Chapter Seventeen
“Harry.” Remus leaned over and grabbed Harry’s arm gaining his attention., “The game is starting.” He said pulling Harry’s arm gently until Harry stood up and was pulled back between him and Sirius.
“I wasn’t done-”
“Yes you were.” Remus said, pulling Sirius closer to Harry, practically trapping him between them. Harry tried very hard to hide his grin as he realized why Remus was acting strange suddenly. Instead he just wrapped an arm around both of his Mates’ arms and watched as the quaffle was released into the air.
The game lasted almost four hours, Sirius and James, however, lasted thirty minutes in their seats before they were standing and cheering while hanging on to each other. Remus kept an arm around Harry, pulling him closer whenever Sirius and James got riled up.
“Look I love Qudditch as much as the next guy, but this isn’t even a real professional game.” Harry said quietly to Remus
“Just let them have this.” Remus said
It wasn’t that Harry wasn’t into the game, because of course he was. It was Qudditch, but it was still tame compared to the professional games he watches so often that Harry couldn’t immerse himself into it. Sirius and James were also cheering loud enough for all of them so Harry thought Charlie didn’t need anyone else drawing attention to them each time something happened.
The game concluded with Gryffindor winning by 200 points. Sirius and Remus were the first ones down and when the rest of them caught up to the pair it was to see James and Sirius hugging a red faced Charlie. Harry was seventy-five percent sure the redness was due to embarrassment rather than exertion.
“I for one am very glad I am not playing Qudditch anymore.” Harry told Charlie when the men released him and Harry stepped towards him.
“You learn to live with it.” Charlie said with a shrug.
****
Lunch was….something. It was weird and stiff and not that comfortable, but not uncomfortable either. Lily was quiet for most of the lunch, Harry and Severus were able to finish their conversation from earlier, and Ariel picked at her food more than she ate it. Severus and Lily were the first ones to leave, Lily pulling the man out as she spoke quietly to him.
Hours later Harry sat up as he reread the paragraph of his book frowning.
“Wait.” Harry said quietly, flipping the page back and rereading the short three page chapter from the beginning.
“Everything okay?” James asked
“Harry got to the plot twist.” Remus said sounding smug
Harry closed the book keeping his thumb on the page as he let what just happened in the story sink in.
“I think I’m going to go scream.” Harry said
“I felt that way too.” Remus told him
“What happened?” Sirius asked
“This entire time…this entire story…I-”
Harry opened to the last chapter and reread again just to be sure he read it all correctly and sure enough as he got to the last page it was the same as it had been the last two times.
“It was written from the point of view of the muggle neighbor this entire time? The muggle hatred, the righteous attitude of magical people being better, the- this entire time-” Harry threw the book in the unlit fireplace and laid back the way he had been when he had been reading. His head in Remus’ lap as one hand rested on his stomach and the other laid on his forehead.
“Do you want me to light the fireplace or…?” James asked
“Give him a minute James, he's having a crisis.” Remus said amused as he ran a hand through Harry’s hair, “this book fucks with people’s heads.”
“I don’t know if I hate that book or if I love it.”
“A second read through now that you know the narrator is needed to really understand the book and determine if you love it or hate it. I loved it after my second read through.”
Harry nodded though he made no move to get up to retrieve the book. A few minutes passed before he sat up and moved to the floor to work on his family assignment, occasionally glaring at the book still in the fireplace.
He had already finished his essay on Linfred of Stinchcombe and Hardwin Potter. Now he was finishing the world history essay of the 12th and 13th centuries.
*******
Harry was back at school Sunday evening preparing for his NEWTS and classes. Monday he took his Herbology NEWT, Tuesday he spent finishing up his last few assignments, Wednesday he took his Latin NEWT, Thursday was spent in a mandatory lecture for his Potions class, and Friday he took his Charms NEWT.
He left his testing room and stopped surprised, but excited to find Remus and Sirius standing with his Headmaster.
“What are you two doing here?” Harry asked, walking towards them, Sirius turned towards him and grinned.
“Come on, let's go pack your weekend bag.” Sirius said
“What? Didn’t you get my owl? I can't go to Hogwarts this weekend. I, for the first time since third year I think, am behind. I had a stress pimple three days ago, a pimple Sirius, I haven’t had one of those since I was twelve.”
“Really? I still get them right on my jawline.”
“Well I don’t have a husband who tells me not to buy the expensive skin care and to go with the cheaper stuff because ‘really what’s the difference’.”
“I- Wait, how do you know that?”
“I’ve seen your bathroom in case you’ve forgotten. You have the most expensive hair care products because your hair texture is different from Remus’, but you guys share the same skin care products and Remus doesn’t understand the benefits of the good stuff.”
“Right…Honestly I shouldn’t be that surprised you somehow came to that conclusion.”
“But the point remains I can’t go to Hogwarts.”
“Good because you’re not going there.” Sirius told him, Harry frowned, stopping to look at his mate.
“I’m not?”
“Yes. Come on Remus will find us eventually. He’s talking to your headmaster about your graduation.”
“I still can not believe Hogwarts doesn’t have a graduation ceremony.”
“Probably because of the potential muggle parents and relatives or whatever.”
“It’s almost as if there’s a spell to erase their knowledge of such a place.” Sirius rolled his eyes, “So where are we going?” Harry asked taking him down a not secret, but mostly unused passage to get to his dorm quicker.
“Nowhere too exciting so no need to pack for a tropical vacation. Just pack for comfort.”
“So no robes?”
“Not unless that’s what you consider to be comfortable.” Harry nodded slowly as he tried to think if he even had comfortable clothes that weren't worn thin. He really needed to go shopping for more than just nice clothes.
Soon he was inside his dorm and grabbed the bag he’d been using for his trips to Hogwarts. His dorm was not as neat and organized as it usually was with him slowly packing his dorm up, there were a few boxes already packed and set aside, labeled for convenience.
“So what exactly is going on?” Harry asked as he began to pack, “I need to study for my Defense Against Magic, Dueling, and Potions NEWT for this week and I have a last minute assignment for my Transfiguration class that, again, for the first time in years I forgot about and didn’t turn in at least a week early. It’s due next Monday and I’ll be lucky if I get it done at all because I have three NEWTs to study for this week and three more for next week. You know…in case you forgot about that little detail and also-”
Sirius came up behind him and grabbed his shoulders, spinning him around gently. He stepped in closer and cupped Harry’s face along his jaw, his thumb resting against his cheeks immediately making Harry stop his rant.
“Breathe Harry. Just relax.” He spoke softly, “You will have all the time you need okay? We’re not going anywhere that will take you away from your studies. We’ll probably just stay inside the entire time anyway. Not only are you behind, but so are we. We all just need to get away from distractions. That’s what this is. Getting away from distractions.”
“I don’t see how all- what? Ten of us or whatever the number is, traveling together is exactly distraction free considering-”
“Ten? Where’d you get that number?”
“Well there’s You, Remus, apparently me, James -”
“No. Just us three.” Harry stared at him confused, “James isn’t coming with us.” Sirius told him with a grin
“Wait..really?” Sirius nodded with a hum, “You, me, and Remus? Just us three?” Another nod, “And James knows I’m coming with you?”
“Of course and so does Henry.” Sirius removed his hands to rest them on the side of Harry’s shoulders, “We suggested it to James first then he suggested it to Henry when they went and did something at the Ministry together or something. I’m still a little confused about it, but it’s not important.”
“So….us three… going somewhere alone?”
“Yes. Now finish packing.” Harry hesitated only a minute before he turned back around to finish his packing. Remus found them not long after that with a slight scowl directed at Sirius.
“You left me.”
“You were talking and besides Harry had to pack.” Just as Sirius said that Harry zipped up his bag then turned to his desk where he made sure he had everything he needed for studying and his assignment.
“Do I get to know where we’re going?” Harry asked
“Not until we get there.” Remus said, holding his hand out for Harry who took it with a small smile.
“We’re not going anywhere where I might be mistaken as your son right?” Harry asked making his mates laugh
“No. There will be no one around for miles.” Sirius told him as he carried his bag in the hand that wasn’t holding Harry’s other one, “Just us three I promise.”
**
Harry hated side along apparition. It was one of the many reasons he had gotten his license as soon as he was able to before the Ministry learned of his real age. They couldn’t exactly take it away from him just because he was a few months younger than his paperwork said after all.
Anyway, Harry hated side along.
But when they landed just a few yards away from a beautiful small two story log cabin literally in the middle of a forest Harry figured it was worth it. The brown earth contrasted sharply with the green ferns surrounding the cabin.
“Where are we?” Harry asked looking around for some clue, but all he saw was trees and the forest surrounding them. Taking a deeper breath he could faintly smell the salt of an ocean, but it was far.
“Well before we moved into Potter Manor in 81, we lived here.” Remus told him, leading him through the short path to the steps leading to the small porch and glass double doors.
“Sirius Black lived in a cabin in the woods? Really?” Harry said surprised as he glanced back at his pureblood mate
“Ha ha ha. Laugh it up. I’ll have you know I loved it out here believe it or not. The war couldn’t touch us here, the world couldn’t touch us here, Moony had tons of space to run when he needed to. It was nice.”
Remus opened the door letting Harry enter the house first to a small hallway that at the end of it ended in the kitchen from what Harry could see, The door directly to his left was a cozy home library and directly to his right was a living room. The stairs were in the hallway as well, but he ignored them in favor of the library.
“Of course you choose the library to go into first.” Sirius mumbled, but Harry could hear the smile as he spoke, “I’ll take your bag upstairs for now.” With Sirius heading upstairs, Remus stepped into the library with him.
“I don’t think I have to tell you most of these are mine, but don’t let Sirius fool you; he loves to read too sometimes. He’s just picky.”
Harry nodded because he knew that. Or he guessed that already. He had seen a book on Sirius’ nightstand at Hogwarts, something fictional and muggle looking.
“The Dragon Shifter’s Mate…you dirty dog.” Remus laughed leaning against the bookshelf.
“Actually believe it or not Sirius bought that and all of the other books in the series as a joke and then got really into it. He’s read every single one at least three times.”
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You’ve let him read about fantasized knots and dominating alphas?”
“Yeah sure. It had its benefits.”
“Gross.” Harry said laughing as he left the library and headed to the living room.
The wall on the left had an archway that led into a dining room and that had an archway leading into the kitchen as well. He stayed in the living room looking at the pictures still on the wall and the cozy and a little worn sofa with matching chairs.
“You left this for a Manor?” Harry asked not accusingly, just curious
“We left this for our family. James and Lily needed us and it’s after such a close call we wanted to be with them too. Also the one who betrayed them was and still is out there somewhere, we wanted to stay close.”
“No one talks about him…the secret keeper…the one who betrayed them. No one has even said his name.” Harry said, sitting on the comfortable sofa to look at Remus.
Harry had a feeling he knew who it was and if that feeling was right he knew James and his mates were going to be pissed as soon as they learned the truth about him.
“It’s not important.” Remus said, Harry looked at him for a moment, but shrugged not ready to confront that just yet either so instead he patted the cushion beside him. Remus only hesitated a second before he came around the sofa and sat beside him.
“Sirius and I have a lot of papers to grade and test prep papers to grade as well as prepare. You have NEWTs to study for and a class assignment to do. So why don’t you get started and I will go-”
“Let me guess, make tea? Is Sirius not allowed around a kettle or something?”
“You could say that.” Harry nodded watching Remus walking away and a minute later Sirius was coming into the living room with a large stack of papers that he set on the coffee table then divided into two stacks.
“Which NEWT are you worried about more this week?” Sirius asked sitting in the middle cushion and pulling Harry’s legs onto his lap
“I feel pretty confident about all of them, but I guess the one I want to study the most on is the Potions one. Dueling and Defense are pretty easy for me, I never really had much trouble with them. Though in the beginning I had problems with magical control and getting tired quicker. I still have to concentrate to not make a spell too strong sometimes, but that’s more to do with my magical core than anything else.”
Sirius’ eyes darted down to Harry’s chest where he knew the stone laid under his clothes.
“What’s it like? Do you notice it? Not the stone, but an unstable core.”
“I think if your core suddenly becomes unstable you would notice it, but to me this is what it’s always been like. I noticed the strength and the power as I grew older, but I never really knew what it was like to not feel it I guess.” Sirius nodded, pulling his eyebrows together, “You can ask…whatever it is.”
Remus entered the room at that moment carrying three cups of tea in his hands, setting them on the coffee table before sitting beside Sirius.
“Ask what?” Remus asked
“You’re never without your stone around your neck, why? Even in your sleep. I’m pretty sure you bathe with it.”
“I do.” Harry said though as he spoke he undone the first few buttons of his school undershirt and hesitated for a moment before he pulled off the stone around his neck.
Immediately his magic came to the surface, it licked and touched every available surface. The logs in the fireplace sparked, the lamps flickered, the dishes rattled in the cupboards in the kitchen, the frames shook gently against the walls. It took a deep breath and two minutes before things settled, but the magic could still be felt around them and occasionally it touched something almost to say ‘you don't control me’.
“That’s why.” Harry said looking over at the logs just in case, “I can control it…kind of.”
“Does it hurt?” Remus asked softly
“I don’t think so. It is dangerous though not only for the public and such, but for my core itself. An unstable core isn’t exactly something any wizard or witch wants to hear. There are potions out there available to help stabilize it over time, not like a normal core, but almost like a patch job.”
“You don’t take them?” Harry put his necklace back on then shook his head at Sirius’ question.
“No. I tried them, but it drained me. I was tired all the time, I was nauseous, I was miserable. Papa said it was my choice and I got off them as soon as I was able to. There are rituals too, but my healer said as long as I did my exercises and kept up with control exercises and of course had my stones, I would be fine. Then we had to upgrade the size over and over again and eventually one became two and two became three until I learned better control. During Dueling I wear two or three as a safety precaution, but most of the time I can get by with one since I’m usually doing easy spells day to day.”
With the stone back in place, it glowed and slowly the pictures straightened themselves, the dishes could be heard softly clinking together until quieting, the lights shone steadily, and the logs were no longer ready to catch on fire. With the house quiet again the stone dimmed until it didn’t shine any longer.
“And that’s without any…emotions getting in the way?” Sirius said
“Yeah. Usually I can feel it coming on and I can get away, but other times it just comes out of nowhere. It’s not as cool as Charlie thinks it is, that's for sure. I um…I accidentally hurt my Uncle Frankie one time and it terrified me. That’s what made me take it so seriously.”
“You didn’t mean to though. I’m sure Frankie knew that.” Remus said
“Yeah he did. He was never even mad about it or upset or anything really. Just seeing him hurt made me realize that it’s not all fun and games. I used to sneak ice cream into my room at night or candy or I would appear onto the roof for hide and seek. Scared Papa nearly to death with that one. But it was always fun, I never really saw the problem with it until then.”
“Did I ever tell you about the time Moony actually broke up with me despite us being mates?” Sirius asked
“He what?”
“It was our sixth year and Snape had been following Remus around a lot. At one point I was stupid and a little upset about something and I told him to follow Remus one night and he did.”
“The Full Moon.” Harry realized
“Yeah. I was already in there, by this time James had opted out of being there while we waited for the moon to rise for privacy reasons. Not that he hadn’t seen everything before, but we were a couple by then and it was different.”
“What Sirius means to say is that neither of us knew Severus was making his way towards the tunnel I used to get to the shrieking shack. James found out and despite their difference he ran to save him just as I was coming out fully transformed. When Sirius realized Severus was there he also tried to save him, but James was already there. At first we just thought it was a bad coincidence until Sirius came clean a day later.” Remus told him
“Remus broke up with me and James was so pissed at me I thought he would never forgive me. Turns out he just needed Remus to make the first move.”
“It took a while, but I got there eventually. The point is, or what I think Sirius’ point is by telling you this is that sometimes we hurt the people we love. Physically or emotionally or even mentally. It’s inevitable. But hurting the people we love is how we learn some of our more important lessons.”
“I was going for more of the sometimes we do stupid things speech, but yeah yours works too.” Sirius said making Harry laugh
“Let’s just get to work.” Remus said, shaking his head as he reached out for a stack of papers.