1  Betrayed

Words…strange comforting words. That's all I really have left. The dementors have taken everything else. It's all gone; been gone for awhile now and these words are all that I am left with.

Sometimes when I fall asleep I can still see their faces and remember what I used to call 'the good times'. The times before I was betrayed and sentenced here to die alone and abandoned by the world that once held me up on a pedestal. But mostly when they, my former friends, family and mentors, haunt my dreams their faces are anything but pleasant.

Even now when I close my eyes, I can see the exact moment when my life all started to fall apart. Most people who thought that they knew me would guess it was the moment that Voldemort stole my family from me, or even when Dumbledore stole my childhood by placing me in the care of my muggle relatives. But no, even despite all of that, I had somehow managed to maintain my innocence; still looked at the world through a pair of rose colored glasses, so to speak. No the event that I am referring to occurred much later, and had much more of a devastating and lasting affect on my life. It was when they stole my soul.

It was an unusually crisp and clear day in late April. Plans were underway for a Spring Ball that year, my seventh and final year at Hogwarts to be exact. I had left the company of my friends to take a walk out along the lake to try to clear my head. It had become something of a ritual of mine that I had started the summer before, when I had stayed at Hogwarts for some extra tutoring and defense training.

My thoughts that day had been focused not on the escalating war that raged outside these seemingly peaceful grounds, but on the internal emotional struggle that was taking place within me. I was never one to date much, and can't say that I had ever been involved in a relationship that lasted more than a couple of weeks. No one knew it, but for the last year or so I had been secretly attracted to a certain blonde. I was pretty sure that the feelings were mutual, but we had never mentioned it, and had certainly never acted upon it. In retrospect, I think that at least one or two other people may have suspected something, but now I will never know for sure.

The air had grown noticeably cooler as the sun had set and I finally realized how much time had passed while I was lost in my own little world. I hurried back into the Great Hall hoping to be able to catch the end of the evening meal, as I was quite hungry. I decided that if dinner was already over that I would simply sneak down to the kitchens for a bite, as I had gotten into the habit of doing lately. Being Head Boy did have some privileges, besides my private room and bath. Funny how now in retrospect I realize that I never did have to opportunity to eat another meal inside the only home I had known since I was eleven.

The moment I entered the Great Hall was the moment that it all came crashing down.

* * *

Harry gently pushed open the doors to the Great Hall hoping to slip in unnoticed. However as soon as he entered the room he could tell that something unusual was happening, something unusual and very wrong. Harry barely had time to take into account Ron and Hermione's tear stained faces before he was grabbed from behind, his arms twisted painfully behind him while someone searched him and confiscated his wand.

"Hey let me go…what are you doing?" Harry protested as he was roughly dragged forward over the hard stone floor to the Head table where a bunch of Aurors had gathered.

Harry was surprised when he looked over at the Gryffindor table and saw the hatred and accusations that resided there on the faces of his housemates. As Harry quickly scanned the hall, he saw not one friendly face. "What is going on? What has happened?"

Before Harry could assimilate all of the facts, he was sucker punched in the face by none other than his best friend, Ron Weasley. "I hate you Harry. How could you do that to me, to my family, after everything we've done for you? How could you do that?" Hermione was quickly at the red heads side trying to calm him down.

Harry tugged at his restraints but he couldn't defend himself, or even wipe the blood that had started to flow from his nose; but he tasted the coppery substance as it trickled into his mouth. Harry continued to watch his enraged friend with wary confusion.

"She loved you Harry, everyone knows that. What happened, you didn't want her but you didn't want Creevey to have her either? I never took you for the jealous type; you make me sick." Ron tore the Head Boy badge off of Harry's robes and threw it onto the floor.

Harry ignored Ron for the moment, knowing that when his hot headed friend was upset that he couldn't be reasoned with, and he was now more upset than he had ever seen him before in all the time that they had known each other. "Hermione, what's going on? Please tell me what I did."

Harry visibly flinched at the look of utter disgust that he saw on a face he knew almost as well as his own. Before Harry could utter another word, he was jerked around and made to face what appeared to be the lead Auror.

The short brown haired middle aged women eyed the tall handsome teen standing in front of her and shook her head in disbelief, how could something like this have happened? How could an entire community have been so wrong about someone as they were about this boy? Some hero he turned out to be. Taking a deep breath, the Auror in a clear voice stated "Harry James Gryffindor Potter, you are hereby charged with the malicious and premeditated murders of Virginia A. Weasley and Colin M. Creevey. You will be reprimanded into the custody of the Ministry of Magic until such time as a trial can be arranged."

Harry felt as though all the wind had been sucked out of his lungs; as his body sagged and was supported only by the Aurors that held him tightly on either side.

"I didn't do anything…I was just out for a walk." Harry muttered to anyone who was willing to hear him, still trying to process that fact that Ginny and Colin were dead. "I would never hurt Ginny or Colin. You've got to believe me." Harry raised pleading eyes to where the Headmaster sat, begging his mentor to believe him.

Harry's heart shattered at the look of disappointment and betrayal that was displayed in the normally twinkling blue eyes. The last thing that Harry remembered seeing as he heard the Auror's shout of "Stupify" was Draco Malfoy trying to make his way over to him and being forcibly restrained by a concerned looking Professor Snape.

* * *

Much of the time between his arrest and trial passed so slowly it was painful. Harry was being held in isolation at the Ministry of Magic and wasn't allowed any visitors. More than that, Harry had no way of knowing if there was anyone left that still believed in him. A wizard solicitor had spent some time with him the day before explaining what was going to happen at the trial. The solicitor was going to present a defense after the prosecution presented their case against Harry. Then the defendant would normally be asked to testify on his own behalf. Typically, defendants are given a truth potion, usually Vertiserum, but as Professor Dumbledore had already informed the Court, Harry was immune to Vertiserum, which was the strongest truth serum known. As a result, Harry was not going to be allowed to testify. The defense would only be permitted to refute the prosecutions evidence, and not present any of their own. Harry wasn't told what evidence the prosecution had, but from the look on his attorney's face, his chances of being found innocent were slim to none.

Having been kept in a potion induced slumber during much of the time awaiting his trial, Harry was largely disoriented when he was forced into the court room. The scared boy glanced about at the many people that had gathered at what would later be known as 'the trial of the boy who killed'. Most of the faces Harry was not able to recognized and correctly assumed that the large majority of them were from the media. The few faces that he did know could not be classified as friendly. Only Professor Snape and Draco Malfoy met his eyes.

Thinking back now Harry didn't remember much of the actual trial, his so called friends were called to testify against him. Supposedly, Hermione and Ron witnessed his attack and murder of Ginny, and Colin was found previously dead at the scene. It was assumed that Harry had come upon the young lovers and surprised them during a private moment, and in a jealous rage quickly murdered Colin and then turned against Ginny. Not only were there eyewitnesses to the murder of Ginny, but his personnel magical signature, which is as individual to a wizard as their fingerprint, was also found at the crime scene.

It was funny really. Now, when his life was about to be stripped from him for a crime that he did not commit, he would remember some ridiculous comment that Draco had made to him last summer when they had honed their fighting skills at Hogwarts. One evening after a late night swim in the lake Draco had put his arm across Harry's shoulders and said, "Love your enemies Harry, because your friends may turn out to be a bunch of assholes." That statement never seemed as true as it was at this exact moment.

Not many people realized it, but Harry and Draco had buried the hatchet sometime during their sixth year when they both realized that their petty bickering and squabbling took too much time and energy. Time and energy that neither boy had to waste. Both Harry and Draco had realized during their fifth year with Voldemort's resurrection that they could no longer afford to not pay attention in class. This that revelation both boys had became dedicated to learning. Not only their school work, but any extra defense skill, hex, spell or charm, anything that could potentially help them survive the trying times that were sure to come, was absorbed. Even then Ron hadn't understood; none of the other Gryffindors had really, now that Harry thought about. In retrospect he guessed that's when he started to drift away from his housemates.

With hard work and dedication, Harry found himself improving in all areas of study, even potions. Always considered to be a powerful wizard, his innate magical ability led him to top scores not only in defense against the dark arts, but also in charms and transfiguration. Harry still remembered the look of disbelief on Hermione's face when the O.W.L. scores were posted and Draco and Harry had tied with Hermione with a perfect score of 13.

Since the beginning of his sixth year, Harry had really started to distance himself from his peers. Granted Hermione was still book smart, but as their training progressed through the years the spells became more difficult to cast, and she often had difficulties as her innate magic was only average.

Having gone through wizard puberty two years earlier than normal, which per the Headmaster only happens in extremely powerful wizards, and summers spent with extra training both physical and magical with Severus, Remus and Sirius, turned Harry into a confident, resourceful and very powerful wizard.

Harry had learned a lot about himself during the times spent training, fighting and learning with Draco and in many cases Severus. Harry smirked when he remembered how his blonde friend had convinced Severus to teach them dark arts classes over the summer. Many evenings found the three of them sneaking down into the Chambers of Secrets for private lessons, the only place on Hogwarts grounds that was shielded enough so that no one was able to detect the practice of the dark arts.

Harry was shaken out of his private thoughts when the judge asked him to rise to hear the verdict. Harry tried not to let anyone know how badly he was shaking as he stood there alone and listed as the judge found him guilty of the murder of two people who had been his friends for more than five years. In his next breath, the judge then sentenced him to life in Azkaban, as wizard law did not permit anyone under the age of 18 to be sentenced to the Dementor's Kiss.

The cheers when the verdict was read, especially from a group of familiar red heads cut through his heart like a knife. Any hope that Harry had of having someone believe in him died then and there. Even Remus, who had been one of his parent's best friends and a friend and mentor to Harry himself, looked at Harry with extreme disappointment and disgust. It was the first time ever that Harry was thankful that his Godfather, Sirius Black, was still on the run himself from the Ministry, so that he would not have to look at the hatred that he was sure would be reflected there. The irony of having the only person that he still could consider family, his godfather, who had been convicted and sentenced to life in Azkaban for a crime he did not commit was not lost on the raven haired Gryffindor.

Harry tried not to flinch or react as two dementors came forward to escort him to prison. Keeping his head held high as he left the Court Room while listening to his mother scream as she was murdered by the Dark Lord was one of the hardest things he could ever remember doing.

* * *

Draco watched the trial proceedings sitting in the farthest darkest corner of the Court Room. He sat beside his Godfather and confidant, Severus Snape. Draco looked around him in disbelief. He had always thought that Harry had lead a perfect life, the rule breaker that never got caught, the Golden Boy, and had even resented him for it for the better part of five years. But this was unexpected, ridiculous even. Did people really think that their hero, their savior for Merlin sake, was capable of cold blooded murder? Had everyone just lost their minds? How could anyone who even remotely knew Harry think that he would have done the terrible things that he had been accused of?

Draco remembered when Harry was arrested in the Great Hall. No one could fake that kind of disbelief, that innocence that was the essence of Harry, yet Harry had vehemently denied being involved in such hideous crimes. Draco knew without the smallest doubt that Harry was innocent.

He had tried to get to Harry, to help him, protect him, but Severus had held him back. They had been keeping their friendship a secret and it would not have served Harry any good for a suspected Death Eater's son to be seen supporting him.

After Harry was taken away by the Ministry, Severus and Draco tried to find out what had truly happened, but so far had no such luck. Whoever had set Harry up had done a thorough job of it but Draco and Severus were determined to keep trying to prove that Harry had been framed. It seemed unusual that even Harry's Head of House, McGonagall, and the Headmaster, who had always been two of Harry's strongest supporters had apparently turned their backs on the teen.

Harry and he had grown quite close over the past two years. No one but the two of them actually knew how close they truly were and Draco had been confident that they would grow to become even closer given the right opportunities after they had graduated. Draco had come to admire Harry for who he was, not who everyone believed him to be. Draco had even acknowledged to himself last summer that he had come to love the dark haired Gryffindor. He knew that Harry was starting to feel something toward him as well, but knew that in matters of the heart, Harry was as pure of freshly fallen white snow and it would take some convincing on his part for Harry to consider pursuing a relationship with him. Draco elected that any such relationship would have to wait until after graduation, and then only if Draco wasn't going to be forced by his father to join the Dark Lord.

The Malfoy family has for a long time been supporters of the ideals of elitism. The concept that pure blooded family's were stronger and better then those that regularly mixed, or diluted their blood with muggles or muggle born witches and wizards was revered in the older wizarding families. And to a certain extent Draco continued to recognize the virtues of such a train of thought. Continuing to introduce the wizarding world to muggle born witches and wizards could eventually lead to exposure of magic to all muggles which would eventually bring forth the persecution and destruction of the way of life that had been in Draco's family for more centuries than anyone can remember. In Draco's mind educating muggle born witches and wizards wasn't worth the risk.

As such, Draco had been raised to accept the expectations that had been established for him long before he even understood what a muggle truly was. First and foremost he was expected to join Lord Voldemort as a loyal servant. His initiation had been scheduled over two years ago to take place on the night of the first full moon following his graduation. Draco felt fortunate that he was able to convince his father that it had been too risky for him to take the dark mark while still attending Hogwarts and as a result still under that muggle loving fool Dumbledore's nose.

Secondly, he was to hate Harry Potter.

Only Severus and Harry knew about his pending appointment with Voldemort, and the three of them had been working on a way for Draco to avoid having to swear an oath of allegiance to the monster that his Father and so many others followed. Now it looked like all their planning was for not, Draco knew deep down in his gut that Harry was about to be convicted of murder.

Even knowing that it was going to happen still didn't prepare the young blonde for hearing the sentence that would destroy not only Harry's life, but also his own. Draco looked on as the dementors came towards where Harry stood. Draco watched through tear filled eyes as Harry refused to be cowered by the creatures that affected the young man so severely.

As he left the court room Harry refused to look up and meet the gray eyes that were watching his every movement, knowing that he didn't want Draco to remember him this way, and Draco understood.

2 Attack on Azkaban

Everything was nearly ready. It had taken quite a lot of planning and persuading, but finally all of the pieces were in place. He wasn't a Slytherin and part of the Dark Lord's inner circle for nothing. A blonde man who had recently celebrated his twentieth birthday looked around him in anticipation.

Draco didn't even gasp as the mark on his left forearm began to burn fiercely. With a small sneer and a soft whisper he disapparated. The wind was the only thing around that heard his softly spoken words. "Soon, my love, soon you'll be free of that hell hole."

* * *

It had been at least eighteen months. Eighteen long, lonely and tortured months since everyone he had ever known turned their backs on him, and locked him away in the dankest pit on earth. Harry had taken to writing on the walls of his cell to help pass the time, anything to try to keep his sanity. After the problem of ink had been solved, many hours were spent drawing images that reminded him of happier times, and a calendar of sorts was one of his first pieces of art work. It was one way to remind him of the thoughts that the dementors constantly tore away.

Harry glanced wearily around his small dark cell, he was being held in the part of Azkaban where the highest security prisoners where kept. Two dementors were his almost constant companions; rarely did he get a break from them. Potter was almost always the favored meal of the day. Sometimes at night the creatures would move on to other prey, but then the nightmares would undoubtedly return, creating even more horror. Harry couldn't even remember a time when he had slept for more than a couple of hours in a row. It was amazing how you could do nothing all day, day after day, but remain continuously weak and exhausted.

He was thankful that at least he had a small cot, so he did not have to sleep on the cold and dirty stone floor, but they did not supply them with any sheets or blankets. Harry had long ago correctly assumed that the guards were afraid that if the inmates had coverings that they could figure some way to hang themselves. Not that anyone would mourn them, but the dementors didn't want to deprive themselves of their meal tickets.

Harry himself was painfully thin. Meals, which were irregular at best, were typically comprised of stale bread and some sort of gruel that while edible, tasted foul and always left one feeling hungry. The small amounts of stale water that routinely appeared in his cell with his food, was used only for drinking, as such Harry had not been able to bathe properly since his incarceration. The water and food simply appeared in his cell, while his other wastes simply disappeared. Harry had figured that these extra security measures were established after Sirius had escaped so that the cell doors would not have to be routinely opened. Harry couldn't recall a time since he had been thrown in here that he had ever seen his cell door opened.

He had seriously contemplated thoughts of escape during the first year of his detainment. However such thoughts had long since been driven away by the dementors, and he was left only with despair and a resolve to survive in this place as long as possible.

Harry, like Sirius before, being innocent had some thoughts that while not happy enough to feed the dementors were not so horrible that they drove him completely mad. Also, thanks to his Godfather, Harry was a trained animagus.

During the summer before his sixth year, Harry had spent most of the break with Remus and Sirius at Remus' cottage in the middle of no where. The Dursleys had long since thrown him out, not that Harry once regretted not going back to Privet Drive. During his stays with the werewolf and the ex-convict, Harry learned more about advanced DADA then ever before. The only other person that had taught him more was Severus, who started his private lessons during Harry's sixth year. Those lessons with Snape continued up until the time when Harry had been arrested.

Also since Sirius was an illegal animagus, he had helped train Harry to become one as well, knowing that it may one day be used as a way to hide or escape. At the time, Harry thought that he would only need to hide from Voldemort and his followers, never in his wildest dreams did he expect to be in the situation that he found himself in currently.

Fortunately for Harry, Sirius had insisted that Harry keep his animagus training and form a secret so that only Sirius, Remus and Dumbledore knew that Harry's form was a dog, a black and white border collie to be exact. Harry had eventually told Severus and Draco about his animagus training when they had suggested that type of training to him later on. Harry had been happy to learn that Draco and Severus were also unregistered animagus, Severus being a raven and Draco a dark gray wolf.

Harry had found out over time that the dementors didn't seem to affect him as much while he was in his animagus form as they did when he was human. He suspected that it was because animal emotions were more primitive and harder to read then human ones. When you think about it, what kind of happy thoughts do dogs have? As such, Harry had spent a large part of his time in prison as a canine.

The one thing that Harry had never told anyone, not even the old man that had been his mentor since first coming to Hogwarts was that Harry had more than one animagus form. According to McGonagall it was impossible for a wizard to have more than one form, but Harry had three. And that wasn't the only secret kept deep within the troubled mind of Harry Potter.

* * *

Draco apparated to the designated location and made his way over to his spot in the circle surrounding Lord Voldemort. The smell of salt in the night air was thick as the distant sound of waves crashing into rocks provided the background music for tonight's festivities.

As soon as the last remaining gaps were filled, the Dark Lord raised his head and looked over his gathered followers. Behind the inner circle there were at least a hundred more Death Eaters assembled. "My Favored Ones, welcome to a very special occasion. After many months of careful planning tonight we once more reclaim what is rightfully ours. Tonight, our remaining brothers and sisters will rejoin us and together with the support of our colleagues, the dementors, we will be invincible."

Draco caught Severus' eye and saw the slight inclination of his head. It appears that the Professor had been able to warn the Order of the Phoenix about this maneuver in time. The Order being involved would only lend credibility to Draco's own personal plans.

The Order of the Phoenix was a group of dedicated witches and wizards that joined together in dark times to fight against dark wizards such as Voldemort. Albus Dumbledore was currently the leader of the Order, or the Phoenix as he was referred to. Draco had been initiated along with Harry at the beginning of their seventh year. After Harry had been sent to Azkaban, Draco thought long and hard about leaving the Order; but his self-interests took over and he knew that if he did that there would be absolutely no way he would be able to survive this war.

Voldemort turned away from his followers and lifting a hand towards the sky commanded the darkness to provide them cover. It was eerie to watch the clouds respond to his command, but soon the light of the half moon was completed hidden behind a thick cloud covering.

Under the disguise of darkness, the Death Eaters made their way to waiting boats and started their trip out into the sea with a single fortress on a small stone island as their destination. As Draco rowed his boat, his own thoughts were not on either the plans just reviewed by his Master, or on the strategies being developed by the Phoenix. No his thoughts were completely occupied by one specific goal, a far more personal objective, one specific person. No matter what else happened tonight, Draco knew that with out fail he would see Harry free.

* * *

Harry rolled fitfully on his small cot trying to block the moans and sobs coming from the cells surrounding his. With a sigh he gave up and rolled onto his back. Something seemed off tonight; something was different. The two dementors that had taken up residence outside his door were gone, and while this in and of itself was not unusual enough to raise an alarm, the fact that they had been gone most of the evening, as well, was. Having the benefit of being dementor free for several straight hours allowed Harry the rare opportunity to attempt to focus his typically random thoughts.

Harry knew that the war was not progressing well for the Light wizards. He didn't know this from any direct source as he had never received a visitor, or letter or even a newspaper, for that matter. No, his information came from his continuing link with Voldemort. Harry had been hopeful that the wards surrounding the prison would shield him from his frequent visions, but unfortunately they did not.

His visions continued to increase in frequency and the deeds he witnessed horrified him. Harry tried to remember that the people being murdered and tortured were the same ones that had betrayed him and sent him to hell, but as the screams rose those thoughts quickly faded. Based on his last few visions, he knew that the Dark Lord was planning something big. It was too bad the one of the biggest advantages that the Light wizards had was rotting away in a cell, most times not even able to recognize the meaning of the terrible images that routinely plagued him.

Shouts soon filled the silence, curious but reluctant to move, Harry remained lying where he was his gaze fixated on the barren ceiling. The loud sounds eventually formed words, "Is there anyone still sane in here?"

The shouts became intermingled with the sounds of doors being thrown open and footsteps, some that seemed to be moving away from where Harry was currently residing. A loud bang brought Harry's attention to where his own door, the one that had stood between him and the world for so very long, was now being opened.

* * *

Draco was starting to get desperate. He knew that his time was running out, yet he hadn't been able locate where the Ministry had been holding Potter. It had been easy to convince the Dark Lord to allow him and a few others to be part of the search party that went to gather their known supporters and any other relatively sane individual who was willing to serve Lord Voldemort. The blonde man was amazed at how once Voldemort had succeeded in framing Potter and having him safely tucked away out of sight, he just seemed to dismiss him completely. Not once in all the planning for the retaking of Azkaban was Harry Potter's name mentioned. It was like he had ceased to exist.

Finally, Draco had come to what was thought of as the top level of security, where the foulest of criminals were kept. Surely, even the incompetent Ministry wouldn't put the Boy Who Lived here.

Disgust at the condition of the prisoners he had seen so far kept him pressing forward, knowing that he couldn't leave without fulfilling his personal agenda. Opening doors and peering in the cells Draco tried to keep up a good pace and quickly left the other Death Eaters behind.

Finally, he came to a quiet cell on the end of the row. Draco saw a small figure that wasn't moving lying on a cot. Draco was about to turn around and leave when the prisoner rolled over and Draco found himself staring into a pair of familiar green eyes.

"Harry, is that you?…please Merlin let it be you."

Harry heard someone enter his cell. Not comfortable with keeping his back to some unknown threat, Harry summoned what little energy he had and turned to face whatever or whomever had breached his sanctuary.

The man standing in front of him looked familiar, but with Harry's muddled thoughts, he couldn't place him. However, the sound of his name being spoken in a voice that he only on rare occasions could still recall, as it was associated with some of his happier memories, jerked him from his stupor. "Dray?"

"Oh Merlin Harry, what have they done to you?" Draco looked in shock at the skeletal frame and the hollow haunted eyes that shone with a tint of madness from underneath a mess of long, black, greasy, matted hair. Composing himself almost immediately, the blonde rushed forward, and knelt beside Harry's bed.

"Look Harry, I need you to listen carefully to me. We do not have a lot of time if you want to get out of here alive. In less than a minute I am going to activate a portkey that will take you to a safe place that I set up for you. I need you to stay there. I have provided you with food, water and clean clothing. I need to take care of a few things here and then I will join you." Draco looked into the cloudy eyes silently praying that Harry was comprehending at least some of what was happening.

"Harry, do you understand? I need you to stay there and wait for me. Please don't leave the safe house until I come for you, okay?"

Harry tried to follow the instructions that Draco was giving him. But all that he really got from the words was that Draco was going to take him away from here, and to be anywhere but here was a good thing. Draco was looking at him strangely and asking him something else. Harry wasn't sure what Draco had just said and didn't trust himself to respond, as he hadn't spoken a conscious word himself in a year and a half. However Harry knew that some sort of response was expected, so he forced himself to nod.

The quick smile on Draco's face reassured Harry that he had answered Draco's inquiry correctly. Soon a small flat stone was forced into his hand and Draco backed away giving Harry one last look before shouting "Justice".

The uncomfortable feeling of being pulled by a hook around his middle soon overwhelmed the dark haired young man, and with a swirl, the Prison of Azkaban disappeared.

Draco let out the breath he had been holding as he watched the portkey activate. Knowing that it was time to put into action the next phase of his plan, Draco took from his pocket a small white mouse. Sitting the mouse on the cot that was still warm from where Harry had lain, Draco stepped back and raising his wand transfigured the mouse into a beautiful green eyed, black and white sheep dog. Placing the dog under the Imperious Curse, Draco commanded the animal to run for the nearest exit by avoiding all spells that the humans were going to try to place on it. Once outside the fortress, the dog was to jump into the ocean and to swim for the shore.

Taking a deep breath, Draco dropped his wand on the ground at his feet and then closed his eyes and with a strong sense of will, threw his own head back forcefully into the stone wall. Draco didn't have any time for a last thought as the darkness welcomed him.

3 The Interrogation

Hands on his shoulders, roughly shaking him back to consciousness was the first thing that he became aware of. The second was that his head hurt him, tremendously, and that he was lying on a hard stone surface. Draco moaned softly as pain shot though his head when he tried to move.

"Come on, Malfoy, what the hell happened? The Master is not going to be pleased."

It was McNair; Draco recognized the other Death Eater's voice as the cobwebs inside his head started to clear. "Just give me a minute, McNair."

"Well a minute is all your gonna get. Word is that Dumbledore's Order has shown up and they're trying to take out as many of us and the dementors as they can." With that warning, McNair hurried away out of the cell block.

With a scowl Draco rose, picked up his wand and brushed off his robes. Casting one last look into the empty cell, the blonde allowed himself one small smile before putting on his game face and striding off to join in the fray.

The next evening, after Draco had survived a grueling interrogation with Voldemort himself, he had barely enough time for a quick shower and a bite to eat before Dumbledore summoned him to an Order meeting.

Usually, Draco hated Order meetings, however tonight he was actually looking forward to this one. Carefully making sure that none of the inhabitants of Hogwarts saw him, Draco made his way over the empty school grounds and into the dungeons. Of all the places in the great castle, Draco only ever really felt at home in the dungeons. The stupid Hufflepuffs, blind Ravenclaws and foolish Gryffindors could keep their towers, there was no place that offered the privacy and closeness as the Slytherin dungeons. Meeting up with his former Head of House, the two Death Eater spies silently proceeded along to the Order Meeting Room.

Throwing open the tall heavy double doors that guarded the entrance to the Phoenix Chamber, the two men made their way inside. Not even glancing at the gathered faces, Draco and Severus strode over to their open chairs, their robes billowing out behind them, and proceeded to sit down. Draco already knew who would be there, who the foolish old man would call on for support in a time such as this. The Weasleys were there in force, along with Remus and Sirius, Hermione Granger – soon to be yet another Weasley, Tonks, Longbottom, who even now Draco questioned the old man's reasoning for allowing him to join the inner circle, Moody, Fletcher, Sprout, McGonagall, Flitwick, Vector and a few others that Draco could not remember their names at the moment were all seated around the large table.

As soon as they were seated, Dumbledore rose and brought the meeting to order. "Thank you my friends for joining me tonight, as you know we have much to discuss. Thanks to Severus' warning we were able to disrupt Lord Voldemort's attempted take over of Azkaban but I am afraid that all of the news is not good. The Dark Lord was able to convince the dementor guards to join with him, while this had taken him longer to do than we had expected, it is still a significant blow to our cause."

Some low mutterings started to break out as people turned to their neighbor to discuss this latest development. However everyone's attention returned once more to the Phoenix as he rose and raised his hand. "Please, I must ask you all for your continued silence, as I am afraid there is more that needs to be told. As you are all aware, one of Voldemort's goals last night was to free his long time supporters and to gather any additional criminals that had a wish to join with him. Of this, I am sad to say that he was successful. Many of his followers that had been incarcerated there have been returned to Voldemort, including the Lestranges, Victor Knutt, Dan Millett, and David Lewis." The Head of the Order paused as he looked at all the worried faces around him. "But I am afraid that this last bit of information is the worst of the lot. I have just recently received confirmation that during last night's activities Harry Potter also escaped."

Draco was grateful for his many years of learning how to control his emotions; he was able to maintain his poker face while inside he was laughing at the expressions on his colleagues' faces. It was quite comical. Even so, it was hard not to sneer when the Weasel finally regained part of his composure, at least enough to shout out, "What do you mean that bastard escaped?"

That one outburst seemed to have shattered whatever shell had been formed over the group after the bombshell had been dropped. Now the whole Order Chamber seemed to erupt into chaos. People where shouting, and demanding to know what was going on. Remus appeared to be trying to physically restrain Sirius. Draco even thought he saw tears in the eyes of Hermione, Mrs. Weasley and old Professor McGonagall.

Dumbledore let the madness continue for a little while, however, when it became apparent that the adults were not going to settle themselves down, he once more rose from his chair and yelled "Silence!"

Once everyone seemed to have calmed somewhat, Dumbledore continued. "I know that this is a very trying situation, as we are all personally involved, alas, I must ask you to please try to remain calm and I will share with you everything that we do know. Now, if you would please Draco, explain from your perspective what exactly happened last night."

Draco nodded as he let his cool gray gaze sweep over the room's occupants for the first time that night. "As most of you already know, Voldemort summoned Severus and myself, along with the rest of his inner circle, and about a hundred other Death Eaters to his side last night. There he explained that he was ready to put into action his plan to retake Azkaban, and claim anyone who would be willing to serve him. My specific instructions were to lead one of the task forces that was to penetrate the prison and free anyone willing to join." Draco took a deep breath; he didn't want to rush the next part. Oh how he enjoyed seeing the final pieces of his plan come together.

"We made our way into the prison without much resistance. The Dementors had been given a previous warning about what was going to happen and had already decided to lend their support to Voldemort. I made my way through the fortress opening cell doors trying to determine if there were any sane inmates left. The condition of the prisoners was horrible, and the deeper that I got into the prison the worse their condition became." Draco watched as Sirius shuttered, obviously remembering some of the treatment that he had received when he had been there.

I finally came to the innermost cell block. Here was where they were keeping some of Voldemort's strongest supporters including the Lestranges. I was able to locate their cells, and once opened sent two of the death eaters with me back out of the prison with the Lestranges, as they couldn't even walk. After I freed them, I opened the other cells, the other prisoners were in much the same condition as the Lestranges, weak and broken. Finally, I came to the last cell in that row. When I opened the door and looked inside the room appeared to be empty; however, I was mistaken. As I turned to leave, someone grabbed me from behind, I remember dropping my wand and my head hitting something hard. The next thing I remember was NcNair waking me up. I didn't even realize that it had been Potter's cell until later when Voldemort was punishing us for what went wrong, someone mentioned that his cell had been found empty."

Draco looked back to his former Headmaster indicating that he was finished with his version of the events. "Thank you Draco, yes I do know that the Ministry was keeping the location of Mister Potter's cell a guarded secret, even I did not know where it was." Dumbledore nodded. "Now, before anyone asks how we know that Harry Potter actually was able to escape, I want to add that his animagus form was seen fleeing from the fortress. Actually, more than one Order member distinctively remembered seeing the green eyed sheep dog jump into the sea and start to swim for shore. Unfortunately after the dog entered the sea, we were not able to track him."

That was the final thing that Draco had been waiting for. After Harry had been convicted, Dumbledore had informed the Order members and the Ministry of Magic that Harry was an illegal animagus so that the proper precautions could be taken. Little did the old fool know that he had just unwittingly played into Draco's hands.

Besides comforting her distraught fiancé, Hermione had been watching Draco the entire time trying to determine if he was telling the truth. She never was able to completely trust the Slytherin, especially after he had so vehemently defended Harry the way he did back in seventh year. His story seemed to make sense but something just didn't quite feel right about this whole thing. Harry's betrayal had affected everyone who knew him, but for Hermione it had hurt her deep to the core. She had trusted Harry, without question, possibly more so than anyone else she had ever met. She had bought into that whole 'Boy Who Lived' thing and believed like everyone else that Harry would save them all. When he turned on them, murdering two of their closest friends, she was left disillusioned and lost. Hermione promised herself then and there never to trust so completely again.

Draco smirked in satisfaction, now if only this meeting would just end. He really needed some sleep and then he wanted to take his own portkey to the safe house where hopefully Harry was starting to recuperate. Draco was worried about leaving Harry alone for so long in the state that he had been in, but there hadn't been another alternative. As long as Harry stayed in the apartment and didn't try to leave, he would be fine until Draco had a chance to tidy up things here and join him. A quick glance at Dumbledore's face however led him indicated that they were all in for a long night.

The meeting was interrupted as Dumbledore's phoenix flew into the Phoenix Chamber carrying a package. Draco had to smile at the sight of Fawkes, it had been so long since he had seen him and seeing him again brought back many happy memories. Fawkes had sort of adopted him and Harry during the summer that they had spent here and followed the pair continuously. The bird had gone wild when the Aurors had taken Harry away. If anyone had cared to look for proof of the boy's innocence, all they would have had to do was look to the Phoenix who clearly loved and missed the boy. However, phoenix's can not testify.

It was amusing to see the change in the relationship between Dumbledore and the bird since that time. Most people thought that Fawkes was Dumbledore's pet. That is a common misconception for people who do not understand phoenixes. Phoenixes are loyal companions when they choose to be, but they are the ones that determine who is worthy of their companionship, not the other way around. And lately it was only on rare occasions that Fawkes was ever seen in the Headmaster's presence. Fawkes still listened to the old man, as he was the Phoenix and Fawkes still had responsibilities as far as the Order was concerned. But Draco thought that maybe the old bird blamed him for not defending Harry, and rightly so. Draco often wondered what the bird would have to say if he could talk.

Once the package had been removed from the phoenix's leg, Fawkes flew over and rested on Draco's shoulder. The Order watched as the Dumbledore reviewed the contents of his correspondence. The Headmaster raised his troubled eyes and said, "it appears that some friends at the Ministry have sent us some additional information that has been gathered on Mister Potter." With that the old wizard removed a small brass ball and set it in the center of the table. With a whispered incantation, the lights in the Chamber dimmed and an image from the ball was projected up onto the ceiling.

Draco was absorbed in the various drawing and writings that appeared. One picture appeared to be a calendar of sorts. Draco was fascinated at what he suspected were things that Harry had done while in Azkaban. His private musings were interrupted when Dumbledore confirmed that what they were currently viewing had been found on the walls inside Mister Potter's cell.

One thing in particular seemed to catch Draco's eye. "Sir, is there anyway that you can enlarge that piece of the image over there beside the cot." Dumbledore nodded and enlarged the requested frame so that all present could see what looked to be a letter or poem written on the wall.

One of the wizards that Draco couldn't remember their name suddenly called out, "Can anyone read his writing." Draco didn't answer, having already read the message left by Harry, but Hermione decided to take it upon herself to read the chilling words to the rest of the Order.

The words were dark. It spoke of being used and discarded. The passage practically screamed with the feelings of betrayal and hopelessness that the author must have felt. But words at the end were the ones that chilled him to the bone. Had he really thought about ending it all and not being worthy of anything but death?

Even as the years later passed, Draco can recall that single moment in time, listening to Hermione's trembling voice as she read those haunting words out loud. Draco felt sick to his stomach at the thought of the despair that had lead Harry to write something so utterly depressing. How far the laughing, proud, brave Gryffindor had fallen. Draco prayed that he hadn't been too late in his rescue and that he would be able to one day see the light come back into the eyes that had looked upon entirely too much darkness.

"Where did Potter get the ink to draw all that stuff? I thought prisoners weren't allowed any ink or any other personal items. Must be nice, even in prison the rules don't seem to apply to the Golden Boy," Ron spat in disgust.

Hermione glanced away from the troubling images to give her fiancé a hard stare, "that's not ink Ron."

"Well then Hermione, since you have all the answers as usual, what is it then?"

Draco glared at the short tempered, mean spirited man. "If you ever used your brain Weasley we'd all die of shock." Ignoring the glare directed his way, he continued, "It's blood."

The mood was sober as the group tried to decipher Harry's ramblings as they were deemed, and his drawings to see if they could gather a clue as what his frame of mind had been while he had been imprisoned there. Draco wasn't actively participating in any of these conversations; instead he had taken to watching Sirius Black.

Sirius Black was a hard man for Draco to figure out. Draco's own Godfather, Snape, didn't like the man much due to some happenings when they had attended school here themselves. However, since Voldemort's resurrection they had started to work together and even on a rare occasion been seen exchanging a civil word.

The man was still on the run from the Ministry of Magic himself for a crime he did not commit. That was probably the reason why he had assumed the Sirius would support and defend Harry. Since the trial, Draco had decided that as Sirius had been betrayed himself by the wizarding world, he didn't trust people very easily and when it appeared that his Godson, who he had only really known for a short time, had killed two people, Sirius once more felt betrayed. Although Sirius never defended Harry, he never spoke out against him either. The man was truly a puzzle.

Draco tried to listen as Dumbledore explained that as they had no idea what Harry was going to try to do now that he was free and that they had to all be prepared for the worst. If possible, Dumbledore lowered himself further in Draco's eyes as he warned the Order members that Harry may try to come after them personally. This discussion and speculation continued for over an hour before Dumbledore drew the meeting to a close.

It had been decided to send out various teams comprised of three Order members each to start searching for Harry. Most people felt that Harry's hatred for his muggle relatives would discourage him from trying to reenter the muggle world and as Dumbledore had the keys to his various Gringott vaults he had no way of accessing his substantial wizarding funds. On a final note, Dumbledore tried to reassure everyone that given time, Harry would be recaptured as he had no money and no support either in the wizard world or the muggle one. Slightly satisfied the Order Members left feeling more disheartened then ever before, all except for one.

As Draco made his way slowly back to the dungeons he was grabbed from behind. A low voice whispered, "we need to talk," into his ear and he was guided into his Godfather's personal chambers.

Draco settled himself into an overstuffed chair in front of the fireplace in Severus' sitting room. Whenever Draco was in these rooms he had to chuckle. Most people believed that Severus' personal space would be cold, barren and decorated in green and silver. 'How his students would be surprised if they could see this' Draco often thought. The rooms were warm and tastefully decorated, while not with bright colors with at least warm earth tones. Of course the Slytherin Head of House had stayed away from anything that looked remotely scarlet and gold, but anyone with taste would when decorating a set of rooms.

Not wanting to appear rude, Draco accepted a crystal goblet of what appeared to be brandy from Severus' hand and slowly raised the glass to his lips before taking a small sip. Draco, knowing that he desperately needed some sleep and that any amount of alcohol tonight would not be in his best interest, sat the glass down on the coffee table and waited for Severus to begin.

The tall dark haired man watched his cool and perfectly composed Godson before him. Anyone else would never see it, but knowing this boy since he had been in diapers lent him a superior knowledge of the workings of his mind. Running a hand through his long, only a little bit greasy hair the Potion Master sighed. "Look Draco, I know that there is more to what happened last night then you are telling."

Severus raised his hand as Draco started to protest. "I don't want to know, alright. It's better for everyone if you don't tell me anything, I just wanted you to know that if you need help, if either of you need help, you can count on me, understood."

Draco should have known that he wouldn't be able to get one past Severus. Nodding his gratitude the blonde man stood and gave his Godfather a rare hug. "I'm going to be unreachable for a few weeks while I have to take care of some business, in the event that anyone asks" Draco added in a cautious tone before turning and walking out of the Professor's chambers.

Utterly drained, Draco fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. "Tomorrow, tomorrow I will go see Harry, then it'll be over…."

4 Loyalty

Feeling almost fully recovered from the events of the past two days and anxious to get the day started, Draco was up at the crack of dawn. After showering and dressing carefully in a pair of black jeans and a slate gray cashmere sweater, he grabbed two bags that he had previously packed and holding a small smooth stone in his hand said "Loyalty". Within seconds all that remained of the young blonde man was a slight whiff of his expensive cologne.

* * *

Arriving at the small studio apartment he had rented in advance, Draco took a moment to look around. The apartment was actually only one large room that served as a bedroom, living area and small kitchen. There was a door in the wall beside where the bed was located that Draco assumed lead to the bathroom. Investigating further he discovered that the kitchen appeared to be fully stocked, as had been previously arranged. Overall the accommodations were not much, but would serve their purpose nicely.

Scanning over the room, the blonde's attention became focused solely on the figure that was sleeping on the double bed. Relief that Harry was actually here with him, safe from who knows what horrors he faced, flooded through him. Striding over to the bedroom section, Draco carefully took in the Harry's haggard appearance. 'Well, at least he was able to take a shower and wash his hair,' Draco thought at the sight of Harry's long and messy but clean hair. Knowing that Harry needed his rest and not wanting to disturb him, Draco quietly made his way over to the kitchen, where he put on some water for tea.

As soon as the tea was ready, Draco poured himself a cup and sat down at the small dinning area. As he did, Draco looked out the large picture window and he remembered why it was this particular apartment that he had rented. The view from the window was incredible. The apartment was located in a tall high-rise in Manhattan, as in New York City, and the picture window faced the Hudson River. The urban view was simply breath taking. Lost in his own thoughts, Draco didn't even notice when a pair of emerald eyes slowly opened and came to rest on him.

"Dray, is that you?" a soft voice rusty from disuse came from across the small apartment.

Startled Draco jumped slightly before remembering exactly where he was and why he was there. Slate gray eyes met and held the green questioning ones. Seeing the look of confusion and wariness Draco rose from the table and crossed the room. Kneeling beside the bed, Draco reached out and tentatively touched Harry's face. "Yes Harry, it's me. It's Dray."

Harry shuddered at the feeling of being touched by someone, no one had touched him in such a long time. "Are you sure you're really here, and that this is not just some dream?"

"No Harry, you're not dreaming, I'm really here and so are you." Draco tried to keep his tone light as he reassured the dark haired man but deep down he was worried about how strong a grasp on reality Harry actually had. Draco prayed that Harry had not suffered any permanent damage.

Leaning into Draco's touch, Harry gave one last shuddering gasp and then did something that he couldn't remember doing since the summer after the disastrous third task of the Triwizard Tournament, he cried. Great wailing cries were released from somewhere deep within him and Draco just held the slender man close to his chest as he purged his soul.

Draco was a little surprised when Harry started to cry and then quickly became concerned as the crying turned into full body sobs. Not knowing what else to do, he just held onto the raven-haired man, slowly stoking his back and whispering encouragement in his ear in an attempt to calm him.

Eventually, when Harry exhausted himself, the sobs stopped. Realizing that Harry had fallen asleep on him, Draco simply picked Harry up and carefully laid him back down on the bed. Even asleep, Harry protested when Draco tried to let go, so with nothing else to do, Draco laid down on the bed beside the dark haired man. Pulling Harry back into his arms, Draco settled down for a late morning nap.

* * *

The sun was shining. This was the first thought that crossed Harry's mind when he woke up. Merlin, how he had missed the sun. He never wanted to be somewhere where he couldn't see the sun again. Harry reasoned that it's true that you never really know what you have until its gone, and vowed never to take the simple pleasures in life for granted ever again. Harry blushed softly as he became aware of the strong arms wrapped tightly around him and the warm, hard body that was pressed up against his.

Turning slightly he saw that Draco was still asleep, for which Harry was grateful. It gave him an opportunity to collect his thoughts. The dementor free days had done wonders, but he still had trouble piecing his thoughts together at times. Harry knew somehow that Draco was responsible for his escape from prison; but, he wasn't sure how or why Draco had helped him. He had thought that Draco, like all the others, believed him guilty of the murders. Those questions would be asked and hopefully answered when the blonde man woke up.

Harry wasn't even sure what day it was today, or how long he had been in the apartment. His memories of the last couple of days were foggy at best. He knew that he had taken a portkey and had landed in the middle of this apartment where he had promptly passed out. Sometime later when he regained consciousness, he was able to look around a bit, and discovered both the kitchen and bathroom. Opening the refrigerator, Harry grabbed the first thing that he could find, some cold roast chicken and a hunk of cheese. Both of these were quickly consumed along with some milk directly from the container as he didn't want to take the time to find a glass. Living in prison makes one less picky about what and how they eat.

Once that immediate need was satisfied, Harry decided on a shower. He desperately needed a good scrubbing. The bathroom had a full-length mirror mounted on the inside of the bathroom door and Harry was able to get a look at himself for the first time in a year and a half. He was disgusted. His hair was long, greasy, and matted, his face and body were covered in dirt, blood and bruises, he had a dirty shaggy beard, he was also so thin that every rib was hideously displayed. But the worst part was his face, in particular his eyes. They were lost and scared and at that moment in time, Harry actually hated himself and hated everyone he knew for letting this happen to him.

By the time he was done with the shower, he was wrinkled from having stayed in the hot water so long, but at least now, for the first time in a long time, he felt partly human again. However, the shower had completely exhausted him. Slowly making his way back into the bedroom area, Harry noticed a dresser and a closet. Opening the dresser, Harry was pleased to see pairs of boxer shorts, undershirts and pajamas. Quickly putting on a pair of silk boxers and an undershirt, Harry climbed back into bed and immediately fell asleep.

The next time he had woken up he had felt a presence in the room. Worried that he wasn't alone any longer, without moving, Harry looked around the room for the source of his discomfort. Harry had to blink to make sure he was awake and not dreaming when he noticed the blonde in the kitchen. How he had missed Draco. Out of all of his former friends and family he had missed the blonde the most. Sometimes in prison thoughts of what might have been had things been different would drive Harry mad, to the point where he just wanted to slam his head into a wall.

Taking a deep breath, Harry allowed his gaze to wander over the man who had haunted his dreams and waking thoughts for such a long time. The last eighteen months had been good to him, Harry decided. Draco's face had matured a little and his hair was longer and not slicked back anymore, but the look looked good on him. From his position, Harry couldn't see the rest of Draco's body, but the feel of it was certainly nice. Harry found himself blushing.

Harry shifted trying to get comfortable and he felt Draco's arms tighten in response. Harry needed to get up and use the bathroom, so once more he tried to remove himself from Draco's embrace without waking him. Finally free Harry opened the closet and saw that it too had been stocked with a full muggle wardrobe, grabbing a pair of gray sweatpants and a dark blue sweatshirt he went to take a shower.

Draco woke up when he heard the shower start. Looking at his watch he saw that it was almost dinner time. He hadn't meant to sleep so long, but he guessed that he had needed it. Getting up from the bed, Draco walked over to the kitchen to check out what there was to make for dinner. Deciding that he didn't really want or know how to cook, he decided to just order out. Laughing to himself at what his former friends would say if they saw how easily he adapted to a muggle lifestyle, he picked up the phone and using an ad from the phone book called a local Chinese place that delivered to this address. After placing an order that would feed at least four adults Draco sat down on the sofa to wait for Harry.

The sound of the bathroom door opening and then shutting, followed by soft footsteps warned Draco of Harry's approach. Still nothing prepared the young Slytherin for the sight of a clean, freshly shaved and refreshed Harry Potter. Sure he was still entirely way to thin, dangerously so, but that could be fixed with proper nourishment; he needed to do something about his bruises, but Draco could take care of those with a few healing charms later; his hair needed cut but they could see to that sometime later this week; however, in spite of all that, there was no denying that this was his Harry. And the feelings that he had started to feel so long ago now, threatened to overwhelm him.

Smiling at the dark haired boy, Draco moved over and made room on the sofa and motioned for Harry to sit beside him. Tentatively, Harry sat down, keeping as much distance between them as possible, all the while carefully watching the other man's every move.

"I know that you probably have a lot of questions for me, but I just ordered some food for dinner so why don't we eat first and then we can discuss whatever it is that you want to know."

Harry nodded, not knowing what to say and settled back to wait for the arrival of their meal.

The silence was starting to become staggering, 'where is that delivery boy' Draco thought as he started to feel uncomfortable. Needing to do something to break the awkwardness Draco decided to start a conversation with hopefully a painless topic. "So Harry, I see that you've started to make yourself at home here. What do you think about the place?"

"It's a palace compared to the last place that I stayed," came the humorless reply.

'Well then again, maybe until they get some things out into the open, no conversation is better' Draco thought.

"Honestly, I only briefly saw the kitchen, and bathroom, I've either been asleep or unconscious pretty much since I got here."

'Now that's more like it.' "I know that's it's not much, but I didn't want to draw any attention to us." Draco explained.

"No Draco, this is more than I ever allowed myself to dreamed of. I know that somehow you are responsible for my rescue and I thank you." Draco held up his hand to stop Harry, he was starting down a path that was part of the discussion that was to wait until later.

Understanding the blonde's hesitancy to get into any deep explanations now, Harry tried to keep the conversation light. "So how about if you tell me where we are exactly?"

"Well Harry, welcome to the United States of America…New York City to be exact." Draco tried not to laugh at Harry's astounded look.

"I should have known that when your involved Draco, you pull out all of the stops, nothing half way for you. So you decided to send me half way around the world, not bad." Harry was spared any further comment, as there was a knock on the door.

Seeing the look of panic on Harry's face, Draco once more grew concerned for his friend. "Relax Harry, it's only the man with our food" Draco noted as he quickly rose and grabbing some muggle money from the counter went to pay the man at the door.

Soon the apartment was filled with the delightful smells of Chinese food, Draco had gotten shrimp egg rolls, won ton soup, chicken chow mein, beef and broccoli, spicy garlic chicken and chicken fried rice. Harry, having never eaten Chinese food before, tentatively took a small sampling of everything. Harry was surprised at how good it was. Unfortunately, he was only half way through his meal before his stomach started to protest.

Draco immediately understood the problem, knowing that Harry wasn't used to eating much at one sitting and stopped eating as well suggesting that they take a break and come back and finish their meal a little later. Placing their dishes in the oven to keep them warm, the pair made their way back over to the living area.

Draco elected to sit down in the overstuffed chair while Harry sat down on the couch. Rubbing his hands over his face Draco sighed and not looking directly at Harry said, "where do you want to start?"

Knowing that this conversation was most likely going to be long and difficult for both of them, Harry responded with, "why don't you begin by filling me in on what's been happening since I was arrested."

Draco just nodded and after a few moments just started talking. He told Harry about how the school had not dealt well with the murders and his subsequent arrest. Harry chuckled when Draco relayed that the Gryffindor Quidditch team had lost each match since they had replaced Harry as seeker with a third year. Harry's reaction was entirely different and a low growl rose up in his throat when Draco told him that Ron had been appointed both Head Boy and Quidditch Captain in his absence.

"Well I guess he got his fondest desire…" Harry muttered low under his breath thinking back to the Mirror of Erised from their very first year, and then waved off Draco's questioning glance not wanting to give an explanation.

The hours seemed to fly as Draco continued to fill Harry in on what exactly had been taking place in the wizarding community. However, Draco's explanation faltered when he saw the tears in Harry's eyes when he spoke about not having a choice after graduation and his subsequent joining with the Death Eaters.

"Oh Dray, please tell me it isn't true."

Slowly Draco rolled up the left sleeve of his sweater and revealed the ugly black tattoo that stood out so blazingly against his white porcelain skin.

"I'm so sorry, so sorry…"

Draco stood up from the chair abruptly, jerking his sleeve down. "What the hell are you sorry for? My having to take the dark mark had nothing to do with you, Harry."

Startled by Draco's sharp tone, Harry ran his hand through his long unruly hair while taking a deep breath to calm down. "But it is my fault, all of it. Don't you see, Draco? If I had been there for you after graduation we could have put our other plans into affect and you never would have had to go to that monster."

"That's the problem with you, Potter. It's always about you, and you're always looking back at things that can not possibly be changed. Am I happy with the way our seventh year ended? Hell no. But moping about things that already happened isn't going to change things one bit. It's time to move on and let it go."

Harry felt like he had just been punched in the stomach. "That's easy enough for you to say, Malfoy. Try spending eighteen months with no human contact what so ever, no one to talk to, nothing but your deepest darkest thoughts to keep you company. Any memory worth having is taken from you as your mind is raped over and over again every single day by some of the foulest creatures on this planet."

Draco's breath caught in his throat. During Harry's tirade he thought that he had seen a small sparkle of emotion flicker in the deadened emerald eyes. At least it was something. Feeling sorry for his outburst that had upset the Gryffindor, Draco flopped back down on the chair. "Look Harry, I shouldn't have said all that, I'm sorry okay. It's just that it's a touchy subject for me. Some of the things that I have to do and see just to keep up appearances, well they are just unthinkable."

"I know Dray, I've seen them."

This statement caught the young Malfoy heir by surprise. "What do you mean, you've seen them? You couldn't possibly have seen the things I have, you've been in Azkaban this whole time."

With a weary grimace, Harry looked over to where Draco was sitting. "Did you think that just because I'm in prison that this connection that I have with Voldemort would stop? You've been there before when I had my visions and my scar has burned, surely you remember that summer that we spent together with Snape."

The Slytherin paled. Of course he remembered the almost nightly bouts of torture that Harry went through waking up to his screams and his scar hurting so bad that at times it actually bled. "But I thought that the wards around Azkaban would have stopped the visions," he whispered.

Sadly, Harry shook his head. "No, and it appears that Voldemort has been particularly busy lately."

With that comment, Draco went on to describe his role as a spy for the Order and how the war effort was struggling slightly. The whole time that Draco was talking, Harry listened intently. However, when Draco started talking about some of the people that Harry had once considered friends and family, the raven haired man got up from the couch and walked back into the kitchen. Catching the hint Draco stopped talking and followed.

Another helping of Chinese food helped to calm their nerves. Having refused Draco's offer of a glass of wine earlier in lieu of just plain crystal clear water, Harry sat observing the blonde man over the rim of his glass.

"So why did you do it?"

The question had been asked so softly that Draco wasn't even sure that he had heard it at first, at least not until he saw the piercing stare directed his way. "Why did I do what?" Draco countered, trying to buy himself some time, knowing full well what it was that Harry was alluding to.

"You know what, but if you need me to spell it out for you I will. Clearly this apartment, the food, the clothing, the portkey, you had planned this all well in advance. Why did you help me, why did you rescue me?"

For the longest time Draco didn't say anything, knowing that his response could possibly dictate the direction the rest of their relationship would go in. "Because I knew that you were innocent."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "And how did you know that? Did you pick up divination without telling me? Has Trelawney been giving you pointers?"

Draco was unable to resist the slight smirk at Harry's attempt at humor, thinking that it was a good sign even though the timing was not appropriate. "No Harry. I just know you. Better than anyone else it seems. You could never hurt someone like that, you're too much a Gryffindor, even if you were starting to let your Slytherin side loose once in a while. I mean really, it was absurd that anyone would believe you would murder in cold blood, especially someone whom you considered to be a friend."

When Harry didn't comment Draco continued. "Besides the motive in the prosecution's case was that you found Colin and Ginny together romantically and flew into a jealous rage. It just didn't seem realistic considering that fact that I thought you were interested at the time in someone who wasn't either of those two individuals."

Draco decided to let Harry think on that for a while as he got up to refill his wine glass. "Why do you think no one else believed me?" Draco turned and saw that Harry had followed him into the kitchen.

Leaning back against the counter Draco took an appraisal of the damaged young man in front of him. "Honestly Harry, I have no idea. If it helps though, Severus never believed that you did it and while Sirius never has said anything to me one way or the other, I don't think that he completely bought into the Ministry's case either. It's not like the Ministry hasn't screwed him over before and he's still on the run by the way."

Draco watched as Harry started to sway dangerously. "Look Harry, you're clearly exhausted, you still have a lot of recovering to do, let's say we call it a night?"

There was still many open issues that they needed to resolve, but Harry knew that Draco was right. He was not going to participating in any meaningful discussions in his given condition. Agreeing he allowed Draco to assist him back to the large bed. Throwing off the sweatshit but keeping the pants on, Harry crawled under the covers and rolled on to his side facing away from where Draco was still standing.

Deciding that he wanted to shower, Draco opened one of his suitcases and removing a clean pair of boxers and pajama pants made his way into the bathroom.

5 Adjusting

The next few days were spent largely by Draco trying to coax Harry into leaving the apartment. It was sad how timid and fearful of people the previously brave and independent Gryffindor had become. After two days of nothing but staring out the window people watching, Draco had finally convinced Harry to go get a haircut.

Draco planned their first outing carefully, paying attention to the small details, like when the streets and stores would be less busy. First, they were going to take care of that mess Harry referred to as his hair, then they were going to have an early lunch, and after that if Harry was agreeable, a walk through Central Park.

Harry cursed softly. Draco turned to look at the well dressed man. Harry was wearing a pair of casual black pants and a lightweight dark green v-neck sweater. "What's wrong now, Harry?"

Harry looked over at the blonde nervously. "Are you sure about this, Dray? I don't know if it's really worth the risk. What if someone recognizes me? I still have this damn scar you know, and the Ministry of Magic is sure to have warned other magical and muggle communities about my escape. Remember the media frenzy when Black escaped? Everyone will be looking for me."

"Look Harry, we've been through all this before. We have been watching the news nonstop on that television thing and there has been no mention of you what so ever. Since you don't want me using magic here, we'll just use some muggle make up to cover up and disguise the scar."

At Harry's skeptical look, Draco grabbed the other young man by his elbow. "Harry, it is just a short trip outside. You'll be fine, I promise. You know that I wouldn't let anything happen to you, don't you?"

At Harry's small nod, Draco continued. "Besides, what is the alternative? You can't possibly spend the rest of your life in this studio apartment."

Knowing that he was defeated and against his better judgment, Harry allowed Draco to guide him outside.

* * *

Once he was able to relax a bit, Harry found much to his surprise that he was actually enjoying the day. He had allowed Draco sole discretion on his hair cut and found the new style, that was shorter and layered, seemed to tame his uncontrollable locks somewhat. Anything certainly felt better than the long heavy rat's nest that his hair had been.

Lunch was nice, even though Harry was sure that at any moment he would be spotted. But by far his favorite part of the day was their walk through the large city park. Just being able to feel the sun on his face and the gentle breeze that occasionally blew the brightly colored leaves that were still falling from the trees was worth the risk of being seen. It was an unusually warm day for October and Draco made sure that they enjoyed every moment of it.

They even purchased some bread from a street vendor and walked over to the large lake in the middle of the park to feed the ducks. Their path around the lake took them by several young boys playing with remote controlled sailboats. Deciding that this was as good of a place as any to sit for awhile, Draco directed Harry over to an empty park bench.

Fascinated, Draco couldn't take his eyes off the boys. "How are they doing that, Harry?"

Surprised at Draco interest in the muggles Harry couldn't help asking, "Doing what?"

"Well they're muggles aren't they?"

"So"

Feeling as though he could happily ring the Gryffindor's neck, "So how do they make their boats move like that, there are no stings that I can see. How are they controlling those boats, it almost looks like wandless magic."

Forgetting what it would be like to grow up knowing nothing but random prejudicial remarks about the muggle world, Harry pointed out the radio transmitters that each boy held that enabled them to control their respective boat.

"So those boxes are like wands then?"

Harry shook his head, why didn't Draco ever take Muggle Studies in school. "No they're nothing like wands."

"But then how do they do that? I don't understand."

Not feeling up to a discussion about batteries and radio waves, Harry replied simply, "Just because they do."

Not wanting to upset Harry, who had been in a remarkable mood all day, Draco decided to not press his luck and let the matter drop for now and went back to feeding the ever growing crowd of ducks that had gathered around their bench.

"Ow!" Draco turned suddenly and saw that a rather large duck had snuck up on them from behind. "That little bastard bit me."

"Don't take it personal Dray, he hasn't even gotten the chance to know you yet, give him time. He was probably just trying to get your attention. Just throw him some bread and I'm sure he'll soon figure out that it tastes better than you do."

"And exactly how would you know how I taste?" Draco smirked suggestively.

Harry felt his face flush, but before he could formalize a proper retort, Draco was once more cursing. "Damn, he bit me again. I'll show you, no one bites a Malfoy and lives".

All the other birds that had converged on their location scattered in a cloud of feathers and loud squawks as Draco started to chase the poor bird, looking like he wanted to hex everything in sight.

Harry couldn't help but laugh as he watched the man who in one way or another had occupied a substantial part of his thoughts for over eight years corner and then threaten that poor aggressive bird. Not remembering when it was the last time that he had the opportunity to laugh, Harry eventually paused to take a deep breath of the fresh air, wondering how lucky he was to have such a good friend like the one he had in Draco.

* * *

From that day on Harry became a maniac, wanting to be outside all the time. Harry's desire to escape from being surrounded by four walls was so great that he even ventured out by himself. He never went far, sometimes not leaving the bench in front of the apartment building, but Draco took it as a good sign, his Harry was healing.

Before long the pair could be seen spending their days together sight seeing, doing all the tourist type things such as visiting the Statue of Liberty and touring Wall Street. Harry laughed at Draco's disdain at what the muggles deemed a financial center, per the blonde Wall Street was nothing compared to the financial markets in the wizarding world, of which Harry, despite his own substantial wealth, had no experience.

The Slytherin tried to draw the line when Harry wanted to go ice skating at Rockefeller Center on a cold November afternoon. However the blonde's stern resolve melted quickly in light of the puppy dog eyes that his friend was giving him. It was certainly going to be an adventure as neither boy had ice-skated before.

After strapping the unusual shoe things to their feet, they rose unsteadily on the slim steel blades and headed out onto the ice. Draco couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face when Harry, after taking only two steps on the ice, tried to turn and look back at him and fell promptly on his behind.

"Graceful today aren't we, Harry?"

That smirk didn't last long as he quickly joined Harry flat on his back on the ice. "You were saying something Dray?" Harry quipped as he rubbed a sour spot on his bum.

The rest of the morning was spent as Draco tried to chase Harry around the ring, both failing miserably at being able to keep their balance. They were often seen either clinging to the outside wall or to each other in an attempt to remain standing. It's a wonder that two people, who could be so talented and graceful flying broomsticks, couldn't get the hang of a simple muggle activity of moving across a frozen patch of ice. After many smiles and much laughter, they both decided that it was time for them to hang up their skates and go home.

That evening both of them were nursing bruised bodies but felt a good deal happier than they could remember being in a long time. In compensation for the ice skating, Harry allowed Draco to plan their next outing. Unfortunately for Harry, Draco loved art and New York was filled with Art Museums. After the third one in two days, Draco finally took pity on his disgruntled companion and took him out for a nice Italian dinner.

As far as their personal relationship with each other was concerned, Draco just wanted to take things slow. After a few days, he was able to touch Harry without him flinching and on one occasion when they were touring some art gallery or shopping, Harry had even let him hold his hand in public.

Being so close to Harry, but not able to touch him or kiss him in the way that he needed to was torture. Winning the Gryffindor's trust was a slow and frustrating process, but Draco was sure that the prize at the end would be well worth the wait.

* * *

A little over a week after the ice skating debacle, two exhausted young men returned home late one night after going to a play on Broadway. They had gone to see the long running show 'Cats'. Personally, Harry couldn't see what was so great about it, the music was nice but that was about it. He smirked when he thought about what McGonagall would say about the costumes, which resembled a transfiguration project gone bad and strongly reminded him of Granger's Polyjuice Potion mishap in their second year. He was happy though that Draco seemed to enjoy it.

A soft hooting noise greeted them as they entered their apartment. For a minute or so Harry couldn't place the familiar sound, but from the expression on Draco's face he knew that whatever was making that noise couldn't be good.

Worried as to how he had been found, Draco crossed the room and quickly took the correspondence offered from the ragged owl. The exhausted owl appeared to be happy to finally be relieved of his burden and flew to the back of one of the kitchen chairs. Using the chair as a roost, the owl promptly fell asleep.

The Slytherin didn't even notice that his hands were shaking as he opened the weathered parchment.

Harry watched as the blonde quickly scanned the contents of the letter and then returned his eyes to the beginning of the document and reread the message more slowly. Once Harry was assured that Draco had read the correspondence at least twice he inquired, "So, what does it say?"

Hearing the fear in Harry's voice, Draco was quick to reassure him that the letter had nothing to do with him. Draco sighed, "It's from Severus. It appears that my absence has been missed. He's covered for me so far, but he thinks it would be in my best interest to return home and be seen, at least for a short time."

"You're leaving?"

"Look Harry, it's not that I want to leave. But you need to understand, I still have a role to play in this damn war and even though Sev didn't say it directly, I can tell that lives depend on my going back, at least for a short time."

Draco looked up over at where Harry was standing looking out the window.

"You are doing so well now Harry, you're practically fully recovered. When I arrived here a month ago I never expected you to come so far this fast. You're strong and brave, and independent. 'Not to mention beautiful' Draco thought to himself as he cast an appraising glance at the upset Gryffindor. "I know that you will be fine, besides I'll only be gone for a few days."

"Promise you'll come back."

"Yes Harry, I promise I'll come back to you. Besides have I ever lied to you before?"

Harry gave Draco a small smile. "No Dray, You've made fun of me, laughed at me, insulted me, and belittled me; but, you've never actually lied to me. Just try to hurry back because I'll miss you terribly."

Draco crossed the room to where Harry was standing by the window. "I'll come back as soon as I can." Feeling a pull so strong that it could no longer be fought; Draco leaned down and slowly pressed his lips against the slightly smaller man's.

As Draco's lips touched his for the first time, Harry felt a tingle go through his entire body. He felt more alive then he had felt in his entire lifetime. Harry couldn't suppress the moan as he responded and deepened the kiss, clinging to Draco as though he was some sort of lifeline.

Draco didn't know that had possessed him to kiss Harry, his mind was screaming at him that it was too early, that he was going to scare Harry away and set back the progress he had been making over the last month. That all changed as the young Gryffindor's arms rose up and to Draco's amazement didn't push him away but instead wrapped around him and drew him even closer. He felt Harry surrender to the kiss and the gentle kiss soon became more demanding, more urgent. Finally, when he felt that if this continued any longer that he would surely pass out, Draco had no choice but to end the moment.

Resting his head on the other's forehead Draco tried to calm his breathing. "When I get back we are definitely going to explore that aspect of our relationship" his voice had a sexy raspy quality to it that spoke of strong desire.

Harry just blushed.

Reluctantly moving out of the raven-haired man's embrace Draco placed a quick kiss on Harry's forehead. Pulling the emergency portkey that he carried in this pocket that would take him back to Malfoy Manor, Draco called out the activation code and in a swirl of color was gone.

* * *

Harry stared at the shadows cast by the moonlight on the ceiling above his bed. He sighed and rolled over onto his stomach burrowing his head under a pillow. The navy pillow case still smelled like Draco, he had been gone almost a week and Harry had refused to change the bed linen as he wanted the reminder of his friend.

A small grin crossed Harry's face as he thought about his one true friend. Draco had done so much for him; he would never be able to repay him for the risks that he took in helping him escape prison. But more importantly, he would never be able to properly express his gratitude to Draco having believed in him when no one else had. That was truly something that Harry would never forget.

However, Harry was feeling more than a little confused about his silver-eyed friend. He knew that Draco felt more than friendship for him and was patiently waiting for Harry to be ready to take their relationship to the next level. Had he never been framed and had the opportunity to finish school, there was no doubt that he and Draco would have gotten together and eventually became lovers. But now with everything that he had been through, Harry wasn't sure that he was capable of feeling love and Draco deserved nothing less than to be with someone who could love him with everything in their being.

Whenever depressing thoughts like that would start to take over, that rarely heard from part of his subconscious that just wanted to live and let live would speak up and he would think about that kiss. And what a kiss it was. Sure it wasn't his first kiss, but Harry never remembered a kiss having affected him so strongly before. Harry chuckled, who would have thought that Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Prince, would taste like strawberries with a slight hint of chocolate.

Knowing that he was not likely to get any more sleep tonight, as he hadn't slept well since Draco had left, he allowed the whirlwind of memories of their recent time together overwhelm him. He knew that Draco had been worried about him, still was for that matter, but he felt like he had been recovering. Sure it was a slow process, but even in the time that he had been here alone he was still able to go about his daily routine. He had even gone grocery shopping and to the cinema once. He still enjoyed his daily walks but they just weren't the same with out Dray. He had gotten used to having someone around, and after experiencing being isolated from people for so long, Harry knew that he didn't want to ever get used to that feeling again.

A small part of him resented the fact that he was here, tucked away safe from Voldemort and the Ministry, while Dray and the others were left to battle the dark. But then he would remember that it was not him who had made that choice, and even if he had wanted to go back he couldn't. Right now he knew that given a choice, he would never choose to go back there.

Draco had helped him work though some of the pain of his friends' betrayal, but it still felt raw. Simple flashbacks to his time before prison had unleashed terrible pain that threatened to destroy the fragile hold he was maintaining over his increasing emotions. It was much better to lock all that away in some dark cupboard in the back of his mind than to deal with it. He wasn't ready and he wasn't sure if he would ever be.

The rattling of the windows in the kitchen and living area broke Harry's train of thought. Surprised Harry tried to calm himself down before his uncontrolled anger actually broke the glass. It had been so long since he had actually felt the flow of magic around him and even longer since he had allowed his magic to get out of control. He had missed magic almost as much as he had missed Dray.

Magic still held the same fascination for him as it had done when he was introduced to the concept as a wide-eyed eleven-year-old. Harry knew from his studies at Hogwarts that wandless magic wasn't as traceable as magic cast with a wand. There had only been a few wizards in history that had the ability to control and accurately cast wandless magic, and Harry was pleased that he was one of them.

Dumbledore knew that he had some wandless ability, but no one knew for sure how capable he had gotten with that particular talent. Before his imprisonment he was able to produce any spell, charm, hex, or transfiguration as well without a wand as with. He could even conjure certain items wandlessly, which many of his classmates found difficult to do with a wand. Harry smirked ruefully, 'It was a good thing I had the forethought to learn wandless magic, seeing as how the Ministry destroyed my wand.'

It was too bad that the wards that surrounded Azkaban had been charmed to prevent any sort of wandless magic. However it had been a saving grace that the animagus transformation wasn't prevented. He certainly would have gone insane without being able to escape into one of his forms for extended periods. Deciding that it was time to take the next step in his recovery, Harry promised himself to start practicing wandless magic that next day.

Missing his companion, Harry reached under the bed and pulled out a shopping bag from a toy store that he had found yesterday on Fifth Avenue. Harry smiled as he remembered watching the children play with all the wonderful toys in the store, including these large piano keys set on the floor. It looked to have been the answer to every child's dream. At least it would have answered quite a few of his own as a youngster.

Opening the bag Harry removed a large gray stuffed wolf. When Harry had seen the wolf stilling alone on one of the shelves it had called out to him, reminding him of Dray in his animagus form. 'Something about the clear piercing eyes' Harry thought.

Knowing that it would be the perfect gift for his companion, Harry had no choice but to purchase the animal. Holding it tight to his chest and snuggling into the soft acrylic fir, Harry fell into a restless sleep.

6  Goodbye

The sound of a small pop alerted Harry that he was no longer alone in the apartment. Turning abruptly in the direction which the sound had come from, he moved just in time to catch an exhausted Draco as he started to fall.

Harry gingerly moved the blonde so that he was settled on the sofa and then went into the kitchen to retrieve some tea and sandwiches. When he got back into the living area he noticed that while Draco had his eye's closed, he clearly wasn't sleeping. "Are you alright, Dray?"

Harry's eyes moved worriedly over Draco's dirty robes and thin frame. It was clear that he hadn't been taking care of himself over the past week. Carefully, not wanting to scare him, Harry gently touched the other man's cheek and then with aching slowness moved his hand down the side of his face and then along the side of Draco's body. Draco shook himself once Harry's hand had reached his knee.

Feeling more awake and refreshed then he had in days he couldn't keep the shock out of his voice. "What the hell was that?"

Harry just grinned, "Just a little something that I picked up during our seventh year, I haven't had a lot of time to practice it much since then, but I'm glad that I could still help you."

"But Harry, that was magic, some sort of healing charm if I'm not mistaken. How did you do that, you don't even have a wand."

"Of course I don't have a wand, they snapped it, remember" Harry said bitterly. "I'm sure someone of your caliber has heard of 'wandless magic', haven't you?" Harry smirked when he saw the disbelief on his friend's face.

It didn't take long for Draco to recover, "Well, you seem to be full of surprises, don't you Harry? I should have guessed that if only very powerful wizards can learn to control wandless magic, that you would be able to. So does anyone else know about this, or am I the only lucky one?"

Harry looked at Draco sharply, underneath the joking tone there was something else, pain or sorrow, Harry wasn't sure, but he knew that Draco was hiding something.

"Well, that old fool of a Headmaster knows that I have some control and can do little things, but the fact that I can sense injuries and heal with a touch, that knowledge, my dear, is yours and yours alone." Harry tried to keep his tone light, so that Draco didn't know that he suspected something.

When he saw that Draco wasn't going to respond, Harry sat down on the couch beside Draco and pulled him up close into a hug. Draco felt himself relax as he was held tightly against Harry's warm body.

"I missed you."

The bright smile on Draco's face at his words almost made Harry believe that things were going to be okay, almost.

"I missed you, too" Draco whispered as he pressed his lips up against Harry's neck.

They sat like that for the longest time, content just being together in each others arms, not wanting anything to disturb them. Thinking that Draco had fallen asleep, Harry tried to slip out of his embrace to go put the dirty dished in the kitchen. But before he could even begin to stand, he heard a muffled, "Don't go."

This time when Harry looked down into two endless silver pools there was no mistaking the pain and sorrow reflected there. Bending down, Harry placed a small kiss on Draco's slightly upturned nose. "Tell me", it was more of a command than a request and with a reluctant sigh, Draco complied.

"Oh Merlin Harry, it was awful. Voldemort was so angry that the attack at Azkaban last month wasn't a complete success, even though he liberated his followers and secured the Dementors. He wanted to do something that would show everyone how strong he was, to make sure that they continued to fear him." Draco shuddered at the horror of it all.

"What did he do?"

"He attacked the Ministry of Magic directly. He tortured and then killed Fudge in front of most of the Ministry's employees. Then he turned the Death Eaters loose on those same employees, allowing only a handful to escape alive so that they could tell the tale of what had happened. The ones that the Death Eaters didn't finish off were left for the Dementors." Draco ran his hand though his surprisingly unkept hair.

"Harry, I had never seen anything like it and I pray that I never have to see it again. The women were tortured and some of them were violated before they were either killed or given the kiss."

"You remember that Hufflepuff girl in our class, her name was Bones, I think. She was one of the lucky ones and was killed pretty quickly." Draco looked up at Harry from underneath his bangs. "Did you see any of it, you know through your connection with Voldemort?"

Harry just shook his head trying to keep himself from throwing up at the thought of what Draco had been though. Taking a sip of water helped calm his stomach. "No. No, I didn't see anything, now that I think about it, since I came here I haven't had any visions or scar pain. Maybe the distance between us is too great for me to be affected by him." Harry hypothesized. "That's not the worst of it, is it? What are you not telling me?"

Draco looked up sadly at the young man who had become almost everything to him. How does one go about telling him that now when it looked like they may finally have a chance to be together, to start a new life; that their chance at happiness was going to be ripped away from them again. That they would never get to be together, never become lovers and who knows what else to each other.

"You're leaving again, aren't you?" Harry hissed, putting the pieces together.

"You don't understand Harry. Our world is in shambles, the Ministry is gone. Dumbedore's called up the giants and the Order has been meeting nonstop since the attack happened last week. They need me."

"What about me Draco? What about what I need?"

Draco turned away, unable to stand looking at the hurt and desperation in the emerald depths. "Harry, are your needs more important than those of the entire wizarding world? I know that you are not selfish and I also know that you know I can't stay here with you when I can help in this fight. I thought that I could, but not after what I just saw. If I am able to then I know I must fight."

The very Gryffindor like sentiments didn't phase him, as Harry stood up and on shaking legs walked over to the window. The street lights blurred as his eyes filled with tears. He didn't even noticed when the tears started to trail down his cool cheeks. A pair of strong familiar arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him back against a warm solid chest. "I don't want to be with out you" he whispered, his moist breath leaving an impression on the glass.

"I don't want to be without you either, Harry, but you know that you can't come." A shudder raked through Harry's still too thin frame.

"When are you leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning." Harry felt himself die a little at Draco's words.

"You're not coming back, are you?"

Harry's hurtful tone thrust deep within Draco's soul, leaving behind a gaping wound that the blonde wasn't sure would ever heal. Not knowing what else to do or even how to properly respond, he elected instead to press small soft kisses in the crease between Harry's neck and shoulder, giving himself a moment to pull his tattered thoughts together.

"Harry, it would be entirely too dangerous for both of us if I kept coming back here to visit you. You know that. We could try to keep this a secret for awhile, but eventually, my excuses would be uncovered or someone would come looking for me and we would be found out. I refuse to put you in that kind of danger. What's left of the Ministry has ordered you to be executed on sight and we both know what would happen if Voldemort got his hands on you. I couldn't bear it if I was responsible for them finding you."

Slowly Harry turned in Draco's arms until he was facing the blonde. Emerald eyes shining with tears met and held the anguished gray ones. "Then, I guess we had best make the most of tonight."

Harry raised his lips to Draco's and soon the pain of tomorrow's separation was lost in a world of passion. Draco guided them over to the large bed and quickly divested them of their clothing. He knew that this would most likely be the only time he would have the opportunity to fulfill his dreams of making love to Harry and he didn't want to rush it.

"Are you sure Harry? We don't have to do this. It would be enough for me just to be able to hold you tonight."

Harry knew what he wanted to happen, what he needed to happen. At the age of nineteen, Harry was a convicted murder but was still a virgin, but then again being in prison doesn't leave one much room for a love life. "Dray, I've never done this before. But I want to. I want to be with you. Please give me this one night that I can remember forever, please."

Draco's eyes filled with tears at Harry's confession which he cut off abruptly with his lips. Soon, the only sounds were of the gentle meeting of two souls, who, while their lips refused to speak of the love that burned deep in their hearts, their bodies demonstrated their devotion to each other.

* * *

The next morning when he awoke, he knew before he opened his eyes that Draco had gone. Refusing to shed any more tears, Harry got up slowly and made his way into the bathroom. The hot shower helped ease the soreness from his body. Harry was glad no one was there to see his blush as he remembered the activities that had caused his pains. Draco had been so loving and gentle. He knew that as long as he lived he would never forget the feeling of Draco's arms around him, the feeling of completeness that had enveloped him when Draco had made love to him. The night that Draco and he had shared would live on in his heart forever.

Throwing on a pair of jeans and a red polo shirt, Harry walked back into the main room where he started to change the bed sheets. As he reached down to grasp his pillow case his eyes fell on a piece of parchment that was placed under his pillow.

As much as he had promised himself that he wouldn't cry anymore, he couldn't stop the tears from falling as he read the last words that his lover would ever say to him.

Dearest Harry,

I know that it's too late and that I should have told you this a thousand times by now in person, but I couldn't leave without you knowing that I love you. Yes Harry, I Draco Malfoy, former bain of your existence, love you. I have loved you for awhile now, although I never realized it until after you were sent to Azkaban. If I wasn't such a coward I would have told you in person, but as you can see I did not and so I have resorted to writing down my feeling for you to read after I have gone.

As I sit here watching you sleep I can only pray that I have the strength to actually leave you come morning. You are so beautiful and look so peaceful away from all the troubles of this world. I want you to know how proud I am of you. Since your release you have proved again and again that you remain the brave and strong Gryffindor. Leaving you will be the most difficult thing that I have ever had to do. Loving you was the easiest.

Thank you, my love, for last night. It will be a treasured memory that I will hold close to my heart until the day I die. I will remember you always and I ask that you remember me fondly as well.

Harry, I need you to do something for me. I need you to live. I have arranged funds to be transferred into a bank account here in New York. The money is so that you can have a good start in life. I will never look for it, so please don't feel guilty about accepting it. If you don't use it, you will only hurt yourself and that in turn will hurt me.

I have also left you papers so that you can create a muggle identification for yourself. Change your appearance and then your name. Once this is done use the money and the identifications to begin a new life for yourself.

This apartment is paid up through the end of the month, after that you can stay here until you feel comfortable moving on. Whatever you do please be careful. I want you to move on Harry and don't look back. Be happy.

I love you.

Dray

He could barely finished reading as the words were jumping all over the place as he was shaking so badly. Collapsing onto the bed, Harry fell on something. Without thinking, he rolled over and pulled out the lump that had gotten stuck down under the covers. The tears fell even faster when Harry stared into the glassy silver eyes of the stuffed animal that he had purchased for Draco, but had forgotten to give him last night. With a scream that was part rage and part unbearable pain he whipped the defenseless animal across the room where it hit the wall and fell to the floor with a soft thud.

* * *

Draco allowed himself the first bit of happiness that he had in over three weeks. He had finally reached the decision that he could no longer tolerate being without Harry. That night they had spent together played over and over again in his head. He knew then that without speaking a single word they had pledged themselves to each other.

The time spent without Harry had been horrible. Thoughts about what he was doing and pictures of him alone in the apartment kept plaguing him at all times during both the day and night. Now, he knew for sure that he no longer wished to remain apart from his love. He had decided to return to Harry to see if he would agree to the risks of allowing him to portkey back and forth as needed.

With a small pop, Draco appeared in the middle of the apartment. Draco smiled as he imaged Harry's reaction to his surprise. However the smile quickly died on his lips as he took in the sight of the empty apartment. Draco turned and saw the bare mattress, the empty kitchen shelves and the light layer of dust that indicated that no one had been there in some time.

He was too late. Harry had already moved on. Draco tried to convince himself that it was for the best, but the tears still fell freely as Draco prepared to portkey back to Malfoy Manor. The words "goodbye my love" echoing strangely though out the emptiness.

7  Innocent

(Almost four years after Harry has escaped from prison, June 2003)

Once more Draco found himself back in the Phoenix Chamber, being summoned to a previously unscheduled meeting was typically not a good thing. Draco stole a quick look around at what remained of Dumbledore's elite fighting council. To say that the war was not going well would be the understatement of the century. You just have to look around at the worn and worried faces to see that. The Light Wizards were being overpowered, it was just that simple.

Voldemort and the Death Eaters had continued to grow in strength after their attack on the Ministry of Magic. Hogwarts was practically the only place left in England that still was considered to be relatively safe. Many light wizards, witches and their families had left their homes to come to Hogwarts to seek sanctuary, including most of what remained of the Weasley family, Hermione and Ron electing to maintain a home in a muggle part of England so that they could be close to her parents. Both George and Arthur had been lost to the cause over the past two years, George fairly recently, and Ron had been severely injured. Ron had eventually recovered, but his permanent injuries kept him from participating on the front lines, of which he was very bitter.

Severus' cover as a spy had been blown during a mission six months ago and he had almost been lost. Thanks to some quick thinking by Draco, he was able to save Severus who continued to work, only now openly, for the Order of the Phoenix.

One of the biggest changes was in the leader of the Order himself. Gone was the wise, kind, caring old wizard that many people believed was all powerful. Mistakes had been made during this war, and some of the biggest ones were made by Albus Dumbledore.

Draco remembered back to when over a year ago at his omission of one of his biggest errors of judgment.

Flashback – April 2002

Silence surrounded a tired and sad Headmaster as he rose at the head of the table in the Phoenix Chamber. "My friends, I have an announcement to make. I have just learned of a grievous injustice that has been served. And I am sorry to say that I failed to follow what my heart told me to be true, and as such a great friend and perhaps the only hope for our way of life has been lost to us."

The Council waited patiently for the Phoenix to continue, knowing that the only way to get the Headmaster to speak so that anyone could follow what he was saying was to wait until he was ready to share whatever it was that needed to be shared.

The dull blue eyes didn't twinkle at all as the old man stated, "Alas, it has come to my attention that Harry Potter is innocent."

'So that's what this is all about.' Draco thought with a satisfied smirk, 'it's about damn time that they realize Harry didn't kill those kids.'

"My Godson was innocent, he was fucking innocent and you sent him to Azkaban," snarled Sirius as he leaped up out of his chair.

Of all the people in the room, Draco pitied Black the most. The ex-convict had been declared innocent after Fudge had been killed and Peter Pettigrew was seen by many Aurors and Order members. However, the dream Sirius used to hold on to, about having his Godson come live with him while the two of them finally got a chance to be a family, had died years earlier when Harry had been convicted and then later escaped. Sure, Black continued to fight, mostly out of a sense of duty than anything else, but you could tell that his heart just wasn't in it. With Harry gone, Sirius Black didn't have much to live for and everyone knew that he was just biding his time until he could rejoin his friends that had passed on before him. Even his one remaining friend from Hogwarts, Remus Lupin couldn't seem to pull the man out of his depression.

Lupin grabbed Sirius by the back of his robes and held onto the struggling man. He was thankful for his extra werewolf strength as Sirius certainly was stronger than he looked.

"Let go of me Moony," Sirius spit as he glared at his old friend.

"Not until you calm yourself down Padfoot. We all need to hear what Albus has to say and you're going to let him finish." Lupin gently reprimanded the other wizard.

Unfortunately as Sirius had started to recover from the shock, Ron and Hermione were just starting to process what was being said. "But how…I don't understand…we saw him…how can you now say that he is innocent? He's not, he's a fucking killer, he killed my sister and if I find him I'll fucking kill him."

"You know Weasley, I keep thinking that one day you'll eventually grow up and then you open your mouth and try to speak; I realize that today just isn't the day and it isn't likely to be anytime in the near future." Draco said, disdain dripping from every word.

Hermione pulled Ron into a hug. "Shut up Malfoy, Ron's just had a big shock. You'd do well to keep your pathetic comments to yourself."

Draco opened his mouth to make a scathing comment in response to the Mudblood when Dumbledore called for order to return.

"I know that this is a great shock to all of you but I know for a fact that Harry was innocent of the murders that he was sent to Azkaban all those years ago. Several hours ago three death eaters were captured torturing a muggle family in London. Those death eaters were brought to me and to Minister Diggory. Using Veritaserum, we interrogated them to see if we could learn anything about Voldemort's future plans. During the session one of the death eaters admitted to having been part of the group that killed Miss Weasley and Mr. Creevey and framed Harry Potter. It appears that the murders and set up where a successful ploy by the Dark Lord to shake our confidence in young Mister Potter. He had never thought that the community and I would turn on Harry like we did. His plan succeeded more so than he had ever imagined."

"But we saw him, we saw Harry and it couldn't have Polyjuice Potion because I did the spell to make sure that it wasn't," Hermione interrupted Dumbledore when he had stopped to catch his breath.

"No, Hermione, it wasn't polyjuice potion, but it wasn't Harry either. It appears that Voldemort has discovered a new very powerful illusion charm that makes the person who sees it believe whatever the caster wants them to. It doesn't respond to finite incantatem, either. You had no way of knowing that it wasn't Harry and that he was really out for a walk like he said he was."

Still not satisfied that she could have been so wrong, Hermione continued, "but what about his magical signature being found at the crime scene?"

"Alas, that was also a stroke of genius really on Voldemort's part. As he and Harry share a bond, both through Harry's scar and through Harry's blood that was given at the time of Voldemort's resurrection, Voldemort was able to exactly duplicate Harry's magical signature at least on the surface. Had we chosen to look into the matter closer there would have been some tests that may have proven that the signature had been forged. But not knowing that it was even possible for create a fake magical signature, those tests were not done." The obviously exhausted Headmaster sat down.

Draco watched as the Council members started to whisper excitedly amongst themselves. A sudden cry of "you mean that Harry was innocent all this time and we sent him to prison?" caused him to roll his eyes. "Keep up Weasley, yes that's exactly what Dumbledore's been telling you. You and your wife sent your best friend in the whole world, who happened to be completely innocent, to the foulest place on this planet. Kinda gives you a warm fuzzy feeling doesn't it, especially when you know what kind of reaction he had to the guards they kept there."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you Malfoy?" Hermione cried as the tears started to run down her cheeks. "You always said that Harry was innocent, how did you know? Maybe you had a first hand account of this plan to frame Harry, maybe you were even in on it."

Dumbledore looked sternly across the table. "Enough, Hermione, I know that you are in pain right now, we all are. But that does not excuse your behavior; you will apologize to Draco immediately. Draco does not have to defend himself to us or to anyone. He has proven himself repeated in this conflict and without him much of the information that we were able to gather about the Dark Lord's movements would have been lost to us."

Hermione looked properly chastised. "Your right Albus, I was wrong." Hermione turned to face her old adversary across the room. "I'm sorry, Draco. I know that you are loyal to the cause. It's just hard to accept that you were the only one that believed in Harry when those of us that were the closest to him didn't. I feel terrible for him, for what we did to him, and what he had to have gone through. I don't know if I'll ever be able to forgive myself." She finished softly, unable to continue as her tears started to fall faster.

"Well I wasn't the only one that believed he was innocent. Severus also knew that he couldn't have killed, not in cold blood anyway. And I always thought that maybe Sirius also believed that Harry wasn't guilty," Draco replied.

"But with all the evidence against him, how did you know Draco? How did you know that he didn't kill those students?" Draco was surprised to see the anguish on the werewolf's face.

"I knew because I knew Harry. I was astounded that all of his so called friends and family couldn't see past all of the physical evidence to really see what was going on. Harry hates violence. Sure, he was probably the strongest wizard I had ever met. His ability at defense against the dark arts and dueling was unparalleled to anyone else's that I have ever seen, even now. But deep down, underneath all that, was the same little boy that was always looking for approval, wanting everyone to like him and be proud of him."

"His time spent with those awful muggles left him with little self-confidence and the need for others to continuously reaffirm his need for existence. All he ever wanted was to be accepted for who he was unconditionally."

"I mean, you're talking about the same boy who as a twelve year old, armed only with his wand, ventured into the Chamber of Secrets alone knowing that there was a basilisk in there just to rescue the Weasley girl. Had their relationship really changed all that much in the next five years to the point were he would kill her? It never made sense to me."

Draco paused and then added one last thought. "I always believed in Harry, the problem with you lot is that you all believed in Harry Potter 'the Boy Who Lived' and never really got to know Harry. If you had, you could never have believed him capable of doing the things that you sentenced him to prison for."

The stunned silence was broken by a few muffled sobs.

Dumbledore, his heart heavy with the deepest regret, surveyed the impact that this impassioned speech had on his follow Order members. The sight of the broken Sirius Black troubled him greatly, that man had been through entirely too much in his lifetime. Clearing his throat he waited for the Order to quiet down so that he could once again speak and be heard. "I am aware that the large majority of us will have much to answer for, if not to Harry personally than at least to our own consciousness, but now is not the time for that. Now, I must ask what it is that we should do with this information."

Sirius looked up at the older wizard from where he had his head buried in his hands, "What do you mean dowith the information? Harry needs to be cleared of these crimes."

Dumbledore offered him a small wave, "Of course Sirius, I have already put into motion the process to officially declare Harry innocent. He should be absolved of any wrong doing no later than tomorrow afternoon. But that isn't what I meant…"

Knowing exactly what it was his former Headmaster was driving at Draco interrupted. "You want to know how we can use this information in the war. You want to find him and use him, don't you?" the young man snarled angrily.

Although some wizards had started to lose some of their respect for the aging man, Albus was still a very powerful wizard, especially when angered. Draco held his breath as Dumbledore's eyes narrowed menacingly. After a moment, the Phoenix seemed to regain some semblance of self-control and spoke calmly. "Yes Draco you are partly correct, I do believe that we should find Mister Potter, but I do not think, nor have I ever thought, that we should use him."

Sirius snorted in disbelief. "Go ahead and live in that fantasy land Albus, but just don't expect the rest of us to live there with you. You have done nothing but mold him to be the perfect weapon, to be used by you if such a situation as the one we are facing now would arise. And when it looked like your weapon may not have been everything you thought he was, you abandoned him. You were planning on using him the same way you used James." Sirius spat the last part out bitterly.

Albus looked around him in surprise and saw agreement on many of the faces at the table, Draco he expected this sort of reaction out of, but not from Sirius. "May I ask who else here shares these views?"

Albus was shocked to his core when he saw Draco, Severus, Minerva, Sirius, Remus, Tonks, Fred, George, Bill and Charlie Weasley raise their hands. He suspected that Hermione and Ron would most likely have raised their hands also but they were still struggling to come to terms that they were largely responsible for sending their innocent best friend to Azkaban. Over half of the Council believed that he had planned on using Harry Potter. This would bear some thought and some introspection. Planning a date with his pensive for later that night, the Headmaster knew that he needed to try to save the situation from becoming any more confrontational.

"I am truly sorry that you feel that way. In spite of what you believe, I genuinely liked Harry very much. What I am suggesting is that we step up our search efforts to locate him, if nothing else to apologize and to let him know that he was no longer considered a fugitive." Sitting back in his chair the Headmaster let that sink in before continuing. "As you all know, Harry is one of the most powerful wizards alive, if not the most powerful; he is also the Heir of Gryffindor. Don't forget that Harry hates Voldemort; after all, the Dark Lord did kill his parents and tormented him for many years. Ultimately, Voldemort is even the one responsible for Harry being the victim of the plot to frame him and send him to prison. If Harry would choose to forgive us and aid us in our cause, we might have the resources necessary to finally rid this world of the darkest evil that it has ever seen. And if that means that we need to beg Harry to get him to help us, then I think that it is worth it."

Seeing many heads on the Council nod in agreement with him, the Headmaster continued. "I think that the first step in locating Mister Potter is to fully understand how he escaped." Ignoring the looks of confusion on the Council members faces, as they had discussed the escape a hundred times over the last four years, Albus turned to look directly as Draco. "Draco, I think that it's time that you were honest with us about the role you played in Harry's escape, don't you?"

Draco was floored. He couldn't believe that Dumbledore had figured it out and had obviously known for some time.

Giving the blonde time to think of a proper response, Albus went on to add, "Despite what you may think of me Draco, I truly did like Harry and thought of him almost as one would a grandson. His arrest and conviction were like a knife through my own heart. I didn't want to believe that he could have done it, but with all of the evidence to prove that he did, I ignored what was in front of me and I shall regret that as long as I live. I've suspected for some time that you had an instrumental role in Harry's escape. I've kept silent until now out of my fondness for Harry, not wanting him to have to return to prison or worse yet, be killed, but now I must ask you to please share with us what you know. We really must find Harry. If not for our own sakes, at least to offer him what protection we can from Voldemort."

Draco caught Severus' eye from across the table, and made up his mind to come clean. "Fine. You want to know how he escaped I'll tell you." Ignoring the incredulous expressions on the Order Member's faces, he continued. "It was easy, really. I knew that Voldemort was planning an attack at Azkaban and that he wanted to gain as many potential new followers as possible. During the attack, the normal wards around the prison would be down, so I made Harry a portkey. All I had to do the day of the attack was find him, before anyone else did and once I did that, I gave him the portkey, which activated and took him away from there to a safe place."

"And the sheep dog that everyone remembered seeing?" Albus questioned softly.

Smirking Draco replied, "Since you had informed everyone at the Ministry about Harry's animagus form I just used that information to my advantage. I transfigured a mouse into a dog that resembled Harry's form. I put the animal under Imperious and commanded it to escape and to jump into the sea and try to swim for shore. I figured it would keep people busy looking for Harry locally, thinking that he left the prison on foot when actually he was far away."

"That was an ingenious plan really Draco, I must commend you. You have once more demonstrated how your ability at strategic thinking has aided us time and time again. But I must know; where did you send Harry?"

Clearly, Draco didn't want to tell them this. Even though he knew that Harry was no longer there, the time spent in New York with Harry was private and deeply personal. They were some of the best memories that Draco had and he didn't want to share them.

Seeing the obstinate expression on the young man's face, Albus decided that some additional encouragement was needed. "I promise that we won't pry, but I need to know where he was and what condition he was in. Please Draco, help me find him."

With his resolve breaking, not so much at Dumbledore's words, but the hopeful expression on Black's face, Draco decided to tell them what they wanted to hear.

"The portkey took him to a studio apartment in New York City. After my debriefings both here and with the Dark Lord, I joined Harry. All he did in the beginning was sleep, but he eventually recovered and before I left him the last time, I was sure that he would be okay on his own."

"How was he mentally, Malfoy? Was he very mad at us?" The Slytherin glared at the Weasley twin that he thought had asked the question, not knowing which one it was, as he had never cared enough to learn how to tell them apart.

"What do you think, Weasley? He had just spent eighteen months in a dark cell, with no human contact, and was guarded by no less than two dementors around the clock. How do you think he was? Was he insane? No, he wasn't, but if you think he was the same person that you used to share a house and play quidditch with, guess again. He changed."

Remus raised red-rimmed eyes. "How had he changed Draco?"

Draco sighed, there seemed to be no way to avoid this conversation. He knew that the Council wouldn't let go of him until he told them what they wanted to know. The blonde closed his eyes, reliving the images of his time spent with Harry in New York. Merlin, he missed him so much, trying not to focus on how Harry had tasted and how he had felt in his arms, Draco reached for the memories that would aid this group in their efforts.

"He was darker, not nearly as trusting, almost paranoid in the beginning, he didn't smile or laugh much, he was quiet and he spent a lot of time just thinking or staring out the window." A soft smile crossed the young man's face as he become lost in him memories. "He loved to be outside though and we used to take a walk every day. Toward the end of our time together, he seemed better, happier. Before you ask, he left the apartment in New York. I went back a couple of weeks later to check on him, but he had moved out. I had given him some money to get him started and documents so that he could change his identity. I suspect that he had also changed his appearance." Draco tried to fight down the lonely feeling that he got every time he thought about that empty apartment. There was one more thing that he needed to say and then he would be done. "You need to know that he was very angry at the entire wizarding world for turning on him, and most importantly, he had no desire ever come back here. I don't think he will react well to being found."

"So why did you do it Draco? You're not the type to just help someone out of the goodness of your heart. What was in it for you?" Draco met the redhead's glare with one of his own.

"What's it to you why I helped your best friend escape the hell you made for him? All that matters is that I did."

"So that's it, isn't it?"

"What the hell are you talking about, Weasel?"

"You love him, don't you? You want him for yourself. You were always watching him during our seventh year; I thought something might have been going on between you two, but I never expected this."

Severus Snape had remained remarkably silent for most of this exchange, deciding to sit back and watch the events unfold in front of him; however, now he felt the need to intervene. "Mister Weasley, please spare the rest of us and put a stop to the senseless dribble that constantly seems to flow out of that thing you call a mouth. Draco's reasons for helping Mister Potter are just that, they're Draco's, and as I see it, bear no impact on our current efforts to locate him."

When Ron tried to protest, Dumbledore stopped him, "I agree with Severus. The relationship between Harry and Draco is private and it will remain private, as are his reasons for helping Harry. We should just be immensely grateful for the assistance that he provided to Harry in his time of need, when the rest of us did nothing. Do you understand me, Ronald?"

Seeing the red head's nod, Dumbledore went on to ask for suggestions on how to go about locating Harry. Unfortunately, every effort that was put into locating Harry came back empty. For fourteen long months the Order tried to find Harry, but every lead met with a dead end.

End Flashback

Draco's private thoughts were disturbed when a smiling Albus Dumbledore cleared his throat, bringing everyone's attention to him. The annoying twinkle that had been missing for so long from the Headmaster's bright blue eyes was back in force. 'Well, at least it isn't more bad news.' Draco thought.

The energy in the Headmaster's smile was contagious. "My dear friends, after searching for so long, I am happy to report to you that we think that we may have located Harry Potter."

8 Mister Kingston

Silence met the Phoenix's announcement as most of the Order members were in shock. Many had given up long ago on locating what could quite possibly be the only remaining hope the wizarding world had at defeating Voldemort.

"Where is he?" gasped Sirius, who was practically bouncing in his seat with excitement.

Albus smiled at the animagus' behavior. "I think I'll let Mrs. Weasley explain; Hermione, if you would please."

Draco was so caught up in what she had to say that he didn't even take time to insult her as he usually would.

"Well, yesterday, Ron and I went to visit my parents to pick up Rebecca. They had babysat our daughter over the weekend, as Ron and I had Order business that we needed to take care of. While we were at their home, my Dad was watching television; some morning show that he likes to watch. For those of you who don't know, a television is a muggle device that broadcasts pictures and sound similar to how we fire call, but it can be shown to millions of people at the same time and many of the images shown on the television were recorded earlier; they are not necessarily live." Seeing that most of the Order members appeared to understand the basics of what a television was, Hermione continued.

"Anyway, my mum and I were in the kitchen talking when I heard a familiar voice. Ron and I went into the family room with my Dad and saw that on the television the host of the show was interviewing a popular singer from the United States who had just won some big award for his music over the weekend. I'm not sure why but the singer seemed vaguely familiar to me, so I decided to record the program." Hermione took a recording device out of her pocket and placed it on the table. Soon, the room was filled with the images that Hermione and Ron had seen the day before.

Draco watched half interested, 'Who cares about some American pop star? What does all this have to do with Harry?' Soon the host ended the first part of the interview and the singer got up to perform one of his songs. Draco watched as the attractive man, who looked to be in his early twenties, picked up his guitar. The man sat on a stool and pushed his brown hair out of his crystal blue eyes. Draco started to fidget as the first strains of the song filled the room, however his mood soon changed when the singer opened his mouth and began to sing, then he almost forgot to breathe. Memorized, Draco could do nothing more than watch the image of the man sing his heart out. The song itself was rather good, Draco admitted, but it wasn't the song that had captured his and everyone else's attention. It was the words.

It was the same exact words that Hermione had read out loud to the Council the day after Harry had escaped Azkaban. Somehow, hearing him sing about wanting to die and the pain that he had been through was so much worse than merely reading them aloud. The passion that the singer put into the song lead one to think that the words held a special purpose to him; that this was about more than just a song.

No one moved as the last haunting note faded away. Hermione reached over and picked up the ball on the table. Draco took a moment to look around at all the pale faces in the room. Sirius even had tears running down his face as he still stared at the place on the wall where the image had once been.

Hermione decided to take that moment to continue with her explanation. "The singer's name is Emrys Kingston. He is in his early twenties, and lives in Southern California. He is an extremely private person, so we were not able to find very much out about his personal life."

"We do know that he has been singing with the band Black Onyx for almost three and a half years now, and most of the music that the band performs could be classified as hip hop, this was the first song of this type, you know, darker. According to what we were able to find out, he is a very popular singer and has won many awards, not the least of which was a Grammy for Male Vocalist of the Year. We tried to do a background check on Mister Kingston; both through muggle means and through the American Ministry of Magic. Both searches came up negative. It looks like before a little more than three years ago, there was no record of an Emrys Kingston; he just seemed to have popped up out of thin air, and as I'm sure that you will all remember that is about the time that Draco gave Harry the means to create his new persona."

"Lastly, the singer's voice is vaguely familiar. Now it isn't exactly like Harry's was; he doesn't have a British accent but it is still could potentially be him. Also, not many people know this, but Harry used to sing. Not in public mind you, but when he was alone, or thought he was. Ron told me that the boys that shared a dorm with him used to make fun of him for singing in the showers." Ron nodded as Hermione paused to allow everyone an opportunity to assimilated this information. "It is Ron's and my conclusion that there is a remote chance that Emrys Kingston isHarry Potter, and if he isn't, then someone must at least talk to him to see where he got the words to that song." Finished with her analysis, Hermione crossed her arms in front of her and leaned back in her chair.

Gray eyes that seemed alight with an inner fire met and held a pair of twinkling blue ones. The old wizard nodded at the much younger one. "Draco, I think that you know what it is that I must ask of you."

The Phoenix interrupted him as the blonde started to protest. "I have listened carefully to all your reasons why we must let Harry go, but I do not think that it is in the best interest for any of the parties involved. I need you to go to the United States and bring Harry home."

Draco had known for some time that if they had located Harry that Dumbledore would ask this of him, still it didn't make him feel any better about it. "Look, you think you've found him, why does it have to be me that brings him home? I was the one that made it possible for him to leave."

Albus smiled at Draco's weak protests, he always suspected that there was something more than just friendship between the two boys. "And that my dear boy is exactly why it must be you. Harry trusts you and, if I am not mistaken, owes you a wizard debt for the help that you gave him in escaping from prison. The rest of us, with the exception of Severus, have betrayed him; we didn't believe in him at a very crucial moment in his life, and he had to suffer tremendously for our weakness. He is not likely to listen to anyone else's explanation. But with you, I am hopeful that he will at least listen to what you have to say, if not come back to Hogwarts with you. We need him, Draco."

"You do realize that he'll probably just tell us all to go to hell. And to be honest with you, I hope he does."

"Yes, I expect that Harry holds a lot of anger at what we did to him. His initial reaction will most likely be to reject any offer that we make, but you know deep down Harry is still the Heir of Gryffindor; he is the descendent of the one of the oldest and most noble bloodlines in our world. I do not truly believe that he will allow our community to perish when there is something that he can do about it. I believe that while he may not forgive us, he will not allow innocent people to suffer due to his inability to move on. He will be back."

Draco smirked at the hopeful faces around the large table; these people were no better off now than they were when Harry came to Hogwarts as an eleven year old. They were still vesting all their hopes in to the hands of one person. When would they realize that Harry was only human? "Am I to go alone?"

"No, Severus will accompany you."

Before the Potion Master could comment on this latest development, the words "I'm coming too" were shouted from the far corner of the table. It figures that Black would want to come along; well, Harry is his Godson.

Draco saw the determined look on the Sirius' face and knew that there would be no talking him out of it. "Very well Sirius, if you want to come, I don't have a problem with it, as long as both you and Severus agree to behave yourselves." Both men were old enough to be Draco's father, but sometimes you would never be able to tell that from their behavior. The pair had done a decent job of putting aside their differences and working together for the good of the Order, but every now and then one of them would say or do something that set the other off and then look out. That was the type of incident that this mission couldn't afford.

A very much relieved Black nodded his head.

Draco raised one of his fine eyebrows at his own Godfather, "Severus?"

"Fine, I agree to go with you, and I also promise not to do anything to dreadful to Black as long as you keep him as far away from me as you can."

Knowing that that was as much of a promise that he was going to get from the Potion Master, Draco nodded.

With more enthusiasm than a normal person should be allowed, the Headmaster rose up from his chair and clapped his hands together. "Good, now that that's settled, you will all leave tomorrow."

Draco leaned back in his chair not sure how to feel, for so long now he had completely given up on the dream of seeing Harry again. But now with a real possibility that he very well may be seeing him again tomorrow, he felt nervous. Deep down, he was worried about how Harry would react to seeing them again, and more importantly, how he would react to seeing Harry again.

* * *

Draco looked around him curiously. A portkey had taken him, Sirius, and Severus to New Orleans, Louisiana, in the heart of the deep south of the United States. Draco had heard many things about this place and having never been there was fairly interested in looking around a bit. However, this wasn't the time or place for that. They were here because Hermione had said that Black Onyx, Harry's band, was playing a concert here tonight.

The men had no trouble locating the arena where the group was to perform that evening. The place was a huge dome shaped building called the Super Dome that would seat more people that probably existed in the entire English magical community. Draco thanked Merlin for magic when they went to purchase tickets. The clerk had the audacity to laugh in their faces before he managed to spit out that the show had been sold out for over a month. Draco had to fight the urge to hex the man when he winked at them and said "better luck next time."

Grabbing three pieces of trash off the dirty ground, Draco went in to the men's restroom and transfigured the paper wrappers into tickets, and VIP passes. He had seen someone else with a VIP pass and he knew that if they wanted to get close enough to the lead singer to have a conversation with him that they may have to apparate with him somewhere private. And in order to apparate with another person, you needed to be touching them; hence the need for VIP passes.

Severus checked them into a nearby Marriott hotel, while Sirius and Draco sat in the lobby looking for anyone who appeared to look like the picture that Hermione had given them of Emrys Kingston.

Not having any luck at spotting the singer, the threesome decided to walk around a bit as they had a few hours to kill before the gates opened at the Dome. Never having been this far south before, they were overwhelmed by the strength of the sun. It only took a few moments before Severus, who rarely came outside of his dungeons, was complaining about the heat. In an effort to cool down some, they elected to stroll down the famous river walk.

Draco was grudgingly impressed; the architecture wasn't nearly as old as most of the buildings in England, but it was still a sight to see. The French influence was very apparent. After a rather uneventful walk, Severus and Draco allowed themselves to be directed down one the most notorious streets in the world, Bourbon Street.

Looking around at the various bars and shops Draco's gaze fell on a small group of ladies wearing impossibly short skirts and what could barely be described as a top. All of the women in the pack seemed to be wearing an unordinary amount of cheap, gaudy plastic beaded necklaces. Not wanting to give them the wrong idea, Draco tried to avoid eye contract. Unfortunately, Sirius wasn't so inclined and kept staring at the girls.

Hoping that the females wouldn't notice, Draco put his head down and kept walking down the street. A loud giggle was their only warning and, soon they found themselves surrounded.

"Where are you going, sexy?" one of the girls said in what she most likely assumed was a sultry voice.

"Excuse us, but we must be off" Severus said in a tone that has sent many first years scurrying for cover.

"What's the rush, luv?" a different girl answered, one that seemed to be unaffected by the glares that they were directing her way. "We just wanted to know if you have any beads."

"Beads?" Sirius asked, clearly confused.

More giggling met his question. "Yes, beads, three handsome gentlemen as yourselves surely must know what nice girls do for beads, don't you?" With that, they watched transfixed as the girl that had been speaking reached down and, with both hands, lifted her shirt up over her head, exposing herself to them.

If Draco hadn't have been in such a hurry to get out of there, he would have fallen over laughing at the expression on Severus' face. You would have sworn that the man had never seen a pair of breasts before in his life. Thinking quickly, Draco grabbed his companions and pulled them away from the girls who were outright laughing at them by now, and walked very fast down the street.

"Did you…did you see..?"

Sirius laughed and patted Snape on the back. "Come on old boy, spit it out. It was only a pair of …"

Having pulled himself together by now, Severus snapped, "I know exactly what they were, you don't need to tell me. I was just surprised as all. I surmise that the women here are a little different then the ones in England."

Draco nodded in agreement, wanting to put the incident out of his mind.

Sharing a look between them, they decided not to risk anymore of those types of encounters, they decided to go back to the Super Dome to wait for the doors to open.

* * *

Sirius looked around him anxiously as the mass of people continued to file in and slowly make their way to their seats, 'there has got to be over 70,000 people in here'.

Draco, sharing some of Sirius' own thoughts, said distractedly, "I heard Harry sing in the shower before; he was good, but certainly not this good."

A few moments later, the house lights went down, and Draco was forced to eat his words.

Three completely astonished men stood off on one of the ramps and listened in disbelief as the band Black Onyx began their first set of songs. The band was good, really good. It was no wonder that so many people wanted to come and hear them perform first-hand.

After the initial surprise wore off, Draco found himself concentrating solely on the lead singer, the man that Granger thought might be Harry. His voice, while vaguely familiar, didn't sound like Harry's and while the man was the same approximate height as Harry and had a similar build as him, Draco just wasn't sure if the handsome man that called himself Emrys Kingston could in fact be Harry Potter.

All too soon, the band was playing what was to be the final song of the night. Barely giving his companions a glance, Draco found himself swept up in the crowd's enthusiasm and was soon chanting for an encore along with everyone else.

The crowd quieted immediately when Emrys walked back onto the stage. The singer graciously thanked everyone for coming and stated that he hoped that everyone had enjoyed the show. His remarks where met with loud approval from his adoring fans. After expressing regret that this was the band's last concert this season and plugging the band's new CD that was due to be released in a couple of months, Emrys settled himself down on a stool that one of the stage hands had placed in the center of the stage.

As soon as he strummed the first haunting notes of the song that he was about to sing, Draco froze. Here was the song that had brought him, Severus and Sirius almost half way around the world. Reading the words were one thing, hearing them put to music on some sort of recording device was another, but neither compared to listening and watching this young man pour his heart and soul into this one single piece of music.

Feeling someone nudge him from behind, Draco turned and saw that Severus and Sirius had started to walk away from where they had stood for the concert and were making their way towards the stage. Before the last note of the song died away, the crowd was on its feet demanding more; another encore.

By this time, the Hogwarts group made their way backstage, after a brief stop to show their back stage passes to security. Using a subtle charm to confuse the band's manager, Severus managed to convince the man that they had previously set up an interview with Mister Kingston immediately following the performance. As such, they were shown to a private room, where they were told to wait for Emrys.

The room was comfortable enough, with several leather couches and a small fully stocked refrigerator. It was a good thing that the room was so comfortable, as they were forced to wait there for what seemed to be an ungodly amount of time. Just when Sirius had exhausted what little patience the Gryffindor was gifted with and was about to go look for Mister Kingston, the door to the room burst open.

"Look, I don't know who exactly you people think you are, or what you did to Tony, but I sure as hell did not set up a meeting with anyone after the concert tonight. Now if you'll excuse me…" With that, Emrys Kingston turned back to the door ready to leave.

Draco watched as the lead singer came rushing into the room, clearly in some sort of snit. As the young man's rant waned, Draco took the opportunity to study him. Draco hated to admit it but he was very attractive, and appeared to have an incredible body. So intent on studying the man, Draco missed it when Kingston finally took the time to look at the people he was currently dressing down. If he hadn't, he would have seen the almost nonexistent flicker of what could have been described as recognition in the singer's deep blue eyes.

Severus however wasn't about to let this opportunity pass and quickly moved to block the retreating singer. "Mister Kingston, we do have some questions for you that we need some answers to. Now, we can talk here or we can take you to somewhere more private for our little chat. Make no mistake however; you are going to talk to us. The sooner that we have the answers we require, the sooner you can back to this existence you call a life, do you understand?"

If Emrys was surprised by Severus' demeanor, he didn't show it. With an almost bored glance at his watch, the singer sneered, "You have five minutes and not one second more, so I suggest you tell me what you want from me and then get lost."

Draco decided to take the initiative before either one of his two companions could utter another word and risk pissing off Kingston any more than they already had. "Mister Kingston, we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you, but we are interested in learning where the words for that last song you sang came from."

Emrys' eyes flickered briefly in Draco's direction. "And which song was that?" came the lazy reply.

Counting slowly to five so as to not lose his temper, Draco responded. "It was the song that you sang for the encore; I believe that the name of the song was 'Bother".

The only sign that the singer had even heard him was an abrupt nod as the singer turned from the three strangers and walked over to the window. As they watched the young man, Draco shared a bewildered look with his Godfather, not sure of exactly how to proceed from here.

After a brief moment of silence, Emrys turned once more to face the men. "I am familiar with which song you are inquiring about, but before I answer, I want to know why you are so interested in that particular song."

"Look Mister Kingston, my Godson has been missing for almost four years, I haven't seen him in over five and I really need to get in touch with him." Sirius started to explain.

"And that concerns me because…"

"Because one of the last messages that he left before he disappeared were the words to that song." Snape was clearly annoyed. "If you would be so kind as to tell us who wrote that song, we'll be on our way."

Glaring at the tall dark haired man Emrys responded, his own tone showing his impatience with this conversation. "Fine, I'll tell you, just so that you will leave me alone, not that it's going to be much help to you anyway."

Before the three men could respond, the singer continued. "A few years back before the band got our big break we were spending a lot of time playing in some dive clubs in New York City. There was this one place that we played at fairly often. While we were there we got to know some of the regulars. There was this one man there, a loner really, that would hang with us occasionally. We kinda felt sorry for him. Anyway, he wrote that song and he gave it to me. That's all there was to it."

Draco thought about Emrys' answer, it seemed on the surface to make sense, Harry most likely would have been in New York at that time, but something just didn't feel right. "What did this man look like, can you describe him?"

Emrys rolled his eyes. "Lets see, he was about my height, scrawny looking, almost like he hadn't had much to eat for a long time, he had dark hair and a strange scar on his face. When we asked him about it he said that he had gotten in a fight when he was younger; now that I think about it it's kinda ironic."

Sirius exchanged an excited look with Draco. The man that had wrote the song certainly sounded like he was Harry. "Why did you say that it was ironic and where did you last see this man? Did he have a name?"

Reaching a hand back to massage his neck, Emrys sighed. "He called himself James. I never knew where he lived, so don't bother asking. Besides, he's not there anymore anyway."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I was there the night he died."

If a feather would have fallen to the floor, it would have sounded like a gun shot, the silence was so deafening.

"W—Wh—What do you mean 'died'?" Draco was so stunned that he didn't even notice his stutter.

"James, the one who wrote that song, died in a bar fight in New York City a couple of years ago."

"Are we finished? I have other places that I need to be." And without an additional comment, Emrys Kingston walked out of the room, leaving three depressed and confused wizards behind him.

9 Found

Draco didn't even react as the young singer left the room. Draco was so numb after hearing his announcement that he didn't even notice his abrupt departure. As the world seemed to tilt alarmingly, Draco felt a pair of strong arms guide him down into a soft leather chair. Trying to recover from feeling as though someone had just knocked all the wind out of him, Draco looked up into the concerned eyes of his Godfather.

Draco managed to drawn in a shuddering breath as Sirius moaned out "No…..no…..it's not true."

After giving themselves a few moments to compose themselves they quietly left the back stage area and slowly made their way to their hotel room each lost deep in their own thoughts.

It was one thing, to believe that he and Harry may never get back together, but to at least have a small hope that one-day, maybe, they would once more find each other. The pain at having that slim hope totally destroyed was beyond belief. Draco closed his eyes as a small tear leaked out and slowly slid down his smooth cheek. Painfully, Draco thought back to the first time he had seen the small skinny boy standing so alone on a stool being fitted for school robes. His face was so open, trusting and full of life. He was eager to learn about the wonderful world that he had just been introduced to, a world that had ultimately betrayed him and due to their own stupidity and short sightedness had doomed themselves in the process.

A late night bite to eat and a refreshing shower helped to clear Draco's head. Unfortunately the topic of Harry's potential death couldn't be avoided forever and soon the conversation turned to the disturbing information that they had just learned.

Sirius asked a desperate twang in his voice, "So what do we do now? Go to New York?"

Severus thought for a minute, then when he is about to reply, Draco silences him. "No. I can't accept it, I don't know why... but Harry isn't dead. I know that much. No, Black. No... we go West."

Somehow deep down Draco knew that Harry wasn't dead. He refused to believe it, and he thought that the man with the answers was Emrys Kingston. This time Draco wasn't going to let that singer out of his sight until he got the answers he needed.

Referring back to the background information that Hermione had given to them, Draco was able to find Kingston's personal address. As much as he hated that bitch for what she had done to Harry, Draco grudgingly admitted that there was no one better at doing research. 'At least she's thorough.' After much discussion, Sirius and Severus agreed with Draco that something seemed off with Emrys' story and that they needed to speak with him again. Deciding to go on to California very early tomorrow morning the three men crashed for the night.

* * *

The trio apparated to a secluded area on the California beach close to where they had been told Emrys Kingston lived. It was still dark, as the morning sun had yet to start its daily climb, as the men silently made their way across the sand dunes towards the dark structure visible in the moonlight a short way ahead. As they got closer, Draco could feel the magic surrounding the home. "Wards?"

Sirius nodded. "Well, at least we know that Mister Kingston is more than what he appears to be. He is either a wizard himself or had some friends set up the wards for him."

Draco acknowledged Black's comment, but didn't reply, as he was currently watching his Godfather who had an unusual expression on his face. "Severus, what's wrong?"

Snape jumped when Draco interrupted his concentration, a look of amazement on his face. "I may be wrong, but from what I can tell, these are some of the most powerful protection spells I have ever seen. I doubt even Albus is powerful enough to cast wards this strong."

Sirius knew, that although this was a long shot, it was also the best lead that they had in the search so far. And he was willing to do whatever it took to make sure they had gleaned every piece of information about Harry from this singer as they could. "Well ,as we currently have no way of getting past the wards, let's settle in here for the rest of the night. We'll wait for Kingston to come to us. He's not likely to spend the entire day inside the house and when he does come out, we'll talk to him some more."

Agreeing to Sirius' plan, Draco assumed his animagus form, as it would be more comfortable to wait outside for the remainder of the night as a wolf. Seeing the advantages of Draco's choice, Sirius and Severus soon followed him. On the hillside beside the home where Emrys Kingston unknowingly slept, a dog, a wolf and a raven kept watch.

* * *

Draco was the first one to stir the next morning. His extra sensitive wolf hearing had picked up on what sounded like someone walking on the beach. Hiding in some tall grass, he watched as Kingston, dressed in an unbelievably tight outfit that covered his chest and came down mid thigh, was walking away from them carrying some sort of board thing under his arm. With a quick nudge to his companions, Draco resumed his human form.

Sirius let go a low whistle. "I knew the first time we met him that Kingston was a good looking chap, but I didn't expect him to have a body like that."

Draco would have replied but his mouth had gone dry at the sight of the muscular form covered so tightly in the black one piece out fit. It certainly left nothing to the imagination. At that moment, Draco added yet another reason why he hoped that Kingston turned out to be Harry in disguise.

Knowing that they were less likely to get caught, with a small pop, the dog, wolf, and raven were back. The unlikely trio set off following the man down the beach, careful to keep to the grasses and shadows so as not to be seen. The waves rushing in to meet the shore and then racing out again in to the vast ocean were the only sounds that were heard, occasionally interrupted by the cry of a hungry seagull as they crept on. After walking about half a mile, Kingston dropped the board he had been carrying on the beach and began to climb some nearby rocks. The rocks were, in fact, a tall cliff front that rose several hundred feet up from the beach and stretched out over the water. Knowing that there was not a possible way to continue to follow him and not be seen, the three wizards hid themselves in the grass and watched.

Eventually, Kingston reached the top of the cliff and as though he didn't have a care in the world, walked out to the edge. The wizards watched in fascination as the man just stood there for what seemed like an hour, just gazing out at the dark sea lost in his own thoughts. The sun had started to rise and it made a brilliant sight as the light sparkled as it was reflected off of the waves. After a while, the man on the cliff looked around cautiously as if making sure no one was watching him, then much to everyone's surprise, he backed up a few steps.

Thinking that he was finally going to come down off of the rock face, the trio transformed knowing that this would be as good of an opportunity as any to talk to the man. But before they could so much as utter a warning cry, Kingston had started to run forward toward the edge of the cliff. Without giving them a moment to breathe, the young man dove off the cliff and started to fall head first towards the rocks and sea below.

Draco reached blindly for his wand wanting to do something to stop the man's fall, noticing that his companions were doing the same thing. Before any of them had the chance to utter a single spell the man was transforming. With a soft pop, where there had once been a man plunging to his death, there was now a beautiful, strong, red and gold phoenix.

With a trill-like song and the beating of his wings, the phoenix flew out over the sea and was soon lost from human sight.

"What the hell was that?"

Draco looked over at Sirius' pale face.

"It appears as though Mister Kingston is an animagus; a phoenix animagus no less."

Sirius looked over at the Potion Master angrily. "No shit, Snape, I was here as well, you know. It's just that I had never heard of someone having a magical animal as an animagus form before, have you?"

"No, I'm certain that there has never been recorded a witch or wizard who had such a form, but we'll have to ask Minerva when we get back to Hogwarts, as that is her area of expertise. However, since we all know that Potter's animagus form is a dog, I think that we can safely assume that Kingston is not Potter."

Draco felt his stomach fall at Severus' words. He was right, but Draco just didn't want to believe it. If Kingston wasn't Harry, then they would have to go back and research Kingston's claim that the person who wrote that song was dead and that was something that Draco just couldn't do, not just yet.

Trying not to sound as dejected as he was, Draco suggested that they go find something to eat for breakfast and then come back later and question Kingston some more about the person that wrote the song before they left. Sirius looked about as unwilling as he was to pursue their other lead, so he readily agreed with the blonde. Severus agreed reluctantly as he added that obviously Emrys Kingston was a very powerful wizard and maybe if things were explained to him, he would be willing to come to England and aid them in their fight. It was doubtful, but at least worth a try.

Making their way further down the beach, they came to a small diner that offered a full breakfast menu. All conversation ceased as they enjoyed waffles, eggs and American style bacon. Soon, they were finished and after paying the bill, they found themselves walking once more down the beach towards the Kingston residence.

The sun shone brilliantly in the sky and it beat down relentlessly on the figures dressed in black. While Draco was enjoying the brightness, he could tell that Severus was distinctively uncomfortable. The blonde tried not to chuckle as the Potion Master stopped once more to empty the sand from his shoes, mumbling something about when he got home he was never leaving the dungeons again.

When they got back to the cliff where they had seen Emrys transform, they noticed that the long board that he had been carrying was no longer on the ground. Thinking that he had already returned home, the three trudged on.

As they were approaching the house, Draco heard a faint sound somewhere off to their right. It sounded like a child's laughter. Stopping Severus and Sirius, Draco motioned to where the noise was coming from. Wanting to investigate, Draco started to walk in the direction that the laughter had come from. He had only gotten to the top of the next sand dune when he saw a small child playing with something in the grass. The child had messy black hair and was poking at something and giggling.

Draco started forward, wanting to know what it was the child was playing with. As he got closer he swore he heard a low hissing noise, but he couldn't tell where the hissing sound was coming from.

Not wanting to scare the child, Draco knelt down beside him in the sand. "Hello, my name is Draco. Who are you?"

The young boy, who appeared to be around the age of three, didn't look up but kept playing with whatever was lying in the grass. Draco's eyes widened as he heard the young toddler hiss at the grass. Soon a small snake head peeked out of the tall grass and hissed back at the child. Draco almost fell over, was this child a parselmouth. How could that be? The only known parselmouths alive were Harry and Voldemort, yet here was another.

Seeing that the child's plaything was a common garden snake and wouldn't harm the boy, Draco tried once more to capture the child's attention. "So who is your friend there?" Slowly the young boy turned and looked up at Draco as if noticing that he wasn't alone for the first time.

As the child started to turn towards him, Draco smiled not wanting to frighten him. But as he caught sight of the child's face, Draco felt as though someone had punched him hard in the stomach. Draco couldn't breathe as he found himself looking into a pair of impossibly green eyes, eyes identical to the ones that had haunted him for more years than he cared to remember.

"Hey, Draco, why don't you introduce us to your friend there?" Black echoed Draco's own similar words. If he wasn't still recovering from his own shock, he would have laughed as he watched Sirius' reaction to the small boy. "Harry" the animagus managed to gasp before he fell to his knees.

Sirius couldn't believe what he was seeing. This small child looked almost exactly what he would have expected Harry to look like at a similar age. The child's face was narrower, almost pointy and his nose was slightly upturned but other than that he looked like Harry.

The little boy picked up his snake and gave the men a small smirk. "Me not Hawy, me Machew." Before the men could say another word, they heard a lady calling for the child, "Matthew, Matthew Harrison where are you? You better come back here before your father gets home…Matthew!"

The look on the boy's face was comical, "go…go see N'cole", and with that, the boy took off still carrying his snake in the direction of the house as fast as his little slightly chubby legs would carry him.

Draco watched as Sirius composed himself. Sirius gasped at the Potion Master who had just joined them. "Did you see him? That boy; he looks like Harry."

"Of course I saw him. I agree he did look like a Potter, but his face also reminded me of someone else, but I just can't place it yet." Severus said thoughtfully.

"Regardless, I think that we have a bit more to discuss with Emrys Kingston, don't you? Like how in the hell he got a hold of Harry's son." Draco tried to keep the betrayal out of his voice. The pain he felt, when he held what was undeniably Harry's child, was not expected. He had expected Harry to move on, but judging by the boy's age, Harry must have gotten some girl pregnant shortly after he had left him in New York. Some part deep inside Draco had been secretly hoping that Harry hadn't found anyone else and was still off somewhere pinning for him, and only him. Sure Draco had his share of lovers in the years since he and Harry had spent that one indescribable night together, but in all honestly none of his affairs had meant anything, at least not to him. But Draco knew that he was far from settling down and starting a family with someone. However, it appears that Harry had been more than ready for a family, maybe he didn't mean as much to Harry as Harry had meant to him.

The other two wizards nodded in agreement with Draco's conclusion, and then the three men turned and walked once more towards the house where they could hear a child's laughter. As Draco crossed over a short wooden bridge that lead from the beach onto the patio outside the house, he scanned the home in appreciation. The house itself was large and appeared to have a European design. The back of the home was comprised mostly of glass which would not only give the house an open feel but also provide an unobstructed view of the ocean from most of the rooms. Overall, it reeked of wealth.

There was a large in-ground pool on the patio that had an attached hot tub. The grounds appeared to be professionally maintained. However, Draco hardly noticed all this as his attention was focused on something else entirely: a small toy dragon that was lying forgotten on the Spanish tile patio.

Draco leaned down to pick it up and was examining the toy closely. It reminded him of one of the dragon toys that he had as a child. "Excuse me, who are you and what are you doing here? This is private property." His examination was interrupted as young women approached them.

Sirius glanced at the attractive young lady who was holding the boy who looked so much like Harry. 'Maybe this is Harry's wife,' Sirius thought to himself as he slowly approached them. "Hello Miss. My name is Sirius Black and I met Emrys recently. He is trying to help me locate my Godson who has been missing for some time now. My friends and I just had a few more things that we needed to ask him. Does he happen to be home?"

The brunette looked suspiciously at Sirius. "Emrys didn't mention you to me Mister Black, and no, he isn't home right now."

"I'm sorry for our abrupt appearance here Miss, but my companions and I have come a long way. Would it be possible for us to wait for Emrys to return? It is very important that we are able to speak to him."

The small child in her arms started to squirm. After setting him down on the tile, the lady returned to once more look at Sirius. After a few tense moments, she made a decision. "I may live to regret this. Emrys does not like visitors; he isn't the most trusting person. But if it is as important as you say, then I guess that it would be okay for you gentlemen to wait out here on the patio. We were just going to a morning swim and Emrys should be home any moment now, so please make yourselves comfortable. I'm Nicole, by the way."

Sirius gave Nicole a heart stopping smile. "It's nice to meet you, Nicole. This here is Draco Malfoy and that man over there with the sour look on his face is Severus Snape. Who is this little man here?" Sirius injected the last part as he bent down to look at the small dark haired boy who was playing at their feet.

"Come on Evan, say hello to Mister Black," Nicole coached.

"Evan? I thought you told me your name was Matthew" Draco interjected kneeling down beside the child.

"Me Machew," came a small voice from over closer to the pool. Another dark head popped up from where he had been hiding behind a potted fern. Draco, Severus and Sirius looked between the two boys in surprise. "There are two of them?" Draco asked shakily.

"Yes twins, they are practically identical. Both are too smart for their own good, if you know what I mean." Nicole chuckled. "Matthew, put that snake down and come over here, your father is not going to let you keep it in the house," she instructed.

Matthew walked over to where the adults were standing and looked up at Nicole, lowering both his eyebrows and screwing his face into an adorable pout the young boy said, "S'ake's mine. He my friend."

Nicole sighed tiredly. "Come on you two; let's go swimming." She took each child by the hand and led them over to the shallow end of the pool that had a zero level entry. Draco noticed that the pool was perfect for kids, 24 inches was the deepest the water in the shallow end got to. He noticed that while Nicole was still trying to convince Matthew to put his newly found pet down, as snakes don't like to swim, that the other boy Evan was walking into the water.

Sirius and Severus had settled themselves down on the chaise lounges to wait, but Draco didn't want to just sit there and wait; he was too nervous. Trying to distract himself from the answers that Kingston would hopefully provide, he walked over by the pool. For some reason, Draco instinctively felt like he needed to get to know these children. Maybe it was because they looked so much like Harry that he wanted to be near them or maybe it was something else. Never having any siblings or even any cousins for that matter, Draco had never been around children before, so this was a relatively new experience for him.

Taking off his shoes and socks, Draco decided to sit on the edge of the pool and dangle his feet in the cool water. As he was watching, Evan chased a ball that was floating on the water's surface. Suddenly he slipped and fell, completely submerging himself under the water. Draco quickly reached into the shallow water and lifted the young toddler up out of the water to safety. Draco was breathing heavily; fear had gripped him when he saw that dark head disappear under the water.

Evan coughed up some water that he had inadvertently swallowed, but otherwise he was fine. "Are you okay little guy?"

Evan nodded his head as he looked up at his rescuer. Draco didn't even hear the toddler's reply as he stared into two twin pools of silver. Draco had no way of knowing how long he had stood there holding the small child before Nicole noticed that something was going on. "Excuse me, your Draco right? Is everything okay? Was Evan troubling you?"

"No, Evan is fine, we're okay aren't we Evan?" Even to Draco his voice sounded hoarse. "Nicole, may I ask you a question?"

"I guess, as long as it's not too personal," she laughed nervously.

"Are you the twin's mother?"

Nicole looked at Draco sharply. "Well, that certainly is personal, you don't waste any time, do you Draco? But I guess I'll answer it anyway. No, I'm not Matthew and Evan's mother. I've been with Emrys since before the boys were born though, so you can say that I'm their surrogate mother I suppose."

"What happened to their birth mother, where is she?"

"I'm sorry Draco, but I think it would be best if you let Emrys answer those questions if he chooses to."

After giving Evan a hug, Draco set the child back down on the patio and returned to where Sirius and Severus were sitting.

Severus heard Draco's approach and opened his eyes, as he had been attempting to take a short cat nap. Seeing the stricken look on his too pale Godson's face, Severus sat up. "What happened, Draco? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I've just had one to many shocks today is all." Draco refused to elaborate even under his Godfather's questioning glare, so Severus gave up and went back to trying to fall asleep.

Draco sat down on one of the chairs that faced the ocean and soon became lost in a tangle of jumbled thoughts. The most prominent was 'Is Emrys Kingston really Harry Potter, and why does Evan Kingston have my eyes?'

* * *

"Daddy…Daddy…up, up, up"

"Daddy, Daddy, s'ake, see my s'ake."

The high pitched excited squeals of the twins woke both Severus and Sirius who had fallen into a light sleep lying in the bright late morning sun. A little embarrassed that they didn't even notice Emrys Kingston's approach, the two got up from the chaise lounges slowly and brushed off their clothing. Severus noticed that Draco wasn't with them on the patio, "Where's Draco?"

Sirius looked around quickly and saw Emrys standing over near the pool with two small energetic bundles trying to get his undivided attention, but there was no sign of the blonde. Shrugging his shoulders, he started to walk over to the pool, not wanting to miss this opportunity to talk to Kingston.

If Emrys was surprised to see them again, you couldn't tell it from the expression on his face. Once he had greeted the two enthusiastic boys by sweeping them both up into a gigantic hug at the same time, he turned to face his uninvited guests.

"Gentlemen, I didn't except to see you again", a voice so cool it could probably freeze water swept over the two men, "especially not at my personal residence." The last bit was said with a good amount of disdain.

"Sorry to intrude, Mister Kingston, but after we finished talking in New Orleans, we still had some questions that remained unanswered and we wanted to see if perhaps you would be able to help us some more." Sirius eyed the young man in front of him, desperately trying to see any sign that would let him believe that this was Harry.

Emrys ran one of his hands though his short brown hair in irritation. "Mister Black, was it?" At Sirius' nod Emrys continued. "Look, I told you and your friends everything I knew about that song and the person who wrote it. I also have never heard of that man that you are trying to locate, so I really don't see what other assistance I can provide you. I've answered all your questions before and my answers haven't changed in the last 24 hours. So if you don't mind, it has been awhile since I have seen my family and I would like to spend some time with them." Having said all that he wanted to Emrys turned back toward the pool and started to walk away.

"Well Harry, maybe we have some new questions. Why don't we start with this one and then go from there: are they mine?"

Emrys froze, not even daring to take a breath. He had been relieved when he had only seen Sirius and Severus on the patio, thinking that Draco had already returned to England. While lying to Black and Snape was difficult, it wasn't nearly as hard as it was to look into those familiar silver eyes that he had dreamed about forever and tell him a lie that would send him away possibly forever. Especially when his arms ached to reach out and hold him. Knowing that he had to be strong, if not for himself, then especially for his sons, Emrys quickly schooled his face into an expressionless mask. A shudder passed through his tall frame as he turned towards the speaker and once more was caught in the platinum glare.

"Are…They…Mine?"

Draco had been trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together since staring into Evan's gray eyes. Male pregnancies were extremely rare. In the entire wizarding world, there had only been a small handful of noted cases where a male had conceived a child with his male partner. If Draco remembered correctly three of those men later died during either the pregnancy or childbirth due to complications that the male form had when carrying the child. Only in cases where the wizard was exceptionally powerful was pregnancy even possible, and then only if the wizard had conceived the child with their bond mate or what is commonly referred to as soul mate, who also was a powerful wizard. The more powerful of the two would be the one to conceive and bear the child. It had been rumored that Godric Gryffindor had been conceived in this manner.

The one piece that still didn't make sense was that if Evan and Matthew were in fact Harry's sons, conceived with Draco, where was Harry? Draco, who had been sitting on the beach on a sand dune watching the ocean while he was figuring this all out, was interrupted by the twins yelling for their father. Draco stood up, not even noticing the sand that clung to his clothing and watched the family reunion taking place pool side.

Draco enviously watched as the twins ran to the brunette and then squealed with laughter as they were lifted high in the sky and then hugged. The twins clearly considered Emrys to be their father.

Then it all seemed to make a sort of odd sense…two animagus forms, one of which was a phoenix that had never before been recorded, the twins looking so much like Harry and at least one of them being a parselmouth, the wards on the house that were obviously set by an extremely powerful wizard, the song….. What if Harry was so powerful that he could do all that? The reason why the entire wizarding world rests their hopes on one boy to save them is because he was different, special. Was it so unbelievable that he could be this powerful?

Severus looked surprised at Draco's question, but being a Slytherin he quickly caught on to what Draco was assuming, and as a result asking. Of course, his reaction was nothing compared to Black's, who just stood there with his mouth hanging open, unable to piece two complete sentences together.

"Huh?"

A sharp look from Severus was all Sirius needed to know that his comments, as eloquent as they are, were neither needed nor wanted at this time. Deciding to just stand back and watch what was going on seemed the better alternative.

"For a third time Harry, are the twins mine?"

10 Truth

"For the third time Harry, are the twins mine?"

Emrys stood there in shock. Slowly recovering his wits, he started to shake his head. "I…I don't know what you're…" The lie died on his lips as he watched the hope that was intermingled with pain in Draco's eyes begin to fade.

"Emrys, is he…is he really?" Nicole had come up behind Emrys, and placed a comforting hand on his back.

Draco's eyes glittered as he watched Nicole touch his Harry, wondering once more what the relationship was between the two of them.

Emrys reached over and took Nicole's hand. "It'll be okay Nikki; they won't hurt me or the twins."

Nicole didn't look satisfied but some of the anxiety had faded from her face.

"Why don't you take the boys down to the beach for a picnic lunch? I need to talk to these men for a little and then I'll join you there later. I got the boys a surprise that I think we'll all enjoy, okay?" Emrys knew that there was no way he could deal with both his visitors and an overly protective Nicole at the same time.

Reluctantly, Nicole turned to where Sirius, Severus and Draco were standing. "You haven't got a clue what he has been through the last several years. If any of you so much as hurt a hair on his head, you will answer to me, and believe me that's something that you don't want to do." With those parting words, a squeeze to Emrys hand for support, and a glare that told them she meant every word, she gathered up the two little boys and headed towards the beach.

After Nicole and the boys were out of sight, Emrys faced the three men who had been so instrumental in his other life. He took a moment to study them as he decided how he wanted to handle this little unexpected reunion. Draco looked determined and a little overwhelmed, which was understandable coming face to face with the proof that he was a father; Sirius looked confused, he still hadn't put it together that Emrys was in fact his Godson; and lastly, Severus had a satisfied gleam in his eye that Emrys recognized as the one he usually had when something was coming together for him. "Look I really don't feel like discussing this out here on the patio; let's say we take this inside, shall we?"

Not waiting for them to agree or disagree, Emrys turned and walked into the house, expecting his guests to follow. As he entered the house, Emrys paused for a brief moment and then proceeded to continue through the entranceway and into the kitchen area.

"I hope you don't mind, but after my morning workout I need to get something in my stomach. Would anyone like something to eat?"

Still confused, Sirius responded, "No thanks. We already had breakfast."

Emrys nodded and then added some fruit into a food processor; strawberries, banana and mango with some powdered stuff and milk. The wizards watched fascinated with the muggle devices in the fully operational kitchen. The thought that Severus would love the opportunity to explore the gourmet facility crossed Draco's still stunned mind. Not many people knew that muggle cooking was one of Severus' hobbies; after all cooking really wasn't all that far removed from potions.

After about a minute, he poured what looked like a thick fruit smoothie into a large glass. "I'll just put some water on for tea and then we can go into my study and talk." Draining his drink in three large gulps, Emrys rinsed his glass and carefully placed it in the dishwasher.

Without another word, the men left the kitchen and walked down a short hallway to where the den was located. The room itself was spacious and bright; like what they had seen of the house so far everything was decorated in light earth tones, tans and sage green were the predominate colors with hunter greens, navy and burgundy as accents when needed. Overall, the effect was quite nice; homey and welcoming. The den had a fireplace, although Draco wondered why one was needed in this part of California. In front of the fireplace, there was a wing chair and a sofa with a small wooden end table in between them.

Over in the far corner of the room, there was a large wooded desk with a leather high backed chair with two smaller matching leather chairs placed in front of it. The wall behind the desk had bookshelves built in, and from the looks of it, Emrys had quite a collection of muggle literature. The outside wall of the den was all glass and looked out facing the ocean.

As they entered the den, Emrys gestured for the men to sit in the area by the fireplace, as he went to retrieve one of the chairs from over at the desk. Draco sat down on the sofa, not wanting to risk having Sirius and Severus having to sit that close to one another. After everyone had gotten relatively comfortable, Emrys said, "Well, what do you want to know?"

"Well as we told you before Mister Kingston, we are looking for my Godson…"

"Sirius, just stop." Disgusted with the Gryffindor's stupidity, Draco interrupted Sirius before he could further embarrass himself. Looking over at the older wizard, Draco decided to spell it out for him. "Sirius, we have found Harry." When Sirius looked even more confused, Draco rolled his eyes and added, "Emrys Kingston is Harry."

Astonished, Sirius spun quickly in Emrys direction and sputtered in disbelief, "But that's not possible. We saw him turn into a phoenix and we all know that Harry's animagus form is a dog."

"Harry, some help here if you please."

Emrys raised an eyebrow at the admission that they had been watching him that morning. "First of all my name is not Harry, its Emrys." At Sirius' triumphant smirk, Emrys continued. "I haven't gone by the name Harry since the day you decided to leave me and I was left with no one, Dray. I told you before, Harry Potter died in New York."

Draco looked up sharply at the young man and said softly, "I though you understood why I had to leave. You know that I didn't want to."

Once more, Emrys raked his fingers though his short hair. "I do or rather I did, but somehow knowing that once more I was left all alone because you had to go back to help the very people who had destroyed my life; well, lets just say that after a while, I learned to resent you somewhat."

The moment was interrupted by a gasp. "He's Harry…"

Severus shook his head at the Marauder. "Glad you finally caught up with the rest of us, Black."

"But how…it's not possible."

Snape looked over at the young man who finding had become the number one priority of the Order for over the last year. "Harry, please help out your poor excuse of a Godfather and take the glamours off."

With a scowl that would have done any Slytherin justice, Emrys reluctantly raised his hand and waved it in front of his face. Immediately, his features started to change back into a face that resembled that of an older Harry Potter than was last seen at Hogwarts during his seventh year. Draco was pleased to note that Harry didn't have any glamours on his body and only his facial features, eyes and hair had been modified.

Draco watched as Emrys' blue eyes were replaced with emerald green, unfortunately the pain and hurt that had been there before remained after the change. It was even harder to see those emotions reflected in the familiar green eyes that he loved so much as it had been with the cool blue ones. Despite the circumstances, Draco couldn't help his body's natural reaction at seeing Harry again.

Before he had a chance to worry that someone would see him blushing, Harry was grabbed and pulled into a bone-crushing hug. Sirius didn't even realize that Harry had stiffened at the contact when he held his Godson for the first time in years. "Oh God Harry, I can't believe that we finally found you. I've missed you so much. I'm so sorry, so sorry…"

Harry couldn't believe that Black would just naturally expect him to forgive him for betraying him, for not believing in him and sending him to that place. The one place that Sirius knew the horrors of better than anyone else having spent so many years there himself for a crime he didn't commit.

As Harry tried to pull away from the smothering embrace, he felt something wet on his neck and realized for the first time that his Godfather was actually crying. Sirius had never cried before.

Sirius eventually pulled back away from Harry enough so that he could talk to him, but didn't remove his arms from around the young man's waist. "I'm so sorry Harry, please believe me. I never believed that you had done what you were accused of, but I just didn't know what to think. I was on the run myself and by the time that I had been cleared, you had already escaped."

Turning in the embrace, Harry looked at his Godfather. He was prepared to tell him that he didn't care about his apologies; that it was too late, that he should have done more for him; should have been there for him when he needed him. But as he looked into his red rimmed eyes and saw the tears flowing unchecked down his tanned cheeks, the words died in his throat. Harry felt himself relax in the embrace of the only man who had ever been like a father to him.

"Sirius, it'll be okay." Harry reassured his Godfather. "I don't hate you, at least not anymore, and I know that you never said anything against me, Dray told me when he rescued me from that place. I also know that both Draco and Severus believed in me; out of all my friends, family, professors, it was you two that stood up for me and tried to prove my innocence. That means a lot to me; thank you, Severus."

Severus was just getting over his own shock at seeing Harry Potter standing in front of him, it was one thing to suspect that Emrys and Harry were one and the same, but it was quite another to see it first hand, when he heard the young man's gracious thank you. Not knowing how to respond, the Head of Slytherin just nodded.

Feeling a little embarrassed by his outpouring of emotion, Sirius released Harry and once more sat down on the wing chair. "Harry, how do you have two animagus forms? I've never heard of that before, let alone that one of your forms is a phoenix which has never been done before either."

"Honestly, I'm not sure how, it was over Christmas break in our seventh year that I realized that I had more than one form. One day I was just studying in my room when Fawkes came in, which wasn't all that unusual. But that day, I remember being able to understand what he was saying when he sang the phoenix song. It was just so mesmerizing. While he was there, I felt the need to change into my animagus form and when I tried it, instead of being the sheep dog like I was every other time, I found myself in the form of a phoenix. It was the most amazing experience; I could sense magic like I had never before. I don't know how to describe it exactly, but it was almost like I could taste it. When I changed back, I felt stronger and more powerful, my senses were sharper somehow and I could see clearly for the first time ever without my glasses."

"You said that you used a spell to fix your eyesight," Draco remembered.

"Yeah I know, but at the time we were doing so much extra research trying to get ready for the fight against Voldemort that I just didn't want to deal with telling anyone right then, and then when I got sent to Azkaban, I was glad that I never told anyone."

"As astonishing as that accomplishment is Harry, I think that it would be easier for everyone here if we started over at the beginning. Why don't you tell us what you've been doing since you last saw Draco in New York?"

Agreeing with his ex-professor's reasoning Harry decided to start at the beginning. With a big sigh Harry sat back in the desk chair. "The beginning it is then. I stayed in the apartment for about a week or so after Draco left. It just felt strange being there without him; I kept waiting for him to come back or something." Harry watched how his words were affecting the blonde man that he had once loved so much. "I know it sounds dumb; I knew that you weren't coming back, but I guess there were just too many memories of you there. I needed to start over and put everything related to my past behind me and that meant leaving the apartment."

Draco voice shook slightly when he said, "For what it's worth Harry, I did come back."

"Really?" The astonishment was apparent in his voice as well as something Draco couldn't quite identify.

"Yes, I realized shortly before Christmas that I had made a huge mistake leaving you that way and I came back to see if somehow we could work it out. I knew that we'd both be in terrible danger, but I just didn't want to be away from you anymore, but…"

"But I had already moved out," Harry finished for him.

"Yeah." It was amazing how much regret could be communicated with just that one word.

Knowing that the two of them would have to have a private conversation later, Harry continued. "I changed my appearance using glamours, used the papers you left for me and created Emrys Kingston." Harry held up one of his hands to forestall any interruptions. "Don't ask my why that name; I just thought it sounded kinda different."

"But Harry, how did you get a wand?"

Surprised at his Godfather's question, Harry looked over at Draco quizzically. "You didn't tell them?"

Draco shook his head no, as Severus responded with a "Tell us what?"

"Well, I don't exactly need a wand anymore. Actually, I haven't used a wand since Hogwarts. My old wand was used as so called evidence against me during the trial. I decided then and there that if I was ever able to practice magic again that I would do so without a wand, as it was a liability that I couldn't afford. Wandless magic is practically untraceable and then I wouldn't have to worry about someone taking my wand and casting spells that would be traced back to me without my knowledge."

Very interested in this latest development in the saga that was the Boy Who Lived, Severus asked, "How did you develop this ability? Clearly, we know that you are an extremely powerful wizard, but only a very few wizards have had any sort of control over wandless magic and even then they were only able to cast a few select spells wandlessly. The type of control that you are suggesting is not believable."

"Believe it or not, it's true," Harry said defensively.

"You mean to tell me that the wards around this property were cast by you without a wand?"

Harry almost felt like he was back in the potion dungeon at Hogwarts. "That's exactly what I am telling you. Did you see me use a wand when I ask you to come inside? If I wouldn't have retooled the wards to permit the three of you to enter, you would have been in for a very nasty surprise, I assure you."

Deciding to ask for some practical examples later, Severus decided to allow Harry to continue with his explanation. "Well, go on then."

Shooting Snape a glare, Harry began once more. "I went to the bank and withdrew the money that Draco had left for me, which was really way too much by the way." Draco refused to take the bait. "For the next couple of months, I just traveled around trying to figure out what I was going to do with the rest of my life. I knew that I didn't want to have anything to do with magic so that ruled out the magical communities here in the United States and I wasn't exactly qualified for any sort of job in the muggle world as I hadn't been to school there since the fifth grade. One night I was out at a bar here in San Diego and the band that was supposed to play announced that their lead singer had just decided not to turn up. They were about to cancel the engagement when I offered to fill in; most of the songs that they were performing were ones that I was familiar with so I decided to give it a go. That night went so well that they offered me a full time spot with the band. Well, that was my unremarkable start with the band Black Onyx. They were in the middle of a small tour of second class cities opening for another better known band, so I didn't have a lot of time to practice, but it worked out fine in the end." Harry smirked as he casually waved his hand at two of the shelved in a glass cabinet that were full of awards, including the Grammy that he had just won for male vocalist of the year.

"I guess it was about March that I noticed that something was wrong with me physically." Harry noticed that he had Draco's undivided attention. "I was always tired; I couldn't remember a time when I had felt that exhausted before for such an extended period of time. At first, I thought that I was still recovering from being in prison, but when it didn't go away I knew that something else was wrong. I just didn't know what. As it happened, the tour bus that the band used to get from one concert to the next was involved in a pretty serious traffic accident and I was injured."

Harry waved off the looks of concern. "I was taken to a hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for treatment. While I was there, I met Nicole. She was a nurse that volunteered at the local muggle hospital. She is also a medi-witch and she could tell that I was a wizard when I was brought in as the glamours were weakened by my injuries. She treated my injuries from the accident and after some additional testing, ultimately discovered what had been wrong with me all along." Taking a deep breath and staring Draco in the eye, he said, "I was pregnant."

11  Fatherhood

Those three relatively simple words had the affect of what Harry imaged an atomic bomb would have had detonated at close range. Draco paled and sat down heavily in his chair, while Sirius burst out of his chair with a tremendous force and grabbed Harry; even Snape was so shocked that he could neither hide his surprise nor put into words exactly what he was feeling.

After a few tense moments, Sirius managed to stutter, "H – H-- How is that possible, Harry? You couldn't have been pregnant. You're a man, for Merlin's sake. Men don't have babies. You are just trying to put one past us." Sirius continued to question his Godson, and when he saw no sign that this had been a joke, he added more timidly, "Aren't you?"

Harry felt his throat swell as emotions he had been holding deep down inside him struggled to come out, and spill all over everyone. Still watching the blonde, and knowing that if he were to speak that his voice would certainly crack, Harry managed to shake his head no.

Sitting back down, his mind swirling so fast that he wasn't sure he would be able to tell someone his own name if asked, Sirius' sighed. "I don't understand what this all means, Harry; would you please explain this to me again slowly?"

Severus had sufficiently recovered enough to sneer, "Always one to state the obvious weren't you Black." With out a second glance at Sirius, Snape turned his full attention back to Harry. "What this means is that Harry is much more powerful than what we had even believed."

At the Potion Masters' softly spoken words, Harry decided to try to finish his tale.

"Nicole, recognizing male pregnancy for what it was and knowing that I was the first one in several hundred years to actually become pregnant, knew that if I was to survive it and actually give birth that I would need assistance. After I repeatedly refused to go see a medi-wizard friend of hers, she decided that the only way to ensure that I took proper care of myself and the baby was to stay with me. I used glamours so that the band didn't realize that I was pregnant; and Nikki made sure that I got plenty of rest and ate right. About six months later, after a painful labor the twins were born." Harry's voice shook slightly as he remembered the birth of his sons. "Since I had stayed away from any professional hospitals and the types of tests that they perform there, we didn't have any way of knowing that I was carrying twins. Nicole would do a spell that routinely checked the baby's health, and it always came back a very strong blue. Not knowing any different, we just assumed that it meant that the baby was very strong." Harry paused for a moment to ascertain how his companions were taking all this. Severus looked very interested, taking in each word with rapt attention; Draco was listening but was still quite dazed and Sirius continued to look like he was in shock.

"Nicole actually delivered the boys herself. We couldn't believe that there were two of them. To say we were surprised doesn't even come close to what we were feeling at that moment. They were just so amazing. They were so small that for a short while, I was afraid to hold them, afraid that I might hurt them." Harry ran a hand through his hair, caught up in very special memories.

"As I was still practicing and traveling with the band, Nikki decided to stay on with me and help look after the boys. We decided to set up here in San Diego as our home base and I get home as much as I can to be with Evan and Matthew. We've been here ever since."

Harry worriedly looked over at Draco, taking in his too pale complexion and his rapid breathing. After taking a few moments to compose himself, Draco raised his wide questioning eyes. "So it's true, then; the twins, they are mine aren't they?"

Harry nodded. "Yes Dray, they're yours, yours and mine."

"But why didn't you tell me? I would never have let you go through all that by yourself if I had known. For Slytherin's sake, I came back for you not even knowing that you were pregnant with my children; had I known, I would have done anything to keep you and them safe." Draco paused in his rant and with a trembling hand wiped a stray tear from his eye. "Weren't you ever going to tell me? Didn't you think enough of me to at least let me know that I had children out there? Didn't I deserve to know?"

Sirius and Severus knew better than to interrupt as they watched this painfully private moment between two men who had obviously been a whole lot closer than anyone knew.

Over the past years, Harry must have gotten good at hiding his emotions, as the only way that one could tell he was upset was a small tick that appeared on one of his cheeks. "Draco, you have no idea how much I wanted to tell you about being pregnant, but if you remember you were the one that left, not me." Harry got up from his chair and, without looking at anyone, started to pace back and forth in his office.

"Do you remember what you said to me before you left? You told me to move on and not look back, remember? And that's exactly what I did. How dare you question me or my motives; you have no idea what I went through or how many times I just felt like giving up everything just so that we could be together again." Harry thought back briefly on how lonely and desperate he had become after Draco had left. Determined to make Draco understand, Harry pushed those thoughts away and continued with his explanation. "But then the boys were born and I knew that I would never do anything to put them in harms way. Even thought I no longer cared about what happened to me, I couldn't let anything happen to them. They had already lost one parent; I couldn't let them loose another one." Finally, Harry looked over at his sons' other father. "I pretty much hated you then."

Harry's last softly spoken statement hit Draco as though Harry had simply struck him hard across the face. No matter how bad it had gotten, he had never imaged that Harry would have hated him.

"So that's it then, you hated me for leaving you alone and pregnant, so you decided not to even let me know that I was a father. How was I supposed to know that you were pregnant? We were only together that one time, the night before I left, so tell me why you blamed me for abandoning the family that I couldn't have known existed. Merlin, there hasn't been a male pregnancy in centuries and somehow you thought that I should just know that you were with child and have stayed with you." Draco shook his head a look of disbelief on his face. "You took the coward's way out. How every un-Gryffindor of you, Potter," Draco spit out still smarting from Harry's earlier remark.

"Malfoy, get over yourself. This isn't about you. This isn't even about me, it's about two small children who deserve a whole hell of a lot more of a childhood than either one of us ever had the chance to have. And I, for one, am damn well going to make sure that they get it." Harry was so furious that the lights started to flicker.

Sirius had had enough, when Harry's anger started to affect the lighting, he decided it was time to intervene. "Look you two; obviously there is some very personal unfinished business between the two of you. I suggest that you both calm down before you continue this discussion. If you continue this way, you both are going to say things that you don't mean and will regret later. Don't we all have enough regrets right now with out adding more to it?"

As amusing as it was to watch the two young men argue, it really was counter productive to their reason for coming here in the first place. "I believe that is the most intelligent thing I heard you say, Black." Severus stated. "While Harry's personal life since he left Azkaban will need to be further explored, let's save that for some other time and get back to the reason why we are here, shall we?"

Harry was trying to calm himself down. During the years since he had last seen Draco he had imagined their reunion many times, but never had he thought it would be like this. "Look, we've been at this now for a couple of hours. I know that we still have unfinished business that needs to be discussed but I, as I'm sure you know as you've been following me around, haven't been home for over a week. I promised Evan and Matthew that I would spend this afternoon with them and that is one promise I intend to keep. So you gentlemen will just have to excuse me."

Harry tried not to chuckle as he saw all three men start to protest at the same time. Harry calmly raised his hand to stop their complaints before they started. "I'll have Nola, my housekeeper, bring you some lunch in the dining room, and then show you to some guest rooms as I have the feeling that what ever business brought you here will take some time for us to discuss. The twins are usually in bed by 7:30 or so, so after dinner tonight, you can tell me exactly what you are doing here. Although I warn you now that if you are here on some plea from that bastard Dumbledore you might as well leave now."

Knowing that Harry had effectively closed their current conversation, the three Order members nodded in agreement. As Harry turned to leave, Draco reached out and touched his arm. Harry tried not to gasp as he felt a shock run through him originating where Draco had a hold of his arm. As he studied the blonde who had prevented his exit, he saw that he was experiencing a similar reaction to the touch.

"Harry, do you think it would be alright if I could just tag along with you? I would really like the opportunity to get to know the twins."

Harry thought carefully about his response before he said anything. He didn't want to upset Draco anymore than he had already. "Look Draco, I know that you mean well. But please understand. You just pop up back in my life one day, after you walked out of it years ago. As of this moment, I have no idea why you are here or what your intentions are. Until I know more about what is going on, I have to try to minimize any contract you have with Matthew and Evan. I don't want them to find out about you or to get close to you and then have you leave them. I won't let you or anyone hurt them if I can help it, so for right now you'll just have to respect my decision and stay away from them."

Harry felt his own heart beat painfully in his chest as he looked into the hurt eyes of his sons' other father. "Maybe someday when I better understand what your intentions are towards them I will allow a relationship to form, but for right now I think they and you are better off just letting things stay as they are."

Without another word, Draco let his arm fall from where he had been holding onto Harry and turned away from the man who had once more broken his heart.

With a sigh, Harry quickly left the den rubbing the spot on his arm where he could still feel Draco's touch. Knowing that he was not emotionally ready to deal with the three men and what they represented just yet, he willfully pushed their un-welcomed presence out of his mind. As he passed through the kitchen, Harry left instructions to provide lunch and rooms for Draco, Severus and Sirius and then continued out to the beach to spend what remained of the afternoon with his family.

* * *

Harry quickly changed his appearance back into that of Emrys Kingston before he left the sanctuary of his home. Nicole and the twins had seen him as he really was and knew that this 'Emrys face' as the twins like to call it was only for public, but Harry didn't like the idea of even being on his own private beach without the security of his disguise.

Once outside, Harry turned his face up towards the sun feeling its warmth flow though him as he let the anxiousness of the last few hours fade away. Following the excited peals of laughter, Harry slowly made his way down the beach to where Matthew and Evan where playing in the sand.

As he approached, he watched as the twins exchanged a mischievous glance and start tossing handfuls of sand at Nicole, who had become distracted by a hungry seagull that had come near begging for a scrap of bread. Nicole squealed in mock outrage and started to chase what she termed 'the little demons'. It didn't take her long to catch each wiggling boy in her arms and start to tickle them. The boys soon gave up and the three of them fell in a heap onto the warm sand and lay there trying to catch their breath. Not one to be left out for too long, Harry took that as his opportunity to join in the fray. Soon the only noise that could be heard over the pounding waves was the bright and happy laughter of a family playing together in the sand.

* * *

An odd feeling, as though someone was squeezing his heart, made Draco shudder as once more the wind carried the happy giggles of the twins playing down by the ocean. Every once in a while, Draco could catch Harry's voice, although Draco could not make out any specific words it was clear from his tone that he was teasing and clearly enjoying being with his children. A specifically loud and sharp peal of laughter caused Draco to once more glance out the window in hope to see what Harry and the boys were up to. Not able to see much over the large dunes that provided the house privacy, the blonde man was about to give up when Sirius came up beside him.

"What's that thing there up in the sky?"

Draco followed where Sirius was looking and saw a large multi-colored shape flying high in the sky. It appeared to be blowing in the wind, attached to a piece of string. The string then disappeared behind the dune in the area that Draco assumed Harry and the twins to be. "I don't know. What do I look like...a muggle?"

"Look, I know that you're upset with Harry for not telling you about the twins, and I know that it hurts that Harry doesn't want you to spend time with them, but that is no reason to take it out on me."

Draco, realizing the truth behind Sirius' words, nodded his head.

Encouraged, the Marauder continued, "To be honest I'm still trying to come to terms with the fact that not only were we lucky enough to find Harry, but he actually has two beautiful children. Prongs is a grandfather." Sirius finished in a whisper, before stealing a glance at the former Slytherin to ensure that he was listening before he resumed his watch outside for any sign of his godson or his family. "I haven't begun to really comprehend that they are your children as well and all the ramifications that brings to bear on the situation."

"I don't blame Harry for not wanting to open himself up to be hurt again. We all hurt him more than we can imagine; more than what I could ever personally expect forgiveness for. I don't blame him at all for being cautious about wanting to expose his children to us and all that we represent. After all, he's just acting in what he thinks is in the best interest for his boys. But I do know this Draco, if those were my children, whether or not I knew about them before now, I would try anything to be a part of their lives. I wouldn't want to miss another moment of seeing them grow up; you've missed too much already. My advice to you is to do whatever it takes to prove to Harry that you only want the best for those boys, so that he'll let you into their family."

All the while that Draco was staring outside wishing to be a part of that loving family, he had felt his anger at Harry grow. Surprised by the immense feelings of pride and wonderment when Harry had announced that the boys were indeed his, the only important thing at that moment was to be with his children.

Knowing his sexual preference since he was rather young, he never gave a thought about the possibility of having children of his own. The fact that there existed two children that shared his blood, his heritage, his genes made his head swim. 'They were his; they belonged to him', Draco thought possessively.

Draco wanted a chance to get to know his sons, to hold them, play with them, tuck them in at night and teach them. He never realized how much he wanted to be a father. In the back of his mind, he was worried that he wouldn't be a good one, not having a role model as Lucius never was much of a father figure. But Draco was determined that now that he knew he actually was lucky enough to have children, that he wanted to be the best father that he could be. Now, all he needed to do was to convince Harry to give him a chance. Staying mad at Harry certainly wouldn't win him any points towards that goal, and with a tentative action plan decided, Draco felt any anger at the dark haired man fade away.

"Come on Draco, why don't we go upstairs to our rooms and rest for a while? Neither of us got much sleep last night and I have a feeling that for the conversation we'll be having later on, we'll all need to be on our best behavior. I checked on Snape before I came down here and he was getting ready to take a nap."

With a last longing glance out the window, Draco turned and followed Sirius out of the kitchen and up to the third floor where their guest rooms were located.

* * *

The cool evening breeze off the ocean blew lightly making the curtains decorated with toy cars and trucks billow out into the large bedroom. Tucking his precious children in for the night, the tall man gently swept the raven colored bangs off his son's forehead before he leaned down and kissed him goodnight. Making sure that each boys was secure, Evan with his stuffed bunny and Matthew with his stuffed doggy, stuffed animals that had been constant companions since they were only two months old, Harry turned on the night light and closed the door behind him softly as he exited the room.

Feeling sticky from the sand and salt water, Harry decided to take a quick shower before joining his guests for their evening meal. His room was across the hall from the twin's bedroom. Each bedroom had an adjoining bathroom. Next to the twin's room was a large playroom that Harry made sure was filled with every kind of muggle toy imaginable. Harry knew that the twins were a tad spoiled, but he was determined to make sure that they had all the things that he had wanted growing up at the Dursleys but had never had.

Nicole occupied the bedroom across from the playroom and next to Harry. All of the family's bedrooms were on the second floor, while the third floor had three guest rooms, which were all currently occupied and a large workout room. The first floor had the kitchen, dining room living room, family room, den/library, powder room, and a practice room where the band could practice.

Harry gave a startled yelp as the hot water stung his sun kissed shoulders. Nicole had made sure that the twins were wearing sunscreen, but of course, she hadn't reminded Harry to put any on. She was irritated with the fact that Harry refused to tell her about their unexpected visitors other than they would be staying for at least one night and possibly more. Harry knew that he owed Nicole an explanation. He would never have been able to survive had it not been for her and the help she had given him. She literally became Harry's lifeline over the past several years, especially in the time since the twins were born. Although Harry suspected that she wanted something more than friendship to develop between them, he had been upfront with her, stating that there was no romantic future between them. Clearly, she knew that the twins other parent was a man, as he was the one carrying the children. Never engaging in any romantic entanglements since he had met her had to make her curious about who this mysterious man in his past was.

Harry laid his forehead on the shower stall wall as the water rinsed the soap suds from his hair. He had a bad feeling about why Sirius, Severus and Draco were here. Dumbledore would only send them if it was a last resort. 'Well, that old fool is in for a surprise if he thinks that just because he finally decided to find me that I will come to heal. I'm not nearly the same trusting kid that once looked at the old man as a mentor, and more importantly, as a friend. He lost whatever right he had to ask anything of me a long time ago.'

Shaking the excess water from his hair, Harry turned off the shower and stepped out onto a large fluffy bath rug. Taking his time with his appearance, Harry dressed in a pair of tight fitting black jeans and a white silk shirt that showed his tan and muscles off. Finally ready to hear, if not listen to, what the others had to say, Harry left his room and made his way back down to the dining room where the others were waiting for him to start their evening meal.

12 Explanations

Draco was relieved when dinner started to draw to a close. There was only so much of that woman Nicole that he could take at one time. Although he knew that he ought to be grateful for all the help she's been to Harry and his sons, every time she touched Harry's arm or smiled at him during their meal, Draco felt his blood pressure start to rise. It was amazing how her eyes could go from warm and loving when looking at Harry or discussing the twins to cold as ice and glaring when they were directed towards any of the others sitting at the table. Draco felt that he was receiving more than his share of her dirty looks and wondered if Harry had told her that he was Matthew's and Evan's other father. It was all he could do not to reach across the table and wipe that sneer off of her otherwise attractive face.

'I'll show that bitch not to mess with what belongs to me,' Draco thought to himself, as she once more captured Harry's attention with one of her stories about the twins' accomplishments. Although Draco didn't like the storyteller, he found himself listening with rapt attention to the tales of adventure and mischief the children he hadn't known existed less than 24 hours ago had gotten themselves into. Looking across the table at Harry, Draco saw the same emotion shining in those emerald orbs as he was feeling bursting in his own chest, the unmistakable feeling of pride.

Shortly there after, the four men excused themselves and adjourned to Harry's study to continue their earlier conversation. The atmosphere in the room was tense, as the silence in the room seemed to stretch making the occupants seem farther part then the mere several feet that separated them.

Not wanting the uncomfortable atmosphere to continue, Harry decided to make the first attempt. "So who wants to tell me why the hell you three are here?"

Draco wisely kept quiet knowing that he didn't want to be the messenger in this instance and glanced over at Severus who had been unofficially nominated to act as the spokesperson for Dumbledore and the Order.

Severus who had been continuously analyzing his former student all day, found himself almost at a loss on how to proceed. Harry had made his feelings well known about how he would receive an apology from the wizarding community and, in particular, Dumbledore. Not that Severus blamed the young man. No, Severus was only to aware of how fickle the wizarding world could be, but no one really could have expected them to turn so harshly on the one person that they had placed such high expectations.

"Look, Potter, I know that you really don't want to hear this right now, but I need you to give me your word that you'll at least let me finish what I have to say before you kick us out. I think that you may be interested in some of what I have to tell you."

"I doubt very much, Snape, if anything any of you have to say will interest me much, but I give you my word that I'll at least give you the courtesy of listening to what you have to say before I send your sorry arses back to Scotland. Unlike some people, I wouldn't want to be accused of not at least listening to what you might have to say for yourselves," Harry sneered.

Severus nodded.

Not looking directly at Harry, Severus decided to start at the beginning. "After you escaped from Azkaban, the Aurors and Order Members panicked and started a full out search for you. Their search was primarily focused on England, Scotland and Wales, specifically the areas located near Azkaban, Hogwarts and London. This was done as you in your animagus form, or what was thought to be you, was seen escaping the prison on foot. You were not expected to be able to travel very fast or far given your condition, having just spent eighteen months in that hell-hole. What everyone failed to consider was that you had an accomplice. No one thought that you would be able to find support anywhere, which was one of the troubling things that didn't seem to make sense when you were not able to be quickly located."

Severus moved his head slightly so that he could observe Harry's reaction out of the corner of his eye. "Eventually, when no trace of you was found in the obvious places, the search was expanded to all of Europe. After about six months of fruitless looking and following up on useless leads, what was left of the Ministry, after Voldemort's attack, cut back on its efforts. Even the Order hadn't been able to turn up a single shred of evidence as to where you might have gone. During that same time, Voldemort stepped up his attacks on both the muggle and wizarding European communities, neither the Ministry nor the Order had the resources to spare, so the search for you soon halted."

Snape paused for effect before continuing. "Imagine everyone's surprise when, a little over a year ago, during a routine Death Eater interrogation the Ministry stumbled onto the fact that they had wrongly imprisoned the 'Boy Who Lived'."

The raising of an eyebrow was the only sign that Harry had even heard him, as his face remained expressionless as he stared out the window. Little did the other occupants of the room know, but Harry's meditating on the constant rise and fall of the ocean's waves as seen through his window was the only thing keeping his emotions in check. Harry knew that he had to be careful, or he could quickly loose complete control of the fragile hold that was preventing him from exploding. Harry tried to focus on the familiar sound of Snape's voice, not so much the words he was saying, to try to get through this ordeal. But Severus' voice brought back too many memories, potions classes shared with his former friends, Order meetings, late night training sessions, detentions, the memories just kept on coming until Harry forced himself to concentrate harder. Pushing the memories back into that box in back of his mind where he stored all those times from his other life he was eventually able to bring himself to hear the words that Severus was actually saying to him.

"The Death Eater eventually confessed to a number of crimes, not the least of which was the murders of Ginny Weasley and Colin Creevey. He was able to provide many details on how exactly you had been framed. Once this information was reviewed, in conjunction with your testimony given before your trial, the Ministry determined that they had once again convicted an innocent man. You were immediately declared innocent and your assets were returned to you. Since that time, the Order had once more taken up the search for you."

"Who?"

Draco thought for a moment that he had only imaged that Harry had spoken; the word had been so soft and Harry had been so silent and still during Severus' entire explanation. When no one answered right away, the question was repeated and this time you could mistake the fire and anger expressed in that one word.

"Who?"

Snape fidgeted slightly under an unnerving piercing glare, slightly nervous for the first time ever in Harry Potter's presence. "Percy Weasley."

Harry was so angry, he felt like he was being torn apart. "That piece of ssshit, he killed hisss own sssissster" he hissed some of the words sounding like they were almost being spoken in parseltongue.

The raw power Harry was radiating was intense. Snape realized just then, why for all these years had Dumbledore insisted that Harry was the key to defeating Voldemort. No one could possibly withstand that amount of power and come out the victor. Harry was without a doubt the strongest wizard alive today, and quite possibly the strongest one alive since Merlin. The thought both excited him and gave him cause for concern. 'How did Dumbledore know that Harry's power would reach such heights? Harry was the Heir of Gryffindor, but so had been James. While James had been very powerful wizard, his strength didn't come near this level. There had to be something else. Sure Harry had survived the killing curse as an infant, but that was largely due to his mother's sacrifice, wasn't it?' Snape was pulled out of his own private conversation with himself as the power in the room continued to surge until it was reaching unbearable proportions.

"Harry, please calm down; that bastard got what was coming to him. He's dead, so there is nothing that you can do to him now," Draco said, trying to calm the dark haired man down so that they could proceed with the explanation. Draco was unprepared however when Harry turned his glare on him. Draco felt as thought he was looking in the eyes of a poisonous snake, paralyzed and unable to move under that venom filled glare.

As much as Draco couldn't tolerate the Weasleys, he almost felt sorry for the family when the news had broke that Percy was not only Voldemort's servant, but had also willingly participated in the death of his only sister. The same night after Dumbledore had announced Harry's innocence, the Phoenix dismissed the Order asking that the Weasley family remain behind. It was then that he broke the news to Bill, Charlie, George, Fred, Ron and Hermione.

Mrs. Weasley was never quite the same afterwards, the loss of her only daughter, and, later, her husband weighed heavily on her, but she at least had the satisfaction of knowing that eventually their deaths would be avenged. The unthinkable betrayal of Percy which not only killed her daughter, but also effectively killed the relationship between her and the boy she considered her adopted son caused her mind to shatter. Many days found her lost in her own memories of much happier times. Draco had even heard through the rumor mill that during one of her rare moments of clarity, she had even attempted to kill herself. He wasn't even sure if she knew that George had also been lost to the cause only a few short months ago.

Harry abruptly turned away from Draco and walked over to his dry bar and poured himself a drink. After taking a long swallow, he went back over to his desk where he once more sat down indicating with a wave of his hand for Snape to continue with his explanation, the energy in the room diminishing as quickly as it had escalated.

Quickly regaining his composure, Snape continued. "As I was saying, we renewed our search efforts. During the last year or so we have followed up on no less than 30 possible 'Harry Potter' sightings, each one proving to be false. It was amazing, really, when it was through muggle means that we were able to locate you."

"The song."

"Yes Harry, the words to that song were the same ones that you had written on the wall of your cell. Surely you knew that someone would put two and two together and follow up."

Harry shrugged. "I guess it was a combination of arrogance and pride. I had first played that song for the band two years ago, finally able to put the words that haunted me to music. I knew then that I would never be able to release the tune, but the band loved it. We played it at a couple of our concerts here in the States and the fans went wild. I wanted to play that song even if no one who heard it would understand. Like I said, I was arrogant. I never expected anyone who could associate the words with Azkaban to be watching a muggle music award show." Harry said this with a sheepish grin.

"And you almost got away with it." Sirius felt it was safe to add his two cents. "If Hermione and Ron hadn't been visiting her parents at the time they were playing your interview on that telly machine, we would never have heard that song and made the connection to Emrys Kingston."

The grin faded from Harry's face when Sirius mentioned his two former best friends. When Draco saw the dark look on Harry's face, he wanted to kick Black for bringing up two of the people Harry held largely responsible for his imprisonment.

However Sirius didn't need Draco to kick him, as he realized his mistake as soon as the words had left his mouth. "Look Harry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring them up just yet."

Harry relaxed at his Godfather's apology. It was one thing to deal with Sirius, Severus and Draco, the only three people in the wizarding world that didn't previously condemn him, but he just couldn't bring himself to think about anyone else right now. Especially two people who had promised to always be there for him and then turned on him without letting him tell his side of the story.

"So you found me, now what?" Harry looked pointedly back at his old Potions Master. "Why are you here?"

Draco sighed. He knew that he was probably the best one to explain why the Order wanted to find Harry. Draco ran a hand through his hair, "Look Harry, first of all, I want to tell you that when the Order announced that they thought they had found you, I argued that we should just leave you be."

Harry looked surprised at this. "You didn't want to find me?"

"Yes…I mean. No…I…I…" Draco was flustered; this wasn't going the way he wanted it to. "Yes, Harry I wanted to find you, very much so. I dreamt of one day finding you and the two of us just running away some where together. But no, I didn't want the Order to find you."

"Why not?"

"That's not important right now, I'll tell you later. I was outvoted. It was decided that we should approach you for several reasons. First of all, to let you know that you were officially declared innocent. You're no longer considered a fugitive so you don't have to maintain your alias if you don't want to. Also all of your assets, plus compensation for your wrongful incarceration, have been returned to your custody. Most importantly however, we are here to offer you an apology from the entire Order of the Phoenix and the wizarding community at large for how you were treated."

Harry was gripping his glass so hard his knuckles were white. "Well isn't that nice?" he managed to sneer after Draco had offered the apology. "I hope they weren't really expecting me to accept it, it is a bit too little too late."

"I told Dumbledore that I thought you wouldn't accept their apology, but he insisted that we come anyway," Draco added softly.

Once more, silence filled the room, as the four men sat there, wondering what the others were thinking and more importantly, where to go from here. So much had been said but even more had been left unsaid.

After about ten minutes, Harry looked over at his guests. "Not to be rude or anything but now that you have done what was asked of you, why are you still here? I'm not going to accept Dumbledore's or the Ministry's apologies; so if that's all you came for, you might as well leave."

Swallowing hard to ignore the sudden pain in his chest that was caused by Harry asking him to leave, Draco raised his eyes to look again at the one man who held his future in his hands. Gray eyes met emerald as the hurt and loneness of the last several years flowed between them leaving them both feeling vulnerable. "I'm afraid, Harry, that there is one more thing that we need to discuss before we head back to Hogwarts."

Not looking away from the storm swirling in those gray orbs, Harry nodded.

"Do you remember when we were in New York and I told you that the war was starting to go badly for the Light?" Not waiting for Harry to respond, Draco continued. "Well, things have gotten worse over the past three years; a lot worse. The Dark Lord had taken over most of Europe and the only safe place for wizards, in England or Scotland, that haven't sided with Voldemort, is Hogwarts. Of course, it is no longer a school, as the facilities are used now to house whole families, as a medical hospital and for war preparations. So many people have been lost to the cause Harry, sometimes even whole families. Earlier this year, Severus was discovered as a spy, and he only just managed to escape with his life."

Harry looked over in surprise at the tall dark haired man. "What about you Dray, are you still spying for that old fool?"

"Yes Harry, while the Order has other connections in the lower ranking Death Eaters, I am the only one in the inner circle."

On hearing this un-welcomed bit of news, Harry just placed his head in his hands and slowly shook it back and forth, as though in denial.

Finally, Harry stopped shaking his head and raised his piercing eyes back to Draco. "So what does all this have to do with me?"

"Dumbledore still feels that you are the only chance that we have to beat Voldemort. He's afraid that if you refuse us, refuse to come back to Scotland with us to help in this fight, that it is all over for the Light. We might as well turn ourselves over to Voldemort now."

There was no mistaking the anger that flowed from Harry as he stood up and started to pace back and forth. "So let me get this straight. Dumbledore sent you here to apologies to me in order to convince me to go back to England so that I could take up my place as his little hero and defeat the bad guy, isn't that so?"

Draco flinched at Harry's biting tone. "That's what I first thought when he told us to come here and find you. However, he swears that he doesn't want to use you. That was pretty much why I didn't want the Order to find you. I knew that they would try to suck you back into the Hell that our world has become. But Harry, you have to listen. I wouldn't even have approached you with this if it wasn't an emergency. We're losing, Harry. We're losing badly. It is only a matter of time before Voldemort breaches the wards at Hogwarts and once he does, the last of the resistance is gone."

"To recap then, Dumbledore sent you three here to ask me to return to Hogwarts so that I might risk my life to save the lives of the same people who turned their backs on me when I needed them the most. The same people that believed me capable of cold blooded murder, and condemned me for it. Now when it suits them, they want me to come and murder the big evil guy so they don't have to. They basically want me to murder on demand. What a bunch of hypocrites."

Draco felt angry at Dumbledore for putting him in this position. This was not how he wanted to be reunited with the love of his life. Ashamed, he hung his head and whispered, "Yeah, I guess you could look at it that way." Raising his head so that he was looking directly at Harry, he added. "But the truth is that we need you, Harry. Without you, so many more people will die, innocent people including children. Harry, please at least consider it."

The pleading expression on Draco's face did more for Harry than words ever could. "I don't know what to tell you. If it was just me to consider, then maybe I would go back, but I have two children now. My sons mean everything to me and I've promised them a childhood like I never had. I can't very well fulfill that promise if I'm in Scotland or, worse yet, dead."

"You could bring Matthew and Evan with you, back to Hogwarts. They have many nurseries set up to watch small children during the day or night when their parents are called away."

Harry was incredulous; didn't they just say that the wards around Hogwarts were in danger of collapsing, and now they wanted Harry to risk his family by putting them at the spot most likely to be attacked? "I refuse to put Evan and Matthew in that kind of danger. They know nothing about that life there and I see no good reason why they should be exposed to it now."

His heart felt for Harry when Sirius saw how distressed his Godson was becoming at the thought of putting his sons in jeopardy. Sirius walked and knelt down beside where Harry was sitting. Knowing that this was their one chance, he knew he needed to do something. "Harry, we have no doubt about how much your family means to you, and if you feel that strongly about it, maybe you should leave them here until this is all over. But before you make a decision, think about this, since this second war with Voldemort has started, he has killed over 200 magical children who were not even old enough to receive their Hogwarts letters. Over 200 children just like Matthew and Evan will never be able to grow up, never go to Hogwarts, or fall in love and have families of their own. I don't even know what the muggle death count is, but I know that it is at least as high as the wizarding one, if not higher. I know that we don't have the right to ask anything from you, but please consider coming back. There are still over 1,000 children that have to potential to become witches and wizards, but not if you don't help us."

No one was able to remain unmoved by Sirius' touching speech. Harry was surprised that the hand he lifted to place on his Godfather's shoulder was shaking slightly. "Sirius, I'm sorry that it has been so awful for everyone. But you have to understand, I have to put my family's needs first. Look, I won't give you a final answer tonight, as we are all pretty emotionally drained and I need some time to think. A lot has happened today that I was just not prepared for. I need a chance to think some things through. If you would be willing to stay for a day or two and give me a chance to work some stuff out, I can't promise you anything right now but I'll give you an answer in a couple of days."

Draco sighed in relief as he watched Severus nod his acceptance of the plan to Black. Harry's answer had been better than the flat out 'no' that he had anticipated. This way at least, even if Harry decided not to return with them, he had a few days to spend with Harry and watch his sons even if it was only from a distance.

13 Confrontations

Draco looked around at the guestroom he would be occupying for the duration of his visit. It was comfortably furnished, with a queen-sized bed, dresser with a large mirror, large walk in closet and an adjoining full bath. The view out the window overlooked the pool and the beach. Draco opened his window so that he could hear the roar of the ocean and smell the salt air. There was something relaxing about watching the waves rush in and then fall gently back, only to repeat the motion again and again. Draco was startled to realize how content he felt here in Harry's home. Disappointment raged through him as he reminded himself that his time here was only temporarily, and that soon he would be leaving this peaceful oasis to return to his war torn home. The only question that remained was whether it would be with or without Harry and his family.

Pushing himself away from the window, Draco crossed the room to the bathroom to get ready to go to bed.

* * *

It was late, very late, but Harry couldn't sleep. He rolled over for what had to be the fourteenth time but still could not get comfortable in his large soft four poster bed. His mind kept spinning with the revelations that were unexpectedly revealed to him today, or I guess you could say yesterday as it was now way after midnight. It was truly unthinkable how much his life had changed since he had last crawled out from within his soft cream-colored sheets yesterday morning. Emotions that he had repressed for so long flooded his senses. The dominant ones were hate, disappointment, and hurt, intermingled with concern, worry, responsibility and even love. Harry wasn't sure if he was surprised or not about that last emotion.

Slipping on his navy silk dressing gown, Harry quietly left his room and walked down the hall and up the stairs towards the guestrooms. He opened the door to one of the rooms and slipped inside. He wasn't concerned about waking the occupant as he had taken the precaution of casting a wandless sleeping charm over his guests to prevent them from waking during the night and possibly snooping into something that didn't concern them.

His bare feet made no noise on the carpeting as he made his way over to the bed. The vision lying thereon almost took his breath away. Harry stood still, unwilling to move, satisfied with the gift of just being able to observe the sleeping beauty. Harry was happy to see that the small lines that had prematurely started to form on Draco's face, no doubt from the amount of stress he has been under, faded completely as he relaxed in slumber.

Harry was slightly overwhelmed at how strongly he still felt for Draco. He was truly amazed that the father of his children was here, now, asleep in his house. How often had he dreamed of something like this?

He knew that he still cared for the man, and it was clear that he owed his life to Draco for breaking him out of prison, but what he felt went beyond caring and gratitude. There was no doubt that Harry still loved his blonde Slytherin. Loved him as he had loved no one else. But he wasn't sure if he could get past the fact that Draco had left him. Left him with no one.

Harry had wrestled with all the reasons Draco had given him for having to go back to England on that fateful day in New York. On the surface, Harry had understood. Hell if it had been him, he most certainly would have done the same thing. But deep down, the only thing that mattered was that after they had finally made love to each other, finally given to each other the most intimate and precious gift that one person could give another, Draco had chosen someone or something else over him. Even if that something else was the fate of the wizarding world. Oh sure, Harry knew he was being selfish, but damn it, he had given everything he had to that world and he had gotten nothing in return. Nothing was probably an understatement; no, he had gotten something, eighteen long months in Azkaban prison is what the community, in their generosity, had given him. Was it too much to ask for something that was just his, and his alone? Why couldn't Draco have understood that and stayed?

Standing there watching the love of his life sleep, Harry reached a decision. For better or worse, Harry knew what he had to do. In a move that reminded Harry of what he had done earlier that night with his sons, he reached down and brushed the bangs off of Draco's forehead and pressed a soft kiss to the warm smooth skin. With a whispered, "Sleep well, my love," Harry gently closed the door and made his way back to his own room, hopeful now to finally get some much needed rest.

* * *

Breakfast was an awkward affair with five people not knowing what exactly to say to each other, once the required small talk had been properly extinguished. The twins had previously eaten their breakfast in the kitchen with the Nola the housekeeper, while Nicole had decided to join the men in the dining room. Draco was determined to find out exactly what the relationship between Harry and Nicole was. They were entirely too comfortable with each other for Draco's liking.

Over tea and coffee, Harry had informed him and Sirius and Severus that he was planning to spend the morning practicing with the band. They were in the process of finalizing their new CD and they only had a couple more songs that they needed to record before their work was done. With a promise to see everyone later that afternoon, Harry grabbed his coffee and left the dining room.

Knowing that he didn't want to wait any longer to have a heart to heart with Harry, Draco stood and made to follow the dark haired man. However, he was surprised when he felt someone reach out and stop him from leaving the room. Draco looked down at the hand on his arm preventing him from following Harry. "If you don't mind…"

"As a matter of fact I do mind. I mind a great deal and I think that it's time that you and I get a few things straight." Nicole snarled right back not the least bit intimidated by Draco's superior tone and attitude.

With a parting glance at Harry's retreating back, Draco stared down once more into the face of one of the obstacles standing between him and the thing that he desired most. "Well, get on with it then. What do you want?"

Knowing that this was one confrontation that they didn't want to miss, Severus and Sirius sat back in their chairs and watched with growing curiosity at what was undoubtedly going to be an interesting conversation.

"For starters, Mister Malfoy, why don't we start with what exactly are your intentions towards Emrys, or as you like to call him, Harry?"

Caught off guard by the directness of the comment, Draco's eyebrows arched suspiciously. "And why exactly do you think that I would even begin to discuss my personal relationships with you?"

"Because my dear Slytherin, you have everything to gain if you do and your family to lose if you don't."

"Pardon?"

"Let's look at it from my perspective; the wizarding world has done nothing but cause Harry pain for as long as he became aware of its very existence. First, a dark wizard killed his parents leaving him an orphan. Then another wizard, who was neither family nor great friend, makes the decision that Harry should be placed with his remaining blood relatives. The same relatives who can not tolerate the mere mention of magic and instantly take an intense dislike to this small child that had been left on their doorstep with only a short note. To make matters worse, this same wizard, who had determined the fate of this very special child, never so much as went to check up on how this young boy was faring. He never even sent a representative to verify that Harry was being properly cared for." With a determined look on her face Nicole then added, "And I'm just getting started. Shall I continue?"

"No, I don't think that will be necessary, as I am familiar with the story," Draco snarled irritated that this woman would defend Harry to him. "So how does spilling my secrets to you have anything to do with keeping my family?"

"Who said anything about keepingyour family Mister Malfoy? I wasn't aware that you were even considered family. However, I am sure you've realized by now that Harry and I are very close. As a matter of fact, he considers me his only true friend, as I am the only one that he currently trusts. I've never betrayed him. So let's just assume for moment what would happen if I would try to persuade him to kick you and your sorry friends out of here and back to 'jolly ol' England.'"

"I never betrayed him," Draco responded in a low dangerous tone.

"Maybe and then again maybe not, but there is no doubt that you did leave him."

Draco could barely restrain himself from inflicting bodily harm on this woman who dared to stand here before him and question his actions. Didn't the stupid woman know whom she was dealing with? Not only was he a member of Voldemort's inner circle and a covert spy for the Order of the Phoenix, he was a Malfoy.

"Look, Draco, I'll be straight with you. I love Harry and I also love those two boys and I'll be damned if I let you or anyone else hurt them again. Weare a family and if you want to be a part of that family you're going to have to work for it, and that means making sacrifices."

Nicole stifled a chuckle when she saw Draco blanch when she said that she loved Harry. Not wanting to cause Harry any more problems she decided to explain their relationship to the intruding blonde. "Before you get your boxers in a knot, no, Harry and I were never lovers. Not that it wasn't for trying on my part. But he was never interested in a relationship, not with me, or anyone else for that matter. I always knew deep down that he was still waiting for someone to come back to him. For, as close as we are, he never wanted to talk about the twin's other father. For the longest time, I only assumed that the two of you had to have had a bad break. Eventually, one evening when Harry was particularly intoxicated, I got him to open up to me about you. He told me everything that night, but since then has refused to revisit the subject."

"You and your 'so called' friends hurt him, hurt him real bad and I was the one that was there to put the pieces back together. Just because you've now realized what you've been missing doesn't mean that I'm going to encourage him to welcome you back with open arms."

Relieved that Harry and this woman were not involved in a sexual relationship, Draco decided to push away his feeling of animosity towards Nicole and tried to look at things more objectively, from her point of view. She had been the one that had been there for Harry all those years. She had helped him during what had to have been a difficult pregnancy. She was there for the birth of his children, tucked them in at night, and wiped their tears away when they were sad or scared. Feeling a little ashamed of him self, Draco decided that if he had any chance with Harry that he needed to accept the role that Nicole played in his family's lives.

"This may shock you Nicole, but I happen to agree with you. I don't want to go into detail about what Harry's and my relationship will be because to be honest with you, I don't know what it is yet. I know what I want it to be, but we haven't had time for a private conversation and until we do there just isn't anything to tell. However, I will say this, I will do everything in my power to make sure that Harry and our children are never hurt again." With a small grin, Draco stuck out his hand to the startled women.

'Mercy' Nicole thought, surprised at the openness and honesty she saw on Draco Malfoy's face. 'I think he's telling the truth.' Firmly shaking the blonde's hand, Nicole couldn't help but to get the last word in. "For your sake I hope you're telling the truth, because not even Merlin will be able to help you if you're not."

Not knowing what to do with himself now that Harry had clearly left, Draco changed into a pair of swimming trunks that he had transfigured from a bathroom hand towel and went to sit out by the pool to wait for Harry's return.

* * *

Harry was in a great mood when he returned after lunch as promised. Shortly after arriving home, Harry gathered Matthew and Evan and headed out to enjoy the afternoon by the pool. They joined Draco, Sirius and Severus who had already decided that pool-side was the best way to spend a hot humid summer day.

Apparently, things had gone well at practice and the band was ahead of schedule for finishing their CD. The CD was scheduled to be released in mid October so that it would hit the music stores in plenty of time for the Christmas season, which was only four months away. In order for the band to meet their scheduled release date, they had to be finished recording the music by the end of July. But as Harry was happily telling everyone, if the band kept up their current pace, they might be able to finish recording by mid July.

Draco's pleasure at seeing his sons was only momentarily dimmed when Harry introduced him to the twins as Mister Malfoy. The boys were perfectly polite and well manner, for at least the first fifteen minutes. A loud chuckle escaped him as he watched Harry try to chase both twins at the same time. It didn't take long to see that the drenched Harry clearly had his hands full with the two of them.

It was amazing to just sit back and watch Harry in his role as a parent. However, even an extremely powerful wizard like Harry was no match for the cunning and tenaciousness of two almost three-year olds. The twins seemed to be able to communicate with each other without the need for spoken language.

"I wonder if all twins are able to do that," Sirius thought out loud.

An amused snort was heard from the chair where Severus was resting. "If I recall, Black, you never had the pleasure of seeing the Weasley twins while they were still in school. The only good thing about Hogwarts not being a school anymore is that at least we won't have the misfortune of trying to teach those two. I shudder at the type of mischief those two would be capable of with the mix of Potter and Malfoy genes."

Sirius got a strange, almost contemplative look on his face. "Just think, a whole new generation of Marauders. They are pretty amazing, aren't they?"

No one responded to the rhetorical question as they were too caught up in watching the silly antics of the family playing with unrestrained joy in the pool.

Just as the sun was beginning to set, Nicole came out and herded the reluctant boys into to the house so that they could get cleaned up for dinner. Draco nodded slightly to his Godfather, indicating that he and Sirius should go on ahead as the men started to make their way back to the house. This was the first opportunity Draco had to speak privately with Harry and he didn't want to miss it.

"Hey Harry, do you think I can have a minute?"

Knowing full well that they needed to get some things straight between them, Harry nodded.

"Why don't we go for a walk on the beach, just let me tell Nola not to wait for us to start dinner, if that's alright with you?"

Not waiting for Draco's agreement, Harry turned and walked into the kitchen. Trying to squash the butterflies that had suddenly taken up residence in his stomach, Draco nervously rubbed his hands down along the sides of his black cotton shorts. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't notice when Harry gently grasped his elbow to get his attention. He jumped at the unexpected contact.

Clearly amused, Harry smiled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I'm sure you remember but the beach is down this way." Kicking off his shoes, Harry walked down the sandy path the lead over the sand dunes toward the ocean.

Ducking his head to hide the blush that was sure to be staining his cheeks, Draco kicked off his own shoes and quickly followed.

* * *

The beach was deserted, no one as far as the eye could see in either direction. For a while, the two men were content just to walk in silence listing only to the pounding waves and the cries of the hungry sea gulls. Draco found that he loved the beach. He enjoyed almost everything about it, from the everlasting breeze, the salt air, to even the feeling of the warm sand between his toes. As a child, the Malfoys had often vacationed in wealthy resorts all over the globe. He could remember often visiting beaches, but none had he found as beautiful as the one he was walking on tonight. 'Although, his enjoyment of this particular beach could have something to do with his quiet companion,' he thought to himself.

The sun had dipped so low in the sky that it was almost touching the water before Harry decided to stop. Sitting down on top of a sand dune, the men continued to watch the horizon. They sat shoulder to shoulder on the sand, close to each other, but yet not quite touching. "You know on nights like this, I sometimes think that I can hear the sizzle the sun makes as it disappears into the sea."

The bright reds, pinks, and burnt orange slowly gave way to the deepening purples and navy as the sun continued its downward spiral. "I can see why you like it here so much. It is very peaceful. I could learn to love it."

"Could you?"

The intensity of the question caught Draco unprepared. After taking a moment to compose his thoughts as he studied Harry's face, he said softly. "Yes, Harry, I could."

If he had been expecting a response, he didn't get one.

"The boys are incredible. I don't know how you did it, but they are terrific kids. Harry."

"Thanks Draco, that means a lot coming from you. Besides, I owe you an apology."

"For what?"

"I should have tried to contact you to let you know about them after they were born. At the time, I was angry at you for leaving me, feeling overwhelmed about being a single father, to not one but two babies, and I was also afraid that if you knew that you would come back and try to take them from me."

Draco sucked the air in between his teeth. "Do you really think that I would do something like that? That I would deliberately hurt you that much?"

Harry had the good graces to look embarrassed. "No, I know that you wouldn't, but let's face facts. Matthew and Evan are heirs to both the Malfoy and Potter estates. They are among the elite of the wizarding world. Our estates individually make us a couple of the wealthiest men in the world. I do not want to even think how much money we would have if we combined our fortunes. While I trust you not to take them, I do not trust your father. What if he found out about them? Your father would be salivating once he realized his Grandsons were Parselmouths. I tried to rationalize it by making myself believe that you had moved on and married, producing your own heir, so you didn't need our sons like I did."

"Is that what you wanted me to do? Forget you and move on?"

"No. . . I 'm not sure what I wanted, to be honest."

Draco slowly reached up with his right hand and softly touched Harry's cheek. "What's important is what you want now."

Harry couldn't help but lean into Draco's warm hand and a large ache blossomed in the pit of his stomach. He knew that he was trembling, but he couldn't help himself; it had been so long since they had been this close to each other and now his body was reacting to what it had craved. Knowing that they were about to have probably the most important conversation of their lives, Harry pulled back so that he could look Draco in the eyes. All the shields were down and the love that he saw reflected there almost lead to his undoing. Knowing that his answer was going to set the path for not only the remainder of his life, but also the lives of his children, Harry took a deep breath. "I don't know; I don't know what I want," he said faintly.

14 The Beach

Not giving his companion a chance to recover and press him for a more definitive answer, Harry knew that there was one thing that he had pondered for years that he needed to have answered before this conversation went any further. "Did you mean it?"

The puzzled look on Draco's face did nothing to diminish the warmth in his eyes. "Mean what, Harry?"

Suddenly feeling insecure, Harry tried to move away from the hand that was softly caressing his cheek. "All the things that you wrote in that letter. Did you truly feel that way back then?"

Dark gray eyes sparkled with understanding. Draco had forgotten all about that letter he had left for Harry in his cowardice when he had returned to England all those years ago. That night after they had made love, as he lay beside the only person he would ever love, most likely for the last time ever, he knew that he needed to leave before Harry woke up, or he wouldn't be able to go. Writing that letter seemed to be the only way that he would be able to properly say good bye to this person who had become the center of his small world. It had been so cleansing, purging his soul to Harry, even if he couldn't be there when his love read it. "Every single word."

Pure unadulterated joy burst from every pore of Harry's body with Draco's confirmation. The letter was one of Harry's most precious possessions, but it had always bothered him that he never heard Draco say those three words to him out loud. He also regretted not having the courage himself to say the same back to Draco either.

Harry's gut started to twist; it felt like it had when he had inadvertently swallowed the golden snitch back in his first year. Not sure if he was going to laugh or throw up, the dark haired man took a couple of deep breaths to calm his nerves. "I felt the same way too," he finally admitted.

Draco's whole face lit up on hearing Harry's whispered confession. It nearly took Harry's breath away. All the masks were off; there were no more barriers or no walls to hide behind any longer. The silver haired man's smile was genuine and so radiant that it almost hurt your eyes just to look at it. But Harry couldn't seem to be able to look anywhere else but at his former lover.

The need to do no more than to just gaze at Draco hit Harry abruptly. His eyes feasted on the perfect curve of his strong jaw line, on his full pink lips that were just begging to be kissed, on the pale cheeks that were slightly flushed, and on the thick blond lashes that framed those expressive eyes. He had forgotten just how beautiful Draco Malfoy was to look at. Harry shook himself out of his innermost pondering and saw that Draco was studying his face too. There was no way that Draco could find him as attractive as he found the Slytherin. "So, see anything you like?" He couldn't help teasing the blonde.

Even in the moonlight, Harry could see that Draco's blush had deepened considerably. Recovering quickly, the Slytherin still managed a comeback, "I can't tell from here, I'll have to let you know in the morning."

Now it was Harry's turn to blush, as he felt the heat rising in his own face.

Before he knew what was happening, he found himself pulled up against a hard chest; two strong arms surrounded him, holding him. Raking one of his hands through the silky pale stands of hair at the nape of Draco's neck, while the other gently stroked up and down his back, Harry placed a soft kiss on the sensitive skin behind the blonde's ear. He had forgotten just how soft and wonderful Draco's hair felt under his fingertips.

It felt so right, like a part of him that he had been looking for and unable to find for so long was finally returned. It felt like he had finally come home. Feeling Draco's heart beat faster and hearing his quickening breathing in his ear, Harry knew that his partner was as affected as he was by their closeness. The raven-haired man was barely able to gasp "Oh God, I've missed you so much," before Draco changed their position and his lips were captured.

The feeling of having the same two lips that he had so often dreamed about pressed tightly up against his own was indescribable. Soon the mouth on his became more insistent and demanding. Harry opened his mouth, welcoming Draco. The soft kisses became more urgent, and Draco was soon tasting, plundering, and claiming. Having been denied for so long, he just couldn't get enough.

When they finally broke apart, Harry realized that they were no longer sitting, but at some point, Harry had been pressed down into the cool damp sand and Draco was on top of him. Harry was unable to give it another thought as his kiss-swollen lips were claimed once more. There was nothing that existed for him at this moment, outside of the feeling that he would sooner die than stop kissing the blonde.

A tingle of pleasure originating from where Draco was gently tweaking his nipple flowed downwards to his groin area. The fingers caressing his nipples were quickly replaced by the same lips that had so ravaged his mouth. Realizing that Draco had divested him of his shirt, Harry quickly did the same to the blonde. His hands were soon stroking the smooth bare skin on Draco's back. Soon, that wasn't enough and Harry needed more. One hand dipped beneath the waistband of Draco's shorts to touch his firm toned buttocks. Harry squeezed.

The need to fully possess Harry was stronger than ever as Draco moved back up over the finely muscled chest to kiss Harry again, this time deeply and completely. Harry could feel Draco's arousal pressed firmly up against his own. He thrust upwards rubbing their two erections together. Someone moaned, but neither man knew for sure who it was.

Draco was in heaven. Harry was like life-giving water to a man who had been lost in the desert for a week. Something that Draco could no sooner do without than his own two hands. The first time they had made love, it was a mutual giving of each other, and it was gentle and filled with love and caring. It was nothing like what was happening now.

Suddenly, Harry's words came back to him. How he had hated Draco for making love to him and then leaving him. It was hard to think about anything else but the warm willing body of the man he loved beneath him. Draco knew that if he waited a little longer that there would be no going back, that he and Harry would make love here on the beach. Unexpectedly, that didn't seem as appealing as it had been just a few moments ago. Who knew what tomorrow was going to bring? There was a good chance that Harry would decide to remain here in California and then what? Draco didn't even want to think about the ramifications of making love to Harry for a second time and then being forced to leave again. Maybe Harry could forgive him once, but twice? He loved Harry too much to do that to him, to cause him that horrendous pain.

With a determined resolve, Draco pushed himself up off of Harry, untangling their limbs in the process. With a sinking feeling, Draco watched as the sparkling emeralds became wet with unshed tears and confusion. "What…what's going on Dray? Why did you stop?"

Gray eyes full of regret pieced deep into Harry's soul, filling him with dread.

"Harry, you have got to believe me that this is one of the hardest things that I have ever done. But I can't let this continue; we have to stop now before we go any further."

Harry sat up angrily and turned away from the arms that had just recently given him so much pleasure and comfort. "Why, Dray? Is there someone else?"

Draco frowned, not once considering that Harry would thing that he had anyone else in his life. "No Harry, it's nothing like that. There could never be anyone else." The sound of the waves almost drowned out the softly spoken words.

Not knowing why Draco had teased him like this, making him believe that they could be together once more Harry angrily picked up a seashell and whipped it into the ocean. The splash as the shell sank beneath the waves did nothing to appease the Gryffindor. "What is it, then?" he demanded, needing to hear the truth.

"If we make love again Harry, I want it to be forever."

Harry looked up in disbelief into eyes that looked like a summer storm about to break. "If?"

Physically stronger of the two, Draco pulled Harry back into his embrace even though the raven-haired man struggled to escape. "Not if, Harry; when."

But the damage had already been done, even as he held him Draco could feel Harry mentally pulling back away from him.

"Oh Merlin, Harry, do you have any idea how much I love you? How much I have always loved you?" With a shaking hand, Draco pushed the inky black bangs out of Harry's beloved face. "We don't know what is going to happen tomorrow and I couldn't bear it if we were to make love again and then I had to walk away from you in the morning. The first time, it nearly killed me; I don't think that I could survive it a second time."

Harry lost all will to struggle when he heard the words fall from Draco's lips that he had been longing to hear. It took him a moment to realize why Draco had stopped their love making when he did. A feeling of love so powerful he thought his heart would burst enveloped him. Harry realized what the problem was, but saw a simple solution. "Then don't go."

"Merlin, Harry, if it was only that easy."

"It could be if you wanted it to," came the simple reply.

Draco knew that there was no sense in arguing this point now, not when neither of them was thinking particularly straight. As a typical Slytherin, Draco tried to make it a habit not to make decisions when emotions were running high.

Needing time to distance themselves from what had just happened, and to give their bodies time to cool down, they sat once more side by side staring out over the vastness of the ocean. The bright light from the nearly full moon danced over the rolling waves, casting eerie shadows on the water. "You know if the full moon wasn't coming up soon, I'm sure Remus would have insisted on coming." Draco knew that it was a lame attempt to change the subject, but he felt like he had to say something; the silence was killing him.

Harry snorted. "Well, I'm glad he didn't. He was one of the people that I thought would support me. I'll never forget the look in his eyes in that Court Room that day."

Not wanting to rehash all this again, Draco thought quickly on how to change the subject once more. But before he could come up with something appropriate, Harry continued.

"Besides it was hard enough walking into that conference room after the concert and seeing the three of you there. I don't know how I would have reacted had Remus been there as well. As it was, as soon as I left that room, I promptly went into my dressing room and threw up."

"If you ask me, you had us all pretty fooled back there. You've gotten much better at lying in your old age, Potter."

"Had to. And who do you think you're calling old? If I remember correctly your birthday is ten months before mine."

"Don't remind me. I just feel so much older than twenty three."

"I feel the same way, but at least you weren't a single parent at the age of twenty. Hell, they were born shortly after my twentieth birthday. Most kids that age are out partying and being with their friends. We never had time for any of that."

Hearing the truth in Harry's words, Draco nodded in agreement.

"You know, it's still hard for me to believe that I actually have two sons." Draco thought for a moment, then corrected himself. "No, wehave two sons. There are these two perfect little boys with Malfoy smirks and Potter hair…" Draco was too overwhelmed to continue. "And for Slytherin's sake, I don't even know the first thing about them. When is their birthday? Who was born first? What are their real full names? I'm assuming that their birth certificates list their last name as Potter. What do they like to do? Have you taught them about quidditch yet?"

Harry started to giggle at the near panicked expression on Draco's face. The reality of being a father was finally setting in. As the nonstop questions continued without even a momentary pause for breath, Harry's giggles evolved into a full belly laugh.

Insulted that Harry wasn't taking him seriously, Draco stopped his interrogation.

As his laughter died down to an occasional chuckle, Harry reached over and grabbed the Slytherin's hand. Raising their clasped hands to his lips, he pressed a light kiss to the back of Draco's knuckles before returning their hands to their sides. "Well Dray, lets me start at the beginning. Matthew Harrison Malfoy Potter was born at 12:09 am on August 9, 2000. He was shortly joined in the nursery by his nearly identical twin bother Evan Michael Malfoy Potter, who was born at 12:26 am."

Draco felt tears come to his eyes when he realized how much he had missed by not being there for their birth. "Matthew means God's gift and Evan means either Little Warrior or God is good," he said reverently.

"Yeah, I know. I was feeling pretty low right before they were born, but afterwards, when I held them for the first time and looked down into their little wrinkled faces, I knew that my life had purpose. I truly believed that they were gifts from God, my own little miracles." Harry seemed to have an inner glow when he talked about his children.

Draco couldn't help but wonder what Harry had been like while he had been pregnant. "It's a wonder that you were able to conceive and carry them safely. You know that this means that we are soul mates, right?"

"That's what Nikki told me after I had regained consciousness."

Harry smirked when he saw the concerned look on Draco's face. "I sort of fainted when she told me that I was pregnant." Harry ignored Draco's laughter as he continued with his explanation. "Remember Dray—I was raised by magic-hating Muggles. I had never even heard of the possibility existing where a man could get pregnant. It was a bit of a shock to the system."

"I get the feeling that that is an understatement." Draco commented as he pulled Harry back against his chest.

Harry sighed, feeling content to just stay there in his partner's arms, their earlier discord temporarily forgotten. "Anyway, she said that only soul mates could conceive that way, but to be honest with you, I'm not sure what being a soul mate means."

"Well Potter, it once more looks like you are lacking a proper wizarding education so it again falls upon me to enlighten you. Let's make a trade, you tell me more stories about our children and I will answer any questions you have about what it means to be a soul mate."

"Deal."

The next couple of hours flew by spent amongst much laughter and some tears as two and a half years of memories where shared from one parent who was fortunate enough to experience seeing his children grow first hand with another parent, who was not.

So caught up in their conversation, neither man noticed when the tide had come in until it was literally licking at their toes. Deciding that their companions were probably worried enough, they knew that they had best be heading home. Standing up, Draco tried to brush most of the sand off of them, bemoaning the fact that he had left his wand back at the house. "You know a simple cleansing spell would take care of all this and in a second."

"It could but it's better to do it the Muggle way here, Dray. There are spies everywhere and I don't think you want to be explaining why you were here on this beach performing a cleansing charm at 10:30 at night, do you?"

"I guess not. But how do you live like that with no magic?" He asked as he reached over and firmly took Harry's hand in his own.

"There are wards on my property making any magic performed there undetectable, but those wards do not extend out here on the public beach. Besides wandless magic is much harder to trace, even so I only use it sparingly."

With a pang of regret regarding the need for secrecy that Harry and his family had been living under for so long, Draco just started off back down the beach towards the house.

His thoughts were focused on the meeting that they still had ahead of them. The one where Harry would tell him whether or not he decided to come back to Hogwarts with them. Part of him longed for Harry to say that he would go back, he didn't want to be separated from his love again. But the more selfless side almost wanted Harry to refuse. Harry and his children had a good life here in the United States. They could live here for many more years before the war touched these shores. Part of him wanted that dream for his family even if it meant that no one in England would have the opportunity to protect their families.

"You know that you weren't fair?" were the words that broke his silent contemplation.

He pulled back on their joined hands to slow Harry down. "What wasn't fair?" he questioned worriedly.

"You never did get around to telling me what exactly soul mates are."

"Well my love, I guess we'll just have to save that conversation for another day."

"You know, I could get used to that."

"Used to what?" Draco asked, puzzled by the impish grin on Harry's face.

"Used to you calling me 'my love'. I like that, you dolt."

"Well it certainly has a nicer ring to it than 'you dolt'," Draco pouted.

"I guess we'd better work on a better endearment later then." Harry quirked one eyebrow before he turned suddenly, kicking sand all over Draco's legs. Seeing what he had inadvertently done, the raven-haired man made a break for it and started running through the dunes.

Only pausing for a moment to bemoan his sand covered condition, the silver haired man quickly gave chase.

* * *

It had been many hours since dinner had passed. Sirius had taken up refuge once more in the lounge chair beside the pool, leaving Severus arguing with Harry's housekeeper in the kitchen. Never once in all the time that they had been searching for Harry had Sirius let himself believe that his Godson could have had a life like this one. He had always envisioned him alone, cold and starving out on the street somewhere.

Sirius was extremely proud of the way that Harry had pulled himself together after escaping from prison. Sirius, unfortunately, had a unique perspective when it came to recovering from Azkaban and knew how difficult it was to rebuild your life after suffering through something as traumatic as that was.

Things were not the same between Harry and himself, not like they once could have been. But when you've had a life like the one Sirius Black has led, you couldn't afford to question the 'what ifs'. It was a dangerous trap from which there was no escaping. Sirius was hopeful that, given time, that he and Harry would be able to forge a new relationship. Now, if only Harry would agree to come back with them. If only…

A large smile crossed Sirius' face as the sounds of laughter could be heard well before his Godson and Malfoy came into view. Although he was initially shocked at thought that the two of them had fathered children together, he wasn't as surprised as he should have been. Harry had never confided in him about any of his crushes and he knew that he hadn't dated anyone seriously, so it only stood to reason that there had been some one that Harry was involved with, and that he felt the need to keep the relationship private.

The wizarding world accepted homosexuality much more readily than the Muggle community, especially in the case of soul mates. Sirius himself had experimented with a variety of relationships before he had been sent to prison. Hell, if he was perfectly honest with himself, he knew of two other men who were attracted to each other but had been long denying themselves out of both a fear of rejection and other obligations related to the war.

Harry stopped running abruptly when he saw Sirius waiting for them on the patio. Without a warning that Harry was going to stop, Draco had no time to get himself under control and plowed right into the hard body in front of him. "Ow!"

"Well, it serves you right for stopping like that. Why did you stop suddenly anyway?"

Grinning, Harry tilted his head in the direction where Sirius was standing watching the exchange in amusement. "Having a good time, boys?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, Black?" the blonde Slytherin sneered. However, the sneer on his face was significantly diminished by the happiness in his smile.

Clasping his Godson on the back, Black chuckled. "No, not really, in fact, I've learned more about Harry's love life in the last two days then I had ever known before. Now, why don't we go into the house? I believe that your housekeeper will need to be rescued."

"Why, what happened to Nola?"

"Let's just say that after dinner, Snape decided to procure her kitchen. They were having quite the battle over territory when I decided to retreat."

Harry laughed, relieved that it was nothing serious. "I should have warned Snape about how possessive Nola can get about her kitchen. She even gets annoyed with me sometimes if all I do is make a sandwich. If I'm not mistaken, I believe that it will be our Potions Master that will need rescued."

Feeling more at peace than they could remember in a long while, the three men turned and walked into the kitchen.

15 Decisions

The sound of a door closing brought Draco out of his comfortable bed and over to the window. He ran a tired hand over his face, trying to get his eyes to focus on the view. He blamed his lack of sleep the previous night on the fact that he just couldn't seem to get his mind to shut down long enough to actually fall asleep. Thoughts of Harry and his sons, Harry on the beach, Harry pressed up against him, kissing him….raced nonstop and subsequently kept him awake long after everyone else had retired for the night.

After a moment, his blurred vision cleared. It had to be extremely early as the sun hadn't even started to rise yet and the beach still looked quite dark. There didn't seem to be anything out of place as far as Draco could see from his window. Wondering what the noise could have been, Draco started to turn away from the window to go back to his warm inviting bed. Maybe now, he would finally be able to get some sleep.

Just as he was turning, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Staring back out the window, Draco chuckled as he saw Emrys Kingston, dressed as he had been the first morning that they had been here, walk across the patio. He stopped over by the pool house and gathered that long board object that he had with him previously and started down the path that led to the beach.

Knowing where Harry was headed, Draco quickly threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and started after the singer.

After reaching the patio, the blonde stopped and quickly assumed his animagus form. Sniffing the air to verify the direction that Harry had gone, the gray wolf raced down the beach in search of his prey.

* * *

Deep in his own confusing thoughts, Harry quickly walked down the sandy beach, not paying attention to the marine ecosystem that was gradually wakening from its slumber around him. Soon, a sound that seemed out of place on this early morning brought him back to reality. Harry stopped and listened, wishing for the more sensitive hearing that he possessed while in one of his animagus forms. The sound repeated itself over and over and seemed to be drawing closer. Identifying it as coming from behind him, he turned, placing his surfboard down, and waited to see what was coming towards him.

He didn't have to wait long when a familiar large gray wolf came into view. Harry couldn't prevent the smile from crossing his face as he remembered the first time he had seen Draco transform. The sleek animal just seemed to fit him somehow, strong, noble, intelligent and cunning. In the case of people who become animagus', their animal form is picked for them by the spirit guides, as the animal that best suits their personality. In Draco's case, it had been spot on.

The wolf skidded to a halt on the wet sand momentarily before rising up on its hind legs and placing his front paws on Harry's chest gently so as not to scratch him. Harry laughed as the wolf let out a loud bark and started to lick his face. "Okay, okay, I get the message. Sorry I left with out you this morning. How about you get down now?"

If a wolf could smirk, Harry was sure that this one would be smirking as it gracefully dropped back down on the soft sand. Kneeling down, Harry scratched the animal behind its ears. "So what are you doing up so early? I thought for sure that you would sleep for at least another couple hours," Harry asked sternly, but the twinkle in his eyes took the bite out of his remarks.

Standing back up, Harry glanced up and down the beach, making sure it was still deserted. "Well, I really wanted to go for a fly this morning, but seeing as how you can't fly, I guess I'll just have to settle for a run." A soft pop later and the place where the wizard had stood was now occupied by a medium-sized, friendly-looking sheep dog. Harry the dog shook his head to try to move one of his ears that had a tendency to flop over onto his face. Giving his companion a happy bark, the dog ran off down the beach, soon to be followed closely by a large wolf.

* * *

That afternoon after lunch, Severus approached the subject that they all knew needed to be discussed but where leery of bringing up.

"Listen Potter, the mini vacation is much appreciated, but it's time that we get back to Hogwarts. We need to know where you stand."

Knowing that he couldn't put this off much longer, Harry indicated that they should all reconvene back in his study.

Not one for being patient, no sooner had the door shut behind him than Severus was again demanding to know what Harry's decision was. "So what's it going to be, Harry? Are you going to help us or not?"

Both Sirius and Draco watched Harry carefully.

"If your asking me if I'm willing to go back to England with you, then the answer is no, I'm not."

Draco swallowed hard to try to rid himself of the sinking feeling in his stomach, 'Harry's not going back.'

"Well Potter, I can't say that I am surprised. It would take a bigger man than you to put everything past you and move on, I just hope that you'll be able to live with yourself knowing that you practically handed Voldemort the wizarding world on a silver platter."

Harry looked sharply at his former Professor. He hadn't heard that condescending tone since the beginning of his sixth year at Hogwarts. "You'd be surprised at what all I can live with, Severus," Harry sneered back taking a similar tone.

Knowing that there would be nothing gained by upsetting the Gryffindor heir further, Severus decided to change his approach. "You've certainly demonstrated that you are capable of living through much more than what a normal person could. Hell, this whole experience has certainly made you a stronger wizard, which is quite an accomplishment, but what about your sons? What can they live through?"

"What are you talking about Snape? You don't know anything about my sons."

Snape knew that by bringing Harry's children into the conversation, he was taking a big risk. The tall Potions Master took a long moment to look appraisingly at his former student. "I know that the Potter bloodline is one of the oldest and most noble bloodlines still in existence in the world today. Hence, Matthew and Evan Potter, like you yourself, are heirs to Godric Gryffindor."

Not sure if he wanted to know where this conversation was going, Harry couldn't prevent himself from glaring at Snape. "They are much more than that Snape, but I don't see your point. Everyone in the Order knew that I was the Heir of Gryffindor."

"Well I guess that it is that Gryffindor blood that makes you a little slow on the uptake. Consider it this way. How did you feel when you received your Hogwarts letter knowing that there was this whole world out there that you were a part of that no one had ever even mentioned to you? How did you feel when after years of asking you were finally told what your true heritage was? Hmm." Severus paused to let that sink in before continuing.

"If you don't remember, maybe I can enlighten you as I was there when Albus finally revealed the truth to you. Actually, we all were there, if you remember?"

Harry had carefully hid his emotions behind an expressionless mask. "If I recall correctly, I was less than thrilled."

Draco had to resist the urge to laugh at Harry's blatant exaggeration. 'Less than thrilled my ass.' Harry had thrown a fit that could be heard through out the castle. Some of the items that had incurred Harry's wrath had been so destroyed that even the strongest 'reparo' charms couldn't fix them. The rumors of that episode were still retold today.

"Call it what you will, Mister Potter, but consider this, how do you think your children will feel when they find out what you've been keeping from them? By not returning with us you are in fact denying them their rightful heritage. Don't you think that they will resent the fact that you took the coward's way out instead of fighting for them?"

When Harry's eyes flashed poisonously, Snape knew that he had pushed the young man too far. "What the hell do you call what I have been doing the last three years if not fighting for them? Everything that I have been doing is done for them. How dare you even question the way that I have decided to bring up my children? Matthew and Evan are none of your concern."

There was a pregnant lull in the conversation as the former adversaries took stock of their positions.

"Harry, won't you please reconsider? We'll be lost without you."

Harry looked into the sad face of his Godfather. "No, Sirius. I won't reconsider. I'm sorry, but this is the way it has to be."

Sirius nodded his acceptance of his Godson's decision. "You know, Harry, that now that Dumbledore has found you, he won't let you go. He'll send others to try to convince you."

Harry gave Sirius a reassuring smile. "That's a chance that I'm gonna have to take."

Deciding to make one last attempt to reason with the stubborn man, Severus added, "He's not the only one that won't give up. Once You-Know-Who has control of Europe what's to stop him from coming over here. You're living on borrowed time, Potter."

Harry rubbed his tired eyes, wishing that this conversation would just end. "I understand that, Severus."

"Then, logically wouldn't it be easier to stop him before he ever steps foot on American soil? If you won't fight for England, then at least consider fighting to protect the new life you've set up for yourself here."

"Who would have thought that Severus Snape, the bain of Gryffindors everywhere would attempt to use logic on a Gryffindor?" Harry chuckled. "Look, Severus, I know what you are trying to do, but before you wear yourself completely out let me tell you that my decision is final. Nothing you say will change my mind."

"Fine, then I guess there is nothing left for us to do here then. We might as well leave tonight."

Harry nodded. "If that's what you want to do, it can be arranged."

"Haven't you been paying attention Potter? It's not about what we want to do; it's about what we have to do." With those cutting last words, Severus stood up and abruptly left the study, shutting the door loudly after him.

"Well, I guess that didn't go too well. Before I leave Harry, I just wanted to apologize again for not being there when you needed me most. I will never forgive myself for that."

Harry stood and pulled his Godfather into a tight hug. "I already told you that you were forgiven, Sirius."

"I know. I'm proud of you, Harry; you have a good life here and a wonderful family. Please take care of my Grand Godchildren." Agreeing, Harry let go and stepped back away from the Marauder. "Before I leave, I just wanted to ask you to keep in touch. I don't think that I could stand to lose you again, not now that I finally found you."

"I'll do my best."

"Okay Harry, I better go see where Snape has stormed off too."

After watching his Godfather leave, Harry turned to the only remaining Order member left in the room. "You've been particularly quiet this evening."

"That's because Severus was saying more than enough for the rest of us." Draco smirked.

"So, are you angry with me too?" Harry asked, cautiously.

Draco stood up and walked over to where Harry was standing. Leaning down, he pressed a soft kiss on the slightly smaller man's lips. "Never, Harry. How could I ever be angry with you for putting the best interest and welfare of our children first?"

Harry was grateful that Draco understood. Questions regarding what Draco intended to do now, and when he was leaving, ran through the Gryffindor's mind at a furious pace. Not wanting to know the answers at this moment, Harry tightened his arms around his soul mate wanting this moment to last forever so they wouldn't have to face being parted again.

With a large sigh Harry pulled away from Draco's embrace. "Let's go see what those two idiots are up to. I can't let them try to apparate all the way back to England from here; they'll splinch themselves for sure."

* * *

Finding the duo back out on the patio, Harry proceeded to give Sirius and Severus the address of a pub in San Diego from where they would be able to floo to a safe location in England. As the two older men were preparing to apparate to the coordinates provided, Snape turned and snapped at his own Godson. "Come on, Draco, we don't have time for long good byes. We need to get going."

"That's just as well, as I was never one for the emotional scenes. So, I'll see you around sometime, then Severus."

Snape was stunned. Surely, he hadn't heard correctly. "What did you just say?"

Draco pushed a strand of white blonde hair out of his face before turning to look at Harry directly. The love and astonishment reflected in those brilliant shinning emerald eyes reaffirmed his own decision. "I said, have a nice life Severus."

"But you can't mean to stay here; you are our last remaining spy. We need you Draco," protested the Potions Master.

"I can't help that, Severus. Over three years ago I made a terrible decision and it almost ended up costing me everything that I hold dear. I finally have the chance to make up for that unfortunate choice. Yes, the Light needs me, but I am also needed here as well. This time, I won't make the same mistake. My family has to come first."

Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had Draco just resigned from the Order; had he really put Harry and their boys' wellbeing in front of everything else?

Seeing the question in his eyes, Draco approached Harry cautiously, slowly reaching out to take his warm hand in his own. "That is, if you'll have me?"

Harry studied Draco's face intently, looking for the slightest sign of betrayal or uncertainty. Seeing none, he took a deep breath and answered his soul mate. "Draco, I can't make you any promises. But I would like to give us a try. We never really had the chance to have a real relationship before and I want that, if that's what you want," Harry said cautiously, not yet able to believe that Draco was actually planning on staying here with him.

Draco reached over a placed a warm kiss on Harry's smooth cheek. "I want that more than anything," he whispered in the raven-haired man's ear.

The sound of someone rudely clearing their throat interrupted an otherwise perfect moment. "Excuse us, it's not that we don't want you to be happy, but you'll both be sorely missed," Severus said disappointedly.

Defeated, Severus and Sirius said their farewells and departed for a pub on the other side of town.

As soon as they were alone again, Draco found himself pulled tightly into Harry's arms. "I can't believe that you're really here and that you're going to stay with me," he muttered into the soft silver hair he loved so much.

Draco, positioning himself so that he could look at Harry, was surprised to see the moisture gathered in the other man's eyes. "I knew once I had found you again that there was no way I would be able to walk away a second time, Harry. I'm here to stay." Wanting to lighten the mood, he couldn't help adding, "Of course I left all my things in England, so that means that unless you want me raiding your closet every day, we'll need to go shopping."

Harry kissed the soft skin on Draco's temple. "I don't know Dray, between taking you shopping and fighting Voldemort, I'm not sure that I took the safer route."

Even though he was glad that his diversion had worked, Draco couldn't help but be concerned about how his defection would be received at Hogwarts. "Sirius was right you know, Dumbledore will surely send someone else now that he knows who you are and where you live."

"He would, if someone were to tell him where to find us."

"Of course someone is going to tell him, didn't you just see Snape and Black leave here? I know that they're our Godfathers and all that, but even they will break under Dumbledore's questions. I bet they'll have someone here the day after tomorrow, if not sooner." Draco said exasperated.

"I don't doubt that Sirius and Sev would inform that old meddling bastard about everything that happened here over the last few days, but love, you can't tell someone what you don't remember."

Still confused, as he didn't see Harry cast a memory charm on either Severus or Sirius, Draco pressed for further details. "Explain, please."

"I just happened to place a powerful memory charm on the both of them during dinner that activated when they apparated through the wards surrounding this house. They won't remember a thing about their stay in the United States except that they found me and I decided to reject their kind offer to return to be their minion once more."

Wincing at Harry's description of the Order's intentions, Draco couldn't help but be impressed at his soul mate's foresight and resulting action. "You really should have let the sorting hat put you in Slytherin, love."

"I know," Harry said wistfully.

"So when are we going back to Hogwarts?" If Harry was surprised at Draco's question, he didn't show it.

"I never could hide anything from you."

Draco smirked, "and you'd better never try."

Harry looked away to gather his thoughts, wanting to make sure he expressed his reasoning logically. "They were right about one thing, others will follow. While I'm not concerned about Order members, I am afraid that now that the Order found me once, that it won't be long before Voldemort sends his Death Eaters here. While I hate Voldemort, I can't but help appreciate his intelligence, even if he chooses to use it in such despicable ways." Harry paused, running his hand through his already mussed hair. "My wards are strong, but not nearly as strong as the wards around Hogwarts. As much as I hate to admit it, Hogwarts is probably the safest place for the twins to be right now. I thought about what you said about Hogwarts being at risk, but I would rather have the twins close by us there then tucked away somewhere else where we wouldn't know what was going on with them. Please understand that I need to know that they are safe. I need to be able to see them and touch them and not worry about them being used in this horrendous war. Besides, I refuse to use a secret keeper and make the same mistake that my parents did."

Draco knew that Harry would never get over the betrayal of his parents by one of their seemingly 'best friends'. That coupled with his own betrayal at the hands of his own friends and teachers, significantly decreased Harry's ability to trust. Harry would never be capable to turning over the safety and welfare of his children over to someone other than himself. He wasn't even sure if Harry trusted him enough to care for the boys. Nodding to let Harry know that he understood his reasoning, Draco indicated that Harry should continue.

"I need to get some things finished here first and then we'll pack up and leave."

Draco was curious. "What is so important to risk staying?"

"The band." Harry said simply. "They were there for me every step of the way. We've been through a lot together and the new CD is almost finished. I told you earlier that we were ahead of schedule, I think that if we pushed it we should be able to finish with the recordings in a couple of weeks. I owe it to them to stay until it's done. There is no way that they can replace me and the band has invested entirely too much time and money in the process to simply scrap it now. I don't expect you to understand but there is no way that I can simply bail on them."

"Actually, Harry, I do understand. It's just you being you."

Harry reached over and playfully smacked Draco on the back of the head. "What the hell kind of comment is that?"

Draco sent the dark haired man an annoyed look as he rubbed the back of his head. "I just meant that you always put others first, it's just part of who you are. And this is just me being me." Not giving Harry any time to respond, Draco scooped the startled man up into his arms and threw him into the pool.

16  Just an Ordinary Day

"Peanut Brittle." Severus grimaced at the Headmaster's current password as the Gargoyle moved aside to allow the men entrance into the Headmaster's office. Unfortunately, last Christmas Albus had become addicted to the muggle sweet and the house elves had provided peanut brittle at practically every meal since. According to Dumbledore, it was an acquired taste, but, to practically everyone else, it was just nasty.

Severus gave loud knock on the polished oak door and they were granted admittance. Moving inside, Sirius and Severus took the offered seats in front of the Headmaster's desk. Of all the changes that Hogwarts has undergone over the past couple of years, the one thing that never changed was this room, Albus' personal space. The classrooms and dormitories were in essence gone; they as well as every spare room in the castle was devoted to other things such as training areas, medical facilities, conference rooms, with the vast majority of space being occupied by single and multi-family apartments.

Hogwarts had become the epitome of communal living. Every resident had a purpose, their own set of tasks that they needed to fulfill everyday for the benefit of the community. Many people were involved in the war effort as tacticians, or warriors, however others were responsible for brewing potions, gathering ingredients, training, working in the hospital, or operating the children's day care center. Thankfully, the house elves remained and were still able to cook and clean for the two thousand or so people seeking refuge in the great castle.

After greeting his guests warmly, Albus couldn't help but be disappointed when he saw only the two Order members. "Am I to assume that your mission wasn't a complete success?"

"We did what you asked of us, we found Potter, but he's not going to come back." Severus informed the older wizard.

"I see," that blasted twinkle dimming for a moment, "please tell me everything."

"That's just it Albus," Sirius sighed exasperatedly. "That was everything."

Giving Sirius an odd look, Dumbledore turned once more to his colleague, "I'm not sure I understand, Severus, why don't you start at the beginning?"

Knowing that this tale was going to be much shorter than the old man expected it to be, Severus complied with his request. "We took the portkey to New Orleans and based on the information that the Order had provided, we were able to track Mister Kingston. That night, we confronted him after his concert. He wasn't the most cooperative person, but after some persuasion he gave us the name and address of the person where he had obtained the words for the song we all heard. The person went by the name James Black and lived in New York City. We eventually located Mister Black and verified that he was indeed Harry Potter."

Severus faltered, struggling with himself to recall what happened next. "We explained the situation to Mister Potter and asked him to come back to Hogwarts with us to assist us in the war." Spitting the next part out as though just saying the words left a sour taste in his mouth, Severus concluded. "He rejected our offer and told us basically to 'go to hell'."

Albus became suspicious watching the amount of effort that Severus had to put into the explanation. "So Severus, where exactly does Mister Black live?"

Severus looked at him oddly. "I don't remember."

"Hmmm, perhaps you remember Sirius?"

Sirius' brow was furrowed, "As strange as it seems, I can't remember either."

The Headmaster leaned forward in his chair, bringing his chin to rest on the top of his folded hands. "Well maybe you could tell me how Harry looked or what he was doing for a living then?"

Seeing the blank looks on both Sirius' and Severus' faces, he added softly, "Now this is something isn't it. How strange it is for you to find someone whom you've both haven't seen in many years and you only remember a few short and seemly scripted details from the meeting?"

Albus got up from behind his desk and approached the seated gentlemen. Waving his wand, a fine blue mist covered first Sirius and then Severus. Nodding to himself, the Headmaster cancelled the spell and once more took his seat. "It appears that I have severely underestimated Mister Potter."

"Not that it would be a first time," ignoring Albus' sharp look Sev continued "But please enlighten us, what exactly did Potter do?"

"A memory charm and a very complicated one at that. As you both know, a memory charm functions like an eraser and simply removes a specific memory or as many memories as the caster dictates. Stronger charms are needed for very emotional memories, or memories that span a large period of time. For example, it would be much harder to make someone forget something like their first kiss, or the birth of their child; accordingly it is easier to make someone forget a shorter period of time like a ten minute conversation as opposed to a couple of days or a week. However, what it appears that Harry was able to do with his charm was to not only remove selected memories covering a period of three days, but to replace those memories with information that he wanted you to be able to remember. That is very complicated magic indeed."

"It is reversible?" Snape asked still in disbelief.

"I'm not sure. The most effective way would be for Mister Potter to reverse whatever charm he used on you. As it is, without knowing what memories were removed, it would be very dangerous for us to attempt any sort of reversal. As disappointing as his rejection was, alas, it was not unexpected. I think for the time being, we will just allow Mister Potter to keep whatever memories he didn't want us to have."

Taking the last comment for the dismissal that it was, Sirius and Severus started to make their way out of the office.

Just as the gentlemen were about to open the door to leave, the Headmaster remembered something else he needed to ask. "Oh and by the way, where is Mister Malfoy?"

* * *

Draco crept down the stairs trying not to wake anyone as Harry had told him that in general the family tried to sleep in on Saturday mornings. He had discovered during his stay here that the third step from the bottom squeaked if you stepped on it a certain way. Gingerly, he stepped over the squeaky step and made his way down to the second floor landing.

Slowly opening the door to which he knew was the twin's bedroom, he slipped in unnoticed. He liked this time in the mornings when he could observe his children without having to worry about slipping and revealing a relationship with them other than that of a casual friend. Since committing himself to Harry and the boys, Draco had been hounding Harry about telling Matthew and Evan that he was their other father, but Harry was still a little resistant.

Not sure what it was going to take to prove himself to Harry, Draco backed off on the parent issue and resolved himself to the role of friend. At least the twins now referred to him as 'Dwaco' as opposed to the formal 'Mister Malfoy'. That was one reason why these uninterrupted moments were so precious to Draco.

Tip-toeing into the bedroom- he stared at Evan's bed. Blinking to make sure he was seeing properly, he looked again. It was empty. Crossing the room quickly, the agitated young man drew back the blanket and spread on Evan's bed, and sure enough, there was no little form sleeping there.

Turning so abruptly that he almost tripped over his own feet, he ran to Matthew's bed. As he approached the other toddler's bed he was happy to see a large lump under the covers. Studying the lump closely, he noticed that something just didn't seem quite right about it. It didn't seem large enough to be both boys but was much too big to be just one. Carefully pulling the sheet back, to not wake the sleeping child, Draco slowly unraveled the mystery of who was sleeping in this bed.

Draco broke out into a cold sweat when he realized that the lump was comprised solely of a group of stuffed animals and there wasn't a single dark-haired two-year-old boy in sight. It took only a second for Draco's still sleep fuddled brain to process the fact that his beloved children were missing.

Racing out of their room, without even stopping to knock on Harry's bedroom door, Draco barged in. The door hit the wall with a loud bang from the force it had been opened with. Before Draco could bring himself to wake Harry and sound the alarm, all the fear that had momentarily consumed him was gone. There lying sound asleep in the middle of Harry's king sized bed were three raven colored heads clustered together.

Silently, Draco approached the bed, staring down at the faces of the people who had become his whole world in such a short period of time. Harry looked so peaceful and relaxed as he held each of his sons nestled up close to him. They looked so happy that Draco ached to join them, but he did not.

Relieved that his family was indeed safe, Draco took a moment to examine Harry's room. Since their reunion, Harry had yet to invite Draco to spend the night with him, as such this was the first time that Draco had trespassed into Harry's sanctuary. In the back of Draco's mind, he knew that he was invading Harry's privacy, but Draco pushed those thoughts aside as he let his curious eyes take in the surrounding details.

Like the rest of the house, Harry's room was well furnished, decorated in navy and cream with burgundy used sparingly only as an accent. Harry's bed was a large four poster similar to the beds used at Hogwarts but much larger. The bed itself was made of a dark cherry wood and had a matching dresser and armoire.

Beside the bed was a large marble-topped cherry nightstand with a crystal lamp. On top of the nightstand, there was a novel by an author named Stephen King. Looking at the dust cover, the book appeared to be of the horror genre. "Well, that would certainly prevent me from sleeping," Draco muttered to himself. As Draco turned towards the bed, he saw a gray fuzzy object wedged between the bed and the nightstand, almost as if someone had hidden it there. Bending down, Draco picked up what appeared to be one of the boy's toys. It was a plushy of a wolf. Thinking that the animal looked a lot like him in his animagus form, Draco took a closer look at the wolf. As soon as he got the wolf closer to his face, he was overwhelmed by Harry's scent. It was all over the animal, almost as if Harry slept with the toy on a regular basis. Filing this information away for later analysis, Draco returned the wolf to his hiding place and continued his perusal of Harry's room.

Hanging over the bed, there was a colorful painting that depicted a large scarlet phoenix, with his wings spread as though in flight. Nestled under one of the phoenix's wings was a large black cat that looked to be a panther. The powerful panther's sleek muscles looked to be tightly bound as if it was ready to spring at some unknown foe or prey. The last animal shown on the painting was a playful black and white sheep dog with its one ear falling forward onto its face. The sheepdog's emerald eyes glowed bright with laughter. The painting was so realistic it felt that one could reach out and scratch the dog behind its ear.

Draco took another sharp penetrating look at the painting. All of the animal subjects had the same eyes, the same unusual deep green that Harry also possessed. While the phoenix's eyes looked piercing and intelligent and the panther's were fierce and had an unmistakable predatory gleam, they were indeed all the same.

Adding up the clues. Draco shook his head ruefully before examining the other treasurers that he could find.

* * *

Harry slowly opened his sluggish eyes and then quickly snapped them back shut as the bright sunlight that streamed through the windows penetrated painfully directly into his brain. Trying to roll over and bury his head under his pillow, Harry was surprised at the impediment in his path.

Opening his eyes more carefully this time, Harry blinked to allow himself to become accustomed to the light before trying to look around. Seeing the two small forms of his sons' pressed up tightly against him, Harry couldn't help but to unconsciously tighten his arms protectively around them both, pulling them even tighter against him, if possible. The boys had adjusted from sleeping in cribs to their 'big boy beds' quite well, although there were some nights like last night when they would find themselves wandering into their Daddy's room and climbing into bed with him for the remainder of the night. Although Harry knew that he had to discourage that type of behavior, he didn't think that sharing his bed once in awhile would be a problem.

Just then, the Grandfather clock in the foyer struck ten. Looking down at the two peacefully sleeping boys Harry had no choice but to wake them if he was ever going to get out of bed. Gingerly, Harry moved his arms from around the boys and placed his hands down on their tummies. Taking a deep breath, Harry roared a like a pretend lion and started to tickle the boys mercilessly. Soon, the rafters where shaking with the high pitched squeals of laughter.

* * *

Draco looked up from where he had been sitting reading the morning newspaper when the three Potter men entered the kitchen. But he ducked down again behind the paper to hide his smile. It was clear that all three had just bathed as their dark hair was still wet and sticking up in every direction. Not only that, but Harry had dressed the boys and himself almost identically, each wearing a pair of tan khaki shorts and a t-shirt. Harry wore black while Matthew and Evan had on green and blue respectively.

Getting himself under control, Draco folded the paper and reached for his cup of coffee. "Good morning."

After two enthusiastic "mornin' Dwaco" and a more sedate "Good morning" replies, Draco asked brightly, "So what are we doing today?"

Harry immediately downed his first cup of coffee and was pouring his second when Draco asked his overly cheerful question. "How much coffee have you had this morning, Dray?"

Thinking that it was an odd question, Draco decided to answer it anyway. "I don't know, I've been waiting for you down here for a couple hours so I'd say at least five or six, why?"

Speaking slowly as one might to a small child, Harry replied, "Because coffee has a lot more caffeine in it than tea has. You need to be more careful with it until you get used to it. Five cups of coffee is like drinking fifteen cups of tea and with all the sugar you put in yours, I'd say you're going to be bouncing off the walls for quite some time."

At Draco's horrified expression, Harry couldn't resist adding, "But don't worry the caffeine high won't be so bad; it's when the caffeine wears off and you come crashing down, that's when you should be afraid."

Turning away from Draco, Harry reached into the cabinet and grabbed four bowls and a couple boxes a cereal. Pouring Lucky Charms into the twins' bowls and Honey Bunches of Oats into his and Draco's he placed the bowls on the table and gathered the milk and spoons.

"So where is Nola this morning?"

"I told her yesterday that we would be leaving in a couple of weeks so I gave her some time off so that she could look for another job." Harry finished his cereal and then rinsed his bowl out and placed it in the dishwasher.

"The band and I are going back to the recording studio today. Nicole is going to take Matthew and Evan to the park for while and then we are going to meet up for dinner somewhere later. I thought you might like to tag along with Nicole and the boys."

Harry had told the band about the revised schedule the day after Sirius and Severus had left. While Harry had downplayed the conversation, Draco could tell that the band members had been upset with Harry's decision to leave the band once this recording session was completed. Of course Harry couldn't tell them exactly why he needed to leave, so many of the members were hurt at Harry's seemingly abrupt decision.

There was still an awkward tension between Harry and the other members, so Draco didn't feel insulted that Harry didn't want him to go along to the studio. Besides any chance he had at spending time with Matthew and Evan, he would jump at. Making arrangements to meet up at one of Harry's favorite restaurants later, Harry headed off to work, leaving a super-charged Draco alone with the twins.

* * *

Draco sat in the restaurant holding his head, a pained expression on his face. He was exhausted, not to mention dirty, from chasing the twins all over the huge playground at the park, and to add insult to injury, his head was killing him.

Nicole shot him a sympathetic glance as she tried once more to stop the boys from quarreling over who had which color crayon. Feeling as though if he didn't stop the ruckus soon that his head would simply explode, Draco motioned to the waiter to approach the table. Asking the waiter to simply bring some additional crayons for them seemed to cause a temporary truce between Matthew and Evan.

Shooting a brief glance at his watch Draco scowled. "He's late."

Nicole tried not to giggle, ever since Draco had made the decision to stay with Harry and to try to become a father to Matthew and Evan, her opinion of the blonde man had changed. Sure he was still arrogant and at times condescending, but he was making an effort, and for that, Nicole thought he deserved her support. Besides, even though neither man had taken her into their confidence, it was obvious that they still were very much in love with each other.

"Oh Draco, give him a break, he's only a few minutes late and we both know how hard he is working to get finished," she smiled.

As she was finishing her sentence, there was a small commotion towards the front of the restaurant. The pair turned and watched as a tall handsome brown haired man approached their table, ignoring the fans who were whispering or giggling madly. "Sorry I'm late," Emrys apologized as he slipped into the vacant seat between Draco and Matthew.

"Like we have nothing better to do than wait on you," Draco muttered under his breath feeling as though he would kill for a pain relieving potion about now.

"I see that the caffeine has finally worn off, that should teach you a lesson," Emrys couldn't help but tease.

Taking pity on the suffering man, Nicole pulled her bottle of Extra Strength Tylenol out of her purse. Selecting two tablets, she handed them to Draco. "Here swallow these, and your head should start to feel better soon."

Looking skeptically at the two white muggle pills, Draco nonetheless took them from Nicole and tossed them back with some water.

Amazingly enough, by the time the waiter had brought their main course, his head had started to feel a lot better. Maybe these muggles knew something after all.

Dinner consumed and paid for, Emrys escorted his family out of the restaurant and into the waiting limousine that would take them home.

* * *

Setting his Caffeine-Free Diet Coke down on the coffee table, Draco glanced over at Harry wrinkling his nose distastefully. "Do you smell something?"

Harry, who had been watching ESPN Sports Center on the television, lifted his head and sniffed the air. "Yeah, I think Matthew needs his diaper changed, you can have the honors as you've never changed one before."

The men and boys were enjoining a lazy Sunday afternoon in front of the television as Harry attempted to explain the intricacies of American sports to Draco. "Why can't Nicole do it, isn't that what you pay her for?"

"Today is her day off."

Harry tossed a clean diaper to Draco.

With his old seeker-like reflexes, he reached out and deftly caught the flat white object that Harry had thrown at him. Not sure what it was Draco turned it over, it was made out of some kind of paper/plastic material and had a picture of a puppy with a bow around his neck on one side and sticky adhesive tabs on the other. Raising both eyebrows he looked over at Harry inquisitively. "And what exactly am I to do with this?"

Again, Harry looked up briefly from the television and pointed to where Matthew was currently playing with a one of his plushy toys. "Change him; he's obviously soiled his diaper."

Hiding his grin, Harry quickly picked up the bowl of potato chips as realization of what he was being asked to do hit the Slytherin. "Eww, surely you don't expect me to…" Draco found himself unable to put the disgusting thought into words.

"You're the one that wanted to be a father to them, so now it's time to suck it up and be a parent. What do you think I've been doing for the past almost three years?"

Harry smirked as, earlier that morning, he and Draco had taken the boys aside for a father and son talk and told them that unlike other children that they were extra special and had two fathers. If either Harry or Draco had been expecting a huge reaction from the twins when they were informed that Draco was their other father, they were disappointed. In a typical Malfoy manner, the boys shrugged, not questioning what they were being told and gave Draco a hug and kiss. Although, the tears in his eyes the first time that they called him 'Fadder' will always remain one of Harry's most treasured memories.

Rolling his eyes at his companion, Draco decided to just bite the bullet and get it over with. Hell, as a Death Eater he had tortured and killed, what could be worse than that? He'd show Harry. With a determined look on his face the blonde man approached the dark haired toddler. "Hey Matthew, come over here buddy so we can change those stinky pants?"

The small boy stopped playing long enough to give Draco a disgruntled stare, "Machew not stinky."

"Oh yes you are," and with that, Draco scooped the struggling figure up into his arms. With a quick glance at Harry to see that he was still engrossed in the television, Draco slowly started to pull his wand out of his pocket. But before he could get it free of his trousers, he heard someone clearing their throat, hem hem.

"I hope you're not planning on cleaning his diaper using magic Draco," Harry said in a stern voice.

"Well now that you've mentioned it, yes, I was considering it. It sure beats the muggle way," Draco responded, thinking that this wouldn't be so bad after all.

"I take it you haven't spent a lot of time around children, then," Harry continued in the same lecturing tone.

"Why?"

"Because if you had, you'd know that you can't use magic to clean a dirty diaper, using magic that close to their developing reproductive system could make them sterile. You wouldn't want that, would you?"

Draco tossed his wand down in alarm at what he had almost done. "No, no of course not. I didn't know. Merlin, I almost hurt our son."

"Calm down Dray, no harm done. But you'll have to change that diaper the old fashioned way." Harry was desperately trying to school his features so that he wouldn't start laughing.

Knowing what he had to do, Draco set Matthew down on the carpeted floor between his thighs as he knelt over him. Trying not to make a face at the disgusting smell, Draco pulled down the little boy's pants to expose the offensive diaper. Opening the dirty diaper, Draco resisted the urge to vomit as the strong smell made his eyes water. Moving quickly, Draco reached for the box of wipes. However he wasn't quick enough and Matthew tried to pull away shrieking "poop, poop".

"Well if you know what it is, why can't you use the toilet yet?" Draco reprimanded as he tried to restrain his son.

"We call it a potty, Draco, and their learning, but give them time; they're not even three yet."

Draco ignored Harry as he was doing everything in his power to prevent Matthew from reaching down and playing with the contents of the soiled diaper. "Don't touch it!" Draco shrieked in alarm. "For Merlin sakes, keep you hands up there above your head. Oh, this is just gross."

Pinning the resisting boy down proved to be harder than he originally thought it would be. But eventually Draco won out and Matthew soon smelt fresher and had a clean, albeit crooked, diaper on.

Grinning with a sense of accomplishment, Draco flopped back down on the black leather couch beside Harry. "Not bad for a first attempt," Harry said with a straight face. "But you do realize that Evan now needs his pants changed, right?"

Draco groaned and threw his head back against the wall. Taking pity on the man, Harry got up and collected Evan. "Don't worry, I'll take this one." And with a simple wave of his hand, Evan's diaper was fresh and clean.

"But…But…" Draco stuttered in disbelief that Harry would do something that could potentially harm their children. "What are you playing at? You may have just made him sterile!"

With a smirk that would do Professor Snape proud, Harry looked over at where Draco was still sitting on the couch. "I lied." Harry couldn't hold the laughter back any longer, and he started to laugh so hard his sides hurt him. As the tears of mirth cleared from his vision however, he saw the murderous look in Draco's eyes and knew that he had better run for it. Harry quickly set Evan on the ground and took off out of the living room.

17  A Celebration

"Nicole, have you seen Harry?" Draco inquired as he made his way into the dining room. He had limited contact with the Gryffindor over the past two weeks as Harry had devoted almost every waking moment to finishing the band's CD. Draco was hoping that this evening, Harry would be home so that they would be able to spend some time together. The dark haired man's absence was putting a real monkey wrench in Draco's plans to seduce him.

Not even realizing that Nicole had neglected to answer him, Draco noticed that the dining room had not been set for their evening meal. "So I take it that either Nola is off trying to get settled into her new job, or we're just not eating tonight" Draco said, sarcasm dripping off each word as he eyed the empty tabletop.

Not letting the blonde man's attitude phase her as they had actually managed to become friends, she smirked. "Well Draco dear, the twins and I have already eaten, and yes, Nola is over at the Henderson's getting her new kitchen set up to her exact specifications." At this, both Nicole and Draco shared a mutual shudder, as they had both been the recipients of Nola's dressing-downs when something was the slightest bit out of place in her kitchen. "However, Harry should be home soon and I think he mentioned something about having dinner out on the patio, so maybe…" Nicole didn't even have the chance to finish her sentence before Draco had torn out of the dining room in the direction of his bedroom.

When Nicole had mentioned that Harry would be home for dinner, a private dinner for just the two of them, Draco knew that he didn't want to waste this opportunity. Frowning as he looked down at the shorts and shirt he was currently wearing, he decided he didn't look irresistible enough and wanted to change his attire.

Opening his closet, Draco ran a hand over his new clothes in appreciation. When he had decided to stay in California he had mentioned to Harry that he would need a new wardrobe, as the few things that he had brought with him from England were not appropriate for muggle San Diego, and would hardly be sufficient. Harry had surprised Draco by taking him shopping the very next day. They had visited all the better men's clothing stores and what couldn't be purchased off the rack was ordered tailor made. Harry had certainly spared no expense, and even someone as picky as Draco had no complaints.

Selecting a soft sea green silk shirt and a pair of tailor made black dress pants, Draco dressed very carefully for dinner. Finally with one last glance in the mirror, Draco made his way out towards the patio.

* * *

Draco forgot to breathe at the vision that waited for him as he opened the sliding glass door and stepped outside. A small table for two had been set up on the tile patio overlooking both the pool and the beach. The table had been set with fine bone china, sparkling silver flatware and crystal wineglasses. A bottle of expensive wine was chilling in the wine cooler. There were two candlesticks on the table and the torches scattered around the patio where lit. The gentle ocean breeze caused the flames to flicker creating a very romantic atmosphere. However, Draco had barely noticed all this, as something else had captured and held his attention.

Harry stood just on the other side of the table. Draco's mouth felt like it was filled with cotton as he took in the tall raven-haired man dressed impeccably in a deep almost royal blue shirt and black pants, both of which had to have been tailor-made as they clung to the Gryffindor almost like a second skin. Pulling his eyes away from the luscious body, Draco felt like he was being swept away by the look of desire he saw burning bright in Harry's own eyes.

Striding over to where Draco was standing, Harry stopped when he was standing right in front of the Slytherin. "Thank you for joining me for dinner tonight." Draco could barely bring himself to nod he was still so overwhelmed at all the trouble Harry had gone through.

Feeling almost shy, Harry presented Draco with two long stem red roses. "Here, I got these for you."

Surprised, Draco took the offered flowers and inhaled their wonderful fragrance. The flowers were a deep blood red, each petal soft and perfectly shaped, they were exquisite. Touched at Harry's thoughtfulness, Draco took a deep breath and whispered, "Thank you Harry, no one has ever given me flowers before."

"That's their loss then." Harry smiled. "Come on and sit down, I don't want our dinner to get cold."

Having recovered his wits, Draco allowed Harry to lead him over to the table. Once they were seated, Draco couldn't help but ask, "So why did you go to all this trouble?"

Harry reached across the table and took Draco's warm hand in his own before he answered. "Well, for two reasons actually. First, because I know that I haven't been around much lately and I've felt like I was neglecting you, and I wanted to make some of that up to you."

Draco was pleased with Harry's answer so far and gently squeezed Harry's hand. "And the second reason?"

"Well, it also serves as a bit of a celebration; we finished recording the CD today."

Draco could see the excitement on Harry's face. "Congratulations, I know you've all worked so hard on it, it is quite the accomplishment."

Harry felt himself preen under Draco's praise. "Thanks Dray; that means a lot, especially from you."

"But Harry why are you here with me? Shouldn't you be with the band out someplace getting stone cold drunk?" Happy didn't even come close to describing how Draco felt when he realized that Harry wanted to spend this time with him; however, he couldn't help feeling as though he was intruding on a moment that most likely should be shared by Harry with others.

"No Dray, there isn't anyone else that I would rather share this night with than you." Draco's smile at these words was instantaneous and Harry felt the warmth from it clear down to the pit of his stomach. "Besides, we already did the other after we cut the first CD."

Draco got the distinct feeling that Harry wasn't joking about that last bit, but rather than rehashing the past Draco wanted to take this moment to build their future. "How about we see what lovely offerings are under those platters over there?" Draco asked as he directed Harry's attention to the serving board that had been set up.

Helping himself to some roasted pork loin, garlic mashed potatoes, and grilled sweet peas and summer squash, Draco sat back down. While he had been filling his plate, Harry had uncorked the wine and poured them each a glass.

After Harry had selected his own fare for the evening and sat back down at the table, Draco raised his wineglass. "What should we drink to?"

Harry thought about the many possibilities, but decided to stick with something safe, "How about we drink to tonight?"

Disappointed flickered only briefly on Draco's face before he clinked his glass against Harry's and said "To tonight."

"To tonight." Harry responded setting his glass down and reaching for his silverware.

Taking another sip from his wineglass, Draco studied his companion. "Do you ever wonder why we fought so much when we were younger?"

Harry tried not to choke on his dinner at the unexpected question. "I just assumed it was because you were always such a stuck up prat."

Draco raised both his eyebrows, "Of course it could be because you were always the perfect little Gryffindor, always breaking the rules and never getting into trouble for it." Seeing that Harry wasn't going to take the bait, Draco took another swallow of wine and continued. "But what if it was something else?"

Harry carefully put his fork back down on his plate. "Okay, seeing as how you're not going to allow me to finish my dinner until you've told me whatever it is that you want to get off your chest, I'll bite, why do you think we fought so much?"

Twirling his wineglass in his fingers, Draco had gotten caught up in watching how the candlelight was reflected in the cut crystal and in the deep red wine. "Well I have one theory; it is based on a story that my Great Grandmother Malfoy used to tell me when I was a small child." Seeing that Harry was truly interested Draco continued. "Some wizards believe that the earth and man was created not by one God but by a group of Gods. Each God had their own specialty, similar to what is described in muggle mythology. Now, these Gods each were powerful in their own right and as with any group of powerful beings, there were disagreements. In particular, there were two gods that rarely agreed on anything. Most disagreements were settled peacefully; however, some were not.

It took a joint effort by all the gods to create man, as it was such a large and complicated undertaking given that we were the first creatures they created that had souls. Our souls would allow man to transcend death as they would rise up and be reunited with others that had previously passed."

Draco saw that he had Harry complete attention. "But it wasn't long before the Gods were arguing over what to do with these new creations. Fighting broke out, worse than ever before and the Gods were basically divided between those that wanted us to live on earth without their interference and those that wanted to create a new kingdom only for man."

"The battle between the gods became fierce, with man stuck in the center of the conflict. The power generated by each side was such a tremendous force that it ended up splitting the beings that they had so lovingly created down the center into what we know today as man. In doing so the Gods realized that their wonderful creation was ruined, flawed and the worst part of it was that the complex souls that the Gods had been so proud of were now split into two halves."

"Neither group wanted to claim the imperfect creatures any more; therefore, man was banished to earth. Now the story goes on to say that every man has somewhere on this planet a person that has the other half of their very soul. A soul mate. And if you are very fortunate, the two people will meet and only then will their souls be complete."

Harry was fascinated by the story Draco was weaving. "So that's what you think we are; two halves of the same soul? But I still don't understand how that has anything to do with us fighting as children."

Draco refilled his wineglass and then took another sip as his throat was slightly parched from talking so much. "Well look at it this way Harry, we were eleven year old children who met in a robe shop. I'd like to think that our souls may have recognized each other, and we were just too young to know how to deal with the emotions that were invoked. Clearly, we always felt strongly towards each other; it's just that instead of love, it was easier for us to hate each other until we matured enough to realize what we really felt for each other."

Harry thought about everything that Draco was saying and it sounded reasonable enough, but he wasn't sure that he had ever hated the blonde. "You hated me?"

"Weren't you there? All those times that I tried to get you expelled, all the fights, pranks, and taunts, and those awful badges that I made during the Tri-Wizard Tournament. When I think back on it now, I think I did all that to get your attention because somehow I knew on some subconscious level that I needed you to pay attention to me."

"Well, I certainly did that, didn't I? We did have some great moments in school, didn't we?" Harry mused.

The next couple of hours were spent by two old friends reminiscing about times gone by, careful to avoid any subjects that could cause Harry any more pain about the betrayal he suffered.

* * *

"It's getting late, I think I'm ready for bed," Harry said softly watching the moonlight reflect off of the still water in the pool.

Draco sighed disappointed; everything had been going so well, but it still seemed that Harry wasn't ready to resume their intimate relationship.

When Draco didn't respond, Harry looked over at his dinner companion and extended him his hand. Deep forest green met and held the stormy gray orbs. "Are you coming?"

Draco paused, not sure if he correctly understood what Harry was asking. The Slytherin tried to slow the frantic beating of his heart as he told himself that Harry might just mean that it was time for him to retire to his own room. Licking his lips, Draco said hoarsely, "I'd love to join you, but I'm afraid I forgot my pajamas."

Draco felt his chest constrict at the glowing smile that crossed Harry's face. 'It should be illegal to be that damn beautiful.'

"Well then, we'll just have to agree that for tonight pajamas are optional."

Pushing his chair back with a groan, Draco stood, ignoring Harry's hand, and pulled the slightly smaller man into his arms. He felt his entire body shiver at the contact. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?" he finally managed to whisper in the raven-haired man's ear.

Harry pulled Draco's face towards his, capturing the blonde's lips in a heart stopping kiss. When Harry started to nibble on his lower lip, Draco moaned and opened his mouth, welcoming Harry. Harry took his time exploring, mapping the warm confines of Draco's mouth. At that moment, Draco surrendered total control of what was happening to Harry, willing to go along with where ever this was headed. When Harry's tongue gently retreated, Draco took over the kiss doing the same to Harry and then everything else seemed to just fade away, there was no time, no caressing ocean breeze, no pounding of the ocean waves. All that existed at that moment was Harry and Draco and the gentle caress of two lips and the pounding of two hearts. Finally, it became clear that they needed more privacy than what the patio currently afforded them.

In a shaky voice, Harry finally responded, "I think I do, but why don't you show me?"

Not needing any more of an invitation, Draco swept Harry up into his arms and carried him through the house and up into Harry's bedroom.

* * *

Draco didn't stop until he kicked the door to Harry's room shut and deposited Harry gently on his large bed. Rolling off the other side of the bed, Harry raised his hand in the direction of the door and whispered a spell.

"What did you just do?" Draco asked softly not hearing what the exact incantation as he was focused on what was about to happen.

"Just a spell that allows me to know if either of the twins needs me, as I also placed a locking charm and a silencing charm on this room," Harry said as he walked over to where Draco was standing.

Without taking his eyes off the twin pools of liquid silver, Harry started to slowly undress himself. Draco's breath caught in his throat when he saw Harry slowly reach up and start unbuttoning his shirt. The long tan fingers moving gracefully across the soft fabric of his silk shirt. The blonde's mouth had gone completely dry by the time Harry had finished with the third button. With a groan, Draco reached for his lover, only to have Harry shake his head and take a step back away from him, not stopping with the removal of his clothing.

Soon, Harry's silk shirt slipped down off of Harry's strong shoulders and back, pooling around his feet. With a stroke of clarity, Draco realized what Harry was doing. He wasn't simply teasing him; he was offering himself to Draco, offering himself totally and without reservation. What felt like a bolt of lightning went from the base of Draco's neck the whole way down his legs, making him feel weak and dizzy. Never had Draco even dreamed that Harry would do something as erotic as this.

Draco fought to calm himself down, trying to think of anything but what Harry was doing so as to not loose complete control and embarrass him self. However, when he saw Harry reach for the fashioning to his trousers and heard the sound of his zipper being lowered, Draco lost what little restraint he had previously possessed.

Roughly pulling the Gryffindor to him, Draco's hands adeptly removed the last of Harry's clothing. Harry surrendered himself completely to Draco's administrations as he laid the Gryffindor back down on the bed. Urgently divesting himself of his own clothing, Draco couldn't get enough of the sight of the completely nude Harry spread out before him, waiting for him. Harry felt the mattress dip when Draco joined him on the cream colored silk sheets.

As Draco leaned down over him, Harry wrapped his arms around the other man and pulled him down into a kiss. Harry took his time with this kiss, allowing all the emotions that he was currently feeling to be expressed. He poured all the love he had kept bottled up during the last three years into that one kiss.

The passionate kiss continued on for what seemed to be forever and again as it had earlier on the patio, it seemed as though everything outside of these two souls ceased to exist. Harry started to tremble with desire, as the kiss became more urgent and the need to belong to Draco threatened to consume him. Slowly, he became aware of Draco gentle explorations of his body: the butterfly caresses of his lower stomach, the fingers rubbing small circles on the soft skin above his groin.

Harry gasped when Draco's inquisitive hands dipped even lower. Harry closed his eyes and threw his head back as a wave of intense pleasure hit him. Feeling Harry's pending orgasm, Draco started to whisper encouragement in his ear while pressing soft kisses behind his ear and along his neck. As Harry arched up, the overwhelming compulsion to mark this beautiful man as his overcame him, and Draco bit down hard on the small space in the curve of his neck. Harry screamed.

Softly kissing Harry, giving him a chance to recover, Draco smirked, asking, "Been awhile?"

"You have no idea," Harry finally was able to gasp through his kiss-swollen lips.

"So where do you keep the 'lube?"

Not wanting to waste the energy on a verbal response, Harry pointed to his nightstand.

Reaching across Harry, Draco opened the drawer and removed a small tube of lubricant.

Laying back down, Draco proceeded to prepare his love. Once Harry was thoroughly stretched and withering once more on the cusp of ecstasy, Draco knelt between his spread thighs and positioned him self.

"I love you so much, you have no idea just how much this means to me." Harry crushed his lips to Draco preventing any further remarks as Draco pressed forward and took him.

Harry moaned deep in his throat, as the sensation of being possessed made him tremble. He had never felt more complete than he did at this moment, the last pieces of a very intricate puzzle finally falling into place. Feeling his lover so deep inside him, claiming him, making him whole. This moment was so right, perfect. A fleeting thought of the trials that lay ahead of them crossed Harry's mind before he was lost again in the flames that were consuming him. Harry dared anyone or anything to try to come between him and his soul mate. The thought of separation no matter how limited was unthinkable. He was where he needed to be, here, safe and loved, in his mate's strong embrace.

Harry and Draco moved in time to music that only their bodies, hearts and souls could hear, each one striving for the ultimate completion. Two halves of the same soul, moving in unison, forever united. When that perfect moment hit, they shuddered together in release, crying out each other's names.

Draco's satisfied body lax in exhaustion slid down on top of Harry, his lips moving carefully over Harry's sweat soaked chest. After several moments, Draco recuperated enough to pull out slowly, careful not to cause Harry any discomfort.

"I love you," Harry whispered sleepily, clearly needing rest, as he snuggled against Draco's chest.

"I love you too," were the last words either of them heard before they feel into a deep and untroubled sleep.

* * *

Draco woke to the sensation of warm moist breath on his neck. It was not an uncomfortable feeling, just one that he wasn't used to, as he had made a habit of always sleeping alone. Without warning, the memories and images of what exactly transpired last night came back to him. Not daring to believe that he was finally here in bed with Harry, Draco slowly rolled onto his side so that he could get a good view of the man slumbering beside him.

Harry was sprawled out on his back with one arm tossed up over his head and his other wrapped around his waist and his head was turned on the side facing Draco. With a predatory gleam in his eye, Draco noted in satisfaction that during the night, the silk sheet had become tangled around Harry's legs and was currently draped only over Harry's lower half.

Carefully, he pulled the bed sheet down further so his wandering eyes could continue his study of the sleeping man. Draco was saddened to see a couple of small scars otherwise marring the perfect creamy skin. One scar in particular caught his attention. Nestled at the base of his belly, where Harry's soft pubic curls started, was a long and thin scar quite faded with time. Unable to resist, Draco slowly traced the scar's path with the tip of one of his fingers.

"You know, that does tickle."

Draco smiled ruefully, but didn't stop moving his finger slowly back and forth.

Harry frowned at Draco's lack of response. "What's wrong?"

The hand on his lower stomach stilled and then Draco looked up at Harry, his expression wistful.

"I was just thinking about everything I missed, that's all."

They had both missed so much of each other lives, but he knew that Draco had to regret it even more than he did. Not only had he missed being a part of Harry's life for those three and half years, but he had missed the first almost three years of his sons' lives. Not sure what he could say that would reassure his lover, Harry remained silent and just let Draco continue with what was troubling him.

"Is this where you were cut when you gave birth?" Draco asked, pointing to the scar he had just been tracing, his voice careful and slow. Harry nodded.

"Merlin, I would have given anything to see you pregnant. I bet you got huge." Draco flashed a teasing grin up at the raven-haired man, but Harry could still see the sadness in his eyes. "So did you waddle much?"

Glad that the mood had lighted considerably, Harry rolled over and pinned the unresisting Draco into the mattress. "Waddle!" Harry snorted. "I can't believe you would even suggest such a thing. I'll have you know that I never waddled." Harry continued to gaze down at his captive when suddenly he realized exactly the precarious position that Draco was in. "Tell me Mister Malfoy, are you ticklish?"

Draco stopped laughing at the image in his head of Harry the size of a small hippo nine months pregnant waddling around singing one of his hip hop songs at the dangerous question that was posed to him. "Don't be ridiculous Harry; of course I'm not ticklish. Now get off me, I need to use the bathroom."

"I don't think that you can escape me that easily. Besides I think you are lying to me and I'm about to prove it to you."

"Don't even think about it, Potter. I should have known that anyone your age who still slept with plushy toys would try to resort to something as childish as tickling," he retorted, the twinkle in Draco's eyes softening the harshness of his words.

Harry pulled back and sat on his hunches puzzled by Draco's words. "What are you talking about now Malfoy?"

Seeing Harry's confusion, Draco rolled over to the edge of the bed and reached down between the bed and the nightstand and pulled out the wolf that had been wedged there. "Does this little fella ring any bells?"

Harry watched as Draco reached under his bed and presented him with the gray wolf that he had purchased so long ago.

Seeing the shocked expression on Harry's face, Draco couldn't help but tease the speechless man further. "Something you're not telling me Harry, as this guy has your scent all over him."

That little wolf had been there some nights when Harry had believed that he might not make it to see the sun rise the next morning. He owed that animal a heap of gratitude, but now it was time that he went to his intended owner.

"Actually Dray, he doesn't belong to me," Harry replied his voice calm and steady.

Draco looked at the wolf, disbelieving what Harry was telling him. "Well, whose is it then, if it's not yours? Is it one of the twins?"

Harry smiled softly. "He actually belongs to you."

Draco was now thoroughly confused. "I never owned a stuffed wolf Harry, you must be mistaken; it's not mine."

"Yes, he does belong to you; the reason that you don't remember owning him is because I never gave him to you after I bought him," Harry explained gently.

Draco looked up surprised. "You bought him for me? When?"

"In New York." Harry paused to gather his thoughts before he continued. "I bought him after Severus had sent you the letter and you left for the first time. When I was alone there for a week, I stumbled upon this incredible toy store and I saw him there. He just reminded me of you so much that I wanted you to have him. But when you came back, your time at the apartment was short and we spent it doing other things. I just simply forgot to give him to you. So Draco, I would like to introduce you to Mystic."

Deeply touched that Harry had bought him a gift during their stay in New York, Draco pulled Harry into another hug. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Harry replied, getting up off the bed and making his way into the bathroom.

Still examining his new stuffed animal, Draco followed behind Harry, not paying much attention to where he was going.

"I can't believe you named him."

"Well what else would you suggest I do; just call him 'wolf' indefinitely?"

Draco looked up to say something sarcastic back to his lover when he realized where he was. "Bloody hell Harry, this bathroom looks exactly like the one in the Head Boy's room."

Harry blushed. "Yeah, I know. When I built this place, all I could think about was how much I loved that bathroom. It was the only time I could remember in my life having my own bathroom, so I decided to recreate as much of that bathroom here as I could."

Laughing at his partner's embarrassment, Draco quickly set about getting ready to start their day.

* * *

Two days later, the Potter household was almost completely packed. Most of the family's things were going to be transferred into storage for the time being. The things that they were taking with them, like clothing, personal items, and the twins' toys had been carefully shrunk and packed into several trunks that they would be taking with them when they portkeyed back to Hogwarts. Draco and Harry had actually purchased many items of clothing for the twins and themselves that they would need in the much cooler temperatures. They were planning to leave in a couple of days as Harry was still in the process of tying up some loose ends as he was effectively ending the existence of the alias he had used for such a long time.

Harry had met with his accountants and attorneys and had taken care of having a large portion of his substantial wealth that he had earned as Emrys Kingston, transferred to a bank in London. Unbeknownst to Draco, Harry had also taken the time to have his attorneys draw up a new will naming Draco and the twins as beneficiaries to his estate and Draco as guardian to the twins in the event that something would happen to him.

Harry had just hung up the phone after placing an order for a couple pizzas at a local pizza shop when Nicole burst into the room. She was flushed and slightly out of breath as though she had been rushing to get here.

"What's going on Nikki? Did something happen?" Harry questioned concerned about her sudden appearance. She had planned on spending the evening saying goodbye to some of her friends, as she had accepted Harry's and Draco's invitation to go to Hogwarts with them. Having taken care of the twins since their birth, there was no way she was allowing them out of her sight, at least not until they were in their early thirty's or so.

Nicole was still trying to catch her breath as she slammed the Eagle's Talon, the local wizarding newspaper down on the counter top.

Draco had come up behind Harry and peered over his shoulder reading today's headlines. His stomach filled with dread at the news reported there. There had been two reported Death Eater attacks in New York yesterday and a sighting of some men in long dark robes with masks in San Diego this morning.

"I think it's time that we get the hell out of here."

Harry couldn't agree more with Draco's sentiments. The Death Eaters were well on their way to discovering their location; they needed to get out of here now.

Quickly moving through the house, gathering and shrinking any last remaining items, Harry and Draco prepared them for a quick exit. Shrinking the trunks and putting them in their pockets, Harry picked up Matthew and Draco did the same with Evan. Holding on to each other, both men and Nicole touched the portkey, while Draco shouted out the activation code and the family was gone.

18 Welcome Home

Harry shook his head to remove the slight disorientation that resulted from traveling via portkey nearly half way across the globe. 'At least I managed to remain standing,' he thought sarcastically. Then he realized that the shaking he was feeling wasn't coming from him, but from the small child in his arms.

"Hey sweetheart, are you okay?" Harry asked, gently.

"Me no like port-tee Daddy," Matthew replied solemnly.

Harry was relieved that the shaking had subsided somewhat. "Tell you the truth sweetie, I don't like them much either," Harry confided in a soft whisper.

Harry saw that Draco was calming down a similarly affected Evan. Evan looked over Draco's shoulder at his daddy. "That yucky," the almost three-year-old scowled. Harry couldn't agree more.

The portkey had taken them to a location just outside of Hogwarts' protective wards. Looking down the hill, Harry could see what little remained of the only all-wizarding community in Europe, Hogsmeade. It was in ruins. Ironically, the only building left largely intact was the Shrieking Shack. The other stores, pubs, homes and assorted structures were largely in ruins; windows and doors broken or missing, some roofs were destroyed, and in other cases, entire buildings were crumbling almost as though they had been imploded. Harry was saddened to see that nothing at all remained where the Three Broomsticks had once stood.

Harry let out a low whistle. "What the hell happened here?"

Draco gave a cursory glance at the disarray. "The war, the war happened Harry. Hogsmeade fell in an attempt to breach Hogwarts about nine months ago," Draco explained, gravely.

Harry slowly let his eyes roam the destruction in disbelief. He had heard the words that had described how badly the war effort was going, but the reality of the situation hadn't sunk in. But faced with the startling evidence of exactly how close the war had come to Hogwarts, the grimness of the situation was undeniable.

"Come on, Harry. I want to get up to the castle before it gets much darker. It's not safe here." Draco said shifting Evan from his right hip onto his left.

"Here, Draco, let me take him if he's too heavy for you," Nicole said in a sickly sweet voice, trying to diffuse the tense situation.

"I'd like to see you try." Draco winked as he turned away from the remnants of the village and started up the worn path towards Hogwarts.

Hesitating only for another moment or two, Harry turned and followed his family up the familiar path back to the only childhood home he had ever known.

* * *

As they crested the top of the hill overlooking Hogwarts, the gigantic castle came into view. Harry stopped mesmerized at the sight of the familiar turrets and towers. The bright light reflecting through the crystal cut glass beamed cheerfully bidding Harry to come closer. His throat seemed to close up and his chest felt tight as he was strongly reminded of how he had felt when he had first seen this magnificent structure. No, structure wasn't really the right word, Hogwarts was so much more than just stone and mortar; it was almost alive.

"Dat's pretty, Daddy."

Harry smiled down into Matthew's upturned face. "It sure is. That is probably one of prettiest things I've ever seen. With the exception of your Father, of course," Harry added the last bit in a sly whisper.

Realizing that Draco, Evan and Nicole had gotten a good bit ahead of them, Harry and Matthew hurried to catch up. The closer he got to the castle, the more Harry was able to take in the subtle changes that weren't apparent at first glance. Hogwarts seemed weary, tired somehow; the shine didn't seem to be as brilliant as it used to be.

They were almost upon the huge front doors when Harry felt as though he had been doused with a bucket of ice water. This was it. There was no turning back now. After he went through those doors, he was going to have to face the demons that he had so persistently kept locked away, deep in the recesses of his mind. Doubts about whether or not he was doing the right thing, along with more serious doubts about whether or not he mentally was prepared to do this, threatened to overwhelm him. Harry didn't even realize that he had started to shake as he was to busy trying not to throw up.

Without comment, Nicole took Matthew from him and settled the toddler into her own embrace. Leaning in, she gave Harry a soft kiss on the cheek. "It's going to be alright, Harry. They can't hurt you anymore."

Harry leaned down, putting his head between his knees, taking several deep breaths. "I know, but…just give me a few moments."

Draco sat Evan down on the ground and knelt down beside Harry. "Harry, I know this is hard. I can't even begin to image what you must be going through right now. But know that I am so very proud of you. We are doing what we must; you have to believe that. I'll be with you every step of the way. I'll never leave you alone again."

Concentrating on Draco's words, Harry was finally able to bring his slightly erratic breathing under control. Straightening up, Harry pulled Draco to him needing the closeness and warmth that the blonde would provide. "Thanks, Dray. I needed that."

Draco smiled before pressing his warm lips against Harry's slightly cooler ones. "I love you, Leo."

Harry felt some of his nervousness vanish in Draco's embrace, replaced with an infusion of self-confidence. "Leo?" Harry questioned lightly, "I can't remember the last time you called me that."

"I know, it only seems fitting that I should start using the nickname that I gave you while we were in school now that we are finally back here again. Don't you agree?" Draco chuckled warmly. Reaching down, he took Harry's still clammy hand in his own. "Come on luv, it's time that we go face the bastards."

Giving Draco another small kiss, Harry said under his breath, "Let's get this show started."

"Alright Daddy?"

"Daddy's just fine, Evan. Wait till you see the inside of this castle. It's absolutely amazing. Should we go in now?"

"Yeah. Me hungray Daddy." Evan pouted as his belly let out a loud rumble. It was then that Harry realized that they had left California so fast they hadn't waited for the pizza man. No one had any supper.

Taking a deep fortifying breath, Harry turned and faced the doors, knowing that with the support of his family that he would be able to face whatever waited for him on the other side. Taking Evan's hand in his other hand, he nodded at Draco indicating that he was ready to proceed. "I bet we'll be able to find lots of good things to eat in there? Did I ever tell you about chocolate frogs?"

Relieved that Harry seemed almost back to normal, Draco reached out and threw open the heavy wooden doors.

As he passed through the entranceway, Harry had the uncanny feeling as though the castle itself was breathing a sigh of relief and reaching out to welcome him home. Shaking off those ridiculous sentiments, Harry lifted his head proudly and strode off in the direction of the Great Hall.

* * *

The Headmaster sat up straight in his chair at the head table in the Great Hall when he heard the outer doors open and then slam closed. Concentrating hard, Dumbledore could feel the strong magic protecting the castle from intrusion, almost as a warm blanket comforts a newborn babe. The wards were still in place, so that meant whoever just entered had to pose no immediate threat to the castle or its occupants. Otherwise, the castle would never have granted them entry.

Sharing a knowing look between some of the more senior members of the Order, Dumbledore gave them a reassuring smile allowing the others to relax slightly as they waited for their visitor to make an appearance. Most of the Order members were present tonight, along with several other witches and wizards who were scattered around the long tables enjoying their evening meal. As Hogwarts had become a refuge for most of the remaining wizarding families that had elected not to flee Europe, many of the family quarters were equipped with small kitchenettes, although the house elves still provided most of the meals. This way, families were allowed to prepare their own meals or snacks if they so desired and the house elves got a small break. As such, many families, especially those with children, often elected to eat in their quarters rather than in the Great Hall, trying to maintain some semblance of normalcy.

Just then, the doors to the Great Hall opened, admitting a tall attractive women holding a small child in her arms. Albus' tired eyes noted quickly that both the women and child were dressed in muggle clothing. Before he was able to study the pair further, the pair in question where followed by two men and another small child.

"It can't be," he heard someone gasp; he thought it was Remus but he wasn't sure as his full attention was occupied solely on the sight before him.

But it was, he was sure of it. Standing there, in front of him, was the one person he had least expected to see here tonight. Standing proudly in front of everyone gathered in the Great Hall, almost as though daring someone to say something, was none other than Harry Potter himself.

Immediately the Great Hall erupted into total chaos as people either tried to come closer or to move away from Harry and his family. One thing was certain; this changed everything. No one in the castle was going to be unaffected by this unexpected but extremely welcomed turn of events, some more so than others. Albus' thoughts briefly touched on those that would be most affected by Harry's presence before being caught once more in the whirlwind that was currently sweeping though the Great Hall, as people came to terms with who was standing right in front of their eyes.

Harry had toyed with the notion of going back to Hogwarts as Emrys Kingston; at least until he had the opportunity to introduce his family, but he had quickly rejected that idea. As soon as the Order saw him with Draco, they would immediately realize who he was, and not only that, but they were the ones that first suspected he was actually Emrys Kingston anyway. It seemed pointless to try to hide behind his 'Emrys' façade any longer. Deciding it was better just to allow his alias to fade away into a closed chapter of his troubled past, Harry faced the people who had condemned him face to face. Dropping Evan's hand, and ignoring the upheaval that his arrival had caused, Harry quickly scanned the Great Hall for the first time since the night he had been arrested.

The Great Hall had been expanded, allowing for more long tables than the five that had occupied it previously. Now, beside the head table where that bastard Dumbledore sat surrounded by his council, there were eight other long tables residing where the four house tables had once been. The new tables where similar in size as the house tables and appeared to be occupied by people in the midst of enjoying their evening meal. Harry carefully noted that most of the people in the room appeared to be wearing either the red robes associated with the Order of the Phoenix or the deep blue colored robes that the Aurors wore.

That wasn't the only change that was immediately noted. Harry felt a deep pang of regret when he realized that the beautiful house banners and the school tapestries no long were majestically displayed as they once were. 'This is wrong' Harry thought to himself. 'The Founders never intended Hogwarts to be used in this manner.' Harry was disappointed again in the wizarding community and at himself for allowing this to happen to Hogwarts. Steeling his resolve, he strode over to the head table.

Seeing the pained expression on his Godfather's face, Harry had no intention of rehashing everything they had just gone through only the matter of a few short weeks ago. With the slight wave of his hand and a whispered "remember" under his breath, Harry restored both Sirius' and Severus' memories regarding the time they had spent together.

Gritting his teeth upon seeing that annoying twinkle in the old man's eyes, Harry stopped only when he was in front of him. "I heard you were looking for me," Harry hissed, his tone deadly.

The twinkle dimmed only slightly at Harry's tone. "Yes, my dear boy, we have. Thank you for coming."

Harry's eyes narrowed at his former mentor's endearment. "Don't think for a moment that my coming back here has anything to do with you, old man."

Sitting back in his chair, the Headmaster felt every one of his over 150 years. "I see. Why don't we take this discussion someplace more private, the Phoenix Chamber perhaps?"

Knowing that this confrontation was better served in front of the Council as opposed to everyone currently in the Great hall, Harry agreed.

But before Dumbledore could stand up from his chair, Draco interrupted. He had followed Harry up to the head table and had overheard their conversation. Looking at Evan's hungry questioning awe filled face and seeing a similar expression on Matthew's face, Draco wanted to make sure that their family was taken care of before they left for what would be a very tedious discussion. "Sir, if I may interrupt for a moment. Our family is tired and hungry, would it be possible to get them something to eat before we adjourned to the Chamber?"

Harry shot Draco a grateful smile. He had forgotten how hungry the boys were and he felt bad about not thinking about either them or Nicole.

"Mister Malfoy, may I say it is good to see you again. You have been sorely missed." Dumbledore didn't even bat an eye at Draco's use of the word 'our' when referring to the people that had accompanied them. "I think that would be a great idea. Why don't we save the formal introductions until later when everyone is feeling refreshed?" With the clap of his hands, five clean plates and silverware appeared on the end of one of the tables in the center of the room.

Draco guided Nicole and the twins over to where their plates had been set.

Ignoring the excited chatter that had broken out amongst the individuals who had witnessed his arrival, Harry followed his family over to their table. Draco and Harry sat on one side of the table with Evan in between them, while Nicole and Matthew sat across from them. Having lost his appetite, Harry just sat there watching his children's delight in the sights and smells around them. Their wonderment at being surrounded by obvious magical things helped to ease some of Harry's tension.

Harry had forgotten how uncomfortable it had always been to be stared at and whispered about. Sure he had been famous as Emrys Kingston, but only as a performer. People never expected more from him than a quick autograph. He wasn't expected to do more than any other performer and he certainly wasn't looked upon to save the world. Many of the reasons why he hated being Harry Potter were staring him right in the face, literally.

Picking at the food on his plate, Harry pushed those thoughts aside and found himself caught up in listening to Draco's soothing voice as he patiently answered both the twin's excited questions and Nicole's more subdued ones. A hand on his shoulder brought Harry back to the present.

Harry immediately tensed and pulled away abruptly.

"Whoa, sorry there Harry. I didn't mean to startle you."

Harry grinned at his Godfather sheepishly. "That's alright Sirius. I'm just a bit jumpy."

"Don't worry about it, I would be too if I was in your position." After greeting Nicole, Draco and the twins, Sirius sat down at the table beside Harry. "I owe you one for messing with my memory like that."

Harry shrugged. "I wouldn't have done it if there had been any other way. But I needed some time to get things finished back home and I was afraid that if you came back to Hogwarts without me, Dumbledore would just send someone else. I couldn't risk it."

Sirius grinned. "Well, I'll forgive you this time Harry, but if I were you, I'd be careful around Snape, I thought he was going burst a blood vessel when we found out what you did."

Harry glanced up at the Head Table warily. Severus was in fact glaring in their direction, but Harry could also see something else in his expression, relief.

"Look Harry, now that you're here, Dumbledore's going to want a full explanation, our meeting tonight is going to last a while. I just wanted to let you know if you needed somewhere for Nicole and the boys to stay while we're occupied, seeing that you don't have rooms of your own yet, that they are more than welcome to crash in Remus' and my apartment."

As Sirius finished his offer, he caught Nicole's eye. She had raised an eyebrow when Sirius had admitted to living with another man.

"Oh no, no…it's nothing like that, in fact Remus is hardly ever there anymore." Sirius was quick to protest as his face turned an attractive shade of pink, the thought of being with his best friend in an intimate way clearly not to his liking.

Now it was Draco's turn to raise an eyebrow as he suspected where or more importantly with whom, Remus was currently spending much of his free time.

Deciding that his Godfather had suffered enough, Harry smirked. "Way too much information there Sirius, but thanks for your offer. I have a feeling that Dumbledore's not going to let me even so much as leave the room to use the bathroom before we're had our little chat. Would it be possible for you to stay with Nicole and the twins until they are finished here and then escort them to your apartment? I assume you know where his apartment is, Draco?"

Seeing the blonde's nod, Harry continued. "After you get them settled, you can join us in the Chamber. You already know my story anyway."

Not taking his eyes off of Nicole, Sirius smiled. "I'd be delighted to help, Harry."

Harry smiled back. "Just so that you remember that your two Grand-Godchildren are there as well as Nicole, Sirius."

* * *

Dumbledore was watching the scene over at the center table very closely, trying to gauge how best to approach this critical meeting that was about to take place. Deciding on a course of action, he indicated to Charlie Weasley to come over to where he was sitting. After instructing him to go inform what remained of the Weasley clan about what had just transpired and to ask them to meet in the Phoenix Chamber in about an hour, Dumbledore continued his observation.

Shaking his own head, as he didn't fully believe that Harry had just willing strolled into Hogwarts, Charlie set off to find Bill and Fred first, before going up to Ron and Hermione's chambers. He wasn't sure how the news of their former best friend's return was going to affect them, just that it would, tremendously.

* * *

Hermione looked up from where she had been clearing the dinner table when she heard a knock on the door to their chambers. She and Ron along with their daughter had moved into an apartment at Hogwarts only two weeks ago, two very long and painful weeks ago. They had been living in the Oxford so that they could be close to her parents, as they were muggles and couldn't come to Hogwarts. Now, however, the need to stay close to her parents no longer existed. They had been killed two weeks ago in a Death Eater attack.

Death Eater attacks were so frequent that even the muggles knew that something was seriously wrong. Unfortunately, the poor souls had no idea how bad the situation really was. Their ineffective attempts to protect themselves against the most powerful Dark Wizard ever were laughable, pathetic even. But who could blame them? They had no idea what they were up against.

Hermione knew that it wouldn't be long before Voldemort moved against Parliament itself, taking over not only the wizarding communities in England but the muggle ones as well.

Before she could even cross the room to answer the door, the door opened admitting Bill, followed closely by Charlie and Fred. Instinctively, she knew that something major had happened just from the expressions on her brother-in-laws' faces. Before she could even ask what had happened, Bill beat her to the punch.

"How's Mom?" The oldest living male Weasley had taken it upon himself to help care for his mother after her breakdown when Percy's treachery was finally revealed. The only positive thing was that Mister Weasley had never lived to know about neither his son's evil deeds nor his wife's subsequent condition.

"She's resting," Hermione answered carefully, still trying to figure out what was going on. They had decided to have Molly move into one of the rooms in their apartment when they had taken permanent residency in the castle.

"Where's Rebecca?"

Getting tired of two-word sentences, Hermione replied, "She is in her room getting ready for bed; Ron is with her. So are you going to tell me what's going on here, or not?"

Before Bill could answer, there was another knock on the door. Slightly exasperated, Hermione threw her hands up into the air and went to answer the door, wondering who else would be disturbing them.

Answering the door, Hermione was surprised to see one of the young women who volunteered at the childcare center. "Melissa, what are you doing here? Is there something that I can help you with?"

"Melissa is here because I asked her to come, Hermione." Bill explained softly. "There is something that we need to tell you and Ron, and then Albus has called an Order meeting for later this evening, so I asked Melissa to come and watch Rebecca."

"Hey Bill, what's this about a meeting tonight?" Ron inquired as he limped into the room.

Bill dismissed Melissa with a slight nod and she went to find his niece. "Let's sit down in the sitting room."

Hermione and Ron exchanged a nervous glance, but followed Bill and Ron's other brothers into the sitting room. Once everyone was comfortably settled, Hermione looked expectantly at Bill waiting for him to begin. But it wasn't Bill who started talking; it was Charlie.

Not sure how to best break the news, Charlie looked first at Hermione and then at Ron. "Tonight, something unexpected happened in the Great Hall during dinner." Charlie sighed; he was so much better dealing with dragons than people. "Actually I guess it would be more accurate to say that someone unexpected as opposed to something," the red headed man started to ramble.

Shaking his head at his bother's nervousness, Bill simply stated. "He's back. Harry's back."

* * *

Hermione paced around the Phoenix Chamber waiting for the rest of the Order Council to finish trickling in. She was still in a state of shock, not really processing what Bill and Charlie had tried to tell her and Ron. Apparently, Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, along with two children and an unidentified woman just simply waltz back into Hogwarts tonight, back into their lives. It was simply just too unbelievable.

Dumbledore had only recently informed everyone about the results of Malfoy's last mission. Harry Potter had been located, but in the end, he had rejected their pleas for aid and had refused to come and help in the war. Not only that, but Draco had also decided to stay on with Harry for unspecified reasons. Although if anyone ever wanted to listen to Ron complain, he would be sure to give you an earful about how Malfoy was harboring unrequited love. The loss of Malfoy's particular talents was a significant blow. To be honest, Hermione had given up hope. She had seen entirely too much death and destruction. She actually envied Harry and Draco their time away from all of this.

But now, that all looked like it may change, if what Bill and Charlie said was true and Harry was really back. Maybe it wasn't too late, maybe they had a chance after all, albeit a slim one.

A creepy silence slowly made its way around the table, slowing Hermione down mid stride. Looking around the room she saw the source of everyone discomfort. Draco had just entered the Chamber, followed closely by what could only be an older handsome version of the boy who had once been her friend. The two men took seats as far away from where the Phoenix sat as you could possibly get.

Feeling her legs start to give way, she was grateful when Bill firmly guided her over to where her and Ron's chairs were located. 'He is here, he is right here,' kept repeating over and over again in her head.

Knowing that Ron was similarly affected, she took his shaking hand in her own, hoping that between the two of them that they would be able to get through this.

* * *

Dumbledore didn't waste anytime bring the meeting to order as soon as the members had settled themselves into their seats. "As you are all aware by now my friends, this is a momentous day for us. Harry Potter has returned."

His announcement was met with silence as everyone was still coming to terms with what that meant exactly.

"Harry, I know that Severus, Sirius and Draco have already extended our apologies to you for the grave wrongdoing that happened, but…"

"'Grave wrongdoing'..." Harry sneered, "Is that what you're calling it now? You sent an innocent child to prison. The key words there being 'innocent' and 'child'. I would call that more than a grave wrongdoing."

Not wanting to aggravate the situation, Albus nodded. "I agree Harry, what we did to you was unthinkable and we are sorry for not believing in you. It will forever be one of the largest mistakes in my life. I am truly sorry, Harry."

Harry unconsciously ran his hand through his hair, pulling his bangs off his forehead, revealing his famous scar. "I didn't come back here to listen to your pathetic excuses or apologies that are entirely too late."

Dumbledore searched Harry's face for a sign, not seeing anything he sighed. "Then why are you here?"

Harry's unflinching emerald gaze met and held the blue eyes that had seen more than a century and a half of problems and solutions. "I'm here, because I couldn't live with myself if I didn't come."

Harry grew angry when the Council seemed to relax and sigh in relief at his words. "But let's get some things straight right now. What you all did to me was unforgivable, and my presence here in no way indicates that I have chosen to forgive and forget. We are not friends, mentors, colleagues, or even associates. I don't like any of you, with the exception of Draco, Sirius, and Severus, and I don't see that changing, ever."

Harry ignored the gasps of outrage resulting from his last comment. "Also, I have come back because I believe that I can help prevent more deaths. I am not now nor do I want to be a member of this Order. As far as the Order is concerned, I will act only as a consultant and I will only do what I think is best, when I think action is appropriate. Simply speaking, I do not take orders from you, Dumbledore. I will also pick and chose my own battles. Are we clear?"

Disappointed, but knowing that they were still better off than they had been earlier in the day, Dumbledore nodded in agreement.

"Fine Harry, if that is what you want, that can be arranged. But remember this, as a seventh year you took an oath to this Order when you joined it. That is a lifetime commitment and can not be revoked simply because you no longer desire it."

"Reeaally, amazing how now my membership is a lifetime commitment, but when I was the one in need how easy was it for everyone here to turn their backs on me? That wasn't quite what I expected when I made that oath, Dumbledore," Harry hissed, his eyes flashing.

"No Harry, I guess it wasn't." Realizing his mistake in bringing up Harry's commitment, Albus tried to keep his own tone soothing in an effort to calm the young man down. "Draco has already informed us about your escape from Azkaban and the time the both of you spent together in New York City. But Harry, would you please be so kind as to tell us where you've been since then?"

Seeing the old man's distraction technique for what it was, Harry decided to comply, as he knew that he would insist on an explanation sooner or later. Feeling Draco slip his hand inside Harry's, he gave the blonde a small squeeze and then launched into his story, careful to omit any mention of the twins, his pregnancy, his other animagus forms or his ability to perform wandless magic.

Midway through his explanation, he saw Sirius join the group, taking his seat next to Remus Lupin. His Godfather smiled at him, letting him know that Nicole and the boys were being taken care of.

As Harry discussed his life in the United States, he took the time to reflect on the people around the large table. His empty stomach clenched painfully. He sincerely hoped that dealing with all these people wouldn't give him a stomach ulcer.

Everyone looked older and worn; Remus and Professor McGonagall were both certainly grayer than the last time Harry had seen them. Hermione had small worry lines on her face that certainly were not there five years ago, and she looked like she had put on a few pounds. Ron had a nasty scar running down the side of his face; then Harry remembered that Draco had mentioned once that Ron had been injured badly and had never fully recovered. Harry couldn't prevent himself from wondering if Ron had any other injuries. The saddest thing of all was to see that the laughter that was as constant as sunrise had faded completely from Fred Weasley's eyes.

19 The Book of Souls

Albus was impressed; Harry certainly was a resourceful and determined young man. When his story was finished, he couldn't hold back his curiosity any longer. He had seen the children with Harry and, even to his old eyes, he could tell that they bore a strong resemblance to the Potter Family. The common assumption amongst the Order was that the woman was Harry's wife, and the boys were his sons. But unlike everyone else, he knew for a fact that they couldn't possibly be Harry's children. Most likely the young lady was either Harry's wife or girlfriend and the children could quite possibly be hers to a previous relationship. "Harry, I noticed that you didn't mention either the young lady or the two small children that accompanied you. Did you happen to get married?"

How Harry hated that patronizing tone. Little did Dumbledore know that he had unwittingly given Harry the opening he had been waiting for. "No, I'm not married."

He felt a warm breath on his ear as he barely caught the word "yet" muttered under Draco's breath. Giving Draco's hand a quick squeeze to let him know that he had heard the blonde's comment, Harry returned his attention to the Phoenix.

"Then who are the people that came with you? Draco referred to them earlier as your family."

Harry smirked, this was the part of the conversation he had prepared for a so long ago, it almost seemed another lifetime ago. Little did the Phoenix know, but Harry was about to remove that annoying ever-present twinkle.

Taking a cleansing breath, Harry started. "The young lady is Nicole DeYoung. She is a certified medi-witch and has been living with me for over three years." Harry didn't take the time to clarify their relationship; he'd let them figure it out on their own. "The two boys are my two-year-old twin sons; Matthew Harrison Potter and Evan Michael Potter." He deliberately left the Malfoy out of their names.

Excited chatter broke out around the table at Harry's confirmation that the boys were indeed his sons.

Dumbledore looked sharply at Harry, 'it can't be. I would have known had the Gryffindor line reproduced.' "Are they adopted?"

To anyone else in the room this would seem like an odd question, especially in light of the undeniable resemblance between the boys and Harry. But Harry had been expecting this question, relishing it actually.

"No, they're not adopted; they are my children and as such are Heirs to the Gryffindor bloodline." Harry said slowly.

"But Harry, I don't understand. That's not possible." Dumbledore knew that ordinarily he would never be seen caught off guard. But he had to be missing something. Either that or Harry was lying and what reason did he have to lie?

Harry laughed and it wasn't a pretty sound. "Surprised old man? But then, I guess you would be." No one at the table could bring themselves to reprimand Harry for the way he was talking to the Phoenix.

Recovering from his earlier blunder, "Whatever do you mean, Harry? Why do you assume I should have known that you had children?"

"No, wrong again. I don't assume anything, at least not anymore. I know you are surprised. Their names weren't in the book were they, Headmaster?" Harry taunted.

"What are you talking about Harry, what book?" Draco had a feeling that this conversation was meaning a whole hell of a lot more to the two individuals currently taking center stage, but damn, he wanted to know what was going on too.

"You never even told them." Harry forced a sinister chuckle as he glared at his former Headmaster. "I thought for sure once I was sent to Azkaban, you wouldn't have a need to hide it any longer. Then you could at least share that deep dark secret with the ones you trusted most." Harry paused for effect. "But then maybe the reason why you didn't tell them is because you don't trust them after all? Hmm."

Draco was getting frustrated. "Tell us what, Harry? Stop beating around the bush and just say what you need to."

Turning to face his partner, Harry asked him slowly, as if this question was meant for him alone, when in reality it was meant for everyone at the table. "Didn't you ever wonder why Dumbledore was so quick to jump to the conclusion that his 'Golden Boy' had committed cold blooded murder? Didn't it seem the least bit odd to you that all it took was fabricated evidence and I immediately lost all support from my 'so called' mentor? The one person who since my introduction to this world was always there for me, supporting me, guiding me?"

Having absolutely no idea where Harry was headed with all this, Draco nodded his head encouragingly. "Yes Harry, it never seemed right to me; I've told you that."

Harry looked apologetically at his lover, that question hadn't really been directed at him; it just needed to be asked and answered before he could continue on.

"You see as the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Dumbledore has access to a very old, enchanted book called the "Book of Souls." Seeing the confused stares around the table, Harry thought maybe a visual effect would be required. "Why don't you show it to them, Dumbledore, so they can see it for themselves?"

Albus couldn't believe what he was hearing, 'How on earth had Harry found out about that book?' It appears that Harry knew more than just the existence of one of the objects entrusted into the care of the current Headmaster but also some of its most guarded secrets.

"Harry, I'm not sure how you found out about the Book of Souls, but as the Headmaster of this school I am sworn to protect this institution and all of its secrets, which includes the Book of Souls. I'm sorry but there is nothing that I am able to tell you about that particular book," Dumbledore stated in a level voice as he tried to remain calm. He really needed to keep his wits about him if Harry continued to pursue this matter.

Harry chuckled again, almost as though he was beginning to enjoy the Headmaster's discomfort. "Fine Dumbledore, I didn't really expect you to tell us anything anyway. But I hate to be the one to tell you this; however, when you choose to no longer accept students here, Hogwarts ceased to be a school; as such you are, in reality, no longer the Headmaster. But let's table that discussion for another day shall we? Oh yes, where were we…I remember we were talking about the Book of Souls."

Draco had never seen this side of Harry before; he was relentless, calculating, and sarcastic. He was behaving as only a true Slytherin would. The blonde wasn't sure if he should be worried or not, but he did know that he was completely turned on. Trying to ignore the evidence of his arousal, Draco watched with baited breath as Harry continued to perform. There was no doubt as to why Harry was considered to be a first rate entertainer.

His audience completely captivated, Harry continued. "As I'm sure most of you have gathered the Book of Souls is an ancient book that was created and charmed by the four Founders. They needed to have a means of identifying those particular students that had the potential to come and study magic here at Hogwarts. To achieve that end, what they did was create a very powerful magical tool that whenever a child was born in either England or Scotland; a measure of their level of innate magic was taken by the book. If they had enough magic, their name, along with their parent's names and location, would be recorded therein. This seemed to be a perfect method of tracking the magical children that would provide the future for Hogwarts. Every year, the Headmaster would use the book to provide the necessary information to the Deputy Headmaster who would then prepare the Hogwarts acceptance letters."

Hermione was following the explanation carefully, Hogwarts A History had never explained how the acceptance letters where generated and it was something that she had wondered since she had received her own letter. "Harry, why would you expect your children's names to be in the Book of Souls? They weren't born in either England or Scotland?"

The urge to just ignore her was overwhelming. "Clever as always, aren't you Granger? Too bad you didn't use that intelligence when it really counted." Harry couldn't help sneering before he answered her question anyway, addressing her for the first time since his arrest. "You see the Founders were a very proud lot, with good reason, their accomplishments are largely unparalleled even today. But they all agreed that even if their descendents were to leave this part of Europe, that they would want them to be educated at Hogwarts, as they had no doubt that their school would be the best. As such, they placed additional charms on the Book of Souls so that it would record any births of any descendents of the Founders. As you are all aware, I am the Heir of Godric Gryffindor, as such my children, also being of the Gryffindor bloodline should have been listed in the book. But they weren't, were they Dumbledore?"

Not knowing how far Harry was going to go with this, Albus replied in an emotionless voice, "No, Harry their names are not listed in the book."

"Would anyone like to know why?" Harry's voice had taken on a dangerous quality.

Seeing that almost everyone at the table with the exception of Dumbledore, and a few others that looked too shocked to respond, nod, Harry grinned. "You may or may not be aware, but during my final year here at school I was taking advanced private lessons with several of the professors, including with the Headmaster. That January of my seventh year I came up to the Headmaster's office for one of our lessons on strategy and I was surprised to find the office empty. As Head Boy I knew the password and I let myself in. There had been several occasions during our sessions when Dumbledore had been called away unexpectedly and arrived late for our training, so I just settled myself in to wait for his return."

"As I was waiting, Fawkes flew into the room and landed on a large black leather bound book that was sitting closed on the shelf behind your desk. I tried to talk to Fawkes about other things, but he seemed agitated, almost like he wanted me to get up and see what he was doing." Harry decided to leave out the part where he and Fawkes actually had a conversation and Fawkes told him in no uncertain terms that he needed to look at the book.

"The book was very old, I could tell that by just looking at it, and it didn't have any title or description on the cover. But when I picked it up, gold lettering appeared on the front spelling out The Book of Souls. Cautiously, because of all the trouble that Riddles' diary had caused back in second year, I opened the volume. Imagine my surprise when I saw that it was filled with thousands of pages and on each page was a list of names, dates, and addresses. Naturally curious about my parents, I turned to around the time that I knew they were born. I found my father's name exactly as it should be, although it was written in scarlet ink instead of black like the other names I had seen in the book. Turning a few pages further, I saw my mother's name listed and this where things got strange."

Harry poured himself a glass or pumpkin juice before he continued. He knew that Dumbledore was struggling to maintain his composure but the pressure was making it increasingly difficult and it was going to get harder still. 'It's a bitch having someone call you on your past crimes and then having to defend yourself.'

Dumbledore cleared his throat, "Harry, I think that perhaps the rest of this conversation should wait. I believe that you and I should talk first and it's time to get you and your family settled into your new quarters. We can finish this tomorrow."

Harry smiled. "No, we're going to finish this now. The people in this room need to know exactly what you did to me, and to my family. You have a lot to answer for, Albus Dumbledore, and I want some answers tonight."

"Fine Harry, I will answer your questions, but I still think that this is something that the two of us need to discuss privately." He was still trying to persuade the man who he had once held so much influence over.

Staring at the old man, Harry said without the smallest quiver or hesitation in his voice, "I disagree." Each word rang loudly in the full room.

You didn't get to be Dumbledore's age without knowing when to surrender the fight. If he continued to protest more, it would only make things worse. The best course of action would be to see exactly how much Harry actually knew and then to do damage control. "Fine Harry, if you insist on having this conversation now, then by all means, continue."

The other occupants of the room just seemed to disappear, watching the proceedings carefully but knowing better than to interrupt.

"You always said that my Mother was muggle born," Harry accused the ancient wizard.

"Your mother was the daughter of Joseph and Rose Evans, who were muggles." Dumbledore explained.

Harry snorted. "Don't you mean 'adopted' daughter?"

From the gasps in the room, Harry could tell that this truly was previously undisclosed news to the Order members.

"Yes Harry, your mother was adopted," Albus replied cautiously.

Harry shook his head. "I've had a lot of time to think about the information I found in the Book of Souls, how about if I tell you what I was able to piece together? Maybe then you can help me fill in some of the missing pieces?"

Albus didn't even flinch. "As you wish Harry."

Harry saw the challenge in the cool blue eyes and felt ready. "From my Grandmother's date of birth, I realized that she was very young when she conceived my mother, she was only 16 years old. That, coupled with the identity of my mother's father, makes me believe that it was nonconsensual."

"Yes Harry, your mother's birth mother was raped in Knockturn Alley as a young girl. Your mother was the result of that act," Dumbledore clarified, not really offering any new information.

"What I want to know is why she gave up the baby? Knowing her like I thought I did, I just never would have guessed that she would have agreed to put her baby up for adoption, and certainly not in a muggle orphanage." Harry posed one of the questions that had troubled him the most since discovering the Book.

Albus looked sadly at the boy who had been denied the love of a family his entire life. Someone who wanted something so desperately could never possibly understand why someone else was willing to give it away so easily. "Alas Harry, she didn't have a choice. She was a pureblooded witch born to a very old and very proud line. Pride seems to be the sin that does the most damage amongst us. Oh well, I digress, her father knew that the family fortune was dwindling and wanted his only daughter to make a strong match with not only a pureblooded wizard, but a wealthy one at that. He was a shrewd man, her father, and he knew that if word go out that she had been raped and then bore a child, that all hopes of making such a match would disappear."

"The pregnancy and rape where kept a trusted secret by only a select few. When his daughter went into labor she was given a sleeping potion and the child was delivered without her knowledge. After the birth, your mother's birth mother was awoken and told that the baby had died, that it had been still born. When in fact her father had taken the baby and arranged to have it left at a muggle orphanage."

"One thing that her very own father had not counted on was his daughter's stubbornness. Over the next several years she refused any match that he had arranged and eventually ran away and married the poorest pureblooded wizard she could find."

Harry nodded; he could see how that explanation made sense. "Did she know the identity of her attacker?"

"That Harry I do not know. I don't believe she recognized him, as she never gave up his identity when questioned about the event," Dumbledore solemnly stated.

"But you knew, didn't you?" the angry Gryffindor Heir hissed.

Sirius was unable to remain silent any longer, this was one of his best friends that they were discussing and she had never said a word about being adopted, not to anyone that he could recall. "Harry, are you sure about this? Lily never mentioned a word about being adopted; we all assumed that she was a muggle born witch. This just seems unbelievable."

"Your right Sirius, this is unbelievable, and that's not the worst of it yet." Harry's voice only shook slightly and he hoped that no one noticed. "Sirius, you met the Evans while my mom was in school here, didn't you?"

"Yes, we met her parents and her sister, your Aunt Petunia on a couple of occasions."

"Didn't you ever notice that they looked absolutely nothing alike?" Harry was starting to get frustrated.

Finally realizing where Harry was going with this, Sirius replied tentatively, "There are lots of people in families that don't look like their parents; that doesn't mean that they are adopted."

"But you see, my Mother did look like her birth parents, she got her height, build and green eyes from her father's side and her red hair from her mother."

At the mer mention of red hair, the Weasleys couldn't help but perk up. Red hair was almost always associated with the Weasley line.

Not sure how Lily Potter's adoption as a baby had to do with why Dumbledore was so quick to turn on Harry, Draco was still puzzled. "So Harry, who were your mother's birth parents? They were listed in the Book, correct?" Draco's soft voice cut threw the eerie stillness that fallen over the room.

Looking at his soul mate Harry couldn't help but feel warmth from the love and support he saw on Draco's face. "Her mother was a young witch by the name of Margaret Montgomery…" Harry was interrupted before he couldn't even finish his sentence.

"But... but… that's not possible." The entire Weasley family was in a state of shock, along with some of the older members of the Order.

Looking at the oldest Weasley, as Harry was still not able to look directly at Ron as it was too painful, he inclined his head. "Not only is it possible, it is fact. Margaret Montgomery gave birth to my mother in April of 1960, five years before she married your father and became Molly Weasley."

"Sir, is this true? Did you know about this?" Bill was bewildered, not knowing what exactly to believe. Certainly if his mother had been raped and had given birth before she had married their dad, they would have heard about it sometime.

Very serious blue eyes watched over the remaining Weasley children. "Yes Bill, it is true. Your mother was also Lily Evans-Potter's mother. Lily would have been your half sister."

A loud pain-filled moan was heard. "Oh my God, that means that Harry is mum's grandson, and…and…our nephew." Harry wasn't sure which one had reached the brilliant deduction, but he thought is was either Fred or Ron.

"What I want to know the most is why you left a one-year-old defenseless child with people who were absolutely no relation to him at all?" You didn't have to look at Remus Lupin to know that the wolf was struggling to take over, his emotions where running so high. "Year after year, after year, you insisted that Harry would only be protected with his blood relatives, when you knew damn well that he didn't share a drop of blood with the Dursleys." Remus was practically spitting, he was so angry.

"All those times that Molly came to you asking permission for Harry to come and spend the summer with them, and you would grudgingly give in and allow a short visit at the end of the holiday. When all along he should have been there the entire time. All he ever wanted was a family to call his own, and he could have had one, but you denied him. Why? What possible purpose did it serve to hide Harry's relationship to the Weasleys?"

He had slowly come to terms with his own betrayal of Harry, knowing that it was not something that he would ever forgive himself for. He was hoping that given time, that he would have a chance to talk to Harry and perhaps someday become a part of his life again. Even though he knew that there was no way that Harry would ever forgive him, he couldn't help but be outraged at the lies that had been told to the son of two of his deceased best friends. Remus also knew that the reason why he had believed Harry had done the things he had been accused of was largely due to the influence of Albus Dumbledore. Again, like he had over sixteen years before that with Sirius, Remus had allowed his opinion to be swayed by the beliefs held by the one man who he had trusted above all others.

"It's simple really," Harry interjected. "He had no choice. Once the lie had been started it couldn't be stopped. He was the only person alive that knew who my Mother really was. He couldn't come forward then and right the wrong, it would raise too many questions, wouldn't it Dumbledore? Questions that you were not prepared to answer. Questions like, who was her father?"

"Is it true, Albus?"

Harry just ignored McGonagall's question. His former Head of House still had a lot to learn it seemed if she still trusted the old man.

Harry couldn't stop; not now, not when he was so close. "I often wondered what you thought when you first saw her. I bet you watched her very closely while she was here. You must have breathed a huge sigh of relief when she took after her mother and was sorted into Gryffindor; that would have been a hard one to explain, how a mudblood would have been sorted into Slytherin." Harry's calculating eyes never left the Headmaster.

Snapping Harry's focus back, Draco squeezed his hand firmly. "I take it her father was a Death Eater?"

Raising both of his eyebrows, Harry smirked, "I guess you could say that."

Knowing that they needed to know, for better or worse the truth had to come out, Severus softly asked the question that everyone wanted the answer to. "Who was her father, Harry?"

The answer was simple really, just one name, "Her father was Tom Marvolo Riddle." Wandlessly, the letters appeared glowing in green smoke in front of the Council, and then with a swipe of his hand, the letters rearranged themselves, dancing into place as they had done all those years ago in the Chamber of Secrets. There, glaring in front of all the disbelievers, was the answer to why Dumbledore was so ready to condemn Harry Potter. Why he was so quick to believe him guilty of such terrible crimes; who wouldn't believe those acts were committed by a boy whose maternal Grandfather was none other than Lord Voldemort himself?

* * *

As the pandemonium broke out around him, Harry's eyes never once left his former Headmaster. If possible, the man aged an additional twenty years in that instant.

Always the cool head in the crowd, Severus couldn't believe what he was hearing. Sure it was well known that during the Dark Lord's first reign that he often raped women and men alike, often killing his victims when he was finished with them. But this…this was truly unexpected.

Even in school, it was clear that Lily Evans was no ordinary witch. For a Gryffindor, she exhibited an extraordinary amount of cleverness and ability in potions. She had also excelled in charms, but then again so had Tom Riddle while he had been a student at Hogwarts.

Severus had often found himself paired with the red head for potions lessons, as she was the only one in their class that was able to stay on par with him. They had shared a mutual respect for each other's abilities. Eventually, they had formed an odd relationship; not quite friends but certainly more than just acquaintances. Severus can honestly say that he was truly sorry when he had heard of her death; it was such a waste of talent.

But now, with this new information, things that never quite seemed right were able to be viewed in a whole new light; Harry's parseltongue ability, for one; the Sorting Hat's insistence that Harry would have been great had he been sorted into Slytherin, for another. But, if Voldemort was really Harry's grandfather that would mean… "You're the heir of not one, but two of the Founders."

Harry was able to detect the slightest amount of awe in Severus' voice. "Yes, as far as I know, I am the only descendent that has even been born to more than one of the Founders bloodlines. At least I was until my sons were born. Since discovering my heritage, I assumed that being the Heir to both Gryffindor and Slytherin helped explain my unusually high innate magical abilities."

The sharp intake of breath beside him was the only sign that Draco had now realized how attractive their sons were to Lucius, and through him, to Voldemort himself. "And their names weren't in the book because?"

Harry began rubbing his thumb over the back of Draco's hand in an attempt to calm him down. "Once I realized what the book was and saw my mothers name in emerald green ink, I turned immediately to my own name. There was my name, written not in green or red, or even black like the others, but written in a royal plum color. It was different, unique from any other entry in the entire book. I swore right there that I never wanted my children to be listed in such a manner so I placed my own charms on the book so that it became confused and forgot to continue to list my descendents. I just wanted my children to have the opportunity that I never had; the chance at a normal life." Harry said the last part, slowly, almost wistfully, realizing now that his children would also be denied the opportunity to be seen as something other than a 'freak' even by wizarding standards.

"Harry, I am very sorry that you had to find out about your heritage that way. It was never my intention…" Dumbledore was interrupted.

"No, that's the whole point isn't it? You never intended for me to find out that Voldemort is my grandfather or that Molly Weasley is my grandmother. You never intended anyone to find out at all." Harry was clearly disgusted with the elderly man.

"Alas, all I can say is that I truly felt I was acting in the best interest of everyone concerned." Dumbledore paused not sure how to put into words the things that had to be said. He knew that this breach was most likely irreconcilable, but he still had to try. "Believe it or not Harry; I know what you are going through…"

"You arrogant son of a bitch," Harry spat, not believing that his former Headmaster even had the nerve to utter something so trite. "How dare you think such a thing, let alone speak such nonsense? There is no one, and I repeat no one, who could possibly understand what I have gone through, what your lies and deception have cost me." Harry caught his breath before adding. "I've come back. I'll fight Voldemort because I owe it to those who have lost their lives in this war that never should have been. But that's it. Don't think that you are forgiven. I don't want you in my life, and I certainly don't want to be a part of yours."

Harry leaned back in his chair, emotionally drained; this had been more difficult than he could have ever imagined. All around him the accusations started to fly. All directed by upset and dumbfounded Council members at the man that had lead them for the last fifty years or so.

Just then in a brilliant scarlet flash, Fawkes flew into the room singing loudly. The excited bird settled itself on Harry's shoulder while his beautiful song soothed the room's irate occupants.

"Hello my old friend, it is good to see you," Harry said as he stroked the warm feathers on the Phoenix's back.

Fawkes nuzzled his head into Harry's neck, trilling contently.

"I've missed you too; it's been so long since your last visit."

"Wait a minute; Fawkes visited you while you were in the United States?" Draco was astounded, still reeling from the revelation that his sons where descendants of the Dark Lord himself.

Harry shrugged, still petting the loyal bird. "Yeah, he came around once or twice a year to make sure things were going alright. He was even there when the twins were born. If it wasn't for him, I'm not sure I would have made it."

Harry warily glanced around the room, hoping no one caught his slight slip of the tongue, but it appeared that everyone was still caught up in the facts that had just been revealed to them. "Come on Dray, let's get out of here. I'm tired and it is way past time that the twins were in bed."

Draco rose tiredly from his own chair, his thoughts still in turmoil at the extent of the Headmaster's betrayal. His hands going to ease the crick in his back from sitting still for so long. "So where are we going to stay tonight?"

Harry just smiled, relieved that he had been able to get all that off his chest for the first time since he had stumbled on the book over five years ago. "Fawkes said that he knows of the perfect apartment for us, he's going to take us there after we stop by Sirius' rooms and pick up Nicole and the boys."

Draco just raised his eyebrows at his mate, knowing that whatever happened, they would face it together. "What are we waiting for then?"

Unnoticed by most of the angry and confused Council members, the two men slipped out of the Phoenix Chamber, leaving the Headmaster alone, to answer for his crimes.

20 The Founder's Hall

As soon as they were a fair distance away from the Phoenix Chamber, Draco couldn't help but tease his dark haired mate, hoping to relieve some of the tension that had been a constant companion for the last couple of hours. "You should have told me that you were related to the Weasel, Leo."

Harry stopped walking and turned to face Draco. He needed to see if he was truly all right with everything that he had just learned. The opinions of all the others didn't matter nearly as much as the opinion of the person who was standing right in front of him. "Why? Would you have changed your mind about getting involved with me had you known?"

Pulling an exaggerated face Draco replied in the most sarcastic tone he had, "But of course Harry, a Malfoy could never possibly taint their genes with Weasley genes. My poor ancestors are most definitely turning in their crypt tonight."

Harry chuckled satisfied that Draco was only joking. "To be fair Draco, I don't have any Weasley genes, but Montgomery ones. Molly was my Grandmother and she isn't a blood Weasley. Besides I thought you would be relived to know that our sons are pureblooded, not a drop of muggle blood in either of them."

"But of course their pureblooded, Leo, they are Malfoys after all."

Harry snorted at the blonde's pretended arrogance, and muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'over my dead body.'

"In all seriousness Harry, I do wish you would have told me about Voldemort being your Grandfather, and a Great Grandfather to the boys. Not that I would have cared, but hell, if Voldemort found out about Evan and Matthew…we have to keep them safe."

Harry reached out and pulled Draco to him, slowly running his hands up the other man's back. "I know Dray, and we will. We'll do it together." Harry gently ran his fingers into the stands of Draco's fine hair marveling as always at the feeling of pure silk. "I wanted to tell you a thousand times, but it just never seemed right." Harry sighed and pressed his forehead against the slightly taller man's. "What was I to say…hey remember back in second year when almost everyone in the whole school thought that I was the Heir of Slytherin? Well guess what…they were right." Harry tightened his embrace. "That just didn't sound right to me. I'm sorry for keeping it from you for so long."

Draco took a step back so that he could look Harry directly in the eye, the emerald green looked repentant and were slightly dull with exhaustion. "I understand Harry. But promise me that you won't keep anything that could affect you and the boys from me again. I need to know what I'm up against."

"I promise." Harry sealed his promise with a deep kiss.

* * *

Stopping by Sirius' and Remus' apartment to collect their exhausted family, Harry quickly gathered a sleepy Evan into his arms, while Draco did the same for an equally tired Matthew. Nudging Nicole awake from where she had fallen asleep in an armchair, undoubtedly watching over the twins who had been cuddled together on the sofa, they were finally ready to head off to their own rooms.

Following the glittering trail as Fawkes flew up ahead of them, they wearily trudged their way up through the winding corridors. Higher and higher up into the deepest part of the castle they went. Noticing that during the last ten minutes or so that their surroundings had significantly deteriorated, Harry grew concerned. However, when Fawkes led them down a dark hallway that was littered with thick dust and abundant cobwebs, Harry couldn't help questioning his guide's path. "I've never been down here before, have you?"

"Nope." Draco critically examined his surroundings. "I never even knew that this hallway existed before."

Harry snorted and started to choke on some dirt that seemed to cling to everything. "It doesn't look like the house elves know it exists either."

Giving Harry an amused glance, Draco quickly followed after the Phoenix, knowing that the bird would never lead him or Harry into a dangerous situation.

Finally, the group stopped in front of a large statue. It was a statue made out of the finest black marble depicting four animals, the center of which was a huge majestic lion. Entwined around the lion's mane was a thick snake, whose dark eyes had a wicked gleam in the dim light. Nestled in between the lion's front paws was a small badger, which was looking up at the lion his expression both trusting and playful; and lastly perched regally on top of the lion's head was a beautiful raven.

No one was surprised when Fawkes turned towards their group and trilled out a few meaningful notes. As he had done earlier that evening, Harry passed his precious bundle to Nicole.

Listening to the phoenix, Harry approached the statue carefully. One thing he had learned during his time here at Hogwarts was that nothing was ever what it appeared to be. Gently, almost reverently, Harry reached forward and placed one hand on the lion's forehead and his other hand on the top of the snake's crown. The marble felt cool and smooth to his touch.

As soon as Harry touched the statue, a green light shot out of the serpent's eyes and a similar red light was emitted from the lion's lenses. The lights combined into a deep purple luminescence, which promptly encased the young man.

Startled when the statue started to radiate the strange beams of light, Harry tried to pull away. However, he found that he was unable to move as the eerie purple warmth surrounded him. Trying not to panic, Harry forced himself to relax and submit to the light; and when he did, he was strangely shocked to find that the light was probing him, albeit in a comforting manner.

As quickly as it had appeared, the light vanished.

"What the hell was that?" Draco worriedly looked over his partner to ensure that the light had not harmed him.

"I'm not sure, but I think it was friendly," Harry said, shaking his head to clear the lingering feeling of being exposed.

"Welcome young Heir, you have been long awaited." The words echoed in the empty hallway.

Harry and Draco looked at each other in confusion and then looked around them to identify the source of the deep commanding voice.

They both whipped around nearly knocking Nicole off her feet when a different voice entered the mix. "You look like you've never seen a talking statue before," the second voice chuckled. This voice was not quite as deep, although still masculine.

Harry tiredly rubbed his eyes, sure that the lack of sleep had to be affecting his judgement. "I've seen statues that move," he said, thinking about the gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office. "But I've never seen one that talked before."

"Well young Heir, as I'm sure you've realized by now, we are not an ordinary statue. We are actually the Guardians of the Founder's Hall."

"The Founder's Hall?" Draco questioned the talking lion, still not quite believing what he was seeing. Never in the wizarding world had he ever heard of a talking statue; mirrors and portraits yes, not ever a statue.

The snake moved so that the head was now facing in Draco's direction. A small forked tongue flickered in and out of its mouth, tasting the scents around him, before the snaked hissed in English, "Blondie's not too bright, is he? You'd think that someone his age would have at least heard of the Founders before now. What are they teaching here these days?"

Harry giggled at the snake's comments, but as he saw Nicole shifting under the weight of his now sleeping son in her arms, it reminded him of why they where here. Before Draco had a chance to retaliate and piss off the Guardian, Harry interceded. "As accurate as I'm sure your observation is," Harry started, ignoring Draco's glare, "we were told that there was a place that we might be able to get some sleep around here. Do you think you could direct us, please?"

"Of course, young Heir. We'd like to take this opportunity to welcome you to the Founder's Hall. Behind us is the entrance to the Founders' personal apartments. They have been vacant since poor Helga's death. Only a true heir may enter and reside herein. As I have said before, we have been waiting for you. You and your sons are the last remaining true heirs, besides that Riddle fellow, who we would never permit entrance." The large lion shook his head and his mange fell gracefully around his head before he continued.

"I apologize for the delay, as I see that you are all tired. I'm sure that, come morning , you will have questions and we can discuss them at that time. Please rest easy, knowing that we will watch over you."

With these words, the statue opened up, the raven flying off of the lion's head, as the badger moved to the side as the gigantic lion stood, revealing a passageway. Taking one last look at the Guardians, Harry entered the dark passageway.

As soon as Harry entered through the doorway, two torches hanging on either side burst into flame and he found himself on moving spiral staircase, almost identical to the one that he had ridden many times when visiting the Headmaster's office. Making sure that Draco and Nicole had followed him, he relaxed and just enjoyed the ride. The steps kept moving smoothly upwards, twisting around and around, almost as though it was moving up a coiled snake.

Finally, the stairs stopped at a large wooden door with an antique doorknob and a brass knocker shaped like the Hogwarts school seal.

Feeling absurd if he was to knock, as the Guardians had told him no one was currently residing here, Harry twisted the brass doorknob and opened the heavy door. Stepping into the large cavernous room, Harry was surprised to see that the fire in the fireplace along the far wall had previously been lit as well as the many torches on the walls. The room was warm and welcoming.

Draco quickly followed Harry into the room and was amazed at what he saw. They were in an exquisitely decorated room that bore a resemblance to what one would image a luxurious common room would look like. The room itself had high arching ceilings, charmed the same as the Great Hall was to reflect to sky that looked down so lovingly over Hogwarts. Currently, the ceiling was dark, intermingled with brilliantly twinkling stars, and a shining half moon.

There were two small sofas and three high back chairs situated around the marble fireplace at the far end of the room. The sofas were covered it what looked to be some of the finest black leather that Draco had ever seen and the rich fabric of the chairs were in a tapestry pattern, depicting jewels tones; deep emerald green, dark scarlet, and a beautiful royal blue. The fireplace itself was a piece of art. It was large enough so that person the size of Hagrid would have been able to stand upright inside the opening, and it was at least twice as wide as it was tall. The black marble encasing the fireplace appeared to be flecked with gold and was carved to resemble the four Guardians frolicking in what Draco guessed was the Forbidden Forest.

As the trio stepped down the two marble stairs from the foyer into the common room area, they sunk into the thick, unbelievably soft beige floor covering. "Wow, these Founders really knew how to live," Nicole whispered, looking around at the unprecedented luxury.

"And I thought Malfoy Manor was nice; it's nothing compared to this," Draco added, still trying to take in the sights of the common room. "I wonder what the rest of the apartment looks like."

Impressed, Harry agreed and continued to walk into the center of the vast room. In the back right-hand corner of the room was an archway, bordered on either side by thick black marble pillars. Through the archway appeared to be a hallway and another staircase. The far left side of the room was covered in five huge stained glass windows, each window showcasing a different scene with what Harry assumed to be one of the Founders. The fifth window, which stood proudly in the center of the wall, was a replica of the Hogwarts school seal and appeared as thought it might be a door.

In the remaining back corner of the room was something that Harry had never seen before. It was a large waterfall. Water gently cascaded down over numerous rocks to fall into a large pool at the base of the falls. The sound of the trickling water was quite soothing.

Knowing that they would have plenty of time tomorrow to continue their explorations, Harry walked across the room through the archway. Deciding that the bedrooms were most likely up the stairs, Harry with Draco and Nicole following started to climb. They reached the first landing and noted that there were several doors on this floor. Trying the first door, Harry saw that the room contained a large queen size bed; the room itself was decorated in pale blues overlaid with light floral prints. The room was obviously prepared with a woman in mind. Stifling a yawn, Harry managed to take his son back from Nicole. "This appears to be your room Nicole. Do you have everything you need?"

After she indicated that she did and agreeing to meet down in the common room tomorrow morning, Draco and Harry wished her goodnight before heading further down the hall in search of their own accommodations.

The door next to Nicole's revealed two four-poster canopy beds. This room was done up to resemble a castle, with dark green carpeting and blue walls. On one the walls was painted a mural of what looked to be an artistic rendering of Hogwarts, complete with quidditch pitch.

Depositing their children on the beds, Harry and Draco set about tucking them in for the night. As they were getting ready to leave the room a small sleepy voice stopped them. "Daddy? Where's bunny? Can't sleep without bunny."

Knowing that Evan would never be able to get back to sleep without his favorite stuffed animal, Harry quickly took one of the boys' trunks from his pocket and enlarged it. Luck was with him and he was able to locate both bunny and Matthew's stuffed doggy. Once more tucking the boys back in, this time with them securely hugging their stuffed animals, Harry lit a small light and the men quietly left the room.

Assuming that the last room on the floor had to be their room, they opened the door across from the twin's room and stepped inside. They were surprised to find that this room wasn't a bedroom at all, but looked like it was set up to act as the boys' playroom as it contained many shelves, tables and chairs sized just right for small children. Pulling the two trunks from his pocket marked toys, Draco enlarged them. Deciding that sleep was much more of a priority than unpacking, Harry and Draco left the trunks in the room, and shut the door.

Going back to the staircase, Draco and Harry went up to the next landing. The stairs still continued upwards, but Harry was hopeful that they would find a place to crash here without having to climb anymore stairs. The second landing yielded two doors. The first door that they came to had no knob whatsoever. Placing his hand on the door, Harry felt a familiar warmth spread through him. Removing his hand, the door silently glided open.

Harry entered the room and stopped as soon as he got part way in. Draco, who was too tired to pay attention, ran into the back of the raven haired man. "Hey, what did you stop for?"

When Harry didn't answer right away, Draco peeked around his mate and saw what held his attention. The room was undeniably the nicest room he had ever seen. It was done primarily in black and gold with forest green and deep scarlet used sparingly. While the other bedrooms had been equipped with fireplaces, the fireplace here was a smaller scaled version of the one they had just seen in the common room. Around the fireplace was a sofa and two chairs, but the centerpiece of the room was the largest bed Draco had ever seen in his entire life. The bed was carved out of a dark wood and the posters reached high up towards the arched ceiling. Consistent with the overall theme of the apartment, the headboard had a carving of the large lion with a serpent around his neck. The lion had rubies inlaid for eyes, whereas the snake had emeralds.

The bed coverings were dark green; so dark, in fact, that they appeared to be black. Recovering from their shock, the young men walked over to the bed, their footfalls silent against the thick rug. Peering down at the bed, the cover actually had small embroidered lions and snakes done in what appeared to be fine threads of silver and gold. The effect was stunning.

At this point, all Harry wanted to do was get washed up and crawl underneath the tempting covers. "Where do you think the bathroom is?"

Draco shook his head as he pulled their own trunks out of his pockets and set about enlarging them as Harry continued to investigate their bedroom.

A moment later, Draco heard an excited voice shout, "Dray, you have got to see this!"

Looking around, Draco noticed that Harry no longer appeared to be in the room with him. "Leo? Where are you?"

A dark head popped up through another arch that was barely visible off to the side of the fireplace. "I'm in here."

With all the wonders that they had seen in the apartment so far, Draco couldn't help but be curious about what had gotten Harry so excited. Following where Harry's head had once more disappeared into, Draco stepped into what had to be the master bathroom. The bathroom was almost twice the size of the prefect bathroom. There was a large mirror in a dressing area; two large sinks, with gold fixtures; and a shower area that could easily fit four men. The shower was semi-open and was constructed with alternating black and white marble blocks. It was all beautifully done, but Draco didn't see what had gotten Harry so excited.

Moving further into the room, Draco heard the same soothing sound that they had heard in the common room. Turning the corner, he saw Harry kneeling down beside a bubbling pool of water, the size of a large swimming pool. The pool was being fed continuous fresh water from a second waterfall. This waterfall was very natural in appearance, as opposed to the elegant beauty of the one in the common room. The water flowed over and around large multi-colored mountain stones and through lush foliage and exotic flowers. It was mesmerizing. The temptation to strip down and jump in was almost overwhelming.

"The water is so warm, it's almost like there is an underground hot spring here." Harry said wistfully, running his hand through the moving water.

Squatting down beside his mate Draco gently pulled Harry's hand from the water and brought his fingers to his lips. He licked the water droplets from each finger before returning Harry's hand to him. "Leo, we'll have plenty of time to enjoy this bath tomorrow; it's been an extremely long day. How about we go to bed?"

Harry's breathing quickened as his fingertips were so tenderly administered to. Without a word, Harry got up and offered his hand to Draco.

Taking the offered hand, the two of them made their way back into the bedroom. Neither one noticed that someone had dimmed the lights and turned down the bed, as they only had eyes for each other.

Undressing swiftly, the two men took a moment to look appraisingly at each other. Harry started to make a soft noise in his throat at the sight of the blonde's trim form, his muscular thighs and taut bottom. "Are you purring?" Draco gasped at the soft seductive sound.

Harry pounced, pulling Draco down into the softness of the warm bed. They had only resumed their physical relationship a few days ago and neither man could get enough of the other. They were still discovering each other's intimate likes and needs; although, just being together was usually enough to drive each other wild. Unfortunately, sharing a house with three other people had put a damper on how much time the two men could stay in bed without raising a few questions from their sons or at least an eyebrow or two from Nicole.

All thought process stopped as Harry captured Draco's mouth in a ruthless kiss, plundering, taking, completely possessing. Draco brought both up his hand up to the back of Harry's head and roughly ran them through his hair. Breaking off the kiss, Draco was barely able to gasp, "I thought you said you were tired?"

Draco caught a glimpse of Harry's face filled with desire and need as he whispered, "never too tired for this," before his mouth once more started to do delicious things to Draco's body. Knowing that neither one would last long at this pace, Draco reached for the lube so that he could start to prepare his dark haired lover.

His hand was caught before he could locate the slippery substance. "Not this time, my love," Harry said breathlessly as he whispered his own lubricating spell. Draco stiffened slightly as he felt the coolness of the spell work over him. In the few times that they had been together, Harry had never been the dominant one. Not submissive by nature, Draco knew that this was important to Harry tonight. Tonight had been all about Harry trying to take back his life. For the first time in the existence of the 'boy who lived', all the facts were on the table and Harry was in control.

With an acquiescent groan, Draco accepted all Harry had to offer, body and soul.

* * *

Later as she reflected on the events of that night, Hermione wasn't even sure how Ron and her had made it back to their apartment when the meeting had been adjourned. She was pretty sure that they would have just collapsed had it not been for the support of her brothers-in-law.

Her mind kept trying to take in all the information that was brought to light at that meeting but it was just so unreal that she couldn't make sense of it. 'How could Harry, who had been their best friend for almost seven years, be Ron's nephew? She wasn't even going to think about whom his Grandfather was. Being muggle born, Hermione had dealt with the stereotypes that the wizarding world liked to place on their blood connections, all that pure blood bullshit. Granted, heritage did seem to play a role to a certain extent. Harry being the direct descendent of two of Hogwarts Founders certainly had to account for his enormous magical aptitude. But to believe that Harry had the predisposition to go dark, merely because he was Voldemort's Grandson, well that was absurd. What was Dumbledore thinking?

The Order meeting had gotten pretty heated after Harry's bombshell. But eventually Dumbledore had the opportunity to explain the reasons behind his secrecy, not the least of which was to protect Harry. Who knew what the Dark Lord would have done had he realized the blood connection between him and the Boy Who Lived? It really was to horrible to think about what could have happened had Voldemort found out and used that information to his advantage.

Harry had always been so desperate to be part of a family, a true family that would love him and care for him. He never really had that; at least not that he could remember. Which lead to the question, why didn't Harry ever tell them what he had found in the Book of Souls all those years ago. Why did Harry continue to keep Dumbledore's secret of his relationship with the Weasleys? If there had ever been a family that Harry could have considered his own, it would have been with Molly and Arthur. That was one question that Hermione would see answered if it was the last thing she did.

That night the remaining four Weasley brothers and the only Weasley by marriage huddled close to each other, comforting and confiding. It was decided to not say anything to Molly just yet. Do to her unpredictable mental state it was hard to say what exactly her reaction would be to this news.

Hermione shook her head sadly at this one more tragedy. The boy that Molly always considered her adopted son, was in fact her very own grandson and most likely the woman would never even know it. God how she hated this war.

It was also decided that they would try to mend the gigantic chasm between Harry and themselves. They needed to do this not only for themselves but for Harry as well. They wanted to be a family and no one stands between a Weasley and their family.

* * *

"Get out of my way, Weasley." Harry's voice was so cold it could have frozen the entire lake.

"Harry, you just can't walk away from me, hell…we're family," Ron shouted at Harry's retreating form.

Harry turned and Ron saw anger like he had never seen before on the face that had once shared everything with him. Caught in the emerald fire, paralyzed and unable to move, Ron just stood there while Harry unleashed the storm that had been burning unchecked in his overly bright eyes.

"Family…we're family." Harry spit those words; he was so fired up. "We've been many things over the years Weasley, but family isn't one of them. I have a family; I have two wonderful children, a strong loving man to share my life with, our Godfathers, and a loyal friend to help keep us altogether. Those people are my family, the only family I have ever really known." Harry could feel his heart beating rapidly as the blood pulsed loudly in his ears. "Now, out of respect for whatever small sacrifices your mother once tried to make for my mother, I won't hurt you. But I'm warning you now, Weasley, stay… out…of… my… way. I don't want to see you or hear from you again. As far as I'm concerned, you and that wife of yours don't exist."

"Look we're sorry, we were wrong. But we can't continue this way, Harry. At least give us a chance to talk about things. Eventually we're going to have to work together, you know?" Ron paused trying to see if his words were having any affect on his one time best friend. "Let me know what you want us to do to make it up to you, and we'll do it. Anything…anything at all." Ron was frustrated. He knew that Harry would be angry, but the fact that he had come back to Hogwarts meant that he was ready to move on and put the things that happened in the past behind them, right? In school, they had quarreled occasionally, like all good friends do, never as bad as it was that time after Harry's name came out of the Goblet of Fire, but they had their share of fights. And every time they had made up. They had never let anything come between their friendships, not until they had thought Harry had committed murder, that is.

Harry didn't respond; he just turned on his heel and started walking in the direction of Sirius' rooms, where he had been heading before this regrettable encounter. This morning, after getting up early, Harry had taken a quick look around the Founders' Hall apartment. The other door on the second landing was a small library, filled with various books that Harry had never heard of before, all of which looked extremely old. Making a promise to return later to see what additional knowledge that could be ascertained from any of the rare books, Harry continued his explorations. Further up the stairs on the top and third level, Harry found a training room, complete with dueling arena and a conference room. The conference room had large windows that overlooked the former quidditch pitch and the forbidden forest. Going back down the stairs to the common room level Harry noted that the hallway lead to a private dinning area. The rest of the living quarters were equally opulent in their decor as the rooms he and Draco had seen the night before. There was also a small staircase that went down, but Harry decided to investigate that later as he really wanted to find Sirius, to see what had happened at the meeting last night after he and Draco had left.

What he hadn't counted on when he left his warm bed and sleeping bed partner was running into Weasley this early in the morning. He had never been able to get his sorry arse out of bed before 9:00 am.

"Wait a minute; did you say that Malfoy is your lover?" Ron shouted, his voice ricocheting off the stone walls.

Ron knew that he had made another mistake as soon as the words were out of his mouth. Seeing the retreating form stiffen and slowly turn only reinforced this thought.

Before he knew what hit him, Harry landed a solid punch to his stomach. Doubled over in pain, Ron thought he heard Harry mutter in a dark voice, "never, never speak his name again, you worthless piece of shit." Falling to his knees, Ron didn't even acknowledge the retreating footsteps.

* * *

Sirius groggily rolled out of bed, and pulling on a pair of trousers from the floor that the House Elves hadn't gotten around to laundering yet, he went to answer the knock on his door.

Seeing his less than happy Godson, Sirius moved out of the way to allow the other man entrance.

"You're up bright and early Harry." A tired Sirius said as he indicted for Harry to come inside and sit down. "You got everyone settled in alright last night?"

"Yeah, I need to get back there soon and help them unpack, but I wanted to talk to you first, if that's okay?" Harry asked glancing around the small, but nicely furnished, apartment.

"Harry, my door is always open to you, always. I may not have been there for you in the past, but there is absolutely nothing that will keep me away from you or your family now or in the future. You're all I have left, so I guess you're just stuck with me." Harry was relieved to hear the steely resolve in Sirius' voice. While in California he had debated about sending the boys somewhere away from the war. But the thought of being separated from them, never knowing what was going on with them was too much. He was counting on Sirius' support to help keep his family safe.

Sirius left the room briefly to finish putting on some clothing while Harry rang the bell to summon one of the House Elves to request some morning refreshments. Before Harry could set the bell down after ringing it, a House Elf stood at his side.

"Hello there, what's your name?" Harry asked the elf kindly.

"It's Twix Sir" the elf replied friendly. "What can I do for you, Sir?"

"Well Twix, first thing, please stop calling me Sir, my name is Harry. Second, I was wondering if we could get some tea and danish or whatever you have prepared for breakfast, please?"

"Most certainly Sir Harry, I'll be back in a jiffy." As the elf prepared to pop out Harry couldn't help but asking about his old friend, Dobby.

"Excuse me Twix, before you leave, I was hoping you could tell me if Dobby still works here?"

A sad expression came over the elf's face. "I'm sorry Sir Harry, but Dobby is no longer at Hogwarts. He left Sir, many years ago after something bad happened to a good friend of his. No one knows where he is now, Sir."

Saddened at the loss of yet another friend, Harry nodded at the elf, and with a small pop, the elf was gone to get their morning refreshments.

* * *

Harry was helping himself to his second cup of tea when he heard Sirius come up behind him. "About time you got done in there, I swear you take longer to get ready in the morning then Draco does…" The words died off as Harry turned and saw that it wasn't Sirius behind him, but Remus.

"Harry," Remus said in way of greeting.

"Lupin," Harry calmly replied. He was kicking himself; he had forgotten Sirius shared these quarters with the werewolf.

"Hey, is that breakfast I smell?" came Sirius' cheerful voice from the bathroom.

Not taking his eyes off the wolf, Harry called back. "Yes, and if you want to eat any of it, I suggest you get your sorry arse out here."

Remus watched the beautiful young man, who now resembled James more than ever before. But it was more than his resemblance to his long dead friend that Remus now saw before him. He was stronger than James ever was, you could simply feel the power radiating off of his slim but well-built frame. It was a good thing that Sirius confided in him last night that Harry and Draco were involved in a committed relationship, because Harry was sure to cause a stir among both the ladies and gentlemen in the castle for more than one reason. "Look Harry…"

"No, just save it, Lupin. I'm not up for any more apologies. At least not right now, maybe someday, who knows." Harry sighed, sitting his teacup down. One thing that Ron had said this morning; however uninvited, had stuck with him. Regardless of what he thought about these people, he would need to at least work with them. He may never fully trust them again, but he needed to get past that if this effort was to succeed. Harry wasn't foolish enough to believe that he had the ability to bring down Voldemort by himself. If he wasn't willing to be civil with Remus and the others, he might as well leave now.

"I know that we'll have to work together, and I'm willing to try to at least be civil. That's all I can give you for now."

"I appreciate that Harry, to be honest; it is more than what I expected after last night." Remus was relieved that some of the friction between the two of them had disappeared, as he went to help himself to some breakfast.

"Hey, what did I miss?" Sirius laughed striding into the room, his hair still wet from his shower.

Remus smiled at his best friend. "Nothing Sirius. Now get some breakfast before Harry and I decide to finish it off."

After Sirius had filled his plate, Harry brought the conversation back to the real reason he had ventured out for such an early morning visit. "So what happened in the Chamber after Draco and I left last night?"

"It got pretty ugly there for awhile," Sirius recalled. "You have to believe us Harry; we never knew any of that stuff with Lily being adopted and her father being Tom Riddle. I think the people who were most shocked were the Weasley family when they realized that you were related to them by blood all this time."

"I believe you, Sirius. No one could have faked the expressions on their faces like the ones I saw last night. So I guess I shook things up then?"

Sirius snorted. "Hell Harry, the half of the Order that wasn't ready to lynch Dumbledore was calling for his resignation as Phoenix."

"Did he resign?" Harry knew that even though the man deserved to suffer, he was still very much needed to get through the upcoming battles.

"No, in the end, it was determined to that he would continue in that role. However I can guarantee you that no one will be taking anything he says at face value any more. We are in this together and the Council will be much more involved in all of the Order's decisions."

Agreeing that that was the best course of action at this time, Harry left Sirius and Remus' room to go help his family unpack and settle into their new home. Harry couldn't help but chuckle when Sirius told him that neither Snape nor he had informed the Order about the boys' parentage. It looks like Harry still had a few surprises left for the old man.

* * *

After his confrontation with Harry, Ron decided to take a walk to try to release some of the anger that he felt building inside himself, well more or less a limp than a walk due to this damn injury that had never healed properly. Not really angry at Harry, as much as angry at the situation and, of course, angry at Dumbledore. Who would have thought that the one person that the Weasleys were always taught to respect above all others would pull something as underhanded as to keep Harry's relationship with them a secret? How things could have been different had they known that Harry was mum's Grandson. Harry would have grown up with them, as truly a part of the family. He would never have been forced to suffer as he had while he lived with those despicable muggles, but no, none of that had happened, all because of Albus Dumbledore.

The fact that clearly Harry had changed crossed Ron's mind by his second lap around the school. But hell who wouldn't with everything that man has been forced to endure in his short life. It just wasn't fair, not to any of them. Ron was a little put off by the fact that Voldemort was Harry's grandfather and also by the fact that apparently Harry was currently involved in a sexual relationship with Malfoy. Not sure which of those two evils was the worst, Ron knew that he had to come to terms with that fast if he ever had a chance of Harry being remotely civil with him.

Overall, Ron was glad that Harry was back. Even if they would never be able to recapture their former relationship, Ron knew that Harry would indeed do whatever it took to be successful in this war. Even if you didn't recognize Harry for who he was, there was no mistaking the power that seemed to roll off the young man. Both last night and then again this morning, Ron was well aware that Harry was keeping his anger and his powers closely held in check. Shaking his head ruefully, Ron felt a brief pang of pity for the person who would be on the receiving end of that power when Harry finally decided to unleash it.

Calm enough that he felt that he could finally deal with the events that had transpired over the last 18 hours, Ron headed into the great castle in search of his wife and brothers. Hopefully together they would be able to put into action the plan that would enable them to pull the Weasley family back together. The whole family, including Harry and his sons, and if Harry insisted maybe even that git, Malfoy. Ron shook his head in disbelief at that last thought, 'Well only if they had to

21  The Howler

Harry continued to make his way back through the corridors to where the Founder's Hall was located. He was pleased to note that the cobwebs and multiple layers of dirt and grime that had covered this path earlier had been removed. Coming across the Guardians, Harry once more placed his hands on the statue. This time; however, there was no light show, the animals simply yawned and started to move. After the lion stood revealing the entrance, Harry asked him a question that had been bothering him since he left the Chamber earlier that morning. "Excuse me, but I was wondering how will my family gain admittance to the apartment if I am not with them?"

"Silly Heir, we will recognize them as your family. Last night we were able to access your thoughts and your heart, so we know who should be allowed to enter and who should not."

Seeing the logic, Harry nodded. "Well I best get going before Draco worries about me being gone."

The snake chuckled and this time hissed in parseltongue. "Tooo late for that Yoounng Heeirr, your mate sssstartted belllowinggg ssshortllly affter you lefftt thissss morning. Woke usssss allll up, he did."

Harry laughed and replied in a similar manner, "sssorrry about thattt."

This time in English, Harry added. "Thanks for allowing us to use the Founder's Hall. It's fabulous by the way."

"We are not allowing you to use the Chamber, young Heir." Harry heard a soft female voice and saw that the raven was addressing him for the first time. "The Founder's Hall belongs to you and your descendants. All other lines are gone, as the Riddle creature can no longer reproduce any additional heirs. Your line is the last."

At the confused look on Harry's face, the raven continued, "you are wondering why the Hall doesn't have rooms for myself and the other Founders, correct?"

"Yes. I thought that you each would have your own."

The raven giggled. "I must agree with the others; you are a silly child." Before Harry could be insulted, she continued in the same pleasing soft voice, "the Hall now reflects the needs of you and your family; it is not how it appeared to be while we were living there. As your needs change, the Hall will adapt to provide you with all that you require."

Hearing a loud curse coming from within the apartment, Harry winced. "Look, I got to go, I'm sure we'll be able to talk more later."

* * *

"Where the hell have you been?"

Harry didn't even see the projectile until it was too late to duck. Harry grunted when something soft and fuzzy slammed into his chest as soon as he came through the entranceway. "Hey, what's that for?" he shouted, as he looked down at the object he caught that had been whipped at him. It was one of the boys' plushy toys: this one a large red dragon.

Harry stepped down into the common room where Evan immediately besieged him. "My dragon, Daddy." The toddler had both of his arms lifted high in the air trying to reach the stuffed animal that Harry still held.

Kneeling down beside his son, Harry pulled the resisting boy into a hug. "Of course it is. Good morning sweetheart." Whispering an additional remark into the small boy's ear, Harry handed the toy back to him.

Harry giggled when Evan turned to where Draco was standing and fixed his father with a strong glare before running over to where he and his twin had been playing before they were rudely interrupted when their father had stolen his toy.

Harry walked over to where Draco was standing, still fuming. Pressing a soft kiss to his lover's lips, Harry couldn't help himself. "So now you know what it feels like to be on the other side of the famous Malfoy glare."

More worried than angry, Draco couldn't help but see the humor in the situation. "What can I say, it's in the genes."

Pulling Draco down with him on to one of the sofa's, close to where the twins were playing, Harry set about telling Draco everything that had transpired that morning, including his run-in with Ron.

Moderately pacified, Draco made sure that the next time Harry took off without telling anyone, that he fully understood what the ramifications of such an action would be. Harry blanched when Draco described in detail the torture that he would have to undergo should such an occasion arise. Pleased that Draco had been so obviously worried about him, Harry promised that he would leave a note, or better yet, wake Draco up before leaving without him again.

"Leo, did you do any exploring this morning before you went to see Sirius?" Draco asked casually, trying not to let any of his excitement show.

"Yeah, I looked around some why?" Harry wasn't really paying attention to the blonde as he was watching his sons' bicker over the pretend battle that they were setting up with their various stuffed toys, wondering when he would need to intercede before a full out fight broke out.

"Did you see anything special?" Draco pressed, slightly put out that Harry wasn't paying attention to him.

Hearing the annoyed tone of Draco's voice, Harry turned his attention to his mate, leaving Nicole to deal with any potential fights that broke out between the twins. She was a much better disciplinarian anyway as Harry always found himself caving to his sons' teary eyes and sad puppy dog expressions. "Well there is a library that needs to be furthered examined on the second floor and the training facilities on the third floor are pretty wicked."

Just has he had thought, Harry hadn't taken the time this morning to go down stairs. 'Typical Gryffindor, always going up when some of the biggest discoveries could be found much lower, like in the dungeons'. "I take it you didn't go to the bottom level then?"

"No. I figured that I would look to see what's down there this afternoon." Harry knew that Draco was just bursting to tell him something. "So are you going to tell me what's down there or not?"

"Why tell you when I can show you?" the blonde asked, winking at the dark-haired man.

Harry laughed at his partner's enthusiasm. "Alright already Dray, show me."

* * *

"Luciusss"

"Yes, My Lord." The patriarch of the Malfoy family came to kneel before his Master.

After dutifully kissing the hems of the Dark Lord's robes, Malfoy rose to stand in front of the demon he served for the better part of his life. On the outside, Lucius was as cool as ever, knowing from experience that you never questioned the Dark Lord; not unless you wanted to be severely punished for it. However, what Malfoy was feeling on the inside was a different matter. He prayed to Slytherin that this impromptu meeting didn't have anything to do with his only son and heir. Draco had disappeared a month ago and Lucius hadn't had any contact with him since then. So far the Dark Lord hadn't appeared to be concerned with Draco's disappearance, but that could all change the moment Lord Voldemort had a need for him.

"The boy has returned." The serpentine voice was low and soft, almost as though the words didn't want to be spoken.

"My Lord?" Lucius knew that he was treading on dangerous ground, but he literally had no idea who Voldemort was referring to.

"For many years now Luciusss, I have not felt his presence. I had believed that he was either too far away to be a threat or, better yet, had died. Then, last night, the unwelcome intrusion was back. I don't have visions of him, as he is rumored to have of me, but I am still aware of his nagging existence. It appears that somehow that old fool has managed to find him and convinced him to return. I hadn't realized that Dumbledore was that desperate."

Lucius' mind swirled pulling together the clues that his master had given him. They all pointed to only one answer. "Potter."

"Yesssss, Potter." Voldemort's red eyes pierced into his servant. "Let'sss give him a house warming present. He'll soon wish he never crawled out of whatever rock he was hiding under."

Listening intently to his master's instructions, Malfoy couldn't help but wonder if Potter's sudden reappearance had anything to do with his son's timely disappearance. He hoped that it didn't, for Draco's sake.

* * *

Harry realized immediately why Draco had been so excited, Severus wasn't the only potions master in this school. Draco had always excelled in potions and shortly after graduation he had passed his masters examinations. The only thing preventing him from using the title of 'Potions Master' was the fact that Draco still had to serve a two year apprenticeship under a certified Potions Master for him to get his certification.

Currently, Harry was standing in the middle of a state of the art potions lab. Some of the items casually lying about were so rare, that Harry had only ever read about them in books. There were cauldrons of every shape, size and made out of various metals stacked on shelves along with other assorted potion paraphernalia and various old looking potion texts. To say that Draco was in heaven was an understatement.

Draco was so excited that one might think he was six and it was Christmas morning. Harry watched as the blonde stood in front of a huge chest that had over two hundred small drawers, recognizing it as a potion ingredient cabinet. Harry loved the look of innocent wonder on Dray's face as he started to painstakingly inspect each drawer's contents.

Pulling down one of the books from the shelf, Harry was startled to find that none other than Salazar Slytherin, himself, had written it. Looking closer at the titles and authors, Harry realized that the vast majority of the books had been authored by Slytherin or actually predated the Founder.

An excited squeal broke his train of thought. "Leo, do you have any idea how rare some of these ingredients are? Some of these plants have been thought to be extinct, and the manticore and griffin blood, well, you can't even buy these anymore. I don't care which black market you're dealing on."

"Then they fit right on in with these potions books, Dray. I have never heard of the majority of them.

Who knew they even existed?

Carefully, Draco closed the last drawer that he was looking at which contained several small phials of unicorn tears and moved along side of Harry. This sight of his lover, utterly captivated by the various potion books made Harry smile. "You know Dray; you're not going to be able to spend all of your time down here. Matthew and Evan will want to see you eventually, and I know that I'd miss you." Harry teased.

Draco lovingly caressed the spine of one of the books written by the Founder of his former house. "Give me until lunch time, luv. I just really want to spend some time figuring out what all is here."

"Anything for you love, but I want to have lunch with Nicole and the twins and then take them for a tour of the castle so that they can start to get a feel for the place," Harry said as he kissed Draco's temple. "I'll be upstairs, if you need anything." Draco just waved the Gryffindor out as he continued to imagine all the incredible things he would be able to do in the lab.

Closing the door to the potions lab behind him as he left, Harry glanced at the only other door on this bottom level. When Draco had brought him downstairs earlier, he had explained that he had tried to open the other door, but it had been locked. A simple 'alohomora' charm hadn't been successful either.

Harry studied the door, curious why the Guardians would put this room here and then deny them access to it. The door itself was wooden, but unlike the other doors in the apartment, this one had the school seal emblazoned on the dark wood. Figuring he had nothing to lose, Harry reached for the door.

As soon as Harry physically touched the door, it opened with a soft click. Silently the door swung open. Harry gasped, flashing back to the first time he had seen the contents of his personal vault at Gringotts. Inside, there were three huge mounds of gold coins and other artifacts made out of gold, and a smaller pile of brilliantly glittering gemstones. Harry tentatively stepped into the large room. Quickly taking stock of the rooms contents, Harry saw in one corner many old weapons stored on wooden racks, many of weapons appeared to be made of precious metals and adorned with precious stones and intricate carvings. On the other side of the room there appeared to be various trunks and boxes. 'Who knows what secrets they hold?' Harry thought as he came further into the room to get a better look.

Just before he reached the first set of trunks, the door slammed shut behind him.

Cautiously, Harry picked up the ancient parchment. As with the Book of Souls, the words on the parchment stated to appear as he held it.

Greetings True Heir,

Only someone with the blood of the Founders may enter this chamber. What you see before you represents the wealth of Hogwarts. Use it wisely and protect it well.

Godric Gryffindor, Salazar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff

Harry had no sooner finished reading the short message, than his forehead exploded in pain. Harry gasped and grabbed his head with both hands, dropping the message to the stone floor. He had forgotten how painful this connection with Voldemort could be. Thankfully, the pain only lasted a short time and after a minute or two, the pain had faded completely. Pulling himself together, Harry took one last look around the treasure room. Vowing to himself to guard Hogwarts and to return it back to the school that his ancestors intended it to be, Harry securely shut the door behind him and slowly made his way back up stairs.

* * *

As expected, they didn't see Draco all day. The blonde finally was able to tear himself away from the wonders of the potions room long enough to hunt down his family to go to dinner. This would be the first time that they would be making an appearance in the Great Hall for a meal since their unexpected arrival and it was important to Draco that they showed a unified front.

Following the unmistakable sounds of uncooperative children, Draco was lead into the common room. Not seeing anyone but definitely hearing them; Draco caught sight of a door where the stained glass window in the center had been previously. Inspecting it, Draco saw that the stained window depicting the Hogwarts School Shield was in fact a pair of French doors that lead outside onto a stone veranda. The large patio had a high stone wall that ran around the entire perimeter and stood no less than three feet high. 'At least we don't have to worry about one of the twins inadvertently falling off," Draco thought, although he knew that both boys appeared to be very coordinated and graceful.

The patio was quite extensive and had a pleasing view of the lake and forest. Many potted plants decorated the terrace, most of which were loaded with fragrant blooms. Walking over to inspect several of the rose bushes, Draco noticed settled way back in the corner of the patio, almost hidden from view, a statue of a dragon. The statue stood about seven feet tall and was made out of the same black marble that the much of the apartment had been decorated with. The dragon itself was beautiful, most dragon statues showed dragons either flying or standing proud and roaring. Not this one; this dragon was a sleep. His wings were folded along his majestic back and the dragon had a peaceful expression on his slumbering face. The statue's detail was impressive; every scale was carved beautifully. Overall, it was truly a piece of art. Tearing his eyes away from the dragon, Draco realized that his family hadn't noticed him yet. Harry and Nicole seemed to be otherwise occupied.

"Anyone hungry?" Draco said as a way of announcing his presence; as he watched in amusement as Harry and Nicole struggled to change Matthew and Evan out of their play clothing into a clean pair of pants and long sleeved shirts.

"Nice of you to finally show up, Dray. We were getting ready to leave without you," Harry said breathlessly as he once more tried to pin Matthew's tiny squirming body down, so that he could remove the stained t-shirt that still wore the remains of the toddler's lunch and some as of yet unidentified stains.

"No Daddy, no. I want to wear this shirt. No," Matthew cried as he attempted to avoid Harry's hands.

"Matty, that shirt is dirty. You know that we need to clean up so that we can go to the big room I showed you earlier for dinner. Please let me change your shirt," Harry pleaded with his son. After he had lunch in the dinning room in their apartment with Nicole and the boys, Harry had taken them on a tour of the castle. Harry had disguised himself as Emrys for the tour as he didn't want to attract any attention to himself, although quite a few people recognized the twins from their brief introduction the night before. Nicole, Matthew and Evan had been in awe of the mammoth castle. But where their eyes were alight with wonderment and delight, Harry's were sad and troubled at the changes he saw.

The classrooms where he learned so much more about life than he did about magic were gone; replaced with training rooms, conference rooms, or personal apartments. The hospital wing where Harry had spent so much time during his years at Hogwarts, that Madame Pomfrey actual did finally reserve a private bed for him sometime midway through his sixth year, was at least four times the size that it had once been. The quidditch pitch was now a training field. Harry knew that the modifications were necessary to help prepare them to fight in this everlasting war, but it didn't make them any easier to stomach.

The twins fell in love with the castle; much the same as Harry had done when he first saw its beautiful reflection in the Great Lake on his first trip ever into the welcoming presence of the home he had craved his entire life. However, now that he thought about it, Nicole seemed a little too interested in being shown the fastest route between the Founder's Hall and Sirius' chambers. Harry grinned to himself; he didn't know which party to feel sorrier for if the two of them should ever get involved. Sirius was attracted to Harry's young nanny, there was no doubt. It had been funny to watch the older man flirt with the women while he had visited them in California. But what had surprised Harry the most was watching Nicole flirt back. After Harry had firmly turned down any potential relationships with her, Nicole had gone out occasionally, but Harry had never seen her basking in a man's attentions the way she had with Sirius. 'Well, I'll just have to keep a close eye on the two of them, and see what happens.'

On his tour, Harry started to feel melancholy as the memories of the six and a half years spent within the stone walls became impossible to ignore. Passing the owlery, Harry couldn't help but wonder what had happened to his faithful pet, and friend, Hedwig. Not only did he not know what happened to his owl, but also he wanted to have his other belongings, that had been left in the Head Boy's room after his arrest, returned as well.

The twins loved both the astronomy tower, and, much to Harry's bewilderment, the potion dungeons. Snape for the most part was able to keep the dungeons largely unchanged; some additional dueling platforms had been erected in some old classrooms and the potions lab had been expanded some, but that was about it. Severus was his usual self, but Harry thought he wasn't too put out by their visit as he didn't say anything too nasty and he even managed to sneak Matthew and Evan each a chocolate frog as they were leaving. The evidence of which was still smeared all over the twin's t-shirts. Remembering what he was trying to do, Harry reached once more to try to remove Matthew's soiled shirt.

The biggest surprise of the day was finding Remus Lupin assisting Snape in the dungeon. At least that is what Harry assumed he had been doing. Still not entirely comfortable around Harry and his family, Remus introduced himself to Nicole and the boys and then tactfully retreated, to God-knows-where.

Draco rolled his eyes at Harry attempting to use logic on a two-year-old. He had only been around his boys for a little over a month, but even he knew that you couldn't use logic with a two-year-old, and certainly not a two-year-old that possessed Malfoy genes. Quickly determining what the root of the problem was, Draco pulled his mate off of their still struggling son.

"Hey Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Draco brushed a stray tear off of Matthew's face as the toddler calmed down.

"Daddy wants to take my shirt. This is my shirt. He can't have it." Matthew pulled his face into an exaggerated frown.

Draco saw that Matthew was wearing a dark green t-shirt that had a silver snake on the front, the snake's long body coiled up the shirt, over the shoulder and ended with the tail twisted in the middle of the back. It had been a great find, and Draco couldn't resist purchasing one for each of the boys on one of their shopping excursions as they were getting ready to move. The shirts had quickly become the twin's favorite, and left with a choice they would wear little else, much to Harry's dismay.

Nodding to Nicole to release an equally rumpled Evan, Draco knelt down and took both boys into his arms. Giving Harry a wink, Draco whispered into each of the boy's ears.

Harry watched in apprehension, as the boys were calmed and then started to smile. Whatever it was that Draco was telling them, seemed to do the trick, but he couldn't help wondering what in the hell Draco was whispering to them.

Draco had no trouble divesting the little boys of their favored shirts and changing the rest of their clothing. As they would be dining in the Great Hall, Draco insisted that the little ones wore matching navy robes over their muggle attire. Finally ready, the family departed; ready to face their first public outing as a family.

* * *

Draco itched to grab his wand and hex all those staring idiots. As expected, all conversation ceased when Draco, Harry, Nicole and the boys had opened the doors and stepped into the Hall. Most people were still in disbelief that Harry Potter had actually returned. Many of the tables were already occupied, but seeing them enter, Sirius directed the family over to an open space at the far end of the hall. As they walked across the large room, Harry couldn't help but shudder at the many eyes that fell on him, particularly the stares from a group of redheads and one brown haired witch that sat in the front of the table that had previously been the old Gryffindor table.

As soon as they were seated, the noise level started to rise once more. Although those occupying the neighboring tables were careful to keep their assumptions and speculations to whispers, others were not.

Sliding into the seat next to his Godson, Sirius inadvertently bumped into him. "Hey," Harry exclaimed annoyed that the arm that was currently filling Matthew's goblet with pumpkin juice was jostled.

"Sorry Harry." Sirius' tone denying that the older man was at all apologetic. "So how are my favorite little boys this evening?"

"Great, Uncle Siri," two high-pitched voices chirped. Sirius had asked the boys to call him Uncle Siri earlier, as being addressed as the formal Mister Black, just wouldn't do, at least for his Grand Godsons.

"So my dear lady, how was your tour of the castle is afternoon? If my dear Godson was in any way remiss in his duties, please feel free to call on me. I'll be more than happy to assist you with what ever it is you need." Sirius, who had picked up Nicole's hand from across the table, slowly raised it to his lips. Pressing a soft kiss on the back of her smooth hand, Sirius winked at the blushing young women before uttering. "Or desire."

Harry rolled his eyes at his Godfather's antics, "Sirius, knock it off, will you? At least put your plans for seduction on hold in front of my children, will you?"

Raising his eyebrow, Sirius turned to his Godson. "Like they've never seen two people flirt before, or dare I say, kiss even?" Sirius laughed when he saw both Harry's and Draco's faces start to turn a lovely shade of pink. "That's what I thought."

The remainder of dinner passed uneventfully, with the exception of Evan spitting his mashed potatoes at his brother. Both children were quickly subdued and separated by their parents before an all-out food fight could get started, and disaster was once more averted.

After he was finished eating, Harry slowly made his way towards the head table where Dumbledore sat, in his customary spot. Not sure if it was a symbol of his willingness to be cooperative or if it was just habit, Harry wanted to inform his former Headmaster about his earlier scar pain. The realization that his connection with Voldemort was still active hadn't digested yet, but Harry figured that it was worth mentioning to the Phoenix. After all, the sooner Voldemort was defeated, the sooner Harry and his family could get on with their lives.

* * *

Albus had been carefully watching the Potter family all evening, glad that Harry had decided to begin their integration back into the community. Knowing that the transition was going to be difficult, Dumbledore had requested at breakfast that everyone should act as normally as possible around Harry and his family, and that they should also try to refrain from asking any questions.

The twins were still a puzzle. Dumbledore could sense unusually high levels of power in each of them, which was not unexpected seeing as whom their father was. But, still there was something about their magic that seemed off. It was hard to tell; but while they had the potential to be quite powerful, they most likely wouldn't be more powerful than Harry was. Their magic signature surrounding them was easily identifiable with Harry's, but it also showed traces of another's magic as well. This fact led the Headmaster to the conclusion that their mother must have been a witch rather than a muggle. It was odd however that Harry seemed to evade the direct questions last night about the identity of the woman who had birthed his sons. Feeling as though he wasn't going to find the answer to that mystery tonight, Dumbledore returned his attention to the conversations flowing around him.

However, it seemed that Dumbledore's thoughts were similar to the discussions being held all around the hall. Theories ran rampant regarding the identity and whereabouts of Harry's adorable sons' other parent. Not only that there was a fair amount of whispers regarding the apparent closeness between Harry and his one time school rival, Draco Malfoy.

While the Order had not released the information that Draco had elected to stay with Harry at the conclusion of his last mission, his absence around the castle was hard to hide. Not only that, but everyone couldn't help but also gossip about Draco's unwavering support of Harry in the time following his arrest and even after his conviction. That relationship would require closer scrutiny, Dumbledore decided.

Relieved beyond measure that Harry would assist them in their fight, Dumbledore had taken the liberty that morning of speaking with Mister Ollivander about making Harry another wand. Dumbledore, of course, had been present when Minister Fudge had snapped Harry's first wand; the beautiful red and gold phoenix feather had fallen softly to the floor before it burst into flames. What had bothered the old man the most was the pain he had seen in the eyes of the owner of that wand when the crack of the wand breaking echoed through out the small room. What a terrible day that had been. If only he had listened to his heart, so much pain could have been avoided.

The Ollivanders, like many of the other residence of Diagon Alley, had moved to Hogwarts about two years ago when a violent attack on the Alley had destroyed almost every business there. Everything had fallen with the exception of Gringotts. Albus was doubtful that Gringotts would ever be breached although it was certainly too dangerous for anyone other than Death Eaters to even try to approach the place. The lack of funds had affected many wizarding families who had been forced to revert to bartering to obtain the goods that they needed. That all changed when Hogwarts opened their doors to the community.

The clearing of someone's throat behind him drew his attention. Turning, Dumbledore noticed that Harry had been able to approach him completely unnoticed. "Harry, what can I do for you?" Dumbledore inquired, not sure why Harry would approach him after his comments the night before. Harry's accusations, while certainly not unfounded, had hurt. However, Dumbledore was old enough to understand that on some level he deserved Harry's ire, and knew that for the greater good, he needed to swallow a bit of his pride and try to make peace with the one person that may very well be able to put an end to this horrible conflict.

The seriousness of the emerald eyes that held his own gave the old man a moment's pause before the dark-haired man answered.

"I understand that even after everything that has happened, the Order has decided that you should continue on as the Phoenix," Harry began quietly. "As it happens, I support that decision." Harry felt angry when he saw the flash of happiness that crossed his former mentor's face at his words. Before Dumbledore had the chance to respond, Harry continued. "Before you say anything, I want you to know that I meant it when I said that I will not come back to the Order. I will fight, but only on my terms, understood?"

Dumbledore heard the echo of the words Harry had spoken last night. At that time, the Phoenix had been hopeful that it was just the other man's emotions talking, but now, he understood that Harry was indeed serious.

"I understand, Harry."

Ignoring the disappointment in Dumbledore's voice, Harry went on with what he needed to say. "Good. Like I said to Lupin earlier today, I will never forgive you for what you have done to me, but I realize the necessity of us working together civilly. As such, I wanted to let you know that my scar hurt earlier."

Concerned, Dumbledore questioned the extent and frequency of Harry's continuing scar pain. Harry explained that this was first time that his scar had hurt him since he had gone to America, and while quite painful, it had only lasted for a moment or so. Satisfied with his explanation and after Dumbledore had extracted Harry's promise to inform him of any other occurrences, Harry turned to leave.

As he stepped away from the head table, a bird flew into the Hall. Knowing that it was late for any type of regular mail, Harry waited to see where the bird was headed. As it came closer Harry could tell that the bird looked to be a kind of falcon. It was beautiful, mostly black with just a little red on either of its wings and on its crown. However, the red on the bird appeared to match the same color as the envelope that it was carrying in his beak.

Not unfamiliar with the wizarding world's inspired way of chewing someone out long distance, Harry watched as the falcon come even closer, all the while wondering who was going to be the target of this particular howler.

'Too bad it's not for the Weasel,' crossed Harry's mind a moment before he realized that the falcon was indeed coming straight towards him. "Who the hell could I have pissed off already?" Harry muttered under his breath as the bird tentatively placed the steaming envelope into Harry's outstretched hands.

Before Harry had a chance to further question why he was on the receiving end of a howler, the envelope burst open. Screams soon filled the hall. Loud, terrified screams of at least two people being subject to things that no human should ever be subject to. Harry wasn't sure if the screams had been magnified or not but you could tell that whoever was making them was suffering unbearably.

Quickly looking over to where his family sat, he saw a shaking Nicole holding Evan and Sirius holding Matthew, trying to cover their ears, while tears ran down the children's pale faces. Not seeing Draco, Harry wasn't surprised when a pair of strong arms wrapped around him from behind, pulling him back against a strong chest. Harry was grateful for Draco's support when the screaming finally stopped and the begging began. Clearly, it was two people being tortured and then begging for their lives. Harry stiffened when he recognized the voices.

The begging only lasted a moment or two when a new male voice called out, "Avada Kedavra" and all was silent. The last thing to echo though out the still hall was a chuckle and then the taunting words, "Welcome home, Harry."

Pale and feeling sick to his stomach, Harry turned once more to the Phoenix. "Now you can add the Dursleys to your list of unnecessary deaths that you are responsible for." Without another word, Harry turned on his heel, gathered his stunned family and walked out of the Hall.

* * *

The stress of the day finally catching up to him, Harry sat down on the floor in front of one of the sofas. Taking off his shoes and socks and leaning back on the sofa, he closed his eyes and rested his head back against one of the soft overstuffed leather cushions. Somehow, he had gotten in the habit of taking off his shoes and socks when he was at home. Actually in California, he rarely wore anything but sandals, which were easy to kick off as he loved the feel of the sand or tile beneath his bare feet. Unfortunately, the cold stone floors that were Hogwarts were not designed for this type of lifestyle.

Feeling that his lover needed a moment to come to terms of the events that had transpired at dinner, Draco helped Nicole calm the boys down and then give the twins their baths and get them ready for bed. Giving into the twin's demands to play 'just a wittle longer' in the playroom, Draco left Nicole to watch over the boys as he made his way back down stairs.

Unsurprisingly, Harry was in the same position that he had been in when Draco had left him earlier. Not sure he wanted to intrude; the blonde sat quietly in the arm chair closest to the waterfall and waited for Harry to say something. He didn't have to wait long before he heard Harry's deep voice call out, "Hey Dray!"

Looking up Draco watched as Harry picked up one of his dirty socks that had been rolled into a sweaty ball off the floor and toss it to him, the sock arching high into the air. Not really sure what was going on, out of habit Draco closely watched the flying object and reached out to catch it.

Smack. Draco shook his head in disgust. He attention had been so focused on catching the sock that Harry had tossed to him that he hadn't seen Harry whip the sock's partner at him. The other dirty, smelly sock caught Draco squarely in the face. "What the hell?"

Not to be outdone, Draco picked up both offensive pieces of clothing and fired them right back at the laughing Gryffindor. However, unlike Harry, Draco didn't have the element of surprise on his side and Harry was able to successfully dodge the incoming missiles.

Finally getting him self under control although still chuckling, Harry called out, "That was just a little payback for this morning."

"Yeah, but my love, I hit you with a very clean stuffed animal, and you returned the favor with a stinky sweaty sock that you wore all day. I think that you owe me," Draco said half seriously, happy that Harry was able to let off some of his steam.

Standing up in one fluid graceful movement, Harry pulled Draco to him. "Maybe then, I'll just have to let you take advantage of me later," Harry said softly a moment before his lips descended and started to nibble on Draco's lower lip.

With a sigh, Draco ran his hands up and down the slightly shorter man's back, gently caressing the tense muscles as he opened his mouth and let Harry deepen the kiss.

Harry made a small noise of distress when Draco eventually ended their kiss. Draco shushed him. "Do you want to talk about what happened at dinner, Leo?"

"No, not really," Harry said softly, his lips still touching the blondes.

Pressing a chaste kiss on the corner of Harry's mouth, Draco leaned back so that he could see if Harry was, in fact, being truthful with him or not. "Are you sure?"

With a sigh, Harry flopped down on the sofa and ran a hand through his already messy hair. "Look, it's not as if I had any real feelings for them, at least not anymore. Yeah I'm sad that they suffered like that; no one deserves to die that way. But don't think that I'm going to take the blame for their deaths. Maybe at one point I would have, but not anymore. No, if anyone is to blame besides Voldemort, it's Dumbledore. He's the one that set up the elaborate subterfuge to hide me with them for all those years. He knew the risks when he placed me with them, not that he ever explained the danger to the Dursleys, I can guarantee you." Harry took a deep breath and blew it out. "It's sad Dray, but honestly I don't feel anymore towards their passing than I would anyone else."

Reaching over Draco took Harry's face in both of his hands, lightly caressing it before kissing him once more. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry, Leo."

"Yeah, me too."

"Come on luv, let's go up to bed. Let me make you forget that this happened, at least for awhile."

Needing to put this day behind him, and knowing that the best way to do that was in a certain silver-eyed man's arms; Harry stood up and followed Draco up the winding stairs that led to their bedroom.

22 Parties and Strife

The room was quiet, too quiet, as Harry entered the common area of his Godfather's apartment. Matthew and Evan huddled close to their daddy as they shuffled into the darkened room after Harry. "Where's Uncle Siri?" Matthew whispered, looking around the empty room.

"I don't know… Why don't you and Evan go on in and see if you can find him?" Harry suggested, trying unsuccessfully to hide the grin on his face. Harry had brought the twins to visit Sirius on the guise that Uncle Siri had some chocolate frogs for the boys, but it appeared that no one was currently at home.

Looking back at their daddy to make sure it was all right, the boys cautiously crept into the center of the room, chocolate frogs being as much of an obsession for them as it still is for their daddy. But before they could make it across the room to the hallway, which led to all the other rooms in the apartment, the lights flooded on and a loud shout of "SURPRISE!" caused both boys to jump and run back to where Harry was still standing in the doorway.

"I told you a surprise party wasn't at all the thing for a three-year-old birthday party," Harry gently reprimanded his partner. Draco had jumped out from behind the furniture along with Nicole, Sirius and a couple of small children that the boys had befriended in the three weeks or so that they had been living at Hogwarts. Severus was going to stop by later; he had refused to put himself in the undignified position of having to hide behind a sofa or chair, regardless of how fond he had grown of the boys.

Matthew and Evan let out a wild squeal as soon as the twins saw the familiar faces. Running from their hiding place behind their Harry's legs, the twins ran first to Nicole and then over to where Draco was standing.

"Happy Birthday, kiddos," Draco said with a big smile, overjoyed at the prospect of spending his sons' birthdays with them for the first time ever. Their eyes lit up when they realized that today was their birthday. Time didn't have much meaning for children as young as the boys, but they were at able to connect the concept of presents and cake and other goodies with their birthday.

"Yeah" they cheered loudly in unison. "Cake?" "Presents?" they asked their Father. They were so excited and were jumping around like Mexican jumping beans that Draco couldn't tell which one was asking which question. Apparently, it didn't matter, for in the next instant, a loud crack was heard and in front of the twins' eyes, a house elf delivered a mammoth sized birthday cake. The cake had two distinctive sections. One was shaped like a dog and was snuggled up against the other half of the cake that was made to resemble a bunny.

Harry inspected the cake. The house elves had done a marvelous job and had followed his instructions exactly. Each boy's respective half of the cake looked almost identical to their favorite stuffed animals and had the words Happy Birthday Matthew or Evan written in dark green or silver icing, respectively, along with three candles.

Noting that Severus had indeed decided to grace the group with his presence, Harry indicated for the elf to light the candles. Harry winced as his trained musical ear was assaulted by one of the worst renditions of 'Happy Birthday' he had ever been forced to witness. The twins, not realizing that the song was being sung for them, joined in at the top of their lungs, only to be out shouted by both Sirius and Draco, who had taken it upon themselves to see who could sing the loudest. 'They must be trying to make up for the last two birthdays that they missed by being extra enthusiastic,' Harry thought to himself. Unfortunately, it wasn't the only time during that twins' party that that thought crossed his mind.

* * *

Feeling stuffed and a little jittery from all the cake and ice-cream that he had consumed, Harry leaned back against Draco who was standing behind the shorter man, watching their sons open the small mountain of birthday presents. "This is really way too much, you know?" Harry whispered, as another joy filled shriek filled the air.

Draco had managed to purchase for the boys practically every wizarding toy appropriate for three-year olds, and even some that in Harry's mind were not quite so appropriate. Draco decided to ignore Harry for the moment as saw Matthew reach for yet another brightly wrapped package. "I thought we agreed to just get them the training brooms." Harry was starting to get annoyed, not too keen on being ignored.

Smirking at his mate, Draco tried to console the upset man. "Now Leo, while I did agree that the brooms would be the perfect gift for the boys, I never said that it was going to be their only gift."

Looking around the room in exasperation, "Well, now that you bought out the store, Dray, what's left for Christmas?" Harry replied sarcastically, secretly pleased that Draco had gone to all the trouble to select and order via owl post the huge pile of presents.

Raising one of his fine eyebrows that was so blonde it looked almost white, Draco smiled, "Well, we'll just have to worry about that in December then, won't we?"

Harry shook his head, knowing that he wasn't going to get anywhere with the Slytherin, and in all honesty, he didn't really blame him. It was Draco's way of trying to make up for the birthdays that he had been absent. "I admit the Monkeys in a Barrel are a blast, but don't you think they are a little too young for Wizarding Operation?" The Monkeys in a Barrel were similar to the muggle children's game but the monkeys were enchanted to act like real monkeys. The boys had torn open the box and there were currently monkeys running amok all over Sirius' apartment. The adults had long given up on trying to round them up, knowing that the enchantment was only temporarily and was automatically reapplied each time that the monkeys left the barrel.

Again, it looked like someone with a muggle upbringing had brought with them the ideas of the games they had enjoyed as a child when making the wizarding version of Operation. However, instead of the person's nose lighting up whenever someone touched the sides of the game while trying to delicately extract a small oddly shaped game piece with a pair of plastic tweezers; this one had the person shriek and twist in agony. It had scared poor Matthew so bad that he didn't want to open another present for over fifteen minutes.

Knowing that he was wrong, Draco still couldn't help but defend himself. "It's a good way for them to develop their small motor skills." Draco smirked. "Besides, I had one when I was their age."

"And we all know how you turned out," Harry said smugly.

Draco refused to take the bait and instead, returned his focus to their sons.

With a sigh, Harry snuggled back against the strong body behind him. It amazed him how much comfort he could derive from just touching the other man. The last few weeks had done nothing but strengthen their commitment to each other and to their family.

Watching his sons tear though their presents reminded Harry of his own birthday celebration that had occurred only a week ago. Naturally, it was more subdued with quite a few less gifts, but it was just what Harry had wanted. Draco had invited Sirius and Severus to have a quiet dinner with the family in the private dinning room in the Founders Hall. Draco, in trying to tease his Godfather, asked him to bring a date for the occasion. The joke was on Draco however, when Severus showed up with Remus on his arm. Sharing his birthday dinner with Remus wasn't as bad as it could have been. In the weeks since Harry had been at Hogwarts, he managed to treat most people civilly, albeit a little coldly.

Harry chuckled to himself as he remembered the expressions on Severus', Remus' and Sirius' faces when they first stepped into the Hall. He imaged that his face most likely had had the same dumbfounded expression as theirs had. After a quick tour, where as expected, Severus had to be forcibly dragged out of the potion chamber after he had abstracted a promise from Harry and Draco that he could return later to more fully inspect the room and its many wonders; the five men and Nicole, who had asked Sirius to be her date for the evening, settled into the dinning room for an elegant five course meal.

Draco had asked the house elves to prepare his favorites, and overall, the night had gone well. The one dark spot had been when Harry had opened a small gift that didn't have a card. Inside the small box was a high quality brass sneakoscope. It resembled the ones that Mad Eye Moody used to have. Only after removing the small object from the box, did Harry notice the small card attached to the sneakoscope.

Dear Harry,

We hope that you use this one as well as you used the last one. Happy Birthday.

Ron and Hermione

As soon as he saw the sneakoscope he had been immediately reminded of the first birthday present that he had ever received, excluding Hagrid's cake of course. It had been the summer before his third year when he had received presents from his two best friends. Ron's gift had been a cheap sneakoscope that he had picked up while on vacation with his parent's in Egypt, while Hermione had sent him a broom servicing kit. Sending him this now was no doubt an effort to remind Harry of how close the trio had once been.

How he had treasured those first gifts, they had meant the world to him at the time. It was funny actually how even when Dumbledore had finally returned to Harry his personal belongings that had been left at Hogwarts that he still felt deeply attached to those two things, even though he no longer felt anything for the people who had given them to him.

It was wonderful to get his old trunk back. For awhile after it was returned, Harry couldn't even bring himself to open it. The trunk merely set locked up against a wall in his and Draco's bedroom. Finally after Draco got sick of looking at it, did he force Harry to sit down and deal with its contents. Looking back, Harry was quite glad that Draco had made him face his past once again.

Sitting side by side on the floor of their bedroom, Harry and Draco painstakingly went through his school things, piece by piece. The books were added to the library. The old robes and clothing were thrown away. Item by item Harry would have a memory to share or a story to tell. The two young men passed the better part of a day that way, until the trunk was finally empty. Now the empty trunk was stored away somewhere out of sight and anything worth keeping was carefully put away. Harry was overjoyed to discover that his father's old cloak was still there in the trunk. He was sure that Dumbledore would have given it to someone else or that Ron would have taken it for himself. But neither of those two events had happened and now the cloak was back with its rightful owner.

Harry was grateful that Draco had understood and had helped him deal with things. Draco was the one that helped Harry understand that it was alright for him to still cherish the memories of his earlier school years and the friendships that he had then, while not liking the people that those childhood friends had eventually become. He could miss the Ron and Hermione that he had enjoyed so many adventures with, while not forgiving their adult selves for what they had eventually done to him.

The other item that Harry was ecstatic to have returned was his old broom. The Firebolt that Sirius had given him so long ago was still in great condition. Sure there were newer and faster models on the market now, but Harry was just happy to have his trusty old broom back, feeling like he was reunited with an old friend. Of course that didn't even compare to the feeling he had the first time he kicked off hard from the ground and flew up high into the sky above. Merlin, he had missed being able to fly. The closest he had gotten to being this free was when he was able to transform into his phoenix animagus form. Actually, Harry liked flying as a phoenix better than on a broom as he was able to have even greater control and freedom that way, but as phoenixes were highly unusual, his opportunities to fly that way where extremely limited. Since he had rediscovered the joys of flying, Draco and Harry would sneak out to fly as often as possible.

Harry's birthday had ended the best way possible, with just him and his lover together reaffirming their love and commitment to each other. Draco had taken him in his arms and gently made love to him again and again, for the better part of the night. At some point, they had ended up making love in the hot spring in their master bathroom, and that was a memory that would certainly stay with the dark haired man for a long time.

Peeking over Harry's shoulder, Draco saw the blush creep up his face. With a soft nip to his ear, Draco whispered, "What are you thinking about, because it sure isn't the story books that Nicole just gave the boys?"

Seeing Harry's blush deepen at being caught thinking whatever naughty thoughts he was currently entertaining in his head, made the blonde smile. "I'll tell you later," Harry whispered back, hoping that Draco would let the matter drop.

Squeezing Harry tightly around the waist, Draco pressed his lips against the raven-haired man's neck before using his tongue to make small circles on the sensitive skin there. "I've a better idea, how about if you show me later."

Harry had to bite his lip to prevent the groan that threatened to come forth at his mate's tender administrations. Leaning his head forward away from Draco's hot mouth, Harry managed to gasp, "Stop it, stop teasing."

"Hey, are you two alright over there?" Sirius yelled from across the room where the growing mound of crumpled wrapping paper was becoming dangerously high.

If possible, Harry's blushed even harder as their actions had attracted the attention of not only his Godfather, but of the other adults in the room.

* * *

Harry rolled over in bed so that he was lying on his back beside a certain sexy blonde. After the party, the young men had excused themselves and left Sirius and Nicole to get the twin's many presents settled into the newly expanded playroom.

"What are you thinking about now?" a sleepy and sated voice asked.

Running a hand down his lover's sweaty chest, Harry leaned down a pressed a soft kiss on the warm flesh. "I was just thinking about how happy I am." Harry was startled to realize just how true his words were. Sure, the transition back to Hogwarts and the people there had been difficult, but with the support of his family he was doing fine. His life had changed so much in the last few months, that if someone who knew him from before saw him now they wouldn't be able to recognize him, and that wasn't only attributed to his physical change in appearance. He was genuinely happy.

He had been overjoyed when the boys were born, but the completeness that filled him now was due to only one thing, one person. His happiness was directly related to his relationship with Draco. Never could he have imaged being as close to someone as he was to the blonde. To say they shared everything didn't seem to express how connected the two men really were.

It was depressing to witness exactly what Voldemort and his 'less than merry men' had done to this part of Europe. However, Harry just couldn't deny that he was where he belonged. Not sure if it was Europe, Scotland, the wizarding community in general or even Hogwarts, but there was something about being here that felt right.

Just thinking about the monster made Harry feel slightly nauseous. Since coming back to Hogwarts he had been experiencing occasional pain in his scar, just like he had during his school years here; just a nagging reminder of his regrettable connection with the Dark Lord. Apparently, the distance between them had been just too great while he had been living in the States for the connection to function.

Pushing down any thoughts of his own discomfort, Harry thought about his mate's bond to that beast. Draco never complained but Harry would see him wince occasionally and discretely rub the spot on his arm where the dark mark was located. Similar to his connection, now that they were in close proximity to Voldemort the ugly tattoo on Draco's arm would burn when he was being summoned. Of course, Draco never answered the summoning, but that still didn't prevent Harry from worrying about him.

Harry had even taken it upon himself to speak to Severus about whether anything could be done about the connection that Draco had to the Dark Lord via the mark, as Severus was intimately familiar with the subject matter. Harry was glad to learn that Draco had already spoken with his Godfather and that Severus had already developed a potion that while it couldn't break the bond, it would help reduce some of the pain that Draco felt when the mark burned.

Even knowing that had they stayed in California, they wouldn't have to deal with their connections to Voldemort, Harry was glad that they had come back to Scotland. Shaking his head slightly to rid himself of the dark thoughts, Harry let his gaze wander some more over the gorgeous man beside him.

Determined not to let the depressing thoughts ruin his good mood, Harry rolled over on top of his companion. "I love you," he said softly, his voice husky and deep with longing.

Draco caught his breath when he saw the flames burning once more in his mate's eyes, which now resembled the lush grass in the early spring when life was once more returning to the barren fields. Draco barely had time to whisper, "I love you too", before his lips were once more captured in an earth moving kiss.

"I want to make love to you."

Remembering the activities of yesterday afternoon, last night and then again once already that morning, he couldn't help but be a little surprised. "Again? I never knew that you were this frisky. I thought you would want to get up and spend some time this morning with the twins playing with their new toys from yesterday."

Not the least bit embarrassed, Harry reached down and nuzzled Draco's bare shoulder, pressing the proof his desire into Draco's muscular thigh. "Again, and again, and again…"

Seeing the lust in Harry's eyes, Draco managed to groan his approval before surrendering to the molten heat that soon overcame him. The boys would just have to wait a little longer.

* * *

Harry's scar had been bothering him on and off all day long. It was an annoyance more so than painful. The dark haired man ran a tired hand over his face as he tried to stifle a yawn. He was exhausted, a couple of days had pasted since the twin's birthday and Evan wasn't sleeping well. Evan had a nightmare last night, and Harry had been up with the child. It took over an hour and a half of cuddling before Evan fell back to sleep. This had become something of a routine since they had moved to Hogwarts, but his nightmares had steadily increased in frequency until he was having one almost every other night.

Harry was worried, but knew that there wasn't anything he could do to help Evan stop having nightmare but make him feel safe and secure. He and Draco had taken to spending breakfast and dinner with the boys, as well as playing with them for no less than two hours each day, no matter how much training or strategy sessions they were participating in.

In keeping with his word, Harry attended most Order meeting voluntarily, although he mostly just listened and rarely interjected an opinion. He also partook of the daily training sessions to catch up with any hexes curses, or spells that he may not have had the time to learn before. Careful to always use the wand that Dumbledore had given him to replace the one that had been snapped, Harry kept his wandless magic talents a secret. Furthermore, Harry never cast his spells at full strength, feeling that the more he kept to himself until needed the better. Harry smirked when he saw how impressed Dumbledore and the others were with how much magic he had been able to retain in the years since he was permitted to practice.

Other then those activities, his and Draco's daily schedule included some sort of physical activity, either flying or going to a run, spending time in their private library researching anything that could help them in this war, as well as practicing dueling in their private dueling chamber. Often, Sirius, Severus and Remus would join them there. Although when Remus accompanied Severus, Harry made sure he toned his abilities down a bit. Of anyone in the castle, Harry was pretty sure that Remus suspected something, even though he never acted differently or asked him about his abilities directly, on several occasions, Harry found the werewolf looking at him in a funny way.

Draco did make sure that he had plenty of time to experiment in the potions lab, many times with Snape's aid. Already they had been able to stronger and more potentate versions of many of the healing drafts that were currently in use in the medical ward.

Nicole spent a good part of her day with Matthew and Evan, but for a few hours in the afternoon or an occasional night when she would volunteer her services in the hospital wing. After a few heated arguments, she had managed to convince Harry that she needed to do more for the war effort than just being a baby sitter. She was a trained healer and she wanted to use those skills that were very much in demand.

Harry eventually consented when she pointed out that it was good for the boys to start making some friends of their own. Matthew and Evan had been very taken with the idea of playing with other kids their age, so now, every afternoon after lunch the boys would go to the daycare center to play for a few hours.

Still the center of attention whenever they left the Founder's Hall, Harry and Draco managed to ignore much of the attention directed their way, satisfied with the routine that they had found their lives in. However, as Harry looked around at what remained of their dinner, he thought to himself that routine wasn't always a good thing.

Draco, Nicole, Matthew, Evan and Harry had been sitting down enjoying a quiet evening meal in their private dining room when out of nowhere, with out the slightest provocation, Matthew simply picked up a fork full of peas and whipped them across the table. The peas which were slightly mushy hit Evan smack on the forehead. Before Harry could recover, Evan retaliated. He levitated his goblet of milk over to where his brother was seated and promptly dumped it over his head.

Both boys were now freely using wandless magic to banish various food items at each other. Harry winced as Draco tried to get in between the fighting boys and was rewarded with a boatload of chicken gravy splashed in his face. Now the Slytherin was mad, but instead of acting like the twenty some year old that he was he regressed back to his own childhood and smeared boiled potatoes in both boys' hair.

"I hope you realize that it's your turn to give them baths tonight," Harry shouted over the loud shrieks and screams.

Hearing his partner's remark, Draco stopped tossing cooked carrots at his sons and instead, changed his target for a much larger one. Nicole wisely took this opportunity to make a break for it before she could be caught in the crossfire.

Not happy with being hit in the face with a hand full of candied carrots, Harry picked up what remained of the applesauce. Draco saw the glint in Harry's eye and knew that he had gone to far. Throwing both his hands up over his head, he screeched out, "Not the hair, please not the hair", only moments before the applesauce was ceremoniously dumped over his blonde head.

Matthew and Evan had only paused for a moment, carefully watching their father to see what his response was going to be to the fragrant applesauce bath. The blonde man carefully wiped the chunky offensive substance off his face, before he stood up from the table and walked over to where Harry was still sitting. Looking his lover directly in the eye, Draco picked up the pitcher of pumpkin juice from the table and emptied the entire contents on Harry's lap.

Harry shrieked when the icy cold juice landed on his sensitive area. "Merlin, Dray, that's cold!"

Seeing their parents participating in the fight, the twins took to whipping anything that remained on the table at anyone in the room. No prisoners were taken and no mercy was given.

The sound of someone chucking could barely be heard over the din of the battle. "Excuse me." Seeing that no one had heard him, the person repeated himself, this time a little louder, "Excuse me."

Turning, Harry saw his Godfather standing in the doorway to the dinning room moments before being hit in the chest with what he hoped was chocolate pudding.

"I really hate to interrupt important family gatherings," Sirius chucked and then got serious looking at both Harry and Draco, "but your presence is requested in the Phoenix Chamber."

"Now?" Draco croaked as he tried to pick some of the drying applesauce out of his hair.

Not being able to look at the usually immaculately attired Slytherin without laughing, he managed, "Yes, now. Something's come up that we need to discuss." Sirius risked a peak at the blonde man as he was leaving. "Oh and by the way, you have something all over your face."

Harry took stock of the condition both he and Draco were in before raising his hand and casting a thorough cleaning charm, it didn't work nearly as well as a nice hot shower but it would have to do for now.

"Oh, my beautiful hair," moaned Draco, as he rubbed a hand over his blonde locks, which were no longer coated in applesauce but still felt sticky.

"Come on Dray, we'd better get up there and see what the old man wants now," Harry coaxed, knowing that there was a chance that Draco would refuse to go anywhere until he had a bath and a change of clothing.

"Fine." Draco pouted as he stomped out of the dining room.

With a yell to let Nicole know where they were going and to ask her to please clean up the boys, the two men made their way quickly to the Chamber.

* * *

Taking their customary seats in the back of the chamber, Harry and Draco waited for the meeting to start.

Harry had to cover his mouth to hide his smile when Ron Weasley upon entering the room looked around expectantly as if looking for something. It was hard not to burst out laughing when his wife asked him what he was doing and he said he was looking for the refreshments. When questioned why he thought that there would be refreshments served tonight when there seldom were, he replied, "don't you smell it? I know I smell apples?" Ron looked around, "Yes, I definitely smell apples, apples and I think it's chocolate. I wonder where they put it."

It seemed that somethings never changed, and that Ron's first and primary concern would always be his stomach. Harry had to kick Draco under the table to keep the sensitive blonde from hexing the man. Not sure how long he was going to be able to keep Draco away from the red head, Harry was grateful that they were some of the last people summoned to the meeting and they didn't have long to wait.

Seeing that all the seats in the Chamber were now filled, Albus stood. "Our sources have informed us that there will be an attack at a large muggle village somewhere in Yorkshire later this week. The attack could come as early as tomorrow."

Attacks hadn't been all that infrequent, as the Order had fought in a hand full of skirmishes since Harry's return, although Harry himself had not yet participated in one. "We do not have a lot of information, but what we do have suggests that this battle will be a rather large one, with Voldemort attacking such a visible target. There is even a rumor that Voldemort himself may be present for this battle."

"How reliable is this information?" someone off to the left of where they were sitting asked.

"Our sources are not as accurate as they once had been," Dumbledore paused as he looked directly at Draco before continuing. "But they feel that this information is true. Our source risked much to bring us even what little information that they could."

The Phoenix sat down as the discussion of the best approach to take regarding this new information got started. Harry tried hard to pay attention to the strategies being discussed, but found that it was hard to do under Dumbledore's penetrating stare. Ever since the old man had sat back down in his seat, he hadn't taken his eyes off of the raven-haired man, and Harry found it slightly unnerving.

Finally, the Order had decided on an approach. Three Order members would continuously act as lookout over the muggle village, watching for any sign of trouble. When they saw any indication that the attack was going to start, they would immediately inform the Phoenix via Fawkes. At that time, two of the six teams of warriors would apparate in to the village to fend off the attacking Death Eaters. Additional teams would stand by to be called if needed as back up. The plan, while certainly not the sexiest of battle strategies, appeared to be sound.

That having been decided, Albus once more called attention to himself. "I wonder Harry, do you plan on joining the Order in this endeavor?"

Knowing that even if there was only a remote chance that Voldemort was going to be there that he had to go, Harry nodded. "Yes, I will accompany the two teams that are sent in the initial wave," he stated calmly.

Harry caught Draco's eye and flinched at the determination he saw there. Harry knew immediately that Draco wanted to be involved in this altercation as well.

This situation strongly reminded him of his and Draco's first real fight that they had since they reconciled. A few days after they arrived at Hogwarts, Dumbledore approached Draco on one of the rare occasions when Harry wasn't with him, and discussed the possibility of Draco returning to Voldemort as a spy.

Harry was beyond furious when he had found out. Just thinking about it even now, weeks later was enough to make Harry's blood pressure rise.

Flashback

"Surely you're not considering going back to that mad man." Harry was exasperated that Draco would even entertain the thought of returning as a spy.

"Look Harry, you're not the only one who is needed in this war. I have a role to play too. And unfortunately, that role includes being close enough to that snake bastard that I can pick up on valuable information." Draco said defensively.

Harry's eyes grew wide. He couldn't believe they were actually having this conversation. "Draco, I have no doubt about your abilities, or the role that you've played in this damn war. But when you decided to stay with me and the boys in California, I thought you made the decision to leave your role as a Death Eater behind, and move on."

Draco was so angry that he didn't even look directly at Harry. "I did make that choice, and given the chance, I'd make the same choice again, but Harry, we're not in California anymore. We decided to come back and end this thing once and for all. And if I have the opportunity to help in that effort, then I think that it's only fair that I do everything in my power to bring this mess to a successful conclusion."

"So you've already made up your mind then, have you?" Harry sneered, clearly upset. "Why are you bothering to even ask my opinion, it clearly doesn't matter."

"Damn you, Harry. Do you think that you're the only one that has something to offer in this war? Are you sure you even want to spend your life with a worthless person such as myself? How can I even hope to compare to the Great Harry Potter, clearly I'm not the Boy Who Lived, but stupid me, I still thought that I had a useful part to play." Draco's voice cracked.

Not wanting to continue to fight with Draco, Harry put up both of his hands in a sign of surrender. "Dray, I'm sorry. I never meant that you were less than I was, or that the efforts that you've made during this damn war have been anything less than extraordinary. I know you. You never do anything unless you can give it everything that you have inside of yourself. It's one of the things that I love about you." Harry covered his face with both of his hands and rubbed his eyes. "But when I think of you going back to that monster. Kneeling down to him, kissing the hems of his robes, letting him curse you. Merlin, Draco, I just can't do it. I'm sorry. But this isn't about what I think you're capable of, it's about me."

Moving his hands from his face, Harry raised his troubled eyes, to Draco's. Piercing forest green met the turbulent swirling gray that looked almost like the ocean waves after a strong storm had just passed. "Every time that mark on your arm would burn and you were summoned; every time I would have to kiss you goodbye and see you leave me knowing that it could be the last time that I could ever see you, I would die a little."

Anger fading in light of Harry's emotional pain, Draco pulled the shorter man to him. Holding on to him as tightly as he could, Draco whispered into his ear, "What do you think will happen to me every time you go off to fight?" Draco knew what Harry's destiny was, hell, he was party to convincing him to return to help defeat Voldemort. But deep down, he was worried. What if Harry wasn't strong enough? What if Voldemort managed to kill his love? How on earth would he ever be able to tell their children that their daddy wasn't coming home to them, and that it was partly his fault for allowing the Order to find Harry in the first place? Draco knew that if something happened to Harry, that he wouldn't want to live anymore, and it seemed that Harry felt the same way.

It had been over a month and a half since he had responded to one of the Dark Lord's summonings. Even if he wasn't immediately suspected and questioned as a spy, he knew that Voldemort wouldn't let him go without a few well-placed curses. It was highly unlikely that Voldemort would trust him anytime soon, as this was the second time that he had vanished for a length of time without any legitimate reason. Taking into account the high risk of discovery, as well as Harry's feelings on the subject, Draco decided that it was too dangerous at this time to return to his former Lord.

End Flashback

"I will be going with him," came the strong voice beside him. Knowing that he didn't have the right to ask Draco to stay safe when he was taking the same risks himself, Harry merely nodded his head in agreement. Whatever they would have to face, they would do it together. Slowly rubbing the back of Draco's hand with his thumb, Harry offered up a silent prayer that whoever looked out over them would make sure that his family came out of this war alright.

23 The First Encounter

The plan had worked, but by the time the Order and Harry and Draco had arrived, the Death Eaters had already destroyed several muggle homes and were systematically working their way down the street almost as though they were a swarm of locusts, consuming everything in their path. The attack had come only two days after the Phoenix had informed the Order members of its possibility.

Harry stood back for a moment, assessing the situation before taking any action. The red and blue robes of the Order members and Aurors were already engaging the dark black that the death eaters wore.

"What's wrong, Leo?" Draco was surprised to see Harry still standing here watching the battle rather than participating.

"I just don't get it, Dray. Why attack this village, why now? It just doesn't make sense to me." Harry was scanning the mass to see if there was any sign of Voldemort, but seeing as his scar wasn't even twitching, he guessed that the Dark Lord hadn't made an appearance, at least not yet.

"Harry, you are assuming Voldemort uses logic, don't make that mistake. Believe me, I've spent enough time listening to that sick fuck to realize that most things he does have no greater purpose than for his own perverted pleasure. He ordered this attack, for no other reason than merely because he could. And if he manages to kill off some of the resistance at the same time, so much the better." Harry was a little taken aback by Draco's almost cavalier attitude.

"Well as much as I'd hate to deprive anyone their happiness, let's see about making sure that doesn't happen."

* * *

Draco had lost Harry sometime during the fight. You would think that with these tacky purple robes Harry insisted that they wear it would be hard to lose sight of each other, but somehow they had managed it. Part of the reasoning behind Harry's decision to have these purple eyesores custom-made was so that they would be able to identify each other easily. Knowing that they couldn't possibly wear black in battle, as they would most likely be mistaken for Death Eaters, and Harry refused to wear red like the Order did or blue as that is what the Auror's wore, he came up with these purple ones. In all honesty, they really weren't as bad as Draco liked to make them out to be. He just liked to rattle Harry's cage a bit. The hooded robes were a deep dark plum color and made out of a heavy material that surprisingly didn't seem to hinder the wearer's movements. The robes themselves were unadorned, except for some silver trim around the hem, collar, and cuffs.

Draco quickly wiped some sweat out of his eyes with the back of his hand as he stunned yet another Death Eater. That made at least four that he had taken out. The battle had been going on for about fifteen minutes so far with neither side gaining much ground. On the positive side, the Death Eaters' attention had been diverted from the villagers and was now solely focused on the freedom fighters.

Both Harry and Draco were careful to keep their hoods up covering their hair and the majority of their faces, not only for protection but also to keep their identities a secret as long as possible. Clearly, Voldemort knew that Harry was back in town, so to speak, and Draco felt that once Harry was identified, the purple robe would become a hindrance, as they both would be easy to pick out, as they were the only ones wearing them. But until that time, Draco decided it was just easier to give in to Harry's wishes. Besides, who would have ever thought that Draco would wear purple.

Hearing a sharp cry coming from somewhere off to his left, Draco turned. Six Death Eaters had managed to surround one of the Order members and were now torturing the poor soul with what looked like the Cruciatus curse. Draco was to far away to be of any assistance, so he started to move quickly in that direction. Before he managed to go more than 15 feet, he watched in amazement as a strong voice shouted out, "Expelliarmus!" and four of the Death Eaters flew back away from the man that they had just been tormenting. As much as he hated the Death Eaters, Draco winced at the loud crack that resounded in the air as one of them had hit a brick wall behind him so hard that his head left an indentation.

The power behind that spell was unimaginable. Draco, who was often in the presence of both his father and the Dark Lord, two of the strongest wizards in the world, had never seen a spell cast with near the force that that one had been. The spell actually left a slight odor in the air, almost like a whiff of a piece of burnt toast.

"Stupify," one of the remaining Death Eaters had recovered enough to try to stun their attacker.

Draco looked in the direction that the Death Eater was aiming his spell, trying to see who had cast that powerful disarming charm. Draco only raised an eyebrow, not really surprised when his gaze fell on a figure clad almost identical to himself.

* * *

Harry was stunned. This was the first time in his life that he was actually experiencing the sights, sounds and smells of a battle first hand. It took him a moment or so to realize that he wasn't experiencing this via some dream or vision; that this was real and he was actually here. Finally, all the times that he had wanted with all his might to do something about the terrible visions that he had been having came to light. This was his chance, his opportunity to make a difference.

Careful to use his wand, so as to not give away his wandless abilities, Harry made quick work of his first three opponents. Suddenly he heard someone call out a spell, one that he didn't recognize. Before he had the chance to move, he instinctively erected a protective shield around himself wandlessly. The spell hit his protection and ricocheted off into a different direction, finally hitting yet another Death Eater square in the face. The injured Death Eater shrieked in terrible pain and fright and he grabbed at his face with both of his hands, falling to his knees.

Harry gagged when he saw what the spell had done, it was some sort of acid spell and the spell was slowly eating away at the Death Eaters flesh. Harry muttered a quick "finite incantatem" at the Death Eater who was writhing in pain while at the same time, casting yet another stunning spell at the foe who had originally tried to hex him. After he made sure that the Death Eater had been successfully stunned, Harry once more faced the man who had taken the curse that had been meant for him. The man was blissfully unconscious. Knowing that there wasn't anything else that could be done for him at this time, Harry cast a full body bind on the man and strode off in search of yet more opponents.

Harry hadn't gone far when he heard someone's scream of pure agony. There was only one curse that Harry knew of that made someone scream like that one did, and unfortunately for Harry he was intimately familiar with that particular dark spell. How he hated that spell. Harry felt his adrenaline pumping as he knew that he had to stop that spell from continuing even a second longer.

Running to where he thought the screaming had come from, Harry saw one man in red robes on the ground surrounded and being tortured by a group of Death Eaters. Without stopping, Harry pulled out his wand and in mid-stride and cast the disarming charm at the circle around the Order member.

His attention focused on the still form of the Order member lying face down in the dirt, Harry didn't even realize that his spell had managed to incapacitate four of the Death Eaters. Feeling a tickling sensation in the air around him, Harry was startled away from his goal. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw one of the remaining Death Eaters cast a stunning charm at him. Easily dodging the spell, Harry returned the Death Eaters spell with one of his own, this one meeting its intended mark.

Harry scanned for the Death Eater that was still unaccounted for. Harry smiled as he watched Draco disarmed the last man from that group, and then cast another spell that bound the man tightly with ropes that he had conjured. That particular Death Eater wasn't going to be going anywhere in the foreseeable future.

Sparing one more quick look at the unconscious Order member, Harry pressed his lips softly against Draco's once before whispering, "Take care of him." Then without another word, Harry raced off once more to see what additional assistance he could provide.

Slightly disgruntled at being left with the injured Order member, Draco knelt down next to the fallen form. Slowly, he rolled the man over onto his back so that he could assess how seriously injured he actually was. The Order member's hood came loose as he was rolling and slid partway down the man's head, strands of shockingly red hair escaping its confines. Draco wasn't even shocked when the pale face was revealed to him. "What the hell were you trying to do Fred, kill yourself?"

* * *

The battle over, Draco found himself wrapped protectively in Harry's strong arms. It felt so good to be here, surrounded by his mate's love and concern. Harry's arms started to slowly run down his back and the up again along his sides, almost as though making sure Draco was in one piece, that he hadn't been injured.

A burst of energy exploded from somewhere deep within the blonde man followed by a warm calming feeling that flowed throughout his entire body, saturating each and every pore. Draco pulled sharply away from Harry's embrace as he recognized what he was feeling from that time once long ago when Harry had healed him after the battle at the Ministry of Magic over three years ago.

"Harry, stop that. You're exhausted; you look like you're about to fall over. Besides, there are others here that are hurt much worse than myself. If you feel like you have to heal someone, heal them."

Draco wasn't really angry with Harry; he was worried. Harry truly did look like he was on the verge of collapsing; and no wonder why. Even now, only moments after the Death Eaters who were physically able to disapparated away from the village, stories about Harry's performance during the battle were starting to spread. Draco truly hoped that some of the snippets of conversations that he overheard were exaggerations, but looking at Harry's drawn pale face, he doubted that they were. Exclamations such as "unstoppable", "amazing", and "I never would have believed it had I not seen it for myself", were common. 'Well, Harry had certainly revealed some of his true strength today' Draco thought as Harry leaned up against him for support.

"Come on Leo, let's get you home before you pass out." Draco barely got the words out before the weight on his side got exponentially heavier. Seeing that he was too late and Harry had already passed out, Draco took the portkey that they had made for their return trip out of his pocket. Holding onto Harry tightly, Draco activated the device that was going to take them home.

* * *

A lone Death Eater stood off to the side, watching. He gritted his teeth imagining the reception they would get when they reported this defeat to Lord Voldemort. The Dark Lord was not going to be happy with this performance. There were at least twenty-three Death Eaters that had been stunned or otherwise incapacitated, and at least that many if not more had been injured. So far Lucius hadn't seen any fatalities, but then again, for all he knew there could be.

The Death Eaters had only managed to injure a small handful of villagers before the resistance had arrived, and had not killed anyone. It appeared that the resistance had gained some reinforcements and that these new fighters had certainly made a discernable difference in this battle. 'That won't always be the case,' Lucius sneered to himself as he squinted at an unfamiliar wizard wearing a purple cloak.

Just then the wind picked up causing the wizard's hood to shift slightly. Lucius sucked in his breath as he caught a glimpse of the wizard's tell tale hair. He would recognize that hair color anywhere as he was intimately familiar with it, seeing as how he saw it every time he looked into a mirror.

'What the hell was Draco doing here and why in Salazar's name is he wearing that hideous purple cloak for?' Lucius was dumbfounded as he started to comprehend his own son's betrayal. Lucius' thoughts continued to race. 'If Draco was one of the wizards in the different colored cloaks, then who the hell was the other?' Before the thought had completely crossed the blonde wizard's mind, a sneaky suspicion rose as to exactly who that other person was. Promising him self that his son would pay dearly for his double cross, Lucius turned his back on the last remnants of the battle, knowing that he had a lot to ponder before he appeared before his Lord.

* * *

Harry groaned softly as he tried to move. His arms however didn't seem to want to respond. 'Merlin, I can't remember when I've felt this tired before.' Gathering enough strength, Harry slowly opened his eyes. He was glad to see that he was back in his own soft bed in the Founder's Hall, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember how he had gotten there.

Turning his head partway to the side, Harry was relieved to see Draco's slumbering form snuggled up next to him. Ignoring his protesting muscles, Harry leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss on the blonde's temple. Pushing the haunting memory of the battle from his mind, Harry moved back into his lover's embrace as sleep quickly overtook him once more.

* * *

Hermione wouldn't have seen him if she didn't know exactly where to look. But years of friendship and of knowing many of the boy's secrets made sure that she knew exactly where he might go if he wanted to hide and get away from it all. During school, this was Harry's secret place where he would go when he needed to be alone. He didn't know that Hermione knew about his special hiding place; but one day during their sixth year, she had gotten tired of him just disappearing for short periods of time and had followed him. Seeing her friend sitting alone with all the pain that he usually kept tucked away behind his usual mask exposed and open, made Hermione realize how private a person Harry really was. Not wanting to disturb him further, she had left him alone, never telling him that she knew where he went on those occasions when he would try to slip out of the common room unnoticed.

After spending a full day and a half in bed recovering at Draco's insistence, Harry had managed to duck his shadow and escape for some much needed solitude. He knew that Draco would be pissed when he got back, but he was feeling a little overwhelmed with everything that had happened recently and wanted some time alone to deal with things. Trapped in the confines of his own whirling thoughts, Harry didn't hear anyone approach him until a soft voice came from somewhere directly behind him. "I thought you might be here."

Harry stiffened, recognizing Hermione's voice; it really hadn't changed since their years here together. Pushing off from the wall where he had been crouched in the small nook on the window ledge of one of the few remaining abandoned rooms at the top of the South Tower, Harry straightened his tall form. Idly rubbing his back from where it had been in an awkward position for so long, the raven-haired man made to exit the room with out ever saying a word to the unwanted intruder.

"Harry wait, please don't go." Hermione reached out towards him.

Stopping only to remove the hand on his arm that was trying to prevent him from leaving, Harry turned to look into the pain-filled brown eyes of a person who had once been one of the two people closest to him in all the world. "What do you want?" Harry asked tiredly, not wanting to call her either Weasley or Hermione so he didn't bother to call her anything.

Removing her hand from his arm as though she had touched a hot iron, Hermione bit her lip. Ever the brave and confident Gryffindor, now that she was actually alone face to face with Harry for the first time in over five years, Hermione wasn't sure what to say to him. Oh, she knew in her mind how she wanted this conversation to go, having played it over and over again using many different scenarios since the day that Dumbledore had told them that Harry hadn't killed Ginny and Colin. Each scenario, regardless of the exact words that were spoken or the atmosphere that they were spoken in, always ended the same way, with Harry forgiving her. But somehow now, facing the man that she had so terribly and irrevocably harmed, she somehow doubted that forgiveness was going to be granted that day.

"Harry, please I only want a moment of your time." Hermione couldn't prevent her voice from shaking slightly. "I…I…need to speak with you, please," she pleaded afraid that he would once more turn away from her.

Harry reached up and ran a hand through his mussed hair, as he was in the habit of doing when nervous or uncertain about something. Hermione was the one person that he had not really dealt with since his return to Hogwarts. She was at the Order meetings, but her role was primarily related to research and strategy and she didn't participate in either the physical training sessions or the actual battles. Harry got gotten pretty good at avoiding her completely, hoping that if he ignored her long enough that she would just go away and leave him in peace. However, he should have known better, Hermione was much too persistent to let go when something was important to her and for whatever reason, apparently this conversation was important.

When they were back in school one night a bunch of their classmates had sat up late into the night speculating what form their animagus transformation would take, if they were fortunate enough to become an animagus. It had been an almost unanimous decision that Hermione would have been an owl due primarily by her intelligence and book smarts. But Harry had been the one dissenter, believing instead that Hermione would have been a bulldog, known for their tenacity and unwillingness to give up. Harry reasoned that there had to be a reason that the sorting hat had put the girl in Gryffindor as opposed to Ravenclaw. It had been a long-standing joke throughout the tower.

Nodding his assent, Harry sat back down on the windowsill and motioned for Hermione to join him.

"First of all Harry, I wanted to thank you for saving Fred's life. If it wasn't for you, he'd probably be insane or dead right now, and the family couldn't have handled losing him, not so soon after losing George." She shook her head when it looked like Harry was going to stop her. She remembered how Harry always hated to be thanked for something that he felt anyone would have done had they been in his position.

Hermione swallowed, her mouth suddenly very dry, before she continued. "Look Harry, I've been meaning to talk to you for a while now, but it has been difficult to find sometime when you were alone. It seemed like you had been avoiding me…not that I'd blame you if you were." Hermione quickly added the last bit when Harry raised his eyebrows at her accusation.

"This is really hard, so I would just appreciate it if you let me talk without interruptions, and then when I'm finished you may say whatever you'd like. Okay?"

Again Harry nodded, not sure he trusted himself to open his mouth; sure that something sarcastic and harsh would come out.

Hermione offered him a small smile, then the smile faded as quickly as it came and her eyes teared up. "Oh God Harry, I'm so very sorry. I can't even image what horrors you went through, and I know that sorry is so very inadequate." She was twisting her hands so hard that Harry was afraid that she might dislocate her fingers. "I don't blame you for not forgiving Ron or I for the parts that we played back in seventh year and you are right. We should have known better. We should have had more faith in the person who we loved like a brother. We should have trusted what our instincts were shouting at us. But Harry, we didn't. And because we didn't, a person who meant the world to us had to suffer more than any person should ever have to." Hermione was crying so hard by this point that it was difficult to understand her.

"I just needed to tell you that I really did love you, you know. You were my strength, my support system, the one person that I could count on to help me pull my nose out of a book and focus on the world around me." She paused to wipe at the tears that were freely running down her face.

The whole time that Hermione was talking, Harry was trying desperately to remind himself that this wasn't the same girl that had helped him thorough countless History of Magic and Potions classes. That she wasn't the same friend that had believed in him in second year when the school thought that he had been the Heir of Slytherin and responsible for the attacks; and, again in fourth year when no one else would believe that he hadn't willingly put his name in the Goblet of Fire, she had been there. This person sitting here so close to him wasn't the same one that had work tirelessly to help him learn the summoning charm and so many other spells and curses during his first six years at Hogwarts. Harry was in an emotional turmoil. Every instinct in him called out for him to reach out to this suffering soul and ease her misery. But he just couldn't do it. He just couldn't forgive her for not standing by him at that one critical juncture that had turned his life upside down.

"Ron and I don't deserve to have someone like you in our lives, Harry. It's amazing how even after everything that you've been through; you are still so good, so pure." Her tears had started to slow down a bit.

"At first, I couldn't believe that you had actually come back here to fight in this God awful mess, but then I had always underestimated you, haven't I? You are the only person that I know that consistently puts the wants and needs of others before his own, present company included. And that is something to be so very proud of." Hermione took a deep breath. "I'm proud of you, Harry. You have done wonders with your life. You have two beautiful and amazing children and people in your life that truly love you." Hermione's thoughts turned briefly to his obvious relationship with Draco Malfoy. At first the fact that the two men were lovers and companions was hard to accept. Not because they were both men, but because this was Malfoy they were talking about. The same Draco Malfoy who had consistently went out of his way to make the Gryffindor Trio's lives miserable. But seeing them together these past months, made Hermione realize that there was much more to Draco than they had ever realized. He was just another person that they had misjudged. It was very apparent that Draco and Harry shared a love that few people are ever fortunate enough to witness let alone participate in. It was equally clear that Draco loved Harry's children to distraction as well. It was commonly accepted through out the castle to think about Harry, Draco and the twins as a singular family unit.

Knowing all this Hermione raised her eyes and stared beseechingly at Harry. "I know that you will never forgive me for what I did to you. I ruined our friendship and could have ruined your life. I don't deserve your forgiveness, but I just wanted you to know that I am so terribly sorry and that I still care for you very deeply."

Almost like the air coming out of a balloon, Hermione seemed to deflate right before Harry's eyes when she finished her speech. With all the other shit on his mind right now, he really didn't want to have to deal with this tonight as well, but now there was no getting around it. Leaning back against the stone wall and crossing his arms defensively, Harry put as much distance between him and her as he could. Making a decision, Harry addressed the distraught women.

"I loved you too. Besides Sirius, you and Ron were the only ones that I considered family." Harry studied the stone window casing as he tried to convey what he was feeling all those years ago. "I will never be able to get over what it felt like when I realized that both you and Ron thought that I was capable of doing such despicable acts towards two people that I considered to be close and personal friends. Hell, Ginny was almost like a little sister to me. You are right Hermione; I will never be able to forgive you. You nearly destroyed me."

Harry heard a soft sob at his confirmation of her previous statement. "If someone else had gotten into the type of trouble that I had, the first person that they would have turned to for help would be their parents, their family. But you see my parents had already given their lives for me and for everyone else in this God forsaken community. I was an orphan; I had no family to speak of. There was no one that I could turn to for help. Hell, Sirius was still on the run from the Ministry when I was arrested."

"I could have forgiven you for how you treated me in the Great Hall. We were all in a state of shock, but later I would have expected you to see things for what they truly were, but you never did. You and Ron were my family, and you deserted me when I needed you the most."

"We'll never be what we were to each other; I just can't let myself get that close to you again. It hurt entirely too much the first time and I have too much going in my life right now to set myself up to take another emotional fall like that. I won't avoid you, and I will be civil to you, but that is all I can offer right now." Not wanting her to cry anymore, Harry felt the need to keep talking. "I am hopeful that someday, maybe we'll be able to sit back and reminisce about the good times like the old friends that we used be, but I just can't be that friend to you now."

Having said all that he felt needed to be said, Harry stood up once more to leave. As he got to the door, Hermione asked one last question. "Back in seventh year, why didn't you ever tell us about finding the Book of Soulsand about your mother being Molly's and Tom Riddle's daughter?"

Turning, Harry took in the crumpled figure still sitting on the windowsill. "I don't really know. I guess it was partly because it was such a terrible secret that I needed a lot of time to process it myself. I also didn't want anymore attention than I already had, and knew that if it leaked out that Voldemort was my Grandfather that the publicity would be terrible, not to mention that I didn't want Voldemort to find out about our relationship. I would have told you eventually, but I wasn't ready by the time that I was arrested. However, it did make me happy when I realized that Molly was my grandmother. Up until my arrest, she had always been my surrogate mother, so it was nice to find out that she was truly a mother to me of sorts. I just needed some time to work through my own feelings about the matter before coming out about it."

Hermione looked up at the strong man and saw how vulnerable he had been as a seventeen-year-old; some of that vulnerability was still in evidence today. The words 'I was an orphan' had hit her hard. All the time that they had been friends, she had never pictured Harry as an orphan. Sure everyone knew that his parents had been killed, but somehow the reality of that just never seemed real. Maybe it was because everyone always thought of Harry being so strong, almost larger than life. No one wanted to picture their hero as a lost lonely scared little boy with no parents.

"Please excuse me, but I've been gone for awhile now and my family is sure to be worried." Sparing the young women only one more brief glance, Harry turned and walked out of the room.

* * *

Draco sadly watched Harry run around the school grounds from their apartment balcony. To most observers, it would just appear as though Harry was out exercising, but Draco knew better. Harry was doing more than working on his physical fitness; he was escaping. Harry ran as though the demons from hell itself were chasing him. It seemed that the battle had made things even more real for Harry, and the Founder's heir once more felt the full weight of the world rest once more on his slender shoulders.

Faster and faster, he ran until he physically couldn't push himself to move any faster. Just when Draco thought that Harry would have to slow down, he was once more surprised when Harry gradually began to change. Then in mid-stride, two feet moving over the long soft grass became four.

Draco had never before seen Harry's third animagus form, although he had suspected that he had one and what form it was. The clues had been there in the painting that Harry had hanging over his bed back in California. The dark, black form of a large powerful cat if anything increased its speed, and soon all that Draco could see was a small speck where as the sleek animal ran out of his field of vision.

Draco was worried. It had taken Harry a long time to recover his strength after the battle. Even now, over a week later, Harry's face still sported dark circles under his eyes.

It could partly be due to the fact that his body just wasn't used to expending that much energy, but Draco wasn't satisfied that Harry's exhaustion was just attributable to that. Evan was still getting up occasionally during the night having nightmares and Harry always got up and comforted his son, even when Draco insisted that he would take care of Evan. But even on the nights, when Draco was sure that Harry had gotten a full night's sleep, he still woke up tired the evidence of which showed prominently on his face. There had to be something else going on there, but Draco was at a loss as to what it could possibly be.

Since the battle, Harry was pushing himself even harder. He would train for hours on end with little or no breaks. Almost as though he was determined to force his body to be able to accommodate the large outpouring of magic that would ultimately need to be expended in future encounters with Death Eaters. His dueling had become so fierce that Draco and Severus were the only ones that ever volunteered to spare with him, as everyone else always ended up battered and bruised. His body, that had previously been in great shape, had somehow become even more defined and slightly more muscular.

A soft hand on his arm alerted him to Nicole's presence. She must have been watching Harry as well. "He just doesn't get it, does he?" she asked quietly.

It was on the tip of Draco's tongue to ask what specifically Nicole thought that Harry didn't get, as Draco knew that there were many things that the stubborn man refused to acknowledge. Feeling it was safer to just shrug, Draco returned to staring at the point where he had last seen Harry.

"He doesn't understand how much he means to everyone," she continued.

Draco wasn't the least bit shocked at Nicole's perceptiveness. She was a very bright witch and it really didn't take long to see how the people at Hogwarts treated Harry. Harry was the center of attention immediately upon his entrance into a room, regardless of who else was there or what else was happening at the time. In meetings or discussions, Harry rarely offered his opinions, but when he did, his suggestions or comments were treated as if they were worth gold. People deferred to him in all things. Not that Harry ever cared or wanted the attention.

Harry never even noticed how all the faces of the children would light up just at seeing him even at the day care when they would go to pick up the twins after their play session was over. Harry very simply had an amazing affect on people. It was just too bad that he didn't see all this for himself. The man was entirely too critical of himself, placing unreasonable expectations on himself that no one would be able to met.

Draco sighed despondently knowing that Harry wouldn't return until he had been able to excise the demons that haunted him, at least on a temporary basis.

* * *

A few days later, Harry and Draco went to pick up the twins from their afternoon play session at the daycare. However when they got there, they saw a very frazzled daycare witch standing next to Evan, who was crying softly and sporting a bloodied lip.

Harry didn't even have time to properly assess the situation, before Draco started spouting off. "What the hell happened here?' the blonde man demanded angrily, stooping down to take a closer examination of Evan's lip.

"Mister Malfoy, please watch your language, you are in a day care center for small children," the day care matron reprimanded.

Draco sneered at the older women. "You haven't even begun to hear the extent of my language; now I suggest you do something useful and start explaining why Evan is standing here bleeding."

Giving Draco a disapproving look, the matron began her explanation. "Evan got into an altercation with another one of the students. Evan punched the other child in the eye first and she retaliated by punching Evan in the mouth."

Harry reached down and picked Evan up, not caring about the blood that he was getting on his robes. As soon as the small body was snuggled up to his own and Evan's cries had been reduced to whimpers, Harry asked him why he had gotten into the fight.

"She was a mean girl, Daddy."

"Who hit you Evan?" Draco soft voice masked his anger that someone had hurt his son. Harry shook his head warningly at the Slytherin, letting him know that losing control now would not be appropriate. Actually, Harry was trying to restrain himself from laughing at Draco. He was so overreacting. Evan wasn't really hurt, and from what the day care worker said, he had actually been the one that started the fight, so if anything the other child's parents had more of a right to be angry than they did. But Draco was just too damn cute when he was all protective.

"Becca did it," Matthew replied, as he made his way over to where his fathers and brother were standing in the front of the room.

"Who?" Harry asked, while Draco looked around the room trying to identify which child had assaulted Evan.

Matthew gave his father a disgruntled look, clearly expecting him to know immediately who he was talking about. "You know Daddy, the Weasel."

Harry tried to put Evan back down on the floor so that he could properly address his other son, but Evan had such a tight grip on his neck he knew that Evan wasn't going to be moving soon. "Matthew Harrison, what I have told you about calling people names?" Harry reprimanded.

Matthew put both of his hands on his hips and stomped his little foot in anger. "I not calling names, that her name, 'Becca Weasel'."

Harry looked over at his mate who had a sheepish expression on his face. Since their return to Hogwarts, Draco had reverted back to calling Ron by the name he had so often taunted the red head with back in school, and unfortunately he did so often when the boys were present. "Am I to assume that Ron's daughter is in this class?" It was now Harry's turn to keep a close watch on his temper.

"Yeah, their spawn started coming here a few days after we enrolled the twins."

Not that it really mattered, but Harry would have liked to know that Ron and Hermione's child was in the same class with his children. Heck, biologically the twins were cousins of a sort with this Becca girl. Nodding at Draco to let him know that they would indeed be discussing this further after the kids went to bed, Harry looked back down at Matthew.

"Sweetheart, did you see what happened?"

Matthew nodded.

"Will you tell me why Evan hit that girl?"

Matthew nodded again and then said in a loud accusatory voice. "She said bad things."

"What kind of things?" Draco asked watching a young girl who was sitting in the corner holding what looked to be a muggle ice pack to her eye.

"She said that Daddy was mean; that Daddy had made her mommy cry."

Harry sighed, he was afraid that something like this would happen. Sharing a knowing look with Draco over the top of Matthew's head, Harry made the decision to table the rest of this discussion for another day. "Okay, what she said wasn't very nice, but that was no reason to hit her. I don't want to hear any more reports of either of you getting into fights at school, understand?"

Seeing Matthew nod once again, and Evan whisper "okay," against his neck, Harry was satisfied, at least for now. Not being able to stand one of his children being in pain any longer, Harry directed his healing energy into Evan's small frame and his son's bloodied lip was quickly mended without the smallest trace that it had ever been damaged.

"What do you guys say about getting out of here? Let's go grab our brooms and go practice flying for a little bit; and, then when we come back in I'm sure if we ask nicely, we can get one of the house elves to bring us up some ice cream, what do you think?"

Knowing that he had just said the magic words he watched both Draco's and Matthew's faces light up and Evan's grip on him loosen. Since the boys had gotten the training brooms for their birthday, all they wanted to do was fly. And with parents like they had, who could blame them? It didn't shock anyone when both boys were soon zipping thought the air as fast as their training brooms would allow them, demonstrating exceptional natural ability.

A short time later, sharing a warm smile with his mate, Harry kicked off the ground and soon was zooming around playing with the children he adored above all else.

24 The Ambush

Draco hurried though the castle, his thoughts happier than usual. The war had clearly turned a corner and more importantly, Harry seemed to be doing better. While they weren't exactly winning, they certainly weren't losing as bad as they previously had been. The resistance had certainly blossomed under Harry's unofficial leadership. If Harry thought that he was famous before, it was nothing compared to what people thought of him now. The only difference is that now, even Harry couldn't argue that it wasn't deserved.

People respected and admired Harry for the man that he was, not for the legend he had been. It was amusing to watch when battle plans were discussed how the fighters would look to Harry to determine what his role in the upcoming confrontation would be and then scramble to be included in the squads deployed near where Harry would be fighting. Everyone knew that Harry had the best chance of being successful, and more to the point, people just felt safer when Harry was nearby.

Harry alone had managed to save countless lives both muggle and wizard since his return; his strength and determination where unmatched, as where his superior magically abilities. It had only been about three and half months since they had come back to Hogwarts, but in that time, Harry had completely won over the populace, without even trying to. There was no doubt in his mind that when this thing was all over that the wizarding community would be on its knees begging Harry to provide his guidance in a more official capacity. 'Not that that'll ever happen,' Draco chuckled to himself. Harry would take off running in the opposite direction if anyone even suggested such a thing to him; that is, he would run after he had thoroughly hexed the person brave enough to suggest it.

Harry himself had started to change as well, no longer quite as standoff-ish as he had been when they had first come back. Sure, he was still reserved, especially around people who he had known before his imprisonment, but he participated in discussions that he felt were useful and had even on a rare occasion been seen sharing a smile or a laugh with someone.

Just thinking about watching that beautiful face alight with genuine laughter, Draco was reminded of the Halloween fun that he had with Harry and the twins just a few short nights ago.

Flashback

Draco watched as Harry ran his hand through his already tousled hair, causing the few strands that hadn't already been standing on end to get up and join their neighbors. Draco would have chuckled at his mate's antics if he weren't so concerned. Today was Halloween and for whatever reason, Harry Potter and Halloween just didn't seem to mix.

Never, in all the time that Draco had known Harry, did a Halloween pass that something bad didn't happen. Not only was the day forever marred as being the anniversary of his parent's death, but the day had historically been filled with other unpleasant events, such as: fights with fully grown mountain tolls, basilisk whispers and petrified cats, his name being pulled out of the Goblet of Fire and a variety of other not so wonderful happenings. Needless to say, both Draco and Harry were just anxious to have this day over and done with.

The two men had just entered their apartment after spending the afternoon discussing war strategy and battle tactics with members of the Order, when they were attacked by two bundles of black fur. Playfully rolling with the attack, Harry fell to the ground, pretending to be wounded, immediately giving surrender before turning the tables on Matthew. The young boy squealed with laughter as Harry rolled the toddler over onto his back and began to tickle his tummy.

Surprised to see his sons dressed up as some sort of animal, Draco quickly followed Harry's example and was soon lying underneath Evan, who was growling and pretending to scratch at his face. Soon bored with that game, the toddler rolled off his father and crawled on all fours over to where his brother was playfully wrestling with their daddy.

After the twins had successfully subdued Harry and they had caught their breaths after laughing so hard, Draco couldn't help but ask, "So why are you two all dressed up?" He was still puzzled by their costumes.

Matthew stared up at his father, his dark green eyes wide with disbelief. "Trick or treat." His tone left no doubt in Draco's mind that his son thought his question had been very dumb.

Draco pulled his eyes away from where his young son was standing in front on him wearing what could only be described as a black leotard. The body suit had black fur on the cuffs, collar and around the ankles. He had a long black tail, and on perched on top of his head were black fur ears sticking up out of his messy black hair. On the child's face were whiskers and his nose had been charmed pink and appeared to be twitching slightly. His twin was dressed identically. Giving Harry a searching look, he asked, "Am I to understand that our sons will be pranking people dressed up like black cats?"

Harry tried to hide his grin with his hand as he yawned tiredly. "Well, not exactly. They will only prank them if they don't get a treat."

"I see," Draco said slowly, still not understanding the concept. "And you're okay with that?" he asked, as he shot Harry a concerned look. The tiredness that had been plaguing Harry seemed to be improving some, but Harry's energy level was still unusually low.

"Oh come on Draco, it's a Halloween tradition. Little kids get dressed up in costume and go door to door asking people for treats. Usually, the people will give the kids a piece of candy and then the kids move on to the next door. But if the people don't have a treat for the children, well then, the kids are permitted to play a small trick on the people, hence the name 'trick or treat'. Surely you went when you were a child." Nicole, who had designed the boys' costumes, laughed at the horrified expression on Draco's face. Sometimes that man could be so, well, English.

"Absolutely not. You are not going to turn my children into common beggars. I can't believe that you would even suggest such a thing." Draco glared at the nanny. "Besides I'm a Malfoy, we never asked the neighbors for anything, if we saw something that we wanted we either bought one or more often, just took it."

Harry rolled his eyes. He knew that the twins had gotten in the habit of trick or treating last year in California and that this particular Halloween tradition wasn't something widely done in Europe. Not that he would have had the opportunity to go as a child had it been, but surely Dudley would have jumped at the chance to go door to door demanding candy.

Harry hugged his soul mate. "Look Dray, it's only one night a year, and it is a lot of fun for the twins. Besides they have been looking forward to it all month, don't spoil it for them, alright?"

"Dumbledore's even given his blessing to having the kids in the castle perform this 'American' form of celebrating the holiday," Nicole added, seeing that Draco was still undecided.

Draco tried to look anywhere but at the people standing in front of him as he thought about this weird custom, but everywhere he looked he was reminded of Halloween. It had appeared that Nicole and the boys, with the help of a few house elves, had decorated their apartment for the holiday. Carved jack-o-lanterns with eerie faces were light with never-ending candles, and pictures of black cats, white globs, that Draco assumed to be ghosts, and ugly women with green faces and long crooked noses decorated the walls.

Not able to resist the four sets of pleading eyes, he caved. "Okay, I give up," Draco sighed. "So if we are going to do this we are going to do it right. What kind of pranks do you have planned?"

Nicole only spared the four heads clustered together in the midst of a very serious discussion one last glance as she just shook her head in disapproval as she went upstairs, glad that the boys were going to get their way.

Later that evening, after a light dinner, the twins in costume were finally ready to head out. Nicole had graciously elected Draco and Harry to accompany them on their outing while she would remain behind in the unlikely event that someone actually found their apartment and asked for candy. As they were getting ready to leave, Evan looked over at his parents, neither of which could have been convinced to wear a costume despite Nicole's best attempts at bribery. "Daddy cat," the young toddler demanded.

Harry grinned. "No, not this time Evan."

"Daddy cat." This time it was Matthew demanding that his daddy do something.

Draco caught on quickly. Harry had never specifically revealed his third animagus form, but he had seen it a couple of times when Harry was off by himself, usually when he was running and needed to get away from things for awhile. "Go ahead Harry. It's perfect. No one will know it's you."

Harry wasn't really surprised that Draco knew about his cat form. He hadn't been deliberately keeping it from his lover, but he hadn't gone out of his way to tell him either. The boys loved all his forms, but they especially liked him as a black panther. When the boys were smaller, sometimes when they took their afternoon naps, Harry would curl up next to them and put them to sleep with his deep rumbling purr.

Harry gave a small nod and then moments later where he had once stood was a large cat. The panther's fur was the darkest of black without any of the red tints that are commonly found in some black animals. His form was sleek and athletic, powerfully built for both speed and agility. His fur was silky, smooth and soft, and his eyes were the same deep emerald green.

"Daddy cat, Daddy cat!" the twins started to cheer over and over again, clearly excited. It was obvious that they had spent a fair amount of time with this particular panther and most likely had Nicole design their current costumes to look like him.

"Come on guys, let's go," he said and when Draco thought no one was listening, he added under his breath, "and get this over with as quickly as possible."

Hearing his mate's last sentiments, the panther growled and bared his teeth slightly in warning.

"So I guess you have extra sensitive hearing now as well," Draco said, calmly ignoring his mate's warning, as they made their way into the main section of the castle.

The night had certainly been an adventure. They weren't the only group that had decided to get dressed up and go trick or treating, but they certainly were the only ones with a black panther accompanying them. Ignoring the looks that the panther was getting, the boys soon started knocking on doors and shouting "Trick or Treat".

Only about half of the inhabitants had completely understood Dumbledore's announcement about the Halloween activities. Those that had gotten the message had wonderful treats prepared for the children, which they quickly stuffed in their never-ending sacks after quickly getting out a 'thank you'. Those that hadn't gotten the message had been in for a big surprise.

Harry had made Draco promise that he wouldn't interfere with any of the tricks the twin's had planned unless the situation became dangerous. Not seeing how two three-year-olds could possible perform a dangerous prank, Draco agreed.

It didn't take Draco long to figure out why Harry felt confident that the twins would be able to adequately take care of their own pranks. These two weren't blood related to the leader of the marauders and the infamous Weasley twins for nothing. A man opened the third door that they had come to. He clearly hadn't heard about trick or treating before as he didn't have any treats prepared for the tikes. The twins only frowned for a second before they looked over at each other. Before Draco realized what was happening, the man was standing there in bright orange robes and purple hair. The man hadn't even realized that he had been pranked before he closed his door.

The twins looked at each other again and started to laugh. Their laughter was contagious and soon Draco was howling right with them. When he calmed down, he leaned down and whispered into the panther's ear, "more wandless magic?"

The panther smirked and nodded.

The night pretty much continued on that way with either the twins getting a treat or the person answering the door getting a make over. As the night wore on, Draco was extremely impressed with not only the amount of control over wandless magic that his young sons' exhibited, but also with their creativity. Some of the colors that they came up with were pure genius.

One of the boys' knocks brought a pair of red headed men to the door. "Hey Charlie, we got some Potter cats at the door." Fred smiled down at the two boys he had only seen from afar.

Charlie, also welcoming this opportunity to greet his nephews, even if they really were his great nephews the Weasleys considered the Potter twins as nephews as they never had the opportunity to consider Harry as a nephew. "Well, if it isn't two every handsome kittens?" Charlie said enthusiastically as he knelt down to get a better look at the boys.

"Hey Charlie, Fred." Draco greeted the two Weasley men amicably enough. "So where is Bill? I thought he was living here with you now?"

Fred looked up at the tall slender blonde man who had just protectively placed one of his hands on each of Harry's sons' shoulders. "Bill is spending tonight up at Ron and Hermione's helping to take care of mom, as Hermione is taking their daughter out trick or treating." Draco's possessiveness of not only Harry but also Harry's sons wasn't lost on Fred. People didn't realize it as he and George were forever joking around during school, but had they decided to apply themselves while they were in school with something other than pranks, they could have competed for top marks with every little effort.

Fred was very observant, and because people had the tendency to underestimate him, he often found himself at the advantage. He knew that Draco and Harry appeared to be very much in love, hell someone would have to be dumb not realize that it was so obvious. But Fred often wondered exactly how long the two men had been involved.

Now staring up close into one of the twins' steely eyes, Fred thought he may have the answer to the question most often asked around the castle since Harry's return. Fred just discovered who the 'mother' of Harry's children was.

Fred quickly tore his eyes away from the young Potter boy only to get caught in the glare from an almost identical, albeit older pair.

"Anything wrong Fred?"

Draco's softly spoken question had just enough venom in it to serve the warning that Draco couldn't verbalize in their current setting.

"No Draco, nothing's wrong. I was trying to get a closer look at my nephew. We haven't been formally introduced." Addressing the children once more Fred offered the one standing closest to Draco his hand. "Hi, my name is Fred and I'm your Uncle, what's your name?"

The black panther growled low in his throat when Fred called himself their Uncle. However, his growling soon stopped when Draco gently kicked him on his side to shut him up. Draco's only response to his mate's look of pure anger at being shushed was to raise an eyebrow. Evan looked at first the panther and then at Draco for permission before he responded. 'Well there are certain unobtrusive advantages to Harry being in disguise,' Draco thought as he nodded encouraging his sons to greet the Weasleys.

After the boys had been formally introduced, Draco indicated that it was time for them to move on. Charlie reached behind him and brought out a bowl of brightly wrapped toffee candies and offered them to the twins. Harry head butted Draco just as Matthew was about ready to reach in some hand in the bowl to grab a handful of the candies.

"You know what; I think we're going to pass. You two enjoy the rest of your evening." Draco winked at Fred before pulling a resisting Matthew away from the tainted candy bowl.

By the time they came to Black's door, Draco was wishing that the Marauder wouldn't have any treats as he liked to see what the twin's would do to him. It was really too bad that Sirius answered the door holding a large bowl filled with muggle candy bars. After slipping a few extra into the boys' treat bags, Sirius stepped back to admire the boys' costumes. "Hey Moony, look who we have here."

Remus soon joined his roommate at the door. "Well if it isn't one, two…..three black cats." Remus looked quizzically at the third cat, a green-eyed panther, trying to figure out what was familiar about the beast. There was something that Remus was sure he was missing. Suddenly, Remus took a deep breath, realizing that the cat smelled exactly like Harry.

Harry was cursing himself for allowing Draco and the boys' into talking him into going out in this form. It was dangerous. He knew the moment that Lupin put it together that he was the panther.

"So Draco, where's Harry?"

'God Bless my oblivious Godfather', Harry thought as he kept his almond shaped cat eyes trained on the werewolf.

"He couldn't make it; he's going to try to catch up with us later," Draco lied.

"Well, I guess that I'll see him back at your apartment. I'm planning on stopping over later tonight to spend some time with Nicole."

"Yeah, like that's something new. I think you spend almost as much time in the apartment as Harry and I do," Draco replied sarcastically. The heavy flirting between Sirius and Nicole had finally materialized in the form of a date in mid September. Since that time the two of them tried to spend as much time together as their hectic schedules permitted. Not that Draco minded. He was really very happy for the both of them.

The twins were getting impatient to go on to the next door in search of more treats, although Draco was positive that they would never be able to finish the loot that they had already stuffed into their sacks. "Gotta go, treats to be gotten and people to prank."

But before they moved out of the doorway the marauder's hair had been transformed, Moony's a bright neon yellow with red tips, and Padfoot's a pale pink with lime green swirls randomly interspersed throughout. The twin's eyes' got huge when they saw the change. Hurrying his family along to the next stop, Draco could barely contain his chuckles. "So, which one of you did that to your Grand Godfather and his friend? And he had just given you all those candy bars too, that doesn't seem fair."

Matthew was horrified that his father would make them give their candy back for not playing by the rules. "Not me, I didn't do it."

Knowing exactly what his brother was thinking, Evan vehemently denied being involved with the prank as well.

The innocent expressions on his sons' faces looked too genuine to be faked. "Well if you two didn't do it, and I didn't do it, that only leaves one other candidate. Harry?"

The panther's only response was to start to purr and rub his head up along Draco's thigh. Draco knelt down and scratched the large cat behind his ear. "You know, that animagus are not supposed to be able to do magic while in their animal form? But then we're not really supposed to be able to do wandless magic either, so I guess in a messed up Potter way of things, it actually kinda makes sense."

The only real problem that they had run into all night was when the boys got ready to knock on one of the doors situated near where the old Gryffindor dormitory used to be and Harry tried to stop them. Harry had gotten between the twins and the door and didn't want to let them pass. The twins had tried to circumvent daddy cat but ultimately, Harry had gotten his way and the door was left undisturbed.

Harry could sense that door lead to the apartment where Hermione and Ron lived. He didn't want to deal with any more Weasleys this night. He had felt bad for the family when he had learned of all the tragic things that they had to endure since he had been arrested, and he certainly had felt terrible about Molly's current condition. If there was one Weasley that he would consider making amends with it would be her, but her current mental condition didn't allow for that. Harry was hopeful that maybe one day he would be able to spend some time with her. She deserved justice for what she went through. She deserved the truth, and Harry was determined to make sure she got it, if only she would be coherent enough to understand it.

Tired and ready to go back, the twins insisted on one last stop before they headed home, the dungeons. Draco glared at Harry when the panther once more growled in protest, and the panther decided to keep the rest of his opinions to himself.

A quick and painless visit to Severus, and the twins were loaded up with even more chocolate frogs. Draco winked at the panther when Snape complained that Dumbledore had made him go out and get candy for the castle brats and then not one of them had even bothered to come and dirty them selves by visiting the dungeon. It was nice to know that some things would never change.

Back at the apartment, the boys had emptied their treat sacks into two very large piles of treats. Which after their parent's had inspected for any suspicious looking items, picked one or two pieces from each pile that they deemed needed to be taste tested and gave the boys permission to dig in.

Sirius had arrived shortly thereafter, still sporting his new look. Eventually, Harry took pity on the older man, it was hard to woo someone in pink hair, and turned his hair back to normal.

Overall, the night had been a welcome change to a traditional Hogwarts Halloween. The night was filled with fun and laughter and Draco was grateful, not only for the joy in his sons' eyes but also for Harry's sake. The night had certainly distracted the raven-haired man from his Halloween blues. Who knows, maybe this marked a new age in Potter Halloweens.

End Flashback

Still lost in his own thoughts, Draco continued to hurry. He was late. Harry was sure to be waiting for him by now, as he was supposed to meet him over twenty minutes ago. Unfortunately, he had gotten tied up with Severus discussing his latest modification to the dreamless sleep potion. Based on the research he conducted in his incredible potion lab, he was able to remove all addictive qualities from the dreamless sleep potion. This would certainly be an advantage when patients needed to take this type of potion on a long term basis.

Draco smirked when he remembered that his Godfather had been absolutely giddy over this latest discovery. Well, as giddy as Severus Snape ever got, this wasn't more than wide-eyed and speechless.

This wasn't the first potion that Draco had been able to modify thanks to the books and potion ingredients left by the Founders. Draco shook his head ruefully; it was a shame that so much of the Founder's knowledge, especially Slytherin's brilliance in potions, had been lost until now. Focusing on the potions typically used in the hospital wing, Draco and Severus had been able to make improvements in many of them, either improving their potency, and or duration, or reducing any adverse side affects.

Severus had enlisted Draco's help in trying to improve the Wolfsbane potion for Remus. So far they hadn't had any major breakthroughs, but Draco thought that they may be close to one soon.

Smack

Draco cried out in pain as his head hit hard against the stone wall. Draco had been so caught up in his own thoughts that he hadn't heard someone approaching him from behind and as a result had been caught unaware. Draco found himself roughly turned around and pressed up tight against the unyielding wall in the hallway. Before he could even utter a sound in alarm, his lips were captured in a brutal, almost punishing kiss.

As he processed what was happening, Draco proceeded to shove hard against the firm chest of the person that had pinned him into the wall. Unfortunately, the body holding him down didn't move more than a few inches.

"Hullo, lover."

Draco angrily tried wiping a hand across his mouth in an attempt to rid himself of the awful taste. He was unsuccessful as his assailant had his wrists trapped in an iron grip over his head. "What the hell do you think you are doing?"

"I've missed you, luv, and I thought maybe you needed to be reminded of just who you belong to," the man responded in a harsh whisper.

Draco stopped struggling long enough to look his former lover in the eyes. "Let go of me Blaise," Draco snarled. "I don't belong to you, and I never did, now… let… go."

Blaise only chuckled, which only further raised Draco's ire, not lessening his grip on the blonde man, not one bit. "Oh, I'll let you go, but not until I'm done with you."

If a person had the ability to burn someone with their eyes, there would be no doubt that Blaise would be roasting in the pit of Hell by now. Blaise was one of the Order's other spies that had infiltrated the Death Eater ranks, not part of Voldemort's inner circle, Blaise was still useful. After a particularly horrible and upsetting mission about two years ago, where a family of muggles had been tortured and then killed, even their three small children, Draco had turned to Blaise for comfort. From that time on, the two men had been on-again/off-again lovers; each seeking to forget the atrocious things that they were forced to do, forced to witness in each others arms.

While Draco knew that his heart wasn't really in the relationship, being with Blaise at least offered him the physical release that he needed to get through some particularly trying times. But now, it appeared that perhaps their times together had meant more to the dark eyed Slytherin than it had to him.

"It's over, Blaise."

"Is it? I wouldn't be so sure of yourself, if I were you, Draco. The Dark Lord was particularly interested when I told him all about Harry being his Grandson and an Heir of Slytherin."

Draco couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You bastard, you sold us out."

"Now, now Draco, I did no such thing. Surely you remember how it is Draco? You must give a little to get a little, and I was particularly rewarded for that piece of information. If only he had known that all those years ago, Harry may not have been an orphan, the Dark Lord most likely would have spared his own daughter and had taken Harry to train him, and he probably would have been his heir," Blaise said smugly as he leaned in close and brushed Draco's cheek with his lips. Moving his mouth only slightly, Blaise whispered into Draco's ear, his hot breath making the blonde man wince.

"Of course that was nothing compared to the reward I got when I told him about Potter's two sons, both of whom are Parselmouths, just like their dear old Great Grandfather. You see Draco, Voldemort is smart enough to realize that Potter is a lost cause, no amount of brainwashing will ever turn him, but two small impressionable children, especially two with their unique heritage will be extremely powerful when they grow up. Well, needless to say, there is much potential there."

The deliberate threat to his children gave Draco a burst of adrenaline, enough so that he could finally jerk his wrists free and push the offensive body away from him. "You bastard, do you have any idea what you've done?" Draco's voice shook from the all consuming fear that was sweeping through him as he imaged what would happen if Voldemort ever got a hold of the twins.

Draco pulled his wand on his former housemate, ready to seek retribution for his family.

"Do you even want to know what happened to your father, Draco, when the Dark Lord heard that you had turned, that you had become nothing more an a whore, Potter's whore at that?" Blaise just wouldn't shut up; he just kept going on and on. Before Draco could finish uttering a hex that while not illegal was certainly considered a dark spell due to the amount of pain it bestowed on the recipient, Blaise was pulled around to face in the opposite direction, away from the blonde.

Blaise's eyes barely registered the outrage on the Gryffindor's face before he was punched hard in the face.

Harry didn't even spare Blaise crumpled form a moment's thought as he pulled a shaking Draco to him. "Are you alright?"

Draco nodded, feeling the air around them crackle with unspent energy. "Yeah, Merlin I hate that bastard." Draco walked over to where Blaise was lying unconscious on the cold stone floor, and kicked the man in the arse. "Did you hear…?"

Harry tried not to smile as Draco took his revenge on the defenseless man. "Yeah, I was coming to look for you when I heard what he said about telling Voldemort about me and the boys," Harry confessed quietly.

"Well, what are we going to do about it?" Draco was still very much shaken up. "We have to do something; we can't just let him have Matthew and Evan."

Harry walked over to where Draco was still applying random kicks to Blaise's backside. Standing beside his lover, Harry reached up and gently cupped Draco's face, pulling his focus way from his retaliation. Seeing that he had Draco's complete attention, Harry slowly started to caress the side of the blonde's face, gently moving his thumb up and down the smooth cheek.

"We won't. I promise you," Harry whispered as he finally pulled Draco away from Blaise's still unconscious form. "Dray, nothing's really changed. I knew by telling the Order that the news would make its way back to Voldemort. Actually, I'm surprised that it took this long for him to find out. But seeing that it was Blaise that told him, at least we know now that no one else inside of Hogwarts sold us out. And believe me, that is something that I needed to know."

Draco jerked back from Harry in surprise. "You set this up," he gasped, incredulous. "You planned this from the beginning, offering this oh-so-juicy bit of information to be set before everyone to determine how long it would take the news to reach the Dark Lord and to flesh out any potential traitors."

Harry didn't deny Draco's accusations.

"Merlin Harry, sometimes I think you are more of a Slytherin than I am. I understand why you did it, but why use something that will focus the Voldemort's attention on the boys like that?" Draco was worried and feeling a little hurt that Harry hadn't let him in on his plan.

Harry reached over and took one of Draco's hands in his own. Seeing his mate flinch slightly as the long tan thumb gently touched the blonde's wrist, Harry frowned and brought Draco's wrist up into the light so that he could closely examine it.

His eyes narrowed and his teeth clenched when he saw the angry red marks on his mate's wrist that were sure to leave bruises. The torches in the hallway flared almost as if in response to Harry's newly reawaken anger. Determined to make Zabini pay even more for his actions, Harry went to move towards the man, planning to awaken him and then knock him unconscious at least a few more times.

Knowing intrinsically what Harry was planning, Draco stopped him with only a glare.

"What?" Harry whined.

"You know what." Draco sneered. "Now leave that bastard alone, we'll deal more with him later and answer my question."

Disappointed, Harry took a deep breath to release some of his anger. "Look Dray, when I made the decision to bring the twins to Hogwarts I knew that they would become targets anyway. By letting this information out when I did it served two purposes. First, it allowed me to take my life back from Dumbledore, something I've needed to do for a long time. People needed to hear what had been kept silent for too long."

Draco nodded for Harry to continue.

"Secondly, I knew that between you and me, and Sirius, and Nicole and Severus that we would do everything in our power to keep the boys safe. But if, for some God awful reason, Voldemort won this war, or got passed our defenses and managed to kidnap the boys, that the first thing he would do would be to murder them, just like he's killed every one of the other members of my family." Harry's voice cracked slightly.

"But you see Draco, if Voldemort thought that there was more to the boys then just me being their father, if he saw his relationship to them, the potential in them, maybe he wouldn't be in such a rush to kill them."

Draco's pale face broke out into a grin as he saw where Harry was going with this. "So by letting that monster know that the twin's are his descendents and descendents of Salazar Slytherin, you are in a round about way protecting them."

Harry nodded. "There isn't a Death Eater alive foolish enough to kill the Dark Lord's Great Grandsons, not when they could be possibly converted."

Draco continued with along Harry's train of thought. "And that would give us time for a rescue attempt."

"Yeah," Harry said softly as he looked away from his lover.

Sensing that there was something else, Draco gently took Harry's chin and turned his face back toward him. "What else?"

Harry raised his uncertain eyes. "It's just that there still is a chance that we might lose this war."

"And?"

"Well no matter who wins, I just wanted to ensure that the twins would survive." Draco had to strain to make out Harry's words; his tone was so soft.

Draco looked sharply up into the face that he loved more than his own, "Leo, do you even realize what you are saying?"

Harry ran a hand thought his messy hair, pausing to put his jumbled thoughts into some semblance of order. "Yeah, I thought of little else while in California after we made the decision to return here. Look, if we are defeated, you and I are both dead, as are Sirius, and Severus. We've gone directly against the Dark Lord, there is no way that he can allow us to live even if he wanted to, which he doesn't. I don't even want to think what will happen to Nicole. The new world that would be created after our fall isn't the place that I would choose to raise the boys, which is why we are fighting this damn war. But given the choice of that world or no world, I want them to live." Harry paused again. "Besides, before I died I would make sure that Lucius knew that the twins were yours as well as mine. I think that between the two of them, Voldemort and Lucius, the twins would be taken care of."

Draco reached up and brushed a stray tear off Harry's cheek.

"God Dray, that isn't the life that I want for them, but at least it is a life." Harry was desperate to make Draco see his reasoning, no matter how horrible and flawed it was.

The depth of Harry's willingness to do whatever it took to ensure the survival of their children blew Draco away. If possible, his love for this man grew even more at that moment. "I love you."

Harry looked in disbelief at the acceptance and love shining in the stormy gray eyes that he could spend hours just gazing into. Relief that Draco didn't hate him for what he had done was so strong that Harry crushed the blonde in a tight hug. "I love you too. Never doubt that."

Feeling the strong surge of emotion pass from Harry, Draco pulled back and smiled at the slightly shorter man. "I take back what I said earlier Leo, you are more Slytherin than I could ever hope to be."

"Well I guess I should be, since I have his blood running through my veins."

Draco just grinned as the two men set off for their apartment, leaving Blaise Zabini still lying out cold on the hard floor.

Later that evening, a very relaxed and sated Harry and Draco cuddled together in their bed were interrupted by a knock on their bedroom door.

"What do you want?" Draco shouted not at all pleased with the intrusion.

"Harry, its Albus. He's calling on the fireplace in the common room. There has been some sort of emergency and he needs to speak to you right away," came Nicole's muffled voice though the heavy door.

Sharing a quick glance at his partner, Harry called out, "Tell him we'll be right there." Scrambling into their discarded clothing that was strewn around the room, a few moments later, the two slightly wrinkled men entered the common area.

Seeing Albus Dumbledore's disembodied head floating in the fireplace, Harry made a beeline straight for that end of the room. "What's happened?"

If Albus was surprised by the lack of pleasantries, he didn't show it. During the last three and half months, he had gotten used to Harry's direct and to the point approach.

"The scouts that we sent out yesterday haven't reported in. They have missed their last two scheduled firecalls, and I am worried." The headmaster did indeed look rather upset.

"Who?"

"It was Anderson and Kendall," Albus answered softly.

Harry sighed. Anderson was a young man, no older than eighteen, who's training Harry had been personally overseeing. There was just something about that man that reminded Harry of better times. He should have known not to get personally involved, but he did.

"Harry, normally I wouldn't have bothered you with something this small, but seeing as it was…."

Harry interrupted his former Headmaster. "No, that's quite alright. Is the Order going to meet to decide what to do?"

"Yes, we are gathering now in the Chamber if you and Draco would like to join us?"

Not having to even look at his mate, Harry knew that Draco would insist on being included if Harry was going to be. "Give us five minutes and we'll be there."

Agreeing, Albus ended his call.

Nicole agreed to stay with the twins, until someone came to relieve her as she was scheduled to work a shift that night in the hospital ward.

Quickly saying goodnight to Matthew and Evan, the two men left for yet another mission.

It had been decided in the Order meeting that they would send a party of about ten witches and wizards out to look in the area that Anderson and Kendall had last reported in from. The scope of their mission was two fold, first they were to locate and bring Anderson and Kendall back to Hogwarts, and secondly they were to determine if there was any new Death Eater activity in that area.

Draco was proud that Harry didn't even bat an eye when both Charlie and Fred Weasley and Remus were named to the rescue mission. Sirius would, of course, also be accompanying them. During their time fighting in the last few months, it was clear that Charlie, Bill and Fred along with Sirius and Remus were among some of the best fighters that the light side had to offer. As it was, Harry often found himself fighting along side one of his former friends, and had been able to do so without any major problems. In the beginning, Draco was worried that Harry's lack of trust would be an issue and make it practically impossible for him to rely on one of them to watch his back, but after the first couple of battles, that didn't seem to be the case. Draco hoped that this was another sign that perhaps Harry was healing.

The area that they were headed to was only about 75 miles south of Hogwarts. Since the area that Anderson and Kendall were originally sent to scout was approximately ten square miles, it was determined that brooms would be the best mode of transportation, as opposed to portkey or apparating. However, everyone on the team carried an emergency portkey directly to the hospital wing, in the event of unforeseen events.

The contingency of ten made their way quickly across the night sky, keeping to a tight formation. As they approached the last known whereabouts of their scouting team, the flyers slowed to a speed that had they been on the ground would have been described as crawling.

The area over which they were currently flying was heavily wooded which made it difficult to see properly, even though most of the trees had already started to lose much of their brightly colored fall foliage. It was the perfect spot for a Death Eater hideout, which is why the scouting mission had been sent out in the first place.

Concentrating on how it felt to be in his phoenix animagus form, Harry focused his vision sharply. Soon his eyes were accustomed to the darkness and his vision improved dramatically. He could see almost as well as he could when he was transformed into a phoenix.

There, he spotted something. It looked like there was a splash of red, down on the forest floor. Motioning to his companions to descend to a clearing that he had spotted a short ways from where he had seen the red object, he started to land.

Harry didn't even notice the rest of the team landing as he was focusing on a strong magical presence he felt in the forest. Something seemed off.

"What's up? Did you see something?" Sirius asked coming to stand next to his Godson.

"Yeah, there is something red in the forest about 100 yards in that direction." Harry replied.

Sirius, who was officially the leader of this exhibition, sent two of their party off to investigate what Harry had seen in the forest.

"Do you feel it?"

Surprised, Sirius looked over at Draco who was also looking at his mate strangely. "Feel what Harry?" Draco asked, his sharp tone leaving a misty impression in the cool night air.

"Something's wrong here." Harry paused trying to make sense out of what he was feeling. The magic was strong, but it appeared that there was a damping charm on it, almost as though someone didn't want the magic to be sensed. Harry gasped, dread filling his stomach. "We need to get out of here now. I think that this is a trap."

Before he could even get the sentence out, spells started to be thrown at them from the forest edge all around them. It was an ambush, and they had walked right into it.

"Fly..Fly!" Harry shouted as he dodged three spells that had been fired in his direction. Taking a quick glance around, he noticed that the team were all in the process of flying away. It appeared that most of the spells were being concentrated on him and not on the others, which was just fine with him.

Another spell sizzled passed as Harry caught a whiff of burnt hair. Not wanting to think how close that spell had come, Harry turned and fired at least five stunners in the direction of where that spell had come from. Harry tried to cast a shielding charm on him self, but for whatever reason the charm failed, the damping charm must be interfering with his ability to erect a proper shield. After trying a few more times to erect a shield around him, Harry gave up and, instead, focused on dodging and blocking the incoming curses and when possible sending a few of his own spells back.

After making sure that Sirius and Draco had gotten into the air, Harry knew that it was time for him to get out of there. Harry mounted his broom and kicked off hard from the ground.

As he started his ascent, Harry looked down and watched as over two dozen Death Eaters poured out of the trees and came into the clearing where they had just been, only a moment ago.

Spells were still zooming in all directions, each one lighting up the night sky with its own brilliant color. Watching the colorful bursts all around him, Harry was strongly reminded of the last Fourth of July that he and Draco had spent with Nicole and the boys in California watching the fireworks.

A sharp pain in his side brought him back to reality. Damn, he had been hit with what looked to be a slashing spell of some kind from the blood that was starting to seep through his robes.

Turning his broom back around, Harry quickly fired off a barrage of spells, mixing both full body binds and stunners, along with some of his own special pain curses. Harry grinned as he took out at least four Death Eaters with that attack.

Noticing that his comrades were now safely out of spell range, Harry once more turned his broom and made to follow. He didn't have time to even accelerate before he was hit with another spell; this time a stunner. Harry felt the spell wash over him. Thankfully he had been able to absorb part of this spell, so instead of leaving him unconscious, it only left him slightly dizzy.

Using some of the books that the Founders' had left in the library across from his bedroom, Harry had found the means to absorb certain spells into his magical aura. This technique allowed the person that the spell was being cast on to remain largely unaffected by the spell. However, the spell's effects varied significantly based on the spell's potency.

Draco and Harry had practiced this new skill for weeks until they both were able to absorb spells somewhat, although the technique left them both feeling incredibly drained afterwards. The book in the library did caution the reader that the unforgivable curses would not be able to be absorbed, due to the severe nature of the curses and the amount of power used in casting them.

Shaking his head to clear it from the dizziness, Harry felt the wound on his side start to throb; he knew that he needed to get out of there now. Flying higher, Harry tried to get beyond the range of the Death Eaters' spells. Just as he thought he was going to make it, he was hit again. His brain had barely registered the shouts of "Stupify!" and "Crucio!" before he was once more experiencing the terrible all consuming pain of the Cruciatus curse while at the same time struggling to remain conscious.

A fair distance away from the ambush that the Death Eaters had planned the Order members stopped in the air to regroup. Draco quickly looked around noting immediately that Harry was missing. "Sirius, where's Harry?"

The alarm in Draco's voice, alerting Sirius to the problem, even before his words had a chance to register.

"You," Sirius pointed to one of the younger members of their team, "land at the next available spot and using your portkey go tell Dumbledore that it was a trap. Tell him we need reinforcements now and to put the hospital wing on standby!"

The Order member nodded and took off on his broom as fast as it could go in search of a place to land.

Looking at the other remaining members of the team, Sirius said, "Let's go." No one questioned the logic of the seven of them going back to fight an unknown number of Death Eaters, all that was understood was that Harry was in trouble. With a look, they all agreed that whatever the risks were, it was worth it to make sure Harry was safe.

Pulling up along side Sirius, Draco was not about to give the lead on this mission to anyone other than himself. Silently agreeing that they wouldn't come back unless they had the dark -haired man that they both loved with them, they quickly accelerated their brooms back in the direction that they had just come from.

His body already weak from fighting off the previous stunning curse, it took Harry a longer the second time, but he finally managed to shake off the effects of the Stupefy curse. Focusing all his will power, Harry was able to diminish the effects of the Cruciatus curse until the Death Eater lifted it. However, with all his attention on trying to deal with the affects of the curses currently cast on him, he hadn't been able to make any progress in his attempt to get away. As the last of the curses fell away, to Harry's dismay, he realized that he was hovering still in the air about 65 feet from the ground.

With his last burst of energy, Harry once more pushed his broom forward. Just as he was about to escape he heard three more shouts, "Stupify, Stupify, and Stupify." Just as the first curse hit him, Harry's scar started to burn fiercely, leaving no doubt about whom had sent at least one of the stunners his way.

Harry struggled once more to remain conscious, but the spells had been cast almost at the same time. He didn't even have time to start to absorb the first curse before the second one hit him, blackness had started to creep into his field of vision by the time the third and last curse hit, this one exponentially stronger than the others.

Harry didn't even feel his hands slip from the broom as the darkness that he had been so gallantly fighting off overwhelmed him.

Racing back to where he had last seen Harry, Draco watch horrified, as three stunners were cast on his lover simultaneously. Draco cried out as he saw Harry falter and then fall.

25 A Long Overdue Conversation

Harry hadn't even landed by the time Draco and Sirius started to respond. Both men dived for the clearing, knowing that they were too far away from Harry to prevent his fall, but in any event each willed themselves to move faster than humanly possible.

Before they were even with in range to cast a spell to slow Harry's fall or to cushion his landing, Harry's body met the hard earth with a sickening crunch. Realizing that Harry's greatest immediate danger still came from the horde of Death Eaters that moved quickly to surrounded his prone form, Sirius and Draco started to fire off curse after curse as soon as they were in range. They hoped that their combined efforts would be enough to keep one of the dark robed figures from grabbing Harry and simply apparating away with him.

Two against twenty-four weren't such good odds, as the two men soon found themselves dodging many more curses than they were able to fire off. Thankfully it didn't last long, as the other members of their team quickly joined them and began their own spell casting.

Draco was relieved to see that while they weren't able to get any closer to Harry, that at least neither were the Death Eaters. Sparing his fallen mate as many occasional glances as he could, Draco was deeply concerned by Harry's lack of movement and the ever growing dark pool of liquid that he seemed to be lying in.

Just as the Order members were starting to tire there were numerous soft pops heard from the ground below; it was the very welcomed sound of reinforcements. Draco nearly cried with relief when he saw at least forty fresh Order members apparate into the clearing and began to drive back the Death Eaters. But only when Dumbledore himself appeared and Voldemort stepped out of the shadows did Draco even realize that the Dark Lord had been there at all.

Seeing his plans foiled again, as his troops were significantly outnumbered and he had yet to claim the prize that he coveted so desperately, Voldemort snarled at his followers to regroup.

"You haven't won yet, Dumbledore. Besides, even now your precious savior is lying there bleeding to death. This delay may be all I needed to finally finish the brat off," Voldemort managed to sneer at the ancient wizard just before disapparating.

"We'll meet again, Tom," Dumbledore replied softly at the spot were his former student had just been standing. "And when we do, you will be made to answer for your crimes, just like I have been made to answer for mine."

As quickly as they appeared the Death Eaters were gone and the Order members sprang in action. They started to stabilize and heal the wounded, while a messenger was sent back to the hospital wing via portkey to inform the medics on staff that they were needed immediately at the battle scene. An initial assessment of Harry's condition confirmed the critical nature of his injuries, and Dumbledore did not want to risk trying to move the man, until the medics had provided a more thorough assessment and had stabilized him enough so that he had a chance of surviving the transport.

Draco ran to Harry's side as soon as he was able to land. Kneeling down beside his lover, Draco resisted the urge to be violently ill when he saw Harry's broken and twisted form. Not caring about the increasing puddle of blood, Draco leaned over and placed his head gently on Harry's chest. Swallowing back his tears, Draco was relieved to hear a faint heart beat. His heart was beating slower than usual, but at least it was still beating.

"Where the hell are the medics?"

Something about Draco's desperate cry must have gotten through to Harry, because the dark haired man's eyes fluttered for a moment.

"Come on Harry, wake up!" Draco watched as his soul mate struggled to regain consciousness. "That's right Harry, you're going to be just fine, but please wake up." Draco didn't know who he was trying to reassure more, Harry or himself.

Draco breathed a sigh of relief when Harry finally opened both of his emerald eyes. "Welcome back, Harry."

Harry looked like he was trying to say something, but no sound came out of his mouth. Draco leaned down once more and wiped a trickle of blood away from the raven-haired man's mouth. "It's okay Leo, don't talk. Just rest."

Harry started to close his eyes once more when they suddenly flew open again, this time in pain or shock, Draco couldn't tell which. Harry's whole body tensed and then his back arched as his mouth opened in a silent scream.

Not knowing what the hell was going on, Draco panicked. "Damn it, I need a medic over here NOW!"

Trying anything to calm his mate down, Draco started to whisper endearments and gently touch Harry's face, wiping stray tears that leaked from his eyes off his cheeks. Finally when it looked like the pain that Harry had been experiencing had faded, Harry licked his lips.

Feeling like Harry was trying to tell him something, Draco put his ear close to Harry's mouth. "What is it Harry? Just tell me."

Harry was only able to utter one small word, before he body was once more feeling as though it was being torn apart, but that one word was enough.

Draco had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach when he realized what Harry had been trying to tell him. He didn't know why though, when his lover was lying there critically injured that with all the things that he could try to communicate at that moment it would have been her name. All Harry had managed to say before he once more lost consciousness was, "Nicole."

Nicole and several of the other medi-witches and wizards had arrived only a few seconds after Harry had requested her presence. She hadn't been told that Harry was the one critically injured until she arrived on the scenes and saw with a sinking feeling the shockingly white blonde hair that only Draco sported bent down low over a still figure on the ground. Running over to her fallen housemates, Nicole was disgusted with what she saw. Blood was everywhere and still pouring from a gash on Harry's side, and his body was positioned in a way human bones are not supposed to be able to bend.

Draco looked over at Nicole as knelt down beside Harry. "He asked for you."

Nicole wasn't sure what surprised her more the angst in Draco's voice or the fact that Harry had regained consciousness enough to actually say something. Wondering what Harry needed to tell her, she immediately got to work stabilizing the worst of Harry's injuries.

As soon as Nicole had deemed Harry's condition stable enough to be moved, tying unsuccessfully to ignore all the blood, Draco bent down and gently moved Harry's injured body onto a stretcher that someone had conjured. Making sure not to move Harry in such a way that would aggravate his injuries, Draco settled him securely on the floating surface and carefully reached for the portkey that would take them to the hospital wing.

The extreme range of emotions felt by the Order members spanned from awe at the extreme power that Harry Potter demonstrated as he was able to shake off the many stunning charms to absolute despair as they watched the dark-haired Gryffindor eventually fell at the hand of Voldemort. The two Order members that went to check out the red item on the forest floor had witnessed the attack and had told the other members what exactly had transpired. Unfortunately, they were engaged defending themselves from Death Eaters at the time and could provide no assistance to Harry.

Potter had been clearly seriously injured, judging by the height that he had fallen from and the amount of blood that had been flowing from the unconscious man. It was unimaginable that something like this could happen now, just when the resistance was getting back on their feet. The hope that had blossomed under Harry's care was faded completely as witnesses spread the word to other members of the resistance about Harry's critical condition. Many were so completely emotionally spent that they could do nothing more than sit and wait for the unthinkable news of the young savior's death.

Albus requested that the rest of the Order, with the exception of Sirius, Remus and Severus, return to their respective apartments as soon as the returned to Hogwarts, as there wasn't anything that any of them could do to help Harry, but keep him in their thoughts and prayers. Arriving at the castle, Albus raised extremely worried eyes to the men Harry considered part of his family, "Let's go see Harry."

Sirius nodded afraid that if he tried to speak his trembling voice would give him away. Silently four of the most senior members of the Order of the Phoenix approached the hospital wing; not sure that they wanted to face what inevitably was taking place within those sterile walls.

Nicole rushed into the infirmary bringing Harry's pale unmoving form behind her.

"Put him down here," demanded Poppy sharply. She had been informed about what had happened at the clearing and had been prepared to try to treat the injuries from his fall. Nicole gently laid Harry down on the designated hospital bed. "Where is all this blood coming from?" the matron questioned.

Nicole looked down puzzled at Harry's still bleeding form. She had treated the deep gash on his side at the battle site and had gotten the bleeding to stop. By all rights, Harry shouldn't still be loosing the precious life sustaining fluid, but for whatever reason he was. The evidence was all over the stretcher that was used to transport him here. She felt the cold fingers of terror clamp around her heart as she realized that she must have missed something.

Nicole's hand shook as she started to undress the unconscious form of her best friend. "Oh God Harry, what have you done now?" she cried as she discarded piece by piece of his clothing in an attempt to get at the previously undiagnosed wound that was bleeding so profusely.

Upon arriving in the hospital, Severus quickly went to aid the medics while Sirius, Albus and Remus went to stand over in the corner of the room where a very pale and shaken Draco was attempting to stay calm.

Severus rushed forward and poured a blood-restoring potion down Harry's throat. Even if they hadn't been able to locate the source of the blood yet, Severus knew that at the rate that Harry was loosing the scarlet fluid that something had to be done soon or they would surely lose the man.

Finally, when Harry was completely unclothed, the medi-witches were able to examine him completely. He had a severe concussion, several broken ribs and a broken leg from the fall but that didn't account for the blood that continued to flow from Harry's body. Seeing no open wounds on his front, Nicole with Pomfrey's aid, rolled Harry onto his stomach, careful not to move his spine or neck.

Seeing the river of blood flowing out of Harry's bum, Nicole blanched when she realized what most likely was happening. "Quick, Poppy, roll him onto him back. I need to operate."

At the word operate, Draco who had been walked over at the head of Harry's hospital bed when the medics started to examine Harry for any additional injuries, felt like he would pass out. There was blood everywhere and now Nicole wanted to cut his lover open, Draco didn't think that in his weakened state that Harry could possibly survive the procedure.

"Nicole, what the hell is going on? What's happening?" Draco didn't even realize that he had tears running down his face until Nicole looked up at him and gently wiped one of the salty pearls away.

Very slowly and carefully, Nicole looked at Harry's significant other. "Draco, Harry is having a miscarriage. If I don't operate on him now and stop the bleeding, Harry will die. Do you understand?"

Oh Merlin, it wasn't possible. He hadn't even known that Harry had been pregnant. He doubted that Harry had even known. But somehow it made sense, Harry's constant tiredness, his slight moodiness, a small change in his diet, all things that Draco had observed over the past couple of months but had brushed off as just stress taking its toll on his lover.

But now, before they even had the chance to relish the idea of having another child, that child was lost to them, taken by Voldemort as surely as though he had cast Avada Kedavra on the infant. Seeing that Nicole was still looking at him with worried eyes, almost as though she was seeking his permission to perform whatever medical measures that could potentially save Harry's life, Draco forced himself to respond. He nodded, knowing that at this moment he needed to concentrate on Harry, that there would be time to grieve the loss of their unborn child later, once Harry was on the mend.

As soon as Nicole saw the slight movement, she immediate got back to work, prepping Harry for his surgery.

Poppy sucked in a sharp breath at Nicole's probable diagnosis. 'It was just too unthinkable.' There hadn't been a recorded male pregnancy in centuries. As soon as they got Harry settled so that he was lying on his back again, the medi-witch's wise eyes searched for the scar that she knew had to be there if her assumptions were correct. And sure enough, there it was, very faint, but still visible. 'But that would mean that…' the old woman looked up in awe at the blonde Slytherin who had certainly done a complete change-around since the first time she had treated him when he was in school here. It was so obvious when you considered the possibility of a male pregnancy. The twins even resembled Draco a bit.

Draco saw Pomfrey looking at him strangely and knew that she had figured out the twin's paternity. Now was not the time to get into that. "Stop looking at me and help him," Draco practically shouted at the old bat, trying to get her to focus her attention where it belonged.

Albus, who was still standing in corner waiting for Harry's prognosis, was incredulous at Nicole's comments about Harry being pregnant. It was possible and certainly explained a few things, including Harry's need to keep the identity of his sons' birth mother a closely guarded secret. It appeared that Harry was even more powerful and talented of a wizard then he had allowed everyone to believe. Albus had discounted the rumors from the battle regarding how Harry absorbed the many stunning curses sent his way before falling under the combined weight of three stunners, the last of which was cast by the Dark Lord himself. Such a feat normally would seem unbelievable. Even Albus himself in his youth would not have been able to withstand such a volley of curses. But now, with this additional knowledge, things started to make sense.

Male pregnancies were extremely dangerous and, due to the rarity of the event occurring, not a lot was known about the intricacies of male birth. It was thought that only powerful wizards could conceive due to their highly advanced abilities at wandless magic. Simply, a powerful wizard could will his body to prepare for and carry a child if they wanted it bad enough. The desire to conceive a child need not be a conscious desire either, as long as the will was there it could happen if the wizard was powerful enough. But it was also thought that the wizard's power could also play against the wizard too. It was amazing that the same level of power that enabled a male to become pregnant also was the same factor that made it so very dangerous.

Albus speculated that Harry must not have used much magic at all during his pregnancy with his sons, as he was able to deliver them without any obvious complications, which is a feat in itself. But now that Harry had returned to Hogwarts, he had been practicing very complicated and powerful spells continuously to prepare for the upcoming battles. His ability to continue to perform those types of spells while pregnant is quite an accomplishment, but was sure to have put a strain on not only himself but also on the developing fetus.

Wizard pregnancies on a whole are different from muggle ones; the baby's magic develops simultaneously as the baby physically develops in preparation for birth. It is important that the 'mother' or in the case of male pregnancies the 'birth father' makes sure to use as little magic as possible during the pregnancy so that their magic does not conflict with the baby's; the more powerful a witch or wizard, the higher chances of a conflict happening.

When the birth parent would cast spells there was often a chance that the spells would not produce desired results. Also during pregnancy the baby's and birth parent magic can often develop a sort of symbiotic relationship. In the case of a miscarriage, the sudden loss of the baby's magic could be very detrimental to the birth parent, which is why the fatality rate for witches during a miscarriage is so much higher than the muggle statistic.

Knowing that Harry was the birth parent helped to explain the strong magical potential he sensed in Harry's sons; with the combination of the ancient power in Harry's bloodline with that of the highly potent Malfoy blood, it was no wonder that his sons would be extraordinarily talented.

Albus hoped that they would be able to keep Harry's secret for at least a little longer, but it seemed highly unlikely. Although he did note that of the other men present in the room, only Remus seemed to be surprised by Nicole's announcement, so he assumed that both Severus and Sirius knew about the twin's paternity before today. The former Headmaster looked worriedly over to where three of the best in their field were working diligently to save Harry. If Harry died, this revelation was all for naught. Not only would they lose what is undeniably the strongest wizard in centuries, but also a good loyal man. It was a loss that Albus wasn't prepared to bear.

Draco felt a strong pair of arms surround him and guide him off to the side of Harry's room. "Draco, why don't you put that thing down?" Remus suggested quietly as he too watched Severus, Nicole and Poppy fight a losing battle. Not even realizing that he had picked up Harry's broomstick and brought it with them into the hospital, Draco opened his fingers that had been tightly grasping the broom allowing it to fall harmlessly to the floor. No one moved as the sound of wood meeting stone rang throughout the hospital wing.

However, when Poppy whispered, "I can't get the bleeding to stop, we're loosing him," the sound seemed to echo, prompting an immediate reaction.

Draco tried to pull away from the person who was holding him. However, Sirius tightened his embrace on his Godson's lover and kept him away from Harry's bedside, allowing Madame Pomfrey and Nicole to continue their administrations. "He's fading…"

'Where the hell was Fawkes? He had saved Harry before; surely he could do it again.' But then Draco remembered that Dumbledore had sent the phoenix off on a mission to track down some of their fellow resistance members that were in hiding in France. The phoenix had only recently left, so it was not logical that he would be back anytime soon. Eventually, Harry's chest stopped moving as his face began to take on a bluish tinge. "Quick Nicole, he's not breathing." He felt like he was going to be violently ill when he heard Poppy's urgent whisper.

Draco felt the arms around him tremble and wetness on his neck from the tears being shed from the person behind him as Nicole and Poppy made one last desperate attempt to save Harry's life.

Darkness, which was blacker than the deepest black, was suddenly pierced by a stream of bright light. Harry turned and looked at the light, studying it. The light was almost harsh in its brilliance as compared to the utter blackness that had previous surrounded him, yet the light was not hard to look at. Not knowing what else to do Harry slowly started to make his way towards the light.

The closer that Harry came to the light, the more at peace he felt. The feeling was almost indescribable; he had only experienced this type of calming before when he listened to the phoenix song. Soon, the light was all around him, enveloping him in a sense of warmth. It was impossible to ascertain the source of the light by Harry kept on moving forward.

Shortly, Harry was able to make out what looked like figures moving towards him. Oddly enough, Harry wasn't afraid and the sense of peace was now overlaid with an overwhelming feeling of love. Harry squinted as he tried to identify the individuals that were coming to meet him. There were two people leading the way with many others behind them. It appeared that it was a man and a woman that were coming to greet him. Harry stopped and waited.

"Mum? Dad?" Harry gasped as soon as the man and women were close enough to be recognized. "But how?"

Harry soon found himself wrapped in his mother's arms and he felt her tears on his face. As soon as she loosened her grip, Harry was once more embraced, this time by his father.

"Oh Harry… You have no idea how much we've missed you," Lily Potter said sadly, as his father rumpled his hair.

"But I don't understand. If I'm here with you, does that mean I died?" Harry looked first to his mother and then to his father for an answer to his question.

"Well son, technically yes, you've died, but I'm happy to say that you are not going to be staying."

"What do you mean I can't stay? I've just found you again; I'm not ready to leave you." Harry looked desperately at the two people he wished most in his life that he had had the chance to get to know. This was that chance, the fulfillment of every wish he had ever made and he wasn't ready to give it up so soon.

"Harry, please try to understand, you are the only chance that the wizarding world has to defeat Voldemort. You can not possibly stay here and allow him to take over. You have to go back and fulfill your destiny."

"But Dad, I'm tired. I've fought Voldemort so many times and I don't know how to defeat him. I'm not special; surely someone else will be able to conquer him. I want to stay, I've done my best and I failed. Please don't send me away."

Harry's pleading was interrupted by his mother's soothing voice, "Harry love, you are special, in more ways than you will ever know. You are loved by so many people who would be devastated if you did not live." Lily reached out and stroked his cheek. "You know Harry, we've been watching over you. I'm so sorry that you had to go live with my sister and her family. Your childhood was not something that your father and I approved of. I've even tried to go back so that I could haunt Albus for sending you to them, but I wasn't allowed to go."

James Potter looked at Harry tenderly, "She really means that. I did try to talk her out of it. But when I failed, I tried to see if I could go back with her and haunt Snape, but the powers that be didn't feel that two more ghosts at Hogwarts were really necessary." With that, the tall handsome dark haired man shrugged his shoulders.

Lily smiled lovingly at her husband before returning her attention to her gorgeous son. "Harry, even now your family is trying everything that they can think of to save your life. Think about them and how they would feel if you didn't go back. Your sons need you to guide them. You wouldn't want them to have to grow up without you. Besides, don't you have a beautiful boyfriend who loves you to distraction?"

Harry looked at his mother in surprise, seeing the warmth in her green eyes that he often saw reflected in his son's own eyes. It was really kind of funny hearing Draco referred to as his 'boyfriend.' "You know about Matthew and Evan, and about me and Draco."

"Of course Sweetheart, we watch over you constantly and see everything that affects your life."

"Well, we see almost everything," his father quickly added as Harry blushed, thinking about some of the more private things that he hoped his parents were not witness to.

Harry swallowed, almost afraid to ask, but knowing that this was his only opportunity to know. "So do you approve of me and Draco?"

"Do you love him?" his mother asked softly.

"More than anything."

"Then yes, we approve. Right now, he is desperately trying to save your life. I don't want to even think what will happen to him if you don't go back." She shot a knowing look at Harry. "He seems to be a wonderful young man and he makes you happier than we had ever seen you. Just make sure that you take care of each other and that you take care of your beautiful children," Lily said as she wrapped her arms around Harry. "His life hasn't been easy either, and you both deserve to be happy, Harry." Harry knew that she was avoiding the topic of his imprisonment.

Harry nodded at his mother as tears welled up in his eyes. Their approval of his relationship with his soulmate meant more to him than he had believed possible.

Harry felt his father's strong hand on his shoulder as he looked up into a face that was so like his own. "Harry, your time here is almost up, listen carefully we need you to do a couple of things for us."

Again Harry nodded.

"First, Harry you need to come to terms with what was done to you and forgive the people who sent you to Azkaban. You are not doing yourself any favors by trying to cut yourself off from them; you need learn to trust people again. People aren't perfect and trusting people will cause you pain, but if you don't trust, you'll never be whole again. Your mother and I want you to heal, Harry. You need to do this for both yourself and for your family, please."

Harry hated to have to promise his parents the one thing that he had been struggling with for so long. Seeing Harry's resistance, James pressed on, "Dumbledore was foolish and was suffering from an over-inflated ego from over a century of people telling him he could do no wrong. Eventually, the old fool believed what they were saying about him. You should learn from his mistake, and not let the same thing happen to you. Besides, I think that the Weasleys deserve a chance to be a part of your family. Give them another chance; I don't think they'll disappoint you again. They could be good for both you and the boys."

Harry nodded hearing the wisdom in his father's words.

"By the way son, you're probably the best Quidditch player I've ever seen, you make me real proud every time I see you fly."

Harry laughed as Lily nudged James to keep him on topic. "Okay, I promise to try to let it go and to forgive, but that's all I can promise right now." Harry looked hopefully at his parent's that this promise would be sufficient knowing that he would never fully be able to forget the horrible injustice that was done to him.

Harry couldn't help but laugh at the smile that he saw on both of his parent's faces. Lily knew that their time was running short and still needed to convey certain things to their son.

"Secondly, please tell Padfoot to stop blaming himself. The fact that we died is not his fault, we don't blame him at all. It was our decision to switch Secret Keepers and we are sorry that he had to suffer so. It tears us up to see the burden that he places on himself. Also, tell Moony that he needs to take better care of himself, and that we're not angry at him for believing in Dumbledore when you went to Azkaban."

"Although I still plan on giving him a good talking-to when next I see him," James interrupted his wife when she paused for a breath. Ignoring her disgruntled look he continued on. "And what is with his choice of companion? I would have thought that he could have done better for himself than that greasy haired git."

Harry laughed as Lily shushed her spouse, knowing instinctively by the sparkle in his father's eyes that he was only teasing and had made his peace with Snape a long time ago. "Also tell them that Lily sends her love to the mangy old dog and the loveable wolf. They'll understand."

"Finally, Harry, we want you to know how every much we love you. It was not your fault that we died, or that Cedric died, or anyone else for that matter. Please let the blame fall where it belongs with Voldemort. We couldn't be more proud of the person that you have become." Lily found that she couldn't continue as she became overwhelmed with emotion.

Harry reached over and gave his mother a strong hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks mum. I love you too you know, both of you." Harry peered over his mother's shoulder at his father.

"We know son, we love you and those gorgeous boys of yours, give them a hug and kiss for us," his father added. "They are going to be great Quidditch players, I can tell. But sadly, now it's time for you to go."

"Already, but I want to spend more time with you. I just got here."

"We know Harry, but if you don't leave now, you won't have another chance. You need to go. Besides we'll keep looking out for you and sometime, not too soon mind you, we'll all be together again."

Harry embraced both his parents and held on to them as if he never wanted to let them go. Soon however he felt a gently tugging as if something was pulling him back away from his parents, back away from the light. Harry kept eye contact as his parents images became smaller and smaller. "I love you," Harry said, right before they disappeared altogether. "We love you too, always." Harry wasn't sure if he heard it or if he felt it, but he knew without a doubt that they had responded.

Eventually, Nicole stepped back from the bed and placed her wand over Harry's heart. Severus, who had been administering what potions he thought may help, and Poppy also stepped back away from the bed. Draco watched as the tip of the witch's wand glowed a bright yellow and she touched the wand to Harry's chest. Harry's body seemed to jolt when the wand made contact with him. Not sure what was happening, Draco watched as this procedure was repeated several more times.

A few moments later, Nicole looked over at Draco with tears falling from her eyes. "He's gone, I'm sorry, but there wasn't anything that I could do. He had already lost too much blood and it was just too late by the time I had removed the fetus and stopped his internal hemorrhaging.

At the witch's words, Draco felt the weight of the world come crashing down around him. Draco fought back against the darkness that threatened to consume him. He refused to believe that Harry was gone, with a surge of strength he wretched himself away from Sirius and ran towards the hospital bed.

Draco looked down at Harry's face, now relaxed in death. "No, no damn it. Not again. I refuse to allow you to leave me, Potter. I can't do that again. I won't damn you. Don't die. Please Harry don't die, I need you to live. Don't you leave me, you promised, you son of a bitch. I can't do this alone, please Leo come back to me… I love you…"

Suddenly, the reality of the situation hit the blonde hard. Here was his soul mate lying dead before him. He was not coming back this time. Draco felt something inside him break as tears poured down his face.

Draco slowly lowered his lips and kissed Harry's for the last time. Draco sobbed as he felt the still warm soft lips under his. Lips that he would never feel moving against his, lips that he would never see smile that smile of his that could turn Draco to jelly without a moments notice. Draco placed his arms around Harry and laid his head on Harry's chest, devastated not to hear the comforting beating of Harry's heart that Draco had listened to so many times.

Slowly, Draco's tears streamed down Harry's chest cleansing a path through the blood as they made their way down towards the incision that Nicole had reopened on Harry's lower abdomen. Only a short moment had passed since Nicole had pronounced his mate gone, with renewed determination Draco raised his tear-stained face and with a look more fierce than any Nicole had ever seen before, demanded that she keep trying.

Nicole, after witnessing the death of her best friend, had turned to his Godfather for support. Needless to say, Sirius wasn't handling this unthinkable turn of events well either. They stood there wrapped together in a corner of the hospital room; both still stained with Harry's life giving fluid; both to numb to start comprehending what had just happened.

Seeing the look on Draco's face, Nicole knew that she needed to keep trying, if not for herself or even Draco, but for the twins that she loved as if they were of her own flesh and blood. Pulling out of Sirius' shaking embrace, the young women walked back over to the hospital bed where the familiar body lay.

Raising her wand, she repeated the spell that had an extremely remote possibility of restarting Harry's still heart. But the longer it went without him drawing a breath or his heart pumping what little blood remained throughout his system, his organs would start to be impaired from the lack of oxygen. Even if she were able to revive him, soon it wouldn't matter; it would be too late.

The spell failed again. Looking across Harry's still body, her eyes met and held ones that appeared to be made from steel.

"Once more, please." The desperate whisper gave her the resolve to raise her wand one last time.

The procedure was repeated. Her wand glowing brightly before it discharged a shock to Harry, attempting to jump start his heart. Harry's body jerked as the energy passed through him, but this time something was slightly different. Draco watched never blinking as Nicole bent down low to check Harry's vitals to see if the spell had worked.

A bright smile broke out over the troubled witch's face when she felt Harry's heart give a few tentative beats. "Come on Harry, you can do it. Come back to us," she whispered fiercely as his heart beat fluttered once more before settling into a slow and slightly erratic rhythm.

Still smiling through her tears she looked over at Draco and nodded letting him know that Harry was indeed back. He was no where out of the woods yet, but at least he still had a fighting chance. And if Harry was anything, he was a fighter.

Quickly joined at Harry's bedside by Poppy and Severus, the three of them soon resumed their life saving techniques that they had only just recently abandoned.

Waking up in one of the small uncomfortable hospital beds was not one of Draco's most favorite experiences. Before his eyelids had even fluttered open to greet the morning, the memories of the ambush and all that had transpired afterward came back in one gigantic rush. Draco hadn't meant to fall asleep and correctly assumed that his Godfather had slipped him a sleeping draught when he wasn't paying attention. Wildly, Draco started to look around the room until his gaze fell on a form on the other side of the hospital wing. Without another thought, Draco leapt out of bed and started to make his way over to Harry.

Draco was pleased to notice that Severus, Remus and Sirius were already sitting along his mate's sides as he slid into one of the chairs that were sitting along the side of Harry's bed. Glaring at Severus for his earlier deceit, Draco relaxed somewhat when he saw that Harry's face had regained some small amount of color and that he appeared to be breathing on his own. At Draco's questioning glance, Sirius explained that Harry was in a deep healing coma, and that he would wake up on his own when his body and magical strength had been restored to a sufficient level to allow him to do so. Harry currently was attached to several bags of solutions that were hanging along the bed. These bags fed potions directly into his bloodstream through a muggle IV that was inserted into Harry's arm.

Severus explained to Draco that the potions were necessary to help Harry's body speed up the production of blood to replace what he had lost and to help feed him nutrients.

"But he's going to be okay?" Draco looked at his Godfather for reassurance as he reached over and gently brushed some hair back off Harry's forehead.

"It certainly seems so. Once he is awake, we'll know for sure, but his outlook is promising," Sirius explained.

Sirius, sitting next to Draco, held Harry's hand as they watched the young man who held the hopes of the world in his hands start to heal, at least physically. They all knew that he would need their support to help with his emotional and psychological healing once he woke up.

A short time later, Nicole came into the infirmary to check on her patient. After verifying that there had been no material changes in Harry's condition, she insisted on a private conversation with Draco.

When they were reasonably assured of some privacy, Nicole pulled the startled man into a tight hug. "He'll be alright Draco, I promise you; he'll be alright."

Draco squeezed her harder, feeling good to share this moment with someone who cared for Harry almost as much as he did. "Thank you. Thank you for everything that you've done for him." Draco paused and then corrected himself, "For us."

Blushing slightly at being on the receiving end of that heart stopping smile, the young women collected herself and pulled gently away from the handsome blonde man who belonged so completely to her best friend. Wiping her eyes, she gave him a slight bashful smile. "Look there are some private things that we need to talk about before Harry wakes up, so I figured that now would be as good of a time as any."

Draco nodded; wondering what Nicole needed to talk to him about.

Taking a deep breath, and looking Draco straight in his questioning eyes, she decided that the blunt approach was probably best in this instance.

"Draco, did you know that Harry was pregnant?"

The pain of the miscarriage was still too fresh and Draco had to look away. "No, no I didn't know. To be honest I don't think that Harry knew either."

Draco's sad voice pieced her heart; she knew how much Draco would have loved to be a part of Harry's pregnancy, especially after missing out on the first one. "That wouldn't surprise me. Harry didn't exactly catch on quickly the first time either."

Draco ran a hand through his slightly disheveled hair. "Hell, shouldn't Harry have been sick or something if he had been pregnant?"

Nicole would have laughed, had the conversation not been so personally painful. "No, Draco, that is a common misconception, in reality, morning sickness is not a common ailment during pregnancy, only a relative few people actually experience it. Harry didn't have any morning sickness when he was pregnant with the twins. He was occasionally moody, had some weird few cravings, and was just very tired. That is all the symptoms he had, which is why it is likely that he hadn't even known that he was pregnant himself. Male pregnancies are harder to diagnosis as there is no menstrual cycle to be missed."

"How far along was he?" Draco asked quietly, wanting to know on one hand, and not wanting to know on the other.

"He was about 14 weeks, just starting his second trimester." Draco's mind whirled thinking of all the 'what ifs' and 'should have beens'. He hadn't even noticed that he hadn't been paying attention to Nicole until she pulled sharply on his arm. "What?"

Nicole looked almost apologetic. "There is something else that you need to know."

Draco nodded for her to continue, not really feeling ready to hear anything else.

"Draco, I'm sorry, but there was a lot of damage. I did the best that I could, but it is very unlikely that Harry will be able to conceive and carry another baby."

While her words were not unexpected, they still hurt. Since finding the boys, Draco had often imagined after this damn war was over and they had made their union more official that he and Harry would settle down and possibly have more children. A little girl would have been nice, maybe with his hair and Harry's eyes. But Nicole had just confirmed what he had feared since learning of the miscarriage. It looked like more children just weren't in the stars for the two of them. But at least he had Harry, Harry and his beloved boys.

Quickly conjuring a chair for the shaking man to sit down on, Nicole gently guided him to the seat. Taking a few moments to make sure that Draco had stopped shaking, Nicole continued on with her last topic for this painful conversation.

"One last thing Draco, I'm going to have Harry moved to one of the private hospital rooms so that he'll be more comfortable. However, when he is awake and is then later released from the hospital wing, I need you to promise me no sex for at least six weeks. Harry will start to feel better, but he suffered a lot of internal damage, some of which has to mend itself on its own, so please restrain yourself and him."

Draco appreciated Nicole's concern, but sex right now was the last thing on his mind. He needed to take care of his family and if that meant keeping his hands to himself for a while, then so be it.

On the medi-witch's insistence, Draco went to visit with the twins for a while. They were fortunate enough to be staying with a family who had kids in the daycare that the twins went to. So far they had been able to hide the extent of Harry's injuries from the boys, only letting them know that their daddy had been hurt and was currently in the hospital wing to get better. As soon as he was well enough, they would be able to come and visit him.

Spending time with his sons had done the trick. Draco hadn't even realized how much he had missed the boys while he had been in the hospital wing with Harry. Somewhat happier, Draco let Nicole sent him back into his own bed so that he could rest, knowing that if he refused she would just reminded him that he wouldn't be any good to Harry when he woke up if he didn't regain his own strength first.

26  A Long Road

Gradually, Harry became aware of his surroundings. There appeared to be voices coming from all around him; also he felt a slight discomfort in his left arm, almost as though something sharp was pressing against it. In the background, he could hear the low repetitive beeping noises of medical monitors and the strong smell of disinfectant that he associated immediately with the school's hospital wing. Harry was confused, was he back at Hogwarts?

Harry tried to lift his arm, to move it away from whatever was irritating it, but found that he didn't have the strength to move at all. With a slight groan, Harry gave up in defeat.

At that slight noise, the room fell strangely silent. Conversation stopped, as all eyes turned towards the dark haired figure that had been lying so still for such a long time on the bed. Harry had remained unconscious for over a week, and rarely did Draco leave his mate's side; afraid that there would be some small change in Harry's condition and that he wouldn't be there for it. Only when threatened with a strong hex from Nicole, Severus or Sirius would Draco leave, and even then, it was only for a short break to shower and clean up before returning immediately to be with Harry. Sirius and Nicole were not much better, only leaving for short spells as well.

Harry had many visitors during the week following the ambush and Albus swore that there was a castle room near the owlery completely filled with get-well cards and gifts sent from all over for Harry when he was strong enough. Draco refused to leave Harry alone, even at night, so Madame Pomfrey gave up her many arguments and allowed Draco to remain in the bed beside Harry, as long as he agreed to get some rest each night.

It had taken quite a while for Harry's magic to stabilize after both the battle and then losing the baby. There had even been a couple of times during the past week when it looked like Harry's magic might become so unstable that it could possibly do irreparable harm to him or even, Merlin forbid, kill him. Needless to say, it was a very stressful week for everyone.

Currently Sirius, Nicole, Severus, Remus and Draco were eating their evening meal at a small table that had been set up for them in the infirmary. Since Harry's fall and subsequent miscarriage, Draco refused to eat unless it was in the hospital ward; where he could continue to monitor Harry's condition. He and Sirius had taken almost every meal for the past week at this small table and Severus and Remus had gotten into the habit of joining them for dinner. Occasionally, Nicole would also join them when she wasn't with the twins and her duties in the hospital wing permitted it. Now, however, everyone was solely focused on Harry; each praying that the young man would finally wake up and rejoin them.

Draco heard the groan and his head automatically swiveled to watch Harry. The noise had been so soft that Draco wasn't even sure if he had heard it or if it had only been a product of his wishful imagination. But then sure enough, he heard it again. And he wasn't the only one that had heard it, as Sirius and Nicole both bolted from their chairs and raced over to Harry's bedside.

Draco quickly made his way over to Harry and gently picked up his partner's hand. Using his other hand to brush Harry's bangs off his forehead, Draco leaned down and in a low voice began to plead once more with his unconscious lover. "Come on Leo, you can do this…I really need for you to wake up. Do you think you can do that for me? It's been so long since I saw those beautiful green eyes of yours, how about opening your eyes so that I can see if they are truly as green as I remember them."

Draco gasped in surprise as he felt a slight pressure on his hand. For the first time since that tragic night, Harry had responded; he had squeezed his hand. It wasn't much, but at least Draco knew that Harry heard him and that he knew he was there with him. Severus saw the look on Draco's face and realizing what was happening went to notify Poppy and Albus that Harry was finally showing signs of waking up.

"That's right Leo, I want you to squeeze my hand again if you can hear me. Do you think you can do that?" Draco waited a few tense moments before he once more felt a small squeeze. Draco looked up into the worried faces of Nicole, Harry's Godfather, and Sirius' best friend, his face breaking into a tentative smile. "He heard me. He squeezed my hand."

Sirius looked like he was about to cry when Remus drew the taller man against him in a friendly hug. "Harry is going to wake up soon and then everything will be fine. You just wait and see," Remus reassured Sirius as Sirius struggled to get control of his emotions.

Harry heard voices, familiar voices talking to him. They sounded worried. Gathering what little strength that he had Harry made another attempted to move, this time to try to open his eyes. Harry moaned loudly and quickly shut his eyes as the light burned painfully as it pulsed directly into his skull.

Draco couldn't believe what he was seeing as Harry's lashes started to flutter and then after so many hours of waiting and praying, Harry opened his eyes. The beautiful sight didn't last long as Harry cried out in distress and once more closed his eyes. "Someone, dim the lights; they are bothering him", Draco directed.

Just then the Headmaster and Madame Pomfrey entered the Hospital Ward, followed quickly by Severus. Poppy watched as Nicole finished taking Harry's vitals as Draco filled the medi-witch in on what had been happening with Harry's condition. Draco reached out and gently wiped away a tear that had been squeezed out of one of Harry's eyes and had started to roll down his cheek. "Leo, the bright lights are gone, I promise. Please wake up for me."

Harry heard the solemn promise and tentatively opened his eyes again. This time the room was bathed in the cool shadows of either early morning or late evening. Harry couldn't tell which it was though. As soon as his vision cleared the first image that he saw was one of a very tired, very much relieved, Draco Malfoy. A feeling of being where he belonged flooded through him as he smiled up at his mate who started to plant kisses all over Harry's face.

"Oh Merlin Harry, Oh thank Merlin," Draco kept repeating over and over as he continued to kiss Harry. Harry smiled and tried to reach up to embrace his lover but only managed to move his arm slightly before it fell back onto the mattress and Harry once more groaned this time with exhaustion.

Poppy gently started to question the raven-haired man, "Harry, are you in any pain?" Harry nodded slowly and the witch injected a potion into his IV tube. "That potion will help with the pain. Now do you know where you are?" Again, Harry nodded. "Okay Harry, I know that you have lots of questions, but I'm afraid that you're just not strong enough right now for that. I need to you to go back to sleep so I'm also going to give you a dreamless sleep potion which will let you sleep for about another 12 hours, when you wake up I am hopeful that you'll be feeling a little better."

Harry turned his attention from the witch and noticed for the first time that Sirius, Remus, Severus, and Dumbledore were also in the room. Harry was shocked by their worn and haggard appearances and smiled slightly in greeting hoping to reassure them all of his well being. As he felt the sleeping potion start to take effect, Harry gathered his remaining energy and slowly raised his hand to his soul mate. "Dray…"

Draco watched as the medi-witches examined Harry and injected various potions into the plastic tube that fed the liquids into him via his arm. He felt almost in a fog as relief washed over him now that Harry had woken and Draco was assured that Harry would eventually recover. Suddenly he heard Harry croak out one word, "Dray," and raise his hand toward him. Knowing that the need for physical contact was mutual Draco quickly took Harry's offered hand and raised it to his lips. Draco felt a slight pressure pulling him towards the bed. Taking the invitation Draco lay down beside Harry taking the slightly smaller man into his arms. "Stay," the word was whispered against his chest.

"Forever my love. I'll stay with you forever."

The next time that Harry woke he was surrounded by warmth. He shifted slightly as he looked up and emerald green eyes met slate gray. Harry was disturbed when he saw that Draco had been crying. Harry tentatively reached up and touched the other man's cheek. "Why?"

Harry's voice sounded more like a croak, as his throat was so dry. Identifying Harry's problem, Draco reached over and poured him a glass of ice cold water from a nearby pitcher. This also served as a small distraction to allow Draco to pull himself together a bit before answering Harry's one word question.

Gratefully accepting the water, Harry continued to wait patiently for Draco to answer him as he took a few tentative sips. The cool water felt to wonderful as it trickled down his parched throat.

"Bloody Hell Harry, do you have any idea what I've been through the last week or so? What it's been like for me since you were hurt?" Draco paused and looked away seemly unable to continue. Taking a deep breath, Draco turned back to Harry. "When I woke up this morning, and I felt you in my arms I was afraid that I was dreaming; that this wasn't real. Until just a few moments ago, I truly didn't believe that I would even be able to hold you in my arms again. I've missed you so damn much. Don't ever do that to me again, do you understand?"

"Never, Dray, I would never leave you if I had a choice."

"I know love. Now that I've got you back among the living, don't think that I'm going to let you alone for a second."

Harry just smiled and then got a serious look on his face. "I love you."

Tears once more filled Draco eyes turning them into molten silver. "I love you too."

After placing a chaste kiss on Harry's lips, Draco got up out of bed. At Harry's questioning glance, Draco explained that everyone would know Harry was awake now and that they would most likely be getting visitors. Draco placed several pillows at the head of the bed and reached down to help Harry sit up.

As Harry struggled to sit up he felt a sharp pain in his lower abdomen. Taking a deep breath and blowing some of the pain away, Harry waited for the stabbing feeling to dissipate somewhat before trying to figure out what was going on. The last thing he remembered was the ambush and getting hit with those curses as he was making his get away. But even if he had fallen from his broom, which Harry was pretty sure he had done, he couldn't figure out where this pain in his lower half was coming from. Tentatively, he reached down with his right hand and to find the source of his pain.

Draco held his breath as Harry softly cried out from the unexpected pain when he tried to sit up. Reaching behind Harry, he helped support the raven haired man's weight, in an attempt to ease some of the pressure of his newly re-healed incision. Draco dreaded this moment almost as much as he wished so desperately for it. He knew that he would be the one that would tell Harry about the miscarriage, he just didn't expect it to be this soon after he had woken up.

Draco knew Harry's reasons for keeping the boys true parentage a secret had been valid, but in some ways Draco was very much relived now that certain people knew that he was Matthew and Evan's other biological parent. It was so hard to try to hide how much he loved those two little boys and how very proud he was of them. Deep down, he was most anxious for this war to end so that he and Harry and the boys would finally officially declare themselves a true family. Ever since finding out about his sons, they had quickly become his main reason for fighting.

Not able to prevent this unavoidable discovery, Draco steeled himself and waited for the inevitable question.

Harry's eyes narrowed when he felt the tender skin along his newly raised scar left from the twin's birth. "Dray?"

"Yes Harry?" Draco knew exactly what Harry was asking but he paused, stalling to give himself a few more moments. He needed to make sure that he could get his emotions under control so that he could be there for Harry when he found out about their tragic loss. His focus had to be solely on Harry and not on himself.

"What happened to me after I fell? Why is my abdomen so sore? Did I have some internal injuries from the fall?" Harry was confused, the only time he had felt this type of lingering pain was after he had the Caesarian section when the boys were born.

Draco sat down beside Harry, knowing that this was one conversation that they needed to have face to face. Reaching over to his dark haired lover, Draco tenderly ran his hands through the tousled hair. "Harry," Draco began slowly. "Do you remember the attack?"

Confused at the concern and pain he saw in Draco's silver eyes, Harry nodded.

"After you were hit repeatedly with the stunning curse, you fell about sixty five feet."

Again Harry nodded, he had assumed as much.

"We had already started our return to Hogwarts when we realized you weren't with us. As soon as we noticed you weren't there, we turned around and went back to help you, but we didn't get there fast enough and I watched you fall. It was one of the scariest moments in my life."

Draco shushed Harry when it looked like he was going to respond to Draco's comment. "I say one of the scariest because the worst moment hadn't happened at that point yet. We were able to keep the Death Eater's away from you, until reinforcements arrived. Hell, Dumbledore himself came out of the castle when he realized that you were in such serious danger." Draco sat back in the chair and ran a hand through his own hair.

Harry tried to smile but it ended up a grimace as more pain flooded through him, everyone knew that Dumbledore never left the castle anymore; he was far too valuable, as he was instrumental in Hogwarts continued protection. His main responsibility in times of battle rested solely on protecting the castle and monitoring and maintaining the wards that surrounded it and kept their loved ones safe.

"With the extra help, we were able to chase the rest of the Death Eaters away, including Voldemort. He wasn't too happy about leaving you behind, I might add. Once they were gone, I landed and ran over to where you were." Draco's voice cracked as he remembered the horrific site of Harry's twisted body lying there covered in blood and that moment when he didn't know if he was still alive or not.

"You were a real mess, Leo. There was blood everywhere. I didn't even know at first if…if…" Draco's voice cracked again and Harry carefully reached over and grabbed Draco's hand.

"Its alright Dray, I'm here and I'm fine, what ever you have to tell me we'll get through it together." Harry felt awful when he realized just how much Draco had suffered.

"It wasn't until we got you back to Hogwarts and realized that you were still bleeding that Nicole figured out what was happening to you." Draco's voice was hoarse and broken.

"Harry love, you had a miscarriage." There, he said it. Draco closely watched for Harry's reaction. At first Draco wondered if Harry had even heard him, as the raven-haired man, just sat there propped up in bed. Then slowly Draco saw realization dawn as Harry's eyes got so wide and, if possible, his nearly translucent skin got even paler.

"W-W-What?"

Draco didn't answer him and just watched as Harry tried to comprehend the meaning of what he had just learned. A part of Harry heard the words but just couldn't fathom what exactly they meant, their meaning far too hideous to comprehend.

"But that's not possible. I'd have to be pregnant to have a miscarriage, and I wasn't. I would have known if I was pregnant. I wasn't. You have to be wrong." Harry's pleading voice had reached a desperate pitch by the end of his rant. "It's not true; please tell me it's not true. Oh God, tell me it's not true."

Knowing that there were no words that could comfort his partner, Draco stood up and slowly pulled Harry into his strong arms, worried as much for this latest devastating blow to his spirit as his was for the remnants of the physical wounds on his slowly mending body. Holding on to each other for dear life, the two men shared a grief only known to those that had been forced an endure a pain beyond any pain imaginable; a pain worse than the strongest Cruciatus curse; a pain only known to those who had lost a child.

A short time later when their tears had been exhausted, Draco felt that maybe Harry was ready to talk about what happened. Sure, this was only their first round of tears, there would certainly be many others, but Draco knew that in order for Harry to start to heal from this last vicious turn of events that was dealt to them that they needed to start coming to terms with it.

Draco felt bad about bringing the topic up again, when Harry raised his clearly exhausted and pain filled eyes. Draco had only seen pain like that in someone's eyes when as a Death Eater he was forced to participate in torturing and killing of families, either muggle or wizard it didn't matter, the parents' all looked like Harry looked now as they watched their children die.

"I didn't know Draco, I swear I didn't. If I had known then I would have done things so much differently." Harry soft voice was barely recognizable.

"Harry, love, it's okay, I didn't suspect a thing either and nor did Nicole. You know how hard it is to detect a wizard pregnancy, don't you dare start blaming yourself for this." Draco's heart was breaking again as he watched Harry struggle; he loved this man so very much.

"How far?"

Draco gently pressed his lips to Harry's forehead before answering. "Nicole said she thought somewhere around fourteen weeks."

"So it would have been conceived only a month or so after we moved back here."

Draco nodded affirming Harry's calculation.

"Do you know…?" Harry's voice broke and he couldn't bring himself to finish the question.

Knowing exactly what Harry wanted to know, Draco answered him anyway. "No Harry, it was too early, Nicole couldn't tell what the sex was." The spell usually used to determine the sex of a baby could be performed as early as a day after conception, but as the spell read the baby's magical aura, the spell couldn't work an a deceased fetus.

For a while neither man said anything else, they just sat their both caught up in their own thoughts of what might have been if things had happened differently.

Finally, Harry whispered, "I would have loved to have had more children with you. I always thought that it would be neat to have a daughter, although I wouldn't care if we could only have a slew of boys, as long as they were ours."

Momentarily shuddering as with Harry's words 'a slew of boys', Draco got the visual image of Harry and himself with the twins and about six other boys all crammed into a small house Weasley style. But Draco shook it off knowing that even if they had wanted more children now, that according to Nicole, it wasn't likely.

Harry looked up when he felt Draco mentally pull away from his again, almost like he was preparing to give him even more bad news. "What is it Dray, did something else happen?"

Wanting to reassure his mate, Draco quickly added, "No Harry, nothing else happened, everyone else is fine. It's just that after your surgery, Nicole took me aside and told me about your condition." Draco paused; he hated how all the words in the English vocabulary seemed to escape him at this critical moment. "You see Harry, you were hurt pretty bad, it's truly a wonder that you even survived at all with the fall and then the miscarriage. But the truth is Leo, the odds are that we will not be able to have any more children, there was just too much damage. I'm sorry, luv."

Harry started to shake as even more tears started to fall as he realized the extent of the harm that hideous monster was responsible for. Not only had Voldemort been caused the death of the child that neither he nor Draco had even gotten the chance to acknowledge. But, he had also taken away any chance of them having more children.

Harry's shaking increased as his anger grew. When Harry's eyes seemed to practically glow and the energy level in the air increased to the point where Harry's magic was starting to physically manifest itself by making the lights burn brighter and the air around them start to swirl, Draco knew that he had to do something soon or Harry would loose complete control. This was a very dangerous situation with a wizard of Harry's caliber, especially now, as it was still too soon for Harry to be performing any sort of magic having just awakened from his coma.

"Leo, you have got to calm down, please Leo, if you continue this way you are only going to hurt yourself. Please calm down. I'd really prefer it if you didn't blow us up right now."

Harry could feel his fragile control starting to slip and did his best to concentrate on keeping it together. His magic was so powerful now that if he lost complete control over it, it could seriously do some damage, and no matter what, Harry didn't want any more innocent people to suffer.

Draco sighed in relief as he felt the power levels in the surrounding air start to fall back to more normal levels. Although his relief was only short lived, when Harry turned towards him again and he saw that Harry's eyes were still strangely iridescent.

"This ends now Draco." For being as weak as he had been only moments before Harry's voice was surprisingly strong and determined. "I mean it Dray; he is going down and soon. I've had enough of this shit, and I refuse to put up with it any longer." Harry's voice if anything grew even stronger and more powerful. "That bastard murdered our baby before it even had a chance to draw its first breath. He dies; he dies soon and by my hand."

Knowing that there was very little that he could say at this point, Draco kissed his mate softly on his lips. This war had taken one too many casualties. Voldemort had unknowingly made the second biggest mistake of his Dark Lord reign when he cast that stunning spell on Harry. His first, of course, being his misguided attack on the Potters that fateful Halloween night that put all the other events in motion. Harry would see him finished now; of that Draco had no doubt, and Draco planned on being with him every step of the way.

So caught up in the emotional whirlwind that was taking place in the private hospital room, neither Draco nor Harry were aware that their intensely private conversation was being observed by three pairs of eyes.

Draco had been right, there were many people anxious to visit with Harry to reassure themselves that he was indeed on the road to recovery. Unfortunately, some of them just now realized how long of a road that really was going to be. By far, the oldest pair in the lot made sure that his companions didn't say anything until they were safely out of earshot and back in his office.

As soon as the gargoyle was back in place, Ron Weasley couldn't contain himself anymore. "What the hell was all that about? I thought Harry just had some internal injuries from his fall, why were they talking about a miscarriage?"

Her husband's comments quickly brought Hermione out of her stupor. "But of course, it all makes sense now; I don't know why I didn't think of it before."

"Yes, it does answer a lot of questions, doesn't it Hermione? And to think the answer was so obvious all this time, but we just weren't prepared to look for it." Albus' eyes were twinkling at full force as he watched realization slowly dawn on Harry's former best friends' faces.

Seeing that Ron wasn't getting to the proper conclusion fast enough, Hermione decided to help him along. "Just think about it Ron, think about it with an open mind. Who do Harry's sons' look like?"

"They look like Harry," Ron replied stubbornly.

"Fine, discount their hair, and Matthew's green eyes, isn't there anyone else that they resemble? Granted the other resemblance is subtler, but it's still there if you look for it. Think about the way their faces are shaped and how their noses turn up just a tad on the end, and then if you need anymore help, think about Evan's eyes. Sure the shape of his eyes are the same as Harry's and his brother, but the color…." Hermione was getting frustrated, that old muggle saying about being able to lead a horse to water, but not being able to make him drink never seemed more true than right now. Sure, she knew that Ron wasn't always that fastest to catch on to something, but once he did, he was a great strategic thinker. His tireless behind the scenes hard work had helped save hundreds of lives since this war had started.

Screwing his face up with his concentration, Ron started to put the clues together. Picturing Evan Potter as he had last seen the child in his mind, he slowly started to concentrate on his cute face. Taking away Harry's messy black hair, Ron studied the child's features. The chin looked familiar, it wasn't Harry's but he knew that he had seen it somewhere before. The sense of familiarity increased as Ron worked his way up the child's face. Suddenly, the answer hit him as he stared into a pair of gray eyes, those eyes could only belong to a Malfoy.

Hermione knew the moment that Ron had made the connection, as he breathing started to become slightly erratic. "Breathe Ron, breathe. It's okay; it really doesn't change anything. You knew that they were romantically involved before. Harry even told you that he loved him, so just settle down."

Concentrating on his breathing Ron finally managed to gasp out, "Hell, its one thing to be sleeping with him, but he actually had his children. Harry is a man and he gave birth to Malfoy's offspring. Harry and Malfoy…." He was so upset, Ron couldn't continue.

Ron's reaction sparked an old feeling of protectiveness when it came to Harry. "Now you listen to me, Ronald Weasley. I will not have you making any trouble for Harry and his family. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?" There was no mistaking the repercussions should Ron choose not to obey.

"Harry and Draco have both been dealt with a tragic event, and we have to do everything to support them."

At Ron's incredulous look, Hermione couldn't stop herself from adding, "Yes, we have to support Malfoy too. Harry and Draco would never had been able to have children in the first place if they weren't soul mates, so regardless how you or anyone else may feel about the matter, they are together and they will be together for the rest of their lives. I, for one, will make sure that that life is as long and as happy as it can possibly be given the circumstances."

"They're soul mates?"

"Yes Ron, they are soul mates," Hermione said, pausing to give him her 'don't you ever read' glare before continuing. "Male pregnancies are extremely rare and can only happen between two very powerful wizards who happen to by bound via a connection inherent in their very souls."

"Yes indeed Hermione, you are correct as usual." Albus chuckled; the Weasleys were always a source of entertainment. "But for now, I suggest that we keep Harry's and Draco's secret. They need time to grieve for their loss. And as I'm sure you both realize that if this new information got out, it could prove to be even more dangerous to their family. If people found out about Harry having successfully carrying not one but two children to term, well, this additionally indication of his tremendous power could make people start to fear him again. That is something that we can not afford, not now when we are so close to the end."

Dumbledore allowed the Weasley's to reflect a little more on the conversation that they had just overheard before adding, "And I believe that the end is near. Soon this will all be just one more segment taught in some history class."

Harry was surprised to see that at least six hours had past before he woke up again. This time he was met with delicious smells of food. Madame Pomfrey assured him that as soon as he was able to eat on his own that she would remove the IV tube that was currently supplying him nutrients.

Once more, Draco assisted Harry in sitting up in bed and helped Harry eat his meal. It wasn't much, just some chicken noodle soup, green beans and a roll with butter and milk but to Harry it was wonderful. Unfortunately, after not eating for so long, due to his healing coma, his stomach wasn't able to handle too much and Harry found it a struggle to finish even half of his food. Harry lay back against his pillows after he had finished, surprised at how tired he was just from eating part of his small lunch.

Poppy wasn't too impressed with Harry's progress but agreed to remove the I.V. tube later that evening if Harry ate another meal at least as big as the first one before he went to sleep that night. Shortly after the witch left, Nicole and Sirius came to visit.

Sirius bounded in disguised as Snuffles and jumped up onto Harry's bed and settled himself between the two men. Harry still feeling extremely low but appreciating Sirius' efforts managed a weak smile as Snuffle's started to lick his face, not to be out done Draco quickly assumed his animagus form and proceeded to compete with Sirius at licking Harry's face. "Enough, enough..." Harry managed to gasp. "It is bad enough being assaulted by one dog but two…yuck."

Draco looked insulted at being called a dog and Harry had a hard time being firm as he looked into the soulful brown eyes of the black dog and the soft gray eyes of the wolf. Seeing as he had greeted Harry sufficiently, Snuffles jumped down off of the bed and transformed back into his human form. Draco meanwhile decided to stay in his wolf form and curled up along side Harry protectively.

Both Nicole and Sirius were glad to see Harry looking much improved. The two of them sat down in the chairs beside Harry's bed and caught Harry up on what was happening while he had been unconscious, careful to keep from mentioning the miscarriage. Before the conversation had progressed very far, Severus and Remus, who also stopped in to make sure Harry was recovering properly, joined them.

"So when do you think I'll be able to get out of here and back to my own rooms?" Harry questioned, already tired of the plain white surroundings and missing his children something fierce. He knew deep down that he wasn't nearly recovered enough to be allowed to leave but he thought he'd ask anyway.

"Well Harry, I know how much you hate being here in the hospital, but the truth is that when we brought you back here to Hogwarts, well…I guess there is no easy way to say it," Sirius looked over to Nicole for assistance. Nicole nodded her encouragement. "Well…you kinda died." Sirius managed to spit this last bit out as he watched Harry carefully trying to gauge his reaction. Harry, however, didn't look surprised or concerned and merely reached over to scratch behind Draco's ears as he let out a mournful howl to express what he thought about that situation. "I think that everyone is going to take it slow to make sure that you are fully recovered and that there are no lingering side affects before you are released. I just have this feeling that you might be making this place your home for awhile yet." No one wanted to even begin to broach the subject of his miscarriage and the recovery time that his body needed to get back to normal after that trauma. Again, as there was so little known about male pregnancy and what Harry may need to recover physically as well as magically from the miscarriage; they knew that they were not going to take any chances.

"Harry, I couldn't help but notice that you didn't seem surprised when Sirius mentioned the state you were in when we brought you back here," Remus stated hesitantly. His relationship with Harry was progressing slowly, although they were no where near as close as they once had been. Remus was grateful to both Sirius and Severus for including him in intimate family gatherings that allowed Remus to get reacquainted with Harry and for Harry to get used to Remus' presence in his life once more. Spending time with Prong's Grandchildren was just an extra sweet bonus.

Harry studied the solemn man in front of him. He knew that Remus was truly sorry for what happened back when Harry was in school here and while he didn't completely forgive the man, he did sort of understand why he placed his trust in Dumbledore. Hell, everyone still did for the most part. But remembering his promise to his parents, he knew that he needed to come to terms with Remus' betrayal and if possible, forgive the man. "Well you see, there is something that I wanted to talk with both of you about." Harry felt completely unsure how to proceed with delivering the messages from his parents. "But first I want you both to promise me that you won't get upset and that you'll let me finish what I have to say before you ask me any questions."

Curious at what Sirius' Godson had to tell them that would make him extract this sort of promise, both men readily agreed.

"After I fell," Harry was interrupted by a howl. "If you can't stay quiet, you'll just have to leave until I finish this." Properly chastised, the wolf stopped howling and laid his head on Harry's lap. "As I was saying, after I fell and hit the ground I think I lost consciousness for awhile. When I came to, I could feel this terrible pain and felt myself losing a lot of blood, I just knew that I wasn't going to make it. Everything around me was black as I lost consciousness again, and then out of nowhere came this bright light. The light was warm and inviting and I was drawn towards it. As I came closer to the light, I saw that there were people waiting for me there. There were lots of people who I had never met before; I guess they were my grandparents and other family. But most importantly, my mum and dad were there." Sirius let out a gasp and quickly grabbed onto Remus' hand for support.

"They explained to me that I had died but that you all were doing everything that you could to bring me back. I didn't get to spend a lot of time with them, but we did get to visit for a little bit. Before I was sent back though, they asked me to do something for them. They wanted me to tell you, Sirius, to stop taking the blame for their deaths. They don't blame you and they hate seeing you blame yourself. Remus, they want you to start taking better care of yourself. They forgive you for not believing in me and for not helping me when I was sent to prison." Harry paused, he was really too tired to be having this emotional discussion right now, on top of everything else. "Although my Dad did say that he wanted to have a little talk with you at some future point in time."

Both Sirius and Remus were staring at Harry in disbelief. "Finally, my mum wanted me to tell you that 'Lily sends her love to the mangy mutt and the lovable wolf.' I just wanted you both to know how much you still mean to them." Harry's face was pale with the strain of talking so much and his voice was slowly fading to a soft whisper.

Remus was gripping Sirius' hand so hard he was liable to crush some of the smaller bones as tears streamed down his face. "But…how?"

"Oh Merlin…Harry are you sure that they said all that?" Sirius questioned looking at Harry as if his answer could mean the end of the world.

Having practically no energy left, Harry could only bring himself to nod.

"Harry did your parents have any other messages?" came the Headmaster's voice as he walked over to the bed. Harry hadn't even realized that he had come into the ward until he had spoken.

"As a matter of fact yes." Harry looked over at the old man thinking about what his father had said about the dangers of believing your own press. "They were very unhappy that you sent me to live with the Dursleys while growing up." Harry returned his attention to the gray wolf on his bed. "We also talked about my relationship with Draco and they told me that they approved and that they wanted us to take care of each other and take care of Matthew and Evan." Draco the wolf licked Harry's hand to show his appreciation and support. "My Dad asked me about quidditch." At this, everyone in the room chuckled. "He also told me that Cedric's death wasn't my fault, that Cedric didn't blame me. Finally they gave me some advice and asked me to do something for them, that I promised I would try to do. Then, they told me that they were proud of me and that they loved me." Harry paused as he smiled a small smile that was filled with sadness. "It was the only time that I can ever remember hearing them say that."

With a small pop, Harry found himself wrapped tightly in Draco's arms. Very softly, Harry added, "It was probably one of the best memories that I have." Knowing that only emotional momentum had kept Harry talking so long in his weakened state, Draco gently laid the other man back down on his bed.

Taking the hint, most people left the pair alone as they went off to discuss this latest unexpected turn of events. With another tight hug, Sirius straightened up and with a final smile he turned to leave the room. As he approached the doorway, he had to repress a chuckle as he heard Harry sleepily exclaim, "Hey does anyone know what happened to my broom?"

Harry kept his eye's closed and pretended to be asleep as he heard the soft shuffle of footfalls that could only be his sons. He was very anxious for their visit as Poppy had made him wait until he was feeling stronger before allowing the little ones into the hospital wing for a short visit. Finally, Draco convinced the older medic that the boys desperately missed their daddy and needed to see him face to face to reassure themselves that he was indeed alright and would be coming home to them soon. Like most others, Poppy didn't stand a chance against the Malfoy charm, and soon found herself helping to arrange the visit personally.

As much as it pained him to realize that he and Draco may never have any more children, it only made him feel more grateful for the two beautiful ones that they already did have. He missed Matthew and Evan dreadfully and couldn't wait until he was able to hold them in his arms again.

Harry tried not to smile, as he pretended to be asleep when he heard Evan's high pitched voice say in an exaggerated whisper, "Shhhh…Daddy's sleeping."

"I know, dummy." Harry frowned when he heard his other son's retort. People who thought that the two's were 'terrible' must not have raised a three-year-old. The threes were every bit as trying as the twos were, if not more so.

"Matthew, what did I tell you about calling people names?" Draco gently reprimanded his son. Harry was having a really hard time now trying not to give away the fact that he was listening intently to their conversation. As much as he loved Draco before, he found that 'parental Draco' was completely irresistible. Harry knew that Draco had his doubts about what kind of a father he would be, but in all honestly, Draco took to being a parent with a naturalness that surprised even himself. Very simply, Draco was a great father.

"You said not to call anyone a name when someone might hear you."

Harry couldn't help it, he let out a gasp at the utter nonsense that Draco had been filling their sons' heads with. "You told him what?"

Raising both of his eyebrows in a classic Malfoy way, Draco grinned at his lover as he summoned two smaller chairs to Harry's bed side for the boys to sit in. "So you were awake after all."

Not wanting to sit in the chair, Evan climbed up on top of Harry's bed, giving his daddy a big hug and kiss. "Missed you, Daddy."

Harry blinked rapidly to clear the tears that came immediately to his eyes at his young son's words. "Missed you too, Sweetheart."

Not to be outdone by his twin, Matthew pushed his brother out of the way so that he could get his hug and kiss as well. "I missed you more Daddy."

After giving his green eyed son a hug and kiss, Harry moved over to make room for both of his boys, so that they could all fit comfortably on the small twin bed. "I missed you too, Matty. I missed you boys even more than I missed chocolate, if you can believe that."

The twins started to giggle, it was a long running joke that while in California whenever Harry disguised as Emrys Kingston traveled away from them overnight that as soon as he got home he would tell them that he missed them, but not as much as he missed chocolate. Chocolate was Harry's comfort food, and according to him should be served as a main course at every meal. Draco slowly shook his head as he wished he had a galleon for every time he heard Harry say that 'a meal without something chocolate was woefully incomplete'.

Draco smiled in relief as the cluster of dark hair on the bed; the boys were working wonders on Harry's mentality. After being told about the miscarriage, Harry had slumped into a mild depression and Draco was getting worried that his mental state would interfere with his physical recovery. The pain of losing a child will never go away, of that Draco had no doubt, but he hoped that given time and the love of their sons that the loss would become more bearable.

Taking Harry up on the invitation in his eyes, Draco moved to join his family on the magically enlarged bed.

Nicole entered the quiet infirmary and made her way toward the far end of the wing where the few private rooms were located. Shifting the heavy tray that she was carrying from both hands to her right, she slowly opened the door to Harry's room.

Silently crossing the room, Nicole sat the tray laden with Harry's lunch down on a small bedside table before allowing herself the luxury of looking around. Warmth flooded through her as she watched the family curled up asleep in a large ball in Harry's bed, just content to be together again.

She had been astounded all those nights ago when she realized that Harry was indeed miscarrying. Never had a male been able to get pregnant a second time. But then again, never had one delivered twins before either. She had never even considered the possibility of Harry and Draco having more children and based on their reactions when they too realized what had happened, they hadn't either. Maybe the reason it had never happened before was because so few wizards were even capable of conception in the first place, and of the handful that had managed that feat, half of them had died in the process.

Nicole knew that it would take her a long time to get over the terror that had filled her at the sight of her best friend lying so still and covered in his own blood. She was intensely grateful to whatever deity had permitted Harry to return to them, suspecting that Harry would have died with out some sort of divine intervention. She couldn't even consider what would have happened if they had lost him; the thought was just too horrendous to even contemplate.

She managed to steal some private time with her friend every chance she had, which wasn't many, seeing how Draco seldom left him alone. But on one of her night shifts when Harry was feeling particularly rested after sleeping most of the day, they were able to have a good 'ole heart to heart. It had felt good being able to just sit there with Harry, one on one and just pour out all their pain and anger. She had missed the closeness that they had shared while living in California. After many tears and hugs, they both started to feel a little better and knew that no matter what fate had in store for them that they would always be there for each other.

The three black heads joined together on the small mountain of pillows by the silvery blonde head was adorable to watch. Nicole was eternally grateful for Draco's presence in their lives. He had truly been a pillar of strength so far during Harry's recovery, and the children just loved him to pieces. Anyone who knew Harry from before could always tell that something was missing, and the first time she had seen Harry and Draco together it was so easy to see that that missing piece had been Draco. They completed each other.

On one hand, she hated to have to interrupt their bonding, but on the other she knew how important it was for Harry to eat his lunch. The IV tubes had only just recently been removed, and Poppy has threatened her patient with their return if his appetite didn't improve.

"Hey guys, it's time to wake up…Daddy needs to eat his lunch and I need to get you two off to school."

Just as she suspected, Draco was the only one to even stir at her first attempt to wake the Potters up. She had concluded long ago that being extremely difficult to wake up must run in the Potter genes.

Not the least bit taken aback by the blonde's protective glare, Nicole reached over to where the twins where nestled in between their parents and started to give them a gentle shake. Normally, she would wake them up with tickles, but she didn't want them accidentally kicking Harry near his incision site.

Matthew raised his sleepy eyes to his caregiver. "Lunch? Chicken nuggets?" he managed to ask in between yawns.

"Come on sleepy heads, let's get up so your daddy can eat and I'll take you to the Great Hall for lunch, promise." Nicole grinned as she said the magic words. Both boys were fascinated with the Great Hall and used any opportunity to manipulate it so that they got to visit there, especially at meal time.

Nicole's grin faded a little when she saw Evan start to stir. If anyone needed sleep almost as much as Harry did, it was that little man. He was still being plagued with terrible nightmares, which only seemed to get worse since his daddy was hurt and unable to get him back to sleep. The dark circles that were starting to form around the toddler's eyes were very troublesome.

Reaching over Harry, Nicole helped both boys down off the high bed and started to get them ready to go to lunch.

Missing the warmth his sons' small bodies had provided, Harry growled and rolled over onto his back. The smell of more chicken noodle soup, this time accompanied with a grilled cheese sandwich assaulted his nose. "I hope you remembered the dill pickles this time," he teased Nicole, remembering how she insisted on having the slightly sour pickles every time Nola had made grilled cheese sandwiches for them.

"Of course I did. Who ever heard of serving grilled cheese without dill pickles?" she joked right back at the man on the bed, who had yet to open his eyes. "Now sit up and eat this before I have to put a warming charm on it."

Staring disinterestedly at the lunch Nicole had thoughtfully brought him, Harry added, "Well you could always just leave it here and if it gets to cold I can heat it up myself." Before the words were even out of his mouth, Harry knew that his proposal would be rejected for two reasons. Ever since he had woken up from his healing coma, everyone was obsessed that he eat properly, to bad he just didn't feel much like eating most of the time. And secondly, he was under strict orders that he wasn't to perform any magic until he was cleared by Poppy; he wasn't even allowed to perform the smallest first year charms. The last time he had asked when he might be allowed to practice magic again the look he got from Poppy indicated that he was a fool for even asking such a ridiculous question, clearly it would be some time yet.

Neither Draco nor Nicole even bothered to answer the pouting man. They knew that the best approach was just to let Harry grumble for awhile and that he would soon settle down and eat his lunch like the good boy he was.

Seeing that Harry was in Draco's capable hands and that Draco wouldn't let Harry leave even the smallest bite of lunch untouched, she got Matthew and Evan ready to go find their own lunch. "Hey boys, don't forget your hats."

She laughed as both boys immediately put on hats that had been laying forgotten on one of the vacant chairs. Harry studied the baseball cap styled hats that Matthew and Evan had just donned. They were both dark green and instead of a logo, the caps had lettering across the front. Harry shot Draco and then Nicole a puzzled look as he read the obscene saying that his sons' were now displaying on their heads.

Clearing his throat, Harry said in a deceptively calm voice, "Would anyone like to explain to me exactly why Matthew and Evan are wearing baseball caps that say "Super Dooper Pooper" on them?"

Still smiling, Nicole winked at Draco. "It's their reward."

Harry was starting to get worried that everyone had suddenly lost their mind. "If that is how you reward them, I'm afraid to ask what you do to punish them."

Nicole bent down and kissed Harry on his cheek. "Now you know better, I would never do anything to hurt either you or the boys, now Draco here, that's a different matter entirely."

Not letting himself get distracted by Nicole and Draco's teasing of each other as he usually did, Harry perused the topic of the disconcerting hats. Although now that he thought about it, the boys seemed to be pretty proud of their hats, almost like they really were a sort of reward. "Okay, so what are they being rewarded for?"

"See I told you it wouldn't take him that long to figure it out," Draco smirked at the brunette women.

"Well, he's not completely there yet, we'll see how long it takes, and no more clues," she responded trying not to giggle at the scared look that Harry was still sporting.

The verbal and physical clues his companions were giving him lead Harry to believe that he was missing something important. Slowly he read over the words so depicted so blazingly on Matthew's hat… 'Super Dooper Pooper'. Why did that stupid phrase sound kinda familiar? Then it hit him, of course, "The potty video."

Harry couldn't stop the huge grin from spreading across his face if he had wanted to. This was fantastic, monumental even… "They're potty trained," Harry managed to gasp out as he looked first to Draco and then to Nicole for confirmation. Seeing them nod, Harry reached out to grab both of his boys and gathered them close to him in a group hug.

"I'm so proud of both of you." Harry was squeezing them so tight that Draco was starting to get worried.

"You know, Leo, they need to breathe sometime."

Reluctantly, Harry released his tight grip on the boys, wincing slightly as he felt a sting where he irritated his healing incision when he moved suddenly when he hugged the boys. They had started the potty training process shortly after the boys turned three with only limited success. Neither boy really wanted to take the time away from their current activity to use the bathroom facilities. Seeing the lack of interest on the twin's part, Nicole had suggested a muggle video to use as a training tool. After the DVD and a muggle DVD player had been delivered and appropriately modified to work at Hogwarts, the real fun started. To say that from an adult's point of view that video was ridiculous was an understatement. It showed a bunch of three-year-old children practicing good toilet habits, but for whatever reason, the boys seemed to love it. They watched it over and over again, sometimes three times in a row.

Now Harry had to reevaluate his initial thoughts about the video as it appears that he had underestimated it. Not really caring where the credit for this achievement should fall, Harry helped in celebrating yet another milestone in his sons' lives.

27 Seeing is Believing

After another week of complete bed rest, Harry was finally released from the hospital. News of his recovery hit the community by storm and Hogwarts was once more flooded with letters and gifts from well wishers from remaining pockets of resistance in Europe, as most people indulged themselves in celebrations. Embarrassed by this huge display of affection, Harry, along with Draco, Sirius and Nicole, sat up on several evenings opening the letters and gifts. Together, the group answered the many letters with appropriate responses and thank you notes. Draco had a few choice responses to the dozen or so people who had written to Harry with marriage proposals. Lucky for the unknowing souls, Nicole intercepted the letters before the post owl could take them. Sirius' favorite was a proposal offering Harry 100,000 galleons if he married the gentlemen's daughter and another 100,000 galleons when they produced their first son.

Draco shivered as he listened to the vicious howls that the wind produced as it beat harshly against the ancient castle. It was days like this that he wished he had never convinced Harry to leave sunny California, certain that they never had weather like this there.

Well, at least the miserable weather outside had not affected the warm cheery mood that permeated the castle on its inside. It seemed that everywhere you went people were happy and smiling. Granted as the days passed the holidays grew nearer, but Draco couldn't remember a feeling of such warmth and contentment in the air since the days when he had been a student here.

Even the holiday decorations this year seemed to be brighter and more festive. Christmas was less than two weeks away, but Draco was sure that this wasn't the only reason for the good cheer.

They were winning. Finally, after all those bloody battles and all night strategy sessions, they were really winning. Voldemort's attacks had significantly decreased, and when they did occur, the Death Eaters typically fled when the Order and in particular Harry showed up. In the month that Harry had been out of the hospital, he had gained a reputation as his powers continued to grow and strengthen. The Death Eaters knew that they were no match, either individually or combined, for the power that Harry wielded. Harry was a one-man machine and anyone who got in the way of his objective was dealt with, sometimes harshly.

Those ugly purple robes that Draco had complained about so vehemently actually turned out to be an advantage. In events where Harry decided that he wasn't going to go fight in the next battle, which he did rarely but there were still times when he sat one out, he would lend his or Draco's purple eyesore to one of the Order Members. On most occasions, all the Death Eaters needed to see was that splash of purple in the sea of red and blue robes and they usually turned tail and ran.

The grief that they shared as a result of the loss of their unborn child was still with them, fresh in both their minds. But in Harry's case, he turned the loss into a fierce rallying cry and in situations where he would have previously shown a Death Eater mercy, now there was none. Watching Harry in battle was a terrifying sight. Thank whatever deity that watched over them that Harry was so good and pure, because if he even showed the smallest inclination to force others to submit to his will, there would be very little that anyone could do about it. He would certainly be unstoppable. Even now, as the Death Eater casualties rose, the Dark Lord's followers' collective resolve faltered. No one wanted to face Harry's fury on a battlefield, no one. No sign of Voldemort had actually been seen since the fateful night of the ambush. Harry was convinced that he was just waiting, regrouping for a final last stand, but as of yet, there was no confirmation of this theory.

Draco knew that Harry hadn't even remotely dealt with the loss yet. If the raven-haired man kept up his current pace, he was surely headed for a break-down, but in all honestly there wasn't anything that Draco could do about it. On the few occasions where he tried to discuss the miscarriage, Harry's typical response would be, "Dray, not now, I'm not ready to talk about it yet." They had mutually agreed not to mention it to the twins as they felt that the twins were not old enough to understand. Maybe when they were a lot older they would tell them, but for right now it was better not to.

Fawkes had become an unexpected source of comfort to the raven haired man. On more than one occasion, Draco found much to his amusement Fawkes and Harry carrying on seemingly intense conversations in the common room. Not that any conversation with an immortal being such as a phoenix could be anything but intense. However, when Draco would question Harry about these meetings, Harry would only smile and say that they were really not all that important. Somehow, Draco doubted that they were as trivial as Harry made them out to be but was willing to overlook his lover downplaying them as he was always in a better mood after these conversations with the old bird.

Fawkes, too, seemed to be much happier now that Harry was back where he belonged. If the phoenix wasn't outside of the castle on Order business, he was usually found in Harry's presence. People had even remarked that it appeared that the Dumbledore's familiar had forsaken the old Headmaster, not that Albus seemed to mind. He appeared to be as happy as anyone with Fawkes' new arrangement.

Draco thought that with the number of people who had witnessed Harry's trauma that more people would have realized the truth behind the boys' parentage. But so far it appeared that only a select few of the medical staff, Minerva, Dumbledore, Remus and, much to everyone's dismay, the Weasel and his wife now knew the truth.

No one had mentioned anything to him directly but on several occasions he would feel someone watching him and would look up only to find that he was the object of one of the Weasleys' studying gazes. Draco wasn't stupid, not by a long shot. He knew that the Weasleys wanted to reconcile with Harry in the worst way, and Harry's position towards that particular group of red heads had softened considerably after his surprising conversation with his parents.

If it hadn't been for the miscarriage, Harry would probably have worked harder on keeping his promise to his parents. But for right now, outside of his immediate family, his primary focus was revenge. There wasn't the slightest slimmer of doubt that Harry wasn't going to stop until Voldemort was utterly and completely destroyed. There would be no escaping this time, no matter how close that sick fuck was to obtaining immortality. It truly was only a matter of time now until Voldemort's dark chapter of history would be permanently closed.

Just thinking about the twins brought a smile to Draco's face. He was currently on his way to the day care to surprise them by picking them up early. Harry was going to be late tonight at yet another strategy meeting. The Order was actually planning an offensive attack, which in and of itself was rare. The Order thought that such a move would be unanticipated and would catch the Dark Lord and his followers off guard. Besides, everyone was getting tired of this war and knew that with Harry on their side, they had a damn good chance of being successful.

After the major decisions had been agreed upon, Draco had decided to sneak out and leave the ironing out of the tedious details to the others. He would much rather spend his time with his sons than in a stuffy room listening to people argue until Harry had enough of the bickering and would then just tell people what was going to happen. Draco shook his head. He just didn't understand how Harry could put up with listening to the constant disagreements before stepping in and deciding the matter. It really was funny how after Harry spoke no one dared to disagree with him, not even that old fool Dumbledore.

Draco paused in the entrance to the day care. He usually liked to take a moment or two to observe Matthew and Evan before they saw him. Matthew was currently in the corner building some structure out of play blocks and Evan was sitting at a child-sized table making a picture with wizarding crayons. The kids had gotten the biggest kick out of the wizarding equivalent to crayons. Crayola had nothing over on the wizarding world. These colorful sticks worked just like the muggle ones, but after you were done drawing all you had to do was say 'move' and the images just drawn would do just that. They would move, animating whatever images were just drawn. The concept was similar to the differences between wizarding photos and muggles ones.

Matthew must have felt Draco gaze on him as just then he looked up at his father and smiled before going back to playing with his blocks. The blocks in Matthew's castle or whatever he was building just started to glow bright red. Draco winced, as he knew from experience that this wasn't a good thing. Sure enough, not five seconds later the structure started to shake and then imploded. Hoping that his son wouldn't be too upset at the destruction of his building, Draco chuckled when he heard Matthew's bright laugher and saw the small child clap his hands as if that was the best show on earth. Draco smiled and gave his green-eyed son a small wave before going back to studying Evan. His little Evan looked tired. He was still getting up occasionally during the night with nightmares; although, this was happening not nearly as frequently as it had once been.

Just last night, Draco awoke to find Harry's side of the bed empty. Knowing instinctively where his mate would be, Draco threw on his heavy silk dressing gown and went downstairs to his son's bedroom. Sure enough, that was exactly where Harry was.

Peeking in the door, Draco felt his heart swell as he watched his gorgeous lover rock their beautiful son back to sleep while singing to him. After a while Draco closed his own eyes and just concentrated on Harry's soft soothing voice, recognizing the song as one from one of the boy's Disney videos, 'Can You Feel the Love Tonight.' Draco tried to recall the movie, but could only remember that it had something to do with a lion cub whose father died. Draco rolled his eyes; it was probably not the best choice for a lullaby to get rid of nightmares.

It really was too bad that Harry had decided to give up singing; he had a wonderful voice. Listening to him right then, a person couldn't help but feel warm, safe and cherished.

By the time Draco opened his eyes again, he saw that Evan was sleeping soundly in Harry's arms. Draco crossed the room and after kissing Harry on the forehead as he continued his song, he bent down and pressed a soft kiss to Evan's forehead as well. Carefully taking the sleeping child from his partner, Draco tucked his son back in for the rest of the night.

"Mister Malfoy, may I help you?" The daycare worker quickly hid her smile as the blonde man's eyes came to rest on her. Mister Malfoy wasn't nearly as hard to figure out as many of the people in the castle thought. Just seeing him together with the Potter boys, one couldn't help but realize that the Malfoy heir would do anything in his power to protect those two young children. He loved them to pieces and that love was returned ten fold.

Draco blushed, not used to being caught unaware. "Yes, I'd like to take Matthew and Evan with me a little early."

"Certainly Mister Malfoy. Why don't you go and collect Evan while I help Matthew clean up his play area?"

Draco nodded as he started to walk in the direction where Evan was still sitting at the table. As he got closer, he saw that Evan's little brow was wrinkled up in concentration as he quickly tried to finish his picture. Not wanting to startle his son, Draco made sure that he made a lot of noise as he approached him.

As he got closer and Evan knew he was going to be interrupted, he was a little taken aback when his youngest son looked up at him and scowled. 'Oh no, no one was going to try to out scowl him.' Draco shot one of his darkest scowls at Evan for only a second or two before smiling down at the boy. He was pleased to see that Evan wasn't the least bit frightened of his scowl and actually thought the whole thing was kind of funny.

Dropping down to his knees, Draco knelt beside the small table where Evan was hurrying to finish his drawling. "What do you have there, Sweetheart?"

Evan eyes his father warily before moving his little body so that he was blocking Draco's view of his drawing, "Nottin."

Curious about what Evan was drawing that made him feel the need to try to hide it from him, Draco decided that bribery was probably his best approach. Draco reached into his pocket and removed one of the treats he had brought with him that he was planning on giving the twins later that afternoon. "Tell you what, how about if we trade. I'll give you this yummy chocolate frog and you give me your beautiful picture."

Evan studied the frog for what in a three-year olds mind was a long time before slowly shaking his head no. Draco was astounded. Never before had bribery not been successful when he really wanted the boys to corporate. Not that he ever told Harry about his favorite method of child rearing. Harry still had entirely too much Gryffindor blood to appreciate this fine art of manipulation.

Staring at his son, Draco reached into his pocket again and pulled out yet another chocolate goodie. "Okay, well if you won't give me the picture for one frog, how about two?"

Draco could see that Evan was torn; for as much as he didn't want anyone to see his drawing, the temptation of the chocolate frogs was proving to be just too much. With a slight nod, the toddler moved away from the table where his picture lay and grabbed the frogs.

Draco barely had time to help Evan get the wrapper open before the boy had the first frog in his mouth, head first. As much as Harry and the boys loved that particular treat it still made Draco kinda queasy to watch the frog's legs continue to kick while it was hanging partially out of someone's mouth as it was being devoured. There just seemed to be something intrinsically wrong with that image.

Before looking at Evan's drawing, Draco took a quick peek at Matthew to make sure that his other son was still occupied elsewhere. With any luck, Evan will finish off both frogs before Matthew comes over, as he had just given his silver eyed son both of the frogs that he currently had on him and, as such, didn't have any left for Matty.

Picking up the almost complete drawing from the table, Draco held it up so that he could study it. At first, it was hard to tell what the picture was, there were huge blotches of red and black but no particular discernable shapes. Draco frowned as he studied the picture closer. Turning the paper so that the large green blob was on the bottom, Draco felt his blood rush to his toes as he strongly suspected what he was holding.

Sitting down quickly before he had a chance to fall down, Draco indicated to the daycare worker that he needed some assistance.

"What's wrong? Do you not like?" Evan's chocolate smeared face looked up at him fearful that his father didn't like his artwork.

"No, your drawing is fine, Sweetheart, I just want you to tell me a little bit about it, that's all." After reassuring his son, Draco turned his cool hard eyes on the daycare worker. "Have you seen this?" Draco gestured to the picture he was still clutching.

The young women felt very intimated under the icy stare. "No, I didn't see today's drawing, but all of Evan's other art work is kept in that large folder over there by the window with his name on it."

"You mean there is more?" Draco's hoarse whisper in no way disguised how close he was to losing control.

"Evan likes to draw and he does so fairly often, although now that I think about it, he hasn't been coloring as much lately."

Draco just shook his head. "Get them, please."

The nervous daycare worker slowly got up and retrieved the large brown folder with Evan's name on it. After walking back over to the small table where Draco was still sitting, she handed it to him, still not able to understand what had upset the blonde man so.

Draco grabbed the folder and after releasing the closure, dumped the contents onto the table in front of him. A morass of brightly colored paper flooded the table. Draco's critical eyes quickly went from one drawing to another. "Are the pictures dated?"

"Of course," the daycare worker replied, "we put the artists name and the date on the back of each picture before we file it in their folder."

Draco just nodded as he continued to study the disturbing images in front of him. Occasionally he would come across what he'd like to consider a normal drawing for a wizard Evan's age, like broomsticks and flying, but the vast majority of Evan's artwork was not what could be considered appropriate.

Draco couldn't restrain himself much longer. "Did you never look at these?" Picking up a handful of the drawings, Draco waved them in the daycare worker's face. The blonde man was angry and he was scared and needed an outlet.

The young woman looked frightened at the rage she heard in Draco's tone. "Certainly we did."

Draco looked away and counted slowly to ten. "And did you never notice anything in particular about his artwork?"

The daycare worker started to get over her fear and took a defensive posture. "Well, we thought that they were a little dark and unusual, but this is a time of war…."

"A time of war…" Draco almost choked he was so angry. "My three year old son has never witnessed war as you like to call it, so how do you explain these images?" With that, Draco threw down the multitude of papers that he had been holding.

The fact that Draco had just referred to the Potter boy as his son was lost completely on the daycare worker as she looked at the bloody and violent images that were so innocently drawn with crayon. How on earth had she missed something like that?

They were going to attack Voldemort in five days. Five days, and the Order and Aurors in a joint offensive strategy were going to infiltrate and destroy the dark forces main headquarters. Per information provided by Blaise, Voldemort has specifically requested that his Death Eaters met there that particular night to discuss plans for their next target.

Harry chuckled to himself as he remembered how Blaise reported the Dark Lord's escalating frustration over his foiled attacks. Voldemort was getting desperate, which is why in Harry's mind that this attack against his forces was so critical. It was so much better to strike now before the Dark Lord's desperation caused him to act even more irrationally than normal. A cornered animal was always the most deadly of any animal, as they had nothing left to lose.

Well, at least in five days hopefully it will all be over and done with. Five more days….

Harry didn't even greet the Guardians as he made his way into his apartment anxious to see Draco, who had managed once more to sneak away, avoiding the more tedious discussions. Harry wished that he had it in him to leave as well, but knew that he would never be comfortable leaving before every last detail had been planned. There was just too much riding on these battles to leave anything to chance. Harry wasn't willing to risk his life or Draco's needlessly and the only way to make sure that didn't happen was to stay at these strategy sessions until the bitter end.

Harry's eyes widened slightly as he watched his mate pace back and forth in their common room area, so deep in his own personal thoughts that he hadn't even noticed Harry's presence. Draco was clearly agitated. Harry had never before seen the blonde act like this, as his aristocratic heritage frowned on such blatant expressions of your emotional state.

Harry cleared his throat drawing his partner's attention. "Something wrong?"

Startled, Draco turned sharply at the sound of Harry's voice, "Let's sit down. There's something that you need to see."

Even taking into consideration Draco's flair for dramatics, Harry could tell that something had really shaken the blonde man up. Concerned, Harry walked over and sat down on the couch near the soothing waterfall and motioned for Draco to join him. "Okay, I'm sitting down. Now, why don't you tell me what's going on?"

Draco sat down hard on the sofa and blew his bangs out of his eyes. "After I left the meeting this afternoon, I went up to the daycare to surprise the boys. I thought that I would take them outside seeing that it was snowing so that they could play in the snow for a bit."

Harry allowed himself to take a deep breath and relax a little when Draco paused for a breath, thinking that this was just another example of Draco overacting to something that one of the other children had done to one of the twins.

"When I got there, Matthew was playing with wizarding blocks and Evan was sitting by himself at a table, coloring." Draco looked over at Harry to verify that he was still listening.

"And?"

"And do you have any idea what our son has been drawing for at least the past three months?"

Harry frowned; Draco was getting overly excited again. Slowly the raven haired man shook his head back and forth.

"Well, let me show you." Draco got up from the couch and walked over to where a large brown envelope was sitting along the one wall. Picking up the envelope, he returned to the sofa and dumped the contents on Harry's lap.

Harry was about to protest the rough treatment of not only himself, but also Evan's artwork when his eyes fell on the drawing on the top. It was dark. Squinting, Harry could make out what looked like stick figures dressed in all black fighting other stick figures wearing red or blue, occasionally there would be a splash of purple.

Feeling slightly nauseous, Harry carefully paged through the pile of parchment. Most of the pictures were very similar to the first, the locations appeared to be different, but it was hard to tell as they were all created from the hand of a three year old. The thing that worried Harry the most was the expressions of pain on his figures faces and the abundance of red crayon that seemed to indicate the loss of blood.

"Oh bloody hell." Harry wasn't sure if he muttered the curse or if Draco had. How had his son seen or heard of these horrible events in sufficient detail to drawl them? Slowly going through the pictures again, Harry was able to recognize some of the locations where he had actually participated in recent confrontations with the Death Eaters.

Harry wasn't even aware that he was shaking when he picked up a particularly nasty drawling and held it out to Draco. "How…how?"

Seeing the same shock and disbelief in Harry's face that he felt Draco reached out and held Harry's hand in an effort to settle his lover down. "I'm not sure Leo, but that's not the worst of it, look at the dates on the back of the parchments."

In a daze, Harry turned the parchment over and saw a date at the top right hand corner of the parchment, 'October 3, 2003.' Still not quite understanding the implications of the dates, Harry turned the remaining pictures over and saw that they were similarly dated, with some dates going back as far as into August when the boys had first started coming to the daycare on a part time basis.

Noticing that Harry was still looking overwhelmed and not making the connection with the dates, Draco reached out once more and turned Harry's face towards him and away from his son's drawing of death and destruction. "If I'm right Leo," Draco began softly, "the dates mean two things. Firstly, it looks like Evan only draws one of these terrible images on days following his nightmares."

Harry gasped in surprise. Draco was right. Taking another look at the dates, Harry could certainly see the horrifying connection; somehow Evan was dreaming about the battles. Hell, Harry had sat up with Evan on more nights than he could remember trying to ease his nightmares and to get his tired little boy to fall back to sleep. Evan never wanted to talk about his bad dreams but Harry knew that based on the way Evan would wake up screaming sometimes that whatever he was dreaming about wasn't the typical toddler stuff.

Harry had begun to justify Evan's dreams as anxiety from moving from the only home he had known in California and then with the abrupt lifestyle change with the introduction of a new parent, and not to mention magic and all that entailed. It certainly seemed reasonable to him that his three year old son's subconscious would be rebelling against such drastic changes. Believing that to be the case Harry had done everything in his power to make sure that both his sons felt loved and protected so that they would adjust to their new home and feel secure with who they were.

Suddenly, it occurred to Harry that if he was there comforting his son on the nights that he had the dreams that the dreams couldn't be coinciding with the nights that the actual battles took place. Examining once more the dates, Harry felt his world start to tilt as he finally made the connection to the second and most important meaning behind the dates on the drawings. From what he was able to ascertain from the couple of parchments that he could readily identify the specific battle, it appeared that the pictures were made before the battles took place.

Draco knew when he saw Harry's shoulders slump and he started to sway that he had finally realized the overall significance of the drawings. There was a very good chance that Evan was a seer.

"Growing up, I was always told stories about my Great Grandmother on my mother's side. Apparently she was a legitimate seer, although no one else in our family ever had the gift," Draco explained softly as he gently folded Harry in his embrace. "I'm sorry Leo; it just never occurred to me that he was suffering from bona fide visions."

Harry lifted his head from where it had been resting on Draco's chest at the sadness in his mate's tone. "Dray, this is not your fault. The important thing is that we've identified it now, so hopefully we'll be able to help him deal with it, or at least find someone who can help him. But, for Merlin sake, Dray, he's so young. He is far too young to even begin to understand something like this. When I think of what he must be seeing…" Harry's anguished voice trailed off to nothing.

"I know Leo, I know. But this war is going to end and when it does, than, hopefully his visions will decrease if not stop all together. Maybe he'll be able to see positive things. From what I can remember, I don't think that all of my Grandmother's visions were awful."

Draco softly caressed Harry's unruly locks as he felt some of his own despair give way. Somehow sharing the burden of his knowledge about their son's gift with Harry made him feel as though things would turn out okay. Unfortunately, there was still one more thing that he needed to tell Harry. After his own shock had worn off Draco had meticulously reviewed Evan's pictures and put them in chronological order. After doing this it was easier to spot what was really going on.

"Harry, there is one more drawing that you need to see."

The young Gryffindor Heir slowly picked up his head and stared warily at his mate. Resigned that whatever this last picture showed, it couldn't be more revealing that the last twenty or so that he had already looked at that night, he softly said, "Let me see it."

Draco reached behind him and pulled the parchment that Evan had been coloring today out from where he had hidden it behind the sofa cushions. "This was the drawing that Evan made today," Draco said carefully as he handed it to Harry.

Curious as to why Draco had felt the need to hide this most recent drawing Harry hesitantly took it from the blonde's outstretched hand. Harry moaned low in his throat as his eyes took in the sea of black and red depicted against an 'oh so familiar' backdrop. "Dear Merlin, please tell me this isn't what I think it is. Please tell me that's not ….."

Harry never finished his sentence as loud piercing screeching sounds filled the quiet night air. "What the bloody hell?"

Draco jumped to his feet immediately, instantly recognizing the early alert system that Dumbledore had installed several years ago. "Well, I think that answers that question. Come on Harry, we need to get Nicole and the boys up, we're under attack."

28 Preparations for War

"Damn it to hell," Harry muttered as Draco's words 'we're under attack' finally managed to penetrate his bewildered brain. This wasn't what was supposed to happen. They had only needed five more days and they would be the aggressors. What god had they inevitably pissed off that wouldn't even allow them five more measly days. Now they were stuck once more on the defense. This wasn't right; they weren't as prepared as they should be. Harry cursed once more at how wrong this situation was.

Quickly taking stock of the unfortunate but unavoidable situation, Harry instinctively knew what needed to be done. "Dray, I need you to go wake the boys and Nicole; that is if this bloody racket hasn't already gotten them up. Dress them in their warmest clothing and get them safely out of the castle. Don't go out through any of the known passageways, even the 'secret' ones that only a few people are aware of. When I leave here, I will instruct the Guardians not to let anyone in or out of this apartment, until the threat is gone. That should at least buy you some time."

Harry paused for a moment, his mind swirling with everything that he wanted to say but deep down he knew that there just wasn't enough time. Damn, he cursed again as frustration started to set in. His first priority was to make sure that Voldemort and his followers didn't find the boys. "Even giving the Guardians those specific instructions, I still don't trust Voldemort not to be able to get in here; he is an Heir himself, so I don't want to take any chances. Look around here for a hidden escape route. The Guardians once told me that this apartment would adjust to fit our needs and right now we need for you and the boys to get to safety."

Draco wanted to protest, he wanted to tell Harry to take his plan and shove it where the sun doesn't shine, but the thought that their sons were in real danger made the blonde swallow his words. He would adhere to Harry's wishes and see his sons safely out of the castle. But once they were stashed somewhere where the Death Eaters couldn't find them, he would double back. Nothing was going to prevent him from standing at Harry's side as he faced off against that disgusting thing that called himself 'Lord Voldemort', nothing. This war had taken entirely too much away from him; his sacrifices had been too great not to see it through. Draco was determined to be there to see this war end, even if it killed him.

This attack was just so unexpected, even seeing Evan's drawing that afternoon which clearly showed a large scale battle being fought here at Hogwarts did not prepare him for the reality that was starting to unfold in front of his very eyes. When the siren first sounded, Draco immediately started to blame himself for not raising the alarm sooner, but by the time he had figured out what was really happening with Evan's school pictures, it had been practically time for Harry to come home. Draco knew that he needed to share this information with Harry first, before taking it to anyone else, even the Headmaster. Based on the dates on the back of the pictures, there appeared to be no set pattern of when Evan would have his visions before the attacks actually took place. However, he had noticed that an event had never actually taken place within three days of the vision before, so Draco had incorrectly assumed that he had plenty of time to warn everyone in the morning. Unfortunately, that wasn't going to be the case in this instance.

The fireplace flared to life, interrupting Draco's train of thought. Albus' grim face floated disembodied in the brilliant yellow flames. "Harry, we need you. The Dark Lord has troops approaching from both the forest and Hogsmeade; we only have a few minutes before he is within the grounds. The outer wards have already been breached and he is slowly dismantling the inner ones."

Harry broke eye contact with his lover only for a moment to acknowledge the former Headmaster. "Understood, let me get my cloak, I'll meet everyone in the Great Hall in five minutes."

Albus nodded. "Just don't take anymore than five minutes, we may not have it to spare." With those ominous words, the Phoenix's head vanished from the flames as quickly as it had appeared.

Knowing that this was his last chance to see Draco before his final confrontation with Voldemort, Harry pulled his soul mate close to him. "Dray I gotta go, but I need to go knowing that you will keep yourself and the boys safe for me, promise?"

Draco carefully crossed two of his fingers that were currently embedded deep in Harry's soft raven hair. "Promise."

Harry knew that Draco wasn't being completely honest with him, but he was smart enough to realize that that promise was the best he was going to get considering the circumstances. Leaning in Harry captured Draco's mouth in a searing kiss; a kiss that said 'I love you' in a way that words never could.

Draco felt the love and tenderness in Harry's kiss like he had never had before. Realizing that if something went wrong, that this could possibly be the last kiss that they may ever share Draco responded to the kiss with a desperation that initially surprised Harry.

Giving in to his lover's demand, Harry pressed his body up hard against Draco, the need for full body contact mutual. Draco completed him in ways that Harry had never believed possible. Harry was drowning, drowning in that one desperate moment, feeling overwhelmed by the love and need to protect and be protected.

Offering up a silent prayer for his family's safety, reluctantly, Harry gentled the kiss and eventually pulled back away from Draco altogether. "I've got to go."

"I know."

Harry looked deep into the endless pools of liquid silver that he loved so much. There were still so many things that he wanted to say, but he knew that if he started he would never be able to finish. Knowing deep in his heart that all the important things had already been said, Harry gave Draco one more squeeze before turning away and darting up the stairs to collect his plum colored battle cloak.

With a feeling of dread, Draco followed his mate up the stairs at a more sedate pace; his sons and Nicole needed him. But once they were taken care of, he was going to take care of his own needs, and he needed to be with Harry.

By the time that Harry entered the Great Hall, the majority of the remaining joint forces of Aurors and Order Members were already assembled. Some faces looked nervous, others looked a little excited, but overall, most of them wore a scared stiff expression. Harry himself felt apprehensive. After bearing the burden of being 'Harry Potter' for so very long, tonight it would finally come to some sort of conclusion. Win or lose, it all was going to end tonight, here on the grounds that had been so instrumental in the raven-haired man's childhood. It seemed fitting somehow that it all came down to this one last confrontation that was going to take place here tonight.

Drawing strength from the strong, cool gray stone walls that surrounded him, Harry felt a peaceful connection to the magic that was innate within Hogwarts. The blessings and power of the founders were with him. Taking a deep fulfilling breath, Harry let the ancient power fill him until he could take no more. Finally with a brief acknowledging nod to Dumbledore, Harry strode out the front doors ready to face his Grandfather, ready to fulfill his destiny.

Shortly, a worried Nicole and two sleepy three year olds were suitably attired in layers of warm trousers, long shelved shirts, and jumpers along with their warmest winter cloaks, hats, scarves and gloves. Matthew and Evan were bundled up so tightly that Draco wondered briefly if the boys would be able to move properly in so much clothing. One of the twins let out a little growl of frustration when they tried to rub their tired eyes and couldn't raise their hand that high as their arm movement was restricted by the bundle of clothing that they were currently encased in.

Sparing Matthew a brief moderately sympathetic glance, Draco quickly updated Nicole in low tones so that he wouldn't alarm the boys. Nicole's eyes widened when the reality of what exactly was happening became clear in her still sleep-muddled mind. "What do you want me to do?" she whispered, proud that her voice didn't tremble.

Draco nodded in appreciation of her ability to quickly pull herself together, knowing how difficult is was the first time he was faced with this sort of life and death situation. Nicole had been an equal participant in the conversations between Harry and Draco both in California and again here at Hogwarts when they had discussed potential situations and scenarios that they may have to face during this war. But until that exact moment in time when you realize that the horrors being discussed are no longer hypothetical but are in fact reality, you never know how a person will react. Draco has seen far too many men and women who could talk the talk but when faced with actual combat fell to pieces.

"First, we need to find a way out of here." Draco said softly. "Harry said that the Guardians once told him that this apartment would adapt to our needs, and seeing as how right now we need a way to get the hell out of here safely without being seen, there should be some sort of passageway hidden here that we can use to get the boys out of Hogwarts." Draco looked around the common room quizzically. "We just need to find it."

Leaving the twins standing in the center of the room, Nicole and Draco started to search for anything that could potentially give an indication that it was more than what it appeared to be. Nicole took the left side of the room and Draco the right. Before long the two frustrated adults met up at the waterfall, neither having found the smallest clue as to where this alleged secret exit was.

"Well, this just sucks."

Nicole gave Draco a soft kick to his shin to remind him of his sons' presence.

Draco gave the boys a sheepish grin before looking back at Nicole and rolling his eyes. "Well, it does." Seeing that she wasn't inclined to respond, Draco continued. "We've been over every inch of this room and we haven't found anything. I guess we'll have to split up and start searching the other rooms of the apartment, but I felt sure that if a passage existed it would be down here where it was easily accessible."

"No offense Draco, but why don't you just go outside and ask the Guardians if there is a way out of here and if so where it is?"

Draco just shook his head at Nicole's logical question. "Your right Nicole, now why didn't I think of that?" he replied sarcastically. "Well, maybe it is because Harry, in his infinite wisdom, put some extremely powerful locking and protection charms on the entrance when he left." Draco sighed. "Maybe you can break them, but I know for a fact that I can't and besides, in the event that we can't find a way out of here, I feel a lot safer with Harry's spells on the door than without them."

Not able to argue with his logic, Nicole simply went back to looking for an exit. After a few more minutes of fruitless searching, Nicole told Draco that she was going to take the rooms on the second floor and suggested that Draco search the rooms on the third. If they weren't able to find an exit after all that, then they both would tackle the lower level together.

Draco watched as Nicole left; once she was gone he turned to where the boys were still standing in the center of the room. Draco's breath caught in his throat when he saw the silent tears running down both of their faces.

Falling to his knees in front of both of them, he gathered his sons in his strong arms. "Hey you two, what's wrong, why are you crying?"

"Where's Daddy?" Evan croaked out, "I want my Daddy."

"Shhh Sweetheart, Daddy had to go out for a little bit. But he'll be right back. While he's gone, we are going to go on a little adventure, that's all."

"Fadder, me scared. I want my Daddy too." Matthew's voice broke as he started to sob.

Draco's heart wrenched as he held his crying children. Ever since Harry's attack that lead to the miscarriage and his subsequent hospitalization, the twins had become every protective of both their parents, in particular their daddy, although they had never before reacted this badly to Harry's absence. Draco prayed that this was just the twins overreacting and not some sixth sense of theirs predicting what was yet to come.

Knowing what he needed to say, even though he couldn't possibly know what the outcome of tonight's events were going to be, Draco reassured his beloved boys. "Daddy's going to be just fine. You'll see. He'll be back with us before you know it."

Matthew raised his raven head from it was resting against his father's chest and looked him directly in the eye, "Promise?", his little voice entirely too solemn.

Seeing Harry's eyes looking back at him, asking him for yet another promise that he may not be able to keep in such a short time was eerie. "Promise."

His promise seemed to satisfy both Evan and Matthew. After the boys had calmed down and Draco had gently wiped their tear stained faces, he got both boys situated on the sofa with some of their plushy toys. With a distinct order to remain there until either he or Nicole returned, Draco made to finally leave the room to go search the third floor.

Draco had almost made it to the stairs when a flash of red streaked into the common room. "Fawkes?" Draco thought that the bird would be out summoning others to help in this surprise attack. "What are you doing here?"

Fawkes just landed on the sofa near where the boys were playing and tilted his head at Draco. Still not understanding why the phoenix had made an appearance, Draco approached his trusted friend. "Did Harry send you? Do you have a message for me?"

Fawkes cocked his head again and this time let out a soft trill, which immediately calmed Draco's racing heart. He hadn't even realized that his pulse had been accelerated until he felt the healing powers of the phoenix song wash over him. Wishing with all his might that he had Harry's gift and was able to actually understand what the ancient bird was trying to say to him, Draco decided his best bet was to continue to question the bird.

"I wasn't able to find anything on the second floor, how did you make out on th…?" Nicole stopped mid-sentence when she saw the phoenix.

Draco was still studying Fawkes, knowing that he wouldn't be here right now without a reason when he responded to Nicole. "I didn't make it there yet, the twins had a little melt down and then Fawkes here arrived and I've since been trying to figure out why exactly he's here."

"Harry probably sent him to help." Nicole added helpfully. She then had to bite her lip to keep from laughing when her last comment received Draco's patented 'no shit' sneer. "Well, then what is he doing here if you're so smart?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "I'm working on it." Tired of listening to the humans bicker, Fawkes ruffled his feathers impatiently.

Moving in front of the blonde, Nicole looked deep into the bird's timeless eyes. "So how are you supposed to help us, Fawkes? Do you know how we are supposed to get out of here?"

The powerful bird gave an almost unnoticeable nod and then graceful flew up from his perch and landed on Nicole's shoulder briefly before once more taking flight and heading out onto the apartment's balcony.

Nicole decided to risk it and said, "I believe he wants us to follow him," knowing full well that that statement would earn yet another one of Draco's 'thanks for stating the obvious' glares.

Making sure that the twins were still occupied on the sofa, Draco and Nicole followed Fawkes outside onto the frigid stone terrace.

The bitter cold December air was unnaturally quiet and Draco noticed that the snow that had been falling steadily all day had started to taper off. Sharp gray eyes scanned the darkness, but he couldn't see anything beyond the flurries that continued their downward trek to the ground and the misty cloud that his warm breath made in the night air. It was just to peaceful, to still, almost as though all life knew the importance of the confrontation that was to be held in a short while and had decided to just sit back and wait it out. Draco had never before experienced a moment like this one where the very world itself gave the impression that it was just holding its breath waiting for the outcome that undoubtedly would change the existence of the wizarding world.

Shaking off his nervousness, Draco scanned the patio for the phoenix and saw Fawkes sitting in the corner on top of the dragon statue. "Okay you old bird, now what? You know, this would be a lot easier if you would just tell us what you want us to do."

Once more, the bird cocked its head at him as if in silent laughter.

"I do believe he is laughing at you," Nicole chuckled as she walked up to stand beside the blonde.

Draco shook his head ruefully, knowing exactly what Nicole was referring to as he was sure he had been the source of Fawkes amusement many times in the past. "Shut it and help me figure out what he wants us to do," Draco sneered as he searched around the dragon for a hidden passage way.

Ruefully, Nicole shook her head and started to run her hands over the cold stone statue looking for anything that may trigger a way out. Not finding anything, she sighed and stepped back to once more look at the phoenix for guidance.

"Alright, I admit it, we're stumped, pretty bird; how are we to get out of here? And what does it have to do to this poor sleeping dragon?"

Draco's head shot up from where he was crouched behind the dragon where he had been unsuccessfully trying to pry the statue away from the wall. "What did you say?"

"I was just trying to get a little bit more information out of our stubborn friend here," Nicole said despondently, the pressure of what was about to happen starting to resurface.

"No, I meant what did you say about the dragon?"

Nicole looked sharply at the blonde man as he moved to stand beside her in front of the statue, startled by his sharp tone. "I was speculating out loud what a potential escape route had to do with this sleeping dragon."

Draco didn't respond immediately as he critically examined the dragon, taking in everything from his carefully folded wings to his peaceful expression that was relaxed in slumber. "Surely they don't mean for us to do that."

"What? Tell me. What are you thinking?"

Gray eyes didn't even move from the statue as he responded to his friend, "Nicole, since you've been here, have you seen Hogwarts school motto?"

"I've seen it a couple of times, actually its part of the stained glass window that displays the Hogwarts seal. But as it's in Latin, so I never paid much attention to it." Nicole was starting to feel a bit excited. Maybe Draco was on to something here.

Draco screwed his face up, "What to you mean it was in Latin, of course it was in Latin, most of our spells are in Latin; please tell me you were taught to read Latin. What do they teach you over there in the States?"

Nicole wasn't the least bit upset with her companion's disbelief at her apparent lack of education. "I know enough for spells, I just never took the time to learn to read it seeing as it is a dead language in all."

Draco snorted before he remembered why they were having this conversation in the first place. "Anyway, seeing as you can't read it, I'll have to translate it for you. Hogwarts' motto is 'Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon'," Draco sneered as he finished his explanation, raising both his eyebrows.

"So, you think that we have to do what exactly, tickle this statue? And you wonder about the educational system in America, well at least we're not tickling dragons for goodness' sake." As she finished her last remark, Nicole shivered violently as a cold burst of wind blew harshly across the open patio. "Come on; let's get this over with so we can get the twins out of here."

In agreement, Draco approached the dragon. Feeling unsure of himself and incredibly silly, Draco stooped under the dragon's chin and with a slight shrug of his shoulders started to softly rub his finger tips over the smooth stone.

Nothing happened.

"Come on damn it, do something!" Draco yelled at the dragon in exasperation.

"Fadder, you not doing it right." Draco jumped in surprise and hit his head on the hard unforgiving stone statue as he towards where Matthew's voice had come from.

"Matthew. Evan. What are you doing out here? Didn't I tell you to wait for me on the couch? Now get back inside where you belong before I decide to punish you both."

Draco's sharp reprimand echoed loudly in the still night air leaving in its wake a stunned silence. Draco closed his eyes and shuddered as he heard the cool cruel tones of his father's voice leave his own mouth. This is what he was so afraid of, what he had feared since learning about the existence of his sons; Draco fell to his knees kneeling in front of his boys, feeling slightly sick to the stomach. Never again did he want to act in anyway towards Matthew and Evan that reminded him of Lucius.

Matthew stiffened as his father pulled him and his brother into a hug. "I'm sorry guys, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to yell, but you surprised me and I guess that I'm just a bit tense right now. I know that's not a good reason, but I promise not to yell at you again when you don't deserve it. Forgive me?"

Feeling their small bodies relax after his apology and cuddle in closer brought a tear to Draco's eye; Merlin, how he loved these two precious children. Now, he needed to focus on getting them out of here to somewhere safe. Distant muffled sounds of destruction and a whiff of curses made Draco realize that a considerable amount of time had passed since coming out here.

"Hey Matty, Sweetheart, what did you mean when you said that I wasn't 'doing it right'?"

Matthew looked between his father and the dragon statue a couple of times as though he was trying to sort something out in his mind. Finally reaching a conclusion, Matthew took a deep breath and whispered in a tone that lead one to believe they were learning the most guarded of secrets. "Jack doesn't like to be tickled under his chin. He only likes it when you tickle his twoes," the three-year-old said with a slight lisp.

Draco refused to meet Nicole's disbelieving eyes as all his attention was focused on his small son. "Can you show me how Jack likes to be tickled?" There really wasn't a need to ask who Jack was, as it was perfectly obvious that Matthew was referring to the dragon, but when everything was said and done, Draco made a mental note to sit down with the boys and discuss how exactly they came by this knowledge. "Can you show me?"

Draco saw the flash of excitement on his son's face before it was soon replaced with a troubled frown. "Jack said to not tell anywum, Fadder. I not want him mad at me."

"He won't be mad at you, Matty. He knows that this is a special situation and I'm sure he would want you to wake him up so that he can help us with our little adventure. Don't you think that it'll be fun to play with him some more?" Draco hated having to try to trick his own flesh and blood, but this was important and they had wasted entirely too much time already. Who knows what was happening outside by now? Harry may already be facing off against that beast and damn if Draco was going to let him face Riddle alone.

With a quick glance at his twin, who gave Matthew a small nod, Matthew made his decision. "Otay, Fadder, we show you."

Knowing that his own promise had been fulfilled and that Harry's family would indeed be able to get to safety, Fawkes gracefully took to the air once more knowing that his own adventures for the evening were just beginning.

Matthew and Evan knelt down on the frozen stone surface near the dragon's left front foot. Draco saw a small crack between where the dragon's foot rested against the platform and the hard gray surface itself. Carefully, the boys both wedged their tiny fingers into the small practically unnoticeable crevice and started to softly wiggle their digits back and forth.

The fleeting fear that in their current position the twins were likely to be crushed if their attempt to awaken the dragon was successful barely had time to cross Draco's mind before the statue gave a small shudder.

Soon the statue gave another slight movement, and Draco watched as the paw that the boys were so diligently stimulating lifted, giving the boys additional access to continue their administrations. Having made up his mind that enough was enough, Draco reached forward to grab his sons and remove them from any immediate danger. Just as he was reaching out to the boys, the dragon gave another mighty lurch and a jet of white hot flame erupted from his mouth. The dragon quickly stopped coughing up fire and started to roar with unsuppressed laughter. Apparently, this was one dragon who loved to be tickled.

Ducking just in time, Draco avoided the fireball by the skin on the back of his neck; however that didn't prevent the blonde from wincing at the ghastly smell of burnt hair. Draco emitted a small meep of surprise as both his hand immediately moved to cover his head, checking to make sure that his gorgeous locks were not on fire. Satisfied that in the worst case, he may be only slightly singed, but at least he wasn't on fire, or worse yet…bald…he moved to stand in between where his sons had started playing with the animated dragon statue.

"Matthew, Evan, why have you awoken me?" the dragon had curbed his chuckles and was eyeing the tall blonde man wearily. "You have broken your promises to me young dragonlings and I am most disappointed."

"My sons were only doing as they were bid, master dragon," Draco said with a small bow, careful to keep his tone strong but respectful, knowing that dragon spirits like the one that was inhabiting this statue were easily offended but only acknowledged others that they perceived as being strong as well. "The castle is under attack and we were lead to believe that you were guarding a safe passage out of here."

The dragon moved his attention from the two boys who he had become exceedingly fond of during their tenure in the Founder's Hall to the tall man, who based on his protective stance was undoubtedly was one of the boys' fathers. The dragon was impressed as the human refused to move a muscle as the dragon's cool gaze swept slowly over him, studying everything about the man. Not many humans had the nerve or willpower to hold themselves still under such intense scrutiny.

With a slight inclination of his large horned head the dragon finally acknowledged Draco's presence. "You have summoned me, human?"

"Yes master dragon, my name is Draco Malfoy, and as I mentioned, we are in need of your assistance. Will you aid us?"

The dragon continued his perusal of the man bearing the dragon name. He was certainly a fine specimen; he could certainly see where his sons' resembled him, although the boys were particularly special. The dragon had long observed not only this fair man but his dark mate from his isolated perch on the terrace. The men were both proud and extremely powerful, but they were so much more than that, and it was that extra component that had long decided this family's fate. These men and their offspring were destined to do wondrous things and be the bearers of gifts unparalleled to the wizarding world. Both men were more than worthy of his assistance.

With what could only be considered a small bow, the dragon rose to a majestic height on all four of his scaly legs and moved off of his raised platform to stand along side the humans. As he moved regally off of the platform, a small opening in the wall behind where he had been sleeping was revealed.

Draco's eyes widened in disbelief as he watched the dragon bow to him. As a child, he had thought it was cool to be named after one of the fiercest and most revered creatures in the wizarding world. He had loved his name and had spent countless afternoons in the library at Malfoy Manor studying the animals that he had been named after. He had taken it upon himself to learn as much about the fascinating animals as possible and soon became something of an expert on them. His father had even indulged him by taking him to visit the dragon camps frequently, or as often as his work had permitted. However, never once in all the time he had spent reading about or observing the magnificent creatures did he ever hear of them acknowledging a human with any sort of reverence, almost as though an equal. It was unheard of. They had certainly never bowed to anyone, not that Draco was aware of. Draco's astonishment over the dragon's actions was pressed into the background as his eyes quickly took in the escape route that had long eluded them. With a deep bow of his own to the dragon and a whispered "thank you", Draco gathered his sons and Nicole and moved towards the exit, secure in the knowledge that no one would be able to get past the dragon spirit to follow after them.

Nicole went first into the dark passage, lighting her wand to provide some visibility, the twins quickly following. Just as Draco's blonde head was disappearing into the crevice he heard the dragon spirit's final message to him as the dragon statue once more moved back into place. "Take care of your offspring, Dragon, they are more precious than even you can image."

Startled by the dragon's sober message, Draco quickly looked back at the statue. "I will, I promise."

Without another thought about the magnitude of the promises he had made that day, Draco turned and followed his family down the narrow passage that would hopefully lead them to safety.

29 A Matched Set

Piercing screams and the acidic smell of curses and hexes threatened to overwhelm Harry's keen senses as he tried to focus on the opponent in front of him. The largest battle that Harry had ever been involved in started roughly fifteen minutes ago, once both sides had assembled themselves. Leaving only a handful of Order members to see to the protection of the families trapped inside Hogwarts should they fail, the rest of the able-bodied Aurors and Order Members scattered themselves in small groups of four around the perimeter of the school. Their orders were clear, 'defend the line, not let any Death Eaters pass, and in the event of a final confrontation between the Dark Lord and Harry, distract his followers enough so that Harry has the chance to fulfill his destiny'. Even people who were not part of the usual group of warriors and had responsibilities and assignments in other parts of the castle were there tonight, ready to defend and, if necessary, give their lives to protect those still huddled within the formidable stone walls.

Harry ducked as yet another killing curse was cast his way. He was grateful when he didn't hear it impact with anyone else. He always hated dodging that particular curse, afraid that some unsuspecting victim would fall into its deadly embrace in his absence. The raven-haired man pushed all thoughts of potential guilt away as yet another curse came flying towards him from somewhere on his left.

Harry quickly constructed a protective shield and the powerful curse was immediately absorbed by the magical energy surrounding the young man, feeding into his own magical reserves. Harry normally would choose to rebound any curses back onto their originators, but tonight Harry knew that he would need as much energy as he could get so he alternated between rebounding and absorbing the curses in an effort to maintain his magical resources at full capacity. Who knew how much energy tonight's activities were to extract from him when they were all said and done? What he had planned for their special guest had never actually been done before. In all honesty, no one knew what the Gryffindor Heir had planned; only that he did have some sort of idea of how to destroy the Dark Lord once and for all. Harry didn't want to take the risk that somehow an inclining of his plans would leak back to that sick fuck and give him time to prepare. Only one other being knew of his true intentions and for all intents and purposes, he wasn't going to be telling anyone. Not that anyone would be able to understand him if he tried.

A soft trill cut through the cold night air and Harry looked up in the sky to see Fawkes streaking his way towards him. That was good. That meant that Draco had been able to find a way out of the apartment. Relieved that his family was safe, Harry fired off three curses in quick succession in three different directions, effectively immobilizing the immediate threats to his well being.

"Wow, would you look at that?" Nicole exclaimed as she took in the wondrous sight around her. They had been walking for what had seemed like hours, but was most likely only a little longer than half an hour or so, when the narrow passage that they were traversing started to grade off slightly and grow brighter. Even the twins were inclined to pick up their sluggish pace for a chance to walk in something other than complete darkness. The light of Nicole's wand in front of them and their father's wand behind them had provided the only break in the deep black that had surrounded them. In his hurry to see the source of the pale green light that appeared to be starting to expand as they approached, Matthew stumbled and knocked into his brother's back before he felt his father's strong hands steady him.

Matthew shot his father a grateful smile, while at the same time caught the smirk his brother had turned around to send him out of the corner of his eye. Proceeding a little more cautiously, the quartet continued forward, towards the growing brightness.

After only about another hundred yards, Matthew once more found his face pressed tightly into his brother's back, only this time it wasn't his fault; well, not really his fault. Nicole had suddenly and without warning, stopped, which created a small chain reaction. Matthew let out a soft 'oomph' when he felt his father collide with his own small frame. Thank goodness that Draco had been paying more attention to where they were going than Matthew had been and managed to almost get himself completely under control before making contact with his son.

Draco smiled tenderly at Matthew as he once more sent his father a sheepish grin. "Hey, watch out up there," Draco teasingly reprimanded the leader of their small expedition. "A bit more warning, or actually some warning for sudden stops would be much appreciated."

Draco became slightly concerned when his comments failed to get the desired reaction out of Nicole; actually it hadn't gotten any reaction from the woman at all. "Nikki, what's going on up there? Can you see something?"

The worry in Draco's voice tore Nicole away from the wonderment that was currently surrounding her. "Draco, wait till you see this. It's simply amazing."

"Well, if you would be so kind as to take a few steps more, then maybe I will be able to see what exactly you are referring to," Draco said sarcastically, as he tried to peer around a low stone overhang but still couldn't see what Nicole was so astonished by.

"But of course, My Lord, let me move my worthless form so that your esteemed presence can view this incredible sight. Maybe then you'll be able to tell me exactly WHERE WE ARE?" Nicole's voice rose during her short tirade from a whisper to a near shout.

Draco winced as Nicole's last words bounced loudly off the confining stone walls and rang over and over again echoing until they faded into nonexistence.

Harry tried not to wince at the strangled cry that echoed off the frozen landscape. He would recognize that voice anywhere, even if he hadn't been on friendly terms with it in more years than he cared to remember. It was Ron. Harry couldn't prevent himself from scanning the fallen forms and saw a flash of red bent over another still form lying in the snow. So Ron wasn't hurt then, it was someone else; someone who he obviously cared a great deal for.

Harry watched in slow motion as two Death Eaters moved toward his former best friend, swooping in like vultures ready for the kill. He didn't even spare the Death Eaters a second glance as he shot off two stunning curses of his own. Luck was with him and the Death Eaters had only time to send one short curse at Ron before they fell to the ground like the useless garbage that they were.

The Death Eater's curse hit Ron in the back; his screams telling more than words ever could about why that particular curse was deemed Unforgivable. Thank goodness, the spell ended once Harry's stunner took effect on the wizard that had cast the Cruciatus curse; so Ron's pain, while intense, was short lived. Harry only gave Ron one more glance to see that he was still moving before raising his wand and shooting royal blue sparks into the air. Having done all he could do by summoning a healer, Harry moved off in search of the prey that so far had proved to be elusive this evening.

The blonde man sucking a quick breath between his clenched teeth was the only response Draco gave to the sight that greeted him as Nicole moved onward. It was completely astonishing. They were enclosed in what appeared to be a tunnel made completely out of water. They were surrounded on all sides and even overhead with water. The greenish liquid was pressed up tightly against some sort of barrier and reminded Draco strongly of the one aqua zoo that he had visited with Nicole and the boys in California while Harry had been finishing his responsibilities there.

Carefully the man reached a hand out and tentatively touched the barrier to make sure that it was solid and that they weren't in danger of falling through it if they invariably came into contact with it. Last thing he needed right now was for Matthew to trip again and end up on the wrong side of the water wall. Sure enough, the barrier held strong.

The marine life and the gently swaying forest of black weed that Harry had described to him once when they were discussing the second task of the Triwizard Tournament were a dead give-away. They were clearly at the bottom of the lake.

Draco shook his head at the sights that surrounded him and he thought for a brief second that he caught a glimpse of one of the merpeople that he knew lived down here; but, when he looked again whatever he had seen was gone. Hopefully the giant squid would be otherwise occupied. Draco didn't want to test the barriers if the squid realized that he currently had a host of new playmates. Slowly, Draco let out the breath that he hadn't even realized that he had been holding the whole time since stepping into this water wonderland.

Not sure what was more amazing, being able to walk underwater in this protected tunnel, or the looks on the twins' faces, Draco prodded the group along. Matthew and Evan started to giggle as a school of small silver fish darted overhead. Their laughter washed over the group as their giggles became contagious. Feeling some of the tension leave his body at this much needed comic relief, Draco wiped away a tear of mirth from the corner of his eye. Promising to try to come back some time when they had more time to spend, he finally got the boys to move forward, deeper out under the murky water.

"Where the hell is he?" Harry muttered under his breath as he bound yet two more Death Eaters. But for every Death Eater that he took out of play, it seemed as if they were replaced with no less than two more; and still there had been no sign of Riddle.

The cold wind was biting as it pierced through his heavy cloak. The frigid cold crept deep into his bones making him feel much older than his twenty some years. An eerie silence started to descend around him, as Harry looked around bewildered at the lull in the battle.

The bright stars that had been previously visible on this practically moonless night faded as darkness threatened to take over everything. Harry fell to his knees, as a feeling much like one would image it feel like if someone would reached in to your chest with an icy hand and squeeze your heart overwhelmed him. Harry gasped knowing that he needed to shake off whatever was happening, he hadn't felt this way since….Harry broke his thought mid sentence as the urge to transform into his dog animagus form took over. Shaking off his well-developed response mechanism from his time at Azkaban, Harry strove clear his mind.

Dementors, Voldemort had to be close if he had finally sent in his closest allies. Biting his lip so hard it bled, Harry groaned softly as he felt those decaying creatures start to probe his thoughts. 'Not again, never again…' Harry gathered his strength and rose unsteadily to his feet. The tall man closed his eyes at the horrible sight that met him, over a hundred dementors had rose to Voldemort's call and were slowly descending to where the majority of the Order members and Aurors were still battling.

Knowing that there wasn't much time before the Light would feel their ugly effects, Harry drew upon his happiest of memories. Knowing that only a thought of pure love had any chance at all of producing a Patronus strong enough to beat back this many dementors, Harry thought about the moment when he had held his sons for the very first time. He concentrated hard on how Matthew had looked the first time he had opened those bright green eyes and how Evan had cuddled up so securely in his arms, griping his finger so hard that Harry wasn't sure if the infant would ever let go.

Harry raised his hand high in the air and cried out, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

It had been so long since he had the need to summon his protective guardian that Harry nearly cried when he saw the familiar silver stag burst from his fingertips. Harry blinked staring at the figure. It didn't look like any Patronus that he was familiar with, this one was larger and looked to be almost solid. It really was a beautiful sight to behold. Seeing that the Dementors had almost reached the first line of defense, Harry took one last look that at his father's image, "Go on Prongs, you know what to do."

The stag just looked at Harry with what could unmistakably be a grin and took off galloping full steam at the nearest cluster of dementors. Harry was relieved to see that Prongs was soon joined but several other Patroni, although none were strong or as intimidating as his stag. Harry breathed a sigh of relief when he recognized Sirius', Severus' and Remus' Patroni helping to battle back the Dementors.

"Shit," Harry gasped as he felt a stunning curse hit him in the side. He had grown careless while he had been focused on the Dementors; he had forgotten about the horde of Death Eaters that were still on the grounds fighting, wanting nothing more than to deliver his head on a platter to their Master. Once more, Harry felt the spell work through his system, being absorbed. Shaking off the slightly dizzy feeling that remained from the stunner, Harry dropped to the ground and fired off his own set of spells.

A soft thud confirmed that he had hit his intended target. Before he could focus his attention on yet another potential victim, his scar burst with excruciating pain. Harry dropped his wand as both his hands flew up to cover his forehead as it felt as though someone was driving a white-hot iron between his eyes. Taking a deep breath, Harry pushed himself up onto his knees before finally climbing into a standing position. Pushing the pain deep down into the pit of his swirling uneasy stomach, Harry knew one thing with absolute clarity, Voldemort was here; it was time to face his Grandfather.

Gradually the lake floor started to slope upwards, and it was a good thing too as the wonder of being underwater had faded long ago and now the boys were tired of walking. Recognizing that they had to be nearing the far shore, Draco tuned out the twins' grumbles and tried to decide what to do next.

Visualizing what he suspected to be the most logical place where this passage would resurface, Draco knew that they would be close to the Forbidden Forest. Immediately rejecting trying to stash the boys and Nicole somewhere deep in the Forest as being far too dangerous, Draco silently went over all his logical options.

Plans were rejected almost as fast as he was able to think of them, until he hit on what had to be the safest and best of all possible circumstances. He would simply leave them here under the lake. No one would think to look for them there, and once the battle was over, Draco could come back and retrieve them. Besides, if he took them too far away from Hogwarts, chances were that he might not make it back in time for the final confrontation between Harry and Voldemort. It maybe selfish, but Draco knew that he would never forgive himself if something happened to Harry and he wasn't there to try to help and support his mate.

There wasn't a lot of room in the underwater passageways, but occasionally there would be a small section wide enough for two adults to stand shoulder to shoulder. The next time they came upon a place where the tunnel widened slightly, enough so that they could sit down comfortably, Draco would insist that they stop for a rest and let Nicole know what was going on.

Happy with his plan, Draco picked up his pace, anxious to get out of here and see what was happening topside. Now that he knew he had a safe place for the boys, his thoughts returned once more to the dangers that Harry was facing. Offering a small prayer under his breath to keep his beloved safe, Draco and his family pressed onward.

Draco carefully parted some large swamp grass that was guarding the hiding place of the entrance to the passage under the lake; grateful that the lake surface was frozen so there were no ripples in the water to give away his movements.

Nicole hadn't been very happy with him when he told her that he wanted her to stay with the boys while he went to join the battle, but knowing that there wasn't anything that she could say or do, which would sway him from his chosen path, she eventually relented. Agreeing that remaining with the boys under the lake was the best scenario until either Harry or Draco came to retrieve them, she set about transfiguring some smooth stones found on the lake floor into pillows and blankets for Matthew and Evan. While the possibility of the boys falling back to sleep wasn't probable, she could always hope.

Backtracking slightly after he informed Nikki of his eminent departure, Draco took a moment or so to set up some wards that would give Nicole a warning should anyone try to enter the tunnel in the direction that they had come from. If that was the case she would only have a few minutes to gather the boys and run towards the surface, which based on how much they had climbed, shouldn't be that much farther ahead. Hopefully that would never happen, but it didn't pay to be lax now that the end was so near.

Rising up from the lake, Draco took a moment to verify that the hood of his cloak was covering his tell tale hair before stepping out onto the bank. Cursing when he saw his footprint in the freshly fallen snow, Draco quickly assumed his wolf form, knowing that an animal's tracks leading away from the waters edge wouldn't appear out of the ordinary, unlike the attention the evidence his human would leave behind could warrant.

The dark grey wolf whined as his finely tuned hearing caught the unmistakable sounds pain and suffering that where carried to where he stood near the forest. Trotting off as fast as his four legs could carry him, Draco quickly made his way across the lawn towards where the battle was still very much continuing.

Cold grey eyes scanned the battle scene, moving slowly from right to left, leaving no detail unnoticed, no matter how small and seemingly insignificant. Neither the growing number of still forms that continued to fall and litter the ground nor the biting winter wind could bring a hint of tears to these eyes. For the owner of this pair of extraordinary eyes was immune to such trivial things. Things, which had most others cast their unwitting gazes upon them, would cause them to crumble at the blunt first hand account of the atrocities that man could inflict on each other.

No, this man had one mission and one mission only.

Lucius allowed his eyes to once more flitter across the frozen picture in front of him, lingering on the only splash of purple in the field of white. There was no doubt in his mind that that horrendous purple robe was being worn by none other than Harry Potter. No one else would be strong enough to wield the power necessary to sustain the number of defensive and offensive curses that individual had done since this battle began over an hour ago.

When Zabini had revealed to the Dark Lord Potter's unique and unexpected heritage it was quite the revelation; and not a happy one at that. To believe that the very curse of Voldemort's existence was in fact his own Grandson, his very descendent, was mind-boggling. After the dust had a chance to settle and young Zabini's tale had been confirmed via some additional fact finding missions, missing pieces to the puzzle that was Harry Potter fell into place.

Potter's acclaimed magical abilities had always far exceeded what was considered normal by most forms of measurement, especially when one considered that his bloodline was tainted with muggle blood on his mother's side. Most of the Dark Lord's followers scoffed at Potter's abilities at thwarting their Lord over the years, attributing their personal failure to the boy's own dumb luck, other followers whispered behind closed doors that Potter was a supernatural phenomenon sent to destroy their way of life. Lucius, of course, did neither.

Over the years, Potter had earned a grudging amount of respect from the Head of the Malfoy House for simply being what he was, a tremendously powerful and talented wizard. And now that Lucius' remaining uneasiness over Potter's muggle blood had been dispelled, his respect for the descendent of his master doubled.

He wasn't even all that upset when he realized that his son had been fucking Potter. Under any other circumstances, Potter would have made a fine addition to the Malfoy clan; after all the blood of not only Lord Voldemort, but also the Great Salazar Slytherin, flowed through that boy's veins.

However, when Zabini reported that Draco had in fact betrayed the Dark Lord and pulled a Snape, Lucius felt his blood boil. It was bad enough that someone who he had considered to be one of his most trusted colleagues had stabbed him in the back less than a year ago. But, then to hear that your own son had also turned traitor to the very cause that you had devoted your entire adult existence to was quite another. Betrayal of their Lord was just as bad as if Draco had betrayed his own flesh and blood.

The Malfoy Head had declared their family's allegiance to the cause and Draco had no right to disobey. Hell, Draco had been raised spouting propaganda for the 'cause', learning before he was old enough to attend preschool that purebloods were far superior to mixed bloods or 'god forbid' mudbloods. Lucius allowed himself a momentary lapse in control and grit his teeth while thinking about what Narcissa had done wrong raising what should have been, and very nearly was, the Dark Lord's Heir. Now that future was not possible and Voldemort had set his sights on a new heir. Regardless, Draco would be made to suffer for his serious lack in judgement. No son of his would turn their back on their family.

Lucius, once more, cursed Narcissa for talking him into allowing that slimy git of a potions master to be their son's Godfather. At the time it was a smart choice, but now that decision only left a sour taste in his mouth. How could two of the people he trusted most betray him like that? It was unthinkable, and they would pay, both of them.

The soft sounds of something moving quickly over the crisp snow covered ground, brought Lucius away from this thoughts regarding revenge. Using his cloak to blend into the backdrop of the forest, the elder Malfoy hid in the shadows as he watched a wolf run towards him.

The animal was very beautiful, its dark grey fur moving as its powerful muscles contracted and then relaxed in perfect synchronisation as the beast moved gracefully in the direction of the battle. How odd it was for an animal such as that to want to get closer to the smells and sounds of humans, especially humans locked in deadly combat. While cunning and intelligent, wolves were notoriously independent avoided human contact at all costs.

But then again, this wasn't just any old wolf, was it? Lucius raised his wand with a grim smile on his face. Draco was a fool if he thought that he could keep a secret such as this from him. He had known for years about his son's unregistered animagus form. Thinking that this would solve at a least one of his problems, Malfoy pointed his wand at the quickly disappearing grey form and started to whisper.

Lucius was half way done with the most unforgivable of all curses when he stopped. He had to admit that he was curious as to what Draco had been doing away from his lover's side all this time. As a skilled warrior, Draco was never one to shirk from a battle and he knew his son well enough to know that Draco would not miss this one. No when the final blow was about to fall, regardless of which side it toppled, Draco would want to be there, up close and personal.

So what was his traitorous son doing that was so important to make him leave his whore without backup in the biggest fight for his life? There was only one thing or two things really, Lucius thought with a smirk, which would distract Draco from this history-changing event. According to young Zabini, it was disgusting how Draco fawned over Potter's bastards. He had practically become a sort of adopted parent to the Gryffindor's spawn.

The logical conclusion was that Potter had Draco stash his offspring somewhere, not confident in their own abilities at defending the school. Knowing that his Lord would award him above all else it he could deliver his Great Grandsons to him after the battle, Lucius decided that his revenge could wait a little longer. Besides, if Voldemort were to fall, as unthinkable as that scenario would be, it would pay to have a bargaining chip. And what better way to motivate the Light than to have control of their savior's children.

With that in mind, Lucius turned and started to follow the tracks left by the wolf away from the battle.

"Harry Potter, we meet again. Who knew you would be so foolish as to come back to the cowards that had helped to convict you and then left you to rot? You have certainly once more exceeded my expectations. I had given you credit for being more intelligent than you apparently are."

Harry steeled himself as the serpentine words rushed over him and raised his head defiantly at the monster that would, this very night, finally be made to pay for his crimes. "Riddle."

Voldemort chuckled, but the sound came out dry and without humor. "Now, now Harry, don't you mean 'Grandfather'?"

Harry took a moment to study his nemesis as he felt his anger grow. Every word that passed through those thin snake-like lips fueled the fire growing out of control in the depths of Harry's soul. "You may have raped an innocent girl and gotten her with child, but you never were and never will be a Grandfather. You're nothing," Harry spat.

Their years apart had been good for the Dark Lord. He looked healthier and stronger than Harry could ever remember seeing him before. Gone was the thin, pale skeletal frame, replaced with a lean but fairly toned form. However, there was one thing would never change, and Harry felt the power and vileness that was Voldemort, being reflected out of his blood-red crimson eyes.

Turning his head away from Riddle slightly, Harry saw that most of the fighting around them had ceased. This was it; the one event that would decide the future of their way of life and no one wanted to miss it, not one single part of it.

It hadn't surprised him that Voldemort hadn't raised is wand yet. Riddle knew as well as he did that their wands were brothers and couldn't be successfully used against each other. Harry's battle strategy didn't include using his wand, and he realized that Voldemort would have adopted a similar approach when preparing for this confrontation, as well.

"You're foolish. I had hoped that you would have grown out of that by now, but I guess your Gryffindor blood is just too strong." Voldemort hissed, also noticing their many observers as he switched from English to Parseltongue. This way he could ensure the privacy of their conversation and also intimidate and confuse the Light as they listened to both, their most feared enemy and their only hope, converse using a talent believed to be the mark of dark wizards.

Green eyes flashed before Harry could get a hold on his emotions; how he hated this thing standing in front of him. "You are so predictable Riddle, insulting my Gryffindor heritage. But of course, it makes sense to attack something that you could never possibly understand. Yes, my Gryffindor side can make me at times reckless, but it also gives me strength in ways you will never experience." Harry was so caught up in the verbal showdown that he hadn't even realized that the conversation had switched to Parseltongue.

Voldemort sneered as he saw the fleeting looks of distrust and fear that crossed the Light wizards' faces at Harry's response. Oh, these people were just so easy to manipulate. It was a shame really that this all was going to end tonight, he was going to have to make sure to spare some of them immediate execution so that he would have ample time to play with them. Their fragile minds and faces, that couldn't hide an expression or thought if their lives depended on it, would be a great source of amusement. And little would they know that their inability to hide their very souls from him would be the only thing keeping them alive. Well, at least until he had devised an equally pleasurable way of entertaining himself.

"Imagine my surprise when I found out that you were my descendent, that we shared the blood of the esteemed Salazar Slytherin. It has always been just the two of us Harry; even now everyone waits to see what will happen. All that matters, all that has ever mattered, is you and me." Voldemort watched his Grandson carefully, knowing that he had to make the young man angry enough to lose control. When that happened, he would strike the first and hopefully the last blow.

Voldemort harbored no illusions about Harry Potter. He knew that the man was tremendously powerful, perhaps even more powerful than he was himself. While Gryffindor was an idiot, he was a powerful idiot and having the blood to two of the Founders had to have some advantages that he did not. If he wanted to be successful, he needed to bring this confrontation to a speedy conclusion.

Fingering the custom made wand that he had created specifically for this purpose, Voldemort continued when Harry didn't immediately respond. "You know that it didn't have to be this way. Had I known that you had existed, I would have simply taken you from the Potters as an infant and raised you, as you deserved to be. We could have avoided all this and you would never have had to waste your childhood locked in some god-awful cupboard."

Seeing the rage burn so close to the surface in the emerald eyes at the mere mention of his parents and his childhood, Voldemort sensed victory and pressed on. "It's too late for you now, Harry, as I'm sure you've realized, but it's not too late for your son. My Great Grandson will be raised at my side, as you should have been. He will be groomed to be my one and only heir."

"Son? Don't you mean sons as there are two of them?" Harry hissed poisonously, feeling the internal battle war within him at the success of the plan he had placed in motion so many months ago.

Voldemort chuckled, not sure why now he had been so worried. Harry was the same insecure boy, easily led by his emotions, that he had always been. The Dark Lord took a deep breath, relishing Potter's question before playing his trump card. "You always have to over do things, Harry; I don't need two heirs." The red eyes narrowed. "One will be more than sufficient."

Panic started to creep into Harry's gut. "What do you mean?" he managed to spit out between clenched teeth.

"Since you were blessed with a matched set, I thought we could share them. I have generously decided that I'll keep one, and send the other to join you and your dearly departed parents. Sounds more than fair to me." The sinister words hung hauntingly in the still air for a moment before all hell broke loose.

30 A Phoenix's Sacrifice

Draco raced towards the crowd of wizards and witches who were standing completely still, as if mesmerized by something. Knowing that only one thing could hold the attention of so many enemies standing side by side, without them trying to incapacitate each other, he ran faster than he had ever run before. Nearing the edge of the battle, Draco quickly resumed his human form and pushed the immobile bodies out of his way as he made his way towards the center.

He hadn't even made his way to the front of the mass when he heard Harry scream. It wasn't a cry of pain, but one of pure unadulterated rage. Before the castle walls had time to rebound Harry's war cry back to the battlefield, Draco heard his lover start to hiss in Parseltongue.

Never before had Draco been so envious of the ability that his mate and sons shared. He would have given all the gold in Gringotts to be able to understand what exactly Harry was hissing. Judging from his tone only, Draco assumed it was some type of curse, but he couldn't tell for sure. Frustrated beyond belief, Draco continued to shove people out of his way in his quest to reach Harry's side.

The pain that tore through his chest at the thought of Voldemort murdering one of his precious children while raising the other to be evil was indescribable. Not even once in all his planning and reviewing the possible outcomes related to this particular inevitable moment had Harry even considered the possibility of separating the twins, and certainly never permanently, but yet here was this piece of filth suggesting just that. Harry felt the sour taste of bile rise in his throat as he thought about Riddle's intention of separating them by death. It was unthinkable; it wasn't going to happen.

This nightmare caused a sharp pain spread deep in his soul. Using that pain to focus on, Harry remembered exactly what he was going to do here tonight. The spell that he had found was risky and had never been successfully performed, but if the notes that Salazar had left in the library in the Founder's Hall were to be believed, this curse could temporarily strip even the most powerful of wizards of their magical ability. The problem was that this spell took a great deal of magic from the caster as well, and if it worked at all, the spell was believed to only last for about ten minutes.

But it was ten minutes that Harry desperately needed. Focusing all his attention inward, Harry tapped into his magical essence. Feeling the overwhelming love and support of his family, friends, and even Hogwarts itself flood through his system, Harry tossed his head back and started to chant.

As fun as it was to wind Harry up, Voldemort knew that he needed to strike now before the young man had time to compose himself. Raising his wand, he gave one final look at the man who was his own flesh and blood before opening his mouth to shout the curse that should have ended this person's existence so very many years ago. Before he had a chance to utter the first word Voldemort watched in fascination as an almost serene expression came over Harry's face. He didn't even have a chance to wonder what his descendent was up to as green eyes met his own and his Grandson started to chant in parseltongue.

"God of the South, Keeper of Fire and Light, take back what is rightfully yours. Goddess of the North, Commander of the Wind and Air, take back what is rightfully yours. God of the West, Protector of Earth, take back what is rightfully yours. Goddess of the East, Guardian of the Seas and Water, take back what is rightfully yours. He is unworthy of your generous gifts, release them now."

Never having heard such a chant before, Voldemort listened as the other man's serpentine words tickled his eardrums. When Harry's chant ended and nothing happened, Voldemort couldn't help but chuckle. "Was that the best you could do, Harry? Surely after all this time, you could have come up with something better than that?"

"I'm feeling slighted. I would have thought that you would have spent more time trying to come up with some pathetic and equally unsuccessful attempt to defeat me." Voldemort sneered at his nemesis. "What a great disappointment you turned out to be."

Harry was unfazed by Riddle's comments. Concentrating harder he raised both his palms up into the air and concentrated on solely summoning the spirit guardians. Turning to face south, he first thought about fire, how he imagined it would feel burning in his hand. "God of the South, Keeper of Fire and Light, take back what is rightfully yours." Feeling a warmth settle over him, Harry didn't even notice the intermittent flashes of lightning that suddenly lit the night sky as he continued on, turning to face in the opposite direction. He thought about wind, the strong destructive sort of wind that often accompanied the spring and summer storms. "Goddess of the North, Commander of Wind and Air, take back what is rightfully yours."

The strong breeze that suddenly appeared gave Harry the encouragement to continue. This time concentrating on earth, the feel of the solid ground under his feet, and the scent of freshly tilled soil, Harry faced west and chanted louder than before so that he could be heard over the now howling wind, "God of the West, Protector of Earth, take back what is rightfully yours."

Shrieks of fear could be heard from the many observes as the ground started to tremble, unleashing its own terrible energy. Not wanting to lose any of his momentum, Harry practically shouted that last remaining part of the chant, as he turned to face east. Focusing all his remaining strength on the last spirit Goddess, he screamed, "Goddess of the East, Guardian of the Seas and Water, take back what is rightfully yours."

The battlefield was almost obscured from view in a wave of heavy wet snow. The four elements that comprised the elemental basis that modern magic had been derived from were all present and ready to reclaim their gift from the one who had been deemed unworthy.

Not taking a moment to pause, least he loose his concentration, Harry shouted over the combined forces of nature, "He is unworthy of your generous gifts, release them now."

Before the wind had a chance to catch Harry's last word, a bright silver ball of light started to form between Harry's still outstretched palms. The beam grew brighter and larger as Harry concentrated on feeding his own energy into the mass. Soon, the light had become so bright that very few could even stand to look directly at it anymore and Harry knew that if he didn't release it soon, he would lose control.

Looking over to where Voldemort stood, encased in a wind tunnel, Harry connected once more with the hideous creature that had participated in the procreation of, and then later caused the destruction of, his mother. Harry felt a tremendous surge of power from the silver ball that he held suspended between his outstretched palms. Feeling the drain on his magical reserves and knowing that he wouldn't be able to hold onto this energy for long, he realized that he would have to act soon before the ball drained his last bit of magic.

"You have been found unworthy," he cautioned, and with those final words, Harry released the silver ball.

Voldemort watched the happenings in complete disbelief. He had never heard of a spell that could summon the founding spirits of magic, let alone, command them to act on the caster's behalf. That spell would have to be researched once this battle was said and done; the thought that he was actually going to lose never once entering his mind.

As Harry started the chant a second time, Voldemort took the opportunity to once more raise his wand; it was time to put an end to Potter's theatrics once and for all. Unfortunately for him, that was when he made a rather unsettling discovery. He couldn't move. His arms failed to respond to his will. Refusing to panic, the Dark Lord tried to turn away from Harry, but as before when he tried to raise his arms, his legs refused to move as well. The chant had, in fact, stilled everything in the vicinity, there wasn't a single sound or movement, at least not that Voldemort could ascertain as his vision and hearing was soon impaired by the roaring wind and blinding snow. That is, everything had stilled with the exception of one thing. Only one thing appeared to be unaffected by the total chaos that surrounded them all. That one thing was none other than Harry Potter.

The sphere, that largely resembled a silver quaffle by this point, was glowing brightly nestled between Harry's outstretched palms. Even the blinding snow wasn't enough to hamper the visibility of the unearthly power that the orb was projecting. Not sure exactly what Harry was intending to do with this new toy; Voldemort was certain that he didn't want to be in the path of that thing when Potter finally decided to release it. For the first time tonight, Voldemort felt the cold fingers of fear deep in his gut. Potter was even more powerful then he had led himself to believe, if this demonstration was anything to judge by. No longer assured of his quick victory, the Dark Lord realized that he needed to rethink his intentions towards this boy – no, man. The basic fact that he might not live to see another day was just starting to give him some pause.

Unable to do anything but breathe, Voldemort watched in horrified silence as Harry released the silver ball of concentrated magical energy towards him.

Unable to so much as bat an eyelash, the Dark Lord could do nothing to prepare himself as the dazzling globe hit him. At first, Voldemort felt nothing but the tingle of magic as the ball was absorbed into his chest. The feeling of powerful magic washing over him took his breath away but wasn't anything like what he had feared it would be. Then the pain hit.

Pain so strong that it managed to do something nothing else had managed in over four decades, it brought the Dark Lord to his knees. Ragged screams pierced the night air, managing to be heard even over the howl of the whipping wind and the cracks of thunder, as Voldemort's body shook from the effects of the curse that Harry had cast upon him.

When the pain had finally started to dissipate, Voldemort managed to raise himself up off the frozen ground. Not as weak as he appeared to be, the Dark Lord raised his wand a final time.

The pain that he had just endured had overridden what little sense he still managed to possess. Thinking only of wanting to share some of the terrible pain that he had just experienced, he cast the first spell that came to his rattled mind, "Crucio!"

Nothing happened.

Harry hadn't even moved when he heard the spell being cast; he had made no move what-so-ever to try to block it, almost like he had expected the spell to fail. But that was impossible, wasn't it? Voldemort's thoughts spun faster than children on the local merry-go-around; his magic had never failed him before, not even once. Furious beyond belief, Voldemort let his righteous anger fill him before shouting the spell that would hopefully end all of this nonsense once and for all. "Avada Kedavra!"

When this spell also failed, Voldemort started to fire off random spells in desperation, hopeful that one of these spells would respond to him. Finally after a few tense moments, when his wand failed to so much as give a slight tremor, Voldemort threw his wand down in disgust.

Standing for the first time in fear before the boy who would surely be his undoing, Voldemort couldn't help but ask, "What have you done? How did you bind my magic so that I can not even feel it anymore? I demand that you release that spell at once."

Harry watched in gleeful disbelief when Voldemort's spells failed. The spell had worked, he had done it. But now, he didn't have much time. The spirit guardians wouldn't be able to contain the vileness that was the Dark Lord for very long. Now all Harry had to do was make sure that the magic had no where to return to once it was free again. And to do that, he had to destroy Voldemort's body and soul. Destroying a body wasn't that difficult, but utterly eradicating a soul was a different matter altogether. There was only one way that Harry was comfortable had a chance of success when dealing with a soul so utterly evil. Even though he knew that it was his best chance, he wasn't even sure that it would work, as it too had never even been attempted before.

Ignoring Voldemort's ludicrous questions, Harry took one last look around before setting the second half of his plan in motion. As he did, his gaze scanned over the many individuals gathered around the perimeter of the circle where he and Voldemort faced off, some he could recognize; many he could not. Harry was glad to see that not many of the faces wore masks, taking that as a sign that the Light had managed to gain the upside in the fight against the Dark Lord's followers.

Almost done with his quick perusal of the witnesses to this final confrontation, his eyes landed on the one that he had been searching for all his life. Draco. Draco was here; he had made it. Deep in his soul, Harry knew that when the final moments came that Draco would be by his side, regardless of any promise he had extracted from the unwilling blond. Just knowing that his soul mate was there for him gave Harry the strength to raise his weary eyes to meet those of his lover for what may be the last time.

Draco had almost reached the center of the mob when Harry raised his voice again and started the chant over again; this time louder and sounding more determined than ever. Sensing that the end was near, the crowd all closed in on the dueling pair who remained unquestionably at the heart of this conflict.

Draco grunted as he was pushed from behind and fell forward into the person in front of him. This wasn't getting him where he needed to be. Before he had a chance to facilitate a plan that would bring him to Harry's side, the sky opened up in a vicious display of lightning. Knowing that he was running out of time, Draco pushed forward with renewed vigor, desperate to reach Harry. He had only managed to stumble over a couple of more people when the gale-force winds started to push back against the crowd, holding them all in place away from the spectacle that had to be taking place deep within the interior of the horde of wizards and witches.

It took most of Draco's focus and might to remain standing against the powerful gales. Many of the people standing around him weren't as lucky as they were either pushed back or were completely blown away. Draco ducked as someone who had been standing in front of him took flight and narrowly missed hitting the blond. Thinking that the wind was a blessing in disguise as it had thinned the host of people between him and Harry considerably, Draco inched his way forward.

Draco had only taken a few more steps when the ground beneath his feet started to shake. People around him, no matter which side they were fighting for, shouted out in fear and started to push back away from what ever was happening between Harry and Voldemort.

'Oh shit,' Draco thought, as he knew that the energy to manipulate the environment this drastically had to be immense. At this point, Draco didn't know which one of the two contenders were even responsible for these not-so-natural displays, but he hoped with all his heart that it was Harry in command of these incredible forces. Out of the corner of his eye, Draco saw a flash of white, barely discernable over the sheets of blinding snow that had started to pelt the bystanders.

Draco looked again, and sure enough, Dumbledore was just a ways off to his left, also moving slowly toward the pinnacle of the whirlwind of magic. Just behind the Headmaster, Draco could make out more shapes, following in Dumbledore's path. Fairly certain that Severus, Sirius, and Remus were also on their way to the inner circle, Draco focused once more on the task at hand.

Thankfully, the vast majority of the people had edged back away in fear at the elements that had been unleashed on them, making the last leg of Draco's crusade the easiest. In a few moments, Draco found himself on the inner-most rim of the crowd, facing his own worst nightmare. The sight of Voldemort with his wand raised and pointed directly at Harry's heart was an image that Draco could have lived his whole life without seeing.

Seeing that Harry wasn't taking any sort of defensive stance, Draco lunged forward, trying to place himself between the two enemies, willing to do whatever it took to protect his lover. However, Draco's forward progress was stymied. He couldn't move; all he could do was stand there and wait with bated breath with all those gathered there to see what the inevitable outcome of this proclaimed and long-awaited event would be.

It took Draco a while to realize what was going on. Voldemort was casting spells, terrible spells, but nothing was happening. It was as if the Dark Lord had suddenly lost all ability to perform magic. It was almost like he was a squib or worse yet, a Muggle. Draco looked in surprise from where he had been watching Voldemort flounder to where Harry was standing, solid and confident amongst the turmoil. Never had Draco seen a more beautiful sight. This was it; wasn't it? This was the end. Harry had won. Voldemort no longer had any magic, at least not that he could tell. So if this was the end, why couldn't he move? Something still wasn't right; somehow Draco felt with a certainty that hadn't been there before that while the Light would be victorious that day, they weren't out of the woods. Deep down, Draco knew that the sacrifices weren't over yet and that there was a real possibility that they all wouldn't get out of this unscathed.

Warmth filled him as he watched Harry scan the observers, clearly looking for him. Knowing that he had to stand strong in light of what ever outcome the fates had decided, Draco raised his head high and meet Harry's piercing emerald eyes with his own loving gray ones. For a moment, Draco forgot where they were, forgot that they were standing on the edge. The edge of what, Draco wasn't sure; he only knew that after the next few moments, nothing would ever be the same again. Was it an ending or a brand new beginning? Draco wasn't willing to speculate just yet, both wanting and dreading what was to come next.

Draco didn't have long to ponder about the near future, unable to tear his eyes away he watched Harry give him a sad smile before mouthing the words 'Don't be afraid,' and then finally blowing him a kiss. Fighting back the tears that stung his eyes, Draco nodded his understanding and returned a blown kiss of his own back to the only man he would ever love. Unwavering in his belief that that would not be their last kiss, Draco pushed away his fears, determined to be strong, not only for Harry, but also for the twins.

The bystanders couldn't hear the soft pop over nature's continuing splendor of sights and sounds, but within a split second before their disbelieving eyes the image of Harry Potter was replaced with that of a majestic bird. Even the wind didn't mask the gasp that echoed off to Draco's left. Draco raised an eyebrow in appreciation of McGonagall's astonishment; glad that she had seen Harry's accomplishment. To be honest, he hadn't expected the old witch to last this long.

The phoenix was oblivious to the dumbfounded and dazed stares around him as he opened his beak and trilled the familiar phoenix song. Incredibly, the wind, blinding snow, trembling earth and lightning strikes stilled seemingly in response to the phoenix's command.

A feeling of terrible dread settled deep in Draco's stomach as he watched the phoenix take flight, its brilliant plumage flashing a bright scarlet against the stark white backdrop.

All of Harry's research had told him the same thing over and over again, only pure goodness and love could destroy pure evil. Harry knew that he had his faults, sure everyone did; they were only human after all. That thought had led him to rethink his final confrontation with Voldemort. Maybe if Harry didn't try to destroy his soul as a human, but as something so pure that no one had the ability to become before; maybe then he would have a chance to finally put an end to the thing revered by some and feared by all.

Harry had many long discussions with Fawkes about how a phoenix might actually go about destroying Voldemort. The conversations were enlightening, but largely not very helpful. As phoenixes by their very nature were healers, they couldn't use their powerful gifts to destroy, even one so evil such as the Dark Lord.

Wading through all the facts, lead Harry to only one possibility that had a chance of freeing the world of this peril. In an obscure footnote in a tomb found in the Founder's library, Harry found a reference about a time when a wizard who wasn't familiar with phoenixes tried to stop a phoenix from burning. This misguided wizard touched the phoenix after the phoenix had already triggered his burning cycle and, unfortunately, was incinerated instantly. What made this footnote so intriguing was that nothing remained of the foolish wizard, not even his soul.

Fawkes had cautioned him on what all could possibly go wrong. What Harry was planning to do was extremely dangerous and there was a good chance that he could also lose his own soul during the burning as well. It's not like there were any phoenix animagi before him that he could ask for advice; this had most certainly never been attempted before. Steeling his resolve, Harry set about the task before him.

With a last thought about the shock that he was going to cause by disproving yet another one of the wizarding world's magical theories, Harry evolved into his phoenix animagus form.

With a trill that calmed not only himself but his surroundings, he took flight. Somewhere off in the distance he heard the answering cry from his fellow phoenix. While Fawkes could only be involved in the battle in a healing capacity, his support made Harry feel lighter, better. The gorgeous red and gold bird flew high into the night sky before turning once more towards land.

Sensing his foe, Harry the phoenix pulled out of his tight downward spiral. Timing was everything. Harry knew that he had to trigger the burning cycle before he touched Voldemort, if not his phoenix spirit would not allow him to endanger another living creature, no matter how despicable. Not sure how long he would have from the time that the burning cycle was triggered to when the actual burning took place was the main problem.

Voldemort would soon regain his ability to do magic, not that it would change Harry's intentions, but it certainly could make things a whole lot harder. Deciding that there was never going to be a better moment, Harry reached deep down in his soul trying to locate that particular spot that Fawkes had told him would trigger a burn.

Moments before he was upon is prey, Harry found the one glorious section of his soul that was so pure that it was almost painful to experience it for too long. The phoenix song burst from his chest louder than ever before as the burning cycle was triggered.

Sweeping down on his powerful wings, Harry clutched a stunned Voldemort tightly in his taloned feet and swooped up into the night sky. Even with a phoenix's speed, Harry wasn't able to get very far when the burning overtook him. With his last conscious thought, Harry wrapped both his large wings around Voldemort's skeletal frame, encasing the Dark Lord within the phoenix's embrace. An outside observer would later remark that had they not known better, it would appear like the phoenix had been trying to protect the Dark Lord.

It is often whispered that the fierce cry of the phoenix as it burst into hot flames was heard lingering in the halls of Hogwarts long after the ashes had blown away.

31 Aftermath

It wasn't even gradual. Draco, along with the vast majority of observers, had never had the privilege to witness a phoenix on their burning day before. But this certainly wasn't at all what Draco would have expected it to be like. This was violent; the destruction complete and absolute, all done before a person could blink.

White-faced in stunned silence, Draco tried frantically to wrap his mind around what he had just witnessed. Did he really see the love of his life spontaneously combust? Draco blinked. Even Harry couldn't be stupid enough to think that he could survive something like that, could he?

Draco couldn't bring himself to look away from the spot in the sky where Harry and Voldemort had been only a short moment ago. Now, however, that section of the night sky was just as dark as any other. The brilliant image that had been Harry was gone, replaced with tiny dark pieces of ash.

Many unblinking gazes watched mesmerized as the ashes fell gently back towards the earth. Draco didn't try to move as the wind shifted and changed the path of the burnt remains that had become intermingled in the still-falling snow. His focus solely on what had just happened; he wasn't even aware that the people around him were beginning to roust themselves from their self-induced stupor. It was almost as though the people around him were waking from a long enchanted sleep.

The Aurors and Order Members quickly overtook the last few remaining Death Eaters, who very much like Draco, still stared in disbelief at the spot where there Master had been, unwilling to comprehend their undeniable defeat.

Realization started to set in and Draco felt his strength give way. Falling to knees, the blonde closed his eyes and buried his face in his cloak, unable to look at the ashes even a second longer.

Strong gentle hands guided him upright. Draco shuddered not even knowing how cold he was until he felt Severus' warm palm on his cheek. "Draco, you need to pull yourself together. You are still a significant target and I am not confident that this area has been completely secured. Besides, this isn't over yet, I haven't seen Lucius and I am certain he is around here somewhere."

Severus looked at his Godson with sympathy, Fate surely wouldn't be this cruel; Potter and Draco had been through too much for it to end this way. "Potter may very well come out of this one unscathed; he does have a remarkable ability of defeating the odds time and time again."

Draco pondered his Godfather's words, knowing that he was offering the only encouragement that he honestly could at this juncture. Feeling the love swell in his heart gave Draco a glimmer of hope, this felt completely different than the last time Harry had almost left him. Confident that only if Harry was still alive would he be able to feel this way, the blonde gave his Godfather a small teary smile. "So, what you're saying is that Harry is the luckiest bastard that you've ever met?"

Severus looked over to where Sirius and Albus were examining a spot in the snow where the largest section of ash seemed to be accumulated. "Something like that, besides, you know how Potter is, always one for the dramatics. Although, I must say that even I was impressed with this bit of magic."

Draco snorted. There was no one that could claim that Harry had been anything short of magnificent. Severus' gaze Draco watched as what was the lead Auror walked over to where Sirius and the Headmaster were conferring. "So what do you suppose that is all that about?"

"Truthfully, I don't know, but I think they are certifying that Voldemort is really gone this time. At least Harry got that right, there is no way a soul filled with as much hatred such that Voldemort's was could have ever survived a burning." Severus winced as he bit his tongue, not sure how Draco would respond to that last relatively careless comment.

"That may be true, but what about Harry's soul?"

Severus didn't even comment; he merely pulled his Godson into a tight hug which promised love and support no matter what, better than any words could possible say.

A soft trill broke through the clamor that surrounded them. Responding immediately to the familiar sound, Draco scanned the dark sky desperate to see that his heart's desire was true. And sure enough, there is was, high in the sky and barely discernable, but it was there, that wonderful flash of scarlet.

Leaping to his feet in relief, Draco rejoiced as the gleaming red bird gradually came closer and closer. Far too soon however, Draco's broad smile became a frown. There was something not quite right about the phoenix. Startled when the luminous bird flew past him without a second glance, Draco once more felt the bottom start to fall out from under him when he realized the harsh truth. The beautiful bird had beady black eyes, not a deep piercing emerald green. The phoenix wasn't Harry, but Fawkes.

Fawkes continued his path until he landed near the pile of smoldering ash. Snapping his sharp beak and flapping his large powerful wings in warning, the phoenix moved into a protective stance between the wizards and what little remained after the burning.

"Fawkes?" Dumbledore questioned his former companion, not understanding why the phoenix was interfering with their perusal of the remains. "Please allow us to pass; we need to collect the ashes."

The phoenix didn't budge.

Curious as to what was happening, Draco moved as close to the bird as the phoenix would allow. "Hey Fawkes, it's been a long night. You've never steered me wrong before and so I know that I have to trust you. I assume you were the one that helped Harry with that stunt?"

The phoenix had been watching Draco carefully, making sure that he didn't come any closer. Slowly, the bird blinked his glassy eyes and nodded his feathered head.

"Alright, we'll discuss that later, but since you're here, I assume that you're still helping Harry, correct?"

Again, the large bird responded with a nod.

Draco didn't have time to formulate his next question when Fawkes turned away from him and the other wizards entirely, his focus solely on the pile of debris. Cooing softly, the phoenix started to rut through the ash with his golden beak while quietly shedding pearly tears.

Enraptured, the wizards watched to see what would happen next. As the precious tears fell onto the grey substance, a small hiss could be heard accompanied by a whiff of white smoke, almost like what happens when a muggle cigarette is lit with a match.

Draco lurched forward, needing to be there, but Dumbledore held him back. "Draco, this is out of our hands. Please let Fawkes do what he thinks is best. At this point, he is the only hope Harry really has." Frustrated but realizing the sense in the old man's words, Draco took a deep breath to help calm down. Whatever that bird was doing had better work, not only could Draco not live with himself if something happened to Harry, but there was no way in hell that he was going to tell his beloved children that their Daddy wasn't coming home again. That was not going to happen; his children were not going to lose their birth father.

Someone gasped as the phoenix harshly bit down on his right wing, leaving in his wake a small gaping wound. The bird shook his wing gently, allowing several drops of his own blood to fall over the spot where his tears had previously gone. The hiss and smoke were significantly magnified when the blood was added to the mix.

"What is he doing?" Draco was flabbergasted he had never seen or heard of a phoenix doing such a thing before.

It took an equally thunderstruck Snape a few seconds to compose a reply. "I'm not sure. Nothing is really known about the properties of phoenix blood, as there has never been any available to experiment on. It has been speculated that their blood, like their tears must be willing given to retain its magical properties, and there has never been a donor. Phoenixes can heal others, but the only way for an injured phoenix to heal itself is through a burning. As a result, there haven't been any donors."

"While their tears have immense healing properties, I can't even begin to imagine what properties their blood could possess. If Potter survives this, I will have to see if he would be willing to donate some blood, the possibilities of what I could do with it are limitless." Had the situation been any less tense, Draco would have chuckled at the look of awe on his Godfather's face as he contemplated all the different potions he could attempt.

The soft trilling soon became louder as the calming effect of the phoenix song could be plainly felt by all as Fawkes continued his examination of the ashes. It quickly became apparent what he was searching for as the tiny bald head of a newborn bird poked its way up out of the ash.

"Oh my God!"

Draco wasn't even sure who uttered the sentiment as it was certainly shared by all those present. This was remarkable, but then typically anything associated with Harry usually was.

Without giving the onlookers another thought, Fawkes bent his majestic head down and gently took the reborn baby bird in his beak. With one last shrill cry, Fawkes took off towards the east carrying his cherished bundle up and away.

Not sure what to do now, Draco's eyes continued to follow the phoenix until in a flash of brilliant light, he was gone. Feeling exhausted and more than slightly confused, Draco took the time finally to glance around the battlefield. Many of the stunned or injured witches and wizards had already been treated or moved to facilities that could care for them. However, as the growing brightness as the new day dawned fell upon the survivors, they couldn't help but notice that the snow at their feet stained with the testimony of those that would not ever be returning from this fight. Draco shook his head sadly at the visual image. Freedom had extracted her price this night, and a high price it had been.

Running a shaking hand through his wind blown hair, Draco took a moment to come to terms with everything that had just transpired in the last hour. Voldemort was gone, never to return. Harry was the undeniable victor. But so many lives had been lost in the process, including the current uncertainty that surrounded Harry's. Unquestionably, the celebrations would come, but not yet, not until the community had a chance to mourn. One thing was certain, the healing process was going to be a long and painful one, but eventually, thanks to Harry, the wizarding world would heal.

As Draco started to move through the fallen, he scanned each face. It took him a moment or two to even realize what he was doing; subconsciously he was looking for his father. Then he remembered something that Severus had whispered to him right after Harry's burning. His father hadn't been found; in fact he hadn't been seen by anyone at the battle at all. So where was that slippery bastard? Surely one of Voldemort's most loyal followers wouldn't have missed this.

The overwhelming need to be near his loved ones caught Draco by surprise. A quick word to Sirius and Remus about where he was going in the event that there was any news about Harry's fate and Draco was off to find what remained of his 'family'. Leaving the rest of the clean up to the other survivors, Draco started to retrace his path back to the lake.

Compelled by some unseen force, Draco quickly made his way back along the path he had recently made. He was grateful that the strong winds and heavy snow fall seemed to have completely wiped away his previous tracks. The lack of a trail did not deter the Slytherin in the least, as he knew exactly where he was headed.

Approaching the reeds that guarded the entrance to the underwater passage Draco frowned. The snow here had been disturbed, and from the looks of it, it had been recent.

Kneeling down, Draco examined the fresh marks in the soft white surface, thankful that the sun had finally risen high enough in the sky to actually provide him some light.

There was no mistaking it, someone had passed by here. Based on the size of the footprints, Draco strongly suspected that it had been an adult man. That analysis ruled out Nicole and the boys as the perpetrators of the tracks. Worried, Draco stood up and sprinted towards the tunnel opening.

The weeds were bent and some where even broken off, clearly indicating that something large had passed amongst them. From the amount of damage that was done, it appeared that whoever had entered the passageway had done so quickly and without regards to discretion.

His heart in his throat for at least the third time that day, Draco crouched down and cautiously crossed the threshold into the narrow tunnel. Hoping that whoever had discovered the boys' hiding place hadn't been there long enough to harm anyone, Draco proceeded as quietly as he could in the event that the unknown man was still inside. In fact, Draco prayed that who ever dared to threaten his children was still here because it would save Draco the trouble of having to hunt the bastard down before he killed him.

Not wanting to reveal his presence, Draco elected not to light his wand and only relied on the limited amount of sunlight that penetrated the lake's depths to see by. Thankfully, Nicole and the boys had set up camp close to the shore where the water wasn't very deep yet, as such Draco had just enough light that he could see by.

Draco strained himself trying to make out the smallest sounds. However, he heard nothing, not the slightest giggle or whine from the twins or Nicole's soft calming tones. 'They could just be asleep' Draco thought optimistically for a second before he dismissed that thought for what it was, only wishful thinking. The passage continued to be eerily silent as Draco pressed on.

Draco held his breath as he rounded what he remembered to be the last bend in the tunnel before he came to the area that they had magically widened for Nicole and the boys. No one heard the gasp as all the air in the Slytherin's lungs was forcefully exhaled when his disbelieving eyes took in the sight in front of him.

Not even aware of the anguished cry that fell from his lips, he rushed forward, almost tripping in his haste to reach the small still form that lie directly in his path. Ignoring the jolting pain that raced up his thighs when his knees came into sharp contact with the hard stony tunnel floor, Draco all but collapsed, next to his son.

Draco bit his lip hard as tears streamed unnoticed down his face. Knowing that he had to know, but terrified of what it may reveal, Draco gently placed his ear to Matthew's chest. Thanking whatever Goddess was looking out for him this evening, Draco pressed a trembling fingertip next to the young boy's pulse point. His fingers reaffirmed what his ears had told him to be true, Matthew was still alive.

Leaning back on his haunches, Draco critically examined his son trying to ascertain the extent of his injuries. There was a large bruise forming on his cheek, almost as though he had been back handed. He had a gash in the back of his head that was still slowly dripping blood, although the wound appeared to have largely clotted. His left arm was also positioned oddly. The boy was very pale, most likely he was in shock. Deciding that it was best that Matthew remain unconscious for the time being so as to spare him any undue pain, Draco tried to recall what basic first aid spells would be helpful. Casting a basic healing charm, Draco took a moment to scan the room for the other two missing occupants.

It only took him a second to find the equally still form of Nicole. She was settled up against the barrier, only a few meters away from where Matthew had fallen. She too was unconscious and had her hands and feet tightly bound with rope.

Deciding that it was best to determine what her specific injuries were before trying to revive Matty, Draco shuffled over to where Nicole lay propped up on the tunnel wall. Running his wand slowly down her form, Draco was pleased to note that she wasn't injured at all, simply stunned. With a quick flick of his wand, Draco first banished the bindings and then revived his dear friend.

Nicole groaned as the unnatural darkness that surrounded her faded. She blinked as her eyes became accustomed to the light in the tunnel. Draco's pale face swam in and out of focus in front of her for a moment or two, until she was able to finally regain her senses.

"What happened?" Nicole pulled away from the support Draco was providing and looked around the enclosure in confusion. "What are we doing here?"

Draco didn't have a chance to answer when Nicole remembered everything that had happened. The slight woman pushed Draco away and began to frantically search the tunnel. Noticing Matthew for the first time, she raced over to the boy she loved as if he was her own. "Oh my God, is Matthew alright?"

Draco ignored her distress and continued to search the small area for the one person of their party that was still missing. Draco quickly walked down the tunnel a ways towards Hogwarts, thinking that maybe Evan had run back to the apartment if he had been scared. Draco doubted his youngest son would run off by himself, but at this point it was better than the alternative.

Draco hadn't made it very far when Nicole's sobs reached him. Unable to ignore her any longer, Draco ran back to where she was sitting beside Matthew.

Draco could see the panic welling just beneath the surface as Nicole had started to hyperventilate. He needed her to be strong so that she could answer some questions about what exactly had happened here. More importantly, he needed her to tell him where the hell Evan was. He also needed for her to stay with Matthew so that he could get some help.

"Come on Nikki, snap out of it." Draco shook her shoulder trying to draw her attention away from Matthew. "Nikki." Draco's voice was firm and left no room for disobedience.

Nicole didn't respond. She just kept running her fingers through Matty's blood soaked hair.

"Damn it Nicole, I don't have time for this. You have to pull yourself together. The boys need you, Ha…I need you." Draco snapped in desperation, stopping just short of saying Harry's name; for some reason, he didn't want to jinx himself just yet by assuming that Harry would be alright.

The longer it took for her to calm down, the longer it was that Evan was missing without anyone even able to start looking for him. Not having any other choice, Draco flicked his wand at the distraught young women. The calming spell took affect almost immediately.

Nicole's breathing evened out.

"Nikki?"

Draco was glad to see that the lost panicked look had diminished significantly when she responded to his question by turning her head in his direction. "Honey, Matthew is hurt, but from what I can tell his injuries are not that serious. But I need you to stay with him while I go find us some help."

Nicole's eyes filled with tears, but she nodded before pressing a soft kiss to Matthew's cool forehead. "I'll be okay," she sobbed, biting her lip to keep it from trembling.

Not liking the idea of leaving Nicole here alone in her current condition, but not seeing another alternative, Draco turned to leave. He hadn't moved more than three feet when Nicole whispered. "He took him."

Wanting to believe that he had simply misheard her, Draco asked Nicole to repeat her statement. Unfortunately, hearing those same three words for a second time did nothing to alleviate the terror in his heart.

Once more, Draco found himself on his knees in front of Nicole. "Please Nikki, this is very important, who took Evan? What happened to Evan?"

Nicole slowly reached up and with a trembling hand, wiped away one of the tears from her cheek. "Oh Merlin, Draco, I'm so sorry. I tried to protect him but he was too fast for me. I'll never forgive myself."

Putting the steely edge back in his voice and pulling her into a hug, Draco whispered urgently. "Nicole, I need you to start at the beginning and tell me everything that happened after I left. It is important. Evan's life might depend on it, so please tell me what happened."

Nicole pulled back away from Draco just far enough so that she could look deep into his eyes. The love and angst that she saw there was overpowering. Finally feeling strong enough, she began her tale.

"Shortly after you left, I was able to get the boys to lie down and rest. We were treating this like a big adventure and were telling stories of make-believe. The boys eventually fell asleep and I must have dozed off myself, because the next thing I knew was waking up to the sound of someone coming down the tunnel. I thought it was you and Harry coming back to get us. My only defense was that I still wasn't fully awake yet when I saw what I thought was you step into view."

"Before I even had time to see that it wasn't you, he had pulled his wand out and had bound my hands and feet." Nicole's voice broke as she remembered their ordeal.

"Matthew knew something was wrong immediately and charged at the man. That man just laughed at Matty's feeble attempts to harm him, before he smacked him across the face."

Draco closed his eyes and grit his teeth when Nicole described how Matthew had become injured.

"He hit the wall so hard and he fell to the floor and didn't move. Oh God Draco, I was so scared and I couldn't get to him to protect him. I was so afraid. I just kept praying for Matthew and Evan to be alright and for someone to come and help…but no one came."

Nicole's voice had trailed off into a soft whisper towards the end.

Taking a deep breath for strength she continued, "I pleaded with this man to let us go. He looked so much like an older version of you, I asked him if he knew of you, but the man just ignored me. All he was interested in was the twins. After Matthew had been hurt, Evan had gone to try to wake up his brother. Poor Evan, he just couldn't understand why Matthew wouldn't wake up. Evan started to cry. The man just stood there staring at the boys almost like he was trying to decide what to do with Matthew, when we heard a noise that sounded like it was coming from the entrance of the tunnel."

"I think that the man just figured that he was running out of time, so he grabbed Evan and started to leave. When he picked up Evan, I started to scream for help. The last thing I remember was him waving his wand at me. I think he stunned me."

Draco was shaking. Someone had dared to hurt his sons and even took one of them. No, not someone, there was no doubt from Nicole's description that the man that took Evan had to have been Lucius.

Draco cursed his father, damn that man. Who knows what Lucius had planned for the son of the person Lucius despised more than anyone else in the world? It was possible that Lucius hated Harry even more than Voldemort did. After all, Voldemort always seemed to have a certain grudging respect for the Gryffindor, whereas Lucius did not.

To be continued.

A/N: All I can say is WOW! The response to Chapter 30 was amazing. Thank you so much for all the kind words and support. I'd better get to work on Chapter 32 now, before the death threats again. This chapter was originally planned to include what will now be Chapter 32, but as I haven't made much progress on that part, I decided to end it here so that I would be able to at least post something. Thank you all for your understanding.

Also, I will be visiting both London and Paris in a few weeks, to any readers that live there or visit often, please let me know of any 'must sees'. This also includes any great restaurants, etc. I only have three days in each city, but I want to fit in as much as possible.

32  A Father's Struggle

After summoning medical aid for both Matthew and Nicole, Draco started out after his father. Not wanting to take the time to inform anyone from the Order about what had specifically happened, Draco merely left a message with one of the healers to inform Severus very simply that Lucius had taken Evan and that he had gone to retrieve his son.

With the Dark Lord gone, Draco suspected that Lucius was going to try to use Evan as collateral for negotiations with what was soon to become a newly reformed, and hopefully much improved, Ministry of Magic. After all, one of the rules Draco practically cut his baby teeth on was to alwayshave a back up plan ready at your disposal, no matter what. For as often as he heard it, their family motto should have read, 'A Malfoy never is unprepared'. Lucius would definitely be ready for anything.

Setting his worry for Evan's safety aside for the moment, Draco concentrated on what he thought his father would do now. Lucius needed Evan alive and healthy if the child was going to be of any real use to him as a bargaining chip. One would have to be stupid to think that the opposition would concede anything if what they wanted out of the deal was injured or worse yet, dead. And anyone who had spent more than two minutes in Lucius Malfoy's presence knew that the man was far from stupid.

With all these things in mind, Draco realized that his father wouldn't go somewhere no one knew to look for him. Lucius wouldn't want to try to deal with a three year old for any amount of time and now, when the stench of Voldemort's defeat still hung heavily in the air, was the most opportune time for negotiating for his freedom. Someone was more likely to acquiesce to his demands knowing the great bounty that had just befallen them. The more deliriously happy and generous the other side was feeling, the better off Lucius would be. Lucius would be sure to exploit any advantage that he could. Besides, who, with Harry's fate so uncertain, wouldn't promise just about anything to ensure the safe return of their savior's son. Failure was not an option.

There wasn't one person in the wizarding world, that wouldn't go along with practically anything his father would come up with just to not see their name in tomorrow's Daily Prophet as being the one that refused Lucius Malfoy and allowed Harry Potter's son to be murdered. Not only did that person risk being lynched by the entire community, but Harry's most recent display of immense power only solidified his reputation as the most powerful wizard of all time.

Who in their right mind would want a wizard who could wield such fearsome power after you because you failed to protect what was most precious to them? Very simply, no one. Having narrowed down the places where his father was most likely to be, Draco transformed into his wolf form and took off at a brisk pace.

Surprised pale eyes watched the animagus transform and take off in a direction away from Hogwarts. Curious as to why Draco would leave at a time such as this, the lone figure decided to follow the wolf. Determined to find out what was going on, the man glanced around briefly to see if anyone else was nearby. Seeing no one, the man set out alone, easily tracking the undisguised paw prints through the snowy landscape.

Lucius leaned back against the hard uneven stone outcropping, trying to get comfortable while he waited for his son. He had no doubt that at this very moment, his disgrace of a son was on his way to rescue Potter's pathetic brat and more than likely the bastard himself would come as well, that is if he managed to survive the confrontation with the Dark Lord. His Lord was gone. Lucius rubbed the spot on this arm where the Dark Mark that he had proudly worn for decades had once been, the pain of its removal as much mental as it was physical. Annoyed at his loss, Lucius sneered down at the small crumpled form lying at his feet. Besides the occasional sniffle, the boy hadn't made a sound.

Lucius' eyes narrowed in scorn as he stared at the messy raven colored locks that contrasted sharply with the cold white surface the child was lying on. How he hated this child's father. Lucius reminded himself to unclench his fists, as small droplets of blood fell from his hands where his fingernails had already cut the sensitive skin on his palms.

Cursing himself for his temporary lack of self control, Lucius took a few calming breaths before allowing himself to once more think about the one who had destroyed what he had worked for so long and sacrificed so much for. Harry Potter was responsible for ruining everything. If only he would have just stayed away or, even better yet, if he would have just died like he was supposed to as an infant, then Lucius would be occupying his rightful place of honor beside his Lord, second only to the Dark Lord himself in all the wizarding world, instead of hiding out in this frozen cave waiting to strike some pathetic deal for his freedom with his own worthless son.

Lucius despaired at what this final defeat would mean to Voldemort's followers and the community at large. Now those damn mudbloods and muggle lovers would once more have the opportunity to rise beyond their rightful place in society. Merlin knows what kind of muggle contraptions they would try to introduce to the wizarding world now that the majority of resistance had been defeated.

The senior Malfoy never understood why it was so hard to understand that the very basis of the wizarding world was founded on family and bloodlines. If these half bloods and mudbloods insisted on becoming a part of this world, then they should have to accept it the way it is or get out. What right did they have to change anything? They would never be able to understand the ties to honor and family that have been drilled into magical society for more than twenty generations.

Vowing to his ancestors, whose very blood flowed strongly through his pure veins, Lucius took an oath to continue to resist any and all attempts to modernize or adapt society for the benefit of those of questionable or inferior pedigrees.

The soft rhythmic sound of paws hitting the snow covered ground broke Lucius away from this musings. A slow smirk crossed his face as the older man prepared to face his son. Oh, the old ways prohibited him from outright killing his own heir, after all, the Malfoy line had to continue at all costs, but it didn't say that he couldn't hurt him, and hurt him he would. It was time to start to put his newly revised plans into effect.

Before long, the stone outcropping which was partially hidden in a small grove of trees, where he and his father had rendezvous during his time while he was still in school, came into view. His father had demanded frequent updates on both Potter and Dumbledore, Draco remembered with a sour taste in his mouth. Lucky for him his father never figured out how vague and misleading his reports had truly been. Merlin had certainly been looking over his shoulder in those days. Now if only his luck would hold, his family would soon be together again.

Skidding to a halt shortly before his destination, Draco gracefully transformed back. He wanted to make sure that this meeting with his father took place on equal footing, so to speak. He couldn't afford for his father to feel that he was in any more a position of power than what he already was. Squaring his shoulders, the young man strode forward, his steps displaying a confidence he didn't feel.

Hiding his fear behind a mask, Draco finally turned to face the man that while participating in his procreation, had failed to fulfill the role of a father in so many different ways. "Lucius."

"Draco. How good of you to come. It is amazing how predictable you have allowed yourself to become." Lucius sneered, looking down his nose at his son as only a generational pureblooded could do. "A disgrace really."

Ignoring his father's snide greeting, Draco quickly scanned the surroundings for Evan. Even with all his training as a Death Eater and more importantly as a Malfoy, Draco couldn't prevent the gasp and the look of concerned anger that flashed a crossed his face when he say the small body lying so still at his father's feet.

Lucius chuckled when he saw what held Draco's attention. Feeling in complete control of the situation, he couldn't help by to taunt his heir. "Your Mother and I had such hopes for you, boy. What a disappointment you turned out to be; a poor excuse for a Malfoy as there ever had been. I am just glad that your Grandfather didn't live to see the pathetic wizard you've become. Imagine: a Malfoy sucking up to a Potter. It makes me violently ill."

Draco refused to respond to his fathers cutting words; he had heard it all before, many times, in fact.

Annoyed that his son refused his bait, Lucius jabbed the toe of his dragon hide boot sharply into Evan's side. The small boy moaned softly but did not move.

"I just don't see what is so special about this child. The Dark Lord was ecstatic when he learned that he had Great Grandsons, even if they did have tainted Gryffindor blood, he felt that they still had promise to become strong wizards and for one of them to eventually follow in his footsteps as his heir."

Lucius frowned when he remembered his master's apparent recent demise. "However in light of certain events, what he felt really doesn't matter much anymore; your dearly beloved Potter saw to that."

"I, of course disagreed." Lucius said smoothly, his inflated belief in his own self worth dripping from every spiteful word. "Once soiled by Potter, their blood would be ruined no matter how strong the ties to the Dark Lord were." Lucius once more examined the pale boy lying in the snow. "It's a shame really, how the only remaining Heirs to Slytherin are forever contaminated; infected with nothing less than self righteous Gryffindor."

Draco clenched his teeth so hard at Evan's pained whimper, he wouldn't have been surprised if one or more of his pearly whites had chipped under the tremendous pressure. "Well, I came. Suppose we forego the pleasantries and get on with it, shall we? What the hell do you want?" Draco asked, finally addressing his father for the first time.

"Temper, temper, Draco. Although you have seemingly forgotten much that I have tried to instill in you, the least you could do is demonstrate some sort of respectful behavior. I believe that I have earned at least that much from you for the amount of time and money you've cost me over the years, if nothing else," Lucius replied; his eyes as hard as diamonds.

Refusing to cower under his father's ruthless stare, Draco couldn't help but think to himself about how he much hated this man. "Get over it," Draco spat. Leveling his father with his own look that made most men piss their pants, he continued to try to determine how exactly this exchange of sorts was going to work. "What's it going to take to buy your freedom this time? Evan's life? God, you make me sick. And to think, in your twisted mind you actually feel that you are so superior to those that have time and time again defeated you and your perverted master."

Before Draco could continue with that train of thought he, was interrupted as his head was sharply thrown to one side as his father slapped him harshly across the face; the force of the blow making twinkle lights dance in front of Draco's face for a moment or so.

"Shut up. How dare you insult me and our Lord, you whore?" Lucius tried to rein in his rage, knowing that he couldn't kill his son. After taking a moment to look away, Lucius returned to study the man before him.

What neither Lucius nor Draco were aware of at that moment was that there was another set of eyes studying both of them intensely. Watching the heated father and son battle escalate, the owner of those eyes was only concerned with one thing, and that was how on earth he was going to safely remove Harry's son from this potentially deadly situation.

Pushing his temper back once more, Lucius once more addressed his son. "What I can't seem to understand, Draco, is why after I had practically laid the world at your feet, did you betray all that to run after Potter? Of all people to cast your lot in with, why did it have to be him? What could he possibly offer you that you didn't already have?"

Draco was incredulous; surely his father couldn't be serious. What could Harry offer him? 'Try everything you bastard,' Draco wanted to scream but refrained. Taking a deep breath, Draco calmly responded, "There are many things in this life that I will never know, but one thing I am sure of is that if you don't already know what Harry gives to me, then you are a much bigger fool that I had previously thought."

Draco ducked as he father tried to slap him for a second time. "Enough of this bull shit. Just tell me what you want so that Evan and I can leave."

Lucius snarled, wondering if there was any possible way for him to kill his heir and get away with it. It wasn't the Ministry's repercussions that he feared, oh no, there were much worse punishments waiting for him should he willingly destroy Draco than anything those incompetent fools could come up with. So caught up in his earlier rage regarding his own flesh and blood's betrayal, he had of course almost cursed him with the killing curse when he had first seen Draco in his wolf form and the consequences be damned.

For an instant, Lucius actually resented that fact that he was of the distinguished Malfoy line, for they were cursed. Not that anyone outside of the family ever knew about it as the tale is only passed on verbally from family member to family member usually at the birth of the next generation's heir. Lucius himself only was made aware of the curse by his own father shortly after Draco's birth. However unbelievable it may be, the truth of the matter is that many, many generations ago the proud line had managed to curse itself.

More than 200 years ago the Lord Malfoy of the age had stumbled onto the fact that his wife of five years was willingly aborting their unborn children, as such, rendering the Malfoy line without an heir. The foolish woman knew that her husband didn't love her and that once an heir was conceived and delivered that her husband would most likely never return to her bed but would continue to seek the comforts of his mistress. In order to keep him with her, each time she conceived, she killed the unborn child before anyone even knew that she was pregnant. She cunningly thought that this way she would succeed in keeping her husband bound to their marriage bed. Despite a plan worthy of most Slytherins, the plan backfired horribly.

At the time of the nauseating discovery, Lord Malfoy flew into a rage and cursed her and all Malfoys and any who were bound to the Malfoy line to eternity, such that if a Malfoy would willingly try to kill the heir to the line, either born or unborn, that the attempt would revert back on them and they would die instead.

Lucius may have even considered taking the chance that the curse didn't take, but for the fact that the brother of his Grandfather had tried to murder his Grandfather in a duel when they were young and had been immediately killed in his attempt. No, killing his son was not a feasible option.

"Fine. I want full immunity and the Malfoy assets released into my sole custody."

Draco didn't even flinch, he had expected nothing less. "I could give two shits about the Malfoy assets; you can take them and shove them up your arse for all I care. But you know that I do not have the authorization to grant you complete immunity. How, with everything you've done, you can even think that you don't deserve the Dementor's kiss or a life in Azkaban is beyond me."

"Well now, Draco, this isn't really about what is deserved, is it?" Lucius punctuated his comment with another not so gentle nudge of his toe into Evan's side. "I believe that I have something that for whatever reason you seem almost desperate to have back."

Draco's attention was immediately drawn to exactly where Lucius wanted it to go as Evan once more whimpered in pain.

Knowing that he had to do something, but at the same time hating to capitulate to his father, Draco tried to think of a way to get Evan away from here. "I can promise you this much, if you surrender yourself and release Evan into my custody unharmed that both Harry and I will do everything in our power to either reduce your sentence or have you released on some sort of restrictive parole."

"So, Potter is still alive then? When he didn't show up here himself in search of his own brat I was hopeful that the Dark Lord managed to off him before he met his own demise." Lucius spat as he delayed negotiations in order to give himself a chance to think before outright rejecting Draco's offer.

Feeling the pain of the uncertainty surrounding Harry's fate swell within him at his father's heartless words, Draco was undecided about how to answer. He didn't want to reveal the possibility that Harry may be gone forever. That piece of news wouldn't help this situation any. Draco's response was thankfully delayed as the bundle at Lucius' feet stirred.

Evan was cold and scared. He hurt all over and he wanted his Daddy. Not sure where he was or who the mean man was that took him away from his brother and Nicole, all he wanted desperately was to go home and see his family again. Not feeling so well, Evan often closed his eyes as he fought a loosing battle to stay awake only to be kicked roughly in the side. For a moment or so before he fell asleep the last time, he thought he might have heard his father Draco's voice. However, he was too weak and fearful to call out to him. He didn't want the big mean man who looked like his father to get mad and hurt him again. Evan winced, still feeling the lingering soreness from where the man had hit him the last time. Before too long, Evan once more lost the battle to stay conscious.

A short while later, Evan moaned as he woke up yet again. Feeling the freezing cold snow under him reinforced his instinct to stay perfectly still and just try to find out what was going to happen to him. As he was starting to focus on the world around him, Evan was sure that he heard Draco's voice. Draco was angry, really angry. Evan shivered in fear when he heard his father's biting comments to the man who had taken him away. Although he didn't understand what all the words meant, he was pretty sure that his father was angry at the bad man and not at him.

Gathering up his courage, Evan decided to take a chance and make sure that his father knew that he was there and wanted to go home with him. "Fadder….Plweese Fadder help me."

Those softly spoken words had done more than any of the other words that had been spoken that day. Both Lucius and Draco froze, one in disbelief and the other in relief.

Recovering himself in a split second, Lucius grabbed Evan by the back of the neck and quickly hauled the boy to his feet. "What did you say?"

Evan refused to look at the bad man that held him so painfully. Looking instead at his Father through tear filled eyes. "Fadder, I want to go home. I want Daddy."

Draco felt his heart in his throat at his son's cries. Swallowing his own tears, Draco tried to keep his voice as light as possible. "I know you do, Sweetheart." Draco said reassuringly. "Evan, it will be okay son; I promise. I'll have you some soon snuggled tight in bed with your bunny."

Evan sniffled, "And Matty too?"

Draco forced himself to smile. "Of course Matty will be there too, snuggled into bed right next to you." Not seeing any obvious wounds on his son other than a few bruises, Draco needed to know if he was injured. "Are you okay? Does anything hurt?"

Draco felt his heart break as the sad little face slowly shook his head no. "Hang in there kiddo. You are doing so well and I am so proud of you, but I need you to try to be strong for just a little longer, okay?"

Seeing the misery on his young son's face diminish slightly at his words pleased Draco. However his pleasure didn't last long.

"What is the meaning of this?" Lucius demanded, uncertain and fearful for the first time this afternoon.

"Oh, I assure you, you heard him correctly. Evan is my son. I am his father." Joy was apparent in each and every word Draco spoke.

"What lie is this? You can't be his father; that honorgoes to Potter." Lucius sputtered with a great deal of sarcasm.

"Correct as usual, Father. Harry is the twin's birth father, but I am the boys' other biological parent. They are as much Malfoys as they are Potters."

"No." Lucius shrieked in horrified anger completely blown away by this unwelcome revelation. "They can't be."

"But they are." Draco knew that this was his chance and he needed to make the most of it. "Look at him. Just look at him for once and you will see the truth, its there written all over his face."

Lucius gave his son a hard look before turning to the boy he held in his arms. Firmly grasping the boy's chin, Lucius slowly turned the boys face towards him, not sure if he was prepared to discover the secrets this boy supposedly held.

Much too soon Lucius found himself face to face with Potter's offspring. Casting a critical gaze over the terrified features that adorned the young face, Lucius felt his heart begin to race as his eyes traced over the familiar curve of the face, the high cheek bones, the shape of the nose that was practically identical to the one that Draco had as a child. However, his heart soon felt like it had completely ceased to beat when the boy in his arms let out a shuddering gasp and opened his eyes that he had previously screwed shut tight in fright. Lucius had the final confirmation he had been looking for. The eyes, they were piercing in their intensity, they weren't green like Potter's, but there were just as telling, just as unique for this child's eyes were light gray, and not any gray at that. No, these eyes were silver and only one bloodline could produce eyes that color. There was no denying it any longer. This child was a Malfoy. He was born of Draco's blood, which made him and his brother heirs-apparent after Draco.

Seeing the disbelief on his father's face turn to disgust and then quickly back to the familiar blank expression he normally wore, Draco knew that he had won. Although he never completely understood why, he father had always told him that as the Malfoy Heir, he couldn't be killed by members of the Malfoy family. That didn't save him from having the shit beat out of him, but he did survive, and now so would Evan.

"He is a Malfoy Heir. You can't touch him Lucius."

Draco's words didn't even register as Lucius continued to stare at his Grandson. The fact that his own line was now just as contaminated as the Dark Lord's disgusted him. Although, he couldn't help but be hopeful for the future as he looked deep into the innocence that he held. His line would continue, and with it so would the blood of the esteemed Salazar Slytherin. The Malfoys would continue on and being the sons of the 'Great Harry Potter', they would find themselves in positions where they would have significant impact on rebuilding the wizarding world. Perhaps someday his descendents will be able to pick up where he left off and return this world once more to greatness and glory.

"It's over Father. Your Master is dead, the Death Eaters are decimated, its time to give it up. Let Evan go."

Lucius raised his head confused, just now realizing that Draco had continued to talk to him while he had not been paying attention. As he tried to gather his wits, he was forcefully shoved from behind. As he teetered off balance, Evan was snatched from his grasp.

Startled, Draco moved a second too late as he watched his father stumble forward unexpectedly. Someone moved quickly between him and Lucius and removed Evan from his Grandfather's clutches. That same someone, once making sure that Evan was secure moved to stand next to Draco never taking either his wand or his eyes off of Malfoy Sr.

"Weasley?" Draco asked in disbelief as he quickly secured his father's wand.

"Yeah. I have something that I think belongs to you, Draco," Ron managed to gasp, still breathing heavy from his adrenaline rush before handing Evan over into Draco's grateful arms.

"Did you follow me?" Draco couldn't get over his astonishment that Ron had actually rescued his son as he embraced his son tightly.

Ron nodded, his attention still focused on Lucius. "And it was a real bitch too with this leg and all." Ron frowned as he rubbed at his leg with the permanent injury that caused his limp. "You took off so fast that I knew that there was no way I was going to keep up with you. I was just grateful that you didn't go too far, or I would still be trudging through the snow." Ron added ruefully.

"Nice move back there," Draco said with a smile, "I didn't know you had it in you."

Ron shook his head, not sure if Draco was teasing him or insulting his courage. Deciding that the he was only teasing, Ron chuckled at himself. "Yeah well, I couldn't use magic with him holding Evan like that. I couldn't risk him falling on top of the kid and hurting him. There really wasn't much that I could do, so I had no choice but to rush him from behind."

Satisfied with Weasley's answer, Draco nodded as silence enveloped them as they both thought about how close they had come to losing this precious child.

"Thank you, thank you for this," Draco said solemnly in a shaky voice. Now that the immediate danger had passed, Draco felt intense relief that his son was going to be alright.

Knowing how much it cost his former rival to express his gratitude, Ron just nodded. "Come on, we need to get this piece of shit back to Hogwarts, so that the Ministry can figure out what they want to do with him. Besides, they may have some news about Harry."

Hearing the hopefulness in Ron's voice when he spoke about Harry made Draco realize just how much Harry still meant to this man. Ever since their return to Hogwarts, Ron and his family had tried to reconcile with Harry to no avail. However, they were persistent and never gave up trying, even when Harry gave them no indication what so ever that he would ever be able to forgive or forget what they had done to him. But despite all that, they still cared, and from the looks of it, cared very deeply.

Feeling as though something important had changed between the two of them, Draco gave Ron a small grin. "Let's go, before Severus and Sirius kill themselves looking for us," Draco said, half in jest and half seriously.

Pleased at seeing Draco's friendly grin, Ron smiled in return. He had been so scared when he realized that Lucius was holding one of Harry's sons captive. Being the Gryffindor that he was, he knew that he would never forgive himself if he didn't do something to help the child. Regardless of how Harry felt about him and his family, Ron had come to think of the boy as his nephew when he had seen him around the castle, and he was going to make sure that the boy was returned to his proper family.

As they started their slow march back to the castle, Ron couldn't help but reflect on the events from earlier that day. The battle had been horrifying, the worst that Ron had ever experienced. Since his old injury, he had been removed from combat and delegated to strategy and behind the scenes work only, but as everyone knew that this battle would be the defining moment in this war, Ron and Hermione had convinced Albus to allow them to participate. They needed to be there and see it with their own eyes. Listening to other people recount the day's events just wasn't going to be enough this time.

Ron swallowed hard when he remembered how it felt when he realized that Hermione was no longer standing by his side. In a panic, he looked for her for what seemed like hours, only to find her lying still in the snow a few minutes later. Terrified that he was too late and that his wife had passed on, giving her life in the ultimate sacrifice like so many of his family had already done, Ron threw back his head and let out an ear piercing scream, unlike any he had ever done before.

He didn't even hear the curse that hit him in the back, but he sure enough felt it. Only having been the recipient of the Cruciatus Curse only a few times before, the pain cut through him like a hot knife through butter. Thankfully the curse didn't last long at all before it was ended. Collapsing on the ground next to his wife, Ron was grateful that amidst all the chaos and turmoil on the battlefield that a small group of healers found their way over to them. Relief sweeter than any he had previously experienced swept over him when the healers told him the Hermione would be fine with some bed rest and additional treatment. Swallowing some Pepper-Up and restorative draughts that the healers had given him, Ron returned to the battle, knowing that his wife was in the best care possible.

Thinking about those terrifying moments once again, Ron could have sworn he saw a flash of purple right before the pain curse ended. It could have been his mind playing tricks on him as its sensory were overloaded, but Ron felt fairly confident that he had yet another debt to repay to Harry.

Thankful that his blasted leg or any lingering affects of the curses he had taken that day didn't hinder him too much and that he was able to assist in the boy's rescue made him almost giddy with happiness. The war was over thanks to Harry and now when Harry returned, he would find his family waiting for him, as it should be. In all honesty, it was the least that Ron could do for his oldest and dearest friend.

With a huge sigh of relief, Ron looked ahead to see how Draco and Evan were faring after the aborted kidnapping. Under Ron's watchful eye they slowly continued to retrace their steps back to Hogwarts in a single file line with Draco carrying Evan in the lead, followed by an unarmed Lucius with Ron bringing up the rear. They were headed back to whatever was waiting for them now that the clean up from the battle was sure to be mostly complete, news of the wounded, news of the dead.

They had only traveled a short distance when the most chilling of all words where heard.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Ron froze as he saw the sickly green light streak towards the very spot where Draco and Evan stood. He felt sick to his stomach when he realized that was too far away and with his bum leg there was no way that he would be able to get there in time. This had all been for naught; Harry may lose his family after all.

Hearing the killing curse, Draco turned sharply towards the sound and just as quickly fervently wished he hadn't when he saw the curse on course to hit both him and Evan. At the last moment he closed his eyes as he tried to turn away to shield Evan with his own body, hoping that the curse would only hit him and not touch his beloved son.

His thoughts were filled with his loved ones as he braced himself to feel the effects of the curse that only his mate had ever lived to tell the tale of. He silently prayed that Harry would survive the burning, if only so that Matthew wouldn't be left alone. Before his thoughts had a chance to wonder much farther, the soft thud of a body hitting the ground reached his ears. Draco knew that sound, having heard it so often during the war. Opening his eyes, Draco found himself staring into the lifeless silver eyes of his father; for whatever reason the curse had not found its intended target, but has taken Lucius' life instead.

Prompted to move quickly and not wanting to take any more chances, Draco threw himself and Evan down face first into the snow, just as another shot of green light passed overhead, barely missing them.

The aggressor never had a chance to fire off a third shot as Ron had cast his own killing curse at the Death Eater. Ron didn't miss and the Death Eater had no one to sacrifice them self for him.

Draco rolled over in the snow, stunned from what had just happened. A crying Evan slowly brought Draco back to reality and after making sure that his son was once more alright, at least as alright as one can be after undergoing an ordeal like this one, Draco sat up unaware that he was shaking.

Knowing that Draco would need a moment or two to compose himself and Evan, Ron gingerly sat down in the snow next to him. "I can't say that I'm sorry that he's dead, Draco." Ron started cautiously. "But I will tell you this much. Lucius willingly took that curse. It wasn't some fluke that it missed you and hit him. I saw him jump in front of it."

Draco ran a tired hand over his eyes, the stressful events of the day catching up with him. "I appreciate the thought Ron, thanks. Don't worry, I can't say that I am sorry to see him dead either. Things are actually simpler this way I think. It would have been harder on everyone had he been tried and either given the kiss or sent to prison.

Deciding to leave Lucius where he lay and to send someone back for his body later, an exhausted Ron, Draco and Evan rose to their feet and cautiously made their way back to Hogwarts.

33 Life Goes On

It was Christmas Eve and even with every inch of the Great Hall decorated as befitting the holiday, Draco still couldn't find it within himself to dredge up even a miniscule amount of Christmas cheer. The holiday spirit had completely passed him by this year; and for good reason. It had been ten days. Ten excruciatingly long, nerve-wracking days and still there was no word regarding Harry.

The many dead had been mourned and buried; and many more had been treated, healed of their battle injuries and released from the various impromptu field hospitals. Although still taking baby steps, the Ministry was beginning to formally reorganize. Plans were even underway to begin rebuilding Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley, along with many other war ravaged areas. Life was starting to move forward, a life that so far didn't include one Harry Potter.

In Harry's absence, the community once more turned to Dumbledore for direction and guidance and Albus rose to the occasion by making sure that the news of Voldemort's ultimate defeat at Harry's hand was spread quickly and accurately. Although the official victory celebration had been postponed pending official resolution of Harry's condition, small parties were continuously breaking out all over the place. Joy was abundant everywhere one looked, everywhere but with a small family that were currently clustered together at one of the long tables for the Christmas Eve feast.

Pasting a fake smile on his face for the sake of his sons, Draco reached an arm around the shoulders of the two small forms sitting on either side of him, giving both Matthew and Evan a reassuring squeeze in an attempt to lighten their spirits. No one wanted to be there that night, celebrating a holiday they didn't feel, but Draco knew their presence was important, not only to the recovering wizarding community, but also for themselves. They needed to start to heal and they couldn't do that holed up in the Founder's Hall endlessly watching the door waiting and praying for Harry to burst in. They had already done that and it hadn't worked. It was time to rejoin the living, at least for a while.

"Hey guys, it looks like we are in for a real treat tonight," Draco said, catching Sirius' eye, who was sitting across the table from them beside Nicole. "I heard from Professor McGonagall that a special visitor may be making an appearance later tonight, so I hope you both have your lists ready."

"Is Daddy coming?"

Matthew's question broke Draco's heart. Harry's extended absence was difficult enough without it being over the holiday season. "Oh Sweetheart, I miss Daddy just as much as you do. I bet he is on his way home right now, but I'm not sure if he'll be able to make it tonight or not. But seeing as how it is Christmas Eve, isn't there anyone else that you think may be coming to visit?"

"Santa Claus," Evan said, his voice lacking the enthusiasm that most three year olds should have this time of year.

"That's right Evan, Good ol' St. Nick, as we like to call the jolly old man, just may be stopping by later on. That is, if you two feel that you've been good enough to deserve a visit from him this year," Sirius teased trying to lighten the mood.

Draco mouthed 'thank you' over the table and Sirius nodded in response determined to do everything in his power to make this Christmas special for the twins in spite of the uncertainty surrounding their other parent.

"I'd rather have Daddy come visit," Matthew said in a low dejected tone.

Nicole sighed. "Matty, you just have to believe that your Daddy wouldn't want to spend Christmas without you either and that he'll do everything in his power to get home to you just as soon as he can."

Last Christmas had been so wonderful. Harry had made sure that he had plenty of time off from the band and had taken the whole family to Colorado so that the twins could enjoy an 'old fashioned' Christmas with snow. That was the one thing Harry never seemed to like about the part of California that they had been living in was that it never snowed. The family had spent the short days and long nights playing in the snow or cuddled in front of the huge fireplace in the living room sipping hot chocolate, roasting marshmallows and singing Christmas carols. It had been so much fun.

Nicole was marginally surprised that remembering the happy times spent together actually made her feel closer to Harry somehow, and not just more upset than she had been since hearing about Harry's burning. "Boys, one thing you can be absolutely sure about is that your daddy loves you very much. So now that we know all that, how about we concentrate on what we want to ask Saint Nicholas to bring us for Christmas, if he does show up?"

"Good, then we can ask him to bring Daddy back, face to face," Matthew stated matter-of-factly as he crossed his arms in a very determined manner in response to Nicole's suggestion.

"What do you mean, Matty?" Nicole inquired cautiously, trying like all the other adults at the table to turn to focus this evening away from Harry so that the children could relax and have some fun for a bit.

"Well, we sorta already asked Santa to bring Daddy back when we wrote him our ledders. You gave them to the owl, right?" Matthew responded.

Severus, who was sitting beside Matthew couldn't help but feel the pain that these two young children were currently going through. "You asked Father Christmas to bring you your daddy for Christmas?" Severus clarified.

Both Matthew and Evan nodded in confirmation unaware of the glare that their father was giving to Nicole concurrently. Correctly interpreting his annoyance that she hadn't screened the letters to Santa Claus, she rolled her eyes in response. Quite frankly she had been more concerned with holding herself and the twins together at that point and had forgotten to read the damn letters.

"You did ask him to bring you other things as well, didn't you? Like toys and games, right?" Draco was hopeful that the twins didn't rest all their Christmas wishes on having Harry back.

"Nope," Evan chimed in. "We thought that if we asked for too many things that Santa may think that we didn't want Daddy home enough and just bring us something else. Besides, if Daddy comes home, I'm sure he'll bring us some presents with him."

Matthew nodded in agreement with the logic that his twin just expressed. Getting their Daddy home was what they wanted most. Not only did they miss him more than anything, but also the other night after they were already supposed to be asleep, they had snuck back downstairs to see if father was still awake. They had found him curled up on one of the sofas holding a stuffed wolf and crying. They knew that Draco was crying because Daddy wasn't there. He was so sad that the twins decided to just leave him alone and sneak back upstairs to their bedroom unnoticed. Seeing their father so upset had scared the boys, they needed their daddy to come home as soon as possible. They were positive that when he came back, everything would be all right again. It just had to be.

Draco knew that he had been self-absorbed lately, caught up in his own sense of loss and misery over Harry's disappearance, but had he really been so selfish that he hadn't noticed his sons' own depression. 'Damn it, these kids are going to have a great Christmas, he didn't care what it took' Draco vowed, burying his own worries deep inside.

His resolution barely had time to develop before a flash of scarlet and gold caught his attention. Draco forced his immediate elation aside until he could be sure that this bird was in fact Harry.

The center of attention, the phoenix swooped low over the head table and trilled a cheerful greeting before finally coming to rest on the table directly in front of where Draco was seated.

"You almost fooled me again, Fawkes," Draco said, feeling both disappointed and hopeful at the same time when he recognized the old bird. "So, where is he? If you don't tell me that he's alright and that he'll be home soon, so help me I'll pluck every single one of your feathers and use them to stuff my pillow." Draco's voice escalated as he vented a small portion of his frustration jabbing a finger at the regal phoenix with every word he uttered.

Fawkes, taking Draco's rant in stride, tilted his head in acknowledgement. Once again, Draco cursed his inability to understand the bird. "Well…." Never a patient person, Draco had already been pushed way passed his tolerable limits. Giving the immortal being a look that meant business, Draco leaned across the table closing in on the phoenix and raised his hand in warning.

Fawkes didn't even blink, but continued to stare unflinchingly at the irate man, knowing that the source of his threats weren't stemmed from anger so much as from severe anxiety about the fate of his mate.

Knowing that he wouldn't follow through on his warning, Draco placed a shaking hand on the brilliant feathers and stroked the phoenix's back gently. "Oh god Fawkes, he has to be alright, I need him so much." Draco's voice shook with suppressed tears as he tried to remain strong, not wanting to lose control in front of everyone but especially not in front of Matthew and Evan. No, tears were only something that he allowed himself to indulge in when he knew that he was alone.

Feeling the great depths of Draco's desolation, Fawkes rubbed his head reassuringly along the back of Draco's hand and softly trilled a happy note. Feeling moderately better, Draco sat back in his seat just as another flash of scarlet and gold made its grand entrance.

The Great Hall came to its feet, as there was no doubt as to the identity of this most recent arrival. It was Harry. It was Harry. Oh thank God, it was Harry. Draco wasn't capable of any other thought at that very moment as the majestic bird made a beeline directly for him, landing in the midst of their evening meal alongside Fawkes.

Unable to even utter a simple sound, a stunned Draco watched with expectant eyes as the large phoenix was instantaneously replaced with a slender fine boned muscular man who was without a doubt the most ethereally beautiful thing Draco had ever seen. Stunned as every wish he had made since Harry's burning came true before his very eyes, Draco could only stare at the sight sitting on the tabletop.

"I wouldn't pluck any feathers if I were you Dray; Fawkes is very sensitive about his plumage. Besides you wouldn't believe how much it hurts to loose a feather." Harry teased, wanting to break the heavy silence that suddenly filled the hall with his transformation. Unfortunately, his words fell flat and Harry felt the weight of over a thousand pairs of eyes trained solely on him, waiting expectantly to see what would happen next.

After his 'rebirth', Fawkes had taken him to a place only accessible to other phoenixes. Here was a haven of sorts for the breed. It had taken Harry awhile before he regained his strength and attained the proper maturity so that he was able to transform back into his human self. All the while, Fawkes had stayed by his side and cared for him, as a parent would a young hatchling. Only this afternoon, Fawkes deemed him old enough to attempt the transformation and had taken Harry back into the realm where such a transition wouldn't immediately kill him, as he couldn't survive as a man in the phoenix world. Very simply, the magic there was too pure and powerful, it would have immediately tried to assimilate his human form and correct any impurities both in the flesh and in the spirit. Transforming in that realm would have killed him.

After Harry was able to successfully assume his human form, both he and Fawkes immediately started the long journey back to Hogwarts, where Harry knew that his worried family would be waiting for him. Shyly looking around now at all the people gathered together to share their holiday dinner, Harry saw the elation start to spread as everyone realized that he had returned, although he was starting to be concerned that no one had said anything yet.

"Potter, do you mind? You're sitting in the mashed potatoes," Snape said calmly as he continued to eat, as though having Harry Potter returning once more from the grave and sitting amidst one's dinner was a common event. Harry grinned at Severus' greeting, feeling welcomed. Harry winked at Severus, pleased to see the potion master sitting beside Remus at what he had come to think of as their table. Sliding off the table and a quick cleaning spell later and Harry was pulled abruptly into Draco's arms.

Squirming to escape the uncomfortable tightness of the embrace, Harry fought a losing battle. Knowing that he wouldn't be gaining his release any time soon, Harry ceased his struggles when he felt Draco relax his arms slightly, at least such that Harry could finally take a much needed breath.

"Harry, I …" Draco's voice was low and stilted. He choked and couldn't seem to continue overwhelmed by emotion.

"I know."

"If you ever…" Once more Draco gave up, unable to finish his train of thought.

"I know."

"Oh Merlin, I was…"

Harry felt the full body shudder that shook the thin frame in his arms as Draco broke off his comment with a sob. Easily feeling the bones in Draco's shoulders Harry became concerned about the amount of weight Draco had apparently lost while he was gone. "I know."

Finally, Draco leaned back in the embrace so that he could look Harry directly in the eyes, taking a deep calming breath, he managed to get out, "You stupid son of a bitch, if I didn't love you so much, I would kill you."

"I know."

"And stop saying 'I know', you don't know. You don't know anything. There is no possible way that your microscopic brain could even begin to remotely fathom what you put me and the boys through." The narrowing of the slate gray eyes where all the warning Harry had before he was slugged hard in the stomach.

The unexpected blow to the stomach caused Harry to double over and lose his breath, but it didn't bring him to his knees, it was only when he looked up and saw the tears streaming down Draco's pale cheeks that his knees hit the hard stone floor.

Tears filled his own eyes when they looked upon the horrible pain and suffering displayed so prominently by the one he loved above all others. He had known when he devised this plan that it would entail time for him to recover from the burning, hell, he even knew that he might not survive it, but at the time it had been worth it. All that mattered was to finally defeat Voldemort and to get his revenge not only for his parents, Cedric, Ginny, Colin, and most importantly, for his unborn child, but also for the thousands that had perished under that sick fuck's reigns of terror. It had to end, and that was the only way Harry could be certain that it finally would end. It was over, but looking at Draco now Harry wondered for the first time if it had been worth it. Had the cost been worth the benefit? He never wanted to be the cause of such agony ever again.

The need to feel Draco, to touch him, to ease some of his anguish became overwhelming. Gasping as he recovered his breath, Harry struggled to his feet and managed it only to be knocked back down again. This time it wasn't Draco's fault however. Harry found himself buried underneath two little wiggling bodies that were plastered up tight against him.

"Daddy…Daddy…Daddy," two voices blended together screaming at an eardrum shattering pitch such that they were indistinguishable.

Grasping the happy boys in both his arms, Harry was able to hold them still long enough to sit up, pulling the boys onto his lap.

"It worked, he did it; Daddy's home," Matthew squealed excitedly, giving his twin a slight push to make more room for himself.

"Oh God, I missed you guys so much," Harry rasped out, allowing the feeling of completeness at being reunited with his loved ones wash over him, filling him.

Harry didn't have a whole lot of time to enjoy his sons' presence as he was quickly swarmed with well-wishers. The twins vanished, only to be replaced with outsiders.

Arms hugging him, pats on the backs, holding him, hanging on him, face after face demanding his attention blurring together as one body was immediately replaced with yet another as Harry twisted and turned tying to get away only to be surrounded by the next cluster of people congratulating him, crying over him, touching him.

Snippets of conversation, words without any real meaning bombarded him from all sides. "Thought you were dead this time man…" "Thank you for saving…" The noise it kept coming, escalating to a fevered pitch, the voices not individually discernable as they overlapped and meshed together creating one loud chaotic sound. "I thought Malfoy was going to loose it there…" "He's really dead this time…" "We were so afraid for poor little Evan…" "Thank you…so happy to see you."

It was overwhelming. Not usually a claustrophobic person, Harry felt his chest tighten as his breathing became quick and shallow. In the back of his head he thought he had heard someone mention Evan. Why were they talking about him? Did something happen?

Hot and dizzy, Harry looked around for somewhere he could go to put a bit of distance between him and the mob; unfortunately, he wasn't able to see past the ream of bodies that separated him from freedom. He needed room to breathe, but the sea of wizards just kept on coming and coming, unaware of the affect they were having on the one person above all others that they revered, and in so doing, wanted to be close to.

"Back off, he's mine."

Even though his eyes didn't seem to be focusing properly, Harry saw a pale white blob, followed closely by two black blobs and several more red blobs pushing their way through the crowd in an effort to reach him. "Get away, you vultures, give the man some space." Off balanced and disoriented such as he was, Harry couldn't help but chuckle as his one and only swooped in for the rescue.

"Get out of my way!" that beloved voice demanded. "Can't you ingrates see that he needs air?"

"What a bunch of morons," Draco said disgustedly as he finally shoved the last set of grabby hands away from his property. Imagine, he hadn't even had time to properly greet his Harry and all these imbeciles wanted to impose on their time. Well, that was going to stop right now. How dare they even think to come between them? With the help of Severus, Sirius, Fred, Charlie and Bill, who cleared a path to Harry, Draco was able to remove him from the overzealous populace.

"Thanks, did I ever tell you that you're my hero?" Harry teased, feeling much better as Draco assisted him onto the bench at their table and cool air was refreshingly absorbed by his lungs.

"I'll show you a hero, Potter," Draco threatened, his heart still racing with unadulterated joy at Harry's return. "And so help you, if you ever pull another stunt like that one, everyone won't have to wonder whether or not you're still alive as your cold dead body will be evident to anyone who cares to look for it."

"Are you threatening me, Dray?" Harry asked in a low voice as he leaned in and kissed the smooth sensitive skin on Draco's pale neck just below his ear. "Because if you want to get rough, I'm sure I'll be more than able to perform," he continued suggestively, nipping gently on a tasty earlobe.

"Not here, you idiot," Draco squeaked, not wanting to put on anymore of a show than they already were. His protest soon halted as Harry lips moved slowly over his warm flesh, finally reaching their prize. Neither man heard the cheer that rose loud and strong as their kiss continued.

"Fadder," Matthew said loudly, trying to get Draco's attention. Failing, he tried again and again until he was finally shouting in the blonde's ear, "FADDER!"

"Ow! Matthew that hurt, what do you want, buddy?" Draco responded to the determined three-year-old.

"I wanna to sit next to Daddy, move plweese," Matthew said giving Draco a full blast of his perfected puppy dog eyes seconds before trying to wiggle into the nonexistent space between him and Harry.

Draco knew that Matthew wanted some time with Harry as well, but damn, he was just starting to get comfortable with the idea that Harry was back safe and sound himself and he didn't feel like letting his precious mate go, not even for his son. "I know you missed Daddy, Sweetheart, but I need to talk to him for a bit and then, very soon, you'll get to have Daddy all to yourself, okay?"

"No!" Matthew stomped his foot in irritation, his attempt to sit next his Daddy foiled. "I wanna sit there. Evan is sittin' by Daddy too."

Draco hadn't even been aware that Evan had plastered himself onto Harry's other side. "Come on Matty, just give me and Daddy a few minutes, please and then I'll gladly more over and you can sit right here between both of us. Now be a big boy and go sit over next to Nicole, I think she has some of that pumpkin pie with whipped cream that you like so much."

As successful as bribery had worked in the past, Draco hadn't expected it to change Matthew's mind and Draco, feeling like crap, almost gave in to his young son as the beautiful green eyes filled with tears. But before Draco could make up his mind, Matthew turned and walked around to the other side of the table and slid into a spot next to Nicole.

"Um Dray, is there something that you need to tell me?" Harry worriedly watched for the public reaction when Matthew loudly recognized Draco as his father. However, much to his surprise, there was none.

"Actually yes Leo, I have much to tell you as you were gone, vanished, as in without a trace, missing in action, for ten days. But I think what most of us here want to know is what the hell happened and where the hell have you been?"

Harry cringed, the euphoria was starting to wear off and he was about to be called on the carpet, and he knew from experience, unfortunately way too much experience, that an angry dragon was never fun to deal with.

"I know Dray, I'll tell you everything, but I just wondered why no one has said anything since Matthew has broadcasted at the top of his voice that you are his father." Harry was positive by now that someone would have figured out that Draco was much more than just 'their daddy's boyfriend' to the twins.

"Yes well, that's because everyone already knows," Draco said shortly, trying to get Harry back on topic.

"What do you mean, everyone already knows? Everyone most certainly did not know last time I checked." The words hadn't even passed his lips before Harry knew they had been a mistake. Cursing his own stupidity at reminding Draco that he hadn't been there wasn't a very smart thing to do right now.

"Everyone already knows because after your little burning trick there were discussions about what to do with the boys in the event of your….well… In case you never came back." Draco paused for a second, still not able to utter the word death even as he held Harry in his own two arms.

"Not sure what to do, your solicitors came and had an official reading of your….Last Will and Testament, which you prat, you never told me you had even updated." Draco felt to conflicting urges to both shove Harry hard off the bench and to hug him tighter at the same time. In a remarkable exhibit of self-control, he did neither.

"It didn't take long for the secrets of that highly confidential meeting to find its way through the halls of Hogwarts and from there it was only the matter of a half a day before it was headline news. So you see Leo dear." Draco paused momentarily to let his words sink into the thick skulled Gryffindor. "Everyone knows that I am the biological father to the boys as you inadvertently told them!"

Listening to Draco, Harry couldn't help but wonder if the blond might have a chance at a professional singing career now that the war was over. Rarely had he heard a voice run such a large spectrum of volume and tones, from a low softly deadly tone to a loud ear piercing screech, in a matter of seconds, amazing really.

Excited and relieved that he wasn't going to have to make that announcement anytime soon, Harry nervously looked around at the still gaping faces. "And?"

"And the news, for the most part, was well received." Draco allowed himself to relax enough for a chuckle. "I think Leo after what you did to Voldemort, that nothing you do will surprise them anymore. Besides," he added, rolling his eyes for effect. "They are too damn scared of you now to ever say anything derogatory about you, me or the twins."

Pleased, Harry leaned over and kissed his mate softly. "I never said that being the most powerful wizard in the world didn't have some perks."

"Yes, but groping me at the supper table is not one of them," Draco said as he pushed Harry off of him just a bit. "Now my dear, you will start talking and you will not stop until I am satisfied, understood?"

Harry gulped as the other individuals at the table laughed. Maybe being the most powerful wizard in the world didn't mean as much as he apparently thought it did, perhaps the one with the real power was the one who controlled the wizard. There wasn't a doubt in anyone's mind just then who ultimately had the power, and it wasn't him.

"Well said Draco; well said indeed." Harry turned slowly to see Dumbledore, the Weasleys, and other members of the Order's Council assembled behind him. "I hope you don't mind Harry, but we would also like to hear what happened to you after the burning. And might I say what a brilliant piece of work that was too."

Knowing that there was no possible escape, Harry took a swallow of pumpkin juice from Draco's goblet and started his tale. He spoke about his research and his discussions with Fawkes and how to trigger the burn. As his tale continued, he was continuously interrupted with questions, mostly from Hermione, but he answered each question patiently with as much detail as he could. He told them about he spell he had discovered to call upon the founding spirits of magic and how he used the spell to bind Voldemort's powers temporarily to give his an edge. Harry described what the burning and rebirthing process felt like, to the best of his recollection and how Fawkes had taken and cared for him until he was able to return.

The audience played their part well and oohed and ahhed in just the right parts, when the explanation was over the crowd fell silent more from amazement than anything else.

"I see, I see," was Albus' only comment through out the long process; however, at the end he couldn't stop himself from asking. "Harry, when did you develop the ability to be a multi-animagus? I am assuming that the sheepdog and the phoenix are not your only forms, but if I am correct, you have at least one other, it that true?"

Harry nodded that Dumbledore's assumption was factual. After Halloween he had been concerned that the old man had suspected something when consistent tales of the black panther made their way around the castle, but when Albus never confronted him about it, the whole thing had slipped his mind in light of everything else that had been happening at the time.

"Before Azkaban," Harry's reply communicated everything that was needed to be said in two words.

Albus nodded his head sadly. Harry's mistrust of him had started sometime before he had so terribly betrayed the young man. It was probably a good thing that Harry hadn't trusted him completely at the time, as Albus hadn't deserved it, not really.

"Well, thank you for that Harry. Thank you for everything. I think we'll leave you alone here with your family as I'm sure you have quite a bit of catching up to do." Giving Harry's shoulder a firm squeeze, the old man turned and walked back up to his seat at the head table, the Weasleys and the rest of the order following suit.

Feeling better now that his telling of what went on recently was out of the way, Harry looked around at the faces at his table. "So, who is going to fill me in on everything I missed?"

Sirius and Nicole immediately blanched and looked away from the inquiring man and the potentially explosive question he had so innocently packaged. They didn't want to be the one to explain about Evan's kidnapping. Severus and Remus simply made an excuse that they had a potion brewing that needed their attention and tried to leave the table but stopped and sat back down in a huff when Sirius called them cowards. Something had definitely happened, not sure what Harry sought out his mate. Harry only became concerned when Draco refused to meet his gaze. "Tell me." It was no longer a question.

Observing from the Head Table, Albus and Minerva were quietly discussing what needed to be done before they could attempt to reopen Hogwarts as the scholastic institution it was. First all current residents of the school would need to be relocated and then the castle would need to be refurbished. Teachers would have to be hired and trained. The list seemed endless, but the task was certainly more enjoyable than the tasks that had been occupying their attention for so long. Occasionally, Hermione would chime in with a question or a suggestion or two.

Their discussion continued through out supper, only to be halted by a loud angry shout from Harry's table.

"I'll kill the son of a bitch."

Albus rose in the event that his assistance was needed and was very relieved when Draco followed Harry's outburst with his own. "Calm down, he's dead. The bastard is already dead so you can't kill him."

"Wanna bet?" Harry sneered and he pulled little Evan onto his lap. "If I wanted to, I could bring that piece of shit back from the underworld and kill him all over again."

"Excuse me, Professor?"

"Yes," Dumbledore replied to Hermione's inquiry, not yet looking away from a highly agitated Harry Potter.

"Well, I know that Harry's innate magic is very strong, off the record strong, but how did he manage to alter the charms on the ceiling?" Hermione pointed up where the image of the clear night sky was now fiery red and swirling.

Dumbledore, sensing that the wards had not been altered, just shook his head. "Hermione, the charms on the ceiling haven't been changed, at least not that I can tell."

Hermione was dumbstruck. "But if the….then that would mean…the sky…"

By now the erratic behavior of the charmed ceiling had captured the attention of many of the dinner guests.

"Yes, indeed it would Hermione, indeed it would."

Unable to resist the urge to run outside and witness the unnatural event for itself, no one noticed when Albus, Minerva and Hermione excused themselves from the table and quickly exited the hall.

Sometime later, a calmer Harry Potter sat still holding Evan who wiggled impatiently after being checked over meticulously several times by his Daddy in the last half hour. The events as described to him were unbelievable and it was taking him awhile to come to the conclusion that his family was finally free of any immediate danger. Thankful that they were all right, he knew that he'd regret not being there for them for the rest of his life.

"Daddy, where did your light-bolt go?" Evan demanded, pointing at Harry's head.

Draco examined Harry's face carefully and instantly realized what Evan was talking about. The tell tale scar that had adorned Harry's forehead since his parent's death was gone. There wasn't even a trace that it had ever been there at all. Cupping Harry's face in his hands, Draco pulled him to him. Brushing his lips over the spot where the lightning bold had long resided, Draco whispered, "What happened to it?"

Harry's eye's sparkled. He couldn't wait to share this next bit of information with his beloved. "When I resumed this form after the burning, the scar was gone, and that's not the best part."

"Well?"

Harry smiled as he captured Draco's lips in a kiss full of promise. "I'll tell you later, I want to wait until we have a bit more privacy, if you know what I mean," Harry whispered against Draco's lips after his had slowed the kiss sufficiently.

"Just don't keep me waiting too long," Draco whispered back nibbling on Harry's upper lip for a moment or two. He was pleased when he felt Harry's response to his double meaning.

"I wouldn't dream of it, luv." Harry sighed in longing as he pressed one last chaste kiss to Draco's lips before turning to address Matthew who had been pulling on his pant leg demanding attention this entire time.

Harry finally stopped laughing. Father Christmas still hadn't made his appearance but amidst much confusion the wizarding confetti and fireworks prepared to announce his arrival had been activated early. Harry suspected that Fred had something to do with it, but didn't know for certain.

He so enjoyed seeing the smiling faces of his loved ones. Feeling extremely grateful for how everything was working out, Harry couldn't help but glance in awe at each member of his family. Draco's face was flushed with happiness and his beautiful eyes were alight with love and something else that Harry was anxious to explore as soon as they found themselves alone. Nicole was laughing as she cuddled next to Sirius who was rubbing her back and whispering something into her ear. As Harry watched the pair, he couldn't help but speculate that what he had in mind with Draco was most like something similar to what Sirius had in mind for his best friend from the blush that spread appealingly across her cheeks.

Across the table from his Godfather sat Remus and Severus. The pair was sitting rather close together Harry observed with a grin. It looked like Draco's assumptions about there being more there than just companionship appeared to be confirmed, especially when Severus brought his hand up and gently wiped a piece of confetti from Remus' cheek. Harry chuckled; they thought they were being so secretive. He couldn't wait to publicly out the couple, but with the earlier spectacle he had caused, Harry decided to wait until another time.

Finally, Harry brought his eyes to rest on the two most important members of this family. The contentment that had spread through out his soul during the evening quickly turned to concern with a hint of fear when he only saw one dark head.

Apprehensive as to where his three year old son could have wandered off to at a time like this Harry left the table without even excusing himself. Exiting the Great Hall, Harry stopped and listened intently for any sign of the direction that Matthew could have taken.

Hearing none, Harry cursed softly under his breath and after playing a quick "eeny meeny miny moe" game with himself, he took off toward Gryffindor tower. Harry was disgusted that he had been so preoccupied that Matthew was able to slip unnoticed away from the table and out of the hall. After giving his son a hug and a kiss when he first returned, Harry had gotten caught up in the horrific stories of Lucius' kidnapping of Evan and Ron and Draco's subsequent rescue. He should have realized that Matthew was feeling left out and paid more attention to both of his sons.

After running down the corridor for a couple of minutes and up several flights of stairs, Harry came to a skidding halt at another juncture. Not sure if he should still proceed into Gryffindor territory or if he should go left which would take him toward where the old Ravenclaw dorms were, Harry paused.

This time when he listened, he could hear the soft sobs of what unmistakably was a very upset Matthew. Grateful that his luck was still holding out, Harry headed in that direction.

Several turns and a long hallway later Harry happened upon a small dejected figure sitting on the stone floor with his back against the wall and his forehead resting on his arms which were crossed around his knees. Harry felt truly awful when he saw the slight shoulders shaking as Matthew continued to sob out his obvious distress.

Sliding down the wall until he was sitting on the floor next to Matthew, Harry bit his lip as he wondered the best way to approach this situation. Dark Lords, Death Eaters, even screaming fans, he could handle, but an extremely upset and emotional three year old was a completely different story. Usually when one of the twins was upset, Harry deferred to Nicole, feeling that she was better equipped to handle such things. Just another part of his life where he felt inadequate, no thanks to the wonderful upbringing the Dursleys had given him.

Deciding the first thing he needed to do was to reassure his son that he had his full and complete attention, Harry reach out and began to gently pat Matthew on his back. From the time they were babies, both boys liked to be patted in a soothing manner at nap time or bedtime; it really seemed to help them relax.

Harry grew increasingly worried when after a few minutes Matthew failed to respond to his touch. Realizing that maybe a more direct approach was needed, Harry pulled the tiny boy into his arms, cradling him up close against his warm strong chest.

"Shh Sweetheart, its okay. I promise everything will be all right now. Whatever the problem is, I'll make it better, just please stop crying," Harry cooed as he kissed Matthew's forehead.

After a few more minutes, Matthew's heart wrenching sobs gradually subsided, replaced with sniffles and an occasional hiccup.

"Will you tell me what's wrong?" Harry asked.

"You love Evan more than me," Matthew said, his voice hoarse from crying.

Harry closed his eyes. He should have been expecting this with all that attention that Evan must have been getting lately with his kidnapping. "You know that's not true, Matthew. I love you, both you and your brother."

"Yeah, but you love him more."

"No, I love you both the same," Harry corrected. "Your father and I love you both equally; we love you so much that there just isn't any way to love someone else more than how much we love you."

"You love him more, because you pay more attention to him," Matthew said despondently.

Slightly frustrated at his inability to make Matthew understand, Harry sighed, squeezing Matthew tighter against him. If companies would hire children to be sales people, the entire world would be in debt, because children never take no for an answer. They were single minded in their belief and changing that mindset was often a fruitless task. Come to think of it, telemarketers were very much like children in that respect. Maybe some companies did hire children. Chuckling at the unexpected image of children on the phone harassing adults on Sundays, at dinner time, or any other inconvenient time to purchase something that they certainly didn't want or need, Harry said a small thank you for the gift of children and kissed the top of Matthew's head.

"I'm sorry that I haven't been here to be with you Matthew, but I'm here now and I promise that I'm not planning on going anywhere for a long time, okay?"

Matthew slumped in Harry's arms, only marginally satisfied. "But even when you did come back, all you did was talk to Evan, you don't love me."

Pulling Matthew up so that he was facing him, Harry gave Matthew the serious 'you're asking for trouble' look. "That's not fair Matty, and you know it." Matthew was too young to be reasoned with; he wouldn't understand why Daddy had to speak with all those people when all he really wanted to do was spend all his time catching up with him and his twin. All Harry could do now was to continue to reassure the toddler and make sure to spend as much time with him as he could over the next however long it took before the boy felt secure again.

Deciding to change tactics, Harry asked Matthew to tell him all about the things that he had done while he had been away. It seemed to work and after a few stilted attempts, Matthew was soon rambling on and on about everything that they had done over the last week or so.

With rapt attention, Harry listened to a very detailed description of what they did. He winced when Matthew told him about finding Draco crying in the middle or the night and laughed when Matthew recounted how one afternoon when they were supposedly napping how he and Evan had caught Uncle Siri and Nicole kissing on the couch. Yuck.

Eventually, Harry coaxed a now calm Matthew into returning back to the Christmas celebration. The initial melt down had been diverted, but Harry knew that only a long time of constant love and patience would mend his son's troubles.

Standing up, Harry stretched the kinks out of his back from sitting on the cold stone floor for so long. Bending down, he picked up Matthew and held him close to his heart as he started their journey back to the feast. He had only managed a few steps when a stranger's call brought him to an abrupt halt.

"Oh Harry dear, is that you?"

Harry froze when he heard the familiar voice. Not sure if he had properly recognized it, he and Matthew turned in the direction where the voice had come from.

"Whatever are you doing out this late, Harry, and who is this man you are with? I don't believe I have ever met him before? Is he a relative of your father's? He certainly looks like you, dear."

Harry blinked and Matthew went still as a statue as the questions were fired at them faster than they could possibly process them. When his brain started to catch up, Harry came to the unexpected conclusion that Mrs. Weasley had in fact been addressing her inquisition not at him, but instead at young Matthew.

"It's been so long since I've seen you dear. Mind, I haven't seen you since you were a baby, and Lily, God Bless her soul, came to visit me here at the Burrow. I heard that you were living with your aunt and uncle. How are they treating you? You certainly look like you could use a little more to eat; you're much too thin. I'll just have to say something to your aunt when I see her."

Molly didn't even appear to pause to take a breath before she was off again. "Your mother was such a wonderful person. We became close when we were working together for a great cause. She was almost like a daughter to me that I asked Albus to let you come live with us after your parents passed on, but unfortunately, he said that you would be safer with your blood relatives. But I'm sure you'll be able to come visit us soon. My son Ron is your age; I bet the two of you will be the best of friends."

Harry slowly shook his head as he set Matthew down, trying to make sense of her ramblings. He knew that she had suffered mentally since the extent of Percy's betrayal had been discovered and her family literally torn apart, but he never expected her to be like this. He had been meaning to visit with her, but whenever the thought had crossed his mind, something always seemed to come up. Harry took a moment to study the woman who had always been so kind to him, his very own Grandmother.

From the way she was talking, Harry wasn't sure if she was remembering him after they had met when he came to Hogwarts, or if she was seeing him as a toddler like Matthew was now. One thing was perfectly clear; she had mistaken his son for him.

Bending down, the old woman took the young child in her arms, giving him a hug and an affectionate kiss on the top of his tousled head. "Now you, young man, I don't know who you are, but don't you think that it's too late for Harry to be out and about, and especially on Christmas Eve at that?"

Harry jumped, surprised to be addressed directly and Matthew let out small insecure whine, not sure how to react to this strange woman whom he had never seen before in his life.

The soft sound drew Molly's attention back to the child. "Don't worry dear, I'm sure this kind man will have you home and tucked into bed in plenty of time for Father Christmas to come visit. Besides I'm sure that in the morning you'll find at least one special present under your tree."

Matthew shifted uncomfortable under Molly's continued scrutiny.

Harry realized that he was going to have to say something, but how did one go about trying to explain something that he was fairly confident her mind wouldn't allow her to comprehend. Just as Harry opened his mouth to begin his explanation, Molly turned and looked him directly in the eye. For a fleeting moment, Harry could have sworn that there had been some flicker of recognition, a look of deep sorrow and helplessness, but before Harry could even analyze it, it was gone.

"Oh my, look where the time has gone. I'd best get going back to the Burrow. My family is waiting and I'm so excited we'll all be together now that Bill and Charlie have come back from Hogwarts. Besides I'm sure Arthur is probably worried about me by now, that man wouldn't know what to do without me. Happy Christmas, Harry."

"Happy Christmas, Mrs. Weasley" Harry managed, followed by a softer, "Merry Christmas" by Matthew.

Watching Molly Weasley walk aimlessly down the long hallway, Harry couldn't help but once more feel the senselessness of the war. It was over, but some things would never be the same.

"Come on Matty, we need to get back to the Great Hall, you don't want to miss Saint Nicolas' visit, do you?"

Matthew looked up at his Daddy, glad that the crazy lady had finally left them alone and grinned, shrugging his shoulders. "Don't really madder," he drawled, sounding alarmingly like Draco.

Shocked that his son wasn't bouncing off the walls in anticipation of Christmas morning and all the wonderful presents that he would be getting, Harry stuttered, "And why not?"

"Because Santa already brought me and Evan what we ask him to for Christmas." Matthew continued to grin, but then looked puzzled for a moment as he tried to figure something important out. "But I guess he decided to bring you early, but that's okay don't you think? He won't try to take you back or anything, will he?"

Just when he thought the love in his heart couldn't grow any more, Harry swore that hearing that his sons had asked Saint Nicolas to bring him home for Christmas caused his heart to throb under the intensity of the feelings it invoked. "No Sweetheart, Santa isn't going to take me anywhere. I'm here to stay. I love you."

"Love you too, Dad," Matthew said as he took his father's hand, entwining their fingers tightly as they headed back down the corridor towards the Great Hall.

34 Holiday Suprises

Feeling more content than he could ever remember feeling in his entire life, Draco took in the joyous sights around him. In the corner of their common room in the Founder's Hall a tall fragrant blue spruce was decorated with bright cheerful fairy lights and what appeared to be many ornaments made lovingly by a toddler's hand. Over the fireplace amongst the evergreens strung with gold ribbon and holly berries, someone had carefully hung stockings for each member of their family.

Draco walked over and tenderly examined each of the colorful garments, reverently tracing the name on each stocking with his finger as he gave thanks for each of them. Severus, Remus, Sirius, Nicole, his own name, followed by two smaller stockings for each of the twins. He paused, blinking tears back at the last name…Harry. The events of the past hours had changed everything. Suddenly the festive Christmas garlands became beacons of hope and peace instead of painful reminders of what wasn't likely to be. Inhaling deeply, Draco relished the strong fragrance of evergreen with a soft hint of peppermint and orange, exactly the way Christmas was supposed to smell.

It was only fitting that Harry would return to him on Christmas Eve, the most magical night of the year; the one night when the whole world rejoices in goodwill and hopes for a better future all due to the sacrifices of one.

A soft rustle of fabric from the stairway alerted him to the fact that he was no longer alone. Draco turned toward the sound and had to swallow hard to keep from laughing outright.

Harry was dressed in a bright red suit and looked to have put on a considerable amount of weight in the hour since he had gone upstairs to put the twins to bed. "Um Leo…any chance that you fried you brain when you burned?"

"Ha…ha…very funny, Dray," Harry replied ruefully looking down at his temporary impressive girth that actually did seem to resemble a great bowl full of jelly. With a wave of his hand, 'Santa Claus' summoned a large sack of presents.

Draco just shook his head as he watched Harry stumble across the room, his coordination clearly off as he struggled under the additional mass, to where the tree was displayed. Giving up the fight, Draco laughed hard when Harry tried to bend over to reach into the sack and lost his balance all together falling over onto the floor in a large heap.

Ignoring Harry's disgruntled look as the poor man thrashed about trying to stand back up, Draco couldn't help but tease, "Do you think Dumbledore felt the aftershocks up in his tower?" Not wanting to risk waking the twins, Draco bit the inside of his cheek to try to stop laughing. "And, how on earth did you manage to put those black boots on?"

"That's enough out of you." Harry panted from the great effort he was expending. "Why don't you do something constructive and help me?"

Bending down Draco extended his hand which Harry gratefully accepted. "You know, you could actually help put the gifts around the tree." Harry suggested slowly once he had righted himself, a little apprehensive about trying to reach into the bag again.

"What do I look like, an elf?"

A casual flick of Harry's finger later and Draco found himself dressed in a green felt tunic which was belted around his middle and worn over red tights. The outfit was complete with large pointed slippers bearing a jingle bell on the toe. Feeling a weight on his head, Draco was certain that if he dared to look into a mirror that he would also be wearing some sort of ridiculous hat. This, of course, was confirmed when Draco shook his head and was met with the distinct sound of more jingle bells. "Potter!"

"Well, now you look like an elf; so how about some help here?" Harry wasn't the least bit put off by his mate's annoyed growl. "And keep the noise down, the boys are sleeping, I don't want them to wake up and see us."

"And how does that make any sense? Didn't you dress up so that they could see you?" Draco paused as he took pity on Harry and reached into the sack of gifts. He was smart enough to realize that if he didn't help him unload the presents that they would be here all night, and to be honest, he had other more enjoyable plans on how they were going to spend the few hours they had left before the twins would undoubtedly wake them very early on Christmas morning.

"Or do you have some disturbing fat fetish that you haven't told me about? And what is it with you and hideous clothes?"

"Shut up Draco, its tradition."

"Tradition," Draco said incredulously, gesturing wildly at their attire. "You spend a few years across the pond and now this is a tradition?"

Draco immediately regretted teasing Harry when he saw the look of sadness that passed briefly over his exquisite face as he managed to retrieve a large wrapped parcel from the bag and place it gently under the tree so that the name tag and red bow were displayed properly. "You wouldn't understand, Dray."

Taking both of Harry's hands into his own, Draco drew the other man over to one of the large leather couches. Only after settling them so that they were curled up against each other, Draco whispered, "try me, I want to understand."

Harry sighed and closed his eyes; leaning back into Draco's warmth, he rested his head on Draco's strong shoulder. "Well, until I came here to Hogwarts as a first year, I had never been a part of a Christmas celebration, at least not that I can remember. As a child, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon would lock me in my cupboard every year while they decorated the tree and sang Christmas carols. Vernon would dress up like Santa and they would have egg nog in front of the fire. Before Dudley went to bed that night, they would all sit together and read the story 'A Night Before Christmas'. They never included me in any of their holiday celebrations." Harry sighed as he remembered how he longed to be included, even just for a little while.

"Christmas morning before Dudley woke up Petunia would let me out from under the stairs for a short bathroom break before I was ordered to the kitchen to start preparing their Christmas morning feast. I would wait all night for that one split second I was able to catch a glimpse of the beautiful tree surrounded by a mountain of gifts. Every year I would pray that one of those hundreds of packages would have my name on it. Needless to say, it never did."

Draco tightened his embrace when Harry's voice cracked. 'Damn those Dursleys and damn Dumbledore too, Harry never should have been placed with those worthless muggles.'

"When I was old enough to realize that it didn't matter how good I was during the year, I still wasn't going to receive a Christmas present, I promised myself that when I was able to leave that horrible place I would start some of my very own traditions." Harry turned so that he was facing his love. "So you see, no matter how silly I look, this is important to me."

Thankful once more that Harry was able to no only survive his awful childhood, but somehow managed to become the strong, loving person that he was today, Draco nodded. "Well, if it means that much to you, I guess that I can tolerate looking like an elf for a couple of hours each year. But…how about we start some of our own traditions later?" Draco finished suggestively, rubbing a finger slowly up and down Harry's chest.

Relieved, Harry leaned forward and brushed his lips against the blonde's, "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Draco deepened the kiss, becoming quickly consumed in the hunger that overshadowed all other types of hunger. The primitive need to love and be loved in return and the physical expression of that union was almost overwhelming. It was only when Draco slid his hand between the buttons on Harry's Santa jacket and he felt not the toned firm lithe form that he knew by heart but a soft flabby tummy that Draco pulled back in surprise.

"Not that I don't want you, Harry," Draco fibbed unconvincingly. "But, I know two children who would be very disappointed come Christmas morning if there wasn't any toys under the tree for them. How about if we first play Santa, and then Santa can play?"

Harry grinned and rolled off the couch. Hand in hand, Santa and his elf filled the room with a small mountain of presents.

oOoOoOo

Almost finished with Santa's gifts, Draco sneaked away to find the holiday surprises that he had secreted away. When he returned to the room he watched as Harry finished laying out the last of the gifts from his sack and stood back to admire their efforts. It was truly astounding. Draco's breath caught in his throat at the image of Harry standing there surrounded by brilliantly wrapped Christmas parcels, the firelight and fairly lights from the tree both reflected in Harry's midnight colored hair, making it shine with a warm glow. He was so beautiful that if he didn't know better, Draco would swear that Harry was some sort of Christmas angel, sent to earth only as a blessed gift from God. Unaware that he was being observed, Harry began to hum.

Not recognizing the unfamiliar tune, Draco didn't want to interrupt but instead went to stand beside Santa. Memorized Draco watched as Harry licked his lips and softly began to sing completely a cappella.

The all too familiar sting of tears was back as Draco choked up listening as Harry sang, his voice taking on an unearthly quality. Damn, he was becoming an emotional sap, Draco thought as he wiped furiously at his eyes. Who would believe that a Malfoy could be this sensitive? But Merlin, this was just too much. Draco listened to the heartfelt words caught up in the waves of emotion being released. It was magical and compelling and Draco knew without a doubt that this Christmas was certainly going to be a Christmas to remember, for all parties. Feeling his presence, Harry turned and forest green once more caught and held sterling, communicating in a way that only two people who shared a single soul could.

Not sure he even was listening to the beautiful lyrics Draco was just caught up in the emotion that was pouring out of this amazing man before him. Small snitches of words circled around him faster and faster, seemingly filling his every pour and bringing his senses to the brink of being overloaded. Pushing down the overwhelming sense of joy, Draco thought he might have heard something about making dreams come true and snowy nights spent beside a warm fire. Harry really was too much.

'I love this man, I love this man…' At that moment in time Draco was incapable of any other thought. Draco felt his knees go weak, but before he could stumble, he was caught and supported. Arms of steel circled his waist protectively and drew him close.

Harry continued to sing. His words whispered against Draco's goose bumped skin, wrapping around his heart and tingling all the way down to his toes. All too soon Harry finished with a soft "All I want for Christmas is …you".

Taking a few moments just to embrace the essence of Harry, Draco eventually felt his soul that he could have sworn temporarily left his body to become one with Harry, return. Pulling back away slightly, Draco turned in his lover's embrace, "By Salazar, I swear, you are the most beautiful thing that I have ever seen."

"I love you, Draco. I love you more than life itself, you have to know that." Harry whispered his voice hoarse with desire; he too was caught up in the magic that surrounded them.

"I know, Harry. And I love you too, more than I ever believed it was possible to love someone. When I thought that…"

Draco's words were interrupted as his lips were lovingly captured and words became the least of his concern.

Knowing that he couldn't wait any longer to be properly reunited with his mate, Harry pulled away, shushing Draco's protest. "I need to make you mine, luv. Can we please take this upstairs?"

Even if Draco hadn't been on the edge of a full melt down earlier, those words alone would have done it. Unable to find the words, Draco nodded his assent.

Swept up into Harry's arms, Draco didn't even realize that they had ascended two flights of stairs and entered their bedroom until he was gently laid down on a cloud of pillows. Unwilling to waste even another second, a subtle flick of the wrist later and any barrier that had been between the two men was gone. Not only had their clothing been effectively removed, but Harry had restored himself to his 'pre-santa' condition, toned and firm.

Feeling a hunger that would never be satisfied, not even if they were able to spend many lifetimes together, Harry roughly pulled Draco to him and kissed him hard. He needed Draco as he had never needed him before; he needed to touch and be touched, to feel and be felt. He needed to reassure both his lover and more importantly himself that they were both still alive and that the nightmare that had constantly plagued him for longer than he cared to remember was over.

The desperate fire in his lover's kiss was unmistakable. It was overwhelming, burning hotter and faster until it was completely out of control. Afraid that if he didn't pull away soon that there wouldn't be anything left of himself, as he would have been completely and utterly consumed until the only thing remaining of Draco Malfoy would be ashes, Draco reluctantly pulled back, gasping for breath.

Reverently Draco softly kissed Harry's questioning eyes, and then his scar less forehead, all the while slowly stroking Harry's smooth cheeks with the lightest of touches, paying homage to the man before him. "I feel it too luv, I do", Draco reassured his mate, "but if we don't slow down a bit, I'm afraid I'll explode with everything I'm feeling right now."

Although the neediness was still there, the urgency was slightly diminished. "I love you," Harry whispered just before nipping gently at Draco's ear. "I will never have enough. There will never be a time when I will not want for you."

"Nor I you," Draco responded breathlessly. "Forever and always, you will be mine."

"Forever and always," Harry muttered, his lips pressed up against the pulse point in Draco's warm neck. Harry proceeded to worship Draco's body, inch by glorious inch, bringing the blonde to the heights of ecstasy, only to deny him fulfillment. Ignoring the pleading and begging, Harry reacquainted himself intimately with his mate's perfect body.

Finally at the breaking point, Draco knew he couldn't take anymore of Harry's loving caresses. Reversing roles and flipping Harry onto his back, Draco started his own tender explorations of the delightful landscape before him. Slowly his fingertips chartered the sensitive terrain, starting with Harry's mouth before moving in a southerly direction. Draco paused momentarily when his lips circled first one nipple and then the other as he teased the twin peaks with his teeth and tongue while his pointer finger played havoc with Harry's navel.

Only when Harry's pleasurable cries became more than Draco could bear, did he continue his way down his mate's torso. Settling himself between Harry' thighs, Draco continued his torment, running his fingernails a bit rough up and down Harry's ticklish sides, causing the other man to gasp and squirm.

Knowing that neither of them would last much longer, Draco ran his torturous finger along the top of the soft nest of Harry's pubic curls. He had gotten into the habit of tracing Harry's birth scar while they made love. This time however the skin felt slightly different; smoother. Curious, Draco raised his head from where he had been placing kisses along Harry's ribs and examined the area in question.

The skin was unblemished. The scar from the c-section when the twins were born and later from where Harry had been re-cut when he miscarried was gone. Angry at first that the symbol of the birth of his beloved children had disappeared, Draco raised his head and looked into Harry's happy face. The pure joy radiating from the man was palatable.

"Did the burning fix all of your scars?" Draco asked a little sadly, missing the familiar path that his fingers and lips had traveled so many times in the past.

"Yes, Dray. All the scar tissue is gone, both inside and out." Harry responded softly, but his eyes were twinkling brightly and Draco could tell that he was barely holding onto his excitement.

"Well, that's a good thing, I guess," Draco said, not sure he completely understood why Harry was so wound up over the removal of a few small scars.

Knowing what the next few minutes would mean to his partner, Harry sat up gracefully and took both of Draco's hands into his own. "Yes Dray, it's a very good thing. Do you remember why Nikki said that it would be practically impossible for me to conceive another baby after the fall?"

Draco frowned as he thought back to those terrifying moments when he realized that Harry was dying and then later when he recovered he remembered being heart broken when Nicole told him that they wouldn't be able to have any more children. "Nicole said that the miscarriage had left too much scaring…"

Draco didn't even finish his sentence as he finally made the connection between Harry's lack of scars and his abundant and overwhelming joy. If his external scars where healed then there was a great chance that his internal ones were also healed during the burning.

"You mean…you mean…a baby…we could have another baby."

Harry laughed as he wiped the excess saliva from his face as Draco had literally spit out the words. "I don't know for certain, but I feel pretty sure that we have a chance."

Thrilled, Draco gave Harry a hasty kiss before scooting out of bed and making for the door.

"And just where do you think your going?" Harry called stalling Draco's abrupt departure.

"I'm going to go get Nicole, so that she can examine you." Draco practically shouted as he opened the door.

Chuckling at Draco's response to the news, Harry couldn't help but tease. "As it is almost midnight on Christmas eve, don't you think she might be otherwise occupied? Besides, I don't think Sirius will appreciate it too much if you show up at her door at this time of night without a stitch of clothing on."

Draco blushed as he realized for the first time that he had been prepared to run to get Nicole without even bothering to put his dressing gown on.

"Come back to bed, luv; we have some unfinished business," Harry encouraged with a suggestive smile as he reached a hand out to his lover.

There was no choice, not really. Knowing that he would demand that Nicole examine Harry immediately after breakfast, Draco readily took his sole mates hand and settled back into bed. Their lovemaking resumed just as fiery as before but now with an added element of tenderness as they both realized what potentially could result from their activities.

oOoOoOo

Somewhere in the far distance the church bells sung out midnight and peace such as it hadn't known in many, many years settled across the world.

35 Epilogue - As It Should Be

The History of Magic professor looked out over her current first year class; she tried not to smile at all the rapturous young faces that were staring up at her intently waiting eagerly for her next word. Each student had been caught up into this amazing historical story of true love, unparalleled heroism and betrayal of the worst kind. This was probably her favorite segment of history to teach. The Great War against Darkness, as it later was known as, was almost as fascinating as the many beloved individuals who played such consequential roles in the conflict.

After the destruction of the Dark Lord and the capture or disbursement of his loyal followers the Death Eaters, the wizarding world had been able to rebuild itself thanks to the brave men and women who fought for that freedom; none more so than the beloved, Harry Potter. If packaged and sold, there would be no doubt that the story of Harry Potter would top the best seller lists around the world, a more popular historical figure had certainly never existed.

A soft whisper brought the professors attention back to the eagerly awaiting students, many of whom had their hands raised with questions. The professor nodded, recognizing a sable headed boy. "Excuse me Professor, what did Harry Potter do after the war? I mean did he stay here or did he go back to America?"

"Did Harry and Draco ever get married, Professor?" blurted out an overly excited Hufflepuff. She clearly had been unable to restrain herself any longer and the question just burst forth and was met with the latest round of giggles from the many females in the class.

"I know we all want to know how this story ends, especially for those of you who are muggleborn and may not have already heard of Harry Potter's legacy, as Harry Potter was a very private person and took many measurers to preserve what little privacy that he and his family did have. Now back to your questions, Harry Potter went on to do many things after the war was over. After marrying his life-mate Draco Malfoy-Potter the pair elected not to return to the United States and instead made the newly remodeled Malfoy Manor their home.

"Draco turned out to be a financial wizard, literally, and made a killing in the reconstruction of the wizarding community. Later in life he divested their unparalleled financial holdings into the muggle world and even today their descendents control the vast majority of the technology, pharmaceutical and entertainment industries.

"Immediately after the war, much to the disappointment of many, Harry elected to stay out of the lime light and spent his time raising his children."

A shy but intelligent Ravenclaw, slowly raised her hand; she just had to know the answer to her question.

"Yes Alaina, what is your question?"

"Professor, did the Potters have any more children?"

Professor Smith nodded to the muggleborn who apparently wasn't much of a quidditch fan. "Ever one to defeat the odds, Harry and Draco welcomed into their home and into their hearts another baby boy in the Summer of 2005 and then a gorgeous baby girl a little less than two years there after.

"Nathanial 'Nate' Draconis Malfoy-Potter was a bright inquisitive young boy with blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Like his father before him, Nate fell in love with Hogwarts and is rumored to have had a special affinity with the old castle. After graduating the top of his class, Nate was offered the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position here at Hogwarts. Many years later, Nate became the first Malfoy or Potter to assume the position as Headmaster. His portrait remains today in the Headmaster's office as the most popular and most visited portrait in the castle.

"Victoria Rose Malfoy-Potter turned many heads in her day. As with Nate before her, she also possessed the Malfoy fair locks, but Victoria had the most unusual eyes, the color of the purest aquamarines. Not only did Victoria stand out for her incomparable beauty but also for her talent at quidditch. Victoria became the youngest professional quidditch player in the history of the sport and personally led her team to a remarkable twelve Quidditch European Cups and four Quidditch World Cups before she retired early from the sport to get married and have a family. Victoria remains today to hold the record at Hogwarts as being the only person to start in every game from her first year through her seventh and to never miss the snitch. Victoria married James Sirius Black, son of Sirius and Nicole Black in a long anticipated ceremony in 2035 in the presence of her family and friends."

As she answered yet another question, the history professor sighed as yet an additional four hands popped up. Grateful that this was at least one topic that all the students seemed to paying attention to, she called on yet another student to ask his question.

"Professor, what happened to Matthew and Evan?"

The professor took a sip of water before answering yet another expected question, it was only reasonable that everyone would want to know what happened to the famous Potter twins.

"After graduating from Hogwarts as co- Head Boys and scoring a near perfect scores on their N.E.W.T.s, Matthew and Evan Malfoy-Potter both accepted positions working for the Ministry of Magic. Matthew went on to eventually become the Head of the Department of Ministries while at the same time assisting his Father in the global financial markets, while Evan was later elected Minister of Magic. Evan Potter is commonly thought of as the strongest Minister of Magic that this community had ever known, for his guidance during the long reconstruction process and the many laws that he saw passed to reform the judicial system. He made sure that the travesty that happened to Harry and to Sirius could not be repeated.

"Both men went on to eventually marry and raise loving families of their own".

"Professor, when was Hogwarts reopened; and, why are there now five houses as opposed to the original four?"

"Joseph, it is very apparent that you have never read 'Hogwarts, A History' or you wouldn't be asking such things. The answers to your questions are easily available had you bothered to read your assignment." The student's laughed at their classmate's embarrassment at being caught not having read one of the books that had been on their start of term recommended reading list.

"Hogwarts reopened for students in September following the end of the war. Parents knowing that Hogwarts remained the only safe place during the war elected to send their children here as opposed to any of the other magical learning institutions that were also in the process of being reopened, and in all honesty the fact that Hogwarts was also the institution that trained "The Great Harry Potter", didn't hurt either." The Professor paused for a moment before continuing on with her answer. "With the large influx of students, enrollment swelled. Knowing that soon there would be an even larger demand for space to accommodate the 'baby boom' that followed the war, Albus Dumbledore and the then Board of Governors at Hogwarts decided that it was time for Hogwarts to welcome a fifth house into its halls. It was unanimously decided to call the house 'Potter', after the man who through his selflessness saved the wizarding world and Hogwarts itself.

"Hogwarts itself seemed to approve of this decision for no sooner had the Governors voted and passed the resolution than the Hogwarts school seal changed to what we see today to accommodate the plum and silver colored phoenix that represented the fifth house. All of the Malfoy-Potter children were sorted into House Potter and Nate served as the Head of this house before he assumed his role as Headmaster."

"What happened to Headmaster Dumbledore? He was really old when the war happened so did he just like retire?"

"That's a good question, Drew. From the Headmaster's own autobiography we know that the situation with Harry changed Albus Dumbledore more so than any other event. Albus became almost humble after that and he acknowledged that no man was infallible, not even himself. This was an important moment in his life. After the war was over, Albus and his second in command Minerva McGonagall set about returning Hogwarts to its former glory. Eventually, Albus Dumbledore retired as Headmaster, Minerva retiring at the same time so that they could continue to be together."

An attractive Slytherin in the third row calmly raised her hand. "Professor Smith, did Professor Snape and Remus Lupin ever get together?"

The Professor bit back a grin, why was it the girls that always asked about relationships. Professor Smith nodded answering the student's question about a former head of her house before expanding on her answer in more detail. "Yes, Lisa. Severus Snape and Remus Lupin were life long companions after the war. Although they never formalized their relationship with an actual bonding and they never had any children of their own, we know that both men were deeply in love with and committed to the other. Both Severus and Remus continued to play important roles in the Malfoy-Potter household until their deaths some eighty years later."

"Professor, did Mister Potter ever forgive his old best friends, Ron and Hermione Weasley?" A bright Gryffindor asked from the back of the room.

Professor took her time to answer this question, as it was probably the most important question asked yet today. Forgiveness. Did Harry forgive his former best friends from not believing in him, for betraying him? That certainly was a loaded question.

Professor Smith clasped her hands behind her back as she slowly walked through the room, listing intently to the debate that had sprung up amongst those that thought that Harry did forgive his friends verses those that thought that he did not. Discussion was always encouraged in this class and many parties took advantage of that fact by chiming in on both sides of the issue with valid reasons as to why and why not they thought that eventually Harry was able to get past what had happened and start over again. But that was the whole point wasn't it? Only Harry would know if he truly in his heart of hearts was able to forgive Ron and Hermione for the part they played in his false imprisonment and Harry had taken that secret to the grave many, many years ago.

The Professor knew that she would soon have to intervene as the heated debate started to get out of control. Clearing her throat was all it took to bring the student's attention back to her as she paced in the front of the classroom.

"To be honest I don't know. Harry Potter never wrote his memoirs and all reputable accounts of his life that exist today were written by family and friends close to him. It is commonly believed that Harry kept a personal journal, but unfortunately if it exists it has never been found.

"I do know that Harry's relationship with Ron and Hermione was never what it had once been. We know this from Hermione Weasley's own chronicles of the time. Although they were able to work together and be together even socially, it was Hermione's belief that Harry never truly forgave them and in her own hand, she didn't blame him for that.

"The Malfoy-Potter family and the Weasley family were able to bury the hatchet, so to speak. I personally feel that Ron's role in saving Evan in those last days of the war was a large contributor to that feat. There certainly was no outward hostility between them and many individuals who observed Harry's interaction with Ron and Hermione over the years thought that they were very friendly. In fact one of Harry's grandchildren, I believe it was one of Evan's sons married the granddaughter of Ron and Hermione.

"So did Harry forgive them? I'd like to think so, but had that been me I'm not so sure that I would have been able to forgive them, so should I once more ask something of Harry Potter that I myself may be unwilling or unable to do? Again, I just don't know."

oOoOo

Toward the back of the Charms sixth year classroom, a raven-haired boy with brilliant emerald green eyes, currently full of mischief, playfully reached out and pulled on the long platinum blonde curl in front of him. The owner of that particular silky curl turned in her seat and scowled at the offensive immature boy, before her face couldn't keep the affection that she held for the boy a secret any longer.

Seeing her silver eyes light up as she adjusted the hood of her plum and silver trimmed school robe took the boy's breath away. Not wanting to get caught passing notes in class again, the boy pointedly looked at the girl in front of him and then towards the windows.

Grinning, the girl nodded. She had understood and agreed to his request to meet that evening after dinner in their usual spot by the lake. For all the boy's reckless and clueless ways, she really did love the boy.

Somewhere deep in the heart of the great castle a marble snake tightened his grip around the neck of his beloved lion, prompting the large cat to purr in response. After sharing a knowing look, the snake lovingly nipped at his companion's ear before whispering something only the two of them could understand. 'Yes indeed', the lion thought in agreement with his observant mate, 'things certainly were as they should be.'

End

The following is a quick reference time line that I have been using to develop this story.

February 1943 Margaret Montgomery is born

July 1959 Margaret Montgomery is raped in Knockturn Alley by Tom Riddle, she is 16

April 1960 Lily is born, Margaret is 17 years old, Lily is adopted by the Evans family.

1965 Margaret runs away from home and marries Arthur Weasley, she is 23

1968 Bill born to Molly and Arthur Weasley

1970 Charlie born to Molly and Arthur Weasley

1972 Molly miscarries (just to explain gap in time between Charlie's and Percy's births)

1976 Percy born to Molly and Arthur Weasley

1977 Fred and George born to Molly and Arthur Weasley

1980 Ron born to Molly and Arthur Weasley

July 31, 1980 Harry born to Lily and James Potter

1981 Virginia born to Molly and Arthur Weasley

October 31, 1981 Lily and James Potter killed by Lord Voldemort

April 1998 Virginia and Colin Creevey murdered; Harry sentenced to Azkaban prison

October 1999 Harry escapes from prison and goes to New York City

End of November 1999 Draco leaves; twins are conceived

August 2000 Evan and Matthew Potter born to Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy

February 2001 Arthur Weasley killed in a Death Eater attack

April 2002 Harry is found innocent; the Order renews their search; Percy put to death for his crimes.

May 2003 George Weasley killed in a Death Eater attack

June 2003 Harry is found by the Order, Harry and Draco are reunited.

July 2003 Harry and family return to Hogwarts