The Great Hall was empty save the professors of Hogwarts, the ex-students Ron, Hermione and Draco, ex-professor Remus Lupin and Auror Sirius-Kiaran. Albus Dumbledore had declared the temporary closing of the school due to a crisis situation, namely the full arrival of Voldemort’s reign and his recruit of a possible new Voldemort Junior. It was all over the Daily Prophet next to the ongoing news about the possible fathers of Harry’s son. Albus took care not to mention anything about Harry’s son being Voldemort’s or the child being kidnapped to be recruited lest it leads to a world wide panic. It was just enough to let the world know the basics and not the depths.
“This is insane!” Remus exclaimed as he put down the Daily Prophet he was reading with Sirius-Kiaran. “Voldemort is back and at it again yet our hands are tied because we don’t know what he’s up to next!”
“I would gladly find out what the Dark Lord might be doing,” Severus voiced out as he clutched his left wirst that still bore the Dark Mark, “if it weren’t for the fact that my double agent identity had been discovered.”
“You did the right thing, Severus,” Albus said. “You can finally be at ease now that you don’t have to worry about your life so much and watch your back all the time.”
“What do you suppose we do now, Albus?” Minerva McGonagall asked. “Now that the school’s closed for the time being, we have to figure out what are we going to do next about this situation. We are all into this as much as Harry does now and we can’t solve the problem being here like sitting ducks.”
“We could call the Order over for an emergency meeting, though I don’t think we’d make any progress without being able to make sure what are Voldemort’s plans.”
As the professors continued to discuss their options, Harry stomped into the Great Hall. Everyone was surprised. They never expected Harry to get out of bed. He was supposed to be bedridden just like Winnie Dumbledore had suggested. Hermione rushed up to him, a concerned look on her face.
“Harry, you shouldn’t be up. You should be in bed.”
“I’m not in a mood to be in bed,” Harry replied determinedly. “I’m getting visions again and I want to help out on this.”
“Bloody hell, Harry!” Ron stood up to join Hermione in persuading him. “You know what the good midwife said. You go walking around like you own this town again and you’re gonna become a permanent half-girl!”
“Besides, you can share your visions while being bedridden, Po…I mean Harry,” Draco suggested. “It’s not going to make you an invalid.”
“I’m taking my chances,” Harry said. “If turning into a permanent hermaphrodite is what it takes to save my son from that old demon’s grasp, so be it. I don’t give a damn what happens to me. Let me help, Albus. He’s my son, and I’m responsible for his wellbeing. You need my visions, Albus. You all do.”
Albus let out a sigh of defeat. He knew that when Harry had made up his mind, there was no stopping him. There’s nothing else he could do but to agree with him. Slowly he asked, “What were your visions, Harry?”
“Co…I mean Naga was in his room and Voldemort visited him. Naga suggested that if they were to increase more loyal Death Eaters, they should start from scratch, and the best way to do it was to kidnap every child there is and feed them with the Rapid Growth Serum. They plan to start on St. Mungo.”
“Then we shall prepare our men at St. Mungo,” Albus nodded, then turned to Sirius-Kiaran and said, “Sirius, it’s about time you play the role of young Auror Kiaran Featherworth and round up your troops together with Mr. Malfoy.”
--:--
Time seemed to pass real slowly when you’re at work. While Sirius-Kiaran and Draco stood guard at their positions, Harry and the rest decided to take a break. Harry had taken caution in applying another layer of that ointment Severus gave him before joining the team. There was no way he was to experience another bleeding spree again. As they went down to the hospital cafeteria to grab a bite, Harry found himself stranded in the middle of the cafeteria with his tray of food in hand and surrounded by concerned doctors and nurses, especially a bawling Winnie Dumbledore who threatened to snuff the lights out of him by hugging him in an almost deadlock. They were asking him dozens upon dozens of questions he couldn’t keep up with and they were acting even worse than Rita Skeeter or any other reporters or journalists he knew. Remus, Ron and Hermione tried to get through the crowd to help him in vain. It was fourth and fifth year all over again.
Just when he felt like he was going to scream at them to leave him alone, Harry felt his arm being grabbed and being pulled away from the crowd. He looked up and saw that it was Severus Snape giving the doctors and nurses his famous cold look and dragging him towards the far corner of the cafeteria. He sat him down and sat in front of him with his tray of food.
“Uh…Thanks, Snape. Why the gesture?” Harry asked awkwardly as he stared at Severus’ choice of food. Very simple actually: a bowl of fish porridge, two halves of a hard-boiled egg and a glass of pumpkin juice.
“Dumbledore had assigned me personally to look out for your wellbeing since your prophecy made known,” Severus replied as he took a sip of pumpkin juice. “Even if I want to, I cannot leave you out of my sight.”
“Well, you don’t have to isolate me like some kind of a hermit,” Harry said as he looked at Ron, Hermione and Remus who sat together at a table nowhere near theirs.
“If you wish to return to the mauling crowd, be my guest.”
Harry was annoyed. No matter how many times he had heard Severus being cynical and mean towards him, he still couldn’t get used to it. He may be able to wave away jeers, teasing and taunts by other people—Draco Malfoy, even—but there was no getting used to listening Severus’ snide comments and remarks. As he downed spoonfuls of Shepherd’s pie, he eyed once in a while at Severus who quietly ate his dinner. Thinking about the night he had serviced him, he began to piece up his movements and his touches with he who was sitting in front of him. It seemed to fit, what with the coldness, dark pride, mysterious aura and all that whatnot. Severus caught him staring and glared at him whenever he did, but Harry can’t seem to keep his eyes off him. He didn’t know why but somehow he had developed a sort of morbid fascination over the Potions Master and ex-Death Eater. It was as if there were so much he had yet to discover about him and those were the true side of Severus behind the cold façade. He decided to try his luck in probing.
“Snape, why do you hate me?”
“I beg your pardon?” Severus raised an eyebrow.
“You heard me. I know you hate almost everyone in Hogwarts, aside from your own house, but why do you hate me the worst?”
A long silence ensued. Severus didn’t answer and Harry didn’t dare to probe any further in case he decided to hex him to next week. It took a few spoonfuls of fish porridge and one half of the hard-boiled egg before Severus decided to reply, “I do not hate you.”
“What?” Harry asked slightly in disbelief.
“Don’t make me repeat myself, Potter. I may have issues about your insubordination towards the school and I may have grudges against you because of your father, but I don’t hate you.”
“Then why do you treat me so freakin’ badly all the time?”
“Isn’t that what I’ve been doing to everyone?”
“No. You treat me fifty million times worse than others. It’s not just because I look like my father now, is it?”
“Memories are hard to get by, especially bad ones.”
“Just because my father played a few tricks on you doesn’t mean you can take it out on me. Remember, he rescued you before.”
“One rescue does not justify the number of pranks he pulled on me,” Severus glared, his eyes threatening to kill him with a stare.
“True, but let me remind you, again, that I’m not my father.”
Severus looked like he was going to bash the glass of pumpkin juice onto Harry’s head. But the worst never came. The Potions Master decided to ignore him than prolong this senseless arguing. Harry sighed inwardly in relief. He knew it wasn’t the smartest thing to incur Severus’ wrath, but being in front of him made him want to get everything out of his chest. He never got to have a face-to-face, heart-to-heart talk with him during his school years, and even less after he graduated and went into hiding due to his pregnancy. Now that he’s in front of him for the talking, there’s no turning back. Harry decided to risk it once again.
“Are you, uh, disappointed that, well, Naga does not belong to you? I have to admit…I was.”
“Why do you say that?” Severus raised his eyebrow again.
“Well…if Naga had belonged to Ron, it would definitely ruin his engagement with Hermione, so I’m not so disappointed, and it would definitely kill me to think that Naga came from Draco. I mean, he’s the person I least likely want to be associated with, let alone have a family with him. Heavens forbid if Remus were to the father. The Ministry would definitely not take the matter of me having a werewolf’s son very lightly. Sirius is OK, but he’s more of a godfather to me, and he’s committed to Remus and I don’t do threesome. I’m more of a jealous type. So that leaves you.”
“You just claimed that I hate you, yet you wished that I was the father of your child. You do realize you’re being a walking contradiction.”
“I know, but…” Harry tried to find the correct words to answer him. There’s no arguing with Severus if you don’t know what to say. “Well, it just felt right, I guess. You may be a meanie but you’re not exactly as unapproachable as Draco Malfoy, and you’re almost like me—deprived of a loving family because of the Dark Lord—and I’m sure that you wished to have that as much as I do. So…uh…I guess it sounds befitting that Naga belongs to both of us.”
When Harry finished talking, he realized he was staring very intently at his knees and his face was burning like hell, his food left untouched. He had never been so honest before in his life, not even when he talked to his best friends Ron and Hermione. He never felt so self-conscious ever. He had been blundering his way through school, flirting with the boys so openly and being naked in front of dozens of people during his services but he never felt this embarrassed. He didn’t know why he suddenly felt so out of place all of a sudden. Was it because he was talking to Severus Snape whom he finally associated as a normal acquaintance than an enemy? Was it because he had finally and actually spoken more than a few words with the professor he used to not want to associate with? Was it…?
A blindfold was not enough to hide him. He wished he was in a deep, dark hole right now.
Just when Harry thought he couldn’t sink any lower in embarrassment, he felt a cold hand on one of his clenched fists on the table. It doesn’t take a genius to know that the cold hand belonged to Severus. Harry blushed even harder and stared more intently at his knees. He dared not to look up when he heard Severus whispered tentatively, “I had wished Naga is mine.”
Suddenly everything turned dark. It was a massive blackout at every corner of the building and everything became as silent as death. Harry and Severus quickly whispered “Lumos” to light their wands and saw that everyone in the cafeteria was on the floor, their eyes staring at space and their bodies looking like they were at attention, only that they were lying instead of standing. The same goes for Ron, Hermione and Remus. They knew that stance too well. It was the Body-Bind Curse and it was a mass curse of bodies around. They quickly whispered a counter-curse to release the trio from their stance. Ron was the first to react.
“Bloody hell! What just happened!”
“I think we’ve just been outsmarted by the enemy,” Remus said as he stared in horror at all the cursed bodies lying around the floor. He was about to cast the counter-curse at them when Hermione stopped him.
“There’s too many for us too handle. We must go and look for the Aurors.”
“She’s right,” Harry agreed. “Better release the professionals first before them. We need Draco and Sirius’s assistance in this.”
Armed with their lit wands, the gang tried to fumble their way up to the babies’ ward where most of the Aurors were supposed to be situated. Harry was too engrossed in seeing through the thick darkness that he didn’t realize Severus’ hand was still holding his. In fact, neither of the gang members realized that the Potions Master and the Boy Who Lived were actually walking hand in hand. They were too busy trying to make their way through the dark to notice. After what seemed like forever, they finally made it to the babies’ ward. As expected, the Aurors, including Sirius-Kiaran and Draco, were on the floor stiff and at attention. The gang whispered the counter-curse on all the Aurors and slowly they stirred one by one.
“Ugh…What the hell happened?” Draco groaned as he rubbed his temples. “One minute we were standing here guarding the babies, then the next minute we were as if being hit by Hogwarts Express and blacked out…”
“You’ve been hit by the Body-Bind Curse, mate,” Ron replied as he helped a cured Auror up on his feet, “although I don’t feel sorry seeing you on the floor like some mannequin.”
“What kind of wizard that has the power to actually create a mass Body-Bind Curse?” Remus said as he continued to cure more Aurors who were scattered around the floor among the heaps of cursed doctors and nurses. “And at such a short time at that. Surely Voldemort cannot perform such powers at this rate now, can he?”
Before anyone could figure out the answer, Harry saw from the corner of his eye a shadow moving within the babies’ ward. He turned swiftly and shouted out a Disarming Spell at the figure who was running away with something in his/her arm. The figure fell and Sirius-Kiaran, who was the nearest, grabbed the thing he/she had dropped. Everyone gasped as they saw that it was a bawling baby. Being busted, a few more figures in Death Eater attire began to emerge from their hiding places under the baby cribs carrying bundles in their arms. Another few dozen more appeared from behind desks, wheelchairs, mobile beds and the reception counter and made a run for it. The gang cured the rest of the cursed Aurors and gave chase, firing with their wands as they went and taking care not to hit the squalling bundles they were holding.
As they chased on towards the entrance of St. Mungo, they stopped in their tracks when they saw a hooded figure standing proudly in the middle under the raging rain. The Death Eaters went round him and took off, disappearing one by one into the horizon as they grabbed hold of Portkeys that lay around in front of them. The hooded figure removed his hood, revealing the silver-blonde hair and brown eyes and his cold smirk. It was no other than Naga Marvolo Riddle, here to lead the team of Death Eaters to do Voldemort’s bidding.
“Well, well, well. Fancy seeing you here with your dynamic team, Mother,” Naga said as he spat out the last word in contempt. “How do you like my wandless magic? I’m sure you’re proud of me to be able to create a Body-Bind Curse enough for the entire people in this building.”
“Cookie, don’t do this!” Harry pleaded. “Can’t you see Voldemort is just using you? Come back to me please!”
“Don’t you dare speak of Father that way! And my name is not Cookie! It’s Naga!” Naga yelled as he flung his hands at Harry with a blast so powerful, it sent Harry ramming towards the wall.
“HARRY!” Ron and Hermione exclaimed. They wanted to run towards him but Harry stopped them.
“This is between me and Cookie! Go after those Death Eaters before you run out of Portkeys!”
Severus ran forward after the Death Eaters without delay. The rest, including the Auror team, nodded and followed suite. They quickly pounced onto some of the Death Eaters who were grabbing onto a plank of wood just in time and disappeared with them. Harry tried to get up but was pinned onto the wall by Naga’s arm. The force was massive. Harry was taken aback by the immense strength the little pre-teen had.
“Yes, Mother. It’s between you and me. How’s about we go somewhere more private? We can talk better.”
No sooner he said that than Harry found himself on a cliff. Below him was the sea with strong tidal waves crashing onto the huge sharp rocks at the foot of the cliff and strong winds followed by clashes of lightning and thunder and torrents of rain beating over the two wizards. Naga’s long silver-blonde hair billowed under the wind as he took off the hood and cloak and threw it aside.
“How is it now, Mother? Better?” Naga asked as he advanced towards Harry who armed himself with his wand. “Like the view? Father brought me here a few days ago and showed me how far and vast my reign would be if I were to take over his throne. I look forward to see my people bow down to me just as they had bowed down to Father.”
“Cookie, please!” Harry tried to yell amidst the booming of thunder. “Your father’s idea of power was to kill the innocent and overthrow the weak! His reign causes nothing but death and destruction and fear among all! His plans are evil, Cookie! I cannot see you become another Voldemort…”
“I said,” Naga growled as he threw Harry another blast, throwing Harry off his feet, “my name is Naga, not that pathetic name of a Cookie!”
“Co…Naga, don’t do this…I’m your mother…”
“Then you should’ve act like one and love me!”
“I do, Naga. I do love you…”
“Oh? Is that why you called me a piece of growth that shouldn’t be there? Is that why you boss me around and blame me for everything that happened to you? Is that why you scold me every time I move inside you when it’s only natural for me to do so? Is that why you bombard me every time you get a craving? Is that why you try to drink potions and throw yourself onto the ground or beat yourself up just to get rid of me? Is it? Is it!”
“I’m…I’m sorry, Naga…I didn’t…” Harry couldn’t control the tears that were threatening to flow out of his eyes.
“You didn’t mean it?” Naga yelled shrilly as he aimed his fists on Harry’s stomach and face. “Well, I guess I didn’t mean that either!”
Naga aimed more fists and feet at Harry, forcing the bloodied Harry to back away closer towards the end of the cliff. He jumped up high and screamed for him to die, throwing more and more wandless blasts at Harry, throwing him in the mid-air and tearing his clothes to shreds. Harry tried to aim blasts with his wand at Naga but to no avail. He was only able to counter some of his blasts but a wand could only do so much against wandless magic. Another aim at the area near the stomach landed Harry onto the ground, making him bleed between his legs again. Harry knew his female parts were being traumatized again, but he had no time to dwell on that matter with Naga’s foot pressurizing his gut.
“It wasn’t my fault I’m here today!” Naga said venomously, his eyes glaring at Harry with pure hatred. “It’s not my fault I’m like this. If you had loved me unconditionally and not said all those mean things to me, we wouldn’t be like this!”
“I’m sorry…I’m so sorry…”
“Sorry doesn’t cut it, Mother! You could’ve gone along with Father’s plan! You could’ve at least showed a little support for Father’s vision! But no! You had to go against him and turn against his noble agenda! You wanted to take me away from Father so that you can torture me more with your conniving words and evil jeers and taunts, just like you did when I was still inside you!”
“That’s…That’s not true…Your father’s evil, Naga…”
“There is no such thing as good and evil, Mother. Only power,” Naga said as he looked down at Harry under his foot with malice. A slight change began to manifest his body. It was the exact same change Remus had undergone when he was turning from Remus Lupin to Remus the Werewolf. The only difference was that the change did not hurt the young pre-teen. In fact, it came to him very naturally, as if he could change to a werewolf at will. Harry watched in horror as his son slowly grew into the hairy werewolf he was designed to.
“Naga…No…”
“Now I will show you true power,” Naga said in a raspy voice, grinning as much as his wolf features would allow it as he grabbed Harry by the neck. He flung him off the cliff, but not before Harry instinctively cast a Levitation Spell on himself. He levitated himself back onto the cliff and shouted “Rectusempra” at Naga. Naga was only thrown back a little before he jumped onto Harry, scratching him terribly. Another “Rectusempra” sent Naga backing away far enough to let Harry get back into his feet. Harry tried to aim more charms and spells he remembered from the Dueling Club but Naga was able to beat them off easily. Naga concentrated on his hand and threw about a dozen blasts as hard as he could at Harry. Again, it sent him off in the mid-air and threw him off the cliff. Harry was lucky he grabbed hold of some of the rocks at the end of the cliff just in time and soon found himself hanging there for dear life. Naga walked towards him and looked down at him with triumphant victory written all over his face.
“Naga…Please, my son, help me…”
“Can’t do that, Mother. I have a world to conquer and a throne to replace. I have a father to make proud of.”
“I love you, Naga. Don’t do this to me, please. I’m your mother…”
“I don’t have a mother. Not anymore,” Naga’s triumphant look was replaced with a face of icy cold.
“Please…My son…”
“Goodbye, Harry Potter.”
So saying, Naga willed himself off his werewolf looks and stepped hard on Harry’s hand, making it bleed real badly. Harry thought he might have broken a few bones there. He was forced to let go of that hand before feeling the wrath of his foot on his other hand. He looked pleadingly at Naga, begging him to stop, but deep down inside he knew he wasn’t the son he wanted him to be anymore. He was a Death Eater, one of Voldemort’s pawns to carry on his evil legacy. He had changed. He was Prince Naga Marvolo Riddle, the heir of Tom Marvolo Riddle and Salazar Slytherin, not his beautiful, innocent Alberto Alexi Zephyr Janphen Caninus Generus Potter a.k.a. Cookie he swore to love and protect with his life. He was the enemy, and he knew he had to do the thing he feared doing to his own son.
“I’m…I’m sorry, Cookie…”
He shut his eyes tight as he reached his hand for the wand he had dropped just a few inches away from Naga’s ankle. Naga was too engrossed to make him fall to notice him reaching for it. At the almost last minute, he gripped as hard as he could at the wand with his broken hand and aimed it between Naga’s eyes. He had caught him by surprise as he said those Unforgivable words.
“AVADA KEDAVRA!”
He must’ve shouted out with all his might and focused his powers to the max as the blast of the Killing Curse sent Naga headlong a few miles back. After making sure there were no sudden movements, Harry struggled to climb up the cliff and back to solid ground. He saw before his eyes Naga who lay face down on his stomach, not moving an inch. With trembling hands, Harry turned Naga and held him close to his chest. Naga’s eyes were wide open and his face frozen in an expression of disbelief, as if unable to accept the fact that Harry caught him unaware and killed him. Tears mixed with rain as Harry hugged him in pain and despair, rocking him to and fro and repeating the words, “I’m sorry, Cookie…I’m so sorry…I’m so sorry…”
--:--
Everyone gathered at the Great Hall to wait for Harry’s return or any sort of news from him while planning a celebration for their victory, but was shocked to see a bloodied Harry appearing at the entrance with Naga’s body in his arms. They felt bad about him having to kill Naga and assured him that he had done the right thing. Ron and Hermione were only too eager to cry and Remus and Sirius-Kiaran too eager to comfort him for his loss. But Harry wasn’t in the mood for mourning or celebration. He had to save it for later. He had an unfinished business to attend to, or more like a prophecy waiting to be fulfilled.
After being healed of his wounds, Severus, Remus, Sirius-Kiaran and Albus accompanied Harry to Voldemort’s cell in Azkaban. The people working there were specifically ordered to leave Voldemort alone and not let him have the Dementor’s Kiss. The rest of the Death Eaters were given the punishment they deserved, may it be a life-sentence in Azkaban or the Kiss. Harry hid the sword of Godric Gryffindor that was given by the old Headmaster behind his back as he entered Voldemort’s cell. Everyone watched with a hint of vengeance and hatred in their eyes at Voldemort who was sitting at a corner with dozens upon dozens of chains around him. The Ministry made sure that those chains were custom made and specially hexed so that the Dark Lord would not try any of his tricks to escape. Voldemort looked up and gave them a rather malicious grin for a welcome.
“Ah, I see you’ve brought my VIP guest here.”
“Voldemort, or should I say Tom Marvolo Riddle,” Albus said in suppressed anger. “You know by the sight of Harry James Potter what awaits your fate.”
“Snivellus, after all I’ve done for you,” Voldemort turned to Severus accusingly. “After all I’ve taught you, you betray me.”
“You taught me nothing,” Severus replied coldly. “I want nothing more than to be rid of you and your Dark Mark you gave me.”
“You can never defeat me. Not entirely. I still have my heir.”
“In case you didn’t know because of where you are,” Harry voiced out quietly, “your heir is dead. I killed him.”
“That’s impossible,” Voldemort laughed with a hint of nervousness. “He’s my most worthy prince. My perfect heir. I chose the best traits for him. I made sure of that. He’s indestructible. He’s invincible. He cannot be defeated by a mere boy like you!”
“Alas, he’s still human, Voldemort. You failed to give him the best trait ever: immortality. Humans make mistakes, as you do.”
“There will be others. There will be other of my loyal subjects willing to continue my legacy. There will be other people who share my vision. You cannot eliminate me entirely. There’s always someone out there to carry on with my work.”
“And they’re being apprehended as we speak,” Sirius-Kiaran said. “We’re getting more and more Death Eaters everyday, thanks to snitches we’ve sent out everywhere. Even your most faithful Wormtail and Lucius Malfoy had been given the Kiss just yesterday. Soon there won’t be anyone left to even think of your so-called ‘visionary thoughts’.”
“You’re defeated, Voldemort,” Harry continued in his quiet tone, gripping hard at the sword behind his back. “Totally, utterly defeated.”
Voldemort let out a yell as he struggled at the chains that bind him. His eyes glazed as insanity over his undeniable defeat took over. His mind only held one thing: to have the blood of Harry in his hands. Harry walked slowly towards the struggling Voldemort and stared down at him long and hard. A second later he aimed the blade of Godric Gryffindor’s sword at his jugular. The cold sharp end of the blade stopped Voldemort’s struggle short. He could only let out a series of strangled moans as he found himself in the mercy of Harry James Potter, the Boy Who Lived. His eyes bulge wide open as he looked almost pleadingly at the bright green emeralds that stared down at him emotionlessly.
“This is for my son.”
Those were the last quiet words Voldemort heard before his dark black blood splattered all over the walls of his cell.
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