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In His Place	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Sirius Views: 72865 -:- Recommendations : 16 -:- Currently Reading : 16
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, so sad for me, and make no money off this story, even sadder for me.

Chapter List
- 12
- 13
- 14
Beta'd by the amazing Tenchi. Love you, woman, you're the best!

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

Just a reminder of what's on my profile; reviews complaining or whinging about the lack 'o sex in stories will get deleted. If you want a smut-filled romp, you need to find another story to read.

Chapter 13

After nodding to Arabella when she motioned him to come into her house, Arthur waited. He knew from her message what this was about, but wanted fully filled in before they went any further.
Quietly, smiling a little as she persuaded several of her cats to move along, she said, “He's waiting in the other room.”
“You're sure this isn't a trick of some kind or him just being mean?” Arthur asked, though he was sure it wasn't.
“No, he means it,” Arabella told the man with a smile. “He's come over once a week to find out what's going on since he found out. Oh, he's careful about that, of course, making sure no one sees him do it, but he does. It's real, Arthur.”
“I'll fill him in then,” Arthur told her, smiling bigger. Seeing her motion him to follow, Arthur tagged along behind until they stepped into the small sitting room. Seeing Dudley there, looking uptight, he said a jovial hello as he took a seat then the cup of tea that Arabella offered. Settling back, he said, “Nothing to be nervous about, Dudley. I'm sure you remember me.”
“I do,” Dudley nodded warily, remembering him as the man that not only blew up their living room, but as the father of Harry's best friend.
“It's nothing to worry about, you have my word.” Arthur assured him softly. “Now, what is it that you want to know?” He asked.
Swallowing thickly, Dudley looked between the two then said, “I haven't heard much about what's going on with Harry, but Mrs. Figg said he was really hurt badly and I was wondering how he was.”
“Alright,” Arthur nodded. “How much do you know? That way I can explain what's going on better.”
Quickly, Dudley filled him in on the scant information he had. After he finished, he said, “I don't know much. Just that Harry was hurt really badly and was in a coma. I don't know anything more than that.” Quietly, he added, “I just want to know if he's doing alright. It's not to cause problems, I swear.”
Taking that in, Arthur nodded. This was something that he was told by Albus to judge what to do on his own. So, he was going to give the obviously nervous young man the answers he wanted. Smiling, he said, “Let me explain what happened, to an extent anyway, then I'll tell you what is going on now.” Seeing Dudley nod, he explained about Harry hitting his head and the problems from there, though leaving out that Harry had been technically dead. When he finished, seeing Dudley pale and shaking, he pressed on, smile growing, “Harry is getting better. He's awake now and doing as well as can be expected. There are challenges of course, big ones, but he's improving.”
Relieved, Dudley gave a vigorous nod. “Good! Will the problems all go away and heal or not?”
“We don't know,” Arthur told him honestly. “Some of it—probably not. From what we've been told, the epilepsy is probably something he'll deal with for the rest of his life and have to take potions for. The nerve damage they can mostly repair or it'll heal on its own, but may still be there, though it should only affect him minimally in the form of some trembling. The headaches he's getting are new enough that they aren't sure about those. That's probably going to depend on his brain healing. Other parts they aren't sure of either. It's just going to take time to see what happens. On the upside, his normal functions and all that comes with those, are fine. I've talked to him more than once since he woke up and he's still Harry without problems that show that way. That's the best part.”
“Is he back in school?” Dudley asked, happy about that.
“No, Harry's—there is no way possible for him to go to school right now. His problems are so great that he really can't handle a full class schedule. Plus, there are plenty of areas he has to work around because of his problems. He's being homeschooled instead. My understanding is that he's plenty behind because he has to relearn many things before he can press on. And to compensate for problems he has. We aren't really sure whether he might be able to go back next year either. If he can't, he can't. We'll make sure he gets the education he needs as well. One of the things they've already had to work on was his career plan. I'm gathering that's rather like you going on to further your education after you graduate. He can't do what he chose because of his problems. It's not a setback though, as he found another he's very excited about.” Arthur told him with a smile.
“He's somewhere safe, isn't he? I mean—I know he's not ever coming back here, but no one told us where he was going,” Dudley asked, happy with what he was hearing.
“Harry is somewhere very safe,” Arthur assured him, smiling bigger. This was a wonderful thing and he was more than happy to fill the young man in. “I won't tell you where that is to protect you and him, both, but he's staying with his godfather and several other people. They'll make sure to protect him. Plenty of us are in and out of where he's staying as well. So, it's nothing to worry about.”
“Good,” Dudley nodded. Thinking it over, he looked at the man, then asked, “Would it be alright for me to write to him? I know we didn't have the best relationship and I was plenty rotten to him, but I'd like to.”
Leaning back in his chair, Arthur thought it over then gave a slow nod after a couple of minutes. “It's something we'll have to go about an odd way, of course. If Arabella's willing, bring your letters to her and she'll get them to me. We have a way to do that you won't. And we wouldn't want you to chance alerting someone you're writing to Harry. That could cause problems in many areas. If you go about it that way, we can make sure he gets them. If he writes back, I can get them to Arabella and she can pass them along to you. Is that fine?”
“Yeah, that's good,” Dudley told him with a vigorous nod. “He can write back, right? I mean—with the problems he has?”
“He can,” Arthur assured him. “He's writing to his friends at school. It's—he just has to go about it a different way is all, nothing more than that.”
“This is something I want to do,” Dudley told him firmly with a nod. Thinking it over, he quietly asked, “If we write for a while and he wants to, can I see him?”
Thinking that over, Arthur sighed then said, “Let's do this; you write for a while then we'll talk it over again. It's a complicated situation and has to do with where he's staying. That would cause big problems to pull it off. I'll mention it to several people, but it'll take time to figure out how to go about that.”
“Okay, yeah, we can do this,” Dudley said with a nervous smile.
“I can also arrange to come over here once a month and fill you in if you'd like,” Arthur offered. This was a wonderful thing and he was sure Harry would love it.
“Yeah, that I'd like,” Dudley admitted, happy with this. He had been so worried about Harry when he heard he was really hurt. It was nice knowing his cousin was better and not in danger of dying. That was great! His parents wouldn't like this, but he didn't care. Harry—the Dementor bit was enough to tell him all the things he heard about his cousin were wrong. He was a good guy he wanted to get to know.

Coming into the meeting, Sirius sat down. Looking around the table, he said, “Draco is staying up with Harry. The elves are also going to keep an eye on them. I don't think there'll be a problem with it. Harry's doing better, though still tired all the time. Draco's well aware of that. He also knows what might end up as a problem area and will send for someone if it appears off.” There was a big meeting tonight that they all had to attend, other than ones that just couldn't get there, so he had to make an appearance. Plus, it helped so he could get information that they might need to have passed along. “I'll make damned sure to go up and check on them from time to time as well to make certain nothing is off.”
“We'll make sure you have time to do that, Sirius,” Albus told him honestly. “He's doing better then? And there aren't any issues with Draco?”
“He's definitely doing better,” Sirius told him honestly with a firm nod. “And there is a truce going with the two. They were talking about teaching Draco to produce a Patronus. I figure that's a good use of their time.”
“It is,” Albus said with a smile. “And not too taxing. It should do them both good to work on such endeavors.” Looking around, he sighed then launched in, “Let's start with the situation with Miss Parkinson and the others.”
Seeing nods and apprehensive faces, he shook his head sadly, “Miss Parkinson is looking at a life sentence in Azkaban, because of her age. Sadly, there is nothing any of us can do to help her. I wanted to try, as she's so young, and hoped they would give her a second chance, but that's not possible. While it sounds like she did this partially to aid the 'cause', the truth seems to be that she did it for revenge against Mr. Zabini because she's pregnant and he wouldn't admit to being the father or marry her. Misters Crabbe and Goyle are also in real trouble as they aided her, though they aren't facing the same sentence she is. All of them—well, the Board of Governors is drawing up expulsion papers as we speak. They have indisputable proof that all of them committed illegal acts of such magnitude that, when prosecuted, they'll be convicted. That's all they need. From what I can tell, they want to make an example of them.”
“I don't disagree with that assessment,” Remus said softly, looking at the old man. “What they did—Merlin! Most people that age wouldn't even consider such a step, let alone going out and buying illegal potions to do it.”
“I tend to agree,” Severus gruffed, looking dour with his arms crossed over his chest. “None of the three's parents have the kind of power with the Dark Lord that would get them assigned to do something like that. They did it on their own. I get that they are young and you make mistakes at that age, but this was above and beyond a normal mistake.”
“Very true,” Albus admitted with a sigh. “Misters Crabbe and Goyle—I'm not sure the sentence they will get, but chances are it won't be a long one. It's my understanding, from what little I can get out of the Ministry, that they might end up with that slightly mitigated, as they're talking. Miss Parkinson, though—she won't get out. And they have enough evidence to convict her with nothing that might lessen the circumstances, other than her age. With what's going on, Rufus is making it clear he wants the legal department to throw the book at her.”
“Blaise has a long, hard road ahead of him to recover, Albus,” Lucius told the man quietly, but in a firm tone. “It may take years and there might be permanent damage done because of that poison. That more than warrants the Ministry's stance. If the Ministry didn't push for it, I'm sure his mother would.”
“True as well,” Albus admitted with a sad shake of his head.
“What about the child?” Narcissa asked. This wasn't something she had heard about before and was wondering. It was her assumption that the Ministry wouldn't send her to Azkaban if she was pregnant, let alone force her to give birth there.
“In cases like this they will keep her in the cells at the Ministry until she gives birth. After that, they will send the child to the father, if at all possible. I'm going to guess that the child will go to Mister Zabini's mother until he has sufficiently recuperated, after they do a paternity test, that is,” Albus explained. “Once she gives birth and recovers, they'll send her to Azkaban.”
“Are they sure that it's Blaise that is the father? I know—well, not wanting to speak ill, of course, but that she had relations with more than one in school,” Lucius sighed. “We know she tried with Draco, but he swears he didn't.”
“They will have to wait until the child is born to determine that,” Albus explained. Lowering his voice, he added, “We've heard the same thing. In fact, Severus has had several of the male students come to him and admit they've had relations with her because they are wondering if they could be the father. Only time will tell in this case.”
“We think she fixated on Mister Zabini because of his social status,” Severus said, looking around. “That did seem to be her trend when it came to this area. We have the list of students that have come to me and forwarded them to the Ministry. I'm sure they'll be spoken to as well. It's something we can't hide as the results from what she did were almost catastrophic.”
“Bloody hell,” Sirius sighed, rubbing a hand over his face and shaking his head.
“We don't think it went outside of Slytherin, but we have to make sure, so the other heads of houses are quietly questioning some of the male students or putting out feelers to see if we can't get some to come forward. We don't know and think, maybe, that she stayed within her own house.” Albus told them sadly. “Either way, this young lady made a mistake she's going to pay for the rest of her life.”
“I think we need to stop referring to this as a mistake, Albus,” Arthur told him firmly. “It wasn't. She knew just what she was doing and what could come of it. That was not a mistake. I understand that people her age are impulsive and are apt to work off emotion rather than think it through at times, but there was no other use for those potions. She knew just what could happen. Especially the one she used on Mister Zabini. That one is deadly and there is no other known use for it.”
“I tend to agree,” Tonks said with a nod, looking around. “From what we can tell, she did this out of pure revenge with aiding the 'cause' as secondary. Referring to it as a mistake minimizes the magnitude of what she did. Mister Zabini would have died a painful death if Severus hadn't gotten to him when he did.
Hearing everyone around the table concur, Albus gave a slow nod. “Very true. I'm not trying to minimize what she did or what has come of it, I'm just used to children making very bad choices that affect them for years. Give me time to correct myself when we discuss it.” Pressing on, he smiled a little then said, “To balance out the bad, we have some good news to pass along. Though it doesn't really pertain to the Order, I thought you all might like to hear it.” Gesturing to Arthur, he waited.
Smiling himself, Arthur walked everyone through the meeting with Dudley. When he finished, seeing plenty of grins, he added, “I'll get the letters from Arabella, check them over, then bring them to Harry. We thought to keep this a secret until he gets the first one. With all he's dealing with, it's a surprise we thought he would like.”
“It is,” Sirius grinned, liking this. “And one he wouldn't ever suspect. Good!”
“If it all goes well, we'll see about bringing Dudley for a visit, without his parents knowing, of course,” Albus told everyone looking around. Seeing plenty of nods and smiles, he pressed on to other matters dealing with the war.

Still chuckling as he sat back down after checking on Harry and Draco, Sirius snickered, “They're fine, trust me. I didn't let them know I was there, but I watched what they were doing long enough to make sure it's all good. Nothing to worry about.”
Seeing the look on Sirius' face, not to mention hearing him chuckle, Lucius' lips quirked slightly, eyebrow going up, then he asked, “And what mischief are they up to? Or don't we want to know?”
“Nothing devious. They are doing exactly what they said they would; working on Draco producing his Patronus. And he's doing very well, too. He's got the mist that comes just before you manage, which means he just needs to find the right memory,” Sirius assured him. Starting to grin, he added, “It's just that to deal with the frustration, they are calling each other some rather creative names. The most common I heard were posh pompous prat for Draco and gimpy speccy git for Harry.” Unable to help himself, his shoulders began to shake as he grinned bigger. “And it was funny as hell to listen to since it's not being done maliciously. If Draco annoys Harry too much, Harry sends a spell to mess up his hair. Draco said he'd do the same but no one could tell the difference, so he's using tickling charms instead.”
Smiling just a little, Narcissa told him, “This is good, though!”
“It is! Which is why I left them alone and didn't say a word. Let them work on it and develop what's there better. They aren't being mean or malicious, just poking at each other in a fun way. I didn't see the harm.”
“No, there's no harm there,” Albus said with a smile and a chuckle. “It can only help.”
“I'll keep going up to check, but I'm not going to bother them. Just let them do what they are,” Sirius said, then motioned for Albus to proceed with the next topic.

Just as Albus was wrapping up the meeting, asking if there was anything else they needed to cover, he was startled by a Patronus that looked like a ferret dash into the kitchen and perch on the table. Brow furrowed, he wasn't sure who this was from as he didn't know any Order members that had a ferret Patronus. He was about to say something when the ferret opened its mouth and proclaimed in Draco's voice, “It's a polecat, you gimpy git!”
Snorting at that, smiling, Albus said, “I think Draco's managed.” He was halted from going on by Harry's stag cantering in. It then opened its mouth and said, “It's a ferret, you posh prat!”
“I said it's a polecat!” The ferret proclaimed before dashing back in the direction it came from, going through the wall.
“Ferret!” The stag said in an exasperated voice before taking off after the creature.
“Well, that was a rather constructive use of their time, wasn't it?” Remus said, shoulders shaking as he grinned.
“He picked it up rather quickly, too,” Lucius said, tone slightly smug though completely amused as the stag and ferret appeared again with the stag chasing the ferret around the table.
Watching the two run around the table, Arthur said, smiling, “Ron and Hermione said Harry is a very good teacher. It appears he is. Draco learned that very fast. Including the voice.”
“I wonder how they managed to get it to where they can keep talking,” Sirius pondered aloud as he watched the two luminescent animals chase each other around. “Harry just learned to send his voice with it and I'm not sure how he managed this one. It's good though!”
“You need to find out what he did, because it'll be most helpful,” Severus said, normal expression on his face, though amused by the two animals chasing each other before they vanished back through the wall. “The same with what they are doing now. That's not something I've seen before. It can help us.”
“I'll get him to show me later,” Sirius grinned watching the two until they vanished.
“I will say that if Harry managed something like this, then picking up spellcrafting won't be much of a problem for him, Severus,” Lucius told the man, still looking smug at what his son had done.
“No, it shouldn't,” Severus agreed with a nod. “Get him to explain how he managed or show you, then see if you can recreate it. If you can, show the rest of us so we can get it down.”
“Oh, yes,” Albus nodded, looking pleased. “If we can manage to hold conversations like that it will only help!” Pleased with that, he pressed on, assuming the meeting was about over.

Watching his dog and Remus' wolf chase Harry's stag and Draco's ferret around the room, all of them talking to each other, Sirius grinned. This was wonderful. They had the ability to make a conversation with them down in minutes. What Harry had done was just use a simple spell all of them had learned in their second year to add the ability to speak to each other and interact. Nothing at all hard, but not something anyone had thought of.
Lowering his wand, looking at the smug Draco and grinning Harry, he said, “And that's perfect! We'll send it along to Snape tomorrow to let him know how to do it and show him next time he comes over.”
“We'll see what else we can manage to add to give us some assistance, but this is good,” Remus told Harry with a smile. “I think, as you managed with Draco so quickly, that you should try to teach Narcissa and Lucius as well. They may need it, too.”
“Oh yes,” Narcissa nodded, watching the animals run around. “It might take some time, but I believe it's something I would like to learn.”
“I can do that,” Harry grinned, sipping his butterbeer as he watched what was going on.
“That was damned easy to modify, too!” Sirius told him, reaching out to ruffle his hair. “Good job! If we had a house points system, you'd get a shite-load for this.”
Giving his son a pat on the back, Lucius said, “I think, instead, we should send for some kind of treat for the two of you. Nothing extravagant, of course, but something from Honeyduke's should suffice. You both did an amazing job for such a short time that it deserves a reward.”
“I'll tend to that tomorrow,” Remus said, still smiling. “Tell me your favorites and I'll pick them up.” This was wonderful and could help in many ways.

Sitting on the bed by his godson, just before bedtime, hand on the back of his head, Sirius told him softly, “You did great! That was a wonderful modification.”
“I thought it would be fun,” Harry admitted, grinning. “It was. Draco and I got a good laugh out of it.”
“It was a riot to watch,” Sirius admitted, chuckling. Sobering up, he said, “I want you to keep in mind what you just did, Harry. None of us thought to try that or that something like it could work. And it's something we can use. I also want you to remember that you can do something like this, and very well, even if other bits are still a struggle for you. It just means that you can do it, nothing more. You just need time.” Quietly, he added, “And that you're damned good at parts. Draco learned very fast, faster than any of the rest of us managed, and that's because you're good at teaching what you know.”
“I like doing that,” Harry admitted. Grinning, he added, “And we had fun while we did it too.”
“I know,” Sirius chuckled again. “I poked my head in to check on you a few times, but didn't want to disturb the lesson. You two were a riot to listen to.” Leaning over and giving Harry a kiss on the head, he said, “Let's get some sleep. I imagine that wore you out.”
“It did,” Harry admitted with a nod, leaning against his godfather. This was good, though, and he liked it. It felt wonderful to realize that though he had challenges, there were still things he was really good at that weren't a struggle to do. That helped, a lot.
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In His Place