A/N - I have just uploaded a Numb3rs story that I wrote a year ago and completely forgot about! A little different from my normal but any Eppes family fans out there should enjoy it.

Chapter 37

)O(

The routine at the cottage changed little over the following few days, despite the addition of several new residents. Tonks arrived the following day and immediately disappeared into Remus's room to care for him after the full moon.

Draco and Harry found that sharing a room was tolerable enough, although the blond slept more hours than he managed to stay awake.

Having finished all his homework and planned seven new Defence sessions, Harry took up his guardians offer to learn to swim. A few floating charms later and he was bobbing about in the still very cold water whilst Severus kept a wary eye from a transfigured floating chair.

The Professor had him holding onto the chair and kicking his legs until he could propel the chair along the water comfortably. He then learnt the breaststroke, front crawl and practiced treading water.

Little by little, Severus lowered the power on the floating charms, until Harry was swimming under his own steam. When the boy started to look tired, he called him over and pulled him up onto the floating chair.

Together they propelled the thing back toward the shore, enjoying the evenings sun and companionship.

'That's a lot harder than it looks,' Harry admitted and his guardian sniggered.

'You need to practice treading water. You are sinking if you stop moving so it will be a bit tiring to start with. Once you have mastered it, floating in the water is almost effortless.' He frowned down at his charge. 'I don't want you trying any of that without supervision until you are more proficient.'

Harry agreed readily. He had no desire to risk drowning. They arrived back at the cottage to find that Remus and Narcissa had cooked up a lamb stew with fresh bread. Severus transfigured a high armchair for the table and disappeared upstairs to fetch Draco. It was the first time the teenager had been out of his bed in several months and the blond looked excited to be joining them.

Harry automatically plonked himself down in the seat next to the boy and began talking about the calculations on his project. Draco had been fascinated when he had seen the small scale model that Harry had created of The Burrow and it's grounds. Designed to check his calculations for the ward stones it allowed him to enter the equations and see how the wards were affected. Draco had offered suggestions to make them stronger and had a much better grasp of the theory so he had been a great help.

Harry wondered how the boy would react if he realised that the stones were for the Weasley family and not just a school project? He had made the model of The Burrow into a plain square house that was not recognisable, so unless Draco knew the qualities of the land in that area, he would be unlikely to recognise the place.

That weekend, there was a bit of excitement when Severus and Narcissa locked themselves in the study for a few hours on Order business. Harry felt the rush of magic that accompanied the floo on several occasions so he knew there was something happening. Nothing was said that evening and Harry didn't ask. For once, he was more than happy to be kept in the dark.

It was the following Tuesday when Remus and Severus took him aside for a chat that he got to find out what was happening.

'The headmaster gave us permission to tell Mrs Malfoy about the horcuxes,' Remus explained gravely. '...and as soon as she realised that the Diary had been one, she remembered that Bellatrix had also been given an object to guard by Voldermort.'

Severus picked up the tale from there. 'Bellatrix stored the object, which was a chalice, in her vault at Gringotts. As her listed next of kin, Narcissa is able to access that vault since Bellatrix is still a convicted fellon.'

'She could get the Chalice?' Harry asked excitably and the two men exchanged a smile.

'She can and she did, last Saturday evening,' Severus explained. 'Albus confirmed this morning that the cup has been destroyed so we are one more Horcrux down.'

Harry grinned broadly. 'That's brilliant, so it's just the snake and him now?'

'We think so yes,' Remus replied. 'As Nargini never leaves his side these days, we will have to try and get them both together.'

The smile slid off Harry's face then. 'I will have to face him soon, won't I?'

Severus pulled the teenager into his side with a frown. 'Harry, we will not be sending you out alone to face that monster, irrelevant of what that damn Prophecy says. It may very well be that you end up facing him again but do not under any circumstances think you have to go looking for him.'

Harry looked down at his feet with a frown. 'I think we should talk to my parents and Sirius about how to use The Hallows.'

There was a moments charged silence and Harry noticed both of the men had gone rather pale.

'I had hoped you had forgotten about that artefact,' Severus admitted quietly and Harry snorted.

'Forget about a stone that can raise the dead, help me speak to mum and dad and might just protect me from death! Yeah, that was gonna happen.'

Remus laughed and the Potions Professor grimaced at the sarcasm in Harry's voice.

'Don't you want to see them again?' Harry asked in a puzzled tone, his question mainly directed at Remus.

The older man ran a hand down his face wearily. 'I do Harry, very much. It's just a little much to get your head around. The idea of talking to people who have been gone so long.'

'I've waited a whole two weeks,' Harry whined and then flinched as Severus gave him a sharp look. He had just inadvertently admitted to using the stone two weeks ago. Severus raised an eyebrow at him but made no comment, much to Harry's relief.

A pot of tea and tray of cakes appeared on the table before them which Remus immediately attended to, pouring them all drinks.

'I suppose this chore can't be postponed much longer can it?' Severus said dryly and Harry scowled at him.

'Everyone keeps telling me that you liked my mum so it shouldn't be that bad.' Harry snapped, regretting it when an expression of pain flashed briefly across the man's face.

'I could talk to them myself,' Harry offered and both men shook their heads.

'No Harry, I don't want you and Potter senior coming up with some ridiculous Gryffindor plan to save the world.'

Harry's hand hovered on the pouch hung around his neck uncertainly. After exchanging a silence communication, Severus nodded his accent and Harry carefully removed the stone from its protective cover. He closed his eyes and concentrated on drawing his parents and Sirius to him.

He felt their presence in the room and opened his eyes, before falling back in surprise. Stood near the fire were his parents and Sirius but they were not alone. Beside James stood an elderly couple in traditional wizarding roles, a young man Harry didn't recognise and beside him...Harry swallowed hard. Beside him stood Cedric Diggory.

'Hey Potter,' The teenager said warmly. 'You've been busy lately.'

Harry nodded numbly, 'Hi Cedric,' he answered faintly, distracted when both of his guardians hissed in shock. Severus's hand gripped his arm. Harry looked back at them and realised that they couldn't see the visitors yet.

He gripped the stone tightly and imagined drawing first Severus and then Remus into the group. He felt Severus tense beside him and heard the whimper that came from the werewolf as he saw his friends for the first time.

Sirius immediately moved to his friends side and hovered to the right of him.

'Don't stand up Moony. You've gone a horrible grey colour, doesn't suit you at all.' The animagus grinned at Remus, who was staring faintly at his fallen friends.

'God, Sirius. I can't believe this.'

Sirius knelt down and lay a transparent hand on his friends arm. 'I know mate, this is a shock. Give it a few minutes and it will be as if we never left.'

James moved forward slightly and addressed the three of them formally. 'Severus, Harry, Remus, may I introduce my parents, Harold and Emma Potter.' The older couple smiled, Harold beaming at Harry with obvious pride. 'Of course, you will remember Remus,' James directed to his parents who nodded.

'Of course darling. It's very lovely to see you again Mr Lupin,' Emma said warmly.

James smiled sadly at his friend who seemed unable to answer. 'May I also introduce Regulus Black, Sirius's brother who has a few interesting things to tell you. I believe you all know Mr Diggory?'

Lily had been smiling gently at a very pale and silent Severus since she had first appeared. She moved to kneel in front of him and took a trembling hand in hers.

'Hi Sev,' she whispered and the man swallowed before answering in a whisper.

'Lily.'

'Well, shall we sit?' Harold asked and seven new armchairs instantly appeared around the fire.

'Thanks Dobby,' Harry muttered automatically and nearly all of the adults present smiled at him.

'How you turned out so polite in Petunia's care is a mystery to me Harry,' James said dryly.

'Yeah, you're lucky,' Harry directed his comments to Severus. 'I could have turned out like Dudley.'

Several of those present shuddered at the thought of that before seating themselves in the circle that had been formed. With Severus, Remus and Harry there were now ten in the gathering.

Severus was strongly reminded of a war council and the thought sobered him. In a way, that was exactly what this was. He noted that all of their 'visitors' appeared more solid than they had a few moments before. It was like watching them being formed in front of his eyes. He turned his attention to Potter and Black. Potter looked nothing like he remembered him.

The swagger and showy posture were missing, his face more serious than Severus had ever seen. James was staring at Harry, a look of such deep affection on his face that it caused a lump to form in Severus's throat. This man had given his life to keep his son safe and for the first time, Severus was able to add that knowledge to his overall impression of James.

Harry noticed the scrutiny and smiled back shyly, his cheeks blushing a bright red. James grinned and winked at his son before turning his attention to Severus.

'Thank you Severus,' he said simply. 'There are too few words in the English language to properly thank you for what you've done; for removing Harry from the Dursley's care.'

Severus nodded but didn't reply.

Emma stood gracefully and moved over to Harry's side. 'I believe I am corporeal enough now to give my grandson a much overdue hug.'

Harry stood and tentatively embraced his grandmother, aware of Harold moving over to get in line for the next one. When they had both greeted him Harry moved to sit, but was beckoned over by Lily instead.

He grinned and went to sit on the arm of her chair. The chair instantly enlarged and changed shape until he was seated beside her. Her hand found his and gripped tightly.

James smiled fondly at his wife and son before turning his attention back to the room.

'OK then, let's get started before we dead folk get too comfortable here and don't want to leave.' He threw a gentle smile in Remus's direction. The man had been staring at his friends but had made no move to greet them. He looked too shocked to really do anything.

'You are now in a position to move against Riddle directly. His power base is undermined. More so than you realise and more importantly, more than he realises. He has lost of great deal of his financial and political backing and is physically weakened by the loss of his soul fragments.'

'The bad news,' Harold interjected. 'Is that he now knows that his horcruxes have been tampered with. Even now, he is travelling the country checking on them one by one. He is enraged and will likely retaliate. You're best strategy will be to attack first, or perhaps draw him out.'

James gave Harry a stern look. 'That comment was not directed at you,' he said wryly. 'Riddle will certainly do everything he can to find you but you are not to use yourself as bait.'

Harry blushed as all the adult gave him a fond and knowing smile. Was he that predictable?

'Where you can help,' James continued, 'Is by using The Hallows.'

Remus spoke for the first time, his voice hoarse and filled with emotion. 'How can we allow Harry to be involved without putting him at risk?'

'The cloak,' James said simply. 'Under that, with the stone and wand, we believe he is protected from most magics.'

'...and he can call us to assist,' Sirius interjected. The man sat forward and lifted the teapot into his hand. 'As you can see, after a while on this plane, we can move things around.'

'But importantly,' James explained. 'No one else can see us until Harry wants them to. We could be a pretty effective distraction in the middle of a battle, especially if we appear before Death Eaters who will recognise who they are facing.'

Remus chuckled at that. 'I can imagine that would be a bit disconcerting.'

Severus leant forward, his expression severe. 'If we are to make the first move, it will have to be soon and on ground that favours us.'

'Hogwarts?' Harry asked. 'If we could draw him onto the grounds before term starts again then we could avoid innocent casualties.'

The adults considered that and Severus's expression softened as he regarded his charge who was now sitting arm in arm with his mother. Exactly where he should be, thought Severus with a sense of sadness.

'That could work well,' Remus said hoarsely. 'We could let it slip out that the wards will be down for maintenance for the next week. That may tempt Riddle to make an attempt on the castle.'

'It would have to be on the edge of the forest, outside of the wards,' Severus added. 'Since Harry's defence club cast their little bit of magic, then it has been extremely painful to pass through the wards with The Dark Mark. I highly suspect that if the castle had not already known me, I would have been unable to get onto the grounds.'

Harry shifted in his seat, his expression worried. He hadn't known that the Professors mark had been worse since the houses declared their unity against Voldemort. He wished for the hundredth time that he could see a way to remove the bloody thing without killing his guardian.

Harry leant into his mother's side and listened to the adults plotting as he tried to get the knot in his stomach to unclench. This holiday had been so peaceful and restful that the thought of returning back to the outside world was pretty daunting.

Remus slowly joined the conversation as his shock wore off and Sirius sat on the arm of the man's chair with a hand resting on his friends back. Harry smiled softly at the interaction. It was so great to see Moony surrounded by his pack again.

The stone hummed happily against his skin, it's magic seeming to seep into his very bones. He wondered if this is what muggle drugs felt like? He could get used to the buzz of power but was also a little frightened by it. As ever, the temptation to keep his parents and Sirius by his side forever was strong.

Once the adults had finished plotting, the group broke up into smaller units. James and Sirius sat around their old friend chatting and Lily had left Harry's side to go and sit beside Severus. She had a hand laid across his arm and was talking softly to him, too softly for anyone else to hear. The Potions Professor was white faced, listening to her, nodding occasionally in response.

Harry found himself squashed on the sofa between his grandparents with Cedric balanced on the edge of the coffee table before him. Cedric chatted happily away, giving his observations of the latest drama's at Hogwarts.

'I'm so sorry,' Harry eventually blurted out, interrupting the other boy in mid sentence.

Cedric frowned and leant forward. 'You're not still blaming yourself for my death are you? I thought you had got past that nonsense.'

Harry swallowed past the lump in his throat. 'I was the one who pursuaded you to take the cup with me. If I hadn't...'

'There is no way to know what may or may not have happened,' Cedric said pragmatically. 'Pettigrew killed me, not you. All you did was show fair-play in a school tournament. A tournament that should have been safe. If anyone's to blame, it is the organisers that were meant to be keeping the grounds secure. As we know, there were several of them with ulterior motives. Besides...,' the boy added. 'Death's not so bad. I'm sad to have hurt my parents but this is where we are all meant to end up. It really doesn't matter if we get here early or not.'

Harry sagged in his seat a little. Cedric really didn't blame him. Both of his grandparents claimed one of his hands and held on tightly. Harry glanced around the room in contentment. He was surrounded by friends and family, exactly as he had always dreamed and wished for. It was a little overwhelming.

It wasn't long however, before James detached himself from his friends, having to practically pry Moony's hand off his and walked over to Harry. He knelt before his son and smiled apologetically.

'Hey kid, it's nearly time.'

Harry's eyes flooded with tears. 'Can't you stay a bit longer? We could go for a walk on the beach.'

James held his arms out and allowed the teenager to collapse into his chest, holding his son tightly. 'We have planned to draw Riddle out next week ,which means that we will need have as much time away from here as possible if we are to any use to you.'

Harry nodded into his father's shoulder and drew out the hug as long as he dared. After accepting embraces from his mother and Sirius, he stood back and watched all the goodbyes going on. The visitors all formed a group in front of the fire and Harry perched himself on the side of Severus's chair, needing the contact of his new family before he could truly let go of the old one.

Severus's hand wrapped itself around his and Harry gripped back tightly. With a sigh he reached for the stone at his neck and lifted it away from his skin. The visitors faded away and the room was quiet again. Remus moved swiftly to his side and pulled him into a hug, his own chocked sobs sounding in Harry's ear.

Harry clung to the other man, his hand still claimed by the Potions Master. The charged silence was painful, filled with joy and grief and fear of what was to come. A timeline had been set. This time next week the war might be coming to end. Harry wondered if any of the three of them would live through it?'

)O(

Dinner that evening was a relaxed affair. The three of them were quiet and pushed their food around their plates. Tonks and Narcissa chatted softly and Draco just watched the whole thing, wondering what had happened? Draco had experienced one of his bad days, spending half of the afternoon throwing up. He reclined in his armchair at the table and sipped on a mug of soup, unable to stomach anything else.

Harry excused himself early and went to bed with a book. He was three chapters into his transfiguration book when Remus quietly slipped into the room, carrying the slight blond Slytherin in his arms. Harry smiled in welcome and watched as Remus and Narcissa tucked Draco into his bed and helped his drink his evening potions.

'Are you feeling better?' Harry asked softly and the blond grimaced.

'I don't feel as sick but my stomach hurts. It used to be like this all the time though so once every few weeks is a bit improvement.'

'I'm glad you're doing better,' Harry answered honestly. The two adults left, replaced almost immediately by Severus who was carrying two steaming mugs in one hand. He handed Draco one and placed the second on Harry's beside table.

'Yours is just warm milk Draco. I wasn't sure chocolate would sit very well with you this evening?' Draco smiled warmly up at his godfather.

'This is great, thanks.'

Severus ran a hand fondly through his godson's hair and then moved to sit on the edge of Harry's bed. He picked up the book that had been placed face down on the covers and read the title.

'This is a book for next year Harry. Aren't you putting yourself under enough pressure without reading so far ahead?'

Harry shrugged and sipped at his hot chocolate. 'I like reading ahead. It gives me an idea of the stuff I might struggle with later.'

'Mmm,' Severus commented, regarding his charge critically. 'Are you unsettled by earlier?'

Harry glanced at his roommate who was listening curiously. The three of them had decided not to tell their houseguests about The Hallows. Other than the headmaster and McGonagall, none of The Order had been informed either.

'I'm OK,' he answered quietly. 'It just makes me sad to know what I've missed.'

Severus nodded soberly and lightly touched his charges arm. 'I can understand that. Will you talk to me if you are struggling with this?'

Harry smiled. 'I will, I promise.'

'Good. Well you two had better get a good night's sleep tonight. You have guests tomorrow.'

Draco's head snapped up. 'We do?'

The Potions Master stood and stretched before tucking the blankets around Harry and reaching to turn out one of the lamps. 'You do. The Weasley brats, Granger girl and that horror known as Longbottom are coming for the day.'

Harry beamed a grin at his guardian. 'That's great! Why didn't you tell me?'

'I believe I just did,' the man answered wryly before slipping out of the room.

Harry finished his chocolate and then cuddled down in his blankets, watching as Draco quietly sipped his drink and stared out of his window at the moon setting over the sea.

'Poor Draco,' he said quietly. 'About to be surrounded by Gryffindors. I hope you're not allergic.'

Harry was rewarded by a pillow in the face and chuckled softly.

'You will have to play a game of chess with Ron. He's really good, much better than me.'

'Everyone's better than you Potter,' the boy answered dryly before giving him a hopeful expression.

'You really think he's worth playing?'

'Oh yeah. He's seriously skilled.'

Both teenagers settled down and Draco switched off his light, plunging the room into darkness.

''Night Scarhead.'

''Night Ferret.'

Harry could almost feel Draco's grin on the other side of the room. He rolled over and imagined his parents and grandparents surrounding him, wondering if in that other place they really were?

)O(