AN: Please go to the end of the chapter for a spoiler containing warning.
"My brat," Severus hummed soothingly while running his hands through the soft blond hair. "You have to keep me informed if I'm to have any hope of keeping you safe."
Draco just whimpered and stopped fighting his tears. He felt safe here with these arms wrapped around him. He felt like the world outside could go to hell and as long as his Uncle stayed just where he was, murmuring soothing nothings into his ear then everything would be just fine.
"Draco, you need your Alpha, he should be here,"
And just like that the soothing effect was shattered. "I can't tell him Uncle Sev."
Choosing to ignore the nickname Draco had bestowed upon him as a child, and never thereafter forgotten, Severus instead voiced his main concern; "Draco no matter how much we try, it's just not possible for us to live without our alphas,"
"You're still here," he muttered.
"Hmm" Severus acknowledged, wondering how much he should tell the boy in his arms, for it had come time to tell him the truth, or at least some of it.
"However, my mate has neither rejected me nor is he simply ignorant of my situation,"
Draco, hurting from the undeniable truth of that statement, shot back with; "Yes but he is dead."
Severus growled, and immediately removed Draco from his hold. "Never say something like that simply to cause another pain."
"I'm sorry, that was uncalled for," Draco apologised meekly.
"Indeed."
Severus once again sat Draco on the couch, before sitting next to him but no longer holding the boy after that comment. Draco felt the lose of the comforting embrace keenly and went to wrap his own arms around himself before vividly remembering the last beating he had received for "not holding himself like a Malfoy". Severus noticed but chose not to say anything, silently continuing his planning on how he was going to seek vengeance on Draco's behalf from that inadequate despicable father of his.
"You are aware that there is one way we can survive the loss of a mate, aren't you?" Severus began.
"If there is a child needing cared for, then the remaining mate is able to survive until said child has a mate of their own to look after them."
"Indeed."
"Wait!" Draco exclaimed, "Are you telling me what I think you're telling me?"
"And what exactly do you think I may be telling you?"
"You have a child, that's how you've survived mateless for so long after he was murdered!"
"Must you be so ruthlessly blunt, child!" Severus grunted, feeling pain explode through him at the boy's careless words.
Instead of the expected apology, Draco simply muttered, "Must have learnt it from you."
"Be that as it may, you should have more care how you speak!"
"Sorry Uncle," Draco grumbled.
Realising that was as good as he was going to get Severus chose to continue with his story.
"You may be bunt but you were also right."
Draco's eyes widened to the size of saucers, "You have a child?"
"A son," Severus confirmed and was about to continue, but was interrupted.
"How come I'm only just learning of this now!?" Draco demanded.
"I apologise for keeping your cousin-of-sorts away from you, however it was done for everybody's safety, not least of all his."
The pain of loosing his mate and having been forced to give his son up to be raised by virtual strangers momentarily overwhelmed the professor and he didn't come back to himself until Draco gently took his hand in his own and softly started to sooth the skin on the back of it.
Taking a deep breath, Severus continued, "I miss him every day and it is one of my deepest regrets that the two if you didn't get to grow up together."
"What was his name?"
"Harry Leo Black."
"…Harry…?"
"Yes. We chose Leo for his Opa's family tradition of naming children after constellations, even though he was in fact adopted," Severus paused to let that sink in.
"Uncle Reggie was adopted?"
"Walburga and Orion adopted him after it became clear that she could have no more children of her own, though it was all kept hidden and secret. Even then they only took him in because he was of Black blood, being born of Orion's father's cousin's daughter out of wedlock to Morfin Gaunt. How the old tramp could still father children at that age is a mystery we'll never solve."
Severus smirked as Draco shuddered subtly at that.
"But how did they trick the tapestry?" Draco asked, referring to the tapestry of the Black Family tree that hung in Walburga's parlour
"They didn't," Severus explained, "Callidora's daughter was burned off for having a child out of wedlock, so her descendants don't appear and once Walburga and Orion adopted Regulus the tapestry recognised him as their child. Though it would seem not fully as his children did not appear to be listed when last he saw it."
"Children, as in plural?" Draco asked having noticed his uncle's slip up right away, causing Severus to wince, for he had not meant to reveal that detail.
"Yes," he relented "We also had a daughter; Hermione Lyra Black."
Draco merely raised an eyebrow at that.
"Yes, you caught me; my dislike of your classmate has more to do with her reminding me of my late daughter than any fault on her part."
"She is an insufferable know-it-all."
"Hmm," Severus had no choice but to let that slide for he had once said similar himself.
"What was she like?" Draco asked, having noticed the past tense his uncle used before then clarifying, "Your daughter?"
"Very much like her Opa and taken far too young to know much more," he trailed off.
Rather more timidly than usual, Draco ventured to ask, "What happened?"
"You were told that your uncle was murdered but there is more to the story," Severus started, bracing himself for what was going to be a difficult story to tell. "You also know that we both worked under the servitude of the Dark Lord, yes?"
Draco nodded.
"Well that's how it started. Your father had tried to recruit us both while we were all still at school together, and initially we refused, but then my mother died, and my father would no longer see me living in his house, such that it was. Orion agreed to us living in one of the smaller houses on the Black Estate of St Kilda, provided we join the Dark Lord. You must understand the island we were to live on is one that is a long ways off the coast of Scotland and that muggles believe to have been abandoned since the 1930's. We were young and naïve enough to believe that we could be initiated, then return to live peacefully on Hirta.
"At the time the Dark Lord was gathering all manner of people with all kinds of vast and varied skills and we believed we weren't skilled enough at any one thing to attract his attention, and we hoped to remain unnoticed, unneeded."
Here Draco scoffed but refrained from interrupting.
"Yes well, as I said we were young and very naïve; fresh out of Hogwarts, with no grander plans than being in love and staying together no matter what," Severus smiled wistfully.
"Of course, my potions quickly caught his attention and I became his chief brewer, much to the chagrin of his more experienced brewers. Your Uncle, he was valued for his genius and quick thinking that saved many, and his talent with a wand that injured just as many as it saved. He was sent on many raids and he hated every one of them. He was not a violent natured man.
"It was that same genius and the insatiable curiosity that Regulus never could let of that got him killed. He discovered something I think. I still don't really know what happened, I've tried to piece it together but all I know is when we found out I was pregnant, he became very serious, declared 'I'm getting us out of the hell out of dodge' before telling me to go home then disappearing never to be seen or heard from again."
Draco cuddled into his side and Severus released a shaky breath before continuing; "The first I knew something had gone terribly wrong was when Orion showed up all Lord Black the following morning shouting at me and blaming me for getting his son killed. He then proceeded to kick me out of the house without a care as to where I would go. He barely even allowed me time to grab a bag of clothes and such."
Severus now had undisguisable tears silently running down his face as he relived years of pain.
"It didn't really sink in until I was standing in Hogsmead with nowhere to go."
Draco frowned and asked, "What did you do?"
"I stayed in the Hog's Head – don't look at me like that, brat, it was cheap – until I ran out of money as I had no real way of making any, as my pregnancy meant he could no longer brew potions."
"I always forget you're an omega too," Draco commented at the reminder.
"Yes well, just because I don't go around flaunting it all the time."
"What happened next?"
"I ended up squatting wherever I could, thankful of the small way magic went to improve my surroundings and hide me from those I hoped would not find me."
Draco pulled another face at that.
"We don't all have generations of old money to rely on when times are tough, Draco." he reminded the boy.
"What about the Princes?" he asked rather than respond to that.
"I hadn't reconciled with them at that point. I didn't until several years later," Severs, determined to continue his tale without further interruptions, silenced the boy with one of his looks.
"When I was heavy with child, I went to visit an old friend whom I had drifted away from a few years prior. She accused me of lying to her to gain sympathy as she was unaware that wizards could carry children. Thankfully her husband was a little more familiar with our ways and, though it was the last place I expected to find any, offered me help. I lived with them until just after the birth of my twins where upon Dumbledore arrived demanding I repay the favour I owed and that's how I ended up working here two months later."
"What happened to the twins," Draco was almost scared to asked, as his uncle was now trembling with the force of his repressed emotions.
"Harry remained with my friends for his protection…"
"And Hermione?" Draco whispered.
"She had some kind of incurable muggle syndrome that caused her to quite suddenly and unexpectedly die in her crib…" Severus sobbed.
Draco felt awful as he watched his normally stoic Uncle sob over his daughter's death. He had no idea how the man could be so strong when he had lost so much. Draco was sure such a lose would kill him, if he were in his Uncle's place.
"Do you know where Harry is now?" Draco risked asking.
"Here at Hogwarts," Severus responded without thinking and only realised his mistake when he heard a sharp intake of breath.
"Surely you don't mean Harry Potter?"
Severus could no more deny Harry Potter to be his son than Draco could deny him to be his mate earlier.
AN: This chapter contains briefly mentioned sudden infant death syndrom, so please be aware of this.
I have rough idea where this is going but I'm not entirely sure yet so if you have any suggestions be sure to let me know!