AN: Thanks to Shadow for editing this for me. Yen, Raya, and Raven are all working their way through this with their own fine toothed combs, so if it seems to change periodically, well, that means that they have helped remove a snag or a tangle. Su No Yo has also giving a helping hand, thanks dear. Any mistakes left are all mine.
Also, Yen has already fine tuned the end section. It is so-o-o much better than I could devise on my own.
Raven - watch for the (Ò.Ô) ... it is there as a warning again. Next chapter is the absolute halt. ^-^ Su No Yo, you might want to start skimming here.
Okay... I am going to handle this here since it was pointed out by Su No Yo and there are probably others who are just shaking their heads at me. The word "disagreeance" is a really word. You can find it in the 1913 Webster's Unabridged Dictionary marked as obsolete. I like that word as much as I like quills, cauldron, and magic wands. All of those are technically obsolete as well. *smiles* So, we're all good now, right?
Chapter14: Gathering Evidence
The meeting was held at Grimmauld Place later that night.
Severus paced from one end of the kitchen to the other. He had made his disagreeance with the plan known in short clipped sentences just a few minutes earlier. Turning sharply at the end of the long table, he frowned at the determined expression on Harry's face.
"You are too close to stop. You shouldn't even be here." Harry stood up from his place at the table and walked closer to Severus. "Half the bases that you are brewing could be spoiling right now. That will set the chance of a cure back by at least a week."
Harry stopped at arms length. He could see the conflict in Severus' eyes even though his face was blank. "Derrick succeeded in getting the pain potion made just so that you would have time to brew the cure. We worked too hard this week to lose it all."
That was what they had done all week.
During the day, Harry would help with the ingredient preparation and Severus would brew. At night, they crashed. They might have only been sleeping, but they did it together since Severus had dismissed the idea of Harry moving back to the guest room. There were breaks in the routine when Harry and Snape, disguised as Stanton, would go to St. Mungo's to deliver potions and scowls.
"It is too dangerous for you to go through Nott's house. Not to mention Malfoy's." The words were growled out as Severus tried to get Harry et alii to see sense.
"Snape, we're not the teenagers we used to be. We are better trained, and we already know where the evidence is located." Ron tapped the small map on the table. "And this time we have directions, thanks to you."
Hermione looked at the map and then at the Potions Master. "Thank you, it will be a big help. We'll be in and out before they know it."
When Severus snorted, Harry chimed in. "We'll call you the moment we need you. If anything happens, I'll let you know either by coin or Patronus. We had a deal, remember? I will honor it."
Severus tightened his hands by his sides. "See that you do." He shifted his scowl to take in all three at once. "You need sleep for this expedition, so Harry and I will head home. See that you are well rested." Spinning about, he stalked out of the kitchen.
With a tolerant smile and a wave of goodbye to his friends, Harry followed after him.
ハリーポッター セブルススネイプ
Morning which came bright and early, found Ron, Hermione, and Harry crouched outside of Nott's house.
The three friends looked at each other after they had finished assessing the defenses. Severus had briefed them on the different wards that would be found on the two houses, and now there was an anomaly. Someone had canceled one of the wards. It was to their advantage, but they didn't care for the unexpectedness of it.
Taking extra precautions, they slipped through a set of French doors at the side of the house. From the drawing room they moved silently through the hall and ghosted down the stairs. It was there that they found the small room that Malfoy said the evidence was in. Severus had confirmed the existence of the room.
Hermione stayed near the stairwell. It had to be either Ron or Harry searching for the evidence since they were aurors. Hermione had argued last night that it didn't matter as it was breaking and entering anyway. Or searching without a warrant. Harry had pulled out a warrant for both houses and with a grin told them that Draco had owled the documents to him earlier that morning.
Ron studied the box he had found on the lower shelf tucked into the back corner before opening it slowly. There, nestled inside, were the potion that was used on the children and the directions on how to give it. Closing the lid, he sealed the box with an evidence sealing spell and then slipped it into an evidence bag.
Harry scanned the room, making sure that there was nothing else there that would help the case. Spotting nothing, he noticed that Ron was ready.
It was after they slipped back out the French doors that they felt the missing ward go back up. Looking back over his shoulder, Harry spotted Theodore, their Slytherin yearmate, watching them leave from behind a curtain in the room that they just left. He nodded his head towards the Slytherin. Theodore nodded back.
Harry smiled as they slipped past the gates. Draco had to have informed Theodore. It was good to know that most of their yearmates wanted the shadow of the war gone. It also validated the warrants. There was a resident of both properties that knew that they were coming in and searching.
Once they were off the grounds, they Apparated to Malfoy Manor.
Slipping in was the easy part. Even finding their way to the dungeon cell that held the evidence was okay since it was a distance from where they had been held once before. They had the potion creation notes and distribution schedule in the evidence bag, and was slipping back out when a house elf spotted them.
Alarms went off everywhere and they bolted for the door. They were met in the entry way by Lucius Malfoy, the elder Nott and Yaxely.
Pulling their wands, but leaving them at their sides, the three of them waited to see what the Death Eaters wanted.
"Potter, Weasley, and Granger." Lucius looked them over for a moment before smirking. "Breaking and entering. You know, nothing you retrieve from this house like this can be used in the courts. Instead, I can press all the charges I want."
Nott smirked as he took in their blank faces. "We know all about the help you received. He will be taken care of."
Harry stiffened, doing his best not to look towards the dungeon stairs. Did they need to hunt for Draco before they escaped? And they had to find someway to warn Theodore.
"Severus can hide well, but I think he will come hunting for you." Lucius looked over them with a smug smile on his face. "He won't even be able to call in the help of the aurors since you are not on a case."
Harry relaxed slightly. Severus could hold his own against these three if he needed to, that he was sure of. They didn't know about Draco and Theodore or Lucius would have been ranting about the betrayal.
"Now, just hand over what you took and I'll consider lessening the charges to just breaking and entering. I'm sure the Auror division doesn't need two of their top dark hunters to be dragged before the courts." Lucius stepped towards them, his hand outstretched.
Ron nudged Harry's left arm while Hermione did the same to his right. They were ready. There was no way they would come back to this house without a back up plan on how to get out. Harry pulled out a green and red ribbon which the other two grabbed.
Lucius saw the ribbon and bolted towards them. "Yaxely, Nott! Quickly, before they get away!" His hand touched the ribbon and he felt a tug behind his navel. Even as he vanished, he heard the spells hitting the walls in his house.
Harry held on tight to the ribbon and glared at Malfoy who was holding the other side. At least it was not going to drop them right inside of Spinner's End. Severus had refused to make its destination Grimmauld Place as most of the Death Eaters knew of it, whilst there were very few that knew of his childhood home.
They popped into existence in an old filthy alley.
Harry ripped the ribbon out of Malfoy's hand as they took off running.
"You can't escape me. There is no place around here that you can hide." Malfoy kept his tone casual sounding as he cast an Incarcerous at the fleeing trio.
Ron cast a quick shield behind them as there was no place to hide. The continued to run, splashing through the gutters while looking for somewhere to duck if they needed to. The buildings were so close together that only a rat or cat could get through and they seemed to lean towards the alley way, the morning dew shedding off their roof tops and into the gutter.
"Reducto!" The spell flew from Malfoy's wand towards Hermione as they neared the end of the alley.
She dodged to the side and the spell hit the wall. Stone chips flew about, hitting the nearby buildings and clattering on the poorly paved ground.
"This way!" Harry shouted.
Heart pounding, he tore around the corner leaving one alley for another. Ron and Hermione were right behind him.
As they started down another alleyway that looked identical to the one they just left, Harry could hear Hermione trying to catch her breath. Working as a Healer didn't give her a lot of physical exercise like his and Ron's job.
Falling slightly behind her, Harry listened for Malfoy. He caught the sound of boots slipping on the wet pavement and cursing. Risking a glance over his shoulder, he spotted the blond just coming around the corner.
Lucius smirked as he raised his wand once again.
A hail of curses followed the three friends as they dodged through three alleys. Their clothes were soon covered in mud and muck. Between the curses and the sounds of them slip-sliding around, Harry wondered where the residents were. When they finally reached Severus' house on Spinner's End, Harry grabbed both Ron and Hermione's arms.
A cutting curse sliced across the top of his arm as they stumbled across the wards and through the front door.
Hermione immediately turned and healed the cut. She rested a hand on her heaving chest as she sagged in relief. Looking around the gloomy room, she took in the dust and grime. "This place needs to be cleaned."
Leaning against a wall, Harry couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him while he was trying to catch his breath. "It is not like we are here much."
Raising his wand, he cast his Patronus. "Severus, we're at Spinner's End and Lucius Malfoy is here." A cracking sound snapped his attention towards the door. "He is tearing down the wards. I am going to bring Hermione and Ron home." With a flick of his wand, he sent the stag off.
"I am adding another layer of wards, but I doubt they'll hold." Straightening up, Hermione frowned as she moved her wand in a multitude of motions.
"You're taking both of us?" Ron looked at Harry from where he had collapsed on the dusty floor, worry showing in his eyes.
Harry nodded. "I know a double side along is not recommended, but..." His eyes shifted back to the sounds coming from outside. "Neither one of you know where it is. And even though he might follow, I doubt he could breach the wards there. I can't say that for Grimmauld Place."
Harry and Ron added their own layer to the wards before Harry held out his arms to them. Squaring their shoulders, Ron and Hermione took a hold of them.
Focusing as hard as he could, Harry Disaparated all three of them to the Seaside house.
When they appeared, Harry pulled his friends towards the storm shelter. It was a close hiding place, and if he knew Severus, they would be able to tell what was going on outside. Keeping a hand on their shoulders, he pushed them through the wards and into the shed.
Slumping just inside of the door, Harry swore silently to himself that he would only side-along two people in the utmost dire circumstances. It was tricky making sure that one person came with you whole, but two was not just double the issue, but a whole slew of other problems. He had to keep in his mind that they were all distinct people, where they were in relation to each other, and where they were going. And none of that took into account the energy required. He was mentally exhausted and physically tired.
Pressing his head against the door, he found the spot that he suspected Severus would have had there. A tiny and invisible peephole that was spelled in such a way that let him see everything that was outside the shelter. He watched the path intently, aware of Ron and Hermione waiting behind him, prepared to fight.
After five minutes, they decided that they were in the clear.
Pulling out his coin, Harry sent a 'We're safe' message to Severus before opening the door. "Let's wait for him in the study."
"We need to send the evidence to Hogwarts." Ron looked around as they exited the shed. His eyes widened as he took in the two story house framed by the sky. The gardens and lawn seemed to flow away from it. Turning his head slightly, he noticed the rows of greenhouses. "The file said he ran a potions business. I take it Snape grows his own ingredients?"
"A lot of them. I'm going to stop by the first greenhouse and get myself out of trouble." Harry strode quickly over to the three owls who were nestled in the dark corner.
Hermione appreciated the clever way Snape had prepared a place for the owls. It was warm, since it was in the greenhouse, but he had built in a series of walls and alcoves to make it dark and comfortable. She smiled at the warm look Harry was giving the tawny owl.
"This is Bre. She took up with me, and she is one to show her displeasure if I don't stop by." Harry ran a finger down the back of the sleepily blinking bird. "The Spotted one is Nise and the Great Horn is Blanch." Bre tucked her head back under her wing.
They headed up to the house and left their muddy shoes on the porch, with their dripping cloaks drapped over the railing. Opening the front door for them, Harry directed Ron and Hermione into the study. "Wait here. I'll go see if he is in his lab."
Ron looked at the glow on Hermione's face as she turned around slowly, taking in the book lined walls and shook his head. "Sure, mate. Bring back something to eat."
Harry nodded as he headed out to the kitchen. A quick trip down the cellar stairs showed that Severus wasn't home. He returned back to the study with food and drink.
Ron looked up when Harry came through the door. "He's not here?" When Harry shook his head no, Ron called for Dilly.
"Dilly is here, Masters."
Ron handed her the evidence bag and she took it away. Now they just had to wait for Severus to show up.
ハリーポッター セブルススネイプ
Severus tapped his fingers on the table as he watched the potions roiling in their cauldrons. None of his and Harry's work had gone to waste while they were planning last night. Now, he was waiting for one of them to turn the right shade of blue to show the reaction that he wanted to occur had happened.
He shifted his eyes to the coin sitting on the corner of his lab table. It was still the same. Ripping his eyes away from it, he noticed that three of the six cauldrons had turned the right shade. 'So, those are three ingredients that I can tinker with.'
Cancelling the fires beneath all of them, he cast a stasis spell over the lot and turned back to his notes. Tapping his quill on the paper, he contemplated the ingredients and the results he needed once again. He noted out his next choices for each cauldron.
With the three negative results covered and on the back counter just in case he needed to find a different route, he started his next tests.
He had run four more test and only eliminated one more cauldron before the ghostly stag came through the lab door. He had all the cauldrons under a stasis spell and covered before the stag started to speak.
"Severus, we're at Spinner's End and Lucius Malfoy is here. He is tearing down the wards. I am going to bring Hermione and Ron home."
Severus strode out of the house making his way to the Apparition point. With a swirl of dark smoke he appeared in a small forgotten corner tucked behind a crumbling building in Spinner's End.
Narrowed dark eyes watched the tall blond cast spell after spell, stripping the wards off his old home. With his wand at the ready, Severus noted that some of the wards were cast by the three who had taken refuge in his house. He watched as Lucius made short work of the top layers of wards.
Stepping out of the corner and into the long shadow cast by the building, Severus contemplated warning Lucius to stop. The next ward fell with the feel of glass shards grating against his skin. Severus refused to flinch at the pain. 'Harry said that Draco ask for Lucius to meet his demise in a way that could be ignored.' He lowered his wand and waited.
When the next set of wards fell, Severus was marveling that Lucius hadn't stopped trying to break them. The blond had gotten to the layers that his mother had cast when she first moved into the house. They were designed to keep the Princes out. Tapping his wand against his side, he mitigated the pain that was coming through the wards to him. He knew that it was also affecting Malfoy.
As he watched the blond raise his wand for the next ward, Severus almost stepped out of the shadows. Almost but the thought of all those children in the ward and what the man had planned to do to Harry held him in place.
The wand slashed down in a zigzag manner disrupting the final ward of Eileen Prince Snape. The blond lost his grip on the thin wood and it clattered to the ground.
Severus watched as Lucius put his hands up to his neck, trying to draw in a breath that he would never get. The man clawed at the collar of his robe and cloak, pulling them loose as he fell to his knees. His hands hit the cobblestones in front of the gate that he had tried to force his way through.
Severus didn't move until the last twitch had occurred. Striding out of the shadows, he looked down at the body with the cold eyes any Death Eater would recognize. Three slashes of his wand determined that the man was dead.
Stepping over the body, the ex-Death Eater walked into his house. He stopped in the front hall and noticed the scuffle of footprints in the dust. 'Harry and the other two Apparated from here.' Spinning about, he ran a finger over the etched glass at the bottom of the front window, reactivating the wards.
He locked the door behind him as he stepped back out and then contemplated the body of Lucius Malfoy. He could make it disappear, never to be found again. But Draco deserved some sort of closure.
Taking a hold of the blond's arm, he Apparated to St. Mungo's. 'I'll tell them that I found him dead on my old house's doorstep.'
ハリーポッター セブルススネイプ
The old Auror at the morgue in St. Mungo's took one look at Malfoy before shooting a wary glance at Snape. "Put him over there." He pointed at the nearest bed.
After Severus set the body down, he waited on the forms he knew were coming. You could not stroll into St. Mungo's with a body and not tell them what happened.
"Sir, I need to know where you found this gentleman, and what his condition was when you found him." The Auror flicked his wand over the body. The cause and time of death filled out on the parchment that he was holding. Looking at the time, the Auror checked the current time. "I also need to record the last several spells your wand cast."
"I found Lucius Malfoy just outside my house. He was dead when I reached him." Severus held out his black wand and waited for the Prior Incantato spell to be cast upon it.
The Auror cast a different version of the spell that took it back several spells. "You cast three vital signs detections spells?"
Severus kept his face impassive. "I wanted to see which door I needed to bring him in through."
The old Auror wrote the answer down. "Why did you cast a cancellation spell?
Severus took in the bored look on the man's face as he prepared to fill out the long parchment. "I was cancelling the alarm that is on my wards."
The man nodded before scribbling. "The Apparition?"
"I no longer live at the house in question, so when the alarms alerted me to someone's presence, I had to Apparate there."
Another nod and the quill scratched on the parchment. "Stasis spell?"
Severus wondered just how many spells he was going to have to explain. "I was working on a potion when the alarm sounded. I was fortunate to be at a spot where I could place it under a stasis spell and not ruin it."
"You brew potions?" The weak brown eyes looked Severus over for a moment. When Severus nodded, he continued. "Last one. You put out a fire?"
"The one under the cauldron I was brewing."
The man mumbled as he wrote the answer down. "That makes sense."
He looked back up into the cold black eyes and frowned. "You're very calm for finding a dead body on your doorstep."
Severus raised an eyebrow. "The war taught me to be."
The old man blinked before looking down at the parchment again. "Well, the last thing I need from you is your name, sir. Another Auror might have to question you later."
"Severus Snape, Potions Master. " Turning quickly on his heel, Severus headed out the door before the old Auror remembered that he had not asked the location of the house. He would have Harry fill that section of the form in later if it was required.
ハリーポッター セブルススネイプ
Severus stopped in the study's doorway. A quick glance assured him that the Weasleys were fine. Which meant the Harry wasn't going to be carrying a lot of emotional pain over this. He looked over at Harry. The first thing he spotted was the torn sleeve. Pulling his eyes from it, he looked the man over from head to toe. "What happened?"
Ron glanced between Harry and Severus. He knew that neither one was very demonstrative, but he expected something more since they were in their house. "A house elf spotted us in Malfoy's house and raised an alarm. Yaxely, Nott, and Malfoy met us in the hall. We used the portkey, but Malfoy was close enough to grab a hold and come along."
Harry saw the concern hidden in Severus' eyes as he continued where Ron left off. "I rushed them to Spinner's End and through the wards. Malfoy got a lucky shot that hit my arm just as we ran through. Hermione healed it. Even though we added to the wards, we could tell he was making progress through them. So, I Apparated all of us here."
Severus narrowed his eyes as he looked back over the three to see if any of them were splinched.
Hermione settled further back into her seat. "That is where you went, wasn't it?"Severus nodded slowly. "What happened when you got there, sir?"
Severus finally entered the room and paced near the fireplace. "Lucius was stripping the wards off the house. He triggered a nasty one that my mother had in place." He stopped to look into the empty hearth. "He was dead by time I reached his side." He flicked a look over a Harry. "I reset the wards and delivered him to St. Mungo's. The Auror forgot to ask where the house was. So, one of you might want to fill in that section."
Turning about, he looked at the three. "Did you retrieve the evidence?"
"Yes, we did. I sent it to Hogwarts after we determined you were not home." Ron tapped a finger on his leg. "We need to call in everyone. Notesworthy, McGonagall, and maybe the Minster. We can't capture Yaxely or Nott until we have figured out the Unspeakable issue. Because if we do, there is no telling what they'll do to the case."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Severus walked over towards his desk. "You two head home and change. Harry, I am going to write a letter for you to take to Aberforth. I want you to arrange for a room so that we can all met there. We will need Minerva to bring the evidence you just sent, but we can take the copies of everything else." He looked over at Ronald and Hermione. "Will you be ready to meet in a few hours? I know you need to report for work."
Hermione tipped her head for a moment before answering. "We could make it at lunch time."
"I'll set it up for then." Harry glanced at Severus before standing up. "I'll show them out."
Severus answered without looking up. "I'll have the letter ready when you get back."
Harry lead them through the kitchen door and back to the apparition point.
"He seemed just as cold as normal." Ron glanced over at the window as they crossed the lawn.
"He was worried. He just doesn't like showing it." Harry looked between Ron and Hermione. "You should have guessed that."
Hermione shook her head. "I guess I was expecting him to look at you first when he came through the door. Instead he checked out Ron and myself."
Harry shrugged. "I'll ask him when I get back in." He gestured towards the circle. "I'll let you know on the coin when the time is. HH will stand for Hog's Head."
Ron and Hermione stepped into the circle and Ron looked back at Harry. "I'll bring Notesworthy with me. He might not know where Hog's Head is."
"See you there." Harry watched as they left and then headed back towards the house.
Leaning against the study's door frame, Harry took in Severus as he finished up the letter. "Ron and Hermione wanted to know why you looked at them before me."
Severus could hear the unheard question. Harry wanted to know as well. He glanced over at the other man, taking in the lean form before settling on his face. "I was using them to judge how much you were hurt. If they were seriously injured, you should be in the infirmary. If they were unscathed, then you would be lightly injured."
Harry took in the cold black eyes that were waiting for his judgment. 'This coldness, this detachedness is not about who he checked on first. I can accept his answer on that. Even Ron and Hermione would, and laugh about it, too. He knows that. This is about Malfoy.'
Crossing the room, he slid his arms around Severus's waist and pressed his chest into the man's back. "Malfoy was savable."
Severus stiffened when he felt Harry touch him. He had just let a man die and Harry knew it, too. "Yes. I could have stopped him." He felt Harry's head snuggle into his back and his response was muffled.
"He was planning on killing you and bringing Nott and Yaxely with him to do it. You would've had to do something then, and with those odds you most likely would have killed at least one of them. Instead, you let him die of his own stupidity." A sigh escaped him. "We're going to have to talk to Malfoy to see if he could keep this quiet until the .."
"No, Draco needs to be loud about this. He can keep it quiet about whose doorstep Lucius was found on if he wants, but this needs to hit the news now before the trial does. It will help stop the lines from being drawn." Severus turned about and pulled Harry closer. "You are an auror and you are okay with this?"
Harry slid a hand around until it rested on Severus' chest. "I told Draco that I wished I could find a way. That man has escaped justice too many times."
Moving his hand up, Harry registered the feel of Severus against him. The warmth of the other man soaked into his front, and the feel of him under his hand was starting to arouse him.
Severus could see the desire starting to build in the wide eyes that were looking up at him. He reached back and picked up the letter. "Harry, you have a letter to deliver."
Harry frowned slightly into the cold eyes. The same eyes that had watched him for years. That coldness was a barrier between the two of them. Moving his hand, he wrapped it behind Severus' head and pulled it down. Meeting the thin warm lips with his own, he pushed his body into Severus'.
Harry felt right against him, and the kiss was what he really wanted at that moment. Severus tried to resist the arousal coursing through him. They had too much to do right now.
Harry broke away from Severus' mouth and trailed down the pale column that led to his shoulders. As he wandered he kissed, nipped, and licked. He could feel Severus' pulse speed up, and his breath catch. A slight smile curved his lips as he trailed his way back to Severus' mouth.
Severus resistance crashed the moment Harry's lips found his again. The letter fluttered its way back to the desk and his free hands wrapped around the body that was pressed against his. With one hand resting on the curve of the other man's bottom and the other on the center of his back, he pulled Harry even closer.
Harry found himself nestled between Severus' thighs as the kiss deepened. Groaning, he rubbed his budding erection against the one starting to press against him. His breath caught when Severus pushed back against him. Moving his hand around on Severus' chest, he searched for a way to get past the cloth barrier.
Severus growled as his fingers dug into the cloth covered back. He wanted to feel skin. But the cloth reminded him that they were supposed to be doing something else. Wrapping his hands about Harry's waist he pushed the warm body away from his.
Harry didn't resist being pushed away. He knew the moment that he started this that it would end soon. Looking into the dark eyes, he smiled. They were no longer cold.
Taking in the smile that was brightening Harry's face, Severus almost pulled him back in and kissed him senseless. Instead, he closed his eyes and sighed. "You have to deliver this letter and arrange a meeting. I have to get back to the potions downstairs."
Harry traced a finger down the lightly flushed cheek. "I'll send the time of the meeting on the coin. HH is now Hog's Head." His fingers slid around until he was cupping the back of Severus neck. With a brush of a chaste kiss, he stepped back. "Once we're there, we are back to being Potter and Snape, aren't we?"
Letting his eyes wander over Harry, Severus nodded. "We shall be." He reached behind him and picked up the letter again. "Here. Ask Aberforth for one of the guest rooms. Use his floo to call the others."
Taking the letter, Harry headed out. There was a lot to plan.
ハリーポッター セブルススネイプ
Harry had greeted Aberforth and passed him Severus' letter. From there everything happened fairly rapidly. A quick floo call to McGonagall was made. She told Harry that she would contact the other two. The room was secured as well as the permission to ward it from prying eyes and ears.
Harry had changed the furniture into chairs and a sofa. He then warded the room to the best of his ability. He knew Severus, Ron and Hermione would add to it. A quick scourgify later and the room was ready for everyone.
It was then that the owl found him, bearing a message from Malfoy. Reading it quickly, Harry sent off a reply. He found Aberforth where he left him, behind the bar wiping glasses dirty. "I have another meeting in the room in a few minutes. I need to go get one of the people, but the other one should be here shortly. If I am not back, he can wait down here."
Aberforth nodded and let his gaze take in the empty room. "Who?"
"Malfoy," was Harry's reply as he headed back to the Seaside house.
It took only a few moments before he was standing right outside the closed lab door. Knocking, he hoped that Severus was at a stopping point. "Severus, Draco wants to met us. He sent me an owl, and since you said that he needed to make the news now, I told him to meet us at the Hog's Head."
The door opened, and Severus stood there, his arms crossed and glaring lightly down at the shorter man. "And you didn't think to consult me before arranging my meetings?"
Harry glared right back up at him. "I will meet with him myself if need be. He didn't suggest I bring you. Of course he might not have thought that I could. I figured you might want to be there."
Shaking his head, Severus stepped out of the lab and shut the door. "You are fortunate that I just reached a stopping point." Swooping around Harry, he headed up the stairs.
Forcing himself not to roll his eyes, Harry followed Severus out of the house.
Draco was arriving as they reached Hog's Head. A few moments later all three were settled in the room that Harry had arranged.
Draco refrained from raising an eyebrow at the privacy wards both Snape and Potter added to the room. He waited until they were done before speaking. "Thank you, Potter. I don't know how you got Master Snape involved, but you did as I wanted."
Harry knew that Malfoy would not notice it, but he spotted the tension leaving Severus' shoulders. "It really was his own stupidity that did him in, Malfoy."
Draco sat down and gestured for the other two to do the same. "Do tell, how was my father stupid?"
Harry dropped onto the sofa and shook his head. "Not really stupidity, but determination or narrow focus." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Severus settle into the seat that he had transfigured to resemble the man's chair from the family room.
"You know that he caught us in the house." As Draco nodded he continued. "Thank you for the warrants by the way, and please thank Theodore for me. I will do my best to see that he does not suffer from his father's decision."
"He expected nothing." Draco glanced at Snape, wondering if the older Slytherin would mock Theo for doing something with nothing in return.
"But he deserves it. My offer to you extends to him as well." Harry ran a hand down his thigh and patted his knee before continuing. "Back to what happened. Snape," he nodded to the quiet man, "made us a portkey just in case something went wrong. Which you know happened. We were confronted by the three. Your father grabbed hold of the portkey as it whisked us away."
Draco nodded, he had seen that happen. "I detained the other two. They are currently visiting your previous room in the house."
Harry's eyes widened slightly before he continued. "We arrived a block away from the safe house that Snape sent us to. So, we ran for it. Your Father followed us, but was stopped by the wards. He started to strip them down. I alerted Snape where we were, what was happening, and that we were Apparating to a different location." He leaned back on the sofa and tried to figure out what to say next. He started when Severus stepped into the silence.
"I do not believe that Lucius expected this safe house to be mine. If he had, I would think he would have been a bit more cautious. Instead, he ignored all the warnings the wards were giving off and tripped one that had fatal repercussions." Severus watched as the information sank in. "He was dead by time I reached his side. I delivered him to St. Mungo's but refrained from contacting you as you were clear that all contact would be at the end of this adventure."
Draco's shoulders drooped as he sank back into the seat. Just hearing that from Snape made it seem far more real than the notice he received from the hospital. "Was it... was it..."
"He died from asphyxiation. The ward he tripped made it so that he was unable to breathe. There was no torture involved. And it would have taken less than a minute." Severus contemplated the rigidly blank face that Draco's haunted eyes were staring out of. Lucius was his father. No matter how much he professed to wanting the man gone, Draco would still be affected by it.
Draco looked into the cold black eyes that he had seen one too many times. In them he could not see any signs of remorse, sadness, or anything. 'But why should I? Snape has seen so much death that this is nothing new. And he is really good at hiding what he is feeling.'
Narrowing his eyes, Severus clasped his fingers together tapping his thumbs. "Lucius was never a stupid man, and he knew what he had done to the Malfoy name. He also had an idea what Potter et alii had with them. I have a feeling that he tripped that ward intentionally. He most likely calculated that doing this would be the least detrimental to the Malfoy name."
Harry suppressed a grin at the slight straightening of Malfoy's shoulders. Severus was doing what he did best, saving people in a sideways manner.
"Now, I recommend publishing this as soon as possible. Getting it out to the public as an accidental death caused by a ward. You can state that he was attempting to visit me, and ran afoul of one of my more deadly protections." Severus pinned Draco with his eyes. "But do not mention Potter et alii. You know nothing about this."
Draco tipped his head. "How do I explain the other two?"
Harry stepped in here. "You had given us permission to search the house, but they were attempting to obstruct justice. Tell it as you saw it. You detained them just in case a group of Aurors would come for them. You are in your rights, and would be forgiven for overreacting due to the parts everyone played during and after the war."
Draco stood and looked at the two men. The tension between them was palpable. He was amazed that they had gotten through the entire conversation without arguing. He had almost looked forward to one of their spats. "Then I shall head out and start the word spreading." His eyes rested on Snape for a moment longer. "Thank you."
Severus nodded and watched as Draco left the room.
"I have to head back. There is one last step I want to complete." As he stood up, the dark eyes took in Harry's relaxed pose. "I'll see you when I return."
"See you in a little while, Snape," Harry said, smiling a bit at calling Severus by his last name.
Severus narrowed his eyes, fighting the aggravation that welled up in him every time Harry called him Snape. Catching sight of that cheeky smile, he knew that he had to wipe it off Harry's face, or at least change the reason for it.
Severus made sure the room was still warded before he pinned the younger man against the sofa. Running his hand down Harry's jaw, he took possession of those smiling lips. The kiss started off where they had stopped earlier. Moving Harry completely on the sofa, Severus was able rest his weight over him as he deepened the kiss.
(Ò.Ô)
Harry moaned. Severus on top of him felt marvelous. Desire curled low in his pelvis, hardening his cock. Reaching up, he tugged at Severus' robe and shirt buttons, pulling them free of their holes. He felt more than heard Severus' groan when his hand brushed against his exposed chest. Rolling his hips, he trailed his fingers over any patch of bare skin he could reach.
Severus pushed back into Harry using his weight to stop him moving. Pulling his lips off of Harry's, he grabbed hold of the hands roaming over his chest and pinned them against the sofa. He took in the heaving chest and the flush that was covering Harry's face. The smile was gone.
Severus' fingertips stroked the inside of Harry's wrists as he contemplated what he wanted to do now that his first goal was achieved. The searing heat of those green eyes on his exposed chest prompted his next action.
Holding both wrists with one hand, he coasted the other underneath Harry's shirt. He felt Harry's breath catch and release. Smirking lightly, he ground his pelvis down, his moan blending with Harry's.
Holding his hips still and breathing faster than usual, Severus leaned down to kiss Harry's ear. When he felt Harry arch up into him, he released the trapped wrists and swept his hands over the still clothed hip and thigh, feeling the muscles taut with tension. Fingers were threading into his hair, more fingers exploring his chest.
Thrusting their groins together, Severus shuddered as their erections rubbed together. Holding Harry's hips steady, he continued to rock against the covered hard length. His other hand ghosted over the repeatedly clenching abdominal and chest muscles.
Harry fought for control. They didn't have time for this. There was too much that still had to be done.
"Sev-verus... the... ti...time." Even as he protested, he pushed up further into Severus, his hands touching as much as he could.
Severus felt his aggravation from earlier vanish at the sound of his name panted from pink, swollen lips. A shudder wracked him as lightly trembling fingers brushed at the nape of his neck, he wasn't about to stop. Not now.
"Come for me, Harry," he crooned, his hips maintaining a steady, insistent pace. Mentally brushing the time concern away, he plundered Harry's mouth, drowning out all other thoughts.
Harry was swamped in sensations, of Severus' weight on him, those wonderful, wicked fingers teasing his hot skin, leaving tiny trails of fire, the delicious friction of their stiff erections rubbing against each other, and those deep kisses driving him to distraction. Tension was a tight coil in his stomach, Severus' four tempting words echoing in his mind until they became reality.
His cry muffled against Severus' lips, Harry knew from the deep shudders wracking the body above his and the liquid warmth blooming between them that he wasn't the only one who had come.
Breathing deeply, Severus kissed Harry once more before pulling himself off the couch. He let his eyes travel over the sprawled form as he redid his opened buttons.
Harry was right earlier. They were on stolen moments right now.
Harry felt his breathing slow down, content to watch Severus straighten his robes before casting the cleaning spell he had yet to learn on both of them. His eyes closed at the feel of gentle fingers trailing through his hair.
"I'll be back soon."
Another four words, less erotic, but no less enticing. Harry almost smiled. He released a sigh instead, watching Severus glide out of the room, looking as if he hadn't just frotted on the sofa. Now it was time to wait for everyone else.
With one last glance at the sated form on the couch, Severus headed home, the hint of a smirk on his lips.