Disclaimer- I do not own Harry Potter any spells or anything associated with it…but I do own my OC's and the plot…Er…I think.
"-What're do- what in the- where are you taking me?!" Sebastian bellowed with a frantic quirk in his usually mellow voice, as he selflessly allowed himself to be thrust into the depths of a desolate classroom, most likely an unused one.
There was not the vaguest clue as to his whereabouts tumbling about in his now jumbled mind. He glanced around hastily in an unusually anxious manner, surveying the dimmed quarters and its contents, now feeling a passionate swirl of guilt, fear and self-loathing towards himself for allowing himself to be dragged all the way up a few flights of stairs, and not to mention a ladder he hadn't even known was there to a classroom he didn't even know existed by the likes of a Slytherin, a Malfoy nonetheless.
The stale scent of dead incense mixed with the stifled aromas of stale perfume wafted through the air, nearly causing Sebastian to gag aloud for breath, though the fact that his voice seemed to be caught in his throat aided him in retaining that sudden urge. Scattered scantily about the barren room, once a classroom for sure, were various items such as cracked crystal balls, a few dishelved tarot cards here and there and a worn copy of This Century's Divine Diviners strewn carelessly across the dust-caked wooden floor. It looked to be a Divination classroom, Sebastian noted, though he had no idea how long it had been unoccupied, seeing as he had never been associated with the subject because his mother simply didn't allow such 'hogwash' to invade her children's minds.
Swallowing hard in vain attempts to cease the accumulating lump of anticipation in lodged in his throat he glanced back for the trapdoor opening leading from the top of the ladder where Aphrodisia was already securing.
"I suggest you quiet down Potter, unless you actually want to be caught in such a compromising position with me," Aphrodisia hissed in an unnaturally cool voice, a warning expression etched deeply into her delicate features.
"Com-Compromising?" Sebastian sputtered out quite bemused at her interesting choice of words as he felt a stifling bout of heat rise up into his face.
"I'll get straight to the point; your father's in danger…or else, he will be…soon enough…" Aphrodisia stated rather bluntly, gazing around once or so suspiciously as if she half expected an eavesdropper to suddenly emerge from the shadows and expose her for fraternizing with a Gryffindor.
"How? What does that letter have to do with my-"
"That was sent by a certain old acquaintance of your father's if you get my drift, an acquaintance that just happens to be in dangerously close ties with my father…and believe me, that is not good news… for your end of the deal anyway,"
"-Do you mean-So you're admitting that you know your father is involved in-"
"-I told you no such thing!" she snapped acidly, cutting him off once more.
"So why did you bring me up here then?" Sebastian demanded fiercely, regaining his backbone for the first time in her presence.
"-Just to give you the chance to see for yourself what your father's getting himself into, before Daddy decides to call the proper shots…" she replied after a bit of consideration, allowing her words to spill out at ease as she lazily gazed at her fingernails in a rather bored fashion. Sebastian just stared down at her in a sort of stunned stupor, the heat rising to his face again as he felt the familiar uneasy flopping occurring below in his stomach.
"…W-Why," he mumbled out, sounding more meek and afraid then he'd intended, "Why should you help my dad?"
"…Consider it as a head-start in the game, I suppose…the winner gets to decide the outlying fate of the wizarding world. So," she straightened up once again, and threw him a stern glare, "Will you come with me or not?"
"Archie…Arch man…You awake?" Sebastian questioned tentatively, refraining from stirring up any more noise in the dorm full of his roommates slumbering figures by gathering his loose articles of clothing from the floor.
"-No," Archie stated blandly and clearly wide awake, not even bothering to roll over and face Sebastian from beneath his mounds of blankets.
"Oh, good, I thought I'd woken you…" Sebastian exhaled, quite relieved as he resumed to strap on his snow boots while groping for his wand in the dark. He, for one, was glad that his friend wasn't attempting to question him on his actions, especially when it was nearing midnight and he was planning to sneak out pass curfew, though that wasn't even the worst of it.
"That would've been a shame…Riley…" Archie muttered, his words muffled by his pillow as he tumbled over onto his stomach and let out a beastly snore Sebastian was sure would awake the entire dorm though luckily it didn't…Only one person…
Harry surveyed the scene from beneath the security of his sheets as Sebastian flung a silvery cloak around his shoulders, watching him disappear right before his eyes just before an invisible force threw open the door leading to the common room and proceeded down the stairs.
"…The invisibility cloak…" Harry noted under his breath, tossing the sheets onto his temporary cot and searching through the dark for his own pair of shoes.
*~*
Sebastian managed to make it to the first landing of the stairs undisturbed that is until he detected a sudden creaking sounding from the top landing of the stairs. Supremely startled, his head whipped around swiftly to meet the sight of his sixteen-year-old father groping his way along the handrail down towards him. Sebastian decided the best choice was not to move because, as long as he could not be seen, he could not be caught, or so he thought.
"You know," Harry began, eyeing nowhere in particular seeing as Sebastian was well hidden under the cloak, "You breathe pretty hard…And since I know no son of mine would dare sneak out after hours I guess I should go report this to-"
At the slight mention of being reported to anybody, something went off in Sebastian's head. Being reported for being out past curfew…again would mean a suspension from Quidditch. It didn't even occur to him that Harry had not only been bluffing (obviously) but also the fact that Harry couldn't come into any prefects or let alone anybody from his present without stirring some issues. Of course, Sebastian never thought of that. He quickly hurled the cloak off of him and attempted to look innocent as Harry stood there, smirking menacingly.
"What're you- Where-" Sebastian sputtered, looking undoubtedly flustered.
"-Are you going? It's past curfew in case you didn't happen to notice…" Harry stated bluntly, surveying him suspiciously.
"Hey," Sebastian said, smacking his hand against fist dully in realization, "You can't stop me, you're not really my dad…yet…Er…technically?"
"Hmm, I suppose not- Sorry then, mate, carry on…" Harry said slowly, turning on his heel back in the direction of the dorm.
"…Really? I'm off that easily? No pestering? No punishments? No threats to reinforce Mum? Bloody hell! What kind of a parenting figure are you?" Sebastian hissed, clearly outraged, in the darkness causing Harry to return his attention to him.
"Well what exactly do you want me to do- pull you up on my knee and give you a spanking or something of the sort?" Harry questioned exasperatedly.
"You're not suppose to ask me! You're my father!"
"But…didn't you just say…?"
"You should know better than to listen to me! Nobody listens to me, which is a good thing because if they did half the people I know would be eaten by giant squid spawn by now!" Sebastian sighed. "Don't you even wanna know where I'm going? I could be out to get drugs or-or having some premarital sex…with no protection! Or whatever the hell it is you and Mum accuse me of behind my back!"
"Er…I'm sorry?" Harry muttered shiftily, scratching his head in his confusion.
"Parents are never sorry…! Honestly, I don't know how Mum puts up with you…" Sebastian mumbled looking oddly harassed as Harry took the liberty of throwing the cloak over himself as well.
"So where are we heading to?"
"We?"
"Well, from what you've told me of your intentions of getting wasted and going to attend an orgy-"
"-Why do parents always blow things out of proportion?"
"-It seems wise for me to tag along…you know, to keep you out of trouble," Harry added swiftly, noting the alarmed look Sebastian gave him. "-Before you turn into a bigger nuisance than me-sneaking out of the dorms…"
"You used to sneak out? Oh, what my poor mother must say…" Sebastian commented, sounding quite astonished causing Harry to stiffen suddenly, and then give in to a wave of embarrassment at the mention of Sebastian's mother- Hermione. His Hermione. It was pretty ridiculous however, Harry being so surprised at the mention of his son having a mother, seeing as everyone had one. It was just that not everybody had Hermione for a mother…only his kids -no- their kids. They had still yet to properly discuss the embarrassing subject among themselves though Harry doubted it could be put off for long, especially since they were expected to spend the winter holidays with them together.
"Well, come on, then…" Sebastian spoke up, noticing Harry's uneasiness.
~*~*~
"Wow, I was totally unaware of the excitement of sneaking out to the Great Hall, what fun…" Harry commented sardonically, noting their new surroundings once they had stopped, apparently reaching their destination after trekking through the darkened corridors.
Sebastian seemed too caught up in his own troubling thoughts to pay much mind to Harry's snide ramblings. He slowly surveyed the vast and deserted Great Hall, making sure not to miss anything or anyone. Suddenly, his heart began throbbing so hard he was sure Harry would sense it. He spotted her, looking suspiciously marvelous in her own deviance as she sat atop the Slytherin table, as she said she would be, fiddling with a lock of her platinum hair which contrasted greatly with the dark atmosphere.
All his thoughts halted, his brain froze up along with his body, and his muscles suddenly tensed at the mere sight of her. He was beginning to doubt he would survive this little midnight escapade alone with her…Actually, he wasn't alone after all he suddenly registered once Harry let out a perturbed gasp and hissed into his ear.
"What's the Malfoy doing here? Where's the 'cunningly beautiful' girl that…was…" Harry abruptly realized who Sebastian had been describing and cringed, wondering how anybody from his bloodline could even think that way about a Malfoy, not that Sebastian had directly admitted to anything… "Oh dammit…" Harry muttered unconsciously as Sebastian remained in his trance.
"What? Even Malfoy's are just people," he pointed out defiantly.
"-And hell is just a run-down sauna," Harry stated bluntly, rolling his eyes though Sebastian didn't seem to hear him.
"Oh Merlin, look at her…what do I say?"
"Who cares? She'll steer the conversation wherever she wants- she sure seems to be the dominant type…" Harry grumbled, reluctantly resorting to drag Sebastian towards the Slytherin table, pulling the invisibility cloak off, revealing themselves to Aphrodisia.
She peered up idly, surprised by their sudden appearance though irritated by their late arrival nonetheless.
"You're late," She noted aloud, drawing her knees close up to her body as Sebastian stared on slightly open-mouthed, lost for words.
"…Er…" Sebastian drawled.
"We're late," Harry confirmed, furrowing his eyebrows in irritation at Sebastian's loss of articulation.
"Well then," Aphrodisia said slowly, absorbing Harry's presence as he stood there clad in Sebastian's Bigonville Bomber's pajama pants and the customary winter cloak. "It's about time you've attempted to save your own arse for once…Potter,"
"Wha- How do you-" Harry stuttered, flabbergasted at her knowledge of his identity. He suddenly began to panic, turning a inquiring glance to Sebastian, wondering if he'd leaked anything out to her during his spout of brainlessness.
"Um…" Sebastian said, shrugging indifferently.
"You should know Francis wouldn't dare do anything without consulting big cousin first, especially when it's concerning Daddy Dearest…"she practically purred, as if getting great gratification off of the look on Harry's face as she proceeded in extending her hand to Harry, expecting him to assist her off the table which he eventually unwillingly obliged.
"-Ron," Harry said darkly.
"Besides that minor detail…" She continued, "You could say I have a certain connoisseurship when it comes to you Potter men," she replied, winking.
"Meep,"
Harry really wished she hadn't said that, because whatever shred of dignity Sebastian had left virtually disappeared and he morphed into a useless mass of waste. Harry did what any concerned father would do in that situation.
"Ow! What's you hit me in the head for?!" he screeched, only to be answered by his own echo.
"I was beginning to wonder when you'd find your brain in that dense space of mass called your head," Aphrodisia said in a polite voice, offering him a charming grin as she led them towards the great doors which marked their exit into the harsh cold night.
"Ah…brain?" Sebastian questioned, struggling fiercely no to collapse into another daydream.
"Let's go then," Harry said, grabbing his son by the hand and leading him onto the snow covered grounds, following Aphrodisia's suit.
"…N-Nice night, isn't it Aphrodisia?" Sebastian finally managed to get out.
"Seriously? Was that the best you could come up with?"
~*~*~
"Knut for your thoughts," Harry questioned, taking time to fasten his boots as Hermione glared threateningly at him from her position on the side of their unmade bed.
"This is completely and utterly stupid-" she stated firmly, as if it were common knowledge.
"-Besides that," Harry stopped her oncoming speech, and resumed searching through his side of the wardrobe for his winter cloak.
"-Fine," she said, getting up to assist him, "-I can't believe you- You're acting like a complete imbecile going after a wild goose chase!" she cried briskly, tossing his balled up cloak at him, aiming for his head though luckily his heighten reflexes derived from his Quidditch playing prevented the collision.
"-You only say such things because you love me," Harry said bluntly, pulling the garment onto his arms.
"Harry," Hermione stated in a pleading voice, "Why are you doing this? There's nothing left to prove! You killed him- I saw you, I was at his funeral, for Merlin's sake, Dumbledore lowered his casket!" she pointed out, getting flustered at the fact such blatant logic was being ignored by her headstrong and very, very stubborn husband.
"Now Darling-" Harry started, reaching up to cup her cheek before she slapped his hand away.
"Don't darling me, Potter!"
"…Okay…Now Dearest, you and I both know that's nonsense…He can't die…Not that easily, anyway,"
"Oh yes," she sniffed, "We all know how those with an acute fear of spiders harbor immortal powers!" She exclaimed sarcastically as Harry placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"Who do you think sent this then?" Harry questioned softly, motioning to the parchment strew across the bed.
"Not him, if that's what you're proposing,"
"Oh, I suppose you're gonna tell me it was the Ghost of Christmas Past, then? Now who's delusional?"
Hermione looked undoubtedly troubled, knowing that her pleads were useless because of the sheer fact stated above: she had a very, very stubborn husband.
"Well, at least let me come with you,"
"-Absolutely not," Harry stated firmly, groping on the nightstand for his wand.
"Why not?" Hermione asked fiercely, plucking his wand from behind his ear to present it to him. "You're rubbish without me!" she said half jokingly causing Harry to grin.
"True, you're my better half," He said lightly, stroking her unruly curls fondly. He bent down towards her, catching her lips in a tentative kiss, though she didn't respond as readily as he anticipated. They lingered for a while and hesitantly, he broke contact, noticing the slight watering occurring in her eyes.
"…I was an auror too, you know, I can handle myself," she announced as if this were new information.
"I know you can, it's not you I'm worried about- It's Ron," Harry clarified, enveloping her in a brief embrace before the moment was interrupted by a small, quavering voice.
"Daddy…where are you going?" Benjamin asked lightly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he stood in their doorway, looking vulnerable in his pajamas.
"Benny, what are you doing out of bed? It's past midnight!" Harry questioned, watching the child scamper towards him and attach himself to his leg.
"I heard Mum screaming, so I thought that we were late to catch the Hogwarts Express back home already…" he explained, grimacing as Harry ruffled his already dishelved hair.
"No, we won't go home for a couple of hours, go back to sleep and don't wake your sister, alright?"
"Alright…Dad, you didn't answer my question! Where are you going?"
"…Nowhere important, just to Hogsmeade to get some Butterbeer for our trip back, See you then," Harry said, striding out the door.
~*~*~
"My feet are cold…" Sebastian complained for the umpteenth time, wriggling his toes to make sure they weren't numb.
"Potter," Aphrodisia called sweetly, looking over her shoulder to him, who happened to be crouched over her all under the protection of the invisibility cloak.
"Y-Yes?"
"Shut up,"
"Okay,"
"…It's mind-boggling," Harry stated blankly, sounding awfully perturbed.
"What is?" Sebastian inquired.
"How someone could be so whipped by someone who obviously-"
Harry didn't get a chance to finish. Sebastian swiftly knocked him about with the closest item he could obtain…an ashtray from the neighboring table.
"Will you two knock it off? We're going to be kicked out at this rate…Or worse, be discovered by him," Aphrodisia noted, motioning toward the older Harry who was seated at the bar, speaking to the disgruntled server.
"You would have to kill someone to get thrown out of the Hog's Head…" Sebastian muttered, scooting his seat closer to hers.
"It's not like they can see us anyway," Harry said, tightening the cloak around him. "…So what was the point of this little expedition exactly? Because, frankly, I don't think an opportunity to watch myself enjoy a Firewhiskey past midnight is worth getting us out of bed-"
"-I didn't ask to have you out of bed," Aphrodisia snapped bitterly.
"-Well, is it that you wanted an opportunity to go out with Sebastian without those mentally damaged Slytherins on your case-"
"You worthless, spineless, loathsome little cockroach! I happen to be one of those mentally damaged Slytherins!"
"-Well, I'm trying my best to overlook that minor detail…" Harry replied huffily, not noticing his older counterpart striding past them on his way to the back exit leading to a dingy alley. "Wait a minute…" Harry said suddenly, as if a thought just struck him, "-Did you just call me a-a…cockroach?"
"…Dad?"
"…For lack of a better term, yes, I did," she replied stiffly, clearly miffed.
"Dad!" Sebastian shouted, abruptly rising from his seat, causing a large portion of the cloak to reveal Harry and Aphrodisia, evoking an uncharacteristic, timid squeal from Aphrodisia's direction.
"What?" Harry responded through gritted teeth, grateful that despite the little scene, Sebastian hadn't stirred any of the drunken blokes battling to stay awake in their mugs.
"Not you, him!" Sebastian gasped frantically, motioning to the clouded window desperately where the pair were barely able to make out a blurred view of a figure clad in black, which they naturally presumed to be Harry and they could only guess who or what the person opposite of his was, illuminating in a dull green glow as it slowly approached Harry…
"Let's go to the window to get a better view!"
~*~*~
Harry bit down on his lower lip as the figure cornered him and slowly began to wish he hadn't been so impetuous on taking up the request to meet the sender out there…all alone…with no back up…at that unholy hour of the night-no, morning… But there was no time to consider that now, Harry decided as he regained his dauntless composure and placed his hand deep within his robes, on his wand.
"Excellent, I-I was beginning you stood me up," Harry said out in a husky tone.
"Potter…" the figure wheezed out, steadily roaming his eerily pallid, spine-like fingers over the grand, lush olive robes, reaching for his hood. All of Harry's surroundings seem to proceed in slow motion as the cloaked man began to remove his hood in a deliberate manner, lacking any haste whatsoever.
Harry withdrew a shallow breath of the icy cold air surrounding him which, in his opinion, dropped a few degrees once he caught sight of who he was now sure was none other than Ron Weasley. Harry's hold on his wand loosened, him being too aghast to do more than marvel on the fact this cold, lifeless figure matured from the lovable, Quidditch-crazed redhead he'd known as his best friend.
It was the eyes, the eyes that literally sent a violent sensation up Harry's spine. Those frigid, unfocused dead eyes set aflame with a murderous, crimson haze making it nearly impossible to notice the steely blue hue beneath the surface which were set with such evident hostility Harry was sure he'd be bones by then if looks could kill.
His expression was set in a distant, stony way, given an even more dramatic effect from the dull glow mediating off of him. One thing Harry noticed, one asset to the Weasley had not changed- his fiery hair, plastered down to his head resulting in a more refined look about him though with that particular style Harry couldn't help but note his scar, in a jagged shape-the shape of a lightening bolt- stretching along the length of his jugular vein- exactly where Harry had managed to deliver his final strike, Avada Kedavra.
Ron's jaw twitched for a split-second before twisting into a foreboding, malicious smirk as he eyed Harry who had nearly gone as pale as Ron himself.
"Potter…why…you look as if you'd seen a ghost…" Ron said, silkily.
"You…tell me, Weasley, how is it that you continue to cheat death?" Harry inquired coolly, revealing no expressions as he eyed Ron cautiously. "I killed-"
"-murdered," Ron corrected subtly, the scarlet haze in his eyes rising to a less temperate volume.
"-you. No one can survive Avada Kedavra, not even your precious Voldemort!" Harry pointed out harshly, gripping his wand so tightly that his knuckles whitened.
"Hmm…is that what old Dumbledore told you…?" Ron drawled, "Well…I suppose he didn't have the certain connections I have…nor that repulsive Mudblood and that knavish excuse for a wizard from whose cursed loins you emerged," he spat, his mounting hate and disgust rising on his face, evoking of guttural snarl from Harry as he swiftly whipped out his wand and aimed it for Ron.
"Obscura-Infernous Detonatero!" Harry shrieked fiercely, shooting an eruption of lurid, obsidian flames racing toward Ron, melting his snowy surroundings into an opaque slush.
With a flick of his wrist, Ron went out of sight and Harry halted his attack and speedily began scanning the dingy alleyway for any sign of Ron.
"Oy, you!" a voice behind him bellowed threateningly, and before Harry had the opportunity to glance over his shoulder, a metal rubbish bin came crashing towards him, colliding with a sickening crack against Harry's torso.
Harry felt a sharp pain shoot alongside his lower back as he lost footing on the damp concrete, the impact from the object causing him to slide a long ways, crashing into a pile of abandoned crates. All this happened in a matter of seconds. Harry remained obstinate to the howling pain that accompanied his plentiful scrapes acquired during his slide along the littered alley floor as Ron reappeared hovering over him, releasing a deranged, eccentric cackle.
He dug within his robes and withdrew a silver flask, relishing in the merriment of the situation from his end.
~*~*~
"Blimey, you're rubbish Dad!" Sebastian gasped out, gripping at the windowsill apprehensively.
"I don't…I don't want to…I can't hurt Ron…He's my best…" Harry stumbled over his words, looking dreadfully pale as he peered out the window.
"Oh Merlin, That man always did have a big mouth -and I wondered where Victor got it from…No wonder why so many people want him dead…" Aphrodisia muttered, seemingly to herself.
"It amazes me how you can speak so freely about such manners regarding your 'Uncle Ronnikens,'" Sebastian said silently after a moment.
"Good," she voiced lightly in a slightly amused manner as Harry sent the barrage of crates and broken bottles colliding with Ron. "That's seemed to have shut him up. Well, what are you waiting for? Help him!"
~*~*~
Harry wiped a trickle of blood from his nose as he scrambled to return to his feet before Ron gained to upper hand once again. Abruptly, the pile of dilapidated wood from the crates burst into a mass of whipping flames in which Ron emerged from howling in agony.
Harry didn't have time to marvel in astonishment of the fact that the wood had sporadically had combusted. He quickly found himself on his toes and muttering a swift spell that sent a thick, restricting coil around Ron's neck, sending him gasping and hacking violently.
"Even with your dearest Draco on your side you're still rubbish…" Harry growled.
"Lord Draconis bids you a fair warning you pompous-"
Harry let out a sharp, bark-like laugh.
"Is that what the Governor is calling himself nowadays? Not as catchy as Old Voldie, I tell you." Harry scoffed mockingly, "This little wizard filling Dark Lord's shoes will simply do wonders for his candidate status! Who wouldn't want that twisted…prejudice…ferret as Minister of Magic?" Harry questioned sardonically, tightening his rein on Ron with every descriptive word of their loathsome subject.
"You'll just see what powers that ferret has when your precious Mudblood whore and your filthy mixed ragamuffins are flung out of Hogwarts on their arses! You won't even wanna know what's in store for you, Potter!"
Harry's wand arm jerked involuntarily, as he got a dangerous glint of maliciousness in his livid jade eyes.
"You don't mean that…" Harry said in a dangerously low tone.
"But, I do. I have the right of mind to kill you right now…but it would be a pity not to be able to see the look on your face by this January when it's election time… Poor…delusional, parentless Potter, and just when you were just beginning to reconnect with your inner child," Ron snarled viciously, upturning Harry's grasp on him by aiming his wand at his lower torso where the rubbish bin had hit him.
Ron smirked at the flabbergast expression on Harry's face as he realized what he was saying.
"Oh yes…we know…And we have such bug plans for little Harry…and I have plans for her too,"
"And who's her…?" Harry asked, grimacing in pain as Ron released wand connection with him.
"Why…" Ron lowered himself to Harry's level which wasn't far seeing as they were on eye level with each other. "Your ickle Mudblood who turned out to be such a wonderful wife, of course…"
"You…" Harry gasped aloud, his pain evaporating into his feelings of mass rancor. "…Keep away from her…keep away from my family!"
"Oh hell, being around mini-you has already gotten you into another spell of that damn teenage angst bit,"
"You think-you think this is a joke?!"
"You're boring me, I did my job, I warned you of what's to come, I'm leaving…" Ron turned on his heel as if to leave though Harry caught his shoulder.
"Ron- wait! It doesn't have to be this way!"
"That's a daft thing to say…but then again, you never were so bright- what kind of moron takes remedial potions…?" Ron said coldly, not bothering to turn around.
"-We could help you, you could come back to the good side with everybody- if you just weren't so stubborn! This isn't you, Ron!"
"…Ron?" Ron said, finally meeting Harry's gaze, "Ron is dead, and you will be too, soon if you don't watch yourself…literally,"
AN- Bah! I'm finally done with this chapter…! Now I just have to move on to my homework and then the world can rest at ease. Thanks to my reviewers and I'd appreciate if you guys could tell me what you think! Did anyone else besides me notice that something's up with Ron?! Hehehe…
