"Sirius, what's your gut reaction?" Remus sat forward, almost falling off the sofa in the living room of Griffin House where they'd congregated to listen to why Bertie and Bill had requested an urgent meeting with Sirius that lunch-time.
They had thought it might be to confirm that they'd been successful in tracking down another item like the diary but Sirius had arrived back with a very grim expression and shot that theory down. Well, shot it down in part because they had found an item; they just couldn't get to it without a parselmouth – without Harry. They wanted Harry to go along with the Treasure Team and help out.
Harry looked eagerly at Sirius hoping he'd say yes. He understood Sirius wanting him to stay safe but he wanted to help as much as he could. The prophecy worried him. When he'd listened to it, he'd realised he'd known the gist of it already since Voldemort was so fixated on him. But it was scary to think it might come down to him against a very powerful wizard even if his own power and skills had improved tenfold.
He knew Sirius was doing everything he could with the DMLE and the DOM to ensure Harry didn't have to face Voldemort but Harry hated being kept out of it, especially having to rely on others. He hadn't really had anyone to rely on before Ron and Hermione. Even then, with the basilisk and the stone, it had ultimately come down to him against Voldemort. Certainly Harry hadn't had adults to rely on in his life. He knew he had Sirius, Remus and others now but it was hard to simply sit back and let them take care of it; to trust that they would.
He hated feeling so…constrained, unable to help, frustrated at not being allowed to help. But this…this was something he could do – and it was pretty much the same as helping with the Chamber of Secrets which Sirius had already said he could do.
Sirius sent Harry a faint look of apology and defiance from his standing position by the mantelpiece. "To say no."
"But why? I'm helping with the Chamber!" Harry protested immediately.
"Because this isn't the Chamber, Harry." Sirius retorted. "This is a house set up with a series of traps that have already managed to get the better of two very good curse-breakers."
"Because they don't speak parseltongue." Harry shot back.
"Why the urgency?" asked Remus, stepping in before the exchange of words became too heated.
Sirius sighed and motioned vaguely. "Like I said last night, we think Voldemort is back in the country and this might be a bolthole for him. We have no idea when he could turn up; the quicker we deal with the ring, the better."
"Otherwise if we capture him, we lose time while we get the ring." Remus nodded. "And the only person with the power who could get the ring without running into problems is Albus?"
"Croaker believes Dumbledore could probably overpower the wards and deal with the snakes without too much trouble but even then it would probably still take him at least a couple of hours. But he's not sure Albus could do it without leaving a trace behind." Sirius said. "Bill estimates they could bring down the wards in a day between him and Caro but they're still left with the problem of the enchanted snake. One could keep it busy while the other went for the ring. But either way whether the Treasure Team or Albus as Bill says they have no idea if there are any other surprises under the floorboard."
"So we don't know if waiting for Albus will mean we can go ahead with getting the ring as per the original plan, and if we wait until we've captured Voldemort, we take the risk of him escaping while we spend hours dealing with the ring." Remus sighed and folded his arms as he considered the problem.
"It's a big risk." Sirius said. "Because rather than just dealing with him, we have to capture, hold him and hope he doesn't get a clue about why we haven't immediately beheaded him. That's why I agreed for them to move today on the ring and to leave it as though it was never touched so he doesn't suspect while we get the other item we're missing…"
"Yes, yes, the whole leaving everything in place so Voldemort doesn't suspect a thing if he does turn up is ingenious, Padfoot." Remus murmured.
He pursed his lips and when Harry went to say something Remus held up a hand.
"We have three options: one, we defer dealing with the ring until after we have Voldemort captured. We would hopefully have the other remaining item in hand, hopefully he wouldn't suspect, hopefully he wouldn't get free." Remus expanded. "It's a big risk and if the worst case scenario is he escapes while we're dealing with the ring and realises we're aware of the horcruxes leading him to explore other types of immortality and us back at the beginning."
Sirius grimaced. "Exactly why I authorised this mission in the first place."
"Right," Remus stressed, "so we go to our second option; we wait for Albus to return and wait to see if he can get to the ring and leave things in place so Voldemort doesn't suspect. Risks, Harry?"
Harry jumped a little at the question but quickly thought through them. "Well, Voldemort might get to Little Hangleton before the Headmaster comes back."
"And?" prompted Remus.
"And the Headmaster may not be able to do it without disturbing things especially the snakes." Harry said after a second.
"So, we end up either being forced into option one anyway," Remus said, turning back to Sirius, "or returning to option three – Harry helps."
"And the risk is that Harry gets injured or worse!" Sirius retorted and glanced across at Harry, an apology in his eyes that Harry ignored.
"Bill could get injured! Or you!" Harry argued. "What's the difference?"
"You're…"
"Underage, I know," Harry rejoined, "but who in the room has fought Voldemort and survived?" He stuck is hand up. "Who has fought a basilisk and survived?" He kept his hand up and glared at Sirius. "It should be me who does this according to the prophecy!"
"I admit that you've had to face a lot at a very young age, Harry," Sirius replied fiercely, "but you're not on your own anymore and the entire reason why we came up with the plan in the first place was so you don't have to go through these kind of things again – prophecy or no prophecy!"
"The plan wasn't my idea and I can protect myself!" exclaimed Harry hotly. He felt his magic stirring and took a shaky breath, trying to hold onto it and his temper.
"Not…"
"Sirius!" Remus interrupted before Sirius could finish his sentence. "Yelling at each other won't help resolve this." He pointed at Harry. "Why don't you head upstairs and start getting ready for Neville's party?"
In other words they wanted to talk without Harry in the room. He scowled but he scrambled off the sofa and left the room, giving into the urge to bang the door closed on his way out. He stood still for a moment in the hallway, arrested by the deep sense of hurt that filled him. Why did Sirius think he couldn't handle it? He'd handled everything just fine before Sirius adopted him. Did Sirius think he was stupid? Didn't he trust him?
Harry felt the sting of tears and blinked them back rapidly. It was then he realised he could hear voices and that neither Sirius nor Remus had thought to put up a privacy charm…
"…and yes, thank you, Remus, I know yelling at him wasn't going to help!" Sirius snapped.
"Sirius, what is going on in your head?" Remus demanded, speaking more angrily than Harry could remember him speaking before.
"What is so wrong with wanting to protect my son?!" Sirius retorted heatedly. "I don't care that he wants to do this – and Merlin's balls, I don't think he does want to, I think he thinks we all think he should want to because of the bloody prophecy! He shouldn't feel that way, Remus! He's a day shy of fourteen and we're talking about sending him into a dangerous situation where he could be hurt or killed and…" there was a sharp gasp.
Harry took a step toward the door in concern, his fingers lightly grazing the wood.
"Sirius, sit down! Here, take a breath!" Remus encouraged, his tone soothing with a hint of worry. "And another."
There was a long silence and Harry worried if Sirius was OK, guilt worming into his belly at having yelled at him.
"Sorry." Sirius muttered so quietly Harry had to strain to hear it.
"You're the one who had the panic attack." Remus said. "I can understand involving Harry scares the pants off of you, Sirius; it scares me too."
"It's not just that." Sirius protested weakly.
Remus sighed loud enough for the sound to travel through the door. Harry leaned against it, miserable at making his brand new father have a panic attack about him and trying to ignore the taunting voice in his head that warned him Sirius wouldn't love him anymore, would send him back to the Dursleys because Harry was too much trouble to keep around.
"Neither you nor Harry have been sleeping well since we found out about the prophecy." Remus commented.
Harry frowned. He'd had a few nightmares and Sirius had always been there when he'd woken up to soothe him and reassure him. Had Sirius been having nightmares too?
"I don't know how James and Lily coped with knowing the prophecy." Sirius admitted. "Intellectually, I knew what it would say before we went to hear it but knowing and knowing…how am I supposed to protect him?"
"Do you believe it?"
"I believe it doesn't matter because Voldemort wants to kill him either way." Sirius said. "I believe if others heard it they'd put even more pressure on Harry to deal with Voldemort in addition to the ridiculous Boy Who Lived stuff because it's comforting for them to think that they don't have the responsibility – Dumbledore is a case in point. It's not fair on Harry."
Harry's breath hitched a little at Padfoot's words.
"No, it's not." Remus agreed.
"And I don't ever want him to think that I see him that way, Moony, or put pressure on him to conform to some hero image. I want him to know that he's…he's Harry to me and that I would love him if he never faced Voldemort, if he never vanquished him. It doesn't matter to me."
Harry swiped at the tear that trickled down his cheek. Merlin, he felt like a prat. All Sirius was trying to do was protect him and he was acting like Dudley when he didn't get his own way. He eased away from the door.
"So are you going to let him go to Little Hangleton?"
"I don't know." Sirius said. "What kind of parent am I if I let him go?"
"I know the risks," Remus countered, "but ultimately you have to ask what protects him better: letting him help with getting the ring and being in danger momentarily under adult supervision or leaving the ring, trying to deal with it when Voldemort's captured and taking the risk Voldemort escapes to continue hurting Harry?"
"Well I know where your vote is going." Sirius replied sarcastically.
Remus sighed again. "I love him too, Padfoot."
"I know, Moony. It's just…" Sirius sighed. "It's not that easy when you're the one who has to live with the consequences of it. I took him to a healing clinic and he almost died during the cleansing and…the blessing ritual caused him to be magically exhausted and…Merlin knows I wish I hadn't taken him to listen to the prophecy! Some days I'm not so certain Molly Weasley isn't right and I'm a terrible parent."
Harry grimaced. He'd noticed Molly's pointed comments the last time they'd gone for dinner and had realised with hindsight that she'd been making the same kind of comments for a while. He didn't want to hurt her feelings but he didn't like her making Sirius feel bad; Sirius was a great parent.
"Molly Weasley doesn't think you're a terrible parent…" Remus cut himself off – probably because Sirius had thrown him some kind of look, "OK, she thinks you're a terrible parent but frankly, Molly isn't Harry's parent; you are. And for what it's worth, Padfoot, I think you're doing a good job."
"Thank you, Moony." Sirius said.
And he was doing a good job, Harry thought fervently; and he'd tell Mrs Weasley so the next time he saw her. Well, maybe not the next time but when they were alone because Andy had drilled it into him that Lords did not make scenes in public and the next time he'd see Ron's mother was at Neville's birthday party – which he really did need to get ready for.
Harry made his way quietly up the stairs not wanting to give away to Remus and Sirius that he had been listening at the door. For a while, the rush of showering and changing held his attention but as he tried to do something with his hair, the thoughts of Sirius and their argument crowded back in.
"Balls!" Harry swore as his hair refused to lie flat.
"James had the same problem." Sirius said from the open doorway. He was washed and looking very smart in tailored dress robes. "Here." He made his way into the room and waved his wand over Harry's hair which obediently settled into a professional tousled look rather than the nest it had been before.
"Thank you." Harry managed to get out, feeling awkward after their argument and the discussion he'd eavesdropped on.
Sirius nodded and made to leave.
"Padfoot." Harry called out to stop him leaving. "I'm sorry." He gestured. "About before." He fidgeted with his hair brush. "If you don't want me to go to Little Hangleton then I won't go."
Sirius paused in the doorway and turned back to him. He seemed to struggle internally for a long moment before gesturing toward the bed indicating that they should both sit. Harry sat down and waited as Sirius joined him.
"We're going to argue sometimes, Harry." Sirius said quietly, holding Harry's gaze. "People do even when they love each other very much. When your Granddad Potter found out about your Dad and I drinking Firewhiskey when we were sixteen he went through the roof, yelled at us for a good hour and then your Dad yelled back at him and I might have yelled a bit too but I was mainly worried he was going to throw me out and…"
Harry forgot sometimes that Sirius had gone through similar worries as a teenager. He dropped his gaze and felt heat flare along his cheeks.
"Oh…" Sirius stopped abruptly. "I had hoped the adoption would have meant that you realised that you were stuck with me." He said finally, the light teasing note not helping to soothe Harry's guilt that he had thought it even in passing.
"I'm sorry," Harry began again.
"Hey. Come here." Sirius tugged him over to him and Harry hugged Sirius back fiercely. "I never…I never want you to doubt that I love you, Harry. You're my son. You yelling at me or me yelling at you, doesn't change that, OK?"
Harry nodded, feeling just awful about the whole thing. He didn't want Sirius thinking it was his fault. "I didn't think…I know and I don't know why I even thought that you wouldn't want me anymore, it's just…"
"It's OK that you did think it, you know, I mean not OK but understandable?" Sirius rubbed his back and reassured him. "You're allowed to be insecure since we're still both new at this."
"You're a great Dad." Harry blurted out into Sirius's shoulder.
Sirius froze for an instant and seemed to hear the 'and I'm a terrible son' that Harry had managed to keep behind his teeth anyway as his grip tightened. "Well, I have a wonderful son, Harry. That's half the battle."
"Even when I argue?" Harry tried to joke about it.
"Especially when you argue." Sirius said firmly. "I always want you to have a mind of your own, Harry, even if I don't agree with you at times."
Harry eased back and rubbed a hand over his face, covering his embarrassment at their previous argument.
"Why is it so important for you to help out with the ring?" Sirius asked.
He remembered Sirius's concerns that he thought Harry was doing it because it was expected, because he felt a sense of duty because of the prophecy and Harry knew Sirius was right. In truth, the reasons why he'd wanted to go along were mostly about that.
"Some of it's the prophecy." Harry admitted and hurried out the rest at Sirius's look of triumph. "It's just…it doesn't seem fair to ask other people to risk their lives and me not to when it's me who's in the prophecy. But also because I can help. I'm a parselmouth; they need a parselmouth. And if I don't do it…I don't want Voldemort to win."
Sirius searched his gaze for what seemed like an eternity. "Alright. You can help on one condition – well, several, really."
Harry hid his smile at Sirius's capitulation and nodded enthusiastically. "Anything."
"Firstly…" Sirius sighed and shifted position, "you and I are going to see a mind healer about the prophecy. Remus has pointed out that we're both struggling to come to terms with it a bit. I'll write to Noshi about finding someone trustworthy here in the UK."
He wasn't mad about the idea but he guessed talking to someone like Healer Fay wouldn't hurt.
"Secondly, I know what the prophecy says but prophecies are very woolly things. I don't want you to think it has to be you that does everything just because some prophecy claims you're the one who'll vanquish old Voldepants in the end. Understood?"
He nodded. "It's hard though, Sirius."
"I know and it doesn't help that the wizarding world has already heaped a whole stack of expectations on you with the whole Boy Who Lived thing," Sirius said, "but it doesn't always have to be you who slays the basilisk."
He nudged Harry's shoulder and Harry nodded.
"Thirdly, I want you to remember that you have people who care about whether you're in danger and what it might mean if you put your life at risk when you consider whether to volunteer to do something." Sirius said gravely. "I hate agreeing to put you at risk, Harry, because I love you and don't want to lose you or see you hurt in any way."
Harry was certain his face was Weasley red but he nodded his agreement again.
"Fourthly, this trip tomorrow is not the same as you taking us into the Chamber. There's a good risk that Voldemort will show up mid-mission; there's a risk that there's something else in that house that will put your life in danger; there's a risk that the snakes won't respond to you." Sirius took a breath. "So, you will follow orders tomorrow. If Bill or Remus or I give you an instruction, you will follow it or explain very quickly why you won't. Agreed?"
"Yes." Harry said immediately.
"Fifthly, we keep this between us, the Treasure Team and probably Bertie and Amelia. I don't want anyone else knowing you were involved."
Harry nodded. "I won't tell anyone."
"And finally, I want you to know…" Sirius placed a hand on his shoulder. "If it does come down to you and Voldemort, I have every confidence that you're going to win not because you're the Boy Who Lived or the Prophesised One or anything like that but because you're you."
Harry couldn't reply so he hugged him.
"Come on," Sirius said, squeezing him before letting go, "we have a party to get to and Augusta will kill us if we're late."
Harry let Sirius walk him out and they flooed to the Longbottom Manor for the party along with Remus who had looked strangely smug at the sight of them walking down the stairs together.
The next morning, it seemed to Harry that the party had passed in a haze.
Neville loved the variety of muggle plants that Harry had bought for him to experiment with cross-breeding (and Harry was never letting Padfoot loose in a muggle garden centre again ever). He'd seemed a little overwhelmed with the attention as his Gran had never thrown such a public birthday party for him before – usually it was restricted to the Longbottom family. Harry promised to stick close to him so Neville could unashamedly use him as a diversion (of the "Very nice to meet you and oh, have you been introduced to Lord Harry James Potter, the Boy Who Lived" kind of diversion which meant nine out of ten times Neville was dropped in favour of Harry – personally Harry was making note of who didn't drop Neville because it seemed to him that those people were the ones to get to know). Ron had been mildly upset that Harry wouldn't leave Neville's side but in the end had stuck with the two of them rather than go about the room with Hermione, Susan, and Hannah Abbott.
Unfortunately, Ginny had also stuck with the boys – not exactly saying anything and blushing every time Harry said something. Harry had no idea what he was supposed to do about Ginny. He appreciated that she might want to get to know him but surely that suggested that she actually talk to him. He'd tried to talk to her but a conversation needed two people. The other problem he'd noted was that he was certain Nevilleliked Ginny and Ginny had no problems talking with Neville which bizarrely had seemed to bother Ron more than her blushing and acting awkwardly around Harry. Luckily, Hermione had remembered her promise after an hour and rescued Harry by insisting on showing Ginny something, but speaking of bizarre; Hermione had reported quite smugly at the end of the night that her efforts of making friends with Susan and Hannah had gone very well as though it was a competition.
Girls, Harry thought morosely as he followed Sirius through the DOM, who could fathom them? He pushed it all to the back of his mind as Sirius ushered him into the Treasure Team's research room.
He hid a yawn as he looked around. The narrow room was wall to wall books and he couldn't help but think that Hermione would give her wand arm to read them all. The central bench was filled with stacks of parchment and more books. The smell of old parchment and ink was strong and underscored to Harry how much he didn't fit in there.
A pensieve had been placed at the end of the bench and Harry watched as Bill extracted his memory and placed it inside the bowl. The blonde woman next to him had been introduced as Caro and the shy old wizard next to her as Lawrence. Bertie and Amelia stood at the back of the room along with an Auror called Wood who was Oliver's cousin and who would be helping to keep watch on the mission. Sirius stood beside Harry with a grim expression and Remus was behind him, calm but no less serious. Everybody was in muggle clothes ready for the mission except Lawrence and Amelia who would once again be staying behind in the DOM.
"OK," Caro said briskly, "we're going to go into the memory and review it so everyone has a good idea what happened the last time. Then we'll plan what we're going to today."
Harry nodded, a little intimidated by Caro who was very beautiful, smart and who had been a spy. But planning sounded good. He'd never really had a plan before. Most of the time, he had just winged it. It had worked out but a plan couldn't hurt.
Bill gave him an encouraging smile and a moment later Harry was in the pensieve watching the memory. It was not so much terrifying (although the end bit in the house with the big black snakes had been terrifying) but creepy; very creepy. Harry shivered as he exited the pensieve and he felt Sirius's hand land warmly on his shoulder in response.
"So, we have been talking about a plan of attack for today." Lawrence said, whipping a cover off a blackboard and levitating it so everyone could see it.
The outside area was depicted on one side and the floor plan of the Gaunt house on the other; dotted lines in different colour chalks represented the wards and small wriggly lines in green were obviously meant to represent the snakes; an X was placed where Bill had found the box under the floorboard.
"First off, we will portkey to a spot about two hundred yards from the outer ward, here." Caro tapped the area with her wand.
"We can get through this outer ward with the neutralizer." Bill said. "We know that and we're confident that we can make it to the front door without setting off a snake attack."
"It's getting through the door that's the problem." Caro said dryly.
"We think it's a parseltongue password that will work." Lawrence said brightly.
"So what do you think?" asked Bill.
Harry glanced at Sirius who gave him an encouraging nod. "Well, I think we should talk to the snakes outside the house."
"Talk to the snakes!" Bertie exclaimed, clapping his hands. "Of course!"
Harry glanced over to the Head of the DOM who was dressed in a Barbour jacket, flat cap and sturdy brown brogues. He reminded him of a picture he'd once seen of the Royal family out hunting in Scotland.
"But the snakes outside the house are common adders!" Caro pointed out. "They're probably not the same ones that Riddle originally bound there."
"Maybe, maybe not." Bertie replied before Harry could. "But unless Harry talks to them we don't know that they don't know anything. If they have information we can use so much the better."
"What if they don't know anything?" asked Bill.
"I think Tom would probably pick something similar to the Chamber as a password." Harry said in a rush of Gryffindor courage.
"Of course," Lawrence nodded his head, his stringy grey hair flying everywhere, "the deeds use Salazar as a name and this is the abode of his direct ancestors."
"Makes sense." Bertie agreed.
"Plan C if we can't go through the front door?" Remus asked.
Bill sighed. "I guess we go through the window same as last time. We should direct one fully charged neutralizer in with wands so it doesn't hit the floor…"
"One of us needs to catch the broken window before it hits the floor too." Caro added.
"…and then Caro can fly in through the window in her animagus form to make an assessment." Bill added.
"After that we regroup and replan based on the findings." Caro said. "We'll take along the pensieve."
"We'll need to the assessment even if we get through the front door." Lawrence pointed out. "We can't just expect to walk in, remove the floorboard and get the box."
"He's right." Bill said. "So assessment either way and then we plan again?"
They all nodded.
Bertie clapped his hands. "Then I suggest we meet in the reception room in ten minutes to disembark? Excellent."
Harry let himself be ushered to the gents for a final toilet break. He was issued an emergency portkey by Lawrence but Sirius took it back and told him to use his Heir ring; it would take him straight to Black Manor.
Sirius caught his arm before they entered the reception room. "You still up for this, Harry?" He said softly. "It's OK if you're not."
"I want to try." Harry said. Nerves were crowding in on him but he had told Sirius the absolute truth: he wanted to try.
Sirius gave him a long considering look and nodded. "OK, then."
The portkey travel was uncomfortable and Harry was only prevented from landing on the ground by Sirius's firm grip on him. Remus shot him a sympathetic look. They made their way slowly to the Gaunt house.
Harry's first impression echoed Darren's in the memory; it really was a hovel. A small squat place that looked grimy and downtrodden. Slytherin must have rolled over in his grave at how low his descendants had fallen.
Bill extracted two neutralizers from his pack handing one to Caro. Sirius, Remus and Bertie all had their wands out as did Wood.
"I have the watch." Wood said briskly. "Good luck."
Bertie nodded to Bill who tossed the neutralizer through the first ward. As the ripple of green faded they all took a quick step forward. Just as in the memory they all stopped and waited in case something happened. Nothing did.
Harry made straight for the steps where just as in the memory a small adder was slithering away.
"Wait!" He called out.
The snake stopped and turned, rising up and sending its tongue out to sense Harry properly. "A speaker! A speaker here at last!" It swayed back and forth in excitement. "I have to get Mother!" And slid away before Harry could stop it.
"Incredible!" Bertie looked beside himself with glee. "What did you say? What did it say?"
"I asked for it to wait, it got very excited about me being a speaker," Harry grimaced as he pointed at the undergrowth, "and it went to get its Mother."
Sirius chuckled and Harry managed a small smile acknowledging the ludicrousness of the situation.
"Let's hope she's not like my Mum!" Bill said with a wink.
The bush rustled and they all had their wands out and pointed as a large adder appeared. It stopped at the sight of the many wizards and witch before it.
"It's very old," Bertie said quietly, casting surreptitiously, "a magically enhanced life; I read strong binding spells for the snake and its offspring with an inbred compulsion to attack when their bodies receive a magical shock from the wards. Nasty."
"Who is the speaker?" She said.
"I am." Harry replied, lowering his wand. He crouched down. "Hi there."
"You are not the one who bound me." The snake said, regarding him with a beady stare.
"No," Harry agreed, "I just wanted to talk with you."
The snake considered him for a long moment. "I do not believe it wise. I spoke with the Other and he promised many things and I knew no more. I woke up one day to find my hatchlings and I are prisoners in this place. Almost no prey comes near now and my hatchlings all die."
"Wait, please!" Harry said as the snake made to leave. "I can help you!"
"How can you help me? You are nothing but a hatchling!" Her upper body rose off the ground.
"Harry?" Sirius murmured worriedly.
"It's OK. Tom lied to her so she's not keen on talking." Harry adjusted his weight, placing a knee on the ground to steady himself. "I am fated to kill the Other you speak of. When I do, you and your hatchlings will be free. But I need your help."
The snake inched forward. "Speak then."
"The Other created objects to help him escape death. When I was a baby, he tried to kill me and the magic of my mother and father helped me destroy his body but thanks to these objects his spirit lives." Harry gestured towards the house. "We believe he left one of them here. We need to destroy it so he becomes mortal and can be killed."
"You speak truly. I sense the protection in your blood," the snake replied.
"Will you help me?" Harry asked bluntly, unsure what else he could say.
"I will help you, hatchling." The snake lowered her body back to the ground and settled into a coil. Her hatchlings gathered behind her, all of them viewing the wizards and witch that watched them with wary curiosity.
"She's agreed to help." Harry explained to everyone quickly.
"Good work, Harry." Bertie said.
Harry blushed at the praise especially when Sirius beamed proudly. He sat fully on the ground, crossed his legs and turned back to the snake. "So what can you tell me?"
"I was young and on a hunt. I came across this place and a young man spoke to me. Speakers are so rare! I was honoured. He offered to let me nest by the undergrowth and asked me to guard his ancestral home. He said he would bring prey to me and prey came. My hatchlings and I were safe."The snake recalled. "One day he returned with a gold box. It smelled of dark and evil. He took the box into the house and placed it within. He made everything glow too bright especially the door and then he left again. I tried to leave to get away from the foul stench of darkness that pervaded the house, but could not. He returned four cycles of light and dark with another snake – one who does not belong. She claimed she was his familiar. He took her into the house but he did not bring her out again. He pointed his stick at me and…I knew no more for a long time."
"Harry?" Remus prompted gently.
Harry quickly relayed her explanation.
Bertie flicked his wand in a complicated manner and frowned. "There is a faint signature of a prey luring charm used in hunting but it has faded. I can re-establish it as a show of good faith to your friend."
Harry relayed the news to the snake who thanked him – the snakes around her whispered happily of food.
"Can you ask her for the password to the house?" Bill suggested.
Harry nodded. "What did the Other say to gain entrance when he returned with his familiar?"
"Give entrance to the Greatest of Slytherins!" The snake said in a disparaging tone that made Harry want to laugh as he relayed it to the others.
"Thank you. Is there anything else you can tell me about inside?" Harry asked.
"She inside is awake again." The snake said. "I heard her cries last night. He has forsaken her for another. Their bond is broken."
"You have been very helpful." Harry praised her. He turned around and repeated what she'd told him. "Is there anything else you want me to ask her?"
His companions exchanged silent looks of query but shook their heads finally.
"No," Bertie said, "but she has been magnificent. Please tell her we owe her a great debt and that food will come back now. Ask if we may obliviate her."
Harry did and the snake hissed unhappily.
"Hatchling, if you take away our memories I may not be able to stop my kin from attacking you." The snake said. "Do not erase my memories; I will not betray you. I will help you with the one within."
Harry thanked her again. She turned around and told the others to return to the dark of the bushes and scrub while Harry informed Bertie of her answer.
"Wonderful, wonderful!" Bertie said.
Bill cleared his throat. "I don't suppose you've thought about curse-breaking as a profession, Harry?"
Harry grinned at him.
"Please don't give him any ideas," Sirius begged but he winked at Harry to show he was teasing, "I'm hoping he takes after your brother."
"You want him to look after dragons?" joked Bill.
Caro snorted and Harry chuckled at Sirius's mock outrage.
"I meant a nice job at the Ministry looking after cauldron bottoms." Sirius rejoined, smirking.
Harry took Remus's hand so he could haul him to his feet. "Are we ready for the door?"
"Is your lady friend ready for the door?" Sirius asked, motioning towards the mother adder who remained still lest she scare the humans.
Harry asked her to join him and she requested that he pick her up. He told everyone before they reacted badly to his stooping down so she could wind her way up one arm, her head peeking over his shoulder.
"Right," said Sirius, trying to pretend everything was fine and Harry wasn't carrying a poisonous snake, "shall we?"
"Your sire fears for you."
"He's a worrywart." Harry replied affectionately.
"You are his hatchling. He would give his life for you." The snake admonished him.
"Yes, Mother." Harry said seriously, the name slipping out. "I know. I love him too."
"But have you told him yet, hatchling?" Mother said.
Harry flushed and shook his head.
"Then you should." Mother made something like a tsking sound. "Males. Always so very slow."
Harry noticed everyone was looking at him again. He blushed bright red and was very happy nobody else knew what the snake had said. "We're ready." He covered briskly.
"Are you sure that's all she said?" Remus teased.
Harry decided silence was his best defence and walked up to the door.
"Wands out." Caro said firmly.
Sirius stood beside Harry, his hand on Harry's free shoulder. "When you're ready, Harry."
He focused on the snake door knocker and gathered his courage. "Give entrance to the Greatest of Slytherins!" He hissed.
The door knocker moved of its own accord and knocked on the door three times. The door suddenly opened up with a loud creak, drifting inwards.
Sirius tugged Harry to the side so Bill could run the scanning charms.
"All the wards are down. There's a snake curled up in a corner of the room to the left." Bill said briskly. "Uh-oh. She's on the move. You're up again, Harry."
Sirius tensed beside him as a dark shape slithered into view.
"Master! You came back for me! You…" The snake stopped suddenly in the sunlight the open door had let in and rose up, her hood flaring. "You are not my Master!"
"The Other has left us!" Mother replied before Harry could. She snaked down Harry's arm and pooled onto the floor of the house. "The Other lied and mistreated us!"
"No! Master will return for Lamia!"
"Your bond is broken!" Mother countered, her own body rising to sway at the same height as the cobra's. "He has chosen another! You wept all night about it!"
"It does not matter! My allegiance is to him!" And without further warning the cobra moved fast as a whip to strike at Mother.
"NO!" Harry yelled even as Mother avoided the attack, smacking the back of the cobra's head with her tail as she darted to the side. He couldn't let Lamia hurt Mother...
His magic rushed through him like a flooded river…
Harry put his hand out toward Lamia as though to push her away from Mother and the Black family magic responded to his call, the silver snake totem shot out from his hand to land between the adder and the cobra…
"Bind the cobra! Protect Mother!" Harry ordered without thinking.
The silver snake rose up and the cobra realised her mistake – she tried to get away but the silver snake bound her tightly within its coils.
Harry stood shaking within the doorway.
Sirius's hand squeezed his shoulder tightly. "Harry?"
"The cobra is Lamia. She wants to stay faithful to her master. She was going to hurt Mother so…I just reacted and the Black snake came!" Harry explained quickly.
"You see the power of the One you have refused?" Mother hissed at the cobra. "His magic binds you."
Lamia deflated but remained defiant. "I will not betray my Master! Not even for one whose blood smells like an Old One!"
Harry wondered if that had something to do with the basilisk.
"Then you are a fool." Mother said. "Your Master left you here! Deserted you! Has chosen another more worthy!"
"No!" Lamia snapped futilely in Mother's direction. "He gave me a great honour! He brought me here to protect his treasure! He will come back for me!"
"He has left you many cycles!" Mother argued.
"No! Just one! He put me to sleep last cycle and I woke when someone tried to steal his treasure!"
"He put you to sleep many cycles ago and left you!" Mother said harshly. "If he returns, he will only kill you and retrieve the dark, evil thing he placed here!"
Lamia snapped her jaws shut and didn't say anything more.
Harry cleared his throat. "Lamia refuses to believe she's been deserted. She's faithful to Tom. Mother can't convince her. It sounds as if she was put in an enchanted sleep and just woke up yesterday when Bill and Caro made it into the house."
Mother made her way back to Harry and he stooped so she could return to her previous position, wound around her arm and looking over his shoulder.
"You should kill her." Mother said. "She does not belong and she will tell the Other."
"Mother says Lamia will tell Tom everything so we should, uh…" Harry gestured weakly.
"Can you continue to keep Lamia bound while we make a decision, Harry?" Bertie asked.
Harry nodded. "I think so."
"Sirius? Remus?" Bertie asked immediately. "What do you think?"
Remus cleared his throat at the bottom of the steps. "She's too dangerous to keep around so keeping everything in its place is now out as a plan."
"We could make it look like she died from natural causes." Sirius suggested. "The enchanted sleep was obviously broken by the floor trigger being activated. What if we lobbed a rock through the window – made it look like kids fooling around had vandalised the place?"
"That could work. But we'd have to put the prey enchantment back to its former broken state to make it clear the magic was breaking down." Caro argued. She looked at Harry strangely and he flushed under her regard as he realised she mustn't have known about his ability to call the family magic forth so easily.
Harry yanked his thoughts back to the problem and bit his lip. "We promised Mother that she would have prey for the hatchlings. I'm sure it's why she helped us so much."
"We can have Kreacher and Dobby bring prey every week until Voldemort is toast." Sirius assured him. "I think this is our best bet. Make him think that the magic weakened if he turns up. If we do it right he'll assume there was an accident and his snake ended up dead."
"It will take a lot to kill Lamia and make it look like a natural death from starvation." Bertie said quietly.
"The Black magic can do it." Sirius turned to Harry. "You'll need to hand control back to me by offering me your ring hand." He smiled. "We don't want you exhausted for your birthday party later."
Harry frowned and was about to argue that he could do it but he met Sirius's worried grey eyes and the words died unspoken. Sirius wanted to spare him the death of the snake and it didn't matter to Sirius that Harry had killed a basilisk, he wanted to protect him.
And maybe that wasn't so bad.
Harry didn't really want to kill the snake and he did want to be OK for his party…maybe it was OK to let Sirius slay the snake. Hadn't Sirius made Harry promise to try and believe that he didn't have to do it all himself?
"I just offer you my ring hand?" checked Harry.
"And mentally let go of the magic." Sirius added. The tension in his face eased and Harry knew Sirius was pleased that Harry hadn't argued with him.
Harry nodded.
"OK, so we have a plan." Remus said.
They all moved back into position. Harry explained what was going to happen to Mother who agreed with him that Lamia needed to be put out of her misery if they wanted to defeat 'the Other.'
Sirius stood in the doorway to the house and Harry stood off to the side. He offered his hand to Sirius who clasped it firmly. Harry willed the Black magic return to Sirius's control.
The snake totem raised its head in mute query all the while keeping Lamia bound.
"Please." Harry instructed it. "Padfoot will instruct you from here."
The totem hissed its agreement.
Sirius grimaced and a line appeared between his brows as he concentrated. The totem flared a brilliant silver, covering Lamia entirely, before disappearing into mist that drifted away and leaving the carcass of Lamia behind.
Sirius staggered a little and Harry steadied him with a hand on his elbow as they were less than politely shoved aside by Caro so she could perform a scanning charm.
"Perfect. It looks like the snake died of starvation." Caro said crisply. "You two should return to the outside while Bill and I retrieve the box."
Harry hovered beside Sirius as they made their way down the steps, Bill jogged up the steps with a wide grin.
"I think I'm just going to sit down." Sirius said, lowering himself to the grass.
Remus surreptitiously performed a healing diagnostic. "You need to rest a bit, Padfoot."
Harry sat down beside his adoptive father and Mother slithered down his arm, curling up beside him in the sunshine.
"Well," Bertie walked over with a smile, "I've reset the prey enchantment as Caro suggested so it is broken again."
"We've got it!" Bill called out. He held a small gold box in his hands. "Caro and I think it would be better to open the box in a controlled environment in the DOM."
"Agreed." Bertie said. He waited until Caro was clear before he flicked his wand at the door and closed it with a magical pull.
Caro immediately whipped out her wand to check the wards. "Everything's back to how it was."
"Well, that's our cue to leave." Remus helped Sirius to his feet.
"You should get clear, Harry." Bill agreed. "We don't know what will happen when we throw the rock through the window."
Harry turned to Mother. "I have to leave now. The others will throw a rock through the window to help explain Lamia's death."
"If the Other comes back, I will tell him that hatchlings were responsible." Mother said.
"We'll send a house elf with your food, I promise." Harry said.
"Come back when it is over, hatchling, and tell me of the Other's death." Mother slithered away before Harry could say anything further.
Remus nudged Harry and Harry stood. Sirius looked really pale and worn. "Are you OK?"
"Just tired." Sirius reassured him. He slung an arm around Harry's shoulder. "Come on. Let's leave them to it."
Bertie took a neutralizer from Caro and tossed it to Wood as they all left Caro and Bill to finish up. Remus suggested they walk back to the original portkey landing site and Bertie agreed. A few minutes later, the others arrived. Bill had thrown the rock from just inside the outer ward but the adders hadn't attacked.
Their arrival back in the DOM was anticlimactic. They all made their way to the research room and Bill placed the gold box down on the central bench and talked Harry through the diagnostic scans they were performing while Bertie sent for a strengthening potion for Sirius and Sirius swallowed it without complaint.
Lawrence stepped back eventually and pushed a hand through his long straggly hair. "The box doesn't seem to have any charms, curses or hexes. It's clean."
"I concur." Caro said.
"As do I." Bill said.
Bertie nodded. "We should open it and check the contents are what we believe them to be!"
He unlocked the box with a simple unlocking charm and the lid flew off to land on the desk, the ring rising up to levitate just above the box. A strange rush of need suffused Harry.
He needed to get to the ring.
He needed to put it on.
He needed…
Why?
Why did he need to get to the ring and put it on? It was like the diary. It contained a version of Voldemort – surely that was bad?
Harry stalled mid-step and suddenly became aware of a panicked Sirius calling his name just as Sirius's arms wrapped around him.
Harry leaned into Sirius shakily. "It's OK. I'm OK."
Which was more than could be said for everyone else in the room.
Lawrence was wrestling with Bertie, Amelia with Caro, and Remus was dragging Bill towards the door.
"It's the ring!" Harry said.
Sirius reached around Harry, waved his wand and sent the lid sailing back to the box; a second wave of the wand later and the ring was pushed back into the box and the lid was back on.
Everyone stopped.
Amelia and Caro disengaged, smoothing their clothing and looking abashed. Lawrence and Bertie righted themselves briskly. Remus immediately let go of Bill who thanked him for the assist.
"So a compulsion charm on the ring." Bertie said, straightening his jacket as they all gathered back around the bench, keeping a wary watch on the box.
"And probably a very nasty curse if you put it on." Lawrence agreed.
Bertie looked over at Remus. "You weren't affected?"
Remus shook his head. "For a second but the wolf in me knew it was a trap immediately."
"And you?" Bertie turned to Sirius who still had an arm around Harry's shoulders.
Sirius glanced at Harry. "As soon as Harry started toward the ring, my concern was for him."
"Your protective instincts as a parent overrode the ring's compulsion. Impressive." Lawrence commented.
Bill pointed at Harry. "Did you break the compulsion?"
Harry nodded slowly. "It didn't make any sense to me. I mean why would I want to put the ring on when it's his?"
"Well, that bodes well for you being able to break the Imperius curse." Amelia said briskly.
"There was something odd about the stone." Lawrence began.
Sirius cleared his throat. "May I suggest we table this for the day? Remus can help you out over the course of next week as he's not affected by the compulsion."
"Sounds like an excellent idea." Bertie grinned at Harry. "I believe somebody has a birthday today?"
Harry flushed and nodded. They left on a flurry of birthday wishes for Harry and made their way to Griffin House where Sirius excused himself for a nap. Harry watched him head upstairs with concern. This was why he preferred doing things himself, Harry thought worriedly; he didn't want anyone getting hurt because of him.
"Don't worry," Remus said, "Padfoot will be fine." He patted Harry on the shoulder. "Why don't you go up and have a rest too? I'm sure you're going to need your energy later."
He sighed but knew Remus was right. He made for the stairs.
"Harry…"
Harry looked back at Remus who smiled at him proudly.
"You were brilliant today. We're very proud of you."
Harry smiled, warmed at the praise and the sense of delight that Remus's words evoked deep inside him. They had another of Voldemort's horcruxes and Harry had helped. It was an excellent birthday present.