Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

À Tout le Monde (Set Me Free)	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Threesomes/Moresomes Views: 74217 -:- Recommendations : 5 -:- Currently Reading : 10
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and make no money off this work of fanfiction.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
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Chapter 5

Letting loose of the elf's hand that brought him through the wards, Arthur was apprehensive. This was the first time he was going to talk to Remus since Harry and Sirius came back through the Veil and he wasn't sure what to expect when it came to that. Of course, as promised, Albus had come up with a list of questions for him to give him a guide, but he still wasn't sure what to do or even how to go about leading into those. He supposed that he'd have to see where this headed. All he knew right now was that Remus said he would explain part of what was going on. Even part was going to help here, as there was chaos when it came to figuring out so much and how it affected the war.
Staying put as the elf instructed while the creature went to fetch 'Master Remus', as she called him, Arthur looked around. It was then he was slightly taken aback. Oh, it was the front entryway of Grimmauld Place, no doubt there, it was just very different from what it had been just a little over a year ago. The troll leg was gone as was the dark foreboding feel of it. Instead, it was better lit, painted a color to make it less gloomy and very clean. Gazing around, what he could see elsewhere also showed that other areas appeared to have received the same treatment. Strange! Though he wanted to go exploring to see what else was changed, he didn't. He would wait for Remus and go from there.
Looking up when he heard footsteps approaching, he was slightly startled to see the way Remus looked. For as long as he could remember, the man appeared tired, ill and thin, not to mention wearing worn out clothing as his finances weren't the best. This—Remus looked wonderful. Not only was he in a very nice dressing gown and, from what he could see, very nice slacks, but he looked to be a healthy weight for his size without the tired look that had been there for so long. Smiling, he nodded to him, then whispered, “Hello, Remus.”
“Hello, Arthur,” Remus answered back in a normal voice. “No need to keep your voice down. The painting is gone. So there's no fear of setting off the shrieking.” Beckoning him to follow, he said, “We'll be in the room where the tapestry used to be.”
Trailing along, Arthur gazed around. It appeared everything had been cleaned and decorated. It was much brighter and more welcoming than in the past. Even that dark tainted feel that the house seemed to teem with was gone. The colors were of the neutral sort, though had more of a masculine feel to it. Nodding, he said, “This looks oh so much better than it did.”
“Yes, it does,” Remus told him with a smile, ushering him into what was now a small sitting room. “I couldn't stand it the way it was, so I spent the last year decorating.” Taking a seat on the small settee while Arthur sat across from him, Remus sent the elf for some refreshments.
Looking around while the tea was served, Arthur asked, “Where are Harry and Sirius?”

“They're taking a nap at the moment. They'll join us when they wake up, after getting a shower,” Remus explained. Looking at the man, he said, “I want to make a couple of things clear before I start explaining what happened.” Seeing Arthur nod, he pressed on, “First and foremost is I'm not going to explain everything. There are parts I'm going to leave out for various reasons, mostly to protect ourselves, as some of the information, if it gets out, can harm or be used against us in various ways. Others, it's because of other reasons. I'll explain most of it to where you'll understand what happened, but not all.” Seeing the man give another nod, he pressed on, “Next is something everyone should know and I shouldn't have to remind them, but I have a feeling we're going to have to, multiple times, in the future; Sirius and I would never do anything to harm Harry. Ever. Some of what you might see for a time may be disturbing and odd, but keep that in mind. We wouldn't hurt him any more than you would harm your own children.”
“Of course not,” Arthur told him firmly. “We all know that, Remus.” Though he was worried about the latter part of it, wondering what that could be.
“For now, its best we only deal with you on many matters. You're one that's not going to set off Sirius' protection instincts when it comes to the two of us the way others may. In the future, as the two settle, we can deal with more. Before you go, I'll set the wards to allow you in. At the moment, its best you send a message before you come over to ensure you don't walk in on something you don't want to see. That will become clearer as we talk. Also, before you go, Sirius is going to bind Kreacher to you. He's made it very clear to the elf that one hint of what he used to pull and he goes into the hands of the Ministry. We think that's enough to ensure he behaves. We thought you could use not only the helping hand, but also make certain that what he knows is protected.”
“We can,” Arthur told him firmly. “Molly always needs some help with many things. As long as he doesn't cause problems, we won't have issues there. And I'll make sure I send an owl before coming over.”
“I'm going to try to explain this the best I can, but it might be confusing. If you don't understand and it's an area I'm willing to explain, ask then I'll try to get it across in a better way.” Seeing the man nod, Remus sighed then pressed on, “To truly understand what happened, we have to go way back.”
“The day before he and Lily went into hiding, James had Sirius and myself come over. As any parent out there would do, James was putting everything in place to not only protect the two of them, but Harry. He was well aware of the danger they were in and that they might not make it out alive, so if the worst happened, he wanted his son protected the best he could manage. What he came up with was an ancient protection spell.” Grabbing a book on the end table, he opened it to the place that was bookmarked then handed it over. “That's the one he performed. Sirius was the primary and I was the secondary in it if something happened to Sirius.” Smiling a little, he said, softly, “And, yes, you can keep it.”
Quickly reading through what was there, Arthur said, “It's something simple enough and looks like it would work well. How is this related?” Sitting the book aside, he planned to take it with him when he left. Albus would definitely want to see it.
“James made a mistake with it,” Remus told him softly, leaning back. With a sigh, he said, “We didn't know until years later that he did. The reaction we saw was not what is explained in that book, something we didn't know at the time. And, no, I'm not going to tell that part. That's something we're going to keep to ourselves.” Pressing on before Arthur could ask why, he said, “It wasn't until Harry's first year at Hogwarts that the first signs of what James had done began to show. At first, it was a vague uneasiness in both Sirius and myself that was showing. I wasn't sure what it was, nor was Sirius. From talking it out since then, we know that it was the times Harry was encountering He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, though not in a way he was in serious danger. Then there was a stronger feeling when Harry actually faced him at the end of the year. At the time, both of us attributed it to something else. Sirius thought it was just being in Azkaban. I thought it related to other matters. It wasn't until Harry's second year that we realized that what it related to was that spell. We thought it was just setting it off because Harry was in danger. And he was, as we all know. We can actually pinpoint when he was in that chamber and the basilisk bit him. That sent out something that had both of us in a panic. I wasn't sure what to do or what was even causing it. Sirius said he about went mental because he knew that Harry was in danger of dying and the spell was pulling at him to go save him. Even worse, causing a more severe reaction, was the fact neither of us could do anything. I couldn't just show up at the school and try to help. Sirius—that was obvious why he couldn't.”
“How clear were the signals there?” Arthur asked, curious. “And how did you know?”
“Crystal clear. The basilisk part was about as clear as you could get. Harry was bitten and starting to die until Fawkes got to him. It caused a physical pain as well as an emotional one, setting off that instinct to go protect him. I believe you could compare it to what we've heard described as a mother's instinct that tells her that her child's in danger.” Remus told him softly. “Both of us can assure you that wasn't at all pleasant.”
Shaking his head, Arthur asked, glancing at the book, “Is that what it was supposed to do?”
“It was,” Remus told him with a firm nod. “At least from all we've found on it, beyond what is in that book. If the reaction had stayed there, we wouldn't have had a problem. It didn't, though.” Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands. Looking at Arthur, he said, “It wasn't until the mess with Sirius played out at Hogwarts that we began to get the first inkling that there was something beyond that. It all went fine for what it was. Sirius got safely away, though he didn't leave the country right away the way he told everyone. Instead, he and I met up for a few days. I'm going to add something here that only James and Lily knew before they died; Sirius and I have been in a relationship since school. I knew, even without that spell applied to him, something that would have not allowed him to do anything to harm Harry, that he never would have betrayed James and Lily. Because of what happened and my position, there was nothing I could do to clear him. We spent a few days together, alone, after he left Hogwarts, before exiting the country. We kept in contact after that. It was then that both of us, though we didn't talk about it at the time, began experiencing some very odd reactions. We know now it was brought on by the fact that we met Harry for the first time since that night James did the spell. It set off the part of the spell that James made the mistake on.”
Stopping, Remus looked down and sighed. This part was going to be the worst to explain of all of it. Quietly, he said, not looking up, “I want you to keep in mind who you're talking to when we go over this, alright? And what I mentioned about how we would never hurt Harry.” Not waiting for a confirmation, he pressed on, “At first, there was a pull to be around Harry. That we could attribute to the fact that he was in more danger, especially as the summer stretched on, what with all that happened at the World Cup and the visions. Sirius and I discussed that in letters, assuming it was the spell and what James wanted from it. However, there were parts we didn't discuss that were cropping up in both of us. At the time, Sirius attributed it on his end to being around the Dementors in Azkaban and all he went through there, though it was something that caused him a great deal of problems. On my end, I didn't know where it came from. Both of us, I can assure you, were completely horrified by it. We didn't find out until later on that year that Harry was experiencing the same thing. It was the kind of matter you would never discuss with anyone, ever.”
Intrigued, Arthur asked, “What kind?” It didn't sound good, but he felt it was something he had to pass on.
Not looking up, Remus said, softly, “The first stirrings of something sexual. And if you don't think both of us were horrified, you're sadly mistaken. I had no idea what to do about it and was sick with myself. Sirius, I found out later, was drinking heavily, just unable to handle it. Harry was worse. He had no idea where it was coming from. On top of that, he was having another reaction that neither of us were and it was aggravating what was there. By now, we know what caused it and it was two-fold.”
“Oh Merlin,” Arthur said, tone strangled, face going pale. He was about to ask some questions when Remus pressed on.
“As I said, Sirius and I hadn't discussed it. There was also no way that Harry was going to include what he was dealing with in his letters to Sirius. On top of that was all Harry was starting to go through at school, with the visions and other things. That compounded a problem that was already there.” Remus sighed, shaking his head. “When Sirius finally came back into the country to be there for Harry, we began meeting up again. After Harry's name came out of that Goblet, things grew worse. Sirius was in Hogsmeade, staying in that cave, so I met him there on regular basis. One night, while really drunk, the only way he had at that time to deal with all the hell he was going through with not only this, but being on the run and concern over what was going on, he confessed to me what he was dealing with. It was then that I realized that it was almost identical to what I was experiencing. That started me looking into what might be going on and thinking of that spell, as that's the only thing either of us could come up with as to what might have caused it. It was then I found that odd reaction. At that point, we knew something had gone wrong, but not what or the reaction that could come from it.” Remus explained, leaning back, though still looking down.
Nodding, Arthur waited, still feeling slightly ill over some of this, though assuming that it would be explained shortly.
“At that juncture, while we were starting to realize that something was really wrong, came the part with Harry. Up until this point, Harry's only contact was with Sirius. You need to remember what was going on at that time. Between that tournament, the bit with Ron and the falling out, half the school thinking Harry had put his name in that cup, then the hate campaign that came with that, visions, stress, what was in the papers, all of that, and Harry was having a hard time anyway in dealing with what was thrown at him. Then you added this onto it. By that juncture, Harry was about at the point of completely falling apart and doing something very foolish. Right after the ball, Harry was at the end of what he could take.”
“Late, a night or two after the ball, he sent off a letter to Sirius confessing everything he was feeling then went up to the Astronomy tower fully planning to jump off because he just couldn't take anymore. Luckily, Sirius got the letter and was close by, managing to get there before he did that. Harry was right on the edge when Sirius showed up and Harry saw him. Sirius managed to talk him down, then all but dragged him into the Shrieking Shack while sending for me. We knew something was wrong at that point and were working to find it. He managed to get hold of Minerva and, as she can easily confirm, got permission for the three of us to spend the weekend in the Shrieking Shack together. The way he put it to her made it sound like it was all that was going on was pushing Harry to the brink.” Remus sighed, rubbing a hand over his face, shivering at remembering that.
Looking at Remus, Arthur asked, tone quivering slightly, “How bad was it? I mean, beyond the obvious. That—we had no idea how bad it was. Everything we heard at the time made it sound like Harry was doing about normal, aside from some added stress. Nothing, anywhere, indicated there was a real problem.”
“It was about as bad as it could get,” Remus told him honestly, glancing in his direction. “Harry was in bad shape. What was going on in the school was bad enough. Then there were the sexualized feelings directed towards Sirius and myself. On top of that, there was something that he was experiencing that we weren't, making it even worse on him.” Before the man could ask, he said, “At the time we didn't know what it was, but we do now.”
“I'm not sure if you remember or heard, but Harry had a small crush on Cho Chang at that point. It wasn't something anyone would have thought off as he was at that age and it's normal. However, it was triggering part of that spell and making an already horrible situation even worse, causing a severe reaction in him. We now know the reaction and what it was, but didn't then. In fact, when he mentioned the physical and mental pain he was getting every time he thought about someone other than Sirius or myself in that way, we didn't know what it was. It was something that just added to the strangeness that was going on. Anyway—that weekend we laid out that we were having the same problems he was, aside from that reaction. We also revealed our relationship to him. Then we talked about the spell James cast on us as well as the fact that we thought it was all related. That did help Harry's end as he knew there was something there causing it. It also meant that he had two people to talk to about it so he didn't think he was going completely mental, something he was sure he was.”
Shaking his head, Arthur didn't know what to say. It sounded bad, that's for sure, and part of it was very uncomfortable to deal with. He waited to see what was said next as he had no idea what questions to ask.
“After that, Sirius stuck closer to the school and Harry had someone to talk to about what was going on. That helped, more than anyone could imagine. Harry also tried to back away from the crush and all girls, trying to hold off the reaction from that. It didn't work, honestly, as he was starting to go through adolescence and such things come with that. It did help that he told Sirius about those instances and it seemed to calm the reaction when Sirius assured him it was fine. I do want to make very clear here that nothing at all sexual took place, either overt, covert or a discussion of it beyond what I just said or the general area like that, such as Harry talking about what he was feeling.” Remus told him firmly. “What was there we couldn’t stop, but it never, ever, ventured even close to something like that.” Seeing Arthur nod, looking slightly relieved, he pressed on, “While Sirius stuck close to Hogwarts, I went back to where I was staying then began looking into the spell to see what in Merlin's name happened and what it morphed into. It wasn't until just after the mess at the end of the year that I found it,” Remus told him softly. Shaking his head, he sighed then said, “And it was bad.”
Taking a sip of his tea, Remus pressed on, voice quiet, “I'm not sure how much you know about history and laws when it came to the topic of arranged marriages in the past. I, myself, didn't know much going in when I was doing this research. Now I know a good amount.”
“Somewhere around the time Hogwarts was founded, there was a push in our world to do away with laws pertaining to some arranged marriages. Though those are still allowed now and happen once in a while, the laws they wanted to get rid of were the ones that basically enslaved the woman to someone because of a contract arranged when they were still an infant. From what I read, many of these had to do with treaties among families to stop feuds, gain money and things like that. The laws went into place, however, it didn't stop them. Instead, what they did was draw up contracts, much the way some do now, which guaranteed the marriage. What they also did was a spell to ensure that the woman was basically a slave of the man, forcing her to do his bidding and obey. It also had a spell that ensured that she wouldn't ever cheat or run away. On the man's end, to stop the deaths of these women, it was put in place that they were to protect them. The spells were done when the woman was an infant, whether the man was or not, but waited to manifest when they hit adolescence, a time when they were considered a legal adult at that period. I was horrified to find books full of these spells. Thankfully, almost all of them are now illegal, having been outlawed over the years. Unfortunately for us, whatever mistake James made with that spell, and we still aren't sure what it was he did, the only thing we can think of was intent on his end to protect Harry the best he could, then how he had our hands placed, morphed that spell into one of the ones I'm talking about. And that's where the problem came in.”
“It took me time, but I found the exact spell.” Stopping, he looked at Arthur and said, “I'm not going to give the name of it for various reasons. I will say, though, that there is no reversal on it. The only chance we had at reversing it was before Harry started into adolescence. By the time he met us, it was too late. There was nothing we could do to stop or reverse it. In fact, it was just going to grow worse.” Stopping, he handed over the readings they had managed to get to show proof of the spell, though not naming it, and the actions it caused.
Looking at Remus after reading the paper, Arthur shook his head, eyes wide. “Oh, Merlin, no,” he muttered. As he actually knew a little about those kind of spells, being a pureblood, he knew just what the man was talking about and felt sick.
“Yes,” Remus sighed, shaking his head. Reaching up, he ran his fingers through his hair then said, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees again, “What we were facing was basically having Harry as a slave bound to us, someone that had no choice in anything and would be forced to do whatever we ordered. That was sickening. However, we had one hope. Harry's age gave us that. We couldn't reverse or undo the spell, but we thought we could add one to it to give Harry free will. It was just going to take some digging to find one of the compatible spells that were sometimes used with the one that was done. That I went to work on. When Sirius opened Grimmauld Place, the two of us were able to be together and both of us went to work on this, desperate to find something to stop what was quickly solidifying as Harry pushed through adolescence. We found a few, but none of them were anything we wanted, just something that would bind him closer to us. That we didn't need. Then the rub came in that as Harry grew older, the spell was going to push for completion. You need to consider that even as young as he was, fourteen at the time, during the era when these spells were crafted, he was considered an adult and of the age to marry. That didn't help anything here as it was going to push for us to fulfill the needs of the spell because Harry was now biologically capable of performing the acts of an adult. And we were just disgusted by that, trust me.”
Pressing on, he said with a sigh, “Sirius and I were desperately trying to find something to work with the situation as we had no idea how long we had before Harry finished adolescence as defined by the times that spell was crafted in. We know what we call the end of it now, but that's not the same as what they called it in the past. There was also the problem of our growing reaction to what was on our end. Mine wasn't nearly as bad as Sirius' because James made him the primary, what most would call the dominant, in the relationship. Sirius, on a good day, as I'm sure you know, can be rather impulsive. That hasn't changed much over the years. This was making it worse. The drive to protect not only Harry, but myself, was becoming overwhelming, the same with the other part of the spell as it was trying to get us to do what was required for it.”
“While looking, we were trying to deal with what was there. I'll reveal now that we did something to help no one knew about at the time; Sirius and I would go to Little Whinging a couple of days a week to spend time with Harry. That eased the suffering on all our ends. We knew who to watch out for as we knew the schedules of those assigned to keep an eye on Harry, then could adjust accordingly what to do. During those visits we not only kept Harry apprised of what we were doing to try to help, but aided in keeping him from falling apart. He was, as you could guess, 'freaking out', as he put it, over the ramifications of what was coming. That didn't help matters any at all. Sirius and I were having big problems with the whole issue, but at least had age and experience to help cope. Harry didn't have that, something that didn't help anything.”
“Why didn't you say something to one of us?” Arthur asked quietly, tone quivering slightly. Shaking his head, he added, “We could have helped in some way. I don't know how, but something could have been done to make this easier.” After saying that, he began to think back over that time, wondering what were the signs of this, but finding nothing.
“What would any of you have said if Sirius or I had come to you and laid part of this out? Parts of it people would have listened to and tried to help with. The minute we came across with the part about it being sexual in some ways, any help we might have gotten would have stopped. As we were horrified by that ourselves, we knew the reactions from others would be worse. Especially considering Harry's age. Think about it, Arthur, Ron is the same age as Harry. What would you have thought? We won't even talk about Molly's reaction. Other's wouldn't be any better. And there was nothing, anywhere, anyone could have done. We won't even go into the fact that Sirius was in a precarious position anyway. Then there was the fear that, even if we could get help, most, because of the reactions, would have kept Harry away from us in an effort to 'help'. That would have made everything worse and probably set off a reaction, though mostly in Sirius, but probably with myself as well, that would have made everything even worse. As it was, we were having serious problems with what was going on, especially Harry. That contact we did have was the only thing keeping us from going mental.”
Looking at Remus, Arthur thought that over then swallowed thickly. The man was right; that's what would have happened. Not only that, it would have completely divided the Order on what to do and how to handle it. Some would have understood, to a degree anyway, others wouldn't. Molly would have had kneazles and made matters worse. Shaking his head, he didn't know what to say.
“Exactly,” Remus said though the man hadn't uttered anything aloud. “We were trying, all we could do. And we had to keep it hidden. Then came the point where Harry arrived at Grimmauld Place.” Stopping, he sighed heavily and shook his head. Smoothing down his mustache, he said, “While, on one hand, it helped in many ways with us having closer contact, something that made parts easier, in others it made it worse, such as increasing that drive. There was also the fact that all of you were staying there, making it harder to have the contact we did want. To Sirius and I, it seemed like Molly was trying to keep Harry separated from Sirius with all she was doing. That didn't help anything at all, making what he was dealing with worse. After the first couple of days, while she was working with the kids in other parts of the house, Sirius went and put a spell on the room Harry and Ron were sharing. It was going to allow Harry to slip out at night with no one the wiser, making it appear he was still in there sleeping even if he wasn't. We didn't like going about it this way, but it was all we had to work with. Once he did that, Harry would go to Sirius' room and stay there. I would manage to slip in and join them. Of all the things we'd done to that point, it helped the most. It just didn't help our nerves with all we had to do to sneak around to accomplish it.”
“You have no idea how hard this was, Arthur,” Remus told him with a shake of his head. “It was maddening. We were being pulled by a spell we had no way of stopping and it wasn't something we did in the first place. With Harry there, it was making it worse. We won't even go into his age. There were times that all three of us thought about just ending it to stop it. We didn't ponder it seriously, of course, but the thought was there. One of the things we did know was that if one of us had done that, it would have killed the other two right along with them because of that spell. That's the way it was set up. It also brought on a whole other set of problems because of what was going on at the time, and still is to an extent. Which made finding something, somewhere, to fix this imperative.”
Looking down at the floor, Remus now pondered how to go about this. He was at the chunk of the explanation he had to skip many things to not only not reveal some of what they did and found, but other things that took place. After a couple of moments, hearing nothing from Arthur, he started. “We managed over the summer then put something in place for when Harry went to school. Sirius had mirrors he and James used in school when they were in separate detentions to communicate. We used those to stay in contact and talked most nights. Because of the close contact over the summer, the drive increased to be together. This wasn't the best way to go about what we had to, but it worked to stave off worse reactions. Then came that nightmare year for everyone. Umbridge, the visions, everything compounded to make matters worse. We planned for personal contact during Hogsmeade weekends to help. That didn't come about because of what was going on in the school. Over Christmas break, we managed again, but once Harry went back it was worse.” Sighing, he said, “Those damned lessons Albus set up—they were a nightmare. Harry had no chance in hell of learning what he needed. We knew that, but couldn't say anything because of what we knew of the why behind it, something we'd have to give up. The problem was that Harry had a lot to guard so Severus didn't find it. He was focused on that rather than learning. It made a bad situation worse is all it did because it was invoking a form of torture on Harry because he just couldn't put the focus into learning he needed to.”
Rubbing a hand over his face, looking at the floor, Arthur shook his head. This was sickening, though he didn't feel that way towards the man seated across from him. It was just the situation. All he kept envisioning was one of his own children going through this and how bad it would be. Considering the ages of his younger ones, that was far too easy to do for his comfort.
“Finally, we came up with a spell we could use to hold off the worst of the effects of the one that was there,” Remus told him softly. “It wasn’t the best and couldn't negate the worst, but it did the one thing we desperately needed; it gave Harry free will. Unfortunately, it was going to create even more complications than what was there once we did it, forcing us to hide even more than we were.” Leaning back and crossing his legs, Remus told him, honestly, “Now we're going to get to a part where I'm sure you're going to get uncomfortable about, Arthur. I'm warning you about that ahead of time.” Seeing the man nod, Remus sighed then pressed on. “Going in, I'm going to say I don't know how much you understand about the concept of dominance and submission when it comes to a relationship, and I don't just mean the most basic. So, I'll try to explain this the best I can.”
“The spell we found was based on that. It was similar to something like an animal pack in that there is an alpha. In this area, that was Sirius because of the way James had performed the spell. Nothing, anywhere, we did could change that. It was a role he was stuck with. And it was fine. It's something that's very suited to his personality when it comes to such things. In this case, despite the position Harry was in from the spell, we could wiggle it to where it was either him or I that became the submissive. By that, I mean, it was a designation of a role in the 'pack dynamics', nothing more. You always had the power to say no to something and could stop whatever was going on. It didn't take away your free will in any way, it was just the designation and meant that Sirius would probably be more protective of you because it was the ultimate of you were 'his', being the yin to his yang. That wasn't in just a sexual way, but also in most others. And it's not because you're weak. That has nothing at all to do with it. In the end, after much debate, some of it heated, Harry took on that role. It would work because it would fulfill most of the spell while just giving us some leverage to work with the troublesome areas that were causing the worst of the issues and allow us to mold those into something we could all deal with while still adhering to the most basic precepts of the original spell.”
Though not up on so much when it came to what he saw as 'fringe' lifestyles, Arthur knew enough to understand what Remus was saying. Quietly, shaking his head, trying not to let visions of some of what came to mind play out, he asked, “Why didn't you take that, Remus? If you had the chance, it should have been you, not Harry. He is so young. Why force him into this role?” This was the first part that was truly making him uncomfortable.
“I wanted to,” Remus told him bluntly, looking him in the eye. “In fact, when Sirius and I found the spell, both of us were of the opinion that it was me that would take on the role for various reasons. Not the least of which were I knew exactly what it meant and it could make things much easier than they were. It was Harry that argued the opposite. I won't get into his reasonings, as they are personal, but he made some very valid arguments. And the debate over who was going to do this was heated, devolving into more than one argument between Harry and me over it. In the end, he did win. I'm going to state, clearly, that Sirius and I, both, made it damned clear to him exactly what this meant and what it involves the way you would explain to any adult so he had a full scope of what it meant. In detail. We laid out everything we could think of to ensure he knew what he was getting into. He took it on anyway. It was entirely his choice and we agreed when we heard his reasons for it as they were something well thought out, having a valid base. It was his choice and we weren't going to overrule him on it as he had little enough choice in any of this mess to start with.”
“You're sure he understood? Completely? It wasn't just his need to help or do what he thought was right?” Arthur asked, not really sure what to say here.
“Damned sure,” Remus told him with a firm nod. “If we had any doubts at all about them, it wouldn't have gone forward. We made him lay them out, clearly, and tell us his thoughts on it before we'd even consider it. He did that without a problem. He also made points that Sirius and I hadn't considered on the matter. So, it's the way we went with it. And keep in mind what I said about he always has a choice here. He'll always be designated the submissive. That doesn't mean he can't act normally and voice opinions or do what he wants, this gives that part back, something the other spell would have taken away.”
“Understood,” Arthur said with a sigh and nod of his head. Though he didn't have as much experience at dealing with Harry as others did, even he knew the young man could be hard-headed when he wanted to be. If this was an area where he had put his foot down, there was going to be little that anyone could do to change his mind.
“I'm sure you remember that year, at spring break, Sirius actually really pressed to get Harry out of the school.” Seeing Arthur nod, leaning back and shifting around, Remus pressed on, “Part of it was factual; all those kids needed a break considering what was going on with Umbridge and the hell that was there. Another part was we needed to get this in place, fast. What was happening with the spell was becoming worse as it prodded us to complete what it wanted. We desperately needed something to stop that progression. In order to do that, we needed Harry here. That accomplished it. We did the spell the first night they were here. The collar and cuffs you saw on Harry when he came back?” Seeing Arthur nod, Remus explained, “Those were put on that night. We just hid them and the mark that came from the spell after that.” Stopping, he rolled up his sleeve and showed Arthur his own mark. Quietly, he said, “Don't touch it. That will set Sirius off. When he comes down, you can examine his.” Pointing to what was there, he explained what it was. Pressing on after dropping his sleeve, he said, “At the time, it was faded without the gold banding around it. It was noticeable though. What changed that I'll get to later.”
“While the spell was going to help, it wasn't going to solve all the issues and would create a few more of its own. The biggest problem we were going to have was for Harry and what had to do with 'behavior'. The spell we used was one that you could set perimeters for to force certain kinds of behavior for what you wanted. We didn't set those. In not setting them, it gives Harry complete free will. However, on the flip side, it also is going to cause him problems as he tries to adjust to what the spell wants and figure out, though he knows what we tell him, what's expected of him. That will work itself out over time. Right now, it's not a problem as we're alone. The issues are going to come, for him, when he's around other people until that spell settles enough for him to realize he can do what he wants and his 'dominant' won't be upset by him being himself. It's just going to take time to settle itself and Harry will then be the Harry all of you have always known. Just expect issues as he's trying to sort through that while following a spell that's not exactly sure what it's doing yet. It won't be anything dramatic, of course, but you'll notice the first few times. It'll take Sirius working with him to get over it. Right now, because Sirius is having his own issues with his end and it settling because of the bond solidifying, it's best we not put Harry in that position. That's the reason we only want to deal with you as you're not apt to cause a problem for him.”
Arthur was more than slightly lost by this point. He understood the basics of what was said, but the details were beyond him. The list of questions Albus provided wasn't going to be of any help either. None of them covered what he was hearing, though he was getting answers to the ones on that list. He decided to just let Remus talk. Once he was done here, he would go to Albus and let him see the memory then go from there as to what to do here and what to ask next time he came.
“Now I'm going to get into the most complicated part of what happened; how Sirius and Harry came back through the Veil. I'm also going to state, clearly, that this was not a suicide pact, no matter how it might sound to some. Nothing like that ever took place or was even discussed.” Seeing Arthur nod, looking intent, he said, “There was another part of this spell. It wasn't something applied, but was mentioned in the places we found it discussed. It had to do with solidifying the bond. What it talked about was something they called 'forever sealing'. As that's mentioned in many different spells that are a bonding type, it's not something that will help anyone trace what we did. And, once again, I’m going to say we're not giving up the spell we used. It's one, if we do, that has elements about it that can put us in serious danger. Now, what was mentioned was something about sealing the bond. It could be done in several ways, including something like a Ministry ceremony. In a blurb in several places, it mentioned something called 'death-pacts'. We all know, from History classes, those used to abound centuries ago to seal up something done. It was something that could be done with the ceremony, causing revival in seconds, or take time. The one talked about in this would take time. It was also something never, ever, considered here. Ever. I want that very clear. It was part we would ignore. However, we were realistic enough to know that the chances of Sirius or Harry dying were there with what was going on, especially Harry. What we decided was that Harry and Sirius would stick together like they had a sticking charm on them in such situations. If something did happen, the two had a shot at coming back if their bodies were left intact. They could pull from my end of the bond to manage it. As we weren't sure what could happen between the two spells if one of us died, we wanted to hold off even the possibility though would put that out there to give us a chance. If real death came, we were sure that all of us would follow soon. So, we did what we could.”
“Skipping forward a little, we're going to go to that battle and what happened.” Remus said, leaning forward again, looking intently at Arthur. Sighing, he shook his head then said, “Though Harry had a way to contact us, the fact that the vision that came involved Sirius was going to set off a chain of events that no one, nowhere, unless Sirius was right with Harry, could stop. It was setting off the reaction it did because of the two spells. Harry was set into a mode that meant he would do anything to protect Sirius because of that bond. He knew that it was a fake vision, of a sort, leaving a note in his trunk with some other things that told me that, but he couldn't stop it. Instead, he had to follow the pull. Then, the minute that Harry became involved, Sirius was, too. The fact that Harry was panicked and in danger meant Sirius was going to be there and nothing, nowhere, would stop him. However, once the two were there together, they did follow the plan and stuck close. And that's what brought about the trip through the Veil. When Bella hit Sirius with that spell, Harry clung to him, both of them going through the Veil. Because of that built-in part of the spell and me not going with them, they could come back, thankfully. The bond on my end was still active in the mark and I knew they could. It was going to take time, probably a year from all I read, before they had the power to pull themselves back. Even at the year mark it wasn't guaranteed they could manage it. It would depend on several things. However, they did. In doing that, they sealed that bond more and it's made it to where we can never be separated again.” Remus said softly, finishing all he was going to explain on that part.
Racking his memory of History class so long ago, Arthur vaguely remembered some mentions of 'death-pacts', usually to do with goblins and their battles, sealing them with another goblin or goblins to ensure better chances of coming out alive. Thinking it over, he said, tone strangled, “Oh, Merlin.” That was all he could think to utter.
“It's a mess, none of us will argue that,” Remus said softly. “We did all we could, Arthur. There was no stopping any of it. All we could do was give Harry what all of us have a right to. That we did. The other bits that came with it are just something we now have to work with. That's all. There's no evil intent here, no dark magic, nothing wrong in ways that can get us in trouble. We have the proof that's what happened, so it's not for some perverse pleasure to do what we want with Harry. It's just working with what we were presented with, nothing more.” Stopping, he looked up at the ceiling, brow furrowed, trying to decipher what he was getting. As this part was new, it was still a trial to work with. In a few seconds time, he realized what it was then nodded. Smiling, he said, “Harry and Sirius are awake. They should be down shortly. Any questions so far?”
“A ton of them,” Arthur told him with a mirthless chuckle and shake of his head. “I just don't even begin to know where to start to ask them is all. I—I'm at a loss here. I never expected to hear any of this and don't know what to do.” He admitted quietly.
“I know,” Remus told him softly. “We hid everything the best we could so no one had any idea of what was going on. There was also the fact that we had to hide changes that would have explained some areas. Harry—he's not what all of you think anymore. I know so many see him as naïve and that he doesn't understand some areas, but that's not true. He had to keep up that façade to not expose what was going on. You'll see something slightly different when it comes to him for a time. It'll just take some getting used to. There’s also the fact that the bond, because of the time apart, is pulling at us in many ways. That's part of the reason you need to owl before coming over. You don't want to see some of this, Arthur. It'll settle as time goes on, it's just going to be more pronounced for a time is all as we reconnect to make up for time apart. Other parts won't be so traumatizing. It'll just be something affectionate, though it may be shocking because of who is involved.”
“I understand,” Arthur told him softly, looking at him. Looking around the house, he asked, “Did you plan ahead of time for the worst? I mean, it appears that you had some kind of knowledge that it might come, especially since you were the only one that could get in.”
“We did what most would in times like this; we prepared. Sirius and Harry made sure I was well provided for if something happened, as a way to take care of me,” Remus told him gently. “There was nothing strange in that. They knew how bad this might get and that the chance was there with both of them. So, they did what they could. Harry knew when that vision came what it could set off and took steps to make sure things were handled in a way that wouldn’t expose anything if it did. His trunk vanishing and Hedwig leaving were two of those. I know those were mentioned by many afterwards. It was something he wanted to take care of. We know how much this hurt so many and that they may never forgive any of us for it. We just didn't have any kind of choice in the matter unless we wanted Harry as something that was little more than a lifeless slave with no personality. Then there was the fact I couldn't tell anyone what I knew. I had no proof, anywhere, to back up anything I said without Sirius and Harry here. It would have sounded completely mental if I tried. Then, if they didn't manage to come back at the year mark, it would have made it worse. We won't even talk about what it was like on my end to be without both of them. That was hard, harder than anything I ever had to put up with. Staying away from everyone was something I needed to do.”
“That I can appreciate,” Arthur sighed. “Molly and I—well, we've done something similar when it comes to the kids and each other. And I see your perspective as well. At the moment, I can’t think of anything that would have convinced us of what you said as there was no proof.”
“I can say, and you can pass it along, that we're sorry for the pain it caused everyone. There was just no way around it. We had so little choice in any of this that we couldn't reveal so much before it happened.” Remus told him sincerely.
“I'll make sure everyone knows that as well,” Arthur told him with a firm nod. Looking up when he heard a noise, his eyes widened when he saw Harry walk in. The lad was dressed in sleep pants and a sleeveless t-shirt. You could easily see the collar, cuffs and that mark on his arm. The sheen in his eyes was still there, but less pronounced than it had been. Smiling, he wasn't sure what to say to him, but gave a hearty, “Hello, Harry,” as he always did in the past.
“Hi, Mr. Weasley,” Harry said before walking over and taking a seat on Remus' lap, sideways. Wrapping his arms around the man, Harry rested his head on his shoulder.
Smiling, Remus ran his fingers through Harry's still wet hair then kissed him, holding him close. When he broke it off, he asked, still holding him to his body, “Where's Sirius?”
“He's in the kitchen getting us something to drink,” Harry said, eyes sliding shut. He was having problems with the other person in the room at the moment so he was going to stay like this until Sirius came in. It wasn't bad, but it was enough that this was for the best. “Give him a minute and he'll be in.”
Nodding, Remus held him close and looked at Arthur then said, smiling, “This is the worst of what you'll see most times. Nothing too shocking, other than who's involved.”
“I think this is something I can handle,” Arthur smiled, relaxing. Looking up as he heard another noise, he saw Sirius come in, holding drinks for Harry and himself. Nodding to the man, he waited to see what was going to happen as the sheen in Sirius' eyes was more pronounced than Harry's. Though he did say his normal hello.
Saying hi to Arthur, Sirius passed over the butterbeer to Harry then sat down right next to Remus. Sipping his own bottle of the drink, he waited for Harry to shift around to where he was straddling both their legs and leaning back against them, then wrapped one arm around the younger man. Looking between Remus and Arthur, he asked, “You have everything covered? Or are you still explaining?”

“I think we have the basics down,” Remus assured him softly. “I'm sure there are going to be plenty of questions in the coming days, something we'll handle then, but we're good at the moment.”
Happy with that, Sirius nodded. “Good,” he said, taking another sip of his drink. “Just—right now isn't a good time to deal with most things other than questions. Keep that in mind. Give me some time for the protection instincts to die down and it'll go back to the way it was, mostly anyway.”
“We will,” Arthur assured him. Looking between Harry and Sirius, he asked, “Are you both doing alright, physically that is? Or are there problems?”
“Physically we're good. There's still some confusion and getting used to being back. Most of it has to do with the chunk Remus explained,” Sirius told him, looking at the man. “It'll sort itself out soon. Give it time. We need left alone until then, though. At least mostly.”
“I have everyone's word that they will, Sirius. I'll be the one coming over and will owl first so you know,” Arthur told him firmly with a nod. “We'll go from there to see what comes of this.”
“Just—make sure everyone knows they need to leave Harry alone. I don't care who they are. You're going to set not only me off, but Remus as well, if someone tries something. He's ours and we'll protect him, viciously if we have to,” Sirius told him in a calm voice that had a bite to it. “We don't want to go down that road, I assure you.”
“I'll make that very clear,” Arthur told him. Looking between the three, he began to ask a few innocuous questions about what they had planned for so much and how long they thought it would take for all the mess to settle. There were plenty of others, of course, but he wanted to get with Albus before he went there and to make sure everyone could handle what was asked without causing a reaction. Then about the binding of Kreacher.

After an hour or so, Arthur finally left, having Kreacher bound to him, so Sirius relaxed more than he had been. Reaching up, he rubbed a hand over his face and sighed then said, “Well, that went fine. It wasn't the most comfortable thing in the world, but I could deal with it.”
“It'll keep getting easier each time,” Remus assured him, smiling. “I'm sure that he's going to talk to Albus and will be back in a couple of days with plenty of questions or things we do need to be aware of. Nothing at all to worry about.”
Reaching out and running his fingers through Harry's hair then reaching down to tug on the collar, Sirius smiled a little, “I'm not. He's not going to try anything. We're good there.” Leaning his head back and shutting his eyes, he asked, “We have a shite-tonne to do, don't we?”
“We do,” Remus admitted with a sigh. “More owls came in that we have to deal with. There are also plenty of them from Harry's friends. I'm not sure what either of you want to do about those. We do need to at least look to see what's there before we decide. Then we need to work on other areas.” Gently, he added, “If we do that now, we have plenty of time for more entertaining activities later.” With that, he gave an innocent smile.
Snorting at that then grinning, Sirius told him, “Alright, we get the hint, Remus! We'll get to work. Which reminds me—Harry and I need to hunt for your porn stash still so we get fair warning here.”
Shifting Harry around, Remus stood when the young man was off his leg. Chuckling, he said, as he made his way to the kitchen, “Think bondage, Sirius.”
“Oh, bloody hell, you really need to panic, Harry!” Sirius laughed, nudging Harry to stand.
“I do,” Harry grinned with a nod as he stood up. “And I want fair warning about how strange this is going to get.”
“So do I,” Sirius chuckled, standing himself and following Remus to the kitchen.
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À Tout le Monde (Set Me Free)