Alright, here it is. I decided not to completely rewrite this, but to just add in a few things instead. For those of you hoping for a new chapter, sorry to disappoint, but I felt this one needed a bit of extra work.

To the wonderful, amazing reviewers who have sent their support and reassurances: thank you so much! It means more than you know to me that I have so many more wonderful readers than awful ones.

Disclaimer: *sigh* Based on work that is not mine.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER 16

It was less than a day later that Hayden was curled into the corner of a couch in his doctor's office, trying to tell her what had happened without thinking about it. He failed, of course, and the voice flashed through his head over and over again, each time scaring him into thinking that Tom might actually be back again. His doctor was very concerned and it was clear that she wasn't entirely comfortable with him going back to boarding school while his condition wasn't confirmed stable, even with his parents visiting him regularly.

Thankfully, his parents very much wanted him to learn all he could about his magic, so he was allowed to go back. But it was with a resigned sigh that he stuffed that little bottle of anti-psychotics into his school trunk again.

Ooo

"Professor Lupin?"

"Yes?" The professor looked up from the mostly opaque tank he'd been dropping bits of raw meat into and turned to look at the student in his doorway. "Ah, Hayden, come in. What is it?"

"Dementors um… they make you remember things you don't want to, right?"

Lupin nodded.

"But um, are the things they make you see- are they always real? I mean, they can't be fake memories, can they?" There was an nervous tinge of hope audible in the question.

"Why do you ask?"

Hayden looked to the floor anxiously, wishing his professor had just answered the question. "I… what I saw… I don't want to believe it."

Lupin sat at his desk and gestured for Hayden to take a seat as well, which he did, uncomfortably. "I've heard of memories being twisted with repeated exposure to dementors, but only in extreme cases combined with existing mental illness.

Hayden squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his hands. "So that means it might not be real at all?" he asked softly.

Lupin frowned, not sure how to answer the obviously distressed student sitting before him. The obviously distressed son of two of his best friends. "What was it that you saw, Hayden?"

Hayden shook his head and pulled a pill bottle and a water bottle out of his bag, swallowing two little pills before answering. "I- there was this voice. It's been there since- as long as I can remember, but it disappeared before I learned about the wizarding world. I heard him- I heard him screaming about being trapped. He meant trapped in me, but it was before the years I don't remember. He said- he said that there was nothing else in my head and- I- I think maybe- what if there wasn't? What if I died and I was just him before my parents found me and did something? But it might not be real, right? There's no reason to think it's real." It was pretty clear that Hayden was scared and trying to find a way to not be.

"Hayden, no, there's absolutely no reason to believe that any of that might be real. It sounds like you're in a very unique situation, mentally. If this voice has been talking to you for years, then a dream could easily twist anything he'd said into something else and you could simply be remembering that dream. Nothing can bring back the dead, Hayden, so whatever happened to you, you weren't dead before your parents found you." He hoped that was comforting. His job was to be comforting. He was dying of curiosity about what had happened to his friends' cub though. He wanted more than anything to know what had happened, but he also knew it wasn't his place to ask.

Hayden nodded and Lupin breathed a silent sigh of relief. "Um, thank you, Professor. I- thank you." He stood up to leave, his hands shaking slightly, an unfortunate side effect of going back on his meds.

"Oh course. You can come talk to me about anything, Hayden, if you want to."

Hayden nodded again, thinking that that wasn't exactly a normal thing for a teacher to say, but also that it was kind of nice, and left quickly.

Lupin frowned some more and leaned back in his chair, wishing he could talk to Hayden about James and Lily without stepping over lines better left alone.

After he'd gotten a floor away from the defense professor's office, Hayden gave into the comforting movements and shifted his weight from one foot to the other a bit more dramatically as he walked. His shoes stuck to the ground though, and he quickly stopped to pull them off, grasping the laces in one hand and sliding in just his socks on the polished floors for a while. If only he could spend a couple hours in a skating rink. Then he stopped, his mouth falling open in an 'o' of a sudden realization. The lake was right there. And it had only been getting colder since December. Maybe it would freeze.

Ooo

Colin was trying to get around Madame Pince to snap pictures of the library again and Hayden was curled up in a soft corner chair with a text book, Ginny beside him and a few other students in their year at a table a few feet away.

"Ginny," Hayden said slowly, looking up from the textbook he hadn't been reading.

She looked up and met his gaze.

"How do you ask a girl out? Like, to be my girlfriend?" He was blushing horribly and staring at his feet now.

"Who is it?" she asked thoughtfully.

"Normina. She's… I don't know, I just like her." The blush deepened, if possible.

"Okay," she said, closing he book and letting he parchment roll back up. "Plan." And then she stated talking, sketching out a strategy. Hayden grinned, grateful for the help. The next week, Normina Royston shyly answered 'yes.'

ooo

Hayden was walking out towards the lake, shivering under his cloak and heavy jumper, his skates swinging from his gloved left hand as the snow blew through the air past him.

It was November, but it was colder than even the year before, what with all the dementors, and the lake was solidly frozen over under the shade of the trees along one side. He'd been shocked by the appearance of his sister, Eirian, in early August, but had quickly grown to love her, spending most of the last summer month helping his fathers care for her. The school had changed, since Voldemort had come back, lots of students withdrawn by their parents and a lot of the teachers missing meals or cancelling office hours. Students didn't go outside as much anymore and the atmosphere was a bit more somber than usual. Not that kids didn't still have fun. Hayden had dated a few girls now, and his psychiatrist, oddly, had taken that as a good sign of something.

Lupin had left in September, when his identity as a werewolf was revealed. Now they were being taught by an irritating retired teacher from the auror training academy. They learned things, but one day it would be textbook work and the next day they were being shot at with semi-deadly curses the second they walked into the classroom.

His parents visited less and less, what with having to take care of Eirian and the rise in rift activity and Hayden's increased mental stability or whatever, but he didn't mind. It meant he had time to use his weekends like other students did. And it felt good to know that they trusted him.

He fell into a snowdrift, a dull, cold sting making it clear that one of his skates had cut into his arm, but it was something that didn't even register when faced with the huge black dog, with matted fur and terrible breath, leaning over him with its paws planted firmly on his chest.

He squeaked, holding back a scream, as its nose was pushed right into his face, sniffing loudly.

Then, instead of biting him, like he thought it might, it backed up a bit, sitting on his legs and looking confused. Then it wasn't a dog anymore, but a person, and Hayden did scream, the sound muffled by the filthy hand that flew to cover his mouth.

Hayden bit it.

The man cursed. "Harry-"

"What?"

"Harry, do you know who I am?"

"Who's Harry?" Hayden squeaked out, terrified.

"What is that supposed to mean?" the man asked gruffly. "Harry Potter, I know who you are! I'm your godfather."

"What?"

"Lily and James made me your godfather."

"Lily and- what?" Panic shot through him. "My name is Hayden Harkness! My parents are Jack Harkness and Ianto Jones!" Haden was terrified. No one was supposed to know about who he was before. It didn't matter and it wasn't who he was and it was a secret and no one should know.

"I- what?" The man sounded genuinely confused.

There was a bang and then a scream and then the man fell off of him.

"Hayden?" Jack shouted.

"Dad?" Hayden answered, scrambling up and away from the whimpering form of the man who'd tackled him, "I didn't know you'd be here today."

"Who is that?"

Hayden shook his head, "I don't know."

Several rough months later, Sirius Black was put on the Torchwood payroll as an agent in training, but the man still didn't think he'd ever earn the trust of Ianto Jones.

Ooo

The next time Hayden wanted to go skating, he awkwardly asked Luna to come with him, not wanting to go out alone again. The girl who was normally so open-minded though, had trouble accepting that moving aimlessly across ice with blades strapped to your feet could be anything but suicidal. Hayden actually laughed again as he tried to explain the feelings of freedom that accompanied the gliding motions and that was the first step to his short recovery from Black's attack, though he wouldn't ever be comfortable around the man.

~ooo~

Draco Malfoy shivered. The large dining room wasn't cold, but his body didn't seem to care. His father expected him to become a death eater like he had. It was the logical choice, when he was faced with that or torture. The thing was, standing here in his dining room at Christmas while the next Dark Lord and his followers discussed plans for random killings, Draco was having a hard time stomaching it all. He was only fourteen. He should be eating pudding and opening presents, but instead, he was standing rigidly against a wall while a handsome man described the way they could display the bodies of the opposition to send the right sort of message.

When he went back to school at the end of the holidays, Draco didn't know what he should do or where to go for help, but he started subtly looking. It didn't take long to realize that a man who could walk into the school whenever he liked had some influence. And the fact that he was always in muggle dress meant that he was probably a wizard opposed to Voldemort's reign.

He was deterred slightly when he found that Mr. Harkness wasn't a wizard, but after a while, he realized that that made it all the more impressive. Still, he didn't work up the nerve to approach the man until months later, right after he received a letter from his parents telling him that their Lord wanted to speak with him over Easter holidays.

~ooo~

It was March when Hayden went out to meet his tad, only to stop short when he saw his father talking seriously with an anxious-looking blond Slytherin fourth year.

"Please, Mr. Jones, sir, I didn't know where else to go, but I've heard rumors that you're powerful in… in the muggle world and I… I don't know who can help me, but the magical world can't and I… the Dark Lord, he lives in my home and what he does, it's so terrible and I don't know what to do but I know I don't want to serve him and I-"

"Sh, sh, sh, we'll help you. Of course we'll help you."

Jack hugged the crying boy and gave Hayden an inquiring look, which was returned with an equally curious one.

Alright, this chapter started off in the winter of Harry's second year, and finished around Easter of his third. I hope that makes sense. Yes, I did a huge time skip, but if you'd like to know what happened during any of the blanks, please feel free to ask. I'd be happy to talk about it with you, but I'm just too lazy to put it in story format. Now that this chapter if finished, hopefully I can move the story forward soon!

Thank you for reading!

-MP