A Little Help from a Snake // Tomarry

41: Cliffhanger in Part 40

Reposted: November 30, 2021

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IT'S A CHAPTER THIS TIME, I SWEAR ON MY LOTION

Summary: the anti-Dumbles team plots; Dumbledore gets his just desserts, extremely hot just desserts

"So let me get this straight. You were supposed to use Polyjuice to act as me and enter Harry in the Triwizard Tournament. He would do each of the tasks, and at the end of the third task, he would be transported to a graveyard to ressurrect an insane Dark Lord. Did I miss something?"

As Remus spoke, his voice progressively grew louder until he was practically shouting. A touch from Sirius calmed him down somewhat.

"No, that's pretty much it," Barty said almost sheepishly. The way Remus had phrased it made him realize what a foolish plan it was. There were so many things that could go wrong, like Harry dying before he made it to the third task.

Remus rubbed his face. "I need a drink."

Sirius silently passed him a glass of Firewhiskey, and Remus took a swig.

"On the bright side," Sirius said, "Voldemort's dead."

"Yes." Remus set down his glass. "And now we have these two—" he waved a hand impatiently "—sitting in the manor."

"Where else were they supposed to go?" Sirius said. "They're officially dead."

"Thanks for the reminder," Barty muttered.

"You mentioned Dumbledore interfering," Bellatrix recalled. "What exactly did he do?"

Sirius cleared his throat. "I think a better question is what didn't he do?"

The Death Eaters exchanged uneasy glances. That didn't sound good.

"What did Voldemort see?" Harry asked.

"Everything," Tom muttered, still winded. His mind shields, while very strong, had been no match for Voldemort. It didn't help that they had not been up completely when the attack happened.

The mirror call had indeed come as Remus predicted, but it was brief. Sirius simply told them to come into Black Manor and deactivated before either could respond. With Dobby and Kreacher making sure no one came by— specifically a nosy Headmaster— Remus and Harry stepped through the fireplace.

While Remus stared at the two new people warily, Harry immediately turned to Sirius, demanding where Tom was. When he got his answer, he made his way to the bedroom, not even blinking as he passed Nagini.

"Even the soul bond?" Harry said, running his fingers through Tom's hair.

"Yes. Not that it mattered." Tom slowly relaxed at the contact. "He thought soul bonds were beneath him," he added indignantly.

"He also thought making a bunch of Horcruxes was a good idea," Harry pointed out. "I don't think we should expect him to have any common sense at this point."

The corners of Tom's lips twitched. "True."

"As angry as I am at Voldemort for doing this to you, I can't help but notice how cuddly you are."

"Shut up." Tom swatted halfheartedly at Harry, who simply caught his hand and linked their fingers together.

"You are, though," Harry insisted. "You're literally lying on my stomach."

Tom grunted in response.

A knock at the door made them start.

"Come in," Harry called.