Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Behind the Fog (Backup Upload) ❯ Behind the Fog (Backup Upload) 35th Chapter ( Chapter 35 )

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The thing I've most been dreading as a fan is that the story would be removed from the site by the hackers and the author wouldn't have access to their old chapters when the situation was eventually brought under control in the event the site moderators wouldn't be able to give the author their account back.

For anyone interested the author goes by Hancock23 on Fanfiction -dot- net. I will remove the story from my account when Hancock23 has gotten the story safely uploaded elsewhere or has been safely given their account back on Fanfiction -dot- net. Without further ado I give you a backup upload of: Behind the Fog by Hancock23.

PS: This Backup Upload contains minor edits for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Plus some rewording/restructuring of sentences so they make better sense and flow better. Hope you don't mind me becoming something of a Beta Reader for this Backup Upload Hancock23.

Chapter 35 - Transference

Harry was about to turn in for the night when the owl arrived. It was an unfamiliar bird and since it was almost midnight, Harry approached it with caution and did not dare to remove the attached parchment until he had checked for any and all jinxes and curses that he could think of. When he was satisfied that the parchment was safe, he detached it from the bird's right leg and read the short note quickly before grabbing his invisibility cloak and marauders map. He knew that he should be more careful as he ran through the castle, but the adrenaline that was coursing through him would not allow him to slow down his pace.

Severus Snape had not said what he wanted to talk about in the brief note, but Harry could not help but fear that something had happened to Draco. Just the thought of it made Harry quicken his pace and soon enough; he was standing at the base of the willow tree which stood on the grounds of Hogwarts. He pressed the knob that immobilised the violent branches and looking once at the Marauders' map to make sure that no one had followed him, he slipped through the opening that led to the Shrieking Shack.

The tunnel was just as Harry remembered it from his third year, but with his added height since his earlier years, the fit was less comfortable which forced him to crawl at a slower pace than he would have liked. After what felt like a lifetime, Harry finally emerged within the Shrieking Shack; which was shrouded in unforgiving darkness and a nauseating smell of decay. Ignoring both the darkness and smell, Harry looked around, but his first perusal revealed no one which made him worry that the professor had gotten impatient and left.

"Professor Snape," Harry called, and when there was no immediate answer, he extracted his wand from his robe pocket; ready to cast a revealing spell, but a voice from one of the shadowed corners stilled his efforts.

"Potter." Snape called back. He had been waiting under a disillusionment spell, and he promptly removed it so that Harry could see him; using the dismal sliver of moonshine that stole into the room through the dusty windowpanes of the shack.

"Professor, what has happened?" Harry asked urgently. "Is it Draco? Where is Draco? Is he okay?"

"Calm yourself, Draco is just fine." Severus assured quickly. He could see the panicked glint in the Gryffindor's eyes, and it convinced him that he had done the right thing by coming to Potter with what he had found out.

The note he had sent to Harry was brief, because he did not want any information to leak to either Voldemort or Dumbledore, but perhaps it was too brief. It now occurred to him, that he should have found a way to subtly tell Potter that everything was fine with Draco; if only to prevent the frantic look that he was now witnessing.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked, as if he couldn't just take Severus' words for the truth. Under normal circumstances, the Potions Master would have taken umbrage at having his word questioned, but the circumstances were everything but ordinary, so he suppressed the urge to lecture Harry; and instead answered him properly.

"I am as sure as I can be. Draco was finishing up his charms homework when I left him not half an hour ago."
"That's good then." Harry said with a smile. "Tell him that I beat him to it when you get back to wherever he is staying."

Severus rolled his eyes at that before he cast a Lumos, and pointed at one corner of the room where two chairs had been placed facing each other. Harry picked his way across the room quickly, and took one of the offered chairs. Now that he knew that Draco was fine, he was curious to find out why the professor had requested a clandestine meeting in the middle of the night; when the end of the Easter Break was only a few days away.

"I called you here because I have an urgent matter to discuss, and my appearance at Hogwarts before the end of the break would not go unnoticed by the headmaster." Severus began when they were both seated.

"I understand." Harry said, and he truly did. Snape had gone to great lengths to ensure that no one found out about their meeting, and that alone made Harry think that whatever the man wanted to discuss required his utmost discretion.

After a long silence filled with implications, Severus began to speak. "Potter, there is something that I did not report in the last Order of the Phoenix meeting." The Potions Master admitted, watching the Gryffindor for a reaction. He saw surprise and curiosity, but none of the accusation that he had half expected. "Before I continue, I would like to ask you a personal question."

"Alright." Harry agreed, although he was a bit wary of revealing too much to the professor. He trusted the man and they had even formed a friendship after Harry apologised for the behaviour of the marauders, but the friendship was too tentative to be considered intimate.

"I want to know what your intentions are towards Draco." Severus stated and Harry would have laughed, if he wasn't so surprised by the unexpected subject matter. His first thought was to tell Snape that this sort of conversation should have happened before the bonding, but there was a sobriety in the professor's tone that warned Harry against making light of the situation. In any case, he figured that the question was still relevant; given that his intentions had changed in the months since the bonding.

"I am in love with your godson." Harry said candidly, and he could see the barely concealed surprise in Severus' eyes. Whatever the man had expected, he had not expected such candour. For Harry, he was just happy to finally be able to reveal that truth to someone; even if the someone in front of him was not the person he wanted to say the words to the most.

"I want to live my life with Draco, and I will do anything to ensure that it happens." He continued heatedly, and if the lighting had been better, Harry would not have been able to hide the pink flush that took over his face as he declared his intentions.

"I see." Severus said for lack of a better response. He knew that Draco felt the same way about Potter, but it was not his place to reveal that to the Gryffindor. The only thing he could do was watch over them until they got around to speaking the words to each other. In the meantime, he had to make sure that nothing threatened either their lives or happiness. "As I said before, there is something I failed to report to the Order, because I felt that it would result in nothing good for Draco."

"Tell me." Harry commanded, and Severus snarled at the rude behaviour; but otherwise gave in to the demand.

"In the most recent death eater meeting, the dark lord ordered all his followers not to harm Draco no matter what, and to protect him at whatever cost if it comes to that." Severus informed, and he saw Harry's eyes narrow in suspicion. While Voldemort's actions appear good on the surface; they both knew that there had to be a hidden agenda behind the sudden change of heart.

"What is he planning to do with Draco?" Harry eventually asked.

"He said that he has found a way to use Draco to take a hold of your all-elemental magic." Severus stated, and Harry gasped in both surprise and horror. "I had no idea how he planned to accomplish that, but my research over the last few days has shown me that it is very possible."

"How?" Harry asked in a choked voice, but Severus did not answer right away.

He wished that he didn't have to explain what he had found out to the Gryffindor, but he knew that failure to disclose everything due to a misguided attempt at protecting them could only lead to tragedy. Steeling his nerves and resolve, Severus began the explanation that he knew would cause immeasurable anguish to the raven-haired saviour well into the future.

"Harry, have you ever heard of transference?" He asked.
"No, what is it?" Harry answered quickly, and Severus sighed in resignation.

"Transference happens when magical traits of one being, are transferred to another due to a ritual, transplant, or transfusion." Snape began, and when he saw that Harry still retained a lost look on his face, he continued. "It is the reason why blood-based rituals are so restricted and why organ transplants and blood transfusions are not done in the Wizarding World."

"Like how Voldemort acquired my mother's protection after he used my blood for his rebirth?" Harry asked in a bitter voice, and Severus nodded.

"Basically, by using your blood to resurrect himself, the dark lord acquired a lot of your innate abilities in addition to Lily's protection." Severus stated, and Harry felt a chill creep up his spine. "I think that he has recently figured out that if he bonded with your mate, he would be able to awaken the all-elemental magic that lays dormant in his veins."

"Oh, Merlin!" Harry uttered in shock, as he began to pace around the room.

Too many thoughts were running through his mind, but at the moment, the only clear thing to him was gratitude towards the Potions Master. If Severus had revealed everything to Dumbledore immediately after the death eater meeting, not even he would have been able to save Draco from the Order. As it was, Harry knew that it was only a matter of time before Dumbledore figured it out for himself, but by telling him first, Severus had given him time to plan. As he took back his seat across from the Slytherin, Harry decided he had to hasten his training if he was going to be ready for whatever was thrown at them.

"There is one more thing." Severus said in a sad voice, that made Harry look at him in worry. "What is it?"He asked.
"Harry, I am not sure how much Draco has told you about the rumour that he is the dark lord's lover, but..." The Potions Master trailed off, and waited for Harry to pick up the conversation.
"I know that it wasn't consensual on Draco's part." Harry said, and there was so much anger contained in the single sentence; that Severus almost reconsidered saying what he knew had to be said next.
"You are right about that." Severus confirmed.

"Harry, I believe that the blood in the dark lord's veins recognises Draco as its mate, which has caused the dark lord to fixate on Draco." He informed the Gryffindor after a brief silence; hating that he had to be the messenger when it came to this.

Harry felt as if someone had punched him in the solar plexus and no matter how much he tried to, he could not concentrate on the rest of what Professor Snape was saying. Because his blood had been stolen and used in the rebirth of a monster, Draco had suffered so much that he woke up a few nights a week from nightmares of the trauma it'd left him with. He knew that he wasn't to blame for the theft, but he still felt guilty. He felt as if he had failed time and again to protect Draco; and more than anything, he feared that he would fail him again.

As Harry sat there in his shock, he recalled all the harsh things he had said to Draco since their bonding, and unbidden tears of grief and shame rolled down his cheeks. He did not know what to do; so he turned to the only other person in the room and pleaded with him for help, because despite what he knew, he couldn't let go of Draco.

"Harry, I am sure you know that it is not your fault that the dark lord took your blood, but the fact that he did is still our current reality." Snape began. "What we need to ensure is that the dark lord never has the opportunity to force a bond on Draco."
"How do we do that?" Harry asked desperately.
"The only way for Draco to form another bond, is for you to be dead." Severus explained.
"Then there is nothing to worry about, because I have no intention of dying before Voldemort." Harry said, with so much determination that Severus was loathe to disillusion him, but he had to.
"Unfortunately, Harry, you are most certainly going to die before Voldemort." Severus said in a matter of fact voice, that made Harry think that he was missing something.
"What do you mean by that?" He asked.

"I know that the headmaster has spoken to you about the dark lord's Horcruxes, but he failed to disclose to you the most important thing." Severus stated in both disappointment and sadness.
"What is he hiding from me this time?" Harry asked, resigned to learning another awful truth.

"Harry, the headmaster believes that part of the dark lord's soul attached itself to you when he tried to kill you sixteen years ago." Severus said, and watched Harry's face turn ghost white in the pale light of his wand. "He plans to inform you of this fact right before the final confrontation. Dumbledore says that Voldemort must be the one to kill you for the piece of his soul within you to die."
"I don't understand," Harry began. "What about the prophecy?"

"The prophecy says that only one of you will live, but it does not specifically state which one." Severus said. "The prophecy is beside the point though. There is a reason to believe that while the killing curse will be able to kill the dark lord's soul within you, your own soul will remain intact; which will allow you to come back from death and therein lies the problem."

"Why?" Harry asked, relieved at the knowledge he'd probably not stay dead assuming things played out as Snape was saying, but concerned as to why him coming back would be a bad thing.

"Potter, very few bonds persist after death; and the elemental bond is not one of them." Severus cautioned. "The elemental bond you have with Draco, will definitely break when the dark lord casts the killing curse on you, and at that point; Draco will become vulnerable to both Voldemort and Dumbledore. Do you understand what that will mean?"

"If I'm understanding this correctly, my temporary death at the hands of Voldemort will break the elemental bond with Draco. If Voldemort acts quickly enough within that window, he can force a bond with Draco; and to prevent that, the Order will likely attack and kill Draco first?" Harry asked, trying to clarify the situation.

"Yes, assuming that Dumbledore will already have figured out the transference situation." Severus affirmed.
"You will still have your elemental powers after coming back to life, and because of that; the Order will no longer consider Draco a necessary part of your life." He explained.
"I see." Harry said, as he contemplated the situation some more. "Is there no other way, to get rid of the piece of Voldemort's soul within me?"
"Not that I know of." Severus answered. "I will continue to research the matter though."
"Thank you." Harry said earnestly.

"It's getting light outside, you should head back to the castle." Severus said, as he stood. "Harry, I will leave it to you to explain things to Draco; when you feel ready, don't wait too long though."

"Thank you." Harry said again, and began to cover himself with his invisibility cloak, but a hand on his arm held him in place for a second longer.

"Potter, I did not come today to pressure you into finding a solution. I think you should know that; because I already know what must be done to keep Draco safe." At that, Harry tried to interrupt the Potions Master, but Severus would not have it. "The same or maybe a different solution, will become apparent to you when you are both emotionally and physically ready."

With those mysterious words and a smirk on his face, Severus Snape apparated from the Shack, leaving a confused Gryffindor behind.

Uploader's Note: This Has Been A Backup Upload of Chapter 35 of Behind the Fog by Hancock23.