Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

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 34

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.

Grinning as he looked over the article in the Prophet, Sirius gave a slow nod. Perfect. Absolutely perfect! Just how Snape and Lucius told them it would play out. Peter confessed to everything that had gotten him tossed into prison. In fact, he laid out just how it had happened and what he did in detail. There was plenty more as well. From what he read so far, there wasn't much there about the current mess, just brief mentions of very vague signs, but plenty from the last war. Another perfect bit as far as he was concerned. Glancing at Harry, who leaned over to read the article as he ate, Sirius said, “This is what we needed.”

“Your solicitor should be at the Ministry throwing a tantrum like no one has seen before as we speak,” Lucius said, laying his copy of the paper down. “Let's see what he can manage. I don't think it's going to take long to clear you, honestly. Most is going to depend on them cutting a deal with Wormtail.”

“It can't come fast enough,” Sirius told him, unable to wipe the grin off his face. Tossing the paper down, he picked up his tea and took a drink. “Which means we now have to really keep a close eye on what the old man might pull.”

Picking up the paper and glancing at the old picture of Wormtail there, reading through the article quickly, Harry grinned. “This is about the best birthday present, ever.”

“I don't think I saw it that way, but I get that,” Sirius chuckled, reaching over to ruffle Harry's hair. Slipping an arm around him, he pulled him close then gave him a kiss on top of the head. Looking around after that, he said, “We now need to stay on our toes and play what's coming by ear.”

Going through the mail, sorting it into piles, Remus said, tone distracted, “We'll manage. Don't worry, Sirius. As we've dealt with Albus for so long, well, most of us anyway, we'll stay wary of what he normally tries.” That's where he stopped, glancing at a largish sealed envelope from Harry's solicitor. Setting it aside, he quickly sorted through the rest and pushed them to the appropriate people before going back to the envelope. Opening it, seeing it expand to much larger, he took the cover letter that came with a mass of parchments and read it. Smiling as he went through it, he nodded. Quickly, he set it aside then rifled through the stack that was there. As he did, he said, tone distracted, “Set up the alarm for the front door. We don't want anyone coming in and seeing this.”

Doing that, Lucius asked, eying the mountain of parchments that was there, “What are those?” He hoped it was the paperwork they needed.

“It's the complete accounting of Harry's assets,” Remus told him, smiling bigger as he found the file folder containing what they needed. “And this,” he started, going through what was there, putting aside what looked like a badge that was the coat of arms for the House of Potter, “is all we need to get into Peverell Castle. Including a rundown of what's there, how many elves, all that.” Holding up the badge, he said, “This is the official family Portkey to enter the property. As Harry is now sixteen, he can use it at will. Which means we can get in and see what's there.”

“Perfect!” Sirius grinned, nodding.

Pulling a letter out of the folder, Remus' brow furrowed as he read through it. Sighing, he said, “This is from James. He said this is where to take Harry to protect him. It's not much, more of an official bit of what I would need like with the vaults and such, but it says that it's better protected than Hogwarts. He does add it's not been used in several generations, but should be fine as he ensured that the elves maintained it. On it is also a list of the wards and protections. It has something,” trailing off, he shook his head and sighed. “I don't know what you would call this, honestly. The closest I can come to describing what is written here is a permanent Fidelius of some kind on it. It's not like Hogwarts, more like no one but family and those they key in can even see it. Even then, it will reject anyone that tries to get in that it deems untrustworthy or dangerous.” Stopping, he looked around and smiled, “This is what we need and what James wanted. It's perfect!”

“Which means we have to get in there soonest to see what needs tended to,” Lucius said, pleased with this.

Nodding, Remus agreed, “We do. Fast. I'm not sure if we can manage it tonight, but we might want to try.” Sorting through the rest, he found the parchment he needed. “And I am now Harry's official guardian. It's no longer temporary. He says that will last until you get cleared, Sirius. Once that happens, custody will transfer magically to the rightful person; you.”

“Another perfect thing,” Sirius grinned, nodding.

“Something that means we have what we need in place to counter anything Albus may pull,” Lucius told them, glancing around. “Good. Now we just have to work on the rest of it.”

“Let's see if Severus can come over today so we can work out when we can get into that castle,” Narcissa said with a small smile. She liked this.

“We also need to settle what we're doing with who's staying where,” Remus glanced around. “I mean—we know Narcissa and Draco aren't in danger, so there is no need to force them to stay with us. Petunia and Dudley need to come with us, obviously. Lucius is a must because of the bond.”

“I do think it's best that Narcissa stay with us,” Lucius said. “Draco--,” stopping he looked at his son, who was glancing at him. Sighing, he gave a small smile then added, “I think Draco will divide his time between us and staying with the Dark Lord.” Pressing on, he said, “While the two aren't in danger, like we said to wiggle to get here, I think it's wise they stay hidden so Albus can't track them. He will have to know we're involved in all of you absconding then will try to get information.”

“I don't suppose we thought of it that way,” Sirius admitted. “We can do that. If it's a castle, there is plenty of room and we won't get on each other's nerves. That's good anyway.”

Pushing all the papers over to Lucius to look over as he knew what he was doing, Remus said, “Very true! Let's see what it's like. There are no pictures with the information, so we don't have a clue.”

“Where is it located?” Petunia asked, curious, as she wanted to know where they would be going to get an idea what to prepare for.

“Just a tad outside Scarborough in North Yorkshire,” Remus told her. “Which is good as well. As big as that town is, we can easily disguise ourselves then slip out from time to time to have some fun or get what we need. That will save on us all going slightly barmy.”

“Very true,” Sirius nodded, liking that. “We won't end up noticed either as that's a big tourist area and new people showing up won't make anyone think twice.”

“Let's see what we can manage when it comes to getting into the castle then take a brief look around as to what is where,” Lucius said, tone distracted as he looked through everything. As it was, what he saw was all they needed when it came to the mess. It was the complete documentation when it came to Harry and all the required bits like his birth certificate. Good.

Just as Sirius was about to ask some more questions, a barn owl swooped in dropped letters in front of Harry, Draco and Dudley. Watching it swoop out, he nodded, “That would be the Hogwarts letters. Which means we can get the books we need.”

Opening his, Harry glanced through it then grinned, shaking his head. Handing over the letter, he said, “I'm Quidditch captain. Professor McGonagall is going to have kneazles when I don't show up.”

Grinning at that himself, Sirius told him, “She is!” Looking at the letter, he said, “Nothing else here beyond the standard.” Looking at Petunia and Dudley, who were both looking at his letter, he asked, “What does yours say? It should give the year when it comes to the books we have to get.”

“It's saying first year,” Petunia told him, looking in his direction.

“Not sure if that means anything yet as these are standard letters. Which means, we have to wait on that bit. Nothing to worry about,” Sirius told her. “Either way, we're going to throw his plans off.” Glancing at Draco, he said, “All kinds of ways. I don't think he has anything set up yet and these just went out like normal. It's almost like an automated system, nothing more. Someone oversees them to make sure the pens don't do something strange, but they don't read them.”

“We'll wait to see what Albus tries to pull here,” Remus sighed, looking around then taking a sip of his drink. “I'm sure he'll say something in a couple days so we know what we have to counter. The more time we have, the better we can hone what we have to do.”

Picking up his letter again, Harry looked at it as something was trying to jog loose. Thinking about Umbridge and the twins then what happened there, he asked, “Sixteen is the age you can drop out if you want, isn't it?”

“Yes,” Sirius told him. Brow furrowed, he asked, “Why?”

“If he gets too stupid about this or tries to pull something, can't we just say I'll drop out? I mean, he can't do anything if I do that and there is no way to stop it. Fred and George did that last year.” Harry told him, looking around.

“We can do that,” Lucius said, looking up from the papers. “It's feasible and if Harry makes the choice, there's nothing Albus can do. That might work nicely to back him off.”

“We'll use that as the last resort,” Remus said with a nod. “If Petunia acts like she's getting seriously distressed and nothing else is working, Harry can pull that out. What we can do after that is have him and Dudley leave after he does then work with the situation. It should get us what we want or throw him off, one of the two.”

“We'll go that way,” Sirius nodded, happy with that suggestion as Albus would end up in a right panic if Harry pulled that out. Changing topics, he said, “Today I'm going to snag Kreacher and bind him to Draco. That way we can keep him from causing problems. I think it's something we can use to shut the house after we vanish, too. At the very least, we can keep him from doing something stupid.”

“Just get with us this afternoon and we'll do that,” Narcissa smiled.

“Alright,” Sirius nodded after she said that, “what I say is we tend to this crap this morning and let Lucius handle whatever needs done.”

“It doesn't appear that this is anything that needs handled, honestly,” Lucius told him, leafing through all the parchments. “It's just the listing we wanted, nothing more. I'll ensure its put somewhere safe, though, as it's documentation we need for later.”

“Good, less crap to worry about,” Sirius said, pleased with that. Pressing on, he told them, “We need it put up and to not discuss anything that's coming today as I'm damned sure we're going to have people in and out all day. So, we just take a day to muck about. Good with you lot?” Seeing nods and hearing affirmations, he said, “We'll do that unless Snape turns up with something we have to handle.” After that, he began to ask what everyone would like to do for some fun.

Chuckling as he looked around, Harry just shook his head. They had all expected plenty of people to show up for his birthday, but this was beyond that. The Weasleys, all of them, were there, of course. So were a number from the Order as well. In fact, there were so many around that they had to expand the kitchen table to fit everyone. The elves had to work plenty hard to make sure there was enough food for everyone. Mrs. Weasley, of course, brought a cake for him. It was shaped like a snitch with wings that actually moved. He thought it was brilliant.

Seated between Lucius and Sirius, he watched the plates and leftovers vanish then chuckled when what seemed like a small mountain of presents appeared. Grinning sheepishly, Harry didn't know what to say about this. It was the first time he had ever had a party like this and he usually just got a few presents.

Nudging his godson, grinning himself, Sirius said, “Looks like you have your work cut out for you, Harry!”

“It does!” Harry laughed. “What did you lot do?”

“Kept Remus busy,” Sirius grinned at him. “We had him running all kinds of places to pick up stuff.” Looking over the pile of presents, he said, “You might want to get to it as this is going to take you a while. Besides, we want cake and can't get that until you're done!”

Snickering, Harry nodded then told him, “I get the hint.” Grabbing the first present, he tore into it. This felt good, though. He never had something like this before, let alone so many show up for one of his birthdays. It was something he liked. Some that were here he didn't know well, obviously, but it felt great that they made a point to come over for it. Yeah, it was something he liked.

Once everyone outside those that lived in the house left, Harry looked over the mass of gifts he had received and smiled. Quietly, he said, “Thanks, everyone. This was great.” Picking up his new broom, he grinned at it. That meant he was now on equal footing with Draco and Dudley when it came to speed, something he liked.

Slipping an arm around his godson, Sirius pulled him close and kissed him on the side of the head. “Nothing to thank us for. Glad you enjoyed it.” Lowering his voice, he whispered, hoping Petunia and Dudley didn't hear so they didn't feel bad, “It's about time you had a great one. We made sure you got it.”

“It's greatly appreciated,” Harry nodded, still smiling.

Looking over the mass of not only Wizarding gifts, things like the broom, a few toys that teens loved, stuff from the WWW shop and the like, plus the Muggle ones, like munchies, Sirius grinned, “You got a good haul. That's all that counts.”

“I did,” Harry laughed, looking through all that was there. When it came to some of it, they were going to have a great time. Others were bits he hadn't ever seen and adored. That was great.

While examining the small box that he could use to put anything in, as it had an expanding charm to hold as much as you wanted, Harry looked up when he heard someone else come in. Not sure who it was, he waited, hoping it wasn't Dumbledore. When he saw Snape come in, he relaxed and nodded, going back to looking over some of the gifts.

Taking a seat at the table, Severus slid a package over to Harry. “Happy Birthday, Mr. Potter.”

Not expecting that, Harry nodded then tore into the wrapping paper. When he pulled out a copy of Hogwarts; A History, he grinned, completely amused. Hermione had read the thing, of course, and could almost quote it by memory, but he hadn't seen it before. Opening the cover, he looked at front endpaper then stopped. Reaching up, he rubbed a finger over the name written there. “This was mum's?” He asked, quietly.

“Yes,” Severus told him with a nod. “I thought you might like to have it.”

“I—yes,” Harry told him softly, eying his mother's name. “Thank you,” he finally said, looking at him.

“You're welcome,” Severus nodded, pleased by the reaction.

“That was very thoughtful, Severus,” Petunia told him quietly, smiling at her nephew's reaction.

Nodding at that, Severus said nothing, though he appreciated what she said. Clearing his throat, he said, looking around, “Albus wants to talk to me tomorrow about some of this mess. Minerva will be there as well. So I assume it's about the schooling. I'll pass on what I find out as quickly as I can. You need to prepare for that. I assume, from what Lucius said in his note, that you have a plan in place for this?”

“We do,” Sirius grinned. “And one that will send him scrambling.” Quickly, he ran down the parts Snape had heard then moved on to what Harry mentioned that morning. “And we'll pull it out if we have to. Remus has the papers we need to stop everything anyway, so he's getting nowhere.”

Smirking hugely, Severus nodded, “We'll go that way. That should throw him off kilter enough to give us the time we need.” Looking around, he said, “Tonight I say we venture to see the castle. Late, of course, but we need to get in and get the elves moving so it's repaired. A short walk around in it should be enough to tell us what needs worked on. I think this is for the best as once Albus starts, we may have problems with people being around trying to push his agenda.”

“We can do that,” Lucius nodded, putting a hand on Harry's leg, smiling slightly at the way the young man was just gazing at the book he had been given. That was good as well. It would be something he could cherish as he just didn't have much from his parents.

“We'll plan for it,” Sirius told him, holding Harry close.

Stepping into the entry hall of the castle, Harry just grinned. He owned a castle. A real castle! It wasn't as big as Hogwarts, of course, but it had a moat and drawbridge, not to mention it was surrounded by a high wall. Of course, there were turrets, towers and everything else true castles had. Unable to stop grinning, he listened as their footsteps echoed on the stone floors, glancing around at the tapestries and paintings, looking at the lights, trying to take everything in at once. He stopped, though, when he heard a multitude of soft pops. Looking ahead of them, he saw what appeared to be a small army of house elves there, all wearing clean towels with a patch that seemed to be the Potter coat of arms. Not sure what to do, he looked between Lucius and Sirius.

Putting a hand on Harry's shoulder, Lucius said, quietly, “Just tell them you've come home. And that you need to get the house ready for occupation. That tells them their master is coming to live here for a time. After that, ask the head elf to step forward.” This was good, though. Not only was it a very safe place to stay that was well protected, the number of elves in residence told him they could get everything up to the standards they needed quickly.

Nodding, Harry then said, “I've come home. I need the castle ready to be lived in as soon as possible.” Seeing all the elves bow and twitter happily, he then said, “I need the head elf to step forward.”

Immediately, an old elf with hair growing out of his ears stepped forward and bowed. “Master Potter, I am Twiddle. I's oversee the elves, Master Potter, sir.”

Looking at the elf, he then glanced at Lucius before saying, “Lucius and Sirius are my bondmates. You'll take orders from them just like you would from me.” He hoped that would mean Lucius could take over and get the elf to give up what they wanted to know.

Pleased with what Harry did, as it gave him the foot in he needed, Lucius summoned the elf forward then began questioning him about the state of the house and other areas. This way he could set up food delivery and the other necessities they needed without having to relay that through Harry. Having Narcissa come over, as she was the one to handle such matters for the Manor, he quickly went into what they needed, hoping that they could get most of it set up before they took up occupancy. That and getting everything in place as fast as they could manage.

While Lucius was tending to that bit, Harry walked around grinning. Feeling Dudley nudge him, he looked at his cousin and chuckled at the enthused look there. “This is great!” He said, unable to stop grinning.

“It is! I've always wanted to live in a castle, now we get to. And I mean it's perfect! Moat, drawbridge, towers, all of it! Oh, this is great,” Dudley enthused, looking around. He wanted to go exploring, but that wasn't the best idea as they only had a limited time before they had to get back. Grinning hugely, he said, “I want one of the towers as a bedroom!”

“There are enough towers we can each have one,” Draco said, stepping up as he looked around. He was impressed with this, that's for sure. Malfoy Manor had always been known as one of the biggest estates in the UK. This, though, put it to shame. Not only was it bigger, it was more impressive. Grinning, he added, “Yes, a tower for each of us. It should be a great view.”

“They are,” Harry chuckled. “Gryffindor is in one of the towers. It's wonderful when it comes to the view.”

“I am not walking up all those steps each night to go to bed,” Sirius said as he came up behind them, chuckling. “I did it in school fine, but I'm too old to do that each night now. I'm sure that Lucius would protest as well.”

“Looks like you're stuck downstairs then, Potter,” Draco smirked.

“We'll find something good for all of us. Just no towers and no dungeons,” Sirius laughed, putting a hand on Harry's shoulder. “I'm sure there is a master suite of rooms we can take as it should go to Harry anyway. The elves would have fits if we didn't because of who he is. Lucius is going to get us a floor plan so we can see where everything is then work accordingly. This is good, though. Plenty of room so we can have time apart from each other.” Nudging his godson and grinning, he added, “I'm also sure there is probably a Quidditch pitch out back. Those are standard for most big homes.”

“Oh, that will be great!” Dudley enthused with a big grin. “We have to find out!”

“I agree; no tower for a bedroom,” the smirking Lucius said as he came over after consulting with the head elf. “Twiddle is going to give us a quick tour while one of the others finds us the master plans. This way we can start dealing accordingly.” Seeing the elf waiting for them, he motioned for the creature to get on with it. This was good and perfect for what they needed.

Trailing along behind everyone, eyes taking in what was where, Severus was pleased. While it might take a little time to get it up to standards, it was good enough that they could pull up stakes and get here at any time. The Dark Lord would love this as he wouldn't have to worry about keeping a close eye on them for protection's sake. That they needed so they could focus elsewhere. Smirking as he heard the three teens start to yammer when the Quidditch pitch was mentioned, he just shook his head. That was expected, of course, and good. It meant they had plenty to occupy themselves with. He wasn't sure how long this would drag on before that prophecy kicked into high gear, so something to do was needed. It was far better than Grimmauld Place, that's for certain.

Gazing up at the high ceilings, he nodded as he saw the standard spell in place, the one like in Hogwarts Great Hall, that showed the sky outside. Also, like Hogwarts, you could almost feel the magic oozing from the very stones around them. There was something comforting about that feeling, it made you feel like you belonged here. It wasn't his home, of course, or Hogwarts, but it was nice. Yes, this was good. That meant they could move along quickly and the plan for getting them out was mostly in place. They just had to buy time, that was all. From what he saw, that they could easily manage. Perfect.
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Through the Veil and Back Again