Lucius looked down at the bed. He had been expecting some young lover. He had not been expecting a child. From the looks of the boy he was barely two. And from what he could see the child obviously had the Dragon pox. He could see how anxious Harry was and only part of it had to do with the fact that the boy was so sick. Why was Harry hiding a child from him? And why all the secrecy?
Lucius looked at him. "You need to take him to one of our hospitals Harry."
Harry shook his head. "Maria you can have the night off. I will take my little boy to the hospital."
He could see that Harry had used his wand and had used a slight spell on the woman. Such magic was more acceptable here as long as they did not harm the muggle it was being used on. The woman nodded and took off from the room. They could both hear the feet on the stairs and the front door open and close. He was not sure where the woman would have been sent at this time of night but his attention was drawn back to Harry and the little boy. There was something about the child which looked familiar but he did not look like Harry and definitely not like Severus either.
Harry looked at him. "Lucius you should not have come. You can not be here. You can't know about him."
Lucius was confused but he knew the boy right now. "Why are you not sending him to the hospital Harry? Do you not have papers for the boy?"
Harry looked up. "He is my child Lucius. Mine. I have his papers and birth certificates for this and the wizard world. You wouldn't understand. I need to think."
Lucius did not understand. He could see if the boy was Harry's he would have been born before the final battle. He had no idea how he and Severus had a child he never knew about. And why did the boy not look like Harry or Severus? And why was Harry so scared to take him to the hospital. He knew Harry had been trying to avoid the press. The few times he allowed himself to be spotted by the wizarding pres had been in other cities and countries.
Harry stopped him when he went to make a phone call. "What are you doing?"
Lucius looked at the boy. "I have a healer here in town I know and I can trust Harry. Your little son needs medical attention. He will not ask any questions. I swear."
Though Harry still seemed for some reason to be scared but he was desperate to help the child. He was battling between the fear and the need to take care of his son. Lucius would find out soon enough why Harry was hiding this child from him and the world. Right now the important thing was for a healer too come. Harry was still stock white and trying to cool his son down with ice when his friend came through the door.
Lucius pointed at the bed. "Thanks for coming Mike. I need you to be a bit discreet about this."
Mike looked at the bed. "It seems the child is sick with a common ailment and not a victim of abuse. You know I am happy to help. Now let me do my work."
Lucius drew Harry away from the bed to allow his friend to work. He felt Harry completely rigid in his arms. He had no idea why Harry was hiding this child from the world. He held Harry though in his arms. He was glad that it was not another lover that Harry had been having a rendezvous. Harry being a dad he could deal with. He had a son of his own of course. He was just grateful that Harry had allowed him to find help. The pox were not life threatening but the little boy definitely needed proper medical help right now.
Mike looked at them and handed them some potions. "He will need these for a few days, one dose of each once a day till the pox leave. He should be fine."
Harry took the bottles from the doctor and nodded. "Thank you for coming out in the middle of the night and taking care of my son for me. I appreciate it."
Lucius led his old friend to the door and got him to promise once again to hold his tongue. Mike had come from England over here a few years before the final battle for he wanted his kids away from the war. He had always been good for holding his tongue when it was needed. He would hold his tongue as long as it was not going to cause harm to the person involved. He could see the little boy had been taken care of and loved. He did not see any need to ask anything more about the incident.
Lucius walked back into the room which he realized was decorated for a little boy, looking like a jungle. "Harry?"
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Harry sunk down and kissed his little boy on the head. He should have known. He should have known Lucius could not be trusted. It should have been a one night stand. He had sworn to his son's daddy he would protect him at any cost. He had come here. He had bought this house. He had hired Maria to help him out. For two years he had kept him safe. For two years he had kept the little boy safe. Now because he was foolish enough to let someone back into his life it was all ruined. He had sworn when Severus had died he would never be serious about someone. And needing to protect his little boy had made that even more important. As long as Lucius remained in Manhattan he would have been fine. Damn it why did Lucius have to come tonight? Why?
He heard Lucius' voice from the doorway. "Harry?"
Harry did not look at him. "Thank you for the doctor. You are welcome to my suite for a while. I will be leaving New York as soon as he is able. I need to leave."
Lucius sunk down next to him and he could feel the man's eyes on him. "What are you running from Harry? Why are you hiding him? He isn't your son is he?"
Harry looked at him angry and drew out some papers and threw them at him. Lucius read the birth certificate. The boy was born three months before the final battle and sure enough the names for the dads listed were Harry Potter-Black and Severus Snape. He could see it was not a forgery but something about the look of the boy and the fact that Harry was running away from this told him there was more to this.
Lucius took his hand. "I want to help you Harry. I will protect you and your son from what ever you are running from. Just tell me what has you running scared."
Harry stood up and moved towards the dresser. "No. I have been protecting alone all this time. I can't lean on anyone. It is safer for me and him jut if you left us now."
Though he had been expecting the man to leave from day one he was sure he would now. He was sure that Lucius would not want to take on what ever Harry was going through. He was sure Lucius would leave for London soon. He had learned he could not rely on anyone. The little boy his daddy had left him to protect and Harry was not going to let anyone hurt him. He would never let anyone hurt the little boy. It hurt to leave Lucius but he knew he had to.
Lucius stopped him and kissed him tenderly. "I care for you. I'm falling for you. I will protect you and that little boy. I will. Please tell me what has you so scared."