Disclaimer; I don't own any Harry Potter characters or locations; they are the property of JK Rowling and WB limited. No money has been made from this it's for fun yaddah yaddah yaddah
Chapter 46
"Everyone ready to hit the shops?" Outkast said happily, Harry looked up at her, having finally been allowed to stand on his own feet. Sev had transfigured the t-shirt to a small robe that didn't fall off Harry, but he still needed more clothes and despite his protests that they could transfigure what ever he needed was being dragged shopping. He was a little suspicious when he saw his fellow consumers, he wasn't sure what Sirius, Remus, the twins, Ron, Hermione, Draco and Outkast could possibly want but he was certain he would find out. Sev also looked like he thought they were up to something. Knowing them probably a lot of something's, but they were doing their best 'I'm not up to anything honest' looks and so he didn't have any real evidence. The group left for Diagon alley via the floo network, after a lot of squabbling about who was going to take Harry. Eventually Harry got so annoyed that he grabbed a handful of floo powder and left himself. He arrived in the Leaky cauldron and quickly brushed off the soot whilst studiously ignoring the funny looks he was getting. Sirius was the next out of the fire place, he grabbed Harry and launched into a long lecture about the dangers of a child flooing on their own and how stupid he was. By the time he had finished everyone else had arrived. Sirius picked up Harry ignoring the squeaks of indignation and promptly informed the raven haired boy that he was going to be in physical contact with one of them for the rest of the day. Harry opened his mouth to protest but caught Sev's eye, who for once seemed to be in complete agreement with Sirius and shut it again. Even at four Harry could tell a losing battle when he saw one.
Now an hour later Harry found himself standing on the stool in Madame Malkin's being fitted for a variety of different robes and clothes, including some trousers and shirts. He had to fight the blush that invaded his face as Mrs. Weasley and Hermione picked out underwear and socks for him and wished for about the millionth time that he would have been allowed to go with the guys…. Wherever they hurried off too. Instead he found himself being led into this chamber of horrors and endless embarrassment. Hermione noticed his discomfort and smiled at him
"Look on the bright side, we're only doing this once, and after you get to reek some revenge on them if you want" her eyes had a mischievous gleam to them and Harry suddenly perked up
"Revenge?" he asked
"Why of course, Harry you're a little kid again and you know what little kids do don't you?" Harry was about to say not really but Hermione didn't give him a chance
"Little kids demand food they don't like, eat ice cream until their sick, they throw temper tantrums in public places when they don't get their own way, they have trouble sleeping and make the parents stay up all night reading stories and then are cranky all through the next day because they didn't get enough sleep oh and they occasionally are prone to bouts of 'accidental magic'" she gave him a wink and left him to think about what she had just said. The more he did the more the next two weeks looked like they were going to be a lot of fun. He thanked whatever God had made Hermione his best friend and set about plotting his revenge.
sssssss
"And what would he do with that he's the size of a Cornish Pixie!"
"Yeah well if he eats those, he'll be the colour of a Cornish Pixie" the twins continued to bicker in the toy shop going through all the various toys on offer and debating the pros and cons of each and how they could be adapted, the business had been good of late so they could afford to buy their little adopted brother something. On the other side of the store Sirius and Remus were also looking at toys, but theirs were more you standard pranking toys that any true teen – turned – four year old must have. They had picked up water guns that fired jets that followed their target around until they landed, balls that stuck to your hands, sweets that make you speak backwards, a miniature broom (Remus had finally convince Sirius that Harry was certainly not big enough to ride a Firebolt in his present condition) as an assortment of other things. Remus looked at the almost full cart
"You know I think we might be going over the top here Siri" he said looking at the mountain of gifts. Sirius turned round dumping a magic colouring book into the trolley, he studied it then looked and Remus and shrugged
"What is we are, that kid's never had any attention in his whole life so what if we spoil him for two weeks?"
"And then what do we do with all this stuff?" Remus asked Sirius grinned
"I don't know I wouldn't mind some of it" Remus rolled his eyes, he had to remind himself that while Harry was a mature teen trapped in a four year olds body, Sirius was a for year ole trapped in an immature man's body. Still they headed for the checkout without picking anything else up.
It was mid morning when the group reconvened at Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, taking over most of the tables; a few people raised eyebrows at the group. After all it was all those who were know to be close with the Boy-Who-Lived but no sign of the wizard in question. Harry was enjoying his new found animosity and had ordered a huge bowl of ice cream. He had eaten about half of it and was feeling rather ill. So he had taken to flicking it at the twins, who thought it was Ron. Hermione had been watching the whole thing discreetly trying to hide her laughter. Just then all hell broke loose, it sounded like gunfire outside, as hundreds of dark wizards apparated in. Harry looked up with terror, in his younger form there was no way he could battle; besides Severus had confiscated his wand.
"Sev you need to give me the antidote right now" he said his voice trembling Severus looked at his son and shook his head
"No way, Harry they don't know you're here were going to have to get you to safety"
"You better be quick they're searching for us" Ron said from the window Severus looked over to Florean
"Have you got a backdoor" she nodded and pointed to a small archway behind the counter. Severus picked Harry up and hugged him
"Get out of Diagon Alley, you'll be safe we'll find you when we can I promise"
"No I'm not going, besides a four year old on their own I'd never make past muggle London" he said.
"He's right. We can't all go, it will be too noticeable. Who's the fastest?" Outkast said, suddenly dropping the fun act, she was all business and her business was protecting her charge. The Order looked at each other, but it was Remus who spoke
"Padfoot's the fastest" Severus looked like he was about to protest but was silenced with a look from Outkast, Sirius shifted uncomfortably
"Yeah Padfoot's fast but how's that going to help"
"They are going to be looking for a 17 year Harry Potter, not a four year old and a dog. Look you just need to get a safe distance before you apparate to Grimmauld Place and warn the old Codger." Sirius looked doubtful
"Black, please get my son somewhere safe" it took a lot for Sev to ask Sirius for anything, and even more to say please, it wasn't lost on the ex-convict or the boy in question. Sirius nodded before he transformed Sev placed a protesting Harry on his back
"Sev no don't send me away"
"Hold on tight Harry" Harry wasn't given another chance to argue, the Death eaters were right outside, Sirius bolted for door with his godson clinging on for his life. Outkast gave Sirius ten seconds before heading for the door, with nothing better to do the other's followed, wands drawn
"Yo Tom you're wrecking my holiday!" The Dark Lord spun in the direction of a voice he knew all too well. He nodded as one of the Death Eater's, who shot the Dark Mark up in the air. Seconds later it was joined by a new mark, one of a white circle with crossed swords; it shone brighter then the Dark Mark before engulfing it in a white ball brighter then the sun. Everyone stood stunned for a second Voldemort then regained his senses
"Avada Kedavra!" he snarled his wand aimed at Outkast, she quickly diverted the curse, sending it into a nearby building. That one move combined with the power to send the mark had drained a lot of her reserves that were still recovering from getting Sirius. She fell to the ground gasping. The dark Lord sensed this weakness and grinned evilly
"You weak my ssssssisssster, today you will die" if he was going to say anything else it was drowned out by more appareting. The noise was like thunder and every inch of ground was covered with witches and wizards all pointing their wands at the Death Eaters. Pretty soon the Death Eaters were merely black specs in a sea of white; the Alighter's all over the country answered the call. Outkast rose and glared at Tom through her hair
"You may have hundreds at your call I have millions, leave Tom you will lose all today if you don't. Unlike the Order we have no qualms about killing" Voldemort looked at the ever increasing numbers of Alighter's and realised this was not something he could win. He screamed in rage and disappeared, the Death Eaters taking their queue from their leader too left. Outkast turned to her own army.
"Thank you for your assistance. I know the vote was to stay neutral in this war, but circumstances have forced me to ally with the side of light, I do not order it but I request that you join us. You know how to inform me of your decision" with that the Alighter's departed back to where they had come from. As the last one left, Outkast collapsed again. Severus was at her side in an instant. She smiled weakly
"Hey, I'll be alright just need a few hours rest, it takes a lot out of you doing this fighting thing" with that she passed out.
sssss
Sirius ran and ran he didn't dare look back or slow down, he bolt out of Diagon Allay, through the Leaky Cauldron into muggle London, he ducked into a secluded alley before transforming, a yelp from behind him reminded him of the small boy that still clung to his back. He crouched down and allowed Harry to get off. Harry took off trying to go back, Sirius caught him easily and hugged
"You can't go back, come on we need to tell the others" he apparated without giving Harry a chance to argue.
They arrived on the lawn outside the order's headquarters and headed in. Sirius didn't even put Harry down but headed straight for the fire place, he grabbed a handful of Floo powder
"Dumbledore's office, Hogwarts" they were engulfed in green flame and seconds later appeared in the headmaster's office. Sirius didn't even let Albus greet them
"Diagon Alley is being attacked" he gasped. Albus nodded and left without ever saying a word. Happy that his job was complete Sirius smiled at him wearily,
"Come on kiddo lets get back, they are going to want to know you're safe when they've finished." Harry for the first time noticed the blood on Sirius's hands; apparently the animagus had run himself into the ground in his bid to get Harry to safety. They left the way they came and returned to the deserted order base. Sirius collapsed onto the sofa, finally releasing his Godson. Harry crawled out of his lap and disappeared, by the time he got back Sirius was already sleeping. Harry sighed and upended the bottle of healing potion he had retrieved onto a cloth; he started washing the wounds on Sirius' hands they healed almost instantly. As the adrenaline left his body, Harry was beginning to find the events of the day, coupled with the anxiousness for his friends and family too much to cope with, he chewed his lip for a second thinking before climbing back onto the couch next to Sirius and curling up under his arm, he fell asleep using his godfather's chest as a pillow.
An hour later this was how the rest of the Order found them, Outkast had been sent to St Mungo's, the Healer had said that she would need a couple of days to recover. Outkast had then woken up and said in no uncertain terms that she wasn't spending any of her break in the hospital and left the rest of them following her. They barged into the headquarters' making a considerable racket, mainly coming from Mrs Weasley berating Outkast for signing herself out of the hospital. They came to a dead halt outside the living room and took in the scene, Harry was sleeping with one hand curled round Sirius' shirt and the other was as under his own head, Sirius had an arm draped around the small boy's shoulders and the other resting on his wand. Everyone stared at them for a long moment, all thinking how cute Harry was, until Outkast pulled a camera out, the flash startled Sirius who woke with a start and point his wand in the direction of the Order. He immediately relaxed on recognising them, only then did he realise that there was a weight on his chest, he looked down and couldn't stop the smile from touching his lips on the site of his Godson's messy hair. He carded a hand through the raven mess, causing Harry to wake up; he rubbed his eyes in a very child like manner before smiling at him
"Hey Siri, you feeling better?"
"Sure am kiddo, but uh I think you dad wants you" Harry looked round and broke out in a grin on seeing his friends
"You're back! Is everyone ok?" Draco nodded and took a step towards Harry, he was beaten by Sev who crossed the room before anyone had noticed he'd moved. He plucked Harry up and hugged him tightly
"I'm glad you alright" he whispered too softly for anyone else to hear, he looked over at Sirius and nodded his thanks but didn't say anything before leaving the room. Outkast followed him; also suffering from an overwhelming need to make sure Harry was safe. Draco too went upstairs, but knew he wouldn't get near his boyfriend any time soon so went to visit his dad, no doubt he had heard of the attack by now.
ssssssss
Severus sat Harry down on the bed and started inspecting him for injuries; Harry pushed his hands away impatiently
"I'm fine, honestly" Sev nodded but continued to stroke Harry's head
"I know, I just want to make sure" Severus sat on the bed and dragged Harry onto his lap, it was then that he noticed Outkast hovering at the door, he beckoned to her and she came and sat next to him, she ruffled Harry's hair affectionately
"Hey, you should get used to it, if you so much as graze a knee I have a feeling there will be a line round the block to coddle you" Harry rolled his eyes, but was really too tired to care, the shopping had really tired him out. He turned onto his side and wriggled down so that he was curled in Sev's robes and shut his eyes. He was asleep in moments. Sev and Outkast sat with him for about half an hour before deciding to go join the others, carefully they lifted Harry onto Sev's bed and tucked him in, they left the door ajar just in case.
sssssssss
"Where's Harry?" was the greeting they got back in the living room, Outkast flopped down on to the couch, she was truly exhausted and couldn't be bothered to act any different when her charge wasn't about.
"He's asleep upstairs, with luck he will sleep until dinner time"
"That's not a good idea Severus" Molly said from the corner, Sev raised an eyebrow and prepared to defend his actions
"Why not? he's shattered sleep is the best thing for him"
"Yes but if he sleep all day he will be awake all night, and you can not let a four year run around a house unsupervised, even if you want to sleep" Severus stared at her
"He will be fine" Molly gave him an all knowing look and sighed. Ron and Hermione were already planning what they would be doing, after all when it came to parenting there wasn't much she didn't know. It looked like it was going to be an interesting night.
sssssssssss
"Hello father" Draco said as he entered the room, Lucuis looked up from the book he had been reading and smiled,
"Draco I'm am relieved to see that you are alright" Draco nodded and sat on his own bed. The silence was strained as both wanted to speak but neither would. Lucuis studied his son's eyes; he needed to grieve for his loss as did Draco but his son wouldn't want to disappoint him by not acting like a Malfoy. As the older and the parent Lucuis reasoned it was his job to lead by example and by doing so, hoped he would bring himself closer to his son.
"Draco why don't you come here?" he shifted over on the bed, Draco looked suspicious but did as he was asked, after all he was a Malfoy and he knew which orders to obey. Draco sat stiffly on the edge of the bed, Lucuis pulled him close, noting how his son tensed he sighed
"It's ok to grieve my son" he whispered into Draco's hair. The result was instantaneous; Draco gave up all of his pretence and arrogance and let the tear turn to sobs into his father's shoulders absorbing the affection like a sponge. Lucuis held his son as he trembled and let his own grief loose too; they stayed like that for a long while coming to terms with the situation they found themselves in. Draco began to pull himself together after an hour; he looked up at his father, and tried to scrub the tearstains from his cheeks. Lucuis stopped him
"Never be ashamed or embarrassed to show emotion in front of me Draco.
I know things have been strained between us or recent years, and the return of the Dark Lord has done nothing to alleviate that. Things are going to change; it's just the two of us now." He tugged Draco's head to meet his gaze
"I would like to be a father to you, if you would let me" his eyes showed the doubt he felt, he wasn't sure that Draco would accept this. They weren't close and they never had been. Draco thought about this but gave no indication of what he was thinking after a long moment he spoke
"What happened, well I know what happened I guess I want to know why or how. How did he know?"
"I don't know Draco I truly don't if someone is spying on us I have yet to find indication of it, I have always been so careful not to let my guard down. Needless to say we will discover this leak and it will be taken care of" Draco nodded, he heard the underlying tone in his father's voice, Lucuis Malfoy may be a spy but he was no means light and woe betide the creature that harmed his family.
"What about Salina? Was she a spy too?" Lucuis felt his throat constrict
"No, no she wasn't but she would have done anything to protect you, she told me on one occasion that if it was a choice between the Dark Lord and you then you would win. Even if it meant her life. I'm ashamed to admit that I didn't believe but ultimately she was true to her word. She even forgave me she told me before she..... before he killed her" fresh tears cascaded down Lucuis' face. Draco didn't know what to do, he wanted to offer words of comfort and at the same time he wanted to scream at him, after all if Lucuis wasn't a spy then they wouldn't be here, his mother and sister would still be alive. He settled for silence as he tried to work through the tornado of emotions he was feeling at that moment. It took him a while but he looked up at his father and knew what he needed to hear
"I forgive you father" Lucuis closed his eyes in relief
"Thank you" he whispered, Draco nodded and continued, knowing that if he didn't say this now he would regret it later
"Just don't leave me too, I couldn't stand it" he whispered, his voice trembling. Lucuis pulled his son close
"Never, I promise never ever"
ssssssss
"Time to wake up kiddo" Fred whispered, he had won the fight over who got to wake Harry up and had gone up to the Potions Master's room Harry rubbed his eyes with his fist and squinted. Fred found the glasses that had been bought for him by the side of the bed and handed them to the young boy. The world snapped into focus
"Hey, what time is it?"
"Dinner time sleepy head, come on lets get you changed" Fred rummaged through the various bags that were lying about and pulled out an outfit, Harry protested
"I can dress myself you know" he said haughtily, Fred just smiled
"Of course you can, hurry up then" he thrusted the clothes at Harry who took them and disappeared behind the bed Fred rolled his eyes, even as a
four year old Harry was way too coy. The boy in question appeared a couple of minutes later wearing an emerald green robe that Outkast had picked out to appease Sev. Fred grinned
"No doubting whose son you are now is there?" he said affectionately, Harry screwed up his face at the comment and vied his robes
"And yet he wasn't there when she chose this. I have a feeling I've just become a bargaining tool" he sighed melodramatically, he didn't really mind, he knew that with both Outkast and Sev he came first. Fred grinned and offered his hand to the small boy: Harry took it not thinking about it. Fred led him down to the dining room. The general chatter came to a halt as Fred wondered in towing a sleepy Harry who was still rubbing his eyes with his free hand. Hermione and Ginny swapped looks of affection at the sight of the four year. Ron rolled his eyes but secretly thought that his best mate did make a rather adorable kid. Sirius grinned as he bounced out of his seat the greet them, he picked a protesting Harry up and returned to the table seating the raven haired boy on his lap.
"I can feed myself I don't need you to cut my food up for me" he grumbled as Sirius snatched the knife and fork from him, Sirius just shrugged and continued with the task
"Are you lot picking on the little one again, so much for Gryffindor courage" came the amused drawl of the youngest Slytherin. Draco entered; supporting Lucuis with him, there was an awkward silence that was broken surprisingly by Ron
"Yeah well Gryffindor courage is all well and good but this is infighting, the common room wouldn't be the same if there wasn't at least one good bust up a night" he glanced at the others for confirmation from the group
"Isn't that right guys?" there were muffled noises of agreement and one
"Don't ask me I'm the head of Slytherin" Harry giggled at the joke, the sound pleasing everyone, Sev resolved to make his son do that as often, though preferably when he was the one holding him. Outkast bounced in with a couple of chairs floating behind her tethered to string like they were balloons
"Oh yes lots of infighting, those were the days when all there was to worry about was whether to report the rat problem to the house elves or let Minnie catch them" she sighed contentedly and received puzzled looks and several simultaneous questions;
"Rat problem?" and "Who's Minnie" being the main two. At the second question Minerva shifted uncomfortably next to the headmaster, who was already hiding his amusement. Outkast grinned
"Oh yes there was a big problem with rats for a while, luckily Minnie sorted that out did you Min?" all attention switched to the deputy Headmistress who kept a stern look on her face for a second before smirking, specifically at Sirius
"Come now you don't think you were the first illegal animagi in Gryffindor did you?" she took a sip of her wine savouring the stunned expression that was on the faces of the last two Marauders face's. Harry shook his head trying to clear tat bit on knowledge from his brain, Professor McGonagall as a trouble marker wasn't something he could envisage, she was too much like Hermione, then again… No wasn't going there 'Mione only did things against the rules for a good reason. Dinner finished in relative calm after that.
By 8 o'clock Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny were bored that sat in the living staring at each other having ran out of things to say long ago. Upstairs Sirius had taken to badgering Remus, who was attempting to grade essays for the same reason. Draco was sitting with his father, Severus and Outkast in another room also suffering from cabin fever. The other members of the Hogwarts staff had returned to the school and everyone in the house was going stir crazy. Outkast huffed once and then her face lit up, Sev groaned this was not normally a good sign. Outkast put a Sonorus charm on a hairbrush in place of a wand
"Everybody who's going nuts through tedium kindly gather at the front door, dress warm we're going on a little excursion" she cancelled the spell and grinned at Sev
"Come on you too, we're blowing this joint" he rolled his eyes and exchanged a look of resignation with Lucuis before following her out.
By the time they got down the stairs everyone in the house was gathered at the doorway, all but Molly and Arthur looked pleased, the Weasley matriarch glared at Outkast who smiled sweetly back before crouching down to confirm Harry was suitably dressed for the weather, the little wizard huffed with impatience
"You're the fourth one to do that, I can get myself ready, I'm capable of looking after myself" she ignored him but the moment she stood Sev crouched down to check as well, Harry growled Sev looked him in the eye
"That may be slightly more true when you are 16 but at the moment you need to be looked after" Harry looked deep into the onyx eyes
"Really? Do you think anyone did was I was four the first time round?" there was no malice in his voice, just a simple question one that he didn't for the answer of, he merely turned and followed the others outside into the dark. Sev stayed where he was for a moment, once again cursing the lack of childhood the boy had got and the care he didn't receive. He shook his head more determined then ever to make this a positive experience for Harry and left. When Severus caught up with the group he noticed the two eldest Weasley kids holding each of Harry's hands and on every third step they would swing him into the air, Harry giggled, obviously liking the game. It warmed his heart at times like this when the boy forgot how to act and did what he wanted. As Harry was set back on the ground after a long swing, Outkast came up behind him and scooped him up causing the by to yelp. She grinned at the group walking backwards, holding Harry tightly to her chest
"Last one in buys the beer!" she yelled before tearing off, not to be outdone everyone barrelled off after her. Sev shook his head and the childishness of it all but that didn't stop him chasing her too, even if he did tell himself it was just so he wouldn't be left behind. A short dash later they found themselves outside the Frankenstein Place, Bill looked up catching his breath and grinned
"Hey I know this place it's wicked the only wizard and muggle club in the area, it's amazing there are these girls who dance on these pole wearing very little and one time I was in there and these guys tried to start a fight with one of the workers and she completely trounced all three of them" he caught his mother's disapproving eye
"Not that I have ever been in the place or anything like it" he added swiftly, causing Charlie to smirk, that is until Molly focused her gaze on him. They swiftly followed Outkast inside.
"Welcome to my humble abode" she announced from the middle of the dance floor still holding Harry. Several jaws hit the floor, Outkast gently set Harry on the ground before clapping her hands twice, and every light in the place came on allowing them their first good look at the club.
"That's an interesting spell" Remus commented, grinned
"What spell?"
"The lights"
"That's not a spell" she clapped again and the lights went off
"Clap on, clap off" she started singing the jingle clapping her hands and the lights tried desperately to keep up. Seeing the bewildered expressions she stopped
"Oh honestly stop living in a bubble" she muttered before explaining
"It's a muggle thing, I got hooked on the jingle last time I was in America and bought one or two… well maybe a few more then one or two" she shrugged and went to the bar and the stopped herself
"Who came last then?" Molly pointed at her husband, deciding that if she was going to be forced here she might as well try and enjoy it. But at that moment Arthur was too busy discussing how the lights work with Hermione to pay any attention, Outkast rolled her eyes
"Well then seeing as the drinks are on the house I vote for Sirius to be bar keep for the night because her cheated" Sirius stuttered indignantly but Outkast wasn't fooled
"Really so that big black dog that raced past me once you knew where we were heading was just a Grim out for an evening run?" Remus laughed and slapped a hand on his friends back
"I told you she'd catch you" Outkast smirked
"Actually it wasn't me", Remus looked puzzled, that is until a small Harry climbed up on a bar stool, he pointed at Sirius
"Big doggy" he said as child like as he could manage Sirius huffed in mock offence
"My own Godson giving me away oh the tragedy" Harry feigned innocence – a look his younger persona could pull off amazingly well as Sirius headed for the bar. He stood behind it and stared at them
"So whatcha having?"
"Snakebite" Sirius did a double take at Harry
"Even at 16 you should have no idea what that is"
"I'm just gonna go get the music on" Outkast said sidling away very quickly. Harry just laughed at his godfather's fish impression as did many of the others.
The night went very well, music played and no one noticed how many timed Tonks walked into something or fell over, because by the end of the night with the exceptions of Outkast (who the other swore had no liver) and Harry (who unsurprisingly hadn't been allowed a drop of alcohol) everybody was doing the same. The walk back took five times as long as the walked going, Harry was riding piggy-back on Sev and Arthur most of the way, leaving Outkast free to try and Shepard those in danger of getting lost or falling into the road back on to the right track. It was gone 6 in the morning by he time they made back to the headquarters and everyone immediately went to bed falling asleep/passing out in quick succession.