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Preventative Measures	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 151582 -:- Recommendations : 8 -:- Currently Reading : 30
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and make no money off this work in perversion

Chapter List
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Chapter 31

Beta'd by the most wonderful, amazing and stupendous Tenchi. Woman, you are the best and love you for all you do 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.

Hands trembling as she looked down at that day's copy of the Prophet, Hermione was feeling ill because of what she was putting together. Oh, other than the emancipation, something they knew was coming, Harry's name wasn't mentioned, but the inference was there as to who most of it was about. And what was there was enough to make her feel sick to her stomach. She had, of course, thought it was bad, having put parts of it together, but not like this. This—oh, Merlin!

Hand fluttering to her mouth, face pale, as she read through what was there again, feeling more ill as she did, she finally looked up when Ron said her name.

“It's about Harry,” Ron said softly, so pale his freckles were standing out like splotches on his skin. “Merlin! I mean, I can be thick, I get that, but even I understood what was said there. The sexual assaults—repeated sexual assaults, tells me that it was worse than we ever thought. And the bit with Dumbledore—yeah, he apparently knew.”

“It was more than just him that knew,” Hermione sighed. “Madam Pomfrey did as well and neither of them reported it. They're required to do that by law. Oh Merlin, no wonder Harry's so mad at Professor Dumbledore!”

“And he took money from Harry's vaults,” Ginny added quietly, looking between the two as she twisted the tail of her shirt between her fingers.

“This is a mess,” Hermione breathed, shaking her head. “We didn't help anything either. I mean, we were telling Harry to—well, you know—Merlin! No wonder he was so mad!”

“I think we need to apologize for that, honestly,” Ron muttered, shaking his head. “Yeah, that didn't help anything.”

“We do,” Hermione said with a firm nod. Brow creased, she sighed then said, “We were told to leave it alone though. By Professor Snape. So, it might not be best we do that.”

“I can,” Ginny offered, looking between the two. “I know I was included in the last couple lectures, but I wasn't told the same thing you were. Though I might get in a bit of trouble for it, I'll take it on.”

Thinking that over, Hermione gave a firm nod. “Go ahead. Start out talking to him like normal then slip it in. Also, make sure to include that if he wants to talk about any of this mess, we'll listen. Add that we'll write to him over the year as well. That can only help. It might not be what we want, but it's a start.”

“I'll come up with something. You can help me word it, Hermione. Then we'll send it out with Pig this morning. He should have it by this afternoon. I just hope he'll read it,” Ginny sighed, shaking her head.

“If you give Pig specific instructions to send it straight to Harry and not let anyone else touch it, he should do that,” Ron told her.

“We'll do that then,” Hermione said firmly. “I'll help word it, but Ron and I need to stay out of it. If we just slip it in, we might be fine. I don't know. Either that or it's going to set Harry off more. Let's hope it doesn't and he at least accepts the apology.”

“Let me get some parchment and we'll start,” Ginny nodded firmly, getting up to find some.

Coming back into their room after what they called 'reconnaissance' to keep an eye on what the three were doing so they knew when they might pull something, Fred looked at George then said, “We don't want that letter getting to Harry.”

“We don't,” George agreed with a firm nod. Both of them had read the paper that morning and could easily put together just what was going on. In fact, almost anyone, even if they weren't close to the situation, could manage that. What was there made both of them ill. It also shored up them doing what they could for Harry, though that being just what they said and not poking the situation. “Which means, dear brother, we need a plan.”

“Oh, yes,” Fred said firmly. “What that is, though, I don't know.”

Thinking it over, George finally said, tone distracted, “I vote we commandeer Pig and send a message of our own to Remus. He'll know best what to do to handle the situation. It'll also let him know to stay on the lookout for Ginny's letter.”

“Good plan,” Fred said with an enthusiastic nod. “Why don't you start on the letter and I'll go find Pig. Last I saw, he was downstairs pestering Errol. That way, if he's gone, the three won't think anything's off.”

“A good plan,” George told him, happy with that. “Just don't let mum see you. She'll ask too many questions.”

“Discretion is the watchword, brother of mine,” Fred told him solemnly. Plan in place, he headed off to find the owl, knowing just what to do to get Pig to attend to the matter. All it took was a little bribery with some of their candy stash and the owl would do their bidding. That would buy them time before the trio could get that letter off.

Grinning and chuckling, Sirius was nodding as he looked through the books that Lucius had passed through the basket along with several rather large sets of the Legos. “We're going to have fun with this, Harry! Muggles—yeah, they do have some good ideas for toys, don't they?”

“These are great,” Harry admitted, looking at the multitude of boxes. Though a bit sheepish because they were classified as 'toys', he couldn't wait to start working with them.

Pulling Harry back against him, Sirius held the book in front of him and pointed to the castle in it, one with detailed instructions on how to build it, then said, “I vote we try that one to start with. It says it's not as complex as some of what else is in here. In fact, it's rated as beginner.”

Looking at the pictures, Harry nodded, “Yeah, we can do that.”

“Let me get the elves to get us a small table in here we can sit at to work. I think we can have them put some soft mat-like things down so we're comfortable when sitting on the floor.” Looking around, he said, distracted, “I say we use 'your room' for these bits. They can move the bed and that then quickly set up what we need. This way we can easily put that partition up so no one sees anything if they come in. Plus, we can slide whatever under your bed and hide it. What do you think?”

Not seeing that as a bad idea, Harry nodded, “Alright. I think that's good.” It did sound that way. With that partition up, he wouldn't have to worry about being embarrassed if stuff was left out.

Summoning the elves, he set them to work, being really detailed about what he wanted and how he wanted it decorated. “I think it's a good idea to use your part of the room for these bits anyway. That way we have 'normal' over here, where we congregate, other than the bit with the bed, and the other stuff there so we can hide them. You shouldn't get overly stressed about anyone seeing some of it this way.”

Thinking that over, Harry nodded again. It was a good way to go about it.

Looking down at his godson, he asked, “How would you like it decorated? They can easily do the walls and that as no one but us are going to see them. Pick out something.”

Glancing over his shoulder at Sirius, Harry thought that over, flushing slightly as he did. After all, he knew his godfather wasn't referring to the normal way of decorating. Scratching his head, he wasn't sure what to say.

Giving Harry a squeeze, Sirius said, gently, “Whatever you want. No one is going to poke fun. It's your room and you can have what you want in it.”

After a few minutes, and some serious internal struggle over it, Harry finally told him, voice soft, slightly stilted and uneven “Dragons. I think I'd like those.”

“That's a good choice,” Sirius told him, holding him close. He had seen the expression on Harry's face as he thought about it and figured that hadn't been easy. “We'll leave most of it for when we're asleep tonight. The elves can do it all up then and probably have it done by morning. They'll come up with something good.” Already, he was planning to get with them about instructions on how he wanted it done. Oh, he would have them do the ones on the walls in a realistic way, but the other decorations, such as for the mats and stuff, would be more the kind you would see for smaller children. That would fit with what they were doing.

Changing topics, hoping to delve a little at a time into what they needed, intermingling it with other bits, Sirius asked, looking at the book again, “How hard are these things to snap together? They don't look bad, but you never know.”

“Not hard,” Harry told him, glancing at the plans for the castle. “Getting them apart can be rough sometimes, though.” Grinning a little, he said, “We're just going to have to make sure we get them all picked up when we're done. Those things—trust me, you don't want to step on one barefooted. It's like stepping on something with spikes on it.”

“We'll make sure to summon all of them when we're done,” Sirius chuckled. Looking at the diagrams there and what the blocks looked like, he added, tone thoughtful, “We can probably easily duplicate these if we run out, too. In something better than plastic as well. Some plastics—yeah, they don't like magic anyway.”

“These should hold up fine,” Harry said. “It's some really thick, tough plastic. They're meant for little kids to use, so they're made to take rough treatment. And they last for years, even with some really rough play. In fact, they're fairly indestructible.”

“Good,” Sirius nodded. “Either way, us being able to duplicate them is good. That way we don't run out or have to go buy more as this looks like it takes a lot of these bricks!” Grinning, he added, “Though going to get more could be fun! That means going into a toy store. We'd have a riot with that.”

Remembering what Lucius said about that, Harry grinned, “Yeah, it could.”

Glancing over to where the elves were working, Sirius was pleased with what he saw. It was his thought that once they settled in and started working, he could spend time talking with Harry to get some bits moving in the direction they needed. As he had gotten with Lucius the day before about what was covered, he knew the areas that might help the most with what was sure to come from the trial. That and he could press on with other considerations as well. Sitting and building with these blocks was a perfect way to go about this. It was also something he would keep in mind if it worked well. That way he had a clue he could use to work with bits that might crop up. Good. What he needed.

After sitting down at the kitchen table and taking a cup of tea from the elf that was there, Severus took a sip then asked, “What is it you needed to get with me about before I went over to the Weasleys?” Lupin had sent a message earlier for him to stop by before he went to tend to that. Now he was curious as to what it might be about. That and slightly wary as there were probably bothersome issues coming from the three school-aged ones there.

Shoving the letter he had received from Fred and George to Severus, Remus told him, “That. I'll let you read it before we try to figure out how to handle this latest issue.”

Picking up the missive then reading it quickly, Severus sighed and shook his head. This wasn't unanticipated, of course, but he was most pleased that the two gave them fair warning about the issue. As the two weren't known to do that with anything else, he was happy that Harry seemed to invoke a loyalty that meant they would. Sitting it down, he sighed, not sure what to do. “It's good we know to expect that, however, they don't want it mentioned they 'snitched'.”

“I can see their point there,” Remus told him. “If no one knows they're saying something, and I doubt anyone would expect that of those two, we're better off as well since the three won't figure out how we anticipate some of what they're apt to pull.”

“Very true,” Severus said with a firm nod. Thinking it over, he said, tone distracted, “How about this—I'll go over and do what I planned. The only change will be that I'll mention letters as well. From any of them, save the twins. As they mentioned that, from what you said, on the day they first came over to help clean, it won't seem odd. After that, we get with Harry to see what he wants to do. We'll also warn him this is coming. If he doesn't want to deal with it, we'll open the letters and pen a response. If he does, we'll see if he wants us to read them first. That way, if it contains something we know will set him off, we can warn him.”

“I think that's the way to go,” Remus told him, pleased. “Let's see what he says. If the letter does come today, I'll hold it back then explain what Fred and George said. He can judge from there what he wants to do.” Seeing Severus nod, Remus pressed on to something else unrelated to this mess so the man was kept up with what was going on. “Sirius and I were talking earlier. He wants to do something odd and wants both of us aware of what it is.”

“What's that?” Severus inquired, curious.

“He wants to take two days a week to just spend with Harry. What he wants is for us to run interference for him to keep people away. We know that's not an issue right now, but we're sure it's coming once some start dealing with the guilt.” Remus told him. Quietly, he added, “I don't think that's a bad idea, honestly. They'll come down for meals or whatever, but he wants them to hole up in their room to spend time alone.”

“Very good idea,” Severus told him firmly with a nod. “We'll plan on that. Get with him to see what days he wants to do that or if there are set ones, then we'll take it from there. I'll help until I have to start back to school.” Lowering his voice, he said, “I think this is something he needs to do, frankly. It can only help in so many ways with some of what's coming.”

“As do I,” Remus agreed. “I'll get with him and see what he has in mind then plan it out. I have the calendar we made up and will add it to that so we know when he's planning for it.”

“Get me a copy when you figure it out. Perhaps add an automatic updating charm to it and give Black like a master copy so we both know as he plans it,” Severus suggested.

“I think we need to do that as it works for many areas. I'll see what I can manage with it. Good idea, Severus!” Remus said, pleased.

“Anything else?” Severus asked, assuming there wasn't.

“No, I think that's all. I just wanted you aware of the letter before you went over to see Molly and Arthur so you could work that in somehow.” Remus told him.

“I'll manage,” Severus told him firmly. Finishing his tea, he stood then said, “I'll check in when I'm done.” Seeing Lupin nod, he swept out.

Seated on the floor at the small table the elves brought in for them, Sirius had Harry between his spread legs while they worked on laying the foundation for the castle. Working with the blocks was actually quite fun and something he enjoyed. Harry was too, from what he could see. This was good.

Watching as Harry snapped several of the blocks together, getting them right where they needed to be so they could press on, he thought this was a good time to work on some bits Lucius set up. Not to mention he needed some of it in place to help handle what they were all sure was coming. As what Lucius built the foundation for could really help, he would press on with that part. Not sure whether to slip into the Daddy role or not, Sirius debated how to do this bit. Lucius was better with judging that part, though he was more equipped to deal with what he had to work with. Scratching his chin as he kept an eye on what Harry was doing, he tried to figure out the best way to ease into it.

Watching Elliot lie in Harry's lap as smoke curled from his nostrils and seeing Harry petting him here and there, Sirius gave an internal sigh. He was just going to launch in and go from there. Whatever came of it, he would deal with accordingly and press on. Quietly, he said, “I want to talk to you about some of what Daddy Lucius went over with you.”

Though apprehensive, Harry nodded then looked over his shoulder at Sirius and asked, “Which part?”

“Let's start with an easy one; the bit about the code phrase. I think we need to come up with one,” Sirius told him, figuring that was probably a good place to launch in. “I'm good at figuring out when you're stressed, but I'd rather have something in place to know for sure as sometimes it's hard to judge. Let's come up with something that won't seem odd even if you say it around others.”

Nodding, Harry's brow furrowed as he tried to think of something. Nothing came to mind, though. It would seem odd to say something like his safeword around others and they might question it. “Not sure what to use for that,” he admitted.

“How about something like you want a Coke?” Sirius suggested after pondering that for a couple minutes. That one was easy enough and innocuous as everyone knew Harry liked his junk food. It was also one he could take for what it was as Harry never said it that way. What he generally told everyone was he was going to get some of his munchies or a Muggle drink, something like that, he never said it by name.

Thinking it over, Harry gave a nod, “Yeah, I can remember that one easily.” What he didn't add was that it was one he thought he could get out if he had to. It was just the idea of using it to ask for help, something he never did with anyone, not even Sirius.

“Keep in mind that, for the most part, it's me you'll be dealing with, Harry. Not so much Daddy Lucius right now. All you have to do is say that and I'll bring you up here then we'll sit in the chair until you feel better. Nothing more. It's not like asking for help, more like just saying you need time away from what's going on to relax.” While that was true, and probably a big part of the reason Harry would use that phrase at first, it was, in its own way, asking for help. The more Harry did it, even if it came down to him just needing time away from whatever was going on, the easier it would get for him to say it when he really did need help. Harry—he was good at judging the overt bits with him, something that would be a huge help, but some he wasn't. His godson could keep what he was feeling to himself quite well when it came to many areas, hence the reason all of them that thought they knew him well didn't have a clue what he was dealing with when it came to Vernon.

After some serious thought on that part, Harry said, “I think I can. Getting away from some of this mess is something I need as I don't like being around lots of people for the most part. So far that's not been bad, but I'm sure it's coming.”

“As am I,” Sirius admitted firmly. “And if you need to get away from it, this is the way to go about it. None of us want you to sit there and end up getting stressed out, especially dealing with some of them. That phrase will let me know you've had enough and need time away. Snape and Remus will probably figure out what it is, but that's not a bad thing. Even telling them isn't. It will let them know you're at the end of what you can take and they need to handle whatever is going on while you and I vanish. Snape, especially, is quite good at getting people to knock their shite off and drop it. That's something we need. So, if you're alright with it, I'll tell them what it is. I won't say any more than it's your signal to me that you need to get away from whatever is going on. Can you handle that?”

Brow furrowed as he pondered that, Harry looked over his shoulder at Sirius, not sure what to say.

“They aren't going to say shite, Harry. Keep in mind, you trust both of them. If they know it's something that you need to get away from or get a handle on, they're going to take on dealing with the idiot arses. They can't do that if they don't know what's going on,” Sirius told him gently.

After tossing that back and forth in his mind, Harry gave a bare nod then said, “I think that's something I can deal with.”

“Good. I'll get with both of them to let them know what it is and that they need to handle whatever moronic shite is going on. That's part of their responsibility, Harry. I know you're basically a grown adult according to the courts, but those two take being your guardians very seriously. Let them do that. You know Snape. No one in their right mind that comes into this house is going to tangle too much with him. In fact, most won't argue with him, period, especially if they had him as a Professor,” Sirius grinned.

“There is that,” Harry chuckled, grinning a little, going back to snapping the blocks into place.

“I say we let them take on the idiots and we just work on us, what do you think?” Sirius asked, helping Harry put some of the blocks together as he had a good feel for what his godson was doing.

“We can do that,” Harry told him, leaning back against Sirius.

Pleased with how well this was going, though it wasn't easy to get where they were, Sirius pressed on, hoping to get more accomplished. “I've also gotten with Remus to make a couple adjustments. You and I are going to start spending several hours a day together just working on what's here. It's plenty complicated getting where we want to go, for both of us, so we need more time than just when we come up at night for bed. That and I'm making it clear that there are two days a week we're going to set aside just for us. He's agreed to make sure we aren't bothered unless it's a dire emergency. Daddy Lucius is going to try to come over and spend the night once a week, so one of them will be when he can manage to do that. The other we'll pick out ahead of time. What do you think?”

That didn't take Harry even thinking about it to answer, “I'd like that, a lot.”

“Good! We'll plan on it,” Sirius grinned, happy with this. “We'll find something to do, I promise. Even if it's just things like this and talk.” Switching to a more neutral topic, hoping to keep Harry calm and not dwell on bits he was still having issues with, he told him, “Snape and Remus are going to take on setting up your school schedule and how to go about that. I thought that was for the best as those two have experience doing it. We just need that shite from the Board to get going. They'll get with you to see what you think, but it's best to let them take it on.”

“As Daddy Lucius is on the Board, can't he poke them a bit to get things moving so we get what we need?” Harry asked, though not sure if that term was right to use at this point as they weren't really 'into' the roles yet. Then he added, “And all that's good by me.”

“Not sure if he can,” Sirius said, thoughtfully, brow furrowed. He was pleased with that use of the term, though. “I'll pass that suggestion along, though, as I'm not sure any of us thought of it. As he has to keep up appearances, he might not be able to. Let's see what he can manage. He has his ways of getting things moving. If he can't, others promised to poke the Board to get what we need. As rotten and guilty as some of them have to be feeling, I bet they will,” Sirius added with a grin.

Looking down at his godson, he then added, gently, “ And calling him that is good. Anytime we're alone together you should. It'll help. How about this—we make a kinda' 'rule' thing to where when we're on this side of the room talking or whatever, that's what you call us, even if we aren't fully in the roles. We'll see this as heading there and anticipating that's where we're going.”

Stopping what he was doing, Harry looked down, petting Elliot as he thought about it then gave a slow nod. “I think that's something I can handle. Sometimes it's still hard.”

“Oh, I get that, trust me,” Sirius chuckled, giving him a squeeze. “It's hard on me too as I've not done this before. We'll muddle through together, don't worry about it, Harry.” Lowering his voice, he added, “The more you do it, the easier it's going to get. Because I bet it's easier now than when we started.”

“It is,” Harry admitted quietly.

“So, we'll keep on with what works,” Sirius told him gently. Pressing on, figuring this was good and he could work with what was there, he said, “What I'm going to do to fully slide in, as it's not something I've done much either, is what I've done before and Daddy Lucius uses; asking who I am. That seems like a good signal for both of us, don't you?”

“It is,” Harry told him, eyes locked on what he was doing. “I'm comfortable with that one as I know what it means,” he admitted quietly. Feeling Elliot scramble up his chest and begin to blow smoke in his ear, he petted the stuffed dragon.

Keeping half an eye on what Harry was doing and Elliot, Sirius thought he could judge what his godson was feeling. Elliot was odd. Some of his behaviors were what they wanted to recreate to sell, others, though, were something he realized he could use to judge if Harry was stressed. What he was seeing now told him there was some apprehension there. The climbing on Harry, rather than doing what he normally did, and blowing smoke in his ear seemed like it was Elliot's way of soothing Harry. If he read the signals right, it wasn't an overly stressed thing either, just some. It was also something he was going to keep an eye on to help him judge how to go about something. If Harry couldn't, or wouldn't, pass along some bits, he needed help. Elliot might be the best way to go about that. Looking at the foundation for the castle they were working on, Sirius grinned then said, chuckling, “You know, I like doing this. It's fun.”

“It is,” Harry admitted with a nod and grin. Quietly, he added, “I always wanted Legos when I was younger as there is so much you can do with them.”

“I can see why. Shite, this is great. I don't think we have anything like this other than standard building blocks.” Sirius said. “These are far better than those, that's for damned sure.” Softening his tone, he asked, “What other kind of toys did you want?” He hoped to get an idea so he could send Lucius out to hunt for them. Before Harry could say anything or start to get overly stressed, he added, “Remember, it's me, Harry, Daddy. I have as much fun with what you have as you do. I'm not going to say a word.”

Sighing softly, looking at the start of the castle and the huge pile of blocks, Harry clutched Elliot close and tried to think. He wasn't sure if he could mention anything as the first thing that came to mind was something hard to say.

“How about we start with just one thing,” Sirius told him, wrapping both arms around his midsection and giving him a squeeze. “We'll do one thing at a time and press on. I'm not going to say a word about whatever it is, I swear. If you want it, all you have to do is tell me.”

Shutting his eyes and clinging to Elliot, Harry finally muttered, very softly, “Stuffed animals. I always wanted them.” Quickly, he added, “Not really to play with, but—I just wanted them.”

As that was something very easy to get, Sirius was pleased. Giving the uncomfortable Harry a reassuring squeeze, he said, “I'll make sure you get a bunch. Those are always good to have.” Thinking about it, he said, “Let's see what Daddy Lucius can find for you. I think those are something great to decorate this side of the room with, don't you?”

Shaking slightly because that admission was hard, Harry nodded, “Yeah, they would be.”

Grinning, hoping to alleviate some of the stress, he said, “I'm definitely having him get a big wolf, a black dog and stag. Gotta have something around to show what you're the second generation of!”

Unable to help himself, Harry grinned, “That would be cool.”

“He'll find some good ones for you. He better not get dragons, though. Elliot would probably take exception to those even if they didn't move,” Sirius joked.

“True,” Harry snickered, petting the dragon that was now peering over his shoulder giving Sirius another raspberry.

“Elliot the brat dragon,” Sirius chuckled, grinning. This was a good start. With as much discomfort that came from what they just went over, Sirius thought that it should be the end of the topics that were rough for now. So, he was just going to muck about and get bits he could work with. Going back to putting the blocks together, he said, “I think we can conjure some people and animals when we're done, the kind that move. It should be great.” Snickering, he said, “And definitely make more blocks as I'm not sure we're going to want to take this apart when we're finished with it.”

Grinning himself at that, Harry said, “Plenty don't. They use them for decorations, hence the reason these things sell so well.”

“I can see why!” Sirius laughed. “Yeah, we're making more and I think Daddy Lucius is going to end up buying plenty for us. That or we'll do it ourselves. One of the two. Because this is great. We get to work on something together that's fun.” And he meant that. It was enjoyable and something he thought could be useful in more than one way. Pressing on, he began talking about what else they could end up building, things both in the book and not.
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Preventative Measures