Harry Potter and The Serpent King (BP5)
folder
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
52
Views:
20,695
Reviews:
85
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
52
Views:
20,695
Reviews:
85
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Catch Up
Chapter Number/Total: 31/52
Chapter Title: Catch Up
Words: 4279 Words
Ron and Hermione were in the kitchen when Harry and Draco came back down, staring at Sirius with awed expressions on their faces.
Hermione was holding Valen and she looked over when Harry and Draco entered, her mouth a bit slack. It was obvious that they had just come into the kitchen too.
"So you weren't kidding about a baby then," said Sirius, staring at Valen like he hadn't actually expected him to be there.
"Of course not," Harry said, smiling. "I did show him to you."
Valen began squealing and reaching for his daddies.
Draco chuckled and went to collect their offspring from his babysitters. "Didn't give you too much trouble, I hope," he said.
"Oh ... no, he was fine," Hermione said absently, handing Valen over.
Sirius chuckled as she looked at him. "Have I got a spot?" he joked.
Draco stepped back next to Harry while their son squeaked and burbled happily, patting Draco repeatedly with his little hands.
Remus was standing next to Sirius, holding his hand and barely taking his eyes off of him.
Ron was looking very confused, his head tilted just the slightest bit as he stared at those joined hands. His ears were a bit red too.
Hermione looked perhaps a tad confused as well, but she didn't openly stare - at the hands at least. "I can't believe it ... worked," she said. "What happened?"
Harry flushed a bit. "We did the spell Draco set up and we were able to bring Sirius back, erm, well, obviously."
Hermione and Ron were both flustered. After all, what was one to say to the resurrected?
Draco had forgotten to put his hair back again and Valen was clutching the long white strands and pulling excitedly. Draco was trying to follow the conversation and was amused by the looks on Hermione and Ron's faces. "He wasn't really dead," he said, "at least, not in the normal way."
"I was never separated from my soul," Sirius said. "My body went with me."
Harry nodded. "And now here you are."
Sirius beamed, squeezing Remus's hand. "Like I said, I owe you one," he said to Draco. "Well, I owe all of you."
"Sirius, believe me," Harry said, smiling happily, "we wanted to bring you back."
"Ow!" Draco complained as Valen yanked particularly hard on his hair. "Harry, maybe you could take him?"
Harry smiled and reached his arms out for the baby, who promptly poked him in the eye from beneath his glasses. "Wonderful to see you, son," he said, one eye closed.
Sirius laughed. "Merlin, I never thought I'd see the day!" he said. "You're married and you have a kid. I know I already knew, but, Merlin!"
Harry chuckled.
"So how have things been? I want details, not the short story I got before. How're your parents, Ron? Hermione, how have you been? How about the Order? Everyone doing all right?"
Hermione was smiling now. "Tea?" she said.
"Oh, tea!" said Sirius with a groan of longing. "Tea, how wonderful! Yes, tea, please."
Harry laughed again.
Draco moved into the room and sat down at the table. "Fossey?" he called out, and the elf appeared. "Bring food for our guests," he told her.
Harry blinked his eye a few times and sat down with Draco.
Everyone else settled down as well, Hermione making the tea.
"Mum and Dad have been all right," said Ron. "One of my brothers ... was killed."
Sirius's smile faltered. "I didn't know," he said quietly.
"Charlie," said Ron, looking down.
"I'm sorry," Sirius said.
"So ... you didn't see him?" Ron asked.
"No, I'm - I'm afraid I didn't."
"Could it mean that whoever did it is dead?" Draco asked.
"Well, it's possible," said Sirius. "But like I said before ... you don't just ... automatically find the people you know. It's difficult."
Ron's eyes burned fiercely at the suggestion that Charlie's killer was dead.
Remus sat with Sirius. He hadn't said much. He let go of Sirius's hand so they could eat and drink.
Harry noticed that Sirius sat very close to Remus, nearly leaning into him. Harry had to respect their self-control. If Draco had been away from him for three years, he doubted whether they would have made it out of the Ministry without fucking. Sirius and Remus hadn't even kissed properly yet - at least not that he had seen.
Sirius ate very enthusiastically, groaning with almost every bite.
Harry happily watched him and explained a lot to him - goings on with the Order, himself and Draco and Valen, Voldemort, Death Eaters, lots of things, but he wasn't even nearly finished with the explanations when they were done eating.
Draco sipped his tea, adding occasional bits of information but primarily watching. He didn't know Sirius very well and wanted to understand the man.
"So, where's Buckbeak?" Sirius asked, leaning back in his chair.
"With Hagrid," Harry answered, cradling the now sleeping Valen. "Hagrid's supposed to be here soon. He's been trying to recruit giants for the Order."
"I thought he'd already tried that," Sirius said, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, he did," said Hermione, "but it didn't go so well. We had to try again before Voldemort could claim them for his side."
Draco yawned, stretching a bit and looking longingly at Harry. "Maybe Sirius would like to rest now?" he suggested.
Remus smiled and flushed slightly, looking down into his tea.
Sirius grinned widely. "Sure," he said. "You lot go ahead and get to bed too. It's been a long day."
Harry couldn't help a small smirk. "Well, I suppose you're right," he said. "Better get him to bed." He indicated the infant in his arms.
Ron looked confused again, staring from Remus's blush to Sirius's grin.
Draco rolled his eyes and got up, reaching for the infant in his husband's arms. "I am sure Remus can help you figure out which room would be the best to sleep in," he said politely.
Remus flushed more, glancing nervously at Hermione and Ron.
Sirius glanced at them too, but seemed a little less concerned. "Yes, I'm sure," he said with a nod and a sort of deep breath.
Harry stood up from the table. "I'll talk to you tomorrow," he said to his godfather, smiling as he made his way over to the staircase with Draco. "Night, all."
"Good night," Remus said.
Draco took Harry's hand and led his family to their rooms. He laid the sleeping baby in his cot and stretched.
Harry smiled and kissed Draco lightly. "I feel ... better," he said with a sigh. "Better than I have in a while. I've missed him."
"He is a bit more colourful than I thought," Draco said, slowly undressing again.
Harry raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Colourful?" he asked, wondering what Draco meant.
"He seems like an interesting character," Draco answered, sliding his trousers off.
Harry smiled and shrugged again, lifting his shirt over his head. "I guess he is," he said.
Draco smirked but didn't add anything, sliding into the bed and under the covers with a happy sigh.
Too impatient to finish undressing, Harry stripped with magic and climbed in next to Draco, moving close to him. "I'm sure you'll like him," he said.
Draco nodded, pulling Harry against him, sighing as his skin rubbed against his husband's.
Harry sighed too and kissed Draco's cheek. "Should we call everyone over here?" he asked.
"I suppose an Order meeting would be appropriate," Draco agreed, stroking Harry's hair and back.
Harry nodded. "Aren't they going to be shocked," he said with a small laugh.
"Especially if Remus keeps looking at him like he is a pudding," Draco said, laughing as well.
Harry snorted. "Well, can you blame him?" he said. "They haven't even touched each other in three years - and Sirius was in Azkaban for thirteen years just a few years before he ... died, or, well, whatever he did."
"No, I don't blame him," Draco said with a smile, pulling Harry tighter.
"I hope we're never apart," Harry said, wrapping his arms around Draco as well. "Never."
***
It was quite amazing: Remus and Sirius had stayed in bed even longer than Harry and Draco had. Harry couldn't be sure, but when he'd tried to go to the toilet at one point during the day, he'd heard the shower on and some rather ... questionable noises. He'd also ran into them snogging in the hall and had been slightly amused when the two grown men sprung apart like school boys caught in a broom closet.
It made Harry feel very happy, and what he and Draco had done was worth even more than it had been worth before. He didn't know how he'd ever missed that Remus and Sirius were a couple. They had hid it very well. Either that or Harry had missed all the signs, which wouldn't be all that surprising to him. At the moment, he was sitting down to lunch with Valen and Draco, though Valen was having his afternoon nap in his cot. Draco had set the charm he usually did to muffle noise and the baby slept soundly in a corner of the room. Hermione and Ron were there too, though Hermione was helping Fossey with the meal again rather than waiting for it. Harry was amused to see that the elf seemed to have compromised with Hermione. She could help serve the food as long as she didn't help make it.
Draco sipped his tea and shook his head at Hermione. Then he looked at Harry with the sappy smile he got whenever he thought about how much he loves his family.
Harry smiled back and kissed Draco on the cheek. He looked up when there were footsteps on the stairs. Sirius strode into the room (it was still so odd for him do so) like he had never been gone at all. Lupin wasn't far behind him, of course, and entered into the room as well.
Sirius smiled at Harry and gave him a wink as he walked over to the counter to make tea. "Whose house-elf is that?" he asked as if he'd just noticed her. He probably had just noticed her. "And where's," he made a bit of a face, "mine?"
Draco glanced up. "That's Fossey. She is from the Manor," he said, but left the other question for his husband to answer.
"Kreacher's at Hogwarts," Harry said. "He was mine when you, er ... died, and that's where I sent him. I suppose he's yours again, though."
Sirius made another face.
"You should call him back, Sirius," said Hermione as she was getting plates. "Give him the order to stay at Hogwarts yourself, just in case it doesn't hold anymore."
Harry's eyes widened slightly as the thoughts of everything else Kreacher knew entered into his mind. "Yes, you should call him," he said seriously.
Draco glanced over to where their son lay sleeping. "Be careful," he warned. "That elf is dangerous." He transformed one of the chairs into a privacy screen, placing it in front of the cot. Then he sat back and nodded.
"Slimy piece of ...." Sirius trailed off angrily, looking like the last thing he wanted to do in the world was call Kreacher, but he opened his mouth to do so. "Kreacher," he said to the room, and the elf appeared a moment later.
His eyes widened when they landed on Sirius, but he didn't look truly surprised.
"Kreacher," said Sirius, voice hard. "How wonderful to see you again."
Kreacher seemed to swallow, but was obviously trying to look unafraid as well. "Master," he said. "Kreacher is wondering how you is here."
"I'm sure you are," said Sirius. "But you'll just have to wonder, won't you? I'm wondering how you feel about having your old master back after trying to have him killed."
Kreacher swallowed again. "Master is angry with Kreacher," he muttered as if no one could hear him. "Kreacher wonders how the blood-traitor is back."
Sirius looked like he wanted to lunge at Kreacher.
Harry watched the elf, glaring at him.
"Where have you been?" Sirius asked him in a growl.
"Master has not been here, so Kreacher has not been having to follow Master's orders," said Kreacher, almost snottily. Harry thought the elf had to be mad to take that tone with someone who was looking like Sirius did in that moment.
Draco crossed his arms over his chest, scowling.
Remus frowned at the elf but held his tongue.
"I asked you a question," Sirius said. "Now answer it and don't give me your drivel." Harry wondered if Sirius really would attack the elf.
Hermione and Ron watched silently, and Hermione looked a little worried.
Kreacher watched Sirius with narrowed eyes. "Kreacher has been at Hogwarts like the Potter boy said."
"Even all of last night?" Sirius asked. "When you weren't under Harry's orders anymore and had none from me?"
Kreacher didn't say anything.
"Answer me!" Sirius shouted.
"Kreacher left Hogwarts," Kreacher said.
"Where did you go?" Sirius demanded.
Harry's heart began speeding up.
"Kreacher went ... to many places," Kreacher admitted, finally sounding scared.
"Oh, God," Harry let out, eyes going wide.
Draco winced, nearly holding his breath. He tried to remember all of what Kreacher knew that could be a danger to them.
Sirius leapt up from the table and grabbed Kreacher's shoulders, squeezing. "You tell me," he said in a deadly low voice, "where you went, and why you went there."
"Kreacher was ... in Hogsmeade to look for ...."
"Tell me!" Sirius said, shouting again.
Hermione was watching with eyes wide and Ron was leaning forward on the table, looking very nervous.
Remus laid a hand on Sirius's shoulder.
Sirius was shaking with anger.
"Kreacher ... was looking for good, precious, sweet Bellatrix. Bellatrix who Mistress loved. Mistress did love Bellatrix so. A good Black she was." Kreacher grew more defiant the more he spoke.
Sirius gripped harder before he let go forcefully, sending Kreacher stumbling back.
"I killed her," Ron declared, glaring at Kreacher.
"Sirius, order it to tell you everyone it has spoken to after it left Hogwarts," Draco said.
Sirius looked at Draco and nodded, but couldn't get his words out as Kreacher practically shouted at Ron, "You is a nasty liar, blood-traitor! A nasty liar!"
Ron's eyes narrowed. "I killed her and I'd do it again," he said. "A Killing Curse straight to the chest."
Kreacher wailed then, stomping his feet on the floor.
"Stop it!" Sirius shouted at him. "Stop, damn it, and hold still!"
Kreacher did, not having a choice. He glared as his eyes filled with tears and his ugly, over-large ears shook.
"Don't provoke it," Draco said to Ron.
Ron looked for a moment like he wanted to tell Draco to shove off, but he kept quiet.
"Tell me, Kreacher," Sirius demanded. "Tell me every single person you spoke with from the moment you became mine again until this very second."
Kreacher shook even more violently, glaring hatefully.
"Now," Sirius said, clenching his fists.
Harry's teeth were gritted as he waited with his heart still beating madly.
Draco watched Kreacher carefully, glancing at his own house-elf in the background. She was still preparing their meal, seeming oblivious to the conversation.
Kreacher glared until he opened his mouth so fast it was like he couldn't hold it in anymore. "Kreacher talked to Hogwarts student. Kreacher talked to man in Three Broomsticks. Kreacher talked to woman on street. Kreacher talked to Master. Kreacher talked to nasty blood-traitor liar."
Harry's eyes widened. Who had the first people been?
There was fear on Sirius's face for a moment as he glanced at Harry. "What were the names of the student, the man in the Three Broomsticks, and the woman on the street?"
"Kreacher is not knowing them," the elf said.
"Order it to tell you what it said to each individual," Draco said.
"What did you say to the student?" Sirius asked.
"Exactly," said Harry. "What exactly did he say to the student."
Sirius nodded again, turning to Kreacher. "Tell me what exactly you said to the student. Word for word."
Kreacher glared, and once again, they had to wait for him to spill it out. "Kreacher said to student: I be here to get sheets. Kreacher said: I is taking them to clean."
Harry looked at Kreacher suspiciously.
"That's all you said?" Sirius asked, sounding as suspicious as Harry. "Tell me that is the only thing you said to the student and do not lie about it."
"That be the only things Kreacher said to student," Kreacher said, obviously not wanting to say it at all.
Harry sighed with relief. It was one down anyway.
Sirius asked the next question about the man Kreacher had talked to, and Kreacher told them his answers. It seemed as though Kreacher had asked about Bellatrix Lestrange in The Three Broomsticks and had then been thrown out by Madam Rosmerta, who seemed to be who the "woman on the street" was.
Everyone slumped with relief when the questions were through. Kreacher had only gotten as far as Hogsmeade and then had wandered into the forest. The "many places" he'd been to were the town, the woods, a very large tree, and a cave the elf had spent the night in. He'd been wandering the forest when Sirius had called him only a short while ago.
Draco listened carefully, looking for any flaws in the questions or answers. "Now to where he goes next," he said.
"Well, we could send him back to Hogwarts," said Harry, not fancying the thought of Kreacher living in the same house as Valen.
"He cannot remain here," Draco said. "But I have my qualms about having him in other locations where we have security concerns. Hogwarts is probably the safest place."
Harry nodded. "Just tell him what he's not allowed to talk about or communicate in any way," he said to Sirius. "And that should be good. He's been there like that since my sixth year."
Draco nodded.
"All right," said Sirius, facing Kreacher determinedly. He began listing everything any of them could think of, placing him back under the lockdown Harry had had him under.
Kreacher looked more and more unhappy.
Sirius sat back in his chair heavily, rubbing his eyes. "Is that it?" he asked.
"That's all I can think of," said Harry, sitting back as well.
"Send it away, please," Draco said with a sigh, disturbed by how potentially dangerous a mistake they had made.
"To Hogwarts, Kreacher," said Sirius, looking relieved to have the elf leaving. "Go there and do not put a single part of yourself out of the school."
Kreacher sneered and sniffed, disappearing with a crack.
"Good thinking, Hermione," said Harry, taking his glasses off and placing them on the table. He rubbed his eyes, too. "That could have been very bad."
Hermione nodded.
Draco rubbed the bridge of his nose. Then he heard a muffled cry and got up to retrieve their son from his cot.
"Barmy house-elf," Ron muttered. "An entire night and he wanders in the forest."
"Be happy that he's mad," said Sirius. "Harry's right. It could've been very bad otherwise."
Valen was crying but stopped the minute Draco picked him up, suddenly beginning his cooing and babbling. Draco smiled at his infant as he turned the privacy screen back into a chair. Valen squeaked.
Harry looked over and then slipped his glasses back on, smiling too. "Bring him over here, yeah?" he asked, holding his arms out.
Draco walked over to his husband, smiling. As he handed the baby to Harry, Draco leaned in and kissed him.
Harry grinned against Draco's lips and then kissed Valen's forehead and the little baby fingers that patted his face.
Sirius was watching them with a curious smile on his lips.
Harry looked up at him. "What?" he asked lightly, raising an eyebrow.
"I can remember you as a baby," he said, giving a quick grin to Remus. "It's strange to watch you with your own, I guess."
Draco smirked, also remember little boy Harry. "Tell us," he encouraged the older man.
Sirius let out a laugh. "Merlin, what though?" he said. He put his hands together on top of the table, thinking. "Mmm," he hummed, "I was there when you were born. One of the first to see you. Well, Remus too, of course." He tensed a little after that and Harry could tell that he was thinking of Wormtail. He ignored that though.
"What happened?" he asked, smiling at his godfather. Neither Sirius nor Remus had ever really told him stories about being a baby. They had told him plenty about his parents, but not too terribly much about his own short time with them.
Draco sat back down at the table with their friends.
Fossey was apparently finished preparing the meal, so Hermione brought it over.
"Well, your mum didn't want any help giving birth," Sirius said, wincing as if the memory was amusing in a painful sort of way. He nodded to Hermione as she gave him his food. "Wanted to do it the 'natural way', according to James anyway. So it was us sitting there in the waiting room at St Mungo's, with James coming out every few minutes to give us all the gory details, which I could've done without." He laughed, staring off as if he could see it. "Merlin, what was it? Fourteen hours we waited?" he said to Remus.
Draco was beginning to think Valen's birth hadn't been so bad. At least it had been over quickly. Messy and frightening, but not much waiting.
"I can't even tell you how much Sirius smoked," Remus said, rolling his eyes. "He didn't spend that much time actually in the waiting room because they wouldn't let him smoke in there."
"You smoked?" Harry asking, raising an eyebrow.
"It was a long time ago," Sirius said, smirking as he looked at Remus. "Anyway, it was fourteen hours we waited and I smoked," he laughed, "and then James comes rushing out with probably the biggest smile I'd ever seen on him. And then he yells, for everyone in all of Britain to hear, 'It's a boy! She had a boy! I've got a son!' and then danced around the room a bit." He laughed again, a laugh of amusement as he seemed to be still watching it in his mind's eye. "They didn't know until then what you were going to be."
Harry grinned widely, knowing how he had felt when he'd found for sure that he was going to have a son.
"Did he have all that black hair at birth?" Draco asked.
Remus nodded and rolled his eyes. "From the start," he said.
Sirius laughed once again. "I've never seen so much hair on a kid before," he said. "And it was all over the place too. I don't think you were ever bald."
Harry grinned again. "Still all over the place," he said.
Valen burbled as he watched everyone talk.
"They let us in after the room was cleaned up and everything else, whatever that is, and you had completely wore Lily out," Sirius continued. "She was looking rough in that bed, but she would hardly let you go for anything."
Draco smiled down at the cooing infant, understanding the feeling. He grinned at Harry too.
Harry smiled at Draco in return, leaning in to kiss him again.
Sirius was grinning at them. "And then do you know what you did when James handed you to me?" he asked when Harry had pulled back.
Harry raised his eyebrows.
"Well, first you went ahead and took a piss on me." Sirius laughed.
Harry snorted with mild disbelief, looking to Draco.
Draco blushed, meeting his husband's eyes at the shared joke.
"But then when you were cleaned up again," Sirius continued, "you smiled at me. I swear it. I'll never forget it." He grinned with soft eyes at Harry.
Harry grinned widely, kissing Valen's head again.
Ron and Hermione were listening with smiles as well.
"Thick as thieves from then on, you and me," said Sirius fondly.
Harry chuckled quietly.
Draco was happy to listen to the two older men talk about Harry. He was quiet, eating his food as he thought about what that time must have been like.
Sirius stared at Valen then. "Merlin, you weren't much bigger than him when ..." He paused. "And then I didn't see you until you were thirteen. I had thought you'd be a great kid, but I was blown away by you."
Harry smiled crookedly. "Would you like to hold him?" he asked after a moment, indicating Valen.
Sirius grinned, holding his arms out.
Harry stood from the table and passed Valen to Sirius, watching them happily.
Remus leaned against Sirius, looking down at the baby too.
Sirius let Valen hold one of his fingers as he held him in his right arm. "James would invite me over to sit with him and I'd sit with you instead," Sirius said with a small laugh, talking to Harry but looking at Valen. "And you'd do this and look up at me with those eyes. With these eyes," he said, looking into Valen's. "They would have loved him," he said quietly. "They would've absolutely loved him."
Harry thought about watching himself with his parents through their window. He nodded with the same soft smile, taking his seat next to Draco again and laying a hand on his leg.
Draco smiled into his husband's eyes, as lost in them now as he had always been. "Yes," he agreed with Sirius.
Chapter Title: Catch Up
Words: 4279 Words
Ron and Hermione were in the kitchen when Harry and Draco came back down, staring at Sirius with awed expressions on their faces.
Hermione was holding Valen and she looked over when Harry and Draco entered, her mouth a bit slack. It was obvious that they had just come into the kitchen too.
"So you weren't kidding about a baby then," said Sirius, staring at Valen like he hadn't actually expected him to be there.
"Of course not," Harry said, smiling. "I did show him to you."
Valen began squealing and reaching for his daddies.
Draco chuckled and went to collect their offspring from his babysitters. "Didn't give you too much trouble, I hope," he said.
"Oh ... no, he was fine," Hermione said absently, handing Valen over.
Sirius chuckled as she looked at him. "Have I got a spot?" he joked.
Draco stepped back next to Harry while their son squeaked and burbled happily, patting Draco repeatedly with his little hands.
Remus was standing next to Sirius, holding his hand and barely taking his eyes off of him.
Ron was looking very confused, his head tilted just the slightest bit as he stared at those joined hands. His ears were a bit red too.
Hermione looked perhaps a tad confused as well, but she didn't openly stare - at the hands at least. "I can't believe it ... worked," she said. "What happened?"
Harry flushed a bit. "We did the spell Draco set up and we were able to bring Sirius back, erm, well, obviously."
Hermione and Ron were both flustered. After all, what was one to say to the resurrected?
Draco had forgotten to put his hair back again and Valen was clutching the long white strands and pulling excitedly. Draco was trying to follow the conversation and was amused by the looks on Hermione and Ron's faces. "He wasn't really dead," he said, "at least, not in the normal way."
"I was never separated from my soul," Sirius said. "My body went with me."
Harry nodded. "And now here you are."
Sirius beamed, squeezing Remus's hand. "Like I said, I owe you one," he said to Draco. "Well, I owe all of you."
"Sirius, believe me," Harry said, smiling happily, "we wanted to bring you back."
"Ow!" Draco complained as Valen yanked particularly hard on his hair. "Harry, maybe you could take him?"
Harry smiled and reached his arms out for the baby, who promptly poked him in the eye from beneath his glasses. "Wonderful to see you, son," he said, one eye closed.
Sirius laughed. "Merlin, I never thought I'd see the day!" he said. "You're married and you have a kid. I know I already knew, but, Merlin!"
Harry chuckled.
"So how have things been? I want details, not the short story I got before. How're your parents, Ron? Hermione, how have you been? How about the Order? Everyone doing all right?"
Hermione was smiling now. "Tea?" she said.
"Oh, tea!" said Sirius with a groan of longing. "Tea, how wonderful! Yes, tea, please."
Harry laughed again.
Draco moved into the room and sat down at the table. "Fossey?" he called out, and the elf appeared. "Bring food for our guests," he told her.
Harry blinked his eye a few times and sat down with Draco.
Everyone else settled down as well, Hermione making the tea.
"Mum and Dad have been all right," said Ron. "One of my brothers ... was killed."
Sirius's smile faltered. "I didn't know," he said quietly.
"Charlie," said Ron, looking down.
"I'm sorry," Sirius said.
"So ... you didn't see him?" Ron asked.
"No, I'm - I'm afraid I didn't."
"Could it mean that whoever did it is dead?" Draco asked.
"Well, it's possible," said Sirius. "But like I said before ... you don't just ... automatically find the people you know. It's difficult."
Ron's eyes burned fiercely at the suggestion that Charlie's killer was dead.
Remus sat with Sirius. He hadn't said much. He let go of Sirius's hand so they could eat and drink.
Harry noticed that Sirius sat very close to Remus, nearly leaning into him. Harry had to respect their self-control. If Draco had been away from him for three years, he doubted whether they would have made it out of the Ministry without fucking. Sirius and Remus hadn't even kissed properly yet - at least not that he had seen.
Sirius ate very enthusiastically, groaning with almost every bite.
Harry happily watched him and explained a lot to him - goings on with the Order, himself and Draco and Valen, Voldemort, Death Eaters, lots of things, but he wasn't even nearly finished with the explanations when they were done eating.
Draco sipped his tea, adding occasional bits of information but primarily watching. He didn't know Sirius very well and wanted to understand the man.
"So, where's Buckbeak?" Sirius asked, leaning back in his chair.
"With Hagrid," Harry answered, cradling the now sleeping Valen. "Hagrid's supposed to be here soon. He's been trying to recruit giants for the Order."
"I thought he'd already tried that," Sirius said, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, he did," said Hermione, "but it didn't go so well. We had to try again before Voldemort could claim them for his side."
Draco yawned, stretching a bit and looking longingly at Harry. "Maybe Sirius would like to rest now?" he suggested.
Remus smiled and flushed slightly, looking down into his tea.
Sirius grinned widely. "Sure," he said. "You lot go ahead and get to bed too. It's been a long day."
Harry couldn't help a small smirk. "Well, I suppose you're right," he said. "Better get him to bed." He indicated the infant in his arms.
Ron looked confused again, staring from Remus's blush to Sirius's grin.
Draco rolled his eyes and got up, reaching for the infant in his husband's arms. "I am sure Remus can help you figure out which room would be the best to sleep in," he said politely.
Remus flushed more, glancing nervously at Hermione and Ron.
Sirius glanced at them too, but seemed a little less concerned. "Yes, I'm sure," he said with a nod and a sort of deep breath.
Harry stood up from the table. "I'll talk to you tomorrow," he said to his godfather, smiling as he made his way over to the staircase with Draco. "Night, all."
"Good night," Remus said.
Draco took Harry's hand and led his family to their rooms. He laid the sleeping baby in his cot and stretched.
Harry smiled and kissed Draco lightly. "I feel ... better," he said with a sigh. "Better than I have in a while. I've missed him."
"He is a bit more colourful than I thought," Draco said, slowly undressing again.
Harry raised an eyebrow and shrugged. "Colourful?" he asked, wondering what Draco meant.
"He seems like an interesting character," Draco answered, sliding his trousers off.
Harry smiled and shrugged again, lifting his shirt over his head. "I guess he is," he said.
Draco smirked but didn't add anything, sliding into the bed and under the covers with a happy sigh.
Too impatient to finish undressing, Harry stripped with magic and climbed in next to Draco, moving close to him. "I'm sure you'll like him," he said.
Draco nodded, pulling Harry against him, sighing as his skin rubbed against his husband's.
Harry sighed too and kissed Draco's cheek. "Should we call everyone over here?" he asked.
"I suppose an Order meeting would be appropriate," Draco agreed, stroking Harry's hair and back.
Harry nodded. "Aren't they going to be shocked," he said with a small laugh.
"Especially if Remus keeps looking at him like he is a pudding," Draco said, laughing as well.
Harry snorted. "Well, can you blame him?" he said. "They haven't even touched each other in three years - and Sirius was in Azkaban for thirteen years just a few years before he ... died, or, well, whatever he did."
"No, I don't blame him," Draco said with a smile, pulling Harry tighter.
"I hope we're never apart," Harry said, wrapping his arms around Draco as well. "Never."
***
It was quite amazing: Remus and Sirius had stayed in bed even longer than Harry and Draco had. Harry couldn't be sure, but when he'd tried to go to the toilet at one point during the day, he'd heard the shower on and some rather ... questionable noises. He'd also ran into them snogging in the hall and had been slightly amused when the two grown men sprung apart like school boys caught in a broom closet.
It made Harry feel very happy, and what he and Draco had done was worth even more than it had been worth before. He didn't know how he'd ever missed that Remus and Sirius were a couple. They had hid it very well. Either that or Harry had missed all the signs, which wouldn't be all that surprising to him. At the moment, he was sitting down to lunch with Valen and Draco, though Valen was having his afternoon nap in his cot. Draco had set the charm he usually did to muffle noise and the baby slept soundly in a corner of the room. Hermione and Ron were there too, though Hermione was helping Fossey with the meal again rather than waiting for it. Harry was amused to see that the elf seemed to have compromised with Hermione. She could help serve the food as long as she didn't help make it.
Draco sipped his tea and shook his head at Hermione. Then he looked at Harry with the sappy smile he got whenever he thought about how much he loves his family.
Harry smiled back and kissed Draco on the cheek. He looked up when there were footsteps on the stairs. Sirius strode into the room (it was still so odd for him do so) like he had never been gone at all. Lupin wasn't far behind him, of course, and entered into the room as well.
Sirius smiled at Harry and gave him a wink as he walked over to the counter to make tea. "Whose house-elf is that?" he asked as if he'd just noticed her. He probably had just noticed her. "And where's," he made a bit of a face, "mine?"
Draco glanced up. "That's Fossey. She is from the Manor," he said, but left the other question for his husband to answer.
"Kreacher's at Hogwarts," Harry said. "He was mine when you, er ... died, and that's where I sent him. I suppose he's yours again, though."
Sirius made another face.
"You should call him back, Sirius," said Hermione as she was getting plates. "Give him the order to stay at Hogwarts yourself, just in case it doesn't hold anymore."
Harry's eyes widened slightly as the thoughts of everything else Kreacher knew entered into his mind. "Yes, you should call him," he said seriously.
Draco glanced over to where their son lay sleeping. "Be careful," he warned. "That elf is dangerous." He transformed one of the chairs into a privacy screen, placing it in front of the cot. Then he sat back and nodded.
"Slimy piece of ...." Sirius trailed off angrily, looking like the last thing he wanted to do in the world was call Kreacher, but he opened his mouth to do so. "Kreacher," he said to the room, and the elf appeared a moment later.
His eyes widened when they landed on Sirius, but he didn't look truly surprised.
"Kreacher," said Sirius, voice hard. "How wonderful to see you again."
Kreacher seemed to swallow, but was obviously trying to look unafraid as well. "Master," he said. "Kreacher is wondering how you is here."
"I'm sure you are," said Sirius. "But you'll just have to wonder, won't you? I'm wondering how you feel about having your old master back after trying to have him killed."
Kreacher swallowed again. "Master is angry with Kreacher," he muttered as if no one could hear him. "Kreacher wonders how the blood-traitor is back."
Sirius looked like he wanted to lunge at Kreacher.
Harry watched the elf, glaring at him.
"Where have you been?" Sirius asked him in a growl.
"Master has not been here, so Kreacher has not been having to follow Master's orders," said Kreacher, almost snottily. Harry thought the elf had to be mad to take that tone with someone who was looking like Sirius did in that moment.
Draco crossed his arms over his chest, scowling.
Remus frowned at the elf but held his tongue.
"I asked you a question," Sirius said. "Now answer it and don't give me your drivel." Harry wondered if Sirius really would attack the elf.
Hermione and Ron watched silently, and Hermione looked a little worried.
Kreacher watched Sirius with narrowed eyes. "Kreacher has been at Hogwarts like the Potter boy said."
"Even all of last night?" Sirius asked. "When you weren't under Harry's orders anymore and had none from me?"
Kreacher didn't say anything.
"Answer me!" Sirius shouted.
"Kreacher left Hogwarts," Kreacher said.
"Where did you go?" Sirius demanded.
Harry's heart began speeding up.
"Kreacher went ... to many places," Kreacher admitted, finally sounding scared.
"Oh, God," Harry let out, eyes going wide.
Draco winced, nearly holding his breath. He tried to remember all of what Kreacher knew that could be a danger to them.
Sirius leapt up from the table and grabbed Kreacher's shoulders, squeezing. "You tell me," he said in a deadly low voice, "where you went, and why you went there."
"Kreacher was ... in Hogsmeade to look for ...."
"Tell me!" Sirius said, shouting again.
Hermione was watching with eyes wide and Ron was leaning forward on the table, looking very nervous.
Remus laid a hand on Sirius's shoulder.
Sirius was shaking with anger.
"Kreacher ... was looking for good, precious, sweet Bellatrix. Bellatrix who Mistress loved. Mistress did love Bellatrix so. A good Black she was." Kreacher grew more defiant the more he spoke.
Sirius gripped harder before he let go forcefully, sending Kreacher stumbling back.
"I killed her," Ron declared, glaring at Kreacher.
"Sirius, order it to tell you everyone it has spoken to after it left Hogwarts," Draco said.
Sirius looked at Draco and nodded, but couldn't get his words out as Kreacher practically shouted at Ron, "You is a nasty liar, blood-traitor! A nasty liar!"
Ron's eyes narrowed. "I killed her and I'd do it again," he said. "A Killing Curse straight to the chest."
Kreacher wailed then, stomping his feet on the floor.
"Stop it!" Sirius shouted at him. "Stop, damn it, and hold still!"
Kreacher did, not having a choice. He glared as his eyes filled with tears and his ugly, over-large ears shook.
"Don't provoke it," Draco said to Ron.
Ron looked for a moment like he wanted to tell Draco to shove off, but he kept quiet.
"Tell me, Kreacher," Sirius demanded. "Tell me every single person you spoke with from the moment you became mine again until this very second."
Kreacher shook even more violently, glaring hatefully.
"Now," Sirius said, clenching his fists.
Harry's teeth were gritted as he waited with his heart still beating madly.
Draco watched Kreacher carefully, glancing at his own house-elf in the background. She was still preparing their meal, seeming oblivious to the conversation.
Kreacher glared until he opened his mouth so fast it was like he couldn't hold it in anymore. "Kreacher talked to Hogwarts student. Kreacher talked to man in Three Broomsticks. Kreacher talked to woman on street. Kreacher talked to Master. Kreacher talked to nasty blood-traitor liar."
Harry's eyes widened. Who had the first people been?
There was fear on Sirius's face for a moment as he glanced at Harry. "What were the names of the student, the man in the Three Broomsticks, and the woman on the street?"
"Kreacher is not knowing them," the elf said.
"Order it to tell you what it said to each individual," Draco said.
"What did you say to the student?" Sirius asked.
"Exactly," said Harry. "What exactly did he say to the student."
Sirius nodded again, turning to Kreacher. "Tell me what exactly you said to the student. Word for word."
Kreacher glared, and once again, they had to wait for him to spill it out. "Kreacher said to student: I be here to get sheets. Kreacher said: I is taking them to clean."
Harry looked at Kreacher suspiciously.
"That's all you said?" Sirius asked, sounding as suspicious as Harry. "Tell me that is the only thing you said to the student and do not lie about it."
"That be the only things Kreacher said to student," Kreacher said, obviously not wanting to say it at all.
Harry sighed with relief. It was one down anyway.
Sirius asked the next question about the man Kreacher had talked to, and Kreacher told them his answers. It seemed as though Kreacher had asked about Bellatrix Lestrange in The Three Broomsticks and had then been thrown out by Madam Rosmerta, who seemed to be who the "woman on the street" was.
Everyone slumped with relief when the questions were through. Kreacher had only gotten as far as Hogsmeade and then had wandered into the forest. The "many places" he'd been to were the town, the woods, a very large tree, and a cave the elf had spent the night in. He'd been wandering the forest when Sirius had called him only a short while ago.
Draco listened carefully, looking for any flaws in the questions or answers. "Now to where he goes next," he said.
"Well, we could send him back to Hogwarts," said Harry, not fancying the thought of Kreacher living in the same house as Valen.
"He cannot remain here," Draco said. "But I have my qualms about having him in other locations where we have security concerns. Hogwarts is probably the safest place."
Harry nodded. "Just tell him what he's not allowed to talk about or communicate in any way," he said to Sirius. "And that should be good. He's been there like that since my sixth year."
Draco nodded.
"All right," said Sirius, facing Kreacher determinedly. He began listing everything any of them could think of, placing him back under the lockdown Harry had had him under.
Kreacher looked more and more unhappy.
Sirius sat back in his chair heavily, rubbing his eyes. "Is that it?" he asked.
"That's all I can think of," said Harry, sitting back as well.
"Send it away, please," Draco said with a sigh, disturbed by how potentially dangerous a mistake they had made.
"To Hogwarts, Kreacher," said Sirius, looking relieved to have the elf leaving. "Go there and do not put a single part of yourself out of the school."
Kreacher sneered and sniffed, disappearing with a crack.
"Good thinking, Hermione," said Harry, taking his glasses off and placing them on the table. He rubbed his eyes, too. "That could have been very bad."
Hermione nodded.
Draco rubbed the bridge of his nose. Then he heard a muffled cry and got up to retrieve their son from his cot.
"Barmy house-elf," Ron muttered. "An entire night and he wanders in the forest."
"Be happy that he's mad," said Sirius. "Harry's right. It could've been very bad otherwise."
Valen was crying but stopped the minute Draco picked him up, suddenly beginning his cooing and babbling. Draco smiled at his infant as he turned the privacy screen back into a chair. Valen squeaked.
Harry looked over and then slipped his glasses back on, smiling too. "Bring him over here, yeah?" he asked, holding his arms out.
Draco walked over to his husband, smiling. As he handed the baby to Harry, Draco leaned in and kissed him.
Harry grinned against Draco's lips and then kissed Valen's forehead and the little baby fingers that patted his face.
Sirius was watching them with a curious smile on his lips.
Harry looked up at him. "What?" he asked lightly, raising an eyebrow.
"I can remember you as a baby," he said, giving a quick grin to Remus. "It's strange to watch you with your own, I guess."
Draco smirked, also remember little boy Harry. "Tell us," he encouraged the older man.
Sirius let out a laugh. "Merlin, what though?" he said. He put his hands together on top of the table, thinking. "Mmm," he hummed, "I was there when you were born. One of the first to see you. Well, Remus too, of course." He tensed a little after that and Harry could tell that he was thinking of Wormtail. He ignored that though.
"What happened?" he asked, smiling at his godfather. Neither Sirius nor Remus had ever really told him stories about being a baby. They had told him plenty about his parents, but not too terribly much about his own short time with them.
Draco sat back down at the table with their friends.
Fossey was apparently finished preparing the meal, so Hermione brought it over.
"Well, your mum didn't want any help giving birth," Sirius said, wincing as if the memory was amusing in a painful sort of way. He nodded to Hermione as she gave him his food. "Wanted to do it the 'natural way', according to James anyway. So it was us sitting there in the waiting room at St Mungo's, with James coming out every few minutes to give us all the gory details, which I could've done without." He laughed, staring off as if he could see it. "Merlin, what was it? Fourteen hours we waited?" he said to Remus.
Draco was beginning to think Valen's birth hadn't been so bad. At least it had been over quickly. Messy and frightening, but not much waiting.
"I can't even tell you how much Sirius smoked," Remus said, rolling his eyes. "He didn't spend that much time actually in the waiting room because they wouldn't let him smoke in there."
"You smoked?" Harry asking, raising an eyebrow.
"It was a long time ago," Sirius said, smirking as he looked at Remus. "Anyway, it was fourteen hours we waited and I smoked," he laughed, "and then James comes rushing out with probably the biggest smile I'd ever seen on him. And then he yells, for everyone in all of Britain to hear, 'It's a boy! She had a boy! I've got a son!' and then danced around the room a bit." He laughed again, a laugh of amusement as he seemed to be still watching it in his mind's eye. "They didn't know until then what you were going to be."
Harry grinned widely, knowing how he had felt when he'd found for sure that he was going to have a son.
"Did he have all that black hair at birth?" Draco asked.
Remus nodded and rolled his eyes. "From the start," he said.
Sirius laughed once again. "I've never seen so much hair on a kid before," he said. "And it was all over the place too. I don't think you were ever bald."
Harry grinned again. "Still all over the place," he said.
Valen burbled as he watched everyone talk.
"They let us in after the room was cleaned up and everything else, whatever that is, and you had completely wore Lily out," Sirius continued. "She was looking rough in that bed, but she would hardly let you go for anything."
Draco smiled down at the cooing infant, understanding the feeling. He grinned at Harry too.
Harry smiled at Draco in return, leaning in to kiss him again.
Sirius was grinning at them. "And then do you know what you did when James handed you to me?" he asked when Harry had pulled back.
Harry raised his eyebrows.
"Well, first you went ahead and took a piss on me." Sirius laughed.
Harry snorted with mild disbelief, looking to Draco.
Draco blushed, meeting his husband's eyes at the shared joke.
"But then when you were cleaned up again," Sirius continued, "you smiled at me. I swear it. I'll never forget it." He grinned with soft eyes at Harry.
Harry grinned widely, kissing Valen's head again.
Ron and Hermione were listening with smiles as well.
"Thick as thieves from then on, you and me," said Sirius fondly.
Harry chuckled quietly.
Draco was happy to listen to the two older men talk about Harry. He was quiet, eating his food as he thought about what that time must have been like.
Sirius stared at Valen then. "Merlin, you weren't much bigger than him when ..." He paused. "And then I didn't see you until you were thirteen. I had thought you'd be a great kid, but I was blown away by you."
Harry smiled crookedly. "Would you like to hold him?" he asked after a moment, indicating Valen.
Sirius grinned, holding his arms out.
Harry stood from the table and passed Valen to Sirius, watching them happily.
Remus leaned against Sirius, looking down at the baby too.
Sirius let Valen hold one of his fingers as he held him in his right arm. "James would invite me over to sit with him and I'd sit with you instead," Sirius said with a small laugh, talking to Harry but looking at Valen. "And you'd do this and look up at me with those eyes. With these eyes," he said, looking into Valen's. "They would have loved him," he said quietly. "They would've absolutely loved him."
Harry thought about watching himself with his parents through their window. He nodded with the same soft smile, taking his seat next to Draco again and laying a hand on his leg.
Draco smiled into his husband's eyes, as lost in them now as he had always been. "Yes," he agreed with Sirius.