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Chapter Text

Hogwarts awoke with a quiet settling groan. Taking a few months to review the events that had happened since she was last properly awake she noted the potential of three very special people who passed through her walls. With a degree of sadness she noted the anger, hatred, and fear that still existed between them. Following the magical trace that she placed on all who were granted safe passage or refuge within her walls she was pleased to discover that two of the three still resided within her. She was also happy to note that one of those two had regular, if often painful, contact with the third wizard who had caught her eye.

Tying a stronger strand of her magic to the older one who bore the mark of the wizard she sought she mentally followed Severus Tobias Snape to the latest Death Eater meeting. She absently noted the connection of Voldemort's magic to the mark on Snape's arm, analyzing it and immediately memorizing it to the point of intimate familiarity. She ignored the soul link between Voldemort and Harry for now, knowing that the young Gryffindor wouldn't physically be in the presence of the Dark Lord quickly enough for her tastes. Hogwarts watched in sorrow as the snake hybrid that the Dark Lord had become conducted the meeting and handed out punishment to those who displeased him. Just as he dismissed them the castle took her chance and surged her magic along the strand of power wrapped around the dour man. Entangling both Potions Master and Dark Lord in her magic before yanking them back within her walls, adding a twist to the strand of power to collect the third member of the party from the Gryffindor dorms.

When the three wizards came too they were slumped around a round table, each in their own chair not only facing each other but a notice board as well. Chains were wrapped around them connecting to floor and walls to keep them in place. Snape was the first to awaken. He immediately noticed the bonds holding him to the chair he sat in and the loss of his wand, causing Snape to decide that he was some type of captive. Instead of advertising his awakened state he opted to remain as relaxed as possible while orienting himself and deciding if he could overpower whoever had captured him.

That plan went out the window the moment he heard two very familiar voices quietly mutter or snarl, respectively, to either side of him. Feeling dread pool in the pit of his stomach he sighed heavily before opening his eyes in resignation and checking the identities of his fellow captives. Much to his pained exasperation the Dark Lord was secured similarly to his left while Harry Potter was chained in his own chair on the potion master's right. Glancing around quickly he spotted their wands, laid out neatly under a glass case on a small table placed below a tapestry of some type. When he finally looked at the tapestry, after visually checking that his wand was undamaged, he saw an ultimatum that settled heavily on his heart and caused him to make a pained sound, despite all of his Occlumency shields. Thus drawing the attention of the other two captives to the words that had burned themselves into the dour man's mind.

Sons of Hogwarts, you have fallen far.
To once more chance to reach upon a star,
Speak of past hurts and fallen lines,
That it might dispel the deeply entrenched lies,
Of minds and twinkling eyes.

To leave the Room of Spoken Truth,
Speak no falsehood and withhold your frightful wrath,
That you may once more walk the path with lightened hearts,
That the hurts of times past fall to truthful darts.

Words of sorrow, Words of pain,
Share and watch it washed away by forgiving rain.

To gain your freedom you must share,
The past, the present, and worldly fare.

Once truth is spoken and fully known,
No longer will you be bound by earthly tome.

Beware, that the peace be maintained,
Or face the chance that it be contained.

Upon reaching the accord,
You will receive your justly earned reward.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Harry asked in frustration at both the riddle they faced and the chains holding him in his chair.

"Potter! 5 points for language and 20 for not bothering to pay attention to the situation." Snape growled at his student. Voldemort growled his own frustration but also noted that Potter simply glowered at his Professor before sitting back in his chain bedecked chair with a huff.

"Be greatful that whatever that spell was it didn't toss us into a volcano, or at the north pole, or somewhere equally difficult to survive without some type of preparation." Snape pointed out and they watched as the younger wizard paled.

"Yeah. I'd rather not visit the moon without a space suit." Harry agreed fervently. That's when he realized who the third member of their odd little group was. His face ran the gamut of emotions from fear to defiance to, finally, resignation before he slumped in defeat and asked tiredly. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to not try and kill me? At least for a little bit?"

"That depends entirely on how cooperative you prove to be and what the exact enchantments are that brought us here." Voldemort pointed out shrewdly.

"Right. Well when you decide to actually try and kill me could you at least make it not hurt? From the look of things one of you will get free first and both of you seem to want me dead, even if the Professor has protected me occasionally. I figure its part of his job to protect students." Harry said dejectedly, as he slumped further into the chair and restraining chains. It took a moment for them to realize that the words on the tapestry had changed but when they did all three of them stared at the new words.

Turns you will take as you examine the past.
Amends you must make down to the last.
To achieve what you desire,
You must quench the Phoenix's fire.
Bound one and all,
You must speak to avoid the fall.
Two remain of the Peverell line,
One Prince remains at this time,
Half-bloods all,
Struggling against the fall.

To bring back magic to its rightful height,
To shore up the power of Hecate's might,
To continue the rightful fight,
The first task is to speak this night,
Of pains long hidden and deeply cut,
Possibly hidden like a nut.
Break the shell,
Heal them well,
Leave it no longer to fester,
Least you be named Jester.

Heir of Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Prince,
You must convince and be convinced,
To speak of the painful, poisonous past,
That you may find peaceful rest at last.

"That's even worse than the first part and I still don't know what either of them mean." Harry said with a scowl. Snape gave a despairing sigh and looked at the ceiling as if to say 'Why god, why me?', while Voldemort simply scowled at them both.

"The Prince and Prince Heir that keeps being mentioned is likely me. My mother was born from the Prince line." Snape said thoughtfully. "The Dark Lord is clearly the Slytherin Heir and Potter could qualify as the Gryffindor Heir if he truly did draw the founder's sword from the blasted hat in his second year."

"Hey! I didn't lie! Its not like I actually wanted to fight the stupid basilisk. I just wanted to get Ginny and get out of there but the stupid diary memory wouldn't let me. It even took away my wand." Harry retorted with a scowl, causing Voldemort to suddenly go perfectly still.

"You fought Slytherin's Basilisk and you're still alive? What memory are you speaking of?" Voldemort asked carefully.

"The memory of you that was in that stupid diary. Why would anyone make something that possesses a little girl and then make sure it gets into a school of all places?" Harry told him, still scowling. "Now she follows me around and keeps trying to get me to be her boyfriend. Its embarrassing and annoying."

"Apparently Lucius needs a lesson in how we treat someone else's property." Voldemort said with a mirror scowl of his own, his ruby eyes blazing in fury. There was no way he was going to admit that it had been more than a memory that Harry had faced. "Potter, that... trinket was meant to be kept safe, not make its way into the hands of a little girl. Well, not unless I was actually dead anyway."

"Well that's something at least." Harry said grumpily, then something occurred to him that made him snicker. "He was so mad when I tricked him into freeing Dobby! I don't think he was actually thinking when he tried to kill me, even if we were alone aside from Dobby. Dobby knocked him down before he could say Kedavera. It was funny."

"Lucius tried to kill you in your second year?" Snape asked faintly.

"Its not like I knew what the spell was at the time." Harry said carelessly. "I saw how Dobby was forced to punish himself and how Mr. Malfoy treated him. It wasn't much better than what I have to deal with every summer. But then you know about that, especially since my letter was addressed to my cupboard."

"Cupboard? Boy, I have no idea what you're talking about. The letters are written and addressed with an enchanted quill. No one sees the student's addresses except the Headmaster or his deputy and only under certain circumstances. Any muggleborns appear on a list in the Deputy's office with relevant contact information after some sort of a response is received through the post. There are squibs and the occasional witch or wizard working in the muggle post system to make certain that post arrives where it ought to, especially Hogwarts letters." Snape informed him harshly, ignoring Harry's flinch at being called 'boy'.

"But Dumbledore said I had to go back. He said I should be greatful and that the Dursleys is the only safe place. If that's true why is he even letting me come to Hogwarts? Why does everyone tell me that Hogwarts is the safest place? I asked to stay during the summers! I asked! I even offered to pay with everything that's in my vault!" Harry protested, his frustration clearly leaking through in his tone.

A moment later, in the following shocked silence they heard a metallic click. They watched as one of the chains that were wrapped around Harry simply let go of the wall it was anchored to and disintegrated link by link until it had unraveled and reached the other anchor in the floor. The other two wizards looked at Harry in shock. Harry returned their gaze with equal startlement before dawning comprehension spread across all their faces.

"So, we speak about ourselves, truthfully, and are released bit by bit." Snape voiced in resignation.

"The question becomes how much are we required to share and whether the enchantments will accept innocuous things or if it must be something important." Voldemort said thoughtfully. "If what Potter told us was completely true then he shared a great deal, much of it important, no matter how he phrased it. Will the enchantments allow for partial revelation or partial truths?"

"I don't know, but do you think it will let me up to use the loo?" Harry asked hopefully.

In response they heard a quiet pop as a house elf of indeterminate age popped in with 3 trays of food. The elf, after setting the food trays on the table, waved its hand at them. Harry, much to his embarrassment, could feel the pressure in his bladder disappear and supposed that what was inside it had been magicked away or vanished.

"Elf, release us." Snape ordered sharply, recognizing the crest on the elf's converted towel uniform.

"I's can'ts bes doing that Professor Snapey. Hoggywarts placed youse in the rooms and Hoggywarts will lets you go when Hoggywarts is ready. I's being in charge of taking cares of youse until Hoggywarts lets youse go." The elf informed them. "Hoggywarts magic says youse must talk. Hoggywarts magic says youse promise no harm chains not beings needed. I's allowed to deliver messages and sends owlsy post for youse. Hoggywarts magic will protect youse and check messages. I's allowed to bring one visitor each for little whiles. No Headmasters, no scary Black ladys, no Hagrids, no Aurors, no Ministers, no werewolves, no panicky masters or mistresses. Youse pick one visitor, no mores."

"Are you allowed to bring Professor McGonagall? Or Madam Pomfrey?" Snape asked sourly. The elf grinned happily and nodded yes.

"What about Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy?" Voldemort asked, guessing that Madam Pomfrey was the school nurse. At Snape's questioning look he explained. "Not many people know that Narcissa is a fully qualified Healer while Lucius is a Barrister. She also has additional training as a mind healer so she can treat most things. Bellatrix refuses treatment but I'm fairly certain that Narcissa has snuck one or two informal mind healing sessions into their conversations. Bella tends to be more stable after those talks."

"Shouldn't we ask if they'll be stuck here with us first?" Harry inquired. "As much as I'd love to pick Hermione, I'd rather not have her trapped here with us. He said we can send messages so I can just ask her to research that way instead."

"Master student is smart to think of this. I's said little whiles, meanings I's take them back after little whiles." The elf informed them, beaming at how they were handling the situation. "I's can bring items too. Hoggywarts keeps youse wands and makes sure youse stay until Hoggywarts says. Youse not hurting each others. Youse talk. Youse explain. Hoggywarts magic says tellings special peoples allowed."

"The chains will come off if we promise not to harm one another?" Snape asked, remembering what the elf had said before.

"Youse promise, chains go. Youse break promise, chains come back." The elf agreed.

"Does the promise extend to when we leave the room?" Voldemort asked carefully, his poker face perfectly sculpted.

"Until youse leave Hoggywarts. Hoggywarts hopes youse make extra promise on own. Hoggywarts sad that youse fighting. Hoggywarts gives special chance to nots fight." The elf told them seriously. "Youse keep fighting Hoggywarts not try again unless asked special. Hoggywarts magic make special sure youse not be missed for long long time. Bad twinkly Headmaster thinks Professor Snapey and Mister Harry Potter Student is at homes for Christmasy. Snakey is in special room at Hoggywarts and knows why youse gone."

"Nagini? You even took Nagini?" Voldemort said in astonishment and the elf simply beamed and nodded again.

"And if we want someone here with us? If we don't want them to leave after they visit?" Snape asked carefully.

"I's can be doings that. No harms means no chains." The elf warned again. "No more visitors if youse keep visitor unless Hoggywarts says."

"Let me make sure I understand. We promise not to hurt each other and the chains will go away and stay away unless someone breaks their promise then they come back. We can pick one person to come visit us except for certain people and if we want them to stay we loose the chance to pick someone to visit us, unless the castle give special permission otherwise. You're supposed to take care of us and are allowed to deliver messages and send mail for us and get us stuff. The magic of the castle wont give our wands back or let us go until we've talked and hopefully decided not to fight each other any more but the promise not to hurt each other ends when we leave Hogwarts." Harry summarized. "The magic made sure we'd have time to actually talk and Voldemort's snake is here, in the castle but in a special room and understands what's going on. Did I miss anything?"

"Very goods! Youse make promise now so youse can eats?" The elf asked earnestly.

"And if we refuse?" Snape asked archly.

"I's be feeding youse and chains stay." The elf said flatly. "Hoggywarts only add beds and bathrooms when youse promise."

"You mean you'll feed us like a baby?" Harry asked, his voice climbing in dismay. The elf gave a short nod meeting their gazes stubbornly.

"Hoggywarts magic says Professor Snapey and Mr. Dark Lord is allowed wandless magics if theys promise not use for harm. Crucios on Professor Snapey only 10 seconds with 20 minute rest. More means chains come back. No Crucios on Mister Harry Potter Student. No punishing Mister Harry Potter Student unless hurts self or hurts Mr. Dark Lord or Professor Snapey." The elf declared, causing the three wizards to alternately glower at him or look at one another speculatively.

"Why is Professor Snape allowed to be Crucioed but not me? Not that I want them to but..." Harry asked, eyes narrowed in mistrust.

"Professor Snapey gave promise of loyalty, promise of service. Secrets must be sharing but Mr. Dark Lord still own Professor Snapey. Hoggywarts understand this. Hoggywarts also understand youse must be sharing of the secrets to nots bes fighting anymores. Hoggywarts sad that Professor Snapey, Mr. Dark Lord, and Mister Harry Potter Student fighting when wants same thing. Mister Harry Potter Student allowed punished same as Professor Snapey, same limits unless Professor Snapey bes disobeying Master Dark Lord." The elf explained.

"So, if I discover he has disobeyed me I am allowed to Crucio him but only to a limited extent because we still need to share our secrets and killing him or hurting him to much would make him reticent to share. Otherwise the punishment is allowed under the same conditions as for Potter." Voldemort summarized, and received a happy nod from the elf as confirmation. Voldemort considered this before warning. "I will not promise not to try and kill or punish either of them later as I see fit."

"Hoggywarts magics understands. Hoggywarts wants youse to understands each other so's youse try not to fight so's much. Twinkly bad Headmasters tricks played on all three of youse. Hoggywarts magic not happy with this. Hoggywarts magic tries make it better!" The elf told them firmly before asking earnestly. "Youse make promise nows?"

"Not before Voldemort does." Harry retorted warily with more than a hint of anger in his tone.

"Certainly, brat." Voldemort told him with a smirk before proceeding to make his vow. "I, Lord Voldemort, do hereby promise to listen to the secrets of Severus Snape and Harry Potter without offering harm unless presented an appropriate reason to do so without malicious intent. I will abide by the rules set out for our stay here and agree to share my own secrets provided those who are privy to that information take a vow of secrecy to be released upon my word or true death alone. So mote it be."

The magic of the room surged forward, confirming the vow and making it fully binding even as the chains holding him in place dissolved away, returning his freedom of movement. Harry and Snape watched him warily as the Dark Lord stood up and moved around, stretching, before moving back to the table and accepting his food from the beaming elf. Both elf and Dark Lord turned to look at the other two captives.

"Very well." Snape growled. "I, Severus Tobias Snape, do agree to abide by the rules set out for our stay here, agree to share what secrets I may with the proviso of a vow of secrecy being granted to be released upon my word or true death alone, and agree to offer no harm with malicious intent and without appropriate reason. So mote it be."

The chains dissolved away as the magic surged, confirming the vow and releasing the potions master, causing him to give a small sigh of relief. Snape stretched in his chair before accepting his own supper as they all looked at a sullen Harry. Harry, on the other hand refused to meet their eyes and said nothing.

"If you do not make the vow, brat. I will be the one feeding you, not the elf." Snape threatened, causing a flash of fear to appear on Harry's face before he nodded shortly.

"I, Harry James Potter, agree to abide by the set rules as much as possible, agree to offer no harm except in self defense or in assistance of another, agree to share what secrets are mine with the proviso that those who hear them offer a vow of secrecy to be released upon my word or my death. So mote it be." Harry practically whispered. The chains dissolved away and Harry accepted his own meal, refusing to meet their gazes as the elf popped away leaving them to their meal.

"Perhaps we should simply request the Malfoy family join us for the entire discussion." Voldemort suggested, observing how Harry tensed but continued eating as much as he could of his soup.

"Except that when the Headmaster discovers this he will overreact." Snape pointed out softly. "Better to include a member of the order from the start."

"Sirius could..." Harry began only to quail under the death glare Snape sent his way and quietly mutter. "Never mind."

"Perhaps we should have the elf carry a message to Lucius and Narcissa asking their opinion. As for informing a member of the light... Minerva McGonagall would be acceptable. I have no wish to deal with most of the order but I attended school with Minerva and she is... tolerable." Voldemort told them with a thoughtful hum as he took another sip of his soup.

"Filius Flitwick, the school's charms master, would be adequate the only drawback is that he is not a member of the order. However that could be used to our advantage. He is also half goblin and might be able to officiate any binding contracts rather than requiring us to somehow request a goblin representative." Snape pointed out before taking another bite of his meal. "Most of the order would be noticed missing almost at once and the elf did indicate that the castle would prefer that the Headmaster not be informed, at least not yet. That was implied in the restrictions. Anyone who might panic is also banned and I believe that Bellatrix was banned, Lupin and Greyback certainly were. I also wouldn't trust most of the inner circle with knowledge of this situation."

"You're being nice to each other, almost like friends." Harry said in some confusion.

"We're discussing the situation. If I go to far My Lord is likely to curse me or warn me and then curse me when we're free of the enchantments." Snape pointed out almost caustically, ignoring Voldemort's snort of amusement.

"The bowing and scraping is mostly for appearances, at least when it comes to many of my followers. For others it is necessary to keep them in line. Both Severus and Lucius are not required to bow and may speak their minds if we have a reasonable expectation of privacy or are alone. Narcissa has a similar leniency for a number of reasons and she remains unmarked. Bellatrix is one of my followers who are required for the most part to bow, otherwise I'd constantly find her under foot or attempting to take the place at my side or in my bed. I have no desire to be practically running from the woman simply because she doesn't understand the word no." Voldemort admitted, almost biting his tongue in the process to keep his secret.

"Makes sense. She sounds a lot like how Ginny wont leave me alone. The only thing keeping her at bay right now is the weird looks Ron tends to give her." Harry admitted, with a snort of wry amusement before taking another bite of his soup. "How long do you think we'll be stuck here?"

"As long as it takes." Voldemort said wryly. "Hogwarts is not exactly forgiving once the magic of the castle is roused. The basis of the magic was forged in far more turbulent times, even taking into consideration this war between the so called light and dark."

"Oh." Harry said thoughtfully before taking one last bite and pushing his bowl away still partly full, despite the fact that they had all been given a little less than a normal portion.

Both older wizards noticed this and chose not to comment, communicating their surprise to one another via eyes alone. Especially considering that the Gryffindor clearly was still in the "eat as much as possible" stage of being a teenager. Harry took another look around their room and noticed a dark green heavy curtain that hadn't been there before, deciding to leave the other two to their meal he got up and investigated. He found a basic bathroom with a combined tube and shower behind the curtain complete with toiletries for all three of them in green, black, and red.

The two older men watched the young lion out of the corner of their eyes as he continued investigating the room. When Harry tried to open the case holding their wands he got a nasty shock and jumped back, scowling at the innocently twinkling glass display case as he rubbed his sore hand. Both of them noticed that the young man carefully kept out of arm's reach during his exploration of the sparsely furnished room.

"I wonder where we're going to sleep." Harry murmured to himself thoughtfully even as his eyes lit on the drawer in the table just below the display case with their wands in it.

Remembering how the case had shocked him, Harry carefully reached out and gently patted at the door before pulling it open. Inside, much to his surprise he found three envelops, one addressed to each of them. Absently handing over the two that weren't addressed to him Harry, burning with curiosity, opened his. Upon reading the first bit he dropped it as if it had burned his hand. Jumping backward away from the missive as if it were a poisonous snake rearing and ready to strike.

"Potter, what is wrong with you? Its only a letter." Snape said irritably before reaching down to pick up the parchment his student had dropped.

"No! Stop!" Harry said lunging for it even as the dour man quickly secured it out of his reach.

"Don't be such a dunderhead. What could possibly be worth this sort of reaction?" Snape asked archly before turning to read Harry's letter.

Heir of Gryffindor
List of things to share:

Home life
- general history
- sleeping arrangements, past and present
- cupboard, explain fully
- basic communication with relatives
- relationship with relatives, explain as much as possible
- expectations while present at home
- meal frequency and consistency
- normal punishments
- injuries, past and present, explain as much as possible
- other relevant extenuating circumstances and information

Overall
- Incidents linked with Curse Scar
- Unusual incidents, including dreams
- Nightmares and contents
- Map, explain fully
- Cloak, explain fully
- Participation in Tournament, feelings and other
- What happened in the Chamber of Secrets, explain fully
- Feelings about fame - partially completed
- Feelings about other's expectations
- Plans after school
- Feelings about general treatment/popularity - partially completed
- injuries, past and present
- other relevant extenuating circumstances and information

All three lists must be completed before room will unseal, listed order not required.

Seeing the list that was on Potter's letter the Potions Master quickly tore open his own envelope and read what was inside, going white as his eyes moved down his own list.

Heir of Prince
List of things to share:

Childhood
- general history
- home life
- school life
- sleeping arrangements past and present
- basic communication with relatives
- expectations while present at home
- meal frequency and consistency
- normal punishments
- injuries, past and present
- other relevant extenuating circumstances and information

Adult life
- true allegiance
- prophecy and circumstances surrounding it
- promise about baby Harry
- reasons behind promise
- reasons behind actions leading up to promise
- true feelings about Lily Potter
- true feelings about James Potter
- true feelings about Harry Potter
- true feelings about Remus Lupin
- true feelings about Sirius Black
- true feelings about Dark side
- true feelings about Light side
- true feelings about Albus Dumbledore
- injuries, past and present
- other relevant extenuating circumstances and information

All three lists must be completed before room will unseal, listed order not required.

"I take it that these envelops contain something generally distasteful, upsetting, and tailored to each of us?" Voldemort asked slowly as he watched the Gryffindor finally snatch his list from the Potion Master's slackening grip, before clutching it to his chest as if to both hide it and protect it.

"Yes." Snape said faintly as he stared at his list. Voldemort nodded and carefully opened his envelope to discover his own personalized list.

Heir of Slytherin
List of things to share:

Childhood
- general history
- home life
- school life
- sleeping arrangements past and present
- basic communication with cohabiting residents
- expectations while present at home
- meal frequency and consistency
- normal punishments
- injuries, past and present
- other relevant extenuating circumstances and information

Adult life
- true allegiance
- prophecy
- reasons behind actions leading up to death of Lily and James Potter
- true feelings about Lily Potter
- true feelings about James Potter
- true feelings about Harry Potter
- true agenda of the Dark side
- general history of the Dark side
- true feelings about Dark side
- true feelings about Light side
- true feelings about Albus Dumbledore
- injuries, past and present
- other relevant extenuating circumstances and information

Horcruxes
- general history
- number made
- general details including magical theory
- specific objects (optional but highly encouraged)
- injuries, past and present
- other relevant extenuating circumstances and information (destruction method of any type not required)

All three lists must be completed before room will unseal, listed order not required.

"This is going to take a while." Voldemort said before sighing heavily, as he rubbed his forehead trying to stave off the impending migraine.

"I'm not telling you about this!" Harry declared angrily before backing into one of the corners of the room and generally acting terrified and cornered, panic randomly flaring in his eyes.

"You're clearly overreacting." Snape said sarcastically, even as his piercing gaze never left the now huddled form of his student, watching the lion cub's reactions carefully and noting minute details before filing them away for later.

"Potter, sit down! We have all vowed not to reveal the information unless the person who's secret it is either grants permission or is properly dead. There is very little that can be done except addressing the lists we have each been given." Voldemort pointed out in obvious frustration lacing his words heavily with sarcasm. "Do you honestly think that we want to share these things with you of all people? I hardly think that explaining exactly how to kill me is something that is good for my health."

"I'm not sharing! I don't care if I never learn how to kill you! I'm not telling!" Harry said stubbornly, even as his entire body shook and his Potions Professor's eyebrows rose in astonishment.

"Potter, we don't have a choice." Snape pointed out reasonably as he watched Harry start to hyperventilate as he clutched his list harder to his chest, nearly ripping it in half.

"This is getting us nowhere. Elf!" Voldemort said with a frown before calling an elf.

"Master Dark Lord's be needing something?" The elf from earlier asked after popping in.

"Calming draught, from my personal stores." Snape snapped at the creature, who squeaked and immediately retrieved it, quickly handing it to the intimidating man.

"Youse be needing anything else?" The elf asked.

"Some firewhisky wouldn't go amiss, and some butterbeer for Potter once he calms." Voldemort told the elf sourly as he watched the dungeon bat of Hogwarts cautiously approached the panicking lion. Once Snape got close enough he lunged and pinned the young Potter Heir against the wall behind him before forcing him to swallow the potion and backing away quickly, giving the young man some space.

"Not earns yet." The elf told him firmly, only to receive a venomous look from the Dark Lord before the man returned his attention to Harry, watching as the potion took effect.

"Elf, explain." Snape ordered even as his eyes never left the still calming Gryffindor.

"Priv..privileges bes earned. Youse earned bathyrooms, youse earned no chainsies, youse always gets food, youse always gets healings, youse always gets cleanings, youse always gets drinks. Youse earn anything else." The elf explained patiently. "Youse earn treats, youse earn new roomsies, youse earn better bathyrooms, youse earn books unless specials, youse earn beds, youse earn better foods, youse earn lots. Easy earns some, hard earns others. Youse earns by shares truths."

"Beds? You said we have to earn beds?" Snape asked with more than a little dread. Not comforted at all by the elf's beeming nod he could see out of the corner of his eye as he continued to watch the lion cub.

"Youse earn brewings potions. Youse earn bigs bath. Youse earn extra visitors. Youse earn petsies. Youse earn many many things." The elf said cheerily. "Hoggywarts magics helping! Youse even earn wands! But wands bes big earning."

"Do twins count as one person or two?" Harry asked quietly, doing his best to focus on the elf and not on sharing his list.

"Maybes two, maybes one. Which twinsies?" The elf asked.

"The Weasley twins." Harry admitted softly. The elf nodded his understanding and answered.

"Weasley twins bes special, Weasley twins counts as both onesies and twos. Weasley twins must bes earned unless special needs. Hoggywarts magics decide." The elf explained cautiously. Harry nodded glumly as he sunk to the floor and curled up in a ball in his little corner.

"Brat, I have no intention of being stuck here. If I have to ask for Veritaserum and force it down your throat to get out of here I will." Voldemort growled, in response Harry simply curled into a tighter ball in his corner.

"My lord, this is getting us nowhere." Snape pointed out as he gripped the bridge of his nose. "No one wants to start and panicking Potter further, despite the calming draught, does not help. Perhaps we can pick our initial visitors now, if nothing else it is a far more calming subject."

"Very well. One of them will need to be Narcissa. I would not be opposed to the half-goblin or Minerva. If, however, either of you attempt to request Dumbledore, Black, Pettigrew, or Bellatrix I will happily get us all chained again as I attempt to strangle you." Voldemort said calmly, even as he eyed Harry evilly, as if daring him to try and request anyone on that list.

"Nos twinkly Headmasters or crazy Black ladies!" The elf reminded sharply.

"More than understandable." Snape replied calmly. "I am certain that, if I must, I can stand just about anyone else the boy chooses. I, personally, have no wish do deal with any of them and the elf has already explained that the castle wont let the Headmaster become involved, thus I am no longer obligated to choose him."

"Why would you have to choose anyone?" Harry asked in interest, uncurling a bit to look at his Potions Professor.

"As a staff member, especially since a student is involved and the incident is clearly taking place on school grounds, I am obligated to inform the Headmaster of the incident as soon as it is feasible." Snape told him stiffly.

"Oh..." Harry said, dropping his gaze to his knees before asking quietly. "Can I pick Hermione? You've already promised not to hurt us."

"The promise does not extend to any visitors, boy. You need to pay more attention." Voldemort growled out, irritation clear in his voice.

"Never mind." Harry said in practically a whisper as he curled up again, scooting further into his corner once more, even as he clutched his list once more to his chest.

"My lord, harming any visitors would be... counter productive." Snape said carefully.

"Crossing me is counter productive." Voldemort pointed out archly, his irritation beginning to get the better of him.

"Can I have a blanket?" Harry asked softly.

"Youse share part of youse list. Youse can have blankets. Youse can have bed." The elf agreed. Harry thought for a minute, looking over the list to see what would be easiest to share and would be least likely to be used against him by the two powerful wizards in front of him.

"My relatives don't like me." Harry told them before turning to the elf and asking. "Is that enough for a blanket?"

The elf nodded happily before popping away and returning a moment later with not only a blanket but a stuffed toy and pillow as well.

"Hoggywarts says youse be needing this. Hoggywarts says bear always bes clean, always finds youse, always okays, nots rip, nots hurt, nots burn, nots get lost, always stay with Mister Harry Potter sir unless puts away special by Mister Harry Potter sir. Cans be shrinkings, cans be gettings bigger, cans be coming if needs." The elf told him before handing over the objects.

The look of pure shock and delight that crossed Harry's face was more than enough to give the older wizards pause, and make them wonder why he would react so strongly to the simple gift of a protected stuffed bear. Harry dropped his list and ignored the originally asked for blanket and additional pillow in favor of clutching the bear to his chest almost desperately. He completely ignored the other two wizards in favor of investigating the bear, and delightedly discovered a small pouch in the stomach of the toy, with the opening in the side of the bear. The pouch would allow him to place things inside it to keep them safe and nearby.

It took the Gryffindor a few moments of patient waiting on the elf's part for him to remember the blanket and pillow before he sheepishly took them from the small creature. His refusal to release the toy for even the moment needed to easily take both pillow and blanket, amused the elf and confused the older wizards. He didn't even notice when Snape cautiously retrieved his list for the two of them to look over. Harry simply sat in the corner with his dark blue bear dressed in a fitted over robe, cuddled to his chest with the blanket draped loosely around both boy and bear.

"I take it that was a rather large admission?" The dour man asked the elf softly, in return the elf scrutinized him for a moment before nodding slowly.

"Its bes beginning. Youse need Mister Student talk mores, youse need helps. Youse need help each others finish lists." The elf explained solemnly, before popping away back to its other duties.

"Lets look his over while he remains distracted." Voldemort said with a sigh, hiding his concern that his ultimate nemesis was distracted from the danger his presence posed by a simple, practically non-magical, stuffed toy.

Snape nodded before finally glancing down at the list again. He mentally noted that if the wording choice on both his and Potter's were similar than the lists were designed to be only fully understood, at least at first, by the person they were made for. To anyone without knowledge of what the list was referring to, it was fairly innocuous, innocent even. He supposed that the boy's comment fell under explaining the relationship with his relatives. From the marks of "partially completed" he supposed that they were self updating.

The problem, to the potions master, was that more than one of the things listed to be shared easily warranted his death. Idly, he considered refusing to share the information. Both the Dark Lord and Potter would be out of the picture and if he could find a way to limit what messages the two sent to the outside world it was possible that the war would, if not fall apart then at least shift into a sort of stalemate. One could only hope. Severus knew that it was wishful thinking. He refused to accept his death simply because the castle decreed that he share some of his more dangerous secrets with the man who was ultimately going to kill him and the boy he was sworn to protect. He would find a way to survive or accomplish his goals... somehow.

Voldemort moved over to the table to retrieve the envelope that had contained his list. A second piece of paper fell out which he quickly picked up and read. The Dark Lord first went pale, then his ruby eyes blazed in fury, his magic crackled, forming a halo of power around him. Startling Harry out of his contemplation of the cuddly toy even as he gripped the bear to him even more tightly.

"Hogwarts, if the ring still exists, I demand its return." Voldemort said calmly, his fury still blazing in his eyes. A flash of bright color brought their gazes back to the tapestry and its now blazing red words.

Rhyme is bound into this cloth,
For understanding this must stop.
Cast Resero Potentia as one,
Thus communication is done.

"Let me get this straight. The reason we've had to try and figure out what the weird poems mean is because someone decided that it would be funny if the castle had to rhyme to talk to us, using the tapestry?" Harry asked indignantly.

"So it would appear." Snape said sourly. "Potter, can you perform any kind of wandless magic?"

"I don't think so." Harry said doubtfully, refusing to even ease up his grip on the bear.

"Then it falls to the two of us to cast the spell. Severus?" Voldemort asked calmly, his tone broking no argument.

"Of course, my lord." Snape said with a slight bowing of his head, recognizing that any kind of back talk was like to set the other man off just then.

Voldemort nodded sharply as the Potions Master joined him in front of the tapestry, at his command they both cast simultaneously. The result was shocking, as the tapestry unraveled and rewove itself to display four people. Two men and two women, each in the colors of their house. They now faced not an annoying Rhyming tapestry but a moving cloth portrait of the four founders.

"Finally! That damn enchantment was driving me insane! Salazar did you have to cast that curse before you left the castle?" Godric demanded of the other man, depicted in colors of black, green, and silver.

"It wasn't exactly my choice. Its not like any of us were able to fight the enchantments that bloody seer cast when we were alive." Salazar pointed out with a shrug.

"Well, at least we were able to preserve a portion of ourselves in the school." Helga pointed out. "We can thank Rowena for that."

"There are a few... side effects that I failed to mention. I'm certain that you've discovered one or two of them by now but I'm quite happy to go over them if you would prefer." Rowena offered cautiously. The looks her fellow founders gave her spoke volumes and had her nodding in understanding before continuing. "The ritual we performed made the castle sentient, it is effectively our oldest child, especially since we boned our minds, will, and power into the very stones of the building. Anyone who the castle chooses is automatically considered one of our joint family. She has the right to blood adopt anyone into our blood lines and has some of each of our blood magically preserved, stored, and able to replicate if needed. For example, when young Mr. Riddle attended his weakening blood connection to Salazar was actually reinforced when he was knocked out at one point. He was blood adopted by the castle making him not only Sal's heir but effectively his son. Sal's blood was also used to cement Mr. Potter's parseltongue ability, but that's another matter and a bit more complicated."

"Rowena.. Did it ever occur to you that we might need to know this?" Salazar asked, frustration clear in his voice.

"Of course. I simply didn't expect for a meddling seer to bind my tongue and forcefully split our friendship." Rowena pointed out with a shrug.

"We were never complete after Salazar left." Godric said slowly as his mind worked through the implications, then widened in understanding before he started swearing viciously.

"Exactly." Rowena said quietly.

"Are there any other side effects we need to be aware of? Aside from not even needing to sire or birth our own heirs?" Salazar asked wearily.

"We aren't actually dead. The moment our bodies failed we became a part of the castle, though most of our minds are actually contained in this tapestry and our portraits, most of which were hidden or destroyed. The blood ritual we used normally would have only bonded us as individuals during our life times and we would be absorbed into the castle after our death, allowing our spirits to move on, but a greater power granted us a boon. As long as Hogwarts stands we are not only a part of it but can think and act on our own, at least within the bounds of certain rules. If you think on it the rules and the reasons for them will form in your minds, what's left of them in any case." Rowena told them with a smirk. A moment's thoughtful expressions passed over the faces of the other three founders before they were glaring at their friend.

"Well, at least you allowed for possible movement outside of the castle, even if the cost is a bit high and with our temporary bodies being stone." Godric said wearily. "We're going to have to do something with the body of Sal's pet though. We can argue about our differences and any other issues later after we've helped these gentlemen."

"Boy, you should have allowed the hat to do its job." Salazar told Harry pointedly, having accessed the magic of the sorting hat along with the information on the castle and his chamber. Harry refused to meet the founder's gaze and instead cuddled his bear close again.

"Let the potions master harvest what is left of the great beast." Helga ordered snootily, amusement lacing her voice. "Be glad that so many important events and information have either been stored, referenced or occurred on the grounds or we wouldn't have what we need to even remotely help them."

"I want Dumbledore out of the castle for good." Godric said darkly.

"We can work on that later. Honestly, Gryffindor you know nothing of subtlety, no fineness or guile what-so-ever." Salazar said with a fond exasperation.

"But Dumbledore..." Harry began only to be cut off part way through.

"Do not finish that sentence, boy." Godric warned, the threat evident in his voice.

"As much as I would enjoy continuing this discussion, my ring? Please?" Voldemort asked quietly.

"Your horcrux you mean." Rowena said with a knowing expression on her fabric face. At the feared Dark Lord's disconcerted and slightly fearful expression she laughed lightly. "Oh, dear boy, do you honestly think that we didn't have any knowledge about objects within the school, whether designed for harm or not? No, nephew, as soon as we awoke, we knew. The castle keeps track of as much as possible and knows everything that occurs within her walls, thus we know as well. The path you have chosen is hurting you deeply as well as hurting others. We will help you with the situation but you must promise to listen to our advice and the reasons behind it, and before you ask, no, we cannot lift the castle's punishment. You must still discuss the issues on your lists. We wouldn't mind hearing the answers to some of what's on there for ourselves in any case."

"I would ask that you try not to harm one another while you are in this room, by word or by deed." Helga asked quietly, carefully watching their expressions and not liking some of the implications of what she was observing.

"We need to address something first, something that the hat uncovered during the boy's sorting." Salazar said carefully, as he watched Harry.

"We do not have the authority unless the castle is willing to adopt him into one or more of our lines." Helga said sadly.

"Not... exactly. I don't think the castle ever checked but... the boy might be from my line. Which would also explain why the hat allowed the boy's choice of house so easily." Godric said thoughtfully.

"It would also explain many of his trips to the healer's wing." Salazar muttered sourly.

"Why did you call him nephew?" Harry asked in a desperate attempt to distract the founders from his sorting.

"Because we might as well have been siblings, for all that the four of us share no blood." Rowena explained as she regarded him shrewdly before nodding her head in consideration. "Perhaps you are old enough after all."

"Ha! I told you." Godric practically crowed before demanding. "Now can we activate the contract? I'm quite tired of having our lines warring with one another, and the boy is of my line. Reclaiming my sword in that bloody hidden chamber of Sal's is more than enough proof of that, even without the castle checking his blood when it was spilled on her stones."

"Except the hat wanted him in my house in the first place." Salazar contradicted quietly, causing all of the founders to turn and study Harry and the two living wizards to stare at him in utter shock. Harry refused to meet their gazes and instead looked at his new stuffed bear, playing with it a bit.

"If we want this blood feud to end, why don't we simply bind the three of them to peace here at the castle and require they reside here?" Helga suggested with a thoughtful tone of voice. "I know that my nephew is attempting to complete the mess that damnable insane seer started with her spells, but then until now, we haven't been able to explain that the situation truly wasn't as it seemed to anyone. All of our bodies failed, we all died, under the influence of those spells, and the curse aspect partially followed our bloodlines. Now that we're awake we have a chance to break it properly."

"I'll send my Phoenix, I think he goes by Fawkes now, to retrieve the other Horcruxes and Hogwarts can provide a letter for the goblins. The entire situation is such a mess. Of course with the boon it might not register that we're technically dead or technically alive." Godric pointed out thoughtfully. He mentally sent the request to the Phoenix and getting a joyful cry of agreement and welcome in return before he flamed away. Snapping the temporary familiar bond to Dumbledore in the process and leaving the old man half collapsed and gasping for breath in his office.

"Which would explain why my newest son is still only counted as Heir Slytherin rather than Lord Slytherin." Salazar agreed, his eyes narrowed in thought.

"I think requiring a truce while on Hogwarts grounds and requiring the three of them to reside here is an excellent idea." Rowena agreed, before adding her own twist to the situation. "Though I believe that the truce should only be enforced for intended harm. Everyone argues, even the four of us, they will need the ability to argue out their differences and I think that for the first, oh six months or so, they should be required to spend at least a few hours together a day. Until we release them from being required to reside here they should also be required to eat meals together whenever reasonably possible."

"We can't enforce it as simply on the Potions Master. As Heirs to Sal and Godric, we can easily enforce it on the other two but not on young Severus." Helga pointed out, eyes narrowed in thought.

"Oh, that's not an issue." Rowena waved away before addressing the building. "Hogwarts dear? I'd like to claim our resident Potions Master for my line, if you would?" They all received a feeling of agreement, faint amusement, and mild irritation from the castle before the power faded away.

"The castle didn't do anything." Godric snickered only to receive an irritated yet light smack over the head from Lady Ravenclaw.

"Of course not. Hogwarts usually performs the adoptions when they're asleep, out cold, or otherwise unaware of what's happening. She hasn't managed it on Severus yet because he was always too much of a light sleeper or too injured to risk the ritual, or didn't you notice the irritation in her response? Apparentely, she's been trying to catch him out to perform the adoption for a number of years now. Though, she didn't share what bloodline she was going to adopt him into." Rowena pointed out in mock irritation. "She managed to snag young Harry during his first year to stabilize that soul shard in his scar, reinforcing the parseltongue trait that Sal is so fond of, and strengthening his endurance a bit. I don't think that she'll be willing to share the exact ritual with us but it certainly wasn't an adoption."

"I must also admit that I don't particularly like how the combination of Basilisk Venom and Phoenix Tears in the boy's blood is affecting him." Helga pointed out shrewdly. "We may have to find a way to at least slow it down, perhaps even stop it."

"Or we could simply require them to share quarters and dose young Severus with the potion that I accidentally ingested." Salazar pointed out dryly.

"You do remember the side effects of that one, don't you Sal?" Godric reminded the other man cheekily.

"Yes, I do. I'm curious to see how they would handle it." Salazar explained with a devious smirk, earning him rolled eyes and exasperated expressions from the women.

"Well, until we decide what to do the castle will keep monitoring him." Rowena told them pointedly.

"You aren't going to let us go, are you?" Snape asked quietly, more a statement then a question.

"Not a chance." Salazar agreed pleasantly with a smirk. "You are all a credit to this school and your bloodlines, in your own ways, and every last one of you will not be leaving this building again until the four of us have a proper claim on you."

"Will you be returning my Horcruxes?" Voldemort asked in irritation.

"Well, we haven't exactly taken away the one in the room with you, now have we?" Godric asked mildly.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Snape demanded, unable to reel in his irritation and dread at the situation.

"The boy." Salazar pointed out helpfully. Seeing the confusion on their faces the four founders frowned and Slytherin snapped out in irritation. "Good gods, didn't you realize that the boy is one of my son's Horcruxes? The old goat has been gloating over it for years and eyeing him like a pig set for slaughter! He even made certain that the boy went somewhere that he would be raised right."

Voldemort was the first to understand what they were talking about. The shock, fear, understanding, self-loathing, fury, and more that made up the maelstrom of emotions that crossed his face had Snape backing away and Harry huddling further into his corner, clutching his stuffed bear. His magic thrashed in pain and fury, shattering both table and chairs and throwing Snape against the nearest wall, even as it stabbed into Harry, drawing out a pained cry. When the Dark Lord's magic encountered the soul shard in Harry's scar it calmed around him. The darkly colored magic formed a shield from Voldemort's fury and wrath, protecting the orphan boy and wrapping him in a dark, comforting blanket of magic. The calm spread into the rest of the man's magic and soothed his temper even as it forced him to recognize the truth of the founder's words and that his actions had been utterly stupid.

"Don't worry to much about it." Salazar said sympathetically. "There are very distinct side-effects from creating Horcruxes, and I wasn't exactly pleased to realize that the current Headmaster had tricked you into making one. You ought to be fine with only two, allowing us to leave Nagini and young Harry alone. Preforming the reclamation ritual on Hogwarts grounds will allow us to help you through it and adjust the ritual to establish something a bit more stable. If nothing else putting your soul back together will stop the black outs and unneeded killing sprees. You aren't alone anymore, son, and you wont be ever again if I have anything to say about it."

"When Harry destroyed your diary down in the chamber, that soul shard hid within him until the night of the third task of that ghastly tournament." Rowena explained carefully. "From what we've been able to gather the diary shard improperly re-merged with your primary soul piece when you regained a decent body. Which is one of the reasons you're a touch more stable than shortly before attacking the Potters, even with accidentally making Harry another Horcrux."

"We'd also like to thank you for attempting to spare Lily Potter that night." Helga added with a small smile. "Harry takes comfort in that whenever he's forced to relive that particular memory by the dementors. I believe that the castle may possibly have managed to adopt her into my line, or was it that she was born from a squib branch of my line?"

"Squib." Rowena said helpfully before frowning. "Though after some of the nightmares the castle has picked up on from young Harry we might want to officially cast Petunia and her son from your line. Its not as if we're going to let him return, no matter what Dumbledore dictates."

"Lily... Lily was a pureblood and you tried to spar...?" Snape choked out in a combination of shock, fear, and biting sadness as he sat against the wall he had been slammed into by the Dark Lord's power.

"Actually, I believe that she counts as a half blood but yes." Salazar commented, carefully watching as the scene played out in front of them.

"I really don't have to go back?" The hopeful tone in Harry's voice reminded the others that he was there and almost broke both ladies hearts.

"No, you don't." Helga said softly, sending an encouraging smile his way.

"And if we can get these two boneheads to listen they'll be tried in a court of magical law." Rowena told him, glaring at the two dark wizards.

"I'd honestly prefer to arrange an.... accident for them but I don't feel like having to fight the three of you over this." Salazar said off-handedly.

"Its been a long day. Lets put them to bed and we can discuss this more in the morning." Helga said gently, noting how out of sorts the three living wizards were and how tired they seemed to be.

Hogwarts hummed her agreement and three simple canopied beds appeared, one in a darker red, and the other two in different shades of green. Each bed had a set of night clothes on it and they silently took turns preparing for bed without any further complaint, too caught up in recent events to worry over much. They each climbed into bed with their minds whirling over the implications of what all had happened in the last 12 hours, and wondering or dreading what was going to happen next.

Harry practically huddled under his covers, clutching his bear to him before eventually falling into a restless sleep. Both Voldemort and Snape managed to eventually fall into a doze but didn't slip into true sleep, as a result the soft voices from the founders, a few hours later, was enough to rouse them. Neither gave any indication that they were awake and listening as the woven figures on the tapestry discussed the three of them, as their voices drifted softly through the canopy curtains to their ears.

"They are so wounded." Helga said sadly, as she looked over at the beds and toward their occupants. "And our people aren't much better."

"Yes, but they are ours to care for. Even had we not awakened Hogwarts would have done her best to see them all safe." Salazar comforted softly. "The castle would never have brought them to this room if they weren't worthy of taking the extra steps to help them, or if she hadn't already laid claim to them on our behalf."

"Sal's right. They were brought to this room to safely settle a family dispute. Just because it happens to coincide with the stupid war that damned seer laid the ground work for doesn't mean we have to let them fight their way through it on their own. In fact we're practically obligated to help them. Not that I mind all that much.... I wonder if Hogwarts could get that bumbling idiot into a deserted corridor..." Godric commented before seeing the glare being directed at him by both women. "I'll just be quiet, shall I?"

"That might be wise, Godric." Sal said dryly, amusement clear in his tone

"Those nightmares that the boy has. They aren't right." Rowena said contemplatively.

"If we had managed to wake 50 years or so ago we might have managed to spare all three of them heartache and provided them with the proper home they need." Helga added sadly.

"The castle tried. She tried to provide them with a home and she tried to wake us." Godric pointed out sadly.

"If Dumbledore had simply left the wards alone instead of trying to twist them to his will, they would have been properly welcomed and always known that Hogwarts is one of their homes." Salazar said with a scowl.

"Did you see how young Harry clutched at that soft toy? The one that Hogwarts gave him?" Rowena asked, concern clear in her voice.

"Yes. I also saw how he didn't finish his food, for all that it wasn't a full serving, and kept out of arm's reach of the other two." Helga agreed thoughtfully.

"The boy is more than likely to wake tonight. We're going to have to find a way to deal with the frequent night terrors." Salazar said thoughtfully.

"Well, we can probably get the three of them to talk about it since Hogwarts refused to include silencing charms on the beds." Godric pointed out with a snicker.

"Which also means we've more than likely disturbed their rest you dolt!" Rowena scolded. "We haven't exactly been quiet."

"The exhaustion I saw on young Harry is more than enough to keep him asleep for a while, and both Severus and Tom were sorted into my house. If they wish to sleep or join the conversation they will make their opinions known." Salazar said smugly. "Now, on to dealing with Harry's so called family. We could wait until after the term has started to deal with them or we could try to instigate something now. I still prefer the use of a rather unfortunate accident for that so-called family."

"If we take matters into our own hands, even making it known who we are and why, they may force us to relinquish not only Harry but Tom and Severus as well." Rowena argued softly. "We don't want to make them truly prisoners, though I suppose that doing so would be within our rights. There's also the fact that the magics Tom was tricked into using have detrimental side effects on the mind. I had to watch my father and sister succumb to such magics."

"Yet you tamed them." Salazar pointed out shrewdly.

"No, I found a safer way to cause the same or similar effects. These Horcruxes for example have to go. The fact that two of them are placed in living creatures is actually reassuring. The whole soul that both Harry and Nagini possess stabilize the shards they house and help anchor him properly. Its close to having an artificially created soul bond. We're insanely lucky that the diary shard hid in Harry and even partially rejoined Tom's primary soul piece. We actually can't afford for either Harry or Nagini to be injured fatally or actually killed for at least the next 50 years. If we can manage that then we might be able to risk removing the soul shards safely. The shards in the objects on the other hand simply aren't safe there and it will take a joint effort to properly reintegrate them into Tom. I'm tempted to suggest moving one of them into Severus but I don't know how any of them would take it or the sharing of abilities and power that would result."

"Before we can suggest any of this seriously we need to secure them and anything they value." Helga pointed out judiciously. "Rowena, did you manage to get your hands on an updated copy of the current laws?"

"What are you thinking, Hella?" Rowena asked, cloth eyes narrowed.

"I'm thinking that they've forgotten a number of enchantments that were embedded in both the castle and their seat of government as per the charter of the school." Helga told them smugly. "Salazar isn't the only one with a bit of cunning."

"Fawkes returned with the goblin's response as they were getting into bed." Godric informed them. "Apparently our treaty with them is still valid, not that any living wizard is aware of the treaty. In fact, according to them, our treaty is the only one that hasn't been breached and its the only reason they were willing to make peace after idiots started so many wars with them. They agreed that the half goblin on the teaching staff could act as their representative to help sort this mess out."

"Well that's something at least." Helga murmured. "The treaty with the centaurs, forest dwellers, and merpeople is holding and the squid is still enjoying himself in the lake."

"The elves still answer to us." Salazar pointed out thoughtfully. "Nothing is truly urgent yet and I don't really see the problem with Tom's earlier suggestion of inviting the Malfoy family to join them, even if its only for some companionship. Though having access to them should be a privilege. Nagini will want to visit at some point, which I see no issue with and should also be a privilege."

"The way the old man has played with these three is appalling." Helga murmured, eyes narrowed in thought.

"I don't particularly like how he's twisted our people around his finger either." Godric agreed. "Limiting magic that way is appalling. If this continues and Sal's original concerns about safety and security aren't addressed they'll be hunting us again before long. Of course Tom's current methods are actually hurting the situation not helping but that can be fixed."

"We'll have to restructure most of the society back to something we're a bit more familiar with. It would also help with appropriate integration." Rowena pointed out thoughtfully. "The so called creature laws are appalling, as are those that refer to blood purity. Tracking bloodlines is one thing but the mess they've made of everything. Its a wonder the so called purebloods aren't dying out simply because they refuse to introduce new blood into their families."

"Rowena dear, check the still born and miscarriage records." Helga suggested sadly. Rowena did as her friend suggested and gave out a sound of disgust, swearing viciously.

"Not good news I take it?" Godric asked with a false lightness to his tone.

"No." Rowena said sourly. "The only families that are thriving are the ones who accept so called muggleborns and half bloods. All of the others are slowly killing themselves with a lack of fresh blood. I can understand not wanting to have to train the new blood and the outrage over the loss of so many important rituals and traditions but to completely reject the new blood? At the rate they're going? And with the restrictions on magic use? I think the only reason we managed to wake up at all is that Lady Magic is in desperate need of help. Within the next hundred years the enchantments on the castle will start failing and the elves will start dying from lack of sustaining magic."

"Yes, its clearly become harder for them to conceive and birth healthy children." Godric agreed thoughtfully. "Adoption is an option, especially blood adoption since it adds to the initial bloodlines rather than replacing them. It would add new blood and allow the older bloodlines to flourish. Of course that and the traditional fostering have been completely blocked by Dumbledore."

"We can get around it if we forbid the attendance of purebloods unless they are fostering or have adopted a muggleborn. Half bloods would have to be tested on their knowledge of the wizarding world before being counted as being eligible for fostering. The less well off pureblood families could mentor some of the more well off muggleborns instead of a full fostering." Salazar pointed out, adding his own cunning to the discussion. "We could also request that the goblins require an in depth inheritance test from all current account holders and any new ones in the future. It would help us rediscover old forgotten squib lines and help bring muggleborns properly into our world. After all when you find that you already have history somewhere its natural to try and investigate it."

"We'll have to get that damned muggle studies class updated and start requiring not only it but also a wizarding custom class." Godric muttered with a scowl. "I hate to say it Sal, but we have to also require at least a basic proficiency in the Dark Arts as well. The lack of training and outdated information is hurting so many..."

"Now you see why I made it one of the conditions for helping to create the school." Salazar said quietly. "The lack of Dark Arts being taught is stunting many of them and outright harming others. Not to mention the detrimental effect on Lady Magic. In our time there were plenty who would be willing to teach it to those who had an interest, but not in a safe fashion. Now? Now, the children are more likely than not to be touted as monsters and murders for the simple casting of a dark healing spell. This isn't right."

"I concede the point." Godric admitted ruefully. "Something I want, however is that twinkling bastard out of our school!"

They all murmured their agreement before falling into a companionable silence. The silence lasted long enough that both Snape and Voldemort had begun dozing again before they all heard a muffled cry from Harry's bed. The sounds quieted before beginning again and moving on to quiet whimpers, groans, and sobbing, eventually moving on to barely muffled screams and thrashing.

Voldemort mentally growled before shoving aside his curtains, getting up and stalking over to the Gryffindor's bed to yank back the red curtains. Completely ignoring the fact that Snape was half out of his bed to do the same. What he found on the other side of the curtains stopped him cold. Harry was sweating and twisted up as small as he possibly could in his bedding to the point of near strangulation. He was also biting into his pillow to muffle as much of the sound from his nightmares as possible.

The twisted expression of fear, pain, resignation, and sorrow had the Dark Lord wondering just what the boy hero was dreaming about. Snape peered over his shoulder and when he saw the condition that Harry was in he made an abortive move to help, stopping at the glare he received. Voldemort turned back to study the young Heir of Gryffindor before making a decision.

"Hold his eyes open." Voldemort softly commanded. Snape looked at him warily but complied, his own eyes widening when the Dark Lord cast the spell. "Legilimens"

Voldemort plunged into the sleeping mind of the young lion and almost immediately pulled right back out. The dream sequence was showing Harry getting beaten by Vernon while being mocked and blamed for every death that had occurred since his birth by random students, witches, and wizards. Constantly being told that if he had simply died when his parents had that none of it would have happened, that everyone else would have been safe. Dumbledore was standing off to the side asking why Harry was being so ungrateful and told that it was to dangerous for him to return to Hogwarts. Hastily, Voldemort pulled out of Harry's sleeping mind to stare at him in shock.

"We have a lot of work to do." Voldemort muttered before reaching down to roughly shake the sleeping boy. "Wake up. Potter! Its a dream."

Harry startled awake to find two dark looming figures over his bed. With a half aborted cry he rolled away from them, smack into the wall that the bed was pressed against. He huddled there, his eyes darting back and forth between the older wizards as he groped about for his wand. Finding the bear instead he clutched it as if his life depended upon it, and tried to keep out of their reach.

"Did the old goat actually tell you to be more greatful?" Voldemort asked much more calmly, as he sat on the edge of the bed. Harry gave him a deer in the headlights look and started trembling, practically strangling the bear in his arms as he tried to derrive comfort from the stuffed toy.

"When did that happen?" Snape asked with a frown.

"I asked not to go back, he told me to stop exaggerating and be more greatful." Harry said softly, resolutely gazing at his tangled bed covers rather than the older men.

"Take off your shirt boy." Salazar ordered. "Show them the scars."

"Not supposed to tell. Not supposed to tell." Harry muttered as shook his head frantically and hunched over into himself as much as possible, using the stuffed bear as an inadequate sheild against their gazes.

"There has to already be a measure of trust between them or he would have denied having scars, not said he's not allowed to tell." Helga said thoughtfully, her eyes narrowed in fury. A moment later she nodded sharply before calling for an elf. "We need a certified healer, preferably one who is also a skilled mind healer. Can the two of you suggest anyone? Or am I going to have to send the elf out blind?"

"Narcissa Malfoy." Voldemort said softly, as he gazed at Harry in uncharacteristic concern.

"You might as well bring Filius Flitwick, Lucius Malfoy, and Draco Malfoy as well. Though having Draco stay in another room probably wouldn't go amiss. He doesn't exactly get along with Potter." Snape offered wearily. "If the Dark Lord thinks that we need Narcissa now, we'll likely need Lucius in his capacity as a Barrister. There's no point in leaving Draco alone at the manor and, from your earlier conversation, Filius can help us with any paperwork that might need to be filed with the goblins."

The elf popped in a moment later saw the state that Harry was in, squeaked and popped out without waiting for instructions. Everyone but Harry shared a look of surprise, especially when the same elf popped back in with a pair of sleepy redheaded twins. They took one look at their surroundings, saw Harry and ignored everything and everyone else to climb on to the bed and sandwhich their little brother between them in a hug, muttering soothing words and sounds. It took over an hour for Harry to stop shaking and relax a bit into the arms of the Weasley twins.

"You want to talk about it this time little brother?" Fred asked, almost sleepily. Harry shook his head almost violently as they continued to rock him back and forth, hugging him between them, even as he fought to stay awake.

"Does this happen often?" Snape asked, both he and Voldemort were seated at the replacement table that had been provided during the short time they were asleep and drinking tea.

"Almost every night." George offered with a wide yawn.

"We had to break him out of his house when we picked him up with dad's flying car the first time. They had bars on his windows and his stuff was locked in a cupboard." Fred said sleepily.

"Funny thing. We've heard him called it his cupboard." George told them, fighting his own battle to stay awake.

"Saw his name on the wall and a cot in there with his trunk. Like he'd slept there or something." Fred told them as Harry finally lost the battle to stay awake.

"Had trouble convincing the elves to get us when he's like this." George practically slurred his words, his exhaustion clear.

"Yeah, was a right mess. Had to ask them if they wanted him to get hurt." Fred agreed as he slipped into a doze, along side his twin and their little dark haired brother.

"You mentioned scars." Snape asked the tapestry quietly, his eyes never leaving the three boys on the bed.

"He mostly wears glamours, I don't think he's aware of them, but once or twice they've slipped while he was changing or washing." Salazar admitted with a grimace. "The castle can see even when its only stone walls. He was alone for the most part when the spells happened to slip. You'll have to find a way to strip away the glamours for a proper look. I have no idea if he's hiding injuries that need to be treated either."

"We'll have to send a message to their mother so that she doesn't panic when she finds their beds empty in a couple of hours." Snape said judiciously, for the moment ignoring the disturbing revelations about Dumbledore's golden boy.

"You told me that he was a spoiled brat." Voldemort pointed out softly.

"As far as I know he is." Snape parried. "The only information I can get on his home life comes through Dumbledore, and he keeps insisting that the boy is treated like a prince and wants for nothing. What I have managed to observe shows a marked lack of respect for rules and personal danger. I have no idea how he might have even been remotely considered for Slytherin house. I never understood why he chooses to wear rags under his fairly decent robes."

"According to the castle, he doesn't have anything else." Salazar said quietly. "Some of what he does have was given to him by the Weasleys. He also doesn't have enough meat on him. I'd like you to brew nutrient potions for him, if only to get his weight up to something more substantial."

"Earlier, I felt..." Voldemort trialed off seeing the indulgent look of understanding on the cloth faces of the founders, making him scowl.

"What you felt was the Horcrux in the boy's scar." Rowena said with a gentle smile. "We're forcing Harry's secrets out into the open partially because they are actually relevant to the situation, not to mention still ongoing, and partially because both of you need to see him as just Harry. He knows almost nothing of our world, yet he is currently expected to sacrifice everything for it. If we do this right then Hogwarts will release you and you wont have to share all of your secrets unless you want to."

"Regardless, for the foreseeable future, the three of you will be residing here, at Hogwarts, and spending time together." Helga pointed out.

"You've revealed some rather important secrets when it comes to the boy and I. Is there anything equivalent in Severus' repertoire of secrets?" Voldemort asked, even as he noted the Potion Master's sudden stiffness. "You've shared some rather interesting secrets for the two of us. I think its only fair that you share one of Severus', unless he would like to share it himself..."

"My lord, I have no idea...." Severus trailed off when he finally looked at the other man and saw his expression. Sighing deeply he reconsidered his response before speaking in a tone of deep resignation, head bowed, gaze firmly placed on his hands in his lap. "I turned from you when I believed that you had ignored my request to spare Lily. Dumbledore forced me into an unbreakable vow to do my utmost to protect the boy. Had I not needed to protect him from others of a Dark affiliation I would not have clung so tightly to the idea that he is a carbon copy of James Potter. I also would have likely noticed the mistreatment that you all have been hinting at, but I couldn't afford to show any positive interest, or at least I believed I couldn't, not without risking both our lives. With both your destruction and Lily's death, had I not needed to protect the boy and been constantly reminded of it by Dumbledore, I likely would not have survived for long after that night."

Harry had woken back up enough to hear Snape's answer and didn't make a sound or move from his cocoon of twins partially from shock and partially from confusion. He watched the drama play out from behind his bangs, knowing he likely wouldn't be getting back to sleep, and wondered when his world had decided to stop making sense. He also wondered what the twins would make of it and idly considered if the two of them were actually asleep or simply pretending as he watched to see what would happen next.

Voldemort calmly regarded the man sitting across the table from him and considered his options. He could cast a wandless crucio, or find some other way of punishing the man during their confinement. He could wait until they had managed to get free of the room and possibly Hogwarts as well. Or he could simply work with what he had been presented with. Potter was one of his Horcruxes, that left out killing the brat, Severus was sworn to protect Potter, Severus cared enough for the boy's mother to turn aside from him knowing the likely consequences.

"There will be a reckoning for your betrayal." Voldemort warned quietly, as Snape flinched before bowing his head more deeply, shoulders hunched, in acknowledgement. "For now we discover exactly what Dumbledore has kept hidden from us about the boy."

"Actually, we're pretty sure the old goat played him." Salazar told the Dark Lord with a sympathetic grimace.

"That's hardly better." Voldemort pointed out, dryly.

"Of course, its not like he didn't play you as well." Helga pointed out, causing the dreaded Dark Lord to flush and look away.

"Entirely beside the point." Voldemort retorted. His gaze moving back to the three Gryffindors on the bed, two redheads and one black.

"They are worthwhile when you get to know them." Salazar said softly, seeing where his son's gaze had fallen. "All three were supposed to be in my house. All three were placed in Godric's house for their courage to ask for another house, knowing that they might not be accepted. An eleven year old knowingly choosing a more troublesome or dangerous path is courage indeed, though a more subtle one than is usually associated with Godric's house and line. Just because one of our favored traits is considered dominant at the sorting does not mean that the other traits are not also present."

"They buried Harry's love of knowledge deeply to the point that he is being hurt by it, physically hurting him if he got better grades than his cousin. Any time he showed loyalty in the presence of his relatives except to them, regardless of their actions, they did their best to destroy it. Any display of backbone or bravery had his meals and freedom taken from him, often accompanying a beating. His cunning has kept him alive, as he stole food to survive and his magic helped keep him alive." Rowena observed quietly, choosing not to notice that Harry had begun to shake at their words. "The words he calls out in his sleep tell much, as do the scattered bits of memory retained from the hat. Thus far he has only ever slept well when the twins have comforted him and only for short periods of time."

"From what we can tell, he truly believes that the abuse and torture that is inflicted on him is his due. That he does not deserve to live." Godric said softly, even as the twins murmured softly, shifting to cuddle the still quietly shaking Harry more closely to them. "The twins are as much his brothers as possible without a blood link, in some ways even more so."

"Explaining their presence here to their mother is going to be a nightmare." Snape informed them with a groan, then pondered for a moment. "I suppose I can tell them that I needed them to help me brew a rare potion for Potter, that he had fallen ill."

"Actually there are a few potions that require certain ingredients from magical twins or need them to help with certain parts of the brewing." Salazar informed him mirth bubbling in the founder's eye. "I'll even give you my journals that have their descriptions and recipes if you can at least try to be understanding and civil with young Harry."

"That's not all he wants you to do. Knowing him, after he's sweetened you up, he's going to try and get you to check everyone for potions or spells influencing them. Even if he presents it as a prank or something." Godric said with a snort, completely ignoring the fierce glare from his friend for spoiling the man's plot. "Don't be like that Sal, you know you're going to give them a potions lab to play with. Just get it over with and have them brew some of the more harmless stuff. I know perfectly well that your main argument is going to be that we can always take it away from them again if they misuse it."

Voldemort thought for a moment, considering all of the new information he had gained in the last 24 hours. Snape would be a decent guard for the brat who wouldn't die under most circumstances but there were some places he couldn't go without suspicion, even if he continued to pretend that he simply wanted to get the brat in trouble. The two redheads currently on the bed comforting his human horcrux on the other hand would, as his friends and pseudo-brothers, have an easier time guarding the irritating brat. If he could get them to stay with the younger Gryffindor it would simplify things. Deciding to explore this avenue a bit, the Dark Lord sent two wandless stinging hexes at the boys, waking them with indignant yelps and completely ignoring the fact that Harry was likely still awake, judging by his near complete silence and lack of movement.

"Oi! What was that for?" Fred asked indignantly before finally getting a proper look at the two older wizards. His gulp of alarm had a satisfied smirk spreading across Voldemort's face.

"Freddie, I don't think we're in the Burrow any more." George said quietly, even as both boys tried to shove Harry behind them.

"Would you die to protect Potter?" Voldemort asked, an evil smirk still dominating his features even as the twins exchanged a startled glance before slowly nodding, eyes narrowing. "Good. Certain information has come to light which obliges me to cease my attempts to kill him and instead protect him. Severus is already bound to that task but there are places and situations that he can not easily infiltrate to keep the brat safe in. If you want to leave this room alive you will both swear an unbreakable vow to protect him to the best of your abilities and swear your undying loyalty to either me or to Potter. Know this though, Potter is under my authority from now on. It is my right to punish him even as it is now my responsibility to protect him. Is that understood? You will not interfere between us unless it is clear that I am trying to kill him."

"Oi! Leave them alone! Guys, you don't have to do that." Harry protested, as he tried to shove aside the twins so that he could protect them rather than the other way around. He didn't noticed the startled looks on their faces or the evil smirks that came over their faces. Both Voldemort and Snape, however, did and those expressions sent chills of fear down the dreaded Potion Master's spine, making him forcibly stop the instinctive flinch.

"We take it that..." Fred began their dual speech patterns.

"You are the Dark Lord?" George continued, their smirks still firmly in place. At Voldemort's intrigued nod of acknowledgement they continued.

"Then there really..." Fred.

"Is no choice. Not that..." George.

"There ever really was..." Fred.

"One. We choose our little..." George.

"Harrykins. He already has..." Fred.

"Our loyalty, even over..." George.

"Our family and friends." They finished together, maniacal grins in place, even as they turned folding themselves into a half kneeling half bowing position on either side of Harry, heads half bowed, eyes and faces suddenly dead serious as they met Harry's startled gaze.

"We pledge our loyalty and service to Harry James Potter, regardless of name, rank, or status. We pledge to serve him to the best of our abilities, to remain always faithful, to protect him to the best of our abilities even should it cost us our magic and our lives. Our pledge remains even against those of our own blood and kin. We pledge to hold his welfare above our own to our dying breath and beyond. So Mote It be." The twins practically chanted, power swirling in the air around them and resonating in their voices, their eyes glowing with the force of what magic they had summoned as witness to their pledge.

"I... I..." Harry stammered.

"Accept the pledge Potter." Snape ordered quietly from his position at the new table. "They went beyond what the Dark Lord requested and rejecting it will have some nasty consequences. The menaces took a rather large risk in making the oath in such a fashion at all. Allow the words to flow from you, don't think, and for gods sake don't try to force it."

Harry took a deep breath before nodding to himself and meeting their eyes as they patiently waited for his decision.

"I accept not because you were required, not because of what you offer, not because you have proven yourselves to be my brothers, comrades, and friends but because it is the true wish of your hearts. Should it be anything else I ask you to withdraw your oaths and there will be no harm to either party." Harry said carefully, the words flowing from his mouth like a river, power resonating with each syllable he spoke. The twins simply smirked at him and bowed their heads the rest of the way, confident in their acceptance. This time when Harry spoke there was a quiver of gratitude, awe, slight fear, and shock running alongside the raw magic in his voice. "Very well, I accept your oath and give you one in return. I pledge to protect you to the best of my ability. I pledge to stand at your side and answer should you call for aid. I pledge to assist in what endeavors you take up that I may. I pledge to never intentionally place you and yours in danger, unless there is no alternative. I pledge to honor you and your oath to the best of my abilities for the rest of my days. So Mote It Be."

"So Mote It Be." Voldemort and Snape echoed, sealing the vows the three had spoken. The magic rang through their bones and painlessly burned a small lightning bolt into the hollow of the throat of each twin, marking them as Harry's sworn liegemen.

"This is a nightmare. It has to be." Snape muttered a moment later, glancing between the still kneeling twins and the smirking Dark Lord.

"Afraid not." Gryffindor chimed in, amusement liberally lacing his voice. "But think of it this way, since you are also pledged to protect Harry, they can't afford to move against you unless you prove yourself to be a threat to my Heir. Pledged to protect my Heir and sworn to serve Sal's Heir. Just be glad that you aren't torn between them any more." Snape just growled at the cloth image of the red and gold clad founder.

"Uh, why aren't the two of you bothered about... this?" Harry asked his friends quietly.

"Harry, Harry, Harry, there's a simple reason why." Fred said in amusement shaking his head in mock sadness, as they both switched to siting cross-legged in front of him on the bed.

"We're half dark! Or I guess you could say grey." George informed him, in slight bemusement.

"We're not entirely light, and we've been trying to figure out a way to show you that we follow you, no matter what." Fred informed him with a grin.

"Mum might be a bit of a tough sell if you decide to use dark magic regularly but mostly our family will side with you." George pointed out. "Ginny has a crush on you, mum and dad consider you to be another Weasley, Ron's a prat at times but you're his best mate."

"Might have some trouble with Percy but he's a git. Bill and Charlie wont care one way or the other, and if you wind up killing and torturing you'll have to explain it to mum." Fred explained. "If you have a good enough reason for it and point it out to mum, she'll practically do it for you and fuss over you after to make sure you're okay."

"Lupin decided that you're his cub and werewolves are really loyal to their pack. There aren't all that many who wouldn't stand with you if you decided to side with Mister Dark Lord over there, even if some of us would eventually want an explanation." George admitted. "We don't need one but mum, Hermione, Mr. Black, and Professor Lupin will want one. I don't think we can convince Professor Dumbledore that this is a good thing and Percy is a bit of a wash along with Mad-eye Moody but..."

"Harrykins you have to understand." Fred said shifting to a more serious expression with his brother following suit.

"The oath we just gave? We really do mean it." George told him as Fred nodded.

"The Death Munchers probably have to give a similar promise. Harry, the Death Eaters belong to Voldemort in the same way we belong to you now." Fred explained.

"Every word of the oath? We mean it. To our dying breath we are yours and the only reason we didn't swear our bloodline to you, our children, is that we knew you'd object." George said softly.

"If we thought you'd have accepted we would have sworn not only ourselves but our children to your service, Harry." Fred told him solemnly before breaking out into a grin and declaring cheekily. "Our husband or wife would have to make the oath on their own."

"I'm not sure that I really understand but I meant what I promised. I will stand by you and I will do my best to honor the oaths, yours and mine." Harry told them seriously.

"We know." Fred said simply.

"That's one of the reasons we were happy to make the oath." George informed him before both twins jumped up off the bed and mock bowed to him.

"My lord." Both twins said mockingly mid-bow. Harry was amused at their antics and didn't notice that while their voices were irreverent their body language said something entirely different, a fact that neither Slytherin missed.

"Menaces." Snape muttered half-heartedly.

"To true." They agreed, turning as one to face the disgruntled potions master and pretended to act like mechanized toy soldiers, much to Harry's amusement.

Chapter Text

10 minutes of silliness later they settled back down with the twins sitting to either side of Harry on the bed. One of the twins accidentally sat on Harry's new stuffed bear and scowling a bit at the bear, slightly offended that it had the gall to be where he wanted to sit, he handed it to Harry. Both twins watched as Harry gave a delighted noise, snatching it from Fred's hand and, ignoring everyone else, hugged the toy to him. A light dawned in twin eyes as they realized that, even though it was clearly recently acquired, Harry treasured the toy deeply. A twitch and glancing connection of gazes confirmed between the twins that if something ever happened to the bear, they would try to get it back for their Lord.

"I would rather not share more with the menaces in the room. Not to mention their very presence causes problems we're going to have to solve to avoid panicking anyone and increasing our time trapped in this room." Snape pointed out caustically.

"That reminds me. Twins? Since you guys are now sort of mine, do you think you can get Ginny to leave me alone? I don't want to hurt her feelings or anything but I just can't be her boyfriend. She's like a sister or a... well something not so nice." Harry told them, faltering at his almost suggestion that the youngest Weasley might actually be stalking him and taking some of his stuff.

"Do either of you have your wands?" Snape asked suddenly, looking at them expectantly. He was sorely disappointed when they shook their heads no.

"We keep our wands under our pillows but whenever Harry gets really bad nightmares the elf doesn't bother to let us grab them." Fred explained quietly. "The elf always seems to put us down on his bed, inside the curtains... and the silencing charm he puts on them."

"Sometimes we wont even wake up until we hear him screaming. Those times we usually wind up just joining him in bed and falling back asleep." George told them, ignoring Harry's sudden shyness and disinterest for all that he was also flushed in embarrassment.

"No wands then." Voldemort said with a sigh, filing away this additional information about the boy he'd been trying to kill since infancy, his human horcrux.

"Speaking of such, would our visitors be able to keep their wands? Or bring us wands?" Snape asked almost idly, eyes narrowed in thought.

"I can answer that." Rowena said quietly, a small smile gracing her cloth features as pride shined in her eyes. The twins looked toward where the voice had come from and did a comical double take. They hadn't actually noticed anyone except Harry, Voldemort, and Snape, thus they were completely floored when they realized that there was a tapestry of the four founders in the room and it was moving like portraits did.

"Just noticed we were here did you?" Godric asked in deep amusement, his voice hinting at having a deep belly laugh. The twins nodded dumbly as they continued to stare at the cloth portrait of the four founders with the castle rising up behind them in the background.

"As I was saying, yes, visitors can bring wands with them and retain them. However, because Hogwarts has confiscated your own wands unless she deems it an emergency or a reasonable, if temporary, request she will do what she must to keep any wand from your hands. Until she's decided that you've earned the right to your wands again it would be unwise to even touch another wand. From what I've managed to gather, this is not only a safety precaution but also because Dumbledore is connected to the wards as headmaster, and thus is notified about certain spells or certain people casting spells." Rowena explained calmly. "For example, he's notified every time that Severus or Harry casts a spell outside of a classroom or if they leave grounds in some fashion, with the magic keeping a record of not only the spells but the details of the spells. Any so called dark spell they cast will send up a red flag. He is, however, unable to monitor potions use."

"Are the... what did you call them Severus? Menaces? bound by your promise Potter?" Voldemort asked quietly, and a bit thoughtfully.

"What?" Harry asked blankly, looking up from gently playing with his bear.

"Misters Weasley, Potter has taken an oath to refrain from revealing the secrets we are being forced to share unless we release him from his promise or are properly dead." Snape said in a silkily dangerous tone. "As you are now sworn to his service, does this also apply to you or do we need to have you swear the same oath?"

"Perhaps, if you are going to inform anyone else, you might want to have them here as well or decide now who you can each share the information with." Godric suggested, suddenly amused by the situation as a whole and their momentary predicament.

"Potter, I am going to request the elf bring Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy, possibly Draco as well so that he is not left alone at the manor during the holidays. I feel that they need to be aware and informed about what we are sharing. Narcissa is a certified healer and can help heal anything that the school nurse has either missed or otherwise failed to heal. Lucius can help us with any legal proceedings the three of us may choose to take jointly or individually." Voldemort explained, watching the shifting emotions on the teens face, gauging how to handle the situation even as he spoke. "Those who bear my mark did not make as all encompassing an oath as your friends did, however, I am still fully responsible for their actions as their sworn lord. Just as you are now responsible for the actions of your... twins."

"I like that." Fred said with a slight smile, as George hummed his agreement.

"Harry's twins. Of course we could also be called his menaces and his fiends, or even his Weasleys." George pointed out cheekily, earning a weak grin from Harry.

"You are menaces." Snape pointed out sourly.

"Do we have to tell the Malfoys?" Harry asked quietly.

"Harrykins, mum worries and Dumbledore keeps saying that you're fine and getting everything you need or want." Fred said gently, his twin nodding sadly in agreement.

"At least Lucius Malfoy can't be blocked or talked out of doing something by Professor Dumbledore." George pointed out softly. "He even managed to get the old man out of the school for a little bit in second year."

"We've been wanting to try and help but we haven't been able to figure out how." Fred told him almost grimly. "At least now the scary Dark Lord isn't trying to kill you and Professor Snape can probably brew any potions you need if you pay him."

"We know that Hermione has a bad habit of telling Dumbledore stuff because he's an authority figure and we've seen him guilt tripping her." George informed him.

"We've also seen him bribing Ronniekins to tell him stuff or suggesting that our brother do stuff for him. Stuff that involves you." Fred informed him.

"Its creepy." George said with a shiver.

"We also don't like how much he stares at you. It isn't right." Fred said softly.

"And how does he stare at Potter?" Voldemort asked sharply, ruby eyes narrowed.

"Like he's made of gold or a wonderful project or something." George clarified. "Sometimes he looks really sad or disappointed when watching Harry."

"He also watches Harry all the time and calls him to his office for no reason or for stupid stuff." Fred explained.

"He doesn't do that for anyone else." George added as both twins looked at the Potter Heir in worry, partially wondering how their lord would take these revelations.

"Told you he knows." Salazar said simply, causing Voldemort to let out a defeated sigh and a nod of resignation.

"What does he know?" Fred asked quietly as his brother watched Harry who was once again pretending to ignore the situation and playing with his plushie bear.

"The night I killed the Potters, I accidentally left something behind. A piece of my own soul. It latched on to baby Harry and if Dumbledore realizes that I, Harry, or anyone else knows its there he will try to kill him. As long as a single piece of my soul survives I can not die. The process of taking a shard of your own soul and placing it somewhere other than your own body is called creating a Horcrux. I have more than one." Voldemort admitted quietly even as he shifted into lecture mode. "The important thing that the two of you need to be aware of is that Harry is one, thus Dumbledore will eventually try to kill him or otherwise ensure his death so that I can die. As long as Harry lives, I will and as long as I live, Harry will. This was proven with Nagini, my familiar. Before she bonded to me as a proper familiar she became a Horcrux shortly before she should have died. A fact I was unaware of at the time, believing her younger than she is. As you know, being purebloods, a familiar is for life. Once a familiar bond is in place the familiar will live as long as their master and almost never out lives them unless the familiar can be pulled out of the resultant depression and naturally has more years left. Some witches and wizards can manage to make it clear to their familiar that they want the familiar to out live them if possible. Those that do outlive their master are often more willing to interact with other witches and wizards, though bonding a second time is rare. As a result I was shocked when Nagini came to me one day and asked why she had woken up despite it being time for the long hibernation. I discovered that she had indeed almost not woken up again and that the soul piece she carried had actually healed her. I quickly initiated the familiar bond and cursed my own stupidity. Yet, I couldn't remain sad because she has been a dear friend since I found her in the forests of Albania. I was also gratified to know that she would continue to survive, despite her advanced age."

They all sat there processing the information and thinking through the implications. The twins turned grim and nodded their understanding. Dumbledore had just replaced the Dark Lord at the top of their copy of Harry's list of enemies.

"Why did you keep trying to kill Harry? If you knew about this, why take the risk?" George asked with a hard glint in the eyes of both Weasley boys.

"I was unaware of his Horcrux status until shortly before we retired for the night." Voldemort informed him almost primly.

"If we have our way, he'll be down to only Harry and Nagini as his Horcruxes, with possibly Severus as well." Rowena informed the twins with a smirk, easily earning a vicious glare from the Dark Lord.

"Are you going to destroy them?" Fred asked suspiciously, eyes narrowed into nearly a glare.

"Hardly. We want to re-merge most of them back into my Heir." Salazar explained. "It isn't safe to remove them from Harry or Nagini for the next 50 years or so. It may be simpler and safer to just anchor them properly and leave the three of them immortal, or roughly immortal. True immortality is something that you need to be born into. What Tom has achieved is risky enough, partially since wizards aren't exactly designed to live longer than 500 years at the most and most muggles don't live to see 80 much less 100. We can anchor his sanity and act as companions but we are also... restricted. He would have to constantly live here with us to get a proper benefit. Harry can challenge him in many fields and if he applies himself could learn enough to out argue my Heir. Severus is already mentally fit enough and skilled enough to match Tom and having three of them immortal will be slightly less wearing."

"If we additionally require them to get to know one another before sticking them with each other and us for the rest of eternity they are less likely to have irreconcilable problems." Rowena pointed out. "Extending it to any spouse or family, such as children, is currently inadvisable. However we happen to be aware that none of them currently have either so we have some time to find a safer solution for them. Turning Severus into a Horcrux is only feasible because my nephew has made so many other Horcruxes, and his largest piece has already partially been returned to him by Harry. The removal of the shard from your sister after she was possessed by it can also help partially explain her... overenthusiastic attention to your young lord."

"While interesting, we should try to get some more sleep. If the elf returns the menaces to their own beds we shouldn't have to deal with their mother." Snape pointed out dryly, tiredness leaking into his voice. "Unless we don't plan on getting some more rest, then we should either finally decide who our 'visitors' will be and what else we might require."

"Yes, I believe that at least a few hours of rest would benefit all of you. Twins, if you can find a way to return to the castle without issue I suspect that we can also arrange to 'kidnap' you so that you may remain with Godric's Heir." Helga said kindly, finally speaking up even as she noticed the hesitation of both redheads to part from Harry, despite the trouble it would cause.

"Mate, we have got to talk about your status and manners. As one pureblood to another? We need to get you trained." George said flatly after sharing a startled look with his brother.

Harry shrugged as he bit back a yawn, not really understanding and simply wanting to try and get some nightmare free sleep. The elf popped back into the room and without a word returned the two Weasleys to their beds at the Burrow before disconcertingly hustling the three captives back into bed, much to their chagrin. He even dosed Harry with a half measure of Dreamless Sleep before tucking the green eyed student into bed.

The next morning they awoke to a lavish breakfast spread set out on an intricately carved set of dinning table and chairs that had replaced what was there the night before. There were also additional doors to other rooms and an actual door replacing the curtain that had covered the bathroom. Each of them now had a small chest of drawers beside their beds with new clean clothing set out for each of them.

When Harry investigated the doors he found a fully stocked potions lab. He next found a library that, according to the instructions could provide almost any text ever published with a simple verbal request and a hand laid on the bookshelf. Finally he investigated the bathroom as he performed his morning routine. What Harry found when he opened the bathroom door shocked him. The castle had given them a luxury suit bathroom that easily rivaled the prefect's bathroom he had 'borrowed' last year and was practically a combination sauna, mini-swim park, and artificial waterfall. The choking noise he made brought the other two to investigate and had them standing behind him, looking over his shoulder speechless.

"Apparently, the castle is pleased with our progress." Snape practically choked out. Voldemort nodded dumbly in agreement.

"Not pleased enough to give us our wands back though." Harry commented, breaking free of his own stunned stupor. Tossing a look of longing at the pool trying to pass itself off as a bath tub before turning and slipping into one of the shower stalls to get washed.

Snape sent one last admiring glance around the bathroom before heading for the potions lab, never noticing the Dark Lord quietly following him. When they entered the state of the art lab that the castle had provided them with both were impressed and Snape was practically drooling. It wasn't long before his control broke and he was dashing all over the place like a kid in a candy story, making various sounds of pleasure and astonishment. By the time that he had made it to the fully stocked ingredients cupboard filled to the brim with rare, expensive, and powerful ingredients along side of the much more common ones he was practically dancing in glee.

Voldemort quickly realized that if he didn't do something to bring the man back down to earth they were going to loose him to his potions for the foreseeable future. To that end he quietly approached the oblivious Potions Master and pinned him to the nearest flat surface, knowing that there was no danger from potion debris and left over ingredients. The lab was far to clean for that.

"Severus." Voldemort's quiet hiss into his ear abruptly brought the man back to harsh reality even as the Dark Lord's feelings of betrayal and hurt bubbled to the surface. "I think its time I made something perfectly clear to you. You and Potter are mine and neither of you will be leaving my side any time soon, whether that be here at Hogwarts or elsewhere. I trusted you, deeply, and you chose to go to the old man. Prove to me my trust was not misplaced or you will be begging for death before I grant it. Before we leave here you will drop all of your Occlumency shields and allow me to view your mind to my hearts content, or the moment I see no use for you..."

"That's quite enough Tom." Salazar said softly from the nearby portrait that neither of them had noticed. Voldemort didn't move, keeping the other man pinned beneath him, unresisting yet tense. "Yes, he hurt you but Lily died by your wand and he truly believed that you had disregarded his request. The betrayal you feel now? He felt it so greatly when he realized that Lily Evans Potter had died by your wand that we had a hard time keeping him from committing suicide. Dumbledore certainly didn't help, even if the reminders of protecting Harry did. All that bastard wanted was to have a potions master of such skill and renown under his complete control. Severus is loyal to a fault. Lily taught him that. Neither of you were aware of the possible side effects of the magic that Dumbledore tricked you into performing and I suspect that not all of the magic performed on either of you was done with your consent. All three of you need to be checked for foreign magic, controlling spells and potions. Decide his punishment after discovering if he truly deserves it."

"They are both mine." Voldemort said fiercely, his gaze rising to meet that of his ancestor, even as his grip tightened slightly on the form pinned beneath him.

"I'm not disputing that." Salazar said gently with a half amused shake of his head. "What I am doing is pointing out that Dumbledore has screwed with all three of you and that the blame my not actually belong to Severus. Just as the blame for your first fall does not fall on the boy for all that you have been obsessing over his destruction for so many years. Discover where the blame truly lies then decide, not before."

"Very well." Voldemort said reluctantly after a moment of contemplation. "I will wait and see. He will still receive punishment for the betrayal, for thinking I wouldn't do my best to keep my word, and granting another his loyalty without cause. Anything more will be determined by who the blame truly belongs to."

"Thank you." Severus said quietly as the Dark Lord slowly let him stand back up before reluctantly releasing his grip and stepping away.

"You both must have truly trusted each other and been sorely wounded by what happened to resort to physically working it out instead of attempting to duel wandlessly despite the restrictions Hogwarts has in place." Salazar observed as he eyed them both with interest, knowing that both living wizards had instinctively avoided using magic to avoid hurting each other.

Neither wizard deigned to answer him as they entered the other room, gathered a change of clothes, and took turns using the bathroom. Harry having already finished being used to having to be quick at the Dursleys was waiting for them and the food at the table. They joined Harry at the table and the food appeared, tailored to each of their tastes.

Both older wizards were surprised that Harry didn't receive anything disgustingly sweet or massively unhealthy. Instead there was fruit, oatmeal, toast, eggs, sausages, ham, pumpkin juice, orange juice, and tea either at his place or near him. There was absolutely no sign of maple syrup, sugary cereal, donuts, or pastries of any sort. The only sweetening Harry used on anything was a little bit of honey.

Harry caught them staring at his small portion, barely half the size of the plate he was eating from, despite the fact that he was virtually surrounded by food on serving platters. He blushed, mumbling something about not being all that hungry. They exchanged worried glances before returning to eating their own food without comment.

Neither of the older males allowed their attention to drift from what the young man was actually eating, for all that it appeared they were absorbed with their own food. They weren't exactly pleased to realize that Harry didn't even plan on eating what was on his plate, sticking mostly to drinking his juice and playing with what was on his plate, never touching the food that surrounded him. Both knew that no healthy adult, muchless teenager, would willingly eat that little food when they were surrounded by it in various forms to freely choose from. Harry's quiet question completely distracted them from their surreptitious examination of his eating habits.

"If the letters are automatic why were so many sent, why not just one? and why did Hagrid pick me up in that hut that Uncle Vernon hid us in?" Harry asked quietly before taking another bite of his food. It took a moment for the question to process and then both older men were choking respectively on their food or drink, drawing Harry's startled attention.

"Hagrid?! Hagrid picked you up?" Snape asked harshly, wheezing slightly from accidentally having inhaled his tea, even as Voldemort forced himself to swallow the bite of scrambled eggs he had choked on. Harry nodded dumbly, intrigued by the fact that his potions Professor hadn't known.

"I didn't even know that magic was real. Uncle Vernon was really angry about the letters and Hagrid threatened him before he told me about magic. Even though Uncle Vernon kept saying he'd shoot Hagrid with his new shot gun. Hagrid bent it before he could." Harry explained almost calmly, curious as to their reactions, not thinking that what had happened was all that out of the ordinary.

Harry was not expecting raw fury to explode down his link with Voldemort or to hear his dreaded Potions Professor cursing up a storm. It never crossed his mind that they might be angry on his behalf. He never noticed the constant low level burning from his scar disappearing or the soothing edge that Voldemort's fury took on as it flowed to him down the link. All Harry felt was momentary burning pain and sudden exhaustion as he passed out, spiraling into welcome darkness even as his body slumped backward in his chair and scaring the two older wizards out of their fury with his reaction. They quickly checked Harry as best they could to make sure he was alright before settling him gently on his bed and exchanging worried looks.

"We don't have a choice now. Narcissa or Poppy?" Snape asked softly.

"Narcissa. We can ask her to talk to Lucius and send a note with the elf to the half-goblin you mentioned. It might be a good idea to have those twins here when he wakes if at all possible." Voldemort admitted wearily even as he gazed down at the frail form of his horcrux, a boy he had been trying to kill for too many years. Snape nodded sharply before softly calling for the elf and giving it their instructions, moments later they were joined by a startled Narcissa Malfoy.

"Severus? What.. My lord?" Narcissa asked confused, her wand already out to face her kidnappers.

"We need you to examine someone Cissy." Severus informed her soothingly. "I apologize for using an elf to retrieve you but I didn't have much choice. Your patient is over here, on the red bed."

Narcissa quickly moved over to the bed and started scanning her patient. To her credit she only shot them a startled look when she realized who exactly she was going to be treating before continuing her examination. A momentary flicker of power betrayed the secret of Harry's glamours to the attentive witch and with a frown she striped them away. What she found under the illusions dragged a strangled gasp from her even as she forced back her shock to focus on healing what she could. Misaligned bones, healed into an unnatural pattern, bruises, cuts, and scars littering a body too thin and too small for the age she knew her patient to be.

Muttering dire implications she huffed angrily before casting the far more extensive and exhausting diagnostic spell. It was the one spell which would provide her a complete medical history from the moment Harry was born to the moment that she had cast the spell. They all watched in horror as the magic scan produced a pile of parchments thicker than any file they had seen for a patient. Narcissa quickly checked the more recent damage to make certain that there was nothing else immediate that needed to be done. Her relief at having caught all of the most serious issues turned to dismay as she began paying attention to the other recorded injuries.

She quickly opted to start reading from his birth and move onwards. There were the normal easily dealt with minor illnesses that most infants go through, colic and the like, an upset stomach here, a dipper rash there, etc. Then she came upon the night the Potters died and the spell's description of the curse scar. She knew what a Horcrux was, she was a Black after all, born and raised. Voldemort never saw the slap that rang around the room coming, her skirts still swaying from her quick, furious movement.

"If you ever create another Horcrux again, you wont have to worry about Mr. Potter or Dumbledore trying to kill you. I'll do it myself." Narcissa informed him coldly.

Ignoring the stunned look she got from both men she turned back to Harry's medical history and continued reading. The next injury she saw had her giving a sound of distress that she cut short. She grimly waded through the injuries incurred during years of abuse, noting each time his magic tried to help heal him or managed to visibly protect him. It wasn't hard, after all every time his caretakers noticed his accidental magic he was either beaten again shortly there after or not given food for an extended period of time. The scan had automatically noted whenever he either missed more than one meal at a time or didn't receive enough food in a 24 hour period. The results jerked at her heart as she watched the picture form through the story told by his medical scan of a hungry and hurt little boy.

"He is not going back to be abused again." Narcissa told them, rage simmering in her voice as she delicately folded the medical history she had just finished reading. "And the two of you are going to find who forced him to use a blood quill repeatedly for hours at a time. The only reasons he isn't dead from that alone is the fact that he has Phoenix tears in his blood and that we produce blood faster than muggles, especially when injured. At least the Basilisk Venom makes him immune to almost any kind of poison. If either of you so much lay a hand on Mr. Potter then I will make certain that you loose your bollocks permanently and in such a way that the pain will never end. Have I made myself perfectly clear gentlemen?"

"Yes, Narcissa." Both older wizards chorused with a gulp of fear at her fury and threat as they winced and resisted the urge to shield their family jewels from the incensed witch.

That was when what she had said sunk in and the implications set off their own rages that mirrored her own, ensuring that if they had not been trapped both would have attempted to find at least Harry's muggle family before torturing them to death. The founders remained quiet as they magically reviewed the medical scan themselves through the magic of Hogwarts, their faces grim. The shock, fury, dismay, and worry, mixed with pride and protectiveness, their emotions raging even as they each did their best to bring their emotions under control.

"This is something that I'm fighting to prevent! Dumbledore and the people who laid a hand on him will die, painfully." Voldemort practically spat before pacing wildly around the room, desperately wishing he had something that he could destroy. He wasn't just upset that his Horcrux had been hurt, in fact he was more upset that a magical child had been harmed than anything else, conveniently forgetting that he had caused some of the damage himself.

It was the absolute worst time for the twins to arrive, which is exactly why it happened. Taking in the scene of three furious adults and one unconscious Harry they quickly put themselves between Harry and the adults. Completely ignoring Narcissa's attempts to get back to Harry's side in favor of keeping him safe from people who could easily hurt him in his vulnerable state.

"Boys, let the Lady treat your friend. She means him no harm and our anger is on his behalf." Rowena ordered quietly, her own fury barely kept in check. The twins exchanged wary glances but allowed Narcissa to approach and continue treating Harry as best she could.

"He's unconscious at the moment so I see no reason to wait on re-breaking the mis-healed breaks unless we don't have any skele-grow on hand." Narcissa said considering to no one in particular, pushing her fury aside to focus on Harry. "The unconsciousness wont last. He effectively fainted. The other injuries were minor, aside from the injuries on his hand from the blood quill. Bruises, cuts, barked knees, and other things that happen when a child either isn't being careful or is being quietly bullied. From the amount of minor injuries, I'm inclined to believe it is bullying over clumsiness, especially considering his repeated escapes over the years. How could Poppy have missed this? Any of it!"

"We will find out." Snape promised darkly, before calling for the elf and asking for the skele-grow from his stores so that it could be given to Harry.

"Summon Lucius." Narcissa ordered darkly as she took the skele-grow from the elf and started re-breaking and setting Harry's bones to heal correctly over night. "I will have custody by the end of the week or so help me I'll know why."

Both men took one look at her and instantly became wary. They could tell she already thought of Harry as a child under her protection and both sincerely hoped that the Malfoy men had the sense not to argue with the latest addition to their family or there was going to be hell to pay. Godric took pity on them and quietly summoned the elf, ordering that Lucius and Draco be retrieved. The founder thought that leaving out the half-goblin dueling and charms master for the moment would be wise, and allow their... guests, to sort out what they actually wanted done and how much to share.

Voldemort forced himself to calm his roiling emotions, recognizing that the witch's anger was not in fact pointed at him... yet. As he looked over at the, once, bane of his existence he sighed in resignation. The brat always seemed to be in the middle of things, dangerous things, things that would put more scars on his undernourished and battered body. Though, the Dark Lord had to admit, even if only silently to himself that the green eyed menace he had been hunting for so long had been adorable during his first attempt, changing to the now much more prominent strong and handsome bordering on beautiful form.

Voldemort could recognize beauty and passion when he saw it and honor it even if he later had to destroy it. His mind drifted to the few times he had allowed himself to contemplate the Potter Heir's skill, speed, and grace when in motion. Even the scars didn't detract from the young man's... wait. What the hell was he thinking? He hated the brat! He couldn't feel attracted to him!

With a mental slap the Dark Lord forced away all thoughts of desire and mushy feeling, forced away everything he had long considered a weakness even as he continued to watch as Narcissa tended to the broken yet not beaten too small form on the bed. Absently he analyzed everything that the blond woman did even as he kept a watchful eye on the dour Potions Master. Who, at least, had the sense not to try and leave the room after the earlier forceful declaration of ownership by his long time friend. Snape knew how possessive the man could be, especially if he perceived a threat to something he cared about. Both men were mercifully distracted by the arrival of the Malfoy males.

Chapter Text

"Narcissa? What's going on?" Lucius asked as he looked around the room and took in its inhabitants.

When Lucius' gaze fell on the twins his lip curled slightly in remembered disgust and over the fact that there were Weasleys present. Draco, on the other hand eyed the twins with suspicion, especially with the way he noticed them practically shielding whoever was on the bed that his mother was standing next to. Draco thought about how the twins were acting, how he had only ever seen them act this way a few times and only ever for Potter before putting the pieces together.

"This is about Potter, isn't it?" Draco asked shrewdly with a smirk tinged by malice, his eyes glittering in hidden excitement at the prospect of another fight with the Golden Gryff. The twins exchanged wary glances before reluctantly nodding, confirming the blond's suspicion.

"You will do nothing to harm or stress him." Salazar ordered sharply from his position on the tapestry, easily noticing the malice in the blond student's smirk.

"Of course not. Wouldn't want to hurt Potty's feelings now would we?" Draco said snidely, earning himself a light smack on the back of his head from his mother. The twins laughed at his misfortune only to receive a glare full of righteous indignation and murderous intent from the blond.

"You will not harm him or you will deal with me." Voldemort snapped, finally letting his temper get the better of him. Draco gulped, gave a sharp nod of acknowledgement, and quickly hid his confusion behind another sneer tossed at the still laughing twins.

"Draco, go into the library, through the central door. We need to discuss something with your parents." Snape ordered, sealing the door behind the haughty blond and casting as many privacy an silencing spells that he could think of at the door.

"Read this." Narcissa ordered, shoving the medical read out into her husband's hands and deftly taking away his cane, with the wand still inside, in the process.

Lucius gave his wife and odd look and started to read, getting paler as he followed the record of abuse, his breath tight in his chest and easing only when he got to the part where Harry arrived at Hogwarts. He noted each of the yearly adventures and finally realized who's medical record he was reviewing, despite the Basilisk Venom and Phoenix tears, when he got to the Dark Ritual and the evidence of crucios at the end of fourth year. Pale, he looked up at his seething wife in dread, wondering if he should be more worried that Harry Potter was suffering from abuse or that his wife had gotten her hands on his complete medical history.

"What do you want me to do Cissy?" Lucius asked quietly, ignoring the presence of his long time friend and his lord for the moment.

"When we leave here you will be applying for custody and, if possible, adoption." Narcissa informed him coldly, barely keeping her temper in check. "He will not be going back to that household, even if I have to kidnap him myself."

"It shouldn't be too much of a problem until they see exactly who we want to adopt." Lucius told her honestly. "The real problems will show up when that happens and we would still need to show cause or have the signatures of his guardians. Presuming we don't want to actually prosecute them. However, with this list of injuries we need to get him out of their reach and keep him away from them. Fighting Dumbledore for guardianship, muchless a proper adoption will be a nightmare and there is a chance that once we start the fight, someone else will get guardianship, or that we'll loose. If we loose, we could conceivably manage to get someone to check on him but Dumbledore's initial argument about the wards is still valid. We might be able to get someone to look at the wards, as a safety check but a lot can go wrong."

"I will not leave a child, barely younger than our son, to be starved and beaten!" Narcissa said viciously, ignoring the fact that the Dark Lord and Professor Snape were watching the argument with avid interest as if it were a tennis match. "No child deserves what young Mr. Potter has lived through and I will not see him sent back to those... monsters. Did you even read the record, Lucius? He has burns and scars from when he was four. FOUR! Each year he receives more of them and it didn't stop when he started attending Hogwarts either!"

Silence enveloped the room only to be broken a moment later when Draco managed to force the door back open, breaking the enchantments that his godfather had placed. He looked around the room, eyes wide and slightly wild. Ignoring the looks he was getting from everyone he rushed over to his mother and buried himself against her side, clutching at her.

"Shush, my dragon. What has got you so upset?" Narcissa asked as soothingly as she could.

"I.. He isn't really going to be my brother.. is he?" Draco asked hesitantly.

"And how would you even know what was being discussed?" Snape asked archly. "I distinctly remember putting up privacy wards."

"There was a portrait that let me see and hear." Draco admitted miserably. He didn't want to share his parents but he also didn't want to leave someone else to get hurt all of the time and not get enough food. Harry's groan from the bed stopped her from responding as they all turned to watch the person in question slowly re-enter the waking world.

"What happened?" Harry asked, his words slurred.

"You fainted." Snape informed him gruffly.

"While you were unconscious your twins returned and the Malfoys joined us. Narcissa cast a charm which provided us with your complete medical history." Voldemort carefully explained. "As they discovered your secret themselves via the medical records and we did not specify in our oaths anything beyond revealing the information it was safe for us to discuss it as they already knew. We have since been discussing how to deal with your current living situation. Lady Malfoy has made it clear that she would like to adopt you, or at least have custody."

"Right, if Snape knowing wasn't enough. Now everyone is going to know that I grew up being treated like a house elf." Harry said bitterly upon seeing that even Draco now knew how his relatives treated him. Draco's eyes went wide in shocked understanding at Harry's angry words, causing him to loose his grip on his mother as he reeled back from the shock only to find himself on the floor a moment later. Completely stunned by his classmate's confirmation of what he had overheard.

"Part of the problem is that the Headmaster is the one who has been dictating where you live. He is powerful enough to stop almost anything we try, which you would have known had you bothered to ask." Snape pointed out sarcastically, ignoring the fact that his godson was practically crumpled on the floor in shock.

"Unless you have something to offer to the discussion Severus, I would appreciate if you curbed your tongue." Voldemort said curtly. "Regardless of the power that Dumbledore wields Harry cannot return to his relatives, nor can he remain under Dumbledore's control."

"We can only do so much..." Fred started.

"To protect him." George finished unhappily.

"This is one of the reasons why the three of you won't be leaving this room until we have a firm claim." Helga told them firmly. "He will become a ward of the castle or we will know why."

"Calm, Helga, calm." Godric soothed. "Rowena should have a solution and if not than we can always make one."

"The blond boy easily looks old enough to be left alone. Now that he knows some of what is going on he shouldn't worry and he has no need to remain." Salazar pointed out judiciously.

"What? You're going to send me away?" Draco asked, startled into breaking from his stupor and scrambling back to his feet.

"Salazar has a point. Your presence obviously bothers my Heir and you are clearly old enough to be left alone." Godric admitted before arching an eyebrow at the other adults in a silent question of their opinion.

"Dragon, you need to promise not to go telling Mr. Potter's secret and then you need to go home while I try to make certain that he never has to go back to his relatives." Lucius ordered quietly, the steel in his voice hinting at why he was so powerful in the ministry.

"Yes, father." Draco said quietly before turning and meeting Harry's mistrustful gaze. "I promise not to share Potter's secret."

"Good." Fred said in satisfaction.

"If you do, you'll be our next test subject..." George continued with malicious satisfaction.

"For our new pranks." Fred finished, as they both grinned at the Slytherin Prince evilly making the blond shiver before nodding his acknowledgement. The elf took him back to his room at the family manor where he buried himself in his holiday homework, trying to forget the demonic looks that the twins had sported at the thought of being able to target him for breaking his promise.

"Menaces." Snape muttered, half-heartedly.

Lucius looked at the twins thoughtfully and wondered exactly how Harry had gained their loyalty. His interest increased drastically when he spotted the lightning bolt mark in the hollow of their throats. His arched eyebrow was met with steely gazes filled with determination from both redheads, earning them a small nod of acknowledgement from the Malfoy Lord, much to their surprise. They nodded back, eyeing him with more curiosity and less hostility.

"There is a possible precedent we can use." Rowena said thoughtfully. "Its old and it would have to be endorsed by someone from the original bloodline that set the precedent but..."

"That might work, provided the bloodline hasn't died out." Salazar agreed, eyes narrowed in consideration.

"I disagree. What you're talking about falls under a type of blood magic. The current ministry would never go for it." Godric pointed out bluntly. "To even make it remotely possible we would have to point out that he is my heir and... oh."

"Yes, oh." Rowena echoed with a soft smile.

"There is merit in your suggestion but why don't we use a mentorship bond to help solidify the claim?" Helga suggested shrewdly.

"I was actually thinking about asking Lady Magic to judge the claim. There's not much that beats out calling on the essence of magic for something like this." Rowena admitted.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked curiously. The founders exchanged a complete conversation in a single silent glance before starting to chant.

"Lady Hecate, we call on you to judge our claim on this child." Godric and Salazar declared, their voices echoing with a deep timber.

"Lady Hecate, hear our call, that we may protect this, your child." Rowena and Helga called in counter point to the men.

"Lady Hecate, harm has been done to one of your own. We ask for the right to offer guidance, hearth, and home to your injured child. Lady Hecate, we ask for your blessing as this child becomes one of our own." The founders chanted as one, power resonating deep in their magically produced voices. Power washed through the room bringing those still standing to their knees as a soft glow enveloped Harry before fading away, taking the remaining power with it even as the rest sunk into Harry's blood, bone, and sinew.

"What was that?" Snape asked carefully from his still seated position at the table.

"A variation on an adoption ritual." Godric told him with a pleased hum. "His bloodlines haven't changed but as far as everything else? Well, he's essentially a cross between our ward and our child. For most things he is considered our child, and for a few other things our adopted ward. The important thing is that Lady Magic herself accepted our plea. No one can take him from us, and if they try magic herself will punish them."

"I'm rather looking forward to seeing who will make the attempt and if they will have the sense to realize its futility." Rowena agreed almost mischievously. "In fact would one of you mind submitting a copy of your memory of the adoption? Just to see how things fall with the fox set about the hen house?"

"Wicked woman." Helga murmured in amusement with a mock sorrowful shake of her head.

"Lucius, I want you to make it known to our people that new information has come to light and that Harry Potter is off limits. In fact, not only is he not to be harmed he is to be protected. He is also not to be left alone with Dumbledore for any reason. If he needs to be taken somewhere safe he is to either be brought to me or brought to Hogwarts. I suspect that the castle will protect him after that little ritual we just witnessed." Voldemort instructed quietly as he looked over at Harry, who was still looking a little dazed, sitting on his bed. "Due to our current situation you will be relaying any orders I might give. You have permission to tell them that I am currently investigating certain magics that date back to the time of the founders and will be mostly unavailable for the foreseeable future. Dumbledore and his order are to be harassed as much as possible but for the time being I don't want them dead. For those who harm Potter... they will wish that I had given them to Bellatrix as a plaything. Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal, my lord." Lucius answered, directing a bow at the serpentine figure of his lord. "Come Cissy. We need to make sure that Dumbledore doesn't try to forcibly retrieve his guardianship before forcing him back to his... relatives." Narcissa nodded regally before moving to stand next to her husband.

"Harry, if you should need anything send me an owl." Narcissa said gently just before the elf returned them to Malfoy Manor.

"I suppose there isn't much point in maintaining the glamour." Voldemort murmured thoughtfully before nodding to himself and allowing the illusion to lapse, fading away to reveal a twenty something version of the Tom Riddle that Harry had faced in the chamber of secrets. The twins blinked, shook their heads and blinked again before turning to look archly at Harry who didn't look all that surprised or impressed.

"This is the guy you've been dreaming about since you rescued Ginny?" Fred asked archly. Harry wouldn't meet their eyes, confirming their question by default and causing a slow evil smile to spread across the faces of both twins.

"Oh, Harrykins. He's gorgeous. No wonder you wont give Gin the time of day." George practically purred into the ear of a blushing Harry Potter.

"Are you done tormenting him?" Snape asked archly, complete with raised eyebrow and all.

"No where near." Fred said with an evil chuckle, mirrored by his twin. "I mean, we knew he was dreaming about you but we had no idea who the other person, the Tom, we found him mumbling about during that nap in the library."

"He was calling for both of you." George told them wickedly, even as he dodged the swat that Harry sent his way.

"So, you've been dreaming about me?" Voldemort asked, amusement lacing his voice, even as he ignored the poleaxed look the Potions Master now sported alongside a slowly forming blush. Harry muttered something unintelligible and refused to meet his amused ruby gaze of one of his current room mates.

"Don't worry little brother." Fred said soothingly, patting his shoulder in mock sympathy.

"We'll help you capture your Dark Lord and Dungeon Bat." George agreed cheerfully, sending a shiver down both older wizard's backs.

"Stupid Dark Lord, stupid diary, stupid Snape, stupid twins." Harry muttered before grabbing his bear and cuddling it close even as he sat on his bed blushing, wanting to simply sink through it and die from embarrassment. He ignored the quiet, mirthful, goodbyes as both redheaded menaces left to floo home. They were finally satisfied that it was safe to leave Harry with the two older wizards and satisfied that the two of them had managed to officially and legally claim their adoptive little brother as their liege lord.

Chapter Text

Harry soon fell back into an exhausted healing sleep cuddling his bear, much to the relief of the two older wizards. Both older men moved into the attached library to continue their discussion about the young lion. As they settled into matching arm chairs they noticed a portrait of the founders on the wall and the fact that one of them was missing.

"Helga decided to watch over Harry while we discuss the situation with you," Salazar explained, noticing their inquiring looks, both nodded their acceptance before settling back into their chairs.

"The amount of damage that Cissy uncovered is appalling and I haven't made the situation any better," Severus muttered almost morosely.

"And I've done better than you?" Voldemort asked with a snort of self disgust. "At least we can keep him from going back and actually have a chance to apologize, leaving aside the fact that he appears to fancy both of us on top of it all."

"That actually may help us," Severus pointed out pensively, the look he received from the Dark Lord had him back tracking and explaining. "Oh, I'm not suggesting that we try to manipulate him like the old coot does, that would just make the situation worse. However, if we want to heal him, emotionally as well as physically, then it provides a basis of trust we can work from, despite the damage we've already done."

Voldemort hummed his agreement as he turned the situation over in his mind. He wasn't quite willing to admit that he might fancy both the dour man and the young lion even if only just a bit. It also wasn't as if he was unwilling to take either wizard into his bed, perhaps even both. What was stopping him was the fact that he was unsure how to be in a relationship and the fact that he knew if he claimed either of them like that he wasn't letting them go any time soon for any reason. Neither man was prepared for the flood of warm feelings that flooded their senses after voicing their opinions. When they once more paid attention to the world around them they found, much to their astonishment that their wands were sitting in their laps.

"Hopeless romantic," Salazar said with a fond snort, referring to the castle.

"Don't expect to actually be able to leave this set of rooms yet," Godric warned, a smile playing about the edges of his mouth.

"Of course," Snape commented with a snort of combined amusement and mild disgust at the situation.

"Our green-eyed menace is old enough for courting isn't he?" Voldemort asked pensively, playing with his returned wand after having thoroughly checked it.

"As if Dumbledore would allow anyone but his choice to court the brat," Severus sneered, having slid his wand into its holster after examining it. "From what I can tell he's practically promised him to the Weasley chit. I would be very surprised if there wasn't a marriage contract already filed or only waiting on the moment when the Headmaster can convince him to sign it. It actually helps us at the moment that he's avoiding Potter or the contract would be signed and we wouldn't have had a chance with him."

"If I offer a truce on condition of a general amnesty and full open representation in both the ministry and the wizengamott then slip in the proviso of being allowed to court both of you without interference..." Voldemort mused aloud as he finally slid his wand back into its holster, earning a deer-in-the-headlights look from the potions master.

"Why would you want to? I understand getting Potter onside but I'm hardly desirable," Severus asked in a self deprecating manner, earning a sharp look from the other man.

"Oh I wouldn't say that," Voldemort said softly, watching the other man carefully, almost speculatively. Severus noticed his look and fought the urge to gulp, knowing it would be a sign of weakness in this highly unusual situation of cat and mouse.

"At least he seems to be sleeping, it will speed up the healing," Severus said softly, refusing to meet Voldemort's gaze, signal of submission or submissiveness be damned.

"Severus, we both know some of what he's been through. We both lived it for all that we don't know his specifics," Voldemort said softly. "We have at least the rest of the winter holidays to put some of this to rights and set up some sort of defense against the old fool."

"You're acting remarkably sane," Severus absently commented before mentally cringing at his slip and hoping he wasn't going to get crucioed, even if it was limited to 10 seconds under the curse with a 20 minute rest.

"That has more to do with the fact that most of his soul shards are nearby," Rowena explained, amusement lilting through her voice. "We're having a little difficulty retrieving the ring because Dumbledore keeps wearing it and talking to thin air, not to mention calling the air Ariana. All of the other pieces are in the same room as Nagini, which happens to be within twenty feet of your special suite. The proximity negates or lessens most of the more extreme side effects, which is one of the reasons why Godric sent Fawkes to get them. I think the old fire bird had to fight with a deranged house elf for one of them. He was quiet aggravated when he dropped that one off."

"Something else you need to consider. If the two of you truly want to help the little one heal, you're going to have to be willing to comfort him, to simply touch him," Godric pointed out softly, silently noting the slight blush that seemed to instantly stain Severus' cheeks at the mention of 'touch' and continued to speak. "From what we've gathered he considers himself unclean and unworthy of almost everything without giving far more in return for a simple basic kindness. From the sounds he makes during his nightmares he seems to have been taught that even the most basic necessities need to be earned from an early age, such as the meanest bed and board even a prisoner would receive. If he does have that mentality, especially if its in a more extreme form, then it will never fully leave him, only be tempered and redirected. Which is probably where he gets his saving people thing that his friends tease him about. Its likely that his time here at the school has helped him to gain some perspective, no matter how little."

"We can't touch him. Our natural bodies are long gone and judging from the way he tends to flinch around his friends he hasn't experienced a great deal of gentle touch." Salazar added softly, his tone sad as his image shivered slightly in what appeared to be a remembered sympathy. "All three of you will always have a home and a family with us but until we've sorted out even temporary bodies physical touch is out of our reach. Until then the three of you will have to rely on each other for any physical comfort, such as hugs."

"Harry is also likely to mentally switch between his current age and someone much younger now that he has the chance to feel safe. His body and power are going to be effected by the Phoenix Tears and Basilisk Venom in his veins. There's also the fact that both factors may increase his incidents of accidental magic well into his late twenty's, especially if he doesn't gain someone to act as his ground." Rowena explained, sympathy shining in her eyes as she fought back her painted tears. "The medical scan will only give us a starting point for what he went through and how to fix his body, and the two of you are more likely to understand him than we are. Aside from Sal, we all grew up fairly spoiled in both material goods and affection, as a result we simply wont understand some things."

"Lovely," Severus commented sarcastically with a heavy sigh, before abruptly standing up and his tone softened. "I'd best get started on the nutritional and scar reduction potions he's obviously going to need if his nightmares, what we've observed, and what the founders told us have anything to do with it. Lord Slytherin? Would you be willing to join me in the potions lab? I might need more information than I already have in regards to the way Potter is being altered by the Basilisk Venom and Phoenix Tears in his blood, which I presume you have knowledge of due to your earlier comments."

"Certainly," The portrait said graciously as he left for the frame in the other room, Severus following quickly via the door.

"I'd best get started on researching the detection spells to see if any of us has been tampered with and how so that we can start repairing any damage done and removing the effects," Voldemort said broodingly with a deep sigh of his own, turning to search the books filling the walls and shelves around the room; Both trusting Helga to watch over Harry and alert them if something happened to him.

Neither man surfaced from their self imposed tasks until supper time and they had to be forced out of their respective tasks by the founder that had opted to watch or help them. In the end Salazar and Godric had to threaten to take away the library and potions lab and Rowena idly pointed out that the castle could confiscate their wands again if they didn't take care of themselves and each other. Both men grumbled and complained as they left their respective tasks, discretely clutching at their recently returned wands with white knuckled hands, checking to make sure they hadn't been taken again.

Neither wizard expected the changes they discovered in the main combination bedroom/dining room. They stopped dead in their respective doorways when they saw the new configuration of the room. The three separate beds had been replaced by a single large bed decked out in a deep forest green with silver embroidery and a still sleeping Gryffindor in the center of the mattress that could easily hold five people. Severus leveled a sour glare at the tapestry of the founders while Voldemort simply raised an eyebrow before examining the new bed and its occupant speculatively.

"We told you she's a hopeless romantic," Godric said pointedly in response to the Potion Master's glare. "For all we know the first time Harry decides to do something incredibly cute or brave she may return his wand as she has already done for the two of you. Expect her to help Harry snag the two of you as husbands. Which also means that she's just as likely to try and get the two of you to interact as more than master and servant."

"If Hogwarts has her way they'll be bonded before leaving these rooms," Salazar pointed out almost sardonically with a snort of dry amusement. The alarmed look both men had on their faces had the founder biting back a grin. "Oh, don't worry about it so much. For the castle its a preferred out come not a requirement. She's learned over so many years of hosting students that it doesn't always work out. Honestly? If Harry makes a bit more progress she might let you out, provided Helga gives you a clean bill of health and you can prove you've not been tampered with. Of course then our restrictions on the three of you kick in."

"Its so much easier to enforce when the three of you are simply stuck in this suite but Helga is going to insist on the three of you getting some exercise and sun. Of course until you've all been cleared by her medically there isn't a chance that you'll be allowed to go far," Rowena agreed mirth dancing in her fabric gaze.

"I can speak for myself," Helga pointed out crossly, before turning and checking Harry again. "And, no, none of you are going to be leaving any time soon. Godric's heir isn't the only one who needs healing. All of you are far too thin and wont be leaving until you're up to a decent weight or I am made aware of an acceptable medical reason why all three of you are under weight! Honestly, that woman should be stripped of her Medi-Witchery certificate, missing so much damage and not taking proper care of the castle inhabitants."

"Helga, you know perfectly well that Dumbledore has been interfering with just about everything. You also know that Hogwarts is having one hell of a time fighting him. She admits that she made a mistake accepting him as the headmaster but until we can break the custodial bond there isn't all that much that we can do," Godric pointed out calmly almost soothingly. "What we've already done here is going to seriously irritate the man. You know how he sees each of our boys. You know what he would do if he had any idea as to what was happening in here. We've provided some basic protections for when they leave but so many of the magics are still dormant until we've done more work and woken Hogwarts further we can only do so much. We have to wait for everyone to get back from the break and get the entire school chanting the incantation that the four of us worked out. That's why Sal is in charge of presentation. Once they've gone through it at least once we'll have more leeway."

"I know but its just frustrating and depressing," Helga fretted, much to the concerned amusement of the other founders.

"~Tom? Tom!~" Hissed a voice from under the bed as Nagini slithered out and joyfully wrapped herself around her human.

"Well at least we know it worked. The side effects the magic had on her before were appalling," Salazar commented dryly as he watched his son embrace his familiar with tears glistening at the corners of his eyes.

"~Nagini. I missed you so much.~" Voldemort hissed back, his voice barely above a whisper as he practically cuddled his familiar.

"~The painted speaker explained what happened and why the hatchling tastes like the treasures.~" Nagini explained as she rubbed up against her human, glad that the madness had gone away and that there was a way to make it stay away. "~You are not master any more. You are my Tom again and I will protect you. I will protect your dark man. I will protect the treasure-hatchling-that-may-be-mate-and-is-no-longer-enemy.~"

"~Thank you.~" Voldemort hissed before looking up at the founders and sincerely repeating the sentiment in English. "Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me."

"~I think I do.~" Salazar hissed back with a sad understanding, thinking of his own familiar and how Harry had been forced to kill her. The other founders muttered their own responses as they politely ignored how tenderly Salazar's heir cradled his long time friend and companion. None of them noticed Harry quietly waking and observing the reunion from the center of their new joint bed.

"~Tom? Why are you making face water? Everything is better now. Your mates can not be taken away. I no longer hurt. You no longer hurt. What is wrong?~" Nagini hissed in concern as she licked away the tears that her human was shedding as he began to quietly weep.

"~Nothing is wrong my dearest. Nothing is wrong. Salazar... the painted speaker... helped make things better. The face water is because I no longer hurt so much and I have a chance for a mate and hatchlings. I thought... I thought I would never have a mate and hatchlings, that I would have to make something right before I could take the long rest. You were the only one to stay with me and comfort me when I remembered the hurt of no mate and no hatchlings. Now... now Salazar and his painted friends, the founders, have given you back to me. Thank you dear heart.~" Voldemort explained stumbling and weeping through his explanation as he clutched the serpent to him. It wasn't long after that when Snape, encouraged by Harry, and Harry himself carefully approached and wrapped both of them in a careful hug.

"~Tom, you will tell these other two-leggers that you are my Tom. You will tell them when you are hurting so they can help make it better when I can not.~" Nagini informed him solemnly as she gently pulled back to meet his gaze.

"~I don't think he will tell us.~" Harry hissed back uncomfortably, unsure of why he was even speaking up but not wanting the snake to be hurt when Voldemort didn't tell them something. He was still confused about what had happened while he slept but he had decided it was important not to have an upset or angry snake and dark lord locked in with them.

"~Then I will tell you or the painted speaker and you will take care of my Tom if I can not.~" Nagini informed him in a resigned tone, not really surprised at the information. She'd been with him long enough to know that he only really talked to her about such things and she couldn't understand most of what he told her. "~It has been a very long time since he made face water. He hides the hurts deep inside and allows it to turn to bad venom as when a snake waits to long to use its venom on food or enemy. The venom turns bad and hurts the snake. Sometimes the bad venom kills them. My Tom must not die from the bad venom. You will make my Tom better and remove the bad venom.~"

"~I'll try.~" Harry said softly, surprise and sincerity evident in his tone, easily heard even by those who didn't understand the parseltongue he spoke in. A band of light formed briefly between the lion and the serpent before winking out of existence.

"What did you just agree to?" Severus asked darkly, recognizing an informal magically binding contract.

"He promised to try and help take care of me if Nagini can't," Voldemort practically breathed out. The shock was evident in his voice even as it was mirrored across his features as he stared at the young man he had been trying to kill for so many years.

"That ends that then," Godric said with a chortle, gleeful at this latest development. He didn't notice when the castle quietly slipped Harry's wand onto the bed. "The bastard can never force our heirs to fight or try to kill each other ever again! Not after that heartfelt promise!"

"Do I need to drag you to that portrait of that pond on the fourth floor and toss you in? Dunce!" Salazar scolded in exasperation, ignoring Godric's gleeful prancing about the tapestry.

No one expected Harry to quietly double over in pain behind Voldemort and Severus as he abruptly let go of the hug. Nagini hissed in alarm, drawing everyone's attention to his collapse and nearly silent writhing on the floor. A quiet whimper was all it took to get the two wizards frozen in shock moving as they quickly picked up the young lion and moved him to the bed. Nagini slid from her human's arms to allow him to help tend to Harry as the sable haired youth began convulsing and had to be pinned to the bed. His wand falling, still unnoticed, to the floor, knocked their by one of Harry's kicking legs.

"Oh, I'd forgotten about that stage of the reaction," Salazar commented, interest clear in his voice. The glares and looks of astonishment he got in return had him shrugging and asking, "What? I didn't realize it would be this violent and its not like I fully remember my own transformation. Of course I should have presumed something like this might happen since I woke up to an overturned meal and an awful headache at one point. I believe when I asked Helga to check it she called it a concussion?"

"Well if you reacted the way Harry is and had no one to keep you from hurting yourself, I'm entirely unsurprised that you nearly cracked your skull!" Helga shot back furiously before returning her attention to her patient. "No Severus, put something in his mouth so that he doesn't bite his own tongue off. No need to have him choking on his own blood or drink potions when the need can be prevented."

"The final results are likely to be different in any case," Rowena pointed out as she tried to keep her mind off of how worried she was about Harry. "Sal, did you remember to have your library, or mine for that matter, painted or woven into a magical tapestry so that we can consult it?"

"We can't access it yet," Salazar admitted sadly as Harry's convulsions finally died away leaving him panting from the effort. "Hogwarts isn't strong enough yet. I tried earlier when Severus was working in the lab. She can't support us out of this suite of rooms yet."

"A little warning would have been nice," Severus snarled at the tapestry and its occupants, even as Nagini made her way up the bed post to look worriedly at Harry.

"~Is the hatchling hurt? What can I do to help the hatchling?~" Nagini hissed worriedly.

"~Nothing at the moment. He has Basilisk Venom and Phoenix Tears in his blood, they are changing him.~" Salazar hissed in explanation. "~I'm not quite sure how some of what was already in his blood is changing the changes but there isn't much we can do about it. I had gotten the Phoenix Tears into my blood on accident before the Basilisk Venom from my young familiar entered my blood nearly a month later. Harry had them introduced at about the same time when he killed the now very old Basilisk that was my familiar several years ago. The age and timing changes things as does the fact that Harry has had many many potions since the Tears and Venom became part of his blood. We are very lucky that his change is going so smoothly and not hurting him.~"

Voldemort, realizing the importance of Slytherin's words to Nagini, quietly relayed the conversation to Severus. He knew they would need to account for the additional power in the Venom, the time difference, and several other additional factors. They rearranged an exhausted Harry on the bed and removed the bundle of fabric that had been shoved into his mouth so that he didn't bite his tongue. A whispered spell from the potions master had Harry switched into pajamas and the young lion falling back asleep.

A shared look between the older wizards had them both quietly preparing for bed and sliding in on either side of Harry. Severus paused long enough to pick up Harry's wand and set it aside next to his own on the suddenly present bedside table when his foot bumped into it. As their charges slept the founders moved into the attached library to discuss them without disturbing their rest.

"The records show that Tom is the product of a love potion, yet his reaction to the serpent doesn't match," Godric said thoughtfully when they were each settled into a portrait that had a set of round sofas for them to sit and converse comfortably together.

"That might actually be a side effect of either putting his soul back together or the resurrection ritual," Rowena offered consideringly.

"Or it could be that one or both of them are his soul mates and he simply didn't have enough soul to start feeling the effects until we brought his Horcruxes together near him," Helga pointed out quietly thoughtful.

"It would make more sense if it was a combination of factors," Salazar pointed out, just as thoughtful as his friends. A tinkle of laughter had them all looking up in shock with both men practically gaping at Hogwarts as she silently explained what she had done.

"Hopeless romantic indeed," Godric breathed with more than a little awe in his voice.

"To think that our daughter had found a way to fix that kind of long term damage in one of her favorites... mind boggling," Salazar murmured, completely overwhelmed at what the castle had risked and sacrificed to heal his son.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about him being completely incapable of returning the sentiment if one of them does fall in love with him," Helga said briskly before turning the discussion to the physical aspects of their healing.

Chapter Text

When the trio awoke they found that they had two highly amused yet concerned guests. Both Filius Flitwick and Minerva McGonagall had been more than a little shocked to find that the door to their quarters no longer led to the hallway. Instead the guardian portraits opened directly into the library of the suite in which Harry, Snape, and Voldemort were staying. Severus took one look at the smirk on Minerva's face and moaned something about interfering tabby cats before trying to burrow back into the bedding, earning a laugh from their guests.

"You were right," Flitwick admitted, amusement clear in his voice.

"Of course I was. We've had a friendly argument running for the last 14 years," The cat animagus said smugly before turning serious as she addressed the half awake occupants of the bed with a gleam in her eye. "You three are very lucky that the founders took the time to explain how you ended up in this situation or you would have felt my ire. As it is you need to get up, neither Filius nor I have had breakfast."

Snape shivered in memory of previous times he had gotten on the witch's bad side and did his best to hide under the scant protection of the bed covers, amusing both of his colleagues/former teachers. Harry simply stared at his teachers, wide eyed and wishing he could sink through the bed in embarrassment. Voldemort regarded them impassively as he yawned, grumbling about needing coffee and rolling out of bed. Blearily, the dark lord looked at them before taking a new set of clothes and wandered into the bathroom to get washed and dressed. Harry and Severus quickly followed suit, ignoring their guests in favor of making themselves ready for the day and both dreadfully thankful that the castle had provided changing rooms in the bathroom. This left the lone teddy bear that Hogwarts had gifted to Harry sitting on the bed watching the visitors with innocent button eyes.

"Have you been able to determine if someone has tampered with any of you?" Flitwick asked later, turning suddenly more serious from his generally cheerful attitude as they all sat at the table and were served breakfast.

"No," Severus said sourly as he took a decadent sip of his coffee, eyes closing in bliss. Nagini hissed her amusement from her position hanging just over Voldemort's shoulder and wrapped around the man's chair even as she was fed a morsel of food by her human.

"We've been dealing with fulfilling our lists and the damage that has been done to the green-eyed menace," Voldemort admitted, pointing his fork at Harry who gave them all a look of absolute innocence that none of them bought.

"Potter, if you don't add more food to your plate and eat all of it I have no objection to sticking you to a chair and feeding you like an infant," Severus said pointedly, eyes still closed in bliss over the taste and warmth of the coffee, as a result he didn't see the dirty look Harry sent his way. "As it is you will be taking a course of nutrient potions as soon as I can brew them and we've confirmed there is nothing else in your system that may interfere with them."

"~Treasure-hatchling isn't eating enough.~" Nagini agreed with another hiss of amusement.

"Oh for the love of! My name is HARRY! Not Potter, not Treasure-hatchling, not the god-damned-boy-who-lived or Golden boy, not freak! HAR-RY!" Harry informed them before shoving back his chair and stalking away from the table leaving his food behind, having only consumed barely a quarter of what the others were eating.

Just about everyone looked after the teen in shock as Godric and Salazar laughed at the outburst and exchanged something, getting whacked over the head by an irate Rowena. Helga, on the other hand, watched Harry stalk away in dismay, the healer in her worried over how little he had eaten and the fact he had called himself a freak as if it had once been his name. Nagini hissed in concerned annoyance before disentangling herself from Voldemort's chair and quickly setting off after the young lion. Harry never had a chance. Moments later he was wrapped in Nagini's coils and being carried back to the table by the snake.

"~Hatchling is old enough to take a mate but too small. Hatchling will never please a mate with his smallness and must eat. My Tom never ate so little and he was harmed by lack of good food. Hatchling will eat and will let my Tom and the dark man heal food harm. No more missing meals.~" Nagini chided as she set him next to his seat before letting him go. "~Tom! Make hatchling eat!~"

The scolding sent Salazar off into more peals of laughter as Voldemort gave a resigned sigh. He was secretly concerned over whatever had triggered the food comment from his familiar since he could clearly remember how little food he did have growing up. Harry simply slid back into his chair and looked down at his still partly full plate while blushing in a combination of shame, embarrassment, and frustrated fury.

"~Eating proper meals probably wont be enough,~" Voldemort hissed, explaining to his long time friend. "~The harm done may never be fixed, he may never be as big as he should have been. We will have to slowly get him used to eating more and give him potions, medicine, to help heal what can be healed. I don't know how much harm was done but we will try to fix it. However, before we can fix it we must be sure that nothing lingers inside him that may react badly with the potions.~"

Nagini considered this before hissing in obvious displeasure at the explanation. She decided to wrap herself around Harry's chair as she had previously around Voldemort's seat to better mother him.

"~Hatchling will feed himself and then he will feed me. If hatchling does not eat enough he will not leave the eating place.~" Nagini declared loftily, subtly shifting her coils to pin the sable haired youth in place.

"What did she say?" Snape asked warily, having opened his eyes earlier in time to watch Harry being dragged back to the table.

"She said that Harry is to eat then feed her and if he wont eat enough he's not leaving the table," Voldemort explained, a soft smile flitting across his features so fast that even Severus, as a consummate spy and people watcher, was unsure it had even been there in the first place. Harry scowled down at his plate before eventually shifting to a pout and beginning to eat the rest of his meal. Thankfully Nagini didn't make him take more food after he cleaned the meager amount that he had placed on it.

"Until we can get you up to a more appropriate weight you will be both eating more frequently and taking nutrient potions. Unfortunately we have yet to confirm that there is nothing inside of any of us which might interact badly with any potions I brew thus the nutrient potions will have to wait for now. However you can eat more often. Normally we would simply have you eating larger meals but judging from how little you actually take at meals your stomach may not be large enough to handle it, which is why you will be eating snacks between meals," Severus' explanation was almost gentle as both he and Voldemort watched the cutely pouting teen like hawks for signs of any problems.

Harry eventually nodded his understanding sulkily before taking another small serving of sausages to appease them. An elf was sent to get Harry's homework and the Gryffindor was ordered to do his homework while they discussed what should be checked first and in what manner. They all subtlety encouraged him to ask questions and join into the conversation for all that he didn't have the knowledge to understand many of the more advanced concepts they were discussing.

Funnily enough in the process of the discussion they discovered that the trio of wizards had been tampered with via the simple fact that they had difficulty thinking of testing themselves. This resulted in the need to think of the other two as being the only ones affected to try and find a solution. Everyone eventually settled on what diagnostic spells and potions that they were going to use to detect if they had been dosed by potions or otherwise enchanted. The bulk of the casting fell to Flitwick and McGonagall as the only ones in the suite that they were relatively certain were unenchanted. Though Voldemort did manage to extract a promise from them that they would be checked if the three trapped wizards proved to be under any undue influence.

"Why would anyone do that?" Harry asked, completely bewildered when they explained what they had been found more than three hours later, his holiday homework completely abandoned.

"Control. Control and power," Snape explained tiredly. "Think, brat! The Dark Lord is a magical prodigy and has the highest NEWT and OWL scores since Merlin. He can and has fought Dumbledore to a standstill on more than one occasion. I am also a prodigy primarily in potions and the youngest on record to ever attain their mastery in the subtle art. I also hold a Defense Mastery. You, on the other hand, have an enormous amount of political power as the Boy-Who-Lived, not to mention the event that gave you that fame in the first place. All three of us have a large amount of raw magic and a decent mind encased in our thick skulls with the stubbornness to match when we choose to. Without the ministry breathing down our necks any one of us could become a dangerous force in our own fields and especially in politics."

"As far as most people in power are concerned we are a very large threat individually," Voldemort informed him, smoothly taking over the explanation. "How much more of a threat are we if we decide to even remotely work together? The events and revelations that have occurred in these rooms make us even more dangerous to the power hungry idiots that currently control our world. All of this is more than enough of a reason in their minds to try and control or destroy us. If we do not serve them then they view us as a threat that can only be destroyed."

"If you are not with me than you are against me," Harry quoted glumly, remembering it from some random adventure movie that Dudley had watched.

"I'm afraid so," McGonagall agreed sympathetically. "Now that we know they are there we can find the proper counters and identify some of the newer magical signatures if it was cast within the last five years, anything older than that has degraded to far for accuracy. I'd much rather have Poppy help with this."

"No!" Gryffindor said forcefully. "I forbid that farce of a medi-witch from getting any where near my heir, my nephew, or Severus! I'll seal the school first damn it!"

"Calm yourself Godric. If we decide that a healer or medi-witch is needed we can simply have one of the elves kidnap someone," Salazar soothed his practically apoplectic friend.

"If we wait until school is back in session and they've performed the chant that Salazar and I worked out we can always sort them out ourselves. We'll be able to manifest and use the magic saturating the school to remove any enchantments and fix any damage we missed. The question right now is what must be removed as quickly as possible and how dangerous would it be to wait?" Rowena point out, earning suddenly thoughtful looks from her fellow founders.

"If they have this many enchantments then its very likely that all three of them will have bindings on their cores. If that is the case I am very surprised that they are still alive and would cheerfully feed whoever cast the binding to Sal's pet if she were still alive," Helga said darkly.

The founders started to discuss the possibilities amongst themselves, their discussion devolving into using languages the rest of them were unfamiliar with. While the other four avidly watched them discuss it, Voldemort opted to observe both Severus and Harry. He enjoyed their changing expressions as he considered what to do next and if removing the current enchantments the three of them had would change anything. It was Nagini sneaking up behind Harry before carefully putting his stuffed bear in the teen's lap and how the Gryffindor unconsciously clutched at it that finally gave the Dark Lord the idea.

"I, Lord Voldemort, formerly Tom Marvolo Riddle, do release Severus Tobias Snape and Harry James Potter from any and all oaths or responsibilities in regards to myself and those under my authority. So mote it be." Voldemort said softly as he stared at the two wizards intently, practically daring them to either break his trust or respond in kind.

The utter silence that engulfed the room after Voldemort stated his vow made him nervous and the quiet hiss of pain that left Severus confirmed that magic had accepted his declaration. Snape scrabbled at his left arm, ripping open both sleeves and stared at his perfectly white arm with no hint of tattoo in sight. Everyone stared at the Dark Lord in shock with only Harry even remotely confused.

"You fool. Now he can walk away without a backward glance," Salazar said in exasperated fondness, breaking the silence.

"That's rather the point," Voldemort said quietly, his eyes never leaving his roommates, easily meeting Harry's shocked stare of sudden understanding.

"He's got you there Sal!" Godric barked out as he laughed uproariously, bent over double with the force of his mirth. Salazar gave his friend a disgusted look of disgruntlement before turning back to his son and heir.

"Will you at least stop avoiding addressing me? Call me Salazar, Sal, or better yet Dad." Slytherin said almost petulantly, completely ignoring the looks of amusement that he was getting from his fellow founders. Everyone would later agree that the floored look on Voldemort's face as he whipped around to stare wide eyed at his ancestor/adoptive father was priceless. Nagini completed the picture of a Kodak moment with her hissy laughter as she wrapped herself around her human trapping him in his seat.

"I can't. I'm sorry," Harry said shakily before he bolted from the room having gained enough courage to move from the familiar banter of the two founders. Voldemort and a startled Snape tried to follow but the door to the library area wouldn't open after Harry passed through.

"Give him a chance to calm down," Helga told them sympathetically before moving to the portrait in the library in an attempt to calm the spooked teen.

"He's going to need something we can't give him no matter how hard the four of us try," Slytherin said softly his gaze meeting that of both wizards standing at the door of the library, reminding them of an earlier conversation. Voldemort inclined his head slightly, acknowledging the warning as Snape's eyes widened in recognition of the reference followed by a slight nod of equal understanding, earning a nod of satisfaction from the cunning founder.

"I think that this situation warrants asking Gringotts if they are willing to do a full check and cleansing," Flitwick said thoughtfully, eyeing his colleague and Voldemort sharply. "If we can leave the suite of rooms I will present your case to them myself and Minerva can stand as witness since it is my understanding that none of them may leave at the moment."

"Thank you. You have done honor to my house," Rowena said graciously, granting the half goblin a curtsey from within the fabric of the tapestry and causing him to flush in embarrassed pleasure. "I realize that you entered through the library but would the two of you mind exiting through either the potions lab or the bathroom? Part of the spellwork that keeps everyone in the suite until the overwhelming issues are solved forbids the creation of an exit in the same room as those who are currently confined."

"Certainly," McGonagall said graciously as they both stood and headed for the potions lab. "Are you able to visit us in the rest of the castle?"

"Not at the moment but I'll have Fawkes and Hogwarts give you a written briefing on the situation, especially since Sal adopted Tom and young Harry's guardianship has changed a bit," Godric told them affably. "Just leave the boys to work the rest out and if you want to arrange anything else I would suggest discussing the situation with Lord Malfoy and his family since they visited earlier. Oh, and the Weasley twins managed to finagle swearing themselves to my heir when they came by to help with his nightmares so you may want to talk to them as well."

"If we can just get the school to chant the incantation at the start of term we can do some of this ourselves," Salazar muttered darkly, earning a whack to the arm from Rowena and a quelling look as well as a wordless hiss of censure for the woven witch from Nagini.

"I will tell Albus that a warning appeared in my office reminding us of needing the entire castle to chant or sing the inscription together at least once a day for a week to a month if you can get it to appear in the great hall. I'll just tell him its a renewal function of the wards or something, say its supposed to be done every 200 years or so and we've missed the last two times? Possibly that the time before that was so powerful that the one of them was skipped because it wasn't needed and the most recent one was skipped for lack of knowledge? That would give us a good reason for the castle to only tell us now and for it never to have shown up before." McGonagall pointed out with a cat-like smirk gracing her features earning a sudden recognition by the Dark Lord.

"I knew it! You were the one to set that pink powder bomb in my bag in 3rd year!" Voldemort accused, earning snickers from the three founders, an even more smug look from McGonagall, a smirk of amusement from Snape, and a light laugh from Flitwick.

The two teachers quickly escaped into the potions lab, safely away from his wrath as Nagini laughed herself into coils on the floor near the table. Minerva McGonagall was completely confident from previous conversation with the founders that neither Harry nor Snape would suffer for their tweak to the tiger's tail.

It wasn't long after the two left that Helga managed to convince Harry to see his two roommates. The first thing they saw was the portrait version of her motioning toward the curled up ball that was the teen and mouthed "Hug him" at them. Snape nodded hesitantly before sitting down next to the overwhelmed Gryffindor while Voldemort settled on the opposite side, both of them offering silent comfort.

Neither of them managed the courage to actually hug him but Snape eventually reached out a hesitant hand and started running his fingers through the youth's sable hair in a soothing fashion. Eventually, using Harry's unconscious leaning into the petting affection, Severus coaxed the youth into cuddling into his side with Voldemort pressed up against his other side, snugly sandwiching the teen between the two men. They stayed that way for hours until Harry finally uncurled enough to realize who he was sandwiched between, squeaking as he scrambled out from between the two amused older wizards.

"Sorry," Harry muttered blushing, and before either of them could object or move slipped into the main room where he had left his homework.

"If one or both of us are going to court him we'll need to find a way to get him to accept affection from us. He's clearly been deprived of it and I would not be surprised if he had thought that we were his twins trying to comfort him," Voldemort said thoughtfully.

"Something that you might consider, my lord," Severus offered hesitantly, waiting for Voldemort's nod of permission before continuing. "He is headstrong and is used to being fairly independent, no matter how inconvenient that might be for the rest of us. He does not take direction well and works best with as much information as possible. Going behind his back to gain him would be a mistake and would be seen by him as an unforgivable breach of his trust. While he might be unsurprised and indeed, expect that of us both he would still be wounded by such an action. If you intend to include him in the treaty you said you were willing to offer I highly suggest that you actually discuss it with him rather than making a unilateral decision."

"And yourself?" Voldemort asked softly as he studied the potions master with a neutral expression on his face.

"I would ask that if my lord is not serious about caring for myself or for Potter that he find another way," Severus asked softly, fully aware that his advice was likely going to be ignored and that the three of them would probably be in nearly whatever relationship the Dark Lord desired before they left the suite.

"Severus, you no longer need to call me that. My earlier words were intended to put us on more equal footing. Yes, I am quite serious about considering pursuing a relationship with both of you. We already know that Harry wont object as his twins revealed his interest in both of us. I expected you to object before now if you honestly did not want to be included." Voldemort said shrewdly, eyeing the dour man with a suddenly predatory eye that made alarms ring in Snape's mind. "This might not be the ideal situation but it does allow us time to know each other and sort out our issues. Harry will never fully escape me even if only because he is my horcrux not to mention the very high likelihood that he and I will be sharing eternity. You have a chance to simply walk away and I don't want to see either of you walk away. If it will put your mind at ease I will promise not to push for a bonding or marriage until we are free to leave, nor will I force either of you."

Snape swallowed hard but nodded his acceptance. The man was honestly surprised to get that much consideration, completely forgetting that this is how Voldemort should have been from the beginning if he hadn't thought to split his own soul. The Dark Lord's quest for immortality had done significant damage and they would all need time to heal.

"Do you think he would accept a marriage contract in exchange for no longer hunting him? I won't try to kill him any way now that I know he's my horcrux but he doesn't need to know that yet," Voldemort asked thoughtfully.

"Such an act is something he would expect and would hurt him if it was not discussed with him before hand and discussed in the light of deception of our enemies or a prank," Severus explained cautiously. "Consider this, would you not be more amenable to considering something if there was some way obvious to your mind of escaping it should it become impossible to bear? Like us he has not had the best of lives, like us he has had to fend for himself as others style themselves as his mentor or caretaker while harming or neglecting him. What would your reaction be to such an offer? Would you be angry or upset?"

"I would try to kill whoever attempted to control me in such a way," Voldemort admitted almost shame faced at even thinking of trying the same thing on Harry and Severus.

"Exactly. Potter has been used and abused more than once for all that he doesn't recognize all of the times it previously occurred, don't try to force him into anything. If he asks for something then either explain why it isn't feasible or try to help him get it, preferably in a way that he will learn something useful from the experience," Snape instructed never considering that the man before him might use his advice on Severus himself as well as their young roommate.

"Not to mention what you yourself have been through. Very well, if I offer such a contract it will be with full consent of both of you," Voldemort conceded before climbing to his feet and following Harry into the main room.

Chapter Text

A couple of days later they were still stuck in the suite but the castle had allowed a goblin contingent secret entry onto her grounds and into the suite. The petition on behalf of the founders and of the three still trapped wizards had gone off without a hitch. Somehow Flitwick had taken that successful petition and turned it into a full out cleansing ritual free of charge.

The cleansing ritual went off without a hitch but the Potter luck decided to come out and play shortly afterwards. The moment the magic cleared the goblins could tell they had missed something when the participants were checked over. The look on Voldemort's face was terrifying as he took a step away from his still dazed roommates, placing himself between them and everyone else who had been in the suite to help with the ritual.

"Get out," Voldemort's voice rang out like cold steel striking steel. He glared at them with his ruby colored eyes until they left, keeping himself in a shielding position between the Gringotts group and his roommates. A random dash of gratefulness crossed his mind as his mind momentarily flashed to how Nagini would have reacted had she won the argument and been in the room.

"These are the lists of what was healed, removed, or otherwise cleansed. Should any of you experience unusual side effects not listed on the continuing treatment page please either come to Gringotts for treatment or owl us immediately. Merry Christmas to you," The goblin healer said unperturbed as she ushered everyone out of the suite. Voldemort ignored the seasonal greeting and eyed them all warily as they filed out with Minerva carefully closing the door behind them.

The moment the door was safely shut he wandlessly summoned his wand and tossed numerous locking charms at the door they left through before whirling around and reaching for the closest of his two roommates. Snape dazedly found himself snogging his former master, whimpering under the sudden pleasurable assault and melting like hot butter into the demanding embrace. A surprised squeak from Harry brought them out of the lust induced haze as the youth tried to slip away. Harry quickly tried the nearest door in an attempt to leave his roommates in peace as he ignored the sudden pang of sadness that made his chest hurt. He was shocked to find himself suddenly flying across the room as Voldemort accioed him into their arms, wasting no time as the man trapped Harry between them.

"Mine. You are both mine," Voldemort said fiercely before backing both wizards into a wall, trapping both of them in his arms and proceeding to kiss them both senseless. It was Harry's sagging exhaustion that brought him back to reality, prompting Voldemort to usher them all into the bed and cuddling both of them close as they fell into an exhausted sleep. They were woken by a scream of pain from Harry as he thrashed in their arms and bed several hours later.

"Oh dear, I didn't expect for that to happen," Salazar muttered uncomfortably. "Certainly not on Christmas Eve."

"What's wrong with him?" Voldemort demanded even as they both held Harry down so that he wouldn't hurt himself or them.

"The cleansing ritual must have accelerated the transformation a bit. Considering how many blocks he had on his core I really should have expected this. Just as I should have expected how you reacted when the inhibiting magic was removed and the other gifts from the blood adoption settled in your blood. For now all that you can do is make him comfortable. When his fangs come in both of you will need to feed him a bit of your blood so that he doesn't attack you," Salazar told them swiftly. "Then we wait, he will either accept you as family or as his mate, this will prevent him from attacking you and encourage him to ask you for help. Depending on how violent the rest of the transformation becomes one of us is going to need to blood adopt him to help stabilize his condition."

All of the founders watched anxiously as both men carefully fed some of their blood to the youth the moment they noticed fangs flashing in his screaming mouth. Harry immediately began to settle once the taste of blood was on his tongue, his breathing deepening back into the rhythm of sleep.

"Well, he took to that solution rather well," Salazar said cheerfully, earning a smack from Rowena.

"You got Rosalin's blood in your mouth by accident and you had been screaming for nearly a full day," Godric pointed out, rolling his eyes at his friend.

"Considering that the transformation qualifies as a creature inheritance and you don't have room to talk, you should probably cease your noise making," Slytherin shot back. "We still might want to adopt him if only to dilute it a bit."

"Will this transformation..." Snape asked hesitantly, trailing off in uncertainty as to how to end the question.

"Part of the problem is that the vital transformative components were introduced so early. I was already fully matured and married with blood relatives who could be called on to help. Harry has no one, or rather had no one. It is quite possible that his creature will accept you as family rather than as possible mates. However, his previous fondness and his reaction to the earlier kiss make it more likely that you will both be his mates, especially with how quickly your blood calmed him. Much of my knowledge about all of this is in fact coming from my own creature side that was, as you know, induced in a similar manner," Salazar explained carefully, his face taking on an alarmed cast as he saw them prepare to leave the bed. "NO! Don't leave him! You must not get too far from him and one of you must be within five feet of him at all times until he's fully stable and awake."

"Very well," Snape said in a put upon manner as he settled back into the bed. Voldemort simply nodded and pulled both males back into his arms again being careful of Harry as he cuddled them both close and earning a furious blush from Severus.

"He should wake on his own within a day or two. If he starts thrashing or screaming again we'll have to risk the blood adoption before he's stable. When he wakes you will both need to hand feed him for a while, try to stick with lots of dairy and protein or something inherently magical. Try to make whatever you feed him easy to eat, at least at first," Salazar instructed them. "Expect his fangs to nip at your fingers, its instinctual since the minute bits of blood will calm and reassure him. He also wont need blood as a nutritional supplement like some species, for him it only has a calming affect or is used as a booster and tracker in battle. Hopefully he'll never have to experience the berserker bloodlust that I had to deal with when my family died and that bitch of a seer forced me from the castle."

"And my urge to keep them near me? To chase the others away?" Voldemort asked calmly, studying his ancestor/adoptive father.

"Ah, yeah, that's the territorial aspect. It can be really hard to control at times," Salazar said sheepishly, completely ignoring the glare that Gryffindor was sending his way. "You'll need to establish an area that no one but the three of you can enter as a den or something similar."

"Anything else?" Snape asked sarcastically.

"By feeding him your blood like this you're immune to his venom and just about any other nasty defenses he develops," Salazar informed them with a pointed smirk, managing to elicit another blush of embarrassment from the potions master.

"What else?" Voldemort asked almost accusingly, his ruby eyes glowing in frustration.

"You've already decided that both of them are your mates," Salazar finally admitted. "Harry simply has to choose the two of you back and unless Hogwarts allows Snape to leave the ground for the next 48 hours both your creatures will see it as at least a partial acceptance of the courting process. I'm afraid that the Horcrux removes any chance of preventing or breaking the bond between Tom and Harry."

"Lovely," Snape said sarcastically as he thumped his head against the pillow. He didn't even try getting away when Voldemort smugly tightened his grip and pulled both of his mates closer, cuddling them as they waited for Harry to wake.

The words Mine, Mine, Mine, Mine could clearly be seen running through Voldemort's mind adding to the smug look on his face, much to the Founder's amusement, as the two older wizards joined Harry in the land of dreams. A keening sound woke both of them just after midnight on Christmas morning. They quickly realized that the heart wrenching sound was coming from Harry.

"Ah! Good! Just feed him a bit of blood so that he quiets enough for you to get him some food!" Slytherin shouted over the noise far to jovially for either wizard's taste, both men quickly obeyed, using an under powered cutting charm to draw blood with their wands. Consuming the small amount of blood Harry immediately quieted from the previous echoing keening to quiet whimpers as he finally opened his eyes and took in his surroundings.

"Its alright," Voldemort soothed as he pet Harry, running his fingers soothingly through the youth's sable hair as he glanced toward the table to see if the food had already been served.

The food had indeed been served and an exchange of glances had Severus cautiously easing from the bed to retrieve sausages, bacon, blueberries, a sliced orange, and a sliced apple for them to feed to the smaller wizard. That's when they noticed the blood on his hand and the words carved into the back of it that had split wide open. They both proceeded to swear as they tended to the re-opened carving on the back of Harry's hand. What made them both feel sick was the fact that it looked freshly carved and there was no sign what so ever of previous healing.

"At the first chance I will find and kill whoever did this and they will die painfully," Voldemort said darkly as they both examined the bleeding hand.

"He must have had it under a glamour. We never saw it before for all that Narcissa chewed us out over it," Severus said softly in a thoughtful tone. His attention snapped back to Harry's face from the re-opened wounds as he felt the fall of tears against his skin, urging him to sooth their patient.

"Shhh, its alright. We aren't angry at you." Voldemort soothed, running his hand through Harry's hair and settling him further. Snape cautiously returned most of his attention to the slowly bleeding hand, watching Harry out of the corner of his eye and carefully using the cloth napkin to tend the wounds.

"If it truly was a glamour this is a good thing, it means he trusts you, at least a little," Salazar said approvingly.

"Except that it could have easily been ripped back open by the transformation trying to expel the traces of magic from the quill. Though I agree that his willingness to effectively ask for help from the two of you, especially in his half aware state is a good sign. I also find it interesting that the Horcrux is unaffected but that could simply be the length of time its been a part of him," Rowena pointed out thoughtfully. Harry whimpered again, this time trying to curl up into a protective ball on the bed between the two Slytherins.

"You need to feed him something, some of the meat. He's getting restless and defensive," Godric observed, remembering how Salazar had reacted that one time his wife had needed to be away to deal with their children after he had swallowed some of her blood. The founder mentally grimaced at the attached memory of how much trouble they had getting Salazar to accept that they weren't a threat after that.

They nodded and each proceeded to feed Harry bits of meat, alternating between that and examining his hand. The soothing sounds and petting they both would forever deny making kept Harry calm. Harry quickly settled into a half dozing state for all that he eagerly devoured the small offerings of food they fed him, pretty much ignoring their examination and manipulation of his injured hand.

"I can not detect any lingering magic except for Harry's own and traces of both the venom and tears," Snape finally admitted.

"Good. A standard healing charm ought to work fine," Helga said in satisfaction before turning to her fellow founders. "Very well, use whatever means you wish to banish that pink creature from our halls, provided that enough magic remains for us to stay awake!"

The evil grins that both Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor suddenly sprouted sent a shiver down the spines of both dark wizards. They promptly kidnapped Rowena, who let out an indignant squawk as they dragged her with them out of the tapestry. Helga muttered under her breath before quickly following after them. An audible click could be heard throughout the suite as a note appeared at the end of their bed and a new door appeared next to where the tapestry hung.

My favored sons,

My Christmas gift to you is freedom of the castle and grounds. No place is barred to you, simply command and every passage, every room, every door, will open to you. Warning will be given if there is danger where you wish to go. You will forever be safe on these grounds. If you wish to join the others in the great hall no one will think anything of it. For the sake of avoiding conflict the rest of the school believes that Tom is Severus' new assistant. I have taken the liberty of asking Lady Magic for a new surname. She decided on Myridden, with the associated meaning of sea fort and the historical association of Merlin. Dumbledore has been blinded as to Tom's identity and will not recognize you. Enjoy yourselves my treasures.

Sincerely,
Hogwarts

Chapter Text

Harry fell back asleep soon after they hand fed him, having opted to wait for a more reasonable hour before trying to leave their suite. When Snape found some of his personal items stored in various locations about the suite as they got dressed they concluded that their move into joint quarters was permanent, much to Severus' disgruntlement. The next thing they discussed, taking the chance with Harry sleeping after they ate, was something that bothered the Dark Lord, Snape's apparent need to destroy Harry's self confidence.

"Why do you continue to verbally assault him now that the ruse is no longer needed?" Voldemort asked softly as they sat at the table in the main room. The bed was were it had been the entire time, off to one side with Harry out cold as the transformation continued.

"Habit and the need to maintain the facade when we re-join the rest of the world," Snape admitted wearily as he morosely stirred his tea, refusing to meet the Dark Lord's gaze.

"A habit you will need to break," Voldemort instructed quietly as he played with his own morning drink. "You need to remember that Harry has not hardened in the way that we have. He will need the comfort we can offer him just as Lady Hufflepuff and Lord Slytherin reminded us. Can you honestly say that you never longed for comfort? That you do not still long for it in some small measure? I cannot, nor do I expect Harry or you to. Severus, I may be able to hear the fondness creeping into your insults but Harry might not be able to. This is something you will need to fix if we are to get on. I have already taken steps to do the same or did you not notice that to the two of you I am no longer the Dark Lord?"

"I noticed," Severus admitted almost sheepishly, eyes still locked onto his tea cup. "I will... try harder. Dumbledore will be suspicious at first as will most of the rest of the staff so we will need some sort of excuse or I and Po..Harry will find ourselves trapped in the infirmary."

"You are allowed to continue calling him brat," Voldemort pointed out with a huff. "But you need to make an effort so that he understands it is no longer an insult. If you find that you have difficulty or cannot change your verbal responses you have two options, offer him some form of physical comfort to help counter the effects or I will.. encourage you more strongly. I will not use pain but you may find yourself locked out of any potions lab or unable to use a cauldron until you've made the situation right."

"Thank you for the warning," Severus whispered miserably. Voldemort sighed heavily before getting up and coming around the table only to pull the potions master up from his seat and into a firm yet awkward hug. Snape instinctively buried his face in Voldemort's neck as he was gently held and soothed by the hand suddenly running through his hair.

"I do not want to punish you but if you allow yourself to continue hurting him it will hurt all three of us, including you," Voldemort chided softly, explaining even as he continued to hold the quietly shaking acerbic man. "You heard what Salazar said you are both my mates and Harry is deciding if we are his mates or simply family. Yes, we will sometimes hurt one another but it should never be intentional or we will be no better than those who have already harmed us. I know you had difficulty with his father but that isn't an acceptable reason to bully him, no matter how you try to justify it. Admittedly keeping your cover as one of my most loyal, especially with how unstable I had become, was a fairly good reason but we both know you could have found a way around that if you had tried. All three of us know what kind of harm that bullying and similar actions can do. What if one of us becomes pregnant? Would you subject a child to that environment?"

"No... I'm sorry," Severus choked, tears in his voice and brimming in his eyes. They were both thumped into as they found a green-eyed limpet suddenly attached to their sides. The group hug was the first sign that either of the men had that Harry was again awake and they both instinctively wrapped an arm around the new addition to the comfort session.

"Its okay," Harry's voice was muffled by their robes.

Nothing else was said for the longest time as they simply basked in the simple physical comfort of each other's arms. Both older wizards wondered how they had missed Harry's rapid recovery from his nap but they were enjoying the hug too much to risk disrupting it simply to find out. The only indication of fear that the potions master showed was the desperate grip he had on Harry.

"No, it is not okay," Severus said in a defeated tone, when they finally started easing back a bit from the hug. "I tried so hard to hate you but no matter how I acted, no matter how nasty and mean I was, and no matter what your father did to me I failed to hate you. I owe you an apology."

"I wasn't exactly nice either... lets start over," Harry told him before introducing himself. "Hello sir, I'm Harry Potter."

Severus stared at him for a moment in shock before pulling Harry into another hug and whispering "Thank you" to him. Harry just blissfully relaxed into the hug, much to Voldemort's surprisingly fond amusement. It took them another twenty minutes before the three of them were ready to try to leave the suite. As odd as the scene was it wasn't much more odd than some of the things the three of them had endured over the years. Voldemort smiled as he realized that this time he was certain that the three of them were acting without compulsions set in place by a meddling old goat or the goat's followers. They had a chance at making this work.

Harry and Severus had no trouble what-so-ever leaving their suite so was absolutely no warning that anything unusual would happen until Voldemort stumbled as he passed through the doorway. What caused him to stumble was a bit more than tripping over the edge of his robes since Hogwarts decided that they needed another Christmas gift. The slight headache from the information being magically shoved into his head irritated the Dark Lord enough for him to actually look at the new knowledge but it was the shocked look that got the attention of his mates.

"What happened?" Harry asked warily, more than familiar with strange important things happening to him and those around him.

"Hogwarts... healed most of my horcruxes," Voldemort admitted with a quiet mutter, half embarrassed that it was even needed in the first place.

"That's good right?" Harry asked cautiously, wondering how exactly to handle the situation.

"Which ones remain?" Severus asked carefully as he hoped this meant he would never again have to worry over Voldemort's sanity.

"Harry and Nagini... possibly one more," Voldemort admitted as he finally lost control of the blush of embarrassment which quickly stained his cheeks.

"Do we need to worry about this or anything else?" Harry asked as Voldemort regained his composure and joined them.

"Not particularly unless Dumbledore has suddenly discovered my presence here and decided I need to die," Voldemort snarked at the younger wizard, who simply rolled his eyes in response and tried to decide which direction they were supposed to go to reach the great hall from their new rooms. Snape gave a snort of amusement mixed with relief and quickly led them out of the hall and into the main dungeon passage way before guiding them to the Christmas themed great hall.

"Severus, my boy! I thought you had left for the holidays!" Dumbledore exclaimed with surprise. The lack of his normal twinkle gave the potions master pause and had him instinctively staying near an overly excited Harry as Voldemort followed his lead, easily taking to his role as potions assistant.

"I apologize Headmaster," Severus drawled, feigning unconcern and annoyance as the trio moved toward the single table containing both staff and the remaining students. "Potter got himself covered in an experimental potion while I and my new assistant Mr. Myridden were discussing something nearby. I was forced to instruct a house elf to leave those notes so that I would have the time and seclusion necessary to reverse the effects. The three of us still can't be far from each other for long and Potter appears to be taking the brunt of the side effects."

"I thought we had discussed you taking on an assistant and agreed that it wasn't possible?" Dumbledore asked lightly for all that his gaze had gotten colder. Both the tabby and smallest professors tensed in sudden worry for all that they knew it was only a cover story.

"That would be true if the school were paying for Mr. Myridden's salary. Since his pay is coming out of my pocket and not the governors I saw no reason to inform you of the interview process. You would have been informed as soon as I had decided who to hire to make your own security check however circumstances conspired against such a course of action," Severus explained, careful to keep his body language and tone as nonchalant as possible. "There are a few other side effects but nothing of any real concern."

Dumbledore lost the cold look and the twinkle returned to his eye as he nodded affably and turned back to his meal. He occasionally glanced up at the trio as they joined the table for the light brunch that was traditionally served Christmas morning. There was no indication of recognition but the meal conversation that followed had both Flitwick and McGonagall relaxing and re-joining the more normal flow of banter that tended to accompany staff meals. The only blight they could see was that Umbridge joined them shortly after the trio arrived, immediately stunting conversation.

Everything went relatively well for all that most of the people at the table abandoned ship as soon as they reasonably could once Umbridge had arrived. Then Harry took a bite of some pastry or other and immediately gagged, drawing the attention of most of the table. It took a moment for Harry to drag his gag reflex back under control but it didn't stay under his control for long and he had to frantically shove himself away from the table before loosing everything he had just eaten. Voldemort and Snape were immediately by his side, helped along by the fact that they had sat to either side of him at the table.

"Oh dear! I see Mr. Potter is not feeling well," Umbridge said nastily as she watched Snape steady Harry while Voldemort conjured a bucket and vanished the mess. "I have not seen him since the end of term and am suddenly wondering where he was and what he was doing since he quite obviously has been here and wandering without supervision. I also did not see his name on the list of those who would be remaining over the holidays."

"That, madam was my fault," Severus pointed out quietly, mentally hoping that the castle would be willing to provide any needed evidence and that his story would hold up. "I had his name removed from the list via house elf when he, my visiting assistant, and myself were accidentally doused with an experimental brew just before the students were due to leave. This allowed me to deal with the results without risking any of the students or staff. Certain side effects still remain, such as the fact that the three of us currently can not get far from each other. I may find a counter for this or it may fade in time, as it stands Mr. Potter has already grown small fangs and spent over six hours screaming in pain since the holidays began. I could not risk giving him anything for fear of an adverse reaction. Whatever else happened madam, I was not willing to be vilified as the man who killed Harry Potter, nor was I willing to accidentally kill everyone else in the castle."

"Prey tell why did you not ask for my assistance? I am the school's medi-witch," Poppy asked icily as she deliberately set her silverware down on her plate with a soft clank. Minerva and Filius did not miss the way that Severus' steadying hand had started to soothingly rub Harry's back, nor the fact that neither older wizard took even a step away from Harry's side.

"It might be because the castle sealed us in and ordered the attending elf that we were to remain isolated," Voldemort drawled, easily adding to the lie laced with truth as he glanced back over at Harry who was in the process of being sick again. "The door only released us this morning and the elf had said something about old plague containment enchantments. Enchantments which must have been very powerful and remarkably well made to have not only lasted this long but to also still be working in any real way. I suspect that the elf was a sort of test subject as well and would have been isolated or killed immediately if he had shown signs of carrying any illness from our joint suite and we would have had to fend for ourselves."

"Why would any true witch or wizard care about an elf?" Umbridge asked in a tone that combined condescension and disgust, eying Harry with a malicious light gleaming in her eyes.

"And if the elf had been attending us but then, while ill with a plague caught from wizards, been assigned to work in the school at large? Or lent to the ministry? hundreds would be infected within the day rather than only the first isolated few having to weather it," Voldemort retorted, starting to loose his patience but unwilling to give the woman a reason to take her wrath out on Harry, as was clearly her intent with how she was eying him. He was completely unaware that the pink monstrosity in front of him was also the reason for the scars now adorning the back of Harry's hand and the tirade they had received from Narcissa.

"I told you to hand feed him for a while!" Salazar scolded from a portrait on a nearby wall as the concealing enchantment around it finally fell to the joint efforts of the depicted founders and the castle. All four of them had listened with varying levels of approval and admiration to the tale the two had deftly spun. "You are his anchors at the moment and if the effects of that potion aren't handled correctly then it could still put the rest of the school at risk."

Rowena rolled her eyes and swatted her friend's arm as those who remained in the great hall stared at the newly revealed portrait.

"You're being overly dramatic Salazar. It will only put the school at risk if they die, especially if Mr. Potter is in the middle of another violent transformation since the magic will think that its still inside someone's body and keep trying to change the surrounding area rapidly back and forth," Rowena added her own twist to the explanation with easy aplomb. "Though the residue from the blood quill used shortly before the accident certainly made it worse. If we hadn't activated those enchantments in time then his magic and the magic of the changes could have latched onto and started feeding off of everyone else's magic."

"I wasn't that bad," Salazar sulked, completely ignoring the increasingly angry look from the pink clad creature that they were stalking and hoping to chase from the school.

"No, you weren't," Helga conceded with a small smile. "But you also had your wife, your children, and us nearby to help stabilize you and keep it contained. That incident was one of the reasons for those enchantments being cast in the first place."

"Hem, hem, hem, who might you be?" Umbridge asked archly, her face red with anger and falsely perceived insult to her supposed authority. The founders just looked at each other, sharing a smirk before turning back and answering her question.

"Salazar Slytherin, my dear. The oaf next to me is Godric Gryffindor and these lovely ladies are Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw respectively," Salazar said with a flourishing bow. All four of them enjoyed the shock that passed over the faces of their audience while Minerva and Filius had to work hard to hide their amusement and delight. Both Voldemort and Snape mostly ignored the interactions to focus in concern on Harry who had moved on to dry heaving over the self cleaning bucket.

"Boys, one of you need to hand feed him something to drink. The bond between the three of you is too strong for anyone else to do it unless all three of you trust that person with your very lives. Mint tea, I think, laced with honey and a bit of milk..." Helga informed the trio as she watched Harry in concern, dashing Flitwick and McGonagall's amusement with the concern in her voice. The cat animagus quickly made the tea and brought a cup over to the three wizards.

"Severus?" Minerva half asked half offered as she held out the cup of tea to her colleague. The potions master nodded his thanks and with Voldemort's help holding Harry steady and upright before carefully feeding the drink to the teen. Harry immediately calmed as the nausea faded away, leaving him tired and leaning back against his roommates.

"I was afraid of that," Helga said with a heavy sigh. "We shouldn't have let them out of the suite but the danger to anyone else is minimal by now and its Christmas. Godric's little heir is taking the worst of it and his previous health issues didn't help any."

This sudden news of Harry's status as the Heir of Gryffindor sent Umbridge off into a sputtering rage and had nearly everyone else staring at the tired green-eyed teen. Harry mostly ignored their audience and trusted the two wizards standing with him to deal with any attack, no matter how unlikely, as he also ignored the screeching of the current defense professor. Mentally, he reviewed what he had eaten and compared it to the foods in the past that had made him sick for one reason or another.

Harry immediately discarded the possibility of spoiled or rotten food along with the idea of natural food poisoning. The elves were to attentive for that to happen and even his worst case of food poisoning to date, caused by Dudley purposefully shoving badly spoiled food down his throat, had been gone within ten minutes. Thinking back on that particular incident he figured his quick recovery was a bout of accidental magic rather than some minor miracle that it had seemed at the time. The bonus to that situation was that it had freaked Dudley out without getting Harry in trouble and had earned him a couple of days free from Harry Hunting. With a sigh the green-eyed youth decided it must be whatever bond was forming between him and his new roommates, just like Salazar had warned.

A sharp crack of breaking pottery drew Harry's attention back to his surroundings. Somehow a jug made of pottery that had been filled with milk ended up breaking its self or cracking over Umbridge's head. He quickly buried the laugh that tried to bubble up in his throat and decided that he would have to ask what had happened later and possibly try to beg the memory off of someone if he could get his hands on a pensive. The only hint as to what had happened was the faint sense of coldness and the sudden cackle of ghostly laughter that quickly disappeared.

"That is it! That poltergeist will be exorcised as soon as I can find someone to banish him from the grounds!" Umbridge fumed as the milk dripped down her head and pink cardigan.

"Actually Peeves has more right to be here than you do," Gryffindor commented idly as he examined his nails, a barely suppressed smirk lurking around the edges of his mouth. "You see he died defending these grounds after swearing to defend Hogwarts and her lands with everything he had. Only the essence of the castle or the four of us working together can banish him. Most of his pranks truly are harmless and he only resorts to lethal stuff when the castle is under outright attack or the various enchantments and guardians have been called to arms."

"You're forgetting that one time he took it into his incorporeal head to play catch or whatever with the various display weapons that were kept ready for practical use in an emergency," Salazar pointed out, not even bothering to hide his own smirk. "He is also the ultimate internal security. If he's resorting to more and more interesting pranks than someone on the staff is screwing up royally or needs a reality check since you all are supposed to be protecting the apprentices and helping them learn. Any attempt to harm or forcibly control them can be interpreted as a hostile act against the castle and its inhabitants. Though Peeves has learned how to give warnings over the centuries and we never begrudged him a certain amount of regular pranking, good for learning to dodge and for dueling reflexes."

"You two weren't exactly better about it in our day," Helga pointed out dryly. "I lost count of the number of apprentices, towns people, and such that I had to heal or otherwise fix from your pranks. Though I thank Lady Hecate daily that you limited your more extreme ones to each other and those who were about to graduate."

"That was my doing, I explained to them that if they ruined my wand crafting workshop one more bloody time I would ensure they were constantly being castrated and forcibly regrowing their family jewels," Rowena admitted in an equally dry fashion as both women eyed the theatrically offended, and wincing, male founders with amusement. "I promised that I wouldn't even lift it for their wedding night."

"What would they have needed to do for you to lift it Rowena dear? This is the first I've heard of it," Helga asked with interest.

"You know, I'm not sure. I don't think I ever really decided," Rowena said with a light laugh.

"You two are terrible," Godric declared with mock offended dignity.

"You can just as easily be burned," Umbridge declared in a furious rage, immediately stilling every occupant, portrait, ghost, or living, in the room.

"No, we can't," Salazar said softly, power infusing his voice as he reached deep into the diminished wells of power that gave the castle life. With an enormous effort he dragged a ghostly version of his form from the portrait, stepping forward with the same haughty dignity that would have done a Malfoy proud. "Our flesh bodies are gone but our spirits remain. We are a part of Hogwarts! Be careful how you tread witch, lest you be forever cast from these grounds and its surrounds."

The ghostly form of the green clad founder stalked toward the suddenly terrified wobbling short tower of pink clad flesh and knocked her shakily raised wand aside. He glowered as he leaned over her menacingly before giving a sneer of disgust and stalking back to the portrait, sinking back into the canvas and the stone castle walls. Helga immediately glowered at her fellow founder and shoved him into one of the painted chairs before running a diagnostic over him and shoving several painted potions down his now grumbling throat. No one noticed that Godric was no where to be seen within the portrait except for Rowena who made no comment on where the red clad man had disappeared to.

"Minerva, I will provide you with the chant that the school must repeat at least three times to keep the wards from falling within the next six months," Rowena said curtly after rolling her eyes at Salazar's antics as Helga treated him for the side effects of his impetuous actions. "Please ensure that the entire student body recites it. It will stabilize the magics for about five years for the first three recitations. If you want it lasting longer I'll have to come up with a better chant since the original one will no longer work, or the four of us will have to extend the edge of the grounds to include Hogsmeade, the Forbidden Forest, and the rest of Black Lake."

"I will see what I can do," Professor McGonagall said a little shakily causing Helga to glance up sharply from her painted patient and take a good look at everyone in the room.

"Right, the boys need to go back to bed and this time hand feed Harry!" Helga instructed with a glare, earning several quick nods of agreement from both Snape and Voldemort. "Salazar's stunt drained a good deal of the remaining magic from at least one of the magic reservoirs so expect certain magics around the castle to be sluggish or dormant until Rowena's chant is performed. If you get them to chant it for 9 or better yet 27 times then the magic will refill far faster and more of the castle will re-awaken. For best results, 27 rounds of the entire school, all of Hogsmeade, and the creatures of the area chanting in unison. That should give us maybe 20 years at full functionality for the school and maybe 100 at half that if we're lucky. From what I saw of Rowena's notes the school has barely any magic left and most of it is focused in the reality room, what you call the Room of Requirement."

Helga's words had nearly everyone paling and earned the Healer an exasperated look from her fellow female founder. As they started bickering over it Severus, and Voldemort quickly made their escape, half carrying the tired green-eyed brat between them back to the suite. The trio spent the rest of the day hiding out in their rooms with presents and Christmas dinner happily served to them by enthusiastic elves. They studiously obeyed the instructions that Helga Hufflepuff had the elves convey before eventually retiring to their single large shared bed.

Chapter Text

Umbridge stormed off toward her pink saturated office soon after the trio left for their quarters in the dungeon, completely ignoring the founders and the rest of the staff. The students who got to see the major smack down that the castle and Salazar Slytherin! gave to the vicious witch quickly excused themselves and hurried to inform their classmates. The staff simply sat there looking disturbed as they quietly finished their meal with McGonagall and Flitwick resisting the urge to yell at their colleagues for their blindness among other things.

"Did they say something about a... a blood quill?" Professor Sprout asked voice dropping to a horrified whisper.

"Yes, they did," Minerva said primly, without batting an eye and relieved that someone noticed one of the more important subjects of the conversation.

"We will have to ask them what Salazar meant or did we cover that when we visited them?" Flitwick asked, ending with a slight squeak in his voice.

"At the time we were more concerned about seeing they were alright and not trying to kill one another but yes, Lady Helga did go over that with us when we visited," Minerva answered calmly as she buttered a scone. "And I knew we couldn't do anything until after the holidays, that, however, did not keep me from having nightmares over both the quill and the medical scan she managed to get performed on Mr. Potter."

Both teachers ignored the violent flinch that Madam Pomfrey had at the mention of a medical scan on Harry. The rest of the still present staff, however did not.

"What did she find?" Madam Pince asked in dread.

As much as she chased the Golden Trio and their rivals the Silver Trio from her domain in the library she had also helped them find things in the library. She had been watching them and the books they checked out less to keep track of the books and more to try and make sure they had the help they would inevitably need. She personally knew that it was unlikely she would ever be near enough or fast enough to help them with her wand. Something she could do, as with Severus in both his school days and as a colleague, was to make sure that the information which would help them got into their hands. Pince would spend many late nights trying to figure out what the likely yearly crisis would be and encourage Hermione to read up on books that might connect or otherwise help with the situation. She knew that the young bibliophile would be able to recall the knowledge when it was needed and help anyone involved in the situation to survive.

"Do you want to hear the actual injuries that needed to be healed, the past levels of abuse, or the various enchantments all three of them were under?" Minerva asked sarcastically, practically spitting out the word abuse and earning a sharp look of censure from the small charms master. They both knew it was not something that Harry would want shared for all that it should have been reported long ago.

"I think that both Minerva and I need to be off, she promised me a friendly duel you see," Filius said quickly, more than sympathetic as to how upset his friend was and knowing that a duel would help her release her frustrations as well as help her guard her tongue. He quickly hopped off of his chair and led the still upset Deputy Headmistress from the very quiet room.

The staff slowly drifted away from the great hall pondering what they had unexpectedly learned. Poppy Pomfrey blindly made her way back to the hospital wing and pulled out two very specific medical files and stared at them for over an hour without actually seeing them. As much as Dumbledore had blocked some of what she had tried to do for both Harry and Severus but that didn't change the fact that she chose to obey him over the medical needs of her patients.

It was after midnight when the medi-witch made a snap decision, sealing the files, making copies, and summoning an elf before asking that the copies be delivered to Harry and Severus respectively. The elf was warned to tell them that only their new healer would be able to open the files and that she requested they have a check up with their new healer before the week was out. That done she put herself to bed and hoped the morning of boxing day wouldn't look so bleak as Christmas day had turned out to be.

Boxing day had the trio waking peacefully in their combined suite only to discover that it had been rearranged while they slept. They now had a proper living room, bedroom, and dining area. Severus, while mostly resigned to having Voldemort and Harry as permanent additions in his life was slightly disappointed to find that they still had only one large bed. He was, however, greatly pleased to note that the library and potions lab had not been taken away from them.

As the first one to wake the potions master carefully extracted himself from the tangle of limbs that the three of them had become. He took the chance that the quiet gave him to mentally review what had happened to get them to this point. Snape's trip down memory lane found, much to his dislike, that they really needed to go over whatever magics the goblins had removed from them. Deciding that he wanted to brew something he started on a simple but slightly time consuming healing potion, more than an hour later he glanced up and found Harry quietly watching him work.

"How long have you been there?" Severus asked softly as he added the lemon zest to the potion and watched it turn from a deep blue to a lime green.

"About an hour," Harry said with a shrug.

"And?" Snape asked, wondering just why Harry was watching his potion stained fingers slice up an apple for the potion with obvious fascination.

"Would you... tell me about my parents?" Harry asked shyly, the desperate hope in his eyes combined with his own pain from the memories and hitting the dour man like a punch to the gut. The sharp whoosh of air was deafening in the quiet of the potions lab and added a mix of concern to Harry's gaze.

"I... am not the best person to ask. I was often at odds with your father and his friends, much as you are with young Malfoy," Snape's quietly pained response broke the suddenly stiffing stillness and tension of the lab. "You would be better off asking the wolf or the mutt."

"Okay," Harry said quietly, dropping his eyes in pained disappointment and perceived shame before slipping from the room.

Snape wasn't surprised in the least when Voldemort practically stormed into the lab shortly after Harry left and pinned him in place with a glare.

"He asked for something I could not give without hurting both of us," Severus practically whispered before the Dark Lord could speak, his eyes having fallen to his hands and the root he was mangling well beyond usefulness. Tossing aside the mutilated root he reached to retrieve another for the potion only to have a hand reach out and gently grip him by the wrist. A quiet evansco from Voldemort vanished the half made potion as he was carefully guided away from the station over to a stool and into the seat.

"What did he ask?" Voldemort requested of his obviously hurting mate, re-evaluating the situation now that he had seen Severus' reaction as well as Harry's. Neither of them noticed that the door to the lab was partly open and that Harry had followed the Dark Lord to try and keep him from killing the potions master only to stop uncertainly at the threshold to the lab at the scene in front of him.

"About his parents," Severus whispered horsely. "I.. he... the Marauders made my life a living hell and I lost Lily when I called her a Mudblood... I've hurt him enough. Harry doesn't need to hear the pain they caused me and I wouldn't be able to hide it. He doesn't need to hear about how those four tried to kill me. How his precious mutt and wolf nearly tore me apart on the full moon during my fifth year. He doesn't need to hear that his parents died because I told you about what Trelawny said. He needs to hear how good in charms and potions his mother was, and that his father was a good Auror, not that I was the favorite target of the Marauders just because I was in Slytherin."

"And if he still wanted you to tell him about them knowing all this?" Voldemort asked his ruby eyes meeting a stricken pair of emerald orbs in the doorway, saying nothing about the Gryffindor's presence.

"I would try but..." Severus trailed off helplessly as he stared sightlessly at the detritus of his brewing session.

Before Snape knew it he once more sported a green-eyed limpet that was murmuring reassurances and saying that he didn't need to tell him anything he didn't want to. It was too much for the dour man and silent tears began streaming down his face. Voldemort sighed softly and gathered the two wizards up before bundling all three of them into bed for a cuddle session.

When they finally surfaced again it was time to eat and the meal progressed in a comfortable silence until the remains of the food vanished away to the kitchens. Severus sat back in his chair regarding Harry as he again reviewed what he had learned since that day when they had found themselves trapped together in these very rooms. Making a decision he nodded to himself before fixing Harry with his most penetrating stare, freezing the teen in his seat before demanding answers.

"Tell us about the blood quill and your relatives," Snape said in the sinfully soft and silky tone that would get the most reticent of students to talk to him.

"The quill... Umbridge makes me use it during detention. She keeps saying that the Ministry is basically infallible and that I'm lying about Voldemort, Cedric, and the Dementors that attacked me this summer," Harry said softly, his eyes having dropped to his lap, causing his audience to force back their anger and sudden worry. "I've tried getting help and Professor McGonagall said to keep my head down, just like when we tried to tell her about the stone in our first year..."

"And your relatives?" Severus prompted, realizing that Harry not only didn't want to talk about Umbridge but that he felt betrayed once again by an adult. It was a miracle that he was being so open with the two adult wizards who had until recently been his most ardent enemies.

"Just normal chores and stuff," Harry said with a shrug.

"We realize this is difficult for you but we need specific examples," Voldemort explained patiently. "Outline a normal day for us."

"Its just a normal day," Harry said puzzled, trying to forget the few times he had explained it to a non-Dursley and what had happened to them. It took a moment for Snape to realize why Harry might be reticent to share, his previous experience with abuse and dealing with abused Slytherin students stood him in good stead allowing him to understand. When he did understand that anyone who had tried to help Harry had been hurt or otherwise removed from the situation he gave off a low growl of fury that had Harry watching him warily.

"If we can get our hands on a pensive will you allow us to view a few of your memories?" Snape asked carefully, trying not to spook the sable haired youth further. "We need to know how to handle your relatives once we have permission to leave the castle for short times in case we can avoid unnecessary conflict when retrieving anything you left with them."

The unending relief that momentarily washed over Harry's features did not comfort the other two wizards.

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that. I have everything I need here with me at Hogwarts," Harry said cheerfully before leaving the table and pulling out the book Hermione had sent him for Christmas to read in the library.

"That was not reassuring," Severus said disconcerted by Harry's relieved and happy response.

"We will need to ensure he has a proper wardrobe. The rags he currently wears are unacceptable and I very much doubt he will do more than pick out a single outfit or two on his own," Voldemort said in a tone of agreement before changing the subject and bringing out the list of enchantments they had been under as well as the two sealed files he had found earlier. "We need to go over this list and decide who our new Healer will be since the school's nurse sent down a copy of both of your files sometime during the night."

"Indeed?" Snape asked in surprise as his former master handed over both sealed files to him.

As a Potions Master he was required to maintain an up to date Healer's license and had no trouble opening both medical files to skim them. His features darkened in displeasure as he realized that Dumbledore had been meddling in both of their medical treatments since Harry's first day of his first year and since early on in his own schooling. Severus very deliberately closed the files, resealed them, and set them aside in an attempt to calm down.

"Bad news?" Voldemort asked in concern.

"Merely more proof of Dumbledore's meddling," Snape said with a scowl and a glare at the offending files. His gaze fell on the list that the goblins had left with them and the dour man gave off a heavy sigh before nodding at the list. "Lets hear the damage then while the brat is off doing homework or something."

"All three of us had bindings on our core as a whole to reduce our power levels as well as a number of Aversion spells. Of the three of us I am the only one who did not have an active Loyalty spell but there was evidence of several broken ones. The oldest one on me was focused on Dumbledore and the newer ones were using various lower level Death Eaters as the focus of that Loyalty. The Loyalty spells on you were to Dumbledore, the Order of the Phoenix, and the Greater Good with several weaker ones focused on Harry and Dumbledore as the Headmaster," Voldemort informed his sarcastic mate, obviously put out at the number and variety of spells that had been on the three of them.

"And the Loyalty spells on Harry?" Severus asked quietly, more than a bit disturbed by how much had been uncovered for all that they had barely covered a fraction of the list.

"Harry's... were were mostly placed during his time at Hogwarts but a few were placed before he was old enough to attend muggle primary school," Voldemort said, having difficulty keeping as much dispassion in his analysis as possible. "This, unfortunately includes at least two of the bindings on his core. If my soul shard had not been siphoning increasing amounts of his magic he likely would not have survived to attend Hogwarts in the first place. As it stands he can produce more magic than 5 adults inside of a single hour and the extra power appears to be shared between the two of us. Luckily his core is still in its growing stages otherwise there would be real risk to his life, instead of only having to deal with his sudden creature traits and the pain that should hit him sometime tonight or tomorrow."

"There was never a chance of me escaping the two of you unless you allowed it was there?" Severus asked softly after a moment of consideration.

"Doubtful, but I would have allowed you a few years of freedom first unless something came up," Voldemort admitted, completely unphased over the fact that the potions master had figured it out.

"You're too possessive to have allowed me complete freedom for long," Severus pointed out in wry amusement. Voldemort didn't comment, knowing it was true, and instead looked down at the list again.

"That covers most of it except the Potter Bloodline curse they were unable to remove. The curse appears to be Chinese in origin similar to the may you live in interesting times curse and affects the luck of most of the males in the afflicted bloodline," Voldemort informed him, wrapping up the discussion before setting aside the parchment.

"Which explains much about the Potters," Snape admitted with a scowl.

"Severus, whatever happens we are a family now, the two of you are my mates. If I have anything to say about it the three of us will be married as soon as reasonably possible, especially since you fully understand the situation as the only full human in this mating. It is unlikely that I will ever change but I will try my best to make sure this is a happy mating and marriage," Voldemort said softly and Severus reluctantly nodded his understanding before they silently stood and went off in search of Harry.

Chapter Text

It took them several hours to locate Harry and they found, much to their dismay, that someone else had gotten to him first. Umbridge looked up at the door smugly as Severus poked his head into the classroom while looking for Harry. The way that his body froze in shock at what he saw was more than enough to tell Voldemort, who was standing in the hallway, that they had probably found their little lion and that whatever the potion master saw was unacceptable.

"Ahem hem hem. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit gentlemen?" Umbridge asked sweetly, a sickly smile on her face.

Voldemort ignored her to march over to Harry and rip the blood quill from his hand as he tried to drag the youth from his seat. Tried being the operative word as Harry was both silenced and magically stuck to the chair. He refused to look at them as they canceled the charms keeping him in place. Umbridge watched with a silent smirk as they freed her favorite victim, his wand sitting prominently on the pink adorned desk.

"You will never come near him again. Is that perfectly clear, Madam?" Snape said in his most threatening growl as he pointed his wand at the loathsome witch.

"And here I thought you were perfectly aware of how much of a troublemaker Mr. Potter is and agreed with my punishments. Unlike the rest of these weaklings challenging the ministry and backing that meddlesome old fool Dumbledore," Umbridge said, a triumphant smirk on her toad-like face.

"Punish, yes, torture? Hell no!" Snape growled, his wand sparking in a mirror of his fury as he wandlessly summoned Harry's wand with his off hand.

"We can kill her later, Severus. He's passing out from blood loss," Voldemort barked. Umbridge never saw the stunner hit, nor the binding and silencing charms that Severus cast before quickly turning to help with his younger mate, and yes he couldn't deny it any longer both men were his mates.

"Why didn't they at least warn us? Why didn't they protect him??" Snape asked, overwhelmed by the torrent of emotions from seeing Harry hurt and from finally admitting to himself that these two men were important to him.

"There probably isn't enough magic left for them to have done anything," Voldemort said comfortingly. "Remember that the castle desperately needs more magic and even the basic magical parts of the castle, like the portrait doors and the stairs are at risk. We need everyone to pitch in and participate in whatever chant that the founders come up with."

"Lets just get Harry away from this woman and worry about getting the magic to save the castle when the students come back," Severus said as he helped Voldemort carry Harry from the room and swiftly back to their quarters. No one saw them until supper on the day the students returned a few days later. Thankfully whatever pain that Harry was supposed to go through as a part of his transformation held off. Shortly before the feast they learned more about Harry's home life.

"Look, its nothing! Its not like I haven't had worse," Harry said in exasperation. "You've seen my medical thingamabob, you know I've had worse and I'm still fine!"

"Harry, you are anything but fine even if only because you think that you are, that the sort of pain she put you through isn't normal," Severus pointed out in obvious concern. "You practically drown yourself in feeling us touch you whenever we simply hug you or hold you. Someone of your age shouldn't feel the need to have constant touch, unless you never received it when you were supposed to. Not that we particularly mind cuddling with you but it means that someone hurt you almost constantly and they will pay for that."

"The only times the Dursleys ever touched me was to hurt me," Harry admitted, looking in sudden fascination at the floor before meeting their worried gazes with a look of stubborn defiance. "I can handle detentions with Umbridge, you don't need to worry, its not like I'm going to die from writing a few lines."

"You passed out from blood loss! We aren't willing to loose you to the sadistic machinations of that woman!" Voldemort growled half shouting. Harry instinctively drew back from the loud angry noise only to be pulled into a firm hug with a frustrated growl from both older wizards. "You aren't a child anymore and haven't been for some time. You are our mate and we'll not loose you to some dangerous falsehood that you have to go through this alone or that no one cares. We care and we will not loose you even if I have to slaughter the rest of the planet to keep you safe!"

"Please don't, they didn't do anything," Harry said in a small voice as he finally relaxed in Voldemort's embrace.

"Oh, they did plenty," Voldemort said with a mirthless chuckle. "But I will let them alone since you asked my little lion."

"Harry, if you need a hug or some other ridiculous thing like cuddles we will oblige," Severus said in exasperation as he gave into the sudden need to bury his nose in Harry's hair and breath in his heady scent. "You need only ask and try to understand when we have our own bad days. Everything else can be worked out and we will never willingly throw you away. You are a treasure that I did not think I deserved, which is why Voldemort had to knock some sense into me and why we quite happily hid in our quarters with you, away from the pink bitch the last few days."

"Thank you," Harry said as he smiled brightly, snuggling into Voldemort's side, still half afraid he would be sent away as useless but quickly calming in the arms of his mates.

"Come imp, let us go see what Lady Rowena has created for the chant to restore magic to Hogwarts," Voldemort said with a playful growl five minutes later, earning a tinkling laugh of delight from Harry as they separated and headed to the great hall.

"Should we make him eat with us at the head table?" Snape asked in concern as Harry ran ahead of them.

"That would draw too much attention and possibly give Umbridge an effective reason to remove one or all of us from the castle," Voldemort pointed out in quiet frustration as his eyes watchfully followed Harry toward his seat at the Gryffindor table. "At the moment if something happens the entire school will see it and everyone will be able to react. Should someone decide that it is a good idea to tamper with his food or some other subtle idiocy we can always have him eat with us in our quarters or ask the house elves to help."

"I don't like this," Severus said worriedly, a scowl on his face as they sat in their own seats at the head table.

"Don't fret, it will give away more than we can afford until the castle is back to full strength," Voldemort scolded softly before discretely serving both of them from the serving platters. "Eat, both of you are too thin for my liking."

"He hasn't finished transforming and we both know when the pain hits he will be screaming," Severus snapped back worriedly.

Voldemort was distracted from answering by the slam of the main doors to the great hall. Quickly glancing around he realized that the entire school was assembled for the meal, even the house elves and ghosts were there though the elves had picked out of the way shadows to hide in. The giant doors quickly started to melt into stone, matching speed with the quiet that was quickly descending over the hall until there was only wall where the doors had once stood. Before anyone could start panicking giant words started forming in the center of the new wall bringing Voldemort, Harry, and Severus to the conclusion that this was the chant Lady Rowena Ravenclaw had devised.

Once Hogwarts stood proud and tall, truly magical to its very core. Time passed and the traditions that help fuel the magic of the school began to fall by the wayside. Then came a time where none remembered the traditions and chants that powered the great living school called Hogwarts as the power and life of the school slowly drained away. A new chant and song was needed to help Lady Hogwarts survive and thrive once more. To save Hogwarts Repeat these words 5 times a day for a seven day to keep her alive for another year. Repeat these words 5 times a day for a month to heal her a bit more. Repeat these words 5 times a day for two months and do no more magic for that time to heal her for another 5 years.

Warning: No one under age 11 is to take up the chant. Anyone age 17 or over may repeat the chant up to 8 times a day without serious risk.

 

Marry we met, Marry we part
Release thou inner Fire, that we might protect this house entire
Bones of the Earth, lend us your might
That we might defend this land throughout the day and night
Air we beseech thee bring only that which is fresh and good
Upon one's own breath grant thy truth and allow all to be understood
Water, our life's blood, protect us from ill intent
Be it from man, creature, or thine Lady Mother's own hand
Hogwarts stand tall and strong, resonate with the power of our song
Forever be our home and hearth, lest ye fall to the darkness in human hearts
A place of teaching and laughter be, let all the children run joyfully wild and free
So Mote It Be!

"A bit more extensive than she warned us it would be," Severus commented, his voice ringing out of the silence and drawing the eyes of the whole school.

"Considering that they admitted they're worried Hogwarts has lost so much magic that the moving staircases will start to fall to the ground I'm not surprised," Voldemort responded equally calmly as he studied the words burned into the stone of the new wall.

"What... what are you talking about Severus?" Trelawny asked in a trembling quavery voice, giving form to the question on nearly everyone's minds.

"The founders left something of themselves behind and that something thought it might be a wonderful idea to trap myself, Mr. Potter, and my new assistant in a section of the castle over the holidays. During the course of that forced co-habitation we broke an enchantment that had been cast by an enemy seer on both the castle and the founders. You see Sybil that was no portrait that scolded our dear Professor Umbridge, that was Salazar Slytherin himself. The problem, as the founders explained to us, is that Hogwarts has nearly used up her reserves of magic and most of the enchantments have either gone dormant or failed completely." Severus lectured in his most smooth and silky tones, a devilish smirk gracing his features as the entire school hung on his every word. "Most of the rest of what happened is no one's business but our own and if I discover anyone harassing my assistant or Mr. Potter over it they will have a month's worth of detention. That said I would advise everyone to write down or memorize that little poem and chant it at least 5 times a day. Mind you, if you chant it too often you'll likely wind up magically exhausted and I doubt that Madam Pomfrey will be pleased to tend to so many dunderheads."

"Very good Severus," Rowena congratulated in an exhausted tone of voice from their portrait. "I wasn't sure there would be enough magic for us to stay awake, the children needed visible proof, and I realized our previous plan would have put to great a strain on their magical cores. Don't bother trying to transfer everyone out of the hall through the teacher's door, it and the other side doors will release once there is enough magic to fuel some of the more vital protections on the school. Thank the gods Salazar insisted that the wards be set up as a separate system that can be individually taken down, recast, or modified by the school herself when she has enough magic."

"I don't know who you are but you will be gone from this school before the month is out!" Umbridge spat, earning odd looks from everyone who had been there over the winter break.

"Who oblivated her?" Helga asked with interest. "I was certain that Salazar's little display would have her terrified, especially since I finally agreed to let them start pranking again."

"Mixy bes sorry!" One of the elves squeaked, drawing attention to their presence. "Mixy only bes wanting to protect Hoggywarts Ward. Mean pink one was making noisies about using painful spells on young master, so Mixy gave cup with tea and forgets potion from Master Bat's special cupboard."

The outraged and indignant looks that came from most of the school and especially the founders sent a chill of unease down the vile woman's spine.

"I am perfectly within my rights as Ministry Representative and High Inquisitor to use whatever means of discipline I feel necessary for students and staff alike. Mixy, report to me after the meal to collect your clothes," Umbridge ordered haughtily, ignoring the increasingly angry grumbles from the student body, confident in her position of power. "As for this tripe on the wall, if I hear any of you chanting such ridiculous trash you will face expulsion or, in the case of staff, immediate dismissal."

"Were you not listening woman?!" Severus hissed in fury. "We are sealed inside here until the appropriate magic levels are achieved via some method of performing the words on the wall. If we do not provide enough magic we will die in here!"

"Nonsense!" Umbridge said firmly in denial land as she turned back to her meal, ignoring the rest of the room.

"Oh, just knock her out. We'll deal with her later," Gryffindor ordered in disgust as one of the elves quickly obeyed him, tying her to her chair and taking away her wand for good measure.

"No more safety restrictions on her once the magic is at a more acceptable level," Helga finally conceded, granting both male founders the right to simply kill her if she presented enough of a threat rather than only restricting them to driving her out of Hogwarts.

"Peevesy can play with sharp objects around pink toadsy?!" Peeves asked in glee before whooping and doing loop-de-loops all over the great hall at Helga's resigned nod, drawing startled laughs from many students.

"Attention! Attention!" McGonagall called bringing order to the room once more. "We will all be singing this in a round. Everyone stand up and once you've sung it 5 times you are to sit back down. We will go by house and I will award twenty points to each house for completion of singing it five times. I will award an additional twenty-five to the house who presents the best performance as judged by the founders, staff, and ghosts of Hogwarts. These points will be awarded once every day. If you are over 17 you can earn an additional 5 points for reciting it three more times. This is a spell that will help revitalize the school so please use it carefully and only under direct supervision of a staff member."

Obeying everyone stood up and started chanting the words by house. Slytherin went first, then Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and finally Gryffindor. A few of the sixth and seventh years went on for the additional points. By the time they were done everyone was feeling drained and the magic was crackling through the air before slowly sinking into the stones around them. There was a slight shudder from the building and the light in the hall got measurably brighter as the main doors returned to their wooden door-like state. The words split into two copies shifting to either side of the doors as it remained embedded in the stones of the castle as the promised points landed in each of the hour glass'.

"Now, this is a secret. Can you all keep a secret?" Salazar asked in a combination of silliness and seriousness, gaining random giggles and nods from nearly everyone in the room. "I know that Dumbledore isn't in the castle right now and he mustn't hear about this, not yet. So what I am going to do is ask Hogwarts to cast a special secrecy spell on everyone except Professor Snape, his assistant, and Harry Potter. Anyone else has to get special permission from us to tell. I am also going to ask Hogwarts not to take away any points for pranking Dumbledore or Umbridge and if you don't want to go to Madam Pomfrey for some reason you can ask one of the portraits to get Helga for you."

"The best part of the prank though is that no one can know that we're awake yet," Godric put in with a smirk of his own. "Once Hogwarts has enough magic again many of the sleeping magics will wake and you will have more to learn and play with. If you can all chant the poem 5 times a day for two months I will award 100 points to each house and you will have earned a secret midnight feast. However if you miss a day, you cannot make it up and everyone in your house must have done the chant each day. For every day that you manage to chant it 5 times you will receive 1 candy."

"Please, no! Give them points instead of candy!" Professor Snape quickly pleaded with the rest of the staff practically on his heels with their own pleas of mercy from the hyper activity of students on a sugar high.

"I have a solution for that," Salazar said with a smirk. "The house elves will ensure that anyone with a practical class will not be allowed to have candy until after that class is complete, especially potions."

"Thank you," Severus breathed in relief. He had a hard enough time controlling the brats in such a dangerous environment as an active potions lab that adding sugar highs to the mix was a very bad idea.

"There's a catch," Rowena told them with a smirk of her own. "If all four houses can successfully complete the chant 5 times a day for two months straight the entire Hogwarts staff must submit to a duel between themselves and each house, staff against students. There will be a limit to what spells can be used to avoid accidents and if the students can all agree on teams and such you will all referee a battle royal over the weekend with a giant sleep over in the great hall. If they're smart they'll keep the candy they earn to have for when they win the massive party and the right to throw spells at you and each other."

The horrified looks of the entire staff had the entire student body grinning evilly and plotting how to make it happen. It was all anyone could talk about for the rest of the meal. Some industrious Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs had managed to copy down the chant, the rules, and the rewards before being sent back off to their common rooms, by the time breakfast was served the next morning everyone had a copy.

Chapter Text

Over the next two months there was more traffic in the library, study groups, and actual studying than there had been in a very long time. Every night the Prefects, without orders from their Heads of House gathered everyone together in the common room to recite the poem, gifting Hogwarts with more and more magic. Every morning some new enchantment had awakened or was once more working correctly. Not a single day was missed by anyone chanting the poem and the teachers watched the counters in awe as they grew in size to touch the floor.

Umbridge continued to harass Harry but was thwarted time and time again by staff and students alike. Dumbledore was conveniently often called away to consult or help with new/old magics that were awakening in the Ministry and Wizengamott buildings, causing more than a little chaos. Something that worried both Severus and Voldemort to no end, however, was the fact that the pain they expected Harry to be in shortly after Christmas never seemed to manifest. It was true that on the Saturday directly after school had started again he had disappeared for nearly the entire day, scaring them silly but beyond that they had no idea what happened.

Little did they know that Harry had put much of his cunning into hiding something that they had half been waiting for. All of the Gryffindor's efforts failed a week before the two month challenge was up. They woke to a shivering Harry in the middle of the bed in their joint quarters, curled into a miserable mewling ball as he vainly tried to snuggle into the warmth of his mates.

"Harry? Imp? Are you alright?" Severus asked in deep concern as he sat up in bed. His only response was a miserable mewl of protest at the cool air invading his warm den of covers and bodies.

"Severus?" Voldemort asked sleepily, unconsciously cuddling the shivering Harry closer to him and further under the slightly open blankets.

"Something is wrong with the imp," Severus said as he retrieved his wand and quickly cast a diagnostic spell to try and pin down what the problem was. Voldemort forced himself awake and took in the situation before sitting up himself, earning another mewl of protest from the clearly ill Gryffindor.

"Cold," Harry mumbled as he once more tried to bury himself in the warm bedding, shivering near enough for them to practically hear his teeth chattering.

"You somehow delayed the transformation didn't you?" Severus snarked, trying to cover his worry at the readings from the diagnostic spell. Harry mumbled something inarticulate before slipping his pillow over his head. "You shouldn't have done that, now it will be worse and last longer."

"I wont be able to leave him like this and I have no idea if I'm going to be able to let you leave our quarters, even if its just to go down the hall and teach a bunch of brats for the day," Voldemort warned as he wrapped the blankets firmly around Harry.

"Normally a student this obviously ill would be sent to the infirmary but with how the founders reacted before I don't think that's wise or feasible," Severus said thoughtfully. "If you can control yourself enough to let me post a note on the classroom door I can simply assign essays for everyone and inform the rest of the staff that he will be out of classes today. Since Poppy released our medical files to us and we have yet to hire a personal healer, I will fill the role for the moment. If anyone asks we can say that he stayed with us because of a bad reaction to a potion that someone slipped him."

"Was he slipped a potion?" Voldemort asked, gaining a reluctant nod from his fully human mate.

"It looks like someone slipped him a type of magic suppressor. I'm honestly surprised he hasn't had problems because of it until now," Snape admitted. "There isn't much to be done except ride out the symptoms and hope that he doesn't have an allergic reaction. We can keep him warm and fuss over him but the only other thing I can think of is that someone needs to stay near him in case of complications. Nothing is ever standard about him and I honestly wouldn't be too surprised to discover that he comes out of this not only pregnant but carrying twins and having found Camelot or Merlin's resting place."

"He's going to be screaming before this is over isn't he?" Voldemort asked feeling more than a little sick at how much pain that meant Harry would be in.

"Yes," Severus agreed softly, not at all happy with the situation and resisting the urge to simply sit in the bed and cuddle Harry close until it was all over. Quickly dashing off a note with the various assignments he left their quarters with a "Don't let him get out of bed." tossed over his shoulder. Only to be caught by Dumbledore as he headed back down the dungeon corridor, away from the potions lab.

"Ah, Severus! I've been meaning to speak with you," Dumbledore said cheerfully, earning a subvocal growl from the dour man.

"What can I do for you Headmaster?" Snape asked his face blank, just itching to get back to Voldemort and Harry.

"I've been meaning to speak to you my boy. I know that Tom had something to do with your new assistant. You don't need to keep him on. In fact I will be quite happy to be the scapegoat if you need me to be to get free of him," Dumbledore asked softly, looking over his glasses in feigned concern.

"That simply isn't possible, Headmaster," Snape responded as blandly as he could manage. "The Dark Lord had nothing to do with his appointment. It was the castle herself who insisted upon it."

"Ah, I see," Dumbledore said ponderingly. "You wouldn't happen to know where Harry has been sleeping lately? I recently discovered that the Weasley twins have been covering for him for some time and refuse to explain where he has been hiding himself."

"I'm afraid that was another change the castle made during the holidays," Snape said, keeping up his bland uncaring exterior as he watched Dumbledore's expression tighten minutely and the twinkle leave the other man's eyes. "The brat was made to share quarters with me and my assistant. He is also the reason I was forced to cancel classes today since he's gotten himself dosed with a potion that he's very likely allergic to. As the problem is so obviously potion based I opted to treat him myself rather then sending him to Madam Pomfrey, the better to torture him over his general idiocy in drinking something he didn't recognize."

"Ah, good, good. I can trust you to take care of him without punishing him too severely can't I?" Dumbledore asked, the twinkle returning to his eyes.

"That depends entirely on how well behaved Potter is during his treatment," Severus said bluntly, trying to figure out why Dumbledore would want him to torture his golden boy.

That's when they heard a single short scream echo throughout the dungeons. Snape cursed before taking off for their quarters, ignoring his employer as the man quickly followed behind him. He burst through the guardian portrait, ignoring the way Dumbledore slipped in behind him in favor of getting a look at Harry. The fact that Voldemort was grimly pinning Harry in place as he thrashed was not reassuring.

"What happened?" Severus snapped as he moved towards them and Dumbledore slipped into a corner to observe the interaction.

"He glowed a greenish-blue before vomiting and screaming," Voldemort reported as Harry's thrashing eased, allowing the man to ease his own grip.

"Did he eat or drink anything?" Severus demanded, Voldemort nodded towards the breakfast tray that was on the side table. Snape stalked over and examined the mostly complete breakfast before cursing yet again. "Whoever keeps dosing him with potions isn't bothering to check for dangerous interaction, or they are clumsily trying to kill him."

"I am sorry, but I never caught your name young man," Dumbledore said mildly as his sharp eyes examined Voldemort.

"Me? I'm Tom Myridden. My surname means sea fort and its a pleasure to actually meet you Headmaster," Voldemort said smoothly, using the fake name that Hogwarts and Lady Magic had arranged for him. Upon hearing the name Dumbledore minutely relaxed before smiling at him with a genial nod of acceptance.

"I see now why Severus decided to cancel his classes for the day. We can't have a student dying on us because he took the wrong potions behind the mediwitch's back, now can we?" Dumbledore asked cheerily.

"No, we can't Headmaster," Severus said sourly as Voldemort checked himself, refusing to put them all at more risk by attacking the old fool for so clumsily threatening one of his mates. Dumbledore nodded happily and left them to take care of Harry, discretely casting an eavesdropping charm on his way out only for Hogwarts to immediately destroy it.

"That man is up to something," Godric muttered suspiciously from where the founders had observed hidden in the background of their tapestry.

"There isn't enough magic yet for us to safely leave the castle, even if its only to go talk to the Centaurs in the forest so stop badgering me about it," Rowena said huffily, obviously continuing an earlier conversation before looking over towards were Harry lay exhausted in the bed. "Ah, so the phoenix nature and the basilisk nature have settled enough to work together against outside influences before they finish making any other changes to our ward."

"Meaning?" Voldemort asked quietly, trying to keep his anger and frustration in check.

"Meaning that once he's burned the interfering potions out of his system the transformations are going to jump start and will be done within a few days. Salazar didn't change as much since he was already a full adult when the venom and tears were introduced. Harry however... well, expect more than a few creature-like traits to manifest, aside from what already has manifested, which might trigger a few more to manifest in Voldemort in response," Rowena warned. "I had wondered why they didn't trigger soon after yule and Helga suggested that he's been unconsciously suppressing, afraid to drive the two of you away. I concede that might have been a factor but the potions that keep getting slipped to him need to stop."

"Oh they'll stop alright," Voldemort said darkly. "He's eating with us from now on. Either at the head table or in our quarters and Severus is going to be the one to insist on it on the grounds of the potions he has to take at every meal to fix the damage."

"He needs more of the nutrient potion than he's been taking in any case. I've caught him either not taking it or other students harassing him and destroying the potion before he can take it. I've been meaning to bring it up with Lady Hufflepuff, you, and Minerva as his head of house, the twin menaces clearly aren't doing a good enough job of protecting him during the day," Severus admitted sourly, moving to sit on the bed next to his mates. "Before you decide to go off and kill the young idiots, I've dealt with them. They are the main reason I've had so many detentions to oversee and keep catching Harry lingering in the corridors. I've been nicer to the brats outside of class, as Lord Gryffindor promised them, and there have been fewer accidents aside from some of the more cocky or dunderheaded students."

"Very well, I won't kill them," Voldemort grumbled, disgruntled about not being able to attack the students harassing one of his mates but satisfied that his human mate had taken care of it. A moment later Harry shot up, half ripping himself from Voldemort's lightly restraining grip as he bit into Severus, at the juncture of neck and shoulder. Harry managed to avoid the major veins and arteries when he bit and started swallowing mouthfuls of blood.

"Severus?" Voldemort asked warily, noting how little blood seemed to be missing Harry's attempts to drink it and the lack of worry on the dour man's face.

"The location isn't strictly dangerous since he missed both major arteries and is embedded his teeth in muscle but if he's actively seeking our blood we'll need to find a way to give it to him more safely," Severus said in a resigned tone as Harry used him as a personal chew toy.

"He's definitely a submissive then," Salazar said thoughtfully. "I'm a dominant, just as Tom obviously is with similar reactions but you're right Harry's need for your blood is more than a bit troubling."

"Unless... unless he's using the blood as a replacement for something he needs but isn't getting. Because of the Basilisk nature he will naturally need small bits of blood or other fluids from his mates but that's normally satisfied quite easily and shouldn't be needed in such quantity, not without a full creature inheritance," Helga said thoughtfully, slipping from behind a trellis of flowering vines in the tapestry. Harry let go of Snape's shoulder moments later and tried to curl shiveringly into his lap, mewling slightly in apparent pain.

"The question then becomes what is he missing," Rowena added as they watched Harry desperately try to cuddle with the other two males.

"Get him under the covers and wrap yourselves around him," Godric suddenly ordered, an intense look in his eye. The two shared a look before quickly obeying. They were just in time to hold Harry again as he started the second round of screaming.

They spent the next twelve hours alternately keeping Harry warm and comforting him or holding him down so that his thrashing wasn't hard enough to hurt himself. Both of them got kneed in the groin or stomach more than once and had to hand feed him both food and potions in a desperate attempt to ease his suffering. By the time night fell all three were exhausted with the older two taking turns staying awake to help Harry.

During the course of the grueling twelve hours they had discovered that not only was Harry a natural animagus but that he impossibly had two forms. Both forms were impossibly rare in keeping with the Potter Luck curse a small Black and Grey Phoenix chick and a small 18 inch long Basilisk shape with a fire engine red crest. Surprisingly, he also had a Basilisk half form of a Naga with matching yellow eyes and an inch wide black spinal stripe. They were all relieved to realize that he was nearly 200 years too young for him to have grown into his killing gaze.

They didn't find out until the next morning that as a submissive Harry had also gained an acid-like venom more poisonous than a natural Basilisk and the ability to control fire. Severus was not pleased by the loss of three of his more valuable potions books in the discovery as they got ready for breakfast in the great hall. It was the paleness of the school staff, minus the oblivious Dumbledore and Umbridge, as they stared at the student body that clued the two men in. The smug, proud looks on the founder's painted faces just confirmed it, the entire student body had been deemed to have succeeded in earning their party and battle royal against the staff and other students.

Chapter Text

"Kill me now," Severus said dramatically with a groan as he resisted the urge to bang his head into the closest hard surface.

"Whatever for?" Dumbledore asked in a combination of amusement and bemusement as he watched the trio of wizards approach the staff table.

"I am not allowing any of them to use potions in the upcoming..." Severus choked on the word reward, failing to actually get it out. Voldemort simply sighed heavily, conjuring another chair and placing it firmly between himself and his irascible human mate so that Harry could have a place to sit as the elves magicked a new place setting into existence.

"Mr. Myrridan? What are you doing? As a student Mr. Potter is required to eat with the rest of the student body," Dumbledore said with a fierce frown of disapproval.

"That was my decision," Severus said sourly, doing his best to stay in character around the uninformed staff members. "I had noticed that he wasn't eating enough and after a brief check realized that he shows signs of starvation for some strange reason. The nutrient potions I assigned are either not doing enough or he isn't taking them. To solve this and avoid whatever idiot keeps slipping him potions that had him screaming for over twelve hours yesterday he will be eating with us for the foreseeable future."

"So that's why," Minerva said softly white with a combination of fury and disgust at whoever had been dosing Harry with unknown potions.

"Yes, that is why none of us were seen yesterday," Severus snarked, returning McGonagall and the rest of the staff to the moment.

"Oh dear, then by all means join us Mr. Potter and don't forget to see Madam Pomfrey after breakfast for a check up," Dumbledore said worriedly, after all he couldn't have his precious weapon destroyed by a simple miscalculation. "Severus, while I would dearly like to hear more on the matter I'm afraid that I am needed at the Ministry shortly. Would you mind terribly writing up the situation, symptoms, and the solution you came up with? I promise to read it and get back to you on the matter when I have the chance."

"Perhaps," Severus said slyly, eyes narrowed in thought. "Of course you will need someone to assist you at the ministry today since you've not solved whatever the problem maybe, might I suggest you take the delightful Professor Umbridge? I will take her classes since no one is going to pay attention today and the students badly need practice time for the spells learned in her class, if she's even taught them anything. In fact why don't the two of you take the next few days and the weekend to sort out whatever has been giving you problems? I promise not to kill, torture, maim or otherwise harm the brats while you're gone."

"But of course, what a delightful suggestion," Dumbledore said cheerily, his eyes murderous since they both knew that there wasn't a way around taking her after the suggestion was made in front of her. The old goat really wanted to kill his spy just now and Severus knew it. Hearing the exchange the rest of the staff decided to dawdle over their own meals and, after Hermione came up to the table to ask something about the charms assignment, the students slowly got the hint. As a result Dumbledore and Umbridge were the first to finish and leave the great hall as the students sat in breathless anticipation.

"Aaaaand they're gone!" Gryffindor crowed from the portrait of the founders as the two passed the edge of the wards. "Right! Everyone put away your things and get into clothing that you don't mind ruining. I'm going to lock down the school while we have our fun."

"Don't you think that's a bit overkill?" Salazar drawled, amusement clear in his tone and mischief dancing in his eyes.

"Considering that the battle royal will add even more power to the castle now that we have a decent amount of magic priming the storage areas... not really," Gryffindor said happily with mock seriousness before shifting to the battle hardened warrior who had defended the school by spell and blade more than once. "I am not letting them back in these walls and we finally have enough magic to enforce the rules that the ministry is breaking on our own lands. The residents of the forest remember and they will stand with us. I will reveal us once more to the muggles if that is what it takes to keep our students safe!"

"And this is why you were never given full control of the wards, idiot!" Salazar said smacking the back of his friend's head hard enough to break him out of his righteous anger. "Do you honestly think that we will get away unscathed? No! I have listened and I remember what terrible weapons were used in the last major muggle war. If they see us as a threat we will die to the last man, woman, and child. We are trying to survive and save Lady Magic not kill her faster!"

"Salazar is right, much as it pains me to admit it," Helga said sadly. "It is Dumbledore's insistence in trusting them with our secrets that makes him and them dangerous. He keeps claiming that it is all for the greater good but I ask, the greater good of whom? His actions would to this day would have had all four of us trying to kill him had we known him in our original time and both of you would have called for an honor duel. Our duty is to the children, not to make stands of defiance that put us at even more risk. There is a time and a place for that and now is the time for our dear Salazar to lead."

"I know you are right but it gals me to let that man walk our lands freely muchless allowing him near the apprentices," Gryffindor said morosely.

"Cheer up old friend you get to watch a grand old battle between the staff and students of our fine school, though I expect that our three young heirs will team up against everyone else. I suppose that we can allow the students to form into teams after the first round but if there is a teacher in the group they can only have the one. Our three boys are an exception partly because they can not have anyone else in their group and whoever manages to hit them gets extra points," Salazar said cheerfully, ignoring the betrayed glares that were sent his way by Severus and Voldemort.

"And why are we to be given such a distinction?" Severus drawled dangerously.

"The three of you need to learn to move together as one, attacking and defending in perfect sync. What better way than while in the middle of a friendly battle?" Rowena asked innocently with a smirk completely destroying the illusion. "Besides of the three of you only Harry is not a master duelist. It will give everyone a decent chance."

"Filius is a master duelist," Severus pointed out logically.

"Filius will be floating in mid air assisting us and the ghosts as a referee," Rowena said dryly. "I don't feel like having to put our charms master back together. Besides this is Pomfrey's chance to earn back our trust, she will never be the one to treat the three of you regularly but if she performs well enough I wont insist on her being dismissed for her failure. She will be running around the battle field returning everyone to normal as she comes across them, prioritizing the most severe to the least and is a fair target and only allowed to cast two or three of the most basic defensive spells in response to an attack."

"You're turning her into a battle field medic?" Voldemort asked choking back a laugh.

"Why ever not? She's on thin ice as it is and this is just as good of an evaluation as any," Rowena said innocently.

"Evil, evil woman," Helga snickered, eyes dancing with so much mischief that it made Voldemort think this was originally her idea.

"See? They're scary! This is one of the reasons why we were trapped together over the holidays," Harry said to the rest of the student body pointing accusingly at the portrait of the founders.

"And you're my heir, just as Tom is Sal's heir, and if your Severus would simply stay still for long enough he would likely be blood adopted as Rowena's heir," Godric drawled. "Isn't life and family wonderful?"

Harry just face-palmed and wondered if he could actually succeed in burning one of the founder's portraits or if the castle would stop him. The laughter that the face-palm earned him was more sympathetic than he had long since come to expect from his schoolmates. On the other hand the comforting hand he could feel on each of his thighs under the table made him very happy that everything had happened and that he had the support of both Severus and Voldemort.

"Oh stop teasing him," Helga scolded. "If he doesn't want to share his heritage or current living situation with the rest of the school then he should be allowed to keep his own counsel. Now, if we are going to allow you to lock down the school you can only do it until Monday as today is Wednesday that is five days. By the this time Monday morning I expect the lock down to be lifted and everyone to be in perfect health."

"Alright, Helga, you've made your point. The rules of the battle royal need to be addressed before we let you all loose at each other," Rowena announced, mischief dancing in her eyes and causing a chill to run down the spines of every staff member. "There is to be no full or dangerous human transfiguration, no unforgivables, no potions, no memory charms, no fire spells, severing charms, or compulsions spells of any type. We want a clean safe battle royal. Prank spells are encouraged and will gain extra points for your team. You have until lunch to do any extra research or practice before everyone is to assemble in the great hall for the battle."

"If you do not wish to participate please see us before lunch, and before you ask all of the staff are required to participate. Misters Potter, Myrridan, and Professor Snape are to be on a third team against everyone else," Helga Hufflepuff announced. "The first round is Staff versus Students while the second allows you to break up into smaller teams of any combination with a limit of one adult per group. Mr. Potter's team is, again, fixed and will remain that way through the entire event though that does not prevent you from forming an alliance with that team as you can with others. Various battles, contests, and activities will occur during the time between now and Monday."

"You can think of this as a massive spell practical. The only time you are not allowed to ask a teacher for help is during the Staff versus Students battle when you must ask either Professor Flitwick or Madam Pomfrey. When you ask a teacher for help they are required to stop and help you to the best of their abilities with healing and spell reversal taking precedence over most other actions. This is to help level the playing field and keep everything on a fun note. Teachers, you will have a safe zone but the safe zone has a time limit to keep you from hiding in that room," Gryffindor explained with a smirk.

"No spell casting on or near the steps or balconies as a safety precaution. Doing so is an automatic disqualification and will require you to help Mister Filch for the rest of the day. Mister Filch is of course exempt from participating in the battles and is charged with showing those who break the rules the error of their ways. Depending on the severity of the infraction you may find yourself either sitting out the rest of the event or earning up to two months of detentions," Salazar told them, sending pointed looks towards his own house. "Any attempt to kill or seriously harm someone will result in an automatic three months of detention, possible expulsion, and pressing of charges against the idiot who decided to turn a school exercise into a place of bloodshed. You want to advance so blood feud or other disagreement you have with someone? Fine, just do it off school grounds during your holidays when we aren't being held responsible for you."

"What an awful thing to say," One of the female staff muttered uneasily.

"Madam, it is a sad fact that when our bodies were still alive and we were still free to move about as we wished danger lurked around every bend in the road," Salazar said sadly. "Had someone not interfered between the four of us we might have eventually been safer and more able to teach those who wished to learn. I had valid concerns regarding telling the muggle families and lords of our apprentices what they would be doing and where they would live. More than once we found apprentices torn apart or burned by their villages and occasionally by their own families. It was not hard for some of them to raise virtual armies and try to take the castle by force, killing anyone they could get their hands on. We created a safe haven where anyone could learn and not be attacked simply because they were born with a gift. A gift they often had no knowledge or control over until we began to teach them."

"Has it never occurred to you why the castle might need so many and varied defenses? Why we might need strong wards, a stone statue army, an alliance with the creatures in the forest, or a Basilisk? No? Within the first five years we fought off three separate armies and lost nearly fifty apprentices," Godric informed them tightly. "Within the first twenty years Salazar had to call his pet Basilisk to the field twice for the castle and her defenses to hold against our attackers. None of us sought out conflict but we did defend ourselves, our home, and our students."

The silence that enveloped the hall was deafening. Not a single student had ever considered these things about their beloved school and these painful revelations shocked them to their cores.

"Don't you mean when you were alive? Not when your bodies were alive?" Someone shouted at the portrait breaking the pain filled tableau.

"No," Godric said with a joyful beaming smile. "You see we cast a spell on Hogwarts and it had some surprising side effects. Our bodies might be dead but we aren't. We aren't ghosts but instead a part of the castle herself. Which is how the castle can actually blood adopt Professor Snape on our behalf, if the man will simply stay still long enough for her to do so."

"What makes you think I want to be blood adopted?" Severus asked with a half hearted sneer.

"We were quite serious about what we said over the holidays dear," Helga said with an indulgent smile. Snape muttered something under his breath but didn't say anything else on the matter, leaving most of the school wondering what they were talking about.

"Now, you have until lunch to prepare for the first mock battle! Shoo!" Rowena said sharply, causing everyone to scatter to research or put away their things and change clothes.

Chapter Text

Everyone was nervous about the battle royal but for the trio of wizards bound to the castle they had something a bit more important to worry about over then a mock battle. They had a soul restoration ritual to perform instead. Fred and George had immediately sought Harry, Severus, and Voldemort out after the founder's announcement with questions on what had happened to cause all of this. Instead of answers they found themselves drafted into helping set up the ritual. Each element and direction had to be perfectly represented and balanced with a safe containment zone for Harry and Severus to sit in while the ritual progressed. Once they found out that Harry was going to be better protected by performing this ritual the twins threw the best efforts in with a will.

"So the paste goes in a circle around Harrykins and the Professor but we have to chalk the rune matrix accurately into place in under an hour," Fred reviewed, studying the diagram that had been sketched out by Voldemort.

"Then we have to pour the potion all over you when you start the chant," George said with a thoughtful hum. He mentally ran through his own calculations of how long the needed potion would still be good after brewing.

"Incorrect, I will pour it over myself. Nagini will stay in Harry's lap to avoid potential problems," Voldemort said in a subdued tone. He wasn't exactly happy about having to perform this ritual but he wasn't going to argue, he would loose... again.

"And Harrykins needs to be painted with the paste but not the Professor or snakey," Fred reminded his brother.

"Why? I mean I get what this rune structure is doing but I really don't see the need for the runes all over Harry," George said with a frown as he snatched the outline from his brother.

"Its partly because I saved Ginny from the Chamber and the Basilisk. To do it I had to kill Voldemort's diary and the magic hidden inside it behind the stuff that was killing Ginny moved to me since I have some of his magic in my scar," Harry patiently explained again. They had settled on an overly simplified explanation to tell the twins, partly to avoid having Dumbledore snatching the information from their minds.

"And this... boom shackalacka chant?" Fred asked doubtfully, sincerity practically leaking from his pores.

"What?! Let me see that!" Voldemort snatched the outline back with a scowl only for the twins to burst out laughing.

"Menaces unless you want to be banned from the Battle Royal or risk getting crucioed I suggest you not push your luck," Severus pointed out darkly, immediately shutting the twins up.

Everyone quickly got to work setting up the ritual under the watchful eye of the amused founders. Once it was set the twins were sent away to spy on the "enemy" while the ritual was performed. The twins had promised to team up with them and help them as much as possible in the coming battle.

"I've instructed the elves to form a reinforced ward line in the surrounding rooms, creating a shield around you while the ritual is performed. There should be no extra magical leakage. This will also keep anyone from interfering once the ritual has begun. It would be extremely dangerous if it were interrupted," Rowena explained once the twins had dashed off with absolute glee over their spying assignments. "I also thank you for choosing to use the extra runes on Harry for his safety."

The other founders murmured their agreement to that sentiment as everyone settled into position, almost immediately beginning the ritual. Harry made a face as Voldemort poured the potions over his head but didn't do anything to interrupt the ritual, contentedly leaning against Severus as he felt the runes on his skin activate. The moment he was done with the chant, which had turned pained a few seconds after the potion went over his head, Voldemort collapsed to the floor. The open space in the runework around him allowed him to remain safe as his muscles spasmed and his features permanently returned to an older version of his diary. As the transformation finished and the magic drained away the Dark Lord started cursing in parseltongue, much to Salazar's exasperation and Harry's interest.

"Salazar? What exactly is he saying?" Rowena asked suspiciously. Nagini was cackling at his reaction, especially since she could tell whatever had happened had helped her wizard.

"The man is in pain woman, what do you think he's saying?" Salazar shot back in deep amusement. Helga pursed her lips and shot a mouth washing spell at Voldemort, briefly ending the tirade and earning a murderous glare.

"There are ladies present," Helga pointed out disapprovingly. "I can understand why you were cursing but if you'll pay attention you'll notice that the pain is fading rapidly. There is no further need for a foul mouth."

"Yes, ma'am," Voldemort said through gritted teeth.

"Can we move yet?" Harry asked, eyeing his hurting mate with sympathy.

"Certainly, I want the three of you in bed for a nap until the battle so that you'll be well rested. It should also help keep you from collapsing when Voldemort draws on your magic once you leave the protective rune circle. Don't worry about the clean up the house elves can do it," Helga warned them. "From what Ro explained to me the ritual will take several months to heal all the pieces you've just acquired back in place. It will also summon and absorb the piece that Nagini carries if she dies. If Harry is mortally wounded his piece will try to get him to you before he dies or slips into a coma, while the basilisk venom and phoenix tears along with the transformation from them will make it much harder for him to be killed in the first place."

"Yes, ma'am," they chorused grumpily, allowing the elves to transport them to their quarters and tucked into bed like little children until it was time for the battle.

Everyone had assembled in the great hall with the teachers being granted the high ground of the dias and something of a barrier consisting of the house tables. The chairs had been put away to minimize potential injury via flying chair. The students all had settled naturally into an unconscious ranking split up by house and skill level. Peeves trumpeted to begin the battle.

For a moment there was nothing but a stare off between staff and students then a nervous third year squeaked and sent a jelly-legs jinx at the teachers. In an instant spells were flying and the teachers were desperately defending themselves against the onslaught of nearly five hundred spells flying at them nearly simultaneously. It was Harry, Voldemort, and Severus working in tandem and using their large cores to fuel the multilayered shield charm that kept the teachers from falling to the first barrage. Harry, having been temporarily teamed with the teachers due to his mates being staff members, worked in concert with his mates to shift between holding the defenses and tossing spells at the students.

McGonagall, being one of the teachers with some combat experience, immediately transfigured the edge of the dias into a waist high stone wall, giving them some permanent cover. The ancient runes teacher started slinging spells at the students while laughing madly, apparently using the battle as therapy for having to deal with poorly done student essays. Sprout mixed Charms with Herbology to set off plant grenades amongst the students. The plants included in her grenades had a heavy dose of a variation of Devil's Snare that was more commonly called Tickle Vines mixed well with some magical itching powder.

The arithmacy teacher waited a moment, watching the attacking students before sending off spells in random directions only for them to ricochet off of various students and cause chaos in the rear. Madam Pomfrey was moving quickly and accurately through the students. She countered what she could and sending various students off to one side for when she had the chance to deal with some of the more problematic spellwork. Each time she finished healing someone either on the field or in the healing area they immediately returned to the fray. Flitwick had to banish more than one student to the sidelines for inappropriate use of spells and counter more than one spell tossed his way despite his neutral status.

Severus, on the other hand, was using his previous experience as both target and enemy of the Marauders to put as many students as possible in ridiculous or compromising situations. Not even his Slytherins were spared from the made pranking master, reflexes and spells honed by a constant near seven year battle with the prankster kings of his time. Harry matched his human mate by using some of the spells that the Weasley twins had taught him or that he'd learned from being Hermione's friend. His score was nearly as devastating as the Potions Master's. Voldemort? He had a hard time turning his battle experience to relatively harmless attacks and stuck mostly to defending the area against the sheer weight of fire the teachers were under.

"ROUND TWO! TEACHERS ON SUPPORT AND RANDOM ROAMING! GHOSTS ON RECON!" Gryffindor bellowed. This immediately sent everyone scattering as student turned on student and the teachers left the relative safety of the dias to dash about the chaos of battle field helping their students.

Voldemort, Harry, and Severus roamed as a battle triad and were frequently set upon by students aiming for the extra points. Harry fell to a tripping jinx at almost the same time someone decided to add an icy covering to the stones underneath them. One of the older years managed to conjure paint in mid-air above them while a barrage of nearly twenty different spells from groups of students hit the shield that Voldemort was maintaining. The shield held, barely, but they still found themselves slipping and sliding on the ice while covered in multicolored paint. It was at that point that the Dark Lord started loosing his temper and split his attention between sending off stunners while maintaining the shield. Harry manged to get back on his feet in time to catch a spell aimed at his ruby-eyed mate's back and watching a furious wave of stunners fly before succumbing to darkness as he fell to the floor.

Chapter Text

When Harry fell both Severus and Voldemort stopped holding back even as they stood over their little mate protecting him. The twins quickly joined them and took on an air of grim determination when they saw Harry was down. Instant darkness powder launched as long distance grenades were quickly put to use alongside the instant swamps to entrap, blind, and conquer the rest of the school. With the team up of the two veteran master duelists to the current generation of prank masters the rest of the school quickly fell to their assaults, ending the battle by pure force of arms.

Harry woke to the moaning of the rest of the great hall. The first thing he saw when he peeled open his eyes was Severus leaning over him to check that he was alright. He could see/sense Voldemort and the twins standing guard behind Severus. Seeing his imp of a mate awake Severus quickly helped him sit up and checked him again only to find nothing more than a few bumps and bruises.

"Don't scare me like that!" Severus scolded as he crushed Harry into his chest with a worried hug.

"Ulf! Did we win?" Harry asked somewhat groggily, still feeling fairly exhausted.

"Yes, imp, we won," Voldemort answered with a snort of amusement. A moment later a glow came from the stone floor as the school reversed all of the lingering magic from the battle, returning everyone and everything to normal.

"Woohoo! That was fantastic!" Godric crowed, practically dancing a jig in their portrait before Slytherin finally bonked him over the head. This earned a laugh from most of the school.

"Battleblood," Salazar said in mock exasperation as he shook his head mournfully over Godric's antics.

"What do you think? Should we try it now?" Rowena asked Helga as they eyed the school thoughtfully.

"Lets," Helga agreed with an evil smirk that sent shivers down everyone's spine.

The four founders did something inside their portrait that no one could clearly see. The effect was instantaneous as everyone felt a ripping sensation of something being pulled free from deep inside them. The magical siphon that Dumbledore had installed quickly fell away, immediately followed by a full breaking of the remaining link between Dumbledore and the castle. The castle let out a deep groan followed quickly by a happy hum as magical light panels throughout the school returned to life, lighting the building almost as well as muggle LEDs and florescent light bulbs. The next thing the founders did was step out of their portraits to stand proudly in front of the school in magical flesh and blood.

"Did we know you could do that?" Harry asked wonderingly, earning laughter from all four founders.

"No, you didn't but you've all more than earned the reward we promised you. Tonight there will be a feast of food and sweets of all kinds! We will all sleep together here in the great hall. If you can talk a teacher into supervising I bet you could also play tag or hide and seek or pick-up Quidditch," Godric boomed with a deep belly laugh.

"I have a question... I just remembered that Hogwarts seemed to heal his... bits and pieces but you made us do that ritual before the battle anyway... why?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"It was both a back-up and because they weren't sealed into place or even properly back where they belonged. The school found a way to strengthen the link between your Tom and the trinkets when you left your suite. This stabilized him for the most part and gave him back most of his features but they weren't quite permanent yet. The ritual fixed that and put everything back into place. I don't think you quite realized that his features had been slowly slipping back to his other look until you three properly did that ritual with the extra safety precautions," Rowena explained as Helga quickly checked the three of them over.

"You were right Ro, the battle increased their bond and finished healing those pieces we were worried about into place. There's no more danger of them breaking free though it does ban him from using that particular ritual ever again," Helga said in a sweetly dangerous tone that told the three she was serious.

"Yes ma'am," Voldemort reluctantly agreed. "Thank you for your help."

"What does that even mean?" one of the teachers muttered.

"It means that I'm not an insane Dark Lord anymore, bent on the ridiculous destruction and death that afflicted my ideals since Dumbledore tricked me into performing a dangerous ritual at age 16. A ritual that had... nasty side effects. As long as Potter and Snape stay alive and within a certain distance of me I won't go off on another killing spree while trying to conquer the world," Voldemort said dryly. It took a few moments for most of the staff and students to figure out what he was going on about and set to gaping at him in shock.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Revealing the Headmaster's shameful actions Tom? Whatever shall I do with you?" Salazar said with obvious amusement and laughing eyes.

"I'm not Tom," Voldemort said mulishly.

"Yes, dear, you are. The new identity is permanent and you are Tom Myridden, Heir of Salazar Slytherin. You can still use that ridiculous moniker Vol de mort, flight from death, but we're family," Helga said with a gentle smile and fond shake of the head. Voldemort sulked even as he scooped Harry up from his seat on the stone cold floor, snagged Severus' arm and headed for their quarters in an obvious huff, dragging a spluttering potions master the entire way.

"Be back for the feast and sleep over! Everyone has an hour to change, get cleaned up, and pick what they want to bring with them from the dorms for the sleep over in the great hall! We will combine the sleep over with the feast," Godric announced, with a playful laugh aimed at the retreating Heirs of Hogwarts.

Chapter Text

At the ministry everyone had watched in shock as Dumbledore gasped, clutching at his chest before keeling over in a dead faint. His pale features had taken on a grayish pallor convincing everyone he needed to be rushed to St. Mungoes. Unaware of anything happening at Hogwarts the healers pronounced his severe drop in magic as a tragedy and confined him to the hospital for the next six months.

Umbridge was officially declared the new Headmistress since Dumbledore's health was clearly too fragile to run the school any more. Fudge had completely ignored the healer's warning that the shock of loosing his long held job might kill him in his current state. He even made a parade about officially installing Umbridge as the Headmistress. As a result it came as quite a shock to both the media and the ministry delegates that neither the gates nor the wards of the school would open for any of them. The commotion at the gates drew the attention of the staff and the founders but when they saw Umbridge Godric lost his temper.

"What the hell is going on down there?" Godric grumbled as the four founders quickly approached the gate, trailing half the school and all three of their Heirs. Severus had finally been talked into accepting the adoption in exchange for the recipe for a potion that would eventually give him the gift of Parseltongue, much to the amusement of everyone present. The fact that this had happened in front of most of the school was simply icing on the cake as far as everyone but the potions master himself was concerned.

"I think its that pink toad with an entourage. What say you? Shall we go toad hunting?" Salazar asked evilly, easily loud enough that the idiots at the gate heard his comment.

"I suppose... and Rowena did give us permission to use lethal force if she won't take the hint," Godric said with feigned reluctance, instantly catching on to his friend's ploy.

"Could you first explain my recent lack of insanity to them so that I don't have to face down ridiculous calls for my imprisonment and execution?" Voldemort snarked in a perfectly aggrieved tone.

"I suppose so. Its not like we didn't bother to document everything, including the fact that you were tricked into using that ritual by one of your teachers," Rowena said with a mischievous thoughtfulness. "We did handle the curse once we were awake enough to do something about the essential attack on Sal's heir. Its not like we had a choice in letting him fall to the manipulative old goat at the time or go on that insane murder spree. Incidentally I'm tempted to charge Dumbledore not only with the attempted theft of Hogwarts out from under us but also the abuse he's knowingly subjected our heirs to."

"Oh, I'm insisting on it Ro. If the so called ministry won't do anything about it we'll just have to invoke our treaties with the various magical creatures. Its not like Voldemort's people will be a problem since we've healed him back to sanity in the first place and the loyalty oaths are still valid. Come to that... Tom? I need you to summon your servants so that I can give them all a once over. If you insist on keeping them than they have to be in a fit state to act as the servants they are. I presume you raided your father's secret chamber for the basics of whatever spell you came up with to bind them to your service? If so I'll need Sal to help me look them over and double check your spellwork to avoid conflicts," Helga said airily, getting a reluctant nod of agreement from the still grumpy Dark Lord.

"You can't! This is impossible!" Fudge spluttered incoherently.

"Some how we tripped an ancient spell or ward or whatever. To get out we had to remove the spellwork trapping the minds of the founders in a hidden tapestry cursed only to speak in rhymes. Waking them revealed that the school was nearly drained of magic so Lady Rowena Ravenclaw designed a chant that allowed the students to refuel the school. Once a certain amount of magic was absorbed into the school they were able to leave the tapestry they were trapped in and resume physical form. Between the refueling and breaking of some of the more detrimental enchantments they decided I needed my sanity back and tricked me into performing the necessary ritual," Voldemort explained sourly.

"Incidentally, his insanity wasn't accidental or rather it was accidental on his own part but not on the part of Dumbledore. The old goat who arranged to have him, a student at the time, find the book that held the dangerous and damaging ritual out of a sense of fear for the fact that our Tom was ready to surpass him before ever taking his NEWTs," Rowena pointed out scornfully. She despised people that acted like that having been the victim of similar attacks in her own youth simply because of her intelligence and the fact that she was a woman. She still remembered some of the beating she had been given for having the temerity to give the right answer when a male had gotten it wrong and people had died because they were being a pigheaded arse.

"Can you make him turn purple? I mean my uncle turns purple if he's angry for long enough or doesn't have an answer and he's the same shade of red as Uncle Vernon," Harry asked innocently. Everyone looked at Fudge who was indeed turning a furious shade of purple and looking like he wanted to strangle the smaller wizard if he could only get his hands on him through both gate and wards.

Harry was immediately shoved behind two protective mates who glared at the enraged minister. The imp snickered before deciding to tackle his two mates and send the three of them tumbling, starting a playful wrestling match, confident that the founders would keep them safe on Hogwarts grounds.

"Brat! This is not the mumph! Oh, you'll pay for that!" Severus snarked, getting a face full of robes while Harry tried to pin a growly Voldemort. The two pronged tickle attack had Harry shrieking in delighted laughter as both of his mates happily subdued him.

"Aurors! Arrest them!" Fudge ordered finally coming out of his spluttering fury long enough to start taking action. The accompanying Aurors exchanged a glance, shrugged and slammed into both wards and the wrought iron gates only to be tossed backwards by the magic in both.

"That was not wise," Salazar informed him with a deadly calm as the frivolity fell away from the four founders like a shed cloak. As the founders had changed in that instant so to did their heirs. A glance from the resigned Aurors noted that Harry, Severus, and Voldemort were back on their feet, wands ready to cast anything that was needed.

"He is the minister of magic!" Umbridge squawked in outrage at what she perceived was blatant disrespect and in subordination.

"There was no ministry until well after we were sealed away," Godric said in an ugly tone. "We do not recognize the authority of a ministry who will try to use and abuse children much less one who would try to forcibly take our heirs."

"It appears that school will not be taking breaks until this is sorted. I'll go inform the house elves that the apprentices need to stay on the grounds," Helga said in a disappointed tone clearly aimed at the ministry idiots.

"Do you want me to ask the defense club to help the prefects?" Harry asked wickedly. "We got really good at dodging the pink toad and her helpers since no one wanted to fail their OWLs or NEWTs and her helpers sometimes threw curses at us. None of us wanted to be writing in our own blood even though she made me do it nearly every night. Its why I had so much trouble keeping up with my school work."

That sent the fox among the chickens as the Aurors turned on Umbridge in a righteous fury, both having children inside the school. They may not have known what a blood quill was but every magical understood how important and powerful blood was. For all they knew the bitch had forced their children into a blood signed slavery contract.

"Ah, yes, I'd almost forgotten about that," Salazar said darkly all four founders focusing their individual fury at the despicable witch just outside the wards. Umbridge squeaked and stammered something about having permission and the authority to do what she liked.

"Do you want her on the grounds of Hogwarts or can we have first go?" one of the Aurors asked the founder, glaring at the Senior Undersecretary and supposed current Headmistress of Hogwarts.

"You have children or relatives among the apprentices?" Salazar asked shrewdly.

"Yes sir," the second Auror answered curtly.

"I am the Headmistress of Hogwarts, the Ministry's High Inquisitor, and the Senior Undersecretary. You have no right to threaten me!" Umbridge said imperiously.

"The useless writ of authority that was in your desk is null and void now that we're free dear Dolores. The moment our boys removed the rhyming curse on the tapestry we were trapped in all authority reverted to us as the original owners of the school since we aren't actually dead. The magic couldn't tell that until the very powerful curse locked away our minds and souls whereas our original bodies are dead. Its a side effect of making the school so powerful so quickly and able to respond better to attacking armies to protect the students. In point of fact if the magic of the school hadn't been so weakened to the point that the wards nearly fell you would never have survived using such barbaric methods on our apprentices!" Rowena Ravenclaw practically snarled at the woman.

"As it is every single student you harmed just earned the rest of their education free of charge even if we have to drain our own remaining vaults dry to do it!" Helga agreed emphatically.

"I, Godric Leon Gryffindor, do hereby declare blood feud for the harm of magical children under my care against Dolores Jane Umbridge and the standing Ministry of Magic!" Godric declared defiantly. The shock wave of magic that came from that declaration shuddered through the entire British Empire and half of Europe.

"You can't do that!" Fudge protested weakly. Both Aurors striped out of their official over robes and dropped them in the dirt at the coward's feet with a sneer.

"We formally resign from ministry employ," the first one spat angrily as they turned to the founders.

"Lords and Ladies we would petition entrance onto the grounds of Hogwarts," they said simultaneously, using the old formula from the stories they had heard as children.

Hogwarts cautiously extended her magic to check these men, sharing the results with her four parents and their heirs, her siblings. It was a joint decision of the eight that granted the two entry. The ministry employees who had sat on the sidelines watching exchanged a glance and left, trying to decide who they should side with, leaving Fudge and Umbridge shouting about their own importance. Word would quickly spread through the magical community what had happened and before they even got back to the Ministry there were people calling for the heads of the two.

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The first thing the Founders did upon returning to the school was summon everyone to the great hall. The two former Aurors quickly found their children and joined them at their house table as everyone settled in for whatever announcement was about to be given.

"We've had to officially break with the British Ministry of Magic and declare a blood feud against both Ministry and Umbridge. As such you will not be released to go home for the holiday breaks but your families may come here. Hogwarts will test them for everyone's safety before allowing them entry. We will not have you put at risk simply because we were lax in checking anyone entering our lands," Rowena informed the school with a mixture of determination and regret for the extreme measures needing to be taken.

"Sanctuary will be offered to any of your families who decide not to risk facing the insane ministry. Anyone who wishes to contact Gringotts, their families through Gringotts, or do shopping will be accommodated by supervised trips outside the wards. This will include going to another country for most purchases to avoid interference by the idiots in the Ministry," Salazar informed them. "That said, all trips outside the wards will require you to fill out a special trip request form, will be limited to no more than 5 students at a time, and will require a certain level of Defense skill for each participant. This is for your safety and we will be holding extra classes to repair the abysmal education you've received thus far, especially in Defense. For standard supply requests we'll have another form for you to fill out so that you don't have to leave the grounds and potentially get into trouble."

"We will be calling Voldemort's Death Eaters here within the next day or two so that they can be checked over and either released or otherwise dealt with. This may affect some of you as family members but I promise you it is necessary. Since Voldemort has been suffering from some very nasty magics that Dumbledore used against him as a student he wasn't properly sane. This leads us to need to check everyone who is sworn to him now that we've repaired much of the damage to Sal's heir. I still wouldn't advise pissing him off or randomly hugging him but at least he won't hurt you just for asking a question now," Godric told them with wry humor, indicating a huffy Voldemort off to one side with Harry and Snape.

The buzz this set up among the students was phenomenal but the tone was more surprise and happiness than suspicion or hostility. Apparently, while they were still cautious about the Dark Lord the events of the past days and the stories from over Christmas had begun demolishing the fierce reputation of the man. After all if he was still a proper danger to them why would the founders let him walk around freely? For that matter why would he have allowed Harry of all people to tackle him and wrestle with him in front of the gates less than an hour before? For once the students were willing to withhold judgement in favor of investigating this strange new event.

"What about Dumbledore?" Someone called from the crowd of students.

"If that... man ever sets foot on these grounds again I will personally gut him before feeding him to something very very nasty," Godric growled menacingly in answer.

"He put you all in danger repeatedly for no reason so we are rather angry with him at the moment," Helga explained, more calmly than her hot-tempered friend.

"Off you go, no classes for today but tomorrow we're all going to try and get back on a normal schedule," Rowena told them all. She shooed everyone from the great hall with a gentle wave of magic even as she turned to discuss something about the blood feud with her fellow founders.

No one argued, breaking up into groups to discuss the battle royal or the latest events concerning the ministry. There was much wild speculation about what would happen next and if Potter would be involved or if one of the Death Eaters would go mad while visiting. At least the House Elves had the sense to keep anyone from binging on candy or otherwise go too wild.

Harry on the other hand kidnapped his mates and insisted on a day in their quarters together, cuddling.

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The students dispersed to whatever fun activities or homework they had a mind to. All the while they talked about the latest surprises that Harry had brought to their personal world. Topics ranged from the battle royal, the taming of the Dark Lord, the return of the founders, or the banishing of the pink toad. No one saw him or his mates until the next day when classes resumed.

This second day passed with little more interest than the integration of the two Aurors taking over the Defense post and the Founders taking a look at how badly their school had been messed with. It was a rash bet between seventh years that set everyone off again and the house betting pools were having a field day, especially the Slytherin one.

"I bet you 2 galleons that you can't hug Snape's assistant and I'll add a sickle for every minute after the first one," taunted a seventh year Hufflepuff. "Bet you can't even get near him!"

"Are you insane?! Professor Snape has claimed him and Potter. Touch either of them and he'll kill you!" his Slytherin friend protested. They had been studying in the library when his friend had made the Gryffindor-like challenge out of nowhere.

"Fine then, 3 galleons for a 30 second hug and 2 sickles for every minute after. If you can get the man to hug you back you get an extra galleon, the same if you can get Snape to let you off without taking points or giving a detention. It doesn't count if he doesn't see you," the Hufflepuff challenged again.

"Why don't we toss it out there for everyone to try?" a Slytherin sixth year one study table over suggested with sudden inspiration.

"I don't have that kind of coin, I'm not Malfoy!" the Hufflepuff protested.

"So add Snape as a target into the pool and any failed attempt has a galleon fine to help pay anyone that actually wins. No risk, no reward, and they have to pay the fine before making the attempt to be recognized as winning. They do it and they get their winnings plus the penalty fee back. The lack of points loss or detention bonus is only valid if you try it in front of Snape," the Slytherin smirked.

"Potter can't play if they really are mates," a curious passing upper year Ravenclaw pointed out, joining the conversation.

"If they find out we'll have to give them a cut for being the targets, assuming we won't be in detention for a month with the entire pot confiscated," the Slytherin pointed out with a smirk.

"We should make snagging Snape worth more" the Ravenclaw contemplated.

"No, the assistant guy is supposed to have been You-Know-Who before Winter hols. Its why I'm offering up gold for thirty seconds of hugging him. Snape is a bastard and his rep is why his target reward is the same without some of the bonus'," the Hufflepuff explained smugly.

"That's fair," the Ravenclaw agreed with a nod of understanding. "I'll put the word out among the Ravens and the Gryffs."

"We'll get our houses," the Hufflepuff agreed with a smirk as they all turned back to studying before Madam Pince could throw them out of her domain.

The first attempt happened the next day at lunch. Cho Chang had paid the galleon without a moment's thought. Despite the various announcements she didn't believe for a moment that the gorgeous hunk with ruby eyes could be the evil Dark Lord never mind that she didn't realize that until last night. She planned to have him, at any cost.

Voldemort was enjoying his lunch in the main hall, sitting next to his bondmates at the teacher's table when a stray determined thought caught his eye. In that moment he was never so glad for picking up the habit of lightly reading the mind of the people around him.

Cho didn't make it past the end of the student tables before being hexed. She had only gotten that far because he wanted to be sure she was actually trying something rather than just fantasizing.

"What was that for?" Harry asked curiously.

"I will not let random students assault me for a cuteness bet," Voldemort informed them all stubbornly. "I don't care how much gold is riding on it. I am not a cuddle toy."

"Aw, that's sweet. Tom's playing with the students," Helga cooed, making said Dark Lord blush deeply in embarrassment. Harry just snickered, feeling no sympathy for the man as he had been the one to inflict the cursed savior status on him causing the same thing to happen at the strangest times.

"Don't worry dear, I'll protect you," Harry said sweetly as he patted a grumpy Voldemort on the arm, earning an amused snort from Severus.

"Besides you are a cuddle toy, just only for us," Severus snarked under his breath. Voldemort didn't comment, instead he stood up, walked behind the potions master, dragged him to his feet and threw him over his shoulder. Severus yelped in surprise at being so rudely removed from his meal.

"Put me down!" Severus protested, struggling to get free and retrieve his dignity.

"Come brat, we have a bondmate to remind who is the cuddle toy," Voldemort ordered before heading out of the hall, protesting mate over his shoulder and his laughing younger mate trailing behind the two.

"We did good," Godric declared, staring after their heirs fondly, glad for their playfulness.

"That we did," Salazar agreed appreciatively.

"Men," most of the female staff muttered fondly as everyone turned back to their food.

Chapter Text

This is an announcement for finally closing this story. I realized that Chapter 16 was a bit open ended as an actual ending but I found that my muse refuses to work with the rest of the material for this story at this time. (I promise I've been trying very hard for the last 2 years.) As such, since 16 can count as a type of ending any future work on this story line will be in the form of sequels. I am sorry it took me this long to realize I needed to officially end it and I thank all of my faithful readers for enjoying the story and offering both ideas and encouragement. I hope you continue to enjoy my writing for years to come!