"Mr. Malfoy, there's been a slight change in your Mother's condition. I assumed you'd want to be notified immediately which is why I asked you here."
"So what's changed?" Draco asked expectantly.
"Your Mother has begun to respond to the sounds around her and has begun to give the physical therapists resistance when they are manipulating her legs. I know it's only a small change, but we are quite pleased with it."
"So am I," Draco said, "I hadn't expected this so soon."
"I must admit sir, neither had we. We didn't expect to see any improvement if truth be told."
Draco stood and shook hands with the healer then walked into his mother's room to find her resting peacefully and her therapist getting ready to leave.
"Mr. Malfoy, good morning. Your Mother had a great session today. She was able to push back on command and was able to move her toes on her own."
Draco was not overly fond of this therapist as she was insanely peppy and had an incredibly annoying chirp in her voice. She was far too much to handle first think in the morning and he truly believed his mother was fighting back just to get the woman out of the room.
"Thank you for your assistance today. I know my Mother would thank you as well, if she were able."
"You're both very welcome. Healer Murray will be in this afternoon for another session."
Draco sighed as the woman left. He transfigured the hospital chair into a plush velvet covered chair and sat next to his mother.
"Good morning Mother. I trust you slept well. It's been an eventful couple of days and I must apologise right off for not coming to see you yesterday. I was helping to take care of Harry and Charlie Weasley. They were attacked by some of the stragglers who are now with Fenrir. He's working with Ginny and she's given him a lot of information about Harry and her family."
He paused, picking up the brush on the bedside table and began to brush his mother's hair as he continued, "They are fine now but the attackers got away. You were right that the Wolf is the head of this."
Narcissa's hand twitched toward Draco when he mentioned Greyback and the blonde noticed the movement, "Mother," he said taking her hand, "what do you know about Fenrir? Is there anything you can tell me that will help Harry?"
Draco watched as his mother's eyes fluttered and her cheeks flushed. She was obviously trying to respond to her son but was unable to talk yet.
"It's okay Mother, I know you want to help and when you can, you will." He squeezed her hand reassuringly and leaned forward, placing a soft kiss on each of her pink cheeks. "I'm going to head home to the Manor and let you rest. I'll be back first thing in the morning and we'll talk some more."
He flicked his wand at his chair restoring it to its former shape and kissed his mother on the forehead whispering, "I love you Mum," before leaving.
Tears slid from Narcissa's eyes as her son left the room. In her mind she was screaming that she knew more than she should, and that Draco and Harry were in great danger, but her mouth wouldn't respond to the commands her brain was sending.
She resolved, in that moment, to do everything she could to make her body respond so she could warn her beloved son and stop him.
"Draco with his Mum this morning?" Harry asked as he sat on the couch in front of the fire.
"Yes, I expect him back within the hour," Severus replied as he stoked the fire. It was an especially gloomy day and the Manor was holding a chill so he made the Library as warm as possible for Harry.
"I've been to check on Charlie this morning and he has recovered nicely. He explained that his friend was able to erect a partial shield just before the attack which is why he didn't suffer as much from the spells as he should have. I had a little talk with him about being more careful when you are with them."
Harry chuckled and opened the Prophet to the obituaries. He always checked there first to make sure there was no one he knew listed. Thankfully, today was a good day.
"Severus, I wish you wouldn't be so hard on the Weasley's. They really do care about me and would never do anything to harm me. They've always taken good care of me."
Severus was saved from saying what he really thought about that by Draco walking in and babbling.
"Oh Sev! She wiggled her toes and then she twitched and I'm just sure she's coming out of the catatonia! She wants to talk," he continued as he picked Harry's legs up and sat down, placing his legs in his lap, "I could see it in her face today. She was really trying to talk again."
Harry laughed at Draco's exuberance and said, "I'm glad she's improving Draco. It will be nice for you when you can bring her home."
Draco smiled and looked at Harry as he held the muscular legs on his lap, he idly wondered when Harry's legs had gotten so strong before shaking his head and responding, "Yes it will be. She will love that you and Severus are both here. Harry, I know if she could, she would thank you for everything you've done for her."
Harry blushed and smiled, "I didn't realise you knew."
"I gathered from various conversations I'd heard at the hospital, and then one of the Healers finally told me that everything was taken care of and we didn't need to worry about it."
Severus watched the exchange between the boys and waited until he was sure neither was going to speak before asking, "Harry, have you covered all of Cissa's medical bills?"
Harry nodded.
"Why would you do that given how you've been treated by this family?"
Harry shifted his legs from Draco's grasp and sat up on the couch, "While the family as a whole has not treated me well, I saw the look on Narcissa's face that night when she heard the names of those who had died. And I saw her face when she realised that Draco wasn't going to help them escape justice. She was upset at first but, then I think, relieved. She knew that she and Lucius wouldn't be able to get out but in that moment, she was at peace with the fact that Draco had."
"I may not have been raised by my Mum and surrounded in the love Draco felt," Harry said as he got up and headed for the door, "but I know what that devotion means and I know what it took for her to accept Draco walking away from the family. I have to honour that love."
Severus and Draco watched as Harry left the room. Draco had tears falling silently down his face and Severus handed him a handkerchief. "Uncle, I…"
Severus sat beside Draco and held him, while shocked by Harry's insight and revelation; he was not surprised by the conviction behind the sentiment. Harry's heart was so like his mother's. You could read her love for those in her life, in every smile on her face and every twinkle in her eye and Harry was no different. There was more to this child than anyone knew and Severus was feeling truly privileged to be given a second chance to know Harry.
Draco stood and handed Severus back the cloth he'd wiped his eyes on and left the Library with a purpose.
An hour later, he walked into Harry's room with a book in his hand. Harry was sitting in his favourite plush armchair. Draco had always hated the chair, thinking it ugly with its red velvet covering and the gold piping that ran along the edges, but the chair was truly Harry.
He carefully set the book on the table beside Harry and waited to be acknowledged.
"Draco, did you need something?"
"I didn't want to interrupt your…meditating?, but I wanted to give you this," Draco gestured to the book between them.
Harry picked up the book and ran his hand over the embossed cover. The image staring him in the face surprised him. It was the Black family crest, and as he ran his hands over the greyhounds that bracketed the shield and the five pointed stars and chevron that adorned it, he found himself feeling closer to family than ever before.
He looked up at Draco and raised an eyebrow, questioning the gift.
"My Mum brought this with her when she married my father. It's the last album she made before leaving." Draco sighed, looked at the floor and then raised his head to capture Harry's eyes, "I can't give you your Mum back the way you've given me mine, but I can give you a little of your family."
He left Harry with the album and went for a walk in the garden.
Harry opened the cover of the album with a gentleness that belied the excitement he really felt. He wasn't sure what to expect, but seeing his mother's bright face smiling back at him surrounded by some of his favourite people, was almost more than he could handle.
Staring back at him were the happy faces of his Mother, Father, Godfather – Sirius, Molly, Arthur and his surrogate Godfather – Remus. They were all so happy, cozied up together and he had to swallow a sob as his father kissed his mother's cheek and she giggled.
As Harry made his way through the album, he saw picture after picture of Sirius with various Black family members and some with the people Harry knew had been part of his Hogwarts days. One of the pictures that really drew his attention was a picture of Sirius, sitting on the couch in the Study with Narcissa curled into his side. They were looking at a book of some sort and were obviously very comfortable sitting there.
Harry stared at the picture until his eyes watered from not blinking and then turned to the last page. Featured there was a picture that tore his heart out. Sirius was holding an infant in his arms and smiling bigger than Harry had ever seen. If the hair on the baby was any indication, this baby was Harry and Sirius looked proud holding the child.
Harry recognized the scrawl below the picture and ran his fingers over the words, "The End and The Beginning".
Harry closed the book, stood and left the room. He needed his questions answered before he could decide what to do next.
Severus looked out his window into the back garden as he drank his first scotch of the evening. Since Harry had come to live with them, Severus seemed to need one each night to relax. He chuckled as he thought about a time, prior to the battle, when just being in the room with the boy would have made cringe.
The sound of the kitchen door banging closed brought Severus out of his remembrance and to his window. He watched as Harry walked through the garden toward Draco and sat on the grass next to him. He watched the conversation for almost twenty minutes before the boys hugged and came in. He didn't know what was said, but the looks on the boys faces made him wonder if the two had come to a new understanding in their relationship.
He quickly scribbled a note to the boys and headed for the floo. He suddenly had an intense urge to talk with his mother.
Harry found Draco sitting amongst the most beautiful patch of Poet's Narcissus he'd ever seen. Each flower presented itself for approval; the soft white petals gently surrounding the delicate yellow cup which was tipped in a deep red and releasing the most delicious fragrance. Harry couldn't stop himself from cradling one of the proud flowers in this hand and inhaling the aroma deeply.
Draco turned his head, hearing a hum from behind him, to see Harry nuzzling one of his mother's flowers. His father had planted the first of the plants the morning after he'd first met Draco's mother. He'd always said, "I knew from the first moment I saw her I needed to be surrounded by her so, I planted the flowers to remind me of her." That was one of Draco's most cherished memories of his parents.
Harry sat down next to Draco on the grass and placed the album between them. He took a minute to settle before quietly saying, "Draco, thank you for this. It was incredible to see them so happy."
"I'm glad you liked it. I found it in the attic last year when I was going through my father's things looking for anything that would help me get out of where I was."
"It was really nice of you to share it with me. I miss them so much sometimes."
The pair were quiet for a few minutes before Harry finally asked, "What did you mean when you said, I gave you back your Mum?"
Draco sighed heavily and explained, "Harry, after what my father and I did, no one wants to have anything to do with us. Although the staff at the hospital has to take care of her, they weren't going to go out of their way to be nice to either of us or to do anything extra for her. After they discovered that you were taking care of the bills, the staff started treating her different and she started to improve. It's what made me want to discover what was going on."
Harry turned toward the blonde and was about to object to his characterization of the situation when Draco put his hand up to stop him. "There's no use denying it. They began to treat her better after you stepped up. We also wouldn't have been able to afford to have her on a private ward all this time as most of our assets have been frozen until they decide what father's betrayal will cost."
Harry hadn't known about any of that and blushed when he realised that Draco had been spending money he couldn't afford to on their outings.
"Draco, why didn't you tell me? I wouldn't have allowed you to spend so much money on me if I had known."
"And that's why I didn't tell you. I wanted to do something nice for you. You've been trying to go out of your way to be nice to me despite my hand in Albus' death, and you've given the appearance to everyone that you have no problem being here, in this house, with Severus and I. You can't possibly have just forgotten everything that's happened in the past and be okay with being here."
Harry interrupted at this point, "Draco," he began, placing a hand on the blonde's arm, "I am totally comfortable here and have no problem being here with either of you. Severus has been a spy for the Order for so long that, although we haven't always gotten along, I have come to see a different side of him and can except that I didn't always know the real him before. I was hesitant at first to be in the house with you, but you have shown me who you are and that's not the arse I've seen for the last 6 years. It's a caring, intelligent, and – don't hurt me – loving person. I have no problem with you and have enjoyed my time here."
"Harry, I didn't tell you all this or give you the album to convince you of anything. I told you this because I want to be honest with you. You deserve that. And I gave you the album because it should be yours now. My Mum would want you to have that."
"Draco, did your Mum ever talk about mine?"
"Not a lot, mainly because father wouldn't allow it. He knew they had been friendly and didn't want to hear about it. At that time, Voldemort was really getting his dander up about the prophecy and your family, so Mum just stopped talking about them and stopped seeing any of the people from her past. I think it's when she really started to become the hard woman you know. That's not really her."
Harry mumbled "Orchideous" and handed the resulting bouquet of flowers to Draco who began to laugh hysterically. He took the offering and buried his nose deep in the brightly coloured blooms of the Gerber daisies.
Draco stood and helped Harry up before giving him a hug and kiss on the cheek, "Thank you for these and for understanding. Who would have ever thought we could become friends?"
Harry chuckled as he tried not to touch the place on his cheek that tingled, "You did. First year, you offered me your hand and I refused it." Harry smiled and headed back into the house with Draco following. Harry missed the expression of wonder that coloured Draco's face.
Severus curled his mother's hand around his arm as they strolled across the expansive grounds of Hogwarts. He needed to talk with her about his observations of Harry and Draco and about the situation with the Weasley's, but didn't seem to know where to begin.
"Son, is there some reason in particular that you burst into my office and demanded we take this walk? If not, I do have wok to get done. I plan on reopening the school in a month and there's still much to get done."
Severus patted Minerva's hand and smiled at her, she always knew how to get him going. "Mum, there are a few things I need to talk out and you're the only person I know who can get my mind working in a logical manner when I get cluttered."
"Alright then, what's rattling around in that attic of yours?"
"Okay, there are a few things going on that I need to talk to you about. First, the Weasley's have gone into hiding because of this." He handed her the note that Harry had received and waited as she read it.
"And where have you sent them?"
"I can't tell you exactly where but they are with…family, and will be well protected. I doubt anyone would be able to find them."
"And how is Harry handling all of this?"
"As well as can be expected. Although he hasn't said anything, I believe he is likely blaming himself for it all and would be allowing the guilt to eat him alive if not for my Godson; which brings up to number two."
Minerva raised an eyebrow in question and motioned for him to continue.
"I believe Harry and Draco may be heading for something more than the friendship that has been developing. The more time they spend together, the closer they become. Tonight I watched them in the garden and Harry actually presented Draco with a bouquet of Gerber daisies – in orange, red, white and yellow."
"Did he now? Well, I wonder how much he knows about the meaning of flowers and if that was intentional? I don't recall him getting bad marks in Herbology but he's no Longbottom."
"Yes, well that's true, which brings me to the third reason for coming here. I believe Neville will be the logical replacement for Pomona when she retires and I think he should be granted an apprenticeship this year along with his studies."
"Severus dear, I don't know if he could handle it all."
Severus stopped walking and turned Minerva toward him, "Mum, Neville and I have gotten to know each other quite well over this last year and I believe he can."
"Severus Tobias Snape," Minerva began, "you have not been romantically involved with a student have you?"
Severus exploded with laughter and kissed his mother on the cheek before responding, "No Mum I haven't. Neville came to me at the beginning of last year with a problem and we've spent this past year talking a couple of times a week. Apparently it's been long suspected by the students that Draco and I have something of an involvement, and when Neville found himself questioning his sexuality, he came to me to discuss it. He felt that being gay I would be less likely to criticize him. It took great courage for him to come to me about this that first night and I allowed him to speak because of that courage."
Minerva linked her arm with her son's again and began to walk back toward the castle.
"He had found himself being attracted to someone who he felt he shouldn't be and didn't know what to do about it. After I set him straight – figuratively speaking of course – that I was bi-sexual and not homosexual, I allowed him to tell me what he'd been experiencing and, well, we've developed a friendship of sorts. He is no longer afraid of me and I no longer find him an inept idiot."
"So, who is his paramour?"
"Gregory Goyle."
"Well, that is a surprise. How is Draco handling one of his guards being with a Gryffindor?"
"He doesn't know yet. Gregory's too afraid to tell him."
The pair walked in silence until they entered the castle and settled in Minerva's chambers. They took up their normal positions in the sitting room, Minerva in her elegant Queen Anne style wingback chair, covered of course in Gryffindor red, and Severus in his favourite plush black velvet arm chair trimmed in Slytherin green, before Severus got to the last reason for his unannounced visit.
"Mum, is Remus staying here now?"
"He is. I have appointed him the Defense Professor and have given him the chambers by yours in the dungeons. The Board of Governors is not happy with this, but in honour of Albus and to be true to him, I told them to take a flying leap into the Black Lake."
Severus smiled and looked at his mother. He watched the grief flick across her face when she mentioned the former headmaster, "Mother, you truly loved him didn't you."
"Yes I did. And he loved you as much as I do. It was at his insistence that we went through with your blood adoption all those years ago. He didn't like the idea of you not having parents any longer to guide you. He felt the power within you and knew that there were depths of love that remained untapped in your heart. He'd always known that we would be parents, but until he saw you, he didn't know to whom."
"Yes, well…anyway," Severus stammered uncharacteristically, "back to why I'm here. I need to speak with Remus. I was hoping you would ask him if he would be willing to sit with me for a bit."
Minerva smiled and stood and leaned over her son placing a kiss on his head and said, "I will ask him if he has time now, while you are here," and headed into her office.
Minerva returned minutes later and said, "He's waiting for you in his chamber. My floo is already open for you love. Have a nice talk and we'll chat later about the boys."
Severus kissed Minerva goodbye and stepped through to Remus' room.
"Good evening Severus. I understand you wanted to talk to me."
"Yes I did and thank you for agreeing to see me," he said walking forward with his hand extended.
After shaking hands, Remus gestured for Severus to sit on his couch and offered him something to drink before they settled into the reason for the conversation.
"Remus, I've come to ask a favour of you."
"Really? And what would that favour be?"
"Well, I'd like to ask you to please take an active role in mentoring Harry. He's doing well enough on his own considering, but he has a large well of magic within him that he can't quite control. He's having a harder time dealing with the loss of his Godfather than he's willing to let on."
Remus was suddenly very interested in what he was hearing and although he'd made his mind up the minute Severus said Harry's name, he didn't tell the man that yet. He wanted to hear exactly what Severus knew before he committed to being involved. If things were too closely tied to Severus, he may have to find a way to help indirectly as he still didn't completely trust Severus.
"Tell me what's been going on," Remus said.
Severus proceeded to tell him about Harry's bursts of magic, the nightmares he knew about and what he knew of Harry's counseling with Poppy. When he was finished he waited to hear what Remus thought.
"Severus, thank you. Thank you for trusting me with all this and for asking for my help. I will of course do everything I can to help Harry if he'll let me. And if he won't I'll find a way to help him without his knowing. I truly believed with Sirius dead, I wouldn't be welcome around here anymore. I always believed that everyone tolerated me because of my relationship with him and I've been pleasantly surprised to find it's the opposite, he was tolerated for my sake."
Severus gave a nod and said, "Well I know that I didn't care for either of you to start but you were much easier to like than he was. I am curious though, what exactly was your relationship with him?"
"Severus, we were not lovers if that's what you're asking. I'm firmly hetero and he wasn't. I did love him though as he was my dearest and truest friend."
Severus nodded firmly and stood, "Remus, you have told me everything I need to know with that statement. I would like to invite you to the Manor tomorrow for breakfast. I will make sure Harry knows you are coming and that he is free to spend the day with you. I hope you can figure out if my suspicions are correct about his plans. I believe he is planning to take revenge on Greyback for Sirius' death and is set on doing it alone. "
"I will be there at nine and I'll talk with him. Once I know for sure, we can decide how to deal with his stupidity and how to set him straight. As for your idea about Draco and Harry, well, I'll have a better idea after spending time with them and seeing them together." He tipped his head sideways and said, "You know, it wouldn't be the worst thing."