Harry Potter and the Daemon Sidhe

That night when Harry opened his eyes to Dreamtime, he quickly asked Kolos to assemble the rest of the Daemon Sidhe while he pulled his court in. When everyone was assembled, he stood.

"Devante," he said. "I want to organise things a little more than they have been. I know a lot of the reasons for the slipshod approach we've been using is because I had to get my court together. Well, we are now and I want us to be ready as soon as possible."

Devante's eyes narrowed then they widened. "You've used the Mentat spell," he said with approval.

Harry blinked. "How did you know?"

"I can't touch your mind anymore," Devante said.

"Oh," Harry said with a sheepish grin. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment then opened them again. "Is that better?"

"Rather," Devante said dryly. "Now, back to your idea of more organisation. It's a good suggestion."

The other members of the Daemon Sidhe nodded and the group fell into an animated discussion on what exactly should be done each night. After an hour of sometimes fierce discussion they had sorted out a schedule that would suit all of them. They would now always sleep eight hours each night and it was up to them to ensure they went to bed early enough in the night to not make their wake up time seem odd if anyone else happened to be in the house.

Harry would now spend the first two hours in Dreamtime with Kolos and Severus working on his Occlumency and getting some general education. He would then spend the next two hours with Gwydion working on his magic. He would follow that with an hour with Asa working on magical and other methods of healing and after that would spend an hour with Awena looking at the Prophecy. His last two hours would be spent in weapons training with Devante along with Remus and Severus.

The werewolf had the first two hours of their time in Dreamtime to himself and he fully intended to spend much of that time in the library. After that he would spend the next two hours with Kolos getting some training in methods of Diplomacy and how to liaise well with others as it had been agreed by all that he would be best suited to dealing with those not of the court, his calmness and natural diplomacy being the main selling points. He would then spend another two hours, along with Severus, with Gwydion where the two of them would be trained a various advanced magical techniques. Severus planned to spend the time he was not spending in some kind of lessoning in the library as well. There were many rare potion books in there that had caught his eye and, until the Daemon Sidhe were able to become corporeal and retrieve their library from where it had been stored, this was the only place he would be able to read them.

The other students had many of the same lessons together though each had time during the eight hours training in their specialities. Ginny spent her first two hours with Asa learning Healing. Neville was also attending these lessons along with Luna, though she only spent the first hour there. Ginny would then move into weapons training with Devante which was shared with Ron, Hermione and for the first hour, Neville. Then, all of the students except for Harry went into general education lessons with Kolos before again splitting up. Ginny went to magic lessons with Gwydion with Ron and Luna while Hermione went off with Kolos for special lessons to improve her scholarship and Neville went to Malini for intensive Herbology lessons.

Ron spent the first two hours with Devante getting special lessons in command, leadership and strategy while Hermione had lessons with Gwydion to help her with her magic. Neville spent just the one hour with the others in weapons training before joining Harry in magical lessons with Gwydion. Neville had been surprised at being included in Harry's lessons but Gwydion had insisted; he could sense that the shy Gryffindor had some hidden depths to him. And Luna, after an hour with Asa in studying Healing then spent the rest of her time before rejoining the others with Awena where she was to learn how to control her Seer abilities.

The whole thing had made their minds boggle a little but they had all eventually agreed that it was probably better that they were a bit more organised. They then headed off into whatever lessoning they were meant to be doing according to the new timetable.

This schedule persisted for the next two weeks and they all began to show signs of their training when they were awake. This was the most obvious in Harry's case, the constant physical training was causing him to start to put a bit of meat on his bones and, combined with the better diet, was apparently also allowing him to grow a bit. He was still slender and short, particularly when compared to Ron, but nevertheless the fact he was growing a bit was quite plain. He worried about this on occasion, particularly when other members of the Order were in the house but they mostly rushed around and finished their business quickly under the watchful eye of Remus. Apparently some dire threats had been made about disturbing Harry and the theory that he would still be upset about Sirius' death also kept their visits short. While this was true, it was mostly the fact that he did not want anyone picking up on the changes in him and speculating that made him glad of Remus' actions. Still Harry knew that they would be caught soon enough and he spent a lot of time waiting for the other shoe to fall.

Luckily for all concerned, this happened at a quiet time for all of them. Harry had received word from Mafalda Hopkirk that there would be no problems for him to have magical lessoning under the supervision of Professor Snape and that was something that they had taken to doing in the morning. Thus, when the Headmaster arrived in the afternoon, Harry and his friends were sprawled around the living room apparently doing nothing while Remus was in the library and Severus was ensconced in the potions laboratory that he had set up.

Harry and his friends heard the sound of the Floo activating in the kitchen and Ron quickly sent a mental alert to both Remus and Severus. Then the door to the living room opened and Professor Dumbledore walked in looking somewhat disturbed. His expression smoothed out when he saw Harry and he settled into a chair in the room.

"Ah, Harry," he said jovially. "I was wondering if I might speak to you."

Harry, who had schooled his expression into one of neutrality the moment the door opened, shrugged his shoulders slightly sullenly. "I guess," he said flatly.

Dumbledore sighed regretfully. "There seems to have been something of a problem with the wards surrounding the Dursleys' residence. They are beginning to weaken and fail and I was wondering whether there was some kind of disagreement between you and your aunt and uncle that might have caused them to say something...unfortunate regarding your residence there?"

Harry blinked and shook his head. "No, sir," he said honestly.

Why are the wards weakening? Hermione asked him with alarm.

Maybe because Remus is officially my guardian now and not the Dursleys, Harry replied. I think most of the wards are set with the blood relationship between Aunt Petunia and I, but I think they do rely a bit on me calling the place my home. Which obviously I don't now.

Dumbledore frowned at this news then he eyed Harry shrewdly. "Is there anything you'd like to tell me?" he asked gently.

Oh crap, Harry said with alarm. I think he knows. He received a flurry of startled answers and he realised he had broadcast that to the entire group. Enough! Remus, I don't suppose you could make an appearance, could you?

I'll be right down, the werewolf replied.

"Er, no sir," Harry said in reply to Dumbledore's question.

"Indeed," the Headmaster replied, a look of disappointment crossing his face.

Before he could say anything more, Remus wandered into the room, a book in his hand. "Oh, Harry, I found that book you wanted," he said before appearing to realise the Headmaster was there. "Albus! I didn't know you were coming over today."

"I have found some interesting information," the Headmaster said genially with a hint of steel underlying his words. "At the Ministry," he concluded flatly.

"Oh?" Remus said innocently. "Is there something wrong with Minister Fudge?"

Dumbledore fixed Remus with a warning look. "No," he said and waited for Remus.

The werewolf returned the look blandly. "What's wrong then?"

Dumbledore sighed again with disappointment. "It seems that you and Harry have been rather busy in my absence."

Remus deliberately misunderstood. "Well, I thought it might be best if we both kept busy. Keep our minds off Sirius as best we could."

Dumbledore's expression became quite severe. "Remus! I know what you have done."

The amiable expression dropped off Remus' face and his expression echoed the Headmaster's with the addition of a healthy dose of stubbornness. "Sirius wanted it, I want it, Harry wants it and the Gringott's goblins agreed," he said firmly. "It's done, Albus, and I must tell you I will resist most strenuously if you try to change anything."

"Harry must remain safe," the Headmaster argued.

"And he's not safe here?" Remus replied obstinately, gesturing around the house. "The place is under the Fidelius charm, where could he be any safer?"

"But he cannot stay here all the time," Dumbledore objected.

"Why not?" Remus replied stubbornly. "This place now belongs to both Harry and I. Sirius left it to us." He scowled slightly. "You haven't even asked us whether we mind the Order still using it as Headquarters."

Dumbledore seemed a bit taken aback both by Remus' attitude and his words. He looked over at Harry who immediately rose and stood beside Remus, a mulish expression on his face. The Headmaster considered the two men standing in front of him and sighed sadly.

"Very well," he said in a regretful tone. "I can see that neither of you are in a mood to listen to me. I will leave this for now but Remus, Harry must return to his relatives next summer, for a few weeks at least."

With that the Headmaster rose and stalked out of the room, his displeasure obvious. As soon as he heard the floo activating in the kitchen, Harry sagged against Remus and sighed with relief.

"Thank Merlin that's over," he said wearily. "I didn't really want to do that but I don't want to confront him about everything he's done until I'm sure that we can handle anything he could throw at us."

Remus wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulders and gave a squeeze. "That's okay, Harry. From the way he reacted, he thinks we're still being obstinate because of Sirius. He thinks we'll come around and agree with him after we have time to think about it."

"I notice that he didn't ask whether the Order could use Grimmauld Place as Headquarters," Hermione said tartly.

Harry looked around at her and froze, his eyes going wide. A small smile crept onto his face and his expression when he looked back at his guardian was wicked. "Close the Floo," he said suddenly. "Don't let anyone in. Dumbledore will just think we're being sullen but I think we need to push this point. The house belongs to us; he should have asked us if we minded the arrangement continuing."

Remus grinned at him. "Why not?" He left the room and they heard him head into the kitchen. After a few minutes he returned. "Well, that's done. People will still be able to apparate in but that will stop most of the intrusions."

"Are you sure this is wise?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"Its okay, Hermione," Neville said unexpectedly. "It's nothing major and Prof...Remus is right, Professor Dumbledore will just think they're sulking or something. But we have to get Professor Dumbledore used to the fact that we aren't going to always obey him."

Hermione nodded slowly.

"Professor Snape says our decision was creative," Harry said with a small smile. "I just told him what happened. He agrees we can't let Dumbledore know what we're doing just yet and this will distract him sufficiently. He pointed out that the Headmaster didn't comment on the changes in me...well, in all of us really. It's only been two weeks but there are changes."

Hermione nodded. "Yes, I know. Most of them aren't physical changes," she said as she looked around the group. "Most of them are changes in attitude. If Professor Dumbledore had spent the time observing us instead of arguing with Remus and Harry, he probably would have noticed that." She smiled. "It's just as well Professor Snape wasn't in the room. We'd have given ourselves away immediately."

The others gave snorts of laughter and they settled back into what they had been doing. Remus gave Harry a concerned look.

Okay Harry? he asked.

Yeah, Harry said with a sigh. I'm fine.

Remus looked at him again then nodded and left the room. Harry sat back down on the couch and Ginny got up and joined him.

"Harry?" she said softly. "Can we talk? Somewhere a bit more private?"

Harry nodded and the two of them quietly left the room.

Remember that's my little sister, came Ron's amused voice to Harry as they left.

Harry sent back a rude response and he gestured for Ginny to go upstairs. "There's a small sitting room next to the library," he said in explanation.

Once they were in the sitting room, they stood for a moment looking at each other awkwardly before sitting down in a couple of the chairs. Ginny scuffed her feet in the carpet for a moment before looking up at Harry.

"Do you like me?" she asked abruptly. "I mean you said in your letter that you did."

Harry did a rather creditable impression of a deer in the headlights for a moment then he blushed. "Erm well, yes," he stammered. "But then I remembered you were going out with Dean."

Now it was Ginny's turn to blush. "Um, well, we kind of broke up," she said with a shy grin. "I was only really going out with him to annoy Ron. He...kind of knew that and was happy to break things off." She paused and thought for a moment. "I think he's interested in Padma Patil anyway."

"Oh," Harry said, unable to think of anything else to say.

Ginny looked down at the carpet, her face a glorious shade of red. "It's just...well, I know I'm meant to be your...Queen." She swallowed nervously. "I've...been talking to Asa about it and, well, she said that we're...meant to be a King and Queen." Her voice trailed off.

Harry drew in a deep breath and tried to calm himself. "Erm, well, maybe we should get to know each other a bit better. Um, maybe go on a date?"

Ginny looked up at him and smiled shyly. "Okay. I promise I won't stick my elbow in the butter dish."

It took a moment for that comment to register in Harry's slightly flustered brain then he laughed. "Good," he said, starting to relax a little. "Because that whole crush thing you had was...well, a little hard to take."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Harry, for reminding me of that embarrassment."

Harry blushed and groaned. "Merlin! I'm sorry." He looked at Ginny rather helplessly. "Do you remember that bit in the letter where I called myself a dimwit? Could you just apply that to me all of the time?"

Ginny looked at him for a long moment then her eyes began to brighten and her lips twitched. Finally she couldn't hold it in any longer and she started to laugh. Harry stared at her blankly for a moment then his lips began to twitch and he joined in with her laughter. When the two of them calmed down, they sat staring at each other with affection until they realised what they were doing. That realisation caused them to suddenly look in every direction except where the other sat. Finally Harry cleared his throat and stood. He walked over to where Ginny sat and held out his hand.

"Should we go back downstairs?" he asked a little nervously.

Ginny nodded and reached out for his hand. Harry pulled her to her feet but refused to relinquish her hand after she was standing. Ginny looked down at their intertwined hands then smiled softly and the two of them made their way back down to the living room. The others looked up as they walked back into the room and there were smiles as they noticed Harry and Ginny holding hands. They refrained from commenting however and the six students went back to their studying.

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

They were all sitting around the table in the kitchen eating dinner when Snape suddenly fixed Harry with his sharp gaze.

"Mr Potter," he said. "Something occurred to me today that I believe should be brought up and discussed."

Harry looked at the Potions Master nervously. The two of them had patched up many of their differences but every now and then Snape liked to surprise him with a question that invariably ended up with him having to reveal the details of some escapade he, Ron and Hermione had gotten up to. Snape seemed to take an almost unholy amount of glee in having his suspicions confirmed.

"Um, okay," Harry replied.

Snape's eyes took on an almost predatory gleam. "I was brewing a potion today that required both Boomslang skin and Gillyweed and it brought back to mind two rather suspicious thefts from my stores at Hogwarts. I don't suppose you can shed any light on this?"

Harry froze for a second. Um, I think I ought to tell him, he said in a tight thought to Ron and Hermione. He suspects us anyway.

The two Gryffindors grimaced and nodded and Harry looked back at Snape. "Erm, well, the boomslang skin...well..."

"I stole it, Professor," Hermione said nervously. "We...needed it to make the Polyjuice potion and I thought Ron and Harry had already gotten into enough trouble with you."

This sudden confession seemed to derail the Potions Master's thought processes momentarily then he looked at Hermione with narrowed eyes. "Do I understand correctly, Miss Granger? You brewed the Polyjuice potion in Second Year?"

"Um, yes," Hermione said carefully.

Snape blinked. "Why?"

"We wanted to know who the Heir of Slytherin was," Ron said abruptly, drawing Snape's attention. "We knew it wasn't Harry and we thought it would either be Malfoy or he would know who it was."

"I see," Snape said slowly, fixing the three Gryffindors with a sharp glance. "And did he?"

"He wasn't the Heir of Slytherin," Harry said firmly. "And he didn't know who it was either but from what he said, his father knew who the Heir was."

"And the Gillyweed?" Snape asked with an arched eyebrow.

"That was Dobby," Harry replied. "Crouch knew I was nowhere near finding a solution to the Second Task. He staged a conversation with Professor Sprout in the staff room when he knew Dobby was there and asked her whether I would think to use Gillyweed. He knew that Dobby was rather loyal to me and would do anything to help me."

Snape was about to reply when he suddenly hissed and clutched at his forearm. Harry flinched as well as he felt the stab of pain reflect through the bond he had with the Potions Master. The others looked at them and their expressions became grim as they realised what was going on. Snape stood suddenly and headed out of the room. Just as he got to the door, Harry spoke.

"Be careful, sir."

Snape stopped for a moment, his back to the others, and nodded before leaving.

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

Severus apparated into the abandoned castle the Dark Lord had taken over and swiftly walked out of the room and down the corridor. His robes swirled around him and his mask hid the apprehension that was lurking in his eyes. He had no idea what affect the bond and the Mentat spell would have if the Dark Lord chose to try Legilimency on him but he feared the worse. He reached into his robes and fingered the small bronze disk that was his emergency portkey. He had hoped never to have to use it but today might just be the day.

Severus? came the questioning voice of Harry, breaking into his thoughts.

You can reach this far? Snape thought back with surprise.

Um, I didn't really get any sense of distance, Harry said with surprise.

Really? And yet I get the impression of distance with the others. He paused and considered the bond links in his mind. Ah, yours is the only one that does not have that sense of distance.

There was silence from Harry for a moment. Okay, I found it. It's because of my role. The other bonds will become like this eventually but that will take a fair bit of time.

Interesting, Severus replied. Is there some particular reason you felt like having a chat? Because I must confess now is not exactly the best time.

Harry chuckled. I don't want to chat but I'm not going to let you do this alone.

Mr Potter, Severus said firmly. I have been doing this alone for a very long time. I am sure that I will be fine.

Maybe, came Harry's infuriatingly calm answer. But things are a little different this time, aren't they?

Severus ran out of time to argue when he came to the door of the Dark Lord's audience room. He opened the door and strode in, aware of Harry's continuing presence in the back of his mind. He joined the ranks of the other arriving Death Eaters and waited patiently. When Voldemort swept into the room, he felt a mental flinch from Harry.

What? he demanded.

This has just gotten a little odd, came the slightly distracted reply. I'm seeing this from Vol...er, the Dark Lord's perspective but I'm still in contact with you.

Is that going to cause problems?

I...don't think so, Harry replied absently then his mental tone improved. No, no, it won't.

Their conversation was interrupted by Voldemort beginning the meeting. The first thing he did was demand to know where Harry was. When this was greeted with almost terrified silence, the Dark Lord's face twisted in anger and he pulled his wand out swiftly. He turned on one of the Death Eaters and threw the Cruciatus curse at him. The Death Eater collapsed to the floor, howling in pain, and Severus felt the trickle of pain through his bond with Harry. When the Dark Lord was finished, he looked up at the group in front of him.

"Severus!" he hissed.

Severus paced forward calmly and bowed low. "Yes, Lord?"

"Where is Harry Potter?"

"I do not know, Lord," Severus replied calmly. "Though I am certain he is not at Hogwarts."

Voldemort snarled. "Crucio!"

Severus fell to the floor and curled up as pain assaulted him and dimly he could feel Harry throw up some quick shields in order to not be assaulted from both sides. When the pain finally ceased, Severus lay on the floor, breathing heavily, for a moment to gather himself before he slowly stood again.

"Find out more, Severus, unless you wish to find out what happens to those who truly disappoint me," Voldemort hissed.

Severus bowed silently.

"When will my potions be ready?" Voldemort asked abruptly.

"The first will be ready next week, the others a week after that," Severus replied.

Voldemort's hideous face stretched into a pleased smile. "Excellent, Severus. I may just forgive your incompetence in dealing with that old fool at Hogwarts. Contact me immediately when they are finished."

"Yes, Lord," Severus replied as he stepped back into the group of Death Eaters.

Voldemort swept his followers with an arch look. "I have convinced the Dementors to join us and in one week they will leave Azkaban. We will use the resulting confusion to release the Death Eaters who were imprisoned after their failure in the Department of Mysteries. All but Severus will be involved in this venture. Severus, you will remain in your place and distract Dumbledore. Do not fail me in this."

"Yes, Lord," Severus said emotionlessly.

Oh, this is going to be interesting, came the wry thought from Harry. How do we warn people without giving away the fact that there is a spy among the Death Eaters?

I will speak with the Headmaster, Severus replied absently, most of his attention on Voldemort. I'm sure he will come up with something.

A sceptical grunt was the only response from Harry.

The Dark Lord raved on about his plans for some time then finally dismissed his Death Eaters. Severus joined the group departing and upon reaching the edge of the Dark Lord's anti-apparition wards, he quickly apparated back to 12 Grimmauld Place.

Harry was waiting for him when he arrived and the young man looked him up and down with narrowed eyes for a moment before gesturing for him to enter the sitting room. He was ushered to a chair in front of the fire and handed a potion he recognised from his own stocks that was designed to help with the after-effects of the Cruciatus curse. As it was exactly what he would have taken anyway, he had no hesitation in drinking it. When he was finished, he handed the vial back to Harry and accepted a cup of tea in return. Harry placed the empty vial on a table beside the door and sat down opposite him.

"I trust you have also taken some of that potion," Severus asked archly.

"Yes," Harry said with a small smile. "Hermione, Ginny and Neville were rather insistent."

"I shall have to report to the Headmaster shortly," Severus warned.

"I know," Harry replied. "Do you think he will notice the Mentat spell?"

"Unlikely," Severus said dismissively. "He will not use Legilimancy on me."

Harry raised an eyebrow at Severus' phrasing but did not make an issue of it. Severus finished his tea and placed the cup down on the table.

"I must go, Harry," he said firmly. "We do not want the Headmaster to suspect anything out of the ordinary."

Harry nodded, his thoughts clearly on what he had seen at the meeting. "What do you think Dumbledore will do?"

The two of them stood and headed towards the kitchen.

"I suspect he will drop soft words in the appropriate ears as though it is merely a worry of his own," Severus said as he grabbed a handful of Floo powder. "Whether those words are heeded is an entirely different matter."

Harry grunted. "Yeah, the Ministry is populated with idiots."

"The Ministry is populated by Hufflepuffs," Severus said archly as he threw the Floo powder into the fire with a terse 'Headmaster's Office, Hogwarts'. He then turned to look at Harry just before he stepped into the fire. "So I suspect we mean the same thing."

Harry gave a sharp laugh as the Potions Master disappeared into the green flames. He sat down at the table and rested his chin on one hand. This was the first time one of his people had headed into a dangerous situation and he hadn't really liked the feeling. He knew maintaining contact with Severus like that hadn't been the wisest thing he'd ever done but he hadn't been able to help himself. If something went wrong he wanted to know immediately. He suspected he still had a bit to learn about this whole commanding business. Devante was trying to get as much done as quickly as possible; neither he nor Severus felt they had too much time before Voldemort made another play at him.

As he sat there, fiddling with the sleeve of his jumper, Remus wandered into the room.

"Is he alright?" the werewolf asked softly.

"Yeah," Harry replied wearily. "He's just gone to report to Dumbledore."

"You should get some sleep," Remus said kindly.

Harry shook his head. "I want to wait until he gets back."

Remus eyed his charge with concern. "Harry," he began.

"He won't be long," Harry interrupted. "Remus..." He broke off and huffed in frustration. "This is the first time one of my...court, one of my people has gone into something dangerous."

"He's done this many times before," Remus reminded him gently.

"Yes, but he wasn't one of mine before," Harry replied heatedly.

"You feel responsible for him," Remus said calmly, ignoring Harry's tone. He was fairly sure he knew what Harry was trying to say.

"Yes! No!" Harry sighed. "I don't know. I mean, I know he's an adult, he's done this before, blah, blah, blah. But now he's my Advisor. He's my responsibility, well, sort of anyway."

Remus chuckled. "I'd like to see his face if you ever told him that." He pushed himself to his feet. "Well, when he gets back, go to bed. We can't get into Dreamtime without you, you know."

"Damn! I forgot about that," Harry said with chagrin.

Remus chuckled again. "I'm sure the Daemon Sidhe will understand." He ruffled Harry's hair and left the kitchen.

Harry smoothed down his hair with an exasperated smile. Remus liked doing that to him. He fidgeted at the table for a bit then got himself a glass of water. He didn't drink, just turned it round and round while he waited for the Potions Masters return. It occurred to him that he could contact the man through the link but he didn't want to risk alerting Dumbledore that anything was different. The Headmaster could be frighteningly observant at times. He gave a start of surprise when the flames flared green and the Potions Master stepped out.

"You should be in bed," Snape said severely.

"That's what Remus said," Harry replied with weary humour. "I'll go to bed now."

Severus paused; he was definitely unused to someone worrying about him and that was clearly what Potter had been doing. He hesitated a long moment then slowly, almost fearfully placed a hand gently on Harry's shoulder.

"Go to bed," he said quietly. "We can talk about this tomorrow."

Harry looked up and him and smiled wryly. "Thank you, Severus," he said before standing and slipping out of the kitchen.

Severus stared after him; for the first time in far too long, he felt like everything was going to be alright.