Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Meddling with Darkness	By : zoy_grey Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 32786 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 11
Disclaimer: I do not own nor make profit off of JK Rowling's world of Harry Potter, the characters or the timeline. Though I do own the plot that I came up with in this story.

Chapter List
- 9
- 10
- 11
A/N: I had some problems with uploading the new chapter today, but it seems everything is fine now ;) So, here it is...chapter 10 :) And like I mentioned before, the next update will be in about 2 weeks, because I won't be able to write anything this upcoming week.

Chapter 10
Minutes have passed since Orion and Draco left the adults in the library, but for Severus it felt like hours. He was in no state to think straight; his mind going through every memory he had of the boy, but when he got to the memories he, until now, related with Harry Potter, his heart nearly stopped beating. The potions master couldn’t understand how his life turned out so terribly wrong.
After exchanging glances, Lucius and Narcissa left; deciding it was best to leave the men alone to talk their problems through.
“What have I done?” Sirius uttered distraught, when the two of them were left alone in the room. He sat back in the armchair and without looking at his husband, he nervously turned the silver ring on his finger.
Severus caught the sight of it and asked, “You still have it?”
Sirius looked at him perplexed, but after a moment he saw the other man’s gaze was on his wedding ring. “Yes, I kept it safe all those years in Azkaban…I never took it off.”
“Why?” asked the potions master. He still had his own ring, but after Sirius went to prison, he took it off and wore it on a silver chain around his neck; even now he had it on him; safely hidden under his robes. Nonetheless, he thought the other man got rid of his ring after their fight when Sirius hid Orion.
“Why, you ask?” the man smiled weakly, resigned. “Because it means world to me…and it always gives me hope.”
“Hope? For what?”
“For a new start and to regain our family,” explained Sirius as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
Severus buried his face in his hands and sighed heavily, “Are you certain of what you said before?...About Orion, Potter, Lily and Dumbledore?”
“Yes. Here’s the proof,” he handed the man the letter from James, he found in his vault. Sirius watched the other wizard while he was reading; he could see how time and painful memories have taken their toll on the man, but he was still the same man Sirius fell in love with – something he never admitted to his friends; none of them would understood; he himself didn’t understand it, to be honest, but due to unexpected twist of fate he fell head over heels for the Slytherin. ‘It must have been fate’s irony,’ he thought to himself.
“Albus could have given Orion to Walburga, if he believed you were guilty and deserved Azkaban,” noticed Severus feeling guilty himself for not trying to get his own husband from prison for all those years.
“I know,” answered Sirius. “We wouldn’t be here now, if only Dumbledore didn’t meddle in things that don’t concern him.”
“How did you get back into Narcissa’s favour, though?”
“It’s a long story, but she found out from Draco about Harry being in fact Orion,” he explained. “I also seek revenge on Dumbledore, so…I guess that gives me at least some credit in Lucius’ eyes.”
The potions master nodded in agreement; it explained a lot how Lucius would appreciate such attitude towards the old headmaster. “You seek your revenge by joining the Dark Lord, then?” he asked remembering that Sirius mentioned Voldemort earlier. The man wasn’t really sure what to think about such turns of events; he never would have thought the older Black would support the dark wizard, especially since he was strongly against Voldemort before. Fate seemed to mock them in all ways possible – last war, Sirius was a neutral member of the Order and he was an active Death Eater; now they’ve changed sides.
“I didn’t join his followers. It just so happens we have something in common regarding Dumbledore,” retorted Sirius a bit annoyed; although, truth be told, he was glad Severus calmed down and they were finally having a civilized conversation. As far as he could remember, his husband always dropped is snarky attitude immediately when the matters concerned their son; it was the same right now – the man seemed to have accepted the situation and was focused now on Orion’s well-being.
Severus remained silent for a long while, debating with himself. He was conflicted – on one hand he lost faith in the Dark Lord and his cause after he thought he lost his son; but on the other hand, Dumbledore wasn’t a saint himself. The man tried to quickly calculate what decision would benefit his son most, but he couldn’t quite foresee the outcome of supporting either of the two great wizards.
“Albus is an insufferable plotting old goat, but he’s not stupid. He knows Voldemort is back, even if I wasn’t summoned by the Dark Lord. Dumbledore made me keep an eye on every Death Eater I know and report everything to the Order,” he paused seeing Sirius’ nervousness at the news. “I don’t plan on revealing to him anything I’ve heard or seen here, but you have to remember that supporting Voldemort is never easy…your brother was absolutely fascinated by him. Regulus got too close to him and now he’s gone.”
Sirius didn’t say a word. Severus just confirmed his suspicions about Regulus and the Dark Lord’s relationship, but he also knew that his younger brother was alive. He left that information to himself, since both said wizards were intent on keeping it a secret as long as possible.
“You’re going to work for Dumbledore?” Black asked shocked seeing the man stand up and head to the door. “Don’t do this. I already made that mistake once before; I trusted Albus and now we’re here in this situation. You always told me to trust our family…so don’t turn your back on us…you can’t leave Orion behind now that we have him back.”
The potions master put his fierce mask on again, but his eyes showed deep pain, “All those years I blamed it all on you and Voldemort, but now it’s all too complicated to choose any of the sides. I’ll of course do everything to protect Orion…you will surely win his love back, but I never will. Our son hates me…and I can’t blame him.”
Sirius stood there dumbstruck. Never in his entire life has he seen his lover in such silent despair; the man looked completely defeated.
“Severus please, think it through. He’s going to summon you soon. I know he will,” Black called after the other wizard, who was already by the door. Severus didn’t even react to his words. “Please don’t push Orion away…don’t give up on him now!”

Meanwhile, Draco quickly walked to the guest wing of the manor and wanted to enter his cousin’s room, but to his surprise, the door was locked from the inside. The blond couldn’t blame the other teen for his reaction; he was shocked himself after what he heard. He had to admit that from the moment professor Snape walked into the library, he had suspected the man had more to do with the matter, but he never would have guessed the potions master was married to Sirius Black. Knowing the history of bad relations between Orion and the Head of Slytherin House, it was only to be expected that the dark haired boy was horrified by the fact that man was his father.
Draco took out a hair pin from his pocket and opened the door. There was no sign of protest from inside of the room so he allowed himself to enter.
“Orion?” he called, not seeing his cousin anywhere.
“Go away, Draco. I want to be alone,” he heard the voice coming from one of the sofas, opposite the bed. The other teen was sitting there with his legs pulled close to his chest.
“No,” the blond replied with ease and unceremoniously sat next to Orion. The other teen glared at him when he did so and Draco just smiled warmly to him, “What? I told you I’ll always be there for you.”
The dark haired boy simply stared at him for a long moment, then sighed resigned and said “I’m sorry...it’s just that I’m really getting tired of this situation. Whenever I’m starting to feel better and accepting all the revelations, something new comes up and is making things worse.”
Draco didn’t mind listening to the teen ranting about how his life was, let’s call it, a tad complicated. He was, once more, glad to be the person Orion confide to. He was aware of the fact that his cousin couldn’t exactly tell Granger or Weasley about his family problems, since those two were too close to Dumbledore, but he still couldn’t help but feel smug to be closer with the teen than anyone else.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” asked the black haired boy when the other kept silent.
“There isn’t much I can tell you, really” he answered. “The case with your parents is awfully twisted, but I can understand both of your fathers’ reasons to be the way they are. Although it’s not my decision to make on what to do about it.”
“That’s another problem…my fathers?!” he cried out helplessly. “I’ve spent four years in the wizarding world and I’ve heard only of one same sex couple…and out of all the witches and wizards in the world who gets to be a child of such a couple?!...Me!”
“It’s not that unusual in the wizarding world. They aren’t the only gay couple so don’t flatter yourself,” Draco made it into a joke, but in all honesty, he had to admit he felt a bit hurt by the other teen’s horrified reaction to gay wizards. Even if the blond planned to keep his crush on him a secret, it would make him feel better if Orion wasn’t repulsed by the very idea.
“I haven’t met any other couple like that, so I’m gonna trust you on that, but that’s not the point,” he explained. “Your parents might not show their feelings in public, but during those two weeks I’ve been here, I saw that they love each other and they would do anything for you. I can’t say that about my parents. You’ve seen them…they hate each other’s guts. Then what am I to them, Draco? An accident…a result of an experimental potion? Does anyone even care about a result of an accident?”
“Orion, don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to defend either one of them, but from what I’ve seen and heard so far I think they both love you very much. Black was trying to protect you, because you, his beloved son, was threatened; and professor Snape kept grieving all those years, because he lost the son he loved so much,” the blond explained his opinion on the matter. “I might be wrong, but that’s how it looked to me.”
“I can understand Siri-…dad’s” the black haired teen corrected himself. “I can understand dad’s reactions, but Snape? While I understand how loss of a child can turn you into someone bitter and sarcastic, but…I can’t help it…I hate him!”
“He didn’t know you’re his long lost son,” Draco said softly.
“I know, but that’s the problem. I know he wasn’t aware that I’m his son, but I still hate him for everything he’s done. He’s sarcastic, mean, cold and reserved after all those years…so does it even change anything that now he knows who I am?!” the teen almost began to shout as he got more agitated; his emotions were getting a hold of him and he couldn’t stop a few tears rolling down from his eyes. He tried to turn his face away to hide it; he didn’t want Draco to see him in such a miserable state and think him weak, but the blond was observant enough to spot it.
“Hey, Orion,” he couldn’t help, but touch his cousin’s face with his hand and force the teen to look at him; the blond couldn’t believe it how much Orion’s sadness grabbed him by the heart and he knew he had to do something, anything to comfort him. Finally he stretched out his arms and pulled the black haired boy into a tight embrace, holding him close to his chest. “Don’t cry. I don’t want you to torment yourself with such thoughts.”
“I’m not crying,” said the boy feeling indignant by the suggestion. “I’m too old for that.”
“Yes, I know,” the blond smiled to himself hearing Orion’s half-assed excuse just to make himself sound tough.
“I just really don’t know what to do about him. Maybe after all this time he grew to hate me?...and honestly, I don’t know if I can feel anything other than dislike towards him,” kept explaining the teen. “I can’t even force myself to call him father. It shouldn’t be that way…One should not hate his own father.”
“I can’t tell you what you should do, but maybe it’s best if you just let things happen and then you’ll see how it goes. For all this time I’ve known professor Snape, I was able to find things about him that made me respect him as a person. Then again, my situation is nowhere close to yours. That’s why I think it might be better to let things move on their own. Give yourself time and you’ll see how you feel about him,” advised him Draco, still holding him in his arms. After a longer moment of silence the blond fought back a laugh and said, “I should probably start calling them uncle Sirius and uncle Severus.”
Orion finally laughed with his face snuggled in Draco’s chest. Hearing the blonde’s words, he realised how ridiculous and awkward this situation was for everyone; not only for him. Minutes have passed as they remained in this position. Malfoy got so comfortable that one of his hands started unconsciously moving over the other boy’s back.
“You do realise you’re hugging me, right?” noticed the black haired teen amused at how unMalfoy-like those actions were.
“I’m not hugging you. I’m too old for that,” replied indignant Draco, perfectly imitating Orion’s earlier behaviour. Young Black started laughing harder hearing the blonde’s words and hugged him back.

Three days have passed since his visit to the Malfoy Manor; three days since he found the son, who he thought was dead; and three days of struggling with the biggest pain he has ever felt. Severus couldn’t forgive himself how he has been treating his own son the last four years. Even Lucius and Narcissa’s words of reason, that he didn’t know it was Orion, didn’t make him feel any better.
The potions master decided to devote himself to protecting the boy with his own life; and he wasn’t doing it because Albus told him to do so. He did that because he felt it was his duty, his responsibility as a father. Severus also indulged himself in doing Dumbledore’s bidding, because only that way he’d know what the older wizard was planning for his son. From the moment Severus decided to join the Headmaster’s side in the last war, he knew the man had some purpose for the black haired teen, but he didn’t know what that purpose was. He always simply trusted the older wizard’s good judgement, but with everything Albus was doing right now, he was getting a bad feeling about what was yet to be expected in the future.
Severus never fully agreed with what dangers awaited the supposed Harry Potter every school year, but now, that Dumbledore was spreading downright lies about the boy, was starting to get on the potions master’s nerves. The fact that it wasn’t Harry Potter anymore, but his son, made it even worse.
For the last two weeks Albus has been spreading rumours that during the last task of the Triwizard Tournament, Cedric Diggory and Harry Potter have seen the revival of the Dark Lord. Severus was certain that it was true, and his son did see Voldemort, but the fact remained neither of the teens admitted they saw the dark wizard. In fact, the Gryffindor claimed he doesn’t remember anything, because he hit his head and lost consciousness. Moreover, young Diggory denied seeing Voldemort, however he did see Pettigrew.
No more than yesterday, Severus expressed his worries about the results of spreading such information. Minister Fudge was so afraid of an outbreak of panic, that he got agitated by the mere mention of the Dark Lord. The potions master couldn’t care less of the Ministry’s attempts to slander the headmaster, but those attacks were starting to target his son as well; and being in bad relations with the Ministry simply couldn’t do the teen any good. If that wasn’t enough, Dumbledore insisted on keeping the information of Pettigrew being alive a secret. Severus couldn’t understand what Albus was planning; if they caught Wormtail and handed him over to the Ministry, not only would that prove the headmaster’s story about the Dark Lord’s revival, but also gave enough proof to lift Sirius off charges. Not to mention, Voldemort would have one follower less, but it seemed Albus had something against Black that he wasn’t telling anyone.
#flashback#
“Albus, why are you delaying this?” the potions master asked the other wizard. “Freed Black would be of more help to the Order than he is now.”
“I disagree, my boy,” said the headmaster with that annoying twinkle in his eyes and a grandfatherly smile. “He is the ideal person to guard our headquarters.”
Severus had to use all his willpower not to snort hearing those words. ‘Already feeling like he owns the place. And yet out of the two of us here, I have bigger rights to Grimmauld Place than he ever will.’
“Besides, we have to remember about Harry,” continued Dumbledore. “The boy needs our protection. It will be better if Sirius focuses on being there for Harry instead of fighting with Death Eaters.”
“Even I know Black is innocent and now, there is evidence making it easier than ever before to prove it,” noticed calmly Severus, but Dumbledore only stared at him and smiled.
“We all have our part to play in this war. To win it, we ought to stick to the plan…for the good of the entire wizarding world,” said the headmaster and finished the conversation.
#end of flashback#
Just remembering the conversation he had with Albus enraged him. A week ago, he felt Sirius had to repent for distrusting his family and causing Orion’s death; now however, Severus felt guilty himself, that he lost faith in his own husband and wished him only the worst things in the world. The potions master felt he needed to help Orion and Sirius get away from Albus and finally live like a family; that was his plan and he would see it done.
A sudden pain in his left forearm ran through his body and immediately put him of alert. It was a familiar feeling, but also one that he hasn’t felt in many years – Voldemort was summoning him. He had no choice, but to go and see what was coming.
Severus quickly floo called the headmaster to inform him about the situation and apparated to meet with his former master.

When his feet met solid ground, Severus looked around and noticed he was close to some small village. He has never been here before, but spotting a big house on the hill before him, he decided that must have been the place where Voldemort was waiting for him.
The wizard approached the building only to see the front door opening and revealing no one other than Peter Pettigrew.
“Well, well, well,” said amused Wormtail. “Look who has finally decided to face our Lord.”
Severus was fighting with the strong urge to kill the pathetic excuse for a wizard right there and then. This was the man who caused his husband to turn against him. Keeping his face straight, he walked past Pettigrew and walked into the house.
“The Dark Lord does not forgive traitors,” was all the plump wizard managed to say before Severus’ wand stabbed him painfully in the throat.
“You would know best what it means to be a traitor, wouldn’t you Peter?” hissed dangerously the other wizard.
“Enough of this nonsense,” interrupted a voice coming from behind them. “Sooner or later everyone will get what they deserve.”
Severus glared one last time at his school enemy, hid his wand and walked towards the stairs. He saw a Death Eater in disguise, who silently gestured for him to follow him upstairs. The potions master obediently walked upstairs and entered a plain looking room.
As soon as he walked in, the door behind him shut closed and the Death Eater cast privacy wards on the room. Severus noticed some drawings on the floor; they were all made with, what seemed like, blood and enhanced with runes.
“What is the meaning of this?” asked the wizard, looking for explanation from the Death Eater.
“Severus,” hissed a voice somewhere in the room; a voice that belonged to the one Dark Lord Voldemort. The younger wizard tried to scan the room, but he couldn’t see the dark wizard; it was as if the man was somewhere else than here, but his voice clearly audible. “I was so disappointed not to see you before. Have you decided to turn against me?”
Without realising it, the man moved right into the centre of the blood drawings. Only then did he feel a somewhat painful assault on his mind; as if someone was trying to get inside of his head although it felt different than legilimancy. It was more like someone was trying to get into his head, but with no intention to go through his memories and thoughts.
‘Quite remarkable magic, wouldn’t you agree, Severus?’ sounded the Dark Lord’s voice in his head; the most confusing part was that the wizard could hear two Voldemorts right now – one sounded inside his mind and the other somewhere in the room
‘What is going on?’ the younger man thought to himself, just to find out the dark wizard in his head could hear it clearly.
‘That’s only safety measures,’ answered Voldemort. ‘It came to my attention you might have lost faith in me and my cause. I, however, never stopped searching for your son. Moreover, I intend to keep him safe and it’s only your choice if you want to help me with that…or do you prefer to watch Dumbledore use your child for his own purpose.’
Severus was confused by everything that was happening; by the way the Dark Lord was communicating with him; and by the statement he just heard. He still couldn’t decide which one of the two wizards to trust, but he chose to play along with his role as a spy.
“I couldn’t come to you sooner, my Lord,” the younger wizard finally uttered the words. “I didn’t know where to find you.”
“Dear Severus, regardless of how pleased I am to see you again, you didn’t think I could greet you just like that,” hissed Voldemort’s voice in the room.
‘You doubted my cause, but I wanted to show you something to make you see the truth,’ sounded the dark wizard’s voice in the other man’s head. ‘Watch closely and you’ll understand who is your ally and who is not.’
In that moment, Severus’ mind was flooded by images; memories provided by the Dark Lord. He couldn’t understand why the older man would go to such lengths to get him on his side; after all, Severus never thought of himself as a truly great asset for Voldemort.
Left without any choice, the potions master watched many different scenes play before his eyes; the images were entire memories, sometimes only pieces of memories. Severus was certain most of those belonged to the Dark Lord himself; others were obtained from different Death Eaters. He watched everything unwillingly, until he was able to make out a full story out of it. He saw Regulus talking with Voldemort; younger Black leaving Grimmauld Place and hide somewhere with the dark wizard; the two of them being surprisingly close; then there was Sirius’ father discussing war with some purebloods who were on the Light side; then the man being attacked. Suddenly everything went black and Severus saw himself telling the Dark Lord about the prophecy and being sent to spy on Dumbledore. Again, the images vanished just to show Voldemort sitting with Regulus, who seemed worried to death about little Orion – that memory didn’t make much sense, because younger Black never met Sirius’ son. Once more, the vision went black and then he saw Bellatrix with her husband and a group of Death Eaters searching for a child born in July. The last memory was the most shocking one. He watched Voldemort talking with James Potter; the dark wizard rushing upstairs to the nursery; Lily holding the baby boy and the Dark Lord telling her to hand over the boy. Then there was a failed attempt to take down the glamour spell of the infant, but it only scratched its forehead. The older wizard trying to take the baby and leave, but Lily’s magic went out of control and the woman starts to cast nasty spells at Voldemort; finally she manages to hit the man with an Unforgivable, but the impact of the spell also kills her.
Taken by surprise, the potions master felt the Dark Lord leave his mind and he dropped to his knees, gasping for air.
“I expect you to join me again, Severus,” hissed the voice in the room. “Now go back to those fools and tell them Harry Potter is in danger.”
The potions master managed to regain composure and stood up. To his surprise he was alone in the room; he couldn’t hear anyone as well as see any evidence of the place being occupied just moments ago; even the bloody drawings have vanished. Severus thought they probably evaporated when they fulfilled their purpose.
Taking a few deep breaths, he walked over to the window. It was already late night and he was expected to attend the Order of the Phoenix meeting to report everything he has found out. The problem was, Severus didn’t know yet what to tell them. In this situation he was being forced already to make a choice – Voldemort or Dumbledore; he couldn’t stay neutral.

12 Grimmauld Place was bustling with people like it hasn’t in decades. Normally, the owners of the house would be delighted to greet and entertain their guests. This, however, was not a normal occurrence; it was more like an intrusion into their ancestral house – and Walburga Black would not hang there on the wall and watch it calmly.
“Blood traitors!” she shouted from her portrait, glaring at the entire Weasley family walking down the corridor as if they owned the place. “Filth in my house! Disturbing my peace even after death!”
“Mother, please, give it a rest,” begged Sirius rushing to the portrait. In mere seconds Remus showed up from the dining room and helped his friend cover the portrait with a curtain, to calm down the aggravated witch. “Thanks, Moony.”
“Don’t mention it,” he laughed and joined other members of the Order, who were already gathered in the big dining room.
Sirius stood in the corridor watching Molly and Arthur trying to tame their children. He thought to himself he wouldn’t be able to deal with such a bunch of energetic kids, but he had to admit he was disappointed that he lost the chance to be there when his boy was growing up. Black missed his son dearly. Since summer started he saw the boy only a handful of times. His only consolation was the fact that the teen stayed with his cousin, instead of those nasty Muggles.
“Off to beds with you,” Molly rushed the twins, Ron and Ginny upstairs, where they were given their own bedrooms. “And I better not see you out of your rooms tonight.”
When the four teens finally headed to their rooms, Sirius led Molly and Arthur to the room, where the meeting was supposed to take place. Black took a seat next to Mad-Eye Moody and looked around the room. There were already quite a few people there, although he heard there were still recruiting new members into the Order. Realising how many good people were supporting Dumbledore, he scowled; he had nothing against others like Remus, Tonks, Shacklebolt, the Weasleys or everyone else; he didn’t want to lie to them, but that was the only possible way to get back at Albus for everything he has done.
“Did something happen that the headmaster isn’t here yet?” asked Molly after minutes have passed and the silence was starting to get unbearable.
“We should wait a while longer,” McGonagall rushed with explanation. “Unexpectedly Severus was summon to Voldemort tonight. Albus stayed at Hogwarts to wait for his return. They will be arriving together.”
Everyone in the room tensed up a bit hearing the news. They all knew Dumbledore believed the Dark Lord has returned, but there was no solid proof that he really did; until now that is.
“Sirius. Are you alright?” asked a bit concerned Lupin, when he noticed his friend was nervously glancing at the clock and his hands were clenched tightly into fists.
“It’s just impatience, Remus,” Black replied with a fake grin on his face. “I prefer to act rather than sit here and wait.”
“We all know that. Would be better if you held back your enthusiasm sometimes,” reprimanded him Moody and the tension in the room dropped a bit.
Sirius said nothing, but he had to admit he wasn’t very fond of Mad-Eye leading the Order; the man trusted Albus too much; not to mention he was paranoid especially when it came to Voldemort and Death Eaters. While everyone engaged in conversation, he was controlling the time. Black knew that his husband would be summoned anytime soon, but he was still surprised by the news from Minerva. He didn’t know what to expect; on one hand he knew the Dark Lord needed Severus’ help, but on the other hand, the potions master did turn to the Light side during last war. There was no guarantee the dark wizard wouldn’t somehow punish Severus for his past choices and Sirius had to admit, he was dead scared by the thought of his husband getting hurt. Even after everything that has happened between them and all the years in Azkaban, Black still had feelings for his lover.
A sudden disturbance in the protection wards alarmed everyone in the house. Seconds later, Dumbledore accompanied by Severus, walked into the dining room. All the members of the Order immediately started asking Albus questions, completely ignoring the other wizard that has just arrived. For a split second Sirius and Severus looked each other’s in the eyes; Black has visibly relaxed and sighed with relief that the potions master was alright. The men quickly looked away and went back to acting with disdain towards each other. No one seemed to notice their earlier short interaction; no one, except for Lupin. The werewolf has spent too many years with those two, no to see their behaviour.
“Albus, Severus, please tell us what is the situation,” asked Minerva. “Now that we know Voldemort is back, what should our next steps be? The Ministry is getting more and more aggressive with the hateful articles in Daily Prophet.”
“Indeed,” agreed Dedalus Diggle and showed everyone the latest newspaper to see that the attacks weren’t directed at the Headmaster alone anymore. “They targeted young Mr Potter now, as well.”
Seeing the front page of the newspaper Sirius was close to ripping Dumbledore apart. His stupid actions and lies he was spreading endangered his son. However just when he was about to say something, they’ve heard someone running down the stairs. Minutes later they saw Ginny, Ron, Fred and George standing in the doorway.
“Professor Dumbledore, when is Harry going to join us?” asked the girl; her voice almost pleading.
“Professor, please. Why can’t we even write to him?” asked Ron and at the same moment he spotted the Daily Prophet; they all knew that the Ministry started badmouthing their friend, even though the teen has never even claimed to see Voldemort. “Can we at least send him one letter? He must be feeling awful right now, what with all the newspapers spreading lies about him.”
“I’m afraid young Harry has to stay with his aunt and uncle, where he is safe. Safer than he will be anywhere else,” announced Dumbledore and smiled to the teens.
“But professor, it’s Harry’s birthday soon. Maybe we could at least send him gifts?” asked the twins in unison.
“Of course you can do that,” answered quickly Sirius, ignoring his former professor. “Just don’t write him anything about your summer or the Order.”
“Sirius!” reprimanded him Albus, losing his warm smile for a second. “We all know it’s too risky to do that. We’ve already discussed this matter.”
Mrs Weasley silenced her children and rushed them back to their rooms, as soon as she saw the look in Sirius’ eyes; the man was about to fight with Dumbledore. In all honesty, she couldn’t blame him; after all he was the boy’s godfather and he worried not only about the teen’s safety, but also his feelings. As for the headmaster, she was certain the man was doing his best to protect his student, but he seemed to have completely forgotten what the boy was feeling.
“What about the newspapers?” asked Mr Dodge. “I doubt he’s pleased with what’s written about him in there.”
“He’s not getting any newspapers this summer,” said Moody and nodded slightly to Albus; it seemed they’ve planned it very well so that the teen was completely cut off from any information on wizarding world.
“Maybe we could send him at least a brief note; a message from all of us?” asked Charlie, trying to get at least some option for his younger siblings to keep in touch with Harry.
“I must advice against it,” continued Dumbledore. “We don’t know yet what Voldemort is planning exactly. And every attempt to contact young Harry will put him at risk. This is for his own safety.”
Severus wasn’t paying much attention to what was being said afterwards. He quickly ran through the article slandering his son and felt anger growing inside him. Albus and Moody’s persistence to keep the boy isolated made things even worse.
“Now, Severus please, tell us about the meeting with the Dark Lord. What is he planning and how powerful do you think he already is?” asked Dumbledore.
Everyone in the room was staring at him in anticipation. The potions master felt a wave of dark emotions going through him – these all people were trusting the man who ruined his family; the very same man was now trying to torment his son, but that was enough; no one was going to hurt his family again; not if Severus had still something to say in the matter.
When others were waiting for the potions master to report, Sirius observed the man as well, but he saw every feeling written on the man’s face. He saw how all the information about newspapers and their son provoked his husband. Seconds later, Sirius saw the evil spark in those dark eyes and he knew Severus has made up his mind – he would never allow Dumbledore to manipulate Orion; he was going to join the Dark side once more, if only that meant protection for their little family.
No one else noticed that something was odd; everyone patiently listened to Severus’ report about the Dark Lord. Only Sirius knew the man was telling half of the truth, sometimes even altering the facts, so that Albus wouldn’t get suspicious.
Finishing his monologue, the potions master said, “Before I left he said the Order would be wise to protect their Saviour, because he is in grave danger.”
“Dumbledore, maybe it’s better to move Harry here, to the headquarters,” suggested Shacklebolt.
“That’s true. The place is strongly warded, there is always someone here capable to protect him and he’d be with friends,” Tonks backed up Kingsley.
Severus couldn’t help, but smirk when suddenly every witch and wizard in the room kept pressuring Albus to bring the boy to Grimmauld Place. In that situation, Dumbledore didn’t have much choice – only him and Moody were against the idea.
“Calm down everyone,” started Albus. “I assure you Harry is safe and sound. Arabella Figg has been keeping eye on him and so far she hasn’t reported anything unusual.”
“With all due respect Albus, but Arabella is a Squib,” noted Emmeline Vance. “In case Death Eaters try to attack Mr Potter, she won’t be of any help.”
“I understand your concerns, but she has everything under control. However, I will contact her to confirm the situation and calm your nerves,” announced the headmaster to everyone’s satisfaction.
‘Oh yes, by all means, ask Arabella where the Golden Boy is,’ Sirius laughed inwardly at the idea. ‘How wonderful it will be to see your reaction when you find out he hasn’t been at Privet Drive for weeks now.’
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Meddling with Darkness