Well, Here you go!
Disclaimer: J.K.R owns Harry Potter, not me. That's why she's making the big bucks, and I'm deciding between paying for books and buying food.
Warning: This is a Slash Story. That means boy/boy lovin'.
You know, Felix Felicis is a really useful plot device.
I know Tom was a little OOC last chapter, but it was the Christmas section, and I wanted fluff, damnit!
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Returning to Grimmauld Place, Harry rushed up the stairs to his room before anyone could question him. Tossing his things into his trunk, he climbed into bed, and allowed himself to doze for a while. It seemed that the only person who had gotten up while they were out was Molly, who had come out of the kitchen in time to catch up with Remus and Severus. Before she could ask them about the trip, though, Severus had handed her that morning's copy of the Daily Prophet (which he had thought to put in his pocket before they left Tom's), and stalked off. This effectively derailed any comments she might have had about the risks involved in going out, and she was quickly flooing Tonks to ask her about it.
Harry waited until after Ron had left the room to climb out of bed. Walking over to his trunk, he took out the bottle of Felix Felicis and thought about what Tom had told him about it.
"Felix Felicis- it takes 6 months to brew, and any mistakes could be catastrophic. There's enough there for a full day of ridiculously good luck- you just take it, and follow your impulses. even a couple drops of it will last for an hour or two."
Harry took the stopper out of th e bottle and sniffed it, curious. Hmm, not too bad... shrugging his shoulders, Harry tipped the vial into his mouth, letting a few drops fall onto his tongue. A warm, slightly giddy feeling enveloped him. Suddenly, he felt the urge to go to the library. Deciding to go with it, he grabbed his assignments and some spare parchment, and went.
When he got to the library, he set his things on the table, and then walked over to the nearest bookshelf. Maybe I'll find a book on poisons for my potions essay? He stopped as he noticed a large, gray tome with no discernible title. Pulling it out, he let the book fall open at random. He froze as he saw the heading on the page in front of him.
The Veil
While most scholars agree that there is generally no way to bring back the dead, the veil is unique in that it will allow those who fall through it to be retrieved. The ceremony involved is actually quite simple, although it is often problematic, as it involves the presence- and consent- of one who despised the deceased in life. Also necessary is an unrelated party who loved the deceased, either as a lover or as a close friend, the heir of the deceased, and a favorite object of the deceased- all of which would hold a different aspect of the person's personality, assuring that the correct individual was returned. Once these are gathered in front of the veil, the heir must only say a simple incantation, and, if everything else is correctly gathered, the deceased will be ejected from the veil, whole of body and of mind. This ritual is rarely used, however, as it us unsurprisingly difficult to get someone who detested the deceased to consent to help resurrect them. Examples of those pulled through the veil are...
Harry looked up, shocked. grabbing a scrap of parchment to mark the book, he ran out of the room to find Remus.
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"Remus! You have to see this!" Harry pounded at the werewolf's door. The door opened, and Harry dashed into the room. Remus, who had been sleeping, rubbed his eyes. Honestly, he loved the kid, but sometimes it was hard to do. "I found a way to get Sirius back!"
Remus froze. "Say that again?"
Harry shoved the open book into the older man's hands. "Look, I took a little bit of the luck potion, and I found this! We can get Sirius back!" Remus looked over the book, paling. He walked over to the bed and sunk down, dazed.
"We just need to convince Snape to help, I'm sure I can get him to, and then we can sneak into the ministry somehow, and Hagrid gave me Sirius' motorcycle, I know he loved it, he used to talk about it all the time, and-" Harry was babbling now. "And his name;s cleared now, it's only fair that he get to enjoy it, so are we going to do this or what?" Remus sat there, going over it in his head. Sirius, alive? he broke out into a grin. "You go find Arthur, I'm sure he can help us get in. I'll deal with Severus." Harry hugged the werewolf, and practically skipped out of the room. Remus shook his head. This wasn't going to be easy.
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"No. Absolutely not. No way in hell." Snape shook his head, adamant. He was not going to bring back that mutt!
"Please, Severus? It would mean so much to Harry. I promise, the first time he makes a "greasy git" comment or calls you Snivillus, I'll kick his arse myself. Plus, he'll owe you big for this- I mean, think about it. And if he's around, Harry and Ginny will have someone else to pester!" Remus looked up at the potions master, eyes wide. Sighing, Severus rolled his eyes. Damn that wolf. He can be awfully convincing sometimes.
"Alright, but you owe me, Lupin. And I swear, one mention of this to anyone at Hogwarts, and I'll push him back through myself!" Jumping up, the werewolf thanked him profusely, before bounding out to find Harry.
"Honestly," muttered Severus to himself, "the things I'll do for those people."
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"He's in! He agreed!" Remus ran up to Harry, who has sitting in the kitchen, waiting for Arthur to come down for... well, whatever meal it is at 2 in the afternoon after a night of heavy drinking. Molly was writing a shopping list, and had just gone into the pantry to check on the levels of flour, sugar, and other staples, when she let out a bit of a shriek. Kreacher- who hadn't been seen in months- had curled up on a shelf, and was snoring gently.
Molly backed out of the cupboard. "I found that house elf. The nerve of him, staying here after all that! Why, at least he could have had the decency to stay away! I ought to-" Harry stood up, interrupting her with a raised hand.
"Kreacher, come here." The house elf appeared, still groggy. Seeing who was standing in front of him, he started to yell. "No! Kreacher will not listen to Harry Potter! If Mistress could see what filth was in her house, beautiful, good mistress-" Harry, afraid that his shouting would wake up Sirius' mum, interrupted him.
"Kreacher, shut up!" Kreacher's eyes bulged as his mouth clamped shut. Molly looked over at the young Gryffindor, mouth open.
"But, how- I mean, why is he-" Molly stumbled, trying to find the right question.
"Sirius left a will- I found out about it in August. I'm his sole heir, so Kreacher has to listen to me." Harry sat back down. "Kreacher, where were you?"
The house elf pouted. "Kreacher is being with Mistress Bellatrix. Kreacher is wanting her for a Mistress, but stupid Aurors caught her at that stupid daughter of a blood-traitor's house." Harry sighed.
Turning to Molly, he asked, "Well, what should we do with him?" Molly looked, and shook her head. "I don't know. There really isn't that much we can do with him- maybe send him to Hogwarts for the time being? They could always use more house elves, and I'm sure they'll keep him in line." Harry looked at Remus, who nodded, and then turned to Kreacher.
"You will go to Hogwarts. You will report to whoever is in charge of the kitchens. You will listen to them, and do what they tell you. You will not do anything to bring harm to anyone there." Kreacher thought about his orders and scowled as he found no way to circumvent them. With a snap, Kreacher was gone.
The three of them sat in silence for a few moments. Just as Molly was about to speak, Arthur ran in.
"What happened? I heard yelling? Is everything alright?" Harry quickly recounted what just happened, then explained about his trip to Gringotts during which he found out about Sirius' will. The two Weasleys stood there for a minute, letting that sink in. After a while, Molly turned to Harry.
"Dumbledore knew this? And he didn't tell you?" Harry shook his head.
"Apparently. The goblin said that they had been trying to contact me for a while." He shrugged. "He probably had his reasons, though. He always does." Harry did his best to hide his bitterness. The two seemed to buy it, though.
"Anyways, Mr. Weasley, sir, I needed to talk to you. I found something in the library, and I need your help." He slid the book over to Arthur, who scanned it quickly. "Do you think you can help me, Professor Lupin, and Professor Snape get in?" Arthur thought for a moment, and then nodded.
"I think so. I'll talk to Croaker - he's an unspeakable, you know- and tell him that you wanted to see where he died, for sentimental reasons. In fact, if I floo him right now, I might be able to get you in tomorrow morning, how's that?" Harry and Remus both nodded.
"Thank you, sir. This- " Harry started to choke up. "-This means a lot to me." Arthur shook his head and threw his arm around the boy's shoulder.
"Harry, you're family. This is what family does for each other." Harry nodded. It was still hard for him to imagine. Just a few hours ago, he had been sure that Sirius was gone forever, but now, if all went according to plan, he'd be reunited with his godfather tomorrow. It was a little hard to take.
"Harry, why don't you head to the drawing room? I'm going to make some cocoa, you want some?" Harry nodded at the werewolf, who seemed to be tearing up. Getting up, he turned to Arthur and thanked him again. Arthur shook his head, and waved Harry off. Turning to Remus and Molly, Arthur sighed.
"It sounds like Harry's had a long day." Molly shook her head.
"You don't even know the half of it." She handed her husband that morning's copy of the Daily Prophet. Arthur read the first page, and then sat the paper down and whistled.
"Well, it's about time things started going right for him. He deserves it." Remus nodded his agreement as he got up and started making cocoa.
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Harry was absent from dinner that night. Molly refused to answer any of Ginny's questions about his whereabouts, only stating that "He's had a long day, and needs his rest." Ron made a comment to the effect that, last he saw Harry, he was up in his room crying like a pansy, and was subsequently told that he was to spend the night on the sofa, so as not to disturb the other boy. Finally, once everyone had finished eating, Molly set about making up a plate for Harry, which she sent up with Ginny.
Knocking on the door, Ginny waited until she heard a muffled grunt from Harry before walking into the room. Harry was sprawled on his bed, photo album open, holding Sirius' motorcycle, which was still (obviously) shrunk down. "Harry? Are you alright?"
Harry looked up at the girl, grinning. "I'm better than alright, Gin. Here, look at this." He pushed the book towards the red head, who frowned for a minute, and then went pale.
"You mean...?" Harry nodded.
"Your dad talked to one of the Unspeakables- we're going to try it tomorrow morning." Ginny sat the plate down carefully before bounding over to her friend and practically jumping on him. "So, I guess Remus is going to help you, but who's the third?" Her eyes widened. "Not-?"
"Snape? Yeah. I'm not sure what Remus said to him, but he agreed to help. Maybe he figures it's something to lord over Sirius, but, hey, what do I care? I'm getting my godfather back!"
The girl grinned at her surrogate brother. "That's awesome, Harry. Now eat, or mum will have your head." Harry grinned back and dug into Molly's fabulous pot roast. Only a few more hours...
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Harry, Severus, and Remus left for the Ministry at quarter to 8 the next morning. Severus, who was more adept at Apparating than Arthur, side-along Apparated Harry, an experience which Harry found rather unpleasant.
The three men crowded into the phone booth, and, once they managed to close the door, Severus picked up the phone and dialed.
"Severus Snape, Remus Lupin, and Harry Potter here. We have an appointment for a Mr... Croaker? in the Department of Mysteries." Affixing his badge, Harry stepped out of the booth, which had come to rest at the reception desk. As the security guard examined his wand, Harry looked around. The atrium had been repaired masterfully. The only sign of the battle that had occurred last June was the fact that, where the Fountain of Magical Brethren had once stood, there was a new statue- Harry was amused to note that it was of the battle which had destroyed the original statue to begin with.
The three were walking toward the lift when a tall, heavy set man approached them. Harry recognized him as Croaker, whom he had been introduced to at the Quidditch World Cup.
"Hello there. I'm Elias Croaker- I was told you wished to see the room of Death?" Harry nodded.
Remus cut in. "Arthur told us you'd be able to help us- we wanted to visit the spot where Sirius-" he stopped and swallowed. Croaker nodded.
"Alright, then, follow me." Croaker led the group to the nearest lift, which was empty save for a tiny witch, no taller than Flitwick, whom Croaker nodded to. They rode in silence, reaching the Department of Mysteries in only a few seconds, and following Croaker to the room with the rotating doors. Shutting the door, they waited until the room had finished spinning, after which Croaker walked confidently to a door across and to the left from where they stood. He opened the door, and waved them through.
"I'll be waiting out here. Please, don't do anything stupid like try to throw yourself into the veil- it creates far too much paperwork. Just come out when you're done, and I'll escort you out."
He closed the door, and then they were alone with the veil. Harry pulled the shrunken motorcycle out of one pocket, and a piece of parchment on which he had methodically copied out the information from the book from another. Examining the parchment closely, he nodded. "Alright. Professor Snape, you need to be on my right. Professor Lupin, you need to be on my left. Er, the motorcycle- can one of you unshrink it? Thank you, sir," he nodded at Remus, who had resized the bike. "and now, we do this."
Pulling out his wand, Harry took a deep breath, and recited the incantation. "Refero Mane Captus Antecessor Humanus Sirius Black!" The chamber lit up, and a stream of light extended from the center of the veil to the floor in front of Harry's feet. As he watched, a hazy form appeared. Suddenly, the lights were extinguished. There was silence, and then the dim light from before returned. Lying on the ground was the form of Sirius Black, unmoving. Remus was the first to move, dashing to the side of his friend.
"Siri?" Remus looked at the man, hopeful.
Sirius' eyes fluttered open. "Moony?" He croaked. Eyes going wide, Remus threw his arms around Sirius. "Oh, Merlin, I missed you! Harry, get over here!" Harry dashed over to his godfather's side, clinging to him. Sirius looked up at them, amused. Glancing over at were Snape had been standing, he snorted. The potions master had fainted.
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After much fuss, the group had left the Ministry, accompanied by Arthur, who had taken his lunch break early, and Tonks, who had simply told her superior that she'd be back later, if she could. Croaker had managed not to look surprised at this turn of events, simply asking Harry if he would mind passing on the book in which Harry had found the spell. Harry had promised to send a copy with Arthur the next day.
Apparating back to Grimmauld Place, Sirius grimaced. "You're staying here?" Harry nodded.
"Just for Christmas- it has more bedrooms than the Burrow, you know." Harry and Remus helped Sirius up the stairs to the werewolf's bedroom. Ginny, Ron and Hermione followed, wanting to talk to the man, but Molly told them firmly that they were not to disturb him until he had gotten a good meal and some sleep. She went down to get some soup, with the three students firmly in tow, leaving Harry and Remus alone with the man who had been dead for the past six months.
"So, Harry, what's new and exciting in your life?" Harry looked down.
"Erm, well, nothing, really. Just the usual." Sirius smirked at him.
"You know, Harry, when you're dead, there really isn't that much to do, other than sit around and watch the living." Harry turned red as the animagus reached over to ruffle his hair. "Oh, and Harry? Your mum and dad wanted me to tell you that they love you and miss you, and that Dumbledore is allergic to shellfish." Harry managed a grin at that. Turning to Remus, the man continued. "And you. Did you really have to tell Sn-Snape that I'd "owe him big"? Really, how am I supposed to live up to that?"
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The next few days passed in a blur. When the twins arrived for dinner that first night, they nearly wet themselves when Sirius answered the door.
"Wait, aren't you dead?" Fred finally managed to blurt out.
Sirius shrugged. "I got better." George rolled his eyes and dragged his twin into the house.
Sirius, for his part, was acting more like a kid than usual. He bounded through the house, stopping to give bear hugs to anyone who got in his way, including Fleur, Miro, and even Snape on one occasion. When he saw the newspaper article declaring his pardon, he immediately dragged his godson outside, despite the fact that it was close to 10 pm and snowing heavily, stating that he hadn't gone for a walk in far too long- of course, once they were outside, he proceeded to pester his godson until he agreed to introduce him to Tom, whom Harry hadn't had a chance to tell yet. The introduction went well, with Sirius only threatening his godson's boyfriend twice before dragging Harry off, who shot an apologetic look at Tom, yelling that he'd owl him.
So it went until New Year's Eve. Sirius, of course, had proclaimed that Harry had to spend the night at Tom's, and Sirius had to spend the night getting his godson drunk, and Remus had to spend the night making sure that he didn't do anything too stupid, like he did that one year when James dared him to go streaking through the neighborhood, and how was he to know that there had been that church group was having its New Year's Party on the neighbor's terrace? and eventually, Ginny and Severus had gotten invited along too, the former claiming that she was not going to be stuck with Ron and Hermione if Harry got to escape, the latter having no say whatsoever in the decision, but deciding that it couldn't be worse than spending the night in a house full of inebriated red-heads- the twins were especially scary, as alcohol only served to make them more creative. So, full of good spirits, and carrying several bottles of spirits (and, in Ginny's case, a bag of specialty coffee) they were off.
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Tom opened the door, remembering to brace for impact. He wasn't disappointed, as Harry nearly bowled him over again. Ginny rushed in behind him, this time mumbling something about her "stupid brothers not being able to hold their spirits" as she ran off in the direction of the loo. Sirius followed her, stopping to hand Tom a large bottle of Red Currant Rum before being shoved out of the way by Remus and Severus, who looked like he had just been force-fed a gallon of vinegar. The group gathered in the den, with Ginny joining them after stopping in the kitchen to drop off the shrunken bag of coffee.
Tom had already set out glasses in the den, as well as a bottle of firewhiskey, beside which he set the bottle of rum that Sirius had handed to him, He poured himself a glass of the latter, and passed the bottle over to Harry, who blushed a little, but poured himself a drink. He passed the bottle on to his godfather, who poured a drink for himself and Remus, passing it on to Ginny, who was about to pour herself a glass when Severus snatched the bottle away from her. Ginny pouted at the Potions Master, who rolled his eyes, but handed the bottle back to the girl. Let someone else worry about the brat for a change, he thought, pouring himself a glass.
The gathering continued for an hour, with everyone quietly chatting. Sirius, though, wasn't satisfied, noticing that the level of alcohol in the bottle wasn't decreasing fast enough for his liking.
"You know what we need, Moony?" Remus just rolled his eyes, knowing where the animagus was going with this. "We need to start a drinking game. I mean, it just isn't New Years without people ingesting unsafe amounts of alcohol, is it?"
"You know, Molly's going to murder you if you get Ginny drunk, you oaf." Sirius pouted.
"But, look! Sn-Snape's been nursing that same glass of rum for the last 45 minutes! And he's just sitting there glaring! Maybe if we feed him more booze, he'll stop giving me that look..."
Severus snorted. "I'd be more likely to stop glaring if you'd stop planning to "feed me more booze" as you put it. And not all of us are willing to abuse our liver as much as you are."
Ginny cut in. "Whatever we're doing, can we get started quick? Those two-" she pointed at Harry, who was sitting in Tom's lap, "are getting all cute again."
Sirius' eyes gleamed. "So, it's settled. How about "I never"? Great- Remus, pass me your glass, Ginny, try to bring Harry and Tom back to the real world. Snape, stop scowling. It's New Years!" Sirius quickly refilled the glasses, and, once Tom and Harry were paying attention, started to explain what they were doing. "Alright, so anyone not played before? Just you, Snape? Alright, it's simple. Someone says something they've never done, and everyone who's done it has to drink. Or, you could say something that you have done, but then you'd have to drink, too. Simple, right? Good. Now, to start. I've never woken up in someone's bed with no idea how I got there." He picked up his drink and swallowed it back. Remus reluctantly reached for his drink. "Alright, there, Snape, you're next." Snape sniffed.
"I've never melted a cauldron." Tom snorted as everyone except him and the Potions Master downed their drinks. "Now, Miss Weasley, if you will?"
Ginny sat up, and eyed the werewolf and the animagus, thinking. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to confirm her suspicions about the two. "I've never had sex with anyone in this room." She smirked as both of the men across from her reluctantly picked up their shots. She noticed that, despite the fact that both Severus and Tom had drained their glasses, Harry's remained full. Seeing her questioning look, he shrugged nonchalantly.
"Alright, then Ginny. Keeping with the current theme, I've never had sex with anyone from Hogwarts who wasn't in my house." Ginny blushed, but downed her drink. Tom also drank, looking at Harry apologetically. And so the game continued, with the statement's getting stranger and more revealing ("I never got caught masturbating after quidditch" had Ginny drinking, bright red.) Remus snorting after each statement revealed another unknown fact about his boyfriend. Sirius, finally, tried to console the man.
"I never had sex with anyone whom I wasn't going out with." He said, trying to ease his boyfriend's worry about his fidelity. He didn't realize what he had said until he saw Harry raise his glass, shaking. Harry finished his drink, and leaned his head against Tom's chest, eyes watering. "Harry?"
"I'm fine." The teen bit out, not wanting to discuss this now- or ever. Tom reached around him and pulled him tight. "I'm fine!" Ha stated, a little more strongly. Severus, Ginny, and Remus looked at Harry, concerned. Ginny looked up at Tom, who shook his head. Sensing the need for privacy, she stood up.
"Professors, I- er, just remembered. I needed to talk to you about- um- that project!" Grabbing both of the men's hands, she nearly yanked them to the kitchen, leaving Harry alone with his godfather and boyfriend.
"Look, can you stop staring at me? I'm fine! It's just- I think I've had to much to drink is all." He finished lamely. "I'd really feel a lot better if I just had a minute, really." Sirius shook his head.
"You aren't fine, Harry. I wasn't thinking, I said something stupid- I was watching you for the last six months, I should have realized- and I'm sorry, and you have every right to be pissed at me. Just don't pretend that you're fine after what that bastard did." The animagus reached over and put his hand on Harry's back, rubbing soothingly. The teen started to relax, and then suddenly sat up.
"Oh, shit- if you know, then my mum and dad-" the colour drained out of his face.
"-Would happily strangle Vernon Dursley as well as Albus Dumbledore for placing you with that bastard." Harry ignored this, curling back up against Tom. My parents know! They know I'm weak, that I can't even protect myself, that I'm just some dirty weakling. Sirius sighed. He'd been back for less than a week, and he was already causing problems. He looked up at Tom, and said softly, "I don't think I'm going to be much help. Should I just...?" He pointed to the kitchen. Tom nodded.
"I think he needs a little privacy- I'll take him upstairs." Tom helped Harry up, and led him up to his room, where the boy immediately climbed onto the bed and curled up into a little ball. Tom sat down beside him.
"I didn't want them to know. They know I'm weak, I'm dirty, I'm just a little wimp, a freak like he always said." Harry was sobbing. Tom pulled the teen into his arms.
"Harry, you are not weak, dirty, a wimp, or a freak. You are not dirty- don't shake your head, you aren't. You are the bravest person I know. And I doubt that most people could take on your uncle without magic- he's just too damn big. And you are not a freak. He's an idiot, Harry, and he doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as you. And your parents know this."
"But it was my fault. I should of-"
"Should of what, Harry? Used magic and gotten yourself expelled? Maybe have killed him, and ended up in Azkaban?"
"But the restriction on magic says that if it's in self defense-"
"Harry, the Ministry doesn't care about that. I mean, they gave you a full trial for using a Patronus, for Merlin's sake! Harry, stop it. There is no way you'll convince me you are anything but perfect, and that's final." He kissed the Gryffindor's forehead, and rested his chin on the top of Harry's head. He was going to kill Vernon Dursley for hurting his Harry.
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Downstairs, the three men and Ginny had returned to the living room. They had all questioned Sirius, who refused to give any details, telling them that it was none of their business until Harry decided otherwise. After what felt like an eternity, Tom came down the stairs.
"He's sleeping. None of you-" he glared at the three Gryffindors, "are to disturb him." He sat down, draining his glass, and refilling it.
"How is he?" asked Sirius, timidly.
"Worn out. I swear, when I get my hands on that bastard..." Tom trailed off. Sirius was nodding. "Count me in. I have thirteen free shots, anyways, don't I?"
Finally, Ginny couldn't take any more. "Will someone please tell me what's going on? Who hurt Harry like this? Wha..." she trailed off as Tom glared at her. Furrowing her brows, she tried to concentrate. There was something in the back of her head, something which was related to this... she looked up. "It's the muggles, isn't it?" Tom sighed. Sirius looked down at his drink. "It is, isn't it? This summer, they didn't just hit him, did they?" Remus and Severus were going pale. "And Dumbledore didn't do anything- that cunt! He knew, too, I'd bet. After all, he had to make sure that his fucking weapon didn't get too damaged, didn't he? Damnit, when I get my hands on that fucking tosser, I'm going to-"
"Ginevra Weasley, you will stop talking right now. You will not bring this up to Harry, you will not pester him to tell you what happened. You will wait until he is ready to talk to you." He nodded at the two professors, who were still pale. "He needs a bit of space right now, but don't be cold, either. He kept referring to himself as weak and dirty- he's afraid of what people would think of him." The two men nodded, and Tom sighed. "I'm going to head back up there. Try not to make too much of a mess." Without waiting for a response, Tom got up and walked up the stairs.
Harry sat up when he heard the bedroom door open. "Tom?"
Tom walked over to the bed and sat down. "Yeah, love. It's me." Harry grabbed onto the older man, clinging to him.
"I'm sorry, Tom, I didn't mean to be a problem. I-" Tom cut him off.
"Harry, it's fine. I thought you were asleep." Harry shook his head.
"Just dozing. I thought you left me." Tom pulled the teen onto his lap.
"I wouldn't leave you, Harry. I just wanted to tell your godfather that you were alright before he decided to head up here." He shifted Harry onto the bed, and curled up beside him, carding his fingers through the young man's hair. It wasn't long before Harry started snoring lightly. It took Tom much longer to fall asleep.
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refero- Bring back
mane- early
captus- Taken
antecessor- predecessor
humanus- human (to distinguish from any of the other species which could fall through the veil)
This ended up way differently (and far angstier) than I had first planned. I just threw in the drinking game to keep it moving along, and then things started to change. Ginny wasn't supposed to find out about the rape until later.
Updates may slow down a little, as my computer is being an absolute cunt right now- It's overheating at the drop of a hat, I had to stop yesterday when the shift key got stuck, and the delete key keeps activating at random... >.< Plus, I'm still sick- it's great, all I feel like doing is sleeping. Oh, and bitch about how much this cold sucks. But you may be pleased to know that I have the final battle mostly written out, except for a few picky details...
Next Chapter! Dumbles stirs things up! Ginny learns about hangovers! And why *is* Ron being suck a fuckwad?