The Odd Combination of Fate and Humor

Notes:

Disclaimer:

You know the drill already: I do not own Harry Potter in any way; those rights belong to J.K Rowling. The plot and any extra characters are my own though.

Warnings:

This story WILL contain slash! This means that this story will be purely male x male slash regarding the main characters. Please do not read if you find it offensive to read about two guys kissing…etc.

Everyone else… please enjoy

Key:

"speech"

"soft-spoken or seemingly vague speech"

'thoughts'

- Parseltongue -

'Latin words'

Mental messages

Letters

Chapter 11: The Move

Harry looked at the two Animagus forms and nodded as they faded while his mind took the time to wake up. He grimaced as numerous aches and pains flooded his body, but it was minor compared to what he had experienced at the start. He opened his eyes slowly and he barely had enough time to sit up before he was surrounded by the goblins and his family.

Sirius looked like he wanted to grab him in a bear hug but both Severus and Tom stopped him. "He just went through a ritual Sirius; his entire body must be enough pain already without you attempting to add to it." The man scowled before looking worriedly at Harry and he couldn't help but smile. He slowly stood up with the help of Tom and he couldn't help but laugh. "See, I told you that I was going to wake up."

He looked around as everyone froze and Severus was the first to break free of the shock. "So that had something to do with your new ability?" Harry nodded. "Yes, that's the only explanation I have and I figured out that it only works with the people who were selected as my family. I can't do it with anyone else." Both Severus and Tom sighed in relief.

Tom softly hugged him. "I am glad that you don't run the risk of seeing things that you don't want to see." Harry saw one of the goblins walk to the door that opened to the hallway where he could see another goblin waiting. "Mr. Prince-Black-Potter is done with his ritual. Please inform his family so that Lady Narcissa will be able to check him over. I will lead the group to the silver room." The other goblin ran off and Harry found that he wasn't really surprised that the goblins understood the family ritual that had taken place.

The goblin then looked towards the group and they nodded to indicate that they are following him. He led them to a room that was only a few doors down and Harry had to consciously keep his mind from gaping. The room had actual silver floors. A few black couches had been placed around the room and a bookcase filled the far end of the room. A fireplace had been built into the bookcase and food and drinks had been placed on a table in one of the corners. The walls were green with a thin strip of black and silver that framed it on every side.

He looked at the goblin who was smirking because of their reactions. "We would have made the room gold, but unfortunately it would have blinded everyone who set a foot into it so we remodeled it after the Slytherin house colors." Sirius pouted and Harry laughed. It was clear that the man really liked Gryffindor. Tom and Severus seemed like they wanted to tease the poor man a bit, but hurried footsteps interrupted their intended banter.

Narcissa entered the room in record time before she softly dragged him into a hug. "Are you alright? Are you feeling ok? Were there complications? Why did it take so long? Answer me while I quickly check you over." Harry laughed and nodded. The pain in his body was going away anyway. "I am good and I feel great. There were no complications, I just got caught up in my mindscape and lost track of time." She nodded happily and Harry looked up to see that Lucius and Draco were also there. Harry smiled at them and they smiled back.

His gaze landed on Tom who winked at him before indicating that he had something to say. The room fell quiet and the goblins left the room to give them some privacy after stating that they were free to use the room for as long as they needed to. He dragged Harry into his arms before he spoke and Harry willingly threw his arms around his mate in return.

"The castle is ready and I think it would be better if we were to move in there as soon as possible. The twins have indicated that Dumbledore has been sniffing around our houses and it's only a matter of time before he does something. The Weasleys and the Longbottoms will be removed from their spy-duty and they will be joining us there." The group nodded and Tom took out a stack of papers to give to each group.

Narcissa nodded. "Draco has warned us a day ago and we have seen to it that everyone is packed. Remus and Bella have already seen to it that your stuff is packed as well." Tom, Severus and Sirius nodded their thanks and Harry smiled. His mate then started handing out the papers and the Malfoys left to apparate to the castle. Severus gave Tom the counter-potion so that he could sense Harry again and then led the rest of them to the apparition room.

Harry slightly stumbled as they landed, but Tom held him steady. The man walked to the gates and registered the signatures of those who were present. Harry gaped as he saw the enormous garden, but then he frowned. The place looked a lot like the place within his mindscape and he looked back at Tom who smirked before he bent down and lightly brushed his lips over Harry's. "I wanted you to be the first to see it."

He smiled as a giddy feeling rose up in him and nodded in return. Tom then turned to Severus and Sirius. "I have made both of you the secret keepers of this place. Would you mind giving the papers to the rest of our group?" The two shook their heads and hugged Harry before taking the slips of paper and apparating away. Harry felt slightly empty due to the fact that his new fathers didn't seem to be happy that he was now their son, they hadn't said anything about the ritual or whether or not he looked ok to them. He knew that he was being unfair and yet he couldn't keep his old fears from returning, but Tom hugged him before looking at him sternly.

"Don't you dare think that they aren't happy to have you as their son. They are ecstatic about it and the only thing that is keeping them from showing this to you is the fact that they first want to get their friends and family out of danger." Harry smiled in relief and nodded. He could understand that, but it made a new worry appear and Tom shook his head then motioned for Draco to come closer, which he did.

"Draco, there's a Quidditch pitch at the back of the building. Do you feel like giving Harry another flying lesson?" Both boys smiled at the thought and nodded before running off. Tom had just enough time to shout out a "be careful" after them before they rounded the corner.

They flew for a while and Draco taught Harry everything about the rules of Quidditch before they started playing. Three hours passed by quickly and they decided to come down. Both boys headed to the showers that were located next to the pitch. It was completely dark by the time they entered the castle and they followed the sound of numerous voices until they came to a door. Harry slowly opened it and he felt his mouth drop open in shock before he was grabbed into a tight hug by Bellatrix.

"Hey, Harry you finally made it! We would have sent out an army to find you if we hadn't noticed that you were flying around at the Quidditch pitch. Welcome to your adoption-day party." Harry felt himself blush as he noticed that there were a lot of new faces. Tom made his way over and stole him from Bella's arms before hugging him as well. "Everyone is here except for Peter and his girlfriend, but he told us that he will be here shortly."

Harry nodded and smiled as Tom introduced him to the Longbottoms and the rest of the Weasleys. He really hadn't expected them all to have red hair, but they did. Nobody seemed to want to smother him into getting to know them and for that, he was very grateful. The party didn't drag on for very long before most of the families excused themselves. He realized that they all knew that he had been through the blood-adoption ritual when he heard Mrs. Weasley telling Tom to make sure that they all got enough rest.

A shy boy trailed after the group and kept looking back at him. Harry couldn't figure out what the boy wanted until the twins rolled their eyes and dragged him back towards Harry before speaking. "Harry, this is our brother…Ronald Bilius Weasley. He has been a fan of yours…since forever and he really…wants to be your friend. He has not had much time…to make friends other than Draco…so could you please…put the poor boy out of his misery…and become his friend? You can call him Ron."

Harry couldn't help but laugh when he saw that the boy's face was red with anger and embarrassment. The boy anger turned to hurt and Harry quickly put up his hands. "Sorry I wasn't laughing at you; it's just nice to see how much your brothers care for you. I've never had any siblings so it's just nice to see how close you are to one another."

The twins suddenly turned towards him and he was surprised to see that they almost looked angry. He took a step back as he felt fear well up inside him even though he knew that the twins wouldn't harm him. He didn't have any time to dive away as the twins each grabbed one of his arms before turning to Ron. "We have changed…our minds Ron. You will not have…the privilege of being his friend. Instead, he will have the privilege…of being our brother…and that includes…the right to prank him…whenever we want to...as punishment for letting…himself think that…blood family…is the only family…that he can have."

The twins had barely finished speaking before Harry found himself sporting a red polka dot robe with golden spots. He couldn't help but laugh when they turned on Ron as well before giving him a green robe with silver polka-dots. He thought it would end there but the twins turned to each other and simultaneously cast the same spell on each other. Fred ended up with a blue robe with bronze polka-dots and George ended up with a yellow robe with black polka-dots.

They looked at each other and burst out laughing at how ridiculous they looked then Fred turned back to Harry after canceling the spell. "Seriously though Harry, Draco thinks of you as a brother and he would be heart-broken if he heard that you didn't feel the same." Harry smiled and nodded. "I do feel the same; I just didn't think that it was ok to feel that way."

George smiled at him. "Well, now you know." Harry was about to answer them when a stab of pain abruptly ran through his body and he would have collapsed onto the floor if Ron hadn't caught him. Fred quickly conjured a couch before running off to call someone. Ron placed him on the couch as another stab of pain occurred and he felt himself wondering what the source of it was before he was dragged into what seemed to be a vision.

The crests around his neck burned and it felt like they were rearranging themselves. He tried to look at them, but it was not possible so he tried to relax through the pain. The next thing he knew, Harry found himself floating near someone who seemed to have been knocked back into a wall with a spell before a muttered 'crucio' drew Harry's attention to an old bearded man standing in the center of the room next to the body of a woman. Harry wanted to float closer, but it felt like every nerve in his body was being singed so he tried to figure out where the pain was coming from.

The man writhed under the spell and it angered Harry that someone would actually use magic to hurt others. He pushed the old man with as much strength as he could before he grabbed the girl and placed a hand on the man he now recognized as Peter. He willed them to leave the house with him and with a crack that sounded a lot like someone apparating, they disappeared. Harry found himself back in his own body and he forced himself to stay awake long enough to see that both Peter and the women had made it before he passed out.

Two hours later…

Harry woke to the sound of frantic whispering and he groaned. His body seemed to really hate him for taking such a risk so soon after the ritual. He opened his eyes and saw a whole group of worried faces surrounding him before Narcissa's voice rang out. "Out with the lot of you! You can see him after I have done a few tests." Grumbled voices echoed through the room, but Narcissa only allowed Tom, Severus and Sirius to stay if they were going to stay quiet. Otherwise, she would chase them out like she did with the rest.

Harry winced at the exasperated stern look that Narcissa was giving him as she checked him over with a few spells and he tried to take the chance of possibly softening her anger and worry. "Is Peter and the woman alright?" Her eyes narrowed even further before she finished her spells and sat on the bed next to him. "What were you thinking Harry? I don't know how you did what you did, but it looked like someone had actually put you under a few rounds of the Cruciatis curse. How is that possible?"

Harry winced. "I don't know. I was busy talking with Fred, George and Ron when I suddenly collapsed in pain. I wanted to find the source and the next thing I know is that I'm in a room and Peter is being cursed by an old bearded man while a woman lay unconscious at his feet. I just reacted without thinking and I pushed the man away before grabbing onto them and trying to get them here. Then I passed out. I don't know how I was able to see Peter since he wasn't actually part of the rune-circle."

Narcissa nodded then looked at Severus, who took it as his cue to speak. "You have gotten close to Peter in the last few days so I think that the only reason the rune hadn't been added before, was because your magic didn't see the need to do it. You told me earlier that you checked up on all of us right?" Harry nodded. "Well, that means that your magic was able to trace Peter from when you watched him and Remus."

His face grew tense and Harry felt the other people in the room tense as well as he spoke again. "The old man you saw was Dumbledore and he had apparently used Peter's girlfriend to be able to enter the house. He then knocked her out before he tried to torture Peter for information, but Peter didn't want to give it. He says that Dumbledore had just started using the Cruciatis curse on him when something shoved the man and both Peter and his girlfriend, Liana, we forcefully apparated into the castle."

The silence stretched out as Severus finished speaking and Harry tried to let the information sink into his mind before he turned to Sirius. "Are they alright at least?" Sirius nodded. "They were actually in a much better shape than you were. Peter didn't have any curse damage on him, but it was visible on your own body instead. We have all spoken and we have agreed that it isn't safe for you to use your ability until we know exactly how it works and how you were able to absorb Peter's pain into yourself rather than letting him feel it."

Harry nodded in acceptance. Nobody would like the feeling of being cursed after all and he didn't want to worry his family any more than they already were. He looked at Narcissa. "Can I get up now? You haven't mentioned that there was something wrong with me." She shook her head. "I might not have found anything wrong, other than the damage I already fixed, but your body needs time to settle after the ritual so I am going to give you something to make you sleep. You will be free to do whatever you want once you wake up tomorrow."

Harry sighed. He didn't like it, but he would accept it. Narcissa gave him a small smile before leaning over and kissing his head, then leaving the room after handing the potion to Severus. The three men sat down on his bed and they talked a while about the school before Sirius tucked him in and bid him goodnight. Severus gave him the potion and kissed his head before following Sirius out.

He didn't really want Tom to leave, but he allowed it as Tom moved closer to him and kissed him goodnight. Yet instead of moving to leave the room, Tom laid down next to him. The man chuckled as he saw Harry's surprised expression and he dragged the boy into his arms. "I'm staying here to make sure that you rest and I will be making sure that nothing else happens tonight." Harry smiled happily and snuggled into the man's side before swiftly falling asleep.

The next morning…

Harry woke slowly, but he didn't really feel like moving anytime soon. He felt warm and comfortable so he closed his eyes again, but a chuckle alerted him to the fact that he wasn't alone in his bed. He opened his eyes and turned his head to find that he was practically draped over Tom and the man was watching him with an amused expression.

This caused him to blush a bright red and he buried his face in his mate's shoulder which earned him another chuckle. "Come on Harry, we need to get up. School starts in three days and we need to go get your wand and the other things you will need." Harry jumped up in excitement, but then his excitement dimmed. "What if I'm not ready? I know everyone has been teaching me stuff, but what if I don't understand something?" Tom shook his head fondly.

"We have taught you everything you need to know so far and you have excelled in practically everything. If you do come across something that you do not understand then you can ask one of the teachers or your friends or you can even go do some research in the library. Now get up, we've slept in a bit so I expect your fathers will be coming up to check on you soon." Harry smiled and nodded before he got up and went to take a shower.

He had barely finished getting dressed before Severus, Sirius and Remus entered the room. Tom excused himself to take a shower and the three men took a seat on a long couch that had been placed in front of the window overlooking the gardens. Harry had to keep himself from smiling as he saw the way that the three men kept glancing at one another. He practically itched to get them to notice that the other two felt the same, but he also knew that it wouldn't be smart to interfere. The men had to sort it out for themselves.

Severus cleared his throat to gain Harry's attention. "I won't be able to go with you today since we will all need to go to Hogwarts to get ready for the new year. Narcissa and Bella will be taking you to Diagon Alley along with Draco. The Weasleys and the Longbottoms need to lay low for a while, but they have already gotten the things they need." Harry nodded then froze. "Does that mean that I will only see everyone in three days?"

Remus shook his head. "No, you will be coming to Hogwarts after you got your things." Sirius nodded. "We feel bad that you will be missing the train ride and your first real look at Hogwarts, but it would give Dumbledore too many opportunities to strike. So we have talked with the parents of the other students that you already know and they will be staying there with you." Harry grinned in excitement. He was finally able to see the school that everyone seemed to love so much.

He was a little sad that he wouldn't be able to have the full experience, but he knew that his parents were just looking out for him. He was also very excited about the fact that he was finally going to get his wand. It might feel strange at the beginning, but he knew that he would get used to casting with it.

Harry smiled and decided on impulse to hug his fathers (he also hugged Remus since he was technically his father too). "Thank you for caring about me." He could see that Severus was about to give him a stern lecture about why he shouldn't have to thank them for loving him, but Sirius swiftly silenced the man and pulled Harry onto his lap.

"I know that you are technically too old to be sitting on anyone's lap, but just bear with me for a second. We have loved you since the day you were born and nothing is going to change that. You are our cub and we don't care what anyone else says, you will stay our cub forever. And because we love you so much, we want you to stay safe." Sirius and Severus nodded to Remus, who took out a thin bracelet decorated with emeralds.

Remus smiled as he placed the bracelet on Harry's arm. "This bracelet is a portkey that will only activate once you place real intent behind it. A friend of mine is part of the Unspeakables and they assured me that it would get you out of any building no matter how warded it is. But the magic will only work once since it will probably use everything it has in order to take you away from a dangerous situation. The clasp is charmed so that only the wearer can take it off."

Harry looked at the bracelet in awe then turned back to his fathers. "What if one of you needed it? Would it take me to you?" Severus smiled and nodded before regaining his stern face. "It would, but we would be extremely sad if you tried to risk your life for ours. That portkey is there to keep you safe. We have our own ways to get out of trouble and not just anyone would be able to beat us in a duel. When something happens, concentrate on getting yourself and those closest to you, to safety. It would make our job a lot easier."

He didn't really like it, but he nodded. He didn't want to disobey them, but his body sometimes had a mind of its own when it came to saving people. Sirius smiled and released him before the men stood up and left the room, but Remus peaked back in. "Narcissa told us to tell you that dinner was ready." Harry nodded and followed them, only to gape when he saw the huge table full of people. He looked at Tom who was coming over and the older man clearly saw his panicked expression. He took Harry's hand and pulled out a chair for him next to his own before sitting down.

"Don't worry Harry, you met everyone last night." Harry nodded and shyly dished up his plate since it felt like everyone was watching him. He found out that he was right when Narcissa cleared her throat and gave everyone an angry look. "I would appreciate it if Harry could be allowed to eat without everyone staring at him and making him uncomfortable. Show some manners here for petty sake."

Her words shocked a whole bunch of people out of staring and they quickly jumped to apologize. A boy who seemed to be about his age sat across from him at the table and even though he seemed too shy to speak, he forced himself to say his piece anyway. "Hi, I'm Neville Longbottom. I uh was too shy to introduce myself last night so you only met my Gran. I'm sorry for staring, I just wanted to talk to you, but I didn't know what to say since I don't know any of your interests. I know you like flying but I can't talk to you about that because I'm bollocks at it and almost everything else it seems."

The boy blushed as almost all eyes turned on him, but instead of glaring at the boy as Harry had expected, he found that the people were giving him grateful smiles. It seems like almost everyone had felt the same way and Harry sighed. He knew it meant that they had probably heard about how he came to be there too, but he saw absolutely no judgment in their faces and that made him feel better. He turned to the boy with a slight smile in a hope of making Neville relax a bit.

"Well, I also enjoy reading, potions and gardening. Peter has been showing me around the greenhouses and I've been learning a little about the magical plants that grow in the wizarding world." The boy brightened up immediately and he began talking about the properties of some flowers that Harry has never even seen or heard of before. He grinned at the boy's enthusiasm and he realized that he may have just found a new friend. He could see that Tom and the rest of his family was watching their exchange with amusement, but he didn't mind.

Half an hour later they had all finished eating and Harry was practically bouncing up and down his seat in order to get going. The two women just laughed as Narcissa checked him over and Bellatrix hovered around him. Tom and his fathers had already said their goodbye directly after breakfast and Harry was trying to stifle the fear of being away from Tom, with the idea of getting his wand. Draco was hovering around him protectively and Harry couldn't help but think that it was nice to have a brother who cared. He winced as he imagined the twins reaction to that and they appeared as if they had been conjured by his thoughts.

"Now Draco, please take care…of our little brother and you better keep…yourself safe as well. We will all be waiting…for your arrival at Hogwarts…so please don't take too long. Otherwise, …we might have to sneak…away and look for you." Draco just shook his head with exasperated fondness and Harry couldn't hide his smile as a warm feeling welled up inside him. Threesome relationships were probably frowned upon in the muggle world, but here it seemed to fit. Draco had enough calm to slow the twins down a bit and the twins had enough energy to make sure that Draco didn't just disappear into a potions lab.

The thought made him think of his fathers and he thought of how they would fit together. In a way, most people would think that Severus and Sirius would never fit together and Remus seemed to be the one that perfectly fit in between the two explosive personalities. But many people forgot that Sirius served to bring Severus out of his isolation and Severus managed to calm Sirius down enough to think things through. Yet it was possible that their relationship wouldn't be possible if Remus wasn't there since he could perfectly grant an insight into both worlds and keep the peace in the process. Remus would also be able to enjoy the hobbies of both men since they coincided with his own.

Meanwhile, the Severus served to sate Remus' academic side while Sirius served to play along with his more mischievous side. They were actually a perfect fit. Narcissa softly nudged him and alerted him to the fact that they were on their way to go shopping. They showed him the exact way to floo, but Bellatrix went with him and when they ended up in Knockturn Alley instead, she just gave a flick of her wand to make way for them before they met up with Draco and Narcissa, who vowed to show him the correct way to use the Floo network.

They visited Madam Malkin's shop for robes and then Borgin & Burkes for books. Harry wanted to go into the Magical Menagerie, but Narcissa took him and Draco for their wands instead while Bellatrix wandered off. Ollivander was a strange old man, but he set him up with an 11inch Holly wand with a phoenix feather core. Narcissa's gasp intrigued him and he was surprised to find out that Tom had the twin feather of his own wand.

With this information, Harry somehow felt a lot closer to Tom and he felt a rush of heated acknowledgment as the wand accepted him. They quickly breezed through the rest of the shops before Narcissa mentioned that it was time to go home. Harry frowned as he looked at his list since it said that he needed an owl, a cat or a toad as a familiar, but he didn't dare interrupt Narcissa when she seemed to be on a mission.

They headed back to the Leaky Cauldron to Floo and Harry wondered where Bellatrix was, but Narcissa calmed him down before they headed back to the castle. He realized that the group must have planned something and he dreaded to know what it was, but suddenly a hissing sound filled his ears along with the hoot of an owl and he turned to see a snowy white own in a cage and a snake wrapping itself softly around the edges on the cage as protection.

He looked at his family who seemed to appear out of nowhere and most of them smiled in amusement as they watched him. "Good luck Harry, this is just a little gift to ensure that you will be protected at all times and it will enable you to send us messages whenever you want. Harry could see the tears in Bellatrix and Narcissa's eyes so he held them tight until they escorted him to Hogwarts. One glance was enough and Harry immediately fell in love with the place as a half-giant escorted him and Draco into a boat and over the lake.

Thank you for reading, I hope this update was up to standard.