Very few things frightened Lucius Malfoy. In fact, the list of things that scared him was so short, that he could count them on one hand and still have fingers left over. But looking into the green eyes of the young man in front of him, Lucius knew he needed to add another thing to that list. There were very few adults in the world that could stand against the Dark Lord and leave with their life intact, but the young man had not only done that very thing, he had done it on several occasions, and all as a child. Lucius was mentally kicking himself for letting his guard down and letting this young man sneak up on him, especially since he had first hand knowledge of how well this young man, that was currently holding him at a steady wand point, could duel and hold his own not only against himself, but the Dark Lord as well. Lucius was pulled from his mental berating by Harry's demanding tone.

"I'll only ask you one more time, Malfoy, before I get impatient and spill more Malfoy blood. Now, tell me, what are you doing in my home?" Harry demanded, with a sneer firmly planted on his face.

"Mr. Potter, please have a seat so we can settle this calmly. There are many truths you need to be told, and apparently it's fallen on my shoulders to do just that." Lucius said, in a bored tone, trying to cover his nervousness.

"The only truth I want to hear from you is how and why you are in my house; although, if you want to add how you escaped from Azkaban, I'd willingly listen to that as well." Harry replied, his voice just as steady as his wand.

Lucius sighed, and wondered to himself how he always got saddled with the extremely dangerous and difficult missions. "As you can see, I am currently unarmed, and with you holding me at wand point I am unlikely to do anything to jeopardize my own state of health. If you haven't forgotten, I have seen you duel first hand, something I am unlikely to forget anytime in the near future. I am nothing, if not Slytherin to the core. Self preservation is one of our greatest traits. It would do me no good to do something that would cause us to reenact our last meeting. So, if you would please, sit down and hear me out."

"Yes, Mr. Potter, Lucius here has made a wonderful suggestion, why don't you take it and have a seat." Snape said, surprising Harry. He had been so intent on the Malfoy in front of him; Harry didn't hear anyone else walk in.

"Father? What...what are you doing here? I thought you were in prison? How...when did you get out?" A very shocked Draco Malfoy asked as he entered the room.

Seeing Draco Malfoy was enough to push Harry over the edge and he sat down heavily as his legs gave out in shock. Seeing his chance, Snape took Harry's wand from his hand in a deft move. Sighing, Snape also put a cup of tea in front of Harry, knowing it would do no good to talk to him for a few minutes. A few minutes that father and son would have to get reacquainted with each other, before the fireworks started.

"Draco, you don't know how happy it makes me to see you safe. I'm sure you have quite a few questions to ask, and I will be more than happy to appease your curiosity, but I believe we should take care to answer the questions Mr. Potter will be sure to have once he's past his befuddlement over the current situation." Lucius said to Draco, before turning to Snape to ask, "How long do you think we have Severus?"

Snape looked from Harry to Lucius and replied, "Not long, I should think. He's not one to sit around in a stupor while the enemy is right next to him. I should think that two Malfoy's would be enough to pull him out of it soon."

They heard a snort and turned back towards Harry, "It figures, he finally gets something right about me, and it's because it concerns two fellow Death Eaters. So what, Snape, finally decide to show your true Slytherin colors and prove Dumbledore was wrong to have ever trusted in you?" Harry all but shouted as he finished, his eyes flashing in unmitigated anger.

"Don't you dare bring up my loyalties! Once again, Potter, you're acting the arrogant fool, speaking before you know any of the facts, and assuming you know them all." Snape sneered, barely keeping himself in his chair.

"Something I must have learned from you, considering I never knew my father." Harry was so intent on yelling at Snape that he never saw the flash of pain that flowed through Snape's eyes, or the flash of surprise that flashed through Lucius' as he continued yelling. "You're the one that assumed I was spoiled and arrogant from the very first time you laid eyes on me. Hermione told me that she let you know about my childhood, I bet you just couldn't wait to share that with these two. All the more ammo for the torture, so when is it to begin? You've got my wand..."

"ENOUGH! Potter, sit down and shut up long enough to listen to my Father and Godfather would you? I, for one, would love to know how he got out of Azkaban, and how that was even possible. Surely an escape like that would have been in the news. Instead of raving like a lunatic, why don't you shut up and listen. Then, maybe, you'd get enough information to figure out what you should do. I'm pretty sure if Severus here wanted you dead, you would have been so long ago, like when you were chasing him like a fool after the events on the tower. I'm tired and in a lot of pain, I'd like to be able to go rest sometime this week, now if you'd be so kind as to shut your mouth and listen, I might just get to do that." Draco said, his voice settling to it usual cold sneer after his initial shouts.

Harry looked around to the other three men; Draco did look like he was in a lot of pain. Then he saw his wand in Snape's hand, Harry decided that it was best for his health for him to sit and hear them out. By the looks he was receiving from Snape, Harry figured it best not to cause any further arguments or Snape might just go ahead and snap his wand, and then finish Harry off himself. Sitting down in defeat, Harry said, "Fine, go ahead. Please, Mr. Malfoy," Harry sneered the name, "tell us your story."

Lucius sighed, and rubbed his face, while he tried to figure the best place to begin. Snape took pity on his old friend and suggested, "Why don't you answer Draco's question, I'm sure this will interest Mr. Potter as well.

Lucius nodded in agreement then began, "I was never sent to Azkaban after the Ministry fiasco. Albus figured that was the best cover I could be given. So he created a golem to take my place and sent me on a mission. I'm so very sorry, Draco, that my absence has caused you a great deal of pain and stress that never should have been placed on your shoulders. But this mission was of the utmost importance, and could not have been accomplished by anyone else. I've spent the last two years chasing after any information I could get on Tom Riddle, Hogwarts founders information, and the term Horcrux."

Seeing Harry's eyes show extreme surprise, Lucius continued, "Ah, so I see you are starting to understand where all of your lesson material from last year came from, Mr. Potter. Now, for you to understand why I was best suited for this mission we need to go back to the events of your second year.

You were correct when you accused me of planting that diary in poor Miss Weasley's cauldron, but you were wrong to assume that it was all my doing. I had come across that diary while trying to sort through what Dark Artifacts I needed to keep and what I needed to get rid of to keep up the pretence that I was a Dark Wizard. I recognized it as very dark right away and took it to Albus so that he could decipher what to do with it, considering it used to belong to Tom Riddle. He kept it long enough to figure out what it might be, but we could never be sure.

Neither of us could write in it, for fear that somehow Voldemort would eventually find out. So he devised a plan to not only test the artifact, but to test you as well Mr. Potter. He knew he would be putting Miss Weasley in extreme danger, but he told me he felt that it was a risk worth taking.

One thing you might not understand about Albus Dumbledore is, that while he is very much a light wizard and would never think of using any of the Unforgivables, he will still do what he thinks is best for the greater good. After you saw the events that played out on the tower, surely you can now agree with that.

Now, fearing the possibility that Voldemort could use this item to come back before any of us were ready, or worse yet a second form of the man could also arise and leave us with two insane megalomaniacs; one with Tom Riddle's charisma and the other with Voldemort's power, to stop from destroying our world, Albus set those fateful events in motion. Luckily for all, you passed the test and destroyed the first Horcrux." Lucius paused to take a drink of tea, before he asked, "Do you have any questions before I continue?"

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose, the thought of another Slytherin spy was giving him a migraine, and that's just what all the information Lucius Malfoy had just given him implied. "So, how long have you been a spy, when did you switch sides, and why?" Harry asked, his tone resigned.

"Ah, so you want to get to the heart of the truth. Very well, you see I had been thinking about switching sides from the time I found out my wife was pregnant. The love for a child causes many to look at their life and make great changes. But what forced me to the other side, though, was Voldemort's wish to kill an innocent baby, just months younger than my own son. If he was willingly to kill you, what was going to stop him from eventually turning his eyes to my own child? So I went to Albus to plead my case. Luckily for me, the man believed in second chances. I agreed to spy for the Order; in return Albus would do everything in his power to protect both Narcissa and Draco.

Now, before you ask," Lucius raised his hand to stave off the question as it formed on Harry's lips, "you didn't get to see any of this in Severus' defense because my position had to be kept secret until my mission was done, not even my son knew. If Voldemort found out what I was doing, well, not even his regard for the magical properties of the number seven would have kept him from making many more Horcruxes. For us to be victorious, very few could know about my role as a spy."

Harry had looked at Snape when he heard Lucius talk about how it was the love of his son that turned him from Voldemort, Harry remembered the memory that only he saw. ‘So, once again I was wrong. The love of a child was enough to turn even the likes of Lucius Malfoy.' Harry let his head fall to the table, causing a loud thump. ‘I really am going to have to trust Lucius Malfoy, my life sucks. Wait, what did he say about my second year?'

"Wait, can you back up for a moment? You said that my second year was all a test. Does that mean that all the crap that happened to me in school was Professor Dumbledore testing me? What am I, just some sort of weapon because of that stupid prophesy?" Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to scream or cry by the time he was finished.

"Mr. Potter...Harry, look at me. Albus never saw you as a weapon. None of us have, or will. Albus knew what kind of environment you were going to have to grow up in when he decided to place you with your aunt, but your Aunt and Uncle's house was the only place you had a chance of growing up. There were many worthy people that would have loved to take you in and raise you, but with all the Death Eaters on the loose, he had to depend on Mrs. Dursley's blood to keep you alive. Knowing what that environment would do to your self-esteem, Albus took advantage of the chaos that happened each year to help boost your self-esteem and show you that you would be capable of what is needed of you. He knew that even the most confidant person would fold under the pressure of what has and will be expected of you, he wanted you to have first hand knowledge that you would be able to handle anything thrown your way." Snape sighed before continuing. "While I didn't agree with him at the time, which was part of the reason I treated you so harshly, I can see that the idea had merit. Now, can you calmly sit here and listen to why Lucius is here, or do I need to stun you so that I can listen?"

"You wouldn't dare, no...wait, yes, you would. Fine, I'll sit here like a good little ‘Chosen One' and listen to what he's got to say. But, know this, I am not convinced yet, and we still have to address what Malfoy is doing here." Harry said, glaring at each man in turn before motioning Lucius to continue.

"I believe I have found out what Rowena Ravenclaw's last known artifact is. The only items of Rowena's left, to have been passed down by her descendants, were a platinum hair comb, and her wand. I know that the comb is safe. But I believe, no, I am certain that the wand has been taken." Lucius explained.

Harry had perked up a bit, and was listening intently. Once Lucius paused, Harry took that time to voice a few of the questions that were buzzing around in his head. "How can you be sure the hair comb is safe, and why are you certain that the wand was taken?" Harry asked, his tone civil and even slightly excited.

"You heard about Fortescue and Ollivander going missing, correct? Well, they were the last know descendants of the Ravenclaw line. Fortescue's daughter has the comb, and has had it for many years. Unfortunately, Ollivander was the person who held the wand. As you know his shop was completely empty. Severus, have you heard anything linking the Dark Lord to those two attacks?" Lucius asked turning towards Severus.

"I know for a fact that he ordered the attack on Fortescue, the orders were to kill Fortescue, destroy his business, and bring back anything of value. The Dark Lord said the attack was to take out a place of happiness and pleasure. He wants the Dementors to be able to easily demoralize everyone. He never said anything to me about Ollivander. That must have been a very small group, one that got Obliviated as soon as the job was done. I have heard no one talk of the task and even Bella, who is most of the time very tight lipped, becomes an awful gossip when she's pleased her Master." Severus explained.

Lucius chuckled, shocking Harry even further, "Yes, a weakness she has always possessed. That is one family member I will be glad to be rid of. Enough of that, now back to the reason I'm here. As usual, Severus, your deductions are spot on. The raid on Ollivander's shop was done by a handful of very low ranking Death Eaters, all of which got Obliviated as soon as the last wand was in the Dark Lord's possession. He had Ollivander placed in the dungeons, and started his long search through all the wands. Had he trusted someone to help him, I doubt it would have taken him the year it did to find the wand he was looking for. Although, I guess it is a good thing it took him so long. If it hadn't, he might not have been as excited as he was. You see, that is where he messed up, and how I was able to gather this information. The Dark Lord had to celebrate, and brag to that wretched creature, Pettigrew. In his haste to show off his ‘brilliance', the Dark Lord forgot to make sure that the House-Elf, that had brought the celebratory spirits, was no longer in the room when he started spouting off about how everything had gone his way."

Harry cut in, being slightly confused, "I'm sorry, Mr. Malfoy, how was that a problem? Surely he would have any House-Elves in his manor bound to him, there fore they wouldn't be a problem."

"That was his second mistake, he's not been at his manor for quite a while now. It seems Malfoy manor suits his tastes more. He's been staying there for almost two years now. It's my manor; therefore the House-Elves must obey me. Anything that they have overheard has been reported to me almost immediately, something that we should be very thankful for, the Order would have been overtaken by now if I hadn't been able to report that there is in fact a spy with in the ranks."

Lucius waved his hand in a dismissive manner, and then continued, "This is not the time for that subject though. Arthur has that problem under control for the time being. What we now need to figure out is where the Dark Lord would have hidden his final Horcrux. This is where I'm at a loss, while I have been able to ascertain what items were used, and possible locations for the others, I am at a bit of an impasse where the newest one is concerned. I became rather frustrated with my lack of progress, and with Draco taking more punishment, I had hoped that Severus would be able to put his rather unique intellect to the problem so that we could find an answer, so that I could get my family to safety soon." Lucius looked to his son, deep Love and regret showing in his eyes.

Harry was stunned by the amount of emotion that was being displayed in front of him; that the cold, aloof Malfoys actually did have feelings for people other than themselves was just one more shock for the day, feeling exhausted, he let his head hit the table again.

Snape took the chance to get a good look at Harry, since the situation had diffused. Harry's entire demeanor screamed exhaustion. Noticing the changes in Harry's facial features, Snape was all at once enraged. "Why, Potter, have you not released your Glamour yet? There is no need to drain yourself to the point of uselessness. Now, quit being an idiot and take it down!"

Harry's head snapped up immediately, "What do you mean take down my Glamour? I took it off as soon as I was in the house."

Draco conjured a mirror and handed it to Harry, "As much as I loathe to admit it, I did pay close attention to what you looked like while we went to school, Potter, and this is not it. Take a look so you don't have to just take our word for it, I know you won't believe three Slytherins."

Taking the mirror carefully, Harry hesitated before looking in. He went pale, and croaked, "Bloody hell, that backlash did more damage to my Glamour than I thought, must have screwed it all to hell."

"What backlash, Mr. Potter?" Lucius asked, looking very interested all of a sudden.

Harry looked up, not answering while having an internal debate, ‘Just how much information should I give this group? Yes, Professor Dumbledore wanted me to trust Snape, but he never said a word about trusting Malfoys as well. I guess letting them know about Nagini won't hurt much, it's not like they won't have to hear about from Voldemort if they are in fact with him. But, Dumbledore trusted Snape, and Snape trusts these two...Oh where is a headache potion when I need one?'

With a sigh Harry started to explain, "As you know, Voldemort decided tonight was the night he should try and take Hogwarts. As the battle went on I kept hearing a voice, a voice that reminded me of my second year in fact. I was worried that I was going to have to fight another Basilisk until I saw Nagini. She was slithering around, acting like she was looking for something or someone in particular. Then she saw Moody and attacked.

I was doing my best to get to him to help, but I didn't get there in time. She attacked him and her fangs got stuck in his wooden leg. He sent some sort of curse at her and killed her, and the backlash of magic killed him and threw me back several feet.

Tonks and the Twins were the first to let me know that my Glamour was messed up, but I didn't get a chance to find out how much until now. After I dropped it, I didn't think it mattered." Harry finished with another sigh, looking at his reflection again. There were subtle changes in his bone structure; it was sharper in a way. He certainly no longer looked like the carbon copy of James Potter that he had all of his life.

He looked up pleadingly, to Snape, "Is there a way to fix this? I know you hated, still hate, my father. But I really don't want to go around looking like someone else, someone not me, for the rest of my life. Please tell me there is something I can do to fix this."

Seeing the hurt that quickly ran through his friend's eyes before it was hidden away, Lucius decided that now was the time for a retreat. He could also tell his son's wounds needed to be taken care of. "Look, I can see that Draco is still in a great deal of pain, and needs healing and rest. Is there a room we can use? We can get back to our earlier discussion in the morning, after everyone has had a decent nights rest."

Snape nodded, "Any of the rooms with the door open should be fine for your use, here take my potions pouch. I started on the worst of Draco's wounds so I could get him here, but the Dark Lord was most displeased. You can imagine what that entails. Goodnight to the two of you." Snape said, watching as they left the kitchen.

Turning back to Harry, Snape gave him another scrutinizing look. "It seems you were correct, Nagini was a Horcrux. I'm shocked that the Dark Lord would use his familiar in such a way; Moody must have been to close to knowing the identity of the spy in the Order. It seems the Dark Lord was anxious to keep his newest spy safe." Snape paused rubbing his chin in thought.

"Regardless, what you explained seeing sounds just like what Albus explained happened to him when he destroyed the Ring. Although, for some reason that backlash concentrated itself back up the spell's pathway and into his hand and arm. We will need to study the scene you witnessed in detail soon, but for now, you need rest.

As for your appearance, if you are in fact so vain, that you cannot handle your new looks, I suggest you apply a Glamour to conceal the changes until we have the time to figure out just what went wrong. We can't fix anything until then." Snape said with a sneer. He threw Harry's wand on the table and left the kitchen, his robes snapping behind him in his apparent anger.

Harry just watched, dumbfounded, unsure what he had said or done this time to set Snape off. After a shake of his head, Harry slowly got up and made his way to his room. He'd deal with the Glamour issue when he could talk to Hermione. She'd be at least sympathetic to his woes.

*~~*~~*~~*

Harry woke up with a groan early afternoon the next day, ‘What does fate have in store for me today? UGH! I am not in the mood to deal with Slytherins today.' With the intention of heading to Hogwarts and check on his injured friends, Harry quickly and quietly got dressed and headed for the room where the Vanishing Cabinet was being kept.

"Just where do you think you're sneaking off to?" Snape said from behind him, making Harry jump.

"I...uh...I wanted to go check on Hermione and Ron. Plus, I wanted to see if Hermione could, um, could start looking into why I no longer look like me." Harry said, finishing weakly. He didn't want to set off Snape again like he had last night. Harry still didn't understand why his looks caused such a reaction in his ex-teacher.

"Don't you think the unfinished business from last night takes precedence over going off to visit your friends? And here I thought you had actually grown up some."

"Now, wait just a minute!" Harry practically yelled. "I'm worried about Hermione and Ron. She hadn't regained consciousness yet when I left, and Ron was burned rather badly. You do remember that those two have helped out greatly in our research? Without them, we wouldn't be halfway through all that material, much less, almost done."

"Yes, and until they are healed, there is nothing we can do on those fronts. What we can do is collect all the information Lucius has brought us, and get it sorted out so that when they are back with us again we can move on. No need to waste time, they do not need to be with us for every step of the way. Now, come to the library so that we can get started." Snape turned and made his way to the Library with Harry following behind mumbling about evil Slytherin gits with no friends.

Lucius looked up as they entered and smirked. "I see you have found the hiding spot of our ‘Chosen One'. Wonderful, now we can get down to business. The faster we get this done, the faster I can make arrangements to get my family out of the country."

Harry snorted, "Typical Slytherin, running away when the...."

"I suggest that you refrain from finishing that statement! What Lucius and I have been doing, and will continue to do, is more dangerous than you could ever envisage. You will keep your sarcastic comments to yourself from now on. I've put up with your atrocious attitude for long enough, and I refuse to do so any longer. Now take a seat so that we may get started." Snape said pointing to a chair across from where Lucius was sitting.

Harry took a deep breath and sat down, putting his face in his hands. ‘He's right. I've been trying to act mature. But in trying to show him I'd no longer let him walk all over me, I've ended up acting as bad as Snape had in the past.'

Harry then looked up and said, "I'm sorry, you're right. I've been acting like a prat. It's hard getting past six years of animosity from you, Snape. Add a few murder attempts, well, what looked like murder attempts from Malfoy there, on top of that and I'm a bit on edge. But I took the wrong course of action to show you, the both of you, that I won't be walked over anymore. I'm not going to promise I'll do better, but I promise to try. Now what didn't we cover last night?"

If either of the older men were shocked by Harry's apology, neither of them showed it. Snape just glanced at Harry, and then looked to Lucius, "You have established what item we are now looking for, but you also have no idea where to look, correct?"

Lucius gave a slight nod, "Yes, that is correct. The House-Elves could only get me that bit information. I was hoping that Mr. Potter and his associates would have a list complied on possible locations. The Dark Lord is very stubborn in the fact that once he latches onto an idea, he never lets go, a fact that has been proven over and over again when he attacks Mr. Potter here, only to fail every time."

"Do you want a full summary, or just locations?" Harry asked as he searched through Hermione's notes.

"I believe just locations, for now. If Lucius chooses to continue helping after this, then we will go over all the information later." Snape answered.

"Ok...let's see. It looks like we've come up with; Hogwarts, the Chamber of Secrets, Godric's Hollow, Riddle Manor, and the orphanage. We've searched the Chamber, and only found that diary with the dark aura, but nothing else. He's already hidden a Horcrux in a place associated with the orphanage, that was the locket. So, that leaves us with the other three places. I've felt the urge to visit Godric's Hollow for a while now; I've just never had the chance. Every time we plan on a visit, something else has come up. Does that sound right to the two of you? You understand how he works better than I do." Harry looked up from the notes as he finished.

"Sounds like you have done your homework, and I guess I should inform you that there is a reason things keep coming up. The Dark Lord has guards posted around your property in Godric's Hollow. I didn't want to inform you until I had been scheduled for ‘guard duty' myself. He's only intrusting his inner circle with this, he wants the best there in case you show. My time will be the week of Halloween, and I will be alone, so that will be the best time for us to search." Snape explained.

Harry rolled his eyes before he asked, "Is there a reason he gave you the week of Halloween? Or is it just coincidence?"

"Oh, yes there's reason. It seems to be another reward for my outstanding service. To be able to watch over my enemy's property, on the anniversary of his death, I'm supposed to be thrilled of the reminder of just how and why James Potter is no longer alive to torment me." Snape said, barely able to keep from rolling his eyes.

"So, we can't start searching there for almost two more months. What do the two of you have planned then?" Harry asked, looking back and forth between the two older men.

Severus pinched the bridge of his nose as he replied, "As loath as I am to admit it, I do believe you should find out just how long Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger are going to be absent, before we start making new plans. Don't you agree, Lucius?"

"Yes, that seems to be the best course of action for the moment. If you don't mind, Severus, there's a personal matter I need to discuss with you. It's rather urgent." Lucius said, looking towards Harry.

Harry snorted, "It's ok, I can take a hint. I'll just take my time at Hogwarts then, no need to rush back here." Harry hurried out of the room and to the cabinet before Snape could change his mind.

*~~*~~*~~*

Harry breathed a sigh of relief when he entered the Hospital Wing, seeing Ron and Hermione both awake and talking to each other quietly. He took a quick look around the room to see who else was there, and then made his way over to his friends.

"Harry? Is that you?" Hermione squeaked.

"Yes, it's me. Merlin, I have a lot to tell the both of you. Pomfrey hasn't said when the two of you will be getting out of here has she? I'd rather not talk about this here." Harry quickly asked.

"She said she wanted to keep us both at least until tomorrow, but said if we had to leave it was ok, as long as we rested and promised to come right back if we started to feel worse." Ron answered.

Hermione paused giving Harry another once over, "Harry, what's wrong with you? Why do you look so different? Do they really think you need a Glamour to visit us?"

Harry quickly cast Muffliato before answering Hermione's question. "I'm not wearing a Glamour, Hermione. I was caught up in a magical backlash of some kind. It, unfortunately, reacted with the Glamour I did have on and caused this. No one at home seems to understand how or why it happened, much less how to fix it. I was hoping you'd have a chance to research it, Hermione." Harry said with a pleading tone.

"Oh my, Harry, you just have the weirdest luck when it comes to magical reactions don't you? I mean, yeah I'd rather live after getting the Killing Curse shot at me, and your being able to throw off Imperious is quite nice, but getting your appearance changed...well, you know, Harry, you always hated being The-Boy-Who-Lived, maybe this is your chance to get away from all that?" said Hermione, without taking a breath. Harry had to smile at his friend, if she was blurting out that much information without stopping to take a breath Harry knew she'd be just fine.

Harry chuckled, "You're right Hermione, I hate being The-Boy-Who-Lived, as the public sees me. But I enjoy being Harry, at least my life is never boring." He finished with a cheeky grin.

"Harry, drop the spell. Madam Pomfrey is on her way over." Hermione hissed in a slight panic. Harry nodded and quickly dropped the spell.

"Mr. Potter, do you really think that Glamour is still necessary?" Madam Pomfrey asked with eyebrow raised.

"Well, Madam Pomfrey, I'm...a sort of not wearing a Glamour. Whatever that backlash was messed with the one I was wearing and now this is what I look like. I was hoping to spring...er, I mean I was hoping Ron and Hermione could come home with me to help me find out how to fix it. Not to mention we need to get back to work on our little project." Harry answered.

Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated sigh, "Yes, Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger are free to go. No sense in keeping them here when you're just going to help them sneak out anyways. But..." she said stopping the teens in their tracks, "I want all three of you in here if you start feeling the slightest bit off, there's no telling what curses you had hurled at you during that fight. Oh, and Mr. Potter, your Aunt will be ready to leave here in a week or so. Her healing progress has been almost magical, for lack of a better term. One night her wound was still open, and the next day it was almost fully healed. Her physical therapy is coming along nicely since she didn't have as much scaring to deal with as I originally thought she would have. Now off with you, I need to clean up your beds in case they are needed again soon." She finished, shooing them away with a flick of her hands.

Ron and Hermione wasted no time grabbing up their clothes and rushing off to the restrooms to change. They were fully dressed and back in no time, and the trio quickly left the Hospital Wing before the matron could change her mind.

Harry stopped his friends before they could enter the Cabinet that led back to Number Twelve. "Wait guys, there's some...ah new developments you should know about before we go home." Harry quickly explained everything that had happened after he left them the night before and we he came back.

Harry tried to gauge his friend's reactions to the new information. Ron looked furious, understandably. Hermione was the shocker, normally the calm one of the group; she was bright red and sputtering. So much so she could put a Weasley to shame.

"Hermione, calm down. I wasn't very happy either..." Harry started to say.

"Calm down? You want me to CALM DOWN? Do you have any idea what Ginny went through her first year? Do you know how many nights I've had her in my room trying to help her work through what happened? Bloody Hell! She spent most of her second year sleeping with me at night; she was so scared she was going to have a relapse. She didn't care that the Diary had been destroyed." Harry and Ron looked at each other in shock, not only did they not know any of that about Ginny, but Hermione never swore.

"And you said that Dumbledore not only gave his approval for this to happen, but it was his idea in the first place?" She growled, and then continued, "He's lucky Snape's already put him out of his misery, if I had known about this I would have...I would have...well I'm not sure what I would have done, but it wouldn't have been pleasant!" Hermione stopped ranting, pushed her fingers through her bushy curls in aggravation and plopped down on the couch, finally winding down.

Harry and Ron both let out a sigh of relief. Ron went over and put his arms around his girlfriend and hugged her to his chest. "Remind me never to really anger you, ok, Hermione?" Ron then looked at Harry, "Now, can you explain again what's going on? How did our world get shoved arse over elbow?"

Harry took a deep breath before beginning to explain again, "Basically, Dumbledore was willing to do just about anything to help me, and the Light side win the war. Every little, and not so little, adventure we had in school was for me to learn to believe in myself so that I could handle what I'm meant to do. Although I'm not to sure about fifth year, I think the Ministry and Umbridge messed up Dumbledore's grand scheme for that year. Anyways, what it all boils down to is we've not only got to deal with Snape now, but two Malfoy's as well. I'm not happy about it, but Lucius has already brought us information that we didn't have. If it pans, out I'm willing to do what I need to and work with the man. We've learned to work with Snape, and he was just as nasty to us, if not worse than Lucius Malfoy ever had the chance to be...well if you don't count the times Malfoy tried to kill us that is." Harry finished with an afterthought.

"I still can't believe Dumbledore would put Ginny through that hell. Guess there really was more to the man than just the grandfatherly image he gave off at school, huh?" Ron said, as he tried to take everything in.

Hermione snorted, "You know it's kind of ingenious. Dumbledore knew all along what you were going to have to do, Harry, as well as what you'd have to deal with at the Dursely's, and then he did everything he could to help restore Harry's sense of self-worth. He did what he had to do to keep you safe before you were able to come to Hogwarts, and then did all he could to repair the damage your relatives did."

"Well, I'll tell you whether or not I appreciate his methods after the war. Let's see how well his plans work out first." Harry said sarcastically.

"Now, I know you've been dying to get back down there and have a chat with that portrait of Slytherin," Harry said as he rummaged around in his rucksack, "I've brought your notes, you want to have that chat with him now?" Harry asked with a sly gleam in his eyes.

Hermione jumped up excitedly, while Ron just groaned, "Isn't it enough that we have to deal with two of the biggest, slimiest Slytherins at home now? And you want to go have a chat with the man that started it all?" Seeing Hermione's excitement, as well as Harry's, Ron sighed. "Fine, but the both of you owe me when this is over! I don't ever want to have to deal with a Slytherin again for the rest of my life if at all possible. I'm sure I'll have had enough Slytherin exposure for many lifetimes after all is said and done."

Harry laughed, "You and me both, mate! You and me both! I'll be happy if I never have to deal with anyone from that House again after the war is over! Now let's head down there and get this over with."

*~~*~~*~~*

"So, you'll help me then, Severus? Surely you see that you're the only one that can possibly pull this off. There's no one else I can trust to do this for me." Lucius said.

Severus looked into his glass before looking at his friend and sighing, "I can only try Lucius, but if I fail, you realize what we will lose. Are you prepared to deal with those consequences?" Lucius paused before nodding, and then swallowed the rest of his drink.