A Moment in Time
DISCLAIMER: Harry Potter (and associated characters, likenesses, concepts, etc.) belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. AOL/Time Warner, Inc., among others. I make no claim, written or implied, upon Harry Potter. No money is being made and no infringement or disrespect to the creators / copyright holders is intended.
Warning: This story will contain slash (ie. male/male relationships) and mpreg, although neither will be graphic.
Chapter Ten - Truth
"For a third time Harry, are the twins mine?"
Emrys stood there in shock. Slowly recovering his wits, he started to shake his head. "I…I don't know what you're…" The lie died on his lips as he watched the hope that was intermingled with pain in Draco's eyes begin to fade.
"Emrys, is he…is he really?" Nicole had come up behind Emrys, and placed a comforting hand on his back.
Draco's eyes glittered as he watched Nicole touch his Harry, wondering once more what the relationship was between the two of them.
Emrys reached over and took Nicole's hand. "It'll be okay Nikki; they won't hurt me or the twins."
Nicole didn't look satisfied but some of the anxiety had faded from her face.
"Why don't you take the boys down to the beach for a picnic lunch? I need to talk to these men for a little and then I'll join you there later. I got the boys a surprise that I think we'll all enjoy, okay?" Emrys knew that there was no way he could deal with both his visitors and an overly protective Nicole at the same time.
Reluctantly, Nicole turned to where Sirius, Severus and Draco were standing. "You haven't got a clue what he has been through the last several years. If any of you so much as hurt a hair on his head, you will answer to me, and believe me that's something that you don't want to do." With those parting words, a squeeze to Emrys hand for support, and a glare that told them she meant every word, she gathered up the two little boys and headed towards the beach.
After Nicole and the boys were out of sight, Emrys faced the three men who had been so instrumental in his other life. He took a moment to study them as he decided how he wanted to handle this little unexpected reunion. Draco looked determined and a little overwhelmed, which was understandable coming face to face with the proof that he was a father; Sirius looked confused, he still hadn't put it together that Emrys was in fact his Godson; and lastly, Severus had a satisfied gleam in his eye that Emrys recognized as the one he usually had when something was coming together for him. "Look I really don't feel like discussing this out here on the patio; let's say we take this inside, shall we?"
Not waiting for them to agree or disagree, Emrys turned and walked into the house, expecting his guests to follow. As he entered the house, Emrys paused for a brief moment and then proceeded to continue through the entranceway and into the kitchen area.
"I hope you don't mind, but after my morning workout I need to get something in my stomach. Would anyone like something to eat?"
Still confused, Sirius responded, "No thanks. We already had breakfast."
Emrys nodded and then added some fruit into a food processor; strawberries, banana and mango with some powdered stuff and milk. The wizards watched fascinated with the muggle devices in the fully operational kitchen. The thought that Severus would love the opportunity to explore the gourmet facility crossed Draco's still stunned mind. Not many people knew that muggle cooking was one of Severus' hobbies; after all cooking really wasn't all that far removed from potions.
After about a minute, he poured what looked like a thick fruit smoothie into a large glass. "I'll just put some water on for tea and then we can go into my study and talk." Draining his drink in three large gulps, Emrys rinsed his glass and carefully placed it in the dishwasher.
Without another word, the men left the kitchen and walked down a short hallway to where the den was located. The room itself was spacious and bright; like what they had seen of the house so far everything was decorated in light earth tones, tans and sage green were the predominate colors with hunter greens, navy and burgundy as accents when needed. Overall, the effect was quite nice; homey and welcoming. The den had a fireplace, although Draco wondered why one was needed in this part of California. In front of the fireplace, there was a wing chair and a sofa with a small wooden end table in between them.
Over in the far corner of the room, there was a large wooded desk with a leather high backed chair with two smaller matching leather chairs placed in front of it. The wall behind the desk had bookshelves built in, and from the looks of it, Emrys had quite a collection of muggle literature. The outside wall of the den was all glass and looked out facing the ocean.
As they entered the den, Emrys gestured for the men to sit in the area by the fireplace, as he went to retrieve one of the chairs from over at the desk. Draco sat down on the sofa, not wanting to risk having Sirius and Severus having to sit that close to one another. After everyone had gotten relatively comfortable, Emrys said, "Well, what do you want to know?"
"Well as we told you before Mister Kingston, we are looking for my Godson…"
"Sirius, just stop." Disgusted with the Gryffindor's stupidity, Draco interrupted Sirius before he could further embarrass himself. Looking over at the older wizard, Draco decided to spell it out for him. "Sirius, we have found Harry." When Sirius looked even more confused, Draco rolled his eyes and added, "Emrys Kingston is Harry."
Astonished, Sirius spun quickly in Emrys direction and sputtered in disbelief, "But that's not possible. We saw him turn into a phoenix and we all know that Harry's animagus form is a dog."
"Harry, some help here if you please."
Emrys raised an eyebrow at the admission that they had been watching him that morning. "First of all my name is not Harry, its Emrys." At Sirius' triumphant smirk, Emrys continued. "I haven't gone by the name Harry since the day you decided to leave me and I was left with no one, Dray. I told you before, Harry Potter died in New York."
Draco looked up sharply at the young man and said softly, "I though you understood why I had to leave. You know that I didn't want to."
Once more, Emrys raked his fingers though his short hair. "I do or rather I did, but somehow knowing that once more I was left all alone because you had to go back to help the very people who had destroyed my life; well, lets just say that after a while, I learned to resent you somewhat."
The moment was interrupted by a gasp. "He's Harry…"
Severus shook his head at the Marauder. "Glad you finally caught up with the rest of us, Black."
"But how…it's not possible."
Snape looked over at the young man who finding had become the number one priority of the Order for over the last year. "Harry, please help out your poor excuse of a Godfather and take the glamours off."
With a scowl that would have done any Slytherin justice, Emrys reluctantly raised his hand and waved it in front of his face. Immediately, his features started to change back into a face that resembled that of an older Harry Potter than was last seen at Hogwarts during his seventh year. Draco was pleased to note that Harry didn't have any glamours on his body and only his facial features, eyes and hair had been modified.
Draco watched as Emrys' blue eyes were replaced with emerald green, unfortunately the pain and hurt that had been there before remained after the change. It was even harder to see those emotions reflected in the familiar green eyes that he loved so much as it had been with the cool blue ones. Despite the circumstances, Draco couldn't help his body's natural reaction at seeing Harry again.
Before he had a chance to worry that someone would see him blushing, Harry was grabbed and pulled into a bone-crushing hug. Sirius didn't even realize that Harry had stiffened at the contact when he held his Godson for the first time in years. "Oh God Harry, I can't believe that we finally found you. I've missed you so much. I'm so sorry, so sorry…"
Harry couldn't believe that Black would just naturally expect him to forgive him for betraying him, for not believing in him and sending him to that place. The one place that Sirius knew the horrors of better than anyone else having spent so many years there himself for a crime he didn't commit.
As Harry tried to pull away from the smothering embrace, he felt something wet on his neck and realized for the first time that his Godfather was actually crying. Sirius had never cried before.
Sirius eventually pulled back away from Harry enough so that he could talk to him, but didn't remove his arms from around the young man's waist. "I'm so sorry Harry, please believe me. I never believed that you had done what you were accused of, but I just didn't know what to think. I was on the run myself and by the time that I had been cleared, you had already escaped."
Turning in the embrace, Harry looked at his Godfather. He was prepared to tell him that he didn't care about his apologies; that it was too late, that he should have done more for him; should have been there for him when he needed him. But as he looked into his red rimmed eyes and saw the tears flowing unchecked down his tanned cheeks, the words died in his throat. Harry felt himself relax in the embrace of the only man who had ever been like a father to him.
"Sirius, it'll be okay." Harry reassured his Godfather. "I don't hate you, at least not anymore, and I know that you never said anything against me, Dray told me when he rescued me from that place. I also know that both Draco and Severus believed in me; out of all my friends, family, professors, it was you two that stood up for me and tried to prove my innocence. That means a lot to me; thank you, Severus."
Severus was just getting over his own shock at seeing Harry Potter standing in front of him, it was one thing to suspect that Emrys and Harry were one and the same, but it was quite another to see it first hand, when he heard the young man's gracious thank you. Not knowing how to respond, the Head of Slytherin just nodded.
Feeling a little embarrassed by his outpouring of emotion, Sirius released Harry and once more sat down on the wing chair. "Harry, how do you have two animagus forms? I've never heard of that before, let alone that one of your forms is a phoenix which has never been done before either."
"Honestly, I'm not sure how, it was over Christmas break in our seventh year that I realized that I had more than one form. One day I was just studying in my room when Fawkes came in, which wasn't all that unusual. But that day, I remember being able to understand what he was saying when he sang the phoenix song. It was just so mesmerizing. While he was there, I felt the need to change into my animagus form and when I tried it, instead of being the sheep dog like I was every other time, I found myself in the form of a phoenix. It was the most amazing experience; I could sense magic like I had never before. I don't know how to describe it exactly, but it was almost like I could taste it. When I changed back, I felt stronger and more powerful, my senses were sharper somehow and I could see clearly for the first time ever without my glasses."
"You said that you used a spell to fix your eyesight," Draco remembered.
"Yeah I know, but at the time we were doing so much extra research trying to get ready for the fight against Voldemort that I just didn't want to deal with telling anyone right then, and then when I got sent to Azkaban, I was glad that I never told anyone."
"As astonishing as that accomplishment is Harry, I think that it would be easier for everyone here if we started over at the beginning. Why don't you tell us what you've been doing since you last saw Draco in New York?"
Agreeing with his ex-professor's reasoning Harry decided to start at the beginning. With a big sigh Harry sat back in the desk chair. "The beginning it is then. I stayed in the apartment for about a week or so after Draco left. It just felt strange being there without him; I kept waiting for him to come back or something." Harry watched how his words were affecting the blonde man that he had once loved so much. "I know it sounds dumb; I knew that you weren't coming back, but I guess there were just too many memories of you there. I needed to start over and put everything related to my past behind me and that meant leaving the apartment."
Draco voice shook slightly when he said, "For what it's worth Harry, I did come back."
"Really?" The astonishment was apparent in his voice as well as something Draco couldn't quite identify.
"Yes, I realized shortly before Christmas that I had made a huge mistake leaving you that way and I came back to see if somehow we could work it out. I knew that we'd both be in terrible danger, but I just didn't want to be away from you anymore, but…"
"But I had already moved out," Harry finished for him.
"Yeah." It was amazing how much regret could be communicated with just that one word.
Knowing that the two of them would have to have a private conversation later, Harry continued. "I changed my appearance using glamours, used the papers you left for me and created Emrys Kingston." Harry held up one of his hands to forestall any interruptions. "Don't ask my why that name; I just thought it sounded kinda different."
"But Harry, how did you get a wand?"
Surprised at his Godfather's question, Harry looked over at Draco quizzically. "You didn't tell them?"
Draco shook his head no, as Severus responded with a "Tell us what?"
"Well, I don't exactly need a wand anymore. Actually, I haven't used a wand since Hogwarts. My old wand was used as so called evidence against me during the trial. I decided then and there that if I was ever able to practice magic again that I would do so without a wand, as it was a liability that I couldn't afford. Wandless magic is practically untraceable and then I wouldn't have to worry about someone taking my wand and casting spells that would be traced back to me without my knowledge."
Very interested in this latest development in the saga that was the Boy Who Lived, Severus asked, "How did you develop this ability? Clearly, we know that you are an extremely powerful wizard, but only a very few wizards have had any sort of control over wandless magic and even then they were only able to cast a few select spells wandlessly. The type of control that you are suggesting is not believable."
"Believe it or not, it's true," Harry said defensively.
"You mean to tell me that the wards around this property were cast by you without a wand?"
Harry almost felt like he was back in the potion dungeon at Hogwarts. "That's exactly what I am telling you. Did you see me use a wand when I ask you to come inside? If I wouldn't have retooled the wards to permit the three of you to enter, you would have been in for a very nasty surprise, I assure you."
Deciding to ask for some practical examples later, Severus decided to allow Harry to continue with his explanation. "Well, go on then."
Shooting Snape a glare, Harry began once more. "I went to the bank and withdrew the money that Draco had left for me, which was really way too much by the way." Draco refused to take the bait. "For the next couple of months, I just traveled around trying to figure out what I was going to do with the rest of my life. I knew that I didn't want to have anything to do with magic so that ruled out the magical communities here in the United States and I wasn't exactly qualified for any sort of job in the muggle world as I hadn't been to school there since the fifth grade. One night I was out at a bar here in San Diego and the band that was supposed to play announced that their lead singer had just decided not to turn up. They were about to cancel the engagement when I offered to fill in; most of the songs that they were performing were ones that I was familiar with so I decided to give it a go. That night went so well that they offered me a full time spot with the band. Well, that was my unremarkable start with the band Black Onyx. They were in the middle of a small tour of second class cities opening for another better known band, so I didn't have a lot of time to practice, but it worked out fine in the end." Harry smirked as he casually waved his hand at two of the shelved in a glass cabinet that were full of awards, including the Grammy that he had just won for male vocalist of the year.
"I guess it was about March that I noticed that something was wrong with me physically." Harry noticed that he had Draco's undivided attention. "I was always tired; I couldn't remember a time when I had felt that exhausted before for such an extended period of time. At first, I thought that I was still recovering from being in prison, but when it didn't go away I knew that something else was wrong. I just didn't know what. As it happened, the tour bus that the band used to get from one concert to the next was involved in a pretty serious traffic accident and I was injured."
Harry waved off the looks of concern. "I was taken to a hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for treatment. While I was there, I met Nicole. She was a nurse that volunteered at the local muggle hospital. She is also a medi-witch and she could tell that I was a wizard when I was brought in as the glamours were weakened by my injuries. She treated my injuries from the accident and after some additional testing, ultimately discovered what had been wrong with me all along." Taking a deep breath and staring Draco in the eye, he said, "I was pregnant."
To Be Continued.
Author ducks the many flying objects coming through her computer screen. I know. I know the chapter was too short and it didn't really address any of your questions. I'm evil…Tell you what, I'll post the next one as soon as my beta gets it back to me…promise. Now review.
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