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Well, Ain't That Strange?	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 56074 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 12
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and make no money off this story

Chapter List
- 27
- 28
- 29
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.

Beta'd by the most amazing Tenchi, who I can't thank enough for all the hard work she does for me!

And thanks to Lynn who works with me when it comes to flow, continuity and other issues.

Chapter 27

Despite what was going on, those that were younger were in the air smacking balls around. Though Harry enjoyed it to no end, he couldn't help but wondering what was going on with the bit in the park. To him, it seemed like it was taking forever, something he didn't think meant anything good. It might have just seemed that way, though. Sirius didn't seem overly stressed by whatever it was. Despite wanting to play, he didn't get on his broom. Instead, he was holding Hobbes and conferring with whoever was coming out. Mr. Weasley seemed concerned, but Mrs. Weasley was the worst, pacing and wringing her hands, vanishing into the house here and there, probably to check what was going on. He just hoped that nothing horrible happened and an all out battle didn’t end up happening.
Finally, when everyone that had been there before came trickling back out, all those flying around landed. It seemed the others wanted to know what happened as much as he did. While the excuse of wanting something to drink was tossed about, Harry was sure it was more so all them could listen in. It was fine with him because he wanted to know as well.
After settling down by Sirius, with Remus on the other side of him and Hobbes in his lap, Harry sipped his drink, waiting.
Though he knew that Albus didn't like to talk in front of the younger ones about some of what went on, Sirius asked, once the old man, who was looking angry, sat down, “What's going on? We didn't hear much and you lot were gone a bit.”
“There was a bit of a dust up, though no one was hurt. However, it tells me that Tom probably knows Harry is here, thus he's in plenty of danger,” Albus sighed, stroking his beard.
“Probably on both counts, but he's safest here, Albus,” Sirius told him pointedly, waiting to see what the old goat was going to try with this bit. He was sure Albus was going to use it to push his agenda with Harry. Yeah, well, that wasn't happening, all there was to it.
“Well, of the options we have at the moment, yes,” Albus conceded with a nod. “While Tom and his Death Eaters might know where the house is, they can't see it or get in. We'll all just have to stay vigilant about keeping watch and how we come into the house. I don't think it's safe to use the park anymore as they're turning up there even with what we've tried to use to detect them. So, we need to go about this another way, I think.”
“We'll set something up,” Remus told him softly, paying very close attention to make sure Albus didn't slip something into the conversation without Sirius realizing it.
“Yes, we will,” Albus assured all of them. “Give me some time and we'll come up with find spells to help or a way around it.”
“You probably need to do the same for the Burrow and Privet Drive as well,” Kingsley said after coming out and taking a seat. “Those are the three places that lot keeps turning up. If they're being this overt over here, they will probably try there as well, though I'm sure they realize Harry is staying here after the first confrontation in the park the other day. It wouldn't take a great stretch of the imagination for that side to think we'll move Harry if they turn the heat up enough here.”
“I'll ensure that as well,” Albus nodded.
“Other than it involving Harry, do we have any idea what's behind this? At all?” Tonks asked, taking a seat on the other side of Remus, putting a hand on his bicep.
“No,” Albus sighed, shaking his head. “Severus is trying to get some clues for us that we can put together, but that will take time and effort. Until then we will just assume it's Tom's way of drawing Harry out and press on.”
“We'll be fine right where we are,” Sirius said, taking a sip of his beer and putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. “It just means that anything we need someone else will be picking up for us. Harry and I won't be going out unless it's an emergency of some kind. That and we have to put something in place before term comes when we won't have some of the bodies we have now. Nothing more than that.” Then he waited to see what that jarred loose.
“Yes, we do need to tend to many tasks when it comes to protection once school is in session once more,” Albus admitted with a nod, thinking about the Burrow when it came to that area. “We also may need to consider some alternatives when it comes to Harry's protection as well. Once we're done for the night, we'll get together and talk, Sirius. I have something in mind that will help all of us when it comes to the area of protection.”
And there it was, Sirius knew. Which meant he had to stay alert and keep Albus as far off kilter as he could. It would involve thinking on his feet and tossing out plenty to muddy the waters, but he needed to. Well, and focus on the goal of one week and getting them out. Yeah, they needed to vanish, which meant buttons needed pushed.
“Well, yes, enough of that. Let Harry enjoy the rest of the evening and we'll schedule a meeting for tomorrow to determine what steps we need to take to handle what happened and beef up protections.” Albus said, looking around. After giving Harry a pat on the hand, he smiled, “Happy birthday, Harry.”
“Thanks, sir,” Harry said with a forced smile, hoping it looked genuine, while he petted Hobbes. All he hoped was that Sirius could hold the old man off because they didn't have any way of making a diversion happen to get him off whatever track he was on.
“We'll have some fun, I promise,” Sirius grinned, nudging Harry, already wary and planning to stay on his toes. “We've got more bodies, so we're going to have a game yet. That should be fun.”
“Yeah,” Harry grinned, hearing the others agree. At this point, he just wanted everyone out of the house before something else came up. Well, that and so they could prepare. Because—well, he was pretty much done and wanted out. All there was to it. The longer they were here, the more of a chance that old man had to pull something. No, he didn't want to give him the opportunity.

Sirius took a sip of his beer after flopping on the bench at the kitchen table. “What did you want to talk to me about, Albus?” At the moment Harry was outside with the Weasleys so he could spend some time with his friends, as they were getting ready to head home. Albus had taken the opportunity to snag him to talk. He figured it was about this scheme of his to get Harry into the castle for the term. If it was, he thought he had something to hold him off, or so he hoped. And if it didn't work, he was going to get with Lucius. Between the two of them, they could come up with something fast to toss him off track for a time. It would at least give them some time to come up with a better way to go about this.
After taking a seat with a groan, Albus then launched in, “I think today drove the point home to all of us that Harry is still in plenty of danger and Tom is determined to get to him in some way.”
“True,” Sirius agreed with a nod, pretty much confirming in his own mind what he suspected when it came to the topic was correct. “He's still plenty safe, though. It just means we have to keep watch, stay alert and go about things odd ways, nothing more. He's safe. If he wasn't, that evil arse would be trying more than he is. Harry knows what this means and won't fall for his tricks, Albus. Between me and Remus, he'll keep his head about him and not go off half-cocked.”
“While there is that, I think it's best we take measures to ensure he stays safe, Sirius. And I don't think that's here. We can make Tom still think he's here, but move you and Harry,” Albus started, figuring he just had to guide Sirius the right way and he would agree. After all, Sirius wanted to keep Harry as safe as possible.
“I don't know of any house that anyone has or we can buy that's safer than here, Albus,” Sirius snorted, shaking his head. “If you can find one, I'll buy it and we'll move.”
“I wasn't thinking about a house,” Albus assured him. After folding his hands on the table, he explained, “I was thinking that the safest place for both of you was Hogwarts.” Though Sirius started to say something, he talked over him then explained the plan about security and such.
Though Sirius pretended to listen to what was said, he was formulating the best way to stop this dead while relaying to Lucius what was going on. Since he wasn't sure if Harry was busy or not, he didn't want to distract him and make everyone think something was off. When Albus was done, Sirius shook his head and said plainly, “No, Albus. We aren't going that route.”
“I think this is the best option,” Albus told him, keeping a soft tone. Well, he wasn't prepared for a flat out refusal, so he wanted to understand the reasons so he could reassure him. “Why don't you think this will work?”
“First of all is the obvious; Harry's in that castle,” Sirius started. Before Albus could say a word, he told him, “I refuse to confine Harry to one of the towers, Albus. He would go completely mental. Even with me and Remus around. Knowing his friends were there and not being able to interact would drive him barmy.”
“Harry could easily be with his friends,” Albus soothed, making a placating motion with one hand. “No one said you had to confine him to the tower, Sirius. Just that he couldn't attend classes with them.”
“Yes, I would,” Sirius snorted, shaking his head. Before Albus could ask, he explained, “Unless you want me glued to his side at all times, he would be stuck there. We all know how many kids of Death Eaters are in that damned school. We also know more than one of them is stupid enough to give something really dumb a shot to look good. The first time they would take after Harry, I would end up involved as well and you know it. The bond would make it to where it happened. Is that what you want? Them setting the both of us off? Because the reverse would be true if someone did the same with me. Then you would have a right ruddy nightmare in the making.”
“Well, yes, we would have to be cautious, I admit that,” Albus conceded with a sigh. “It may be worth the risk, though, as we can keep an eye on both of you.”
“Don't give me that shit, Albus,” Sirius snorted, rolling his eyes. “You can't and you know it. The teachers and you are stretched so thin most of the time the heads of houses can't keep track of what goes on in the damned dorms! Remus and I couldn't do it alone, either, what with all the bodies around. You never know what they would try. We both know what stunts have been pulled since this nightmare kicked back off. Even before that. It's not worth the risk. The only alternative would be to confine Harry to one of the towers. Even that wouldn't work if someone gave something a shot with me. Then Harry would end up drawn in and kicking off a nightmare for everyone involved.”
“I don't think this is an insurmountable obstacle, Sirius. We just need to find a way to ensure that no issues arise.” Albus sighed, planning to work out something to put Sirius' mind at ease. Though Sirius did give him plenty to ponder on the topic, as they were valid concerns.
“It's not possible,” Sirius told him bluntly. “If you don't have problems with the students, you will with at least one teacher. Snape. No matter what you say, there is no putting a leash on him. One instance of poking Harry and I'm set off. If he goes after me, Harry will get mixed up in it. You know him, he will. With Harry not being a student, he has no means to do what he has been and can't assign detention. Which means you have a whole school of students seeing Harry could get away with whatever and causing an even bigger mess. And there might end up retaliation over it. I don't see this being something you can overcome, Albus.”
“I believe Severus can be reasoned with,” Albus sighed, not having really thought of that end either. Severus knew what was going on and the severity of it, yet continued. He didn't think it would abate in the school either. So, it was a pressing issue.
“Oh, bollocks he can,” Sirius told him, rolling his eyes once more. “You've not managed up to this point and I don't fancy your chances of ever succeeding. He can't help himself. Even if we avoid him and say nothing, like we have, he pokes. I've not said a damned word or poked him on anything, yet he's done what? Even after he was told what I said and you talked to him. He just kept right on going. And we all know he's going to do it again. That was with you sitting right there, Albus. Putting him and me together in that castle is like poking a mother dragon defending her eggs. Even worse is you won't be there to put a stop to any of it. It's not like you have the time to shadow him every time he steps out of his classroom or office.”
“Severus is under tremendous pressure, as I'm sure you know,” Albus sighed, though he did plan to do something about the man because they needed Harry in the castle. “When people are under pressure, they tend to let off steam in ways that isn't always constructive. Severus is doing that.”
“Bullshit,” Sirius shot right back. “He's been like this since he started teaching, Albus. Everyone that had him has confirmed it. Especially those in the Order. You've let it go on for whatever reason. It's not going to stop now as he's dealing with plenty. That makes it to where he feels he has the right to take his disdain or whatever out on others. And he and I mix about as well as oil and water. That's both our faults from the past. He won't stop and nothing you can say will make him. He'll just make sure to say whatever when you can't hear, nothing more.”
“Let me work on Severus,” Albus groaned, stroking his beard and trying to think what he could do to stop a situation that he should have stepped in and halted long ago. His guilt over not doing something so long ago made it to where he was reluctant to do so. Now it was biting him.
“Those are just the start of the problems, Albus. And they might be the easiest of the lot. The rumor mill at the school might be the most dangerous of them. If we do it your way, everyone there is going to know Harry is in that castle, but not taking classes. They are also going to know he's staying with me, alone. And if you don't think that's going to set off a firestorm of rumors, you're sadly mistaken. We all know rumors that start in the school make it beyond those walls. Once they do, they tend to blow out of proportion and into areas that cause even more problems. Even worse is some of them may end up right. Then, when they do make it outside those walls to adults, people will start poking around. While we did the best we could to hide that bonding certificate, if someone digs enough, they'll find it. We know that Rita Skeeter has uncovered plenty over the years. One hint of something this juicy and I'm sure she'll love to dig. She's not the only one, either. That is not a chance I'm willing to take! This is hard enough as it is that we don't need to fend off all kinds of other shit and have people poking into what is really going on.”
“And a point well taken,” Albus admitted with a sigh. No, that wasn't something he thought of either, but Sirius was correct on. None of them needed people who didn't know what was really going on poking to find out. It could lead to more nightmares than they already had.
“Unless you can find a way to give me an iron-clad guarantee that none of what I mentioned, and plenty of other areas I didn't, aren't an issue, I'm not even going to consider it. Harry and I are staying right here. End of discussion.” Sirius told him, tone hard, making it clear that was the final word on the topic. Folding his arms over his chest, he waited as he figured it wasn't the end of the discussion.
“Let me mull over options and come up with a plan that will work. We both know if we search hard enough, we can find something,” Albus said, planning to do just that. He also planned to get with others close to the situation and figure out what other spanners might be out there they needed to handle before he talked to Sirius next. It was best to have as much worked out as they could before he once more talked to Sirius. If he could reassure him they had everything under control, he had a better chance of getting him to agree to the scheme. Once Harry was in the castle, they could handle whatever cropped up. It would just take diligence and keeping atop the situation.
“Mull it all you want, as far as I can see, this isn't viable unless you well and truly want a nightmare set off,” Sirius told him baldly. “That I'm not willing to chance.” However, he knew that wasn't the end of the matter. It just proved to him that they needed to get out as fast as they could manage. Once they were, they could handle whatever.
“We'll find a suitable way, you have my word,” Albus smiled. Then, changing topics, he covered everything that happened with Sirius so he knew. No sense in upsetting Harry with the details, but it was best Sirius was aware.

While Harry put up his mass of gifts that night after they retired to their room, Sirius walked the two of them through what Albus had tried and how he did his best to throw him off. When he finished, he shook his head then told them both, “I came up with the best I could off the top of my head.”
“They were very good, valid points,” Lucius assured him, looking pleased. “And ones that are incredibly hard to work with from his end of the situation. The final one was the biggest, frankly. You are right; students will talk and send owls to their parents. Once they do, rumors will fly among our kind as to what's going on. It's not a situation any of us want poked because of what might end up revealed. And there is no way to stop anything when it comes to those types of rumors.”
“Very true and why I mentioned it. Students, and this is from remembering what it was like to be one, overhear plenty. Once they overhear, they talk. The more they talk, the more exaggerated it gets.” Sirius told him, flopping back on the bed and leaning against the headboard, arms crossed over his chest.
“That's not changed at all,” Harry chimed in for the first time. Still putting up his new clothes, he smiled then chuckled, “Its how I learned about you and what everyone thought happened. I overheard teachers talking about it in the Three Broomsticks. They didn't think anyone was listening.”
“Exactly,” Sirius nodded. “Let him chew on that one for a while. It'll take him time to come up with something. Snape alone will be a huge issue. He knows it, too. What I didn't add in was Minerva. I don't see her handling knowing I'm up in a tower sleeping with Harry well and there is no recourse for her to do anything. We won't go into teachers that aren't in the Order not knowing what's going on. That's apt to set off its own set of issues.”
“Which means you gave him plenty to mull over and scramble to find a solution for. Good,” Lucius told him, looking pleased. “And, most of all, us the time we need so we don't feel like he's breathing down your neck over it.”
“Let's see how fast your side can push this. It's what we need to set off the area we want. I say it just takes a couple pokes. As high as the stress is, that would be expected.” Sirius told him.
“Let the Dark Lord tend to it,” Lucius assured him with a smirk. “It's his plan. Severus won't be hard, but we need another. Let's see who it riles and you can have fun.”
“I plan to,” Sirius grinned. When Harry flopped down on the bed by him, he slipped his arm around his shoulders and pulled him close, kissing him on the side of the head. “At least you had a good time despite the theatrics that went on. And you got a damned good haul when it came to gifts!”
“I did and I appreciate all of them,” Harry grinned, leaning against Sirius. “It was great, despite the drama. Best birthday I've ever had.”
“I'm glad we were able to give you a nice one for once,” Lucius told him sincerely with a nod.
“So, is there anything else you want to do tonight? Like raid the larder and eat so much ice cream and cake that you feel like you're going to get sick?” Sirius asked, nudging him. He knew the only one left in the house was Remus, so they weren't in danger and could go down and pig out all they wanted.
With an evil grin, Harry chuckled then said, “I have this idea about whipped cream.”
Sirius was about to agree and ask him what he wanted it on when he caught what Harry was going for. Grabbing him quickly and putting him in a headlock, he gave him a soft knuckle rub on the head then said, “Evil little shit! You just want to get even for that last time I got you tied up is all.”
“Of course! I learn all kinds of new words and ways to string them together when I do bits like that,” Harry laughed, squirming to get loose.
Lucius was a tad lost until he remembered the first night with the telepathy and what he came into with it. Then he smirked. “That could be most interesting to see, Sirius.” He said smoothly, shoulders shaking a tad.
“Yeah, I'm out numbered this time, aren't I?” Sirius asked, laughing. Then he tossed Harry on his back and started wrestling around with him, knowing as sneaky as his godson was that he would eventually get what he wanted. He was just going to make him work for it is all.
“Most interesting,” Lucius said, smirking bigger as he watched the two. Oh yes, fun was to be had and they would enjoy it immensely.
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Well, Ain't That Strange?