Author: HatefulRodeo

Title: Of Unexpected Deliveries and Doorsteps

Notes: We will be in Severus' POV this chapter. Some plot ahead and some filler too.

Oh and if anyone is wondering why Harry's scar didn't hurt when Voldemort was near him here is my reasoning; since the Dark Lord is saner and not actively loathing Harry their connection has stayed pretty dormant, only coming out of hibernation enough to give Harry his Parselmouth ability. As Harry matures and Voldemort gains strength the connection may become stronger between them but it will not be like it was in Canon, obviously. Anyway, I hope that clears up any questions anyone may have.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I will make no money from the posting of this story.

Previously:

Harry was thankful that his family understood Harry's need for some time to himself and didn't mention the Dark Lord to him directly. Even Theo seemed to understand his friend's reluctance to speak about Voldemort or anything about that night when he was called to Hogwarts to assist the old Headmaster; with the exception of Harry explaining what happened to him that day in Paris the Nott heir stayed silent on the topic and joined Harry in enjoying their time together.

The things going on in his life were sometimes almost too much for the eleven year old to handle but he would shoulder the burden because he wouldn't allow himself to back out and leave his responsibilities to someone else. Sure he would have to grow up quicker than most of his classmates and that kind of sucked but if it kept him, his family, and those he cared for alive and well it was worth it.

But for now he was going to fly around the Nott's Quidditch pitch with Theo and whoop and yell like the eleven year old child he was. These moments may not be guaranteed in the near future and he wasn't stupid enough not to cherish the simple joys of spending time with the person closest to him outside of his family.

~*~*~*Chapter 13~*~*~*

It was two days after Harry returned from Nott Manor that his son appeared to want to broach the subjects he'd been avoiding with his parents and older brother. It was during breakfast time and Severus knew that something was going on with the younger raven; anytime Harry was this quiet and introspective something had to be wrong or something was about to go pear shaped.

Severus just hoped he and Lucius would be able to answer all the questions his son had for them. He despised not being able to answer a question and he abhorred not being able to tell his Slytherin children, especially Harry and Draco, the information regarding the hiding of the Sorcerer's Stone within Hogwarts' walls.

The Potion Master wanted so badly to warn his son about the Headmaster's plans for him. However, the damn old coot forced a vow of silence on the older raven. Dumbledore knew Severus wanted to stay at Hogwarts to watch over Harry and Draco and used that as leverage to get Severus to agree to keep his silence on the matter of the damnable Stone.

Quirrell's involvement was a shock though. The onyx eyes wizard never would have guessed that Quirrell of all people would be the one to steal the stone let alone have Voldemort attached to his person. That well known saying was true once again; it was always the person you'd least expect.

But it wasn't like Severus thought anyone would try to steal the Stone in the first place; he'd thought that Dumbledore was setting up this little dubious situation for his son's benefit.

However, even if the old coot only brought the Stone in for safekeeping at Hogwarts it was a reckless action and in the end unsuccessful. The Dark Lord now had the Stone and who knew what he would do with it?! Resurrection was the most likely option and it made Severus shiver in fear when he thought of what couod possibly happen in the near future for the magical world.

But that soul deep fear was tempered after Harry explained the message given to him via the Basilisk on the Eve of Yule. It appeared the Dark Lord wanted to leave them be. When had his former master become so willing to forget a person's past transgressions? Especially when it came to Severus' treachery during the First War? It was just not like the Voldemort he'd come to know.

Maybe his Lord truly was becoming saner or at the very least a little more willing to think before he acted. He wouldn't hold his breath that this was the case but he couldn't help but hope a little bit. It would be nice not to have to watch his back from fear of being hunted down like a rabid Nundu. Harry, his child in all but blood, would be allowed to live in peace without fear; if Dumbledore would allow it that was.

But he could deal with a batty old man in stride; the Dark Lord was a whole other matter entirely, at least Dumbledore would generally keep their battle legal and fair. His former master made no such bargains or concessions.

With a quick mental breath Severus looked at his brooding raven haired son and spoke; "Harry, care to tell us what's wrong?" Those emerald green eyes snapped up in surprise almost making the older man roll his eyes; Harry should know better than to underestimate Severus' powers of observation after all this time. He watched his son think about what he wanted to say before he actually began talking and wondered if the boy would ever learn how to camouflage his emotions completely?

It didn't really matter one way or the other to Severus. Harry was Harry; a Slytherindor through and through as the young man proclaimed. The onyx eyed man could testify that Harry, and Draco, possessed devious Slytherin minds but while the young blonde child had no problem holding his blank mask most of the time Harry didn't bother trying all that hard to keep his mask on. Well at least you always knew where you stood with the younger raven. His child didn't beat around the bush he slithered right under it and sprung up in your face.

Harry's hesitant voice finally broke the silence and tension surrounding the breakfast table; "Why did you and papa Luc join the Dark Lord?" Well that was unexpected but maybe Severus should have seen it coming. He and Lucius were as honest as they could be with their boys and both knew their fathers were Death Eaters a long time ago so it was only a matter of time before one of them got curious as to why their parents joined a madman in the first place.

With a sigh the onyx eyed wizard began to explain his reasons, which were coincidently similar to Lucius' own; "Harry, Draco, what you have to understand is that the Dark Lord was not always so unstable and psychotic as he is now, or possibly was... Anyway, moving on... it is true that he has always been ruthless and cruel but not to the extent of what he became towards the end. When Luc and I joined he was still working toward the segregation of our world from the muggles' but the horrid guerilla tactics, like raids, were not yet being done."

"However, as time passed the Dark Lord began to lose his grip on reality. He could no longer formulate a plan that would work in our favor in terms of current and future plans of action. I don't know what happened to him, no one really does, but once his grasp slipped that was when the violent raids started and then the torture began. Before long we were just a bunch of murderous terrorists killing indiscriminately."

"Lucius and I did not sign up for that. We joined to help make our world a better place, to make sure our traditions and lore did not become obsolete and obscure by the influx of muggleborns and muggle raised children entering our world. We, with the exception of a few Death Eaters, wanted to integrate these children into our society much earlier, provide them with literature and learning aids to help them adjust to the magical world."

"As you both know when a muggleborn or muggle raised child comes to Hogwarts they have only known about the magical world for a few months, if that. To expect a child to learn all there is to know about the magical world in a few measly months is absurd and unfair, not just to the muggle raised but to the magical raised children too. Tell me how much do these muggle raised kids slow down your classes?"

"Quite a bit from what I see as a teacher. The Dark Lord wanted to change that and put everyone on a more even playing field but people like Dumbledore didn't want it for some reason. And when it looked like the Dark Lord was finally making progress in our cause he changed and became brutal and violent, making it easy for people like Dumbledore to discount his views and proposals as insane or irrelevant."

"Lucius and I became disillusioned with the Dark Lord but Lucius never took steps to oppose him. This is probably why he is still alive today. Lucius doesn't have the skill in Occlumency to withstand a full on mental attack from our Lord; he would break through Lucius' shields in little time and then everything Luc knew our Master would know as well."

"I didn't turn against him until he chose to come after your family, Harry. But once he set his sights on them I went to Dumbledore and pleaded with him for help. The old coot gave his assistance but at a price; the price was me spying on the Dark Lord and other Death Eaters, and reporting back so he knew what was going on."

"I want you both to know that Dumbledore doesn't care for the individual. That man is all about the Greater Good; he would and will sacrifice you for the greater picture. I tell you this not to turn you completely against the old goat; Merlin knows the Headmaster has done a good job of that on his own. I told you boys this so you know where you stand with him and his side."

"Oh and he does have a side make no mistake about it. Dumbledore is the Light while the Dark Lord is, as redundant as it is, the Dark. It is a shame that people believe Dark magic is evil and Light magic is good. I can kill you with a well-placed Diffindo as easily as I could an Avada but no one wants to talk about that at the end of the day and nothing ever changes."

"That was another objective the Dark Lord was fighting for; he wanted all magical people to be allowed to practice however they wanted and have the option to explore whatever branches of magic they wanted as long as no one was being injured. But it all went cauldron up when our former Lord went round the bend and started casting Crucio's like they were Stupify's."

"Does that answer your questions, Harry?" Dark eyes sought out not only Harry's eyes but Draco's as well. Both children looked thoughtful and it was Draco who broke the silence first; "So what are we going to do now? I mean we all know what the Dark Lord told Harry on Yule Eve; he allegedly wants nothing to do with us but if he is becoming sane again should we join him? It's just his goals sound like something we should support."

"I know Harry thinks something needs to be done about the muggle raised slowing down the magical raised kids in classes. I'm just a bit leery of giving our allegiance to a man who tried and almost succeeded in killing my little brother. How do we know he won't turn on Harry or all four of us at his earliest convenience? We need some kind of assurance other than second hand words from the Dark Lord's Basilisk before we can go forward with an alliance or give any support."

Severus looked at Lucius feeling very proud that their eleven year old son had summed up their position and hesitancy to move forward regarding the Dark Lord so succinctly. Lucius leaned back in his chair, completely eschewing propriety for the sake of comfort; "Indeed, Draco that is the issue. I want to support and side with the Dark Lord but I will not support him if he tries to threaten my family in anyway."

"If the chance comes for Severus and me to speak with him we will go and try to broker an agreement, maybe through a vow or magical contract. But trust me when I say we will not go into anything blind and we will not bend in certain things when it comes time to negotiate our terms. I will not support a madman again. Severus and I barely survived it the last go round and I am not in any rush to be Crucio'd for every little thing again."

Harry nibbled his lip and Severus wondered what his son was going to bring up next. Those emerald eyes looked directly into his onyx orbs; "What about the prophecy? What did it say exactly?" Lucius grasped Severus' hand and gave it a supportive squeeze, letting the older raven know he was there and would support him through this very difficult discussion; "Now as I told you, Harry, at the time I heard prophecy, well the beginning of it, I was still a loyal Death Eater. I want you to remember that."

Seeing his raven haired son nod Severus continued; "I overheard the first half of the prophecy before I was caught eavesdropping and was thrown out of the pub. I immediately sought out my Lord and relayed the information to him. In the end he narrowed down the one to be his downfall was either you or Neville Longbottom. When the time came he selected you as his destroyer and went to Godric's Hollow and we all know how that went."

"But I'm getting off topic aren't I?" Taking a deep breath Severus recalled the phrases that changed not only his life but the lives of three males seated with him. "The part of the prophecy I overheard goes like this; The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches … Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... that was the only part I heard before I was ejected from the bar."

Severus watched his expressive emerald eyed child's face go through many changes in emotion. First he was thoughtful, then confused, then angry, and finally resignation settled heavily on Harry's young face. "Dad, I don't understand. That was all you told the Dark Lord and he still came after me? It just seems so ridiculous to take the words of a prophecy, and not even a full one at that, so seriously."

"I can't believe those few verses are the reason he started to hunt me and my parents. It's...it's unreal and I don't know how to feel about it. I mean how anyone could want to kill another person, let alone a whole family, over a prophecy. It's...I don't even know what to say...I'm shocked that it was that simple. I thought the prophecy would be something with more meaning, something more specific."

"How did the Dark Lord know the prophecy meant a child being born in England? It could have been a child born to someone who thrice defied him and then had a child in another country...it's just so broad and open to interpretation." After that Harry went silent and the rest of their little family let the ruffled young raven have his time to formulate his next words.

After five minutes Harry's face darkened and he began to speak again; "And let me guess this prophecy is why Dumbledore is so interested in me. He thinks I'll be the Dark Lord's downfall and that's why he tried to test me with the Stone this last term...Salazar this is getting ridiculous! Is Dumbledore insane? I'm eleven years old and there is no way I'm in any way shape and or form ready to stand up against the bloody Dark Lord!"

Severus didn't scold him for his language. He merely remained quiet and let his boy rat a bit. "Dad, papa, I may never be able to stand against him and I don't know if I want to. This world, our world, needs to change and if he can bring about those changes without violence then I don't know if I want to stand in his way."

"I heard the reasons you and papa joined him and I understand why you did now; I think I would too if offered. But Draco's right; none of us can truly support him or his plans until he promises not to hurt us in any way through any avenue available to him."

Severus nodded in agreement; "I agree with overhunting you've said, my child. For right now we will do as the Dark Lord says and stay out of the way of his goals. However, should he begin to fall into his old ways then we will stand against him. There's just too much up in the air right now to do anything concrete with."

"We don't even know where the man is and if he is accepting post, which I highly doubt as mail can be traced easily through various means. I highly doubt the Dark Lord wants the Aurors busting down his door at the moment due to a simple letter."

A hiss and the feeling of a large serpentine body slithering up Severus leg let him know that Ebony had made her first appearance since she began the process of shedding her skin. She looked much better for the most part; there was still a few places where the skin needed to be rubbed off but most of the dead skin had sloughed off during the last four days.

Severus happily collected Ebony's shed snakeskin, just like he did the Basilisk's, and couldn't wait to begin experimenting with them both. Lucius was quite amused to watch his normally stoic and proper lover on his knees, a large grin on his face, as he rolled up Ebony's skin like a kid opening presents on Yule morning.

However, Lucius then became jealous that he'd never seen the onyx eyed man so happy to be on his knees in front of him and that led Severus and Lucius to an hour of sexual distraction. Sometimes the Malfoy Lord's jealousy was childish but most of the time it led to mind blowing sex for both of them so Severus was inclined to let Lucius continue to be a possessive, jealous brat.

The large black snake's top half was now wrapped securely around Severus' shoulders while the rest of her was still resting on the floor. She wouldn't return to her smaller size until all her skin was shed from her body; the older raven would ask Harry to see to this so she could return to Hogwarts with him when they all left for the new term.

Draco clearing his throat brought everyone's wandering attention back onto to the fact that they were still having an important discussion about where things stood; "So Dumbledore believes this prophecy and that's why he is so fixated on getting Harry to be his Golden Boy?"

"And this same prophecy, or a portion of it, is what made Harry become the Dark Lord's prime target but now the Dark Lord is willing to leave Harry, and us, alone if we all stay out of hios way. However, we won't be taking his word on it until we have some kind of agreement. I am correct in what I've said so far?" Lucius responded; "That about sums up the major points and of course we will have to watch Dumbledore for any further tricks."

"Honestly, I cannot wait to for the next Governor's meeting; I will be bringing up the incident on Yule Eve and how he is using Hogwarts as a glorified Gringotts vault and keeping dangerous artifacts within its walls. I'm sure we can at least get him fined and reprimanded. Unfortunately, Dumbledore still has too much sway on the Board to get him fired but any stain on the old man's sterling image is a win for us."

Harry bit his lip; "Papa, can you not mention the Basilisk. I don't want him to die or be hunted down. He seems like an agreeable snake and Ebony likes him; Eb's a great judge of character so I trust her judgment on Astaroth. She says he okay and I believe her. Besides I could learn so much about Slytherin, Hogwarts, and just history all around from a thousand year old snake."

"But if people find out they'll want to hurt him and he'll never have peace and they'll try to get into the Chamber and destroy it...I don't want it destroyed, papa." Lucius smiled at the young raven and chuckled when Harry's expression turned into an adorable pleading expression, almost like a begging puppy; "All right, Harry, I'll remain quiet about Astaroth but I would have anyway after you defended him so vehemently to the Headmaster."

"But I must warn you to be careful if you chose to enter the Chamber. Not just because of the Basilisk but Dumbledore may be watching the bathroom entrance and attempt to enter the Chamber after you. If you must go down be sure to close the sink so no one may follow you. Oh and Draco..." The younger blonde perked up to listen to his father; "You may go down to the Chamber once Harry gives you the all clear."

That brought a pout onto the petite blonde's face; "But why do I have to wait and Harry doesn't?" Ebony's hissy chuckle made every human eye in the room turn to her; "Because silly human my master can talk to us and a serpent cannot lie to a speaker so if Astaroth tells Harry he will not hurt him or his family he will have to abide by his word. Then it will be safe for you to come down to see the Chamber."

Everyone, including the large black snake, turned to look at Harry for the translation of what Ebony just explained. The emerald eyed kid smirked and explained what his intelligent serpent just said; "Basically a snake cannot lie to a Parselmouth and if the Basilisk gives its word to me that it will not hurt me or any of you it will be safe for you to come into the Chamber."

"Papa, did you know about the fact that a snake couldn't lie to Parselmouth?" Lucius smirked proudly; "I did. When I found out the Dark Lord could speak Parseltongue I started to research it. I didn't find much but I did find a few things about them scattered throughout the Malfoy Library. The fact that they cannot lie to a speaker was one of them and a snake, unless bonded to a Master, must obey a Speaker's commands."

Harry nodded; "So the Basilisk will obey me or is it still considered bonded to Salazar Slytherin?" Severus thought about that for a moment; "No, I don't think so. If Slytherin bonded to Astaroth wouldn't he have died when Salazar died? By the fact that he is still alive and under the school I would say he is un-bonded and would actually listen to you Harry so be careful what you say to him as he will listen to you without question."

His son nodded vigorously; "I will, dad. I don't want anyone to be hurt because of me. I wonder though if something like that happened when the Dark Lord was at school. Remember when Dumbledore said Astaroth already killed one student? Do you think that the Dark Lord may have accidently set him on a student?"

Severus grimaced; "Harry, you must remember the Dark Lord is not a nice man even when he was sane. I wouldn't put it past him to have actually meant to kill Myrtle but I cannot say one way or the other. But I do know that Astaroth didn't do it on his own accord, seeing as he has been down there for over a thousand years and Myrtle was the first student to be harmed by him."

Lucius joined in once Severus was finished; "I agree with Severus but I wonder why this event with the Basilisk harming a student was not publicizes or at least written down somewhere. I makes me wonder; did Dumbledore hush it up? Or did it go down in history another way? I wouldn't put it past our former Lord to pin Myrtle's death on someone else."

"I'll have to look into this a bit more. Something just doesn't line up with what Dumbledore said and what is written down in history." While Lucius was talking the resident Potion Master noticed his son looked relieved that Lucius was going to look into Myrtle's death. What a smart child he had! It seemed even Harry was intrigued about the events that happened over fifty years ago and why no one knew about what truly went on in that bathroom.

Severus was just as curious; he knew about Moaning Myrtle, everyone did, but no one knew how she came to be in that bathroom. All anyone knew was that she died while at school and in a school full of underage wizards accidents happened so her ghost being there could have been due to a horrible potions accident or something like that.

It made him curious and suddenly Severus was just as interested in what Lucius uncovered about Moaning Myrtle as their son was. If they found out that Dumbledore hushed it up, like he did with the Lupin incident, than Severus wanted the old coot gone. Hogwarts was a school not the man's personal playground to do as he pleased with.

With a sigh the older raven shifted Ebony until she was slithering off of his body and over to Harry. Once free he stood and began to clear the dishes from the table. Severus knew he could have used magic but he felt the need to move and just do something after the discussion they just finished having. By rout he stacked the plates and moved to the sink where he filled the basin with hot water and soap.

Before long Lucius was bringing the rest of the dishes to him and drying the washed cutlery after the tall blonde completely cleared the table. Harry and Draco excused themselves to, no doubt, fly around outside; Severus would have to check to make sure they completed the homework assigned to them over break.

It was nice, calming even, to do the dishes by hand; it allowed his mind to just relax and be blank for a few minutes. And while the previous conversation was mentally tiring it was nice to have it all out there in the open. Harry and Draco had a right to know what was going on and what happened in the past that made things go down the way they did. It saddened Severus very much that his boys wouldn't have normal lives but it made him happy that they had each other.

Just like Severus had Lucius to support him through the tough times Harry had Draco and from what the onyx eyed man saw when they were shopping in France Theodore Nott as well. Also, his blonde son seemed to have picked up quite the shadow in Blaise Zabini. The knowledge that his children had people to be there for them made the older wizard relax a little bit.

It made him feel at ease to know that if he, or Lucius, couldn't be there at least Theodore or Blaise would be around to assist their boys. Once the dishes were dry and put away the two men left the kitchen and settled in the sitting room with their books. Severus enjoyed the silence interspersed with crackling of the fire, the comfortably warm atmosphere, and the new book given to him by Lucius as a Yule gift; this was the way life should be over school breaks.

And Severus was going to enjoy every damn moment of this quiet time before he had to go back to teaching dunderheaded morons while dealing with an overly nosy Headmaster with a sense of entitlement the size of the North American continent.

Alright, so we have addressed some things in this chapter and my god could it have been any longer? Well I hope you all enjoyed it! As I said before some time skips are coming so heads up!

Next time hopefully we will get to our beloved Dark Lord and I will give you some slash; who will be featured is up in the air...LOL just have to wait and see! : )

Also, to anyone following my other fics I will be trying to update Sirius' Awakening next but I probably won't get anything posted for another two weeks or so. I'm rotating my updates and Awakening is next on the list then Past Ghosts then Only Black then back to Of Unexpected again. So sit tight and I'll get something posted ASAP.

And I think that's it for me.

As Always All Mistakes Are My Own!