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Bonded - chapter 17
🕑 Added 2022-05-04 22:43:31 +0000 UTCChapter 17 - Stand your ground
"I still cannot believe that Professor Snape did this to you!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed as she looked at the rather noticeable bruise on Harry's arm.
"Can you tell the other teachers please?" Harry asked, "I think they'll believe it if it came from you." Madam Pomfrey stared at him for a moment before she began speaking in a determined voice.
"Oh don't you worry, I will." A flick of her wand caused a camera to be summoned from her office. "Hold still." She told him before taking a picture. "Now," She waved her wand over his arm and Harry immediately felt the pain lessen. "drink this potion, wait here two minutes, I'll come back and see your arm and if it's fine then you can leave."
"Yes, Ma'am." Harry dutifully drank the potion she handed him, grimacing slightly at the taste before she took the vial back. She nodded in satisfaction before turning around and heading to her office. "He has no right to talk about my dad." Harry seethed once he was sure that there was nobody else watching.
'Yes,' Venom agreed. 'I don't know much about your father, but I know he definitely loved you.'
'Really?' Harry asked, unable to keep the interest out of his voice.
'Yes, hmm, I remember telling you that I would show you memories of your parents. We never got around to that, did we?'
'No,' Harry confirmed. 'we didn't.'
'Would you like to see one now?' Venom offered.
'Yes! Please!' Harry said quickly.
'Okay.'
(.)
Harry's eyes slowly opened, he winced as the sunlight seemed like it wanted to blind him, his whole face scrunched up in discomfort. After a short while, his eyes got used to the sunlight enough for him to be able to see what was around him. He felt warm, he was covered in a blanket, and he was also being held up by something. He blinked and stared up at the woman who was holding him with one arm, having him tucked against her while the other hand was holding up a book that she was reading with great interest.
He stared up at her, her red hair flowed down to her shoulders like a waterful of fire, her emerald green eyes captivatingly danced as they followed the words of the page she was reading. The corner of her pink lips tugged up and down as she continued reading. Harry smiled before reaching up with his little hand and grabbing onto her pretty hair and pulling it.
The woman blinked before she stopped staring at the book and stared down at Harry, realising that he was awake. Her eyes seemed to twinkle as her smile grew, she stared down at him with sunlight from the window shining in from behind her, giving her the appearance of a red-headed angel. She slowly closed the book without looking at it and placed it down.
"Hello, little man," She smiled brightly at him. "how are you? Did you enjoy your nap?" Harry's answer was a series of happy sounding noises, but not a single word. Still, she seemed to have understood as she lowered her head and kissed him on the forehead. "That's good. Any good dreams?" She asked, sounding as if she genuinely believe that he could answer.
"Lily," A voice said just before a man walked into the room, his hair was black and looked like the definition of untamable. His brown eyes were hidden behind a pair of glasses that were near identical to the ones that Harry would use for most of his life. "I fixed the pipes!" He told her proudly with a grin on his face, his brown eyes twinkling in a way that would rival Dumbledore.
"Good," Lily said with a relieved sigh. "what happened to them?"
"Padfoot messed with them." He told her with a small chuckle.
"Oh, sweet Merlin," Lily sighed, rolling her eyes. "James, you and your friends are not nearly worth all of the trouble you give me.'
"Shut up," James laughed as he walked towards her. "you love us, really."
"Yes, though I am still trying to work out why," Lily said in a dry voice.
"Oh simple," James told her as he stopped in front of her and kissed her on the forehead. "you couldn't resist my natural charm." He smirked.
"Personally, I think love potions would be a more likely explanation."
"I..." James began but trailed off, a thoughtful look on his face. "hmm, why didn't I think of that?" He joked.
"James!" She slapped him on the arm.
"Ow! I was just kidding," He said, rubbing his arm but still grinning at her. "hey buddy," He said to Harry. "how are you doing today?" He asked, leaning down so his face was right next to Harry's. Harry let out a small laugh before reaching up and trying to grab at James. "You want to come to Dada?" He cooed before reaching forwards and grabbing Harry, gently taking him away from Lily before holding him close enough that James could kiss his head. "How are you doing lady-killer?" James said, it seemed like he had a near-permanent grin on his face.
"Lady-killer?" Lily repeated with amusement.
"Of course, look at him, he's a catch." James sounded like it was ridiculous for him to have to explain that to her. "I mean, my looks and your eyes, the girls will be tripping over themselves for him. Won't they buddy?" He asked Harry as he leaned forward and rubbed his nose against Harry's nose, but he stopped when Harry reached out and grabbed his glasses. "Oi!" James blinked before Harry tried to put the glasses in his mouth, though James quickly stopped him and took the glasses away from him. "Sorry, Harry, but that's mine." He told Harry in an apologetic voice, for a moment it looked like Harry was about to cry, but suddenly he reached out and grabbed James by the hair and started tugging. "Ow!" James exclaimed dramatically.
"Good boy, Harry," Lily smiled. "hurt the naughty man."
"No, don't hurt the naughty man!" James chuckled as he pulled Harry off his head. "Little, fighter, aren't you?" He laughed.
(.)
"Mr Potter?" A voice spoke, causing Harry to shake awake from his memory and see Madam Pomfrey staring at him with concern. "Are you okay?" She asked.
"What?" Harry blinked before realising that there were tears dripping down his face. "Oh, oh, yeah, I'm sorry, I was just thinking about something."
"Mr Potter, I wouldn't worry about Mr Snape, I..."
"No, not that," Harry cut her off as he wiped the tears off of his face. "Snape, he...he insulted my dad and I was thinking about him."
"Oh," Madam Pomfrey paused. "I..."
"Hello," A voice said, the pair turned to see a house elf standing by the bed. "Headmaster Dumbles wants Harry Potter to go to his office."
"Very well, thank you," Madam Pomfrey nodded to the elf who popped away. "well, Mr Potter, you're healthy enough to go. Password be 'chocolate frogs'."
"Thank you," Harry gave her a stiff nod before standing up. As he stood up she handed him a copy of the photograph she had taken.
"And if you ever want to know more about your father, then I have a few stories I could tell you." She offered, causing Harry to stare and blink at her.
"Thank you," Harry repeated, sounding a lot more grateful.
"You're welcome, dear," She smiled at him before gesturing for him to leave. He smiled back at her before he turned and walked off.
'Venom,' Harry spoke to his alien companion as he headed to the headmaster's office. 'I...thank you,' Harry said in a grateful voice, sounding as if he was thanking Venom for giving him immortality. 'that was...IS the best gift that anybody has ever given me.'
'There's plenty more to come,' Venom purred. 'I will let you see as many of those memories as you want.'
'Thanks,' A smile appeared on Harry's face as he rubbed his face in an effort to stop more tears from coming out of his face. 'Dumbledore's probably going to tell me off.'
'Don't let him,' Venom replied 'remember, you did nothing wrong. Snape was the one that targeted you, he was the one that was insulting your father.'
Harry's eyes narrowed slightly as an image of James Potter smiling alongside Lily Potter passed through his mind, Harry's head rose up slightly and his walk was suddenly a lot more determined. Harry couldn't help but agree with Venom, he had done nothing wrong in that classroom besides exist apparently, Snape was the one that was bullying him and Neville. Not to mention that Snape was the one who insisted on insulting Harry and his father. It wasn't that long before Harry arrived outside of the headmaster's office.
"Chocolate frogs," Harry told the gargoyle the password he was given and the gargoyle moved out of the way, allowing him to go up to Dumbledore's office.
"Enter." Harry heard Dumbledore's voice call for him before he could knock.
'Show off.' Venom commented as Harry entered the office to find Dumbledore sitting at his desk with Professor McGonagall standing next to him.
"Ah, Mr Potter, take a seat," Dumbledore said as warmly as ever, gesturing to the seat opposite himself.
"Sir, Ma'am." Harry greeted Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall before sitting down in the chair.
"Now, Mr Potter, we've heard some concerning things about you from Professor Snape." Professor McGonagall began.
"Of course." Harry snorted. "Let me guess, he's told you both about how I'm a disruptive menace and he made it out like I'm the one who did everything wrong."
"That is what we are here to discuss," Professor Dumbledore began. "now, we would like you in your own words to tell us what had happened."
"Fine," Harry sighed. "when the class started, Snape suddenly asked me a question about a potion I didn't know about and I gave him a sarcastic response."
"Why would you do that?" Professor McGonagall asked with a small frown on her face.
"Because if I don't know the answer then he'd make fun of me like he always does," Harry answered honestly. "he's been doing that from my first lesson in my first year. He asks a question and if you don't know the answer then he makes fun of you and insults you." Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore exchanged looks.
"Mr Potter, surely you must be exaggerating." Dumbledore began. "I..."
"I am aware of the meaning of 'exaggerating' and I assure you that I am not," Harry cut him off. "he does that every lesson, every single one. If I get a question right then he asks another and another until I get one wrong. Ask Hermione, Ron or any of the other Gryffindors if you don't believe me. Anyway, after that, he paired me with Neville. I like Neville, but he's not the greatest in potions. It's because he can't concentrate since he's way too scared of Snape."
"Professor Snape, Harry," Dumbledor corrected him. "also, I doubt that young Mr Longbottom is actually afraid of Professor Snape."
"In that case, you can do me a favour," Harry said with a humourless smirk. "you go and ask Professor Lupin about his lesson with the boggart and ask him what form Neville's boggart took." Harry watched as Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore exchanged looks, the former looking a little disturbed. "Anyway, then Neville and I start working but then we suddenly feel Snape breathing down our necks in a way that would probably make even most adults uncomfortable. Neville starts getting more nervous and I had to quickly stop him from making a mistake. Snape then tells me off for doing so, I point out that there's nothing wrong with helping a fellow student and that if he's sure that it's not a big deal then he can stand right next to Neville in complete silence and not stop him from making any mistakes. I don't know about you two, but I've my fair share of potion accidents and wanted to avoid another. Snape then grabbed me by the shoulder and made me look at him, I pushed his arm off of me and he then started yelling at me and complaining about me, saying that I was strutting around the castle like I owned the place. He said I thought I was better than everyone else. I demanded to know where he was getting this information from and I pointed out that it was hypocritical of him to do so when he regularly tries to show his superiority by making himself look superior to the students." Harry glanced toward Professor McGonagall and saw that she had been looking more disturbed than before.
"Harry, you should not be speaking to Professor Snape like that." Dumbledore, looking as calm as ever, emphasised Snape's title.
"Perhaps not, but Snape shouldn't be talking to me the way that he was," Harry argued, still not using Snape's title. "He insulted me straight after, you know, called me a 'stupid brat'. But he wasn't done there, because he insulted my father as well. He called him a 'degenerate waste of space', and said he ruined the world even more by giving birth to me. He called us both spoilt imbeciles that don't belong in Hogwarts."
"He did what?!" Professor McGonagall gasped in shock.
"Minerva," Dumbledore spoke up. "stay calm."
"He had grabbed my arm when he was insulting me and my family," Harry continued. "he kept squeezing harder and harder as we kept talking. I snapped at him, yelled at him and told him that my father was dead and that he needed to get over it. He squeezed my arm harder and threatened to cut me up into potion ingredients. He actually damaged my arm," Harry paused to pull out the photo of his arm that Madam Pomfrey had given him, he handed it to the two teachers in front of him. "Madam Pomfrey has the original picture, she was the one who took it."
"Oh my." Minerva mouthed as she stared at the picture, Dumbledore stared at it for a moment but showed no reaction beyond a slight twitch in his right eye.
"You can go and ask Madam Pomfrey if you don't believe me." Harry took the photo back and stuffed it into his pockets. "While we were arguing, I felt Snape try to read my mind."
"What?!" Professor McGonagall blurted out while Dumbledore showed his biggest reaction so far by having his eyes widen dramatically.
"I felt him try to read my mind, so I pushed him off me and I..." Harry paused, not entirely sure how to phrase the next part. Thankfully, Venom came through and whispered an answer into his ear. "...I accidentally sent him flying onto the floor. I didn't mean to, I think I might have pushed too hard or used accidental magic." Harry hoped they brought that, it was better than explaining his enhanced strength thanks to the alien living in his body. Besides, he had already exhibited accidental magic earlier this year so it wasn't too much of a stretch.
"Mr Potter, are you sure that Professor Snape was trying to read your mind?" Professor McGonagall asked in a serious voice.
"Positive," Harry nodded.
"Mr Potter," Dumbledore spoke up. "forgive me, but I find your tale unlikely to be true."
"Albus?!" Professor McGonagall looked at him with disbelief, as did Harry.
"I mean no offence to you, Mr Potter," Dumbledore continued. "but the ability to defend one's mind from intrusions or to even detect them is not an easy thing to achieve, especially for one so young." Harry was about to respond but stopped when he heard Venom speak into his head again. Harry, after a moment, decided to go with Venom's response instead of the one that he had originally been planning to use.
"Perhaps, but you forgot one very important thing," Harry said with a small smirk.
"And what is that?" Dumbledore asked, raising a single, bushy eyebrow, causing Harry to gesture to himself.
"I'm Harry Potter," Harry said simply "I've literally stopped the biggest threat to the wizarding world twice, three times if you count the diary, and I killed a basilisk all before I even reached my third year of schooling. Let's not mention that I am famously known for surviving a situation that nobody could live through when I was a year old, by all logic, being able to defend my mind is quite tame in comparison, no?" Harry asked, tilting his head slightly. Dumbledore frowned and stared at him calculatingly, a stare that Harry did not like or appreciate.
"In that case, you would not mind if I tested your mental defences?" Dumbledore inquired.
"Albus?!" The shock and disbelief were evident in her voice. "You know that it is illegal to look through another person's mind! Especially a student!"
"It is only illegal if done without permission," Dumbledore corrected her, however, that was as far as he got before Harry spoke up.
"I'm not letting you or anyone enter my mind," Harry spoke in a firm voice, resisting the urge to glare at Dumbledore. "I don't care if it's you, Snape or my best friends, my mind is off-limits."
'Unless you're me!' Venom said proudly.
"Anyway," Harry continued. "Snape was about to draw his wand on me but I pulled mine out first and aimed it at him."
"You aimed your wand at Professor Snape?" Dumbledore asked in a disapproving voice.
"He looked like he was going to try and kill me," Harry said defensively. "he told me I had detention, I swore at him and refused. He told me to go away and I did. I'm done with that class and I'm done with Snape."
"Mr Potter, potions is a required class until you have completed your owl exams," Dumbledore informed him. "I'm afraid that you will have to continue to attend the class. Do not worry about Professor Snape, I will investigate and speak to him about his behaviour towards you." Harry stared at Dumbledore with disbelief.
'I just say that the guy bullies me, insults me and my dead father, hurts my arm and tries to read my mind and all that happens to Snape is a talking to?' He asked Venom with disbelief.
'That's some bullshit.' Venom accurately summed up Harry's thoughts.
"Unfortunately, for you, Professor Snape's punishment still stands." Dumbledore interrupted Harry's mental conversation. "I understand how you feel towards Professor Snape but you are still a student and are not allowed to insult or even push a teacher. Now, why don't you head back to your common room? I'm sure you have plenty of homework left to do." Dumbledore finished with a twinkle in his eye.
Harry stared at Dumbledore for a few moments before he spoke, what would come out of Harry's mouth was something that he would never expect himself to be saying to Dumbledore. Last year he wouldn't have even been able to imagine saying this to Dumbledore. But now, the word escaped his mouth before he could even register himself saying it.
"No." And just like that, a deathly silence filled the room.
"No?" Dumbledore asked in a confused voice.
"I'm not doing that detention and I'm not going back to that class," Harry spoke up, he took a deep breath before he continued. "I don't care if I have to hire a private tutor or self-study, I am not going back to that class as long as Snape is teaching it. And I am not doing that detention, I am not being punished for defending myself and my father, nor am I willing to spend another moment of my life alone with Snape."
"Mr Potter," Dumbledore said, the twinkle in his eye had dimmed, Professor McGonagall stared at Harry in a way that made it look like she had never seen him before. "I was not requesting."
"I'm sorry, but I'm still refusing," Harry soldiered on despite the fact that a great part of him was warning him to start. He wasn't sure if it was the alien symbiote inside of him, his stupid Gryffindor courage or the fact that he felt like he was on a roll, but either way, he ignored the first part of himself and continued. "I am not going anywhere near Snape again. No detentions and no class."
"Mr Potter, if you're not willing to listen to my instructions and are refusing detentions then I may have to resort to a more harsh punishment," Dumbledore warned.
"What punishment?" Harry asked, feeling his heart beat faster.
"If you do not attend Professor Snape's class and detentions then I'm afraid I will have to suspend you for two weeks." If Harry's heart had been beating fast before then it was practically racing now.
'They're going to suspend me?!' He mentally screamed. 'I don't want to leave Hogwarts!'
'Calm down.' Venom told him.
'Don't tell me to calm down!' Harry snapped. 'He's going to suspend me! I...'
'Calm down!' Venom repeated loudly, 'They're not going to suspend you. Dumbledore won't make you leave the school when he knows that Sirius Black is out and looking for you, besides, even if he goes through with it then it's just two weeks. We can survive that long, we could even have fun outside of school if we wanted.'
'But I...'
'Stand your ground.' Venom encouraged him, forcing a picture of a smiling James and Lily Potter into Harry's head, it seemed to work a treat as all of a sudden Harry's resolve was reinforced to the point that it could hold up a building.
"Fine," Harry said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Good," Dumbledore smiled, the twinkle in his eye coming back in full force. "I'm glad you've seen reason, I understand that this is difficult for you but..."
"I'll go and pack my things," Harry cut Dumbledore off as he stood up.
"Excuse me?" Dumbledore blinked, staring at him along with Professor McGonagall who was still too shocked to say anything.
"You want me to go back to Snape's class and attend detention, I don't want to do that, so I guess one of us has to be disappointed then." Harry shrugged. "I'll leave Hogwarts first thing tomorrow morning, I can leave on my own, you won't need somebody to escort me. Professor." He nodded to Professor McGonagall and then offered Dumbledore a stiff nod before he turned and began leaving. His hand had barely touched the door handle when Dumbledore called out for him.
"Mr Potter! Where are you going?" Dumbledore asked, Harry, turned back around and saw genuine confusion on the old man's face.
"You said you'd suspend me if I refuse, I'm refusing, therefore I'm suspended, right?" Harry asked.
"Harry, did you forget that there's a killer on the loose?" Dumbledore asked.
"I'm not the one who said I'd kick someone out of the school," Harry reminded him. "you're the one who brought up suspension."
"I...might have been a bit harsh," Dumbledore said without a hint of his signature twinkle in his eyes. "please, Mr Potter, sit down, let's talk about this."
"Hmm," Harry grunted. "there's nothing to discuss. I don't accept your punishments and I'm not going to be forced into suffering through them because of Snape."
"Mr Potter," Professor McGonagall spoke up, finally regaining her voice. "you will not be punished or suspended today but we may talk to you again about this later, for now, go back to your common room. I have a lot to discuss with the headmaster." She aimed a harsh glare at Dumbledore.
"Now, Minerva," Dumbledore had barely begun protesting before Harry had left the room as quick as possible, he rushed down the stairs and quickly headed back to his common room.
'Told you that you'd be fine.' Venom's voice filled Harry's head.
'Yeah, you were right,' Harry admitted. 'I did good, right?'
'You did great.'
Comments
Christian Jeffress
I have to admit, I really love that decision 😁👍.
Q
Thank you, I have to admit that a part of me was tempted to just have Venom be a big and angry hulk, but I really got into the idea of having a friend in your head whose sole purpose was to help you.
Q
I'm glad you liked it.
Q
It'll be a while.
Q
Harry doesn't think about going to the DMLE instantly, partly due to a lack of knowledge on the wizarding world and a lack of trust in adults. Either way, you may like the next chapter.
Darkanlan
A shame it didn't end with Harry being told to contact the DMLE by venom or Pomphrey and having him file a report against Snape and Albus for covering for him. Or telling him to use the Prophet with the picture to have a story run about abuse at Hogwarts and how Albus promotes it by punishing the children that are abused when they report it. If he did both of those it'd completely ruin them both. No matter how much Albus likes to play the kind grandfather act, if it's the boy who lived with pictures and tells people about how he was raised, it'd destroy the old bastard. Very few people would trust a man after hearing what he's doing to children like that. Would make for a great way to deal with his enemies if he starts using the press against them and actually making the DMLE do something for him rather than having the ministry constantly screw him over like in later parts of the story.
Hannibal St.Michael
Loved it, loved everything about it. When is this Harry, Snape, Dumbledore triangle going to be broken for good though?
Erinnyes
PS: I can't wait for the prophecy to come out and for Venom to start realizing a whole bunch of things make sense, and that Harry officially has all the leverage. That's gonna be a treat if the way you pulled this off is any indication.
Erinnyes
Absolutely brilliant. Just brilliant. The scene with Harry's parents was just perfect because of how very normal it was for two parents who love each other and their child. It was a heartfelt moment that just plain worked, and did its job beautifully. The Dumbledore encounter was excellently done. Harry and Venom were perfectly in character and Dumbledore was the perfect bastard who defends Snape despite all evidence he's a menace who shouldn't be permitted within a mile of a school, let alone teaching in one. Just fantastic job.
Christian Jeffress
The fact that Venom is able to and willing to show Harry Potter his earliest memories of his parents has earned my undying affection for the character. And even more so, able to encourage him to stand up to the likes of Snape and Dumbledore has earned him at one of my favorite characters in Harry Potter fanfiction currently. I admit, I have always found it incredibly sad how willing Harry Potter was to die at the end of the story, it was supposed to show his bravery, something that I think has already been shown throughout the series, but it showed more than that. This is a kid who is constantly had to experience diversion, life-and-death situation’s, and abandonment from those around him. He lost his mother and father when he was young, went to move in with people that hated him, into a school that worshiped him at one end and called him a monster just the next year. When he finally found a person that could be a father figure to him, he had to watch that man die in front of him, all due to the fact that he was trying to save him in the first place. So in this case, I absolutely love that venom can offer him pieces of his past, pieces of his parents that he would never have otherwise gotten. Hopefully, due to his access to his memories, when they see Sirius Black, then Venom can tell him that the man was his godfather and was there for him after his parents died, pulling him from the wreckage. Ultimately, I have to say that I really enjoyed this chapter. Thank you very much.
