Harry Potter and The Beloved Incubus (BP4)
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Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
41
Views:
21,986
Reviews:
120
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Category:
Harry Potter › Slash - Male/Male › Harry/Draco
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
41
Views:
21,986
Reviews:
120
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Rearview Mirror
Chapter Number/Total: 35/41
Chapter Title: Rearview Mirror
Words: 4577 Words
Harry's eyes widened beyond belief and his heart began beating quicker. He didn't dare to hope. Perhaps he had imagined it.
"Harry Potter!"
Harry spun around and it was a wonder Valen didn't wake up. He rushed over to the bed, grabbing the mirror up quickly and holding it level to his face.
Harry hardly believed it, but there was Sirius, just as Harry remembered him. Harry's mouth dropped open and he couldn't even draw a breath.
"Harry," Sirius breathed, an unidentifiable emotion in his eyes.
Harry sat down heavily on the bed so as not to fall over. "S- Sirius?" he asked breathlessly, mouth still hanging open.
"I've been trying to get a hold of you," Sirius said. His expression then looked like one of relief, but that wasn't quite it.
Harry could still hardly speak. "B- but - but you're-"
"Dead?" He nodded, a small frown wrinkling his brow. "I think so anyway."
Harry felt faint. "Is this - is this real?" he asked.
"Real to me," Sirius answered. He seemed to be trying to look past Harry. "Where are you? What's been going on? I don't even know how long it's been."
Harry was a bit overwhelmed by the questions. "I - I'm at home," he answered.
Sirius gave him a questioning look.
Harry laughed, but it was one more of hysteria than of humour. "Malfoy Manor," he said, voice high.
Sirius's eyes widened considerably. "What?" he asked. "What are you doing calling there home?"
Harry gave another laugh, sounding even more hysterical. "I'm married," he said. "I married ... Draco Malfoy."
"What?" Sirius asked again, looking highly confused. "The one that was always giving you trouble in Hogwarts?"
Harry nodded slowly. "I'm married," he said again. "And I have a baby." He pointed the mirror down a bit to reveal the sleeping Valen. When he brought the mirror back to his face, Sirius looked speechless.
"Are you telling me the truth?" Sirius asked, his mouth open a bit.
"Of course I am," Harry said. "His name is Valentine Leander Malfoy. He's my son and Draco's my husband. It's been nearly three years now since you ...."
Sirius frowned a small bit and nodded.
Draco walked back into the room then. "Harry, have you seen my ...." He trailed off at the look on his husband's face.
Harry looked up at Draco, still wearing much the same face he'd had when Sirius had first started talking to him.
"Who is that?" Sirius asked quickly, trying to look and see, even though there was no way he could as Harry was still holding the mirror to his face.
Draco took in the look and the mirror. "It works?" he asked.
Harry gave three very slow nods. "It's ... Draco," he said to Sirius, and despite the fact that Harry had already told him, Sirius looked surprised.
"You're not lying about that?" he asked.
"I'm not lying about that," Harry answered.
Draco walked around to stand next to Harry and look into the mirror.
Sirius looked even more surprised, looking at Draco.
"Merlin," he said. "You're married?"
Harry nodded, slowly again. "Since October of this past year. It's April now."
Draco raised an eyebrow, smirking a bit. He nodded when Harry spoke. He glanced behind them at their sleeping child but didn't say anything.
"How did you end up with ... him?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow at Draco in turn.
"It's a long story," Harry said, still feeling numb from shock. "Sirius, where are you? Are you okay? What happened? Are you alone? Why didn't you answer the first time I tried to talk to you?"
"I'm fine," Sirius answered. "I didn't even know you tried to reach me before. I've been trying as long as I've been here. And as far as where here is ... I really don't know. It's ... difficult to explain when I don't know all the facts myself."
"Can you get out?" Harry asked quickly.
"If I could I would already be there," Sirius said quietly.
Harry frowned, not knowing how to respond to that.
Draco nodded. "Is your brother, Regulus, there?" he asked.
Sirius looked surprised at the question, but nodded.
Draco looked at Harry questioningly, but continued. "We have some questions for him," he said, and then hesitated. "And Lupin is downstairs."
Sirius paused, staring at Draco. "He - he is?" he asked. "How's he been?"
Harry smiled softly. "Why don't you ask him yourself?" he said, still hardly able to believe that he was talking to Sirius again.
Sirius seemed to falter a bit, something Harry might have found odd if he didn't know what the situation between Lupin and Sirius was.
"I - yes," Sirius said, actually looking uncharacteristically nervous.
"He will want to see you," Draco said, a ghost of a smile in his expression. He turned to Harry. "Mrs Weasley will be here to watch Valen in a minute. We should go to the library. The others are waiting."
Harry nodded, taking the cot out of his pocket and unshrinking it again.
"So that baby really is yours?" Sirius asked, still sounding a bit nervous.
Harry smiled and nodded as he got to his feet again and lay Valen gently inside the cot.
"May I ask how you two got a kid?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"Another long story," Harry said with a small smile.
Draco smirked, suppressing a colourful retort about how children are conceived. Instead he just said, "Magic."
"Ah," said Sirius, nodding, an eyebrow still raised.
"I'm going to put you in my pocket for a minute," Harry said, anxious to get down to the library and not wanting to have to explain to Mrs. Weasley right at the moment.
"Okay," said Sirius with a nod. Just then, there was a knock on their door.
"Harry, dear?" It was Mrs Weasley.
"Yeah, come in," Harry called and he explained to her that Valen had been fed and burped and had just been laid down for a nap.
He walked out into the sitting room to Apparate without waking Valen up.
Hermione, Ron and Remus were already in the library when Harry and Draco arrived. Draco looked quickly between Harry and Lupin. He had some idea of how the man would feel about talking to his dead lover. He wondered if the other two had ever guessed about the relationship.
Everyone looked up when Harry and Draco entered.
"Oh, Harry," Hermione said right away. "I think I found something in one of the notebooks that could be-"
Harry held a hand up. "Erm," he said, not really sure how to go about this, "Remus?"
Remus was sitting in one of the overstuffed chairs and had one of James's notebooks open. "Yes, Harry?" he asked. "Is Valen all right?"
"Oh, yeah. Yeah, he's fine," Harry answered.
Ron and Hermione were staring at him strangely.
"I think - I think there's something you should see," Harry said, reaching into his pocket and pulling the mirror out.
Draco nearly held his breath as Harry handed the mirror to Lupin. Personally, he would have warned the man, but Harry had his own way of doing things.
Remus reached for the small mirror and looked at it. He nearly dropped it when he saw Sirius's face.
Harry bit his lip, not knowing if he should watch or not.
Sirius swallowed, opening and closing his mouth before he actually spoke. "Hey, Moony," he said quietly.
Remus was speechless for a moment. "Padfoot?" he managed to whisper.
"In the flesh - well, sort of," Sirius answered with a small half-grin, but it was sad too.
"Harry is that - " Hermione began, looking at Harry with widened eyes.
Draco nodded to both Hermione and Ron.
Remus was choked up and he had trouble speaking. "How?" he asked in wonder, stroking the mirror like he could touch the other man through it.
"You remember these old things from school," Sirius said. "I gave one to Harry, remember?"
Remus's eyes were teared up and he nodded. "Yes, I remember now," he said hoarsely.
"I've been trying to reach him, but I guess he didn't have his mirror lying around. Can't say I blame him."
Harry bit his lip again.
"It's ... it's been a long time," Remus said, swallowing hard. "A lot has happened."
"So, I heard," said Sirius, smiling sadly. "Harry's married and has a baby."
Remus rolled his eyes, smirking. "With Draco Malfoy," he added.
Sirius snorted. "Yeah. He told me that too," he said. "So ... how have you been? You been ... okay?"
Remus looked a bit embarrassed but shrugged. "I miss you," he said quietly.
Sirius smiled sadly again. "I miss you," he said, and Harry could hear that they both wanted to say more.
"What's it like?" Remus asked.
Sirius frowned. "I hate it," he said quietly.
Draco didn't want to interrupt but he was curious himself. He looked at Harry and the others, judging their reactions as well.
Harry frowned and bit his lip again. All of this was so very odd, and so very frustrating. He could do nothing to help Sirius and he knew it.
"I don't know where I am," Sirius continued. "I have to assume it's some sort of holding place, where anyone goes from here I don't know. It seems as though all the people I've talked to have something in common: all of our deaths were by murder."
"Dumbledore," Draco said, practically under his breath.
Harry's eyes widened and he looked to Remus. "Dumbledore," he said, louder than Draco had.
Remus caught the exchange. "Sirius, I think the boys need to ask you some questions relating to our work," he said. "But ... it means a lot ... to hear your voice, to see you."
"Talk to me later," Sirius said quickly and a bit insistently, seeming almost scared to let Remus out of his sight.
Draco took a deep breath, not liking to be reminded of what that would feel like if it happened to Harry and himself.
Harry bit his lip yet again and reached his hand out to take the mirror from Remus. He let out a small breath when Sirius's face was in front of his own again. "Is Dumbledore there, Sirius?" he asked, heart beating a little quicker.
Sirius' eyes widened and he was silent and shocked-looking. "Dumbledore is dead?" he asked, mouth agape.
Harry closed his eyes. "Then he's not there," he said, clenching his teeth for a moment.
Sirius still seemed highly alarmed with this news. "He was murdered?" he practically hissed.
"I don't know," Harry answered. "He was killed, but he literally asked for it to happen - planned it even." And Harry explained the situation between the Headmaster and Snape.
Sirius was scowling when he was finished. "I should be there," he said, voice harsh. "I should be there, dammit!" He took several deep breaths through his nose.
Sirius's anger and frustration cut Harry like a knife. He clenched the hand that wasn't holding the mirror.
Draco closed his eyes for a minute, his own guilt rising to the surface before he pushed it back down. "We have to focus on what is now," he said coldly.
Harry blinked the wetness from his eyes and took several deep breaths like his godfather. "We need to speak with your brother," he said. "He may have information very important to us. Is it possible for us to talk to him?"
"I can call him to me," Sirius said, and he looked as if he were trying to calm himself.
Harry nodded. "Please," he said.
Sirius took one final breath before turning slightly and calling, "Regulus Black!"
There was suddenly another voice. "What?" The voice sounded similar to Sirius's, but was just a tad higher perhaps.
"I got the mirror to work," Sirius said, frowning at a space slightly to his right.
There was silence.
"Harry Potter wants to talk to you," Sirius continued.
There was another bout of silence before the mirror was passed, and then Harry was looking into the face of Regulus Black. He was a thinner, smaller version of Sirius and looked much more angular and sharp. He raised an eyebrow.
Ron and Hermione rushed over to look at the mirror over Harry's shoulder.
Draco sat up higher on his knees, head near Harry's as he peered into the small mirror, too.
"Yes?" Regulus asked expectantly when Harry simply stared for a moment.
"You knew about Voldemort's Horcruxes," Harry said. "You found the locket."
Regulus's eyes seemed to widen just a tad before he hid it with a cool expression. "You know of them?" he asked.
Draco nodded. "We destroyed the locket," he said.
Regulus looked at Draco and seemed a bit suspicious of him. "Are you Lucius Malfoy's son?" he asked.
"Is he there too?" Draco asked, suddenly cool.
Regulus was as cool as Draco. "I saw him once."
Harry frowned.
"I killed him," Draco said, coldly but almost defiantly.
"I heard that his son killed him only a short while ago," said Regulus with small smirk of a smile.
"It was personal," Draco said, "but this concerns you. We need to know if you know anything about the knife the Dark Lord always carried with Him. Gryffindor's dagger."
"Ah. Searching for them, are you?" Regulus said with that same little smirk. He didn't ask how Draco knew of the knife. "You said you destroyed the locket. I must admit, it rather befuddled me. How did you do it?"
"Parseltongue," Harry answered, seeing a bit why Regulus had annoyed Sirius so much.
"The dagger?" Draco asked again.
Regulus looked back at Draco. "Eager, are we?" he asked, and Harry frowned at him with dislike.
Regulus let out a quiet snort. "He killed me with it," he said.
Harry's mouth fell open.
"In the Forbidden Forest - you know the one, I'm sure," Regulus continued. "The area He called me to was supposed to be some sort of place where there used to be a mansion owned by Rowena Ravenclaw. Thousands of years ago. Not even Dumbledore knew about it. The Dark Lord told me all of it before He drove that dagger through me. Perfect place for Him to have placed a Horcrux. I had actually thought that He'd known that I knew. Obviously, He didn't."
"Why did he kill you then if he didn't know you knew about the Horcruxes?" Harry asked.
Regulus narrowed his eyes a bit. "Why don't you serve the Dark Lord and see how long it takes you to want to get out," he said stonily. It was obviously a touchy subject with him. "Trying to get away from it all is considered traitorous."
Harry narrowed his eyes as well.
Draco nodded. It made sense to him. "How do we find the place?" he asked.
Regulus sighed. "He had me fly there starting from the edge of the Hogwarts grounds. I'd say it's about ... 150 to 160 kilometres from there, give or take a few. If it's still sitting how it was then, there should be a large empty spot in the trees from the air. It looks like a giant Dark Mark; I believe the Dark Lord made it Himself. Easy to miss, but not if you're looking for it."
Draco nodded again. "Do you know of any obstacles to getting the dagger?" he asked.
Regulus snorted humorlessly. "He didn't tell me that He made it into a Horcrux or what we were going there for. I know of nothing - I'm dead." He said it as though Draco had asked a ridiculous question.
Harry frowned again. "So you don't know anything about it then?"
"No. Only where I was killed. That's it."
Draco nodded. "Well, it is helpful. As was your journal," he added.
Regulus looked at Draco and raised an eyebrow once again. "You found that old thing, did you?" he asked. "Good to know that it didn't fall into ... the wrong hands. I hadn't ever planned on leaving it out in the open, but one never knows when one will be leaving the glorious world of the living."
"They're asking questions, Regulus," came Sirius's voice, slightly hard. "They don't need your sarcasm."
Regulus rolled his eyes. "If that is all," he said. "I take it you'd like my brother again?"
"Yes. If you don't have anything else to tell us. Draco?" Harry said, wondering if there was anything else they could ask the man about.
Draco only shrugged.
Regulus raised an eyebrow one last time and then Sirius was in the mirror again. "Bloody prat," he muttered bitterly. "Now what was all that about?"
Remus moved a bit closer at the sound of Sirius's voice again.
Harry began trudging through the whole mess about Horcruxes with Sirius, pausing for his outbursts and questions. Once finished, Sirius was angry again.
Harry sighed and was silent for a few moments. "Sirius ..." he began slowly, unable to hold back this one question any longer. "Are my parents there?"
Sirius looked at Harry and his anger turned to sad resignation. "Yes, but it's not as simple as you're thinking."
Harry frowned, waiting for more.
"I can't call them to me like I can Regulus. For some reason he's the only one I can call. It must be because he's my brother. I ran into Lily and James once." He seemed angered by this. "But we got separated and I haven't been able to find them since. It's nearly impossible and I'm lucky I got the time that I did. I hate it here," he said again through his teeth.
"Sirius," Harry said, hurting for the man again, "if there were anything I could do I would-"
"Don't," Sirius said, cutting him off. "I don't need it. I know you would, Harry."
Harry swallowed the lump in his throat and there was silence yet again.
"I don't want to see you here," Sirius said suddenly and fiercely. "So be careful."
Harry stared hard and nodded firmly.
Draco's grip on Harry's arm tightened.
Remus smiled sadly, looking at Sirius as he moved up beside the chair.
Harry felt Draco's hand and moved his arm out of his hold to grasp it, squeezing. He looked up at Lupin. "You take this," he said, but before he actually gave it to him, he looked down at Sirius again. "If you ever happen to ... come across them ...."
"You will be the first to know," Sirius said, obviously trying to give Harry a parting smile, but it was more of a grimace.
Harry handed the mirror to Lupin then, who took it with hands that shook slightly. He walked over to a chair and sat down.
Harry smiled sadly at him and turned to look at Draco, Ron and Hermione. "Should we head upstairs?" he asked, feeling overwhelmed.
"Yes," Draco said, still holding his husband's hand and helping him to his feet.
"Sitting room," Harry told Hermione and Ron, wrapping his arms around Draco's waist and Apparated them.
Mrs Weasley was sitting on the sofa, reading a magazine when they arrived. She jumped slightly at the noise they made and then again when Ron and Hermione entered. "Finished already?" she asked.
Harry nodded. "For today at least," he said.
She nodded. "Valen is in his cot still," she said, sounding a little disappointed. "He didn't wake up once."
Harry smiled and nodded.
"Well, I guess I'll go down and help Arthur. Goodness knows how often he gets hurt trying to charm those Muggle contraptions." She got to her feet and Disapparated.
Draco sighed and walked over to the cot, looking down at the baby who made a silly face in his sleep.
Hermione dropped onto the sofa, wide-eyed. "We actually talked to him? Talked to Sirius again? I didn't know you had that mirror, Harry."
Harry walked over beside Draco, looking down at Valen as well. "I'd forgotten about it," he said. "I didn't think it worked anyway."
Draco didn't say anything. Part of him wished they didn't have the mirror now. He felt a shiver down his spine and realised he was afraid.
"The dagger is the Horcrux," said Ron. "We know for sure now."
"And we know where it is," Harry said quietly. "The last one."
Draco looked in confusion at his lover, realising that he had probably missed part of the conversation.
"What do I do after all of this is done?" Harry asked, frowning. "Do I just bloody go after him?"
"Of course not," said Hermione seriously. "We'll need a plan after the Horcruxes are destroyed."
"I don't know what sort of plan I would come up with," Harry said, slightly bitter and not even really knowing the reason for it.
Draco frowned. "The last one is still the damn snake," he said.
All three of the others sighed and frowned.
"But getting to the snake includes me going after him," said Harry, finally looking up from Valen.
"Well, you can't just march in," said Hermione. "You need some sort of plan."
"I know, Hermione," said Harry, glancing at her and sighing again.
"There's still those journals," she said. "You could still very well find something in there."
Draco was still scowling. "You will need more than wandless magic to defeat Him," he said. "The monster can read your mind."
Harry huffed. "I don't know what you want me to do about that," he said. "I'm a terrible Occlumens."
"Well, you could learn it," said Hermione. "It didn't go very well because ... well, Snape was teaching you."
Harry frowned, remembering the time with distaste.
"You never learn anything with him," Draco said with a sigh. "Do you remember that I trained in both Occlumency and Legilimency?"
"You've said so before," said Harry. "Are you saying you could teach me?"
Draco smiled a little at that. "I have some ideas of how," he said.
Harry raised an eyebrow.
"It would be good to know," said Hermione. "Blocking your mind and being able to see into other's makes for very skilled wand-work."
Harry nodded, remembering his 'battle' with Snape at the end of sixth year. "So I learn it then," he said.
"Yes, you should," said Hermione.
Harry nodded again, and then a thought came to mind and he frowned a bit. "Do you remember what I told you after the battle in the Ministry"? he asked Ron and Hermione.
"Which part?" asked Ron.
Harry glanced at Draco. "When Voldemort possessed me," he said.
"What?" Draco nearly shouted in reaction, his eyes wide with fear.
Harry sucked in a quiet breath. "It's fine, love," he said. "He was only inside for about a minute."
"Inside you?" Draco asked, horrified. "Tell me."
Harry took another breath and turned to face Draco. "Voldemort and Dumbledore were duelling," he said. "I was in the room as well. Voldemort possessed me and spoke through me, basically taunting Dumbledore with my body and voice. But he couldn't stay inside for long, according to Dumbledore anyway."
"Why couldn't He?" Draco asked, heart pounding.
"Love," said Harry. "Dumbledore said that Voldemort couldn't stay inside because there was too much love. He detests it and it hurt him. Dumbledore said he felt agony, I believe."
Draco tried to take in the information, taking deep calming breaths as he thought through the implications. "You didn't tell me about the scar until Christmas and now this," he said. "Anything else about your ... connection ... with Him that you haven't told me?"
Harry winced. "Sorry, I just ... forget all that you weren't there for. It feels like you've been here forever. And, no, I don't think there's anything else I haven't told you. You know about the dreams already, and the scar, and I think this is it."
Draco huffed, feeling annoyed and frightened by the surprise information.
Harry sighed. "Well, why I brought it up anyway," he said, "is because I wanted to ask if possession was a form of Legilimency."
Hermione nodded. "It is," she said. "It's a bit harder to do, but it is a form."
Draco tried to push his fear away and concentrate on the information. "Most likely made stronger by the link you have through the scar," he said.
Harry thought for a few moments again. "What do you think would happen," he began slowly, "if I were to try and possess him?"
Both Hermione and Ron looked apprehensive about the idea. "Wouldn't that hurt you, mate?" Ron asked.
"Probably," said Harry, still speaking slowly. "But I think it may hurt him more than me."
"Yes," Draco said, "you could control Him that way." He shuddered. The idea was still distasteful to him but he could see the logic of it.
"But Voldemort is a master of Legilimency," said Hermione, frowning. "How could you you expect to be able to stay inside Him for longer than a few moments? And even if you were able to, what would you do? The pain you would suffer could very well be too great for you to accomplish anything other than hurting him for as long as you could stay inside."
Harry huffed. "But what if I could force my power on him? Wouldn't enough of it kill him if it causes him such pain?"
"Regardless, you need to study Occlumency and Legilimency," Draco said with a sigh. He was tired.
Hermione sighed too. "And there are those journals, like I said before," she said. "If you could use Legilimency to force your own power on Voldemort and hurt him, imagine what you could do if there's some sort of power you could use from the Ministry. It would probably be safer as well. Using your own power and going inside Voldemort's body could ..." She trailed off, frowning. "Well, it probably wouldn't be good."
Harry frowned too. "So then we should definitely try to get into the Ministry," he said.
"Yes," Draco said, sighing again. "But first the Horcrux." His head hurt and he didn't want to think anymore.
Harry nodded.
"So, when do we go to see if Regulus was right?" Ron asked, frowning.
Harry bit his lip and looked down at Valen. "As soon as possible. As always," he said quietly.
Draco was staring at their son but not really seeing anything. He wanted to pick him up, grab Harry, and run. He wanted to see if they could get out of the madman's reach and damn the rest of the world to the hell. He closed his eyes and shuddered. "Not today," he said.
"No, not today," Harry agreed, taking Draco's hand. He frowned at Draco's shudder and thought he might have heard fear in his tone. "Soon though," he insisted. He didn't want to go, but he knew the quicker they went, the better. He kissed the side of Draco's face.
Draco squeezed Harry's hand, trying to bring himself back where he needed to be. All he wanted at that moment was to curl up in bed with his little family.
"Get prepared," Harry told Ron and Hermione, studying Draco's face intently, "we'll be going within the next few days." He didn't want them to go, to endanger themselves, but he knew they would insist, and he grudgingly acknowledged that he would probably greatly need their help.
They nodded.
"And then I'll have to start on Legilimency," Harry said.
Draco nodded and then looked at Hermione and Ron, hoping they would leave soon but not wanting to be rude to them. He almost laughed at himself over that. He sighed.
Harry sighed as well and turned to his friends. "Guys ... I know everything that's happened today is sort of ... huge, and I want to talk about it, but do you think I could have just a bit with Draco alone?" He gave them a look that said, "Something is up with my husband and I want to know what it is."
Hermione got to her feet quickly, nodding. She looked a tad disappointed but grabbed Ron's hand. "Sure," she said. "Just come and get us when you want." And the two of them Disapparated.
Chapter Title: Rearview Mirror
Words: 4577 Words
Harry's eyes widened beyond belief and his heart began beating quicker. He didn't dare to hope. Perhaps he had imagined it.
"Harry Potter!"
Harry spun around and it was a wonder Valen didn't wake up. He rushed over to the bed, grabbing the mirror up quickly and holding it level to his face.
Harry hardly believed it, but there was Sirius, just as Harry remembered him. Harry's mouth dropped open and he couldn't even draw a breath.
"Harry," Sirius breathed, an unidentifiable emotion in his eyes.
Harry sat down heavily on the bed so as not to fall over. "S- Sirius?" he asked breathlessly, mouth still hanging open.
"I've been trying to get a hold of you," Sirius said. His expression then looked like one of relief, but that wasn't quite it.
Harry could still hardly speak. "B- but - but you're-"
"Dead?" He nodded, a small frown wrinkling his brow. "I think so anyway."
Harry felt faint. "Is this - is this real?" he asked.
"Real to me," Sirius answered. He seemed to be trying to look past Harry. "Where are you? What's been going on? I don't even know how long it's been."
Harry was a bit overwhelmed by the questions. "I - I'm at home," he answered.
Sirius gave him a questioning look.
Harry laughed, but it was one more of hysteria than of humour. "Malfoy Manor," he said, voice high.
Sirius's eyes widened considerably. "What?" he asked. "What are you doing calling there home?"
Harry gave another laugh, sounding even more hysterical. "I'm married," he said. "I married ... Draco Malfoy."
"What?" Sirius asked again, looking highly confused. "The one that was always giving you trouble in Hogwarts?"
Harry nodded slowly. "I'm married," he said again. "And I have a baby." He pointed the mirror down a bit to reveal the sleeping Valen. When he brought the mirror back to his face, Sirius looked speechless.
"Are you telling me the truth?" Sirius asked, his mouth open a bit.
"Of course I am," Harry said. "His name is Valentine Leander Malfoy. He's my son and Draco's my husband. It's been nearly three years now since you ...."
Sirius frowned a small bit and nodded.
Draco walked back into the room then. "Harry, have you seen my ...." He trailed off at the look on his husband's face.
Harry looked up at Draco, still wearing much the same face he'd had when Sirius had first started talking to him.
"Who is that?" Sirius asked quickly, trying to look and see, even though there was no way he could as Harry was still holding the mirror to his face.
Draco took in the look and the mirror. "It works?" he asked.
Harry gave three very slow nods. "It's ... Draco," he said to Sirius, and despite the fact that Harry had already told him, Sirius looked surprised.
"You're not lying about that?" he asked.
"I'm not lying about that," Harry answered.
Draco walked around to stand next to Harry and look into the mirror.
Sirius looked even more surprised, looking at Draco.
"Merlin," he said. "You're married?"
Harry nodded, slowly again. "Since October of this past year. It's April now."
Draco raised an eyebrow, smirking a bit. He nodded when Harry spoke. He glanced behind them at their sleeping child but didn't say anything.
"How did you end up with ... him?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow at Draco in turn.
"It's a long story," Harry said, still feeling numb from shock. "Sirius, where are you? Are you okay? What happened? Are you alone? Why didn't you answer the first time I tried to talk to you?"
"I'm fine," Sirius answered. "I didn't even know you tried to reach me before. I've been trying as long as I've been here. And as far as where here is ... I really don't know. It's ... difficult to explain when I don't know all the facts myself."
"Can you get out?" Harry asked quickly.
"If I could I would already be there," Sirius said quietly.
Harry frowned, not knowing how to respond to that.
Draco nodded. "Is your brother, Regulus, there?" he asked.
Sirius looked surprised at the question, but nodded.
Draco looked at Harry questioningly, but continued. "We have some questions for him," he said, and then hesitated. "And Lupin is downstairs."
Sirius paused, staring at Draco. "He - he is?" he asked. "How's he been?"
Harry smiled softly. "Why don't you ask him yourself?" he said, still hardly able to believe that he was talking to Sirius again.
Sirius seemed to falter a bit, something Harry might have found odd if he didn't know what the situation between Lupin and Sirius was.
"I - yes," Sirius said, actually looking uncharacteristically nervous.
"He will want to see you," Draco said, a ghost of a smile in his expression. He turned to Harry. "Mrs Weasley will be here to watch Valen in a minute. We should go to the library. The others are waiting."
Harry nodded, taking the cot out of his pocket and unshrinking it again.
"So that baby really is yours?" Sirius asked, still sounding a bit nervous.
Harry smiled and nodded as he got to his feet again and lay Valen gently inside the cot.
"May I ask how you two got a kid?" Sirius raised an eyebrow.
"Another long story," Harry said with a small smile.
Draco smirked, suppressing a colourful retort about how children are conceived. Instead he just said, "Magic."
"Ah," said Sirius, nodding, an eyebrow still raised.
"I'm going to put you in my pocket for a minute," Harry said, anxious to get down to the library and not wanting to have to explain to Mrs. Weasley right at the moment.
"Okay," said Sirius with a nod. Just then, there was a knock on their door.
"Harry, dear?" It was Mrs Weasley.
"Yeah, come in," Harry called and he explained to her that Valen had been fed and burped and had just been laid down for a nap.
He walked out into the sitting room to Apparate without waking Valen up.
Hermione, Ron and Remus were already in the library when Harry and Draco arrived. Draco looked quickly between Harry and Lupin. He had some idea of how the man would feel about talking to his dead lover. He wondered if the other two had ever guessed about the relationship.
Everyone looked up when Harry and Draco entered.
"Oh, Harry," Hermione said right away. "I think I found something in one of the notebooks that could be-"
Harry held a hand up. "Erm," he said, not really sure how to go about this, "Remus?"
Remus was sitting in one of the overstuffed chairs and had one of James's notebooks open. "Yes, Harry?" he asked. "Is Valen all right?"
"Oh, yeah. Yeah, he's fine," Harry answered.
Ron and Hermione were staring at him strangely.
"I think - I think there's something you should see," Harry said, reaching into his pocket and pulling the mirror out.
Draco nearly held his breath as Harry handed the mirror to Lupin. Personally, he would have warned the man, but Harry had his own way of doing things.
Remus reached for the small mirror and looked at it. He nearly dropped it when he saw Sirius's face.
Harry bit his lip, not knowing if he should watch or not.
Sirius swallowed, opening and closing his mouth before he actually spoke. "Hey, Moony," he said quietly.
Remus was speechless for a moment. "Padfoot?" he managed to whisper.
"In the flesh - well, sort of," Sirius answered with a small half-grin, but it was sad too.
"Harry is that - " Hermione began, looking at Harry with widened eyes.
Draco nodded to both Hermione and Ron.
Remus was choked up and he had trouble speaking. "How?" he asked in wonder, stroking the mirror like he could touch the other man through it.
"You remember these old things from school," Sirius said. "I gave one to Harry, remember?"
Remus's eyes were teared up and he nodded. "Yes, I remember now," he said hoarsely.
"I've been trying to reach him, but I guess he didn't have his mirror lying around. Can't say I blame him."
Harry bit his lip again.
"It's ... it's been a long time," Remus said, swallowing hard. "A lot has happened."
"So, I heard," said Sirius, smiling sadly. "Harry's married and has a baby."
Remus rolled his eyes, smirking. "With Draco Malfoy," he added.
Sirius snorted. "Yeah. He told me that too," he said. "So ... how have you been? You been ... okay?"
Remus looked a bit embarrassed but shrugged. "I miss you," he said quietly.
Sirius smiled sadly again. "I miss you," he said, and Harry could hear that they both wanted to say more.
"What's it like?" Remus asked.
Sirius frowned. "I hate it," he said quietly.
Draco didn't want to interrupt but he was curious himself. He looked at Harry and the others, judging their reactions as well.
Harry frowned and bit his lip again. All of this was so very odd, and so very frustrating. He could do nothing to help Sirius and he knew it.
"I don't know where I am," Sirius continued. "I have to assume it's some sort of holding place, where anyone goes from here I don't know. It seems as though all the people I've talked to have something in common: all of our deaths were by murder."
"Dumbledore," Draco said, practically under his breath.
Harry's eyes widened and he looked to Remus. "Dumbledore," he said, louder than Draco had.
Remus caught the exchange. "Sirius, I think the boys need to ask you some questions relating to our work," he said. "But ... it means a lot ... to hear your voice, to see you."
"Talk to me later," Sirius said quickly and a bit insistently, seeming almost scared to let Remus out of his sight.
Draco took a deep breath, not liking to be reminded of what that would feel like if it happened to Harry and himself.
Harry bit his lip yet again and reached his hand out to take the mirror from Remus. He let out a small breath when Sirius's face was in front of his own again. "Is Dumbledore there, Sirius?" he asked, heart beating a little quicker.
Sirius' eyes widened and he was silent and shocked-looking. "Dumbledore is dead?" he asked, mouth agape.
Harry closed his eyes. "Then he's not there," he said, clenching his teeth for a moment.
Sirius still seemed highly alarmed with this news. "He was murdered?" he practically hissed.
"I don't know," Harry answered. "He was killed, but he literally asked for it to happen - planned it even." And Harry explained the situation between the Headmaster and Snape.
Sirius was scowling when he was finished. "I should be there," he said, voice harsh. "I should be there, dammit!" He took several deep breaths through his nose.
Sirius's anger and frustration cut Harry like a knife. He clenched the hand that wasn't holding the mirror.
Draco closed his eyes for a minute, his own guilt rising to the surface before he pushed it back down. "We have to focus on what is now," he said coldly.
Harry blinked the wetness from his eyes and took several deep breaths like his godfather. "We need to speak with your brother," he said. "He may have information very important to us. Is it possible for us to talk to him?"
"I can call him to me," Sirius said, and he looked as if he were trying to calm himself.
Harry nodded. "Please," he said.
Sirius took one final breath before turning slightly and calling, "Regulus Black!"
There was suddenly another voice. "What?" The voice sounded similar to Sirius's, but was just a tad higher perhaps.
"I got the mirror to work," Sirius said, frowning at a space slightly to his right.
There was silence.
"Harry Potter wants to talk to you," Sirius continued.
There was another bout of silence before the mirror was passed, and then Harry was looking into the face of Regulus Black. He was a thinner, smaller version of Sirius and looked much more angular and sharp. He raised an eyebrow.
Ron and Hermione rushed over to look at the mirror over Harry's shoulder.
Draco sat up higher on his knees, head near Harry's as he peered into the small mirror, too.
"Yes?" Regulus asked expectantly when Harry simply stared for a moment.
"You knew about Voldemort's Horcruxes," Harry said. "You found the locket."
Regulus's eyes seemed to widen just a tad before he hid it with a cool expression. "You know of them?" he asked.
Draco nodded. "We destroyed the locket," he said.
Regulus looked at Draco and seemed a bit suspicious of him. "Are you Lucius Malfoy's son?" he asked.
"Is he there too?" Draco asked, suddenly cool.
Regulus was as cool as Draco. "I saw him once."
Harry frowned.
"I killed him," Draco said, coldly but almost defiantly.
"I heard that his son killed him only a short while ago," said Regulus with small smirk of a smile.
"It was personal," Draco said, "but this concerns you. We need to know if you know anything about the knife the Dark Lord always carried with Him. Gryffindor's dagger."
"Ah. Searching for them, are you?" Regulus said with that same little smirk. He didn't ask how Draco knew of the knife. "You said you destroyed the locket. I must admit, it rather befuddled me. How did you do it?"
"Parseltongue," Harry answered, seeing a bit why Regulus had annoyed Sirius so much.
"The dagger?" Draco asked again.
Regulus looked back at Draco. "Eager, are we?" he asked, and Harry frowned at him with dislike.
Regulus let out a quiet snort. "He killed me with it," he said.
Harry's mouth fell open.
"In the Forbidden Forest - you know the one, I'm sure," Regulus continued. "The area He called me to was supposed to be some sort of place where there used to be a mansion owned by Rowena Ravenclaw. Thousands of years ago. Not even Dumbledore knew about it. The Dark Lord told me all of it before He drove that dagger through me. Perfect place for Him to have placed a Horcrux. I had actually thought that He'd known that I knew. Obviously, He didn't."
"Why did he kill you then if he didn't know you knew about the Horcruxes?" Harry asked.
Regulus narrowed his eyes a bit. "Why don't you serve the Dark Lord and see how long it takes you to want to get out," he said stonily. It was obviously a touchy subject with him. "Trying to get away from it all is considered traitorous."
Harry narrowed his eyes as well.
Draco nodded. It made sense to him. "How do we find the place?" he asked.
Regulus sighed. "He had me fly there starting from the edge of the Hogwarts grounds. I'd say it's about ... 150 to 160 kilometres from there, give or take a few. If it's still sitting how it was then, there should be a large empty spot in the trees from the air. It looks like a giant Dark Mark; I believe the Dark Lord made it Himself. Easy to miss, but not if you're looking for it."
Draco nodded again. "Do you know of any obstacles to getting the dagger?" he asked.
Regulus snorted humorlessly. "He didn't tell me that He made it into a Horcrux or what we were going there for. I know of nothing - I'm dead." He said it as though Draco had asked a ridiculous question.
Harry frowned again. "So you don't know anything about it then?"
"No. Only where I was killed. That's it."
Draco nodded. "Well, it is helpful. As was your journal," he added.
Regulus looked at Draco and raised an eyebrow once again. "You found that old thing, did you?" he asked. "Good to know that it didn't fall into ... the wrong hands. I hadn't ever planned on leaving it out in the open, but one never knows when one will be leaving the glorious world of the living."
"They're asking questions, Regulus," came Sirius's voice, slightly hard. "They don't need your sarcasm."
Regulus rolled his eyes. "If that is all," he said. "I take it you'd like my brother again?"
"Yes. If you don't have anything else to tell us. Draco?" Harry said, wondering if there was anything else they could ask the man about.
Draco only shrugged.
Regulus raised an eyebrow one last time and then Sirius was in the mirror again. "Bloody prat," he muttered bitterly. "Now what was all that about?"
Remus moved a bit closer at the sound of Sirius's voice again.
Harry began trudging through the whole mess about Horcruxes with Sirius, pausing for his outbursts and questions. Once finished, Sirius was angry again.
Harry sighed and was silent for a few moments. "Sirius ..." he began slowly, unable to hold back this one question any longer. "Are my parents there?"
Sirius looked at Harry and his anger turned to sad resignation. "Yes, but it's not as simple as you're thinking."
Harry frowned, waiting for more.
"I can't call them to me like I can Regulus. For some reason he's the only one I can call. It must be because he's my brother. I ran into Lily and James once." He seemed angered by this. "But we got separated and I haven't been able to find them since. It's nearly impossible and I'm lucky I got the time that I did. I hate it here," he said again through his teeth.
"Sirius," Harry said, hurting for the man again, "if there were anything I could do I would-"
"Don't," Sirius said, cutting him off. "I don't need it. I know you would, Harry."
Harry swallowed the lump in his throat and there was silence yet again.
"I don't want to see you here," Sirius said suddenly and fiercely. "So be careful."
Harry stared hard and nodded firmly.
Draco's grip on Harry's arm tightened.
Remus smiled sadly, looking at Sirius as he moved up beside the chair.
Harry felt Draco's hand and moved his arm out of his hold to grasp it, squeezing. He looked up at Lupin. "You take this," he said, but before he actually gave it to him, he looked down at Sirius again. "If you ever happen to ... come across them ...."
"You will be the first to know," Sirius said, obviously trying to give Harry a parting smile, but it was more of a grimace.
Harry handed the mirror to Lupin then, who took it with hands that shook slightly. He walked over to a chair and sat down.
Harry smiled sadly at him and turned to look at Draco, Ron and Hermione. "Should we head upstairs?" he asked, feeling overwhelmed.
"Yes," Draco said, still holding his husband's hand and helping him to his feet.
"Sitting room," Harry told Hermione and Ron, wrapping his arms around Draco's waist and Apparated them.
Mrs Weasley was sitting on the sofa, reading a magazine when they arrived. She jumped slightly at the noise they made and then again when Ron and Hermione entered. "Finished already?" she asked.
Harry nodded. "For today at least," he said.
She nodded. "Valen is in his cot still," she said, sounding a little disappointed. "He didn't wake up once."
Harry smiled and nodded.
"Well, I guess I'll go down and help Arthur. Goodness knows how often he gets hurt trying to charm those Muggle contraptions." She got to her feet and Disapparated.
Draco sighed and walked over to the cot, looking down at the baby who made a silly face in his sleep.
Hermione dropped onto the sofa, wide-eyed. "We actually talked to him? Talked to Sirius again? I didn't know you had that mirror, Harry."
Harry walked over beside Draco, looking down at Valen as well. "I'd forgotten about it," he said. "I didn't think it worked anyway."
Draco didn't say anything. Part of him wished they didn't have the mirror now. He felt a shiver down his spine and realised he was afraid.
"The dagger is the Horcrux," said Ron. "We know for sure now."
"And we know where it is," Harry said quietly. "The last one."
Draco looked in confusion at his lover, realising that he had probably missed part of the conversation.
"What do I do after all of this is done?" Harry asked, frowning. "Do I just bloody go after him?"
"Of course not," said Hermione seriously. "We'll need a plan after the Horcruxes are destroyed."
"I don't know what sort of plan I would come up with," Harry said, slightly bitter and not even really knowing the reason for it.
Draco frowned. "The last one is still the damn snake," he said.
All three of the others sighed and frowned.
"But getting to the snake includes me going after him," said Harry, finally looking up from Valen.
"Well, you can't just march in," said Hermione. "You need some sort of plan."
"I know, Hermione," said Harry, glancing at her and sighing again.
"There's still those journals," she said. "You could still very well find something in there."
Draco was still scowling. "You will need more than wandless magic to defeat Him," he said. "The monster can read your mind."
Harry huffed. "I don't know what you want me to do about that," he said. "I'm a terrible Occlumens."
"Well, you could learn it," said Hermione. "It didn't go very well because ... well, Snape was teaching you."
Harry frowned, remembering the time with distaste.
"You never learn anything with him," Draco said with a sigh. "Do you remember that I trained in both Occlumency and Legilimency?"
"You've said so before," said Harry. "Are you saying you could teach me?"
Draco smiled a little at that. "I have some ideas of how," he said.
Harry raised an eyebrow.
"It would be good to know," said Hermione. "Blocking your mind and being able to see into other's makes for very skilled wand-work."
Harry nodded, remembering his 'battle' with Snape at the end of sixth year. "So I learn it then," he said.
"Yes, you should," said Hermione.
Harry nodded again, and then a thought came to mind and he frowned a bit. "Do you remember what I told you after the battle in the Ministry"? he asked Ron and Hermione.
"Which part?" asked Ron.
Harry glanced at Draco. "When Voldemort possessed me," he said.
"What?" Draco nearly shouted in reaction, his eyes wide with fear.
Harry sucked in a quiet breath. "It's fine, love," he said. "He was only inside for about a minute."
"Inside you?" Draco asked, horrified. "Tell me."
Harry took another breath and turned to face Draco. "Voldemort and Dumbledore were duelling," he said. "I was in the room as well. Voldemort possessed me and spoke through me, basically taunting Dumbledore with my body and voice. But he couldn't stay inside for long, according to Dumbledore anyway."
"Why couldn't He?" Draco asked, heart pounding.
"Love," said Harry. "Dumbledore said that Voldemort couldn't stay inside because there was too much love. He detests it and it hurt him. Dumbledore said he felt agony, I believe."
Draco tried to take in the information, taking deep calming breaths as he thought through the implications. "You didn't tell me about the scar until Christmas and now this," he said. "Anything else about your ... connection ... with Him that you haven't told me?"
Harry winced. "Sorry, I just ... forget all that you weren't there for. It feels like you've been here forever. And, no, I don't think there's anything else I haven't told you. You know about the dreams already, and the scar, and I think this is it."
Draco huffed, feeling annoyed and frightened by the surprise information.
Harry sighed. "Well, why I brought it up anyway," he said, "is because I wanted to ask if possession was a form of Legilimency."
Hermione nodded. "It is," she said. "It's a bit harder to do, but it is a form."
Draco tried to push his fear away and concentrate on the information. "Most likely made stronger by the link you have through the scar," he said.
Harry thought for a few moments again. "What do you think would happen," he began slowly, "if I were to try and possess him?"
Both Hermione and Ron looked apprehensive about the idea. "Wouldn't that hurt you, mate?" Ron asked.
"Probably," said Harry, still speaking slowly. "But I think it may hurt him more than me."
"Yes," Draco said, "you could control Him that way." He shuddered. The idea was still distasteful to him but he could see the logic of it.
"But Voldemort is a master of Legilimency," said Hermione, frowning. "How could you you expect to be able to stay inside Him for longer than a few moments? And even if you were able to, what would you do? The pain you would suffer could very well be too great for you to accomplish anything other than hurting him for as long as you could stay inside."
Harry huffed. "But what if I could force my power on him? Wouldn't enough of it kill him if it causes him such pain?"
"Regardless, you need to study Occlumency and Legilimency," Draco said with a sigh. He was tired.
Hermione sighed too. "And there are those journals, like I said before," she said. "If you could use Legilimency to force your own power on Voldemort and hurt him, imagine what you could do if there's some sort of power you could use from the Ministry. It would probably be safer as well. Using your own power and going inside Voldemort's body could ..." She trailed off, frowning. "Well, it probably wouldn't be good."
Harry frowned too. "So then we should definitely try to get into the Ministry," he said.
"Yes," Draco said, sighing again. "But first the Horcrux." His head hurt and he didn't want to think anymore.
Harry nodded.
"So, when do we go to see if Regulus was right?" Ron asked, frowning.
Harry bit his lip and looked down at Valen. "As soon as possible. As always," he said quietly.
Draco was staring at their son but not really seeing anything. He wanted to pick him up, grab Harry, and run. He wanted to see if they could get out of the madman's reach and damn the rest of the world to the hell. He closed his eyes and shuddered. "Not today," he said.
"No, not today," Harry agreed, taking Draco's hand. He frowned at Draco's shudder and thought he might have heard fear in his tone. "Soon though," he insisted. He didn't want to go, but he knew the quicker they went, the better. He kissed the side of Draco's face.
Draco squeezed Harry's hand, trying to bring himself back where he needed to be. All he wanted at that moment was to curl up in bed with his little family.
"Get prepared," Harry told Ron and Hermione, studying Draco's face intently, "we'll be going within the next few days." He didn't want them to go, to endanger themselves, but he knew they would insist, and he grudgingly acknowledged that he would probably greatly need their help.
They nodded.
"And then I'll have to start on Legilimency," Harry said.
Draco nodded and then looked at Hermione and Ron, hoping they would leave soon but not wanting to be rude to them. He almost laughed at himself over that. He sighed.
Harry sighed as well and turned to his friends. "Guys ... I know everything that's happened today is sort of ... huge, and I want to talk about it, but do you think I could have just a bit with Draco alone?" He gave them a look that said, "Something is up with my husband and I want to know what it is."
Hermione got to her feet quickly, nodding. She looked a tad disappointed but grabbed Ron's hand. "Sure," she said. "Just come and get us when you want." And the two of them Disapparated.