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.
A/N: This story was inspired by the many wonderful stories that I have read and enjoyed here at fan fiction and any similarities to existing stories is not intended. This story is AU, meaning that the events that occurred in the OOTP have not been taken into account and am I in no means suggesting the material described in this story should be considered as a direct interpretation of cannon. Also, I am American so I apologize in advance for any Americanisms.
Chapter Twenty – One – The Howler
Harry continued to make his way back through the corridors to where the Founder's Hall was located. He was pleased to note that the cobwebs and multiple layers of dirt and grime that had covered this path earlier had been removed. Coming across the Guardians, Harry once more placed his hands on the statue. This time; however, there was no light show, the animals simply yawned and started to move. After the lion stood revealing the entrance, Harry asked him a question that had been bothering him since he left the Chamber earlier that morning. "Excuse me, but I was wondering how will my family gain admittance to the apartment if I am not with them?"
"Silly Heir, we will recognize them as your family. Last night we were able to access your thoughts and your heart, so we know who should be allowed to enter and who should not."
Seeing the logic, Harry nodded. "Well I best get going before Draco worries about me being gone."
The snake chuckled and this time hissed in parseltongue. "Tooo late for that Yoounng Heeirr, your mate sssstartted belllowinggg ssshortllly affter you lefftt thissss morning. Woke usssss allll up, he did."
Harry laughed and replied in a similar manner, "sssorrry about thattt."
This time in English, Harry added. "Thanks for allowing us to use the Founder's Hall. It's fabulous by the way."
"We are not allowing you to use the Chamber, young Heir." Harry heard a soft female voice and saw that the raven was addressing him for the first time. "The Founder's Hall belongs to you and your descendants. All other lines are gone, as the Riddle creature can no longer reproduce any additional heirs. Your line is the last."
At the confused look on Harry's face, the raven continued, "you are wondering why the Hall doesn't have rooms for myself and the other Founders, correct?"
"Yes. I thought that you each would have your own."
The raven giggled. "I must agree with the others; you are a silly child." Before Harry could be insulted, she continued in the same pleasing soft voice, "the Hall now reflects the needs of you and your family; it is not how it appeared to be while we were living there. As your needs change, the Hall will adapt to provide you with all that you require."
Hearing a loud curse coming from within the apartment, Harry winced. "Look, I got to go, I'm sure we'll be able to talk more later."
* * *
"Where the hell have you been?"
Harry didn't even see the projectile until it was too late to duck. Harry grunted when something soft and fuzzy slammed into his chest as soon as he came through the entranceway. "Hey, what's that for?" he shouted, as he looked down at the object he caught that had been whipped at him. It was one of the boys' plushy toys: this one a large red dragon.
Harry stepped down into the common room where Evan immediately besieged him. "My dragon, Daddy." The toddler had both of his arms lifted high in the air trying to reach the stuffed animal that Harry still held.
Kneeling down beside his son, Harry pulled the resisting boy into a hug. "Of course it is. Good morning sweetheart." Whispering an additional remark into the small boy's ear, Harry handed the toy back to him.
Harry giggled when Evan turned to where Draco was standing and fixed his father with a strong glare before running over to where he and his twin had been playing before they were rudely interrupted when their father had stolen his toy.
Harry walked over to where Draco was standing, still fuming. Pressing a soft kiss to his lover's lips, Harry couldn't help himself. "So now you know what it feels like to be on the other side of the famous Malfoy glare."
More worried than angry, Draco couldn't help but see the humor in the situation. "What can I say, it's in the genes."
Pulling Draco down with him on to one of the sofa's, close to where the twins were playing, Harry set about telling Draco everything that had transpired that morning, including his run-in with Ron.
Moderately pacified, Draco made sure that the next time Harry took off without telling anyone, that he fully understood what the ramifications of such an action would be. Harry blanched when Draco described in detail the torture that he would have to undergo should such an occasion arise. Pleased that Draco had been so obviously worried about him, Harry promised that he would leave a note, or better yet, wake Draco up before leaving without him again.
"Leo, did you do any exploring this morning before you went to see Sirius?" Draco asked casually, trying not to let any of his excitement show.
"Yeah, I looked around some why?" Harry wasn't really paying attention to the blonde as he was watching his sons' bicker over the pretend battle that they were setting up with their various stuffed toys, wondering when he would need to intercede before a full out fight broke out.
"Did you see anything special?" Draco pressed, slightly put out that Harry wasn't paying attention to him.
Hearing the annoyed tone of Draco's voice, Harry turned his attention to his mate, leaving Nicole to deal with any potential fights that broke out between the twins. She was a much better disciplinarian anyway as Harry always found himself caving to his sons' teary eyes and sad puppy dog expressions. "Well there is a library that needs to be furthered examined on the second floor and the training facilities on the third floor are pretty wicked."
Just has he had thought, Harry hadn't taken the time this morning to go down stairs. 'Typical Gryffindor, always going up when some of the biggest discoveries could be found much lower, like in the dungeons'. "I take it you didn't go to the bottom level then?"
"No. I figured that I would look to see what's down there this afternoon." Harry knew that Draco was just bursting to tell him something. "So are you going to tell me what's down there or not?"
"Why tell you when I can show you?" the blonde asked, winking at the dark-haired man.
Harry laughed at his partner's enthusiasm. "Alright already Dray, show me."
* * *
"Luciusss"
"Yes, My Lord." The patriarch of the Malfoy family came to kneel before his Master.
After dutifully kissing the hems of the Dark Lord's robes, Malfoy rose to stand in front of the demon he served for the better part of his life. On the outside, Lucius was as cool as ever, knowing from experience that you never questioned the Dark Lord; not unless you wanted to be severely punished for it. However, what Malfoy was feeling on the inside was a different matter. He prayed to Slytherin that this impromptu meeting didn't have anything to do with his only son and heir. Draco had disappeared a month ago and Lucius hadn't had any contact with him since then. So far the Dark Lord hadn't appeared to be concerned with Draco's disappearance, but that could all change the moment Lord Voldemort had a need for him.
"The boy has returned." The serpentine voice was low and soft, almost as though the words didn't want to be spoken.
"My Lord?" Lucius knew that he was treading on dangerous ground, but he literally had no idea who Voldemort was referring to.
"For many years now Luciusss, I have not felt his presence. I had believed that he was either too far away to be a threat or, better yet, had died. Then, last night, the unwelcome intrusion was back. I don't have visions of him, as he is rumored to have of me, but I am still aware of his nagging existence. It appears that somehow that old fool has managed to find him and convinced him to return. I hadn't realized that Dumbledore was that desperate."
Lucius' mind swirled pulling together the clues that his master had given him. They all pointed to only one answer. "Potter."
"Yesssss, Potter." Voldemort's red eyes pierced into his servant. "Let'sss give him a house warming present. He'll soon wish he never crawled out of whatever rock he was hiding under."
Listening intently to his master's instructions, Malfoy couldn't help but wonder if Potter's sudden reappearance had anything to do with his son's timely disappearance. He hoped that it didn't, for Draco's sake.
* * *
Harry realized immediately why Draco had been so excited, Severus wasn't the only potions master in this school. Draco had always excelled in potions and shortly after graduation he had passed his masters examinations. The only thing preventing him from using the title of 'Potions Master' was the fact that Draco still had to serve a two year apprenticeship under a certified Potions Master for him to get his certification.
Currently, Harry was standing in the middle of a state of the art potions lab. Some of the items casually lying about were so rare, that Harry had only ever read about them in books. There were cauldrons of every shape, size and made out of various metals stacked on shelves along with other assorted potion paraphernalia and various old looking potion texts. To say that Draco was in heaven was an understatement.
Draco was so excited that one might think he was six and it was Christmas morning. Harry watched as the blonde stood in front of a huge chest that had over two hundred small drawers, recognizing it as a potion ingredient cabinet. Harry loved the look of innocent wonder on Dray's face as he started to painstakingly inspect each drawer's contents.
Pulling down one of the books from the shelf, Harry was startled to find that none other than Salazar Slytherin, himself, had written it. Looking closer at the titles and authors, Harry realized that the vast majority of the books had been authored by Slytherin or actually predated the Founder.
An excited squeal broke his train of thought. "Leo, do you have any idea how rare some of these ingredients are? Some of these plants have been thought to be extinct, and the manticore and griffin blood, well, you can't even buy these anymore. I don't care which black market you're dealing on."
"Then they fit right on in with these potions books, Dray. I have never heard of the majority of them.
Who knew they even existed?
Carefully, Draco closed the last drawer that he was looking at which contained several small phials of unicorn tears and moved along side of Harry. This sight of his lover, utterly captivated by the various potion books made Harry smile. "You know Dray; you're not going to be able to spend all of your time down here. Matthew and Evan will want to see you eventually, and I know that I'd miss you." Harry teased.
Draco lovingly caressed the spine of one of the books written by the Founder of his former house. "Give me until lunch time, luv. I just really want to spend some time figuring out what all is here."
"Anything for you love, but I want to have lunch with Nicole and the twins and then take them for a tour of the castle so that they can start to get a feel for the place," Harry said as he kissed Draco's temple. "I'll be upstairs, if you need anything." Draco just waved the Gryffindor out as he continued to imagine all the incredible things he would be able to do in the lab.
Closing the door to the potions lab behind him as he left, Harry glanced at the only other door on this bottom level. When Draco had brought him downstairs earlier, he had explained that he had tried to open the other door, but it had been locked. A simple 'alohomora' charm hadn't been successful either.
Harry studied the door, curious why the Guardians would put this room here and then deny them access to it. The door itself was wooden, but unlike the other doors in the apartment, this one had the school seal emblazoned on the dark wood. Figuring he had nothing to lose, Harry reached for the door.
As soon as Harry physically touched the door, it opened with a soft click. Silently the door swung open. Harry gasped, flashing back to the first time he had seen the contents of his personal vault at Gringotts. Inside, there were three huge mounds of gold coins and other artifacts made out of gold, and a smaller pile of brilliantly glittering gemstones. Harry tentatively stepped into the large room. Quickly taking stock of the rooms contents, Harry saw in one corner many old weapons stored on wooden racks, many of weapons appeared to be made of precious metals and adorned with precious stones and intricate carvings. On the other side of the room there appeared to be various trunks and boxes. 'Who knows what secrets they hold?' Harry thought as he came further into the room to get a better look.
Just before he reached the first set of trunks, the door slammed shut behind him.
Cautiously, Harry picked up the ancient parchment. As with the Book of Souls, the words on the parchment stated to appear as he held it.
Greetings True Heir,
Only someone with the blood of the Founders may enter this chamber. What you see before you represents the wealth of Hogwarts. Use it wisely and protect it well.
Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga HufflepuffHarry had no sooner finished reading the short message, than his forehead exploded in pain. Harry gasped and grabbed his head with both hands, dropping the message to the stone floor. He had forgotten how painful this connection with Voldemort could be. Thankfully, the pain only lasted a short time and after a minute or two, the pain had faded completely. Pulling himself together, Harry took one last look around the treasure room. Vowing to himself to guard Hogwarts and to return it back to the school that his ancestors intended it to be, Harry securely shut the door behind him and slowly made his way back up stairs.
* * *
As expected, they didn't see Draco all day. The blonde finally was able to tear himself away from the wonders of the potions room long enough to hunt down his family to go to dinner. This would be the first time that they would be making an appearance in the Great Hall for a meal since their unexpected arrival and it was important to Draco that they showed a unified front.
Following the unmistakable sounds of uncooperative children, Draco was lead into the common room. Not seeing anyone but definitely hearing them; Draco caught sight of a door where the stained glass window in the center had been previously. Inspecting it, Draco saw that the stained window depicting the Hogwarts School Shield was in fact a pair of French doors that lead outside onto a stone veranda. The large patio had a high stone wall that ran around the entire perimeter and stood no less than three feet high. 'At least we don't have to worry about one of the twins inadvertently falling off," Draco thought, although he knew that both boys appeared to be very coordinated and graceful.
The patio was quite extensive and had a pleasing view of the lake and forest. Many potted plants decorated the terrace, most of which were loaded with fragrant blooms. Walking over to inspect several of the rose bushes, Draco noticed settled way back in the corner of the patio, almost hidden from view, a statue of a dragon. The statue stood about seven feet tall and was made out of the same black marble that the much of the apartment had been decorated with. The dragon itself was beautiful, most dragon statues showed dragons either flying or standing proud and roaring. Not this one; this dragon was a sleep. His wings were folded along his majestic back and the dragon had a peaceful expression on his slumbering face. The statue's detail was impressive; every scale was carved beautifully. Overall, it was truly a piece of art. Tearing his eyes away from the dragon, Draco realized that his family hadn't noticed him yet. Harry and Nicole seemed to be otherwise occupied.
"Anyone hungry?" Draco said as a way of announcing his presence; as he watched in amusement as Harry and Nicole struggled to change Matthew and Evan out of their play clothing into a clean pair of pants and long sleeved shirts.
"Nice of you to finally show up, Dray. We were getting ready to leave without you," Harry said breathlessly as he once more tried to pin Matthew's tiny squirming body down, so that he could remove the stained t-shirt that still wore the remains of the toddler's lunch and some as of yet unidentified stains.
"No Daddy, no. I want to wear this shirt. No," Matthew cried as he attempted to avoid Harry's hands.
"Matty, that shirt is dirty. You know that we need to clean up so that we can go to the big room I showed you earlier for dinner. Please let me change your shirt," Harry pleaded with his son. After he had lunch in the dinning room in their apartment with Nicole and the boys, Harry had taken them on a tour of the castle. Harry had disguised himself as Emrys for the tour as he didn't want to attract any attention to himself, although quite a few people recognized the twins from their brief introduction the night before. Nicole, Matthew and Evan had been in awe of the mammoth castle. But where their eyes were alight with wonderment and delight, Harry's were sad and troubled at the changes he saw.
The classrooms where he learned so much more about life than he did about magic were gone; replaced with training rooms, conference rooms, or personal apartments. The hospital wing where Harry had spent so much time during his years at Hogwarts, that Madame Pomfrey actual did finally reserve a private bed for him sometime midway through his sixth year, was at least four times the size that it had once been. The quidditch pitch was now a training field. Harry knew that the modifications were necessary to help prepare them to fight in this everlasting war, but it didn't make them any easier to stomach.
The twins fell in love with the castle; much the same as Harry had done when he first saw its beautiful reflection in the Great Lake on his first trip ever into the welcoming presence of the home he had craved his entire life. However, now that he thought about it, Nicole seemed a little too interested in being shown the fastest route between the Founder's Hall and Sirius' chambers. Harry grinned to himself; he didn't know which party to feel sorrier for if the two of them should ever get involved. Sirius was attracted to Harry's young nanny, there was no doubt. It had been funny to watch the older man flirt with the women while he had visited them in California. But what had surprised Harry the most was watching Nicole flirt back. After Harry had firmly turned down any potential relationships with her, Nicole had gone out occasionally, but Harry had never seen her basking in a man's attentions the way she had with Sirius. 'Well, I'll just have to keep a close eye on the two of them, and see what happens.'
On his tour, Harry started to feel melancholy as the memories of the six and a half years spent within the stone walls became impossible to ignore. Passing the owlery, Harry couldn't help but wonder what had happened to his faithful pet, and friend, Hedwig. Not only did he not know what happened to his owl, but also he wanted to have his other belongings, that had been left in the Head Boy's room after his arrest, returned as well.
The twins loved both the astronomy tower, and, much to Harry's bewilderment, the potion dungeons. Snape for the most part was able to keep the dungeons largely unchanged; some additional dueling platforms had been erected in some old classrooms and the potions lab had been expanded some, but that was about it. Severus was his usual self, but Harry thought he wasn't too put out by their visit as he didn't say anything too nasty and he even managed to sneak Matthew and Evan each a chocolate frog as they were leaving. The evidence of which was still smeared all over the twin's t-shirts. Remembering what he was trying to do, Harry reached once more to try to remove Matthew's soiled shirt.
The biggest surprise of the day was finding Remus Lupin assisting Snape in the dungeon. At least that is what Harry assumed he had been doing. Still not entirely comfortable around Harry and his family, Remus introduced himself to Nicole and the boys and then tactfully retreated, to God-knows-where.
Draco rolled his eyes at Harry attempting to use logic on a two-year-old. He had only been around his boys for a little over a month, but even he knew that you couldn't use logic with a two-year-old, and certainly not a two-year-old that possessed Malfoy genes. Quickly determining what the root of the problem was, Draco pulled his mate off of their still struggling son.
"Hey Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Draco brushed a stray tear off of Matthew's face as the toddler calmed down.
"Daddy wants to take my shirt. This is my shirt. He can't have it." Matthew pulled his face into an exaggerated frown.
Draco saw that Matthew was wearing a dark green t-shirt that had a silver snake on the front, the snake's long body coiled up the shirt, over the shoulder and ended with the tail twisted in the middle of the back. It had been a great find, and Draco couldn't resist purchasing one for each of the boys on one of their shopping excursions as they were getting ready to move. The shirts had quickly become the twin's favorite, and left with a choice they would wear little else, much to Harry's dismay.
Nodding to Nicole to release an equally rumpled Evan, Draco knelt down and took both boys into his arms. Giving Harry a wink, Draco whispered into each of the boy's ears.
Harry watched in apprehension, as the boys were calmed and then started to smile. Whatever it was that Draco was telling them, seemed to do the trick, but he couldn't help wondering what in the hell Draco was whispering to them.
Draco had no trouble divesting the little boys of their favored shirts and changing the rest of their clothing. As they would be dining in the Great Hall, Draco insisted that the little ones wore matching navy robes over their muggle attire. Finally ready, the family departed; ready to face their first public outing as a family.
* * *
Draco itched to grab his wand and hex all those staring idiots. As expected, all conversation ceased when Draco, Harry, Nicole and the boys had opened the doors and stepped into the Hall. Most people were still in disbelief that Harry Potter had actually returned. Many of the tables were already occupied, but seeing them enter, Sirius directed the family over to an open space at the far end of the hall. As they walked across the large room, Harry couldn't help but shudder at the many eyes that fell on him, particularly the stares from a group of redheads and one brown haired witch that sat in the front of the table that had previously been the old Gryffindor table.
As soon as they were seated, the noise level started to rise once more. Although those occupying the neighboring tables were careful to keep their assumptions and speculations to whispers, others were not.
Sliding into the seat next to his Godson, Sirius inadvertently bumped into him. "Hey," Harry exclaimed annoyed that the arm that was currently filling Matthew's goblet with pumpkin juice was jostled.
"Sorry Harry." Sirius' tone denying that the older man was at all apologetic. "So how are my favorite little boys this evening?"
"Great, Uncle Siri," two high-pitched voices chirped. Sirius had asked the boys to call him Uncle Siri earlier, as being addressed as the formal Mister Black, just wouldn't do, at least for his Grand Godsons.
"So my dear lady, how was your tour of the castle is afternoon? If my dear Godson was in any way remiss in his duties, please feel free to call on me. I'll be more than happy to assist you with what ever it is you need." Sirius, who had picked up Nicole's hand from across the table, slowly raised it to his lips. Pressing a soft kiss on the back of her smooth hand, Sirius winked at the blushing young women before uttering. "Or desire."
Harry rolled his eyes at his Godfather's antics, "Sirius, knock it off, will you? At least put your plans for seduction on hold in front of my children, will you?"
Raising his eyebrow, Sirius turned to his Godson. "Like they've never seen two people flirt before, or dare I say, kiss even?" Sirius laughed when he saw both Harry's and Draco's faces start to turn a lovely shade of pink. "That's what I thought."
The remainder of dinner passed uneventfully, with the exception of Evan spitting his mashed potatoes at his brother. Both children were quickly subdued and separated by their parents before an all-out food fight could get started, and disaster was once more averted.
After he was finished eating, Harry slowly made his way towards the head table where Dumbledore sat, in his customary spot. Not sure if it was a symbol of his willingness to be cooperative or if it was just habit, Harry wanted to inform his former Headmaster about his earlier scar pain. The realization that his connection with Voldemort was still active hadn't digested yet, but Harry figured that it was worth mentioning to the Phoenix. After all, the sooner Voldemort was defeated, the sooner Harry and his family could get on with their lives.
* * *
Albus had been carefully watching the Potter family all evening, glad that Harry had decided to begin their integration back into the community. Knowing that the transition was going to be difficult, Dumbledore had requested at breakfast that everyone should act as normally as possible around Harry and his family, and that they should also try to refrain from asking any questions.
The twins were still a puzzle. Dumbledore could sense unusually high levels of power in each of them, which was not unexpected seeing as whom their father was. But, still there was something about their magic that seemed off. It was hard to tell; but while they had the potential to be quite powerful, they most likely wouldn't be more powerful than Harry was. Their magic signature surrounding them was easily identifiable with Harry's, but it also showed traces of another's magic as well. This fact led the Headmaster to the conclusion that their mother must have been a witch rather than a muggle. It was odd however that Harry seemed to evade the direct questions last night about the identity of the woman who had birthed his sons. Feeling as though he wasn't going to find the answer to that mystery tonight, Dumbledore returned his attention to the conversations flowing around him.
However, it seemed that Dumbledore's thoughts were similar to the discussions being held all around the hall. Theories ran rampant regarding the identity and whereabouts of Harry's adorable sons' other parent. Not only that there was a fair amount of whispers regarding the apparent closeness between Harry and his one time school rival, Draco Malfoy.
While the Order had not released the information that Draco had elected to stay with Harry at the conclusion of his last mission, his absence around the castle was hard to hide. Not only that, but everyone couldn't help but also gossip about Draco's unwavering support of Harry in the time following his arrest and even after his conviction. That relationship would require closer scrutiny, Dumbledore decided.
Relieved beyond measure that Harry would assist them in their fight, Dumbledore had taken the liberty that morning of speaking with Mister Ollivander about making Harry another wand. Dumbledore, of course, had been present when Minister Fudge had snapped Harry's first wand; the beautiful red and gold phoenix feather had fallen softly to the floor before it burst into flames. What had bothered the old man the most was the pain he had seen in the eyes of the owner of that wand when the crack of the wand breaking echoed through out the small room. What a terrible day that had been. If only he had listened to his heart, so much pain could have been avoided.
The Ollivanders, like many of the other residence of Diagon Alley, had moved to Hogwarts about two years ago when a violent attack on the Alley had destroyed almost every business there. Everything had fallen with the exception of Gringotts. Albus was doubtful that Gringotts would ever be breached although it was certainly too dangerous for anyone other than Death Eaters to even try to approach the place. The lack of funds had affected many wizarding families who had been forced to revert to bartering to obtain the goods that they needed. That all changed when Hogwarts opened their doors to the community.
The clearing of someone's throat behind him drew his attention. Turning, Dumbledore noticed that Harry had been able to approach him completely unnoticed. "Harry, what can I do for you?" Dumbledore inquired, not sure why Harry would approach him after his comments the night before. Harry's accusations, while certainly not unfounded, had hurt. However, Dumbledore was old enough to understand that on some level he deserved Harry's ire, and knew that for the greater good, he needed to swallow a bit of his pride and try to make peace with the one person that may very well be able to put an end to this horrible conflict.
The seriousness of the emerald eyes that held his own gave the old man a moment's pause before the dark-haired man answered.
"I understand that even after everything that has happened, the Order has decided that you should continue on as the Phoenix," Harry began quietly. "As it happens, I support that decision." Harry felt angry when he saw the flash of happiness that crossed his former mentor's face at his words. Before Dumbledore had the chance to respond, Harry continued. "Before you say anything, I want you to know that I meant it when I said that I will not come back to the Order. I will fight, but only on my terms, understood?"
Dumbledore heard the echo of the words Harry had spoken last night. At that time, the Phoenix had been hopeful that it was just the other man's emotions talking, but now, he understood that Harry was indeed serious.
"I understand, Harry."
Ignoring the disappointment in Dumbledore's voice, Harry went on with what he needed to say. "Good. Like I said to Lupin earlier today, I will never forgive you for what you have done to me, but I realize the necessity of us working together civilly. As such, I wanted to let you know that my scar hurt earlier."
Concerned, Dumbledore questioned the extent and frequency of Harry's continuing scar pain. Harry explained that this was first time that his scar had hurt him since he had gone to America, and while quite painful, it had only lasted for a moment or so. Satisfied with his explanation and after Dumbledore had extracted Harry's promise to inform him of any other occurrences, Harry turned to leave.
As he stepped away from the head table, a bird flew into the Hall. Knowing that it was late for any type of regular mail, Harry waited to see where the bird was headed. As it came closer Harry could tell that the bird looked to be a kind of falcon. It was beautiful, mostly black with just a little red on either of its wings and on its crown. However, the red on the bird appeared to match the same color as the envelope that it was carrying in his beak.
Not unfamiliar with the wizarding world's inspired way of chewing someone out long distance, Harry watched as the falcon come even closer, all the while wondering who was going to be the target of this particular howler.
'Too bad it's not for the Weasel,' crossed Harry's mind a moment before he realized that the falcon was indeed coming straight towards him. "Who the hell could I have pissed off already?" Harry muttered under his breath as the bird tentatively placed the steaming envelope into Harry's outstretched hands.
Before Harry had a chance to further question why he was on the receiving end of a howler, the envelope burst open. Screams soon filled the hall. Loud, terrified screams of at least two people being subject to things that no human should ever be subject to. Harry wasn't sure if the screams had been magnified or not but you could tell that whoever was making them was suffering unbearably.
Quickly looking over to where his family sat, he saw a shaking Nicole holding Evan and Sirius holding Matthew, trying to cover their ears, while tears ran down the children's pale faces. Not seeing Draco, Harry wasn't surprised when a pair of strong arms wrapped around him from behind, pulling him back against a strong chest. Harry was grateful for Draco's support when the screaming finally stopped and the begging began. Clearly, it was two people being tortured and then begging for their lives. Harry stiffened when he recognized the voices.
The begging only lasted a moment or two when a new male voice called out, "Avada Kedavra" and all was silent. The last thing to echo though out the still hall was a chuckle and then the taunting words, "Welcome home, Harry."
Pale and feeling sick to his stomach, Harry turned once more to the Phoenix. "Now you can add the Dursleys to your list of unnecessary deaths that you are responsible for." Without another word, Harry turned on his heel, gathered his stunned family and walked out of the Hall.
* * *
The stress of the day finally catching up to him, Harry sat down on the floor in front of one of the sofas. Taking off his shoes and socks and leaning back on the sofa, he closed his eyes and rested his head back against one of the soft overstuffed leather cushions. Somehow, he had gotten in the habit of taking off his shoes and socks when he was at home. Actually in California, he rarely wore anything but sandals, which were easy to kick off as he loved the feel of the sand or tile beneath his bare feet. Unfortunately, the cold stone floors that were Hogwarts were not designed for this type of lifestyle.
Feeling that his lover needed a moment to come to terms of the events that had transpired at dinner, Draco helped Nicole calm the boys down and then give the twins their baths and get them ready for bed. Giving into the twin's demands to play 'just a wittle longer' in the playroom, Draco left Nicole to watch over the boys as he made his way back down stairs.
Unsurprisingly, Harry was in the same position that he had been in when Draco had left him earlier. Not sure he wanted to intrude; the blonde sat quietly in the arm chair closest to the waterfall and waited for Harry to say something. He didn't have to wait long before he heard Harry's deep voice call out, "Hey Dray!"
Looking up Draco watched as Harry picked up one of his dirty socks that had been rolled into a sweaty ball off the floor and toss it to him, the sock arching high into the air. Not really sure what was going on, out of habit Draco closely watched the flying object and reached out to catch it.
Smack. Draco shook his head in disgust. He attention had been so focused on catching the sock that Harry had tossed to him that he hadn't seen Harry whip the sock's partner at him. The other dirty, smelly sock caught Draco squarely in the face. "What the hell?"
Not to be outdone, Draco picked up both offensive pieces of clothing and fired them right back at the laughing Gryffindor. However, unlike Harry, Draco didn't have the element of surprise on his side and Harry was able to successfully dodge the incoming missiles.
Finally getting him self under control although still chuckling, Harry called out, "That was just a little payback for this morning."
"Yeah, but my love, I hit you with a very clean stuffed animal, and you returned the favor with a stinky sweaty sock that you wore all day. I think that you owe me," Draco said half seriously, happy that Harry was able to let off some of his steam.
Standing up in one fluid graceful movement, Harry pulled Draco to him. "Maybe then, I'll just have to let you take advantage of me later," Harry said softly a moment before his lips descended and started to nibble on Draco's lower lip.
With a sigh, Draco ran his hands up and down the slightly shorter man's back, gently caressing the tense muscles as he opened his mouth and let Harry deepen the kiss.
Harry made a small noise of distress when Draco eventually ended their kiss. Draco shushed him. "Do you want to talk about what happened at dinner, Leo?"
"No, not really," Harry said softly, his lips still touching the blondes.
Pressing a chaste kiss on the corner of Harry's mouth, Draco leaned back so that he could see if Harry was, in fact, being truthful with him or not. "Are you sure?"
With a sigh, Harry flopped down on the sofa and ran a hand through his already messy hair. "Look, it's not as if I had any real feelings for them, at least not anymore. Yeah I'm sad that they suffered like that; no one deserves to die that way. But don't think that I'm going to take the blame for their deaths. Maybe at one point I would have, but not anymore. No, if anyone is to blame besides Voldemort, it's Dumbledore. He's the one that set up the elaborate subterfuge to hide me with them for all those years. He knew the risks when he placed me with them, not that he ever explained the danger to the Dursleys, I can guarantee you." Harry took a deep breath and blew it out. "It's sad Dray, but honestly I don't feel anymore towards their passing than I would anyone else."
Reaching over Draco took Harry's face in both of his hands, lightly caressing it before kissing him once more. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry, Leo."
"Yeah, me too."
"Come on luv, let's go up to bed. Let me make you forget that this happened, at least for awhile."
Needing to put this day behind him, and knowing that the best way to do that was in a certain silver-eyed man's arms; Harry stood up and followed Draco up the winding stairs that lead to their bedroom.
To Be Continued.