CW: several mentions of abuse, tension, mentions of summer trips/school, confrontations, discussion of trauma

:FIFTY-SIX:

It had been several weeks since Remus and Sirius had gone to Hogwarts for the quidditch final. School was almost out for the summer holidays, and the whole family was very excited to welcome back Dudley and Harry. Kreacher and Petunia were busy cleaning everything they could get their hands on, refreshing the boy's rooms as they hadn't been occupied during the school year.

Remus had destroyed the diadem on his own, shortly after they'd come home. It had put up a fight, but Remus was better suited to fighting dark magic, as he carried a dark curse inside himself wherever he went. Being a werewolf meant having an intimate knowledge of how dark magic felt and worked, but it also made Remus even more firmly kind and strong. He knew it would have been easier, all those years ago, to just accept the darkness.

But Remus had never been one to do what was easiest. It had taken a few days to recover after destroying the diadem, but now he was back to work researching and finalizing plans to help Harry. They'd already decided to leave it until Dumbledore had destroyed the ring, but they had not decided whether or not to tell Dumbledore their plan.

"He'll just try to manipulate the situation or kill Harry outright." Sirius had argued. "We should tell him after it's over."

"But what if he doesn't believe it worked, Sirius?" Remus retorted. "Then Harry will still be in danger after all the work I put in. And besides, having another person who knows what's going on would be helpful."

"Helpful and Dumbledore do not belong in the same sentence, Remus."

"Sirius," Remus had sighed impatiently. "Dumbledore may be many things, but you have to admit he's brilliant. He might have ideas that would make it easier to accomplish our goal, have you thought of that?"

Sirius glared at him, but had eventually conceded the point.

"We're not telling him until after the ring is destroyed though." Sirius had insisted. "And no sooner."

They had both let the conversation end there, not bringing it up again until they absolutely had to. Dumbledore had insisted on taking care of the ring himself and refused to look for it until after the school year was over, so they had a reprieve until then. In the meantime, they had been getting to know Noah better.

It had started with the occasional double date out, but dates turned into family dinners and movies nights in, until Noah had almost completely integrated himself into their lives. He was endlessly respectful of their boundaries, waiting until Dudley had said it was alright over the Christmas holidays to keep so much as a toothbrush in the flat downstairs. Noah himself had been a child of divorce, so he remembered how it had felt when new adults began dating his parents.

And he loved Petunia with his whole heart - it was obvious just looking at him. Noah made Petunia softer, mellowed in a way that she'd never been able to in the past. She could really relax when he was around, something she could never do with Vernon.

"So," Noah said over dinner that night. "We'll be picking up Dudley while you both get Harry from the train tomorrow. Should we just meet back here or meet somewhere for supper?"

"Well," Remus replied, taking a sip from his wine glass. "I think Kreacher might murder us if he doesn't get to see Harry immediately after he gets home, so dinner at home would be best."

Noah laughed. "Right, that's a plan then."

"Oh, I can't wait until our boys are back home." Petunia sighed happily. "They're going to be so surprised!"

Unbeknownst to the boys, the four of them had planned a small holiday by the sea. It had been Noah's idea originally, but Remus and Sirius thought it would be a great way to help cheer Harry up. He'd been moody and down since they'd told him about the horcruxes, and though they did understand why, it made them both feel terrible. Harry deserved to be happy, after everything he'd already been through.

So, they wore their best smiles the next day as they waited for the train to arrive. Remus held Sirius' hand nervously, squeezing it slightly over and over again.

"He'll be alright, Remus." Sirius murmured quietly. "Harry's resilient - he always has been."

Remus nodded. "I just wish he didn't have to be."

Sirius didn't know what to say to that, and he didn't have to as the train came into the station. With all the noise and crowd, their conversation ended as they looked for Harry. He was standing off with the Weasleys and the Lovegoods, saying goodbye.

"You will come visit me, won't you?" He was saying to Luna.

"Perhaps," Luna smiled. "Daddy likes to take us on holiday during the summer. And I suspect your parents have a surprise for you too - they're right behind you."

"Hullo, Luna." Remus smiled kindly. "Thanks for the introduction."

"Harry!" Sirius held Harry close. "We missed you - Kreacher can't wait to see you."

"Yeah," Harry said quietly. "I missed you all too."

He turned to Luna and the others. "Bye, everyone. I'll see you around."

Harry smiled at them both, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Let's go home."

"Alright, kiddo." Sirius said gently, holding onto Harry's luggage and leading them away from the train station.

Harry still behaved like himself, hugging everyone and then going off to unpack in his room. But Remus and Sirius could tell it was off - it was so in character for Harry to pretend everything was fine when it wasn't - and they weren't entirely sure how to approach the subject.

"I'll talk to him," Remus said quietly. "After supper, I'll talk to him."

"Okay," Sirius nodded. "Let me know if you need help."

Harry came out soon after that, cleaned up and ready for supper.

"Are we waiting for Dudley to get back before we eat?" He asked, taking a seat on the couch.

"Yeah," Sirius smiled. "Noah and Petunia went to get him."

"How is Noah? You guys didn't really mention him before."

Sirius took the opportunity, keeping the conversation light as he told Harry all about Noah and Petunia's developing relationship.

"There may be wedding bells, if Dudley is okay with it." Remus said, smiling as he sat beside Harry.

"I don't see why he wouldn't." Harry shrugged. "Dudley wrote saying that Noah's been really cool - he drops by every so often and writes Dudley letters during the school year."

"I didn't know that." Remus said, looking at Sirius. "Did you know that?"

Sirius shook his head. "Nope, I had no idea."

There was an awkward silence after that, which Remus was about to break when Dudley and the others came bursting into the flat.

"We're here!" Petunia called in from the kitchen. "The traffic was absolutely terrible or we would've been here sooner. We brought food though."

"Let's go." Harry said quietly, pushing himself up off the couch and going into the kitchen.

Remus and Sirius exchanged a look, but followed after Harry. Maybe if Noah's surprise didn't cheer him up they'd have to take a more assertive measure.

"Good to see you again, Harry." Noah smiled kindly. "I hope you're hungry!"

They had purchased enough Chinese fast food to feed a small army, or two growing boys and four adults, it turned out. Harry seemed to perk up a little, listening to Dudley's stories from school and laughing at Noah's jokes. They weren't necessarily funny, but Noah was so warm and soft that it was hard not to laugh at anything he said.

After they were all finished eating, Noah clapped his hands together.

"So," He said excitedly. "We have a surprise for you both, Dudley and Harry."

He looked at them both, smiling before continuing.

"My work gave me some time off this holiday, so we all thought it might be fun to take a trip together! My family has a little summer house by the sea, so I thought we could all go together."

Dudley's eyes lit up. "I've never been to the ocean before! How about it, Harry?"

Harry nodded, smiling at Dudley and then at Noah. "Yeah, that sounds really cool."

"Brilliant!" Noah beamed. "We'll talk details tomorrow though - we've all had a long day today and need some sleep."

Petunia, Noah, and Dudley left shortly after that. Sirius and Remus were cleaning up dishes when Harry stretched his arms over his head, pretending to be tired.

"Maybe I'll just turn in early, too." Harry faux-yawned.

"Harry," Remus turned to face him, looking concerned. "Before you go, can we at least talk about this? I can tell something is wrong, Harry. I've always been able to tell."

Harry clenched his jaw, staring defiantly at Remus before looking away.

"What do you want me to say, Papa?" He said bitterly. "I feel like a monster all the time now."

"You're not a monster, Harry -" Sirius jumped in.

"But there's a monster in my head!" Harry yelled. "How exactly is that any better?!"

He clenched his fists together, blinking back tears.

"My own mind doesn't feel safe anymore - my scar prickles all the time and it's like he's there, dad!"

"Harry…" Remus murmured, his heart breaking.

"Neither of you understand just how, how violating, this feels!" Harry continued. "Having the one space where you're supposed to feel safe also being the space where your parent's murderer lives."

Sirius stared at him. "You're right, Harry. We don't understand what you're going through - you are the first person to ever experience this situation before."

"But trust me when I tell you this, Harry." Sirius stepped forward, stopping an arms-length away from Harry. "Both of us know exactly what it feels like to have your body and your mind damaged by others."

"Remus' body is damaged by a man who thought punishing Remus for a lifetime was justified because Remus' father pushed for legislation that he didn't like. My family…"

Sirius paused, his face contorting slightly. "My family's words live in my head, there are scars on my body that will never fade, and I have to choose who I want to be every day."

He reached out and held Harry by the shoulders firmly, making eye contact.

"You may be the first to experience this exact situation, Harry. But you are not alone - not ever. You can push us away if you need to, but we're going to be right here to listen and support you no matter what."

Harry shook his head, tears falling down his face. "I'm scared, dad."

"I know, Harry." Sirius nodded. "We're scared too. But we're going to get through this together, always. Do you understand me?"

And Harry broke, crashing into Sirius and sobbing. Remus broke too, rushing over and holding them both. It was heart-breaking, but the tension that had been hovering over their family dissipated as they cried, like a storm that had been brewing finally raining down.

One thing was for sure and certain though, they were going to make it out of the rain. Together.

Notes:

Alright, I did it. I'm sorry it took longer than normal - life happened and this chapter also really hurt to write.

In other news, I've gotten a few questions about the horcrux situation. Right now, Voldemort is in a space between life/death because of the horcruxes. No horcruxes=no Voldemort. In cannon, Peter Pettigrew finds Voldemort and uses Nagini to somehow make a weird baby Tom that is very weak and needs feeding every hour. But jokes on Voldy I sent Peter to Azkaban.

So, Voldemort has no follower to restore him at the end of third year and no Bertha Jorkins to murder and make Nagini into a horcrux. I rushed it because I don't want to hurt Nagini and we have another Death Eater (coughBartyCrouchJrcough) to deal with in fourth year. Don't you worry, we'll have plenty of drama without big bad Voldemort.

Happy Reading!