Chapter 34: The Mystery of Lily Potter

"Severus," Babbling said standing in front of Snape as he walking into the entryway of Hogwarts. "Welcome back; walk with me."

"I am extremely busy at the moment, Babbling. It will have to wait," he said in reply eyes narrowing. Why was she accosting him immediately upon his return? He hadn't immediately attended to Voldemort until after the Potter brat returned. The boy surely couldn't have told her about him returning to the Dark Lord…could he? Would Riddle have said anything? He certainly wouldn't have put it past the bastard. Scowling, Snape decided it didn't matter. Dumbledore would protect his precious spy.

Spy. Sure. More like potion slave. Snape never received any credit for the mass amount of work he did keeping the castle stockpiled on salves and potions. With the amount of injuries Potter received on a yearly basis Snape was certain at least half the budget the staff always complained about was channeled directly down the brat's throat.

Babbling's scowl matched his own as she stepped forward nose to nose. "I really must insist, Severus."

"I have just returned from a strenuous outing and I need to update the Headmaster immediately. Out of my way." Which was entirely truthful. That he was going to make a short stop to his private supply and grab a few painkillers and something that should help with post-Cruciatus recovery wasn't something she needed to know.

"The Headmaster won't be receiving any reports from you, Snape." She couldn't hide the small predatory grin that flashed across her features. It set Snape's alarms ringing.

"You should know that should I disappear…steps will be taken," he said slowly fingering his wand.

Babbling had the gall to laugh in his face. "I'm not threatening you, Snape. Not yet at least. That's why you need to follow me. That way we can see if you need to be threatened. No, I'm merely commenting that our dear, esteemed Headmaster Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore has left the premises. Hopefully for good. Hogwarts is under new management. Now," her good cheer fell away and she glared at him with wand in hand. "Teachers' Conference Room. Now."

Dumbledore gone? What?! Numbly he set off towards the Conference Room. If Albus was gone then who was he supposed to report to? Who was to ensure that he received appropriate updates and sacrificial operations to deliver to Voldemort? How was he supposed to toe the line between the two sides without the primary leader in play? How he supposed to survive without Dumbledore?!

The door slammed shut behind Snape jostling him back out of his thoughts and he looked up at the table in the center of the room. The only hint of surprise he let show was widening eyes as he looked down upon Amelia Bones, Filius and Minerva. "What is this?"

"An inquiry," Minerva said with a slight rise in her eyebrows and a tinge of Scottish brogue leaking into her voice. Babbling took her seat next to Minerva causing Snape to begin to sweat as he sat down in the lone chair across from the other four.

"Please lift up your left sleeve, Severus Snape," Amelia Bones said calmly. She might have been discussing the weather for all she seemed to care.

Snape did what he always did when confronted. He attacked. "I believe that it is against the law asking a private citizen to reveal anything he does not wish to without proper authorization. I will assuredly be lodging a formal complaint with the Minister's office as to your lack of proper procedure, Director Bones."

"Well, according to Statute 12, the Department Head can conduct a pre-investigation if there is reasonable suspicion that underage personnel are in danger. Considering the recently resurrected Voldemort himself called you by name near Mr. Potter, that already grants me the right," Bones replied still completely calm. Snape clutched his wand under the table tighter. Of course Potter had blabbed! "In addition, you disappeared shortly after the return of Mr. Potter – also suspicious. To further muddy the situation you, Severus Snape, have been consistently protected by a man who just recently admitted to attempting to murder Harry James Potter for over a year!" Snape's eyes widened and his sneer was replaced with open-mouthed shock. What the bloody hell had happened in the day he'd been gone?

Amelia leaned forward all hints of civility dropped. "We already know you used to be a Death Eater, Snape," she hissed. "I can check court records perfectly fine. I wanted to see how you'd react. The answer is 'not well' if you're curious. Now here's the situation you pathetic bastard: I know Dumbledore helped you in the past. He tried to pass off some story about you turning to protect Lily Potter. If that's true then as much as I personally despise you, I have a hard time believing you'd have been helping Dumbledore this year with his insane little attempts on Harry's life. We can't be certain of that though. So you are going to drink this vial of veritaserum, answer our questions and we will proceed in the most appropriate manner from there."

Snape leaned back into his seat and finally succeeded in closing his mouth. Amelia leaned across the table and deposited a small vial of potion in front of him. He tried to come up with a response, a question, a rebuttal, a refusal…anything. Nothing came to mind. Albus Dumbledore tried to murder Harry Potter? His protégé? His 'Golden Boy'? Finally, Snape shook his head in simple denial and grabbed the vial tipping his head back and dropping three drips onto his tongue.

"Severus," Minerva said, "where did you just return from?"

"Attending the Dark Lord Voldemort," he replied monotone. "He was quite displeased it took me so long to respond to his initial summons. I barely succeeded in convincing him I still served him and that my position so close to Dumbledore was perfect to spy for him. Afterwards, he kept me longer so that I could treat his wounds from the duel with Potter."

Filius closed his eyes and his lip curled upwards in a silent snarl. "Do you still serve the Dark Lord?"

"No," Snape said. He breathed an internal sigh of relief as the other four visibly relaxed slightly. The potion still allowed for feelings even if they couldn't be expressed. "I ceased to serve Voldemort once he killed Lily. Had he left her alive, I might have returned. But he did not. I serve Dumbledore as he has promised he knows how to kill the man. Voldemort took the only thing I have ever cared for and crushed her under his heel. I will see him destroyed. Beyond that, my loyalty is to me alone. This entire country can destroy itself for all I care. I just want to see Voldemort dead first."

"Revenge…" Filius sighed but nodded. "I find you distasteful to the extreme, but at least I can understand that motivation. Amelia?"

The Director nodded at the Charms Master and turned back to Snape. "What did Dumbledore have you do?"

"In the past decade I have brewed potions for him primarily – things for both the castle and his personal stock. Last night, I informed him of Dark Lord's summons and he directed me to return and embed myself into Voldemort's Inner Circle again so that I could spy for him. I intended to report major engagements back to Dumbledore and bring whatever information he specified back to Voldemort to convince the Dark Lord I was his spy."

"And you have never tried to harm, injure or murder Harry Potter?" Babbling asked.

Snape sneered even through the haze of the potion. "I have allowed Potter to harm himself multiple times since he arrived at school. Primarily during lessons where I allowed him to test clearly defective potions on himself. None that would cause true damage or be too dangerous, but all had painful or embarrassing effects. If any potions were actually dangerous I stepped in and questioned his intellect. I have allowed Slytherins such as Malfoy to add ingredients to his potions to increase these occurrences as well as and to jinx him in the hallways. I have belittled him and his close allies. I have taken excessive points from him and ordered him into numerous frivolous detentions. He is a fool; impulsive and reckless. He is exactly like his father and the only thing in him of the woman I loved is his eyes. I have however, saved the boy in his First Year when Quirrell cursed his broom. I have done nothing further to aid him. I have never done anything that would cause lasting harm."

Babbling looked ready to spit fire at him and Snape was very thankful that others were present as it should prevent her from sending him to the hospital wing at least. What the woman saw in the child…what Greengrass and Davis saw in the child for that matter, was beyond him. All Potter ever did was get himself and those around him into trouble. Just like James Potter. At least the son managed to avoid bullying those less fortunate than himself.

"Did you know Albus was trying to kill Harry Potter?" Minerva asked breathing deeply.

Snape shook his head. "No. I wish the boy humiliated, not dead. As much as I hate it, I never satisfied a life debt to the boy's father. And at the end of the day…he is still Lily's son." Babbling pushed back from the table and stalked to the wall grabbing a calming potion and downing it before sitting back down. For a moment Snape wondered if perhaps he had gone a little too far with his torment of the child. Potter was after all just a boy.

"Do you know anything about how Voldemort has maintained his life?" Filius asked.

"It is certainly some form of Dark Magic. I suspect at least one Horcrux," Snape said. He grimaced internally. If they spoke of this outside these walls…if any hint reached Voldemort that he suspected the man's greatest secret…

Amelia smiled and nodded. "Do you know where they might be or what they are?"

"No. It is something I hope to discover while spying on him."

Amelia leaned back and sighed. "Damn. Well it was worth a shot. Anyone got any other questions? No? Okay then." She handed Snape another potion vial which he took.

Feeling the effects of the veritaserum fade he peered cautiously at the Department Head. "What happens to me now?"

"Now," Amelia said, "you work for me. Albus Dumbledore has left the building. If you wish to run feel free. I almost hope you do since then I can just let your old fellows track you down and you can be Voldemort's problem. If however, you want to stay, then you can continue your spying and inform me instead of Dumbledore of all important developments. You can tell Voldemort whatever the hell you want to in order to make the lie convincing."

Minerva leaned forward with her lips in such a thin line that they had almost vanished. "And if you wish to maintain employment at this school you will be conducting yourself in a fair manner from this point forward! Consider your Head of House privileges revoked as soon as term ends. I don't care what your position is with the enemy or your importance to the war effort, this school and these children are my priority! If I had had my way, you would have been curbed years ago! Now that I am Acting Headmistress you will behave or you will find yourself out on your arse, Severus Snape. Do I make myself clear?"

Snape narrowed his eyes, but gave a curt nod.

"Oh and Severus," Babbling said flippantly with a false smile. "Stay the hell away from Harry Potter."

Harry had just managed to get released from the hospital wing in time to make it to breakfast the morning before traveling home. When he walked into the Great Hall he had to suppress a smirk looking up at the Staff table and seeing McGonagall in Dumbledore's old chair. From what Shiva had said, Fudge was trying to suppress news of the man's breakdown and 'arrest'. The current story circulating in the Prophet was that Dumbledore had experienced mental trauma in the aftermath of the Triwizard Cup and was busy recovering. Amelia was apparently furious and Shiva had said it was only a matter of time before the actual story got out. Harry had privately asked Luna if she'd wait until about a week into the summer before printing a story in the Quibbler.

As he sat down at the table he found the seats on either side of him taken by rather unusual guests. Su Li sat down to his right, the Patil twins across from him and Millicent to his left.

"Good to see you out and about, Harry," Su said grabbing an apple from the table. Harry just nodded and raised his eyebrows in a silent question. "What? Did you think we'd all run after what the ex-Headmaster said?" Harry shrugged noncommittally. The core group was never in question, but the others were somewhat unknown quantities after all. Su snorted in reply. "Please, I think we'd have been able to see an up and coming Dark Lord. At least I'd hope so…" She shook her head and took a small bite from the apple. "Anyway, I would like your permission to speak with some members of my family back in China about your potential little problem over the summer. No names will be mentioned and nothing specific will be discussed unless they have a non-lethal solution."

Harry's eyes widened. "You seriously think they might know something?"

Su shrugged. "Probably not, but it couldn't hurt to ask. Either way, I'm willing to teach you some martial moves next year. I'm pretty handy with daggers and I might be able to show you something with your sword if you want. I expect things to ramp up once we all come back from the summer hols. All I ask in return is you teach me some of those spell chain things that Flitwick was showing you. Or something with runes, but I doubt that's something you can easily teach."

Harry laughed and smiled holding out his hand to shake hers. "Deal. And yes, as long as no names and specifics are mentioned feel free to ask for some help."

Su smiled back and left the table letting Hermione slip into her vacated spot. Harry turned to the Patil twins where Padma just smirked. "She already said pretty much what Parvati and I were going to say. Does that same permission extend to us and our families in India as well?"

Harry nodded. "Excellent," Padma responded. "We'll let you know if we find anything. For what it's worth, I don't think you have much to worry about long-term. Short-term yeah, definitely. But long-term I think you've have enough bad karma to balance things out and leave you with enough good karma coming your way to make it through."

Parvati laughed. "Or at least to get rid of the hitchhiker. Having three partners might tip the scales a bit there. Oh and Lavender is still behind you too. She's busy consulting her crystal ball to see if she can see anything. I think she'd have more luck with the tea leaves, but hey, she prefers the ball." Parvati shrugged and both girls rose waving goodbye to Harry and letting Luna and Tonks shift seats.

Millicent smiled and lightly punched Harry's shoulder. "The way you gather allies, Potter, you should've been in Slytherin. You would've ruled the dungeons. You already know where I stand. Before we headed out I just wanted to thank you again for setting me up with Viktor. I'm visiting him this summer. Father has even been talking with him about moving to Bulgaria long-term if we start getting pressured to join up with Malfoy's lot. Viktor's basically been directing the Durmstrang operations since Karkaroff pulled a runner otherwise he'd stop by and say something personally. He did want me to pass along a message though that 'if the tagalong gives up any decent Dark Spells feel free to share the wealth'. That goes for me too." Millie smirked again at her boyfriend's joke and got up to go sit back with the Slytherins while Fleur slotted into her usual seat beside Harry.

Harry looked around at his friends in wonder. Everyone started chuckling at roughly the same moment.

The Hogwarts Express had just left the station and Harry was settling in when Hermione stood and moved towards the compartment door. "We'll be back in a few minutes, Harry," she said when Tonks and Fleur moved to follow her. "Do me a favor and do try not to get into another life threatening situation while we're gone?"

"No promises, Mione," Harry said smirking. "Me and deadly problems are practically neighbors it seems. They like to come and ask for a cup of tea or pound of butter."

Hermione groaned while Tonks just laughed. "Wonder Boy, if they do come knocking you just slam that door in their face."

The compartment door slid shut and the girls went searching for their target. Only a few sections down they found her. Daphne was inside leaning up against the window with Tracey beside her and Luna across the way. "Daphne?" Hermione said. "We really need to talk for a few minutes."

Daphne turned to them, sighed briefly and nodded. Tracey also looked at the three girls filing into the compartment. She snorted and murmured, "Told you to look for them first. Good luck. Come on, Luna, let's go for a walk." Once Tracey and Luna had left, Fleur cast several privacy wards around the compartment.

Daphne grimaced and set her shoulders. "Before you begin, allow me to apologize. I never should have kissed Harry, I know that now, I knew that then. I was just…for a moment all I could envision was him not coming back from the last Task and he was sitting there being so noble and heroic and concerned and…I panicked. So I'm sorry. It won't happen again."

Hermione crossed her arms and her lips thinned into a line. "Harry defaults to noble, heroic and concerned. You've been our friend long enough to know this Daphne."

Daphne wiped a hand across her face and groaned. "Trust me, I do. That's the problem."

"Daphne, we are not adverse to the idea of you seeking a relationship with Harry. But to just up and kiss him out of the blue is not acceptable."

"I know," Daphne nodded and leaned back in the cushion. "I know. Again, I'm sorry. I'm not exactly used to being this concerned about someone. The only one that's ever come close is Tracey and she's never been in situations where the odds were strong she'd die. Well…besides the Chamber thing…"

Fleur gave the Slytherin a small smile and reached over to squeeze her leg. "We understand zis. What we need to know now zough is what your intentions are."

"My intentions?" Daphne asked confused. "I intend to sit here and try to forget it ever happened."

Tonks groaned and her hair flashed through a few colors before settling on pink. "That's probably the worst option. Look, you like him, right?"

"Everyone likes Harry," Daphne retorted with a raised eyebrow.

"We both know that is not what I meant," Tonks said staring steadily at the blonde. Daphne stayed silent for several moments eventually responding with a small nod. "Okay. Unlike the two beside me, this actually surprises me a bit. However, I've gotten glowing recommendations from both Hermione and Fleur regarding your character and suitability for our partner. Ignoring having feelings for Harry isn't going to work. Trust me on that one – I tried it for months. That said you appear to be in a relationship already," Tonks said gesturing towards the door where Tracey had walked out with Luna.

Hermione picked up the conversation thread. "Hence why we really need to know your goals here, Daphne. Luna said that you and Tracey have an arrangement. That is none of business until it begins to involve Harry. Do you want to end up with our boyfriend or do you want to end up with your girlfriend?"

Daphne stared back out the window frowning. Again a long silence hung in the cabin. Finally, Daphne whispered, "I honestly don't know." She continued louder, "I never thought I'd enjoy being with a girl, but Tracey has been my friend since before I can remember. To my immense surprise we fit extremely well together. I don't want to lose that. But with Harry…I can't stop looking at him. I can't get him out of my head and I can't stop thinking about how he's everything I ever dared to hope for in a potential husband. He's smart, funny, good looking, willing to stand up for what and who he believes in and…he's my equal. I trust him enough to let him put a runic tattoo on me!"

Daphne scowled and glared at a passing tree. "That's why I'm going to sit here and try to ignore that kiss. The last thing I want to do is toy with that boy. Or with Tracey or with any of you. Do I like him? Yes, okay, yes I do. But I need to take more time to figure out things out. Tracey has been pushing me to tell him. Well now he knows. Now I need to figure out what I want."

Fleur moved to sit next to Daphne and wrapped an arm around the girl. "You wish to have zem both?" Daphne winced and slowly nodded. "Daphne…Daphne look at me." Fleur reached out gently turned the blonde's head to meet her eyes. "Hermione, Nymphadora and I are all dating each ozer as much as we are dating 'arry. We understand."

Daphne rolled her eyes. "I know, Fleur. I'm not talking about dating you three though. I'm talking about dating someone else. That…" she frowned searching for the right word. "That wouldn't be fair to you three. I would be the outsider in the group and that doesn't seem right. I like you all, don't get me wrong and I certainly wouldn't mind joining you in the bedroom every once in awhile." That comment caused Hermione's face to flush though everyone mostly ignored it. "I'm just not interested in dating any of you. You all have a good thing going with Harry. I refuse to be the one to screw that up."

Hermione frowned. "So your solution is to ignore your feelings entirely?"

"Yeah. Just for the summer though I think. If I still can't get the boy out of my head by the time school starts again, we can revisit this."

"Daphne…" Hermione said softly, "when I was trying to determine who would be a good partner for Harry besides myself, you were always at the top of the list. I don't think this is the best way for you to go about dealing with your feelings, but I'll respect your decision." Hermione stood and nodded moving to the front of the cabin.

Tonks stood up as well and followed Hermione. "Just remember, Daphne, Harry Potter is understanding to a fault for people he cares about. He might not mind you being with Tracey instead of us. Hell, he might even prefer it since then he could just deal with three females primarily instead of four…" Tonks shook her head and gave a rueful laugh. "That poor man. Give a holler if you need anything over the summer."

Fleur pulled Daphne into a short hug before standing and smiling at the younger girl. "If you change your mind and decide zat September is too far, call Hermione or me."

"Not, Tonks?" Daphne asked raising an eyebrow in amusement.

"Tonks lets us take ze lead mostly when it comes to zese matters. I hope to see you soon, Daphne Greengrass."

Harry had just finished up his notes on the Soul Viewer when the compartment door of the cabin slid open. He set his notebook aside and looked up to greet the girls only to have the smile fall from his face and twist into a frown. "Malfoy."

"Is that all you have to say, Scarhead? Nothing witty in that empty skull of yours?" Draco Malfoy drawled as he leaned casually against the doorframe, Crabbe and Goyle behind him. The addition of Theodore Nott was new though Harry really wasn't too surprised to see the other Slytherin there considering his father had been groveling at Voldemort's feet.

"That's rich coming from you, Malfoy," Harry said raising his eyebrows. "I'm betting you all know already how I dueled your master and came out even. Ahead actually since he was hurt and I got away without any additional injuries. Yet you're coming to antagonize me. Who's the stupid one here again?"

Malfoy scowled and pushed off from the door. "Luck doesn't save everyone, Scarhead. You might be able to get away every so often, but the people around you can't be under the same blessed star. After all," he said a grin slowly spreading across his face, "your mummy and daddy died for you!" The Slytherin boys started chuckling lowly at Malfoy's mocking tone.

Harry's eyes narrowed and he clutched his wand tighter. He could feel his magic flowing into his tattoos begging to be released, but he held back. He was better than that. He was more restrained. He wouldn't hurt these gits for some insults.

Malfoy however, wasn't done. "I wonder what the Dark Lord is going to do to the rest of your little group now that he's back? I mean, the Mudblood will be probably just be suffocated. She can't keep polluting our air after all. The half-breed and the metaslut are useful for entertainment I guess. They'll probably be kept around for a while though I doubt their minds will survive long. Your professor bitch though…well I'm make sure the Dark Lord has something special planned for her. Maybe a rune of obedience or something? Would you like that, Potty? I could ask him to have her service you before she slits her own throat?"

Harry's world dissolved into red and he felt Midnight's rage twine around his own. His nails extended into claws and it was all Harry could do to growl out, "Honor," before he jumped towards them.

And he was promptly caught in the strong arms of Tonks who swung him out of the way of stunners cast from Fleur and Hermione. Harry shifted fully to Midnight, slipping out of Tonks' embrace and yowled low as he stalked towards the unconscious boys on the floor just ahead.

"Harry, no!" Tonks said quickly moving in front of him and grabbing his head to force his eyes to peer into her own. "If you touch them, they can bring charges against you. Don't give them what they want, Harry."

Midnight bared his fangs while flicking his green eyes back to Malfoy. Fleur entered the cabin and looked down on Midnight as well sighing. "She is right, Snowball. Zey are not worz it. Let Hermione deal wiz zem. I hear she learned zat jinx from Fred zat he used on ze Umbitch at ze Ball. Zat should be sufficient."

Hermione nodded curtly her eyes fixed on the four boys. "I've improved it too. It doesn't just affect the bowels. It also hits the bladder now too. Let me just drop them back in their cabin and I'll be back in a moment." Grinning wickedly, Hermione levitated the four and proceeded forward. Midnight chuffed in annoyed acceptance as he prowled back to the seat and jumped up curling up as best he could.

"That's a good panther," Tonks said smiling at him and using a horribly sweet and overly cutesy voice. "Who's a good panther? Who's a good panther? You are! Yes, you are!"

"Don't tease Snowball like that, Nym!" Fleur said grinning herself as she moved to sit next to him and stroke his ears. Midnight rolled his eyes as both girls chuckled. Hermione came back a few minutes later to see a thoroughly relaxed Midnight purring away as his two partners petting him. Grinning to herself, Hermione moved to join in on the entertainment.

Voldemort sat on his throne stroking Nagini's head with his burned, blackened hand while deep in thought. It wasn't a truly worthy throne yet – that would come in time. For now he had to make do with an ornate chair at the head of Lucius' dining room table. Voldemort had remodeled the room of course so that it served as a far more appropriate throne room. Riddle Manor had possessed such promise too…but with Potter's escape it was compromised. There was no use in casting a Fidelius when he wished to recruit many allies as quickly as possible. There was also the simple issue of not trusting anyone besides Bella and Barty.

Barty. Voldemort scowled thinking of one of his most loyal and devout followers trapped in the Ministry holding cell awaiting a Dementor's Kiss. He'd have to either act quickly or subvert one of the Aurors to retrieve the man soon. Subversion was probably the easiest goal. Especially since Fudge was blaming everything on Pettigrew and refusing to acknowledge Voldemort's recent resurrection. He certainly wasn't going to complain yet. It allowed him to gain allies far easier.

Allies…such a…distasteful word. Voldemort didn't want allies; he wanted sycophants and minions. He wanted followers. Followers like Bella, Travers and Rookwood. People who were loyal, ruthless and intelligent. He needed to have his circle complete again.

And he needed to show his Death Eaters that he was still strong. Potter had gotten in a lucky shot with whatever flame rune they'd missed and he'd proved to be able to hold his own for a short while. He'd even escaped after that debasing show with the wands. The pureblood fools would keep fearing Voldemort for a time – coming back from death tended to have that effect on one – but if he did not show them his true strength they would soon only remember that Harry Potter had escaped what should have been certain death.

"Lucius!" Voldemort hissed. It was time to act.

The silver-tongued servant hurried into the throne room and knelt at Voldemort's feet. "My Lord."

"Prepare my forces, Lucius. We will attack Azkaban before the week is out."

"But, my Lord, we barely have two dozen people. We do not yet have the strength or the – AAAHHHHH!" Lucius' objections quickly dissolved into screams of pain as Voldemort casually directing the Cruciatus curse at him.

After several seconds Voldemort let the pain lapse and resumed stroking Nagini. "Dumbledore is gone and the Ministry cowers. The Dementors will follow me without complaint or hesitation and there is minimal staff present on the island. Do you think me weak, Lucius?" he said casually.

"No…my Lord! Of course…not…my Lord!" Lucius said heaving his trembling body back to his knees as he prostrated himself. "Forgive me…my Lord! I did not think."

"No, you did not. The fools removed Dumbledore…they were not thinking either." Voldemort smiled as he leaned back and chuckled. "Potter will be easy enough prey in the future. We can afford to concentrate on restoring my circle first. After that I will require the prophecy. For now though…Bella and Barty. Ensure you have someone placed to remove Barty while we attack the prison, Lucius. I want my servant back."

Lucius nodded quickly as he backed towards the door. "It will be done, my Lord. We will not fail you."

Narcissa scowled as she watched her 'husband' limp out of his meeting with the Dark Lord. "Typical. He's not back a week and men fall over themselves to help him burn our world to the ground," Narcissa muttered. Lucius didn't even consider the devastation that the mad fool would be unleashing. Dumbledore, Voldemort – they were two sides of the same coin really.

When she'd dared to raise an objection to the madman invading her house she'd very nearly been subjected to Lucius' threats of 'forceful reminders as to her place.' No more. Perhaps if Voldemort had stayed out of her direct sight she could have forced herself to remain blind for a time once again. But now…he tortured one of his most loyal followers in Lucius' own home! For pointing out a glaring problem in a plan!

Voldemort was no Slytherin. He was no pureblood. He was no King. He was an unquestionably powerful fool with delusions of grandeur…and with just enough charisma to attract sycophants who could not think for themselves. She would not stand there and let his insanity consume her as well.

"Draco," Narcissa said as she walked into her son's room. "Why do look so smug?"

"Hello, Mother," Draco replied with a smirk his father would be proud of. All it served to do to her was twist the knife in her chest. "I got to Potter on the Express. It was glorious. His eyes lit up and his face went white. You should have seen it!"

Her mask cracked and she growled down at the boy. He'd been raised well by Lucius. An idiot through and through who couldn't even recognize his own stupidity. "Really? From what I heard, you were mere seconds away from being challenged to an Honor Duel that would have seen you either dead or nameless. You should be kissing the feet of his women for knocking you out and depositing you back in your compartment. Not sitting there gloating over provoking a boy to rage with the rape and murder of his future wives, surrogate mother and deceased parents."

Draco lost his haughty look for but a moment before it returned in full force. "Kissing the feet of that Mudblood and the beasts? Granger isn't worth even worth the air she breathes while Veela and Metamorphs are only good for the entertainment they provide! I would never lower myself to touching any of them! And what makes you so certain that Potter would win, Mother? You don't sound like you have any confidence in your own son."

Narcissa couldn't hold back her laughter. "You can barely fight your way out of a bag, Draco. Harry Potter dueled the Dark Lord to a standstill while you still run screaming from a garden snake." She peered down at him with an inviting expression begging for a rebuttal. "Nothing to say, Draco? I tried to warn both you and your father to beware of just who you toy with. Your father never learned and it's come back to haunt him with a vengeance. Every time he leaves that madman's presence it is in pain and agony. You see this yet not only do you proceed to keep blustering, you eagerly ask to serve! And you continue to antagonize the fourteen year old boy that can fight that beast! Congratulations, Draco, you are just like your hero. I offer you one last chance to listen to my advice. Follow me, son. Follow me to a real future."

"You should not disparage the Dark Lord like that, Mother," Draco said quietly. "He is a great man who will lead us to where we rightfully belong. If he heard you now…"

Narcissa narrowed her eyes as she gazed into her son's own. All she saw was pity, fury and disgust reflected back. She considered knocking him out and taking him by force…No. Her son was a lost cause for the moment. All she could hope was that the horrors he would soon witness would shock him out of his delusions and she could try to rebuild his shattered beliefs after the ashes fell.

"Just like your father," Narcissa said with a curt nod. "I would suggest you learn a good mouth cleaning charm quickly. You'll need it shortly."

Sweeping out of the room, Narcissa made a quick stop in her bedroom to grab her jewelry before stepping out into the backyard and making a timely apparition to – hopefully – her new home. Standing on the sidewalk outside Number 12 Grimmauld Place Narcissa took a deep breath and let it out slowly. This was the moment of truth. This was her last chance to change her mind.

Setting her shoulders and shaking off the doubt, Narcissa stepped onto the walkway and upon reaching the front door rapped the regal knocker. Barely ten seconds passed before the door swung open and revealed the man who would either be her executioner or her savior.

"Cousin. Long time no see," Sirius Black said raising his eyebrows.

Harry collapsed bonelessly on the sofa in the living room with a contented sigh.

"Good to be home, kid?" Shiva asked chuckling as she closed the door to the flat and idly flicked her suitcases towards her room with her wand.

"Wonderful to be home. You put up the protection and warning wards right?"

Shiva snorted and raised an eyebrow at him. "Would I have let either of us set foot in here if I hadn't? Come on, kid, ask something harder than that!"

Harry's grin melted into a neutral expression and he twisted so he fully facing her. Warning bells went off in her mind as she realized the rather glaring mistake in issuing that particular challenge. "Harder huh? Alright, what happened with Umbridge?"

Shiva's insides curled and she had a hard time keeping the scowl from her face. She wasn't sorry about leaving Umbridge to die. Hell, if she had actually tried to help the bitch the giant spiders probably would've gotten her too anyway. No. What she was dreading was the look in his eyes when she told him she saw someone about to die a rather horrible death and just causally walked away. He'd been pretty clear to Dobby a few days ago how he felt about murder vs. self-defense.

"Shiva…you promised we could talk about this when we got home," Harry said softly.

She muttered a quiet curse. "You're not even fifteen. How you manage to remember to come back to these things?" she huffed sitting down at the other end of the couch. Harry shrugged though had the grace to look slightly sheepish. "Alright, Harry, fine. She showed up a few minutes before the Task began, knocked back the two trainees who came to get her and ran into the woods. I followed."

Harry nodded. "And that's where she ran into the acromantulas."

"Yeah," Shiva sighed. "She turned a corner on the path and ran straight into a giant arse web. I barely managed to stop without getting stuck too. Instead of letting her down I interrogated her a bit and let her rant."

"Okay. And she implicated Dumbledore as telling her what to do?"

Shiva laughed and shook her head. "Please! The woman was far too stupid to realize he played her like a fiddle. She said enough though that it was pretty obvious. She also said how she messed with the runic scheme keeping that arena expanded. I actually looked into that a few days ago by the way. There's nothing in the way of permanence or enduring sets in the cluster. Variable spatial area is excellent for transport of premade things, but basic safety should still be observed."

Harry chuckled. "Outback Training Alternative. I know it's not entirely their fault since this is Dumbledore we're talking about, but I still think they cut a few corners there. I think I'm just going to buy them out when I can afford it. Or partner with them and fix all their issues. Anyway, we're off-topic. Umbridge?"

"After she finished ranting I was going to start cutting her down and run back to try and stop the Task when the acromantulas showed up. There were only two on the web, but I heard a few more in the surrounding trees. Umbridge started freaking out more and…well – "

"You left her and ran back," Harry said. He nodded to himself and gave a small half grin to Shiva. "So you thought I'd freak out that you left her to die without trying to help?"

Shiva shrugged narrowing her eyes at him. The kid was way too unaffected by this. "A little yeah. I had enough time to get her down and hightail it out. It might have resulted in a bit of fighting…but I could've done it."

"Shiva, she tried to kill me since before she even met me," Harry said crossing his arms and leaning back. "All you've ever done is protect me. I'm not sorry that she's gone and that you don't have a scratch on you. All I'm sorry for is making you worry. Not saving someone who already deserves to die is a bit different than driving a soul eating, basilisk venom infused sword through an unconscious man's heart."

Shiva sat there gaping at Harry for several moments before starting to laugh. "How the hell do you do that, kid?"

His smile widened and he shrugged. "I'm pretty aware of my surroundings, Shiva. Relic of living with the Dursleys. I noticed you flinching when I told that to Dobby."

"Remind me to never try to hide your presents from you in the flat."

"Manor. We get to move to the Manor this summer, remember?" He laughed. "It should be easy to hide them there!"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, kid." Shiva rolled her eyes at him and finally relaxed completely. "Did you want me to take a look inside your head now or later?"

Harry sobered at that and took a deep breath. "I'd prefer now. I don't want to leave an open doorway for Riddle to get into my head whenever he wants. Or for it to start corrupting and influencing me or something," he finished with a shudder.

Shiva reached over and squeezed his knee. "That won't happen, Harry. If it's really in there, we'll figure something out and cleanse the taint. Hell, kid, no one thought Dementors could be killed, yet you somehow managed to do that! And made it somewhat easy to replicate too! We'll kill this stupid soul shard too."

"Thanks, Shiva," Harry said softly.

"Wow…talk about your hodgepodge of stuff…" Shiva muttered as Harry took her through the layers of his mental defenses. "Is that supposed to be Zeus?"

Harry glanced over to the side as they coasted past the Death Star and down towards Number 4 Privet Drive on his private asteroid. He ran a hand through his hair and gave a guilty glance. "Uh, yeah. I figured that if people could get past the Enterprise, and the Star Destroyers maybe they'd get caught by a few of the Greek gods. Artemis and Apollo are on the other side of the planet. The Death Star is mostly for show and intimidation though it does make a good final defense. Once people penetrate into the house they'd never think to look back outside for the last line in orbit above them."

Shiva shook her head and turned back to Harry in awe. "Kid, when I said go crazy with adding random odds and ends to your mindscape I didn't actually mean go crazy. Damn…I pity the poor soul that tries to get to something you don't want them to see…"

He shrugged and walked forward. "I'm a private person. Nobody should mess with my head without permission. It was somewhere around here. I think. Should be to the right of my cupboard," he said frowning and gesturing towards the wall under the stairs.

Shiva bristled at the flippant mention of 'my cupboard'. She really needed to do something about the Dursleys. They should never be allowed to get away with hurting a child like that. That was something for later though. When they didn't have Voldemort to deal with.

"Alright, Harry, which door is the cupboard?"

Harry turned to look at her. "What do you mean?"

Shiva shrugged. "Which door, kid? There's…two of…fuck you really can't see the second one can you?"

Harry cursed and slammed a fist into the nearby wall. "I was right. Bloody arsehole! The one with my memories is this one," he snarled gesturing to the left door. "Wherever the other one is I didn't make it and I can't see it."

Shiva's eyes narrowed and she pulled out the stick of chalk he had given her as they entered his mindscape. She slowly walked over and traced the outline of the second door under the stairs. As she got closer, she could feel the…alienness of that particular section in Harry's mind. Standing right next to it there was no mistaking that this thing was not part of her son. It had no place inside Harry. Stepping back from outlining it she nodded to him. "Done. That's the door to the soul shard. I think you're right, Harry. This is definitely not supposed to be here."

He nodded and moved forward. "Slap me if I start looking crazy yeah? Anything to tear my eyes away from that place should be good enough." He raised his hands and walls of steel and chains flew from the shadows to surround the outline. More steel slotted into the stairs and the wall and padlocks materialized at multiple points along the line. A vault door looking like a hybrid between a normal bank and Gringotts slammed shut on a giant electrified cage that fit flush into place. A layer of some sort of foam that immediately hardened into an amber-like substance filled the gaps. Finally, a bucket appeared in the floor filled with water and a single snapping piranha. Harry stayed looking at the wall for several seconds before nodding satisfied and turning back to Shiva. "Did I get it? I can't really feel the ruthlessness as much anymore when I stare at that spot."

Shiva whistled and nodded. "Yeah, kid. You got it covered up alright."

"There is no kill like overkill," Harry sighed. "Let's go. I need to get some food."

Harry's friends had gathered in Shiva's flat to await Snapfist's arrival. The goblin was coming over to escort them to the Potter Manor and the graveyard in Godric's Hollow. In the meantime, Harry was planning to test the Soul Viewer. The only one absent was Sirius.

"He mentioned that he was dealing with a houseguest and would be a few minutes late," Remus said when Harry checked his watch again tapping his foot.

Amelia's eyes narrowed at that comment. "Oh? What type of 'houseguest' was that?"

"Not like that, Amy!" Remus hurriedly said holding up his hands to ward off her anger. "Sirius may be a shameless flirt, but he'd never do anything like that while seeing you."

"Then what is he doing?" Andi asked with raised eyebrows.

"Seeing to your sister," Sirius grumbled waltzing into the flat and claiming a kitchen seat. "I forgot how annoyingly superior Cissa could be. Even when begging for help she has this air about her."

Several jaws dropped to the floor at that statement and all conversation ground to halt. "What?" came from several mouths at once.

Sirius snorted. "Yeah, that was my reaction too at first. Cissa's with us now by the way. Andi, she's staying at Grimmauld for the moment though she said she'd like to stop by and visit you at some point soon."

"But she's Malfoy's mother!" Neville yelled continuing to gape.

"Cissa is a pureblood through and through. She never agreed with Lucius and always hated being locked into that marriage," Andi said softly. "She finally decided they were causing too much damage?"

"Yeah. She gave me some juicy info about Riddle's short-term plans too in order to help prove she was on the level. I verified with some veritaserum just in case. I'll tell you after we're done here Amy," Sirius sighed. "Long story short, he wants to try a prison break in the future. Cissa has had enough of and I quote 'the flobberworm brained fools seeking to destroy everything on both sides while tossing tradition into the mud'. When she walked, she drained any of the Malfoy accounts she had access to which sadly isn't much, but it's something. Draco is firmly in the Pro-Voldemort camp though and all she asks of us is that we at least attempt to not kill the little idiot if given a choice in the matter."

Harry blinked and started laughing. "Wow. You know it's bad when your own mother runs away. You trust her, Sirius?"

"I do. I do recommend Andi takes a look in her mind at some point, but yeah. I trust her. I'll have the Malfoy marriage dissolved by the end of the week. Wish I could do the same with Bella…"

Andi snorted. "Bella never cared about a contract for that one sadly. She only married Rodolphus so she could grovel better at Riddle's heel."

"Anyway, Harry, you said you had something to show us all before the goblins arrived?" Sirius asked looking to his godson.

Harry nodded and pulled out the Soul Viewer. Luna shifted positions so she could see better and rested her arms on Tracey's shoulders as she pushed up to look over the crowd. The Slytherin rolled her eyes in amusement while Susan and Hannah just smiled up at the smaller blonde girl. "I call this the Soul Viewer. It's just a Perception rune tied with a Soul rune and a Visualization scheme. It should just manifest souls as auras. With any luck, it'll show where Riddle's soul is concentrated in me so that we can cut it off."

"Still hate this plan," Shiva muttered. Tonks nodded her agreement with her hair flashing to black shortly before shifting back to pink.

"Harry," Hermione said slowly, "you are sure that this rune stone is safe, yes? You've mentioned repeatedly how Soul runes tend to be…unpredictable."

Fleur nodded. "Yes, zis is not going to de-eh…soul you while trying to get a peek is it? It would be quite difficult to marry you if zat happens…"

The low chuckles Fleur elicited met an exasperated look from Harry. "No, Fleur, I'm not going to be desouled. And yes, Hermione, I'm sure it's safe. It might be a bit weird, but it's safe. There's literally nothing in this beyond three runes." Hermione sighed and nodded her assent.

"Okay then, let's do this. It has an area effect of about three meters I think so don't be surprised if you start glowing or something. Each soul should be represented by a different color. I think," Harry shrugged and charged up the rune stone and he picked up a mirror from the table in front of him.

A tingling wave of magic passed through most of the occupants in the room who suddenly found themselves suffused with a dim glow surrounding their bodies. Luna squealed with glee as she saw Coco had a small glow around her little body and most of the others were just as intrigued with their own soul auras. Harry had taken to staring into the mirror as he angled it around to check his scar. His own soul was manifesting as an emerald green color which was strangely reassuring. Unfortunately there was a roiling black mass centered on the scar with tendrils slithering out and encompassing a large chunk of his head and torso.

"Damn. It may be centered on my head, but it looks like it's twined around too much else. Cutting it off probably won't work. We'll have to come up with a Plan B I think guys." Harry scowled. All murmurs and sound stopped as he put the mirror down. Glancing around, Harry saw everyone frozen and staring at him. "Guys? What's wrong? We knew this was likely going to happen."

Daphne very slowly and very carefully stepped forward and picked up the mirror. "Harry, look at the rest of you." She held up the mirror and Harry perplexed, looked back down.

Centered on his chest and twined throughout the entirety of his body was a third color scheme. A bright red one. It seemed to curl most strongly about the necklace he had on under his shirt and as he watched, one of the tendrils of black touched it and recoiled back slightly. Harry's breath caught in his throat and his mouth went dry. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't swallow, he couldn't think. He could only blink at the red soul aura suffused inside him.

The charge on the Soul Viewer died and the visible auras around the group faded back into nothing. Someone tried to talk to Harry but he didn't hear what they said. A dull knock on the door sounded and one of the group moved to open it and let the goblin in. Harry's eyes settled on Snapfist and his brain jump-started itself again. Harry lunged to his feet and rushed to the goblin. "Graveyard. Now!"

Snapfist rocked back on his heels as Shiva grabbed Harry's shoulders and jerked him back. "Kid, slow down! We need to – "

"NO!" Harry yelled. "I need to get to the fucking graveyard! NOW!"

Harry paced back and forth in front of the grave of his parents as several of the adults exhumed the body. He couldn't stop moving because if he stopped moving then they would try to talk to him. Hermione had been the only one to not try and say anything. All the others thankfully gave up as he kept pacing back and forth.

All the little things over the years were slotting into place like a giant jigsaw puzzle and the conclusion he was reaching was both simultaneously amazing and horrifying. Why his scar looked like a Protection rune entwined with something else. How his mother's protection was still powerful enough to hurt Voldemort 10 years after it was cast. Lily Potter's will never activating. James Potter's will specifically directing Harry to touch her body with necklace in hand. Her echo not coming out of Voldemort's wand in the duel. How a piece of one of the most powerful wizards in the past century hadn't been able to take over control of a baby.

Finally the grave was fully exposed and the coffin levitated up. Harry stopped pacing and looked fixatedly at it. Shiva stepped forward and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Kid…Harry…Harry!" Numbly he turned to stare at her. "Harry, look, even with…this," she said gesturing to his chest, "there's a very good chance that your mother is…well…"

"I know. Open it, please," Harry said quietly. He was going to kill Dumbledore for keeping him from this. Intentionally or not the old man had prevented Harry from getting here for 14 years. 14 years that he could have…He was going to find the Flamels and he was going to stab the old man through the heart with the Sword of Gryffindor.

The lid lifted off of his mother's coffin and Sirius and Amelia gasped. Remus took one look and collapsed to the side blinking but not seeing. Not daring to breathe himself, Harry carefully stepped forward and looked upon the body of his mother.

Instead of a decomposed corpse like he had expected however, there was a beautiful young woman barely older than Tonks. Flaming red hair outlined a soft face and delicate hands were folded over a modest chest. Lily Potter looked like she hadn't aged a day since she had been hit with a Killing Curse 14 years ago. Harry steadied himself and took his necklace off reaching out to her.

"Stop!" Hermione cried out grabbing Harry in an embrace. "Harry, wait! Think about this! What if whatever she did is leaving her body in stasis while the protection she imbued into you is still active? What happens if you complete that circuit and the protection deactivates, Harry? What happens if the soul shard can overpower you when she's gone?!" Hermione sobbed into his back.

Tonks stepped forward and gently pulled Hermione's arms from Harry. "That's not our decision, Mione. That's his." Hermione cried harder and buried her head into Tonks' chest while Harry smiled back at his partners.

"I'll be fine, Mione. I'm a lot stronger than I was as a baby after all." Without waiting any longer or letting anyone else voice opinions or concerns, Harry turned and thrust his hand out to grasp his mother's own with the necklace sandwiched between them.

A flare of light lit up the graveyard and Harry felt a surge of magic pulse out of him draining through his hand. The energy pulled and pulled until he felt like it was taking everything he had. Finally, the flow ceased and Harry fell to his knees beside the coffin breathing heavily.

"Harry, are you okay?" Shiva asked kneeling beside him and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Harry just nodded as he stared at his mother's body unable to say anything for the moment.

Nobody breathed, waiting with baited breath for something, anything to happen. Some seemed to be watching Harry like hawk just waiting for him to keel over clutching his head and screaming in pain. Others were watching Lily to see if her body started to rapidly decay or otherwise reacted in any way. Harry could only count unconsciously in his head, his eyes unwavering.

With nary a twitch to belie the storm to come, a pair of startlingly brilliant green eyes blinked open.