Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

For The Sake Of A Name	By : Bickymonster Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 52498 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any concepts or characters associated with it. I am not making any money from this this story.

Chapter List
- 42
- 43
- 44
AN: Wow, it has been a really really long time since I updated this. I apologise and hope you will all forgive me, life kind of got away from me, and the story I am co-writing (Fragmented Soul - which will probably be updated either this evening or this weekend) sort of took over my life for a while. I rwas planning to upload this earlier this week but I have had a mentally very difficult week and so this is the first time I have actually felt up to managing it. I really hope you enjoy this update; I do have the next chapter ready as well now, which I will upload in a couple of weeks. I would love to promise you updates on a bi-weekly basis, but I don't want to make promises I can't keep; however, I will do my best to update at least once a month in future. :) Thank you all for your patience.

(p.s. I am also working on an update for Erotes, but it is going to be a little while longer waiting for that one yet, but it is on its way I promise)
Thank you to AchillesTheGeek, who was, as always, a great help in making sure this chapter was up to scratch.
I probably shouldn't need to say this by now, but warnings and disclaimers apply
Enjoy.

Previously:
Fudge was of course aware of the Potters' situation but he had not been following the case closely; now, however, he made a point to send for the file. His gut reaction was that Umbridge's concerns were valid; he would speak with the head of Child Services, but only once he was better versed in the relevant facts.
At least the Headmaster hadn't been foolish enough to try and stop Umbridge; though it would have been most interesting to see how the School Governors would have handled that. He was feeling decidedly pleased. It was a most interesting first report, Fudge thought to himself as he leaned back in his well-upholstered chair, sipping on a fine vintage port; it gave him a lot to be thinking about and it really did feel good to be ahead of Dumbledore on something for once.
-#-
Remus was lying on his back, on top of the bed covers, staring at the ceiling of his bedroom in Grimmauld Place. He knew he should get up, he knew he should go wash and change his clothes, he knew he should probably eat something, but he just couldn't find the energy. It had been more than three days since his argument with Sirius and the majority of those he had spent in bed, going between unable to sleep and being too exhausted to get up.
He wasn't even sure why Sirius' words had hurt him so badly, but they had; and every time he tried to reason with himself that his friend was just trying to help, he just found himself so agitated he wanted to scream. He was wondering if perhaps his friend was right, that he was avoiding life and using his Lycanthropy as an excuse, but that truly wasn't something he had ever done deliberately.
He had heard Arthur and Molly when they had banged on the door, trying to get him to let them in, but he really just wanted to be left alone at the moment. Arthur had come over that first night, not long after Sirius left, and he and Molly had been taking turns each day since. He felt strangely numb most of the time, but there were occasional patches of melancholy, where he cried; he wasn't sure which he preferred.
Kreacher had brought him food most evenings; Molly's cooking, he guessed, though he couldn't be certain. He knew that she was trying to help but it just made him feel worse every time the house elf popped into the room and left him his dinner. He felt guilty that she was going to all that effort to prepare him food and he couldn't even bring himself to eat any; he felt guilty when he knew how hard Molly, Arthur and Sirius were trying, and he couldn't even manage to drag himself out of bed.
He felt like a complete failure and was starting to think he might be better off back with the werewolf clans; though he didn't think they would have much tolerance for his current moods, and if he couldn't hunt, then they were likely to leave him to just go hungry.
He had another week before the full moon and he knew he should probably try and speak to Sirius before then; though after how their dinner had gone he wasn't sure that his friend would want to spend the evening with him, even if he was in wolf form and therefore unable to say anything stupid.
Maybe today would be the day he would actually get up and get dressed; maybe today he would be able to make himself eat something, anything. On the plus side, he hadn't actually drunk anything in more than two days, but that was only because he couldn't find the energy to go downstairs and find a bottle to replace the empty one on the floor by his bed.
Blinking slowly, Remus sighed. He really hated himself for being this way but didn't seem to be able to snap himself out of it. He was such a failure and he certainly didn't deserve the kindness of Sirius or the Weasleys. And with that thought he rolled over on the bed, his head resting on his crossed arms, crying softly as he drifted back off to sleep.
-#-
Orion was fussing and wriggling in his mother's arms, making it rather difficult for Draco to keep hold of her son, despite Harry's attempts to help. The young family was sat on the edge of a bed in the hospital wing a full week after the horrible moment they had discovered Orion's fever and the not quite four month old baby had fully recovered from his bout of illness. This did mean, however, that he no longer wanted to spend a single moment remaining still but the young parents were determined to get him checked over just to be sure and this was the first chance they had had to do so, as they had been busy with lessons, homework and childcare all week.
"Well, I think we can safely say that this young man is fully healthy once more," Madam Pomfrey assured the young parents happily. It had been almost as difficult to see Harry and Draco so worried for their son, as it had been to see Orion in pain; almost.
"He certainly seems like his normal self," Harry told her, letting Orion grab hold of one of his fingers and wiggling it to tickle the little boy's belly. He wasn't surprised to hear that his son was well again given how much happier Orion clearly was, but it was still nice to have confirmation.
"He is interested in everything going on around him, is babbling at us all the time, getting stronger," Draco added, with no small amount of pride. Orion had been increasingly reaching for everything around him and managing to get hold of things more easily. He had been pushing himself up on his arms, when they lay him down on his front, for a little while now, and delighting in his new ability to roll over onto his back so that he could play with his own toes. "And his appetite is greater than ever," the young mother told the nurse.
"That is likely because his stomach is growing," Madam Pomfrey said, stroking Orion's cheek with one finger. "He should be eating less frequently too, now that he is taking larger meals" she added, and the Potters both nodded, pleased to hear that their son seemed to be progressing normally.
"Does that mean we might get a little more sleep?" Harry asked hopefully. He felt bad complaining about how tired he was, but he and Draco were really struggling to keep up with their school work, despite the fact that they were both only taking the essential classes they needed.
"He will need night feeds for a little while yet, but he might stop waking so often," she explained, giving Harry a sympathetic smile; she couldn't imagine how exhausting it must be for them both, trying to manage to juggle all their responsibilities.
"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey," Harry said as he got to his feet, taking Orion from his wife when the little boy flexed his body and nearly managed to throw himself out of his mother's arms.
"Not at all," the nurse told him with a broad genuine smile; she was fond of many of the students under her care, but found that she had come to care a great deal for the young family. "I am very glad to see you both doing a great job with him," she said kindly as she walked Draco, Harry and Orion to the large doors that lead back out into the rest of the school.
"Don't suppose you could happen to mention that to Umbridge," Draco said bitterly. The woman hadn't exactly caused them any major problems, but she was watching them, closely, waiting for one of them to do something she could use against them, they were sure.
The High Inquisitor had mostly taken it upon herself to enforce the existing school rules, including some of the more dated ones that the rest of the faculty generally ignored; detentions were freely given for those whose state of dress didn't meet her standards and to anyone who she considered to be fraternising inappropriately. They were all, of course, still having to sit at their correct house tables at meals still and it was only Blaise's company at the Slytherin table that had kept Draco from going to sit with Harry and Orion anyway.
"Madam Umbridge is already well briefed on my opinions regarding your abilities as parents," the nurse said a little tersely, a pinched expression on her face. Harry and Draco rather got the impression that it was the High Inquisitor that Madam Pomfrey was frustrated with, rather than them though; Umbridge seemed to garner a similar reaction from many of the staff, as though it was taking great effort for them to remain respectful.
Draco frown at that thoughtfully; it seemed unlikely that the nurse would have gone to Umbridge herself to inform the High Inquisitor about their parenting skills, and therefore the blonde quickly came to the conclusion that Umbridge had been the one to ask about them. Which raised the concerning question of who else Umbridge had tried to get to talk against them.
"Though I shall be sure to inform her that Orion is still progressing wonderfully, should she happen to ask," Madam Pomfrey told Draco kindly, seeing the worried expression that the teenager was wearing. "Enjoy the rest of your weekend."
"Thank you," Draco said sincerely, snapping herself out of her thoughts, though she made a mental note to discuss it with Sirius later; it was possible that he might have heard some of the other professors talking about what was going on. That was assuming she could get Sirius to talk to her at all, she mused, as she and Harry waved farewell to the nurse and headed back off towards their rooms.
"Was it me or did it sound as though Umbridge has been asking around the school about us?" Harry asked, as they turned a corner, walking through the mostly quiet corridors of the castle. It was a surprisingly bright and sunny day late September, and many of the students had taken to the grounds, hoping to enjoy the last of the nice weather before winter truly set in hard, as it tended to do at Hogwarts.
"It wasn't just you," Draco said pensively. "Fairly sure that most of the staff are comfortable with our guardianship of Orion though, and the general impression seems to be that we are doing at least as well as anyone could have expected. It's more who she might find to talk to outside of this castle that worries me," she added with obvious concern in her voice.
"Draco, love, you can't spend the rest of our lives worrying about what your father is going to say to other people," Harry said seriously, shifting Orion in his arms and reaching out to take Draco's hand in his own, bringing them to a stop. He had no doubt that this was exactly the person that had his wife worried and he was determined not to let the man mess with Draco's head any more than he had already. "He is going to say horrible things and trying to tear us apart, but we aren't going to let him," he went on. Pressing a kiss to his wife's lips; he ignored the wolf whistles from several passing fourth years and that Orion had a handful of his robes and was sucking on it.
Draco ignored them too, kissing Harry back. "I love you," she muttered against his lips, the words all jumbled. Harry understood though, she was sure of that when she felt him smile and kiss her harder, all thoughts of the threats against their family pushed from her mind. Harry was right; there was very little they could do about Umbridge at the moment, or Lucius for that matter, at least not until one of them played their hand.
"You two do know you are in the middle of the school, right?" an amused voice asked and Draco broke away from their kiss and turned to glare at her best friend, who was leaning against the wall a short distance away. "Anyone could get an eyeful if they happened to walk past," Blaise teased with a smirk on his lips.
"It was just a kiss with my husband, Blaise," she said with a roll of her eyes, far too used to Blaise's good natured teasing to actually be bothered by it; and she certainly wasn't ashamed of kissing Harry, no matter who saw. "We were heading back to our rooms, probably going to try and get some homework done," Draco told him. "Would you like to join us?"
"Yeah, you're more than welcome to come with us," Harry said, nodding his agreement. He had come to actually like spending time with Blaise, and wanted him to feel welcome in their rooms as much as he wanted Hermione and Ron to; not that either of them had come over since before Orion had been unwell.
"As long as it was just homework you had in mind," Blaise said with a smirk, as he pushed off the wall, and moved over to the Potters. "I would have to consider any offers for anything more very carefully before accepting," he added as he threw his arm over Draco's shoulder and gave Harry a wink; Harry spluttered at the implication, clearly not sure what to say to that.
"I assure you I would not be inviting you to join us if we have more than homework on our minds at the moment," Draco said with a chuckle, shaking her head. "I am not sharing my husband with anyone," she added a little more seriously, with a pointed look at Blaise as they headed off down the corridor.
"Ah, but it could be fun," Blaise said, laughing at the stunned expression on Harry's face; he was having far too much fun toying with the Gryffindor. Draco just tutted at her friend and pushed his arm off her shoulders, cuddling into Harry's side instead; she might be used to Blaise's flirtatious ways but Harry still wasn't entirely.
"Excuse me?" Harry said, blinking at the two Slytherins, as he accepted Draco under one of his arms, the other still holding Orion, who was watching them all with interest as he chewed on a small fistful of Harry's robes. He knew that this was just Blaise's way, but he still wasn't at all sure what to make of their conversation.
"Don't worry, love," Draco whispered conspiratorially, looping her arm around Harry's back, "I will protect you from the big scary Slytherin guy."
"Erm... thanks… I think," Harry said, shaking his head and still looking rather bemused.
It only took them another few minutes to reach the door to his and Draco's rooms, and he let go of Draco to push the door open, before stepping inside. "Hey, Sirius," he said happily, seeing that his godfather was sat at the table reading something. "Look, Orion, Grandad has come out of his room."
Ever since the rather disastrous evening when Sirius had gone to see Remus, Sirius had been avoiding pretty much everyone. Molly had tried to talk to both stubborn men, but Sirius had just shouted at her that this was her fault and that he had been right about him being the wrong person to help Remus. Remus, however, had apparently refused to even open his bedroom door and had been living in there ever since.
Draco had been able to persuade Kreacher to check on Remus and confirm that he was okay, given that they couldn't get through the wards the werewolf had put on the door, and it seemed that other than the fact that he wasn't eating, drinking or washing, he was fine. They were all worried about both of them, but while neither Remus or Sirius were willing to either admit that they might have over-reacted, were wrong, or even talk to the other, there really was nothing they could do.
"Sirius," Harry said pleadingly as the man wordlessly got up and headed towards the door to his bedroom. "Sirius!" he called after him, a hand over Orion's ear to keep from scaring his son.
"What, Harry?!" Sirius shouted angrily as he turned back around and took a couple of steps towards the teenagers. "What do you want from me?" he demanded to know. "I came here, became a professor; I take care of Orion, stand up for you, all at the cost of the only friend I had left and you can't even give me a little space for a few days?"
"It's not like that," Draco insisted, moving passed Harry, who had a very hurt expression on his face; he was cradling Orion close to his chest, their baby whimpering slightly, having been frighten a little bit by the raised voices around him.
"No?" Sirius asked sceptically. "What is it like then, Draco?" he asked, turning his glare to the blonde, his arms crossed defensively over his chest.
Harry sighed; he knew how much Sirius loved Orion, how much he and Draco were family to him, and yet they were all being pushed aside so that he could bury himself in his class preparation and school work, pretending that nothing was wrong; not that they were buying it for a second.
"We are worried about you," Harry insisted honestly. Harry was certain that Sirius was beating himself up over whatever had happened between him and Remus earlier that week, but he was also sure that his godfather would never have intentionally hurt Remus.
"Well don't be," Sirius said, turning around heading through the door to his bedroom, slamming the door behind himself. Orion opened his mouth wide at the sudden noise and began to cry.
"Great, just great," Draco said grumpily, sweeping her son into her arms and rocking him. "Shh, baby, it's okay, Grandad is just being grumpy. It's okay."
"That was... interesting," Blaise said, looking between Harry and Draco as he took a seat on their sofa; neither of them had mentioned anything about whatever it was that had caused Sirius' mood, and he found himself rather curious. "If I was you I would make sure Umbridge doesn't catch wind of this family tension," he advised.
"Don't worry, we weren't planning on letting that happen," Draco assured him. "But can we just focus on homework for now?" she requested, continuing to rock Orion, who was starting to calm back down again. "The stack of work I have to get done so high that a dragon wouldn't be able to see over it."
"Sure," Blaise said, knowing that Draco was just trying to change the subject. He wasn't sure what had happened to cause such issues with Sirius, and gave Draco a look that clearly told her that he wasn't going to let it go, and that they would be talking about it again later.
-#-
The house elf that had let Severus Snape and Healer Melrose into the manor had looked decidedly unhappy about having to do so; not that Severus particularly cared for the annoying creature's feelings on the matter. He had not been surprised that Lucius had instructed the house elves to deny him entry, but a simple instruction for the elf to confer with Mistress Narcissa had got them through the gates and inside the large manor home.
"Mr Snape and Healer guest will be following," the elf said, leading them up what Severus knew to be the closest staircase. "Mistress Narcissa will see you and then you will be leavings."
"We will be gone before you master returns," Severus said bluntly, not about to be hurried from the house by one of the Malfoy's servants but equally not wanting to be found there upon Lucius' return. However, he wasn't about to abandon Narcissa to her fate given the role he had played in getting her there; he would likely never forgive himself for having let her talk him into giving her the more dangerous potion.
"Are you quite sure that being here is wise?" Melrose asked, as his grey eyes glanced both ways along the corridor once they had reached the top of the stairs, before hurrying left, in the direction that the Professor and the elf were both heading. The young blond healer owed Severus a favour, else he would never have agreed to come; he was no fool and knew the power that the Malfoys held in their society. "Could I not simply have offered my services to Mr Malfoy directly?" he asked.
"He would not have even paused long enough to give you the time of day," Severus said dismissively. He knew that Melrose was actually quite a talented healer, well trained and, most importantly for his current needs, both loyal and indebted to him; Lucius, however, would have seen nothing more than a half-blood with limited experience. Even the man's Slytherin cunning would not have been able to see past his prejudices.
"But..." Melrose tried to protest, but Severus turned to glare at him, silencing the healer.
"Lucius respects money," Severus explained, trying to figure out how to word this such that the other man, who had no prior experience with the likes of the Malfoys, would understand. "Money and blood. Simply because your mother was a muggleborn and your price tag is lower, he will assume your value is less to match."
"So Mrs Malfoy's current healer is the...?" Melrose started to ask, hurrying after the professor, who had already turned back around and was proceeding along the corridor ahead of him.
"The most expensive," Severus finished for him, nodding his head in confirmation. "Nothing but the most expensive for the Malfoy family, of course," he said with a tone of disapproval; his more restricted finances had given him a much finer understanding of the difference between price and value than Lucius ever could or would have.
As it was, the healer that Lucius had hired was truly excellent, and if Severus had been able to trust that the healer was there for Narcissa's health he could have let things be. He knew better though; his last conversation with Lucius had made it plainly clear that the head of the Malfoy family cared naught for anyone as long as he had a pure-blooded male heir at the end of it all. The high-priced healer would most certainly be paid well enough to go to any lengths to ensure the child's survival, even at the cost of Narcissa's health, or even her life.
Melrose was still mulling over the Professor's words when they suddenly stopped in front of a large and rather ornately carved oak door. Severus didn't pause; they were short of time as it was, and he had already wasted more time than he had wished, explaining the situation to Melrose; the potions master simply turned the highly polished brass handle and opened the door inwards. Melrose hurried followed him inside.
It was a dimly-lit room, though even with the poor illumination Melrose could see that it was lavishly decorated and that the furnishing were likely inordinately expensive; truthfully it was almost exactly as he had expected a Malfoy bedroom might be, though seeing it with his own two eyes was something else altogether.
"Severus, you should not have come here," a weak and obviously female voice said, drawing the attention of the two men to the woman lying on the vast four-poster bed. "Lucius would not allow anything to happen to me until he gets his son," she said, before breaking into a small coughing fit, which Melrose did not require his medical training to diagnose as unhealthy.
"As your friend, Narcissa, I would rather like to see you live a little beyond that point," Severus said sternly, in clipped tones, raising the light levels in the room with a flick of his wand. "Melrose, I did not bring you here to admire the decor," he snapped a little impatiently, knowing that their time was limited.
"Right; apologies," Melrose said quickly, moving past the Professor and heading around to the far side of the bed. "Mrs Malfoy, I am Healer Melrose," he said, introducing himself almost automatically; it was something that had been drummed into him during his training and gave him a chance to take in the woman's pale complexion and frail state. "Professor Snape has informed me all about the situation, but I would like to cast a few tests of my own, just to assess your current health."
"Do as you must," Narcissa said with a sigh, her hand resting on her now rather obvious six-month pregnancy belly, feeling her son kick at her hand. "Put Severus' mind at ease, because else I am worried he might worry himself into worse health than mine," she added, sending herself into another coughing fit.
"I think," Melrose said with a kind smile, taking a seat on the edge of Narcissa's bed and pulling out his wand, "that I will judge the state of your health for myself."
-#-
Blaise, Draco and Harry had actually made good progress with their homework, though they were still a long way from done, by the time that Hermione and Ron showed up. Harry was, of course, delighted to see them; he had meant it when he had told Ron that he hoped he would come by. Although he was rather surprised to see that they had brought Luna with them.
"I hope you don't mind me being here," Luna had said in a soft voice, with a vague expression on her face, as she stood just inside the door, peering around the room curiously. "I was in the library with Hermione when they decided to come see you, and I was rather curious to meet Orion."
"No, sure, it's fine," Harry said, ushering her into the room. He didn't really know the girl well, but Ron had told him all about how she and Hermione had been spending a lot time studying together, and if Hermione liked and trusted her, then Harry was certain he could too.
"Hey, little man," Hermione said, picking Orion up from where he was lying on the floor, trying to eat his own feet. "I wouldn't eat your own toes," she told him, wiggling his foot in her hand, before taking him over for Luna to meet.
The slightly odd girl moved towards Orion with a smile on her face, and Harry had to take Draco's hand in his own to keep his wife from getting up and snatching their son back; he understood that she was just being protective of him, but they could trust Hermione with him, and Luna clearly meant him no harm. Orion seemed to agree and actually took quite a shine to Luna right away, babbling away from his position in Hermione's arms.
"He's a very smart little boy," Luna said, holding out her hand and letting Orion play with her fingers as she looked passed Hermione to smile at Harry. "You will have to watch him carefully," she warned them calmly.
"Of course, he isn't even four months old, we are always watching him," Draco told her a little indignantly. She didn't like that this girl was giving her advice on how to take care of her own son; it was hardly needed, they were raising Orion perfectly fine themselves.
"Oh, I know, I meant when he is older," Luna said, still smiling, not looking at all bothered by Draco's tone, as she moved over to sit cross-legged on the floor next to one of the piles of books they had been studying from earlier. "He is likely to inherit his father's impulsive nature."
"I'm not impulsive," Harry said quickly in his own defence, shuffling up enough on the sofa to let Hermione sit down next to him, still holding Orion, who was playing with her hair. "Okay, I might be a little impulsive," he conceded when he took in the disbelieving and, in the case of Ron, Luna and Blaise rather amused, expressions of his friends around him.
"If you teach Orion your reckless ways, I will be most displeased," Draco told him with a scowl. She loved Harry for who he was and though her husband putting himself in harm's way was annoying and worrying, she knew she couldn't allow her precious little boy to do the same.
-#-
Severus had returned to Hogwarts a few hours earlier with a great deal on his mind; he had been half tempted to have Melrose help him get Narcissa out of the Manor, but there was no doubt that he would be the first person that Lucius would suspect. He really didn't need the complications of trying to keep Lucius from his wife and unborn heir.
He sighed deeply, and sipped from his glass. Firewhiskey was not his usual preference, but given the stresses of the day, he felt it called for it. They had managed to leave Malfoy Manor before Lucius' arrival, but only just, and that was thanks to the house elf, which Lucius had summoned to prepare things for upon his return.
Melrose had stayed with him for a short while after, explaining the results he had found. He was certainly concerned. Narcissa's blood pressure was low, and because she hadn't been able to eat properly for months, she was malnourished; the baby seemed healthy but there were serious worries that Narcissa would be unable to survive the birth, if she even survived that long.
Severus wouldn't allow her to die, and so he listened carefully to the recommended potions that Melrose told him to make, and thanked the man when he wrote a list of several books that would help explain some of the more complex issues at work. He knew that somehow he would have to get back into Malfoy Manor if he was to give her the potions she needed. That would not be easy; but he was determined to find a way.

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ChaosLady – Yes, we can’t expect too much from the Minister, not when he is being played so well by others.
Gruffard – Don’t worry, this story will never be abandoned, even it if takes me another two years to finish it. (hopefully it won’t take that long, but it is possible). Fudge is mostly being manipulated at the moment, but it is possible be might manage to think for himself at some point.
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For The Sake Of A Name