Author's note: Reminder this is seriously AU. There will be Dumbledore bashing and I'm thinking quite a bit of OOC. sorry if that offends. Just bashing a few of the Weasley's.

Okay, just going to warn you. It's going so OOC in this one. Hope you all will keep reading.

Same Disclaimer: I own nothing, and get no money for it. Just the happiness of someone reading my fiction of fiction. thank you.

Chapter 10

Harry awoke to hear quiet sobbing. He rolled over, not quite remembering where he was, or what was going on. Somehow, Hermione had ended up on the middle cushion, Harry on her right and Draco on her left. She faced Draco, who was awake, and her small body was trembling.

Draco was facing Hermione, who even asleep had tears streaming from her eyes. He reached out, and took her hand in his, before murmuring gently to her. "Shhh, it's alright, Hermione. Everything is all right. No need to cry, I'll protect you." His eyes met Harry's. "I didn't know she had nightmares."

Harry looked more closely at the blonde boy. Malfoy looked extremely concerned for the Muggle-Born girl. He was truly starting to believe that everything the man, Hagrid, had told him had been a load of bollocks. "Sometimes, I have nightmares." He reached out a hand and ran down the girl's hair.

Draco felt a twinge, and pushed it away for now. He liked Potter. That surprised him. He certainly felt sorry for the malnourished boy. Was this how all Muggles treated children? Because both Harry and Hermione had been raised in that world, and look at the two… "I don't like her having nightmares. You shouldn't have them either." Draco looked back down, and found Hermione's eyes open, and focused on him. "Hello there," he murmured. "Are you all right?"

Hermione choked back a sob before pushing forward and clutching Draco into a hug, his face shoved into her wild curls. She began crying freely now, her body shaking in grief.

Draco didn't know what to do. He didn't like Hermione crying. He didn't like her being sad, or upset at all really. Potter was now patting her back hesitantly, and it really wasn't helping Draco at all. Now he understood why his father always remarked on staying away from crying women.

Both boys heard the heels clicking on the marble floors, and looked to find Narcissa approaching quickly. Draco was surprised. How had she known? Then he saw Jaye, the house-elf, behind his mother, her large ears drooping miserably.

All it took was Narcissa kneeling down, and placing a hand on Hermione's shoulder before the little girl moved and threw herself into the woman's embrace.

"I don't want to remember any more," she cried into Narcissa's shoulder.

"Oh my darling girl," Narcissa crooned. "Everything will be all right now. Everything will be good. You have so many people in this world who will make sure that is the case."

"You can't promise that! What if Headmaster does something?"

Harry jerked a little. Hermione sounded scared of this Headmaster Dumbledore. He definitely needed more information. Currently, he felt lost and overwhelmed.

"You're right, we can't make promises," Narcissa agreed, her eyes never leaving the little girl's own amber orbs. "All we can do is look out for you as best we can. And IF, IF by some way you do become injured… then you would have all of us to make it better. We will be here for you Hermione. We already are."

"I…" Harry's voice was small, "I'll be there for you too…" Draco's scowl went unnoticed. "I… I could be like your brother, if you wanted…"

Narcissa rewarded Harry with a huge smile. "You see? You have family in Harry and Severus. You have friends who love you, counting the Malfoy's amongst the highest. And you have new friends that are working on becoming better friends in all of the children you met yesterday, and Susan today. And you don't know them all, but there are also a lot of adults that are looking out for you too." When Narcissa saw Hermione's face scrunch, and mouth open to speak, she interrupted lightly. "And not because of some musty prophecy Albus Dumbledore brought out of hiding. No, that might have been what led us to meet you, but we love you because of who you are."

Narcissa kept rocking the little girl, soothing her until the tears stopped, and Hermione calmed. Narcissa began to think that she, or Severus, needed to get the little girl to talk to them about the things she'd gone through in the Muggle world. Hermione was bottling it up, never mentioning anything until the misery poured out of her unexpectedly. Narcissa knew this wasn't healthy. She didn't want to push the little girl, but this was like an infection; and it needed to be lanced.

Hermione felt so much better. The dream had been one she had quite often. More of a repeated memory than a dream really. She didn't want to think about it. She never wanted to think about that again; any of it. Mrs. Malfoy seemed to make things so much better. It was almost like having a real mum again. A mum that loved her, and wanted her around.

"Why don't you and Draco go feed the peacocks and peahens, and I am going to show Harry his new bedroom," Narcissa spoke lightly. "Draco, I'm putting Harry in the room across from yours; the blue and silver room."

Draco smiled, "Awesome! We'll have lots of fun! And anytime you get bored, or want company I'm right there. Hermione's room is down the hall, so still close by."

"Also, I don't believe you ran into him last night, he arrived fairly late in the evening, but cousin Arthur is staying with us."

Draco's mouth popped open in astonishment. "Really?"

"Is he going to come to school with us?" Harry was confused. He didn't know there was another child here.

Narcissa smiled at him, and ran her hand over his unruly hair. "No, love. Arthur is actually Lucius's cousin. He's married to a woman who does not have the best character. According to his children, and then man has several, it's no longer safe at the home his wife dwells at. She is a staunch follower of Dumbledore. He's a very sweet man. You'll see five of his children around the Manor, all boys, all have red hair."

"Not the youngest," Draco asked with a grimace.

"No," Narcissa responded. "No, the two youngest will not be around."

"I'm very confused." Harry said quietly. "Please, can't I know what's happening?"

Narcissa pulled Harry closer. "We are going to tell you the entire story this evening, my sweet. I promise."

Harry under one arm, Hermione under the other, and Draco holding onto the hand wrapped around Hermione, this is how Lucius found them when he entered the room. For a moment his heart ached. His beautiful wife had wanted more than just one child… unfortunately, after the blessing that Draco was, they hadn't been able to conceive another. But now, looking at her with children surrounding her, oh, how he wished he could have fulfilled those dreams for her.

"What a lovely sight this is," he said lightly drawing everyone's attention.

"Father!" Draco shouted and ran to embrace him. Hermione was right behind the blonde boy, and Lucius saw her blushing as she reached him for a hug. He held both children close to him, and now his heart twinged at the thought that this sweet girl would be embarrassed about simply seeking out a simple hug.

"Narcissa!" another man's voice came from behind Lucius, and they all looked to see a middle-aged man with coppery red hair, smiling behind the blonde aristocrat. "It seems that your Draco tripled into three children since I last saw him!"

Narcissa chuckled. She stood, pulling Harry up with her. "Arthur! It's so good to have you with us! My heart is so relieved that you're out of that house." The blonde woman hugged Arthur and then pulled Harry in front of her. "Arthur, Lucius, this is Harry Potter. Harry, this is my husband Lucius, and his cousin Arthur."

Both of the men seemed so large to Harry. Not large the way Vernon Dursley had been, but he could actually feel the magic that surrounded them. "H-h-hello," he stammered. "It's very nice to meet you both." The boy managed to get out in a croak.

Lucius looked at the boy for a moment. Great Merlin, what had this boy had to live through. That old man had KNOWN this boy was suffering. He'd hid it from everyone, and had performed mind magic to make sure no one questioned or wondered regarding this boy. "Hello, Harry," Lucius's tone was soft, the way it had been when he met Hermione. But he tried to inflect good cheer. "We're so glad to have you with us. I know Cissa is over the moon to finally have you staying here."

Harry managed a smile, tension leaving his body somewhat. "Thank you, sir. Everyone has been very kind."

"I think it's just splendid that you're here, Harry," Arthur Weasley smiled widely at the boy. "I know that my boys, Fred, George, and Percy, they are all attending Hogwarts with you as well, just in separate years. Well, I know my boys will be pleased to make a new acquaintance."

Narcissa felt so happy. So far everything was turning out to be wonderful. She knew it wouldn't always be, but just this one moment in time… she was surrounded by children, by family, and all was good. "It's time for dinner, why don't we all go in? We have a lot to tell Harry tonight."

77

Harry's eyes were huge as he looked at all of the food on the table. Lucius and Arthur sat at each end of the table. Narcissa sat to Lucius's left, and an empty chair was to his right. Harry had been placed next to Narcissa, on her left. Draco sat beside the empty chair, and Hermione sat beside him. That left one empty chair between Harry, and Arthur's end of the table.

"Are you all right, Harry?" Arthur asked him as he placed his napkin in his lap.

"Yes, sir. It's just… This table is the biggest I've ever seen, and there's so much food…" he voice died off as he flushed in embarrassment.

"Actually, the table adjusts to be an appropriate size, depending on how many people are dining," Lucius shared with the boy. He realized that while everyone was fixing their plates, Harry was not. "Is the food not to your liking?"

Harry jolted, "Oh, no sir, it's not that. I'm…" Harry looked down feeling ashamed. He swallowed, the lump in his throat actually hurting.

"You can tell us, sweetheart," Narcissa told him.

Harry shrugged, "I'm not used to eating, or even putting food on my plate until everyone else has gotten their food, and I've been given permission."

Everyone at the table became silent. Behind him, Harry heard a throat clear. He looked back jerkily to see a tall thin man standing in the doorway. The man was pale, with shoulder length black hair, and a large, almost hooked nose. The man's dark brown eyes stared at Harry.

"Professor Snape," Hermione was beyond delighted to see her Guardian. Without thinking, she stood and ran to the man, her arms going around him in a fierce hug.

At first Severus stiffened, but he quickly relaxed, settling an arm around the girl. They should all be grateful that the girl had the ability to still feel affection. He wouldn't begrudge her. Even if it was an odd feeling.

He'd actually been in the doorway for several moments. He'd observed the boy, and listened to him, wondering if he would hear Lily's voice in the small boy. Then he found himself actually listening to the words coming out of the boy's mouth. That bitch, Petunia… she had starved the boy. He'd spoken to Amelia; he knew how unhealthy the child was. Severus also knew that when next he saw Albus, it would not be a pleasant meeting. He could only imagine the suffering Hagrid had gone through.

When the boy turned to look at him, that's when he saw Lily's eyes looking back at him. It caused his heart to jolt for a moment. He thought he'd despise the boy, but instead he found himself pained for the boy. This child would never know how wonderful his mother was. Or how honorable his father was… well, also a troublemaker. Though they'd been in separate houses, he had become friends with the 'Marauders' as the boys liked to call themselves. Then, Pettigrew began spreading lies. For a while there had been much tension. Tension had turned to anger when Remus Lupin almost killed Severus during a full moon. Lupin had been changing into a werewolf.

Severus and the four Marauders had been at odds then. Their mutual friends caught in the middle. That was when Dumbledore began recruiting Severus. He hadn't trusted the old man, and knew he should talk to someone before joining. He'd talked to Tom. That's when he found out that Pettigrew had set it up for Lupin to kill him. Pettigrew had been trying to worm his way into Tom's good graces, but Tom Riddle was smarter than that. He knew what Pettigrew was. He knew that the squirmy little man was completely Dumbledore's.

Tom had pulled them all together; James, Lily, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, Severus, and Lucius. Arthur Weasley had already been there. That was when any lingering hostilities were laid to rest. They realized… all of them were on the same side. That was when Severus let Dumbledore recruit him.

Looking at the child now just seemed to bring it all back. Those first days had been… wretched.

"And how has your day been today, Hermione?" he asked.

She took the time to think about her answer. "We had a good day shopping, but I had a bad dream while I was taking a nap."

"Are you alright now?"

"Oh, yes," she assured him. "Draco was there and he was so sweet. And Harry said he would help Draco, and he would be like my brother… and then Mrs. Malfoy came in and she made it all better," she finished with a smile. "Are you hungry? We just sat down."

He moved with her back to her seat, making sure to push her chair in, and then took a seat in the chair to Lucius's right.

"I'm so glad you could join us, Severus!" Narcissa smiled widely. "Allow me to introduce you to Harry Potter. Harry, this is Severus Snape. He's the potion's professor at Hogwarts, as well as one of your mother's closest friends."

Severus swallowed away all of the anger and unhappiness he'd experienced, knowing he'd failed Lily and James. Their little boy was sitting across the table from him, looking at him with wide eyes. They might have failed him for the last ten years of his life, but now they could work on making it up to him. "It's truly a pleasure to see you again, Harry."

"It's nice to meet you, sir."

"Perhaps…" Snape began. "Perhaps, when you feel comfortable enough, if you feel comfortable enough, you would do as Draco does, and call me Uncle, at least when not in class, or at school functions."

He saw the boy's head perk up, and he nodded at Severus.

Severus then turned to face Hermione. "The same goes for you, Hermione. If you'd like, you may also call me Uncle."

She took a moment and nodded to him, her eyes bright with unshed tears.

Narcissa cleared her throat, she too was trying to hold back any tears the touching scene might inspire. It was so rare to see Severus allow himself to be vulnerable. These children will be good for him, she thought.

"I do believe it's time we tell Harry everything we've been promising to tell him." Arthur stated, then took a bite of roast.

By the time the elves were clearing away the dessert dishes, Harry Potter knew one thing for sure. Albus Dumbledore was not to be trusted.