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The Years After	By : Araea Swiftwind Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 2598 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor do I make any money off the writing of this piece of fiction. The views expressed herein do not in any way reflect the views of J.K. Rowling or Warner Bros. and their affiliates.

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
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Part 18 – Chapter 16 - Dec. 25, 1992

The quartet stood in front of the massive wrought iron gate and stared. Not only was the gate an intricate thing of beauty, but the massive Manor beyond it was also. When James attempted to put out a hand to open the gate, a large face materialized out of the iron and addressed them.

"Who goes there?"

Lily, being the one who was most familiar with charms, answered fearlessly. "The Potters plus two."

The gate took a moment to stare at the entire party before it answered back. "You may enter, but beware. Any violence will not be tolerated. Ignore this warning and find yourselves in dire straits indeed." The face disappeared and the gate swung open.

The party shared a couple of looks of astonishment as they walked up the crushed marble path. On either side of it were tall hedges, neatly manicured, and beyond could be heard the sound of peacocks.

"How pretentious," Sirius muttered to himself. Remus, with his enhanced hearing, caught it and swatted him on the back of the head to shut him up.

The front door was just as grand as the rest of the place. Highly polished ebony containing intricate scroll work and extremely fine details, and reflective enough to allow the group to make sure they were presentable before a small house elf with bulging eyes opened it.

"Right this ways, please," said the tiny elf.

They followed it deeper into the house and into the drawing room, which was already inhabited by four people, three of whom looked uncannily similar. A young blond boy, looking about twelve, was seated on a chintz armchair next to the large Christmas tree in the center of the room. On the damask settee across from the chair were two adult blondes, a man and a woman. The man they recognized from his appearances in the Ministry of Magic. The woman was unfamiliar to all but Sirius. And standing now, striding over to them, was Severus Snape.

Once he was only a meter away, he stopped. Looking at James first, he bowed slightly, doing his best to remain polite in the face of his enemy. It wouldn't do to alienate the man now, when that could mean hurting the boy he'd come to care for. "Potter, welcome." Next, he turned to Lily. The look on his face grew much more pleasant. "Lily, always a pleasure." She smiled at him. He returned it before turning to Sirius. "Black." He did his best to remain civil, but he wasn't going to be as pleasant to the mutt as he was to Potter. He didn't matter as much to Harry, so he could matter the least to him. Last, he regarded Lupin. After a moment's quiet appraisal, he said, "Lupin. I think I could brew you something to take the edge off." And that was all.

He stepped back and to the side, gesturing with his far hand for the group to enter further into the room. He preceded them, giving introductions as he went. "You may or may not know Lucius Malfoy and his wife Narcissa. They attended Hogwarts with us, only a several years ahead."

Lucius gave a curt smile and nodded, while Narcissa said softly, “Cousin, it's been a while.” Sirius' face looked a bit pinched and he didn't respond.

Next Severus motioned towards Draco. "This is my godson, Draco." Draco stood from his chair and closed the gap between himself and the other adults.

“Mr. and Mrs. Potter, how nice to meet you.” Turning to Sirius and Remus, he said, “Mr. Lupin, a pleasure. Mr. Black...may I call you Sirius? We're family, after all.”

Sirius' pinched look grew even worse, as if he'd sucked a particularly nasty lemon. Remus elbowed him in the ribs and the look eased somewhat. Sirius even tried on a smile, thought it was clearly more of a grimace. “Sure,” he replied. Draco wasn't so naïve that he took the statement at face value. He could tell as well as anyone that Sirius wanted nothing of the sort, but the man next to him kept him from saying that. He took a mental note to observe the sandy-haired man more closely. He might learn a few things.

With introductions over, everyone took a seat—Lucius and Narcissa back in their places on the settee, Draco once more in his expensive chair, and the others scattered on the other furniture. James was the first to get to the point. "You told us that you had information on our son. We know he's alive and that Dumbledore has done something with him. We want to know what and where he is so that we can get him back."

Severus looked coolly at James. The other man hadn't exactly been rude, but he certainly hadn't been polite, either. "Yes, I did mention that I knew quite a bit about what has happened with young Harry. And I do. But, before I answer any of your questions, you'll need to answer mine."

Sirius bristled like a pissed off cat and spat, "Why should we, Snivellus?"

Remus, out of habit, reached out and smacked Sirius on the back of the head with a look that clearly said "Enough!"

Severus inclined his head to Remus and continued. "I will admit that I have been helping keep Harry safe for the last year. And in so doing, have come to care much about his well-being. Therefore, I will not do anything that I think will jeopardize it. Hence, my questions."

"Get on with it, then," the shaggy black-haired man growled. He was very near to getting another smack to the head when Severus raised a delicate black eyebrow. Sirius took a deep breath and swallowed thickly. "Sorry. You were saying?"

"Yes, I was saying that I have a few questions. First, how do you feel about Dumbledore at this moment?"

Lily answered first. "Betrayed. He was our mentor, supposed to help us as we helped him. But he sent us as far away from England as he safely could and took our son and hid him away somewhere. He tried to make us believe that he was dead. I can't forgive someone who does that."

James spoke next. "I would like to know what he's playing at. Of course, no matter what he says, I don't think I could ever trust him completely again." The residents of the Manor took note of the exact word choice of the sentence. The felt as though it might be important later.

Severus looked at Sirius and Remus. "Oh, um, well," Sirius began. He hadn't thought he'd be expected to answer. "He can go hang, for all I care. He told me and Remus that our little Prongslet was dead, and sent us off to the continent as if we were in exile. Made me think my own Godson was lost to me forever so I didn't even look...If I ever get my hands on him..." he trailed off with a growl. He was imaging the most gruesome torture he could and thought it was too good for the man.

Remus rounded them out. "While not as violent as Sirius, I must quite agree. Dumbledore has a lot to answer for. He lost four very good members of his Order the day he lied about Harry."

Severus, satisfied with the answers—for the most part—inclined his head. "Good. Next question. If you were to get Harry back, what would you do?"

All four people said at once, "Keep him safe." There was steel in all eight eyes.

Severus inclined his head again. While not exactly what he had been expecting, and not as elaborate as he had hoped, it was a good answer. "Next, if Harry was happy where he was and didn't want to leave, would you make him?"

"If it wasn't a safe place, then of course. I love my son dearly, Severus, you must know that. I want him to be happy, more than I want him by my side."

"I never doubted you, Lily." It was clear who he did doubt.

James swallowed thickly. "It would be...hard for me...to let my son stay in a place that wasn't with me. I've already lost eleven years with him...I don't want to lose even a moment more if I can help it. But...I wouldn't want to hurt him, either..."

Severus didn't wait for Sirius and Remus to answer, as their answers really didn't matter. He probably should have, as he noted in hindsight. It would have prevented a lot of tears. "Last question. If it were possible for you to live with your son, not in your own home but where he was comfortable, would you do it?"

Lily and James both answered immediately, "Of course!"

Severus added, "Even if it meant living with people you don't like?"

"Even then. Harry means more to us than our feelings for other people."

"I'd walk through hell and back for my son, Snape."

Severus allowed a faint smile to play across his face. That statement alleviated some doubts the others had about his earlier comment. "I don't doubt you mean that."

Lily asked earnestly, "Can we see him now? Is he here?"

Severus examined the group for another moment before saying, "Draco, why don't you go and retrieve Harry and... his 'Uncle.' We shall test the temerity of their convictions."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You shall soon see," Severus answered mysteriously. He was having fun yanking their chains.

It seemed like as soon as Draco had stepped out of the room he was back, a tall dark-haired, dark-eyed man walking behind him holding a very small child. Sirius was the first to gasp, having recognized the man from things his mother had said and pictures she had shown him. He was shaking his head back and forth in shock and horror, fervently wanting to be wrong. Voldemort smirked at him, but said nothing, holding the boy in his arms tighter. At the same time, Lily was holding back a scream. Her baby, her only child was in the arms of the man who had tried to kill him. It didn't make sense. Why? Why? Remus was the next to realize who the man was, recognizing his scent from that fateful day in Godric's Hollow. His face fell and he looked pained, as if everything he had ever loved had just died. James was last, only a fraction of a second behind the others. He had seen this man before, heard his cold, cruel laugh just before his world went dark. And that man—that monster—was holding his son possessively. No, it couldn't be.

Severus and Lucius both stood and bowed to the man, confirming their suspicions. "My Lord," they intoned respectfully.

"Enough, Severus, Lucius. Perhaps you should explain to our guests what has transpired in the last year...I shall finish up with what happened before that."

James and Sirius had opened their mouths to complain or say something, but Lily clamped her hands down on both of their arms to make them pause. She wanted an explanation.

"On October 31 of last year, we staged a diversion so we could determine the whereabouts of your son. More than anything, we wished to confirm what we suspected had went wrong eleven years before. Lord Voldemort broke into the headmaster's office and found a ledger, in which was written a history of monetary payments to one P. Dursley."

"No," Lily whispered as Severus continued on.

"We spent the next several months looking for this P. Dursley. It was two days before Christmas when we figured it out. We had narrowed down Harry's possible location to two people, either Remus Lupin or Petunia Evans."

"But you had to have known that I didn't have him," Remus had to say, because the thought was just to absurd to let lie.

"No, we couldn't be sure. We felt it was possible that you could have been hiding him and pretending to not know where he was. Take it as a credit to you, how highly we value your intelligence and subterfuge. Regardless, we had to be certain that no stone had been left unturned. However, before we looked into you, we decided to check on Petunia. We did feel she was the better bet, as no one would honestly think that Albus would place a child in her care, especially not a magical child.

“We learned that she had married and had a son of her own. We had a little trouble finding her home, as Albus had made it and the entire street she lives on unplottable. Finally, though, we found her...and Harry. Lord Voldemort entered first and found where Harry was being kept. What we found shocked us to no end. Suffice it to say that we had a... change of heart, so to speak.” Severus paused and considered the two children in the room. It was probably best to say no more in front of them. Draco might already know most of the story, but Harry had no idea. Now was not the time to break it to him. “Draco...would you take Harry to the kitchen, please?"

Draco nodded and waited for the Dark Lord to place Harry on his feet. The boy was quite a bit smaller than the blond child, though technically the same age. He looked over his shoulder at his parents for a moment before turning back to his companion and clinging to him. They left the rooms silently.

After a few moments, Lucius continued the tale. "If you had seen what they had done to him...where they were keeping him...we couldn't not change our minds. We had discovered there was more than one way to fulfill destiny, after all. So, we brought him back to the Manor and cleaned him up, fed him, and provided him with the necessary potions. He has been here ever since. We haven't let him leave the grounds, save for that single trip to visit you the day you recovered."

"That was him, with the 'anonymous healer'?" Lily asked in a hushed whisper, he heart warmed by the thought that her son had come to see her, even if she hadn't been awake to appreciate it.

"Yes. I had promised Harry that I would take him to visit his parents so that he could see them for himself, proof that they weren't dead, and so that he wouldn't be as lonely," Voldemort replied. "I am nothing if not a man of my word."

Sirius scoffed, but said nothing. Lucius frowned but began again. "He has lived with us in the Manor, where he is quite happy, especially when Draco is home for the holidays. I must say, they are quite taken with each other."

James looked a bit queasy, but didn't complain. If his son was happy, that's all that mattered.

Narcissa picked up the story from there. "We have been trying to make up for ten years of neglect and abuse, but it has been difficult. He needs more care than most of us have time to give. But we try, and that's what counts."

Lily finally found her voice, most likely because there was another mother to speak to. "Of course. I thank you, truly, for looking after my son. And I do stand by my earlier statement. I will do anything for my son, even if I'm not completely happy with it. If you had told me the situation before I had seen it for myself, I would have sworn that this was a situation that fell into the category of 'unsafe' that I would remove Harry from immediately. And part of me still wants to...but, Harry doesn't know us...and what kind of mother would I be if I ripped my son from the only loving home he's ever known?"

Sirius finally spoke up and said what he had been dying to say for some time. "No one would blame you, Lils. Your son is living with Death Eaters and the Dark Lord himself!"

She frowned at him. "But, Sirius...he's not being hurt...he's safe, and happy..."

"Death Eaters, Lils. Those who go out and torture for a living...and the man who tried to kill your son!"

There was a gasp from the doorway and all turned to look. Harry had the perfect expression of abject horror painted across his face. Sirius would have felt sorry for what he had done, but he fully felt that it was better to get him out of the snake pit than to feed him to the vipers.

A million thoughts were racing through Harry’s head, and none of them were good. "But you said...you said you tried to take care of me...and that you wouldn't let anything bad happen..." Tears sprung to Harry's eyes and his lower lip trembled. Draco was directly behind him, and thus in the perfect place to catch him when he whirled around crying. He held the younger brunette for long minutes while wracking sobs heaved his shoulders.

Even knowing he shouldn't do it, he leveled his best glare at the new adults. "You are all incredibly stupid."

"Draco!" Narcissa chastised, horrified that her well brought up child would speak to adults in that manner.

"I'm sorry Mother, but not this time. They hurt him...more than just about anyone else could. They are fighting over something quite ridiculous. What does it matter that Father follows the Dark Lord? What is that over Harry's happiness? So what if you don't like us...Harry does. He loves us. He was happy...he was smiling just a few minutes ago, delighted that his parents made his wish come true...that they were awake for Christmas. That's all he wanted, and you had to go and foul it up!"

Lucius leveled and even better glare at Draco, ashamed that his son was speaking out of turn. "Draco, that is quite enough!"

Draco shook his head once sharply and replied with a sneer, "No, Father. It's not nearly enough! Harry is alone all the time. His best friend is a house elf and he's happiest when I come home for holidays. He wanted his family to come and live here with us, so that he could have the best of both worlds. It was his most fervent wish. And they broke it. They took this happy day and turned it into something ugly. I can't forgive them for this." Draco turned himself and Harry away from the stunned stares of the adults in the room and called for a house elf. It was Dobby that showed up.

When he saw that Little Master Harry Potter was crying again, he leveled his own glare at the occupants of the room. "Masters should be ashamed of themselves," he said in a squeaky voice before apparating the boys away.

Tears were clinging to Lily's eyelashes and she tried to suppress them. James' face looked pinched. Remus had hung his head, though he knew he hadn't done anything...and that was precisely the problem.

And Sirius...Sirius had the nerve to look smug. "He had to learn the truth sometime. Can you believe that they hadn't told him? It was all a lie," he said to his friends, voice full of satisfaction.

Voldemort stood up at this, just barely suppressing the urge to level his wand at the stupid man. "Don't you dare say another word. I had my own reasons for keeping some things from Harry, not the least of which was the fact that the past didn't matter anymore. But, you are right, in a sense. He did need to know eventually. But I was waiting for the time that he could have taken it better. He's still frail. You have no idea what those Muggles did to him...they broke him...he didn't even know his name when we found him. And you have just single-handedly taken the only home he has ever known away from him—for no other reason than you are ignorant,” he took a breath and looked away from the idiot on the sofa. “I don't want to look at you anymore. Lucius, if he is still here when I return, you may not be." With that, he swooshed out of the room towards the stairs.

"I am ashamed to call you my cousin, Sirius," Narcissa sneered at him and picked herself delicately up off the settee and followed the Dark Lord out of the room. Sirius had the audacity to murmur, “Like you always have been,” under his breath as she left.

Lucius stood as well and leveled a deadly glare at the black-haired man. "Black, I highly recommend you leave the premises of your own free will. It will be a lot less humiliating and painful for you that way."

Sirius bristled, but Remus' hand on his shoulder stopped him from saying anything more. It was high time he did something about his mate's big mouth and prejudiced opinions. "Let's just go, Siri. Maybe...maybe we can come back some other time and try again." He didn't hold much hope of being allowed back in the manor, at least not with Sirius.

Severus, for some unknown reason, decided to be magnanimous. "Just so you all are aware; only Black must leave the premises at this time. The rest of you may remain and join us for Christmas dinner."

Remus gave Severus a grateful smile, but it fell as soon as he returned his gaze back to his lover. "Thank you, truly, for the polite offer. But I don't think Sirius has suffered enough yet for his stupidity. And if I'm not there to make sure he does, it won't happen. Another time, perhaps."

Severus nodded and looked towards the Potters. They looked torn. They felt a certain loyalty to their friend, but they weren't yet ready to leave their son. Lily was sure he needed her reassurances much more than Sirius did. "I'm sorry, Sirius, but you really brought this on yourself. We shall see you later."

"It's Christmas, after all," James added. "A time to be with family."

Sirius looked offended, but he had no time to say anything as Remus was dragging him out of the house roughly.

Lily turned her gaze away from her troublesome friend and back to the one who had always cared about her the most. "Could you show us to Harry's room? I think he might do better if he knows that we don't feel the way Sirius sounded."

Severus allowed a rare, genuine smile. "Of course."

O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O

"Draco...why did he lie to me?"

Draco held Harry close and kissed the top of his head like he had done several times before. "He didn't want to hurt you. He wanted you to judge him for how he treats you now, not a mistake he made so many years ago."

"But...he tried to kill me, Draco...how was that a mistake?"

"Do you remember the stories he used to tell you about the bad man?"

"Yes..."

"Well, here's what I know... When you were just a baby, the bad man was trying to kill the Dark Lord. He didn't like him, and thought that he didn't deserve to have any power. People like my father and Uncle Severus fought alongside the Dark Lord to try and keep hold of their power. The bad man convinced people like your parents and their friends that everyone who was like my family was bad and deserved to die. Everyone in the world thought that, except the people who followed the Dark Lord. A war broke out, and a lot of people died."

"Why did they die?"

"People die in wars, especially when the two sides are totally different. The bad man had told the people that the Dark Lord was doing terrible things to their families and their children. They were afraid of him, and so they joined the side of the bad man. And, because the Dark side was trying to protect itself and keep its power, people died. People on both sides, though the papers only ever told about the people on the Light side."

"What does that have to do with me, though?"

"I'm getting there... Anyways, one day Uncle Severus heard the bad man and a strange woman talking. Whatever the woman said, it was something really bad, because Uncle Severus came straight home and told the Dark Lord right away. The Dark Lord thought that it meant he had to kill you, because you were the only person who could kill him, and the bad man wanted you to do it when you got older.

“But, somehow, he couldn't do it. He tried, and it didn't work. Father and Uncle Severus think it's because he wasn't meant to kill you, that whatever the woman told the bad man, she was wrong. It took them ten years to figure out what probably happened, and the only way they could be sure was to find you. So they looked everywhere for you. And as the years went on, the search grew more frantic. Father hasn't really told me this, but I guessed it on my own; I think that you were meant to change the Dark Lord into something better. You were meant to be a part of our family, and to make things right."

"Why me? I'm just Harry..."

"I keep telling you, Harry. You're special, one of a kind...no one can replace you."

"Is that why everyone is so nice to me? Because they think I'm so special?"

"In a way, yes, but not in the way you think. Since you've been here, no one was thinking about what you can do for us. We fell in love with you because you're you. You're smart, and funny, and sweet...you care about us even though we're strangers and don't always spend time with you. And I love you because you can row with me without hating me, you let me tease you and you tease me right back, you know what to say to me to make me feel better, and you loved me first. I couldn't imagine my life without you."

"Draco..." Harry was very touched at the sentiments that Draco was expressing. He knew it was hard for the older boy to talk about his feelings, but it was nice when he did.

"Harry, don't hate us because the Dark Lord made a mistake when you were a baby...I know it was a really big mistake...but what more can he do to show you he's sorry? He protects you, he took you to see you parents, he gives you gifts and makes sure you feel loved...and I know he does love you. He's not nearly as nice to the rest of us as he is to you... That means something..."

"But..." Harry wasn't so sure that it'd be as easy as all that to forgive everyone for lying to him and keeping secrets.

Voldemort stepped into the room quietly, but stayed quite a ways back from the young boy. He didn't want to frighten him away. "You don't have to believe him, Harry. I'll understand if you can't stand to be around me ever again..."

Just seeing his “Uncle 'Volo” made his tears start all over again. It didn't matter what had happened when he was a baby. Draco was right. All that mattered is how he'd felt in the last year living in this house, with these people. Harry hopped off the bed and ran to him, wanting to feel the love he had always felt when in his arms.

"Harry..."

"Uncle 'Volo!" The child cried for long minutes, the emotions of the day getting to be too much for him. He wasn't used to feeling so much all at once; love and anger and betrayal and sadness and hurt and happiness. He pillowed his head on the Dark Lord's shoulder and let the man hold him and whisper soothing words like he once remembered his mother doing. They were still like that when a few more people entered the room.

Narcissa entered first, walking across the room to pull her son into a hug. She was proud of him for sticking up for Harry, even if she was slightly embarrassed that he spoke like that to adults—they had deserved it. The next arrivals were the other four adults, the Slytherins at the fore. Lucius moved to be near his wife and son. Severus stopped just inside the door, though stepping to the side to make room for the other two to enter. In the rear were James and Lily Potter.

They took a moment to survey the scene. Draco was standing with his parents, looking much calmer than he had when he left the downstairs drawing room. Harry was engulfed in Voldemort's arms, crying on his shoulder. Lily smiled; her son obviously didn't need her as much as she'd thought he might. James wasn't smiling, but he wasn't exactly frowning either. It was hard for him to see another man comforting his son when he should be doing that. But, inside, he was glad his son was being comforted.

Narcissa said softly, "Harry, there are a couple of people here who want to speak to you."

Harry instantly stiffened, sure he was going to be told he had to leave the Manor. He didn't want to leave. He was happy here. Taking a moment to breathe in the warmth of his “Uncle 'Volo,” he turned a bit so that he could see the two people in the doorway. It was his parents, as he thought it might be. His mother was smiling wistfully, and his father was half-frowning. He didn't understand how their facial expressions could be so different.

"Harry, honey..." his mother started, but trailed off as if she didn't know what to say.

His father's expression changed into something much more complicated than it had been before. "Prongslet..."

He felt a wash of love crest over him and he knew things were going to be okay. They weren't going to make him leave. They weren't going to separate him from Draco. He stepped away from “Uncle 'Volo” and towards his parents. "Mum...Dad..."

Lily's smile grew wider and an equally bright smile blossomed on his father's face. They fell to their knees and engulfed him swiftly in their arms, murmuring words of love with tears wetting his hair.

"Oh, Harry...I thought I'd never see you again..."

"Prongslet, I'm so glad you're here and safe and happy. My son..."

Harry was so happy at that moment that he began crying again. He had his parents back, and he got to keep his other family too—his Uncle 'Volo, Uncle Sev'rus, Uncle Lucius, Aunt Cissy...and Draco. Always Draco.

O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O

As soon as they got into the house and had the door closed, Remus rounded on Sirius. "How could you?!"

"Moony...they're Death Eaters..." Sirius whinged.

"You hurt our cub, Sirius! Like Draco said, what are alliances compared to Harry's happiness?"

"But he couldn't be truly happy there if he didn't know the truth! They were lying to him so he would stay," Sirius exclaimed.

"That's just your opinion, Sirius! Use your brain, for once! If Voldemort really wanted to hurt our cub, don't you think he would have done it by now? He's had the last year at least. And would he really have brought James and Lily back if he wanted the whole family out of the way? He can't be all bad if he didn't kill them back then when he had the chance! Even then, he was showing mercy." Remus always had been more tolerant that Sirius.

"He wouldn't have had to show anything if he wasn't a monster, Remus!"

"And how do you know he's a monster? Did Dumbledore tell you that?" Remus got really bitter when he was angry.

"He didn't have to! He tried to kill Harry! When he was only a baby, no less!"

Remus tried to be patient, but with Sirius, sometimes it was impossible. "But, why did he try to kill him? Don't you remember what Dumbledore told Lily and James right before they went into hiding? There was a prophecy."

"So what?"

"If he heard what that prophecy was, that Harry would grow up to kill him...wouldn't you try to eliminate the threat before it could become a threat?"

"I would never attack a child!" Sirius yelled, offended that Remus would even suggest it.

Remus shook his head and turned away, suddenly very tired. "Maybe you're just too blind and immature to understand..."

"Don't change the subject. He wouldn't have needed vanquishing if he wasn't evil."

"Really? Really, Sirius? You don't think that Dumbledore could have seen him as a threat to his power and wanted him dead?"

"Only someone evil would challenge Dumbledore for power anyways."

"Sirius, do you hear how stupid you sound?"

"It's not stupid. Dumbledore has always been on the Light side, since he fought Grindelwald."

"And did you know that he and Grindelwald were lovers, before the end?"

Sirius clenched his fists and his jaw. "You're lying. He would never consort with someone so evil!"

"You just can't look past your own nose! He took so long to defeat him because he loved him. He chose to overlook things for as long as he could. Was Grindelwald really that evil? All we know is what Dumbledore told us, how he chose to spin things. And we've seen firsthand how he's not completely truthful and can be evil himself!"

"If he loved Grindelwald so much, why would he spin things to make him look evil?”

“Power.”

“Whatever. Just because he did something terrible doesn't negate the fact that Voldemort is a Dark Lord. He's raped and pillaged and plundered and murdered without thought."

Remus pinched the bridge of his nose in irritation. "Sirius, you're talking about a pirate, not Voldemort. How many of those murders do we know for sure he committed? How many of those disappearances were his fault? Dumbledore has been feeding us lies for years. We know that now. So shouldn't we hear the other side out to figure out what's the truth for ourselves?"

"But Moony..." Sirius whinged again, not wanting to give up his argument. It was a good one, whether Remus thought so or not. It wasn't safe to trust Death Eaters. They always played both sided and got you in the back in the end.

Remus was done arguing. Either Sirius would listen, or he wouldn't. Either way, Remus wasn't going to keep talking. "Sirius, I swear. If you don't get over this, then I will never speak to you again. I'll leave you and go keep Severus' bed warm!"

Sirius looked horrified. "You wouldn't...you couldn't...nooooo!"

"I mean it, Sirius. I've put up with you for twenty-one years, but if you insist on being this pig-headed, I'm done."

"Okay, Moony...I'll try. Don't leave me," he whimpered.

Remus reluctantly hugged the shaggy-haired man. Sirius was incredibly stupid sometimes, but at least with the proper incentive, he tried to learn his lesson.
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The Years After