Chapter 7
Harry was still cursed with every wixen transportation method except flying, because as soon as Death landed in Severus' office, he tripped and almost fell face-flat on the ground. Severus swiftly caught him before he could, snorting.
"Shut up," Harry complained irritably, getting to his feet. He looked up and saw the portraits staring at them in shock. "'sup, Dumblefuck," he drawled. Severus choked.
Dumbledore's portrait stared at him in anger and shock. "Harry? What-"
"I took a Magical Aura Test at Gringotts," Harry sang, making Dumbledore curse and Severus cough. In a dramatic and sweet tone, he added, "By the way, this is Entitatum Death, they're teaching me Death Magic and Soul Magic."
Death was snickering -- which sounded like bones rattling, as they were still in non-human form -- and Severus was giving him an exasperated look. The portraits were looking even more shocked, while Dumbledore was looking more angry.
"I'll yell at you later," Harry decided, "I don't have time right now." He turned to Death. "How do I find it, Master Death?"
"Reach out with your magic," Death replied. "You will recognize it. It is still on the desk."
"Find what?" Dumbledore demanded. Harry responded by flipping him off and going over to his desk. Some of the portraits had recovered by this time and were chuckling at Harry's sass.
Harry stopped at the place he'd stood many times before, but this time, he was no longer loyal to Dumbledore. He focused on his magic and let it flow over the desk.
He heard Severus make a strangled, hungry noise behind him. Harry blushed darkly, but kept his eyes on the desk.
It was a lot more organized than when Dumbledore was the headmaster. The papers, instead of being scattered all over the surface and sticking out of drawers haphazardly, were organized neatly in two black folders, and half of them were gone. Instead of quills, there were pencils and pens, contained in a black cup on one corner of the desk. There was a tiny statue of a golden Phoenix in the front and middle of the desk -- which was radiating with Dark magic.
"Is it the statue?" Harry asked, moving aside to show Death. The hood moved down and back up, so Harry picked it up.
"I tried to remove that when I became Headmaster," Severus said dryly. "It wouldn't move."
"Only the Lord of all four Hogwarts Founders could remove that, Potions Master Prince," Death said sleekly. Several of the portraits gasped.
Harry blinked. "That reminds me, I still have your old potions book."
"Why?" Severus asked in exasperation.
"I forgot -- hey, don't look at me like that!" Harry said indignantly when Severus raised an eyebrow at him. "There was a lot of shite happening at the end of last year, like a cave and underground lake in the middle of the sea with inferi-"
"What?"
"-and a fake Horcrux," Harry continued, "and golem Dumbledore dying-"
Severus froze, and Harry suddenly remembered that his mate didn't know that he'd killed a fake Dumbledore.
"Your magic accepted the death," the deity said calmly, "which fulfilled that part of the vow." They disappeared after a nod to Harry.
"Thank Merlin," Severus muttered. "What are you doing about that, Harry?" he asked.
"I'm going to wait until You-Know-Who has his sanity back before confronting him," Harry responded, and Dumbledore snarled. "Shut up, you sent me back to an abusive house repeatedly, you don't get to talk."
"What!" one of the portraits exclaimed.
"I only ever wanted-"
"-to make me vulnerable and trust you because you 'saved' me from them?" Harry drawled, and Dumbledore scowled. "Yeah, I'm not stupid, Dumblefuck. I just pretended to be." He turned to Severus and pulled the Marauder's Map out of his robes. "This will be more useful to you than me." He handed it to him.
"This is the parchment that insulted me in your third year," Severus said coolly, studying it.
"That's because you didn't have the password," Harry chirped. "Tap it with your wand and say, 'I solemnly swear I am up to no good.'"
Grimacing, Severus did so. "Why is that -- fucking Merlin!"
Harry almost said, "I prefer you to fuck me, not Merlin," but stopped himself at the last second. He wasn't ready for that, either, even if Severus was bloody hot.
"This is how you got away with everything!" Severus exclaimed. "You had a map of Hogwarts that shows where everyone is at every second of the day!"
Harry smirked. "I didn't get away with everything. It doesn't show the Chamber or the Room of Requirement, though, probably because my dad and his friends never found those rooms."
"Of course this belongs to Potter," Severus said in annoyance. "Where is the entrance to the Chamber?"
"Second floor girl's bathroom," said Harry resignedly, and Severus looked alarmed. "Lythiae is pretty sure the Heir who decided not to move the entrance when plumbing was added to the school was a pedophile."
Severus hissed in disgust. "Who is Lythiae?"
"The Basilisk in the Chamber," Harry said brightly, earning a splutter from his mate and gasps from the portraits.
"You told me you killed the Basilisk!" Dumbledore raged.
"Oh, no, I lied to you, how surprising," Harry said in an incredibly sarcastic tone. In a normal tone he added, "It's fine, she's supposed to protect Hogwarts' students, so she purposefully didn't kill them. Myrtle was an accident."
"And you trust her?" Severus said cautiously.
"She's my familiar," Harry replied. "Hedwig was, too, but..."
"I did hear about that," Severus said quietly. "Selwin was bragging about it. I am sorry."
Harry smiled painfully, then said, "Let's go." He pulled the Cloak over his head, and Severus cast the space where he was a concerned look before swooping out of the office. Harry followed.
"Do you want to meet Lythiae?" Harry asked quietly as he walked beside the man.
"Perhaps later, when we have more time," Severus said after a pause. Harry grinned.
Lythiae was delighted to see her hatchling, and very surprised to see his changes. ~Your magic isn't stifled,~ she hissed warmly, gazing at him with warm amber eyes. ~I am happy to see you, hatchling, but it's summer vacation. Why are you here?~
"~Do you know what a Horcrux is?~" Harry asked. She reared in anger. "~That's a yes. Well, Voldemort made five of them.~" Lythiae gasped. "~One of them was the diary. I'm gathering them so Voldemort can have his sanity back and stop trying to kill me.~"
~Oh!~ Lythiae exclaimed. ~That's how you were Tom's son by magic, but not DNA! Your soul was blocked!~
Harry was startled and a little hurt. "~You knew and didn't tell me?~"
~My job is to protect all children of Hogwarts, hatchling,~ Lythiae said gently. ~To tell you would be to put you in danger. More danger than you were usually in,~ she added exasperatedly, and Harry snorted, relieved. ~And would you have believed me?~
Harry snorted again. "~Yeah, no. I don't have time to tell you what happened with my Magical Aura Test, I need to find the Horcrux.~"
~The only object the soul could have attached to is that rock,~ Lythiae said, pointing her tail over to the left side of the Chamber. In one of the water pathways was a huge boulder, which appeared to be blocking the entrance to a tunnel big enough for Lythiae to slide through comfortably. ~It fell from the ceiling a decade ago, blocking my passage to the Forbidden Forest.~ Well that explained the size.
"~Could I shrink it?~" Harry asked with a frown, walking over to the boulder. Sure enough, the same Dark magic that radiated from the Phoenix statue was emenating from the rock.
~Perhaps?~ Lythiae said hesitantly. ~You are related to the caster.~
Harry pulled out his wand and cast, "Reducio!"
The boulder shrank to the size of a pebble, and the Dark magic flared indignantly. Harry picked up the boulder and put it in his pocket, right next to the little statue. Immediately, the magic retracted.
~When the Horcruxes are together, they are less dangerous,~ Lythiae explained in amusement. ~Must you leave now, hatchling?~
"~Sorry, pretty one,~" Harry cooed, rubbing her snout. She closed her eyes halfway, making a weird noise that sounded like the snake version of a purr. "~I'll be back soon, I promise.~"
Severus stalked up to the seventh floor, avoiding Peeves and the few staff that had remained. Filch and Mrs. Norris were in their office, since there weren't any students present. The only teachers he really wanted to avoid were the Carrows, and they weren't in the school.
He paused, frowning. Two figures had just arrived in his quarters, which were still in the dungeons. At the same time, the charm he had on his fireplace told him that someone had come through the Floo.
Narcissa Malfoy and Draco Malfoy.
Get the Horcrux or check on his other mate?
After a moment, he decided Draco could wait until he got the diadem. No one could enter his quarters without his permission, and Narcissa and Draco were always welcome.
He swooped back and forth in front of the stretch of wall beside Barnabas the Barmy, thinking about the Room of Lost Things. A large door appeared, and Severus quickly entered and shut the door.
He cursed, seeing the towering maze of paraphernalia. How was he supposed to find a tiny diadem in this mess?!
Severus pulled out his wand after a moment. "Point me Ravenclaw's diadem," he intoned. His wand pointed to a passageway on his left, and he strode forward.
It took ten minutes to find the blasted thing, perched on top of a particularly ugly bust of Phineas Nigellus Black. Snorting, he picked up the diadem and pocketed it.
When he reached the entrance to the room, Severus pulled out the map again. As much as he hated Potter, this was a particularly useful item.
He cursed. The Carrows were headed down the seventh floor corridor. How was he supposed to get to his quarters without being seen?
To his surprise, another door appeared right beside the entrance. It was smaller and completely black. Cautiously, Severus opened the door. Behind it was a darkened staircase descending downward. He quickly entered and shut the door, rushing down the stairs.
At the bottom of the spiral staircase was another door, which looked exactly like the door to Severus' quarters. He opened it and found himself staring at his kitchen.
"Severus!" Narcissa exclaimed in surprise as he shut the door. Draco was sitting on the couch, expression blank. "Where did you come from? And why do you look so different?"
"Room of Requirement," Severus said shortly. "I was trying to avoid the Carrows. What's wrong with Draco?" He didn't answer the second question.
Narcissa snarled in protective fury, but Draco didn't move. "Grayback tried to attack him," she hissed. "He found him alone, as Lucius was at work and the Dark Lord was looking for something in Germany. I found him trying to-" she choked, looking nauseated, horrified, and livid.
Severus noticed that Draco's shirt had a rip along one side, and he growled.
The woman blinked. "Severus, are you a vampire?"
"Quarter-vampire," he corrected reluctantly. "Draco," he said quietly, softly, putting some of his magic into his voice.
Draco slowly blinked, and then he looked around blankly. "Mother, why are we in Professor Snape's quarters?"
"You're staying here until the Dark Lord removes that bloody werewolf," Narcissa said vehemently, and Draco flinched, curling in on himself. "Severus will protect you."
"Always," Severus agreed calmly. Draco's cheeks turned a pale pink color, which deepened when he saw Severus' new look. "Are you hurt anywhere, Draco?"
"N-no," he whispered, blushing.
"Draco?" Narcissa asked in confusion.
Severus remembered that the boy had waited until summer began to take his Magical Aura Test and Inheritance Test, so the boy knew who both of his mates were.
"Did you not tell Narcissa about your Magical Aura Test?" Severus asked dryly, heading into the kitchen to make some hot coco for Draco and pour some wine for Narcissa.
"What is he talking about, Draco?" Narcissa asked worriedly.
"Harry Potter and Professor Snape are..." Draco paused. "They..."
"Soulmates," Severus finished, and Narcissa let out a squawk of surprise. "I understand why Draco didn't tell you, about Harry Potter at least; the Dark Lord is still staying with you, correct?"
"Yes," Narcissa said faintly. "Severus, how did you... Draco wasn't born when you were seventeen..."
Severus paused. He needed Harry's permission to say anything, but he couldn't ask him.
...Entitatem Death? he thought.
Potions Master Prince, the deity immediately responded.
I want to tell Narcissa and Draco what happened, but-
One moment. There was a short silence, and then Death said, Little Apprentice agrees, and is confused as to why his other mate is here.
I will tell you both later, Harry doesn't need to be distracted.
Death responded with a "Hmm," of acknowledgement.
"I retook my Magical Aura Test... about an hour ago," Severus explained, after glancing at the clock. "It revealed that Dumbledore," he spat out the name with hatred, "had put me under several blocks and compulsions, one of which was to hate and bully Harry Potter."
"Oh, Severus," Narcissa whispered, looking both angry and concerned. "Do you know if Potter knows? He turned seventeen a few days ago, yes?"
"Before I tell you anything," Severus said quietly, glancing at Draco to show he was included, "I need to know that you won't tell the Dark Lord... yet," he added when the Malfoys looked shocked.
"I..." Narcissa paused. "You will tell the Dark Lord everything soon?" She looked more concerned for his welfare than angry that he would betray the Dark Lord.
"Yes, and I will explain why once I hear you swear secrecy," Severus said sleekly. Draco blushed darkly at the tone, and his vampire twitched in hunger.
No, he's barely seventeen! We wait until Harry and Draco are older!
MATES. OURS.
"I swear not to tell the Dark Lord anything of what you tell me tonight, unless my life, Lucius's life, or Draco's life depends on it," Narcissa said. Magic flared in the air.
Severus accepted that; the Dark Lord wouldn't know anything was afoot until he received the Horcrux package from Harry. He knew Narcissa wouldn't put her son or Lucius in danger anyway.
He gave Narcissa the wine and Draco the hot chocolate, then sat down. "I suggest you take a seat," Severus said quietly, "this is a rather long story."
Hey V,
Could you maybe kill off Greyback, he wants to r*pe Draco Malfoy. If you're asking how I know, he had the same expression on his face looking at Malfoy that my uncle Vernon did looking at three-year-old me. How did the bloody wolf escape anyway?
-The-Boy-Who-Wouldn't-Die
Potter,
Tell me where your uncle is. Now. The wolf is dead, I want that bastard to join him.
-Voldemort