FIC: King of Swords - HP/SS Death Sentence Part 2
Title: Death Sentence
Author: Cyane Snape
Type: Fiction; Drama with tiny moments of humor.
Length: 27,207 words
Main Pairing: Harry Potter/Severus Snape
Card: The King of Swords
Card Interpretation: "He is the power of life and death, by virtue
of his office." [Waite]
Rating: R - for violence and language
Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter, its characters and settings are the copyrighted works of J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros, and anyone else with legitimate rights. No profit is being made by this site or the authors it houses, nor was any malice intended in any way, shape or form. Due to the nature of this fic, this author will not be held responsible for any underage readers who may come across this. Please observe any warnings, ratings and any legal ages of consent for your part of the world.
Warnings: (DH spoilers, violence, language, sort of pre-slash, no dirty sex this time, characters exploring the dark side, AU - begins near the end of DH)
Summary: How far would you go to protect everything you believed in? And what if you had been deceived all along?
Author Notes: God bless Gavilan, my beta. She is the greatest sounding board and grammarian not to mention giving clarity to my visions. She has suffered through two vacations and many discussions in restaurants while I tried to make sense of this. Also, one section* at the beginning is based upon a scene in the forest at the end of DH. You’ll recognize it. And I use a line from the movie “Network” [I’m mad as hell…]**
Part 1
Death Sentence, Part 2
By Cyane Snape
Standing in the entrance hall, Tom and Harry circled around the large circular room. The ceiling was several stories high and the stone walls had no portraits and were bare except for the two tapestries and a few scattered torches. There were three corridors to the left, leading off in the opposite direction from the Great Hall.
Directly across from the doors was an empty niche large enough for two men to fit if jammed in close. Harry walked over to examine it and as he bent down to brush a thin layer of dust away, he discovered that there were two small indentations on the floor pointing toward the wall. The young man felt the dust on his hands and realized that it was not earthen dust at all, but some kind of shiny mineral, perhaps diamond dust. Following his gut instinct, Harry stood up and placed one foot in each indentation.
Immediately, the niche split in two and exposed a wide pedestal of white marble about a meter tall. On top of the pedestal was a life-size statue of an open book with carvings etched on the marble pages. Upon closer examination, Harry could see that they were runes but failed to understand them.
“Hey, Oi!, ....Dark Lord, did you ever take Ancient Runes at Hogwarts? I can’t read this, can you?”
Harry had given up trying to make sense out of everything that was happening to him. Tom sidled up behind Harry to see what he could.
“Unfortunately, I took Arithmancy instead of Runes. I can only recognize a few.” Tom craned his neck to look at the book. “I wonder what it means.”
“Chosen One.”
Harry rolled his eyes. Great. The walls are talking again. “Is that you, Hope?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Please stop calling me that.”
“What, my Lord.”
Harry sighed. “Never mind.”
The patient voice returned, “Do you wish information on the Book of Merlin?”
“Book of Merlin?”
“The book in front of you is the Book of Merlin. It is the reliquary for all things magic and the beginning of your journey for truth.”
Harry turned around to face Tom and spoke urgently to him in a hushed voice.
“Did you understand any of that?”
Tom raised one eyebrow and shook his head ‘no’.
Harry asked Voldemort, “Promise me one thing. Promise me that if they ever write a book about me in the future…promise me that you won’t tell anyone about the weird shit that is going on here today. If the world finds out that I’m talking to the ‘essence of magic’ or what-ever-the-hell Hope is, they’ll tie me up and fry my brain for breakfast. Promise me that you’ll lock me away and throw away the key if I start to be embarrassing and start collecting odd things like… ceramic plates of cats or be a prissy ass like Draco Malfoy or , Merlin-forbid, actually read “Hogwarts: A History.”
“Harry, calm down.”
That. Was. It.
“NO, I WILL NOT CALM DOWN. I’m having the strangest fucking day of my life here. THE GODDAMN WALLS ARE TALKING TO ME AND FORGIVE ME IF I’M OUT OF THE LOOP HERE BEING MUGGLE-BORN AND ALL, BUT THERE IS NO WAY THAT TALKING WALLS IS NORMAL. PEOPLE ARE GOING TO THINK I’M A FREAK AGAIN AND IT’S ONE MORE LITTLE ODD DITTY THAT I AM HAVING TO DEAL WITH… NOT TO MENTION THE FUCKING DARK LORD ACTING LIKE MY BEST MATE AND HAULING ME OFF TO MERLIN’S BLOODY CASTLE. DON’T PATRONIZE ME AND TELL ME TO CALM DOWN. THAT’S WHAT DUMBLEDORE USED TO SAY. I DON’T WANT TO CALM DOWN. I WANT TO BE ANGRY, BECAUSE THE SUN IS NOW RISING IN THE NORTH AND THE MOON IS PINK AND LUNA FINALLY FOUND THE NARGLES… OR SOME OTHER KIND OF SHIT!!”
“Harry.”
”WHAT?”
Tom stood back as Harry searched the stone walls for any sign of life other than the disembodied voice. “What do you want, Hope?”
“Harry, place your hand in the center of the book.”
Harry looked at the stone book. “That’s it? That’s what these runes mean?”
“Place your hand in the center of the book.”
“All right, all right, don’t get your knickers in a twist.” Harry chuckled. “Do you even have knickers?”
“Harry…”
“Fine, whatever.”
Harry placed his right hand in the center of the etchings on the stone book. At once the illusion of stone faded away and the stone book had returned to its natural parchment origin. A tendril of red magic shot out of Harry’s hand and into the pages. With a flurry of movement, the pages flipped back and forth until they stopped about half-way through the book.
~*~*~*~*~
The young wizard stared at the ancient book, a book that had been lost for perhaps thousands of years. A book so old that even Merlin had not known its origins. The language written in the book had been feared for so many years, very few even knew of its origin, much less had the ability to translate it…But he did. He was a Parselmouth as was Voldemort and the passage he was now reading frightened the young Gryffindor beyond belief.
The book spoke of great power and rewards. He quickly read through the pages and absorbed the great wealth of knowledge contained within them. He stared again at the text. How many years had it been since these words were written? 1000, 2000, more? The time of Men and Wizards meant nothing to Harry anymore. Here in front of him lay all the answers to all the questions that he had ever asked. This was his heritage and his destiny: the heritage of the Fae who had ruled Aldland longer than Men could remember. In the beginning, the Fae had created the world of magic, and as its rulers the Fae had the power to destroy it completely. They had entrusted the world of magic to the wizards ages ago, but wrote that the ultimate fate of magic lay in the hands of their true lord, the Chosen One. The young wizard carefully leaned over and read the words again.
…The ages of Wizard, Vampires, Veela, Werewolves and all magical creatures shall be great and multiply their numbers. As gifted by the Fae, they shall live together in accord with all magical folk as equals and they shall share the lands, rivers and sky. Each shall bring unique talents and abilities to the world…
He continued further down the page…
…There will come a time of strife, division and mistrust. Wizards and magical creatures shall be divided by uncertainty and disbelief. Some will be betrayed by those held closest to them. Wicked creatures will spring forth from nothingness and ravage the lands, stealing the souls of the unprotected. The inhabitants of the lands shall turn upon each other and there will be no hope in their hearts.
But hope will survive. There will come a promise of peace and a new life. This peace shall come in the form of a child…a child born as the Four Heirs of the Great One join into the royal lineage of the Fae. The child shall be a gift from the gods and the greatest gift to the magical world…
The child shall be gifted with a soul-mate, a bond partner, to share the great burdens of life…a partner so special that the two shall be bound physically, mentally and spiritually through the magic of their blood. One cannot survive without the other. This bond cannot be broken or altered by mental will or carnal desire. The union will serve to augment and intensify the powers of the Chosen One.
The child shall carry all of the powers of the gods and will successfully reunite the wizards and magical creatures to set right the ways of the world. Yet, the child shall also bring about the destruction of the enemies of pure magic. He, along with his bonded, and his children shall lead the magical world into the New Age and there will be everlasting peace...
Harry closed the book and placed it back into its resting place. How could Dumbledore have been so reckless and evil? Were the many years of his life blinding his mind? Had the ancient prophecy now been fulfilled? If Dumbledore had kept the knowledge of the prophecy hidden forever, there would be no threat of anyone keeping him from his rise to power. Dumbledore was the real evil threat to the world, a dark lord in his own right. His thirst for power would be his downfall. Power was what the old man needed. That was what he desired. That was Dumbledore’s dirty little secret and the reason he had to be destroyed.
~*~*~*~
The Book of Merlin closed shut of its own accord and the niche around it opened wide enough to allow the two wizards to pass through the space into the new space opening behind it. The opening expanded into a long hallway that had been previously undetected. Tom led Harry through and began to walk down the long corridor leading away from the main doors. Unlike Hogwarts, there were no stairs leading down to a dungeon from the main hall. This was a long, straight corridor - paralleling the Great Hall - that was one continuous piece of stone on each side. Reaching the end, Harry and Tom stood in front of a large mirror. To the left of the mirror was a statue of a king holding a great sword high above his head. To the right was a woman with a large snake draped across her shoulders. She had a wand in her hand, pointing toward the other statue.
The king turned on his pedestal and faced Harry. “Welcome, heir of Merlin, my name is Arthur Pendragon. My sister Morgana, or Morgan Le Fay, and I have been guarding the Tree of Knowledge for these many years. I rejoice at your arrival and now take great joy in returning the heir’s sword to its rightful owner. It has been in my care for many, many years and it shall serve you well in your future endeavors. It is a true and faithful friend.”
The statue knelt down on its knee and handed Harry Potter, the Chosen One, the most beautiful, finely crafted sword ever made - Excalibur. It was a large broadsword, but wasn’t overly heavy in Harry’s hand.
“Excalibur was crafted by the Fae from Mithril, my Lord. It is the strongest metal known and indestructible even in the magical world.”
The king lowered his head in homage as Morgan Le Fay lowered her wand and spoke in the language of snakes.
“The Chosen One has arrived and we welcome you. The knowledge that you seek is within your grasp if you are brave enough to take the final leap of faith. Enter and find the truth that you seek.”
Harry looked around. Tom shrugged his shoulder, he didn’t know any more than Harry at this point. The large serpent on Morgan Le Fay’s shoulder slithered down her arm and lifted its head to stare at Harry. Its diamond shaped head swayed back and forth as it hissed, “You must enter the portal to Aldland, but you may not stay. There are several tasks that you must accomplish before this journey is completed.”
The young wizard sneered. “That’s the way my life has been laid out for me, my friend. There is always another task for me to complete for someone. I do not believe the tasks will ever end.” Harry was feeling quite cynical about his chances at happiness.
“Fret not, young prince. You shall be free of these burdens soon. You must now enter the portal to Aldland, Young Speaker.” The snake swerved its long body and faced the mirror.
Harry touched the surface of the mirror, but instead of reflecting glass, the surface was like liquid silver. As he reached further his hand began to disappear into the surface of the mirror. Suddenly afraid, he pulled his hand out.
“Tom, do you think this mirror is a portal?”
The Dark Lord looked for any indication of the true purpose of the mirror. On the surface, that was all it appeared to be. “Harry, no one has entered these halls in a millennium or two. We have no way to know anything with any degree of certainty, but we’ve come this far. Does it feel right to you?”
Harry touched the mirror once more, “I don’t feel anything bad.” He reached a little more until his arm vanished. With a leap of Gryffindor faith, Harry jumped into the mysterious mirror.
Tom tried to follow, but a painful burst of magic shot out from the surface of the mirror. A golden glow surrounded the mirror like a barricade. Harry’s head resurfaced in the center of the mirror.
“Are you coming, Tom?”
“I cannot get through. There was a surge of magic that kept the barrier blocked.”
Harry reached through with his right hand and grabbed the older wizard. “Well, if I am the Chosen One, I say you can come through. Hold on.” Harry grabbed the older man and pulled him through to the other side.
~*~*~*~*~
When Harry passed through the portal with Tom at his side, he never imagined what he would find. Harry found himself in the middle of a large circular room that had a giant tree, similar to the one outside in size, in the center. The walls of the room were white marble and the tree was carved of solid black stone, smooth as glass to the touch. Four large branches supported the ceiling and separated into hundreds of smaller branches. These small black branches snaked upward and across the ceiling, splitting and dividing into even smaller branches.
“Welcome, Young Prince, to the portal of Aldland. This tree is called the Tree of Knowledge, or the Tree of Life. Here you will find your answers.”
Harry recognized the disembodied voice of Hope who was now speaking aloud.
“Hope, I’m not really sure what answers I need.”
“Everything has been laid at your feet. You have only to look.”
“Um, that doesn’t really help.”
Hope remained silent. Harry looked at the tree and then Tom. “Do you have any ideas?”
Tom Riddle, or Voldemort, was examining the branches of the tree in detail. There were etchings into the black glass that glowed softly. “If you look closely, there is writing on this branch, but I can’t read it.”
Harry looked at the branch and laughed, “I know what that is. That’s mirror writing. Ron and I used to write secret messages to each other in class all the time. Malfoy was always trying to intercept our notes and it frustrated the hell out of him because he never figured out the code. All you need to read it is a mirror.”
Harry looked around the hall but the walls were bare marble. There weren’t even any torches. He looked up to see that there was no visible source of illumination, just the tree branches and the writing. Harry was really becoming frustrated. He just didn’t know what to do.
“Bloody hell, I wish that it would just reveal to me what I’m supposed to know.”
Well, it was his castle and he was the Heir of Merlin and it shouldn’t have surprised Harry that the castle immediately responded to his command. The tree glowed even brighter. The words on its branches grew clearer and more legible. Harry stared up into the massive tree, trying to decipher the words, but soon felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked at Tom, who wasn’t looking at the tree, but was staring at the floor.
Voldemort looked at Harry, “She said that everything had been laid at your feet. I think she meant that literally. Look at your feet.”
Harry looked at his feet and it all became crystal clear. The floor was a massive reflective surface, a giant mirror. At the base of the tree, he could read the word “Merlin.” The four large branches leading away from Merlin’s name held the names of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin.
“It’s a family tree dating back to the time of Merlin.” Harry looked around on the floor which was now covered in thousands of names. “This must have the name of every magical person ever born.”
Tom had sidled over to the right side of the room and was tracing a family line with his finger. He reached a certain point and stopped, kneeling on the floor to hold his place and called Harry over.
“Do you see, Harry? This is my family line. I descended from Slytherin.”
Harry looked into the reflection as he saw the lines from Helena Ravenclaw merge with that of the Bloody Baron. Helena had come from her parents’ lines of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. The Baron was the descendent of Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin. Tom traced his lineage down the third branch until it reached the Gaunt line. There at the bottom was his mother Merope and his Muggle father. Interestingly though, in the same generation that the first Gaunt broke from the Baron’s line, there was another branch, the Dumbledore line and at the end of that line was the name Albus Dumbledore. His name was there alongside Ariana and Aberforth. Curiously, next to Albus’ name was his birthdate, but not his death date.
“Look for yourself, Harry. This is the definitive, perpetually updating record. There is no record of Dumbledore’s death.”
Harry knelt down to read the inscription. Sure enough, there was no death date listed for the Headmaster. “I believe you, Tom. This is the proof I needed. I also think that it is very interesting to know that the old coot descended from Slytherin.”
“He was sorted into Slytherin at Hogwarts,” Tom replied, “It’s a little known fact and one that he likes to keep well hidden.”
Harry traced his hand down another branch of the tree from Helena and the Baron, the Black family. Harry laughed to himself. The Black Family tree didn’t branch out much. It was about as pure as a line could be. He ran his hand over the name of his beloved godfather.
“Tom, why doesn’t Sirius have a death date?”
The Dark Lord followed the line that Harry had pointed out. Sure enough, Sirius Black’s birth in 1959 was listed but there was no death date. Harry sat back on his heels and thought for a moment.
“Maybe it’s because he fell through that veil. Maybe he’s not really dead.”
Harry got up and brushed off his jeans as he spoke to Tom.
“If Dumbledore has lied about so many things, couldn’t he have lied about that?” Harry looked directly at Tom. “He told me that Sirius was dead. Why would he do that if it wasn’t true? Was he so desperate to control me that he would lie about Sirius’ so-called death?”
The Dark Lord really hated to be the one to disillusion the young man, “Yes.”
Harry sighed and closed his eyes. “This is just too much to absorb. My life is nothing that I thought it was.” He purposefully moved off to trace the line of the tree that was on the other side of the room.
The first line from Ravenclaw and the Baron was their first born son. Several generations later, the family had taken the name of Prince as surname. The male heir of the line married a woman who gave birth to a woman named Igraine Prince. Harry traced back Igraine’s line to its origin on the tree. Igraine descended from both the line of Arthur Pendragon and Morgan Le Fay. The family name became Prince at the point where Igraine was born.
Following the name Prince down the branch from Igraine’s son, Harry’s hand stopped at the bottom where the name “Severus Snape (1960 - )“ ended the line. Even Snape’s Muggle father was on the tree. The name was etched as clearly and precisely as Severus’ own handwriting and Harry could not help but reach down to touch the reflection.
As Harry touched Severus’ name, a violent burst of magic rushed through him. The entire Prince line lit up like a lightning bolt blazing all the way back to the trunk of the tree where Merlin’s name flashed with this mysterious light. Harry could feel the reflection pull deeply into his soul and he collapsed to the floor, his breathing forced and erratic.
It took several minutes and the very insistent urgings of the Dark Lord to get Harry’s focus back in the room. The young man tilted his head, trying to fight off the tears that threatened to form there.
“Harry, what’s wrong?” Tom asked.
Tears gently fell down the young wizard’s face. “I can feel them. I can feel all of them… all the nameless faces that are a part of this tree. They are calling to me, but I don’t know what they want.”
Harry pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around them, burying his head in his arms.
“And I can feel Severus. I don’t understand how. He’s calling to me. He’s not in pain, but I feel like he’s trapped. What do I do, Tom?”
Voldemort was at a loss. “This is magic unlike we have ever seen, Harry. Perhaps if you ask Hope, you might find answers there.”
Harry stood with his feet straddling Severus’ name. “Hope, if I am the Chosen One and have some kind of special powers that I have no idea how to use, could you please help me or show me how to rescue Severus Snape? I know he is alive. There is no death date on the tree and I can feel the touch of his thoughts in my mind.”
Hope’s voice echoed off the glossy white walls, “You have only to ask, Chosen One.”
Tendrils of bright magic poured out of the marble walls and reached out to Harry as their focal point. Tom stood back and watched as the many tendrils entered Harry’s body, making Harry look like the center spoke of a magical wheel. He closed his eyes and allowed the magic to freely enter his body. He could feel that it had no malicious intent and that the magic almost felt like a cognizant being. At the magic’s instruction, Harry raised his wand hand and pointed to the tree trunk as a burst of white, hot magic shot out of the tip of his index finger and pierced the trunk of tree.
The black trunk of the tree shimmered and vibrated as it shifted its form. The ancient tree had not had a human to command it in over a thousand years and it groaned in protest. The obsidian-like surface no longer appeared to be black rock. As the surface shifted and flowed back and forth, an image appeared that was all-too-familiar to Harry and he couldn’t resist approaching it.
“Tom, look at the tree. Does that look familiar to you?”
Voldemort walked over to stand beside the tree trunk and Harry. “That looks like the veil, Harry.”
“I know, but is it the same veil or a second veil? Hope, can you explain this please?”
“Yes, Chosen One. What you see before you is a portal to the Fae world. Only Fae may move freely between the two worlds. Your chosen one, your mate, is trapped in the portal to the Fae world. Had the evil one not bound him as he fell, he would have been able to seek asylum with the Fae, but as he was bound, he remains trapped in the portal.”
Harry looked at the tree. “How do I save him?”
“Take the sword of Arthur and make a slice across your left palm.”
Harry retrieved the sword from where he had dropped it and followed the instructions. Blood dripped freely from the wound onto the reflective surface of the floor, saturating his clothing.
Hope continued, “Hold the sword in your opposite hand as your reach into the portal with your bloodied hand.”
“I don’t understand. How does this help?”
“Your blood will call to your mate. As the heir, your blood will break all enchantments on anyone trapped within the portal. Blood magic is the strongest magic of all. Severus will no longer be bound in the evil one’s restraints and will be free of all curses and oaths of fealty that he has made in the past. He will truly be free for the first time. Your Severus will be able to reach you and those souls seeking rest shall finally be at peace.”
“What souls seeking rest?” Harry asked.
Tom joined Harry at his side as Hope answered his question.
“Those souls that the evil one has condemned to what you call ‘the veil’. Only Fae may enter and leave freely. The non-Fae souls are bound to the un-world, neither in the Fae world nor the Wizarding world. Many of those souls seek a final resting place and you shall give it to them.”
“What about the souls that do not want to rest. Can I rescue them and bring them back?”
“No, Chosen One, you may only rescue that which is dear to you, either by heart or by blood.”
Tom noticed the pool of blood forming at Harry’s feet. “Harry, you’d better do this before you lose too much blood. I don’t have any replenishing potions to help you.”
Hope agreed. “Yes, young Heir, you must reach for your betrothed now. The window of opportunity is upon you now. Reach into the portal and call to your mate with your heart’s blood.”
Harry slowly pushed his hand through the filmy surface. It didn’t really feel like anything he had ever felt before. Instead of feeling like piercing a barrier, it felt like his hand was inside a living organism. The dark-haired wizard stood for several very long seconds before remembering that he needed to call out to Severus.
Harry closed his eyes and thought about the man that had been his professor since that first day at Hogwarts. In his mind’s eye, he saw the long black robes snapping into place as the man left the Great Hall. He saw the long hair falling over his eyes as he bent over a first-year student’s potions assignment, scribbling away with his red ink and quill. He heard the deep voice that could mesmerize Harry with its dark velvety timbre. He felt the small, but strong, thread of magic reach out from his heart and move through his hand and all at once, something powerful grabbed Harry’s hand from the other side of the veil and the young man just knew without a doubt that it was Severus Snape.
Harry pulled with all his might and landed flat on the stone floor with a very heavy weight pressing down on him.
“Ooof!”
Harry had the breath knocked out of him as his head bounced off the hard floor. His nose crashed against an even more prominent nose and long, silky dark hair covered his face. The young wizard opened his eyes and all he could see were the fathomless dark eyes of Severus Snape, his betrothed. Harry realized that it had been nearly two years since he had actually seen the real Severus Snape and not the Polyjuiced Fudge. This Snape, the real one, looked better than Harry had remembered. His hair was silky and his skin tone not as yellow. All in all, Harry thought the older man looked good for a change. For the first time in his life, Harry saw the Potions master as something more than a pain in the arse… and then Snape spoke.
“You’ve grown.” Snape looked at Harry’s face and wiggled a bit trying to get off the young man. Harry grabbed him by the waist and held him in place.
“Well, you look like warmed-over bat dung, Snape. You know, a ‘thank you’ would have been nice but that was too much to ask from you wasn’t it? Gods, what were my parents thinking when they pledged me to you.”
Snape’s mouth quirked at the corner, “So you know about that?”
Harry rolled his eyes, “Well, YES, you snarky git. I have ‘essence of magic’ telling me all the world’s hidden magical secrets - and funny thing- your fucking name keeps coming up continuously.”
Severus shifted his position on top of Harry, “May I please get up?”
Harry thought about it. Yes, he and Severus had a bond. Yes, he knew what would happen … eventually, but he wasn’t going to make it easy for the older man.
“No.”
“And why, may I ask, not, Mr. Potter?”
Harry smirked, “Well, first of all, I think it would be appropriate for you to call me Harry or Darling or my Lord, whichever makes you feel better. Secondly, you feel too good rubbing yourself against my bits to let you go. And in the third place, I’m the King of the World or Heir of Magic or some other ruddy shitty thing that this ‘essence’ keeps telling me and since I’m the HEIR and you are my betrothed… that makes you my snuggle bunny.”
Harry rolled over so that he lay on top of his mate, trying to evoke a reaction from the control freak under him. Severus Snape, little-known confirmed ‘bottom’, didn’t react at all the way Harry had anticipated. Rather than scream and yell and call Harry all sorts of names that he had called him many times before, Severus just narrowed his eyes and asked.
“What year is it?”
Harry frowned. What the fuck kind of question is that? “It’s 1998, why?”
“That means…you’re how old now?”
“I’ll be 18 this July. It is currently May.”
Snape looked at the young man on top of him and grabbed the back of Harry’s head with his hands, fisting the unruly strands of hair. “I’ve waited 18 years for this.” Severus quickly pressed his lips to Harry’s before the Gryffindor could utter a word of protest or defense. It was not a harsh or punishing kiss, like Harry would have expected, but a tender and passionate kiss that meant to set fires of passion in the younger wizard’s insides, and the fires were certainly igniting all through Harry’s body.
Severus’ tongue swept across Harry’s soft lips, asking for unspoken permission to enter as his strong hands ran up and down Harry’s body, learning each taut muscle’s curve. Instinctively, Harry’s lips opened to Snape’s gentle assault on his mouth. The kiss deepened as their tongues danced and challenged each other for dominance, finally declaring a draw. Pulling back and drawing a much needed breath, Severus quickly latched onto Harry’s exposed neck and kissed his way down, nibbling as he kissed.
Oh, Merlin, but this is bloody brilliant. Who would have thought that Snape, no … Severus, could kiss like that?
Harry’s body shifted under the persistent ministrations of Severus, accidentally aligning his groin with a very noticeable hardness from his mate. Harry ground his own hardness into Severus’ erection, eliciting a groan of pleasure from the older man. A quiet ‘eh-hem’, stopped Severus’ attentions to Harry’s neck mid-lick. Harry whined at the loss of warmth as Severus quickly rolled the younger man off, as Snape landed in a crouched, defensive position, wand drawn, and saw the one man he never expected to see standing calmly by Harry.
“My Lord?” Severus asked.
Tom Riddle offered a hand to Severus to help him up. The Potions Master gazed at the hand suspiciously for a moment then thought it would be better not to refuse anything from the Dark Lord since he’d been out of commission for two years and Snape was obviously totally out of the loop as far as loyalties and gamesmanship were concerned.
“Call me Tom, Severus. That is what Harry has chosen. I am no longer the Dark Lord. I am abdicating that title to Harry. I think it amuses him.”
Severus looked at Harry, still on the floor. Harry had the gall to wave his fingers at him.
“I think someone has a lot of explaining to do. What’s been happening? Why was the veil in the Department of Mysteries destroyed?”
Tom felt that he should be the one to fill in the details. “Dumbledore destroyed the veil so that you couldn’t rescue Black. He killed two birds with one stone by pushing you in - also relieving himself of Harry’s betrothed. This veil, or portal, remained closed until Merlin’s heir arrived to re-open the castle.”
Tom gestured to the young man on the floor.
“Meet Merlin’s heir, Severus. Harry, say hello.”
“Hello.”
Harry took Tom’s offered hand, being careful of the wound in his palm. Harry’s drying blood now covered much of his and Severus’ clothes and all of their exposed skin. They were both truly a mess, but Harry couldn’t keep his lustful eyes off the Potions Master. Watching the body language of both older men, Harry moved to stand next to Severus, just in case Tom got any funny ideas of torturing Severus, or … snogging him.
Tom laughed, “Don’t worry, Harry. Severus is betrothed to you. I wouldn’t dream of trying to take away the Chosen One’s consort.”
Severus’ brain caught up with a pertinent bit of information from earlier.
“I’ve been trapped for two years?” Snape looked at the portal that Harry had opened.
“Yes. And even worse than that, Fudge has been impersonating you for those two years,” Harry added.
“WHAT?”
Harry giggled to Tom, “I KNEW that would send him over the edge.”
Severus rounded on the pair, “Do you mean to tell me that Cornelius I-don’t-know-my-arse-from-a-hole-in-the-ground Fudge has been teaching and brewing potions in my dungeons for two years using MY NAME!!?”
“Not exactly,” Harry answered. “Fudge only taught Defense Against the Dark Arts during my sixth year. Last year ‘you’ were on the run for killing Dumbledore.”
“WHAT?”
“Don’t worry, Severus. Dear Albus is still alive and Cornelius is - digesting - as we speak. We’ll explain all of it once we’ve had a bit to eat and rested.”
Harry noticed the dark circles under the Potions Master’s eyes.
“Severus, are you feeling all right? You have been trapped in there for nearly two years.”
Voldemort noticed that Severus was a bit pale, “Is there anything you need? Food? Drink? We have an odd house elf that is somewhere preparing a meal for us.”
“Not yet, my Lord, uh…Tom. There is something I must do for Harry before I can rest.”
Severus moved next to the tree where the surface still shimmered and undulated.
“Harry, come here. There is something I want to give you.”
Harry was curious as to what Severus was going to do, but he trusted the man so he did as asked.
“Harry, please cut my left hand in the same way that you cut your own, but cut the top instead of the palm.”
Harry ran the bottom tip of the blade across the top of Severus’ hand and opened a small wound.
“Now, press it tightly against the cut on your own left palm. It must be the left hand, because that is the one most closely connected to the heart.”
Harry did as he was asked.
Severus joined their two hands, front to back, so that the blood from both cuts mingled until they became one. Both wizards could feel the magic thrumming through their blood collecting in their hearts. As Hope said, blood magic was the strongest magic known and by joining their hands and blood, Severus and Harry had completed their bond. Their magic became one as did their thoughts. Harry reeled under the onslaught of information that he now possessed from Snape’s memories. The past no longer held any mystery for the two wizards. Harry understood the reasons for everything Severus had ever done to him and Snape knew the true story of the boy that lived in a cupboard. Both stood for a moment to rein in the overwhelming emotions that were consuming them. Severus was the one to break eye contact and remember his plan as he held tightly onto Harry’s hand and said, “Now, take your wand and place it my hand.”
“I don’t have a wand.”
“Of course you have a wand.”
“No, I mean, when Tom and I came to this castle I had a wand, then I took this crystal thing out of a tree and smashed it into my wand and now…well, now I have a staff. It’s a really big staff, bigger than Moody’s… who’s dead by the way…anyway, and it has this big crystal on top of it. Tom says that it’s Merlin’s staff.”
Harry looked quite uncertain about giving out all that information. What if Severus didn’t want to buy into the whole Chosen One thing? Severus looked at the young man that he had been betrothed to for 18 years. Harry was his mate and also the bane of his existence. So many good and bad things had happened to Severus simply because he was charged with protecting the Boy-Who-Lived. And now… if what Harry was saying was true…
Tom Riddle could see the wheels spinning in his friend’s mind. “Don’t think so much, Severus, your brain will implode. It’s true. I witnessed it myself. Harry removed the Stone of the Heir from the tree. This castle appeared, Merlin’s castle. Harry is the Chosen One from the prophecy, the ancient prophecy, not that clap trap that Dumbledore had that fake seer Trelawney spewing in your ear.”
Severus decided to think on all that later. There was still work to be done if he wanted to make his beloved truly happy.
“Well, Heir, put the staff in my hand and place your hand over the cut on mine.”
Harry placed the staff in Severus’ hand and then wrapped his hand around his mate’s.
Severus turned to Harry and said, “No matter what happens, don’t let go.”
“What are you going to do?”
Severus gazed deeply into Harry’s eyes and keeping a firm grip on Harry’s staff, Severus stepped through the veil and all but his left arm vanished.
“SEVERUS!”
Harry really didn’t want to lose the older wizard. Yes, he wasn’t quite reconciled in his heart that he would be having sex with Snape, but he was his mate and he did belong to Harry and considering what a strange day it had been, Snape was the only thing close to normal that had happened thus far.
Then Harry heard Severus’ voice, “Pull, Harry! Pull hard!”
Tom grabbed Harry’s waist to help as Harry pulled with all his might and once again landed on the floor with Severus on top of him, but this time he was twice as heavy… and had grey eyes.
The dawning of realization took just a few seconds.
“SIRIUS!”
Harry looked over Severus’ shoulder to find sparkling, but confused, grey eyes widen in astonishment. Sirius Black had been trapped in the veil alongside Severus, but not being Fae, had no chance of escape. Severus had used the heart connection with Harry to pull the young wizard’s beloved godfather out of the veil.
“Pup?”
Sirius was very confused. Hadn’t they just been in the Ministry of Magic? Where was that bitch Bellatrix? Why was he lying on top of Snape?
“Get off me, Black.”
Severus pushed up with his body and Sirius landed in a heap on the floor.
Harry rushed to his godfather and tackled him. He never expected that Severus was going to save Sirius. They hated each other, but somehow, Severus knew how important Sirius was to Harry and made sure that the first thing he did was to rescue his mate’s godfather. Severus had wanted to make sure that Harry understood how serious he was about their relationship. The Potions Master knew that this was the one gift that would mean more than anything to the Gryffindor. The young wizard turned his tear-stained face back to the surly Potions master and smiled.
“Thank you, Severus. You’ve made this the happiest day of my life.”
Severus conceded a small smile to his mate. He was glad that he had made Harry happy. If it took Sirius Black for Harry’s happiness, Severus was determined to do what was best for Harry. Sirius stood, keeping his arms around his godson, and offered his hand to Severus.
“Thank you, Severus. I would have been trapped forever if not for you. We haven’t always been friends, but I hope that can change for Harry’s sake. Thank you for giving me another chance at life and thank you for bringing me back to Harry.”
“I did it for Harry, Black.”
“I can accept that.”
Sirius released Harry for a moment to stand in front of the older wizard.
“Severus, I know that you and I have disagreed on many things over the years. You know that I never agreed with James and Lily about your betrothal to Harry, but I am now admitting that I was wrong. You are a good man and loyal to a fault. Harry would have been dead many times over if not for your intervention. While I was in Azkaban, I was useless in protecting him. You succeeded where I failed.”
“Black, it wasn’t your fault that Pettigrew was a double agent. You couldn’t know that he would betray us all.”
Sirius opened his arms to Harry and the young man took the comfort that was offered.
“I was trapped for twelve years and the only one who could really protect him was you, Snape. Again, in James’ and Lily’s names, I thank you.”
“You do not need to thank me, Black. Harry is my betrothed. I would do anything for him.”
Severus looked at how easily Harry slipped into his godfather’s embrace and hoped that they could have the same closeness one day. Harry eased himself out of Sirius’ arms and moved to his betrothed. Harry easily slipped into his mate’s embrace to whisper in his ear.
“You forget, Severus. I hear your thoughts and know your desires. This thing between us is good and it will happen. Our time will come.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Voldemort and Severus stood off to the side of the room. Severus was holding the staff and sword for Harry while Tom was filling Snape in on all the things that had happened since his incident with the veil. Harry and Sirius were happily examining the different branches of the family tree, trying to find Harry’s name. The two were running around like small children, laughing and giggling at the ancient names of their ancestors.
Severus was caught up in Tom’s tale about Dumbledore and the fake Horcruxes when an eruption of blinding white magic filled the room. But this was not ‘light’ magic, per se. This was ancient earth magic that was neither light nor dark. The stone walls trembled under the release of power. Severus and Tom covered their eyes to protect them from the blinding light. Sirius was thrown across the room and slammed into the marble wall. Stunned, he slid down to the floor, trying to regain his breath. The animagus, angered that he had not seen what had upset Harry and caused the violent outburst, sat and watched as his godson lost control of his magic.
The wild magic in the room created a tempest surrounding the young heir as tendrils of magic weaved around its source. White and gold tendrils joined, and soon red and green ones appeared. Blue followed as did purple and orange and yellow, until the tempest surrounding Harry was pure black. The swirling magic intensified, shaking the very foundation of the old building, and the three older wizards were afraid that Harry would unintentionally bring the castle down around them. Severus instinctively knew that he would be the only one there who could reach the powerful wizard to calm him. He knew that Harry would not intentionally hurt him.
Severus stood at the edge of the tempest and called out to Harry with his mind.
Harry. HARRY! You must let me in. You’ve lost control and will kill everyone in this room if you don’t rein in your magic. I didn’t save the god-mutt just to have you kill him. Let me in, Harry. I can ground you.
No words were spoken by Harry, but a flood of emotions rushed through the bond. So many conflicting emotions that Severus had trouble sorting through them: Pain, betrayal, love, anguish, vengeance… disbelief. Severus felt the magical storm accept his presence and he stepped inside to help his mate.
Once inside the maelstrom, Severus saw his fiancé. Harry’s arms were held out a little from his side and the uncontrolled magical threads streamed forth out of his hands. His dark hair was tossed by the winds and his face was completely flushed. Severus had never seen Harry this upset. The older wizard moved to stand directly in front of the young man. Severus lifted Harry’s chin in order to look into his eyes. The older man leaned in to kiss the soft lips of his angered mate. He pulled back to see if Harry had calmed any. Within those green eyes, Severus saw a depth of pain and betrayal that shocked him down into his magical core. He would kill whoever had caused his beloved so much pain.
“What is the matter, my Harry? What has upset you so?” Severus quietly asked.
A river of tears fell from Harry’s green eyes. So much pain surged through the bond. The young wizard opened his mouth but found that he was too choked up to speak. Then, as if Harry were a puppet released from its string, the young man collapsed into the arms of his protective mate. The storm slowly abated as the Heir of Magic sobbed out all his grief and pain.
Tom and Sirius rushed over to the pair after the winds had died down and everything was safe once more. As Severus held his sobbing mate, Sirius brushed his hand through Harry’s dark hair.
“What is it, Prongslet? What has upset you so much?”
Tom had been searching the floor where Harry had been standing and examining the reflection of the tree above.
“I think this may be it, Black.”
The Dark Lord knelt down and ran his hand over the names reflected in the floor. Sirius stood and moved to where he could see the names. Both Harry’s and Severus’ heads shot up at his gasp of breath.
“Severus, come look at this.”
Snape looked down at the distraught young man in his arms. “Harry, can you show me what you saw? Until you show me, I can’t help you.”
Harry nodded and stood. Severus took his hand and let Harry lead him to the spot where he had lost control. The young wizard knelt down and ran his hands over the reflective surface. Severus knelt to see what Harry had found. There under Harry’s hands was the young man’s own name and birth date. At the top of the line were Arthur Pendragon and Morgan Le Fay. These two lines joined Merlin’s line by way of the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff ancestry. The secondary line of the Fae led to Severus’ family, but the primary line, the direct line from the royal family led directly to Harry.
The young man placed his hand at the bottom of the line where he found his name. Then Harry traced the lines up to his parent’s names - James and Lily Potter. Severus turned his head a little so that he could better read what was underneath the two names. Then he realized why Harry was so upset.
Lily Evans (1960 - ) ==== James Potter (1960- )
Just as Severus’ and Sirius’ names had no death date listed, neither did James and Lily Potter’s. Severus turned to the only man who could possibly have an answer for this.
“Tom, what could this possibly mean?” But Severus already knew the answer to that question.
The Dark Lord looked at the three wizards standing before him. “I’m afraid that we all know what this means. It means that James and Lily Potter are not dead. Dumbledore must have taken my devoted followers away and hid them somewhere. He couldn’t kill them because it would have forced Harry’s inheritance on him at an early age and he would have been taken away as a child to live with the Fae. This way, Dumbledore controlled Harry’s entire life. It also means that every word out of Albus Dumbledore’s mouth has been a vicious lie aimed at controlling the Wizarding world by manipulating Harry since before his birth.”
Harry held tightly onto Severus as he looked at Tom, tears still running down his face.
“So, where are they?”
“I don’t know, Harry. I have never heard even the slightest hint that James and Lily Potter might still be alive.”
The voice of Hope was the one with the answer they sought.
“The ones you seek are locked away in a once-beautiful place that is now the deepest, darkest misery of the world. As heir to Merlin, the four founders and Lord of Aldland, Dumbledore could not let you die but he coveted your immense power. He purposefully failed in his first attempt on your life when you were a baby, but succeeded in eliminating James and Lily from having any influence on your life. The evil one had them locked away and created the false story about a Dark Lord killing your parents. He used the rat to transmit the false information. He lied to your mate, and Severus was a victim of his manipulations unwillingly, because there was a strong Compulsion charm placed upon him while he was still a student at Hogwarts.”
"The evil one feared that the ancient prophecy had come to fruition and he thought to mold you into a powerful weapon. Once he realized that Severus Snape was your mate, he knew he had to act. Dumbledore has been siphoning off your magic in small increments throughout your entire life, Chosen One, but fear not, that has been terminated. The cleansing you experienced before entering the castle has restored your mature magical power levels as well as your natural appearance. Just the same as the Firestarter, the Water Bearer and Guardian Warrior have also been returned to their natural forms. “
Not surprised by anything any more, Harry turned to Severus and Sirius.
“All right, enough of this cryptic nonsense. Who is the Water Bearer and who is the Guardian Warrior? Why haven’t you told me any of this and don’t even think about lying to me.”
Severus stepped forward and bowed to his mate, “I am the Water Bearer, the elemental for water. It is obvious why I could tell you nothing.”
Sirius stepped next to Severus and also bowed to his lord, “I am the Guardian Warrior, a lieutenant you might say, one of a pair who lives to protect you and your consort, standing at your side in all things.”
Harry looked up, not really knowing what he was looking for, “Hope, now that we have settled that, where are my parents?”
Hope’s soft voice filled the chamber, “I believe that modern wizards call the ancient fortress Azkaban.”
“AZKABAN!? MY PARENTS ARE IN AZKABAN?”
Harry circled the room and fought to control his magic. The thought that his beloved parents had been in Azkaban for the last seventeen years… How could that be? Who else knew of Dumbledore’s treachery? The old man had to have had help to be able to lock James and Lily Potter away in the prison and not a single word had ever leaked about them.
Harry fiercely turned to the Dark Lord, “How do we find out where they are being held and who do I have to kill to get there?”
Severus moved behind Harry to support his young fiancé. “Tom, you know who we need to see.”
Tom Riddle nodded at the Potions master. “Yes, my friend, I believe that it is time to pay a visit to Malfoy Manor. Our slippery friend Lucius might have some inside information for us. But first we could all use some food and rest. I will send an owl to the Malfoys to let them know of our arrival tomorrow.”
Tom started to leave the chamber and Sirius ran to keep up with him, “May I come with you? I would like to send an owl to Remus. He is my mate and the other Guardian Warrior. He will want to be a part of rescuing James and Lily.”
Harry laughed, “Sirius, I think I should send the owl. If Remus gets an owl from you, he won’t believe it.” The young wizard gently took Severus’ hand and they all started to leave the room.
“Chosen One, one last thing.”
Harry stopped. “Yes, Hope?”
“The ancient fortress was built by the Fae’s magic. Now that you control that magical core, the prison will recognize you as its creator. You can walk in and take control…or destroy it as you see fit.”
Harry smirked at this new information and the world would never be the same. “Thank you, Hope. You just made my day.”
Part 3
Author: Cyane Snape
Type: Fiction; Drama with tiny moments of humor.
Length: 27,207 words
Main Pairing: Harry Potter/Severus Snape
Card: The King of Swords
Card Interpretation: "He is the power of life and death, by virtue
of his office." [Waite]
Rating: R - for violence and language
Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter, its characters and settings are the copyrighted works of J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros, and anyone else with legitimate rights. No profit is being made by this site or the authors it houses, nor was any malice intended in any way, shape or form. Due to the nature of this fic, this author will not be held responsible for any underage readers who may come across this. Please observe any warnings, ratings and any legal ages of consent for your part of the world.
Warnings: (DH spoilers, violence, language, sort of pre-slash, no dirty sex this time, characters exploring the dark side, AU - begins near the end of DH)
Summary: How far would you go to protect everything you believed in? And what if you had been deceived all along?
Author Notes: God bless Gavilan, my beta. She is the greatest sounding board and grammarian not to mention giving clarity to my visions. She has suffered through two vacations and many discussions in restaurants while I tried to make sense of this. Also, one section* at the beginning is based upon a scene in the forest at the end of DH. You’ll recognize it. And I use a line from the movie “Network” [I’m mad as hell…]**
Part 1
Death Sentence, Part 2
By Cyane Snape
Standing in the entrance hall, Tom and Harry circled around the large circular room. The ceiling was several stories high and the stone walls had no portraits and were bare except for the two tapestries and a few scattered torches. There were three corridors to the left, leading off in the opposite direction from the Great Hall.
Directly across from the doors was an empty niche large enough for two men to fit if jammed in close. Harry walked over to examine it and as he bent down to brush a thin layer of dust away, he discovered that there were two small indentations on the floor pointing toward the wall. The young man felt the dust on his hands and realized that it was not earthen dust at all, but some kind of shiny mineral, perhaps diamond dust. Following his gut instinct, Harry stood up and placed one foot in each indentation.
Immediately, the niche split in two and exposed a wide pedestal of white marble about a meter tall. On top of the pedestal was a life-size statue of an open book with carvings etched on the marble pages. Upon closer examination, Harry could see that they were runes but failed to understand them.
“Hey, Oi!, ....Dark Lord, did you ever take Ancient Runes at Hogwarts? I can’t read this, can you?”
Harry had given up trying to make sense out of everything that was happening to him. Tom sidled up behind Harry to see what he could.
“Unfortunately, I took Arithmancy instead of Runes. I can only recognize a few.” Tom craned his neck to look at the book. “I wonder what it means.”
“Chosen One.”
Harry rolled his eyes. Great. The walls are talking again. “Is that you, Hope?”
“Yes, my Lord.”
“Please stop calling me that.”
“What, my Lord.”
Harry sighed. “Never mind.”
The patient voice returned, “Do you wish information on the Book of Merlin?”
“Book of Merlin?”
“The book in front of you is the Book of Merlin. It is the reliquary for all things magic and the beginning of your journey for truth.”
Harry turned around to face Tom and spoke urgently to him in a hushed voice.
“Did you understand any of that?”
Tom raised one eyebrow and shook his head ‘no’.
Harry asked Voldemort, “Promise me one thing. Promise me that if they ever write a book about me in the future…promise me that you won’t tell anyone about the weird shit that is going on here today. If the world finds out that I’m talking to the ‘essence of magic’ or what-ever-the-hell Hope is, they’ll tie me up and fry my brain for breakfast. Promise me that you’ll lock me away and throw away the key if I start to be embarrassing and start collecting odd things like… ceramic plates of cats or be a prissy ass like Draco Malfoy or , Merlin-forbid, actually read “Hogwarts: A History.”
“Harry, calm down.”
That. Was. It.
“NO, I WILL NOT CALM DOWN. I’m having the strangest fucking day of my life here. THE GODDAMN WALLS ARE TALKING TO ME AND FORGIVE ME IF I’M OUT OF THE LOOP HERE BEING MUGGLE-BORN AND ALL, BUT THERE IS NO WAY THAT TALKING WALLS IS NORMAL. PEOPLE ARE GOING TO THINK I’M A FREAK AGAIN AND IT’S ONE MORE LITTLE ODD DITTY THAT I AM HAVING TO DEAL WITH… NOT TO MENTION THE FUCKING DARK LORD ACTING LIKE MY BEST MATE AND HAULING ME OFF TO MERLIN’S BLOODY CASTLE. DON’T PATRONIZE ME AND TELL ME TO CALM DOWN. THAT’S WHAT DUMBLEDORE USED TO SAY. I DON’T WANT TO CALM DOWN. I WANT TO BE ANGRY, BECAUSE THE SUN IS NOW RISING IN THE NORTH AND THE MOON IS PINK AND LUNA FINALLY FOUND THE NARGLES… OR SOME OTHER KIND OF SHIT!!”
“Harry.”
”WHAT?”
Tom stood back as Harry searched the stone walls for any sign of life other than the disembodied voice. “What do you want, Hope?”
“Harry, place your hand in the center of the book.”
Harry looked at the stone book. “That’s it? That’s what these runes mean?”
“Place your hand in the center of the book.”
“All right, all right, don’t get your knickers in a twist.” Harry chuckled. “Do you even have knickers?”
“Harry…”
“Fine, whatever.”
Harry placed his right hand in the center of the etchings on the stone book. At once the illusion of stone faded away and the stone book had returned to its natural parchment origin. A tendril of red magic shot out of Harry’s hand and into the pages. With a flurry of movement, the pages flipped back and forth until they stopped about half-way through the book.
~*~*~*~*~
The young wizard stared at the ancient book, a book that had been lost for perhaps thousands of years. A book so old that even Merlin had not known its origins. The language written in the book had been feared for so many years, very few even knew of its origin, much less had the ability to translate it…But he did. He was a Parselmouth as was Voldemort and the passage he was now reading frightened the young Gryffindor beyond belief.
The book spoke of great power and rewards. He quickly read through the pages and absorbed the great wealth of knowledge contained within them. He stared again at the text. How many years had it been since these words were written? 1000, 2000, more? The time of Men and Wizards meant nothing to Harry anymore. Here in front of him lay all the answers to all the questions that he had ever asked. This was his heritage and his destiny: the heritage of the Fae who had ruled Aldland longer than Men could remember. In the beginning, the Fae had created the world of magic, and as its rulers the Fae had the power to destroy it completely. They had entrusted the world of magic to the wizards ages ago, but wrote that the ultimate fate of magic lay in the hands of their true lord, the Chosen One. The young wizard carefully leaned over and read the words again.
…The ages of Wizard, Vampires, Veela, Werewolves and all magical creatures shall be great and multiply their numbers. As gifted by the Fae, they shall live together in accord with all magical folk as equals and they shall share the lands, rivers and sky. Each shall bring unique talents and abilities to the world…
He continued further down the page…
…There will come a time of strife, division and mistrust. Wizards and magical creatures shall be divided by uncertainty and disbelief. Some will be betrayed by those held closest to them. Wicked creatures will spring forth from nothingness and ravage the lands, stealing the souls of the unprotected. The inhabitants of the lands shall turn upon each other and there will be no hope in their hearts.
But hope will survive. There will come a promise of peace and a new life. This peace shall come in the form of a child…a child born as the Four Heirs of the Great One join into the royal lineage of the Fae. The child shall be a gift from the gods and the greatest gift to the magical world…
The child shall be gifted with a soul-mate, a bond partner, to share the great burdens of life…a partner so special that the two shall be bound physically, mentally and spiritually through the magic of their blood. One cannot survive without the other. This bond cannot be broken or altered by mental will or carnal desire. The union will serve to augment and intensify the powers of the Chosen One.
The child shall carry all of the powers of the gods and will successfully reunite the wizards and magical creatures to set right the ways of the world. Yet, the child shall also bring about the destruction of the enemies of pure magic. He, along with his bonded, and his children shall lead the magical world into the New Age and there will be everlasting peace...
Harry closed the book and placed it back into its resting place. How could Dumbledore have been so reckless and evil? Were the many years of his life blinding his mind? Had the ancient prophecy now been fulfilled? If Dumbledore had kept the knowledge of the prophecy hidden forever, there would be no threat of anyone keeping him from his rise to power. Dumbledore was the real evil threat to the world, a dark lord in his own right. His thirst for power would be his downfall. Power was what the old man needed. That was what he desired. That was Dumbledore’s dirty little secret and the reason he had to be destroyed.
~*~*~*~
The Book of Merlin closed shut of its own accord and the niche around it opened wide enough to allow the two wizards to pass through the space into the new space opening behind it. The opening expanded into a long hallway that had been previously undetected. Tom led Harry through and began to walk down the long corridor leading away from the main doors. Unlike Hogwarts, there were no stairs leading down to a dungeon from the main hall. This was a long, straight corridor - paralleling the Great Hall - that was one continuous piece of stone on each side. Reaching the end, Harry and Tom stood in front of a large mirror. To the left of the mirror was a statue of a king holding a great sword high above his head. To the right was a woman with a large snake draped across her shoulders. She had a wand in her hand, pointing toward the other statue.
The king turned on his pedestal and faced Harry. “Welcome, heir of Merlin, my name is Arthur Pendragon. My sister Morgana, or Morgan Le Fay, and I have been guarding the Tree of Knowledge for these many years. I rejoice at your arrival and now take great joy in returning the heir’s sword to its rightful owner. It has been in my care for many, many years and it shall serve you well in your future endeavors. It is a true and faithful friend.”
The statue knelt down on its knee and handed Harry Potter, the Chosen One, the most beautiful, finely crafted sword ever made - Excalibur. It was a large broadsword, but wasn’t overly heavy in Harry’s hand.
“Excalibur was crafted by the Fae from Mithril, my Lord. It is the strongest metal known and indestructible even in the magical world.”
The king lowered his head in homage as Morgan Le Fay lowered her wand and spoke in the language of snakes.
“The Chosen One has arrived and we welcome you. The knowledge that you seek is within your grasp if you are brave enough to take the final leap of faith. Enter and find the truth that you seek.”
Harry looked around. Tom shrugged his shoulder, he didn’t know any more than Harry at this point. The large serpent on Morgan Le Fay’s shoulder slithered down her arm and lifted its head to stare at Harry. Its diamond shaped head swayed back and forth as it hissed, “You must enter the portal to Aldland, but you may not stay. There are several tasks that you must accomplish before this journey is completed.”
The young wizard sneered. “That’s the way my life has been laid out for me, my friend. There is always another task for me to complete for someone. I do not believe the tasks will ever end.” Harry was feeling quite cynical about his chances at happiness.
“Fret not, young prince. You shall be free of these burdens soon. You must now enter the portal to Aldland, Young Speaker.” The snake swerved its long body and faced the mirror.
Harry touched the surface of the mirror, but instead of reflecting glass, the surface was like liquid silver. As he reached further his hand began to disappear into the surface of the mirror. Suddenly afraid, he pulled his hand out.
“Tom, do you think this mirror is a portal?”
The Dark Lord looked for any indication of the true purpose of the mirror. On the surface, that was all it appeared to be. “Harry, no one has entered these halls in a millennium or two. We have no way to know anything with any degree of certainty, but we’ve come this far. Does it feel right to you?”
Harry touched the mirror once more, “I don’t feel anything bad.” He reached a little more until his arm vanished. With a leap of Gryffindor faith, Harry jumped into the mysterious mirror.
Tom tried to follow, but a painful burst of magic shot out from the surface of the mirror. A golden glow surrounded the mirror like a barricade. Harry’s head resurfaced in the center of the mirror.
“Are you coming, Tom?”
“I cannot get through. There was a surge of magic that kept the barrier blocked.”
Harry reached through with his right hand and grabbed the older wizard. “Well, if I am the Chosen One, I say you can come through. Hold on.” Harry grabbed the older man and pulled him through to the other side.
~*~*~*~*~
When Harry passed through the portal with Tom at his side, he never imagined what he would find. Harry found himself in the middle of a large circular room that had a giant tree, similar to the one outside in size, in the center. The walls of the room were white marble and the tree was carved of solid black stone, smooth as glass to the touch. Four large branches supported the ceiling and separated into hundreds of smaller branches. These small black branches snaked upward and across the ceiling, splitting and dividing into even smaller branches.
“Welcome, Young Prince, to the portal of Aldland. This tree is called the Tree of Knowledge, or the Tree of Life. Here you will find your answers.”
Harry recognized the disembodied voice of Hope who was now speaking aloud.
“Hope, I’m not really sure what answers I need.”
“Everything has been laid at your feet. You have only to look.”
“Um, that doesn’t really help.”
Hope remained silent. Harry looked at the tree and then Tom. “Do you have any ideas?”
Tom Riddle, or Voldemort, was examining the branches of the tree in detail. There were etchings into the black glass that glowed softly. “If you look closely, there is writing on this branch, but I can’t read it.”
Harry looked at the branch and laughed, “I know what that is. That’s mirror writing. Ron and I used to write secret messages to each other in class all the time. Malfoy was always trying to intercept our notes and it frustrated the hell out of him because he never figured out the code. All you need to read it is a mirror.”
Harry looked around the hall but the walls were bare marble. There weren’t even any torches. He looked up to see that there was no visible source of illumination, just the tree branches and the writing. Harry was really becoming frustrated. He just didn’t know what to do.
“Bloody hell, I wish that it would just reveal to me what I’m supposed to know.”
Well, it was his castle and he was the Heir of Merlin and it shouldn’t have surprised Harry that the castle immediately responded to his command. The tree glowed even brighter. The words on its branches grew clearer and more legible. Harry stared up into the massive tree, trying to decipher the words, but soon felt a tug on his sleeve. He looked at Tom, who wasn’t looking at the tree, but was staring at the floor.
Voldemort looked at Harry, “She said that everything had been laid at your feet. I think she meant that literally. Look at your feet.”
Harry looked at his feet and it all became crystal clear. The floor was a massive reflective surface, a giant mirror. At the base of the tree, he could read the word “Merlin.” The four large branches leading away from Merlin’s name held the names of Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin.
“It’s a family tree dating back to the time of Merlin.” Harry looked around on the floor which was now covered in thousands of names. “This must have the name of every magical person ever born.”
Tom had sidled over to the right side of the room and was tracing a family line with his finger. He reached a certain point and stopped, kneeling on the floor to hold his place and called Harry over.
“Do you see, Harry? This is my family line. I descended from Slytherin.”
Harry looked into the reflection as he saw the lines from Helena Ravenclaw merge with that of the Bloody Baron. Helena had come from her parents’ lines of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. The Baron was the descendent of Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin. Tom traced his lineage down the third branch until it reached the Gaunt line. There at the bottom was his mother Merope and his Muggle father. Interestingly though, in the same generation that the first Gaunt broke from the Baron’s line, there was another branch, the Dumbledore line and at the end of that line was the name Albus Dumbledore. His name was there alongside Ariana and Aberforth. Curiously, next to Albus’ name was his birthdate, but not his death date.
“Look for yourself, Harry. This is the definitive, perpetually updating record. There is no record of Dumbledore’s death.”
Harry knelt down to read the inscription. Sure enough, there was no death date listed for the Headmaster. “I believe you, Tom. This is the proof I needed. I also think that it is very interesting to know that the old coot descended from Slytherin.”
“He was sorted into Slytherin at Hogwarts,” Tom replied, “It’s a little known fact and one that he likes to keep well hidden.”
Harry traced his hand down another branch of the tree from Helena and the Baron, the Black family. Harry laughed to himself. The Black Family tree didn’t branch out much. It was about as pure as a line could be. He ran his hand over the name of his beloved godfather.
“Tom, why doesn’t Sirius have a death date?”
The Dark Lord followed the line that Harry had pointed out. Sure enough, Sirius Black’s birth in 1959 was listed but there was no death date. Harry sat back on his heels and thought for a moment.
“Maybe it’s because he fell through that veil. Maybe he’s not really dead.”
Harry got up and brushed off his jeans as he spoke to Tom.
“If Dumbledore has lied about so many things, couldn’t he have lied about that?” Harry looked directly at Tom. “He told me that Sirius was dead. Why would he do that if it wasn’t true? Was he so desperate to control me that he would lie about Sirius’ so-called death?”
The Dark Lord really hated to be the one to disillusion the young man, “Yes.”
Harry sighed and closed his eyes. “This is just too much to absorb. My life is nothing that I thought it was.” He purposefully moved off to trace the line of the tree that was on the other side of the room.
The first line from Ravenclaw and the Baron was their first born son. Several generations later, the family had taken the name of Prince as surname. The male heir of the line married a woman who gave birth to a woman named Igraine Prince. Harry traced back Igraine’s line to its origin on the tree. Igraine descended from both the line of Arthur Pendragon and Morgan Le Fay. The family name became Prince at the point where Igraine was born.
Following the name Prince down the branch from Igraine’s son, Harry’s hand stopped at the bottom where the name “Severus Snape (1960 - )“ ended the line. Even Snape’s Muggle father was on the tree. The name was etched as clearly and precisely as Severus’ own handwriting and Harry could not help but reach down to touch the reflection.
As Harry touched Severus’ name, a violent burst of magic rushed through him. The entire Prince line lit up like a lightning bolt blazing all the way back to the trunk of the tree where Merlin’s name flashed with this mysterious light. Harry could feel the reflection pull deeply into his soul and he collapsed to the floor, his breathing forced and erratic.
It took several minutes and the very insistent urgings of the Dark Lord to get Harry’s focus back in the room. The young man tilted his head, trying to fight off the tears that threatened to form there.
“Harry, what’s wrong?” Tom asked.
Tears gently fell down the young wizard’s face. “I can feel them. I can feel all of them… all the nameless faces that are a part of this tree. They are calling to me, but I don’t know what they want.”
Harry pulled his knees up and wrapped his arms around them, burying his head in his arms.
“And I can feel Severus. I don’t understand how. He’s calling to me. He’s not in pain, but I feel like he’s trapped. What do I do, Tom?”
Voldemort was at a loss. “This is magic unlike we have ever seen, Harry. Perhaps if you ask Hope, you might find answers there.”
Harry stood with his feet straddling Severus’ name. “Hope, if I am the Chosen One and have some kind of special powers that I have no idea how to use, could you please help me or show me how to rescue Severus Snape? I know he is alive. There is no death date on the tree and I can feel the touch of his thoughts in my mind.”
Hope’s voice echoed off the glossy white walls, “You have only to ask, Chosen One.”
Tendrils of bright magic poured out of the marble walls and reached out to Harry as their focal point. Tom stood back and watched as the many tendrils entered Harry’s body, making Harry look like the center spoke of a magical wheel. He closed his eyes and allowed the magic to freely enter his body. He could feel that it had no malicious intent and that the magic almost felt like a cognizant being. At the magic’s instruction, Harry raised his wand hand and pointed to the tree trunk as a burst of white, hot magic shot out of the tip of his index finger and pierced the trunk of tree.
The black trunk of the tree shimmered and vibrated as it shifted its form. The ancient tree had not had a human to command it in over a thousand years and it groaned in protest. The obsidian-like surface no longer appeared to be black rock. As the surface shifted and flowed back and forth, an image appeared that was all-too-familiar to Harry and he couldn’t resist approaching it.
“Tom, look at the tree. Does that look familiar to you?”
Voldemort walked over to stand beside the tree trunk and Harry. “That looks like the veil, Harry.”
“I know, but is it the same veil or a second veil? Hope, can you explain this please?”
“Yes, Chosen One. What you see before you is a portal to the Fae world. Only Fae may move freely between the two worlds. Your chosen one, your mate, is trapped in the portal to the Fae world. Had the evil one not bound him as he fell, he would have been able to seek asylum with the Fae, but as he was bound, he remains trapped in the portal.”
Harry looked at the tree. “How do I save him?”
“Take the sword of Arthur and make a slice across your left palm.”
Harry retrieved the sword from where he had dropped it and followed the instructions. Blood dripped freely from the wound onto the reflective surface of the floor, saturating his clothing.
Hope continued, “Hold the sword in your opposite hand as your reach into the portal with your bloodied hand.”
“I don’t understand. How does this help?”
“Your blood will call to your mate. As the heir, your blood will break all enchantments on anyone trapped within the portal. Blood magic is the strongest magic of all. Severus will no longer be bound in the evil one’s restraints and will be free of all curses and oaths of fealty that he has made in the past. He will truly be free for the first time. Your Severus will be able to reach you and those souls seeking rest shall finally be at peace.”
“What souls seeking rest?” Harry asked.
Tom joined Harry at his side as Hope answered his question.
“Those souls that the evil one has condemned to what you call ‘the veil’. Only Fae may enter and leave freely. The non-Fae souls are bound to the un-world, neither in the Fae world nor the Wizarding world. Many of those souls seek a final resting place and you shall give it to them.”
“What about the souls that do not want to rest. Can I rescue them and bring them back?”
“No, Chosen One, you may only rescue that which is dear to you, either by heart or by blood.”
Tom noticed the pool of blood forming at Harry’s feet. “Harry, you’d better do this before you lose too much blood. I don’t have any replenishing potions to help you.”
Hope agreed. “Yes, young Heir, you must reach for your betrothed now. The window of opportunity is upon you now. Reach into the portal and call to your mate with your heart’s blood.”
Harry slowly pushed his hand through the filmy surface. It didn’t really feel like anything he had ever felt before. Instead of feeling like piercing a barrier, it felt like his hand was inside a living organism. The dark-haired wizard stood for several very long seconds before remembering that he needed to call out to Severus.
Harry closed his eyes and thought about the man that had been his professor since that first day at Hogwarts. In his mind’s eye, he saw the long black robes snapping into place as the man left the Great Hall. He saw the long hair falling over his eyes as he bent over a first-year student’s potions assignment, scribbling away with his red ink and quill. He heard the deep voice that could mesmerize Harry with its dark velvety timbre. He felt the small, but strong, thread of magic reach out from his heart and move through his hand and all at once, something powerful grabbed Harry’s hand from the other side of the veil and the young man just knew without a doubt that it was Severus Snape.
Harry pulled with all his might and landed flat on the stone floor with a very heavy weight pressing down on him.
“Ooof!”
Harry had the breath knocked out of him as his head bounced off the hard floor. His nose crashed against an even more prominent nose and long, silky dark hair covered his face. The young wizard opened his eyes and all he could see were the fathomless dark eyes of Severus Snape, his betrothed. Harry realized that it had been nearly two years since he had actually seen the real Severus Snape and not the Polyjuiced Fudge. This Snape, the real one, looked better than Harry had remembered. His hair was silky and his skin tone not as yellow. All in all, Harry thought the older man looked good for a change. For the first time in his life, Harry saw the Potions master as something more than a pain in the arse… and then Snape spoke.
“You’ve grown.” Snape looked at Harry’s face and wiggled a bit trying to get off the young man. Harry grabbed him by the waist and held him in place.
“Well, you look like warmed-over bat dung, Snape. You know, a ‘thank you’ would have been nice but that was too much to ask from you wasn’t it? Gods, what were my parents thinking when they pledged me to you.”
Snape’s mouth quirked at the corner, “So you know about that?”
Harry rolled his eyes, “Well, YES, you snarky git. I have ‘essence of magic’ telling me all the world’s hidden magical secrets - and funny thing- your fucking name keeps coming up continuously.”
Severus shifted his position on top of Harry, “May I please get up?”
Harry thought about it. Yes, he and Severus had a bond. Yes, he knew what would happen … eventually, but he wasn’t going to make it easy for the older man.
“No.”
“And why, may I ask, not, Mr. Potter?”
Harry smirked, “Well, first of all, I think it would be appropriate for you to call me Harry or Darling or my Lord, whichever makes you feel better. Secondly, you feel too good rubbing yourself against my bits to let you go. And in the third place, I’m the King of the World or Heir of Magic or some other ruddy shitty thing that this ‘essence’ keeps telling me and since I’m the HEIR and you are my betrothed… that makes you my snuggle bunny.”
Harry rolled over so that he lay on top of his mate, trying to evoke a reaction from the control freak under him. Severus Snape, little-known confirmed ‘bottom’, didn’t react at all the way Harry had anticipated. Rather than scream and yell and call Harry all sorts of names that he had called him many times before, Severus just narrowed his eyes and asked.
“What year is it?”
Harry frowned. What the fuck kind of question is that? “It’s 1998, why?”
“That means…you’re how old now?”
“I’ll be 18 this July. It is currently May.”
Snape looked at the young man on top of him and grabbed the back of Harry’s head with his hands, fisting the unruly strands of hair. “I’ve waited 18 years for this.” Severus quickly pressed his lips to Harry’s before the Gryffindor could utter a word of protest or defense. It was not a harsh or punishing kiss, like Harry would have expected, but a tender and passionate kiss that meant to set fires of passion in the younger wizard’s insides, and the fires were certainly igniting all through Harry’s body.
Severus’ tongue swept across Harry’s soft lips, asking for unspoken permission to enter as his strong hands ran up and down Harry’s body, learning each taut muscle’s curve. Instinctively, Harry’s lips opened to Snape’s gentle assault on his mouth. The kiss deepened as their tongues danced and challenged each other for dominance, finally declaring a draw. Pulling back and drawing a much needed breath, Severus quickly latched onto Harry’s exposed neck and kissed his way down, nibbling as he kissed.
Oh, Merlin, but this is bloody brilliant. Who would have thought that Snape, no … Severus, could kiss like that?
Harry’s body shifted under the persistent ministrations of Severus, accidentally aligning his groin with a very noticeable hardness from his mate. Harry ground his own hardness into Severus’ erection, eliciting a groan of pleasure from the older man. A quiet ‘eh-hem’, stopped Severus’ attentions to Harry’s neck mid-lick. Harry whined at the loss of warmth as Severus quickly rolled the younger man off, as Snape landed in a crouched, defensive position, wand drawn, and saw the one man he never expected to see standing calmly by Harry.
“My Lord?” Severus asked.
Tom Riddle offered a hand to Severus to help him up. The Potions Master gazed at the hand suspiciously for a moment then thought it would be better not to refuse anything from the Dark Lord since he’d been out of commission for two years and Snape was obviously totally out of the loop as far as loyalties and gamesmanship were concerned.
“Call me Tom, Severus. That is what Harry has chosen. I am no longer the Dark Lord. I am abdicating that title to Harry. I think it amuses him.”
Severus looked at Harry, still on the floor. Harry had the gall to wave his fingers at him.
“I think someone has a lot of explaining to do. What’s been happening? Why was the veil in the Department of Mysteries destroyed?”
Tom felt that he should be the one to fill in the details. “Dumbledore destroyed the veil so that you couldn’t rescue Black. He killed two birds with one stone by pushing you in - also relieving himself of Harry’s betrothed. This veil, or portal, remained closed until Merlin’s heir arrived to re-open the castle.”
Tom gestured to the young man on the floor.
“Meet Merlin’s heir, Severus. Harry, say hello.”
“Hello.”
Harry took Tom’s offered hand, being careful of the wound in his palm. Harry’s drying blood now covered much of his and Severus’ clothes and all of their exposed skin. They were both truly a mess, but Harry couldn’t keep his lustful eyes off the Potions Master. Watching the body language of both older men, Harry moved to stand next to Severus, just in case Tom got any funny ideas of torturing Severus, or … snogging him.
Tom laughed, “Don’t worry, Harry. Severus is betrothed to you. I wouldn’t dream of trying to take away the Chosen One’s consort.”
Severus’ brain caught up with a pertinent bit of information from earlier.
“I’ve been trapped for two years?” Snape looked at the portal that Harry had opened.
“Yes. And even worse than that, Fudge has been impersonating you for those two years,” Harry added.
“WHAT?”
Harry giggled to Tom, “I KNEW that would send him over the edge.”
Severus rounded on the pair, “Do you mean to tell me that Cornelius I-don’t-know-my-arse-from-a-hole-in-the-ground Fudge has been teaching and brewing potions in my dungeons for two years using MY NAME!!?”
“Not exactly,” Harry answered. “Fudge only taught Defense Against the Dark Arts during my sixth year. Last year ‘you’ were on the run for killing Dumbledore.”
“WHAT?”
“Don’t worry, Severus. Dear Albus is still alive and Cornelius is - digesting - as we speak. We’ll explain all of it once we’ve had a bit to eat and rested.”
Harry noticed the dark circles under the Potions Master’s eyes.
“Severus, are you feeling all right? You have been trapped in there for nearly two years.”
Voldemort noticed that Severus was a bit pale, “Is there anything you need? Food? Drink? We have an odd house elf that is somewhere preparing a meal for us.”
“Not yet, my Lord, uh…Tom. There is something I must do for Harry before I can rest.”
Severus moved next to the tree where the surface still shimmered and undulated.
“Harry, come here. There is something I want to give you.”
Harry was curious as to what Severus was going to do, but he trusted the man so he did as asked.
“Harry, please cut my left hand in the same way that you cut your own, but cut the top instead of the palm.”
Harry ran the bottom tip of the blade across the top of Severus’ hand and opened a small wound.
“Now, press it tightly against the cut on your own left palm. It must be the left hand, because that is the one most closely connected to the heart.”
Harry did as he was asked.
Severus joined their two hands, front to back, so that the blood from both cuts mingled until they became one. Both wizards could feel the magic thrumming through their blood collecting in their hearts. As Hope said, blood magic was the strongest magic known and by joining their hands and blood, Severus and Harry had completed their bond. Their magic became one as did their thoughts. Harry reeled under the onslaught of information that he now possessed from Snape’s memories. The past no longer held any mystery for the two wizards. Harry understood the reasons for everything Severus had ever done to him and Snape knew the true story of the boy that lived in a cupboard. Both stood for a moment to rein in the overwhelming emotions that were consuming them. Severus was the one to break eye contact and remember his plan as he held tightly onto Harry’s hand and said, “Now, take your wand and place it my hand.”
“I don’t have a wand.”
“Of course you have a wand.”
“No, I mean, when Tom and I came to this castle I had a wand, then I took this crystal thing out of a tree and smashed it into my wand and now…well, now I have a staff. It’s a really big staff, bigger than Moody’s… who’s dead by the way…anyway, and it has this big crystal on top of it. Tom says that it’s Merlin’s staff.”
Harry looked quite uncertain about giving out all that information. What if Severus didn’t want to buy into the whole Chosen One thing? Severus looked at the young man that he had been betrothed to for 18 years. Harry was his mate and also the bane of his existence. So many good and bad things had happened to Severus simply because he was charged with protecting the Boy-Who-Lived. And now… if what Harry was saying was true…
Tom Riddle could see the wheels spinning in his friend’s mind. “Don’t think so much, Severus, your brain will implode. It’s true. I witnessed it myself. Harry removed the Stone of the Heir from the tree. This castle appeared, Merlin’s castle. Harry is the Chosen One from the prophecy, the ancient prophecy, not that clap trap that Dumbledore had that fake seer Trelawney spewing in your ear.”
Severus decided to think on all that later. There was still work to be done if he wanted to make his beloved truly happy.
“Well, Heir, put the staff in my hand and place your hand over the cut on mine.”
Harry placed the staff in Severus’ hand and then wrapped his hand around his mate’s.
Severus turned to Harry and said, “No matter what happens, don’t let go.”
“What are you going to do?”
Severus gazed deeply into Harry’s eyes and keeping a firm grip on Harry’s staff, Severus stepped through the veil and all but his left arm vanished.
“SEVERUS!”
Harry really didn’t want to lose the older wizard. Yes, he wasn’t quite reconciled in his heart that he would be having sex with Snape, but he was his mate and he did belong to Harry and considering what a strange day it had been, Snape was the only thing close to normal that had happened thus far.
Then Harry heard Severus’ voice, “Pull, Harry! Pull hard!”
Tom grabbed Harry’s waist to help as Harry pulled with all his might and once again landed on the floor with Severus on top of him, but this time he was twice as heavy… and had grey eyes.
The dawning of realization took just a few seconds.
“SIRIUS!”
Harry looked over Severus’ shoulder to find sparkling, but confused, grey eyes widen in astonishment. Sirius Black had been trapped in the veil alongside Severus, but not being Fae, had no chance of escape. Severus had used the heart connection with Harry to pull the young wizard’s beloved godfather out of the veil.
“Pup?”
Sirius was very confused. Hadn’t they just been in the Ministry of Magic? Where was that bitch Bellatrix? Why was he lying on top of Snape?
“Get off me, Black.”
Severus pushed up with his body and Sirius landed in a heap on the floor.
Harry rushed to his godfather and tackled him. He never expected that Severus was going to save Sirius. They hated each other, but somehow, Severus knew how important Sirius was to Harry and made sure that the first thing he did was to rescue his mate’s godfather. Severus had wanted to make sure that Harry understood how serious he was about their relationship. The Potions Master knew that this was the one gift that would mean more than anything to the Gryffindor. The young wizard turned his tear-stained face back to the surly Potions master and smiled.
“Thank you, Severus. You’ve made this the happiest day of my life.”
Severus conceded a small smile to his mate. He was glad that he had made Harry happy. If it took Sirius Black for Harry’s happiness, Severus was determined to do what was best for Harry. Sirius stood, keeping his arms around his godson, and offered his hand to Severus.
“Thank you, Severus. I would have been trapped forever if not for you. We haven’t always been friends, but I hope that can change for Harry’s sake. Thank you for giving me another chance at life and thank you for bringing me back to Harry.”
“I did it for Harry, Black.”
“I can accept that.”
Sirius released Harry for a moment to stand in front of the older wizard.
“Severus, I know that you and I have disagreed on many things over the years. You know that I never agreed with James and Lily about your betrothal to Harry, but I am now admitting that I was wrong. You are a good man and loyal to a fault. Harry would have been dead many times over if not for your intervention. While I was in Azkaban, I was useless in protecting him. You succeeded where I failed.”
“Black, it wasn’t your fault that Pettigrew was a double agent. You couldn’t know that he would betray us all.”
Sirius opened his arms to Harry and the young man took the comfort that was offered.
“I was trapped for twelve years and the only one who could really protect him was you, Snape. Again, in James’ and Lily’s names, I thank you.”
“You do not need to thank me, Black. Harry is my betrothed. I would do anything for him.”
Severus looked at how easily Harry slipped into his godfather’s embrace and hoped that they could have the same closeness one day. Harry eased himself out of Sirius’ arms and moved to his betrothed. Harry easily slipped into his mate’s embrace to whisper in his ear.
“You forget, Severus. I hear your thoughts and know your desires. This thing between us is good and it will happen. Our time will come.”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Voldemort and Severus stood off to the side of the room. Severus was holding the staff and sword for Harry while Tom was filling Snape in on all the things that had happened since his incident with the veil. Harry and Sirius were happily examining the different branches of the family tree, trying to find Harry’s name. The two were running around like small children, laughing and giggling at the ancient names of their ancestors.
Severus was caught up in Tom’s tale about Dumbledore and the fake Horcruxes when an eruption of blinding white magic filled the room. But this was not ‘light’ magic, per se. This was ancient earth magic that was neither light nor dark. The stone walls trembled under the release of power. Severus and Tom covered their eyes to protect them from the blinding light. Sirius was thrown across the room and slammed into the marble wall. Stunned, he slid down to the floor, trying to regain his breath. The animagus, angered that he had not seen what had upset Harry and caused the violent outburst, sat and watched as his godson lost control of his magic.
The wild magic in the room created a tempest surrounding the young heir as tendrils of magic weaved around its source. White and gold tendrils joined, and soon red and green ones appeared. Blue followed as did purple and orange and yellow, until the tempest surrounding Harry was pure black. The swirling magic intensified, shaking the very foundation of the old building, and the three older wizards were afraid that Harry would unintentionally bring the castle down around them. Severus instinctively knew that he would be the only one there who could reach the powerful wizard to calm him. He knew that Harry would not intentionally hurt him.
Severus stood at the edge of the tempest and called out to Harry with his mind.
Harry. HARRY! You must let me in. You’ve lost control and will kill everyone in this room if you don’t rein in your magic. I didn’t save the god-mutt just to have you kill him. Let me in, Harry. I can ground you.
No words were spoken by Harry, but a flood of emotions rushed through the bond. So many conflicting emotions that Severus had trouble sorting through them: Pain, betrayal, love, anguish, vengeance… disbelief. Severus felt the magical storm accept his presence and he stepped inside to help his mate.
Once inside the maelstrom, Severus saw his fiancé. Harry’s arms were held out a little from his side and the uncontrolled magical threads streamed forth out of his hands. His dark hair was tossed by the winds and his face was completely flushed. Severus had never seen Harry this upset. The older wizard moved to stand directly in front of the young man. Severus lifted Harry’s chin in order to look into his eyes. The older man leaned in to kiss the soft lips of his angered mate. He pulled back to see if Harry had calmed any. Within those green eyes, Severus saw a depth of pain and betrayal that shocked him down into his magical core. He would kill whoever had caused his beloved so much pain.
“What is the matter, my Harry? What has upset you so?” Severus quietly asked.
A river of tears fell from Harry’s green eyes. So much pain surged through the bond. The young wizard opened his mouth but found that he was too choked up to speak. Then, as if Harry were a puppet released from its string, the young man collapsed into the arms of his protective mate. The storm slowly abated as the Heir of Magic sobbed out all his grief and pain.
Tom and Sirius rushed over to the pair after the winds had died down and everything was safe once more. As Severus held his sobbing mate, Sirius brushed his hand through Harry’s dark hair.
“What is it, Prongslet? What has upset you so much?”
Tom had been searching the floor where Harry had been standing and examining the reflection of the tree above.
“I think this may be it, Black.”
The Dark Lord knelt down and ran his hand over the names reflected in the floor. Sirius stood and moved to where he could see the names. Both Harry’s and Severus’ heads shot up at his gasp of breath.
“Severus, come look at this.”
Snape looked down at the distraught young man in his arms. “Harry, can you show me what you saw? Until you show me, I can’t help you.”
Harry nodded and stood. Severus took his hand and let Harry lead him to the spot where he had lost control. The young wizard knelt down and ran his hands over the reflective surface. Severus knelt to see what Harry had found. There under Harry’s hands was the young man’s own name and birth date. At the top of the line were Arthur Pendragon and Morgan Le Fay. These two lines joined Merlin’s line by way of the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff ancestry. The secondary line of the Fae led to Severus’ family, but the primary line, the direct line from the royal family led directly to Harry.
The young man placed his hand at the bottom of the line where he found his name. Then Harry traced the lines up to his parent’s names - James and Lily Potter. Severus turned his head a little so that he could better read what was underneath the two names. Then he realized why Harry was so upset.
Lily Evans (1960 - ) ==== James Potter (1960- )
Just as Severus’ and Sirius’ names had no death date listed, neither did James and Lily Potter’s. Severus turned to the only man who could possibly have an answer for this.
“Tom, what could this possibly mean?” But Severus already knew the answer to that question.
The Dark Lord looked at the three wizards standing before him. “I’m afraid that we all know what this means. It means that James and Lily Potter are not dead. Dumbledore must have taken my devoted followers away and hid them somewhere. He couldn’t kill them because it would have forced Harry’s inheritance on him at an early age and he would have been taken away as a child to live with the Fae. This way, Dumbledore controlled Harry’s entire life. It also means that every word out of Albus Dumbledore’s mouth has been a vicious lie aimed at controlling the Wizarding world by manipulating Harry since before his birth.”
Harry held tightly onto Severus as he looked at Tom, tears still running down his face.
“So, where are they?”
“I don’t know, Harry. I have never heard even the slightest hint that James and Lily Potter might still be alive.”
The voice of Hope was the one with the answer they sought.
“The ones you seek are locked away in a once-beautiful place that is now the deepest, darkest misery of the world. As heir to Merlin, the four founders and Lord of Aldland, Dumbledore could not let you die but he coveted your immense power. He purposefully failed in his first attempt on your life when you were a baby, but succeeded in eliminating James and Lily from having any influence on your life. The evil one had them locked away and created the false story about a Dark Lord killing your parents. He used the rat to transmit the false information. He lied to your mate, and Severus was a victim of his manipulations unwillingly, because there was a strong Compulsion charm placed upon him while he was still a student at Hogwarts.”
"The evil one feared that the ancient prophecy had come to fruition and he thought to mold you into a powerful weapon. Once he realized that Severus Snape was your mate, he knew he had to act. Dumbledore has been siphoning off your magic in small increments throughout your entire life, Chosen One, but fear not, that has been terminated. The cleansing you experienced before entering the castle has restored your mature magical power levels as well as your natural appearance. Just the same as the Firestarter, the Water Bearer and Guardian Warrior have also been returned to their natural forms. “
Not surprised by anything any more, Harry turned to Severus and Sirius.
“All right, enough of this cryptic nonsense. Who is the Water Bearer and who is the Guardian Warrior? Why haven’t you told me any of this and don’t even think about lying to me.”
Severus stepped forward and bowed to his mate, “I am the Water Bearer, the elemental for water. It is obvious why I could tell you nothing.”
Sirius stepped next to Severus and also bowed to his lord, “I am the Guardian Warrior, a lieutenant you might say, one of a pair who lives to protect you and your consort, standing at your side in all things.”
Harry looked up, not really knowing what he was looking for, “Hope, now that we have settled that, where are my parents?”
Hope’s soft voice filled the chamber, “I believe that modern wizards call the ancient fortress Azkaban.”
“AZKABAN!? MY PARENTS ARE IN AZKABAN?”
Harry circled the room and fought to control his magic. The thought that his beloved parents had been in Azkaban for the last seventeen years… How could that be? Who else knew of Dumbledore’s treachery? The old man had to have had help to be able to lock James and Lily Potter away in the prison and not a single word had ever leaked about them.
Harry fiercely turned to the Dark Lord, “How do we find out where they are being held and who do I have to kill to get there?”
Severus moved behind Harry to support his young fiancé. “Tom, you know who we need to see.”
Tom Riddle nodded at the Potions master. “Yes, my friend, I believe that it is time to pay a visit to Malfoy Manor. Our slippery friend Lucius might have some inside information for us. But first we could all use some food and rest. I will send an owl to the Malfoys to let them know of our arrival tomorrow.”
Tom started to leave the chamber and Sirius ran to keep up with him, “May I come with you? I would like to send an owl to Remus. He is my mate and the other Guardian Warrior. He will want to be a part of rescuing James and Lily.”
Harry laughed, “Sirius, I think I should send the owl. If Remus gets an owl from you, he won’t believe it.” The young wizard gently took Severus’ hand and they all started to leave the room.
“Chosen One, one last thing.”
Harry stopped. “Yes, Hope?”
“The ancient fortress was built by the Fae’s magic. Now that you control that magical core, the prison will recognize you as its creator. You can walk in and take control…or destroy it as you see fit.”
Harry smirked at this new information and the world would never be the same. “Thank you, Hope. You just made my day.”
Part 3