Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Fragmented Soul	By : StrawberryGirl87 & Bickymonster Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Fenrir Views: 79707 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 10
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or anything in the fandom. no money/profit is made.

Chapter List
- 52
- 53
- 54
Fragmented Soul
Chapter 53 - The fate of Severus
Remus had had his suspicions about where Severus was being kept, but his heart still sunk when he heard Dumbledore call out Grimmauld Place as the headmaster stepped into the floo. It was all but confirmation that Sirius had known about Severus and had lied to him; Remus felt sure that it was connected to the reason why Sirius had been disappearing off when they had still been together. He dreaded to think what his ex-lover was capable of and almost wanted to beg Harry not to go through with this.
“Professor?” Harry said hesitantly, seeing the expression of worry and hurt on Remus’ face. He had been watching his professor carefully as the headmaster had used the floo to travel wherever his dad was being kept and now he was glad of it.
In all honesty, despite Fenrir wanting the professor in the pack, Harry still wanted to be sure that he could fully trust Remus before investing too much in the man. He was taking a leap of faith in trusting him this evening, in part, at least, because the Alpha seemed to; but Harry wasn’t stupid, far from it in fact, and he didn’t take any one's loyalty for granted. There was too much at stake for anything to be taken for granted.
“It’s okay, Harry,” Remus told him. “Go ahead, follow Albus. I will be right behind you.” Truthfully Remus wanted a moment to pull himself together and prepare himself for seeing Sirius again, something he wasn't sure he was entirely ready for. It had been months since they had last laid eyes on each other and it had not been an amicable parting to say the least. It was going to be difficult being face to face with him again, let alone having Harry there, the one person who Sirius seemed to be obsessed with.
Remus wanted to warn Harry about the unstable man that they were going to be facing but he found the words difficult to form in his mind and he didn't want them to come out as a jumbled mess that would only end up scaring the poor boy; Harry was clearly on edge and nervous enough without him making it worse. All he could do was protect him as best as possible.
“You said you wouldn’t leave me alone with him,” Harry said, feeling momentarily panicked about being left alone with Dumbledore in an unknown place; even if it was only for a few moments it would take Remus to come through the floo.
“And I won’t, I’ll be right behind you,” Remus tried to reassure him; however, the terrified look in the teenager’s emerald green eyes made him realise that he couldn’t be selfish. He was an adult, he needed to act like one. Sirius was his ex-lover, this was true, but he couldn’t let it affect him; he had to think of Harry first and himself second. It was going to be a rather trying night for both of them it seemed.
Harry shook his head. “We go together or not at all,” he insisted stubbornly. It was all feeling a bit too real; when the prospect of seeing his Dad again was more distant he had been able to keep his emotions in check, but now he felt as though he was about to be overwhelmed by it all.
“Alright, together,” Remus agreed, realising just how scared Harry must be. He even caught himself thinking that this is what Greyback would want him to do, to go with Harry, to remain with him and protect the submissive teenager.
He honestly hadn’t put a great deal of thought into joining the pack, hoping to avoid it all together; however, it seemed that it was more ingrained in his mind than he had first thought. Greyback might not have been the most agreeable man on the planet, but it seemed to be programmed into his wolf subconscious that the Alpha was to be obeyed to some extent. He was to at least follow the man’s orders; perhaps the pack wouldn’t be such a bad thing after all; especially seeing as it would mean being closer with Harry.
Remus had spent a great deal of his youth, after graduating Hogwarts, travelling the world and visiting many werewolf packs; those that had welcomed him in had been a source for a myriad of information and knowledge for him. It had been something he had greatly needed, as he had battled with his other nature and tried to terms with what he was, after having hurt, and almost certainly killed, a young boy. Never had he experienced the need to obey one's Alpha in such a strong force, he supposed it was to do with Greyback being his sire, but it was still astounding to him that he was even considering this.
Harry looked decidedly relieved at Remus' agreement to travel together, and so the two of them stepped into the fireplace, throwing the floo powder and directing themselves to Grimmauld Place. Remus kept a firm grip on the teenager next to him, until they had stepped out into the huge, dingy kitchen of the old house. It broke Remus’ heart a little to feel how tightly Harry clung to him.
“Harry!” Sirius’ voice barked out excitedly, barely a few seconds later, and Remus only had just enough time to put himself between his former lover and the young werewolf. Harry was certainly more than willing to be protected from the rather fierce and somewhat rabid looking man coming towards him as they stepped out of the fireplace.
“Sirius, leave him be,” Remus said firmly, his hand on Sirius’ chest to hold him back. “You shouldn’t have brought us here, while he was in the house,” he added, turning to glare at Dumbledore, who was thin lipped and looked positively irate as he glared at Sirius, annoyed that the man was acting like an excitable toddler.
“Harry, it’s me, Sirius. I’m your godfather,” Sirius went on, persistently trying to get around Remus and failing miserably. Remus could feel Harry trembling slightly behind him and there was no way he was going to fail in his duty to keep the young man safe. He dreaded to think what would have happened if he hadn't been here. Sirius was in no state to see anyone, especially not a fifteen year old boy, who was emotionally unstable as it was, and Dumbledore was making no attempts to put a stop to Sirius' behaviour at all.
“I don’t care,” Harry said, directing this to Sirius, remaining behind his professor, more glad than ever that he had insisted that Lupin come with him. It scared him a little to think of what might have happened had he come alone. “Stay away from me,” he said firmly, trying to sound braver than he felt.
Harry vaguely remembered this man from the night he and Clay had snuck out to the club for his fifteenth birthday, something that felt like a millennium ago with everything that had happened. The man had freaked him out just as much then as he was now. He didn't recognise this man aside from that one night on his birthday, to hear the man claim to be his Godfather, well frankly it unnerved him.
“Come now, Sirius,” Dumbledore said, putting an arm around the somewhat deranged man and guiding him away from the other two. “Harry and I have some business to take care of, I would appreciate it if you could leave us to it.”
“But I want to see him, I have a right to see him; James made me his Godfather, I’m his family, he needs to know me,” Sirius said in protest. Despite Dumbledore keeping a firm grip on him and trying to manhandle him out of the room, Sirius stubbornly refusing to leave, still trying to get to Harry, who remained hidden behind Remus.
“Harry has made it plainly clear that he does not wish to see you at the moment,” Dumbledore told him firmly, getting annoyed. Sirius was starting to prove to be more trouble than he was worth, even if he had been partly responsible for locating Harry. Albus would not tolerate disobedience and Sirius was as disobedient and defiant as he ever had been at school.
“That’s because Snivellus bewitched his brain, he doesn’t know what he’s saying. This is all Snape’s fault!” Sirius yelled. His frustration at being so close to James’ son, and yet still not allowed to meet him properly, was making him want to pull out his hair, to scream and to rage until he was able to go to Harry and make the teenager realise that they were a family.
Harry recognised the name Snape from the portrait Draco had shown him, he knew that Sirius was talking about his Dad and it made him angry to hear him called such names. So angry, in fact, that he reached for his wand, pointing it directly at Sirius, not a single tremble in his arm.
“Harry, calm down,” Remus said gently, realising what Sirius had pushed him to. “This won’t help your Dad,” he pointed out trying to keep things from spiralling further out of control. He would definitely be talking to Albus later, about putting Sirius and Harry in the same room; it made him so angry that Albus had been planning to bring Harry here without him. It was clear that the elderly man had lost all control of Sirius.
“He’s blaming my Dad,” Harry said angrily, his wand still pointing directly at Sirius. He wanted to hurt him, to cause any amount of pain possible on the man that called his Dad names, had been doing goodness knows what to him in the months that he'd been held captive and it made Harry's blood boil.
“I know, but Sirius isn’t quite right,” Remus said in little more than a whisper. “He spent a few too many years in Azkaban, wrongfully, I might add. Add on top of that that he and your Dad never saw eye to eye…” he tried to explain, knowing that he was greatly understating the hatred between Sirius and Severus.
“Just keep him away from me,” Harry said, his voice pleading as he looked up to Remus, who nodded slowly, knowing that this was the best that he could hope for. “If he says anything against my Dad again, I’ll curse him.”
“You hear that, Sirius?” Remus asked, looking to his former lover. “He wants you to stay away; those are Harry’s words, not mine, not Albus’. Harry came to that conclusion all on his own, now back off.”
Sirius looked utterly devastated by Harry's words, his grey eyes watching the teenager longingly as Harry clung to Remus, the young man's arms around Remus' waist. It was something that sparked anger in Sirius, who didn't like seeing his Godson depending on anyone other than him. The young boy looked terrified and the fact that he was clinging to Remus made Sirius irrationally jealous too. This was not the way it was supposed to go!
“I want to see my Dad now,” Harry said firmly, his voice as steady as he could make it, as he turned to the headmaster. He wanted to see his Dad, but he also wanted a good reason to be anywhere that wasn’t in the same room as this Sirius guy. He could only hold up the false bravado for so long until the weight of it all became too much.
“That’s a good idea. Take us to Severus,” Remus said, glaring at Albus. There was a new found hatred towards the old man now that he had even allowed for Sirius to be in the same house as Harry, let alone the same room. It made it all too clear to Remus that Harry was nothing more than a weapon to be used in a war and he hated Albus for that.
“NO!” Sirius practically screamed. “No, you can’t take him to Snape! He’s not his father, James is his Dad!”
“Enough, Sirius!” Dumbledore bellowed, it seemed that he had finally had enough of all the dramatics. “Harry is here to see Severus, the man who raised him, you will respect that.”
“Don’t bother,” Harry snapped at the headmaster. “It isn’t like you’ve respected that in any way,” he pointed out angrily. “Such pathetic attempts to win my favour will get you nothing.”
Dumbledore seemed to tense at Harry’s words, but he chose to say nothing, striding towards Sirius and taking him quite forcefully by the scruff of the neck, pulling him out the room. Only when they were alone did Remus go down on his knees in front of the teenager and really look at him. He needed to know that the teenager was alright and for some reason, in the back of his mind, he knew that it was something that Fenrir would praise him for. This was something he pushed away, hating that the wolf in him already saw Fenrir as his Alpha.
“Are you alright?” he asked, looking concerned. Harry's hands seemed to be trembling a little as he put away his wand, attempting to get himself under control, knowing that the worst was yet to come.
“Yeah, that guy is an arse,” Harry said, wiping away the tears that had welled in his eyes before they could fall. He was in total emotional overload because somewhere in this house was his Dad and very soon he was going to see him again, something that he thought would never happen again.

“Oh, I know; I used to date him,” Remus said, smiling up at Harry, who couldn’t help but laugh a little, which had been the reaction that Remus had been going for.
“You dated him?” Harry asked, not quite believing him.
“We were childhood sweethearts, for the lack of a better term,” Remus said fondly. “He’s changed a lot since our time at Hogwarts together. It was him and… other friends that helped me through my first changes at school.”
“No offence, Professor, but you can do so much better than him,” Harry said confidently. “If you like girls as well as guys, I know an available one back in our pack territory, she’s lovely.”
“I think I can find my own dates, Harry, there is no need to play matchmaker,” Remus said with amusement. “And for the record I don’t mind girls.”
FGHP
Romy headed out into the grounds. She probably would have rather met her parents in the castle somewhere, knowing that Clay would be nearby, but there were still students in the Great Hall and she wasn’t going to meet them in a classroom by herself either. The grounds had been the only option that she could really think of that would work for all of them.
She cast a quick warming spell and crossed her arms over her chest to keep the cold at bay; luckily something that she and Jennifer agreed on was punctuality, because a few minutes later she spotted the woman heading up the main path from the Entrance gates towards the castle. Romy was pleasantly surprised to see that she had come alone.
“Hello, Rosemary,” Jennifer said a little stiffly, once she came to stop a few paces from her daughter.
“Hi, Jen,” Romy said with a pointed glare, knowing how much her biological mother hated to have her name shortened.
“I suppose that was your subtle way of telling me you would rather I called you Romy?” Jennifer said primly, clearly not at all impressed. She had hoped that her daughter might be more open to a civil conversation about how they were going to manage the situation, without Adam and Jake present; however, at least in her eyes, it seemed as though Romy was determined to be difficult.
“I wasn’t going for subtle,” Romy told her, gesturing off into the grounds to suggest they actually walked; it really was too cold to be standing still. Jennifer nodded and followed her daughter’s lead.
“So you really are a…” Jennifer said nervously, not sure she should really be walking around with this creature so late in the evening, even if it was her own child.
“A werewolf? Yes,” Romy said bluntly. “I never denied it, though I am not best pleased that Dumbledore decided to tell you. I just want some closure and then you can go back to your life and I can go back to mine, there was no need for you to ever know.”
“Well Dumbledore is just trying to help you, sweetheart,” Jennifer said, forcing herself to smile. It was so difficult when she feared what Rosemary had become but if they were going to fix what had happened this had to be done.
“But you do understand that I can’t come back with you, I can never live with you again,” Romy said, wanting to be very clear on that point. She belonged with her pack now, there was no other place where she would ever belong more; even if she had wanted to go back, she couldn't have, not now.
“Oh, well, your headmaster has a friend that he is going to let us speak to about all this business,” Jennifer said happily. “We will figure it out, Rose… Romy,” she said correcting herself at the last moment.
“No, you don’t get it,” Romy said with an annoyed huff, glaring at the woman walking next to her. “I am NEVER going to come back with you. It isn’t what I want, even if it was practical.”
“Please, let’s not argue,” Jennifer said, thinking that things were not going nearly as well as she had hoped. She just had to keep herself on speaking terms with Rosemary until they could figure out the details. It was the whole reason that she had come here alone, Adam was talking out some details with their new acquaintance. “Tell me about your life, sweetheart,” she suggested.
Romy narrowed her eyes suspiciously, but conceded that Jennifer might be genuinely interested in knowing about what her life was like now. “Okay,” she said slowly, exhaling a deep breath. “I like to read, all sorts of books. And I like to study too…”
FGHP
Dumbledore pulled the door to Sirius’ room shut, casting a locking spell that would keep the seemingly deranged man securely inside. He hadn’t anticipated quite how badly Harry and Sirius would react to each other, nor had he counted on Remus being present; if the older werewolf had been absent then it would have been left to him to keep Harry safe from Sirius and earned him some trust.
He let out a sigh at the lost opportunity and tried to calm his frustrated temper down as best he could. He needed to promptly get back down to the kitchen, not wanting to leave the two werewolves much time alone to bond or, even worse, start plotting together.
As he feared, when he returned to the kitchen the two of them were talking together quietly; Remus turned to glare at him when he noticed his presence in the doorway to the room, Harry turning to look at him in anger a few seconds later.
“You shouldn’t have let Sirius near him,” Remus said, reiterating the point he had made earlier. He hated to think what might have happened if Harry hadn’t had to the good sense to ask him to come along with them. No doubt it was all part of Dumbledore’s plan in some way; he was really starting to wonder why he had ever thought he could trust the old man. Even if Dumbledore had been good and honest once upon a time, he had lost his way and that was clear as day to Remus now.
“I apologise,” the headmaster said, though neither werewolf bought the act for a moment. “I was rather under the impression, however, that you had other things that were of more pressing concern than my apologies.”
“He’s right,” Harry said angrily. “I have no interest in standing here and listening to him talk out of his…”
“Harry!” Remus said firmly, interrupting the teenager before he could aggravate the headmaster any further, the teenager just sighed rather tiredly before fixing his gaze solidly on the elderly headmaster.
“Just cut the crap and take me to my Dad,” Harry said bluntly, feeling as though he was only just holding it together.
It was habit for Harry when he reached out and took Remus’ hand within his own. It was something that he would have done with Micha, Lukas or in fact anyone in the pack and he didn’t give it a second thought before he did it. Remus, however, looked down at their joined hands with slight confusion but decided that now was not the time to question it. Instead he gave a supportive squeeze to Harry’s hand, glad that the teenager seemed to be that comfortable with him.
“Very well,” Dumbledore said stiffly. “This way.” And with that the headmaster turned on the spot and swept from the room.
Harry and Remus shared a look but hastily followed. Dumbledore led them up a flight of stairs and cast a spell which revealed a room at the end of a hallway. The door was made of dark wood and looked as though it had been as poorly maintained as the rest of the house.
“I’m not sure I can do this,” Harry whispered as the headmaster went to open the door, stopping in the middle of the corridor and turning to face Remus who was just a few paces behind. His heart was hammering in his chest; he had no idea what was on the other side of the door, but he was pretty certain that it wasn’t going to be the happy, healthy version of his father that he had known, he was sure that his Dad wasn't going to be the man he remembered him to be.
“Yes, you can, Harry,” Remus said firmly, his voice quiet as he stepped closer to the teenager. He glanced over Harry’s shoulder and watched as Dumbledore went through the doorway into the room beyond. “Severus needs you to do this,” he told the teenager firmly. He knew that if Harry backed out now then he would regret it later and they might not get the opportunity to do this again.
Taking a calming breath and reminding himself that this was for his Dad, Harry found his strength. “Okay,” he said, nodding his head, “I can do this.” The words were more for himself than for Remus, but the professor nodded in agreement anyway. “Stay close?”
“I will be right next to you,” Remus promised. He had no intention of leaving Harry alone with Dumbledore for a single second if he could possibly help it.
Harry turned back around and walked with slow but determined steps down the hallway. Remus stayed close; the room in front of them, which Dumbledore had headed into, loomed over them, foreboding in its presence and making them both nervous.
“It's okay,” Remus whispered, putting a hand on the top of Harry’s back when the young man looked as though he was about to turn and run.
The room was much better lit than it had seemed to be from the outside, though it was still a miserable looking place. The wallpaper was half hanging off in places and looked to be something from many decades ago, if not more. There was little in the way of furnishings, just a bookshelf that was half stacked with old tomes.
But it was not this that drew their attention. Neither Remus nor Harry could take their eyes off the figure of Severus sat propped up in a chair in the centre of the room. He looked so much older than Remus remembered, which made sense since he didn’t think he had laid eyes upon him, other than brief glimpses, since they were little more than teenagers; but there was something more to the man’s age than that.
Injuries, all in various stages of healing littered the man's body, or what they could see of it, at least. Someone had made a poor attempt at healing, someone with no knowledge of healing magic it seemed, because the spells had not done their job properly. Bruises varying in colour, from sickening yellow to dark purple, were clearly visible, as were the little cuts and scrapes. Severus' dark eyes were open, with bags beneath them, fixed on the wall in front of him, unmoving. His cheeks were hollow and gaunt, his skin several shades paler than it should have been; he looked really quick sickly. His body was entirely unmoving, not a single muscle twitched as he sat there, gazing off into space.
“DAD!” Harry exclaimed in desperation, rushing forward and dropping to his knees in front of the motionless man; he didn't understand why their reunion had spurred not a single reaction from his father. Severus’ eyes were blank and looking straight forward, unseeing. Whatever the headmaster’s spell had done it had left the man looking lifeless. Harry was horrified; he had never seen his father look so frail and… dead. Harry reached up and pressed his hand over Severus’ heart, tears falling down his face in relief when he felt a faint heart beating under his palm.
“What have you done to him?!” Harry demanded to know, turning to glare at the headmaster. There was a hatred like no other bubbling in his gut; he wanted to lash out and hurt the headmaster, truly hurt him, maybe even kill him for what he had done.
Dumbledore looked down at the teenager, who remained kneeling in front of the potions master, clasping at Severus’ hands. “He is alive,” he said simply. He was somewhat glad that it seemed that Sirius had grown bored of taking his anger out on Severus. He dreaded to think the reactions he might have got if the potions master had been bloodied and even more bruised. Most of the injuries that Sirius had inflicted were fading and healing now.
“Barely,” Harry said through clenched teeth. “Fix him!”
Remus could only watch on in horror at the sight of the man who had once been rivals with his two best friends. He wasn’t sure what spell Albus had used but it looked to be bad. Harry was right, Severus looked barely alive.
“There is nothing wrong with him,” Dumbledore insisted. “The spell simply has removed control of his body from him,” he explained callously.
“Fuck this,” Harry said angrily, getting to his feet and pulling out his wand as he looked into his father’s eyes. “Occlumens,” he said clearly, before Dumbledore could stop him.
'Harry, Harry, my Harry… not safe, not safe, my Harry, my son, protect him, Harry, my Harry, not safe.'
That was all Harry could see in his father’s head, his own face, memories of his own childhood. That and the mantra over and over, being repeated like it was on a looped recording in his mind, broken and doomed to be repeated for a life time in a never ending cycle.
'Dad!' he practically screamed with his mind. 'Dad, I came, I’m here, I’m safe.'
'Harry’s not safe, my Harry, Harry… not safe, my Harry, my son, protect him, Harry, my Harry, not safe. Must live, must help him… don’t die, find Harry, my Harry, keep him safe.'
Harry pulled his mind back and rounded on the headmaster. “What did you DO?!” he demanded to know with a shout. “Wake him up, wake him up!” he shouted, jumping up to his feet and storming towards the headmaster, grabbing the front of his robes. “Damn you, you old crazy bastard, I’ll do anything you damn well want me to, just wake him up,” Harry begged, tears falling thick and fast down his face.
“Harry,” Remus said gently, pulling Harry away from Dumbledore and into his arms.
“Wake him up, please just wake him up, he’s in so much pain,” Harry continued to beg and cry against Remus’ chest.
“That would not be advisable,” Dumbledore said bluntly. There would undoubtedly side effects from being kept under the spell for so long and he was reluctant to wake Severus up without a healer of some kind close by; not least because he was curious and wanted full readings for future reference.
“You wake him up now,” Remus said, drawing his wand. “Unless you think you can stop both me and Harry before one of us stuns you. You wake him up or we, meaning me, Harry and Severus, leave without you.”
Harry looked up at the professor through tear blurred eyes. He hadn’t expected for Lupin to be quite so protective of him and yet here the professor was, taking his side and threatening Albus Dumbledore for him. Harry brushed tears from his eyes, though new ones continued to fall somewhat stubbornly.
The headmaster looked annoyed but none the less drew his own wand, pointing it at Severus. They couldn’t make out the string of words that Dumbledore mumbled, but the second he stopped Harry rushed to his father’s side.
“Dad?” he questioned, watching Severus’ eyes carefully for any sign of life. “DAD!” Harry yelled as his father blinked, his eyes flicking towards where Harry was crouched down looking at him pleadingly.
“Harry,” he whispered delicately, his dark eyes going wide at the sight of his son before him, before his body jerked suddenly, making him fall off the side of the chair to the floor.
“Severus,” Remus yelled, as Harry shouted for his Dad again, both of them rushing to the man’s side as Severus’ body twitched a few times on the floor, before stilling.
“I tried to warn you this would happen,” Dumbledore said calmly, seemingly not caring too much about what happened to the potions master.
“Help him,” Harry begged, looking to the headmaster and the professor desperately, look for help. “Dad, wake up, Dad!” he pleaded, turning back to his father, trying to shake him awake, but Severus remained motionless. Harry pressed his ear to his chest, where he could only hear the faint, slow beating within. “He’s dying, help him!”
“Merlin’s sake, Albus!” Remus shouted angrily, realising that if they didn’t do something and quickly then Harry really was going to lose his father. “You have to do something, help him!” He couldn’t believe that the supposedly great Albus Dumbledore was going to stand by and watch Severus die, least of all while Severus’ fifteen year old son cried over him.
Knowing that the potions master was too valuable, Dumbledore gave a sigh and casual wave of his wand, muttering an incantation. “He will live,” the headmaster informed them. “The spell will maintain his life.”
“You put him back under the same spell?” Harry angrily demanded to know, his hand pressed over his Dad’s heart feeling its steady rhythm improve a little.
“Yes,” Dumbledore said simply, looking at Harry as if daring him to challenge him to remove it again, the shock of which would undoubtedly kill the poor man instantly. “Unless you would prefer him dead?”
“What happened to make you so bitter?” Remus questioned, looking at the headmaster in disgust. This was a man who, once upon a time, he believe that he could trust; now he saw a man who had no other purpose in life other than to serve his own selfish needs. Dumbledore was a man who very clearly could not be trusted. “Why don’t you check his mind again now, Harry?” he said softly, turning back to the teenager, unable to look at Albus anymore.
Harry nodded hesitantly. He was half scared that he would look and find blankness, that his father was truly dead and gone, despite the heartbeat he could feel under his palm. But perhaps even that would be preferable to the hell he had seen his father’s mind in before. And so he was surprised when he found the same kind of peace that you find in those that are sleeping. There was a beautiful calm in his mind, though an echoing sadness that still remained but it was preferable to a dead, blank mind and Harry was simply relieved that his father was alive. I love you, Dad.
He once again pulled back. He would stand no hope of communicating with his father while his mind was like that either, but he had told him that he loved him and that was what mattered; he just hoped that his father would hear it. But even if he didn’t, at least there was peace there now, where there wasn’t before, and he held onto that like a lifeline when he felt so completely out to sea, lost and alone.
“I will move him to the Hogwarts medical wing,” Dumbledore informed them bluntly. “I will make sure he remains alive, for as long as you cooperate.”
“Deal,” Harry said bitterly, “we can hammer out the details later.” He didn’t want to talk to the headmaster, or even hear his voice at the moment. Instead he lay down next to his Dad, pulling one of Severus’ arms around his shoulder so that they lay side by side, Harry cuddling into his father. “I love you, Dad,” he whispered, his tears falling onto Severus’ surprisingly clean robes.
Remus got to his feet, turning away from the heartbreaking scene before him wanting to give Harry a moment and went to stand face to face with Dumbledore. “You’ve become a monster,” he told him simply. It was not in his nature to be violent or even to fly into a rage but what he had seen here tonight made him want to do just that and he could feel the anger bubbling dangerously in his gut.
“You can hate me all you like, but I will still save this world,” Dumbledore told him coldly, glaring at the infuriating werewolf in front of him. “You will all fall at my feet in thanks when Tom comes to claim your lives, or the lives of those you love. What is the life of one man compared to the lives that I will save?”
“This isn’t the way,” Remus said with genuine sadness. “That you can’t even see that this is wrong…” He shook his head. “You have lost your humanity; you're almost as bad as You-Know-Who,” he said with disappointment.
“We are done here,” Dumbledore said bluntly, unwilling to listen to the werewolf’s non-sequential ramblings any longer. He cared very little about what Remus thought of him; he knew that he was doing the right thing for the wizarding world and others would see that and in time worship him for everything he had done. “I kept my side of the deal, Harry, now we will talk terms and you will take the vow as you promised.”
“Vow?” Remus asked, looking between the headmaster and the young boy on the floor in horror, praying that this didn’t mean what he thought it meant. “What vow?”
“An unbreakable vow,” Harry said quietly, tears streaming down his cheeks, where he still lay cuddled into Severus’ side, hand pressed over his heart as if to make sure that it didn’t stop beating. “Please, I will tell you everything, professor, but when we get back.”
“Harry…” Remus said, his heart breaking all over again as he realised the lengths the teenager was prepared to go to make sure that his father lived. He understood how desperate Harry was to save his father, but he wondered if this time the cost just might be too high. However, it left Remus in no doubt that Severus had been nothing but a doting, attentive father who had given Harry the best life possible in the time that they had had together. No other teenager would have gone as far as to offer his own life for their father's for anything less.
It was a struggle to see the young man this way; he was only a child and that was so easy to forget with his false bravado and confidence that he always put forward. Remus felt an overwhelming urge to gather the pup into his arms and hold him there, protecting him and caring for him. He now fully understood how protective Fenrir felt and his desperation to ensure the pups' safety; he was finally understanding how hard it must be for the Alpha to be away from the three pups.
Giving Harry his full attention, Remus knelt down beside the sobbing teenager and the fallen potions master, knowing what he had to do. The older werewolf knew that this would not be easy but they had to go. Harry could not remain here, a sadness encompassing him as he cried over his father, who was balancing precariously between life and death.
“I can’t…” Harry sobbed. “I can’t leave him.”
“You must,” Remus said gently, not yet daring to touch the young man, knowing that he needed to be careful with how he proceeded seeing that Harry was in a rather emotional state and wasn’t likely to take being separated from his father well. “There is nothing more that we can do for Severus here, little one.”
“No,” Harry said, with his hands clutching desperately at his father’s shirt, not wanting to let him go. Now that he had his father back and within his grasp, proof that the man wasn’t dead and gone as he had thought, Harry couldn’t bear the thought of leaving him again.
He had made that mistake once before; he had blindly obeyed when his father had told him to run the night their house was attacked, when he should have stayed to fight that night, he should have helped his father and, if he had, things could have been different for them. But at least now he knew what he had to do; he was going to stand, he was going to fight and he wasn’t going to stop fighting until his father was back with him, safe and sound.
“Dumbledore won’t let him die, he needs him,” Remus reminded the teenager. It was not a nice truth, but it was honest and Remus believed they didn’t have to fear for Severus’ life while he was in the headmaster’s care. Just his sanity, Remus mentally added to himself; though Harry didn’t need to be made aware of such thoughts.
“No,” Harry said stubbornly, holding on tightly. He couldn’t just leave him lying there on the floor, unable to move, in some kind of magically induced coma.
“I’m sorry, Harry,” Remus said in little more than a whisper, realising that there was no other way, quickly and gently he moved forward, swiftly sweeping the teenager up into his arms.
“NO!” Harry screamed in protest, cursing how small he was as he struggled against the hold Remus had on him. “NO, NO, PUT ME DOWN!” The young werewolf yelled and cried, kicked and screamed, and it was only thanks to his larger size that Remus was able to keep hold of him at all, as Harry desperately tried to get back to his father.
“I’m sorry, Harry,” Remus repeated, as he headed for the door back out into the hallway, the distraught teenager in his arms. The scream that tore from Harry's lungs was one of utter pain and sorrow, as Harry realised that he wasn’t going back to his Dad any time soon. The heart wrenching sound ripped through the old house; it was filled with such anguish, the likes of which had never been heard within the walls of the house before and it pained Remus to hear it come from one so young.
“Dad, Dad, please,” Harry whimpered, and pleaded, and begged, as Remus carried him down the stairs. “Daddy! I want my Dad.” He hadn’t called his father Daddy for many years and yet he hadn’t felt so young and lost, like a child literally torn from his father’s arms, in all his life.
He barely noticed as they travelled through the house, or reached the floo, or even when they travelled through it. He just pleaded and cried and called for his father, who could neither hear, nor come to him; clutching at Remus as if he was all he had left.
FGHP
Clayton was not best pleased as he was manhandled quite roughly into a classroom by the Carrow siblings and deposited forcefully into a chair, behind a desk. Umbridge stood in front of him smiling sweetly and it made him want to rip her face off.
“So lovely to see you, Mr Danes,” the professor said in her sickly sweet voice that made Clay scrunch up his nose in his disgust. The amount of perfume she was wearing was going to make him vomit before long; it was stinging his nostrils, almost painfully so.
“What do you want? I haven’t done anything!” Clay insisted. All he had been doing was waiting for Harry and Romy; he hadn’t done anything that might warrant a detention.
“There have been several stink bombs set off outside my office and I have come to believe that you are responsible,” Umbridge said, watching the young werewolf carefully.
“HA! I wish it had been me, even stink bombs smell better than whatever troll breath perfume you’re wearing,” Clay told her defiantly, crossing his arms over his chest, leaning back in his chair and glaring at her in disdain. “If you ever find out who really did it, send them my compliments!”
“I suppose you feel that I should simply believe your claim of innocence?” Umbridge questioned primly, a falsely sweet smile of her face. “Either way,” she went on, not giving Clay a chance to respond, “while I have you here, I am hoping that you will be of use to me,” Umbridge continued.
She really didn’t care whether the boy had done what she was accusing him of, or not; honestly she was fairly certain that it was actually the Weasley twins who had set off the stink bombs but they didn’t have any information she wanted, whereas this young man did.
“Well, if you think I am going to do anything to help you, then you can think again,” Clay said stubbornly; even in the long shot that it might be something he would actually want to help with, he would refuse anyway, simply to make Umbridge’s life as difficult as possible.
“I am sure we can reach some kind of agreement, Mr Danes,” she said, giving a small, high pitched, girly giggle, “without resorting to more… drastic measures.” Clayton noticed that as she lingered over the word drastic, her eyes had moved to the two large Deatheaters who stood at his shoulders.
Clay had the ominous feeling that the Deatheaters were there for something other than just show this evening. He was outnumbered and, even as a werewolf, there was no guarantee that he was going to get out this unscathed. If he wanted to come out the other side of this mostly unharmed then he was going to have to use his head; trying to work out what Romy or Harry would do, he waited to hear what the odious woman would have to say next.
“I’m not going to agree with you on anything,” Clay sneered, glaring at the odiously pink woman, who was still smiling at him at though they were having a delightfully pleasant conversation.
“Well, Mr Danes,” Umbridge said, summoning a chair and taking a seat across the desk from Clay, “I suppose if you aren’t going to answer my questions regarding Mr Prince, then I suppose I shall have to speak with him myself.”
“Stay the fuck away from Harry,” Clayton snarled, sitting up in his seat suddenly, his fists gripping the edge of the desk he was sat behind until his knuckles went white. The wood creaking in protest as if it might snap under the strain.
“Perhaps you should answer my questions then,” Umbridge said sweetly." That way I would have no need to talk to Mr Prince myself.”
“The next time I see any of the three of you within ten feet of Harry, I bite first ask questions later, got it?” Clayton warned, turning to glare at the two Deatheaters over his shoulders in turn, before looking back to Umbridge.
“I am sure that both the ministry and Dumbledore would be most interested to hear that you are making such threats, Mr Danes,” Umbridge said pointedly. She still didn’t truly understand Albus’ motivations for inviting such creatures into the school, but she would find out. She was determined to learn what it was that the headmaster wanted from the Prince boy.
“I don’t give a flying fuck about the Ministry or about Dumbledore, you old hag,” Clay said angrily, “just stay away from Harry and Romy!” He had wanted to keep his cool, make Harry and Romy proud of him, but he wouldn’t hear of the Carrows' or Umbridge giving his pack siblings trouble.
“I have no interest in your little girlfriend,” Umbridge said dismissively; she cared very little about the Romy girl and was sure that she had come here simply because of Prince and therefore was of little consequence. However, she might be the easier of the three to break if it came down to it. “What does Dumbledore want with Prince?” she asked him, looking at him with a serious expression.
“Go fuck yourself,” Clay said, his eyes narrowed and his arms crossed over his chest once more, mostly to keep himself from reaching across the desk and either strangling or punching the awful witch.
“If you insist on acting like the vile creature you are,” Umbridge said with a sneer on her face, as though there was something that stunk under her nose, “then I am going to have resort to unpleasant methods to convince you to answer my questions truthfully and civilly.”
“You can do whatever you want to me, won’t change anything,” Clayton said with certainty. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to keep Harry and Romy as safe as he possibly could. “You won’t get what you want, and you’ll get a pack of pissed of werewolves to deal with too, so go ahead, do your worst,” he said, sneering right back at her.
Umbridge gave a small incline of her head, a sign to the two Carrows and they took hold of Clayton once more, this time pushing him rather forcefully to the floor before drawing their wands. Clay had no chance to draw his own before the female, with a malicious grin on her face, whispered, “Crucio.”
Every muscle in Clay’s body tensed up as he fought not to scream as pain engulfed him, feeling as if his body had been set on fire. He refused to make a sound; he wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of it. After a moment or two, though it felt much longer, the female Carrow lifted the curse and Clay drew breath once more, unaware that he had been holding it in until he gasped for air, his lungs desperate for it.
“Now, now, Alecto,” Umbridge said, gently chastising the woman who had just tortured a student in front of her. “Let us not be hasty, let us give Mr Danes the chance to cooperate before we resort to that.”
From his position on the floor, struggling to recover from the torture curse, Clayton glared at Umbridge, his breathing heavy and uneven as he tried to calm himself down. Whatever they did to him it wouldn’t matter, he was here to protect Harry and he wouldn’t tell them anything. They could dish out as much pain as they wanted, it wouldn’t make a blind bit of difference; he would never tell them anything.
FGHP
Remus sat in one of the larger chairs in Dumbledore's office, Harry curled up on his lap, quietly sobbing into his chest. It had taken a few minutes for the headmaster to return after Remus had brought Harry back to the school, giving the two of them a few moments to calm down a little; the headmaster had no wish to deal with dramatics of teenagers. The older werewolf had struggled valiantly to calm down the young pup, who had been utterly devastated at being removed from his father and needed some comfort and reassurance.
If he hadn’t thought that it would have caused uproar then Remus would have considered bringing Fenrir there. He was the one that Harry really needed to calm and sooth him. However, he was aware that it was unlikely Fenrir knew the lengths that Harry was going to, to protect his father, and no doubt would not approve of the actions Harry had taken and certainly not of the vow that was about to happen. The headmaster was also not likely to approve but this was neither here nor there to Remus; Harry came first and he always would.
Dumbledore was now sat behind his desk, as he usually was; his expression was blank and emotionless, as though he hadn’t just witnessed Severus almost die and Harry’s heart break over seeing his father in such a state after months of believing that he was dead and gone. Remus felt strung out and emotional, and so he couldn’t even begin to imagine how awful Harry was feeling.
“Sorry,” Harry whispered to the professor, a short while later. He felt a little foolish for having reacted quite so badly, not to mention for crying all over Professor Lupin, who was, despite everything, still a man he didn’t really know dreadfully well. Regardless of this he was still struggling to let the man go. Something about his scent, and he supposed it was because Fenrir had bitten the man, smelt comforting and familiar.
“That’s quite okay, Harry,” Remus said quietly, running his fingers through the teen's messy hair, finding that having Harry in his arms was surprisingly comforting to him as well. “Are you ready to talk?” he asked, not wanting to pressure Harry into moving or having to discuss what came next, but they both knew that it would have to happen eventually.
“I think so,” Harry said, untangling himself from the professor’s arms, though doing so reluctantly, his breath shuddering as he forced himself to not start crying again. He took a seat in a chair next to the other werewolf, shuffling it closer so that they weren’t too far apart, before crossing his arms over his chest defensively as he refused to even look at Dumbledore.
He had wanted to remain curled up in the other werewolf’s arms where he found comfort and reassurance that everything was going to be fine. However, he refused to deal with Dumbledore in any other way than as grown up and he couldn’t do that if he was sat in the lap of an adult.
“Are you prepared to face your responsibilities now?” Dumbledore demanded to know. He had been most unimpressed by Harry’s rather undignified emotional outburst, but at least there was no doubt over his loyalty and affection for Severus now. The boy would do as instructed to protect his father, and that was the crux of the matter for now, nothing else mattered as much as that.
“Yes, I want to see the wording for the vow first but once that is agreed I will take it,” Harry agreed, looking up at the headmaster with fierce determination in his expression. "And I want regular visits with my Dad too," he added. If Dumbledore was going to move him to Hogwarts medical wing anyway, then it would surely be no trouble to make that happen.
"If I don't agree to that term?" the headmaster questioned, looking more exasperated than annoyed by this point, as though he knew this was coming and couldn’t really be bothered to try and avoid it.
"Then I will visit him anyway," Harry told him firmly. He was sure that Dumbledore would attempt to keep Severus hidden away, out of sight and therefore out of mind, but he would find him, no matter what. He wanted to be able to visit his Dad and make sure that he was okay.
"I thought as much,” Dumbledore said drily, completely unimpressed by Harry’s attitude. “Alright, I can agree to that," he said, as he pulled a piece of parchment across his desk and began to make notes on what he thought the vow should say. Of course, as Master of Death, it mattered very little what he was ‘obligated’ to do, but he needed Harry to believe it, if nothing else.
Harry and Remus waited, watching the old man write for a few minutes. “I am not sure this is a good idea,” Remus said quietly to Harry, while they were waiting. “Vows are very serious magic, Harry.”
“I know,” Harry said sombrely, turning to look at his fellow werewolf with sadness in his emerald eyes. “Particularly the unbreakable one,” he added, smiling wryly at the sight of the professor’s horrified expression. “But it is the only way I trust him to hold up his end of the deal and to let my Dad come out of this alive.”
“I understand that, but there has to be another way,” Remus said desperately, he didn’t want Harry having any part in this and he didn’t think that Fenrir would approve of Harry putting his life on the line in this way or any way either.
“If there is then neither Dumbledore or I have been able to think of it,” Harry said honestly. “This way he gets me to help him win this war, and I get my Dad back,” he explained.
“Why not a binding magical contract?” Remus suggested, desperate to dissuade Harry from this course of action. He was clutching at straws now and he knew it, he could see that the pup's mind was made up and he was stubbornly determined to carry this through to the bitter end. However, Remus was determined that he would suggest anything that could avoid the unbreakable vow.
“Because if he hurts my Dad, then I want him dead,” Harry said with a sharpness to his voice that Remus had never heard before. “I will not give him the slightest chance to break this and the only thing I am certain of is that Dumbledore only really cares about is his own life,” he added angrily, turning to glare at the old man in question.
The headmaster gave him a pointed look; he didn’t want to give Harry any chance to escape his duty either, and so the vow was the only option. “This is what I propose,” the headmaster said bluntly, holding out the piece of parchment.
Remus watched Harry closely for a few moments more before he got up and took the parchment from Dumbledore’s hand. With a sigh he read it over; Dumbledore had even included that Harry would be permitted bi-weekly visits to see Severus which was a relief but equally he couldn’t help but think that there was some form of catch, though if there was he couldn’t see it.
“I want the wording of this changed slightly,” Remus said after a few minutes. “I think that your side needs to specify that you will not take any actions to negatively impact Severus’ physical or mental health,” he explained. “It isn’t enough to just say you won’t kill him.”
“I agree,” Harry said firmly, leaning over the side of his chair to read the parchment in Lupin’s hands. “But I am agreeable to the rest,” he said with a nod of confirmation once he had read it through twice. He also had another clause to add but he would wait to add it in at the last possible moment because it wasn’t one that he thought Dumbledore would ever agree to otherwise.
“I assume that you would be agreeable to Remus casting the spell,” Dumbledore said, as he got to his feet and came around his desk.
Harry was quickly on his feet too, but still the headmaster towered over his comparatively small frame. “Yes,” Harry said, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore’s bright blue ones, unwavering. He wasn’t about to show any sign of fear to this man; Harry was determined that, on that front, he would make his father proud of him.
Neither of them noticed the way that Remus was fighting to keep his temper in check next to them, having risen to his feet as well. This wasn’t something that he wanted to happen, let alone to be part of. However, he knew it was what Harry wanted, and that if he didn’t do it then it would be someone else who did; perhaps someone more inclined to tip things in favour of the headmaster. At least he could trust himself to do it properly and honestly.
“Remus,” Dumbledore instructed simply and the older werewolf took out his wand. “We kneel,” he explained to the teenager, who was still stubbornly meeting his eyes.
“I know,” Harry said simply; the unbreakable vow was something that he had studied with his father once, less than a year ago, he realised with a painful clenching on his heart. His life was so different now and it felt so much longer than it had truly been.
Neither wanting to be the first to kneel, both Dumbledore and Harry lowered themselves down to the floor slowly, eyes still fixed on each other neither of them trusting the other. Remus stepped up next to them. “You’re really sure you want to do this?” he asked Harry, one last time, already knowing what answer he was going to get.
“Yes,” both Dumbledore and Harry said simultaneously, despite the question only being directed at the younger of the two of them. The headmaster held out his right hand, and Harry only hesitated for a few seconds before he grasped it firmly in his own; taking a calming breath, Remus touched his wand to their joined hands and nodded for them to proceed.
“Will you, Albus Dumbledore,” Harry started, his voice coming out much steadier than he thought it would, “ensure that Severus Prince, also known as Severus Snape, remains alive and not take any actions to negatively impact Severus’ physical or mental health?”
“I will,” the headmaster said calmly. All three occupants of the room watched as a bright flame, red in colour, trailed from Remus’ wand and wound itself around their connected hands.
Harry watched it in awe before he went on. “Will you release him into my care alive and healthy as soon as I have completed my part of this vow?” he asked.
“I will,” Dumbledore said again and a second tongue of flame encircled their hands, connecting with the first one until it was like a glowing chain.
“Will you permit me to visit him at least every other week while he is under your care?” Harry asked, his courage and determination growing. He had never believed that he would have to undergo such magic but it was more impressive than he had imagined and spurred him on.
“I will,” the headmaster agreed, a third thread of magic entwining itself with the first two, binding them together ever more closely.
“And will you make sure that my pack, including current and any future members,” Harry added quickly thinking that he wanted Remus covered as well, should he accept a position in the pack, “will remain unharmed, either directly or indirectly by your actions?”
Dumbledore glared at him for the addition, which had not been agreed upon, wondering who the boy might try to bring into his pack to protect them under such a clause; he also was concerned about how Harry’s additional clause would react to the ways he had been manipulating Romy’s parents into taking the girl and disposing of her, but saw no way around it at this point. “I will,” he said, a little reluctantly, and a fourth flame added to the growing chain of red magic around their hands.
“In return, will you, Harry Potter,” Dumbledore said, glad to finally be adding his own terms. But Harry glared at him fiercely and so he added, “also known as Harry Prince; will you do anything and everything required of you to bring about Voldemort's destruction, including the destruction of all fragments of his soul?” he asked.
Harry took a deep breath to calm himself before he spoke. “I will,” he said.
Seeming to know it was done, the flame that came this time bound with the others to make something more like a magical rope, or a fiery snake, binding them to the vow. Harry stared in awe as the magic seemed to fade into the air around them.
“I have to go,” Harry said rather suddenly, wrenching his hand free from the headmaster’s grip. The realisation of what he had done was washing over him in one intense wave of emotion. In that moment as the realisation sunk in, all he could think about was how angry and disappointed his mate would be with him. He needed to get himself out and clear his head for a while; he needed to come to terms with what he had done.
“Harry,” Remus called out after the teenager, but Harry didn’t stop or wait, slamming the door behind him on the way out.
Harry suddenly realised that he was crying again. The evening had all been too much and he leaned his back against the door to Dumbledore’s office, hoping that neither of the two men would follow after him; he really needed a moment alone to gather himself together.
His legs failed him and he felt too drained to move, and so he let his body slide down the door. He let his tears fall, wondering if he had just made a terrible mistake in promising his life to Albus Dumbledore and the war, without talking to Fenrir or in fact any pack member. If this vow didn’t kill him, then Fenrir sure would if he ever found out.

“He is just a boy, Albus,” Remus’ voice said, loud enough for it to carry through the door to where Harry was sitting.
“A boy with responsibilities,” Dumbledore responded. He sounded disturbingly calm considering everything that had happened that evening; Harry thought, the headmaster sounded perhaps a little smug too. Harry had never liked or had any respect for the old headmaster, but he truly loathed him now.
“He’s fifteen,” Remus pointed out as if this was something the headmaster wouldn’t have known, the indignant anger in his voice making Harry feel rather touched that the professor cared when not many others outside of his pack seemed to.
“And he is the only one who can destroy him!” Dumbledore argued back, and there was a loud noise that sounded like the headmaster had slammed his hands down on the solid wood of his desk. Harry, who had only been half listening before, focused as he heard this wondering what details he might be able to overhear that the headmaster might have kept from him.
“You can’t expect him to fight Voldemort alone!” Remus snapped back, his voice getting even louder as he seemed to be losing his temper. Harry snorted quietly at this, knowing that that was exactly what Dumbledore expected him to do.
“The prophecy marked Harry as Tom’s equal,” the headmaster said firmly. Of course, he had already told Harry that much, but still the teenager listened in carefully, his curiosity piqued. “He can fight him and he will!” Dumbledore insisted.
“Prophecies and unbreakable vows, it’s barbaric for someone his age!” Remus said, and Harry thought it sounded like the professor was pacing the room now.
“There is no point arguing,” the headmaster told him with that annoying calm he seemed to have. “The vow has been made and Harry will do as he is told,” Dumbledore went on and Harry reluctantly had to admit that he was right there; as much as he was touched by how much Lupin seemed to care, there was nothing more to be done; Harry knew he had no choice but to fight Dumbledore’s war now. “Now, will you return to help me move Severus or not?”
“Yes,” Remus said begrudgingly, sounding rather petulant from where Harry was sitting. “But only because I wouldn’t trust you with him, vow or no vow.” Harry smiled at that; Remus had already told him that he had had a bad relationship with Severus when they had been at school together, so Harry knew the protectiveness of the man was for his sake, rather than Severus’.
“I will keep Severus alive and intact as I promised,” Dumbledore said, before adding, “as long as Harry holds up his end of the bargain, of course.”
“You aren’t the man I thought you were,” Remus said; his voice was calmer, but there was still anger there.
“But at least I am a man, unlike you, Remus; you and that boy you care for so deeply,” Dumbledore said, in a derisive tone that clearly showed just how superior he thought he was.
“You always helped me, why turn on us now?” Remus asked. He had no idea what had caused the headmaster to become so jaded and bitter; he wondered if the man had always been this way and had just been better at hiding it before or whether the war that waged and the heavy responsibility of being Albus Dumbledore was finally getting to him.
“Because I have no use for you now,” Dumbledore said coldly, and Harry thought that he sounded almost amused by this fact.
By this point Harry was feeling physically sick and knew that he was done eavesdropping; he had to get out of there. One thing was for certain however, and that was he knew that he could trust Remus now. He was also irrevocably convinced that Albus Dumbledore was a threat to all of them.
Harry had also made up his mind that he wanted to hear this prophecy. It wasn’t the first time that it had been mentioned and he was becoming curiouser and curiouser as to what it contained. He was determined to find out more about it and he was going to go and get it, even if he fell down the rabbit hole in the process.
FGHP
It was with a heavy heart that Remus returned with Dumbledore to Grimmauld place. There had been such happy memories here for him, stolen moments with a man whom he had loved and yet they were all destroyed now. The man, who had once owned his heart, had become a mindless maniac and there was nothing anyone could do to bring him back from that.
The horrors committed in this place had seeped into the very foundation of the building; it made his skin crawl to walk the corridors and Remus was glad that Harry was safe and well within the confines of the castle once more, away from the nightmares that lived here. He made a mental note to check in on the boy once he had returned as well, and knew Severus was safely in the infirmary.
“I need to talk to Sirius,” Remus said to Dumbledore. “Alone preferably.”
“He is in his room,” Dumbledore said, “though I am not sure if that is prudent.”
“In the wise words of Harry, I don’t really care what you think is prudent.”
“Very well,” the headmaster said dryly, with a resigned sigh, “if you feel as if you must, but I do not recommend it.” Sirius had become irrational and unstable, and Dumbledore knew that he was furious with Remus for having kept him from Harry, so there was likely little good that would come from them talking. Though, he could see no real harm to it if Remus was determined. “I will wait for you in the kitchen, let me know when you are ready to fetch Severus. The locking spell can be undone with Alohomora Duo easily enough, by anyone outside of the room.”
“Thank you,” Remus said curtly, heading in the direction of Sirius’ bedroom. It caused his heart a painful lurch when he didn’t even have to think about where to go, he simply followed his feet to the familiar bedroom that he and Sirius had spent many a happy night, creating so many happy memories.
With his heart hammering loudly in his chest, Remus removed his wand and muttered the incantation Dumbledore had told him and, true to the headmaster’s word, the door clicked open. Almost at once Sirius came barrelling out, charging straight into Remus almost sending them both to the floor.
“Is he still here?” Sirius demanded to know, grabbing at the front of Remus’ robes, an insane look in his wide grey eyes. “I have to see him. HARRY!” he yelled as though the teenager would come running the moment he called his name.
“He isn’t here,” Remus said in frustration as he pushed the other man off of him and got to his feet, Sirius not far behind in doing the same. It had been well over a month since he had left him and yet still Sirius was more interested in this teenage boy, who he didn’t even really know, than he was in his former lover.
“Why? You took him away from me! How could you?!” Sirius raged, turning on Remus now, seemingly furious at him. It was enough for Remus to lose his cool with the man, almost; however, he had more restraint than that thankfully.
“I didn’t take him anywhere,” Remus informed his ex-lover, keeping his voice calm and even, which took a fair amount of effort to do considering the amount of anger coursing through him and not all of it was directed at Sirius either, the whole evening had made his blood boil.
“You did! He loves you. I’m his Godfather, he should love me!” Sirius ranted; it was clear to Remus that the man was completely deranged, there was no denying it any more. He hadn’t been entirely sane since escaping from Azkaban but Remus had never thought that he was this bad.
“He doesn’t love me, don’t be so ridiculous,” Remus snapped somewhat irritably. Sirius was talking crazy talk. Harry didn’t love him; it was just that they had a lot in common, they shared the same disease, he had been kind to the teenager, they were both connected to Greyback, and that had allowed them to bond. What they had was trust, not love.
“You took him from me, Remus,” Sirius insisted, sounding almost like a petulant child now. “He was my responsibility; I went to Godric's Hollow the night James and Lily died, I was going to take him!”
Remus wanted to hit him, though he never would, too scared of passing his curse on to others to act so rashly. Knowing that he couldn’t didn’t remove his desire to do so, however. “Sirius, don’t be ridiculous, you can’t even take care of yourself. How did you expect to be able to take care of a young child?” He knew that it was a low blow but Remus knew how to hit the man just where it hurt.
“I would have if you hadn’t left,” Sirius told him stubbornly, not wanting to hear what his former lover had to say on the matter; his own mind was made up on how it should and would have been. “None of this would have happened,” he told him, “you shouldn’t have left me, Remy.”
“You know why I had to leave, Sirius. I needed to find a cure or an answer to my condition; I had already hurt a little boy, I didn't want to risk hurting anyone else; I had to go. I needed to find answers,” Remus said with a sigh. It was painful to think of that young, innocent little boy. He lived with the guilt of that every single day. He could not add to that the guilt of what had become of Sirius too, or else he would end up being consumed by it all.
Sirius hadn’t known of the little boy, Remus had never told him. He only mentioned him now to see if his former lover was paying attention to anything that he was saying. He was sure that Sirius was deaf to everything that didn’t relate to Harry and that was painful to him.
“No, you shouldn’t have left, you never should have left me alone,” Sirius raged on, completely glossing over the fact that Remus had mentioned hurting a young boy, as if it didn’t matter. The werewolf’s heart sunk a little when Sirius didn’t even show any sign of acknowledging what he had done.
“You are being ridiculous,” Remus said, sadness in his voice. He didn’t even know what to do with Sirius any more; he was just so far gone from the young man he had fallen in love with, what felt like, a lifetime ago. He was beginning to think that Dumbledore was right; this had been a bad idea.
“No, you left,” he insisted, determined to make Remus see how it was all his fault. “And now you’re taking Harry away from me! He’s my boy, mine! James made me his Godfather, not you!” He didn’t understand why Remus was doing this to him.
“Are you surprised that Harry wanted nothing to do with you?” Remus asked with exasperation. “Look at the state of you,” he said waving his hand in Sirius’ general direction.
“There is nothing wrong with me!” Sirius said in a rage. “I just need to see Harry, to speak to him, I need him to understand.”
“Harry wants nothing to do with you!” Remus snapped, starting to lose his patience. It didn’t seem to matter how many times he said it, Sirius was never going to realise how very wrong it was. It seemed he was delusional enough to believe his own ramblings and Remus felt sorry for him.
“He will,” Sirius shouted. “I just need to talk to him!” He just needed that one chance to see James’ son, to explain that they were supposed to be a family; he knew that Harry would understand, even if Remus couldn’t.
“You scared him, Sirius,” Remus exclaimed, tugging at his own hair in frustration. “He didn’t want anything to do with you, he was terrified of you!” Remus was so tired of this over and over again. He wished that Sirius could see how much he had upset the teenager, because then he might realise how skewed his perspective was.
Sirius glared at Remus, anger burning in his heart as he raised a fist and hit his ex-lover in the jaw. “Take me to him!” he demanded.
“If I have my way, you will never lay eyes on him again,” Remus actually shouted, his temper finally snapping as he rubbed at his jaw where Sirius had hit him. “His life is plenty hard enough without you being part of it.” He knew that Harry was already struggling with the pressures he was under and there was nothing that would make him inflict the troubled soul, which Sirius had become, upon the young man.
“You can’t keep me from him,” Sirius said, almost pleading, sadness and desperation in his every word. As though he hadn’t just punched Remus; as though his former lover hadn’t just stood there and yelled at him.
“I can and I will; you will never see Harry again,” Remus said angrily, every protective instinct coming to the forefront. “You will never see him, never speak to him; it will be as though you don’t exist to him. You can consider yourself dead to me too, because the man I once loved is obviously dead and gone.”
Sirius was apparently lost for words after that, and so instead just swung his fist again, refusing to believe the words that came from his former lover. He couldn’t believe that Remus could be so cruel.
“You wait, I’m going to find him and then we’ll see,” Sirius raged, hitting Remus for the third time, this time the blow hitting the werewolf in the eye. “I’ll find him!” he shouted as he barged passed Remus and down the stairs.
“Sirius!” Remus shouted, fearing for his former lover. He didn’t love Sirius as he once had, but he didn’t want him hurt or in trouble either; and Remus knew that that could so easily happen if he was careless.
Dumbledore, who had been trying very hard not to eavesdrop on the argument, came up from the kitchen just in time to see Sirius charge from the house and out into the night. “Sirius!” Remus shouted again from where he was standing at the top of the stairs as the front door slammed shut.
The headmaster frowned at the door; he was sure that he had told Black to remain inside so that he wasn’t seen. However, Dumbledore swiftly decided that he didn’t care in the slightest. Let the madman get captured, he actually cared very little. Sirius was of very little use to him; not even Harry cared about him and Sirius was probably more trouble than he was worth at this point.
He turned as he heard another set of footfalls upon the stairs and saw Remus coming down looking a little sheepish, clutching at his jaw, his eye looking a little bruised. “It went well I see,” Dumbledore said with a hint of sarcasm to his tone.
“Don’t, just don’t,” Remus snapped, definitely not in the mood to hear how Dumbledore had been right. “We need to move Severus,” he said, wanting to change the subject. He also was keen to get back to the school to go check on Harry and that couldn’t happen until he knew that Severus had been moved safely.
“Whatever you want,” Dumbledore said with a happy but patronising smile on his face; he did so like being right, even on the small things.
FGHP
“Harry!” Romy exclaimed as he walked into the dormitory. She had returned first to find that neither of her pack brothers were back yet, something she hadn’t been expecting. The rest of the Slytherin boys had just been settling down to bed when she had returned so she had sat in the common room until Clay had returned.
Clayton had just finished telling her about what had happened with Umbridge and his rather unwarranted and unexpected detention, leaving out any mention of the cruciartus curse, when Harry had walked in. He looked shell shocked, his cheeks tear stained, as he walked past them, heading straight to the dormitory without saying a word.
“What happened?” Clayton demanded as the three of them reached the dormitory, Harry starting to get ready for bed, not feeling much up to talking. Clay was all prepared to go and hunt down the headmaster and kill him if he had so much as laid a finger on Harry.
“It’s nothing, it’s fine,” Harry said with determination, pulling off his school robes and throwing them in the general direction of his trunk. He couldn’t explain any of what had happened to his pack siblings, he just couldn’t. He had spent the last hour wandering the castle, avoiding detection, thinking everything over and calming himself down.
Only after that had he felt ready to face Romy and Clayton. “Can we just talk about how your evenings were instead?” Harry pleaded as he pulled on a t-shirt over his bare chest. “Romy, how did things go with your parents?”
“Oh, well it was just Jennifer,” Romy told him as Harry disposed of his trousers and pulled on his pyjama bottoms. Even as she spoke her eyes were still fixed on Harry, watching him with concern, not entirely sure what to make of his behaviour.
“Fuck that,” Clay said dismissively, watching his best friend as closely as Romy was and not liking the way he was acting one bit. He could see that something had happened and he didn’t like that Harry was hiding it from them. “Harry, what’s wrong?” he asked; he and Romy were still largely being kept in the dark about what was going on with Dumbledore, and he didn’t like it. They were a family and that meant they trusted each other with stuff like this.
“Please, Clay, don’t,” Harry said sadly, struggling to keep himself together. It had been a long and difficult day and he didn’t have the strength to recount it for his pack siblings, not just yet anyway. He knew that if they forced him to tell them then he was going to completely break down and he couldn’t afford to do that. He had so much to think about and now he had a war to fight on top of it all.
“No, something happened, what is it?” Clayton insisted, not wanting to be brushed aside again, so that Harry could continue keeping secrets. He wanted to help; he needed Harry to know that whatever he was going through, whatever he was dealing with, he wasn’t alone. He had help, they would do whatever it took to help him and they would do it without question because they loved him.
“I don’t want to talk about it, okay,” Harry requested, wrapping his arms around his own waist as if trying to shield himself from their curious gazes. “Just please leave it,” he begged. He thought he might feel better once in his pyjamas that still had the faint aroma of the territory on them from their week at home. However, they only made him feel worse, a pang of sadness echoing through him as he thought of Fenrir and everything that he was hiding from him, the man he was supposed to love.
“Clay, leave him be,” Romy said sternly, seeing quietly clearly that Harry was silently struggling with something that he just wasn’t ready to share. She could relate to that; there were a lot of things about her life that she wasn’t ready to share with anyone and therefore wouldn’t force Harry to do so either. “He’ll tell us when he’s ready.”
“I will tell you,” Harry promised sincerely. He would share it with them, when he had at least had time to take it all in himself. “Just not tonight, alright… it was a lot and I’m still processing it,” he tried to explain.
“Just tell me one thing,” Clay requested. “Did he hurt you, did he do anything he wasn’t meant to?” he asked. No matter what, if Dumbledore had hurt Harry then he would go find him right this moment. He had had a painful and difficult evening keeping from answering Umbridge’s questions, and he would do it all again for Harry or Romy, no matter who it was he was protecting them from.
Harry laughed. “It’s fine, Clay,” he said, feeling touched by his friend’s protectiveness, but thinking that he was overreacting; the headmaster needed him after all. “He didn’t hurt me, not like that,” Harry told him, pulling both Romy and Clayton towards him simultaneously, into a hug, just as there was a knock on the door to the dormitory.
“You all decent?” the familiar voice of Professor Lupin called out, making them all laugh as they broke from their group embrace to look towards the door.
“You can come in, Professor,” Harry called out to him. He was rather surprised that Lupin would have come to see them, with no idea what it might be about; it hadn’t been all that long since they had seen each other last.
“I just wanted to make sure that you were okay,” the Professor said with a fond smile as Harry disentangled himself from his pack siblings and went to Remus, flinging his arms around his waist.
“Thank for tonight and yes, I’m fine,” Harry said, hugging his professor in earnest, much to the confusion of Romy and Clayton who hadn’t been expecting this. They honestly hadn’t thought the two of them were on hugging terms.
“Umm, Harry…” Romy said tentatively, wanting to know what had got into her pack brother for him to be acting so strangely.
“Have you lost your marbles?” Clayton asked being slightly less delicate about things, as usual, “He’s a teacher!” Clay added, stating the obvious, which made Harry laugh a little.
“No,” Harry said releasing Remus from the embrace, looking up at the older werewolf “he isn’t just a teacher, he’s one of us.”
“That is very kind of you, Harry,” Remus said with a mildly amused smile, “but I haven’t agreed to anything yet.”
“Yeah, yeah, semantics” Harry said dismissively. He already knew that Remus would join them, he just had a feeling in his gut; the man cared about him too much not to join their pack. “Thank you for checking on me,” Harry said, truly grateful that the professor cared about him that much.
“You’re welcome, but I will leave you to have some time with your friends,” Remus said, not wanting to intrude on the three young werewolves’ time together. “If you need anything, you know where to find me.”
“Thank you, Professor, for everything,” Harry said as Remus bid them all goodnight and left. Harry couldn’t have been more grateful for Remus, everything he had done for him tonight; Harry knew he probably wouldn’t have coped with everything that had happened, without him.
“He’s joining the pack, isn’t he!” Clay said, looking at the closed dormitory door where the professor had stood only moments before; the look on his face saying that he wasn’t entirely sure what he thought about this.
“Hopefully,” Harry said, smiling softly to himself. He really did want Remus to join the pack; it was where he belonged, Harry was sure about it.
“Not every teacher would have come all the way down here to check on you, Harry,” Romy said, looking to her pack brother with nothing short of intrigue. She was curious about what had happened this evening to spur on such a friendship but she knew better than to push the matter tonight when it was clear that Harry didn’t want to talk about it, or simply wasn’t ready to.
“I think you under estimate what we went through together tonight,” Harry said softly, the smile slipping from his lips. The memories of his father close to death and in unmentionable amounts of agony coming rushing to the forefront of his mind. Remus had helped him through that, helped him take the first step to saving him; for that Harry would be eternally grateful to him.
“Which you won’t tell us about,” Clay said bitterly, not liking how many secrets there were between them. He would have gladly told Harry all about the awful detention he had served this evening with Umbridge; however, Harry hadn’t really asked him.
“Nope, not yet, soon but I need to figure some stuff out first,” Harry said, looking to his pack brother apologetically. He just couldn’t face rehashing it again this evening. It was too much to cope with considering everything that he had gone through. Soon; he would tell them soon, but not tonight; tonight he wanted to fall asleep with them on either side of him, the Fenrir scented blanket covering them.
“Least we have another ally here, that can’t be bad,” Romy said, as always trying to keep the peace between her pack brothers and look on the bright side. She didn’t want Harry and Clayton to start butting heads again, it was the last thing they needed right now.
“You’re about to have one less ally, if you don’t shut up and go to sleep!” Draco snapped irritably from behind the drawn curtains of his four poster bed. His voice was gruff and clearly he had been sleeping until a few moments ago.
“Make that two less!” Theo added from the other side of the room, his addition making all three werewolves laugh a little. They hadn’t realised how late it was when they had come back to the dormitory, too preoccupied in their thoughts to register the fact that the common room had been almost empty.
“Sorry guys, didn’t realise how late it was,” Harry said apologetically, still trying to stifle his giggles. Though, at least, he was making the effort not to laugh, something Clayton was not managing at all. He let out a loud oomph as Romy elbowed him in the ribs, only adding to the din.
“SHUT UP” Draco and Theo yelled at them simultaneously, only making the male werewolves laugh harder as Romy rounded the two of them up and encouraged the three of them over to Harry’s bed so that they could get some sleep.
FGHP
Sirius was furious, livid really; he couldn’t believe that Remus had kept him away from Harry after they had fought so hard to find him. It wasn’t fair and he didn’t know how to make the werewolf see that; as Harry’s Godfather surely it was his right to see Harry, and Harry’s right to know him.
It was dark and cold out, being only early February, but he wanted to walk for a while longer yet, figure out what he was going to do. He couldn’t go back to Grimmauld Place, he just couldn’t. He had nothing left; Remus was gone, Harry wasn’t being given a chance to speak to him and he wasn’t even serving a purpose for Dumbledore any more.
All he felt right now was the overwhelming urge to drink himself into oblivion so that he could forget everything and not think for a while, at least about anything other than the alcohol. He also intended to keep drinking too, so that he wouldn’t feel the hangover.
He didn’t take into consideration that he was still a wanted man. Even if he had then he probably wouldn’t have cared all that much. He may have been a wanted man but he was also a man with nothing left to lose. Everything that he had once held dear was long gone; all he had left was his hatred and his resentment.
So he certainly didn’t expect it when several hands suddenly gripped him and breath brushed over his ear. “Hello, Black, we’ve been looking for you,” the person whispered.
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Fragmented Soul