Father Figure

Written by: HoshiHikari

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. All characters belong to J.K. Rowling.

Summary: All Harry wanted after the war was to fulfill his promise to Remus and Tonks. However his chance to raise Teddy Lupin is snatched away when he is placed in Azkaban for murdering Lord Voldemort. Thirteen years later Harry breaks out of Azkaban in hopes of perusing his role as Teddy's godfather. Despite being labeled as the new Dark Lord, Harry tries his best to be the father figure that would make his parents, Sirius and Remus proud.

Warnings: Spoilers from DH!

Chapter 6

"Scropius, lunch time!" Astoria called out as she levitated three plates of lasagna onto the dining table.

"Draco, go get your son before the lasagna gets cold."

"It's called a heating charm." Draco rolled his eyes though he nevertheless got out of his comfortable chair and began to stroll off to find his son. He was halfway up the stairs to the second floor landing when an alarm blared which notify the occupants in the manor that the manor was once again being raided by the ministry without prior notification. This unannounced intrusion had occurred so often, especially directly after Voldemort's downfall that Draco had decided to place a blaring alarm to warn them. This 2 second alarm also became an indication to the children to stay in the shadows, so to speak, until one of the adults came to find them.

Draco spun around quickly just as the alarm died off. A moment later both ministry officials and aurors came into view. Draco gave a heavy curse at the sheer amount of intruders. Something was wrong, something had gone very wrong. Pulling out his wand, Draco came down the flight of stairs just as an auror showed up grasping Astoria's hands firmly behind her back.

"Let go of her!" Draco roared in anger. "How dare you! How dare any of you storm into my home without a prior invitation, let alone harm my wife in the midst of it."

"If you come quietly then no one gets hurt." One of the ministry officials spoke, giving a hand signal to the auror who held Astoria to release her hands.

"Why should I? Why should I comply to your whim when you've intruded into my sanctuary and hurt my wife without ever giving any explanation."

"I can hardly call this place a sanctuary." the ministry official said dryly. "And if you don't comply, not only will your wife be harmed but so will your father, mother and son. The Minister has kindly given permission to use whatever means to bring this family into custody."

"Excuse me?" Draco asked, trying to hide his surprise at the bluntness of the official. Shacklebolt had always been a pain in the ass to deal with, but Draco hadn't seen him so blunt and demanding since the fall of Voldemort. "How dare you threaten me on my property! Get out!"

"We've been authorized to use whatever means to put down Death Eaters and those harboring Death Eaters." The man repeated with an air of superiority.

"Death Eaters?" Draco repeated. "What century are you living in Sir? The Dark Lord is dead! His supporters are either dead or in Azkaban!"

"And that's where you and the rest of your family should rightfully be!"

"The Malfoy family has been pardoned for all past activities related to the Dark Lord by Shacklebolt himself. Why else do you think we're not dead or in Azkaban? I'll tell you why. We fought side by side Harry Potter himself to take down the Dark Lord. Though Shacklebolt and I still do not see eye to eye these last thirteen years, at least he hasn't downright harassed us without some damn good reason."

"Kingsley has a damn good reason. A breakout in Azkaban within two weeks of Potter's breakout is a damn good reason for the Minster to take harsher action."

Draco couldn't conceal the surprise on his face. This was indeed a serious matter.

"You are the first to bring me such news." Draco gave a heavy sigh as he weighs his options. The only reason his father hadn't contacted him meant that he was probably already in the Ministry's custody which also meant his mother was as well. The odds were against him if he fought back now, especially since Scropius was still here somewhere.

"Fine, we'll come with you quietly. I can guarantee you that the Minster will find nothing on us. I painstakingly rebuilt this family into its former glory. No Dark Lord or his supporters shall rip it apart again."

The Ministry of Magic was in a frenzy. People were rushing up and down the halls as they scrambled to and fro. Though it was only ten minutes ago that Shacklebolt had been briefed about this second breakout, the press had already bombarded the hallways of this establishment.

"Patrick, get the press out of this building." Kingsley said over the floo. "They are hindering our ability to do our job. If they don't leave voluntarily, then tell them they are going to be locked away for preventing everyone from doing their job. They are aiding these convicts in their escape."

"Of course, right away." Patrick said before disappearing from the floo just as there was a knock on his door.

"Come in." Kingsley said, spinning his chair around to face the door. The door opened to flashes of lights and then Ron stepped in quickly before shutting the door firmly behind him.

"The raids are over. Some we had to take by force and some came willingly. As requested, Knockturn Alley, Diagon Alley and Hogsmade all have aurors being stationed there."

"Has everyone been accounted for?"

"Sadly no, some have escaped our radar but I'm sure we'll find them soon."

"Anyone of importance?"

"Just Scropius and Teddy." Ron replied. "On the way back I did bump into Bill and he said he saw Teddy at Ollivanders shopping with a man he hadn't seen before."

"How did this man look like?"

"Black hair and dark eyes. Perhaps you should ask Bill himself, he'll be able to give you a detailed visual." Ron spoke. "He did say the man looked familiar though he isn't quite sure where he might have seen him before."

"Very well. I shall ask him tonight at the meeting."

"What meeting?" Ron asked.

"I think it is time to reinstate the Order of the Phoenix. A storm is coming and we best be ready for it."

"You really think war is inevitable?"

"Ron," Kingsley said rubbing his chin. "I've lived through both Voldemort's first and second reign. I have no doubt in my mind that this is the beginning of a new one."

"Welcome to the Number 12 Grimmuald Place." Harry said after Kreacher had safely dropped them off. "This is the ancient and most noble house of Black. Someday it shall be yours." Harry intently studied his Godson's reaction. He frowned when he noticed Teddy appeared to be distracted and wasn't paying any attention to him at all.

"I know you're probably shaken up but believe me, if there is any place that is still safe, it would be here." Harry tried to reassure his godson. "I know you're worried about the Malfoys but there isn't anything we can do about this situation. We'll just have to wait it out. On the off chance that they were taken to the Ministry, they'll be out of there in no time. Even Voldemort once refereed to Lucius as his slippery friend. If there is one thing that the Malfoys are good at, it's surviving."

Teddy still looked distracted.

"Until then, you're stuck with me." Harry gave a hesitant smile. "This is what your parents wanted. Since the Malfoys have been more then generous to me considering our history, I can safely say that this will be the place they would want you to be and I'm the person they would want you to be with."

"What they would have wanted me to do is to go back to the Manor." Teddy interrupted. "Harry, we have to go back."

"Teddy, listen to me."

"I have to go back. I have to check on something."

"It's dangerous. Be reasonable Teddy."

"It's Scropius!" Teddy shouted.

"He's probably with his parents. They'll take care of him. Let me take care of you."

Teddy took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. He was wasting time by arguing with Harry and he needed Harry to come with him, he needed Harry to understand.

"Look Harry, the Malfoys use to get lots of unannounced Ministry raids directly after Voldemort's downfall. Uncle Draco put in an alarm to warn us of these intruders. The alarm now serves the second purpose of notifying Scropius and I to drop everything and go into hiding with all the other Dark Artifacts until one of the adults came to retrieve us." Teddy said as slowly as possible. "That's why we have to go back. We have to make sure Scropius still isn't at the manor and if he is then we must bring him to safety. Please Harry, he's only five and he's probably scared shitless and…"

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Harry cut off his godson. He walked to the front door and paused on the front step with his wand drawn. "I'll be back soon. Promise me you'll stay here."

"I'm coming with you." Teddy said hastily as he stepped up next to Harry. "You don't know where the Dark Artifacts are hidden or even how to access the room even if you did know where to look. Besides, Scropius knows me. He trusts me. He's more likely to come with me then a complete stranger, even if the two of you have met before."

Harry hesitated but knew Teddy was right. Reluctantly Harry gave a nod which was rewarded by a reassuring smile from Teddy.

"Apparation is a bad way to travel since magic is traceable but I don't see any other options."Harry commented. "Probably should fix the floo when I get the chance even if I hate traveling by floo" He gave a laugh before continuing nervously. "Ever done side-along apparition?"

"Never." Teddy replied.

"Then I suppose this will be quite the experience for the both of us. I've never apparted someone else before but others have apparted me."

"You'll do just fine." Teddy said, grabbing Harry's free hand with his own. "Do you know where we are going?"

"Yes. Hold on Teddy." Concentrating hard, Harry tried to remember the three D's before closing his eyes and concentrated on his destination. A second later he heard the loud crack and he squeezed Teddy's hand even tighter.

"Harry?"

"Hmm?"

"We're here." Teddy replied.

Harry slowly opened his eyes and let out a sigh of relief when he noticed he hadn't splintered anyone and that they had safely arrived in what appeared to be the Malfoy's backyard.

"I did it."

"You sure did. Think you have the energy to apparate one more time with an extra person?"

"Of course. Who do you think I am?" Harry replied with a grin. However the grin disappeared when he noticed a shuffling sound coming from the bushes behind Teddy. Quickly he pulled Teddy behind him just as a spell came flying towards them. Immediately Harry placed a shield around him and Teddy and then waved his wand again. The attacker flew out of the bushes and landed face first in front of Harry.

"Looks like this place is under the auror surveillance." Teddy commented, noting the outfit that the man was wearing.

"Why am I not surprised?" Harry murmured as he continued to point his wand at the young auror, daring the man to move.

"What are you going to do with him? Teddy asked. "If you let him go then he'll notify the others and..."

"Are you suggesting what I think you'll suggesting?" Harry asked quietly, staring down at the auror who looked no older then 23.

"I'm not suggesting anything. I'm just saying that he'll hinder our progress if he's left to live."

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy sat shivering at the far corner of the underground room with his knees pulled up and his arms wrapped tightly around them. To say that he was scared was an understatement. He was absolutely terrified. When the alarm had gone off he had been in the bathroom on the second floor washing his hands. As discretely as possible he had retreated to his bedroom, removed a book from his bookshelf, watch the bookshelf slide open, replace the book, step through the passage that led underground and then press a hidden button on the interior wall so that the bookshelf would close behind him. With a speeding heart, he then raced down the flight of stairs to the room that held the Malfoy collection of Dark Artifacts for ages. He had only been here once before when his parents had explained to him the purpose of the alarm and the actions that he needed to take when he heard the alarm. Back then his parents had assured him that Teddy would be here with him and that he wouldn't be alone, but now Teddy wasn't here and he was definitely alone.

The sound of approaching footsteps startled Scropius. Thinking quickly he ducked behind a statue that was a few feet away from him.

"Scropius?" The sound of Teddy's voice caused relief to pour over the young boy. Poking his head out from behind the statue, he saw Teddy standing next to the man he had seen twice before.

"Teddy!" Scropius cried out as Teddy hurried over to Scropius. The thirteen year old picked him up and held him tightly as he tried to sooth the child.

"I'm so scared. The alarm went off and you weren't here and well I remembered father's words and…."

"Shh, Scropius. Teddy's here now. I'm not going to let anything happen to you." Teddy tried to calm the boy.

"They took father and mother. They…"

"I know Scropius, I know."

"You were away and I…"

"I'm here now. You know I won't ever leave you. I came to get you as soon as I could." Teddy continued. "We had some problems ourselves, but we came here as soon as we could."

At the mention of we, Scropius looked up behind Teddy's shoulders to see Harry standing by the closed door.

"Hello Scropius." Harry said with a smile. "I'm going to take you and Teddy to my home where I promise you that you'll both be safe. Your parents will know where to look if they don't find you here. They'll be knocking on my door in no time."

"Don't worry Scropius. Harry's my Godfather. It's his job to make sure we're safe and well cared for."

Scropius stared hesitantly between Teddy and Harry. Finally he gave a nod and Teddy led them to Harry.

"Can we apparate here?" Teddy asked.

"I think so." Harry replied. "Got anything on you that you carry everywhere and can leave behind?"

"No."

Harry looked around the room and studied the artifacts lying around. He frowned when he didn't spot the thing he was looking for. Sighing he pulled out his wand and transfigured one of the artifacts into a familiar looking diary.

"Give me your sock, Teddy." Harry ordered lightly. Teddy frowned but did as he was told. He watched as Harry stuff the diary into the sock and then left the sock on a nearby table.

"Alright, we're ready to go." Harry said, taking Teddy and Scropius in each hand. Concentrating hard, Harry again focused on his destination before he apparated the three of them away from the Malfoy Manor.

"Thank you, Bill." Kingsley said after Bill had showed him his memory of his encounter with Teddy Lupin. The man who had been with Teddy was unidentifiable though he did look awfully familiar.

"How are the interrogations coming along?" Bill asked after a moment of silence.

"Not well." Kingsely gave a heavy sigh. "I have nothing."

"What about the Malfoy's?"

"I've interrogated all of them myself. They are not involved with either Potter's or the other Death Eater's breakout." Kingsley continued. "I've confirmed that with a voluntary dose of the truth potion."

"Voluntary?" Bill raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, and because they have been quite cooperative, I can't force the answers. Some Ministry law prevents this action. It's suppose to protect the people but as you and I can both see, its hindering our process of discovering the truth."

"I suppose they are adamant about not having had contact with Potter or the other Death Eaters after the breakout."

"That is their claim."

"But you don't believe it."

Kingsley gave no reply and so Bill continued to speak.

"What about Scropius and Teddy?"

"Still under our radar. I gave orders for everyone to be on the look out for them but not to actively seek them out. After all, Scropius is still a child, he can't be much of a threat. As for Teddy, he's probably still with the man he went shopping with today. I'm more interested in this new player then the boy himself. Both Teddy and the man has escaped our radar for hours now and so I'm sure the man is somebody of enormous power and connections. I do not knowhow he managed to escape our attention for so long, unless of course he's…" Kingsley trailed off. "We probably won't be able to find them directly so the best way is to give them a false sense of security, lure them out and bring them in for interrogation."

"Wouldn't it be easier if we used the Malfoy's to our advantage?" Bill asked. "They'll probably lead us directly to Scropius and Teddy and through them we'll be able to find out more about this mysterious man."

"It's a good idea, but I still think it's a bit too early to release them."

"You have no reason to keep them here."

"I suppose so." Kingsley murmured to himself. "I'll think on it."

"You think on it then." Bill replied, knowing when he was excused. He gave a nod to Kingsley and headed for the door.

"There will be a meeting tonight. Be sure you're free."

Draco Malfoy held a smug smile as he strode out of the Ministry of Magic. He had only been there for a few hours and now he was free to go.

"Draco" A voice called out to him as he rounded the corner. Draco gave a nod to his father, mother, sister-in-law and wife.

"Where's Scropius and Teddy?" Narcissa asked when she noticed both her grandson and niece's son wasn't with Draco.

"Scopius is with the artifacts" Draco gave his answer. "and last I know Teddy was with him."

"They came in to have lunch." Daphane offered. All eyes turned onto her, urging her to continue. "Or they intended to. The restaurant was stormed and…"

"We shall tend to Scropius first." Astoria interrupted. "Poor boy must be scared to death. We told the children not to leave until one of us retrieves them and it's been hours since we've been away."

"Indeed." Draco agreed. "I'll see you all on the other side." With that he apparated to the front gate of the Malfoy Manor. Moments later a few other pops were heard and he was soon joined by the other members of his family.

"Draco!" Astoria exclaimed in horror as the group stepped through the front door of the Manor and was greeted by a man lying in a pool of blood. Draco reached out and gave his wife's hand a squeeze.

"Be on your guard." Lucius instructed. He pulled out his wand and proceeded into the building. From room to room he spotted more and more auors lying dead in a pool of blood. After inspecting the Manor he proceeded underground to where the Dark Artifacts were hidden and had been hidden for years.

"He's not here." Astoria said at last, her voice shaking. "He's not here."

Luicius ignored Astoria. He proceeded into the room and studied the artifacts carefully, making sure they weren't touched or removed. At last he came upon a sock lying on the table. He gave a frown and held up the sock.

"That's Teddy's." Astoria said, surprised to find Teddy's sock here. She was even more surprised when Lucius pulled out a book from within the sock and held it up with disbelief. Astoria watched curiously as Lucius examined the front of the book and then flipped it over to the back to where he knew the initials would be.

"Pretty damn close." Lucius said with a soft chuckle.

"Father?" Draco asked as he, Daphne and Narcissa joined the two in the room. "What is it?"

"Nothing."

"Oh. We still have to find Scropius and deal with the dead bodies on this property." Draco said seriously.

Lucius didn't say anything as he placed the book in his robes.

"Father?"

"We're going to pay Number 12 Grimmuald Place a long over due visit."

Teddy and Scropius were playing a game of exploding snap when the fireplace lit up with green flames. A moment later Teddy and Scropius found themselves being tightly embraced by Astoria.

"Teddy! Scropius! You're safe!"

Both Teddy and Scropius commented on not being able to breath to which Astoria responded by releasing the two of them while giving a handful of apologies.

"I was so worried. We were so worried." Astoria continued to ramble.

"Well you shouldn't." Teddy commented. "Come on, it's Harry we're talking about. Do you think the big man's going to let anything happen to us?"

"Speaking of Mr. Potter, where is he right now?" Lucius asked.

"In the kitchen cooking dinner." Harry's voice came from around the corner.

"I'll better go and help the big man" Daphne commented. "Now where's the kitchen?"

"Thank you all for coming on such a short notice." Kingsley said to the people gathered in the Room of Requirements. "We're here today because I have a strong belief that now is the time to reinstate the Order of the Phoenix." He scanned the room, letting his gaze sweep over the gathered crowd. "We're on the verge of another inevitable war. It's best that we are ready for it."

"Do you truly believe that Potter will be leading the opposing side?" Someone from the crowd asked.

"Under current circumstances, I am afraid so. All evidence points to this outcome. It is a matter of time until he establishes connections that will enable him to reign on top."

"Circumstances created by you. He shouldn't have been in Azkaban in the first place." Another person commented. "You single handedly created the Dark Lord."

"Regardless of who or what may have led to this outcome, this outcome is inevitable. I am telling you, Potter is out for vengeance. He won't stop till he's had his revenge." Kingsley paused, trying his best to ignore the last comment. "Bill saw Teddy with a mysterious man today. I have reason to believe that this man is Harry Potter in disguise. If I am right, then he has already established a connection with the Malfoys and this connection is dangerous to us, especially if the Malfoy's are protecting him." Kingsley passed a around a picture of the man that Bill had seen with Teddy.

"That's not Harry." Ginny exclaimed the moment she saw the picture, effectively interrupting Kingsley who had continued to explain the situation. "That's Tom Riddle. That's Voldemort."

"May I have a word?"

Harry slowly brought his gaze away from another round of exploding snap that the children were engaged in after a quiet dinner and looked up at Lucius with an arched eyebrow.

"In private?" The elder Malfoy continued.

Harry gave a shrug, stood up from the couch and walked off, gesturing the man to follow him.

"What is it?" Harry asked after placing a silencing charm around the room.

"Snap out of it." Lucius demanded. "They deserved it."

"Pardon me?"

"The aurors. Stop wallowing in misguided misery. No need to agonize over the small display of your vindictive nature."

"I'm not vindictive nor am I wallowing in…" Harry shot back in defense.

"You have every right to be angry with the Ministry for what they did to you, for doing what they did today and for what they will surely do in the future. They've backed you into a corner, you have every right to lash out." Lucius continued, his voice overriding Harry's. "Why feel miserable for killing off those who have pained you, who will pain you again and again?"

"Because I'm not a murderer!" Harry snapped back as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm not Voldemort. I can't just…"

"No, you're not. At least not yet." Lucius agreed. "But you sure are striving damn hard to become him."

Harry was about to retort but Lucius beat him to it.

"Don't give me that look, Mr. Potter. Tom's diary, the Dark Lord's disguise, today's display of revenge are all signs of transition from savior Harry to villain Potter. You could have chosen to mirror yourself after Black or Lupin, two people whom I'm sure you hold great respect for, but you didn't. You chose to stride around hiding behind the guise of the Dark Lord."

Harry's mouth flew open, but no words came out.

"A war is approaching Mr. Potter. As much as I hate to admit this, we both know that Shacklebolt is not a fool. He's not going to rest till the dust has finally settled for the last time. It is in your best interest, our best interest that you harden up and step fully into your position as our new leader."

"And if I refuse?"

"Shacklebolt's not going to care. The minute he threw you into Azkaban was the minute he deemed you as his enemy. One way or another he's going to come after you. Remember, I'm not the one who betrayed you. I'm not the one who single handedly branded you as the next Dark Lord. I'm merely making you an offer."

"An offer that I can't refuse."

"We all have choices Mr. Potter. We are who we choose to be. Tell me right now that you aren't even remotely interested and I'll let you walk out."

Harry smiled sadly, his shoulders sagging in defeat.

"Everyone has choices. Everyone except for Harry Potter because he's always the exception to every rule."

So here are some glimpses of the other side. Remember to Review!