A/n: Okay, someone pointed out how comfortable Harry is with two people who he thought wanted him very dead so I covered why. Be aware that some of this touches on emotional trauma and how it can twist perceptions or the understanding of a situation. As such some of the personal logic is... somewhat odd.
*+ovo+*
Harry slept somewhat peacefully having been knocked out by the sleeping potion from the healer. Unfortunately he could still dream and he had been very aware of who else was in the same bed as him just before the potion kicked in. Thus, it should have been no surprise to anyone that his mind slipped into nightmares.
The first quiet whimper woke both older wizards from their slumber, having learned to be light sleepers as children living in the same building as their tormentors. Both men paused as their minds woke, returning them their memories of the last several days. Severus, having insisted that Harry be on the side of him in bed opposite that of the Dark Lord carefully turned to observe his charge.
"~He stinks of terror,~" Nagini informed them softly, not wanting to unnecessarily wake Harry.
Voldemort swore quietly as Severus reached over to try and wake his son. The touch of his hand sent Harry instinctively rolling away and curling into a protective ball. He barely avoided rolling off of the bed and onto the hard cold marble floor covered by large rich thick Persian rugs.
"No! Please don't hurt me!" Harry begged, still half asleep and clearly terrified.
Severus didn't wait, he pulled Harry into his arms and started humming the same tune he had been taught by Lily as a child. Something deep inside the younger wizard recognized the tune and the protective grip, calming him. He was out like a light inside 30 seconds, never having fully woken from his sleep as the song chased away his night terrors.
"~His magic recognized both of you but I do not think he was hiding from either of you,~" Nagini hissed contemplatively. "~Odd with how I know you have both hurt him in the past. What would terrify him more than what you, my Tom, have done to him?~"
Severus swallowed hard as he recalled why he had no real issue with his so-called fear of the Dark Lord. After all the man had killed his abusive father upon Severus' joining the Dark Sect at Severus' own request. The nightmares of his father coming into his room with a belt or a knife still plagued him nearly 20 years later after the man's death. Those same nightmares that held more terror for him than almost any torture he could possibly face now as an adult. True terror instilled in early childhood was almost always more potent than that which is learned as an adult.
"What?" Voldemort demanded quietly. He had seen Severus' look of realization marked with dread and knew that whatever it was had to be bad.
"You faced war as a child, not... a single or multiple active opponents with complete access and free reign to hurt you. We did," Severus admitted, keeping his eyes on his son sleeping in his lap. "Remember that I asked for my father's death as a new recruit? I gained a measure of closure but I still have nightmares about him coming after me."
It took a minute but the reasons finally dawned on the Dark Lord causing him to swallow down his rage. A rage which made Harry whimper again in his sleep.
"After breakfast we will go to Gringotts and ensure that he never returns there again even should something happen to us," Voldemort said quietly, eyes as hard as flint and voice laced with steel. "The bank sent an emergency notice as Head of the Slytherin family about a meeting this afternoon with Dwalish sending a second one confirming a request for the three of us specifically. The Goblins can arrange for him to never go back on our behalf before we attend the emergency Wizengamot meeting. Apparently they wanted to do it yesterday but had to push it back a day. Dwalish may show up later to officially deliver the message instead of using his emergency contact measure."
They sat there in silence for a bit, Harry unconsciously cuddled against the snarky Potions Master's chest and wrapped in his arms.
"I turned to save Lily. I didn't account for the child as Harry wasn't real to me yet. Upon her death he forced me into an Unbreakable Vow to safeguard Harry. I have been denied access except when he is at school. To keep me obedient both his life and my freedom from Azkaban are held over my head. Either I obey or Harry gets hurt or one of the Slytherins. There are a few other things he uses against me but that is the majority," Severus admitted into the silence of the dark bedroom. "I... was never allowed to get to know him and now he's my son."
Voldemort shifted along the bed and pulled the pair of wizards firmly into his arms as he made all three of them lay down.
"I don't share my things," Voldemort murmured as he held them close. His odd little family, only a few days old, wasn't an exception to his possessiveness and protectiveness. Humming softly they drifted back to sleep.
Nagini watched all of this thoughtfully. She already knew her hatchling had well and truly claimed the other two, spontaneous ritual from a few days ago aside, but the thought of a still existing threat bothered her. She knew it would bother her Tom as well until he removed it with extreme prejudice. Her youngest Speaker Hatchling would have to be watched even more closely.
Breakfast came with the three wizards largely ignoring Harry's nightmares from the night before. They set to eating in Voldemort's private sitting area, as they had been since the Hogsmeade raid. Although Snape's quiet confession from the night before had seen a small change with their breakfast fare. Instead of only catering to Voldemort's meal preferences the table now sported the expensive coffee that Severus favored as well as a larger range of options. Neither of the younger wizards commented but both noticed the change.
"What happened?" Harry asked carefully, eying his fellow diners as he devoured mashed potatoes mixed with sausage pieces and topped with fruit bits. It had been something he created from the available foods rather than pre-made by the house elves. The new fruit tea was rather good too.
"Severus explained the circumstances surrounding why he was already your sworn protector," Voldemort informed him. "Dumbledore tricked him and then trapped him, holding his oath over his head as a leash even as he was kept away from you aside from his duties as your teacher. The situation likely exacerbated any problems between the two of you. There was no betrayal of anyone."
"You could say that," Severus snorted. "Yes, I reacted as if he had sealed the final part of the magical family feud but I also wasn't given a choice in poking at him either. I can guess at several reasons why. Just off the top of my head: fostering a hatred of all things Slytherin, a mask to make it look like nothing had changed which also made me out to be evil, stripping the imp of all possible adult support except that which the Headmaster controlled or authorized, inability to get out of the damned leash in the form of the Unbreakable Vow without it killing me... Yes, there were plenty of reasons why I snapped and snarled at you at Hogwarts, very few of which were actually your fault. Still, my actions were also my own."
"He threatened me to get you to behave or at least obey him..." Harry concluded with a wince as he closed his eyes, pained at the sudden knowledge of the ramifications of the Vow.
"Yes," Severus said quietly. "Something which is not and has never been your fault. So get that thought out of your mind. I could have chosen death or Azkaban but I did not. I never really minded promising to protect you. Yes, I would have preferred being able to choose to die in your protection if it came down to it but it is done. Further the bond we now share makes you my son, we only need to register it at Gringotts or the Ministry to have it officially recognized. The Dark Lord was acknowledged as our patron and protector by the magic to the point of family. The ritual might have been off the cuff but it is no less valid, even more so as Nagini also participated and made the same claim."
Harry opened his eyes to stare wide-eyed at his adoptive father. He knew they had been acting like a family he had always dreamed about and had also noticed that the ritual had made him suspiciously comfortable around the other two. What he hadn't known was that it had created a legal as well as magical bond between them all.
"I am the family Lord and Head of House for a number of different reasons. Neither of you, to my knowledge, has a current Lordship or are Heir to a Lordship irregardless of if you are eligible for one. We will need to check on that at some point, not today as we will be rather busy, as well as your finances and any holdings you may have," Voldemort pointed out. "Medically, I need Harry safe as well as frequent access to him. Even if we never get along I would rather not face that destructive insanity again, an insanity that is bad for everyone. These things may change to some extent after more of my soul is healed but my protection of you both will never waver. For now we will finish breakfast and then head to the bank before obtaining lunch and going to the ministry for the emergency meeting they called. I will call for an escort at the bank unless we decide to simply use glamours as we will be using to get to the bank."
The trip to Gringotts and the Ministry was going to be very interesting, Harry thought darkly. He had a deep suspicion that they were going to be tagged with trackers and other magics to make sure they made it back "home" with the Dark Lord. It was weird enough finding out that he had first been adopted by two of his most ardent enemies and then discovering the health and soul thing on top of it. The fact that he was still hurt from his previous "home life" wasn't really a surprise considering how much it tended to hurt when he wrote with a quill or prepared potion ingredients. It was just another one of those constant pains he didn't bother to comment on with how long it had been there and the lack of care provided by any adult he had trusted with it.
Harry had no idea that ever since the health check his new little family was hyper vigilant about his health. All three of them had been closely observing him and none of them had been pleased to realize that this was the most relaxed and at peace they had ever seen him beyond flying on his broom. The Dark Lord, thinking it would help Severus in his current task, had allowed the other wizard to read their health reports properly while Harry had a long hot bath before bed the night before. The one-way silencing spells along with the temporary containment wards had been a good idea. Severus' magic and temper had raged at the damage done to their green-eyed imp. Voldemort had to pin the man down and remind him, very firmly, who was now in charge to keep him from going off and murdering both Dumbledore and the Dursleys. It had turned into a sort of cuddle session as the Potions Master broke down weeping on Harry's behalf. The combined revelations were likely a large part of what prompted Severus into admitting what he had in the dark of the night as they held Harry protectively in their arms after the nightmare.
Time would tell.
For now they had to get to the bank.
*+ovo+*
A/n: Okay, the plan is to cover part of the bank next but musey might hijack it in a different direction because she is making very displeased noises with my current ideas. Idea suggestions are very welcome! Maybe Musey will be more happy with something you guys come up with...