Harry Potter and the Daemon Sidhe

Chapter 6

When Harry opened his eyes in Dreamtime that night, he was once again back in the library where he had worked with Kolos. The man in question was standing next to the fireplace, waiting for him with a small, reserved smile on his face.

"Hello, Harry," he said with a small nod.

"Hello, Kolos," Harry said in reply. He was still a little unsettled by the conversation he had had with Remus in the café but was feeling much better being here, with one of the Daemon Sidhe.

"How did your day of rebellion go?" Kolos asked as he gestured for Harry to sit.

Harry gave a laugh. "Pretty good. We managed to get the change in guardianship through without anyone noticing." He paused. "Kolos, could I bring Remus into Dreamtime again? He...he's been having nightmares as bad as mine."

Kolos raised an eyebrow. "You don't need to ask my permission, Harry. It's your dream. If you wish to share it with your guardian, you may."

Harry stared at him with surprise for a moment then nodded. "Oh, is this part of that whole king thing?"

Kolos' lips twitched. "Yes, I believe it does fall into that category."

Harry rolled his eyes and reached out with his mind for Remus and pulled him into Dreamtime. Again, Remus stood shaking for a moment as he slowly realised that he was no longer in the midst of his nightmare.

"Harry?" he said shakily.

"I thought you might prefer to spend the night reading your way through Kolos' library rather than having nightmares," Harry said with a kind smile.

Remus took a deep breath then gave a weak grin. "You know me too well, Harry." He gave himself a small shake and looked at Kolos.

"The books we were talking about last night can be found in that bookshelf," Kolos said indicating to a shelf. "Harry and I must get to work on his Occlumency."

Remus nodded and wandered over to the side of the room. Harry watched him for a moment then turned his attention back to his instructor.

"Have you been keeping your shields up?" Kolos asked sternly.

Harry nodded. "I've had a few headaches. Is that normal?"

"Yes. You're using some new mental 'muscles', so a few headaches are to be expected. Now, let's see how those shields are going," Kolos said briskly. "Legilimens."

Harry felt Kolos' presence outside his shields and once again the presence tried to work its way in. He lasted a fair bit longer than he had last time before Kolos finally managed to get in. He opened his eyes and grinned at his teacher.

"You were right! I kept you out for much longer this time."

"Well done," Kolos said with a smile. "Your shields are strengthening at an excellent rate. I caught something in there; something about your other...er, teacher?"

The smile dropped off Harry's face. "Oh yeah, I wanted to talk to you about that. Dumbledore said that I have to start Occlumency lessons with Snape again."

"When?" Kolos asked abruptly.

Harry thought for a moment. "Uh, tomorrow." He floundered a little helplessly for a moment. "What do I do?"

Kolos tipped his head backwards and thought for a moment. "Let's test how well your shields will do against his type of teaching...and I use that term loosely."

Harry tensed and nodded. "Okay."

He braced himself and then Kolos drew his wand and pointed it at him. "Legilimens!" he shouted and his mind came thundering into Harry's in a manner reminiscent of Snape's. His shield almost buckled for a moment under the attack but then he threw his now considerable resources behind them and, though they wavered for a moment, they held. Kolos drew back and nodded in satisfaction.

"I'm going to ask Gwydion to release your magic from the binding spell. You should be able to hold him off if you have access to all your power to put behind your shields," Kolos said with satisfaction then he chuckled. "I would pay a great deal of money to see his face when you hold him off so well."

"Will multiple attacks take the shields down?" Harry asked worriedly.

Kolos considered this for a while. "Perhaps," he said slowly. "But I think if you throw all your power behind the shields to keep him out, you should be alright. Be careful to just keep him out, don't try and throw him out. With your power, you're likely to throw him right across the room. And don't, whatever you do, try and follow his mind back. With all your power, you could burn out his mind if you're not careful."

Harry looked startled at that. "Really?"

Kollos nodded solemnly. "Now, let's get back to work. Continued work on keeping out my legilimancy attacks will also strengthen the shields."

Harry sighed and they resumed their work. After an hour of this, Kolos finally called a halt to things.

"Good work, Harry," he said with satisfaction. "Now, I think Gwydion and Devante will be waiting for you. Just go through that door." He gestured to a door in the opposite wall. "I want to chat some more with your guardian."

Harry grinned and headed over to the door. "Just remember to let him wake up in the morning, Kolos."

He walked through, laughing as he heard Kolos' grumbles behind him. He closed the door and found himself once more in the workroom. This time only Gwydion was waiting for him.

"Hi, Harry," the nondescript man said cheerfully.

Harry smiled and settled himself on his stool. "Hi! Where's Devante?"

"He's setting things up in the salle," Gwydion replied. "He thought it might be a good idea to get your physical training going as well. I think he called it a well-rounded education."

Harry groaned and Gwydion laughed. "Now, Kolos mentioned to me that he wanted me to remove the spell limiting your access to your power so I might just do that first." Gwydion squinted at him for a moment and Harry felt a little light-headed. The feeling passed quickly and Gwydion smiled. "There, that's done. Just be careful if you use magic in the next few days."

Harry nodded. "Don't worry," he said with a grin. "I don't want to get anyone suspicious by blowing something up."

"Good point," Gwydion replied. "Now, let's get down to work."

They worked again on Harry's control, both with the wand and without. Harry managed not to cause too many explosions tonight and he even managed to start some work on some of the more complex spells. He was feeling a little tired by the time he walked through the door into the salle and was a little apprehensive about what Devante had planned.

The tall warrior was standing in the middle of the salle and beckoned to Harry to join him. "Now, Harry," he said with a mischievous smile. "You look like you're afraid I'm going to eat you alive."

"I'm tired," Harry said with a shrug. "Why do this last?"

"Why do you think?" Devante asked challengingly.

Harry stopped and thought. "Because I might have to fight when I'm tired?"

"Good answer," Devante replied. "Exactly. Think about having to fight a war. Do you really think they occur over just one day? It's generally not one battle. It's a number of battles over a period of time. You have to be able to fight when you're exhausted even more than when you are fresh. Now come over here to the pells."

"The what?" Harry asked as Devante threw an arm around his shoulders and steered him over to the large wooden pole in front of the mirror.

"The pells," Devante said gesturing expansively at the pole. "Grab a sword and whack away, my boy."

Harry sighed and walked over to the weapons racks. He found a sword that felt comfortable and walked back to the pells. He stood behind them like he had on those first couple of nights and began the exercise that Devante had shown him then. Once again he only lasted about half an hour and then Devante made him rack his weapon and start running laps of the salle. When he was finally allowed to drop back into a walk, Devante joined him.

"Kolos told us how your rebellion went yesterday," the warrior said with a grin. "Did it inspire you to more?"

Harry grinned wearily. "Yes, I think so. I don't think Dumbledore's figured it out yet and I have no intention of telling him."

"Good for you," Devante replied. "Now, I think it's about time you and Remus woke up."

Harry grinned. "Okay."

Remus, time to wake up. It's morning, he sent to the werewolf and then he was looking at the ceiling of the room again.

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

Harry stood in the library of Grimmauld Place, waiting nervously and a little angrily for Professor Snape to arrive. His shields had strengthened even more in the last day. He was surprised but very pleased at the progress and so was Kolos. His training last night had gone much the same way as the previous night, except that Remus had joined him in his training with Devante. The werewolf had shown a bit of skill too. Harry was jolted out of his thoughts by the arrival of Snape.

"Good morning, Potter," the Potions Master said with stiff formality.

Harry raised an eyebrow in surprise at the formality. "Er, good morning. Sir." He looked at the table behind him and picked up the book he had placed there. He grabbed it and offered it to Snape. "Um, thank you for loaning me this. It was very helpful."

Snape took the book and slid it inside his robes. He eyed the young man standing in front of him; curious as to what the he had wanted with it. "It answered your question?" he said with a raised eyebrow.

Harry was surprised to find himself actually wanting to tell Snape about Devante and the others. It was the same feeling that had prompted him to want to tell Remus and Ron and Hermione. No! he thought angrily. This is Snape!

Harry? What's wrong? Remus said, startled.

Uh, nothing, Harry stammered. I'll...tell you later.

Okay, Remus replied dubiously.

"Um, yes, it did," Harry said a little shakily, in answer to the Potions Master's question.

Snape eyed Harry with curiosity; the young man seemed to be a little disturbed about something yet they had done nothing more than exchange a couple of sentences. He waited for a moment to see if Harry would say anything more. When nothing was forthcoming, he pulled his thoughts back to why he was there.

"Are you ready to begin?" he asked abruptly.

Harry gave a small shake of his head then nodded. "Yes...sir."

"Good. Legilimens," Snape said, pulling his wand out in a swift movement.

This time Harry was ready for him and he felt the significant impact of Snape's mind on his shields. He concentrated on holding those shields and fed his power into them. He was very careful to not push the Potions Master away, remembering what Gwydion had told him about his strength. Snape pushed at his shields for a few minutes then withdrew, eyeing Harry with suspicion.

"Where did you learn to do that?" he asked harshly. Potter had not been able to do that last time they had done this.

"I...I've been reading a book I found in here," Harry stammered. Once again he had been on the verge of telling Snape the truth and now he was feeling both unsettled and angry.

Snape eyed the boy in front of him narrowly. He could tell Potter was lying; in truth, the boy was a poor liar. What he didn't know was why the boy was lying. "Indeed? Which book?"

Remus! Harry thought in desperation. Are there any books on Occlumency in the library here?

Yes, Remus replied. Why?

Do you know the names of any of them? Snape wants to know where I learned to shield, Harry replied.

Try Mysteries of the Mind: A Guide to Occlumency by Tiberius Occam, Remus suggested then he hesitated. You could tell him the truth, you know. Something tells me you should.

Harry hesitated. I...Can we talk about this later?

He felt Remus' assent and then answered Snape's question. "Er, Mysteries of the Mind by Tiberius Occam," he said nervously, desperately hoping Snape wouldn't ask him any questions about it.

Snape sneered. "An adequate start, I suppose. Obviously his inability to put across his arguments in anything other than a coarse manner suits you."

Harry ignored the slur and looked back at the Potions Master. "Obviously," he said blandly.

Snape stared at him again then gave a tiny shrug. "Very well, let us continue. Legilimens."

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

An hour later, a very sour Snape stalked out of the library to return to Hogwarts. Harry stayed where he was both rather exhausted and very exhilarated. Snape had not been able to get through his shields even once, though in the later stages of the session it had taken a bit of power to prop his shields up against the attacks. Snape had become more and more snide and snaky as the session went on. Harry had rather quickly seen that these were attempts to get him angry and to lower his defences so he had worked hard to not react. And it had been hard; some of the comments had been slurs against Sirius and his parents. Those had been particularly hard to take, especially the ones about Sirius and Harry's role in his death.

He leaned back against the table and wrapped his arms around himself. Remus had been working hard over the last couple of days to get him to see that it wasn't his fault but it was hard to really make himself believe that. He had so many 'what ifs'.

"You alright, pup?"

He looked up to see Remus walking into the library with a sympathetic look on his face. He nodded and ran a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, just tired. I kept him out the whole time though."

"Well done," Remus said with a smile.

Harry returned the smile then frowned slightly. "What did you mean about telling Snape the truth?"

Remus shifted uncomfortably. "I...don't know really. When you were speaking to me, I just had the thought that we should tell him."

Harry sighed. "Yeah, that's the same feeling I was getting." He scowled. "But it's Snape! Why would I want to tell him anything!"

"Because he's the one person who could give you the best advice on how to fight Voldemort and his Death Eaters," Remus replied, showing a small amount of distaste. "He also knows more about the Dark Arts than anyone I know. I'm good at fighting the Dark Arts but he's the one that knows the Dark Arts."

Harry nodded glumly. "Yeah, that's what this new 'leader' part of me is saying. That he has information I need."

"But?" Remus prompted.

"But how can I trust him?" Harry burst out angrily. "He's done nothing but be nasty and belittle me, my friends and my family ever since I first met him. Why should I trust him? Particularly to be in my court? I don't know if I could ever trust him enough to share the mental link with him."

"Neither of you really know each other," Remus observed. "He hasn't been able to get past what happened when we were at school and see you for who you really are and you haven't been able to see past the public face he must wear."

Harry opened his mouth to reply but then what Remus had said sunk in and he stopped to think about it. Finally he had to admit there was a fair amount of truth in what his guardian had said.

"You're right," he said wearily. "But is it too late now to even try getting to know each other?"

Remus cocked his head to one side with a thoughtful expression. "It's never too late but you'd both have to be willing to try though."

Harry snorted. "He's too busy clutching his precious little preconceived notions to his chest to ever really find out about me."

"And you aren't?" Remus said with amusement.

Harry opened his mouth to reply hotly but then stopped and grinned sheepishly. "Maybe I am. But at least I can recognise that."

"So are you going to tell him?" Remus asked.

Harry thought for a while. "I...might talk it over with the Daemon Sidhe first but I think I have to. This...thing inside me is telling me that I need him in my court. Even if I don't like the idea much." He scratched his head. "The real question is will Snape defy Dumbledore? And if he does, will Dumbledore withdraw his protection?"

Remus was a bit startled at the adult nature of those questions and for the first time he realised what Harry's little transition had done to him. Those were the questions of a leader, a ruler, worrying about the safety of his people. For the first time, Remus began to see what the Daemon Sidhe saw within Harry. The potential to be a strong, powerful leader of people.

"He'd have to maintain the illusion of being loyal to Dumbledore until I was able to protect him," Harry mumbled, almost to himself. "Then it wouldn't matter."

"Sounds like you've made up your mind," Remus observed.

Harry looked up at him in surprise then grinned wryly. "I guess I have. I still don't like him, Remus, but I need his knowledge. I need what he can teach me and I think I need his advice on some things." He grimaced. "I just don't like it very much."

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

Severus Snape sat in his living room and swirled the wine in his glass. The book that he had loaned to Potter was sitting open on his knee. He had just finished reading the section referring to Devante. He vaguely remembered learning about the Daemon Sidhe in History of Magic thought, truth be told, he hadn't paid much attention at the time. He glanced down at the passage again. Potter had asked about Devante and said the book had answered his question. Snape frowned; why had the boy wanted to know? Binns spoke about the Daemon Sidhe briefly in Second Year, why would they boy be interested now? Unless...

His thoughts were derailed by the sudden appearance of Remus Lupin's head in his fireplace.

"Severus," the werewolf said calmly. "I was wondering whether you would be able to return to Grimmauld Place tonight?"

Snape's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why?"

"Harry needs to speak with you," Remus replied. "Something about the book you loaned to him."

"Potter needs to speak to me about the book I loaned him," he said with heavy sarcasm.

Remus ignored the sarcasm. "Yes," he replied blandly. "Will you come?"

Severus stared at the werewolf's disembodied head for a moment then stood. "Why not?"

Remus gave him a tight smile and disappeared from the flames. Severus laid the book and his glass on the small table at the side of his chair and, grabbing a handful of floo powder, he stepped through into Grimmauld Place. Lupin was waiting for him in the kitchen, looking nervous and tense.

"Come on. He's up in the library," Remus said brusquely and led the Potions Master back upstairs.

Harry was standing in the same position he had been when Snape had first arrived. When the two men walked into the library and gestured towards the chairs in front of the fireplace. "Maybe we should sit down for this," he said nervously.

Snape glared at him suspiciously for a moment then stalked over to one of the chairs. Harry rolled his eyes behind the Potions Master's back and looked at Remus.

He's not going to make this easy, is he? he said as they sat down.

That's not really his way, Remus replied, amused. Just keep to the point and answer his questions as best you can.

"Well, Potter?" Snape said archly. "What is this all about?"

"That book you loaned to me," Harry began nervously. "Did you read the passage about Devante?"

"Yes," Snape replied.

"What did you think?" Harry asked.

"About what, Potter? I don't have time for twenty questions. Either get to the point or I will leave," Snape said acidly.

Harry swallowed and Remus gave him an encouraging look.

"They're real. The Daemon Sidhe, that is. And they've woken up and they're back," Harry blurted out.

"I see," Snape said slowly. "And how do you know this?"

"B...because I'm...their king," Harry said hesitantly.

Snape's eyes narrowed. This was the thought that had been running through his mind when he had read the passage but he had all but dismissed it then. Now, it seemed it couldn't be dismissed. Why Potter, though? What was it about this irritating, insufferable boy?

"I see," he said blandly.

"And..." Harry paused and shifted in his seat. "I...think you're meant to be part of my...well, court." He looked down at his hands uncomfortably.

Remus smiled gently. "Harry, remember, think of the court being like the Order."

Harry grinned at his guardian wryly. "Yeah, I remember. Court's just a fancy name for it." He shrugged. "I just don't like the fancy name, that's all."

Snape had been staring to Harry throughout this. "Your...court?" he said slowly.

"Er, yes," Harry replied. "At least, that's what it feels like. It's the same feeling I had about Remus and that I've got about Ron and Hermione." His eyes became distant for a moment. "And about Neville, Ginny and Luna for that matter."

Remus looked at him with interest. "Really? Interesting that it's that particular group of students."

Harry gave him a sour look and turned back to Snape.

"And why should I believe this?" Snape said archly.

"Well, you don't have to, I suppose." Harry shrugged. "But I'm going to try and pull you into Dreamtime tonight anyway. The Daemon Sidhe will be there and I guess they can convince you. I just thought I ought to give you some warning about it, that's all."

Severus raised an eyebrow at that. "Why me?" he asked with genuine curiosity.

"I don't know," Harry replied bluntly. "And, honestly, I'm not very happy about it. You don't like me and I don't particularly like you. But something seems to think you should be a part of this. Remus suggested it's because you're the best person to give me advice on how to defeat Voldemort and that you know more about the Dark Arts than anyone else he knows. I think both of those things could be useful so maybe that's what's driving this."

Severus listened to this with growing surprise. This was a Harry Potter he had never encountered before; in fact, he was fairly sure that no one had encountered this Harry Potter before. He thought back to the day where Potter had spent several hours in an almost trance-like state in that park. Could that have something to do with this? This Harry Potter was calm and considered, this Harry Potter acted almost like a general. Or a king, a voice in his mind whispered.

"Look," Harry said briskly. "There's probably not much point in continuing this right now. Maybe we should just wait until tonight when I pull you into Dreamtime. It'll be easier once you're sure that this is all above board and you've met the Daemon Sidhe." A small grin quirked his lips for a moment and Snape frowned at it; what had brought that expression to the boy's face?

He finally nodded and stood. "Indeed, Mr Potter. Well, I shall await the night with interest. That is, if you are telling the truth?" His voice became silkily offensive at the last statement and he swept out of the room.

Harry watched him go with amusement. "I think he's going to get a bit of a shock," he observed lightly.

"What do you mean?" Remus asked.

Harry chuckled. "Remember what I told you about Kolos' reaction to Snape's teaching techniques?" Remus nodded, his own smile growing. "I think Kolos won't be able to resist giving Snape a piece of his mind when he finds out who I've brought in."

Remus laughed. "Well, try not to enjoy yourself too much."

Harry smiled and stood. "I guess we'd better get this show on the road then."

Remus nodded and the two of them left the library.

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

When Harry appeared in the Dreamtime library, that night he walked straight over to Kolos.

"Kolos, I need the library for a bit," he said briskly. "I need to bring another of my court in and he's going to need a bit of convincing, I think. I'll need to call the entire Daemon Sidhe in as well at some point. How do I do that?"

Kolos looked at him with surprise that soon modulated into amusement. When Harry wasn't thinking about it, he made a very effective king.

"Very well," he said with a short bow. "Your court comes before your lessons at the moment, I think. When you are ready for us, just call for us mentally. We'll hear you." He looked curiously at Harry. "Who is this new member of your court?"

Harry grinned mirthlessly. "Snape," he replied shortly.

Kolos gaped at him. "That...that useless Occlumency teacher of yours," he spluttered. "What?"

"Yes, that was just about my reaction," Harry replied with amusement. "But I had the same feeling about him as I did with Remus, so I guess I can't argue with it. Besides, its Potions that Snape's really good at."

Kolos stared at him for a moment then with a shake of his head, he disappeared. Harry grinned at the space where the Scholar had been and then reached out with his mind and pulled Remus into Dreamtime. Once again, Remus looked a little shaky and Harry gave him some time to settle down. He ushered his guardian over to the chairs by the fire and they sat.

"You okay, Remus?" he asked anxiously.

The werewolf drew in a deep breath and let it out. "Yes, pup," he said with a small smile.

"Okay," Harry said dubiously. "I'm going to try and bring him in now."

He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind again, searching for the Potions Master. He could only hope that he knew the man's mind well enough from their Occlumency lessons to find him. He searched for what seemed a long time before he finally located Snape's mind. Looking around, he got the impression of other minds nearby and realised that they must the other teachers who remained at Hogwarts over the holidays. He dismissed them from his thoughts and carefully grabbed Snape's mind and pulled it into Dreamtime.

Severus Snape appeared suddenly in the middle of the library and looked around wildly for a moment. Then he caught sight of Remus and Harry and realisation dawned on his face. He looked around the room more carefully this time then slowly walked over to the fireplace and sat down in the only empty seat.

"This is Dreamtime?" he asked carefully.

"Yes," Harry replied calmly. "Well, my Dreamtime, anyway."

Snape grunted absently as he looked around. "And where are the Daemon Sidhe?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I asked them to wait for a while," Harry explained. "I said I'd call them in when we were ready. I wasn't entirely sure I would be able to find your mind and I needed to explain something to you first."

"What?" Snape asked carefully, noting that Lupin was swallowing a smile.

"Er, Kolos has been teaching me Occlumency the last few nights," Harry began. "That's why I know how to shield like that. Erm, well, he made me show him the...lessons I did with you." Harry paused and flushed a little. "He's...not very happy with you. It seems I did actually have some natural shields to begin with. Kolos thinks it's because I've always had that link with Vol...er, the Dark Lord and that my mind created them as a defence mechanism. Anyway, apparently the lessons we did last year destroyed them and made me more vulnerable to Vol...er, the Dark Lord. Um, I just wanted to warn you about that."

Snape raised an eyebrow as Harry closed his eyes in preparation for calling in the Daemon Sidhe. Then there were six new people in the room; none of whom looked that pleased to see him.

Harry stood and looked around at them. "Erm, this is Professor Severus Snape," he said calmly. "I...He's a member of my court." There was a mild warning tone in his voice at that last statement.

"You mean he's the one who almost butchered your mind," Kolos said stiffly.

"Well, it wasn't that bad," Harry replied with a small smile.

Kolos gave him a look that said quite plainly 'I beg to differ'.

"It wasn't," Harry repeated with a stern look. "And he is part of my court. You will treat him appropriately."

The Daemon Sidhe flinched backwards a little at the stern tone and then bowed to Harry as one. They then turned to Snape and bowed slightly to him. He inclined his head in return and raised an eyebrow at Harry.

The young man gave him a small grin. "I sometimes have to remind myself that I am their king and that what I say, goes," he explained.

"You've learnt that one well," Gwydion said dryly as he turned and enlarged the room slightly and conjured more chairs. "Very well, in fact."

Harry dropped back down into his chair. "Yes, well, I thought I'd better diffuse a few things before they got a chance to get started."

"Quite wise," Asa said with an amused look at the visibly unhappy Kolos. Harry followed her gaze and rolled his eyes.

"Kolos, I am quite prepared to let bygones be bygones," he said in a hard tone. "I would appreciate it if you would also."

Kolos looked at him in surprise. Gone was the slightly hesitant boy whom he had taught the last few nights; sitting in his place was his king. Kolos inclined his head deeply to Harry and sat back in his chair, eyeing the Potions Master.

Snape had been maintaining an admirable calm during all of this but inwardly he was genuinely startled at the change in Potter. The young man hadn't lost his temper but had made it quite plain to the powerful men and women in the room that he expected their obedience and would accept nothing less. He decided he might break the impasse for once.

"So what does being a member of your...court entail?" he asked, steepling his fingers.

Harry paused and Malini spoke instead.

"He's one of your advisors," she said calmly. "Along with Remus."

Harry looked at her with surprise and then back at Snape. He narrowed his eyes and stared then nodded. "Yes, you're right. I see what you mean."

"What do you see?' Remus asked curiously.

Harry grinned at him. "When I look at the two of you in the right way, I see an...impression of your role. I don't think I could explain very well." He shook his head and made an attempt. "When I look at you Remus, I see an advisor and the impression of Light. When I look at Sn...Professor Snape, I see an advisor and the impression of Dark."

Gwydion nodded slowly. "The Light and Dark Advisors. Yes, Merlin had those and if I remember correctly, he found them first as well."

"Both are meant to be scholars," Kolos added stiffly. "Teachers and guides for the king."

Snape raised an eyebrow. "And the other members of the...court?"

Kolos looked over rather expectantly at Harry, who rolled his eyes and thought for a moment.

"Um, okay, if I've dug this information out correctly I should also have a Lord Marshal and Captain of the Guard. Those roles seem to be combined. I should also have a Scholar, a Seer and a Herbalist." He frowned. "That's an odd combination. Hardly seems enough."

"That's your inner court," Gwydion explained. "There will be others but they will answer to various members of your court rather than directly to you." He grinned. "And you forgot one. Your Queen."

Harry stared at him. "Er, a...Queen?"

Devante grinned. "Of course, Harry," he said expansively. "Every King must have a Queen. She'll be a match for you, of course. Do you know of any candidates?"

Harry blushed, much to the amusement of the others in the room. He scowled at them. "No, I don't," he said firmly, causing the others to laugh.

Remus finally took pity on him and changed the subject. "Do you want to link Severus in like you have with me?"

Harry hesitated and looked measuringly at Snape. He looked back at Remus. "You explain it to him," he said abruptly.

Remus nodded and proceeded to explain the mental linkage process to Snape; not just the actual physical process but also the whys and wherefores and the pitfalls and advantages associated with it. He explained that he and Harry had already done this and then, after a quick mental question to Harry, he began to explain about Dumbledore's manipulations of Harry and the rebellion they had planned.

"You have not told Albus of this," Snape said flatly.

"No!" Harry said firmly. "And I don't intend to, unless I have to." He looked at the Potions Master for a moment. "You were right when you said there were two sets of rules, one for me and one for everyone else. You just had the reasoning wrong. It wasn't to spoil me or any rubbish like that. I think Dumbledore was using it as a way of preparing me for what I have to do." He grimaced. "Gwydion, could you show Professor Snape the conversations we had about my life and Dumbledore's machinations? I think that will make this easier."

Gwydion nodded and closed his eyes. Snape flinched and gasped then stilled as the conversations Harry, Remus and the Daemon Sidhe had had a couple of nights ago played out in his mind. When it was done he remained still for a few minutes as he processed all of it. When he looked over at Harry, his gaze was indecipherable.

"Albus sent you back to those Muggles?" Harry nodded. "Even though he knew how they treated you?"

Harry nodded again. "Although I can only speculate that he knew. I never told him so I don't know for sure."

"And he allowed you to go down to face the Dark Lord in your First year? And into the Chamber in your Second?"

Harry nodded again and Snape fell silent. He had genuinely thought that Albus was indulging the boy or that Potter had been wilfully disobedient. Now he could see the careful machinations of the Headmaster behind all those actions. When he thought back, he realised that Albus could have found a way to get Potter out of the Triwizard Tournament. The rules for the Tournament were long and involved but surely he could have found some rule that he could have bent to say what he wanted. Unless, of course, he wanted Potter to participate. But for what reason? It was here that the part about the prophecy came back to him and he replayed that over in his mind. His eyes widened slightly as he made some sense of it. Potter had to kill the Dark Lord? No wonder he had spoken earlier today about finding a weakness, a way of defeating him. He shook his head and looked up at the young man.

"I am willing," was all he said.

Harry nodded and closed his eyes. In fairly short order, Snape felt a presence outside his mind. He carefully relaxed his shields and Potter then did something that he couldn't determine. He then felt Potter's mind retreat.

Professor? came Potters' mental voice.

I see you succeeded, Potter, he replied.

Yes, Harry said dryly. Now comes the next step.

He frowned at the young man but Harry had once again closed his eyes. Snape felt the link change fractionally then Harry's eyes were opening again.

Professor? Harry said again.

Yes? Snape replied impatiently.

Remus? he heard the young man say.

I see you've linked the three of us in, Snape heard Lupin remark. And I see that we can block each other off either individually or completely. The knowledge of how to do this flowed from Remus' mind to Harry and Snape.

Fascinating, Snape observed. How long have you been able to do this?

Since a couple of night's ago, Harry said. Professor, you should probably know what's been happening to me.

Snape then felt a large number of memories and impressions enter his mind. He quickly sorted them through and was startled at the amount of power Potter now had access to. He was undoubtedly the most powerful wizard in Britain at the moment, possibly even more powerful than the Dark Lord, though more likely they were equal in power.

Really? he heard Harry say. That's probably helpful.

Indeed, Snape replied absently as he sorted through the rest. He blanched a little as he came to the memories involving Harry's Occlumency training with Kolos. He was very lucky that Harry had done nothing more than hold him out today; if he had tried to throw him out like he had a few times last year, Potter might just have killed him. Or destroyed his mind if he had followed him back.

Kolos warned me about that, Harry said softly. That's why I did nothing more than shield.

Are you going to be doing this all the time? Snape asked irritably.

No, Harry replied dryly. You're just thinking very loudly, that's all. I can't help but hear you.

Harry's right, Remus said. You are thinking very loudly. We probably should have shielded while he went through all of this, Harry.

Oh, yeah. Sorry about that, Professor.

That's alright, Snape said dismissively. I see why you do not wish to tell Albus about this though. If you are wondering, I shall keep your secret.

Harry's relief came through the bond clearly. Thank you, sir. I think there are some other things we need to tell you as well.

Snape nodded and the silent conversation continued.