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
- 43
- 44
- 45
AN: I actually forgot that I had this chapter written and edited, but not published until I went to save the next chapter to the folder. So apologies on the delay with the update. I am actually working on an original novel quite a bit at the moment, but I am still making progress with this story, and really, truly intend to get to grips with Erotes soon. (I might even start reading it through later this evening.)

I do have plans for a purely smutty Harry/Avengers crossover (largely inspired by several conversations I have had with my co-author, StrawberryGirl87, regarding her new story, Afflictions of War). But that I will be writing as inspiration strikes and liking not posting it until it is complete (I am predicting it will only be 6 or 7 chapters in total)

I do have another chapter of this to update, so I will probably update that in a week or two's time depending on my progress with other things.
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:
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 he would have to find a way to get back into Malfoy Manor if he was to give her the potions she needed, but he was determined to find a way.
-#-
By the end of their third full week back at school, most of the students were getting back into the swing of being at school,; though many students were finding that it was a bit difficult to keep on top of all their work. The sixth years, in particular, had definitely noticed the increase in difficulty, now that they were studying for their N.E.W.T.s rather than for their O.W.L.s. Some of them had embraced it, such as Hermione, Blaise, and Draco, in particular, were enjoying the challenge; surprisingly, even Neville was, to some extent, at least with certain subjects.
However, most of the sixth years were less thrilled. To help with this, Hermione had cajoled the sixth year Gryffindor boys into having a study night in the boys' dormitory. While she had invited the girls as well, they had quickly turned her down, and so the meeting had been moved from its original location in the common room; it being a Friday evening, there were too many distractions there anyway.
Draco had agreed to take care of Orion for the evening, not wanting her husband to be able to use their almost four-month-old son as an excuse not to study; Harry was far too good at procrastination for her liking and besides, she thought that it would do Harry good to spend the evening with his friends and housemates. Harry had tried to protest, not wanting to leave Draco there alone, but Blaise had shown up and promised to keep Draco company.
"You get a night away from the wife and kid, and you use it to submit yourself to one of Hermione's torture sessions… I mean study sessions?" Seamus asked with a teasing grin on his face. Harry rolled his eyes, and was about to answer when Hermione beat him to it.
"Maybe a little torture might be what it actually takes to get you to do some of your homework on time, Seamus, Finnegan," Hermione said pointedly, as she took a seat next to Ron, on his bed and opened a book in her lap, the other boys already having arranged themselves on Dean and Seamus' beds.
"Promises, promises," Seamus replied with a laugh, though he actually dreaded to think about the suffering Hermione might really be able to inflict if she actually put her mind to it.
"Maybe that's how Hermione lured Luna in," Dean suggested in a deliberately loud whisper to Harry, who was sitting next to him, making Seamus laugh. The Irishman only laughed harder still at the surprised and slightly nauseated look that Harry turned and gave Dean in response; though he tried to calm himself a little when he spotted the annoyed frown that Hermione was wearing. He really didn't want to find out what torture methods she might have actually researched.
"Well Luna is pretty weird," Ron said, apparently giving the matter some serious thought, "I guess it wouldn't be all that surprising if she was into that kind of stuff." Though, as his gaze drifted to Hermione, he scrunched up his face a little, apparently not wanting to think of his friend and Luna doing such things.
"I like Luna," Harry said a little defensively. She was definitely rather quirky, but she made no apologies for being herself, and he certainly didn't want to hear his housemates making fun of her.
"Yeah, she is kind of hot," Seamus said, nodding his head in agreement, before breaking into a grin and turning to Harry. "And we all know about your thing for blondes now, Harry."
"I think Draco would have something to say about that," Neville pointed out quickly, looking rather amused.
"Honestly," Hermione tutted, feeling quite frustrated with the lot of them, and wondering how they had got on to discussing Luna and Draco. "We are supposed to be helping you five get back up to date with your homework," she reminded them. She was all for a little joking around, but there was a time and place for it, and at the moment, all of them had some serious catching up to do; and she, for one, didn't fancy spending the whole weekend with them coming to her begging for help very five minutes.
"Don't worry, Hermione," Seamus told her with a falsely sympathetic expression, "Luna only has eyes for you; she is all yours."
"We are friends," Hermione insisted, somewhat huffily; she was keen to change the subject before the boys started asking her questions that she simply wasn't ready to answer yet. "Now," she went on stubbornly, handing the book on her lap over to Ron. "Neville, could you help Seamus and Dean with the Herbology questions, while I get Harry and Ron started on their Charms essays."
"Sure, though I am definitely going to need your help with Transfiguration," he told her, giving her an apologetic smile. He really tried so hard to manage it by himself, but he would always end up getting muddled and confused; Hermione could usually straighten it all out in his head again though.
"Of course, I will look at that with you once the others have got started," she promised him. "Okay, you lot, hop to," she commanded when none of them went to move; the boys all groaned at that, but moved to get the relevant books, quills and parchment regardless. They really did appreciate her help.
-#-
Draco flopped down onto the sofa next to Blaise, who was looking at her with mild amusement. Orion had not wanted to go to sleep all evening, or even be put down to play with his toys on the floor. The youngest Potter had been crying and whining in a way that Draco knew meant he was seriously tired, but the little boy had fought against sleep stubbornly, as he was rocked in his mother's arms.
"He's finally asleep then?" Blaise asked, more to remind Draco that he was there than anything else; Draco's empty arms and the lack of crying answered his question for him, but it looked like Draco might actually fall asleep too.
"For now," Draco confirmed, letting her eyes drift closed; she was so tired and was very relieved that it was Friday at last and she didn't have to get up for classes in the morning. "It took him so long to fall asleep though, he will probably be awake in an hour or so hungry and, in all likelihood, needing to be changed." She loved her little boy but he was hard work; she liked to blame it on him being a Potter but knew truthfully it was simply because he was a baby.
"Harry might well have run away from Hermione's study group by then," Blaise pointed out, given how reluctant Harry had been to go in the first place, and how intense Hermione could be when it came to anything academic. "You can probably let him deal with Orion."
"I am honestly not sure which I would prefer," Draco said forcing her eyes open and turning her head to look at Blaise, "Harry actually being completely up to date with all his homework or some help with Orion."
"Isn't Professor Black usually around to help?" Blaise questioned, realising that it was rather odd that the Defence Professor wasn't there; though it was a Friday night so he supposed that Sirius might have had other commitments. However, he couldn't help but wonder if it was related to the angry outburst he had witnessed at the weekend; he had been meaning to ask Draco about it but hadn't gotten around to it.
Draco hummed, a frown on her face. "He went down to Hogsmeade, something about needing a drink and some time alone to think," she told him, "only he has had most of the week alone to think; he hasn't barely spoken to any of us. He actually called Molly over to take care of Orion during our potions class yesterday."
"Well we all need a little space sometimes, and I hardly blame him for wanting to go get a drink at the end of a long week," Blaise said honestly, wanting to try and be reasonable. "And it isn't that big of a deal, is it? I mean, you trust her with Orion, don't you?" he asked.
"I do," Draco agreed, "I know he is safe with her, but it was such short notice that she had to take him home with her, to The Burrow, because she already had Bill and Fleur over for dinner," she explained.
"Ah, I see," Blaise said, nodding his head. "And you are worried about having Orion leaving the castle without you or Harry, worried that you will lose him somehow. You do realise that the Weasleys probably have excellent wards on their house, don't you?" Blaise asked him, and Draco nodded; even with their poor finances, he was sure that the wards on their home were not something that the Weasleys would have skimped on. "And it isn't as though anyone knew he was there," Blaise pointed out.
"I know," Draco said with a sigh. "And Bill and Fleur were apparently delighted to see him; Harry and I listened to nearly twenty minutes of Molly telling us how she was sure the two of them would be married with children of their own before we all knew it. But, anyway, I think I am just frustrated with Sirius; Harry and I both are."
"What is going on with him?" Blaise asked, turning so that he was sitting facing more towards Draco. "Apparently he has been being really strict in his classes the last couple of weeks, much more so he usually is, handing out detentions."
"He and Remus had some kind of disagreement," Draco explained. "And before you even think about asking, we are not exactly sure what it was about, but they are both refusing to talk to each other; or anyone else even, most of the time."
"I am sure they will work it out soon," Blaise said, trying to be reassuring. "Haven't they been best friends since they were at Hogwarts?" he asked, thinking that if their friendship had lasted that long, then they had probably been through worse and come out of it okay.
"Yes, they have," Draco confirmed, looking both worried and sceptical. She had come to greatly care about Sirius and she didn't like seeing him this upset; she was even concerned about Remus to some extent, though the two of them still weren't really close. "But they were both Gryffindors here," Draco pointed out, "and you know how hot headed they can be."
"True," Blaise said, giving Draco a wry smile before he sighed, resting back against the sofa. He had very little interest in the squabbles between the two men, but he was definitely concerned about the impact it would have on Draco and Harry, and even Orion.
"Can we talk about you for a bit?" Draco requested, really not wanting to think about Sirius for a while, just wanting to stop thinking for a bit.
"With pleasure," Blaise said happily, sitting up full and grinning at his friend; talking about himself was one of his favourite hobbies, after all.
-#-
Severus gave an annoyed huff and slammed another book shut, dropping it onto the top of the discarded tomes by the side of his desk. He had spent the majority of his evenings since visiting Narcissa at the weekend, studying, trying to find something else that might help her. He would brew the potion that Melrose had recommended tomorrow, as it would be Saturday; the potion would be tricky and require most of a full day, something he hadn't been able to spare during the week, due to his position as a Professor.
However, he was still determined to find something more to help his friend. Melrose's recommendation was something of a long shot, what would only ease her symptoms rather than act as a cure. Of course it was highly preferable over doing nothing, but Severus was determined to find something else.
Summoning yet another book from another pile, many of which he had taken from the restricted section of the library, and opened it in front of him, scanning the contents pages at the front to work out if the book was likely to be any use after all. There was a section on the relationship between physical and magical health, not exactly what he was looking for but perhaps there might be something of use.
Pouring himself a large glass of mead, he took a large swig before turning to the relevant section and starting to read.
-#-
Ron was ordering the Gryffindor Quidditch team up into the air by the time Harry arrived. He had missed most of their practices so far, not that Ron minded particularly given he was mostly just glad that Harry hadn't stopped playing at all, but Harry really wanted to make an effort to attend when he could.
"Hey, mate," Ron greeted as he mounted his own broom, having spotted Harry heading out onto the pitch. "Nice of you to join us. It's almost as though you think your wife, son and education are more important than this team," he added with a grin.
Harry chuckled at that, climbing onto his own broom. "Something like that," he agreed, as he and Ron rose up into the air, until they were at a good height to watch the rest of the team as they threw the Quaffle to each other as a warm-up.
"You letting the snitch out today, or going to help me whip this lot into shape?" Ron asked, secretly hoping for the latter. He loved his position as captain, but he knew he would feel a lot better about Gryffindor's chances if the team had been training with Harry's help as well as him.
"I think I'll help out, if that's alright with you," Harry said with a grin, not wanting to miss out of some quality time with Ron and the rest of the team, figuring that he could practice catching the snitch anytime, when the rest of the team weren't out on the pitch.
"Definitely," Ron told him with a grin, as the two of them headed over to the others, Harry swooping in and snatching the Quaffle before helping Ron split them into two groups.
-#-
Lucius scowled at familiar handwriting in which his name had been written. The small parcel was plainly wrapped, but had a note attached, held in place by a simple black ribbon. It was Sunday evening; Lucius had just seen off Narcissa's healer, who had told him that the situation was unchanged, and settled down for a little supper, having had a large roast earlier in the day. He certainly hadn't been expecting any deliveries or post, least of all from Severus.
After taking another sip of the delicate wine he has requested for his evening meal, Lucius untied the bow and removed the letter; it was more of a note really, a folded piece of parchment.
'Lucius,
Enclosed is a potion which will ease Narcissa's suffering and aid her health. I have enclosed the details of the brew should you wish to verify that it will cause no harm; however, I hope you still trust me enough to know I would never harm Narcissa or the child she carries.
Severus'
Opening the parcel with care, there were several pages written in Severus' hand, detailing potion brewing instructions, and beneath them was a singular phial. It was small and Lucius picked it up, holding the neck of the small bottle between two fingers as he held it up to view it properly, the blue liquid inside seemingly thick enough to keep light from penetrating it.
He would discuss the potion with Narcissa's healer just to be sure, he decided, though he was certain that it would be cleared as entirely suitable. Severus was a brilliant potions master after all, and even the rift in their friendship was not likely to be reason enough for the Professor to deceive him when it came to potions; that subject was something Severus took far too seriously to lie about.
-#-
Two days later, Molly was feeling determined. Remus and Sirius were all but family now and she did not tolerate her family treating each other badly; she understood that arguments and disagreements were to be expected but it had been two full weeks since the two of them had had dinner together and ended up not talking. It was the full moon in just two days and she was determined to have the two of them talking by then.
Calling out to Arthur to let him know where she was off to, the Weasley matriarch stepped into the floo to go to Grimmauld Place. However, it quickly became clear that that was not going to work, that someone, presumably Remus, had blocked the floo at the London residence. This, of course, did nothing to ease her worry; and so, she headed directly for the Potters' quarters in Hogwarts instead.
"Sirius," she said as she stepped out of the fireplace, seeing the man in question lying on the floor encouraging Orion to push himself up. "Remus appears to have blocked the floo," she told him, as Sirius got to his feet, picking Orion up into his arms.
"Then we get in the old fashioned way," Sirius told her firmly. He was definitely worried about his friend, about why Remus would have actually blocked the floo. "I need to take Orion to Harry and Draco first though; I don't want to take him with us when we don't know what's going on."
"They are in potions this evening?" Molly asked, knowing that that was where Harry and Draco usually were on a Tuesday evening.
"Yeah," Sirius told her, as he grabbed a blanket, wrapping it around Orion, and threw the travel bag, containing supplies for the little boy, over his shoulder. He moved quickly, hurrying out the door with Molly on his heels.
-#-
"Mr Potter, I strongly suggest you pay close attention to your own cauldron," Snape said sternly, as Harry peered over into Draco's, attempting to see if what she had brewed looked anything like the slightly green mixture that he had created.
"Yes, sir," he responded quickly turning back to his own potion and getting ready to add the boomslang skin, which should be needed in about two minutes, if he wasn't mistaken; Draco's potion definitely looked a bit thinner than his did, but the colour looked right, so he was doing a darn sight better than he usually did.
Harry was just in the process or re-weighing the boomslang skin, having made sure that it was exactly what the instructions detailed, when the door to the potions room swung open. He, Draco and Snape all turned to look, seeing Sirius hurrying in, holding Orion, with Molly Weasley just behind him.
"What happened?" Harry demanded to know, his potion forgotten as he hurried towards his godfather. He could make the potion again, and it paled in significance compared to anything that could have Sirius barging into their potions lesson looking so worried.
"Is Orion okay?" Draco asked urgently, her potion forgotten in an instant too, reaching Sirius before Harry even, and snatching her son into her arms, checking him for any sign of what might be wrong, but he seemed fine.
"It's Remus, he's blocked the floo to Grimmauld Place," Sirius told them quickly, putting the travel bag of Orion's things onto one of the empty desks. "We need to go check on him but I didn't think taking Orion with us for that would be a good idea."
"I would stay with him, but I don't think it is a good idea that Sirius goes alone given how things have been," Molly said, smiling apologetically. She knew how hard the two of them were working to keep on top of their studies and that Severus was giving up his own time to teach them, so she felt bad for interrupting their time, but there was a chance that something serious had happened with Remus.
"Back to your potions," Snape snapped impatiently, stepping between the group and lifting Orion from Draco's arms into his own, stunning the other occupants of the room, who were now staring at him as though he had completely lost his mind. "Before you potions are ruined and we have to start this lesson again," he added sternly.
This seemed to break the trance and the two teenagers quickly moved back to their desks and promptly started adding the boomslang skin and stirring clockwise three times, and anti-clockwise twice; though he was aware of the glances that Harry and Draco both kept giving him, presumably checking that their son was safe. Severus resisted the urge to scowl at that; he was fairly sure that if he could brew some of the most delicate potions in the world, using seriously volatile ingredients, then he could take care of Orion Potter for approximately quarter of an hour.
"I will watch him until they have completed their potions, they should only need another fourteen minutes," Snape said, turning back to Molly and Sirius, once he was sure that Harry and Draco were handling their potions. "Go, ensure that Lupin hasn't done something truly foolish," he insisted.
"Thank you, Severus," Molly said sincerely, as Sirius gave a curt nod and headed for the door.
"Attention on your cauldrons," he snapped impatiently upon turning and realising that both Harry and Draco were watching him as opposed to their potions. He smirked a little as both of them quickly turned back to face the front, getting ready for the next step in the instructions, and made his way back to his desk with Orion in his arms.
Harry was not at all sure that Snape would actually be okay having to take care of Orion even for fifteen minutes, no matter how certain the potions master had sounded. He felt a bit guilty even, given that Snape was already teaching them in his free time; he didn't think the man would appreciate becoming a babysitting service. "Are you sure that…?" he started to ask.
"Potion, Mr Potter," Snape reminded him sternly, glancing down when Orion giggled and started to pull on his robes.
"Yes, sir," Harry agreed, glad for an excuse to look down into his cauldron so that the professor wouldn't see the amused smile on his face, realising that in fact the potions master didn't mind having to spend a few minutes with Orion after all.
-#-
Remus stared at his half-eaten plate of food and tried to remind himself that half a plate was the best he had managed in a couple of weeks; he had managed occasional bites of food but not as much as he had had today. He actually thought he might have been able to eat more, if his stomach hadn't been protesting to the sudden increase in intake.
Pushing the dish into the middle of the table and casting a preservation spell, he decided that he would clean up later. His stomach was churned a little and the comparatively big meal was making him a little drowsy. He got to his feet and headed up the stairs from the kitchen into the main hallway, pausing at the bottom of the stairs; he was half tempted to just go back to bed, but he knew if he did that then he might stay up there another couple of days, so instead he headed for the front room.
He had literally just sat down on the sofa when he felt someone pressing against the house wards. He was tired, but that didn't make him much slower in drawing his wand, and jumping back to his feet. Heading cautiously back into the hall, he sighed and lowered his wand at the sight of Sirius and Molly standing there, looking worried.
"We couldn't get through the floo," Sirius explained a little angrily, hurrying forward and pulling Remus into a hug, which quickly became awkward, when Remus didn't hug him back properly and Sirius didn't let go.
"You had us worried," Molly told him firmly, but kindly.
Remus had known that he wanted a little more time alone, having finally ventured out of his room, so he had blocked the floo; he had also put up wards, but he hadn't actually wanted to keep Sirius from his own house, so it would not have taken much for his friend to get through them.
"I didn't mean to," he said with a sigh, turning around and heading back towards the kitchen. If they were going to talk then he had least wanted a decent cup of tea at the same time; he actually wanted a bottle of something stronger, but knew that neither of the other two were likely to take that suggestion well.
"You blocked the floo, after having spent several weeks not talking to us or eating, what were we supposed to think?" Sirius demanded to know, following after his friend and all but storming down the steps into the kitchen.
"It was two weeks," Remus told Sirius firmly, not appreciating his friend's flare for the dramatic. "And how about that I still wanted to be alone," he suggested with a shrug. He didn't know what he had been thinking actually; he was even questioning if on some level he had known that the blocked floo would ensure that Sirius came. He liked the Weasleys just fine and they obviously cared about him, but he didn't truly know them well, not like he did with Sirius anyway. "And not talking to you?" he asked incredulously, his own anger rising, as he reached the bottom of the stairs and turned to face his friend. "You haven't even tried to talk to me," he pointed out.
"Well I was fucking pissed," Sirius told him bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest as he glared at his one remaining best friend. "And not the good kind, like you've been for the past two weeks apparently."
"I'm sober right now, you arse," Remus snarled, waving his wand absent-mindedly so that the kettle would fill itself and set itself to boil. "I haven't touched a drop in days."
"No, just drowning yourself in self-pity instead?" Sirius said bitterly, shoving past his friend to go take a seat grumpily at the kitchen table.
Remus sighed, closing his eyes and resisting the urge to storm up the stairs and hide in his room again, to shut the world out and just hope it all went away. "I don't know what's wrong with me," he admitted softly, wrapping his arms around himself.
"My guess would be that you're depressed," Molly said kindly, her hand resting on his shoulder. Remus forced himself to open his eyes again and look at her. "Now let's get some tea in you and see if we can't talk about this reasonably," she suggested, with far too much enthusiasm for his liking, or Sirius' it seemed, if the expression on his face was anything to go by.
Remus, however, allowed himself to be steered in the direction of the table, taking a seat not far from Sirius as Molly went to sort the tea. He knew this was probably going to be a horrible and difficult conversation but he was glad that Sirius was there; he had missed his friend.
-#-
"A passable brew, Mr Potter, though barely," Snape said, looking into Harry's cauldron. It was a considerable improvement on the disasters the boy had been creating just a few weeks earlier, but it would have would have barely got an acceptable in a N.E.W.T. examination.
"We were a little distracted part way through," Harry pointed out, with a nod of his head towards Orion, who was now back in Draco's arms, giggling as Draco very gently nibbled on the little boy's fingers playfully. "I'm really trying," he insisted, thinking of all the times that he had read the instructions over before they had even come to the lesson, "sir," he added quickly, as the professor's eyes narrowed at him.
"I am aware," Snape said stiffly. He could reluctantly admit that Harry was making a significant effort to improve, and that alone was giving him the strength to continue with their lessons; that and the fact that Draco's potions were of a very high standard. He expected it of the blonde of course, but he didn't want to see such a genuine talent go to waste.
"Are we making this again on Thursday?" Harry asked, hoping that they were because otherwise he was going to have to spend the following evening reading up on yet another potion. He was aware that he was taking fewer classes than most of those in his year, but Snape seemed to have taken these private lessons as a challenge and was pushing them both. Harry was fairly sure that the potions master was determined to get them both Outstandings in potions by the time he was done with them; he doubted he would ever be able to reach such a standard, but he would let Draco and Snape teach him what they could.
"Given Draco does not require further practice on this particular potion, you shall be brewing it again under your wife's supervision," Snape informed them with a smirk, one which only grew when Harry groaned quietly. "Draco will take notes. You will then be expected to review these fully after the lesson and write an essay explaining any mistakes you made and their significance."
"Yes, sir," Harry said morosely, as Snape headed back to his desk.
"It's okay, Harry," Draco said with a grin, handing over Orion to him, thinking he really looked like he could use some baby cuddles after the professor's decision, "perhaps you won't make any mistakes at all, then there won't be anything much to write about."
"That, my love, might be wishful thinking," Harry told her, as they headed for the door; Draco chuckled as she picked up the travel bag on the way past.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, please take a moment to leave me a review. And/or feel free to join me on facebook (link in my profile)
Review Responses:
Gruffard - Yes, Perhaps Fudge thinking for himself might be wishful thinking ;) Sirius tends to take things to heart, to act emtionally rather than logically, which is why he has taken things to heart. He and Remus are definitely struggling on all fronts at the moment, but Molly is trying to help best she can. And the Potters understand, even if there isn't much they can do to help.
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For The Sake Of A Name