Chapter Seven

When they apparated back into the manor Maribel, Voldemort, and Malakhi were standing waiting for them. Lorcan snorted and grinned when they stood there looking at them for a few moments with the two younger men looking right back at them.

"You accepted his courting then?" Voldemort sighed.

"Yes I did," Lorcan nodded tensely, curling his arm back around Harrison's.

"I suppose I can not complain," Voldemort rolled his eyes.

"Just think, I could potentially be your son-in-law one day!" Harrison chirped.

"I am complaining now, I forbid it!" Voldemort narrowed his eyes.

"Now now don't be like that!" Harrison smirked.

"I utterly forbid it, completely!" Voldemort huffed.

"Father, come, let us hug this out!" Harrison grinned moving towards Voldemort with his arms open.

"I want vows of celibacy for the rest of your life!" Voldemort pointed at Lorcan before pointing his finger in Harrison's face when he got close, "Do not touch me, Potter!"

"Son!" Harrison smirked.

"Do not!" Voldemort warned as Harrison stepped closer.

"Come on,"

"Do not touch me!"

"Touch!" Harrison grinned as he suddenly poked Voldemort in the cheek.

"Potter!" Voldemort snarled drawing his wand as Harrison danced backward and stood behind Maribel who along with Lorcan and Malakhi were laughing at the two of them. "Harrison Potter!"

"Harrison," Malakhi said between his laughter.

"Alright, alright, I will stop," Harrison grinned sideling back over to Lorcan.

"You're lucky I tolerate you," Voldemort huffed.

"You tolerate me and are worried that Nagini will actually eat you," Harrison laughed.

Are you ok with it?" Lorcan asked concerned.

"I am, you could have done much worse," Voldemort snorted.

"I think that was almost a compliment," Harrison grinned.

"I am happy for you both," Malakhi walked over and cupped their faces, kissing both of them on the cheek.

"Thank you," Harrison smiled happily at him.

"Thank you, Dad, Father," Lorcan smiled at the two of them.

"I am pleased for you both, I can see you having a happy, if tempestuous relationship," Maribel chuckled.

"The tempestuous part is because of you," Lorcan snorted looking up at Harrison.

"No clue what you mean," Harrison said cheerfully, but took the chance to lean down and kiss Lorcan's cheek gently.

"Come on, let's get going idiot," Voldemort rolled his eyes.

"Is it time for the meeting already?" Harrison frowned looking at the clock.

"Yes, I thought you were going to miss it completely," Voldemort motioned to the clock.

"I would like to attend with you," Lorcan said.

"Really?" Voldemort asked, shocked before quickly shaking his head when he saw the expression on Lorcan's face. "I would like that, I just wasn't sure that it was something that you wanted to do,"

"I would like to," Lorcan nodded tensely.

"I am going to go and get ready," Harrison said, stepping close to Lorcan and kissing his cheek sweetly again, Lorcan turned his head and pressed their lips together briefly, ignoring the huff from his father, and the chuckle from his dad and grandmother.

"See you soon," Lorcan smiled at Harrison, the younger man grinning happily at him before he bowed to Voldemort, Malakhi, and Maribel and left the room.

"What?" Voldemort looked confused when his son looked at him without saying anything for a moment.

"You don't have anything to say?" Lorcan asked crossing his arms.

"On your coming to the meeting?" Voldemort asked slowly.

"No, on me and Harrison," Lorcan said, his stance relaxing.

"We spoke about it previously, and you are more than able to make this choice, the choice is completely yours," Voldemort shook his head, "and besides out of anyone that you could have chosen, Harrison is not the most disagreeable, even if he does enjoy tormenting me and causing my blood pressure to constantly be through the roof,"

"Thank you, father," Lorcan smiled softly.

"Yes, well, I had better go and get ready myself," Voldemort said a little gruffly before apparating out, Lorcan turning to grin at his dad and grandmother.

"Are you happy my love?" Maribel asked.

"Yes, he…I am happy with him, and I feel…" Lorcan pressed his hand to his chest trying to find the words to explain.

"We understand," Malakhai wrapped his arms around his son and kissed his forehead. "I am happy for you,"

"Very happy, I think that boy would lay the world at your feet if you asked him to," Maribel grinned when her grandson's cheeks started going red.

"He does look at Lorcan as though he hung the moon and the stars doesn't he," Malakhi laughed.

"And is the reason the sun is rising each day as well," Maribel chuckled as Lorcan was now doing an impression of a lobster.

"Stop the both of you, I am aware that he cares for me, but I wouldn't go that far," Lorcan tried to wave them off. Both of them sobered a little, but Malakhi kissed his forehead again.

"I don't think you see the way he looks at you," Malakhi smiled tenderly at his son as he brushed blond curls away from his forehead. "Come, let us get ready,"

"Ok," Lorcan felt as though his heart would never stop fluttering the way that it was when he thought about Harrison and those words from his family.


Lorcan bit his lip as he came around the corner and found Harrison already standing outside the doors to the meeting hall talking with Nagini who was draped around his neck. He was wearing crimson red robes stitched through with pure black thread, the slight mandarin collar on the robes frames his strong jaw, and the black trousers that he was wearing did absolutely everything for Lorcan's imagination the way the fabric was stretched over his thighs.

*Nestling,* Nagini hissed in greeting. Green eyes lifted and met his, a smile crossing Harrison's features as Lorcan reached him. Harrison took his hand and kissed it, before leaning in and kissing his cheek. Chuckling Lorcan gripped the lapels of Harrison's robes and pulled him back down as he went to retreat and pressed their lips together again, he was sure he was forming an addiction already to those lips against his, and the way Harrison's hand came up to cradle his head, as though he were something precious in his hands.

*You look stunning,* Harrison hissed as they parted, looking down at Lorcan's ice-blue robes and white trousers and the way they enhanced his colouring and fitted him perfectly.

*I was about to say the same,* Lorcan laughed.

"Yes, yes you both look good, you are both smitten, shall we?" Voldemort snorted walking towards them with Malakhi, their arms linked together, though his husband gave the arm through his a gentle smack for interrupting them.

"What is wrong?" Harrison tilted his head slightly to the side, all teasing gone from his face as he took in the expression on Voldemort's face.

Without saying anything Voldemort handed over a piece of parchment which Harrison quickly took and read through before huffing out an annoyed breath and nodding his head.

"I will be back before the end of the meeting," Harrison said as he handed the parchment to Lorcan before taking his hand and kissing the back of it, bowing to Voldemort and Malakhi.

"Be careful Harrison," Voldemort said sharply.

"I always am," Harrison grinned before turning and striding back down the hall.

"What has happened?" Lorcan asked, concerned looking at the parchment in his hand.

"There has been someone sneaking around the mansion, my wards managed to catch them using concealment spells to mask themselves, it has to be someone that has to have access to the mansion which means…"

"We have a traitor," Lorcan sighed. "Do you think that they are after Dad and me again?"

"I can't afford not to believe so, the signature is someone that is powerful, but it seems to be only them, the signature is only of one person when I went through the readings in the wards," Voldemort explained.

"But they're able to trick the wards?" Lorcan frowned, concerned after Harrison.

"I am sorry, but this is what he is good at, this is his job, and he would resent me - and probably do it anyway - if I didn't allow him to do it," Voldemort grimaced.

"I understand, I don't like it, but I understand, and that part of Harrison is what I like as well," Lorcan sighed.

"Come, let us start the meeting," Voldemort said and Malakhi squeezed his son's shoulder before they pulled the hood of their cloaks into place, and ensuring that their features were completely neutral, they swept into the meeting room.

Lorcan cast his eyes over those gathered around them, he picked out familiar faces among the crowd that he knew well, and others that he recognised from Harrison's notes. He found Harrison's group standing together on the opposite side of the aisle down the middle of the room to his father's inner circle, slightly smaller though it was after the Malfoys, Bellatrix, and their group were killed.

His eyes were more drawn to Harrison's group though, it was really the first time that he had seen them all together, and it was the first time that he had seen them all together in one place, not to mention that he had a better understanding of who they were and what had brought them to be standing here on the 'dark' side when many of them had been born into light families.

Luna met his eyes almost right away and smiled dreamily at him, but there was a deep knowledge that she had in her young face when you knew what you were looking for. She was powerful in her way, and definitely underestimated, it was amusing to see how she was dismissed by most people, but from the conversations that they had had, she saw plenty.

Bill Weasley was standing straight-backed and proud, but there was a relaxed air about him, a fun air, Lorcan would admit that he was a little concerned at first about the connection that Harrison and Bill had, and he had been concerned that there was more to it than friendship, even with Fleur standing at his side. But they did seem as though they were truly just friends, and Bill respected Harrison's authority. Sweeping the Weasley Heir was a big move on Harrison's part, he was the first Weasley Lord that would be on the Dark side. Lorcan did not fully understand the motivation of Bill being on the Dark side beside him being disillusioned with the choices of the Light side, or more importantly Dumbledore. Now that Dumbledore was dead, Lorcan would be keeping an eye on him, he was not completely convinced about the loyalty of the man.

Fleur was of the same band, she was partially here because of her relationship with Bill, and partially because of her friendship with Harrison, she was powerful, her family was powerful, she and Harrison had a good friendship after the Triwizard Tournament and Harrison had worked cleverly on her, pushing her relationship with Bill to help convince him over to the Dark side and vice versa.

Fred and George Weasley. They were loyal to Harrison, and it seemed as though like their sister they would follow him wherever he went, it did not supply a true loyalty to the Dark Side, and Lorcan would watch them to ensure that their loyalty to Harrison did not waver considering that was what was holding them here. They were very impressive with their brains and bravery, and he could definitely see why Harrison had brought them over, but he could also agree with Harrison's notes that they would need to be watched to ensure that they did not find someone else to tie their loyalty to. They both looked up at him and their brown eyes met his before they bowed their heads after a moment when they realised he was looking at them.

A more chocolate shade of brown met his own blue eyes as Blaise was altered to Lorcan looking in the direction of Harrison's group by Fred and George bowing. He also inclined his head, but his eyes stayed on Lorcan despite his father talking, looking him over intently, and in a manner that was not wholly respectful. Zabini was also a complicated one, his family had been grey for nearly a century now, so it was not as much of a leap for him to be on the Dark side as the Weasleys, however, his reasoning was not as clear as the others, he was loyal to Harrison because he seemed impressed with his power and skills for hiding, he wanted to have the power and the position that being within Harrison's circle gave him.

Neville nudged Blaise in the side when he realised that they were looking at each other, and motioned towards Lorcan's father before turning with a smile to Lorcan, including his head to him, his warm and friendly face open and easy to read. He was loyal to Harrison because Harrison was the only one who had given any credence and belief in Neville's abilities. Those brown eyes held an intelligence and a cleverness that so many had overlooked, under the thumb of his grandmother as he had been, and lacking confidence. The confidence that Harrison had in him and the faith and trust he gave to Neville was the loyalty that he had for Harrison. Though his loyalty was a strong point, he was limited in the place that he could play on their side, but the things that he could, were impressive and valuable, and he seemed to be one of those at the centre of Harrison's group.

Padma and Parvati Patil were watching Lorcan's father with rapt attention, taking in what he was saying, and clearly making mental notes on it. Though different personalities and in different Houses in Hogwarts, the twins were very similar, they were ambitious and wanted to be in good positions in life, but they hid it in different ways, Parvati by playing the slightly vapid character, Padma by playing the intelligent but shy character. The two of them wanted to be in good, powerful positions, they wanted to have influence and they wanted to have a clear progression through life, Harrison had recognised this in them, and he had been able to easily pull them over to the Dark side by laying out the opportunities that they would have, especially by being one of the first to join Harrison's group. They were impressive, and intelligent and they were going to go far within the Dark side, they had willingly given up a lot to be standing here, including Parvati who was willing to leave behind her best friend Lavender to stand here. The brunette, brown-eyed twins were definitely a great addition to the side, and Lorcan had already determined that he was going to keep a close eye on them.

Sirius and Remus were listening to Lorcan's father and muttering to each other every now and then. Harrison's notes on them had been as neutral as he could possibly make them, but it was clear reading them that it truly struggled with that. It was really the only time that Lorcan had seen Harrison allow his emotions to overrule his impressive ability to separate his emotions from being logical and assessing people for their potential dangers. The men were important to Harrison, and Lorcan had to look at them in three ways with the changes to his relationship with Harrison recently. They were very important to Harrison, and the two of them were major parts of his life, more so than James Potter despite the moves that the two of them were making to get to know each other, Remus and Sirius were Harrison's closest family beside Nagini and given their new relationship Lorcan would have to try and have a good relationship with them. They were also important to his father, he clearly trusted them via their relationship with Harrison, enough that he had taken their advice and spoken to them about his relationship with Malakhi, they were trusted and in a high position, more like extended family than followers. They were also quite powerful and intelligent in their own ways.

Sirius was mischievous and came off as uncaring, but he was incredibly intelligent and was able to play the political game even though he didn't like it. He was creative and thought outside of the box which was a very useful asset to have, and he had the magic to back it up. His grey-blue eyes were sparkling with mischief, but you could see the haunted history in them from his time in Azkaban and there was a small pinching around his mouth when you looked at him that Lorcan believed was due to that past as well. Not only Harrison being on the Dark side had drawn Sirius over as well, but the way that he had been treated by the Light side, the way that Dumbledore had set him up, the way that he had been abandoned so that Dumbledore could send his godson to be abused as he was being brought up to make him easier to manipulate.

Remus was a little different, he was calmer and less mischievous, but had that streak through him that helped Lorcan understand how the more calm and rule-abiding man fitted in with Sirius and how they had become friends. Remus was clearly self-conscious about being a werewolf, and despite understanding the reason that Fenrir had turned him, and Harrison and Fenrir having a good and close relationship, Remus had been unable to forgive the Alpha completely for what he had done to him and the consequences that being a werewolf had caused for him. He was incredibly intelligent, and while Sirius was good at thinking outside of the box, Remus was very good at implementing it. His knowledge base was vast and he was talented in a variety of styles of magic. The problem Lorcan had with Remus however was that Harrison had either never found a good reason or not looked for one as to why Remus had never checked in on the young boy. The only thing that Lorcan had found as a potential reason was because of Remus' being a werewolf, and he had thought that it would be better for Harrison to keep away from him.

Lorcan thought that this was a pretty shitty excuse, Remus hadn't had to interact with Harrison if that was how he felt, but he couldn't check on him? He couldn't check in once in a blue moon - pun intended -to at least make sure that he was ok. Remus' self-depreciation could be dangerous, and though Lorcan believed that he cared for Harrison, he had shown that he could be swayed by others. Brown eyes moved from where they had been watching Lorcan's father and they met his, there was a flash of something across his face for a moment before it was gone and then the older man smiled at him. Lorcan blinked his blue eyes but nodded his head slightly to the other man, that expression on his face stuck in his head.

When he looked to the last person in Harrison's group he found her brown eyes already on him and watching him assessingly. Ginerva tilted her head in curiosity when he looked at her, her expression asking if everything was ok. He inclined his head and moved on to look around at the rest of the gathering but he wondered how long the others had been watching him. Ginny was probably the person that he was closest to out of Harrison's group, he had taken Harrison's advice to get close to Ginny and after what had happened with Bellatrix he would consider the two of them friendly, he had spent a little more time with her. She was impressive magically, and though she was above average intelligence, it was really that magical power and the punch that she could put behind it that had guaranteed her place above the others. Her loyalty to Harrison seemed to be because of the recognition of her skills and giving her a free space to be herself and to spread her wings, and because of that she followed where he led, and realistically she was one of the people that Harrison trusted most, probably third to Remus and Sirius, and so someone that he had realised that he would need to get on with on a personal level as well, but he did not think that that was going to be a problem.

One of the things that Lorcan had realised from reading Harrison's notes was about Harrison himself. The younger man was incredibly talented about recognising the skills and talents in others and encouraging them, in making people feel recognised and appreciated, and in making them feel as though they could have a place in Harrison's world and be someone important. He had a real skill for making people feel appreciated and gaining their loyalty through that.

Lorcan turned his head when the side door opened and Harrison swept through it, his mask firmly in place, and giving nothing away. He bowed to Lorcan's Father and Dad, and then to Lorcan with equal respect, before moving to stand on Voldemort's right-hand side, prowling like the lion he was to his place, turning and standing straight backed and proud as he scanned his eyes over the crowd in front of them until his eyes once again met Lorcan's. His eyes were crackling with anger and annoyance, he blinked at Lorcan, and his lips turned up slightly, a flash of just how dangerous Harrison could be crossing his features for just a moment before they settled again.

Lorcan settled back into his seat and watched the rest of the meeting, but then his eyes kept drifting over to where Harrison was standing guarding over them, his eyes sweeping back and forth, providing information when Lorcan's Father requested it, but aside from that…well just standing there looking incredibly impressive.

Lorcan felt a little foolish and love-sick for thinking it, but he looked so impressive and handsome, and Lorcan couldn't help the pull that he felt towards the other, it felt as though that pull had been there since the moment that they had met each other, and it was a pull that he definitely could not resist. Harrison was passionate and powerful, he was intense and light-hearted, he was kind and ruthless when he needed to be. He was incredibly powerful and ambitious, but he could be so incredibly gentle and soft.

One of the things that Lorcan would admit he had been scared about when he thought about getting into a relationship with someone else, was that they would be like his Father, and he would risk having his heart broken as a consequence of ambition, but he had been aware that he needed someone ambitious to be his partner, to be his equal.

Green eyes snapped around and met his, and Lorcan fought down his instinct to turn his eyes away having been caught watching Harrison and instead met those burning green eyes that softened around the edges after a moment of looking at Lorcan. Harrison was ambitious and he was powerful, but Lorcan thought that Harrison would burn down the world around them rather than risk Lorcan being hurt, he thought that Harrison would rip his way to Lorcan no matter what happened and that he would do everything within his power to ensure that Lorcan was happy. There were things that could happen, things that could go wrong, and Harrison was in a position where he could be hurt, he could end up leaving Lorcan behind, but Lorcan felt a surety in his chest that Harrison would do everything absolutely possible to ensure that that didn't happen.

Harrison tilted his head slightly and winked at Lorcan before turning and focusing on the crowd again, Lorcan turned and cast his gaze over them himself, but his eyes found Remus' already on him, the werewolf looking away and turning to say something to Sirius.

Lorcan focused on the meeting again and what his father was saying, pulling his meandering thoughts back together.


"You were deep in thought," Harrison swept up beside Lorcan, leaning slightly over his shoulder and smiling at him. Lorcan took advantage and pressed a kiss to Harrison's cheek before they carried on walking down the corridor towards Lorcan's room.

"I was not expecting you to be able to shake free of your group this quickly," Lorcan said softly, Harrison smiled happily at him, slipping his hand into Lorcan's as they walked.

"I didn't really give them a choice, I wanted to spend some time with you, and besides that, I was concerned, you truly did look deep in thought, is there anything that I can do to help ease the burden?" Harrison was so earnest as he looked down at him that Lorcan lifted their joined hands and kissed the back of Harrison's before pulling him into his rooms.

"It was more thinking over the information that I have gotten from you on the different people there, and seeing them all together, and thinking about you, and where we are going," Lorcan admitted, letting go of Harrison's hand and headed over to his sofa, kicking off his shoes next to it and curling up comfortably on the sofa before realising that Harrison was still standing by the closed door.

"That sounds a little ominous," Harrison admitted as blue eyes found him.

"It was not meant to," Lorcan smiled reassuringly at the younger man, watching the concern drain from his face. "I feel…safe with you, and as though the things that I have feared after watching my father and dad's relationship you would do everything that you could to ensure that that it does not happen to us,"

"I would," Harrison nodded seriously.

"I guess you needing to go off by yourself had me thinking about it," Lorcan said before pulling his cushion onto his lap. "Why does it have to be you going off by yourself to look for a traitor though?" he sighed. Harrison smiled softly at him as he peeled his robes off and dropped them over the back of the sofa before walking around it and over to Lorcan, his movement basically a prowl as he made his way towards the blond, Lorcan was a little breathless by the time he reached him, and Harrison reached out to grip his chin and tilted his face up so that he could lean down and press their lips together in a sweet kiss, sweet but drugging, managing to pull Lorcan out of his head until his mind was only on Harrison.

"Because it is my job to make sure that you are safe," Harrison answered Lorcan's long-forgotten question when they parted making Lorcan huff annoyed against his lips.

"Well as part of your job could you perhaps tell us what you found considering you went galloping off after my son like a horse!" Voldemort's disgruntled voice came from the doorway. Lorcan watched Harrison's features settle into a mischievous look.

"I am hung like a…" Harrison yelped when the stinging hex hit him, dodging away from Lorcan and rubbing his thigh as Voldemort stood in the doorway breathing like a wounded bull, Malakhi was laughing but covering his mouth to try and hide it, while Fenrir just looked as though he would rather be a million miles away in a room full of silver.

"Potter!" Voldemort snarled when Harrison laughingly batted away another curse that Voldemort threw at him.

"What? I was just clarifying!" Harrison smirked, apparating out of the way of the third spell and reappeared behind Fenrir, who actually squeaked.

"You!" Voldemort snarled throwing another couple of hexes that Harrison nimbly dodged and batted away from himself.

"You started it!" Harrison laughed.

"And I will finish it, and you, you little pervert!" Voldemort growled.

"I thought we established that I am not little though," Harrison grinned at the noise that Voldemort let out and started blasting more hexes at him. Lorcan watched a little open-mouthed as Malakhi and Fenrir made their way over to the sofas, dodging a hex or two as they went.

"Darling, do sit down," Malakhi sighed eventually patting the sofa.

"But…he…" Voldemort gestured to Harrison as he slunk passed him and made his way over to Lorcan. "Don't even think about it!" Voldemort huffed hurrying over and dropping down next to his son, crossing his arms and scowling at Harrison as Lorcan started giggling.

"Spoilsport," Harrison sighed before flouncing, it was the only word that Lorcan could use, over to Fenrir and in a swooping of limbs dropped onto the Alpha werewolf's lap.

"You're a brat," Fenrir grumbled dropping Harrison sideways onto the sofa next to him.

"Don't be like that Grandad!"

"Do not call me Grandad," Fenrir groaned.

"Why not, don't you love me?" Harrison pouted.

"You know I do, but he will expect me to have some measure of control over you," Fenrir huffed pointing to where Voldemort was still scowling at Harrison.

"He can't control me, he wouldn't expect you to," Harrison grinned.

"So, what did you find Harrison?" Lorcan asked as Voldemort looked as though he were reaching for his wand again.

"Nothing really," Harrison grunted, "Nagini is hunting around the manor to see if she can sense anything or get a scent of them, but it seems as though they have been using charms to hide themselves from her as well. Knowing that they have been there I can see them, but I can't get a hand or trace on them, I am going to have to work on it,"

"And we are thinking that they are after Lord Malakhi and Lord Lorcan?" Fenrir frowned.

"Yes, I don't want it being spread to anyone outside of us that this is happening and we are looking for them, for them to be getting around the wards the way that they are, and casting the charms that they are, it is someone close to us," Harrison sighed.

"Has anyone else mentioned any discontent with Lorcan and Malakhi?" Voldemort frowned.

"Not that I have heard from any of my spies," Harrison shook his head turning his legs around and settling his feet onto the floor now.

"But you said that you weren't sure to trust anyone outside of this room?" Malakhi said confused, before looking even more baffled when Lorcan, Fenrir and Voldemort snorted.

"Harrison uses the House Elves to listen for him," Lorcan explained.

"House Elves…well…that is a good idea," Malakhi blinked.

"They are exceedingly loyal to him, and they are very good at hearing what you don't want them to hear," Voldemort inclined his head.

"Which worries me more, it has to be someone that knows I use the House Elves, which means my group, and a few of the Inner Circle, including Rabastan and Rodolphus," Harrison frowned.

"The Lestrange brothers, Rodolphus was married to Bellatrix," Lorcan said.

"I do not believe it is them, but then I would like not to believe that it is someone from my group," Harrison sighed.

"If it is, can you do what needs to be done?" Malakhi asked concerned.

"If it is one of Harrison's group then need be he will deal with it, but if I can help it, it won't be him," Voldemort said before Harrison could answer. The younger man placed his hand on his chest and inclined his head a little to the Dark Lord who nodded back.

"Now it is just figuring out who it is, and why they are doing it," Harrison sighed.

"If it is someone from your group, it isn't your fault," Voldemort said softly, but Harrison leant his elbows onto his knees and scowled down at the floor.

"I brought them all in and vouched for them though," Harrison argued.

"People are fallible and can be as untrustworthy as they can be trustworthy, we don't always get it right, that is the nature of life," Voldemort said softly.

"They are here because of me, if they cause damage that will be on me as well," Harrison shook his head. Lorcan watched concerned as his father stood and made his way over to Harrison nearly silently, reaching out and covering Harrison's forehead with his long fingers and tilting the younger man's head back so that he had to look into his eyes.

"In the same way that I was at fault for the betrayals of my past? Of Lucius, Bellatrix and the others? I was at fault for not dealing with them when the danger became apparent, but was I at fault for trusting them before that?" Voldemort asked softly.

"No…" Harrison said slowly and reluctantly.

"Then anything that happens is not your fault," Voldemort tapped his forehead with his finger, right on top of his scar, before moving to stand in front of Malakhi, offering him his hand. "Keep looking and let me know if you find anything," he said as Malakhi slid his hand into his and allowed Voldemort to pull him to his feet, smiling softly as his husband when Voldemort leant down and brushed a kiss over his cheek.

"I will keep my ears, eyes and nose open, I am going to have a hunt around the manor myself," Fenrir said before shoving Harrison in the face when he opened his mouth, "No dog jokes!"

"Spoilsport," Harrison grinned, laughing when Fenrir shoved him gently to the side and then walked out.

"You are staying with Lorcan?" Voldemort asked Harrison.

"Yes," Harrison nodded.

"Thank you," Voldemort nodded back.

"See you both in the morning," Malakhi waved to them. The two of them watched everyone leave, but as soon as the door closed Lorcan was on his feet and walked over to Harrison who watched him with wide eyes as he swept over to him, climbing right into his lap without pausing and pressed their lips together.

Unsure of what was happening, but definitely not complaining Harrison wrapped his arms around Lorcan's waist and pulled him closer as he lost himself in the kiss, closing his eyes and surrounding himself with Lorcan. He groaned when Lorcan slipped his fingers into his hair and tugged gently before pressing himself even closer to Harrison's larger body as deepened the kiss between them.

When they parted Lorcan's lips were kiss swollen, and his blue eyes were heavy as he looked down at Harrison who was in much of a similar state. Smiling softly, Lorcan pressed gentle kisses to Harrison's lips before sliding sideways to sit on the sofa leaving his legs over Harrison's lap.

"If anything happens, it isn't your fault at all," Lorcan said, taking Harrison's hand in his. Sighing, Harrison dropped his head onto the back of the sofa and stared up at the setting sun on the spelled ceiling.

"I can't help but feel as though it is my fault, these people are here because I vouched for them, but more than that because I trust them. The thought that it is more than likely to be one of the people that I trust…I don't know what to do with it," Harrison sighed.

"Whatever happens isn't your fault, whatever happens, isn't on you, it is only on the person that betrays your trust," Lorcan reached forward and touched Harrison's face, turning him around to face him, stroking his fingers down along Harrison's face gently. "Whatever happens, this isn't on you,"

"If something happens again to you, or your dad, Voldemort, I don't know if I will be able to forgive myself," Harrison admitted quietly, his green eyes openly vulnerable as he looked at Lorcan.

"It would not be your fault," Lorcan said firmly, he leaned closer to Harrison and rested his head on the back of the sofa next to Harrison, close enough that their noses were practically touching. "But it isn't going to come to that, we are onto them, we will find out who they are and make them regret taking advantage of your trust,"

Harrison reached out and cupped Lorcan's face and stroked his thumb over his cheek looking so thoughtful that Lorcan had to lean forward and kiss him again, hoping that the touch, the intimacy could provide the comfort and reassurance that his words couldn't.

"I don't think I will ever get used to being allowed to kiss you," Harrison sighed contentedly with a soft smile when they parted.


They had seen the wink between them, they had seen the interaction between the two, and they were absolutely furious! How dare they! How absolutely dare they! The two of them were together and it was ruining all of their plans, it was ruining everything that they had put together to get the recognition that they deserved, the recognition that they were owed! The recognition and place that they had worked hard to get to, and had been so close to achieving. They had thought that they would have a little longer t get what they needed from him, but now time was running out for him to be able to interfere and get what they needed before things became more serious.

Time was running away from them.

They growled and threw the vase next to them across the room in a fit of anger before freezing, hoping that the others they shared the suite with hadn't heard. Thankfully there was no sound from the other room. Taking a deep breath they ran their fingers through their hair and tried to calm themselves down, calm the boiling anger in their stomach.

They were going to need to make a move, they were going to need to deal with this faster than they had planned, but that was fine, they could do this. They rested their hands on their slim hips and took another breath, a plan coming together in their head, it wasn't going to be easy, and they were going to have to act fast. The blasting hex was their best offensive attack and they were going to use it to its maximum potential. They were going to kill him.


Lorcan smiled softly to himself when he stepped into the living room and found Harrison still fast asleep. When they had parted the night before it had been with sweet kisses and Harrison's eyes burning into his back. He had known that Harrison had stayed up working late into the night, trying to work out who the traitor was, Gretchen had let him know. She was quite taken with Harrison and clearly thought that he was good for Lorcan and so had decided to mother him as well.

The blond settled down onto the sofa next to Harrison's hip and reached forward to brush his fingers down his face. Harrison's green eyes snapped open and he reached up to grab Lorcan's wrist, his eyes scanning over him before he relaxed.

"Morning," Harrison said with a sleep-roughened voice that had Lorcan holding back a shiver at the sound of it so that Harrison didn't know just how much power he had over him. "Did you sleep well?" Harrison moved his head slightly on his pillow, his green eyes combing over Lorcan's face.

"I did, you were up late though," Lorcan said slightly scoldingly as Harrison started rubbing his thumb back and forth on Lorcan's wrist.

"Guilty as charged," Harrison grinned, chuckling when Lorcan just huffed at him. "I came up with a couple of ideas to work out who it is, I am going to look into them. What are your plans for the day?"

"I am spending the morning with Father,"

"How is it going?" Harrison asked. His eyes widened when Lorcan seemed to consider for a moment before the next thing he flopped down on top of Harrison, swinging his legs up and laying on his front on top of his…whoever Harrison was to him.

"Still awkward," he grumbled into Harrison's chest where he snuggled his face into, soaking up the warmth of Harrison's body through the covers, humming happily when Harrison started playing with his curls and practically turned him into jelly.

"You seem to be getting better," Harrison hummed.

"Yeah, it is getting easier the more time that we spend together, but it still feels awkward sometimes, and though he is being surprisingly supportive of us and my getting more involved with the Dark Side, but there are still times when he tries and be a little heavy-handed and I automatically get my back up, or there are times where it is just awkward and neither of us knows what to say, and it is obvious," Lorcan admitted with a sigh. "Kind of like I imagine things could be like with you and your dad right now?"

"The same but different at the same time," Harrison smiled. "We're getting there, it is slow going, especially with how much he needs to sleep still at the moment, and he is spending time with Remus and Sirius and getting to know them again, which helps him get to him me and understand me,"

"The fact that you joined my father's side?" Lorcan asked gently. Harrison turned them a little and Lorcan slipped into the space between Harrison and the back of the sofa as Harrison turned onto his side so that they were facing each other. Smiling Lorcan wiggled a little so that he could get his head onto Harrison's pillow and then threw his leg over Harrison's hips.

"He understands and doesn't at the same time, and I can see him trying to understand but struggling with some of the things that I do, or think, but I won't sugarcoat it either, I refuse to be someone that I am not. There are moments where we have a little bit of a stilted and awkward conversation, and where he is clearly pushing down his knee-jerk reaction. But we're getting there,"

"He is healing well?"

"The healers that Voldemort found really are the best in the world, they're doing everything that they can for him. The mind healers say that it is going to take a fair bit of time, and they want me to sit in on a couple of his sessions,"

"How do you feel about that?" Lorcan asked, concerned linking their fingers together between their chests.

"I think it would be good for us to get certain things off of our chests and discuss them in a situation with someone professional there. There are certain things I will think of that he has been through, some things that I imagine that he has been through, and there are times when he says something and I realise what he has been through that I haven't even thought about,"

"Like what he said the other day about Snape?"

"Yes, just the thought of him lying there listening to me cry as a baby…it makes me wish I could kill Dumbledore all over again, or that I had taken my time with him. But then I remind myself I am not your father," Harrison rolled his eyes.

"What?" Lorcan snorted in laughter at the completely unexpected ending to it.

"He is terrible for monologuing!" Harrison groaned.

"What?" Lorcan said laughing harder.

"No seriously! He monologues so bad! He goes on and on and on, someone could have a whole five-course meal in the time that he is going on! It drives me mad!" Harrison ranted.

"Stop," Lorcan managed to say between his laughter.

"We argue about it so much! He is always complaining that I kill people off way too quickly, meanwhile, he is rambling on as though he is in a one-man play! Shakespeare has nothing on him for his soliloquies!" Harrison protested.

Lorcan leaned forward in the short space between them and sealed their lips together allowing Harrison to taste the laughter on his lips, the smile and joy in him.

"If you're not moving in the next minute I will be joining in!" Malakhi said cheerfully walking into the room making the two younger men laugh as they parted.

"I am always up for snuggles," Harrison grinned over his shoulder as Malkhi swept over to the windows and opened the curtains before turning around to look at them with a soft smile on his face.

"You will regret saying that if I call your bluff," Malakhi laughed.

"I never regret snuggles!" Harrison grinned.

The two younger men laughed when Malakhi apparated quickly from across the room and appeared right in front of the sofa before dropping down on top of them and aggressively snuggling them.

"Nope!" Voldemort walked into the room, took in what he was seeing, and turned shutting the door back behind himself almost in one smooth move.

The three on the sofa paused and looked at each other before they burst out laughing.


"Transform the…into…spell…potion…scales…transfigure…hmm…" Lorcan muttered to himself as he walked down the hallway with his nose buried in the book that he was going through for the subject Harrison had asked him to look into, excitement going through him as he realised that he was nearly there.

"Oh hello!" the blond froze at the voice and looked up from his book and found James Potter standing in front of him, Lorcan realised that he was on his way back from the healing rooms.

"Oh hello mr…erm.." Lorcan's brain froze trying to work out what he should call the other man, Lorcan's position meant that calling him Mr. Potter wasn't right, but this was Harrison's dad, he wanted to be respectful and make a good impression.

"James is fine," The man smiled, and Lorcan realised with a soft thrum that went through him that Harrison's smile was very similar.

"James," Lorcan smiled.

"Harrison mentioned that there are…concerns, are you by yourself?" James said, concerned looking around the corridor.

"Harrison ensured that I am protected," Lorcan chuckled, moving his hair to the side where it was resting over one shoulder and revealing Nagini. "He also has about ten million charms on me,"

"That I am not surprised with," James chuckled. "Would…would you like to have tea? Or coffee?" James asked a little awkwardly.

"That would be nice!" Lorcan said quickly, though part of him thought that it would be anything but nice. As the two of them made their way down the hallway the silence was more than a little awkward, and Lorcan spent the whole time thinking about the different ways that this could go wrong.

"Here, tea or coffee?" James asked as they reached the sitting room of the suite that Harrison, Sirius, Remus, and James shared together. Lorcan realised with a little bit of shock that he had not been in here yet, he looked around a little at the quite homely decoration in the room, seeing a few of Harrison's things dotted around the room. Nagini slipped down his arm and slithered out of the room, hissing to him that she was going to allow them a little time and would patrol the corridor.

"Coffee please," Lorcan said, still looking curiously around.

"Do you like caramel coffee?" James asked.

"Yes, I love it!" Lorcan turned around with a smile.

"Me too, Sirius and Remus keep trying to hide my stash saying I am trying to make up for lost time. Dobby keeps bringing them for me though," James laughed, dropping heavily into a chair at the little table in the room with a slightly tired huff.

"Dobby is being looking after Master Harrison's Paddy," Dobby squeaked, popping in and placing the two delicious-looking cups of caramel latte onto the table.

"Paddy?" Lorcan asked, walking over to the table.

"My animagus form is called Padfoot, we think he has combined that and Daddy," James chuckled.

"Brilliant," Lorcan chuckled.

"It is nice to meet you properly by the way, I know all of this is very weird and odd, but Harrison is quite clearly head over heels for you, I would really like to get to know you," James said earnestly.

"I would like to get to know you too, you mean everything to Harrison, I would really like for us to get on, he is very…important to me," Lorcan said before grimacing at his phrasing, as he opened his mouth to try and fix it James just started laughing. Lorcan peered around the slightly in the way vase of flowers in the centre of the table, to see that the other man was indeed laughing with his head thrown back.

"Don't worry, I know what you mean. Lily had a few similar moments, when we met my parents for the first time I gave my parents a big speech about how even though we were young I was absolutely in love with her and we weren't getting married too young. Lily said that she liked me very much,"

"She didn't, what did your parents say?" Lorcan gasped.

"They started laughing and said that she was obviously perfect for me because she would control my ego," James chuckled and Lorcan joined in picturing it. "Oh, move that out the way, Sirius read somewhere that seeing and smelling flowers would be helpful to me, and has been filling the rooms with them. Poor Ginny has had to take double her antihistamine potions because of her hay fever," James waved him off when Lorcan peered a little around the flower again.

"I thought she was coming down with a cold," Lorcan snorted putting his coffee cup down onto the table.

"Nope, Sirius is poisoning her via bouquets," James chuckled.

"Oh, what happened?" Lorcan blinked as he touched the vase to move it and felt the repair charm running through it, he moved the vase to the side so that he could see the other man properly.

"You can feel magic as well?" James asked, "it got smashed last night, honestly things get dinged all the time, they always did. I am amazed that Harrison didn't end up with an ear missing or something, I think it was only the fear of Lily that made sure that didn't happen,"

"When he was a baby?" Lorcan asked curiously.

"Yes, the amount of times that she had to chase Sirius down because he had come over and taken Harrison for some bonding time was hilarious," James chuckled.


"Hey," Harrison blinked when he walked into the room and found James and Lorcan there talking still.

"Hey," Lorcan smiled at him in greeting.

"We were spending a little time getting to know each other," James explained before looking a little concerned, "I hope that is ok?"

"Of course, it is ok, more than ok," Harrison threw his robes over the back of the sofa before moving to hug James. Lorcan watched James close his eyes and hug his son tightly, he had a feeling that James did this every time they were able to hug and he was able to spend time with his son.

Harrison straightened and squeezed his dad's shoulder before heading over to Lorcan and pressing a kiss to his lips.

"No no no no no no no no no!" The three of them turned when the door opened again and Sirius stormed in along with Fenrir.

"What is so wrong with it!?" Fenrir was protesting, the two of them seeming not to realise that they were there.

"I said no!"

"Tell me why!"

"Because!"

"That isn't an answer!"

"It is an answer, the answer is no!"

"But why!"

"Because!"

"Why?!"

"It is a terrible idea for a date!" Sirius huffed.

"But…why is swimming not a good date?" Fenrir huffed crossing his arms.

"Because you can't really spend quality time together, and you have a swimming pool here! It isn't a bad idea for a date further down, but for the first proper date no!" Sirius huffed before they turned and both seemed to realise that they were there at exactly the same time.

"You're giving….dating advice?" James smirked.

"I apologise!" Fenrir looked stricken looking between them.

"Coffee?" James offered.

"Who are you going on a date with Grampy?" Harrison smirked evilly.

"Brat!" Fenrir growled as his cheeks went bright red.


Lorcan hummed to himself as he closed his book and set it to the side, feeling happy as he realised that he was getting closer to having an answer for Harrison for the problem that he had asked his help in. He couldn't wait to see Harrison's face when he told him that he had an answer for him.

He smiled softly to himself as he looked at the blue rose sitting on his desk that Harrison had sent him this morning. Lorcan had woken and found Harrison already gone and Ginny was sitting in his living room reading, she had cheerfully announced that she was his bodyguard for the morning for the meetings that he had.

He liked Ginny, but she wasn't Harrison, and he had had to fight to keep his face neutral as he realised that missing getting to see Harrison in the morning after a month of him sleeping on his sofa, and him not being here had put him in a bit of a grump, something that Ginny had picked up on going by her smile.

They had worked together through the morning with Ginny escorting him to the different meetings that he had, and though he had been hopeful that he would see Harrison at lunch he had not been there, and the same for supper.

He felt a little love sick and foolish with how much he had missed Harrison through the day, they had spent a lot of their days together, Harrison grinning had told Lorcan's father that he was guarding and protecting Lorcan when he had complained about it. Harrison had been working hard over the last week trying to work out who the traitor was, trying to work out which one it was, and despite their enjoying their time together Lorcan could see that the person still out there was frustrating Harrison, and it was always on the back of his mind.

It was on all their minds, his father had been making sure that he and his dad were protected, that his grandmother was protected, the chance of a second attack bringing back some of the memories of the first attack on Lorcan. But Harrison was taking this personally, and he was absolutely determined to root out the person.

"Gretchen," Lorcan called.

"Master Lorcan, here is being your cloak," Grethen popped in with a smile holding his favourite ice-blue robes in her hands.

"What would I do without you," Lorcan smiled at her.

"Master is being flattering me," Grethen patted his hand fondly. "Gretchen is being hearing from Dobby that Master Harrison is being getting finished for the meeting as well,"

"I definitely don't know what I would do without you," Lorcan smiled before quickly pulling on his robes and hurrying through his living room to the doorway, pausing only to make sure that he was looking good before he opened his door and stepped into the corridor. He glanced down the hallway to where Harrison's rooms with Remus, Sirius, and James were, but there was no sign of movement yet.

Biting his lip he decided that he didn't want to stand there hovering and clearly having been waiting for Harrison, so he turned and started walking slowly down the hallway hoping that Harrison wouldn't be long and would catch up with him.

"Lorcan!" he smiled softly to himself before controlling his features and turning. He froze and stared in disbelief at what he was seeing before turning back around to face forward and yanking the hood of his robes up. "I know you are laughing, I can see your shoulders moving!" Harrison grumbled.

"What happened?!" Lorcan said through his laughter, covering his mouth as Harrison reached him and he caught another look.

"The twins got revenge for turning them into rats and I can't turn it back, and it passes onto any of the other robes," Harrison grumbled plucking at the rainbow-coloured fabric that was also sparkling.

"We have a meeting," Lorcan said through his laughter.

"I am well aware," Harrison said mournfully before looking at Lorcan, "can you change them, please? Remus, Sirius, and Dad wouldn't turn them back because apparently, it goes against the prankster code,"

"I don't know, I think that I would like to see my father's face when you show up like this," Lorcan said, still laughing.

"Now you mention it…" Harrison brightened a little.

"As amusing as that be, the reaction of the followers might make them a little less scared of you," Lorcan chuckled gripping Harrison by the garishly brightly coloured robes and tugging him forward into the kiss that he had been longing for.

"I have missed you," Harrison said against his lips before kissing him hungrily.

"If you didn't leave first thing in the morning you wouldn't have," Lorcan scolded, ignoring the knowing smile on Lorcan's face. "Let's sort these robes out, they're a little distracting" He chuckled.

"Not what I was planning," Harrison blinked looking down at his robes that now matched Lorcan's.

"Perhaps I want those that keep looking at you with hunger to know that I have claimed you," Lorcan said casually but the look that Harrison gave him had his blood heating up. Harrison pulled the hood of the robes up to cover his head as well so that they were completely matching before pulling Lorcan into another kiss, this one sweet and so tender that Lorcan fell into Harrison's warm body and just soaked up the feeling of being with Harrison again after not seeing him for the whole day.

"Meeting," Lorcan laughed when he pulled back and Harrison tried to chase him.

"Do we have to?" Harrison grumbled but he offered his hand to Lorcan and they started down the hallway together.

"I have some good news for you," Lorcan said as they walked, linking their fingers together with a small thrill.

"Oh?" Harrison looked at him interested.

"I think I am really close to being able to help you actually do what you have been looking into," Lorcan said, his blue eyes watching Harrison intently, and he wasn't disappointed as he watched utter joy washing over Harrison's face.

"You have found out how to break Nagini's curse? How to turn her back to human?" Harrison said hopefully.

"I think so, you will need to look over it with the knowledge that you have, but I am very sure that I have it," Lorcan said, and Harrison's smile was one of the most beautiful things that he had ever seen.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, this is…just amazing, thank you!" Harrison said wrapping his arms around Lorcan and kissing him again, his excitement and joy practically tangible.

"I'm glad that I could help, I am glad that I could do something to make you so happy," Lorcan said when they parted, reaching up under Harrison's hood to cup his face, drinking in the amazing smile on his handsome face.

"You have no idea how happy," Harrison said breathlessly, clearly thinking about finally being able to help Nagini the way that he had been searching for for so long now.

"I think I have a good idea, I can't wait to meet her as her human self," Lorcan smiled.

"I can't wait to tell h…"

"BEHIND YOU!" Luna's scream turned their blood to ice, the utter fear in her voice so clear in her scream, and they looked up to see her running around the corner of the corridor, before they could turn as she urged though the spell hit, and blood splattered the wall, floor, and ceiling, coating the cream paint crimson red.