Trinity

Chapter 10

Severus walked into the large room the Dark Lord used for his meetings to find the man pacing back and forth, looking rather maliciously pleased with himself. He turned when Severus entered and the smile that stretched his thin lips sent a shiver straight down Severus' spine.

"Severus! Good, you are prompt," Voldemort hissed, his red eyes glowing. "Come with me."

Severus inclined his head respectfully and took his position to Voldemort's right, staying just one pace behind the other man.

"I have been somewhat distracted today," Voldemort said as they walked out of the room. "So much so I nearly forgot that I owed someone a little birthday present."

"Potter," Severus said flatly.

Voldemort chuckled. "Yes, indeed. After all, it would be churlish of me not to get the Chosen One -" His voice took distinct overtones of sarcasm. " - a birthday present for his coming of age."

Severus chose not to answer but another shiver went down his spine at the thought of what was likely to happen tonight. The Dark Lord had been keeping the link between himself and Potter closed after he'd realised how much information Potter was getting from it but Severus had no doubts that whatever happened tonight, the Dark Lord would be opening that link and letting Potter see it all.

They walked out of the house and Severus let his gaze flicker over the village of Little Hangleton. Odd that the Dark Lord would choose to inhabit his muggle father's house. The house itself was layered with more wards and protective spells than Severus ever thought possible and the notice-me-not charms were equally strong. It would take a powerful witch or wizard...or a Death Eater...to fight the compulsion to go elsewhere.

Severus' thoughts were pulled into line when the Dark Lord placed a hand on his shoulder and apparated them both to the outskirts of a small village. About fifty feet away was a small cottage sitting dark and sleeping in the night. He glanced at the cottage then looked inquiringly at his Lord.

"A muggleborn witch and her parents," Voldemort hissed as he headed straight towards the cottage. "A little entertainment for the boy."

Severus followed the Dark Lord, his face set and taut. This was undoubtedly going to be unpleasant for everyone except Voldemort. When they got to the house, Voldemort decided on the flamboyant approach and, with a word and a quick flick of his wand, the front door shattered inwards with a loud bang. Voldemort strode into the house, his robes swirling around him though Severus did see the slight hesitation in the other man's stride.

The loud concussion from the door being blown in had had the required effect. The three occupants of the house had stumbled out of their bedrooms and Voldemort quickly had them bound and gagged, lying on the living room floor. Severus looked down at the young girl and recognised her as a Second Year Hufflepuff. The girl's eyes widened as she recognised him and then they filled with hate and anger. Severus sneered at her and looked to the Dark Lord for direction.

Voldemort closed his eyes for a moment then he chuckled. "Happy birthday, Harry," he said maliciously then he levelled his wand at the young girl lying on the floor. "Crucio!"

The girl screamed and her father yelled muffled insults and her mother wept. Voldemort chuckled and gestured for Severus to join in. The Potions Master glided forward and set the Cruciatus on the mother, leaving the father to gasp out his impotent rage. For the next half an hour the two of them turned curse after curse on the unfortunate family then Voldemort suddenly staggered backwards. His face was filled with anguish and anger and his body looked as though it was wracked with pain. Severus took an abortive step towards the Dark Lord but before he could do anything Voldemort snarled and, with three quick gestures, sent the Killing Curse at the girl and her parents.

Voldemort then staggered over to the wall and leaned on it as Severus hurried to his side.

"My Lord?" Severus said warily.

Voldemort ignored him as he seemed to concentrate on something inside him then the pain apparently vanished and he straightened.

"Come," Voldemort snapped and Severus hastened to obey.

As soon as they were out of the house, Voldemort clamped a hand down on Severus' shoulder and they apparated away. Once back at Riddle Manor, Voldemort stalked in and Severus followed warily in his wake. The Dark Lord was clearly in a foul mood and that was not how this night was meant to end.

"My Lord?" Severus asked carefully as they entered the room where the meetings were normally held.

Voldemort whirled around and this time the waver was far more pronounced. The glare was not affected at all and for a brief moment Severus tensed himself in preparation for the Cruciatus.

"Leave, Severus," Voldemort snarled.

Severus bowed and quickly took himself out of the room. Whatever had affected the Dark Lord undoubtedly stemmed with Potter and once he calmed down, Severus did not want to be a target for the Dark Lord's anger. As he walked down the halls of Riddle Manor, Severus wondered what had happened. He had never seen the Dark Lord affected by Potter before.

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

Harry climbed up the stairs towards his room with a feeling of contentment. Ron and Hermione were walking behind him, holding hands he was rather amused to see. He gave them a small wave goodnight as he opened the door to his room and grinned when he realised neither had seen it. They were too busy talking quietly to each other. He shook his head and walked into his room, closing the door behind him.

He got changed into his pyjamas and wandered over to the window where Casimir was perching and gently stroked the phoenix's head as he looked out into the night.

"I wish he was still here," he murmured to the phoenix. "He'd have liked tonight."

Casimir sung a liquid note that shivered through Harry and made him smile briefly. He stroked the phoenix's feathers for a few more minutes then sighed and headed for bed. He lay looking at the ceiling for a few minutes before sleep overcame him.

He didn't know how long he'd been asleep when he suddenly came awake with a jerk. He stared into the darkness of the room and frowned as he tried to determine what had woken him. A sudden trickle of pain through his scar was all the warning and explanation he got before the pain intensified and he was flung out of his own body and into another. He dimly heard a scream sound through the room before he lost even that much knowledge.

He gasped as he realised he was looking down at a young girl of about twelve and what must be her parents. The three of them were bound and gagged and looked terrified though oddly enough there was a hint of anger and hatred fading in the young girl's eyes.

"Happy birthday, Harry," a malevolent voice echoed through his head and he moaned. Voldemort had decided to reopen the link.

Harry watched with sick realisation as what seemed to be his own hand rose and pointed a wand at the young girl. When the word "Crucio" was hissed he desperately tried to pull away from Voldemort's mind even as the pain from the curse washed over him and made him scream. When the curse ended he panted then he mentally snarled as Snape glided into view and cast the Cruciatus on the girl's mother.

For the next half an hour Harry witnessed the pain and torture of the girl and her parents as he tried more and more desperately to pull himself out of the vision. He could dimly hear the voices of Remus and Mr and Mrs Weasley but they could not seem to help. Then he felt something warm touch his lips and he flinched and gasped. The warmth took advantage of that and he suddenly realised he was being kissed. Then the warmth disappeared and he made a wordless sound of protest.

"Harry," he heard Ginny say gently. "Come back. You can do it."

Then the warmth was back and it really penetrated through the vision and the pain that he was kissing Ginny. He felt a warmth flow through him and one hand snaked up through her hair in an almost involuntary movement. The kiss deepened a fraction and Harry felt an enormous contentment flow through him, closely followed by delight, passion and something that, if he even really knew what it was, might be love.

He felt more than heard Voldemort's reaction. The Dark Lord snarled in his mind then was gone as suddenly as he'd appeared. The immediate pain disappeared, leaving a dull ache in its wake but Harry ignored that in favour of the kiss that still consumed his attention. When Ginny finally pulled away, he opened his eyes and gazed at her with a lazy smile.

Her smile was more one of relief. "Harry!" she said as she slumped down on to sit on the side of the bed, one hand fumbling after his.

That was when Harry realised she had been half-kneeling on the bed and that the room was full of rather fuzzy people.

"What?" he mumbled as he groped after his glasses, sliding them onto his face.

"That's the question we were hoping you could answer," Remus said gently as he stepped forward, placing a hand on Ginny's shoulder.

Harry groaned as he flung an arm over his eyes, squashing his glasses down a little painfully. "My head hurts," he said, in an effort to delay the inevitable.

"Here," came Hermione's slightly shaky voice and he felt a vial being pressed into one hand.

He opened his eyes and gave a weak smile before downing the contents of the vial, grimacing at the taste.

"Damn. And I'd always thought it was Snape's fault the potions tasted terrible," he said, trying for a genuine smile this time but failing.

"Harry?" Remus said gently. "Was it Voldemort?"

Harry nodded. "My birthday present," he said bitterly. "He and Snape torturing and killing a family. I think the girl goes to Hogwarts. She looked vaguely familiar."

The atmosphere in the room became decidedly grim and there were a few low murmurs. A few of the people in the room disappeared in response to those murmurs.

"Did Ginny's plan work?" Remus asked with a small smile. "She remembered something you said about when Voldemort possessed you at the Ministry. How it was thoughts of how much you loved Sirius that drove him out. She thought she'd try it her way."

This time the smile on Harry's face was genuine. "Yeah," he whispered. "It worked."

He tilted his head over to look at his girlfriend. She was gripping one of his hands tightly and watching him with an expression that was both relieved and slightly grim.

"Thank you," he murmured, squeezing her hand slightly.

She smiled at him, a hint of impishness deep in her eyes. "It wasn't any trouble at all."

Harry gave a soft huff of laughter. "Yeah."

There were small sounds of amusement and Harry blushed a little. The he remembered why all of those people were in his room and his face became stricken.

"Oh no you don't" Ron said with sudden fierceness and in the background Harry could hear Hermione ordering everyone out of the room.

He hardly felt Ginny lean forward and kiss him on the cheek before she too was gone and only Ron and Hermione remained.

"Don't you dare!" Ron said fiercely, almost angrily and Harry stared at him in shock.

"Don't you dare start to feel guilty about this!" Ron continued, leaping forward and pulling Harry into a sitting position. "The fact that that family died is not your fault! Blame Voldemort! Blame Snape! They killed them! You didn't!"

Hermione came forward and placed a hand on Ron's shoulder. "Ron, ease up," she said softly then she turned to Harry. "Ron's right. It's not your fault and if you give in to this then Voldemort wins."

Harry looked at Hermione sharply as her words sunk in. He hardly even noticed Ron letting go of him, looking slightly sheepish.

"Sorry, mate," Ron muttered.

"No, no, it's alright," Harry said slowly. "You're right. I know you're right. It's just...hard. When...the visions are always from his perspective. It...looks like it's me that doing...that."

"It's not you," Hermione said quietly but firmly as she sat down on the edge of the bed. Ron came and stood beside her.

Harry drew in a deep, shuddering breath then let it out slowly, feeling his thoughts start to straighten out. "Yeah," he breathed. He swallowed hard and did his best to pull himself together. "I want to know who they were."

"Moody's gone with Kingsley and Tonks to find out," Hermione said. "They said it should be easy enough. The magical detectors in the Ministry would have picked it up. The fact that the family is probably Muggle except for the girl will make it easier."

Harry shoved himself into a more comfortable position. "I think we need to start with whatever Occlumency training Moody can give us as well. As nice as Ginny's solution was it's not going to be possible every time this happens."

"Do you think he's going to start sending you visions again?" Ron asked, looking worried.

Harry shook his head. "No, I don't think so. I think this was just because it was a..." His voice became bitter. "...a special occasion. My birthday present he called it."

"Bastard," Ron muttered under his breath before looking nervously towards Hermione, clearly expecting a disapproving look.

Hermione caught that glance and snorted. "What? You're right. He is a bastard."

Ron mugged an overly shocked look. "Hermione Granger swearing! What has the world come to?"

Hermione gave him an exasperated scowl and mimed a swipe at his arm.

Harry gave a muted laugh. "He's got a point there, Hermione."

Hermione rolled here eyes then smiled wryly. "I think we're all being saying things a lot worse than bastard before this over."

Ron snorted and Harry sighed.

"Speaking being over, I think it's time we actually got this started," Harry said, running a hand through his hair.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"It's something I've been thinking about for the last week or so," Harry elaborated, shifting slightly and grimacing as his body complained. "I think those memories that the Headmaster showed me were for more than giving me information about what Voldemort was like when he was younger. I think there might be hints about where the remaining Horcruxes are in them."

"I don't suppose Dumbledore kept those memories," Hermione asked.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know but it doesn't really matter. I was planning on asking Minerva whether I can borrow the Headmaster's pensieve and getting Moody to show me how to use it. I remember going through those memories so we can use mine."

"So what were you planning?" Ron asked.

"To start at the beginning," Harry said firmly. "With the Gaunt's house. I don't know what, if anything, we can find there but..."

"It's a place to start," Hermione concluded as she nodded. "We need to start somewhere."

Ron nodded as well. "When?"

Harry sighed and scrubbed his face with one hand. "We've got a month until we go back to school. I'd like to do this in no more than two weeks. Just in case we need some recovery time."

"You're expecting trouble?" Ron asked.

"Well, not expecting it as such," Harry replied. "But I'm just covering all the bases. And considering our track record." He shrugged.

"Good point," Hermione said dryly. "You and Ron ended up in the Hospital Wing after our annual fracas with Voldemort in First Year. Me in Second Year. Ron again in Third Year. You again in Fourth Year. Ron and I in Fifth Year." She chuckled. "It's not a good pattern. And that's not including all of your extra trips to the Hospital Wing for assorted reasons."

"We did manage to stay out of there this year," Ron said lightly. "Maybe we're starting a new trend."

"You believe that?" Harry said dryly.

"Yeah, maybe not," Ron replied with a laugh. "I wonder how many times Madam Pomfrey's going to yell at us this year?"

"Hopefully not that many," Hermione said. "Maybe we'll be able to butter her up when we present her with the stocks of potions we've been making." She stood and looked down at Harry. "You should try and get some more sleep, Harry. I doubt Voldemort will try and get back into your mind and you need your rest."

Harry nodded and pulled his glasses off. "It's worth a try."

"Do you need anything for the pain?" Hermione asked. "I brought a few things up." She gestured behind her to a number of vials on the dresser.

Harry nodded and Hermione walked over to the potion supply. She picked one up and brought it back, waiting while Harry drank it. She then took the vial back and watched while Harry slid back under his blankets. Ron nudged her shoulder and the two of them left the room, dousing the lights and closing the door behind them. Harry stared into the dark, giving a bit of a start when Casimir began to sing softly from the windowsill. The phoenix song slowly lulled him into sleep.

When he woke the next morning, he felt a great deal better...physically at least. The memory of what Voldemort and Snape had done to that family still lingered and he grimaced as he got out of bed. The hot shower managed to relieve many of the remaining aches and that also allowed him to shove the memories aside. He got dressed and stumped downstairs to the kitchen where Hermione and Ron were eating breakfast and Mrs Weasley was fussing over the stove.

The three of them looked around as Harry walked in and Ron and Hermione waved before going back their food. Mrs Weasley looked like she wanted to fuss over him but she stopped herself and clattered away at the stove with the pans instead. Harry sat down with a sigh of relief and a genuine smile to Mrs Weasley when she placed a plate of eggs, bacon and toast in front of him. The three friends finished their breakfast then headed downstairs. Their running today was much slower than normal. Harry didn't really want to push his luck after the previous night and Ron and Hermione seemed to want to keep an eye on him. They were in the middle of their cool down when Moody walked in.

'The girl's name was Rose Zeller," he said gruffly after greeting them. "Second Year Hufflepuff. Aurors found her and her parents dead. Killing Curse most likely. No sign of Voldemort or Snape."

Harry nodded grimly as Hermione and Ron exchanged glances. All three gave a start when Moody clapped his hands together sharply.

"No point getting maudlin," the ex-Auror barked. "Won't help 'em. Let's get on with it. That will."

The trio of friends nodded and lined up facing the shielded wall, waiting for Moody's first instruction. The events of the previous night seemed to aid their training. There was no joking or friendly moaning about the workload, just grim determination and the sound of spells hitting the shielded wall.

At their first break, Harry looked over at Moody. "Attitude helps with the non-verbal spell, doesn't it?"

Moody nodded. "Well done, Potter. Belief is a powerful thing. If you want to be able to cast 'em and believe that you can, you'll be able to do it." His eyes narrowed. "You lot have got something in mind, haven't you?"

Harry nodded. "I want to make a little trip to Little Hangleton."

"The Riddle place?" Moody asked with a frown. "Place is abandoned. The Aurors checked right after hearing what happened during the Third Task."

"Really?" Harry asked incredulously.

"I thought they didn't believe Harry," Hermione said disapprovingly.

"Fudge didn't," Moody said with a malicious grin. "But tell me, who was Head of the Auror Office at that time?"

Ron and Hermione looked blank but Harry nodded slowly. "Rufus Scrimgeour," he said slowly.

"Exactly," Moody replied. "Now Scrimgeour's got his faults but blind idiocy isn't one of them. He believed you, Potter, he was just circumspect about it. He had the Riddle place checked out. It showed signs of being used but had clearly been empty for some months. He had it checked again after he became Minister. It was empty then as well."

"So that's why," Harry muttered, almost to himself.

"What's why?" Ron asked.

"Why Scrimgeour seemed so upset with Dumbledore when he wouldn't let anyone from the Ministry near me," Harry replied. "He must have thought that his tacit support would be rewarded when he became Minister."

"What do you think of our new Minister?" Moody asked searchingly.

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, he's...better than Fudge, I suppose."

Ron snorted. "Not that that's difficult."

Moody chuckled. "You've got that right. Why the suppose, Potter?"

"He's...he sounds like what Crouch was like during the last war," Harry said abruptly. "I mean Stan Shunpike's not the brightest spark but he's no Death Eater. I think they know that too, they just don't want to look like they're panicking by letting him go. It'd send the message that they're overreacting."

Moody nodded approvingly. "Good. You noticed. Rufus Scrimgeour is a good man. I should know. I helped train him. But he has a tendency to be...overzealous at times. And he doesn't like to admit he's wrong."

"Will he be my enemy?" Harry asked bluntly.

Moody leaned against a table and considered the question. "No," he said eventually. "He wants Voldemort gone as much as you do. You won't support the Ministry the way he wants so he won't be your friend but if you ask for help, he'll send it."

"Good," Harry said with relief. "That's the important thing right at the moment. We can always work behind the scenes to help people like Stan Shunpike."

Moody eyed Harry narrowly. "You've been talking with Arthur?"

Harry nodded. "Him and Bill. They've given me a lot of good advice. Mr Weasley said he'd work on the Minister. Drop a few quiet words that I consider him to be a friend and surrogate father. Mr Weasley said the Minister wouldn't need much more prompting."

Moody chuckled. "Good on him. Yeah, Scrimgeour'll be smart enough to pick up that hint. He knows how important you'll be in this fight. He knows that Chosen One stuff the papers have been going on about isn't entirely garbage. That plan will work well. Now, why did you want to go to Little Hangleton? Is there a Horcrux there?"

Harry shrugged and grimaced. "I don't know. I don't think so but I need to start getting a feel for this whole thing and since that's where Voldemort's story starts, I think it might be a good place to start as well."

Moody considered that plan. "Not a bad idea. Were you going to the manor house?"

"No, the Gaunt's house," Harry replied. "It's nearby though. On the hilltop opposite the manor house."

Moody tilted his head back and thought for a moment. "Oh yes, that place. Not much of it standing these days. Who lived there?"

"Voldemort's mother, Merope Gaunt," Harry replied.

"When are you planning on going?" Moody said with an interested movement of his head.

"Some time in the next two weeks," Harry replied. "Do you think we're ready?"

Moody scratched his head. "Give it another week," he said gruffly. "I want to get you lot more used to using non-verbal spells and moving properly."

Harry nodded. "Good. That's what I wanted to know."

"Well then, let's get back to work," Moody barked. "Face the wall! Wands up! Let's get that Semtumsempra spell down right."

Harry, Ron and Hermione squared their shoulders and obeyed their orders.