Co-written with Stormypup
Beta'd by Carpet Diemon
Harry hovered in the shadows of the buildings as he waited. Justin should have already arrived, and Harry was beginning to get nervous. The cold bite of late September air stung his cheeks and nose, but he refused to enter that pub until Justin had gone in first. He wrapped himself more tightly in his jacket to block out the wind.
He glanced at the sports watch on his wrist. It was set to stopwatch mode, slowly counting down the minutes he had left. If Justin were late, he'd save Severus the trouble and wring the bastard's neck himself.
It took Justin another five minutes to show, much to Harry's irritation and relief. The need to physically hurt the other man began to manifest itself, and his stomach roiled. This was the sick bastard who stole his son, and he knew that if he didn't stay calm...he let his mind drift to their family clock's most recent movement. Horrific movement, in Harry's mind, and he was sure in Severus' as well. MORTAL PERIL was a place he never wanted to see any of their spoons land on ever again.
Mindful of the passing traffic, he crossed the street and slipped into the entrance of the pub. It was a place where many people met, a clean and respectable place of business. Justin's presence there lowered his opinion of the pub immensely.
Harry spared a passing thought on Severus' location, both praying that he hadn't followed him and hoping he had. This was the farthest he had been from Hogwarts in years, and he wished it had happened under happier circumstances. But, if Severus had followed him, and Justin found out... Harry did not want to think about it.
He looked around the crowded interior, the lights were brighter than he was used to in a pub and the odor of cigarettes was missing. It took him a few seconds to locate Justin, sitting at a booth against the far wall already nursing a drink. Harry couldn't prevent the sneer that formed on his lips at the sight. His son was locked away somewhere on his own because this monster didn't worry or care about his safety. He took a sharp breath, controlling his rage before it went out of control.
"Finch-Fletchley," he greeted, with a great deal more restraint than he reasonably should have had.
The sandy blond grinned, oblivious to Harry's mounting hatred. Harry sat down across from the other man and pulled out the only note he hadn't destroyed, the second one. He slid it across the tabletop, and saw the recognition in Justin's eyes. If he hadn't been sure of who had their son before, there was no doubt in his mind now.
"I want my son back."
Justin tipped his glass in a mock salute. Harry felt ill. "Don't worry so much, Harry. Your son is fine."
"How can you say that?" Harry cried out, unable to stop himself. "You don't even know that for sure! You left him alone!"
"How do you know that?" Justin's eyes narrowed in suspicion. Harry had to reign in the urge to throttle him then and there. If he didn't play nice, if he couldn't get Justin to bring him to Douglas, if he stalled this too long...there were so many ifs. Every minute that passed here was a minute in which his son was getting worse, a minute less he had to get them both back to safety.
"I don't, I just assumed."
Justin smirked and pushed his other glass towards Harry. "Have a drink, Harry."
Harry had no choice, he took the glass and brought it to his lips. He didn't know anymore about the potion than Severus did, and he didn't want to bollocks this up. He let the drink hit his lips, but it went no further than that. He just hoped Justin brought them to where he was hiding before he actually had to drink something.
"Good?"
Harry nodded. "Very."
"Excellent."
Harry set the glass down with a sigh. "Justin, where is my son?"
"Got a very one track mind today, don't you?"
Harry cringed, his hand going to his wand, the one he'd need to relinquish shortly. He pulled it out and held it against his inner arm so only Justin could see it. Justin just stared at it for a moment before taking it graciously.
Harry felt naked. "Can we go now, please?" He didn't bother holding back the whine. He had to make Justin understand how desperate he was.
Justin got up abruptly, a tiny scowl gracing his lips. Harry crossed his fingers beneath the table that he wasn't pushing things along too fast. "Fine, follow me."
Justin led Harry outside and into an alley, where he grabbed a hold of him. "Just in case you're being followed." Justin smirked then Apparated them both away.
Harry had never felt so dizzy after Apparating in his life. He stumbled forward, blind to his surroundings, just needing to find something that wasn't Justin to hang on to until his equilibrium was restored. Severus' warning from earlier rang in his ears about the potential of the potion's effects being muddled by Apparation and he severely hoped the man had been wrong.
"Mmphh!"
Harry shook his head, trying clear the humming, but it wasn't humming, it was someone trying to speak. He finally looked up to find himself in a rundown apartment. The blinds were falling off the windows, the light on the ceiling was little more than a light bulb on a wire.
His eyes widened when he finally spotted the source of the insistent whining noise.
"Douglas." He moved to free the boy tied up like a prisoner, when he felt something press against his neck.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Harry swallowed thickly, not turning his gaze from his son. "Let him go, Justin."
"How about...no." The tip of the wand dug into his neck, eliciting a sharp hiss from Harry.
"He's only five!" He tore his gaze away from Douglas' tear streaked face and managed to look at Justin.
"Fine," the wand didn't move, "You can untie him, but no funny business."
Harry moved forward without complaint. Justin followed behind like a shadow. It felt so surreal as he kneeled in front of the little black haired boy. His heart beat slowly as he reached out a hand and undid the knot of the mouth gag. The soggy cloth fell to the floor and Douglas whimpered. Harry hissed, running his thumb over the chafed skin around Douglas' lips.
"Daddy, I hurt."
Harry's eyes softened, and he ran his thumb over the boy's flaking cheek. He was so dry it was unbearable to touch him. "I know, love."
He moved around behind the rickety chair and undid the knots tying his hands together, wincing at the rope burn, if he had his wand, he would have been able to heal the skin. Next, he untied the legs, which were even tighter bound than Douglas' hands had been.
The moment Douglas was free, he launched himself at Harry, burying his head against Harry's stomach.
"You gagged him," Harry spat, turning angered eyes on Justin.
"He was being irritating. Always whining on about having a stomach ache."
"Because he does! He does have a stomach ache, and probably worse, no thanks to you!"
"Daddy, m'itchy," Douglas mewled from his place on Harry's lap.
"I'm itchy, I'm thirsty," Justin mimicked. "Gads, your kid is a whiner, Harry."
"All kid's whine when they're in pain, you moron," Harry sneered, tipping his son's face up so he was looking at him.
"What else hurts, baby?"
"My tummy and froat," Douglas mumbled, cuddling into Harry. "An' my wists."
Harry rubbed a gentle hand over Douglas' stomach, frowning. "Are you thirsty?"
"Uh huh, my froat and mouf feel icky."
Harry nodded, brushing a kiss over the top of Douglas' head. "Get me a glass of water."
"No way," Justin protested, folding his arms across his chest. "I'm not letting you out of my sight."
"Fine, then where is your kitchen? I'll get him a glass of water."
Justin waved his wand toward the kitchen and followed after Harry.
"Where are the glasses?" Harry snapped.
"Next to the sink."
Harry opened the cupboard and pulled out two glasses, and quickly filled them both up and returned to the living room. He set one on the floor and lifted Douglas up, holding the glass to his lips.
"Here you go, love," Harry said, worried at the way Douglas was sucking down the water.
"More pwease."
Harry held the second glass to his lips, and the water was gone in a matter of moments.
"Is that better, love?" Harry asked, brushing the hair off Douglas' forehead. His skin was so dry!
"Still hurts. Where's Papa?" Douglas asked. "Can I have a potion?"
"Before you get any ideas, you can't Apparate out of here. I'm guessing you've got a Portkey on you, but don't bother. It won't work," Justin said smugly.
"Then you've killed us both," Harry spat angrily.
Justin scoffed. "Maybe the brat, but not you. You're finally free of whatever spell Snape had on you."
"You don't get it do you! The potion has a time limit on it. I'll die if you don't let us go!"
"Daddy, make it stop," Douglas cried, holding his stomach. Harry froze, feeling Douglas' forehead. The boy's skin burned to the touch. "It hurts, Daddy it hurts!"
"Get me salt," Harry ordered, seeing that Justin was in no rush to acquiesce to his earlier demands for release.
"What for?"
"Damn it, Justin, please. I don't care how you do it, just get some salt!"
"You can't leave," Justin reminded him, his eyes gleaming with glee. Harry held Douglas a bit closer.
"I'm aware."
They held each other's gaze for a long moment, before Justin turned heel and stormed from the room.
"Love, where's the bathroom?"
"Frew vere." Douglas pointed at the closed door, his hand trembling.
Harry nodded, trying to ignore the slight constriction of his lungs. He glanced at his watch and his heart jumped into his throat. Ten minutes. He only had ten minutes to get Douglas' temperature down and figure out a plan of escape. He held Douglas close to his chest as he stood and went into the bathroom. He set the boy into the bathtub, clothes and all, and stopped the drain. He turned on the water, not bothering to check if it was cold or warm.
"Harry?"
Harry craned his head over his shoulder to see Justin standing there in bewilderment.
"Did you get the salt?"
"Yes...why?"
Harry grit his teeth, gripping the edge of the tub tightly. "Just hand it to me."
Justin gave him the salt and Harry began adding it to the water, frantically trying to think of a way to get them both of out of there.
Douglas screamed, and, for a moment, Harry thought he was hurting him more. Then he noticed the odd mottled green scales appearing on Douglas' legs. The boy seemed to be struggling with the change, and the way he was thrashing put him at risk for slamming his head against the porcelain rim.
"Douglas, look at me. Come on, baby," Harry coaxed, cradling his son's head in one hand.
Douglas' eyes sought out Harry as he whimpered again.
"Stop fighting it, love. Shift for me."
"I can' it hurts!"
"I know it does," Harry crooned, kissing his forehead, "but you'll feel better once you do."
"What's he doing?" Justin asked, backing up a few steps.
Harry ignored him, focusing completely on his son. "Come on, love. You can do it. It's alright, I'm right here."
"I can', Daddy. It hurts and I can'," Douglas sobbed.
Harry stroked his forehead. "Yes you can, love. Think of the lake, think of being home and swimming with your papa or playing with Ariana."
Douglas leaned into the touch, his eyes squeezing shut. Harry forced his attention from the boy's pinched face, to his legs. He watched them shift with agonizing slowness, the color of his scales bearing more resemblance to pea soup than their normal brilliant green. Justin's disturbed squawk of protest went unnoticed as Harry gripped his son's hand, and, without thinking about it, lifted Douglas up just enough to slip into the freezing water with him. He closed his eyes and settled Douglas back on his lap, letting the water seep through his clothing. It wasn't the perfect solution, but the strain on his throat and lungs lessened to a degree. It took another minute before Douglas had fully shifted. His tail curled at the end to accommodate the small bathtub.
"How can you stand that?" Justin asked, horrified.
Harry's eyes snapped back open. "He's my son, and I love him."
"Daddy," Douglas cried tiredly. "I did it."
"Do you feel better, baby?" Harry asked, kissing the back of his head.
"It still hurts."
"It'll get better," he promised. Harry hugged him tightly as he reached into his pocked and fumbled for the second vial of potion. His watch alarm was beeping and the room was swimming.
"What's that? What are you doing?" Justin cried, moving closer and pointing his wand at Harry's throat.
Harry ignored him and downed the potion. The pressure in his lungs eased a bit, but he could tell it wasn't going to last very long.
"Do you enjoy killing people?" Harry asked conversationally as he dropped the vial and listened to it shatter on the tiled floor.
"I haven't killed anyone!" Justin cried. "Nobody is going to die!"
Justin's wand was pulled from his hand. "I wouldn't bet on that," Severus hissed into his ear before slamming him against the tiled wall of the bathroom. Justin slid to the floor, eyes wide with fear.
"Severus," Harry cried with relief.
"Harry, use your Portkey," Severus ordered, his wand pressing against the flesh between Justin's eyes.
"Can't, he warded against it."
"Papa!" Douglas cried, reaching out a hand toward Severus.
"Draco!" Severus shouted.
A moment later, Draco and Lucius Malfoy were standing in the doorway. "Lucius, watch him," Severus growled. "Draco, help me get them out of here."
Smiling maliciously, Lucius petrified Justin and levitated him out of the room, allowing Severus and Draco to get at the tub. Severus lifted Douglas out, and the boy's arms wrapped tightly around his neck. "Papa, I wanna go home," he cried, his tail twitching in agitation as Draco helped Harry out of the tub.
"Severus," Harry gasped, the tightness in his chest constricting painfully.
"Draco!"
"I've got him," Draco said, putting Harry's arm around his shoulders. "Suck it up, Potter."
Severus hurried from the bathroom with Draco and Harry coming out more slowly behind them. Lucius was standing over Justin, his boot on the man's neck, his cane digging into the flesh just above his collar bone.
"I'll be right back," Severus told him, hurrying out the door as Douglas went limp in his arms.
Severus cast a spell to find the edge of wards, and stepped passed them, waiting for Draco and Harry. Harry's skin was ashen and his eyes were heavily lidded when Draco reached Severus' side.
"Find the Portkey in his pocket," Severus ordered as Harry collapsed at Draco's feet. Draco rolled Harry over and searched his pocket, pulling out the Portkey and handing it to Severus who knelt down next to Harry.
"Harry!" Severus shouted, and Harry's eyes fluttered open. He pressed the Portkey into Harry's palm and laid Douglas down next to him before placing his hand against Harry's and the Portkey.
Harry's hand wrapped around Douglas' hand and the Portkey. "Okay," Harry rasped.
"Draco, please take them to the lake and make sure they're alright." Severus pointed his wand and activated the Portkey, watching as his family disappeared.
Draco nodded and Apparated away.
His lip curled in a snarl, he returned to the house to deal with Mr. Finch-Fletchley.
When Severus returned to the flat, Justin was babbling at Lucius. "You can't kill me! I didn't do anything wrong! I did it for Harry, so he could leave Snape. Snape never would have made the potion if I hadn't forced him to do it!"
Lucius looked at Severus, bored. "Shall I petrify him again? He can't seem to cease spewing verbal vomit."
"But then we won't be able to hear him scream," Severus replied, closing in on Justin, who tried to scramble away. He stopped when Lucius' cane went swinging passed his head.
"Tsk, tsk, I told you not to move," Lucius reminded and Justin froze.
"What are you going to do to me?" Justin asked fearfully.
Severus' was trembling with suppressed rage. He had promised Harry he wouldn't kill Justin, and he had no intention of going to Azkaban, not when he just got his family back. That didn't mean Justin wouldn't suffer.
Severus looked at Lucius and nodded. Grinning, Lucius cast a binding spell on Justin, then knelt beside him. "Open wide." He grabbed Justin's jaw and forced his mouth open. Severus stepped forward, taking a vial of potion from his pocket. He poured it down Justin's throat, and he and Lucius stepped backwards, allowing Justin to choke and sputter.
Justin looked between the two of them. "What was that?" His stomach began to cramp, but the bindings wouldn't allow him to move.
"Did you really think you could take my son and I would do nothing?" Severus hissed.
"I did it for Harry," Justin cried.
"You nearly killed Harry." Severus whispered.
"Severus?"
Severus turned to find Draco leaning against the doorjamb, glaring at Justin.
"How are they?"
"The Mermaid said they were all right. At least, I think so. She was smiling anyway. Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey were about to go down to check on them, so I thought I'd come back here. Didn't want to miss out on the fun." Draco strode over to Justin and loomed over him. "Not very bright, are you?" he sneered.
Justin's mouth was beginning to feel like it was stuffed with cotton. It was getting harder to breathe.
"I'm afraid he's in for a long night," Lucius said, tapping his cane against the floor. "Severus, go check on your family. We'll be sure to keep him...entertained."
Severus held out his hand. "Accio Harry's wand!" It came flying in from the other room and landed with a smack against his hand.
He turned his back to Justin and moved to Lucius' side. "The Aurors will be coming in a few hours. Make sure you're gone before they arrive."
Lucius nodded.
Justin made a choked noise, and Severus looked down at him disdainfully.
He left the apartment and heard a gasped "I can't breathe," as he Apparated home to his family.