Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

AN: I'm sorry it took so long; I've had serious issues with school lately and have been too tired to write after school.

Happy reading.

Burning Lies: Chapter Seven, Parents

When they woke the next morning Tom was collected immediately by Sirius and Remus sat on the bed and pulled a groggy Harry into his side, trying ardently to ignore the smell of sex.

He waited until Harry was more lucid before he began talking to him.

"Moony's restless," he started saying rubbing a hand comfortingly over Harry's arm when he felt him frown into his chest. "He's worried about you and Tom, about how fast it's going between you." He continued wincing slightly as Harry shifted in the bed and the scent of their earlier activities became stronger.

"Oh." Harry said quietly, pushing his face further into his 'fathers' chest.

"He wanted, we both wanted, to make sure that you were okay, that you weren't confused about anything."

Harry smiled softly to himself, knowing that he had people who cared about him.

"Moony, why do I feel so strongly for him so quickly? Why do I love him after everything he's done intentional or not. Why do I get so scared at the thought of losing him or him leaving?" he was confused at how quickly his feelings had grown.

Moony smiled at his cub. "It's the soul-mate bond, it sets in the first time you see each other. For me and Sirius it was when we met on the train in first year, Moony recognised him as his mate straight away and he hasn't let him go since. We fell in love within weeks. For you I think its quicker though because of all the things you've been through, all the pain and responsibility, your soul needs to be looked after now, to have a dominant to care for you."

Harry nodded, a bit relieved at the answer, he didn't want to be alone anymore and he was happy that he wasn't going crazy or under the influence of a spell or love potion.

"Why didn't we realise when I was in the chamber of secrets then?" the teen asked.

"Because that wasn't Tom, that was just a fragment of him, a memory, for your souls to recognise each other it would have to have been actually Tom. That's why you felt so comfortable with him in after the final task; your body recognised him as your missing piece."

It was when Remus was explaining about the fragment of Tom's soul that Harry realise he must know about Tom.

"You and Sirius know who he is?"

"Yes." Remus nodded sombrely.

"It doesn't bother you?" Harry asked, needing their approval like he needed air.

"I can't say that we were thrilled Harry," Remus said. "We know what he's done. But we know that soul-bonds are powerful, it'll change you both for the better cub, make you both stronger and happier people." He finished pulling Harry close.

"Thanks Moony." Harry said smiling at the man who he looked at like a father.

"That's what I'm here for cub." He said as he tickled the boy, the wolf in him rejoicing at the childish laughter that erupted from the boy, glad that he could make him happy for a moment however brief.

And that moment was brazenly brief.

As he was tickling the boy's sides his fingers ran over ridges and bumps that he knew shouldn't be there, tiny little lines and circles that he could feel raised on his cub's skin.

Using Harry's distraction to his advantage he pulled the boy's shirt up, exposing his torso and the horrific scars that covered it. His gasp alerted Harry to his distraction and the boy very quickly tugged his top back down to cover the marks and scramble away from the man.

"What happen?" Remus growled and Harry knew that it was Moony talking; wanting to ruin whatever dared hurt his cub.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"That's not an answer." Moony roared at the younger boy's answer, not at all satisfied at his response. Harry flinched.

Remus had winced internally when Moony shouted, mentally begging him to calm down, shouting was only likely to frighten poor Harry. He had obviously been through much more in his life than anyone had guessed.

Moony's shout bought Tom and Sirius scrambling into the room, Tom throwing Moony off his mate and standing protectively in front of him.

"Moony not hurt cub." The wolf growled sorrowfully at his child's mate. "Cub hurt too much before, too much pain; should have looked after cub, Moony let him be hurt. Moony bad parent." He said falling into Sirius' arms.

"What's he talking about Harry?" Tom asked looking at the boy.

"Nothing, he was mistaken." He said forcefully and at this Moony howled again, pain filled and desperate.

"Cub hurt before, scars, Moony saw." He said and Tom moved carefully towards a reluctant and defeated Harry, knowing that the boy would tell them this time. He could see the pain that Harry was in because of how upset his father was, he knew that he would talk to avoid causing that pain.

"Can I?" Tom asked his fingers running over the hem of Harry's top, after a few moments of silence harry reluctantly nodded.

Tom pulled the shirt over his head gently gasping at the sight of Harry's scarred torso.

"What happened?" he gasped out, tears filling his eyes as he stared at Harry's chest, imagining what he had been through.

"My uncle." Harry said emotionlessly. Moony howled.

"It started when I was six." Harry began to explain. "I came back from school with a report that said I was doing really well, they hadn't wanted to send me in the first place, they would have preferred that I stayed at home cooking and cleaning but people started to notice. Anyway, Dudley's report said that he was disruptive and unintelligent and Vernon, my uncle, wasn't happy, he said that I cheated, that I must have swapped my marks with Dudley's. He was so angry that he beat me black and blue, I couldn't go to school in a month, he broke my right arm and cracked some of my ribs but he never took me to hospital to get it fixed.

I was always quieter after that, I dumbed down at school, did more chores at home so that he wouldn't hurt me as much but it didn't work. If I burnt breakfast he'd pour hot oil on me. If I broke something, he'd try to break me and if Dudley accused me of anything then he'd burn me with cigarettes and then I was always thrown back into my cupboard at the end.

Eventually I got the hang of chores, of being invisible, pretending not to exist. I was better than a house elf, so he started hitting me for no reason, just because he liked it; he said that I needed to learn my place among the dirt that freaks didn't deserve to be treated like humans. That they deserved pain."

"You know that's not true though don't you Harry?" Sirius asked looking at his pup, whishing with all that was in him that he could rewind time and look after him with Moony and show him what a family should be like.

Harry shrugged.

He knew he was a freak.

He knew that there was something fundamentally wrong with him.

And that, that knowledge crippled him

"Harry there is nothing wrong with you; you are a smart, kind, intelligent boy who didn't deserve it and who belongs with a kind loving family that will treat you right and teach you what it's like to love." Sirius said clutching Harry to his chest as if he was the only thing grounding him.

Harry smiled and wiped his watery eyes as Tom and Remus wrapped their arms around him as well, pulling them into a group hug. It took a while for Harry to relax and settle into their embrace but he did eventually, relaxing in the knowledge that he had people to hold him, at least for now.

"Please don't ever send me back." He whispered into Sirius ear quietly not wanting to Moony or Tom to hear, both men did but chose to ignore it, Harry had clearly only been talking to Sirius.

"Never pup, never." He swore pulling Harry tighter into his arms.

"Siri and I were going to tell you this later but I think we should tell you now." Moony began, looking Harry in the eyes. "We've adopted you, the Minister of Magic made an exception considering I'm a werewolf, you never have to go back and Sirius and I are your legal guardians… and parents if you'll have us."

Harry was quiet for a second before his face split into the largest grin that either of his new parents had ever seen him wear as he launched himself at the two men, hugging them tightly as happy tears spilled from his eyes.

"Thank you."

"That's OK," Moony said, a smug happiness radiating from him as he saw how happy his cub was. "Harry cub, cub pack, pack above all."

Harry smiled and embraced them again, looking over his shoulder to smile joyously at Tom wanting to share his happened with him.

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It was later that night when Tom and Harry had settled down for the night that Remus and Sirius sat in the lounge in front of the fire, cuddled together and sipping fire whiskey.

"We'll look after him now won't we Moony?" Sirius asked worriedly.

"Yes we will, and if for some reason we can't then Tom will, I doubt there is anyone with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord now that he had something worth fighting for." Remus reassured his mate, kissing his forehead softly.

"And we'll make the muggles pay."

"Yes." Remus said his eyes flashing yellow as he gazed into the flames with a hate burning inside of him that he had never heard before. "Yes we shall."

Ta da!