Hey guys sorry about the long wait inbetween postings...I blame it on christmas and all the stuff that comes with it. To make it up to you this chapter is extra long (although not proofed as dilegently as the earlier ones). Hopefully it's not filled with too many errors!

Hope you enjoy (and let me know either way!) Happy Holidays and reading ;)

-oo-

Chapter 8: Lego house

-00-
And it's dark and a cold

December

But I've got you to keep

Me warm

-00-

December

"What are those?"

Harry glanced up in startlement at Sebastian's question, not having heard him enter the room. Well, might as well get this over with….he had procrastinated dealing with the issue that the tickets he was currently holding might pose for over a week and a half.

"um….tickets?" he hedged trying to convince himself that he should just come out and ask the stupid question that had been knawing at him ever since he had received the official Minstery owl.

"I see…." Sebastian stated making it clear that he really didn't, "and what, pray tell are the tickets for?"

"Well….you see it's like this…." Harry started. He had to admit that ever since the bar-kiss-sort-of-apology-thing that he and Sebastian had been getting along surprisingly well. All things considering.

While sure, they were not suddenly swooning and declaring undying love full of roses and pink hearts; Harry liked to think that they had moved well beyond the anger and outright hatred stage of their twisted relationship. He knew for a fact that he wasn't the only one who had been covertly (or perhaps not so covertly) checking out his bond-mate with less than pure thoughts running through his head. Honestly, sometimes he wondered if there was a gutter deep enough for his line of thinking. Ok….not the time….right, answer the question….

"They're plane tickets….to England…for the holidays….as in next week" Harry finished, his fingers nervously playing with the edges of said tickets. The returning to England—no matter if it meant facing the press after all this time, or even being obligated to attend one of the nancy Minstery balls was not the reason for his nerves. No, the reason he had waited so long to tell Sebastian about them was because he sort of wanted Sebastian to come with him—and he really wasn't sure if they had moved far enough past the hostility and miscommunications for Sebastian to want to spend the holidays with Harry, much less in another country and completely different culture.

"Oh"

Harry shifted again staring resolutely at the papers he was in the process of decimating not wanting to see his bond mates expression. Would it be disgust and anger? Or worse yet indifference? It wasn't like he could expect for one rather violent kiss and a few days of amicability to suddenly change the way Sebastian saw him….or treated him. "yea"

"You're going back to England for Christmas then?" Sebastian asked a stiffness to his tone that caused Harry to break and glance up at the brunette—whose expression was looking remarkably similar to the pinched one Harry had seen on Kurt Hummel's when they had met.

"Er…yeah, I sort of have too. There are things that I need to deal with and obligations that I can't keep putting aside. Kingsley sent them, which is his way of saying that I should use it" Harry explained absently while trying to figure out just what to make of Sebastian's current reaction to the news.

"I see….so when will you be leaving?" Sebastian asked his tone still rather stilted.

Harry stared at Sebastian eyebrows scrunched feeling as though something vital was escaping him but he just couldn't put a finger on it….

"Flight leaves the 21st, arrives in London late on the 22nd leave again January 2nd" he answered automatically having memorized the information from the large amount of time he had spent staring at the tickets.

Silence answered his explanation and suddenly a thought came to him….could it be? Was Sebastian….upset about him leaving for the holidays? Was that even a remote possibility? Harry didn't think that it could be, yet it would explain the constipated expression and frosty attitude Sebastian was giving him now after having been quite pleasant (pleasant does not equate to less snark or sarcasm) as of late. Well, the therapist he had found (a lovely witch who conveniently happened to live only an hour away from where Dalton was located and had cut most ties with the magical world, deciding to delve into the muggle type therapy instead) after the coffee house explosion had told him that he needed to be more open and clear about his own wants and needs…so here went nothing.

"Sebastian?" Harry asked hating how tentative he sounded.

"Yes?"

"Well….Kinglsey sent me two tickets and I was wondering…I mean if you wanted…er well if you don't have plans already, you are invited to come with me for the break?" Harry fumbled his request enough to make himself grimace at how awkward he sounded.

Sebastian stared at him for a long moment as though he was looking for something, just as Harry was going to hastily retract the poorly offered invitation Sebastian answered, "Ok"

Harry blinked for a moment, not quite sure he had heard him right, "Ok?" he asked.

Sebastian nodded before taking a decisive step towards him and pulling him forward in a quick, forceful kiss. Harry blinked, trying to get his brain to start working again as Sebastian let go of him and backed away.

"Yes" "ok Harry, I would love to go to England with you" the brunette stated before turning and walking away.

Harry stood there gaping at where Sebastian had stood seconds before, he traced his lips bemused.

Well, okay then...

-oo-

Sebastian would be lying if he said that he had thought his decision through before saying yes. The decision being, his spontaneous ascension to accompany his bonded back to the great United Kingdom.

It was rather unlike him to agree to something for somebody else's benefit over his own—and yet he hadn't even hesitated to say yes to Harry. He was still half convinced it was some witchy-voodoo trick on the wizard's part—it really was the only sensible explanation he could come up to. Because wanting to make the green eyed teen happy just because he cared about Harry being happy was not a sensible explanation; at least that was what he had been trying to convince himself of since his fateful accordance.

It wasn't like he was scared or nervous to be going with Harry to meet the people that his bonded considered friends and family or anything…ok, so maybe a wee bit, but in his defense he had never been the type of guy who parents and protective guardian's swooned over; quite the opposite really. Still, he was doing his best to ignore the squeamish jittery feeling that seemed to have a negative correlation* with the distance between himself and London. Honestly, it was rather ironic considering how only months before he would have given almost anything to be allowed to stay in the bustling capitol.

Surprisingly, he wasn't the only one who seemed a little unnerved to be returning to England—at the start of their flight Harry had been calm enough to continue drawing in a sketchpad that Sebastian had seen the wizard using more and more over the past few weeks (one he had still not managed to sneak a peek at) but as they drew closer to their destination, Harry had given up his sketching in favor of tearing the napkin that came with the ever so tasty 'complimentary' peanuts apart. He was actually wondering if there was a Guinness record in the making with how small the wizard had managed to tear the pieces into. And no, he wasn't concentrating on nonsensical things to distract himself from his own nerves…not at all.

It wasn't as though going to England was all bad; it did get him out of the awkward Christmas dinner he would have had to attend with his father—and most likely whatever idiot his father was currently dating. It would have been better if Anthony simply ignored the whole 'family' aspect of the holiday, then the uncomfortable fake cheer that he forced on his largely neglected son. It might have been different if Sebastian hadn't known that the fake cheer-dinner thing was not for his benefit, but for the current girlfriend's. But whatever….he was past the stage where it made him truly angry; now it simply added to the slow burning resentment, but that was nothing new. Either way even if England turned out to be horrible it had to be better than his other option, plus he was a little curious to learn more about Harry; not that he would ever admit it out loud.

Tired of moping over his thoughts and all they entailed, Sebastian shifted in his seat so that he was angled towards Harry who had moved on from tearing up his napkin to building little pyramids with the pieces. "So…..what's the plan for when we get there?" Sebastian asked more out of something to talk about then any real curiosity—after all, it wasn't as though he knew any of the people they were going to be seeing or staying with, so whether they saw person A vs. person B first made little difference to him.

"um….it's still a bit up in the air with everything…." Harry non-answered before continuing quickly cutting off Sebastian's question of what 'everything entailed,' "Since we will be getting in late afternoon I believe a few of my mates are going to pick us up and take us to Grimmauld place to drop off our things before taking us out for dinner"

Harry muttered something else under his breath but Sebastian missed it although he could have sworn the words 'bleeding' and 'press' were included, deciding to latch onto something more concrete he found himself asking about their lodging, " Grimmauld place?" –he had long since decided that British wizard's had an obsession with odd names; he was pretty sure Harry had mentioned attending a school called Hogwarts after all.

For a seemingly innocent question Sebastian was surprised at the pinched look Harry got. "Er…yeah, it was my godfather's ancestral home; he left it to me when he died. It's better now than it used to be considering Ron and Hermione helped me fix it up but it still not one of my favorite places"

"Why aren't we staying with your relatives then?" Sebastian asked unable to hold back the question that had been nagging him since he decided to go back to England with Harry. He had his suspicions regarding Harry's childhood but they were just that, suspicions.

Harry actually snorted although it was far too bitter to be classed as a true sign of amusement, "the Dursleys?" he asked incredulously and when Sebastian nodded cautiously Harry shook his head, "Yeah…definitely not. Even if Vernon wouldn't pull out a shot gun at the sight of me, I would rather camp out on the streets before stepping foot into that house again"

Harry actually looked a little shocked with what he had just let slip but the expression was gone so fast that Sebastian almost thought he'd imagined it. Deciding that he wasn't going to likely get more out of the wizard on that topic he made the decision to let it go, so instead of digging and asking personally intrusive questions he ended the topic with a sarcastic,

"Don't you just love Christmas?"

He judiciously ignored the quickening of his pulse when Harry sent him a real—albeit small smile,

"Indeed" was all the wizard said in reply.

-00-

Harry felt his face cracking into a smile when he caught sight of the familiar red hair despite his reservations about returning here—reservations present even if it was for only a little over a week.

"Harry!" said red head greeted, waving in an overly dramatic fashion as he too noticed his old friend and benefactor.

"George" Harry said accepting the taller boy's one armed hug, before backing up to greet his other mate who had joined the welcome bandwagon, "Neville!" "How are you guys?"

"Hey Harry" Neville returned sending him a shy smile. Even though Neville had physically changed a great deal from the shy, chubby school boy and was even a tad more confident, (well when he was drunk that is…they don't call it liquid courage for nothing) he was still the quietest and most reserved of the bunch. It was okay though, Harry thought it suited the Gryffindor and he really couldn't picture Neville being anything else.

Harry heard a cough from behind him and couldn't stop himself from flushing with embarrassment for a moment, "Er…right, guys this is Sebastian, my bond mate….Sebastian meet two of my long time mates; George Weasley and Neville Longbottom"

He almost sighed when he caught the scrutinizing glares that, to his surprise not only George was sending Sebastian, but Neville too. Of course his friends were going to take the opportunity to play big brother and terrify Sebastian, somehow he wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that he had been relegated to the 'younger sibling in need of protection' role by his friends. Ah well, there wasn't much that he could do about it….best to just let it play out and hope that Sebastian didn't spook too easily.

He was somewhat reassured over the fact that Sebastian hadn't freaked out and booked a flight back to Ohio after Harry's abbreviated explanation of just who he was to the wizarding world, right before landing. While the warbler was without a doubt a little shocked to learn just what part Harry played in the wizarding war (again he did keep the explanation as bare bones and as g-rated as possible; no need to let Sebastian know just how traumatizing and macabre his past was) he had been rather accepting over the whole thing. Of course Harry had been forced to answer a few more uncomfortable questions then he would have liked—like if child soldiers were a normal thing in wizarding society, or how a headmaster could allow murders to act as teachers; did wizards not have such things as background checks? But all things considered the conversation went better then Harry had anticipated. Of course there were large chunks of information that Harry did not tell Sebastian; simply because a lot of it was not publically known and therefore would not be thrown in his bonded's face at some point during their visit. Perhaps he would tell him the full story someday…..but for now he figured Sebastian knew enough to get by.

Harry forced his attention back to the stare down taking place before him "Pleasure" Sebastian stated not letting his own gaze waver under the dual glares he was receiving. After a long (to Harry it seemed forever) minute George's face broke into a smile, "Same here….was wondering who Harrykins ran off with. Ran off with without leaving so much as a forwarding address" he directed the last bit at the sheepish looking wizard.

"Ops?" Harry asked sending the redhead his most repentant looking grin he could muster up. He felt momentary relief when George seemed to accept it….well up until the troublemaker opened his mouth that is.

"Oh….I'm not the one you should be sending that 'innocent-forgive me' smile to Harry, after all you didn't tell Hermione you were leaving either" George sent him an evil looking smirk when he saw Harry pale slightly.

Harry's new found dread was not helped when Neville seemed to pale as well and mutter a quiet, "good luck mate, you're going to need it."

Somewhat relieved that he would not have to face the bushy haired brunette until at least tomorrow or the next day, Harry pushed his anxiety aside and gestured towards the streaming crowd that was busy trying to trample each other to reach the airport's exit doors. "So….I'm having the rest of our luggage picked up by Kreacher so why don't we get out of here?" he suggested.

"Sounds like a plan, we'll head over to Grimmauld first so you guys can dump off your carry-ons and freshen up a bit, then we can go out for supper, on me" George explained as he started to move his way through the crowd (to Harry's annoyance…and perhaps making him a little bit impressed, George seemed to have mastered Sebastian's ability to make the crowd part. He was pretty sure there was some saying about a sea and a guy from the bible—but then again he could be wrong, Aunt Petunia figured he was already going to hell so why waste time on Sunday school education?).

When Harry started to protest, George cut him off "Shut it, business is booming lately—seems like after the war everyone is in need of some laughs, so let me treat you and your new spouse. Without you there would never have been a business to begin with"

Ignoring the curious look he got from Sebastian Harry wisely chose to let it go, knowing that the redhead would win this argument regardless of his protests…plus it was nice to see George with a real smile on his face especially after having been witness to the blank expression he wore following Fred's death. He wasn't going to risk that smile over something a silly as pride.

The four boys piled into a cab, ignoring the fact that they were all crammed together inside the small interior (For Harry, he was relieved that George and Neville took Sebastian into consideration and were sticking to muggle forms of transportation—at least to start off with. Harry suspected this was the same reason that Kinglsey had booked them plane tickets rather than sending an international portkey or having Harry just apparate to London. Harry was one of the few wizards powerful enough to actually do the latter…though even he wouldn't risk trying to side-apparate someone along with him over that distance).

The drive over seemed much longer then Harry remembered it, though that might have been partly due to the squished space or the uncomfortable vibe running throughout the group. It was weird, after having known George and Neville for a large chunk of his school years he hadn't expected to feel so awkward in their presence again. He wanted to ask them a billion questions but most of those questions related to things he either hadn't mentioned to Sebastian yet, or things that he wasn't sure he should ask—especially in regards to the rest of the Weasley's given Ginny's, and to a less degree Ron's reaction to his bonding.

He spent most of the drive carefully sticking to questions about Neville's current studies (to no ones surprise the brunette had decided to stay at Hogwarts and apprenticeship under Prof. Sprout) and George's latest inventions (one of which was soap that made the user spontaneously grow long purple fur everywhere except their head). He bit back a sigh of relief when he saw the familiar street pull into view.

Due to the fact that during the war he had almost always been apparated or portkeyed to the derelict house, he had actually never really seen the neighborhood until Hermione convinced him and Ron to refurbish the place. Unable to destroy one of the last links he had to his godfather (despite how he felt about the house) he had reluctantly agreed and spent a good chunk of the few weeks after the final battle (when he wasn't dodging reporters, at the ministry or cleaning up Hogwarts) arm deep in dark artifacts and dust. He had never been more thankful for magic—as what took the three of them two weeks to accomplish would have taken a muggle six or more months; in the end he was satisfied with the house…though, like he told Sebastian it would never be a place he considered home.

Saying a temporary good bye to George and Neville, both of whom were going to head back to their own shared apartment (as they were currently roommates of a small flat in diagonal alley) to occupy themselves for a few hours before meeting up for supper again, Harry and Sebastian stepped out of the cab.

Harry handed Sebastian a piece of paper with the house's address on it (the house was still under Fidelius, amongst many other protection charms—he had been too lazy to have them removed, not to mention the charms came in handy in keeping the press and his more avid fans—cough, cough stalkers—at bay). Sebastian shot him a funny look but took the scrap of paper from him. Harry had to bite back a laugh when he saw Sebastian's expression as the brunette witnessed the house materialize in front of him. Grinning, Harry reached out and grabbed the other boy's arm before dragging him towards the entrance. It wasn't until they had entered the house did he realize that he latched onto Sebastian without a thought—something he rarely did, he didn't even initiate physical contact with his closest friends the majority of time.

He quickly let go and took a step away, something that he was sure Sebastian noticed but much to his relief the brunette didn't mention. Harry turned his attention to the interior they had just entered, trying to see it the way a stranger might. He was relieved to note that time away had not allowed it to fall back into the mess that it once was, while the walls and floors of the place were still rather dark and dreary—they no longer smelt of mold and dust. The banisters and doorframes were clean and varnished and the few artifacts (the ones that weren't set to kill, maim or insult you) that he had chosen to keep were gleaming. He was glad that his and Kreacher's new understanding (thank-you Slytherin's locket!) had transferred into the Elf actually cleaning up every once and again—even if the house elves meals were still rather hit and miss.

Sebastian looked around the place curiosity apparent in his eyes as he moved closer to one of the few magical paintings that Harry had kept (it was one of Sirius and Regulus when they were not yet school aged, he had found it hidden under a floor board in the latter's room)…Harry would have kept the painting even if he had not been trying to placate Kreacher since it was one of the only ones that had Sirius in it, outside of the photo album of his parents and various marauders (Sirius had been excluded from most of the later black portraits due to his betrayal of the black family ethics).

"I-Is that moving?" Sebastian asked in disbelief.

"Um…yeah, magical paintings and pictures tend to do that" Harry said looking away from the laughing Sirius who was mischievously tugging a strand of his brother's hair before pretending to sit their innocently. The young Regulus in the picture went from sitting primly to scowling at his brother in annoyance. Harry both loved and hated the picture; loved because it caught so much of Sirius's character and hated it because it served as a reminder of what he had lost that night at the Ministry.

"huh….who are they?" Sebastian asked turning away from the picture to look at Harry, his curiosity growing as he noted the return of the pinched expression on the wizard's face.

"My godfather and his younger brother…they are both dead now" Harry answered simply before moving determinedly away from the picture towards the room closest to the entry. As he set his travel bag down on the kitchen table a loud pop was heard followed by a shout of surprise (well that was what Sebastian would call it later, though Harry felt it was much closer to a girly scream).

"Master Harry! So happy that master is home from that wretched place!" Kreacher appeared oscillating between bouncing with glee and wringing his hands in worry.

"Hey Kreacher, were you able to get the bags and my trunk okay?" Harry asked ignoring the stunned expression on Sebastian's face at the sight of the wrinkly little elf. Harry briefly wondered how long it would take Sebastian to either snap or pass out from the various surprises the magical world held….knowing Sebastian as he did, he was betting on the first.

"Of course Kreacher did, Kreacher is not a useless, lazy no good elf…Kreacher can follow his Master's orders" the little elf muttered, obviously insulted by Harry questioning his abilities.

"Of course….I wasn't implying that you couldn't or didn't" Harry hastily cut off the still half-mad elf (even though his sanity was miles ahead of where it had been when Harry first met the elf—apparently elves got their own magical and mental stability from their owners, and while Harry loved Sirius the man was never what one might call sane after his stint with Azkaban—decades serving under mentally insane masters had left its toll on the elf), "Kreacher, this is my bond mate Sebastian….he is to be obeyed as I am and treated with the same respect….understood?" he said making sure that his voice was firm in the last bit.

While Kreacher now adored Harry (despite his blood status) he still carried around some of his old prejudices—and knowing that Sebastian was a squib might be an issue with the old elf. "of course….what master Harry wants Kreacher will do…even if his lazy no good bonded is not worthy of kissing master's boots…" the elf muttered under his breath.

"Kreacher" Harry stated again in warning, after getting a sullen nod of reluctant agreement from the elf Harry dismissed him before turning to Sebastian with an apologetic smile, "sorry about him, he's always been a tad prejudice, just ignore it—he'll get better" at least that was what Harry hoped. He knew that Sebastian was in for a fair amount of scrutiny and condescension given his squib status but he hoped that people (including his own elf and friends) would be able to get past it….eventually.

Sebastian was still gaping at the spot that Kreacher had disappeared from, "What the hell was that thing?!" he asked apparently completely disregarding the insults in favor of his shock.

"Wha…oh right sorry, Kreacher's a house elf, they're similar to indentured servants and are generally tied to the most well off—usually pureblooded- wizarding families. The biggest difference between them and what muggles call slaves is that the elves actually enjoy working for their given family…well the majority of them anyway. They're magic is stabilized by the bond and without it they tend to become a bit loopy before eventually dying off. Kreacher was my godfather's family's elf. Remember how I explained about Voldemort, his supporters and dark magic…well the majority of Sirius's family were what you would call Dark—my godfather excluded of course…so Kreacher tends to parrot some of their views still…though he has gotten better" Harry trailed off realizing he had begun to ramble.

He cleared his throat taking in the overwhelmed expression on his bonded's face, "er….how about I show you where you'll be sleeping and let you rest a bit? It was a long flight….I believe that George and Neville are meeting us at the restaurant at seven, so we have a few hours until we have to meet up with them"

Taking Sebastian's nod as a yes, Harry led him up to the second floor and showed him into the room that he and Ron used to share—it no longer had two beds of course and was much cleaner than it had been during his own stay in it. "So, if this is okay it will be you're room for the time being…I'm across the hall if you need anything…." Harry trailed off leaving the question hanging.

Sebastian seemed to shake himself from his stupor enough to respond, "no…I'm good…thanks" said weakly. Knowing just how overwhelming the magical world could be to someone who had never really experienced it (outside the brief visit to the Minstery that is) Harry nodded and left to give the brunette some space to process everything.

He really hoped that when Sebastian finished processing he wouldn't tuck tail and run…. But only time would tell.

-00-

George allowed Neville to enter the muggle restaurant that they had all agreed to meet at, ahead of him. Muggle, because it would be suicide to have taken Harry—let alone Harry and his squib bonded to a magical one. Despite the fact that it had been nearly seven months since the Battle of Hogwarts, Harry's popularity and the populations need to talk, thank and touch him was nowhere near to dying down. Personally (though when around his family—especially the youngest two, he kept this opinion to himself) George thought it was a rather good thing for Harry to have gotten out of the country for the past few months. Regardless of whether the famous raven chose to leave Britain permanently, George was aware enough to know that for the time being at least, the teen-savior would have had no respite had he stayed amongst his adoring, and not so adoring public.

George's opinion on Harry bonding and said bonded where however yet to be made. George better than anyone, understood how important having another person to share your experiences—both big and small—with could be. He had, after all shared a bond with Fred for just over twenty years before that bond and his brother's life was so cruelly destroyed—even now, seven months later George had days where he could barely force himself to get out of bed.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that Neville had stumbled (quite literally stumbled, the clumsy Gryffindor was still that; clumsy) across George drunk off his ass—something he had been quite regularly since Fred's death—and not only sobered and cleaned him up, but somehow convinced the redhead that he needed a flat mate*, George wasn't sure if he would still be alive or at the very least functional. A fact that he would never, ever tell Harry—as the wizard would find a way to blame himself for not only George's poor coping but Fred's death. And as much as George would have loved to have someone to take the blame for Fred's death, he knew that it was not Harry's fault—nor was the fact that Harry hadn't realized George's own issues, as the teen savior had more than enough of his own to deal with and George had gotten quite good at hiding his grief behind sober-up potions and fake smiles. Just having another person to share your living space with had made such a huge difference in his own recovery that yes; he out of anyone could understand needing another.

The thing was….he wasn't sure that this Sebastian could or should be that person to Harry. While he had only just met the man, he didn't strike George as someone who Harry would fall for. But then again, he also knew that—despite what everyone else said—Ginny wasn't that person either. So, he would wait to pass his judgment…and who knows? maybe this Sebastian character would be just what Harry needed to start his own healing process.

-oo—

When Harry had explained his surrogate family to Sebastian, the brunette was not sure how to picture the people who had all but taken in his bond mate as one of their own. Nothing however could have prepared him for the reality of the Weasley family….nothing.

Sebastian admittedly had very little experience or expertise when it came to family—because while he did have a family, he was pretty sure the way that the Symthe's interacted was not proper familial behavior. The loud, boisterous, all together rambunctious group of redheads was not like anything that Sebastian had ever experienced before.

There was just so much...noise! He honestly wasn't sure how anyone could form a coherent thought in such an atmosphere, and the constantly changing and fluctuating personalities of said family were altogether baffling. One minute the youngest girl—Ginevra he believed, and the youngest boy—Ronald would be close to bashing each others' brains out and the next moment they were uniting forces against one of their other siblings; it was far too confusing to try and make sense of and Sebastian was a little ashamed to admit that he was all but clinging to Harry's side in a desire to find an ounce of rationality.

They're initial reactions to him could only be labeled as anything but warm and welcoming (more along the line of distrustful and resenting—especially from the youngest members of the family) but as the minutes trickled into hours, they (well most of them) had gradually warmed up to him. It helped of course that Harry had stubbornly stuck by his side and refused to acknowledge or give into their initial antagonism. Perhaps seeing their friend(?) Brother(?) so adamant on his decision helped ease their wariness of this stranger in their midst. Whatever the reason, Sebastian was glad for it….while he was used to receiving less than welcoming reactions from people (admittedly he was usually at least partially to blame for said reactions) it still wasn't easy or comforting to be on the receiving end of so many glares—especially since this time he had done nothing to earn them.

He had known that this Christmas Eve visit (which unfortunately would be spanning the rest of the day, the night and at least part of Christmas morning) was not going to be completely smooth sailing. The way George had blatantly avoided certain areas of conversation, while still awkwardly extending Molly's invitation for Harry and himself to come over for Christmas Eve and Christmas was all but telling.

Still when Harry had tried to politely decline (most likely knowing beforehand just how tense this visit was going to be and not wanting to commit to such a large amount of time) George had become more resolute and determined with his invite. He stated that Molly (apparently the mother of the fire-headed brood) missed Harry terribly, and had been ever so worried about his health and well being—of course Harry had caved upon hearing this (guilt was a trait that Sebastian was beginning to associate with the wizard more and more); and so here they were, two days later surrounded by chaos.

"So…..what kind of wildlife does Ohio have?" the Weasley with the rather macabre looking burns on his arms asked stiltedly. Though Sebastian had to give him some credit as outside of the rather stunning blond haired woman by the name of Fleur, he was one of the only ones to try and attempt conversation without Harry around….and just where in the hell did Harry disappear to? He could have sworn the slim wizard had been beside him not that long ago…..

Sebastian blinked in confusion for a second, "wildlife?" he asked rather perplexed as to why…Charlie? was asking such a question.

Charlie nodded eagerly, not looking for a second like this was an unusual question to ask a stranger, "yeah….I've never been to America, mainly split my time in-between England and Romania but I would imagine that a place with such wild magic would have some fascinating specimens—not dragons mind you, far too little coverage for those beauties but there should be chupacabra—er… maybe those are further south…but I'm pretty sure gowrows and hodags1 are near your area…." he trailed off sounding somewhat uncertain.

"um…" Sebastian replied dumbly—what the hell was a hodag?; it sounded suspiciously like one of the more questionable entrees one could find at any trucker stop in the fine state of Ohio—"we have groundhogs?" he added because the redheaded lug was looking at him with such a pitifully hopeful expression.

"groundhogs?" Charlie asked his expression hard to decipher—though if Sebastian were to take a stab at it, he would say it was a mix of confusion, disappointment and forced politeness—all in all not the most attractive expression he had ever bared witness to.

"yeah….we even have a day based around them; groundhogs day…" he added lamely.

Charlie stared back at him for a long moment before coughing slightly and saying, "I see." They then proceeded to stand there in awkward silence, each sipping their chosen drink (something called pumpkin juice for Sebastian—for while he had been far more interested in the one called fire whiskey, he figured it was probably wise not to let his inner alcoholic out to play while trying to make a good—or at least passable impression on the family).

Sebastian cast another desperate look around the rather cluttered and crowded sitting room (if there was one word to describe the Weasley's house—it was not boring) for where Harry had disappeared to. He noted that the bushy haired brunette—one of Harry's close friends and apparently current love interest of the redhead by the name of Ronald, was hidden in the corner furiously scribbling away notes and leafing through a large tomb…the prissy redhead, Percy was with her and looked as though he was making suggestions every once in a while. Ronald, George, Bill and his wife—the beautiful Fleur, were seated in a loose circle playing what appeared to be an exploding card game, while Molly could be heard bustling around the kitchen tossing out instructions to her poor bedraggled looking husband. The only ones he could not find were Ginevra…..and Harry.

A small tendril of unease uncurled itself in his stomach…while Harry had been a little sketchy on details, he did recall the green eyed male mentioning (or perhaps shouting during one of their many fights about who had screwed whose life up more) that before their bonding he had intended on proposing to the fiery redhead. The fact that those two were the ones currently missing was not a comforting fact.

He was once again surprised by how protective and possessive of Harry he felt….but he found that he absolutely hated the idea of Ginevra being anywhere near Harry.

He excused himself from Charlie's presence and ventured out of the room under the cover of needing the restroom—it wasn't his fault that he was headed in the exact opposite direction of said restroom…the house's layout was after all, very confusing. He found himself coming to a standstill when he found the two wayward wizards.

He paused several feet away, sticking to the shadows as to not alert them of his presence and studied the situation in front of him. While to most people, the conversation and contact between the two would appear to be mutual—Sebastian was not most people. No, having spent numerous hours in the company of the liars and manipulators that his father liked to call associates Sebastian was versed enough in reading body language to note the way Harry was subtly leaning away from Ginevra's crowding stance. He could tell that his bonded was fighting his fight or flight instinct while the girl was fighting to stay close to the raven haired teen. He couldn't make out words but he managed to catch the pleading tone of Ginevra's words and the tense almost harsh response Harry was delivering.

Deciding he had seen enough, Sebastian thought it was a good time to reinstate his place in the wizard's life…he was not about to let some silly little girl cause Harry to question their already shaky relationship even more then he already was. Making it seem as though he had only just arrived upon the pair and hadn't been standing their spying for the last several minutes, he walked towards them- not missing the relieved expression on Harry's face when he caught sight of him or the put out one on Ginevra's.

"Oh! Harry there you are…Charlie had some questions on Ohio's wildlife that I could not answer and I thought that you might be better able to answer them" Sebastian said in faux innocence. He could tell by the suspicious glint in his husband's eyes that Harry did not buy his excuse for interrupting for one minute, but the wizard seemed more than happy to grasp onto it anyway.

"Right….I should go see him then" Harry said hurriedly, sliding out from where he was previously trapped between the wall and Ginevra, "er….so I think this conversation is finished….that we understand each other?" he directed the last bit at the fuming redhead—the steel not unnoted in his tone.

"But…Harry…" she made to protest, not getting to finish whatever it was she was going to say before Harry cut her off.

"No Ginny! I have said all that I am going to say on the matter….I won't change my mind" he stated firmly, ignoring the crushed look on the girl's face. Turning away from her he walked towards Sebastian, pausing just before passing him.

"Shall we?" he asked his tone far warmer than before.

Sebastian did his best to hide his triumphant smile before moving to follow the wizard, "we shall."

-oo—

Harry caught himself just before he tugged on the too tight and far too itchy collar of his formal wizarding robes. It had been far too long since he had been forced to wear wizarding robes period, much less formal ones and after the last several months of jeans and Henley's…it somehow just felt wrong. And no this thought had not been invading his head just because Sebastian had nearly pissed himself laughing over the fact that grown wizards wore robes. The brunette hadn't been laughing quite as hard once he was forced into a dark blue one, his mirthful smile transforming into one of discomfort—apparently he wasn't exactly prepared for how 'breezy' the robes were. It had been Harry's turn to laugh then—only informing him that wizards generally still wore pants underneath their robes at the last minute (aka: right before they headed out the door to attend the Minstery Boxing Day Ball).

Even now Harry had to shake his head at some of the ideas the Minstery came up with. Well not really the Minstery per say, more like a newly formed branch within the Minstery; aka the 'Healthy Emotional Adjustment Liaisons' (better known as H.E.A.L) who had been assigned to trying to help everyone cope with the after affects of the war. While this idea sounded fine and dandy when stated like that, somehow the group had gone from what they were supposed to be doing and instead were concentrating most of their efforts on irritating him—ok, so they weren't actually trying to irritate him, they simply were trying to raise more awareness (from other countries) and more funds (from their own citizens) to help fund their efforts—hence the Minstery Boxing Day Ball…but it resulted in the same thing.

While he had been able to dodge a majority of their well meaning events- that had he been a part of, would have thrust him front and center as their poster boy- by being off in America, there were certain ones that he really did not have the option of avoiding. Kingsley had made it perfectly clear in his letter to Harry that this event was one of them. He truly despised things like this: .ask him to donate a few thousand galleons to the cause—sure no problem, need someone to help rebuild a massive castle—he's there, but ask him to prance and preen like a frigging performing pony all so that people could ogle and question him about the war….yeah definitely not.

It was one of the reasons that as apprehensive as he was about introducing Sebastian to this crowd and the accompanying scavengers (better known as the press) he was in a way almost relieved for his bonded's company tonight. At the very least it should help distract at least a little bit from all the uncomfortable questions like; how does it feel to finally kill He-Who-Must-not-Be-named? Do you have any words of wisdom for our torn nations? How do you respond to accusations that you waited too long to engage He-Who-Must-not-Be-named? And on and on and on….

Ignoring the urge to tuck tail and run when he caught sight of the hungry hoards—their fanaticism not disguised in the least by their expensive evening wear, Harry placed his hand on Sebastian's lower back; meant to be both guiding and reassuring. He caught the slight upturn of Sebastian's mouth and knew that the brunette appreciated the gesture. Not that Harry could blame him, hell he was used to this world and its people's attention and he was still nervous entering the room; he couldn't imagine how Sebastian must be feeling.

The first hour went by quite smoothly….he and Sebastian skirted along the edges of the crowd, stopping only to talk and mingle with people Harry knew were smart enough not to start something or ask too many prying questions. He was momentarily stunned…no, that's not the word—surprised perhaps, to see Ginny wrapped around the arm of a guy Harry vaguely recognized—wearing what looked like an engagement ring no less.

While he was a little shocked to find that the sight didn't really seem to bother him (none of the outrageous jealously he had felt over her and Dean in sixth year, or even the small twinges of regret he felt when she said they needed to take a break; just….relief?) but that wasn't why he was initially shocked at the sight. No, the reason that it caused him such surprise was due to the fact that she had literally just cornered him a mere two days before to try and convince him to get back together with her.

And she had been rather adamant at the time- to the point that Harry had been starting to get a little nervous as she was blatantly ignoring all of his denials and forging ahead with her own questionable agenda. At first he wasn't quite sure what to think when she had come up to him and asked for a private word—he had been both pleased and perhaps a little nervous. Pleased because it seemed that she had gotten over his and Sebastian's bonding enough to at least start speaking to him again, and nervous because well….how she had reacted to his bonding in the first place (thankfully none of the dinnerware the Weasleys owned was what one would call priceless—so at least Molly hadn't been carrying a grudge against his skull for breaking it).

He had politely excused himself from where he had been 'helping' Hermione and Percy re-write some new bill that was suppose to oversea legalizing certain herbs used in healing potions (and by helping he meant that he was sitting idly beside them while making small talk with Hermione between whatever point Percy was blathering on about) to follow Ginny out of the room. Sparing only a brief glance to make sure that Sebastian was doing okay, and smiling in amusement at the incredulous looks he and Charlie were alternatively exchanging with each other (somewhere along the line of—no he's crazy I tell you…but no he's crazy!).

When she had stopped in one of the lesser used hallways in the windy rat maze that was the Burrow, she had come right out and stated that she had reacted as poorly as she had because she had been angry and hurt by his bonding and let her emotions get the better of her. She said that she had thought that it was a permanent bond and that she had discovered only a few weeks ago through the grape-vine (aka: the Kinglsey—Molly—Ginny vine) that it wasn't. She then proceeded to tell him that she forgave him and that she wanted them to get back together. And then she had gone on and tried to kiss him.

When Harry had managed to get over his shock at her words and actions—while dodging said action, he had told her that, no as of right now he was with Sebastian and he would not be the type of person who would cheat on his spouse…no matter how that person came to be his spouse. When she had all but ignored his statement and continued with her own logic that no one needed to know Harry hadn't been sure how to respond.

Never in a million years would he have thought she would suggest something like that—and he was surprised by just how angry and disgusted he was at the suggestion. Even if he and Sebastian did end up breaking the bond in August…he still would never be the type of person to get involved with her when he was with someone else (somehow the offer came off as so much more crass and all together wrong then it did when spoken from Malfoy's lips; then again perhaps it was because he had always known Malfoy was a Malfoy…aka: what benefited him was right). The very idea that Ginny would suggest such a thing….it was like she didn't know him at all! But then perhaps it was a better indication that he had never really known her at all.

It was in that moment that he came to the conclusion that even if he and Sebastian didn't work out in the long run, that he would never be able to be happy with Ginny….and no, not just because of wanting him to cheat on his spouse, but he was starting to realize that before going to Ohio he had always viewed her with rose colored glasses—as the saying goes.

He had set her up to be his ideal—the perfect person; and it was neither fair to her nor himself to continue with that delusion. The space and time that Ohio had afforded him, allowed him to take a step back and reconsider their relationship and the conclusion he came to was rather disturbing. Analyzing his feelings over her, he realized that he saw her more as a sister then a potential lover….that he had come that close to proposing to her was downright wrong (on so many levels). When he had told her (far more gently then he had told himself) that he thought they made better friends and he didn't think that they should get back together—ever, she had once again completely ignored his words.

It was at that point he had started to get a little nervous—not because he thought that she could actually do anything to him but because he knew if she did his own reaction might send him over the edge. And as much as she had been currently frustrating him, he didn't want to actually hurt her. He had been incredibly relieved when Sebastian interrupted them, though he had to wonder about the perfect timing to it—but either way it didn't really matter, what mattered was the fact that he could put space between him and the increasingly clinging redhead.

So it was just that conversation that caused him such shock at seeing her not only quite clearly with someone else, but apparently engaged. Had she been engaged when she approached him? Or did it happen after? Did she ask simply because she got cold feet with her current relationship, or was she trying to prove a point?—really either could be true. In the end Harry decided that it didn't matter and really didn't affect him (at least any longer) so he let it go.

He had enough relationship issues of his own to sort through without getting messed up in other's convoluted games.

It was in the second hours that things started to go South; the downward spiral naturally was caused by no other but the infamous Rita Skeeter.

Harry and Sebastian had just finished speaking with Xenous Lovegood (not one of Harry's favorite people—because although he understood the reason the strange man had betrayed him and his friends, he still tried to serve them up to death eaters…a sting that does not go away in a measly few months), when they were cornered by the gaudily taloned gossip queen. Harry had to stop himself from cringing at the sight of her and her infamous crocodile clutch bag (really?…it was a bloody ball. You would think she could ditch the damn thing for once!). It didn't help matters that the rest of the vultures (and guests) seem to almost converge on them when they noticed just who Rita had cornered. He knew before she even opened her poisonous jaws that this was not going end well.

"Harry darling! It's been to long….just where on earth did you vanish to?" Rita crooned in a highly over-dramatized tone of concern.

Harry just gave her a blank stare back, "Rita" he greeted curtly completely ignoring her question and starting to try and weave his away from the vindictive harpy—dragging Sebastian along with him. Unfortunately for Harry it seemed as though the crowd was siding with Rita on this as they did little to allow the two teens through. Biting back an irritated sigh and giving it up as fruitless, Harry slowly turned back to face Rita and finish what was no doubt going to be a horrific conversation.

Rita's smile grew at the sight and became a tad more pointed—in Harry's opinion not a good thing….at all.

"So Harry, what have you been up to the reconstruction on Hogwarts finished? I know that you haven't been spotted in Wizagmont or at the Minstery in months….what is so important as to keep you from your duties to our fine nation?" Rita asked again. Harry was not surprised in the least at the barely concealed accusations being thrown at him….of course it was not enough that he had given his life for these people ; people who have turned on him so many times he has given up counting—no, he wasn't surprised in the least that they still wanted more from him.

To bad for them that he wasn't willing to give them any more. See if he cares about their 'upstanding opinions,' Kinglsey might not be happy but for all Harry cared they could all go shove it.

"Well after being forced into an adult's role in a war that I never wanted to participate in from the time I entered Hogwarts I figured that I was due a vacation—you know the thing that most of you took when I was busy helping rebuild our destroyed school….how were the Bahamas'? I heard you spent all of last year there Rita?" Harry shot back keeping his tone just as cloyingly sweet as the reporters'. He could tell he hit the mark when she flushed an angry red and those surrounding her looked away refusing to meet his eyes—ah there they were…the cowards that he remembered.

Seeing that this line of questioning was not going quite as she had planned Rita switched tracks—it was one thing about the witch Harry could admire (even if he detested it just the same) her pure determination to find a story paired with almost no sense of personal shame.

She gave a rather strained chuckle, "Of course dear….completely understandable, and just who is this young man?" she asked again, picking a different angle of attack.

Harry debated momentarily, did he want to redirect her question and let her poke around on her own—likely coming up with a far more outlandish and lie filled explanation for who Sebastian was to Harry (he could see the headline now; Golden boy finds gigolo), or should he just come out and say it; get it over with. In the end he went for option two.

"This is Sebastian Symthe my bonded of four- going on-five months" he stated simply ignoring the gaping mouths of everyone around him. Honestly most of these people were or had connection to purebloods, you would have thought that they would have been able to better control their reactions.

"b-bonded?" Rita couldn't quite hide the stutter given her surprise at his answer (or maybe it was the fact that he had chosen to answer at all?)

"Yes" Sebastian spoke up for the first time making Harry want to bash his head against a wall as he noticed Rita's attention immediately zoom to the until then silent brunette.

"Congratulations…."Rita purred, her voice anything but sincere, "so tell me dear just who are you? I don't recognize that last name" she directed the last at Sebastian.

When Sebastian didn't look like he knew how he should reply Harry took over once more, "He's American" he answered succinctly starting to look once again for an escape route—he had a feeling they would need it in a few minutes.

Rita's brows furrowed for a moment before clearing "Tell us Sebastian, how did you catch dear Harry's eye—merlin knows the witches and many wizards are dying to know, is the wizarding world in the States different then here? Do they know the role Harry played in our war?" the questions came at a rapid fire pace.

Sebastian answered the only way that he could think to, "I'm not a wizard, so I would not know"

If Harry had been aggravated at the gaping looks before it didn't come close to comparing to the gasps of shock, horror and disbelief now.

"You're a-a muggle?!" some unidentified male from the back of the crowd cried out.

Sebastian got an annoyed look on his face at how the word was said—like it was a bad thing, "No my grandmother was a squib" he retorted testily.

Rita was looking like it was Christmas, her birthday and perhaps the rebirth of Merlin all in one day.

"Isn't that a tad irresponsible of you Harry? Bonding with a squib—and a male one at that? What about strengthening our society and contributing to future generations?"

The majority of the crowd—judging from their expressions looked as though they agreed with her; Harry's for his part, was just disappointed.

Disappointed that people continued to cling to their idiocy and bigotry….the same idiocy and bigotry that had started the whole Voldemort mess. This time he didn't try to hide his irritated sigh, glancing over to where Sebastian was staring at the crowd with a mix of surprise and indignation.

Well here goes nothing.

-00—

Surprisingly enough the Minstery ball was one place that Sebastian did not feel completely overwhelmed by. Oh….that's not to say that he was one hundred percent comfortable surrounded by people decked out in robes and pageantry….but if he could ignore the fact that it made the men look like they had stepped out of a Lord of the Ring's movie-the pomp was not that far off from many of the functions he had been forced to attend throughout the years.

He did however appreciate the fact that Harry was sticking close by and he wasn't left to fend the convoluted waters himself (because no matter how slick he could be if he wanted to be, this was still a society he knew barely the basics about; much less the proper manners and social protocol.)

As much as he would normally gripe and whine about feeling out of place, he found that he didn't really want to. It came as something of a shock to him as well. He had internally sneered and made sarcastic comments in his head throughout his time with the Weasleys….and he had wanted to scoff at the rather homely knit sweater Matron Weasley had given him (complete with a large S on the front in lurid orange lettering) but he found himself horrifyingly touched by the gesture. And what the hell was that? It was like he was turning into a ginormous emotional sap….and he was pretty sure it was Harry's fault. Unfortunately, it seemed as though he didn't really want to blame Harry….it was like a horrible, mind twisting circle.

And here it was again. That warm, gooey—aw-shucks feeling that was threatening to shatter his iron clad blank face (blank because even with his iron will he couldn't quite manage a sneer). And all because Harry was once again defending him….not to his friends or family….but to the press—therefore basically to his entire country; and wasn't that mind boggling.

"No" Harry stated the tone leaving no wiggle room on either side of it "I see absolutely nothing wrong with witches and wizards being with or bonding to those outside our immediate power sector. As everyone should be aware of, our numbers have been greatly decreased in not only this last war but have been decreasing over the last several decades….it would be physically impossible for every witch or wizard to bond with another witch or wizard. There is zero proof that children from a wizard-squib couple are any less powerful then a child from a wizard-witch couple. As for the male part of it all—we just finished a war, there are hundreds if not thousands of orphaned children looking for a welcome home and with blood adoption there is no different in adopting a child and having one biologically" Harry paused to take a breath before continuing, ignoring how the reporters in the crowd were furiously scribbling down his words, "But even if I did not have those points to back of my decision, it would not matter….it is after all my decision. Not yours, not you're neighbors, not Britain's wizarding population's…mine. And I have chosen to bond with Sebastian Symthe. No one has the right to tell me whether or not I am allowed to do so. I once again reiterate a statement I made several months ago…I am no longer your savior….I am Harry Potter, a person, a wizard, and someone who just wants to get on with his life. So, please allow me the space and privacy to do so."

Silence answered the end of his speech but they didn't wait around to discover the fall out of said speech, Harry once again latched onto Sebastian's arm and this time all but pushed his way through the crowd and towards the exit.

Sebastian for one was relieved—as enlightening as the evening had been, he was more than ready to go home.

-NOTES-

*A negative correlation is a relationship between two variables such that as the value of one variable increases, the other decreases (definition taken from ).

1. Chupacabra means goat sucker—a monster who was blamed for mysterious deaths of livestock around Mexico, the southern states and Puerto Ricto.

Gowrow: first spotted in Arkansas, name derived from the horrible sounds the beast was reported to make. Believed to be a 20foot reptile with enormous tusks that survives by eating livestock.

Hodag: a ferocious animal native to Wisconsin, believed to have two horns and a series of spikes along it's spine.

Song artist and song: Ed Sheeran: Lego house