Chapter six

'I heard gay relationships were frowned on the magical world.'

'They are but they can marry and by law it makes us legal. Are you concerned about what people will say?'

'I used to be, but I got used to the lies and accusations, now though I really don't care what anyone thinks of me. What if they accuse us of doing this just to make everyone think we're together when we're not, how do we prove we are even if we aren't?'

'A simple purity charm can show neither of us are virgins, at least it will put that to rest.'

'If this is magical binding can they force us to divorce?'

'It depends on what words were spoken. It was a purity binding, if they spoke that you would need to be pure at the time of the ceremony then no they could not force it as you were never told about it and as any normal teenager you decided to have sex.'

'But how can I prove I wasn't told?'

'I will speak with Albus' portrait. Now about binding, if they made the agreement before that happened to you, then you would have been a virgin so, yes they could.'

'But I wasn't,' Harry choked.

'Can you tell me what age you were?'

'Six.'

'Then if this agreement was done anytime from the age of six and up they would need proof which means they could not force the divorce. If this agreement was done before six then nothing will stop them enforcing it. We could find out right now before we face the Weasley's.'

'How?'

'I can have Minerva aske Albus' portrait, he has all his memories up until he died.'

'Okay,' Harry looked down in his glass again.

'Before we do this I want a wizards oath from you Harry. You will - overtime tell me everything.'

'You won't tell anyone?'

'No, you have my word it will remain between us.'

'So I don't have to now?'

'No, but this is how it will work, you will tell me one thing and I will tell you something of your mother, agreed?' all Harry did was nod but he still never lifted his head, so Severus thought of what he needed to say before his patronus erupted from the end of his wand.

'People knew you loved my mother, they won't believe your gay all of a sudden.'

'I am gay, your mother was my friend only, she always tried to fix me up. But we need to make a trip to Gringotts.'

'What if it was before I was six, then this wouldn't work anyway, shouldn't we wait?'

'Yes, I suppose we should. So tell me what you will do if it was before you turned six?'

'Seal my vaults to stop anyone entering, go through with it but she won't get a thing from me, not money, she won't live here and she won't get any type of relationship out of it. Maybe I should leave, I was going to, just go overseas and find somewhere to live, use another name, change my appearance.'

'It would not be too difficult to find you Harry, you are known around the world. The moment you used money from your vault someone will find out where you are. You cannot use another name to go into any wizarding bank and disguises will not work either.'

'Then she's going to be embarrassed, ignored and swore at a lot, hope she likes the new me. I don't need to worry about her trying to hex me, my power protects me from all that.'

'Molly is very old fashioned, she will not take kindly to you swearing at her daughter or ignored. If you could prove she is not a virgin then you could use that to argue your case.'

A cat patronus appeared before them, 'The purity bonding was spoken by Albus and Arthur when Ginny was seven years old, Harry was eight. Albus never informed Harry of this, like always with that man. You will need to explain what this is about as Albus left his portrait right after.'

'So it was done two years after you were…' Severus saw Harry's body shudder, 'Then the purity bonding was never magically invoked.'

'Then I don't have to marry her?'

'They could still cause trouble even if they can't force you. They might still want proof you are not pure, saying you had sex with me, your husband would be easier than explaining what happened to you as a child.'

'So you still want to?'

'I will as I know it will help you out, in more than one way.'

'Thanks.'

'We should go to the ministry first to have the two fireplaces opened and restricted, then we need to go to Gringotts, it will be fairly deserted at this time. Then we will eat before performing the ceremony.'

'Okay, I'll just get my keys,' Harry slowly untucked his feet then headed into his office.

Severus had no idea why he was willing to help Harry this way, but he did know that the young man was at breaking point. If he refused to talk, Severus would not be at all surprised if he ended up in St Mungo's.

Severus made sure he kept a bit of distance between him and Harry as they walked through the ministry. Most people were hurrying home so they did not take a lot of notice of Harry who seemed to walk with his head lowered. Severus was not sure if it was because of what happened or if Harry was trying to avoid attention.

When they had to fill out their forms to have restricted fireplaces that is when Harry received the first lot of attention. He just nodded but kept his head lowered as he signed the forms. When the woman behind the desk went to touch Harry, Severus stepped between them.

'Mr. Potter prefers not to be touched by strangers, I'm sure you understand that it could make him very uncomfortable.'

'Oh, yes, it would, I did not think. Sorry Mr. Potter, but thank you, for everything you did. Thank you to you Mr. Snape, you are both very brave men.'

Harry nodded, so again Severus answered 'We did what was necessary for our world. Is that all done?'

'Oh yes, the restrictions are in place.'

Severus could tell the woman was curious, 'Thank you, come Harry, we still have much to do.'

'Thanks,' Harry gave the woman a half smile before he followed Severus out, 'Thanks, I don't like being touched.'

'No, you wouldn't, so let's finish our business so I can return to Hogwarts.'

'Won't it make this difficult, making it seem like you spend time with me when you're headmaster?'

'I will explain to Minerva who will help out if I need to leave the school. She is quite worried about you.'

'But she will want to know why.'

'If I explaining about the purity bonding that will tell her why.'

'She asked you to speak with me though, didn't she?'

'She did, she wants to help with whatever you are going through. If I explain just the basics it will ease her mind to know you are going to talk to me. You do know that Minerva is trustworthy, she would never repeat anything she is told,' Severus saw Harry shudder again but he did nod, 'Then I can see you are willing to allow me to help you. Now let's go to Gringotts so we can eat. There is no use you saying you are not hungry, your stomach and the noises it's making tells me you are.'

Harry shrugged but never spoke, Severus waited until Harry left then he followed. They met near the steps of Gringotts but again Harry's head was lowered. Both were shown to their vaults where they retrieved the family rings, then Severus escorted Harry to a small restaurant in Diagon Alley where they ate in silence, Harry only eating about half his meal. No wonder he was light, Severus thought to himself, the boy hardly ate and drank too much alcohol and as he saw this morning he was drunk and it was only eleven in the morning.

Severus had a feeling there was more to Harry Potter than just the fact he had been abused as a child, hopefully telling his own story Severus could get Harry to open up and explain everything. It would be the only way Harry can bury his past and begin a new life, one he deserved.