Chapter Three: For A Little Boy

Severus' P.O.V.

"Severus, why did we leave the castle?" Harry asked, finally having the strength to sit up by himself. We had been here for nearly two weeks and Lucius was getting closer to knowing if Albus was Harry's magical guardian.

"The headmaster was being very stupid," I said, trying not to confuse the boy, "He thought that, by telling your relatives to be nice, that they would love you. But we knew that wouldn't work, so we came here so he can't take you back,"

He nodded and clutched the little lion plushie Minerva had given him once she knew he was in the castle. It was the only toy he had ever received in his memory and he was terrified that we would try to take it away. He was starting to look a little better; he actually managed to gain a few pounds over the past two weeks. But I could tell he was thinking about something. Draco made the same face whenever he was thinking, and he liked to think a lot. "Is something bothering you child?" I asked.

"Will other kids like me?" he asked, "The other kids that can do magic too?"

"I'm sure they will Harry," I said, thinking about the little blonde boy not three rooms away from us, "Let me ask Lucius something and maybe we can find you a little friend,"

Harry nodded and started playing with his lion again. I left after making sure the charms that would tell me if he was having an asthma attack were up and running. The house elf, Dobby, appeared in front of me. "Lord Malfoy wishes to see Master Snape in his office sir," he said, disappearing with a crack.

I walked to his office, no doubt in my mind that he had discovered something about Harry's guardianship. He had been working nonstop on finding out about the old coot's legal rights to the child. Narcissa had told me that Lucius was hardly coming to bed, that the house elves would find him asleep in his chair every morning. I wonder what Lucius has been up too. On all the previous cases he's studied, he managed to get into bed at a decent time. It was a little weird for him.

When I walked in, Lucius had a devilish smile on his face. "What have you found, Lucius?" I asked, talking a set next to him.

"With what I have found, we could lock Dumbledore up for years," he said, grinning like a mad man, "When I found that he had no guardianship, I came across the Potter will. It took me nearly four days to get permission from the goblins to read it. It clearly states that Harry isn't to go anywhere near the Dursleys and if guardianship cannot be handed over to Black, the Longbottoms, or the werewolf that he was supposed to be…"

"Who was he to go to?" I asked.

"To you Severus," Lucius said, "If no one was able to care for him, you were to become his caretaker. Albus took him right from you,"

That shocked me beyond anything else. Potter had actually let Lily name me guardian? Lily had forgiven me before Halloween and her demise? I'll admit, if I had been offered guardianship then, I would have asked if he had anywhere else to go. But the moment Albus would have said Petunia or the Dursleys; I would have taken the boy. "That's not the only thing Albus is doing wrong," Lucius added, "He's taking money from the Potter vaults. He's taken three of the smaller ones and is working on getting control of the larger ones. It's a good thing he can't touch Harry's trust fund, or he would have nothing by the time he turned eleven,"

"We should alert the goblins after I take guardianship of the boy," I said, "What Albus is doing to Harry is completely irresponsible and ghastly. If I could I would hex his arse into the next decade. I will fill out the guardianship papers tonight. But Lucius, can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead," Lucius said, not looking up from his papers.

"Harry asked me if other magical children would think him a freak," I said, gaining Lucius' attention, "I told him no and that I'd talk to you about finding him a little friend. Do you think Draco would get along with him?"

Lucius just stared at me for a moment. I was about to snap my fingers in front of his face to make him snap out of it when he smiled. "I'll get Draco, just make sure Harry's presentable," he said, leaving the office to retrieve his son. I rolled my eyes and went to get Harry into something other than his pajamas.

Minerva's P.O.V.

I sighed as I sorted out whatever was left of the acceptance letters. I could barely concentrate with my mind on my little lion and my comrades. I could see why Severus would choose to stay with the Malfoys, but all of the teachers here would have never let Albus hurt Harry like that! Not in a million years! I was about to see if one of the owls could deliver a letter for me when one of the house elves popped in. "Master Dumbly like to see Mistress Minnie in his office," she said, popping away again.

I sighed and went to Albus' office. I needed to listen to whatever the crazy coot said; he might let something slip about Harry and what he wants from the child. As crazy as it was, I needed to learn his motives because, the man Poppy described the night Harry was brought in, wasn't the man in his place now.

Albus greeted me with the usual lemon drop, which I politely declined. Then he got serious and gestured me to take a seat. "As you know Minerva," Albus said, "Severus and Poppy have disappeared with young Mr. Potter in tow. It's important that he is returned back to Hogwarts, then to his relatives,"

"But why Albus?" I asked, "If his Aunt and Uncle hurt him, why send him back?"

"It is necessary to make sure Harry can face Voldemort again," he said, "He needs to be able to destroy what's left of his soul, whatever survived that night. After that is done, we can see what can be done for the boy. For now, dear Minerva, he needs to stay with his Muggle relatives so he can be prepared for the final fight,"

"By teaching him no magic?" I asked, feeling completely confused, "You-Know-Who always uses magic, he needs to learn about our world in order to understand what is going on here. Any ways, why send Severus to check on the child? He might have overlooked anything due to the nature of Harry's father!"

"That is exactly why I sent him," Albus said.

I cut him off before he could say anything else. "Are you saying you were planning for the boy to be abused?" I screeched at him, "You wanted him to have to hurt and to die at the hands of his relatives!"

Albus sighed and rubbed his temples. "I'm not going to lie to you any more Minerva," he said, "You deserve to know the truth. All we need Mr. Potter for is to finish off Voldemort. After that, I honestly don't care if he dies. He's just someone I need to be able to mold into the perfect weapon, someone that I can use to destroy the Dark Lord for once and for all. It's for the common good Minerva. Sometimes an innocent life must be sacrificed for the benefit of everyone else,"

Before I could react, he turned to Fawkes, who had started screeching at him. "What do you mean, dear friend?" he asked, "I'm still Albus,"

Fawkes shook his head and flew off, causing a great bout of magic to break between the two. It was obvious that Fawkes had unbounded from the headmaster, something that hasn't been performed since the days of Merlin himself. Albus looked a little worried, but overall he wasn't to shaken up by the departure of his former friend. "Stupid bird," he mumbled, no doubt in my mind that I wasn't to hear his comment, "Minerva," he started, turning back to me, "As for the reason I sent Severus is simple. He hated James with a passion and there was no doubt in my mind that he would just see a replica for him instead of the pieces of his mother that he has. If Petunia and Vernon had done what they were supposed to do, he would have never even suspected Mr. Potter being abused. It was just a chance that he managed to see it and be able to prove it. We need the boy to finish Voldemort, that's all. You may go and continue your duties Minerva, that is all I needed from you tonight,"

I left his office with only thought in my mind. I needed to tell Severus and Poppy immediately.

Lucius' P.O.V.

I walked down the hall, deep in thought. This didn't happen very often, as there was normally nothing bothering me. But the little green eyed boy who Severus had brought was bothering me. He was the one who destroyed the Dark Lord and managed to save the magical world. I couldn't understand why Albus wouldn't care for the child. He had obviously helped the old coot win the war against He-Who-Should-Not-Be-Named; didn't Albus somehow owe the child for that?

But that didn't worry me the most. What if the old man managed to locate the manor and took them away? They would arrest me, not doubt about it. Maybe they would take Narcissa too, but what would happen to my little dragon, Draco? They would place him in another family and he would barely remember us. Can I really take that risk for Severus?

I walked past the room Severus, Poppy, and Harry were staying in. I stopped when I heard my son's voice coming from the room. "You've never heard of Quidditch!" he was shouting.

"Never heard of it," Harry said, I couldn't miss the hoarseness in his voice, "What's it about?"

That caused Draco to go and explain everything about the game. I looked through the crack the door was making and smiled. Draco was sitting next to Harry, and Harry was obviously entranced by his words. "Don't worry Harry," Draco said, "When you're done being sick, my daddy and I'll show you how to play! We can be Quidditch buddies!"

"Buddies?" Harry asked, "Like, we'll be friends?" Draco nodded excitably, "No one's ever been my friend before. They all thought I was a freak,"

"You're not a freak!" Draco yelled, making Harry flinch. Draco didn't notice, "You're the coolest kid I've ever met! I mean, not that I've met very many kids, but you don't believe anything about blood statuses and you actually like dragons! All my other friends think dragons are big and scary monsters that eat everyone. But, my toy dragons don't eat people!"

Harry nodded and smiled. "Friends?" he asked, holding out his hand.

"Best friends forever," Draco said, pulling Harry into a hug.

Harry stiffened for a moment, but hugged Draco back. I knew I was doing to right thing. This little boy deserved to have a family that loves him and cherishes every moment they have with him. I walked in once Harry and Draco pulled away. "Daddy!" Draco shouted, jumping off the bed.

I lifted him into my arms. "Hello my little Dragon," I said, "What have you been up to today?"

"I told Harry about magic," he said, "Daddy, when he gets better, can we go play Quidditch? He's never played before because he got stuck with some Muggles,"

"We all can," I said, "As long as Severus says it's okay for Harry to play,"

Poppy came in and said that we needed to leave. She had to give Harry his medicine and then he needed to take a nap. We left, Draco very reluctantly. "You can see him again at dinner Draco," I said, "For now, go to your room and play. I need to talk to Severus,"

"Okay Daddy," he said, walking toward his room.

I went to the sitting room, where Severus was finishing up the guardianship papers. Cearul was sitting next to him. "Are you finished yet?" I asked.

"Just about," he said, putting on a final signature. I could see that Poppy had already signed as one of the witnesses. I was to sign as the other and then I would push it through the system, probably having to 'talk' to a few people on the way. Though, there probably wouldn't be too much objection if I showed them the Potter will.

Severus slid the paper over to me and I quickly added my signature. It disappeared with a pop and I stood to leave. Severus grabbed my hand, stopping me in my tracks. "Thank you so much Lucius," he said, "I could have never done this without you,"

"I wouldn't have done for any other," I said, "Now; I must see that it passes through without a hitch. I will see you at dinner, hopefully with good news,"

He nodded and I left for the Ministry. I couldn't let Dumbledore get away with this, not when the boy had won the hearts of many, myself included.