Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Through the Veil and Back Again	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 77508 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 13
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter (though someone could gift me a few of the men in it and I wouldn't complain) and make no money off of this.

Chapter List
- 26
- 27
- 28
Chapter 27

Beta'd by the amazing Tenchi, who I couldn't work without anymore. Thanks, Tenchi!

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.

Holding his very subdued godson close with one arm, Sirius was busy pouring through the ledger containing the real estate that Harry owned with the other hand. He was looking for something they could use to get the hell out of this mess. Luckily, every property had a detailed description of what the holding contained and how many rooms it had. However, because of that, it was taking forever to go through it. On the upside though, there were already a couple of properties that he thought they could use, something he was making notes about.
They had gotten the ledger, and all kinds of other crap, not long ago, so they were busy trying to sort through what was there. Remus had signed the papers the day before for custody and other matters. That was damned good, which meant they had plenty of wiggle room now to deal with so much. At the moment they were just in a holding pattern for parts of this, like him getting cleared, to make damned sure that whatever foolhardy stunt Albus was trying to pull couldn't happen and they could get out. Even before then, Remus could easily put a stop to whatever it was, probably without Albus even knowing. He was now able to get with Harry’s solicitor alone about matters to get help if they needed it. That's what they needed, desperately. Anything to put a halt to what was going on and give them some kind of leverage to deal with the mess they were in. In a couple of days they would get the full accounting of what was in the vault, what it was needed for and other important paperwork, things they urgently needed as well.
Flipping to the next page in the ledger and making a note on the parchment he was using about possibles, with the page number from the ledger, Sirius looked at Harry. His godson was very quiet now and had been since coming back, just staring off into space. Arthur and Remus had taken him to his parents' graves earlier, waiting until dark to hold off anyone thinking anything was off and to give them some more cover for doing this. As expected, it had been emotional and Harry was now quiet. That Sirius expected and wasn't going to push for anything. He was just going let Harry deal with whatever he was on his own. He knew his godson would say something to him if he wanted to talk about it. For now, he probably just needed time, nothing more. After all, it was a lot to deal with and was like getting official confirmation that what he always heard was real. That had to hurt.
A glance over at Lucius showed the man going through the mass of paperwork delivered about the monetary end of this mess. He didn't envy the man taking that on in the least. As it had sat dormant for so long, it had to be a right mess to sort through, not to mention work on what needed done with it to help. That—he didn't even want to ponder having to do that. Thankfully, Lucius knew what he was doing with that end of the mess, so it probably wouldn't be such a hardship. And it was better he take it on, honestly. With the bond, they didn't have to worry about him doing something off with it, thankfully.
Snape was sitting over by Remus going through some of the copies of paperwork to see what was there and how to deal with it. Already, some had come in, thankfully, items they needed. The rest was copies of all he had signed the day before. Going through that gave them all a better idea of what was coming, what they needed and just what some of this meant. Good. They needed that, desperately. Because some of it Harry told them, plainly, he didn't know where they were or how to get his hands on them, like his birth certificate. This was the best way to go about getting their hands on so much of what they needed.
Sighing and shaking his head, he glanced back down at the ledger and was about to start pouring through this page when a notation in red at the top stopped him. Eyes widening, he glanced at the name of the property then said, “Bloody hell! I think I have it!”
Looking up from what he was reading through, Lucius asked, leaning over to look at the book, “Have what?”
“Not only do I think this is the property that James and Lily had set up for Harry to live in, but it's perfect for what we need.” Looking up then glancing around, he explained, “It's called Peverell Castle. That tells me it's damned big and protected.”
“James was descended from the Peverells?” Narcissa asked, eyes wide. She knew that name, of course, most Purebloods did.
“Apparently,” Sirius said, somewhat astonished. Reading through the description of the property, he grinned then nodded vigorously, “It's what we need and perfect. Not only is it Unplottable, but has as many protections on it as Hogwarts. And it's ancient, which means it's plenty fortified.”
Leaning over to look at what Sirius was reading, Lucius began to smirk. “It's our out. This is what we need! Now we just have to wait for Remus to get the paperwork to see if it matches up, then get into it to see what needs done and we have something in place. Perfect.”
Taking the ledger from Sirius, Remus held it so he and Severus could read what it said, smiling as he did. “This is a relief! Now we just have to wait and see how bad of shape it's in. We can press on from there with what we need to do.”
“If it's as the title and description indicate, and it is a castle, there probably won't be much,” Lucius said, looking around. “Those are tended to by a small army of house elves, even when no master is present, to keep it from falling apart. There may be some problems, of course, and Harry will have to get in to let them know their master is coming, but we should be fine on that end. Not to mention it's big enough that all of us won't have an issue staying there. Utterly perfect.”
Giving a sigh of relief, Sirius said, “Good. Let me finish going through that book to see what else is there in case this doesn't pan out, then we'll press on when we get the paperwork.” Taking the ledger back, he began to go through it again, though was far more hopeful now about having part of this mess handled. Now they just had to wait on the other chunks to get the hell out!

Though Severus was paying attention to what was going on around him, something he needed to do, he was also on edge because of what else he knew was coming. He had the message from the Dark Lord for Potter, one he was supposed to pass along at a specific time. It didn't explain it all, as most of that would come when the events played out, but it was an assurance that this wasn't being done to take after the last of Potter's family to hurt them. He also needed to make damned sure that everyone in the house had any and all evidence of what they were working on put up. Because, once this started, he would be called out then to push Albus to bring the Dursleys here. So, he had to make sure nothing appeared off.
At the moment, he was just waiting for an alarm he set on his pocket watch to go off so he could prepare everyone and get ready himself. This was timed to happen as late as they could manage so that no one would expect it. Then it would take time for Albus to assemble everyone and get them over to Privet Drive. That's what they were hoping for so that the Dark Lord could get the ancient binding off. None of them were sure how long that would take, so they were doing this in such a way to give them as much time as they could manage. All he hoped was that nothing went pear shaped with it. That and Potter didn't just completely lose it.
Looking at the younger wizard, he gave an internal sigh. They should have held out one more day, what with all Potter had dealt with earlier, but that wasn't possible. As it was, Potter was in a melancholy state, as would be warranted, something that could easily turn to anger. That he didn't want to deal with. He just hoped the young man could focus long enough that he could tell he being truthful about this. That and wait for the why behind it. Severus was sure that when that came he would completely understand.
Wound tightly from the waiting, Severus needed to distract himself as he knew the time was drawing near. After taking a sip of his tea, he set the cup down then pushed it aside, folding his hands on the table. Looking around, he said, “Sometime this week we need to get Lucius out of here for several hours. The plan is to do that late at night so that no one will be around.” Seeing everyone look at him, he pressed on before they could ask questions. “It has to do with Wormtail. His is a perspective we need for questioning him to see just what he knows about what's going on since the Dark Lord returned. We need to make damned sure that angle is covered to work with what we have planned before we get him to the Ministry.”
Understanding, Remus nodded, “We'll handle it, Severus. Just give us a time and date then we'll ensure we have a story of some kind made up if someone takes it in their head to come over.”
“Normally, we wouldn't chance this, but we need to make sure we have everything we need so it doesn't come back to bite anyone later,” Severus explained, looking around. “We're trying to push that as fast as we can. As I'm sure we all know, when you do that, mistakes are easily made and areas overlooked. We're trying to ensure that doesn't happen.”
Nodding at that, Sirius took a sip of his beer then asked, “Do I want to know what you're planning there?”
“Nothing traumatic,” Severus assured him. “We have a way to Obliviate some areas and leave others. That's what we need and it won't cause any damage that could make it to where it takes longer to get you cleared. To do that, though, we need to know just what he does so we can get everything that may cause issues.”
“Understood,” Sirius said, slightly relieved that it wasn't anything too dark or nasty. A little—he could handle that as he knew no way of going about this in a way that wasn't. Even so, he really didn't want too many details on whatever it was they were going to do.
About to press on to other parts, Severus heard the alarm go off. Seeing everyone look at him, he felt himself tense up. Reaching into his pocket, he not only silenced the alarm, but pulled out the letter. Holding it out, he said, “Mr. Potter, I need you to read that. When you finish, we'll discuss it, to a point anyway.”
Watching the still very quiet Harry take the letter and begin to read, Sirius then felt some very unpleasant things through the bond, including Harry's temper start to spike. Leaning over, holding Harry tightly to him, he began to read what was there. Eyes widening, he looked at Snape then asked, “What the fuck? You lot said he's not supposed to do any harm!”
Lifting his eyes, Harry glared at Snape, hands trembling slightly, then said, tone firm, “I get they're bad, alright? I want them left alone!”
Not sure what was going on himself, Lucius took the letter and read it, brow furrowed. Looking at Severus, he waited to see what was going on.
“You can determine if I'm telling the truth, keep that in mind, Mr. Potter,” Severus told him softly. “What's being done is not to harm them. I give you my word. Why it is I won't explain. That's going to end up revealed before the night is over. Just trust me when I say that this is for the best. You'll understand as it plays out. The promise is that they aren't going to be hurt. It's going to look like an attack, I give you that, and is going to draw in Albus, but the intent is not to harm them. That's why the Dark Lord himself is leading it.”
Glaring at Snape, Harry tried to focus on the man to make sure he was telling the truth, though that was harder than normal as angry as he was. Quickly, he determined that Snape was. Shaking his head, he said, “I want to know what the bloody hell is going on! The Dursleys need left out of this!”
Eyes widening, Remus looked around then asked, “What's going on?”
“Death Eaters are about to attack Privet Drive,” Sirius told him, looking at Snape. “Someone needs to explain what's going on here.”
“You will get a full explanation after the attack, I assure you,” Severus told him firmly. “And if you need more after that, Mr. Potter is free to contact the Dark Lord through the link to get the full reasoning. It is not an attack to injure them, I swear on my magic. It's being done for another reason entirely. Trust me, it'll make complete sense as it plays out.”
“They won't get hurt?” Harry asked, the flames of his temper still burning hotly. This—he saw no reason for this.
“No one will be injured intentionally,” Severus assured him in a level, even tone. “There is a very good reason for the 'attack' and who is being targeted. Just trust in that I'm telling the truth. I'm one of the ones that helped set this up, Mr. Potter, and I know the reason behind it.”
Trembling, Harry stared at Snape, not sure what to make of this. However, he gave a brief nod. There wasn't a damned thing he could do to stop this anyway, not without giving up all kinds of information that they didn't want out there. So, he was going to take the man at his word. He would wait to see what the reason was before he completely blew his stack.
Rubbing a hand over his face then smoothing down his goatee, Sirius shook his head. “Bloody hell,” he breathed. “There better be a good reason for this, Snape.”
“There is,” Severus nodded firmly. “The best one in the world. You'll understand when it's over.” Looking around, he said, “We need to put up any evidence of what we were working on as I'm sure we're about to get a lot of company. Lupin and myself will probably get called out very quickly as well. The rest of you can probably expect far more company than normal in a very short time. I'm also warning you that one of the things I'm pressing for is the Dursleys to be brought here after this is over. Just take my word for it that there is a good reason for this.”
Nodding at that, now figuring it had to do with the cousin, Lucius began sending everything on the table to various rooms while summoning some cards. That would look normal for anyone that showed up. Quietly, through the link, he said “Harry, you need to stay calm. It won't do to make it appear any of us had a foreshadowing for this.”
“Understood,” Harry told him, still seething. “Do you know what this is about?”
“No, not for sure. I have an inkling, but won't impart that until I'm certain as I don't want to cause issues,” Lucius admitted, making damned sure that everything they were working on was off the table then he moved down slightly to look normal. Grabbing the cards when they came in, he began to shuffle them, looking at the tense Severus. Now they just had to wait.

Unknowingly gathered in the play park Harry frequented when confined to Privot Drive, Voldemort looked around at the Death Eaters gathered. Nodding, he was pleased with this. They were the ones among his ranks that he trusted the most. No matter the order, they would follow it to the letter, what he needed. Though some others might look better for this mission, he didn't want to chance some of them as he feared that impulses would take over and the Dursleys would end up hurt. That he didn't need. If that happened it would be all the harder to gain Mr. Potter's trust. No, this was for the best.
Looking around after making damned sure the privacy ward was up, he said, “This is not a mission to harm anyone. I want that clear. If attacked by the Dursleys in any way, you pin them to the wall or something else harmless to keep them out of the way. Nothing more than that. Destruction of the home I care not about. Do not harm any of them, in any way. Just keep them out of my way while I focus on Dudley.” Hearing the normal agreements, he said, “Anyone harming them will deal with me afterwards. That you do not want.” Hearing affirmations again, he pressed on, “We need to be fast with this. The wards are no match for us and will come down quickly. Once that happens, Albus will be alerted. There is also the squib that lives close. So, we have to be in quickly. I want all of you attending to the parents while I work on Dudley. Leave him completely to me. And prepare for this to be fast.” Once more hearing affirmations, he said, “Disillusion yourselves and follow me. I want this over as swiftly as we can manage. If we can't get out before the Order fully assembles or the DMLE is alerted, just defend yourselves without deadly force or illegals. Once I tend to Dudley, we leave.” Seeing nods, he cast the spell on himself and waited for the rest, again running through what he needed to do.

Getting through the meager wards was a snap, honestly, far easier than Tom would have thought. He knew they were greatly weakened, but assumed that something would have been put in place to shore them up. That didn't appear to be the case. Of course, that was a major plus and cut down on the time it would take to do what they needed.
Once the wards fell, knowing that probably sounded plenty of alarms, he motioned for his Death Eaters to follow him. Blasting the front door off the hinges, though trying to be as quiet as he could so as not to rouse any Muggle suspicions, he led the troops in. Quickly, he found the Dursleys in their front room. Seeing their panicked faces at the masked strangers, he immediately shunted the adults out of the way and focused on Dudley. Raising his arm, he cast a non-verbal spell that would strip the binding off. He hoped like hell that the readings he had gotten were right and this wasn't one that was put on by someone that knew what they were doing. If it was, it would take far longer.
Grinning when the spell quickly dissolved, he watched Dudley drop, an almost manic grin on the young man's face as he probably felt compete for the first time in his life. Perfect! Hearing the cracks of Apparation outside, he said, tone gruff, “And we leave!” Waiting for his Death Eaters to Apparate away, he looked at the young man still on the floor then to the two adults who gazed at him fearfully. Perfect. Raising his wand, he cast the Dark Mark above the house then Apparated away himself. Time to get out so the mess could be dealt with by others. All he hoped was that Severus could keep Mr. Potter calm until the young man could be made to understand what he just did and the consequences for his cousin if that binding was left on.

Looking up from his hand of cards, already heavily on edge, Sirius was about to stand when he heard the front door bang open so loudly that it set off the painting. The kitchen door then flew open, revealing a pale Kingsley and Tonks. “What's going on?” He asked, warily, though sure he already knew.
“We need Severus and Remus to come with us,” Kingsley said, wide-eyed. “Privet Drive was just attacked and the wards dismantled by Death Eaters.”
Looking at Harry, who was pale, Tonks added, “We think everyone is fine and there don't appear to be any injuries, but He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was there himself. So, we need help moving them until we can find somewhere safe for them to stay.”
Trembling, Remus stood and nodded, “Lead the way.”
Looking at Harry, seeing his overly wide eyes, Kingsley assured him, “As soon as we know something and get them protection, we'll let you know what's going on.”
“Alright,” Harry said softly, watching them all leave. Shaking his head when he heard the front door shut, he said, quietly, “There better be a real good reason for this!”
“If they weren't hurt, there was,” Lucius assured him, putting a hand on his shoulder and giving it a squeeze. “The Dark Lord wouldn't do this for a lark. There has to be a reason for it, especially since he's trying to help all he can. Just be patient, Harry.”
“Easier said than done, Lucius,” Sirius muttered before taking a sip of his beer. Shaking his head when he finished, he resigned himself to waiting to see what this was about. And that, in and of itself, wasn't going to be easy.
- 26
- 27
- 28
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

Through the Veil and Back Again