After lunch a few days later Harry retreated to his room and sat on the thin window seat, hugging his knees and staring out the window into the park across the street as he tried to process all the information he had been given over the last week.
There was a soft knock on the door and he looked up to see Andromeda standing in the open doorway. "Come on in," he told her.
"Can we talk, Harry?" she asked, sitting across from him. He nodded, looking back out the window again. "Are you trying to hurt Narcissa?"
He turned back to look at her. "What are you talking about?"
"This morning…she tried to kiss your cheek and you stepped away from her, but then you allowed me to hug you. She didn't say anything, but I could tell that she was hurt very deeply by that, Harry."
"I didn't mean to. I just…it felt wrong to let her do that."
"But you allowed me to hug you."
"I didn't even realize I had done that until later, Aunt Andy."
"That's another thing, Harry; you've started calling me 'Aunt Andy' and Severus is now 'Uncle Sev', but what about Lucius and Narcissa? You are still using their first names or 'sir' and 'ma'am'. I know you are still getting used to this whole thing, but not only is it hurting them both very deeply, it's also extremely disrespectful. You may be confused, but there is no excuse for being so rude.
"You've only had a couple of days to get used to them as your family, but Cissy has spent nearly eighteen years wondering, worrying and sometimes even mourning you, Harry. When You-Know-Who killed James and Lily, it took them nearly two days to find out that you were still alive. They spent ten years wondering what had happened to you and if you were healthy and happy, without any word at all. There were many sleepless nights spent pacing the halls at Malfoy Manor after your various Quidditch accidents and all the times you battled You-Know-Who.
"Do you know how hard it was for Lucius to sneer and be cruel to you when all he really wanted to do was snatch you up and take you home where you belonged? Or how terrifying it must have been for him when he arrived in that graveyard after answering the call of the Dark Mark to find you held captive by You-Know-Who and Cedric Diggory dead? Think about how his heart must have stopped when he realized that you were in the Department of Mysteries and how he had no choice but to duel with you and your friends. To not do so would have been instant death for all of you, and he could have gotten away, but he wanted to make sure that his son was safe and alive. He spent time in Azkaban because he was worried about you, Harry.
"Think about that day in the Forest when they both thought that You-Know-Who had killed you. When she realized that you were alive, Cissy wanted nothing more than to gather you in her arms and never let go. She did what she had to do, even though it broke her heart to do it. Had she called attention to the fact that you were really alive, then you would be dead for sure now. How do you think that would have made her feel?
"You aren't the only child she's had to hide, Harry. She's had to hide the youngest three in another country and leave them in the care of servants…only seeing them for a few days at a time. She's had to miss most of their lives. They both have.
"I know that you are confused, but try putting yourself in their shoes. Try to consider what they are going through." With that she stood and left the room, closing the door behind her.
Harry sighed and leaned his head against the cool windowpane. Andromeda was right, he had only been thinking about himself the last couple days. And that really wasn't like him at all. He couldn't fully understand what the past seventeen years had been like for them, but he could almost imagine it. Yes, he had gone through a lot the last few days, but so had they--and as parents it had to be worse for them.
He got up and headed downstairs to find his family, ready for the first time to actually take his place within the Malfoy family. He found Narcissa first, alone in the drawing room, and he sat down beside her on the sofa. After a moment of hesitation, he reached out and covered one of her hands with his own. "I'm sorry, Na…Mother."
"Harry, you don't have to call me that if you aren't ready. And you don't have to apologize."
"Actually, I do. I have been rather rude and disrespectful to you and…Father…the last few days. And I do need to apologize for that. I'm beginning to understand what all you've gone through because of me and for me, and there is no excuse for the way I've been treating you two."
"But James and Lily…"
"James is my Dad and Lily is my Mum, and they always will be, but that doesn't mean that I don't need you and Father too. I've wanted a family as long as I can remember, and now I've been given one. It's not the family that I wanted or even expected, but it is the family that I was born into and it's long past time for me to claim my true heritage."
Her only response was to pull him into a hug, and he allowed her to hold him close for several minutes, pulling away only when the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," he told her, kissing her cheek and hurrying toward the door. He cast a silencing charm over the screaming portrait of Sirius' mother and threw open the door.
There were about a dozen Aurors standing on the other side of the door. "Mr. Potter," said the one closest to the door and the obvious leader of the group. "We are looking for Lucius Malfoy and Draco Malfoy. We were told that they had been residing with you."
Harry started to say something but stopped when a hand rested on his shoulder. He glanced back to see Lucius standing behind him. "They're here to--"
"I'm alright, Harry," his father replied, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. "We know why they are here and we're going to go quietly."
"But Fa…"
This time is was the lead Auror who cut him off. "Severus Snape! You're--you're not dead!"
"Obviously," Severus drawled in a tone quite familiar to Harry.
"Well, since you aren't, you'll need to come with us as well."
Severus nodded. "Of course."
"Your wands, gentlemen," the Auror said, holding out his hand, while all the other Aurors pointed their wands at the group in the doorway.
"My wand was taken by You-Know-Who and destroyed. As Ollivander's is currently closed, I have not replaced it," Lucius said as Draco and Severus pulled their wands and placed them sideways across their palms extending them toward the Aurors. The lead Auror snatched them up rather quickly.
"Wait!" Harry said suddenly. "Draco's wand belongs to me. I won it from him in a duel and it is the wand that helped me defeat Voldemort. He was merely borrowing it until he could get a wand of his own. I'd prefer to keep my wand so that it doesn't accidentally get snapped, if you don't mind."
The lead Auror considered it for a moment before nodding and allowing Harry to take the holly wand from his hand. "Alright…you three, come on outside now."
Draco was the first to step outside, brushing Harry's shoulder as he walked past. Harry didn't need words to know that his brother was thanking him for saving the wand.
Severus stopped in the doorway and turned to face Harry. "I had promised to teach Reg to fly this summer, but I think you'll be able to teach him better. You will find money to buy him a broom and to replace yours in my vault. I have written Gringotts, giving you control over it." Harry nodded, unable to speak as his new-found godfather stepped outside to join Draco and the other Aurors.
Harry turned to face Lucius, unsure just what to say to the man. "I…I will take care of Mother and the children," he said, just loud enough for the man to hear.
Lucius reached out and placed his hand on his son's cheek. "Thank you, my son," came his whispered reply. He then stepped outside to join the others.
Harry stood and watched in silence as the Aurors Apparated his father, brother, and godfather away to Azkaban.
AN: I officially started my new job today. I'll be working a lot of hours over the next 2-3 months, but I'll be making good money. If every day is like it was today, then I'll have a lot of time for writing, but the only way I'll be able to write is in longhand. At least it's writing, right?
I hope all of you are enjoying reading this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it. A few people have asked about pairings. The only one I know for sure is Harry/Ginny. I really have no plans or plot for this story, I just go where the muses take me. I know where I would like to take it, but sometimes the muses have other ideas. A good example of this is Snape. I hadn't planned to have him live, but the muses had other ideas.