Harry potter and the breeding darkness

Chapter 56

Flopping down on the end of the bed after coming in, Harry sighed. He was tired and fully planned to get some sleep. Each day the fuzziness did seem to wane, something good, however, he was still feeling stretched thin. That was something he hoped would lessen soon as well. He was also sure, unless it did quickly, that when he resumed what he normally did, that feeling was going to grow worse.

Shutting his eyes and rubbing them, he waited for Snape to come in. This was the plan, so the man could check on him and catch up with anything that needed passed along. He also hoped that Draco had delivered the assignments he needed to work on. That would not only allow him to have something to do so he didn't go completely mental, but at least start on getting caught up so he wasn't so far behind when he did start back to normal classes.Looking up when the there was a firm rap on the door connecting to Snape's end then it opened, Harry nodded when he saw the man step in.Producing a parchment, Snape laid it down on the desk by the door. "Those are your assignments, at least in the classes you share with Mr. Malfoy.""Good. I can try to get caught up," Harry sighed. Shaking his head, he imparted, "Tomorrow night—you'll not receive a summons to attend. We discussed it and thought it best for you to stay here. If you leave, Dumbledore might use the opportunity to come down and pull something. With as fuzzy as I am still, it's not wise that I deal with him yet. I'm sure I can hold my own, but you never know what he's going to pull right now. We don't think it's a good idea to chance that."Thinking that over, Severus then gave a slow nod. Though he would like to witness the retribution for the rat, something that was a long time in the making, he understood why they decided this. Potter was probably right; the second he was out of the castle, the old man would probably try something as Potter was most assuredly not up to his best. And if Albus came down and got one whiff of how fuzzy Potter was, he would push. No, it was best he stay. "Understood," he said with a nod. "Anything else?""No, that's all. I'll fill you in if we need you for something," Harry said with a sigh, reaching up to rub his eyes.Producing the potions the young man needed, Severus sat them beside the parchment. "Those are the pain killers you requested. If you require a different kind as the pain lessens, let me know. I would suggest that you not take these more than you need them. Not only are they addictive, but won't help with the 'fuzziness', as you put it.""Trust me, I don't plan to take anything any longer than I have to," Harry said with a shake of his head."If there is nothing else--" Snape sneered, trailing off."I'm good. I plan to get some sleep," Harry sighed, slumping slightly.Taking that for what it was, Snape nodded then left, shutting the door firmly behind him.Getting up, Harry grabbed the parchment and potions then hid them by the bed. Snagging his pajamas, he went to change. Sleep was needed and he fully planned to get it.

Sitting in his office, Albus rubbed his eyes with his trembling good hand. He was tired, no doubt there, as he always was by now, but sleep was something he was going to put off as long as he could. Poppy just left his office after checking him over and the news wasn't good. With all the magic he was burning through, the curse was progressing faster than they planned expected. Rather than late spring as the time he was looking at, it sounded like he was going to be lucky to make it much beyond the first of the year. That was bad, really bad. With what was going on, that wasn't acceptable and left him feeling panicked.

There was so much to set in motion yet and so many things he had to handle that the timeline he had just been handed wasn't nearly enough. Harry needed pushed in the right direction, he needed someone to take on the mantle of the Light Lord, someone to run the order, Tom and Harry to meet, work that needed done in the Ministry to get the right people in place, and so much else that just a few scant months wasn't nearly enough. Which meant he had to step up something here to at least get the bare bones in place.Thinking it over, he realized the most pressing problems were Harry and the Light Lord. And both were equally as troublesome. Harry—what he was doing there just wasn't working. That Nick fellow, whoever he was, was an influence on the young man that wasn't helping. He blamed Nick for so much of this and the independent streak that Harry was showing. However, he didn't know how to get the man out of Harry's life either. Though the tainted chocolates were something most would use, he knew it wouldn't work. Harry trusted the man enough that just his word would be taken that he didn't send them. Plus, most in the castle now knew that Nick probably wasn't the one to send them so Harry would catch on to that. That was a failure on his end, one he shouldn't have let get out. And a missed opportunity. Now he had to find something else to work with Harry, but he didn't know what it might be either.Sighing, he let his head drop forward and shut his eyes. The other matter, the Light Lord, was something that looked like it would fail. He was out of candidates to push for that. There was just no one left that could take it on, well, any that would follow what he had set in motion. That meant Tom was going to have a big advantage here, one he didn't need. And he had no way to counter it. All he could do was put other things in motion and hope they were enough to throw a spanner into anything Tom devised. He wasn't counting on that, though.To his thinking, this meant that he had to now push other areas. If Rufus was thinking about retiring, he needed to put someone in place that could actually help their cause, someone like Kingsley. Then he needed someone in the Order he could trust absolutely to carry on with what plans he had. Which meant he had to give up everything or leave a big enough trail of breadcrumbs for them to follow. That wasn't easy and he wasn't really sure how to go about that or even who might be the one to lead. Most of the names that came to mind would have issues with some of it, especially where it came to what needed to happen with Harry. The Harry part actually left out most that he knew would follow him blindly on all other areas. He also couldn't think of anyone that could step up here with enough political clout to get anything done.Sighing, he shook his head and smoothed down his beard. Oh, this was a huge mess, one he didn't know how to deal with. Part needed to come, he knew that, but the only other thing he could think was jump up his timeline for Harry and Tom meeting. If he could manage to arrange that over the hols, it might take the most troublesome issue out of the equation.Opening his eyes and lifting his head, he thought that over then nodded. That's what he would do. Oh, he would focus on finding leadership, but he desperately needed the endgame to start now. That meant that Tom and Harry had to meet. He would work with the lad, of course, at least a little, but he needed them tossed together. All that meant was he needed to find the proper motivation to get Harry moving in the right direction.Pondering that, he thought he might have it. It would take some work, as he didn't know where the man was, but he would manage. Yes, this was what he needed. Now he just had to hone it was all.