Chapter 4: Harry and Horatio

Minerva and Severus had relocated to her quarters, which were unsurprisingly a mix of tartan and Gryffindor colors. She had called her assigned house elf Tilly to bring them tea and biscuits. Now the pair was seated in two armchairs discussing the monumental task of establishing a magical child where one did not exist, enrolling said child in Hogwarts, and then finding a way to allow Harry to attend the school as himself and as his alias. Not to mention the added complication that Severus did not want Dumbledore to know about any of this.

"I cannot guarantee that the old man will not put his greater plan over Harry's wishes or his emotional and mental wellbeing." Severus sipped at Minerva's favored Earl gray tea before continuing, "I will not take that risk."

"I agree," Minerva placed her own teacup upon its saucer, "but why are you so adamant about this? Albus intimated to me that you hated the boy's existence…"

Snape glared at the mention of Dumbledore speaking of his feelings to others, "I despised the idea of the boy, but then I met him, I saw him. He had been sleeping on the floor when I finally tracked them down. I have already told you about the discrepancy in the two boys' conditions, and I suspect it goes beyond mere neglect." Balling his hand into a fist, Severus lightly pummeled the armrest before meeting McGonagall's steady gaze, "How could I hate him, when I set eyes on him… I hated myself for not looking into the matter before now, for trusting that someone, anyone else was taking care of him. I knew Dumbledore had taken him somewhere, but I didn't look further into the situation."

Standing he began to pace around the cozy sitting room, "He is my godson, Lily named me his guardian should something happen to her, and I left him in this condition for 10 years. Then her simpering, envious, interfering muggle sister called me out on it. Why did I leave him with them for ten years? The only answer I can give, is that I grew comfortable with Dumbledore making decisions for the boy, taking responsibility for his failure and mine, for not warning Lily and James myself…" He paused, gripping the back of the armchair, and staring down at his hands rather than meeting her gaze again. His voice was soft but firm as he finished, "No more, I will not allow Dumbledore or anyone else to manipulate Harry, and if I can do anything to help him I will."

"Severus," his former professor gestured to the seat he had vacated, "Come, sit down and we will do what we can for Harry." When he warily sighed and complied, she continued, "Now the first thing we will need to do is establish his birth."

Severus nodded, "That should be fairly simple, considering that the Ministry doesn't keep track of Squibs or their children. We can easily fabricate and insert the appropriate muggle records into their offices, even make the appropriate memory modifications etc."

McGonagall took another sip of her tea, "The harder thing to explain will be the first stirrings of accidental magic, which mark the student as a candidate for admission to the school."

Snape frowned, "What if he resided in another country, one without a magical school?"

"That's possible," Minerva chewed a ginger biscuit thoughtfully, "but it depends if Harry is able to imitate an accent from one of those countries, and if there were a school close enough that should have him on their roster of potential students."

"I suppose that creates more problems than it solves," he conceded. Severus stared into the empty fireplace as he tried to come up with another solution.

"We don't like to talk about it, but not all of the muggle born witches and wizards live to see Hogwarts…" Minerva said gently, "I could search to see if such a child was born around the right time? That would mean Horatio would have to have the deceased child's birthday, and more records would need to be altered."

Severus lifted his gaze to meet hers once more, "Let me look into that for you, the reasons a magical child might not live to school age could be difficult reading…"

Her mouth thinned as she considered his offer, "Very well Severus. Then let me at least secure the item he will require once he arrives."

He arched a quizzical eyebrow, "I thought we'd agreed I could request it, to study the effects of temporal distortion on potion brewing?"

"I am in good standing with the Ministry," She adjusted her glasses, "My request for academic reasons won't be met with suspicion."

"Ah yes," he smirked, "They might think I'd want the thing to try to bring back my master, like the dutiful servant many of them still believe me to be."

"Exactly," McGonagall brushed crumbs onto her plate before replacing it on the tea tray, "and I will speak with the hat before I bring it into the hall."

"If it agrees to sort him twice, how will we convince it not to blab to Dumbledore as soon as it is back in his office?"

She smiled, "I could always threaten to turn it into a sorting tea cozy instead."

Severus chuckled, "That sounds more like something the Head of Slytherin would say, not the Head of Gryffindor."

"Unfortunately, I doubt you could convince the hat you could use it as potion ingredients, Severus."

Snape rolled his eyes, "Then I'd threaten to use it as a rag to mop up, after a first-year potions class."

The older witch snorted with laughter, "That's an insult not a threat, it wouldn't want to help us after that."

The tray of hot chocolate and sandwiches which had been brought up to the family room was floating between them. Harry kept glancing up at it, still surprised by the casual use of magic he had seen on display in their home. When they had first come to the room, which lay near the master bedroom, Narcissa had tried to offer him a comforting embrace, but overwrought he had flinched away. Now she sat watching him from the other end of the deep blue sofa, and Lucius was across from the pair in an armchair. Draco had not yet returned from tending to Buckbeak, and Stella and Bella were still ensconced in one of their bedrooms.

Harry looked up from his half empty cup of hot chocolate. "So that's when you two came in with Draco to get his wand."

"I see," Lucius pondered, "Olivander did seem smug about something, I guessed you'd been a tricky customer. He likes it when he finds a challenging person to match. The question is, do you wish to construct for yourself an entirely separate persona from Harry Potter. I can see advantages and disadvantages to proceeding with this plan, but Narcissa and I could help you, and if you choose to trust him, I believe Draco could help you as well."

Harry blinked, "how could you do that?"

Narcissa reached out to touch his shoulder, he nodded, and she placed her hand there, "Being in the Wizarding World in Brittan requires a public and a private self. Tides of public opinion are in constant motion, and it is better for those who understand this to publicly follow the popular view of the day while keeping our own thoughts and opinions to ourselves. We have a certain reputation to uphold, with certain manner of behavior and expectations, so we remain aloof in public. However, we are more casual in private, warmer with our family and friends than we would seem to an outsider who saw us in a public setting."

Harry thought back to how the Dursleys were so fussy about how things appeared to the neighbors, and how they would exclaim loudly about new things which would declare their status for the whole street to hear, but would send Harry to school in secondhand clothes. He wrinkled his nose, "Yes I get it, but how can that help me?"

She smiled gently, "Because, we can help you create distinct habits, gestures, ways of carrying yourself, and speech patterns as Horatio and as Harry. You would have to be able to remember which persona you were supposed to be at any given moment, and to be able to smoothly transition between them, as necessary. Think of it as an actor in a play, acting a certain way for a performance, but being completely different offstage."

Harry furrowed his brows, "But which one would be the real me?"

Lucius studied him for a moment before answering, "They could both grow to be real to you, to be parts of the whole which is yourself. That is part of the disadvantage of going this route. I wouldn't want you to look back on the choice to keep separate identities and regret it later, if you felt you were losing yourself in the task of keeping Harry and Horatio distinct."

Taking another swig of the now lukewarm chocolate, Harry thought about everything; he thought about the shows of support from the goblins in their gifts, and their willingness to keep nosy people out of his family's business, he thought about the quirky wand maker who gave him the second wand and tied his magical disguise to it, he thought about this family offering to help him learn to be two people in public, about how kind they were to him, and about how they weren't angry he'd lied to them about who he really was. He remembered what Severus had said, and Harry could hardly believe it had been last night, how he was a spy, and wasn't being a spy something like this?

He looked up and met Mr. Malfoy's gray eyes, "I want to try."

Lucius nodded, setting down his own cup, "The first question you must answer is how does Harry Potter behave, how does he act, talk and walk? Then we can differentiate him from Horatio."

Harry furrowed his brow, "Um that's more than one question, Mr. Malfoy."

"If I should call you Harry in private, then I insist you call me Lucius, Uncle Lucius if you like."

Harry smiled softly, "If you insist Uncle Lucius."

"Very good, now for a start I've noticed that Harry runs a hand through his hair when nervous. It is a mannerism inherited from your father James. I remember him doing so rather frequently at Hogwarts."

"So, you knew my father at school?"

"We knew of one another," Lucius hedged, "I was a few years above him and his friends, Severus, your mother, and Narcissa were all in the same year. I don't know how much Severus has told you about the school, but it is divided into four…" Harry nodded and Lucius continued, "well there is a rivalry between the houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin, and it was more pronounced during those days because of the personal rivalry between Severus, and your father and his friends."

"So, you didn't know him very well then?" Harry guessed, "Uncle Sev told me he was in Slytherin and my parents were in Gryffindor, so if you were his friend you were probably in the same house?"

"You can have friends outside of your own house," Narcissa said, "it is just more complicated when house rivalries are involved."

"I was in Slytherin, a prefect in my fifth-year when they all were sorted." Lucius concluded, "But we have become sidetracked. You must refrain from running your hands through your hair when nervous as Horatio. It is a gesture that you can use to distinguish between the two."

Harry nodded, "Ok, I'll try to remember that. What can I do instead as Horatio?"

"You could gnaw on your lip, or drum your fingers on a surface," Narcissa suggested, "or perhaps do something fastidious like examining your nails or picking at lint on your clothing whether it is actually there or not."

"Cissy, fastidious? You could have used a simpler term?" Lucius asked receiving a playful glare from his wife for his trouble. Turning back to Harry he continued, "which brings us to another area. Sometimes people prefer to use simpler words to express themselves, and others like Severus and Narcissa use words with similar meanings but are more complex or considered more refined. You could choose to speak one way as Horatio and another as Harry."

"Well, I've always used simpler words around my aunt and uncle, because they said people who use big words are just trying to sound smarter than they are."

Lucius chuckled, "There is some truth to that. I take it that you'd be more comfortable continuing like that as Harry?" the boy nodded. "Then I suggest you read before going to Hogwarts. It is the best way to learn new words and ways to use them. If you would like to stay here, we have a sizable library. Narcissa reads both muggle and wizarding fiction, and some nonfiction. Bella inherited that love of books. Draco will read as well, in fact when he was in the early stages of training Beaky, he would read to him."

Harry laughed, "Why would you read to a hippogriff?"

Narcissa smiled, "you get them used to the sound of your voice, and your presence before you interact with them directly. Especially when their parents are around." She winced looking apologetic, "That is why Snowfire attacked you, because Beaky was too close to the paddock where his mate and foal were."

Harry turned to face her, "It was an accident, he was just trying to protect his family." She nodded solemnly and he continued, "Thank you for explaining it to me, Aunt Cissy."

She smiled at the new title he had given her, "Thank you, Harry."

It had taken Draco thirty minutes to calm Buckbeak enough so he could check his injuries, and another hour to bandage and clean what he could without magic. He knew he could have asked his father to help, and the process would have gone quicker, but he needed to do this for Beaky. Now he sat in the stable, wiping blood from the saddle, and spared a glance down at himself; his favorite robes splotched with blood, but maybe if he left them on the floor of his bedroom Woody would find and clean them. Draco hated getting things dirty, but it was unavoidable when your favorite pastimes were flying with or laying and reading with a creature that was part horse and part eagle. There was a familiar nudge against his shoulder, and he looked up to see the head of his best friend bowed low, clearly asking for more petting. He smile indulgently and set aside the saddle for the moment.

"You know, it wasn't Horatio's fault or yours… Snowfire was just taking care of his baby. I would do the same if some strange person were flying over and you were still small enough for me to carry you. " He stroked the smooth feathery neck, remembering Buckbeak's tremors from before, "I'm sorry I didn't get to you sooner Beaky, but I had to run to the room shed to get my Cleansweep." Buckbeak crooned softly, wrapped his less injured wing around Draco, and rested his head on the boy's shoulder. Draco continued to pet him for a few more moments then asked, "Will you be ok if I go inside? I should go get changed before this blood dries," he gestured down at his clothes and added, "and go see if Mum has managed to patch up Horatio yet." Buckbeak shuffled his wings and blinked once, which Draco took as a sign of confirmation. He smiled and said, "Dad can look at you in the morning if you'll let him."

Draco scooped up the saddle, blanket and headcollar, along with his cleaning and healing supplies. He shouldered open the stall door, which he had left ajar for that very reason. Putting down his burden he reached to close the door but glanced back at Buckbeak one more time just to make sure he was alright. He received a dejected stare in return, but the hippogriff was settled on the floor of the straw-lined stall with his wings folded along his back. Draco gave him one last smile and said, "No messing with your bandages, I don't want to have to put the big collar around your neck." Buckbeak ruffled his feathers indignantly and Draco grinned at him, "Goodnight Beaky."

After replacing all the supplies and equipment in the tack room, Draco headed for the path which would lead back to the house. It was darker under the canopy of trees, but the delayed Lumos lanterns had been triggered by the darkening surroundings, bathing the path in cool white light. He followed the trail of lanterns back through the forest and emerged a few minutes later onto the lawns which spread from the gates to the front steps of the manor house. He glanced up at the lit windows, noting that his sisters were in Bella's room, and the drawing room below was dark and likely empty. "I guess I'll have to ask Woody where Horatio and Mum and Dad are…"

He ascended the steps and came into the foyer when a flicker of green flames drew him toward the once vacant drawing room. There were not many people who could just floo into their home, but Draco had an idea who he would find. Peering round the corner he saw his godfather glancing around the shadowed room, "Good evening Uncle Severus."

Severus scrutinized his godson, one of his godsons he corrected himself, and stepped closer hastily, "Draco why are you covered in blood?"

"It's not mine," Draco assured quickly, "it's Buckbeak's mostly, but I've tended to him…"

Snape interrupted, "Was he injured while Horatio was riding him?"

The blond boy cringed, "Yes, they flew too close to where Glimmer and—"

"Where, is, Horatio?"

"I—I'm not sure," Draco took a step back, he had rarely seen his godfather this agitated, not that he didn't understand why. "I was about to call Woody to ask him where Mother had taken him."

Seeing the alarm in the boy's face Severus made an effort to lower his voice and gentle his tone, "Then please do so."

Draco nodded and called in a slightly raised voice, "Woody?"

The house elf appeared with a crack, "Yes, young Master, how can Woody be of service?"

Severus impatient to know Harry's location, had him asking his own question before Draco could, "Where are Lucius and Narcissa, and Horatio?"

The elf furrowed his brow at the breach of etiquette, he glanced at Draco for instruction, who nodded for him to continue. Woody bowed to Severus and answered, "They are in the family room, Professor Snape."

"Come Draco," Severus turned on his heel and headed for the hall and the stairs beyond. After giving Woody an apologetic glance Draco followed, and the elf disappeared with another loud crack.

Harry had his glamour dismissed and his wand was laying on the hovering food tray. He was practicing walking as himself, the quick gait he'd developed avoiding Dudley and Uncle Vernon, no Vernon he decided he would drop uncle in favor of using the title for the people who actually showed him kindness. After showing this to Narcissa she advised, "As Horatio you should walk with a slower, more purposeful stride, and keep your face pointed to your destination unless you are engaged in conversation, it shows confidence and authority. You know who you are, you know the family you belong to, and you have no reason to fear or be uncertain."

Harry consciously ruffled his own hair and asked, "but what if I feel unsure?"

"Then act as if you don't," Lucius smiled, "and confide your insecurities to your friends later."

Crack!

Harry jumped as Woody appeared. The elf turned to apologize and did a doubletake. He bowed low to Harry and said, "My apologies for startling you, Mister Potter."

Lucius adopted a commanding tone, "Woody, I forbid you from revealing Horatio's true identity unless he, Severus, Narcissa, or myself give you permission to do so."

The elf bowed low once more, "Woody will not reveal Mister Harry Potter's secret."

"What brings you to us Woody, you were not called. Do the girls or Draco require something of us?" asked Narcissa.

"Professor Snape has just arrived, and he is bringing young master up to the family room with him."

Before his servant had finished speaking Lucius summoned Horatio's wand and tossed it to him. The boy caught it in his right hand, and Lucius noted that they would have to teach him to be as comfortable with his left hand in writing and catching, since handedness was linked to a wizard's wand arm. He met Harry's green eyes and said, "It is up to you if you wish to reveal yourself to Draco but consider quickly, we have mere seconds."

Harry thought of the eager boy who had told him about the hippogriffs, of the warning about ash before he used floo powder for the first time, and the concern on the pale features as he'd seen Horatio's wounded arm. He nodded without altering his appearance, stowing his wand in an inner pocket of the jacket, which had clearly been designed for such a purpose. The doors to the family room burst open, and Severus swept into the room with Draco on his heels, but the pair stopped dead at the sight of Harry. Severus dark eyes swept the room assessing, but Draco was the first to speak.

"What is Harry Potter doing in our sitting room, and why is he wearing my clothes?"

Harry drew the hawthorn wand once more and swept it down his body in one fluid motion, the same gesture he had used when the wandmaker had tied the disguise to his wand. He felt his hair lengthening to his shoulders, and the others watched as his eyes darkened from green to gray, and his hair lightened from black to deep brown. Remembering Narcissa and Lucius lessons in vocabulary he said, "My name is Harry Potter, but I am also Horatio Prince and your mother asked Woody to bring me some of your clothes, as mine were damaged in the incident earlier. Speaking of which, how is Buckbeak?"

Draco arched his eyebrows in surprise, he answered the last question first, "He has some nasty scratches, but he'll be alright I think." Taking a moment to consider the rest he shook his head, "I knew there was something about you, but I never guessed you'd be Harry Potter." Draco folded his arms across his chest and asked his parents, "How long have you two known?"

Lucius snorted in amusement at his son's calm reaction, "Only since he accidently revealed himself after Narcissa tended to his wound."

"What transpired to cause you to reveal yourself?" Severus crossed the room to stand next to Lily's son disguised as his nephew. "Did you lose consciousness and your glamours fall, or was your wand dropped in whatever happened on that ill-conceived flight?"

Horatio shook his head, "No Uncle Sev, it was nothing like that. I only had a gash on my left arm. Buckbeak saw the other hippogriff coming and flipped us over so he would take the brunt of the attack. I lost my glasses, and the new robes you bought me are ruined, but Aunt Cissy healed me pretty quickly." Severus arched an eyebrow at the familial form of address.

"Afterword he had a lapse and asked that I call him Harry," Narcissa admitted, "but I thought nothing of it at the time, because of Delphini and Druella's preference to be called Bella and Stella."

"It was I who put two and two together, old friend." Lucius explained, "Cissy told me he preferred to be called Harry, and I suspected there was more to the boy's story because of your protectiveness over him. Then I summoned the boy's glasses using the Accio Identitatum variant of the summoning charm, where you identify the person the item belongs to when summoning it. The glasses flew straight at me when I called them Harry's glasses. Then when I remarked on the peculiarity, he gave it away unknowingly by running his hand through his hair. How many times did you complain about James Potter doing just that while we were at school?"

Severus cringed inwardly at the memory, but sighed pinching the bridge of his nose, "I should have anticipated you two probing into the boy's life."

"We did no such thing," Narcissa rose from the sofa, her voice growing frosty as her anger mounted, "and if you thought so little of us then why entrust us with him in the first place?"

"Wait!" Horatio said stepping between the two, raising a hand to ward them both off. "They have been helping me, teaching me to act differently as Harry and as Horatio. Draco didn't know until now, and he seems to be taking it pretty well."

Draco snorted, "I'm not going to tell you it wasn't a shock, Prince. I grew up hearing about you, reading books about you."

Horatio raised his eyebrows, "Books about me?"

"No, about your alternate identity," the pale boy smirked.

Horatio chuckled, "I'll give you that one."

Bemused by this turn of events Severus gave a small bow to Narcissa saying, "I apologize for implying that you had ill intentions toward my godson, one of my godsons." He glanced over to Draco as he spoke.

Narcissa sank elegantly onto the sofa again, "Severus you trusted us enough to look after him, now trust us to assist him how we may."

Draco grinned, "Does this make us godbrothers, Prince?"

It was Horatio's turn to smirk, "I'm afraid you have me confused with someone else, Uncle Sev is my Uncle not my godfather."

Lucius looked past the two boys and asked, "So where have you been these last couple hours, Severus?"

Severus took a seat in the armchair near Lucius' own, "I have been making arrangements for Harry and Horatio to attend Hogwarts concurrently."

Narcissa held up a hand, "Before you embark upon your tale, we should arrange for dinner for everyone. Am I correct in assuming you two will be staying this evening?"

The Potions Master gave Horatio a questioning look and he nodded eagerly in agreement, "It seems we are."

Narcissa turned to the house elf who was still standing beside the door, "Woody could you prepare the dinner we planned earlier in the week. Also, ready Severus usual guest room, and the room across the hall for Horatio."

"Yes Mistress," Woody bowed to her and departed.

"Uncle Severus," Draco asked, "may I make a suggestion?" Severus inclined his head and the boy continued, "Horatio could stay here until it's time to go to Hogwarts. That way mother and father can help him refine his two personas, and you can go back and forth for all your pre-term stuff you usually do this time of year." Narcissa smiled approvingly at her son.

Severus steepled his fingers and thought for a moment before turning to Horatio, "This is usually the time when I am required to spend some days at the castle. There are potion ingredients to gather or order if necessary, seven syllabi to go over and modify, and dreaded staff meetings and other administrative minutia, which will take up my time. I had not yet considered where you would reside during this time."

Horatio shook his head, "No I understand, I won't mind staying with the Malfoys, but will I see you before its time to go to school?'

"I will spend as much time as I can spare with you, but the Malfoys might need to take you to King's Cross Station to board the Hogwarts Express."

"Wow, we get to school by a train. How do the, um muggles not see it? Is it like the Leaky Cauldron where you tap a certain brick in the wall?"

"Yes and no," Lucius explained, "There is a concealed entrance to a secret platform between platforms nine and ten called platform nine and three quarters. it is a place muggles cannot penetrate without previous knowledge of it, such as the parents of mu—muggle-born students, but the barrier between the two platforms can simply be passed through by those who know it is a gateway."

Narcissa had shot her husband a reproachful look before he could use the offensive term Mudblood which was sure to get Severus ire back up, and who knew how Harry/Horatio would take it considering he'd been raised in the muggle world. Reading muggle literature was one thing, but both had been raised to espouse the belief in Pure Blood supremacy, and some habits were difficult to break.

Severus gave Lucius a hard look, "Lucius, may I have a word with you in your study?"

"But? Horatio frowned, "Uncle Lucius was explaining…"

As he passed Lucius ruffled the boy's hair, "It's alright Horatio, Severus would like to talk to me about something in private. Cissy can explain all about the train and any other questions you have."

Narcissa smiled, trying to capture the boys' attention, "Except the sorting, no matter how you plead and cajole me, I shall not reveal the secrets of the sorting."

"Why is that such a big secret anyway?" Horatio asked.

"Because it is tradition, and the results of the test are more genuine if the taker doesn't know about it ahead of time."

Horatio's eyes widened, "A test, when do we do this?"

"First night," Draco snickered, "in front of the whole school from what I've heard."

Severus followed his friend down the hall to Lucius private study. The double doors opened as the pair approached and closed behind them as they entered. Lucius withdrew his wand from his cane and warded the room against intrusion and eavesdropping. Then he turned to face the darker man. Severus allowed this because he did not want to frighten or upset the children of the house, but once the task was done, he rounded on his friend.

"I will not have you filling the boy's head with that blood purist dogma, " his voice dropped to a deadly whisper as he advanced toward the other wizard, "If I ever hear you say Mudblood in front of him, I will take him out of this house before you can say Quidditch."

Lucius stood his ground, "It was a mistake Severus; with him entering Hogwarts there has been talk, a lot of talk with the old crowd. They think he might be the next dark lord. He needs to at least be aware of the world he is entering. Do you want someone coming along and taking advantage of his lack of knowledge?" Lucius swept his hand in an expansive gesture as he spoke, "he knows nothing of our world, except what you, and Narcissa and I have told him. He needs to know what is out there, or he will be hit with it the first time someone calls his mother…" He trailed off at the flash of anger on the younger man's face, "Severus, you know I would never call Lily that, but there are those who would. I am only telling you because I have kept my ear to the ground to see what our old friends are saying."

"And what do you think of the boy, Malfoy? I will not have him turned into a puppet for either side, I will not have him used in this infernal chess game."

Lucius walked forward and grasped Severus' shoulders, and held him there so he was forced to stare into his eyes, to see into his mind if need be. "Harry is not the boy they are expecting, and it will anger some of them to learn of it. I think he has much of his mother in him; he is good, and thoughtful, and I think someone has hurt him. He seems genuinely baffled by the fact that Narcissa and I were willing to take care of him. Narcissa tried to touch him in comfort and he jerked away as if he thought she meant him harm. Neither of us want to see him hurt or used any more than you do. I also think that your anger is misplaced, and I want to know why—as his legal guardian—you have not had Harry from the beginning, or at least when Dumbledore vouched for you…" Lucius let his hands fall as a possibility presented itself, "unless Dumbledore did not wish you to raise Harry, unless he is the one who left him with his Muggle relatives?"

Severus stepped back from Lucius and nodded gravely, "and that is why I am not telling him of Harry's wishes or our plans."

Lucius took a steadying breath before responding, "Then let us help you, in the short time that you left him with us, we have grown to care for the boy, you do not have to be his only protector. You cannot possibly do this on your own."

"I do have help inside Hogwarts, but I'm grateful that you and Narcissa are also willing to help."

Lucius smiled, "Always Severus, and do not underestimate Draco either, something tells me he and Harry or Horatio are going to be a formidable force."

A/N: At first I thought this chapter might be boring after the previous one, but then Severus returned from his meeting with Minerva and things became a bit more dramatic after that. I was unsure if I wanted to do sections from Draco's perspective, but I have always found him to be an intriguing character, and I ultimately felt that it was important to include. Also there are a couple places where the perspective appears a bit muddled to me, so I'm sorry if some of the thoughts, feelings, etc. seem out of place. I am thrilled at the show of support I am receiving from the community, each follow or favorite is noticed and appreciated, but I prize every review especially highly. The next chapter is called, "The Journey From Platform Nine and Three Quarters" and will be written in two parts. First from Horatio's point of view and then from Harry's.

Update 07/15/20:The chapter is almost done, but it has taken a bit longer to finish due to the detail of writing both perspectives as completely separate. If this continues I may need to drop back my update schedule to one chapter every two weeks. I will try to finish up this chapter and get back on track for next week, posting "Chapter 5: The Journey from Platform Nine and Three Quarters", and working on "Chapter 6: The Sorting Hat" that Tuesday.