Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Family Means More Than Blood	By : WingsofaDream Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 59825 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 7
Disclaimer: Harry Potter and its associated characters are property of J K Rowling, not me. This story is not being written for profit, just for the lols.

Chapter List
- 7
- 8
- 9
1st November 1987: Morning

Harry's eyes slowly opened only to be clenched shut tightly again upon seeing the bright, harsh yellow light of his surrounding area. He groaned lightly as he rolled onto his back, his arm coming up to rest half over his forehead and half over his eyes as well. He remembered everything, only too well, but he just could not summon the effort or energy to speak or look up properly.

"Haryon?" A comforting voice came by his side at that moment as a slim, cool hand pressed against the top of his forehead which was not covered by his arm already.

"High Priest?" Harry whispered, letting his head lull to the side and pulling his arm away from his eyes. Carefully, he opened them a little bit but closed them once again upon seeing that it was, indeed, his teacher and that the room was still too bright.

"How are you feeling?" The man enquired gently as the mattress beneath Harry dipped a bit, signaling that he was now perched on the edge.

"Tired, but otherwise I'm all right." The young boy answered as he tried opening his eyes again. This time, instead of shutting them again, he just squinted to give his eyes time to get used to the new light. "If you don't mind me asking, High Priest, why are you here?" He questioned curiously, tilting his head in order to look at the man beside him.

Sephiran looked concerned but still had that serene quality that always seemed to be present in him. Harry noted as well that they were not in the main part of the Infirmary like he thought he would be. He was in fact in one of the private, side rooms used for when students had extremely contagious and stubborn viruses.

"It was agreed that it would be best if you woke up to a familiar, friendly face. Headmaster Dumbledore has gone to support your father and your godfather in their trials."

"Trials?" Harry echoed fearfully, his eyes instantly flying the rest of the way open.

"They were both found with the Dark Mark; I'm sorry."

"But they haven't been loyal to Voldemort for years! Not since Aunt Narcissa's death! They've been spying for Dumbledore for three years now, surely that counts for something?" Harry cried desperately, sitting up in his bed quickly and going to get out, up onto his feet.

"Haryon, Haryon, calm down; there is no need for such panic." Sephiran reassured him, resting a hand on the boy's shoulder and gently pushing him back down. "If what you say is true then there is nothing to worry about. Our Great Lady would not stand by idle when one of Her most faithful Apprentices suffered an injustice. When the light of morning comes, we shall sort everything out."

Harry lay back down obediently and released a small sigh. He raised a hand and rubbed the area just above his right eyebrow feeling the rough outline of the cut the Dark Lord had created, marking him. There was a definite shape to it; felt to him like a lightning bolt. "What happened to Voldemort?"

"He's disappeared." The Havanist High Priest answered softly, pulling the covers up a little further up to the boy's chin.

Harry looked up at him upon hearing that, his eyes widening in surprise. "They just let him escape?"

"No. According to your godfather, the Killing curse you pushed him out of the way from rebounded off of you and hit the Dark Lord and, apparently, his body was completely destroyed."

"Guess that at least explains why I'm not dead then." Harry said with a slight smile, staring up at the white ceiling high above him. Sephiran gave a small chuckle at that as well and an easy silence passed over them for a few moments before Harry spoke once again: "What is it he did to me?"

The High Priest gave a small sigh and his blue eyes fell to look at his own fingers which trailed gently over the crisp, white bed sheet. "None of us are completely sure, though, before Headmaster Dumbledore had to leave, the main belief was that he enchanted you with some sort of spell. Having you awake and seeing that you're in no obvious pain or discomfort, I would think that he cast some sort of powerful protection charm on you which would explain why you managed to survive the Killing curse. Whether he intended to cast such a spell or whether it is the result of a half finished curse, we may never find out."

Harry decided at that moment not to mention the fact that he vaguely remembered Voldemort had promised to take him home and look after him because, looking back, it was all probably just a lie to gain his trust in order to get him close enough to kill him. Though that did not explain why the man had glared at Pettigrew in such a way when he found out about him being muted. Nothing could be proved or disproved now so the young boy saw little point in bringing it up. All it could possibly do would be to create more questions to which answers would never be found because Voldemort was gone now.

"Voldemort's gone..." Harry suddenly whispered in disbelief, the fact only really just dawning on him.

"Yes. For the foreseeable future at least, Lord Voldemort is no longer an issue." The man sitting beside him gave a small smile and shook his head. "I always thought you were a remarkable boy, Young Haryon, but never did I think for a second that you would play a key part in the demise of the Great Dark Lord."

"The newspapers are going to go mad."

"I'm sure your godfather and his son will be more than happy to help you handle the press."

Upon mention of Draco, Harry's eyes widened. Lucius had been arrested along with his father! "Where's Draco? Surely he's not been left at the manor all on his own?"

"Young Mister Malfoy is being retrieved from his home by a couple of Aurors as we speak. He'll be brought straight here and then I imagine that the Aurors will want to have a word with you about what happened. They may use some of what you say in defense of your godfather and in persecution of Peter Pettigrew, though in the latter case I hardly think it will be required." Sephiran replied seconds before the sound of the doors to the Infirmary banging open drew the attentions of both the room's occupants to the door to the private room in anticipation of someone bursting in.

"Harry?" A voice from behind the door called.

"Mister Malfoy, please keep your voice down." That sounded like Madam Pomfrey.

"You said he was in here! Where is he?"

"He is in one of the private rooms, Mister Malfoy, do calm down."

The speaking stopped then and Harry shifted until he was sitting up. A few moments of stillness passed then before the door to the room Harry and Sephiran were in opened to reveal an annoyed looking Madam Pomfrey and a flustered, panicked looking Draco. The young Malfoy's gaze immediately fell onto his best friend and in a second he had moved from the doorway to actually being on the bed on top of Harry.

"You're okay! You're okay!" Draco gasped happily, hugging the other boy around the waist tightly and burying his face in the crook of his neck. "I was so scared he was going to take you from me too! But you're okay!"

Harry gave Draco's back a small pat of reassurance, not really sure what else he could do to comfort his best friend who was still dressed in his pyjamas. Looking over the top of Draco's head, he caught sight of three other people and he frowned upon recognising at least one of them. "You!" He cried, spotting James Potter enter the small room with the other two adults; another man who looked a little insane in Harry's opinion and a woman with the wildest coloured hair he had ever seen. "Why in Merlin's name did they have to send you?"

"Now Haryon," Sephiran said in a somewhat stern tone though it was still soft and sympathetic.

"Who is he?" Draco asked, twisting around on the bed and settling down next to his best friend and looking at the specticled Auror.

"James Potter." Harry told him quietly, not taking his eyes off of the man. "I don't want him in here." The dark haired boy insisted stubbornly even as Draco's eyes lit up in realisation.

"You're THE James Potter? Oh dear Merlin, and I let you in my house! Ugh, we'll have to get Dobby to bathe everything in cleaning charms." The blond sneered causing Harry to giggle a little before he sobered again and frowned.

"I don't want him in here." He insisted again. "I won't say another word until he's gone." And with that, Harry pressed his lips together tightly. Just in a show of solidarity, Draco joined him, pressing his own lips together as well.

"Now c'mon..." Potter began to protest but it was surprisingly Madam Pomfrey who interrupted him.

"I don't know why any of you are talking about this now because you won't be allowed to get a word from this poor boy until I've examined him thoroughly and given him the all clear. You of all people should know what he's been through and I won't allow him to be questioned for the next few hours until he has a clean bill of health." She told the three Aurors sternly. "Now, unless you're a trained healer or acting as legal guardian I want you out of here. Go on, away with you all." She shooed the adults, somehow earning an indignant cry of "watch the hair!" from the female one. When they were gone, the woman turned back to the other occupants in the room and gave Draco a pointed look. "That includes you as well, Mister Malfoy."

"No!" Harry protested quickly, clutching onto Draco at the exact same moment as the blond tightened his grip on him. "Please Madam Pomfrey, can't Draco stay? Please?"

The school nurse seemed to consider the request silently for a while before releasing a sigh and shaking her head in defeat. "Fine, you may stay, Mister Malfoy."

The boys broke out in twin grins of triumph.

"But if you start to make a nuisance of yourself or cause a fuss it'll be straight out with you."

"Of course." The blond conceded though he did not sound as if he really meant it.

"Off the bed then, Mister Malfoy." Madam Pomfrey ordered briskly as she moved around to the side of the bed Draco was currently occupying.

"What? But..." He began to protest before Harry gave him a sharp pinch to silence him. Draco got the message and reluctantly rolled over Harry so he could get off on the other side and stand beside the bed while the nurse did her thing. It was while he moved that Sephiran stood as well and he was noticed by the young aristocrat for the first time. "Who are you?"

"Oh, Draco, this is High Priest Sephiran. High Priest, this is Draco Malfoy, my Uncle Lucius's son." Harry introduced them as Madam Pomfrey began her examination of him.

"It's nice to meet you, young man." Sephiran greeted Draco with his usual smile as he held out his hand for the boy to shake.

"Nice to meet you too." Draco returned the greeting as he shook the older man's hand. "So you're the priest that Harry seems to worship so much, hmm?"

"Draco!" Harry cried in protest, an embarrassed blush colouring his cheeks.

Sephiran merely smiled at the comment.

"Mister Malfoy, did I not warn you about making a nuisance of yourself?" Madam Pomfrey reminded him.

"What? I was just asking an innocent question!" The blond insisted, sounding highly insulted. Harry gave a snort only to be immediately shushed by the nurse. "You know, your father would flip out if he knew he was here acting as your guardian." He mused easily, leaning against the wall behind Harry's bed and just to the side in a manner that Harry knew Lucius would scold him for if he was present.

"Why would Father flip?" Harry asked as he stared straight ahead at the Lumos Madam Pomfrey had cast in order to check his eyes.

"Because he doesn't like your High Priest. No offense to you, sir." He quickly said to the calm man.

"No offense taken."

"But he's never even met High Priest Sephiran." Harry pointed out, frowning slightly at this new piece of information.

"And you had never met Mister Potter before you decided to reject him, am I correct?" Sephiran pointed out.

"That's different! I have reason not to like him; he was awful to my father when they were younger. You've done nothing to my father though. I don't understand why he wouldn't like you. I've never described you in anything but a positive light."

"And that's probably why you're father doesn't like him." Draco replied, leaning over to fiddle with Harry's hair affectionately. "You know how he feels about you; practically worships the ground you walk on. The fact that there's someone out there who you respect and admire just as much or possibly even more than him ticks him off. He's just jealous is all."

"My, what an observant youth you are." Sephiran complimented.

"Not really. I've heard him ranting to Father during the year when Harry's at school." Draco replied with a small grin.

"That's ridiculous though, how could I possibly admire anyone more than Father?" Harry asked, dutifully not moving his head as instructed by the witch who was still hovering around him, checking him over.

"That's Uncle Sev all over though isn't it?" Draco said with a small shrug, bringing an end to the conversation as he immediately went onto talk about how Lucius had come to find out about Voldemort's plans. Harry was hardly listening to that though, he was too busy contemplating this new information he had on his father.

************************************************

1st November 1987: Midday

Harry shifted uncomfortably in the hard chair outside the court room where Lucius's trial was being held. He was half slumped on Draco, who sat next time him, his head resting on blond's shoulder. The top half of his body was pulled over at the awkward angle, but he put up with it as neither boy wanted to end their physical contact.

After Harry had been given the all clear by Madam Pomfrey, he had been questioned by the Aurors for about an hour in which he told them everything which had happened; almost everything. He purposely left out the fact that Voldemort really did not appear to want to hurt him and he also left exactly what he had been told about his family. He had described the fog that had seemed to cover his mind and the Aurors had guessed that it was some form of the Imperius curse. That was enough to satisfy them and so Harry had seen no point in revealing how his deepest fear had been used to manipulate him.

Once the questioning had been done, the Aurors had left and he and Draco had been able to have some much needed sleep. When they next woke, it was light outside finally. A quick breakfast was eaten by all and then, after dressing and washing all in the Infirmary to avoid the rest of the school's population, Sephiran had taken Harry and Draco to the Wizingamort where all the Death Eater trials were being held. Professor Dumbledore met them a fair distance away from where they were due and then Sephiran left them in order to return to Saint Gwenifwar's as he had left without given instructions as he had imagined he would still be returning promptly. So, with Dumbledore as their guardian then, they had successfully avoided the notice of the press with the help of a charm and entered the building which they were currently in now.

The first stop of the day had been to the trial of Peter Pettigrew which was the first trial to take place as he had the most damning evidence against him. Harry had been required to give evidence, which he had found horribly daunting but had managed to do well as he kept in mind the fact that it was something that had to be done. The fact that those who questioned him remained kind and un-intimidating also helped. Before he had spoken however, he and the rest of the court heard that in actuality, very few people knew that Pettigrew was a Death Eater. His friends were unaware of it, Dumbledore and the other staff at Hogwarts were unaware and a good handful of his fellow Death Eaters also did not know which was why he had managed to infiltrate Hogwarts so easily. As soon as the evidence was given, Harry was allowed to leave the court room and was reunited with Draco in the chairs which they were still sitting in at that moment.

It had been planned for them to attend Lucius's trial but they had fallen asleep and missed it and had also slept through Severus' trial as well. They were woken by Dumbledore to eat some lunch and were also told what had happened in the trials. Dumbledore himself had provided testimonies in defense of the two men and if anything was going to save either man it would be that. Lucius had more of a chance of getting through all of this unscathed as he had his rescue of Harry on his side as well.

Back to the present moment, a mere ten minutes since Dumbledore had left them to attend Lucius's verdict and another ten minutes since they had finished their lunch, both boys were feeling antsy from sitting down for so long and from the anticipation of what would happen to their respective fathers. The corridors were completely deserted apart from them, everyone attending a Death Eater's trial or out and about helping in the rounding up of those Death Eaters who had yet to be caught but had been snitched on those who had already been tried. The majority of the press were being kept outside for security reasons mostly but Harry suspected that Dumbledore had pulled a few strings as well so that he and Draco could sit and wait for their fathers without worrying about suddenly being ambushed by questions and the flashing of photography.

"Would you stop squirming?" Draco mumbled, his eyes shut and his cheek resting on top of Harry's unruly hair.

"Sorry but my arm's going numb in this position." The dark haired boy replied, shifting a bit more to try and ease the pressure on his arm.

Draco gave a small grunt in answer to that but otherwise passed no comment and a short moment of silence passed between them. "How long's it been since Dumbledore left us?" He asked though a yawn eventually.

"About ten minutes or so I think."

"Merlin, how long does it take to say whether someone's guilty or not?"

"You're being awfully calm about all of this." Harry pointed out, finally giving up and pulling away from his best friend in favour of stretching out his tingling arm.

"Do you think my father's innocent?" Draco questioned with another yawn as he stretched his entire body in his chair, raising his arms high above his head and pushing his legs away from him.

"Of course I do, Draco!"

"There you go then. I know he's innocent, you know he's innocent, Dumbledore knows he's innocent; they aren't going to find him guilty, Harry, you made sure of that when you told the Aurors what happened." The blond told him easily, finishing his stretch and giving Harry's hand, which was settled on the arm-rest beside him, a gentle pat.

"I'm worried about my father." Harry murmured quietly, looking down at his knees.

Draco frowned lightly at that before he slid off his chair and got onto his knees on the floor. He shifted so he was at Harry's feet and then he leaned forward until he was in the other boy's direct line of sight. "Your father is going to be completely fine, Harry. Three years of spying for The Light has to mean something and I bet you anything Dumbledore will make sure it means something. Before you know it, we'll all be back at the manor, sitting in front of a nicely warm fire and looking back at this time as the bad memory that it is."

"But what if it doesn't work out like that Draco?" Harry asked fearfully, closing his eyes to hold back scared tears. "What if they sentence him and throw him into Azkaban? I don't want my father to go to such a horrible place; he doesn't deserve it."

"If your father is found guilty, and that's a really big if, Harry, then I know my father won't stop until the sentence is revoked and Uncle Severus is wandering around free again. And until he is out and free, you'll stay at the manor with father and I." Draco paused and brought his arms up to wrap around Harry's neck loosely. He rose up on his knees a little so their faces were closer together and made sure that he had bright green eyes fixed on him before speaking again. "Three months after my mother died, you made a promise to never leave me and to make sure that you never break that promise and your never forced to leave me, I have to look after you. As long as your by my side, Harry, I'll always look after you if only so I don't have to lose you too."

Harry gave Draco a watery smile at that assurance and he wrapped his arms around the blond in return, pulling them closer and into a tighter hug. Then, without warning, the doors of the court room opened. The boys instantly separated and stood to their feet, watching eagerly as people began to file out of the court room. When it looked like Dumbledore or Lucius were not going to come out any time soon, the pair silently agreed that they were going to have to ask someone.

"Excuse me, sir?" Draco said confidently to one of the men who had just left the room as Harry held back, not wanting to draw attention to himself. When the man looked down at him, he continued: "Would you be kind enough to tell me the verdict?"

The man smiled down at him, obviously recognising Draco for who he was. "Not guilty, young man." He informed before walking on.

Draco's jaw dropped happily and he stood staring in front of him for a second before turning to face Harry who was watching him nervously. Upon seeing the blond's expression however, Harry jumped to the right conclusion and his eyes lit up and his own mouth opened wide in a huge smile. At the same time, both boys released loud, happy cheers and rushed towards each other, catching the other in their arms and then jumping up and down excitedly much to the amusement of several people who passed them by.

They calmed themselves down after several jumps and separated before starting to eagerly await the Malfoy patriarch to come out of the court room. Dumbledore came out first, busily talking to a man that Harry recognised as the Minister of Magic from his pictures in the paper occasionally. When the Headmaster noticed Harry watching him, he offered a playful wink before turning all his attention to his conversation though, unless the dark haired boy was mistaken, the elderly wizard had not missed the bright smile that he had given in return.

It was literally only a few seconds after that short, silent interaction that Lucius Malfoy appeared from the court room looking as confident and immaculate as ever. Neither of the young boys even hesitated before they each let out another cry of happy excitement and rushed towards the blond man. None of them seemed too bothered with appearances at that moment, not that there were many left hanging around their immediate area anymore. Lucius gladly got down on one knee and caught the two boys in his arms when they both launched themselves at him at the same time.

"I knew you'd be all right!" Draco cried happily, pulling away so he could look at Harry. "You see, Harry, you were worrying for nothing."

"Well, it was perfectly understandable for you to worry, Haryon." Lucius argued gently, giving the dark haired boy a squeeze. "If only so that your little hero act turned out to actually mean something."

"What do you mean?" Draco enquired as he and Harry were released and Lucius stood.

"I mean that there's not much point in saving someone from the Killing curse only to have them die in a cell in Azkaban instead."

"You saved Father from the Killing curse!" The young blond gasped, staring at his best friend in awe. "Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"Would you believe I forgot?"

"No."

"Too bad then because it's the truth."

"I refuse to believe you just forgot about saving my father's life."

"Well I did."

"Wait, why didn't you tell the Aurors you saved him?"

"I did; you slept through that part." Harry reminded with an amused grin.

"I didn't fall asleep during that interview at all. Not once."

"Yes you did! Right near the end. You woke up just in time for them to leave."

"No I didn't!"

"Yes you did!"

"Didn't!"

"Did!"

"Boys!" With Lucius' call the two boys immediately fell silent. "Do try and remember we are still in a public place; it is unseemly to yell as you were."

"Sorry." Harry and Draco chorused together.

"That's quite all right boys; considering the circumstances such out-bursts are to be expected to a certain extent. Do try to keep up appearances though."

The two boys nodded.

"Good. Now, I do believe there is a certain Potions Master who will no doubt soon wish to celebrate his returned freedom with his family."

************************************************************

1st November 1987: Afternoon

The verdict regarding Professor Severus Snape, Potions Master at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, had been reached. All that was left to do now was to make said verdict and the punishment, or lack there of, public. And Harry was scared; completely petrified. Not quite as scared as he had been the day before but it was incredibly close.

He sat between Professor Dumbledore, on his right, and Draco, on his left. Dumbledore had a comforting hand on his right shoulder while Draco held his left hand in his tightly, appearing to be just as anxious as the dark haired boy. Harry stared out at the court room, unblinking for the most part, watching his father anxiously, his bright green eyes filled with worry and tinted with hope, his right hand held over the lower half of his face, hiding his lips which were rapidly moving as he mouthed a prayer. He refused to consider what it would be like if his father was sent to Azkaban. It would be beyond terrible. The stories he had heard about the dreadful place; he hated the idea of anyone, let alone his father, being in such a forsaken prison.

Silence filled the court room as the judge began to speak:

"Professor Severus Tobias Snape, you have been accused of being a Death Eater, the charges of which you have pleaded guilty. Usually, that would have been enough for a life sentence in Azkaban," Harry felt his heart sink at that. "However, due to testimony from one Professor Albus Dumbledore, respected headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, about your efforts as a spy against He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named over the past three and a half years, the court has seen fit to rule in your favour. Time in Azkaban will not be served but you will be observed closely for a period of five years with bi-monthly meetings to check on your position and state of mind as well as being charged a fine of fifty thousand galleons. Professor Snape, you are free to go."

And with a bang of a gavel, Severus' freedom became official.

Harry felt his knees go weak from the swell of emotion that ran through him and he covered his face with his hands, cupping his palms over his glasses, as a shuddered breath left him slowly. When he felt Draco's hand pull his arm to bring them closer, he wordlessly allowed himself to be pulled into a close embrace by the blond boy, burying his face in the slope of the pale neck. He was aware of the murmured reassurances from Draco, Lucius and Professor Dumbledore but they meant very little to him; he could hardly hear them properly anyway. Blood was pounding in his ears and all he wanted to do was wrap himself around his darling father completely and never let the man go.

He allowed himself to be led out of the court room to the corridor outside where they would wait for Severus to come out after he had been released. Harry removed himself from most of the embrace he had been sharing with Draco though the blond still kept an arm around his shoulders. Behind him, he could hear Lucius telling Dumbledore that he would help Severus to pay his fine as, with his teacher's wages, the stoic man would never be able to pay it off. Harry did not look as he listened however; his eyes were glued to the doors to the court room.

And then Severus stalked out of those doors, in all his intimidating glory, and Harry's muscles chose that moment to forget how to work. He wanted so badly to run over to his father but his legs would not listen to him. They remained still, keeping him immobile, his feet rooted to the ground. Luckily, that turned out to not be a problem as the moment that the stern man laid eyes on his son, his entire being seemed to shatter and he rushed forward in a move which was totally out of character for him and swept Harry up into his arms upon reaching the small boy. The dark haired boy's legs automatically wrapped around his father's waist as his arms wrapped around his neck but it still took a minute for him to realise what was really going on and, with that realisation, tears began to fall from his eyes quietly before he buried his face against the man who held him, sobbing into his shirt.

"Oh my son..." Severus breathed as he gently rocked the boy in his arms. "My darling, darling son..."

Harry could not find his voice to reply, he just cried silently into his father's shoulder, holding him tightly as if there was a constant threat that he would be snatched away in a second. Absently, he felt a hand patting his shoulder and a soft voice mumbling something though it was addressing his father rather than him but it did not matter. Nothing mattered anymore because he was back with his family and he was safe again.
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Family Means More Than Blood