Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

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
- 28
- 29
- 30
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 28

“Right,” Sirius started, looking between Remus and Arthur, “we have a plan for this.” They were all ensconced in his bedroom with Harry and Lucius in attendance, of course. “We're looking to push several buttons tonight and set off all we are able with whomever we can.” With a glance at Arthur, he assured him, “Not Molly. She'll get what's going on and the why behind it. I don't see her handling it badly.”
“Good,” Arthur sighed with a smile and nod. “As long as it won't set her off, I'm fine with whatever you've come up with and will help you all I can.”
It was three days after Harry's birthday party and the whole situation was now bad enough they were going to push with all they had to get them out. If Sirius had his way, it would be that night.
While they were supposed to have a meeting the day after the party, it never took place. Too much had happened. Snape kept being summoned and pushed for information. From the messages Tom sent Lucius, it wasn't anything he didn't already know, but he wanted Snape to feel like he was under pressure to produce. Then Death Eaters kept turning up at the three normal places at least once a day. Tom then stepped it up a notch from there and had Death Eaters turn up at the homes of other known Order members. This sent everyone scrambling to shore up all they could and running around trying to figure out just what was going on.
Albus was not only in a complete dither, trying to do what he could while being pulled in a multitude of directions, but pressing harder to get Harry into the castle. Sirius had to deal with him at least once a day on the topic and kept throwing out everything he could think of why it wouldn't work. Since they were valid reasons, ones the aging Headmaster had no solutions for, Albus was scrambling to find a way. And, in doing so, he was branching out in trying.
The day before he had managed to corner Harry and lay out the plan, trying to coax him into agreeing, assuring him it would all work out, that there would just be some rough patches. Harry held him off the best he could, keeping Hobbes close, while the cat made his displeasure known with the man. Of course, Harry shouted for Sirius through the link they had, and who came as fast as he could, but he had been detained by Kingsley, probably at Albus' behest. Thankfully, Lucius was with him and fed him plenty to use to spin the old goat in circles until Sirius managed to get there. And that told all of them it was time to get out, fast.
From what Lucius said, the Manor was ready for them, so they just needed to find a way to get out. And they were going to pull out everything they could think of to manage it. Tonight if Sirius had his way. They were done playing. If Albus was already trying with Harry, it would grow worse. None of them needed him to pull something out they couldn't counter easily, so they were done.
Sirius pulled out what looked like old wallets then handed them over to Remus and Arthur. As they looked them over, he said, “They are wallets, real ones. Just inside the flap is like a small chalkboard. It's magically connected to one Lucius and I have. If we need to send a message, it'll feel like it's vibrating a tad. Once you touch the chalkboard, it'll scrawl out what we sent. It'll work in reverse as well. You can also lay a small envelope on it, containing parchment for longer ones, and it'll appear on the one you're writing to. If we need to get messages back and forth, this will work.”
“It's keyed into your magic, so only you can see the chalkboard and feel the vibration,” Lucius took over, looking between the two. “There is no fear of anyone seeing anything off, my word. And you can change it to look like the one you already have. There is also an Unbreakable charm on the chalkboard, so there is no fear of damaging it.”
“This is perfect,” Remus smiled with a nod, changing the look of the wallet to match his normal battered one. Once he finished, as he shifted what was in his old one over, he asked, “Were you able to come up with instructions for changing the Fidelius? No sense in getting out if Albus can still get in here and nosy around.”
“Tom sent over a book with the spell to change it. He also wrote up step by step directions how to go about it,” Sirius told him with a grin. “Between all of us, we'll manage. He also added to have the elves put up something temporary until we can get it done. While it's complex to change it around, it's not time consuming.”
“As long as we have the instructions, we can manage,” Remus told him, happy they had what they needed with more detailed information. This wasn't something either of them had taken on before, so he wanted as much help as they could get on the matter.
“What's the plan?” Arthur asked, looking around. The huge meeting was tonight and he wanted prepared for whatever Lucius and Sirius had cooked up for it. Because being blindsided by something off the wall wouldn't help anything. It would just make it worse and he wouldn't know how to help, if he could manage at all.
“I mentioned something to Harry after that trip to the Alley that people were going to start wondering what I was up to with him because of what we've done with like the glasses, hair and those bits. Since then, most haven't said anything because they were small or they didn't see all of them. Others because they know why we did some of it, like the hair. What we're planning on is to blindside everyone with all the changes at once. We're going have him dress up in some of the nice clothes he received for his birthday, use the contacts instead of his glasses and Lucius is going to work on his hair. While what we've done is just things that were needed or to help, many haven't seen all of it, just bits and Harry dressing like normal. It should be a right smack in the face and make them wonder what I'm up to with him,” Sirius explained, grinning evilly.
“Those that were around for the explanation of why, for the hair and glasses, or on his birthday will understand what they're seeing. Like Molly,” Lucius took over, glancing at Arthur who was nodding. “Others won't understand and they're the ones that we want to set off, like Minerva. Then Sirius is going to press on slightly with some more overt displays of affection. Nothing both of you and others haven't seen; like holding him close, kissing him on the head and the like. He won't go for overt snogging or whatever, but enough to tweak a few. This should turn up the heat nicely, on plenty. With Severus around, we're sure he won't keep his mouth shut on the topic.”
“Oh, this is perfect and nothing at all over the top that could be read as anything but what it is,” Arthur said with a grin, hearing Remus chuckle and agree. “Even better is I'm sure once it starts, the ones, like Molly and Bill, who know why will end up stepping in to explain it. That should ignite everything.”
“What we're going for,” Sirius agreed with a nod. “Everyone is stressed out, including, supposedly, me and Harry. So, it won't look at all odd for me to completely lose my temper. Harry's going to jump in as well, as that would be expected, too.”
“Hobbes is going to focus on Severus. I'll let the others go and let Sirius handle accordingly,” Lucius added, looking between the two grinning faces. “Our hope is he won't jump in first, but wait until the others are set off. If he does, that can be the last straw. Even if he doesn't, we'll deal accordingly.”
“Albus will try to mediate, but I plan to ignore him,” Sirius pressed on, still grinning. “The same with the others. Our hope is it's going to end up a full out shouting match between all kinds of people. That will be more than enough for me to supposedly completely lose my temper and chuck everyone but Remus out.”
“It should,” Remus chuckled, looking completely amused. “I'm sure it's going to end up setting off a full scale verbal battle. And it's nothing horrible that will bring it on.”
“Exactly,” Lucius conceded with a nod. “No one is poking in a way that would look odd. Everything they will see has a reasonable, real explanation for it. They just won't take it that way as they don't know the why behind it. We thought this best. Not only is it simple, but no one can come back later and accuse Sirius of masterminding it.”
“Even better,” Arthur agreed with a nod. “We'll help all we can and add our voices to the fray. That should help.”
“It should,” Sirius agreed, hand on the grinning Harry's back. “The more the better. Because we all know that even Albus won't be able to quell this fire once it starts. Tempers are too short and stress too high for it to work.”
“I'm going to stay out of it as much as I can,” Harry jumped in finally. “We plan for me to wait to say anything until someone starts with Sirius, then I'll 'lose my temper' again. That should help.”
“Oh yes,” Remus smiled, leaning back and crossing his legs. This was a wonderful plan and quite easy. “We know everyone's been leery of setting you off, focusing on Sirius, so a show of your temper will aid the whole mess immeasurably!”
“Our thought as well,” Lucius agreed. “Nothing to worry about. While we can't plan for all that's said, we have a good enough feel for some of the personalities that we can easily judge who it's going to work with then plan the best we can for what's coming.”
“We do ask that if spells look like they're about to start flying to let me know so I can shield accordingly,” Sirius then added with a laugh.
“We will,” Arthur chuckled. Then he added, “And start shielding. Not to worry. I'll make sure I'm planted close to you so I can help.” Sobering up, he then asked, “Do we need to help set it off?”
“Let it come naturally,” Lucius said with a dismissive wave. “I'm sure some, like Molly and Tonks, will make a comment like they usually do about Harry looking nice. We think that's all we'll need for this to end up set ablaze. Let it happen. It's better if we go about it in such a manner.”
“We can easily do so,” Remus told him with a nod and smile. “It should draw plenty of attention to what you want.”
“That's what we thought since Harry is known for just wearing his old beat up stuff. Him coming down dressed nicely, though not something business like or formal, should be all we need to draw attention to what's changed. Then we'll go from there. It might take time for some to set it off as they'll stew in it for a while, but we're sure it'll come.”
“Oh, I'm sure it will,” Arthur chuckled. Then he began asking what they planned for once it did. While you couldn't get it all sorted ahead of time, he was sure they had the basics. As long as he and Remus knew what those were, they could help if the opportunity presented itself. And he planned to do so. It was time for the three to get out of this house and somewhere safe before Albus pulled out something none of them could counter.

Harry was seated on a chair Lucius had conjured, waiting until the man finished his hair. While he had the routine down by now, the one he was using to make it look far better, with what they were trying tonight, they wanted it to look the best they could get. It would only add to the image they were trying to project of him being changed when it came to so much. The whole bit was fine with him, of course, as Lucius could probably do a better job than he could with the mop on his head.
By now, he was already dressed. While it wasn't anything fancy, just a new pair of jeans, nice silk shirt and some boots, it was far different than the beat up clothes he normally wore. He was also wearing his contacts instead of glasses. Even he had to admit he looked different without the glasses he had worn for so long. Good. What they were going for.
“You look really nice, Harry,” Sirius told him with a smile as he leaned against one of the bedposts, watching Lucius work. “Once we're out of here, we're going to get rid of most of your old clothes and get you some more new outfits. And I love the contacts. They are better than the glasses, even your new ones.”
“Yes, we will, with the clothes,” Lucius added as he worked on the hair. It was going far better than the last time he tried as he had the proper styling gel to get it to do what he wanted. “Narcissa can take on getting whatever we want, easily, and it won't look odd because of Draco. We'll get you a whole new wardrobe. No sense in you wearing those old rags.” Concentrating to get the hair just right, pleased it was working and not just going willy-nilly all over like it had before, he added, “And this—gel? Whatever it's called is working far better at taming your hair. I'll have Narcissa look it over when we get to the Manor and I'm sure she can find our version, something that will make it a lot easier on you.” Then, with a small smile, he added, “I do concur; you look quite nice. Far different than most are used to when it comes to seeing you.”
“Thanks,” Harry said with a sheepish grin. He wasn't used to being complimented about how he looked.
“I'm just going to have to remember not to ruffle your hair like I normally do,” Sirius laughed. “Hobbes will end up giving me a good swat if I mess it up.”
“I will,” Lucius told him with a smirk.
“Not something I thought of,” Harry chuckled, grinning at the image.
“Just keep hold of Hobbes the whole time,” Lucius schooled. “Well, unless Severus starts. If it does get into the shouting match we hope, let them have it like you would any other time. I'll help you all I can telepathically. We just need you to not get too upset by it and blurt out something we don't want anyone else to hear. In the end, if it does start, we'll manage, Harry.”
“We will,” Sirius agreed with a nod and evil grin. “I'm going to have Remus plant himself on one side of you. I'm sure Tonks will be right by him. I'll be on the other side and work it to where Arthur is on the other side of me. No need to worry about being surrounded by those that might cause problems. And I'm going to try to make sure we're as far away from the ones we know won't like this as we can manage.”
“Good. I don't fancy getting caught in the middle if anyone we're trying to poke is close,” Harry told him, glancing his way. “Either that or if spells start flying.”
“If spells do start, I want you out of the way,” Sirius told him firmly. “I mean it. Put up a shield and back away to a corner somewhere. I'll shield the best I can, but you never know what can come of it with that many people around. Either that, or if it gets nasty enough, I'm telling you to leave and I want you to come up here. I get you want to see what happens, but I don't want you in the middle of it as the whole mess can end up plenty nasty.”
Though he wanted to see it play out, if it ended up going that far, Harry agreed with a sigh. “I will, I promise.”
“If in doubt of what you should do, ask Lucius,” Sirius said. “He'll make the right choice. Well, if he's not busy ripping Snape up again that is,” he added with a laugh.
“There is that,” Lucius said with another smirk. Then, finishing up with Harry's hair, he stepped back and looked at what he had done before nodding. “Yes, that's good. It's not much different than what you've been doing with it, but it's a bit more professional looking.” He then conjured a mirror and gave it to Harry so he could look.
“This looks great!” Harry said honestly as he looked in the mirror. “You're going to have to show me how you did it so I can keep trying.” Grinning at Lucius, half an eye on the mirror still, he said, “Thanks!”
“You're welcome,” Lucius nodded, happy Harry was pleased. “I can try, but when we get to the Manor, Narcissa may be the best one to take it on.” Quietly, he then added, glancing at Sirius, “It might ease the way between the two of you because of the bond. While we won't be there long, it behooves all of us to make it run as smoothly as we can.”
“I can try,” Harry agreed. So far, he hadn't dealt with anything that might cause problems, but he wasn't around Narcissa yet, either. He would have to wait and see what came of it. If she was willing to try, he would as well and see where it led.
After pushing off from where he was leaning, Sirius walked over and stood by Harry, looking over his hair. “I like it, a lot,” he admitted then put a hand on Harry's shoulder and gave it a squeeze, kissing him on the temple. “You know I love you no matter what, and always have, but you really do look much better.”
A sheepish look on his face, Harry said, “Thanks. And I know. Even I admit this looks far better. Just—there wasn't a point for so long in even trying.”
“I know,” Sirius sighed, giving his shoulder another squeeze. “There is now. We like it and so do you. Might as well enjoy it.”
“Exactly,” Lucius agreed with a nod. “We most certainly won't object.” He also made a mental note to guide Harry with gifts and advice as to what looked good. It was quite obvious that he really wasn't sure as he had no experience in picking out so much for himself. He could easily do so and would enjoy it. The same with Sirius.
“Let me get something to eat, then we can head downstairs,” he said, calling for an elf to bring his dinner. “While I eat, we can go over our plan again. Well, what we have of it. And try to prepare for what's coming.”
“Good plan,” Sirius agreed, flopping in a chair. “This way Harry and I can be downstairs when everyone starts to come in. If we are, we can prepare.” This was something he liked about Lucius. He was methodical and thought out all the angles, something that was a huge help. And his instincts were great when it came to how to go about so much. So, he was more than willing to listen to him.
Once his food was delivered, Lucius began walking through what they hoped would come, planning what they could while he hoped this would work. They needed to get out and this was the best shot they had at it so far.

As they planned, Harry was seated at the table with Remus on one side of him and Sirius on the other while Hobbes was in his lap. The kitchen was just starting to fill up for the meeting. Most, like Tonks and Mrs. Weasley, were complimenting him on how he looked, something that left him flushed and sheepish. However, he could see looks from some, like Professor McGonagall, which told him they weren't happy with the changes, not at all. In fact, the Professor had that tight-lipped look that told him she didn't approve of what she saw.
In the past it would have bothered him, but it didn't now. In fact, he was plenty hopeful it would push what they needed. He also found he didn't care what anyone thought or if they assumed it was Sirius' doing. The change was something that he liked and gave him confidence. He was fumbling with so much, just getting his bearings with the bond and adjusting to so much. This helped. It also helped that Sirius and Lucius liked it and approved. He could see it in the look on their faces and adored it.
As more straggled in and he was sipping his butterbeer, petting Hobbes, Sirius pulled him close then began to whisper in his ear, so Harry paid attention.
Keeping an eye on those around the table, ignoring the talk from most, Sirius whispered to Harry, “This is going how we want. Just keep your cool for now. When I start going, as I'm sure one of them is going to start something, then you can. Until then, ignore it.”
“I will,” Harry whispered back, paying attention as Dumbledore came in with Snape. From the expression on the Potions Master's face, he could tell he was thinking the worst when it came to how he looked. That was good and what they needed. Now it was just a matter of time.
When Dumbledore sat down with Snape at his left elbow, Harry straightened up. Though his heart was hammering faster, he was looking forward to what he hoped was coming. He just had to remember to play it how they planned, nothing more. If they did it right, they would be out that night.
It was time and he wanted this to happen. All it meant was to wait a little and hope it worked. Either that or something would happen to push it there. One of the two.
Focusing on the goal of getting out, he leaned against Sirius, feeling the man's arm slip around him and as he planted a kiss on the side of his head, he waited. And hoped.
- 28
- 29
- 30
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

Well, Ain't That Strange?