Severus woke to sharp sunlight filling their bedroom and the heat of Harry's arm thrown heavy over his chest. He blinked slowly, staring blankly at the ceiling as he traced an idle hand over Harry's forearm, enjoying the quiet of the morning.
He was going to need to keep an eye on the situation at the cottage. He didn't believe that Narcissa would be stupid enough to do anything to Granger's parents, but he didn't know her as well as he once had. He knew that both of them had portkeys that would take them straight to the kitchen, two floors down, if something went truly wrong, but he very much hoped that would not come about.
He did not think Draco would forgive her that.
The huge dragon appearing through the floor of the attic that he and Harry had spent the last few days trying to clear had been enough to actually shock him, though in retrospect changing patronus' seemed to be in style right now. Even Tonks was sending a large, shaggy wolf with her messages these days, something that made Lupin blush furiously every time he saw it
A low, pitiful groan brought his attention to the slack body beside his and his lips curled up at the edges before he could stop himself. Harry muttered something distinctly uncomplimentary about the thickness of their curtains before he shifted himself in an awkward scoot up and over Severus. He stopped when he was lying mostly atop him and could bury his face in Severus neck, his sleepy mutterings taking on a much happier edge.
Severus reached up and slipped his fingers into Harry's wild hair, letting the ink black locks slide through his hand as he dug the tips of his fingers into the tight muscles of Harry's neck and scratched gently at his scalp. A frankly indecent noise was his reward, followed by mumbled promises of all of the Potter and Black wealth if he never stopped.
He laughed quietly and pressed a soft, tentative kiss to the side of Harry's head before Severus rolled him onto the far side of the bed to get free. He was still leery about initiating anything, not wanting to push Harry. Besides, he could barely believe that he was allowed these small touches and privately feared he would lean down to kiss Harry only to have the other man recoil, no matter how welcoming he seemed now.
"Noooo" a quiet, sad protest came from the other man at his gentle removal, but Harry put his shield up despite his complaint so Severus could climb out of bed.
Severus gathered clothes for another day of cleaning the house, interspersed with Order meetings and now, at last, conversations with Granger about possible Horcruxes. Minerva was due by sometime tomorrow to speak with them about what she had found and would hopefully have some idea about the Ravenclaw object.
While Severus wasn't precisely fond of their slow attempts to get Grimmauld Place into order, it was an unfortunate necessity. Various Order members had stayed for short stints but there had been no one truly living on site since Black, and a number of both simple repairs and more complex magical problems had been neglected. Severus had insisted that they take a few hours each day to make it safer and to clear out areas so they might be re-purposed.
Severus frowned at his neatly hung dress shirts and robes, one of his now two pairs of muggle jeans already in his arms.
"Harry, may I borrow one of your shirts? That curse in the wallpaper destroyed the only one I didn't mind losing."
A grunt of acknowledgment came from the bed.
"Dare I ask if there are any you prefer I take?" he asked, Harry's disregard for his clothing familiar to him now.
"Don't take my Cannons shirt, Ron got it for me and would go mental. Otherwise go wild" came the slightly more coherent response.
After some digging Severus unearthed a long sleeved maroon Weasley's Wizard Wheezes shirt, the three overlapping W's a surprisingly tasteful dark gold.
When he got back from changing he walked into the room to find Harry digging for a shirt of his own, a pair of threadbare jeans the only thing on him.
Severus felt his heart stutter as he looked at the man who, for some unfathomable reason, seemed to have chosen him and he found himself once again wondering when Harry would come to his senses.
Harry glanced up and shot him a bright smile, pulling a plain grey shirt over his head and brushing a fast kiss over Severus' lips as he walked by, a pair of socks and his wand holster balled up in his hand.
Severus made his way to the kitchen, losing Harry to the bathroom on the way, and started coffee for them both. A few scones sat on the back of the stove under a warming charm and looked suspiciously like one of Tonks' attempts at cooking, their slightly under cooked and lumpy surfaces giving them away.
"You'll want to stay away from those" Lupin said as he ambled in.
Severus forced back the sneer that was fighting to take over his face. He had been trying to avoid actively antagonizing the wolf for Harry's sake, with mixed success.
"Harry up yet?" Lupin asked, the same delicate tension in his voice that had been there for the last week, ever since he'd watched Harry absent mindedly kiss Severus in thanks when he'd handed over a cup of heavily doctored tea.
The following argument had ended abruptly when Lupin had accused Severus of forcing Harry and Harry had stuck Lupin to the wall and left him there until Tonks had shown up for dinner, hours later, and politely asked that Harry take him down.
Harry had apologized when he unstuck the stiff werewolf, but made it very clear that he wouldn't tolerate that sort of accusation being leveled against Severus.
Severus had ridden the high from that incident for days.
For years Harry's protectiveness of those he loved had been both an irritant and a source of amusement for Severus, if only because it had made him so easy to rile. Everyone at school knew that if they wanted to start something with Harry all that was needed was to upset Granger or Weasley.
Finding himself on the other side of the younger wizards easily raised ire was a novelty. That Harry had so quickly taken his side against one of his father's closest friends had soothed some small part of him that had ached since his years at Hogwarts.
Lupin had quietly apologized two days later, earning a small amount of goodwill back from Harry but their relationship was still strained.
"He should be down in a moment" Severus answered, pouring out two cups of coffee and splashing milk in both, tipping a half teaspoon of sugar into Harry's after a momentary evaluation of Harry's coherency that morning.
Silence fell, but was broken before it became awkward by two voices drifted down the stairs and proceeded two thirds of the Golden Trio through the door. Weasley shuffled in, his head still turned to talk to Granger, and narrowly missed tripping over Lupin, who had picked the chair closest to and most in the way of the door.
A head of tousled black hair popped around the corner following behind his two best friends. Harry gave Lupin a slightly strained smile as he inched past everyone to fall gratefully onto the bench beside Severus and snag his cup of coffee. He brushed his knuckles gently over Severus' in thanks, never taking his eyes off of the Gryffindors.
His skin tingled pleasantly and he suppressed the urge to pry one of Harry's hands free of his mug to hold properly.
"But 'Mione, you have to help. I don't have any idea how to charm the garden to 'glow with fairy lights' and Mum will murder me if I don't figure it out" Weasely said, eyes deadly serious as he looked at her over the top of an under cooked scone.
Hermione gave both man and pastry a disgusted look before she started water for tea.
"Ron that's hardly high on our to-do list. Your mum will understand" she tried to explain, making Harry snort a bit of his coffee in laughter.
"When's the wedding anyway?" Harry asked, ignoring Granger's narrowed eyes.
"August 1st, right after your birthday mate" Weasley answered, not seeming to have noticed that he was eating a significant amount of raw dough. "Mum was thinking you could come over a few days before and help with the wedding stuff, and we could have your birthday party too."
Harry made a small noise of agreement.
A pause fell over the room as everyone fetched breakfast and watched in fascination as Ron took a second scone. Harry pulled a small package of muggle biscuits from his pocket and set them in front of Severus before he wandered off to refill his coffee.
Harry had started leaving small offerings for him a few weeks after they'd spoken about his issues with food. Somewhere along the way Harry must have noticed that Severus tended to eat pre-packed foods that held no hint of magic more often than anything else and had taken it upon himself to always have some sort of muggle snack on his person.
They never spoke of it outright, and other than some odd looks, no one asked. To Severus' complete shock he had managed to gain some small bit of weight and didn't feel quite so exhausted all of the time. No matter how many nutrient potions he made himself drink, they had never been able to make up entirely for actual food.
Harry retook his spot next to Severus, absently finishing an apple, his eyes a bit distant as he considered something.
"Severus, I think we should deal with the locket today" Harry said suddenly, making everyone pause.
"Are you certain?" Severus asked, brows slanted.
Harry nodded "I didn't want to say anything until we were somewhere safe and we could check, but it didn't feel right when I picked it up."
"How so?" Severus asked sharply.
"It didn't feel like the diary. It just felt like a necklace" he said, green eyes troubled.
Severus considered this for a moment, not likely the possible connotations, before nodding in agreement.
"There's the small room we cleared in the basement last week. It has enough old warding that I would feel comfortable opening it there" he said finally as he finished off the last of his biscuits and banished the wrapper with a flick of his wrist.
Severus stood but paused at the scrape of chairs as the rest of the room came to their feet.
He raised a questioning brow "There is hardly enough room for everyone and I think it might be wiser were we to limit the amount of potential injured."
Weasley grumbled but sat back down quickly enough, hiding a mildly relieved look.
Granger stepped back but stayed standing, her eyes fixed on Lupin, who had stepped forward.
Severus wanted to dismiss him but he knew that Lupin had been selected as the defense professor not just as a favor, but because he had been the best candidate. As much as he hated to admit it, Lupin was skilled.
He turned to meet the green eyes already looking at him expectantly. Harry tilted his head the tiniest bit and lifted his shoulder slightly, making it clear that he would defer to Severus' choice in this.
"Alright Lupin, lets get on with it" he snapped, not happy but also not willing to risk Harry being injured just to avoid the wolf.
Granger settled back beside Weasley without comment, returning to her tea and toast. Severus caught himself wondering more and more often where the pushy know it all had gone and why he hadn't noticed the change in her sooner.
They trekked down the dim basement stairs, taking careful steps to avoid dips in the stone that had filled with a greasy brown slime and would send the unwary tumbling into the darkness below.
A layer of colder air enveloped his legs and climbed as he descended, like walking into a water filled cave. The basement had been mostly unused for years, the only rooms with any regular traffic were the cold storage and the wine cellar, and even those had very little use after Black had died.
He and Harry had spent a day the previous week cleaning out the cold storage and two smaller offset rooms, one of which was obviously built specifically for dangerous spell casting and had wards that rivaled those at Hogwarts.
They arrived in short order and Harry sent a quick spell around to light the torches and dispel the cloying darkness. The room had a thick oak door with ruins carved in nearly every spare inch of it and worryingly enough, a lock on the outside.
Lupin gave the obvious lock a dubious look and Severus had to wonder if perhaps the Blacks had a somewhat furry secret in their past.
They traipsed in and arranged themselves at equal distance points in the small room, claustrophobic now with the door closed.
"Alright so how do we do this?" Harry asked, eyeing Severus' cuff where he knew the locket to be.
"You mentioned that the diary was not able to harm you until it had taken a significant amount of energy from Ms. Weasley, correct?" Severus asked, wanting clarification before they did anything incredibly stupid.
"Yeah, right. I mean it could only talk back, it didn't seem to be able to do anything else to me, but it did control Ginny" Harry answered in a stumble.
Severus paused to consider their options, a frown pulling his mouth down. On one hand, waiting until they could approach with a fully formed and tested plan would be much safer and if the locket was a Horcrux the time delay in destroying it wouldn't be enough to create a problem. However, if it was just a piece of jewelry then they were wasting valuable time that could be used to hunt the real Horcrux.
"Very well, if we are ready?" Severus asked, making his decision as he pulled the small sealed box from his cuff and eyeing both Harry and Lupin. Both had their wands up, shields already cast and ready to expand.
Severus stepped forward and set the box into the center of the wards inlaid into the floor and unsealed the box. The locket that Severus had seen in the house elf's memory lay innocently and did not give off any obvious magic. Either it was extremely well shielded or Harry's suspicions were right and it was not a Horcrux.
Severus levitated the locket, and with a flick of his wrist, opened it.
Harry took a tense step forward, his shield passing over Severus to settle between him and the locket.
With a flash of white a bit of paper fluttered to the floor, the locket remaining still and silent. All three men froze, wands shifted to point at the small note.
Harry joined him and before Severus could stop him, reached out and grabbed the locket from the air, studying it with his free hand.
"Well, it's not one" Harry said into the resounding silence, ignoring the outraged look Severus was throwing at him.
"If you intended to grab the potentially lethally cursed object at the first opportunity, perhaps you could have saved us the trip to the warded room" Severus seethed.
Harry flushed but shrugged "What? It didn't feel like the other one" he said, careful to avoid mentioning Horcruxes in front of Lupin.
Lupin made a small unhappy noise and pocketed his wand. "What does the paper say?" he asked quietly, obviously trying to head off the argument he could see coming.
Severus spent another moment glaring at Harry before he reluctantly turned his attention away. "I'm going to go grey early" he muttered as he picked up the folded note.
"And it'll look great on you" Harry said cheerfully as he leaned around Severus to peer at the paper with interest.
Severus could feel his cheeks burning at Harry's casual words and pointedly ignored him. Lupin crowded in on his other side as the three of them skimmed through the note.
"To the Dark Lord
I know I will be dead long before you read this but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real locket and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more.
R.A.B."
"Who the bloody hell is R.A.B.?" Harry asked, his fingers fiddling with the fake locket.
Lupin had stiffened as he read through it but didn't ask any questions. He had been told there were objects of power that needed to be destroyed, but not that they held the Dark Lord's soul. The mention of mortality might very well be the clue he needed to understand exactly what it was they were hunting.
Something about the initials tickled Severus' memory, but he couldn't quite grasp it. All three men read through the note again before starting back to the kitchen.
"Well it's good news though, yeah? I mean one more destroyed right?" Harry asked, turning his head to look down the stairs at the other two and nearly putting his foot into a spot of slick brown slime.
"Well it could be, but it does say that this person was going to try, not that they succeeded" Lupin answered, making Harry's face fall.
Weasley and Granger were waiting anxiously in the kitchen for them, both having finished their breakfasts long before.
"Harry? How did it go?" Granger asked, running her eyes over her best friend in a practiced search for injuries.
"It's not the locket" Harry answered, his face set into a frown.
"What do you mean mate? How can it not be the locket, you said it looks just like the one in the pensieve and you had to get through that bloody cave to get it" Weasley asked, his tone troubled.
"It appears that someone beat us to it," Severus answered, still preoccupied with how familiar the initials sounded.
"Yeah, they left a note and everything" Harry added, pulling the paper from Severus hand and giving it to the witch.
She read through it quickly, her face troubled.
"I take it we don't know who R.A.B. is?" she asked.
"No one we can think of," Harry answered.
Granger gazed with blank eyes at the scuffed kitchen wall, her fingers drumming lightly on her thigh.
"Well we need to know if they did destroy it" she began, talking through the problem. "We should start with disappearances since according to the note whoever took it expected to die."
Weasley spoke up from his spot slumped against the table "Did any Death Eaters with those initials disappear?" he asked the room.
Severus frowned "Why would you think it was a Death Eater?"
Blue eyes blinked in surprise at him "Cause it's to the Dark Lord. Nobody but Death Eaters call You-Know-Who that" he answered as if it was obvious.
Severus froze, not having noticed the form of address. Weasley was right though, no one but his followers referred to him as the Dark Lord.
A sudden memory of grey eyes under neat black hair and a young man who stood quietly to the side during Death Eater meetings so many years ago flashed through his head.
"Harry, what was Regulus' middle name?" Severus asked, trying to tamp down his excitement. Surely it couldn't be that easy.
Harry's eyes widened as he made the connection.
"Kreacher!" he yelled.
A sharp crack and the old elf stood in front of him, glaring at the group in the kitchen. "Master Harry asked for Kreacher?"
"Kreacher, what was Regulus' middle name?" Harry asked, stepping toward the elf in his excitement.
The small wrinkled elf looked confused but pleased to be asked about his previous Master. "Master Regulus' middle name was Arcturus" he answered, traces of sadness in his rough voice.
"Shit" Harry muttered as he dropped onto the bench behind him.
Harry absently dropped the fake locket on the table, his eyes focused on the note he'd taken back from Granger.
A terrible wailing made everyone at the table jump and turn startled eyes on the old elf.
Kreacher stood in his worn pillowcase, twisting his long fingers and wailing as he stared at the locket Harry had dropped.
"Master Harry got it back" he moaned, his eyes fixed on the jewelry.
"Kreacher, have you seen this before?" Harry asked with cautious excitement.
The elf gave him a tearful nod.
"Harry, I've seen this before" Granger said softly, reaching out to touch the fake locket with a tentative finger. "It was in that cabinet we cleaned out last year, we threw it away."
"Kreacher took it. Filthy mudblood, throwing away Master Regulus' locket" Kreacher said, his voice regaining it's typical derision.
"Kreacher!" Harry barked, dark brows lowering into a scowl "You don't say that, not to anyone!"
The elf bowed his head resentfully, eyes still narrowed at Granger.
Severus' mind spun, trying to take in the multitude of lockets and their possible locations.
"Kreacher this is a fake locket, we got it from a cave" Severus said, watching the elf closely.
His small face fell, his mouth scrunching until he looked as if he might start wailing again. "Master Regulus left it, yous should not have moved it" he said, distress clear.
"We were going to destroy it, but we cannot as it's a fake" Severus continued carefully, eyes narrowed at the angry elf.
Kreacher's already large eyes widened further, hope an oddly foreign look on his face. "Master Snape can destroy it?" It was perhaps the first time that Kreacher had spoken to him with anything the resembled respect.
"Yes Kreacher, we can, but we need the real locket for that" Severus answered, watching the rest of the room as the other three fell silent, gazes trained on his slow maneuvering for information.
If possible Kreacher looked even more distressed and began shifting from foot to foot. "Kreacher has lost Master Regulus' locket! Kreacher is a bad elf!" he shrieked, his eyes darting to the cold oven with longing. Harry had long ago forbidden him from self punishment, which the elf seemed to take as an even worse reprimand.
Harry knelt in front of his house elf and held out a placating hand. "Kreacher can you tell me exactly what happened?"
Kreacher looked torn, his gaze flicking between the locket and Harry. "Master Regulus told Kreacher that it must not be spoken off."
Harry looked thoughtful, catching the hesitation in the elf's voice. "And what if I were to order you to tell me everything you know about the locket?" he asked.
Something that looked like relief flitted over Kreacher's face "Master Harry is my Master so Kreacher must answer."
Harry nodded "Kreacher I order you to tell me everything you know about the locket" he said, moving back to sit on the bench behind him.
Severus joined him, the attention of everyone in the room focused on the elf.
"Master Regulus asked Kreacher to help the Dark Lord, many years ago. The Dark Lord took Kreacher to a cave filled with lakes and greedy dead. He made Kreacher drink nightmare water and left him to die on an island with a locket. Master Regulus was too smart for the Dark Lord though and had ordered Kreacher to return to him, and so Kreacher lived." The wrinkled elf was clasping his hands quietly, his posture more relaxed.
"Master Regulus was very angry at the Dark Lord for almost killing Kreacher and demanded to go back to the cave. Master Regulus made Kreacher help him drink the water and ordered Kreacher to flee without him and to destroy the locket." The last few words shook.
"Kreacher tried and tried to destroy it but could not and so kept it. When the mu.. girl threw the locket away Kreacher took it and hid it" the elf glared at Granger again. "And when Kreacher was busy the thief, he stole the Mistresses things and he stole Master Regulus' locket!" The last was croaked, the small voice tight with anger.
"Wait, someone stole things from here?" Harry asked.
Kreacher nodded miserably "Kreacher did not stop him in time. Kreacher should have been more careful of the Mistresses things."
"Do you know who it was?" Severus asked, mentally going over the list of who had access.
Small pointed features twisted in rage "Mundungus Fletcher stole things from my Mistress and took Master Regulus' locket" he spat.
Harry turned away, cursing as the other two Gryffindors looked on with surprise that was quickly morphing into anger.
"Kreacher, can you find him?" Harry asked, spinning back around to look at the elf.
A small smile crept over Kreacher's face "Yes Master Harry, Kreacher can find the thief."
"Good. Find him and bring him back here" he said. "Alive!" Harry shouted as Kreacher raised his hand and snapped long fingers together, disappearing.
"Do you think that was wise?" Granger asked. "He obviously hates him, he might do something to him before he can tell us where the locket is."
Harry nodded at her as he shuffled back on the bench, leaning his elbows on the table behind him and pulling the material of his thin grey t shirt tight across his chest. "He won't. He wants the locket back as much as we do."
Silence fell but for the small sounds of fidgeting as everyone finished off a round of tea, as if they were hoping that Kreacher would appear again so soon with the answers they needed. When it became clear that the elf might be awhile people filtered out to start the rest of their day.
Harry finally finished his second cup of coffee before he heaved himself up, slowly stretching out the muscles in his back and shoulders, no doubt sore from the savage cleaning they'd given the attic.
He rested a hand on Severus' shoulder and squeezed carefully "You ready to finish upstairs?"
Severus nodded and rose to follow Harry for another day of cleaning.
It took four days for Kreacher to track down Fletcher and in the interim they finished clearing out the attic and the basement, turning the rooms into a dueling chamber and potions lab respectively.
They'd finished the lab the day before and Harry had promptly lost Severus to the basement, where he was arranging his potions ingredients into his meticulous but ultimately incomprehensible ordering system. He swore it made sense but Harry suspected he just didn't want anyone to be able to find and steal anything quickly if they were to break in.
Harry had taken the previous day to layer protective spells over both the attic and the basement, wanting the two most volatile areas in the house to be properly shielded. He was still tired, even after sleeping for hours longer than usual and eating twice as much as he would normally have at breakfast. It seemed that even Harry's large well of magic was capable of being dented by creating such complex wards and shields.
Knowing the kinds of potions Severus was likely to be making during war times had made him paranoid and he had spent an excessive amount of time keying shields to Severus' magical signature in order to make sure that the first thing the shields put power into protecting was the one thing he couldn't bare to lose. Not that Severus would appreciate whatever he managed to blow up ricocheting off the shields and obliterating his lab, but Harry decided that this was one of those times when he would ask for forgiveness rather than permission.
Harry finally sat down for lunch, having spent the morning reading through several wizarding history books in the Black library in hopes of finding mentions of the Ravenclaw diadem. McGonagall had stopped by and let them know that the only significant object she could find mention of that related to Ravenclaw was the lost diadem. Everyone thought it was a bit of a long shot as it hadn't been seen since the time of the founders.
The sharp crack of displaced air and a crash from down the hall alerted Harry to the arrival of someone. Since the only person that could apparate directly into Grimmauld was Kreacher, Harry threw down the remains of his hastily slapped together sandwich and ran toward the sound of cursing.
He burst into the pink parlor to find Kreacher trying to restrain a panicked Mundungus Fletcher, limbs flying to and fro. Harry snapped his wand from its holster and threw a wordless incarcerous at the man, narrowly missing wrapping his house elf up as well.
Footsteps thundered down the stairs and Hermione and Ron joined him moments later, Lupin and Tonks following on their heels. It took Harry sending his patronus through to the basement to fetch Severus, who hadn't heard the ruckus through the thick stone floor.
As the household gathered, Kreacher stood threateningly over the small man, huge eyes narrowed dangerously.
Severus appeared at Harry's elbow, his robes a bit wrinkled and some glittering substance smudged on his sleeve. He held a small vial of clear liquid in his hand, which Fletcher was eyeing with a great deal of mounting horror.
"So Fletcher, I hear you've been stealing from me," Harry said, his voice colder even than he had been aiming for.
The small man with mousy brown hair and terror in his eyes tore his gaze away from Severus to look at Harry.
"It were only a few things, not a thing you'd miss!" he said after several moments of silence.
"Obviously Mr. Fletcher, you are incorrect, seeing as how we fetched you here." Severus answered, his long fingers toying with the bottle of veritaserum he'd brought with him.
"How was I to know any of it was really valuable?" the man asked, a sudden glint in his eye. He looked more put out at the idea of having been cheated out of money than being caught stealing.
"We need to know what you did with this locket" Harry broke in, pulling the replica from his pocket.
Fletcher looked between the locket and the younger wizard in confusion. "Why do you need to be knowing what it was I did with it if you've got it right there?"
"Because Mr. Fletcher, this is a fake. You will tell us where the real locket is, one way or another" Severus said, his tone taking on a definite threat.
Fletcher pulled back as far as his bindings would allow, fear flashing across his tight features. No matter what side Severus was on he would always inspire a certain amount of fear. The man had been Voldemort's chosen poisoner.
"I got rid of it!" Fletcher answered quickly, obviously not fond of the idea of Severus deciding to pry the answers from him.
"Where?" "To who?" came at the same time from both Harry and Hermione.
"That witch, the one in the ministry. Got caught fencing off a few things and she told me she'd cut me loose if I gave her the locket and never told anyone where she'd gotten it from" he answered, his words blurring together in his haste to get them out.
"What witch?" Severus asked, dark eyes narrowed.
"The one that's been in all the papers! She was at Hogwarts for a while. Bit creepy with all the pink" he finished, eyes darting between the Order members.
"Umbridge" Harry hissed, startled to hear so much loathing in his own voice.
"Yeah, that's the one. Real high and mighty that one" Fletcher responded.
Ron and Hermione came over to Harry without prompting, tucking themselves onto either side of him. They knew what she had put him through and offered silent support. Severus looked on, confused, but moved back to give his best friends space to press tight to him.
"Severus can you make sure he doesn't remember anything?" Harry asked quietly, mind already far away at the ministry.
Severus gave him a look that promised the demand for a full explanation later, but for now nodded a quick agreement.
Harry turned and left the room quickly, heading back to the kitchen with everyone else in tow. They settled silently around the large scarred table, wood heavy and worn smooth by generations of arms and hands rubbing over it.
Harry found himself idly tracing a divot in the wood, wondering what small incident had carved out a chunk of the surface. The sound of heavy boots coming down the hall pulled him out of his wool gathering and brought him back just as Severus pushed through the kitchen door.
"So, we have to get it back" Harry broke the silence with what they were all thinking.
"It is likely that her home will be more heavily warded than the ministry" Severus put in, lowering himself to sit at Harry's side.
"So we need to break into the ministry then" Harry muttered, eyes already distant as he considered their options.
No one said anything. Faces were twisted with unhappiness but there were no better ideas being thrown around.
"I could maybe get to her" Tonks offered. "People expect me to be at the ministry and won't pay much attention to me."
Lupin stiffened at her suggestion, his arm reaching out to wrap possessively around her.
Harry opened his mouth to argue, but nothing good came to mind. Tonks was the choice that made the most sense, but would likely mean her going in without back up.
"We should think on this for awhile longer," Severus said, no doubt having noticed how Lupin's eyes had flashed the briefest reflective gold.
When no objections came people slowly filtered out, Lupin following close behind Tonks as she left, his whispered protests floating back into the kitchen as they made for the bedroom they'd claimed.
Harry spent the remainder of his day trying to read through the rest of the book he had started that morning, but found himself unable to focus. Dinner had come and gone by the time Severus came to fetch him and he wearily trudged after the other man to their bedroom.
They didn't speak as they got ready for bed, and Harry could feel himself waking up more and more the longer the silence lasted.
Finally, after they had settled in and Severus had put out the candles with a sweep of his hand, the question he'd been expecting came from Severus' side of the bed.
"Would you care to tell me why you hate Umbridge so much? I know you did not get along with her when she was at Hogwarts, but neither did you like me and I never got that tone from you" Severus pointed out.
Harry sighed, but waved a dim lumos into being. This wasn't the worst he'd told Severus, not by a long shot, he was just worried. Harry knew Severus by now, knew that he would hold himself at least partially responsible and Harry had hoped he would never notice the thin silvery words carved into his hand.
"You were unfair and vindictive and an arse but you saved me, saved Ron and Hermione too, when it really came down to it. You never would have truly allowed any of us to get hurt, and even when I hated you I think a part of me knew that" Harry started, not wanting Severus to ever compare himself to that horrible woman.
A small huff of air was his only response.
Harry sighed again and held out his right hand. He could blame the fact that all the time they'd been bound the back of his had was usually resting against Severus' where he couldn't see it.
Severus sat up, the covers falling to pool in his lap, a faded Manchester United t shirt hanging off of his slim frame. He'd taken to wearing Harry's t shirts to bed, and since almost all of his most worn clothes had turned into pyjamas, a fair number of Dudley's hand me downs were among them. Harry had kept it since the color scheme was so close to Gryffindors.
Long cool fingers took Harry's hand and turned the back to the light when Harry nodded his head at it. It took Severus a moment to make out the thin scars in the weak light but when he did he sucked a sharp breath through his teeth.
"I must not tell lies" the deep voice whispered, the anger that Harry had expected slowly creeping into his voice.
"She did this to you?" he asked, eyes an icy onyx in the cool light.
"Sort of" Harry answered "She had a quill that didn't use ink, it used.." Harry trailed off as rage melted the ice in Severus' eyes and turned them instead to blackly burning coals.
"A blood quill. She used a blood quill on you" he whispered, his fingers tightening painfully.
Harry just nodded, gaze glued to the wizard beside him. Harry had seen Severus angry on his behalf before but it seemed that the longer they knew one another and the closer they became the more Severus took Harry's scars personally. He hated seeing Harry hurt, just as much as Harry hated seeing Severus injured.
Harry pulled his hand gently away and held it up to forestall whatever it was he could see building in the other man. "There's not anything you can do. When all this is over we can bring her up on charges or turn her into a newt or something" Harry promised.
"If she is unfortunate enough to make it through this war, she will wish very much that she had not" Severus said quietly, allowing himself to be pulled down against Harry.
It took them a long time to fall asleep that night, and Harry finally relaxed enough to drift off when Severus' warm breath fell in slow, even gusts over his neck.
Harry startled, looking around himself in confusion. The last thing he remembered was drifting off with Severus' heavy weight on his chest.
Now he found himself walking along a thin mountain road, the cool blues of dawn barely lighting the sky, the first rays of the sun blocked by the towering mountains. Below lay a deep valley and a small town nestled there.
There was something there, someone there that he needed. He needed them badly, badly enough to pursue them himself. If he could just find them then…
Harry jerked awake, the warm hand on his shoulder still shaking him slightly.
"Wha?" he said stupidly.
"You were dreaming, talking in your sleep" Severus' sleep tousled head looked down on him, curiosity and only a faint hint of alarm on his face.
"What did I say?" Harry asked, voice rough as he realised it was just past dawn and he really should never be awake at this hour.
"Gregorovitch" Severus answered.
"Who?" Harry asked, completely confused. He couldn't remember dreaming about anyone, except whoever Riddle had been searching for.
"The only Gregorovitch I know of is the wand maker," Severus answered.
"Well if it is him, I think Riddle's after him" Harry said, still confused. He felt Severus stiffen against him.
"You're still dreaming of Riddle?" he asked cautiously.
"Not until now. I don't think he meant for me to see where he was. I don't think he's in Britain right now either" Harry answered, a troubled expression pulling at his mouth.
"Why would he be after a wand maker?" Harry asked.
"I could not guess" Severus answered, slowly sinking back onto the heap of pillows. "We should resume practicing your occlumency if he is getting through your dreams again."
Harry nodded a bit absently, tucking himself close to Severus. "It wasn't like before. He didn't reach out to me. I think maybe I found him" Harry admitted.
A small noise of consideration was all he got in response, and despite the fact that Harry was certain he wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, he drifted off in the warmth of their bed.
He woke to the sound of screaming, high pitched hysterical screams that echoed through the Manor and jerked him upright in his bed, his wand clutched in his fist before he was fully aware.
Draco shoved himself out of bed, bare feet thumping on the carpet as he reached for his robes. He yanked them on and stuffed his feet into his boots as he scrambled out the door, the wards on his rooms snapping back into place after him.
Draco followed the screams down the stairs and into the large dining hall where his Mother and Father had once hosted the elite of wizarding society, now nothing more than a gathering place for Death Eaters. He slid to a stop just inside the room, nearly tripping over a man he didn't recognize.
The first thing he noticed was the confusing mass of people. There seemed to be far too many of them, all milling around excitedly. The screaming had stopped and Draco couldn't see who it had come from, but no one in the room appeared to be the cause.
His first clue that something was horribly wrong was Rowle walking past him with a glass of what appeared to be firewhiskey in his hand.
Rowle was in Azkaban though. He'd gone in when they'd rescued his Mother. He couldn't be here.
Draco felt his heart beating painfully against his ribs as he forced himself to look through the crowd. Sooner than he expected his gaze caught on the shimmering silver blonde locks that only one other person in the world had.
His father sat quietly at the table, his eyes downcast and thin shoulders stooped. He looked as though he might be trying to curl into himself, his once proud frame collapsed.
Draco's breath was coming in sharp gasps and he was just wondering if he could slip away without being noticed when a cold voice called for him.
"Draco, I am pleased you could join us this evening. I have a gift for you" the Dark Lord said, raising his hand to summon Draco to his side. He sat at the head of the long table, across the length of the room.
Draco pointedly refused to look toward the side of the table where his father was seated, ignoring the feel of blue eyes burning into his face.
Draco stepped forward gracefully, putting on every small mask he had ever learned as the Malfoy heir. He strode confidently to the Dark Lord's side and paused.
Voldemort motioned for him to take the seat at his right hand. A seat that had been his the moment he had sent one of the greatest wizards in the world over the side of the astronomy tower.
Draco murmured his thanks and lowered himself into his chair, only then allowing his gaze to sweep the room. He skipped over the shocked face of his father as if he didn't recognize him, and noted the additions to the room. Everyone that had been arrested at the ministry last year was there, as well as more than a few who had not been broken out originally.
"My Lord, I see your ranks have expanded once again," Draco said, inclining his head respectfully to the creature beside him.
"Indeed they have Draco. Do you like your gift?" the Dark Lord asked, motioning to his father.
"It is most generous of you my Lord" Draco said, finally allowing his eyes to meet the terrified and confused gaze of the man who raised him.
"I'm afraid he's a bit worse for wear" Voldemort said, cruel amusement glinting in his red eyes.
"Yes, but that's to be expected. Lucius has never done well in trying environments" Draco answered, making a peal of high pitched laughter ring out.
The Dark Lord reached out and patted his arm gently, a sign of favor that was rarely bestowed on anyone. Draco could feel the burn of jealousy from his aunt all the way across the room.
The Dark Lord turned his attention away and motioned to someone just outside the door. Draco had to clamp down hard on the arms of his chair, his hands luckily hidden from view, as Professor Burbage was slowly levitated into the room.
She wasn't screaming any longer, but small pained whimpers escaped her. Her robes were torn and dirty, revealing muggle jeans and a blouse underneath. Her hair was tangled and matted to the side of her head with half dried tacky blood and a huge bruise was blooming over the left side of her face.
The man levitating her, Lestrange his mind whispered, placed her neatly over the top of the table and set her to rotating slowly, like some sort of horrible rotisserie.
"Ah, our guest of honor arrives" Voldemort's voice silenced the woman, making her previously tightly shut eyes fly open and fill with terror.
Draco felt his mind flutter, the words blanking out as the Dark Lord taunted her for her lineage, for her profession, for her acceptance of muggles and muggle borns.
His eyes strayed to his fathers as a green flash lit up the room. They stayed locked on his as the table shook with the force of a body falling. They never wavered as a huge snake climbed the table to eat what was left of an innocent woman.
The weather turned hot as weeks sped by and the Order worked tirelessly to hold together a rapidly collapsing world.
Death Eaters were on the move again, this time with random unplanned attacks everywhere. Draco hadn't been able to warn them of more than a few raids, most of the violence seemed to be spur of the moment and unorganized.
A week before they were to leave for the Burrow news that nearly every prisoner had broken free of Azkaban reached them. Everyone stood in quiet shock after learning that the Dementors had turned against them, and the sudden spike in Order patronus practice that followed was not unexpected.
More and more often the Ministry was refusing to comment on the attacks, on why more Aurors were not being sent into the field, on why half of Diagon Alley had fled while the other half was still smoking from a brutal raid.
The Ministry looked as though it were closing ranks, preparing itself to weather out the storm and come out the other side unscathed.
They wouldn't though, not if Harry had anything to say about it.
Their plans to break into the ministry were nearly ready, and Tonks was practically bouncing in place every time Harry saw her. Remus seemed to have resigned himself to her part in the plan but began vanishing for longer and longer stretches.
They decided that Tonks would try for the locket after the wedding, wanting as much time as possible to learn Umbridge's schedule. Tonks was spending all of her free time lingering at the ministry and watching for any obvious openings in Umbridge's daily patterns.
Five days before the wedding the Burrow echoed with sharp cracks of the family apparating in. Harry and Severus appeared first and were immediately swept into the front room by the twins with hurriedly whispered warnings to avoid the kitchen at all costs before they fled outside again. Severus shot him a wide eyed look before they both broke for the stairs, hoping to get settled and put their things away before Molly found them.
They made it to Charlie's room without being seen, only to draw up short at the changes. The modest room that had previously boasted only a single bed and a small desk had been expanded and two sets of bunk beds, three beds high, had replaced the lone bed and desk. Severus scowled at them just as Arthur came up behind them on the landing.
"I'm afraid it's going to be a bit crowded" he said apologetically. "Fleur's family will be arriving in a few days and the whole Weasley family is coming in." He looked a bit green at the prospect.
"We've got you in here with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Charlie and Uncle Elias" Arthur said, motioning at the bottom bunk on the set of beds by the window. It was expanded further than the others, making it barely large enough for both of them.
Arthur gave them both an unsure smile before trundling off down the stairs. Severus turned to glare at Harry, obviously blaming him for their shared quarters.
"No we aren't leaving. You'll survive a few nights sharing a room" Harry said before Severus could voice his protests.
Severus turned his glare up a notch before striding into the room, black robes billowing menacingly as he started unpacking his things with rapid swishes of his wand, sending several of the pillows he seemed to perpetually carry in his cuff sailing onto the bed.
Harry hid the smile that was trying to break free, knowing that Severus wouldn't take it well. Instead he sidled up behind the taller man and wrapped his arms around his waist, pressing his forehead onto the back of Severus' neck.
"Thank you for coming with me," Harry murmured into the warm valley between Severus' shoulder blades.
"I could hardly have stayed behind" Severus answered, his voice losing some of it's acid.
"No, but you could have argued" Harry responded, letting his hands spread out on the flatness of Severus' stomach. Harry felt a smile pull at his lips when he noticed that his waist was slightly thicker than it had been a few weeks ago.
"Would it have done any good?" The deep voice had a distinct thread of amusement now, and Severus raised a hand to laced his fingers through Harry's where they rested on the buttons of his waist coat.
"Nope" Harry let the 'p' pop in a way he knew Severus found particularly irritating and huffed a surprised laugh when he was tugged abruptly around and tossed onto the bed.
Harry reached up and grabbed Severus, yanking him down before he could escape. He ended up with a lap full of indignant wizard and a mouth full of long hair for his trouble, but he couldn't stop laughing.
"I love you" Harry said through his smile, arms wrapped tightly around the other man as he unsuccessfully tried to free himself.
Severus froze like he'd been stunned, even his breath stuttering out.
Harry was beginning to think he might have broken the man when Severus finally moved again. Long fingers reached out and gently curled around his, belaying his tone when he finally spoke.
"Yes well, your patronus made that fairly obvious" he muttered to his lap, dark eyes avoiding Harry's.
Harry felt the first stirrings of trepidation. He had thought his feelings were clear and that Severus returned them, even if he didn't say as much. Perhaps he'd been wrong though.
A faint flush burned it's way up Harry's face as he loosened his hold on the older wizard, shifting himself back to give Severus room to flee.
Severus let out a sharp unhappy huff as he felt Harry pull away and reached back to rather pointedly wrap Harry's arms around him again.
"Don't be an idiot" he said sharply before he let out a terribly put upon sigh and dragged his wand from it's holster.
"Expecto Patronum" he said, his voice almost pained.
The doe that Harry expected didn't come forth. Instead a glowing silvery gryffin flew from his wand and landed in the small space left in the middle of the room.
It took Harry a full minute to comprehend what he was seeing and what it meant, but when he did he burst out laughing. Harry tightened his arms around the scowling man in his lap and stretched up to press a small kiss on his cheek, the nearest thing he could reach.
"No wonder you've been asking me to send messages!" Harry got out through his laughter.
He finally got control of himself, his chuckles tapering off as he ran his hand up and down Severus side.
Severus let the gryffin fade, a blush of embarrassment still pinking his cheeks.
"Well, at least it wasn't a lion" Harry joked, accepting the pillow Severus whacked him with a moment later as his due.