Chapter Eleven
"What happened at the meeting, Severus?" Albus asked in concern. "How was Tom's reaction?"
"For most of my 'fellow' Death Eaters it was pure hell." Severus smirked. "The Dark Lord was positively pissed off. They were supposed to capture Harry and bring him directly to the Dark Lord, but instead they let him get away. They were punished severely for their failure."
"Good." Harry grunted into Severus's shoulder. "Why don't you just call him Tom instead of the Dark Lord? It might be easier that way." There was a slight undertone of 'I hate the term the 'Dark Lord' always being said' that Severus caught onto, as well as Isis.
Severus gave Harry a fond look before he continued. "Alright, I'll call him Tom just for this briefing. He demanded to know if I knew anything about Harry's departure from Private Drive."
"What story did you give him?" Minerva asked.
"I told him that the Order went to check up on the boy and they found him and his aunt in a grave situation. I told him that both were removed from Private Drive minutes before the attack there and that they were relocated. He demanded to know Harry's condition if it was so serious that he had to be removed from his protected environment. I told him that I wasn't sure. To avoid being punished I quickly said that it was bad enough that he may be close to death and that I was asked to brew many potions that would improve health and to heal. He seemed to have accepted my story because I got out of any kind of punishment, but I had to stay and watch the punishment of the others. I was ordered to find out as much information as I can before the next meeting. Then after two and a half hours I was dismissed and I came home." Severus replied.
"I wonder what he had been planning." Albus pondered.
"Merlin only knows when it comes to the Dark Lord, Albus." Severus sighed.
"You were lucky this time, Severus, to leave that meeting without receiving any kind of punishment." Isis stated. "That is rare for you."
"Don't I know it." Severus grumbled. Then he sneered and chuckled softly. "I usually return bloody and bruised. I have to admit I did enjoy seeing Crabbe, Goyle, Bellatrix, Nott, Avery, and a few others being punished instead of me. Even Peter was punished, even though he wasn't part of the raid, he just happened to piss Tom off even more than he already was."
"Hm, it seems that Tom's plans haven't been panning out lately without us having the inside information from you, Severus." Albus stated. "It may be a good thing for us to a certain degree. Tom may become more reckless and make more mistakes. On the other hand he may also start to kill more to take out his frustration of so many of his plans failing."
"Or," Isis hissed, "He may start to suspect that there is a spy in his ranks. If that does happen then my husband will be in even more danger than he already is causing both Harry and I to be in greater danger at the same time."
"Isis!" Severus reprimanded softly. "I have been spying for about twenty years, have you so little faith in me and my abilities?"
"I know very well how many years you have been spying, Severus." Isis snapped. "After all, it was I who saved your life in order for you to even be spying at all. If Albus had not summoned me when he did you would be dead right now. I saved you not for Albus's sake, but because I knew you were one of my mates and I refused to let you die. And it was also I who suggested that you spy for Albus because I sensed that you were a good man and I wanted to prove it."
"Enough!" Severus snarled. "Now is not the time to talk about this again. You are upsetting our mate with the past. Let the past be, darling. I am fully capable of keeping myself from being discovered as a spy for the light."
"Stop." Harry whimpered before more could be said. "Please stop arguing."
At once both Severus and Isis stopped arguing and had the grace to look embarrassed. "Forgive us." Isis said softly. "We did not mean to upset you, Harry."
"We'll be more careful not to let it happen again." Severus added. He felt really bad for arguing with Isis in front of Harry and he knew that Isis felt bad as well.
"It's fine." Harry muttered. "I just didn't like the arguing in general. I'm okay now, so don't worry about it."
"I'm sorry, everyone." Albus sighed. "I didn't mean for my statements to be distressing. I was only thinking out loud."
Nobody talked for a few minutes. The silence was very strained and awkward for everyone in the room. Finally getting sick of the silence Petunia was the first one to talk and voice a question that had been bothering her since the night before.
"Harry, I want to know something." Petunia started hesitantly.
"I'm listening." Harry replied softly.
"I'm just curious about why you agreed to be the mate of one of your teachers and his wife. No offense to anyone, but I didn't think you even like this particular teacher, but you still agreed to mate with him and his wife who you don't even know as far as I know." Petunia said.
Everyone in the room froze as the waited for Harry's answer. His answer was important to all of them, especially Isis and Severus. Harry sighed, he had been afraid that he would be asked about that at some point and he wasn't completely ready for it, but he would answer it anyway as best as he could.
"Just because I didn't really get along with Professor Snape most of the time doesn't mean that I didn't like him, Aunt Petunia. I have always respected him for what he does for the Order and for other things as well. As for not knowing Isis, well that doesn't really matter to me right now. I agreed to be their mate because it just felt right for me to do that. I guess I just feel connected to both of them, even before they turned me. I just followed my instincts because it felt like the right thing to do. I trust them both completely and I am willing to take the time to get to know them both before doing anything…." Harry paused to take a breath before continuing. "Before doing anything that is remotely sexual. Besides, taking the time to get to know both Severus and Isis gives me some time to recover before we do anything that has to do with sex." Harry paused again, then growled, "Is there anything else that any of you want to know from me?" He was starting to feel drained and it was making him feel slightly cranky.
Isis and Severus looked at each other briefly. Both of them were impressed with Harry's answer. Neither one of them had expected him to open up as much as he did. He was already starting to heal without even realizing it. Severus and Isis both noticed that Harry was starting to feel drained even though he was trying to hide it from everyone in the room.
"Thank you, Harry." Petunia said. "That was all that I wanted to know."
"There isn't anything else that we need to know right now, Harry." Albus said reassuringly. "Any information that may be needed can wait until a later date and time."
Severus looked around the room before he said anything. "I think that is enough talking to Harry for now. He is still adjusting to being turned and recover at the same time and is easily tried out." He made sure not to raise his voice so that Harry would not get upset again.
Petunia looked like she was going to protest when Isis spoke up. "You may come back and visit Harry again after he has gotten some more rest."
Minerva went over to Petunia and patted her on the shoulder. "It really is for the best that we go for a while so that Harry can get some more rest. We can always come back a little later on after he's rested for a few hours."
"I suppose you're right." Petunia admitted softly.
The four adults stood and turned to leave when Harry's soft voice called out to his aunt. "Aunt Petunia." Harry called softly as he turned to look at her and the others again.
"Yes, Harry?" Petunia asked gently.
"Thank you." Harry said quietly. At his aunt's puzzled expression he continued, "For everything that you did yesterday and for trying to protect our family's secrets. And also for telling me more about you and myself."
"You're welcome, Harry, but you don't have to thank me. After all, I have let both you and your mother down by staying with that monster for as long as I did." Petunia said.
Harry sat up a little straighter in Severus's lap. He also took a deep breath. "You didn't let either of us down, Aunt Petunia. You saved my life when you called for help and that more than anything calls for bravery since you went against Vernon's wishes." He paused to take another breath. "Will you come check on me after I rest for a few hours, please?"
"Sure, Harry, if that is what you want me to do then I will come and see you after you rest some more." Petunia replied. There was still a hint of sadness in her voice that Harry could hear.
"One more thing, Aunt Petunia, before you leave." Harry said as his aunt had turned to leave the room. When she looked back at him again he continued. "Please don't be sad about what happened. I don't blame you for what happened to me. At least we are finally safe now and away from him. He can't hurt us anymore and that should gives us a little bit of a reason to be a little happy."
Petunia smiled sweetly at her nephew, the only family that she truly had left. "You have a good point, Harry. I'll do my best to be a little happier when I see you next." With that she turned and left the room to go back to her own to think for a while.
"That took a lot of courage to do, Harry." Severus murmured softly.
"Yeah, I guess it did." Harry said with a small smile. "But it had to be done. I don't want her to keep blaming herself." He paused a moment and called out to the other three adults that were about to leave the room as well. "Professors? Mrs. Figg?"
The other three turned back toward Harry in slight puzzlement. "Yes, Harry, my boy?" Albus said softly to the boy that he was proud to think of like a grandson.
"I… I." Harry had to take a deep breath in order to collect his thoughts and to be able to get what he wanted to say out. "I just wanted to thank the three of you for your concern about me and for coming as quickly as you did to save my aunt and me."
"You are more that welcome, Harry." The three adults had said just before they turned and left the room and closed the door behind them.
"And I want to thank the two of you too, for saving my life." Harry added a few moments after the door closed to the room that they were in.
"You don't have to thank us, Harry." Severus stated. "You should be thanking yourself for having the courage to continue living after everything that you have gone through."
"You did not have to do that before any of them left, Harry." Isis said softly.
"I know." Harry replied. "But I felt like I had to say it to them. And I am thankful to myself for wanting to live. After all, I'm still young and there are a lot of things that I still have to experience before I die. And I don't plan on dying any time soon either, unfortunately for Tom Riddle."
"Maybe the three of you should get some more rest while you can before they decide to come back in to talk some more." Kasha said wisely from her new favorite spot at the foot of the bed. 'Or before anything else decides to happen in this odd house.' She thought to herself.
TBC...
