Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Lucky Strike	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Sirius Views: 76067 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 17
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and make no money off this strange dance in JK Rowling's world.

Chapter List
- 20
- 21
- 22
Beta'd by the most amazing Tenchi, who I can't thank enough for all the hard work she does for me!

With help from Lynn who works with me when it comes to flow, continuity and other issues.

Just a reminder of what's on my profile; reviews complaining or whinging about the lack 'o sex in stories will get deleted. If you want a smut-filled romp, you need to find another story to read.

Chapter 20

“Can't let you think I'm going soft on you, Malfoy,” Harry grinned after messing up Draco's hair. Snickering as Draco huffed, straightening his hair, looking disgruntled, he didn't say anymore, but was amused like normal.
Making sure his hair was in place, Draco told him, “I could do without that, Potter.” Honestly, though, he didn't mind it. If anyone else did it, he would be upset, of course, but not Harry. It was Harry's way of having fun, nothing more. And it didn't go beyond messing his hair up. That he could handle. Besides, as stressed as all of them were, it was good for a chuckle. That helped. They were all gathered in a small room at the Ministry that wasn't far from the courtroom, waiting for the hearing to start, so it relieved tension, for all of them. Probably more for Harry than the rest of them. He was stressed, you could easily tell that, despite the fact that he wouldn't be in the courtroom for it.
“Haven't seen you for a while, so I had to do something,” Harry chuckled, wand slipping back up his sleeve.
Putting a hand on Harry's shoulder, grinning, Sirius shook his head. Oh yes, this was normal and good. It told him Harry wasn't overly stressed by what was going on. The rest of them were uptight, as would be expected, but Harry was more so. Plus, the levity helped all of them. He was about to say something when the door opened. Seeing Rufus come in, he nodded. Perfect. That meant not only was it time for court, but Harry would calm down as well since it was all going according to plan.
Nodding to everyone, Rufus told them, “Amelia said it's almost time. So, you lot might want to go get settled. Harry and I will sit here.” Giving an amused snort, he said, “He's going to help me sort some paperwork.”
Chuckling, Remus said, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder, “Sounds like you're in for a nice, boring time.” That was good, however. Not only would it keep Harry occupied, but it would keep his mind off what was going on.
“Sounds like a laugh riot,” Harry grinned, shaking his head.
Giving his son a clap on the back, Severus smirked, “It'll keep the two of you out of trouble.” Lowering his voice, he added, “We'll be back as soon as this is over. It shouldn't take long.” Seeing his son nod and take Bugs from Narcissa, he gave his head a rub then waited. It was time and he was going to relish seeing the three get some form of punishment for their negligence.
Standing there, holding Bugs close, Harry watched all of them go with a sigh. He was glad that he didn't have to deal with that part. He wasn't all that sure he could keep it together and not do something stupid. No, this was better.
“Come on. Let's sort some of this mess I have. While we do that, I'll tell you about Sirius in Auror training. He was a nightmare,” Rufus told him with a nudge and a grin. Lowering his voice, he added, “This won't take long. Which means I'll be in the middle of some good embarrassing stories when they come back in that will make him stammer.”
Laughing at that, Harry nodded and allowed Rufus to guide him over to one of the tables where there was a ton of shite spread out. “He was probably bad to work with.”
“He was,” Rufus said, taking a seat with a groan. “Some of his pranks made me want to strangle him. Then again, I got my revenge.” Dividing the paperwork there in half, he explained to Harry what he wanted done then set about tending to his pile. While doing that, he began talking about some of Sirius' more spectacular blunders and cock-ups, something that had Harry laughing. Good!

Glancing between the two Aurors, Lily was apprehensive. Tonks she remembered from getting arrested. It was hard to forget the woman's pink hair. The other, Donnahill, she didn't know and hadn't seen before. However, as the two appeared like they were trying to keep Maggie calm, talking softly with her, she gave an internal sigh. This was about as good as it was going to get because none of them wanted their youngest in court with them. So, her staying here in a small room off the court room was fine. It was one obviously designed for children as it was brightly colored with all manner of toys and games in it. Besides, she had Bones with her. That would help keep her from getting too upset.
Smiling at her youngest child, she put a hand on her head then said, “We won't be long. Behave for Tonks and Donnahill, Maggie.”
“I will, mum,” Maggie said with a nod, petting Bones.
“We'll be fine,” Donnahill told the woman, trying not to let her feelings for the trio standing there show in front of the child. “We'll play a few games and have some fun.”
As this was standard for children that had to show up in court or whose parents did for whatever reason and there was no one to watch them, Tonks went with it. “There is plenty we can do, don't worry.” She'd had this duty more than once for various children. They seemed to respond better to the women Aurors than the men and were more at ease, so this was generally a duty they were assigned. She honestly didn't mind as she adored kids. All she had to do was keep reminding herself that it wasn't the child's fault, whatever it was the parents had done. That she learned to do long ago.
Straightening up and tugging at her robes nervously, Lily looked between James and Albus. Sighing, she said, “We'll be back soon. It's best we go meet with our solicitor first.” Seeing all of them nod, she left, nerves clenching her gut. Oh, she knew what they were getting, of course, it was just the idea of what they would have to face, nothing more. She would deal accordingly then they would press on.
Waiting until the adults left, Donnahill summoned the small table and chairs then took a seat. Looking at the games on the shelf, she asked, “Is there something you'd like to play?”
Eying the boxes there, Maggie shook her head, “I don't think I know any of those. At least I've not seen the boxes. We had different games in Argentina.” Waiting for Bones to sit down by her, she petted her faithful canine companion, uptight about this.
“We didn't think about that,” Tonks said, taking a seat. “How about some card games? We can teach you a couple.”
“Okay,” the little girl nodded, trying not to stare at the woman's pink hair. That was odd, of course, and she hadn't seen anyone with that color before.
Grinning as the little girl looked at her hair, Tonks changed the color to a bright orange then winked at the astonished child. “I can do it at will. Like this,” then she changed it to a light purple color before morphing her nose into a dog snout. “And that!”
Unable to help herself, Maggie grinned at that. “Amazing! How did you do that?”
“It's something I was born with,” Tonks explained as Donnahill began to shuffle the deck. Glancing at the big dog, she asked, “How did your dog get his name? Bones is a bit odd.”
“Because he liked to dig up bones and drag them into the house when he was a puppy. Made mum mad because he was always muddy and tracked it all over when he did,” Maggie explained, watching the other woman deal out the cards.
Laughing, Tonks said, “Puppies like to cause chaos! They are always getting filthy, too.”
“He was,” Maggie admitted with a tiny grin. “If he wasn't chewing on dad's shoes, he was going to the bathroom in them. Only dad's. He left everyone else's alone.”
Chuckling at that, shaking her head, Donnahill told the child, “Yeah, dogs have strange ways of showing affection to some people.” Quickly, she began to walk the young girl through a simple card game. This would make the time go fast and the child wouldn't be so uptight over what was happening in the courtroom.

Coming into the courtroom with their solicitor, James tried not to look at those assembled in the gallery. One glance had shown an almost murderous expression on Sirius' face as he looked at them. That wasn't good and he was sure his old friend would love nothing more than to impart his rage over what he had been through because of their actions with his wand. Oh, he was sure that they would come out of whatever it was alive, but he doubted some of it would ever be reversible. In fact, he didn't want to be anywhere where he and Sirius may end up alone for the foreseeable future.
While the rest had a more neutral expression in place, other than the sneer from Lucius Malfoy, he was sure that being alone with most of them wouldn't be nice either. He didn't like having them there, but there was nothing they could do about it. It was their right. However, he was disappointed that Harry wasn't with them. He at least wanted another glimpse of his son. That would make all this easier to deal with. He wasn't though, so they would press on.
Taking a seat between Lily and Albus, he glanced around. There was only one other person in the courtroom, someone he didn't know. She had an acid green quill out, sucking on the end of it while staring at them with an almost gleeful look on her face. Leaning close to Albus and asked, “Who is the woman, do you know?”
“That's Rita Skeeter,” their solicitor said, keeping his voice down as he shuffled through his papers. “She's a reporter for the Prophet.”
“Bloody wonderful,” James said, slouching down in his chair, arms folded over his chest. That wasn't good. This hearing wasn't bound to end up nice anyway, what with them having to admit what they did and other things that were going to end up said, not to mention a scathing lecture they would have to endure, that knowing it would all probably end up in the Prophet spun some way was worse.
“There's nothing I can do, sorry,” Solicitor Candlewick said with a sigh and shake of his head. “If Harry were still a minor, I could. He's not and this will end up public record, so I have no leverage to have her removed.”
“We'll deal accordingly,” Albus said, lifting his chin and clasping his hands on the table. He was apprehensive about this himself, of course, but would handle it. “It's nothing to fret over.”
“I think it's plenty to fret over,” Lily said quietly, keeping her trembling hands in her lap, not looking up until the court attendant told all of them to rise for the entrance of the panel. She would press on and deal the best she could. That's all any of them could do.

Arms folded tightly over his chest, teeth grinding as he listened to what was said, Sirius kept glaring at James. Sure, Lily and Albus were just as much to blame for all he went through, not to mention the torture Harry had to endure over his life, but it was James he focused on. James was considered his brother by everyone, including himself, so it was unfathomable how much he had screwed him. He wouldn't even get into how he had so little thought for his own son that he would pull something like this. And what he was hearing was no help. They admitted to everything, including giving up just what they did, how they went about it, all of that. The only thing they weren't hearing was the why behind it. As that wasn't something the court could require they give up, they weren't getting it.
Shaking his head at what he perceived as the almost cold way the three were talking about the events of that night so long ago, he had his jaw clenched so tightly it hurt. It just grew worse as the panel began asking questions, like why provisions weren't put into place to clear him or better protect Harry. That made his temper skyrocket as none of the answers were sufficient for anything. In fact, it didn't sound like they did much of anything but wish and hope that it went as they planned, not taking the most basic of precautions for either of them.
Glaring so hard at the three's backs they should have caught fire, Sirius was drawn out of his thoughts by Remus saying his name. Leaning closer to his old friend, he asked, keeping his voice down, “What?”
“Maybe you should go back and sit with Harry,” Remus suggested quietly, keeping an eye on what was going on. What was said was more than enough to set almost anyone off. Combine that with the hell Sirius went through and it was far worse for him. As it was, you didn't have to have much knowledge of psychology to read Sirius' body language and guess what he was thinking. As it was just growing worse the more the panel questioned the three, it might not be a good idea for Sirius to stay for the whole hearing. Their wands were locked outside the courtroom, of course, as always, but that didn't mean anything. If this grew worse, he wasn't sure if Sirius could control himself.
“Hell no!” Sirius hissed, making sure to keep his voice down. “I want to hear all of this. And what the panel has to stay to them. It's the only justice I'm going to get, Remus. It's the same for Harry.” With a soft sigh, he added, “I'll keep it together and not do something rash.”
“You need to, Sirius,” Remus told him gently. “It won't help anything if you get yourself arrested for doing something very foolish. We've all worked on Harry not doing that. It would negate all the lessons we've tried to get across to him on such topics.”
Sighing and slumping slightly, still glaring daggers, though, Sirius nodded, “Understood. I won't.”
Glancing at Skeeter, who was paying rapt attention with an almost sadistically joyful look on her face, Remus added, “What Skeeter is likely to say in tomorrow's paper will hurt worse than anything you could ever do, Sirius. Keep that in mind.”
“There is that, too,” Sirius admitted with an evil grin. Shaking his head, he sighed then muttered, “This isn't enough. Blimey, they are almost emotionless in what they are saying.”
Looking at his old friends and Albus, listening to the tone and what was said, Remus sighed, “I'm sure they aren't. It's probably their way of getting through this. I imagine they know how bad it's likely to get when the panel cuts loose on them.”
“It still sounds bad,” Sirius whispered back.
“That it does,” Remus admitted with a nod, thankful that Harry decided not to join them as he knew his son would be handling this worse than Sirius and it would take much more work to get him to deal with the fallout, let alone move past it.
Listening as the head Mugwump of the panel, Dike Portentous, launched in with a scathing lecture, Lucius muttered, looking smug, “And I'm sure the panel feels the same way and will impart their displeasure over it before this is done. Dike isn't apt to let that go without saying something. After all, he had to deal with plenty when it came to this mess and knows more than most of what truly happened. I'm sure they will feel flailed alive before many on the panel are done with them.”
Grinning slightly as he listened to what was said, seeing the three standing there flinching over so much of it, Sirius mumbled back, “Oh, yes. They need to.” This was good, though, as Dike was hitting everything he wanted to say to the three in a harsh manner that would leave anyone cringing. Perfect!

Arms folded over his chest when the lectures finished, relishing how pale the two men were and how Lily was in tears, Severus gave an internal sigh when the final verdict came down. Oh, it was a massive fine, one most would be paying off the rest of their lives, but he was sure the three there would have the money forked over shortly after this ended. And it wouldn't affect them one little bit either. With what he knew now, it was doubtful that Harry inherited even half the estate from James and Lily. As he knew how much money Harry had in his vaults, he figured the fines the three got wouldn't sting that badly. It wasn't enough. Not even close. Though the panel had delivered a severe rebuke, the fact that none of them there got to say a word about what the actions of the three caused for not only Harry, but Black, it felt like it was too little.
Standing as the three left the courtroom with their solicitor, he sighed then said, “Let's go retrieve Harry. We'll get some lunch so Lucius can take Draco back to school.”
Smoothing down his robes after he stood, Remus narrowed his eyes as Skeeter came over to them. Quietly, he said, “Lucius, I think this is one you should take. She's more likely to listen to you than the rest of us.”
Lifting his chin and glaring at the reporter, Lucius gave a bare nod to Remus, waiting for the bint to start.
Smoothing down her hair, plastering her best smile on, Rita asked, trying to keep a friendly tone, “Is there anything you would like to say about what happened? After all, we all know this wasn't justice for poor Harry.” Eyes flitting to Sirius, seeing his mottled complexion and murderous expression, “Sirius either. It has to hurt to know they won't pay beyond fines.”
“Whatever response they will give, if any, will be through their solicitor. You may contact him with your questions,” Lucius told her in a cold tone, eyes narrowed.
“Surely you all have something to say,” she simpered, looking around at the various faces. “How does poor Harry feel about this?”
“Miss Skeeter, the only answers you'll get from us is the same one I just gave you. I would suggest that you move along and contact their solicitor,” Lucius told her, tone now decidedly frostier as he motioned for the court attendant to take over. Seeing the man approach, looking dour at the thought of handling the pest, he just jerked his head then strode out, sure the rest would follow.
Glaring at the woman who was now being escorted out by the attendant that had her by the elbow, protesting all the way, Sirius muttered, “Bitch,” as he kept going. No chance would he talk to that vile woman about anything. All that would happen was it would be spun in circles to fit whatever she wanted to do with it. As she was the kind that would take after you just because you looked at her funny, there was no way he would say a word. Though he desperately wanted to rant to someone about the injustice of this mess. That he would do later with friends, not to a reporter.

Shaking his head and grinning as he listened to Rufus telling Harry about how he had accidentally cast an engorgement charm on his arms during Auror training, Sirius snorted. “Bloody hell, why did you have to tell him about that?” He asked. This was good, though. Harry was having a good laugh and didn't appear at all stressed.
“Because we can't have him thinking you were just the best there was when you made plenty of mistakes.” Rufus told him with a snort, looking amused.
“He does have a point, Sirius,” Narcissa told him, smiling a little as she reached down to pick up Bugs. The rabbit had hopped in her direction after seeing them come in, probably knowing she had raisins in her pocket. Scooping up the animal, fishing the box out, she fed him one, holding him close then chuckled. “It just goes to prove that even the best of us make mistakes. Including you.”
“True,” Sirius grinned scratching his chin, looking slightly sheepish.
Snorting himself, Severus shook his head. Clearing his throat, he said, “Come on, Harry. We're going to get something to eat so that Lucius can take Draco back to school.” Nodding to Rufus, he added, “Thanks again.”
“Nothing to thank me for,” Rufus said, standing, gathering up the papers. “He gave me a big hand sorting this mess. Which means less work for me when I get back to the office.” Giving Harry a clap on the shoulder, he said, “Pop in and say hi next time you're around. I like seeing you even if it isn't something we have to deal with when it comes to this mess.”
“Will do,” Harry said, standing. Walking over to the rest, he asked, hoping they didn’t give details, “It's all handled?”
“All done,” Remus assured him, putting a hand on his back and starting to guide him out. “Nothing to worry about and no unexpected glitches. That's the last we have to worry about on that front.”
“Good,” Harry sighed with a relieved nod. “So, where are we going for lunch? Nothing to nobby, I hope.”
“Nothing posh, no,” Severus assured him then named a small restaurant where they could sit outside for a nice lunch. As it was a place they all liked, it would help them relax.

After cleaning up and all of them calming down so that they didn't look so upset, Lily put a smile on her face then they stepped into the room where Maggie was. She was pleased to see her daughter unstressed and giggling as the three were playing cards. Good. “We're ready, Maggie. Tell them thank you,” she said, hoping to get out of the Ministry without any more problems or running into that reporter.
“Thanks, both of you,” Maggie said, smiling at the two women. “I had a lot of fun.”
“You're welcome,” Tonks said with a smile. Looking at the three adults, she said, trying to keep the stiffness out of her tone, “We'll escort you out so there isn't a problem with anyone.” That was part of their job and she planned to handle it despite her dislike of the three.
“Most appreciated,” Albus told her with a nod and a smile. Looking down at Maggie as she joined them, he put a hand on the little girl's head as she made sure to have a tight hold on Bones' leash, “What did you three do?”
“We played cards. They taught me a couple fun games,” Maggie said, allowing herself to be led out. “I'll show everyone when we get home.”
“We'd like that,” James told his daughter, putting a hand on her shoulder, thankful that she seemed at ease.
As they walked into the hall, they all stopped and James stared as the other side of the mess, plus Harry, walked out of a room not far from this one. Swallowing as he stared at his son, who hadn't noticed them yet, he wasn't sure what to do or say.
Holding tightly to Bones' leash, Maggie looked at the group, but her eyes drifted to the youngest one with the glasses. He looked just like her dad. Quietly, she said, “He looks like you, dad. Who is that?”
“That's your brother Harry,” Lily said softly, flinching as several from that party looked up and saw them, angry looks tossed their way.
“He's Harry then?” Maggie asked, amazed at how much he looked like her dad. Then her eyes drifted to the huge rabbit the pretty lady was holding. Grinning, she said, “That's a big bunny!” However, after that, her eyes widened and she didn't know what to do.

Hearing the voices, Harry's head came up and he looked at the small group just down from them. Seeing the two arseholes, he glowered at them, just wanting to get out of there. Then his eyes drifted to the dog. That's where they locked. Suddenly, those memories and flashbacks he had been getting for a while converged and crashed over him. Shaking, unable to stop it, eyes locked on the Great Dane, he whimpered softly, reliving one of the worst nightmares of his life. Hearing several people call his name, he was unable to say anything as he was pulled completely into the nightmare that had been dancing so close for some time now. Letting out a soft pained moan, he was caught in the flashback, unable to stop it.
- 20
- 21
- 22
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Lucky Strike