Featherlight Taction

A/N: Sorry it took so long for me to put this up—at least it felt long to me…. I worked really hard on the PLOT. And –gasp!- I waited until I had at least TWO chapters written before I uploaded! So you get two chappies today! Oh, and school has started as well, but I’ve hardly any classes, so that shouldn’t change much.

Ckret2: Merlin, I love your reviews. I thoroughly enjoy them and I’m supremely thrilled to have you as one of my readers. Many thanks for your awesome reviews, and keep ‘em coming!

That goes for the rest of your too! I love all of your reviews and without them I would melt into a puddle of nothingness!

NOTHINGNESS, I SAY!!!

Read now.

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I think im drowning
Asphyxiating
I wanna break the spell
That you've created

You're something beautiful
A contradiction
I wanna play the game
I want the friction

You will be
The death of me
Yeah, you will be
The death of me

Bury it
I won't let you bury it
I won't let you smother it
I won't let you murder it

Our time is running out
Our time is running out
You can't push it underground
You can't stop it screaming out

I wanted freedom
Bound and restricted
I tried to give you up
But I'm addicted

Now that you know I'm trapped
Sense of elation
You'd never dream of breaking this fixation
You will squeeze the life out of me

Bury it
I won't let you bury it
I won't let you smother it
I won't let you murder it

And our time is running out
And our time is running out
You can't push it underground
you can't stop it screaming out
how did it come to this?

And you will suck the life out of me

Bury it
I won't let you bury it
I won't let you smother it
I won't let you murder it

And our time is running out
And our time is running out
You can't push it underground
You can't stop it screaming out

How did it come to this?

-Muse – Our Time is Running Out

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Featherlight Taction

Chapter 15- Damaged

Severus Snape lingered in the cold of the snowy day, standing in the shadows of the large trees in the forest of Hogsmeade. It was night, and the dark sky echoed a blue tinge onto the blanket of snow that covered the ground, emanating an eerie hue into the late hours. There was no need to hide himself more than he was. Shop owners had long since gone to bed and the patrons of the town had also settled down for the night. Besides, he needed to be found, so hiding would do him no good.

He cupped his gloved hands around his mouth and blew into them, trying to warm his face a bit. Sadly, as soon as he removed his hands, the wet heat turned to an icy cold on his long nose and he felt the annoying throb of the low temperature mock him.

Shoving his hands into his cloak pockets, he ignored the discomfort and looked around in a slight impatience.

Where was she?

He rolled his eyes and shuffled his feet a bit to stay warm. Trust her to be late. She’d probably act like she was early and that he was merely crazy. Too bad she was the crazy one. Still, she was his contact on all things about the Order of the Phoenix, and he had no room to judge her eccentricities at the moment. Of anything, he was grateful to her for being wise enough through all of her idiosyncrasies to realize that he was still on the Order’s side, regardless of the fact that he was Dumbledore’s unwilling murderer.

He heard a crunch of snow from behind him and started, turning around.

“Why in the world are you coming from that direction?” Severus inquired gruffly, looking past her into the depths of the forest.

Luna Lovegood smiled broadly, her radish earrings shaking from where they dangled. She pulled her wool mittens on a bit more tightly around her pale hands and cocked her blonde head to the side. “I wanted to visit the thestrals first, of course,” she said, as if this fact was most obvious.

Severus shook his head, deciding not to broach the subject further. “News?” he asked finally, turning his dark gaze back to the empty streets of Hogsmeade, barely visible through the trees.

“Oh, there’s quite a lot of it, actually,” Luna replied airily, plopping down onto the ground suddenly, looking quite pleased with herself for no apparent reason.

Severus stared. “Isn’t that cold?”

“Cold?” she asked, tilting her head in confusion.

“You’re sitting in a pile of snow.”

Luna looked down at where she sat. “Yes, I am, Professor,” she said, sounding quite surprised. “Thank you for noticing.” She didn’t move to get up, so Severus merely shook his head and let it pass.

They had been meeting to exchange information for five months now. Severus had been in an obscure apothecary shop of the edge of Surrey, and Luna had happened to walk in just as he let his guard down to search for some rare ingredients. Apparently she was a regular shopper at Piddle Toadsworth’s Rare Apothecary. He should have known. She saw through his soft disillusionment quite easily, much to his surprise, and had stated in her normal airy fashion that she knew perfectly well that he had not wanted to kill the Headmaster in the least.

When he had later asked her how she was so sure that he was good, she had simply replied: “I just know these sort of things, you see.”

Yet, even after five long months, Severus was still not wholly used to her strange personality. The girl truly was a oddity, even in the wizarding world.

Severus sighed and leaned his back against a near tree, staring up into the sky. He didn’t bother asking Luna for news again. She would speak in a few moments anyway. One thing he had learned through all her quirks was that, though she exuded an air of patience, she could not stand silence.

“Neville and Ginny are planning on leaving the school soon,” she said quietly, following his gaze to the stars. “Many of the other DA members wish to go as well. I said I’d join them. I believe it’s time.”

“Can you get them to wait a bit longer?” Severus said, lowering his eyes to look at her. “It’s too soon.”
”Well we’ve still got a bit of planning to do,” Luna answered, fingering one of her earrings absently. “It should take a few days. Maybe even a few weeks.” She chuckled sweetly. “But honestly, Mister Snape, it won’t take that long.”

Severus allowed himself a smirk. “That’s what you get when Gryffindors are running it all,” he said. “I’ll tell the Death Eaters that you’re uprising, but I’ll lead them in the wrong direction. It should be enough to jostle them a bit, if anything. Where will you be heading?”

“We’ll most likely find Harry,” Luna responded, shrugging with a smile. “After all, he is our leader.”

Severus nodded. “And what will you do when you find him?”

Luna was quiet for a moment, her eyes traveling once more up to the sky. “I think then we’ll fight, Sir.”

Severus nodded again. He felt almost like a muggle bobble-head, but it was all he could think to do. He would never admit it, but he was worried about them. They were just children; and, after all, he had taught them for years. He felt a sort of obligation to protect them.

“Don’t worry,” the young blonde said, not looking at him. “We’ll be fine. They’re strong.”

“I know,” Snape answered, flexing his hands in his deep pockets. “The Death Eaters are steering clear of Potter right now. He killed Bellatrix Lestrange. You might due to let Longbottom know of that.” Luna nodded, her soft face peaceful and understanding. The potions master continued, his voice heavy in the cold. “You should be safe once you reach him, but I can only guarantee so much safety of passage until that point.”

Luna stood and Severus looked down at her, his eyebrows raised. She rested her arms behind her back and walked in front of him, smiling up at him with sparkling eyes. “Don’t worry,” she said. “It will be alright.”

Severus looked at her for a moment, his face blank. He forced his expression into an annoyed sneer and looked away. “Of course it will, you silly girl.”

“I like being silly,” Luna replied, spinning around in the snow. “Order members have been coming to the castle quite frequently now, you know. I think they’re planning something.”

This caught the wizard’s attention, and he focused his ebony eyes on her, listening.

“Of course, I think they might just be mourning,” she continued, stopping her twirling. “Tonks and Mr. Weasley have died. I’m sure you knew that already.”

Severus frowned. “I did not know of Arthur’s death.”

“I wasn’t there, but Ginny said that Harry had gone mad when it happened,” Luna said thoughtfully. “Said she’d never seen him like it.”

Snape felt a heavy feeling in his gut. Potter was bound to snap soon. Who wouldn’t in such circumstances? He forced the thoughts out of his mind. It wouldn’t do to pity the boy right now. “Do you know what they might be planning?” he asked.

Luna shook her head. “We’ve been focusing so much on the DA that it’s been rather difficult to do anything else. They are being very secretive, too. Neville said that we don’t stand a chance at eavesdropping without Fred and George’s help. I suggested we use severed billywig, but they disagreed.”

“Well that’s—wait… severed billywig?” Severus stopped short. “What would-? No, never mind. Don’t tell me.” He raised a hand to silence her as she opened her mouth to reply. It wasn’t worth it. “Look, this will be my last visit.”

This time it was Luna who was nodding. “Yes, I thought that might be the case,” she said lightly.

“Lucius Malfoy is your ally,” Severus said, eyeing her severely.

“Is he?” Luna asked, visibly surprised.

“Yes. Should he present himself to you, you have no need to fear him,” Severus said, pulling a hand from his pocket and reaching into his robes. “He will try to help you, but you cannot reveal his loyalties.” Luna nodded again, the bobble-head syndrome turning to her. “However, even with both of us trying to aid you, we can only do so much.” At this point, Severus withdrew three identical vials, each with shimmering golden liquid within them. “This is Felix Felacis potion. I’m sure you’re familiar with it?”

Luna’s eyes widened with delight. “Oh yes! We used a bit of it last year when… we fought! It worked wonders.”

Severus’ expression turned grave and he handed her the three vials. “When you begin your travels, use it, but do not waste it. This was all I could spare. The luck should hold true to all who consume a mere sip of it, so it should keep you safe.”
Luna took the vials delicately, holding them with great care. “Thank you very much, Mister Snape,” she said happily. “This was very kind of you.”

Severus stepped back and looked away. “Just don’t be foolish,” he grumbled. “And Potter is no longer at Grimmauld Place. They did not return there after Christmas; but where they went, I do not know.”

Luna smiled and cradled the potions to her chest. “Thank you.”

“Thank you,” Snape said, waving his hand as if batting away her thanks so it wouldn’t touch him. “Your information has been most useful.”

“I was happy to help. It’s what Dumbledore would have wanted, after all,” she said, her sparkling eyes disturbingly similar to that of the late Headmaster’s.

“Yes.” Severus reached out a gloved hand and Luna met it with a mittened one. “Good luck.”

The witch giggled and shook his hand firmly. “Good luck to you too, Sir.”

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Harry poked at his eggs, staring at them rather disdainfully.

“What did the eggs do to you, Harry?” Ron asked, looking over at his best friend with a mixture of amusement and worry.

Harry glanced up at the redhead, obviously perplexed by the question. “Huh?”

Ron rolled his eyes playfully. “You’re glaring at them like they just sentenced you to the Dementor’s kiss.”

Harry chuckled and leaned back in his chair and clasped his hands behind his head. “Sorry ‘bout that. I’m just tired. Long night.”

“Well don’t apologize to me, mate,” Ron answered, pointing at Harry’s eggs. “Apologize to them.”

Harry grinned and leaned forward, plastering a dramatized serious expression on his features. Staring straight at the eggs, he said in a low voice: “I’m very sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”

“Why on Earth are you apologizing to your breakfast, Harry?” Hermione inquired incredulously as she walked out of her room, her hair in a ponytail and some rolls of parchment under her arm.

Harry blushed and sat back in his chair, crossing his arms in a small pout. “Ron made me do it,” he mumbled.

“Did not! Ow!” Ron shrank down in his chair as Hermione swatted him with one of her rolls of parchment.

“Behave, you two. You’re like toddlers,” Hermione stated, trying to hold back a smile. “Really, now.”

“What are all those papers?” Harry asked, finally deeming his eggs worthy of consumption and scooping some onto his fork.

“Well this,” Hermione pulled open one of the rolls, displaying a blueprint, of sorts. “Is a sketch of what we saw of the Malfoy house when we were there before.”

Ron peered over at her work. “Wow, ‘Mione,” he grunted through a bite of sausage. “Thas wally good.”

“Oh, it’s just a sketch. I had very little to go on,” Hermione scoffed, pointing at her drawing of the entranceway of the manor. “We only saw the outside and the entrance, so we saw hardly anything. All we found out was our choices of where we could go when we start out.”

She moved her finger upwards and the boys leaned in for a closer view. “The stairs to the second floor are directly in front of the entrance door. They most likely lead to all the private rooms, such as bedrooms and offices.”

She waited for the boys to nod before she continued. “And here,” her finger slid to the right. “Was a big door. It was closed, so who knows what could be in there. Maybe it’s their dining hall or a ballroom or something.”

The boys snickered. “Figures Malfoy would have a ballroom,” Ron snorted.
”It’s a mansion, Ronald,” Hermione replied, rolling her eyes. “Most mansions have large rooms like that. Anyway,” her finger moved just to the left of the staircase. “It looks like this is a hall. I didn’t really get a good look down it, but I think I saw a small doorway down to the right of it. And here,” she moved further left. “This was a wide doorway. I could see perfectly into the room. It was some sort of study. By the looks of it, it wasn’t connected to any other room, so it must be this portion sticking out on the outside.” She indicated the outside drawing of the mansion. “By the looks of the outside, the house goes really far back and to the right from where we were.”

“Merlin, Hermione,” Harry groaned, thoroughly surprised. “You’ve got a hell of a memory.”

Hermione leveled him with a strict glare. “It was necessary, Harry. This is serious. If we get this wrong, one of us could die this time.”

The two wizards frowned and looked down at their plates. Hermione lightened up a bit, sensing the tension. “Look, we just have to prepare more this time, and we have to do it right in case Voldemort is there again.”

Harry’s head shot up and his heart began to race. “He won’t be there, will he?” he asked, trying to hide his panic. “I mean, it was just a freak coincidence, right?”

Hermione looked at him strangely. “Well… it’s always possible Harry,” she said slowly, “I mean, Lucius Malfoy is one of his top Death Eaters.”

Harry calmed down and shut his eyes tightly. “Yeah, sorry. I… I just don’t want that to happen again.” His voice was gravelly, and Hermione mistook it for sadness. She reached out and patted his arm soothingly.

“We’ll do it right this time, Harry, I promise.”

Harry nodded and swallowed dryly.

“Besides, I have a plan,” Hermione said, pulling back and withdrawing a large bottle from within her parchments.

“Wh-where were you keeping that?” Ron spluttered, looking at her as if she’d just pulled a rabbit out of the papers and not just a bottle.

Hermione ignored him and sat the clear bottle on the table. It was three-quarters full of the strangest looking liquid Harry had ever laid eyes on. It was almost transparent, with shimmering wisps of silver floating throughout it. It looked a lot like the contents of a pensieve.

At Harry’s questioning look and Ron’s bemused inspection of how Hermione could have possibly hidden such a large bottle in those papers, Hermione poked the side of the bottle with her forefinger. “This is how we’ll get in.”

“How will that rotted firewhiskey get us into the manor?” Ron asked dubiously.

“It’s not rotted firewhiskey,” Hermione replied, affronted. “It’s potion. Invisibility potion, to be specific.”

Harry and Ron gaped. “How in the seven hells did you get a hold of invisibility potion?!” Harry gasped, gazing at the bottle reverently.

“I made it,” Hermione said bluntly, looking rather proud.

“Impossible!” Ron said. “Those ingredients are next to impossible to get! Where-?”

“Fleur,” Hermione cut him off. “Her father specializes in rare plants and natural magical substances. She got the ingredients for me.”

“When did you-?” Ron tried again, but Hermione cut him off once more.

“When we were at the Burrow,” she said. “Ginny helped me.”

“So that was the stench coming from her rooms, then!” Ron said, feeling a tad triumphant.

Hermione shook her head, her face paling. “No. That was one of Fred and George’s stink bombs.” She grimaced. “Nasty stuff. Smelled like that troll from first year.”

“So that stuff doesn’t smell?” Harry asked, gesturing towards the bottle.

“Not in the least,” Hermione said, looking at the swirling silver with her eyebrows raised. “No smell, no taste, nothing.”

“It’ll be a right bit better than drinking polyjuice, than,” Ron said, looking as if he’d just tasted the bottom of someone’s foot.

“Well there is one side-effect…” Hermione said, trailing off and looking away.

Harry narrowed his eyes. “And what is that, pray tell?”

“Well… it tends to have a bit of an… effect of body density,” Hermione muttered, her eyes not meeting Harry’s.

“Body density?” Harry repeated, not understanding.

“Well,” Hermione bit her lip. “One time a man using the invisibility potion was just standing on the middle of a floor and he kind of, sunk into it suddenly. His legs went through the floor. When they found him—when the potion finally wore off, that is—he was stuck waist deep in the floor.”

Ron’s eyes grew wide. “And what happened to the part of his body in the floor?” he asked timidly.

Hermione’s expression was the only answer they needed and all three at the table blanched.

“No way, nope, not doing it,” Harry said, standing up from his chair abruptly.
”No wait!” Hermione exclaimed, jumping up from her chair as well. “It’s not that bad…”

“Not that bad?!” Harry cried, “He lost the bottom half of his body!”

“It’s only because he was standing still,” Hermione countered. “Look, after some research they found out that if you touch any inanimate object for too long, your body will lose its density at that point of contact and you will subsequently go through the item!”

“Could you say that in English, ‘Mione?” Ron asked, looking utterly perplexed.

“She means we can’t touch anything for very long at one time or we’ll go through it,” Harry answered, staring at the bottle of liquid. “I don’t know…”

“Well what else do you suggest?!” Hermione said, throwing her hands up into the air in exasperation. “All three of us can’t fit under the invisibility cloak and the polyjuice potion worked wonders last time!”

Harry frowned, looking down at his legs and imagining not having them any more. He shuddered. “We would be heard.”

Hermione shook her head. “No, we could cast silencing spells on ourselves. Granted, we wouldn’t be able to talk to each other, but it’s more important that we’re not heard.”

Harry rubbed the bridge of his nose and looked out the window into the snow-covered forest.

“You’re not actually considering this, are you Harry?” Ron asked, mortified.

Rubbing the back of his neck, Harry closed his eyes and considered their options. Hermione was right. The invisibility cloak was too small and polyjuice potion would not work. Was there any other choice? After all, he wasn’t particularly keen on losing his legs if he stood still for too long. He pulled off his glasses and sighed. They needed the horcruxes, and they shouldn’t let this risk stop them. No other risks had stopped them before, and those were for far less important things than the horcruxes.

Harry opened his jade eyes and turned them back to his friends. “We’ll do it.”

Ron groaned. “Great.”

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Draco leaned back into his bedroom’s armchair, staring out the window into the blue sky. He had been doing that a lot lately—staring at the sky. His blonde hair wasn’t slicked back like it normally was, and it fell into his face as he slouched in his chair bonelessly.

There was a sharp knock at his door and he glanced over to it, his silver eyes impassive. “Come in,” he muttered, turning back to the window.

The door opened and heavy footsteps fell onto his carpet. He knew before the man even reached his side that it was his father, but he spoke no greeting.

Lucius shared his son’s gaze for a moment, his gray eyes lingering on the clouds for a few moments before he spoke. “I have something to discuss with you,” he said finally.

Draco looked up at his father expectantly and the man moved over to sit on the edge of the teen’s bed, turning a serious eye upon him. The young Malfoy sat up straight. His father looked severe. What was this about?

“That locket I gave you, do you still wear it?” Lucius asked, looking down at Draco’s clothed chest.

Draco raised an elegant eyebrow. “That old thing? That’s what you wanted to talk about?” He looked disbelieving, as if his father was attempting to fool him.

Lucius nodded shortly. “Answer.”

“Yes, father,” Draco said, seeing that there was no room for further questioning. He reached into his shirt collar and tugged at an expensive chain, revealing a glimmering and heavy locket with an elaborate ‘S’ engraved on the front of it.

“Give it to me,” Lucius ordered softly, holding out a slender palm.

Thought Draco did not value the locket in any way, he was still hesitant to relinquish it so suddenly with no answers. His white fingers tightened around the chain and he looked at his father in question.

Lucius’ eyes narrowed. “Give it to me, Draco,” he repeated. Was that nervousness in his voice?

Draco knew he shouldn’t press his father’s patience, but he couldn’t control his curiosity. Was this locket important? “Why?” he asked, trying not to sound timid. Timidity was not the Malfoy way.

Lucius let his hand fall to his lap. He hadn’t expected Draco to question him. Perhaps the boy had been staring at the skies for too long. “Draco…”

Draco looked away, letting go of the chain and letting the locket fall to his chest with a thump. “Please, tell me,” he said quietly. “I don’t want to be out of the loop anymore. I… I want to-!” Draco looked up as he spoke, and his voice trailed off as he saw his father’s expression.

Lucius was torn. He had expected some sort of outburst from his son. The boy had been locked up in the manor for many months now, and though a war was raging in the outside world, he had not been allowed to partake in it. Only now did it hit Lucius fully how much Draco must have been suffering, knowing that so much was going on…

Lucius fixed the younger Malfoy with a calculating gaze. Draco stared at him fearfully, thinking he had said something wrong. With a grace that only he could muster, Lucius allowed his face to go calm, hiding the emotions behind an invisible mask.

“Son,” Draco’s eyes widened fractionally as Lucius spoke, “Where do your loyalties lie?” It was a dangerous question, and by the pallor of Draco’s face, it was obvious that he knew this.

“I…” Draco was unsure of his answer. His father was a Death Eater, was he not? Yet… though Lucius Malfoy was a very arrogant and proud man, Draco thought him to be a good man, nonetheless. Even so, what should he answer? His father followed the Dark Lord, willingly or not, and his answer could be the death of him. He didn’t think for a moment his own father would kill him, but if he told him that he was on Harry Potter’s side and the Dark Lord found out…

A small smile curled on Lucius’ lips and he let out a deep sigh. Draco blushed crimson. He had forgotten how poor of an Occlumens he was. He’d always been terrible at it. Not as bad as Severus said Potter was, granted.

Wait… Lucius was smiling. So that meant he was on Potter’s side, right? Draco was thoroughly confused now and he slapped his hand to his forehead, heart racing and mind whirring.

“Don’t worry,” Lucius said, his voice much calmer now. “It is safe to say, son, that you and I share the same loyalties.”

Draco’s head shot up. “But father-“

“I do what is necessary to protect my family,” Lucius said firmly, looking Draco straight in the eyes.

The young wizard felt a sudden surge of affection for Lucius, but he, of course, did not show it. Instead, he relaxed into his chair and ran the pad of his thumb over the locket. “So… what is this locket?” he asked, looking up at his father with hopeful eyes.

Lucius withdrew his wand and stood.

“First, I have to cast a few spells on you, Draco,” he said, trying to seem comforting as his son paled. “Don’t worry. It will just make it so that you cannot speak a word of what I tell you and that, though you will know what I say, you will not remember this conversation for a Legilimens to find.”

Draco untensed his shoulders. He trusted his father. But… was the truth of this locket really that serious? He swallowed hard and looked back up. “Okay.”

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Voldemort stood at the edge of the wood floors of his library, lingering on the precipice of entering the stone hall, but not quite there. His hands supported him on either side of the door frame, and his slitted features were narrowed and creased. He was deep in thought.

He let out a light sigh through barely parted lips and blinked slowly, as if trying to calm himself.

He was currently thinking about something he had not dared to linger his mind upon in quite a long time.

His horcruxes.

It had seemed pointless before to even contemplate their safety, but as he had considered every option and ignored the growing feeling in his gut, the idea began to become obvious.

Potter obviously had a mission. Why else would he travel to Hogwarts and, even more, the Malfoy Manor? The boy was looking for something.

But he couldn’t possibly… no. How would he know!

Unless… Tom’s fists clenched against the wooden frame and he ground his teeth together in agitation.

That meddling, old fool!

He shoved himself away from the door and into the hall, his walk stiff and unforgiving as he swept down the corridor.

It was possible that Dumbledore could have told Harry about the horcruxes, but he was certain that even the old man hadn’t known the half of what Riddle had used for his objects; or where they were.

The Dark Lord pinched the sides of his scarlet eyes and shut them tightly, coming to a stop in the middle of the hall.

If Potter was searching for the horcruxes, was it possible that he had destroyed some already? Voldemort found that the idea did not anger him as much as it should. He frowned and picked up his pace once more, stopping at his quarters and walking inside, shutting the door quietly behind him.

He moved to sit in his bedside chair and found himself staring at a very familiar wall. These past few weeks, all he’d done is stare at that wall, and he was growing accustomed to its blank, unmoving form. At least the wall didn’t question him. Walls couldn’t be incompetent or cause him problems. He liked walls.

He rubbed his temples, forcing his mind back on more intelligible thoughts.

If Potter was indeed after his horcruxes, then he had to stop him. It was likely that the one at Hogwarts was already destroyed, so he had to focus on the ones whose fate he was more certain of. He began to list them all in his mind. Let’s see…

He knew full well that both his ring and diary had been destroyed, much to his discontent, so that left… On skeletal finger lifted. The cup. Two more fingers. Then there was the locket and Nagini, his loyal snake. If Harry had destroyed the diadem, those would be the ones he would focus on for now.

Nagini was perfectly safe within his manor. She never left, so her safety was irrelevant at the moment. The cup was with… oh yes… Bellatrix Lestrange had kept that one. Looks like he would have to retrieve that one quickly.

He doubted that Potter would have any desire to return the Lestrange estate any time soon, but the mansion was now unprotected, leaving it an open spot to steal something, should the boy try.

Two of his lean fingers lowered and he placed his index finger to his lip in thought, leaning his elbow on the arm of the chair. The locket was with Lucius Malfoy. That was likely more safe than the cup at the moment, but obviously Potter had suspected he might hide something with the Malfoys. After all, he’d shown on their doorstep not long ago. He would likely try to return once more.

The wizard leaned back into his chair, his bald head hitting the leather softly. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself a bit of relief. At least he wasn’t thinking about his recent dreams.

After a few moments, relief was replaced with a low growl.

Unfortunately, reminding yourself of something you’re not supposed to be thinking about—even if it’s just to realize that you’re not thinking about it—ends up taking your thoughts right to that particular subject.

Now, of course, the vision behind his eyelids played nothing but the scenes of his strolls in that hated room with a fireplace and his activities in that room with a certain messy haired teen.

Damn.

Why couldn’t he just keep his mind of his horcruxes?

He scowled at the ceiling.

This was pathetic.

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Wooo! Some really important and exciting things are gonna start happening now! A lot of things have been revealed in this chapter, neh? This was a kind of set-up chapter to prepare you for the crash bang boom that’s about to come.

CRASH BANG BOOM!

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