Follow Me

A/N: I am sorry folks that I havent written in a while. A friend of mine\'s three year old son had an accident and we thought we were going to loose him.



He was with a babysitter and she took him to the store with her, he ended up standing up in the shopping cart and fell out of it, hitting his head on the floor. It didnt bleed or anything but she didnt take him to the hospital. My friend didnt find out how bad he was hurt until he woke up in the middle of the night throwing up and she rushed him to the emergency room. He actually quit breathing on the way to the hospital and they had to resusitate him in the parking lot of the emergency room. They ended up doing scans and found that he had severe swelling in his brain and so they did emergency surgery. He was in the hospital for a week, and now is at home but they still have no idea how bad he will be affected. The doctors say he may be blind in his right eye, and at this point he is extremely weak on his right side.



I am going to do my best to get back to the story as soon as possible but it may be a few more days. Right now Im spending most of my time over at her place, helping her take care of her two year old daughter, and doing what I can for her son. Its a little insane right now, but hopefully I will be able to work on the story again soon.



A/N2: Ok folks, I set up a yahoo group for my writing. Primarily it is to give me a place that I can post my stories to, and hopefully get some useful feedback on chapters before they are posted elsewhere on the net. By the way there is a picture of Norische on the group... http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Of_Pens_and_Ponders/?yguid=104171974



A/N3: Please leave feedback, if you dont leave feedback I dont know how I\'m doing. If you have ideas, questions, or comments please leave me feedback.





[...] or {...} = mindspeak

~...~ = parseltongue

\'...\' = thought







Chapter 41





“Which leaves us with one likely motive… Greed.” Harry spoke out.



“At this point we need more information. And before you all say anything, once again allow me to explain. Since everything seems to center around Harry it is only logical to assume that there is something associated directly with Harry that we are not aware of.” Norische placed a gentle kiss on Draco’s white blonde hair and continued. “From what Harry has told me, the only true funds he has access to is the vault that he emptied prior to our coming here. While to some the amount in the vault is quite generous, most would not consider it enough to raise even a glance let alone years worth of torment, planning, manipulation and coercion. Therefore, there has to be more. There must be something that Harry is unaware of, something that is so big that Dumbledore would be willing to risk it all for. Enough to risk his position at Hogwarts, his freedom, Harry’s life, the lives of the entire Wizarding world, and perhaps even the lives of all magical beings.”



Hermione had been relatively quiet during the whole meeting, but that was soon to change. “Excuse me…would it be acceptable if I made a couple of observations?” She asked tentatively.



Remembering how Hermione had taken charge and brainstormed last time, Norische nodded and allowed the young woman to take over at this point.



“Thank you. Ok for starters… you’re are absolutely right about there being more. When Hagrid first took Harry to Gringotts before Harry’s first year, he was told that vault 687 was a vault that his parents set up for him to use for his school and such. It is a common tradition especially in the older, more prominent families like the Malfoys, Blacks and Potters to set aside a specific account for educational purposes. If they continue to adhere to tradition, there should also be a vault for general living expenses, one for each heir…normally they would have between four and six vaults opened for ‘pending’ grandchildren. Which would be passed down to great grandchildren and great great grandchildren…etc. Then there should be a family vault, and considering the fact that the Potters are actually a rather old and well renowned family that one in itself should be huge, with each generation adding to the family vault. And those are only the basic vaults that would be common in a family as old and powerful as the Potters.” Hermione finished looking over to Sirius for verification.



“Yeah, I know that James had a school vault just like I did, and then there was the Potter vault, and I know he set up one for Harry as soon as they found out Lily was pregnant. I don’t know about any others but that is at least three, and that doesn’t even touch the one for Harry’s school.” Sirius nodded.



“So Dumbledore lied to me. He said that 687 was the only one and that I had, and to use it wisely so that I didn’t run out of money before I finished school and had a chance to get a job.” Harry shook his head, every breath seemed to bring a new lie out into the open. How much of a fool he had been to trust the old man.



Hermione nodded, her face a reflection of the emotions that were raging inside her right now. “We have to assume that how ever much or what ever is in those vaults is enough for Dumbledore to risk everything over. So… let’s see what facts we have that will substantiate this hypothesis.” Hermione stated as she rose from her seat and began to pace the room as she had done previously.



“First, using the probability of something that has a immense value waiting for Harry, we have to talk a look at the events surrounding his life.” Hermione started. “James and Lily’s death. We have already questioned the events surrounding it, but what if we look at it from a separate prospective. When James and Lily died, it made Harry the sole heir to the Potter estate and anything inherited by either of his parents. But due to his age he had no control over the circumstances or any ability to say what happened to his inheritance.



“Then we use the same theory to look further. If we assume these facts then the next several events make complete sense. After his parents’ death, Harry had four options basically. First, to be placed with his godfather, Sirius Black; second, to be placed with the Potter’s other close friend, Remus Lupin; third, to be placed in an orphanage and become a ward of the Ministry; or forth, to be placed with his muggle relatives.



“With the first two options, Harry would have been loved, safe and taken care of. Unfortunately, anything that he inherited would then be under the control of either Remus or Sirius and when Harry became of age would be turned over to Harry. With the third option, Harry would be put in an orphanage and anything of value would be placed in the ‘capable hands’ of the Ministry and if at some point he was adopted anything that remained of Harry’s inheritance would be transferred to his new family. Therefore the only plausible choice was option four.



“Harry was placed with muggles. Why? That one is easy to figure out, muggles have no clue about wizarding money, magical artifacts, or powerful historical items. Since Harry’s Aunt and Uncle are not familiar with the wizarding world they would not know the value of such things and hence would pose the least amount of threat.



“So in order to make sure that things turned out the way he wished them too, Dumbledore made sure that Sirius was out of the picture. Remus was easy to eliminate as well, he simply stressed the fact that Remus was a werewolf and could not be trusted with the safety of a small child, even if he were taking the Wolfsbane potion…it still left him incapacitated for a period of time and unpredictable for the remainder of time. A simple rewording of the laws concerning magical beasts and Remus was out of the picture. Then the option of an orphanage was eliminated quite easily since Lily had a sister that was still alive. Even though Petunia Dursley was a muggle and hated everything magical including her own sister, the Ministry could not make Harry a ward of the courts if there was a living relative available.



“So at this point things are working out perfectly according to Dumbledore’s plan. As time went on Dumbledore realized that at some point Harry was going to be old enough to have access to his vaults and eventually to inherit everything his parents left him. So Dumbledore decided to make sure that Harry was not a threat to his plans. Since the Dursleys already had a good foundation of hatred and bigotry to work with, Dumbledore just had to make sure to turn up the heat a little. Leaving him in the hands of those beasts for eleven years, without once checking up on him was a good start. Then when Harry came to Hogwarts he saw Dumbledore almost as his savior. Dumbledore immediately began manipulating Harry, in no time at all Harry was willing to do anything Dumbledore said.



“Before Harry came to Hogwarts he knew he was not treated well by his relatives, but he had no idea how bad it truly was. When he went back to them he was unwilling to be treated like he had been, which made things even worse for him. He was no longer the frightened little boy that had left there… he was now willing to stand up for himself to some degree. Unfortunately this created a whole new problem. Up until then, the primary problem was neglect, with an occasional ‘accident’, but now Harry was less submissive, less docile. So the Dursleys started being a little more forceful, by the time Harry went back to Hogwarts he was willing to do anything not to be sent back to his relatives.



“Each year things escalated, and each year he was sent back. By his third year, Harry was being abused to the point of broken bones and severe beatings. By his fourth year, the physical abuse got worse and as we now know… the abuse became sexual as well. Still Dumbledore sent him back.



Hermione paused in her thoughts for a moment staring off into space as if she were waiting for the next thought to suddenly materialize in her mind. “Why would Dumbledore keep sending Harry back? What are the possible outcomes? Well… since each year the abuse escalated it would be logical to assume that eventually Harry’s life would be in danger. And since he couldn’t do magic to protect himself, the proper conclusion is that Dumbledore wished Harry harm. What are the possible outcomes from Harry being sent back under such circumstances? A.) The Dursleys kill Harry B.) Harry can no longer handle the pain and abuse and kills himself. C.) Harry resorts to the use of magic to defend himself and either injures or kills the Dursleys. D.) Harry has a complete mental breakdown and ends up in St. Mungo’s E.) Harry can’t take it any more and runs away. Hmmmm.



“Well with the first two Harry dies, leaving no one to take possession of Harry’s things, and being the guardian en lue, Dumbledore takes over and claims what he wants. The third and fourth option have basically the same outcome, if an individual is convicted of a crime and sentenced to Azkaban or if they are considered incompetent and unable to care for their own well being then they lose all ability to inherit anything, all finances are directed to a guardian to attend too and hence back to the original outcome. With the final possibility Harry is on the run, afraid of being found and sent back to the Dursleys. And if this happened before Harry turns seventeen he would not have complete access to his full inheritance and all his properties and may or may not know his true worth.” As Hermione analyzed each possibility everyone in the room became more and more agitated.



“Wait a minute! Even though the circumstance aren’t exactly the same, I mean the reason is the Ministry trying to take Norische and all and not the Dursleys, the options are still the same and so the possibilities are the same too. I ran. If we wouldn’t have sat down and talked about all this I never would have even considered the possibility of having other vaults or stuff that I didn’t know about. I would have thought that the one vault was all I had and I cleaned it out, so I wouldn’t even bother to go back and check for anything else.” Harry jumped up from his chair practically knocking it over as he did so.



“That bloody bastard!” Ron exclaimed as he realized what Harry and Hermione were saying.



“Ronald Bilious Weasley!” Molly shrieked at Ron’s use of profanity.



“Well he is Mum. It was bad enough with all the things that he had allowed the Dursleys to do to Harry all these years, but now we figure out how he has manipulated Sirius, Severus, Remus, Nori and his mates, even our family and my Hermione. You tell me…is he or is he not a right bloody bastard?” Ron was practically steaming. Never in his life had he taken such a tone with his mother, but then again he had never been faced with such a horrible reality either.



“He very well may be, but that gives you no call to forget your manners. There are ladies present and you will remember your manners.” Molly chastised her son quite properly for his outburst.





Ron’s only response to that was a barely heard “Bloody manners.” Before he sat back in his seat with a huff.



Hermione cleared her throat. “To continue...”



“Hermione if I may?” Norische interjected. “I know we are on a roll here but we need more information. So this is my proposal. Myself and my mates have an appointment with a pensieve shortly, Sirius, Molly, and Pari…as well as father and dad if they wish, should start going over the plans for our bonding celebration. Hermione, I would appreciate it if you could check into the laws that may apply to Dursleys, I am sure that Kain would be able to help with some of the research on that one. Also I think that the remaining Weasleys and Blaise would find the use of the Quidditch pitch to be quite relaxing. So I suggest we all go about our tasks or recreations as the case may be, and continue this discussion after we have more information. Father, Dad and Mr. Black Sir, if you would be so kind as to accompany my mates and my intended to Diagon Alley tomorrow then we can take care of a few things that I have unfortunately neglected and get more information that may assist us in our current endeavor.”



“Boy… you can sure tell he is Snape’s son can’t you?” Fred stated, making note of the rather eloquent manner in which Norische spoke.



“Yeah. No one knows more fifty knut words than a Snape.” George added.



“Boys!” Molly was getting frustrated with her brood.



Sirius nodded as did Severus and Remus, quickly plans were made and every one headed off accordingly.



Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Ron, and Blaise headed out to quidditch pitch after a little appropriate begging they managed to get Ginny to agree to be referee and soon the skies over the ShadowHaven pitch was riddled with red heads and one rather handsome ebony haired wizard.



Molly, Arthur and Pari sat down and started going over a few basics of the celebration, and with the assistance of Lista they managed to come up with several possible meal plans to discuss with the others once things settled down a little.



Norische, Chris, Draco and Harry headed back upstairs to their suite. Every since Norische had made his intentions towards Harry known, Harry had practically been living in their suite anyway, so he just had Narek bring his stuff over to Norische’s suite and gave Molly and Arthur his rooms.



Hermione was absolutely thrilled to be given the opportunity to go through the royal library that belonged to Kain. Hermione was looking through the legal references for case studies involving muggles and wizarding laws, when she suddenly gasped and looked up as if she had a sudden epiphany. “Sweet Merlin’s balls!” Hermione yelled out.



Kain’s head shot up at the young woman’s outburst, and his eyebrow cocked at her choice of words. “Is there a problem Miss Granger?”



Hermione literally threw the volume she was looking at across the table in her rush to stand. Before Kain realized what was going on Hermione was up and out the door. The royal library was situated to the east of ShadowHaven, Kain had purposely had the building created separately so that individuals that needed to utilize the facility could do so without causing a disruption to the household. Hermione raced out the main doors across the gardens towards the front entrance of ShadowHaven, screaming for Professor Snape the entire way.



Ron was just about to toss the quaffle to Bill when he heard Hermione’s shouts down below. Looking down, he saw Hermione running across the grounds as if Hermes himself were chasing her. Ron didn’t waste any time, he tossed the ball away and turned his broom towards Hermione, following the frizzy haired brunette as fast as his broom would go. Seeing Ron’s actions immediately got the attention of the other boys playing and turned and followed Ron as well.



“Professor Snape!”



Hermione ran across the grounds as fast as she could, ignoring the shouts from Kain who was close at her heals. As she made it to the foyer Hermione yelled out Severus’ name again. “Professor Snape!”



Ron, Fred, George, Bill, Charlie, Ginny, and Blaise rushed thru the great doors moments after Hermione only to hear her calling out to the Professor once more.



Remus, Severus, Pari, Sirius, Molly and Arthur were still seated at the table in the Dinning room going over some of the details of the celebration and what they needed to pick up while they were in Diagon Alley tomorrow, when they heard Hermione’s shouts. Unsure of what the problem was they all jumped to their feet and ran towards the sound of the young woman’s voice.



Norische spoon-fed Draco another delicious mouthful of the decedent chocolate pudding, it was so rich and delicious Draco couldn’t help but moan and the taste. “Mmmm, delicious…” Draco closed his eyes, savoring every bite.



Harry shook his head and chuckled as he continued to eat the apple that he had picked out, Draco sure loved his chocolate; he looked like he was about to cum just from the taste. Of course Norische wasn’t helping any, kissing him after every spoonful and licking the chocolate from Draco’s lips.



“Lista is going to be pissed if you do anything nasty on his cabinets you know.” Chris teased as he watched the two.



“Professor Snape!” Hermione’s voice ripped through the kitchen.



Norische looked around at his mates, he didn’t like the frantic sound of Hermione’s voice. Quickly putting the bowl of chocolate aside Norische helped Draco off the counter and the four boys raced towards Hermione’s panicked voice.



Everyone made it to the foyer about the same time; Severus was the first to see the frazzled Hermione and immediately rushed to her. “Miss Granger! What’s wrong?”



“Professor Snape….” Gasp. “I’m going to kill…” Pant. “…kill him myself…” Gasp… Hermione tried desperately to catch her breath but was too distraught.



“What! Kill whom? What are you talking about?!?” Severus tried desperately to see what was disturbing Hermione so much but he was without a clue to her distress.



Everyone around her was practically in a panic at Hermione’s words. Taking a deep breath Hermione tried to focus and calm herself enough so that she could speak.



“Dumbledore. He’s trying to kill Harry…” Hermione gasped out.



Harry’s eyes got huge at his friend’s words. “WHAT!”



Norische growled low at Hermione’s words and stepped closer to Harry, wrapping his arms protectively around his mate. Now that he had found him, no one was going to hurt his mate…any of them.



“What are you saying Hermione? Trying to kill Harry? I don’t understand…” Remus placed his hand on Hermione’s arm trying to calm her.



Taking another deep breath Hermione tried to explain. “I was going through some of the laws on blood wards and their use, when I thought about something.” Deep breath. “Ok… think…what did Wormtail use to resurrect Voldemort… Riddle’s bones, his flesh and Harry’s blood. HARRY’S BLOOD!” Hermione shrieked the last words, looking around at the confused faces of those standing near her. “Don’t you get it? The blood wards! Wormtail used Harry’s blood in the potion…Voldemort has Harry’s blood running through his veins. The blood wards are useless!”



Severus’ mind was spinning with this new information. It was something he himself had never considered. “Since the wards were set to protect Harry, using his blood… Not only would they not protect Harry against Voldemort but they would actually protect Voldemort as well. Dear Circe…” he gasped as the realization hit him full force.



“Dumbledore had to know. He had to realize that once Harry’s blood flowed through Voldemort’s veins that the blood wards were no more than a normal wards.” Norische stated low, his fury building just beneath the surface.



“Worse really. Normal wards would be able to at least block Voldemort out, but the blood wards would now accept Voldemort as Harry and let him in. Not only that but they wouldn’t alert anyone that Voldemort was there. That was the reason that Voldemort was able to get into Harry’s head so easily after the Triwizard tournament.” Hermione stated.



Harry gasped; it was true…it was so horribly true. Draco and Chris moved close to Harry and Norische, each one wrapping their arms around their mates, in an attempt to protect them. Whether to protect them from the horrible truth that had just been so blatantly pointed out or from the demon behind the truth they were not quite sure, but right now all that mattered was that they were together and safe…for the moment.



“Dumbledore knew this, there was no way he couldn’t. He knew that sending Harry back to the Dursley’s was basically signing his death warrant. How Harry managed to survive two more years there is mind-boggling, and why Voldemort didn’t take advantage of the situation before is absolutely beyond me.” Hermione shook her head, it was all so unbelievable…it didn’t seem real…but it was.



“Wait a minute. Doesn’t that mean that Hogwarts wards would react the same way? They would see Voldemort as Harry, and let him in there as well.” Ron narrowed his eyes as he thought out loud.



“No, Hogwarts wards are not blood wards, they are magic based.” Severus explained. “They focus on the form of magic not on who is doing the magic itself.”



“This is all so surreal. He knew that sending me back could mean my death. He knew what the Dursleys were doing to me. He knew that Voldemort could take me anytime he wanted. He knew it all and … he…” Harry whispered into Norische’s robes, barely able to believe all this.



“Harry. Harry look at me.” Norische placed two fingers underneath Harry’s chin and moved his head until he could look Harry in the eyes. “We will find out the depths of his treachery. We will find out what he is hiding. And then… we will take him down. By the blood of my house I give you my word. He will not get away with this.” Norische placed a gentle kiss on Harry’s upturned lips, sealing the promise.