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

Chapter List
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Chapter 31

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

With help from Lynn who works with me when it comes to flow, continuity and other issues.

Just a reminder of what's on my profile; reviews complaining or whinging about the lack 'o sex in stories will get deleted. If you want a smut-filled romp, you need to find another story to read.

Stressed out and apprehensive, Petunia gave over eating as a bad job and shoved her plate away, picking up her cup of coffee and sipping at that. They were preparing to go to the alley to tend to what was needed. This was stressful as she didn't have a clue what might be coming from it. Shaking her head, she asked, “Is there anything we need to be wary of on this trip? I'm not sure who the other two coming with us are, so I don't know what to look out for when it comes to that.”

“Just stick close to Remus and Snape,” Sirius told her. “They'll help steer you the way you need to go. If anything seems off, say something to them and they'll help. Bill is the son of Arthur and Molly. He's nothing to worry about and is very nice. You'll like him. Moody is the one you saw yesterday, the one with the fake eye. He's gruff and all that, but nothing to worry about. He'll make sure there aren't any problems. Just be careful what you say around him is all. Whatever it is tends to get back to Albus. The same with Bill. If you're not sure what to say, ask Remus or Snape. They'll help.”

“I'll remember that,” Petunia said firmly with a nod, though she was still plenty stressed.

“Harry's going to stay right next to you, so if you have questions, ask him. If he doesn't know, he'll know which of us to say something to,” Remus told her. He knew this was bound to be plenty stressful, so he was trying to help as much as he could.

Relieved at that, Petunia said, “I think that's for the best.”

“Harry knows just what's going on and what to be wary of, so listen to him,” Lucius soothed. “If there's an issue, he'll know who can best handle the problem. Just listen to him, all you have to do.”

“I can easily do that,” Petunia told him somewhat relieved. If Harry knew what to keep an eye out for, she would be better off. That she needed as this was just a right nightmare for her.

“We'll do fine. Once you get there, it'll be better. You'll be a bit overwhelmed, but you'll forget some of the nervousness as you look around,” Harry told her with a grin.

“I cannot wait for this,” Dudley said, grinning, all but bouncing in place where he sat.

“You'll love it,” Harry chuckled, grinning at his cousin.

“I have the list of what we need and other items to pick up so we can deal with them as we come across them,” Remus said with a smile as he watched Dudley. “It's our plan not to take any longer than we have to with this trip for various reasons. It's nothing to be overly stressed over, I assure you.”

“I understand,” Petunia nodded, though it didn't abate what she was feeling in the least. She was about to add more when she heard the door open. Looking up, tense, she waited, assuming it was the people going with them.

After everyone left and those that remained talked about what they really needed to take on, Narcissa said softly, yet with her voice having a firm bite to it, “I would suggest waiting until tomorrow to talk with Petunia about anything, unless it's important. As stressed as she is, she's either not going to remember it or end up having a bad reaction. I do understand that this needs covered, but I say give it a day.”

“That might be best,” Lucius admitted, glancing at his wife. “We do need to cover it, no one will say otherwise, but we might want the stress levels to lower before we take parts of it on.” Lowering his voice, he added, “And we have to go into the bond. There is no way around that. With how she's acting, that's going to cause the biggest of the blow ups as she has no foundation to understand these things that occur in our world.”

“Shite,” Sirius mumbled. “Yeah, I didn't think about that. She might go all protective over Harry and just have a right fit over that because of our ages.”

“I didn't think about that myself,” Lucius sighed. “Let's see what we can manage and find a book to explain bonds. It may help only minimally, but it'll be some. That's better than what she has as knowledge now. And Severus needs to be present when we do it. He might be able to defuse something we can't. The bond is going to come out, the same with the other parts attached to it. We won't even go into what might come about if Harry is set off with a prediction or something else. That's something we don't want her blindsided with. She will have big problems if we don't give her some warning.”

“And another thing I didn't think of,” Sirius sighed shaking his head. “Yeah, this needs covered. We're waiting for a least a day. Lucius, pull Snape aside tonight and see if you can't go do the bit with Wormtail tomorrow and we'll cover what we can with her at that time. Provided something doesn't crop up before then. If it does, we'll deal minimally with it and press on to a full explanation after that.”

Changing topics after nodding, Lucius asked, “About Harry's birthday—that's a couple days away. What are we doing? And will we have company?”

“Company I don't know about,” Sirius told him honestly. “I'm going to see what I can do to hold it off, at least for them staying. I'll pull out the bit about Petunia and Dudley being here and stress on them. If we can't, we can't. It won't be a great hardship. For once, I just want him to have something special. He's not ever had that other than when he went over to the Weasleys. Even then, it's not been a big thing. They try, but it's not the same. Remus has a list from me of what I want to get him. A new broom is right on the top of it. In fact, Remus is picking two of them up today; one for Harry for his birthday and one for Dudley. He's going to make sure he isn't seen doing it. I would suggest that if you want to get him something, let Remus know what it is and he'll pick it up.”

“We will,” Narcissa said with a firm nod.

“There are already a few tidbits we have in mind that we thought he would like. Remus can easily procure them for us.” Lucius told him. Lowering his voice, he added, “You may want to pull Petunia aside later and see if she wants to do something as well. I know she doesn't have much knowledge yet on what she can get, but I'm sure she'll want to do something. All she would have to do is get with Remus to have him find something Harry would like.”

“I'll do that as well,” Sirius told him, making a mental note of that. Looking at Cissy, he asked, “Can you have the elves do up something special?”

“Absolutely,” Narcissa told him with a smile. “That's traditional anyway. Get with him and find out what his favorite foods are and they'll take it from there.”

“I can handle that,” Sirius grinned. “When the lot of them get back, I'll pull Bill aside and see what's coming from that end. Then we'll go from there with plans.”

“Good,” Narcissa nodded. “Alright, we have the basics down. When they get back, Lucius can get with Severus then we'll plan out from there. That's going to be the biggest of the issues. Once we have something in place for that, we can better plan for what we need to do.” Sighing, she shook her head, “This is hectic. There is so much here that has to be done quickly.”

“I know,” Sirius said gloomily. “And we have to curtail plenty of plans without looking like we are before then. Some we can put off, others—I don't know. Which means we have a tight timeline to work with. We'll manage.”

“We need to get into that house soonest to see what needs done and get the elves moving,” Lucius said, looking between the two. “If it's sat empty for a long time, there will be plenty we need to tend to before it's habitable. That needs done, fast.”

“We'll get with Remus tonight and see how fast we can push getting in. It's imperative that part is ready,” Sirius admitted. “Maybe he can manage something in the next couple of days.”

“I'll help him word a missive to send off to the solicitor,” Lucius assured him. “We can word it in such a way that it won't be a problem. As he's official, he should be able to get what's needed to get in. We'll see what it takes.” After that, he began to list what they had to tend to, things that desperately needed taken care of as the end of summer loomed. There wasn't much they could work out amongst themselves, but it had to come.

Sticking close to Dudley as they walked down Diagon Alley, Harry was grinning a little. It was fun to come here with someone who hadn't seen it before and take in their reaction. He supposed, with what he remembered, that it had been the same for him his first time here as well. Dudley's enthusiasm and his questions about everything were contagious, so Harry was feeling good as well, liking to explain it.

So far, things had been busy as well as stressful, but nothing they couldn't handle. The vaults were open and ready to use, with the funds transferred in with no one that didn't need to know any the wiser about it. Dudley had his wand; ash with a dragon heartstring as a core. Twelve inches and slightly springy. His cousin was highly enthused at having it, that's for sure, and couldn't wait to try a spell. He had his cauldron, scales and all the other bits that were standard, aside from the ingredients. Those they could easily get another way. They had stopped in a couple of pet stores so his cousin could look around. That resulted in him getting a huge black cat. The creature had taken to him right off and wouldn't let him alone, so they bought him. Dudley had already christened the cat Midnight. Now they were heading down to Fortescue's for some ice cream while Remus attended to something or other. Harry assumed it was getting the catalogs that they talked about and, probably, Dudley's broom so his cousin didn't see him get it. That was fine. Snape was sticking close to them and Aunt Petunia, with Moody and Bill close behind.

Walking along, Harry's brow furrowed as they passed by a small, narrow opening between a couple of buildings. Like in the past, he heard a snake. Only this time, the creature seemed to be calling out to him. Putting a hand on Dudley's arm to stop him, he looked at the opening and waited. Something was off here and he wanted to know what it was.

“Hey, amigo! Wait up! I've been looking for you,” the hissy voice seemed to call out to him.

Looking around, Dudley said, tone hushed, “Who's that? I hear someone calling, but no one is close. And that voice is really weird. It's like talking while it shoots steam or something. Kind of a hissy thing.”

Eyes wide, Harry's head whipped in his cousin's direction. “You understand it?” He asked quietly, shooting Snape the signal that they had devised before coming out to let the man know he needed him.

“Well, yeah,” Dudley said, looking at Harry, confused. “No one is around, though.”

When Snape stepped up to them, making sure the others weren't paying attention, Harry asked, “What did it say?” He hoped to confirm it was real.

Passing on what he heard, he chuckled then said, “It seems to have a Spanish accent of some kind.”

Brow furrowed as he took in the conversation, Snape then looked around and said, “No one is close. Are you sure, Dudley?”

“He's sure,” Harry told him quietly. “It's a snake. I can tell by the hissy pattern of speech.” He then looked at the space between the buildings, waiting for the creature to appear.

“Are you certain?” Snape asked to confirm it, eyes slightly wider than normal. That—he didn't know what to make of it! All along, they assumed the Parselmouth trait had to do with the Seer aspect. If that wasn’t the case, it was in the family line.

“I'm sure,” Harry said distracted as he watched. He then saw the very thin, almost emaciated boa slither out. “See?” he mumbled then waited.

“There you are, amigo! I've been looking for you since you let me loose from the zoo! I heard around you were a Wizard,” the snake said as it slithered forward.

“That's the snake from the zoo? Are you sure, Harry?” Dudley asked, astonished.

Letting Potter deal with the snake, Severus leaned over to Dudley, making sure the others were still looking in the shop window Petunia had stopped at, and said, “Just don't say anything around Bill and Moody that you can understand the snake. We'll explain it when you get home, you have my word. Act like normal. It's nothing to worry about, we just don't want them to know.”

“Gotcha,” Dudley said, looking at the man, highly curious now.

Crouching down, Harry talked to the snake, grinning, as he realized this was indeed the one he had accidentally set loose those years ago. However, as he did, he heard Sir Hiss whisper to him.

“It's him, Harry. That's my body,” Sir Hiss said, making sure to stay unseen while he whispered in Harry's ear. “He needs to come with us.”

“Alright,” Harry said, confused, but willing to work with it. Talking to the snake, though making sure to stay unnoticed, he managed to get the creature to crawl on him so he could take him home. Actually, the snake seemed more than happy to come with them as he was hungry. Walking back over to the two, keeping an eye out for the others, he said, quietly, “He needs to come with us.” Looking at Snape, he said, cryptically, “It's about the one with the wings.”

Though not comprehending at first, Severus quickly got it. “Understood,” he imparted firmly. Looking between the two, he said, “We'll just tell everyone the truth; that he found you. Nothing beyond that.”

“Mum is going to have a heart attack,” Dudley grinned, reaching out to touch the snake with a trembling hand.

“So is everyone else,” Harry chuckled, petting the boa and reassuring him then having him crawl under his clothes where he wouldn't be noticed. Sure, everyone and their uncle knew he was a Parselmouth, he just didn't want to draw attention to himself was all.

Whispering, as the others started to approach, Dudley asked, “Is he really the snake from the zoo from when you vanished the glass?”

“He is,” Harry grinned with a nod. “He's been looking for me since then.” Looking up as the others joined them, he waited.

About to say something about getting the ice cream, Petunia saw the head of the snake poking out of Harry's shirt neck and let out a soft shriek, covering her mouth with both hands. Eyes wide, she stammered, “Is that a snake?”

“Yup, mum's about to go mental,” Dudley chuckled, grinning.

“She is,” Harry confirmed as everyone tried to calm her down. He couldn't help but chuckle a little himself at her reaction. It was funny as she was not handling it well. Moody, Bill and Snape were trying to reassure her, but it wasn't working well at this point. She was all pale and stammering, insisting that the snake was dangerous. Yeah, this was going to be funny to watch.

Sipping at the milkshake Harry picked out for him, Sirius grinned at the snake wrapped around his godson. Once he heard the front door shut and Snape came back in confirming everyone had left, he asked, “You really released him on accident?”

“He did,” Dudley laughed. “Scared the daylights out of me when he did it.”

Pinched look on her face, hands wringing, Petunia stared at the snake wrapped around Harry and shook her head. “I can handle a lot, and am, more than I ever thought I would. I just don't know if I can handle a snake!”

“It's nothing to worry about,” Harry said, petting the snake.

Putting up a ward to make sure if anyone did come in they would be alerted and it would keep whoever it was from overhearing what was said, Snape sat down then glanced around the table before saying, “Dudley is a Parselmouth as well. It's a family trait.”

“Really?” Sirius asked, eyebrows arched, looking at Dudley.

“Parselmouth?” Dudley asked, bewildered. Looking from his equally lost mum to Harry, he waited for an explanation.

“It means you can understand and talk to snakes,” Lucius explained. “It's a rare trait in our world. As Harry's one, it has to be in the family line.”

“You can understand and talk to snakes?” Petunia asked cautiously of her nephew, a slight tone of disbelief in her voice.

“Oh yeah,” Harry grinned at her. “Caused all kinds of problems my second year in school when people found out.”

“He can. You can take it from me,” Severus assured the woman. “Your son also confirmed earlier he can understand the snake as well. It's nothing to be alarmed about.”

“Dudley has never shown that ability,” Petunia said, looking around, brow drawn down.

“It probably had to do with his magic being bound,” Remus said, taking some packages out of his pockets and sending them off to the proper rooms. However, he left one out and waited.

“It's pretty cool if you ask me,” Dudley chuckled, paying attention to Harry's conversation with the snake, adoring that he understood what was being said.

“We just want to keep it quiet that he is a Parselmouth,” Severus said firmly, looking between the two. “We plan on explaining why in a short time. Just trust us in that you need to stay quiet about it.”

“Oh, we can do that,” Petunia said, eying the snake warily, shivering as she saw it sliding around on her nephew. “Just—please, keep it away from me, Harry.”

“I will, don't worry,” Harry chuckled at her reaction.

Smiling at that, Remus said, looking between Lucius, Harry and Sirius, who all nodded at him, “We have something here for Dudley.” With that, he unshrunk the box and slid it down to the excited Dudley. “That's from Harry, Lucius, Narcissa and Sirius.”

Excited, Dudley tore into it then laughed when he pulled out the broom. “Mine?”

“Yours,” Sirius confirmed with a nod and a grin. “We thought you needed one so the three of you can play.”

“Great!” Dudley enthused, looking it over. “Alright, we need to try this out.”

“Let everyone settle for a while and get something to eat before we do that,” Narcissa said with a soft smile. It was like watching Draco when he got his first broom, a wonderful memory for her.

“We just need to eat fast,” Dudley told everyone firmly, examining the broom. Looking at the ones who had given it to him, he grinned, “Thanks!”

“You're welcome,” Lucius said with a smirk.

Eying the broom warily, Petunia let out a resigned sigh and shook her head. She would deal with this, all of it, it just wasn't going to be easy.

While Draco and Narcissa kept Dudley and Petunia occupied, the rest in the house, plus Snape, gathered in Harry and Sirius' room. They wanted to see what he was talking about when it came to Sir Hiss.

Gently laying the snake on the bed, where it shifted around, hissing contentedly, Harry talked to Sir Hiss. When he finished, he looked around and shrugged, then put a hand on the bed. This was something he couldn't easily explain so it was best to show them. Like had happened before, Sir Hiss slithered off his body and curled there in a ghost-like form. Then the winged snake talked to the other one.

“What's he saying?” Severus asked, watching what was going on.

“That I'm not sure of as it's not in 'English' Parseltongue,” Harry admitted, looking around. “It sounds Spanish to me, but I might be wrong there.”

Brow furrowed, Sirius watched, stroking his goatee. “I wonder what's going on.”

“Something about joining together is what I got from Sir Hiss. I imagine we'll understand in a few,” Harry shrugged.

Lucius was about to ask questions as he and Sirius hadn't heard any of what was said between the two when his eyes widened. The boa stretched out across the bed then Sir Hiss wrapped around his body. The two hissed back and forth then the ghost like snake seemed to melt into the other snake's body. The boa then seemed to grow wings. They fluttered slightly before folding back on its body and melding into it to where they couldn't be seen. Eyes wide, Lucius shook his head, astonished by that.

Grinning, Harry held out his arm to the snake, who slithered onto him, then petted his head. “This is good!” Harry said. “Sir Hiss has his body and the boa is still in there. They're just sharing space, nothing more. It's what Sir Hiss needed. And I don't have to worry about the big, crazy 'tattoo' anymore or someone seeing it by accident.”

“Yes, it's what we needed,” Sir Hiss confirmed as he wrapped around the boy, holding him close. “Nothing to fear and no harm will come to anyone.”

Understanding the snake, Sirius nodded, “Good! One less thing to worry about.”

“It'll be much easier to accomplish what we need in this manner,” Sir Hiss added. “I can tend to things and no one will suspect anything off.”

“That is good, too,” Lucius agreed, understanding what was said. Looking around, he said, “I'll send the elves to the manor for a tank for him. And we need to get some nutrients into him quickly. He's far too thin to be healthy. We'll just put it up here.” Stopping, he smirked then added, “To give Petunia time to adjust to him as well.”

Smiling slightly, Remus chuckled, “Well, yes, she did seem rather unnerved by him.”

“More than rather,” Harry laughed, petting the snake's head. “And Hedwig is going to have a fit!” He added, glancing at the sleeping owl.

“I was wondering what he meant by finding his body,” Sirius admitted, reaching over to stroke the snake's head. “And just to be clear here; no sleeping in bed with us. That would give me a ruddy heart attack to wake up to!”

“A statement I second wholeheartedly,” Lucius added, smirking himself.

“Yeah, not a good thing there,” Harry admitted.

“This is good,” Severus said with a nod. “Let me get out of here and see what I can manage to bump up the timeline with Wormtail. I'm sure the Dark Lord will understand why it's needed. Once I know something, I'll return.” Seeing nods, he then swept out.

“Alright, I say we go down before Dudley comes up and bangs on the door. He is itching to get on his broom.” Remus smiled.

Grinning at that, knowing it was true, Sirius clapped Harry on the back and guided him out. Though this was stressful, it was working. That was all that mattered. Everything else they would take on as it came. They now just had to focus on what was needed, something they could do, and keep poor Petunia from having kneazles over some of it.
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Through the Veil and Back Again