Harry Potter and the Crystalline Darkness

Chapter 14

Draco leaned back against a desk in the empty classroom and perused the letter in his hand. Antonin Dolohov had been faithful in his communication and Draco now held in his hand the fruits of the Death Eaters' labour. A thick sheaf of parchment held every detail about the Guild of the Night that Dolohov and the others had been able to glean. Draco set the letter down and started to read the parchments. As he read he realised that much of it was information he had already found out from the books in his library at home during the holidays and the ones in Durmstrang's library in the last few days.

The Guild of the Night was a secretive organisation of blind warriors. Many of the books had been dismissive of the Guild, claiming that the blind could never be effective at either the arts of the warrior or the arts of magic. Draco snorted at that, he knew better. His encounters with Potter during the year and during the battle in front of Hogwarts had taught him at least one thing; Harry Potter was not to be underestimated, blind or not. Draco had no intention of repeating the Dark Lord's mistakes. When he went after Potter it would quick and lethal, without any attempts to sway Potter to his side. He would kill the other wizard and that was it.

Potter could be a valuable asset, growled Voldemort in a menacing tone. He had obviously been following Draco's thoughts and was unhappy about the tenor of them.

Potter will never turn to the Dark, Draco growled back. If he didn't after his Muggle relatives abused and blinded him then he never will.

The Dark Lord grumbled for a moment then withdrew. Draco shook his head and returned to his reading. When he finished he swore quietly to himself. There really wasn't anything that was very useful in the parchments. Oh, he now knew a great deal about the history of the Guild and the conflicts the Guild had involved itself in. But there was no answer to the question of how Potter had seemed to be able to see and there was no answer as to how extensive the Guild was and whether they were likely to get involved if he escalated his plans. Draco snarled and slammed the parchments down in frustration. He tapped his fingers against the desk as he thought about what he could do now.

Well? He thought irritably at the Dark Lord. I don't suppose you know of anyone who could help.

If I knew someone who could help, I would have told you already, the Dark Lord replied waspishly. I told you I would aid you in any way I could and yet you still persist in believing I am hiding things from you. I will say this one last time, foolish boy. I cannot take over your mind now; I am merely a part of it. You are perfectly safe from me.

Draco was still for a long time. It was true that he had yet to truly trust the Dark Lord; not surprising really, the man had been incredibly slippery in life, why would he expect anything to change now? And yet...the Dark Lord's words had not changed once in all the time they had been melded. He had always claimed that he could not take over Draco's mind. Slowly, very slowly, Draco began to relax.

I...apologise, he said carefully. I...have been slow to trust you perhaps.

Of course you have been, the Dark Lord replied with sardonic humour. Don't apologise, boy. You're a Slytherin to the core, no matter that you are now at Durmstrang, I wouldn't have you any other way. I would have been disappointed if you had trusted me so easily.

Oh, okay, Draco replied, a little nonplussed. He had thought that the Dark Lord would be angry with him for his mistrust.

Is there some place in this godforsaken castle that we can use for your magical training? Voldemort asked dryly. I think you need to start taking advantage of my knowledge.

Elation flooded through Draco; he had been waiting rather impatiently for this. I think I could find somewhere. Seventh Year students have a fair amount of leeway here. Far more than at Hogwarts. And they don't restrict our usage of magic either. They consider us old enough in Seventh Year to do what we wish and to face the consequences of our actions.

Excellent! Then there should be few questions about what I will teach you, the Dark Lord said with satisfaction. Still, the first thing I will teach you is how to shield what we are going to do.

Draco nodded enthusiastically and gathered up his papers. He stuffed them into his bag and headed out of the classroom. I'd best head back to the dorm, he said to the Dark Lord. We get leeway but I don't want to get on the bad side of any of the teachers and have them sniffing into what we are going to be doing.

Indeed, Voldemort observed and he withdrew from Draco's mind.

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Pansy and her little group gathered in one corner of the Slytherin common room. This was nothing unusual these days; they were practically pariahs among the Slytherins now and nobody paid too much heed to them. Pansy snuck a quick look around the room and as soon as she was sure that no one was paying attention to them, she uncapped the bottle of poisonous ink she had found amongst her father's things. She placed the bottle in the middle of the table and she, Nott and Tracey pulled out their Potions homework. Crabbe and Goyle were not a part of this; partly because they could not be trusted to not touch the ink but mostly because not even Snape could find a reason to put them in NEWT-level potions nor did he particularly feel the need to these days.

The three students carefully copied their Potions homework onto to clean parchment using the poisonous ink, making sure to keep their hands clear of what they were writing. They would have used their dragonhide gloves for this but they could not think of a way to do that without being completely obvious and they wanted to be very open in doing their homework. Hiding away would only bring suspicion down on them when Snape finally succumbed to the poison, by doing this openly they would avoid that suspicion, at least at first. Once they were done, they carefully rolled the parchments up and put them to one side. Pansy capped the bottle of ink and returned it to her bag. The three of them then turned their attention to their other homework.

Theodore Nott looked around cautiously then leaned over to Pansy. "How long is this going to take?"

Pansy grimaced. "It depends on how much contact he has with the ink," she said quietly. "The more contact he has, the faster it will work. But I think we can expect it to take at least a month or two, possibly longer, for enough poison to build up in his system."

Nott nodded, a malicious gleam in his eyes. "And he won't show any effects until the build-up is enough?"

"Yes," Pansy said with an exasperated smile. "Just be patient, Theodore."

Nott nodded and turned back to his homework.

******************************************************

Harry sat at his desk in the Head Student's study and stared out of the window. He was meant to be doing his homework but couldn't actually bring himself to concentrate on it. The Headmaster was down in the room with his illusory parents along with Remus and he couldn't get the two illusions out of his mind. This had been a bit of a problem in the last few days since he had found them. His friends had had to jostle him out of his thoughts any number of times and he had even drifted off a few times during his training with Master Nhean. Most of his teachers had been willing to excuse him his lapses, Snape being the sole exception.

Harry sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands. He had gotten into a roaring argument with Snape yesterday during his Potions lessons. He still had those on his own, occasionally combined with an Occlumency lesson. Snape was starting to push him into more and more complex potions and yesterday's class had involved attempting to brew the Polyjuice potion. He had bungled things rather spectacularly when he had gotten lost in his own thoughts and forgotten to stir the potion properly. The explosion had been impressive and when he had admitted it to his friends later, Neville had even congratulated him. Snape's fury and subsequent lecture had also been impressive; they might not be the enemies they used to be but Snape would still not accept incompetence in the Potions classroom. And when he had admitted why he had been distracted, Snape had been particularly vitriolic. Harry flushed slightly as he thought about how he had responded to the verbal attack Snape had launched at him. He knew that he had been thrown by the illusions but he had forgotten that Snape was probably also disconcerted by them, particularly the illusion of James Potter at that age.

Harry leaned back in his chair and remembered what he had said about Snape to Sirius and Remus. That way the Potions Master acted was often a defense mechanism. He wasn't exactly sure how he had come to that conclusion but he was certain it was right. When unsure in any way, the Potions Master would lash out. Harry was fairly sure that the actions of his father and Sirius when they were younger were at least partially responsible for this behaviour. He sighed again as he realized that he really ought to go down to the dungeon and apologise to the Potions Master. He had been taking his nervousness and discomfort out on Snape as much as the man had been taking his own feelings out on him.

His thoughts were interrupted by the return of a very pensive-looking Dumbledore and a pale Remus. The Headmaster nodded to Harry and left the room while Remus dropped into the chair at Hermione's desk and ran a hand through his graying hair.

"That doesn't get any easier," he said quietly. "James keeps wanting to know why I look so old and Lily keeps pinning me with that look of hers that says she's on the verge of figuring everything out."

"Has Professor Dumbledore come up with any answers yet?' Harry asked quietly.

Remus sighed. "I don't know," he said heavily. "If he has, he's not talking about them yet." The werewolf eyed Harry curiously. "I heard about the little fracas you had with Severus yesterday. What was that all about? You've been getting along reasonably well with him."

Harry buried his face in his hands. He raised his head again and stared at the walls, watching the swirling silver and gold energy of the magic. "We're both a bit off balance with all of this." Harry waved a hand towards the door and the concealed room behind it. "And we kind of took everything out on each other." He gave a wry smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Don't worry, I had already planned to go down and apologise to him."

"Ah, I thought it might be something like that," Remus said with a small smile. "You know I had to restrain Sirius. He wanted to go down and practice his hexes after he heard about it."

Harry groaned and dropped his head into his hands. "Are those two ever going to grow up?" he said, his voice muffled.

"Probably not," Remus said with growing amusement. "Harry, there's a lot of history there, most of it bad. Just be thankful that they're polite to each other most of the time."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," Harry said as he raised his head. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. "I'd better go and do it now. If I wait it'll just give him time to stew over it all some more and make the whole apology thing that much worse."

Remus chuckled. "That sounds like a good idea. So, how long should we wait before sending out the rescue party?"

Harry rolled his eyes at his guardian as he pushed himself to his feet. "Very funny, Remy." He paused for a moment. "How does two hours sound?"

Remus laughed. "About right, I'd say."

Harry gave Remus a quick grin and grabbed his cane. He walked out of the study and headed down to the dungeons, tapping the cane lightly in front of him. He wandered along the dimly-lit corridor until he reached the Potions classroom and knocked on the door. When no answer came he took a deep breath and headed further down the corridor towards Snape's private quarters. He hesitated for a long moment before knocking politely on the door. He swallowed nervously as the door opened after a couple of minutes to reveal a very forbidding-looking Snape.

"Yes, Mr Potter?" he said icily.

"I, er, I wanted to...apologise for what I said to you yesterday, Professor Snape," Harry said tiredly. "I've been a bit upset by those illusions and I kind of took it out on you. I am sorry, sir."

Snape stared at him for a long moment then sighed and stood back from the door, gesturing for Harry to enter. Harry walked in and watched as Snape closed the door behind him. The Potions Master gestured for him to take a seat.

"Your apology is accepted," Snape said stiffly. "And I would like to...tender an apology in return. I...believe my motives were much the same as yours."

"Thanks, I kind of figured that was the reason," Harry said with a lopsided grin then his face fell again. "It's just very hard to look at them. They weren't that much older when they...died," Harry said softly, twisting his cane around in his hands. "And they keep asking me who I am. I mean I look so much like my Dad that I guess it's not a surprise." He paused. "I think Mum...the illusion of my Mum is close to figuring it out."

Snape cocked an eyebrow at the disheartened young man in front of him. "It is your mother, to all intents and purposes," he said archly.

"No!" Harry burst out. "No, it's not her! I can't think of that illusion as being her..." He leant his cane against the chair and ran a hand through his messy hair. "Professor, if I start thinking of them as my parents, I think I'm going to get myself into a lot of trouble."

Snape nodded approvingly. "I had wondered if you had thought about that."

Harry's head jerked up to look at the swirling energy and ghostly figure of the Potions Master and his eyes widened as he thought back to some of the things Snape had said to him the previous day. "Oh! That's why you..."

"Yes, Mr Potter," Snape said in an arch tone. "That is why." He paused. "Or at least, partly why. I confess I find seeing James Potter at that age again somewhat disconcerting."

Harry grimaced. "Yeah, I can understand why, though Siri has always said that you gave as good as you got." Harry shrugged. "Though I suspect your responses were probably a lot more subtle than humiliating someone in public."

"Of course they were more subtle," Snape replied with a raised eyebrow. "I am a Slytherin after all."

Harry gave Snape a look of wry humour. "You realise that you've just admitted that you did retaliate."

A small smile quirked Snape's lips. "Of course I retaliated, idiot boy. Did you expect me not to?"

"I guess not," Harry said with a snort of laughter. He then fixed Snape with an intrigued look. "Why are you treating me this way?" he asked bluntly. "Honestly I expected to be yelled at some more before you grudgingly accepted my apology. I didn't expect an apology in return or to be spoken to like...like this."

Snape looked at Harry with disbelief. "You truly do not know?" He shook his head. "Merlin's beard, Potter, surely you are not that brainless?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I'm a Gryffindor; apparently we're all brainless."

"True," Snape replied with a smirk. His expression then became serious and he rolled up his left sleeve, displaying the now bare expanse of flesh on his arm. "You defeated the Dark Lord, Potter, and in doing so you freed me from the consequences of my youthful idiocy. There have been many times over the last twenty years that I thought I may not survive and there have been times when I have not wanted to survive. During all those times, I truly did not believe I would ever see my freedom from the Dark Lord's service coming in any way other than my death. You proved me wrong and I find that I can no longer see you as a mere child nor can I find it in me to see you as just an extension of your father any more. You are a powerful wizard, Potter." He sighed. "Even if you do have the misfortune to be the most stereotypical Gryffindor I have ever had the displeasure of knowing."

Harry's jaw had been dropping during the Potion Master's speech however the last comment quickly had him grinning again. Rather quickly, his face fell.

"But I didn't defeat him," he said glumly. "Not really. He's still alive...well, sort of anyway."

"But not in a form that is useful," Snape observed.

Harry gave Snape a solemn look. "Don't underestimate Draco Malfoy, Professor. Merlin knows I'm not." He ran a hand through his hair. "Look, the two of them individually have made some stupid mistakes but that was mostly because they underestimated me and what I was capable of doing. They're hardly likely to do that now, are they? Particularly considering the two of them now cohabit a brain. They'll undoubtedly be reminding each other not to underestimate me." He paused and grimaced. "I think the fact that Draco was able to hurt Remy should tell you he is not to be taken lightly. Or Pansy for that matter."

"You still think she will make some kind of attempt on me?" Snape said dubiously.

"I'm sure she will," Harry said firmly. "I just haven't been able to figure out how. I've got Millicent, Blaise and the other Slytherin DA members keeping an eye on her and her cohorts. I don't think she's going to do anything in a hurry, if that's any consolation."

Snape stared measuringly at the young man sitting opposite him. He had been inclined to disregard the supposed threat of Pansy Parkinson but the fact that Potter and his own serpents were taking it so seriously was making him rethink his strategy. He shivered slightly as he looked into Harry's sightless eyes and he thought back to the training sessions that he had observed as well as the Battle at Hogwarts. Perhaps it might be wise to listen to the young man; it surely couldn't hurt.

"Very well, Mr Potter," he said finally. "I shall keep an eye on Miss Parkinson and treat the threat you believe she poses seriously."

"Thank you, sir," Harry said with relief. He paused for a second then looked at the Potions Master with a combination of curiosity and apprehension. "Sir? Can I ask you what might seem a rather trivial question?"

Snape raised an eyebrow. "If you wish. Don't expect an answer if it truly is trivial however."

Harry grinned. "Yes, sir. Hermione asked me during the holidays what I wanted to do with myself after I graduate from Hogwarts and I didn't really have an answer for her. I think being blind is kind of going to put paid to any ideas I had of being an Auror. I thought about teaching but again you've got the whole blind thing being a problem and also, the only thing I would really want to teach is Defence Against the Dark Arts and I don't really want to do Remy out of a job. Ron suggested professional Quidditch. He said the fact that Charlie beat me proves that my Oversight isn't an unfair advantage." Harry paused. "I just wanted to know if you had any suggestions about what I might do after I leave."

Snape blinked; of all the things he thought Potter might ask him, this was probably the last one. He leaned back in his chair and narrowed his eyes.

"Had you thought about some further education?" he said thoughtfully.

"No, not really," Harry said curiously. "Why?"

Snape paused, wondering whether he ought to be the one who broached this subject. "You are correct in your assumption that your blindness will preclude you becoming an Auror but teaching is still an option. Lupin's tenure as Defence teacher will not be...as extensive as you might think."

"What?" Harry said with genuine alarm. "What do you mean?"

Snape grimaced. "Surely it cannot have escaped you that he always appears tired and rundown," he snapped irritably.

"Of course I've noticed that," Harry retorted. "What's that got to do with anything?"

Snape scowled. "The transformations take a great deal out of a lycanthrope. Your guardian already finds it difficult to move around the day after the full moon; that will only worsen as the years progress."

Harry's eyes widened. "But...but what about the Wolfsbane Potion? Doesn't that help?"

"It allows a werewolf to retain his or her sanity during the full moon and thus stops them from actively injuring themselves," Snape replied. "But it does nothing to ease the transformations themselves. I am attempting to improve the potion in that direction but thus far I have been unsuccessful."

"Oh," Harry said, a worried and concerned look settling on his face.

Snape sighed; he'd known that bringing this subject up would be a bad idea but that damn mutt and Lupin should have already spoken to the boy about this. "It isn't going to happen overnight," he snapped. "But the time will come when he will be forced to retire. Having a ready-made replacement would be appreciated by most of the staff. Merlin forbid we should be inflicted with another of Lockhart's ilk."

"Oh," Harry said again, this time with a small smile on his face due to the Lockhart comment. "So what exactly did you have in mind?"

"Something that is the equivalent of a Muggle University course," Snape said. "A five year course of education, usually carried out at a school like Hogwarts, though I believe gaining some further education at the Guild Academy might be an appropriate action as well."

Harry found himself actually rather intrigued by the idea. "Why haven't we heard of this before? And what exactly does it entail?"

"You have not heard of it because very few witches or wizards are interested in doing it," Snape said sourly. "Particularly since so many areas, such as the Aurors and the medical fields, have their own training programs. Most think the idea rather redundant. When you add that to the fact that it requires a five year commitment during which time the witch or wizard may not wed or take a job, you can understand how its popularity declined. As for what it entails, that depends entirely on the candidate. The curriculum is tailored to suit the interests, skills and abilities of the candidate. It is in some ways an educational program and in other ways almost an apprenticeship."

The Potions Master rose and rummaged around in one of his bookshelves for a moment. He returned with a slim volume in one hand that he handed to Harry.

"Read that or have it read to you," he said abruptly. "It gives details of the program as well as some of the more famous students and their studies and exploits."

Harry turned the book over in his hand thoughtfully. "Thank you, Professor," he said as he stood and grabbed his cane. "I'll...think about it. Can I ask you any questions I might have?"

"Certainly, Mr Potter," Snape replied in a formal tone as he ushered the young man to his door. "And I suggest you talk this over with others."

"I will, sir," Harry said in a slightly distracted tone. "Thank you."

Harry tucked the book into a pocket in his robes as the door closed behind him. He walked down the corridor in something of a daze. Of all the things he had expected, that was not it. He'd expected to be yelled at, maybe even belittled but to get that talk, well, that was entirely unexpected. Now that he thought about it, Snape had treated him like an...adult. He wandered along the corridors, lost in thought. He'd never seen the Potions Master act like that before but then again, he'd never seen the Potions Master free from the role of Voldemort's lackey before either. Perhaps this is what the man is really like. Harry grinned a little as he realised that Snape had still been a little insulting and a touch acidic, perhaps not everything had changed.

He looked around as he broke out of his thoughts and was surprised to find himself outside the door to Sirius and Remus' rooms. He blinked for a moment then gave a small laugh as he remembered Remus' comment about the rescue party. Obviously his subconscious had remembered and had brought him here so that he could reassure his godfather and guardian that he wasn't in need of rescuing. He knocked on the door and then spoke the password to open it. As he walked through the door, he saw that Sirius was paused in the act of pacing the floor while Remus was sitting on the couch, laughing at Sirius.

"Is everything alright, Harry?" Sirius asked urgently as he rushed over to his godson. "You don't want me to go down and hex the bastard, do you?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Sirius!" he chided. "I'm fine and no, I don't want you to hex Professor Snape." He gave his godfather a lopsided grin. "It's really fine. We apologized to each other and then had a rather interesting talk."

"Really?" Remus asked curiously. "Can you tell us what it was about?"

Harry wandered around and threw himself down beside Remus on the couch. Sirius wandered around and slouched down onto a cushion on the floor.

"Well, the first part isn't that important," Harry began. "It's kind of just something between Professor Snape and me but I asked him for his opinion on what I should do after I graduate."

"What did he say?" Remus asked with interest as Sirius said, "I thought you were all for the idea of playing Quidditch?"

"Well, I do like the idea of playing Quidditch," Harry said slowly. "But I'm not really sure I want to make it the only thing I do. And he had an interesting suggestion."

Harry looked down at his hands then back up at Remus. "When were you planning on telling me about the long term effects of being a werewolf?" he said flatly.

Remus sighed and sagged down into the couch while Sirius jumped to his feet and burst out swearing.

"That bastard!" the animagus yelled. "I can't believe the vindictive son of a bitch told you that!"

"Sirius!" Harry said irritably. "He didn't tell me to be vindictive. In fact, if I read his tone and what I could see of his expression in the overlay right, I think he wasn't very happy to be the one to tell me. And he's right. You should have told me, Remus. You're my guardian. You and Siri are the closest damn things to parents I have. When were you planning on telling me?"

Remus ran a hand through his graying hair and swallowed hard. "You're right, Harry. I'm sorry. I should have told you about that a long time ago. I...guess I just didn't really want to face the prospect myself." He looked up at Sirius who was still pacing furiously. "Sit down, Padfoot. Harry's right. Severus should not have been put in the position where he was forced to tell Harry." He looked over at the unhappy young man sitting beside him. "I presume it came up during whatever advice he was giving you?"

"Yes," Harry said truculently as Sirius sat down on the cushions on the floor abruptly.

Remus sighed again. "I am sorry, Harry. You have every right to be upset with me. I...just didn't want to worry you."

Harry leaned against his guardian. "Remy, it worries me when you don't tell me things like that. And when I find out, it makes me wonder why you didn't tell me."

Remus wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders. "I won't do it again, I promise." He gave a small grin. "Should I put things like this in the telling people category?"

Harry laughed. "Yes, definitely!" he said firmly.

"Consider it done," Remus said.

Sirius reached out and placed a hand on Harry's knee to get his attention. "So what exactly was Snape telling you that lead to this revelation?"

"I...mentioned that I liked the idea of teaching but that the only thing I would really be interested in teaching was Defence Against the Dark Arts and I really didn't want to do Remy out of a job," he said with a small smile. "That's when Snape realized I didn't know that you would eventually be forced to retire. He mentioned it because..." Harry trailed off then grinned. "Because I think he'd like me to do what he suggested."

Both Remus and Sirius looked confused. "Well, he's right that the physical stresses of my lycanthropy are going to eventually force me into retirement," Remus said slowly. "But what was this suggestion?"

"He said it would be a good idea to have a ready-made Defence teacher so that Professor Dumbledore isn't forced to hire another Lockhart," Harry said with a laugh. "And then he suggested that I might like to consider doing some further studies. Some kind of five-year apprenticeship-type thing."

Both Remus and Sirius stared at him with their jaws agape.

"A Tyro?" Remus said in astonishment. "Severus suggested you undertake a Tyro?"

"Is that what it's called?" Harry said curiously. "And yes, he did. He gave me a book to read about some other people who have done this." He looked at his rather gob smacked guardian and godfather with curiosity and a little concern. "Um, why? Is there something wrong with doing a...Tyro, did you call it?"

Sirius blinked and shook his head. "Uh, sorry about that, Harry. I was just a bit shocked. No, there's nothing wrong with doing a Tyro. Hell, it's an honour to be accepted for one! I was just surprised that Snape suggested it, that's all."

"I said I'd have a read of the book and think about it," Harry said quietly. "Do you know exactly what doing a Tyro entails?"

"Someone entering a Tyro selects up to three subjects they are particularly interested in and undertakes intensive study in those subjects," Remus explained. "There's also a magical contract involved; you can't marry, take a job or enter into any kind of significant contract while doing your Tyro. There's also a scholarship given to anyone accepted so that you have some spending money if you need it. Basically you're supposed to concentrate on your studies for those five years. That's why so few want to do it."

Harry nodded and made a mental note he'd have to talk to Ginny about this. "Professor Snape said I would probably be able to combine some kind of studies at the Guild Academy with this."

"Really?" Remus said with interest. "Well, I'll take his word for it. Are you really interested in this?"

Harry leaned back into the couch and thought for a moment. "Yeah, I am, kind of. I'll have to read this book and ask a few questions. Get the full story. But I do kind of like the idea." Harry looked over at Remus with a shy smile. "Not that I'm trying to do you out of your job."

"I couldn't think of anyone better to give it up to," Remus said with a smile. "You've gone through a lot in the last few years, Harry. You'd make a good teacher." He laughed. "You already are a good teacher. Look what you've done with the DA."

Harry cocked his head to one side. "That's a good point," he said slowly. "Hmm, maybe this idea isn't so bad."

"If only it didn't come from Snape," Sirius said ruefully, causing both Harry and Remus to burst out laughing.