Wow- this chapter's actually quite serious!
(Yes- that's kind of a pun but it's true anyway)
All four people stare at each other in varying degrees of shock and anger.
Before introductions can take place the man holding Harry has collapsed to the floor- courtesy of Snape- and Dumbledore is reaching for the bowl of lemon drops on his desk. The Headmaster leans forwards, taking one of the small yellow sweets. He sighs, popping it inside his mouth and leaning back against his chair.
"Severus. Sirius is here as evidence has come to light that he was innocent as you well know. For the fifteenth time today he has somehow managed to get both into the castle and my office and I don't know how but all he wants is to talk to his godson for now. If you would please refrain from bodily harm while he is here it would be much appreciated." The boy stays still as the men seem to have forgotten him momentarily. He tilts his head a little to get a better look at the gaunt face of the man partially fallen on top of him. It is strange to think that this is a man who was best friends with his dad. He isn't sure what to think really.
The Professor is about to speak, most likely loudly (as in a shout), until Dumbledore reminds him of his troubles. Harry manages to refrain from interrupting with the rather important issue of time not working properly as he knows it would only annoy his Potions Professor. With double Potions tomorrow he realises that this would just be a bad idea all round.
"I have just received word that the ancestral home of the Malfoys has been found burned to the ground. I have not told Draco yet but it also appears that his mother and father were home at the time." For the first time since he has met the Professor Harry sees a glimmer of worry and perhaps care in his eyes. Dumbledore pales considerably.
"I see. We will need to inform the youngest Malfoy immediately. The Ministry will be able to arrange guardians for the boy but they will need time- it is likely that he will stay with you as his godfather. He is lucky that with his family's accounts he will be well supported. We will have to arrange for specialists to come in to assess the boy's well being. Hopefully he will see the sense in taking some time away to come to terms with his loss." Snape nods, frowning.
"I will suggest that to him. If he is to stay with me I will make arrangements as soon as possible." Dumbledore smiles a little.
"I presume that the student body is unaware?" The Professor nods.
"Tomorrow morning students will likely hear in either the newspapers or from parents. If I can I would like to have Draco somewhere apart by then so that he does not have to face his peers until he has had time to work through everything." Dumbledore dips his head, sighing.
"It is a shame that the youngest Malfoy should have to face such a loss at such a tender age. I trust that you will take care of him and the likely situation that will occur in Slytherin as best you can while I make arrangements." Severus nods determinedly, frown still etched into his face.
"Yes Sir." The man quickly retreats to the fireplace, taking a pinch of powder from a pot on the mantelpiece and throwing it in. The fire turns green and after asking for his office he steps through the flames.
Dumbledore stands, peering over the edge of his desk.
"Are you quite alright?" He asks, watching Harry finally try and crawl out from beneath his godfather. The boy nods, dusting himself off and looking down at the man lying on the floor.
"Yes- I'm fine." There is a pause while they both stare at each other.
"I presume you heard the whole conversation." Dumbledore says. Harry nods.
"Yes- don't worry though. Even though Malfoy wants to be my rival I won't tell anyone and I'll treat him the same as usual if I do see him." The Headmaster smiles.
"He does seem oddly fixated with hating you." Harry doesn't know what to say in response so stays quiet, nodding in agreement.
There's another pause.
A long pause.
…
"Time isn't working right!" Harry shouts, remembering his earlier panic.
The Headmaster blinks, remembering his earlier doubt of the boy saviour's sanity. He opens his mouth once, closes it then opens it again.
"Why do you think that?" He asks, frown once again coming over his face.
"Well I was walking along a corridor and there was this strange thing where time just stopped momentarily and I didn't think it was anything at first but I got this weird feeling five times so it must mean time's either falling apart and everything in existence is going to fall into the void left behind or time is slowing down until eventually it will freezes into one moment and there will be no future ever- Hermione's been saying it too- that is feels like it should be Halloween already and what if everything dies!" Dumbledore sighs, taking off his glasses and summoning a cleaning cloth with a flick of his hand. He cleans them and places them back on the bridge of his nose. Finished he looks back at Harry.
"I think you may be studying too hard Mr. Potter. For two of our most impressive first years to be having the same delusions must mean that you both need a good rest." Harry stares at Dumbledore aghast.
"But time is dying sir!" The Headmaster smiles wearily.
"If you insist I will ask Professor Snape or Madam Pomfrey to create some Sleeping Draughts for the both of you. You can rest assured that time is passing as it should be. There is in fact a room deep in the Ministry where time is regulated and there are special operatives whose job it is to ensure that time progresses as it should. You may have experienced a very localised anomaly- Hogwarts is an ancient castle- who knows what lays in its outer reaches or long forgotten corridors." His eyes twinkle with merriment and Harry frowns. Maybe he's right. After all, Hermione and himself almost spend more time in the library than anywhere else. The Headmaster must be right.
The man behind the desk the gestures to the man on the floor.
"If you could, Mr. Potter." The boy nods.
"Oh- of course." With a thought he lifts the sleeping enchantment from his godfather. The man springs up instantly, firing in the direction of the fireplace.
"Severus!" The spell dissipates harmlessly as Harry raises shielding in the trajectory, "Oh- where'd he go?" The man looks around confusedly. Dumbledore coughs.
"He was faster than you." Harry's godfather groans in irritation.
"Next time I see that slimy git-" The Headmaster cuts him off calmly.
"You will treat him with the respect a Hogwarts Professor and fellow member of society deserves, Mr. Black." The man sighs, collapsing into one of the chairs in front of the desk, defeated.
"Yes sir. As long as he doesn't do anything to threaten me or my godson." At that point he remembers that Harry is in the room and jumps up excitedly to squish him to death again.
"It's been such a long time Prongslet! I've missed you every day I spent in that place!" Harry squeaks, trying to wriggle from the man's grip. Apparently he is stronger than he looks.
"Mr. Black- if you keep hugging your godson like that it is likely he will expire." The man releases Harry quickly, huge grin still in place and tears in his eyes. He looks the boy up and down and smiles.
"You are your father's copy but with your mother's eyes." Harry blinks.
"Thanks… I think?" Dumbledore interrupts the rather awkward moment to Harry's relief.
"Mr. Black- as I have told you many times today alone- Harry's guardian has requested to be on hand when Harry first meets you so for now I will ask you to return to your current lodgings." The man frowns a little but nods.
"Yeah- just one more question though." Dumbledore relents and the thin man crouches down to look Harry in the eyes seriously.
"Who are your guardians and how have they treated you?" The boy looks at his godfather then to Dumbledore for reassurance. The Headmaster nods with a smile.
"My guardians for most of my life have been a woman in law enforcement living in america and some of her friends. They have been good to me- really good." He reinforces, equally serious. The man's eyebrows dip and he sighs, standing.
"Well it could be worse. Hopefully I can see you again soon Harry. Good night Dumbledore." The man behind the desk sighs.
"I presume you know your way out too Mr. Black?" He asks Harry's godfather. The man grins.
"You can't seriously expect me to tell you?" And walks out of the door. The Headmaster turns to Harry.
"And I think you should be going to bed Mr. Potter." The boy nods.
"Good night sir." Due to his improved anti-detection spells even when he passes Filch and his cat neither senses a thing.
The next morning Malfoy is not at breakfast, nor Potions. Ron seems delighted until Hermione points out to him that the papers said that the boy lost both of his parents and his home. He eats relatively little for the rest of the day, frowning whenever he hears the boy's name mentioned.
The boy is still away from school by the time three weeks have passed.
Harry's progress in classes and on the lock has been steady and Hermione has been doing just as well as always except for refusing to turn up to any of Professor Tim's lessons and avoiding everyone who had been taught by him.
Harry doesn't blame her- there's something odd about the students when Tim has spent an hour with them.
Hermione doesn't seem to know what to think about Draco's loss. She is seemingly the least affected by it despite vocalising clearly how awful it is for him to have lost everything all at once. He has noticed that her notes have increased in length slightly and that her letters take a little longer to write but otherwise she hasn't changed.
Ron has been quieter than usual and less quick to anger. Harry doesn't probe too much but from a few questions he has the impression that the boy is actually quite worried about the youngest Malfoy. He's been writing more often too- not notes but Harry sees him drift off to the owlery up to three times some days.
Neville is as dependable as usual. Both himself and Ron had their wands tested and the Ministry had had to supply Ron with a suitable one due to his finances while Neville's grandmother had had to buy him a new one. With this both of them were quickly catching up to their peers' level. He doesn't seem as affected as Ron by the youngest Malfoy's loss but sometimes when they're in the common room and he hears the boy's name he'll frown or when post comes he'll glance at one of the students receiving letters from their parents and look for the empty spot on the Slytherin table.
In some ways he thinks it strange that the death of some people related to someone they shared distaste for could have such an affect for themselves. In fact the student body as a whole seem to be shaken by the event, stifled by the figure of death hanging over them.