Monday, December 28, 1998 ---- 9:05 a.m.

"Still feels odd not to be rushing off to classes," murmured Harry as he spread more butter on his toasted crumpet.

"Definitely, a first-year teacher."

"Assistant." Harry ate the crumpet in two bites, and reached for another. Odd how hungry he'd been the last couple of days, but perhaps that was an effect of crossing their powers. Well, at least he wasn't tired after casting such powerful spells. Not in the least! He'd Apparated all the way out to the rock without any trouble, and since he'd been alone out there, he'd tried out a few more defensive spells. Offensive ones, too. Blasting curses, mostly. Very satisfying, those. It had been a pleasure to wipe away every trace of the lone building on the little island. Might as well, really. The door had still been knocked down from when Hagrid had banged his way in.

But destroying a building, or even a cavern, was a far cry from defeating Voldemort, once and for all. "Er . . . do you suppose I ought to start practicing the kinds of spells I'm going to need? I mean, to kill him?"

"Avada Kedavra, I presume you mean?" Severus set his fork down. "Whom do you propose to kill?"

He supposed he should have expected a question like that. Severus wasn't one to beat around the bush, usually. "I wouldn't have minded starting with Bole and Talmadge," he said levelly. He could have said more on that topic. A lot more, but he didn't want to get into that issue again.

"Yes, well, they're not an option," Severus said, his tones clipped. "Any other ideas?"

"Oh, for God's sake." Harry spooned another couple of eggs onto his plate. "I wasn't suggesting I practice on a person, you know. Though I wouldn't mind killing Lucius Malfoy. Or that little worm of a son of his. But anything like that would tip off Vol-- the Dark-- oh, fuck it, Voldemort, that we have plans for him, right? So I'll just start with earthworms or something."

"You can't train for the Killing Curse using anything but human beings. It simply doesn't transfer."

"Hah. Moody . . . I mean Crouch's son, killed a spider right in front of us--"

"He didn't start with them, though. To master the curse in the first place, you have to kill a person."

Ugh. So that was no good, then.

"Well, I have to come up with something!" Harry shouted. Suddenly, his efforts out on the rock just seemed pathetic. "I don't think that marble columns and pillars of fire are going to do it!"

"Cambiare is the key. You have what you need. Anticipating in advance what spell you might use . . . practise all you wish, Harry. It certainly can't hurt. But duelling is unpredictable, by its very nature. You aren't going to know which spell will prove his undoing. All you can know is that whatever it is, you have it in you, now that you can cast with both our powers at once."

"Both our powers squared, you mean," said Harry, remembering the things he could do with magic, now. Maybe that would be enough. Maybe he wouldn't even need the Killing Curse, though it was pretty hard to imagine that Rictusempra was going to do the job. Voldemort deserved worse than to laugh himself to death.

All right, duelling. Unless Harry could sneak up on Voldemort, that was. But that was unlikely, so Harry concentrated on what he'd learned over the years about wizards squaring off to fight. The duellist's aim was to either incapacitate or disarm his opponent, but Harry didn't put much faith in even a twice-filled Expelliarmus. He could probably make Voldemort's wand rush to him no matter how it was warded, but what good was that? Voldemort, curse his black soul, would counter that somehow. Or worse, before Harry even got a single summoning charm out, Voldemort would start in with wordless magic, so that Harry would never even know what had hit him.

"I didn't stand a chance in that cemetery," he suddenly blurted, feeling swamped by the enormity of the task facing him. Actually, it felt a lot like his head had gone underwater. Hard to breathe. "I'd have been a goner if not for my parents. Oh, and the fact that there just happened to be a Portkey lying nearby. I mean, it was practically scripted for me to be able to escape--"

Severus abruptly took his hands and squeezed. "Of course you needed help. You weren't even a grown wizard, yet. But you are, now. And what's more, you have a power the Dark Lord knows not. My power, Harry."

Harry scoffed. "Oh, like he doesn't know that. Intimately. I remember, what you told me--"

"He never knew me at all," interrupted Severus.

Yeah, that much was true enough, so Harry nodded, and tried to stop worrying. Cambiare is the key . . . he should probably start leaning on that. It wasn't a crutch, not really. God knew he'd sacrificed enough to make Cambiare work. Himself. His ideas about himself. Hell, his whole concept of what he was and what he wanted.

Not to mention all the sex.

It wasn't a burden, now--far from it--but Harry felt like he'd had to walk through fire to find that out. And if not for Cambiare, he'd never have bothered.

Of course, if not for Cambiare, he'd never have stayed on in London like that . . . but no, that wasn't really true. He definitely would have taken the Express away from Hogwarts, and once he got off at King's Cross, there sure wouldn't have been any Uncle Vernon to meet him. Harry might very well have decided to celebrate the end of his education by doing a few days' sightseeing. Of course, he wouldn't have stopped at Blackwell's to have a look at the human sexuality section, as Hermione had put it. But what did that matter? Harry still might have gone wandering onto the Tower Bridge later that same day, might have been caught up in the attack, spotted by Bellatrix . . .

Might have, might have . . . what good was any of it, really? Life wasn't made up of might-haves. It was made up of what was.

"I just wish I knew when the next attack was coming," he finally said, feeling almost sick with anxiety. So much for not worrying. "Maybe I should stop Occluding. Just for a little while, just until I get a sense of what he's thinking."

"And if he gets a sense of what you're thinking?"

"Element of surprise, yeah," said Harry. He wondered for a moment if the answer did lie in Occlumency, all the same. Could he try something strange, like twice-filled Occlumency? Maybe he could make Voldemort's brain explode.

But that sounded a lot more like Legilimency, really, which Harry had never learned.

There had to be something, though. Anything.

Because if one more innocent person died, now that Harry did have the means to prevent it . . . how was he going to bear knowing that he'd let that happen? That he'd done nothing to force a confrontation? That he'd waited for Voldemort to make the next move, and someone had died as a result?

What if that someone was a child? Another child, that was? How could Harry stand it? How could he live with himself, afterwards?

The answer to that was simple: he couldn't. This wasn't like Cedric, which had happened so fast that he hadn't really even known what was going on. And it wasn't like Sirius, was it? He'd only been a boy, then. He was a man, now. A man with magical powers nobody else had ever possessed. A man who had to put a stop to this, now.

And that left him with a single option, didn't it? The only option, really.

Harry felt like his mind had suddenly cleared. Like the sun had come out after a terrible storm. The moment before, his thoughts had been jammed up with dozens of different ideas, none of them very good. He'd almost been drowning in them. But no more. Now, he knew what he had to do.

"What if we bait a trap?" asked Harry, looking up. "You know, to lure him in?"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "That goes back to my earlier question. Whom do you propose to use as bait?"

Harry almost winced, because he could tell already that his idea wasn't going to go over so well. "Um . . . well . . . me, of course."

Severus hands tightened again, until Harry was pretty sure his fingers were going to end up bruised. "You aren't using yourself as bait."

Harry tried for a practical tone of voice. "But who else is there? I'm the only one with twice-filled powers. Anybody else might get killed."

"You might get killed."

Harry started to get angry, then, because after what Severus had just said a few minutes earlier, that was a bit hard to take. "What happened to you have whatever you need, eh? What happened to Cambiare is the key?"

"Yes, well there's such a thing as being too fatalistic--"

"Be reasonable!"

Severus suddenly let go of his hands, but at the same time, he bared his teeth. "Persist in this idea, and you'll see just how unreasonable I can become!"

"Oh, great. That's it, threaten me with fucking Compulsio again--"

"I wasn't!" roared Severus. "But don't think I won't, if that's what it takes!"

It was difficult not to reply to that, but Harry did his best to keep the conversation on target. "Look, you said yourself that he was trying to lure me into showing myself. Well, I don't want anybody else to have to die. He'll come to me if I just put myself out there, seemingly unprotected, and--"

"And we'll lose the advantage of surprise. Our entire strategy has been based on it, Harry! If you put yourself out there, as you put it, you'll be allowing the Dark Lord to choose his moment, gather his forces--"

"And I'll wipe them all away. Crossed powers, remember?"

Severus actually rolled his eyes, then. "Haven't you ever heard of hubris? Quite a few heroes of old--wizards, many of them--came to a messy end because they overestimated themselves."

"They weren't powerful the way I am!"

"They weren't, no," admitted Severus, sighing. "But even you aren't so powerful that you should disregard tactics entirely, Harry."

"Fine," snapped Harry. He was tired of arguing. No point in it, really. He wasn't going to persuade Severus, and Severus sure wasn't going to persuade him. "I'll just sit here doing nothing useful. Now there's a brilliant plan."

All right, so perhaps he wasn't quite through arguing, yet.

"You've only just achieved your full potential under Podentes," said Severus, his voice sounding heavy. "We need time, Harry. Time to consider the best course of action."

Harry didn't agree, but he didn't say that, because by then, he had decided on his own course of action. He knew exactly what he needed to do next, but he couldn't get started until Severus was out of the way. "Yeah, well let's not take too long figuring it out," he said, his voice stiff. "Maybe you should go brew something. Isn't that when you do your best thinking?"

Severus gave him a close look. "And what are you going to do?"

Harry abruptly decided that his Firebolt would figure into his plan, one way or another. "Some flying, I suppose. That helps me think."

A ghost of a smile flitted across Severus' features. "You're certain you aren't plotting something?"

"Me?" Harry deliberately laughed. " A Gryffindor?"

"One who was almost sorted into Slytherin."

"Well, I'd have been shoved right into your nest of vipers if I really belonged there," retorted Harry. Ha, no headache. Which proved, didn't it, that he really didn'tbelong in Slytherin. Or at least it proved that Harry thought that. "Severus . . . I need to think, all right?"

No searing headache for that comment either, because after all, it was true. He did need to think.

Harry saw Severus pause a moment. Was he waiting for that tingling feeling, or surge of energy, or whatever it was he got whenever Harry lied? Harry didn't know.

At any rate, the man finally nodded. "I do have some things to work on, yes. Go flying on the pitch if you like, but don't leave Hogwarts' grounds without talking to me. We've come too far to make a mistake, now. We must be careful."

We? Ha. Harry was the one who had to fight the final battle. Harry was the one who had to live in enslavement, forever afterwards. They might be in this together in a lot of ways, but in some essential ones, Harry was alone.

All alone.

He just nodded, bracing himself in case that produced a headache, but it seemed that only verbal lies would cue the mind bond. Good thing.

"I'm going to practice a little, too," said Harry. "Twice-filled spells. Just warning you."

"Here?"

"Mild ones. I do have very good control. You should have seen me out at the rock. You might get a little dizzy now and again, though."

"If you're sure you know what you're doing."

Harry tried not to look too grim. No point in giving the game away, after all. Especially since he'd been given such a good opportunity to tell the pure, honest truth. "Oh, I know what I'm doing, all right."

The moment Severus had vanished down the hallway, Harry made his way over to the trunk that held the Marauder's Map. Not too much use, unless Voldemort was going to invade Hogwarts. No, Harry wanted the other thing that had been squirreled away in the trunk, months ago.

His invisibility cloak.

Or rather, Severus' invisibility cloak, but it was Harry's to use, right? With permission. Which he didn't have, but he could deal with that later. Right now, all that mattered was getting within range of Voldemort so he could kill him and be done with all this. The cloak would give him the kind of strategic advantage Severus seemed to think Harry had no idea about.

Lure Voldemort in, then whip on the cloak when Harry was sure he was coming. Strike with surprise, after all.

Of course, if Death Eaters came to get him, instead of Voldemort himself, Harry would have to re-think his plan. But he'd always been pretty good at thinking on his feet.

Brandishing his wand, Harry pulled Severus' powers into himself, just enough to be sure this would work. The moment he was certain he had enough magic to force the issue, he cancelled the alarm spells Severus had placed on the trunk.

Then he popped open the trunk itself, and gathered the invisibility cloak into his hands. It fell between his fingers like thinnest silk, reminding him of that magical first day when he'd first laid eyes on it. Christmas . . .

It seemed so long ago. And the memory of himself . . . he'd been such a child.

No longer, though. He was an adult, now. A full adult, in every way. He had only to think of himself in bed with Severus to have that brought fully home.

Harry smiled, a little bit grimly. As good as sex was, now, it was still overshadowed by the knowledge that he had to do it. That his mission in life was to do it, so that in return, he could access Severus' powers and hurl them at Voldemort. It would be nice, later, to be free of that.

Of course, he would never be free in the strictest sense of the word, but at least he would be free from knowing that the fate of the world rested on his shoulders.

Or more accurately, on his arse.

Harry wrapped the cloak around his shoulders until just his head showed, and started pondering just where he could show his face, so to speak, in order to catch Voldemort's attention.

"Accio invisibility cloak!"

Harry tried to grab the cloak as it began to slide from his shoulders, but Severus' summoning charm was too strong for that to do much good.

Silence filled the room after that, broken only by the harsh sound of Severus' breathing, until Harry finally turned to look at him.

The other man's expression was tight. Almost skeletal, skin stretched taut over cheekbones. Skin that was oddly splotchy instead of its usual pale colour.

Severus looked furious. Even more so than over the Dragon's Happy, and that was really saying something.

"What," he finally hissed, "did you think you were doing?"

I was just looking at it . . . Harry had enough presence of mind to leave the lie unsaid. Instead, he took refuge in anger of his own. "I was planning some strategy, if you must know!"

"Oh, yes," said Severus scornfully. "You're so good at that, too. So much so that you forgot I'd warded the trunk so I'd know if you started in on any daft ideas."

"I Finite'd the alarm spells--"

"Forgetting that you can't do magic I disapprove of!"

Harry stilled. His Finite had failed? Well, that explained how Severus had known what Harry was up to. All told, it hardly helped Harry feel any better about the whole thing. And being informed that he was stupid definitely didn't help. "I didn't forget! I figured my new powers would make hash of your stupid restrictions!"

"They aren't your powers." Severus' eyes glittered. "They're mine, and you can't use them against me. This is just what I was talking about before, Harry. You still have limits, little though you seem to realise that fact!"

Limits. Harry wanted to start throwing things. So Severus was in charge! Of Harry, of his magic, of everything. Well, if he liked having all that authority so much, he could damned well start putting it to good use!

"Fine!" shouted Harry, fed up. "You're such a master strategist, eh? Then you come up with something! Because I'm not going to wait about for him to kill someone else, is that goddamned good and clear? You'll have to Compulsio me to keep me here, and I swear, Severus, I swear, if that fucking list of yours gets one more nameadded to it because you locked me up when I could have been out killing him, then you can wank in the shower for the rest of your damned life, for all I'll care! You'llnever have me again. Never, got that? Well, do you?"

Severus lips pulled back until they were white. "Using sex as a bargaining tool after all, aren't you, then?"

"No, I'm just not going to be in the mood to sleep with you, ever again, if you make me even more of a murderer than I already am--"

"Oh, for Merlin's sake!" Hurling the invisibility cloak back into the trunk, Severus slammed it with one flick of his wand and then banished the entire trunk.

Bastard, thought Harry. Fucking bastard--

He didn't get a chance to say anything, though. Severus' next move was to grab him by the upper arm, his grip so fierce it hurt, not that Harry cared.

"You aren't a murderer, though I'm quickly revising my estimate of your intelligence!"

"Oh, like you ever really thought I had any!" shouted Harry. "Well? Well? If you're so clever, you solve it! Get me to Voldemort so I can blast his scrawny arse apart!Now!"

Harry was shocked beyond words when Severus hauled him over to the Floo. As it turned out, though, they weren't going to Little Hangleton or some other stronghold of Voldemort's.

"Headmaster's Office," said Severus through clenched teeth as he flung down the powder that would take them there.

Monday, December 28, 1998 ---- 9:19 a.m.

"Harry, Severus," said Albus, his forehead wrinkling slightly as he looked up from the parchments covering his desk. "You look as though there's something wrong?"

Understatement of the century, thought Severus, still fuming from Harry's outburst, not to mention his asinine idea of strategy. An invisibility cloak, honestly. Against the Dark Lord.

Severus wanted to shake Harry until his teeth rattled. Though another part of him, a darker part, wanted instead to throw Harry across a bed and hold him down by force and thrust and thrust and thrust until Harry admitted that he belonged to Severus, that he'd do what Severus said . . .

Severus did his best to mask all that from his expression. It certainly wouldn't help the situation if Harry saw the hunger in Severus' eyes, saw it for what it was.

"You're damned right something's wrong!" shouted Harry, his stance announcing to all the world that he was just spoiling for a fight. Even his fists were clenched. "I can cave in whole sections of Scotland and make lakes appear, for God's sake, but apparently I can't decide for myself that it's time I put an end to Voldemort!"

"Ah," said Albus slowly, nodding his head as he stood up. His gaze swiftly met Severus', before he turned his attention entirely to Harry. "You're correct, of course. It is time."

Harry turned an ugly expression toward Severus. An I-told-you-so expression. "Ha, I knew it. So that's it, then. I'll be off--"

Albus raised a hand, fingers splayed, his voice as calm as Harry's was frantic. "A moment, please. What is your plan?"

Harry scoffed, actually scoffed.

Severus clenched his own fists, then. Forget throwing Harry across a bed. Such blatant disrespect towards the headmaster made him want to throw Harry across hislap, and smack his bare arse until he begged Albus' pardon.

Definitely, not an option.

"Do you know where Voldemort might be?" continued Albus, still in that same soothing voice. Severus frowned, because it had just come to him that Albus had used that exact tone with him, at times.

"No," said Harry, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "No, I don't, and what's more, I don't care where the fuck he is."

"Harry!"

"Oh, go straight to hell," spat Harry, without missing a beat. Then he was glaring at Albus again. "I'll start at Little Hangleton and let myself be seen, you know? And if that doesn't work, I'll stand about on street corners and shout that Voldemort's a goddamned coward afraid to face me. It shouldn't take long for word to reach him." Harry's glare was almost searing as he turned it once more to Severus. "I'd even have an invisibility cloak to hide in, after that, if somebody hadn't banished it!"

"I can't think that's the best way to approach the problem," said Albus, coming out from behind his desk to stand closer to them both.

"There's nothing wrong with my strategy!" shouted Harry.

Severus had a sudden memory of Albus telling him about Harry going into a rage and destroying half the contents of this office. He could see how easily that could happen. Harry didn't seem to lose his temper very often, but when he did . . .

Definitely, it was time to take his mammoth over-confidence down a notch. Or several. "You have so little sense of strategy that you never even noticed that I knew what you were planning. Or did you think it a coincidence that I summoned that cloak the moment you'd put it on?"

"The alarm spell summoned you, you mean!"

"I mean that I never even went into my laboratory! I merely took a few steps down the hallway, until I was out of sight."

"Oh, you did not--"

"I know what I'm doing, all right," mimicked Severus, not caring that his tone made Harry's eyes darken with anger. "Do you really think, really, that I couldn't see through the evasive way you were answering my questions? I stepped away so I could see just what you had in mind to do! And I must say, it was as about as brainless as any of your Gryffindor stunts!"

"Severus," said Albus quietly, giving a small shake of his head.

If Harry noticed that the headmaster was trying to say something, he didn't let it show. "Yeah, go on, then, call me stupid! Now there's a good strategy, right before I have to fight the darkest wizard alive, make me think I'm too brainless to figure out how to do it!"

"I didn't say you were brainless. I said your action was, and it was!"

"Well, like I said before, then you tell me what would help defeat him!"

Severus' voice went cold. Frosty, in fact. "Pleasing me would help, as you know. And you haven't been doing that this morning, have you? If you aren't careful, you might find yourself lacking your impressive powers when you come face to face with the Dark Lord."

As an attempt to get through Harry's stubbornness, that failed. Rather spectacularly.

"Well, then, I'll just have to let you ream my arse out right before I go, won't I?" yelled Harry, obviously too incensed to remember that they weren't alone. "Sincepleasing your god-awful huge cock is all you really care about!"

Severus saw red. Literally, a wash of crimson filming across his eyes to obscure his vision. Harry again threatening to use sex against him . . . to use Severus' desire to get his own foolish way . . . Harry manipulating him . . . And if that wasn't bad enough, doing it in front of Albus! Revealing what Severus liked to do in bed, revealing the size of his cock, to Albus!

Severus didn't think he'd ever been more horrified or embarrassed. But worst of all was what this could mean to the slavery contract. Harry was coming perilously close to breaking the clause about not discussing intimate details, and he didn't appear even to have noticed!

Or perhaps he thought he had a dire need, but Severus didn't think so. He wasn't going to put up with this. Not for an instant. If Harry couldn't use better judgement on his own, then Severus would have to make him.

He drew his wand and said the word without hesitating in the slightest. "Compulsio."

Harry closed his eyes, clenching them like he could force the spell away from him. Like he was trying to, actually. But of course that was impossible.

"Oh, Severus. Surely you needn't--"

"Oh, yes, I do," interrupted Severus. Normally he wouldn't show such discourtesy to Albus, but as Harry was making clear, these weren't normal times. "You heard him. When it comes to this issue, he's completely lost his mind. He won't listen to a word I say."

Harry kept his eyes clenched tightly shut as he parted his lips on a low hiss of pain.

It hurt Severus to hear that noise, but this was too important for him to let emotion overrule reason.

"I hate you," said Harry finally, the words taut and cold, his green eyes a glare of despair when he opened them.

Hearing the words hurt, too. And they fuelled Severus' anger. Because this was just one more way to manipulate him, wasn't it? He didn't know how much Harry had ever guessed about Severus' own feelings toward him, but this was an indication that Harry might have guessed more than Severus wanted him to know.

"I don't care how much you hate me," said Severus, crossing his arms over his chest. "You're to stay here at Hogwarts, inside the castle, unless I give you specific permission to leave it. And you're to speak with respect to the headmaster in future!"

Harry's lips twisted. "Can I still say I hate you, or are you about to issue a . . . an edict about that, too?"

"Severus," said Albus, very quietly that time. "I'm entirely capable of fending for myself. Verbally, and in every other way. I insist you lift that last restriction."

Severus almost gnashed his teeth. Albus' calm only highlighted his own roaring anger. By then, though, even he could see that his last command probably had crossed the line. Albus didn't need Severus to protect him.

Severus muttered something under his breath.

"What's that?" snarled Harry. "I don't think Compulsio heard you. Because I certainly didn't, oh lord and Master!"

Severus' original wording seemed to sail completely away from him. "Feel free to spew as much vitriol as you like at the headmaster! But don't blame me if the spell ends up punishing you if you keep on discussing intimate details!"

Well, it seemed that that had got through to Harry. Some, at least. About time. He finally shut up. Actually, he swayed on his feet and looked a bit sick, all of a sudden. Obviously, he'd just realised how close he'd come to finding out how the contract would punish another breach of its terms.

So watch your mouth, Severus thought, clenching his teeth. He still could barely believe that Harry had lost his temper enough to yell those things.

"Perhaps we should all sit down," said Albus his voice mild on the surface, but with a core of iron beneath the friendly tones. It was the sort of tone Severus had learned to heed.

He sat at once, and so did Harry, though Harry made a show of twisting in his chair so he was turned as far away as possible from Severus.

Could he possibly be any more childish?

Instead of sitting behind his desk, Albus summoned his chair closer, and with a small twist of his wand, made Harry and Severus' chairs spin around to face his.

Severus hid a smile, since the manoeuvre had caused Harry to suddenly be leaning towards Severus rather away from him.

With a scowl, Harry suddenly sat up straight.

"Now," said Albus, his tones bracing. "I believe we all need to come to a better understanding."

Oh, no, we don’t, thought Severus. He understood everything perfectly. Harry was a handsome young man definitely not above using sex as a weapon, and what was more, he hated Severus now. And none of that really mattered, because at least with Compulsio in force, he couldn't leave and get himself killed before they'd figured out how best to utilize their crossed powers.

"I understand everything perfectly," said Harry in a sniping voice, startling Severus with the way he'd used the same words Severus had just been thinking. "Snape here is a domineering bastard who's going to kill off my best chance yet of ending this war before things get any worse. And if anybody else gets Crucio'd to death,he's the one to blame for it, not me. Because I can't fucking well go fight Voldemort, not now. So there."

"Perhaps you should thank him for lifting that burden from your shoulders, rather than call him names."

Harry's eyes went wide, his mouth dropping open in obvious shock. Which went to show, didn't it, how much he was speaking without thinking, this morning.

"My own understanding of the situation is rather different from yours, Harry," continued Albus in a pleasant voice. "You're naturally alarmed at the idea that Voldemort may kill additional people if you don’t act immediately. I would think you could understand Severus' alarm that Voldemort may kill you if you act too rashly. Hmm?"

"That's not the same thing--"

"Oh, yes, indeed it is. Or do you think Severus would not suffer any guilt if he had the power to stop you and failed to use it, and you died as a result?"

Harry slumped in his chair. "Yeah, fine. Whatever. I see your point, all right? But it doesn't change anything. I have to go do this, and I can't just wait weeks or months more. I can't."

"One day," said Albus calmly. "A day in which to consider our options. And by the end of that time, we'll know how best to proceed. Can you wait a day, Harry?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Do I have a choice? I can't go anywhere!"

"Ah, but I'm intending to ask Severus to lift that restriction as well."

Severus immediately shook his head. "No. Out of the question, Headmaster. Not an hour ago he was doing his best to deceive me. A very poor best, at that--"

"No more insults, my boys." Albus beamed at both of them. "I know you get on better than that."

"Not any more--"

"Oh, do shut up," said Severus.

"Or you'll make me--"

"No, he won't," Albus said. "But you must understand, Harry, that you've put Severus in a terrible position. I agree with him that your stand-on-street-corners plan is misguided in the extreme. I am asking you, as a personal favour to me, to agree to wait until I've had time to consider our options. A day at the most, as I said."

"What, you'll make him get rid of the compulsion charm if I say I'll wait a day?"

"I can hardly make him do that, Harry. As you know. No, I'm asking you a favour, as I said. It's up to you whether you're willing to grant it. Are you?"

Severus watched, a little bit awed as calm blue eyes challenged angry green ones. Albus had a way with people, there was no doubt of that. It was a skill Severus had never mastered, had never bothered to try acquiring, even. Harry wasn't the only one with limits.

"Oh, all right," said Harry finally, dropping his gaze. "One day. Though I can't see what difference one day could make."

"Oh, you'd be surprised how much can change in a day." Albus' tone was actually jolly, that time, which told Severus one thing: the headmaster had already decided on a course of action. And a day would be enough to put his plan into action.

Not that Severus had the slightest idea what that plan might be.

"Now, Severus," said Albus, turning to him.

Here it comes, thought Severus grimly. He wished the old man wouldn't ask. But of course, he did ask.

"Are you willing to cancel the spell you cast against Harry?"

Against. Severus liked that! He'd cast it for Harry, if anything. "I--"

"As a personal favour to me," interrupted the headmaster. "In recognition of one or two small things I may have done for you over the years."

Albus' gaze was like steel, by then, as he stared straight at Severus and laid it on thick. Small things. Severus might not have a way with people, but he had a very good grasp of the spoken word, and there was no doubt as to which small things Albus was referring. The headmaster had taken him in, given him a place of refuge and a way to earn a living, after Severus had betrayed everything Albus had ever believed in.

How could Severus refuse his request, considering all that?

But how could he grant it, knowing what it might ultimately mean for Harry?

"He'll leave," Severus finally said, his voice thick with emotion. Swallowing, he tried to damp that down. He wanted to be in control of himself again. This whole business of . . . of caring for someone else, was really quite bothersome. Particularly when he cared not only about Harry, but also about what Albus thought of him.

"I suppose you must trust him, Severus."

"I can't, not in this regard. Not after this morning--"

"Trust him, as he has trusted you."

"Yeah, that's right," said Harry, his voice raised though he wasn't yelling any longer. "You know how much I've trusted your sorry arse! I said I'd wait a day, and I'll do it, and I'd think you'd have at least a little respect for me, after all I've done to make this slavery thing work out--"

"I have done quite a lot as well, you realise," said Severus, lifting his chin.

"Fine, you have," admitted Harry, lifting his own chin, just as much. "But the difference is, I trusted you even when it was really hard to do it. Am I not worth the same consideration?"

Put like that . . . Severus couldn't answer no.

What he wanted to do instead was ask Harry a series of point-blank questions. Ones he couldn't evade with clever phrases. Will you stay here in the castle at all times, for the next day, until Albus explains his plan? Will you?

He wanted to ask that, and then wait for the pulse of energy coursing through his head. He wanted to ask, and see if Harry would lie in reply.

But that would hardly demonstrate trust, which was what Harry was asking of him.

Harry, and Albus both.

"Finite Incantatem," said Severus, weary by then. "There. You're under no more compulsion. And I pray Merlin that's not the worst mistake I've ever made."

"Oh, no, no, no need to implore Merlin," said Albus, rising to his feet. "We can trust young Harry, you and I. Now, I shall need some time to consider matters, as I said--"

Pity he didn't have a mind-bond with Albus, Severus thought. Not that he needed one. He recognised that as a lie. Albus didn't need to consider a thing. He already had some kind of scheme in mind, to use Harry's crossed powers to best advantage. But clearly, Albus wasn't ready to discuss his plan quite yet.

"I believe the best thing you and Harry can do," continued the headmaster, "is go back home and patch this all up. We do want to keep his twice-filled powers at their absolute peak of strength, of course, of course. I'm sure you two are more than capable of spending the next day or so doing whatever it takes to achieve that." The old man's infernal eyes actually began to twinkle, then. "Why, you might even enjoy it."

Severus ground his teeth together, but Harry, who had less experience with Albus' wiliness, actually gaped.

"I'll leave you to it, then," said Albus, smiling ear to ear, the interfering old busybody. "Since I've quite a lot to do."

With that, he calmly walked across his office and stepped out the door.

Harry made a sputtering noise. In other circumstances, it would have been quite an amusing sound. "Did he-- did he-- oh, my God. Did the headmaster just order us, more or less, to spend the entire day having sex?"

"And enjoying it," quipped Severus, deciding he might as well find humour in the situation. "And for the record, a day is really a day and a night. Shall we begin?"

"Serve him right if we begin right here! But you know, I'm still pretty angry at you. I don't really want to--"

"Yes, and I'm angry at you," said Severus calmly. "Though I wouldn't claim to hate you over it. But Harry, if Albus only asked you for a day, it's because he has something in mind that will have you facing the Dark Lord by the end of that time."

"You think?"

"I'm certain of it." Part of Severus hated even saying it. He realised then and there that he didn't want Harry in harm's way. No matter that if the battle were properly planned, Harry would probably emerge victorious. The small chance of something going wrong was enough to make Severus wish Harry would never fight the Dark Lord.

But Harry, of course, couldn't live like that. This morning was proof of it. Harry needed the war to be over.

And if Harry needed that . . . then Severus needed it, too.

"Oh." Harry swallowed. "I guess we really do need to patch things up, then. I mean, have sex. I still don't want to, though."

"Let's see about changing that. You can top."

"No . . . I'd better not. You know why." Harry laid a hand on Severus' arm. "I guess I don't really hate you, either. Sorry about that. I just . . . I just can't stand this. Allthat power, and what good is it if I don't do something?"

"I know," said Severus. When before he'd wanted to deflate Harry's confidence, he now found he wanted to restore it. "It will be all right, Harry. Albus will come through for you. For us. And until he does, all we can do is . . ."

"Enjoy ourselves patching things up." Harry smiled, then. "All right. Let's get busy, I guess."

Let's get busy. Severus would never have put it that way, but he understood.

Nodding, he took Harry by the hand and walked, side by side, with him to the Floo.

Tuesday, December 29, 1998 ---- 6:12 a.m.

Harry sat up and reached for his wand to cast Tempus.

"It's ten minutes since the last time you checked, and twenty since the time before that," said Severus, shaking his head. "Albus will let us know when he's ready for us."

"Yeah, well he's only got about three more hours before his one day is up," said Harry in a hard voice. An ominous voice. Severus didn't like the sound of it. But then it seemed to soften. "Oh, well. Three hours is long enough for one more go-round, I suppose--"

Severus shook his head again as he sat up enough to lean on one arm. "I'm afraid you've finally done it. You've wrung me dry."

Harry turned in bed to stare at him. "Oh, I'm sure I could get one more orgasm out of you if I really put my mind to it."

"You did that at approximately four this morning," said Severus dryly. "Amazing, after the way we spent the day, yesterday. But anything more now will only be painful. Trust me. A man knows."

Harry smirked. "Does he? I could still go again. If I had to."

"Do you want to?"

The smirk faded to something more like a normal smile. "No, not really. It has been something else, though, the past day and night. Sort of like a buffet of sex. Well,good." Harry extended an arm and waved his wand in intricate motions. "I want to be ready."

Severus fought back his urge to say something discouraging. He wanted Harry to be ready, too. He wanted him to end the war, he did.

He just didn't want him to have to fight the Dark Lord to do it.

Fragments of Harry's earlier complaints rang through his memory. I was useless in that graveyard, Severus . . . I'd have been a goner if not for my parents . . .

No, no, Severus sternly told himself. Cambiare is the key. He'd told Harry to lean on that, but only now was Severus realising that he had to rely on it just as much. They'd done everything required to invoke and mature the spell. Harry had twice-filled powers now, and with his innate magical talent, he already knew how to use them. The prophecy had promised that those powers would enable Harry to defeat the Dark Lord.

The same prophecy that predicted the birthday attack that never happened?

Severus forced the question away, but it just kept coming back to him, in different forms.

The prophecy Trelawney gave? Trelawney, who can hardly tell the difference between a salt cellar and a crystal ball? You're trusting Harry's life to that charlatan?What's wrong with you?

No, thought Severus desperately. He was trusting Albus, not Trelawney. Albus, who was at that very moment, finalising his plan for how they could best employ crossed powers. For how they could maintain the advantage of surprise . . .

All Severus really knew was that he couldn't think about the matter any more. What was, was.

"Perhaps a shower is in order," said Severus, rising from the bed. His legs ached when he stood, probably from tensing them too much as he'd lain there thinking.

Worrying.

"Yeah, shower and get dressed . . ." Harry trailed after him. "I wish the headmaster would come talk to us, already."

"He will, when he's ready."

Harry cast Tempus again. "Well, like I said, he's running out of time."

Tuesday, December 29, 1998 ---- 6:46 a.m.

"Looks good," said Harry as a plate appeared before him. It was positively crammed with food; he'd felt really hungry when he'd ordered. Probably because of all the magic practice he'd done out at the rock. Ever since then, he'd been eating a lot more than usual.

The first bite he took, though--bit of egg--seemed to turn his stomach almost inside out, even though he was starving. "I hate this."

"Facing the Dark Lord?"

"Ha." Harry hung his head in his hands, staring at the table. "I'm used to that. As much as anybody could be, I mean. No, I hate this waiting. I've never had to wait like this. I'd rather just . . . just . . ."

"Rush in where angels fear to tread," said Severus softly.

Harry looked up quickly, a bit annoyed. But then he saw the way those dark eyes were looking at him. No scorn, not this time. None at all. If anything, Severus was deeply concerned.

About Harry? About Harry's state of mind? About what would happen to him if Harry failed in his task, and Voldemort rose to full power?

Well, Severus was probably worried about all of that. Any normal person would be.

"It's easier to just rush in," said Harry thickly. " You don't have to sit and think about all of it. And . . . planning . . . " He gave a dry laugh. "It's a good thing we spent our time fucking, Severus. Because all planning does is make me second-guess myself. And third-guess myself. Until I can't even think straight. I need to be out there,doing. I'm not a planner."

Severus gave a sharp nod. "Well, I did say that if the hat put you in Gryffindor, it was because that was where you really belonged. And too . . . perhaps that's why the prophecy paired us, Harry. So you would have someone to stop you from rushing out. Someone to insist Albus be consulted about the matter."

Harry's lips twisted. "I thought it was because Voldemort had once given you that little bit of power that I was going to need on my birthday."

"Obviously not, since you didn't need it."

"Yeah--"

The noise of the Floo flaring to life cut off his words. Shoving back his chair, Harry ran to the front room to find Albus Dumbledore stepping calmly out of the hearth. "Harry, Severus," he said, nodding at each of them. "Forgive the intrusion, but I thought I'd better arrive here before the Prophet did."

Harry's heart went cold inside him. Oh, God. No, no. There'd been another attack, another fucking attack--

"No, no, nothing dire in the least," said Albus in a soothing voice. "Please do sit down, Harry. You look quite pale. I promise you, there's nothing to be alarmed about."

Harry sank down onto the settee. "No attack, you're sure?"

"No attack," said Albus gravely.

Blowing out a breath, Harry closed his eyes. On purpose. "Are you Legilimising me?"

"You wouldn't ask that if you'd seen the look on your own face."

Ha. A non-answer if Harry had ever heard one. Well, maybe that's where Severus had learned the trick. "What's this about the Prophet, then?"

When he opened his eyes, it was to see Albus smiling. "I'd have told you yesterday, but by the time I was sure they'd fallen for my ruse, it was rather late to pay a call."

"Oh, we were up late--" Harry abruptly shut up, remembering just what they had been doing, up so late. Yeah, it was better that the headmaster hadn't interrupted that. The only thing worse than accidentally yelling things about their sex life was having Albus come over when Harry and Severus had just been in the throes of it.

"There was no great rush," continued Albus in a kind voice that told Harry he'd entirely forgiven the ugly outburst in his office. "My ruse won't take effect until the morning edition is delivered 'round Britain, you see. Now, where was I? Ah, yes. The Prophet attempted several times to contact me last night, and I sent their owls back convinced that though I went to Belfast on holiday, and should be entirely easy to find, I appear to have vanished. With that little confirmation, I think they'll print the story I've devised."

"Albus, neither one of us has any idea what you're going on about," said Severus in an impatient voice. Sitting down next to Harry, he leaned forward, his hands clasped together. "Please do explain from the beginning."

"Ah, yes. Of course." Albus swept his glance over them both, then, and Harry thought he looked . . . speculative. Or maybe satisfied, since it was kind of obvious that they weren't at each other's throats any longer. "I sent a letter to the Prophet yesterday evening. A letter that purported to be from anonymous Death Eaters, claiming to have captured me."

Harry stared. "Come again?"

Severus, however, sat back suddenly, a low noise escaping through his teeth. "Yes. I see."

"You see what?"

"Strategy."

Oh. Harry suddenly saw the implications, too. "You wanted the Prophet to print that some Death Eaters have you--"

"Yes. A good thing they're so habitually irresponsible with their reporting."

Harry had never thought he would be glad of that, but he suddenly was. "My God. They get a letter claiming to have you in their control, and they didn't even report it to the Ministry?"

"They probably want an exclusive," said Snape, clearly disgusted. "They wouldn't want the Minister using the Wizarding Wireless to announce this before the morning run."

That sounded like the Prophet, all right. What arses. Well, enough of them. Harry got back to thinking about the plan. It lit up like a beacon inside him. "All right, so Voldemort's going to see the paper, and go into a rage that some of his followers have snatched you and haven't yet handed you over. He'll call a meeting to find out which of his Death Eaters have you, and Severus will feel the call, and Severus will be able to tell us where he is, so I can go there, already, and blast him to pieces!"

"Essentially, yes." Albus held up a hand, though. "I have a slightly different scenario in mind, however. We will go there, Harry. Together."

Harry looked away from his kind blue gaze, staring at the wall, and swallowed. His eyes felt like there was a little sand in them. Or something salty, at any rate, so he blinked until the pinprick sensation went away.

"It's not that I doubt your abilities," continued Albus in a soft voice.

Harry quickly turned back. "No, no, it's not that," he said, shaking his head. "I'm relieved to know you'll be there, too. I know what the prophecy says and all, but I keep reliving that time in the Ministry." He swallowed again. "I sure did need you, then. Actually, I've always needed help when it comes to Voldemort."

"Ah, but you have twice-filled powers, now. You won't need any more help than that. Of that much, I am certain."

Harry smiled, recognising the attempt to bolster him. Appreciating it.

"But I have been wrong before," Albus went on. "So I must be there, of course. I would not ask you to do this alone, Harry."

"Thanks. Be good to have someone watch my back." Harry nodded, liking the plan more and more. "Especially if we know we're heading into a meeting crawling with Death Eaters. I can probably take them all on, but there's still such a thing as a lucky shot." He sighed, something occurring to him. "I'd want Severus there too, really. Except, that's not such a good idea. I guess he told you about the way it affects him when I cast with crossed powers?"

"Oh, yes. I understand he loses his magic, temporarily, while you borrow it? Absolutely, Severus must remain within the protection of the castle's wards."

"It's not just that he loses magic. He also gets dizzy and can hardly stand--"

"That's quite enough," Severus interrupted. "Neither one of you has the slightest idea what you're talking about."

Oh, that was too much. Harry knew that Severus wanted to help defeat Voldemort--look at how much he'd wanted to keep spying, even when it was obviously a bad idea! This was more of the same, but no matter what Severus wanted, it was completely stupid for him to be anywhere near the battle. He wouldn't be able to defend himself, not while Harry was using twice-filled powers! And Harry couldn't look out for him and defeat Voldemort. It was like he'd said before. He had to go into this with one goal. Without distractions.

"Look, you want to help and don't think I don't appreciate it," said Harry, grabbing one of Severus' hands. "But you have helped, all right? Cambiare is the key is almost a joke, if you think about it. You've been the key, Severus. You made this work. But now, you have to let me do the rest."

Severus' fingers squeezed his. "You made this work, too."

Harry nodded. "Fine. We're in it together, yes. But we can't be together when I confront Voldemort. You have to stay here, and don't say again that I don't know what I'm talking about. I've seen you get dizzy, collapse into a chair, practically faint--"

"Just how do you think my Dark Mark works?" Severus interrupted, glancing from Harry to Albus. "I can't tell you where a meeting is being held. I can only go there, when I feel the call. The Dark Lord pulls me to him."

"Oh, my." Albus began stroking his beard. "That does complicate matters."

"Considerably," said Severus dryly. "Particularly as I have every intention of surviving the war. I'm not eager to Apparate directly into a meeting and find myself helpless, once there. And I'm certainly not eager for my momentary weakness to distract Harry's attention at a crucial moment."

Harry let go of Severus' hand, and started tapping his fingers together as he thought. "Apparating directly into a meeting sounds bad, anyway. I'd rather skulk about a little bit and wait until it seems like a good time to surprise Voldemort. Er . . . can't you Apparate us most of the way there, and then miss by just a little bit?"

Severus raised an eyebrow. "I don't think so. He's the one drawing me there, once I Disapparate. To fall out of the Apparition early, I'd have to be a stronger wizard than he. And I'm not."

"But I am."

"So you are, Harry, so you are," said Albus in an approving tone. "Excellent notion, that. Severus can side-along you, and you can call a halt to the Apparition just before you sense it's about to end in any case. Do you think you can judge when, adequately?"

"Oh, sure. I even played around a little bit, already, with my twice-filled powers and Apparition. I can pull us out early--"

"You didn't play around with resisting the Dark Lord's ability to draw me near, or timing it precisely." Severus' voice sounded harsh. "Whatever you may have done at the rock, this is wholly untested magic."

"Well, it's the best plan we have," retorted Harry. "It's better than touching down in the middle of a meeting. At least this way, we have a hope of keeping you away from the thick of battle. As soon as I'm set, you can even Apparate yourself right back to the edge of Hogwarts, and leave Albus and me to it."

"Yes, perhaps I'll catch up on my reading!" snapped Severus. "I may not be able to help you fight, considering the limits of the enchantment binding us, but you're insane if you think I have any intention of abandoning you to your fate, whatever it may be! You may need help afterwards, or--"

"But Albus will be there," said Harry in what he thought was a reasonable tone. Huh. Severus must not have thought it was.

"Albus may fall in battle! Warfare by its very nature is unpredictable, something you would know if you'd mastered history instead of dropping the subject--"

"Now, now," said Albus, shaking his head. "I know you're worried about Harry, Severus, but do try not to take it out on him. I had already anticipated that it would be more than you could bear to simply wait matters out, not knowing how Harry was doing." Fishing in a pocket, he withdrew a small, square item wrapped in red silk and handed it to Severus. When Harry leaned over to peer into it, he saw that it was a mirror, currently showing a wide bookshelf, when it should have been reflecting Severus' own face.

Something shivered through Harry, then. He had a mirror like this, too. A broken one. This one, though, was working fine. "Where's the other half of the pair?"

Reaching up a hand, Albus touched one of the tiny crescent moons glittering on his conical hat.

A thin, elderly finger came into view on the mirror Severus was holding.

"Oh, all right." Harry smiled. "That'll work. It'll be almost like you're there with us, Severus. You'll be able to see everything the headmaster sees. And once it's all over, you can come join us if I need to get to a mediwitch or something. Because by then, you will know where to Apparate back to, right? It's perfect."

"No plan is ever that," said Severus, shoving the mirror into a pocket. His voice sounded strained. And maybe a little resentful. "But this is . . . adequate, I suppose."

Albus walked to Severus' side and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Sometimes it takes more courage to stand aside than to act, Severus. And your courage, I know, is not something I will ever have cause to doubt."

"Yeah, it's like you told me," said Harry earnestly. "You'd think submission is for the weak, but it takes strength to really submit completely."

Snape abruptly rose to his feet. "I don’t need all this mollycoddling. I'm perfectly happy to leave the heroics to fool-- to Gryffindors."

Sure he was, Harry thought. That explained why Severus had been so irate when he'd missed getting an Order of Merlin for capturing Sirius. Harry resolved then and there that Severus would get one, this time. First class.

"Of course, of course," said Albus, clearly not fooled either, since he slid a smile Harry's way. A I-think-we-both-understand-him smile.

Harry grinned back, then got back to the business at hand. "How are you going to follow us? Or did you want Severus to side-along you and me both?"

"A tracking charm should do quite nicely." Albus waved his wand, and one of Severus' buttons briefly glowed. "And now, I believe, there's nothing to do but wait."

Harry nodded as he stood up. "Want some breakfast? Or did you already eat?"

"I could do with a spot of tea. I've been too busy, this morning."

"Yes, what with dashing off letters to the Prophet and confunding owls," drawled Severus.

"Oh, you be nice," said Harry. Then, as they walked down the hallway to the dining alcove in the reading room, "That fairy-raised blend, Albus? Or something else?"

"Earl Black," Severus ordered for himself, tapping the table with a little more force than usual.

"Fairy-raised Javanese would be lovely," said Albus placidly as he conjured himself a chair. Sitting down, he patted his stomach. "But nothing else at the moment. A heavy meal seems to weigh me down, somehow. We can't have that. Not this morning."

"Well, I'm starving," said Harry. His plate from before had been cleared away by then, so as soon as the tea order was in, he went ahead and asked for another breakfast. "Three more eggs. Wait, no, make that a three-egg cheese omelette. Cheddar cheese. And three or four strips of bacon alongside. And a big carafe of pumpkin juice, and um . . . bowl of porridge sounds all right." When he looked up, it was to see the other men staring at him. "Hey, I do better on a full stomach. And the twice-filled powers make me need to eat a lot, so I figure to be at my best, I'd better stock up beforehand."

"Just stop before food comes pouring out your ears."

Harry laughed, feeling more positive than he had in days, really. What was more, he felt ready, now. Knowing that he wasn't going into this alone made all the difference.

He'd just about finished his breakfast when the Daily Prophet glimmered into existence onto the middle of the table. Severus had arranged for it to be redirected here instead of to the head table on weekends, as well as during the Yule holiday. Usually when it came, Harry would avert his eyes. He hated the articles they kept printing, the ones speculating that he was destined to save the whole world. His stomach felt like lead every time he saw one of those, and not just because he hated being the centre of attention. It was also the inescapable fact that what they were printing would all too soon become true, and everybody would find out about his staggering powers, and reporters would start digging and digging and digging . . . until somebody finally found that declaration of slavery that had been misfiled on purpose.

The only thing worse than being enslaved for life was the prospect of everybody knowing about it. All about it, because that stupid declaration had mentioned Cambiare Podentes by name. Rita Skeeter would dig until she knew every last detail about what that spell required of Harry.

Today's banner headline, though, wasn't about Harry at all.

DUMBLEDORE CAPTURED, the text screamed.

The photograph beneath it was more mundane: Dumbledore awarding last year's Quidditch Cup.

Since Voldemort hadn't called his followers, yet, Harry decided there was time to read the article. And since the other two were waiting, he read it out loud. Not that there was much at all to it. A letter had arrived by Floo at the offices of the Daily Prophet the previous evening, announcing that Death Eaters had attacked and subdued Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, while he was on holiday at a wizarding spa in Belfast. Attached to the letter had been a tattered hat. Purple with yellow crescents, the same one the headmaster was wearing in the photograph.

"Well done, Albus," said Severus when Harry had fallen silent. "Well done, indeed."

Harry laughed, a little nervously. "Are we sure dark lords read the dailies, though?"

"One of his faithful will tell him of this, if by chance he doesn't read it for himself."

"Yeah. Obviously. Well, I guess there's nothing to do now, but wait."

Severus rolled up his sleeve and glanced down at his Dark Mark. "Yes. Nothing to do but wait."