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Lucky Strike	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Sirius Views: 76061 -:- 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
- 28
- 29
- 30
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 28

Rufus settled back in the booth across from Aberforth with a soft groan. It was well before the pub opened and he made sure to show up in a manner so no one would see him. As he wanted to enlist Aberforth's help in more than one way, he had to make damned sure he wasn't seen by anyone so none of the patrons that frequented the place would know he had been here.
After putting the tea and some crumpets on the table, Aberforth slid into the booth across from Rufus with a soft groan, holding his beard down as he did. Once he buttered up his crumpet and poured the tea, he asked, “What do you need to talk to me about? You said it wasn't dire, but it was something you wanted to get with me about.” He didn't assume there was anything wrong of course, as he made sure he didn't run afoul of the law and never let activities in his pub get out of hand, but was curious.
“A couple things actually,” Rufus told him after a bracing sip of his tea. “I need your help with a couple areas, if you're willing.
“Of what kind?” Aberforth asked warily, eying the head of the Aurors. He would reserve judgment about what he would do until he heard what Rufus wanted.
“Information,” Rufus told him honestly. “I need to pick your brains about your brother and what he might be up to. Then talk to you about some of what you might have overheard while behind the bar and, if you're willing, have you get with me if you pick up on anything we might need to know.”
None of them were topics Aberforth had an issue with, so he nodded. Then he said, “Not sure about Albus, Rufus. I want nothing to do with him at this point and would chuck him out on his hindquarters if he stuck his nose in here. He's tried contacting me, but I've made it as clear as I can, without the use of spells, for him to stay away.” The last was delivered with a snort and the older man's face hardening.
“I've heard you want nothing to do with him,” Rufus said and gave a bit of a chuckle. “It's not currently what he's doing I need to know about, more like what you know about him and bits from the past. Any information you can give about him might be able to give us clues to what barmy scheme he has cooked up. It might not mean anything to you, but we may be able to piece it together with plenty of other bits we have.”
“Not something I have a problem with and will give you what I can,” Aberforth nodded. “What about the other information you need?”
“We both know you hear plenty from behind the bar, some of it would be considered very useful for those of us in the DMLE,” Rufus told him. “I would like you to start passing it along to me, if you could. You know the difference between what might be real and those that are just full of hot gas. Any little bit could help.”
“Another area I don't take issue with and will do,” Aberforth told him honestly. Then, eying him, he said, “You lot leaning towards this is the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named?”
“Officially, the stance is we're waiting to see what happens. Unofficially, Amelia and I think it is. We don't see so much else that's happened, along with your brother and the Potters returning, as a coincidence, Aberforth. We just need real proof before we make it official,” Rufus explained.
“At least some of you lot are reading the signs right,” Aberforth said honestly. “Means when it really kicks off, we might be a bit better prepared.”
“We're keeping an eye on it,” Rufus assured him. Then, quietly, he added, “The Order is reforming. I know Albus is trying with his end, but most want nothing to do with him. Severus, Remus, Sirius, Lucius and plenty of others are picking it up. You could be a big help, to everyone. What you can bring to the table is something everyone can use. I'm not officially a member, but am involved. Whatever information they manage to acquire, they're passing along to me.”
Without even thinking about it Aberforth nodded. “I'll help. Tell me who to contact and I'll go from there. Might be easier to pass whomever it is the information I overhear or rumors.” However, he then added, eying Rufus critically, “They aren't going about it the way Albus did during the last war and doing whatever without involving the Ministry, are they?”
“Get in touch with Remus. Those in Grimmauld Place are the ones I sending everyone to who wants to help. I'm using them to collect information for me.”
Then Rufus shook his head and added, “They're just helping, nothing more. All joining this time have contacts I don't always have or would be leery of dealing with anyone in the Ministry. Everything is getting passed to me and I'll use it accordingly or send them what to do to help. It won't be like last time. None of secretive bull. If it does kick off, we want us all helping each other or getting information that can stop it. The only thing they'll take on which I won't put my fingers in is protection. Plenty need it and the Ministry can't take it all on, especially now. That's where I want the focus if it looks to blow up.”
Rufus leaned forward slightly and clasped his hands on the table then said, “They've been helping for some time now, in plenty of ways. There were objects they all took on finding for me. Not sure if we have them all, but we found a few. And destroyed them. They were from You-Know-Who, something we can prove. I can also use them to look around and talk to people when I can't yet. They've already started with my blessing. If it looks to go like the last war, we'll be in better shape and it won't get as bad. At least that's my hope. And I plan to ensure it all I can.”
“Good,” Aberforth said, nodding. He then lowered his voice and tossed out there, “Albus knows plenty, Rufus. Like you, I don't think him and the Potters turning up is a coincidence. He is planning something. You need whatever he knows.”
“And I'm going to do all I can to find out what it is,” Rufus assured him. “There's something in the works to get it out of him. It's just going to take time.”
“I don't think we have a lot of time,” Aberforth snorted, shaking his head after taking a sip of his tea. “At least that's what I keep hearing. Azkaban was the first spell thrown in a war that is coming, despite plenty not wanting to believe it.”
“I agree,” Rufus nodded. Then he began to question the old bartender about what he had heard before getting into the topic of Albus. The more intelligence he could get, the better they would all be when hell came once more.

With a sigh, James shook his head as Lily put down the letter they received from Sarah. The topic in it was something they needed to tend to, fast. Thankfully, the girl Sarah had talked to pointed out something they hadn't thought of. How to manage it, though, was a whole other matter.
He knew what his son was like, of course, and sometimes wanted to smack himself for not putting a stop to it long ago. At the time, well—with the upheaval they had gone through and hiding, it felt good to hear his son brag about them. It sometimes helped alleviate the guilt and second guessing they had done for so long over the decisions they made in haste all those years ago. When he heard Jamie tell his friends about so much then crow how he, Albus and Lily were his heroes, he smiled. Those times it didn't matter much what he said as he didn't know about what happened or the reasons behind it. So, it had been harmless. Now it wasn't and not stopping it was biting all of them. Not only wasn't it aiding anything, he might actually be helping the side they were desperate to fight against. No, it had to stop.
It was hard enough to get Jamie to keep something to himself when they were around. Imparting it through a letter would be even worse.
When Lily said his name, he sighed and tried to focus then told her, “I'm not sure how to get it across to him to stop, honestly. We get he's having a hard time dealing with the change of schools and so much that's happened, so he's doing the bragging bit to compensate. It's something we could manage better if he was here.”
“It needs to stop, now,” Lily told him plainly. “I think we need to say it just that way as well and toss in the why.” Normally, this was the kind of issue they let Albus tackle as he was able to get through to the kids in a way neither of them could, but he was busy.
Alastor Moody was over and the two here holed up talking. Oh, Alastor wasn't happy with any of them, and made it quite clear, but he was desperately needed. So, she and James were taking on the issue themselves. They'd manage in the end.
“We'll go about it that way and lay out the reasons,” James nodded, thinking that was about all they had to get it across.
“I think we also need to mention to stop whatever with Draco Malfoy. It's understandable that he doesn't get along with the boy, but getting into it with Lucius' son, especially since he's clearly close to Harry and the others, won't help anything at all. From all we know, Lucius is on the right side, as is Draco.” Then she lowered her voice and added, “With all Draco seems to know, it's a bad idea for Jamie to keep going at it with him. Who knows what else he can pull out when it comes to information we don't know or have no way of being aware of. Draco keeps coming up with plenty we have no clue about.”
“There is that as well,” James sighed. “Look, I don't like it, but I'm damned sure once this all kicks into high gear we're going to need all of them on that side to help. It won't do any of us any good for Jamie to poke at someone from that side to the point they are irate. All it's going to end up doing is making the whole nightmare we're in all the worse. I'm not saying make nice with the little prat, but just walk off. It's hard, I know this, but he needs to. If he sees Draco, he needs to just go in the other direction and ignore him.”
“I'll toss that in there as well,” Lily nodded, making a note of what James said. “He needs to let those that are in his house and close to the situation guide him when it comes to whom to stay wary of.” Then, with a dejected sigh, she added, “If he hasn't alienated almost all of them. Sarah says he's done a fair job of doing just that by now.”
With a groan, James' head dropped down and he shook it. He was sure Sarah was right. With what he knew of Jamie and had read in the letters so far, it sounded like his son had done just so. After thinking it over, he said, voice resigned, “Maybe we can talk Albus into writing to Minerva and have her talk to him. If anyone can get across the reasons and explain to him why, it's her. I know she's not head of house anymore, but she still is an intimidating presence. He might listen, especially if we have her tell him we're the ones that asked her to. We'll write to him, of course, and explain it as well. Maybe she can drive the point home in a way we can't because she's seen what's going on. I don't know.”
“We'll do that as well,” Lily told him, also making a note of what he said. “She might know a better way than we do. And she’d be doing it in person. So much can get lost when you write it out.” Then she added, smiling a tad, “Even the infamous Marauders tended to listen to her when she talked to them. Most of the time anyway.”
“There's that, too,” James said with a chuckle. “We'll do what we can now then talk to them all more when they are home for the summer. Hopefully, by then we'll know a bit more than we do now so we all aren't blindsided by this mess and revelations we knew nothing about.”
“We will. And we'll explain that we just had no way of knowing some of it,” Lily added with a dejected sigh. “Until then, we'll do what we can to find out as much as we're able. It won't help if all of us keep getting swatted with facts we didn't know.”
“If you ask me, we need to make the information one of our top priorities,” James grumbled, looking plenty sour. “Let's see what we can manage to find out at the next meeting with that damned shrink. I'm sure we can wiggle plenty out of Snape and Remus. We just have to wait for them to get back to us with a date.”
“I'm sure they have their hands full at this point, James,” Lily soothed softly. “What with that—whatever with Harry, surgery then the breakout? They are probably pulled in plenty of directions.”
“True,” James conceded grudgingly. “Doesn't make the waiting any easier, though.”
Rather than follow that train of thought, James switched back to the original topic. “Right, let's hammer out as much as we can then we'll let Albus take a gander at it before we send it off. He might know a better way to word some of what we want to get across. We'll see. I'll let you compose it, though I'll sign it. You seem to have a better way of wording the worst so Jamie doesn't blow up.”
When Lily nodded and pulled out a fresh piece of parchment, he waited for her to start. Hopefully, they could make this as painless as possible on their son.

“Severus and Remus are at my Mind Healer's?” Harry asked, shifting around on the bed to get comfortable. He and Sirius were holed up in their room relaxing until the two returned, trying to find something to keep them occupied. As he still wasn't ready to face the world, they weren't going out like they sometimes did. He honestly wasn't ready to do much of anything yet, other than lay around.
“They are,” Sirius told him with a nod. “What they're trying to do is set up another appointment with James and Lily. Stuart has received another letter from them asking about a meeting. We all think it's so they can check how you are after what they saw.”
“If they were so damned worried about me, they wouldn't have dumped me on that doorstep,” Harry snorted, rolling his eyes. “Pardon me if I don't believe any of the shit they say,” he added with a touch of disdain in his voice.
“I tend to agree,” Sirius told him, giving him a squeeze and pulling him closer then kissing him on the forehead. “It's too little, too late for plenty of this shit. We all know it, Harry, and those two are making it as clear as they can.”
Then, with a groan, he said, “They need to talk to them about more than just you, though that will be the 'official' reason.” Before Harry could ask, he explained, “What they're going to try is to see what information they can wiggle out of them about what they know when it comes to this mess. We desperately need the information. Alastor will do what he can, of course, but the more avenues we have to hear what they know, the better we're all going to be when it comes to the nightmare that’s looming.”
“Understood,” Harry told him with a nod. Head going back, eyes sliding shut, he admitted, “Why do I have a feeling they're not going to let up with me? And will keep trying?”
“Because they won't,” Sirius snorted, rolling his eyes. “I doubt anything anyone says to them will get through James' thick skull. I'm damned sure he still sees you as his son and will just try to find a way to make it up to you in some way. He was always like that and very persistent.”
“He can try all he wants, he's getting nowhere,” Harry growled, opening his eyes and looking at Sirius. “Between what he did with me and you, both, there is no chance of him getting anywhere with me. And I plan to tell him that in person when Rufus sets up what he promised. Either that or if he runs into me somewhere. I'm not putting up with his shit, Sirius.”
“Don't blame you a bit and no one will say a damned word to you if you blow up on him,” Sirius told him honestly, snuggling up closer to Harry then kissing him on the head. “Truthfully? I expect both of us to encounter him at some point and I'm damned sure it'll end up explosive. He's not made a move to get in touch with me other than the letter of apology they sent. As you know, I didn't read mine like you didn't read yours. I don't plan to either. It's only a matter of time before we encounter each other then I plan to blow up on him.”
“I want to as well,” Harry told him, an angry look on his face. “The idiots could have done something easy to make sure neither of us ended up in the situation we did.”
Then, with another heavy sigh, he added, “I don't get why they didn't, Sirius. So far, nothing we've heard explains why they didn't take the most simple of steps to make damned sure neither of us ended up in a nightmare. Why didn't they?” He didn't expect an answer, of course, as he doubted Sirius knew either, but he might know something that could at least explain parts of it.
“You have me there,” Sirius admitted with a shake of his head. “You're right, though. At some point, I want to ask. Remus told me he's going to try to wiggle to see what they say, but I doubt the answers will satisfy either of us. And I don't see any reason they couldn't have done something to help, they just didn't.”
“Look, I won't say it doesn't matter as we both know how much hell we went through because of them, but we're through the worst,” Sirius schooled softly. “We just have to focus on now and deal with the fallout from what they pulled. In the end, we'll manage. Before you say it, I know it's not easy. Hell, it's not for me and you dealt with worse than I did, but we're moving forward. All we can do. I think whatever they have to say as a defense will just end up making both of us more irate than we already are. So, we need to focus on what we're doing.”
“You're right, it's not that easy,” Harry told him softly, turning on his side and pressing to Sirius while looking out the window of their room. “I—all I want is to hear it then go from there. Both of us are allowed to have a good blowup at them over this shit. And to say what we think. I want to. It won't help most of the crap I have to put up with, but it might make me feel a bit better since I can give a good bollocking to the fools that put me in the situation where I ended up in the mess I was in.”
“I agree and want to for the same damned reasons,” Sirius nodded, holding him close. “Let me get with Rufus this week and see if he can arrange something. Not sure if he can, what with how busy he is, but he'll know we want to. If not, I would say we go the route of doing it with Stuart. He's not apt to let either of us get too out of hand and it leading to a brawl. If we encounter them another way, I'm damned sure it might end up there, even with Remus and Snape trying to stop it.”
“Probably,” Harry grinned and chuckled. “I won't put up with shit from them, I don't care. And if they try to justify any of it, I'm liable to blow up.”
“You and me both,” Sirius laughed. Then, sobering up, he said, “Maybe Stuart is the way to go here, Harry. I know you don't like dealing with him if you don't have to, but he can mediate in a way that most others can't. Over his time, I'm sure he's had to handle plenty of explosive confrontations and would know what to do to lower the temperature before it comes to a real fight. Well, that and we all have to check our wands before we go in the office, even for normal appointments. Not having that particular temptation is probably a damned good idea.”
“True,” Harry admitted. Though he didn't know nearly the amount of spells the other three in the house did, he knew enough to do some real damage and knew the temptation to use them would be there. However, he then gave a cold grin and added, “I doubt the fools know how good I am at fighting, though. It's not something I'll start, but I won't put up with it and will have no problem knocking the idiot on his arse if he does.”
“Something we're aware of, too,” Sirius said, chuckling a little himself. Then he sighed and sobered up before saying, “No violence, Harry. I get you're mad. Hell, I am, too. Just don't start anything. And don't lose control if it does go there. Defend yourself only. I'm not sure James would even start with you when it comes to taking a swing because of who you are. Me? He might.”
“And if he starts with you, he gets to contend with me,” Harry told him, firm bent to his voice, looking at Sirius. “I'm not tolerating it, Sirius. I mean it! He put you through plenty of shit as well.”
“Agreed,” Sirius nodded. “Don't worry about me. I'm more than capable of handling James and always could. He knows it as well and it's doubtful he'll want to tangle with me too much. Just let us handle it. You take on running your mouth and telling him what you want, nothing more.”
“Oh, I plan to do just that,” Harry told him with an evil grin. “As loudly and descriptively as I can, too!”
“Good,” Sirius said with an evil chuckle. However, he did make a mental note to get with Snape and Remus about the idea of doing the confrontation in Stuart's office. It might end up better for all of them if they went that route.
Rather than stay on a topic that caused plenty of stress, he changed it then began to ask Harry what he might like to do that week. While Harry wasn't up to much because of what he was dealing with, he hoped to persuade him to leave the house a couple of times for something to relieve the stress. He just now had to get a feel for what he might like to do. Once he knew, he'd go from there with it and see what they could manage.
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Lucky Strike