PLEASE READ!! After two long hours of thinking, I've decided that this will be the last chapter of More to Life. Don't panic! I'm going to do a sequel and it's going to be set in Seventh year instead of ending this story in fourth like I had planned too. It's also going to be called Gifts and Curses, in honour of the song by Yellowcard that's on the Spiderman 2 soundtrack. It fits perfectly that's all I'm gonna say. Also, if anyone is bothered it's going to be a Harry/Hermione story watches as half her audience leaves I've finally decided. Sorry if it's not the pairing you want.

Thank you all so much for being patient with me for the last looks at calendar four months. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to write this chapter but hopefully the 2500 words it is, is worth it. Thank you for reading More to Life and hopefully you'll all start reading the sequel once I get started on it.

Chapter Nineteen – The End of Childhood

Harry stumbled down the halls towards the Dungeons, feeling incredibly weary all of a sudden. Harry guess his adrenaline had finally ran out. He all but tumbled into Severus' private rooms to find the man sat on his sofa, nursing a glass in his hand. Harry would have laughed at the shocked look on the Potion Master's face if it was any other situation.

The raven haired first year fell to the floor. As he did Severus dashed over to him. Harry looked the Head of Slytherin right in the eye and whispered, "He's back. Voldemort's back." He then blacked out.

The darkness wasn't nearly as comforting as it normally was. Harry could hear himself whimpering even though he wasn't even awake. He could hear the soothing voice of a man. It was definitely a familiar voice, but Harry couldn't quite place it.

"Harry?" Another voice joined the first, this one just as familiar.

"Harry? Wake up you insensitive bas-"

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that Mr Zabini."

"Yes, Sir," the voice said slightly abashed.

Harry subconsciously felt safer, though his muddled up brain couldn't quiet figure out why.

"Blaise is right though," piped up another voice.

"Honestly Draco, can't you be a bit more... You know? I can't even think of a word for it..."

A sudden rush of memories hit Harry while his eyes were still shut. He remembered that the voice belonged to his friends and he was pretty sure the older man's voice belonged to Professor Snape.

He began to remember what had happened earlier that day. What had happened at the Quidditch match; the Dark Mark hovering above the pitch and the sudden appearance of Voldemort's Deatheaters. Voldemort gaining his body back was something Harry wished he didn't remember. He still remembered the feelings running through him as he watched the skeleton like body rise from the cauldron bottom. Harry had never really been totally afraid in his life, he had never been in a situation where it called for it, but not even when he was attacked by Deatheaters when he was nine was he scared. Voldemort made him feel fear, something that made him feel vulnerable. He really didn't like feeling vulnerable.

"Don't worry Mill, we forgive you for being stu-"

"Blaise, you absolute wan-"

"Will you guys please shut up," Harry finally croaked. He let out a quiet cough to see if it would do anything for his raspy like voice.

There was total silence for a grand total of ten seconds before...

"Harry!"

"Are you ok Harry?"

"What the hell happened?"

Harry glanced at Draco, who had spoken the last sentence. Draco had the grace to look slightly embarrassed.

"I mean, one minute you were behind me, the next all I could find of you was your wand. You scared the cr... Sh... Life out of me," Draco found himself correct the last part of his sentence when Severus glared at him.

"I..." Harry wanted to tell his friends what had happened, but he didn't even know where to begin.

"Sev told us that... that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named came back," Blaise put in to see if it would get Harry to talk.

If possible, it made Harry retreat into himself even more. Picking up the shocked look on Blaise's face when he saw his reaction, Harry swallowed thickly and tried to answer the other boy without letting his voice waver. "He did," he said slowly, "he has."

"He used that spell we found, didn't he?" Draco asked and quickly clapped a hand over his mouth when he realised Severus was in the room.

"What spell is this, Mr Malfoy?"

Harry vaguely heard Draco answering the Potion's master in a stutter so unlike him. Staring off into space, he found himself thinking about the ritual that Voldemort used to bring himself back. Maybe they could have done something about it if they had only thought about it more.

"Harry!"

"What!" Harry snapped, and then he sighed, shaking his head.

"You kinda zoned out," Blaise said. "You ok?"

"Yeah," the raven haired boy answered absently. He could play the 'what if' game all he liked, it wouldn't get him anywhere. "What if, what if, what if...." he mumbled, the rest of the room took no notice of him. Blaise had taken to rolling around on the floor laughing at Draco. Snape seemed to be reprimanding Draco for looking up dark spells while Millie was sniggering at the blonde.

Harry sighed once more. If only he could have stopped the Dark Lord from coming back at all he wouldn't have the problem of one stalking him. He could only hope that Voldemort would be easier to stop now he had a mortal body. He wasn't even sure if he could even call Voldemort mortal.

"Voldemort," he found himself muttering out loud. It was loud enough to make the rest of the room stop talking.

"What about him?" Draco asked.

Harry ignored him and looked at Severus. "He's going to kill me, isn't he?"

Draco made a straggled kind of noise, but Harry still didn't look at him.

Severus didn't like the way the boy had said his question. It was like he had already given up. He pulled Harry up by his shoulders and gave him a little shake, enough to make Harry's eyes widen a bit. "He won't kill you. I won't let him. Hell, I know how much you distrust Dumbledore, but even he won't let him kill you."

Harry smiled slightly. "I know," he said in a voice that sounded so much older than his eleven years.

"Well quit asking dim-witted questions, you imprudent brat," he said in a fond voice, one that someone would never suspect would come from him. It made Harry grin.

"Yes sir,"

"You knew this was going to happen, didn't you?" Harry asked Severus once his friends had left the room just over an hour later.

Severus sighed. "I knew they'd be planning something if that is what you're asking."

"Thank you," Harry replied.

"For what?"

"For telling me the truth."

"I only ask that you do the same for me in return," Severus responded.

"Ok," the raven haired boy said softly.

"What exactly happened?" the Potions Master asked, a little hesitantly.

Harry sighed quietly before he began his story. He told Severus how the death eaters had grabbed him from the Quidditch field when everything was in disarray; how they brought him to their master in the Chamber of Secrets; how Voldemort was brought back to life.

"I know Dumbledore knew about the spell," Harry said, "I heard him talking one night," he admitted with a sheepish smile.

Severus ruffled the boy's hair. "What did I tell you about eavesdropping?"

"Do it?" Harry grinned.

The Head of Slytherin house tapped Harry lightly around the back of the head. "Brat."

"But you love me anyway," Harry said cheekily.

Rather suddenly, Severus pulled the boy into a hug. Harry stiffed slightly in surprise. If anything, the Potions Master hugged the boy harder. "Don't you ever scare me like that again."

"Sev?" Harry said quietly.

Severus smiled grimly as he pulled away. "Look what you're doing to me. How can I keep up my image when I'm hugging imprudent brats like you?"

Harry smiled. "I won't tell anyone Sev 'cept Draco... maybe Millie..."

"Brat."

"Harry..." The voice sounded like a badly tuned radio reception

"I...."

"Harry.... how could you?" one voice answered.

"I...." Harry heard his own voice answer, though it sounded older. "I didn't! He...." He had never heard himself sound so.... conceded.

"I don't want to hear your excuses Harry James Potter! The only thing I know is that you have that vile thing on your arm...." the voice drifted off.

"I didn't have a bloody choice! He kidnapped me! He chained me to the floor and threatened me! It was either that or die!"

"Well maybe you should have died then, died rather than betrayed everything you've known!" the voice screamed.

Harry could hear the scream echo.

"You...." his own voice sounded as if he had his heart ripped out.

"Harry.... I didn't mean.... Harry!"

Even though he couldn't see anything he felt as if something was stopping him from moving; maybe a hand on his shoulder?

"What did he do to you, Harry?"

"You don't want to know....

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know."

"He...."

"Harry.... Harry!"

Harry felt himself bolt up right in the bed he was in. Sweat clung to his skin making the thin white T-shirt he was wearing stick to him. He never noticed the person beside him until she spoke.

"Harry?"

Harry turned his head nearly fast enough to get whiplash. "Hermione? What..."

"Am I doing here?" she completed his sentence for him, looking around to see if anyone was coming.

Harry noticed he was still in Severus' rooms. "More like how did you get here?" he said.

"I heard Malfoy talking about you so I followed..." she trailed off. "Professor Snape went to bed, I saw him."

"Why are you acting so skittish then?" Harry asked, slightly amused.

"Oh, shut up you. He'd skin me alive if he caught me," the Gryffindor girl said, twisting the hem of her robes with he hands.

Harry looked down at her hands then at her face. "You still haven't said why you're here?"

"I... wanted to see you were alright."

"You heard what happened then?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said in barely a whisper.

"He's back," Harry croaked out.

"I know."

"He's back and there's nothing I can do about it," Harry whispered.

Hermione was a bit bewildered by Harry's defeated look. She didn't think the cocky Slytherin had it in him to let himself completely go, in front of a Gryffindor no less.

"It's not your problem," Hermione answered.

Harry let out a small bitter laugh. "Yeah? Try telling the entire Wizarding world that."

"Surely they..."

"I was one when they thought I stopped him the first time. They'll just be wanting more from me..."

Hermione wasn't blind. Even though the Boy-Who-Lived was in Slytherin, she saw the awed looks quite a few of the other students at Hogwarts gave him when they thought he wasn't looking.

"Why are you admitting this to me of all people?" she asked.

"As much as I hate to admit it you nothing like the other Gryffindorks," he said rather sulkily.

Hermione giggled. "I'm glad you admitted it."

"Good, because you won't hear it from me again." Harry said sleepily. He blinked heavily a few times before closing his eyes.

Seeing this, Hermione smoothed Harry's dark hair a few times before placing a small peck on the top of his head. "Don't ever change Harry Potter." Then she left.

As Harry was drifting off to sleep, he couldn't help but wonder where he had heard that strangely familiar feminine voice he had heard in his dream.

Harry Potter could hear all the whispers about him as he walked to the Great Hall for the Leaving Feast a few weeks later. They hadn't died down any at all. There were all sorts of rumours going around. The funniest one he had heard was that he had turned Voldemort into a fluffy pink bunny. Voldemort in retaliation had turned Harry into a Yorkshire terrier.

The Slytherin shook his head. Some people would believe anything. He had to admit that the last comment was a little amusing. He wished he'd have thought of that when he was facing down the Dark Lord.

"I heard from Malkin that Potter's just taking his time. I heard that he'll be with the Dark Lord before we know it," Harry heard one whisper behind him.

The raven haired boy spun around, a glare etched on his face and said in a deadly tone, "I wouldn't touch Voldemort with an eight foot wand." He was going to leave before he decided to ask the small blonde Hufflepuff, "Just where is Malkin?"

The boy pointed towards the courtyard with a shaky arm.

Harry patted the boy on the head a few times and stormed off.

The Slytherin could spot the plump boys from miles away. Malkin was pacing around, telling tales with his other Gryffindor friends. Harry saw one of the other Gryffindor's tap Malkin urgently on the shoulder as he got closer to the group. Finally close enough, Harry shouted, "Malkin!" in an overenthusiastic voice.

Malkin spun around, a tiny bit of fear set on his face that cleared in a matter of seconds. "Potter," Malkin said in a low voice.

"I've heard some rumours about me around school," Harry said in a conversational tone.

"Really?" Malkin replied a little shakily.

"Uh huh," Harry said grinning. "Rumours that I heard are being spread by you. What did I tell you would happen if I heard rumours again?"

"I... I..."

Harry grabbed the plump boy's robes, despite the other boy being taller and larger than himself. "I want to get a few things straight with you right now Malkin, ok?"

"Ok," Malkin squeaked.

Harry tightened his grip just a tiny bit. "One; I'd never ever want anything to do with Voldemort, got that?"

"Yup," Malkin nodded desperately.

Harry carried on, "Two; I'd never stain my parents memory by joining the guy who killed them."

"Don't blame you," Malkin agreed hurriedly.

"And three," Harry said to finish off, "he's not worth the ground I walk on." With that, Harry let go of the boy and gave him a small shove. Malkin went tumbling into the crowd behind him.

Malkin brushed off his robes and sneered at the Slytherin. "You won't be talking that way when he kills you Potter. Then what? Would you leave the poor wizarding world to fend for itself?"

Harry looked at the boy neutrally, even though the comment bothered a little. "He won't kill me," he said confidently, "Because I won't let him."

The raven haired boy then turned around and nearly bumped into his friends, who were stood right behind him the whole time.

"You told him didn't you?" Draco asked amusedly.

Blaise pumped his fist. "I'd say he won't be bothering you for a long while."

"He'll never leave you alone, you know?" Millicent said. She was always the more logically one of the group.

"I know Millie, but frankly I don't care at the moment. It's the end of the school year. We'll come back in September and Malkin will be at it again," Harry said. The raven haired boy looked a little solemn after saying this.

"What's up?" Blaise asked.

"Just wondering if Voldemort will ever leave me alone," Harry mumbled.

Draco put an arm around Harry's shoulders. "You know what they say?"

Harry looked at the blonde, "No. What?"

"That you should live each day as it comes and worry about things when they happen."

Harry smiled. "So that's what we'll do."

Fin

Continued in Gifts and Curses

Leatrix Malfoy 24th August 2004