Chapter Two

The 'small manor house' that James owned was more of a palace than a manor house. Severus found himself rolling his eyes - affectionately mind you - at his friend. James had explained, as Severus had packed his meager belongings, that the house in Ireland was one his parents had bought on their honeymoon. It had gotten a lot of use over the years before his parents died and he'd always loved coming here. After he'd married Lily, though, he hadn't had much time to come here. And then Lily had fallen in love with Godric's Hollow and they'd moved there. Now, though, Potter Place was the one place he'd been completely sure could house them all comfortably. Severus had to say that he was probably right. Potter Place was three stories tall and had more rooms than Prince Manor had ever thought of having. (Prince Manor was Severus' ancestral home.)

They spent most of the second day cleaning up and getting their rooms arranged the way they wanted them. Harry's nursery had been set up by a few house elves since none of the men had ever known how to do such a thing. James had chosen the bedroom right across from the nursery and had set everything up to his liking. It was odd, though, being able to decorate a room to his liking. He missed Lily doing it, missed her quiet huff of annoyance when he put something in the wrong place. Lily had been the light of his life and now, without her, things felt cold and empty. James mentally shook himself. He still had Harry. Things would never be cold or empty with Harry around.

When he was finished setting up his bedroom, James headed downstairs to find the others. He came down to find Sirius and Remus cuddling on the couch while Severus watched over baby Harry. Harry was playing with the hem of Severus' robes while laying on the floor. He stood in the doorway for a moment, just watching his family. Oh, they may not be his blood - aside from Harry - but they were his family. It was nice to know that they still stood behind him. Even after Voldemort had targeted he and Lily they had stood behind him. And now they were here, keeping him sane and helping him in the grieving process. It was more than he could ask for and he was thankful to them for being there.

"Whatcha thinkin' about Prongs?" Sirius asked.

"How lucky I am to have you all with me."

Severus rolled his eyes. "And where else would we be?"

James laughed, sitting down beside Severus. "Well, you know you all could have walked away when Voldemort came after us. Especially you, Severus. We haven't been friends that long. You could have gotten out of harms way."

Severus slapped the back of James' head. "Of course I couldn't have done that. You and Lily are my best friends. I had to stick by you two."

Sirius nodded. "Besides that, I've been a target in this war since the very beginning because of my last name. Remus as well because of his furry little problem. So it's not like being friends with you was any more dangerous than being on our own. At least we had friends."

Remus rolled his eyes. "Besides that we wanted to stick by you and Lily. You are our best friends and that means we stick together no matter how rough the times get."

"I know. I just...I'm so thankful that I have friends that want to stick by me. Especially after Lily's death...I need that. Harry needs it."

Before any of them could reply, a small muggle device vibrated in Severus' pocket. He pulled out a muggle cell phone and pressed it to his ear. He was quiet for a long time, his face horrified. He told whoever was on the phone the address and told them to apparate right away and that he would do whatever he could to help them. When he got off the phone, his face was white.

"What is it mate?" Sirius asked.

"You remember Lucius, right? Malfoy?"

"Yeah. Death Eater, right?"

Severus nodded. "Not by choice. He was forced into it by his father and later placed under the Imperius by Voldemort."

"What happened?"

"Bellatrix Lestrange was taken into custody a few minutes ago. She tortured his year-old son with the Cruciatus Curse."

"She did what?!" James demanded.

Severus nodded, face still pale. "She tortured my baby godson. Lucius and Narcissa are frantic. They don't believe Malfoy Manor is safe anymore. I told them to come straight here. I have the potions to help recover Draco and we certainly have enough room to house them."

"Of course. I don't really know Lucius and Narcissa all that well but if you say they're good people, I believe you."

"They're among the best people I know."

The crack of apparation stopped all conversation. Severus hurried outside and came back with the Malfoy family. Lucius and Narcissa were both pale and quiet. Narcissa held baby Draco who was whimpering in pain. At the sound of the whimper, Harry's head snapped up and he toddled over to the young couple. He stared up at Draco for a long moment before going to James. Picking his son up, James went to greet the Malfoy family.

"Welcome to Potter Place." James said.

"Thank you for your hospitality."

James smiled. "Any friend of Severus is a friend of mine. Let's take young Draco to the nursery. He'll be more comfortable there and Severus can attend to him there."

"That's a good idea." Severus said.

James led the way to Harry's nursery where there were two cribs set up. Why there had been two cribs James didn't know but now he was glad of it. Narcissa set Draco in one of them and Severus summoned the needed potions immediately. Draco took the potions obediently, still whimpering in pain. Harry, still in James' arms, reached out and grabbed Draco's hand. Draco held Harry's hand all through Severus' examination and squeezed it a few times when something hurt. Harry watched, hand wrapped in Draco's, smiling softly. When they were done, Draco promptly fell asleep and Harry's own eyes began to droop. But when James pulled Harry's hand away from Draco, Harry's eyes snapped open and he started to cry. So James placed Harry in Draco's crib, already knowing what was happening.

James' family was part Dragon-Shifter. Each Dragon had a soul-mate. The moment they met their soul-mates, the Dragon's entire world shifted. Harry had most likely found his soul-mate. James had found his...but by the time he had found the man he had already been married to Lily. Now he was free to pursue the man...but he would take his time in doing it. He had just lost his wife and he wanted to take things slow. But Harry. Oh Harry was the lucky one. He'd found his soul-mate at such a young age. Draco would be the most protected baby in the world. James smiled, deciding that he would have to tell Lucius and Narcissa what had happened.

Leaving the babies to sleep, James led the way back downstairs. He asked a house elf to bring them some drinks and then sat down next to Severus again. Lucius and Narcissa took seats on a small couch and it was quiet for a few moments. When the drinks had arrived, James spoke in a soft voice.

"I should tell you something about my family as it affects your own, Lucius."

"I'm listening." Lucius said, a little confused.

"My family is part Dragon-Shifter. Do you know anything about that?"

"Of course. Our family is part Dragon as well."

"Good. My Harry has found his soul-mate in your son. I had doubted whether he would have one, seeing as how his mother was purely human, but he has found his."

"I wondered about that. Draco took to Harry so quickly." Narcissa said, smiling.

"They're lucky boys. I only wish I had found Narcissa that young. If I had, my father would never have forced me to become a Death Eater."

Narcissa lay a hand on his arm. "You weren't responsible for that, Lucius. You were under the Imperius, love."

"Luc, listen to me." Severus said quietly.

Lucius looked at Severus and Severus said, "Your wife is right. I know you feel like this is all your fault but it isn't. I've known you since our first year. You would never have done anything like what you did under the Imperius. You're a good man, Lucius."

James nodded. "I don't know you all that well but I can see that Severus is right. Whatever you did under the Imperius was forced. You wouldn't hurt anyone."

Lucius nodded. "Logically, I know that. But...I have all these memories of me torturing and killing innocent people and I just...I hate it. I feel like it's my fault."

"Well it isn't. Come on, I'll find you guys a room."

When Severus had left with the Malfoy's, James decided to retire to his own room. Saying goodnight to Sirius an Remus, James went and climbed in bed. Tomorrow, he would tell Severus the truth. He would tell him that Severus was his soul-mate. How Severus would react James didn't know. But he had to do it. Not telling Severus was killing him.