Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Shades of Grey	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 103925 -:- Recommendations : 6 -:- Currently Reading : 21
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor do I make any money off this dance in the realm of strangeness and smut

Chapter List
- 47
- 48
- 49
Chapter 48

Beta'd by the amazing Tenchi. You're the best, woman, and thank you!

With help from Lynn who works with me when it comes to flow, continuity and other issues.

Just a reminder of what's on my profile: reviews complaining or whinging about the lack 'o sex in stories will get deleted. If you want a smut-filled romp, you need to find another story to read.

Looking out the windows of the dining room, Harry watched the rain fall. It was another rainy day. Though the rain tended to bring on being tired and some gloom, he was feeling down for another reason; it was September first. By now, his friends would all be on the Hogwarts Express, heading back to school for the new year. He hadn't thought it would bother him, of course, what with all that was going on, but it did. More than he cared to admit. He adored being here with Lucius and Severus, knowing it was safest for him, but he couldn't help but feel a tad down about it as well. It would be the first time since he learned he was a Wizard that he wouldn't be returning to school. Hogwarts was more his home than anything else ever had been, so it was like saying goodbye before moving.
A glance over at Severus told him, though the man was relieved, it appeared like there were similar feelings about it as well. He wasn't completely sure about the why behind that, but assumed it was because he had spent so much time there, it probably felt like home as well. That he could understand. Both of them were highly relieved to not be pulled into the middle of so much that was going on and were safe, but there were pangs of longing there.
Shaking his head and petting Kaliya, who had slithered into his lap as he poked at his food, he asked, “What are the plans for today?” He assumed it was similar to most, of course, with school work and other projects. It was just something he wanted to know, nothing more, so he could adjust. As Lucius and Severus were still working on various projects, like the mirrors, they were sliding that into times between lessons. That and all of them were taking extra time to enjoy the good weather while it was still around. As they wouldn't have that much longer, they wanted to take advantage while they could.
“We're taking another day off,” Lucius smirked after taking a sip of his tea. “By now, from what we've calculated, you're far ahead of those in your class. In fact, from what we've figured out, you're right where they should be about winter break. So, a few days off here and there won't matter. What we're going to do is the traditional feast tonight for tea and then press on.” After discussing it, he and Severus thought it was a good idea to give Harry the traditional feast and make it just as lavish. There were bound to be some issues with missing going back to the castle. Not to mention it would probably make the two of them feel better as well.
Severus, though he hated teaching and what Albus did, thought of the castle as his home. Though Harry didn't know it, Severus' home situation when growing up was similar to his, thus making that castle feel more like home than his real one ever did. As he had been there for so long, it was an issue. There were some being in the doldrums over not going back, despite how much he hated teaching. When it came to himself, there were issues as well.
Since concocting this scheme, he had dealt with the realization that he and Narcissa were divorced. Not to mention that she and his son were almost halfway across the world. For the first time since Draco started school, he wouldn't be taking his son to see him off to school. He wouldn't know how he was fairing. He couldn't write to him, none of that. In that realization, there was plenty of hurt. It couldn't be helped, of course, and was for the best, but that didn't stop what he was feeling. So, the feast tonight, what he was seeing as pressing on with life and this being the start, was for more than Harry.
Leaning back, sipping at his tea, Severus added, jumping in for the first time, “We also thought it was a good day for you to talk to Black. I'm sure that he and Lupin aren't as busy as normal, what with all that has to be going on to ensure the safety of the students. He also won't be called out as much as normal as I'm sure the focus is on the students and the castle.” He assumed, like Lucius, that there was a mild bout of the blues over Harry not getting to go back, despite how happy he was here. This would help. Black could work wonders with Harry when it came to making him feeling better, so it was their thought to let the man have at it.
Grinning a bit, shoving his plate away, Harry nodded. “I think I'll do that, if he isn't busy. Of course, I'll check to see if there is anything we need to know as well.” The thought of spending the day with Sirius was one he liked. He always adored talking with him, and it didn't matter about what. He always felt better when he did that.
“Tonight, after we have the feast, the three of us are going to sit down and go over where we are with you, so we all know, then discuss the classes we've been touching on. If there are some, such as Runes or Arithmancy, you don't like, we'll drop them. With all the time we have to work with you, we can pick up as much as you like. Though, at this point, we want to focus more on some of the defensive work. While we don't plan to get drawn into this mess, we want you prepared. So, we're going to cut back on areas we know you're far ahead with and work in other bits we think you'll need,” Severus explained. Seeing a nod, he told him, “Don't be afraid to tell us you don't like something. If you don't, and it's not required, we have no problem with dropping it.”
“I can tell you now that Arithmancy needs to go,” Harry chuckled, grinning sheepishly. Shaking his head, he admitted, “I'm having too much of a problem with the math part and it's making me mental. Runes are fine and it's not a problem there.”
“I assumed that one would go,” Lucius told him, looking amused. “It was easy to tell you were struggling. No worries, Harry. You now know the basics, something that can only help you later on.”
“We also need to cover, at some point, what career path you want to take. If we calculate where you are correctly, something we hope to shore up tonight, we figure you'll be through this year's coursework by winter break. Which means we need to press on to gear classes towards what path you want to pursue.”
Taking that in, Harry gave a slow nod, not sure what was out there, really. It would be interesting to see the options. Brow furrowed, he thought over what he knew was coming this year then asked, “What about OWLs? How am I going to take those? Well, provided I'm still here, that is.”
Looking at Severus, who was glancing back, Lucius sighed then admitted, “We don't know, Harry. That's something, as the time draws closer, we're going to have to figure out. Normally, the procedure for those being homeschooled is to go to the Ministry and take them. At this point, it's not an option, as you well know. It's nothing to fret over. We'll figure it out. After all, we have the whole school term to do so.”
Nodding, understanding that, Harry wasn't overly concerned yet. There were far more pressing matters all of them had to deal with before that became one. Continuing on, he began asking about what they planned to do when he got caught up.

Draped over Severus' shoulders, watching what the man was doing, Kaliya was fascinated by how he could so easily organize a complex area. What he was doing was streamlining and figuring out a class schedule for Harry. It wasn't complete, of course, as they needed Harry's input for some of it to see what he wanted to drop or add, but the basics were going in with times, what they needed to cover, all of it. As Harry was upstairs talking to his godfather, he was down here trying to get a feel for Severus' leanings on some matters.
Chuckling as Severus switched some areas around, adjusting the times for Defense, he observed, “You are ever so good at this, Severus. I do suppose that it comes from doing it in school for so long, but you are quite efficient and organized at it.”
Smirking at that, Severus reached up and gave the snake a rub on the head. “While I'm only used to juggling schedules for the one class, Potions, divided up among the seven years, it's translated into this. I will admit, despite all we're working on with Harry, it's far easier as we don't have to worry about conflicting schedules with so much. Some areas he teaches himself, other than us answering questions if he has them, like Care. Others we need to spend more time with, such as Defense and Dueling. Those are the greatest concern at this juncture. Everything else we do fine with. While there are some he struggles with more than others, for the most part, once we show him what we're doing, he manages just fine. Like what he's working on with the dog.”
Understanding what he meant, Kaliya said, “Harry does seem to do well with the two of you teaching him. I'm no expert on this, mind you, but he seems to catch on quickly.”
“He's the kind that does better one on one,” Severus admitted, leaning back with a sigh as he looked at what he had done so far. “Part of that has to do with how he goes about learning. We've adjusted in a way we normally couldn't in a classroom situation to take into account what he responds to better. Another part is that he's not being pulled in so many directions by distractions, like he was in the castle. That's helped immeasurably when it comes to his confidence. He's not as quick at picking up some areas as one of his friend's is, but he's no slouch, either. Which is good. It also helps we're focusing on the areas he does excel at most; defense. The rest—he's doing fine and will be far beyond where they are very quickly. Lucius estimates we'll be done with this year's coursework by the time of winter break. Looking at this, I think sooner, honestly, provided he doesn't run into a problem somewhere that stalls us.”
“That is very good,” the snake said, pleased that Harry seemed to be doing so well. “He likes learning from the two of you. From what he told me, its like working with friends.” As he imparted that, he began to focus on the bond with Severus. It wasn't where he wanted to go yet to get a real feel for what was there, but he could use it to hone in on what signals came from it.
“I can safely say, I enjoy teaching him more than any other student I've ever had,” Severus admitted with a pleased smirk. “Lucius, too, enjoys it. He's never taught, of course, but he is good at getting across what is required. In some cases, better than I am.”
Giving Severus a friendly squeeze, Kaliya told him, “Both of you are. You do quite well with him. I've seen plenty of times how you include him learning about bits you're also looking up and don't understand.” Quietly, he added, focusing on what he was feeling from the bondmark on Severus, “I think you all enjoy each other's company quite a lot and work well together.”
“We do, on both parts,” Severus nodded, smirking slightly. Quietly, he added, “Both are good friends, though in different ways. That helps tremendously.”
“It does, yes. That you can easily tell,” Kaliya told him. What the snake was focusing on more was what he was getting through that mark. The friendship was there, of course, that he could feel as it bound them more closely together, all four of them. There was more, though. An attraction that went beyond friendship with both of the others in this house. And it was strong, very strong. What else he felt, when it came to one end of the bond, the one he assumed that was related to Harry, was guilt and insecurity. Those he didn't understand, well, one of them. The insecurity he did, to an extent, as that was the same with Harry. It seemed like so many humans suffered from that when it came to their sexuality and attractions. After all, he had heard about such matters when Harry discussed his like of the same sex. This was good, though, and something he could work with. If the same attraction was there with Lucius, he and Nagini could give them a nudge, he thought. It would just take some work, nothing more than that. Now he had to find out Lucius' thoughts on the matter. It was his assumption they were the same. If they were, there were plans to make.

Holed up in the small sun room at the back of the manor, somewhere the two snakes like to visit because of the heat, Nagini and Kaliya were stretched out on a large heated rock the elves had put in there for them. While basking in the heat of the rock and room, they were talking.
“I managed to get with both Lucius and Severus today then did as you suggested and worked with the bond there. I do believe that all three are attracted to each other, Nagini. Though they are unwilling to say anything to the others, it appears it's there.” Kaliya explained to his companion.
“That is good,” Nagini told him with a contented hiss. “What do we do now, though? You said there is reluctance to admit it.”
“I think, maybe, I can push part of it with the bond. It won't be against their will, of course, as I would never do that, but it can nudge it in that direction. I think that's the reason that bond is so strong between them. It was already there when I created it. Since then, it's grown. The trust that is there between them also helped increase its strength. That's good.” Kaliya explained.
“It is and can only help,” Nagini said. Then she circled back to something she already said, “How do we push it, though? I'm not sure on that matter. We can't come out and say anything as some of it was told in confidence.”
“That I don't know,” Kaliya admitted. “I think we need to work on figuring out where the reluctance comes from when it deals with all three of them. If it's for the same reasons, or close to it, we can deal accordingly then press on and see if we can push them together in some way. I don't know. Until we know why, I won't hazard to guess what might work.”
“I think we can start there,” Nagini told him after thinking it over. “I'll work on Lucius, as I spend so much time with him. You take on Harry. I also think that you need to try with Severus, as you're better at talking with him.”
“I'll do both,” Kaliya assured her. “Harry will be the easiest. I can usually get it out of him. It's Severus that is the tricky matter. Let me see what I can manage then we'll work out how to get the three of them together. That should be the easier part.”
“Oh, I don't know,” Nagini told him with a hissy chuckle. “They are plenty stubborn. All of them. It's going to end up as tricky as the rest.”
“Very true,” Kaliya admitted with a chuckle of his own. “However, I'm well acquainted with their stubborn streaks and think we can plan around those. Let's see what I can do once we find out some information. That we need to tend to fast as it might be the hardest part to get out of them. I do believe we need to stick closer to them than we have been. There are times, like at night, when we leave them alone for long periods of time. Perhaps checking on them is in order to see what goes on. Generally, they are asleep, but we don't know.”
“That we can do, easily,” Nagini assured him, planning to do just that. She did notice lately that when she came back there were odd areas about Lucius that weren't there before she left, such as increases in heart rates and body temperature. That might be a clue.
Letting out a contented hissy sigh at the heat, Kaliya told her, “I think the three deserve happiness and they can get it with each other. It's just going to take work, nothing more. We're up to the task, though. Yes, this will be good for them.” Then he began talking over plans of what to do with her, trying to formulate something that they could use. Humans were too complicated to do the normal with, so they had to be covert. That was something they could easily do.

Chuckling at the mass of sweets that came out of the tiny box Sirius had mailed to him, Harry shook his head then grabbed a Chocolate Frog. Unable to help himself, he grinned as he opened it then bit the head off the thing. “Thanks,” he said, looking up at the mirror to see Sirius grinning at him. Somehow, this made him feel a bit better as it was normal on September first.
“I thought you might like those,” Sirius grinned at him. “It's not the same, of course, but an Opening Feast isn't the same without stuffing yourself full of candy before you start.” Looking a little sad himself, he added, “I figured you had a little bout of the blues going over not being able to be with your friends today and assumed this would help a little.”
“I did and it does,” Harry admitted, smiling at his godfather. “It's not the same, of course, but it feels like this is normal.” Shaking his head, he told him, “I get why I can't go back and want to stay right where I am for that reason, it doesn't mean I don't miss it though.” Grinning just a tiny bit again, he added, “Blimey, so much has changed in just one summer. I thought nothing could top the summer I learned I was a wizard, but I was wrong.” Thinking it over, he added, “This is better, in some ways. I feel like everything—well, it's clearer than it's ever been and I'm safer.”
“You are, on both counts,” Sirius assured him, settling back into a more comfortable position. “We don't know everything going on yet or what might come of some of it, but it's definitely better than what it was. We just have to keep it moving in the right direction and spinning the rest in circles, nothing more than that.”
“We'll leave that up to you lot,” Harry laughed, scrounging in the pile on the bed for a Cauldron Cake. Sobering up, he asked, “Anything so far on what we can do to keep Severus and Lucius out of trouble? I know that's not needed right now, as there is plenty else to worry about, but it bothers me.”
“Remus and I are going to see what we can find. This is one we can't ask anyone even covertly, so we have to go it alone. The only thing we both can come up with has to do with marriage and spousal privilege. That we don't think would work here. It would if you were bonded, but you're not. If that was the case, you couldn't be asked anything about them and could keep it all to yourself. Let's see what else we can find. It's just going to take a backseat to the rest of the nightmare we're working with. We'll do some hunting, though, don't worry. Those two have done enough to keep you safe and away from this nightmare that we're going to do all we can to make damned sure we do the same for them when this ends. I don't care what we have to pull out.”
“Good,” Harry told him with a smile. Changing topics again, he asked, “Anything new we need to know about?”
“Nothing,” Sirius sighed. “Albus is running in circles, which is good. The rest are so divided by all we have to do that I don't see too many getting anywhere beyond us doing what we can for protection. The only thing that might fall into that is that we've got a better and more effective spell for detecting Horcruxes. Albus found that and passed it along. We've sent it on to those working on that part of the mess and the two of us are going to work on perfecting it. What good it's going to do, we don't know. We'll see. Until we get a hint of where to look for the damned things, Remus and I don't see how it's much use, though it's good to have.”
“Lucius said he'll keep working with Nagini and see what she can give us, but don't hold your breath there. We're not sure how much she knows on it or if it'll help.” Harry shrugged, sprawling out on the bed to eat his sweets.
“We'll get it down, don't worry. I think we'll pass it along as well, though I doubt it's going to do any of you any good either. We'll see.” Sirius sighed. Changing topics himself, he asked, “So, what are you lot planning for? Anything new?”
Talking to Sirius about the bit with his schooling, Harry explained what they were working out, happy to just talk to his godfather for a while. As Sirius said it was a day that they didn't expect company since most were busy, they had plenty of time, something they didn't usually get.

Standing not far from the train station in Hogsmeade, Voldemort watched, making sure that the ward they had up was as strong as he could get it. This was going to be the biggest overt strike they had made so far, aside from the breakout, and he wanted it to be perfect. From what he knew, Harry Potter wasn't on the train. That wasn't expected, of course, as no one knew where he was, but he had hoped the boy would show up. Oh well, he had other plans.
Looking over his shoulder as he heard the train from far off, he hissed, “Remember; leave the students alone. We take on the Aurors and anyone else there to protect them. Do as much damage as you can. This is just to make it clear we're back, nothing more. We do no more. Once we've done damage, we leave. Make sure to watch for my signal.” Hearing the affirmations, he fingered his wand, waiting. This would be perfect and it would be clear to all that he was back. That's all he wanted. If they could get rid of some Aurors and Order members, that would only be a bonus.
Standing there, body tense, he gave an evil grin as the train pulled into the station then stopped. Waiting until the students began piling off, he raised his hand then dropped it. It was time. The attack would begin.
- 47
- 48
- 49
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Shades of Grey