Hey everyone,
I'm going to be honest with you, I have no idea how long this chapter is going to be. In fact, this will probably be one of the shortest chapters, maybe even shorter than the very first chapter, which was only four pages on Word. Still, I am going to have it cover something important; the cliff hanger I left the last chapter on. And after that, maybe I'll go back to the romance.
Let's see,

Venquine1990


Chapter 17
Defending the Family

4th of November 1995
Private Rooms, Hogwarts
Harry's POV

"CRU –!""EXPELLIARMUS!"I shout in furious rage upon spotting that filthy grey rat with patches of fur missing changing into that horrible monster that haunted my nightmares for the better part of the last half year and the man gets shot against and through my bedroom door by the power of my spell, which is empowered by both my rage and my need to defend. Defend Lea, who I instantly noticed the spell had been aimed at.
Lea looks startled for only a second, but the minute he hears the wood of the door break under Pettigrew's weight and the strength of my spell, he jumps up and moves in front of me, his Keyblade in hand and hung over his shoulder, his grip proving he is ready to use it in a second. Pettigrew groans even from where he is lying and it means absolutely nothing to me as I notice that there is blood seeping from beneath him.
"STUPEFY!" A voice sounds from the living room, along with another one that yells: "DEEP FREEZE!" Just as Lea shouts: "THUNDER!" And the ice spell hits the man first, making his get encased in ice. And while this makes the stunner be deflected by the cool surface of the ice, does the ice also seem to intensify the power of the thunder strike as Pettigrew yells out in pain. Then another stunner is shot and this one hits the only part of Pettigrew not encased in ice.

"How did he get in here?" Hermione asks from the living room and while I walk around the bed and move behind Lea, who stretches out his other arm as an extra form of protection, does Remus growl: "I don't know, but I sure am glad that Amelia gave us another pager like she did Molly. I just contacted her, she'll be here in a few minutes." And while they are on the other side of the wall, do I feel I know what is happening there.
Remus, I'm sure, puts his hand on Sirius' shoulder and says: "I know it won't mean a thing for your innocence and freedom, Sirius, but at least now he'll be able to finally pay for his crimes, for betraying our friends, for endangering Harry." And while the man keeps quiet at this, do I silently whisper to myself: "For killing Cedric." And Lea spares me a short glance before I spot Sirius showing up in the doorway. He looks at us and says:
"Stay in there. We'll repair the door and fortify it. We'll let you know when Amelia has come to –." But then Lea says: "Just a minute." And he aims his Keyblade at something lying on the floor, at the spot where I saw Pettigrew change from rat to man and he snarls: "Fire." And a ball of flame erupts from his fire-based Keyblade and engulfs something. And for just a second do I spot it being an item made of wood before it turns to ash and dust.

"There, at least now that filthy rat has one less weapon. Just – don't let this make you put your guard down." Lea mutters, but Sirius frowns at him and says: "Trust me, I'm not going to let that bastard get away again. He tricked me the first time and put me in an impossible situation the second, but I won't let him trick me again." And while we actually hear Pettigrew wake up as he whimpers: "Sirius, please –." Does Sirius just angrily aim his wand behind him and snarl:
"Silencio!" Silencing the man. Lea nods and Sirius aims his wand at the remains of our door, casting the repairing spell. And while I feel a sense of dread overtake me as the door reforms itself in front of him, closing as soon as its finished, do I then notice it flicker and shine several times, proving that protective spells are being cast from the other side. Lea then turns around and wraps his arms around me as he whispers:

"Are you alright, love? How is the baby?" And I sigh as I mutter: "The baby's fine. Or, at least I think it is. I can't feel it move yet, remember?" Lea nods and I look at him in concern as I ask: "What about you? Did his curse hit?" But while I know that I interrupted Pettigrew before he could finish casting his curse, do I still feel an incredible sense of relief when Lea shakes his head. I pull the man close and his warm form envelops me once again.
"We're safe. The three or four of us are safe, love. Now let's just stay here and wait for the all-clear from Sirius." I nod, but this thought worries me. And Lea seems to catch up on this as he says: "Come this way." And the man actually makes us sit on the bed with my back to him before he starts to softly, slowly, rub his strong fingers over my shoulders and back.
I can feel him even using his inner fire power to heat up the flesh of his hands and this leaves trails of pleasant heat all over the skin and nerves and muscles that he moves his hands across. I sigh in relief at this and lovingly lean back against Lea, whispering a grateful: "Thank you." And even with my back to him, do I just know that Lea is smiling at me. I then surrender myself to the sensation of his massage and slowly feel myself fall asleep.

A little while later
In the bathroom
Lea's POV

It meant the world to me that, even with what just happened, Harry cared and trusted me enough to fall asleep just from the sensation of my massage and the fact that I was able to calm him down so well made my own raging emotions and concerns lessen enough that I could calmly stay behind him, gently guiding Harry from a seated into a lying position as he fell asleep.
And about ten minutes after the door was fixed, did it open again, Sirius peeking in and smiling when he saw us together before telling us that all was safe again and that Pettigrew was on his way to the Veil of Death. Madam Bones was going to question the man a bit in the hopes of finding out more about Voldemort and his potential plans, but Riku had made sure that she could transport him still encased in ice and had gone with her.

I had nodded at this and Sirius had come in, seated himself onto the bed and asked: "Is everything alright in here? What exactly happened?" And I explained him the story. Of how Harry and I were talking about Voldemort and what we would do if he wasn't taken out before my mate became unable to defend himself. How I had hugged him to reassure him and how he had spotted Pettigrew changing over my shoulder.
"He instantly reacted, breaking free from my grasp and casting his spell in the same move. I didn't even know he had his wand on him. But apparently Pettigrew wasn't even here for him or the baby. He was here for me." Sirius had nodded at this and said: "We had suspected as much. Voldemort will consider Harry weak and an easy target once he gets further into his pregnancy. You're an obstacle that negates that, so Voldemort will want you out of commission."

This, especially the fact that me getting hurt would make Harry feel horrible and make him worry more than he should need to at this point, infuriates me and Sirius sighs, confusing me. "I'm just glad that Harry stopped Pettigrew. Unless I heard wrong, he was about to shout a Cruciatus curse at you, wasn't he? A curse that starts with the syllable Cru?" I nod and the man sighs in relief again, making me ask: "Okay, what's wrong?"
"That's the Torture Curse, Lea. It put two of my strongest friends out of commission for life. They've been bedridden for over a decade and a half and they can't even recognize their own family anymore. Their minds got snapped from the overexposure of that curse. And while you and Harry are soul-bound, has there never been a mention of what happens when one of the two experiences pain of that level. Meaning, we don't know how the bond would react to it."
He turns from me to Harry and mutters: "For all we know, Harry could actually be forced to experience a lesser extend of that spell – and his baby even less of it, but still some of it. The soul bond, for all we know, could make some of the pain you experience transfer to Harry so you could fight Pettigrew in an effort to protect Harry from him or something. It's why I'm so glad that Harry responded as quickly as he did."
And while I can barely imagine myself willingly letting something like that happen, do I grimace as I realize that, like Sirius, I can't be sure whether or not it would happen. The bond, while something I have grown to love more and more over the weeks I've been here, was something that was created by a force stronger than me, a force I have no clear knowledge about. I love the bond, but I don't know whether or not it has limits or anything else.

And because of this have I called my friends together in the bathroom, having wanted to use the living room, but not wanting to ask Harry's friends to leave us for the night or to find other sleeping quarters – or even to return to a common room they have no desire to return to. I am leaning my back to the shower wall and the others are either standing or seated around me. "Are you okay, Lea?" Roxas asks, breaking the silence of the last few minutes.
"Heh, no Roxas, I'm not okay. I just found out something new about this world as well as about the bond I share with Harry. This world has a curse that can inflict so much pain, it can break someone's mind. And the bastard that was just caught tried to cast it at me." This really worries everyone, but I fell them with a stare and say: "It could have hurt Harry. Sirius says there could have been a chance that our bond would make him feel it as well."

"That – that's horrible." Xion whimpers, but Isa comes to stand with me and lies his hand on my shoulder as he says: "Don't live on those what ifs, Lea. Harry is safe and so is the baby. Just focus on that.""It's not the what if that I'm worried about. It's the fact that our bond might cause him to feel pain." Yet to this Axel smirks and says: "Not just him." We turn to the man and he asks: "Who's to say you won't feel Harry's pain as well? Like, when he goes into labor?"
This startles, shocks and astounds us all, but I breath out and mutter: "I'd rather feel his pain than let him feel mine.""And we all know that Harry feels the exact same way. You two really are one and the same when it comes to that." Sora reassures me and I smile at him before Kairi goes on: "And besides, who says that the bond will form physically? Maybe you'll grow the ability to read each other's minds or sense out each other's emotions or something. It's possible, right?"
"That's something we'll have to find out. But Lea, remember, you still have the rest of your life to do so. The birth of this little bundle of joy isn't going to end your bond with your mate. Remember, it was created out of the forging of your soul bond, not the other way around." Xion reassures me and I smile at them all, feeling beyond grateful for all of their help and support. "Thanks guys, I guess – I guess these two attacks just – just got to me."

I mutter and Sora says: "Of course they did. One attack on Harry and one on you in just a few days' time. Of course it would put you on edge. It would me and it would with everyone else. Heck, when we were in the other room, it took until Sirius came back from talking with you before the others calmed down. And Mrs. Weasley actually wanted to storm into your bedroom until Sirius told her that Harry was already asleep."
"We're all on edge, Lea. But this was a learning experience. Now we know what to expect, what to look out for. Now we know that people can change into animals. Okay, we all saw Sirius transform from time to time, but we thought that was just his gift. Now that we know, we'll be prepared. Remember, none of us want anything to happen to either you, your mate or your baby." Axel tells me and I smile at them all as I say: "Thanks, you guys. I needed to hear that. I think I'm ready to hit the sack." The others nod and we all leave the bathroom.
And while Axel creates a Dark Corridor to make sure the others don't need to sneak through the bedroom, do I head into the bedroom. Yet as I get changed and head for my bed, do I hesitate and turn to look at Harry. And the fact that the boy has a pouting look on his face convinces me. I turn around, put my long shirt back on and crawl into bed with him. And just like a few other nights since my arrival do I fall asleep with my mate in my arms.

In the living room
Isa's POV

"Are you guys okay?" We hear after exiting the corridor and I feel a bit shocked to notice that Sirius is leaning against the wall on the other side of the bedroom. "I'm keeping guard. I have to. The fact that – that he got that close – I need to do this, for my own sake." The man softly explains and we all nod as Axel whispers: "We're alright, Lea needed us."
"He didn't get hit, right?" The man asks and we shake our heads as Sora says: "No, it's just that the attacks of the last week had him really on edge. He was a bit overprotective of Harry and his need to keep him safe made him freak out over the fact that Harry was put in danger twice, even if things went fine in the end in both cases. He just needed a bit of reassurance." At this the man sighs and mutters: "Don't we all want that for my godson."
And because the group has slowly but surely come clean about everything Harry has been through from First year with the Mountain Troll and the cursed broom up to now, do we all give the man a solemn nod and then Kairi says: "But we don't have to worry ourselves. Even with the few hardships that we are facing here and there, Harry is healing.

Just the knowledge that he is pregnant is helping him get closure with the darkness of his past. I can – I can see the light within his heart growing stronger." This makes all of us smile at the girl and Sirius sighs as he says: "Just get in the sleeping bags, guys. I'm going to stay here and keep watch a little longer." Yet to this I say: "Don't stay up too long. If you want, wake one of us, we'll be happy to help." The man nods and we do as told.
And to my grateful relief, a few hours later, does the man indeed wake me up and tiredly ask me: "Care to trade?" I nod and offer the man my sleeping bag, which actually feels better than just a cot and even better than the bed I used to sleep in as Saïx when I worked for the original Organization. The man takes my offer and the rest of the night I stay up, using the power of the moon to give me strength as I watch over them all, those in here and in the bedroom.


Good on you, Isa,
Okay, so this chapter actually went quite well and developed quite a few characters a little. Next chapter is going to include two timejumps, one at the start of the chapter and then one a little bit into the chapter. I actually just wanted to keep it to the second timejump, but I felt it would be better if I do both. Though to be honest, I first wanted to do that, because I forgot about an important event that took place in November.
My bad,

Venquine1990