Chapter X

Soft firm lips crushed against his hard, a tongue delving into his mouth. His own tongue thrust back, tasting a smoky, burning cavern, with an underlying hint of berries - flavoured Firewhiskey. His fingers travelled up to tangle in the silky hair, cupping the head closer.

The lips moved from his and started down his neck, suckling along a tendon, nipping gently on curve. He tilted his head back, allowing for easier access to the length of his neck. His kiss swollen lips parted in a sudden gasp as teeth sunk down rather hard on his shoulder while slim fingers wrapped themselves around his hard length, firm and sure.

His hips moved upwards as he opened his eyes; black strands greeted his sight, gleaming slightly in the low light. He ran his fingers through the locks, and down to the neck, where he nuzzled tracing out random patterns with his tongue. A shuddering gasp passed through the person above him as he ran his tongue over the delicate skin of the ear.

Harry sighed as his alarm clock went off; it seemed to go off a few minutes after he finally went to sleep. He reached out from underneath the blankets and turned it off. And then, he promptly burrowed back down into the warmth. The past week had gone by in a blur and it was Saturday once again. Snape had assigned the usual crushing amount of work for Potions. Charms was rather easy with the Protean charm they were finally studying. Defence against the Dark Arts was finally starting to get interesting - they saw the creature they would be trying out the Defensive jinxes against on Monday. They'd finally interacted with the winged horses Hagrid had penned; then the homework of classifying all the winged breeds along with a complete follow up of the dominant traits per species. He didn't even want to think about the homework from his remaining classes.

He reached for his glasses and put them on. Today was the match between Hufflepuff and Gryffindor, though Harry found himself hungry at the moment rather than worried. He slid out of bed and went through the usual motions of showering, changing as well as brushing his teeth. By the time he entered the Great Hall for breakfast; it had just been set out, hot and steaming. There were a few other people in there, but it was blissfully quiet.

A few teachers were seated at the head table already, Snape one of them. He looked around with a rather grateful expression before he took a seat and started to eat slowly, enjoying his meal. When a shadow fell over him, he looked up to see Sora seating herself beside him. He gave something of a small grunt and continued eating. That caused a smile to spread across her face.

"What?" he asked, arching an eyebrow slightly after he swallowed a bite of toast.

"Nothing," Sora said as she started placing food on a plate as well too. "It's…nothing. You know Harry, with the way you're eating, one might think you're about to be Kissed."

Harry choked on a piece of bacon, coughing forcefully to dislodge it. Sora smacked him on the back a few times before it went down. He glared at Sora, taking a drink of pumpkin juice to soothe his irritated throat.

"What?" he asked slowly, forcing his brain to focus on his cousin's words.

"You're eating as if it's your last meal. No appointment with a Dementor? Or is your reaction due to pre-game jitters?"

"Oh," Harry smiled a bit, mainly from relief. "No, no appointment or pre-game jitters. Just…seemed like an odd question."

"Ah. I had thought it would be jitters. Everyone's been buzzing about this game. I believe I am the only one in Slytherin for your team. This game is highly anticipated."

Harry gave a dry laugh. "The first game of the season is always highly anticipated. And so are the ones between Gryffindor and Slytherin."

"I don't think I would want to imagine that, "Sora murmured.”Can you recommend any good spot to sit?"

"Can't believe I'm saying this, but just sit with Malfoy. He'll get a good seat to see if I fail. Not that he ever sees it."

Sora laughed. "Thank you, Harry."

Sora sounded like Harry just handed her the Philosopher's Stone. "Um, what for?"

"Parkinson, the pug as she is sometimes called, has had her sticky grasping fingers all over Draco. It's disgusting and sickening. You just gave me the perfect reason to spirit him away from her."

"I see." Harry said, contemplating the eggs for a moment. "You're…going to really go with Malfoy?"

Sora didn't say anything for a moment. "Do you have a problem with that?"

"Not really. You know, barring the fact that he's an arrogant git." Harry paused. "I suppose I'll try a bit harder to get along with him."

Sora sighed heavily. "He said the same thing."

Harry arched an eyebrow, not saying anything. "I'm glad you're coming to the game." He took a gulp of some more juice. "We have some new moves to use on Hufflepuff."

Sora nodded her head. "Severus wasn't happy to know I was going to the game.”

"You told him you were going?"

"One advantage of having your godfather as Head of the house is that he's always there; he can't escape." Sora smirked for a moment. "He didn't want me to have another episode. But I told him I'd keep my emotions under better control. Yet he still made me go through Occlumency again. Wretched crash course refresher."

"Occlumency?" that puzzled Harry a bit. "Why?"

Sora gave him a mild look that said 'You don't get it?' She cleared her throat before starting. "Occlumency teaches you to keep your memories and such out of reach of others. You're distancing yourself from them in a manner of speaking. I used to have the episodes much more frequently; Severus was the one who suggested using Occlumency to control my emotions; it is much harder, but once I mastered it, I never had an episode again…unless I was exposed to an extreme emotion; that always seemed to crumble the control I had for some reason."

"Snape never said anything like that," Harry said before he took a quick bite of eggs and bacon. "Not when he was teaching me Occlumency."

"Really? Was?" Sora asked with mild curiosity.

"Yeah," Harry said, his face going slightly red. "I…looked into his pensieve when he stepped out from the room."

Both of Sora's eyebrows flew up. "You looked in on purpose?"

Harry nodded his head in mute silence.

"Either you have some strange fascination about my godfather and what makes him tick or you simply want to die young. Not even I looked into his pensieve. I found a journal he kept once, and I only read the first page. He didn't talk to me after that for two weeks."

"Try the rest of the school year starting from January."

Sora winced slightly. "Severus is a very private man, Harry. He usually tells you obvious, surface things-"

"Like how horrible I supposedly am at Potions. Harry muttered.

"But," Sora frowned at Harry for his interruption. "Anything deeper than that must be forced out of him."

Harry closed his eyes momentarily as a part of the dream decided to pop into his head at that particular moment. "I'd rather not force anything from the git, thank you."

Sora shrugged as she looked away from Harry. "Severus can be far too cunning sometimes. If he wants something, he finds a way to get it, no matter what."

"Just how did he become your godfather anyway?" Harry asked suddenly; he didn't like where the conversation was heading to.

"Severus, Lucius and my father were best friends when they attended Hogwarts. Sometimes though, I think Father and Lucius were the only friends Severus had here. James, it seems, simply tortured him for…being alive."

"Don't remind me about that," Harry mumbled; he'd been like that. Only his target had been Draco, who didn't stand by and take it.

"Anyway, Mother got someone else to be a godfather for Ken and Dai; Father wasn't even told about it. So, when he had an inkling that Mother was pregnant with me, he asked Severus immediately. I'm glad Father asked Severus; they never had reason to trust Mother. And I trust her as much as I trust a Chimaera."

"Can't say I blame any of you," Harry mumbled.

"Hm," Sora mused as she nibbled on a piece of toast before making a piece of bacon disappear down her throat. She rose, eating a hasty egg and bacon sandwich she put together. "Well, I'll see you later, Harry."

"Leaving me already?" he asked with a slight smirk.

Sora grinned at him. "I have a bit of work to take care of; and I'd rather do it before the game starts. That way I can watch with undivided attention. Don't worry, I'll be there."

Harry nodded as she turned to leave. "Sora, about what I said in Dumbledore's office-"

"Harry, don't," she said quietly. "It demeans everything you said. You have every right to be angry. Don't apologize for it." She paused with a snort. "Do all Gryffindors wear their hearts pinned so proudly on their sleeves?"

"You've been spending too much time with Snape," Harry snorted. "I'll see you later."

Sora turned and gave him a quick kiss on the forehead and gave his shoulder a brief squeeze before she swept out of the hall, munching on the rest of her sandwich. Harry watched as Sora walked away before he turned back to his breakfast, trying to eat. But he could feel the eyes of the other students boring into his back with curiosity. After a few minutes of trying to swallow some of the food - that suddenly tasted like sandpaper - he got up and stalked out of the Great Hall, heading for the Quidditch pitch. All those gazes had sickened him so much, if he attempted one more bite, he would have retched. Why couldn't people just leave him be?

The change room was silent and virtually spotless. Or rather, it had been until Harry came in with a scowl, mud squelching beneath his feet. The day had been perfectly fine, the weather great for Quidditch. The sky was clear with enough cloud cover to block out the blinding rays from the sun. He'd even managed to spot Sora in the crowd during a sweep of the pitch; she was, as she had said, seated beside Draco Malfoy. So when a few more clouds moved in, no one thought much of it. It wasn't until the sky darkened ominously that a few heads turned up. And when the rain started pelting down, the game had descended down into hell.

It wasn't so much that it was raining, but how the rain was falling. It whipped and swirled in almost every direction, making for very poor visibility. He was starting to feel a bit panicked as he continued flying around the pitch, avoiding the Bludgers as much as he could; he had better find the Snitch and soon. It was the Hufflepuff Seeker that spied the Snitch first, and took off after it. Harry was right on his tail, coming out in a neck and neck race for the Snitch, which fluttered erratically from side to side while being blustered by the wind.

The game had ended when the Hufflepuff Seeker reached out to grab the Snitch. At that precise moment, Harry rolled to the right a bit and stretched his hand out while still upside down, grasping the Snitch that had darted to the right to escape the grasp coming at it from behind. Unfortunately for him, the broom handle was slippery as hell and he fell right into a puddle of mud, dragging his broom with him. His glasses fell off into the mud as well, but even over the wind, he could hear Lee's triumphant cry of 'Gryffindor wins!'

And everyone gave what they could of a cheer before rushing off inside to get out of the rain. Harry relinquished the Snitch to Madame Hooch and started searching for his glasses. When he finally found them, they were broken in quite a few places. He let the rain wash of as much mud as possible, before muttering 'Reparo' and sliding them back on. He'd taken so long to find his glasses, that he wasn't at all surprised to find the change room empty.

He stripped out of the wet, muddy clinging robes and wiped his glasses clean before placing them in a locker and walking up to the shower. He turned on the water, grateful for the jets of hot water that pounded down onto his shoulders. His muscles were cold, stiff and a bit sore from sitting on a broom that long while struggling to stay on it. He let the water pour over him a bit more before he grasped the bar of soap from the porcelain ledge and lathered up.

The grime and soap suds were just sliding down the drain when Harry heard a soft creak. He paused and turned, blinking to see, but his vision was rather fuzzy. But there was nothing out of the ordinary. With a shrug, he turned back to the shower and washing the mud from hair. He scrubbed briskly; there had been times when he'd missed some dirt and didn't even realize it. He washed his hair three times for good measure before turning the water off.

He slicked his wet hair back. "Accio towel!" the soft cotton folds came to his outstretched hand and he wrapped it around his hips swiftly. Then he noticed the long black shape against a locker. He squinted slight before he called, "Accio glasses!" They came a few seconds later and the fuzzy change room clarified immediately. As well as the shape that turned out to be a person; probably the last person he wanted to see at the moment.

"Yes Professor?" he asked in a mild voice of resignation.

Snape gave Harry the usual condescending scowl. "You certainly took your time."

Harry regarded Snape for a moment before he walked to his locker. "I'm sure this isn't a social visit, Professor. Have I done so horribly on an essay that you gave me a 'T' and came to gloat in your usual scathing manner?"

"If I were so lucky," Snape sneered. "Since Sora had a pressing matter to attend to with McGonagall, I find myself in…this place." Snape's lip curled in distaste.

"Then what is it Professor?" Harry asked pulling on his boxers and pants before removing the towel; he just wanted to get far away from Snape at the moment. "I do have another assignment that I need to take care of tonight."

Snape paused, obviously holding back some sort of comment. "Sora," he paused, taking a breath. "Wants you to go with her."

"Fine," Harry said with a slight shrug. "Along with you and Malfoy." Harry paused before he muttered. "She's really testing me here…but I guess she had no choice in sending Snape."

"Would you care to say that again, Potter?" Snape said in a less than pleased tone.

"I'd rather not, Professor."

Snape frowned at him. "And where did you surmise that I would be going?"

Harry just almost laughed at that; Snape was trying to gain ground again. "And you wouldn't?" a glance at Snape proved his words to be right; at least, he thought so. "Did you hear what Leiko said to Sora?"

"Hear what?" Snape demanded rather testily.

Harry hid his smirk - obviously Snape wasn't happy with the fact that Harry had seen through him like that. He reached into his robe pocket and drew out the letter from Alexandre. "See for yourself." He held it out to Snape.

Snape took the paper, quickly unfolding it. His eyes flitted from side to side as he read, a scowl growing on his face by the moment. He'd probably just reached the part where Alexandre said he didn't care what Snape cursed him with. A growl from the Potions master a few minutes later meant he reached the part where Alexandre offered Snape's services. When Snape shoved the letter back into Harry's hand, Snape's eyes were gleaming dangerously.

"If you so much as breathe one word of this letter to another soul…" he let his threat hang ominously in the air.

Harry shrugged and put it back in his robe pocket. "Since it does confirm that you are Dumbledore's spy. Is something wrong, Sir?" Harry asked, seeing a strange look on Snape's face. "Did you think I simply swallow information from people like that and not think about it?"

Snape scowled at him. "Make sure you are ready to leave tomorrow night; midnight. Be at Dumbledore's office. The password is 'apple spiders'."

Harry watched as Snape turned on his heel and stalked off. That was absolutely great. He grasped his forgotten shirt and pulled it on. He'd managed to get the best of Snape - and there wasn't single thing that Snape could-

"Potter."

Harry turned at the sound of Snape's voice. "Yes, Sir?" he asked as he shrugged into his robe and started to do it up.

"Once we get back, you will serve detention for your…impertinence."

Harry watched as Snape walked out of the change room. He could have sworn there was an immensely satisfied smirk on Snape's face. But Harry himself couldn't complain either. Detention was the perfect reason to have a quiet uninterrupted moment for himself. He'd have to remember to thank Snape sometime.

"What do you mean you aren't going to the Halloween Ball?"

Harry sighed as he looked up from his book once again at Ron's incredulous expression. It was Sunday and the Ball was in a few hours time and Harry had been here reading contentedly until Ron had come to find him. "That's what I said Ron; I'm not going. I don't see what's so hard to understand about that."

"But…we've always gone!" Ron protested as he started pacing around, thinking furiously. "Is this because you don't have a date?" he asked after a few minutes, halting his steps to regard Harry.

"No, it's not that," Harry sighed. "Look Ron, just sit down."

Harry watched as Ron sat down a bit heavily on the bed beside him, waiting to her an explanation. Harry proceeded to tell him about Leiko's visit last week, omitting his sudden angry outburst, the letters he'd written to Alexandre and Remus, and the reason for the small trip to Japan that he was taking with Sora, Snape and Malfoy. As well as the conversation between him and Snape in the Quidditch changing room that had earned him a much desired detention - but he didn't tell Ron he was actually looking forward to detention for once in his life.

"Man," Ron murmured after a few moments when Harry finished. "That's a lot. No wonder you wanted to be left alone."

Harry nodded. "I don't want to go to the Ball and have who knows who all over me. Besides, Cho might be there, and Merlin knows she might start bawling if she sees me. I'd rather not get soaked in tears…again." Harry paused as he put the book down and walked over to his trunk. "I'll have to talk to Ginny before I leave. If she really does like me, I'll have to let her down easy."

Ron snorted. "It's a good thing you're going to be halfway around the world. Ginny won't take it well."

"Ron, do you think this could, you know, stay between just the two of us?" Harry asked as he pulled clothes out of the dresser and piled them on the bed.

"OK, but if 'Mione finds out, I'm telling her it was your idea."

"Fine by me," Harry shrugged as he started to pack clothes in the trunk. "You know, I think there are only two major drawbacks to this trip."

"What's that?" Ron asked as he handed Harry some of the folded things.

"Snape and Malfoy." Harry replied dryly.

Ron laughed. "They'd be a drawback in any situation."

"Maybe I should bring back a book for Hermione. She's bound to find out somehow at some point." Harry mused as he quickly packed away some of the homework he still had to do.

"Good idea; something to appease the beast with." Ron said.

Harry smiled. "You're calling your girlfriend a beast?"

"You haven't seen her when she gets really worked up," Ron's voice was bleak. "It's like…Snape and McGonagall put together and giving you a massive lecture."

The resulting image that popped into Harry's head had him doubled over and holding his sides, howling with laughter. When he managed to look at Ron again, he found Ron giving him a disappointed look, that made him laugh all the harder.

"Sorry Ron," he gasped after a few minutes. "That was just too good."

Ron crossed his arms and sulked as Harry packed away the rest of his things and shrunk the chest down. He picked it up and put it in his pocket and sat down beside Ron. Ron glanced at him before he uncrossed his arms and smiled.

"What am I sulking about? You have to tell Ginny you don't like her; and that, my friend, is much worse than you laughing your head off at me."

_________________________

Harry gave a sigh of frustration as he walked through the halls. The Halloween Ball was about to start soon and he'd been walking through the corridors for an hour at least, trying to find Ginny. "Everyone's probably at the Great Hall already," he muttered to himself. "Which mean that I'll have to-"

"Harry!"

He turned at the sound of the voice, seeing Hermione and Ginny hurrying up to him. He gave a small of smile of relief as he stopped walking and waited for them. Ginny had a rather pleased expression on her face. Hermione, on the other hand, had a slightly irritated look on her face.

"Ron says you aren't going to the Halloween Ball," Hermione observed him for a moment. "Is that true?"

Harry didn't say for a few seconds; if there was one good thing that he learned from being with Cho Chang, it was how to get out of situations like this with his wits and skin still intact – for the most part. He let the silence drag on for a few moments, letting it look like he was searching for an excuse, before he grasped Ginny's hand.

"Ask Ron if it is. I need to talk to Ginny alone."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest but stopped when she saw the expression on Ginny's face. Harry gave a small mental sigh; that was one thing taken care of. The ecstatic look on Ginny's face boded otherwise in Harry's mind. Maybe it would be a good thing that he would be halfway around the world by the end of tonight. He kept the both of them walking until they reached a small alcove on the third floor, well secluded from prying eyes.

"What did you want to talk to me about, Harry?" Ginny asked, looking at him intently.

"I…ah…it's…" Harry trailed off after a futile moment, trying to think of gentle way to say it; being with Cho certainly didn't prepare him for anything like this. "How long have we known one another, Ginny?"

"Since you were in second year," Ginny replied easily. "Why?"

"Well, we've been friends for a while now; good friends, really. And…well…" he trailed off, floundering for the right words.

"Harry," Ginny said quietly. "Are you trying to tell me that you like me?"

Harry definitely felt the blood rush from his face; this was definitely not going the way he had planned. Where had Ginny pulled that from? He opened his mouth before he promptly closed it; everything he had remotely planned to say would be useless now and be taken the wrong way. Damn it, this wasn't supposed to happen. As if to make matters worse, Ginny took his prolonged silence as an affirmation of what she had just said. She gave a little squeal of delight, threw her arms around his neck and kissed him soundly, with just a bit of tongue

Harry floundered for a moment, panicking, before he forced himself to calm down. He pulled out of the rather one sided kiss abruptly. Ginny's face was slightly flushed and her shining eyes were misted with puzzlement.

"Is something wrong Harry?" she asked in a concerned voice.

Harry gave yet another frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair. Why did everything he think of now result in Ginny aiming curses at him; he certainly didn't want to be on the receiving end of her Bat Bogey Hex. Ginny peered into his face anxiously.

"Harry, you're starting to worry me. What is it?"

Taking a deep breath, Harry steeled himself. "Ginny, I don't like you."

There came an awkward pause. "What do you mean-" Ginny began.

"I like you Ginny, but I don't like like you; well not in the way that you like me."

"What?!" she practically screeched. "But you just said-"

"I didn't say anything!" Harry exclaimed incredulously. "You just assumed something from my silence. I was going to try and tell you in a decent manner, but it's come down to me telling it a bit too frankly! Since when did I even say I like you? I said I didn't like you after you plastered yourself to me!"

Harry looked at Ginny, and, if it was even possible, felt his face pale further. The look of furious rage on Ginny's face was doing wonders for his self-preservation instincts at the moment. After what seemed like an eternity, his brain started screaming at him. Fortunately, his legs were a bit quicker on the uptake; since they had him bolting down the hallway as fast as possible since Ginny was right on his heels.

The halls of Hogwarts were silent, save for Harry's footsteps through the hallway to the gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office. It had taken him the better part of three hours to remove all the curses, jinxes and hexes Ginny had hit him with. He'd been able to remove all but one. He paused in front of the gargoyle, trying to recall the password Snape told him.

"Apple spiders." He murmured after a few moments.

The gargoyle moved aside and Harry quickly stepped onto the first step that was twisting upwards. He certainly hoped that no one noticed. He almost didn't and had nearly walked out of the bathroom before noticing it and trying to fix it. Maybe if he didn't blink too much, then no one would ask any questions. When the step came to a halt he looked up and stepped into Dumbledore's office.

Sora was curled up placidly in a seat, reading a slim book. Draco was resting on the edge of the chair back, murmuring something that made her chuckle from time to time. Snape was talking rather animatedly to Dumbledore, but broke off when Harry stepped into the room. Snape gave him a hard look, eyes narrowing and his brow furrowed slightly.

"What's wrong with your eyes, Potter?" he asked in a sneer. "Managed to botch a charm this time?"

Harry blinked in surprise, cursing himself swiftly a split second later. When he heard a giggle, he looked over to see Sora repressing her laughter, while Draco had a smug, amused smile.

"What?" he asked a bit sourly.

"You know Harry," Sora began. "Bright pink really is a good eye colour for you; goes well with the hair and robes!" she broke down into full laughter. "Oh, whoever hexed you with that, I really should talk to them."

"Thanks," Harry said in a dry voice. "Well, I'm here."

Dumbledore walked up to Harry with a twinkle in his eye. He pulled out his wand and waved it with a murmur. "There. Now, I assume you're packed?"

"I've been packed since after dinner." Harry grumbled.

"Excellent. Then you are all ready to leave." Dumbledore said cheerily. "I'll be sending an owl in a few days to let you know when I have a Portkey arranged to bring you all back. Is four days enough?"

"More than enough," Sora said. "Since it will be Sunday morning when we get there and around Friday when we get back here."

"Then I shall see you all on Friday evening again. All the teachers have been informed of the family emergency and make-up work will be given when you get back." Dumbledore stated. "Now, if you will all touch the bowl of fruit…"

Harry walked up with Sora, Snape and Draco, resting their hands on the glass bowl.

"And remember, nothing foolish. If there's a problem, send me an owl as soon as possible." Dumbledore said. "Now then, one-two-three."

Harry felt the familiar hooking sensation beneath his navel and everything became a whirlish blur. He had expected it to last for only a few seconds. But it lasted for a good five minutes. When everything abruptly stopped moving, he swayed a bit and took a hesitant step to balance himself.

"Careful!"

Sora's words were cried out just as Harry fell against something soft and firm. It must have been another traveller. He managed to get steady on his feet and look around. First thing he noticed was that he was in a house. Second of all, Snape was still holding onto him with a slightly disgusted expression on his face. Harry yanked his arms back sharply, and dusted off his robe from imaginary dirt. Snape was a greasy git; he wasn’t supposed to feel…deliciously firm and warm. Harry should have slid right off him from all the grease. Yes, that’s what should have happened; slid right off. Draco watched them for a few moments he took off his shoes, opened a sliding door, put on a pair of slippers that rested outside the door and disappeared down a hallway. Snape cast Harry one final scathing look before doing the same. He looked back at Sora who was lost in thought.

"Sora?" he asked quietly.

"Oh, sorry Harry." She looked around. "Draco and Severus have gone to their rooms already."

"Rooms? Already? Just where are we?" Harry demanded as he removed his shoes now too.

Sora took hers off and walked over to a sliding panel. She pushed it away to reveal a large panoramic view. The afternoon sun sparkled down from a clear blue sky. The house clearly stood on a hill and when he looked down; he could see the sloping paths through the carefully tended gardens, as well as the fountains and ponds. Further out, the gardens were kept in by a hedge, with a great stretch of grass on the other side, a light green in the direct sunlight. The grass gave way, as the land levelled out, into sand dunes, tufted by a small sprout of dune grass. And then the ocean, hemmed in slightly by the land curving around to form a large cove. He looked back at Sora with a stupefied expression on his face. Sora on the other hand had a look of grim happiness before she spoke softly.

"Welcome to one of the Mastushita family estates."

When Darkness Comes - Chapter Nine || When Darkness Comes - Chapter Eleven