Lucky Strike | By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Sirius Views: 76067 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 17 |
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and make no money off this strange dance in JK Rowling's world. |
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Chapter 10
Holding Bugs as he munched on a raisin Miss Cissy had just given him, Harry sipped at his butterbeer. They were at Malfoy Manor, sitting on the back patio, after they had mucked around on the Quidditch pitch on the grounds for a while, the same place that had changed his life a couple of years ago. Well, he, Sirius and Lucius had mucked around, Miss Cissy had just watched from the stands while they did it. It was great, honestly. He loved to fly, but didn't get to do it often as they didn't have enough room at Grimmauld Place in the backyard for that. Remus and Severus would be over after that meeting thing they had. That had him apprehensive, of course, because of what could come of it. For now, though, he was good.
Leaning against Sirius as he petted Bugs, he listened in to the conversation. It wasn't anything heavy, just talking about some things in the paper, not the area where it pertained to him. With all that was going on, this was nice. He didn't understand some of what they talked about, as it was political, something he didn't pay attention to, but he listened in.Slipping an arm around Harry when he felt his godson lean against him, Sirius gave him a squeeze. This was good. They were all relaxed and just biding their time until Snape and Remus returned. He figured that would bring more stress, as he doubted it would accomplish anything, so they were going for something pleasant before that. When there was a lull in the conversation about some new laws the Ministry wanted passed, Sirius looked at Lucius and said, remembering something they all mentioned at one point, “There's something we want to see if you can manage since you're a big muckety muck on the Hogwarts Board of Governors.”“What's that?” Lucius asked with an amused snort and smirk at the name Sirius used.“After classes are over for the year, is there any way to get Harry into Hogwarts so he can take a tour of the castle? He'd like to see what we all talk about when there aren't as many people around,” Sirius told him, giving Harry another squeeze.“That is easily arranged,” Lucius nodded. “I'll pen a letter to Filius when I get a chance to arrange it. The day after classes let out is probably good for that as everything is open and most of the teachers are still there. They would be more than happy to show you around and you can get into all the dorms to see them.”“I'd like to see it, just so I don't have to deal with so many,” Harry told him quietly. Shaking his head, he added, “I just don't want to be around McGonagall is all. The rest—I'm good there.”“Understood,” Lucius told him firmly. “I'll arrange something for you, Harry. You'll love it. As it'll be summer, the grounds are wonderful to see and take a walk around.”“We'll keep Minerva away,” Sirius assured him firmly. “She knows how you feel about her anyway, so she's apt to avoid you.” Minerva, because she was there when Dumbledore left Harry on the step, even voicing an objection to the Dursleys, though allowing it to happen anyway, was one of the people that Harry would never like. In fact, she was one that he directed a lot of ire towards over it. It was best, because of what tended to come out of his mouth, to keep her as far away as possible.As they started talking about what was on the grounds and in the castle, Harry was distracted by Bugs making some kind of odd noise and looking off towards the trees that surrounded the grounds, fidgeting around. Stiffening up, eyes widening as he glanced that way and saw the horse-like creatures coming out of the trees close to where they were, he nudged Sirius. Horses and dogs—he wanted nothing to do with any of them, at all, whatsoever. No! This—no! He knew Lucius had horses, but he kept them in the stables and Harry never saw them. As far as he knew, the man didn't have them freely roaming the grounds.Feeling the nudge, Sirius glanced at Harry then looked in the direction the young man was staring wide-eyed. His own eyes widening at what he saw, he held Harry close. Quietly, he soothed, pointing in that direction so Narcissa and Lucius saw what they were looking at, “It's nothing to worry about, Harry.”“I want nothing to do with horses,” Harry said pressing tighter against Sirius and holding Bugs close.“Those aren't horses, they're unicorns,” Sirius explained as the whole herd of them came into view. “If there is one animal in this world that won't ever hurt you, it's a unicorn. And they are rare to see.”Brow furrowed, he looked around at the astonished faces of Narcissa and Lucius then to Sirius, “They're really unicorns? Not horses?”“They're unicorns,” Sirius assured him. Pointing at them, he said, “Look at the horns. Those are unicorns. It appears the stallion of the pack has them here. You can see the young ones. Those are the ones that are gold. The ones that are silver are the older ones, but not adults yet. The white ones are the adults.” Looking at Lucius and Narcissa, who was fumbling with the camera to get a picture, he said, “I didn't know you had a herd on your lands.”“We do, but it's rare to see them,” Lucius explained, eyes locked on the herd. “The only time you do is when a Malfoy child is born. It's traditional to bring the child outside when they are a few days old so the herd knows they are here. They make an appearance then, coming closer than they normally would. The lore is that when the unicorns show up to check out the child it indicates prosperity and good luck for the child. The only time we've seen them was when Draco was born.”Standing, Narcissa was taking pictures of them. Quietly, she breathed, “Oh, they are so beautiful.”Petting Bugs, who seemed to be focusing in that direction, nose and whiskers twitching madly, Harry didn't know what to think as he watched the biggest of the herd seem to make sure all of the rest were corralled in a small area. He shook his head as the big one then seemed to come towards them. “I don't like this,” he muttered to Sirius.“It's nothing to worry about,” Sirius assured him, watching the stallion's trek in their direction. “A unicorn won't ever hurt you. We're all here and will make sure of it.” Bewildered as the stallion drew closer, he looked at Lucius and asked, “What do you think is going on? I know they generally don't come around adults, especially men.”“I don't know,” Lucius told him honestly with a shake of his head. “They generally wouldn't even with adult women. The only ones they tend to come around are children and young girls.”Completely stiff as the unicorn came over to where they were sitting, Harry watched, wide-eyed, as it stopped right by where he was seated. It then lowered its head and seemed to sniff Bugs, who lifted up and sniffed the unicorn as well. “What's going on?” He asked softly, not sure what to do.“I don't know, but it's nothing to worry about,” Sirius assured him, amazed at what he was seeing. He had only seen pictures of them in books and brief glimpses of their pristine white flitting through the trees of the Forbidden Forest at school.When the stallion finished sniffing Bugs, he then licked the rabbit between the ears and nuzzled him. Bugs rose up and licked the stallion on the nose, making happy noises. Grinning at that, Harry then drew back, pressing tighter to Sirius when the stallion seemed to focus on him. Shaking his head, he was trembling slightly when the unicorn's nose was inches from his face. He could feel the breath of it as it sniffed him. Not sure what to do, apprehensive, he held still. Then he grinned just a little when the creature licked his head, messing up his hair more than it normally was.Eyes locked on what was going on, Lucius was amazed. Quietly, he shoved a small bowl of sugar cubes over to Sirius and muttered, “Let's see if he takes those from Harry.” Looking at his wife, who was just as astonished as they were, but was taking pictures, he mumbled, “Make sure you get pictures of this.” Seeing her nod, he focused back on what was going on.Taking a couple of the cubes out of the bowl with a shaking hand, eyes locked on the stallion, Sirius held them out for Harry. “Just hold your hand out flat and see if he'll take them. I promise, he won't hurt you.”Taking the sugar cubes, Harry held them out with a trembling hand and watched as the big creature took them, hearing him crunch them as he ate. Still trembling, his eyes were locked on the animal as its head rose up and it seemed to stare at him. His encounters with horses hadn't ever been like this and it was weird, something he didn't know what to do about. Breathing heavily, he waited to see what the animal had in mind, still trembling, clutching Bugs close. The rabbit was making some kind of happy noises, but pressed close to him. Shutting his eyes as the animal's head moved, he then felt its nose nuzzle him on the head before seeming to lean against the side of his head. Then he felt something wet dribbling into his hair. Bewildered, he opened his eyes and looked, not sure what to make of it.Holding the trembling Harry tightly, Sirius watched, amazed as the unicorn cried, the tears dripping down onto Harry's head. Eyes locked on that, he breathed, making sure his voice was low, “Please tell me you're getting pictures of this!”“I am,” Narcissa said, tone astonished.Eyes locked on what was going on, Sirius took Harry's hand and led it up to the unicorn's head and had Harry pet it. “It's fine. He's crying on you. Not sure what that means, but unicorn tears are highly prized. Snape is going to die because they are expensive to buy!” Sirius told him softly.Stroking the side of the unicorn's face with a trembling hand, Harry was amazed how soft the fur was. And the animal didn't seem to mind it. When the unicorn finally drew back, Harry stiffened more, but stroked the soft nose before the creature pulled back to look at him. Lowering his hand as the unicorn's nose was in his face again, sniffing, he grinned when it licked his hair again, making part of the front stick up. It then leaned down and nuzzled Bugs before licking him as well. Taking another sugar cube from Sirius, he held it out, watching as the animal took it. It then gazed at him intently. For Harry, there was something about that look that was—he didn't know the right word, but comforting was close. After a few moments, the unicorn blinked then nuzzled the side of Harry's head before turning to walk off.Watching the animal go, Harry didn't know what to say. Shaking his head, he asked, tone quiet, “What was all that about?”“I don't know, I really don't,” Lucius told him softly, watching the stallion rejoin the rest of the herd before they all seemed to vanish into the trees. “I've never—I've not seen anything like it before.”“It's nothing bad, whatever it is. A unicorn is the direct opposite of anything evil,” Sirius assured him. Grinning, he then reached up and began to pull hairs the unicorn left behind out of Harry's hair. “Snape is going to love this. Unicorn hairs! We'll keep one for you in a glass jar in the bedroom, but I bet Snape is going to talk you out of the rest.” Putting what he pulled out in an envelope Narcissa conjured, he then reached up to extract the rest. “You must be special to have one do this.”Petting Bugs, who was pressed against him, still making happy noises, Harry grinned, “I got licked and dripped on by a unicorn.”“You did,” Narcissa smiled, sitting down and putting the pictures she took on the table. Looking at them, she said, “And no one would believe it if we didn't have the pictures! Oh, Harry, this is good!”“What was with the crying bit?” Harry asked, looking at one of the hairs Sirius handed him before putting it in the envelope with the rest.“I don't know, honestly,” Lucius told him with a shake of his head. “Unicorn tears are something purifying and used for healing. I don't think I've ever heard of a unicorn crying on someone. It's nothing bad, however, so don't worry about it.” Looking at Bugs, who was pressed tightly to Harry, nose and ears twitching in a way that he knew was an indication he was happy, the same kind of thing he did when he knew someone had raisins, he added, “He seemed to be interested in Bugs. That was the first thing he honed in on.”Looking down at the rabbit, Harry nodded then grinned again, “And Bugs got licked too.”“He did,” Lucius smirked. Looking at Sirius, he asked, “Did you ever find out more about Bugs' breed? Anything at all? I'm not sure what happened, but the unicorn did seem to like Bugs.”“No, not yet. Hagrid's promised to come over when he gets time. He just hasn't managed yet.” Looking at the rabbit, he reached over and stroked down his back then said, “Whatever this meant, it's a good thing. It just means that Bugs isn't something we need to worry about and is special in some way.”Smiling, Narcissa said, sorting through the pictures she took, “We now have something amazing to talk about to people! Severus and Remus are going to have fits at missing this!”“They are,” Sirius laughed, holding Harry close.
Stepping close to where her husband was sitting, Lily sighed. James wasn't handling what they were told well. Like he always did, he came outside, far enough away from where the kids were, conjured some clay pots then smashed them with spells as a way to take out what he was feeling. It usually helped to lower the level of whatever he was feeling. This time, though, it didn't seem like it worked. Instead, he was sitting not far away from the shattered remains of many pots, head in his hands, shoulders shaking.
Quietly, she walked over to where he was and put a hand on his shoulder, giving it a squeeze. When she felt it start to shake harder, she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on the top of his, her eyes sliding shut as well, feeling them burn. She knew what this was about and understood, feeling much the same as he was.“I love my son. I would do anything for Harry,” James muttered brokenly. Shaking his head, though not opening his eyes, he put a hand on one of Lily’s, giving it a squeeze. “I just want to be in his life so I can prove we're sorry for what happened and try to fix what's wrong.”“We can't fix it, James,” Lily told him softly, giving him a squeeze.“I want to be there for him and help as he tries to get through it,” James told her, shaking his head. “Merlin—I don't know what to do! I want to kill the bastards that did this to him. Each and every one of them. Then—I want to be able to tell Harry how sorry I am for all of this. And to make him understand I mean it! Bloody hell—I wish I could undo this.”“We both do. Albus is kicking himself as well, though he's trying to put on a soothing and placating front for all of us. We thought we made the right choice when we knew Peter had betrayed us and He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was coming for us. When none of us died, thankfully, due to that ward, we should have just taken Harry and run, no matter what. It wasn't over, we knew that as we saw what happened to You-Know-Who, but we made the wrong decision. None of us will argue that now.”“I know,” James said gloomily, shaking his head, trying to get his emotions under control. “I saw his body disintegrate then that wisp leave as I came into the room to try to help you and Harry, so I knew he wasn't dead. At the time—yeah, we thought it was right and would give the fight a hand no one would know about when the time came. This, though—bloody hell—if I could go back, I'd change it.” Shoulders starting to shake again as his eyes burned, he shook his head then muttered, “I want to tell Harry how sorry I am for that. We made the wrong choice. Just—someone needs to allow us to prove to him we love him! Merlin!”“I think Harry's the only one that would allow that and he's not inclined from what we were told,” Lily said softly, holding him tighter. “I don't even want to imagine what he went through and what he deals with. That's—it's almost more than I can take to think my son went through that. Then, well, knowing you and I had more children while he was spending his life being tortured--” Stopping, she felt a lone tear slip out of her eye. “I don't think I can blame him a bit for not wanting to see us,” she told him, voice uneven and filled with emotion.Feeling his eyes burn more, James lifted his wand and blasted a pile of already shattered pottery into dust. Gritting his teeth, he breathed heavily. “I love my son,” he muttered. “With all my heart, I love Harry. I just want to tell him that!”“I know,” Lily soothed the best she could.Looking up at the sky, James sighed and shut his eyes. “We'll work with this. How? That I don't know. We'll find a way to prove it to him and get him to understand.”Rubbing James' chest through his shirt, Lily nodded though was less than hopeful they would find a way. She wanted to, no doubt there, but she wasn't sure anymore there was anything they could do to be back in Harry's life or even get him to listen when they told him they were sorry.Shaking his head, James let it drop to where his chin was touching his chest, eyes sliding shut. “We'll find a way, I swear we will. It's just going to take time. Albus says the full fight is coming soon, from the signs, so we have to work with this.”“I know,” she said softly, nuzzling his head. “I just don't see how. With what's there now, Harry's not going to listen. None of them are.”“We need to protect him,” James told her firmly. “And we will. I don't care what it takes. We'll protect Harry.”“We will,” she told him with a sigh. “We'll find a way. It's the least we can do for him.”Nodding at that, James slumped. “Until we find one, we press on. There's so much here to work on.”“Albus says it might be a good idea to take them up on the offer of the house,” Lily said quietly. “We have the chance there to have something with Harry if it's as Severus said. Just let him come to us.”“No,” James said firmly with a shake of his head. “We're not doing that. I don't care. We'll find something, somewhere. I don't care. We just need to—work with this. That's all. Something will give us a break.”“Alright,” she sighed. “We'll try, James. Just—keep it under control. You're not going to help if you get angry over so much of it. I know that's how you deal with something when it hurts, but it's not going to help this at all.”“I'm trying, I really am,” James sighed, shaking his head. “I just don't know how to handle this.”“You need to,” she told him more firmly than before. “It won't help anything if you lose your temper.” Giving the top of his head a kiss, she straightened up. “We need to go in and deal with the kids. They know something is wrong, so they’re stressed. On top of that, two are getting ready to go to school in a couple of days. They're really uptight about that.”Nodding, James tried to compose himself the best he could. He had kids to deal with and that came first right now. His other son—he would work with that.
“What we'll do is this,” Severus started as he looked at the unicorn hairs they had gathered in the envelope then pressed on, “I'll keep a couple as you said then, tomorrow, we'll take you to Ollivanders. He'll be happy to buy the rest off of you at a very good price. After that, you can use the money how you want.”
Shifting around on the bench at the kitchen table at Grimmauld Place, Harry then sat cross-legged on it. Nodding, he told his dad, “That's fine.”Looking through the pictures Narcissa took of the encounter with the unicorn, Remus smiled, “We're framing some of these! It's so strange to see. I'm sorry we missed it! An encounter with a unicorn is something very special, Harry.”“It freaked me out,” Harry admitted with a grin. Shaking his head, he added, “I wasn't sure what to make of it.”“I completely understand,” Severus nodded, taking the pictures from Remus and glancing through them. Looking up after seeing the one of the tears dripping onto Harry's head, he asked, “Did you dry your hair afterwards or let it dry naturally?”“He wanted to dry it off and comb it because it was sticking up where he was licked, but we talked him into letting it dry naturally. We weren't sure what it meant when it came to the licking and tears, so we thought it best to do it that way,” Sirius told him, leaning against Harry.“Good. That's for the best,” Severus told him firmly. Shaking his head, he then said, “I'm not sure what this means either, honestly, but if a unicorn did that, it's best to let it dry on its own. I know the tears are highly prized for their healing and purifying properties. So, it has to mean something as one wouldn't do this for no reason.” Looking at the rabbit that was happily munching through a plate of cabbage, he added, “You said it was Bugs the creature seemed drawn to?”“It seemed to be,” Sirius told him with a firm nod. “Because Bugs got nuzzled and licked initially. That's where the unicorn went to first.”“I wonder what that means,” Severus muttered, distracted, as he looked through the pictures. Shaking his head after a minute, he browsed through the rest. “Whatever it is isn't bad, that's for sure! Unicorns are very magical and never cause harm. Whatever they do is for a good purpose.” Looking over at his son, he gave a small smile then said, “It also means he saw something special in you. They tend to avoid males, especially older ones. If he honed in on you, it means something. And I assure you, it means nothing bad. Only good can come of this.”“Exactly,” Remus said with a firm nod after taking a sip of his tea. “Besides, you now have something really big to brag to Draco about. And you have pictures to prove it! You even have his parents to back you up.”“There is that,” Harry laughed. “I got unicorn spit and dribble on me. He can't ever top that.”“He can't,” Remus smiled. They had to discuss what went on at the Healers, but he and Severus decided to do that the following day. That would give everyone a chance to calm down, especially him and his husband. Besides, this was something special. They didn't need it ruined by the other mess. “What did you think of the unicorn? I know you don't like horses, but this was different.”“It was strange,” Harry admitted, setting his butterbeer bottle down. Then he walked them through what he thought during the encounter.
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