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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
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Part 19 – Chapter 17 - Dec. 25, 1992

"Who goes there?" the gate-face asked.

"Sirius Black and Remus Lupin." If Sirius wasn't imagining things, the gate glared at him.

"One moment," it replied after a long pause. It took a very long moment before anything happened, but after ten dozen or so heartbeats they saw someone coming down the path. Much to Sirius' disappointment, it was Severus.

"Black, Lupin. To what do I owe this...pleasure?" If that statement could get any more sarcastic, Sirius didn't know how.

Remus saved him from answering. "Sirius here has decided to stop being stupid and give this a chance. Also, I wish to take you up on your hospitality."

Sirius looked betrayed, as if Remus wasn't keeping his word and was leaving him for Severus in that very moment. "Moony..." he whinged. Remus merely gave him a scathing look and he shut up. Severus took a moment to survey the two before nodding. The gate-face disappeared and the gate swung open once more.

"Follow me."

O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O

Harry was sitting at the table in the formal dining room in between his mother and Voldemort. On his mother's other side sat his father. Lucius and Narcissa were on the far side of the Dark Lord, and Draco sat directly across from Harry. He was happy with this arrangement, as it let him be close to his favorite people, though he did wish that Severus would come back.

"Uncle 'Volo?" Harry asked, much to the amusement of his parents, who weren't quite used to the nickname yet, though they found it quite endearing.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Where did Uncle Sev'rus go?" James chuckled at Harry's contraction of the name. He was sure that Severus must really like it.

"He went to go answer the front gate," Lucius answered, not sure his Lord knew exactly. "It seems we have two new guests."

Lily's eyebrows rose. "Oh, did Sirius come to his senses so soon?"

"Remus must have threatened to leave again..." James chuckled once more.

"Does he do that often?" Lucius asked, faintly curious. The relationship between both men was quite a puzzle to him. How someone so quiet and reserved could put up with someone so boisterous and uncouth was beyond him.

"No, only when Sirius is being especially stupid. When we were in school, he used to threaten to leave Sirius and run away with me—even though they both knew how I felt about Lily. It worked like a charm, though."

Lily laughed next. "Sirius hates being alone, thanks to his poor childhood. Remus is the best thing that ever happened to him, so he doesn't want anything to jeopardize to the relationship. But, he just can't help being stupid."

"I wonder who he threatened to run away with this time?" James wondered.

Lucius asked, "Who would get the biggest rise out of him?"

James smirked. "Severus."

"Then I'm certain there is your answer."

"I'm sure you're right."

They were all still chuckling when the three men entered the room. Severus simply raised an eyebrow at Lucius, who continued chuckling but said nothing. He shook his head in irritation and sat between his godson and James. Unfortunately, that meant that there weren't any seats left at the table, as they hadn't been expecting company. The two newcomers stood just inside the doorway awkwardly—or at least, Sirius was standing awkwardly. Remus could care less.

Voldemort could tell that Harry felt the tension in the room, so he decided it would be better if the men sat down. He waved his wand at the table and it lengthened by two places, one on either side—a seat next to Narcissa and a seat next to Severus to the left and right of Draco. "If you would, gentlemen?" He gestured to the new chairs.

Remus, still a little miffed at Sirius, decided to dig the point in deeper. With a faint little smug smile he strolled over to the chair next to Severus and sat, leaning back comfortably. All enjoyed the pained look on Sirius' face, all except perhaps Harry, who didn't like to see anyone in pain. He looked up at his godfather and asked quietly, "Won't you sit?"

Sirius dragged his eyes away from his lover and enemy and looked at his godson. His little prongslet. He'd hurt this boy, and he had to make it right, even if he didn't like how he had to do it. He walked further into the room, though not towards the chair at the other end of the table. Instead, he knelt in front of his godson and took the boy's hands.

"Harry, I am very sorry. I was being very stupid last night and letting my prejudice blind me. I had preconceived notions on how the world works and last night, well, you're Uncle Remus showed me how stupid they really were. Your happiness means more to me than the rivalries I've held since childhood. I want to make this right. Will you let me?"

Harry gave him a ghost of a smile. "I wasn't ever mad at you, Uncle Sirius. You just said the truth, and you didn't know that I didn't know it yet. Yes, I got hurt...but finding out the truth would have always hurt me. And sure, I don't like it when my family fights, but it's okay now. Mum and Dad aren't going to make me leave, and I can stay here with my other family. I'll be really glad if you can try and get along with them too."

All of the Gryffindor adults were shocked at Harry's ability to forgive and understand. Without warning, Sirius pulled Harry into a bear hug. "Thank you, Prongslet. I'll do anything for you. There was a reason your parents named me your godfather." Harry snuggled into the hug and let the man's love wash over him. He had never had so many people care about him before.

O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O

All of the adults had adjourned to the drawing room after lunch. Harry and Draco were shooed upstairs so that they could talk in peace.

"So, what are we going to do about Dumbledore?"

"He needs to pay for his crimes!"

"We can't just go about this willy-nilly. The media won't believe just anything, especially not about Dumbledore."

"What if Lily and I tell our story, and reveal that Harry isn't dead at all?"

"That would be very dangerous. Even if the media believed you, there would be no guarantee that the people would. And Dumbledore would be tipped off that someone knows his secret. Who knows what he'd do then."

"A direct fight isn't possible, at least not in his current state."

"Do you have an idea?"

"Yes. A trap. I'll need your help for this Severus, and Draco's."

"Draco's? But he's so young..."

"It's his youth more than anything that will help. Dumbledore is a sucker for a tortured soul, eh, Severus?" Severus merely grunted in acknowledgment of the jibe. “So, this will take a little time, but I'm sure it will work." The others leaned in to hear his plan.

O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O

"Draco..."

"Hm. Yes, Harry?"

"How do you feel about my parents moving in?"

"I still think they are all pretty stupid, but I'll be glad that you aren't alone when I go back to school. I hated you being so lonely."

Harry smiled and leaned in to peck a kiss on Draco's soft lips. "That's why I love you."

"Hm?" he hummed in question.

"You know what to say to make me feel good. And you don't just say it because it's what I want to hear. You mean it."

"Of course I do." Harry gave him another chaste kiss on the lips. Draco smiled and held him tighter. He hadn't ever been more content than he was at that moment.

O_O_O_O_O_O_O_O

"Where's the mutt?"

Remus looked faintly amused, but didn't complain about Sirius' nickname. "He's getting another dressing down from James and Lily."

"I always did think he was exceptionally stupid."

"He has his good points."

"I dare you to name them."

Remus looked at the other man sideways. Was Severus really making an effort at pleasant conversation? Well, if he could try, so could Remus. "Well, he's kind," *snort* "and funny," *snort* "and strong," *double snort* "and fantastic in the sack." *choke*

"I did not want to know that."

"I know, you were just irritating me."

"Noted."

"I know you don't think much of Sirius, and I really know that Sirius doesn't think much of you, but I hope for Harry's sake you can get along."

"Luckily for me, we won't be in close proximity very often."

"Yes, you'll be at Hogwarts most of the year."

"Obviously."

"But what about during the summer?"

"I spend most of my time here, teaching Draco more advanced Potions theory. He has a notion of becoming a Potions Master."

"And Harry?"

"He hasn't received much of an education. When I'm not busy with Draco, I teach him rudimentary potions, fine tune his reading skill, and work on his penmanship. His writing is atrocious, but it's not entirely unexpected. He hasn't had any formal education. He mentioned reading and writing primers that Petunia forced on him when he was about nine or so. He didn't know how to use them, but he looked at them as often as he had light. It's a wonder he even knows how to speak, seeing as Petunia didn't take the time to teach him."

"We were teaching him just before...before..."

"Halloween, yes."

"Yes, before Halloween. He had quite the vocabulary, even then. He was too young to teach to read or write, though."

"Of course."

"How is he at reading?"

"Well, he's slow and stumbles a lot. He can't read potions recipes at all. But he has a good memory. He can brew most first-year potions from memory now, and when I have him work on one he doesn't know, he only needs me to tell him the ingredients once, and the instructions twice. He makes most basic potions quite well."

"He takes after Lily, then."

"I do believe so, yes. Though I don't believe it's all her. What the Dursleys did to him took its toll."

"Will you tell me? I need to know...I need to know just how bad it was...how badly I failed him."

Severus turned to him and forced him to look into his eyes. "It wasn't your fault. Dumbledore has taken in much more shrewd people than yourself. What reason did you have to disbelieve him? As far as you knew, your best friends had been stunned into a coma and their son, practically your godson, was dead. Who would take the time to look for discrepancies?"

Remus closed his eyes. "I should have. I should have been able to smell the lack of blood in the room and known that Dumbledore was lying."

"Remus..."

"Don't try to make me feel better, Severus. I want to feel this. I let him down, and because I failed, he suffered. Ten years he suffered because for once I didn't use my senses."

"I told you, better—”

"Stop, Severus! Just let me feel bad. I haven't suffered for this. I should. I deserve t--"

Severus needed to shut him up, and the only way he could think of to do it was to pull him into a passionate kiss. He hated it when the wolf made himself feel like trash. He had done the same when he had almost killed Severus back in school. It hadn't been his fault then and it wasn't his fault now.

Remus held himself stiff for a moment before giving in to the sensation. He shoved his hands roughly into Severus' hair, pulling the dour man closer. Severus brought his own hands into play, winding them around Remus' slim waist and pulling their hips flush. Remus moaned as he felt Severus' erection slide against his own. Neither man thought about the consequences of their actions, they simply felt.

It was long moments before they broke for air, and even longer ones before their thoughts came back to them. They pulled apart gingerly, as if moving too quickly might cause something to stick to the other person and come off. In only a few moments, however, they were standing apart again. There was a distinct blush on the Potions Master's face.

Remus was feeling guilty. He had told Sirius he would only do that if Sirius insisted upon being stupid, and there he was with Severus' saliva still on his lips. "We shouldn't have..."

"No, that was very foolish. I apologize."

"Don't, it was my fault too."

"But I started it. I just wanted you to stop berating yourself. You sounded just like you did back then, after the Shrieking Shack incident."

Remus' eyes widened and he looked at Severus. "How?"

"Back then, you blamed yourself. You hated yourself for what you almost did. But it wasn't your fault. Black and Potter were the ones who lured me there. You were in the middle of the change. How could you have been held responsible? And now, you're blaming yourself for not noticing something that anyone else wouldn't have noticed. You were in the midst of your grief. Cut yourself some slack."

There was a soft sound from the room behind them. "How kind of you, Severus."

Remus held his breath for a moment, not sure how long Sirius had been there. Did he see? Did he know? "Sirius..."

"I just came up to see if you were ready to go."

"Oh, yes." Remus turned back to Severus. "Perhaps you could enlighten me some other time. I do want to know what happened to Harry."

Severus looked cold and closed off again. "You could get it from anyone in the house. I most likely won't be here when you return."

Remus was a bit hurt at the rebuff, even though he knew he shouldn't be, especially with his loved standing in the room behind him. "Oh...of course. You're very busy."

The Potions Master felt a little bad for purposefully misleading the wolf and decided to cut him some slack. "I need to begin the plan for Dumbledore."

Remus closed his eyes and nodded. Right. He had forgotten. "Then good luck to you."

Severus nodded this time and turned away.

"Come on, Padfoot." Sirius smiled at him and wrapped one arm comfortably around his waist.

"Sure thing, Moony."
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The Years After