Friend or Foe

Friend or Foe

Chapter 10: Complication

Snape banged open the door to the headmaster's office and dragged Harry in behind him.

"Severus? Harry?" Dumbledore seemed to be surprised to see both Harry and Snape in his office.

'I'm in deep trouble,' thought Harry. 'How could I be so careless?'

Snape strode into the office. Harry, though, stopped before Fawkes, hoping to gain himself some time.

"Hi, Fawkes," Harry greeted the phoenix.

Seeing Fawkes again made Harry remember Tom Riddle's first attempt to open the Chamber of Secrets. He smiled sadly as he thought back to how he had gotten those scars on his left arm.

"Thank you for saving my life... again," Harry whispered, petting the phoenix.

Fawkes rubbed his beak on Harry's chin in affection.

"Potter!" came Snape's impatient voice from the other side of the office.

Harry sighed. "See you later, Fawkes," he said, then walked wearily towards the headmaster's desk and sat next to Snape.

"What happened?" asked Dumbledore.

Harry noticed in annoyance that Dumbledore was still avoiding his eyes. Harry glanced at his Potions professor. The man was fuming, and was glaring at Harry with utter hatred. Whether it was because he had been fooled by Harry for the past few months or because Harry had just seen a private memory of the man, Harry could not tell.

While Snape was recounting what had happened, Harry was using all his skill as an ex-Slytherin to think of a way out.

He was not going to tell Dumbledore anything, for that he was sure. Not about the magical stone, not about time travel, and certainly not about Tom.

Quicker then Harry wanted, Snape had finished his story and Dumbledore turned his attention to Harry.

"Harry?"

Harry concentrated and strengthened his mental barrier. He looked up and met his headmaster's eyes for the first time in months.

Dumbledore bored his eyes into Harry's. As Harry had anticipated, he immediately felt a strong force attacking his mind. As strong as Dumbledore's Legilimency was, Harry managed to stand his ground. Though Harry was not that skilled in Legilimency, he was confident that not even Dumbledore could break into his mind if he refused to let him in.

After a while, the force subsided.

"Since when did you learn Occlumency, my boy?" asked Dumbledore.

Harry bit back making comments about that 'my boy'.

"Since the beginning of the school year, sir," said Harry. "I'd been having nightmares this summer. They were so real that they didn't seem to be dreams at all and my scar hurt every time when I woke up. So I guess maybe it was because of Voldemort. I remembered you saying at the end of my second year that Voldemort and I shared a connection through my scar, so I wondered if this was the reason that I had those nightmares. So when I came back to Hogwarts, I went to the library and tried to search for the answer. That was when I heard of Occlumency. I guessed it might help me to stop those dreams, so I learned it secretly by myself."

"You learned Occlumency by yourself?" said Snape from beside him suspiciously.

Harry nodded. "I'd been practicing for nearly two months before I got it right. I couldn't tell Ron and Hermione. It's dark magic after all. And that's why I hid it from you when Professor Dumbledore asked me to take Occlumency lessons." Harry turned to Dumbledore. "I'm sorry, sir. I know it's dark magic, but my scar was hurting so badly that...." Harry tailed off, lowering his head for effect.

"It is okay, Harry. But I am not happy with what you've done. It is dangerous for you to learn Occlumency without supervision," said Dumbledore.

'And why should I care whether you are happy or not,' thought Harry angrily. 'I am not your pawn. I don't need you to tell me what to do!'

"How about Legilimency, Potter?" said Snape, narrowing his eyes. "You didn't learn it for 'self-protection', did you?"

Harry stiffened, but he managed to stick to his act. "Legilimency? I don't know what you mean, sir, but I didn't learn it."

Learning Occlumency for protection was one thing, but learning Legilimency, another dark magic, an offensive one at that, was an entirely different matter. It would be better for Harry to just deny knowing it.

"Don't lie to me, Potter!" Snape growled.

"I didn't lie, sir," lied Harry.

"Then care to explain what you have done just now?" said Snape with a voice that made Harry understand why the ministry never truly believed that Snape was no longer a Death Eater. "Only a Legilimens could possibly stay in someone else's mind long enough to view memories."

"But I really don't know Legilimency, sir," said Harry. "Maybe it was because the attack just now took me by surprise, so I pushed you out with a force stronger than usual and somehow ended up following you into your mind by the impulse? That's possible, isn't it, sir?" he directed the last question to Dumbledore.

Dumbledore looked thoughtful. "I suppose so, Harry. But I've never seen such a case before."

Harry shrugged. "Not that I'm not used having some abnormal skills anyway," he said.

Dumbledore chuckled. "That you are right, Harry."

Harry inwardly cheered. Dumbledore was a Gryffindor after all. On the contrary, the head of Slytherin was much harder to deal with.

Dumbledore was a Gryffindor after all? Where did that come from? It sounded as if being a Gryffindor was a bad thing...

'Don't forget that you, yourself, are a Gryffindor, Harry.' Somehow, Harry was not that sure about that anymore. He was sure that even Snape would be impressed by his Slytherin act just now.

Harry was right that Snape would not be satisfied that easily.

"Potter-" Snape started.

"Severus," Dumbledore shook his head slightly.

Snape sneered, but remained quiet. Harry sighed in relief mentally. He was not sure how long he could hold on to his story.

Dumbledore turned back to Harry, looking thoughtful, as if he was trying to make a difficult decision. Harry met the old man's eyes calmly.

Finally, Dumbledore sat upright and said kindly, "You may go now, Harry."

'Are you still not going to tell me, Dumbledore?' thought Harry in anger, and, oddly, slight disappointment. 'Haven't I proven that I'm capable in defending myself?'

"Or do you have anything you wish to tell me, Harry," asked Dumbledore.

"No, sir," said Harry coolly. "I'd better get going, sir."

Standing up, Harry nodded at the headmaster, then at Snape, who was eyeing him with narrowed eyes, before leaving the office.

'After all I've been through, you still think I'm a kid,' he thought when he closed the door behind him. 'You may be a good leader, Dumbledore, but you can never be a capable professor. In favor of your so-called higher purpose, you've forgotten the most important job of a teacher - to guide and help students. You've neglected those you should care about, and that is why you've lost Tom Riddle.'

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Severus was fuming as he stormed back to his quarters. Potter had been lying boldly in the headmaster's office.

Despite what Albus had said, Severus was sure that Potter was a Legilimens. How else could the brat view his memory? And of all memories he had come across, it had to be that particular one.

As much as Severus wanted to hex the boy with cruciatus, he sensed that something was off. If Potter learning two kinds of dark magic without anyone noticing was any good indicator, Severus knew he would have to keep a closer eye on the boy.

He thought back at Potter's little show in Albus' office. He must admit Potter's behavior was almost Slyth-

Severus shook his head. What was he thinking? Potter? Slytherin?

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The first Quidditch match of the year was held that Saturday. Harry did not realize how much he had missed flying until then. For Harry, he had not ridden on a broom for nearly a year, since he did not play seeker for Slytherin during his stay in the past.

"Mount your broom."

Harry did as he was told. A few feet opposite to him was Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin's seeker.

Harry stared at Malfoy, who refused to meet Harry's gaze, and wondered what the Slytherin was up to. Harry knew Malfoy would be initiated the next day, a piece of information that Harry had found out by Legilimency during the night-time discussion he had with Malfoy nearly a week ago. Would Malfoy really go to the meeting? Would he follow his father's footstep even if he didn't want to?

He was stirred out of his thought when he heard the whistle. He kicked off from the ground and shot up into the sky.

Fifteen minutes later, with Ron, Gryffindor's new keeper, losing the fifth goal in a row, Slytherin was now leading Gryffindor sixty points. Harry was hovering high above the pitch when he noticed Malfoy flying beside him.

Despite the circumstance, Harry knew if Malfoy was going to be marked tomorrow, this was probably his last chance to talk to the blonde.

Harry flew a bit nearer to the Slytherin's seeker. "Malfoy?"

"What, Potter?" said Malfoy, without looking up from his search of the snitch. "We are in a match, in case you've forgotten."

"Are you going to the meeting tomorrow?" asked Harry.

Malfoy's head jerked up at that. "How do you kn-" he stopped abruptly then glared at Harry. "Would you stop reading my mind, Potter? Or don't you understand what the meaning of 'privacy' is?" he hissed.

"I'm sorry," said Harry, truly meaning it. He knew how annoying it was when someone tried to invade his privacy. "But your emotion on that day was so strong that... any Legilimens could feel it."

Unconvinced, Malfoy continued to glare at him, though the anger in his eyes had somehow subsided.

"I am a Malfoy, and I don't plan to abandon that title any time soon." Malfoy turned away and pulled himself closer to his bloom. "But then, I am also a Slytherin. A Slytherin will always find a way to get what he wants."

With that said, Malfoy flew away to the other end of the Quidditch field, towards the...

Harry gasped and immediately speeded off after the Slytherin seeker.

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One would have thought, that with Umbridge here, it would be harder to wander around after curfew. It might be the case, if that toad woman had a smart enough mind to change her patrolling schedule once in a while. With the help of the Marauder's Map, it didn't take Harry long to figure out when he would be safe to roam the castle. For the past two weeks, Harry had been sneaking out to his personal training room after curfew, reading or practicing for an hour or two each night. So far, he had managed to finish the apparition section and reluctantly moved on the other part of his 'training'.

It was no different on Sunday night. Harry had slipped out of the dorm after Ron had fallen asleep. Tonight, though, he was unable to concentrate.

Earlier that night, he had seen from that Marauder's Map that Snape and Malfoy had disapparated near the Forbidden Forest.

Harry had tried his best to convince Malfoy but apparently that was not enough. Malfoy was still going to be a Death Eater.

That should not have bothered Harry that much, he had known from the beginning that the chance Malfoy would turn against his father's will was small, but why did he feel so... disappointed?

Harry sighed. If he couldn't even stop Malfoy from being a Death Eater, how could he possibly bring Tom back?

Harry rubbed his forehead and pocketed his wand. With all those disturbing thoughts in his mind, there was no way he could do any of those magics right, he might even get one or two curses backfired on him...

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Severus stood with other masked Death Eaters in the graveyard. As Draco's godfather, he had the honor of watching the initiation. Several other Death Eaters were there as well, including Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy.

Draco was kneeling before the Dark Lord, head bowed.

"Bring out the girl," said Voldemort.

Soon a muggle girl was brought out before them. The test. Every new Death Eater had to prove themselves worthy. They had to torture, then murder, the assigned victims before being marked.

Draco shifted his eyes to the girl, who was crying and screaming loudly for her mum.

"You know what you should do, young Draco," said Voldemort coldly.

"Yes, My Lord," said Draco, his voice betraying no emotions.

Draco closed his eyes and paused for a long while. Then he reopened his eyes and pointed his wand at the girl in a swift motion.

"Avada Kedevra." The curse was said softly.

Green light emerged from Draco's wand and soon the screaming subsided.

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Draco stared at the lifeless body of the girl he had just killed. What had he done?

"You should torture her, not kill her," came the Dark Lord's voice.

Draco fought against the sick feeling of his stomach and struggled to keep his body from trembling. He took a deep breath, then bowed down his head again.

"I am sorry, My Lord," he said through gritted teeth, but managed to keep his voice natural.

Draco had known about that particular test long ago, and had prepared himself physically and mentally before coming here. Apparently that was not enough...

The scene was so horrible. How could anyone possibly torture that girl even further? Hadn't they done enough to her? The only thing Draco could do for her was to end her pain.

But that was not a reason he could give to the Dark Lord. Draco decided to distract him before Voldemort could ask further questions.

"Do I pass the test, My Lord?"

"You had better obey my order next time, Draco," said Voldemort.

"Yes, My Lord," Draco answered obediently, still carefully avoiding the pair of crimson eyes.

"Now, raise your left arm," Voldemort rose from his throne-like seat.

Draco did as he was told, all the while fighting the urge to jump back as the snake-like figure loomed over him.

Draco rolled up his left sleeve slowly. He suppressed a shiver as the Dark Lord's wand contacted his skin. The Dark Lord muttered an incantation and severe pain immediately shot through Draco. The pain spread from his left forearm to his shoulder, then to his whole body. It was as if he was being hit by ten Cruciatus together. Draco's self-control slipped away quickly...

He screamed and clenched his forearm tightly, where a dark mark was permanently burned into the skin.

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"I'll... be fine, Uncle Severus."

Severus grabbed the boy's shoulder as Draco attempted to go out of his office.

After the meeting, Severus somehow managed to bring the trembling boy back to Hogwarts. Severus knew from experience how painful the marking process could be. He was surprised that Draco even managed to walk so shortly after receiving the Dark Mark.

"No, Draco, you are in no state to return to the dormitory," he said.

"I'm fine," Draco repeated. He smirked., "I'm... expected in the common room."

Severus sighed inwardly. Of course, the other Slytherins would be waiting for Draco to return from the Death Eater meeting. Draco was, after all, the first in his year to receive the mark.

"Of course," he said. "But take this at least." He handed a vial of pain-relieving potion to Draco, who drank it eagerly.

"Thank you, Uncle Severus," said Draco, already turning to the door. "See you tomorrow in lesson." With that said, his godson disappeared from the doorway.

Severus frowned. He knew Draco wanted to go back to the dormitory, but why did he have the feeling that Draco wanted to get away from him as quickly as possible? The boy seemed to be... afraid of him. No, not afraid, a Malfoy never knew the meaning of afraid. But why didn't Draco even look at Severus during their whole conversation? His godson practically stared at the floor for the whole time.

Pushing the questions aside, Severus went to give his report to Albus. Draco was assigned to keep a close watch on Potter. And most probably, the brat, as much an arrogant fool as his father, was totally oblivious to Draco's new position and the danger he was in.

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Harry looked up as Malfoy went into the room. He studied the Slytherin cautiously. Malfoy was pale and looked shaken. His steps were unsteady and it looked as if every step took a huge effort for him.

Malfoy glanced at Harry, then dropped himself on a cushion, a hiss of pain escaped his mouth as he did so.

"Malfoy? Are you alright?" asked Harry.

"I'm fine," Malfoy answered swiftly.

Harry raised his eyebrows. He glanced at Malfoy's left fist, which was clutched so tightly that the knuckle turned white.

"Of course," he said sarcastically.

Malfoy glared at him, then sighed and leaned back to rest his head on the cushion.

Harry's Slytherin side told him to keep his distance from Malfoy, at least until Malfoy told him the reason for calling Harry to meet him here late at night.

Harry had given up trying to sleep after tossing and turning on his bed for more than an hour that night. He had gone down to the common room and had been writing his transfiguration essay when his fake galleon glowed warmly, telling Harry there was an HA meeting two hours later. And since Ron and Hermione had not come down from the dormitory, Harry knew the meeting was meant for him only. It had taken Harry no time to figure out who had set the time. The only thing that puzzled him was the reason of why Malfoy wanted to meet him.

"You know what happened, don't you? And yet you still came." Malfoy smirked. "Gryffindor to the end, Potter."

Harry shrugged. "I am a Gryffindor, I'm expected to act like one from time to time," he said.

Malfoy stared at Harry for a moment. Finally he said, "Half Gryffindor, at least. And half Slytherin."

Harry chuckled. That was quite true. But now was not the time to discuss which house Harry was meant to be.

"Why did you call me here, Malfoy?" he asked.

"Kidnap you for the Dark Lord, maybe?"

"And actually tell me that? No, I don't think that's the case," said Harry.

Malfoy sat up. "You told me to make my own choice," he started. "This is my choice." He looked into Harry's eyes. "I am a Malfoy, and I want to keep it that way, as I've told you before. That's what my life hinges on, and I'll lose everything if I don't follow my father's order and become a Death Eater."

"I... understand," said Harry quietly, trying to hide the disappointment from his voice.

"I thought I could just forget about what I want and simply do exactly what my father told me to. And I knew I could, before you interfered with my business," there was a hint of bitterness in Malfoy's voice as he said that. He shook his head. "I can't, Potter, not after what you've told me about choices. I just can't," said Malfoy, his voice was shaking. "I can't do what my father does. I..." Malfoy closed his eyes and said softly, "I am not a murderer."

"Malfoy..." Harry didn't know how to comfort the Slytherin.

"End this, Potter."

"What?" asked Harry.

"Kill that bastard and end the war." Malfoy clutched his fist and looked at Harry solemnly. "I can spy for you."