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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
- 41
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- 43
20th June 1994: Afternoon

The peace and quiet of the lazy, late June afternoon was suddenly interrupted by a rather startled cry and then a heavy thump, like that of a body hitting the ground. And then everything went silent and still again, as though nothing had happened. For Harry and Draco though, they were only too aware that something had happened.

"Ugggghhhhh..." Harry groaned mournfully from where he had landed awkwardly on the ground having fallen out of the tree he and Draco had been sitting in.

"Harry! Don't move!" Draco ordered him as he quickly jumped down from branch to branch of the tree before dropping onto the ground below. He dashed over to where Harry was laying completely still though quite obviously still conscious. "Are you all right? Is anything broken?" He checked worriedly, kneeling down next to his best friend.

"My ankle feels like it's been snapped in two and then glued back together." Harry answered with a wince halfway through as he tried to sit up properly.

"I told you not to move!"

"You also told me that climbing that tree was a good idea and look what good that did me."

"You should've paid attention to where you were putting your feet."

"Oh no, you're not pinning this on me, Draco Malfoy. This," he jabbed his finger at his injured ankle. "Is not my fault."

"Whose fault is it then?"

"I don't know but it's not mine. Personally, I blame you and the tree."

Draco smirked lightly at that. "Well, if it's my fault then, I suppose the least I can do is try and make it better." He murmured before leaning down and pressing his lips against those of the injured boy below him.

Soon, the kiss deepened as their tongues met, Draco's coaxing Harry's into action. Harry had been growing gradually more confident when it came to being with his Luna Veela and so once he had been more involved, he became a more than enthusiastic participant. He brought his right hand up to hold the back of Draco's head, keeping the blond's head in place, and lazily ran his tongue along his mate's in order to draw it into his own mouth where he captured it between his teeth gently and then began to suck on it lightly. A groan of appreciation came from deep within Draco's chest and he slipped his hand inside Harry's shirt, his fingers leaving little trails of fire where they brushed across the bare skin of his chest.

That sensation caused Harry to writhe slightly in pleasure but that movement only served to remind him of his ankle. He pulled away from the kiss abruptly in favour of releasing a hiss of pain, his entire body immediately tensing in reaction in an attempt to stop the pain from happening again. Draco, when completely sure that there was nothing life-threatening wrong with Harry, sighed lightly in disappointment before standing slightly. He stepped over the other boy and then crouched down with his back towards the Gryffindor.

"C'mon, we'd better get some ice or something on that ankle."

So, gathering his courage, he quickly shifted himself closer to the blond, frowning in discomfort as his ankle was constantly jarred and pain shot through his leg. He never paused, only stopping all movement when he was in the correct position, sitting behind Draco with his legs spread out on either side of him. Slowly, carefully, gently, Draco looped his arms around Harry's legs and pulled him closer so the smaller boy's chest was flush against his back. Once Harry's arms were around his neck securely, he stood up in one smooth motion.

"All right?" Draco checked, shifting Harry's weight slightly into a more comfortable position for himself.

"Yep." Harry assured, nuzzling the side of Draco's neck before placing a small, wet kiss in the same spot.

"Oi, none of that thank you. You had your chance and you decided your ankle hurt more so now you've got to live with it."

Harry snorted in disbelief. "Oh right, who are you trying to kid? A couple more minutes worth of work on your neck and you'd be a big pile of goo."

"If things were different, I would have a wonderful time in proving you wrong. As it is, I'm busy concentrating on walking and you're not light enough to carry around all day so please leave my neck alone until we're safely locked in my bedroom and I can ravish you in return."

"You don't need to though." Harry told him, resting his chin on his best friend's shoulder as the blond moved them along across the huge expanse of grassy land which was the majority of the Malfoy's back-garden. "You're always the one doing stuff to me, all I ever do is react."

"You don't like it?"

"No, I never said that, I'm just thinking about you. Surely, sometimes, you'd like to just be able to lay back and receive without having to worry about giving too?"

"But I like giving you pleasure." Draco insisted gently as he turned his head to the side in order to look Harry in the eyes. "And if you could see yourself when I've made you come, you'd understand why."

"Draco!"

"You're so adorable." Draco laughed in amusement before he pecked a kiss on Harry's cheek and then turned his head back to look ahead of himself, seeing that they were coming up to the manor.

The last few minutes of their journey were spent in silence as Draco walked them up and inside the massive mansion. Moments after getting inside, they were surprised by Dobby who popped up abruptly in front of them. The little house-elf seemed to be about to speak before he noticed that Harry was being carried on Draco's back and then his face feel. "Oh, Mister Haryon Snape, is you hurt? Do you need Dobby to assist you?"

"I'm fine Dobby, really. It's nothing serious."

"And he's already in my care, if he needed your help he would've asked for it." Draco snapped irritably at the poor house-elf.

"But Master Draco, Sir, Master Malfoy requests your presence in his office immediately." Dobby told him slightly fearfully.

"Why?"

"Dobby doesn't know Master Draco, Sir. Master Malfoy just told Dobby to come and get you."

"Well you'll just have to tell him he'll have to wait; I need to tend to Harry." Draco said by way of dismissal to his house-elf.

"No Draco, you need to speak to your father." Severus said as he swept into the room the young Malfoy with Harry on his back was standing in with the house-elf. "I will tend to whatever it is that Haryon needs assistance with."

Draco glared at his godfather angrily for a moment before giving a huff. "Fine." He muttered darkly and Harry took the initiative to start the process of climbing off Draco's back. Carefully, he was eased back onto his good foot, the one attached to his injured ankle remaining off of the floor. "I'll see you in my room in a couple of minutes, I doubt this will take long." Draco assured him before turning and leaving the room, heading in the direction of Lucius's study.

Now alone, Severus moved to his son's side and brought an arm around the teenager's waist while he made Harry sling an arm around his shoulders. "Bring a length of bandages, a large cloth and some ice to the parlour." The stern man ordered Dobby without looking at the house-elf as he began to gently lead Harry forward, making sure to support as much of the boy's weight as possible.

"Yes Mister Professor Snape Sir, right away." Dobby confirmed before he disappeared with a pop.

"Do I want to know what happened?" Severus sighed as he and Harry entered the parlour slowly.

"I fell out of a tree."

Severus gave him a look of pure disbelief. "You fell out of a tree? What were you doing up a tree?"

"It was Draco's idea."

"Aren't you both a little too old to be climbing trees for amusement?"

"Like I said, it wasn't my idea and you know how hard it is to tell Draco no when he sets his mind on something."

"Indeed." Severus murmured as they reached a sofa and he helped Harry to sit down carefully. "You landed awkwardly when you fell then?" He summarised as he knelt in front of his son and began to gently remove the teenager's shoe and the sock underneath.

"Yeah." Harry sighed glumly, looking down to where his father was taking infinite care with the shoe. "It's not broken or anything, is it?"

"I highly doubt it but it would probably be better if it were; bones are easier and can be healed more quickly than strained ligaments and damaged muscles." The man revealed as Dobby popped into the room without word, set down everything Severus had asked for within arms reach of the Potions Master, before leaving again.

Finally, the shoe on Harry's injured foot had been loosened sufficiently so that it could be removed without any effort and so very little movement of the foot and ankle. With the shoe removed, the sock was carefully rolled down, causing Harry only a few minor twinges of pain as it went. Then, when the sock was gone, long fingers gently felt around the swollen ankle, checking for breaks in the bone. That was a lot more painful and several times Harry had to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying anything and consciously control his leg muscles so he did not try and kick his father away.

After what seemed like an age of his ankle being squeezed and suffering from sharp shoots of pain, Severus finally reached for the ice before sitting on the sofa a space away from his son and then bringing the boy's injured ankle to rest on his lap. "As I thought, nothing's broken, you've just twisted it rather badly. You'll need a bandage around it for a few days for support and I'll make you a pain killer later."

"An oral one or one of those horrible creams?" Harry asked warily as his father gathered the ice in the large piece of cloth, bundled it all together and then pressed it to his ankle.

"It will most likely be an oral one since Your Highness complains about the creams."

"They make my eyes sting!"

"Prince and the pea."

"I believe that was the princess and the pea."

"You wished to be referred to as a princess then?"

Harry blushed at that and he opened and closed his mouth a few times, not knowing what to say. Eventually, he just looked away and crossed his arms in a slightly huff manner. "Oh, hush your mouth."

Severus chucked lightly at that, at the same time as moving the ice away from Harry's ankle now that the swelling had gone down and summoning the pile of bandages over to them. "A wonderful come-back."

Harry shot a glare at the man before snuggling down against the arm of the sofa he was leaning against. "Do you know what it is that Uncle Lucius and Draco are talking about?" He enquired, wanting to change the subject.

"Lucius is breaking the news to him that they'll be spending the next two months or so in France." Severus answered as he began to wrap the length of bandage around Harry's ankle so that it gave a firm, supportive pressure.

"A two month holiday? I know Uncle Lucius likes his luxuries but surely two months is a little overboard? And what about the Quidditch World Cup? I thought he was going to take me and Draco?"

"It's not a holiday they're going on. They're going to visit a community of Veela so that Draco can learn about his Inheritance." He paused and looked at Harry. "I doubt you remember, but Narcissa was a Luna Veela as she was born during a Blue Moon period. We don't know for sure whether Draco will inherit anything from her but Lucius wants him to have some experience and knowledge just in case. If anything will happen to him, it will happen soon as he's just had his sixteenth birthday."

Harry sat there silently, not sure what to think or how to feel. On the one hand, he was glad that Draco was going to get a chance to learn about himself and what he was experiencing but on the other hand, he would be gone for two months; two months without Draco there with him. They had spent long periods of times away from each other, like when Draco went to spend a few weeks with his Slytherin friends, but never for such a long stretch of time. And things were different now. They were together, they were in love, he did not want to be without him for so long. But he could not be so selfish. What Draco would learn in France, it would be stuff he needed to know and it would be stuff which would probably help Harry as well. If he was going to be the mate of a Luna Veela, he would need more information on how to expect Draco to act and how to handle him in certain situations.

"As for your trip to the Quidditch World Cup," Harry abruptly realised that his father had continued to speak the entire time he was lost in his own thoughts, "as Lucius and Draco will be unable to attend and I have no desire to experience it in any way, you may contact the Weasleys and ask them if their offer to take you is still available."

"Really?" Harry asked excitedly, his mood immediately cheering at hearing that.

"Yes, I see no reason why you should miss it." Severus confirmed, smiling slightly at his son's enthusiasm as he finished off attaching the bandage, tying it off neatly at the side.

"Oh, thank you!" The teenager grinned happily as he lurched forward to hug his father, ignoring the pain in his ankle at the sudden movement.

"You're welcome."

Suddenly, before either of them could say anything more, there was a crash from somewhere in the manor. Both Severus and Harry shared a startled look before they heard Lucius' yell. "Draco, we have not finished this yet!"

"Yes we have!" Draco's voice retorted angrily. "I will not go and you cannot make me! I told you my reasons and I would think that you would respect them! I'm not a child!"

"Then stop acting like one! This isn't just a holiday, Draco, this is to help you, so that you can learn about the changes you'll be going through."

"I don't care what it is! Holiday or educational thing, you can take it and shove it up your pompous arse because I am not going!" Draco practically screeched just before heavy, hurried footsteps going up the stairs started.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy, come back down here immediately!" The elder Malfoy boomed, causing Harry to flinch back instinctively, despite the fact the yell was not even directed at him.

Severus seemed to notice it and he frowned. "Lucius, do lower your voice." He called to his friend as he gave Harry a reassuring squeeze.

"Do not tell me what to do, Severus, not right now, I am not in the mood." Lucius's voice replied in the same angry tone he had used with Draco, it becoming louder as it went on signalling that the blond man was obviously coming closer.

"And neither Haryon nor myself are in the mood to hear you both yelling at the tops of your voices." Severus replied easily, glaring at the doorway he knew Lucius would enter from. Sure enough, the aristocrat came striding in no more than a few moments later, looking extremely annoyed. "And why exactly is it that Draco's refusing to go to France?" He enquired easily, now obviously not bothered by Lucius's foul mood as he was no longer yelling at the top of his voice.

"He says he doesn't need to go." Lucius sighed tiredly before looking to Harry in a rather pointed way which made Harry feel practically naked. "Could you try and talk to him, Haryon? It really is for the best that we go and he may be more willing to listen to you than either myself or your father."

Harry hid his surprise and shock well, remaining natural on the outside while his heartbeat accelerated drastically. Did Draco tell Lucius about the two of them being together? And if he did, did Lucius mind? Was he blaming him for Draco choosing not to go? Was he going to try and convince Draco that they were not mates and get him to choose someone else?

"Haryon?" Severus asked suddenly, breaking Harry from his slightly panicked thoughts.

"Oh! Erm, uh, sure I, er, I'll go have a word with him." Harry agreed quickly, perhaps a little too quickly really, as he scrambled off of the sofa and hurried out of the parlour, limping the entire way. It never occurred to him that leaving Lucius and his father alone might give the blond the perfect opportunity to tell him anything that Draco might have said, he was just intent on getting away from the situation as quickly as possible.

The stairs were more than a little bit of a challenge to climb and eventually Harry gave up on making his way up carefully, instead opting to ignore the pain and hurry up the stairs. When he finally reached the top, his ankle was throbbing with a constant pain but at least he no longer had anything more to climb. He allowed himself a moment to let the sensation to subside slightly before hobbling on again, walking the last few feet towards Draco's bedroom door. Unsurprisingly, it was shut, so Harry gave a few soft knocks on it.

"Piss off." Draco's voice yelled from inside.

Harry squelched the surprise and the slight hurt he felt upon hearing that before speaking: "Draco, it's me."

A few seconds of silence passed as Harry waited for something, anything, to happen. Then, all in the blink of an eye, the door flew open and an arm shot forward, grabbed his arm and yanked him in. Harry winced as he was forced to put pressure on his injured ankle and he stumbled slightly as it gave way beneath him. Draco's arms came around him to stop him from falling completely but he said nothing; no words or apology, no enquiry as to what was wrong. The blond just held him close and pressed his face against Harry's neck. The dark haired teenager sighed lightly and brought his hand up to run through Draco's hair in a comforting manner as he pressed a kiss to the side of his head.

"I don't want to go." Draco murmured quietly, not lifting his head.

"I know."

"I won't go."

"...You have to."

Within moments of those words leaving the smaller boy's mouth, Draco had pulled away completely, taking a few steps back, his eyes glaring at Harry and filled with hurt. "You want me to go? You want me to leave?"

"No Draco, this isn't about me wanting you to go, it's about you needing to go." Harry told him gently, limping over to the bed in order to sit down and rest his ankle. He could feel Draco watching him carefully and he could just imagine that the blond was fighting against his instincts to go to his side and help him. "In the next few months, you might be changing, Draco, and we all need to learn how to deal with it." He explained himself as he sat on the edge of the bed, looking at the Veela carefully. "And there are things you need to learn for yourself, like how to find your mate..."

"I don't need to find my mate!" Draco cried angrily, running his hands through his hair in agitation. "You're my mate! You're the one I love, you're the one I want, I don't need to find anything or anyone else!"

"Then you need to go to find out what's going to happen with us."

"What do you mean?"

"If you're going to come into your Inheritance then you're going to start to change, aren't you? Being your mate, I'll need to know how to handle you, what to do, what not to do, what to expect. You can't expect me to go into this blindly, Draco, that isn't fair." Harry told him with gentle firmness. "Please Draco, please go on this trip, if only for me, to put my mind at rest and make me feel as though at least one of us knows what's going on."

Draco said nothing and glared off to the side. "What about the World Cup? We promised we'd take you."

"Father said I can go with the Weasleys as long as they still don't mind taking me."

"So you'll be going with the Weasleys, camping out with all those other people from around the world, all with exotic accents and interesting backgrounds..."

"I'm not going to stray away if that's what you're worried about." Harry interrupted him there, guessing where this was going considering he knew that Veela were naturally jealous creatures. "I told you I love you and I mean it. Even if someone who looked exactly like you and spoke exactly like you and acted exactly like you came along, I wouldn't do anything because it wouldn't be you. No one means as much to me as you do, no one ever could."

Once again Draco said nothing for a while after that but occasionally his eyes flickered up to look at Harry before darting off him again. Eventually, the blond slowly made his way over to where Harry was sitting and knelt down in front of him. Harry watched as Draco knelt in front of him and gently lifted his bare foot and bandaged ankle. "Does it hurt?" He asked quietly, not looking up.

"Only when I'm putting pressure on it."

"Good." Draco murmured, running his fingers along the bare skin on the top of his foot before lowering it back down again. Then, he knelt up and wrapped his arms around Harry gently, holding him close so they were flush against each other. "I love you so much, Harry." He whispered, his voice filled with adoration.

"And I love you." Harry returned, pecking a kiss to the top of Draco's head before relaxing against the blond completely, savouring the moment he would soon have to go without for a few months.

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

10th July 1994: Early Morning

The house was grey, its walls old and the floorboards creaked at even the slightest pressure applied to them. It was like something from a Victorian horror novel, you just expected a ghost or a vampire or Frankenstein's monster to come ambling around a corner suddenly. It was not exactly frightening, more like nerve-wracking. He was anticipating something which He did not know when, or even if, it would happen.

The corridors were traversed slowly, the stairs were climbed carefully, each groan and moan of the old wood causing Him to flinch, instinct trying to ready Him for the ground to fall away from beneath His feet. The ground never did give way though and in that respect He remained safe. Not that He felt safe or even thought that where He was, was a safe place. He was there for a reason and He felt on edge for a reason and until He had evidence to prove Him otherwise, His pulse would continue to race and He would remain completely alert.

And then, He had reached the top of the stairs and He was no longer alone. An old man stood just outside a slightly open door which allowed a crack of faint light to shine through. The man obviously was not invited to whatever it was that was happening inside the room as his posture and facial expression made it clear that he was eaves-dropping. Slowly, He crept up to the man and stood beside him. The man shivered slightly at that but He ignored it, putting it down to the chilly atmosphere which hung heavily in the house, strangely as it was the middle of the summer and even the nights were warm at that time. He moved into a suitable position to join the old man in peering through the crack and a gasp escaped him at what he saw.

Peter Pettigrew knelt in front of a very old, worn arm chair which looked incredibly moth-eaten, dusty, the colour was faded from what was no doubt a wonderful shade of crimson to a dull red and there were several rips all over which allowed bits of the stuffing to poke out. The way the chair was angled made it impossible for Him to see who it was who was sitting in the chair but His gut instinct was more than enough for Him to go on. Abruptly, Pettigrew moved to the side and another man, someone who He did not recognise, took up the place Pettigrew had vacated. The man's lips moved in speak but no words came out and He frowned in frustration, wishing desperately that He could lip read.

The sudden jerking of the old man beside Him caught his attention and He looked to see the man looking down at the floor in horror. He followed the gaze and His eyes widened in horror as well. A massive, terribly familiar snake was sliding past their feet, through the slightly open door. His hands flew to cover His mouth as what was about to happen dawned on Him. He tried to get the old man to notice Him, to hear Him, but it was useless; He could not even hear Himself.

The door was suddenly yanked open the whole way and He stepped back in a natural movement of surprise. Pettigrew stood there in front of them, terrifying them both. Slowly, an evil, malicious sneer crossed the fat man's face and he stepped away. To His horror, a green light raced towards Him and the old man and He screamed at the top of His lungs...

"No, don't, please!"

Harry sat up in an instant, tears prickling the backs of his eyes, sweat slicking his forehead, his heart-rate racing, his chest heaving and an odd burning sensation throbbing the scar on his forehead. He looked around himself, slightly panicked, and soon realised that he was still in his own bed in his bedroom at his home in the Welsh country-side. With a shaking hand, he reached for the lamp on his bedside table and gave it a small tap to bring the flame inside to life before reaching for his glasses and slipping them on. A ragged breath left him as he closed his eyes and pressed the heel of his right hand to his scar.

When his bedroom door suddenly banged open, his head shot up and his eyes flew open, only to see that it was merely Severus: wand in hand, dressed in a floor-length, black flannel dressing gown and looking more than a little flustered. Harry relaxed upon seeing him though and he bowed his head again, his eyes closing tiredly.

"What happened?" The man, who still managed to look rather foreboding even in a dressing gown, asked carefully, sounding rather suspicious, his dark eyes shifting around the barely lit room constantly.

"I had a dream." Harry murmured quietly. "But it was so real. I was in a house, an old house, somewhere...Somewhere I don't know, and there was a man there, I don't know who he was, and he was standing at the top of a flight of stairs, looking into a room through a slightly opened door." Severus slowly made his way over to his son as the boy spoke, coming to sit next to him on the bed and pulling him into a comforting, one-armed embrace. "The people in the room...One of them was Peter Pettigrew. He knelt down in front of an arm-chair. I think there must've been someone sitting in it but I couldn't see from where I was watching. And there was another man as well, another one who I don't know, and he knelt in front of the arm-chair too. Then there was a snake...I think it was Nagini." Harry felt his father tense at that. "Then the door was opened and Pettigrew found me and the man and then..." He paused and swallowed the lump in his throat. "And then there was a green light...Oh that poor man, that poor, poor man."

"Sshh, it's all right." Severus reassured gently, running his fingers through his son's hair soothingly.

"I don't think it was just a dream..." Harry whispered, a single tear rolling out of his eye.

"No?"

Harry shook his head. "It felt too real. It felt too much like I was actually there."

"We will deal with it properly in the morning, neither us nor anyone else would be able to do anything at this time of night and since you don't know where it was," Harry shook his head to confirm that fact. "Then there is nothing we can do. We will go back to sleep and speak to Dumbledore in the morning." Severus assured as he made a move to pull away and get off the bed.

"No!" Harry gasped, clutching into his father tightly, stopping him from moving any further away. "Don't go, not yet. Could you stay? Please? Just 'til I fall asleep?"

"If you want me to." His father consented as he moved in a more comfortably position to settle down beside his son.

Harry snuggled into Severus's side, wrapping an arm around the man's waist and pillowing his cheek against the warm material against Severus's shoulder which smelled so wonderfully of the man. The teenager immediately felt calmer and he allowed his eyes to drift shut. "Thank you." He murmured against the flannel under his cheek.

A kiss was pressed to his forehead, just beside his lightly throbbing scar, as his glasses were carefully pulled off of his face. "Think nothing of it."

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

31st July 1994: Morning

As Harry woke from what had been a mercifully peaceful sleep, a content smile spread across his lips as he realised what day it was. His birthday, his sixteenth to be more precise. Ahead of him was a day of complete relaxation and being able to eat everything and anything he wanted whenever he wanted. His birthday was the one day of the year where he would not be chided or scolded by Severus for doing nothing and eating vast amounts of sweet things and he could not wait for it all to start.

In a flurry of movement, Harry was out of his bed, his glasses were on and he was bounding down the stairs to the living room where he knew his presents and father would be waiting for him. Sure enough, the half a dozen presents were stacked on the coffee table in front of where Severus sat reading that morning's copy of the Daily Prophet. The front door was wide open, allowing a cool breeze to blow through the house and to grant easy access to any owls who may come delivering presents. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Harry practically bounced into the room, leaning over the back of the sofa when he reached it and wrapped his arms around his father's shoulders. "Good morning, Father." He greeted with a small squeeze.

"Good morning," Severus returned. "And happy birthday."

"Thank you." Harry beamed at him excitedly as he quickly moved around the side of the sofa and plonked on the floor next to Severus's feet. "Have any owls arrived yet?"

"Yes, one from that half Elvish, half wizard friend of yours. I set the present down with the rest on the table for you." The man answered as he folded his paper up and got to his feet. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"Oh, yes please." Harry answered as he began to look over one of the presents, searching for a gift tag.

Severus left his son to it in favour of making him his breakfast and Harry carried on with his looking and unwrapping. All the gifts without tags on he put to the side, knowing they were from his father and wanting to save opening them until the man was back in the room. So, for that moment, he contented himself with opening the gift from Rhys (a good-luck charm in love no doubt actually bought or made by Marcia), Marcia (an intricately decorated birthday cake), and the joint one from Lucius and Draco (the latest model of broomstick). Draco would no doubt give his own, personal gift to him upon his return from France and the Weasley's would probably send along a present too.

As Harry attached his new good-luck charm to the tie at the base of his braid, a couple of owls flew in through the front door. Harry greeted them with a smile, the one he recognised as belonging to the Weasleys nipping at his fingers playfully as he stroked the face feathers. He removed the shrunk parcels attached to the owl's leg and set them aside for his father to resize when he came back in. Then, Harry turned to the second bird which, he suddenly noticed, was not an owl but rather it was a crow, a very big crow. Harry blinked at the bird a couple of times, not recognising it nor having any idea who may have sent it. There was only an envelope held by the crow.

"Father." Harry called to Severus, eyeing the bird carefully.

"Yes?"

"Could you come in here a moment please? There's something I think you should see."

The sound of footsteps on stone soon came, indicating that Severus was moving across the kitchen. They stopped suddenly and Harry did not need to look to know that the Potions Master had entered the living room. Neither of them said anything as Harry continued to stare at the bird who, strangely, stared right back at him. This went on for quite some time in comparison to what they were actually doing before, finally, Harry spoke up.

"I don't recognise it, do you?"

"I have a suspicion." Severus admitted as he pulled his wand out of the casual robes he was wearing. "Haryon, move away from it slowly."

Harry did as he was told and scooted away from where the bird was perched. However, for every movement he took backwards, the crow matched it with one forwards, never letting the amount of space between then two of them grow. Eventually, Harry was forced to give up as his back collided with the wall on the other side of the room, the crow standing on the floor about a foot away from him. Severus released a frustrated sigh and flicked his wand in the direction of the crow. The bird began to glow a clear white where as the envelope it carried glowed a dull red. Harry never took his eyes off of it, knowing what spell was being cast. Severus was checking to see if there were any negative spells surrounding either the creature or the envelope; the bird was safe, the envelope could prove dangerous.

Moving forward carefully, Severus came to kneel beside the bird and tried to reach for the envelope. However, his fingers only got so close before the crow released an indignant squawk and tried to nip the digits none too gently. The man flinched his hand away just in time to escape them being hurt and glared down at the bird poisonously. Noticing that his father was not going to have much luck with retrieving the envelope, Harry carefully reached for it himself. The crow made no move to attack his fingers and so he slowly took the end of the dark green, satin ribbon which held the envelope to the bird's leg and pulled it gently, untying the bow slowly. The moment the bow was undone the envelope fell free and the crow immediately took off, flying straight out of the door which it had come from. Neither of the Snapes watched it go though, they were too intent on not taking their eyes off of the envelope.

For several moments, neither of them spoke, just stared, until Harry once again broke the silence. "Should I open it?"

"No!" Severus ordered straight away in a rather harsh tone which made Harry flinch a little. "It's not safe to open, it might be cursed." He explained in a calmer tone.

"What do we do then?"

"I'll take it to Dumbledore later this morning. For now, try not to think about it." Severus advised as he levitated the envelope off of the floor and set it on an end table on the other side of the room. "Come," he instructed, offering his hand to help his son to his feet. "Forget this unpleasantness and have some breakfast."

Harry followed along wordlessly, a horrible feeling lingering at the back of his mind.

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

31st July 1994: Afternoon

"Father, you're back."

"So it would seem."

"...So?"

"Yes?"

"What happened? What did Dumbledore say about the letter? What was it?"

"It's nothing you need concern yourself with."

"But Father..."

"Haryon, it is nothing you need concern yourself with. It's no longer a threat and therefore no longer a cause for concern. All right?"

"...All right."

It was not all right though, because the horrible feeling had returned, closer to the front of Harry's mind, making him feel nervous and sending a chill throughout his body.
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Family Means More Than Blood