A door slammed in the distance, its sound resonating in the hallway of Hogwarts. Harry jumped at the violent sound, immediately protecting his swollen belly from his thin arms. He knew it would not help against an attack but he could do just that. His magic no longer listened to him and he had to take the potion every morning to avoid becoming Squib. It also annoyed him to jump at the slightest sound louder than the others or cries that students could push at any time of the day.
However, as long as the one who tried to kill him would not be arrested, he would not be able to be worried all the time. It was stronger than him. Sursauter, pinball had become his daily life. Although he was a Slytherin now, he was never alone.
A powerful arm wrapped around his waist, still making him jump. He found himself stuck to a hot, muscular body and he looked up at the face of the person who was holding him lovingly. Draco.
Harry smiled as he noticed the steel eyes resting on him, with a shining glare inside his eyes. Resting against the blond's side, Harry sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. It was tiring to be on the alert all the time, but he could not relax. It was stronger than him. That we can attack his baby worried him. But who would not have been? It was his child, his little boy. The flesh of his flesh and the blood of his blood. He would protect him at the risk of his life.
"Everything's fine," Draco reassured him. You do not have to worry, we're here, "he added, embracing the group around them with a free arm gesture.
On his left, Harry felt the presence of Blaise, who held Luna's hand tenderly. Theo and Pansy were chatting back while Gregory was in front, still alone. Harry was often pitiful when he saw him so, bent over himself, no longer talking to his friends, often lost in thought since Crabbe had been taken away by the Aurors earlier this year. But he was still struggling - and he was a little scared too - with the two mastiffs so he said nothing, tried nothing to help him. It may have been cowardly on his part but it was not his fault that Goyle was reminding him too much about Vernon and Dudley Dursley, and that bad memories were invading his mind when he spoke to her.
Shaking his head, the new Slytherin noticed that in front of them - far ahead of them - Ron and Hermione were walking quietly. She had put her arm around the red-faced man's waist as he gripped the girl's neck with her arm.
Harry smiled. Even if he was no longer in Gryffindor, even if it would never be like before with those two, he could count on them to protect him too. It touched him. Verry much.
Gently, Harry turned his head towards his lover and buried his face in the black dress with the scent of his sweet perfume. It was crazy as a simple smell could calm someone's nerves. Draco's grip around his shoulders tightened. A light kiss was placed on the top of his skull. Smiling, he passed an arm around the prefect's waist.
Behind him, he heard Theo and Pansy's laughter and - without stopping to walk - he turned his head a little more to the side to take a quick glance at the couple who were kissing at breathlessness. Harry's smile widens as he looks at them. Since the end of the war, an enormous weight had withdrawn from the shoulders of the Slytherins who - even if their educations restricted them - did not stop any more to show their affection or their feelings in public. We could then more easily see greens and silver smile, laugh, kiss. The Purebloods, however, remained quite masters of them and their emotions but allowed themselves some misbehavior.
- What's there? asked the brunette softly.
- Nothing. We have an hour of free then defense. Where do you want to go ? Outside, library, where are we going home? Draco questioned.
Harry thought for a moment. Since this morning, he did not feel well. He had put it on the stroke of nausea and pregnancy but there was something else he felt in the hollow of her belly. So maybe outside, in the open air, it would be better. Surely. At the beginning of the school year, when he was not well, the wind on his face always relieved him.
"Outside," he whispered, resting his head on Malfoy's shoulder.
- Very good, smiled the latter. You come with us ? he threw at the whole group.
- Yep! replied Blaise, smiling at them with all his teeth, while behind them Pansy and Theo also answered positively.
Once again, Goyle did not answer, lost in thought. Luna simply nodded, a dreamy look on her face. The Slytherin group headed for the school park.
"I have a presentiment," Harry whispered for Draco to be the only one to hear him.
The blonde frowned.
- Good or bad ? he asked in the same tone.
- I do not know.
And it was true. He felt-it was in the back of his stomach-that something was going to happen. But what ? He did not know, it was just his instinct screaming at him to be careful.
"That would be nice to know," Draco said. History that we know what to expect.
Harry had a significant grimace. It was not his fault but that of his instinct that - he had to admit - did not help much on this one. He tightened his grip on his lover's body as they slowly descended the stairs. Not hesitating for a moment, he leaned against Draco, who - although grimacing under the grip of his lover - made a point of helping him down the stairs. He was starting to have a hard time seeing his feet, in two weeks if it continued like this, he would not be able to walk properly and would have to wiggle to get ahead. Harry already sighed of this state of affairs.
Arrived in the lobby, Luna began to hover around them, making smile Harry who never tired of the breath of air that the young Ravenclaw insufflait him. She breathed the joy of life and happiness. She had a childish side, innocent and dreamy, which was as precious as a jewel. And just for her and all that she embodied, Harry was - almost - happy to have killed Voldemort.
"She's wonderful," Blaise whispered to his side.
Harry turned to him and could only be happy seeing him slightly smug with admiration at the beauty of his girlfriend. She was beautiful, Luna. As beautiful as the day. As pretty as dawn. Especially when she was hopping like now. Her long blond hair, like the sun's rays floating behind her in rhythm with her jumps, her blue eyes sparkling with joy and her radish-shaped radiant earrings swaying happily. He adored her, the Ravenclaw, and he was happy that Blaise - his brother - was with her.
"Hufflepuff," Draco snorted in his hand.
"Fucked," Blaise said, not letting Luna drop his eyes, a smile on his face.
"I love you too Blaise," said the blond, touching Harry's face with his fingertips.
Luna finished her circle around them, stopping in front of Goyle. She raised innocent eyes to the boy and then slowly mounted his right hand to the face of his vis-à-vis to put it on his cheek. Blaise stopped like the rest of the group and he frowned, trying not to say anything.
"It looks like your brain is confused by hundreds of Joncheruines," she said softly.
It was a completely innocent remark for the girl Lovegood. The Slytherin group was getting used to that kind of talk. They had learned to either not pay attention or to answer him but at their peril because it was turning into a conversation they did not really want.
That was why - and for many more - they remained petrified by what happened next. While everyone thought that Goyle was just going to miss the young woman, he sent her twirling, with the back of her hand, with so much power that she ended up on the ground, looking confused.
- No, but it's not ok! Blaise yelled as he went to lift his girlfriend and then squeeze her into his muscular arms.
Goyle gave him a single glance before leaving without a word to the Slytherin common room. Harry watched him, shocked. Trembling in the face of so much gratuitous violence, he pressed a little closer to Draco, who was staring at the place where his classmate had disappeared with a frown.
- Why did he do that ? murmured the brunette.
"I do not know, but the next time I see him, I make him pay for it," Blaise snarled, rubbing his red cheek from the back of his hand.
"His gesture was dictated by the Joncheruines," Luna whispered, putting his cheek against Slytherin's chest.
- My angel...
"You should take him to the infirmary," Pansy told him.
Blaise nodded quickly and left, accompanied by Luna, to the cave of Pomfrey. Harry looked up at Draco, who had not moved yet. He seemed in intense reflection. Harry had never seen him like that.
- Draco? he called softly.
With a gentle caress, he turned his pale face towards him, meeting the gray pearls full of questions. Draco looked at him without really seeing him, which greatly worried Harry who wondered why this catatonic state.
- Draco? he repeated, a little worried for his companion.
"He was not there at dinner," the blond whispered.
- What?
Who was not there? And what dinner did he speak? Harry did not understand anything anymore. Suddenly, the blonde took between his long fingers the face of the former Gryffindor and looked at him carefully.
"He was not there at dinner," he repeated a little louder.
Then, before Harry had time to say anything, he leaned forward and briefly kissed the tempting lips of the little brown. After a slight caress, he looked over his shoulder and, alerting Theo and Pansy, threw them:
- Take care of him, I have to go see the Aurors.
And he left without asking for his rest. Surprised, Harry could only watch him running through the corridors. It was ... surprising. See Draco Malfoy running in Hogwarts to join the Aurors, it was not everyday that you could see that.
Accompanied by Theo and Pansy, he turned to the outside. Fortunately for them, the sun shone on this morning of late June. After settling near a tree, they began to discuss everything and nothing. Especially not what had happened. All three were wondering why such a reaction from Gregory but no one really wanted to think about it.
Harry closed his eyes, leaning against the trunk of a tree.
He did not know why, but he felt the day was going to be long.
Very, very long.
.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
.
At the top of one of the towers of the witchcraft castle, the director, eyes in the wave, gently passed his gnarled fingers through the plumage of his familiar. The phoenix cooed softly, caressing Albus's neck from the top of his skull. It was a song of joy that made the old wizard smile.
Albus liked those moments of calm he usually had with Fawkes. It rested him. Especially since the Wizarding World was no longer threatened by anyone. Tom dead, the wizards were at peace and his goal was reached. It was only Aurors catching Lucius and Bellatrix that his happiness was complete.
Now that Harry knew his motives and the reasons for his actions, he was at peace with himself and was seriously beginning to feel the weight of his age on his shoulders. When Malfoy's father and Lestrange would rot in Azkaban, Albus might retire. He had nothing to bring to school and it would do him good to rest in a place far from England.
- What do you say, Fawkes? What if we took an extended vacation once these two Death Eaters were caught? Sounds good to me, right?
The phoenix let out a shout of joy and then flew away from his wings to reach his perch. Albus smiled as he saw him, grabbed a lemon candy and gobbled it all round. Yes it would be good. In addition, he had in his possession a desert island, paradise, which seemed to him ideal for his voluntary exile. And nothing would stop him coming back here and there, say hello or just see the establishment that has been his home for years. Life would be peaceful and finally he could think of it.
Almost all his life, he had thought of others, wanting at all costs the well-being of the population. He had imprisoned his one and only love, Gellert, destroying the only relationship he had ever had and would never have. He had seen his friends - Lily, James, Sirius, Frank, Alice and many others - die or be tortured to the madness for a bloody war. He had also seen the distress and pain of invading entire families. The pain also, present on every street corner and in the eyes of people he met.
For years, he had tried to save these people, to avoid the torture of war, even if for that he had to put Harry Potter - a kid who wanted nothing more than being loved - in the front line for that he becomes the hero he was since his one year.
Albus sighed as he took a new lemon candy. That too he regretted. To have put Harry at the center of the war, even if it was his role as the prophecy said. The only thing he had done well for the boy had been his hunt for Horcruxes, which he had spared him. And he thanked Merlin for having the presence of mind to do it. What he had seen, what he had felt was still putting goose bumps on him. The power deployed, the power spread out sometimes came back to haunt him in his nightmares.
Three blows on the window of his office made him jump. He turned quickly to her and relaxed as he saw the owl flying behind the window. Gently, the venerable director stood up, smoothed his robes and went to open the skylight. The fowl sat gently on the desk and held out his paw to show him the letter he hastened to take and unhitch.
Disregarding the bird that was leaving without waiting for an answer, Albus began to read the missive, becoming more and more pale as his eyes scanned the lines written in a beautiful, leaning handwriting. Was it really possible ...? No ... How could such a thing have happened?
Without wasting time, he scoured the parchment in one of his many pockets and ran to the fireplace. After taking a big handful of Powder, he shouted:
- Ministry of Magic, Department of Mysteries.
And he was carried away by the green flames.
.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
.
- I do not want to hear anything! Remus thundered through the different groups. Use only informants!
Harry struggled hard to yawn. The fatigue numbed his whole body. He just wanted to sleep but we did not even give him that. He had to support the Defense class doing nothing except watching his comrades duel and all this in silence. Boring. Terribly boring.
Spreading a little more on the uncomfortable chair, he sighed, passing his hands over his stomach. Draco still had not come back from where he was. He was worried, even though he knew that the blond knew how to defend himself. And it was surely worrying so much that made him so tired. Or it had something to do with the fact that he had left the infirmary only a few days ago and that - even if he did not say anything - he was mentally confessing that the fate that had touched him had weakened him, much more that he did not show it.
His whole body was pulling him. The wounds, which were once closed, were now struggling to do so. To bear the open wounds that made him suffer all day was not easy, especially since he was seriously starting to have back pain with his huge belly.
Harry sighed.
- Are you ok Harry? Blaise asked him.
The above-named looked up at his friend and smiled at him. Of a tired little smile but a smile anyway, that gave him his brother of heart. The latter had to - normally - fight against Ron, but they seemed to have stopped in full duel to look at him and to worry for him.
"Yes, Blaise, worry, just tired," he replied vaguely. You get there?
Ron wiped the sweat from his forehead with a wrist in a sigh. Blaise watched him do so with a mocking grin on his lips. Harry said nothing but glanced at the black man to dissuade him from mockery.
"It's tiring," said the redhead. I was not thinking so much ... How are you, Harry, to cast unformulated and wandless spells so easily?
"I do it that's all," he said, shrugging his shoulders.
He had never asked the question. Casting spells, whether informative, with or without a wand, was second nature to him. It was a bit like breathing. It came automatically and without fatigue. Perhaps it was because he had been trying to control his accidental magic since he was a child so as not to be punished by his uncle. The only time the panic had overwhelmed him, he had apparated on the roof of the school, without disarming himself.
"That's because Harry is powerful," Blaise said quite normally.
Harry restrained himself from rolling his eyes at the sound. Yes, he was powerful. But power was not everything. Sadly. If it was only the extent of his power, his uncle would never have hit him when, as a child, he still could not control his magic. It was work. And fear. Especially fear. That of doing wrong, of hurting, of being rejected. To be a monster. It was this fear, always present during his childhood, that had forged him.
- That's not all, he whispered in the eye thinking about all the blows he had received from his uncle when, unwillingly, a drink had exploded under the influence of anger .
He remembered it as if everything had happened the day before. It was at Christmas and, as usual, Harry was in a corner of the living room, watching Dudley open packages on packages, throwing out the toys that did not interest him as if it were nothing. Harry would have wanted to have one, even an old and broken one. He had leaned over when a book about dinosaurs had landed at his feet. For so long he had wanted something, and that book was nearby, reaching out to him.
But as her little hand touched the blanket in a gesture of devotion, her uncle's huge foot was leaning on it, half a centimeter missing the tips of her fingers. What do you think, he had spit in his face. Harry did not answer, just backing away, shaking his head. But already Vernon, brighter than a cobra - which was odd in view of his size - had grabbed him by the collar of his T-shirt to swing it against the wall. Harry still remembered the pain that had erupted in his head before the black invaded him. In anger, a glass of milk had exploded without him being able to do anything.
But Vernon had not stopped, he thought bitterly. The next day it was hardly Petunia had not brought him to the hospital. And yet, never - never - did her mother's sister ever even consider taking her there.
What was going on among the Dursleys remained with the Dursleys.
- Harry? called him a voice, taking him out of his thoughts.
He shook his head from side to side and focused on what was around him. Remus was in front of him, squatting to be at his height. The professor gave him a small smile and Harry tried to answer it to reassure him. After all it was only bad memories. And he knew he would never go back there.
"Resume the duel," said the DCFM professor, glancing at Blaise and Ron, who were watching him worried. Are you OK ? he added, looking at him.
- Yes, Moony, that's fine. I'm just tired. The baby did not let me sleep properly, he's moving, the little guy, "Harry explained tenderly.
He did not want to think about the Dursleys anymore and he knew that Remus did not want to hear about it anymore, even if he would never tell him. So his son embodied the ideal excuse.
It seemed to work since the professor smiled gently at him, skimmed the prominence of his belly and got up.
Lily was complaining about your liveliness too. She was grumbling that you were preventing her from sleeping, it must be with family, laughed the lycan. You want to go to the infirmary, rest a little?
Harry hesitated a moment before nodding. Why not. Here it was useless. He would surely be better lying in bed, catching up on all the sleep he was missing. The only problem: Draco was still not there. And if he decided to come back when he was in the infirmary? Would he panic? He hoped Remus had the presence of mind to tell him where he was before his lover had a fit.
"Blaise, would you like to accompany Harry to the infirmary? Remus asked, turning to the Slytherin.
The latter did not pray and, putting away his wand, he grabbed Harry's hand to pull him to his feet. The taller grabbed his fellow by the waist, making Harry blush, who could only think of Draco's reaction if he had seen Blaise so close to him. Seeing his reaction, the other laughed loudly, pushed a soft finger into his cheek.
"I love seeing you blush," he joked, leading him down the hall.
"Stop doing that Blaise," Harry whimpered, trying to push him away.
But the grip around him grew stronger, preventing him from leaving his embrace.
- Stay against me, begged almost swarthy.
Alerted by the tone, Harry turned to him a little, frowning. He leaned against his friend's hot body, almost exaggeratedly to show him that he was there. Always.
- What's the matter ? asked the brunette, softly.
- I do not want anything to happen to you. Not while I'm here to protect you. This morning, Luna, I did not know how to be there for her. And I do not want that to happen to you as well. Please.
Moved, Harry hugged his fingers with Blaise's and squeezed tightly. He hated to see whoever he considered his brother was so upset. Blaise had always been strong when he was with him. It was to him that he had to be with Severus and Draco. It was him, again, who had reassured him when he was digesting badly for killing Voldemort. He owed much to this young man.
- Nothing will happen to me Blaise. Because you are here and you are strong. What happened with Luna this morning was Goyle's fault, not yours. You would never have known that he would react like that. And Luna knows it, believe me, she does not blame you. As no one blames you, since it was not your fault. You are neither guilty, nor guilty, nor weak. On the contrary, you are strong, my brother.
- Thank you, smiled swarthy, a smile a little shaking on the lips.
Harry squeezed a little closer to him, squeezing his hand. He closed his eyes without stopping to walk, placing all his trust in Blaise to drive him to the infirmary without hindrance.
He was snoozing lightly when they arrived at their destination. Pomfrey came out of her office when the door was pushed and, after a sharp frown, she made him lie on a bed for a complete check up. Even though Harry was protesting, saying he was here just because he was tired and needed sleep, she ignored it and kept giving him various spells.
"All right," she finally said with a small sigh of relief.
"Of course everything's fine," Harry said irritably. I tell you since earlier. I just need to sleep, it was not worth worrying.
Blaise's deep laugh echoed through the infirmary, causing Pomfrey's eyebrows to sneer, and kick him out instantly with a big kick in the buttocks.
- Sleep well little brother, he said before the door closed on him.
Harry smiled. Then he let himself be gently carried away by the sleep that had been invading him for a while now, abandoning the battle he had been waging since DCFM to stay awake.
.
.
.
It was voices that woke him up a little later. Slightly lost, Harry looked around him to find out who was the source of the fuss that had just roused him from such a good restful sleep.
The vision completely blurred, he groped at the glasses he had put on the bedside table and blinked quickly to remove from his eyes the traces of his rushed awakening. Then he looked around him.
However, nothing had prepared him for what he saw. Because there, in front of him, there was Sirius Black. His godfather. His substitute father. The one who was dead, right in front of his eyes, more than a year ago. The one he had cried with all the tears of his weak body. The one he had been guilty of for months of the fatal destiny. He, again, whom he thought never to see again.
Mouth open, Harry could only look at him with round eyes. Because - shit! - he was so keen in fifth grade, he hated himself so much for what he did. And yet he was there in front of him. Not as bright as in her memories, leaner and paler, but alive and well. Dumbledore supported him to help him walk.
Without being able to hold them back, tears came dripping down his cheeks. Tears of happiness. Padfoot had promised him - when Voldemort had killed him and he had seen his parents - that he would come back, miss him and try everything he could to come back. Harry had doubted. Who would not have done it? Sirius was dead, by Merlin! And they did not bring the dead back to life - and those who did it, the Necromancers, were socially execrated and generally became black wizards - as they often said: you had to leave the dead with the dead. It was hard. It was terrible. But it was like that.
Harry had a hard time getting used to it. In fact, he had not even done it completely. Losing a loved one was horrible and it hurt, too bad inside to accept it with a snap of a finger.
"Sirius," he moaned piteously.
It was either that, or shouting. The ball inside her belly wanted to come out and she would do it in any way. Fucking hormones. Or was it just normal to feel so much emotion when you found a loved one who had disappeared? Perhaps. Surely, even.
At the sound of his voice, Sirius raised his head painfully and his blue eyes lit up when he saw who had just called him. A tender smile came to eat half of his tired face. He did not expect to see his godson in the infirmary but he was happy to have found him. He hardly stopped Dumbledore who was holding him and turned to Harry who was still watching him from his bed.
The new Slytherin forced himself down quickly from the mattress and ran - as fast as his belly would allow it - to the animagus to throw himself into his arms. The older man greeted him with a thud, grimacing with pain in the shaggy hair of his beloved godson. He frowned when he noticed the prominence of his belly, but meeting the director's gaze, he resolved not to comment.
All against him, Harry started crying loudly. Sirius tried to reassure him, stroking his back up and down, in a steady, soothing motion. Burying his nose in the brown hair, he inhaled deeply the smell of Harry that looked so much like that of his late best friend.
"I promised you to come back, puppy," he whispered softly to the younger boy's ear.
"I missed you so much," cried Harry, a little more.
- I know, boy, I know. I saw you, you know? I saw everything you did, everything you did too. But we will discuss later, I too missed you, puppy.
- Do not you leave me anymore?
- Never.
Sirius kissed him on the top of the head, forcing him to close his eyes under the tenderness of the gesture. He could never show him how happy he was to see him here and how much he loved him. Harry hugged him harder. He was afraid he would fly away and leave him alone. And even if, unlike the last time, he would not find himself alone in this crazy world, he did not want to know again the pain of the loss of a loved one.
"Harry, my boy, I think Sirius needs some rest and you too," the director finally said, winking at the little brown man.
The above-named reluctantly detached himself from his godfather, his heart pounding at full speed. He still did not believe that all this was true. By Merlin, he had the impression of dreaming. It was too beautiful, too unrealistic. He quickly grabbed the cold hand of the black heir and shook it in his with all his might. So that he does not leave him. Again. To stay with him. Forever.
"Slowly, boy, I'm not going anywhere," Sirius laughed softly, squeezing his hand too.
Harry did not answer but led him to a bed close to his. He never left his eyes, hardly dared he blink. He vaguely heard Dumbledore tell them he was going to talk with Poppy. When Sirius lay on the mattress, he brought his own bed closer to his godfather. Now that he was back, he was going to enjoy his presence to the fullest. Like a drug addict who finds his cam. He was going to replenish Sirius's good humor, his reassuring presence and his gestures full of paternal love.
With precipitation, he settled near Sirius who did not leave his eyes rounded belly. Harry tensed at him. Would he accept his love for Severus and Draco? Would he accept the presence of their son? Or was he going to reject it as something less than nothing? Harry tried to reassure himself that Sirius could never do that to him, but that did not stop him breathing faster.
Sitting on his heels, he passed a trembling hand on his belly that fascinated his godfather. How was he to bring that to the carpet?
- I ... he started little on him.
He was trying, as best he could, to remember how he told Remus that when Padfoot's deep voice cut him off in his thoughts.
"I know," he sighed defeatist. I know everything, as I told you. And I do not blame you even if you have fallen in love with Servilus.
He looked a little desperate but he put a hesitant hand on his stomach that Harry accepted with pleasure. He even got closer, a story that Sirius did not have to stretch out his arm as much as possible. That did not stop him, however, from patting the Marauder's shoulder.
- Do not call him that Siri! It's my husband now. Like Draco.
"I know, I know, it's just that ... Harry," he said, frowning. You could not have chosen someone else? You could have who you wanted, why Servi-Severus and Malfoy son?
Injured, Harry pulled back almost hurriedly so that his belly was not in contact with his godfather. As if his words and touch could hurt the child inside his body. He did not want to choose between his godfather and his loves, but if he had to, then he would definitely choose the two Slytherins. Because, without them, he was nothing.
- No, I could not choose someone else. You know why Sirius? Because everyone had turned their backs on me. No one spoke to me, I had become an outcast. And you know who was there for me? To help me ? Draco and Severus. They were there, they helped me and they loved me like no one had ever loved me. And the only ones I wanted, which I still want and would like after, is them, Sirius.
The animagus lowered his head piteously. He should never have said that, he knew it, yet he could not help it, it had been stronger than him. He could not stand the fact that Servilus - the guy he hated the most after Voldemort and Vernon, that big pig - was the one who helped Harry and supported him. So that should have been him. It was him, the godfather! He should have been there, supporting Harry, helping him overcome all these hardships. He should have been there to stop him from going to his relatives, everything would have been easier.
- I'm sorry ... started Patmol before being cut by the door of the infirmary.
The wooden shutters opened violently, revealing Remus Lupine who wore a smile that ran three times around his face.
- They found who's the one who liked you ... Sirius?
The Lycan gradually lost his smile. He paused suddenly and had to cling to a bed close to him so as not to collapse. Harry wanted to get up to help him but Sirius held him tenderly on his forearm. Ignoring his own fatigue, the animagus got up to walk painfully to the DCFM teacher.
When he reached his height, he seemed to hesitate, then, after a sigh, he stepped forward even more, wrapped his arms around the chestnut's shoulders and buried his face in the hollow of his neck. Remus did not waste time hugging him, squeezing him to choke him.
"Hi, honey," whispered Sirius tenderly.
- How ... how? Remus sobbed, hiding a maximum against the body of the brunette.
- Believe me, Rem, you do not want to know.
From where he was, Harry saw Moony raise his head and move just enough from Sirius' body so that they were only inches away from the other's face. When Remus began wildly kissing Patmol, who let himself be pleased, as the groans that sounded in the infirmary showed, Harry turned away, his face red.
Then Remus's words came back to him.
The Aurors had found out who his attacker was.
An endless relief filled him completely as he dropped back against the pillows, a sigh of calm coming through the barrier of his lips.
.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
.
Arms crossed over his chest, Draco watched with piercing eyes the scene unfolding before him. A small, happy smile played on his lips, though he was tinged with bitterness. How had he done to be so blind? But as we said, we sometimes saw no further than the tip of his nose. Yet he had all the clues possible and unimaginable. So how did he not discover the identity of the aggressor earlier? Surely because he did not want to believe it. Not him. Not now.
- ... Well, make sure you decline your identity, Williamson growled as Hooks held a parchment and a pen in his hands, waiting for answers.
"Gregory Goyle, a Slytherin student," said the offender, looking down at the wave of Veritaserum.
"Date of birth," Hooks asked, noting quickly.
- January 3, 1980.
Williamson raised an eyebrow, his eyes narrowing a little more.
- Are you then of age?
- Yes.
Draco turned away for a moment from the office where his friend was being interrogated. Effectively. He had forgotten this detail. Goyle was of age, so if he was guilty, he would not get the minimum sentence but a much heavier sentence. He recovered, however, relatively quickly. He did not want to miss a moment of that moment. He needed to know if he was wrong, or Gregory's motives for attempting such a move.
"Let's get to the point," Williamson said with a funny grin on his lips.
This guy made him feel uncomfortable. He had an unpleasant way of looking at people and talking to them. Draco did not like him. Although he was doing a good job, he had a psychopathic side. A little side. But still. For the blonde it would not have surprised him to come from Slytherin.
- Did you assault Harry Potter?
Draco jumped imperceptibly. Okay. At least he had the merit of going straight to the point. But that changed all the other interrogations they had done. Usually, they asked questions after questions to see if the student in front of them could do anything. They never asked the question directly. Maybe Williamson was fed up with the preliminaries and wanted to go straight to the confession.
"Yes," Goyle answered simply to answer the question.
In his corner, Draco clenched his fists to force himself to shut his mouth. He should make no comment, it was the condition of the Aurors so he could witness Gregory's confession.
Opposite him, Williamson slapped his hands once, letting himself fall against the back of his seat. Her face reflected relief, and her posture shouted a big one: "Finally! ".
- So you admit to having cast a black magic spell on Harry Potter? continued Hooks, frowning, all good humor forgotten.
From the beginning of their investigation, Draco had never seen him so serious and focused. Forgetting the smiles and the constant good humor that hit the nerves.
- Yes.
Draco restrained himself from grumbling at the answers to the monosyllables. He knew that - even under the influence of Veritaserum - Gregory could have developed but he did not seem to want to facilitate their work. Williamson's jaded sigh made him smile discreetly. He was not the only one to notice the Slytherin's non-cooperation.
- What spell? Matthew growled.
- Aperturae Vulnerum.
The blond did not even know that such a spell existed. It was so vicious and unhealthy. Reopen old wounds and prevent them from being closed by magic. Who could have invented that? Who had it even the idea?
- Why ? he finally asked.
He could not continue to remain silent. He had to know what made Gregory, one of them, a friend, trying to kill Harry, his love, his life. Williamson instantly turned to him, his brown eyes flashing. A disgruntled facade as a face, he narrowed his eyes, threatening to continue. But Draco did not need to continue, he had asked his question and Goyle was going to give him his answer.
- Because he destroyed my life. My mother is dead, my father is locked up in Azkaban and should receive the Dementor's kiss in a few weeks. Vinc is also locked up and all because of whom? From Potter! It's his fault if Vincent is locked up, if my father has been caught, if the Dark Lord is not better! I had to take revenge and hurt you, Draco, you and Snape.
Draco frowned and, ignoring the Auror's gesture to stop him, walked over to the young man he thought he knew. Threatening.
- Severus and me? Why ?
- Because it's as much of your fault as Potter's! Vincent told me the mission he had received. Potter was not to escape unscathed, he was not to win against the Dark Lord. And everything worked perfectly, until you and Snape put your nose in this story. Dirty traitors! You were not supposed to help him! Neither love him! You should have done your part, hate him, drag him down to earth. You should have been the worthy son of your father and become a Death Eater kindly as you were expected of you. But you ruined everything and Vincent is in Azkaban now.
"And I'll make sure you get to him quickly, Mr. Goyle," said Andreas Hooks, finishing the statement.
Full of rage, Draco restrained himself with all his might not to hit the friend he no longer recognized. He was so eager to jump over the desk and beat him until the blood ran on his fists. His hatred may be appeased by the carmine liquid caressing his milky skin. He could not believe that such an animosity animated Goyle and that no one had ever seen anything. If he had not had angry rage this morning to Luna, Draco would never have thought of Greg.
"You pity me, Goyle," he spat venomously. Rotted well in Azkaban!
He turned on his heels without waiting, not being able to be in the same room as him without a massacre. Before closing the door, he heard Williamson say simply:
- You are under arrest.
Closing his eyes at the same time as the door, Draco allowed himself to breathe for a moment. What he had learned in this room had deeply shaken him. More than he let him see. Because he realized that even his friends could be a threat to Harry and their baby.
Giving himself a moment to recover, Draco thought that now he would have to warn others. And that was not won. How would they react? He was sure it would give morale to all Slytherins.
Draco sighed.
Braised life.
.
XOXOXOXOXOXOXO
.
The landscape behind the window scrolled so fast that we could not see where we were. It was no more than a succession of colors, often blurred, that resembled a watercolor painting where all the forms mingled happily.
A soft hand passed in the shaggy hair, drawing a sigh of well-being to the asleep. Draco, who was staring out the window for the moment, bowed his head and smiled as he saw Harry's relaxed face resting on his lap. He reached down on the temple of his love, touching the soft skin. Under the caress, Harry smiled and fluttered his eyes. As soon as her husband's emeralds were opened, the blonde smashed his mercury eyes at his people to try to make him feel all he felt at a glance.
He loved her so much. Just as he loved Severus and their future child.
Sometimes he wondered how they had lived - Severus and him - without the ex-Gryffindor at their side. Harry was a breath of fresh air, sparkling with his kindness and unfailing love. He sometimes played a small role of buffer, preventing memorable arguments between Sev and him engendered by their character typically Slytherin.
Draco felt like his life was perfect. Of course, there was always his father and aunt who had still not been caught or arrested. He knew perfectly well that those two would still be talking about them and that they were not safe until Lucius and Bellatrix rotted in Azkaban. Joining Gregory, and Vincent, and all the other Death Eaters who were languishing there.
Greg ... Draco looked up and let his eyes sweep the compartment they occupied in the Hogwarts Express. In front of them, Pansy was sleeping on Theo's shoulder reading a book while Luna, sitting on Blaise's knee - who was eating chocolate frogs - was staring at the ceiling with her dreamy expression on her face.
Everyone had a hard time accepting Gregory's involvement in the assassination attempt on Harry. Since then, nobody spoke of him, as no one ever mentioned Vincent. It was a taboo subject that everyone wanted to forget.
A hand rested on his cheek, pulling him out of his thoughts. Draco lowered his head again to look at his love. A whiff of tenderness filled him when he noticed the spark of worry in the green eyes of the other. He liked the way Harry cared for them all the time, how he liked to think of them rather than him. Even if, at times, Draco preferred to know it a bit selfish, to think of him before anything else - what Harry did not do enough to his liking.
Slowly, he stooped down and set his lips down on Brown's turned-up nose.
- What are you going to do during the holidays? he finally asked, straightening himself up.
Without really thinking about it, he began stroking his hair in battle in a slow and soothing gesture. He put his second hand on Harry's belly and smiled tenderly, feeling a kick against his palm.
"Pansy and I are going to the United States to join one of his aunts who lives there," said Theo.
- Why so far? Harry asked softly not to wake the girl.
- That's the only family he has left. Our parents were sent to Azkaban.
"Sorry," muttered the brunette, closing his eyes.
He could not help thinking that it was his fault that dozens of families were destroyed. He should have tried to help these people, talk to them so that they adhere to the ideas of the Order, so that they betray the Dark Lord. Pansy and Theo might still have their parents and would not be like him, an abandoned orphan in this vast world.
"It's all right," said Theo, casting a loving, sad glance at his dear and tender.
- And you Blaise? Draco asked to remove all traces of guilt on her husband's pale face.
- I'll be at the Manor, surely. My mother may want to go to Italy to see my cousin and my uncle, but I will not go. I do not want to leave England.
"It's mostly some people you do not want to leave," Theo said gently, glancing back at Luna, whom Blaise was holding close to his chest as if his life depended on it.
Blaise smiled, tightened his embrace and laid a soft kiss in his blond hair. He whispered a little "I love you" to Luna's ear who, in response, kissed him tenderly but chastely.
Draco flattened Harry's hair as he caught the tender look of his best friend on the young man. He shot him with his eyes.
- Look away Blaise, Harry is ours, he spat he could stop himself.
He had always been jealous. Much more than Severus who, however, was not left out. He could not stand to see Blaise's tender look at their husband. It was disturbing. As if the black wanted to pique their love and love it with all his heart.
Draco remembered well what he had felt when Blaise gave him his deadly words. But Harry needs to be loved, and I can offer him that. If you can not, I'll do it with pleasure. He's pretty handsome the Survivor and then he needs to be protected, to have a shoulder on which to cry and ...
The feeling of being betrayed and losing part of one's heart. That's what he felt. He had wanted to destroy Blaise as he felt shattered. The punch that followed had done him a lot. Seeing his best friend on the ground, his nose bleeding, had put the balm in his heart. And then it was a little thanks to him that they had finally dared to confess their feelings to the brown.
- I look at Harry as I want, first, laughs Blaise not paying attention to the blonde's furious look.
Draco restrained himself from grunting and reacting like a caveman, pulling Harry away from the other.
"I'm going to be jealous," Luna chanted, passing his thin arms around the black man's blow.
- You have no reason to be, love.
As if to reassure her, he put his hands on his cheeks, the tips of his fingers sinking into the golden locks and kissed him with all the love he felt. The kiss intensified under the gaze of the other inhabitants of the compartment.
"I do not know how to take it," Harry mumbled in an indignant voice.
A soft smile came over Draco's lips as he heard it. It was in such moments that he noticed the journey they had made together, all three. Before, Harry would never have tried to joke like that. He looked like a reed. Their little reed that resisted all storms without ever breaking. He bent himself, adapted to the winds that mistreated him, but he never broke. And in the end, he always returned to his original form and tried to keep his head up.
He is fantastic, thought the blonde, looking tenderly at her husband.
- Do not get angry, Ry. You know that my heart is irretrievably bewitched by this blonde beauty, "said Blaise, smiling terribly. But I love you anyway, "he said exaggeratedly, blowing softly.
Harry answered with a simple smile. He knew that Blaise loved him, just as he loved this big and muscular black asparagus. It was not the same love he felt for Severus and Draco, but he was also strong. He was now part of his life, for better and for worse.
With an increasingly sad smile, he wondered how he would have lived through those years of mistreatment in his relative's home if he had been to Slytherin and those people in that compartment had been his friends. Maybe Draco, Blaise and even Severus - who would have been his house manager - would have seen something wrong. That he was suffering both indoors and outdoors. That he was being abused by his uncle, that he was hitting him and that his smiles were fake and insignificant. Maybe we would have helped him. More than the Gryffindors had done.
Would his life have been different? Really different? Would Vernon have ... raped her? Or would we have tried to get him out of there knowing what he was living there? Would he have the strength to rebel against his "family" knowing that Blaise and Draco would have been behind him?
To say that Ron and Hermione had not been good friends would be lying. He had lived beautiful years by their side. He had finally discovered what the word friendship meant. But Harry had never found the strength to tell them the blows he received during the summer, or the hardships he had been subjected to.
The two members of the old gold trio just knew that his family did not like him very much. It was a euphemism, however, given the situation. His relatives hated him literally. But that was not a reason to shout it on the rooftops. Since he was a child, no one had listened to him, and he had been taught - by kicks - that he never had to complain or talk about what was happening at home.
And no one in his short life had noticed anything abnormal. Or everyone was dead. Harry leant for the second solution. He had seen suspicious and worried looks on him at school and on Privet Drive Street without anyone asking him how he was doing or doing anything for him. And why should they? At the time, Harry had come to the idea that he deserved this abuse. That he was just a little unimportant monster.
So why would he tell Ron, Hermione, Remus or Sirius? The only solution was to push him to say it by putting him at the foot of the wall. Like Severus did at the beginning of the year. But never had Ron or Hermione made any comment on the blues on his wrists or his lack of appetite when he came home from vacation. Harry was apologizing - I'm awkward, I fell down the stairs, I'm not very hungry, I'm tired, I'm going to go - and we were not looking any further.
Harry did not blame them. He was just wondering if the Slytherins would have seen his lies, if it would have changed his life to go to the greens and silver. Nobody could know it and the choice he had made years before - and he did not regret it - would torment him from time to time.
- Hey! Draco called gently, taking him out of his thoughts with a kiss on his forehead.
He tried to smile at him to reassure him, but Vernon's memories were still in his mind. This ordeal that had been his life was hard to remember as he had tried since the trial to forget this dark and long time. To see only the future, with Draco, Severus and their son.
But this trip by train usually announced the return to the Dursleys and everything that went with it. So be here today, but know that on arrival the Dursleys would not wait on the platform of the station, it disturbed him. It was like turning a page. A long and difficult page, but a page that could be forgotten over time. That would not stop him from living normally but that would be an important part of his story.
- Are you with us, my love?
- Yes, Dray.
Harry sat up painfully, massaging his sore back before curling up against the blonde's hot body. He buried his nose in the slender neck, inhaled his perfumed odor. He was happy. Even if a lead screed seemed to have taken up residence in his stomach. Maybe it was the baby leaning on it. He preferred that to be rather than imagining any connection to the thoughts he had had earlier about the Dursleys. He did not want to be dependent on them anymore, to be afraid at any moment. Had they not screwed up his life enough? He was tired of living with their ghost all the time, he was going to have to do something to turn the page on forever.
- And you, what are you going to do? Theo asked to relax the almost heavy atmosphere.
- We're going to Prince Manor and I think we're going to rest, the blond smiles in a totally perverse way.
Even Harry, who was not looking at him, could hear his smile and he knew what that meant. Would they spend their holidays sleeping, eating and making love? Not that he would complain but he would not have the strength to suffer their assaults for almost two months. Just thinking about it, a shiver ran through him. A thrill of desire and fear.
He tried to smile at him to reassure him, but Vernon's memories were still in his mind. This ordeal that had been his life was hard to remember as he had tried since the trial to forget this dark and long time. To see only the future, with Draco, Severus and their son.
But this trip by train usually announced the return to the Dursleys and everything that went with it. So be here today, but know that on arrival the Dursleys would not wait on the platform of the station, it disturbed him. It was like turning a page. A long and difficult page, but a page that could be forgotten over time. That would not stop him from living normally but that would be an important part of his story.
- Are you with us, my love?
- Yes, Dray.
Harry sat up painfully, massaging his sore back before curling up against the blonde's hot body. He buried his nose in the slender neck, inhaled his perfumed odor. He was happy. Even if a lead screed seemed to have taken up residence in his stomach. Maybe it was the baby leaning on it. He preferred that to be rather than imagining any connection to the thoughts he had had earlier about the Dursleys. He did not want to be dependent on them anymore, to be afraid at any moment. Had they not screwed up his life enough? He was tired of living with their ghost all the time, he was going to have to do something to turn the page on forever.
- And you, what are you going to do? Theo asked to relax the almost heavy atmosphere.
- We're going to Prince Manor and I think we're going to rest, the blond smiles in a totally perverse way.
Even Harry, who was not looking at him, could hear his smile and he knew what that meant. Would they spend their holidays sleeping, eating and making love? Not that he would complain but he would not have the strength to suffer their assaults for almost two months. Just thinking about it, a shiver ran through him. A thrill of desire and fear.
Indeed, Harry could feel the movement of the wagon getting slower. He wasted no time, got to his feet and grabbed Draco's hand to pull him out of the compartment.
- I wish you a good holiday everyone, he threw in the box.
Pansy, who had just woken up, looked at him blankly as he gave her a wave. But Harry did not pay attention. He wanted to join his second love. Now. He wanted it with all his might.
He had to wish it too strongly since he suddenly felt himself being carried away by a whirlwind.
He hastily let go of the blonde's hand, knowing full well what was happening but not knowing if Draco would survive. Then disappeared from the compartment.
He reappeared as he had guessed on the platform of the King's Cross station, a little out of the way of people clambering to see the red Hogwarts Express locomotive. In front of him, Severus waited patiently, arms folded on his chest, leaning against a wall. Without waiting, Harry threw himself against his body. Two arms wrapped around him reflexively and he sighed well, happy to be in the arms of the man in black.
- Harry? But how... ?
"Our son," Harry said in a whisper, eager for a quiet, tight moment as well. I wanted to see you, I missed you too much.
Both arms tightened at the same time as a stifled sigh came from the tight lips of the other brown.
- Where did you leave Draco? Severus murmured in his hair.
"On the train," he laughs softly as he imagines his panicked head.
- He's going to lecture you again.
- I know.
Severus looked up from his love to take a look around them. Some parents stared at them, either with astonishment or with disgust. He knew there was reluctance towards homosexuals, but he would not let them hurt the little brown in his arms. And even if it probably destroyed his image of a man without a heart, he tightened his embrace around his body against him while throwing his darkest and coldest gaze to make the curious flee. It seemed to work as they turned away from them, Severus not having the strength to push back Harry who seemed to need him.
He could not guess what had caused the brown to need his presence so much that their child had made the decision to Apparate him to him, but he was ready to give him what he was looking for, even if he hated demonstrations in public.
It was in each other's arms that Draco found them, slightly panicked, quickly followed by Blaise who helped him to look for him. At great pace he joined them. After kissing Severus briefly on the lips, he grabbed Harry by the shoulders and turned him over to put him in front of him. The little brown man pulled back until his back touched the potion teacher's developed chest, which passed one of his arms around his neck to press against him.
- What took you to disappear like this? almost spat the blond. You did not think about the consequences of your actions? You could have been kidnapped or worse!
"Draco ..." Severus tried to calm him down.
"Do not talk to me like that," Harry rebelled bravely. I am no longer a child, Draco! I am your husband so consider me as such!
The older two were forbidden in front of the vehemence of Harry's words. Never before had he raised his voice like that. Harry remained temperate, timid, introverted most of the time as if he was afraid of being noticed and then rejected, which must have happened in his previous life. So seeing him now raise his voice on a station platform - against them in addition - was amazing. And when the Savior got angry, it was imposing.
And it's fucking exciting too, Draco thought, feeling his excitement going up.
Severus and Draco exchanged a meaningful look. Something had disturbed the brown man so that he would lose his means. It remained to know, what? However, looking around them and noticing the faces turned freely toward them, they both told themselves that it was neither the time nor the place to have such a conversation.
- I needed to see Sev and the baby just led me to him, whispered the brown suddenly tired.
As if to prove it to him, he closed his eyes by leaning more openly against Severus. Now he only wanted to find a quiet place where they would be safe and sleep soundly.
- I am tired...
- We will go in this case. I'll make you apparate, Severus whispered in his ear.
Blaise, who until then had been silent while worrying about his friend, stepped forward, reminding his presence to others and smiled softly at the youngest.
- Bye Harry! Have a good holiday, I will surely see you during these two months.
Said Harry smiled too and with a nod he confirmed that he had heard what the black man had said.
"Blaise," he mumbled before he felt Severus apparate him and Draco.
He had the uncomfortable feeling that his body went through a cold pipe. His whole body froze. He closed his eyes, tried to forget this feeling by breathing deeply but it made him want to vomit.
And when at last - after what seemed like years - his feet touched the ground of their new home, he felt his strength abandon him. However, he did not struggle, accepting unconsciousness with joy, he who needed so much to stop thinking and sleeping. So he welcomed the darkness like an old friend, not paying attention to the panicked cries of her two lovers who saw her body collapse in the lobby of Snape Manor.