Dark Times

Severus watched Harry become increasingly restless as the weeks wore on. He was inattentive and often miles away when he was in fact within the same room as Severus. Harry mastered the spells that he was taught with an ease that made Severus search for more difficult ones, most of which were illegal: what some would consider to be Dark magic. Teaching and learning these spells could cost both of them time in Azkaban if the Wizengamot ever found out.

But the time for niceties was over; it had come and gone like the winds of autumn before the cold snows of winter sets in. Voldemort was not concerned with the use of legal spells, and most of the attacks that the Order had not managed to stop were brutal and twisted just like the Death Eaters that had performed the acts themselves.

Severus himself was restless, though he had many years on Harry to perfect the art of staying still and listening to everything that was going on around him. He was a spy; though no longer the main spy for the Order, he was the longest surviving one and spies don't usually grow old and grey without perfecting their art. Severus knew he was very good at what he did.

Voldemort's calls were coming closer together. The Dark Lord was erratic in his decision making, and he noticed for the first time that he was beginning to lose the faith of his followers.

Severus had not heard from Draco, but he had seen him standing behind Lucius at last night's calling. He had almost made up some business to talk to Lucius about, just to be closer to his godson and ascertain for himself that he was in good health. In the end he had thought better of it. He knew he had to be patient, wait for the signal from Draco and hope for the best, but as the days wore on, and the temperatures dropped, he found himself taking his frustration out on Harry.

"Will you stop wool-gathering and pay attention?" Severus snapped, holding his wand out from his body.

Harry shot him a withering glance as he suddenly threw his wand to the floor.

"I am sick of this waiting. The summer has come and gone with no word from Draco. The students are back in the castle. When are we going to finish this war so that I can have a life?" he spoke harshly to Severus.

"Well then, by all means, why don't you march up to the Headmaster's office, and tell him that you are off to find the Dark Lord and finish him because you are bored." Severus raised an eyebrow as he looked down his nose at Harry.

"I have spent the better half of my life trying to do just that. But by all means..." Severus swept his arm in a motion towards the door, "go and get yourself killed. Better men than you have tried and failed at bringing down the Dark Lord. But what do I care? Which ever side is victorious, I come out smelling of roses."

Harry eyes widened.

"You wouldn't!" he exclaimed, his voice revealing the shock that Severus's proclamation had made.

"Wouldn't what, Potter? Don't forget for a single moment that I am Slytherin. We are a self serving lot who look out for themselves first and foremost." Severus crossed his arms, his wand still firmly held within his right hand.

Harry deflated; he hunched his shoulders and looked at the ground. Not lifting his head, he whispered, "You wouldn't leave me like that."

There was such anguish in his voice that Severus had to stop himself from taking a step backwards. He walked over to Harry and placed his left hand on the young man's shoulder.

"No," was all he replied.

Harry straightened up, lifting his head to look into Severus's eyes. A look of absolute trust overcame his face as he smiled at the dark-haired wizard.

"But if you don't learn these spells, it won't be me leaving you, it will be you leaving me," Severus said as he took his hand off Harry's shoulder.

Harry made his way over to his wand and bent over to pick it up. Severus sent a stinging hex in his direction.

Harry yelped and spun around, his wand held in his right hand as his left hand was rubbing his backside.

"Ow, that smarts."

"It will teach you to never turn your back on your opponent," Severus said with a grin.

Harry mumbled something under his breath as he went to stand before Severus once more.

"Shall we begin?" Severus asked.

Harry just nodded his head once, still rubbing his stinging bum.

***

Drip, drip, drip.

Her blood hit the stone floor at regular intervals. She was counting the drips, trying to make out patterns in the crimson pool. So far she had counted one hundred and seven drips. She tried to inch her arm a little lower so as to finish the pattern. To her it looked like a dog, and she wanted to make a tail for the creature.

Her master was cutting into her back again. She lay over the small bed he had placed in the centre of her cell as she felt the sharp sting of the knife as he carved into her flesh. It didn't hurt any more, not really, but he still liked to hear her scream whilst he did this. So she screamed, long and loud, for his pleasure.

He would come to her cell, take what he wanted, and then he would torture her for his own gratification. Sometimes he would torture her first, and he had said that he liked to feel her blood covering his body as he entered her.

She liked the knife best, as he would be careful to make only shallow cuts in her back and arms. She hated the whip, acid and flail.

A shiver ran up her back as she thought of this. Her master must have noticed and paused in his attention to her thighs.

"Had enough, my pet?" he asked, though she knew he didn't really care about the answer.

'No, Master,' she swiftly replied in his mind.

"Very well." He continued to slice her skin open on the back of her thighs, being careful not to make the cuts too deep, otherwise the spell that surrounded the cell would engage and cut his fun short.

She screamed.

As he made his way towards her inner thigh, he paused once more, tilting his head to the side slightly. His eyes were focused on a point somewhere over her left shoulder as he whispered, "The Dark Lord wants to come here and check on you."

She stopped in her bloody mission, the creature's tail halfway done, and looked over her right shoulder. She noticed the knife was shaking in his hand.

"He says it's almost time," he continued, his voice holding the barest hint of trepidation. "He wants to take you away from me, but I can never allow that." Lucius shook himself as though he were coming out of a trance. He looked directly at her then and grinned maliciously.

"No, I can't allow that," he stated again, this time more fiercely as he brought the knife down once more and continued to make her scream.

A whispered spell, and a thin piece of metal wire made its way around her throat, above the metal collar, and snugly tightening against her windpipe. Pausing in her screams, she tried to collect as much air into her lungs before the wire cut off her air supply.

Lucius continued to slice into the delicate area of her upper inner thighs. Suddenly he paused, the knife clattering to the ground. He laid his hands on her back, smearing the blood all over her, coating his own hands with her mudblood. Although it looked no different from his own, he knew that it was tainted, just as the woman beneath him was.

He quickly Vanished his clothing and breathed a sigh of relief as his restricted erection sprang free. It jutted out, surrounded by a nest of blond pubic hairs. He brought both hands down off her back and stroked his penis with his blood-covered hands, moaning at the delicious friction it caused. Closing his eyes for a second as his hands wandered over his balls, he quickly made a grab for the Mudblood, gripping her thighs and yanking her half off the bed she was on until her feet touched the ground.

She made no noise; she was, after all, used to being handled in this way, only becoming like a limp rag doll. Lucius growled out his evident arousal before quickly slamming into her wet hole and pumping erratically.

His hands were gripping her hips tightly, fingernails digging into her side. She was sure she would feel the non existent bruises later. The piece of metal wire was oh so slowly cutting into her neck, and she thought she would pass out before her master even came.

She tried to hold on, really she did, for she knew what would happen to her if she did not. But in the end the oxygen depletion was too much for her, but she thought she heard him roar out his completion before she lost consciousness.

***

Ron burst into Harry's rooms, breathing heavily as he scanned the room for his best mate.

"Harry?" he yelled out, half doubled over from his race to find him.

"Harry!" he yelled again, this time walking towards the sitting room.

Harry heard Ron calling his name and cursed under his breath. Turning off the water in the shower, he opened the glass doors and stepped out.

Grabbing a towel, he wrapped it firmly around his waist before snatching up his glasses and shoving them onto his face. Opening the door, he stepped out into his bedroom. He caught the look of panic on Ron's face as he scanned the sitting room for Harry's presence.

"In here," Harry shouted and saw the look of relief cross Ron's face through the open doorway as he made his way into Harry's bedroom.

"They attacked Fred and George in their shop," Ron started, an infuriated look crossing his face; his hands were balled into fists at his side. His whole body screamed of tension.

"Slow down, Ron," Harry said, holding up both of his hands. "Are Fred and George okay?" he asked, dreading the answer but wanting to know nonetheless.

"Yeah, yeah, but those bastards burnt down their shop," Ron went on, not noticing that the apprehension had faded away from Harry's frame as he gestured wildly, running his hands through his red hair.

"How'd they get out?" Harry asked, noticing now that he was dripping all over the floor.

"They were in their store closing up for the night when they heard the pop of someone Apparating into their shop. At first they thought it was a member of the Order, you know, with important business, but their Sneakoscopes started to go crazy so they Disapparated straight to the Burrow.

"Everyone's upstairs. Dumbledore's called an emergency meeting of the Order. He sent me down here to get you," Ron finished, finally looking up to see Harry standing there, dripping wet, breathing heavily like he'd just been the one to run all the way from the front gates.

"So, when you're ready we can go." Ron broke the silence. He saw the gleam in Harry's eye, and it made him uncomfortable.

"Harry?" Ron said, taking a small step forward and reaching out a hand to place on his shoulder.

Harry whirled around abruptly and stalked back into the bathroom and slammed the door.

Ron just stood there, his arm still outstretched. He dropped it suddenly to his side. He wasn't sure what was up with Harry, but he was determined to find out.

Making his way over to the closed bathroom door, he leant his whole body against it, holding his breath as he concentrated. Hearing a loud smash, and then the unmistakable sound of glass breaking, he jumped back from the door; his heart was pounding in his chest.

"Are you all right in there, Harry?" he asked, his voice holding a tinge of uncertainty.

"Yeah, give me a sec," Harry's muffled reply came from behind the closed door.

Ron let out his breath. He had never seen Harry like this, and it scared him somewhat. He had thought Harry would have been overjoyed that Fred and George had managed to get out in time and that no one was hurt, but seeing that look in Harry's eyes had terrified Ron. He knew he hadn't spent much time with his best friend, but he had been so busy; they all had.

Just then the door opened, and Harry stepped out, breaking Ron musings.

"You ready then?" Ron asked as he looked into his friend's eyes.

Harry just nodded his head and made his way to the door.

"Just give me a sec to grab my Invisibility Cloak," he said, not stopping as he made his way into the sitting room.

Ron's reply died on his lips as his eyes looked at the still ajar bathroom door. Inching closer, his eyes took a look inside, and he held back the strangled yelp that threatened to escape his throat. Looking around the bathroom, he saw that the glass doors to the shower had exploded, and the mirror above the vanity had suffered the same fate. There was glass covering the tiled floor but not a drop of blood, which meant that Harry had not been hurt by his outbreak of uncontrollable magic.

"All ready, Ron," Harry voice called out from the sitting room.

Ron swallowed nervously before he turned around and went to join Harry.

"Yeah," he replied, smiling faintly at Harry.

"Well then, let's get this over with," Harry said, lifting the Invisibility Cloak over his head before he disappeared in front of Ron.

Ron followed Harry out of the room, making sure to close the door to Harry's quarters behind him.

***

Everyone was assembled around the large table when Harry and Ron entered the room. All discussion stopped as the occupants of the room turned as one to face the door.

Harry whipped off the Invisibility Cloak before bunching it up in his arms and making his way over to the opposite side of the table next to Severus and Dumbledore. Ron followed close on his heels and, as they took their seats, Harry's eyes took in all of those present. He didn't notice Draco, but then mentally slapped his forehead as he realised that Dumbledore would not out his current spy, not even to the Order.

Both the twins were openly grinning at him, whilst Mrs Weasley sat beside Fred...or was it George? Harry never could tell...wiping some soot off his cheek with a handkerchief.

Harry was startled by Tonks's appearance. Her hair was not its usual vibrant colour; in fact, she looked quite ordinary with plain, brownish hair, and Harry had to look closely to see the lines of worry etched into her usually cheerful face. Harry had never seen her look so haggard and worn thin.

Mad-Eye Moody was sitting a couple of spaces down from Tonks; he too looked worried, though he held himself straight as a lamppost. The only sign of his agitation was his magical eye spinning wildly around in it socket, never once landing on anything for more than a split second before whirling once more.

Kingsley was there too; the big bald man, although formidable, today looked as tired as the rest of them.

What have they all been up to while I have been safely hiding out here at Hogwarts? Harry thought to himself, but didn't have any more time to ponder as Albus Dumbledore, the leader of the Order, opened the meeting.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," the headmaster said as he looked upon the room. There were nods of heads and small smiles on faces.

"As you all know, I do not call you all unless something big has happened. Today Fred and George Weasley's shop was attacked by Death Eaters." A couple of startled cries rang out as all attention turned towards the twins, who were both grinning. "Although as you see they are both fine, unfortunately their shop was burnt to the ground," Dumbledore continued. "They both managed to Apparate to the Burrow, from where I was contacted immediately. Tom has chosen his targets well, and I am fearful about who will be next on his agenda. If I could keep you all safe I would, but regrettably, I cannot."

The aging headmaster sighed. Harry saw that he too looked worn-out. This war was affecting all of them, slowly eating away at them until they looked like echoes of their former selves.

Why was he sitting around when he should be out there destroying Voldemort? Wasn't he ready? His thoughts were disrupted once more as Dumbledore spoke again.

"Tom has continually been striking at us where it hurts the most, and although he has made no big show yet, I fear it is only a matter of time. It is time for us all to leave the safety of our homes and go to our nearest safe location. We have Grimmauld Place, the Burrow, which Molly has gracefully offered to any Order member, or here at Hogwarts itself."

At Dumbledore's announcement, everyone started talking at once; it was almost deafening. Mad-Eyes's voice was heard over the din of the other Order members, and Harry made out his protests as he stated that he was not a coward, he would not leave his house, and if the damn Death Eaters wanted him, then they could bloody well come and get him.

Albus held his hands up and everyone settled down.

"I know this is a lot to take in, but need I remind you what happened to the Creevy family during the summer break," Dumbledore said as he pushed his glasses from the tip of his nose up to the bridge.

Harry was dumbstruck. He felt as if he had been psychically assaulted and felt his breath leave his body in a whoosh. What had happened to Colin and Dennis Creevy and why wasn't he informed? He looked around the table and saw the nodding of heads and general assent. He tried to catch Ron's eye, but Ron quickly ducked his head and turned to his father and started whispering close to his ear.

A look of fury crossed Harry's face. So everyone knew except for him. He was about to speak up and demand answers, but Severus laid a hand on his arm, which was under the table, and he looked over to see him shake his head slightly. He would insist on knowing the truth after the meeting, and if the dark man held anything back there would be plenty of hexing taking place in the dungeons later. Why was everyone keeping him in the dark? Did they think he couldn't handle the truth? Well, he would show them all.

Harry took a few deep breaths and tried to rein in his mounting anger. He felt Severus squeeze his arm before moving his hand away. Now was not the time to lose it.

Tonks stood, and all heads turned in her direction as she cleared her throat.

"The werewolves to the North need an out. Fenrir Greyback has been coming down on them hard; he even killed a few of the lesser wolves to prove a point. They are all scared of him and just want to be left alone, but since that is no longer an option, I was hoping that the Order could come up with a solution tonight, as I am due to take them their Wolfsbane tomorrow."

"A most pressing matter," Albus said. "Hagrid, would you go seek out the Centaurs when the meeting concludes, and see if they could be temporarily allowed refuge in the Forbidden Forest?"

Hagrid nodded his huge head. "Sure thing, Professor," he said, swelling up with pride at being sought out for such an important job.

"As it is well past curfew and tomorrow is Sunday, I want you all to go home and pack up your belongings, taking only that which is necessary and then no later than noon tomorrow, I want you all situated in your chosen safe house. Mark my words, I will not be moved on this. Remember that you are no good to the Order dead." Albus looked directly at Mad-Eye when he spoke the last words.

There was a general nodding of heads as everyone started to push away from the table. Some, like Hagrid, left immediately to carry out their task.

Severus looked over at Harry as he stood and flicked his eyes in the direction of the door. Harry stood, his body tense as he nodded his head at the twins. They grinned back at hum. Molly was still fussing over them as Harry followed Severus out the door.

***

The door to the Potions master's classroom slammed behind Harry. He didn't even flinch as the walls seemed to shake. He was so sick of being kept in the dark. Wasn't he supposed to be the saviour of the Wizarding World? If so, then wasn't it their responsibility to keep him up-to-date on the going-ons in that world?

Harry shook his head in anger. He was hot, although the temperature down in the dungeons was always chilly. Every muscle in his body hurt from being kept so rigid that he thought he might explode. He had to settle down. He knew, deep within himself, that Severus wouldn't keep something from him deliberately. As he started to calm down and think on it rationally, Severus turned to face him and spoke for the first time since they had entered the classroom.

"The Creevys were attacked on the last day of the summer break. I knew nothing about the attack beforehand. It seems that I am not trusted for the Dark Lord's missions any longer."

Harry heard the self-loathing in his mentor's voice; his heart went out to the man. He had no family to call his own. Harry vowed then and there that he would see to it that Severus lived after he defeated the Dark Lord, so he could be free of the madness. Lost in his internal musing, he just realised that Severus had started to speak once more.

"Didn't I tell you? Didn't I warn you that this would happen? This is war, Harry, and like it or not people will die. Good people. Honest people. People who have nothing to do with this war and have never heard the Dark Lord's name. Believe me when I say that I care for each and every one of my students, past and present. Don't you think that each one of their deaths is a personal blow to me? Think, Potter, think upon how many students have passed through these halls in the twenty years I have been teaching." Severus gave Harry a pointed look. His hands clenched into fists as he tried to control the growing rage inside himself.

"Believe me, I wanted to tell you, I never wanted to keep you in the dark. The Headmaster thought otherwise, so I kept my mouth shut, against my better judgement."

"You're right," Harry said in a defeated voice. "I didn't think how it would affect you, Severus, and for that I am truly sorry, but I don't want to be kept in the dark any more. Everyone thinks I'm so fragile, so breakable, and since Hermione's disappearance everyone, except you, has been tip toeing around me like I might snap at any moment. Granted, I might have done so in the past, but not any longer. You have taught me more than I could ever imagine, Severus, and for that I shall forever be in your debt."

Severus waved away his gratitude, not used to praise of any kind. It was his redemption after all, a way of making right the atrocities that he had performed when he was solely on the Dark Lord's side. He didn't know now how he could have been, and it felt like a lifetime ago.

"But it's true, Severus, do you honestly think I would be even a fifth of the wizard I am today without your help?" Harry asked.

Severus nodded his head once.

"Just please tell me from now on what is happening. I can't promise you that I won't go off the deep end, but with you around to pull my head out of my ass, I'm sure we can see it through... together." Harry looked up to see a look of wonderment on Severus's face.

"That being said, I think I shall call it a night. 'Night, Severus," Harry said as he turned around and left the classroom.

Severus had to swallow the pride that was swelling inside of him, for in the place of the young child who had stood before him in time past, there now stood a man.

***

Thanks to my fantastic beta, AmyLouise.

If you don't review my story, please leave a review for another author, as this is the only payment we receive. I know I cherish each and everyone of my reviews.