average human’s Reviews > Veritaserum > Status Update

“Bellatrix is your sister, yeah? And everyone says she’s completely mad. That she did all that horrible stuff. So- so was she always mad?”

Harry wasn’t mad. He was sure of that.

It was just... he felt really crummy lately. And Snape called him mad, said he was insane, and said he was depressed.

And Snape didn’t lie to him.

Cissa sat her teacup down and seemed to become thoughtful at his question.

“She was not,” she finally said. “She used to be a perfectly lovely bullying older sister.”

“So what happened?” Harry asked.

“Tut, tut,” Cissa said, smiling once again. “I believe it is now my turn. If you’d like, I’ll graciously allow you a second question if I may have the same courtesy.”

“We’ll see,” Harry muttered, slumping in his seat in preparation for whatever question she was about to ask. “Go ahead.”

“Posture darling,” she hummed, causing Harry to sit up straighter with another small huff. “Why do you enjoy living with Severus?”

Harry thought through the wording of her question carefully.

“‘Why?’ Not ‘do I?’” he said. “Who says I enjoy living with Snape?”

Cissa laughed and wagged a finger at him, “That’s a question.”

“Fine.” Harry thought about the reasons ‘why’ he liked living here. “Well it’s a nice house, ya know? Plus it’s mine. Snape says it can’t ever be taken from me. It’ll always be mine. I have a bedroom. Mavis has his own space he likes in the attic. And Sevvie gets to fly in the yard.”

“You misunderstand me darling,” Cissa said with a warm smile. “Not why do you enjoy your charming home, but why do you enjoy living with Severus? You chose him, there must be something you like about the eccentric man.”

Harry scowled at that. Mione called Luna ‘eccentric’ and he knew it really meant ‘weird’.

“Snape is not weird,” he said hotly. “He can be a bit of a git sometimes, but he’s an alright bloke, isn’t he? He’s not a liar, and he knows more about me than anyone and he likes me anyway, doesn’t he? So don’t call him ‘weird’,” he spat.

Cissa wasn’t cowed in the slightest by his irritation. She smiled even more after he’d quit talking and started picking apart a sandwich.

“Plenty of people like you,” she said, grabbing a handful of grapes. “Severus was perhaps the first though.”

“Exactly,” Harry agreed. “He was the first person that liked me for no reason. And even though there’s things about me Snape doesn’t like anymore, it doesn’t mean he’s not still my friend.”

“I can’t imagine there’s anything Severus doesn’t like about you,” Cissa said with a small chuckle.

‘Harry- you sound mad.’ ‘You sound insane.’

“He thinks I’m crazy,” Harry said flatly. “Called me insane, didn’t he? Thinks I’m like your sister.”

“Did he?” Cissa hummed. “And you’re quite sure he meant it? That he purposefully insulted the child who changed his long-established patronus?”

“He said it, didn’t he? Told you, Snape’s not a liar. If he said I’m insane, then he thinks it.”

“Were you behaving madly?” Cissa asked. Harry would have been annoyed at the question, but she didn’t look like she was taking the mickey out of him.

“Dunno,” he admitted cautiously. “I don’t think so though.”

Cissa looked thoughtful as she pursed her lips and leveled her grey eyes with Harry’s green.

“I don’t think you’re like Bella at all. You do remind me quite a bit of Sirius when he was young though,” she said softly. “Which is not meant to be an insult, despite what your reddening face tells me you consider it.”

Harry pushed his chair back angrily and was getting ready to go right back to his room when-

“People thought he was mad too,” she said. “He’d get these grand ideas for pranks and plans for the future and he’d be bouncing around the castle, terrorizing people with just his energy. Nobody seemed to understand that these weren’t just crazy ideas, they were plans and they were amazing and Sirius was a genius for coming up with them.”

“Yeah?” Harry breathed, getting drawn in despite himself.

He didn’t want to have anything in common with a scumbag like Sirius Black, but Harry knew how that felt. Snape certainly hadn’t understood his plans for catching Black, didn’t even care to listen to them properly.

Accused him of being on drugs just because Harry finally felt completely alive.

“Oh yes, Sirius would just be so alive, sometimes” she said with a fond smile, almost as if she’d plucked the exact phrase out of Harry’s head.

Harry checked his barriers and was relieved to know that it was impossible.

“And then he’d be exhausted,” Cissa continued. “Positively drained of all his energy. A mutual friend of ours told me that he once was so tired and disenchanted with life that he had attempted to hang himself in his dorm room.”

Harry blanched and subtly tucked his hands under his knees.

He’d done that before. Maybe not specifically what Black did, but he cut his wrists wide open, hadn’t he? Then magic healed him up, even though he didn’t tell it to, and Snape found him two weeks later.

He still had the scars though.

And... and he hadn’t done it again, but he’d thought about it a lot lately. He laid in his bed and wondered how it would have felt if he hadn’t accidentally healed himself.

You’d be so free.

“Then of course your father saved his life and Sirius moved in with him and your grandparents that next summer.”

“What?” Harry looked up at Narcissa sharply, pulled from his own swirling thoughts by that new bit of information. “My Dad saved his life?”

“He did,” she said pleasantly.

“Why’d he move in with him?”

Cissa frowned at his question, her eyes looking sad and angry.

“My Aunt Walburga, Sirius and his brother Regulus’ mother, was an unpleasant sort of woman. I’m sure you know the type. Unfit to be a mother,” she sniffed. “I believe James thought that saving Sirius from his mother would save him from himself.”

Harry ignored her insinuation.

“Did it?” he asked. “Was Sirius fixed once he was somewhere nobody was hurting him?”

“There was nothing wrong with Sirius to fix,” Cissa said softly. “He was just another brilliant star that burned too brightly in our sky.”

Harry rolled his eyes at Cissa’s sympathetic tone. If Sirius was a star that burnt brightly- then he tried his best to make sure Harry’s star never got to shine at all.

“So my Dad did all that stuff to help him and then Black turned around and told Voldemort where to find them, didn’t he?” Harry asked, making sure he knew exactly what all he owed Black for. “After my dad let him move in and he owed him a life debt, he had him killed?”

“That is what they say,” Cissa agreed.

“Fuckin’ bastard,” Harry snarled. “I’m gonna kill him.”

“Will you?” Cissa hummed. “So you believe that Sirius led the Dark Lord to Godric’s Hollow and stood by while he killed his best friend? The man who saved his life, took him in to his family home, and named him godfather to his Heir?”

“Do you not?” Harry asked. “What- because he’s your cousin?”

Cissa smiled and slid the bowl of grapes towards Harry, who popped a few in his mouth.

“Would you stand by and allow someone to kill Severus?”

“Probably not,” Harry said. “But Sirius was mad wasn’t he? He clearly didn’t care that my Dad saved his life or let him move in with him.”

“You know darling, I hear a lot of people say that Sirius was mad. Yet, when I think of him as he was when he was a teenager, back when we attended school together, I don’t remember him being mad. I remember him being terribly haunted, a horrible bully, and one of the most tragically misunderstood people I had ever met at that point in my life.”

“Snape says I’m misunderstood,” Harry said softly, rolling the tension out of his shoulders. “Says people are scared of what they don’t understand, didn’t he?”

“Severus is an exceedingly bright man,” Cissa said, smiling once again.

“Yeah,” Harry agreed. “So if he thinks Sirius is mad, and I’m mad, then he’s probably right, isn’t he?”

“Oh Severus isn’t infallible,” Cissa laughed. “He told me many times he would never have a child, yet here you sit.”

Harry was exhausted.

‘Depressed,’ a voice that sounded like Snape whispered.

“I’m tired,” he hedged. “I might just go upstairs and lay down for a bit...”

“You would leave me to entertain myself until Severus arrives home?” Cissa pouted, looking a lot like Draco. “Be a gentleman Harry. Tell me about this party you’re planning for Mister Longbottom that has caused my son to be so terribly envious.”

Harry reluctantly laughed at that. Draco was such a jealous prat.

“Well it’s for Neville’s birthday, sort of. I wanted it to be just a party for Neville but Susan threw a fit, didn’t she? Said either it had to be for both of us or she’d plan her own party,” he said fondly. “So it’s a joint birthday party. Just for our gang, even though Draco tried to invite the whole bloody castle.”

“Draco is a social butterfly,” Cissa smiled. “He’s been pouting quite spectacularly that you haven’t been by to fly with him yet this summer.”

Harry fidgeted uncomfortably.

“I was really busy... and then I’ve been sick...” he offered as a weak excuse.

You’re a terrible friend.

Well, a terrible cousin, apparently.

“He’ll be delighted to hear you feel better, I’m sure he’ll have an entire days worth of activities planned for you soon.”

Harry was saved trying to find an excuse to get out of what sounded like an exhausting day by Snape’s arrival home.

“Severus,” Cissa cried happily as Snape stepped slowly in to the kitchen, giving Harry an inscrutable look. “How did your appointment go?”

“It went as well as expected,” Snape said, opting to lean against the kitchen counter. “How has your afternoon been?”

“Wonderful,” Cissa said cheerfully. “Harry and I have been talking about our family.”

“Have you?” Snape asked evenly.

“We have,” she said. “And now I must get going, who knows what mischief Draco has gotten in to in my absence? He’ll be pleased when I inform him of his cousins impending visit,” she said with a wink towards Harry, showing herself to the floo before Harry could tell her not to tell Draco that.

Damn it.

Now he either had to go see Draco or listen to him whinge the whole train ride back to Hogwarts.

Snape snorted and moved to his now empty seat.

“Narcissa is a force of nature,” Snape muttered, snagging a biscuit off one of the trays.

Harry scooted his chair back, planning on quietly heading back to his room (bed) now that Cissa wasn’t here to trick him in to staying.

“How was your afternoon?” Snape asked.

Ugh.

“Fine,” Harry said.

“Was Narcissa a pleasant guest?”

“Suppose so,” Harry said.

“Harry, I owe you an apology,” Snape said abruptly, catching Harry’s attention.

“For what?” he asked.

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“Harry you are not crazy, you are sick. It’s called,” Harry watched as Snape swallowed thickly before continuing, “it’s called Manic-Depressive Illness and you need help.”

“What’s that?” Harry asked, reluctantly sinking back down in to his chair and scowling at Snape’s comment.

He does not need help.

He doesn’t need anything.

He’s fine.

He’s just fucking so tired and nobody will leave him alone.

“It’s why you were feeling so energetic and behaving so erratically, and why you are currently so tired and despondent,” Snape said. “It’s a legitimate disease Harry, and talking to the Mind Healer will help to treat it.”

“I don’t need to go talk to some healer, I’m fine,” Harry said. “I don’t have that disease, I swear. I’m just-“ Harry faltered, trying to find an excuse Snape would accept that wasn’t some mad disease- “I’m bored. And I’m tired.”

“Depressed,” Snape murmured. “You are depressed. And at some point you will be manic again, then depressed again, and it will continue to cycle Harry. This is not a weakness.”

“I know it’s not, because I don’t have it,” Harry insisted, getting to his feet again. “I’m going to my room,” he said shortly.

Snape sighed and rubbed his eyes.

“Go,” he said. “But please don’t lay in bed the rest of the day Harry. It isn’t healthy.”

“‘Kay,” Harry said, heading quickly for the stairs. He threw his door open and immediately flopped down on his bed.

Snape thought he had some mad illness anyway- what did it matter?



Harry got up the next morning and actually felt a little calmer and more clear headed than he had the last week.

He knew he didn’t have maniac depression, or whatever Snape called it, he had just been sick. Probably a cold or something.

He went downstairs and smirked at Snape’s surprise at seeing him at breakfast.

“Morning,” Harry said.

“Good morning,” Snape said. “Would you like a cappuccino?”

“Sure,” Harry shrugged.

“Any plans for the day?” Snape asked, handing Harry a mug.

“I’m gonna go see Draco, maybe grab Luna and go shopping, if that’s not too crazy,” he scoffed.

“It sounds reasonable to me,” Snape said calmly, ignoring Harry’s jibe. “Will you be purchasing your textbooks?”

“Clothes and a gift for Neville,” Harry said. “Don’t know what books I’ll need yet, do I?”

Snape gave him an odd look.

“Your list came last week,” he said slowly.

“Did it?” Harry was surprised. “Sevvie didn’t bring it to me.”

“He did,” Snape disagreed. “You have a stack of mail in your room.”

“Oh,” Harry figured it probably came while he was asleep or something. “Well, bring me my Hogwarts letter,” he commanded his magic.

“Accio would have worked just as well,” Snape said with a light snort.

“More work,” Harry murmured, reading over his list. “Just need a few books... and, oh.”

Fuck.

He had a permission slip to visit Hogsmeade with the other third years and it had to be signed by a guardian. And Harry just came downstairs and started being a prat to his guardian, didn’t he?

“Oh?” Snape said. “Is there something else?”

Harry glanced at him and bit his lip nervously.

“No sir,” he mumbled.

“So there is not a permission slip in your envelope that I need to sign?” Snape said drily.

Harry shrugged, feeling hot around the collar.

“I don’t need it signed, it’s fine.”

“Do you want it signed?”

Harry shrugged again, unwilling to admit that he did. If he said he wanted it and Snape said no then it’d be a lot worse than if Harry didn’t say he wanted it.

“Give it here brat,” Snape said.

Harry glanced up at him. Snape didn’t look mad, he looked amused.

“What do you want?” he asked warily. He wouldn’t trade Hogsmeade for that Mind Healer.

“I would like us to put the past few weeks behind us and not fight between now and when I leave for Hogwarts. Acceptable?”

Harry thought it over. He really didn’t want to fight with Snape the rest of the summer. Even if Snape had been a bastard and called him insane; he’d apologized (kind of) and maybe he believed Harry had some weird mind sickness.

He was wrong. But he can’t help it if that’s what he thinks.

“No more talking about Mind Healers?” Harry asked.

“I will refrain from attempting to convince you of the immense benefits of seeking professional mental health support this summer in exchange for you not actively looking for Sirius Black,” Snape said.

“Deal,” Harry said, sliding his permission slip across the table to him. Black would find him anyway, people who wanted to hurt him seemed to have a sense for where he is. “Cheers.”

“Cheers,” Snape drawled, returning the sheet with a small smirk.

***

“Mavis you have to put the appetizer forks with the appetizers,” Draco snapped at Mavis on the day of Neville’s party. “It doesn’t make any sense for them to be by the cups.”

“Master’s blonde friend is bossy,” Mavis muttered, drawing a laugh out from Harry.

“Draco leave Mavis alone,” he said with a grin. “You already know it looks great.”

During their shopping trip a couple of weeks ago Draco had insisted on coming over early to help Harry set up for the party.

‘I’m a Malfoy, I’ve been watching my mother plan parties since I could walk,’ he’d insisted.

Harry had never thrown a party before so he figured Draco would know more than he would. And he had to admit, even if Draco was bossy, the yard looked brilliant.

They’d decorated everything gold and silver (‘red and green will clash’) and Draco had different tables set up with all sorts of food and drinks and the cakes.

Harry personally thought that Neville would have liked a cake made by him but he’d never figured the recipe out right. Mavis was a much better baker. There was a big red cake with a silver lion on it for Neville and a green one with a golden snitch on it for Harry.

“Harry can I put these flowers here?” Luna asked, having also came early to help decorate.

“You can put flowers wherever you want Lue,” he assured her. “Neville loves flowers, doesn’t he?”

“He does,” she hummed happily.

Harry was going to go help her find more flowers when Blaise and his mother apparated directly in to the yard. Snape had temporarily keyed the invited guests in to their wards.

‘Black could take polyjuice and imitate any one of the guests to floo in,’ he’d said.

Harry privately thought that his birthday would be brilliant if Black did show up.

Neville might not be happy though.

“Happy Birthday my Meraviglia!”

Harry smiled at the Contessa and bowed his head just the tiniest amount towards her. He respected her, and Snape said bowing your head shows respect, but Harry would never really bow to anyone.

“Thank you,” he told her politely. “Snape and the Malfoy’s are inside.”

“Ah, but I came to see you dearest,” she said, her golden eyes twinkling like crazy. “Walk with me amore.”

The Contessa offered Harry her arm, the same way he saw Cissa do to Dracos Dad sometimes, so he linked his arm with hers with only a small hesitation. He’d spent a lot of time with her last winter when he’d been expelled from Hogwarts and stayed at Snape’s, but it still felt weird to walk like this.

Maybe not bad weird, but definitely some kind of weird.

“I have missed you dearest,” the Contessa said after they’d gotten away from everyone else.

“Wait.” Harry leaned towards her and breathed directly in her ear, “At least one Auror somewhere in the yard.”

The Contessa laughed loudly as if Harry had said something funny.

“Of course dearest, allow me.”

She flicked her wand and Harry could feel her powerful magic surround them.

“Now, why have I not seen you before now?” she asked, shaking her head slightly at him. “We are allies, familiare, my dearest. Alliances mean more to those of us who truly understand them. I would have thought you would seek refuge from Sirius Black with me this summer.”

“I didn’t want to hide,” Harry admitted. “I want to find him. It’s his fault my parents were killed, wasn’t it? I’m going to kill him.”

If there was anyone Harry could admit his plans to, it was the Contessa. She didn’t try and protect him like Snape did. She just listened to him and shared her advice; which was usually things like ‘this spell is untraceable’ or ‘this curse will collapse a lung in less than a second’. She’s a genius.

He figured she had plenty of practice with her last seven husbands to get it right.

“I believe you dearest, but you must lure him to you, otherwise he has the advantage, no?”

“How do I lure him to me?”

The Contessa patted his hand, “You stick to your routine. You go to places he will expect you and then you watch and you wait. And then you strike.”

Harry nodded very seriously before he gave her a small grin, “I thought you wanted me to come to Italy? That wouldn’t be my routine.”

“Then we should make it your routine,” the Contessa laughed. “Every summer, yes?”

“Maybe,” Harry said evasively. “It wasn’t so bad here with Snape.”

The Contessa pulled him to a stop beside the broom shed and studied him carefully, her chin tilted thoughtfully.

“‘Was not so bad’ or ‘was good’?” she said. “If Severus Snape has hurt my Meraviglia, I will kill him,” she said lightly.

That was another thing Harry liked about her, she was always ready to go to war for him.

Even if sometimes she missed the mark.

“Snape didn’t hurt me,” Harry assured her quickly. “He just... I dunno, he just thinks I’m mad, doesn’t he?”

“Elocution my dearest,” The Contessa hummed. “Severus believes you are mad because the world has never had one such as you before, have they? You are my Meraviglia, you are uníco, one of a kind, yes? It is better to be considered mad than to be one of the many, my dearest.”

12%

Harry hadn’t really thought of it like that. He knew when he was 6 that it was better to be special than to be a part of his ‘family’. He knew when he was 11 that it was better to be feared than to be seen as weak. It made sense that it was better to be considered mad than to be like everyone else.

“Thank you,” he said softly. “You’re right.”

The Contessa laughed again and steered him back towards the party, where Harry could see that the rest of the gang had shown up.

“Now my amori, what must I do to convince you to give up on Black’s death for a year and come see the world with me?”

Harry laughed as he offers got more and more outrageous until they got back to the yard and she went inside with a last soft smile towards him.

The Contessa really was amazing. Harry was glad he’d put Blaise in his gang back in first year.



Harry greeted all his friends who came. He laughed when him and Neville told each other happy birthday at the same time.

“Gran wanted to come, but she’s sick,” Neville explained. “Susan’s Aunt offered to stay with her so she wasn’t all alone.”

“That’s okay,” Harry said hastily. “Maybe we’ll meet some other time.”

He’d heard quite a bit about Neville’s stern grandmother who never thought Neville was a good enough grandson. He didn’t think he’d like her much.

All of Harry’s friends, including Hermione and Theo who floo’d in together, holding hands, came except for Ron, who was still in Egypt.

“Weasley’s going to be so jealous he missed this,” Draco boasted.

“I doubt that, he said that Egypt is amazing and he’s having the time of his life,” Blaise said.

“Egypt has so much magic in the tombs!” Hermione said excitedly. “I bet he’s learning loads!”

“I bet he’s learning nothing at all,” Susan giggled quietly to Neville.

Harry agreed with Susan. Ron was probably just having fun being on what he said is his first real vacation. Harry definitely hadn’t learned anything at all last summer on his first vacation.



“Thank you, this is awesome Harry,” Neville said for about the fiftieth time that day, this time holding up the collection of antique Muggle gardening books Harry found in Diagon Alley with Luna last week.

“Cheers Nev,” Harry grinned holding up a custom Slytherin Quidditch Jersey that Neville had gotten him. He looked around at everyone who came and made sure to thank each of them for their gifts. He had gotten more clothes, books, and photos than he’d ever owned before in his life.

It was brilliant, but mad.

“You still have mine brat,” Snape said.

Snape had been pretty quiet most of the party. He talked to Draco’s mum a lot and kept a close eye on Harry, but Harry thought it was probably because all of the students put Snape on edge.

For a teacher he didn’t really like kids much.

“Oh, sorry,” Harry muttered, reaching for the plainly wrapped package. “Probably not an owl then?” he laughed.

“I will never again give you a gift that requires a name,” Snape said drily.

“I think Sevvie is a great name,” Susan laughed. “It’s very distinguished.”

“Remind me to dock ten points from Hufflepuff when we get back to Hogwarts Draco,” Snape said.

“You can’t dock points during summer holidays,” Hermione murmured. “Rule 109 subsection C.”

Harry snorted as he opened Snape’s present.

“Woah,” Susan sighed. “It’s beautiful!”

“Er-“ Harry glanced around helplessly. “What is it?”

It looked like a giant stone bowl with some sort of stationary liquid in it, though it was decorated with green jewels which did make it look pretty posh.

“It’s a pensieve,” Snape explained. “I thought perhaps you’d like one for yourself.”

Harry looked up at Snape and positively beamed.

“Thank you!” he said earnestly. “Hold on-“

Bring me the prophecy. Get the prophecy out of my trunk and bring it to me.

Snape inhaled sharply as the orb came soaring out Harry’s open window, startling Sevvie who hooted loudly at him.

“Harry, wait-“ Snape said.

Harry ignored him in his renewed excitement to hear the prophecy that sent Voldemort after him.

He glanced around the yard quickly (Snape, Cissa, Malfoy, the Contessa, Susan, Nev, Luna, Mione, Draco, Theo, and Blaise) and shrugged.

He trusted everyone here.

And the ones he maybe didn’t fully trust, not like how he trusted Snape and Susan, he could easily beat in a fight.

He winked at Susan and dropped the orb in the bowl before Snape could stop him.

The yard went quiet as a ghostly figured rose from the bowl, it spoke in a dreamlike hoarse whisper;

“The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies...”

Everyone was deathly silent as the voice faded.

“He told me he had no equal,” Harry snorted. “What a prat.”

“Merlin,” he heard Mister Malfoy breath.

“Good thing you picked the winning side early, eh?” he grinned towards him. “Doesn’t say the Dark Lord has the power to vanquish me, now does it?”

“H-Harry that... that means you’re going to have to kill V-V-Voldemort,” Neville stammered.

Harry shrugged, “I was always going to anyway, wasn’t I?” He looked around and saw that everyone looked rather pale, except for Blaise’s mum who was beaming at him, but they were all staring at him. “What?”

Snape snapped out of it the quickest. He shook his head and gave Harry an irritated look.

“You chaotic little demon, this cannot get out,” he hissed. “People do not need to know you are some sort of prophesied vanquisher of the Dark Lord.”

“‘Kay,” Harry shrugged. “Unbreakable Vows not to tell anyone else about it now or I’ll have Snape obliviate you,” he called to everyone standing around.

“Harry I will not obliviate a group of children,” Snape sighed before glancing towards the Malfoy’s and the Contessa. “Nor will I attempt to obliviate your... family.”

“Alright, I’ll do it, but fair warning; I dunno how. So fingers crossed I don’t wipe your whole mind, yeah?” Harry grinned at everyone.

Everyone pretty quickly agreed after that.

“Brill! Who wants cake?”