll be killing my third guardian'
"I-I don't think it really makes a difference, sir. You can keep the position"
"Lovely" Dumbledore said with a smile. "Do you have any questions on this topic?"
Harry shook his head, mutely.
' I'm going to kill you. I can't fucking wait. To destroy that joy in your eyes'
With a curt gesture from his blackened hand, Dumbledore levitated the Pensieve to the table.
"This memory," he said, "is one of mine. After you"
Harry settled back into his chair, mind swirling.
The smiling bastard opposite him. He had dared deny the Dark Lord that which He wanted.
"Why?" He asked softly. "Why didn't you give him the position?"
Dumbledore's eyes flickered, just for a second.
Maybe he was thinking the same thing as Harry. Thinking that if he had only given the Dark Lord the teaching position He had desired, He would never have gone on to terrorize the world.
"He would have used it to recruit, to create an army within Hogwarts," Dumbledore said softly, his eyes blindingly cold. "I could never have turned a blind eye to such a thing"
' You mean, the thing that's been going on under your crooked nose for the last two years? You fucking old fart, I'm going to make you eat your smiling eyes'
"Regardless" he continued, "as I told him then, I do not believe he truly wanted the position. Not to imply he would have rejected it, no. But it was merely a possible side benefit of his trip to Hogwarts, and certainly not his main goal"
"And-and what was that goal?"
"As we have seen," Dumbledore said, stroking at his beard, "Voldemort was very interested in collecting objects belonging to the Founders. I believe his visit served multiple purposes: to find another Founder's object if possible, and perhaps, to hide one of the ones he already had. Hogwarts was a home to him, far more than the orphanage he grew up in had been. Leaving one of his most treasured objects here… I believe it would appeal to him. It would be like leaving a piece of himself here"
Somehow, Harry managed to keep his face blank at that, not allowing any of his enormous internal turmoil to show. He somehow managed to keep from drawing his wand and attacking Dumbledore.
' He knows. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He knows, oh fuck. I need to kill him. Before he can find it. Before he finds the Room'
"If he valued them so much," Harry asked, somehow managing to keep his voice from shaking. "Why would he not keep them with him?"
Dumbledore smiled mysteriously. "Next time we meet, Harry. Next time, you will understand that"
Recognizing the dismissal for what it was, Harry stood.
"Harry. I hope you're managing to sleep better. You certainly seem more… settled"
' I'll sleep even better once you're dead'
"Thanks, sir. Yeah, I am"
"Dumbledore nodded slowly. "Excellent. Sirius would hate nothing more than having you wallow in grief over his death"
' I think he hated me more'
But that thought caused him no pain. Not even a twinge.
Harry just nodded, trying to look serious.
"Hi, everyone. Good to see you've all managed to find the place ok"
The joke fell flat. They all just watched him. He fidgeted a little bit, twitching his fingers.
He forced his hand not to rise, forced it not to stroke his scar.
"So, uh. Yeah. Let's do it. Who here can't cast the Unforgiveables?"
Astoria raised her hand, followed by Blaise, Meredith, Andrea, and Morag.
Horatio opened his mouth and started saying something, only for Alaine to jab him in the ribs with his elbow.
Harry watched with glee as Alaine furiously whispered to him.
' Good boy'
With a red face, Horatio raised his hand as well.
"Ok. Firstly, they're really useful. Killing Curse to get rid of someone. Cruciatus to make an example out of someone" he locked eyes with Alaine as he said that, smiling widely, "and the Imperius to turn an enemy into an ally. More importantly, they're really fun. And I have it on good authority, that within a few years they won't be illegal anymore. Just judged on how they're used. Except on muggles. They'll always be allowed on muggles"
Andrea smiled at that.
' I wonder what her father would do if he could see that smile? Run screaming, that's what'
He clapped his hands together.
"Partner up. Everyone with someone who knows how to do them. Let's start!"
He ended up standing with Andrea, explaining to her how exactly the Cruciatus worked.
"You just need to focus on how much you hate him," he said. "Focus on how he deserves nothing but pain. How he deserves to scream, to hope for death"
She nodded, face set.
"Now. Try again"
"Crucio!"
It worked. The rabbit's squealing sang in Harry's ears.
He clapped.
"A thousand points to Slytherin!" He called out, laughing, as everyone turned around.
She blushed a bit, before dropping the spell.
"How did it feel?"
"It was-it was good!"
"It's better on a person. Although you can't really call muggles people. But they give the same pleasure as a wizard, so whatever"
She smiled at him. "I can't wait"
' Turn a blind eye to this, you fucking old asshole'
"You'll get your chance" he promised. "Maybe even sooner than you think"
By the time he called everyone together, shortly before they ended for the night, almost all of them had managed to cast the Unforgiveables. Tori hadn't managed the Cruciatus, and Morag and Meredith were struggling with the Imperius, but still. It was very impressive.
"Great work guys!" He called, clapping a bit. "Really great. Practice when you can, without anyone seeing, of course. Just a few more things to practice over the week. Draco, if you could help me with this"
Draco walked forward, stopping at Harry's gesture about twenty meters away from him.
"Watch closely. Spell deflection is awesome. Draco, if you could cast a Stunner or a Disarmer at me, please"
Draco nodded, and a few seconds later, a bright red jet was shooting toward Harry.
He focused all of his will on it, and just before it collided, slashed his wand downwards.
The spell shot down, throwing off sparks as it exploded against the floor.
"So what you need to do," he said, addressing the room at large again, "is focus all your will on it. You need to then smash it out of the air. But practice focusing. You really need to focus everything on it, otherwise, you won't do anything"
He walked over to one of the training dummies.
"Partum Lapis" he called, doing the wand movements with exaggerated slowness.
A stone shield appeared in front of the dummy.
"Avada Kedavra!"
The shield exploded when the Killing Curse hit it, bits of stone flying away with green flames licking at them.
"Practice that. Unless you want to die"
He looked around the room.
"Ok. So, next week, we'll carry on. And we'll work on fighting in general. Just keep practicing. It's the only real way to get better"
He stood with Alaine and Draco, examining the Cabinet.
"You guys really did a lot," he said, impressed.
He stroked the last few lines of runes waiting to be repaired.
"Thanks. Snape helped a lot, over the break"
"Still. It's almost done!"
He continued as they nodded.
"I'm gonna be here over Easter. What about you guys?"
Draco shook his head, regretfully.
"Sorry, mate. But I'm gonna be home"
"No problem. Alaine?"
"Yeah. I'll be here. And Horatio-He's taking runes as well. If we get him involved, we can get it done a lot quicker"
"Meredith also" Draco added.
"Awesome" he murmured, stroking the Cabinet. "Fucking awesome. How long do you think it'll take? With an extra two people?"
"We'll have to re-do a bunch of the charms on it. That'll take a few hours, and that's only once all the runes are done. Probably during Easter break"
"So soon. So soon. Awesome"
He shook his head, clearing it.
"Awesome. So we'll finish it and test it over Easter, and then our Lord will set a trap for Dumbledore. Fucking awesome. Great work, guys. Really. Great work"
He smiled as Alaine preened at the compliment.
" $You have confirmed that the Diadem has not been moved?$"
" $I have, my lord. The box is still where you bade me place it, and the Diadem is still within it$ "
Voldemort nodded slowly, his burning eyes not leaving Harry's face.
" $I do not believe Dumbledore will find it. Still, I would like you to place a proximity ward around the box, to warn you if he does draw near$"
Before Harry could apologize and say that he had no idea how to do that, his master had already begun explaining.
" $And you end the wand movement with an upward flick, like so. Keep yourself in mind during the ward's entire placement. If you think of another person, the ward may alert them instead of you$"
" $And if it does alarm me?$"
" $Inform me immediately. Do not attempt to salvage it from Dumbledore. At full strength, he is far, far beyond your capability to handle$"
A blush started making its way up his cheeks.
" $You say the Cabinet will be ready during Easter break?$"
"$Hopefully. Another two of our newer group members are studying Runes and will assist$"
"$Excellent. When you are ready to test it, inform me so that I can send Lucius to Borgin and Burke's with this mirror. And immediately afterward, I will begin laying the trap$"
" $Great$"
" $Severus has informed me, that Shriner plans to test the students with Veritaserum at the end of the school year. Specifically, he plans to dose the Slytherin students$"
' Fucking bastard!'
" $I-$"
"$The other Slytherin students who are in my service will depart along with you after Dumbledore has been killed. By next year, the school will surely be in our hands, but we shall not take risks$"
" $N-no, my lord. I'll-I'll tell them$"
" $You say that there are two Ravenclaws in the group?$"
" $Yes, my lord. Alaine Westman, and Horatio-$"
" $They are not to break their cover. Alaine will be finishing his school career this year, true. But the other one will not. And if Hogwarts is not in our hands next year, he will be an excellent source of information. Inform him that it is due to this reason that he will not associate with any of my followers. Neither in school or out of it$"
" $I will, my lord$"
" $And before you vacate Hogwarts, you will give him your mirror$"
" $I will$"
" $Excellent. You have served me so well, Harry. And now we are in the endgame. Before you know it, we will rule$"
And so the days began to speed past, the calendar seeming to flip through its pages in a hurry.
Moving toward Easter.
Harry kept his head down, arriving punctually to classes and making sure to have his homework all done.
Nobody commented on the bags under his eyes. Those who knew they were caused by long hours spent in the Room of Hidden Things, had no desire to say anything.
Those who didn't, suspected late nights with his girlfriend.
And even the teachers held back from saying anything, certain as they were that nightmares were keeping him awake.
And as the weather slowly changed, growing warmer.
As the Cabinet slowly was repaired, rune by rune by rune.
As a group of students learned how to fight, learned how to cast the Unforgiveables with ease. As they improved on their speed, and the brutality of their attacks.
The days drew closer to Easter.
In their last Magical Theory class before Easter break, Professor Waffling surprised the class by announcing that it would be the last class for the year.
"As you know, there is no OWL exam for this subject. Your results instead are drawn from an aggregate of all your essays over the last three years, as well as your input into the class discussions"
She gave her wand a wave, and the enormous stack of papers on her desk rose, splitting off into smaller bunches and flying to each of the students.
Harry wasn't surprised to see an O on his, followed by an extensive breakdown of how he had achieved it.
He wasn't as overjoyed as he once would have been either.
"I, therefore, do not give a class in the last term of your OWL year. Almost all of your other classes will be focused on revising for the upcoming exams, and I feel it unfair to assign further work. I hope you use the extra time wisely"
She paused, looking around the room a bit.
"This is not something I tell every class. I have truly enjoyed having you all here. Each of you has added to our discussions in so many ways. I look forward to watching your future careers with interest"
' I'd like to see your reaction to my career choices'
"Those of you interested in continuing our classes next year will be gladly welcomed back. I wish you all a pleasant break, and good luck with your exams. You'll all do splendidly. I'm sure of it"
The day before Easter break began, Lord Voldemort struck. The papers shouted the news in terror.
It was the only thing on everyone's tongue.
On the same day, a multinational, obviously well-planned series of attacks occurred.
New York had been attacked by a previously unknown American group who had allied with the Dark Lord.
The group in Japan had taken control, publicly executing the former President in Tokyo.
Beauxbatons itself had fallen, with a group of giants tearing down the castle.
The Spanish government had formally declared its desire to parley with the Dark Lord.
And in Britain, the headquarters of the international coalition had been destroyed.
Harry read the news, fighting with all his will to keep his joy from showing on his face.
' We're in the endgame now '