THIRD YEAR

12 GRIMMAULD PLACE

"What do you want, Lucius?" Sirius demanded. "It's Christmas Eve for Merlin's sake. It's bad enough that Harry wants to share tomorrow with your entire family…"

Sirius had his arms crossed and he looked extremely irritated. Lucius replied coolly, "Do try to smother your antipathy. I have already told you that this concerns Harry."

"Out with it then!" Sirius snapped impatiently. "What do you know about Harry that we don't?"

Remus placed a hand on his arm, "Sirius, calm down. Let's hear what he has to say before getting carried away. We still have to see them tomorrow too, for Harry's sake. Harry will be upset if that doesn't happen due to you brawling with Lucius in our formal sitting room."

Sirius looked like he might rather die than listen to Lucius calmly but he sucked in a deep breath and managed, "Please, Lucius, take a seat and make yourself comfortable."

It was one of the most threatening invitations Lucius had ever heard but Lucius took a seat anyways, in one of the four dusty armchairs available to choose from. Sirius and Remus sat down together on the couch across from Lucius, rousing a small cloud of dust that made Remus sneeze.

Lucius held Sirius's black gaze and spoke to the man as earnestly as he was able to, "We all need to put aside our personal feelings and attempt to find common ground. I am willing to try to be friendly with you for Harry's sake."

Sirius looked away and his shoulders sagged slightly. He muttered reluctantly, "I'm hearing you… and you're not wrong."

Remus patted Sirius's arm in a consoling manner and Sirius sighed. Remus smiled at him fondly and shook his head before pinning Lucius with a hard look, "What do you need to tell us about Harry?"

"First I need an Unbreakable Vow from both of you."

Sirius leapt to his feet and shouted, "Are you kidding me?! For what?!"

Remus grabbed his hand and yanked him back down onto the couch with a casual display of superhuman strength. Remus was usually careful to hide it, but he was significantly stronger than any human his size should have been. Remus growled low in his throat, "Stay. Calm."

Lucius watched the power dynamics of their relationship with great amusement. He had never seen Sirius look so browbeaten. It was clear who was really in control.

Remus looked at Lucius and questioned calmly, "What vow do you want from us?"

"I need you both to vow that if either of you cannot accept the secret I am about to tell you, you will allow me to remove the memory of this evening from your minds before I leave your home. It is non-negotiable."

"You can confirm that this secret concerns Harry?" Remus questioned intently.

"Yes. If either one of you cannot accept Harry's secret then I would be better able to protect him if neither of you to knew it. It is a delicate matter and I can take no unnecessary risks."

There was a long moment of silence then Remus said, "I'll swear the Unbreakable Vow."

"Remus, no, we can't possibly agree to such a thing!"

Remus shook his head at his mate, looking resigned, "Lucius won't tell us otherwise and if it's about Harry then we need to know. The way I see it, we don't have any other choice."

Sirius fisted his hands in his hair and yanked on the strands, groaning explosively. Then he dropped his hands and snapped, "Fine!"

Lucius relaxed somewhat after they had both spoken their vows. It was a sort of safety net for him. If this conversation went badly he would either try again later or pursue an alternate course of action for keeping Harry out of Albus's hands. He said, "I believe your willingness to swear such a vow to me speaks to the depth of your love for Harry. You both care for him very dearly, do you not?"

Remus and Sirius shared a meaningful glance then Sirius slanted a strange look at Lucius, like he suspected that Lucius might actually be the dimmest sort of halfwit imaginable.

"Of course we do."

The sentence was punctuated with a silent 'you idiot'. Lucius didn't usually let people look at him or talk to him in such a disrespectful manner but in conversations with Sirius he had to exercise considerable self-restraint.

"Would you still love him if he wasn't what you thought he was? If he was a muggle, perhaps, or a squib? What if he was a werewolf or a vampire or some other type of creature?"

Remus went oddly still but Sirius scoffed and said, "Of course! What kind of stupid question is that?"

Sirius couldn't go two full minutes without saying something insulting. His abject lack of self-control was astounding but not unexpected. Lucius fixed his gaze on Remus, who had reacted in the more peculiar way and was notably silent. Lucius really had not anticipated that Remus would be the more problematic of the two men.

"Where exactly are you going with this?" Remus hesitantly questioned.

"You wouldn't love Harry unless he was fully human." Lucius accused scathingly. "I expected more from a werewolf."

Lucius rose to his feet as he spoke and looked down his nose at the man. He struggled with himself for just a second but he failed to quell his own ire. The skin of his fingertips itched in warning but he merely clenched his hands into fists.

Remus's wary expression twisted with guilt, confirming Lucius's suspicions. The werewolf's blatant hypocrisy was nothing sort of disgusting. Sirius came to Remus's defense immediately, snapping at Lucius angrily, "That's not what he was saying! Right Remus?"

Remus was shaking his head quickly now, "N-No, I… I merely…"

Lucius glared down at Remus, thinking of how he'd dearly like to set the man on fire. He just didn't have the same faith in him that Sirius seemed to. Lucius pitched his voice low with contempt and dealt the only wound he was able to, "You may hate yourself but Harry knows what you are, Remus. It has never changed anything for him."

Remus's nervous expression crumbled and he looked aghast, "Harry knows?"

"Harry knows and he does not care," Lucius insisted harshly, going for the throat.

Remus slumped back into his seat, covering his face with his hands. Sirius turned towards his lover, whispering uncertainly, "Moony, what's going on? Would you really not care for Harry if he turned out to be-?"

Remus dropped his hands and now he looked tortured - nearly to the point of tears, "The wolf is terrified of Harry!"

Sirius drew away from Remus, appearing shocked by the sudden exclamation. He looked at Remus as if he didn't recognize him. Remus wiped at his eyes, and pleaded, "Sirius please, I don't know why! I've been trying to deal with it and I don't want to feel this way but, the feeling is always there and what if the wolf is actually right? What if Harry is actually something terrible and dangerous? What if-?"

Lucius remained perfectly still, waiting to see how this argument played out. Neither of them even seemed to be aware of Lucius anymore and Lucius was fine with that for now. All information was information that he could potentially use later.

Sirius rose to his feet now and shouted, "Harry is Harry! I'd love him anyways! I can't believe you right now! There is nothing wrong with being less than human, Remus! When will you get that through your damn head? How many people know what you are now and care about you anyways? If you can't accept Harry then I'll obliviate you myself and you can get out because you'd be a different man than the man I love. Lilly and James trusted us with him, Remus! How could you even consider forsaking him for so little cause?"

Remus was crying now – Lucius could tell even though the man's face was fully covered again. Remus's voice was muffled and wet as he begged, "Sirius, please don't."

Sirius's anger abated somewhat and Lucius could see his pain now. It was significant. Lucius knew that there was no way either of them could live without the other but Sirius was loyal to his core. He was currently being torn apart by two unbearable courses of action – the choice of forsaking his mate or forsaking his charge… and Harry had done nothing wrong, of course, so Remus had made Sirius's choice for him.

Lucius decided it was time to intervene and he interjected quietly, "I think this has gotten too far out of hand. Harry would not want either of you to fight over him."

Sirius and Remus both startled, proving that they had indeed forgotten about Lucius. Lucius continued on as if he hadn't noticed, "Remus, it does not surprise me that your instincts would tell you to be afraid of what Harry is, but Harry himself is who you know him to be. He would never intentionally hurt anyone he cares about… and he does care very much, Remus."

Sirius questioned, "What is he, Lucius?"

Lucius could see that Sirius was in the proper state of mind now to hear it, so he replied simply, "Harry is a Void."

Sirius's jaw dropped and Remus went rigid then slowly took his hands away from his face.

Remus breathed, "No… he can't be, I tested him. He was able to perform the Patronus Charm. He didn't just conjure a tiny bit of light either. It was the most brilliant corporeal Patronus I've ever seen."

Sirius turned on Remus, spitting out fiercely, "You suspected this?! You tested him?!"

Remus flinched visibly and wouldn't meet Sirius's eyes. Lucius hastily interrupted once more, "Remus, you are a smart man. Harry's ability to cast the Patronus Charm is a testament to his true character. If a Void shouldn't be able to cast the charm, but he is a Void and he can cast it, then the only logical conclusion is that the legends are wrong."

Remus's expression went slack with relief, "Oh thank god."

Sirius glared at his mate, still pissed off, "If you'd just talked to me about it, I could have told you that. Try to have a little faith in people, would you? Those legends are a thousand years old - of course they'd be wrong."

Sirius looked at Lucius and demanded, "How did you know this?"

"Harry told me," Lucius replied.

A flash of fresh pain flickered in Sirius's black eyes. He attempted to hide it but Sirius was a man who wore his heart on his sleeve. Lucius took a seat once more, allowing himself to relax somewhat. He took pity on Sirius and explained gently, "Harry can read minds and he knew I would accept him no matter what, because he knows we are meant to be mates and I need him. He was concerned that your bond with him would not be strong enough to sustain such a revelation, because he believes that you only care about him because of Lilly and James."

Sirius shook his head and denied it immediately, "No, that's not it at all!"

"I suggest you tell him that," Lucius replied. "Harry didn't believe anyone cares for him solely because he is who he is."

Sirius looked contemplative and he took a seat once more, murmuring, "Even if what he believed was true, about us caring for him just because of Lilly and James… why wouldn't he think that was a strong enough bond?"

Lucius took a moment to consider how to phrase his answer properly then he said, "From what I understand… Voids do not actually die when their bodies do and they do not become ghosts either - it seems to be a separate phenomenon unique to their kind. I do not fully understand how it is possible but when a Void's body dies, their soul will seek out a new body and start over anew. Harry does not seem to have a strong connection with his past lives, only vague memories."

"Oh," Sirius whispered subduedly, "Did he… kill the original Harry or…?"

"No, it seems he needs a shell that is already empty. Lilly's baby died in her womb - Harry merely stepped in and fixed the body before anyone noticed."

Remus spoke finally, his voice slightly hoarse, "Does Harry think we would see him as an imposter? Even though he's the Harry we always knew?"

Sirius cast Remus a rather malcontent look, "Seems that his fears weren't entirely unjustified."

Remus looked guilty again, "Sirius, I didn't know the truth."

"No, you just suspected the worst of him," Sirius replied severely.

Remus glared at him now, "You would have too if you felt what I feel around him."

Lucius intervened before the couple's conversation could dissolve into a full-blown argument again, "Harry naturally absorbs ambient magic. He needs it to survive. It is to be expected that your wolf would react negatively to that because the animal would not understand."

Remus's expression fell and he was silent once more. Sirius questioned, "Do you think that could be part of the reason why he was so malnourished when he first came here? Because he needs to be around magic to survive and he'd been living amongst muggles for so long?"

Lucius nodded, "Yes. Dumbledore placed him with that family in order to keep him weak and to control him. While we're on that topic, I need your help protecting Harry from Dumbledore."

Sirius rolled his eyes and muttered darkly, "Of course that old fart knows…"

Sirius paused and Lucius saw the moment Sirius reached the inevitable conclusion. Sirius leapt to his feet once more and snarled, "That's why he let me go to Azkaban?! So he could hurt my godson? I'm going to fucking kill that conniving piece of shit!"

Sirius looked almost deranged with rage but Remus just looked ill, like he might actually throw up. Remus stammered weakly, "H-He couldn't have possibly…"

"He did and he would do it again if necessary," Lucius said firmly. "He will do anything to maintain control of Harry and he will treat the two of you like the obstacles that you are."

Sirius gritted his teeth, "There's no way in hell I'm going to let him take Harry from me. Kreacher! Where the fuck are you hiding?! Go get Harry now and don't you dare give me any lip about it because I'm in a hell of a mood!"

"I'm right here, Sirius."

All three adult men startled. Harry was standing in the doorway, looking small and uncertain, "I apologize for eavesdropping."

Lucius stood and went to him, touching his arm gently. He was worried about Harry. Sirius and Remus had both said things that Lucius would have preferred for Harry not to have heard but there was no helping it now. He just hoped Harry was okay.

Harry looked up at him an gave him a weak smile. Lucius guided him over to the armchair beside his and Harry sank into his chair with a soft sigh.

"Harry, I'm so sorry," Remus managed, "I…"

He trailed off, seemingly at a loss for words. He seemed upset, as Lucius thought he should be. Sirius quickly said, "Don't mind him, Harry, he was just being an idiot. We're here for you 100%, okay? I won't let you down, do you understand?"

Harry smiled hesitantly, "I understand, Sirius."

Lucius could tell Harry was still uncertain and he wished he could have gotten away with hexing Remus. The man's idiocy had obviously hurt Harry's feelings.

Harry looked at Remus again and spoke to him quietly, "I know you hate the wolf, Remus, but he's not so bad."

Remus's expression was pained, "Harry… I…"

"I don't blame you," Harry said kindly. "Sometimes I worry I might be a monster too."

Sirius quickly protested, "Hang on right there! Neither of you are monsters, damn it!"

Remus and Harry shared a look of understanding. Remus seemed surprised to realize that Harry empathized with him, but also, Lucius thought Remus was finally coming around in a meaningful way. Harry continued quietly, "I can kill the wolf in you but I don't want to. It's separate from you, but it's not unlike you, Remus."

A tense silence fell. Even Lucius was surprised by this revelation. Remus whispered, "You can kill just the wolf? You can make me fully human?"

"It would make me very sad to do it… and I'm not sure what sort of consequences might come of it, but I thought you should know that I could," Harry replied, seeming somewhat depressed just by the idea of it. "It would be a shame though. You hate the wolf so much, but I think you would hate it less if you realized how often it thinks of your needs and how often it tries to protect you. It doesn't really think of itself, it always thinks of you."

Remus was clearly taken aback, "It - what? It doesn't think or feel, Harry."

"It does," Harry replied with perfect certainty. "It's trying to tell you right now that I'm absorbing your excess magic and that I'm a threat to you. It's worried that you don't understand. That's why you feel so agitated. It's frantic to communicate with you."

Harry was silent for a long moment but then Remus startled badly and demanded anxiously, "What did you just do?"

"I syphoned enough power from the wolf to put it to sleep. If I do that frequently, I can keep you from transforming ever again without actually killing the wolf."

Lucius thought it was very interesting that Remus panicked when he could no longer feel the wolf inside him. It was possible that the man was much more attached to his inner animal than he realized.

Harry finally looked away from Remus, turning his gaze on Sirius instead, "I don't want either of you to suffer any more because of me. Dumbledore is dangerous and he's already caused both of you a great deal of suffering. I appreciate your loyalty but-"

Sirius shook his head and cut him off, "Harry, I'm your guardian now. I appreciate your concerns but don't tell me how to do my job. If Dumbledore is a threat to you, he's a threat to all of us and we're all going to deal with him together."

Tears welled in Harry's eyes and he gave them a tiny, wavering smile, "Okay."

Lucius hated to see Harry cry for any reason - it tore him up inside. Sirius and Remus both seemed profoundly affected as well but Lucius didn't notice until Harry was yanked up from the chair and swept into a group hug. Lucius watched Harry's expression relax into contentment and relief.

Lucius smiled at the picture they made, trying to quell his own petty jealousy. Truth be told, he was relieved too. Despite his assurances to Harry and the precautions he had taken, there had always been a small chance of failure. The last thing he ever wanted to do was fail Harry.

Harry's bright green eyes met Lucius's gaze then. Harry smiled at him gratefully, mouthing two words silently.

Thank you.