Harry Potter and Salazar's Talisman

Chapter 17

Lessons and Learning

Harry put every bit of rage, insult and anguish he could muster into the look he bestowed on his students. He stepped into the office, opening a path out the door. Fists clenching, he spoke with forced calm and ominous quiet.

"Get out."

The four students scrambled to their feet and bolted.

Harry watched them leave and turned to Severus Snape.

"Impressive, Potter," was all he said.

Harry bit his lip, then surrendered to a laugh. "Think I scared them?" said Harry.

"Sure frightened me," said Snape.

Harry snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure," he said as he approached his desk. Sennie coiled up his arm as he lowered it.

"You did well, Sennie."

"I did nothing but point out the book, Master," said Sennie. "They needed no encouragement."

"Figures," muttered Harry. "My curious Gryffindors." He looked up at Snape again. "I think I covered quite a bit with that 'lesson.'"

"Indeed," said Severus. "I give it until tomorrow night for it to successful go through all the houses."

"Mmm," Harry agreed. "I had hoped to have Missy with them. She seems to be Gryffindor's biggest leak."

Snape nodded. "But Miss Abbott will adequately make up for it. Additionally, I'm sure Mr. McIves and Miss Larsen are relaying the whole incident to the Gryffindor Common Room now."

Harry sighed and moved over to the Pensieve. He pulled out his wand to retrieve his memories but pain exploded in his head.

"Damn it, Voldemort," said Harry, leaning heavily against the bookshelf. "Not so close."

The chuckle. "Sorry, Harry."

"I doubt that," mumbled Harry.

"I told you it would work," said Voldemort.

"Yes, yes," said Harry as he began replacing the memories. "Feel free to gloat."

"But, Harry," said Voldemort. "You have managed to totally enthrall the Slytherins. Mr. Manelin is now detailing the experience to the rest of the 7^th years."

"Great," muttered Harry.

"And I must say," Voldemort went on with unmistakable pride. "He has quite a flair for dramatics. He has them rapt."

Harry glanced at Severus. "I swear," he said, "if I see pity tomorrow, I'll hex them all into next year."

"Not that they don't deserve it," said Severus. "But we are teachers."

Harry laughed softly. Voldemort added his own chuckle and drifted closer to Harry.

"As I said before," said Voldemort. "The students know who you are. You are merely showing them how you got there."

"I know," said Harry, touching the tip of his wand to the silver surface again.

The last memory flitted through his consciousness and he instinctively closed his free hand around the medallion laying against his chest under his shirt.

"I knew you'd favor this one."

Pain rippled through him as Voldemort put a hand to his face and lifted his chin.

"Harry," said Voldemort. "You are as a part of me as I am a part of you."

A shudder ran through him, his internal magic surfacing to block out the pain from Voldemort's touch.

"Mmm." Voldemort's eyes closed as if he could feel it. "Very good, Harry."

Harry sighed and took a step back, letting go of the medallion.

"Harry?"

Harry turned to Severus, who had a strange expression on his face.

"What?"

"Where is Draco?"

Harry shrugged, moving around his desk to sit down behind it. "He hasn't gotten back from South America yet," said Harry. "Why?"

Severus sent Voldemort a wary look then made a dismissive gesture. "Just wondering."

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

Harry paused at the door to his classroom to listen. He had purposely skipped dinner in the Great Hall last night and accidentally missed breakfast due to a firecall this morning.

He now held the 'offensive' book in his hand again. Severus confiscated it last night and Harry, thanks to the fire chat with Mrs. Abbott this morning, now had permission to peruse it for as long as he liked, provided of course that he autograph the book for her son. It was his book after all. Slytherins! They did nothing without self-serving motivation.

"So when are we talking about?" Harry heard Rufus' voice.

"Look," said Cindy Larsen.

The rustle of parchment could be heard and Harry leaned slightly forward. A rather large group was crowded around Cindy's desk.

"So, when did he lose the glasses?" Rufus wanted to know.

"It's hard to tell," Cindy's voice rose from the center of the crowd. "I don't think we have a precise time."

"He wasn't wearing them 6^th year when he got the inheritance," said Sean.

"It was just after Halloween," said Harry as he strolled into the classroom. "My 5^th year."

The students all scattered to their seats.

Harry stopped before his desk, laid the book on it then turned to the class and crossed his arms over his chest. His gaze swept over the now silent Gryffindors and stopped at Cindy, who was moving things around on her desk in a vain attempt to conceal something.

"What's that, Miss Larsen?" said Harry.

"Hmm? What, Professor?"

"That piece of parchment you're trying to hide?"

"Er - this?" said Cindy, holding up the quickly folded paper. "It's just an old charms test."

Harry raised an eyebrow and stifled a snort. "Miss Larsen," said Harry. "You have done little to endear yourself to me since yesterday," the girl paled at the reminder, "I suggest you don't compound my irritation by lying."

"Cindy swallowed hard. "Sir."

A chuckle drew the class' eyes to Voldemort's chair. "need anyone remind you of the medallion Harry wears around his neck?" said Voldemort.

Cindy brought her gaze back to Harry and swallowed again. With a deep breath, her chin inched up. "Sorry, sir, but it's a study aid," she informed flatly. "As distasteful as it might be, we will be tested on it."

Harry almost laughed. Missy, as well as most of the class looked appalled by Cindy's statement. Sean looked shocked.

"Well said, Miss Larsen," said Voldemort, obviously amused. "A typical Gryffindor attitude."

"Yes," said Harry, extending his arm and summoning the paper. "So let's have a look."

Hopping onto his desk, he surveyed what was in essence a time line of the events that occurred in his life from his 15^th birthday. A fairly accurate on at that. And to his dismay, one side of line listed the events, the other detailed the results and or effects.

"I'm impressed," said Harry. "I wasn't aware that I covered so much."

"Some of it is from Professor Dumbledore's account which is now a part of 'Hogwarts: A History' as well as in the text 'A Second Rise and Fall,'" said Cindy.

Harry nodded absently, then sent the timeline back to Cindy.

"To clarify the answer to Rufus' question," said Harry. "I first started wearing contact lenses after Voldemort explained the wizarding world's plan for me - or rather," he sent Voldemort a glance, "when he made me work out the plan.

"In a simplified way, he made me understand that due to all the blood and magical connections-"

"Which only got stronger," Voldemort inserted.

Harry only acknowledged the comment with a glance. "That were I to kill him, I would die myself."

"That's the legend," said Sean. "But why?"

"You tell me," said Harry. "What are my connections to Voldemort?"

"Your scar," said Lucas.

Harry nodded. "Blood or magic?" he quizzed.

"Er - both?" Lucas answered not quite sure.

"It was a magical curse that failed," said Sean.

"But it failed because of his mother's sacrifice," said Missy. "Her love."

"But it has to be blood too," said Cindy. "Because they used the blood thing to insure his protection at his relatives, since his aunt has the same blood."

"Right, go on," Harry prompted.

"And Voldemort has that protection now," said Sean. "Because he used Professor Potter's blood for the potion that restored him to his body."

"Right," said Missy. "And he also used that Wormtail guy's flesh."

"And that's another magical bond because Professor Potter saved Pettigrew's life," said Cindy. "So they both shared the blood and magical bonds of a wizard's life debt."

Voldemort chuckled. "I think they got it, Harry."

Harry only sent him a nod.

"So what did the wizarding world want Harry to do?" Voldemort quizzed them.

"Well obviously, they wanted him to kill you," said Sean.

"Yes," said Voldemort. "But at what cost?"

There was silence as the class absorbed it.

Voldemort nodded. "So at 15, finding out that the world wanted to sacrifice him to rid themselves of me, what would young Harry do?"

The class stared at Harry as if hesitant to actually say the words. Harry grinned at them. "You can say it," said Harry. "I ran. But," he added pointedly, "I only did it because I wanted to think."

"And of course the last time Harry ran, allegedly when Sirius Black was after him, the entire world was on the look out for him," said Voldemort.

"Oh," said Dawn with excitement. "You used a disguise."

Harry hopped off his desk and went around it. He pulled his yearbook out of a drawer and flipped through it until his found the picture Colin had taken of him in the common room with Fred and George. He had forgotten about the black eye.

He passed the book around to the fascination of the students.

"That's you?" said Sean. "I wondered who that person was. There's one in the case on the Wall."

Harry explained the Muggle tricks he used and the little campsite he had made as the book made it's way around the class.

"How did you get your face to look so gaunt?" asked Dawn.

Harry sighed. "All things considered, I couldn't eat or sleep," said Harry. "And when I went to Voldemort's compound to ask for his help, the Death Eaters didn't recognize me, even my voice was different, so they beat me up."

Dawn looked horrified.

"Hence the black eye," supplied Sean.

"Yes," said Harry.

"What I don't get," said Lucas. "Is why it had to be you."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, why was everyone so convinced that you had to be the one to kill him?" said Lucas.

"No one was powerful enough," said Cindy impatiently.

"I get that." Lucas spared her an annoyed glance. "But really, anyone could have suffocated him while he was sleeping or snuck up behind him and strangled him or-"

Voldemort's laughter cut him off.

"Be nice, Voldemort," said Harry with a grin. "It's a perfectly logical question."

"Mr. Wilson," said Voldemort. "I had already taken a vast amount of steps, even before I was returned to my body, to insure that I couldn't be killed by simple mortal means."

"Yes, not to mention that his compound was hidden," said Cindy. "No one but those he allowed could get close to him."

"Children," Voldemort called their attention back to himself in a patient tone Harry recalled from years ago. "In order to get through my defenses, a wizard would have to be trusted enough to be close to me and powerful enough magically to match or surpass my barriers."

"Professor Potter," inferred Sean.

"Indeed."

"And you let him," said Lucas. "Get close to you."

"Oh yes," said Voldemort. "I had my reasons, as you all know, and, of course, it happened to coincide with what the Ministry needed, although they didn't comprehend the big picture yet. Only Dumbledore understood."

"So Professor Dumbledore allowed all the visits, all the manipulations?" said Missy with surprise.

"Oh yes," said Voldemort. "Albus encouraged it, endorsed it." He chuckled. "Cunning old coot. He was counting on Harry's ability to charm his way into people lives to work on me." Voldemort stood up and floated to the front of the class.

Harry kept quiet from behind his desk, listening intently to some things he hadn't known.

"While all my brilliant manipulations were working on Harry," Voldemort went on, "All his desires, hopes and needs were being provide by me. He needed me, depended on me.

"But at the same time, Dumbledore's plan was working as well. I was possessive, protective and just as dependant on him," Voldemort confessed. "I wanted, needed him to be solely reliant on me and me alone."

Harry saw Cindy and Sean share a glance.

"Did you really level your compound once because Professor Potter didn't visit you?" said Cindy softly.

Harry laughed - had to. "Where did you hear that?"

"Er," Cindy glanced at Sean. "Cassandra Abbott's book."

"Ah," said Harry, picking up said book. "Professor Snape confiscated this for me last night. I have permission from Mrs. Abbott to - shall we say - validate it."

"You will need me to do that," said Voldemort. "Won't you, Harry?"

Harry looked up at him, hovering just outside the flinch zone. "Will I?"

"How will you know if something happened when you weren't there?"

"Good point."

"For example," Voldemort turned back to the class. "I did indeed level the compound, in truth, twice because Harry was taking too long to visit me."

"You did?" said Harry with surprise. "I never heard that."

Voldemort chuckled. "It was not something you needed to know at the time."

"When?" said Cindy eagerly as she pulled out her timeline.

Voldemort appeared thoughtful. "The first time was just after Harry found out that the second contract was void. After his trial. He was strong enough to keep me from apparating with him out of Hogwarts and he defied me to use my only advantage to get him to come to me."

"What advantage was that?" said Dawn.

"Touching my scar would insure my focus was on him," Harry told them, "as well weaken me enough to apparate with."

"But he didn't," said Dawn curiously.

"Oh no," said Voldemort. "I would not destroy the tentative trust I had from Harry." He turned to Harry. "I believe that is the occurrence mentioned in that book."

Harry flipped through the book. There was a pen and ink sketch of what could have been a forest fire site.

"What does it say, Professor?"

Harry skimmed through until he found the passage.

"The Master returned from Hogwarts today after another attempt to retrieve Master Harry," Harry read. "His fury was apparent on his face but his rage and frustration with the boy's stubbornness made itself clear when he lifted his wand and cast a spell into the campfire. The initial explosion captured the attention of any and all Death Eaters who were in the compound, which was beneficial as he then turned and destroyed each tent one by one until all that remained was a wasteland of ash and smoke.

"Malfoy, arrogant fool that he is, approached the Master then and spoke briefly to him. The Master backhanded him in the face for his impertinence - a mild punishment to say the least - but Malfoy's words must have been consoling because the Master calmed himself and barked at us to leave.

"As I was one of the last to leave, I noticed that the first tent the Master restored was the boys.'"

Harry looked up at Voldemort. He wanted to question his restoration priority but first he wanted to know, "What did Lucius say to you?"

Voldemort frowned at him. "Harry-"

"I'm asking," said Harry pointedly.

"Lucius reminded me that you were fighting me as was your nature," said Voldemort, his expression intense. "And your stubbornness was also a part of your nature."

"And," prompted Harry.

Voldemort smirked. "And that it was all part of what made you you. What made you worthy to join me."

Harry smirked back at him.

"When was the next time?"

Harry looked back at the class. He'd almost forgotten they were there. He sent Voldemort a questioning look.

"The second wasn't nearly so destructive," said Voldemort, waving his hand dismissively. "It was more a demonstration of pique than anything else. The only notable factor of it is-"

"That it was because of Professor Potter," Cindy inserted.

"Precisely, Miss Larsen."

"Who wrote this anyway?" said Harry, flipping through the front pages. The author was noted as anonymous. It had to be someone in the inner circle. Only someone with constant presence exposure to the compound could have reported on some of the events mentioned within the pages.

"Professor, did you really toast Lord Voldemort during one of the celebrations?" Sean asked.

Well, Harry guessed Voldemort had owned up to a couple of his failings so...

"I did," he admitted. "It was during a celebration which coincidentally fell on the day I defeated Vandewater the first time."

"After you were cured from the Vengeance Curse?" said Sean.

"Yes," said Harry. "Lucius Malfoy was toasting me and - er."

Voldemort chuckled. "Harry, being the modest soul that he is, turned the toast to me. He had defeated an Acknowledged Master and conquered yet another dark curse on a very prestigious day."

"What day was that?" Missy asked.

Harry wondered if Voldemort wanted it known but should have guessed that Voldemort would want to gloat.

"It was my birthday," said Voldemort, his delight obvious. "Harry honored me greatly that day. As always, made me very proud."

There was a gasp from the back of the room. Harry followed the sound to Moira Keane, a tiny witch who was mostly quiet and shy although her grades in all her classes were among the highest in her year.

"You cared," she squeaked.

The class looked a bit confused but Voldemort studied the girl intently.

"Indeed," said Voldemort.

"Comment, Miss Keane?" said Harry.

"That's what happened - at the end," she said breathlessly. "My father's a prosecutor for the Wizengamot. I know about wizards debts. He even speculated himself that it could have happened but..."

"Spit it out Moira," said Cindy impatiently. She obviously didn't think that someone else could have figured something out before her.

"Lord Voldemort conceded his debt, didn't he?" said Moira, her small face pale with realization. "He wanted you to live."

The girl looked around as silence fell upon the room. The rest of the class appeared startled at first then simply wondrous.

Harry looked to Voldemort. He was obviously trying to repress either a smug smirk or a triumphant laugh. Harry rolled his eyes at him, which got him the chuckle.

"Very good, Miss Keane," Voldemort addressed the class. "That is why Harry lived, why I am immortalized in apparition and why we are still connected."

The bell rang and Harry stood up. "Miss Larsen, I'd like you to distribute copies of that timeline of yours - as it is at this moment," said Harry. "For homework, I want you all to fill in whatever you can around what Miss Larsen has. Hand it in next time. Dismissed."

As the class began leaving, Harry sat at his desk and couldn't help picking up the book.

"Professor?"

He looked up. "Yes, Mr. McIves?"

"Er, we were wondering-"

"Wondering, what?" Harry prompted.

"Well, I mean-"

"You haven't taken points," Cindy Larsen jumped in to add.

"Or given us detention," said Sean.

Harry glanced around. The rest of the students had left. Only Missy lingered by the door, waiting for her friends.

"Ah," said Harry to the errant students before him. "Did you want detention? I'm sure Mr. Filch would be-"

"Well, no, Professor," Sean quickly interrupted.

"Tell me," Harry bade, "What did you see?"

"Your memories, sir," said Sean. Cindy was wringing her hands.

"Mm, yes. Imagine that. A pensieve with selected memories just laying around."

"We had no right," said Cindy.

"No you didn't," said Harry. He sighed and allowed his expression to lose it's hard edge. "I seem to recall falling into a pensieve myself in my day."

Sean and Cindy shared a glance.

"You didn't get detention then either?" said Sean.

"No," Harry admitted. "I used what I saw to work out the problems I was dealing with at the time."

"But this is different," said Cindy. At Harry's questioning look, she went on, "This was - is - your actual life, your, well, your nightmare."

Harry nodded gravely, unsure how he had kept a straight face. "Yes it is, and, to quote, as distasteful as it is, you will be tested on it."

Two jaws dropped open.

"You wanted us to- to," Sean stammered.

A familiar chuckled filled the room. "Your Gryffindors are a little slow today, Harry."

Harry ignored him. "That little 'accident' of yours," Harry told them, "Covered a lot of ground and saved me quite a bit of classroom time." The two continued to stare at him and he smiled at them. "He taught me well."

The two started to leave. Half way to the door Sean turned back.

"Professor?"

"Yes?"

"How did you get the scars?"

Cindy blanched beside him. Missy gasped from the doorway.

Harry was puzzled. "Scars?"

Sean sent Cindy a glance but apparently wouldn't be put off. "The scars on your back," he clarified. "Manelin said they looked like lash marks."

It took a few moments but Harry then recalled that the first time he'd been lashed, Rowan wasn't around to heal him. He rubbed his hands over his face, leaning back in his chair.

"Ah, those," he said. He looked intently at the three as they stepped closer to his desk. Damn curious Gryffindors. "If you recall," he told them, "I resisted Voldemort from the very beginning. The only reason I made the contract to begin with was to..." He looked at the kids expectantly.

"Protect your friends and family from him," Cindy answered.

Harry nodded. "From Voldemort," he specified. "But I was also give 'Voldemort's almighty protection.' Which was protection from everyone who might want to hurt me, including his Death Eaters."

"You didn't want his protection," said Cindy with understanding.

"Clever girl."

Harry ignored Voldemort's chuckle. "No. Because he wanted me to. I didn't want to do anything he wanted me to do, unless I had to."

"He had one of his Death Eaters lash you?" Missy was aghast. "T-that's so-"

"Not entirely accurate," said Voldemort, insulted.

"But close enough," said Harry. "The test was to see if I would use his protection. By exposing the Death Eater's treatment, I would be 'running to him' so to speak."

"You wouldn't do that," said Sean, insulted on Harry's behalf.

"Of course he wouldn't," said Voldemort. "But I had to make it clear that if Harry wasn't protected from my Death Eater's than neither were his friends."

"But th-that's j-just so-" Missy was stammering again.

Voldemort smirked.

"So he manipulated you again, to get what he wanted," said Sean with a resigned sigh.

"Yes, but I got him back the next time," said Harry. A glance showed Voldemort's smirk gone and replaced with a frown.

"Oh?" said Cindy, interested in Voldemort's deflated smugness.

"Yes," said Harry. "The next time he had me lashed, I told him that it wasn't in the job description of being a father." Harry watched their faces turned puzzled. "And since I had manipulated him into lashing me to begin with, I took the points for winning that round."

A couple of his second years took their seats and Harry dismissed the dumbstruck students with a wave. He watched them leave and only then did he let out his laughter.

"What's so amusing, Harry?" Voldemort had returned to his chair, seen and heard only by Harry.

Harry shrugged. "It may have been a nightmare, but sharing it has become somewhat entertaining."

Voldemort laughed. "Ah, my Harry. Always the cynic."