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Their Phoenix	By : Lomonaaeren Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 68678 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 6
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter; that belongs to J. K. Rowling. I am making no money from this fic.

Chapter List
- 1-Their Phoenix
- 2-Part 2
- 3-Part 3
- 4-Part 4
- 5-Part 5
- 6-Part 6
- 7-Part 7
- 8-Part 8
- 9-Part 9
- 10-Part 10
- 11-Part 11
- 12-Part 12
- 13-Part 13
- 14-Part 14
- 15-Part 15
- 16-Part 16
- 17-Part 17
- 18-Part 18
- 19-Part 19
- 20-Part 20
- 21-Part 21
- 22-Part 22
- 23-Part 23
- 24-Part 24
- 25-Part 25
- 26-Part 26
- 27-Part 27
- 28-Part 28
- 29-Part 29
- 30-Part 30
- 31-Part 31
- 32-Part 32
- 33-Part 33
- 34-Part 34
- 16
- 17
- 18
Thank you again for all the reviews!

�� The
Ministry will raid your house two days from now.�

�� Ledbetter�s
voice was hoarse and quiet, as if he had spent a long time raging against the
injustice of life. His face was set in lines like iron. Draco stepped back from
him and glanced instinctively towards Harry.

�� Harry took
a breath that seemed to swell his chest out, held it in for so long Draco
became worried about him, and then released it. �Does your information come
from Swanfair�s spy?� he asked. �Or from someone else?�

�� You may
call him a spy.� Ledbetter�s face folded into harsher lines. �But I call him a
dear friend.�

�� Harry
smiled and relaxed at that. Apparently, he trusted any friends Ledbetter had in
the Ministry. Draco could appreciate why, after hearing the man�s explanation
of his own high morals, but he still would have liked some more reassurance.

�� Do you
know if it will be in the morning or the afternoon?� he asked. Perhaps trying
to elicit more details would tell him whether or not the story was trustworthy.

�� It�s
scheduled for the morning.� Ledbetter�s iron lines relaxed into hardly more
flexible lines of distaste. �Perhaps the Minister thinks there will be more
people awake to witness the humiliation of your being arrested then.�

�� Draco
nodded. �Then that leaves us a little less than two days to get ready,� he
said.

�� Indeed.�
Ledbetter picked up his cloak from the floor of the training room, where he
usually dropped it when he began their dueling sessions, and slid it around his
shoulders with a flourish. �There will be no lesson tomorrow, so that you can
prepare, and none the day after, when the raid is scheduled to happen. But
after that, I expect regular lessons to resume.�

�� Harry
nodded. Draco stepped forwards and gave Ledbetter an intense look. �You won�t
stay and help us fight them? I thought that you were opposed to the Ministry.�
He couldn�t help it; he distrusted a man who so obviously distrusted him and
Severus, and put up with them only because they were irrevocably linked to
Harry. At least him fighting the Ministry would have been a nice way to prove
his loyalty.

�� Ledbetter
gave him a grim smile. �In that, I mistrust myself, not my morals. I would be
tempted to be harsher than necessary if I faced people who were acting under
the orders of that�� He closed his eyes and shook his head. �And I do not wish
to injure people who believe they are acting for the best and only following
orders. I wish to injure the Minister.�

�� Draco
reckoned he had to accept that, especially when he saw the approving look on
Harry�s face. He was still uncomfortable, but if Ledbetter wasn�t with them,
then he wouldn�t be able to cause trouble on either side.

�� Besides,
they had more important things to think about, as Harry pointed out by spinning
around and grinning the moment Ledbetter left the room. �What kind of traps
would most humiliate and embarrass the Minister?� he asked.

*

�� Harry
gasped and opened his eyes. His heart was hammering as though he�d had a
nightmare. He lay still, filling his mind with the deliberately dull sight of
the ceiling. When he felt he could, he closed his eyes and rolled over in the
bed again, burying his face in the pillow. Maybe he could get back to sleep if
he relaxed enough. There was still a warm, heavy languor in his muscles, and he
was tired.

�� Then he
felt the sticky coolness in his pyjamas, and remembered, or realized, exactly
where that languor came from.

�� It hadn�t
been a nightmare.

�� It might as well be, Harry thought,
lifting his head and wiping the back of his hand across his forehead and eyes.
He tried to concentrate on the feeling of his skin and nothing else, but it was
no good. The thoughts stampeded through his mind and circled back again,
trampling every defense he tried to raise against them. I�m spying on Draco and Severus�s dreams.

�� But in the
end, he couldn�t hold on to that belief. Severus had told him that the blending
of dreams was a natural change in the bond. Either they were all spies on each
other�s dreams, or none of them were spies at all.

�� Harry
sighed and sat up against his pillows, fumbling for his glasses so that he
could see the face of the clock. Three-thirty in the morning. Of course it was.
When he woke up at night and worried about whether he would survive Auror
training or whether he really loved Ginny, it always seemed to be at
three-thirty, too.

�� He didn�t
know if Draco and Severus were awake. He didn�t think he wanted to know. He
couldn�t remember enough of the dream to care about it, either. Just that it
had happened, and there had been smooth skin and sliding limbs and tongues
going where he never thought tongues could go�

�� Harry
laughed in spite of himself. Well,
obviously you remember enough.

�� He
struggled in silence with his feelings of guilt and violating Draco and
Severus�s privacy, and finally managed to come to the same conclusion he had
about his jealousy. Those feelings were going to exist, in the same way that he
was going to feel jealous. But if the change in the bond was natural, then they
wouldn�t blame him. Eventually, he would get used to the dreams, and probably
be able to ignore them.

�� With a
little huff, Harry lay down again, hoping that, this time, Draco and Severus
would dream of something normal, like Voldemort or running away from a bunch of
headless enemies, instead of sex.

�� That was probably Draco�s dream, he
decided as his eyes slid shut. He has a
hyperactive libido.

*

�� Severus
tried not to wince as he guided the line of a ward carefully up the stairs in
order to lay a trap for any overenthusiastic Ministry raiders. The first of
their blended dreams last night had awakened Draco quite thoroughly, and then
he�d decided that he should wake Severus up in turn and try out some of the
things he�d seen in the dream. Severus didn�t regret the loss of sleep, but
Draco had been�thorough.

�� Severus had
tried to keep an eye on Harry for most of the morning, wondering what effect
their dream would have had on him, but Harry had been elusive, volunteering to
take the upstairs rooms to ward and trap while Severus and Draco worked on the
lower floors. Severus had thought about confronting him, but that seemed likely
to produce bad results.

�� He has a right to be embarrassed. He
probably also has the same ridiculous concerns about privacy that he expressed
to me when he peered through the door as Draco and I were sleeping. Let him
have his space for the moment to come to terms with the inevitable.

�� Are you
sure that I can�t use the Limb-Stripping Curse?� Draco�s voice asked wistfully
from the dining room.

�� Do you
want the Ministry to have reason to
prosecute us for Dark Arts?� Severus eyed the stairs critically, then nodded.
The ward was not the miracle of tangling and obfuscation that he would have
made if he had had more time, but it was extremely good for an hour�s work that
morning. Severus permitted himself a small smile. Of course it is, if I made it.

�� You�re bragging, Draco�s voice snapped
in his head, accompanied by a curling red wave that Severus had already learned
to identify as Draco�s irritation. Stop
grinning at your own cleverness and help me decide on the spells we can use.

�� Harry made
a list of them for you yesterday,� Severus called over his shoulder, deciding
that he would not yet indulge Draco�s taste for drama by speaking silently. He
wanted to control the pace at which the new bond affected them. It was
possible, he had learned from his reading, that it would not be exactly the
same as the bond that tied them to Harry, since he and Draco bore only one
phoenix mark each. �Refer to it.�

�� Draco�s
indistinct grumbling came up the stairs, accompanied by an arrow-sharp thought:
Sometimes I think that you�re as afraid
of the bond as he is.

�� Rather,�
Severus responded, �I prefer to concentrate on the dangers in front of us. When
you can reconcile common sense with fear, then do let me know. In the meantime,
overcome your own inexplicable terror of reading the instructions before you
presume to lecture me.�

�� More
grumbling, but no thought this time. Severus gave a thin smile and turned to
spread a similar but not identical ward up the other side of the stairs.

�� A vicious
chuckle sounded from above him. Severus turned, leaning an arm on the banister,
so that he could look up towards Harry�s bedroom. �It sounds as if you are
having fun,� he said.

�� I am.�
Harry stuck his head out of the door of his bedroom and grinned. �Imagining the
expressions on the Aurors� faces when they stumble into these traps, at least.�
He paused. �Do you think that most people will believe that we just happened to
have these traps strung all over the house? I didn�t think of that. Maybe, if
we prepare too much, then it�ll point to the existence of Swanfair�s spy.�

�� That is a good
thought,� Severus said, because he wanted to encourage Harry to think like
this, foresighted and nuanced. It would make him more relaxed and more likely
to accept the bond in the future, if not now. �But we must trust that the spy,
if he has not been caught so far, can take precautions to conceal himself. And
you forget that what the public loves more than anything else is a show, not an
argument. A few people may despise us for apparently knowing about the raid and
trapping those who participated in it rather than making a dignified protest.
The more sensible will know that we knew, but also realize that a dignified
protest to the government means nothing when it is the government sending the
raiders. And the great majority will be entertained by our cleverness and
support us because of that.�

�� Harry
grinned at him and turned to cast one last murmured charm into his bedroom.
�Did you ever think of going into politics?� he asked. �It sounds like you�d be
pretty good at it.�

�� I learned
what I know from watching students and Death Eaters maneuver,� Severus
corrected him. �That is enough to teach me much of how the world runs, but not
enough to give me the political contacts and charm necessary to succeed in the
public arena. And I have never particularly cared for manipulation, except as a
tool of revenge and to protect my privacy. I much prefer the quiet comfort of
books and theories, of cauldrons and a lab.�

�� Harry
stepped out into the corridor and looked down at him. The bond was thick with
several muted emotions, blending into each other, and Severus did not have time
to disentangle them before Harry spoke again.

�I never thought about how hard
that must have been for you,� he said lowly. �All the things that you were
required to do, as a spy and as a teacher. Because you had to keep up your mask
as a teacher, too, didn�t you? I know you did.�

Severus nodded cautiously,
wondering if this would lead to an outburst on Harry�s part concerning how
Severus had treated him in the past. �I did not enjoy most of my duties,� he
said dryly. �Of course, I defy anyone to enjoy marking sixty essays written by
Hufflepuffs.�

Harry didn�t seem to hear that. He
leaned forwards instead, peering at Severus, and then said, �When the bonds
were open both ways, I�I felt that you think your past is a weight on you
that�s never going to go away and that you can�t stop regretting. Would it help
if I shared my memories? If I showed you some of the ways that I�ve dealt with
Voldemort and�other things, and got past them?�

Severus held still. He felt as if
he would crack open if he spoke now�or his voice would croak, which would be
too revealing in and of itself.

You
don�t need to talk aloud if you think this is presumptuous of me, Harry
said in his mind. When Severus glanced up at him, his face was red and he was
clinging onto the banister for dear life. Severus decided the thought had
probably been sent deliberately to him.

�It is not presumptuous,� he
murmured. He wouldn�t speak silently to Harry when he had forbidden his mental
voice to Draco. �It is�unexpected. But yes, I would like to see your memories
if you wish to share them.�

Harry nodded, and bright golden
relief separated itself from the rest of the emotions in the bond. �Good. I
wanted�I wanted some way to show you that I accepted the full bond, without
insulting you.�

�� Why would
I be insulted?� Severus moved one step up the stairs. Harry didn�t seem to
notice, his eyes carefully studying Severus�s face.

�� Because it
might have implied that you were too weak to handle your memories on your own,�
Harry said, �or that I pitied you. And I don�t.�

�� I know
that,� Severus said. �I would have felt it through the bond if you did.�

�� Harry
flushed again. �I forget, sometimes,� he muttered, his fingers playing a nervous
tattoo on the banister. The relief had collapsed once more into the mire of
emotions that filled the bond. �It�s strange to think that someday I�ll have
lived longer with the bond like this than I did without it.�

�� Severus
felt some of the tight muscles in his chest ease. That signaled that, some time
in the future, Harry would manage to accept the bond fully. �It is the kind of
thing that can only become familiar with time,� he said calmly. �Did any of us
ever anticipate that we would end up linked at all, let alone with an
accidental magic bond that also defeated the Dark Lord? I do not think so.�

�� Harry
grinned at him. �No, I didn�t anticipate being linked to either of you.� He
paused, then added, �But wouldn�t you and Draco have ended up linked? Because
you became lovers, I mean.�

�� It is
doubtful that we would have become lovers without so many circumstances in
common,� Severus said. �We spent enough time with each other to learn to
tolerate each other�s faults. And of course we were the only ones who knew what
it meant to have your marks on our arms.� He touched his phoenix without taking
his gaze from Harry. This could be one of the most important moments he would
ever have with Harry, and he was determined to get it right. �You are quite as
strongly linked to us as we are linked to each other.�

�� Harry
opened his mouth and stared at him with soft eyes. Then he gave a mocking
little smile Severus didn�t understand and shook his head. �The most important
person to a lover is the other lover,� he said.

�� Do you not
understand?� Severus took a step up the stairs. He wished the bonds were open
both ways, so that Harry could feel the full force of his perplexity�and be
reminded of his desire. �We both want you.�

�� I know
that,� said Harry, giving Severus a look of annoyance while the bond turned
clear, as if he were the one who
needed reminding about something. �But lots of people want someone and yet
don�t turn their backs on their lovers. Desire is one thing. Love is another. I
know that. You don�t need to worry that I�m going to come between you.�

��

�� Severus
stared, stupefied. How in the world can
he assume that we would not be willing to share with him?

�� And then
his new knowledge of Harry answered him. Why should Harry assume that a sexual relationship between three people
was possible? He had grown up in a Muggle environment that undoubtedly would
not have encouraged such ideas. He had not heard the tales of bonds that made
almost any actions of a pair or trio of bondmates in relation to each other
acceptable. He had heard countless tales of his parents� marriage and how they
had suited each other.

�� (Severus
had to pause here to swallow bitterness. His love for Lily existed in the past
and did not intrude on the present, but he still did not think she had been
suited to James Potter and resented the people who said so).

�� Of course
Harry would probably want a marriage like his parents�, and he would believe
most people around him wanted the same thing: the tight, exclusive, cozy nest
of a pair alone.

�� I might
resent you for it and be jealous sometimes,� Harry said, speaking quickly, as
if the words embarrassed him and he wanted them done with. �I�m afraid that�s
just the way I am.� He smiled, and the smile was not at all convincing. �But I
won�t try to break you up, and I won�t monopolize either you or Draco. I
promise.�

�� Severus!�
Draco called from the ground floor before Severus could correct the many, many
mistaken perceptions that Harry had just revealed. �I need your help.�

�� Harry
chuckled indulgently. �I think you should go help him,� he said. �I studied the
wards you put up on the other side of the stairs carefully, and I can finish
them, I�m certain.� He gave Severus a tiny push.

�� I should stay and discuss this with him�

�� But a
glance into Harry�s eyes showed that he would shut down if Severus tried, so
Severus yielded with ill grace and went down to see what Draco wanted.

�� There will be time to make him understand.
There must be time.

*

�� The
Ministry raiders came an hour after dawn.

�� Draco,
stationed behind the garden wall under a Disillusionment Charm, gave a grim
smile when he saw the ripple of movement that marked Disillusioned Aurors
sneaking towards their house. Really, this charm was best used when you could
stay still. It was ridiculously easy to spot once you knew what you were
looking for.

�� Then he
told himself to stop speculating like that and start paying attention to what
the raiders were doing. He had volunteered to be the first one to meet them,
and he would let Severus and Harry down if he drifted off into dreams and didn�t
trigger the traps.

�� Still, for a
moment more he paid attention to something other than the Aurors�in this case,
the bonds that linked him to his partners and let him feel what they were
feeling. From Severus was quiet readiness, with the image of a crocodile
lurking in a black pond. Draco grinned. The Aurors, no matter how
battle-trained they were, would tangle with more than they could handle should
they assault Severus.

�� Harry�s
bond tumbled with a mixture of emotions, red anger and blue anxiety doing
cartwheels. Draco shook his head. In one way, he wished there had been more
time that morning to reassure Harry before the attack, but he also knew that
Harry would have been worried about him and Severus no matter how long they
spent talking. Harry still had that stupid Gryffindor perception that he was the one who had to face
everything and take the harshest punishment, and if he didn�t, there was
something wrong.

�� Enough speculation, Severus�s voice said
crisply in Draco�s mind, which made Draco start and wonder exactly what his
emotions had been showing to Severus. They
are almost here. Stand ready.

�� I am, Draco said indignantly, but he was
unable to muffle another grin, because this was an advantage that their enemies
could have no idea existed and which they had no way to eavesdrop on.

�� I like being better than other people, he
confessed to Severus.

�� Pay some bloody attention, Harry
snapped.

�� Draco faced
the Aurors again with a martyred sigh. Why was it that no one believed him when
he said that he could deal with certain things? It had been his brilliance
behind the setup of the defensive plan in the first place.

�� The Aurors
reached the garden wall and examined it carefully. Then one who looked
tall�that was, he displaced more air under the Disillusionment Charm�stepped
forwards and raised his wand. The first few wards began to curl back and fry
under the pressure of his magic like ants frying in the sun through a lens.

�� Draco held
still. This wasn�t the time to strike. Those first few wards were easy to
destroy because they wanted the Aurors to be overconfident and believe they
hadn�t alerted anyone.

�� Sure
enough, Draco saw them spread out around the central one and watch instead of
checking for traps the way he was certain that he would have done if he was
with them. The wards were burning off steadily. Soon they would reach the wards
that Severus had set up that detected the intentions of people coming into the
house, and those would make such an alarm that Draco doubted the Aurors would
expect them to sleep through it.

�� That made
now the moment to attack.

�� Draco
crouched down further, just to be absolutely sure that no one could see him, and then waved his wand and
murmured the words that Severus had made him repeat several times, though as
far as Draco could see there was nothing very hard about them. �Amicio eos cum caeno.�

�� The air in
front of Draco began to rotate, and then a cloud of dirt rose from the
flowerbeds where he�d concealed it and flew straight at the Aurors. The moving
air acted like a fan, hurling the dirt in rippling patterns that were
impossible to dodge. In moments, the Aurors, spluttering and outlined by the
dirt, were almost as visible as they would have been if the Disillusionment
Charms were canceled.

�� Draco
chuckled. The dirt was a minor inconvenience, but it was sticky and wet on the
bottom and would cling to their robes. Not only did it outline them, it got
into their eyes and won Draco a few moments to cast the next spell.

�� And there
was another purpose for the dirt, too, though Draco doubted that any of the
Aurors would guess that before they ran straight into it.

�� Disgusted
and irritated shouting erupted from Draco�s victims. Some of them paused to
brush themselves off. Others were wiser and lifted Shield Charms to absorb
whatever spells were coming next.

�� Let them, Draco thought in glee, and
then sketched a pattern of crosses with his wand in midair as he murmured, �Depilo eos.�

�� The spell,
a boomerang of blue light, traveled up from his wand and arched neatly over the
Shield Charms, falling on the Aurors from above. In a flash, all of their hair
was gone. More than one Auror yelped in consternation and flailed about, either
trying to understand what had happened or trying to cope with sudden baldness.
Draco laughed.

�� Now, Severus urged in his head. You remember the incantations I taught you?

�� I remember all the incantations that you
taught me, Draco retorted haughtily, and raised his wand again.

�� Better than you remember potions, it seems.

�� Draco
scowled and concentrated with all his might on the next words, so that Severus
wouldn�t have a choice but to be
impressed with him. �Finite Incantatem
Adseveranter!�

�� The power
of the spell, a stronger version of the normal Finite, shook him as it departed his wand. He could see why it
wasn�t used more often; most wizards would lose control of it and lash about
wildly with their magic.

�� The spell
spread out around the Shield Charms and the Disillusionment Charms, as well as
the other spells that the Aurors might be readying, and destroyed them
comprehensively. Draco chuckled again as he watched the Aurors stare at their
wands, and then at each other, in consternation. There was a reason he had used
spells that were over quickly; the sticky dirt was clinging to them because it
was wet alone, without needing magic to keep it on.

�� He
Confounded them quickly, while they were still gaping at each other and before
they could raise defenses. Then he removed his own Disillusionment Charm, stood
up, stuck his tongue out, put his fingers in his ears, and waggled them. It was
exactly the sort of thing that his father had forbidden him to do when he was a
child, and the gesture brought a delicious sense of freedom with it.

�� He turned
and ran towards the house as they yelled and fired a few spells that missed.
Severus had taught him a more powerful version of the Confundus Charm, too. From now on, the Aurors
would act like they were mildly drunk.

�� They
stampeded after him, of course, shouting for him to stop by order of the
Ministry. Draco ducked into the dueling room that Ledbetter had made out of the
aviary, casting spells that would ensure they couldn�t see the door. Their
words were an unexpected, but very welcome, addition to the evidence he and his
bondmates were gathering that it was the Ministry who had it in for them.

�� The Aurors
entered the house cautiously, glancing from left to right and jabbing their
wands at shadows. Draco whispered one last spell, triggering a time-delayed
charm that blew feathers down from the ceiling. The feathers stuck in the dirt
that clung to the Aurors and confused them further, not to mention making them
look ridiculous.

�� If anyone can see them, anyway, Harry�s
voice said in Draco�s head. You forgot to
turn the walls transparent so the neighbors can see in and watch them make
fools of themselves.

�� Draco
cursed softly and fumbled for his wand. Harry stopped him with a snort. Don�t worry, Severus already did it. Just
remember next time.

�� I sincerely hope that we won�t have to
handle many more of these raids, Severus said dryly. Their mental voices,
Draco had quickly discovered, were muffled versions of their speaking ones. In the future, however, Draco, you may want
keep in mind the value of memory.

�� Draco
flushed and crouched down further. Well, he had done his part, and done it well.
The rest of the defense was up to Severus and Harry.

*

�� Eventually,
as Severus had known they would, the Aurors got tired of fumbling about on the
first two floors and finding only common objects, all warded with Stinging
Hexes and Tripping Jinxes, and turned their attention to the second floor.

�� He could,
of course, wait until the wards on the stairs had taken care of the Aurors. But
he wanted a more active part in the proceedings, and he intended to take it.

�� As the
first of them set his foot on the bottom step, Severus murmured a spell that he
had created through modification of the Confundus Charm, and placed in both his
old Potions book and the one he had given Harry for Christmas. Whether Harry
had traveled far enough in his study of the book to learn the spell or
recognize its effects, Severus did not know. But he would appreciate what
Severus had done in greater detail if he had.

�� The Aurors
began to slip and stagger as though the steps were coated with butter. Severus
leaned against the wall at the top of the stairs, where he stood concealed by a
Disillusionment Charm, and smiled slightly. The spell attacked the inner ear of
each Auror, upsetting their balance and making them feel as if the house were
spinning around them.

�� Nothing
illegal. Nothing Dark. Only confusion and common pranks. When one Auror
vomited, it was an unexpected bonus. Severus maintained the spell for a few
seconds longer, then canceled it with a whispered Finite.

�� The Aurors
recovered themselves with care this time, and sent two scouts up the stairs
while the rest waited at the bottom. Severus commended their caution, though it
had come too late to prevent them from being covered with mud and feathers and
giving away their identity, not to mention looking like fools in front of any citizens
of Hogsmeade who were watching.

�� The scouts
reached the top of the stairs without travail. The twin wards Severus and Harry
had cast were instructed to give any intruders a chance to back out if they
would take it. But the moment the scouts� feet went past the ends of the
railings, the wards hissed to life.

�� A mass of
vines shot across the stairs, growing from either side and irresistibly drawn
to join together like nails to magnets. The Aurors, of course, found themselves
pinned in by creepers, wound with lianas, draped with flowers that stuck to the
mud and peeled away from their stalks in doing so, and half-blinded by
rootlets.

�� They
shouted. They flailed. They stumbled halfway down the stairs and then came to a
dead stop; the vines would stretch only so far from their growing place at the
top of the railings, and they were firmly rooted. Severus clamped his mouth
shut so that he could prevent himself from laughing like a madman. There was no
need to give away his position.

�� And when they go back to the Ministry, they
will not be able to swear to a single Dark spell, or to a single injury that
was sustained from a curse.

�� The other
Aurors came cautiously up to try and unwind their comrades. It took them more
than half an hour. Each vine that was cut away immediately began to grow back,
and the mud and feathers that covered the other Aurors made the task more
difficult, as did the lingering effects of the charms that Draco and Severus
had cast. Severus made sure to pay careful attention to the scene. This was a
memory that he would place in a Pensieve and visit as often as he needed
amusement.

�� Finally,
one of the Aurors had the bright idea to cast a spell on the vines that would
render them unable to grow again, and they managed to work the two imprisoned
men free. They gathered again at the bottom of the stairs, grumbling and making
plans that then someone else would destroy with another suggestion. Severus
wondered for a moment if they would stand there all morning and ruin his and
his bondmates� plans. They had made the Aurors look ridiculous, yes, but there
was more to that.

�� Finally, he
decided that he would have to take the matter into his own hands to show them
that the staircase was now safe.

�� Be careful. Harry�s voice thrummed in
his head like a rope pulled taut across an abyss, joined by the bond.

�� I will be, Severus said, struggling to
keep the irony out of his tone. How many times had Harry charged into a
situation like this, not being
careful?

�� But that
was not a thought he wished to send, and in the end he restrained himself and
moved forwards, pulling back the Disillusionment Charm from his wand only. He
waited until the Aurors noticed the floating wand, and then ostentatiously
removed the wards that had coiled about the top of the stairs and produced the
vines.

�� The Aurors
yelped like a bunch of hounds and charged upwards. Severus dropped back,
casting a few spells that transformed the floor to ice, and then stepped neatly
into his and Draco�s bedroom and threw powerful wards across the door.

�� His part
was done. It was up to Harry now, to administer the final blow of mockery.

*

�� Harry
relaxed when he heard the door of the bedroom shut. He knew that meant Severus
was out of danger, and he didn�t need to worry about the quality of the wards
that Severus could command.

�� It was his
turn.

�� Harry
smiled as he stepped out of his bedroom and watched the Aurors flailing and
scrambling about, arms spread and bodies bowing and twisting, on the floor that
Severus had enchanted. It took them longer than he would have thought to notice
him, but when they did, most of them gaped as witlessly as he could have hoped.
Others hastily aimed their wands, curses flickering on their tongues.

�� Harry had
already cast the Sonorus Charm on his
throat, one reason that he�d been careful not to speak aloud since the Aurors
entered the house. Now he cast another spell, one that projected the vision of
him facing the Aurors up over their house and into the sky above Hogsmeade. If
it worked the way Severus had promised it would, it should also project his
words.

�� They wanted
everyone to witness this final confrontation.

�� Harry gave
them a stern frown. �Have you really come to harm me?� he asked in a whisper.
Severus had told him to use a whisper to make it more affecting; with the
spells, no one should have any trouble hearing him. �When I killed Voldemort,
and didn�t ask anything from the Minister except for him to arrest the person
who tried to kill me?� He closed his eyes and dropped his head slowly into his
hands. �I reckon that it doesn�t matter what I do. Even saving the world isn�t
enough for some people. They�ll continue to think that I owe them everything,
just because of the scar on my forehead.�

�� One of the
smarter Aurors snorted and tried to seize control of the conversation. �It has
nothing to do with what you have or haven�t done, Mr. Potter. It has to do with
you possessing significant Dark magical artifacts.�

�� What are
those?� Harry asked, lifting his head and blinking rapidly. After a few hours
of patient instruction from Draco yesterday, he had mastered the art of making
tears come to his eyes no matter how he really felt. Several of the Aurors
shifted uncomfortably as a single glistening tear slid down his cheek.

�� We don�t
know,� the Auror said shortly. She was a lean woman with a few remaining wisps
of blonde hair and a set of white teeth that she seemed to think she could use
to subdue him if she just showed them. �We only know that Dark artifacts were
reported, and of course we needed to follow up on the report and see if it was
true.�

�� Then cast
your spells that should detect them,� Harry said. �Or Summon them. You�ve
already invaded my home, the home where I am doing nothing but trying to live
in peace with the people I am responsible for. Why shouldn�t you go through my
possessions?� He stared at the floor and mustered a sad smile. �I�m used to
it.�

�� Mr.
Potter�� the blonde Auror began, but Harry went on, musing as though he had
forgotten the existence of his audience.

�� I was
raised in a cupboard, by Muggles who hated magic and had no reason to regard me
kindly. I didn�t have any possessions of my own until I went to Hogwarts,
because I wore my cousin�s old clothes and used his old books. My first
birthday gift was the one I received on my eleventh birthday, a post-owl.�
Harry raised his head and looked wistfully at the Aurors. �Somehow, I thought
things would be different once I came into the wizarding world. But no, then I
had to fight Voldemort, and I discovered that the people I saved wouldn�t feel
grateful for it. I was called the Heir of Slytherin in my second year and mad
in my fifth year.� Harry shook his head and let a shivering sigh rise from his
toes. �I should have known that things would never be different, even after the
war.�

�� He�d argued
with Severus and Draco about revealing the details of his childhood, but
Severus had insisted. They wanted to make people feel compassion for Harry, he
said, and understand the full ridiculousness of the ways in which the Ministry
was trying to persecute him. The more pitiable details, the better.

�� As so often
since he was bonded to them, Harry had swallowed his pride and agreed.

�� He sniffled
tragically and stared over the Aurors� heads at the far wall. �I know that I�m
a sacrifice to most people,� he whispered, �and that they would want me to
simply die quietly and get it over with. But I dared to dream. I thought that I
would have a life of my own at some point, and what I�ve always wanted: peace
and normality.� Harry had to ignore the chorus of snorts in his mind at that
point. �But it seems that it�s not to be.� He looked at the Aurors, starting a
little as thought he had just noticed them again. �Do your searching,� he said
wearily, turning back towards his bedroom. �You�re going to do it anyway, and
the sooner that you�re through, the sooner I can go back to trying to pretend that my life is
normal.�

�� The Aurors
stood in a clump, looking uncomfortable. Harry knew they wouldn�t relish being
put on display before the entire town of Hogsmeade as a group of bullies who
wouldn�t leave a poor defenseless hero alone. That had been the entire point of
this deception in the first place.

�� Harry went
back into his bedroom and sat down on the bed, keeping the door open. He put
his head in his hands and uttered many dejected sighs. His wand, out of sight
in his right sleeve, was easy to manipulate so that he could cast more charms.
The entire town of Hogsmeade was going to see the way that the Aurors searched
their house for �Dark artifacts,� too.

�� They did
their best, but once again, Draco and Severus had planned out things too
thoroughly. Casting the particular spells that bedeviled the Aurors now had
taken longer than actually creating the traps. As they picked up each artifact,
it sparkled with brilliant light and a soft, sexless voice announced its
purpose and any enchantments on it.

�� Toothbrush.
Enchanted to keep the teeth white and clean when used regularly.�

�� Mirror.
Enchanted to talk and give flattering opinions on clothes and hair, or true
ones when asked.�

�� Chair.
Cushioning Charm present.�

�� As the toll
of harmless objects accumulated, and as Harry arranged himself in new
attitudes�staring at the wall, sighing and contemplating his hands, lying back
on his bed and assuming a martyred expression�he could feel the embarrassment of
the Aurors as an almost palpable ripple in the air. A few of them did shout
spells that were meant to detect Dark enchantments and artifacts, and had
nothing happen. The most �incriminating� things they discovered were Draco�s
books on Defense Against the Dark Arts and a few poisonous Potions ingredients,
like belladonna, which were so common that there was no use in arresting
Severus for possessing them.

�� Draco and
Severus had carefully scrubbed the house free of every trace of Dark magic,
which they were more sensitive to than Harry was. Any books that could be
considered dubious were stored with Hermione at the moment (she had insisted on
investigating them first to be sure they weren�t truly dubious). An underground chamber beneath the lab, warded in
three different ways to be undetectable, held any ingredient that the Aurors
might have pounced on.

�� Despite
that, there was still a risk with the Aurors so frustrated and so determined to
arrest Harry and his bondmates for some crime.
That was another reason for the public show in front of Hogsmeade. Harry
breathed a sigh of relief when several of the Aurors uttered sharp exclamations
of disgust and left the house, Apparating back to the Ministry.

�� The blonde
Auror did come after him again, storming into the room and staring at him. �I
know that you�ve practiced Dark magic,� she said, in a low, ugly voice, �and
concealed the results. Where did you do it? What spells did you use to hide the
results?�

�� Harry sat
up and stared at her with indignation that he didn�t have to feign. �What are
you talking about? I didn�t use Dark magic even against Griselda Huxley, who
nearly killed me. I�m not going to
claim I did just to gratify some little Ministry lackey who��

�� There was a
ringing sound as she slapped him on the cheek. Harry grasped the handprint and
grimaced, but he felt a sharp glee, too.

�� She�d done that in front of Hogsmeade.

�� Stay where you are, he told Severus and
Draco flatly when they started to move forwards. She only made my face sting, and she�ll pay for it a lot more than I
will. So will the Ministry.

�� She still hurt you, Draco hissed to him.
Let me curse her.

�� After we worked so hard to ensure that we
can�t be accused of using Dark magic? Harry sent a ripple of disgust
through the bond, which caused Draco to yelp in his head. Yes, that would be a wise idea. No, Draco, be still and let me handle
this. I know that you�re perfectly capable of protecting me, he added, when
it seemed as though Draco would bristle at his orders and contradict them just
because they were Harry�s orders. But
right now, I�m the one in the open, and the one who has to handle the
situation.

�� Draco
subsided with curious completeness. Harry told himself that he would remember
that phrasing, which seemed to reassure Draco, and then glanced at the
ashen-faced Auror.

�� I didn�t
mean to do that!� she blurted, as if that would make it any better.

�� Not in
public, at any rate,� Harry said, blinking at her and cradling his cheek, doing
his best to paint an astonished expression across his face.

�� Not at
all!� The Auror shut her eyes as if she could actually see everyone in
Hogsmeade staring at her. She took a deep breath. �If you would just tell us
where the Dark artifacts are��

�� We don�t
have any.� Harry rose to his feet and gestured to the door. He would have liked
to point his wand at her, but he knew that would make the chance of their
losing Hogsmeade�s sympathy greater. �I think you should leave now. You�ve made
a thorough search, and we cooperated with you. What more can you possibly want
from us?�

�� You had
traps set up when we entered the house.� The Auror stared at him from beneath a
streak of mud across her forehead that she still hadn�t managed to remove.
Chicken feathers dangled into her eyes like the ornaments of a headdress. �That
doesn�t sound to me as if you were cooperating.�

�� We didn�t
know who you were at first,� Harry said. �And we�ve had quite a few enemies
attack us. When we realized that you were Aurors, then our cooperation was
instant. Even then, our �traps� entangled and confused you. The most injury
anyone sustained was swallowing a little mud or spewing up some vomit. I don�t
see what else we could have done. If we had no wards set up, then you could
rightfully have claimed that we deserved every injury we�ve taken.�

�� The Auror
shook with rage for a moment. Harry could see the temptation to do something
unforgivable warring in her eyes with the consciousness that she was on display
before Hogsmeade.

�� Harry
sighed and turned away from her. �Carry the tale of what happened here to your
Minister,� he said. �But you should know that we only defended ourselves, and
in a way that wouldn�t leave anyone permanently injured. Indeed, I�ve taken
greater pain than you have.� He pointedly moved his hand away from his cheek so
that the mark of her slap would stand out.

�� The Auror
turned and stomped out of the room. Harry let her go, falling back on his bed
and staring at the ceiling as he asked Severus, You�ll have the cleansing spells move through the house to get rid of
any nasty hexes they might have left behind?

�� Of course. What do you take me for?

�� Harry
smiled. Occasionally forgetful. He
took a deep breath. That didn�t go too
badly, did it?

�� No, Draco�s voice said smugly in his
head. Not least because we all played our
parts the way we were supposed to.

�� Yes, Draco, you can stop bragging now, Harry
said, but made sure to infuse the words with enough affection that Draco
wouldn�t take offense. He was privately in awe of how well they had worked
together and wondering when they would have a chance to do it again.

�� Since this is the most closeness I will ever
have with them.

*

�� Severus
stiffened when a young wizard walked into the front garden, but he recognized
him as someone who worked in Honeydukes and permitted him to approach. It would
do no good to recruit the sympathy of the village if they then drove away all
the sympathizers when they came near.

�� I saw what
happened,� the man said quietly, brushing his hair out of his eyes. He was
tall, with curly dark hair and blue eyes that rivaled Harry�s in brightness.
�I�m Cadell Caesarion. I wanted�I mean, could I talk to Harry Potter?� He spoke
Harry�s name as if it were a title in itself. �I recognized the Auror who
slapped him. She�s my second cousin.� He grimaced and ducked his head as if he
expected Severus to aim a curse at him. �I wanted to apologize for my family.�

�� You don�t
need to do that,� Harry said, coming around the corner of the house from the
side garden, where he�d been removing traps they hadn�t had to use. He was
wiping his forehead free of sweat; though it was a cool day, he�d been using
his magic at a rate sufficient to burn up much energy, Severus judged. �I know
about families, and if I started apologizing for some of the things my cousin�s done, I would never have
gone to Hogwarts.�

�� Caesarion
smiled. The smile had a depth to it, and his eyes on Harry had a spark of
interest, that made Severus feel the need to cast a curse after all. �All
right, then. Will you allow me to apologize for myself, because I didn�t
believe at first that you hadn�t turned to Dark magic?� He held out his hand.
�I�m going to write a letter to the Minister tomorrow.�

�� Thanks,�
Harry said, reaching out and clasping Caesarion�s wrist. �It�s been bloody
awful trying to get anyone to believe us.�

�� I can see
how it must have been.� Caesarion was staring openly now, as if captivated by
Harry�s eyes. Harry couldn�t fail to notice it. Severus felt the bond stir and
eddy with opposing currents of embarrassment and pleasure.

�� Draco came
bounding out of the house, his wand leveled. He pulled up in confusion when he
saw Harry talking with someone who didn�t seem to be an enemy, and glanced at
Severus. What�s the matter? he asked
silently, his thoughts shielded in such a manner that Severus knew Harry would
not hear him. He seems all right.

�� He admires Harry too much, Severus said,
trying to keep a growl out of his thoughts and not succeeding.

��

Draco moved a step forwards, but
Severus said sharply, No. Harry will not
thank us if we interfere.

Draco stopped, clenching his fists.
Harry, who would ordinarily have observed such a thing at once and asked what
was wrong, didn�t notice, instead laughing at Caesarion�s tale of how people in
Honeydukes had stopped and stared at the walls when the image of the Aurors
stumbling about the house appeared there.

Maybe
it is for the best, Severus said, though even his mind felt choked as he
uttered the words. Harry needs a chance
to be with someone who is not us, and someone male. This might teach him, if it
progresses, whether he likes men at all.

Draco stirred, and the bond between
them glowed with yearning aqua jealousy in Severus�s mind. But we want him. If he could only see that!

He
has the idea that we are exclusive lovers and would not welcome a third into
our bed. Severus nodded as the force of Draco�s incredulity washed through
his mind. I know, but there is nothing to
be done at the moment but put up with it. We cannot force him to join us.

Maybe,
but I don�t have to watch, Draco snapped, and turned back to the house.

Then Harry glanced around and said
with a bright smile, �Oh, Draco! This is Cadell Caesarion. Cadell, my other
bondmate, Draco Malfoy.�

It said much for Draco�s newly
acquired maturity, Severus decided, that he could go through the introduction
with a credible smile fixed on his face and resist the temptation to crush his
rival�s wrist.

Severus feared that his own
fantasies of driving Caesarion away from Harry�s side did not speak well for his maturity.��

*

amy 1.: Not a problem! I�ll add you
to my mailing list. As a guide, the story is updated on Tuesdays and Fridays,
so look for it then.

tf: Thank you! Harry�s jealousy
problems are likely to continue for a time, but we�ll see.

DTDY: Thank you! All these plotlines
will continue through the next part of the story.

Alliandre: Yes, you�re right. Harry
does realize, as he told Severus, that they desire him, but he thinks the
desire is not something that can come true, more a wish for something
impossible.

Trying to get Harry to understand
that a sexual relationship can be shared between more than two people�I don�t
envy Draco and Snape the stuggle.

PanickedSerenity: Thanks for
reviewing.

Dani: Thank you! That scene is some
way in the future still, yet. But they will get there.

brasilkat: Thank you!
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