On the Hogwarts Express, Harry uses an Extendable Ear to overhear Draco, Pansy and Zabini talk about Slughorn, Death Eaters and Draco's "bigger things," then walks straight into their compartment to drop a bombshell: Voldemort is a half blood named Tom Marvolo Riddle. With flaming letters in the air, he calls out the real blood traitors and leaves five stunned Slytherins behind. At the Start of Term Feast, Harry notes fewer first years, refuses Hermione's plea to start over, and hears Dumbledore announce Slughorn as Potions Master and Severus as the new Defence professor while Ron and Neville react in horror. A private memory reveals how Harry and Severus bound basilisk familiar Zar into a living tattoo on Harry's arm, and a subtle spell from the staff table confirms Draco now bears the Dark Mark. The year opens with exposed truths, broken friendships and a castle on high alert as Dumbledore warns everyone that Voldemort is openly at large.

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Severus Snape finally tests his first real Horcrux removal potion on Harry, and for a moment it feels like a Portkey tugging at his scar and stomach as the soul fragment shifts but stubbornly refuses to let go. Shaken yet hopeful, Harry trusts Severus more than anyone alive and knows they are at least on the right path. Life at Prince Manor settles into a strange calm filled with runs around the pitch, Dobby fussing, and quiet meals while the war outside gets darker and the world starts looking to Harry as a symbol of hope whether he wants it or not. Letters from Fred and George reveal that Weasleys Wizard Wheezes is booming and that they are paying Harry a real cut of the profits, while yet another Sirius letter compares him to James and pushes him toward Ron, making Harry more certain than ever that he has to be his own person. By September, ten outstanding OWLs, a new broom from Severus, and a forced birthday at Grimmauld Place have come and gone, and Harry boards the Hogwarts Express with Neville and Luna as his true inner circle. A run in with Romilda Vane, fan girls at the windows, and a Slughorn invitation to a private lunch he flatly refuses set the tone for sixth year: Harry is done being paraded as a prize and is going back to Hogwarts on his own terms, with Severus as his anchor instead of Dumbledore.

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Dumbledore arrives at Prince Manor to “borrow” Harry for the evening, and Severus hates every second of not knowing the Headmaster’s true plan. After hiding Harry’s second wand and locking the training room, he watches his ward walk out the door with the man who once ordered him to make Harry miserable. Side-along Apparition drops them in Budleigh Babberton, where Harry is used as bait to lure Horace Slughorn out of retirement. In a house staged to look ransacked, Harry meets Slughorn, sees through the act, and endures being stared at like a prize specimen while the old Slytherin reminisces about Lily and former favourites. By the time Slughorn inevitably agrees to return to Hogwarts, Harry is furious at being manipulated yet again. Back at Prince Manor, Dumbledore casually announces “private lessons” and insists Harry keep his Invisibility Cloak on him at all times, leaving Harry seething – and Severus ready to hear exactly how badly the Headmaster used his son this time.

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