The-Man-Most-Unfortunate (II) [Chapter 179]

“Fawkes!!” Severus exclaimed in his last-ditch effort to escape the Malfoy Manor. He might have a huge ego, but he could understand when he was screwed. It was a necessary skill to have and thanks to that, he was able to survive as a spy this long, but once again he was disappointed when Fawkes didn’t arrive to save his arse.

Lucius and Narcissa looked around worriedly for a bit, but they also quickly realized that nothing was going to happen. “Hmm…” Harry chuckled at the look on Severus’ face. “I expected you to do that, so I already made arrangements to stop that blasted songbird from flaming inside the house” Harry revealed mockingly.

Harry knew how the Phoenix Flash worked, so it was pretty easy for him to come up with a means to stop Phoenix Flash, after all, he didn’t want either Dumbledore or his feathery friend from popping inside anywhere he didn’t want either of them from snooping around.

The look on Severus’ face was completely priceless when Harry revealed that. “So, is there anything else you want to try? Go on… I won’t stop you” Harry mocked as he stopped putting pressure on Severus, but Severus didn’t say anything. He simply kept glaring at Harry venomously.

“Do you even know what is at stake here?” Severus asked, trying to distract him by using another angle. Since he couldn’t win against him with power, he decided to use information to make him drop his guard.

“Enlighten me” Harry knew what Severus was trying to do, but he still decided to humor the man. Then an idea popped into his mind. “Wait, don’t start” Harry said, stopping Severus from speaking before he turned toward Lucius. “Lucius, why don’t you go and bring the others?” Harry requested, but both of them knew that it wasn’t a request. It was a straight-up demand.

“Of course” Lucius respectfully bowed his head before leaving the room to finish the task as he knew better than to argue.

“How is Draco faring, Severus?” Narcissa asked with a hint of concern in her voice. The last time they talked, Draco told her about everything and he was quite unhappy that they weren’t trying to help him or solve the problem, and Narcissa told him about Harry, he exploded in anger because thanks to Lucius’ teachings, he considered Harry to be beneath him.

“He is having a hard time” Severus answered after a few seconds of silence. He wanted to see if Hadrian would try to stop him, but he didn’t.

“I see…” Narcissa mumbled before she looked away. With the Dark Lord back and her husband out of his good graces, Draco was in quite a dangerous position, especially with so many Voldemort sympathizers in school. If Voldemort ordered then they would happily turn his life into hell and Albus Bloody Dumbledore won’t even lift his finger to help her baby boy.

Then there was the fact that Severus may not survive the night as Harry was completely unpredictable, as he might decide to keep him alive and torment him just for his amusement, which meant that Severus was no longer in a position to protect her son. With that in her mind, Narcissa decided to pull Draco out of Hogwarts and transfer him to Durmstrung. He would be welcomed there with open arms.

Lucius finally returned with Sirius, Andi, Gellert, Jacklyn, and Violetta in tow. After yesterday’s passionate speech, Andi and Ted were the first to join. Both of them were aware of the problems in the Wizarding Community, but nobody was doing anything to solve them and while Harry was still very young, he had the power to change everything. Though that wasn’t the only reason why the two of them decided to join Harry.

The two of them were tired of the discrimination… Ted would admit himself that he wasn’t the best lawyer out there, but he was better than average, but thanks to his blood status, he wasn’t hired much. It was the same with Andi too… She was a Pureblood, but she was disowned, so she wasn’t as paid as the others for brewing Potions. Thankfully, that changed after Sirius brought her back into the Family.

Though mostly, the two of them joined the Lost Garden to protect their daughter. Tonks has faced a lot of harassment in school, and even though she never talked about it, they could see how it was affecting their daughter. Then Harry had Gellert Grindelwald working for him and for whatever reason, he was back in his prime. If Grindelwald was working for him, then they guessed that Harry must be, at least, as strong as Grindelwald, which meant his forces were the strongest.

Tonks meekly followed her parents and joined Lost Garden even though she made it clear that she wouldn't be betraying Amelia, and that she would continue to work at the Ministry. Harry wasn’t bothered by that… Amelia might be leading the Ministry, but she wasn’t a big threat in the first place and Harry was certain that she would work within the system, which made her extremely predictable and harmless.

Though Harry made sure that she wouldn't be able to betray him by revealing his secrets to Amelia… Maybe, he would allow her to reveal a few things at a later date to make things more interesting, but right now, he wasn't worried about her betraying him…

"Snivellus!" Sirius crowed gleefully when he noticed Severus kneeling on the floor. "It is such a good sight to see" Sirius added mockingly.

Meanwhile, Severus wasn't even looking at Sirius. He was staring at the pale man among the group. There was no way he wouldn't recognize the man, but he couldn't fathom how he looked so young. He looked like he was back in his prime. To be honest, he didn't know what to think about this development. Gellert was working with the boy or the boy was working for him. He wasn't sure which was true, but there was one thing for certain. He needed to return to Albus at all costs.

"All of you have a seat… He is going to explain to me… To all of us, what is at stake here" Harry explained mockingly as he looked around, earning a few snorts before he finally turned toward Severus. "Go on, start explaining" Harry offered and Severus looked around with a blank look on his face even though he was seething in anger on the inside.

Alas, he already knew what he had to do. "The Dark Lord has returned" He revealed, but nobody looked surprised in the slightest at his revelation, which led him to realize that they already knew that. "He will be coming after you as you are a black mark on his reputation" Severus said while staring straight into Harry's eyes, and he used this chance to enter his Mind, in an attempt to see what he was thinking, but he was surprised once again when he failed to breach his Occlumency barriers.

"I will ignore that foolish attempt" Harry sniped at him.

"I am working as a spy for Dumbledore and I have already reclaimed that position since he returned. I will be invaluable if you want to beat him" Severus continued to explain after a few moments of silence as he had to regain his bearings after his failed attempt to read Harry's mind. From the corner of his eyes, Severus glanced toward Grindelwald as he wanted to see how the man was reacting to his words.

Though unfortunately for him, Gellert didn't look concerned in the slightest even though he was looking somewhat amused.

"Is that so?" Harry asked, getting a nod from Severus. "So, what exactly did you achieve during the last War? How many people were saved thanks to your actions, or how many attacks were stopped due to your actions?" Harry asked, leaving Severus completely speechless. He tried to remember whether people were saved or attacks were stopped due to the information he passed, but he couldn't remember.

Like a dutiful spy, he always passed on the information to Albus, but the man never acted on it, nor Severus wanted him to act on it as if they did, there was a chance that his position might be compromised…

Severus opened his mouth to say something witty as he couldn't give the boy an answer, but before he could utter a word, his mouth was once again, snapped shut by Harry. "You know what? You don't need to say anything, I will see everything for myself" Harry declared impatiently and a look of horror flashed over Severus' face before it was replaced by an arrogant look. He was more than certain that the boy won't be able to breach his mental barriers.

And even if the boy managed to break through his shields by some miracle, then he was confident that he could fool the boy. He had managed to fool both Voldemort and Dumbledore, so he was quite confident in his skills. The boy might be more powerful than them, technically speaking, but Mind Arts needed finesse, which only came through experience.

Harry wordlessly used Legilimency on Severus and he had to admit, he was facing the strongest Occlumency shields he ever came across, but he managed to break through them after some effort, surprising Severus to his core… He didn't even give the man a chance to create fake memories before he started to rummage through his Mind. The arrogant look on his face disappeared, only to be replaced by a look of complete fear.

Severus tried to show him fake memories, but Harry easily bypassed them with the slightest effort. Severus started to bleed from his nose as Harry was no longer being careful and Severus was trying to actively fight him. After a few minutes, Harry finally came out of his Mind, and raw Magic started to roll off of him. Everyone present inside the room choked under the pressure, but Harry wasn't paying them any mind.

Right now, Harry looked completely apoplectic. "Crucio!" Harry snarled in anger, blasting Severus back. For the first time in his life, he decided to use the torture Curse on a living person and he didn't regret his actions in the slightest…