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Through the Veil and Back Again	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 77508 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 13
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter (though someone could gift me a few of the men in it and I wouldn't complain) and make no money off of this.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
Beta'd by the amazing Tenchi. Love you, woman, you're the best!

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Chapter 10

Sitting at the kitchen table, sipping his coffee, Remus was going over a grocery list with Narcissa. As this was the day that he normally went out for supplies, he was getting together with her to see what she required. Sirius always had some stuff he wanted picked up, as did Harry, so he was waiting for those two to come down then for Bill, who was going with him, to get there. It was decided before Harry had arrived that it would look odd for him, because so many knew his situation, to gather the massive amount of groceries needed to run the house, let alone have the money that it would take. If Bill was along, everyone would just assume he was picking up food and sundries for his family.

Looking over the list that was there for food, Narcissa said, quietly, “If I can get Sirius' approval, we can do what is done for the manor and set up an account then have one of the elves pick up the order each week. It wouldn't seem odd to anyone, as an elf is an elf. That would stave off you having to do this, as well as anything we might run out of can easily be retrieved by one of them. Such things deduct directly from a Gringotts account with no one at the store being able to tell whose account it comes from. Of course, I would ensure that the elves have no markings on their towels to give away who they are doing the marketing for.”

“That may be the way to go,” Remus nodded. “I'm used to grabbing for only the three of us. As there are more to consider, this might be easier. It would just leave me picking up the other things we need and Muggle items that are wanted, like Harry's orange juice.”

Listening in while he ate his breakfast, Draco frowned then asked, “What's orange juice? I mean, I know what oranges are, of course, but is that like a Muggle form of pumpkin juice?”

“Actually, no,” Remus told him, chuckling. “Do you like oranges?” Seeing Draco nod, he stood then went and poured him a small glass. Handing it to the young man, he said, “Try that.”

Though wary, Draco took a sip then his eyes grew wide before he said, “It's good! It tastes just like oranges.”

“Because it is,” Remus smiled at him. “Muggles squeeze the juice out of oranges somehow and make that. There's no sweeteners in it, just the juice. Harry likes it and it's good for him so I pick him up some each week. There is a little holistic food store down the street that makes fresh squeezed every day. ” Looking at the other two, seeing a curious look on their faces, he poured two more small glasses and handed one to each of them. “If you like it, I can pick up bigger containers of it.”

Though wary because it was a Muggle food item, Lucius sipped it then nodded, “This is rather good. Yes, more would be appreciated. You say Muggles squeeze the juice out of real oranges?”

“You have to ask Harry about that,” Remus told him with a shake of his head, sitting back down. “He seems to know how it's done and it's not complex. I just don't know.”

“Oh, yes, more would be appreciated!” Narcissa said after finishing hers. “It's quite good. I'll get with Harry to see how it's done. If it's simple, I think the elves can manage it.”

Pulling out his other list, the really short one of what he picked up from Muggle stores close by, Remus added a note about the juice then asked, distracted, “Is there anything else you can think of that we need?”

“No, I think this is all,” Narcissa said. “If you can get the account set up, the elves can handle it from there.”

Nodding, Remus tucked the lists away then said, “I think there are some other items Sirius wants, some things we're getting for Harry that he needs, so I'll wait on him before I finalize everything.” Stopping, he looked at Lucius then asked, “You wanted to do the basement today, didn't you?”

“Yes, it was my thought to work on it as much as we could to stave off pest problems. I believe Sirius and I are more than capable of taking on whatever is down there.” Lucius told him.

“I'll help when I get back. As Bill will be going with me, you might want to ask him about the painting. He looked at it and may be able to give you some idea of what charms or spells are on it.” Stopping, he glanced at Draco then said, “If I may, a suggestion?” Seeing Lucius nod, he pressed on, “Take Harry and Draco down with you. Their education on how to deal with pest problems has been rather lacking, what with some of the teachers that have been at the school for defense. I don't mean to help, but let them watch. Both you and Sirius are capable of explaining what you're doing in a way they can understand so they have some idea of how to deal with the things that may be there. They can't use magic, but even watching will help.”

Not having thought about something like that, Lucius nodded slowly. Draco had a good education about spells and whatnot, but hadn't dealt with pest problems as Malfoy Manor didn't have that issue. No, this was a good idea. “Excellent suggestion. Yes, I believe we should do that. Narcissa can come down with us and stay with them as they watch to stave off issues.”

Smiling, Remus nodded. At least they were being amiable about the whole thing, that helped. Looking at Draco, he asked, trying to be friendly, “Is there anything you want from the store in particular? Something that is a treat you would like?”

Stopping eating, Draco thought it over then said, “Some chocolate, maybe. Something like that or snacks.”

“Alright, I'll pick up something. Any preference?” Seeing the young man shake his head, he added that to his list then said, tone distracted, “Would you like to try the Muggle version of some? I don't mean a lot, but a couple candy bars? They are different than what we have, but quite tasty. I can get those while I pick up some stuff for Harry and Sirius.”

Though mentally sneering at the thought that Muggles could make good chocolate, Draco nodded then told him, “Sure, I'll try a couple.” That way it looked like he was playing nice and being sociable about everything.

Smiling, Remus added that to his list as well.

Trailing Sirius down the stairs, Harry was rubbing his eyes, groaning. He was still tired. Since this whole mess with the visions and voices started, he was more tired than normal. Remus and Sirius thought it might be that it was drawing on his magic as it formed, making him tired. Right now, honestly, he wanted to suck down a half a case of Coke or something to get him going. Really, he was seriously craving Coke right now. He figured it probably had to do with the amount of caffeine and sugar in it. Mentally saying something to Sirius about that, he said, “I'm going to give Remus some money to pick me up some.”

“Yeah, good idea. I'm betting you need the caffeine to even be functional,” Sirius told him back. Harry was lethargic anymore until he sucked down large amounts of tea or something with caffeine in it. As his godson didn't like coffee at all, they were doing their best with it. Coke, he thought, would be fine as long as Harry balanced it out with other things.

Staying quiet as they passed the painting, Harry peered over Sirius' shoulder at the catalog he was looking through. “That the razors and junk?”

“Yeah, figured we'd pick one out and have Remus grab it while he's out. Same with some other things you need. I'll give you a crash course in how to use them later,” Sirius told him with a nod. Walking into the kitchen, he made a beeline straight for the coffee. After grabbing a cup, he nodded to everyone then took a seat at the table right next to Harry. Holding the catalog out for him, he asked, “Any preference as to which one you want?”

Taking a plate of food from Remus, Harry glanced at the thing then shook his head. “I don't even know what I'm looking at. You do, so pick out what you think is best.”

“Alright,” Sirius nodded. “I'll find you something good.” Flipping through the pages, he sighed, shaking his head. There were so many different ones, he wasn't sure what to get. As they planned on vanishing, he wanted a good one that would last a long time as they weren't sure when they would be able to get out again for such things.

Glancing at what Black was holding while eating, Lucius recognized it as one of the sales catalogs put out by a place in Diagon Alley that dealt with personal hygiene so he asked, trying to start a conversation, “What is it you're trying to find? Mayhaps I can be of assistance.”

Lowering the booklet, Sirius glanced at Lucius, “A good razor for Harry. We picked him up a Muggle one, but I thought one of ours would be better. Just trying to find one that's not complicated to use and works well, nothing more.”

Having dealt with this issue when it came to Draco the year before, Lucius nodded. “Let me see, if you would. I know a good one. It's long lasting, easy to use and better for ones just starting to need it.”

Though wary of Lucius, and his motives for anything, Sirius handed it over. After all, he had a son the same age so he probably knew what he was getting. “It's one of those things no one thought about getting for him or teaching him to use,” Sirius shrugged.

Brow furrowing, Draco looked at Potter, “Didn't your family go over that with you?” After all, that was standard. He couldn't imagine that someone wouldn't bother to teach you something so basic, even if it was done the Muggle way.

Snorting, a small grin on his face, Harry shook his head, “You never met my family.”

Dark look passing over his face at the mention of the Dursley's, Sirius snorted, “We won't get into that. And, no, they didn't. I'll go over it with him. Same with some other things.”

Lowering the catalog, Lucius looked at Potter, brow furrowed, then glanced down at Narcissa, who appeared to be slightly stunned by that revelation. He knew, from what Severus had said, that Potter's family life wasn't the best, but he couldn't fathom that no one would have even bothered to teach the young man to shave. After all, that was a routine required of every male out there and was something like a bonding ritual all seemed to enjoy. Shaking his head, he looked back down at the catalog. Flipping through the pages, he found the item he was looking for them, held it out for Black. Pointing to the one on the page when the other man took it, he said, “This is the one I procured for Draco. It's a good, reliable one that will last a long time. It's also intended for the younger set, thus easy to use without the added spells for other things they don't require. It should work quite well for what you need.”

Nodding, looking at it, Sirius said, “Alright, we'll go with that one.” Conjuring a quill, he marked it for Remus then flipped through to pick out some other things. As he was doing that, Bill came in.

Grinning at the older Weasley, Harry waved at him, “Hey, Bill.”

“Hey, Harry,” Bill grinned, grabbing himself a cup of coffee then sitting down by Remus. Pulling a couple tins out of his pocket, he enlarged them then said, “Mum sent over some fudge for you and Draco. And,” he told him, pulling a letter out of his pocket, “this came for you. Dad said to pass it along.”

Taking the tin of fudge, grin growing, Harry set it aside then took the letter. “Tell your mum thanks! Her fudge is the best.” Looking at the address he nudged Sirius, “It's from Dudley.”

Peering over at the letter, Sirius grinned, “Good! He kept his word.” Looking at Remus, he told him, “Stop at the post office while at the alley and get some Muggle stamps so Harry can write back.”

Pleased that Harry's cousin wrote like he said he would, Remus nodded, smiling then added it to the list.

“Who's Dudley,” Draco asked, curious. As far as he knew, there was no one at school with that name.

“My cousin,” Harry told him distractedly while he read through the letter, still grinning.

Smiling, pleased that Harry was happy, Bill nodded. All of them had been stunned when the letter had shown up, even though Sirius had told them to expect something. No, this was good. At least one member of Harry's real family wanted to stay in contact with him. Chuckling, he said, “Dad asked if you didn't want the stamp from it if he could have it.”

Laughing, Harry tore the part of the envelope with the stamp off and slid it to Bill. “Tell him to enjoy it!”

Pocketing it, Bill grinned then he looked at the Malfoy's. Though wary, like all of them were about this, he asked, quietly, trying to keep a respectful tone, “Mum asked what kind of cake you like, Draco. She said she would bake you one for your birthday.”

Without looking up from the letter, Harry grinned and said, tone distracted, “Let her! Mrs. Weasley makes the best cakes in the world!”

Not sure what to think of that, Draco glanced to his mother and father, both of whom gave him a slight nod then said, “Chocolate is my favorite.”

“Alright, I'll tell her,” Bill told him. “Not sure what she has in mind, but she'll make something good for you. She thought it would be nice since you can't go out right now.”

“Tell Molly we said thank you,” Narcissa said respectfully, smiling softly. Though there was no love there for the Weasley's, it was nice that they were thinking of them and the situation.

After Sirius finished marking things off in the catalog they needed, he passed it to Remus who added it to the list. Nodding, he looked at Harry, “Anything else you want while I'm out?”

Nodding while chewing, he swallowed then said, “Coke. I'll give you the money before you go.”

Like Sirius, he had recognized Harry's need for caffeine and the probable reason for it so he said nothing, adding it to the list.

Sitting there, Harry was talking quietly to Sirius when he heard Lucius ask in his head, “What in Merlin's name is Coke?” Without thinking about it, he answered back the same way he did with Sirius, “It's a Muggle fizzy drink.” That's when his eyes widened and he looked up at Lucius.

Head jerking up, Lucius looked at Potter, holding his fork in mid-air. He knew he hadn't asked that question aloud nor did the answer come that way. There was talk around the table and he could tell what he had just heard hadn't come that way. Swallowing his food, he stared at the young man, not sure what to make of that. “Harry? You heard me?” He asked the same way.

Staring at Lucius, Harry said back telepathically, “Yes,” while nudging Sirius. The night before, while lying in bed, they had come up with something to block the talking. It wasn't what Snape had taught him, but a different way. The only way he could think to describe it was that it was like closing and opening a garage door. How long it would work, he didn't know, as they only tried it for short times, but it did. Shutting down, or hoping to, the connection to Lucius, Harry quickly explained what was going on to his godfather.

Rubbing his eyes, Sirius groaned. “Oh, shite. That was fucking fast!” He shot back to Harry telepathically.

“No kidding,” Harry groaned.

“How clear is it?” Sirius asked, glancing at Lucius, who looked floored.

“Very clear, like talking to you. Only difference is it's softer than your 'voice'.” Harry explained.

“Probably because we've sealed the bond,” Sirius told him, glancing at Remus, shooting his friend a pointed look.

Sighing, Harry lowered the block because, as it was still something new, it caused a mild headache if he did it for too long. After another glance at Lucius, who was still looking slightly gobsmacked, he sighed and dug into what remained of his food. This wasn't good and he knew it.

While talking with Sirius about setting up an automatic account, something he was more than willing to agree to and they were working out the details, Narcissa was glancing between her husband and Potter. Lucius was shooting her more pointed looks and had a slightly stunned look on his face. Potter was looking at the table, a disturbed expression on his face. Something had happened, but she didn't know what. And she wanted to find out.

Sitting in the small parlor after breakfast while waiting for Sirius to gather some things, Narcissa looked at Lucius after he explained what happened, shaking her head. “Are you sure that's what it was?” She asked, tone slightly stunned.

Pacing back and forth, Lucius looked at her then nodded, “Oh, yes. It was telepathy, no doubt about it. I heard him loud and clear. Nor would I have any way of knowing Coke is a Muggle fizzy drink! It was—I don't even know how to describe it. I've never experienced anything like it before.”

Brow furrowed, Narcissa looked down then asked, “Is it all the time or just that once?”

“I'm not getting anything other than that. I think—well, the way it seemed was I had to ask him something direct to pick it up. However, it seems that he can shut it down because that happened right afterwards. I don't know, Narcissa. It wasn't there last night.”

“Lucius, we need to find out if he can pick up anything else! With what's going on, it wouldn't be good for him to be able to read your other thoughts.” She told him, looking concerned.

Rubbing his forehead, Lucius stopped pacing and looked at her, not having thought about that. “Alright, let me see what I can find out. I can't from him. After it happened, I tried. So, maybe, that's the same for him. I don't know. You're right, though. It could be disastrous if that is the case.” Looking at her, he said, “It just started too. It—it was out of the blue with no warning.”

Wringing her hands slightly, Narcissa let out a shaky breath. “We need to get this to—well, you know. It's something that needs to be passed along. While you’re busy in the basement, I'll write something up and have an elf take it to Severus. He can pass it along from there.” Stopping, she looked at Lucius then asked, “You can Occlude. Were you?”

“I was,” he nodded firmly. “It—it didn't stop it and was crystal clear.”

Rubbing a shaking hand over her forehead, Narcissa shook her head. This was bad, very bad. She couldn't Occlude nor could Draco. If Potter was telepathic and could pick things up from them, there was a big problem. “Just—see what you can find out, alright? I'll get a short note out and we'll go from there.”

Dropping down onto the sofa by Narcissa, Lucius scrubbed a hand over his face then said, tone distracted, “I bet he's doing the same with Black. It might explain some of the out of place expressions we see from them and them being 'weird', as Lupin put it.”

Taking that in, Narcissa nodded then sighed. “Alright, I'll pass that along as well.” Stopping, she looked at the floor then said, “Maybe, rather than trying to work with some things, we need to build trust. I know everyone is wary, rightfully so, but that's going to need to come. Perhaps, with this connection, you can work on that. I'll try on my end and get Draco to do the same. The bulk, though, should come from you. I don't know what this connection is, or why it's there, how it'll manifest, what it'll demand, anything like that, but it's going to be big. With our history with Potter—Harry, we should start calling him that, we have a lot to do, Lucius.”

Nodding, Lucius took that as sound advice. “I'll see what I can do. Yes, calling him by his first name will be a start. Same with the others in the house. This should come first, before anything. That and assurances that we're not here to betray them. It's the complete and utter truth, so there is no issue there.”

“Pass that tidbit along as well so someone knows what we're doing and, maybe, can give advice. Asking Severus about that might be helpful as well. His relationship with those in this house isn't the best, but he's closer to them and knows things we don't. He might be able to assist.” Lucius told her, glancing over at her.

“I will,” she told him with a firm nod. Trembling slightly, knowing this could be disastrous if Potter—Harry, could really read thoughts, Narcissa tried to get herself together.

Reaching over, Lucius took his wife's hand and gave it a squeeze. “Don't worry too much. If he hasn't picked anything up by now, he might not be able to. Let's face it, if he knew something was off, he would have said something to someone. He hasn't and things are going well. That's a good sign,” Lucius soothed, both for his wife and himself.

“Yes, there is that,” Narcissa said with a nod, not having thought about that part. Sighing, she shook her head. “Alright, we need to go act normal. It won't do for them to find us by ourselves and looking like we're conspiring or something.” Standing, she smoothed down her robe then went to find Draco.

Rubbing a hand over his face, Lucius shook his head then stood. Composing himself the best he could, he followed his wife out, determined to make this work.

Sitting on the edge of Sirius' bed, Harry had his elbows resting on his knees, hands clasped, looking down at the floor. Shaking his head, he told his godfather, voice slightly shaky, “There is something here, Sirius. I don't know what it is and it's strange but—maybe—I don't know. It's—weird.”

Sitting on a chair in front of the bed, having changed into some old clothes for the basement cleaning, Sirius rubbed a hand over his face then said, “Yeah, it is. He's the third, no doubt there. I just don't know about the rest of what your mum said. Some doesn't fit. And I don't trust him! Not at all. You picking up on any kind of agenda from them? I mean, you said you're getting a little here and there.”

“Nothing like that,” Harry said, shaking his head. “I'm getting some things, obviously, but nothing that is telling me plots or plans.” Stopping, he looked down then said, “I don't know how to explain this--” Stopping, he sighed and rubbed his face.

“Just say it, we'll then work from there,” Sirius told him softly.

Looking up again, he said, “It's a feeling, alright? I don't know where it's coming from or how I got it, but it's there.”

Nodding, Sirius said nothing but motioned for Harry to continue.

“They aren't here to hurt us. I don't think they're here for the reason they said they are, but why they are isn't to sell us out either. There's an agenda, no doubt, I just don't know what it is. I think, just from what I am getting with this, that we're the main focus, those of us here right now, not the Order. Sirius, my danger signals aren't going off over them. Dumbledore is setting them off, no doubt, but they aren't. Something is telling me that they can be trusted. I'm leery of that, you better believe it, but it's there.”

Sighing, Sirius looked down. After a couple minutes, he nodded then said, “Alright. Though I haven't asked this before, I'm going to now. Pay attention to what you're picking up from Narcissa and Draco. I don't mean go and fish to find something. You wouldn't do that, I know it. Just see if there is anything that can give us some clues about what's going on. We'll work from there.”

Though not liking that, as he still felt like what he was getting was an invasion of privacy from the person he was picking it up from, Harry nodded. “I will. Mostly, I don't get anything like that. I mean, Draco I'm getting more from, I assume it's because I know him better, but even what I'm getting from him has nothing to do with this part. It's something else. Narcissa is the same way. I'll pay attention though. If I get anything, I'll let you know.”

“Good,” Sirius nodded. “We'll also work on that block we came up with. Then we need to sort through what you can pick up from me. It'll be safe if you do it with me and go fishing to see if you can do something beyond just the telepathic communication. That way we know what we're working with when it comes to Lucius. I'll also see if I can't get through to him so we can tell if it's just you we can do it with, or me as well.”

Blowing out a breath, thinking this sounded like a right ruddy mess, Harry nodded. “Yeah, we better. 'Cause I'm clueless about what I can actually do and, honestly, don't want to know the full extent. I need to though.”

“You do,” Sirius told him bluntly. “We don't need to end up more blindsided by something new than we have to be. I know you don't like this, Harry, but considering who we're dealing with here, we need to be prepared. The more we know, the better off we're going to be.”

“You're right,” Harry told him. “Alright, I’ll work with it and see what I can find out. I'm just not going fishing for information from people. That—I can't do that.”

“I won't ask you to, either,” Sirius told him gently. “Just work with what you have there and we'll see where it leads. I'll try working from my end as well and see what pops up.” Standing, he stretched. “Alright, let's go play pest control before the lot downstairs thinks something is up.”

With a sigh, Harry stood then followed his godfather out of the room.

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Through the Veil and Back Again