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Shades of Grey	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 104018 -:- Recommendations : 6 -:- Currently Reading : 21
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor do I make any money off this dance in the realm of strangeness and smut

Chapter List
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Chapter 19

Beta'd by the amazing Tenchi. You're the best, woman, and thank you!

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Sitting at the dining room table after several hours of explaining just what was going on and how Harry ended up with them, everyone was finally calm. Black, after he had seen the memory Severus provided of the discussion with Dumbledore, had to be restrained by all of them then a calming draught dumped down his throat to keep him from finding the man and doing something that would undoubtedly get him Kissed.

It had taken time, but the two were completely filled in. For the sake of being honest, Severus and Lucius admitted to the original kidnapping along with the purpose for it. Harry even admitted to that part, but made it clear things were different now.

Sitting by his godson, one hand on Harry's back, with Remus seated across from them by Severus, Sirius asked, “Alright, what is it you want from us? You said there was something.”

Pleased that Black was willing to talk it over, Lucius said, “Our thought was this; Harry stays here. I believe the two of you'll agree this is the safest place for him right now. Though not certain about this, I have an inkling if you two up and vanish, Dumbledore might get suspicious that you found him then look for you. As it is, he's safe. We've got every protection we can find up and are adding more as we come across tracking spells or other things that would be of an assist. What we want from you two is to pass information to us about what is going on. That way we can be prepared for whatever Dumbledore might try.”

“I'm out, as I said. I want no part of either side of this nightmare. Severus, too, wants out. For now, he can feed me the information we need to stay protected. However, the more ears we have to the ground on what's happening, the better for all of us, especially in regards to keeping Harry safe. Once he pulls out, and one more bout of happiness like what happened with the headmaster will be all it'll take for him, we need someone else to assist. That's where you two come in. From what we can ascertain, you're the only two that seem to be willing to put what is best for Harry ahead of what Dumbledore wants.” Stopping, Lucius waited for their reaction.

Nodding slowly, looking at Remus who was doing the same, Sirius told him, “Alright, I can understand that. And I agree, Harry's better off here.” As part of talking this over, he and Remus had spent time alone with his godson. They had checked for spells, of course, finding none, and got his version of events. Harry was honest about all of it, including that he was treated just fine and liked it here. Nor did he want to risk leaving then have Dumbledore getting his hands on him. Again, it was something he understood and, quite frankly, agreed with. “I think we can help. A couple things though. I'm sure you understand our end in that we want a binding contract of some kind that gives us assurances that this isn't a play by the two of you. From what Harry said, it isn't. I believe him, of course. It's covering our arses here. And I want to be able to see Harry.”

Neither were things that were unanticipated by the two men, so Severus nodded. “We'll give an Unbreakable Vow. We've already thought of that caveat and are more than willing to give you one, provided you do the same for us. In thinking it over, we assumed that you would want to see Harry as well, so we agree to that part and take no issue with it. Obviously, we can't go about this the normal way, but will arrange what we can, like what I did tonight with the runic Portkey. Lucius won't set the wards to allow you in, for obvious reasons, but we can get you in that way or I can side-along you both. We are just trying to protect ourselves as well as both of you and Harry, something I'm certain you understand.”

Looking at Sirius, who was nodding, Remus agreed, “I can go with that. Unbreakables all around and we'll be fine.” Looking at Harry, smiling a little, he asked, “This alright with you, Harry?”

“I'm good with it,” Harry nodded. “I'm safe here and treated fine. They're honest with me and keep their word, so I don't have a problem with it.”

“Alright, that works for me,” Sirius told them. “I think we can deal with the situation once we get some of the gremlins worked out.”

Very pleased that this was going well and they didn't have to fight over it, Lucius said, “How about this; we do the Unbreakables then get down to the details. Between all of us and Kaliya,” pausing, he gave the snake, who was perched on his usual stool by Harry listening in, a nod, “I believe we can work through the most troublesome issues.”

Grinning a little, peering at the snake, Sirius chuckled, “Still finding it odd that you allow a snake to sit at your table, Lucius. As much of a nob as you are, that's strange.”

Smirking, Lucius said, “Well, no, normally I wouldn't allow such a thing. However, Kaliya is an exception. He has more than proven he's intelligent enough to give an assist on matters of all kinds. You'll eventually get used to it.”

Puffing up a little, Kaliya told Harry, “Tell Lucius that I thank him for the compliment! It's most warming to hear such a thing.”

Reaching out to rub the snake's head, Harry translated, grinning.

“It is the truth,” Severus said with a nod. “He has a perspective we don't and that is always an assist. Plus, he can sense the bonds that are there. That alone is an immeasurable help in what is to come.”

“If it works, it works,” Sirius shrugged, looking at the snake. Though still leery because of the breed of Kaliya, it was apparent that he was one that was mild mannered and Harry seemed to like him. “Alright, let's do the vows then get down to the nitty gritty and see what we can hammer out with this. Lots of shite here to work out.”

“Yes, there is much to cover,” Lucius agreed. “Severus and I thought that spending the night might be for the best. He doesn't think you'll be missed as you've taken off before to look for Harry. That way we have plenty of time to cover what is needed.”

After they did the Unbreakables and the elves brought in some snacks, they settled in to discuss the finer points. After taking a sip of wine, Lucius said, “The first issue we see is communication. Severus and I have something set up for us, it's similar to the Patronus messengers the Order uses. However, I would like something that works better. On that front, though, we don't know of anything. It was our hope that you might.”

Grinning a little, rubbing the back of Harry's neck, Sirius said, “I do, actually. It was something I was going to give Harry for his birthday this year, in fact. James and I made some mirrors back in school to communicate while we were in separate detentions. They would be perfect for this. All you have to do is say my name and we can talk that way once I get to it. Though I don't remember the charms for them, I'm sure between the lot of us we can figure them out.”

“That will work quite well,” Severus said with a nod, looking pleased. “Even if we have to reverse engineer the spells to unravel what you used, it can be done and we can work with it from there.”

“Oh, yes,” Lucius said, liking that. “As long as they are safe and no other can use them, I see no problem with you talking to Harry either. We, of course, want to be cautious on that front, as you would expect.”

“We have a standard locking spell on them so that only those keyed in can use them,” Sirius told him. “I have already added Harry's name to them. The only problem I see is with Severus when he gets to the school. It would look very odd if someone saw him with something like that.”

About to sneer at that, Severus stopped and thought about it. Black was right. He wasn't the kind of have such items around. Albus, as he was well aware, could get into any room in that castle, no matter what wards you put up. Then the magic on the mirror? Albus would get damned suspicious. Nodding, he said, “I agree. That would be out for my end. I wouldn't want to chance having it. Perhaps something that we could write out then blank would work. That I could pass off.”

“That—I don't know about something like that. I wouldn't know how to start working with charming something,” Sirius told him with a shake of his head.

“We did it before,” Remus said quietly, looking at Sirius. “Not exactly the same, but a simpler charm on the map. It does react to someone else having it and trying to force it to reveal what it is. We also used it for short notes here and there when we passed it around. If we make a copy of it and modify the charm, it might work to pass a message to Severus. The map alone could be a big help to him.”

“You're right,” Sirius told him with a firm nod. “Yeah, we might be able to work something out with it between all of us.” Looking at his godson who had the snake in his lap, hissing quietly to him, he asked, “You do have the map, don't you, Harry? And wouldn't mind having a copy made?”

“Yeah, I have it,” Harry told him, looking up. “I don't care. You two helped make the thing. It's doubtful I'll even get to use it again, at least from the sound of it.”

Giving the back of Harry's head a rub, Sirius asked, “Can you go get it? Let's see what we can do. I'm not sure I remember what all we used to make it, but I think we can figure it out.” Stopping, he grinned then said, chuckling, “Besides, Severus will kill to have the thing once he sees what it does. And what he'll use it for will go against the Marauder code, but I think we can overlook that this time.”

Laughing, Harry replied, “Oh, yeah he will! Alright, give me a few.” Stopping, he looked over at Remus then asked, “Can Kaliya come over to you? He's trying to get a sense of something. It's nothing to worry about and I'll explain it when I get back. I promise, he won't hurt you.”

Though unnerved at the thought of having the massive cobra on him, Remus gave a shaky nod. “Sure. Severus is right here. I'm sure he will know if Kaliya gets uptight.”

Standing up and walking over, letting the snake slither onto Remus' shoulders, Harry gave Kaliya a stroke on the head. “Don't worry. He's not going to hurt you. Just pet him on the back of the head. He really likes that.” Grinning, when he saw Remus give a shaky nod, he chuckled, “I promise, he won't bite.”

Chuckling at that, giving the head of the snake a trembling pet, Remus said, “Just hurry back, if you would.”

“I will,” Harry said then dashed off.

“Now, couldn't you have gotten him a big cute dog or something? Not a cobra?” Sirius asked, grinning. “I mean, of all the things to get him, a venomous snake isn't exactly what one would think of for a familiar! I bet Hedwig is having fits! Though I do imagine he won't have any problems with people thinking to mess with him if Kaliya is wrapped around his neck.”

Looking decidedly amused, Lucius relayed the reason they bought the snake. After that he said, “While leery of the breed, obviously, we've found that Kaliya is quite amiable. It's as you've seen so far. He doesn't take exception to anything. As he can understand us, it's easy to keep him at ease. And, from what we've observed, he and Hedwig seem to have some kind of truce going. Animals have their ways, I’m sure you know this. Hedwig does seem to know that Kaliya will cause Harry no harm and will protect him, so she accepts him. We've both,” he nodded to Severus then pressed on, “seen her bring him field mice to snack on at night. So, no, there is no issue. Besides, it's as you've said, he is wonderful protection.”

Petting the snakes head, Remus nodded, “He doesn't seem to be at all aggressive.” Though it was unnerving, the snake wasn't making any untold moves and just lying there, tongue flicking as though he were tasting the air for something.

Coming back in, grinning at the werewolf who was still nervous, he handed him the map then had Kaliya slither back onto him. Talking to the snake, he walked back over and sat down. Grinning, he said, “See? No biting! The only creatures he doesn't like and will go after are the peacocks. They are idiots though and think they can take him on.”

Relieved that the snake was gone, Remus asked, “What did he want a sense for? Was it to remember me or something else?”

“Actually,” Harry chuckled, looking around at everyone, “it's the fact that you and Sirius have the scent of canine on you so he was trying to get a feel for the two different kinds, as he could tell they were different. He can, I guess, smell that Sirius is an animagus and you're a werewolf.” Stopping, he looked at Severus and Lucius, shrugging. “He just wanted to get a better smell so he could tell the difference. I explained to him where the scents came from, but he was curious. You know him.”

“And another thing we learn that he will be most useful for,” Lucius nodded, pleased. “As far as I knew, there was no way to detect an animagus without a spell. I didn't know there was an animal that could manage it.” Reaching over, he gave Kaliya a rub on the head.

Hissing contentedly, Kaliya told Harry, “He is so good at that! Yes, the scent is there, just different. It's quite faint, but now that I have a 'feel' for it, as you term it, I believe that I can differentiate if I run across another one that transforms. Oh yes, that may prove to be an assist at some point. Please, if you would, Harry, tell your friend, he won't be harmed by me. No, he's not one I shall worry about. He has a gentle feel about him.”

Translating that, petting the snake, Harry grinned at Remus. “See? Told you. Nothing to worry about.”

Smiling, Remus nodded. “Alright. Just don't expect us to be close is all.”

Reaching out, making sure the snake saw him do so, Sirius stroked two fingers down the back of his head. “Alright, you're good by me.” Looking at Remus, he grinned, then said, “Time to give up one of our oldest secrets and see what we can figure out. Especially since Severus can't deduct house points from Harry for having it!”

Giving a snort, Severus said nothing, but waited.

Activating the map, Remus laid it out then said, “Alright, this is what it does.” Quickly, he ran through everything it could do as it was. Then, touching it with his wand, he brought it to where there was a small blank space on it for short notes they could pass. “This is how we managed to pass the notes before. It's not automatic, like what you were asking, but is in the same class as what you were suggesting. Maybe a little modification and we can work on that. Copies, of course, are going to have to be made before we begin as we don't want to damage the original. Besides, that way we can all have one if it's needed. With it blanking to something that looks like nothing but a piece of parchment, it should be safe for you to have and no one should get suspicious.”

Looking at the map, Severus lifted his eyes then looked at Harry, who just grinned at him. Snorting, he shook his head, “Mr. Potter—no wonder you were so good at sneaking around!”

“Thank Fred and George for it! They nicked it from Filch. It was them that gave it to me!” Harry laughed.

“I was wondering how you got your hands on it!” Sirius laughed, ruffling Harry's hair.

Standing up to get a better look, Lucius nodded, “I see what you mean. Yes, we should be able to achieve this. If you make copies, I'll go get some Charms books and we'll get to work. Between all of us, we should be able to suss this out.” Seeing them nod, he then headed towards the library.

It took them several hours, but they finally had a workable spell on the map. It wouldn't be as easy as the mirrors, but it would work for Severus to get a note if he had to, same with any of the others. So, they had pushed on to the Horcrux issue

Sitting with Harry leaning against him, Kaliya wrapped around the two of them, Sirius was stroking the snakes back then said, “About this Horcrux thing—I'll look in a couple other places at the house, but I think I know where you have a better shot at finding something on them. You're just going to have to be careful of Albus.”

Looking at Black, sitting his wine glass on the table, Severus asked, “Where is that? I can get around Albus with no issue.”

“Not here you can't. At least not easily,” Remus told him, shaking his head, knowing what Sirius was going for. “They're at Hogwarts, in his personal library. From what he said during the last war, he removed a lot of books You-Know-Who used in school when it came to the Dark Arts. He told us he kept them, as he had to look something up once in a while. As far as I know, he still has them. I'd bet there are some on that particular nastiness in there. That diary was his during school, from what we know. I bet that means he made it while there. Probably using Myrtle’s death to create it.”

Leaning his elbows on the table, Lucius looked around then said, “We need something because we're coming up with not much when it deals with how to remove it from Harry. This, though—it's a dangerous endeavor to attempt. Albus is too intelligent to not know someone was in there.”

Nodding, Severus said, “Let me see what I can work with. If I can come up with enough of a plausible excuse, I might be able to get him to let me look around. Then, if I can find some things, I can copy them. It would be my guess they are old so there will no copyright spell attached.”

“It's just getting in there to get them and him having spells on them to detect what's touched I would worry about,” Sirius told him pointedly. “You know Albus. He's—well, he's one that is wary because of all he has in the planning stages.”

“This I know,” Severus told him, sour look on his face. Looking at the folded map by his elbow, he added, “This might assist. It's summer. He has many irons in the fire, so I might be able to make an excuse to get into the castle and go look. I don't know. I am aware that during the summer months he's not as stringent about spells as he is during the school term. I'll be cautious, however. Let me see what I can manage.”

Reaching up, rubbing his eyes, Sirius said, tone thoughtful, “During Auror training one of the things they always told us worked best to get into somewhere you wanted was a diversion. It's simplistic, I know that, especially in this situation. I think, maybe, I might have an idea on that.”

Because of the training Black had, Lucius was more than willing to listen to what he had to say on the topic. “I agree. What do you have in mind?”

“It's actually something Harry mentioned while we were talking to him alone. You two said something about red herrings to throw people off. It worked with the wand, quite well actually. What I was thinking was this; get Albus' boxers in a knot with him being worked up over some of Harry's things turning up all over the place. And I mean more than just one thing, but also spread out all over the country. If we can do that, and I'm sure Remus and I can manage something like that easily, he'll be running all over trying to get a feel for what's going on. That would divert him enough that Severus can either get in and look or see if he can't push to where Albus has him look there. Not to mention it's going to get the suspicion of who might have Harry focused elsewhere.” Stopping, he looked at Lucius and said, “Albus has brought you up more than once with this. The bit with Cissy divorcing you has been mentioned and tossed around. He also finds it odd that you were around before the wand vanished, something that does help. This might work for both areas.”

“I have my old clothes,” Harry mentioned softly, looking around. Then, grinning sheepishly, he said, “I have other things that are obviously mine too, like old textbooks with my name in them. I even have that homework planner Hermione gave me last year. That has my name in it and everything written in it is in my handwriting. There are plenty of bits and bobs in my school trunk since I don't tend to clean it out.”

“This—it might work,” Lucius said with a firm nod. “It really might. I'm not worried about him finding us. We're as protected as Grimmauld Place, if not better. However, throwing the clues out there might be the way to go. It would work well for both directions of this mess. Yes, it's a good idea. I think we could up the stakes a little as well, to cause more of a panic.”

“How would you manage that one?” Remus asked. This was an idea he liked. If nothing else, Harry would be safe while everyone was on a wild goose chase all over the British Isles.

Smirking, Lucius said, “We can get Harry to donate a little blood then ensure that it's splashed on some of the items tossed about, especially the clothes. That would up the ante for people looking for him, causing more panic than is already there.”

“It would,” Sirius told him. “I like this.” Giving Harry's head a rub, he said, “Give up the trunk too. When Severus takes us home, I'll send mine back with him for you. Before we go, we'll clean it out and take everything you don't want or need then go from there. Severus can get some blood from you then we'll decorate the items we leave with that and other things, like scorch marks from spells. It should help.”

“Whatever you need,” Harry told them, nodding. “You sure this is going to be safe? They won't detect anything off it that can be used to trace any of you?”

“We'll be fine, Harry,” Sirius told him. “I know how to work it so it won't happen. I didn't go through Auror training for nothing, you know! Hell, if I had some bits from known Death Eaters, like hair, I could make it look like one of them did it.”

“That's not something I would chance trying to get right now, but if the opportunity presents itself, I will attempt it. It's a very good idea!” Severus told him, nodding.

“If I had something, I would give it to you. Sadly, I don't.” Lucius said, looking at Black. Liking that they had some workable plans in the offing, he was more relaxed. However, he was tired. Rather than try to press on to the additional matters, like cutting off the bonds, he said, “I would suggest that we adjourn for the night. We all need some rest. Tomorrow we can resume with some of the other issues in this whole mess. Is that acceptable?”

Seeing Remus nod, Sirius said, “Fine with me. I'd like to spend some time alone with Harry before bed anyway.”

“I assumed,” Lucius told him with a dismissive wave. “I have you set up in the room next to his anyway so you can spend some time together. So, let's call it a night, gentleman, and resume in the morning.” Seeing everyone nod and start to rise, Lucius had them follow so he could lead them to their rooms.

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Shades of Grey