Fixing the Future

During the Yule break, Severus had enjoyed his time with his dad and Lucius. Seeing the two men even happier than before, now that they weren’t hiding their relationship in public – leading to them scandalizing a few of the more conservative pure bloods at the Yule Ball when they unashamedly admitted that they were living together – had made him happy for them. Seeing the two together so often – more than just the occasional times he found them all cozied up to one another in his dad’s quarters – made him realize that he wanted what they had one day.

Severus had also absently wondered when the two would make it official and get bonded. There were no doubts in his mind that they would, it was just a matter of when. Perhaps he would need to subtly ask Lucius if he had plans to ask his dad or vice versa; if he didn’t get an answer from them, he would just send a letter to Acacia and Narcissa to find out if they knew if one of them was planning to propose – he knew if either of them had a plan, then those two would know about it. If it turned out that neither did have plans, he would hint at them about it.*

“What are you plotting, Severus?”

The Ravenclaw looked up from his spot sitting against the tree he and Regulus sat under more often than not (but not the one Potter and Black humiliated him in front of), to see said boy was joining him. He raised an eyebrow at the Slytherin, “What makes you think I am plotting?”

“I recognized the look”, Regulus shrugged lightly as the boy sat down next to him and rather matter-of-factly told him, “you were frowning but had a thoughtful look in your eyes rather than irritation or confusion like you usually do when you frown.”

Severus blinked in surprise. Regulus recognized what certain looks on his face meant? For some reason he felt warmth fill his chest at the thought but didn’t really understand why the other boy’s attention made him feel like that. He had begun to notice that it had been happening a lot with Regulus since he had told the younger about Tobias. Was this what his dad felt like when he was with Lucius?

The Ravenclaw paused at that thought. Was that what this was? Did he have a crush on his best friend? How long had this been going on? How hadn’t he noticed?

“Severus?”

The Peverell heir snapped out of his thoughts to look at Regulus again. He swallowed a little roughly when he realized those grey eyes would be so easy to get lost in. Severus pushed the thought away as he saw the Slytherin was looking at him in concern due to his silence, “Sorry, I got lost in thought.”

“I noticed,” Regulus replied dryly, “So, what plot are you working on that has you so distracted?”

“I wasn’t plotting exactly,” Severus shook his head, omitting his real thoughts in favor of refocusing on what he had been thinking about before, “I was just wondering if either my dad or Lucius had plans to bond yet.”

“And you plan to subtly prod them about it?” Regulus looked at him a knowing smile before he tilted his head in thought, “So, you want them to bond?”

He shrugged, not bothering to reply to the first question, “They make each other happy and I want that for them. At this point, however, it’s no longer a matter of if they bond, so much as when.”

The younger boy laughed, and Severus felt the warmth return to his chest at the sound, like it always did. How had he been so oblivious to this before? Perhaps because he had still been oblivious to his preferences?

“You do have a point there,” Regulus interrupted his thoughts with a smile, “I’ve never seen two people look at each other the way they do.”

“I haven’t either,” Severus swallowed at the other boy’s wistful tone. Maybe… maybe Regulus would feel the same as he did? “I want that someday.”

Regulus looked at him again with a soft smile, “Me too. One day.”

The Ravenclaw swallowed and looked away from his friend before he did something impulsive. What if the younger boy rejected him? Merlin, he didn’t even know if Regulus swung that way! Would they be able to stay friends if he was rejected? Severus swallowed at his terrifying thoughts. Perhaps, he would wait to do or say anything until he was at least sure the Slytherin even preferred men.

“What will you do if neither are susceptible to your prodding?”

Severus snorted at Regulus’s wording, “Then I’ll owl Narcissa and Acacia. Between the two of them, Lucius and my dad wouldn’t stand a chance.”

The younger boy laughed again in agreement. As the warmth filled his chest again, the Peverell heir internally nodded, resolving to find out how Regulus felt about either him or their gender in general before he did anything. He wouldn’t risk losing his friendship with the other boy.

Regulus had a secret. Many would argue that he probably had many secrets due to his being a ‘conniving Slytherin’, but that wasn’t true. Well, not exactly. He had no hidden political or social agenda like most would assume (he believed in the most of the same things as his Grandparents, but he wasn’t the Black heir so his views didn’t particularly matter much without that power behind them), and his Mother’s… behavior and values were definitely not a secret, which made his home life not hard to deduce, even if only his closest friends – Severus, Lily, and Remus – knew that the rumors that circulated the pureblood circles were more accurate than anyone believed (though Severus was the only one of them who knew the explicit details). Regulus wasn’t obvious or Gryffindorish about these things, however, so most – especially those prejudiced against his house – would believe he was full of manipulative and conniving plots.

Contrary to that belief, Regulus just wanted to learn what he could in Hogwarts and hope his parents didn’t force him into anything he would regret before he turned seventeen. The thing Regulus feared most, was that his mother would set up a marriage contract for him, and his Grandfather (as caring and accepting as the man was) would allow it due to the political connections and wanting what he perceived to be the best for him (a respectable wife and name). This went against what he wanted since he understood that pureblood children almost never got a choice on who they were to marry – to fall in love.

Which brought him back to his secret: He was in love with his best friend. Ever since the unfortunately necessary Talk with his Grandfather when he was twelve and Sirius thirteen, Regulus had known that he was attracted to his own gender. While Sirius was off snogging the girls and the occasional boy, he had appreciated a few good-looking boys (and taken even fewer up on their propositions by the time he was fourteen) but did not felt the need to do throw himself around like his brother. It wasn’t until he and his friends was celebrating Severus’s fifteenth birthday** with the other boy did Regulus realize he felt that way because he had a crush on the Ravenclaw.

At first, he did nothing because he was convinced that Severus was in love with Lily. The following year was the worst for Regulus. He watched his two friends interact with one another, carefully hiding his jealousy (he wasn’t about to make an arse of himself like his brother probably would), even as his feeling only deepened for the dark-haired boy. By the time Severus turned sixteen, Regulus was head over-heels for the Peverell heir despite it being unrequited.

But then, a few months after that, only days before Regulus was to turn fifteen, Lily hooked up with Potter. He was both surprised and extremely pleased when Severus was supportive despite his dislike of Potter, obviously proving that he wasn’t in love with the red head. With that revelation, the Slytherin began to plan. He was going to woo the older boy over the summer when he was able to visit Peverell Cottage, and then ask Severus on a date for the first Hogsmeade Weekend in October when school started back up.

Unfortunately, his plan hit a snag. Through the summer and the first month of school, Severus seemed fairly susceptible to his charms. It was especially helpful that the Ravenclaw was largely avoiding Lily and Potter due to their being ‘disgustingly sweet’ according to Severus, and Sirius was taking Remus’s attentions for Merlin knows what. This left him and Severus with plenty of time to themselves, making Regulus feel extremely good about his chances. When he asked, however, Severusdidn’t even realizethat he was being asked on a date. Regulus would have thought the older boy was rejecting him if it wasn’t for Severus confused and innocent remark that he assumed they would be going to Hogsmeade together like they always did. He had been so shocked by the usually very observant boy’s obliviousness, that Regulus only vaguely remembers saying some excuse about making sure their plans were still on.

He couldn’t understand how the Ravenclaw could have missed his flirting for the past three and a half months. At least, until Severus showed up to the library one afternoon, looking a mix of uncomfortable and thoughtful. After pulling a few teeth, the boy admitted to catching Remus and Sirius snogging – which explained so much about Remus and his brother’s recent behavior. Regulus took in the way thoughtful frown on Severus’s face, and began to suspect that the older boy was questioning his sexual preferences. He internally groaned as he realized why Severus was oblivious to his advances. Regulus had to stifle a sigh as he realized he was going to have to restart his plan if he wanted this to work without acting as impulsively as a Gryffindor. So, the Slytherin continued flirting with his best friend for the next three months, deciding against being too forward about his advances so he didn’t scare Severus off, especially if his friend was still trying to figure things out.

It wasn’t until January, that Regulus finally, finally, saw a hint that the Ravenclaw was beginning to catch on. They had been talking about Severus’s dad and Lucius getting bonded when Regulus felt a little wistful when thinking about the way the two older men looked at each other. He wanted that with Severus so much it almost hurt. As if reading his mind, the other boy had admitted that he wanted that also, and Regulus couldn’t stop himself from smiling and just taking in the sight of the older boy as he admitted the same. He saw a flicker of both desire and insecurity in Severus’s eyes before the Ravenclaw visibly swallowed and turned away as if he was restraining himself.

Regulus had so badly wanted to throw out his plan and admit his feelings at that small amount of proof that Severus could feel the same, but the insecurity he had seen helped him control himself. A part of him even took it as a challenge – he would step up his flirting up enough so that Severus would have no doubt about his feelings, and then the older boy would then come to him. It had been a month since then and Severus had been more receptive and less oblivious than before but had done nothing in response due to his stubbornly lingering insecurity. The Slytherin could wait, though. He was patient, after all. Regulus internally smirked as he decided that it was time to turn up his charms a bit; he was going to enjoy riling up his soon-to-be boyfriend very much.

“Severus?”

Severus looked up from the book he wasn’t actually reading to see Lucius standing in front of him. He frowned when he realized that he had been so lost in thought that he hadn’t heard the door to Lucius and his dad’s quarters (even if they were technically only his dad’s).

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” the seventeen-year-old nodded, “Where were you at that you didn’t floo through like you normally do?”

“Gringotts,” the blonde waved the question off and returned with his own as he sat on couch perpendicular to him, “What were you thinking about that had you so distracted that you didn’t notice my entrance? That’s rather unlike you.”

Severus hesitated. While not the reason he had come down here, perhaps Lucius would be able to help him? After that, he could bring up why he come to the quarters his dad shared with the blonde, hoping to find Lucius while his dad was in classes. He nodded to himself, “How did you know Dad had feelings for you?”

The Malfoy Lord hummed in thought, “Well, I didn’t exactly. I had begun developing feelings for him for a good year and a half before your dad considered us on friendly terms, it then took nearly another year and a half for us to get together, and that was mostly accidental.”

“What do you mean, accidental?” Severus frowned. His dad said they had gone on a date after they admitted their feelings not too long following them removing Dumbledore from the ICW. He paused, remembering his dad flooing home in a rush the morning after the meeting, and wrinkled his nose, “Wait, don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.”

Lucius chuckled, “Back to your question then. I wasn’t sure your dad returned my feelings before we got together, but after we did, I could see that what he said he felt for me was genuine. I catch him looking at me when he thinks I’m not paying attention, he smiles at me when he notices me looking at him, he sits or stands next to me before anyone else – aside from you, of course – and, as I am sure you know, he is also fairly tactile with those he trusts, so I noticed when he would casually touch me the way I had only ever seen him do with you.”

Severus nodded in understanding as he thought back to Regulus’s new behavior over the last three months. For some of what the blonde described, he had noticed the Slytherin doing. Every now and then, he would feel eyes on himself and realize it was Regulus watching him (rather heatedly, he might add, which usually resulted in him having a little problem); when Severus looked at the younger boy, Regulus would smirk at him if he noticed (again, causing a problem for him, especially when they were somewhere as public as the Great Hall); Regulus would even find some way to always be the one to sit next to him. The biggest difference between what Lucius said and what he noticed the other boy would do was that Regulus didn’t touch him very often – as he thought about it, however, Severus realized he did so more often than before, but not so much that it would draw other people’s attention (Severus suspected this was because Regulus knew that both of them were extremely private people). All of this pointed to his original thought (that he had been doubting) which had him so distracted before being correct. Regulus was flirting with him.

The question now was, what did he do about it?

“Care to tell me who it is that has you asking that question?”

Severus looked over to Malfoy Lord as he snapped out of his thoughts, “Not particularly.”

Lucius smirked at him, probably at his confirmation (not that he could really deny it) that it was somebody who drove him to ask, “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” the Peverell heir rolled his eyes at the older man, “I know you wouldn’t be able to risk gossiping about it to my dad, and I’d rather not have the two of you play matchmaker.”

“I don’t gossip,” the blonde replied indignantly. When Severus only raised an eyebrow, Lucius huffed, “What if I promise not to tell Hadrian?”

An idea occurred to him and Severus smirked, “Promise not to tell him or anyone else and tell me when you plan to ask my dad to bond you, and you’ve got a deal.”

The Ravenclaw nearly laughed at the startled look on his friend’s face at the mention of bonding before the twenty-three-year-old got control of himself, “How did you know I planned to ask him?”

“I didn’t until you just confirmed it for me,” he smirked.

Lucius groaned and muttered, “I don’t know how you’re not a Slytherin.”

“The hat saw that I wouldn’t particularly care for the politics involved,” Severus returned dryly.

“Figures,” the blonde rolled his eyes before clearing his throat and admitting, “I had been planning to ask after the school year ends and we are back at the cottage.”

Severus nodded his approval, glad that he wouldn’t have to scheme with Acacia and Narcissa – no doubt doing so would give them the idea to begin playing matchmaker with him, now that he had reached his majority, “Have you picked out a ring?”

“You approve, then?”

He gave the man a derisive look, “Do you need my approval?”

“No, but I would feel better to have it and I know your dad will as well.”

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have asked if you planned to propose,” the younger returned, internally conceding Lucius’s response.

The blonde nodded with a smile and reached into his robes. He pulled out a small black ring box, handing it over. Severus took it and opened it to see black and silver metals twisting into one band, with the main portion of the ring being silver***. On the inside, he noticed a small inscription: Semper in Corde, Mente, Anima, et Magia. Forever in Heart, Mind, Soul and Magic, the young man mentally translated the Latin****.

“I figured Hadrian and I would pick a set of bonding rings from our vaults as is tradition for heirs and lords*****, so I had that one custom made,” the Malfoy Lord brought him out of his inspection of the ring.

“Why the black and silver?” Severus asked curiously.

“I thought if fit us, considering our rather uniquely contrasting features.”

The Ravenclaw nodded in amusement. His dad would get a kick out of that, “Did you get a matching one for yourself?”

Lucius frowned at him, “No, why would I?”

“In case you’ve forgotten, Dad is a Lord just like you are but has been for longer to a much older family than yours. He is not being married off or giving up his status to you, but choosing to be with you as an equal,” when realization came over the blonde, Severus continued, “Besides, I’m fairly sure he would want to make sure people know you are just as taken as he is.”

The older man smirked slightly at that nodded in understanding and obvious agreement. Severus looked back down at the ring and inspected it for a moment longer, appreciating the thought that had put into it, before carefully closing the box and handing it back to Lucius, “He will love it.”

The Malfoy Lord beamed at him as he put the box back into his robes. Once it was safely tucked away, the smile turned into a smirk, “I promise not to tell anyone, especially not Hadrian, of our conversation today. Now, will you tell me who has made you so distracted?”

Severus rolled his eyes a bit, reluctantly admiting, “Regulus.”

“Well, no wonder he visits practically every day during the summer,” Lucius said thoughtfully.

The younger boy blinked in surprise, having not considered that. Is that why the Slytherin was over so often? Not just to get away from his mother, but because he has had a crush on Severus? The Ravenclaw swallowed, as he thought back to the previous summer; if he wasn’t mistaken, now that he was aware, that was when Regulus had first started acting differently – flirting, he corrected himself. Only now, the other boy seemed to have become more… determined. Perhaps because Severus had been oblivious before? He swallowed again as he realized that if Regulus had been flirting for so long, it left absolutely no doubt that the younger had feelings for him.

“Are you going to inform him that you return his feelings?” Lucius asked him with a slight smirk, obviously having been able to guess part of his thoughts. So desperate for advice on what to do, he didn’t even bother denying it.

“Yes. No. I don’t know.”

The blonde raised an eyebrow at him.

Severus took a deep breath and slowly admitted, “I don’t know how to do that.”

“I would suggest kissing him,” the older man smirked again. When he glared, the Lord smirked wider, “Your point would be made rather clearly, but if you don’t like that idea you could just tell him. If he is flirting with you, then you know he returns your feelings, so you have nothing to fear.”

The Ravenclaw considered it. While Lucius’s reassurance did make him feel better, Severus couldn’t help the insecurity he felt at doing so; he had never really been one for making himself so vulnerable to anybody outside of his dad, and admitting such feelings would make him just as, if not more vulnerable than talking about Tobias did, and that was hard enough. At the same time, Severus wanted so badly to see if things could work between him and Regulus.

Severus turned to Lucius as he stood up to leave, “Thank you, Lucius.”

The older man smiled and nodded, “Of course. You are going to be family, after all, Severus.”

He smiled at the blonde, before making his way out of his dad’s quarters, resolved to tell Regulus of his feelings. After all, if Lucius could make himself so vulnerable as to propose, Severus could do similar. As soon as he worked up the courage to do so.

Since Lucius was unofficially living with Hadrian at Hogwarts, he opted to stay with his lover and Severus in the castle until Hadrian had finished all he needed to in order to leave for the summer. While the professor was off correcting the end of the year tests and assignment or tidying up his classroom, Lucius spent quite a bit of time with Severus. After the first two days of non-stop teasing one another for their love lives, they had come to an unspoken truce. Between the younger’s nerves over telling Regulus his feelings and Lucius’s own nerves of finally asking Hadrian to bond with him, they had become more irritated with the teasing than they usually did (not that either of them were going to admit that). Thankfully, Hadrian didn’t seem to notice anything was off with either of them before they silently agreed to lay off one another. Despite this, however, by the time they were to leave Hogwarts, Lucius was more nervous than he could ever remember being.

“You have nothing to worry about, Lucius. He is going to say yes,” Severus broke him out of his anxiety while the two of them waited in the chairs in front of the fireplace for Hadrian to return from informing Minerva that they were leaving. Both of them had their trunks shrunken and in their pockets, knowing that they would be leaving as soon as the older man was finished.

Lucius didn’t respond. As much as he knew Hadrian loved him, that didn’t stop the worry that his lover wasn’t ready for them to take such a big step. The part of him that thought Hadrian would turn him down kept reminding him that they hadn’t even been together two years. They were still three months off from their anniversary, meaning they had been hiding their relationship for longer than they had been open about it******. How could he possibly expect Hadrian to say yes to him with that looming over their relationship?

Severus sighed, once again breaking him out of his anxious thoughts, “Lucius. With the way he looks at you, he is not going to say no. I wouldn’t be surprised if your proposing will actually ruin his own plans of proposing to you. So, get whatever concerns you are having out of your head.”

Before he could respond, they heard the door open. Lucius turned and saw Hadrian walking into the room, smiling at the two of them, “If you two have everything, then we can head home.”

Lucius nodded and stood at the same time as Severus. When Hadrian moved to retrieve his things, he stopped him, “I have your trunk, love.”

Hadrian beamed at him, filling his chest with warmth. The blonde felt some of his anxiety bleed away in the face of his lover’s smile. How could he doubt the older man when he looked at him like that? Lucius ignored the small voice (that suspiciously sounded like Severus) that reminded him that is exactly what the seventeen-year-old had been saying. He glanced over at the Ravenclaw and saw him looking at him slightly smugly before stepping into the floo. Hadrian placed a quick kiss on his lips, still smiling at him, and also flooing away. Lucius took a settling breath before following the two.

As soon as he was through, his lover spelled the ashes off of the three of them and the blonde caught Severus’s eye again; the younger tilted his head towards the doorway slightly, and Lucius gratefully nodded his head, glad that the seventeen-year-old was willing to allow him to do this without an audience. As much as his anxiety had settled, he was still somewhat nervous. The Ravenclaw nodded once and made his way out of the room without a word. Lucius turned back to look at Hadrian, only to see his lover glancing between him and Severus’s retreating form with a raised eyebrow.

“That was rather suspicious of you two. Both of you have been acting slightly odd ever since term ended. What’s going on?”

“You noticed?” The twenty-three-year-old asked surprise.

Hadrian rolled his eyes at him, “Of course I noticed. Hard not to when my lover and son seemed to be both closer than before, but also slightly irritated with one another.”

Lucius frowned slightly as he thought about that. He knew why they had been irritated, of course, but hadn’t really realized that he and Severus had become closer. Had the two of them talking about their love lives really done that? He had hoped the two of them could become friends (and not just friendly) but wasn’t entirely sure it would be possible considering his relationship with the younger’s father. Perhaps he had made further progress on that front than he realized. The blonde quickly shook the thought off for later consideration.

“Lucius?”

“Yes, sorry. I hadn’t realized how close Severus and I were becoming.”

The older man smiled at him and moved to wrap his arms around Lucius’s shoulders. He automatically put his own arms around Hadrian’s waist, “Well I did, and I’m glad.”

“Me too,” he smiled, leaning down to kiss his lover. When Hadrian tried to deepen it, however, he reluctantly pulled away. Everything he planned to say left his mind, and he nervously cleared his throat, “I wanted to ask you something.”

The thirty-year-old frowned at him in concern, “Alright…”

He swallowed thickly, before taking a steadying breath and looking directly into his lover’s vibrant green eyes, “I love you, Hadrian, and I am a better man for loving you. You have changed my life in more ways than you could ever imagine and have made me happier than I ever thought possible. Every time you so much as look at me, I fall deeper and deeper in love with you. I am irrevocably yours.”

Lucius paused and, without looking away from those astonished green eyes that reflected his love back at him, drew far enough away from his lover so that he could reach into his robes and pull out the ring box, which now held a second ring to match the one he had shown Severus. Hadrian’s eyes dropped down to see what he was holding. He heard a slight hitch in his lover’s breath as he opened it.

“With that in mind, will you bond with me?”

The older man looked back up at him and surged forward, nearly making Lucius drop the rings as Hadrian kissed him senseless. When the need to breath became unbearable, Hadrian broke the kiss.

Slightly dazedly, Lucius asked, “Is that a yes?”

“Yes,” Hadrian laughed and kissed him again.

Lucius beamed, eagerly kissing his lover back, elation filling him. He said yes! Lucius pulled back and removed the rings out of the box, tossing the box of his shoulder without care. Hadrian laughed at his antics and held out his hand so that the blonde could slide the ring onto his finger. As soon as it resized to the other man’s finger, Hadrian took the other ring and placed it onto Lucius’s finger. Once resized to fit, Lucius pulled his lover back into a passionate kiss with a grin that wouldn’t leave his face. He said yes!

They once again broke apart only when breathing became necessary. Hadrian tilted his head at him curiously, his own smile still not gone from his face, “Did you think I would say no?”

He blushed slightly at his insecurity and admitted, “I was worried you would think it’s too soon after we hid our relationship for so long.”

“I can see why you might think so,” Hadrian nodded in understanding, “But I am happy to inform you that it is rather the opposite actually. I have been thinking about this since before Severus caught us.”

“Really?” Lucius ginned.

Hadrian nodded, but a serious look fell over his face. Before he could ask what was wrong, his lover spoke up, “I… found something that made me begin considering it. Something I didn’t want to show you before I was sure we were both ready to bond.”

The blonde frowned at the evasiveness, “Alright.”

The older man swallowed before taking his hand and leading them to their bedroom. Once there, he gently pushed Lucius so that he was sitting down on the side of the bed, disappearing into their closet. A few seconds later, Hadrian returned looking slightly nervous, and sat down next to him. In his lover’s hands were two letters – only one of them still sealed – and a box not unlike the one that had held the rings that was now sat on their fingers.

“Do you remember that letter from your father that you delivered to me after he passed?”

“Yes,” he said quietly, feeling the same sadness he always felt at the thought of his father.

Hadrian swallowed and slowly said, “In it, he told me that he had left something in a vault for me to find, should we learn to get along. I had forgotten about it until you mentioned him when we were talking about your marriage contract with Narcissa, but I went to see what was inside as soon as I could after that. Abraxas said that you didn’t know about it, so I decided to see what was inside alone, in case there was a reason he hadn’t told you.”

His lover paused and handed him the box but didn’t say anything further. Confused at the silence, Lucius opened it and looked inside. He gasped seeing a very familiar set of snake rings lay inside, “I was looking for these. I was trying to find bonding and engagement rings we might use and remembered them. When I didn’t find them, I hoped my mother would know what happened to them but decided to wait until I proposed before asking her. Narcissa was rather exasperated with me when I refused to pick something else.”

As he was speaking, he noticed that they had changed from the last time he had seen them. The eyes now had jewels – one pair emerald green, and the other silvery grey – and one of the stones on the top of the snake’s head was no longer the Malfoy green but a sapphire blue – the same color that the Peverells use. He sucked in a breath of realization when he realized that the two pairs of eyes were the same colors as his and Hadrian’s and looked up at his lover.

“They were in the vault along with a letter for me and another for yourself. I suggest you read mine before opening yours,” Hadrian then passed the letters over.

Lucius stared down at the unopened letter in his hand, eyes tracing his father’s familiar writing of his name. He swallowed the small amount of melancholy and nostalgia at seeing the writing and turned to the opened letter to read it slowly.

The blonde felt sadness well up within him at his father’s obvious regret that he hadn’t been able to give them the rings in person but continued reading, frowning at the mention of the Dark Lord and resolved to question his lover later. It didn’t particularly surprise him that his father had known his feelings, so he continued reading. By the time he got to the bottom of the letter, Lucius stared at the words stating his father’s acceptance of them for a long moment, feeling a small amount of relief flow through him. He believed his mother when she told them Abraxas would have been happy, but to see the words written down by the man himself made him fully accept it. Lucius blinked away the tears of mixed relief, love, and sadness, and looked back up at Hadrian, not opening his own letter as instructed.

Carefully he asked, “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

The older man was looking slightly nervous but answered, “I’m sorry. I was afraid that if I did, it would pressure you to bond with me before you were ready. I wasn’t exactly ready when I found them, so I didn’t want us to make that decision just because Abraxas approved, as much as that makes me happy that he did. If I had a way to tell you that he approved without showing you the rings, I would have.”

He saw how stressed his fiancé – happiness thrummed through him at the thought, strengthened by the knowledge of what his father did for them – seemed about the whole thing, so Lucius pressed a quick kiss of reassurance to the other man’s lips.

“It’s alright,” the he smiled lightly, “I understand. I wish my father would have made his approval known to me in some way since I am not supposed to open this letter until our bonding, but I am familiar enough with his dramatics to be unsurprised by that lapse in thought.”

Hadrian chuckled lightly, nostalgic look in his eyes. Lucius smiled again when he realized that his father’s approval meant as much to his lover as it did to him.

Lucius looked back down at the rings and stated, “Narcissa will be glad to know we have the rings figured out. She really was rather frustrated with me.”

Hadrian laughed a little louder at this, the nostalgic glaze fading from his eyes, “I can imagine. No doubt, she has plans to drag us to Gringotts and demanded us to pick a set as soon as she finds out I said yes.”

“That would be a nightmare. Just think about how pushy she is going to be about planning our bonding,” He groaned.

His fiancé laughed again, “Your mother is going to be just as bad, if not worse.”

Lucius groaned even louder, dropping his head on Hadrian’s shoulder, enjoying the sound of the man’s mirth. He lifted his head when Hadrian nudged him, and saw his lover had a smirk on his face.

“Come fiancé, I’ll help you think of more enjoyable things.”

The blonde easily complied to Hadrian’s suggestion as the older man pressed against him with a searing kiss.

Lucius was sitting at breakfast with Hadrian and Severus when a rather persistent owl flew in through the open window, pecking at his fingers until he took the letter it carried. He ignored Severus’s amusement, knowing exactly whose bird it was; Lucius was unfortunately familiar with its ways when Narcissa instructed the proud barn owl******* to make sure he opened the letter promptly. The blonde carefully dodged the bird’s sharp beak and untied the letter, opening it before passing a piece of bacon to the owl. The bird gave him a mistrustful glance but took the bacon, watching him carefully, making sure he was going to read the letter.

“Whose owl is that, Lucius?” Hadrian asked him, failing to successfully stifle his own laughter at the interaction between him and the bird.

“That is Narcissa’s little menace. He takes his job very seriously when she tells him to make sure her letter is read right away,” he rolled his eyes when the barn owl hooted in agreement. Honestly, he had never met a bird prideful and that was saying a lot, “I have unfortunately been a victim of his treatment too often.”

The owl hooted indignantly before stealing another piece of bacon off his plate in retaliation. Lucius rolled his eyes and turned back to the letter. He frowned when he realized that his best friend knew he proposed the night before. How did she know already? He had told her he would propose as soon as they got back to the cottage for the summer, but the date that happened was different each year. Lucius narrowed his eyes at suspicion at Severus, realizing that he was the only one who knew besides himself and Hadrian, and the blonde knew Hadrian hadn’t told anybody yet. The Ravenclaw sent him an innocent look that he didn’t believe for a second. He turned back to the letter and read the rest of it, snorting when he realized that she was demanding he meet her in Malfoy manor so he could tell her how his proposal went. He wasn’t at all surprised and going by the fact that Narcissa mentioned the Manor, his mother was in on it too.

“What plans do you have today, love?” the blonde looked up at his lover in hope, deciding to get revenge on Severus for informing her so soon, preventing him from delaying the inevitable conversation.

“I promised Sev a trip to Diagon Alley after breakfast and then I am going to the Black Villa to visit Arcturus. He sent me an invitation this morning,” Hadrian indicated the letter that had come a few minutes earlier.

Severus perked up at what his dad said for the first time since practically diving for the coffee when first joining them for breakfast, “Can I come? Regulus told me he was able to escape there for the weekend.”

“Yes, since I know neither Arcturus and Regulus will mind,” the Peverell Lord nodded before looking back at Lucius curiously, “I was going to ask if you wanted to join us, but I’m guessing you now have plans.”

Lucius sighed in resignation, “Yes. Narcissa has demanded I meet her to inform her how my proposal last night went as soon as I finish breakfast.”

“You had to know Narcissa was going to want as much when you included her in your plans.”

“Of course, I did,” he replied a bit indignantly before slumping slightly, “But she told me to meet her at the Manor.”

Severus snickered, “Acacia’s going to eat you alive.”

The Malfoy Lord glared at the younger, which seemed to only make Severus laugh harder, not at all intimidated by his glare. He turned to his fiancé, hoping to send him a pleading look to convince him to join him – even if he knew it was futile – only to see Hadrian trying to suppress his own laughter. Lucius glared at his lover.

“I’m sorry, Luc, but you know it’s true,” Hadrian replied amused. When Lucius opened his mouth, the older man spoke up, “And no, I won’t save you from their interrogation.”

Lucius sulked slightly. He really didn’t want to face the two women alone; they could both be rather terrifying when they chose to be, and when it came to his love life, they undoubtedly would be. If Hadrian was going with them, he’d be able to use the man as a shield a bit since they’d be interrogating them both, not just focusing on him.

“No need to pout, love. I’m sure you can survive an afternoon with you mother and your best friend.”

Ignoring Severus’s laughter again, the blonde huffed, “I’m not pouting.”

Hadrian raised an eyebrow and took a sip of his coffee. Lucius huffed and sent his plate to the sink to wash itself, knowing delaying would only make things worse. He stood up and leaned over to give a quick kiss on his fiancé’s cheek.

“I’ll see you before dinner.”

The older man smiled and nodded, “Enjoy your visit.”

Lucius nodded, saying a quick goodbye to Severus before turning and exiting the dining room. He walked through the house and towards the sitting room, where he flooed away to Malfoy Manor. Upon stepping out of the fireplace, Lucius was unsurprised to see Narcissa and his mother were sitting in the couches waiting for him. He did stop in shock slightly when he saw Melania Black was also sitting with them. The blonde mentally groaned, realizing the interrogation was going to be much worse than he thought – as one of his mother’s best friends, he had grown up knowing the woman and wasn’t surprised to see her there, however, she would be just as eager as Narcissa and his mother. Now he really wished Hadrian had decided to join him.

The man swallowed at the almost predatory gleam in their eyes, and greeted, “Good morning.”

“Lucius, darling! Come join us! We have much to discuss, don’t you agree?” his mother smiled at him.

“Indeed,” he agreed, carefully hiding his reluctance, moving to plant a kiss on his mother’s cheek, before hugging the other two in greeting as he always did.

As soon as he finished, before he even had a chance to sit down, Narcissa pounced, “So?”

“He said yes.”

All three women made varying sounds of excitement, Narcissa once again practically tackling him in a hug. When his best friend let him out of her hug, his mother wrapped him in her own, followed by Melania. Once the three were finished hugging him in excitement, they returned to their seats, finally allowing Lucius to sit himself.

“Lucius, is that a ring on your finger?” Melania asked him curiously.

The Malfoy Lord nodded, realizing he had not told Narcissa of his plan to follow Severus’s advice and get himself a matching ring, “Yes, upon Severus’s suggestion. It matches the one I had made for Hadrian.”

The Black matriarch fixed him with an expectant look he was familiar with, and the man held out his hand to her so she could inspect the ring since she hadn’t seen what the rings looked like beforehand. His mother and Narcissa had seen Hadrian’s, but neither knew that he had a duplicate made in order to make it a matched set.

“You told Severus beforehand? I didn’t think you planned to.”

“He figured it out himself didn’t he,” his mother asked him with a smirk before he could reply to Narcissa.

“Yes,” he admitted, “I don’t know how he keeps figuring these things out.”

Melania laughed, bringing his attention back to her, “Dear, you may have perfected your impassive mask for most things, but your feelings for Hadrian is not one of them. No doubt that boy figured it was only a matter of time before you asked his father unless Hadrian beat you to it.”

Lucius resisted the urge to scoff, having reluctantly already accepted the fact that, apparently, he wore his feelings for Hadrian on his sleeve. Thankfully, that seemed to be the only feelings that were obvious.

Melania smiled knowingly and squeezed his and before pulling away, “The ring is beautiful, Lucius.”

“Thank you,” he smiled at the woman.

“Now, I believe it’s time you tell us every detail of what happened,” Narcissa smiled almost ferally at him in excitement.

Lucius swallowed, not at all too ashamed to remind himself how terrifying she was. He glanced at his mother and Melania and saw similar grins on their faces. How in the world did he end up with such terrifying family, he couldn’t help but internally sigh before deciding to get the story out so he could get the real interrogation over with quicker.

“No Melania?” Hadrian asked his friend. Severus and Regulus had already left them to their tea in favor of Regulus’s room like they usually did when the two of them had tea.

Arcturus shook his head as he set his teacup down, “No, she is off visiting Acacia and Narcissa at Malfoy Manor today.”

Hadrian was unable to stop from laughing at this revelation. When the older man looked at him in confusion, he explained, “Lucius didn’t join us today because Narcissa sent him a letter informing him that he was to meet her at the Manor.”

The Black Lord immediately laughed as he had, realizing the trap they had set up for Lucius, “What could they possibly want to interrogate him about?”

“He proposed to me last night.”

The older man’s eyebrows raised in surprise before smirking, “I assume congratulations are in order then?”

He nodded, “Indeed.”

Arcturus stood up and retrieved a bottle of scotch from the cupboard, pouring them both a finger. The man passed one glass to Hadrian, “I wish you both a very happy future.”

“Thank you,” Hadrian smiled at his friend, before joining him in downing the drink, “Now that I know Melania has joined the interrogation, I am very grateful I told Lucius I wouldn’t save him from them. I fear I would have been roped into it had I agreed, and I will gladly leave Lucius to fend them off.”

“I don’t blame you. Though Lucius will probably feel a bit put out,” The older man laughed again before smirking, “How much you want to bet this was Acacia and my wife’s plan when Melania suggested I invite you for tea today instead of my original plan of inviting you tomorrow?”

Hadrian returned with his own smirk, realizing his friend was probably right and that the women had somehow planned to trap Lucius into an interrogation without him there. He knew that eventually he would be given similar treatment but was more than happy to leave his fiancé to take the brunt of it (he was not ashamed to admit that he was as terrified of the three women as he was sure Lucius was), since he was the one who proposed first, after all.********

Heir Severus Peverell,

We regret to inform you that your Grandfather, Lord Julius Prince, has recently passed away. As per the instructions of his will, you will find enclosed a letter from Lord Prince, which he instructed us to send you, rather than inviting you to listen to the will as a beneficiary, saying that all explanations will be inside. Please read the letter at your earliest convenience before coming to Gringotts to discuss your inheritance with your Account Manager.

Our condolences,

Account Manager Urguff

Gringotts

Severus stared at the letter, confused. He had never had any contact with any of his grandparents, let alone his mother’s parents. The only thing he knew of them was what his mother had told of him: that she had run away after finishing her Hogwarts education in order to avoid marrying a pureblood, and not to bother hoping for any sort of contact from them as they had expelled her from the family. When he was old enough to learn what that meant, he had wondered if his mother she had just been expelled or if she had been disinherited*********; he hadn’t had any intentions to find out, however, since he couldn’t ask his mother, and he didn’t want to risk rejection from his grandparents if he sent them a letter – he had his dad, so he saw no reason to send a letter just to find out they felt nothing for him since he didn’t think his mother was lying. All of this made the letter only that much more confusing. Why had they left him something? If they cared enough to leave him anything, why didn’t they get in contact with him? Was his grandmother still alive or did she pass before his grandfather did?

The thoughts were swirling in his brain, distracting him so much that he didn’t notice when his dad walked in.

“Severus? What’s wrong?”

The seventeen looked up at his dad, still extremely confused, deciding just to hand the man the letter from Gringotts. While Hadrian was reading, he stared at the still folded letter he was holding, which had indeed been within the contents of the envelope. Did he want to open it and find out what it said? Or did he prefer not knowing? Severus shook his head at himself, knowing he couldn’t resist finding out its contents – he was a Ravenclaw after all.

“Hmmm, this is unexpected. You told me before that your mother said she was expelled from the family, correct?” his dad asked him, handing the letter back.

“Yes, but I was only… I think, five at the time, so she could have meant disinherit but not actually said that since I wouldn’t have known what the word meant, and I could tell she didn’t want me asking questions,” Severus replied almost dully as he still stared at the folded letter.

He looked up when his dead put a hand on his arm, “There is nothing in that letter that will change exactly what you have right now – a family who loves you, and the Peverell heirship.”

Severus swallowed, “I know. I just don’t know what to think.”

His dad nodded in understanding, “Alright. Do you me to be with you while you open that, or would you rather be alone?”

“You can stay.”

Hadrian nodded and sat down next to him, patiently waiting for him to open and read the letter. Taking strength in the man beside him, repeating what his dad said in his head like a mantra, Severus opened the letter.

Grandson,

Severus. My Grandson. You are reading this because all my efforts since I found out about you when you first appeared on the Prince family tree when you were born have been for naught and we have not met. You don’t know how deeply I regret that. Since you never knew me or your Grandmother before she passed, you may not believe that, but nevertheless it is true. I am unsure what your mother has told you about either of us, so I will disclose the reasons why we never met.

When your mother was a teenager, less than a year out of Hogwarts, I foolishly made a contract between my daughter and another pureblood family. I say foolishly because I knew she would never agree to it, but I did it anyways. I allowed political alliances and power to blind me, and I made the worst mistake of my life.

Rest assured, your grandmother made sure I was punished for it and that I regretted it.

However, by then, your mother had fled, figuring out a way to hide her location somehow (I suspect she used bought a wardstone for exactly that, though there is not evidence of such a transaction). I wrote letters to her apologizing for my behavior, promising that the contract was broken and that I would never make such a mistake again, but she refused to believe me. Your grandmother and I did not give up, however, but she only ever sent back the one response.

One day, when your mother was twenty-two, I felt the urge to check the family tree, wanting to know if my daughter had found herself a wizard to make her happy. I was horrified to find out that she had married a muggle. You must understand, that I do not believe Muggles should be killed but just looking at our history with Muggles knowing of magic, it is clear to me that we should not interact with them any more than necessary. Muggles are cruel when they are afraid, a lesson I am afraid you might have learned

At first, I did nothing but keep trying to find my daughter, but then unreasonable amounts of money began being removed from your mother’s trust vault. I had no choice but to expel her, removing her chance to inherit, if I wanted to protect the Prince vaults, which had become even more precious because of you. It was around that time, that the tree indicated that your mother was pregnant with you. I was even more determined to find you both, while your grandmother watched the tree every day so that she would know when you were born. We were elated to have a grandchild, even if we worried, we would never meet you.

Our worries, of course, came true. We could find you no more than we could find your mother. Especially when our owls would no longer deliver the letters to either of you by the time you were two. I suspect you mother somehow found the magical strength to put up mail wards against us, despite her difficulties with advanced magic. It was around that time your grandmother passed away, from what I suspect was despair.

I never gave up, however. Unfortunately, I was never as diligent about checking the family tree as your grandmother, and I didn’t find out that you were blood adopted by Lord Peverell sometime in the last decade, until I became sick. I could no longer visit you for fear of spreading my disease and I believe your mother the mail ward to you which explains why I never got a response even after you were blood adopted. I refuse to believe you would ignore me, especially after learning you were sorted in Ravenclaw – I know you would be too curious to do anything but read my letters. So, I did the only thing I could think of, and I wrote this letter for the Goblins to deliver.

Please forgive me for not being there for you, for driving your mother away and depriving you of your heritage. You can’t imagine how much I wish I had met you. However, I love you no less than had we met. It is for that reason that I leave everything – the Prince vaults, title, and lands – all to you. I know it does not make up for the time we never had together, but it is all I have to give you. From what little I have been able to learn of you in the time that I realized that Lord Peverell’s son was my grandson, I am proud of you, and know your grandmother would have been also. We loved you so much, Severus, My Grandson. Never doubt that.

Your Grandfather,

Julius Prince

Severus swallowed hard, not knowing what to feel. What were you supposed to feel upon finding out your estranged grandparents had been looking for you, hoping to meet you for your entire life, but had never been successful? A part of him was angry that his mother hadn’t taken the two of them away as soon as Tobias began hitting them. Her parents would have taken them in. She must have known that.

“Severus?”

The seventeen-year-old blinked and looked at his dad. He felt so lost. This entire time he had a Grandfather that loved him, and because of his mother, he had never known. It must have shown on his face because Hadrian, eased the letter from his hand, gently placing it on the table before immediately cuddled him into his side, stroking a hand through his hair. For whatever reason it was this action that made the emotions spill over. He felt silent tears fall from his eyes as he buried his face in his dad’s chest, crying for his mother’s betrayal and for all the time he missed with his grandparents – with family.

“She kept them from me,” he whispered, knowing his dad would worry if he didn’t explain.

The hand paused only for a moment, and his dad softly asked, “Who?”

“My mother,” Severus angrily revealed, “She kept my grandparents from me. He was looking for me and she put a mail ward on me, so I never got his letters and he didn’t know you adopted me until it was too late. Shetook them from me. Why would she do that?”

Hadrian didn’t respond, only rocked him slightly as fresh tears – angry tears – rolled down his face. The hand carding through his hair never stopped. Severus buried his face even further into his dad’s chest.

His dad hummed softly, like he used to when he got nightmares when he was a child. Would his grandparents have done this if they had known them? He squeezed his eyes shut tighter in anguish, knowing he would always wonder.

Eventually, his tears slowed and the soothing vibrations coming from his dad’s chest began lulling him to sleep slowly. As he nodded off in his dad’s warm embrace, he thought that perhaps it was time to confront his mother again.