Warnings in the first chapter.

Disclaimer: I have never claimed to own any part of the Potter universe.

An: Sorry for the long wait. I have been pretty sick for a long time, and the doctors have only recently started narrowing in on what's wrong, how to fix it, and how to get me back on the right track. Due to all that, my life has sort of been a disaster, and writing has sort of fallen by the wayside. However, my muse seems to be slowly returning, and I have written you a lovely, long chapter with lot's of angst. And in denial! Severus. No sex, but good stuff none-the-less.

Warning, Severus is kind of an idiot for a while. And a bastard.

Chapter Six: Telling Tales

Draco Malfoy would never admit to anyone that he was frightened. A weakness like that could too easily be used against him. However, he could admit to himself that he was frightened.

And he was frightened. Sitting in his new room, he literally shook with fear. There was so much to be frightened of, his father, the Dark Lord, Potter. People who used to be his friends were now his enemies. His whole life had changed in an instant. He had not thought it through and he did not know what he was getting into and he was scared.

A soft knock came on the door.

"Draco, it's Harry. May I come in?" Draco tried to pull himself together and the remembered it was pointless because Potter could feel what he felt and had all his memories and knew more about Draco than anyone else in the world. The door opened. Potter was disheveled, though he no longer wore oversized pajamas. Instead he was dressed in a pair of muggle jeans and a homemade jumper.

Potter's lips were swollen with kissing.

Draco flushed. Potter sighed. Then the black-haired teen swept over to Draco's side and kneeled by the chair Draco was seated in.

"Draco," Potter said very softly, looking up at him with imploring eyes. "I don't want you to be scared."

"I'm not scared Potty! Obviously this emotion reading thing is bull-"

But Potter, of course, ignored Draco's bravado and asked "Is there anything I can do?"

"No!" Draco shouted, panic filling him, and anger, and curiosity and hope against his will, and he couldn't stand Potter acting this way. Potter was supposed to be mean to him-that's the way it had always been. "Leave me the fuck alone, Potter!"

Potter sighed. "I didn't understand you before Draco, but I do now." Why did making Potter feel sad make Draco feel bad?

A moment later he realized he had voiced the question aloud when Potter answered.

"That's a part of the bond. It affects you the most, though."

"Why?" Draco whined.

"Because you're the youngest bond member. The bond differs for each of the bond members."

They sat in silence for a while, before Potter sighed again.

"Look, Draco, I just want you to know that you can talk to me, be honest with me. It's not a bad thing. We should talk about the bond privately at some point. Come to me when you are ready, Draco." Then Potter was up and gone, leaving Draco with quite a lot to think about.

* * * * *

Remus was jittery. That was the only way to explain it. He felt anxious and confused, and like his whole world had been turned upside down in a matter of minutes. It didn't help that he knew that Harry, who was the son of his best friend, was a couple rooms over…romping with Charlie. Remus blushed. He tried to pay attention to the defense text perched in his lap, but it did no good. He was completely distracted. He sighed and closed the book, standing up to place it on his shelves. His room here was small, but cozy, filled with shelves, a couple comfortable armchairs and a simple wooden bed. Just as he slipped the book back into place, a knock came at the door.

"Remus, it's Harry."

"Come in," Remus called anxiously, smoothing the cloth of his pants. The door opened, letting Harry in.

"Hey," Harry greeted with a smile, "Can I sit?"

"Certainly," Remus said. Harry sat down in the second chair in the room.

"I thought we should talk about the bond and everything that's a part of it, privately. Do you have any questions?"

Intellectual curiosity sparked, Remus asked, "How did you know that the bond was needed, and who, and?"

Harry laughed, "Those aren't the sort of questions I meant. Professor Dumbledore will want to know, so I figure I'll just explain it all at once, if that's all right. But the short answer is that previous mages set it up so that future mages would know what to do when going through their transition."

Remus nodded thoughtfully.

"Do you have any questions about the bond?"

Remus blushed. "I, uh- the memory transference, how does that work?"

"It's like I lived through your life- and now all of your memories are stored in my mind. I can go through them at any time. That's why I feel unconscious after the bonding was finished."'

"And the emotions?" Remus asked quickly, eager to escape any discussion of the bonding.

Harry shrugged, "It's pretty straight forward. I can feel what you're feeling and recognize which of you it comes from. Remus," Harry went on, "I think we should talk about the physical part of the bond."

Remus felt blood pooling in his face, and he determinedly looked anywhere but Harry.

"I'm a virgin." Remus said all in a rush, getting it out before he could lose his courage.

"I know." Harry said calmly. "I also know you know what's involved in gay sex. You should know that I will have to top the first couple times we have sex until the bond settles. I will also need sex every day or every other day until my magic is more settled. We can't take it as slow as I'd like too-- I need to, uh, penetrate you. But when it comes time for you and me, we can take as long as you would like." Remus' face got progressively redder as Harry spoke. Harry had tinged a little pink, but his words and tone remained steady and calm.

"Is there anything else, Remus?"

"Not right now." Remus said tightly. This situation was beyond awkward- here he was, his best friend's son essentially giving him The Talk. Surely this had to be some strange dream, and he would wake up and be back at the farm.

"It's real." Harry said, amusement clear in his voice. "I can't quite believe it myself- but there it is. I'm going to try and hunt up some books for you guys about the bond, but until I do, don't feel embarrassed to ask me any questions."

A hesitant knock came on the door. Harry looked to Remus. Feeling rather unexpectedly glad that Harry was respecting that this was his place, he called, "Come in."

It was Draco.

"The elves sent up dinner," he said shortly before leaving. Harry stood up.

"Well I know I'm starving. Will you be joining us for dinner?"

"I'll be out in just a moment." Remus said softly, a flush still covering his face. Harry gave him a much too understanding smile, and left, shutting the door behind him.

* * * * *

Harry stepped out into the common room, and took a deep breath. Bloody fucking hell this was hard. Draco and Charlie were already sitting at a table which the elves had probably brought up because it hadn't been there when Harry had gone into Remus' room.

"Has anyone told Professor Snape that dinner is here?"

Both men shook their heads, looking nervous. Harry sighed, and strode over to Professor Snape's room and knocked firmly. The door swung open

"Potter!" Snape growled.

"Professor Snape," Harry nodded, "Dinner is here if you would like to eat."

"Oh, you're going to let us eat, are you? How kind of you Potter." Snape sneered. Harry took a deep breath as the bond roared its disapproval. He could control this. He could. Harry took another breath and let it out slowly.

"Yes, Professor, I plan to let you all eat. Please join us for dinner." Snape growled, and pushed past Harry. The bond roared again, sending Harry's head spinning. A trickle of blood ran from his nose, and Harry wiped it away with his jumper sleeve. When he turned from the door all four of his bondmates were seated at the table. Severus was all ready eating. Remus had served himself, but upon noticing that neither Charlie nor Draco had, hadn't begun to eat. Harry took the seat at the head of the table, Charlie next to him on one side and Draco on the other. The two Slytherins were sitting together, as were the two Gryffindors.

Harry served himself. Charlie and Draco both waited until his plate was full to serve themselves and then until he had taken his first bite to begin eating. Remus followed their example.

"I am returning to my quarters," Severus said, sneering at the other bond members.

"I'm - that's not possible, Professor. I need you close by."

"I'm sure you can manage, Mr. Potter, after all you have an excess of male flesh around."

"Each bond member serves their own purpose in stabilizing my magic, Professor." Harry said softly. "The bond would react badly if you were to leave- even if only to your own quarters for any longer than an hour at this point."

"How do you presume we will manage when school begins?" Remus jumped in, trying to calm the situation.

"I hope that by the time school starts, the bond will have settled enough for me to spend longer periods away from all of you."

They all fell into silence. Harry took the quiet time to play with his ability to sense the emotions of his bond members. Charlie was feeling satisfied, that made Harry blush, a little bit worried and somewhat bemused and angry. Harry reached out and took the red head's hand, stroking the tan, weathered skin calmingly. Charlie's worry died down a little, but did not disappear completely. Harry focused next on Remus. Remus was embarrassed and tense, his emotions were swimming chaotically beneath the surface- he was apprehensive, angry, scared...and Harry could do nothing for him at this point. Harry set his fork down and rubbed his head, not letting go of Charlie's hand. Next, he turned his attention to Draco- Draco was very clearly frightened and angry, though a good deal of hope tinged the emotions. Harry thought that was a good sign at least.
With a good deal of apprehension, Harry turned his attention to the part of himself constantly aware of Severus, and flinched. All eyes turned to him.
"I--" Harry began, "Professor Snape, could we speak...privately?"

"I thought you said you were going to let us eat, Potter." Severus snarled.

"Yes," Harry said softly, "Perhaps after dinner then."

Harry sighed, releasing Charlie's hand and trying to focus solely on his meal. That was impossible.

Though the memories he now had of his bondmates' life were under his control and he could review them as he liked, the emotions were not.

They constantly flew at him, like a barrage of bludgers- impossible to ignore, but also stupid to ignore. If you did ignore them you would only get hurt.

Fuck, this was hard.

Why on earth would anyone want this?

He couldn't even yell or break something of burst into tears because it would hurt his fucking bondmates.

Hah. Fucking bondmates indeed.

He hadn't imagined his time being to save his life. Or in a bed obviously meant for five. Or with Ron's older brother. Or being the first of four people he would have to sleep with sooner rather than later, and not on his say so either.

He hadn't imagined any of this, and plainly it sucked.

And worst of all, he just had to suck it all up and deal.

Good thing he was good at that.

* * * * *

After dinner Potter once again asked Severus to speak in private. So much for the feeble-minded brat forgetting.

Severus, somewhat curious despite himself, acquiesced. He, again, despite himself, let the Potter brat into his room, glaring at him all the while.

The first thing Potter said was, "I'm not singling you out."

That ridiculous bond... the brat had probably read his emotions and come to some Gryffindor assumption that Severus worried about something as trivial or childish as that!

"I've already spoken to Remus and Draco."

"But not Weasley," Severus sneered, eager to see the boy squirm, no need for talking when you've already fucked him, no doubt."

But Potter didn't squirm...he didn't get angry or roll his eyes or fidget. He didn't even blush.

Severus narrowed his eyes in confusion, studying the brat, who was so much like his arrogant, pig- headed father. Potter wasn't reacting as expected, and Severus hated that more than anything.

Potter went on calmly, "I didn't speak to Charlie because he already knows that he can come to me with any questions. Charlie also does better figuring things out on his own. But this isn't about Charlie. It's about you."

Severus sneered, looking down on the Gryffindor. No doubt the boy thought he could read Severus now, because of this bond. The boy was obviously deluded.

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Draco and Remus. Please come to me if you have any questions about the bond. I'm going to try and find some books, but I'm not very hopeful that I will.

"Professor," Potter looked at him with soft eyes that made Severus acutely uncomfortable. The boy was obviously up to something. "I'm sorry this situation causes you such....discomfort. I wish I could make this easy for you."

Potter sighed as Severus sneered at him. He shut his eyes and rubbed his head as though warding off a headache.

"I will come to you when I need you." Potter said in a more business like tone. Potter turned to leave, then at the last moment, turned back around and in that same soft tone he had used before said, "Don't be frightened, Severus. One day I will convince you that I mean what I say. You have no reason to be frightened anymore."

Then he left.

Frightened.

Potter thought he was frightened.

Obviously the bond had addled the brat more than he originally thought.

Obviously.

* * * * *

Harry did not sleep well that night. On top of his own insomnia, Severus rarely slept. The man's emotions did not settle down into the comforting hum of sleep as the others' had. Instead they bounced around Harry's skull, keeping him up even when he was about to drift into sleep. Eventually, Severus, too fell into that comforting hum, and Harry drifted off to sleep.

That was not to say he stayed asleep. He woke more frequently than he usually did his own nightmares and the remnants of both Draco and Severus' nightmares had him up often, startled awake by his own fears and foreign terror. It was not a restful night.

When he was just settling in to a more restful sleep, the elder bondmates woke, neither one of them the kind of man inclined to sleep late. Remus and Severus' emotions roused him at six-thirty in the morning. So grumpy, exhausted and unwilling to show it, Harry climbed out of bed and got dressed.

Breakfast and a pot of tea were already on the table. Remus and Severus both had the prophet propped up in front of them. Harry vaguely wondered how the owls had gotten there to deliver the prophets, but didn't think on it long.

He dropped into the seat at the head of the table, wishing both his bondmates a good morning. Remus returned his greeting, while Severus only sneered at him over the top of the paper. He asked them both how they slept and made polite small talk as he ate breakfast. Remus returned the small talk mildly, but only to be polite, while Severus ignored him all together.

After they had finished eating Severus and Remus both retreated to their private rooms. Harry remained in the common room working on his Transfiguration essay, mostly so he seemed approachable to his bondmates. Now that he had the time, he also looked around the room curiously. His bedroom, with the massive meant-for-five-people bed, was directly opposite the portrait hole and had its own bathroom. On either side of his room were the Gryffindors and Slytherins. Draco and Severus therefore shared a bathroom (Harry privately felt a bit sorry for both of them, their grooming habits could not be more different) and Remus and Charlie shared the other. The common room was decorated in soft warm tones, greens and ambers mostly. There were two leather couches and two oversized armchairs, a small tea table between them, finishing off the cozy sitting area. In front of Harry's door was the table the elves had brought. The room was lined with book shelves and a couple Wizarding landscapes hung on the walls.

Eventually both Draco and Charlie wandered out, both around ten. They both wished Harry a good morning before having breakfast, which was nice to hear, even though Harry knew it was because the bond pushed it's needs more on the younger two bondmembers. Draco returned to his room after breakfast.

Charlie, however, joined Harry in the common room and easily talked him into a game of exploding snap.

Their game was interrupted around noon by an unexpected knock on the door.

"Would you get your bondmates?" Harry asked Charlie as he got to his feet.

"Even Snape?" Charlie asked with a grimace. Harry rolled his eyes and nodded,

"Yes, even Professor Snape." As Charlie walked over to Remus' door, Harry strode over to the entrance of their rooms, he opened the portrait hole.

Professor Dumbledore was there, of course, but so were Mr. and Mrs. Granger, Hermione, Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall.

"Harry!" Hermione squealed. Harry stepped forward for a hug, since she obviously wanted to hug him, but didn't know if he could take it or not.

"Oh, Harry, you look so much better!"

"I feel much better, Mione. Come on in everyone," Harry said, stepping into the common room just as Severus walked out of his room, a glower on his face.

"I hope we aren't intruding, Harry." Dumbledore said as they all slipped into the room.

"Nah, not on me, at least. Why don't you all take a seat, I guess you have some questions…" Harry said, dropping onto the couch in-between Remus and Charlie. Severus had claimed one of the armchairs, and Draco the other. Hermione and her parents crowded onto the other couch. Dumbledore conjured his own armchair, while Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall pulled over chairs from the small rectangular table the house elves had brought up last night.

"How did you know what to do? And what was with the citrus…and are you really a mage? A grade eight?" Hermione jumped right in.

Harry grinned. "One question at a time Mione. Yes, I really am a grade eight, and a mage. It's a very old classification because grade eights are so rare. As for how I knew… which I s'pose in the question on everybody's mind, well, it's sorta hard to explain. It used to be that mages would die during their transition because the body just couldn't take the magic, not without assistance. In about 500 there was a Magical theorist. He was interested in the phenomenon of Mages. He figured out that if the Mage was bonded to enough people and with the right basis of bondage," Harry nearly winced, Severus did not like that word, "a bond would serve as a sort of artificial magical channel for a mage. At about the same time that he figured this out a mage went through her transition. The magical theorist was rather well known and was called for when her transition went awry. The theorist, whose name I don't know Mione, so don't ask, came at once and suggested the Firmitudo bond, which was already in practice for those with magical incontinence. A Mage naturally has a better sense of magical resonances, and if he or she is familiar with those who would complete the bond, can easily recognize them." Everyone in the room was hanging on his words, even Draco and Severus, though they did their Slytherin best not to show that they were curious. Harry tried to restrain his grin.

"The mage, whose name has also been lost to history, was the first to survive her transition due to the bond. She was determined that no other Mage die because of a lack of knowledge." Harry leaned forward, grinning again, "This is where it get's tricky…and interesting. At least, for a mage. See mages, because they have no true magical channel are in tune with the natural magic of the world, and are also very aware of the baser sense of magic…"

"The baser sense of magic?" Remus asked, frowning thoughtfully, a look that Harry liked on him.

Harry nodded, "It's not something I can easily put into words…the sensation, I mean. I s'pose you know that magic has a set of laws- things that are impossible even with magic. Raising the dead, for example. There also things that magic does, the phenomena of Muggleborns, so called 'miracles' preformed by otherwise completely ordinary Muggles. Other things, too. Because Mages are in tune with this 'baser sense' we can influence those laws, though it takes a lot of power, determination and sacrifice. That's what this mage did, she imprinted the knowledge on magic itself, so that each time a new mage reached their transition they would know what to do, how to survive."

"That is quite remarkable, Harry." Dumbledore said, smiling thoughtfully, stroking his beard.

"Excuse the ignorant muggle," Mr. Granger said with a smile, "But what does it mean that you're a mage, Harry?"

"It means that I have an immense amount of magical power." Harry said softly. It was still sort of hard to grasp that he had that much power at his command, even though he could feel it thrumming through his body, waiting to be harnessed and used. "Power I hope you will help me learn to control and use, Professor Dumbledore."

"Certainly, my boy." Professor Dumbledore twinkled brightly at him, "If you will do me the favor of calling me Albus. I imagine we will be spending a lot of time together."

Harry nodded, smiling. Quickly he scanned his bondmates. They were all a little stunned, though Severus seemed both more and less at ease now.

Hermione was blinking in the way she had when she was filing knew knowledge into that massive brain of hers.

"And the citrus?"

Harry laughed outright at that, it was just so Hermione to just take all that in and go back to one insignificant question.

"Citrus is a natural magical dampener. For most witches and wizards that's something to be avoided, this is why there is no orange juice or lemonade in the Wizarding World. It's also why Pr- Albus eats lemon drops. And I believe he offers them to students because if there is less magic in a wizard's system, their mood is more stable."

Harry shrugged. It was nice feeling so smart for once.

* * * * *

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