Harry hadn't been trying to be arrogant with Rufus, but he wouldn't stand there and be scolded like a child when he and his friends did more to stop Voldemort than the ministry had. Either way, no one disagreed with how Harry handled it. Rufus demanded Harry respect him, and Harry said he would not until Rufus earned it. The minister left and everyone got back to work to prepare for the wedding.
It had been a lovely sight to watch too. The ceremony was perfect, and now into the reception with no one having a worry in the world. There was music, people dancing and talking. It was too bad that in two days, the fun stopped and it would be time to crack down on finding those horcruxes. The first order of business was getting the locket from Umbridge. Harry would take care of that on Monday.
"This is nice," Draco elbowed Harry.
"Yeah, it is." Harry agreed.
Severus was talking to Lucius and Narcissa just a little ways over. "You should dance with Uncle Sev, Harry…" Draco chuckled.
"I don't think Severus dances, Dray," Harry laughed a little.
"I'm sure he would if you asked." Draco urged. "Come on, live a little, Harry. Who knows when it will be this peaceful again?"
The young blond had a good point. "I'll ask him in a bit. Seems to be enjoying the casual time with your parents." Harry said. "I need to speak to that gentleman over there, he wrote a great piece about Albus, I want to discuss with him." He patted Draco's shoulder and walked over to the table, only to be cut off by Luna Lovegood. Bless her heart.
"Hello, Harry." Luna greeted. "Oh, I've interrupted a deep thought. I can see it shrinking in your eyes."
"No, not at all. How are you, Luna? Enjoying the party?" Harry asked.
"I'm quite well, here with my father." Luna motioned to the older male.
"Xenophilius Lovegood, Mr. Potter-Snape." He introduced.
"Ah, yes. We've met, Mr. Lovegood. I believe during last year's gathering for New Year's Eve." Harry shook the man's hand.
"I want you to know, Mr. Potter-Snape. We at the Quibbler always supported Albus Dumbledore as we will always support you." Xenophilius stated.
"I appreciate the support, sir," Harry stated.
"Come along, Daddy. Harry was on his way to do something, he's just too polite to say anything." Luna led her father away.
Harry chuckled as he approached the older male he'd spotted, and knew he was Elphias Doge. To Harry's knowledge, one of the members of the Order's first creation.
"Excuse me, sir…May I sit with you?"
"Oh, Mr. Potter! Of course, of course." The man, Elphias, offered as Harry sat down across from him.
"So you know who I am?" Harry smiled.
"Who doesn't know you, Mr. Potter. Though, I hear these days you're married. It's…Potter-Snape now, isn't it?" Elphias chuckled..
"Yes, it is." Harry nodded. "I saw the piece you wrote about Albus, I take it you knew him well."
"One of his oldest friends, Harry. Close to him, next to his brother Aberforth." Elphias stated. "Not many remember him, though."
"I didn't even know he had a brother." Harry admitted.
"Ah, well, Albus was always a private person." Elphias mentioned.
"Don't be down, Elphias. I'm told he's been thoroughly unriddled by Rita Skeeter in eight-hundred pages." Spoke a woman at the table closest to them. Harry recognized her. Muriel Weasley, he believed she was the Great-Great Aunt of Molly and Arthur's children. "Word has it that someone talked to her. Someone who knew the Dumbledore family well. Both you and I know who that is, Elphias."
"A monstrous betrayal." Elphias retorted.
"W-Who are we talking about?" Harry inquired.
"Bathilda Bagshot." Muriel remarked.
"Who?" Harry pushed.
"My God, boy. She's only the most celebrated magical historian of the last century. She was as close to the Dumbledores as anyone." The woman paused. "I'm sure Rita Skeeter thought it was worth a trip to Godric's Hollow for that story."
"Godric's Hollow?" Harry stated firmly. "Bathilda Bagshot lives there?"
"That's where she first met Dumbledore." Muriel responded.
"You mean to say Dumbledore lived there too?" Harry questioned.
"The family moved there after Dumbledore's father killed those three muggles. It was quite the scandal. Honestly, my boy. Are you sure you know him at all?" Muriel asked gently.
"Evidently not…" Harry muttered, then he was approached by his husband, who seemed a little nervous. "Everything okay, Sev?"
"I-I wondered If I…Could ask…I-If I-I might be able to…Entice you to a dance with me?" Severus asked, offering his hand.
Oh, wasn't he sweet? Harry smiled now. "I'd be honored," He stood up. "Excuse me, sir and madam," He put his hand in Severus's as the man led him towards the open area for dancing.
Many couples were dancing, Harry was delighted to see Hermione and Ron enjoying one, and surprisingly, Blaise and Pansy too. Fred with Angelina, George with Alicia. Neville and Hannah. Seamus and Dean were also dancing a bit. Draco seemed to be standing with the rest of his friends, though Luna came over to drag the young blond in with her and he seemed to accept.
Lucius and Narcissa were next to fall in. Everyone seemed so happy. This was wonderful. Severus took lead for the dance and Harry relaxed with him, it wasn't as disastrous as his attempts to slow dance at the Yule Ball. By the end, the two shared a gentle kiss and were looking forward to their time spent alone tomorrow for their anniversary.
Then, out of nowhere, a ball of blue shot into the tent and stayed in the middle of the space. "That's a patronus message…" Remus stated.
"The Ministry has fallen. The Minister of Magic is dead." That was Kingsley's voice! "They are coming. They are coming…"
The ball disappeared as everyone began to panic, it was not long until Death Eaters were flying in. Members of the Order took point to start protecting innocents and Harry pulled his wand to fire a stunner at one of the Death Eaters.
"Harry! Harry, go! They're after you." Remus grabbed Harry from charging into the battle. "Go." Remus ordered and shoved Harry back. "Go now!"
Ron and Hermione linked up, then the Malfoy's joined them before Sirius, Severus and Harry hooked up last. "Hermione, get us out of here!" Ron shouted over the yelling. And they were gone in a whoosh of magic.
. . .
Bad landing got them in the middle of a busy street and nearly hit by a bus. Thankfully, they all moved out of the way quickly to the sidewalk.
"We need to get off the street out of these clothes…" Draco muttered.
"This way…I know where we are. I used to come here as a child with my parents, we're near the theater…" Hermione stated as they quickly moved along the street and finally down into a dark alley way out of sight from muggles. "Come now, everyone change. I assume we all had the same idea to shrink our bags down and carry them in case of emergency departure?"
"Me and Sev did." Harry said. "But I don't have Ivy…" He realized. "She was…Inside the Weasley's house during the party."
"She's safe. She'll shrink down and hide until she gets back to the school and then she'll hide out in our room or the chamber with Sal." Severus reassured.
"Sev…We needed her fang to destroy the horcruxes!" Harry reminded. "I'll go back and get her."
"Absolutely not!" The seven of them yelled at him.
"They were after you, Harry…It's not safe. That's why Remus told you to go. Ivy will be fine, we'll make do with just collecting the objects for now and when we have them all…We'll go back to destroy them at the same time." Sirius remarked.
"She better be alright because that's the only Basilisk we have and without her, we have nothing to destroy the horcruxes with…Barring me hiding them on my person and letting Voldemort destroy them in an attempt to kill me." Harry muttered.
"We won't be allowing that either." Severus sighed.
"Come on, let's get changed and figure out where to go next…" Ron stated.
It didn't take anyone long with magic to switch out their clothes from wedding attire to casual. They were soon visited by a patronus message.
"That's your dad's, isn't it, Ron?" Hermione asked.
"Yeah…" Ron got nervous that something happened.
"Do not try to communicate back. Everyone at the wedding escaped with minor injuries, we're all in hiding. And Harry…Kingsley found us. He said Rufus's last words were that the ministry may have failed everyone, but you would not. He added that Scrimgeour was never against you. The man died at Voldemort's hands, refusing to give up information about you. He died protecting you so you could carry out your mission. We're all sending our luck and love. Oh, and we have Ivy and Hedwig. We'll keep them safe. Be safe yourselves."
"I…Really didn't need to know that." Harry mumbled.
"What?" Draco asked.
"That someone else died protecting me," Harry sighed. "Come on, let's get out of the public eye and figure out what we're going to do."
"Where exactly are we supposed to go? Nowhere is gonna be safe." Sirius said. "I doubt even Grimmauld would be."
"Then we're going to have to use secluded places. Fields, caves, forests…Jump around every few days or weeks." Hermione suggested.
"Take shifts guarding at night," Ron added.
"Use protections around the camping area." Harry nodded. "Ron, you handled lodging?"
"I got us covered, mate. No worries." Ron grinned.
"Alright, we should get to our first place." Narcissa mentioned. "It will do us no good to be out in the open like this."
"Link up. I know where we can make camp for a bit to start." Hermione told them.
Linking up together once they had their bags attached and Hermione focused the apparition to take them somewhere safe, but there was screaming as they looked to find Death Eaters coming towards them. "Hermione, get us out of here!" Sirius said quickly.
"Crucio!" A Death Eater called as Harry broke the link and got in front of it.
"Harry, no!" Severus tried to reach for him.
The spell hit Harry and his knees threatened to bend, but he remained standing as his fists tightened up and he clenched his teeth. "G-Go!"
"Not without you!" Draco said.
"I said go!" Harry growled.
Ron knew what he had to do and grabbed Severus's arm. "Now, Hermione!" Ron told her as Hermione apparated them away.
Harry grabbed his wand and shot stunners at both, the blocked a couple spells before running for it and apparating mid-step and getting himself into Grimmauld Place's apparition room. Harry panted as he staggered back against the wall. No matter if Harry could resist the Cruciatus curse; it still hurt like a bitch to get it and thankfully, he'd spared Severus that feeling.
Harry knew he wasn't supposed to close off the bond on his side, but it might have thrown off Hermione apparating with the group if Severus was in pain. Harry recovered a bit and got himself up to the first floor, falling on the couch. Finally, he sat up and gave things considerable thought; he had the chance to get the horcrux from the ministry. Harry located his cloak in his bag and then went over to the fireplace, grabbing a handful of powder.
"Ministry of Magic!" Harry called as he threw the powder down and got taken away by the green flames.
. . .
Harry arrived at the ministry, quickly hiding among the bustling people being rounded up by those who worked for Voldemort. Harry threw the cloak over himself and watched from under it. What fortuitous luck that a bunch of Death Eaters stood in the middle and wasn't it just his luck that Dolores Umbridge was present. Too easy.
"You do as you are told." Bellatrix informed happily.
Harry hid among the crowd under his cloak and slowly made his way towards the front. "What if we don't want to?" Harry called, but was not seen.
"Who dares speak!?" Dolores demanded.
"Wouldn't you like to know…" Harry challenged.
"You will step forward!" Dolores ordered firmly.
"I'm already in front of you, you're just too blind to see." Harry scoffed.
"I demand whoever speaks to step forward!" Bellatrix pulled her wand.
"I already told you I'm right in front of you."
"You lie!" Dolores raged.
"Pity, Professor…Seems you still haven't learned that I never tell lies." Harry paused as he prepared his wand. "Isn't that what you told me? I must not tell lies?" He pulled his cloak off with a smirk.
"Potter!" Dolores glared.
"Wish I could say it's good to see you again, but…It's not." Harry winked. "Stupefy!" He shot the stun at Dolores, making her stagger. "Everte Statum!" She was thrown backwards as Harry then dodged other spells to get around to her and yank the necklace off her figure.
Harry stashed it in his pocket just before he heard Avada Kedavra get cast, and he knew by who too. Harry whipped around, holding his wand firm as his non-verbal spell activated to block Voldemort's curse.
"I've been looking forward to a talk with you, Harry Potter." Voldemort canceled his attack. "I heard an interesting rumor that you are protecting a few of my followers."
"Rumor is true. Not only am I protecting them, but they're free of you." The teen paused. "I removed their dark marks…" Harry grinned as Voldemort's face fell to anger. "I'm a parselmouth, you fool. It really wasn't hard to figure out your spell's components and rebuild it to reverse it." Harry hissed out.
"You're good, Tom…Just not good enough. Oh, by the way…It's Potter-Snape." Harry informed. "I married and bonded to Severus a year ago. Right under your non-existent nose too. He's never been yours, his loyalty was always to keeping me safe after my mother died to protect me." He stated.
"Avada-,"
"Isn't this getting a little old, Tom?" Harry chuckled as he held off the spell again. "You know it's not going to work, it never does." He added. Voldemort glared and canceled the attack.
"I can beat you with other things!" He tried to throw a dark curse at Harry, which he recognized as Sectumsempra. Harry quickly adjusted to block it.
"Except for the fact that spell belongs to Severus, of course he taught me how to defend myself from it. You're not the only one who knows dark magic!" Harry shot out his wand and sent the curse right back at Voldemort, and he couldn't block it. The dark lord hit the ground a few feet away, cut all over and bleeding. "Tough break, Tom…"
"D-Don't call me that!" Voldemort demanded.
"It's who you are. Rearranging the letters of your birth name does not change who you really are, Tom." Harry told him, blocking a spell shot his way with ease. "It's kind of funny, don't you think? All these pureblood followers…I wonder what happens if I tell them the truth about their lord?"
"You wouldn't dare…" Voldemort seethed.
"Hey, Death Eaters…You're following a half-blood! Lord Voldemort is actually Tom Marvolo Riddle, born to a pureblood mother and muggle father!" Harry announced with a smirk. "Have fun with that information…Also, Tom. One more thing…I also took your place as heir of Slytherin."
"I unfroze Salazar's picture down in the chamber. He named me Lord Slytherin too." Harry raised his ring. "The next time we meet will be our final battle, and you will die." Harry informed before bowing and disappeared under his cloak, then right into apparition to wherever his husband was.
. . .
Severus was panicking, pacing nervously around the fire that had been created. It had been nearly an hour since they left Harry under the Cruciatus curse to deal with two Death Eaters. The others had to force him to relax and give Harry a chance to get to them on their own before they just jumped into believing he lost and got captured.
Most of them reminded Severus of the bond, as long as he could feel it then Harry was alive. Relief hit them as the sound of apparition hit their ears in the silence and Harry was seen walking up towards the protective enchantments over the camp.
"Harry!" Severus went to run after him.
"Wait, Severus. We don't even know if it's actually him!" Sirius scolded.
"Ask him something only Harry knows." Draco remarked.
"Are we seriously doing this? You tell me who else would be able to apparate directly to your location without knowing it if not for the bond Severus and I have." Harry glared. "Now, will ya let me in? My scar is making my head feel like it's splitting in two…Tom's on a warpath for my blood." He groaned.
"Only Harry would be in pain and still use sarcasm…" Ron stated. "It's him."
Hermione waved her wand to break the enchantment and let Harry inside before restoring it. Severus instantly pulled Harry into a tight hug. "You idiot! You utter fool, Potter! Do you have any idea how worried I've been! Why the hell would you do that? Stay behind to get tortured! We could have helped! You stupid, insufferable brat! I hate you! I-I hate you…" Harry heard the break in the man's tone. He didn't hate him, he was just scared. Narcissa, Draco, and Lucius just smiled softly.
"It's Potter-Snape…And I'm your insufferable brat, Sev," Harry told him as he hugged husband back. "I'm okay…Relax."
"Why…Why did you do what you did…?" Severus asked.
"None of you can resist the curse, and we all would have been attacked or muggles needlessly hurt. It was easier to send you, then get free and find you with the bond." Harry revealed before he pulled out of the hug and gave Severus a light kiss. "It's alright. I'm safe and with you now…We won't be separated again. Calm down, love…I'm here. Relax. Stress isn't good for you, you'll get grays and wrinkles early on," He winked and kissed the man again. Severus finally relaxed more, embracing Harry and returning the kiss.
"I was scared…" Severus whispered.
"I know, but I was more worried about you guys than myself. You know that's how I am, and we agreed that I could be selfless until the trouble is over." Harry reminded. "Come on, it's alright now…We're together." He assured as he got out of the hug and held his lover's hand while getting closer to the rest. Hermione was next to hug Harry.
"I'm grateful you're alright," Hermione said gently.
"Me too, mate," Ron connected hands with Harry, then pulled him into a one-armed hug.
Draco did the same with Harry, then there was shaking hands with Lucius, a hug and kiss on the cheek from Narcissa. Sirius was last with giving Harry a tight hug. Harry was sitting down with his husband, warming up by the fire and looking at camp. Small tent, but Harry had to assume it was bigger on the inside.
"Is that the tent from when we went to the World Cup, Ron?" Harry inquired.
"Yeah, Dad gave it to me to use." Ron nodded. "Everyone's got their own space in it, plus a main area to sit and another to eat in." He informed. "Makeshift bathrooms and showers. Married couples have a shared room with one another."
"There's even a room where Uncle Sev and I can brew if we need it." Draco mentioned.
"It's not five star accommodations, but it does quite nicely for a short notice trip into the wilderness." Narcissa giggled.
"Good…I'm glad…" Harry yawned.
"Tired?" Severus asked.
"Scar…" Harry told him. "Tom's pissed after our little encounter…" He laid his head on Severus's shoulder.
"Encounter? Harry, what encounter? You didn't say anything about running into the dark lord himself!" Severus scolded.
"Sev…Please, be quiet…" Harry winced.
"Severus, I think perhaps it would just be best for Harry to get some sleep. If it's anything like the other times, Harry's not only tired from magic usage, but you know how bad the pain gets for him." Lucius suggested. "When Harry is recuperated, we can get answers. Look at him, he's barely managing to keep his eyes open. And if the scar pain gets bad enough, you know he's not going to feel well either."
"He's right, Severus. Take him to rest…There's more than enough of us to handle guard for the night." Sirius remarked.
"Come on, Harry…Let's get you to bed."
Severus worked to help Harry up and guide him into the tent, then over to where his and Harry's space was. Harry obviously used the bathroom first, and changed into his nightwear. Severus got Harry into bed, gave him the usual potions to take while Severus got ready for bed and joined his husband. Harry was already knocked out when Severus climbed into the bed, so Severus just kissed the man's forehead, and made sure to be in front of Harry before covering them up and wrapping his arm over the teen's midsection. It had been a long day, hopefully this wouldn't last long, but Lucius was right; if it got bad enough, Harry was going to feel sick and be in pain the entire time. This was the beginning of their mission. Eight people, out on their own hunting down the pieces of Voldemort's soul to be able to destroy them, and then destroy him.