Chapter Text
“I’m sorry?” Arthur asked the Goblins shocked.
He was currently sitting in a meeting room with his Account Manager, the Potter Account Manager, Molly, Lucius, and Amelia Bones. Molly was looking between all of them as if her world was about to crumble around her.
“Your wife has been accepting money from Albus Dumbledore for eleven years. She has done it knowing that it was being used illegally from Heir Malfoy’s accounts. She has been using it to pay for your children’s tuition to school as well as other things,” Griphook repeated.
“I check my accounts regularly. I would have noticed if we were receiving payments outside of my checks from work,” Arthur insisted. He was desperately trying to understand what was going on.
“Mrs. Weasley opened an account separate from yours under her maiden name just before she received her first payment,” Grimlock answered.
“Molly, tell me there is a mistake. Tell me that they are wrong and that you were not knowingly stealing from that poor child,” Arthur demanded.
“I…I can’t,” she whispered. “I took it. We … we needed it Arthur. We have so many children and they needed things. I … wanted them to have the same things as other children. I only took what we needed to get them into school and purchase their books and robes. Albus assured me that it was fine. That Harry would be happy to help our family.”
“He was two when you started taking his money. Two years old, Molly,” Arthur exclaimed.
“The boy is loaded, Arthur. His parents left him with enough money to live on for the rest of his life without working a day. It isn’t fair that one spoiled child should have so much while our children have nothing,” Molly exclaimed. “Your paychecks are barely enough to keep us going. He wouldn’t have even noticed the money being gone if it wasn’t for him poking his nose where it didn’t belong.”
“Me?” Lucius asked with confusion. “Harry approached Griphook on his own and asked to speak with him about his accounts. He was suspicious because the half giant didn’t want to give him his key among other things. My son had already learned about the missing money before I was ever called in to bear witness to his testimony about his abuse.”
“Lies,” Molly spat out. “All of this is a plot from you filthy Death Eaters to…”
“That is quite enough, Molly Weasley,” Arthur interrupted. “One thing does not have to do with the other. You took money from that boy. Money that was not yours to take. It does not matter the circumstances or the things that you have come up with to excuse your actions. You are wrong here.”
“So, what are they going to do about it? What is my punishment?” Molly asked the Goblins.
“You have exactly one year to the day starting tomorrow to pay off what you have taken,” Griphook answered her.
“That isn’t enough time,” Molly exclaimed. “Arthur will never be able to work enough to pay that back.”
“Oh, I am not paying it back. I had nothing to do with this and have no intention of helping you out of the grave you have dug for yourself,” Arthur corrected her.
“What? That isn’t logical. How am I to make money?” Molly asked him in shock.
“All of our children will be in school starting this year. There is no reason for you to stay home any longer. Get a job,” Arthur informed her. “You made this mess. You stole from that poor boy. You will make this right on your own or suffer the consequences.”
“And what are the consequences if I cannot pay back all of the money within the year?” Molly asked them.
“Then you will go to prison,” Amelia informed her.
“You would put me in Azkaban for this? You would let them?” She demanded of Arthur.
“Not Azkaban. This theft is Goblin business,” Grimlock answered her. “You will report here the day after your year is up and you will be placed in our prison. You will wake everyday and work in our mines until your retire for the night. You will be fed three times a day and be given a supply of water to last you the day.”
“That is absurd. And how long will I be imprisoned here like an animal?” Molly exclaimed.
“You will be earn money each day depending on your work ethic, and how well you perform. That money will be given to Heir Malfoy. If you work hard and do what you are supposed to do, you will earn more. If you do not work hard, you will earn less. So how long you are there, will depend on you,” Griphook answered her.
“So, until I pay off whatever I do not manage to pay back before the year is up,” Molly wanted confirmed.
“That is correct,” Grimlock answered.
“Fine,” Molly stated angrily.
There was still a marriage contract in play. She would do this for now, but once her daughter was married to that stupid boy, she would take out her anger on him. She would never be poor or have to worry over things like this again.
She would divorce Arthur for putting her through something like this and not standing behind her. He should get a better job to work off her debt. She was needed at home to tend to things.
Their home would fall apart without her there to tend to it. Arthur had no idea just what she did to keep their house running.
“Oh, and you may want to speak with Minerva about tuition for this year. We already confiscated the money from your vault to start paying back what you owe. So, your tuition payments for this year may not have gone through,” Amelia informed them.
“Thank you,” Arthur said with a sigh. “I will speak with her about it as soon as we are done here. I will not make my children suffer for their mother’s horrible life choices.”
“Why Minerva?” Molly asked them.
“What?” Amelia asked her.
“Why are we speaking to Minerva about it. Wouldn’t this be something that Albus handles? He is the headmaster after all,” Molly clarified.
“No,” Amelia answered. “Albus Dumbledore is currently under investigation. The Goblin Nation and the Ministry have filed serious accusations against him that he must go to trial for. Minerva is control of the school now.”
“Why would you all bring accusations against him? Do you not understand what he has done for us all? Our world needs him,” Molly insisted.
“I think perhaps, considering the current situation, you keep your mouth closed when it comes to other peoples problems and worry about your own,” Arthur snapped at her. “Clearly he isn’t as good of a person as he claims to be if he is encouraging you to steal money from a child.”
“This is nothing in comparison to the good he has done for us all. The good he is going to continue to do when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named returns. You will be begging him to save you all then,” Molly bit out.
“That is enough, Molly,” Arthur commanded. Then he turned to the others. “If we are done here, I would like to get home so that I can situate my children’s tuition for school this year.”
“We are almost done. We just need to draw up the contract so that everything is legal and squared away,” Grimlock stated.
“And if I don’t sign your contract?” Molly asked hopefully.
“Then you will not be given the opportunity to repay the money as a free woman and you will be taken immediately to the mines,” Griphook informed her.
“I suggest you sign the papers, Molly,” Arthur stated.
“Fine,” Molly said with a sigh and signed the parchment when it was handed to her. Then Lucius signed it. “Why did he need to be here to sign the parchment? This had nothing to do with him.”
“He is Heir Malfoy’s father. He has every right to be here to represent his son,” Amelia answered.
Molly didn’t say anything else. Arthur stood and held out a hand to Lucius who accepted it with all the grace of his upbringing.
“I am sorry for the wrong that has been done to your son because of my wife. She will make amends, or she will suffer the consequences of her actions. I took her word that our children were receiving free tuition. I should have kept a closer eye on her and our home,” Arthur stated firmly. “Please let your son know that we are sorry.”
“Thank you, I will make sure that he knows. He is very fond of William, Charlie, Fred, and George. Both of my sons are. Perhaps the four of them and you could join us for dinner sometime,” Lucius offered.
“Thank you for the invitation. We will be sure to take you up on that sometime. Fred and George even my Percy talk about how smart and hard working your boys are. My twins are known for causing mischief but even they scored better this year than ever before,” Arthur admitted. “When I asked them what was different this year, they said they had made friends with your boys and that they didn’t want to seem stupid in comparison to such studious boys.”
“I believe William stated something similar when he and Charlie brought the twins to Draco’s birthday party this summer. You have raised good boys,” Lucius admitted.
“You have as well. According to my boys. I would like the opportunity to get to know them myself,” Arthur answered.
They said their goodbyes and parted ways. Arthur left Molly at home and left to speak with Minerva about tuition. Lucius flooed home to spend the rest of the day home with his family.
He had been busy with trial stuff and hadn’t spent a lot of time at home the last week. He had heard Harry complaining about missing him to Severus when they were brewing yesterday.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Minerva was haggard. That was for sure. It was literally the only thing that she knew for sure at this point.
Albus had been removed from his position a week ago. And it had come as a serious shock to her. She hadn’t been informed of the details of the accusations, but she knew that the man was now banned from Hogwarts property.
So, it was obviously pretty serious.
She had asked Albus about it when he had fire called her to ask her to pack up his things. He wouldn’t tell her anything other than it was a misunderstanding that would be cleared up before it ever went to trial. That he would be back before winter break.
Minerva had a suspicion that he was wrong.
The Ministry and the school board would not have done something so drastic without some sort of proof. And that wasn’t even taking into account the fact that the Goblins were involved in whatever was going on. She was pretty sure it had to do with Harry Malfoy.
Albus had been obsessed with the boy for as long as Minerva could remember. She had been suspicious of it after Harry had been born. James and Lily had begun acting weird after his birth and had been pulling away from Albus.
Then it was as if they had been potioned or something and their behavior had gotten even more erratic and suspicious. But before she could really get to the bottom of anything they had been dead, and she had been begging Albus not to leave little Harry with the Dursleys because they didn’t seem like good people.
On top of everything else that she had to worry about, Arthur Weasley had just left her office. Their tuition payment had been denied and Minerva had been about to send off a letter to inform them of it.
Arthur informed her of what had been going on and Minerva had been shocked by what Albus and Molly had done. They had stolen from Harry Malfoy. Had been stealing from him for years.
Minerva had assured Arthur that she would work something out. To try and get at least some of the kids enrolled under a scholarship and then let him pay the rest of the tuition out through out the year.
They weren’t the only family that had to make payments. Only the Purebloods or Muggleborn with well off parents could pay their tuition in one lump sum. Arthur had been relieved and asked that for future issues to simply contact him and not Molly. He didn’t trust the woman to tell him the truth about things anymore.
Minerva pinched the bridge of her nose and looked around the room.
The Headmaster’s Office. Or Headmistress as of a week ago. Merlin, this was a mess. But Minerva was determined to be the best Headmistress that she could be. Starting by doing something that Albus would never do.
Ask for help.
There was a knock on the door and four people entered the room. Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, Severus Snape, and Septima Vector. They took the four open chairs on the opposite side of the desk.
“Where is Albus?” Filius asked.
“That is what we are here to discuss among other things,” Minerva answered with a sigh. “Albus has been removed as Headmaster.”
“What happened?” Pomona asked.
“He is under investigation. I do not know the details of the accusations, but he has been removed as Headmaster, Chief Warlock, and Supreme Mugwump. He has been banned from even stepping foot on school property. So, something very serious is going down,” Minerva answered.
“So, you are taking over as Headmistress,” Septima stated. “Good. I think you will run things here much better than Albus did. He was too biased and tried too hard to be friendly and liked rather than doing what needed to be done for the school.”
“Agreed,” Severus added. “So, what else did you want to talk about?”
“I cannot do this on my own. I do not have time to find a new Transfiguration professor therefore I will have to keep the position. I may need some of you to step up and teach a class or two if I am busy or help me with duties as the Headmistress,” Minerva revealed.
“We will help where we can, Minerva. I happen to know that Poppy is very good with paperwork and would be happy to help in that area. Talk to her about it,” Pomona pointed out. “I am not good with Transfiguration, but I am happy to supervise testing or help in other areas.”
“Thank you,” Minerva said gratefully.
“I am also happy to help with your classes. My NEWT students don’t need a lot of supervision for most classes so I could help during those times,” Severus spoke up.
“Perfect,” Minerva responded.
“I am very happy to help where you need me,” Filius responded. “I am both decent with Transfiguration as well as office duties.”
“I am happy to help where I can, but I am not the best with Transfiguration,” Septima spoke up.
Minerva smiled and could have simply hugged them all to show how grateful she was for their help and support.
“While I am grateful for the help, Septima, I called you here for a different reason. I cannot remain Head of Gryffindor House as the Headmistress. So, I would like to ask you to take over as the new Head of House,” Minerva asked her.
“I am happy to take over as Head of House. I will take care of your lions to the best of my ability,” Septima accepted.
“Thank you,” Minerva stated. “Now, more recently. It has come to my attention that we need to try and find tuition money for five students that cannot afford to attend for personal reasons as of today.”
“I will stay and help you work out the numbers,” Septima offered.
“Great,” Minerva said with a nod. “Are there any other concerns about the upcoming school year?”
There was a little more discussion about expectations and then everyone left but Septima. The two of them poured over the books and managed to scrounge up enough from different areas to pay for three of the tuition payments. Minerva wrote a letter to let Arthur know that he would need to set up a payment plan for the other two. With all of that settled, she sat back and decided to have a glass of whiskey to help her keep calm and prepare for the next year.
The new school year started in two weeks. She was going to be ready to take it on.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Andy,” Narcissa said happily when she saw her sister step into the tea shop.
“Hello, Cissy,” Andromeda said with a smile and pulled her little sister into a hug. Narcissa held her tightly and just breathed her in.
“Merlin, it is so good to see you Andy,” Narcissa whispered before the pulled apart and sat down.
“You have no idea how happy I was to hear from you,” Andromeda revealed. “I have been thinking a lot about you. I cannot believe that it never occurred to either of us that now that our parents are gone we could reconnect.”
“Harry has a beautiful mind. He didn’t have a loving family growing up and it amazed him that we hadn’t spoken to each other. I think he would disown himself if we ever forced him to make the decisions our parents did us,” Narcissa answered.
“That is because he wasn’t raised to choose family honor over everything, even family. We were brainwashed as girls to believe that honoring our parents and the Black Family traditions was more important than anything else,” Andy pointed out.
“But you broke away,” Narcissa insisted. “You chose love and to be happy above everything else. I would have followed you, Andy. I would have. But I loved Lucius. I knew he was my Alpha even then.”
“I know, Cissy. That is the real reason I left the way I did. I knew being disowned was the only way that Abraxis Malfoy would sever our contract and then you would be free to marry Lucius. Bella was already married and so you were the only choice left. I knew how you and Lucius felt about each other,” Andy admitted.
“What?” Narcissa asked shocked. “But you loved Edward. You left because they would have never agreed to let you marry him. Right?”
“No, Cissy. I barely knew Ted. I liked him, certainly. But not enough to throw away everything for him,” Andy said with a chuckle. “I left for you. My baby sister was in love. Head over heels for a man that loved her in return. It would have been torture for all of us.”
“You left for me?” Narcissa asked her and had to fight hard not to show how badly she wanted to cry. They were in public after all. “Are you at least happy, Andy?”
“Don’t get me wrong, Cissy, I love my husband. I may not have loved him then, but I loved him before I agreed to marry him. He is a very good man and makes me so happy. He is a wonderful father. I don’t regret anything about my choice except that it tore you and I apart,” Andromeda insisted.
“But we can fix that now, can’t we, Andy? I would love to meet my niece. Love for you to meet my boys. For them to know each other like the cousins they should have been all along,” Narcissa asked her older sister.
“Of course we can,” Andy answered. “I cannot express to you just how happy your letter made me. I want to try and see when Nymphadora can get time off of work and then we can plan a visit. If not before the boys go back to school, then definitely for Winter Break.”
“But you and I can still meet for tea and to talk right?” Narcissa asked her. “I have so much I would like to talk to you about. So many things that are going on in our lives right now. Things we talked about as little girls.”
“I would love that, Cissy,” Andy agreed. “Now, tell me about those boys.”
“Absolutely,” Narcissa responded with a smile.
The two sisters ended up spending three hours at the Tea House talking and getting reacquainted with each other. It was a good day and when they parted ways, both of them felt lighter and happier than they had in a while.
Meeting up had been a good idea. Narcissa was so grateful once again for their good luck in bringing Harry into their lives.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Severus and Remus stood quietly in the doorway and watched Draco and Harry practice their wandless magic. They had gotten so good at it. The two boys had mastered most of the spells they had learned during first year.
They had been making good progress, but after Litha, it was like a dam had busted open and they were progressing in leaps and bounds. Severus was curious if the other teenagers in their little group were doing just as well as they were.
“They are magnificent,” Remus said with so much pride.
“Yes, they are,” Severus agreed. “I bet they aren’t too far off from trying to create their own spells. Or simply wielding their magic with pure intent without the need for spells.”
“From the research I have done since learning about all of this, I don’t think Wixen used to use spells at all,” Remus told him. “I think they started using spells around the same time that they started making people use wands.”
“Well, I am sure that Harry and Draco will be the first ones to figure it out,” Severus insisted.
“Theodore and Blaise as well,” Remus added. “The four of them are more powerful when they work together.”
“I have noticed that too,” Severus agreed. “They almost glow with it.”
“Just about,” Remus agreed. “I am going to miss having all of you here when the school year starts back up.”
“You can move in to my quarters at the school, Wolf,” Severus pointed out.
“I can?” Remus asked him quickly.
“I am your Alpha. We are a mated pair, that means they cannot deny us the right to live together. If my quarters are not acceptable, I can ask for family quarters. Hogwarts has them, they just aren’t used often,” Severus revealed.
“But I am needed here to help with the ritual for the Dark Lord,” Remus said with a dejected sigh.
“You can leave in the morning when I leave for class, come here and do what needs to be done. Spend your days however you choose. Then at the end of the day, you floo back and stay with me in our quarters,” Severus explained.
“Like going to work every day,” Remus said quietly.
“Exactly,” Severus agreed. “I would much prefer to have you in my arms each night as we sleep, Little Wolf.”
“Oh, would you now?” Remus said and snuggled closer to Severus. “Would my grumpy Alpha miss me?”
“Gross,” they heard and both turned to see Draco and Harry looking at them and laughing.
“Just wait until the two of you are a little older. You won’t think it is gross then,” Remus countered.
“A lot older,” Severus said with a frown. “Like seventeen or even twenty.”
“Yeah, you keep thinking they will wait that long,” Remus said with a laugh. “We will be lucky if those two handsome boys make it to fifteen.”
“I am sure that Lucius will be happy to help me run off anyone who attempts to take advantage of our innocent boys,” Severus growled out.
“We won’t be innocent for long if the two of you keep trying to snog each other in the room with us,” Draco pointed out.
“Don’t exaggerate,” Severus said with a chuckle. “We were not kissing.”
“Not this time,” Harry pointed out. “But we have caught the two of you kissing in the halls.”
“Merlin, you boys,” Remus said with a laugh. “You think it is gross now, but you will understand it better when you are older. It is good for the two of you to see what healthy relationships look like.”
“Besides, I know you have seen your mother and father kiss each other before,” Severus stated.
“Well, yeah, but we are used to that,” Draco said with a shrug.
“You will get used to us too,” Remus insisted.
“Of course we will,” Harry agreed. “But perhaps, if the two of you are going to flirt, you can do it in a different room. You know maybe in one that we aren’t practicing magic in.”
“It’s distracting,” Draco added.
“Fair point,” Remus agreed. “We will try to control ourselves while we watch.”
Severus just chuckled and leaned back against the wall. Remus conjured a chair and sat down so that he was less tempted to touch Severus. He had been just a little more touchy with his mate than normal the last two weeks.
The two boys continued to work on their wandless magic. So far, they had mastered nearly every first year spell and were just practicing to keep themselves from getting lazy with it. Draco figured the more they worked at it, the easier it would be to learn the second year spells when they started school.
“Has Lucius started talking to the school board about wandless magic being allowed in class?” Remus asked Severus quietly.
“Not yet,” Severus answered. “I believe he has just been too distracted with the trial for Albus that he hasn’t even thought about it. I am sure that he will remember sooner or later. Or Harry and the other Founder’s heirs can get it taken care of when he finds them.”
“They are going to be miles ahead of their peers by the time the school gets around to adding it to the curriculum,” Remus said with a grin. “Perhaps helping teach it to a certain degree.”
“Them and their friends. Those that are participating in the Sabbats with them. I believe they are currently twenty-two strong. But should be forty-six soon after the new year starts,” Severus informed him.
“Is that their plan? To double after every Sabbat?” Remus asked him.
“I don’t know. Harry and Draco are pretty much running the show with all of this,” Severus stated. “They have made decent decisions so far and so we are going to let them keep going as long as they are safe.”
“Are we going to participate?” Remus inquired. “We know Lady Magic wants us to.”
“We can talk to Harry and Draco about it later,” Severus answered. “Though, I know our boys, they will want us to participate with them.”
“This year is going to be so interesting,” Remus said with a grin. “I am so excited.”
“I find that I am quite anticipatory about this year as well,” Severus agreed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Enter,” Tom stated when he heard a knock on his door.
Lucius, Severus, and Remus entered the room and bowed before taking a seat. If all three of them were here, it would have something to do with the Ritual.
“We have everything we need, My Lord,” Remus spoke up first. He had taken lead on this for the most part. He and Severus were doing most of the work together, but this part was mostly Remus.
“Good, so when do we start?” Tom answered.
“The first part of the ritual must be done under a new moon. We missed it for this Lunar Cycle but we will be prepared to begin on the next one,” Remus answered.
“I will prepare the first potion for the first ritual,” Severus added.
“And Narcissa has spoken with the Goblins, and they are sending two of their best warders to help her and Remus prepare the ritual grounds. Every step of the ritual must be done in this space for things to work properly,” Lucius continued.
“Yes, I know,” Tom responded. “I have read all of the notes that the three of you have given me. I know what all will go into preparing for this ritual to begin. You are all sure that you can have everything done before the next new moon? I would rather wait two months for things to be done correctly.”
“We can have it done, My Lord,” Remus insisted. “Narcissa and I have already begun clearing out the area we chose for this. We have already carved the runes into the ground and done the ritual to set them in place permanently.”
“Have you considered having your boys and their friends blessing the area as well?” Tom asked curiously. “If we want to succeed, wouldn’t it be good to get Our Lady’s blessing?”
“We hadn’t considered that. Perhaps that is a good idea. They leave for school in two days, we can see how they feel about doing it tomorrow,” Lucius answered.
“Do not force him,” Tom insisted. “You may ask him if he is willing and if he is not, leave it be.”
“Of course, My Lord,” Severus responded quickly. “We will ask.”
“What else do we need to prepare for?” Tom asked.
Remus pulled out a clear globe and set it on the table between them. This was going to be a vital thing for the Ritual. The one of the things that the Witch who created the spell did not do correctly.
“This orb is rare and was hard to get. We only have one. You must start exactly seven days before the New Moon. And then continue to do it everyday until we do the final step of the ritual,” Remus explained.
“Yes, I remember,” Tom answered. “I must put magic into it, my essence, until it changes color. We will start by removing the soul from one of the Horcrux and placing it inside. That way the orb will be able to tell what is my essence, and what is Quirrell’s.”
“Correct,” Severus stated. “That way it will only take into it what is yours and reject all others.”
“Brilliant. I find I am eager to begin,” Tom responded. “Oh, would you return this to Harry?”
He pulled a book from the shelf next to him and handed it to Lucius.
“I will make sure he gets it,” Lucius answered. He looked at the book. “This isn’t one that I have seen before. It isn’t from our library.”
“Harry picked it up when we were in the new bookstore that first day after the Will reading,” Severus revealed. “I guess I know why I haven’t seen him reading it yet.”
“It was a very good book,” Tom let them know. “It will give him something to read at school since he cannot take my journals.”
“I will make sure it finds its way into his trunk before he leaves,” Lucius insisted and then tucked the book into his robes.
“Well, if everything is in order, I believe that is all we needed to discuss?” Tom asked them.
“Yes, My Lord,” Severus answered. “Well, that and we thought you would be happy to know that a date has been set to discuss the expectations of the trial against Albus.”
“And what day will be marked as the beginning of his end?” Tom asked him with a grin.
“October 18th, My Lord,” Lucius answered. “But this is not the actual trial. We are only establishing lawyers that will be involved and to submit the evidence that we currently have officially.”
“I understand how the law works, Lucius,” Tom stated with a huff.
“Of course, My Lord,” Lucius said with a small bow. “I did not mean to offend.”
“If that is all?” Tom asked them once again.
“It is,” Severus stated.
“Then you may go,” Tom dismissed them. “Oh, and congratulations.”
“For what, My Lord,” Severus asked curiously.
“For the little one that your mate is currently carrying,” Tom answered as if it were obvious.
Remus reached down and placed a hand over his abdomen. He looked up at Severus who stepped closer and buried his nose in his neck to breath him in. Merlin, that would explain Remus’ sudden clinginess and Severus sudden need to keep him close.
Lucius chuckled.
“I knew your scent had changed,” Lucius stated. “It has just been so long since I was around an Omega or Submissive that was carrying. I did not recognize the scent for what it was. Congratulations, my friend. Narcissa will be so excited.”
“You did not know?” Tom asked them with a chuckle.
“We did not, My Lord. Thank you,” Severus said and then encouraged Remus out of the room.
He was going straight to Narcissa. She would be able to do the spell that would confirm this. If Remus was carrying, and he was sure that he was, they would need to be careful with him for the next two months or so.
Male pregnancies could be incredibly delicate. Especially for Wolves. The transformation could accidentally abort the baby. If they could make it past the first two months, then Remus would be ok and so would the pup.
The magical womb would protect the baby even during transformations after two months because it would have absorbed enough latent magic from both Severus and Remus to sustain the baby.
“SEVERUS,”
The potion master stopped moving and turned to stare a Remus who was pulling on his hand and looking at him concerned. Remus stepped closer and placed both hands on Severus’ cheeks before he nuzzled his chin and pressed a kiss there.
“I lost you for a moment there, My Alpha” Remus stated calmly. “It was like you just couldn’t hear me. Where was your head at, Love?”
“What?” Severus answered in confusion. He looked around and realized they were nearly to Narcissa’s sitting room. How had they gotten here? He didn’t remember the walk.
“You hurried me out of the Dark Lord’s room and then just seemed to panic or something and kept going. You didn’t respond to me or Lucius when we tried to get your attention,” Remus answered.
“I..I am worried,” Severus admitted. “Male pregnancies…they can be so delicate, Remi.”
“I know, Alpha,” Remus responded. Still staying as calm as possible. “But we are going to be ok. We will get through this together. There are tried and true methods to help me carry our pup to term.”
“You are not worried?” Severus asked him curiously.
“Of course I am. But more than that, I am excited,” Remus answered and smiled up at Severus. “You do realize that we are already halfway through the two months right?”
“How?” Severus asked him. “You can’t possibly know that.”
“I can only conceive during my heat,” Remus pointed out.
“And you had your heat right after Litha,” Severus said with a sigh.
“Exactly,” Remus assured him. “So, we just need to get through this next little bit and we are going to be ok.”
“I will brew something that will help during the transformation,” Severus assured him. “I will make sure that you and our little one are as protected as you can be.”
“Such a good, Alpha,” Remus said with a happy rumble. “I know you will take care of us. Now, let’s go see Cissa so she can confirm it.”
“OK,” Severus agreed and then he snogged the life out of Remus before walking calmly with him to Narcissa’s sitting room.
“We are not telling the boys until we are sure that we are sure everything is fine. Perhaps we could announce it at Christmas?” Remus suggested.
“I think that would be best. That or see which of them notices first,” Severus said with a chuckle.
“Oh, I think I like that idea even better,” Remus agreed.
Narcissa of course confirmed that Remus was indeed carrying. There was no way to tell gender or how many this early but the test was positive. Narcissa and Lucius both agreed to keep it from the boys for now. It would be an exciting thing to watch them figure out.
Narcissa couldn’t wait to have a little baby around the house again. She wished she could have had more children. Even now she would be happy to have another. But she had not had a heat in so long that she was sure she would never have another.
It was just something that was happening more and more frequently with the old families. Conception was hard. Most heats weren’t fertile and if they were, they usually stopped after the first children were born.
Narcissa hoped that strengthening their relationship with Lady Magic would change that for her boys generation. She was hoping to get lots of little grandchildren out of the two of them.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Harry hugged his mum tightly and then did the same with his dad. Draco did not hug them but did tell them goodbye. It was time to start their new year at Hogwarts. The train was waiting.
This was going to be a great year, and Harry couldn’t wait to get started. Corra was shrunk down and around his neck and their trunks were loaded on the train.
“You are going to have a great year,” Narcissa assured them both.
“Remember to write often and stay out of trouble as much as you can. This year is bound to be a better year than the last one,” Lucius instructed them.
“We will be good, and we will write,” Draco insisted.
“I am going to miss you both so much,” Harry said with a bit of a sniffle. “I am excited to go to school, but I hate that it is going to be so long before I see you both again.”
“It’s going to be alright, Darling. We are going to miss you too. But Christmas will be here before you know it. You are going to be so busy between classes, Sabbats, and making new friends that you aren’t even going to think about us,” Narcissa insisted.
“I will never be too busy to think about you, Mum,” Harry promised.
“That is because you are such a good boy,” Narcissa responded and then she hugged him again before sending them on their way.
“Go and find a good seat,” Lucius instructed.
“Bye, we love you both,” Harry called out.
“Harry! Draco!”
They turned to see Hermione waving happily at them and smiling brightly. She was standing between Fred and George. Harry waved and took off toward them grinning. Draco followed at a slower pace.
“Is he ever going to grow out of showing so much emotion?” Blaise asked as he stepped up on one side of Draco.
“Leave him be,” Theo responded as he stepped up on Draco’s other side.
“People will try to use it against him,” Blaise insisted.
“And we will be there to stop them when the do,” Theo stated firmly.
“That’s right. He doesn’t have to worry about things like that, because he has us,” Draco added.
The three of them watched Harry hug Hermione, Fred and George after the twins had bowed dramatically and greeted their ‘Snake Lord’.
“Come on,” Hermione said once they were all there. “Neville is saving us a train car. And you know how he gets sometimes. I think Ernie might be with him though.”
“This year is going to be so fun,” Harry insisted as they climbed onto the train.
He walked between Draco and Theo and grinned happily when Theo handed him a piece of chocolate. Theo always had candy. But Harry had never seen the other boy ever actually eat any.
“Theo?” Harry asked after a moment.
“Hmm?” Theo hummed.
“Do you even eat candy? I have never seen you eat any,” Harry asked him.
“No, I don’t like sweets,” Theo answered.
“Why do you always have candy?” Harry asked him curiously.
“I read that Omega’s often have a sweet tooth,” Theo answered as if it were obvious.
“You carry them for me,” Harry stated with a grin. Theo just nodded. “I have the best friends in the entire world.”
“Yes you do,” Blaise agreed from behind Theo.
Harry looked around as they settled into their cart. He was happily seated between Fred and George. All of his closest friends were here and he was so happy. This was so different then what his life had been like a year ago.
Dumbledore was gone from the school and his trials would be starting soon. He really hoped that McGonagall was going to be a better Headmistress.
Uncle Remi was moving into Uncle Sevs’ quarters since they were a mated pair. Which meant that Harry and Draco would get to see him more often.
Sirius had written all of them letters and Harry was pretty sure that he was making real progress. He was even thinking about asking his parents if it was alright for Sirius to come for Yule if he was still doing good.
Two nights ago, Harry, Draco, Theo, and Blaise had gone to the Ritual place that had been chosen for Tom. They had walked the area and asked Lady Magic to bless it. They had felt her magic settle into the land and knew that she would be helping the Ritual along.
To Harry, that meant it was all but guaranteed to succeed. The Voice in his mind was happy as well. Pleased with how things in Harry’s life were going. He had even visited with Tom again last night just to talk with him and spend some time with him.
It would be a few months before he had the opportunity to do it again and he always enjoyed his time with Tom. The man was so smart and eager to share his knowledge with Harry. Knowledge that Harry was eager to share with his friends and the others that joined their little group.
Harry looked around and smiled at Draco and the others that caught his eye. He was surrounded by friends and couldn’t wait to make more. He couldn’t wait to see how different the Sabbats would be after he helped Ernie tie himself into the wards as well.
On top of that, Uncle Sev was going to be taking Harry to the Chamber of Secrets. Tom had told Harry where they were. He was going to speak to the Basilisk, an actual real life Basilisk. And then they were going to keep a look out for the diary so that they could get it and return it to Tom.
This year was going to be great, and Harry couldn’t wait to get it started.
The End of Book One!!!!