Disclaimer: All portions of the HP universe/worlds/characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Hunter x Hunter universe/worlds/characters are the property of Yoshihiro Togashi and Shueisha Inc. (publisher). This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.

Warnings: Mild to moderate violence, character death, alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), angst, drama, and who knows what else.

AN: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.

Hunter x in the x Making
Chapter One: A x Conversation x Overheard

Unable to sleep due to the nightmares that had been haunting him and feeling too uneasy and restless to drown out the wretched dreams with Dreamless Sleep for the second night in a row, fourteen year old Harry Potter slipped silently out of his bed and pulled on his invisibility cloak. Hidden from the naked eye with the magical cloak that had once belonged to his father, Harry made his way out of Gryffindor Tower and wandered through the halls of Hogwarts until he found an out of the way window alcove above eye level that faced the lake. Climbing up into the window sill, Harry tucked the edges of the invisibility cloak around his feet and beneath his legs to prevent a breeze from exposing any portion of his body and giving away his presence.

He then leaned back against the wall and turned to stare out over the shadow cloaked grounds; his thoughts once more returning to the fiasco that was the final task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament and the terrible ritual that he'd been forced to play a part in just two days earlier. Bile burned the back of Harry's throat as his mind once again replayed Cedric's death and it was only through will power alone that he didn't empty his stomach. Harry shoved the memory of Pettigrew casting the Killing Curse at Cedric to the back of his mind as he closed his eyes and struggled to take slow, deep breaths in order to calm his stomach. He'd barely brought himself back under control when he heard a pair of familiar voices approaching his refuge.

"… in a foul mood due to the brat escaping yet again. The fools that rushed to his side when he first called for everyone suffered greatly for failing to prevent him from getting away," Severus Snape reported in his usual borderline caustic tone though Harry could hear an undercurrent of pain in the man's voice. "He was also less than pleased to learn that Crouch Jr. was kissed; he'd planned for Crouch Jr. to infiltrate the Ministry by impersonating his father. The Dark Lord is at least content to know that Madam Bones will be unable to question Crouch Jr. for any additional information."

"He was not angry with you for not appearing when he first called?" Albus Dumbledore inquired as both men slowed to a stop in the puddle of moonlight that fell through the window in which Harry was perched.

"No, he was quite pleased that I remained here and gathered a wealth of intelligence on what was happening here in the wake of Potter's escape; though he was not pleased with all of the information that I had passed to him. However, he was positively gleeful when I reported the Minister's stance in regards to the brat's announcement of the Dark Lord's rebirth and he intends to take full advantage of Fudge's idiocy."

"Do you know what he is planning?"

"He intends to keep a low profile for the next year or two in order to make people doubt the validity of Potter's claims that he has been raised from the dead. He has ordered Lucius to maneuver Fudge into starting a smear campaign against you and the brat in the hopes that any suspected Death Eater activities will be buried beneath the accusations that the bumbling Minister is bound bring up as time progresses."

"What does he intend to do about the boy?"

"Nothing at the moment; he obviously still wants the arrogant brat dead but the Dark Lord is seeking more information before he dares attempt to face him again. He grilled me endlessly for three hours straight about the prophecy; trying to determine if I held anything back from him when I first delivered the information to him. He also sought to know what kind of student Potter has been all of this time and I didn't hesitate to inform the Dark Lord that the arrogant brat has no real talent for anything and that he's barely scraped by the passing grades necessary to return each year."

"If only that were actually true," Dumbledore lamented much to Harry's shock. "I will have to add additional bindings to the ones that I have placed on the boy over the past thirteen years in order to limit his abilities further. I can't risk the boy's natural talents being displayed in front of the student body yet again as not only would that jeopardize your precarious position as Voldemort's spy if one of the Death Eaters' children were to give a report that contradicts yours but it would potentially allow the wretched boy to escape death once more."

"Will you pretend to train him this year in order to 'prepare' him for his destiny?"

"No, I will distance myself from the boy this year… let him flounder and struggle with the guilt he undoubtedly feels after witnessing the death of his fellow champion. I will need to make certain that his friends give him 'breathing space' this summer as well in order to limit the amount of information he receives while outside of school and to keep him as isolated as possible to keep him further off balance and therefore malleable."

"Have you spoken to the Dursleys about your plans for the brat this summer?"

"Yes, they've been informed to keep the boy in the house as much as possible, to limit his access to any form of media, and to lock up his things along with the snowy owl golem that I replaced his owl with at the start of this year; damn bird was beginning to become a nuisance each time I attempted to scan the boy's correspondence. I also assured Petunia that the boy will be unable to use his godfather as a threat against her and her family this year like he did last summer. I've placed several Compulsion Charms on both Lupin and Black to convince them that they don't need to worry about the boy, to avoid all contact with the boy, and to stay as far away from him as they can in order to protect the boy from Death Eaters."

"My darling half-sister must have been pleased to hear that."

"Almost as pleased as she was with the money I delivered to her," Dumbledore chortled. "Oh, that reminds me; will you have enough time to brew a batch of Dream Enhancer Elixir before the students leave? Petunia will need to have enough on hand to last for the duration of the summer break; a lack of sleep and a constant reminder of his failures should help weaken the boy's mental shields in preparation for the Occlumency lessons that you agreed to give him next year when we discussed next year's class schedule a few weeks ago. I've already had Madam Pince pull all of the Occlumency texts from the shelves so that there will be no chance of the boy or the annoying Granger twit stumbling across the necessary instructions once you start training him."

"I can have the Enhancer finished by tomorrow afternoon," Snape replied after a moment's contemplation. "I should also have enough time to brew a Nightmare Inducer, if you wish to have a back up in case the boy builds up a tolerance to the Enhancer."

"Wonderful suggestion, Severus my boy, bring me both potions as soon as you have them finished and I will see to it that they are delivered promptly."

"Was there anything else you needed from me, Albus?"

"When did Tom order you to return to his side?"

"Two days after the students leave for the summer break."

"That gives me four days to come up with a reason for Tom to seek the boy out by the end of next term in order to kill him once and for all."

"I thought you intended to draw the war out for another six to ten year in order to properly cow the wizarding world?"

"I originally did but the boy is proving far too troublesome of a pawn to keep in check and I'd rather not allow him a chance to fall in love and produce the next generation of Potters or worse, Evanses, before I trick Tom into killing him. I did not miss the fact that he began to notice girls this year and if he grows any closer to the blasted Weasley brood it could spell disaster for my future plans. It was bad enough his mother managed to marry the last of the Potters, giving her wretched son access to the Potter Inheritances, but adding the high fertility of the Prewitt females in the mix (should he take up with the youngest Weasley) would ruin all of the hard work I put into eradicating the lines of both Potters and Evanses."

"I could brew a dose of Aboleo Fertilitas to slip to the Potter brat," Snape offered as the two men finally began walking away from the window where the invisible Harry was sitting. "There would be no need to worry about him reproducing at all once the potion finished rendering him infertile."

"Tempting, but you can't administer the Aboleo Fertilitas until after a wizard has reached his majority; otherwise there is a fifty-fifty chance that it will not completely render the wizard infertile. And subsequent doses will not work at all to correct the problem; that's how I ended up with the boy's father after I tried dosing his grandfather with that particular potion when he first arrived at Hogwarts. I had dosed his father as well but not until after he'd already gotten the Evans trollop pregnant. Besides, I have no intention of allowing the boy to live past his sixteenth birthday; I just have to get Tom to somehow…"

Harry sat frozen in shock, hardly daring to even breathe, for close to an hour after Snape's and Dumbledore's voices had faded away. He couldn't believe that he'd just overheard Snape and Dumbledore plotting his death. He'd considered Dumbledore as something of a grandfather for the past four years and to learn that the man saw him as nothing more than a pawn hurt. The knowledge that Petunia was in on the deal didn't surprise him (she'd never made any effort to hide the fact that she hated Harry) but the fact that she was Snape's half-sister was enough to make him sick over the mere thought that Snape could be in any way, shape, or form related to him.

Once Harry could move again, he slipped down off the window ledge and wandered aimlessly through the halls of the castle as the first traces of panic began to set in. He had to get away from Hogwarts and he had to get away now. He couldn't allow Dumbledore to bind his magic (something he'd apparently done at least once in the past) and he most definitely didn't want to be forced back to Privet Drive where he'd be tormented with potion enhanced nightmares for the next ten weeks.

The traumatized fourteen year old eventually ended up back in the Gryffindor Common Room with no knowledge of how he'd made it back to the tower or how he'd gotten through the portrait. Harry pulled off his invisibility cloak and just stood in the center of the empty room for a long time trying to come up with an escape plan. He had no idea just how long he'd been standing in a panic filled haze there when a persistent tugging on his pants drew his attention downwards to where a worried Dobby was staring up at him with concern. Harry stared at the elf blankly for several minutes until he recalled how Dobby had helped Harry more than once over the course of the year.

"Dobby, can you help me?" Harry asked desperately as he dropped to his knees in front of the elf. "Dumbledore and Snape… there was talk of potions and bindings… death and lies… and terrible things… Please…? I don't know who else I can trust and I can't risk involving my friends, least they get hurt because of me."

"The great Harry Potter sir is in trouble?" Dobby asked in response; his large ears stiffening while his large green eyes grew wide.

"They're going to kill me," Harry hoarsely replied. "They're going to bind my magic to make me even weaker before they send me to face Voldemort again so that the Dark Lord can kill me. I have to… I have to leave, now. I have no idea where to go but I know I can't stay here and the further I am away from my relatives the better. I can't ask Hermione or any of the Weasleys for help because I can't let them get hurt because of me."

"Dobby wants to help his friend but Dobby has to obey the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Dobby would have to find a proper master to bond with him to break the partial bond that binds Dobby to Hogwarts and then Dobby would be free to help his friend."

"A master…? I thought you were a free elf? Didn't you tell me that Dumbledore is paying you?"

"Dobby is only half free because Dobby is accepting monies but Dobby is still bound to serve the castle because house elves need the anchor the bond provides to keep our minds. Without the bond, our minds break apart and we lose ourselves; it is a fate worth than death for a house elf to lose his mind. Winky is already gone; her mind shattered by her broken heart because she loved her master too much and she wasn't accepting a new bond or monies for paying so Winky not even have the partial bond that Dobby has to keep her whole."

"Why didn't you tell that to Hermione? She's been trying to free all of the elves."

"Headmaster Dumbledore forbade the elves from telling Harry Potter's Grangy the truth."

"Okay… somehow that doesn't surprise me; I'll have to pass that information on to Hermione later. For now, you said if we find you a new master, then you'll be able to help me escape?"

"Yes."

"How do we do that?"

"If Harry Potter sir bonds with Dobby, then Harry Potter sir will be Dobby's new master and Dobby will be able to help his friend. Any other master might order Dobby not to help his friend," Dobby timidly pointed out as he clasped his hands behind his back, lowered his gaze to the floor, and toed the floor in front of him.

"Me?"

"Yes."

"Don't you have to be an adult to bond with an elf?"

"No, a new master only needs to have enough magic to bond with a new elf. Harry Potter sir was strong enough to bond dozens of house elves two years ago and you has only grown stronger; even with most of Harry Potter sir's magic locked away."

"Oh… I didn't know that. I guess, if you're sure you don't mind having me as master, I'm okay with you bonding to me but you're going to have to explain it to Hermione because I really don't want her yelling at me."

"Dobby doesn't mind," the elf replied as he wrapped his arms around Harry's left arm and hugged him as he grinned at the young wizard. "Dobby wanted to be the great Harry Potter sir's elf since the day Harry Potter sir freed Dobby from nasty old master. Dobby teach Harry Potter sir how to form the bond now so Dobby can be saving his friend."

The process took approximately one hour as Harry had difficulty casting the spell through the bindings that had been placed upon his core at some point in his life. Once it was finished though (and the elf's giddiness that had been caused by the influx of his magic had faded), Dobby snapped into action; fetching Harry's things from his dorm room, removing the rather large assortment of Tracking Charms, Compulsion Charms, and Loyalty Charms that had been cast upon nearly everything that Harry owned, and popping Harry across the castle to where a blank stretch of wall sat across from a tapestry of a wizard trying to teach trolls to dance. The fourteen year old then watched as Dobby paced back and forth in front of the blank stretch of wall, only to jump back in surprise when a door suddenly appeared after the third or forth time the elf crossed the same place.

"Master Harry Potter sir will find all that he needs in here," Dobby explained as he opened the door to reveal a small room with a cozy chair, a table, the Sorting Hat, Dumbledore's phoenix, and seven rather dusty boxes. "This is being the Come and Go Room where the things one needs most is found."

"Why would I need Dumbledore's phoenix?" Harry demanded in a voice that cracked with fear as Fawkes glanced up to meet Harry's gaze.

"Immortal beings such as I can not be owned by foolish wizards," Fawkes countered irritably in a melodious voice as he ruffled his wings. "I am bound to Hogwarts and represent the castle's heart. I may have to cater to the whims of the fool that calls himself our Headmaster so long as he remains the Headmaster of the school but he is not my master and he can not stop me from aiding those who ask for help while they call this castle home."

"Don't just stand there gawking, Mr. Potter," the Sorting Hat ordered as he shifted around to glance at the teen. "Step inside and close the door so that we may provide you with the help you so desperately need."

Harry automatically complied and soon found himself seated in the only chair inside of the room facing both Fawkes and the Sorting Hat. After a long minute where the three of them simply stared at one another, Harry nervously asked, "How exactly can you help me? I mean, there's no basilisk to fight this time… so…?"

"Children are such simple creatures," Fawkes remarked with a mixture of exasperation and amusement as he bent his neck and preened his chest feathers.

"You should be thankful that you don't have muck about in their minds every year," the Sorting Hat harrumphed as he shifted around to scowl up at the phoenix. The Hat then turned back to Harry as he replied, "To answer your question, we're going to give you the tools you need to escape the tangled web that Albus has been weaving around you since the day your great-grandfather first made a name for himself. First, Hogwarts has collected a number of books that will provide you with a wealth of information that has been denied to generations of young witches and wizards."

Fawkes rose from his perch beside the Sorting Hat and fetched three of the dusty boxes in the room and carried them over to Harry side one at a time as the Hat continued to speak, "Through the years, Dumbledore has convinced the Ministry of Magic to ban more than half of the books gathered because they contain information on magics that are no longer attainable to the purebloods due to generations of inbreeding and the loss of hundreds of magical inheritances. There is no guarantee that you will be able to learn all of the magic held within their pages but the knowledge will stand you in good stead and give you a good foundation to learn the higher magics that few people in the last five centuries have seen."

"The rest of the books contain basic information on the inner workings of the wizarding world; information that you and all of your muggleborn and muggle raised peers should have been taught over the course of your first year in order to better help you integrate your lives into the wizarding world. The removal of that information from the syllabus near the turn of the century has only fueled the tension between muggleborns and purebloods and created an ever widening chasm between the muggle and magical worlds. It is nothing short of a travesty that so many potential witches and wizards have perished because they lacked the proper understanding of the hazards that they face as magicals."

"Next, the castle has gathered the navigational tools that you will need to help find your way in the world and the written guides to teach you how to use them. A few of them may need to be cleaned and repaired before they can be of use but their magic is still as strong as it was the day they were enchanted. Included amongst those items are a few artifacts that will prevent someone from locating you using magical means; such as scrying or blood based locater rituals. The rest of the items that were collected were an assortment of supplies, devices, and training props that will aide you in your travels or help you to learn the older magics described within the books."

"Travel…? Can't I just find an old house to hide in? Won't it be dangerous to move about?" Harry demanded worriedly.

"There is no place within magical Britain where you would be safe from Albus's machinations," Fawkes gently pointed out as he finished bringing over the rest of the boxes.

"Where would I go then? I don't even have a passport!"

"The Children of War will help you but first Sortilegus must free you from the bindings that have bound your body, mind, magic, and soul."

"Sorta who?"

"Sortilegus," the Sorting Hat corrected snootily as he sat up straighter. "You didn't think my name was simply the Sorting Hat, did you?" Harry blushed bright red and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he avoided looking at the hat; he had actually thought that the hat's name was the Sorting Hat. Sortilegus huffed and shook his brim out as he groused, "It's a good thing Godric didn't leave me with the ability to hold a grudge against snot-nosed brats. I'd have started strangling them centuries ago for all of the insults they've directed at me; both knowingly and unknowingly. I suppose in your case you at least had an excuse; seeing as how Albus meddled with your mental capabilities."

"Is that your way of calling me messed up in the head?" Harry asked as he tipped his head to the side and considered the hat for a moment.

"If the brim fits," Sortilegus retorted with a wheezing chuckle. "Enough playing around, child; put me on your head so I can sort things out for you again."

"What do you mean again?" Harry inquired as he picked up the hat and placed it on his head.

"I removed one of the bindings when you first sat beneath my brim to be sorted into your house," Sortilegus whispered into his ear as the hat settled firmly onto his head. "I removed another the day you challenged me in your second year and another on the day you fought the basilisk. Sadly, Albus soon realized that I was meddling in his plans and he took pains to prevent me from being placed upon your head yet again. He's also replaced each of the bindings I'd removed in addition to adding several new ones overtop of the ones I had not been able to remove the other three times I sat upon your brow. Brace yourself, child; this is going to be more than a little unpleasant because there is not enough time for me to slowly unravel the bindings one at a time."

Harry had barely finished processing the cryptic warning that Sortilegus had given him when it felt like someone was ripping his brain to shreds. He opened his mouth to scream only to find he couldn't breathe as the pain soon expanded from his brain to his heart and his entire chest exploded in agony. It was a hundred times worse than being subjected to the Cruciatus Curse and if he had been able to form a coherent thought, Harry would have wished for death in order to escape the sheer agony. The pain only amplified in the next instant as it moved to encompass every inch of his body even as it moved beyond mere physical pain.

When the pain finally faded to a tolerable ache, Harry found himself sprawled out on the floor of the room with blood leaking from his eyes, ears, nose, mouth, and scar. A few feet off to his left, Sortilegus lay flat and unmoving on the floor; the hat's magic having been completely exhausted by the process of removing every single binding that had been placed upon Harry during the course of the past thirteen years. Harry closed his eyes again as he took a shuddering breath that made his lungs ache in remembered pain. He couldn't help but flinch when he felt a warm, wet cloth wipe at the blood staining his face and he opened his eyes to find a worried Dobby hovering over him as he cleaned Harry's face.

"How do you feel, child?" Fawkes inquired as he landed on the floor beside the teen and twisted his head back and forth to peer at him with both eyes.

"Like I was trampled by a herd of rampaging hippogriffs for two months straight before the centaur's used me for target practice all night long," Harry hoarsely rasped in response to the question.

"The pain shall pass in time; your magic should already be soothing your hurts now that it is no longer bound."

"Where'd Mr. Hat go? I've got half a mind to yell at him for making the understatement of the year when he told me that removing the bindings was supposed to be a little unpleasant. He said nothing about trying to rip me apart from the inside out."

"Sortilegus nearly unmade himself to free you of your binds; a little respect would not go amiss for the magic he sacrificed on your behalf."

"I didn't know he'd harmed himself for me. Is there anything I can do to help him?" Harry automatically asked once he got over the shock of the Sorting Hat doing something like that for him. "He will be alright, won't he?"

"He will be fine in a few months. In the mean time, he will sleep."

"Oh, I'm glad he wasn't unmade. Will you tell him I said thank you? Since I don't know when I'll be back so I can tell him myself."

"I will see to it that your message is passed along."

"Thank you. What happens now?"

"I will deliver you to the Children of War. When they demand to know why you have invaded their home after hours; tell them that the time has come for an Evans to Hunt once more. Do make certain that you treat them with respect for not even your heritage will save you should you insult one of their higher ranked individuals. I shall send your bonded Child of Duty to join you once you have left these shores."

So saying, the phoenix latched onto Harry's shoulder and engulfed him in a swirl of flames that drowned out all of his senses for several seconds. When the flames receded and he could make out his surroundings once more, Harry found himself lying in the middle of Gringotts Bank with his school trunk and several dusty boxes sitting beside him. Fawkes burst into a commanding song as he launched himself into the air and circled Harry three times before he vanished in a second swirl of flames. Just seconds later, the fourteen year old was surrounded by a forest of deadly spear points held by angry goblins and Harry tasted bile at the back of his throat as the precariousness of his current position slammed home.

"Who dares break into the hallowed grounds of Gringotts in the cold hours before the dawn?" the goblin wearing the fanciest armor out of those present demanded as he waved his spear beneath Harry's nose to impress upon the young wizard the importance of telling the truth.

Swallowing his fear, Harry took a deep breath as he lifted his gaze to meet the angry goblin's glare as he stated, "My name is Harry James Potter and Fawkes the phoenix told me to tell you that it is time for an Evans to hunt once more, Master Goblin."

"Stand down," the goblin ordered and Harry let out an audible sigh when the spear points were redirected up towards the ceiling and most of the goblins scattered back to wherever they had been prior to Harry's abrupt arrival. The goblin in fancy armor then addressed the goblin standing beside him, "Guard; fetch an Inheritance Stone and send it with Curse Breaker Weasley to my office along with the trash that is currently scattered all over the lobby floor." The formidable goblin then turned his attention back to the wizard still partially sprawled on the floor. "You reek of fresh blood; where are you wounded?"

"I'm not."

"Then why do you bleed, human?"

"The Sort… er… uh, that is, Sortilegus, Hogwarts' Sorting Hat, removed a bunch of bindings all at once because he said there wasn't time to remove them one at a time…"

"Multiple bindings? What was it that was bound; mind, magic, body, or soul?"

"Er… all of the above?"

"How many days has it been since the bindings were removed?"

"Um… not more than five or ten minutes… I think," Harry replied hesitantly since he didn't really know exactly how much time had passed since the Hat had finished or even how long the process had taken. "I was a little more hung up on the sheer agony I had experienced during the years it felt like it took for the bindings to be removed and Fawkes didn't say anything about how long it took or how much time had passed since the Hat finished and Sortilegus was beyond answering by that point."

"You remained conscious during the unbinding?" the goblin exclaimed in surprise.

"Was I not supposed to?"

"The pain of breaking multiple bindings has been said to be comparable to experiencing the Cruciatus Curse," the goblin stated as he studied Harry with dark eyes. "Few humans can remain sane after experiencing the Cruciatus for more than five minutes and unbinding every aspect of your being would have taken at least thrice that even if they were stripped from you simultaneously. It would have been kinder to knock you unconscious before stripping the bindings from you."

"I'd much rather experience the pain curse again than to ever have to go through another unbinding," Harry deadpanned as he roughly pushed himself up into a sitting position. "At least I could still think and walk after being Cruciated by Voldemort two days ago."

The goblin arched an eyebrow over that declaration before he asked, "Can you walk now?"

"So long as we don't have to go too far; my legs still feel like jelly."

Harry ended up being carried to the still unnamed goblin's office after two unsuccessful attempts to stand on his own two feet. He was more than a little embarrassed about being carried through the bank by one of the hulking goblin guards but kept his complaints to himself least he offend the goblins. The fourteen year old had barely been set down on a less than comfortable chair when Ron's oldest brother, Bill, entered the office carrying what looked like a stone block while levitating Harry's trunk and all of the dusty boxes that supposedly contained everything that Hogwarts had given to him according to Fawkes and Sortilegus.

"Harry…? What are you doing here? Did something happen up at the school? Oh, Merlin's shorn beard! Your clothes have blood on them! Have you been attacked again?" Bill demanded the moment he saw Harry sitting in the middle of the office. Harry swallowed thickly and dropped his gaze to his knees as his stomach churned with fear and worry while he tried to figure out what to say. "Do you want me to contact Professor Dumbledore to let him know where you are so that he can come get you and take you back to the castle?"

"No!" Harry cried frantically as he scrambled up onto his feet. All three goblins in the office stared at Harry in shock while Bill jumped a bit at the unexpectedly violent reaction. Harry clung to the chair so as not to fall on his face and stared at Bill with haunted eyes as he added, "I can't go back and you can't tell Dumbledore I left because he wants me dead before I turn sixteen."

"What?" Bill demanded in pure shock while the looks on the goblins' faces turned calculating. "Are you sure you're feeling alright? Dumbledore would never…"

"I swear on my magic that Dumbledore wants me dead before my sixteenth birthday because he doesn't want me to get closer to your sister or any other girl because he doesn't want me to start a family," Harry rasped in desperation as tears collected in his eyes. "I heard him and Snape… they've even got my Aunt Petunia in on things… they want her to feed me potions to make my nightmares worse to break down my mental defenses for something called occluemancy lessons or something like that. And… and Snape is supposed to talk Voldemort into killing me before the end of my fifth year."

"Will you show me your memory of the conversation you overheard, human?" the goblin in the fancy armor asked as he stepped forward and gently pushed Harry back down in the chair when it became obvious that Harry was having trouble staying on his feet.

"I don't know how…"

"Curse Breaker Weasley is more than capable of drawing the memory out so that we might view it."

"You aren't going to keep it to make me forget what happened, are you?" Harry asked as he unflinchingly met the goblin's gaze with jaded emerald eyes that shimmered with unshed tears.

"No, he will make a copy of the memory for us to view."

"Okay."

Bill stepped up beside Harry as he drew his wand and Harry flinched the moment the tip of the wand rose up so that it was pointing at him. He relaxed when the older wizard simply placed the tip against Harry's left temple before he instructed, "I need you to focus on the entire conversation you overheard; from the moment it started to the moment it ended. Let me know once you've pulled the memory to the front of your mind and I'll start copying it."

Harry closed his eyes, pulled up the memory as instructed, and murmured a tentative, "I'm ready."

The teen felt something tugging at his mind and then the memory of the conversation between Snape and Dumbledore was being stretched out before it suddenly snapped back into place. Harry jumped at the strange feeling and when he opened his eyes he saw a long silver strand dangling from the tip of Bill's wand; much like the memories he'd seen Dumbledore pull from his mind earlier that year. His memory was then deposited into a smooth stone bowl carved all over with runes.

Harry felt his earlier nausea return as he watched both Bill and the goblin vanish into the pensieve and he prayed that Fawkes hadn't made a mistake in bringing him to Gringotts. The teen then immediately offered the phoenix a silent apology as he knew the magical bird had not meant him any harm; if he had, then Harry would have found himself right back in Dumbledore's clutches. Covering his face with both hands, Harry curled up in the chair he was sitting in and drifted off into a fitful sleep that was wrought with nightmares that twisted his greatest fears together with his worst memories.

Translations: Latin to English

Aboleo Fertilitas – Aboleo (meaning to destroy/do away with/obliterate) and Fertilitas (meaning fertility/fruitfulness); a potions designed to render any male drinker infertile (no known antidote) with a sister potion called Abolea Fertilitas that is designed to render a female drinker infertile. Neither potion will consistently work if taken before maturity.
Sortilegus – soothsayer; I though this an appropriate name for the Sorting Hat given how he often gives warnings during troubled times when he sings his sorting songs.

10-16-15: Minor edits made to chapter to fix spelling/grammar mistakes and removed unnecessary author's notes.