Tallis grumbled loudly as he, Bill and Draco made their way down a dusty corridor, not even bothering to lower his voice. "I don't see why I am involved in this at all. Stupid Slytherins."
"Why are we doing this again?" Bill asked Draco. The two were taking some precious time away from research to spend with Draco at his request. Tallis felt bad about ignoring his friend recently due to the intensity of his research and he couldn't exactly tell Draco that they were researching a potion that would render Veritaserum useless in order to get through Harry Potter's trial with his identity still kept secret. He didn't want to refuse his friend, especially since he knew that he had been ignoring him lately and so had dragged Bill along with them.
"I've already told you two. The Slyths need a private classroom to practice dueling in. When we all come out to the world against the Dark side everyone will flip out. We will be attacked from all sides. We need to brush up on our defense skills. No matter how good we are it will still always be one of us versus a group of them, whether the 'them' is Death Eaters or Order members."
Tallis looked irritated that he could no longer gripe about their chore since it was a very good cause. He still didn't want to be doing it on what was probably one of the last nice days of the summer before it turned too cold, especially after he had spent the last few weeks locked tightly in a dungeon slaving over cauldrons. He muttered incoherently about presumptuous Slytherins and house elves who were clearly not doing their jobs in certain corridors before they stopped at what seemed to be the perfect room.
It was large and nicely hidden away from the commonly used pathways of the school. There were a bunch of old desks and cupboards which would be useful for when they needed to conduct meetings that were more of defense classes than anything else. Old torches lined the walls and would undoubtedly be usable with a few spells.
The boys stepped further into the room, exploring what was there. Bill opened the drawers on the teacher's desk, finding an old bottle of nearly dried ink and a few blank parchments. He moved on to a large cupboard near the teacher's desk and walked in, looking through the papers that he had found there. Tallis shrugged his shoulders at the uninspiring discovery and turned to open some of the cupboards while Draco looked through some of the student desks. The first cupboard had an odd collection of cleaning supplies and large boxes of past student exams. He moved on to the second closet, opening it with no concern. Clearly there was nothing to be worried about in this room.
When the door was fully opened though he turned deathly white and backed up quickly, tripping over the hem of his robes and falling back onto the hard floor. He scuttled backward as quickly as he could, away from the enormous man who had emerged. Tallis cowered back from him, trying to make himself as small a target as possible.
Draco stared on in shock as his friend cowered before the large and decidedly angry man who was quickly approaching. The man's face was flushed in anger and he was screaming nearly incoherently at Tallis, who lay in a quivering mess on the floor. Draco was too terrified to comprehend what the man was yelling about, only making out the occasional "freak" and "whore." As he started to kick his small friend Draco sprung into action, screaming for Bill.
Bill ran out of the small cupboard that had been distracting him from the events in the classroom. The second he saw the man he knew what was going on. "Ridikulus!" he shouted firmly, banishing the man back to the closet from which he had emerged. He ran to his lover's side, desperate to see if he was alright. "Tallis? Tallis? Are you ok?"
Tallis backed further away from him and curled up into a tighter ball, trying to protect his face and neck from injury. "I'm sorry uncle. I didn't mean to. I'm sorry…I won't do it again" he muttered quietly.
Draco stepped forward, wanting to know what was going on. He remained silent though when he caught his friend's words. So that had been the bastard uncle. He felt stupid for not realizing that it was a boggart sooner and doing something about it. Hell, that was third year material!
Bill lightly touched Tallis' quivering back, causing him to scream in terror and crawl away blindly into the corner. "Tallis?" He realized that this wasn't going to work…Tallis had no clue who 'Tallis' was. He needed to end this flashback now before it got dangerous. "Harry," he said firmly, ignoring Draco's loud gasp as he finally realized exactly who his friend was. "Harry, you are at Hogwarts now. The muggles can't hurt you anymore. You are safe at Hogwarts." This wasn't working. Tallis was still curled up into a ball smaller than Bill could have ever imagined he could be and he wasn't responding to anything he was saying.
Tallis' eyes darted around the room, seeing a scene unfold that was invisible to the others. His magic crackled ominously in the air, lashing out at the unseen enemy, trying to protect him from his memories. The desks splintered apart with a mere glance, the torches burst into flames so large they were consumed and burnt away, and the stones themselves started to heat to an unbearable temperature in the places where Tallis' demons supposedly stood. Bill knew that he needed to fix this now or else his lover's magic would destroy them all.
He looked over at Draco who had gone pale with his realizations. "Put up a silencing spell, please."
"What—"
"I don't have time for you right now, Draco. I need to help Tallis." Bill turned once again to his lover. He had never done this before but he remembered the lessons Ron had given him two years ago when he started dating Tallis. He silently prayed that this would work. "Harry, love, you need to come back to me. Ron and Hermione want to go on another adventure and you know they're useless on adventures without you! Mione won't get anything done for all her analyzing and Ron will run head first into danger and get you all in trouble. It's time to leave, you have a lot to do before the day is over."
Draco listened with rapt attention as Bill proceeded to detail an imaginary adventure to Tallis who was eventually starting to listen and calm down. The splintered desks rested once more on the ground, the stones cooled once more, and the few torches that had managed to outlive the bursts of fire extinguished themselves. His trembles had nearly ceased by the time Bill had explained how they needed to go capture their old car that had run wild for the past few years in order to fly to Paris and rescue a unicorn that was living there. Bill continued without pause, now reaching out to lightly run his fingers through Tallis' hair. Tallis leaned into the touch, finally unbending slightly, although he was still tightly curled up.
His eyes drifted closed as he listened to the fantastic story about his adventure with his friends and he nodded off to sleep, exhausted after the amount of magical energy that he had used and the psychological torture he had endured. Bill gathered his slight form into his arms and stood up. "What happened?" Draco said quietly.
"Not here. Wait until we are safe in the Snape rooms." He walked quickly out of the classroom and down the hallway toward the apartment. As they drew closer to the habitated area of the school he paused for a moment but decided to push on. There was no way he could wake Tallis up right now and have him walk the rest of the way to his room. He would just have to be seen carrying Tallis and damn the questions.
Draco seemed to sense his indecision and cast a disillusionment charm over Bill and Tallis. It wasn't perfect but it would make them very difficult to spot. It should be enough. After all, nearly everyone was outside today enjoying the beautiful weather. They walked quickly to the door and Bill muttered the password quietly after checking that no one was near them. Draco removed the charm as soon as the door shut.
Severus stood from his chair quickly, alarmed at the sight of his son being carried into the apartment. He was still incredibly pale and he looked completely drained. "What happened?"
"Let me get him to bed first," Bill said, walking toward their room. Severus and Draco followed, watching in silence as he got Tallis ready for bed and tucked him safely in.
The three men left quietly, shutting the door firmly behind them. Severus looked toward the drink cabinet and Bill nodded immediately. He poured three shots of firewhiskey which all three downed quickly. Draco was the only one who had a reaction to the strong liquor, which seemed to bring him out of his stupor.
"He's Harry Potter?" he said in disbelief, turning with wide eyes to his godfather. "Harry Potter is your son?"
Severus turned an angry gaze toward Bill. "Why the hell did you tell him? He wasn't ready yet!"
"There wasn't much of a choice, Severus. Pour another round and sit down." Surprisingly, Severus did as Bill ordered. Once everyone was seated, Bill started the explanation. "We were looking for an unused classroom that was out of the way for the Slytherins to use to brush up on their defense skills. We found one and were looking through it to see if it would suit. Tallis opened one of the cupboards and there was a boggart in it."
Severus closed his eyes in pain and understanding. "His uncle?" he asked wearily. Now he understood.
"Yes. He was slipping into a rather bad flashback. He had no recollection of his new name and he was quickly losing control. I had to do something. I needed to get him under control before he brought the school down."
"I understand. I'm sorry I jumped to the wrong conclusion. I know you better than that, Bill. I know you would never needlessly jeopardize my son."
"But...but…" Draco sputtered impotently. "Harry Potter is your son!"
"I am aware of that!" Severus snapped impatiently. He had feared this reaction since the two boys had started to get close and he didn't feel himself remotely up to the task of dealing with either a hysterical or furious godson—both options of which he had anticipated months ago. "He is also the boy that you have been friends with for the past month and a half, or have you forgotten that already? Is he not good enough to be your friend anymore now that you know he once went by the name Potter?"
"I don't want to stop being friends with him, Sev, I just…it's a big surprise. You have to admit that. Was everything really true? Did his muggle family really…?"
"Yes, Draco" Severus said, sounding tired.
"And his uncle?"
"Yes, everything you think and more is all true."
"Now I know why he said he couldn't tell me his previous identity earlier when I asked him. Gods, I'm an ass. I never even suspected!"
"Well, that was what we were aiming for," Bill said dryly. "The entire point of all of our work this summer was to protect Tallis."
"Why do you keep calling him that? Why don't you call him Harry anymore?"
"Partly to make sure we don't slip. Mostly because he no longer is Harry Potter. I don't think he ever really was. Almost all that you knew of the Boy Who Lived was a fabrication designed by Harry when he entered the wizarding world and realized what was expected of him. Harry Potter as a real person never existed" Bill said softly. "The boy I have loved has always been Tallis Snape, whether I knew the name or not."
Draco looked at Bill closely and then nodded, understanding a bit. Most of what the world knew of him was a fabrication as well and he knew that the only person to ever love him would love the real him and not the persona that had been created around the name 'Draco Malfoy.' There were very few people who knew the real Draco Malfoy and he had long feared that he would never find someone to love the real him but he also knew that dropping his Malfoy persona would be too dangerous. Tallis was incredibly lucky to have found someone who could look past everything. "How did you find out?" he asked softly.
"Dumbledore," Severus growled.
Draco gasped softly, finally understanding what his friend had tried to tell him earlier. "He knew all along, didn't he? I mean, he not only knew that you two were related and he also knew what was happening at his relative's house?"
Bill and Severus nodded. "That is what we are working on right now. That's why Tallis hasn't been around much," Bill told him.
"What are you guys doing?"
"We are working on a way to have a foolproof trial in which the Dursleys will be locked away forever and Dumbledore will be as well, if all goes according to plan," Severus explained.
"But, a trial…if you went to trial then they'd all find out the truth. A bit of Veritaserum would expose you all."
"That's what we're working on," Severus said matter-of-factly.
Draco gasped again, this time not bothering to cover his disbelief. "A potion to counter effect Veritaserum," he whispered reverently. "Can I see the notes?"
"With the permission of Tallis and Granger, yes. We've been working on it night and day for two weeks now and the work has been as much theirs as mine. I cannot reveal anything without their permission."
"Wait a minute…if Granger knows then Weasley knows too, doesn't he?"
Bill raised an eyebrow. "Do you really think that my brother would tolerate me dating a Snape if he didn't? Ron has grown up a lot but even he isn't ready for that if it weren't for the fact that it is his best mate."
Draco grinned sheepishly. "I guess I never thought about it. Who else knows?"
"Poppy, of course, and Lupin," Severus answered.
"The werewolf?"
"He's Tallis' godfather and I wouldn't refer to him as such around him. It tends to irritate him."
"I didn't mean anything by it, I was just surprised. I guess it makes sense though. So that's it, apart from the Weasleys?"
"Essentially. A few people at Veyle Academy know enough information to assist them in lying about him but nothing too damning, really. And if we have done everything right then by the time the trial comes, even if they were to all go to the stand and testify that they believed Tallis Snape to be Harry Potter no one would take them seriously anyway."
"Brilliant."
There was a knock at the door and Bill quickly banished the firewhiskey and glasses back to the cabinet in case it were a professor of the Headmaster. Severus stood to answer the door, reluctantly allowing Ron and Hermione in. It would look even worse if they were seen loitering in the hallway in front of his door. "Is Tallis alright?" Hermione asked anxiously. "He didn't come to our study meeting."
Ron watched his brother accio the firewhiskey and glasses once more, this time adding two more. "Merlin. Something's happened, hasn't it?" he said, walking over to Bill. He finally noticed Draco just as he sat down, making him jump back to his feet. "What's Malfoy doing here?" he shouted, face going red in anger almost instantly.
"He knows," Bill said simply, downing another shot.
"He knows?" Hermione asked cautiously.
"Yes. Essentially everything now," Severus said, hoping to evade a war between Ron and Draco. Both boys loved to pick fights with each other and he really couldn't take one today, what with the stress of the past few weeks and his concern over his son.
Luckily, Miss Granger stepped in for him. Hermione placed a calming hand on Ron's arm. "You knew this day would come, Ron. You knew that Tallis was going to tell him sooner or later. I'm a bit surprised it happened so quickly though," she said, turning back to Bill.
Draco answered for him. "It was an accident. There was a boggart…"
Hermione nodded in understanding. "I see. How bad was it, Bill?"
"Terrifying," he whispered. "I've helped him through his times when he is confused but I've never dealt with a full flashback on my own before. Merlin, he could have brought down the school if my story didn't work."
"What was that?" Draco asked, still trying to figure everything out.
"When Tallis has a flashback we need to pull him out of it by reminding him of where he is. It works best to talk about specifically magical things—things that he would only encounter if he were safe at Hogwarts. It helps to remind him that he is here and not at the Dursleys," Hermione explained, sipping at her glass of firewhiskey and wrinkling her nose at the taste. She had never really liked firewhiskey. She gave it up and went to the cabinet to make a gin and tonic, quite at home in her Professor's quarters after so many late night visits and long hours in the lab.
"Is he asleep now?" Ron asked, worried about his friend. "Sometimes he has some pretty intense nightmares after a flashback, Bill. Maybe you should go lay with him, help keep him calm if he starts to dream." Ron knew his friend's sleep habits better than most having slept in the same room for so many years. He had seen Tallis through more flashbacks than the rest of them combined and he knew almost by the minute what to expect. He knew that the nightmares would be starting any minute and if they went unchecked he was liable to slip right back into another flashback.
Bill nodded. "I'll go now," he said, turning toward their room.
"If you need a break then let me know. He's pretty calm with me next to him too, but I doubt he'd let one of the other guys near him right now," Hermione said.
"Thanks, Mione," Bill called out, slipping into Tallis' room.
Hermione turned back to Draco and noticed that he was still incredibly pale, his hands shaking lightly. "How are you doing with all of this, Draco?" Hermione asked kindly. "It's a bit much to take in all at once, isn't it?"
"My head is spinning, Granger. I had no idea. Looking back on it I feel like an idiot for not knowing but I truly had no clue." Ron snorted lightly but at Hermione's glare he quieted. Draco ignored him completely, focusing instead on Hermione since he found her more bearable. "Will you guys be ready for the trial?"
Hermione nodded viciously, her eyes glinting with a hard light with a vengeance that surprised Draco. She was usually so even tempered and difficult to ruffle that he had never expected to see such angry passion in her. He realized that there must be a lot about Tallis' home life that he had never realized if it was able to anger the placid witch this much. "More than. When we're through with them they'll be locked away for the rest of their lives for what they have done to him." Ron and Severus looked equally as fierce about it, making it clear that they would have their revenge one way or another for the wrongs done to Tallis.
Draco nodded firmly, thinking back to the terrifying man he had seen. "Good."
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A/N: Think you've read a scene similar to this in which those close to Harry need to do something specific to pull him out of a flashback? That's because you probably have. While there are a lot of fics out there that use this the one that stays the most vividly in my mind (and therefore gets the credit) is Lee Lee Potter's Death Eater Takes a Holiday over on inkstain (dot) inkquill (dot) net. If you haven't read it then you need to do so immediately. It is one of the most brilliantly written Snarry fics I have ever read. In DETAH it is always singing or else a commentary from a Quidditch match that pulls Harry back. Clearly, I used her fic for the initial idea and then twisted it a bit. Hope this doesn't offend anyone unduly.
More interactions between Ron and Draco in the next chapter and Tallis realizes that Draco knows everything now.