Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

If This Is How You Treat Your Heroes...	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Lucius Views: 96985 -:- Recommendations : 12 -:- Currently Reading : 15
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and make no form of profit off this story

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Chapter 10

Beta'd by the most wonderful, amazing and stupendous Tenchi. Woman, you are the best and love you for all you do for me!

For updates to this, or any of my stories, you can follow me on Twitter or FaceBook(links are on my profile- yes, I fixed FB so that anyone can send a friends request) or you can join my mailing list. SpeedyTomato_updates@live.com Just mention which story you want to receive updates for or just say you want to be notified for all of them Thank you, Rogue, for running that for me. Also, review replies, if they are needed, are on my FaceBook page.

Sitting at the long table in the conference room in the section of the Ministry that housed Hogwarts Board of Governors, Lucius was quiet, ignoring most of the talking going on around him, eyeing the two Pensives that were there. Because a great many of the memories that Harry provided to the French Ministry had to do with events or people at Hogwarts, the Board was going to be one of the few entities that had a legitimate need to see them and would be given access. Those would also include the memories of the assaults by Snape. It was those he was focusing on.

As of now, he hadn't asked again to see the memories nor would he approach Harry to even attempt to inquire about obtaining them. However, this might be the chance to do so. It was that fact that had him at war with himself. Part of him felt he had to know what happened. Had. To. If he didn't, he would never know how bad this had been on Harry. However, on the flip side of the galleon, Tom's words about seeing what was contained in the memories would lead to him envisioning the events every time he looked at his young man haunted him as well. Honestly? That was true and he knew it. There was no way he wanted to contaminate what was there with Harry over memories like this. Tom had all along assured him that Harry was forced and there was nothing he could do to stop what took place. From the sounds of what was told to him, it was a modification on a spell that allowed Snape to render him helpless. However, if he viewed the memories, he might question if all that Harry could have done to stop it was acted upon. No, he didn't want to do that. Now he was left in a quandary about what to do.

While still warring with himself over how to handle this, the remaining members of the Board filed in and took a seat. Straightening up when Wolfgang Erwin, the head of the Board, seated himself at the top of the table, he waited for the meeting to begin.

Looking around, elbows on the table, hands clasped in front of him, Erwin said, “We have much to cover today and it's going to take us some time to get through it. As I am aware all of you know about the related topics, I suggest that we start with the sexual assault allegations and move on from there. Once someone, well more than one person, views a couple of them, I'm not going to ask that we view them all, Rufus Scrimgeour is going to come in and talk to us at my behest so we know what is going on with the criminal aspects of that part of the case. When we've finished with that end of things, we move on to the other accusations, including those against Dolores Umbridge and Albus Dumbledore. Once we've completed that chunk, we'll continue on to the many owls we've gotten since the article showed up in the paper last night. Today there were additional accusations in the paper as the whole of this part of the interview with Mr. Potter seems to be covering things that took place at the school.”

Stopping, shaking his head, looking slightly crestfallen, he then added, “It's my hope we can get through enough of this that we can get to Hogwarts this afternoon to talk to some of the parties involved. If we can't, we can't and can put it off a day. I would like to though.” Looking around, he asked, “Any questions or suggestions?” Seeing everyone shake their head, he then told them firmly, a stoic look on his face. “I'll view one of the memories, but I need a volunteer to view another. Any takers?” Looking around, he could see most looking at the table, a few looking green around the gills, but no one seemed willing. Though Lucius was eyeing the Pensive, even he wasn't offering for once. After a couple minutes of silence, when no one said anything, he asked, softly, “Lucius? Can you take one of them? I'll view the other. That should be all we need.”

Staring at the Pensive, Lucius then shut his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. The time had come and he didn't know what to do. After a couple moments of contemplation, he shook his head slowly then said, tone very soft, “I can't. Not this time. My son—he's the same age as Mr. Potter. I don't think this is something I would handle well. You have my apologies on that.” Honesty? Once the words were out of his mouth, he felt better, like a weight was lifted off him. He had been presented with the choice and made what he felt was the right one. Now he could move on from there.

Not having thought about Draco and the fact that he was the same age as the young man in question, Wolfgang nodded then told Lucius, gently, “I understand.” Looking around, he said, “I do need someone besides myself to view these to stave off accusations if some come. Just one person.”

“I will,” Beatrice Smythe said after a few moments of silence. “I'll get through what I can of one. No guarantees on how much of it I'll manage.” She added afterwards. As a grandmother, though having no grandchildren at Hogwarts right now, she thought she could deal with part of it anyway.

Nodding, looking relieved, Wolfgang said, “I think we should take the ones of when he is older. Those may be more palatable. If you can't get through the whole thing, don't force yourself. As long as we see part, we should be fine. I can get a transcript of what's contained in them from Rufus once we're done so we have it for the records.” Standing, motioning for her to do the same, he walked over to where the Pensives were. With shaking hands, he pulled out the two newest of the memories and dumped one in each. Seeing the woman, though looking shaky and ill over it, nod to him, he plunged his face into the stone bowl and began to view.

Stiffening her backbone, Beatrice, feeling her stomach churn, went rigid then did the same.

Sitting there, looking at the two, listening to the overly loud ticking of the clock as it wasn't drown out by the normal talking that went on, Lucius waited. That's all he could do now. Once this part was over, they would move on, but couldn't until then. Already he was formulating what should be done and how this should be handled in accordance with what was not only expected of him but to do what was right then push for Tom's agenda. And, on a personal note, though it aligned with all three other parts, to get Albus Dumbledore out of that school! Minerva McGonagall, though not his favorite being in the world, would do far better in the post that Albus ever could.

Not five minutes into the viewing, as Lucius was trying to figure out just how to go about what he needed to do, he was startled out of his thoughts by Beatrice pulling her head out of the Pensive. Retching, hand over her mouth, tears streaming down her face, she then made a mad dash for the bathroom. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Lucius sighed. Oh, this wasn't going to go well. Though they had gone many rounds in the past over various things, he knew she was about as tough as they came. If this was her reaction, whatever was in that memory wasn't good. Now he was very grateful for the decision he made. If it was bad enough to send her scurrying, he would be homicidal when done.

A couple minutes later, Wolfgang did the same. Shaking, the older man walked back to his seat and flopped in it, still trembling. Rubbing a hand over his face and smoothing down his beard, he said, voice quivering, “I couldn't view the whole memory. I saw enough to observe what was going on. That should be enough. The same for Beatrice. No, we don't need to view this. The transcripts shall be sufficient for our purposes.” Stopping, looking around, still feeling ill, he said, tone more level, “Let me go get Rufus. He can confirm if they are real and fill us in as to what else is contained without giving details.” Seeing everyone nod, he stood and made for the door, hoping the walk to the DMLE would get his nerves back under control.

Standing at the end of the table, opposite Wolfgang, Rufus was going through what they knew of the case so far as it related to Mr. Potter. When he finished, he said, “Mr. Potter won't help. He gave the memories and that's all he's willing to do. Madam Bones offered to go to France to personally talk to him and the request has been denied by the French Ministry of Magic, which leaves our hands tied as to just what we can do to prosecute the case. Without him authenticating the memories, something he won't do from what we're told, we can't use them to prosecute. The only thing we have is the French Minister of Magic's willingness to authenticate that they came from Mr. Potter. By our laws, that's not enough to do much of anything.” Stopping, he looked around, seeing outraged looks by many at the table. Shrugging, he said, “Our hands are tied as to what we can legally do. Unless someone gets a bill through the Wizengamot to allow us to use the French Minster's authentication, we can't prosecute what was done to Mr. Potter.” Pausing, he glanced around, then added, softly, “We're hoping that you have some kind of leverage we don't to be able to force something like Veritaserum. That is something we can use if you are able.”

“We can't,” Lucius told him, shaking his head. “Nothing in the school charter will allow us to ask for something that intrusive. In fact, there is a clause about intrusive questioning being prohibited. This falls under that realm. Unless we have authenticated proof, we can't compel a teacher's removal. We can suspend, something that has already been done, but not remove.”

“We had hoped, but thought that may be the case,” Rufus told him, looking disgruntled. “Which means we have to go about this another way.”

“You're telling me that the DMLE can do nothing about this—creature?” Beatrice asked, astounded. Looking better, though still with an unhealthy pallor, she was trembling, angry. “Those memories—even with those you can do nothing? They aren't faked! Anyone with half a brain can tell when a memory is tampered with! Those are real!”

“This we know,” Rufus sighed, nodding. “However, with how our laws are written, unless Mr. Potter decides to help, we're stuck and can do nothing about his case.” Stopping, he looked up at Wolfgang, who was quite visibly angry then asked, “Privacy wards are in place, are they not? Ones that won't allow you to talk about sensitive details outside the room when it comes to someone underage?”

As plenty of business that was handled in this room dealt with children that weren't legally adults, that was standard for the Board so Wolfgang nodded, “They are in place and up. Why?”

Shaking his head, sighing, Rufus said, taking a seat and looking around, “Mr. Potter was not the only victim in the school. We have the name of another, but we are now about in the same boat because his guardian is refusing to allow us to use the one memory we were able to Un-Obliviate.”

Hearing the uproar that came from that, Wolfgang called for silence. He didn't fully get it, but it calmed down enough that he could be heard then asked, “What do you mean 'another victim'? We need an explanation!” If there was more than one victim of this—man, they needed to take some serious steps to get him out of that castle.

“In some of the memories, there were names of other alleged victims mentioned. Some by Snape himself. One of them, Neville Longbottom, was taken out of Hogwarts last night at the behest of his grandmother. We were able to break one Obliviation, but his reaction cut off anything we could do after that. We weren't even able to get the memory pulled. She took him home. Last night he tried to kill himself and is now in St. Mungos under heavy sedation.” Looking around, shaking his head, he said, softly, “I'm sure you all know that some do not handle the aftermath of being raped well. There are many reactions to it. Males, especially, are hard to deal with as they are perceived to be stronger, thus more apt to be blamed by others for not stopping it or blame themselves for being unable to do so. Mr. Longbottom apparently falls into those categories and took the step he did. Augusta is now refusing to allow him to help. As he's underage, we can't compel anything or even talk to him to try to convince him to help. A Mind Healer is going to try to work with him and we might be able to get his help after some therapy. Now, though, we have nothing we can use to prosecute anything that was done.”

Hearing the uproar over that, Lucius looked down and pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling ill. Now he understood that cryptic conversation with Tom and Harry. It appeared Snape wanted to blame two of the biggest victims in the whole tragedy that came out of the first war for Lily's death. The man was unhinged and needed removed from that school. Quietly, while the furor raged around him, he said, “From what Draco told me in a letter, Snape is still residing in the school. Dumbledore has refused to remove him from the property over 'mere allegations'.”

“No! There has to be something we can do!” Anastasia Volk said, tone almost hysterical. “If he's done this twice that we know of, probably more, there is no way he can be allowed to be around schoolchildren! Something, somewhere in our charter has to allow us to force him out.”

“There is nothing,” Wolfgang told them gloomily. “I don't think the school founders, or anyone since, ever thought that this could take place. We've, of course, heard of it from Muggle learning institutions, but never thought it could happen in our world. That leaves us with very little we can do.”

Looking around, Rufus sighed, shaking his head, “We're still working. There are other names mentioned in these memories. We're trying to track them down. If we can get them to help, and there is no guarantee we can, we can work with those then prosecute. It's going to take time though, lots of it. The minute you mention that man's name to anyone, many are so frightened they won't listen beyond that and are refusing to even talk to us, afraid of retaliation from him. Let's face it, with his reputation, they are scared to talk. It's understandable.” That's where he stopped and leaned back, waiting.

Looking mutinous, and feeling that way, frankly, Lucius hissed, “I agree, he needs to be removed. How, though, I don't know. Dumbledore invoked the castle's magic in allowing him to stay. There is very little we can do to override that. Explain to me, please, why a headmaster in a school full of underage children would allow someone even accused of such crimes to be allowed to stay!” The headmaster—what was going on in that man's head was beyond him at this point.

“Because Albus Dumbledore has his own agenda in this,” Rufus told him quietly, though his voice had a deadly bent to it. “We have plenty of accusations against him as well in the memories provided. Including ones about that damnable stone being in the school where it could be found by children. A mirror that had no place around younger ones that wouldn't know how to handle the magic. The fact that he well knew what the creature was in that Chamber, sending Mr. Potter back to an abusive home and not reporting it when he knew how bad it was. The list of infractions is a mile long against Albus.”

Stopping, he looked around, “Madam Bones herself is going to handle the accusations against him. She's already set up an appointment to talk to the man. Nor is she happy with the things she's hearing. The fact that Albus left an infant on the doorstep of his relatives, something he had no power to do in the first place, with only a note as an explanation, is going to cause problems. What is coming from there is even worse! The fact that he made it clear last night that Snape can stay in that castle is troubling. He is up to something and I would bet my wand it has to do with that damned Order of his. There is a plan there, one he wants to play out, and I'm certain Mr. Potter is involved. Already this morning we've had a dispatch from the goblins that one of his known Order members is trying to track Mr. Potter through his Gringotts vaults. They are not happy. They will, of course, handle that part internally, but the French, when they find out, and they will because the goblins contacted them as well, are going to be furious. We're already having problems dealing with them over this. What help we would normally get isn't there and we don't want to make it worse. This—it's going to cause more issues.” When he finished, he looked around then said, “It's not my place to tell you how to do your jobs and I won't, but if you want a suggestion from me as someone that's been in the DMLE for a very long time, Albus Dumbledore is about to become the biggest albatross you have.”

These were things Lucius was going to have to report to Tom, not to mention get Harry's solicitor involved in. No, it wasn't good. He doubted anyone could find Harry, but they wanted to make sure. Shaking his head, he said, “Though I hold no love for Minerva, something that is well known, I believe I can say, though she would be better suited to take over for the interim, we may not want to even look at that solution right now. From what I know of her, despite the fact that she's an excellent teacher and disciplinarian, one of the fair ones in the school with all houses, she's too much of an 'Albus knows best' follower. If I remember correctly from the time after the first war, she, too, was in that Order.”

“She is, on both counts,” Algernon Winsor said quietly. “Minerva and I went to school together. She is a strong, independent woman, no doubt there. However, like all of us, she has a weakness and his name is Albus Dumbledore. I would say that in this case if we give her a choice between following Albus and what is best for her students, she will choose the latter. It may be something to consider. We don't normally say anything about outside organizations and how they may cause issue with the school, however in this case we may have to. Though Albus is one many respect and helped in the last war with his Order, this is causing an issue for the school if students are involved. That would make it within our purview. He has his fingers in many pies right now, though in disfavor, and influence in many places in the Ministry. The school is one we need to remove that influence from. It's not his personal training ground for Order members and he has no right to draw students into whatever plans he is making. We need to make this clear to everyone, including Minerva.” Looking around, he said, “I'm sure Albus is already drawing her into this mess. I've heard many rumblings since last night. We all have our sources around here. Some of mine just happen to be in the DMLE. That's where I was hearing things from. Some of those I know are—not happy with how a couple members seem to want to help Albus find this young man.”

Looking thunderous, face flushing, Rufus asked, voice a low hiss, “Which ones? Tell me! Which of my Aurors is trying to help a man that is intent on manipulating a victim of a serious crime that happened in his school find the young man!”

Looking slightly uncomfortable, Algernon looked down, “Rufus, I really shouldn't. I don't want them put in that position. They will know it came from me.”

“No, they won't,” Rufus told him firmly. “I have my ways. Right now Madam Bones is ferreting out as much information on Order members as she can. If it comes down to it, I will get with her and we'll make it clear that she's the one that found the information. She already has a long list of people that are known Order members, several in Ministry positions. I can ensure it won’t look like you told.”

Looking across the table at Algernon, Lucius thought it over, then said quietly, “I have many contacts as well. I believe we all do because of various things that we do in other parts of our lives. Normally, I would be reluctant to put them at risk as well. In this case even I would make an exception. We are talking about them trying to find a young man that had to flee our country to take refuge in another because of what's happened to him. Not to mention being assaulted in a place he was supposed to be most safe. No, for once, I think you need to worry more about him than your contacts.” Giving a nod to Rufus, he added, “Between him and Madam Bones, they can keep your contact out of it. I'm sure they can find another way they could have come up with the information.”

Looking across the table at Lucius, Algernon thought it over. Like everyone on the Board, he knew Lucius had an agenda. He always did. That was part of what made Lucius the success he was. However, in this case, the man was right. His contact could easily protect herself and it was information that was needed. There was a young man of sixteen that needed to be protected from people that wanted to use him for whatever purpose. The DMLE needed to know about it to ensure that it didn't happen. Quietly, he said two names, “Tonks and Shacklebolt.” Looking at Rufus, he waited, saying no more.

Muscles in his jaw working furiously, Rufus nodded, saying nothing. His next stop was going to be Madam Bones before he had a long discussion with two members of his Auror squad.

“Keep Moody away from anything as well,” Regina Catterfall told him. “Moody and Albus are as thick as thieves.”

Taking that in as well, Rufus said, “I will.” Furious, he didn't know what to do. His DMLE was supposed to be out of all this kind of foolishness. It was apparent it wasn't though. Shaking his head, eyes still flinty, he said, “On to the matter of Dolores Umbridge—that we are able to work with. The students hate her enough that we already have several complaints from parents about her use of the Blood Quill on their children. They are more than willing to sign out a complaint on her.”

“She, too, was suspended from teaching last night,” Wolfgang told him. “The problem comes in with the fact that as High Inquisitor and Fudge doing what he did, we can't remove her from the school! Until he repeals the act he put into place, our hands are tied.”

“Until there is a formal complaint leveled and she's arrested,” Lucius said quietly, looking around. “If there are parents willing to file a formal complaint and the DLME is going to charge, we can do something.”

“They are,” Rufus told him with a firm nod. “We have five coming in this afternoon. When they sign the forms, I'll forward them to you so she can be removed.” Stopping, he sighed then said, “Some parents are also pressing for the members of that damned squad she recruited in the school to be charged as well. They are saying the young people involved knew exactly what was going on and were doing it for revenge. We have to look into this as well.” With that, he stopped and looked at Lucius then over to Dolph Burke, knowing their sons were involved.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Lucius gritted his teeth. Right now, he wanted to grab his son and shake some sense into him. He knew what Draco was like and that he was part of the reason for it. However, when he told his son something directly, he expected it followed! Now all he could do was hope like hell that they could find a way around that part. Looking at Burke, who was gazing at him, looking slightly panicked, Lucius sighed.

“I think, maybe, we have a way around that,” Wolfgang said, picking up a stack of letters. “As it's a Ministry run squad, something Umbridge took it upon herself to form, not one associated with a school club, any charges need to be leveled at the Ministry. If we launch an investigation and suspend all clubs, including house Quidditch teams, we can stave that off as it was not something we allowed to happen. That way what students may come under suspicion can't be charged. We, of course, make it clear this was an Umbridge and Fudge manipulation then disavow we had anything to do with it. As it happened in the school at their behest, the students should be protected against prosecution over it. Our bylaws cover such things. However, to ensure it is, we need to take steps to make sure our stance is clear. That should be easy enough since things like that damnable Blood Quill are illegal!”

Relieved, Lucius nodded, “It should work. As of now, we don't have the bodies to cover all our teaching positions. Discontinuing extracurricular activities is needed until we can find two teachers and probably more to help shore up problem areas as others are called away to deal with issues that come from this.” Though he didn't say it, McGonagall was probably going to have to be replaced as she would either be out or taking over for Dumbledore.

“Lucius is correct,” Wolfgang nodded. “We go with this plan. It will protect all of us and the students. One of the owls I got this morning is actually from a solicitor of a student about her,” he said, distracted, fumbling for a parchment in a large mound of them stacked by his elbow. Finding the correct one, he pulled it out then said, “We are being threatened with a lawsuit over infringement of student's rights. They have a valid complaint as well. It seems that Umbridge took it upon herself this morning to ban anyone from reading or even having a copy of The British Seer. As it's rightfully pointed out as something against the constitution of the British Wizarding World and certain legal guarantees, they are well within their rights to sue. We need to take a firm stance against this because the Ministry cannot override our charter on such points.” Looking at Rufus, he asked, “Any advice on this? Though not a solicitor myself, even I know our laws well enough that I'm seeing an infringement here. Students, though underage, have the same rights as everyone else on these matters.”

“Give me a copy of the letters and I'll take them with me. It'll just be more charges we can level,” Rufus told him firmly, pleased that he could add some more nails to the coffin of Fudge and Umbridge.

Liking that, Wolfgang copied the letters and passed them to Rufus. “Whatever you need, Rufus, let us know. We'll gladly pass along what we have, if we can that is.”

Stacking the letters by him, Rufus looked around, “Is there any more you need from me?” Seeing the shake of many heads, he nodded, “Very well then. I'm going to go attend to other things. Rest assured, when it comes to what is going on in that school, we'll keep you abreast as we uncover information. You do the same with us.” Rising, he told them, “I'll take my leave now.” After a nod, he let himself out.

Settling back after the head Auror left, Wolfgang rubbed his eyes. Looking around wearily, he asked, sigh in his voice, “Alright, where do we start with this nightmare?”

“I think our first move should be what we can do with Snape. If anything, that is. Then we move on to Dumbledore. Those two are going to take up the bulk of our time,” Lucius said, sitting up straight, elbows on the edge of the table, hands clasped, intent look on his face.

“I'm with Lucius,” Diana Territhore said, looking around. “Those are going to be our big issues. Umbridge, though needing to be covered, may have a resolution. We need to work on the worst that doesn't.”

“Alright, that does sound like the way to go,” Wolfgang told them, nodding. Sitting up straight, he said, “Let's start with Snape.”

Sitting in his office at Gringotts, Bill was frustrated. Per the discussion the night before, he had tried to trace Harry. From what he was finding, everything so far was true. The vaults had been taken over, re-keyed and transferred to France. However, that was as far as he got with tracing anything. Normally, it was easy to find where the vault was located by the name. This time that wasn't the case. There had been a seal put on the records and he could get no further. Worse than that, he didn't know who put the seal on it.

From what he knew of such matters, it was either Gringotts itself that did it or it was the French Ministry. That he wasn't sure about. Though Britain pretty much left Gringotts alone to do what they wanted with such matters, the French had laws in place to seal some kinds of information on people. It was rare that they enacted that clause, but it happened from time to time. This might be one of those cases. He didn't know and had no way of finding out. Of course, he would pass that along to Albus and let him see what he could find from there. Even Fleur, with her contacts in France, hadn't been able to turn up anything. That was frustrating. No, it was now out of his hands and beyond what he could do.

Working on a stack of forms that needed his attention, the oldest Weasley was startled by Clatterclaw coming in. This goblin was his boss. Normally, he didn't see him much since he did his job well. So he was curious about what was going on.

Standing there looking at one of his better workers, Clatterclaw was angry. All along he knew Bill and Fleur were members of Albus Dumbledore's Order of the Phoenix. He had hoped both were intelligent enough that they would keep Order business separate from their jobs. That, apparently, wasn't the case. Instead, they were two that were mere puppets for the headmaster, doing his bidding. Now, well, there were going to be repercussions.

Straightening up, looking at Weasley, he said, “It's my understanding you tried to trace Harry Potter's vault and where it was moved to.” Seeing a startled look there, he explained, “The French Ministry wanted a trace on it in case someone was foolish enough to try to use it to track Mr. Potter. You and your fiancée set that off, then we were notified. This is, as you well know, against Gringotts policy, Mr. Weasley.”

Swallowing thickly, Bill didn't know what to say. Yes, it was, he knew that. However, he thought the reason was good enough that he could violate it. Besides, finding Harry was important!

“Normally, such a violation of our client's privacy would result in your being fired, Mr. Weasley, as it has in the case of your fiancée. However, because you've been with us for so long, we're willing to make a concession. You have a choice; you can either transfer back to Egypt and resume your old job or we will let you go. It's your choice.” Standing there, he waited.

Feeling like he had been kicked, going pale, Bill tried to think. If he understood this right, Fleur had just been fired and he could be as well. Oh, this was bad!

Leading Remus and Sirius into Malfoy Manor, Narcissa kept her hand on her excitable cousin's arm as she walked them into the room where the private Floo was. As it was set to only allow family through, she and Bella were going to have to hold onto them to get them through to Harry's home. The only other way was through Tom's. She wasn't willing to risk taking them there.

Tossing the powder in, she said the names wanting to go through then waited. Remus and Sirius were going to have to be allowed through the wards before the fire would turn green. Turning to Sirius, seeing his flat, angry look, she said, gently, “It's the wards. Only a tiny handful are allowed right now. Once he accepts, we can go. Just be patient. I know you realize this is only done to protect him. It's not a trick, Sirius, I assure you.”

Looking at the fireplace then back to his cousin, he said, “How do you know where he is and why are we going through your Floo?”

“It'll all be explained when we get there,” Narcissa told him gently. “It'll make sense once you hear the reason. Just be patient, Sirius. Harry is safe and unharmed. That you have my word on.”

Glancing at Bella then back to Narcissa, he said, tone deadly, “He better be, for both your sakes.”

Sitting in the small room off where the Floo from Malfoy Manor was, Tom was going through some magazines with Harry to get a feel for what the young man wanted done with some rooms. They were looking through some pictures of more Gothic type furniture for his bedroom when the Floo went off. Looking up, he asked, “Do you want to check it or should I go ahead?” He didn't expect an issue, of course, figuring it was Narcissa bringing a couple people through.

Flipping through some pictures, Harry waved a hand and said, distracted, “Go ahead.” After all, Tom wasn't going to let anyone through that was even questionable.

Giving Harry a pat on the shoulder, Tom stood and walked into the other room. Immediately, his eyes went to the names showing up above the Floo. Stiffening, he walked over and tossed the powder in that would allow them to come through then stood back, waiting, petting Nagini who was draped over his shoulders. Oh, now there was bound to be some tension!

Stepping through with Remus, Bella pulled him aside, looking at Tom, waiting.

Narcissa quickly stepped in with Sirius and glanced at her lover. Quietly, she said, “We've arranged it so no harm will come to anyone and we couldn't be followed. They won't throw spells; they've given me their word and are bound by it.”

Glancing at the being there then to the snake, Sirius turned to glare at Narcissa. “Where is he?” He hissed.

Patting Sirius on the arm, she said, quietly, “Tom? Would you tell Harry he has visitors?”

“Tom?” Remus asked, eyes widening, looking at Sirius, heart hammering in his chest, stomach sinking.

“All will be explained, trust me,” Narcissa told him gently, smiling. “You are in no danger here.”

Nodding, letting Narcissa deal with that, Tom poked his head through the doorway then told Harry, “There are some people here to see you.”

Looking up, confused, Harry nodded then said, “Alright, bring them in.”

Stepping back in, Tom nodded then gestured for them to go in.

Holding onto Sirius' arm, Narcissa led him in then said, quietly, “Harry, I brought your godfather.”

Head coming up, eyes wide, Harry saw Sirius and Remus then all but launched himself off the sofa, throwing himself on his godfather, hugging him.

Holding onto Harry, eyes burning, Sirius rubbed his back, shaking. “Merlin, you're alright,” was all he was able to stammer out.

Shoulders starting to shake, Harry fought off the urge to break down into tears. For the first time since this whole nightmare started, he felt like really crying. Nodding, not able to say a word, he just clung to Sirius.

Standing there, rubbing his own burning eyes, Remus walked over and hugged Harry the best he could then stepped back, figuring it was best to let the two have some time alone. Looking at the three standing there, he asked quietly, “Can I, please, be filled in on what's going on while we let them have some time alone?”

Nodding, Tom gestured for the rest to follow then led them into the other room. Taking a seat, he waited for Lupin to sit down then reached out and patted Narcissa's hand when she joined him. Grinning a little, he said, softly, “Harry was right, I needed to worry what you were up to. However, it's a good thing I think.”

Leaning over and kissing Tom on the cheek, smiling, she said, “See? I told you to trust me!”

Looking between those two then to Bella, Remus was tense. This was—he was sure who this was. If he was right, then why the hell was Harry even around him? Quietly, he said, “You're him.” Stopping, he didn't go any further.

Looking at the werewolf, Tom nodded, “I am. I'm the one you know as Lord Voldemort.”

“Why? Why is Harry around you? Has he become a Death Eater?” Stomach sinking, he didn't know what to think.

“Harry? A Death Eater? Oh, no! No way,” Tom groaned pinching his nose. “He would argue with me then I would get mad. If I got mad at him Narcissa would get mad at me. If she's mad at me, Bella would get mad. We won't even talk about what Lucius would do if I so much as raised my voice to Harry. No, that would be a nightmare! No, Harry is no Death Eater.” Stopping, he looked at Lupin. “Harry may agree with some of the goals I have, like some parts of our world that need to be changed. However, what he is to me is someone I protect.”

Lifting his chin, he looked at Lupin then said, “You remember what I was like in the last war.” Seeing the werewolf nod, he then told him, “I am no longer that creature. I'm sure you can see that right now. What I took from Harry in the last war I cannot ever give him back. Nor is there a way to make up to him all the pain I've caused. However, I can try. That's what I'm doing. Your old friend's son is under my protection. I'm doing what I can to help and protect him. It's the least I can do for him and it will never be enough. I will try though.” Glancing at the two women there, he said, “It's a complicated situation. Give us time and we'll explain. I would just ask you to wait until Black joins us so we don't have to do it twice. Is that alright?”

Relieved, but not sure what to think, Remus nodded. “Alright, I can deal with that. Where are we anyway? I mean—I don't know. This is confusing. And how are all of you involved?”

“You're in France. Where beyond that I won't tell you,” Narcissa told him. “I'm sure you understand why.” Seeing the man nod, she then told him, “You're in Harry's home.” Stopping she smiled. “Yes, his home. It belongs to him. Lucius and I traded him a home of ours for one of his in Britain so he could be safe. I assure you, Harry is fine, beyond what happened, something that I'm sure you saw in the papers. You can ask him yourself. He's safe here and protected the best we can manage. Nor is he being used.”

Nodding slowly, Remus looked around then rubbed his eyes in a tired way. He was relieved, of course, that Harry was fine, but this was so much to take in. Quietly, he asked, “How much of what's in the paper is true?”

“All of it,” Narcissa told him softly. “I'm sorry you and Sirius had to find out the way you did, but we had no other way to go about it.”

Rubbing his eyes, looking down, he asked, brokenly, eyes burning, “It said this morning that he had to have surgery to fix the damage. Is that—did he? It says it's an interview with him. Is that true too? Harry doesn't give interviews.”

“It's true,” Narcissa told him softly. “We arranged for the Healer and they are a good one so the injury was fixed. He's still healing, of course, but there will be no lasting damage. The interview was given by him. It was something the French Minister wanted done, though we arranged it ahead of time. He—you know him, he's private. It's not something he wanted to do, but he did it to help a friend of his.”

“Neville,” Remus said softly, rubbing his eyes harder, feeling them burning, tears wanting to come. “We heard about it last night. They removed him from the school.”

“Yes,” Tom said gently. “He was worried about his friend more than himself.”

Looking at Tom, eyes wide, then over to Bella, who looked slightly ill, she asked, softly, “Neville? As in Longbottom?”

“Yes,” Remus nodded, sighing.

“Merlin's beard,” Narcissa muttered looking down, shaking her head.

Taking her hand, Tom gave it a squeeze then told Lupin, “You're safe here. I will cause you no harm. We'll talk more when Black is done with Harry and explain all of what is going on. As well as the plan that Narcissa has for it. Since I don't know what that is, it'll be news to me as well.” Looking at his lover, he just saw her smile and figured whatever it was would be something he would like and approve of.

Smiling at him, she just nodded.

Looking at the three seated across from him, Remus gave a shaky nod. “Alright. I can wait.”

Summoning an elf, Narcissa had the creature bring some tea while they waited. Smiling at the werewolf, she said, gently, “It's all fine, I promise. No tricks. Just relax the best you can.”

Though that was easier said than done, Remus leaned back in his chair and waited, feeling older than his years. This was a mess, a big one, but, maybe, he would have some answers before the day was out. At least he hoped he would. Even if he didn't, though, he knew the most important thing; Harry was safe and protected, somewhere no one could get to him. Of all the things that had happened, it was the best part of it. Anything else? Well, he would wait and see then work with it from there.

Please review!
- 9
- 10
- 11
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

If This Is How You Treat Your Heroes...