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Through the Veil and Back Again	By : SpeedyTomato Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male Views: 77508 -:- Recommendations : 3 -:- Currently Reading : 13
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter (though someone could gift me a few of the men in it and I wouldn't complain) and make no money off of this.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
Beta'd by the amazing Tenchi. Love you, woman, you're the best!

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Chapter 9

Pulling the food out of the bag then unshrinking it, Remus was talking pleasantly with everyone, as would be expected of him, but was shooting strange glances at Sirius and Harry. Then he was giving Lucius a bewildered one. The older Malfoy kept glancing at Harry, a strange expression on his face. This was odd! From the looks both Harry and Sirius were giving him, something big somewhere had happened, but he didn't know what. Now he was really curious and wanted to know, but couldn't do anything right now as it would look odd.

After the food was out, he began opening the take away boxes, making small talk, “There is this little family run Italian place not far from here. You know the kind, I'm sure. They have the best food! I wasn't sure what everyone wanted, aside from Sirius and Harry, so I just ordered their family dinner special. I'm sure there is something here for everyone.”

Peering over and looking at the food, Narcissa nodded in approval, “Oh, this does smell good! All homemade?”

“They make everything from the noodles to the bread themselves,” Remus told her grinning. “It's some of the best food I've ever had.” Setting all the lids aside, he then passed the plates and serving ware around. “Help yourself! We don't stand on formality here. Just get to the garlic bread before Sirius or they'll be none left,” he joked.

Snagging one of the loaves of bread, knowing Remus made sure to get extra, he broke it in half and gave one part to Harry then said, “It's good! And the reason I make you get extra, you know that.”

Taking a little of each dish, pleased with the spread, Narcissa looked at her husband, brow creased slightly. Lucius kept giving Potter some strange looks then was shooting her pointed ones. She was wondering about that. Hopefully, quickly after dinner they could get together and she would find out. Taking a small taste of the lasagna, she said, eyes wide, “Oh, this is delicious! The sauce is magnificent! If the rest is anything like this, it will be wonderful.”

Smiling, helping himself to some of the spaghetti, Remus nodded, “We have yet to find anything from them that doesn't taste good.”

After taking a bite, Lucius nodded as well, “Oh, indeed, this is good! Is it a Muggle run place or Magical?” For him, this was just making small talk, no insult intended, while he tried to play nice with the other people here. After all, it was up to them to get close and further the Dark Lord's plans. He couldn't do that if they were on edge. Besides, sitting there, he was curious as hell what it was that he felt from Potter. It was so strange that he didn't know what it could be. Though making sure to stay unobserved, he noticed that Black was all but plastered to Potter, seeming to touch him in some way at all times. Potter was sitting next to the wall with Black right by him, obviously so that no one could sit adjacent to him. Even Lupin seemed to be staying away from him. As close as those two were, that was odd. It was just another thing he filed away to report, but it did seem to fit some of what the Dark Lord talked about in the briefing.

“It's a little Muggle place,” Remus told him. “I don't think there are any Magical ones even close. And I can't see going all the way to Diagon Alley for food if there are plenty of places nearby that are quite good.”

“Very true,” Narcissa nodded. “If the others around are anything like this, there is no need!” Looking at her son, she asked, “Do you like it, Draco?”

Nodding, Draco said honestly, “It's very good, mother. Better than even some places we ate last time we were in Italy.” He was amazed by that, actually. He had assumed they would be dining on Muggle fast food or something. This was a pleasant surprise for him. Though the atmosphere was strained, something he expected, so far there was no all out war. That was good. Potter had kept to himself mostly since they arrived, staying in his room. That wouldn't last, he knew that, then the trouble would begin. He just had to keep reminding himself to not antagonize him. Too much was riding on this for him to blow it.

Looking at Sirius, Narcissa asked, “Other than the rooms mentioned you don't want us touching, is there anything you want to keep or have left where it is? The elves can do some redecorating. I thought that might lighten the place up and make it less gloomy. If you don't mind, of course.” From the sound of things, they were going to be here for a while so she wanted to make it as livable as she could. At least it would be comfortable and not as much of a hardship that way.

“Don't care,” Sirius said, shaking his head. “Get rid of all of it if you want. The paintings—if you want them, you can have them. The only one you need to save is Phineas. Albus wants him left where he is since the other painting of him is in his office. The rest of the junk you can chuck out. The library is really the only thing we use, so you might want to leave that be. Cleaning up in there would be good. Remus and I pretty much have all the dangerous books moved to the very back with a ward around them. Everything else should be fine for anyone that wants to look at them.”

Pleased with that, Narcissa nodded. “No, I don't think I want any of the paintings. We can take them down and store them though. I'm sure we can find something far more pleasant to put up. The tapestry though—if you don't want that--” she trailed off, looking at him, hopeful.

“If you can get it down, take it,” Sirius told her with a dismissive wave of his hand. “It seems to have the same kind of sticking charm on it as that accursed painting. We've not been able to get either of those down or the elf heads.”

“Which charm was used, do you know?” Lucius asked. “If I know which one, I might be able to find a counter for it.”

“We're not sure,” Sirius shook his head. “Even Albus gave it a shot and nothing worked. Bill Weasley looked at it and he couldn't figure out which one was used. He said he thought it was a combination of several.”

Nodding slowly, Lucius told him, tone thoughtful, “I'll look at it tomorrow and see what I can determine. It might be one I know. At the very least, I might know a freezing charm that can work to stop the shrieking once it starts. It won't be a permanent solution, obviously, but it should assist long enough to get the curtains shut.”

“Anything that could help would be most useful,” Remus nodded.

Sitting there, Harry was busy eating, not saying anything. This was, really, the first time since leaving school that he had been around more people. Mostly, he was trying to adjust to the input that was coming through whatever this nightmare was. Once he sat down, he had wrapped his leg around Sirius' and that seemed to help. It at least made it to where he could relegate what he was getting to something like background noise. The only odd thing was that he wasn’t picking up anything at all from Lucius. Passing that tidbit along to Sirius, he added, “It's the same thing from you. Other than talking to you this way, I don't get anything from you.”

Making sure he looked as though he were paying attention to the conversation, Sirius replied, “Alright. That pretty much confirms it, doesn't it? Bloody hell, this isn't good. I could handle about anyone else other than him. This is bad news, Harry.”

“I know,” Harry replied gloomily. “It's not like we're getting a choice in the matter on it, though. Like with me and you. It's just there.” Hastily after that, though, he added, “Not that I'm complaining, mind you! I like it! Just—you know.”

Grinning, giving Harry a playful elbow in the ribs, something that made him give a startled yelp, he told him, “Yeah, I get what you mean. Choice would have been nice, but it works! Not bitching about it either.”

Smiling at the two across the table, seeing them grin, assuming they were mucking around again, Remus chuckled, “And you'll get used to these two being strange. I think Sirius is the worst, though.”

“Hey! I resemble that remark,” Sirius grinned, looking at Remus. Taking a chunk of garlic bread off Harry's plate, he began to eat it.

“That's mine!” Harry laughed. “Keep your fingers on your own plate! Just because you finished all yours, doesn't mean you get to help me with mine!”

“You should have gotten to it faster,” Sirius snickered, popping the last part of it into his mouth.

Harrumphing, Harry went back to eating, still grinning.

Smiling a little at the two, Narcissa shook her head. It was, of course, strange and would be a trial to put up with joking like that, but she would. Looking at Sirius, she asked, “What about the basement? Has it been done or is it something you don't want us to touch?”

Looking up, Sirius said, “We've got a couple things done down there. The potions lab, what there is of it, is done and we use it, well Remus does anyway. There is another room cleaned out. That one leave be. Other than that, we haven't touched it.” Stopping, he gazed at her then to Lucius and said, tone serious for a change, “If you go down there, or before you send the elves, get Lucius or one of us to check it first. I'm not sure what's down there or how safe it is. If I were you, I wouldn't bother. Just use it for storage and move on.”

Taking that in, Narcissa nodded, sobering up slightly. If the basement hadn't been touched, it might be dangerous. “Understood,” she told him.

“I'll check it out tomorrow,” Lucius said, looking up. “We might have to do some cleaning out of pests. Was there any in the house when it was reopened?”

“Quite a few,” Remus nodded. “We spent the better part of last summer cleaning out many of them. One or two crop up here and there occasionally even now. Harry and Sirius did the backyard the day after school let out. They found quite a few back there as well. So, there might be.”

“Yes, we should attend to that,” Lucius told them. “The three of us should be more than enough to handle such a task. Better safe than sorry, though you've had no problems.” Normally, he wouldn't offer to do such a menial task, but Draco and Narcissa were desperately hunting for an artifact that they wanted. It may well be in the basement if it was used for storage. They could easily eradicate anything then the two could go looking.

“We can take care of it tomorrow sometime,” Sirius told him.

Finishing up, pushing his plate away, Harry leaned against Sirius. So far this was going fine for him. The only odd thing, other than the bit with Lucius was that he was picking up more from Draco than he did most others. He supposed it was because of the relationship that was there. It wasn't like they were close, as was the case with some, but they had been around each other enough. With that, most of it was like others, but he kept hearing about that locket again. He remembered that bit from being in school. It was odd. Not wanting to think about it, supposing that he would get to it with Remus and Sirius when they talked about the part with Lucius, he grinned a bit then elbowed Sirius. “Ready to go play?”

Snorting, Sirius laughed, “You just want to see me fall again!”

“Well, that was funny, you gotta admit that! It was a rather spectacular splat there,” Harry laughed, looking at him. “Besides, you get to whip my butt at poker all the time, I get to do yours at this!”

Putting his godson in a headlock, Sirius ruffled his hair then said, “Come on. I plan to win this time!” Sliding off the bench, still keeping Harry in the headlock, he dragged him towards the door.

“Ha! You wish!” Harry laughed, trying to extricate his head as he was led along.

“Oh, no, I'm winning this time,” Sirius told him, grinning. “Just wait!”

Watching the two go, Narcissa shook her head, smiling a little. “Are they always like this? And what are they going to do anyway?”

Grinning, Remus nodded, “Oh, yes, they're always like this. I think Harry is the more mature of the two.” Stopping he gave a snort of laughter when Sirius yelled something about resembling that remark. “They're off to goof around in the yard. They managed to put an expansion charm on it. Though it's not big enough to play Quidditch, it's now large enough to fly around a little. They've invented some kind of game where they swat a ball around. Not sure about more than that, really. It's fun to watch though! Sirius forgets that he's not as young and agile as he once was so he keeps trying these stunts he did when we were in school then fails, rather spectacularly usually. He also tends to ignore the fact that Harry is a lot smaller and lither than he is, with plenty of more recent practice with doing stunts on a broom.”

Shaking her head, Narcissa couldn't help but smile a little. “It is probably most amusing to watch.”

“Oh, it is!” Remus told her, still grinning. “Of course, it's not at all serious, just meant to have some fun as there isn't much to do being locked inside all the time.” Stopping, he looked at Draco and said, keeping a pleasant tone, “I imagine they'd be more than happy to have you join them. You can both team up against Sirius! That would be fun to watch.”

Nodding, pleased that someone was thinking to including him, Draco said, “Give me a couple days to get used to things and I'll see.”

“And they play poker?” Lucius asked, eyebrow arched. He couldn't see any of the so-called good, light side teaching Potter to gamble. That was odd to even think about.

“Well, yes, we all do. It's usually a couple of hands at night while we sit outside. No money is involved, though. Instead, we use popcorn to bid with. Nothing more than that,” Remus explained. “We know plenty of other games, so we can play something else so all can be included. That's not a problem. Harry's just learning to play, so we've been sticking to poker.”

“That might be something to do,” Narcissa said thoughtfully. “We'll be busy for the next few days, of course, but boredom will become a factor.”

Saying nothing, but nodding, Remus thought for a minute then told them, tone quiet, “I should mention, since Albus might not have, that Sirius is very protective of Harry. I'm sure you remember what he's like with friends. Well, this is more extreme than that ever was. I just thought I should give fair warning.” That was all the further he was going to discuss the matter, but knew how extreme this was now, having seen it. Nor did he want any problems over it.

“We'll not cause an issue,” Lucius told him, looking in his direction. As that lined up with what the Dark Lord had mentioned, he was best to be wary of such matters. They didn't want to cross Black when it came to this.

Taking that as all that needed said on the topic, Remus asked, “Anything else you want to know about? We pretty much don't have a set schedule or anything around here. Most times, Sirius and Harry don't wake until almost noon, so you can do what you want and don't have to worry about those two being under foot. They're always inventing something or other to keep themselves busy.”

“I think we're fine,” Narcissa told him with a smile. “If we run into an issue, we'll find one of you. For now, I think I'll keep busy doing some redecorating. I'm sure Lucius and Draco will find something as well.”

Standing, Remus smiled at them then said, “Alright. I think I’m going to go sit outside and see if Sirius tries to break any bones again. You're more than welcome to join us! It's rather nice out there.” Seeing them nod, he put his plates in the sink then went out to join the two so he could get filled in on what was happening.

After checking on her elves to make sure they were working diligently, Narcissa and Lucius were ensconced in the small sitting room at the front of the house, making sure they were as far away from the backyard as they could get so they could talk. They didn't think they would be bothered, of course, but it was better to take precautions. Draco was in the library at that point. From what he said, he was pleased with it because it had many books that theirs didn't and there were some he had been wanting to read. As long as he was happy, they were fine.

Sipping a brandy after filling his wife in on what happened with Potter, Lucius looked at her and waited to see what she had to say.

A tiny crease in her brow as she thought it over, Narcissa then shook her head. “This is odd, no doubt there. You're sure that's what you felt, Lucius?”

“Dead certain,” he told her with a firm nod. “Potter felt it too. You could see by the look on his face that he did.”

“I wonder what it is though,” she said, looking at him. “I mean, we don't have much to go on when it comes to that part. Even--” trailing off, she gave her husband a pointed look then continued on without saying the name, “didn't understand that part of the prophecy. What could it mean? You said it was sexual and like a connection was made. I don't understand that part.”

“I don't know,” he told her truthfully with a shake of his head. “It's what you said, yes, but more than that. I don't know how to describe it beyond what I said, but it's more, like something deeper. I--” trailing off, he shrugged.

Taking that in, she sighed softly then nodded. “Alright. Let's see what happens from here on out. Just be wary, Lucius. Sirius is—well, you saw what he was like with Potter. He was attached to him like there was a permanent sticking charm on him. I'm not sure about this. It's going to be a very light, delicate dance that I'm not sure if we can manage! I'm really wary about pushing this too far. Nor do I know if we can pull this off. At least it doesn't seem so right now.”

Understanding what she was saying, Lucius told her, tone soft, “We will, don't worry. It's only the first day, Narcissa. We have all summer to work with this, maybe beyond that. I don't know. We will manage somehow. All we have to do is think on our feet and work with what's presented. Right now, the situation is just overwhelming. Some time and patience is all that's needed. I'll wager we can manage, eventually. It's just going to take us some time and growing accustomed to getting along with the others in the house, nothing more.”

“I know,” Narcissa sighed. “It's—we're just not used to situations like this. Not to mention this house is bad. I mean, I expected it to be in a state of disrepair, but this is really bad.”

“The elves will bring it back to something comfortable,” Lucius soothed. “In a few days it won't even look the same. We'll be comfortable and not have to worry. It's just going to take some adjustment.”

“I know, I do,” she told him with a wave of her hand. Stopping, she looked down then said, softly, “Both Dumbledore and Lupin said they threw a lot of things out last summer. Most they didn't even know what they were, but they tossed them anyway. I didn't want to ask, of course, but it could have been thrown out, Lucius!”

Knowing what she was talking about, Lucius looked somber and nodded. “We can hope it didn't. I don't even know where to start looking for it. Only you really know what it looks like.”

Wringing her hands slightly, Narcissa nodded. “I know. I don't think it would allow itself to be thrown out or if Kreacher would let it, I just worry, you know? It's--” trailing off, she shrugged. After a couple moments, she told him, “Draco is waiting for the elves to finish his room so he can check in there. He doesn't think it would be hidden in such an obvious place, but he's going to check. Then, well, I've got the elves keeping an eye out for it. If they don't report seeing anything like it, we'll start hunting tomorrow. We just have to be careful.”

Reaching over, Lucius gave her arm a reassuring pat then said, “If it's here, we'll find it. I'll help look, of course. Really, I don't think that it could be anywhere else. All it will take is some diligence to find it, nothing more.”

Giving a sigh, Narcissa nodded, “We will, like you said.” Changing topics, she told him, “We need to remember to say nothing around the portrait of Phineas. If that is in Dumbledore's office, it's keeping an eye on things. Maybe we should see about moving it or something? I'm certain we can talk Sirius into that. We can find somewhere out of the way to hang it to where there is no risk of us being overheard.”

“Yes, good suggestion! I'm glad it was mentioned as we had no idea about that. I'm certain Black won't object if you come up with some other place and tell him it looks better there.”

“I'll find somewhere,” she told him firmly. Sighing, she looked around then said, “Alright, there is so much to do! Let's see how far the elves have gotten and then we can start moving things over from the manor. Everything, hopefully, will be in place by bedtime so we can get a good night's sleep!”

Downing the rest of his brandy, Lucius stood. “Yes, let's see what's needed.”

Sitting at a small table in the backyard, the other three in the house had just gone over what Harry felt with Lucius. As they had a ward up over the door to let them know if someone came in this direction and to keep them from overhearing, they were safe.

Taking in what was said, Remus was rubbing his chin in a thoughtful way, looking down. After contemplating it for a few minutes, he said, quietly, “Alright, we know the third. It might fit what Lily said, Sirius. You know, the getting help from an unexpected faction. Lucius would fit that. And if he did walk away from You-Know-Who--” Trailing off, Remus looked at Sirius.

“A lot of that is still so damned murky! I don't know what some of it could mean. Shite, it was vague. It could mean him, yeah, especially since she made it clear there is a third in this. Lucius is obviously that. That other part though? My gut is telling me it doesn't fit. I don't know beyond that. Let's see how this plays out then work from there,” Sirius said, looking at the other two.

Seeing Remus nod, Harry then asked, quietly, “Will the same thing start to come with Malfoy as it did Sirius? I mean like the telepathy? It's him, I know it. I just don't know what to expect.”

“I don't know, Harry,” Remus told him, shaking his head. “I would think so, yes. Especially if you're not picking up on anything as is the case with Sirius. Let's give it a couple days to see what happens. I'm sure you can find a way to put out some feelers to see if he is. We'll then go from there with whatever we discover.”

“Before then, we need to see if there's a way to block it if it does come,” Sirius told him firmly. “Like a shield of some kind. If Harry can't pick up on our thoughts, it might mean there already is something there we can build on. Some of what he and I pass to each other we don't want Malfoy hearing right now. At least not until we're sure of what's going on.”

Not having thought of that, Remus gave a firm nod, “Yes, work with that. I don't have the first clue how, really, but you need to. If normal methods don't work, something that might not with how it's not helping with anything else, there has to be a way. You two play around there since you use it quite a lot. See what you can find.”

“Will do,” Harry told him with a firm nod. Looking at Sirius, he then asked, “What about a time table for this? I mean, we didn't have a chance to be together long after the whole thing started so I'm not sure how long it takes to form parts of this mess. If it's the contact, it might happen quickly. Look at how fast the telepathy started once we were together.”

“Yeah, that's another question we have no answers for,” Sirius groaned, rubbing his eyes. “Harry's right, it was damned fast. There was nothing there before the train ride, at least that I could feel. Which means if it's coming, it might be fast. Shite, I don't like this. I want some time to prepare. And I don't know if it's just Harry's thoughts he'll get or mine as well. If it's both, we got bigger problems than before.”

Rubbing his forehead, Remus just sighed. “Again, you're right. There is no information on this, nothing, other than the order it comes. Even that is guessing, though I'm certain that part is right. Which means that to be on the safe side, you two need to work on blocking. I don't care what you come up with, try. Beyond that, if he is the third, we desperately need him to dim this more. Harry can't keep hiding from everyone. Albus and Severus are too smart to not realize there is something off if he does. Then there are going to be questions.”

“With these three here, I'm also betting we have more company than before. Yeah, this is a big mess,” Sirius sighed, shaking his head.

“Exactly,” Remus told him, sitting up straighter. “Alright you two, start tonight and work on it. The blocking is the big one. Just find something. Then we'll work from there.” Seeing both of them nod, he shook his head, “This is a right cock-up we don't need.”

Giving a snort, looking dour, Harry said, “Well, yeah, true. But we got some warning about it, at least a little. That's better than none!”

“Very true,” Sirius told him. “Alright, let's do whatever to make all this look normal while working on the blocking. Right. Get the cards and we'll play while we do some wiggling.” Seeing Remus nod then stand to get the cards, he sighed. What a mess!

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Through the Veil and Back Again