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Back at Hogwarts after the Hogsmeade disaster, Harry is still furious that Draco used the Imperius Curse and walked away with nothing more than detentions and wand restrictions, while he himself got punished for fighting. Over dinner he publicly shuts down Cho and the Ravenclaws for bullying Luna and moves her to sit safely between himself and Neville, making it very clear that anyone who touches her will answer to both of them. A casual comment from Luna about a strange tiara in a hidden Room of Requirement sends the trio racing to the castle’s junk room, where Harry feels the same sick pull he sensed from the diary and realises they have just found Ravenclaw’s lost diadem. After binding Neville and Luna with a magical Vow, he finally tells them about Horcruxes, Voldemort’s real name, and Dumbledore’s habit of using him as bait. Then it is down to the dungeons where Severus and a basilisk fang destroy the diadem once and for all before launching into another brutal duel that leaves Harry exhausted and with a healed broken arm. The chapter ends on a cliffhanger when McGonagall walks in on a shirtless, battered Harry and a wand in Severus’s hand and jumps to all the wrong conclusions.

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The fallout from Hogsmeade hits everyone. Summoned to Dumbledore’s office, Severus finds Draco bruised, Harry furious, and the staff trying to prove Draco used the Imperius Curse on Madam Rosmerta. With no testimony and a spare wand that cannot be tied to him, Dumbledore lets Draco escape Azkaban with house point losses, wand restrictions, and detentions with Snape, which Harry also earns for the vicious fight. In the dungeons, Severus tears into Draco until the boy finally breaks and admits the truth: Voldemort has his mother and has ordered him to take out Dumbledore. Bound by his word not to expose Draco, Severus turns to Harry, explaining that Draco is desperate and might be more useful as an inside ally than a doomed enemy. What follows is their first real guardian and teenager clash about obedience, danger, and Hogsmeade, ending in a raw confession from Harry that sometimes he just wants to feel normal instead of like a weapon who has to commit murder to save everyone. Detentions stand, training will get harsher, and Severus walks away wondering how he can possibly protect both his son and his godson when they are headed for the same war from opposite sides.

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A week after losing the Horcrux, Harry is stronger in magic but on shaky ground with Severus. When Snape forbids him from going to Hogsmeade and Harry defies him on the strength of Sirius’s signed form, their first real clash as guardian and ward leaves Harry queasy with guilt. In the village, he, Neville and Luna stock up at Honeydukes, wander into Dervish and Banges, and stumble across the Deathly Hallows symbol as Luna tells the legend of the Peverell brothers—linking Harry’s cloak, the Gaunt ring and his own family history in ways he cannot ignore. At the Three Broomsticks, everything explodes: Harry overhears Draco using the Imperius Curse on Madam Rosmerta to target Luna with a cursed necklace meant for Dumbledore, and fury drives him to blast Draco through a wall and beat him bloody in front of half the school before Neville drags him off. McGonagall Floos Harry back to Hogwarts, Hagrid carries a broken Draco after them, and Neville races Luna safely to the castle, leaving Harry to face the fallout of defying Severus while proving exactly why no one hurts his friends and walks away.

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In the aftermath of the Horcrux ritual, Severus Snape is the one who comes apart. Shaking, sick and sleepless, he spends the night watching Harry breathe on the couch with Zar wrapped protectively around him, replaying every second where his son almost did not come back. At breakfast he forces himself to play the role of acerbic professor, even as Neville corners him to ask where Harry is. Back in the dungeons, Harry finally wakes, realises in horror that he can no longer understand Zar, and breaks down at the thought that he has lost Parseltongue for good. Then, one hiss at a time, the language returns. Gifted by blood rather than a soul fragment, it slowly snaps back into place. Severus checks Harry’s chest, heals the bruise left by CPR, and dives into his magic to confirm what they both risked everything for: the Horcrux is gone and Harry’s core is brighter than ever. Harry calls him brilliant, Severus quietly basks in a kind of praise he has never had before, and Harry heads up to the Great Hall knowing he is truly free for the first time in his life - and that Neville covered for him without hesitation.

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October closes in cold and tense as Harry juggles fake “detentions” with Severus, real Horcrux lessons with Dumbledore, and a quietly dangerous Draco Malfoy. Down in the dungeons, Severus finally unveils the completed Horcrux removal potion, powered by basilisk venom and a vial of Fawkes’s phoenix tears. The price, however, is brutal: Harry must literally die for the soul fragment to be forced out. Over coffee and Dobby-delivered snacks, Severus explains the plan and asks the only question that matters—does Harry trust him enough to go through with it? Harry says yes. What follows is agony as the venom stops his heart, Zar nearly attacks in grief, and Severus fights to bring his son back with phoenix potion, CPR, and sheer stubborn will. When Harry finally gasps a breath and squeezes his hand, Severus knows the risk paid off… but the hissing in the corner now sounds like meaningless snake noise, and Harry realises that in losing the Horcrux, he may also have lost his Parseltongue—and his way of speaking to Zar.

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Harry wakes from yet another nightmare of Voldemort killing Severus, shaken but grateful that his Occlumency shields keep the visions from being real. Too restless to sleep, he grabs an early shower, talks with Neville about the Ministry arresting innocent people like Stan Shunpike, and admits he would rather spend Sunday morning in the Room of Requirement than anywhere near Dumbledore. Training brings real progress as Harry coaches Neville through nonverbal spells, shield charms, and confidence, all while hiding the truth about the basilisk tattoo that is really his familiar Zar. Over breakfast under the watchful eyes of the staff, Harry reflects that the Headmaster gave him misery while Severus accidentally gave him what he wanted most: a family. Down in the castle, Severus tracks Draco to the library and discovers his godson researching the Dark Lord and Tom Riddle, proof that Harry’s revelation about Voldemort being a half blood has landed. Draco is fraying under the weight of the Mark and impossible orders, and Severus can only promise that if Draco comes to him, he will do anything in his power to help. Nightmares, lessons, and shifting loyalties collide in a chapter that sits right at the heart of A New Place To Stay.

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Deep in his private lab, Severus Snape finishes the most dangerous brew of his life, a basilisk venom Horcrux removal potion built from Zar’s willingly given fangs and every scrap of Dark lore he can find. While it simmers, he discovers Harry’s secret basilisk journal, complete with detailed illustrations and research notes that impress him enough to suggest publishing under a pseudonym. When Harry catches him reading, embarrassment turns into quiet pride as Severus calls the work enlightening and rare. Over coffee, cake and talk of Dumbledore’s Gaunt memories, they dissect Marvolo, Morfin and Merope’s story, rage at how little the Headmaster is really teaching, and plan more non verbal spell training. Snape openly says he is proud of Harry’s grades, Harry teases about Hermione being jealous of the Half Blood Prince notes, and the chapter closes with a sense of sharpened focus: the potion is nearly ready, the Horcrux will be challenged again, and father and son are very much in this war together.

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Back at Hogwarts, Harry slips away from Gryffindor Tower to Severus’s quarters, where coffee, Dobby, and basilisk familiar Zar make the dungeons feel more like home than any dorm ever has. He lets Zar out of his tattoo form to roam Hogwarts’s hidden tunnels, accepts his mother’s old annotated Potions book from Severus with strict warnings about forbidden spells, and heads into a full first day of sixth year classes. McGonagall tries to steer Neville away from his grandmother’s expectations, Harry quietly backs his friend’s choices, and then everyone walks into Defence to find Snape in full terrifying professor mode. A brutal non verbal spell lesson ends with Harry deliberately goading Severus into giving him detention, and Slughorn’s first Potions class crowns Harry the winner of Felix Felicis, leaving Hermione rattled when his Draught of Living Death outperforms hers.

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