Disclaimer : All characters belongs to J. K. Rowlings. All were kidnapped in the dawn, and are not used to make money. They will be returned when I'm done.
See, don't own so don't sue, unless you're interested in my teddy bears collection...
Besides this work will contain people out of character since I am definitely not JK Rowlings, and some strange sentences since I'm French. Not to forget it's an AU... Still here?
So, on with the show...
Chapter 16 – Hey Hi Hey Ho, In Romania we'll go... But first a stop in St Mungo's we'll do... Hey Hi Hey Ho!
"And now, I declare you husband and husband. You can kiss...I see you get the idea..." Lyrek ended with a smirk.
A few minutes, or what seemed like it, later "How long?"
"Five minutes?"
"More or less..."
"Can Nekojins survive without air?"
"I think we're about to find out."
"Why don't we let them here? I know I don't plan to spend my whole day watching them kiss."
A snort. "Well, at least it gave ideas to some people."
"Well, you should be happy, they stopped."
"Good, now we can go and eat."
"You know, thinking with your stomach is not going to help you through life."
"What can I say, I'm a growing boy."
The happy couple never stopped holding hands on their way to the lunch room. It was, afterall, the first time since the beginning of their relationship that they could be openly together, without worrying about bein discovered.
Everybody was busy enjoying, some the lunch, others their husband, when the good mood was shattered as an Hogwarts owl swoop right down on Severus. James tried to chase it away, but all his efforts were in vain. Severus' frown deepened even more as he finished the letter.
"We have to go back to Hogwarts."
"What happened?"
"Nothing. Just the Headmaster's reaction to the adoption papers and you being back from the dead. He 'request' our presence to 'discuss' the situation. Oh, and it seems that reporters are camping in Hogsmead."
James was about to voice his opinion on the subject when another owl landed in front of him. He hesitantly reached for the letter bearing the ministry seal it carried, giving the owl ample time to perch itself in his plate and to steal some of his food.
If letters could spontaneously combust under somebody's glare, James' would have.
Severus tentatively rubbed his arm. No reaction. He then scratched behind James' nearest ear and earned himself an armful of teary and babbling Nekojin.
"I am not crazy! Stupid minister! I'm not insane, he is! He has no right to question my intelligence! I'll show him! How could he!" And so on and so forth.
In protective mood, Severus lifted James till he was settled in his lap, huging him for all he was worth. Once James had calmed a little and was quietly sniffing on his shoulder, Severus took the letter from his lax hand, read it quickly before folding it back and securing it carefully into one of his pockets.
Once done, he stared at the others. "They sent him a convocation to Saint Mungo's. They want him to submit to a total physical and mental examination. To see if he is really who he claim to be and if he is fit to assume his parental rights."
His voice could have been used to freeze hell.
"If he doesn't go, he will automatically lose his parental rights not only on Harry, but also on Blaise."
Harry and Blaise shared an horrified look. "They can't do that, can they?" Blaise asked in a small uncertain voice.
"Well, they can and they did. We will have to report our little trip to the holydays. The only good point is that this way, Dumbledore will not be able to complain that you are missing school. We are tied here till this farce has taken place."
"When?"
"Tomorrow."
"Harry I understand, but why would they want to get custody of me?" Blaise enquired.
It was James who answered "They maybe think that they could be able to coerce Nekojins into fighting on their side by using you. It is true that they have not taken side and made clear that they intented to stay neutral."
All the people sat at the table stayed silent for a while until Lucius snapped his fingers. "We are all moving to London this afternoon. Prepare the luggages and the mansion." He ordered the Elf who had appeared.
"Yes, Master." With a pop, the Elf went to obey his orders.
"Lucius..."
"Don't even begin, Severus. We both know that this time Fudge went too far. If we let him in office, who knows who he will do that to next?" His gaze softened as he looked at Draco and Sirius, who were helping Severus to try and lift James and his sons' spirits.
Harry suddenly extracted himself from his familly's embrace and went to stand in front of Lucius, his eyes hard with resolution.
"May I borrow some parchment and ink, as well as your fastest owl?" he asked the surprised blond.
"Whatever for, young Potter?"
"Since they sent my father to trial, we have to get him a lawyer. Somebody on our side, like Madam Pomfrey. For I am surethey won't let any of us go with him. This way, she may be able to squash them if they try to bent the results to their will." He thought for a while. "We could make the press useful for once. We are going to sent the Daily Prophet, Witch Weekly and the Quibbler a copy of the minister's letter with an article, anonymous of course."
Lucius nodded, looking at Harry with a new appreciation.
"I will do it, of course, so all of you could swear under Veritaserum that you are innocent. And I need to write to Charlie too. And the Weasleys. Only the twins and Bill for now. I thought they would be open minded enough not to let Charlie's choice of lover bother them..." He stopped and stared at Lucius whow as near gaping at him. "Are you alright, Mister Malfoy?" He smirked "Well, try being under two Gryffondor's influence for a few weeks, and we'll see if you don't act a little bit foolishly..." Draco's hands on his shoulders, turning him towards the table where writing material had been laid efficiently broke Harry's rant. He skipped to the table and began to write Madam Pomfrey's letter, leaving a blinking and confused Lucius in his wake.
Blaise was rolling on the floor with laughter. Draco sighed. "Well, Father, meet the real Harry Potter. Seems he have the whole world fooled with his 'I'm a poor brainless and rash Gryffondor' routine."
"I'm going to the owlery and bring Jewel. She's the fastest owl I own." Lucius' steady tone was only a slightly bit forced. He left the room, shaking his head and muttering "Since when did Gryffondors began to hide behind such well crafted masks? The world has topped upside down!"
Blaise laughter redoubled.
When he came back, Harry was writing the press letter under Draco's supervision. He had settled in a chair near Harry and was proofreading. Suddenly his eyes went twice their size. "Potter! You can't write this!"
"Why not?" Harry answered, his face a feigned clueless mask.
"Let's see, 'Fudge is a total fool who do more hurt than good to our world' this part is alright, but 'He should be given to His Voldiness to play with, although it is sure he will not make a very entertaining toy.' Is definitively not alright!"
Harry pouted before scratching the sentence. "Happy, now?"
Draco took the letter, read it quickly before handing it to Sirius who went to read it in Lucius' arms. Lucius began to decipher Harry's handwriting.
'Today, James Potter received an order from the Ministry of Magic, or more precisely its head, stating that he was to present himself to Saint Mungo's the following day. He is to submit himself to a whole physical and mental examination to determine if he is fit as a parent.
You will tell me the Minister is merely concerned about Harry Potter's security. After all, if James Potter was alive all those years, why didn't he step forward to take his son back?
Have any of you stop to consider that he didn't let his son be raised by muggles willingly? That he may be hiding not because of cowardice, but because he didn't want to put his son into more danger? Tell me, what would you-Know-Who do, had he knew that James Potter had escaped their last encounter with his life for the FOURTH time in a row? I'll tell you. He would have stop at nothing to try and kill James Potter. And keeping in touch with Harry would only have endangered both.
Let's just take another exemple. I know of a witch who married a muggle for love. Once he discovered her magical powers, he dumped her, not minding that she was pregnant. She died in childbirth.
If the Minister was so concerned about children's security, where were they when this little child was beaten and starved for being born magical?
I'm pretty sure this is not the only case. So, will the Minister help them all? Or do they plan on only 'helping' Harry Potter because they need him to do their dirty work, never asking themselves that maybe who he needed was James Potter...
What will they do for the others, less notorious children, who are let to suffer in silence?
This action bring another question in mind. How will the ministry decide who is mistreating their children? Will it be decided by their experts, so they could take whoever they want away from their parents for whatever reasons they have? Or by independant experts? I can only hope so for Harry Potter's mental health. What will his reaction be, should they rip him away from the father he just found after thinking himself an orphan for nearly his whole life?
Or will they let James Potter explain why he had to do what he did?
There, a last question for you. Why a decision so rash, Minister Fudge? I though you would be happy that Harry Potter had find something important in his life, somebody who will give him one reason more to fight and wanquish You-Know-Who. Shouldn't you have observed the situation before giving Harry Potter one more reason to distrust and resent you?
Think well before you answer, Minister Fudge.'
Lucius nodded, impressed. He stared at Harry, who was playing a new game of chase the tail with Blaise. He was so deep in thought, trying to reconcile what he now knew on Harry with what Harry allowed the world at large to know, and fitting the new and improved Harry into his plan, that he never noticed Sirius leaving his side to give the letter to Severus, pinned on his chair by a sleeping James. He didn't noticed Sirius' return either.
Severus began his reading, nodding in places, when James turned on his lap and snatched the letter.
"Hey! I was reading this!"
Pouting, James put it back on the table. He draw his wand and pointed it at the letter.
"Scripture clic!" Harry's handwriting turned into Snape's.
"Clic!" Into Charlie's.
"Clic!" Into symbols.
"James" sighed Severus, "could you refrain from trying to disguise Harry's handwriting till I have finished reading this letter?"
"You're not fun, you know that?" James muttered before wriggling in his husband's lap.
Sighing, Severus steadied him before murmuring in his ear "Let me finish this and I'll show you how fun I can be."
"Promise?"
At Severus' nod, James sighed happily and sagged against his husband's body. And 'clicked' one last time, changing the symbols into Fudge's handwriting. "Hurry!" he whimpered. Severus rolled his eyes and went on with is reading.
He barely had time to nod his approval and duplicate James' convocation before being dragged from the room by an eager Nekojin.
"O-kay" drawled Harry before turning to Lucius, whose hand seemed to crawl south on Sirius' body. "Before being too busy, would you mind warding Madam Pomfrey's letter so that only she could read it?"
Lucius hastily did so, and triplicated the press letter. "There, one for each newspaper. We leave in two hours, don't be late!" he hastily warned them before steering Sirius towards the door.
Draco grabbed the letters and ran to the owlery, not liking one bit the glint present into Harry and Blaise's eyes. The two Nekojins shrugged and went in search of mischief possibilities after having sent Jewel on its way with Madam Pomfrey's letter.
The next morning, at eight sharp, James, safely ensconsed into Severus' arms was shivering in fright. Blaise and Harry, who had insisted they came, were hovering at his side, ready to attack anybody trying to either hurt James, or even look at him the wrong way.
Severus was no better if his tight grip on James' waist was any indication. Once they stepped as one into Saint Mungo's entrance hall, the hustle bustle stopped and silence seeped from the entrance of the hospital to the end of the Hallway, making James highly uncomfortable with all the attention he was receiving after having spent fourteen years with only Blaise, Severus or his lair's Nekojins as company.
Whispers erupted from every corner of the hall, the papers having apparently printed special editions about Harry's anonymous letter.
Everybody was whispering furiously with his neighbour, people commenting to each other, making the noise going crescendo.
James mewled anguishly, flattening his ears on his skull, his tail wrapping itself tightly around Severus. Harry and Blaise were happy to see Madam Pomfrey hurrying to their side. She rubbed James' back, who was currently doing his best to melt himself into Severus. She frowned when she noticed how tense he was. Stepping aside, she casted Sonorous on herself. "Don't you people have anything better to do than gawking? Move out of the way and keep your comments to yourselves!"
She turned just in time to catch Severus' wince. "What is the matter?" she asked after having ended the Sonorous charm.
Severus shrugged as best as he could. "He's nervous. Meaning he is fidgetting. And he has very sharp claws."
"You have all my sympathy. Let's move."
Severus nodded but couldn't walk as James, his eyes scrunched closed, was in his way.
"James?" he tried. There was no reaction showing he had been heard. He tried a second time. A third, fourth, fifth time. No answer, no change in James' posture.
In the end, he lift one of James' legs and tried to fasten it around his waist. James seemed to get the idea and wrapped his second leg around his husband's waist, allowing himself to be carried away. As soon as they had left, murmurs exploded all over the hall.
As supposed, only Madam Pomfrey was allowed to go in with James. Even if James had calmed enough not to need the use of a crowbar to be pried from his husband, Severus still ended with a ripped shirt and a scratched back.
Harry sat himself on the floor, taking a shrunken muggle writing pad as well as a foutain pen and three enveloppes. Blaise, after a few minutes of staring at the door with a worried frown, went to snuggle up into his father's arms while Harry was scribbling away on a piece of paper. Once done, he folded carefully the letter before placing it in an enveloppe on which he simply wrote 'Bill Weasley'.
A second letter was enclosed into the second enveloppe labelled 'Fred and Georges Weasley'.
He breathed deeply for a few minutes before muttering "when in great anger, never answer a letter" over and over. Once he was calm enough for the delicate task of answering Charlie's letter, Harry set to work.
After penning a few sentences, he suddenly stopped and looked at Blaise before calling him softly. "Blaise?"
Once he had caught Blaise's red rimmed eyes with his own, he verbalised his idea hesitantly. "Do you... I mean, would you mind writing a word to Charlie? It could help Charlie to believe that my words aren't empty, that I mean what I wrote..."
Blaise nodded enthousiastically and dragged Severus with him. "You too, your words will have more weigth than ours."
It was a funny sight, seeing the frightening Potion professor, who had reduced even grown men to tears, allowing himself to be forced to seat on the floor near a smirking Harry Potter by his son. Leaning over Blaise's shoulder, he set to decipher Harry's handwriting.
'Charlie,
I'm very happy now that I have my father back. But this letter isn't about me. It's about you.
I certainly don't mind you marying a male ex-Slytherin, it would be hypocritical of me, seeing as my father married professor Snape yesterday, and that their son, Blaise, is a Slytherin.
My father and professor Snape have been together their three last school years. So, you see, I would never let this come in the way of our friendship.
Well, I'll let my new brother write now.
Harry.'
Blaise nibbled on his lower lip worriedly before grabbing the pen from Harry. He wrote in his neat penmanship a few sentences under Harry's.
'Hello,
You don't know me, but I've heard a lot about you from Harry. He's inexhaustible while speaking about you. Be happy you aren't here to be submitted to his endless chatter.
Would you mind a lot if Father and I showed up at your wedding? I'd be honoured to get to meet you in person. This way, I may even get to shut Harry up...
Well, I'll be waiting for your answer.
Blaise ex-Zabini (now Potter-Snape), Slytherin and proud of it.
Go you!'
Sighing, Severus took the letter a grinning Blaise was handing him. He frowned before calmly adding his participation to the missive.
"I have been roped by two grinning loons into adding a few words.
I have a piece of advice for you, one I'm sure James would happily agree with. Do not mind what other people think about you. There will always be people unhappy with your actions or way of life. Do not let their opinion bother you.
Harry is insisting on draging us all to see you in Romania, but the Headmaster will not allow that before the next holydays.
If you need a sympathetic ear, I am sure that James will be more than happy to provide it, seeing that you both are in the same situation.
I wouldn't recommend Harry, it could cost you your sanity, as you have no or little immunity to him.
Write back before the Potter side of my familly get mad with worry.
Professor Severus Snape.'
Shaking his head and stiffling his laughter, Harry put the letter in the last enveloppe and carefully closed it. He turned to Blaise and, arching an eyebrow, he hold his hand out.
Blaise reached into his pocket and retrieved three shrunken Malfoy owls. He deshrunked them for Harry to tied his letters to their legs. Severus muttered "I so do not want to know why you have shrunken Malfoy owls into your pockets"
Harry and Blaise were laughing so much, they didn't noticed the owls scurrying away. Once they did, they pounced on one each . Harry caught one first, and dumped it into a surprised Severus' lap to safe keeping before going to join Blaise into his attempts to catch the two fleeing owls.
As soon as the three owls had been caught, the boys left in search of a window. Severus watched them go before muttering fondly "The insanity comes from his side."
As soon as the boys were back, they both went to snuggle against Severus to wait for the end of James' examination.
A/N To make excuses for being late in updating (I am doing another fic at the same time) here comes some blopper :
Chapter 3 :
"Blaise, you survey us, you know the procedure in case of problem." That said the potions master of Hogwarts extended his hand and quickly swallowed three drops of veritaserum.
Seeing James' hand creeping towards the vial, Blaise shot him a pained look and told him gently "You don't have to..." he shut up fairly quickly as he saw James' determination in his eyes and let him take his drops.
Both Blaise and Harry looked at each other when James and Severus burst into laughing, their faces red. After James and Severus' rendition, a little off key, of YMCA, Blaise grabbed the vial and swore profusely when he saw the etiquette.
"Potter, that is not Veritaserum."
"What is it?"
"Vodkaserum."
Harry sighed. "Better prepare the hangover potions, then."