Current location:	my desk ~ B110
Current mood:	exhausted
Current music:	Indelible Sin ~ 北出菜奈
Entry tags:	fic, harry potter, the bloody feather

FIC: The Bloody Feather ~ 03 ~ R
Title: The Bloody Feather
Author: batsutousai
Rating: M/R
Pairings: Tom/Harry, others
Warnings: Clearly AU, OOCness, child abuse, anti-Dumbledore, pro-Hermione and Ron and Ginny
Summary: Even heroes need a saviour, and when an unknown admirer starts sending Harry letters the summer before his sixth year, it's time for Harry to meet his.

Disclaim Her: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

A/N: A reviewer inquired as to why Harry wanted to return to the Dursleys after what happened with Vernon – it was on HP Fandom or I would have just PMed back – and the simple answer is that Harry doesn't really trust Voldemort. While Vernon's acting weird, Voldemort's acting even weirder. And Vernon he can threaten into leaving him alone. (Or, well, Harry thinks he can...)

A lot of people also asked why Tonks didn't notice the scar on Harry's eye – and how he adapted so quickly to only being able to see out of one eye. The easy answer to the first is that Tonks wasn't looking. The more in-depth answer is that, after a few weeks under Tom's care and a few potions, the scar isn't as noticeable as it had been.
The second question's answer is that Harry had a lot of time in his room with only his owls, so he had a fair bit of time to adapt to working with only one eye. Aiming and depth perception, specifically. (Alternately, cover one eye and go about your daily business for a bit – it really isn't all that difficult to adapt. Or, well, it isn't for me. *sweatdrop*)

Sorry for the wait. At least it wasn't as bad as last time? *sweatdrop*

-~/\~-

-~\/~-

It was, surprisingly enough, Snape who first called Harry on the scar on his eyelid – Harry had actually expected for it to be noticed right away. Even more surprising was how he went about it.

Harry was chatting with his friends on their way down to dinner. An Order meeting had just let out and they passed Snape on their way down as he stalked towards the front door. The spy had briefly sneered at the teens – as if they weren't worth his time – then frowned and stopped to turn and watch the four for a moment before calling, "Potter, a word."

Ron, Hermione and Ginny all gave Harry concerned looks – Ron adding an acidic one in the general direction of their professor – but Harry smiled at them and nodded. "Go on. I'll be right down." The three looked reluctant, but turned and wandered downstairs after Ron shot one last glare at Snape. Amused at his friends' behaviour, Harry turned to his professor with an easy smile. "What can I do for you, sir?"

Snape took two quick steps forward and grabbed Harry's chin firmly, raising it so he could meet the teen's eyes. "Where did you get that scar, Potter?" he demanded, eyes narrowed and focused on Harry's left eye.

Harry knew better than to act smart or offer Snape a lie, so simply went with a milder form of the truth, which Snape would be more likely to believe. "Accident at my relative's house. My hand slipped when I was sharpening my quill."

"You're lying, Potter," Snape said, stepping back and crossing his arms over his chest with a frown.

Damn him and his Legilimency! Harry frowned mentally. "That's the truth, sir," he replied out loud, feigning confusion as best he could.

Snape sneered. "I'll figure it out eventually, Potter," he snapped before spinning on his heels and stalking away.

Harry turned and wandered down to the kitchen, trying to decide if he felt threatened or not.

"What did that greasy bat want, Harry?" Ron asked as Harry took his seat between Ron and Ginny.

Harry grimaced, quickly making something up – if his friends hadn't noticed his latest scar, he wasn't going to tell them. "He was just telling me how pleased he was to not be having any classes with me this year."

"Wanker," Ron muttered.

"Ron!" Hermione smacked her friend from where she sat on his other side.

"Ow! What was that for, Hermione?"

Harry and Ginny traded looks before laughing quietly and serving themselves some of the food on the table while Ron and Hermione argued loudly and the adults shared fond smiles.

-~/^\~-

Harry didn't see Snape again that summer, and no one else mentioned the scar. The rest of the summer had, in fact, been relatively calm, only turning truly crazy the day before they were to leave for Hogwarts, as was the fashion when living with the Weasleys. In the packing rush, no one noticed when Harry disappeared an hour before dinner.

If anyone had noticed his absence and searched for the Boy Who Lived, they would have found him sitting against the wall next to the window in Sirius' old room with Hedwig and Starlight. The midnight owl had bought him a package and letter from the Dark Lord and Harry had chosen to open it away from his curious friends.

'Harry,
'I regret that our parting was so unfriendly and I wish to apologize for my harsh words; my anger was in no way directed at you.
'I would have sent Starlight sooner, but at first he refused to leave you, and then he claimed it would be best that he stayed away. Clearly, I have bowed to his judgement to this point. However, I felt I must send him now, before you return to Hogwarts, as my following request is a... delicate one.
'You know that our past exchanges have not been very favourable and, as I explained during your brief visit, I'd probably still be out for your blood if not for the prophecy I heard and the following visions. As an attempt to, hopefully, make this whole mess easier on you, I request the right to publicly court you.
'Before you refuse, consider the following: Courting rituals such as sending flowers and chocolates through the post is common in our world, more-so among the elite pure-bloods and half-bloods than the muggle-borns, though muggle-borns do occasionally participate. Homosexual relationships aren't frowned upon in wizarding society, though some may turn their noses up at you because of a muggle background or the simple fact that children can't result from such unions. As I am the instigator, no one expects you to reply in any way or, for that matter, to keep any gifts.
'Also, to ease your mind and keep any suspicion from you, I promise to use an assumed name and will only use Starlight to send you things.
'If you do not wish for so public a show of affection, I will understand completely and only send you things at night with orders to Starlight to wait for your dorm mates to go to sleep before delivering. It your choice, dear heart.
'Forever yours,'
The letter was, as always, signed with a the red feather.

With the letter, Riddle had sent a small bouquet of white roses and a box of chocolates. Harry ate the chocolates as he considered both the offer and the past.

-~FLASHBACK~-

"Why?"

Riddle glanced up from his tea. He'd come up to Harry's room a few minutes earlier with tea and the offer to answer any questions Harry might have. "You'll have to be more specific than that, Harry."

Harry crinkled his nose distastefully. "Why aren't you trying to kill me?"

"Ah..." Riddle sighed into his tea cup. "A prophecy..."

"There are far too many of those things floating around," Harry complained.

"That there are," agreed Riddle wryly, much to Harry's surprise.

Harry frowned at the elder wizard for a long moment while Riddle smiled at him faintly. At last, Harry turned his head to the empty owl perches and said, "Do I want to know what this prophecy said?"

"It was reasonably straightforward, as far as most prophecies are concerned, which surprised me," Riddle started, earning a brief smile from Harry. "It went something like, 'And the first warning shall transpire when the inhuman falls human to save the unknowing soul from a non-magic reaper and together they shall return a shattered bond to its rightful place in their hearts, the Heirs of Honour and Disgrace'."

Harry frowned thoughtfully and briefly wished Hermione were with him. "Uhm, okay. 'The first warning shall transpire....' Your drea– ah, visions?"

Riddle's lips twitched. "Yes, I believe so."

"And the 'inhuman' who 'falls human'," Harry decided, making quotes with his fingers in the air, "would definitely be you."

"Thanks," Riddle said dryly.

Harry offered the man a brief almost-smirk, then frowned again. "And you're going to 'save the unknowing soul from a non-magic reaper'?"

"You and your uncle, I believe."

Harry winced. "Cheerful, isn't it?"

Riddle's return smile was grim. "Rather."

Harry sighed and sipped at his tea, making a face when he realized it was lukewarm. With a snicker, Riddle warmed the teen's tea. "Shut up. So, we're supposed to 'return a shattered bond to its rightful place in our hearts'?"

"And we're the 'Heirs of Honour and Disgrace'," Riddle helpfully agreed.

Harry stared at him for a long moment before motioning for the other to continue.

Riddle smirked. "I'm thinking it refers to our bloodlines; I'm the Heir of Slytherin and you're the Heir of Gryffindor."

Harry sat forward quickly, his tea splashing out of his cup. "I'm the what?"

Riddle blinked and absently waved the spilled tea away. "The Heir of Gryffindor. From what I could find, the two Founders were long-time friends – possibly more – but something happened and they became enemies. In retaliation for getting Slytherin banned from Hogwarts grounds, Salazar cursed Gryffindor's family line into one of squibs. Technically, your mother was the first proper Heir of Gryffindor since the curse was cast, but I don't think she ever found out."

Harry stared at the man for a long moment, trying to put his thoughts back together. Before he could stop himself, he blurted out, "Why didn't Dumbledore ever mention anything about that? Surely he had to know?"

"That, I do not know." Riddle shook his head.

Harry sat back in his seat and turned his gaze down towards his mostly empty cup. "You said they were possibly more than friends?"

"Yes. The records I found show that neither married until after their falling out, and the few reports I found by their fellows from when they were still friends leans towards them being lovers," Riddle replied with a clinical tone.

"Oh," Harry said to his cup and drained the last of his tea. "Okay." Then he set his cup down and walked over to sit on the ledge of his window. Riddle took the hint and left his guest to his thoughts.

-~FLASHBACK~-

Harry tapped his chin with the scroll from the Dark Lord. Why not. It's nice to know that someone cares enough to send me little gifts like this. Even if he is a jackarse. Harry grinned and rooted a reasonable quill, ink and some parchment out from Sirius' desk, then settled down to write his reply.

'Blood Feather,
'Why not. At the very least, it'll prove entertaining.
'Harry'

Harry grinned at Starlight and held out the letter. "Peck him once for me, would ya?"

Starlight hooted in the affirmative before flying out the window, with Hedwig and Harry's laughter as his tail-wind.

-~/^\~-

Harry, Ron and Hermione were all eating breakfast in the Great Hall on the first day of classes when the owl post came – well, technically, Harry and Hermione were discussing their schedules while Ron inhaled massive amounts of food.

Starlight swooped down through the other owls – upsetting a few on the way – and settled on Harry's shoulder, glaring at the surprised looks he was getting from Ron and Hermione.

Harry snorted in amusement. "Oh, stop it, Starlight. These are my friends, Ron and Hermione."

Starlight let out an annoyed hoot and ruffled his feathers.

"What? Codswallop! Let me see that letter, you silly bird," Harry said, his eyes dancing.

Starlight held out his foot, looking pointedly at the bacon on Harry's plate.

"You, sir, are a mooch," Harry declared, trading a piece of bacon for the letter and opening it while his friend ate.

'What did you go and tell him to peck me for, you brat? I've never done anything to you to deserve such treatment!
'....Okay, so maybe I have...
'On other news, if you wave your wand over this letter once you've read it all the way through, you'll get a surprise.
'Have a wonderful first day back, dear heart.
'Raven Desdemona'

Harry smiled faintly and managed to pull his wand from his pocket without disturbing Starlight too much. He waved his wand over the letter and with a puff of lime-green smoke it turned into a white rose in his hand. "What is it with him and white roses?" he asked Starlight, secretly amused by the gaping faces of his friends and dorm mates. It's actually rather nice, he considered, being noticed for something that has nothing to do with my scar.

Starlight chirped cheerfully, as amused by the reaction as Harry was.

"Harry," Hermione said after a moment of straining to find her voice, "who's that from?"

"Raven," Harry replied evenly and gave Starlight another piece of bacon.

"Raven?" Ron managed faintly.

"Yeah. Fun guy. Met him over the summer."

"He sent you a rose," Ron stated, as if it should mean something to Harry.

"A white one," Harry agreed, enjoying himself.

"And he's a bloke," Ron tried again.

"Blokes send flowers all the time," Harry replied, afraid he already knew where this was going and bracing himself.

"But not to other blokes, Harry!"

Harry narrowed his eyes coldly. "And?" Next to Ron, Hermione's eyes went wide as she caught Harry's silent warning.

"Well... You shouldn't be leading him on," Ron finished uncomfortably. Next to him, Hermione cradled her face in her hands helplessly.

Harry stood slowly. "I never said I was. Come on, Starlight." The teen spun on his heels and stalked from the room, his student robes billowing in an impressive imitation of Snape.

"Great job, idiot!" Hermione hissed, smacking the back of Ron's head.

Ron winced, then turned to Hermione in confusion. "But, Hermione, Harry's supposed to marry Ginny."

"What?!" Ginny shot her brother a killing look. "Since when?!"

Ron looked more confused than ever.

"Harry likes a bloke, mate. Get over it," Seamus suggested around a biscuit.

"Seamus, that's disgusting," Hermione said about the chewed up biscuit.

"It doesn't make him any different," Dean agreed with Seamus, even as he elbowed his best mate in the ribs. "I mean, he's still Harry."

"I think it's hot," Lavender offered her two knuts with a dreamy smile. Parvati giggled into a napkin next to her.

Hermione rolled her eyes and stood. "I'll see everyone in Defence, okay?"

"Have fun with Snape, Hermione," Seamus called teasingly while Neville shuddered on his left and Dean snickered on his right.

"Go stuff yourselves," Hermione retorted good-naturedly before leaving.

Behind her, the Gryffindor table laughed.

-~/^\~-

"Dumb Ron," Harry muttered. He was sitting against a tree next to the lake with a biscuit he'd snagged from the end of the Gryffindor table before he'd left the Hall. He was breaking the biscuit into crumbs and feeding it to the small flock of starlings which had gathered after Starlight left with his return message to Riddle.

"Harry!" Red hair danced in the wind as Ginny hurried over to where Harry sat. The flock of starlings took off in a cloud of chirps.

Harry smiled sadly up at Ginny as she came to a stop next to him and tossed the last of the biscuit into the lake for the giant squid. "Hey, Ginny."

Ginny plopped herself down on the grass next to Harry. "Don't let Ron get to you, Harry. He has his perfect little world all planned out in his head, and we both know how he flips when his perfect little world turns out to be not so perfect. Stupid git."

Harry bit his lip to keep back a grin and glanced down and the white rose in his lap. "I know."

Ginny stood. "Good. And, just for the record, I'm dating Luna, but don't tell Ron yet."

Harry couldn't hold back a laugh at that and he offered a grateful smile to the girl. "Thanks, Ginny."

Ginny shrugged. "Can't have you moping around out here forever. You might miss Defence, and then who will tell me how bad our newest professor is?!"

Harry made shooing motions with his hands even as he laughed again. "Scat, you!"

"Okay. See you later, Harry!" Ginny waved as she hurried off towards where students were disappearing into the greenhouses.

Harry smiled down at his rose for a long moment before he stood and walked off to find a spell that would keep it alive without water. He recalled Neville mentioning one once...

-~/^\~-

"Mr Potter."

Harry glanced over his shoulder at the owlery doorway. "Professor Snape," he replied, turning back to the window he was in front of.

Snape stepped up to Harry's left side and waved his hand around, frowning when Harry didn't react. "Potter, look at me," he ordered.

Harry turned fully, which made Snape's eyes widen. As if he hadn't noticed, Harry said, "How can I help you, Professor?"

Snape narrowed his eyes. "You can't see out of your left eye. I want to know why. And don't give me that quill-sharpening knife story again."

Harry turned away, expression hard. "Why do you care?" he said, voice sharp with bitter anger. "Shouldn't you be pleased? Isn't it my just desserts? Look, karma's finally come to bite Perfect Potter in the arse!" he finished mockingly.

Snape pursed his lips. This is not the same boy that I've suffered though for the past five years. Unsure how to handle this sudden change in the boy he'd thought he'd known so well, Snape remained silent.

Harry sighed into the silence, his anger gone as quickly as it had come, leaving him feeling hollow. "My uncle decided I didn't need my eyes anymore. He stabbed me with the knife I use to sharpen my quills," he answered dully.

Snape turned away from the boy as he tried to control his horror. His uncle did that?! But, why? I know he's an irritating shit, but– Snape managed to put his blank mask back on through sheer force of will and turned back to find Harry's own face blank as he looked out the window. "Did you tell the Headmaster?" Snape asked in an even tone.

"There's nothing he can do about it," Harry replied dully.

"Of course there is, you stupid boy!" Snape shot back nastily.

Harry glanced over with empty eyes, unmoved by his professor's fury after years of weathering it. "Apparently, my aunt's blood is my only protection against Voldemort." Snape flinched. "I have to go back." Harry shrugged. "Anyway, Raven already threatened Vernon to get him to leave me alone."

"Raven?" Snape asked without thinking about it. His mind was on ways to get his student away from his uncle permanently. Just because he hated the boy didn't mean he wanted him unable to fight the Dark Lord. Or worse, dead.

"Raven Desdemona," Harry agreed, turning back to the window with a faint smile, which caught Snape's attention. "He's the one that sent me that rose this morning."

"Ah," said Snape knowingly. "The rose which had Weasley in such a tiff all day."

Harry laughed, surprising Snape with how free it sounded. "As Ginny put it, Ron's not too fond of people destroying his perfect little world. Apparently, I'm supposed to marry Ginny create lots of little Harry Potters with red hair to drive you spare."

Snape groaned. "I don't think my nerve could take that."

Harry grinned. "Don't worry. Ginny and I are destined to be nothing more than friends. Now, little Ron Weasleys you might have to worry about..."

Snape shot Harry a poisonous look. "Thank you, Mr Potter, for that lovely thought."

"No problem," Harry replied, then turned his attention to a snowy owl which had just flown into the owlery. "Hey, Hedwig. Good hunting?"

Hedwig hooted pleasantly as she settled on her human's blind shoulder.

"Hm. I prefer my rabbit cooked, but thank you," Harry said with a chuckle as he stroked his friend.

"You actually understand her?" Snape inquired, a faint glimmer of surprise dancing in his words.

Harry's glanced over at his professor, his gaze lit with fear. "Er, yeah. Should I not be able to?"

Snape, recalling the Parselmouth shock and the rumours that followed it, recognized the fear for what it was. "It merely means you've created a familiar bond with her, a strong one, if you can understand her so easily," Snape explained, using his normal teaching voice and not his 'you're an idiot' teaching voice. "Unusual, but certainly common enough that no one would concern themselves with it." When did I begin to care about soothing his fears? Why do I suddenly feel the need to be kind? he thought, confused, though he refused to let it show on his face.

Hedwig let out a hoot in response to Snape's words and Harry scowled.

"And you couldn't have mentioned this before?" the Boy Who Lived grumbled.

Hedwig's response had a rather self-important tone to it.

"You knew bloody well that I did not!" Harry retorted.

Snape bit his tongue to keep from, oddly enough, laughing at the scene before him. To save himself from possible embarrassment, assuming they continued their ridiculous argument, he said, "Good evening, Mr Potter. Please take care to not miss dinner, as you don't want the whole school out looking for you."

Harry smiled as Snape turned sharply and stalked towards the doorway. "Thank you, sir," he called just before the man walked out of the room.

Snape paused and glanced back over his shoulder. "For what, Potter?"

Harry shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable, and turned back to watch the dying sun paint the sky over through school grounds. "For bothering to question me, I guess."

Snape stared at the boy's profile for a long moment. "My door is always open to those who can find it," he stated before turning and leaving quickly.

Harry turned to stare after him in surprise.

-

-

A/N: Hm. First the prophecy and flashback wouldn't agree with me – I didn't like to original versions I had of them, so they're larely rewritten – then Snape was being annoying in the last part; I was trying to make him less OOC. Not sure it worked.

So, yeah. I'm tired. And, yeah, I'll get to work on the next chapter directly. Yeesh.

~Bats