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Lucky Strike	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Sirius Views: 76061 -:- 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
- 34
- 35
- 36
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 34

As Theo listened to the plan they came up with, he nodded with a hint of a malicious smile on his face. Since they holed up in a safe room with wards in place, he was fairly relaxed. When they finished, he asked, cautiously, “Who are the Ravenclaws?” Despite what so many thought, supporters and children of followers were in all houses at Hogwarts, so he wanted to protect himself. While on the ‘right side’, he had appearances to keep up to stay safe.

“Rossini and Lin,” Draco told him with a pleased smirk. Yes this would work well. “They’ll do reconnaissance and feed you what they can to help. While they do, they’ll poke him just a tad to assist, but not too much. We’ll be the ‘bad guys’ in this plan.”

“Perfect,” Theo agreed with a nod, smile growing. “I can manage and it won’t look odd. Others have already mentioned Potter as a target to harass. While I won’t go that far, the pressure will be on. It’ll aid me.”

“Oh yes,” Draco chuckled. “With it coming from plenty of directions, not to mention the general stress he’s under, he should blow faster.”

“I agree,’ Theo told him. He then sobered up and added, “I’ll ensure I don’t do anything in front of those we don’t want overhearing whatever he says.”

“That is key as well,” Draco sighed, shaking his head. “No sense giving them information if we can at all help it.”

“I’ll manage, no worries,” Theo assured him. “Leave it to me.”

Then he changed topics and said, “You might want to suggest to your dad to see about something to protect those of us who want to distance ourselves from our families. I plan to move out when I’m 17, but they aren’t going to stop trying to pull me in. Others I know are in the same sort of situation. We’re going to need help and, in some cases, protection. You aren’t hearing the same conversations I am because of your stance and the facts from the first war. Plenty don’t want to follow in their parent’s footsteps when it comes to the Dark Lord.”

“It’s something I’ll pass along tonight. Father and the others should be able to come up with something,” Draco assured him, planning to write his Father as soon as he was able so he would get the letter tonight.

“Please do,” Theo nodded. Then, lowering his voice, he added, “Let me know what they come up with because I want out, badly, and will need help to stay safe.”

“I’ll make sure I impart it’s an urgent situation,” Draco guaranteed him.

After checking his watch, Theo told him, “I’m going to go so we don’t turn up at the same time.” Then he nodded to the three and left, staying cautious so he wasn’t seen.

Once Theo vanished, Pansy chimed in for the first time since she joined them, “Your dad needs that letter tonight, Draco. If people know there is an out where they’re protected, they’ll turn away from that dark path.”

“Before tea tonight I’ll have it sent off,” Draco assured her, sounding determined.

“Good,” Blaise agreed with a sigh. “The less help the maniac has, the better off we’ll all be.”

“Oh yes,” Draco agreed distractedly as he began to order his thoughts and start mentally composing the letter. “You two head back the roundabout way so it doesn’t look odd. I’ll join you shortly.” Plan in mind, he settled down to work as they left, determined to get this done quickly.

“Smells good,” Sirius commented as he took a seat at the kitchen table. Remus was cooking dinner, as usual, so the kitchen was filled with delicious aromas.

After sending Sirius a butterbeer, Remus smiled and thanked him for the compliment then asked, “Where’s Harry?”

“Down talking with Snape. From what I heard, Snape is going over some defensive spells with him. The basic theory anyway. Harry’s helping him chop ingredients while they discuss them,” Sirius imparted with a smile. “He’s nice and calm, honestly.”

“Good,” Remus nodded, smiling about it himself. “Any nightmares last night? He seemed fine with us before you came home, but we know he can manifest them later on. Since this was his first interaction with a new girl, it’s always a concern.”

“Nothing,” Sirius shook his head, smile growing. “He slept quite well actually, at least that I could tell.”

“Perfect,” Remus sighed, relieved. “I think we can use this in the future in some scenarios. We’ll just go slow and pick who we try it with.”

“Good plan,” Sirius agreed then changed topics. “Since he’s doing so much better than last time, I thought it might be good to jump back into the normal and go out this weekend to the Palace or something. Owled Lucius about going since that’s normal for us.”

“I like the idea,” Remus told him. “See what Harry says then go from there. Make it just the three of you since it’s the way you usually go. We’ll just have to stay cautious because of what’s going on. Alastor can come in and devise the best way to get there, but you can go it alone.”

“We will,” Sirius assured him though he thought their normal way would end up fine. After all, The Palace and other places they liked to frequent alone were in Muggle areas. Then he smiled a tad and added, “Might do you and Snape good to have some time alone to just relax. With all the stress we’ve been under, nights off from it help all of us. Going out was always my and Harry’s way of dealing.”

“Oh yes,” Remus told him with a chuckle then sat down, taking a sip of his tea, letting the food simmer like it needed to. “We’ll enjoy it, I assure you!”

“Figured,” Sirius snickered, grinning as he did. “Do we have much to tend to this week? So much is up in the air about areas that I’m not sure. I know Aberforth is supposed to pop around to talk to us and a couple of others, but beyond that—not sure.”

“It’s mostly holding out to see what pops up,” Remus grumbled, shaking his head. “Honestly? Until You-Know-Who makes some kind of a move or his Death Eaters do, we can’t do much but worry about protection. That we’re tending to the best we can. If something pops, we’ll deal accordingly.”

“Figured, but wanted to prepare.” Sirius nodded. “Slowly going over the history of so much with Harry so he understands better. It’s just taking time. You two might want to as well, especially Snape since he has a different perspective of so much.”

“We’ll start as well,” Remus assured him with a determined nod. “Just small bits, of course. Well, and answer questions he has.”

“We need to encourage him to ask, honestly,” Sirius imparted, shifting around to a more comfortable position. “The more he asks, the more we can explain so he understands more.”

“I’ll mention it to Severus and we’ll start,” Remus told him. “I’ll write up a timeline and put the major events on it then go from there. It might help if he has a visual.”

Agreeing, Sirius then began to make other suggestions. Harry needed to understand more than he did now and they had to ensure he did so he stayed safe.

Tongue stuck out, teeth clamped on it, Maggie signed her name to the thank you letter she wrote to Tonks and Donnahill. Since her mum and dad were busy with the house, keeping an eye on the two elves Grandpa Albus hired, while they situated everything the way they wanted it and decorated, she was alone in her new room. As everything in here was done and her stuff put up, she was trying to stay out of the way since the adults were all harried looking, leading them to end up slightly short-tempered. Once they finished or seemed like they weren’t so busy, she’d go down and explore the new house.

This place was far bigger than anything she had lived in before. She and Sarah each had a room on the second floor while Jamie’s was on the third with mum and dad. It was so they could keep an eye on him. With how Jamie was about so much, she understood that. Grandpa Albus had a room on the main floor in the back by himself. There was so much to see and do here she couldn’t wait to go exploring! It could wait though. After all, she had plenty of time since her parents assured her they weren’t moving again. Besides, it would give her plenty to do until the other two were out of school for the year. If she wandered enough, she would know where everything was before them. She liked that idea.

Once she finished with the letter, she picked it up and smiled. When her parents started working, after they saw the first part, she added the part about seeing if they thought Harry would write to her. While she would like it, she wouldn’t be upset if he didn’t. Though she didn’t fully understand the situation there, she knew it was plenty bad and it wouldn’t upset her. She’d just be a tad disappointed.

When she was sure it was perfect, she folded it up then walked over to the family owl and tied it to his leg. Giving Ragmuffin a pet, she tried smoothing down his feathers and just giggled softly when they popped right back up. He always looked windblown and his feathers stuck everywhere. It was part of his charm. A sweet owl, she loved him and how he liked to pay special attention to her. Whispering, she said, “Take that to Tonks. You don’t have to wait for a reply.” Then she gave him a kiss on the head and owl treat before he took off.

Waving to the owl as he soared away, she sat down on the bench under her window and put her chin on her fists and gave a contented sigh. She looked around the huge grounds they had and smiled. Yes, this was another new adventure for her, just like Hogwarts would be in the fall. She just hoped that she would do fine with it and Harry would write her. He seemed so nice, she wanted to hear from him and be friends.

Hearing her parents come up the stairs and start to discuss what to do with the rooms, she looked at the door then stood up. They’d probably be busy for a while yet and she needed to stay out of the way, so she went over to her desk and pulled out some drawing paper. As she hummed softly to herself, she began to draw a bunny like Bugs, smiling a little as she did. Feeling Bones curl up at her feet, she reached down and petted him before going back to her drawing. As she sketched, her mind wandered to plenty and imagined what all she could do in the house alone before her brother and sister came back. Yes, it would be fun!

Once Lucius and Narcissa settled at the kitchen table, he passed the letter he received from Draco to Severus then looked around and explained what Draco said. When he finished and Severus passed the letter to his husband, he said, “It is something we need to tend to. Those children need an out if they don’t want drawn in. While some will end up old enough to be considered adults, they’ll need protection they can’t manage on their own.”

Hands folded on the table after passing the letter to Remus, Severus looked determined and nodded, “We do. While the Ministry should probably end up involved, it’s something that needs tended to privately. And how is beyond me.”

“Lucius and I came up with the barest bones of a plan,” Narcissa chimed in, looking around.

“What’s that?” Sirius asked as he looked up from the letter as he held it out so he and Harry could read it.

“We have several unused manor houses. They are in good shape and kept up, but we have no need for them. Since they are as protected as all of ours, we thought we could convert them into safe houses for the younger ones. We could also house others,” Lucius explained hands tapping on the table. “While it’s best to not leave them alone with just the elves, we’re sure we can find some people, which we will pay of course, to become house parents of a sort.”

“A very good plan,” Remus told him with a firm nod. “They would be safe.”

“We’d have to weed out the ones who just want to spy for the cause, but it could work,” Severus agreed. “Spells are perfect for it as there are ones you can’t wiggle around, the same with binding contracts.”

“It’s something we need by the end of the term, though.” Sirius added, passing the letter back and slipping an arm around Harry, pulling him close. “Rufus needs involved as well. We’ll need more than private help to tackle this. Besides, he needs to know what some know and who we’re dealing with. If it’s ones of bigger named Death Eaters, they are in more danger than we can handle ourselves.”

“True,” Lucius conceded. “We admit that as well. However, the basic idea is sound and we plan to bring it up to Rufus, after official hours, of course. We don’t want anyone at the Ministry to overhear since we all know not all employed there, even in higher positions, are on the right side of the coming war. As we’re discussing children, or young adults, we want to do all we can to keep them safe. I’m sure, with what I know of such matters, plenty of their parents don’t know their leanings and would stop at nothing to get them on the path they want to gain favor.”

“We’ll contact Rufus tomorrow and have him come over,” Severus said, taking a sip of his coffee. “Once we run the idea by him we can see what he says and any help he can give us. We’ll then go from there. If it goes well, we’ll have it set up by the time the term lets out.”

“A good goal,” Remus agreed with a determined nod.

With a smirk, Lucius then looked at Harry and Sirius, saying, “And I agree to the night out. Narcissa has a meeting of sorts for a charity she deals with, so I’ll be at loose ends. Time out will do us all good.”

“Perfect,” Harry said with a grin. Though reluctant because he still wasn’t ready to deal with people too much yet, he didn’t want to miss a night out with the two as they tended to have a good time.

Pleased, Severus nodded, agreeing. Having Harry go out and have a good time put him further on the road to recovery, something which pleased him.

“There is a slight surprise as well,” Lucius then added, looking smug. Pulling a letter out of his robes, he handed it to Harry then waited.

When his son began to grin from ear to ear, Remus asked, a small smile on his face, “What is it?”

“Permission for Harry to take a tour of Hogwarts the day after school lets out. Filius agreed without issue. He is adding some special items as well, such as having the Sorting Hat sort him into a house and such. He’ll get a tour of the whole castle and grounds, have lunch in the Great Hall, all of it. Hagrid agreed to accompany us to tour the grounds as well.”

“Brilliant!” Harry grinned, loving the idea. Passing the letter back to Lucius, he said honestly, “I can’t wait for this. Should be great!”

“You’ll enjoy it,” Sirius told him, giving him a squeeze, pleased with the reaction. Harry—was odd and didn’t ordinarily get too overly enthused about things, so this was odd. While he was certain there would be problems with some of the teachers since Harry hadn’t dealt with them before, they would manage. Harry would probably end up distracted by all the stuff he hadn’t seen before and forget to stay wary.

After pulling Harry close and holding him there, he tuned back in to the conversation around them as Lucius and Snape were discussing plans for protection when it came to so much. These were areas he wanted to stay abreast of so he made sure to pay attention. The more they could come up with, the better off they would all be in the end.

“No one is going to believe a damned word you say, Albus. Not after the stunts you’ve pulled and all your secrecy bit,” Moody grunted after taking a sip from his flask. They were in Albus’ suite of rooms in the new house planning while Albus put up his belongings. “We won’t get into how they won’t give up any information to you or anyone perceived as helping you in any way. How I would manage to find out anything is beyond me. As far as anyone is concerned, I’m not involved in what’s coming yet.”

Heaving a heavy dejected sigh, Albus started sending books to the now empty shelves he had just moved into place then took a seat in the chair across from Alastor. After a sip of his sweet tea, he said, “James and Lily mentioned Severus talking about finding the Horcruxes Voldemort left. We need to find out if they found them all, what they have and any other information about them. One of the other items we need to tend to is sending out warnings about them if they haven’t found them all then determine some other areas we need to worry about. Poor Harry has had a hard life and is adjusting, but he needs not only protected, something obvious, but will end up involved in this whether anyone wants him to end up that way or not.”

“No one is going to allow the lad to end up involved,” Moody snorted, hoping to jar information loose. “And having him involved is a bad idea from what I’ve heard when it concerns him.”

“I don’t think he has a choice, Alastor,” Albus told him softly with a sad shake of his head. “Fate has determined otherwise.”

“And you know this how?” Alastor asked, tone dry and slightly sneering to keep in character. He hoped to pry some useful information out of the old goat he could pass along to figure out what the plans were.

After thinking it over for a few moments, Albus let out a soft sigh then said quietly, “There is a prophecy that came out before the last war ended. It makes it clear Harry is the one who will end the war currently brewing. He was marked as the one who has to finish it.”

And that wasn’t anything he had heard before. He didn’t think anyone else had either, so he needed to poke. “Prophecies are, for the most part, overly dramatic codswallop which are more self fulfilling than anything else.”

“This one isn’t,” Albus assured him. “Part has already been fulfilled. Harry’s scar is proof it has.”

“Still don’t believe it,” Alastor snorted, looking sour though filing it away to find out about.

“Give me a day or so to unpack all my papers and research then I’ll give you a copy. I’ll explain what it means from there,” Albus assured him. As he needed Alastor so badly, he would prove all he could to his old friend to make sure he stayed by his side through this.

“Until I see proof, not buying it, Albus,” Alastor shot back. “However, if you have it and it aligns with so much, I’ll change my mind,” he then added.

“It will,” Albus assured him with a nod. “You’ll understand when you see it.” Settling back in his chair, he then asked, “Is there anything you’ve heard so far which can help us? I need to start having people listen to me because so much is riding on what I know. There was a reason I vanished and it’ll give the war effort a boost it won’t get any other way.”

“Nothing much,” Alastor told him, mentally rolling his eyes at the show of ego from the old man. “What I’ve heard isn’t beyond what most know from the paper. Though I’ve picked up on the fact that some in the DMLE and Aurors are leaning, privately of course, that this is the work of You-Know-Who. They won’t say it publicly until there is proof, however. If they are already leaning to that side of the fence, it’ll help later on.”

“Good,” Albus told him, looking pleased. “I just need to work on getting people to listen to me. At least some. The government—I won’t. Cornelius—no, he’s a lost cause. I won’t try there. Others may as time goes on. It’ll just come down to me proving I was right.”

“Even if you do, I doubt they will listen, Albus,” Alastor grumbled, looking plenty sour. “You’ve ruined your chance there. Maybe you need to find someone who doesn’t have a tarnished reputation and start using them to impart plenty.” He hoped this way he could get Albus to talk more as time went on. It wouldn’t work yet, but he was laying the foundation he needed. It would just take time for this line to bear fruit, as they said.

“That might work,” Albus mused, stroking his beard as he thought it over. “I’ll find someone.”

“For now, I would suggest you and the Potters lay low and not let yourself end up drawn in too much. Once your names stop appearing in the paper, you might do better. It’s too fresh now for anything you do to work.”

“There is that as well,” Albus admitted, taking the advice to heart. Yes, he would work on ensuring their names remained out of the papers the best he could. Staying out of the public eye would work. If things went as he thought they were, their world would end up with something far bigger to talk about soon enough. Once that hit, he could do more.

With a sigh, he crossed his legs then began to quiz Alastor about tidbits he might have picked up from some people he knew. While they wouldn’t be huge, any tidbit of information could help them in the future. It was best he stay on top of it so he didn’t end up blindsided by something down the line.
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Lucky Strike