Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Toonie\'s Love	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Sirius Views: 50454 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 10
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and make no money off this story.

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

With help from Lynn who works with me when it comes to flow, continuity and other issues.

Chapter 10

Glancing across the table at Remus, Sirius wasn't sure what to do. As expected, they had plenty of Order members over. The problem came in that no one, including Albus, even with his vaunted connections, could actually get their hands on the paper with the article in it. That none of them expected. By now, everyone heard that it was an interview with Harry, having proof to back that up, and there was plenty in there they needed to know, but the papers had sold out, Albus couldn't find them, whatever. No one could get their hands on one, even going outside the UK. Which meant they had problems and needed some way to warn PJ what he was about to walk down into, because it was chaos. He knew they could get the information from the papers PJ had, but didn't want to mention it or drag him into the middle of the nightmare happening. He would wait to see what came of the mess from Albus as he and Snape were out desperately trying to get their hands on a copy of at least one of them.

As far as he knew, his godson was just getting up for the day and probably going to head out to vanish until well after nightfall. That was the plan anyway. This, though, they didn't expect. And it was going to look real odd for him or Remus to go say something to him as they had a role to play. The mere fact that it was an interview with Harry would have the two of them clamoring to know what was said in it, refusing to leave the kitchen until they knew something. If they didn't, people would end up suspicious. They couldn't have that. Which meant they needed to find some way to get word to PJ about what he would be walking into. Shite!

Looking up as the kitchen door opened, Sirius gave an internal sigh as Albus and Snape walked in. More not good there as they didn't look pleased. They didn't need either of them around when PJ came downstairs, either. Quietly, he asked, knowing it would be expected, “Did you find a copy?”

“No. I'm sorry, Sirius,” Albus said with a sigh as he sat down. Severus was already pacing the kitchen, looking thunderous. “We can't get our hands on anything, no matter who we've contacted. From what we're hearing, it's sold out everywhere. I've sent owls off to those I know on the continent to have them send their paper when they're done, but we probably won't manage to get those until tomorrow sometime.”

And that was even more 'not good' none of them in the house needed. Double shite! Not sure what to say, glancing at Remus, he was about to formulate something that would sound like it would be a comment he would come across with in this situation, when Albus drew his attention once more.

“As it's after noon, could you see if PJ is amiable to checking if his papers are in? Even the Portuguese language paper would be a big help, though the ones from the colonies would be better as they're sure to have the article,” Albus asked, hopeful Sirius' lover would do that.

Seeing that as the perfect out to go warn his godson about the hell that was waiting, Sirius nodded vigorously, “Let me see if he's up yet. I didn't even think about that!” Standing, he headed in that direction as fast as he could, hoping like hell PJ was still in their room.

Watching Sirius go, Remus asked, hoping that this would sound 'normal' and something he'd inquire about, “Do you think it really is an interview with Harry?”

Looking at Remus then glancing around the table at concerned faces, including from the Weasleys, Albus said, softly, “We think it's authentic from what we've heard of it. We'll have to wait and see just what it says to determine that.”

“If it is, at least he's alive,” Remus said with what he hoped was a relieved sigh.

“What in Merlin's name is Potter doing giving an interview instead of contacting us?” Severus snarled, pacing faster, mind working over the situation.

“That we have to wait and see on, Severus,” Albus told him softly, worried about this himself.

Stepping into their room, Sirius immediately muttered, “Shite!” Then he turned his back on the scene and covered his face. Oh, PJ was awake, no doubt there, and naked. He was just pulling on his boxers and Sirius had gotten a view of everything. That he most certainly didn't need when it came to aiding in pretending that night didn't happen. Shaking his head, he said, “Sorry.”

“You're fine, Sirius,” PJ chuckled, tugging his boxers up. Reaching up, he finger-combed his wet hair then grabbed a pair of jeans. “I went to an all-boys school, so seeing each other starkers happens. With us being in close quarters, it was coming as well.” Starting to tug them on, he waited to see what Sirius wanted, assuming that it was something unusual for him to return to their room before he came down for breakfast. Well, beyond what he knew had to be coming from that article.

“We have a problem, a big one,” Sirius said, glancing over his shoulder. Relieved to see PJ doing up the zip on his jeans, he turned back around. Despite the seriousness of the situation, he couldn't help but admire what he saw again. Those jeans looked great on PJ and hugged his body perfectly. The no shirt on just revealed what he knew of that flat abdomen with the definition. Not to mention how the water from the shower still beaded on the skin slightly, even though PJ had dried off. Oh, that was still fucking nice! And he did not need to go down that track today. Hell no. Too much was going on for him to end up distracted. Giving himself a now familiar mental swat upside the head to make him focus elsewhere, he tried to concentrate on what was happening, not that body.

“What kind?” PJ asked, curious, as he sat down to pull his socks on.

“No one can get their hands on that paper,” Sirius told him with a sigh. “And I mean no one. Even a quick hop to the continent is finding them all sold out.” He then gave PJ a quick rundown of what was going on, including that they had a kitchen full of people. “Albus and Snape just got back from trying to locate a copy. As that didn't succeed, he wants to know if he can get yours.”

“Shite,” PJ muttered, resting his elbows on his knees after he finished with his socks, looking at Sirius. “I suppose me just vanishing out of the house is out of the question?”

“It is,” Sirius groaned, walking over and taking a seat by PJ. “It would look odd, for a multitude of reasons. Not the least of which is that it's about Harry. You need to remember that I've supposedly not heard from you since you vanished. Any line on finding you would be something I would want to know about. That would include me persuading you to give us the papers.”

“And something else I didn't think of,” PJ groaned, shaking his head. Blowing out a breath, he tried to think what to do.

“Just—come down and send Poe off once he delivers the normal mail. Eat like you normally would then vanish. We'll make it clear you had your day already planned. Remus and I have our phones, so that's what we need to make sure you're safe. Give up the truth; you're going to a couple Muggle libraries for research then heading to a museum. All you have to do,” Sirius told him with a sigh. “It won't be pretty, what you see when those papers come in, but some reaction from you is needed as I wouldn't move you in without covering the bit about Harry with you. Everyone knows Harry is my godson, after all. It would look odd if you didn't.”

“I can handle that,” PJ sighed. “Let me get my shite together, like the laptop and notebooks, then come down. It'll look like I'm ready to go.”

“We'll say something about not being able to go with you like we planned. That'll make it look good. Just clear out as fast as you can manage, all I can tell you,” Sirius told him with a sigh in his voice. “And stay gone as long as you can. This is bound to end up explosive.”

Thinking that over, PJ gave a slow nod. “I will. Let me see what I can do. I'll check in around six tonight. If it's still hell, just tell me to grab pizza on the way home. I'll do that, of course, but I'll stay gone until about eight if you say that. We can all hope that it'll clear out before then.”

“Good plan,” Sirius told him with a clap on the back. “If they all clear out before then, I'll give you a call and we can meet up somewhere to grab a bite to eat.” Sighing, he then said, “Get your stuff together. I'll head back down and meet you there.” Standing with a groan, he headed out of the room to go deal with the hell that was waiting for him.

Watching his godfather go, PJ shook his head. He'd manage this. All he had to do was play it cool. That was something he could manage. After all, he had done that for years now. It was just playing it with a cast of different characters. Standing, he went to gather his things, planning how to make this look good.

“He'll be down shortly,” Sirius said after he sat down. “From what I saw, he's getting his stuff together to head out.” Shaking his head, he added, “I told him we won't be able to go with him like we planned, Remus.” He hoped his old friend would catch on and make it sound good. After all, Remus knew what PJ had planned for the day.

“As long as he keeps his mobile on him, he should be fine,” Remus soothed, trying to make it look good. “From what he said, he'll be in Muggle areas all day, so he should be safe.”

“Is it anything we should worry about?” Albus asked, looking between the two. As far as he knew from Severus' intelligence, PJ wasn't known to the other side yet, so he should be safe. It was just a case of they needed to make sure the young man kept himself safe.

“He's good, Albus,” Sirius sighed. “We were going to a couple libraries so he could do some research and then a museum. It was just something we planned to make a day of was all. I don't think it's something he can put off either. At least it doesn't sound like it, from what he said.”

“He should be fine on his own,” Albus told him, making a placating gesture. “You have the phones now. He can easily call if something looks like its wrong. Just make sure that he sticks to Muggle areas.”

“He knows to do that,” Sirius sighed, shaking his head. “Remus and I have made sure he knows what to keep watch for and to keep himself safe.” Looking up as the door opened, he saw PJ coming in, sorting his mail. Good. They could get this over and done with.

“I got the mail from Poe before he could press on with the barmy bird ballet. He's off to check for the papers now,” PJ said, distracted, as he sorted the mail, sending what he would look through later to their room. Looking up, frowning slightly at the sheer amount of people in the kitchen, he then walked over and sat down by Sirius, putting his backpack down on the floor by his feet. After taking a sip of coffee, he looked at the last of the mail, a small package from his publisher and grinned from ear to ear. Still grinning as he enlarged it, he quickly tore into it, ignoring the plate one of the elves delivered. Oh, this would definitely counterbalance the shite going on!

Seeing the look on PJ's face, Sirius couldn't help but grin himself. “What's that?” He asked, looking at the box his godson enlarged. Whatever it was certainly made PJ happy.

“The advance copies of my new book!” PJ told him, pulling them out. Looking at the cover, grin growing, he handed one to Sirius then slid one over to Remus. “Which means that we have to do the traditional thing to celebrate tonight! Have to! It's a ritual I have to follow.”

Grinning himself as he looked at the book, turning it over to see the picture on the back, Sirius nodded, “We do!” Glancing at the still grinning PJ, he asked, after a look at the now smiling Remus, “What do you usually do?”

“Go out for a nice steak dinner,” PJ told him, sending the box with the rest of the copies to their room while glancing over the letter that came with it to make sure there wasn't anything in it he had to know. Putting it inside the book that he sat down on the table by him, he chuckled, “And I usually get drunk. We can forgo that bit, I think.” What he didn't add was that the drunk usually was followed by him going out to get laid. He wasn't about to do that with Sirius and Remus along or go out just to try. No, not happening. Besides, he thought that going out with Remus and Sirius to celebrate would be better anyway. It would be the first time that he had been with someone he was close with to celebrate the release of a book. That was better for him as he could share the excitement.

“We can manage that,” Sirius said with a grin, looking over at Remus, who was nodding and smiling as well. “There are a couple good steak houses I know that we can go to. We'll have a good time!”

“We will,” Remus smiled, pushing the book over for PJ to autograph for him. “And I can't wait to start reading this! It'll be the first time I've had an advance copy of one.”

“Hope you like it,” PJ grinned, then shoved the book back after he signed it. Putting his copy in his backpack to take along with him, he then dug into his breakfast, hoping to finish fast so he could get the hell out of there once Poe delivered the bombshell papers. Yeah, he didn't want to stick around for the hell that was bound to come.

“I will most certainly have to buy the book when it comes out,” Albus said with a smile. Sirius had passed over his copy, after having PJ sign it, of course, and he flipped through it, reading the summary. “When is it due out?”

“Next week,” PJ told him between bites of food.

Taking the book back from Albus, Sirius laid it by his plate then actually glared at Ginny, who was ogling PJ. He wasn't going to snarl yet, but that was coming. Seeing her look at him, a disgruntled expression on her face, he narrowed his eyes at her, hoping she got the hint. He doubted it, but he hoped. Focusing on PJ, he said, quietly, “Just stick to Muggle areas today, please. It sounds like we'll be busy. If anything seems off, call. We'll get there as fast as we can.”

“I'll be fine,” PJ told him, shoving his empty plate away. “I'll be in really busy areas, so it's nothing to worry about. The only time I might be elsewhere I'll be safe as well.” Seeing Sirius about to ask, he said, “My publishers. If I get time, I'm stopping there to see if they can get me an appointment to get into the Black Museum run by Scotland Yard. I'm not holding my breath on that as it's generally only law enforcement that can get in. They just have some authentic evidence I would like to see. If I can't, I'm not worried about it.”

“That's fine,” Sirius said, knowing PJ's publisher was in a safe place that wasn't in a high traffic area for their kind. “Just—anything off or a feeling something is and you call. One of us will show.”

“I will, don't worry,” PJ said, distracted, as Poe flew in. Unlike normal, the bird landed on his shoulder and stuck out his leg, looking around as he did. He assumed Poe, like most animals, had a feeling that something was off and tensions were high. Good. He didn't have to put up with the normal dance. Taking the papers and enlarging them, he tossed the bird a bit of scraps from his plate then opened the one on top of the pile. Though he was prepared for the article, he wasn't expecting the picture of himself, when he was in his third year, to grace the front page. Though the headline of Harry Potter Is Alive! Tells Britain To Fight Its Own War! made him want to grin. Quietly, to look good, he said to Sirius, handing the papers over, “It's about your godson.”

Taking the paper,s giving an internal grin over the headline on the one himself, Sirius breathed, “Bloody hell.” Quickly flipping through it and reading, he shook his head and said, “It sounds real.” Looking up, glancing at the tense faces, he said, “He's alive. Where he is I don't know, but he's alive!” Duplicating all three the papers PJ got, he passed them out and waited for the hell to come, hoping PJ took that as a cue to get out of there.

“That's good,” PJ told him, with a nod. Shaking his head, he groaned, “I have to get out of here to get there and settle in. It'll be busy anyway. Sorry! Fill me in later, yeah?”

Reaching over and patting PJ's back, Sirius said, looking up from the paper. “I understand and I will. Check in here and there, alright?”

“Will do,” PJ said, standing and grabbing his backpack. “I'll let Poe out as I go.” Seeing a distracted nod from Sirius, as would be expected, he then left, thankful to get out of there before the true hell from what was contained in that article hit.

Rubbing a hand over his mouth, Sirius looked around. Though he kept a concerned look on his face, he was grinning internally. This had set off all kinds of shite, that's for damned sure. Ron and Hermione weren't in the kitchen at the moment, but you could hear them. Hermione anyway. They were in one of the small parlors in the back of the house, but you could still hear Hermione screaming at Ron over what was said in the article. Ginny was just pale and shaking, looking down while her parents were just stunned. Plenty of others were glancing at the article, looking at Albus here and there as they did. The old man—he just looked uncomfortable, all there was to it. Snape was up and pacing, looking murderous.

As things weren't calming yet, Sirius sighed and asked, keeping a level tone, “The Horcrux bit—is it real, Albus? He says he thought you knew. This—I had no clue about any of it or most of what he said there.”

Stroking his beard with a trembling hand, Albus sighed and shut his eyes. None of this was good. At all. Not only was he sure it was real, as there was plenty of documentation to back it up and they showed it, obscuring bits that would actually allow them to trace Harry, but it gave up plenty none of them needed out there. And he was sure that Armageddon was about to come to the UK as Tom would be set off in a way none of them had seen before. Quietly, he said, “It was my leaning, yes. It would explain so much, like the connection in Harry's scar and him being a Parselmouth.” That's where he stopped as he didn't want to go into much of what he knew.

“Is there any chance at all we can trace Harry through this?” Remus asked, glancing around. “I get they made sure that nothing in here will give away where Harry is, but there has to be a way. We need to protect him.”

“Let me see what I can manage,” Albus sighed. “I don't know. We'll start with the reporter and see what we can do. I think we need to go talk to Vernon and Petunia. If this is correct, and Petunia left Vernon, he may not know anything. There should be a way to trace her, though. I don't know.”

“We need to find Harry,” Sirius told him, voice hard as steel. “I don't care. He's my godson and I want him here to protect him! I get he wants out. Shite, I can't blame him a damned bit, what with all that's there, but I want him with me. Now!”

“He threw us all under the Knight Bus,” Severus snarled, pacing faster, running through the myriad of clues to see if there was something, anywhere, that would show him that the signs had been there of what was coming when the brat was at school. Then any hints in that article as to where to find the spoiled man. He was needed to end this mess and he shouldn't be allowed to back out now!

“It was his right,” Remus said softly, shaking his head. “And Petunia's. He is her nephew. She had the right to do what she did, even if we didn't like it. Sirius had no standing in the matter at the time as he was still wanted and on the run. She probably did what she felt was best. I can't blame her.” Looking at Sirius, he said, gently, as it would be expected, “Harry is now a grown man. He has the right to stay away. With what he said, if this is real, he has his reasons. I know you want to protect him, all of us understand that, but he's managed to do that on his own up until now. Leaving him alone might be best. I'm sure he misses you as much as you do him, but trying to force him back here, even if we can find him, probably isn't wise.”

“I get that,” Sirius groaned, shaking his head. This was good, though, and playing into what anyone would expect. “I just want to know where he is and that he's safe.”

“He needs to come back,” Severus snarled. “We can't end this without him! Petunia threw a spanner into this nightmare we can't counter without him.”

“We have to try, Severus,” Albus said softly. “As Remus said; Harry is a grown man now. Just like all the ones in the Order his age, he’s allowed to make his own choices. It appears he's done that. If it's as he says and he doesn't trust most of us to do the right thing, him being here won't help. We leave it alone. I'll see what I can manage to trace him then one of us can talk to him, probably Sirius, but if he's adamant that he wants to stay out, we honor that choice.”

“At least we know he's alive,” Molly said softly, glancing at her daughter, not sure what to make of what they said about her. Sighing as she heard Hermione shrieking at Ron, she shook her head. That wasn't something she didn’t know what to do about either, honestly. It would have to come, though, as it affected plenty. If it was true, she was having a long talk with plenty of people.

Looking at Remus, Tonks then looked down at the paper before glancing at Kingsley. Seeing her friend look at her she asked, gently, “How much of what is written about you is truthful, Albus?”

Knowing that was probably coming, though hoping it was left unsaid, Albus sighed. Softly, he said, “As I've told all of you in the past; being smarter than most, my mistakes tend to end up bigger. In the case of the areas discussed there, they were monumental in size. I think we can all agree that when we're younger, we make foolish blunders. I was no different.” That's where he left it. What was there was bad enough, he didn't want to get into anything else that wasn't and have to explain those. Looking around, he said, “We all got a bit of a spanking in this article. It just goes to prove that we aren't perfect and have made mistakes. Take it as that. What we need to do is, first, verify what we can of what's in here then work on seeing what we can find. Most of all, though, we need to prepare. What will come of this when Tom reads it will make everything we've dealt with so far look like a lark.”

“Is that his real name and lineage?” Kingsley asked, tone hushed.

“Yes,” Albus said with a heavy sigh. Having that out there for the whole world to see was a bad thing. It would set Tom off in a fit of homicidal rage that would be unlike anything they had ever seen.

“What about the Prophecy? Is that the one we've been protecting?” Arthur asked, not sure what to make of so much of the article, though pleased as punch that Harry was safe. He even wanted to give Petunia a kiss for loving her nephew enough to do everything in her power to protect him. It might not be something that would help them now, but he understood the impulse and was thankful for it!

“That's what it says, yes,” Albus told them quietly. “And the same with the person that made it. It's the reason I've been protecting her as much as I can.” That he was slightly angry about as it gave Tom an edge they didn't need him to have. Though the man had part of it, he hoped that he could hold him off from learning what the whole thing said for as long as he could. It being out there, coupled with the Horcrux bit, was not something they needed anyone to know.

Glaring at the old man, Sirius asked, “Why didn't you tell us some of this, Albus? We had a right to know. Especially me. He's my godson. Hiding parts of this mess helped no one. And this is the result of doing that! I can't blame him for saying he can't trust you and why he doesn't want to come back!” Though that was keeping within character for him, he truly wanted to know.

Shutting his eyes, head dropping forward, Albus sighed, not sure how to answer that. Thinking it over for a few moments, he said, “You need to understand how young Harry was when so much of this happened. I didn't know parts at first, though my leanings were there. I wanted him to have a chance to grow and be normal.”

“He never had that, Albus,” Remus said as softly and gently as he could. “Ever. Harry was Harry—he was the Boy Who Lived. He wasn't ever going to get normal. Couple that with all that happened and something needed said. The Horcrux part alone needed imparted so something could be done about it. The surgery he talked about is something that isn't done here. I've never heard of something like it before. If it's how he said and generally only death will do away with it, how did that factor in? It seems to fit with that Prophecy.” He didn't expect an answer to that, of course, but he wanted to ask. More for his own information than anything else.

“We would have found some way to remove it,” Albus said quietly. “Even if he died, he would have come back. And the rest—looking back, I realize that now. I also understand that what I've done has led to part of what he said in the paper. It's another of my more spectacular blunders.”

Though Sirius was about to say something to him and snarl, he was beaten to the punch by Snape.

“One we are all now paying for, Albus,” Severus snapped, looking murderous. “Including all of the British Isles while we now have to sort through a mess that Potter has left and a Dark Lord that is likely to go completely mental over what was said. Your 'blunder', as you put it, will probably be raining hell down on all of us in a matter of days. And if that Prophecy is true, though I'm not sure about Potter's interpretation of what it says, we have no way of ending this as the one destined to do that won't come back! If we can even find him, something that will take time and effort, we can't guarantee we can get him back here to finish it!”

“You're correct, Severus,” Albus admitted in a quiet tone. “Which means we press on and do what we can.”

“And that includes dividing an Order that's stretched thin as it is to trace plenty of areas when we need them to help with others,” Severus snarled, glaring at the old man.

“Again, a true assessment I won't argue with, Severus,” Albus told him, shaking his head. “Our only saving grace, if you would, here is that it's doubtful that the Ministry will stay in denial much longer. I also doubt Tom is going to stay hidden from now on and his strikes will end up overt. That can only aid us.”

“And put all of us in more danger than we were to start with,” Arthur said quietly.

“Yet another true statement,” Albus admitted. “I'm going to say that anyone that was close to Harry may end up targeted to draw him back. So, we have to take care.” Looking around, not wanting to dissect that article any more yet until he had a chance to go over it alone, he said, “I'm calling in every Order member out there to have a meeting. Now. We need to assign people to do various things. Then we need to prepare for others. We have plenty to work on as not only is Tom going to make his presence known, but listing the known Death Eaters, then exposing them for what they are, is apt to cause havoc for many. Which means we need to set up what we can soonest.” Seeing nods, he quickly began dividing up the work and who was to get hold of whom. That they needed, of course, however, it was also buying him time to figure out how in Merlin's name he was going to deal with this situation. Because he just didn't know for once.

Picking up the paper, looking at the last page of the interview, Sirius gave an internal grin at the final few lines of it. In that, Harry made it clear that Harry Potter was gone, long gone. He had 'died' years ago, the summer he vanished. Someone else took his place at that time. It was then he made his new life, one he made clear that no one was going to muck up. Though Sirius missed being in his godson's life for all those years, he had to admit that PJ was someone he adored. Yeah, Harry was gone to most, someone they would never find, but he knew who he was and loved who his godson had become. Let Harry stay 'dead' to most of the world. He didn't give a shite about that. Let Albus and others fumble to deal with the fallout from this. Let the UK tear itself apart in a war that had been building for years. He had Harry and that's all that mattered to him. And Harry—he adored him and wanted to get to know him. That he could, and would, manage. Without anyone being the wiser, too. Perfect.
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