Happily eating the ice cream Tom had just bought them, was the perfect ending for their trip. During the entire day Lucius and Severus hadn't released each other's hands and seemed to have made the base for their future friendship. The little Malfoy put his ice cream almost in Snape's face to get him to try the strawberry flavour he had chosen. Sev carefully licked it before holding out his own vanilla ice cream. Lucius eagerly put his mouth against the sweetness and in the process pushed it from the cone into the other boy's clothes. In shock Severus looked at the spilled ice cream before the first hick ups started. It didn't take long before they had a crying mess on their hands.
"Sev, don't worry," Harry tried to calm down the little one while kneeling down. At the same time Tom was already casting spells from inside his sleeve to keep the muggles attention off them.
"Lucius!" the Minister looked down at the other boy with a stern expression on his face. A whine left the blond's mouth with a pleading look, but the Dark Lord wasn't having any of that. Pouting, the little Malfoy looked at his ice cream and with a swift move held it out for Severus to take. Harry's eyes widened at the action and he glanced up at Tom, who raised his hand to ruffle the blond's locks.
"Be more careful next time," the Minister stated and Lucius nodded still with the grown up's hand on his head.
'I was just going to move the ice cream back to the cone, but this is so much better!' the Auror realized the lesson that was giving and was impressed. "Let's clean you up," he said to Severus, who was eyeing Lucius' ice cream between sniffles. Moving his wand in his sleeve, he mumbled a cleaning spell and looked at Snape with a smile. "There you go, all clean." The boy carefully looked himself over before whipping his nose with his sleeve and quickly licking at Lucius' ice cream, which the other boy was still holding out to him. Next Sev signalled the blond to also lick at it. 'They're sharing.' Harry mentally awed and shared a meaningful look with Tom. A flash suddenly interrupted their moment and a groan was heard from the Dark Lord as he looked backwards.
"The press has found us," he mumbled with a frown. It didn't need to be spoken that they wanted to keep the little ones out of the eye of the media.
"We should go. It's already half past four anyway," the younger man decided and the other nodded.
"Eileen will appreciate it, if we return a little early," the Dark Lord added. It would take fifteen minutes to get to the place they could Apparate safely from, maybe even longer with those two rascals.
"Boys, it's time to take Sev home," Harry announced and Lucius looked at him in shock while Severus pouted sadly.
"Let Sev sleep over!" the blond tried with a stern tone he clearly picked up from Abraxas.
"His mother isn't going to allow that," Tom answered and the little Malfoy turned his eyes sadly to Snape.
"Don't be sad, you'll see each other again before you know it," the Auror smiled down at him and held his hands out for them to take. Two tiny hands rose and with the younger adult in the middle they started walking. Once the Minister was in reach, Severus immediately also grabbed his hand and Harry smiled at the cute action.
-THTH-
Quietly, Harry closed the door of the guest room, where in Lucius was sleeping and turned to Tom, who was standing behind him.
"Why don't you also stay?" Tom's heart beaded like crazy as the other raised his eyebrows at him. "Lucius would like it if we both were here in the morning."
"I could come over before he wakes up," the younger reasoned and the Dark Lord had to smirk at his response.
"He wakes up very early." Doubt clouded those green eyes he loved so much.
"I could take the next room," the Auror pointed to the second closed door.
"You'd be close if Lucius needs something." The doubt disappeared. "Dopper does keep that room ready for any surprise guest." There were five such rooms, two near the main bedroom and three on the other side of the mansion. "And he would like it very much if you stayed." Green eyes moved to look into brown.
"Only him?" The tease came completely unexpected.
"Lucius too, of course," Tom played along and got a chuckle out of the other.
"Goodnight Tom," Harry smiled before turning to his own appointed room.
"Sweet dreams." The Dark Lord watched him disappear into the guest room.
-THTH-
A screech and a heavy weight suddenly on top of him, was what woke Harry up, giving him almost a heart attack.
"Uncle Marvolo! Wake up!" Lucius happily yelled and the other groaned.
"Who spilled that I was sleeping here?"
"Dopper!" Raising his arm, the Auror patted the blond locks while eyeing the house-elf, who made his presence known by stepping closer to the bed.
"Is Tom awake yet?"
"No Master." Dopper shook his head and a grin spread on Harry's face.
-THTH-
Tom immediately sat up straight with a panicked look when Lucius repeated his morning greeting.
"Morning sunshine," Harry chuckled as brown eyes were moving through the entire room, seemingly looking for whatever danger there was. When they finally stopped on him, he could see the relief. Feeling a little self-conscious all of a sudden, his green eyes quickly moved through the room themselves and he bit the inside of his cheek. 'How long has it been since I've set foot in this room?' he wondered and brought his attention back to the bed. 'Nothing changed.' He eyed the Dark Lord, who was getting up and felt a little homesick.
"I'm going to freshen up. I'll see you at breakfast,' Tom said while putting the little blond back on his feet and ruffling the hair on the top of his head.
'When did he pick him up?' the younger man briefly wondered.
"Me too," Harry quickly decided.
"Okay! Food, Dopper!" Lucius called out to the house-elf as he was already exiting the room. Dopper quickly followed him with a cry of "Master!"
"So cute," Harry chuckled before turning back to Tom. As their eyes met, the awkwardness seemed to return to the younger. "I'll use the guest bathroom!" he quickly announced and almost fled out of the door.
-THTH-
Abraxas and Lysandra seemed more than thrilled to see Harry standing beside Tom, when they came to pick up their son.
"You had a fun sleepover?" the woman asked Lucius, who fiercely nodded before pouting.
"Sev, didn't sleep over!" Lysandra raised her eyebrows in surprise at that before eyeing the two men standing behind her boy.
"His mom wouldn't allow it," Harry shrugged. "You know how overprotective Eileen can get," he continued and Tom gave an agreeing nod beside him.
"I'm certain you'll see Severus again," Lysandra said and held out her hand for Lucius to take. Like a good boy her son listened and Abraxas patted his head before turning to the other two men.
"Here," he pulled two scrolls out of his pocket and handed it over to them. "Your invitations to our anniversary next month," he smiled. "I'll see you both at the Ministry," he quickly shook both their hands and guiding his family to the fireplace.
"Until next time!" Lysandra happily cheered while Lucius was squealing their names and waving like crazing.
"Bye," Harry waved as Tom simply nodded at them with a smile. "They left fast," the Auror said when they were alone and turned to the Dark Lord. "Ah yes, this," he held up the invitation, "reminds me that Elladora came by this week and invited me to her wedding." That caught Tom by surprise if Harry went by the way his eyes widened.
"She did what?" The younger man couldn't help but feel one of his mouth corner's turn upwards.
"As you weren't going to ask, she asked in your stead if I would like to be your date at her wedding," the Auror clarified and chuckled as he saw the panic rise in those brown orbs.
"What?! What did you answer?" the Minister saved himself nicely and a small smile broke though on Harry's face.
"That I would think about it."
"Did you think about it?"
'Too quick, Tom,' the younger mentally shook his head at the other. "Yes, and I figured that I don't know if you actually want me to go with you." 'Hook, line and sinker.'
"I do!" Tom surprised himself and actually took a step back as he finally understood just how desperate he was acting. He took a minute to compose himself before stepping closer again. "Would you like to accompany me to Elladora's wedding?"
'Now to reel him in.' "I thought you would never ask," Harry smiled and the Dark Lord seemed to light up as a Christmas tree. 'Damn, don't look like that," the Auror bit his lip at the happy looking person before him. 'You're telling me all of them were right!' "I'll see you later." The younger suddenly just wanted to escape.
"Of course, we'll figure everything out later. It's only in two months," Tom tried to pull himself together, but wasn't really succeeding.
"Yeah," Harry stepped towards the fireplace and grabbed a handful of Floo powder. "Bye," he said awkwardly before quickly throwing the powder in the flames while saying his own address.
-THTH-
'Oh Merlin, I made a complete fool out of myself!' Tom chastised himself - again -, while staring aimless at the papers on his desk. 'I definitely want to go with him, but what if Elladora forced him?' he wondered and bit the inside of his cheek. 'I need to talk to her,' an impulsive thought that quickly made him stand up and walk out of his office. As he made his way into the Interrogator's quarters he found Zanal holding a speech to everyone present and stayed at the back until he was done. By the end of his speech, the Head Auror had noticed his presence and came to him afterwards.
"My Lord, what brings you here?"
"Just checking on things," Tom hid his real reason. "How are they faring under your leadership?"
"They are adjusting. The new rules will need time to get used to." The Dark Lord nodded in understanding. "Have you picked out the courses you'd want them to follow?"
"Yes," Cornelius nodded, "Mastering Charms and Transfigurations and I'm talking with the professors to align the contents more with the Interrogators' jobs." Tom nodded approvingly.
"Great, I knew you were the wizard for the job," he charmingly smiled and a proud look formed itself on Zanal's face. "Thank you, if you'll excuse me. I need to get back to my Aurors." Cornelius bowed his head a little and with a reassuring smile of the Minister left for his other department. Brown eyes followed him out of the room before they roamed around again, searching for the woman he came for. He found her standing with one of her co-workers by a desk and strode over to them.
"My Lord," both greeted him and the co-worker was quick to leave with one intimidating look from the Dark Lord.
"You've graced Marvolo with a visit," he stated and the woman's green eyes widened before a smirk appeared beneath them.
"Just making certain my main guests will be present." Tom narrowed his eyes at her.
"We're not a publicity stunt."
"Of course not," Elladora quickly shot back. "I just thought you would like it if he came to you." Realizing he couldn't say anything to that, the Minister eyes her blankly.
"Who wouldn't like it if their loved one came to visit them," he stated. Forcing her to remember his rejection at her foul attempt to take Harry's place. She lightly glared at him before composing herself and a smile appeared on her face.
"So, I'll add you two to the list of confirmed attendances." Tom gave her an exaggerated nod before turning away from her and walking back to the lift.
-THTH-
Walking into the big ballroom of the Malfoys, Harry was once again stunned by its beauty.
"Lysandra wanted the roses," Abraxas shrugged from beside him and got a look from his cousin.
"Crystal roses flying against the ceiling?" he said sarcastically and the blond shrugged again.
"I got to choose the dessert if she got her roses." The Auror simply shook his head in disbelieve.
'What these people spend money on.'
"Just wait until you see it," Abraxas' eyebrows went up and down while his elbow was poking the other's arm.
"I'm definitely curious," Harry admitted and a loud satisfied laugh left his cousin's lips.
"Come on, Lysandra's still getting ready and I know Lucius could use his godfather by now." Together they made their way to the private quarters of the woman and after a small knock with a yell it was them from her husband, they were allowed inside. Sitting in the chair in front of her dressing table she waved at them in the mirror, while a witch was bustling around her to fix her hair and make-up.
"Uncle!" Lucius called out from on top of his mother's bed and quickly crawled off it before running towards them.
"I'm so glad you're here, Marvolo!" Lysandra called out while turning around in her chair. "We still got so much to do! Could you look after Lucius?"
"Of course," Harry answered while picking up the little boy. "Don't you have a new toy that you still haven't shown to me?" Lucius fiercely nodded his head and Abraxas led both of them back out of the room.
"We'll see you later, my darling," he smiled with a flying kiss at the woman. She just waved back to them through the mirror while the witch continued with her hair.
"So a little bird told me that you're going to Elladora Black's wedding together with our Lord." The younger man gave the other a meaningful look.
"Yes, we are. As friends! We're going as friends," Harry emphasised.
"Friends' better than strangers," the blond reasoned and the Auror just rolled his eyes while pushing open the door to Lucius' room.
"So, where is this new toy?" Harry shifted his attention to the little boy, who eagerly pointed to the back of his bed. Swiftly the grown up strode over to it with his cousin following him with a big smirk on his face. Harry decided it was best to just ignore Abraxas instead of indulging him.
-THTH-
As Tom entered everyone's attention seemed to be drawn to him and Harry wasn't any different. He held Lucius back from running towards the Dark Lord and gave him a look that told the little boy to behave. His parents hadn't paid for 'Etiquette for Toddlers' lessons for nothing. The blond immediately straightened his back again and greeted his uncle with the air only a Malfoy could muster up. Tom smirked at Lucius while giving him a grown up's handshake. The little boy beamed so proudly that the Auror could only smile at his behaviour.
'So cute!'
"I didn't think that you would also be greeting the guests," the Minister said to Harry, who turned to him with an accelerating heart.
"Just doing my family responsibilities," he smiled back while patting his godson's head. Lucius suddenly let out a squeal and again the Auror had to hold him back.
"How nice to see you, Eileen!" Lysandra called out like they were old friends.
"Tobias Snape," Abraxas greeted the man with a handshake while said muggle had a tight grip on his son's shoulder. "Severus," the blond continued while eyeing the boy and a huge smile appeared on Malfoy's face. "Lucius hasn't been able to stop talking about your trip to the zoo." A small smile formed on Sev's face at those words while once again Lucius looked on proudly. "Why don't you two go and play?" Abraxas suggested and both boys eagerly nodded before running off.
"Marvolo, would you mind?" Lysandra looked at him hopeful and the Auror quickly excused himself before running after the boys. He could feel the Dark Lord's eyes following his every move.
-THTH-
"So, when are you going to talk to him?" Tom turned surprised to Alex, who smiled innocently at him. "My Lord," Crabbe quickly added and the Minister's eyes moved back to a certain Auror. Tom knew he had been staring the entire night, but he couldn't help himself. The way those green eyes kept meeting his in an almost flirty manner, was addictive.
"He's busy." A weak excuse and he knew it.
"With his godson; who adores you. I don't think he'll mind," Alex pointed out. The Minister just gave him a blank look and Crabbe bravely looked back. "He's waiting. Go on."
"How can you know he's waiting?" the Dark Lord had to retort.
"Because I'm his friend!" Alex proudly answered and the other found it a fair point. With a nod at Crabbe, he moved to Harry.
"Uncle Tom!" Lucius called out when he reached them and the Auror turned to him with a surprised look on his face. "Sev's getting sweeties," the little blond happily announced and Harry rolled his eyes at him.
"You forced him!" The Dark Lord's eyebrows rose at that statement.
"Enlighten me," he smirked and the other adult gave him a teasing look back.
"Well, Lucius here gave out our family secret," the Auror started and got two small greyish eyes narrowing at him.
"I did not!"
"Cursing someone with the mind is something only a Malfoy can do." Nodding his head, Harry tried to emphasize his lie.
"Oh, who did you curse?" Tom played along and the greyish eyes widened in his direction.
"Sev's parents," the Auror continued and the Minister let out a surprised sound.
"Your own friend's parents? How could you?" 'I'm overacting, aren't I?' he questioned himself, but wasn't stopping any time soon. "I could have you arrested for that!" Lucius seemed ready to cry and for a moment the Dark Lord wondered if he had gone too far.
"Oh, Tom could do that! You might not see your mama and papa for years!" Harry was the one who added another layer to their lie. "No!" The blond boy burst into tears.
"You could always undo your curse," the Dark Lord suggested and got a hopeful expression directed at him.
"How?"
"The same way you cast the curse, with your mind" Harry stated. Lucius immediately squeezed his face tight together and while concentrating hard mumbled the counter curse.
"What's he doing?" Severus' question announced his return.
"Sev! Your parents are fine!" Lucius cried out.
"He undid the curse," the Auror proudly nodded and the little Snape just rolled his eyes before holding out the plate he was holding.
"Sweets!" the other boy cheered and directly started stuffing his mouth. Sev joined him and seeing Harry gently smile down at them, made Tom decided this was the right time for his little surprise. His hand slipped in his pocket and he pulled out a scroll.
"I'm certain this will interest you," he stated and got an eyebrow raised at him.
"We'll see," the Auror responded dryly while accepting it before opening it. Green eyes scanned the paper and widened rapidly. "How did you know?" Harry asked stunned and the Minister cocked his head.
"Who your mom is?" he questioned and got a shy nod as answer.
"Your eyes," he said honestly. The other's orbs glanced at the children before turning back to him.
"Thank you." It had been a long time since Tom had seen the other shine like that.
"As Sev lives in the same neighbourhood, you're definitely on top of the godparent's list." If he wasn't than the Minister would use his influence.
"I'll be certain to put in a request first thing Monday," Harry smiled and looked back down to the paper.
"Do-"
"My Lord!" Walburga's voice interrupted them and the Dark Lord was in the mood to scare her off with the scariest glare he could produce, but one look at the child with her stopped him.
"Walburga and little Sirius," he greeted them, knowing all too well that the Auror would like to spend some time with the boy.
"Lucius, you know Sirius, don't you," Harry quickly added and his godson looked up at him in surprise with his mouth full of sweets. His greyish orbs moved to the little Black before moving back to the Auror and nodded.
"Has he been introduced to the Snapes?" the Dark Lord questioned Walburga, who eyed Sev with a blank look.
"I'm afraid we haven't had the pleasure yet." She sounded anything but pleasant and Sev hid himself a little behind Lucius.
"Sirius, meet Severus, my godson," Tom added more for the Black's boy's mother's ears and a sudden look of interest appeared on Walburga's face.
"The Prince's boy," she smiled and pushed her son forward. "Make friends, Sirius." The boy took a step forward under his mother's pushing and Lucius gave him a criticizing look, which he had clearly learned from his father.
"We need sweets!" the blond declared and Tom had to hide a smirk. Apparently, he wasn't that successful as Harry elbowed him in the side before bowing down to the children's' level.
"Why don't the three of you go and get some?" Lucius gave him a look that clearly told him that wasn't the plan.
"That way you can choose your favourites," the Dark Lord added and the boys were immediately convinced. With a gentle smile the Auror watched them run off before turning back to the woman, who had joined them.
"How's your youngest one?" he politely asked and seemed to have set open a floodgate as Walburga could stop from boosting.
"Marvolo!" Lysandra suddenly interrupted the other woman. "I need you!" she declared and immediately twirled around again walking away.
"If you'll excuse us," Harry nodded at the Black and Tom slightly wondered what the 'us' was about. He was more than pleasant surprise when the Auror quickly took hold of his hand and pulled him with him. They quickly joined the hostess at the entrance of the ballroom.
"You two looked like you need the rescue," Lysandra chuckled and Harry pulled a sheepish look.
"Well, she was going all out over Regulus..."
"Come, take something to drink and cool down on the balcony." The woman waved at one of the house-elves and Tom accepted a glass of champagne. The Auror followed his example and start making his way over to the balcony in the hallway. As the Dark Lord walked after him, he got a lecherous grin from Lysandra, which seemed so wrong on the classy Malfoy woman. But he couldn't deny that he appreciated her support. Now he just had to not blow it. Harry greeted him with a smile as he joined him on the balcony and Tom could only stare at the beauty before him. All the light seeping in from behind him, seemed to fade away while the stars just didn't do justice. Slowly, Tom's feet moved forward drawn to the other man like a moth to a flame.
"Tom..." his name fell from those tempting lips.
"My Lord!" a hasty voice all of a sudden called out and the Minister twirled around in shock ready to fight whoever was attacking them. The Auror suddenly stood beside him, holding his armed hand down.
"Tobias?" Harry questioned as Tom just stared at the new arrival, stunned.
"I apologize for interrupting," the muggle directed mostly at the Dark Lord, probably because of the look on his face, "but my family and I are taking our leave." Brown eyes moved to movement behind the man to see said wife pulling along a reluctant Severus.
"I hope you enjoyed your evening," the Dark Lord recovered himself and put his wand back in its pocket before holding out his hand.
"It was... an experience," Tobias honestly answered while accepting the hand.
"Understandable," Tom agreed and the Auror also got a hand.
"Get home safely," Harry smiled down at Sev as he and his mother joined them. "I'll see you next week." The Auror kneeled down and patted the boy's hair. Eileen also shook their hands and the family turned away from them. At the balcony door the woman abruptly turned back to them and stepped halfway back to be hearable.
"Marvolo, don't-" the rest of her sentence got interrupted by a giant explosion near the border of the Malfoy's grounds. The wizards immediately pulled out their wands, while the other three stiffened where they stood. In just a couple of seconds a crazy chain reaction of explosions made their way over to them. It was impossible to react in time and the outer wall - supporting the middle beam of the balcony - crumbled down in front of their eyes. Harry could grab hold of Eileen with a levitation spell before she disappeared into the darkness below them, while Tom casted spells to protect themselves. The next explosion was beside the floating woman and hit her full on with what looked like a repetition of Crucios. Harry could only watch it happen while failing to reel her in without nearly dropping her. He looked helplessly at the Dark Lord beside him, who was stabilizing the stones underneath them. Suddenly a dark flying spot pulled Tom's attention and he frowned as it exploded.
'Grenades?!' the thought almost seemed surreal. A sound of relief left the Auror as he finally succeeded in moving Eileen towards them. Seeing another grenade flying towards the woman, the Dark Lord quickly zapped it away from her. When she was in reach, Harry wrapped his hands around her shoulders and pulled her close to them. He visually stiffened for a moment as he felt how cramped up she was and the look in her eyes only spook of hell.
'Sev!' Tom suddenly remembered the rest of the family and to his horror found father and son squished against a wall with rocks having closed up the entrance of the balcony.
"I'm Apparating us to St. Mungo's!" the Auror declared and brown eyes looked at him in panic.
"No!" He quickly grabbed the other's wanded hand and got confused and shocked green eyes directed at him.
"Sev," one word and one nod was enough to explain.
"Sev!" Harry called out and the boy looked at them with tears in his eyes from behind his father.
"The floor isn't going to hold them," the Minister pointed out as his brain was coming up with any idea that could work. A grenade exploded right in front of the two Snapes and the floor started to crack up, making Tobias seemingly trying to push his son into the wall behind them. Severus was clinging to his father as much as he could while crying none stop.
"I'm going over and Apparate them to St. Mungo's," Tom decided and got a surprised look from the Auror back, before he nodded.
"I'll cover you." With a last look at the other, the Minister casted a Protego before leaving their safe spot. His feet carried him over the cracks and empty spaces of the floor while the explosions roared around him. Grenades flew his way and a colourful beam from Harry redirected the ones coming too close. Checking the short distance between him and the Snapes, he also did a quick check-up on father and son. His heart stopped when he saw a grenade fly just in front of them. Tobias had also seen it and with a short glance at his son, he grabbed it. Brown eyes widened and Tom immediately dropped his Protego to point his wand towards them. If only he had a couple more seconds, he could have made it. Instead the grenade exploded in Tobias' hand, ripping his arm and part of his chest straight off. Severus just stared in shock as the figure before him slumped down. Not wasting anymore time, the Dark Lord grabbed the boy and covered the little one's eyes with his free hand, but he knew that the damage was done. One look at Tobias told him there was nothing they could do. He was gone. Another grenade got manoeuvred away from them by Harry, who was watching their every move and the Minister quickly Apparated away with Severus. As he appeared before St. Mungo's, he immediately kneeled down and studied Severus' face. The boy kept crying without making any sounds with splatters of his father's blood all over him. But the empty look in his eyes, pierced Tom's heart the most. Beside him he could feel the air move before Harry appeared with Eileen. The Auror immediately shot out an emergency call to the front of the hospital before turning to them.
"Sev?" he questioned and Tom just shook his head.
"My Lord!" a female nurse called out before yelling something to the person behind her.
"She needs immediate help!" the Auror called out while leaning back over Eileen and the nurse dropped down beside him. She casted some observing spells and a frown settled on her face. Two more witches and a wizard joined them and Eileen got rapidly carried inside. One of them signalled them to follow and Tom got stopped by a small hand grapping his robe. Looking down, he could finally read something in Sev's eyes. Fear. The Dark Lord embraced him and picked him up. Sev hid his face in his neck and Tom let him. He didn't care about tears or blood at the moment.
"I need to go back," Harry stated, clearly not wanting to leave them.
"Go," the Minister simply said and with a last caress through Severus's hair the Auror went back to the war zone.
-THTH-
It didn't take long before Harry found his teammates and got an update of the situation.
"It looks like one man with an arsenal of small bombs of Crucios, Confringos, Petrificus Totalus and who knows what else," Doyle told him.
"How are the guests?"
"Fine, the ballroom has been warded," Harold answered and a sudden red flash rose up in the sky.
"They got him!" Harry was already speeding towards the signal.
"That was fast," his grandfather commented while sharing a look with Martin. As they got closer, they could see a team of Aurors holding a demobilised man captive with a bag floating a short distance from them.
"We'll be delivering him to the Interrogators," one of the Auror informed them of their actions when he noticed them, before the team disappeared with their prisoner.
"We should give the premises a last tour before going to the people inside," Doyle decided and the Potters nodded.
"Need to be certain he really worked alone." Harry agreed with his grandfather and they quickly went to work. After meeting up with other teams, they concluded the perpetrator truly worked by himself. The teams split up again with some going straight to the hospital, others guarding the area and the last group moving to the mansion.
"Get the guest list from Abraxas," Martin said to Harry when they reached the front door. As they walked in, immediately they got bombarded with questions. Martin raised his hand to signal he was going to speak. It took some minutes before his public finally quiet down and he could speak.
"One man has been captured and everything points to him working alone." Voices rose again and Doyle raised his hand once again. Harry didn't wait for the rest of his instructions and quietly made his way over to where Abraxas was standing.
"Where's our Lord?" was the first thing out of the blond's mouth.
"He's fine," the Auror said, intentionally not elaborating with suddenly a lot of eyes on him. "We need the guest list."
"Yes, of course," Abraxas slightly turned around and squeezed in his wife's knee. "I'll be right back," he stated and Lysandra nodded before turning her attention back to Doyle's speech. Lucius sat quietly on her lap and kept looking around.
'Did the Snapes already say their goodbyes or is he looking for Sev,' Harry wondered when he noted his behaviour. His cousin broke his musing and made him follow him to his office. Once inside the blond moved to his desk and looked through the stakes of papers on top of it, before pulling one out of it.
"Here, the ones crossed out cancelled," Abraxas handed it to him and the Auror quickly scanned it. He was glad to see Ignatius' name crossed out. Just thinking of the chance his high pregnant wife could have gone into labour during the attack, made his skin crawl. Not even considering that she and her unborn baby could have died. "Now tell me where our Lord is?!" the blond pulled him out of his thoughts.
"At St. Mungo's - he's fine - with Severus and Eileen. Eileen got hurt, badly. Tobias didn't make it," he explained and a relieved expression appeared on Abraxas' face before a frown replaced it.
"My son's best friend risks to become an orphan and his parents died on my land."
"Eileen's still alive," Harry corrected but got ignored.
"This won't be good for their friendship." The Auror rolled his eyes at his worry.
"Coming here may just as well be therapeutic." Greyish eyes widened at that. "And let's hope he doesn't become an orphan!" the younger man emphasized by raising his voice and the other blinked at him blankly.
"Of course," the blond suddenly smiled.
"The other Aurors are waiting for this." Harry lifted the guest list and his cousin quickly nodded in understanding. Rapidly they moved back to the ballroom.
-THTH-
Once the doctor released Sev, the little boy immediately started clinging to Tom again. The Dark Lord laid his hand on the back of the boy's head and let him hide his face against his robe.
"He's fine, physically," the wizard said to the Minister, who raised his eyes at him. "But he's still in shock, so I want to see him again tomorrow and I'll also make an appointment with our child counselor," the wizard stated and Tom nodded in understanding.
"Is there any news about his mother yet?" he questioned while knowing the answer would be negative.
"Nothing yet I'm afraid," the doctor said apologizing and the Dark Lord looked down at Sev, who sneaked a peek at him.
"We'll go wait in the waiting room," Tom tried to smile encouraging at the boy, but knew he failed.
"I'll guide you to a more private one near the emergency room," the doctor stated and the Minister maneuvered Severus to the door.
"That would be appreciated."
R&R