Disclaimer: I Own Nothing. Well, a couple of things, I suppose. But the closest I come to owning Harry Potter is owning the books, so find somebody else to sue.
~~~
"Hey, Mum," Draco greeted Katie as he and Harry entered the Defense classroom several weeks later.
"Hi, sweetie," Katie said, kissing Draco's forehead. "Hello, Harry." Harry gave a slight wave. "I thought you two knew that class was cancelled today."
"We knew, but we decided to pay you a visit anyway," Draco explained. Then he pouted. "Unless you want us to leave¼"
"No, no, dear, you can stay," Katie assured him. Draco smirked at Harry, who gave a slight smile. "I just need to finish grading some papers, and then I'll be free."
"Why'd you cancel class?" Harry wondered as Katie scribbled various comments on students' assignments.
"I felt like it," Katie replied, simply. She chuckled. "Really, I just felt I deserved a break, as did you all." She rested a hand on her bulging tummy. "The little one's been giving me some problems, so I decided to just take a couple of hours and relax."
"Everything okay, Mum?" Draco asked, a look of worry in his eyes. Katie patted his hand and continued to scribble with her quill.
"Just fine, sweetie. This happens when it gets closer to the due date."
"Do you think it's a boy or a girl?" Harry inquired.
"I think it will be a girl," Katie commented. "Severus and I could find out easily, of course, but we want to be surprised." She changed the subject. "Why don't you two go wait for me in the back room? There's some food in there, if you're hungry, and I'll be done here in about ten minutes."
Draco and Harry went into the room that Katie used as a kind of break room. She had stocked all kinds of snack foods and such in there, to take care of her pregnancy cravings. Draco went to a cupboard and pulled out a box of chocolates, then sat at the table with Harry, who looked a little dazed.
"You all right, love?" Draco asked, gently. He touched Harry's hand, and the dark-haired boy snapped his head up to look at Draco.
"Hm?" Draco frowned.
"Harry, are you all right?" he asked again. "You don't look so good. Is something wrong?"
"I¼don't know¼" Harry replied, slowly.
Suddenly, he fell to his knees and clutched his forehead in pain, letting out a strangled cry. Draco quickly knelt down next to him, taking him in his arms and gently lowering him the rest of the way to the floor. Tears spilled from Harry's closed eyes as he writhed in pain. Draco began to panic, not knowing what to do.
"Mum!" Draco shouted. "Mum, help!" Katie rushed into the room at the frantic tone in her son's voice.
"Honey, what's happening to him?" she asked, worried.
"I don't know, Mum!" Draco cried, holding Harry's hand in his own. "I think it's his scar; it connects him with Voldemort¼"
Just then, Harry stopped squirming, though his hand still held onto his head. His body twitched a little every few seconds. He slowly opened his eyes a little and looked up at Draco.
"Are you okay, love?" Draco murmured, gently caressing Harry's cheek.
"Scar¼burns¼ Voldemort¼" Harry barely whispered. "They're looking¼for you¼ Both of us¼ Cruciatus¼ Hurts¼" As he closed his eyes again, Draco glanced up at Katie.
"What do we do?"
"Take him to the hospital wing," Katie sighed. "Again¼ I suppose I could levitate-"
"I can carry him," Draco cut her off. Katie gave him a skeptical look, but he insisted. "He still weighs next to nothing. I can carry him, Mum."
"Fine," Katie relented. "You carry him up there, and I'll be right behind you."
Half an hour later, Draco sat next to Harry on a bed in the infirmary. Harry laid his head in Draco's lap; he was awake, but extremely tired. His body was still a little shaky. The Snapes, Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Pomfrey all stood around the room, speaking to each other.
"He was talking about his scar burning, and Voldemort," Katie explained to the other adults. "He said that they were looking for him and Draco, and he said something about the Cruciatus Curse."
"That explains the twitching," Pomfrey sighed. "Perhaps he will be able to tell us what he saw in an hour or so." Suddenly, Harry spoke up in a quiet voice.
"We were in a dungeon¼ Me and Draco," he said, weakly. "All kinds of torturing devices around¼ Voldemort¼ Death Eaters were in there with us¼ Lucius was there, not in Azkaban¼" Draco's eyes widened, and Severus squeezed his shoulder. "They used¼Cruciatus¼ on Draco¼ Then on me¼ I could feel it, it hurt so bad¼ Tortured us¼" Harry closed his eyes again, and Draco held his hand tightly.
"Harry, your fathers will be here shortly," Dumbledore said after a moment of silence. "I believe that Madam Pomfrey would like you to stay here and rest for the remainder of the day, so we will leave you alone for now." He and McGonagall left, as did Katie and Severus. Draco stood, but Harry grabbed his hand and pulled him back.
"Stay," Harry pleaded.
Draco nodded, silently, and sat back down, just as Remus, Sirius, Sean, and Kayla came into the room. Kayla ran and jumped onto the bed, wrapping her arms around Harry and hugging him tightly. Harry inhaled sharply as he felt the weight of her land on his middle.
"Kay, get off of Harry, sweetie," Remus requested. Harry waved his hand.
"She's fine, it was just sudden¼" Kayla slid over so that she was laying next to Harry, instead of on top of him.
"How are you feeling, kiddo?" Sirius asked, standing behind Sean.
"Terrible, thanks," Harry sighed.
"Harry, why are you shaking?" Kayla wondered. Harry glanced at Draco.
-How do I explain the Cruciatus to a six year old?
Draco shrugged his shoulders, and Harry scowled a little. Kayla, not appreciating the fact that she had received no answer, repeated her question.
"Why are you shaking? Are you cold?"
"Yeah, Kay-Kay, I'm cold," Harry responded with a mental sigh of relief. Kayla grabbed the blanket and tucked it around her oldest brother. Harry gave her a smile. "Thanks, sweetie." He noticed that Remus was cradling something in his arms, and his eyes brightened a little. "Did you bring my Peachy?" Remus chuckled and handed the cat over to Harry, who hugged her to his chest.
"Madam Pomfrey's not going to like that one bit," Sirius warned him, smirking.
"Ha... Maybe you should transform, Dad," Harry suggested, tiredly. "Then she'll come in and find two animals in the hospital wing..." He sighed. "I hate being in here..."
"You know you're in the infirmary too often when they have a set of pajamas and a special bed reserved especially for you," Draco commented. Harry nodded his head in agreement. Draco looked at his watch. "Listen, love, I have to get to class, but I'll come by later and see how you're doing, all right?" Harry nodded, and Draco gave him a quick kiss before leaving.
"Sean, Kayla, why don't you two take Peachy over there--" Sirius pointed towards the beds on the other side of the room "--and play with her for a bit so Daddy and I can talk to your brother?" The kids obliged, and Sirius and Remus sat in chairs on either side of Harry's bed.
"Why are you really shaking, Harry?" Remus asked, softly.
"I had a vision where me and Draco had been captured by Death Eaters, and they were torturing us. They used the Cruciatus on us, and I could feel it. It wasn't nearly as bad as it is in real life, but it hurt really bad. It still hurts... Shaking and twitching is an after-effect of the curse."
"Looks like we're going to have to keep an extra-careful eye on you from now on, then." Sirius squeezed Harry's hand. "I'm not letting them take you away from me again, kiddo. You're stuck with me now." Harry groaned.
"Damn, and I was so sure I'd be able to get away for good this time," he muttered, causing his fathers to chuckle.
"Watch the language," Remus warned him, smiling. Harry glanced back and forth between Sirius and Remus.
"Are you staying?"
"For a little while," Sirius responded. Harry frowned.
"I want to go home," he sighed.
"You can come home, soon enough," Remus promised. He smirked. "Or have you forgotten that your Easter holidays start the day after tomorrow?" Harry's eyes lit up.
"Really?" He frowned again. "I kind of haven't been paying much attention to which day is which lately. It's all kind of been running together."
"Have you been sleeping much?" Sirius asked, more than a little concerned.
"As much as normal," Harry replied. "I've just¼been really tired, I guess. I'm looking forward to the vacation, so I can just relax. I just hope I'll be able to relax now¼" He changed the subject. "All right, this may seem like a random question, but I've been wondering for a while now, and I was hoping one of you might know. Why was Severus so accepting of me and Draco, when Draco first told him? He doesn't really strike me as the type who would approve of same-sex relationships." Sirius and Remus laughed.
"You mean you don't know?" Sirius said, surprised. "Harry, Snape's bisexual. It would be kind of hypocritical of him to disapprove based on that reason alone." He glanced at Remus, then leaned over to Harry's ear and lowered his voice. "That's part of the reason why he hates me. He and I were together for a few months, and I was the one who broke it off." Harry smiled and nodded in understanding, then lay back down on his pillow.
"Well, now that you've explained that to me¼" He yawned. "All right if I go to sleep for a bit?"
"Go ahead," Remus responded. "We'll stay until you fall asleep."