Disclaimer: I don't own the whole concept of Harry Potter or any of its characters. They belong to the talented Ms Rowling. Only the plot is my own.
Thank you to everyone who has followed the fic and lots of thank yous to everyone who reviewed. A few people have mentioned that they don't normally read slash but are quite happy to follow this fic alonga nd all I can say is THANK YOU so much for giving a story a chance! I will give you warnings before the slash sections (when they eventually appear in t his fic) so that you can avoid them if you wish.
And a big thank you to my beta, Sepia. Your efforts are greatly appreciated. ï
CHAPTER 15
In his eight year absence, Harry had almost forgotten how the wizarding world reacted to him. It was difficult to ignore the way people would stare at his forehead and then skim their eyes over the rest of him, and he was quite certain that were few people who could walk into a room and bring every single conversation to an end, just by being there, the way he could.
But possibly, even more disconcerting than the staring was the way members of the Order would look to him for advice or guidance, as much as they would look to Albus.
I'm nobody's leader, he thought rather irritably.He had more or less worked on his own during the war, so what would he know about coordinating a group effort? It took quite some time for Harry to convince them to look to Albus, who had decades more experience than he in that particular area.
And then there were his students, who had mixed reactions following their realisation that Harry Potter was one of their professors. Some of them followed him about the school, which at best was irritating, and at worst it made it difficult to carry out some of his duties as an Order member, Other students, particularly the Slytherin students, were cautious of him. Harry guessed it was because their house had always been closely associated with Voldemort and his Death Eaters, and a presumption on their part that Harry's attitude would be prejudiced when it came to all matters Slytherin.
On the other hand, the Gryfindor students couldn't have been more pleased that he was their professor. Not only did they feel a keen sense of House pride every time they looked at Harry – in him they saw the embodiment of all that it meant to be a Gryfindor – but they also thought that having the boy-who-lived in their corner would give them an advantage in their rivalry with the Slytherins. They were wrong, and the Gryfindor students lost a record number of house points and earned a record number of detentions over the next couple of weeks before they realised that Harry wouldn't encourage their school yard rivalry any more than Professor Green had.
It took some weeks for Harry to re-establish a rapport with his students, and he was somewhat pleased to see that they were willing to work harder under the watchful eye of 'Professor Potter' than under 'Professor Green'. Fame may not have been everything, but if his students were going to be better able to defend themselves on account of his celebrity, then he wouldn't complain. Dark times were upon them once again, and Harry and Draco pushed their students during their lessons, hoping beyond hope that whatever they were teaching them was going to be enough to get through what was in store for them all.
Harry knew all too well what was in store for them – the problem was, he didn't think anyone else was taking the matter as seriously as they should. And for the life of him, he couldn't understand why the Order seemed happy to move at such a slow pace. While he understood the importance of re-establishing good communication networks, he couldn't understand why that was all they'd been doing for the last month and a half. Each time he had tried to argue his point with Albus, the Headmaster would tell him that there was nothing more important than setting up their lines of communication at this point, since they wouldn't be able to gather information from the circle of Death Eaters this time around.
Harry had carefully cultivated his information network during the final years of the war, after he was taken for training, and he had relied on a few select people from both the wizarding and muggle worlds who were well placed to be able to provide him with useful information. Some of his contacts had gone into hiding after the war had ended, and it had been extremely difficult to find them, but some of them were able to be found in exactly the same place he'd left them eight years ago.
He visited one such person on one of the few weekends he wasn't required to supervise the student Hogsmeade excursions. The audacity of his contact made him groan inwardly – he could be found in the same bookshop in Knockturn Alley, that specialised in 'hard to get' publications, that Harry had met him in ten years ago.
He peered into the shop to make sure that the person he was looking for was actually in, and that someone else wasn't looking after the store for the day. He saw a dark haired man lift a stack of books off the counter and carry them over to one of the shelves near the front of the store. Harry twisted himself about trying to get a closer look at the man's face, but before he knew what had happened, the door had been pulled open and he stumbled forward a little.
"Josh?" Harry asked, studying the face of the man before him.
"Harry?" Josh asked, blinking a few times in surprise. "You've changed."
"So have you," Harry noted, "But I guess it has been a while. Can we talk – alone?"
Josh's face immediately lost its grin and he looked up and down the street before he pulled Harry into the shop, closing the door behind him, turning his "Open" sign over, pulling the blind down and casting a silencing spell over the shop.
OOOOO
"That looked...odd. What on earth is he doing down here?" Draco mumbled. He and Severus had been visiting an old ally in Knockturn alley and had rounded a corner to see someone pull Harry into a store, shutting the door and pulling the front blind down behind them.
"I don't know, nor do I care," Severus replied tritely, though the behaviour of Hogwarts' "Golden Boy" at present genuinely confused him.
"He's been so busy for the last few weeks – I've barely seen him outside of classes, and he doesn't join us for meals anymore. I wonder what he's up to," Draco said, more to himself than to anyone else.
"Potter has always done as he pleases and he will continue to do the same. There are some things that never change," Severus sneered.
Draco threw Severus a look that spoke volumes and the older man shifted slightly under the gaze, but gave no other indication that he had been effected.
"In any case, I'm curious to know what he's doing," Draco said, looking up and down the street to make sure no one was watching him before he drew his wand and cautiously approached the door that Harry had been dragged through. "Damn," he muttered, lowering his wand. "A silencing charm."
Such practice is standard. Did you really believe that they would not use one?" Severus asked dryly, while he pretended to examine the signs on the shop window. To the passer by, he would simply look as though he was interested in what this particular shop had to sell.
Draco grinned slyly. "It doesn't matter. I always carry a pair of these with me. I never leave home without them." The young man paused and groaned while he retrieved his extendable ears from his robes. "I guess that means the Weasleys are rubbing off on me."
Severus sighed heavily. "It would appear so," he replied, carefully moving to stand in front of Draco to shield him from view of passers-by.
Draco nodded at his friend, and checked the alley again before he sent the stringy ears under the shop's front door. Nobody came out to see who the ears belonged to, and he didn't feel anybody tugging on them, so he exhaled the breath he didn't know he'd been holding and ducked around the nearest corner, motioning for Severus to join him.
"You've got to listen to this," he said when Severus joined him, offering him an ear.
OOOOO
"It's been a while," Josh said, his eyes lingering over Harry appraisingly.
"It has, but that's not what I'm here for."
"Pity," Josh shrugged, with a meaningful look.
"I've been hearing things. The Death Eaters are active again."
"Yes, they've been causing trouble for the muggles."
"Are they just random incidents, or do you think that what they're doing is part of something bigger?"
"Their activities don't appear to be organised, but I'm sure they've got an agenda."
"Can you find out what it is?"
Josh looked long and hard at Harry. "Is this why you've come back?"
"Partly," Harry grudgingly admitted. "I have a feeling that something big is about to happen, and I'd like to be able to head that off, if it's possible. Can I rely on your eyes and ears?" Harry asked seriously.
"Always. We operate under the same rules as before though. I don't want to be implicated in anything and I don't want my name to come up in any conversations. Unless I'm specifically in danger, I don't want to know anything either. I'll help you, but just keep me the hell out of it, alright?" Josh said, shaking Harry's hand to seal their agreement.
"Alright, and thank you," Harry said, breathing a little easier.
"How will I contact you?"
Harry thought about this for a moment. "Don't. I'll contact you. If it's an emergency – and you know what I mean by 'emergency' – you can owl me at Hogwarts, but I'd rather you avoid that if you can. The risk of interception is too great."
"I understand, but we haven't had to make arrangements like these since the days of 'You-Know-Who', do you think we're headed for times like those again?" Josh asked, trying to read beyond the vague information Harry had given him.
"I don't know, but I just want to be prepared for anything," Harry said evenly. "So, is there anything you've heard that I might be interested in?"
Josh paused to think. "I haven't really been digging around or paying much attention, but I've been hearing a lot of talk about Salazar Slytherin. A few people have been in here buying up every book they could find on him. Does that mean anything to you?"
"No. Is there anything else?"
"Yeah, do you remember how we weren't sure which side Snape and Malfoy were loyal to during the war?" Josh asked.
"I knew who they were working for. You were the one who wasn't sure," Harry corrected him.
"Yeah, well anyway, it turns out that they really were working for Dumbledore after all. They double crossed You-Know-Who and now there are an awful lot of people out there who want them dead. Heh, they probably aren't all even Death Eaters, either. I wouldn't mind seeing them face down in the gutter, and I've never even met them."
"Don't you think you're being a little unfair? They were working for the good guys all along," Harry pointed out.
"You know, I'll never understand why you worked so hard to keep everyone off their backs. Come on, it's Snape and Malfoy."
"I knew what I was doing, and you helped me by telling me about Blaise, so thank you."
"Yeah, yeah. It was only by luck that I heard anything at all. I never did manage to find out if he actually had any proof of their treason though," Josh sighed.
"I don't care what it was, thank you."
"Yeah, well, I'll bet they'll never appreciate it. That's just what they're like. I appreciate you though. I appreciate everything about you," Josh said huskily, moving slowly toward Harry and running his eyes appreciatively over his older, more mature appearance.
"Josh," Harry cautioned, taking a step back.
"You look great, you know that, don't you?" Josh asked before he closed the remaining distance between them and gently pressed his lips to his. Harry didn't resist, so Josh continued to kiss him slowly and steadily, running his hands down Harry's body until they came to rest on his hips.
Harry gasped and deepened the kiss, sliding his hands around Josh's back to pull him in even closer. Josh tore his lips away from Harry's so that he could place small wet kisses along Harry's jaw line and down his neck, stopping at the place where his neck met his collar bone and licking along the crevice.
A low moan escaped Harry. He closed his eyes, unable to do anything but enjoy the attention. He'd been so isolated since he'd returned to Hogwarts, and he'd felt so lonely, particularly over the last few weeks. His body came alive with the attention, and sensations and feelings that he thought he'd forgotten how to feel coursed through his veins. He missed this.
But if he had to be honest with himself, it wasn't this he missed, so much as he missed the way Greg made him feel when he kissed him, when he made love to him. He missed the way his lover's skin felt beneath his hands, and the way his lover's lips felt beneath his own. He and Josh had been lovers during those final dark years of the war – and Harry would always care for him – but their relationship was more a product of two isolated men seeking solace in physical intimacy. Harry's relationship with Greg was more than that. It was special. Greg's love made Harry feel...alive.
"Josh, I'm sorry," Harry apologized, a little out of breath.
Josh reached out and tilted Harry's face toward him so he could look closely at the young man before him. "You moved on," he finally said, letting go of him.
Harry held his gaze and simply nodded.
"The offer still stands if you ever change your mind," Josh said, looking away and taking a few steps back. "I'll keep my ears open for you, so don't be a stranger, alright? he said, pulling out his wand and sending books and parchments flying to various places on the shelves behind Harry.
"I've been meaning to ask you why you didn't move when the war ended. Wasn't it a bit risky staying here?" Harry asked, moving out of the way of the books and leaning against a wall.
"There was no reason to move. No one suspected me of passing information along to you. No one even suspected that I had anything to do with you, since you were always in disguise whenever you were here – except when we were in the backrooms," Josh explained, looking meaningfully at Harry.
Harry felt himself flush a little under the gaze, and he quickly changed the topic. "Since you're still here, tell me, what sort of books have you got in the way of spell and charm work?"
OOOOO
The two men inside the store had let the conversation drift to the topic of books, so Draco and Severus removed the devices from their ears and looked at each other.
"I told you these were handy to have around," Draco said, at a loss for anything better to say. He looked at Severus, who was looking at the ground, his forehead furrowed in thought.
"I've heard about this fellow, Josh. He's meant to be quite a nasty character," Draco continued, giving the extendable ears a yank to retrieve them. "But –"
"He sounded rather friendly just a moment ago, didn't he?" Severus retorted. He instantly regretted his outburst when he caught Draco giving him an odd look. But damn it, there was nothing special about Potter. He was just a man...and at his age, barely one at that. It made Severus' blood boil to see the way people fawned over him – and now they were kissing him. Was there no limit to the idiocy in this world?
"Er...I guess," Draco said, giving his friend a very strange look.
Severus heaved a heavy sigh and rubbed his forehead. He wasn't entirely certain he believed his own rationalization – but right now wasn't prepared to think about why that was the case.
"I never imagined that Harry would be the type to make friends with, well, people like Josh. From what I've heard of him, he's got an impressive list of skills to recommend him. He's welcome in places even you and I would have difficulty getting into, and he's very well trained in the dark arts, among other things. I don't think Harry could have a more well placed contact," Draco noted.
Severus sniffed. "I can think of at least a dozen people who fit that description. I find nothing about this...Josh...that is particularly impressive."
This earned Severus another odd look from his friend.
"I am concerned," Severus said, trying to regain his composure, "What proof could Blaise have gathered to show that we were not loyal to the Dark Lord?"
Draco shook his head helplessly. "I don't know. Josh wasn't certain that he even had any at all. Do you really think he had proof, or do you think he might have just planned to raise suspicions at one of the meetings?"
"I could only presume to know."
"I'd be very interested to know what Harry did to Blaise and his little friends? As far as I know, they're still MIA but presumed dead," Draco wondered out loud.
"Whatever it was, it was clearly...permanent," Severus remarked.
The two men fell into a tense silence.
"I'm going to see if he has anyone left to see, and if he wants a hand, I'll go with him," Draco blurted out, breaking the silence.
"I beg your pardon?" the Potions Master asked, mildly surprised.
"Harry and I have made our peace with each other. Do you remember what he said that day that Voldemort came back? He said that he was alone the last time he had to fight Voldemort. I know that he had his instructors to help him and I can see that he made his own contacts and led his own life, but he was essentially alone when it counted."
"It did not sound like he was too lonely during those years," Severus said, unaware that his hands had balled into fists.
"Sex is different. I had random lovers by the score before I met Ginny and, believe me, they don't do anything to drive away loneliness," Draco said, waiving his objection away. "Anyway, you heard Josh. He said he'd help but that he wanted Harry to keep him the hell out of all of this, like the last time. He's probably made the same arrangement with everyone else who helped him the last time. He probably spent most of his time keeping them as far away from Voldemort and his Death Eaters as possible. I'm just going to let him know that he's not on his own this time."
"I do not think you need to take Potter's temper tantrums too seriously," Severus sneered.
Draco glared at the older man. "I know you're not as obtuse as you're pretending to be. If you hate Harry on principle alone, and no other reason, then that's fine, but let me tell you this. During those years that I was a spy for Albus, if you hadn't been there, I don't think I would have made it."
Severus opened his mouth to interrupt but Draco cut him off.
"You didn't have to do anything or even say anything, but I knew without question that I could count on you if I need to. You have no idea what that meant and I know you don't like hearing those sorts of things about yourself but I think it needed to be said. I'm just going to do the same for Harry. I think he deserves at least that much. He shouldn't have to think he's alone when he's standing in front of that monster. No one should."
As much as Severus wanted to, he couldn't argue the point with Draco. "We all do what we must. If his behaviour as 'Professor Green' is anything to go by, he has demonstrated on any number of occasions that he is capable of looking after himself in a variety of hostile situatins," he observed quietly.
"You, me, Ginny, Hermione, Ron...we've all got those particular 'capabilities', but not one of us ever felt like we were on our own during the war. We were all looked after and even if we couldn't rely on anyone else, we could look to each other for support. I don't think Harry even had that. He's a man, not a machine. I'm sure he'd appreciate having someone to turn to, even if it is me."
Draco quickly rounded the corner, letting Harry see him before he could escape and Severus followed Draco out of the small alley.
"Hey there," Draco said quietly, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention to them. "What brings you to this part of the world?"
"Draco, Professor," Harry acknowledged politely. "Nothing really, just running a few errands."
The Potions Master narrowed his eyes at Harry.
"Severus and I were just talking to a few people, but we're done here so, if you don't mind, I'll tag along with you," Draco offered.
Harry blinked in surprise. "Er, it's probably not something you could actually tag along for. I'm...I'm-oh fine, come here," Harry said in slight exasperation, leading them both around a corner and casting a silencing spell around them. "I'm speaking to a few of my contacts, informants, that sort of thing. They trust me, but I don't know that they'd trust you," he said pointedly.
"That won't be a problem. You can disguise my appearance and pretend that we're colleagues, which isn't too much of a stretch really, considering we do teach together, though I'm not strictly on staff." Draco looked closely at Harry. "I'm afraid I'm not going to take 'no' for an answer. Actally I couldn't if I wanted to," he grimaced. "I'm under strict orders from my wife to keep you company."
"I can look after myself," Harry said bluntly.
"I know, but I'm going to have to be very offended if you refuse my offer," Draco warned him.
Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. If you're going to be that way about I, I don't see what harm it could do, but you have to let me do all the talking," Harry told him.
"Of course," Draco agreed a little too easily, which made Harry wonder whether he'd just made a big mistake.
"I have no further business here so I will return to Hogwarts and let your wife know to expect you back a little later. You may have strict orders to stay with Potter, but your wife has made it clear that I am to keep an eye on you," Severus told Draco before turning on his heel and stalking away.
"It looks like she's got everyone working for her," Harry noted.
"It seems that way, doesn't it?" Draco agreed. "Now, we might want to go somewhere a little more private to alter my appearance."
"Actually, I don't think I need to. I only have one more person to see and he's a muggle captain in the British Army," Harry explained.
Draco raised his eyebrows in surprise but said nothing.
"Come on, we need to get out of these robes and find you some muggle clothing," Harry said, looking at Draco's wizarding attire.
"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Draco asked, in mock outrage.
"Didn't we have this discussion when we went to the muggle library only a few months ago?" Harry grinned. "Anyway, after we've done all of that, we'll need to create a portkey," he explained, leading the way out of Knockturn Alley.
OOOOO
Harry and Draco traveled by portkey to the training base, but they didn't count on having so much trouble getting past the front gates. It took quite some time for the two men to convince the soldier that they weren't a security risk and that he should lower his gun. They might have been there longer, had Draco not stepped in and taken the matter into his own hands.
"This is your first day on the job, isn't it?" he sighed, his patience clearly at an end.
"You really shouldn't –" the solider spluttered, still pointing his gun at them.
"Look, soldier. We're looking for the captain. We can understand that you can't just let anyone walk onto the base, but if you had used your head when we first asked to see him you would have sent for a couple of soldiers to escort us to him instead of wasting our time," Draco sighed.
The guard at the reddened and called for two armed escorts.
"Thank you," Draco nodded before he followed the guards. They found the captain on the training ground holding a class in hand to hand combat.
"Sir! These gentlemen say they have an urgent matter to discuss with you," one of the armed escorts called out.
"Thank you gentlemen, I'll see them here," he called out, dismissing the escorts and coming over to meet the two young men. "Harry! It's been ages! Who's your friend?"
"Steven, this is William Hislop," Harry told him, protecting Draco's identity. "Bill, this is Captain Steven Toricelli."
The two men shook hands.
"Have you got a minute?" Harry asked his old mentor.
"Sure. Just let me give my guys something to do. Excuse me," he said, heading back over to his class and shouting a series of crisp orders.
"Good thinking with the name, but where do you know the captain from?" Draco asked quietly.
"He was one of my fighting and self-defence instructors."
"You learned how to fight, muggle style?" Draco asked, mildly surprised.
"Yes. A lot of witches and wizards are thrown off balance when I attack them with my fists instead of with my wand," Harry explained. Without thinking he stood a little straighter when he saw the captain returning.
"That makes sense," Draco nodded in approval. "I know I would be."
"So, what did you want to see me about?" the captain asked, coming to stand at ease before the two men.
It didn't take long for Harry to explain what he needed his old instructor to do. The military officer had been one of Harry's key informants regarding all things muggle related during the war, so he immediately understood what he was being asked to do, and why the contact arrangements were so obscure.
In fact, Captain Toricelli was probably one of the few muggles who knew about Voldemort at all. His uncle had been a wizard and had attended Hogwarts during the times when Albus had been the transfiguration professor. Though his nephew had not been born with any magical ability, he had always been close to his uncle, a man who occasionally did some work for the Order of the Phoenix.
The captain had been visiting his uncle when Albus had dropped by on one occasion and his uncle had recommended his skills to Albus, knowing the headmaster counted both muggles and wizards among his list of friends, acquaintances and contacts. Some months later, Albus approached him and offered him the task of teaching Harry how to defend himself. Although the initial basis of the relationship was that of tutor and student, a mutual admiration developed and Harry couldn't have imagined trying to defeat Voldemort without Steven's support.
"What sort of enemy are we facing? Anything like the last one?" he asked, bringing Harry out of his thoughts.
"I've been hearing some strange things. It's all just gossip and rumours at this point, but if there's anything going on, I'd like to be in a position to be able to head it off," Harry told him, evasively. He would tell them about Voldemort's return when he had his network up and running again. He might even have some idea of how he was going to deal with Voldemort's return by them – he hoped.
"I'll do what I can," the officer nodded.
Harry breathed a little easier when he heard this. "Thanks. We'll be heading off, but I'll drop in every now and then, alright – if I can get past your soldier at the front gate."
"Before you go, I wonder if one – or both – of you would do me a favour," the captain inquired.
Draco looked to Harry in confusion, but Harry shook his head and shrugged helplessly.
"Er, I guess so." Harry replied, clearly puzzled.
"Good. My class is about to graduate and they think that they know everything that they need to know about combat. I was hoping you wouldn't mind...demonstrating...that they shouldn't let their skill go to their head and drop their guard." Captain Toricelli led the two men to his class, who were still going through the grueling set of drills he'd left them to do.
"What makes you think we can best them in a fight?" Harry asked him with a grin.
His old instructor threw him a look of disbelief. "I've never seen your friend fight, but I trained you myself."
"What if I'm rusty? Out of shape?" Harry asked lightly, still grinning mischievously.
The man skimmed his eyes over Harry's well toned physique and raised an eyebrow. "You don't look out of shape."
"I might sit this one out, but you go ahead," Draco told Harry, smiling at the friendly banter between the two. There was so much mystery surrounding the life Harry had led after he had been taken for training and seeing a piece of Harry's history come alive in front of him captivated his interest. He was happy to just watch and listen.
"Are you sure? This could be fun," Harry grinned.
"Yeah, I'm sure,"
"Alright, but if you complain about missing out on having all the fun later on, I'm going to remind you whose fault that was," Harry said, swinging his arms to limber up the muscles in his shoulders.
"Well, I'm interested to see what you can do, to be honest," Harry's former instructor said with a grin.
"I knew you had another motive. All that stuff about needing to teach your students to stay on their guard – pah! You could have just challenged them to try and beat you up yourself," Harry said, shaking his head.
"Yes, but it's more fun this way," he said teasingly.
"I agree," Draco said.
Harry looked at the two of them and shook his head.
"Soldiers, eyes front!" the officer called out sternly, standing at ease before his class. "These two gentlemen travel to various military bases to see what their men and women are made of."
"Listen up!" Draco told them, jumping in. "Captain Toricelli has told us that you're a decent group, but I think I'd like to see that for myself. This is a hand to hand combat training session, am I correct?"
"Yes, sir!" the soldiers called back to him in unison.
"And you're all about to graduate, is that right?" Draco continued.
"Yes sir!"
"Do you think you're ready for combat?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Are you sure about that? You never know who you will be pitted against in a war."
"Yes, sir!"
"Oh, I don't know. I haven't seen anything here to impress me yet," Harry interrupted, getting into character and staring nonchalantly at the group.
"Sir, may I suggest that you test their abilities yourself?" the captain offered, trying to suppress a grin.
Harry and Draco looked at each other and pretended to consider the offer. Finally, they nodded and Harry began removing his jacket and his shirt until he was left with only his singlet covering his torso, the scars on his arms and the tops of his shoulders and neck visible for all to see. Draco winced involuntarily but covered his reaction quickly
Bloody hell! He looks like he's been through a meat grinder! Draco shuddered.
"Can I have a volunteer to test their abilities against my colleague?" Draco called out, pointing at Harry, who was making a show of warming up the muscles in his arms and neck.
The group of soldiers spoke among themselves until one young man stepped forward. "Sir, I'll volunteer."
"Excellent. Soldiers, move back and give these gentlemen some space," their commander shouted, gesturing for the soldiers to move back.
"Good luck out there," Draco offered.
"Thanks, but they're pretty young and relatively inexperienced. I don't think I'll have too much of a problem. I'll keep my guard up though," Harry told him.
"Good. Oh, and this is just a suggestion, but I don't think you should be taking your shirt off around Ginny or Hermione, unless you want them to interrogate you about how you got all of your scars and then offer to make some ridiculous home remedy that's 'guaranteed' to make them fade," Draco said quietly.
"Good point," Harry nodded. "Um, I'd rather you didn't mention it to them either – or Ron, for that matter. They don't need to know and I don't want to have to answer their questions right now."
"I wasn't planning on saying a word," Draco assured him.
"Try not to hurt him too much," Captain Toricelli said when he returned to Harry's side. Harry had to work hard to suppress a laugh. Harry knew from experience that his former instructor believed in tough love and that sometimes you had to learn your lessons painfully, and he almost felt sorry for the soldiers – almost.
He rolled his eyes at the captain and stepped into the 'ring' with the young soldier.
"Begin whenever you're ready," Draco instructed.
Both men circled each other, sizing one another up and watching for the first signs of movement from their opponent. The young solider made the first attack, but Harry was ultimately more skilled and experienced. He made easy work of the young man's clumsy attacks, dodging or blocking each one and then responding with a painful counter attack.
Draco called the fight off before the young man suffered any permanent injuries. "I think that more or less decides the matter."
Harry walked over and offered a hand up to the young man, who was winded and sprawled on his back. He gripped it gratefully and Harry pulled him up. "You did really well. Just try not to rush your attacks so much next time. Use your head as well as your fists and you'll be fine. You've got good form, but you weren't watching me very closely. Watch my eyes and the way my muscles tense."
"Yes, sir," the young man said weakly, gripping his chest. "Sir, where did you get your training?"
Harry grinned. "I was trained by your captain. You show a lot of promise, keep working at it," Harry told the group, grinning at their surprise and reaching for his shirt and jacket.
"You are a little rusty. He shouldn't have been able to hit you at all," Captain Toricelli said, speaking professionally.
"Yeah, I know. I guess I am out of shape after all," Harry replied, buttoning up his shirt.
"Hang on, that was you out of shape?" Draco asked, impressed.
"He used to be able give me a run for my money," the military officer boasted, "though he could never actually beat me."
"Thanks again, Steven. I'll be back soon," Harry waved as he and Draco turned to leave.
"What?" Draco asked when he noticed Harry looking at him.
"Nothing," Harry said, quickly shaking his head. "I hope I didn't bore you today."
"No way. This was a very...interesting...trip. I'm glad I came along."
The two men walked the rest of the distance to the gate in silence. It didn't escape their notice that the soldier from this morning had been replaced by a different soldier who gave them no trouble when they passed by him and out of the gate.
"Thank you," Harry said to Draco, as he turned down the path that lead away from the base and to their port key point.
Draco looked closely at Harry and simply nodded. "So, do you think you could have some muggle fighting sessions with me? I mean, I know how to look after myself, but I don't have a strict form or a discipline."
"Er, sure. We can arrange early morning sessions, before breakfast. I don't think either of us will have much free time at any other time of the day, or maybe we can..."
OOOOO
It was pleasant outside and Ginny, Hermione and Ron sat outside the school, waiting for the two men to return from their errand.
"Oh, it looks like we were missed," Draco observed as he and Harry approached the front steps of the castle.
"Right," Harry nodded, though he wasn't so sure.
"Before I forget, you really should have Poppy look at your ankle. I'm sure she can do something with it. I think half the reason that kid managed to get so many punches past your guard was because you were trying to compensate for your ankle."
"Maybe," Harry said absently.
Draco stopped and grabbed Harry's arm to stop him. "He's back. If your ankle can't be fixed that's one thing, but if it can, you can't afford to let it slow you down."
Harry looked at Draco carefully and nodded. "You're right. I'll see her today."
"What took you two so long?" Ginny asked as they neared the front steps.
"Nothing, we just went to talk to someone," Draco said vaguely.
"That reminds me, Ron and I visited mum this morning and she told us to pass the message onto you, Harry, that she would love to have you round for dinner when you've got the time. We told her that you've been very busy and that you're still very busy, and she said that she might arrange to come and visit you here at the castle, didn't she, Ron?" Ginny asked her brother.
Ron clenched his jaw and looked away from everyone, earning disappointing looks from his sister, his wife and Draco. Harry stiffened and tried to push aside the stab of pain he felt at Ron's hostility.
"Excuse me," he said quietly, before he climbed the steps to the school.
"Don't forget to see Poppy," Draco called out before Harry disappeared into the school.
"He's going to see Poppy? Is he ill?" Hermione asked Draco, but Draco wasn't listening. He was too busy glaring balefully at Ron.
"Is this all really necessary?" Draco asked evenly. "You care about him, he cares about you, why can't you get past this?"
Ron continued to stare at a part of the school landscape, trying not to hear what Draco was saying.
"You're family, Ron, so let me just say this: Harry and I went to see...certain people...today. I know you have some things you need to think about, but I think that if you'd heard and seen what I did, you might feel a little differently to the way you do now." Draco told him, before he headed into the castle himself, in search of Severus.
What on earth could he have seen? Hermione thought, frowning in concern.
OOOOO
Draco found Harry hours later at a small table in the darkest corner of the library, snoring softly from behind several large stacks of books.
"Hey, wake up," Draco said quietly, shaking Harry's shoulder and receiving nothing but a grunt for his efforts.
"Hey! Come on, wake up," Draco said a little more loudly, shaking Harry a little harder. Harry snapped his eyes open, grabbing Draco's wrist with one hand and reaching for his wand with the other.
"Shit!" Draco cried out, jumping back in surprise and earning a glare and a loud 'shush' from the librarian.
"Bloody hell! Don't ever do that to me again!" Harry exclaimed.
"If that's the way you react to someone waking up, believe me, I won't," Draco told him, still recovering. "I just wanted to tell you that it's time to head over for dinner."
"Thanks, but I'll be fine. I've got some things I need to do here and I'll grab something when I get back to my rooms," Harry told him, stretching and returning to his books.
Draco looked on disapprovingly. "Are you avoiding us?"
"...no, I've just been busy..."
"Surely you're not too busy to eat. If you're going to take a break to eat, you may as well take your break now. I'm sure these books will still be here when you get back."
"I'd really rather not," Harry told him without looking up from the page he was looking at. "I need to get this done. I'll break later but I really need to get back to what I'm doing."
"Okay, I'll just let Ginny and Hermione know where you are and that you're too busy to join us. They're not as understanding as I am though. They probably won't let the matter rest. At all. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if they both came over here and dragged you by your ears into the Hall."
Harry thought about this. "They would, wouldn't they? You could always just tell them you don't know where I am."
Draco pretended to consider this. "No, actually I couldn't. I just can't lie to my wife. She'll see right through me in two seconds."
"You seemed to be very convincing when you were lying to Voldemort."
"While that's true, women are scary, they can spot a lie a mile away. If Voldemort was a woman he would have seen through me like I was made of glass."
"You'd really tell them?" Harry asked, sighing heavily.
"I really would," Draco replied without the smallest hesitation.
"Well, when you put it like that, I don't have much choice, do I?"
"No, not really," Draco replied, leading a grumpy Harry out of the library and through the winding maze of corridors.
"What where you researching in there? Some of those books look too old to be handled," Draco asked curiously.
Harry paused before answering. "I was trying to get to know my enemy," he said very softly.
"I thought you already knew him."
"I obviously didn't know him well enough. He has to have a weak point somewhere about him, but I just can't see it."
"Do you want a hand?"
"Thanks, but I think I need to do it on my own. I'm not trying to be offensive, but you might not know what you're looking for and you might not realise it if you run across it."
"You've got a point. I notice you're not limping anymore," Draco noticing how differently Harry walked.
"Oh, yeah," Harry said, looking down at his feet. "I saw Poppy earlier. She said that the sort of damage that was done used to be irreparable, but there have been some advances in potions and healing and in the end, she dosed me up with about ten potions and the re-broke my ankle and healed it up again. She must have been as strong as ten men though, because she re-broke my ankle with her bare hands!"
"Couldn't she have used her wand?" Draco asked curiously.
"I'm sure she could have, but she did it the other way. I think she enjoyed it too," Harry muttered. "And stop laughing, it's not funny."
"I'm not laughing," Draco told him, trying to choke down the rest of his mirth, "Oh good, we're not late, they haven't served dinner yet," he said, glad to be able to change the topic as they entered the Hall.
Harry hadn't eaten a meal in the Hall with the rest of the staff and students since everybody had discovered who his true identity and everybody in the room stopped and stared at him as he followed Draco to the staff table. His usual place at the table was still reserved for him but Harry was surprised to see Remus seated next to his place.
"When did Remus get here?" Harry asked Draco.
"I'm not sure, but he was looking for you earlier this afternoon." Draco told him.
"You're not limping anymore," Remus said when Harry took his seat.
"No, Poppy took care of my ankle earlier today," Harry explained.
"Why didn't you get it fixed straight away?" the older man asked curiously.
Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Oh, er, I don't think I could..." he said, unwilling to admit that he had tried to heal his ankle himself before he left the wizarding world. "Um..."
"Don't bother asking him, Remus. He won't tell you. He keeps a lot of things to himself." Ron sighed, throwing his napkin on the table and pushing his chair back.
"Ron –" Hermione began.
"Of course I've got secrets. We all do," Harry whispered harshly, leaning closer to him. "But if I told you mine, you'd never come near me again."
A tense silence fell over that end of the table and Harry stood up, mentally berating himself for allowing Draco talk him into joining everyone for dinner. He just created too much tension and awkwardness wherever he went. It was ridiculous to think that he could enjoy a meal in the Great Hall the way he used to. He'd only been 'Harry Potter' for about six weeks now, and he was already sick of it.
Remus tried to stop Harry before he left the table. "Harry –"
"I'm sorry I didn't get to see you earlier, but could you come by my rooms after dinner? We can talk there," Harry said impassively before he left the table and the Hall.
Albus looked reproachfully at Ron before instructing his students, who had been looking on with interest, to return to their dinner.
From his place next to Severus at the other end of the table, he was too far away to have heard what happened between Harry and Ron, but he could make a very good guess. "Damn!" Draco muttered."You have no idea how difficult it was to persuade him to finally come and join us for a meal and it took Ron about sixty seconds to undo all of my hard work."
Severus raised an eyebrow. "I knew you had become friends, but I had no idea that you and Potter were so close."
Draco looked around him. "I don't think the others know what it means to have come face to face with...him. We have some idea, but the others don't, so they couldn't possibly know what it involves or what it does to a person. And he has to do it again. How can he focus on what he's doing if he's trying to deal with...this...too?" Draco asked quietly and gesturing around him.
"So you are concerned that he will not be able to perform?" Severus asked lightly.
"Harry and I have made our peace with each other, and I think we're even friends. I want you to be in no doubt that I'm concerned for him, but I'm not blind to the fact that a lot of people rely on him. If he fails, for any reason, we will all suffer the consequences."
Unable to argue the point, Severus looked back to the other end of the table, and the malicious side of him grinned inwardly at the sight of Ron looking decidedly uncomfortable in his seat between two women who looked to be giving him a piece their minds.
"I know you're my brother and I'll love you until the day I die, but I just need you know that I really don't like you right now," Ginny grated out through tightly clenched teeth.
Ron looked at her blankly.
"You're upset and so am I, but if you keep acting this way every time he comes near us, and you ruin my chance to get to know him again, I'll never forgive you, brother or not," she whispered harshly.
"Nor will I," Hermione agreed quietly.
Remus, on the other hand, was so angry that he didn't trust himself to speak. He stood up to follow Harry but Hermione grabbed his arm to stop him.
"Don't go after him. With Harry, it's best if you let him cool off for a little while before you see him," she said told him.
"I suppose you're right," he said, taking his seat again. "His father – and Sirius for that matter – were the same way," he added, a little sadly.
The rest of the meal passed uncomfortably for everybody in the Hall. A tense silence had settled over the staff table and Albus' stern gaze restrained the students from talking and speculating about what they had seen – at least until they had left the Hall.
OOOOO
Severus and Hermione had joined Draco and Ginny in the couple's rooms after dinner. Ron was noticeably absent, having decided to spend the rest of the evening on his own in the rooms he shared with Hermione.
The small group lounged comfortably in the sitting room listening to Draco describe the fight Harry had with the young soldier from the British military base.
"He was trained by a muggle fighting instructor?" Ginny asked incredulously.
"Yes, and I don't think anyone could have found someone more suited to the task. This guy's built like a mountain!"
"That certainly explains a few things," Severus observed, sipping his coffee.
He was met with three blank stares.
"Do you remember that day, some weeks after Christmas when a group of people armed with guns and other muggle weaponry attacked the pharmacy in the London muggle mall we were patrolling? I recall that we were all very curious to know why Potter, or 'Green', as he was known to us, chose to overcome the assailants using muggle methods rather than magical means. If he studied under a muggle fighting instructor, it stands to reason that he will feel comfortable using muggle methods," the former spy explained.
"But this raises a whole lot of other questions, doesn't it?" Hermione asked.
A loud and insistent knocking at the door put an end to the rest of the conversation.
"Don't move, sweetheart, I'll get it," Draco told his wife, getting up and heading over to the door.
"I wish my husband had Draco's manners," said Hermione pointedly.
Draco grinned rakishly at the girls before he opened the door.
"Draco! Is Hermione here, or Ginny?" Remus asked urgently and slightly out of breath.
"Yes, they're both here. Come on in, what's the matter?" the young man asked, showing his guest in and checking the corridor quickly before closing the door behind him.
"It's Harry - he is having one of his nightmares – or visions – now and I can't wake him. I thought that, since the girls grew up with Harry that they might have had more experience with this sort of thing and might know what to do," Remus explained in a rush.
"Of course, let's go," Ginny cried, leaping to her feet with Hermione right behind her.
"Is this one of those nightmares, Ginny?" Draco asked. Early on in their relationship, Ginny had told him about the visions Harry used to have, particularly the one that saved her father's life. Harry had told her that whenever he dreamed about Voldemort, or had visions about him or something he'd done, he'd experiences terrible pain – both physical and emotional – like someone was trying to split his head into two.
"We'll come with you," Draco said, leading Severus and Remus out of the door.
"How did you know I was with Ginny and Draco?" Hermione asked Remus, curious as they hurried through the corridors.
"I didn't. I thought about seeing you and Ron first, but you weren't in your room, and Ron told me where you were. I didn't ask him to come along because he and Harry...well..."
"Yes, I know," Hermione muttered.
"It's awfully late, I thought you would have gone home long before now," said Ginny.
"Since Albus has requested I attend the meeting he has called for tomorrow morning, Harry invited me to stay the night," Remus said, refusing to talk about the meeting in such a public corridor, even if it was quite late. Unfriendly ears could be nearby and you could never be too cautious in times like these.
"I didn't think that the teacher's rooms had a spare bedroom. Ron's and Hermione's doesn't, and neither do ours," Ginny said, a little puzzled.
"We moved a sofa into the bedroom and transfigured it into a bed," Remus explained.
"Oh."
"I just threw a standard spell on his door and put a silencing spell over the rooms," Remus told them when they had reached the door to Harry's rooms. "Brace yourself," Remus warned them before he unlocked the door and let them in.
"Bloody hell!" Draco swore when the door opened and they were immediately assaulted by Harry's screams.
"Aaugh!" screamed Hermione, "Quickly, shut the door before anyone else hears him!"
They rushed through the sitting room to the source of the noise and found Harry writing and twisting on his bed. His sheets had been flung away, his shirt was twisted and had ridden half way up his torso, and his boxer shorts were hanging precariously low on his lean hips.
The scars that criss-crossed Harry's body were visible for all to see and Draco winced when he saw them, just as he had done earlier that day when Harry took his shirt off to fight the young soldier. Quick as a flash he moved to stand in front of Ginny and Hermione, who were still standing in the door way, and grabbed their arms to stop them from moving any further into the room.
"Draco, let go. Harry's in trouble, we have to help," Hermione cried, desperately trying to free herself from his grip.
"Let go of me this second, Draco or so help me, I'll never speak to you again!" Ginny cried, struggling against her husband.
"I'm sorry, but it's best if you stay here," Draco said evenly. The ravages of war had left their mark on Harry's body, and the girls didn't need to see that. Harry would show them when, or if, he was ever ready.
Remus couldn't understand for the life of him what Draco was doing. How were they to help Harry if his closest friends weren't allowed to get anywhere near him? Severus was quick to understand Draco's behaviour. Serving the Dark Lord was a hazardous occupation at best – deadly at worst – and one did not escape his service without evidence of his tasks, or his displeasure, carved into one's skin.
But as marred as his own skin was, the scars he could see on Harry made him pale slightly. One in particular caught his eye. It was thick welt that appeared to start somewhere near Harry's collarbone and it ran in straight sort of line right down to the top of his right hip bone – as though someone had tried to flay him alive. It was unsettling to see flesh – particularly flesh that belonged to someone so young – scarred so extensively. Someone Harry's age shouldn't bear marks like that – actually, no one should. But wasn't that why they had fought Voldemort? To keep others from having to endure his wrath?
It was good that Hermione and Ginny could not see this. He couldn't help but believe that in this situation, the fuss caused by their reactions to Harry's horrific scarring would be more of a hinderance than a help.
Though they couldn't see his scars, Harry's screams and his writhing body were unsettling in themselves and Draco's chest contracted painfully at the sight of the unshed tears in his wife's eyes and the pained expression on her face, which was mirrored on Hermione's.
Severus worked hard to push aside the twisting in his stomach. Seeing Potter brought back memories of watching others undergo torture at Voldemort's hands, or the hands of other Death Eaters – or even himself – and it affected him more than he'd care to admit. He knew that Potter had experienced visions when he was a student at the school, and he guessed that they were unpleasant, but he had no idea that they gave him so much pain. He privately wondered just how many nights Potter had spent like this.
Remus had already moved to Harry's side and risked being hit by one of Harry's flailing limbs in his bid to wake him up.
"Come on, Harry, snap out of it!" Remus called while he slapped his face and shook his shoulders. But to no avail. Harry appeared to be completely oblivious.
The Potions Master looked about the room, moving quickly to look through the drawers on Harry's bedside cupboards.
"What are you doing?" Remus cried.
"I am looking for something that I can give to him to calm him down. Perhaps a calming draught or some sort of powder," Severus replied impassively, rifling quickly through each of the drawers in turn. He found nothing of use in the drawers and hurried to the set of drawers on the other side of the bed. "It would be just like him to know he has a problem and not bother to keep the appropriate potions and treatments on hand," he muttered.
"I never actually saw Harry when he was having one of his nightmares. Ron shared a dormitory with him for years and he used to say that all the shaking and slapping in the world seldom did any good, that he'd normally come out of it by himself," Hermione said.
"He's going to hurt himself if he keeps flailing around like that. Remus, maybe you should put him in a body bind," Ginny suggested, amidst tears.
"That would do him more harm than good. His muscles are already contracting at an extreme rate. Our muscles are not supposed to remain rigid and contracted for long periods of time, and if we were to cast the body bind on him while his muscles were tense, we run the risk of causing muscle damage," Severus told them, now looking through Harry's wardrobe having found nothing useful in the drawers. "Do you know if he keeps any potions on hand in his rooms?" Severus asked in annoyance, not liking his chances of finding anything in the wardrobe either.
"I think he mentioned once that he kept his potions in his study, since that's where he makes them," Draco replied, recalling a conversation he'd had with 'Jason'.
"Where is his study?" Severus asked, rearranging everything back into the wardrobe and closing the doors.
"It's the room next to the kitchen," Remus answered, watching warily as Severus pulled his wand out and pointed it at Harry.
"I am simply putting a blanket back over him," Severus explained, noticing Remus' look of distrust.
"He'll just kick them back off," Remus pointed out.
"He will not be able to," Severus said vaguely before he muttered a short spell and directed one of the blankets back over Harry's body. With a flick of his wand, he watched the covers latch themselves onto the bed. Curiously, the covers appeared to be loose enough to give Harry some room to move, but they stayed on the bed, even though Harry was still thrashing about.
"I've never seen a spell that could do that," Remus said, a little surprised.
"It is often used to confine people to their beds in hospitals – among other things," Severus explained, though he added the last part under his breath. Remus looked at Severus, but his face remained an unreadable mask.
"I'll come along with you to look for the potions," Draco said, releasing his grip on the girls and watching them rush to Harry's side. "The blanket was a good idea," he added when Severus joined him in the doorway.
Severus simply grunted and lead the way out of the room.
OOOOO
It didn't take long for the two men to find the study, and when they entered the room, Severus was unable to do anything except stand in the doorway and take in everything about it, while Draco searched for his supply of potions. A long bench was pushed agaisnt the wall next to the door with a sink stretched out behind it. The bench was carefully partitioned off in the middle. On one side, cauldrons and vials, holding various coloured liquids, were carefully lined up and Harry's hastily scribbled notes were stacked neatly in a corner in front of a particularly large cauldron labelled "Experimental potion – Epilepsy".
On the other side of the partition, beakers, test tubes and a pestle and mortar were lined up across the surface. One beaker was laballed "Medication – Theresa", and another "Experimental medication – Epilepsy". More of Harry's scribbled notes were to be found on another corner on top of a few thick textbooks. A tall narrow cupboard was pushed up against the back wall and every unused space on the wall was adorned with book shelves, every shelf was lined with books from both the muggle and the wizarding worlds.
A place for everything and everyting in its place, but where on earth did he learn so much about potions? Severus thought, taking in all the details.
"I think this is it," Draco called from the far end of the room.
Severus shook his head to clear it and strode over to join Draco in front of the cupboard.
"It looks like it's all organised, but some of the symbols are a bit obscure and don't mean much to me," Draco admitted.
The top shelves of the cupboard housed Harry's muggle medicines, medicinal ingredients and tools, and the bottom shelves housed Harry's potions, potion ingredients and equipment.
Severus crouched down to take a closer look at the labels on the vials. After a few moments, he carefully picked up three vials and closed the cupboard door.
"I assume that those symbols on the labels mean something to people who make potions," Draco noted, following Severus out of the study.
"Those symbols are universal potions symbols," Severus explained tersely.
"I know I wasn't great when it came to potions, but I don't remember learning those at school," said Draco.
"I do not teach my students the chart of universal potions symbols. Where Potter learned it, and who he learned it from, is anybody's guess," Severus snapped.
OOOOO
The two men returned to the room to find Ginny and Hermione standing a small distance away from the bed, to avoid being hit accidentally.
"I can't stand to see him like this," Ginny sobbed.
"Neither can I," Hermione agreed, unable to take her eyes off Harry.
"We were unable to find anything that would be of any use to him now, though we do have some potions that he should take as soon as he is able to," Severus explained, moving quickly across the room and handing the vials to Remus, explaining each of them in turn.
"This one is a headache potion. He had this potion in different strengths, but this is the strongest one."
Remus took the vial and frowned at the symbol on the label.
"Harry uses universal potions symbols," Draco explained, catching Remus' look.
Remus just looked at Draco and raised an eyebrow quizzically.
"This," Severus continued, "is a calming draught. He also has this potion in different strengths but I recommend that he take the strongest one, which is this one."
Remus accepted the vial and looked carefully at the symbol on its label.
"He should also take this serum if he feels nauseus, which he may do after taking such strong potions," Severus said, handing Remus the third vial.
"So there was nothing in there that could help him now?" Ginny demanded.
"There was not, he will need to come out of this himse-" the Potions Master began before he noticed that Harry had stopped screaming and thrashing about.
Harry sat up, gasping heavily. He trembled heavily and he let his head fall into his hands and the tears spill from his eyes. Neither Severus, Draco, Ginny, Hermione or Remus moved or spoke. They simply watched the young man carefully. It was only when Harry's breathing had evened itself out that Hermioned timidly said, "Um, Harry?"
Harry's head shot up, and for the first time, he really registered that there were other people in the room with him. "Oh my God," he groaned, trying to hide himself under the covers.
"It's alright," Ginny said carefully. "We just want to make sure you're okay."
Harry adjusted his clothes, untangled himself from his sheets and stumbled across the room. He fervantly wished for the ground to open up and swallow him – something, anything, so that they wouldn't stare at him.
"Harry," Hermione called out, "Where are you going?"
"I-It's not alright. Nothing's a-alright. I-I'm sorry, I just –" Harry tried to explain, but the little strength that he had left in his limbs gave out on him and he passed out onto the floor.
"Harry!" Ginny cried, rushing over to him. "Oh my God," she cried when she caught sight of the scars that decorated the backs of Harry's arms and legs.
"Who on earth...how on earth..." Ginny mumbled quietly while she held him gently, lightly tracing some of the scars on one of Harry's arm.
"I think we can make a good guess about who might have been responsible for this, but I can only imagine how he got them," Draco told her and Severus – without knowing he'd done it – nodded in agreement. The Potions Master caught Draco looking at him and his face quickly lost any manner of expression it might have shown.
"You don't have this many scars," Ginny observed to her husband.
"No, I don't," he agreed grimly. "But then again, I'm not 'Harry Potter'."
"Ron should see this," Ginny said, leaping to her feet fully intending to find Ron and drag him – by the ear if necessary – to Harry's room.
"No he should not," Severus said fimly, stopping her in her tracks.
Ginny and Hermione looked at him in surprise.
"Severus is right, there is no reason to let Ron see this," Remus agreed.
"But –" Ginny tried to protest.
"He is not thinking clearly at the moment and, scars notwithstanding, he couldn't possibly understand the extent of what Harry has had to endure – and what he must still endure – if he cannot see past his own feelings and his own pain. With things as they are between them, all that might happen is that Ron might feel sorry for Harry, but you must know how much Harry hates people feeling sorry for him. I think it would make things worse if Harry felt that Ron pitied him," Remus told her. Ginny considered this and reluctantly nodded her agreement.
"I think the worst is over," Remus observed, getting to his feet and grabbing his wand from one of Harry's bedside chests of drawers. "If you will assist, Severus, I think it would be easiest to levitate Harry back into bed.
Severus drew his wand wordlessly and between them, made short work of the task. Hermione and Ginny followed them to the bed and fussed excessively over the bedcovers.
"It looks as though you can manage from here, so we'll show ourselves out," Draco said. Remus would be able to keep an eye on Harry, but he knew that the girls wouldn't leave unless they were removed from the room.
"I want to stay. I need to see that he'll be okay," Ginny protested.
"He's going to be fine. If what Ron says is true, he's had a lot of these nightmares. They're painful, but they're not harmful, strictly speaking. There's no need for you to stay here. Remus can watch over Harry," Draco told her, coming over to put an arm around her waist and lead her out of the room.
Hermione made to follow but she caught a glimpse of a photograph on the chest of drawers. "He looks happy here. I don't remember the last time he looked really happy," she observed a little sadly.
Ginny looked at Hermione curiously, so Hermione handed her the picture.
"His partner looked like a really nice man," she said quietly, handing the picture back.
"Greg. His name was Greg," Hermione told her, taking the picture and standing it back up on the table top.
"It's getting quite late," Draco observed, having to tug his wife a little to get her out of the room.
"Thank you for coming, I really was at a loss," Remus thanked them, following them out of the room.
"So were we," Ginny admitted.
"I know this goes without saying, but I trust that we will all be discreet about this," he said, with a pointed look at Severus, who simply raised in eyebrow.
"Was that for my benefit?" Severus sneered.
"Yes. If you use the knowledge of what you've just seen in any way that would hurt Harry, I will come after you." Remus replied bluntly.
"It will do you no good to threaten me. You will find yourself greatly outmatched," the Potions Master said coldly before he turned on his heel and let himself out of the rooms.
"We'll see you tomorrow," Hermione said, giving Remus a quick kiss on the cheek before she followed Draco and Ginny out of the door.
OOOOO
The next morning, Harry stirred himself awake to the sensation of having someone smoothing his hair back from his forehead. In his half sleepy state, he thought it must have been Greg, but when he opened his eyes, he found Remus sitting on the bed beside him.
"Remus?" Harry asked quietly, blinking to adjust his eyes to the bright sunlight that was flooding through his windows.
"How are you feeling?" Remus asked him, taking in his pasty appearance and the dark rings under his eyes.
"Terrible...and I just want the ground to swallow me up. I know you, Hermione and Ginny were here last night, but who else was here?" Harry groaned.
"You couldn't see?" Remus asked, surprised.
"I didn't have my glasses on, so I couldn't see a thing."
"Are you serious?"
"Yes, I can't see more than about a foot in front of my face without them. Why?" Harry asked, suddenly afraid of the answer.
"It's nothing. I just didn't realise the extent of your shortsightedness. Ginny, Hermione and I were the only ones here. I went to find them after you started yelling and thrashing about. I thought that since you were so close at school, that they might be able to help.
"Oh, good," Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Um, can I have a hand getting up, just so I can get to the potions cabinet in my study?"
"I thought you might need a few potions this morning, so I came prepared," Remus said, moving off the bed and grabbing the potions and a large glass of juice for Harry to drink.
The vials were labeled in potions symbols, surprising Harry that Remus seemed to be to identify them. "I had no idea that you understood universal symbols."
"I'm not just a pretty face. I have any number of hidden skills," Remus boasted, earning a weak smile from his friend's son.
Harry approved his choices of potions and downed them each in one gulp.
"You're brave. If it were me, I'd be washing each one of them down with about a litre of juice," Remus remarked seriously.
"I've discovered that potions don't necessarily have to taste like dirty underwear. I add glucose and flavouring to mine so they're really not too bad," Harry explained with pride.
Remus looked suspiciously at Harry. "And you know what dirty underwear tastes like, how?" He moved just in time to avoid Harry's half-hearted attempt at a punch.
"I'll give those potions about half an hour to kick in and then you can come out and have some toast with me. After that, we've a meeting to go to," Remus said, looking carefully at Harry. "Though, under the circumstances, I'm sure Albus would excuse you and let me just fill you in on what was discussed.
"Bugger, I almost forgot about that. No, I'll go. I'm fine now, so there's no reason to miss anything," Harry said quickly. "At least I have time for a shower between now and breakfast though. Pew!" he grimaced, sniffing one armpit. "I smell of day old sweat!"
"While that's true," Remus grinned, "Are you sure you should try standing so soon?"
Harry reconsidered. "You're right. I might give it ten minutes, and then I'll head to the bathroom." He flopped back onto his pillows, and sighed heavily. "Hey, Remus, I'm thinking of getting a motor bike, like Sirius'. Do you know where he got his?"
Remus blinked in surprise, not expecting such idle chatter from a man who had screamed himself hoarse just a few hours ago. While both men waited for the potions to begin to take effect, Remus fondly the day that Sirius had showed off his motor bike for his friends. Harry was surprised to find that it was in fact his mother who hinted that Arthur Weasley would be interested to see his bike, since he had a fondness for all things muggle. Between them, Sirius and Arthur managed to enchant the bike to fly. His mother would often curse the day she encouraged Sirius to talk to Arthur and she blamed herself for the "unwholesome alliance" that developed. No muggle appliances in their home were safe from Sirius' and Arthur's attentions after that and though Lily thought it extremely annoying. Harry would find it amusing to watch his mother run from a toaster that was chasing her around the kitchen.
Harry could just picture his godfather and Mr Weasley doing something like that and he laughed at the idea of his mother being chased by her kitchen appliances. Sirius had often said that his mother had a fiery temper to go with her red hair and he didn't know what was funnier – his godfather's prank or the thought of what his mother would have done to them once she caught up with them.
Though they would both much rather have spent the day in fond reminiscences, they had a meeting to go to, and Remus watched the light in Harry's eyes disappear, as he dragged himself off the bed and walked – a little unsteadily – to the bathroom. Remus flicked his wand and put a large pot of coffee on to boil and sat down at the small table in Harry's kitchenette to wait for him to come out of the shower. Neither of them had had much sleep and could both do with a strong dose of caffeine before they went to the meeting.