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Well, Ain't That Strange?	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 56074 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 12
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and make no money off this story

Chapter List
- 31
- 32
- 33
Chapter 31

While Sirius was at his Solicitor's dealing with the mass they had to work on, Lucius was giving Harry the grand tour of the manor. It was decided Sirius would schedule the meeting when Lucius was home so Harry wasn't left alone, thus ending up stressed. As he had no problem doing so and understood the reasoning, Lucius decided to show Harry around as a way to get him out of the wing and give him the most basic layout of the home so he could wander if he felt like it. After all, from Lucius' point of view, being confined to even a wing as big as the one they were staying in would drive him mental. He would wait for the tour of outside until Sirius returned so he could give them both the grand tour.
Hand on Harry's back as he guided him down the grand staircase to the first floor, Lucius couldn't help but smirk as he watched Harry petting Calvin, who he insisted on carrying with him. Yes, the cat was a wonderful idea and pleased Harry a great deal. As they walked and Lucius pointed out various landmarks, he told Harry, “When we take a break for lunch, we'll go through the catalog Narcissa picked up for pets. If we order whatever today, it should be here by tomorrow. Calvin is doing quite well when it comes to not causing problems, but it's best to buy him some toys and whatnot.”
“We don't want him using the furniture as a scratching post or anything like that,” Harry told him, looking around, slightly stunned by the opulence of the home. He wasn't sure what to expect of Malfoy Manor, but this was beyond what he imagined, as it was similar to the style of one of the palaces the royal family had. With a chuckle, he told Lucius, “Even with the tour, I'm sure I'll end up lost in this place it's so big.”
“Just takes getting used to,” Lucius admitted, looking a tad smug. “I grew up here, so it's normal for me. In time, you'll be able to navigate wherever without an issue. Until then, if you want to go wandering and get lost, summon an elf. They'll help you.”
“I think I'll just stick to the wing we're in,” Harry said, taking in some paintings they passed as they walked after stepping down onto the ground floor. From what he could tell, this was close to the entrance they came in the other night. It wasn't that he was worried about getting lost, more like running into some of those staying in the house. Lucius assured them they wouldn't say a word and were ordered to 'play nice', but he was uncomfortable with the idea.
“This is my home, Harry, as such it is the same for you and Sirius. If you wish to wander, you're allowed,” Lucius imparted. “You have my word no one will try anything foolish with you if you stumble across each other.”
“It's just the idea,” Harry sighed, shaking his head. “There is a lot of history there, Lucius,” he admitted softly. What he didn't add was Draco was the big one there.
“Understood,” Lucius nodded, picking up on what was left unsaid. “We'll come to a compromise, in some way.”
“You said the wing we're in has door to the outside, right?” Harry asked, looking at the man as he guided him along. When Lucius nodded, he told him, “As long as we have the door and can go outside, I don't see a problem staying in the wing, honestly. There's more than enough room for us to wander around and do whatever. If we feel confined, we can go outside and muck around. It's not like we're being held prisoner and can't leave.”
“Very true,” Lucius admitted, ushering Harry along and pointing out various landmarks. “I just don't want the two of you to feel as though you have to stay there and can't roam or explore. It's not my intent.”

“We know,” Harry smiled, petting the purring Calvin as they walked down the hallway Lucius said led to his study and other areas towards the back of the house. “You're making this as easy on us as you can and it's appreciated.”
“I consider this your home as well and want you both to feel the same way,” Lucius told him with a small smile, pleased Harry understood they were all trying to make this situation as manageable as possible. “You're both bonded with me, so this home comes with the relationship. In time, I hope we can move back. We won't take that step until we're sure the danger for the two of you is passed and you're comfortable. While the house we have is nice, it's nothing like the manor. Both of you will enjoy it here when we move.”
Harry didn't say anything, but nodded to let Lucius know he heard, but hadn't thought of the situation the way Lucius put it. Well, honestly, they hadn't talked much about the future when it came to them anyway, other than the house Lucius had bought for them. This was the first time it was mentioned. And he could understand why Lucius wanted to move back to the manor. This was the lap of luxury. He doubted they could recreate some of what the man was used to in any other home.
As he guided them along, Lucius explained the history of some of what Harry was seeing, planning to show him where his study was located so Harry could find him if needed. As they walked down the hall leading towards it, something lined with plenty of statues, suits of armor and paintings, Lucius straightened up when Bella emerged from one of the parlors and started moving in their direction. Though the Dark Lord had made it clear they were all to play nice, she could be a tad unpredictable.
Hand on Harry's shoulder to stop him, feeling the younger man tense up as he did, Lucius waited to see what his sister-in-law would do before they moved along.
Bella had planned to wander to the suite she was sharing with her husband after spending some time with Draco when she spied Lucius and Harry in the hall. Remembering the admonition from the Dark Lord, she would play nice. However, after spying the cat Harry was holding, she let out a cackle then headed their way. In the time the cat was in the house, she decided she liked the beastie as it was the friendly playful sort.
After reaching the two and giving them a nod, she crouched down and began to pet the loudly purring cat, talking to the animal using her normal strange baby talk, making kissy noises towards the animal as it purred louder, rubbing against her hand.
Hand on Harry's shoulder to reassure him he was still there, Lucius gave an amused snort then told Harry, “Calvin made friends with everyone in the house after we brought him home. From what we can tell, he likes everyone and just wants attention.”
Though nervous about who this was and what he knew of her, Harry gave an uneven chuckle, “He's great.” Petting the cat, hearing him purr and feeling the vibrations from him, he waited to see what Bella would do. She was unpredictable, from what he knew. This was good, though. All she seemed to want was to pet the cat, though it seemed odd from what he knew about her.
After giving the cat plenty of attention, Bella straightened back up then nodded to Lucius before focusing on Harry. With a grin, she said, “We all like Calvin. Nothing to worry about. I think he spent time sleeping with all of us until you came. Right relaxing his purring is when you're trying to fall asleep.”
“He's good,” Harry told her with a strained smile, not really sure what to do or say. This was someone highly deranged and dangerous, from what he knew.
“Such a good kitty,” she cooed at the cat then cackled more when it let out a loud meow and purred at her. “Right, heading for a nap,” she said. With a nod to the two, she then stepped around them and headed towards the second floor where her room was.
Lucius was pleased his sister-in-law didn't do or say anything which would upset or unnerve Harry more than he already was. After giving Harry's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, he began to guide them along once more. “Nothing to worry about, my word.” Then, lips quirking, he added, “Calvin was a big hit with everyone, Harry. He's made friends with all in the house and anyone who came to visit. No matter what they were doing, he would sit and watch them, purring up a storm. He even went so far as to groom Nagini's scales when she was around. The Dark Lord made it clear to her she's not to eat the cat, of course, but it was rather riotous to watch.”
Harry couldn't help it and grinned at the vision that produced then shook his head. “He seems rather calm and just likes attention so far. I think he's great,” he then added softly, smiling. While what they did with Hobbes was an act, he had liked it. So far, Calvin was the same way, though it took a bit of work to get him to do whatever.
“I think he'll make a wonderful companion for you,” Lucius told him. “He's rather intelligent, so I assume you can 'train' him how you wish. Well, as much as one can train a cat that is.”
“Working with it,” Harry told him, looking around at everything as they moved along. “He tried making friends with Hedwig last night, but she wants no part of him. All he received was one of her cold looks and the clicking of the beak then she turned her back on him. As long as he doesn't think she's a meal, we're good.”
“Yes, it wouldn't be taken well,” Lucius told him with an amused snort.
When they arrived at his study, he ushered Harry inside to show him around. This was good. While somewhat tense, Harry wasn't overly so and the whole venture was going smoothly. He planned to sit down here until Sirius returned then give them both a tour of the grounds before having lunch in the gardens. He assumed both would like the idea and it would get them out of the wing for a time.

Hand on the back of Harry's head, Sirius leaned back in his chair with a groan. They were outside in the gardens having just finished lunch and he was stuffed. Before then, when he had returned, the two of them were able to take their first ride on a horse and toured the grounds that way. Harry seemed to adore it and he had as well, honestly. It was something he thought they both would like to do again, though not alone until they were not only used to being on a horse and how to get the creature to move how they wanted, but knew the grounds better.
Unable to help himself, Sirius grinned as he watched Harry feed Calvin bits off his plate the same way he had done with Hobbes. Unlike Hobbes, the cat didn't steal your food, but just curled up on Harry's lap while his godson ate. It was fine with him, either way. Hell, he didn't care if the cat acted like Hobbes had with so much, honestly. Let Harry just enjoy the creature and spoil him rotten. After all, his godson would never get to have children because of the bond. If he wanted to treat a cat like a child, it was fine with him.
“Is everything settled you can manage?” Lucius asked, leaning back in his chair and sipping his drink when he finished eating. Since he had nothing to attend to for the rest of the afternoon, other than spending some time with Draco, he planned to stay with the two for most of it. It would be the first time they wouldn't have the stresses of so much since they learned of the bond with him.
“As much as he can anyway,” Sirius nodded, reaching over to pet the purring cat. “I have him up to speed on as much I can. He's going to take everything on for me and start other parts, like something to stop Albus from fiddling in this. Another bit he said was to send everything off to him when it comes to the forms for school and he'll take on sending them to the right place so Albus isn't alerted we're still going through with it. The rest—he's starting all he's able. He also told me when you are able to have your Solicitor up to speed on the mess, to let him know so the two can stay in contact over it.”
“I'll tend to it, never fear,” Lucius nodded, putting his glass on the table. “My plan was to meet with mine tomorrow. We'll go over everything then and I'll sign what's needed so he can communicate with yours.”
“From what he told me, he may have to involve the Ministry, in some way, to stop it,” Sirius sighed, shaking his head. “I don't like the idea, obviously, but if it comes down to it, we need to go that route. It means you need yours up to speed so we can do what we can to hide you for now.”
“It's something I'll make him aware of then the two can work together,” Lucius assured him, face taking on a grave look because of what it could mean. Yes, they needed this worked on as fast as they could manage. He'd ensure his Solicitor knew it was coming so they could put every measure in place they could think of.
“Have you heard anything from any of the parties involved?” He then asked, figuring Sirius had.
“Actually, yes,” Sirius told him. He started with the worst first. “Albus wrote. What I did was have the elves send it back unopened. I made damned sure not to touch it in case he put some kind of spell on it to track us. My assumption is the wards here negate any bits like those, but better safe than sorry. Not playing with him now that we're out. It's done. He can stew, plot, whatever until it comes time I have to face him in some way. No matter what, he's not getting anywhere.”
“The way to handle it, yes,” Lucius agreed. “I'll order the elves to send anything back without bringing the letters in the house from anyone associated with that end of the spectrum, at least for now. No sense taking a chance if we don't have to. And, yes, the wards and other spells will negate anything he thinks of to try to trace you, never fear.”
“I assumed, but not taking chances as we all know how tricky he is with this bit,” Sirius told him, though relieved they wouldn't have to deal with more from that end.
“And I heard from both Arthur and Remus through the other means,” he then pressed on. “Mostly it was filling me in on what they know. So far, Remus is making it sound like we're still in the house without coming out and saying we are. He said Albus has a few keeping watch on the park for us. What I thought was to let Remus know come tomorrow to tell them we aren't there anymore and he doesn't know where we went. He can then spin Albus in circles from there with him passing along me saying something like we're done and not wanting to deal with the mess anymore. As it's the truth, he won't have to lie on it. He can then take it from there with what he thinks is best with the situation. Between him and Arthur, they can come up with something to sound good.”
“Yes, the way to handle the debacle,” Lucius agreed, pleased. “With Remus in the middle of the muddle, he should be able to feed us information to keep you both safe.”
“Exactly,” Sirius grinned, chuckling. “He also suggested you lot keep up the heat. Maybe even being seen by those watching the house and get into a few verbal battles over it. It would keep everyone off-kilter enough and Albus' attention divided so he can't focus on finding us until after school starts. Once we're in the house, we should be fine and have enough in place it won't be an issue.”
“Something we'll do as well,” Lucius agreed. “I plan to take you over to the Dark Lord's tomorrow. While there, we'll ensure he's up to speed with everything and can pull out what he thinks is best. The more heat on that side, the safer we'll stay.”
“That's fine as long as we're with you,” Sirius told him, seeing Harry nod as well.
After ensuring there was nothing else he needed to know, Lucius relaxed then smirked. “Now, I say we relax and pick out what we need, such as clothes, your ideas on furnishings and the like. If we send the order off today, everything should arrive tomorrow.”
“This should be interesting,” Harry chuckled, shaking his head as he petted Calvin.
“I'm good with it,” Sirius agreed, grinning himself. “I do have a question, though.” When Lucius nodded and motioned for him to go on, he asked, “Is it possible for us to go to see the house before we relocate? After all, Harry and I haven't seen it yet. It will give us an idea what it's like. All we know is what we've seen from your end of it.”
“I'll do what I can to arrange it in the next week or so,” Lucius told him with a nod. “Not something I thought of, actually.” With a small smile, he added, “You'll like it. It's quite nice and somewhere private so we don't have to worry about being bothered.”
“Just curious what it looks like in person,” Harry added, leaning back and petting the purring Calvin.
“Of course,” Lucius nodded. Then, smirking again, he said, “Since the two of you liked the horseback ride, we'll pick out a couple of horses for you so you can ride all you like. They will be yours and I'll move them with us.”
“I like that idea,” Harry admitted, leaning against the grinning Sirius. While he wasn't sure about the horse bit when Lucius took them to the stables, the ride was wonderful, something he really enjoyed and wanted to do it again.
“Just so they aren't the temperamental kind,” Sirius chuckled, shaking his head. “Not sure how I would handle those.”
“I'll help you pick out an animal suited for the both of you,” Lucius assured them. Then he began asking what they wanted to do the rest of the day. His thought was they would stay outside and enjoy the weather. Maybe a swim or something. He also thought to have Narcissa and Draco join them for a time so they could all settle in and get used to one another. It was mandatory they do, so it was best to start quickly.

For the first time in a very long time, Albus was not only angry at his own Order members, but worried. He assumed after the blow up last night, Sirius would calm down and at least start discussing the issues which caused it so they could work out a compromise. However, it didn't happen. His owl was returned unopened, telling him Sirius was still irate over what happened. No, he didn't need this. There was too much going on for this spanner to stay in the works.
With a sigh, the aging Headmaster leaned back in his chair and shut his eyes. Come tomorrow, he would try writing again then talk with Remus. If anyone could manage to make Sirius see sense, it was Remus. He had managed many times in the past. Once he set Remus to the task, he planned to have words, harsh ones, with those in the Order who helped egg the situation on then bring it to the boil which happened. Minerva and Severus were going to end up on the receiving end of a stern talking to over their part in the mess. The two knew what Sirius had said and were informed he meant every word, yet kept going. No, this wouldn't be allowed to continue. They needed to keep their opinions on the matter to themselves and focus on the bigger picture. They couldn't be effective in all they had to do if people kept causing fights amongst themselves.
Eyes still shut, Albus shifted his train of thought to the bigger picture. There was so much which needed tending to that staying angry wasn't going to help. The Horcruxes—yes, he needed to take Severus' suggestion and start hunting those before this grew worse. He would concern himself with the one in Harry's scar later. Now they needed to find the ones out there and destroy them.
The Horcruxes were a problem in other ways as well, such as explaining to the Order what they were looking for without giving hints of what he might suspect. Even explaining what they were would cause issues, as plenty would be sickened by the dark objects. Yes, he had much to do and didn't need more problems added on.
Mind skipping to Tom, he groaned. While he doubted Tom knew what occurred, it would only be a matter of time before he realized Sirius had cut himself and Harry out of the Order. When that happened, the two would be his focus, he was certain on the topic. If he focused there, the two were in trouble, despite how good Sirius was at defending them. Add in the bond and it was a nightmare scenario. Not what any of them needed at this juncture as they were stretched plenty thin due to what Tom was doing anyway.
Finally opening his eyes, Albus stared at his desk, a weary expression on his face. This mess wasn't what he needed and he was kicking himself for allowing it to get to this point. If he had nipped it in the bud when it started, he wouldn't be in the position he was now. It was neither here nor there at this point, as it was a nightmare. So, he had to deal with it as it was. If it meant a stern dressing down with some of his Order members, he would do so. Well, and making sure he had a leash on them so it didn't transpire again once he managed to bring Sirius back into the fold.
After a few minutes of quiet contemplation, he straightened up. While tired, he had too much to tend to, so he needed to work on all of it. Rest could come later. Now he had planning to do then people who were going to feel the rough edge of his tongue. As the event was still fresh, it was best to let them know so they didn't think it was acceptable. Everyone needed to focus on the bigger picture, as he would point out, not something no one could change. He would make the point as clear as he could to them.
Plan starting to form, he snatched up his favorite quill then began to list what had to come first and who he wanted to talk to. Before the following night he would once more have everyone on the same page and working towards the common goal. Then he would manage with Sirius. Soon they would all be dealing with the bigger picture and what it meant for their world. Even if it took a few stinging hexes, of the metaphoric kind, to get everyone moving the right way, he would do so, easily.
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Well, Ain't That Strange?