Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Lucky Strike	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Sirius Views: 76008 -:- 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
- 3
- 4
- 5
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Beta'd by the most amazing Tenchi, who I can't thank enough for all the hard work she does for me!

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Chapter 3

Stepping into the entryway at Grimmauld Place, Sirius began pulling packages out of his pockets, enlarging them, then sending them to various rooms. On the way back, they had stopped at a couple of Muggle thrift stores to get the clothes and jewelry they were going to work with then at a Muggle theatrical shop for the bodysuit Lucius was going to wear. Those they would work on later when Narcissa and Lucius came over to help. As he finished unshrinking the camera, something they were going to sit down to figure out, his head came up when he heard a thumping noise approaching. Spying Bugs hop down off the last step of the stairs and head their way, he nudged Harry then grinned, “I think I've figured out what magical attribute Bugs has. One of them anyway.”
“What's that?” Severus asked as he watched Harry crouch down to pick up the rabbit.
“Apparently, there isn't a locking charm he can't get free from because I'm the one that locked his cage. And I used one I learned when I was an Auror to lock prisoners in. There's no way I messed that up.”
“Oh,” Remus said, shaking his head. “Well, that might not be a good thing. If he just heard Harry come in and wants to find him, I don't see a problem. We just need to make sure he didn't get loose to go on a chewing spree or something.”
Nodding, not pleased with this turn of events, Severus told Harry, “Go up and check to make sure he didn't cause any problems while we were gone. If it's just a case of knowing you were coming then getting out to meet you, it's not a problem.”
“Will do,” Harry said with a nod. Looking down at Bugs, petting his head, he grinned, “Bugs the jail breaker! Come on, let's go see what havoc you caused.” Heading towards the stairs then getting partially up, he stopped and shouted to Severus, “The fireplace is dinging again!” Hearing the man tell him he would check it, he started moving once more.
Knowing that was Harry-speak for a Floo-call and those were generally for him about his business, Severus said, “Go settle into the kitchen and start trying to decipher that camera. I'll join you in a few.” Hearing the confirmation from the two, he headed towards the Floo, grabbing a quill and parchment along the way as those were generally needed.

Stepping back into the kitchen, still holding Bugs, Harry said, “No chaos, havoc or destruction. Just Tribble snoozing, I think, as you can't tell with him, in Bugs' cage. Checked everywhere else too and nothing's wrong.” Taking a seat by Sirius, he watched the two as they tried to figure out the camera.
“Good. I think he probably just heard you coming was all,” Remus told him with a smile as he tried to slide the film cartridge into the camera while looking at the instructions.
Picking up the butterbeer an elf brought him, Harry looked between the two and observed, “That looks bloody confusing to work with.”
“Yeah, definitely not as easy as the instructions make it seem,” Sirius chuckled, shaking his head.
“Things like that never are,” Harry laughed. Glancing around, he asked, “Where did Severus go?”
“Not sure actually. He said something about letting someone or other through the wards,” Remus said, sighing in relief as the dratted thing finally slid in right. “He didn't say who, just that they needed to talk to us.”
“He's not going to let anyone in to cause problems, so it's nothing to worry about,” Sirius told Harry, reaching out to ruffle his hair. One of the reasons they decided to take up residence in Grimmauld Place was the warding and protections on it. Severus was good at wards, no doubt there, but what he could do was nothing like what his family had put on this house. That made Harry feel safer, something that helped. It also kept plenty of curiosity seekers and the press away. Even better.
Understanding, Harry nodded, petting Bugs and watching what Remus was doing. He looked up warily when the door opened, wondering who Severus had brought, but relaxed when he saw Arthur Weasley there. Smiling a little, he gave a short wave and said, “Hey, Mr. Weasley.”
“Hello, Harry!” Arthur told him, pulling out a couple tins of sweets. Setting them on the table in front of the young man, he said, “Molly sent those over for you. There is some of her fudge and some cookies.”
“Great!” Harry said, grinning bigger, grabbing the tins and opening them. Pulling out a large chunk of fudge, he added, “Tell her I said thanks!”
“I will,” the man said with a nod. Giving Sirius, Remus and Severus a troubled look, he said, quietly, hoping not to offend Harry as the young man could be quite prickly about some things and he wasn't sure how to work with him at times, “There is something Molly and I were confronted with today that I need to talk to you about. Alone might be better as I'm not sure how to even get this across to make you believe me.”
“Whatever you need to say, you can say in front of Harry,” Remus told him softly. That was another of those measures they put into place to build trust. If Harry sat in, he didn't feel like people were plotting against him or talking behind his back. They weren't going to start making exceptions to that now.
Taking a seat by Remus, Arthur sighed and shook his head. He would work with this. Quietly, he started, “You three know me well and know I'm not going to come over here to cause problems or pull your leg about something. I'm also not going to make up an outlandish story just to cause chaos in your lives.”
“Of course we know that,” Severus told him bluntly, taking a seat by Harry. Brow furrowed, he looked at the obviously upset man, wondering what was going on. He had told him during the Floo-call that this was of vital importance and he didn't want to talk about it over the Floo network. As Arthur was one they all trusted, he had him come over. “What's going on, Arthur?”
Letting out a ragged sigh, Arthur looked at Harry then around and said, “Molly and I received three visitors today. Albus, James and Lily. They are alive and wanting to get in contact.” Stopping, he waited for the hell that was coming.

Clutching Bugs tightly, sitting there, completely stiff, Harry just stared at Mr. Weasley, not sure what to say. Severus was in the Floo-room and they could actually hear him yelling at the secretary of their solicitor. That was more than enough to tell anyone how angry he was. Remus was seated on one side of him, a hand on his back, asking questions of Arthur. Harry could feel the man trembling slightly and could easily tell he was very upset. Sirius was on the other side of him, a hand on his leg, snarling loudly.
After trying to put Bugs down again, something the rabbit wouldn't allow, making some kind of distressed huffing noises and pressing tighter to him, Harry shook his head then asked, tone mild though his temper soaring, “They want to see me and think everything will be tickety-boo after I yell at them a few times?”
“That's what Albus seems to think,” Arthur told him shaking his head. Sighing, he folded his hands on the table, watching them shake slightly. “We told them a small portion of what happened, just what we know and things that were in the paper. I—well, we didn't go into anymore than that really. They have made it clear they want to see Harry and for him to rejoin the family. James also made some kind of mention of trying to get Harry to allow them back into one of the family homes.” Stopping, he looked at the three then added, quietly, “They have three more children. Two girls and a boy.”
“Oh, screw that,” Harry finally snarled, eyes flashing. Holding the rabbit tightly he continued, “Drop my arse on the doorstep so they can run off. Spawn a few more brats when they can't be bothered about me, then come back and want me to let them into something I now own? Oh, hell no! That is not happening! The only damned thing I'll do is stick my foot up their arses after I beat the living shite out of them!” By the time he was done, he was shouting, starting to rise from his chair.
Rising slightly, Remus put a hand on Harry's shoulder and pushed him down. “Just sit down, Harry. Try to calm down. It won't happen. We won't let it,” he soothed, glancing towards the door, hoping like hell Severus heard Harry yelling and would come to help. Sirius, because of all the hell he had gone through over James and Lily's deaths, wasn't in much better shape so he would be no help at all here.
“Don't tell me to calm down,” Harry shouted, looking at Remus. “I have every damned right to not be calm! What the hell is wrong with these people that they think they can pull this shite and I'll be fine with it? You lot all told me how much they loved me, that they died to protect me. This doesn't sound like they love me! It sounds more like they ran scared and left me to my own devices!”
Though he was angry, Sirius slid an arm tightly around Harry and pulled him close. Stroking Harry's head with his other hand, he soothed, “Trust me when I say the James and Lily we knew would never have done this. We're as blindsided as you are, Harry.” Looking at Arthur, who was pale as a ghost, he shook his head, “This is madness. You're sure it wasn't a trick, Arthur? That it wasn’t someone Polyjuiced or something?”
“It's no trick,” Arthur sighed. “Molly and I confirmed it. The Polyjuice would have worn off after an hour. The rest—we checked for every spell we know. It's them. They proved it by giving up information only they would know. And I didn't want to tell you, but I thought it best to let you know so you can prepare.”
“We understand and appreciate that,” Remus told him sincerely, relieved when the door opened and furious Severus strode in.
“This is bullshite!” Harry snarled, eyes flashing dangerously.
“And you'll get no arguments from any of us there, Harry,” Severus snarled, retrieving a beer. Sitting down by Arthur, he slid it to Harry. They were trying not to indulge in this and to steer Harry another way to deal with his problems, but this one was so massive that he was going to offer it. Seeing the young man take the beer then down a good-sized gulp, he imparted, looking thunderous, “One of the Malfoy elves are going to get Lucius and Narcissa then have them come here. I made it clear this is an emergency situation. Our solicitor's secretary is going to make damned sure he shows as well because if she doesn't, I'll be in that office in an hour yelling in person. As she's one of my former students, she knows that's not an idle threat.” Rubbing his eyes, shaking his head, he said, “I don't even know where to start here though the DMLE needs involved in the matter.” Looking at the infuriated Harry, he assured him, “We'll handle it. Nothing is going to come of whatever they think they'll pull.”

“I think you should let me handle it,” Harry gritted out, looking at him, tone deadly, eyes flashing dangerously.
Not liking that, Sirius held Harry tighter, giving him a kiss on the head. “Let us work with it, Harry. We'll take care of it. We’ll involve Lucius as well. You know we'll handle everything.”
“I still think you should let me have at them for about an hour,” Harry sneered, downing more of his beer, shaking his head.
Shutting his eyes, Severus sighed. Oh, this was bad and he didn't know how to deal with it or work with Harry.

Sitting in one of the chairs on the small patio in the backyard, Harry lit one fag with the glowing end of the other, then stubbed out the almost dead one. Taking a deep drag, he looked over to keep an eye on Bugs. The rabbit was wandering around, looking like he wanted to find a place to take care of some business. As Severus had a small garden at the other end of the yard where he grew some plants for his business, he needed to make sure the rabbit stayed away from those as they might be toxic.
Looking at the last rays of the setting sun, he sighed and took another drag. While the excuse to get out of the house was that Bugs needed to go out, the realism was he was hiding out here to stay away from what was going on. Right now, he couldn't handle anymore. The beer hadn't helped at all. Lucius, when he showed up, managed to talk him into taking one of Severus' calming draught things after assuring him his dad wouldn't give him anything to harm him. It took a while, but he agreed finally, though had been reluctant. That did help some. He wasn't calm. There was no way in hell anything was going to manage that, but it lowered the dials a little so he could handle it.
This—he could deal with a lot of shite, no doubt there, but all this crap was beyond what he could handle. Taking in as angry as everyone else was about it, and he didn't know what to do. So, he was going to hide for a while and think then go back in to deal with what was there. He wanted to know what they planned to do about it, that's for fucking sure.
Keeping watch on Bugs as he finished up and went to nibble on some regular grass, Harry's brow furrowed as he heard the door to the backyard open. Sighing when he heard Sirius shouting from the kitchen, knowing that didn't mean anything good, he looked up to see who it was. Seeing Narcissa levitating out a tray of food, he relaxed. Good. That meant that it wasn't another big bomb he didn't think he could take right now.
Finishing his ciggie, he put it out and leaned back.
Walking over to where the young man was sitting, Narcissa summoned a table and extra chair then sat the food down. “I thought you might be hungry. Molly brought it over for you. She had to come over anyway and figured no one had gotten around to fixing supper so—well, you know her.” Taking the cover off the food and opening the Muggle soft drink Harry favored, she added, “She's a good cook, so I’m sure you'll love it.”
“Thanks, Miss Cissy,” Harry said, scooting forward and looking at the food. It smelled delicious, but he wasn't that hungry. Picking up the fork, he took a couple bites, loving how good it was.
“I even brought a treat out for Bugs,” she said, smiling. Pulling a small box out of her pocket, she shook it then laughed when the rabbit made big leaping jumps coming in their direction. “I think he knows what these are!”
Watching Bugs hop up into Miss Cissy's lap and nose at the box, making some kind of happy noises, he asked, “What are those?”
Holding the rabbit, and opening the small box, Narcissa said, “Raisins. I was reading a little about rabbits. The book said they like these. You can't give it to them as a meal, but they like them for treats.” Handing one to the rabbit, she smiled when he took it and began to munch. “He does!”
“I'm going to have to remember that,” Harry grinned, watching the rabbit scarf the raisin. “Those are easy enough to get.”
“They are,” she said, petting the rabbit softly as she gave him another one. Looking at the poor stressed out young man, she said, quietly, “I was asked to check on you, of course, as you would expect. And thought you might want filled in a little.” Seeing him nod, though looking sour as he poked at his food, she told him, quietly, “Madam Bones and Rufus are here now. So is Molly, as I said. Your solicitor and Lucius'. They'll handle it Harry. Don't let it bother you. From what I've seen, everyone is quite angry over this.” Lowering her voice slightly, smiling, she added, “Rufus said he's going to come out and say hi when he gets a chance. He just needs filled in on just what Molly and Arthur have to say.”
“Okay. I haven't seen him in a while,” Harry nodded, taking another bite. He liked Rufus. The man was no-nonsense, that's for sure, but they got along good. He supposed that part of the reason he liked the man was that he was unshockable. Nothing he heard that first night caused a reaction like it did in others nor did some other things since. That was refreshing. Rufus also was the kind he always knew where he stood with. The man was also always upfront with him about everything and his word was golden. That he liked.
“They are trying to work out how to handle this. Not much can be done until the three show up, obviously, but they are laying a foundation of what to do with it to prepare.” Sighing, she shook her head then offered, quietly, “Would you like to come stay with Lucius and me tonight to get away? You're always welcome with us, Harry, you know that.”
“No offense, Miss Cissy, but I'd rather stay with Sirius,” Harry shrugged, looking at her.
“I understand perfectly,” she told him with a soft smile. “I just want you to know the offer is there if you want to take it. We both know you feel safe with us and can unwind when you get stressed.”
“Appreciated,” Harry nodded, taking another bite of his food.
“I brought the camera out with me so I can take some pictures of you and Bugs. I'll help you compose a letter to Draco too. I thought it might give us something to do while they hash out what they need to. Besides, I like taking pictures, so we'll get some good ones. I'm sure you'd like some of Bugs for your room. And I know Severus and Remus would like some of you.” She told him, petting the rabbit as he munched happily on another raisin.
“That works,” Harry told her, looking in her direction. It wasn't so much he was enthused by the idea itself, more like it gave him something to do to keep him out of the damned house while everyone dealt with the dung pile that was dropped on them.
Leaning over, she whispered, giggling slightly, “I'm going to make sure we get some of the three of you in those costumes. Oh, that will be something we have to have for future purposes.”
Grinning a bit at that, Harry said, “Yeah. I'd like to have those. And gotta send one to Draco. I'll just be sorry to miss his reaction to them.”
Laughing, Narcissa said, “Yes, that would be comical. He would actually stutter! Oh, we have to do that. He'll find it funny, of course, once you tell him why you did it, but I would love to be a fly on the wall for the reaction.”
“Yeah, he would definitely flap, a lot,” Harry told her snorting. Poking his food a little, he added, “This summer we're talking about going to see Ozzy in concert. Well, me, Sirius and Lucius. Maybe he'd like to come with us. His reaction would be fun, that's for sure, but he likes the music too.”
“I think he would,” she told him with a smile. “He regretted turning down going to see that other band with you three last year when he heard how much fun it was. Say something to him in your letter. I bet he'll jump at the chance.” That pleased her. Draco had plenty of friends, of course, but Harry didn't. The young man was so wary that he didn't let people close. Plus, she thought the two were good for each other. Harry would have a friend his own age and Draco would be around someone that wouldn't bow to him because of Lucius' power. That would only help the two of them in many ways. “What was that band's name anyway? Lucius told me, but I don't remember. All I can recall is something about the guitar player prancing around in a schoolboy outfit. He said that was rather strange since the man appeared to be about our age.”
“It was AC/DC. Angus Young has always done that, though, since they started. So, he keeps doing it because it's expected of him,” Harry explained.
“Still sounds very strange to me,” she told him with a shake of her head. “If you like the music, that's all that matters.”

Not looking up from examining the pictures Narcissa took when he heard the door open, Harry was trying to decide which ones to send Draco. Then a familiar voice drew his attention.
“They told me you picked out a monster sized rabbit, Harry, but I didn't expect one that bloody big,” Rufus chuckled, walking over and crouching down in front of the young man. Reaching out, he petted the rabbit's head.
Grinning at Rufus, Harry said, “Yeah, he's bloody huge. I like him though.”
“All that matters,” Rufus told him, letting his hand drop. “So, what are you two conspiring out here?”
“No conspiring. We're trying to decide what pictures of me and Bugs to send to Draco,” Harry explained, holding up a couple of them.
Taking the pictures and looking at them, Rufus said, “These are good. Your rabbit likes the camera, apparently, because he keeps poking his head into the picture.”
“Yeah, Bugs likes to photobomb,” Harry grinned, stroking the rabbit's soft ears. “We tried doing a couple without him, but he just has to get into the picture.”
Chuckling at the one of Harry sitting in the chair and the rabbit's head slowly raising into the bottom of the picture, nose twitching, Rufus said, “I bet your dads are going to like some of these too. I doubt they have any of you other than what's been in the paper.”
“We made sure to take extra so we can all have some,” Narcissa told him, smiling softly.
“Good,” Rufus nodded, tossing the pictures back on the table. “Alright, let me tell you what we've got going here, Harry. Your solicitor is having your properties locked down as we speak. I got in contact with some good wardmasters and they are taking care of it now. No one can get into them. Madam Bones signed an order to lock your vaults down. Only you, your dads, Sirius and Lucius can do anything with them. The goblins will have it done in an hour or so. Your properties and vaults are safe. Other than that, we have to wait and see. When the three poke their heads out of their hole, we'll snag them and go from there. I'm not sure what charges we can level, but we will. We'll slap them, Harry. And I'm supposed to tell you from Amelia, herself, that you're staying with your dads. They legally adopted you and there isn't a damned thing James or Lily can do about it. They want to argue the fact, they can do it with me or Amelia. James won't because he knows better.”
Liking that, Harry nodded.
“Now, I want you to promise me a couple things, Harry.” Rufus said firmly, looking at the young man. When he saw him nod warily, he pressed on, “Don't go anywhere alone. I know you generally don't, but make sure of it. Even if it's just down to the shopette at the end of the street, you take someone, or more than one person, with you. You can defend yourself fine, we all know this, but you'll make me feel better if you don't go alone.”
“No problem, I won't,” Harry told him. That was easy enough for him.
“And if they do show up, let someone else handle them. Yell all you want. You have every right in the world to do that and no one will say otherwise. Anything else? Let your dads, Lucius or Sirius handle it. I know you're angry and upset. Hell, I'd check you for the Imperius if you weren't. Let them handle it. That's their job. They have a plan in place to deal with it when it happens. And part of that is calling me. I want you to listen to them, Harry. Even if it means they want you to go to stay with Narcissa and Lucius while they take care of it. You'll get your chance to tell them how what they've done affected you and yell. I give you my word you will. I'll make sure of it. For now, let them take care of the problem. Can you do that?” Rufus stopped and waited.
Thinking that over, Harry asked, “Your word I get to tell them what arseholes I think they are?”
“My word,” Rufus told him firmly with a nod. “I'll make sure of it if I have to stick them to a chair and Silencio them. Just no violence. We don't need that.”
“I can do that,” Harry sighed, looking at him.
“Good with me,” Rufus told him, pleased. “We need everyone to keep quiet about this,” he told them, looking between the two. “We're going to start hunting tonight to see what we can find, but we don't want a panic over it either.” Softening his voice, he looked at the young man and said, “You've made so much progress and are in so much better shape than you were that I don't want you to let something like this affect you, Harry. They aren't worth a setback. Just keep right on moving forward and go on how you are. Have fun just like you're doing.” Then, grinning a little, he added, winking as he did, “I want to see the three of you in those costumes they were telling me about. Perfect blackmail material for the future.”
Chuckling, grinning himself, Harry told him, “Miss Cissy is going to take pictures. I'll make sure you get one.”
“Good! I want it,” Rufus told him, chuckling deeply. Sobering up, he said, “We're all proud of you and what you've done, Harry. It's not been easy, we know that, but you've managed. These fools aren't worth the spit on a sidewalk to you. Keep right on going. If they don't like it, they can take up their displeasure with me and several others. I'll lock them in a room with Lucius and let him chew on them for a while before I get a chance.”
Smiling at the compliment, Harry nodded. “I got it.”
Reaching out, he clapped a hand on the young man's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “You're good and safe. Remember that. We'll make sure you go nowhere. They don't like it? They can talk to me.” Standing, he said, “I'm going to head back in and finish up here then I'm going to start talking to some of the old crowd from the Order to see what I can find. You can stay out here if you want. It might be better for you. Let us handle it from here.” Reaching out and rubbing Bugs' head, he said, “We're good, Harry, and you're going to be fine.” Seeing the young man nod at him, Rufus said goodbye to Narcissa then headed back in.
Leaning over to Harry when he left, Narcissa said, quietly, “Want to bet that picture we give him of you three in costume goes on his desk for the world to see? He would have to just to get a laugh out of the reactions to it.”
Laughing, Harry said, “Probably! He's a right riot at times.”
“He is with those he likes.” She said, patting his hand where it rested on the table, making sure he saw her do it. “And you're a special case with him. He's very protective of you. I don't think I've ever heard of him doing what he does for you. That's good.” Straightening up, she said, “Now, about these pictures—I say we send these to Draco. Severus, Remus and Sirius will love the rest.” Picking out three of the better ones, she handed those to Harry to include in the letter to Draco then pushed the best ones aside for the other three. Picking up a couple of him holding Bugs, she said, “I want these. One for me and one for Lucius. Is that alright with you?”
Looking at what she was holding, Harry nodded, “Okay, that works. Do you think we can get some of Tribble and Hedwig too? And, maybe, one of me and the others? I'd like a couple of me and Lucius. Then some of me and Sirius. I don't have any. Gotta have a couple of me and my dads.”
“We can do that, easily,” she assured him with a smile. “I'd like a couple of you and me too, if that's alright.”
“That's fine,” he nodded, fingering the pictures on the table.
“When we finish here, you can take me up to your room and we'll get some of Hedwig and Tribble. Then we can work from there.” Stopping, she looked up then said, thoughtfully, “I don't think I've ever been in your room, actually.”
“You haven't,” he told her. “I'll let you through the protections so you can. You'll just have to ignore Sirius' mess. He doesn't pick up after himself. Then he gets upset with the elves if they move things 'cause he can't find them afterwards,” Harry chuckled, grinning.
Huffing, she shook her head, “He was always a slob. I don't suppose that's changed.”
“It hasn't,” Harry laughed. “Drives Severus batshite. Every time he has to come in our room for something, he gets huffy and snarls at Sirius.”
“And it does no good to do that,” Narcissa laughed. “Alright, let's work on the letter so when we do go upstairs we can send it off with Hedwig after I get some pictures of her. We'll then go from there. That way, you have other pictures to send to Draco when you write. He'll like them.”
“Yeah, he'll have something to show off,” Harry chuckled, grinning.
“He will!” Narcissa agreed with a smile. Grabbing the parchment and quill, she pushed it over to Harry then folded her hands on the table waiting to begin.

“Remind me later to give Cissy a big kiss for pulling this off,” Sirius said, pulling out a picture of Harry where Bugs poked his head into it sideways, ears twitching. Holding it up, he said, “I'm keeping this one. It's good.”
“I don't know how she managed, but she did. This is good,” Severus said, looking through the mass of pictures spread on the table, pleased with what he saw.
“We are definitely framing some of these,” Remus said, smiling at the one of the three of them. Setting it aside as one he wanted to go in their bedroom, he added, “I'm glad he let her stay so close to him for so long.”
“I think that was a case of the tiger and the tiger for him,” Severus sighed, shaking his head. “She was the lesser of the evils to deal with.”
“That, in and of itself, is good though,” Sirius said, sipping at his tea. “In the past, he would have just sat with us getting angrier. He walked off to cool down. Helluva good sign, that.”
Nodding, Severus looked up and asked, “He was going to take a shower?”
“Yes. He said he would be down when he was done,” Remus told his husband. Smiling, he added, “He also mentioned something about seeing if Bugs wanted to join him since we talked about how the rabbit needs a bath once in a while.”
“Good,” Severus said. Sighing, he ran his fingers through his hair then locked his fingers, resting his hands back on the table. Looking around at the mass of pictures there, he sighed. “Now we wait. And that is going to be the worst part of this whole nightmare.”
“And the longer we have to wait, the worse it's going to be on all of us, especially Harry,” Remus sighed, shaking his head.
“I'll bet you my wand it won't be for long,” Sirius said, snarling softly. “Whatever is going on there, they aren't going to hole up long. Especially if they are staying somewhere not comfortable.”
“I don't know here. The wait will be bad. The reaction when they do might be worse,” Remus said softly, looking between the two.
“Let's just hope like hell that what Molly and Arthur told them is enough that they won't be too overt. Either that, or they start looking into what happened and they get a dose of reality. I'm not counting on that, but I hope,” Severus shook his head. Stopping, he listened then said, “Harry's coming.”
“I hope they get a damned slap in the face over all of it,” Sirius snarled, but said no more after that when the door opened. Looking that way, he grinned and chuckled. “Well, I see you managed to talk Bugs into the shower with you.” Harry's hair was still wet and the rabbit he was holding was wrapped in a towel, fur wet as well.
“Uh—no talking was needed,” Harry laughed. “He just hopped right in there with me. Was a little nervous about that, but he seemed to like playing in the water. Wasn't sure what to wash him with so I just used shampoo.” Sitting down at the table, he looked at Remus and asked, “Can you do that drying charm thing on him? I used a towel, but he's still plenty wet. I don't want him getting sick.”
Sliding over next to the young man, Remus said, smiling, “I can do that. I'll teach it to you as well so you can do it for him in the future. It'll work on your hair too.”
Nodding, Harry paid attention as Remus did the charm and walked him through what to do. Looking at Sirius, he said, “Give it a half an hour before we even think to go up to the room. The elves are cleaning it.”
Groaning, Sirius said, “You know I hate that! I won't be able to find anything now!”
“Yeah, well, it needs done,” Harry laughed, petting Bugs. “Miss Cissy made that ick face and said it was disgusting, so it needs cleaning.”
Snorting, Sirius shook his head, “Great. I'll have to hunt for everything for the next month.” Glaring at Harry, he said, tone firm, “Now, about this picture of us in costume. Two words, Harry; no way!”
“Too late. It's all planned,” Harry said, grinning evilly. “Rufus even made me promise to give him one. So, it's a done deal. You're SOL, Sirius.”
“Bloody wonderful,” Sirius groaned, putting his head in his hands. “I'll never live this down.”
Amused by that, Severus said, “We'll make sure to frame one and put it up for conversational purposes.” Seeing Sirius glare at him, he ignored it then softened his voice and told the young man, “I believe we can all say we're proud of you, Harry. We know staying with Narcissa for any length of time unnerves you. It was probably better you sat with her than stayed in here and just fumed over the mess.”
Sighing, Harry finger combed his wet hair again and said, “I couldn't handle anymore. Miss Cissy—she was good about it and we found stuff to do. She's—I don't know. She made it easy. I mean, if Lucius is married to her, she has to be good. And she's nice about it all. We just talked.”
“Cissy is a very nice lady,” Sirius told him gently. “She adores you and would have taken you in a second if you weren't so leery of her at first. In fact, she wanted to and pushed Lucius for that. We thought this way was better. I give you my word she won't ever hurt you.”
“I'm starting to understand that,” Harry nodded, looking at him.
Slipping an arm around Harry, Remus patted his back then leaned over and kissed him softly on the temple before saying, “We would never put you around someone that would hurt you. Narcissa won't, you have all our words on that. And, we like what you did. These pictures are wonderful. I can safely speak for all of us when I say, we like them. I bet Draco will like the ones you sent him too.”
Picking up a couple of the pictures, Harry smiled, “I like them too. The elves put ones of all of us up in our room in frames. I like them.” Leaning against Remus, he said, “Miss Cissy is good in my books. Just takes time, you know?”
“You have all the time in the world,” Remus told him, smiling. “So, what did you write Draco about?”
“Not much,” Harry shrugged. “Just about Bugs. That and I invited him to go if we see Ozzy this summer.”
“Yeah, he can come with,” Sirius grinned. “That'll be fun.”
Chuckling, Harry looked at Severus and said, “You and Remus should come along as well. After all, Remus' reaction to Ozzy should be a riot.” Knowing Severus was familiar with some of the music he liked because he was raised around Muggles, he figured he would get the inference there.
Though his first instinct was to say hell no to a rowdy rock concert, the look on Remus' face when confronted with Ozzy Osbourne would be worth the price of admission in and of itself. Then there were the fans and the music. An almost sadistically joyous look passed over his face and he said, smoothly, “We may do that. After all, I did like his music when he was with Black Sabbath.”
“Severus?” Remus stuttered, voice slightly squeaky, eyes wide. “Uh—do you think this is a good idea?” When his husband got that look on his face, he knew that something was afoot and it was meant to bring Severus amusement at his expense.
“Yes, we should join. Especially if Draco goes along,” Severus said, sipping his tea, looking pleased with himself.
“I believe, before we finalize any plans for this, we should not only discuss it, but I should be allowed to get a visual on what I will be dragged to,” Remus told his husband firmly, eying him warily.
Unable to help himself, Harry laughed then said, “Make sure to remember not to take a drag off the funny ciggie if it's passed to you and don't inhale the air too deeply when it gets foggy.”
Eyes going wider, Remus began to demand Severus explain that and who this Ozzy person was.
Laughing himself, Sirius shook his head. “Oh, this is going to be a riot!”
“Yeah, it will be,” Harry nodded. Grinning bigger, he said, “Oh, Miss Cissy promised to make a copy of the picture of us in our costumes so we can send it to Draco. Even she said his reaction will be a right riot.”
“Oh, bloody wonderful,” Sirius groaned, head dropping onto the table. “Just what I need; everyone at Hogwarts seeing me dressed like that.”
Leaning against Sirius, laughing, Harry, wrapped his arms around the man then rested his forehead on his back. This all made him feel better. It was a nightmare, but this part was normal, something that told him he would weather whatever storm was coming. Sighing, he asked, “Let's go to bed. I'm tired.”
Straightening up, Sirius wrapped an arm around Harry and kissed him on top of the head. “Yeah, we can do that. Besides, I can keep an eye on what the elves do with my things that way so I know where to look for them.” Helping Harry stand, making sure he had a tight hold on Bugs, he guided them to the door. “Rufus offered me my job back again,” he said, making conversation as they walked to the door.
“You going to take it?” Harry asked, looking at him.
“Naw, you're a full-time job I like better,” Sirius grinned, giving him a squeeze. “Besides, you keep me too tried for that.”
Hearing Severus snarl about that being too much information he didn't need to know, Harry laughed then said, “There is that!”
Arm around Harry's shoulder, Sirius led him towards their room, talking quietly as they went.
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Lucky Strike