~ Chapter Fifty-Five ~

Severus lifted his chin, a well-rehearsed look of boredom on his face, before walking into the flashing lights and blaring music of the muggle club. He had been reluctant—to put it lightly—when Charlie had chosen the skin tight leather pants, wide, metal-studded belt and snug, v-neck white shirt for him at the run-down second-hand clothing shop (Snape would have much preferred to transfigure an outfit of his own, but both men were avoiding the use of magic if at all possible: if Charlie was going to be laid up near defenseless with only a muggle man as protection, they didn't want anyone able to track down his whereabouts). Looking around at the men drinking, dancing, and grinding throughout the room, however, Snape had to admit that if anything, he was dressed more on the conservative side.

He resisted the urge to tug on his left sleeve self-consciously, knowing that a vague outline of his Dark Mark showed through the stretched white material of the shirt. Logically he knew it would seem like nothing more than an ordinary muggle tattoo (if anyone even bothered to notice), but it was the physical reminder of one of his greatest mistakes in life, and he wasn't used to displaying his failures to the world.

Pointedly ignoring the hungry looks sent his way by several of the younger patrons, Severus ordered a club soda from the bar and sipped at it slowly while scanning the crowd around him with a spy's penchant for detail. Benjamin "Benji" Cesereanu had been described to him as tall, dark, and dangerous. Charlie had assured him that if he was there, Severus would recognize him instantly from the powerful, almost deadly aura the man exuded. Snape had rather strong doubts about the red-head's talent for perception until his eyes locked with a man seated on the other side of the bar during his third scan of the room. Steel-grey eyes pierced into his own, the man managing to pack humor, challenge, and warning into the slightest of smirks, half-hidden behind the drink that he sipped absently from even as he held Snape's gaze.

Severus lifted a single delicate eyebrow in return and purposefully slid his eyes back out over the dance floor, taking another drink of his soda. It wouldn't do for him to draw undue attention the situation by gliding across a crowded room with his gaze locked like some lovestruck Hufflepuff. Turning back to the bar, Snape slid a few bills under his half-empty glass and pushed casually away from the counter before turning to edge closer to Cesereanu. When he chanced a glance up, he had to bite back a frustrated growl at seeing the empty seat. Quickly looking around, he spotted the man just before he strode confidently behind a curtained doorway in the back of the room. Severus, having some idea of what he might find in that section of the establishment, took a moment to close his eyes and plot a slow and painful death for Charlie Potter before reluctantly pushing his way through the gyrating crowd to follow his target.

A tall, intimidating man in a shirt designed to showcase his bulging muscles stopped Snape at the curtained doorway, saying it was member access only. Even the potion master's most intimidating glare was not proving enough to sway the stubborn muggle, and Severus had just about resigned himself to waiting for Charlie's friend to return in his own time when a warm body pressed against him from behind, slender, slightly sweaty arms winding around his sides and coming up to caress his chest. Although Snape wanted nothing more than to pull his wand and curse the stranger who was now rubbing a clearly interested bit of his anatomy against Severus's leather clad thigh, he forced himself not to so much as tense up. Instead, he shifted his expression into one of casual interest and turned his head to see a spikey haired leering youth—likely barely legal, if that—fluttering his eyelashes and grinning suggestively up at him.

"Aww, Milo, let the nice man in to play," the young man pouted up at the bouncer. Meanwhile, his hands had drifted sensuously down the front of Severus's body to slip unapologetically into his front pockets. "He'll be my guest! I'm sure I can keep an eye—or two—on him," he quipped, and Snape swallowed back the urge to make gagging noises at the blatant come-on. Instead, he gave his best self-satisfied smirk to the muscled man still blocking the doorway suspiciously and slid a hand out to rest possessively on the youth's gently rocking arse, pulling him snug against Snape's body and leaning over to brush his lips teasingly over smooth skin between throat and collar, just for a moment.

With a reluctant nod, the bouncer stepped aside and Severus allowed himself to be crowded in past the curtain—

—and into a labyrinth of barely lit hallways and alcoves. The sound of a base pulsed through the air accompanied by a heavy smell of sex. As Snape was led further into the 'rooms,' he became aware of coupled off figures pressed into corners, some of them making out and rubbing their bodies together, others in more… lascivious positions. Even through the darkness, he did not allow himself to break his mask with a sneer. Until he could find the blasted muggle he had come in here for in the first place, he would have to play along.

Speaking of which: with what Snape assumed was meant to be a sexily breathy moan, the young man who had been leading him through the hallways suddenly pressed him back against a wall and slid down his body. Severus fought not to recoil as his hand was taken and placed on top of the spiky hair and eager lips began pressing kisses to his inner thighs. Snape resolutely forced his eyes away from the muggle kneeling in front of him and searched almost desperately for some sign of Charlie's friend. With concentrated deep breathing, he found himself repeating just stay relaxed, you only need to put up with this a bit longer, you're fine, you've put up with much worse and other such self-soothing phrases over and over again in his mind.

Bugger this, Snape's internal voice snarled as eager fingers began undoing the button on his pants. Closing a fist in the gel-spiked hair beneath his palm, Severus gave a sharp shove and smirked in satisfaction at the dumbfounded expression on the young man's face as he fell unceremoniously back on his arse. Without giving his companion a chance to come up with a response, Snape spun sharply on his heel and slipped further into the darkness, all pretenses of subtlety gone as he searched out Benji. He had just turned a third corner and began wondering how extensive this little sex cavern was when strong arms yanked him back into the darkness and the press of cool, sharp metal at his neck had him stilling any attempts to struggle free.

"You are following me. Why?" A harsh voice hissed in his ear, and Snape, taking a risk, answered with a well-practiced false calm.

"Benjamin Cesereanu? Charlie told me how to find you." The knife had tightened frightening against his throat for a moment when he spoke the man's name, and Severus wondered briefly if he had miscalculated, but at the mention of Charlie, the pressure—while not decreasing—held steady, as though the man were cautiously considering his next move. Snape, for his part, held as still as humanly possible, taking carefully measured breaths and focusing intently on controlling what little movement he couldn't prevent as his chest rose and fell with his breathing. Were the situation not so dire, he may have laughed at the irony that after over a decade as a spy in the Dark Lord's inner circle—working for Dumbledore in his inner circle—he was about to meet his end at the end of a simple dagger wielded by a muggle in the seedy bowels of a gay club. Luckily, he was drawn from his musings before he could grow too agitated by the barely-discernable whisper of Benji's voice.

"And this 'Charlie,' why did he send you to me?"

"He's hurt. Life-threatening injuries. He needs somewhere to go and heal where he won't be found, and he seemed to be under the impression that you may be willing to help with that." The knife against his throat twitched, just once, at the words 'life-threatening.' The movement was nearly imperceptible, and Snape himself was sure he only noticed it because he had been looking for it. He had to give Benji props, though, when he answered in what was a convincingly cool and disinterested voice.

"If your friend is so badly injured than I might suggest a hospital; I don't see how I can help you." Snape squeezed his eyes shut agitatedly, the only outward sign he allowed himself in his growing concern. If he couldn't convince the man of his motivations soon, at the very least, there would be trouble.

"Your hospitals won't be able to help him, and right now he can't chance being found, even at the risk of his life." He sensed the confusion and suspicion and decided to take a risk of his own. Charlie had told him of the conversation he and the muggle had had the last time they met, when Benji admitted having noticed Charlie disapperating and keeping his wand close, even talking about his dragons when drunk enough.

"I don't know what you think you're going to pull here, but—"

"Tucked into my pants along the outside seam on the right side is a wand. It's not exactly like Charlie's, every witch and wizard's is unique to them, but it is similar in size. Charlie was hurt because the man who is after his husband sent his followers to attack the dragon reserve Charlie works at. His injuries are magical, and there is no healing facility nearby equipped to help him. His injuries and the people after him are preventing any magical means of transportation at the moment, and I don't feel he is well enough to move by muggle—non-magical—means yet. He's hidden outside, waiting for me. I can take you to him, but you're going to have to trust me. I realize you really have no reason to, but I guarantee you that Charlie will not live through the night without my assistance and a warm, dry place to stay. I have my doubts that Harry would get past the loss at this point, either." As he spoke, a hand slid down to grope his right thigh, confirming by touch the presence of his wand. No other movement was made, and silence stretched on when he abruptly stopped speaking.

Suddenly, the knife was no longer at his throat and a firm grip on his upper arm had him turning in place to meet a murderous gaze.

"If you are lying to me, if I found out you played any part in harming Charlie, if this is some sort of trick, I promise I will kill you—magic or not—and no one will ever find your body." Snape rather thought that if it came down to it, the odds were in his favor, but he did not for a moment question the other man's resolve. Nodding seriously, never breaking eye contact, he was relieved when Benji nodded in return and in a flash sheathed and hid his dagger. "Take me to him."

xXxXxXxXx

Harry and Buckbeak had been skirting the edge of Hogwarts' wards for a good half-an-hour now, and the Gryffindor was finding the idea of simply flying through them and to hell with the consequences steadily more appealing. He had just started debating the merits and disadvantages of such an action out loud to the hippogriff when a flash of red out the corner of his eye and a soothing trill alerted him to the presence of another creature.

"Fawkes?" The phoenix swooped near enough to brush his cheek lightly with his wing then dipped into a graceful dive. Harry had to scrabble desperately for purchase on Buckbeak's feathered neck as the hippogriff dove after the fiery bird without warning. The young wizard worried for a moment that they would crash into the trees below, but quickly found himself in a vaguely familiar clearing.

Numb with cold, Harry tumbled clumsily onto the ground, petting Buckbeak for a moment and murmuring his heartfelt thanks before turning to where Fawkes had perched on a low branch, roughly shoulder-height to Harry.

"There has got to be an easier way to get back to this spot," he mused, and if a phoenix could snort in amusement he was sure that is what Fawkes had just done. Smiling gratefully, his voice gentled. "Thank you for your help. You've been doing a lot of that lately. If I can ever repay you…" He trailed off as the most heart-wrenching phoenix song filled the air in reply. The sense Harry pulled from the emotional sound was similar to the adoration Dobby gave, but with a far more confident and dignified air. He didn't quite understand it, but he smiled brightly at the bird and stroked his neck in thanks for the calm that had settled around him like a warm cloak. It was something he desperately needed after the night he'd had.

Harry relaxed as the regal bird nuzzled his beak into the young wizard's palm. When a sharp stabbing pain bit into his hand a moment later—just enough to draw a thin trail of blood—Harry yelped more in surprise than in pain, looking from the small gash in the center of his palm to the bird now looking back at him almost bashfully. Harry wasn't really sure how to react until a few drops of blood dripped down onto the ground below him while he was holding his hand up and squinting at the damage. The warmth and glow of Salazar's tunnel entrance appearing had all the pieces clicking into place.

"A bit of a warning next time would not be remiss, Fawkes," he quipped wryly, though he was giving the bird a bemusedly fond look. "But thank you. I really should get back." He turned to the hippogriff, holding eye contact and bowing low. "And thank you, Buckbeak. Give it a few days, and it should be safe for you to reveal yourself to Hagrid while he is in the forest. You must stay away from where students can see you, though. You'll be alright here?" The hippogriff clacked his beak and rolled his head to the side as though giving Harry an indulgent look. He pawed the ground assuredly then trotted happily across the clearing, shooting a look over his shoulder that seemed to say 'obviously' just before disappearing into the trees. Harry grinned and shook his head. He was fairly certain that this was odd behavior, even for a hippogriff, but nothing ever did seem to turn out normally around him. "Fawkes, will you—" Harry had turned back to face the phoenix as he spoke, but cut off abruptly when he saw that he was alone in the clearing. With a shrug, he turned back around and cautiously descended into the tunnel towards the faint glow of the pensieve.

Having only made the journey running or riding a broom in the past, Harry was surprised when he reached the opposite entrance to the chamber in seemingly no time at all. Then again, he had quite a few thoughts fighting for his attention as a distraction. He had enough presence of mind to scan the Maurauders Map quickly to make sure that Myrtle's bathroom was empty before opening the passage. Holding his hands to his sides, palms down, Harry had to smile proudly as he channeled two controlled jets of wind strong enough to propel him steadily up through the pipe that opened into the lavatory. It had taken Moody hours to coach him through this much control, and on top of his pride for mastering it he could admit he felt rather cool as well: he was rather pleased with the idea of looking like Iron Man, the hero in one of the comics he had snuck into his cubboard as a child after Dudley had torn the cover off and discarded it.

Still caught up in his rare light-hearted childhood memory, he never thought to check the map before walking out into the hallway.

"Hullo, Harry. I didn't know you used the girls' lavatory." Had it been anything but Luna's soft, dreamy voice speaking behind him, Harry was fairly certain he would have hexed first and asked questions later. As it was, it was a close call, and he sheepishly slid his wand back under his sleeve.

"Er…" He answered intelligently, blushing when she just tilted her head to the side and smiled in return.

"I'll just pretend I never saw anything, shall I? I can be rather forgetful after all. Are you alright, Harry? You look like you've been crying." The whole thing was said in a gentle, almost blasé way, both comforting and nonconfrontational, and to his horror the emotions of the day finally caught up to him in a rush and Harry felt tears welling up in his eyes. They didn't fall, but he didn't have any fight left in him, either, to pull away when Luna tugged him carefully into her arms, pulling his head down to lay on his shoulder and holding him. To his shock, Luna began singing quietly next to his ear, her voice so smooth and beautiful that even though the words were in a language he didn't recognize, Harry found himself relaxing instantly into her arms and letting the melody of the lullaby sooth him.

"What does it mean? The words," he whispered when the song ended, not wanting to disturb the peace that had settled around them while Luna sang.

"I've no idea. Mama never told me. I know it's Greek, and her grandmother used to sing it to her, but that's all. I think it's better that way; whenever I'm sad or scared, I sing it to myself and imagine it's Mama here singing to me, with words that are just perfect to guide me through whatever troubles I'm having at the moment." Harry smiled at that, stepping back so that Luna could see his face when he answered.

"You have an amazing voice. Thank you." Her eyes sparkled, and she dipped her head slightly as though in acknowledgement of his thanks.

"Now that you're feeling better, perhaps we should stop standing in front of the loo?" Harry let out a startled laugh and was about to answer when he spun around at the sound of footsteps coming around the corner behind him.

"Harry? Bloody hell mate, I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Lee? Weren't you the one who went off to find Fred and George and never came back?" Harry teased lightly, once again startled by the realization that so much had happened to him in just one day: the meeting with Diggory and Remus, the veritaserum incident with Snape, running off to Romania, the tentative truce with Snape at Grimmauld Place…

"Er, yeah, that's sort of what I wanted to talk to you about," Lee answered hesitantly, glancing between Harry and Luna with a pleading look.

"Um…" Harry looked over at Luna uncertainly. He didn't really want her to leave, truth be told. For whatever reason, the peculiar girl had a strange ability to calm him, and he needed that right now. On the other hand, Lee seemed genuinely upset, and if he needed to talk to Harry in private, Harry wanted to be there for his new friend.

"It's alright Harry, I think Lee wants to be alone so he can speak with you about George and Fred's relationship. I can leave, I'll be perfectly fine on my own." She smiled, seemingly oblivious to the matching godsmacked expressioins her two companions were giving her.

"You know?! I figured Harry might, but… blimey, did everyone besides me know? Do they really not trust me that much?" Lee's voice was rising more and more with every word, and Harry quickly grabbed both of his companions by the arms and dragged them back into Myrtle's bathroom. His mind was spinning, having no idea how either of them had found out, much less what he could do to protect his brothers' secret. Carefully, in a voice of calm he wasn't feeling, Harry questioned Luna first.

"What do you mean 'George and Fred's relationship'?" He swore her expression gentled and when their gazes met, Harry suddenly realized why the flighty young woman had ended up in Ravenclaw: the intelligence and awareness was nearly sparking in her eyes.

"It's sweet that you're so protective of your family Harry, but you needn't feel threatened by me. You can see the love when they look at each other, I noticed it on the train ride here. I won't say anything. I know a lot of people wouldn't approve, and I know what it's like to be judged for being… different… than what others expect of you."

"So no one actually told you?" Harry looked over at the hurt in Lee's voice, and seeing that there was absolutely no disgust or anger on his face, only uncertainty of the twins' trust in him, he smiled quickly at Luna and then walked over to stand directly in front of Lee.

"They never really wanted to tell anyone. Their mum caught them kissing this summer, and went mental. She took their wands and locked them in separate rooms." Harry could tell from the way the dark-skinned boy's face paled to a nearly white color that he understand the gravity of that situation. "They hadn't planned on telling me, but the only form of communication they had at the time was open to me as well, and they didn't see a way around it. That was how Ron found out later, and you know how well he takes shocking news… so naturally, Hermione and Ginny knew then, too, and the rest of the Weasleys. No one else though, Lee, and no one because it was what the twins wanted. They're in love. I know they're brothers and I know that's not—"

"I don't care if they're brothers, Harry. They're GredandForge. No one understands that better than me, I'm their best mate! I just… I was hurt when I walked in on them, and jealous, because I figured you must know and they hadn't told me, but while I really don't need to see my best mates getting into each other pants ever again, I can't say I was surprised. They just belong together, you know? I'd never really thought about it in quite this sense, but it would probably be weirder to see them try to have separate relationships; I can't see that ever working out. They aren't just twins, they're like… soulmates, but closer, like they are one soul. And Merlin, I'm babbling, I'm sorry Harry." His voice had indeed gotten increasingly faster and higher pitched as he spoke, and in the end he buried his face in his hands and began taking exaggeratedly deep breaths. Harry patted him just a little awkwardly on the back, and carefully hid the amusement from his voice when he asked,

"You walked in on them? Um… kissing, or…?" Lee jerked his head up with a squeak and blushed brightly.

"Notgonnatalkaboutit," he mumbled quickly, and Harry did chuckle a little at that. It died out quickly, though, as thinking of the twins made him realize that he owed it to Charlie's brothers to tell them what had happened. Grimacing, he ran a hand distractedly through his messy hair.

"Alright. I'm assuming since you clearly haven't talked to them about this that you saw them and ran, which means Fred is probably halfway to a breakdown right now and George is going to start blowing things up soon if he hasn't already. Let's head back to the tower." He caught Lee's eye and did his best to show how serious he was. "I have to tell them something, and they're going to need you to be there for them." Lee had paled at the thought of facing them, but at Harry's ominously vague statement he straightened his shoulders resolutely. "Don't worry," Harry told him, leading the way back out of the bathroom (this time after a quick peak at the map). "We need to wander through the Great Hall and the library and make sure lots of little snakes see me with my happy face on before we can go up, so you have a little time to collect yourself." With that, he thanked Luna again and headed briskly down the hall, too caught up in his own thoughts to process his friends falling in step beside him and the fact that once again, his ambiguous plans had been followed without question.

xXxXxXxXx

Snape was silent as he accepted the third bowl of warm water from Benji, along with a new cloth, gratefully handing over his own bloodied set. The two men worked quietly and efficiently around Charlie's prone body, cleaning the blood caked onto his skin from his injuries and bandaging whatever damage they could in muggle fashion. The red-head had finally passed out after being settled onto the bed in the spare bedroom of Benji's flat. As the two dark and brooding men worked on their patient, Snape allowed himself to look over the muggle again, appraising him quietly.

Snape had been worried how the man would handle Charlie's condition when he led them around to the back of the bar to where the younger wizard was hidden in a relatively dry and wind-protected corner of the parking lot. Not one to sugar-coat any situation, however, he had felt around carefully for the invisibility cloak and, once he felt the slippery material under his fingers, deftly plucked it away without further warning. Charlie had blinked up at them through eyes glazed in pain and exhaustion, and while Benji dropped instantly to his knees and took one of Charlie's hands in his own, Snape was rather impressed with the man's control. His jaw was set determinedly and he did not so much as flinch as his eyes traveled in a thorough inspection of the younger man's injuries.

"What can I do?" He asked softly, the question directed towards Severus even as his eyes locked back with Charlie's, only the slightest softening in his expression giving away his likely emotional state.

"We need transport," Snape answered calmly, not pitiless to the man's obvious struggle seeing Charlie in such a state, but practical enough to focus on the red-head's physical care above all else. "He needs a safe place to stay while he heals, possibly longer depending on the backlash of recent events and on how many fronts he ends up facing trouble. I can't use magic, it would be traced; I am no doctor, but sufficiently experienced with muggle—" he noticed the crinkled brow and questioning look darted his way and quickly amended "—with non-magical first aid. However, I have no supplies with me nor any appropriate currency. Long-term, he needs food, clothing, and other necessities whilst he resides with you, as I have no safe way of accessing his things, and strong doubts they would have been left undamaged anyway." He ended his brisk instructions as suddenly as he had begun, and simply waited for a few moments for the other man to speak.

"I can do all of this easily. Stay with him and I will retrieve my car." He rose fluidly to his feet and for the first time since seeing Charlie, turned fully towards Snape to pin him with a penetrating look. "Once he has been tended to, I will have questions." Snape winced internally, just imagining the headache-inducing explanations that were sure to steal away all possibility of sleep, but outwardly he simply inclined his head briefly in acknowledgement. Benji gave a satisfied nod and spun on his heal.

That cool, collected attitude had not once faltered as they shifted Charlie's protesting body into the back seat of the sleek automobile, as they sped through dark streets breaking several traffic laws blatantly enough for even Severus to recognize, as they covered Charlie and the broom with the cloak once more and snuck him into the sleek apartment building as stealthily as possible, as Severus held him while he vomited blood onto the kitchen floor while Benji layered his spare bed with plastic trash bags before covering them with a clean sheet…

Wrapping the last of Charlie's injuries with deft fingers, Snape finally allowed himself to lean back on his heels and close his eyes, breathing deeply as he released the stress and tension of the past two days as much as he was able. A minute later he sensed Benji standing nearby and watching him. Burying his weariness, he straightened his spine deliberately and opened expressionless eyes. The other man was indeed watching him solemnly and held out a plastic bottle of water wordlessly. Snape murmured a thank you, only now allowing himself to acknowledge his dry mouth and parched throat. As he was draining the bottle, Benji turned and gathered a small pile of cloth from the bedside table, turning back to offer it to Severus.

"Towels and a change of clothes that I believe will fit you. The bathroom is across the hall. Once you have washed the blood away we will see to the injuries you have been ignoring and you will tell me what you can." He traded the clothing for Snape's now empty bottle and disappeared wordlessly into the hall. Too tired and grateful to balk at being commanded in such a way, he checked on Charlie one final time, pleased to find him sleeping normally, then made his way to the bathroom, already fantasizing about warm water and clean clothes.

xXxXxXxXx

Other than a headache from a surplus of idiotic insults from Slytherins, Harry was rather proud of how he had handled the situation until he arrived back at the portrait to the Gryffindor common room.

"Bullocks," he said, stopping short and looking over to frown at Luna. "I don't want you walking all the way back to Ravenclaw alone after you were just seen with me by half the bloody castle."

"I'll walk her back," Lee offered immediately. The hasty response had Harry lifting an eyebrow, but he quickly shook off his curiosity; he had much bigger concerns at the moment.

"I need you here when I talk to the twins," he reminded softly, shifting a bit uncomfortably at the odd sensation of restricting his friend's decision. If Lee noticed his moral struggle, however, he made no comment.

"Ron then?"

"Er… I kind of need to talk with all the Weasleys," Harry admitted, heart sinking as he suddenly realized the reality of that statement.

"Will Ginny be alright?" Luna asked softly, startling Harry out of his thoughts. Ironically, he had momentarily forgotten the girl was standing with them. He remembered Lee mentioning on the train that Luna considered Ginny a friend—or as close to a friend as she had had in previous years. He frowned thoughtfully. The twins would have Lee there, and Harry would have Ron's back, but he really didn't know who Ginny's close friends were.

Harry was caught off guard by the question, as well as his immediate impulse at a solution. Despite his resolve to use more of his 'Slytherin side,' Harry felt that this was one of those times when it was best to trust in his Gryffindor instincts.

"Um, Luna? Do you think you could come with us? I have enough trusted friends that I should be able to sneak you in without trouble. And I think it would be good for Ginny to have you there."

"Why?" Luna asked, for once asking a straightforward question with none of her usual vagueness. Harry recognized the vulnerable waver in her voice and made sure to catch her eye directly before he answered, and he kept his voice deliberately gentle.

"I'd feel better knowing all of them have a friend there for this conversation." Then, placing a finger on her lips before she could object, "I know I'd like you there to help me feel better if I was getting difficult news." He held her gaze, not sure what he was seeing in her eyes but determined to let her read the sincerity in his own before she answered.

"I'll do my best to help Ginerva," Luna answered solemnly, an incredible amount of emotion underlying the quiet words. Acting on impulse, Harry leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her temple before stepping back and smiling at her.

"That's all I could ever ask. Wait here."

Even Harry, with the confidence he held in his little dragon order, was shocked when he reappeared after only five minutes, everything set in place. The quidditch ladies shrieked wildly as a (secretly transfigured) mouse scuttled around on one side of the common room while Dean and—oddly enough—Colin Creevey suddenly broke into a loud, staged argument about Quidditch on the other side. The distraction lasted plenty long enough for Harry and Lee to usher Luna quickly across the room and up into the room Lee shared with Fred and George. There, Ron and Ginny sat on one of the twins' beds, waiting for him expectantly, and the twins themselves sat huddled on the other, uncharacteristically quiet and subdued, eyes cast down quickly as the door opened. After a quickly exchanged look with Harry, Lee strode across the room and flopped comfortably on the bed between them, swinging an arm around each of their shoulders and pulling them into a friendly half-hug. They looked at him with wide, startled eyes, but returned the hug automatically.

Harry smiled softly as the three of them whispered quietly to each other, taking turns reaching out and shaking their heads in a clearly apologetic manner. He was satisfied that the friends would make up easily, and happy for the twins that they had one more ally on their side. While he had been watching the interaction, Luna had walked quietly over to the other bed where Ron and Ginny had automatically budged over to make room for her and Ginny had swung an arm around her shoulders absently as she watched the twins and Lee with interest. Luna curled her legs up beside her and leaned into the embrace happily, a small smile to her lips and extra sparkle to her eyes at Ron and Ginny's automatic acceptance of her presence. Seeing his friends together like this would have had his heart swelling with happiness were it not for the reason behind the gathering. For a moment, Harry let himself grieve for the innocence he was about to take from them, wishing for the simple happiness they had all shared on the Hogwarts Express. This isn't all of them though, he realized suddenly, and hesitated for only a moment before slipping quietly out of the door.

When he returned a minute later with a confused Neville in tow, he smiled at the pleased, knowing look he received from Luna then nudged the nervous boy over to sit on Lee's still-empty bed.

"You alright Harry?" He asked, watching his friend with concern. Harry closed his eyes for a moment, flashes of Snape and Death Eaters and the battle filtering through his mind, before opening them to meet Neville's concerned eyes, aware that they had the attention of the rest of the room. He opened his mouth, planning on saying something to the effect of being fine, but stopped himself as Neville's brow furrowed just a tiny bit more and the corners of his mouth lowered into a slightly deeper frown.

"Not really, Nev. But we'll all get through this." Turning to face the rest of the room as well, Harry took in all of the nervous, concerned faces and then plunged into his tale.

"First of all, know that me and Charlie are both okay as far as I know…"

The stories and explanations took hours, and by the end of it an exhausted Harry was propped against a head-board and leaning gratefully against Ron's side. He had quickly traded places with Neville when Harry explained going into the Chamber and finding the tunnel past the school's wards, before going on to tell how he snuck out earlier to go see Charlie. He glossed over any involvement from Snape, knowing that it wasn't his place to reveal the other man's choices to help Harry. He described his run-in with the Death Eaters, only leaving out the bit about how to get through the wards. He did admit to going to Grimmauld Place for help, but stubbornly refused to reveal who he had found to help him, a little surprised when this met with very little resistance.

When he began describing the battle and his dubious participation in it via Norbert, he had begun pacing, unable to meet anyone's eyes. Here, he left nothing out but Snape's intervention at the very end. As much as a part of him wanted to shield his friends from the truth, he knew from his own experiences that this often did only more harm in new ways, and the reality was that they were at war. Once he started, it was like the flood gates had lifted and he couldn't seem to stop the words. Fred had quickly beckoned Ron over, who had gone surprisingly quickly to curl into his brother's protective hug. Lee was holding George in the same fashion, and the twins held hands in a crushing grip between the two pairs. Ginny was crying softly into Luna's shoulder, the Ravenclaw wrapping a blanket around herself and the trembling red-head and soothing her the best she could. Neville, at first, sat huddled in shock with his arms wrapped around his knees and his face pale with fear. The first time Harry's voice broke, when he mentioned the strewn bodies of handlers he had met during the summer, Neville straightened his back and rose from the bed, coming over to stand behind Harry and resting his hands supportively on Harry's shoulders. Harry let himself lean back into the touch, voice a little steadier as he continued his morbid tale.

He gently nudged Neville over towards Ron and Fred when he reached the point where he saw Charlie. By the time he had described his bondmate's injury and consequent escape on Norbert, every red-head in the room was pale and shaking in the arms of one of their friends. George was unashamedly curled into Fred's lap with Lee's long arms wrapped protectively around them both, and Ron was crying openly into Neville's shoulder. Both the girls were pale and silent, but Ginny seemed to have used up all her tears, just staring at Harry with terror in her eyes.

"I trust the person with him to help him. They promised to send word as soon as Charlie is alright. I… I wish I could have spared you the pain of worrying for him, but I know what it's like to have important things kept from me, and I will not do that to you if I don't have to." He took a deep breath and let his head hang down, long bangs falling to shield his eyes as the shame washed over him. "I'm so sorry…" He vaguely registered the ruffle of clothing as someone moved before two slender hands shoved him roughly and his head whipped up instinctively, mouth hanging open in shock when he saw Ginny standing mere inches in front of him, scowl in place despite her pale skin and tear-streaked face.

"Oh no you don't, Harry James! You will not feel guilty for this! Charlie was working for the order to bring the dragon reserves to our side instead of Voldemort's side long before you bonded with him and made him happier than I've ever seen him. Voldemort would have attacked the reserves with or without your involvement, if not this way than another way. You were able to alert help, you were able to link to Norbert and help protect him, you helped keep him alive. Now I don't know where my brother is or how he is but I know that he would never stand to see you here blaming yourself or the rest of us wallowing in worry so pull it together!"

Harry blinked at her, not caring that his mouth was still gaping open, and glanced over her shoulder at the rest of his friends. Ron looked much the same as he did; the twins equally shocked though starting to grin a little in amusement as well; Luna was smiling proudly and humming her lullaby to herself, and Lee was looking back and forth between the two girls, smiling softly at them both. Harry's attention was pulled back to the fiery red-head in front of him when Ginny pulled at the chain around his neck until his pendant slipped out.

"Now. You're going to get one of these for me and Luna so we're in your super-secret war-club or whatever, you're going to go sit and let your brothers comfort you while me and Lee gather Dean and the Quidditch team, and then you are going tell us what we can do to help." Her face finally softened and she lay a hand on his face briefly before replacing it with a gentle kiss to his cheek and then stepping back and letting a determined look re-settle on her face. "Alright then: any objections?" Harry just stared for a moment before pulling her in for a brief, harsh hug and then stepping back with a deep breath.

"Well?" He asked no one in particular, eyes still locked with Ginny's. "You heard the lady!" There was a flurry of movement and Harry gratefully let himself be pulled down next to Ron and George, closing his eyes and taking a few moments to drift away from being responsible and being in charge and just soak in their love and comfort. The truest thing he had said to Snape under the veritaserum was that he needed to keep his people safe. It was time he started acting on it.

xXxXxXxXx

While Snape was sequestered away in muggle Romania and Harry was preparing to lead an impromptu Order of the Dragon meeting, Remus was once again knocking on the door of Rita Skeeter's office at the Prophet, having been summoned by a sleek, snooty owl and the simple message, We need to meet. –RS. He had barely brushed his knuckles against the door when it swung open and he was yanked unceremoniously inside, still stumbling to catch his footing as Skeeter closed the door once more and nearly blasted it with silencing and privacy spells. She spun around to face him, breathing heavily and glaring with blazing eyes. Remus, however, simply shaped his face into a politely curious expression, brushed off his new, fitted robes (courtesy of Harry) and greeted her before sinking gracefully into the chair in front of her desk. There were a few tense moments of silence where the werewolf could feel angry eyes boring into the back of his head, and then a slight rustle before a thick folder was slapped harshly down onto the desk in front of him and Rita stormed around to sink into her own chair, nearly vibrating with anger.

"It's times like these that I wish I had connections with the muggle press. I'd love nothing more than to destroy those despicable creatures' reputations until they can't even drag their garbage to the curb without being hounded for their despicable behavior!" While she was fuming, Remus had pulled the folder towards him and flipped it open, scanning quickly over the photos and parchments of interview notes with the Dursleys, neighbors, and school-teachers. His face quickly clouded until amber eyes were flashing dangerously and deliberately closed the folder and pushed it back to the center of the desk before raising his head to lock gazes with the angry witch in front of him.

"You tell anyone about this and I will not hesitate track you down on the night of a full moon," he growled, letting the wolf surface just enough to make his meaning clear, all logic thrown out in the face of protecting his neglected, battered cub. He was surprised when instead of the fear he had expected to see on her face, he saw only a grimly satisfied smirk.

"Then it sounds like we are in agreement." That caught the werewolf up short, and he blinked questioningly at the woman in front of him.

"What agreement?" He asked suspiciously.

"Why, that we are going to do whatever necessary to get Lord Potter-Black the support he needs." Remus could tell by the underlying glee in her tone that this 'whatever' he was being asked to agree to was probably illegal and possibly immoral. Leaning back in the chair and steepling his fingers to buy himself a moment for thought, he looked back at Skeeter appraisingly.

"You will have to write negatively about him occasionally, lest the public decides you're in his pocket entirely and begins to dismiss your articles…" He furrowed his brow and stared into the distance, deep in thought. "I don't want to hear about anything illegal—anything more than your illegal animagus form, as I already know about that—but off the record I have no doubts that if you get yourself into a scrape you will have the full force of the Potter-Black legal team backing you… And I would strongly encourage you to abandon all of the ridiculous article ideas you proposed during our agreement and allow Harry to choose his own; I assure you he is noble and honorable enough to give you something worth your time, and will respect you for offering him options. He does not take kindly at all to being manipulated into anything against his will." He shook his head then, pulling himself out of his deep thoughts. Rita was watching him carefully, for once an honestly thoughtful expression on her face, unhidden by her usual sneer and simpering.

"I think, Mr. Lupin, that this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship. Now; let's talk interview times…"


Author's Note: Well, I had hoped to get this up for New Year's Day, but I realized at the last minute that I was using the invisibility cloak in two places at the same time and had to re-work some things... embarrassingly rookie mistake, I was quite disappointed with myself...

On the other hand, my entire twelve-chapter story "International Magical Cooperation: To Make Friends" got uploaded for Christmas, which I thought was quite an accomplishment. It's a sweet little fic, pre-slash friendship between Harry and Viktor Krum. You should definitely check it out.

In Order of the Dragon news, I go back to campus tomorrow and have two weeks before classes start, as well as outlines for the next two chapters, so there should be more updates soon!

Thanks for reading!

-Emmette