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Family Means More Than Blood	By : WingsofaDream Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 59826 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 7
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its associated characters are property of J K Rowling, not me. This story is not being written for profit, just for the lols.

Chapter List
- 38
- 39
- 40
26th March 1994: Early Morning

When Harry woke up, he woke up quickly, consciousness returning to him in a snap. He did not open his eyes though, mostly because of the position he was in. It was somewhere he had not been for a while, years in fact. He was on Severus's lap, his body held closely to the man's chest while his legs stretched out across the rest of the sofa. Yes, it had been so long since the last time he had woken up like this. If he remembered correctly, the last time had been when he had been sick with the flu once when he was twelve; he had been woken by a nightmare and had then promptly fallen asleep in his father's arms when the man came to offer comfort. This time, he could not actually remember being in Severus's arms when he fell asleep. He remembered coming to the personal rooms in the dungeons, he remembered crying an awful lot, but he could not remember actually falling asleep. He imagined he had probably been given a potion to knock him out in the end.

Beneath his ear, Harry could hear the steady beating of Severus's heart inside his chest and the warmth radiating from him was soothing. The man was not moving and his breathing was even and un-changing so Harry naturally assumed he was still asleep. So, he risked opening his eyes a little. His glasses had been removed at some point so the dark room around him was very blurry and if there was any detail to be seen, it had blended together with other things and was indistinguishable to him. With a small sigh, Harry lifted his eyes a little, fully expecting to see a peaceful expression on his father's face and closed eyes. That being the case, he was rather startled to find that the man was actually looking down at him with a neutral expression, his black eyes practically drilling into Harry's green ones.

Harry could not quite bring himself to pull his eyes away from the ones above him despite the fact he desperately wanted to. They just stared at each other for a while, Harry not knowing what to say and Severus possibly being in the same situation or maybe he just had nothing to say. Eventually, the silence got too much for Harry to bear and he broke it with a gently whispered: "I didn't mean to wake you."

"You didn't; I haven't slept."

"Oh." Harry replied awkwardly, for lack of anything else to say. All his muscles had suddenly tensed of their own accord and in the back of his mind, Harry was aware of the internal battle he was having with himself in regards to what to do next. Part of him wanted to slide off Severus's lap and avoid the conversation which was no doubt on its way while another part was quite happy being snuggled against his father in the way he was and wanted to conversation to come in order to get it out of the way.

"The reason you gave for not telling me," Severus suddenly spoke, his tone still low and emotionless. "Was it the truth?"

"Yes." Harry whispered, determined not to lie to his father about any of this anymore. There was no real point anyway, the man knew everything now.

"And why is it you feel this way? Have I not shown you enough love and affection? Why did you not tell me when you found out, Haryon? Do you not trust me?" There was a tiny amount of hurt in Severus's voice when he said that and it shattered Harry's heart to know that he was the one who had caused it.

He clung to Severus's robes and buried his face against his chest. "This is why I never told you! Because I didn't want to see you hurt, not ever, because I love you more then anything or anyone. I didn't want to be the one who had to hurt you, who had to be the one to tell you that I'm actually a Potter! And I...I was scared that you wouldn't be able to see past it, that it would too much for you, that you wouldn't want me anymore..." Tears began to fall from his eyes again and the arms which were still around him tightened slightly.

"Sshh, it's all right." Severus murmured soothingly, starting a slight rocking motion. "I'm so sorry you felt that way, sweetheart, I'm sorry I couldn't make you feel safe and loved."

"But you did! I've never felt safer or more loved than when I'm with you, but how can I believe it will last? The Potter's should've loved me and they didn't. And you...You have no reason to love me."

Severus sighed heavily and pulled Harry a little closer to himself. "You silly, silly boy. I have every reason to love you. Not only because of who you are but because of what you have done for me."

"You mean be a constant source of worry and aggravation?"

"No, for saving my life on countless occasions. Haryon, that night I found you in that alleyway, my life finally had a little ray of hope. I haven't had a happy life by far and to be honest at that point I was starting to lose hope of anything ever getting better. But then I found you and you gave me a reason to keep living; you still do." He paused and made Harry tilt his head up to look him in the face again. "As far as I am concerned, you are my son, not James Potter's, and you have nothing in common with him at all. When I see your dark hair, I see myself. When I see your glasses, I see my mother. And when I see your green eyes, I just see you and maybe the result of some recessive gene in my blood-line."

"You honestly don't care I'm the off-spring of the man you hate more than anyone?"

"Hmm, he's more of the third man I hate more than anyone, what with Black and the Dark Lord being ahead of him, but no, I don't care, Haryon. In fact, I might just be able to find it in myself to forgive James Potter as if it weren't for him I wouldn't have you."

"Forgive James Potter? That's going a bit far don't you think?"

Severus chuckled lightly. "Yes, maybe it is. I must be suffering from sleep-deprivation."

Harry laughed quietly at that and after the giggles had faded the smile remained across his lips. He lowered his head onto Severus's chest once more and shut his eyes again. "I love you, Father."

A large hand came up to cup the back of Harry's head and a pair of dry lips brushed against his forehead, just above the bandage which was still wrapped around his head. "And I love you, my son."

******************************************************************

26th March 1994: Morning

Kept company only by the sound of running water, Harry stood in front of the mirror in Severus's bathroom staring at his reflection, unblinking. The more he looked at himself, the more he saw similarities between himself and his birth family. It was distressing but he could not quite bring himself to turn away because if he was not thinking about himself and the features he shared with the Potters, he would start to think about the day ahead and he did not want that. His first class of the day, Divination, started in ten minutes and he did not want to go. He wanted to hide under the covers of his father's bed forever, not face the population of Hogwarts.

It was not that he cared what they said. After all, he was the injured party here. What he did care about was the fact they said it at all. They would not be able to leave it alone and it was going to be a trying day for both him and Severus. And then there was Fred and George. Would they hate him now? He had kept the secret from them and yet Hermione had known, though that was not his fault. Would their feelings be hurt that they were not told? It could go either way really. There were elements from both of their characters which could mean that their reaction could go either way. The only way for him to find out was to confront them and that was something he was dreading.

"Buck up, deary." His reflection suddenly said to him, breaking his stare and making him refocus his gaze. "It's not like you to not have a smile on your face."

"No..." Harry murmured to himself, stepping away from the mirror and looking down at the corner of the small bathroom. "I suppose it isn't."

He turned then and headed out of the bathroom, entering his father's bedroom. When he went to leave the bedroom though, he paused upon hearing voices on the other side of the door. Carefully, he leaned forward and pressed his ear against the wood in an attempt to make out who was in the living room with Severus and what was being discussed.

"Are you sure letting him go to classes is wise?" That was Lucius's voice. "Perhaps allowing him the day off to let the fuss among the student population die down would be best?"

"He's not going to hide from this, neither of us are." Severus's voice came. "We will face the population of Hogwarts and show to them that we are unaffected by the recent revelations."

"But what use is that when you have been affected by them? You may be able to hide your emotions and such like a professional but Haryon is not so fortunate and none of this can be easy for him; he's a very private young man."

"Then he should have told us all of this when he first found out and then steps could have been taken to lessen the impact of when it finally came to light."

"Severus, do you blame Haryon for all of this?"

"What? No, of course not, don't be ridiculous! He was scared of our reaction and if that's anyone's fault it's mine for not making him feel secure enough."

"Actually, I'm rather more inclined to blame the Potters. They are the ones who started this whole mess after all." A pause. "I'm not sure what I want to do more: shake Potter's hand for allowing us the chance to have Haryon in our lives or kill him for giving him up and obviously having a huge, negative affect on his out-look on life. Of course he's going to be afraid of people leaving him when the very people who should have loved him the most gave him up without explanation."

"According to Dumbledore, Potter didn't know about Haryon until yesterday. Evans birthed and gave him up of her own accord. She gave some tired excuse of the effects of post-natal depression combined with the stress of being a young, single mother."

A snort from Lucius. "Utter rubbish. You were exactly her age when you took Haryon in and that was before you even knew you would have a home with us at the manor."

"Yes, as far as I knew at the time Haryon and I would be living alone in the house I grew up in since I inherited it after the unfortunate end of my dear father." Those last words were scathing and very obviously not meant to be taken as an endearment towards the deceased man. "Looking back, it was rather foolish of me. I had only just graduated from Hogwarts, I had no job or any prospects, little money, and I had no real idea how to take care of a child. But I saw him there," the tone turned wistful, "my little Haryon; crying his heart out, just begging to be loved and I picked him up without real thought. He needed me and I know that I needed him. I still do."

A long silence took over then and Harry began to feel acutely guilty for eavesdropping on this conversation. It seemed so personal and something he should not be listening to without his father's knowledge. He was about to open the door and make his presence known when he heard a knock, most probably coming from the portrait, and he froze. No way was he going to go out there if there was someone other than his father or godfather in the room. He would wait for a moment to see who it was and how long they were going to stay before he made up his mind whether to make his first appearance of the morning or not.

"Morning Sev." A new voice greeted; it was Draco.

"Good morning Draco." Severus's voice returned.

"Father?" Draco's voice asked before pausing. "Oh no, what's happened now?"

"Nothing, I simply came to check on Haryon."

"Is he all right?"

"We haven't seen him to ask." Severus replied, his tone reluctant as he was obviously uncomfortable with admitting it. "He's currently in the bathroom."

"Is he coming to classes today?"

"Yes."

"That's what I thought so I came him to walk him to Divination. He probably doesn't particularly want to walk there on his own." Harry rolled his eyes; more like Draco did not want him walking to class on his own. "How long has he been in the bathroom for?"

"About half an hour now, I suppose."

"Do you think we should check on him? Harry doesn't usually spend more than five minutes getting ready in the morning." Draco pointed out quite rightly and that was enough to prompt Harry into finally making his presence known.

He took a small breath, steeled himself and then pushed the door open, effectively silencing the three Slytherins in the living room as he stepped in the area. "Good morning." He greeted them all with a small smile, moving further into the room.

"How are you feeling?" Severus asked gently.

"Not too bad." Harry assured as he moved over to where his bag had ended up at the end of the sofa in front of the fire-place.

"Are you sure you're all right to go to classes today?" Lucius asked him in a tone that was nothing more than supportive.

"There's no point putting it off and not showing my face will only make things look suspicious." The dark haired boy pointed out reasonably, picking up his bag and pulling it over his shoulder before turning to look at the three other men in the room. "I'm the injured party here, I have nothing to be ashamed of." He insisted confidently, much more confidently then he actually felt.

Severus gave a small sigh. "If it gets too much for you come straight here, even if it's in the middle of class I don't care. You are to come straight to this room, understand?"

"Yes Father." Harry assured with as smile as he walked over to the Potions Master. He stood up on tip-toes and pecked a kiss to the corner of the man's mouth. "Have a good day, Father." He wished before moving over to Draco. "You too, Uncle Lucius." He added as he and the younger Malfoy reached the portrait and pushed it open.

"Stay proud, Haryon." Lucius encouraged as the two teenagers began to leave. "And look out for him, Draco."

"Of course." Draco agreed without looking back.

Harry paused once he was outside in the corridor to wait for Draco to close the portrait behind him. However, it soon became apparent that there was no need to wait because he had barely begun to turn to face the Slytherin when he found himself being pulled against the other boy's chest, slim arms coming around him in a secure hold. The Gryffindor tensed almost instantly and it did not go un-noticed by the one who had his arms around him.

"What's wrong?"

"Father might come out at any second." Harry pointed out reasonably, peering around Draco to the still-closed portrait hole.

Draco gave a small grunt. "Good point I suppose." He grumbled before letting one of his arms fall from Harry. With only one arm around the slighter boy's shoulders, he set them forward slowly. "How did you sleep last night?"

"Not too well." Harry sighed, allowing Draco to keep his arm around him knowing that no one would think it was weird as it could easily be explained as a gesture of comfort through the time of stress it was. "I kept waking up once the calming draught wore off, even after Father and I talked about everything."

"Are you sure you're up for classes today? There'd be no harm or shame in taking the day off you know."

"No, if I took the day off all I'd do is sit around and dwell on everything and that won't do me any good. You don't have to worry about me, I'll be all right."

"I'll be the judge of that." Draco grunted, tightening his grip a little as they reached the point where they would probably soon be encountering other students on their way to class. "You are aware that I'm not leaving your side today, right?"

"You have to, you don't have Divination, Charms, or Care of Magical Creatures with me."

"I meant besides those times and you know it."

"How could I have known when you didn't say it?"

"Shut up."

"Make me."

Draco did not reply with words, instead he leaned down and caught the smaller boy's lips in a soft kiss.

******************************************************************

26th March 1994: Mid-Morning

Harry was back to staring at his reflection again, only this time it was a distorted, extreme close-up of his eyes on the surface of the highly polished crystal ball in front of him. How was he supposed to focus on the clearing of the mist when there were so many people glancing at him every few seconds. It was distracting and it had been happening all through class! He did not know if it was because they were being nosey, being concerned or whether they were all waiting for him to crack or something. The exact reason hardly mattered, he just wished they would all stop so he could concentrate on his crystal ball. He could not wait to get out of the classroom and go to Charms despite the fact it meant having to face Fred and George. Even that was preferable to being stared at and getting frustrated with the mist that would not bloody part!

Or perhaps it was a good sign that the mist would not part. That suggested there was nothing to see which in turn meant that nothing of significance was due to happen any time soon and that could not be a bad thing. Harry decided to try and not be frustrated with his lack of success in his fortune telling that day and instead focus on the positive side of not seeing anything. Merlin knew that with everything that had happened in those past twenty-four hours, he appreciated the fact that there would be nothing extra to worry about.

After several more minutes of nothing through the mist and the short, though frequent, stares being sent his direction, the class came to an end and Harry was allowed his freedom for the five minutes it would take him to get to his next lesson which he both wished would arrive and never happen. This was the time he would have to confront Fred and George for the first time since he ran out on them yesterday lunch. It did not really matter whether he had to speak to them straight or whether it would be after the lesson, it was inevitable that he would have to speak to them either way and, as with going to Charms in the first place, he was both dreading and longing it.

Harry left the classroom silently and on his own, avoiding joining with Lee Jordan who he usually walked to Charms with. However, instead of making the journey to his next class on his own as he had intended, he soon found he would have company when he spotted Draco standing to one side, obviously waiting for him as he ignored the one Slytherin girl who took Divination when she tried to strike up conversation with him. Harry changed his path so that he was heading over to the blond and, upon reaching him, glanced around to make sure no one was looking before bouncing up on his toes and pecking a quick kiss to the taller boy's cheek.

"Don't you have Care of Magical Creatures right now?" Harry asked curiously, ignoring the other students who were going about their own business around them.

Draco shrugged. "Yes, but I'm going to walk you to Charms."

"Won't you be late?" The dark haired boy pointed out, swallowing down the small swell of annoyance he felt at being treated like some helpless damsel who needed to be accompanied everywhere.

"Probably." The blond grinned before leaning down so that his lips were right against the smaller boy's ear, lightly brushing against the shell with every breath he took. "I'm sure you could afford a small delay as well." He whispered, the warm breath and the suggestion behind the words making the Gryffindor shiver and his eyes drift shut.

Harry was actually seriously considering the Slytherin's offer; it would be nice to have a few minutes of pleasurable escape. However, upon opening his eyes again, he was greeted with the sight of Fred and George further up the corridor, watching him and Draco. His eyes met with theirs and a moment of acknowledgement passed between him and them, ruining any chance Harry might have had of pretending he had not seen them and going off with Draco without incident. He tensed against the blond in anxiety and, just as earlier that morning, it did not go un-noticed.

"What's wrong?" Draco queried, slight concern in his voice.

Harry gave no answer, just flickered his eyes to Draco's before looking back to Fred and George.

The Slytherin followed his gaze to the Weasley twins and he instantly understood what the problem was. "Do you want to talk to them?"

"I think I should."

"Without me?"

"I think that would be best."

"Alright." Draco agreed before leaning down and capturing Harry's lips in a quick kiss. "I'll see you after Charms then."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, see ya."

Draco gave him a smile and another quick kiss before moving past Harry, heading away in the only direction he could which led him past Fred and George. Although he could not be completely certain, Harry was pretty sure the Slytherin passed the two red-heads without comment and for that he was grateful. Once Draco was gone, Harry took the first move and walked forwards, towards his two friends. He stopped just in front of them.

"How are you?" Fred asked first, sounding suitably concerned and also rather nervous.

"I'm not too bad." Harry assured with a slight smile.

"How is, erm, everything?" George inquired.

"Pretty good, considering." The dark haired boy answered truthfully before falling silent. He hesitated a moment before speaking again. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys anything when I first found out."

Both twins shook their heads at their same time. "There's no need to apologise." Fred insisted.

"Being related to Potter isn't exactly something you'd want to shout from the rooftops."

"And we talked to Granger about how she found out."

"It's hardly as if you chose to tell her..."

"...She found out by accident."

"If Oliver Wood had walked in ten minutes earlier..."

"...He'd have been the one in the know."

Harry was completely marvelled by the two boys in front of him. They were so easy-going, so understanding, so open-minded. They were not holding the fact that Harry kept such a huge secret from them against him and they did not seem at all bothered by the revelation. They were not taking the fact that Hermione had been aware and they had not as an insult, in fact they were viewing it as what it was; an accident which could have happened to any one of the Gryffindors. Not for the first time, Harry was reminded that despite the playful and mischievous nature of the twins, they were also incredibly mature.

"Thanks," Harry murmured. "For understanding."

"Think nothing of it." Fred insisted in a rather peppy voice, waving his hand in dismissal of the gratitude.

"Now, we should get to Charms if we're going. Even using current events as an excuse for lateness, we're only going to be able to get away with a certain amount of time." George pointed out before setting off, quickly followed by Fred and an immensely relieved Harry.

******************************************************************

26th March 1994: Midday

"We didn't have an essay to write for Transfiguations did we?" George asked after swallowing the mouthful of sandwich he was eating.

"I don't think so." Harry answered after taking a moment to think back.

"Oh good, because I didn't do one."

"Isn't it a bit late to be asking that?" Fred pointed out with a grin of amusement. "I mean, we do have it next. What if there had been an essay? There's no way you'd be able to write it in forty-five minutes."

"I reckon I'd be able to pull it off if you and Harry helped me with it."

"And what makes you think we would?" Harry challenged, also grinning in amusement now.

"Hey, whatever happened to helping the needy? You're a Priest, you're supposed to help anyone who asks for it."

"Not when it's writing an essay for someone who was too lazy to do it on their own."

"You wouldn't be writing all of it; I'd help."

"Just like you helped the time Harry and I wrote your entire Potions essay on the properties of gillyweed."

"I helped out as much as I could! It's not my fault I couldn't remember half of what was said in class and so..."

The argument continued on between the two brothers even when Harry's interest wandered away. He glanced around himself curiously, just to see what everyone was up to more than anything. The first thing he noticed was that Professor Lupin was strangely absent. Severus was sitting at the Head Table looking far more irritated and scornful than normal and Draco was much the same where he sat at the Slytherin Table, glaring at anyone who looked at him for too long and just completely ignoring Bethany and Spari much to their obvious dislike. Further down the Slytherin table was Blaise Zabini who was staring at Harry openly and the older boy just could not be bothered to make a fuss over it so he ignored the boy. On various other tables there were students trying to stare at him a bit more discreetly but obviously not discreetly enough as Harry easily noticed them. Several seats away from him on the Gryffindor table was Potter, Violet, and Ron, all eating their lunches in what looked like a rather sombre silence. Harry had been blatantly ignored by his younger brother on the few occasions they had passed in the corridors so far and had received nothing more than brief glances and bright red blushes from his younger sister. Not for the first time that day, he noted that Hermione's absence from her group of friends and he wondered where she was.

That question was soon answered when, through the doors of the Great Hall, Hermione came trudging in, looking incredibly unhappy. It was obvious what had happened to put the Third Year girl in the mood she was currently and Harry felt instantly guilty. He turned to Fred and George, who were still involved in their argument about just who it was who did the most work on that Potions essay they did who knows how many months ago.

"Guys, would it be alright with you if I asked Hermione to come sit with us?" He interrupted them gently, inclining his head in the frizzy haired girl's direction.

Fred and George stopped arguing instantly and turned to look at Harry before looking over to Hermione. "Course not, call her over." Fred assured with a smile.

Harry smiled back at him in thanks before turning back in the direction Hermione was in again. "Hermione!" He called in a semi-yell, raising a hand and waving to her.

The girl heard him first time and her eyes lit up upon seeing him. Her pace picked up and she hurried over to him and the two Weasley twins.

Harry shifted up along the bench a little in order to allow her some room to sit down. "Are you all right?"

"I've been better." She admitted quietly.

"Potter's blaming you isn't he?"

"He says I should've told him as soon as I found out, that it was a betrayal to keep your secret from him."

"What about Ron?" Fred asked next.

"Yeah, surely he's not siding with Potter?" George added.

"Apparently he has. He stood by and said nothing while John told me exactly what he thought of me and that I wasn't to talk to him ever again, and then he left with him once I'd been thoroughly told off."

"That stupid little prat." George groaned, shaking his head in something akin to despair, drawing the attention of Hermione and Harry to him.

"He's just as bad as Percy, he really is."

Harry turned his gaze onto Hermione then and rested a hand on her shoulder. "You don't need people who treat you like that. You can always spend time with us if you ever get lonely and I'll always be your friend even if I'm not the one you wish was."

"Thanks Harry." Hermione murmured with a weak smile, leaning into him for a second in appreciation before straightening back up.

Harry could tell that just his friendship was not enough and she still missed her other two friends but there was very little he could do about that. He could only try and keep the younger girl happy and distract her from the current unpleasantness.

******************************************************************

26th March 1994: Afternoon

"Good afternoon Haryon."

"Good afternoon High Priest."

"I apologise for pulling you out of your lesson but I felt it for the best that we talk sooner rather than later."

"Oh, I see. Um, is there anything wrong then?"

"Surely it should be me asking you that. I'm aware of what has happened over the past day."

"Did Professor Dumbledore tell you?"

"No, I saw it all myself, through a vision. I was having tea with my sister at the time; startled her quite badly actually."

"You had a vision of...Me?"

"Yes. I saw the moment the young boy, your brother, attacked you. Speaking of which, how's your head?"

"Erm, not too bad thank you. A bit of a bump but otherwise it's fine."

"I'm glad to hear it. So, how are you coping with everything?"

"It's, uh, it's not too bad. A lot better than I expected actually. None of my friends are at all offended that I kept it from them and, not counting the regular staring, people have pretty much left me alone about it."

"And your family?"

"Neither Draco nor Uncle Lucius seem to care about it and are only concerned for me and about keeping everything as normal as possible for me. My father..."

"...Yes?"

"To tell you the truth, I'm not completely sure. He says he doesn't care and I do believe him, but I know this has affected him more than he's letting on. I just don't know how though. Father can be a difficult man to read at the best of times but when he really doesn't want you to know something, it's impossible to find out."

"Have you attempted to talk to him about it?"

"No, I haven't really had the time but even if I did try, it wouldn't lead to anything. He'd either avoid the question or straight out refuse to answer. I hardly have a right to demand he tell me exactly what's bothering him when I myself often keep things from him. I kept the truth of my parentage a secret from him for almost a year after all."

"Indeed. I must say, I was surprised to discover that you already knew. You acted as though nothing had changed for you."

"Nothing did, not really. All that happened was the anonymous faces of my parents were filled in. It answered none of my questions and once I had decided to keep it to myself and Hermione promised the same thing, it posed no threat to my relationship with my family."

"I see."

"High Priest?"

"Yes?"

"Why is this happening to me? Why has my life been fated to be so hard? Am I being punished?"

"No, I believe punishment would be the last reason the Great Lady chose this life for you. It is far more likely that you are being...Tested, I suppose would be the best way to describe it."

"Tested?"

"You were an extraordinary child, Haryon, and it is only natural that you will turn into an extraordinary young man. The power you posses mixed with your good nature and proud spirit cannot be pure coincidence. Our Great Lady took great care in placing you in this life no doubt because she had a special purpose for you. You have already led a most accomplished life already, seeing and doing things that people ten times your age can only dream about in their nightmares and you have become stronger because of it. Your life has always been hard and I don't think your trials are over yet. One day, you will face your destiny, the reason you were given this life and until that day, you will be tested and trained by the events in your life in order to prepare you."

"High Priest...Do you...Know, what it is I'm fated to do?"

"Do you?"

"No?"

"Then neither do I."

"But High Priest..."

"Haryon, when you are meant to know your fate, you will be told directly. Yes?"

"...Yes High Priest."

"Good. Now, I believe I've kept you long enough. I will see you again on Sunday."

"Yes High Priest."

"Good day, Haryon."

"Good day, High Priest."

******************************************************************

27th March 1994: Evening

Harry bit his lip lightly as he listened intently to the voices that were coming from behind the door he had his ear pressed against, those coming from inside his father's bedroom. He had retreated to the dungeons earlier that evening to spend some time with his father, the events of the previous couple of days still weighing heavy on his shoulders, and had found Lucius there as well. He had joined them and, for several minutes, had enjoyed the easy atmosphere between them all. But then James and Lily Potter had arrived and the Gryffindor had instantly been sent to Severus's bedroom so he did not have to listen to whatever it was his biological parents had to say. Of course, when the adults were yelling at each other, it was somewhat hard not to over-hear what was being said:

"Access?" Severus's raised voice said, his tone filled with disbelief. "You expect me to agree to you having joint access of my son after you abandoned him as you did?"

"That was a long time ago, Severus," Lily Potter's voice answered gently. "We have two other children now, we're successful, experienced parents."

"I think the successful claim is a matter of opinion." Lucius's voice sneered.

"All we're asking for is that Harry spend half of his summer holidays with us, that's not a lot to ask, Snape." James Potter's voice said then.

"My answer is still no. As far as I am concerned, Haryon will have as little to do with you as possible, just as it was before all of this came into the open."

"Fine, we wanted to do this calmly and act like adults but you've left us no choice, Snape. Allow us access to Harry or we'll take this to court." James threatened.

"You'll what!" Severus's voice boomed and Harry winced a little at the sound.

"We'll take this to court and demand full custody. We're his biological parents, I'm an Auror and Lily's a medi-witch. You simply picked him up out of the streets and are an ex-Death Eater."

"I raised him while you two carried on with your lives and had more children!" Severus yelled and Harry detected that there was a very definite hint of fear in the man's voice as though he was afraid the Potter would, indeed, carry out their threat and, indeed, win.

"Severus, if I may?" Lucius voice said calmly then and there was a short pause before the aristocrat spoke again. "Very well, Potter, if you wish to take this through the courts then we cannot stop you. However, I should warn you, if that is the action you decide to take, we will press charges against your wife."

"What!" That was both James and Lily.

"I don't know what the laws in Muggle society are but in the Wizarding world abandoning your child is not something one does without having to suffer consequences: neglect; abandonment; perhaps even an attempted murder charge. You'd be facing an Azkaban sentence of at least two years, if you're lucky. Also, do please think about what affect such a thing would have on Haryon what with the publicity it would no doubt attract."

There was a long silence then and Harry desperately wished he could see through the wood of the door in order to see exactly what it was that was happening. Why was no one talking suddenly? Had they killed each other? It would not actually have surprised the Gryffindor if Severus had let loose a Killing curse, the poor man had suffered so much stress over the past two days.

"We won't give up." James's voice said then, tone full of determination but also defeat showing that he was aware that today would not be a victory for him and his wife.

"And neither will we." Lucius replied coolly. "Good night, Mr Potter, Mrs Potter."

Nothing more came again then and Harry stepped away from the door, going over to his father's bed and sitting on the edge to make it appear as though he had not been eavesdropping on everything the adults had discussed. So, for now, he would be allowed to remain with his father in peace, but the Potters were, apparently, not going to give up. Would the time come when he was taken away from his father and made to live with them? If it did, Harry was not going to make it easy. He refused to live with the Potters and if they tried to make him, he would simply run away every time and return to Severus. Never would the Potters be any part of his family.

He was a Snape and that would never change.
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Family Means More Than Blood