Chapter Twenty-Eight of 'Kairos Amid the Ruins'- Mariana's Run
Chapter Twenty-Seven.
Chapter One.
Title: Kairos Amid the Ruins (28/?)
Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling and associates own these characters. I am writing this story for fun and not profit.
Pairing: Harry Potter/Orion Black, Albus Dumbledore/Gellert Grindelwald, mentions of various canon pairings
Content Notes: Time travel, heavy angst, Harry mentoring Severus, violence, gore, minor character deaths, AU
Rating: R
Summary: Harry’s attempt to time travel and fix the past went badly awry. Time shattered, and the various pieces of the universe clung to each other as best they could. Harry finds himself in 1961, with Albus Dumbledore the Minister for Magic, Gellert Grindelwald his loving husband, Voldemort newly defeated…and Severus Snape being proclaimed the Boy-Who-Lived
Author’s Note: This is going to be a long story, focusing on Harry mentoring Severus as the Boy-Who-Lived, with flashbacks to an alternate World War II. The Harry-Severus mentorship will remain gen. However, the romantic pairings are a prominent part of the story. The word “Kairos” comes from the Greek, meaning a lucky moment, or the right moment, to act.
Thank you again for all the reviews!
Chapter Twenty-Eight-Mariana’s Run
“Open the door, Black.”
Orion thought some caution was warranted when someone came and knocked on his door with a heavy fist, but he found himself moving automatically out of the way and blinking at Mariana as she stomped past him. She was carrying nothing except her wand, and clutching the boy’s hand. He looked behind her, and noticed her doing the same thing.
“Why are you here?” Orion asked as he shut the door. They didn’t need Harry’s presence to gather. Severus asked sometimes to come over and play with his sons, and Sirius and Regulus would ask the same. But it seemed odd that Mariana hadn’t owled him or Flooed the way she usually did.
“Seneca knows.”
Orion didn’t need more explanation than that, but he did narrow his eyes as he escorted Mariana and Severus into the kitchen. “How did he find out? I thought I did a good job of ensuring that he didn’t remember either the interference with his mind or anything he might have learned about you and Severus in the meanwhile.”
More than that, the way he had shaped Seneca’s mind should have meant that Seneca would tell Mariana about any impulse he had to accuse or disobey her before it happened. But Orion didn’t want to talk about that in detail.
“He implied he had allies who noticed what had happened to him and he was going to take revenge on me. He said he was going to kill me.” Mariana sighed and sat down in the chair that was already pulled out, disregarding the fact that Orion’s cup of tea sat in front of her. “And he said that his allies had told him Harry was a time traveler.”
Orion felt as though someone had turned the inside of his chest to ice. “And you didn’t lead with that?” he hissed. He spun to grab some Floo powder from the bowl on the mantel.
“I Obliviated him and told him that Severus and I were going on holiday. I bought us a little time.” Mariana gave him a scathing glance. “And you know that Harry is probably teaching his students right now? Flooing him won’t do any good.”
“On Tuesdays, he has an hour between lunch in the Great Hall and the beginning of his third-year Defense class with the Slytherins and Gryffindors.”
“Does he know that you keep track that closely of his comings and goings?”
“He gave me the information.”
They watched each other in cool-eyed silence for a few seconds, and then Mariana sighed and looked over at Severus, who was examining his shrunken trunk with great attention. “Fine, go ahead and Floo him.”
Orion nodded, and turned, and tossed the Floo powder into the fire, ignoring the way that he could feel both of them staring at his back. He was doing this because he wanted to, and because he knew that Harry would want to protect Severus. Not because they were somehow ordering him to.
He hoped they understood the difference.
*
Harry leaned over so far that he nearly fell into the Floo when he heard what Orion had to say. “They’re both all right?”
“Yes. They fled from Prince’s house with most of their belongings, and it’s my understanding that Mariana used a Memory Charm on her husband, so that he shouldn’t be seeking them immediately.”
Harry tapped his foot on the floor. He had less than thirty minutes before his class began, but he wanted to go to Grimmauld Place and make sure that Mariana and Severus were all right.
“Harry.”
Orion’s voice had taken on a soft, heavy tone. Harry glanced at him and found Orion staring back, his eyes wide and his mouth a thin line.
“You are welcome to come over, you know that. No matter how long or short a time you have to stay. I think the others would be happy to see you as well.”
Harry half-smiled as he moved back so that his head barely lingered in the fire. “Thank you for the invitation, Orion. Move so that I don’t crush you. And explain to Sirius and Regulus that I can only stay a few minutes,” he added. They would find it harder to understand than Severus if he visited and then immediately went away again.
Orion gave him one more glance, nodded, and moved so that the flames dimmed back to their normal color. Harry tossed in the Floo powder and called, “Number Twelve Grimmauld Place!”
As the fire turned emerald and he sprang into it, he felt a distant reflection of surprise that he should be looking forward to going to the house where his godfather had been trapped for so long.
I suppose I did accept that this is a different timeline, after all, Harry thought, before he became involved in trying to keep his feet.
*
“You’re really all right?”
“I was just a little scared. I’m not a baby.”
Severus didn’t know why Mr. Harry kept asking him questions about being hurt. He wasn’t a baby, and he wasn’t hurt. He and Grandmama had left before Grandfather could find them, or even see them. The last time Severus had seen him was at breakfast.
“I’m glad that you’re not hurt,” Mr. Harry said, and squeezed his shoulder with a smile. For a second, he was close to Severus and quiet, just like that, and Severus felt as if nothing in the world could hurt him.
Then pounding footsteps said that Sirius and Regulus were coming around the corner, and Severus leaned back in the chair a little. He didn’t mind them seeing him with Mr. Harry, but they were so loud.
“Mr. Harry!” Sirius launched himself at Mr. Harry, and Mr. Harry picked him up with a laugh. Severus hid a scoff. That was a baby thing to do.
“I can only stay a few minutes.” Mr. Harry spun Sirius once, did the same thing to Regulus, and turned to Severus. Severus sat there and stared back at him, not wanting to be spun. Mr. Harry nodded and turned to the other boys. “But I wanted to make sure everyone was all right, and ask if I can come over this weekend.”
“Of course you can,” Severus said. He knew that Grandmama had said they were staying here for a while, which meant that Grimmauld Place was his house, too, and he could invite Mr. Harry over if he wanted to.
Sirius and Regulus stared at him with wide eyes, and then Sirius shook his head. “This isn’t your house, Sev,” he said.
“I think your dad would be fine with Mr. Harry coming over,” Severus said, which just got him frowns from the other boys. He sighed. They were all right. Sometimes he liked playing with them. But they were such babies, even though Sirius was almost the same age as him.
“I reckon so.” Sirius sounded uncertain. He glanced at Regulus, who shrugged and began tugging on Mr. Harry’s hand.
“Come see my pictures!” he demanded. Severus didn’t bother to hide his scoff this time. He hadn’t listened to the part about Mr. Harry only having a few minutes to stay right now. Blacks were loud and rude and never listened. Sometimes he was upset that Grandmama and Mr. Harry were friends with Mr. Black.
“I don’t have time right now, Regulus.” Mr. Harry ruffled Regulus’s hair, though, and then stood back up and squeezed Severus’s shoulder. Severus felt himself calm down a little at being remembered. Not that he would have been upset if Mr. Harry had forgotten to squeeze his shoulder, of course. Only babies got upset about things like that.
“But,” Regulus began, his lip wobbling the way it did when he was about to cry. Severus sighed and leaned back to plug his ears with his fingers. Regulus had a voice so piercing that it reminded him of the Dementors Grandmama had talked about.
“Now, Regulus, don’t cry.” Mr. Black leaned around the table and patted Regulus on the head. He slumped and calmed down. “Harry is here to talk to me and Mrs. Prince right now. But Severus will be here for a good long visit, so why don’t you take him to the nursery and show him your pictures? I’m sure he’d like to see them.”
Severus started to say he wouldn’t, which was only being honest, but then he caught Grandmama’s eye. He sighed and fell silent. He supposed this was one of the things he would have to get used to if they were really going to live with the Blacks.
“Come see my pictures, Sev’rus?” Regulus could pronounce Severus’s name perfectly well, but he didn’t try.
On the other hand, he was also wobbling his lip again and scuffing his shoe on the floor, and Severus didn’t want to listen to him crying. “All right,” he said, trying to sound as proud as Grandmama when she commanded the house-elves, and got off the chair to go to the nursery.
Mr. Harry smiled at him. And that made Severus walk taller and prouder.
He could put up with loud, rude Blacks if he had to. If Mr. Harry said so.
*
Harry listened with his whole attention, which was something Mariana had always appreciated about him. He leaned back against the wall when she was finished, and shook his head a little.
“And Seneca didn’t give any more clues about who his allies were?”
“No.” Mariana realized that her hands were twisting in her lap, and made them stop. “I only know that they must include someone skilled in Legilimency. Presumably they will restore his memories that I took from him and he will come looking for me and Severus.”
“I wonder if Hogwarts wouldn’t be a safer place for you than here, then. It has more space, and more rooms where someone can live unnoticed. We might only have to tell the Headmistress, not anyone else.”
Mariana opened her mouth a little. She hadn’t thought of that. But a second later, she shook her head. “We know nothing about my husband’s allies. How do I know that the Headmistress isn’t numbered among them?”
“My house has the best wards in Britain,” Orion interrupted. He sounded as if he thought he had to compete with Hogwarts. Mariana bit her tongue so as not to chuckle. Given that Orion wanted Harry to move into his house instead of living at Hogwarts, perhaps he did think that. “They will both be safe here.”
“But will Severus have room to run around and play?” Harry asked quietly. “Will he even be able to go to Diagon Alley-or will you, Mariana? Hogwarts is larger, and there are places on the grounds where Severus could play and see sunlight. That’s what I’m thinking of.”’
“I also have gardens.”
Harry’s eyes left Mariana’s face and moved to Orion’s. He looked faintly exasperated. But fond. That was something Mariana didn’t think she’d seen in Harry’s face before the last few months. “Yes, I know. But they aren’t big, and the children will mostly be confined to the house.”
“Sirius and Regulus are mostly confined to the house, and they don’t find it wearisome.”
“But you can take them somewhere else when you have to, to relieve their boredom. Severus won’t have that choice.”
Orion snorted, a sound that made both Mariana and Harry stare at him. Mariana was at least glad she wasn’t alone in recognizing that it was an unusual sound. “You think that my children are going to be safer once Seneca Prince recovers his memories? He’ll know that you’re a time traveler, and I haven’t made a secret of my association with you. He’ll realize that he has to come seeking Mariana and Severus here, and that my children would make ideal hostages. No, we shall have to get used to living under siege for a while.”
“I am sorry to ask that of you,” Mariana offered.
Orion shook his head, although his gaze was locked on Harry and not her. “It would have happened sooner or later, I think. I’m known as one of Harry’s allies, and Prince and his allies obviously want to exploit Harry.”
Harry had gone a little pale, but he took the time to narrow his eyes at Orion before he asked Mariana, “Do you think they would make it public? So that I could be prosecuted for breaking one of the Ministry’s laws?’
Mariana had to think it over, and she wished that she knew more about Seneca’s allies in general. Finally, she said, “I doubt it. They would probably want to keep it private so they could benefit from it more, and they have to suspect that there’s a reason your background went unexposed when you applied for the Defense post at Hogwarts. They either know you have the protection of the Minister, or they believe that you have someone else important in the Ministry who would work to keep you safe from legal challenges.”
Harry breathed out slowly, and nodded. “I can’t help people if I’m in Azkaban, or a holding cell.”
Orion snorted. Harry glanced at him, but Orion only shrugged and said, “You are focused on helping people.”
It sounded like a neutral statement, but Mariana knew well enough that there was no such thing as neutrality in Orion when it came to Harry. Harry narrowed his eyes further, then gave his head a little toss and turned away.
“I can still help you,” he said quietly to Mariana. “You can choose to go wherever you want, of course, Hogwarts or here, but I’ll do everything I can to protect you and Severus.”
Mariana closed her eyes. She had to decide based on Severus’s safety, not what she would prefer, not access to the outdoors, not what she thought Seneca’s allies would do; most of their actions would be impossible to predict, when she had no idea who they were.
In the end, she thought Hogwarts was simply too open. There were hundreds of people moving around it all day, and someone who didn’t belong would go unnoticed too easily. She opened her eyes. “Severus and I will stay here.”
Orion blinked, then looked smug, as if he had known her decision all along. Harry looked like he was barely able to keep from rolling his eyes, but nodded. “Then I’ll visit as often as I can.”
“Why make your visits so frequent now? Is it simply because we’ll all be gathered in one house?”
Orion’s voice was low. Harry met his eyes and stared for a second, then said, “That’s one reason.”
And he turned and disappeared back through the Floo before Mariana could ask any questions. She sighed and glanced at Orion. “Thank you for offering us your hospitality. Is there room enough for Severus to have his own space, or space with me? I’ll want to make sure that he’s not bothering your boys.”
“They’ll be thrilled to have another playmate,” Orion said dryly. “Sirius is always complaining that Regulus is too young to play with him, and Regulus feels left behind and left out.”
Mariana smiled tiredly, although she expected that Severus might also leave Regulus out. “Thank you, nevertheless.”
“You are welcome.” Orion bowed to her, and if it was mostly for someone else’s sake, rather than theirs, Mariana didn’t care. He had welcomed them into his home, and they would have space to live and be behind powerful wards. It would be much harder for Seneca to attack them here.
At the moment, that was all she wanted.
*
Orion turned to gaze back at the silent Floo as soon as Mariana had taken her leave and climbed up to the second floor. He had bidden her to choose any of the bedrooms that was unoccupied, and he had meant the words. It didn’t matter to him which space she picked.
In fact, he anticipated little bother from housing her and Severus. The boy was mature beyond his years, and Mariana was calm and certain.
No, he wished to think more about the fact that Harry had immediately assumed that Mariana and Severus would be his responsibility now that they had fled their home.
I knew that he felt responsibility for those in his old life. An absurd sense of responsibility. But I thought it would have eased after he had talked to me and seen that I would not betray his secrets.
Orion considered it a little longer, and finally had to admit, reluctantly, that he had assumed Harry would feel free to trust him with a little of that same responsibility, the same way he had with his secrets. But it was obvious, now, that Harry wasn’t like that. He would go on shouldering burdens until Orion proved specifically that he could do that, too, and help with it, which would take some doing.
But sheltering Mariana and Severus was the first step along that trail.
Orion leaned back in his chair and acknowledged another truth with a faint, wry smile to himself.
And the more difficult it is, the more I want him.
Chapter Twenty-Nine.