Chapter 8 – conversations

Severus opened a door then gestured Remus to enter. He was feeling safe and manipulated at the same time, this room has been his real home for the last two decades and never had he been asked to share it, now the tables had been turned and he was obliged not only to share his beloved Morwenna but also this hose, this room and his own bed … and with his own biggest fear, a werewolf …

But nothing bad had ever happened to him between those walls, and he had faith in his beloved sister, she had helped him, she had done anything to keep him safe and sane while all those around him were using him, dogging his mind for informations, sharpening his skill for their aims … all them now were shadows, his sister was his Mistress and he was safe here, even sleeping with Remus…

Remus was silent, the room was in different shades of green, rug, tents, conforter, a soft silvery green that matched well with the rich red wood of the fornitures, of the big king size bed … gulp! One.single.big.bed …

Turning around he could see the tempest battling inside his schoolmate, his smell told tales of his thinking too

Severus was not in the least happy to share his room with him, he was still upset by the wolf, maybe even frightened by the thought of sleeping together…

Knowing that Remus was into blokes was even worse, no matter they have been asked to be caste, how could he make Severus feel safe with the wolf in the same room?

"Severus … ehmm .. I can sleep on the rug, no need to tell at the Mistress …"

"Do not be silly Remus! First she will know at once, as soon as you'll will enter the dining room later, and second I'm sure you could manage to stop yourself from jumping on my bones … I'm still the greasy git, the old bat no one desires nor gets up for … and you will be safe too Wolf, I'm in love with someone and have no desire to fooling around, even if I will be rejected I'm not going to share myself with another bloke … sex is not what I desire, making love with my better half is my hope, I'll do nothing to lessening this hope of mine …"

"Excuse me Severus, but you got me wrong, I was not afraid for myself. I am only worried to impose myself too much upon you here. I asked your help for Harry and you have done it in the most complete and radical way, you have rescued him from uncaring relatives and from an harsh meddling old man, he has been enslaved in a family of the hearth, welcomed and already cherised as the precious boy he really is and deserves to be loved as. More then that you have given me the same happy fate, I'm free, welcomed as a guest …"

"You are not a guest Remus, Morwenna had claimed both you and Harry as her sons, you are family here, no guest, a member of her family … as myself. She had rescued me from the darkest hell you could ever think of, she had offered me to be at my side every time I was in need, she always was there … only today she asked me something in exchange, to be at her side when the time will come, and I will be, when this mess will be cleared she will leave us, I will be the one to mark her leaving as her only living male relative … I will walk her to her destiny, never to be seen again walking on this would of us …

Sharing a bed with you is the last of my fears Lupin, I have no desire for you but I will keep you separated from RavenWing, he is older then Harry in age but much more younger in the hearth, Morwenna was there to shield him, to guide him, so he has not seen the hell as Harry had, his soul could be broken by loveless sex, so keep the wolf subdued or I'll brew a potion for that"

The stern look of Severus spoke volumes, his smell too but Remus was not ready to face what those words were meaning

"RavenWing? But .. he is just a boy! How could you think I would jump on his bones? I'm no monster Severus, I have no intention of deflowering a young boy"

"May be for now, but he will grown on you and soon you will do all you could to have him under you … You . Will . Not . Be . Free . To . Hunt . Him"

This time Remus could not avoid to step back, the wolf scared too, this Severus was not the sour schoolmate of his youth, nor the sarcastic git colleague he met two years ago, this man was set up to defend his own family from everything and everyone endearing them, he would use any skills of his to deal with them in order to keep his beloved ones safe and sound, and Severus' skills were nothing but dangerous, lethal to be honest.

Remus shivered, he had been on the bad side of Severus' sharp wit many times in the past but had never really feared for his own life before, now he was … and he had better be careful around the young man called RavenWing …

Meanwhile, in a room just two doors away –

"Now you can stop faking sleep young bro, we will be sharing this room and this bed from now on, till the time we both will meet our better halves, till them we will sleep in the same bed, but now we need to talk a bit …"

Green shy eyes looked up in dark honey eyes, fear met amusement and Harry realized that nothing bad was going to happen, not here, not in this house, not while he was around his new family … the small uneasy smile was welcomed by a warm big friendly one who spoke of affection and caring …

"Sorry, you had to carry me all the way, but … "

"but it was feeling so good you had no wish to stop it? You are so skinny little bro, it was not hard work to carry you here, so nothing to be worried about.

You are my beloved little brother and I am here for you, to be at your side from now on till you'll be able to do the same for another one who will need your love to survive."

"Are you a Seer? You are speaking like one …"

"A Seer? What is a Seer? I am a man of two souls, just like you and my other brothers …"

"You have spoken of other brothers, you have siblings?"

"WE have siblings, an older sister that carries both the blood and the power of our Mother and an older brother, they both are married and wish to meet you as soon as Mother will allow it. In truth Path was going to come with me but his mate, Rock, had stopped him at the airport. He had explained Path that while I might be able to deal with Mother he was sure to get on her bad side just for open his big mouth at the wrong moment … Path often speaks without thinking but his heart is wide and warm as the sunbeams in summer, he had followed his mate advice but has told me to hug you twice, for himself and for Rock and to welcome you to our family … he already loves you, be sure of it"

"How could he love me? He knows nothing of me, of what I DID, he does not know who I am and what I have to do"

"You are our brother because Mother said you are her son, her claiming you means you are our brother and we are ready and willing to love you as such, you are starting your life from this day ahead, the past is past, what you did and who you were is no more, now you are our brother and we are your family. "

"You do not understand … there is a prophecy I need to fulfil, I have a duty, a doming one … they all expect me to kill Voldemort, I am the one signed to stop him, I am a murderer-to-be!"

"You will do as Mother would teach you to, do not call yourself names as this is not good for you nor fair. The future is written on water not carved on stone, no prophecy has ever been stronger then Mother's will.

Now lay down and take a nap, we are to rest till dinner is ready, and are not allowed to go downstairs either, just rest little brother, rest"

Downstairs –

"Marietta I think you would better leave for a while, you and your husband may go visiting your relatives or go on a trip by yourselves .."

"You are getting crazy if you think we are going to leave you alone with strangers … and all males too. People would gossip till they drop! And have you forgot what date is ? in a week we are going to celebrate the Redentor, no way we would go away this time of the year, we never did, it would only pinpoint that you are housing strangers too strange to be dealt with as normal human beings, it would tell all the neighbourohood that those men are not to be trusted if you make us go away!"

"My wife is right my dear child, you called those two sons, your dark brother is arrived with you and sure he knows them, so we will learn to know them too. Easy child, we will stay and deal with your new foster children."

" Those men are of the same kind of my brother, they have and use a kind of magic quite different from mine and they could get quite dangerous, the older one is a lycanthrope while the younger is the most powerful of his king in our time. A prophecy had burden young Harry with the duty of being their Saviour and was deeply mistreated in order to keep him on his toes and doing his duty as a puppet, but even they could not be able to deal with the magic that rules the world, so they forced my brother to ask for my help, help that I'm going to provide them at my own price and with my own rules"

"That's my girl! So you pick all of them and brought them home, good thing!"

"Well .. I did something worse, I enslaved them all using one of their oldest laws, so now they are my bond slaves, they could only obey my orders and have no other master then me … from this morning on they will have no other house than those where I tell them to be, they could do only things I have allowed them to do and they could never go back to their country and world if I would not release them from this bond …"

"Good! So your brother will never be used as a pawn by that old man who promised to help him only to hurt him day after day all those years!"

"Marietta you are not understanding? I've made a slave of my soul brother!"

"You have saved him, truly saved him this time. He is no slave, he is your belove brother and now you have the right to claim him to a safe place, the same as you have dome for those other boys. The Old Men gave them to you as burdens, they had released them in your hands, you own them bodies and souls, is not true?"

"Those were the words, but only because those are the laws, only as fully mine I could have trained them in magic …"

"See? They are slaves too, at least towards the laws of their tribe and of their countries … those two are only the last ones to be given to your tender cares, be easy with yourself girl, you have done your best to grant them a safe home, you have cared enough to grant them a future, let the word be just words, and give yourself peace, you are doing the right thing for them all … and we will be here with you all along."

"Thanks … thanks from the deep of my heart, all will be easier with you around"

"That's why we are staying, now what would you like for dinner? With such a fine evening it would be nice to eat outside, the veranda will do fine "

"Pasta with seafood and fried fish, chips, mixed salad and some cake for the younger would be perfect, and tomorrow you will have RavenWing as help-boy in

gathering more supplies"

"Good, good, now you both go setting the table outside and I'll start cooking, do you think your brother will cook to from now on?"

"Severus will cook, sure as the tide rising, so we have better furnishing the kitchen or we would never ear the end of his mumbling"

"We'll do our best to keep him amused, else he may go fishing himself!"

and so Marietta turned to start dinner while her husband and her young Mistress stared setting the table in the veranda, getting ready for the first meal of the now extended family living in this house.