FicWad

Warning for Language



This one is a little bit of a cliffy. I apologize in advance. Hope you enjoy!



Note: reference to Twilight in this chapter: cookie for the one who gets it…



Please review! Flames welcome. I am in college and reviews keep me sane. J



Last Chapter…



Severus sneered. “Lucius is drawn to anything with power. He feeds off power like an addict off heroine. He would be glad to join in a display of it.”



Dumbledore nodded and turned to the fire to call Malfoy. Several minutes later, he turned around again with a triumphant smile. “It seems you were correct, Severus. Lord Malfoy will be joining us in ten minutes time. He has agreed to provide his assistance to us.”



Severus narrowed his eyes, throwing a glance at the blond at his side. “Potter will not be pleased.”



Olympia rolled her eyes. This was not going to turn out at all well.



Chapter 18 – Of Assessments



Twenty minutes later found the Coven, Severus, Dumbledore, Harry, and Hermione awaiting the arrival of Lucius Malfoy. Although, Harry and Hermione didn’t know it yet.



“Who is this person that’s going to help you test me? Why do you need help? What even is the test?” Harry glanced between the Potion’s Master and the old man. “I feel like I’m going into the sorting.” He muttered, turning away at their lack of response. “Hopefully this won’t make me choose between anything!”



Severus narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about, Potter?”



Harry looked at him, incredulous. The man was his father and he continued to use his incorrect last name. Severus sighed and amended, “Harry.”



Dumbledore watched the exchange with madly twinkling eyes. The teen smiled. “The Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, sir. But I begged it not to.”



Severus was dumbfounded. His eyes grew wide as he stared at the boy. “You. You were going to be placed in…Slytherin?”



Harry nodded. “Yeah, but Ron and Hagrid had just told me only dark wizards end up in Slytherin, no offense, sir, and I was terrified. I begged the Hat to put me anywhere else. And so, I’m a Gryffindor.”



Severus just stared at him. “If the headmaster had sent me to retrieve you, as he wanted, you would have been in Slytherin? Dear Merlin. The foundations of the wizarding world have just crumbled beneath us.”



Hermione giggled. Ariadne smirked and laid a hand on Snape’s shoulder. “It’s alright, Severus. He isn’t a Slytherin. You won’t have to go drown yourself because your faith in humanity was just shattered.”



The man in question glanced at her over his shoulder and rolled his eyes. She chuckled.



“Sir, if your faith in humanity rests on my Gryffindor-ness, I think you might want to rethink that. I mean, I am a parseltongue and I do regularly sneak around this school without getting caught and I outwitted the Dark Lord and…well…you know, so really. How Gryffindor can I be?” Harry grinned as the older man’s jaw simply dropped open and he gaped.



Dumbledore’s chuckle brought Severus back to reality. “Severus, I have been telling you for years that Harry is not what he might appear to be. If I had known telling you that he was almost placed in Slytherin would have made you believe it, I would have done it long ago.”



The Slytherin glared at the headmaster. A cold, drawling voice from the chamber’s door called their attention to the dark figure standing there. “Not to break up this lovely little party, but I do have other engagements. Can we get on with testing this little cretin?”



Harry froze. His body was as tense like a strung bow and his eyes were narrowed. Everyone was watching him, waiting for a response. He turned slowly, magic humming through his veins. The moment his eyes fixed on the blond man, the magic gathering inside him burst outward. He let out a piercing, enraged shriek and flung himself at the man. A pair of strong arms wrapped around his waist and held him back. He growled and bucked in an attempt to dislodge the restraints.



“Headmaster, I hope this was not what you had in mind!” Severus ground out, still holding tight to the thrashing teen.



“Give him his wand, Severus, and release him.” Dumbledore said quietly, sealing the door and throwing up a shield around the group.



Severus looked at him for a moment, then complied. He slipped the wand he had silently summoned into the raven-haired boy’s hand and released him. He stepped quickly back, behind the shield.



Harry was panting heavily, nostrils flaring, as he stood gripping his wand tightly. His eyes were trained on the blond Slytherin in the doorway. “Thanks, sir.” He grinned slowly.



Malfoy’s eyes flicked to Dumbledore and widened comically when he noticed the shield. He backed up slowly and gasped to find the door behind him sealed. “You trapped me in here with that manic little mutt! What is this supposed to be!” Even to his own ears, his voice sounded slightly hysterical. He winced at the sound, not taking his grey eyes off the angry young man.



“Lucius, I do believe you are even better then I am at angering the young man. Please continue to do so. We are attempting to cause his accidental magic.” Severus smirked.



“What!” Lucius’ voice was completely hysterical this time, but at the moment, he paid it no heed. “You want me to anger this idiot so he attacks me! Are you insane!?! If the little slim can out nearly duel the Dark Lord, why should I fair any better! I thought you didn’t want me dead or as good as Kissed!”



Severus chuckled darkly. “I was under the impression that you loathed the boy, Lucius. That comment sounded rather complimentary.”



Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled brightly and the Coven watched the usually composed man press himself against the door in fear. He threw a quick look at the potion’s master and snarled.



Harry, who seemed to be calming slightly, stiffened again at the mention of Voldemort and the subtle reference to the Department of Mysteries. The curling, swirling magic flared again. Malfoy’s eyes immediately snapped back to the teen.



His lip curled back in a remarkable imitation of the terrifying Potion’s Master, Harry snarled, “You filthy arrogant bastard!!! How dare you bring up that…that thing! You’re even too much of a coward to call him by the name he fashioned for himself! You have no right to bring up Voldemort in front of me!”



He raised his wand and, without any conscious thought, a burst of magic emerged from the tip, hurling itself at the Death Eater. Lucius’ eyes widened and he flung himself to the side. The ball of energy erupted into flames as it splashed against the door. Rolling away, the blond rose into a crouch and pulled his wand. The fear vanished from the man’s face to be replaced by loathing and rage. He straightened, fire in his eyes.



“I have no right! You cretin! I have every right to mention whatever I wish. For example, I could bring up the fact that you are responsible for the Weasley chit’s death.” Lucius sneered.



That did it. Harry, up until that point, had been trying to control his temper in hopes of finding out what was going on. Now he saw red. He no longer cared why the death eater was here, nor if he killed the man really. He did know that he wanted blood.



The teen went absolutely still. The group behind the shield sent each other nervous glances. Even Dumbledore looked concerned.



“I am not responsible for Ginny’s death, you motherfucking, vile, little shit! Her blood is all on you, Lucius Malfoy. You and that bloody, crazy-arse bitch of a sister-in-law of yours. Just because you bow to that filthy half-blood fucker, does not give you the authority or right to flounce around with superiority in your eyes and lies on your tongue. You will pay for what you’ve done to me and the ones I love. You’ve tried to kill me more then once and now I’m going to return the favor.” The words were quiet and icy. Magic prickled just under his skin, making him sparkle slightly.



Harry closed his eyes slowly, taking deep breaths. Severus cursed under his breath. Lifting his wand, Harry tossed it lightly away. Fuck! What is the boy doing? You never take your eyes from your opponent! Never mind, close them! And what the Hell did he throw his wand away for??? Obviously, Malfoy had similar ideas because he smirked and raised his own wand. Harry did not move at all, but the wand in the death eater’s grip burst into flames. The blond yelped and dropped it. Within seconds, it was consumed.



“What the fuck, Potter!!! That wand was handmade! I will see to it that you replace it. Even if payment comes out of your hide!” Malfoy lost any composure that may have remained to him with the loss of his weapon. Now he had no means of hurting the boy, nor even protecting himself from the attack he could feel gathering in the air. He prayed to whatever god was listening that the Gryffindor Golden Boy would not resort to Unforgivables. The death eater had a feeling that this time he would have the power and hatred it took to complete the casting.



A small smile curled the teen’s lips, causing a shiver to run down the blond Slytherin’s spin. In his mind, Harry called up all the anger, all the grief, and all the pain that Malfoy had ever caused him, all the hatred, and his wish that everything be all right. Gathering it together, he simply let it go. In a brilliant, blinding flash of golden white light, Harry’s magic gushed forth into the room like a tidal wave, filling it to the ceiling. It seeped into everything and every person within, soaking into every surface, be it skin or stone. The shield Dumbledore had erected dissolved and those behind it were bathed in the magic. Several minutes pasted, light so bright it was darkness filling the space. A pure note, calling to mind the song of a phoenix, rang through the chamber and echoed off the far walls.



Then with a gasp and a whimper, Harry collapsed and the light disappeared. Pushing past the agony that seemed to fill his body, Severus was the first to reach the boy’s side, Ariadne close behind. He felt quickly for a pulse and was painfully relieved to find one. His breath was strained and his movements jerky, as he tried to ignore the feeling of fire in his veins. He ran a diagnostic test on Harry to find that he was merely sleeping. With a snarl, the potion’s master spun on his knees and glared at the headmaster. “Is this what you wished!?! Was your desire for the boy to expend such a quantity of magic that he collapsed? Became catatonic? All so you might gauge the power of your little weapon?”



Dumbledore shook his head sadly. “I did not believe that that would happen. I merely thought he would attack Lucius and perform some accidental magic.”



Aurelia, who had walked over to the still form of the blond aristocrat, bent and felt for a pulse. It was very faint. “Professor, I think Harry may have succeeded in his goal. By the feel of his pulse, Malfoy is not going to last very long.”



“Oh no!” Hermione gasped, her eyes swiftly filling with tears.



“You mourn the death of one of the Dark Lord’s own, Ms. Granger?” Ekantika murmured, at her side.



The bushy-haired girl turned wide watery eyes on her teacher. “No! But Harry will be devastated! He hates death! He would never kill anyone! Not even Malfoy!”



The dark-skinned woman nodded and went to assist Aurelia, in trying to revive and stabilize the man. Ignoring the trembling in his limbs and the pain that was still washing through him, Severus slipped his arms under the boy lying so still before him. He picked Harry up, as if he were a small child, and left the room. Ariadne followed with Hermione, as Snape brought his son to the infirmary again.



Still in the chamber, Dumbledore knelt down beside his Wizarding Tradition’s teacher. Looking the man over, he furrowed his brow. Something was off about him. Something was missing. With a quick whisper, the Headmaster forced the man’s aura to emerge from his body. The old man gaped and sucked in a sharp breath. It was pure. The Death Eater’s originally hunter green aura, which had been coated in black over the years, was now back to its original color. The old man’s startled blue eyes widened.



Isoko came up next to him and asked softly, “Professor, shouldn’t his aura be much smuttier then that? I mean he has the Dark Mark after all.”



Aurelia and Ekantika stopped what they were doing, having gotten his pulse stable, and joined the two figures in staring down at the blond man. Not answering her question the old man reached out. Grasping Malfoy’s wrist, he pushed up the sleeve on his left arm. Four pairs of eyes were trained on the pale smooth skin. Skin that was completely bare.



The room itself seemed to hold its breath. Finally, Dumbledore lifted his head and looked up at the three women standing over him. They shared a shocked glance.



“Was the spell…or rather magic just aimed at Lucius or…?” Aurelia voiced the question the others did not have to courage to put into words.



Rising to his feet, the headmaster addressed the three women. “Bring him to the infirmary.” Then, he swept purposefully out of the room.



“Severus…”






Warning for Language



This one is a little bit of a cliffy. I apologize in advance. Hope you enjoy!



[*Note: reference to Twilight in this chapter: cookie for the one who gets it