Closing his eyes for a moment, Draco mentally prepared himself. He pushed open the door, the creaks echoing around the large house. And for one misleading moment, he thought that there was peace.
"Where have you been?" His mother's anxiously twisted face appeared right in front of Draco. "You are being grounded, you can't just go outside unannounced. Where did you go?"
Swallowing, Draco didn't look up from his polished shoes. His pale eyebrows were tense. "Just for some fresh air," he said quietly, coldly.
Narcissa hesitated, her lips pursed. She didn't want to have to chastise her son.
Sharp footsteps pounded down the marble floor and Lucius appeared, looking very angry, coming towards them. His eyes were on Draco. "Where were you?"
Not shifting his position aside from his jaw clenching, Draco said again, "Just getting fresh air."
Holding the bridge of his nose, Lucius looked at Narcissa with wide eyes as if asking can you believe this boy? "Draco-" he spun back around, eyes squinted in his permanent frown. "You need to be thinking about your task. We won't have you distracted with..."
"With getting fresh air?" Draco murmured.
A dangerous silence hung in the air between them and Draco didn't even have time to regret what he said before his cheek stung and Lucius was walking away, rubbing his hand.
Heart pounding and tears stinging at his eyes, Draco clenched his fists, trying to control his breathing.
"Draco..." Narcissa raised a gentle hand but he flinched away, quickly swiping at his eyes. All Narcissa did was watch as her son quickly walked away and up the stairs.
He shouldn't have said that. He shouldn't have said yes to Voldemort's task. But then his family would be killed. He shouldn't have spoken to Potter. He shouldn't have even been born, that would fix everything. His parents wouldn't get stressed over him constantly not reaching their high expectations.
Hands trembling, Draco locked his bedroom door and slid down until he was on the floor. His potentially comfortable position was interrupted by an angular object poking him from his back pocket. His phone. Quickly, he took it out, almost dropping it with how sweaty his palms had become.
Accompanied by the muffled sounds of his parents shouting at each other somewhere in the house, Draco opened his phone with thumbprint recognition, having to try more than once before he got it right. He went into previous calls and found a number that he had almost memorised at this point. Taking in a shaky breath, he typed up a message. And then, not caring that he would regret it later, he clicked send.
---
With Molly's arm around him, Harry made it through the hallway but had to raise his eyebrows at the sheer amount of people in the Weasley's living room. They had a lot of kids, but this is excessive.
He saw a few people he barely recognised - some teachers from subjects at Hogwarts he never took, some random people he had seen working around the Government building whenever Arthur took him there. So many bodies crowded the room, Harry couldn't help but feel overwhelmed.
Suddenly, people were being pushed out of the way.
"Harry!" Someone called out.
A smile immediately leaping to his face, Harry looked around. He knew that voice. Then before he could even register it, Harry was crushed in a tight hug. Fighting back tears, he breathed in the scent of Sirius' cologne.
After a couple of seconds, he was softly hit with the impact of another person wrapping their long arms around both people. Though Harry's face was pressed against Sirius' shoulder, he could tell it was Remus' comforting embrace without even needing to look.
Nobody said anything. They exchanged no words. There was no demanding Harry if he was okay, there was no fussing over his appearance, nothing.
Until Sirius' hoarse voice whispered something he didn't even intend on Harry hearing. A remark of pure relief that came straight from the heart and couldn't be stopped: "Thank god."
A pair of hands clapped together. "Alright," Mr Weasley smiled around at the swarm of faces who were now all looking at him. "Now that our golden boy - our piece de la resistance, if I may - has arrived-"
As everyone turned to observe Harry, he felt himself blush from the attention.
"-We can get started. So, grab a, er, whatever you can find and sit and the general area of the table. There isn't an abundance of chairs, but, I'm sure we will find something for everyone." As the crowd bustled into action, Arthur made eye contact with Harry and sent him a warm smile that made his eyes crinkle.
Harry felt himself grin giddily back.
On his way to the table (flanked by Sirius who had an arm on Harry's back and Remus who was murmuring sarcastic jokes into Harry's ear) Harry scanned the crowd. With some repulse, he saw a man with sallow skin and greasy hair lock eyes with him.
"What's he doing here?" Harry scowled.
"That's a good question," Sirius said darkly.
"Oh, please, boys," Remus said. "Give him a break, would you? Like you will with everyone, treat him with respect."
Pulling out three seats, Sirius furrowed his eyebrows at Snape. "I will when he will."
Across the table, Snape had his arms folded neatly in front of him. He curled his lip. "It seems that young Master Potter has finally found his way."
Sirius' fist tightened around Harry's shoulder. "You better keep your slimy mouth shut, Snivellus, or I'll show you where you can stick that bottle of hair grea-"
"Everyone seated?" Arthur's gaze travelled across the room as the last few people sat down (some were on random boxes of books, on coffee tables, even seated on thick pots with plants in them) including Molly, who sat on a broken chair pulled up next to Snape. "Good!" Arthur smiled. "So, erm," he looked around but it was clear he was having trouble pretending to not look at Harry. "I'm not actually in charge, here, uh... Good old Albus has places to be as usual, I just volunteered my house!" he laughed awkwardly. Nobody joined in. "Er, where shall we start?"
Sirius leant forwards on the table, one arm on the back of Remus' chair. "We should probably begin with explaining everything to Harry."
Across the table, Molly sniffed.
To Harry's surprise, Sirius made a show of rolling his eyes. "Really, Molly?"
"Sirius." Remus murmured, closing his eyes.
"I'm sorry, but I can't support it!" Molly said, shrugging her shoulders and splaying out her fingers. "Harry is just a boy, he is innocent."
"He has a right to know," Sirius argued. "If you were in his-"
"Oh, not this again," Molly said crossly. "Every time this is brought up, you are constantly under the impression that you're right."
"Every time this is brought up, you refuse to listen!"
People around the table had begun to awkwardly clear their throat or to stare at a wall that had suddenly become incredibly fascinating. Harry was one of these people.
Molly drew herself up, puffing out her chest. "I can't expect you to understand, Sirius, as you yourself are not a mother - or even a parent."
"He's not your child," Sirius said quietly, his jaw tight.
Molly's eyebrows were set. "He's as good as."
Under the table, Remus touched Sirius' hand and held onto it.
Sirius took in a steady breath. "I'm his godfather."
"And where were you for twelve years before Remus got that teaching position?" Molly demanded fiercely, and Harry felt Sirius stiffen beside him. "You weren't there for a single milestone. I was."
Not looking up, Remus urged gently, "Molly, that's enough."
Sirius was shaking.
Relentless, Molly continued, a fire in her eyes. "And what do you do now, sit around at home all day? I always tell Harry that if he has nowhere else to go, he is always welcome at the Burrow. He knows that. Don't you, Harry?"
The silence extended across the table.
Harry, in no way wanting to be involved, just swallowed and stared quietly at his worn-down jeans.
"I think he deserves to know." Snape's slow and deliberate voice said.
The way Sirius looked up, the surprise in his face evident, summed up how Harry was feeling, as well.
Snape raised an eyebrow around the table. "In matters directly concerning someone it is their right to have an informed opinion on the matter, yes?"
A few people began nodding, and eventually Molly sat back, her lips tight.
Too proud to show any form of thanks, Sirius just nodded.
"He deserves to know." Remus concluded, looking up at Arthur.
The mood around the table was solemn, the uncomfortable lack of noise making Harry itch.
"Mr Potter," A man with a very deep voice began, leaning forwards on the table. "There is a man who has many names, but he is most commonly known as Voldemort."
Unsure as to why everyone was so serious, Harry was peering around at their faces but Remus tapped his shoulder and muttered, "Listen to Kingsley, Harry. This is important."
Now with Harry's full attention, Kingsley continued. "Voldemort is a known enemy to our government and to... us."
Harry couldn't put his finger on what all of these people who had gathered had in common. They weren't all working for the government.
"He has never been captured and until recently, there has been no sight of him for seventeen years."
Harry had to admit that that sounded a little spooky, but still didn't see his point. "Okay... but what does he have to do with me?"
Kingsley's facial expression didn't waver. "Your parents' - Lily and James' deaths..."
As soon as his parents were brought up, Harry knew where this was going. Feeling his chest constrict, he shook his head.
"It wasn't an accident."
"No," Harry breathed, still shaking his head.
Noting Harry's distress but believing it was important for him to continue, Kingsley nodded gravely. "And Voldemort is a man of precision. And we have compiled evidence which suggests that he has resurfaced to finish the job."
Head reeling, Harry held tightly onto the edge of the table. "Hold on..." Some people were saying his name but Harry didn't look up. He couldn't breathe. "But, my dreams, the- the green light... you said-" He raised his head to see Remus' fearful expression. "You said it was an accident! You- my whole life, I-"
"Now look what you've done!" Molly glared across the table at Sirius. "I told you that you shouldn't-"
"Don't start this, Molly!" Sirius yelled, pointing a finger at her. "He just figured out the truth and you expected him to react well?"
His fists trembling, Harry tried to stand but someone who he didn't know next to him put a hand on his shoulder.
Sirius continued his battle with Mrs Weasley, and Harry couldn't tell who looked more mad. "What, you expected him to just be all smiley and say 'Oh that's okay! It's not like this isn't really horrifying news to me or anythi-'"
"Maybe you should take this to another room," Remus said quietly, giving Sirius a meaningful look which slid to Harry.
Both arguing adults had stood up.
"We should take Harry to another room!" Molly said, her thing eyebrows drawn together. "He isn't taking this well, as I expected, we shouldn't put him through anythi-"
"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" Harry's voice tore across the room, his voice breaking and silencing any uncomfortable chatter that had surfaced.
Outside, two magpies grappled with recently discovered food, their aggressive cawing noises accompanying the silence that ensued within the house.
"Harry..." Remus looked tired - pained, even.
Molly had quickly pushed her chair out behind her and disappeared into the kitchen.
A few people were muttering around the table, and Harry thought it was about his outburst until he heard a small woman say "his scar..."
Harry touched a finger to his forehead and, not to his surprise, it came away red. He sighed impatiently.
Reappearing, Molly had a damp cloth in her hand and touched it to Harry's head.
Flinching agitatedly, Harry hurried out an excuse that he hoped was polite before taking the cloth into his own hands and dabbing at the blood.
"Now that Potter has thrown his tantrum," Snape continued, his facial expression unchanging. "We should dictate where he will be staying from here on."
Looking up with a new hope in his eyes, Harry said, "I'm leaving the Dursleys?"
"Maybe," Remus said quickly.
"Remus thinks you'll be safer cooped up with those dipshits," Sirius scowled.
Sighing as if they'd had this argument before, Remus put an elbow on the table so that he could talk directly to Sirius. "We are too... involved. The Dursleys provide a safeguard that we can't guarantee."
"I know that," Sirius said irritably. "But it's a question of if we can protect him from more immediate dangers."
"And you know I agree with you, but we need to put aside our o-"
"My, you two argue like an old married couple." Snape cut in coldly. He leant back against his chair, staring with dissatisfaction at the people around him.
A momentary rift in between their argument, Sirius and Remus just looked at each other.
"We never did get married, did we?" Remus asked with a far-off, nostalgic look about him, feeling as though he was only talking to Sirius despite the crowd of people surrounding them.
Feeling as though he was intruding, Harry looked away. He felt his phone in his pocket vibrate but didn't take it out.
"It's never too late," Sirius' voice matched Remus' hushed tone, placing his hand on top of his. "You know I'd marry you no matter if we're old, grey and one of us is bald. It won't be me, though."
Remus closed his eyes for a second, a short breathy laugh escaping from his mouth before his tired expression came back. "I'm not getting married in the middle of a war, Siri."
Eyebrows furrowing, Harry stared at a grain of wood on the table. "So that's what this is? A war?"
No one said anything.
Remus gave a pointed look to Sirius. "No, I just meant..." he sighed, rubbing his face. "It's complicated, Harry."
"I believe Remus proposes the best alternative," A thick, Scottish accent breaks the silence making Harry widen his eyes.
He had no idea McGonagall was there! Shifting in his chair uncomfortably, Harry tried to ignore the shame he felt about his previous outburst.
"Though the comfort of having Potter close is important to consider, he is still safer with the Dursleys." McGonagall's tight-lipped expression didn't mean that she wasn't legitimately concerned, and from experience, Harry knew this. Plus, he trusted McGonagall's verdict. So, pushing down the disappointment weighing down his chest, he nodded.
"Okay." Realising Sirius' hand was on his shoulder, Harry tried to smile.
"Best to get his life back to normal," Said a portly old man with a waistcoat that looked like the buttons were barely holding it together.
"Mr Slughorn is right," Kingsley nodded seriously.
Standing up, showing just how tall she truly is, McGonagall nodded. "I can sign him back onto shifts. We will liaise and give him not only enough shifts to financially support him but also keep in mind his home situation. I can organise more lenient breaks."
"Thank you," Remus said sincerely.
"Well." Again with an awkward smile on his face, Arthur clapped his hands together. "Does that mean we wrap up now?