Betrayals, Truths and Family

Chapter 6: A Father Takes His Son Shopping

After his nightmare Harry panicked about not having his invisibility cloak, broom, and the Marauders map. His father sent a House Elf to collect all of his belongings from the Dursleys, kicking himself internally for not getting any of it before, before going back to comforting his scared son.

"It's okay, child, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. I promise. I love you, Harry." He repeats similar things over and over again, as does his father.

Soon Harry calms down and falls asleep, still clinging to both of them. The two men decided to stay with him for the rest of the night, knowing that Harry wouldn't let go of them until the morning, and wanting to make sure that he was okay, and that he didn't have any more nightmares like the one he had just had.

Tom falls asleep relatively easily, Severus, however, stays awake for a while longer. He watches his son sleep next to him and thinks about how things could have been had Lily not been taken. He would have been able to raise his son; hear his first word, watch him take his first step, teach him about the world, spoil him, love him. Him and Lily could have had more children.

Eventually Severus fell asleep, dreaming of the life that could have been but was stolen from them by the man who was going to pay for all of the pain he had put them and more people through.

…

When Harry woke up the next morning he realised that his father and grandfather were sleeping on either side of him. He smiled slightly as he remembered last night. He wasn't smiling about the nightmare. He was smiling because he had finally been able to call these two men what he had wanted to call them for the last week. And they comforted him and loved him in a way that no one had before.

He felt the men start to move beside him and started getting nervous.

"Good morning, Harry. How are you feeling this morning?" His father asked him.

"Better. Sorry about last night. I didn't mean to wake you both up." He apologised.

"Harry, we don't mind. We are here to help you, and if that means waking up in the middle of the night to care for you and comfort you when you have a nightmare, we are more than happy to do so." Tom told his grandson, Severus nodded in agreement, smiling gently at the fourteen year old.

"Let's go downstairs, have some breakfast, and then we can get readdy and go shopping. You need some clothes, and things to entertain you, whatever you want. We can also get your school things, since I know what you'll need." Severus said with a smile on his face.

"O-Okay." Harry stuttered, smiling slightly.

The three of them got out of the bed and walked together towards the family dining room. As they ate their breakfasts they talked about school, what Harry's favourite subjects were, what he enjoyed learning about and what he wanted to learn. When they were done they all headed to their separate bedrooms to get ready for the day.

Harry was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a black long-sleeved top, with a dark grey hooded jacket and some black trainers that his father transfigured for him when he met his father and grandfather in the front hall of the Manor, both of whom were wearing muggle clothes; Severus wearing black jeans, a black t-shirt and a black leather jacket, and Tom in black jeans and a dark grey sweatshirt. Severus and Tom also wore glamour charms so that they weren't too recognisable; instead of black, Severus' hair was now dark brown, Tom's was also dark brown, but his eyes were green.

"I just have to place a glamour charm on you, then we can go." Severus told his son, who nodded in agreement.

Soon Harry's hair was flat, dark brown in colour, his eyes were black and his scar was gone. Severus transfigured his glasses so that they were square, not round, and they used the floo to get to The Leaky Cauldron.

They went to the muggle part of London first to buy Harry some muggle clothes, shoes, books, etc. using the card that Severus had linked to his Gringotts vaults. A few times Harry was worried about the amount of money they were spending on him, especially since they brought a lot of clothes and quite a few pairs of expensive shoes, but Severus informed him that he had plenty of money saved up from his wages as a teacher, as well as the other things he had done, such as create and sell potions, and he got paid to help out at St Mungo's when they needed him to. He told Harry that he also inherited the Prince estate from his mothers' father and that also came with a lot of money, and kept making more money from the companies he was investing in, and the family vaults were also connected to the card he used.

Harry still worried, but he let them spoil him, especially after they mentioned not being able to spoil him for fourteen years and wanting to make up for it. He thanked them more than necessary, though. Tom used his card linked to his own, the Gaunt family, the Slytherin family, and the Peverell family vaults to buy him things. Tom explained to Harry that before he took over the Gaunt family Lordship the vaults barely had enough money to get him through his remaining years at Hogwarts in it, but due to some careful investing on Tom's part they now held a fair amount of money in them and continued to grow. The other family vaults had a lot in, though, so he survived whilst making the investments.

The two grown men told Harry they would help him when it came time to receive his own Lordships since he would be the Lord to the Potter family, and the Black family if Sirius didn't have an heir of his own as he was currently listed as heir until Sirius had a child. He would also take over their Lordships eventually, and they believed his mother wasn't a muggle-born since she had Seer blood in her, so there may be more Lordships for him.

Harry was overwhelmed with information by the time that they reached The Leaky Cauldron again for a lunch break. Severus called Pinky to take their bags home once they sat in a booth at the back of the Pub.

"What would you like to eat, Harry?" Severus asked after they had spent a minute looking over the menu.

"Could I have the chicken salad sandwich with chips, please?" He asked timidly.

Severus smiled at him, "Of course. Would you like a Butterbeer with it?"

"Yes, please." Harry smiled back.

Severus nodded to him and asked Tom what he wanted. When he had everyone's orders Severus headed to the bar to place them and get their drinks.

"So, are you having a good day, Harry?" Tom asked.

"Yes, thank you. But you don't have to spend that much money on me."

"We know we don't have to, but we want to. We have missed out on fourteen years of your life during which we could have spoiled you, so we are going to spoil you now, to make up for the times we missed. And everyone who has ever hurt you will pay for hurting you, and Dumbledore is going to pay for taking your mother and yourself away from us. I know you don't like the thought of having to pretend to be someone you're not this year, and pretend to be friends with those that betrayed you, but it is only for another year. When you come into your inheritance you can be your self. However, your father and I still expect you to try your hardest in your lessons this year. I want you to defy them in the best way possible, by showing them who is really the top of the class. This last week you have really shown how intelligent you are, I want you to show them that as well."

"I will." That was when Severus returned with their drinks. Harry savoured his first sip of the Butterbeer before thanking his father. Harry looked around at the people in the pub.

In one corner there was a male couple, one of whom looked to be heavily pregnant. They were curled together in the booth, both had a hand each on the bump of the pregnant man, both smiling and laughing, talking and joking. Obviously they were very in love.

He found himself excited for the time where that would be him and his mate, sitting together in an embrace, their intertwined on his pregnant belly as they felt their unborn child move and kick. Happy.

"Harry." Severus called to his son, startling the boy out of his thoughts. Harry turned to look at his father, blushing slightly as he apologised. "It's fine. Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking."

"What about? You were very deep in thought. We called you a few times to tell you that the food was here." Tom asked curiously.

"Just the future." He replied before eating a chip from his plate. "I… I don't know what job I want yet, but I do know that I want a family. That is all I ever wanted. And now I have received some of that family in the two of you, and the four Weasleys I can trust, and with Sirius and Remus. But knowing that I am able to have kids, despite my sexuality, is possibly the best news I have ever received. I mean, as a kid I kind of gave up on the idea of a parent or some other relative coming to save me, and I love you both more than anything, and I can't thank you enough for all that you have done for me in the time we've been together. And it's amazing having a parent and grandparent that loves you and cares for you. But, at the same time, I've always been so alone, so independent, that despite the fact that I love you both and I don't want to lose either of you, I gave up on the dream of having a parent out there who would love me and care for me a long time ago, part of me didn't need them because I could do everything for myself. And now that I have you I realise that I do need you, I always will need you. But after giving up on that dream the thing I wanted the most in the World was a family of my own; a husband and a small army of kids, although I figured they would be adopted and that didn't really bother me despite the fact that I would have loved some biological children. But I wanted a husband and kids who would love me unconditionally more than anything, I still do. And knowing that I will be able to bear my own children is the best news I will probably ever receive because it is the one thing I wanted more than anything in the world, children who were actually related to me and would love me no matter what. That way I would know that someone related to me actually cared if I lived or died, or cared about what was going on in my life. And I had already given up my dream of a parent coming and doing that for me, a child of my own was the next best thing. But I love you both so much, and I don't want to lose you." Harry said, looking down at his plate the entire time as tears filled his eyes and one, lone tear escaped.

Severus stood from his seat opposite Harry and moved to sit next to his son, wrapping his arms around the small boy and pulling him close.

"I'm here now, Harry, and I'm not going anywhere. I am here for you, and I will love you. Always. We both love you so much, and we are both going to care for you until the day we die, which will hopefully be a long time in the future. And one day you will have a mate, who will become your husband. You will have whatever you want for your wedding. Then you will have your small army of children. You will have the family you always wanted. I promise." Severus whispered to him comfortingly.

"Thank you." Harry muttered in reply as he wiped the few tears off his face.

"Now, let's eat and finish our shopping so we can go home." Severus suggested.

Harry nodded and started eating his food again. They all ate, talking about small things as they did so.

When they were finished they went into Diagon Alley. First they went to Madam Malkins to get Harry's uniform for the year, some casual robes, and some dress robes for the Yule Ball that would be taking place at Hogwarts that year. They then went to Flourish and Blotts to get Harry's school books for the year, along with the Arithmancy and Ancient Runes ones for the year, and some extras as well. Then they got him a new trunk that used a password so only himself could enter it, it also had five compartments so that he could store books in one, clothes in another, and so on. They then got him a wand holster for his forearm, some parchment, quills and ink, his potions ingredients, and some extras. Severus got him a potions journal as well so that he could write his ideas for new potions, or for adaptations of others, wanting to encourage his sons' potion making. They took Harry to Quality Quidditch Supplies to get a new broom maintenance kit and some more Quidditch gloves. They also brought some more owl treats for Hedwig.

When they had finished their shopping they headed back to the Leaky Cauldron so that they could floo back to the Manor. However, when they entered the Pub they saw Dumbledore sitting at a table talking to Molly Weasley.

They looked at each other and nodded, deciding to sit at a table near the couple and Tom put up a charm so that the three of them could eavesdrop on the conversation without anyone else hearing it or the two talking noticing that they are listening.

"What do you mean, Albus? Harry can't be missing. The twins told us that he told them that he was going on holiday with the Dursleys and couldn't make it to the World Cup." Molly said.

"Well, he obviously lied to the twins. Because the Dursleys are still at Privet Drive, and Harry isn't with them. All of his things have gone too. We have to find him. We can't have him finding out the truth. And he will find out the truth if he is able to go to Gringotts on his own and one of the Goblins decide to speak to him about why he hasn't been answering his mail from them. We also can't have him learning too much. He needs to remain as ignorant as possible so that I can get the fake Voldemort to kill him so that I can be seen as the hero after killing the fake Voldemort, then everyone will listen to me because I will be the hero. We also need to make sure he marries Ginny and gets her pregnant so your family can get his money when I kill him. But also so that I can use his child against him if all else fails." Albus said eagerly.

"I know, Albus. But how are we supposed to find him? He could be anywhere."

"I'm thinking we could send him a letter asking him to come to the Burrow, and put a compulsion charm on it so he will come. Then we can dose him with some potions, but most particularly the love potion keyes to Ginny. The sooner they marry the better. I know they are both young but we need this marriage to happen before he finds someone else or becomes more independent. I was thinking the week before Harry's fifth year of school would be a good time for the wedding."

"Yes, it would be a good time. Is everything set for the Tournament?"

"Yes. I will put Harry's name in the Goblet and he will have to compete, and because I keep him away from all books he won't know that there are ways out of the Tournament. The first task will involve getting a golden egg from a nesting mother dragons' clutch. I will have it rigged so that Harry will get the Hungarian Horntail. The second task is to collect the person they would miss most from the bottom of the Black Lake where there are merpeople and grindylows. The third task is the maze which will have various obstacles in it. When Harry gets to the cup first he will be transported to a graveyard and the fake Voldemort will be ressurected, they will fight, but Harry will escape after some torturing. It should be good fun. Let's hope Harry asks Ginny to the Ball." Albus looks at his pocketwatch and grins. "The attack at the World Cup should be happening now, so your family should be back soon. You should get home and prepare for them."

"Yes. Good evening, Albus."

"Good evening, my dear."

The couple parts ways and Tom drops the eavesdropping charm.

"Let's go home." Tom suggested.

The other two nodded and the stood, heading to the floo and travelling home.

Hey guys, hope you are all well and that you enjoyed this chapter.

I will update again when I can.

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