Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Restoration of Magic	By : Bickymonster & CelticKitsune Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 10396 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: We do not own Harry Potter or any concepts or characters associated with it. We are not making any money from this this story.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
Chapter 10

20th December 1995

Out of every Order meeting he had ever gone to, Fabian had to admit that the one he had just left was by far the most interesting. It had been somewhat of a surprise, receiving the summons from Dumbledore, asking him over to Remus and Sirius’ house. Though the Order was still active, they hadn’t had a meeting in quite some months due to the fact that Voldemort had been very quiet over the past few years.

He was still reeling from the shock of actually meeting young Harry Potter. The boy really did look so much like James had, though definitely more petite than the man had been. But more than that, it had left Fabian with such a feeling of hope, for the first time since children started disappearing, they had the first real proof that they were still alive. Which meant that they might yet find Ron and be able to return his nephew to Molly. Right now, however, he needed to speak with Severus.

“Severus?” he called out as he stepped out of the floo at Spinner’s End. He didn’t wait for a response before making his way through the house in search of the man in question. “Severus?” he said again, as he poked his head into the kitchen, smiling at the sight of the man sat at the table, a cup of tea in hand.

Severus said nothing as he looked up at Fabian, giving him a pointed look while taking a sip from his teacup. The man remained expressionless as Fabian approached him, but placed his tea back on the table. Fabian, however, was unperturbed, grinning before leaning down to press a kiss to the scowling lips.

“I have news,” he told Severus, as he took the seat next to him and picked up Severus’ tea for himself, finishing it off.

“I gathered, given you know how dangerous it is to pay me a social visit unannounced,” Severus said, taking the now empty tea cup, and standing to go refill it. Though he didn’t sit back down, and instead turned to face the redhead sat at his table. He raised an eyebrow at the smile on the other man’s face. “If you are waiting to play a guessing game, Lily is upstairs; she has more patience for your childishness than I do.”

Fabian chuckled. “Love you too, Severus,” he said. “But this news might be best told to Lily as well, should I call her down here myself?” Fabian asked.

“No, I will go get her,” Severus said, setting his cup on the counter before moving to leave the kitchen. Fabian grabbed his arm as he walked by, standing up from his chair so that he was more on eye level with Severus.

“It’s not going to be bad news,” Fabian assured him.

“I had guessed that already, from your dopey grin,” Severus said, gently pulling his arm away from Fabian, reaching up he cupped the freckled cheek. Leaning in, he pressed his lips against Fabian’s, kissing the other man insistently, saying more with the kiss, than he could ever really put into words. “I will be right back down with Lily,” Severus said.

He made his way up the stairs and wasn’t entirely surprised to find Lily on the landing, leaning against the banister at the top of the stairs, looking somewhat amused. Severus scowled at her, knowing that she had likely been able to hear the two of them.

“Five years together, and you still struggle to tell the man you love him,” Lily said, letting out a dramatic sigh, as though exasperated with him, but the grin on her face belied her teasing mood.

“If you knew he was here, you should have come down yourself, instead of making me come up here and get you,” Snape said.

“It’s been a month since you’ve seen him. I thought you would want at least a moment together before I invaded,” Lily said. “Though, if you would like more than a moment, I’m sure I can excuse myself to the back garden for an hour or two.”

Severus gave no verbal response, but Lily saw something flash in his eyes and her grin widened knowingly. “Fabian is waiting for us,” Severus said, turning to walk back downstairs. Lily’s soft laughter was heard as she followed him.

“Lily!” Fabian greeted when they came into the kitchen. “Looking as lovely as ever, still giving the prison guard a hard time?” Fabian asked, accepting a hug from her.

“Of course! Being held captive gets boring after a while,” Lily said, as she moved over to take a seat on the far side of the table, leaving two seats across from her for Fabian and Severus.

“I don’t know; I’ve never complained when Severus has held me captive,” Fabian said with a grin, as he moved the cups of tea he had made over to the table.

“You said you had news,” Severus interrupted their conversation before it could go any farther. Though he didn’t show embarrassment, it was easy for Lily and Fabian to see that he was not a fan of their chosen topic of conversation. The fact that Lily was technically a prisoner of Voldemort’s was a very tense subject, and if the Dark Lord ever discovered that Fabian or anyone in the Order knew that Lily was here, she would be removed from Severus’ home.

“Right!” Fabian said, taking his seat next to Severus. “Dumbledore, Sirius and Remus called a meeting, because four teenage boys showed up at the ministry in the very early hours of this morning.”

“And what does this have to do with us?” Severus questioned, not really having any interest in Ministry business, and even less in teenagers causing trouble; he got quite enough of that already, teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts.

“Because one of these boys was Harry,” Fabian said, his eyes fixed on Lily.

“My Harry?” Lily asked quickly, her voice full of pleading hope. For fifteen years, she had held out hope that her son was out there somewhere, alive and well; she missed her little Harry terribly, but she just wanted to know that he was okay.

“He looks just like James,” Fabian told her as he nodded. “Such a bubbly little boy, with great big green eyes. He was having a pillow fight when I was there.” Lily gave a bittersweet laugh at that.

“Where were they?” Severus asked curiously. He knew that the Order had suspected Voldemort was behind the kidnappings, but he knew otherwise. “Where have they been for the last fifteen years?”

“That’s still not entirely clear, but there was mention of Fae involvement,” Fabian told them, both Severus and Lily looking surprised at that. “Hopefully Harry and the three other boys will tell us more as they come to trust Sirius and Remus.”

“Ron?” she asked, not able to form more words at the moment, but knowing how much Fabian missed his little nephew, who had been taken not long after Harry.

Fabian shook his head sadly. “No, he wasn’t with them, but we now have hope that he is alive,” he said. “The other three boys that were with Harry, they were never reported missing, which makes us think that there are a lot more missing children than we originally thought,” Fabian explained.

Lily’s eyes widened slightly. From the numerous talks she had had with Narcissa over the years, she knew that there were more missing children than the Ministry knew about. It was a strange sort of friendship that she now had with Narcissa; the woman hadn’t been all that bad, if you could look past her snooty, superior attitude. “Who are the other boys?” Lily asked, her voice soft, and still full of hope.

“Elladora Zabini’s son,” Fabian said. “Though it would make sense if the Ministry didn’t know about him, as she doesn’t always live in England,” he explained. “Then there is Theodore Nott, and Draco Malfoy; everyone thought that Malfoy had shipped his kid off to Durmstrang; and given the way the Notts have always shown off their six-year-old son as their heir, it was assumed that Theodore had died. According to Sirius, there’s no record of these boys having gone missing,” Fabian said, taking a sip of his tea.

“It makes sense though, with the amount of Death Eaters going in and out of Malfoy Manor, the last thing they would have wanted is for the Aurors to invade their home,” Lily said, knowing for a fact that that had been one of the reasons.

“It’s still their kid though,” Fabian said, sounding angry that someone would keep their child’s disappearance a secret, just so they wouldn’t get caught doing anything illegal.

“I’m not defending the decision; I just know that there is more to the Malfoy’s story than what people assume,” Lily snapped, her own anger rising.

“I still don’t understand that way of thinking. My nephew went missing, and I saw Molly and Arthur do everything in their power to try and find him. I have stood back and watched Alice lose what little sanity she had left, trying to undo whatever was done to her the night Neville was taken,” Fabian snapped, and Lily flinched feeling the full weight of guilt hit her when Alice’s name was mentioned.

“We would all do anything for our children,” Lily said guiltily. She knew the only reason Alice had lost the last bit of sanity had been because Voldemort himself had gone after her, Lily having given the location to Narcissa. Lily hadn’t known what happened to Alice, not until she had come to live with Severus, and Lily never knew what to feel more guilty about, the fact that she had betrayed a friend, or the fact that she would have done it a hundred times over if it had any chance of locating her son.

“I think that is partly what Sirius and Remus are worried about, that the other parents will take the Zabini, Malfoy and Nott boys from them,” Fabian told her, and that earned him a surprised look from the other two.

“Black and Lupin are taking care of them?” Severus asked, with bemusement. “Are we sure that is wise?”

“Sirius has legal rights to Harry already, since he is his Godfather, and Lily is still presumed dead,” Fabian explained. “Sirius also has rights to Draco, as he is a relative.”

“I do not see Lucius standing back and allowing that, once he knows his son is alive,” Severus said skeptically.

“That’s the kicker, he apparently already does. It took some fast talking on Sirius’ part apparently, and I guess Frank is shuffling paperwork, but as far as we know, for right now, Sirius is the legal guardian of all four boys until the investigation is finished, and we have all the missing children back,” Fabian said.

“I know I don’t get out much anymore, but that can’t be legal,” Lily said. “Unless things have changed drastically in the past fifteen years.”

Fabian snorted. “It’s not, not entirely, but since when would that stop Sirius,” he pointed out. “I think there are some Auror procedures for protection of victims that Frank will be able to twist to our benefit for awhile at least. It will take quite some time for Lucius to get a claim on his son through the Wizengamot anyway.”

“But Harry is definitely okay?” Lily asked, her heart aching to go see her little boy. The only thing that was keeping her from demanding that Fabian take her to him right away was that she trusted Sirius and Remus to protect Harry.

“Absolutely,” Fabian promised earnestly, grinning broadly at the thought of the energetic teenager he had met earlier.

“You cannot go to him,” Severus told Lily, sounding genuinely remorseful.

“I know,” Lily said with a weary sigh. She knew it would put them all in danger if it was discovered that she had left Snape’s home. and she still didn’t dare let Sirius and Remus find out that she was alive, knowing that they would try to rescue her.

“I will try to bring you a picture soon,” he said, knowing that it must be hurting Lily badly to not be able to go to Harry.

“Bring one of Draco too, for Narcissa,” Lily requested, wanting that same small relief for her friend as well. She knew it was for the best that Lucius couldn’t get his hands on Draco for the moment, but Lily still felt bad that Narcissa was also being kept from her son.

Fabian looked unsure, but nodded his head in agreement, knowing that Lily and Narcissa had formed an unlikely friendship over the loss of their sons. Besides, Narcissa was one of the few people who Lily ever got to see. “I will see what I can do,” Fabian promised, finishing off the last bit of his tea that had gone cold. He glanced over toward the clock that Severus kept in the kitchen. “Blimey, it’s gotten late. Gideon is going to kill me,” Fabian said, standing quickly.

Severus also looked over toward the clock, frowning when he saw that it had already been two hours since Fabian had arrived unannounced. “It would be unwise for you to stay any longer. If any of this news has gotten back to the Dark Lord, I expect I will have more visitors this evening,” Severus said, looking back at Fabian.

“I trust I don’t need to tell you to be careful,” Fabian said, as he squeezed Severus’ hand, knowing the man wouldn’t appreciate anything more than that in front of Lily. He chuckled at the stern, annoyed look that Severus gave him before turning to Lily. “It was good to see you again. I will get a picture to you when I can,” he promised.

“You too, and I would appreciate that,” Lily told him with a wry smile, knowing that seeing a photograph of her son would be bittersweet.

“I’ll try to be here for Christmas,” Fabian told Severus, before squeezing his lover’s hand once more, raising it to press a kiss to his knuckles. Fabian forced a smile as he turned and headed to the floo.

Severus watched him go, letting out a small sigh as he stood to clear away the cups on the table. “You should return to your room. If I do get more visitors, it would be unwise for you to be wandering around,” Severus said.

Lily nodded her head, looking at her friend sadly. There was no pity in her eyes, just understanding that she wasn’t the only prisoner in this house. “If Narcissa comes by, I would like to see her,” Lily said, standing up and leaving the kitchen to give her friend the space he needed right now. After all, she had her own things to be thinking about.

-------------x

Sirius was glad that the Order meeting hadn’t lasted long, having been cut short due to the fact that people had to return to work. Dumbledore, however, had decided to stay so he could talk with the four boys.

Though Sirius would have liked to have his house back, he did have to admit it was amusing to watch Dumbledore interact with the teens. Harry and Draco in particular, as the two of them seemed to be the more curious out of the four.

“What’s this on your face?” Harry asked, as he all but climbed onto the headmaster’s lap, prodding at the frame of the man’s glasses. Remus looked a little horrified, and Sirius was struggling to hold back a laugh, but Dumbledore seemed unfazed.

“These are glasses; they help me to see,” the headmaster told the curious boys, taking his glasses off his face and helping Harry to put them on.

“But it makes it look fuzzy,” Harry declared, as he squinted through the old man’s half moon glasses. “Why would you want the world to look fuzzy?”

Dumbledore chuckled deeply. “I have the eyes of an old man, Harry,” he explained patiently, as he took the glasses back and placed them back on, “the world is out of focus for me normally, and these glasses help restore clarity.”

“Why don’t you just use magic?” Draco asked with confusion.

“Ah, I believe that my magic does not work quite as yours does,” Dumbledore told him, with a soft smile. “Perhaps one day you boys will be able to show me how you use your magic, and help me restore my vision. Though I think they make me look rather wise and distinguished,” he added, winking at Harry, who giggled.

“I’m the only one of us that was training to be a healer,” Draco said, “I never finished the training though. I wouldn’t know how to restore your vision, not without more training.” Draco frowned as he thought about that for a moment. “I don’t have anyone here who could finish teaching me either.”

“There are plenty of healers here,” Dumbledore said, “I’m sure that one of them would be able to help you with your studies.”

“Truthfully, I don’t think your healers could teach me what I need to know,” Draco admitted, glancing over his shoulder when he felt a hand resting there. He smiled at Theodore.

“We will figure something out,” Theo promised, knowing how important it was to Draco to be a healer. It was something that his mate had always enjoyed and he didn’t want Draco to lose that now that they were in the Wizarding World.

“Absolutely,” Dumbledore agreed enthusiastically. “I am sure that we all have much to teach each other. I, for one, would love to hear more about where you grew up,” he told them.

“More questions?” Draco asked, and even Harry frowned at the idea of sitting and being asked more questions about where they had been.

“Our last round of questioning didn’t exactly go all that great,” Blaise said, coming to stand next to Harry, gently pulling him back from Dumbledore.

“Yes, I was informed that things got a little, disorganized,” Dumbledore said, “which is why I won’t be asking any questions. I will leave it up to you four to tell me whatever you want.”

“You will?” Harry asked hopefully, a little surprised by that. He wasn’t quite sure what to make of the strange old man, but so far he had been kind and patient. Dumbledore nodded. The four boys shared looks with each other, silently debating with each other. It took a few moments before Theo spoke.

“There might not be much we can tell you,” he said, wanting to make that clear from the start. “We have no way to get you into the city; we cannot take you to the others.”

“And we will want to be sure that you will act in all our best interests before we even try to help you find them,” Blaise stated firmly. As much as he wanted to see their other friends again, he wouldn’t do so unless he knew that they would be safe.

“Do we have to talk about where came from?” Harry asked hesitantly.

“You don’t have to answer anything you don’t want to,” Remus said quickly, giving Sirius a pointed look. He knew how eager his boyfriend was to find out about where the boys had been, but it wouldn’t be any help to push them now, and have them shut down.

“As Remus said,” Dumbledore agreed, with a nod towards the other man. “If you do not feel comfortable discussing your home, then you do not have to, my boy,” the headmaster assured them.

“So, we could ask YOU questions if we wanted to?” Harry asked, sounding actually hopeful now.

“I believe you already are asking me questions,” Dumbledore chuckled softly, “so I believe the answer to that question, would be yes.” Harry chuckled a little at that, giving Draco a nudge when the blond rolled his eyes.

“So… would you tell us about our parents?” Draco asked cautiously. He didn’t like what he had learned about his father so far, but he was still keen to know about his mother, and he knew that the others wanted to know about theirs.

“We can find that out for ourselves,” Blaise hissed at Draco. He didn’t understand why Harry and Draco were being so quick to trust this man, who they didn’t really know. They had already taken such a leap with going home with Sirius, and that had really been because there hadn’t been an alternative.

“But if he knows something,” Harry began, but stopped when Blaise looked at him, and Harry could see the worry in his mate’s eyes.

“I don’t think we will be asking any questions today,” Theo said, wrapping an arm around Draco’s waist pulling him close.

“That is, of course, completely up to you boys,” Dumbledore said amicably, with a nod of his head. The four boys watched him suspiciously as though waiting for the other foot to fall, but Dumbledore continued to just smile at them kindly.

“Surely you want to know something,” Sirius said impatiently. “I am sure we could find out anything you might need to know about your parents and families,” he added, keen to prove to these boys that they were on their side. And if Theo and Draco learned how dangerous their families were in the process, then all the better.

“There is plenty that we want to know,” Blaise admitted. “There is also a lot that we need to find out out for ourselves,” Blaise said, not willing to elaborate more on the fact that they had grown up blindly trusting people, only to find out their whole lives had been a lie. Blaise wasn’t willing to take that chance, not when it meant that he, his mate, and friends would be the ones affected again.

“I understand,” Remus said, deciding he should speak up again before Sirius let his emotions and mouth run away with him. “Maybe we should call it a day. Maybe have some dinner, and then all have an early night. Not sure about you boys, but I am exhausted,” he said with a smile.

“I should be heading back to Hogwarts,” Dumbledore said as he stood up. “I will see you boys later,” Dumbledore said, saying his goodbye to the four teens, before looking at Remus and Sirius. “I will let you two know when the next meeting will be.”

“Okay, you four, why don’t we figure out what you would like for dinner,” Remus said, herding the four of them in the direction of the kitchen.

“Can we help cook?” Theo asked, sounding genuinely curious. In the city, they had always been provided with food, and though he knew in theory that someone prepared it, he had never been involved with or seen the process for himself.

“I don’t see why not,” Sirius agreed, patting his hand on Theo’s shoulder. “I suggest we let Remus take charge thought,” he added, knowing that his boyfriend was definitely the better cook out of the two of them.

“Really? You’ll let us help?” Draco asked, unable to keep the look of surprise off his face, while Harry just grinned widely and quickly followed Remus into the kitchen.

“What can I do to help?” Harry asked eagerly, Draco coming in to stand next to Harry, also looking eager to help. Remus chuckled at the two of them, looking around the kitchen deciding how he should split the jobs up.

“Alright, first make sure you wash your hands, and I will start getting things set up,” Remus said, going to the fridge he pulled out the chicken he had gotten for tonight's meal. “Sirius, grab the flour and olive oil for me,” Remus said, bringing the package of chicken over to the counter.

“Hey now, I never said I was going to help,” Sirius said, sitting down in one of the kitchen chairs.

“If you’re going to be in the kitchen, you’re going to help,” Remus said firmly, not sure he was really up to wrangling four teenage boys all by himself.

“Alright then, you have fun,” Sirius said and he made to stand up quickly, but stopped when he saw Harry suddenly standing in front of him.

“You’re not going to help too?” Harry asked, looking up at him with wide green eyes that were shining with what seemed to be tears.

“I… well, I’m not a good cook, Remus is better at this than me and… aw, hell with it!” Sirius huffed. “I’ll help,” he said, storming over to the cupboard to get the items Remus had requested, missing the smug looks that Harry and Draco exchanged.

“You two.” Theo shook his head, and returned to his own task of washing his hands.

“If your hands are washed, you can start washing the chicken,” Remus said, placing the raw chicken on the counter next to Theo, who stared at it.

“What is that?” he asked, his question gaining the attention of both Harry and Draco, who came over to see what Theo was looking at.

“Is that dinner?” Draco asked, looking and sounding disgusted.

“Yes, it will look better when it is cooked,” Remus said, chuckling at the boys’ reactions.

“It’s all slimy!” Harry cried out as he touched the raw chicken, quickly wiping his hand on Draco’s arm.

“Ew, don’t touch me!” Draco said, backing away from Harry quickly.

Remus ignored the two of them for a moment as he showed Theo how to wash the chicken properly. That done, he turned his attention to Draco and Harry, who were running around the table. “If you two want to help, get over here,” Remus said, using the same tone of voice he used when he wanted Sirius listen to him. Remus smiled as it seemed to work just as well on Harry and Draco, as both boys stopped running around the kitchen, and came to stand in front of Remus.

“In this bowl, you are going to crack four eggs,” Remus said, showing them what he meant and pointing out how they needed to be careful not to get any egg shell in with it. “And in this bowl,” he went on, balancing it on a set of scales, “I want you to put flour, until this needle reached here, where it says eight ounces.” Remus handed Harry the bag of flour and a large spoon, watching as Harry and Draco each eagerly started working on their tasks.

Turning away from them, satisfied that their jobs would keep them out of trouble for a few moments, he went to show Blaise what he could do to help, by starting to cook the rice, while instructing Sirius to start the sour cream sauce.

“Hey!” A shout from behind him had Remus turning around just in time to see Draco grab a handful of flour and throw it at Harry, apparently in retaliation for the flour that Harry had obviously gotten all over Draco.

“No, no, no, no,” Remus said, hurriedly drying his hands, as they were wet from helping Blaise with the rice. However, in the meantime, Sirius had attempted to step in; this, however, backfired rather spectacularly when both Draco and Harry threw more flour over Sirius.

“I’m going to get you little brats for that,” Sirius said with a laugh that Remus knew didn’t bode well. And sure enough, Sirius grabbed a handful of the flour that Harry had been weighing out and threw it back at the two boys.

Draco and Harry both cried out, the bag of flour in Harry's hand as they both ran and hid behind Blaise. “Harry, Draco… what are you doing?” Blaise asked, sounding fondly exasperated with the pair of them. However, his expression suddenly turned scandalised when Draco suddenly took the flour from Harry, dropping a handful of flour onto Blaise’s head. “Draco!” he exclaimed, as he turned to glare at his laughing friend. Harry too seemed to be having trouble containing his amusement.

“Get back here!” Blaise said, moving to chase after Draco, who was heading for Theodore next. However the blond was intercepted by Remus, the nearly empty bag of flour pulled from his hands.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Remus said, his arm wrapped around a squirming Draco. “I think it might be best if you boys went and washed up, got on some clean clothes, and I can finish making dinner,” Remus said.

“Uh-oh, best do as he says,” Sirius said, a grin on his face; he was rather enjoying seeing other people getting told off by Remus for once.

“I’m including you in that as well, Sirius,” Remus said firmly, giving him a pointed look. He loved his boyfriend’s playful nature, but they really didn’t need to be encouraging the boys right now.

“I wasn’t the one who started the flour fight,” Sirius protested, with an exaggerated pout, that made both Harry and Draco laugh again.

“No, but you’re the one who kept it going, now, take the boys upstairs so they can get cleaned up. I will try and clean up the kitchen, and get dinner finished before it gets too late,” Remus said; he wasn’t truly annoyed, but it was going to take time to clean up the mess that they had left around the kitchen.

“Alright, you heard the man, come on boys,” Sirius said, standing by the door and watching as Harry and Draco hurried out of the kitchen first, Blaies following a bit more slowly. He paused at the door to look back at Theo.

“You coming too?” Blaise asked.

“I want to stay in here and help,” Theodore said, looking to Remus silently wondering if that would be allowed.

Remus blinked a little surprised that Theo wanted to stay in here with him and help finish dinner. “I still would like the help,” Remus said.

Theo nodded, turning his attention to Blaise again. “I’ll stay down here, you go make sure Harry and Draco don’t get into any more trouble,” Theo said.

“I make no promises,” Blaise grinned, ducking out of the kitchen, and Sirius followed after them.

“Now, let’s see if we can get something accomplished, let's start by cleaning the kitchen,” Remus said, looking around once again at the mess.

“Cleaning this up isn’t a problem,” Theo said, waving his hand at the mess, watching as it vanished. “That better?” he asked, looking back at Remus, who was staring at him now.

“Yes,” Remus said, holding himself back from asking Theo about how he used magic so easily, “much.” Instead he gave the boy a grateful smile, and waved him over. Together the two of them focused on getting dinner finished, with Remus showing Theodore how to cook the chicken, and the sauce. By the time Sirius and the others came back down, dinner was being served and Theo was looking very pleased with himself.

----------------x

While Remus and Theodore remained in the kitchen, Sirius took the other three boys upstairs to get washed up. This had proved, to be another adventure, as Harry had started yet another war with Draco, this one involving a lot of water. By the time this fight had been broken up, it was decided that it would be easier if they all just went and changed their clothes, rather than salvage their current outfits. Being covered with flour, and now water, was not an easy thing to clean up and Sirius had decided it was beyond his domestic ability and patience to do so.

“This is what you always wear?” Sirius asked when Draco and Harry were both once again dressed in their Fae tunics, and loose linen trousers. It reminded him that he and Remus needed to find some more traditional, wizarding clothes for the boys.

“Yep,” Blaise answered, as he approached, buttoning a waistcoat over a tunic of his own. “Is that what you always wear?” he retorted, looking up and down the man’s casual robes.

Sirius scowled at him, and was just about to retort, when Remus called up the stairs. “Dinner’s ready.”

Harry broke into a grin, and Sirius wrapped an arm over his godson’s shoulder, before the boy could go charging off so fast he would likely fall down the stairs in his haste. Keeping himself between Draco and Harry, Sirius lead them all back down to the kitchen table, where the food had been dished up already.

Blaise took a seat next to Harry, but Sirius quickly sat on Harry’s other side, where he hoped to be able to stop any more antics from his godson. However, this proved to be unnecessary, as not even half way through the meal, Sirius was startled to find the boy was practically falling asleep in his chair.

“Are you okay, Harry?” Blaise asked, looked at his mate in concern. Green eyes blinked open, looking at Blaise and Harry nodded, giving his mate a sleepy smile.

“I’m just really tired,” Harry said with a yawn.

“It’s been a long day,” Remus said, smiling fondly at Harry as the boy rubbed his eyes. “Why don’t you head up to bed?” he suggested, but Harry shook his head.

“Waiting for Blaise,” Harry said, yawning again.

Blaise smiled, pushing his plate away and standing. He moved around the table and pulled Harry to his feet, chuckling as Harry leaned against him. “Come on Harry. Let's get you to bed,” Blaise said, and tried to move Harry, only to have his mate let out a small noise of protest.

“He’s not going to move, you’ll have to carry him,” Draco said, also standing from his own seat.

“Come on, Harry, you can walk up a few stairs,” Blaise said, usually not one to complain about carrying Harry, but he too was tired, and the last thing he wanted to do was accidently drop Harry if he tried to carry him now.

“I’m tired,” Harry complained, leaning more against Blaise.

“Why don’t you three go on up ahead, and I’ll carry Harry,” Sirius offered, standing and moving to pick Harry up. Blaise wanted to protest, but Harry didn’t give him time as he turned toward Sirius. The man bent down and allowed Harry to wrap his arms around his neck before he picked up the tired boy, wrapping Harry’s legs around his waist.

Blaise didn’t look to happy about the arrangement, but didn’t say anything as he turned to head out of the kitchen, pausing only for a moment to make sure Sirius was right behind him with Harry. Theodore and Draco followed after them.

Sirius kept a secure hold on Harry as he walked up the stairs; he couldn’t help but smile to himself as he carried Harry into the room that the boy had chosen as his own, knowing that James and Lily’s boy was safe in his arms. He gently lay Harry down on the bed, tucked him in and kissed his forehead before he could stop himself.

“Goodnight, Harry,” Sirius said softly, and he was rewarded with a tired smile from his godson.

“Night,” Harry said. As Sirius stood back up, he turned and saw Blaise standing in the doorway, watching him.

“You should get some sleep too, all you boys had a long day,” Sirius said, approaching him.

“I’ll sleep when I’m ready to,” Blaise said, and even though Sirius was sure that Blaise wasn’t trying to sound rude, he could tell that the boy didn’t trust him. “I’ll stay with Harry until I do,” the teenager added when Sirius tried to lead him out of Harry’s bedroom.

“Harry is perfectly safe here, anywhere in this house,” Sirius told him firmly, putting his hand on Blaise’s shoulder, “I would never have brought Harry here otherwise. If you’re not tired, why don’t you come back down and finish the rest of your dinner.”

“I already ate enough, thank you,” Blaise told him, sounding overly polite. “And while I am certain you believe your wards sufficient, and trust that no one can reach us here, I am not taking that chance with my mate.”

Sirius sighed, trying to let go of his frustration, lest he take it out on Blaise. “Then perhaps the two of us can look at the wards together tomorrow?” he suggested, wondering just what it was going to take to get these boys to trust them. He knew it had been less than a day since they had first met and that it was going to take time, but he knew that there was only so long they would have before Lucius Malfoy, Corvus Nott or Minister Scrimgeour started making demands.

Blaise nodded curtly. “I am certain there are some improvements that could be made, particularly with Harry’s assistance,” he told him.

“Errr, right,” Sirius mumbled, not really sure what to say to that. He hadn’t intended to allow the boys to play with the wards around his home, but he figured that he and Remus would cross that bridge when they came to it. “Have Theo and Draco gone to bed?” he asked, realising that he couldn’t see them.

Blaise managed a smile, and nodded. “As you said, it has been a long day. I will check on them before I sleep,” the teenager added, and Sirius took that as a request to leave them be.

“Then there’s nothing else you need from me?” Sirius asked a little sadly, wishing there was more that he could do to care for these boys, but realising that they were already far too independent.

Blaise shook his head, and Sirius moved passed him into the corridor, heading for the stairs. “Sirius,” Blaise said, just as he reached the top of them, and the man turned back to look at him, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Sirius said, breaking into a broad grin, before disappearing off down the stairs in a much better mood.

“He really loves me,” Harry mumbled sleepily from the bed, and Blaise turned and hurried over, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. He smiled at the sight of Harry peering up at him through half-closed eyes. “Could feel it when he carried me.”

“You’re his godson,” Blaise reminded him, brushing Harry’s hair back from his face. “I am glad that he cares for you,” he told his mate earnestly, knowing that Sirius and Remus truly would do what they could to protect them. While the Wizarding World was so alien to them, even if Blaise was reluctant to admit it, he knew they needed that help.

“Me too,” Harry said, shifting to get more comfortable on his bed. Blaise smiled at him, reaching out to run his fingers through Harry’s hair. He continued watching his mate until Harry had fallen asleep, and pulled the blankets tighter around Harry before he stood up and left the room. He stopped to check on Draco and Theo as well, before heading to his own room; despite his words to Sirius, he was actually looking forward to a decent night’s sleep.

----------------x

Draco shuffled in his sleep, cuddling up to his mate, his arm thrown over Theo’s chest, refusing to open his eyes to find out what it was that had disturbed him. He took a moment to once again register the oddness of Theo being there with him, the bed having been magically expanded to accommodate the two of them, with room to spare. Draco, however, was too tired to think on it too much, and so simply snuggled closer to Theo. He smiled when he felt his mate’s arm tighten around him.

He had every intention of going back to sleep but a soft noise in the room had the blond boy letting out a small sigh. A moment later an all too familiar voice interrupted his attempt to go right back to sleep.

“Draco,” the intruder whispered, right before Draco felt a hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him.

“What is it, Harry?” Draco asked, without moving from his comfortable spot, cuddled against Theo’s side.

“Can I sleep here? With you?” Harry questioned, and Draco just hummed his agreement, anything that would keep his friend from disturbing his sleep any further. The bed dipped, and Draco felt Harry crawl under the covers behind him.

“Thank you, Draco,” Harry said, sounding as tired as Draco felt.

“Go to sleep,” Draco mumbled sleepily, feeling Harry shift around trying to get comfortable.

“Who’s that?” Theo asked, sitting up to look at the extra person who was now lying in the bed with them.

“It’s just Harry,” Draco said, rolling onto his back so that he could send a glare toward Harry, who was still attempting to get comfy.

“I can see that,” Theo said, rubbing at his eyes and watching Harry curiously. “What’s he doing in here?” he questioned.

“That is a good question,” Draco said, keeping his eyes on Harry.

“Couldn’t sleep on my own,” Harry told him, pouting up at him, imploring his two friends not to send him away.

“Blaise wasn’t sleeping with you?” Theo asked, a little surprised by that. He had not wanted to leave his own mate alone in the strange place, and he knew well how protective Blaise was over Harry.

“No…” Harry said, fighting sleep and trying to gather his thoughts. “I fell asleep and he was there, but when I woke up, he was gone. I thought you and him had gone to share a room… so I came in here to sleep with Draco,” Harry said.

Theo sighed. Blaise had his reasons, but Theo was unable to think of any explanation at that moment. “You are welcome to stay, Harry, but would you rather go sleep with Blaise?” he asked.

“Can I stay?” Harry asked hopefully. “I don’t want to wake him.”

“But waking us was fine?” Draco scoffed, his sleep well and truly broken now. He could read Harry easily, however, and could tell that he truly wanted Blaise. With a sigh, Draco turned to look at his mate. “Theo, can you go fetch Blaise? I think it might be the only way we will all get some more sleep tonight.”

Theo chuckled at that, pressing a kiss to Draco’s temple before slipping out of his bed, which had apparently been taken over. He made his way out of the room, and down the corridor, to the room Blaise had selected. He had to smother a laugh when he found Blaise sprawled over the top of the covers, limbs hanging over both sides of the bed, his friend snoring softly. He moved around and crouched close to Blaise’s head.

“Blaise, wake up,” he said, as he shook him gently. It didn’t take much and Blaise startled awake.

“Theo?” Blaise muttered, sounding confused as he blinked blearily at his friend. “You okay?”

“Your troublesome little mate has crawled his way into bed with mine,” Theo told him, his smile crooked.

“And so you came seeking a place in bed with me?” Blaise asked teasingly. “I am so flattered, Theo.”

“Hush, idiot,” Theo said with a laugh. “Now get yourself up, and come join the three of us. I fear Draco might be right, and that Harry will not let any of us sleep until you are there too.”

“I was sleeping just fine before you woke me up, so it would have just been you three that got no sleep,” Blaise said, even as he sat up and stretched.

“Consider yourself lucky, I had intended to send Harry in here on his own, and let you deal with him for the night,” Theo said, watching as Blaise stood up from the bed. “Out of curiosity, why didn’t you stay with him tonight?” Theo asked, raising an eyebrow when Blaise looked away from him, seeming to find a random spot on the wall quite fascinating at the moment.

“Truthfully?” Blaise asked, looking hesitant as he glanced back at Theo. His anxiousness just piqued Theo’s curiosity further.

“Unless you plan on lying to all of us, then yes, the truth would be appreciated,” Theo said, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited for Blaise to give his explanation.

Blaise sighed, pushing himself to his feet, knowing he needed to say something. “You love Draco, do you not?”

“Of course,” Theo told him, confused as to what that had to do with the matter at hand.

“You want him, to touch him, to be with him?” Blaise added, and Theo nodded, a look of understanding crossing his face. “Well, Harry is just so… innocent. Even with everything that Firo told him, I am sure he is not ready for more than the few kisses we have shared.”

“And you worry you won’t be able to keep your hands off him,” Theo said, sounding far too amused for Blaise’s liking.

“I KNOW I won't be able to keep my hands off him,” Blaise said. Letting out a frustrated sigh, he ran his hand through his hair. “Each kiss I’ve shared with him, the only thing that stopped me was the fear of being caught, knowing that Harry would also be in trouble with the Elders again,” Blaise explained.

“I understand that temptation; there is a little thing called self control,” Theo said pointedly.

“You don’t get it, Theo. You try kissing an empath, and see how much ‘self control’ you have,” Blaise huffed, watching as Theo’s eyes widened slightly in realisation.

“Harry shields though,” Theo said, and Blaise shook his head.

“Not when we’re that close,” Blaise sighed. “The very first kiss we shared, where we found those files about us, if Harry wasn’t so easily distracted…” Blaise trailed off shaking his head again. Theo wasn’t sure what he could say, so he reached out and placed a hand on Blaise’s shoulder in silent support while he thought of something he could say to help his struggling friend.

“I think you are putting too much thought into this. We left the Fae city; we are not bound by their rules and laws anymore. If you and Harry want to be together, then be together,” Theo said. “You can’t keep Harry innocent forever, and you’re only hurting yourselves by trying.”

“I still don’t trust myself to be alone in a bed with Harry at night, neither of us are ready for what might happen if we get carried away,” Blaise said.

“So then just share a bed with Draco and me. It would be difficult for you to ‘get carried away’ with an audience,” Theo suggested.

“Oh, so you want to watch?” Blaise asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend, laughing at the unusual sight of his friend’s blush. “You do!” Blaise exclaimed, still laughing.

“I do not,” Theo argued, crossing his arms over his chest. “I just couldn’t help but think maybe you or Harry might like being watched.”

Blaise shrugged his shoulders, still looking very amused. “For all I know, Harry would,” he admitted. “Not something either of us have much experience with.”

“Let’s go, idiot, our mates are waiting,” Theo said, shaking his head at his friend in fond exasperation. Blaise just grinned at him, heading out into the corridor, and Theo hurried after him, throwing an arm over Blaise’s shoulder and guiding him into his own room where he had left Draco and Harry.
Thank you for reading. Hope you enjoyed the chapter. :D
Please do take a moment to leave us a review.
- 10
- 11
- 12
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Restoration of Magic