Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Other Worlds	By : OrdinaryMortal Category: Harry Potter AU/AR > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 15372 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 3
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter & BBC's Sherlock characters and worlds contained within are not mine, nor do I make any money from them. Thanks to their creators for letting me play in their sandbox. Please review! Prompts considered!

Chapter List
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The memories were still present, in a way. In a way that made them flat, like muggle newsprint photos that couldn't move; like dry prose read in a monotonous whisper, holding facts but few feelings.
Only his strong mental shields and the dose of Felix Felis had held his mind together, the healer had said, the healer his cousin had thought to have on standby just in case he came through the Floo physically injured. There wasn't a scratch on him, though by virtue of his being ordered to stand closest 'to make up for not being able to partake', his robes and hair were drenched in blood. By the time James and Lily had got through the Floo, summoned by their emergency protean charms, Sirius was himself a blood-smeared monstrosity, refusing to let go of the broken wreck of a man in his arms, the healer working around him to spool the hellishly long silver mist of memory away from Severus' temple.
Lily, the only one of them with the presence of mind to do so, had dissolved their clothes, scourgified their skin and hair, and spun soft robes around them without ever separating them. James had enlarged the couch into a bed and transfigured the coffee table into a bed for Lily and himself while Lily murmured through to Alice that no, they had to stay where they were but she would be through to feed Harry when he woke. These last were the memories after the newsprint, the ones with colour and texture and scent. Lily and James by the firelight, watching over him, while Sirius just held him through the chemical backwash of terror even when his mind had stopped trying to fly apart. Had held him all night, was still holding him in the early dawn when finally the tears had come again, had held him safe.
This man who had once hated him, whom he had hated, now his saviour; the one who had held him together when he couldn't do it himself.
This man who looked into the eyes of his oldest friend and knew that there was no fucking way that either of them would have been able to deal with what the man in his arms had dealt with, knowing that in the days ahead both of them would have to sink into the Mysteries Pensieve and try and sift through images to identify who they could. Both thanking Merlin that Lily was on leave and would not be allowed to see them until she returned.
As dawn rose, Lily slipped back through the Floo after visiting home to feed Harry, and quietly began spelling away all traces of blood and vomit missed in the panic of the night. Used to early mornings and late nights from their work as Aurors, let alone as new parents, James quietly rolled off the bed and restored it to the coffee table Eileen Prince had polished every day, while Lily made tea in the kitchen. When she came back into the room the two men were, finally, lying down, and Severus was at long last asleep. Over his shoulder Sirius mouthed 'go home, rest, I've got him'.
They nodded, and stepped through to Godric's Hollow, where they, too, held each other for a long time.
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Four hours later James floo'd into the Ministry, and filed a 'Leave of Absence' form for Sirius, and the 'Seconded to the Department Of Mysteries' form for them both, initialled neatly by Severus's cousin, before handing their caseload over to the grumbling duty officer.
He swallowed a bit nervously before entering the DOM, and submitted his wand again to be scanned. He turned at the sound of footsteps coming towards him, and stepped forward to shake hands with Severus' cousin.
'Thank you for allowing us in on this, Mycroft. Sirius is staying with Severus today, and if Sev's up to it, I'll stay with him tomorrow while Sirius comes in.'
'Not a problem, James, I'm glad of the help. I can identify certain aspects of individuals present, of course, and that hopefully will jog yours or Mr Black's memory for names and faces, but without having any names to go by this will be a long, tedious job. And one I would rather spare Severus, if possible. It is regrettable in the utmost that we will have to ask him to go back at all, but I think it necessary that we treat this as a short term placement of no more than a year. If we can't break apart this nest of vipers in that time then we will have exhausted all we can expect of an untrained man.'
'A year? There's no way he could do that again, Mycroft! It damn near killed him!'
'And if he had to take the Mark fresh each time then undoubtedly it would do so, but thankfully that is a one time event, designed to totally crack open a mind to examination. Having deceived him once, under extreme physical, mental and emotional torture, his mind will hold under even Cruciatus in future. We can also assist him in various exercises to strengthen his mind further, and if I know my cousin his mind will soon be working toward potion support to that end. Severus is a genius, James, and I do not use that word lightly or to indulge lesser intellect. He did not break. He will not break in the future. I give you my word.'
'I will hold you to that. We didn't... Look, you are his cousin. You'll know we didn't get on at school. But we grew up, all of us, and he is dear to all of us now. I can't let him be hurt like that again.
Mycroft smiled. It wasn't a particularly warm smile, more one of someone who has learned that there are occasions when smiling is appropriate, and this was one. 'An admirable - pack, I believe you call it? -an admirable pack mentality, and one my cousin has badly needed in his life. Ah, we need to go through here. Please allow me to go through first, as the wards are complex.'
The Pensieve was one of the older models, with plenty of room for two or three investigators to immerse themselves simultaneously. Landing inside the memory, James looked curiously around at the dedicated Floo room they were in with the hooded and masked Severus and, presumably, Malfoy, the hand clutching Severus's arm tight to the point of pain. If this was the Malfoy Manor, then regrettably Lucius knew his stuff. A fireplace in an otherwise completely featureless room, windowless and doorless, it looked like countless other secure Floo rooms he'd been in as an Auror; designed to Floo into and be apparated out by the host. Judging by Mycroft's 'tsk' of annoyance, he understood the other man likewise was getting nothing useful from the room.
Malfoy obviously knew the drill, for he stood motionless, clearly waiting. After five minute two more figures side-along apparated into the room, masked and gowned in black like Severus. They nodded courteously at each other before turning to the Floo. The first called out 'Headquarters', stepping through, and the other gestured to Severus and his 'sponsor', clearly indicating they should go next.
The ride was short, indicating that the Floos were either close or directly linked, and James only counted three other fireplaces before they were stepping through into an identical room. A house elf with a plain paper mask obscuring the face appeared and apparated them through, presumably, the wall, before leaving the duo in what could only be described as a throne room, complete with a severely plain granite throne, over which undulated the shimmering coils of a colossal snake. There were maybe fifty, sixty other figures in the room, and without comment James and Mycroft separated to inspect them as best as they could as Severus moved forward, propelled by Malfoy.No one spoke, or even rose their masked faces, as the memory moved on, though one figure took Severus' arm and moved him to stand to the front and centre of the crowd.
Pensieves showed the memory entire, and Aurors were trained extensively to set the emotional state of the witness aside; that said James could not help but be aware of the feeling of fear and tension that poured of everyone in the room. He looked at Mycroft, who gestured to freeze the memory.
'Do you have a werewolf in the department? Or a wolf animagus?
Mycroft looked intrigued. 'Your reason?'
James shrugged. 'Severus obviously took in a lot of sensory information, more than most witnesses. His Potions experience, probably. A werewolf might be able to clarify the scent information of the people he had closer contact with. Useless over by these fuzzy edges or too far away, but I know Remy would be able to separate the nearer scents. Maybe a canine animagus could as well, but you might need a Were to get as much precision as possible'
Mycroft stood still, and James had the distinct impression that he was shuffling through his memory for the information. 'No werewolves; though obviously that needs to be addressed. We don't have any lupine or domestic canine animagi; I imagine they aren't drawn to our department, that's more an Auror characteristic. I wonder if a hyena would have the same ability. If not, we might have to prevail on Mr Lupin's time and generosity. Wolfsbane Potion, obviously, but we can arrange for Severus' improved version. He should have enough time to brew it, if he can begin tomorrow. Any other thoughts?'
James pointed. 'Shoes. Shoes and hands, mostly. Some have got hair wisping out, not many, but I would stake my magic on that being Bellatrix LeStrange, and the build is right and the hands are definitely female. There's a bloke here next to Severus who was wearing his family ring until a minute ago, the dickhead, and I bet Sev clocked it good before he glamoured it. I've seen two with very flash footwear, and at least one with muggle made shoes, would you believe. The man next to me hasn't glamoured his hands, and he's got liver spots which suggest he's fairly old. Three of them are wearing gloves, which might be identified if we have a look through Malkin's or the other retailers' back collections, but might be house elf made, in which case they may be distinctive. Hard to say, but worth looking into. The robes are identical, as are the masks, so I think they aren't going to take us far, but if we keep an eye out at funerals someone might be stupid and wear the robes rather than buy new ones.'
Mycroft raised one eyebrow, and James grinned impishly at him. 'Believe it or not, I'm good at my job. But there's a reason Sirius is senior, and you need him in here, because he picks up what I miss.'
They turned back to their work. Not long after the memory resumed, Voldemort apparated in. The only one in the room unmasked, he had a strongly featured face that would once have been called handsome, if not for the twisted sneer of his mouth and the crimson eyes that blazed with a hellish satisfaction as the group of Muggleborns was dragged into the room. James waved to stop the memory.
'That massive one there can only be Goyle. The little scrap next to him is Wilkes, I'm sure of it. He was always Goyle's shadow at school. Total case of less friend, more bodyguard, but he's got a disgusting mind. He'll have brought the child. He was expelled after Owls because he'd Obliviated a first year, but not prosecuted, so he kept his wand. He's on our watch list. Goyle is mostly muscle, stupid as fuck but Lucius could wind him up and let him go.'
They resumed the memory, taking breaks when the initiation rites were too harrowing, even with their training, to watch. Through it all Severus stood at the very front of the crowd, becoming deliberately soaked with blood spray and forced to witness depravities. Even the two refusing initiates were dragged in front of him to be executed, Voldemort clearly directing their placement with a dark gleeful leer. His Marking, too, seemed more drawn out, as if Voldemort was trying to break him down through personal pain where the ritual slaughter had not. Voldemort had been enraged by this point, and the next two initiates died screaming before he regained control of the marking spell. Suddenly James gasped. A Death Eater scurried in front of Severus to retrieve some small object for Voldemort,and for a moment his hand was clearly visible partway back to his wrist, showing a scar of four faint lines.
'Merlin, no, dear god. I think that's Peter.'
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