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Lucky Strike	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Sirius Views: 76067 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 17
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and make no money off this strange dance in JK Rowling's world.

Chapter List
- 31
- 32
- 33
Beta'd by the most amazing Tenchi, who I can't thank enough for all the hard work she does for me!

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

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

Chapter 31

The next morning, Harry was a tad off-kilter; it wasn't caused by the fallout from the flashback either. It was what had happened the night before.
Up until this point in his life since moving into the house with everyone, Lucius and Severus were the two he hadn't seen real fear from or end up too ruffled over anything. He had now. After what they told him was the summons, where he had seen fear from Severus for the first time, Lucius and Cissy had come over with Alastor. He then saw the same sort of look on Lucius' face. Lucius was always his rock, someone he went to when he felt really unsafe. To see the look of fear, though the man tried to hide it, rocked his world in several ways. It was something he honestly didn't know how to handle.
Sirius and Remus were concerned, of course, as was Alastor. Plans were being made to keep them all safe. Unlike most times where everyone told him they would handle whatever and not to worry, they didn't this time. While they didn't come right out and say he needed to worry, they did tell him it was time to stay cautious about so much and pay attention to his surroundings more. This all told him it was deadly serious and he should worry, plenty.
Rufus was supposed to come over later and help with some of the plans. From what Harry knew, he was taking it all seriously as well. He wasn't sure what else was coming, but everyone seemed like they were prepared for lots of company today. It seemed like they were composing a ton of letters and sending them off. Even Hedwig was employed to make some deliveries after she returned from her normal flight to Hogwarts. All of this left him a tad nervous and uptight, but he was dealing. He just—well, he wanted information to protect himself, but was already missing being told not to worry and staying oblivious to everything serious.
He hadn't realized until now how much of the normal drama and whatever he was kept out of. Unless it was in the paper, he didn't pay attention to much of it. Most times he didn't notice unless everyone pointed it out to him and made comments. When they did such bits, he knew it was something he had to remember for whatever reason. Even then, it was rare.
Now he was focused like he had been in the past with those he needed to watch out for. The instinct never went away, just hadn’t been needed. He planned to get all the information he could manage and stay alert any time they were out of the house. From what Sirius said, his batshit cousin knew where the house was, so they would have to stay alert for her. As she was the one Lucius showed him in the picture, he knew who she was and planned to keep an eye out for her. And he was going to take Alastor and the others up on their offers of helping him with protection spells. For the first time in a long time, he wanted his Muggle weapons back. While he wouldn't pick up a gun, he would start carrying knives again. The wand would be used first, but he would feel better if he had a good sharp knife. Wizards wouldn't expect one of their kind to carry those, so it would give him an advantage. With all that was going on, an advantage was something he needed.

After everyone cleared out and it was about tea time, Harry was seated in the kitchen in his normal way, helping sort through the mass of parchments which had been delivered during the day. All he was doing was putting them in piles of what they were and would let the rest take it from there with what seemed like a small mountain of papers. From what he saw, most was about the current mess with bits for Severus and his business a close second.
As he tossed whatever into various piles after a quick look, he asked, “Does anyone have a picture or drawing of this Voldemort arse?” Then he frowned and looked around as everyone seemed to jump or flinch at the name. They had explained this bit to him before, but he still didn't understand how the mere mention of a name could cause such a reaction. No matter how they went about explaining, he would never understand this bit.
“Yes,” Severus told his son with a nod. “There are a few, but I’m not sure if his appearance has changed this time. It did during the last war.”
“What do you mean changed? Like plastic surgery?” Harry asked, tossing another parchment into the stack related to this nightmare.
“No,” Remus sighed, shaking his head. “We're not sure why it did, just that it happened. He looks—well, looked almost serpentine in some ways. The consensus was it had to do with the magic he was using for those objects we told you about.”
“Understood,” Harry nodded. He did, a little anyway. “I just want to know who to watch out for is all.”
“Trust me, if you encounter him, you'll know it,” Sirius sighed, shaking his head as he glanced through a letter from someone helping. “He'll make it clear who he is a split second before he tries to kill you. Unlike some, he's not the sort to hide or try to trick you. We'll find you one, though. I'll send a message off to Rufus about getting his hands on one.”
“Since you won't be going anywhere alone, and usually don't anyway, we'll make sure you know if we see him so you can remember his face,” Severus assured his son, tone distracted as he read through one of the many letters they had received.
“Trust me, once you see the evil git, you won't ever forget his face,” Sirius told him, looking plenty sour.
“As long as I know who I'm keeping watch for,” Harry told him, going back to focusing on the sorting.
“We'll make sure,” Remus assured him. “It'll be the same with some others, aside from the ones you saw in the wanted posters. There are more Death Eaters than just those. Lucius is putting together a list of all he remembers, the same with Severus. We're taking it to the DMLE tomorrow so Rufus knows who to watch for. He'll have pictures as well, so you can see them.”
“Don't engage any of them if you meet them somewhere. Defend yourself, but let others handle it,” Severus told him firmly. “These are ones we want the Ministry to handle. We're going to work on a signal to let everyone know help is needed. One will be to contact Rufus or Madam Bones and the other for those in the Order or Alastor if he isn't with us. Use them. It doesn't matter the situation. These will be for all of us and we will use them.”
“Will do,” Harry agreed. At first, when he came into their world, he thought what he knew of fighting would be enough to protect himself. Since then he knew it wasn't the case. He needed his wand to do so. At the very least, it was to shield himself. Other bits were for defense. Muggle weapons could work for some, but not all. Which brought him to the rest he wanted to know.
“You lot are going to work with me more on defense, right? The same with Alastor?” He inquired, looking around. “I think it was mentioned, but not sure.”
“We are,” Remus assured him with a determined nod. “Our plan is to work with you for an hour or so three days a week to teach you what we can.”
“Keep in mind some of the spells you already know will help,” Sirius told him, putting a hand on his back. “Disarm them if you can. It takes away the biggest of the weapons. Other spells you know like blasting and whatever else can assist as well. If you think it will help, use it. If nothing else, it buys time. In these cases, buying time is the best you can do because most of these arses do whatever in pairs or groups. It'll gives you time to get help.”
“These aren't like the people you had to deal with when you were with Muggles,” Severus sighed, shaking his head. “They are deadly and will stop at nothing, using the most vile curses and hexes imaginable, including the Unforgivables. Most of what they know you've not heard of. Some they even invented themselves to maim, torture or kill.”
“Bloody wonderful,” Harry muttered, shaking his head, reaching down to pet Bugs after giving him a piece of spinach. “I don't need to deal with any more insane people,” he sighed.
“Most aren't,” Remus grumbled. “They are just—power hungry. At least that's how they started. Now my thought is many are too frightened to leave because of what they saw during the last war. They know what he did then and how horrible it was, so they are too scared to back away.” Then, with a smile, he added, “They don't have the backbone or strength of character Severus and Lucius have. While they're targets, they did all they could for us.”
“I won't say you don't need to worry, because you do, but don't let it affect you too much,” Severus told his son, pleased with the compliment from his husband. “We plan on doing just what we always have and not letting it bother us other than the extra measures to protect ourselves. As you can see, plenty are doing all they can to give us information we need to prepare. Until all hell breaks loose and we need to go about this another way, we press on how we are.”
“I understand,” Harry nodded, smiling a little. It didn't mean he wasn't worried, because he was, but he didn't want to give up all the bits he had enjoyed for so long just because there was an evil arsehole running around.
“We'll just be doing more bits together or in groups, nothing more,” Sirius told him. “Like double dating for the movies with Severus and Remus. Probably dragging others along for outings and the like. We all like what we do, so we don't want to stop either. All it means is we'll be taking precautions.”
“Either precautions or sorting it with others,” Remus smiled. “Like when you two go to the Palace. It's not something Severus and I enjoy, but I'm sure others will. We'll just schedule oddly with others.”
“When it grows worse, we'll put more in place. Until then we press on,” Severus said, taking the pile Harry had stacked up of what dealt with this mess. “Just keep in mind we're safe where we are and no one can get in this house, no matter what they do. They might know where it is, but it doesn't help them with entering.”
“Exactly,” Sirius agreed with a nod, giving Harry a pat on the back. “We're perfectly safe.”
“Good,” Harry said with a smile. As long as they were safe in the house, he was fine. The rest? He'd deal as it came. Sorting more, he asked if they had plans for that night. He didn't think so, but wanted to check. If they didn't, he'd see what they might want to do. After all, keeping busy took their minds off this mess, something he wanted.

Harry wasn't the only one off-kilter since the summons the night before. Draco was, too, as well as unnerved. Unlike Harry, he understood the implications of not answering the summons. What he also understood was how much danger his father and Severus were in over this. All the Death Eaters who didn't land in Azkaban and were still loyal or feared the Dark Lord would make it clear his father and Severus were spies during the last war. This all meant his father was under a death sentence and in for plenty of torture before he died. And the torture would probably make him wish for death since it was not only for being a traitor, but to extract information about what he knew when it came to so much, like Harry. The time was here to really watch himself.
Though Blaise's mother wasn't a Death Eater, his friend knew what this meant when he showed him the letter, going pale. Pansy's father was a Death Eater, but she hadn't heard from him yet. Draco knew if her father decided to return to the Dark Lord, his good friend would be in a very precarious position. While she swore she would stick with him and he believed her, if her father put pressure on her to deliver information, he wasn't sure what would come of it.
The dorm was a tense place today. Plenty probably knew their parents had been summoned and some information. Those gathered in small groups and talked in hushed tones, occasionally looking at the rest of them. Others just looked lost and frightened, like they weren't sure what to do. Slughorn had been in and talked to a few. With what Draco knew of such matters, he had probably heard about the summons and was trying to steer them from the wrong path. From their end, they were staying away from those they knew would follow the Dark Lord without question. It wasn't the easiest bit in the world as they shared a dorm with some of them, but they were managing the best they could. They just had to keep an eye out for each other.
From what Draco could tell during the day and the interactions during classes, most of the school was oblivious to the big signal of what was coming, going about their normal routines. There were a few tense looks from those he knew were either children of Death Eaters from other houses or attached to what his father called the new Order. He assumed they heard in the morning mail just like he had and were trying to adjust and plan. When it came to some, he would keep an eye on them because of their attachment to the Dark Lord. Others—he would ignore them. They had to worry about keeping themselves safe just like he did, so they didn't need tormented.
The only other odd bit was the Potter prat. Draco wasn't sure what happened there, but the fool was quieter than normal. In fact, from what Draco could tell, he was not only avoiding everyone, but going in the other direction when he saw him. The thought made him smirk, being amused, but it made what he had to do harder. He'd manage, no problem. It just meant he had to go about it another way.
As they wandered back to the dorms after tea, one of the areas Draco kept an eye on was Potter. The short observation before the prat headed up the stairs confirmed that Potter was trying to avoid everyone but a few from the house of the lions. One of those was his sister, of course. It appeared he had been smacked with the clue hammer in some way. A few from Slytherin tried to start with the prat, but he walked off. Interesting.
Though keeping a wary eye out for problems, Draco, Pansy and Blaise made their way leisurely towards the dungeons. Since it was the time most went to tend to whatever, such as the library, the halls weren't that busy. As they meandered along, Draco ensured no one they didn't want to overhear anything was around then said, keeping his voice down, “We need a plan and might have to recruit someone to help.”
“What are we doing?” Pansy asked, eyes akimbo as they walked along. Of course, she was sure she would love this, but wanted to know what it was first.
“Potter,” Draco told her with a smirk similar to his father's. “He's trying to avoid people and confrontation from what I observed. We can't allow this. Because of what's going on, I'm sure Father and the others need what he knows more than ever.”
“Oh, we'll find a way,” Blaise said with a grin and chuckle. “I do agree, a diversion is needed to rile him up. And I don't think it should be any of us, though we can lurk around.”
“Theo would do well,” Pansy suggested. Theodore Nott was one who planned to side the right way, no matter what his father did, after thinking it over. In fact, he was avoiding the ones who were in the Dark Lord's camp. He was trying to protect himself. “We just have to make certain no one sees us talking to him. He's trying to protect himself and not let anyone know. All we have to do is fill him in about what we're trying and he'll help. With as smart as he is, he'll make sure the wrong ones aren't around when he goes after the prat.”
“We'll pull him aside later and work out some way to set Potter off,” Draco agreed with a nod, hearing Blaise concur. “I want as much information as I can get as fast as we can manage. And I think we need to pay attention to other bits said. I'll send them off to Father. He and the rest will manage to sort it out from there then pass along what they think is helpful.”
“Mother made it clear she wants me to stay out of as much as I can, but she approves of this, so count me in. We'll do what we can while staying out of the middle,” Blaise said with a smirk of his own. “And I don't think it'll take much to set Potter off. He might be trying to control himself, but if you poke the right way, he'll blow again. We just need to find the place to poke.”
“I bet it comes down to his parents and Dumbledore.” Pansy tossed out there. “Those seem like the tetchiest of topics with him. Try starting there. Might take a bit more than the normal too, if he's trying to control himself.”
“We'll start there,” Draco agreed with an evil smirk. “Theo knows what he's doing, so we'll let him decide how to do the prodding. I think it'll take a bit more than normal as he's trying, but I doubt he has the self control to keep himself in check for long.”
“Probably not,” Blaise snickered, shaking his head. “If it doesn't bear fruit, let's see what else we can find. Maybe a multi-prong attack is the way to go here. If he's under stress, the self control will slip then he'll go.”
“It might work,” Pansy said with a nod. “Not sure where else to poke, honestly, especially if we stay out of it.”
“Which means it's time to observe and listen,” Draco said, looking between the two. “I say we pay a bit closer attention to what he's like then we'll decide.”
“I know a couple in Ravenclaw who might manage,” Blaise suggested. “They won't be suspected and can get us what we need. I won't say why, of course, and let them think what they want.”
“Good plan,” Draco told him with a pleased nod. “Go with it. Leave us out of it and have them use you as a contact.”
“I'll meet up with them tonight before Prefect rounds and see what I can manage.” Blaise assured him. “I'll see if they have some suggestions as well.”
“In the end, we'll come up with something and I doubt it'll be hard,” Pansy chuckled, shaking her head.
“We will,” Draco agreed. “While everyone needs the info now, I'm sure knowing what we can find out about the prat will probably end up something we need in the future as well, for plenty of reasons. What's coming—many will need all the info they can get their hands on,” he sighed, looking plenty dour.
“True and if the prat will give it to us, we'll take it,” Pansy agreed, leaning against Draco, books clutched to her chest. “Anything can help with this mess.”
Draco leaned against his best friend and smiled just a little. “It will.” He agreed with a nod.
“How is Harry?” Blaise asked as they headed down the stairs towards the dorms.
“Better from what I can tell,” Draco said, planning to guide them to the small room they used for privacy. He just wasn't ready to face all the 'politics' in the dorm yet and wanted to relax before they had to deal with it. “He's sounding like normal again in his letters and is talking about going out to do whatever.”
As they moved along, they talked, planning ways to not only accomplish the mission they were calling Poking the Prat, but to protect themselves from the hell they all knew was coming.
- 31
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Lucky Strike