Bonded chapter 78

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"I'm not saying it isn't him, just that I'm not entirely sure," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. "Right now, those in charge of us are actively denying his existence. He has a great opportunity to work without direct opposition, it seems a bit odd that he would not take it."

"He might not be stupid, Headmaster, but the man was definitely not sane." Harry pointed out. "He tortures his own followers not even a minute after meeting them again."

"True," Dumbledore hummed doubtfully. "True."

(.)

Chapter 78 -

"All the preparations have been made," Dumbledore said after having waved his wand and chanted for several minutes. The wand now had a bright blue glow pulsing on the tip.

Harry was quite sure that if he didn't have Voldemort's memories, then he would have no idea what was going on. Truth be told, the fidelius charm was one of the few spells that Voldemort didn't know how to perform, but the man still knew enough that it was easy to work out what Dumbledore had been doing. Right about now, the man had condensed the secret of this place into that light. Now, he just had to transfer it to someone.

"Now, for the next step, we must simply transfer the secret into a person's soul," Dumbledore said, unknowingly proving Harry right. "Now, if there are no objections to it, then I'd be happy to be the secret keeper." Dumbledore offered.

"Hard objection here," Harry said at once. "No offence, but it's not really your house, is it?"

"Harry's right. I'll be the secret keeper, Dumbledore." Sirius stated firmly.

"Very well," Dumbledore said, having expected that answer. He took in a deep breath and then aimed his wand at Sirius. The blue light hummed before floating towards Sirius and dissolving into his body.

"What's the next...what the hell?!" Harry blurted out as he looked around, seeing himself surrounded by the rest of the street, standing in between two buildings as if the house they were in suddenly didn't exist anymore. Looking around, he saw that the others seemed to be in the same boat as him.

"I take it that the spell is working then," Tonks said with a frown as she looked around.

"The location of Sirius Black's home is Number Twelve Grimuald Place, London," Sirius informed them calmly. A moment later, everyone blinked and found themselves standing back in the kitchen of Sirius's home.

"The spell is indeed active, and it is working," Dumbledore announced. "Between this spell and the existing wards here, I dare say even Alastor Moody will find it difficult to discover a security flaw in this place, though, knowing him, he probably will."

"Probably," snorted Tonks.

"Still, a marked improvement, I must say." Dumbledore continued. "Now that that is done, Sirius, I was hoping I could perhaps have a small word with you, in private."

"About what?" Sirius frowned.

"Just a small favour I'd like to ask of you. You're welcome to refuse, of course, but it would be beneficial for both of us," Dumbledore said, stroking his beard. "All I ask is a moment or two of your time to discuss it."

"Very well," Sirius said with a small sigh.

"Would you perhaps need my help?" Ted offered Sirius.

"Probably not, but I can't see anything wrong with having my favourite lawyer around," Sirius said with a small grin before he and Ted guided Dumbledore out of the room.

"Now, Harry," Andromeda spoke up. "You have all of your things?" She asked kindly.

"Shrunken and in my pocket," Harry confirmed, patting his jeans pockets.

"Atta boy. Now, Nymphadora," She continued, ignoring Tonks's groan at the use of the forbidden name. "Why don't you go and show Harry a tour of the house and then show him up to his room while I head down to the basement? I've got a few potions I need to work on."

"Oh, do you want some help?" Harry offered.

"You know what, that would be marvellous." She smiled brightly. "But not today, today you rest. You can work with me tomorrow."

"Come on then, Harry," Tonks said with a smile, gesturing for him to follow. "For today and today only, you get one private tour courtesy of the one and only 'me.' Here's hoping I get through the whole thing without tripping," She said, walking backwards and turning around in time to bounce her forehead off a doorframe. "Ow!" She blurted out, rubbing her forehead. "I didn't trip, at least!" She announced victoriously.

(.)

"So, that's pretty much the whole house, I guess," Tonks said, one short tour later, as they stopped on the floor that they would be sleeping on. "Okay, so that bedroom is going to be Sirius's bedroom. You got the room opposite, my rooms on your left, and my parents are both sleeping opposite me. Got it?"

"Got it," Confirmed Harry. "So, anything else I should know about?" He asked before opening the door to the room he'd be staying in. It was a more than decent-sized room, complete with a bed, cupboard, desk, a desk chair, nightstand and a comfortable-looking green chair next to the bed. The whole place, from the bed to the walls, was decorated in Slytherin colours, with the Slytherin logo scattered nearly everywhere Harry looked. "Oh, this hurts my inner Gryffindor," Harry couldn't help but comment.

"Nasty half-blood should be grateful he is not forced to sleep on the streets," A nasty, nasaly voice spoke up. Harry saw an old-looking house-elf walking up towards them with a hateful look on his face. It wore the same cloth that all house-elves seemed to wear. The wrinkly creature's nose and ears were pointy and sharp, as were the nails on its long, spindly fingers.. Its eyes narrowed into small, unwelcoming slits. "Filfthy abomination dares to comment on a room belonging to a member of the House of Black?" It snarled.

"This is Kreacher," Tonks explained with a sigh. "Sirius's old elf."

"Bad Master brings filthy halfbloods into the house of Kreacher's beloved mistress," The elf - Kreacher - hissed. "Contaiminating the house, oh, if poor mistress could see what has become of the house of Black, she'd burn it all to the ground."

"As you can see, he is quite opinionated," Tonks shrugged, seemingly unbothered by its comments. "Anyway, I'm going to go down while you go and settle. Let me know if you need anything, Harry. Oh and um...is...your friend okay as well?" She asked awkwardly.

"Yeah, he's great," Harry said with a small smile. "Thanks for asking, Tonks."

"Not a problem," Tonks said with an awkward grin. "Anyway, I'll leave you to it," She said before walking away and heading down the stairs.

"Disgusting harlot, traipsing through the halls," Kreacher sneered.

"Don't call her that," Harry narrowed his eyes at Kreacher before walking into the room. He had barely sat on the bed when Kreacher followed him in.

"Kreacher's beloved Master Regulus stayed in this room, and now it is contaminated. Disgusting halfblood spreads his stench all over this room, like a pig." Kreacher glared hatefully at Harry. "The boy and the harlot will likely try to use this room to breed and create more of their filthy kind. The house will be infested with their children."

"I told you not to call her that, Elf," Harry said warningly.

"Kreacher is a servant of House Black," The elf sneered at him. "He does not bow to the whims of the spawn of mudbloods," Kreacher huffed and turned around to walk out, only to be stopped when the door to the room slammed shut. Kreacher paused, looking quite confused. He turned around and saw that Harry was now standing up with a blank look on his face. Harry walked forward, his magical aura extending out, causing Kreacher to stiffen and freeze in place. The elf wouldn't admit it, especially out loud, but he could tell that he was in the presence of a powerful wizard. Harry stopped in front of Kreacher and took a deep breath before he kneeled down and placed his head right next to Kreacher's.

"Call our mother a 'mudblood', call her that one more time," Harry whispered in a cold voice. "Call her that one more time. We dare you." For a moment, it appeared as if Kreacher would back down, but instead, the house elf steeled himself and leaned forward so his mouth was right next to Harry's ear. He opened it to speak.

"Mud-" A hand covered in black goo lashed out with frightening speed, wrapping itself around Kreacher's neck. A snapping sound was heard just before Kreacher's body went limp. A mass of black goo appeared on Harry's chest, the mass opened up to reveal a set of large teeth.

"Sirius probably won't mind," Harry mused as he tossed the elf headfirst into the teeth. One devoured house-elf later, the black mass disappeared.

'I think it was past its sell-by date.' Venom commented.

(.)

"So, what did old Dumbledore want?" Harry asked later that night as the group all sat together for dinner.

"He basically wanted to ask if he could use the house for his old group, 'The Order of the Phoenix.'" Sirius explained.

"Wha's at?" Tonks said through a mouthful of food.

"Swallow, please," Andromeda sighed.

"It's basically this group of wizards and witches that worked for Dumbledore during the war," Sirius told Harry with a sigh. "I was part of it back then, so were a few other people I knew from school. Including your dad. And your mother, of course, I think she might have joined just to make sure that James didn't end up killing himself before your first birthday. We joined it straight out of school, along with Remus and...and...and the rat!" Sirius growled the last word out, sounding remarkably like his animal form. A moment later, he shook his head and continued speaking. "It seemed great at first, truth be told, felt like we were actively trying to make a difference, one that the rest of the wizarding world wouldn't or couldn't make. But we didn't really. It didn't feel like it after a while. We were always so reactive, something that pissed off a great many people, including your parents, Harry. Your father had several times stated that we should take the fight to them. But the problem was that it was Dumbledore's group and a vast majority of people there looked at him like he had shat out Merlin. The vast majority just did whatever he said. Dumbledore is probably a really good guy, but he was no war general, yet he was the one in charge."

"Not really the best thing during a war then," Tonks commented quietly.

"No, it was not," Agreed Sirius with a huff. "We used to meet up at Hogwarts a lot back then, or sometimes at random locations. Which is why Dumbledore probably wants the house to be used as a base. It's nigh impenetrable and secretive enough."

"What did you tell him?" Andromeda asked.

"I said I'd think about it," Sirius grunted. "I wanted to tell him to get lost, but the way I see it, with the ministry as it is, Dumbledore is the only option I have to fight against Voldemort. As for the house, I wanted to get your opinions first. You're all going to be living here, after all."

"You don't need my permission, Sirius. Do as you wish," Andromeda told him, "just don't expect me to join. I'm not as patient as you when it comes to Dumbledore; believe that. I'll make some potions for you all if needed, but that's where I draw the line."

"Let me know if you need any legal help," Was Ted's response.

"I think it's great, the ministry is useless," Tonks scowled. "If this order is the best bet at fighting the old snake bastard, then I'm in."

"I'm sorry, what?" Andromeda blinked. "You want to join? Nymphadora, the aurors were one thing, but this -"

"Don't call me that, Mum." Tonks groaned. "Besides, there's not much else I can do. I joined the auror department because I wanted to help people. That was a total bust, so this is my next best chance."

"But..."

"Dear," Ted cut in softly, placing a hand on his wife's arm. "I'm not happy about it either, but she's a big girl now. She has to make her own decisions."

"And I've made them already. Anytime I'm not looking for a new job will be spent in fighting this war." Tonks said firmly.

"I got a couple of suggestions if you're interested." Harry shrugged.

"Thanks, but what about you, Boy Wonder?" Tonks asked. "What do you think?"

"I think it's better to have the order here," Harry said simply. "I don't trust Dumbledore any further than a pixie could throw him, but he is the other side in this war, it's better to at least have some idea of what he's doing. And we can maybe get in on the action then."

"Good luck with that," Sirius snorted. "They have a strict age policy."

"I have a differing policy where I don't listen to rules that don't work for me," Harry shrugged casually. "Besides, I'm the legacy of the Marauders, there's not much they can do to stop me."

"Atta boy!" Sirius grinned, reaching over and patting Harry on the back several times before he stopped and pulled back. "Oh, by the way, have any of you seen Kreacher? The little bugger hasn't bothered me for most of the day, he's not answering my calls either. I'm kind of scared he's doing something behind my back."

"I haven't seen him in ages as well." Tonks frowned thoughtfully before her gaze suddenly snapped to Harry, who had a decidedly innocent look on his face.

(.)

"Kill...kill him...kill...KILLLLLLL!"

Harry's eyes snapped open as he felt a familiar black goo encase his entire body. He had earlier been sleeping whilst experiencing a rather pleasant dream involving Fleur, Tonks, and a couple of girls from school when Venom had decided to wake him with his murderous intentions. Once Harry had been properly covered by the goo, Venom leapt out of the bed and onto the ceiling, from which he crawled to a window that he quickly opened and jumped out of.

'Venom,' Harry said from within Venom as the symbiote ran and jumped across several buildings angrily. 'Venom, what's going on?! What are you doing?!'

"Kill him! We must kill him!" Venom roared furiously.

'Kill who?!' Harry demanded. 'Who are we supposed to kill?! You're not making any sense!'

Instead of responding verbally, the impatient Venom decided it would be simpler to shove a memory into Harry's head, as symbiotes like to do, apparently.

He sat upon his throne, a thoughtful expression on his face as he stared down at the young death eater in front of him. The boy had his head down to the ground as he knelt and bowed before him. One hand held his wand which itched to torture and destroy the young lad who brought him such news, it was only kept in check by his firm emotional control and the knowledge that this wasn't the boy's fault and that torturing people who brought him important information was a good way to get less information in the future.

"You are sure of it?" He asked the death eater. "You are sure of what you heard? You would not dare lie to me, would you?"

"Never, my lord," The boy said firmly. he was barely a man at this point. Only a few years out of school, and already he had completed several tasks and brought him such important news, he was beginning to prove extremely useful. "I overheard it myself, Master. I wasn't able to hear all of it; I had been discovered and kicked out. But I did manage to hear part of it!" He added the last part quickly, his head never leaving the floor.

"Tell me then," Lord Voldemort hissed, leaning forward. "Tell me what you have heard."

"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..." The death eater recited, causing Voldemort to freeze. He couldn't believe it, he wouldn't believe it. Who would be able to oppose himself?! He was the greatest wizard ever to walk the land, a man who would one day surpass Merlin himself. His horcruxes made him immortal, and he had enough knowledge of the dark arts that he could spend ten years teaching the subject and still not cover everything he knew. It didn't make any sense; who on Earth would be able to vanquish Lord Voldemort? Born to those who had thrice defied him? Born as the seventh month dies? That could help narrow things down.

"You have done well, young man," Voldemort said eventually, having regained his control. Thankfully, the man in front of him had enough survival instincts and brains not to look up while Voldemort had been digesting the news. "I think a reward is required for such excellent work. How would you like to join my inner circle?" The young death eater looked up, revealing a set of black, cold eyes.

"It would be my pleasure, my lord." Replied Severus Snape

'What the fuck?!' Harry demanded angrily after the memory finished.

"Snape was the one who told Voldemort about a prophecy!" Venom roared as he leapt over five buildings with a single jump. "He told Voldemort, and when Voldemort discovered it was our family, Snape asked him to spare our mother! He didn't care if we died! He didn't care if our father died! He only wanted our mother for himself! Who knows what he would have done to her! He's the reason Voldemort was after our family! We could have had both our parents and a sister if it wasn't for him! We need to find him!"

'...'

"..."

'...'

"..."

'Kill him,' Harry said coldly.

"Kill him!" Venom said furiously.

"Kill him!" The two said at once.