Bonds of Pain

Bonds of Pain

Chapter 9

In which Marauder products return to Gryffindor Tower

Whether they admitted it to themselves or not, Severus knew the boys were tired from their day of shopping. They had Flooed to the headmaster's office, where a brief meeting had taken place. The boys were told they could spend the rest of the holiday in Gryffindor Tower, and that permanent summer arrangements would be made in the spring. Mention was made of Lupin being in the castle for some reason Dumbledore would not tell, and the werewolf was supposedly bringing a dog with him. Oh well. So he would have to make the Wolfsbane Potion every month for another year. At least he wouldn't have to take over class for Lupin during the full moon. Dumbledore did want an anti-aging potion ready for the new Defence professor when he or she arrived, however.

Severus was faintly surprised that neither Draco nor Potter was a prefect, though, as they didn't seem to mind, he didn't press the subject. Instead, he followed Potter to Gryffindor Tower to deliver their new belongings and unshrink them in their rooms. Once they had climbed through the portrait hole, he was surprised to see how cosy the strange common room was. For a few moments, he just stared.

"Uncle Sev? Earth to Uncle Sev..." He almost jumped as Draco poked him. "Harry's going to take us up to the dorm. You went off into Never-never Land. Come on." Severus nodded and followed the pair up a few flights of stairs to a door bearing a sign that read, "Fifth-Year Boys."

The dorm room was just as comfortable as the common room below, with five huge four-poster beds and accompanying wardrobes and nightstands. ~Blast. Now Gryffindor has the most fifth-years of all the Houses...~ Keeping the thought to himself, Severus began to empty his pockets, starting with Potter's crate and the new trunks. Once everything was back to its original size, he took his leave and headed for the infirmary. Hopefully Poppy had one of his headache brews right to hand.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Harry had decided that he was going to put his new belongings away before investigating the box from Gringotts. He was nervous about opening it. What if it was just a bunch of rubbish?

{Delaying won't make it go away, you know.} Harry looked at his friend and then looked down. He had been organising his Potions ingredients, something he'd never done before in his life. Snape would be proud.

~All right, so I was stalling.~ He looked at Draco, worried. ~But what if it's all rubbish? What if there's nothing important in it?~

Draco snorted. {If it was rubbish, it wouldn't have been in the vault in the first place. Go on, open it.}

A frown on his face, Harry inspected the crate by feel. As he ran his fingers along the top, it felt... odd. As if it weren't really rough, unfinished wood, as it appeared to be. More like the leather over wood of a trunk...

~Finite Incantatem,~ he thought firmly, tapping the object with his wand. The wood shimmered before morphing into a trunk covered in deep russet leather. A brass plate on the lid bore a few letters.

J. P.

+

L. E. P.

Now eager to see what was inside, Harry flipped open the latches and raised the lid. Inside, he could see several books and a few smaller boxes. A wizarding picture and a note sat on the very top. His parents waved from the picture, Lily bouncing a baby Harry on her hip.

"You were supposedly an absolutely adorable baby, Potter," Draco murmured over his shoulder. His friend sounded a bit jealous. "You certainly look it." Harry smiled sadly and began to read the letter.

Dearest Harry,

Wait, he's Prongs, Jr.

James, stop it. Yes, dear. Harry, if you're reading this, your father and I are probably dead. Great loss to the wizarding world, I hope. We are about to go under the Fidelius Charm with Peter Pettigrew as our Secret-Keeper, and we decided to leave you some important items in case we don't make it. I don't quite trust Peter for some reason. Oh shush, Lily. I trust him. Exactly, James. I hope we do make it, however. Can't imagine what Petunia would do to you if we didn't. Or Sirius. He's not as bad as your sister. I know. Anyway, Harry, what your mum is trying to say is that we will always love you and be watching over you, even if it's not in the flesh. Stay safe, and don't get into too much trouble with this stuff. I'm sure your father has a great deal of Marauder things in here. Hey, he's a Potter. Have to uphold the family name and all. Sure, James.

We love you dearly.

James Potter & Lily Evans Potter

Harry sniffed and handed the letter to Draco before he stared looking at the books. None had titles on the outside, just decorative work, so Harry opened the first to the title page.

Five Hundred Subtle Hexes for Getting Rid of Annoying People, by Messrs. Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs. A note lower on the page was in his father's handwriting.

Wormtail was just a guinea pig, so he doesn't get credit for this one.

Harry chuckled. This might come in handy for getting rid of the Creevey boys.

The next book, bound in blue with slivery scrollwork, was even better. The Marauders' Guide to Becoming an Animagus, by Messrs. Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs.

Since Moony isn't an Animagus, he couldn't help.

~You know, this one is going to be really handy,~ Harry thought to Draco. ~Do we want to go ahead and start, or wait for Ron and Hermione?~

Draco frowned, flipping to the introduction of the book. "It says that the larger your support group, the better off you are. I think we should wait." Harry nodded in reply and opened another book.

Enchanting Objects was the third book in the trunk, and it was soon followed by The Prank Encyclopaedia and Sneaking Around: Tips for Pranksters. He'd have to make sure the Weasley twins didn't get these, or else they'd be royal terrors.

Underneath the books was a simple cardboard box. Inside, Harry found some rather embarrassing mementos of his infancy. Baby shoes, bath pictures... He could feel himself turning red. That wasn't going anywhere. A second box held pictures of his parents, Sirius, and Remus. In most of the pictures, Peter was conspicuously absent, and where he was present, he looked terrified of the others, who were often giving him dirty looks. Perhaps they had figured out that he had betrayed them. Then Harry spotted another short letter.

Harry,

If you get this, show it to Professor Dumbledore and ask him for the rest of our belongings. If we are attacked, he will have them.

Love from Mum

I guess that's why he had the Invisibility Cloak my first year, Harry mused. ~I'll get the rest of their things from the headmaster tomorrow.~ Draco nodded as Harry pulled out another box.

This, however, was more of a chest than a box. Its wood was polished to a high sheen, and an inlaid dog and wolf on the lid wagged their tails at him. When he lifted the lid, soft music began to play in a hauntingly familiar tune. A mirror was set in the lid, and red velvet lined the compartments inside and protected several pieces of jewellery. Another note lay on the top of the dividers.

Harry-

You don't have to keep my jewellery to yourself. I know it's rather girly for a boy. In fact, if you meet the girl, don't hesitate to let her wear any of my jewels. The only thing I really want you to keep is the silver locket. You'll understand why. By the way, our engagement rings are probably in Dumbledore's possession. They are promise rings that have been passed down through James' family for many generations. Dumbledore can tell you more about them.

Mum

~Um, Draco? What are promise rings?~ he asked, handing the note to his friend. The silvery-blue eyes widened as the note was read, and Draco looked surprised.

"They're magic, soul-magic. I've heard they even work on Muggles. Usually, a family will pass them to the oldest unwed male when the bearers die. Basically, if you carry a pair around and look into your soul-mate's eyes, the rings will magically place themselves on your fingers. One on your wedding finger, and the other on your soul-mate's wedding finger. They're very rare, and they only come off when one of the bearers dies."

~Wow. Dumbledore has Mum and Dad's promise rings, then.~ He was curious about his mum's locket, but he was going to leave it for later and look at the few boxes that were left.

The next box's contents were obviously his dad's. A pocket watch held down a note on the top.

Harry-

If you get this, beat Peter to a bloody pulp for me. After all we did for him, if he betrays us, as Lily suspects he will, he deserves anything anyone could dish out to him. Anyway, you can have more hands added to the watch for your friends at any decent jeweller's, and they can also remove hands. Keep Sirius and Remus from killing Snape; he may be a greasy git, but he's on our side. I know you're a born flyer, so win the Quidditch Cup a few times while you're in school. Make me proud, son.

Dad

~you know, I think these notes might actually be enough proof to get Sirius cleared if we can find someone who will publicize them...~ Harry mused. Draco nodded.

"Absolutely. They'll probably want to run some tests to prove your parents wrote them, but the tests wouldn't hurt the letters. Once Sirius is cleared, you'll have somewhere decent to go for the summer hols instead of those ruddy Muggles." Draco patted his shoulder, and Harry felt a lot better. He smiled and returned to looking through the remaining boxes, finding more of his father's keepsakes and one box full of pictures of Quidditch games where his father streaked by in red robes, tossing the Quaffle to his team-mates and trying to score. Oddly, one of the red-robed Beaters looked somewhat like Sirius.

A wooden box in the very bottom of the trunk rattled as Harry uncovered it, and he gasped when he pulled it out. Not only was it the heaviest box in the trunk, but it looked a lot like the chest for the school's Quidditch balls, though the crest was very different and the name "Potter" was engraved below it instead of "Hogwarts." Inside, the Bludgers strained at their bonds with the Quaffle nestled between them. All three were clearly emblazoned with his surname. Several dials stood out on the inside of the chest, but Harry took no notice of them as he popped open the compartment where the Snitch resided. He caught the walnut-sized ball before it could go anywhere, and it too was engraved with his surname.

"Oi, there an instruction manual in here," Draco crowed, grabbing said manual and looking through it. "No wonder your dad was so good. He had his own practise set." The comment cleared Harry's confusion, but it was getting late. He yawned and put the Snitch away, pulling the manual out of Draco's hands before closing up the set and putting everything back in the trunk.

~Would you help me move this over next to my wardrobe? I don't know where else to put it for now.~ The two boys pushed the wine-coloured trunk into place, and Harry pulled some boxers from his wardrobe before heading to the loo. ~Definitely time for sleep.~

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Draco woke suddenly as Harry began to scream form the next bed over. As he had been doing for three weeks, he quickly moved from his own bed to his friend's to comfort him. The other boy was thrashing wildly, his scar red and almost pulsing.

"Hey, hey, Harry, I'm here," Draco murmured, grabbing an arm and holding the darker boy firmly against the spasms. "It's not your fault, mate. You didn't make it happen." The pale boy held his friend tightly as the nightmare ended and Harry broke into fresh tears over Cedric Diggory's death.

For half an hour, they sat on Harry's bed, Draco soothing and crooning as the raven-haired boy cried himself out. An idea came to Draco, and he looked at Harry thoughtfully.

"Why don't you write Cho Chang?" he asked. "I know you feel a lot of guilt for taking Cedric from her, and I don't think she blames you."

Harry looked up at him, a tiny ray of hope shining through the despair. When Draco nodded, Harry reached over to the nightstand for parchment and quill. As he scribbled his message, Draco looked on.

Why does he have to suffer these things? Draco thought. He's still a boy. Hell, we're both still boys. We shouldn't have to be dealing with the deaths of fellow students. It was all Voldemort's fault. ~We'll get that ruddy bastard someday, mate. We'll make him pay for Cedric.~ Harry seemed reassured as he sent the missive off with his owl.

"Feel better now, mate?" he asked. Harry nodded, and he responded with a smile. "Good. Let's get back to sleep, then." Draco knew that Harry always had problems getting back to sleep after either a nightmare or one of his rarer visions, and physical contact always helped the other boy return to the land of slumber. Not that Draco swung that way. He was only trying to help his friend.

What do the Death Eaters have to say about Severus rescuing the boys? Where is Draco's Aunt Rita? Who is Aunt Rita, for that matter? What does Cho say about Harry's guilt over Cedric's death? Find out in Thursday's chapter!

Beth Weasley