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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
- 14
- 15
- 16
Chapter 14
December 25th 1995

Fabian rolled over in bed and smiled at the sight of Severus. His boyfriend was fast asleep, flat on his back, mouth slightly open and snoring softly. He held back a chuckle when he thought of how some people would react if it ever came out that Severus not only snored, but was quite adorable when he slept too. However, Fabian knew that the man would kill him if he ever told anyone that. Not that Fabian would ever tell a soul. This Severus was his and his alone.

It warmed his heart that he got to see Severus this way, so open and vulnerable. It said so much about their relationship. Fabian found comfort in such things. He had to when he knew they couldn’t take the usual steps, such as living together, or even just announcing their relationship to the world. But he had decided some years ago he wasn’t going to let it bother him.

Making sure that he didn’t disturb Severus, Fabian slid out from under the covers, shivering when his bare feet touched the cold floor. He tiptoed out of the room, shutting the door carefully behind him and headed downstairs in search of a glass of water to help his dry throat.

A grin split his face when he reached the living room, and his eyes landed on the small, decorated tree in the corner, reminding him that it was the very early hours of Christmas day. Fabian was sure that the decoration had been Lily’s doing, and he could imagine the protest that Severus would have put up; his boyfriend was not really one for such frivolity. Fabian’s expression fell to a frown, however, when he spotted the silhouetted shape of a person sitting on the sofa, lit only by the faint lights of the tree.

“Lily?” he questioned, his suspicion confirmed when she turned to look at him. “What are you doing down here? You okay?” he asked as he moved closer, increasing the light in the room with a wave of his wand.

“I’m fine,” Lily told him with a forced smile. “He looks like James,” she added, her eyes drifting downwards.

Fabian followed her gaze, realisation dawning when he saw what she was holding. The few pictures he had left outside her door the day before, showing Harry helping decorate Sirius and Remus’ house, were clutched tightly in her hands.

“He does,” Fabian agreed. “Smaller though, and with your eyes. He gives my nephews a run for their money on the hyperactivity front too.”

“It’s surreal, seeing him like this,” Lily said, the longing heavy in her voice, as she ran her fingers over the picture of Harry laughing at something Blaise was saying. “He looks so grown up, and so young all at once.”

Fabian moved to sit next to her, unsure of what he could say at the moment. She had requested pictures of Harry, and Fabian had been more than happy to supply them. It had been a lot of fun capturing pictures of the four boys, and in every single one of them, Harry was either laughing, or grinning mischievously.

“I think I’m having a hard time connecting this boy to the son I remember, my baby… he had been so little,” Lily sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. “Thank you for these,” she said softly, looking at Fabian.

“I… I wish I could do more,” Fabian admitted. “I want to do more. This isn’t fair on you.”

“Life is never fair, Fabian. That is something I have had to learn the hard way,” Lily said. “I lost my son, and then only a few months later, I lost my husband, and I myself have done some horrible things…” Lily trailed off, shifting through the pictures once again, her eyes finding Harry in each and every picture, studying his features as he laughed.

Again Fabian found himself unsure of what to say. He couldn’t help but think of his sister and her youngest boy, Ron, and how he was still lost to them. Harry, however, was found, and living in all but arms reach; Fabian had had the joy of spending the afternoon with him the day before last. And yet he was still as lost as ever to Lily, the boy’s mother.

“It does seem incredibly unfair that I get to see Harry and you don’t,” Fabian agreed with a wry smile, his heart aching sympathetically.

“That’s not your fault,” Lily assured him sweetly.

“I know,” Fabian told her.

“I know you would change it if you could,” she added.

“I would,” he agreed without hesitation. “And you’re allowed to be upset about it; frustrated even, or angry.”

“And that would fix things how?” Lily pointed out with a wry smile of her own. “But thank you anyway.”

Fabian let out a sigh and clasped her hand in his for a moment before getting back to his feet. He knew that she was right, that dwelling on it wouldn’t change anything. Nothing he could say would help, and so he headed towards the kitchen to get the water he had come down for in the first place.

“Fabian?” Lily’s voice was soft as she called out to him.

He paused just as he reached the door to the kitchen. Turning back around, Fabian saw Lily looking at the pictures in her hand, and not him. He had a fairly good idea what she was going to ask him.

“Could you get some more pictures? When you see Harry next?” Lily requested, a hint of desperation in her voice as she lifted her head to look at him.

Fabian felt as if something was squeezing his chest. “Of course,” Fabian agreed easily, giving her a somewhat forced smile before he turned and made his way into the kitchen.

He got his glass of water and took a few sips. His stomach turned unpleasantly.

He knew there had to be something he could do to help Lily. Giving her pictures had seemed like such a good idea at the time. He sort of regretted it now though, hating the fact that it was partly his fault that Lily was currently so sad. She had seemed almost content with the knowledge that Harry was alive and well, but the pictures had clearly changed things.

Fabian huffed in annoyance, drinking some more water. His stomach was in knots now though, and he knew from past experience that he wasn’t going to be able to settle down unless he took something to relax himself.

Emptying the rest of his water down the drain, Fabian went to the cupboard where Severus kept a small stock of potions. The shelves were lined with little vials, containing all sorts of different concoctions. Severus would have been able to identify them all on sight, Fabian was sure, but thankfully they were all clearly labelled. He easily located the one he was searching for, and picking up the small vial, he drained it in one go.

Almost instantly, he felt his muscles relaxing and the knots in his stomach vanish, the tension blissfully receding from his body. The vial clinked on the work surface as Fabian leaned forward against the edge of the counter. He let out a long, calming breath, his eyes fixed on the now empty vial that was still clutched between his fingers.

His eyes widened slowly as his brain started clicking into gear.

Fabian practically threw the vial into the sink, the tinkling of glass loud in the quiet house. Not caring whether it broke or not, he hurried back to the living room.

“Polyjuice potion!” he blurted out, a little loudly given Severus was still asleep just above them.

“What?” Lily asked, looking up at Fabian as the redheaded man hurried over to sit next to her again.

“Polyjuice potion; it’s how I can help you, so that next time I see Harry, it will be you,” Fabian explained.

“You’re not making much sense, Fabian,” Lily said letting out a confused laugh.

“We should switch places,” Fabian told her, but she didn’t seem any less baffled by the suggestion. “I’ll stay here as you, and then you can leave as me. I bet Severus has some Polyjuice stashed around here somewhere,” he added with a wink.

“Merlin, Fabian, that’s crazy!” Lily said, running a hand over her hair. Though despite how crazy the idea was, she still hesitated, mulling over the idea. Her desperate desire to actually see Harry with her own eyes was pulling at her heart, but her brain knew it was not so simple. “I so wish we could,” she said earnestly, holding up her hand when Fabian went to speak. “You have no idea how tempting it is, but it would be SO dangerous. If anyone found out…”

“Then we don’t let them. We switch places for the day; you keep a supply of potion with you, and I’ll keep my own here. No one will know, not even Severus.” Fabian said dismissively. “You NEED to see your son, Lily.”

“Not at the expense of your life, or Severus’,” Lily argued back stubbornly, getting to her feet. “I really appreciate the offer,” she told him with forced calm, “but it is just too big a risk.”

Fabian visibly deflated, but he nodded his head in understanding. “Well if you change your mind…” Fabian told her.

“You’ll be the first to know,” Lily said, reaching out and patting his shoulder almost apologetically as she went to move past him. “Thank you again for the pictures,” she said before she turned and left the room.

Fabian sat there in silence for a while longer before he finally decided he was wasting precious moments which he could be spending lying next to Severus. Keeping as quiet as he could, he made his way back upstairs, pausing only briefly outside of Lily’s door when he thought he heard the sound of crying.

Clenching his hands into fists, he silently promised himself that he would find a way to get Lily out of here and back to Harry. He just hoped that Lily would let him help her. For now though, as much as he hated it, he knew there was nothing more he could do.

With a frustrated huff, he continued on his way to Severus’ room. Crawling back into bed with his black haired lover, Fabian wrapped his hands around Severus’ waist and curled up close to the man, taking comfort in his presence.

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

Harry let out a small sigh as he rolled over in bed, curling up close to Draco’s side as he and his friend were sandwiched between Blaise and Theo. However, no matter how hard he tried, Harry just couldn’t seem to settle himself down enough to sleep. Groaning in frustration, he rolled over again.

“Harry,” Draco hissed in annoyance.

“Sorry,” Harry replied, knowing that his rolling about was keeping not just himself awake, but the other three occupants of the bed as well.

“What’s wrong?” Blaise asked, watching as Harry shuffled himself about to sit up in the small space between Blaise and Draco on the bed.

“Nothing. I just can’t sleep,” Harry said.

“Yes, we had gathered that much from the last hour of you rolling around,” Draco said, not even trying to hide his irritation. Harry didn’t blame him though. He knew that Draco was well beyond tired by now, and if there was one thing that everyone knew, it was that Draco was very cranky when he was tired.

“I think I’m just going to get up for a bit,” Harry said, sliding down to the end of the bed before climbing off.

“I’ll come with you,” Blaise said, sitting up as well, but Harry shook his head.

“No, you’re tired. You’re all tired, and I’m not. I don’t want to keep you awake any longer,” Harry said. Blaise frowned at him, and Harry just laughed softly. “Really, Blaise, go to sleep,” he insisted. “I’ll be back up shortly.”

With that, Harry left the room and went downstairs, making sure to move through the hallway as quietly as he could. He’d already kept his mate and two friends awake, he didn’t want to accidently wake up Sirius and Remus now too.

Harry made his way into the sitting room where the Christmas tree was still lit from the night before. Waving his hand toward the fireplace, Harry started a fire before settling down in front of it. His eyes focused on the tree, and the stack of presents that were now piled under it.

He couldn’t help but think at how odd wizards were; bringing trees inside their home and decorating them up; the apparent feast they were going to have that was so complicated that Remus had already started preparing it; the gifts wrapped up in shiny paper so that no one knew what they were. That wasn’t even starting on the strange, fat man Hermione had told him about, who supposed dressed in weird red clothes, and brought presents down the chimney. Glancing at the lit fire, he was glad that Remus had assured him that there would be no one attempting to enter the house via the fireplace; not that it would have been possible anyway, not with the wards they had put up.

The whole thing was all very weird to Harry, and exciting at the same time. He couldn’t help but wonder what the kids back in the Fae city would think about such a celebration, one that focused on the people around you.

As grand and glamorous as the Fae city was compared to the wizarding world, Harry was finding he felt more at home here than he ever had in the Fae city. It was a place where thanks was given to the Council, and to the magic that protected them all, but almost all the Fae were so distant from each other; the idea that any of them would set up a tree and place presents under it for one another was almost laughable.

Crawling forward to sit a little nearer to the tree, Harry peered closer at the presents, frowning when he saw his name written on a couple of them. Upon closer inspection he saw presents for Blaise, Draco and Theodore as well. Despite having been included in everything Remus and Sirius had done since their arrival, Harry somehow hadn’t quite expected this level of inclusion in their celebration.

He had felt the affection that Remus and Sirius had for him and the others, but the emotions Harry had picked up on were like little stolen secrets. These gifts, meant for each of them, were a gesture that showed that care, out in the open for them all to see. Harry couldn’t help but smile, knowing that they really did have a home here. Though it soon became a thoughtful frown, when he found himself wishing to do something for Sirius and Remus, to show them his gratitude.

He had liked the idea of buying presents for them too; however, Harry had been at a complete loss when trying to decide what to get them. Even now, he had no idea what Remus or Sirius would even like.

Sitting back with his knees tucked under him, Harry’s gaze lifted up toward the tree again, his eyes shining as the lights twinkled. Smiling Harry focused his magic, and in a moment the tree was lit up a little bit brighter as his glowstone, his own personal decoration that he had hidden within the branches, started glowing faintly.

He had always been fascinated by the magical items that the Fae created by infusing them with their magic, that they could share their magic with others in such a way. It was why he had put so much effort into learning the skill for himself, so that he might be able to help others with his magic. To gift it to them, he realised, a delighted grin splitting his face.

All but jumping to his feet in excitement at the idea that had come to him, Harry had to remind himself that others in the house were sleeping, and that if he didn’t want to spoil the surprise, he would have to move quietly. So with great care, he made his way back upstairs and, summoned the ladder down. He paused when it creaked slightly, holding his breath as he listened for the sound of anyone moving, but the house was quiet, and dark, and peaceful.

In an instant, Harry’s focus was back on task, and he scurried up the ladder and into the roof space. Absent-mindedly, Harry threw out some of his magic to light the space, his eyes already sweeping around to the trunks that Sirius had shown him earlier.

Crawling the short distance over to where they were stored, Harry ran a hand over one of them reverently; these belonged to the parents he had never known, who he would now never have a chance to know. There was something specific he had come up here for however, and as he lifted the lid he easily spotted it. There was a small box in the back corner, half buried under some papers, but the gems inside had caught Harry’s eye.

Lifting it out, Harry sat back on his feet, and inspected the contents closely. At first glance it was mostly ornate bits of metal and metal chains, and he couldn’t see anything that was quite right, but as he dug a little deeper a glimmer of colour made his heart beat a little faster with anticipation. Carefully he extracted it from the other jewelry, revealing a golden bracelet, with five perfectly formed gemstones.

Laughing happily to himself, Harry put the small box back, keeping hold of the bracelet he got to his feet again and hurried back downstairs as fast as he dared. He only had a few hours before the sun was up, and he wanted to finish before morning.

As he sat down in front of the tree once more, Harry began work on his project, silently hoping to himself that everyone liked the gifts he would give them.

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

Remus stretched a little as he slowly woke, blinking his eyes open. There was just enough light coming around the edges of the curtains to tell him that the sun was rising. Sometimes Remus disliked his internal alarm clock that had him waking up so early every morning. He never got the luxury of sleeping in, unless it was the day after a full moon, but he never counted that as a relaxing lie in.

Today, however, was a little different. Being Christmas morning, it meant that Remus was in no hurry to move out from under the covers or the arm thrown over his waist.

Rolling over, Remus smiled fondly at his boyfriend. Sirius was sprawled on his front, hair sticking up as much as Harry’s usually did, drooling a little, and his mouth open slightly, letting out the occasional snore. It was far from elegant or sexy, but he was still the most handsome man that Remus could imagine.

Remus allowed himself a few more moments of laying there, smiling softly when Sirius let out a particularly loud snore. He chuckled softly, ran a hand over Sirius’s hair brushing it away from his face, and placed a kiss on his forehead. Sirius sniffled slightly, but stayed asleep, and so Remus carefully slid out of his hold and out of the bed. It was going to be a busy day, and the sooner he got up the better.

He slipped out of the room quietly, not that it was needed as Sirius was a heavy sleeper, and it would take more than a door closing to wake him. Remus made his way downstairs, his mind on the first cup of tea that he would make, before he would start on breakfast for Sirius, and the four boys who were still sleeping.

Remus sniffed at the air as he reached the bottom of the stairs. His brow furrowed in confusion as he made his way into the living room and saw that his nose had been right; there were embers burning softly in the fireplace, having almost burnt themselves out. Some time during the night, someone had lit a fire in the grate.

His confusion soon turned to indulgent exasperation when he spotted the small form tucked half-way behind the tree, fingers wrapped loosely around a gem; an emerald, if he wasn’t mistaken.

“Oh, Harry,” Remus said with a sigh, as he crouched down next to where the young boy had fallen asleep. He laughed a little when he saw how similar Harry looked to Sirius at that moment, with the scruffy hair and sleep-slack mouth. “Harry,” he said a little more loudly, reaching out to shake Harry’s shoulder.

Harry shrugged the hand off, curling up tighter and clutching the gem he held closer to his chest. “Harry, it’s time to wake up,” Remus said, touching Harry’s shoulder again.

“No,” was Harry’s mumbled reply.

“You at least should move off the floor,” Remus insisted, but it was clear that Harry was still fast asleep. “Okay, kid,” he said, lifting Harry up into his arms.

He had intended to move Harry to the sofa; however, Harry’s arms and legs wrapped around him, his head resting on Remus’ shoulder. He was suddenly not quite sure what to do. He didn’t want to wake Harry, not if he was really this tired, but he couldn’t get Harry to loosen his grip at all.

“Erm… okay…” Remus said uncertainly, he moved over to the couch, wondering if he laid Harry back down the boy would let him go. However, as he attempted to do this, Harry let out a small whimper and tightened his hold on Remus. “Really, Harry?” Remus sighed. “It’s a good job you weigh next to nothing. And that I am stronger than a normal human,” he added under his breath.

Straightening up, he continued on his way into the kitchen again; even if it would make things a little difficult, he couldn't bring himself to pry the boy off him.

Remus managed to shift Harry over onto his hip, holding him with the one arm so that he still had one free that he could use to start getting a simple breakfast together. As he put the kettle on to start his tea, and glanced down at the gem still held tightly in Harry’s hand, Remus had to wonder what Harry had been doing sleeping under the tree.

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

It was nearly an hour later when Remus heard someone on the stairs. Turning toward the kitchen door, he let out a small sigh when he saw Theodore wander into the kitchen, Draco trailing along tiredly behind him.

“Merry Christmas, you two,” Remus greeted, chuckling when the two teens looked at him, and then looked at Harry who was still fast asleep. He was still clinging to Remus as the werewolf moved around the kitchen, though Remus had had to sit down a few times, and move him from one hip to the other to keep his arms from giving out completely; small as Harry was, he still got tiring to hold after a while.

“...morning,” Theo greeted back looking a little amused. “May I ask what you are doing? Or rather, what Harry’s doing?”

“I am cutting fruit,” Remus said, turning back toward the counter. “And Harry is still sleeping.”

“But why here, not in bed?” Draco asked, as he took a seat at the kitchen table, leaning his arm on the table and his head on his hand, watching Remus and Harry with confusion.

“I’d like to know the answer to that question as well,” Remus sighed. “I found him down here sleeping under the tree,” he explained, moving over to the cupboard and pulling down four separate bowls and started making a small fruit salad for each of the teens.

Theo moved to sit next to Draco, watching Remus closely as he prepared the food. He couldn’t help but notice how Remus never used his wand while cooking; everything he made was by hand. Theodore would have thought that this was how it was always done, if he hadn’t seen that red-headed woman, Molly, use her wand in the kitchen for nearly everything she did. He prefered Remus’ hands on approach for the most part.

“Harry was having trouble sleeping last night,” Theodore said, remembering when the smaller boy had left the bed, deciding it would be best to go downstairs instead of tossing and turning, keeping everyone awake. Theodore had assumed that Harry had just gone to sleep in his own room after that. Now knowing that Harry had instead curled up on the floor under the Christmas tree, Theo knew that Blaise wasn’t going to be happy about that.

Theodore frowned deeply as he thought about that; as Harry’s mate, Blaise should have gotten out of bed with Harry, as he had obviously been worrying about something enough to not sleep. As a result, Harry had been left unattended downstairs, had apparently spent the night on the floor, and had been found by Remus. Theo already knew how much of a failure Blaise would feel. Harry, however, looked perfectly content. Remus on the other hand already looked exhausted, and it wasn’t even nine in the morning.

“Let me take him,” Theo said, holding his arms out toward Remus.

“He might not let me go,” Remus said, but he walked over to where Theo was sitting regardless. It took a little coaxing, but Harry allowed himself to be transferred from Remus’ arms to Theodore’s lap, curling up to the warm body as Theo wrapped his arms protectively around Harry.

“He must be really tired. He didn’t even wake up,” Draco said, lifting his head to look at his best friend, worry clearly on his face.

“We’ll let him sleep a while longer,” Theo assured his mate. He looked down at Harry’s relaxed face, his friend completely trusting that he was safe. “Also, it might be best if we don’t mention this to Blaise, unless he asks,” Theo said.

“Why?” Remus asked, having been listening in to the boys’ conversation. Draco looked up at him, a little surprised at the question. “Harry didn’t do anything wrong. Blaise has nothing to worry about. None of you do here.”

“I don’t think you want to get into this conversation again,” Theo said, lifting his gaze and locking eyes with Remus. “Harry is fine, and I don’t want Blaise to worry. Let’s leave it at that.”

“I am not going to lie,” Remus told him sternly. “And I don’t want to hear you boys telling lies either,” he added, wanting to make it clear that he expected honesty from them while they lived there.

“We’re not lying. We’re just not going to tell him unless he asks, and if we don’t tell him, he’ll have no reason to ask,” Draco pointed out, his tone a bit snappish as he leaned back in his seat. “I don’t lie,” he added under his breath.

Remus nodded and let the subject drop, going back to the fruit he was preparing. Draco eyed him for a moment before turning his attention back toward Harry. The kitchen was quiet other than Remus, who finished cutting up the fruit, and the occasional noise from Harry as he shifted in his sleep.

Draco leaned against Theo’s shoulder; taking a deep, slow breath, he closed his eyes. He had had his doubts about staying with Remus and Sirius, but in moments like this, he understood the trust Harry had in them; he felt safe, and comfortable. And so he let himself doze.

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

The quietness of the morning didn’t last. Blaise had finally made his way downstairs to join Theo, Draco and Harry, at the table. Sitting down across from Theodore, he smirked in amusement at the fact that Harry and Draco had made themselves comfortable with Theo.

“You’re popular this morning,” Blaise commented.

“Yes, well we always knew I was more popular than you,” Theo teased. “Though I do wish to be a little less popular at the moment, so perhaps you could come take your mate from me now? He’s been clinging all morning.”

“You all look so comfortable. I wouldn’t want to ruin it,” Blaise laughed.

“Breakfast is done. Why don’t you wake Harry and Draco up now?” Remus suggested, placing the four bowls of fruit salad on the table.

“With pleasure,” Blaise said, standing so that he could take Harry from Theo, settling his mate in his lap. Blaise smoothed his fingers through Harry’s hair before leaning down and pressing his lips to the sleeping teen’s.

“Blaise,” Theo said, but his warning was a moment too late. The tan teen yelped and turned quickly, one of his hands rubbing the back of his head as he glared at Remus, who was standing there, wooden spoon in hand.

“What was that for? You told me to wake him up,” Blaise huffed.

“If your waking him up is anything resembling how you help him find clothes to wear, then I don’t want to see that at the kitchen table,” Remus said firmly, though with a hint of amusement in his voice.

“What don’t we want to see?” Sirius asked, as he wandered into the room, scrubbing lazily at his messy hair, before smothering a yawn. “Ooh, coffee,” he said, spotting his usual cup on the side, knowing that Remus would have prepared it perfectly and placed a spell to keep it at the right temperature. Sure enough, as he wrapped his hands around the mug, he felt its radiating warmth.

“Can I have coffee?” Harry asked sleepily, still leaning against Blaise and only looking half awake.

“I’ll get you some tea,” Remus said firmly, before Sirius could answer. “Theo, Blaise, Draco, tea?” he offered, and all three of them nodded.

He fetched their drinks, and then brought the fruit salad to the table. Sirius looked rather unimpressed by the meal, until Remus fetched a small basket of croissants, a knowing smile on his face. They ate and drank their breakfast together, the boys grateful for the familiar food, and Sirius describing in great detail his favourite foods that they would be having later. By the time they were done eating, Harry and Draco were much more awake, and Sirius was all but buzzing with excitement for the day.

Remus made his way into the living room, leaving it up to Sirius to start herding the four boys so they could start opening presents. “Harry, hold up a second,” Sirius said.

Both Blaise and Harry stopped, turning to look at Sirius who held out his cup of coffee. “You seem really tired this morning. Are you okay?” Sirius asked, having noticed that while Harry still seemed to be his happy self, he was definitely far less energetic than usual.

“I’m fine,” Harry said covering up a yawn. “I’m just tired today,” he explained with a smile.

“Here. Take a couple sips of this,” Sirius said, holding out his mug. “I know Remus gave you tea already, but I think you’ll want something a bit stronger if you want to stay awake long enough to open presents.”

Harry took the offered mug, sniffing at it and making a face. “This really works?” He asked, looking to Sirius, then looking over at Blaise who was the only one of them who had tried coffee already.

“It does work. I don’t know if you’re going to like it though,” Blaise said.

Nodding, Harry tried not to breathe in as he took a sip of the coffee. The smell was bitter, and the taste was far worse. Sirius’ hand darted out and caught the mug as Harry dropped it, spilling the rest of the liquid on the floor as he wiped at his tongue.

“GROSS!” Harry whined.

Sirius let out a barking laugh as Blaise grabbed some fruit that had been left over on the table and handed it to Harry. Harry gratefully took the pieces of apple and melon, eating them quickly. He all but melted against Blaise with relief as the sweet fruity taste washed away the bitterness from his tongue.

“That was not nice,” Harry glared at Sirius.

“You’re awake now though, kiddo, aren’t you?” Sirius chuckled, ruffling Harry’s hair. “Come on, the others are waiting.”

Harry allowed himself to be led through to the living room again. Remus had already taken his own seat, while Theo and Draco were sitting on the couch, leaving enough space for Blaise and Harry to sit, if they felt like squeezing together. Blaise took a seat next to their friends, pulling Harry down onto his lap and wrapping his arms around him. Remus gave them a stern look, and when Harry looked up at Blaise’s face, his mate was smiling innocently.

“Presents!” Sirius declared happily as he dropped himself down next to the Christmas tree, pulling out the closest gift to him, reading the label. “This is for you, Theo,” he said happily, holding it out toward the teen.

“Me?” Theo asked, and Sirius nodded eagerly. “But I… we don’t have anything to give.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Remus told him dismissively. “This is your first Christmas with us. We wanted to get you boys something, and we’re not expecting anything in return.” Remus said, making it sound like he was expecting for the boys to be around longer than this one Christmas.

Sirius continued handing the presents out, one to each of the boys. All of them looked a little lost, except for Harry, who had seen the presents in the early hours of the morning, so he understood what they were most likely thinking at the moment.

Sirius and Remus were standing and waiting for the boys to open the gifts they were holding. It wasn’t at all surprising when Harry was the first one to start, finding the seam and carefully opening it.

“You can just rip into it, that’s what presents are for,” Sirius encouraged.

“Let him do it his own way,” Remus said.

Harry peeled the paper away and started cracking open the box that had been inside, letting out a yell as something flew out. Draco, who had been watching curiously, shrieked as the small golden ball flew at him before darting off at the last second.

“What is THAT?” Draco demanded as Harry laughed happily, tossing the box to the floor and ignoring the second present inside in favor of chasing the small golden ball around the room.

“Harry’s already got the right idea!” Sirius exclaimed happily. “It’s a snitch. It is supposed to be caught. Usually during a game of quidditch, but this is a good start.”

“Careful, Harry,” Theo cautioned, as his friend came incredibly close to knocking over the whole Christmas tree.

“I can’t believe you got him a snitch,” Remus said. “When did you get him that?”

Sirius smirked. “Well, you said no brooms, so I thought this would be the next best thing.” He laughed as Harry jumped around the room, climbing on the furniture to get higher up in an attempt to catch it.

“Harry, sit down. You can catch it later. It’s not going to get very far trapped in the house,” Remus said.

“I almost got it!” Harry said, climbing up onto the back of the couch behind Draco.

“Don’t fall on me!” Draco warned. Sirius laughed and walked over, lifting Harry up and over the back of the couch, setting him down on his own two feet.

“Remus is right. You can catch it later.” He ruffled Harry’s hair. “Now finish opening your present, and maybe you can help them open theirs too, since I don’t think they know how to.” Sirius motioned toward the three still sitting on the couch.

“Sit down and let them figure it out on their own, Sirius,” Remus said with a shake of his head. He was rather amused by Sirius’ fussing over the boys. “Why don’t you lead by example, open your own present,” he suggested.

“Oh, I got a present too?” Sirius asked, leaving Harry’s side and going over to Remus, who motioned to the larger box that was under the tree.

“You already know which one it is,” Remus said. “I hope you appreciate how much I went through to make sure you couldn’t guess your present this year.”

“I know, you’re so mean to me. I’ve never come across a box that’s been so warded in my life!” Sirius said, pulling the box out from under the tree, ripping into the paper and tossing it aside. “I swear I still have blisters from the last time I tried to sneak a peek in the box.”

Remus said nothing, just smiled sweetly at his boyfriend as the man finally got the box open and let out a whoop of joy. “Quidditch gear!” Sirius announced happily. “These are amazing!” he declared, as he placed the box on the floor, pulled out the first item and started strapping it to his left leg.

“You’re welcome, love” Remus said with a laugh, as he watched his boyfriend start working on the other shin pad.

It was clear that Sirius intended to dress himself in the full gear right now. However, what had Remus’ attention was that Draco was hesitantly opening his own present, carefully, the same way Harry had. He didn’t want to make a big thing of it, but Draco’s soft gasp of surprise drew Sirius’ attention.

“What is it?” Harry asked, looking over at the present that Draco had just opened.

“It’s a book about healing, spells and stuff that I can work with,” Draco said excitedly as he opened the book and started looking through the pages.

Theo was next to open his present, encouraged now by what Draco had gotten. His eyes widened when he too pulled out a book, though this one seemed to be all about cooking. “Enchantment in Baking?” Theo raised an eyebrow at the name, looking over at Remus.

“I thought you and I could try some of the recipes in there,” Remus said. “We don’t have to, but I thought it might be interesting. I haven’t actually done much baking myself, so I thought we could learn together.”

“I’d like that,” Theo said, sounding surprised by the confession.

Blaise was the last to open his present, though from the gifts that the others had gotten, he had already guessed that he too would be getting a book. Though he was also surprised at how much thought had gone into each gift. The book about healing, one about cooking, and as Blaise looked over at Harry to see what book he had gotten along with that small golden ball that was still flying around the room, he could see that it was a Quidditch book. Turning his attention back to his own present, Blaise ripped into the paper and pulled out his book.

“I thought that might fascinate you,” Remus said. “It’s not a complete history; it’s only the first volume, but there are quite a few things in there, theories mostly, about where magic first came from, and how it’s progressed through the years.”

“Thank you,” Blaise said, more touched by the gift than he had expected to be. He also found that he was genuinely interested in what it had to say, and was looking forward to reading it. He was also hopeful that it might offer some clues as to why wizarding magic felt so… wrong.

“Come on, Remus,” Sirius said, gesturing to the gift next to Remus’ feet. “You’re up.”

“Okay, okay,” Remus said happily, picking up his present from Sirius, pulling it free from the paper, more carefully than Sirius had been but less so than the boys.

He lifted the book and stared at the title of it. Raising an eyebrow, he looked to Sirius who looked like it was taking everything he had to not start laughing.

“Very amusing, though I’m not sure a book on wolf mating habits will be of any help to me,” Remus said.

Setting the book down on the floor, he sat back in his chair watching as Sirius started picking up the discarded wrapping paper and tossing it into the fireplace. The four boys were talking happy, showing each other their books. Remus’ eyes glanced once again toward his own book lying discarded by his feet. He let out a small sigh, shaking his head.

“If we’re all finished here, Theo, did you want to come help get dinner started?” Remus asked, bending down to pick up the book off the floor, setting it on the coffee table before standing.

Harry looked up when Remus spoke, before glancing toward the tree where he had hidden his own presents that he intended to give everyone. Now seemed like a good time to hand them out, however Harry kept picking up on a nervous excited feeling coming from Sirius. He wasn’t sure what Sirius was up to but the feeling gave Harry the impression that perhaps his gifts would be better saved until later.

“Yeah, I’ll help,” Theo answered Remus, standing as well, Draco moving to follow his mate.

“Um, hold up a second,” Sirius said. Remus paused and looked at his boyfriend, raising an eyebrow as the man was looking a little nervous, shifting from one foot to the other. “You know I love you, right, Remus?” Sirius asked.

Remus was a little surprised by the random question. “Of course I know that,” he said, glancing down again at the book that had been his christmas present. “If you’re worried about the book, I’m not mad. I’m sure James would have found it hilarious as well,” Remus said, hoping to reassure his boyfriend.

“Yeah, James did actually. He got me a similar book once when I was trying to figure out how to get you to notice me,” Sirius chuckled. “But, this isn’t about the book, though I am happy to know you don’t hate me for it, otherwise this would be really awkward,” Sirius said.

“Okay…” Remus said, not quite sure what Sirius was up to now.

“I really do love you, Remus,” Sirius said.

“I think we’ve established that,” Remus smiled, finding Sirius’ nervousness amusing to watch, even more so as the man had yet to remove the quidditch gear he’d strapped on.

“Just let me finish,” Sirius huffed. “I know that I can be an overgrown child at times, obnoxious, irritating, impossible, and we’ve had our fair share of fights before.”

Remus stood there silently, listening to Sirius, and he couldn’t help but smile at him. Though he still was uncertain where this was headed; at least until Sirius pulled a small box from his pocket, holding it out for Remus. The werewolf, however, could only stare at the box with wide eyes, looking from it up to Sirius and back down again. He felt his heart hammering in his chest, his hands shaking as he slowly lifted his hand to take the box.

“Sirius, what is this?” Remus asked.

“It’s your real Christmas present,” Sirius said, giving Remus a nervous smile and watching as he started slowly opening the box.

Remus wasn’t sure what to say. His hands were still shaking, and he was trying to wrap his mind around the fact that this was truly happening. And then Sirius had to go and make everything a hundred times more real for him by dropping down onto one knee.

“Remus John Lupin, I’m beginning to see why stuff like this always ends up being so cliché. My mind has gone completely blank except for… Will you marry me?”

Remus didn’t even have to think about the answer; he knew it as soon as he had opened the box. “Yes, I’ll marry you,” Remus said, smiling when Sirius bounced back to his feet and wrapped his arms around Remus pulling him close for a kiss.

Remus stopped him pressing a finger to Sirius’ lips. “On one condition,” the werewolf added.

“Anything,” Sirius swore without hesitation, knowing that his fiancé could ask for whatever he liked in that moment.

“You don’t wear the quidditch gear to the wedding,” Remus said, his eyes giving his fiancé a once over.

“What? You don’t think it’s sexy?” Sirius asked with exaggerated outrage.

“Very,” Remus told him, pulling him closer, “but I was thinking we should save that particular kink for a time when the boys aren’t around,” he added in a whisper, enjoying the salacious chuckle that Sirius gave. “But yes, I would love to be your husband,” he said, leaning in to kiss his fiancé properly, smiling against Sirius’ lips when he heard the boys cheering and applauding.

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

Narcissa knew, even as she stepped out of the floo, that she probably shouldn’t be there. It was, after all, rude to be visiting anyone’s home unannounced, even more so considering it was mid-afternoon Christmas day. However, she was desperate to speak with Lily and could wait no longer.

Truthfully, she would have travelled to Severus’ home the evening before if it had been possible, but Lucius had detained her late into the evening. She had made the foolish mistake of telling him everything that had happened in Diagon Alley, wanting to share the short moment she had had with their son. She had thought that Lucius would have been happy to know that despite his current plans to gain custody of their son again, that Draco had at least seemed happy, and healthy. Lucius, however, far from being pleased to know Draco was safe, was furious.

‘You had him! You should have brought him home,’ her husband had bellowed.

But Narcissa knew that hadn’t been an option. They would have only lost him again, given that Sirius had legal guardianship for the moment. Which was what had brought her to Lily.

She was rather surprised to have found the front room completely empty, with no one in sight. She knew that Lily would be around somewhere, given she never left, and it seemed unlikely that Severus would have had anywhere else to go on Christmas day.

Narcissa was in the process of debating with herself if she should just go up to Lily’s room to see if she was up there, or wait here until Severus came to greet her, as she was sure that her sudden arrival would have set off the wards, when she heard a noise come from the kitchen. Moving toward the door she looked in. There was someone in there, though it wasn’t who she had been expecting to find.

“Oh,” she all but squeaked, deliberately looking away from Fabian, who had been dressed in little more than an ill-fitting shirt.

“Oh hi!” Fabian exclaimed, turning from the tea he had been making to look at the blonde woman standing in the doorway to Severus’ kitchen. “Narcissa, sorry, didn’t think we would have company.” Noticing her uncomfortableness, he glanced down at himself, chuckling awkwardly. “So I should probably get dressed,” he commented.

“Probably,” Severus said, his lips twitching with suppressed amusement as he came up from the potions lab he had in the basement. “Is that mine?” he asked, his expression turning to a frown, as he realised exactly what Fabian was wearing.

“Of course,” Fabian admitted, grinning unrepentantly. “Why don’t you finish the tea, dear, and I will go find Lily and some trousers,” he said as he moved across the room to Severus, pressing a kiss to his boyfriend’s cheek before heading out of the room.

Severus scowled after him as he went, knowing that Fabian was trying to get a reaction. His expression darkened further when he turned to Narcissa, and realised she was smiling at him far too knowingly.

“Tea?” Severus offered before Narcissa could say anything about what she had just witnessed, gesturing to for her to take a seat. She nodded. “I assume you came to speak with Lily?” he asked, as he busied himself with topping up the kettle, and pulling out two more mugs.

“I did, but that doesn’t mean I can’t spare a moment to discuss other subjects for a moment or two,” Narcissa told him with a small smile, clearly not going to be so easily distracted from what had happened.

“And what subject did you have in mind?” Severus asked evasively.

“How about the rather dashing, and startling under-dressed young man who just headed upstairs,” Narcissa suggested.

Severus turned to glare at Narcissa, who looked entirely too innocent in Severus’ opinion. The woman was a demon when she wanted to be and information was to be handed to her only with extreme care. Or, more likely, under duress.

“There is nothing to discuss,” he told her bluntly. He desperately wanted to get off this subject before Lily joined them, and he could hear footsteps on the stairs already. Derailing Narcissa from a train of thought was hard enough, but if Lily was there too, there would be no telling what dangerous waters the conversation might end up in.

“If you insist,” Narcissa said, and despite her words Severus still felt like the sharks were circling around him. And sure enough, Lily sauntered through the door a moment later, looking every bit the shark herself.

“Care to tell me why Fabian was wandering around the house half-naked?” she asked happily.

“That was what we were just discussing,” Narcissa told her friend, gesturing for Lily to take the seat next to her, and she did so happily.

“We were discussing nothing. Here’s your tea,” Severus said, putting the cups down on the table.

“You’re not staying?” Lily asked, realising that he had only made two cups.

“And be interrogated? I shall pass,” Severus told them. “I shall be upstairs with Fabian if you require anything.”

“Helping him find more clothes or removing the ones he has?” Lily called after him, as Severus swept out of the kitchen. She wasn’t surprised when he didn’t respond, and so she turned her attention back to Narcissa, who was looking highly amused.

“As fun as taunting Severus is,” Lily said, and Narcissa chuckled softly in agreement, “I assume there was another reason for your visit. It is Christmas Day after all; I would have thought you would want to spend it with Lucius.”

“Christmas has become nothing more than a bitter reminder of what we should have had,” Narcissa said. “Even more so this year, with Draco being so close, and as of right now I’m not permitted to see him.”

Lily frowned, cupping her tea between her hands, relishing the warmth; She could relate to what what Narcissa described. “Is there nothing you can do?” Lily asked.

“Lucius is trying to get custody of Draco, but I am not sure how well that is going to go,” Narcissa explained, pausing to take a sip of her tea. “They are supposedly being kept in Auror custody until the case is resolved. Draco could be a legal adult before that happens.”

“Yes, Fabian told me about Sirius claiming custody,” Lily said sadly, torn on whether or not it had been the right thing to do. She couldn’t be with her son, but Narcissa, Elladora Zabini, and the mother of the other boy could; it felt very wrong to keep the boys from their mothers, no matter what trouble their fathers were mixed up in.

“And with his custody being Ministry approved, it is going to be harder to overturn it,” Narcissa pointed out. “We have no rights of access to our own children.”

“I can see why Sirius wouldn’t let Lucius see the boys, given his dubious affiliations; but he won’t even let you near Draco?” Lily asked angrily. “That just isn’t right. He is your son. You have a right to see him!”

“That’s actually what I came to tell you,” Narcissa told her, excitement creeping into her voice, her hand reaching out to grasp Lily’s. “I DID see him.”

“What?” Lily gasped. “Where? When?”

“Yesterday in Diagon Alley. I was just shopping and they found me.” There was a wistful expression on her face as she spoke. “Harry was there too, your Harry. They both look so grown up.”

“Fabian brought me pictures,” Lily said, pulling them out of her pocket and spreading them on the table for Narcissa to see. “I can’t believe how much we have missed. I think part of me still expected him to be a baby when they found him,” she said, running a finger over a picture which showed Harry laughing happily.

“We have missed so much, but they have missed out on things too,” Narcissa told her. “And I don’t just mean having us around. They said they were new to the idea of Christmas. We have no idea how they have been raised. They have spent fifteen years being taught and raised by others.”

“That makes sense though, considering they were raised by the Fae,” Lily said, realising only after she had mentioned it that this might not have been information that Narcissa had previously had.

“How do you know that?” Narcissa asked eagerly. “About the Fae? Are you sure?”

“Fabian seemed pretty certain,” Lily told her. “I think he heard it from Sirius. It’s where the boys are saying they have been. It makes sense, I mean look at their clothes. I’ve never seen wizards or muggles that dress quite like that.”

Narcissa picked up another of the pictures which showed Harry and Draco with a boy she had to assume was Blaise Zabini, as the tan boy looked similar to his mother in many ways. Shifting her attention from the boy’s features, she focused instead on the clothing that they were wearing.

Harry and Draco seemed to be wearing similar clothes to the ones she remembered them in when she saw them in Diagon Alley. However, at the time she had been more focused on the boys, than the oddity of their clothes. But now that Lily had pointed it out, and Narcissa knew to look, she could see that they were in fact strange. And Lily had of course been right, they were not normal wizard or muggle clothes. While the style wasn’t odd, or out of place, if you looked close enough you could see, even in a photo, that there was something else to the clothing just by the way it moved with the boys.

“I will admit, those are a bit odd, but does that really prove that it was the Fae that took them?” Narcissa asked, not sure how she felt about the idea that her son, her Draco, had been raised by the Fae, creatures of pure magic that every pureblood had been raised to fear.

“All I know is what Fabian has told me, and that information came straight from them,” Lily said, gesturing toward the picture of the boys that Narcissa was still holding.

“Why would they even want our children though?” Narcissa questioned, though she was sure that Lily wouldn’t be able to answer that.

Lily sighed and took a long drink of her tea. It was the same question that had been echoing in her own mind ever since Fabian had first told her that Harry had been found. “Your guess would be as good as mine,” she admitted. “But it doesn’t bode well for the other children being found, certainly not quickly.”

“Then I fear we may never be given the chance to know our sons,” Narcissa bemoaned.

“No,” Lily said quietly, her thoughts flitting like a snidget in her mind. She had waited fifteen years to find out what happened to her son; Narcissa had too. Lily had resigned herself to the fact that it wasn’t safe to go to Harry now, but the idea that she might never be able to… that was too painful to consider. “We’ll find a way,” Lily promised her friend, grasping Narcissa’s hand in her own.

Narcissa stared at Lily, someone who had become the most unlikeliest of friends over the last fifteen years. Even with all she had been through, losing her son, her husband, being taken by the Dark Lord, and finally trapped here, Lily was still a fierce woman, and Narcissa couldn’t help but feel the tiniest bit of hope in what Lily said. Narcissa knew that Lily, the foolish Gryffindor that she is, did not make idle promises. If they couldn’t find a way, then Lily would do everything she could to make a way.

“If I can manage to get a message to Sirius, I can convince him to let you see Draco,” Lily said, not wanting to give away too much of what she was thinking. She knew it would be dangerous and stupid, and not just for her. Lily was thankful that Narcissa didn’t ask any questions. The blond woman simply nodded her head and sipped at her tea. The less she knew the better.

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

Sirius leaned back in his chair with a groan, patting at his now very full stomach.

“You finally found your limit?” Remus asked with amusement, as he absently played with the ring on his finger; it was going to take him a while to get used to wearing it.

“I would love to eat more, but my stomach says no,” Sirius admitted sadly, causing Harry, who was sitting next to him, to giggle.

“There isn’t much left for you to eat anyway,” Blaise pointed out, as he peered into the mostly empty dishes in the middle of the table.

“There is enough left for a decent midnight snack,” Sirius said with a wide grin, looking toward Remus when the werewolf stood up and started clearing off the table.

“There’s hardly enough for even that,” Remus said, as he too looked into the dishes as he picked a few of them up, only to have them taken from him as Sirius stood as well.

“You made dinner; you shouldn’t have to clean the table. Go sit; relax,” Sirius ordered. “Harry, you grab the plates and bring them over to the sink. Draco, you grab the cups and follow Harry,” Sirius said.

Remus slowly sat back down, watching in amusement as Sirius got the boys to help him clean up. While Remus would never think badly about the years he had spent with Sirius, all the Christmas days spent with just the two of them, he couldn’t deny that this was better. It was like they had found a piece of their lives that they hadn’t even known was missing.

“Just pile all the dishes in the sink. I’ll make quick work of them,” Sirius said, and Remus continued watching as Blaise joined Draco and Harry, putting the rest of the empty dishes on top of the other ones that were already filling the sink. Though as Sirius pulled his wand out and cast the spell that started cleaning the dishes, Remus couldn’t help but notice how all three boys visibly flinched away.

“Isn’t there another way to do those?” Draco complained.

“This is the fastest way,” Sirius shrugged. “I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not spend the next hour washing all these by hand. I’m too lazy for that.”

“I noticed,” Draco grumbled. Turning, he took Harry’s hand and and pulled him away from the sink where Sirius was working.

Blaise remained, watching how Sirius used his wand, and felt how the magic moved around the area he was working in. His specialty back in the Fae city had been magical theory, and if he could figure out how the wizards were using magic, he could start correcting them.

“Come on,” Harry said, tugging on Draco’s hand which was still in his. The blond was frowning at the magic Sirius was casting with a look of stern disapproval, and Harry didn’t want Draco’s bad mood spoiling what was clearly an important day to Sirius and Remus. “I’ve got something to show you,” he told his friend with a grin.

Draco let Harry lead him out of the kitchen and back into the living room. They were both glad to get away from the magic being cast. Harry almost sighed in relief as the discomforting pressure in his mind eased off and the world began to feel right again.

“What do you want to show me?” Draco asked, once they were in the living room again, and Harry let go of his hand. Theo, having followed them, watched them quietly from the doorway.

“Wait, I have to get them,” Harry said, sounding excited as he knelt down by the tree. Reaching into the branches, he started pulling out some of the glowing lights, before looking around on the floor, a small frown forming on his face. “One’s missing…” he said, sounding devastated.

“One what?” Theo asked, moving further into the room as Harry turned to look up at him.

“One of these,” Harry answered, his hand splayed out, four coloured gems in his palm. “There should be an emerald too!” Theo came to get a closer look. Harry, however, was already turning back to the tree; he started pulling up the tree skirt and searching all around the tree looking for the missing gem.

“Harry, hold up. Calm down,” Draco said, moving forward, seeing how upset his friend was getting. “What are these for? Why are they so important?”

“They’re your Christmas presents,” Harry said, looking at Draco, then over to Theo. “I’m missing Blaise’s. I had it last night. I fell asleep, and it should have been right here, but it’s not!”

“Then it’ll be here somewhere,” Theo said calmly, trying to reason with him. He hadn’t seen Harry in this kind of state in quite some time. It was obvious that this was very important to Harry, but it wasn’t something they would be able to resolve with Harry this panicked. “Harry, calm down a minute,” he pleaded.

Harry, however, wasn’t listening. “No, no, no, I have to find it,” he insisted through his tears, literally crawling right under the back of the tree and coming out around the other side. “It’s got to be here, it’s got to be.”

“Hey, hey, what’s going on?” Sirius asked loudly as he, Remus and Blaise came into the room and saw Harry scrabbling around under the tree, face tear streaked, cheeks flushed. Blaise didn’t waste a second, rushing to his mate’s side, Remus not far behind him.

“He lost something. He said it was supposed to be our Christmas presents,” Draco said, looking a little scared about how upset Harry was about this.

“Oh, Harry,” Remus said with a sad chuckle, reaching into his pocket, as Blaise brushed Harry’s tears away. “Is this what you were looking for?” he asked, holding up the emerald that Harry had been clutching earlier.

“Yes!” Harry exclaimed excitedly, grabbing the gem from between Remus’ fingers and throwing his arms around Remus’ neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he babbled.

“You were holding it in your sleep earlier,” Remus told him, as he returned Harry’s embrace. “I just didn’t want you to lose it. I had forgotten I had it.”

“I thought it was gone,” Harry told him, as he pulled back and leaned into Blaise’s side. “It’s for you,” he added, smiling up at his mate and holding out the gem. As Blaise reached for it, Harry pushed his magic into it gently, causing it to glow softly.

Blaise gasped. “This is a glowstone? You made this?” he asked. Harry nodded, wiping away the remaining tears as he smiled.

“I made one for everyone,” Harry said, taking the other gems and starting to hand them out to the others with a happy, “Merry Christmas.” Blaise, Draco and Theo all looked stunned as they stared at the gems that Harry had given them, while Remus and Sirius looked midley confused.

“These are really nice Harry, but uh, what are they for?” Sirius asked, feeling like there was more to the small purple stone that Harry had given him.

“They’re glowstones,” Harry explained, his smile fading a little. “You… don’t know how to work a glowstone, do you?” He had been so excited to be part of Christmas, to be able to give something back to Remus and Sirius that the thought that Remus and Sirius wouldn’t even know what they were hadn’t occurred to Harry.

“We can show them how to use them,” Blaise said, not wanting this small fact to upset his mate. Harry nodded. Moving back over to Sirius, he reached out and put a single finger on the stone that Sirius was holding, feeding his magic back into it slowly causing it to glow again.

Sirius stared down at the glowing amethyst in awe; not because it was glowing, there were simple spells that could do similar things, but because of the warm pulsing feeling he could feel coming from the gem sitting in the palm of his hand.

“I made each stone by putting my magic into it. To make them glow, all you have to do is focus on it and it will start glowing,” Harry explained.

“In short, Harry gave us all a piece of his magic,” Theodore explained when Remus and Sirius still didn’t seem to grasp what this truly meant; to him it was an outward sign of how much Harry cared about them, and how much he trusted each of them. Theo looked at Harry and smiled. “Thank you Harry, I will keep it safe,” Theo said, his amber gem clutched firmly in his hand. Draco nodded his agreement, looking at his garnet in awe.

Harry smiled brightly at them, looking back at Blaise who was studying his emerald gem intently as it glowed brightly. “Do you like it?” Harry questioned. Blaise smiled at him. Standing up, he moved to stand in front of Harry.

“I love it. I wish I had something to give you in return,” Blaise said.

“You do,” Harry smiled, leaning up and pressing his lips against Blaise’s.

Harry tried to keep his mind on the fact that they were standing in a room full of people, tried to keep his empathy closed off to Blaise. However, as strong arms wrapped around his waist, Harry knew he was fighting a losing battle, and when Blaise’s tongue slid into his mouth, deepening the kiss further, Harry gave up fighting, pressing up against Blaise as he wrapped his arms around his mate’s neck, his own tongue rolling and sliding along Blaise’s.

Blaise tried to pull away, could practically feel the others watching him and Harry; however, as he tried to pull away, Harry’s arms tightened around his neck, the small body pressing closer to him and that was when Blaise felt it. Harry was being affected by the kiss as much as he was, the growing hardness pressing against him was enough evidence of that.

“Okay! That’s it! Break it up!” Sirius voice broke through the rapidly building fog that was taking over Blaise’s brain.

It took great effort, but Blaise managed to pull back from the kiss, his hands on Harry’s shoulders to stop his mate from being able to carry on. Harry blinked, shaking his head as though clearing a fog much like Blaise had to. Blaise smiled at him, and Harry grinned back.

“Okay, opposite sides of the room and cool off,” Sirius stated putting an arm between the two of them and gesturing towards well separated seats.

Theo chuckled, looking mildly amused as Blaise and Harry reluctantly separated and went to sit down in the seats that Sirius had indicated. Theo moved to sit next to Blaise, while Draco, looking shocked by Harry’s behavior, sat next to Harry.

Sirius stood there a moment longer, hands on his hips as he looked from Harry to Blaise. Seeming satisfied that they were going to stay in their seats, he looked to Remus.

“Don’t look at me. Harry is your godson. You can talk to him about this,” Remus said.

“How in Merlin’s name am I supposed to talk about this?” Sirius hissed. “They were just making out, in the middle of the living room…”

“We can hear you,” Blaise said, smirking when Sirius whipped back around to look at him. “I was just saying, we can hear you, and I don’t think there is much that you could talk to us about that we don’t already know, well, that I know anyway...not sure how much Harry knows,” Blaise said looking over at his mate.

“Fine, then I’ll just say this, no kissing. Kissing leads to sex, and no sex in my house, especially not with my godson,” Sirius said firmly.

“So you’d be perfectly fine if I wanted to have sex with Theo?” Blaise asked, raising an eyebrow, laughing when Theo elbowed him hard in the chest.

“Like I’d ever have sex with you.” Theo rolled his eyes.

“No one is having sex with Theo, except me!” Draco said, causing Harry to break out in a fit of giggles.

“Draco, you don’t even kiss Theo,” Harry pointed out, laughing harder when Draco’s cheeks flushed bright red.

“I do too! I just don’t do it where everyone can see!” Draco huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sirius looked between the boys, clearly out of his element as he turned a pleading look to a quietly snickering Remus. “Please, continue. I think you’re doing a great job,” Remus said.

“You are no help,” Sirius growled before turning back to the four boys. “No kissing, at all, new house rule,” he said.

“But Remus wants to kiss you,” Harry pointed out. “Almost all the time. I think he likes your kisses.” Harry said, blinking when he saw both Sirius and Remus’ faces turn slightly red.

Remus cleared his throat. “I think what Sirius is trying to say, we don’t want to separate you boys, so small kisses are fine, but anything more than that should be kept to your own room, when you are OLDER,” Remus said, wanting to stress the point that the boys really were much too young to be engaging in anything other than a few kisses.

“How much older?” Draco asked with a small frown.

“Much,” Sirius said. “Like, twenty five.”

“I don’t know if I can manage that…” Harry admitted softly, glancing toward Blaise, locking eyes with his mate for a moment.

“You boys are only fifteen,” Remus said. “You’ve just returned to the wizarding world, so give it some time. Get used to how things are here; you never know how you’re going to change as you get older. You may know exactly what you want at the moment, but you might not want the same thing in a year, or even a month, so just give yourself time to settle here. Sirius and I just don’t want any of you to get hurt.”

While he found it amusing that Sirius was trying to put a ban on all sex concerning the boys, he also knew that wasn’t very realistic. However, Remus was sure that he could hold the boys off from going too far for at least a year. It was kind of tense as he looked between each of the boys. Theo and Draco nodded only a little hesitantly, and when he turned to Blaise, the teeanger glared a little before nodding his agreement as well; though he did look rather more resentful about it.

“Harry?” Sirius asked expectantly, seeing that his godson was the one hold out.

“I get carried away,” Harry admitted with a shrug of his shoulders. “But I’ll try,” he agreed sincerely, seeing how much it meant to Sirius and Remus; he didn’t think he would be able to stop himself, nor would he want to, but he would try for their sake.

TBC
So getting through Christmas took a while but we did it! The plot is really starting to move forward now and we have a good map set up for the next few chapters so they should be fairly easy to write, provided time allows for this.
On that same note, Celtic has been working crazy hours and has had very little time off of work. Due to this we are going to have to push our next update off by one week, so we are looking at an update the weekend of March 17-19.
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Restoration of Magic