64

CHAPTER SIXTY FOUR:

When Harry got back to Hogwarts it was to find Severus grading essays at his desk in the living room. The older man looked up when he walked in, a smile in his eyes for Harry.

"Welcome back," he said, and Harry smiled weakly before sinking to the floor right where he was.

"I'm so tired," he moaned as he pillowed his head on his arm, ignoring how uncomfortable and cold the stone floor was. The scraping of a chair against stone, then steps approaching his fallen form.

Severus crouched down beside his lover, reaching out to brush some hair out of his face. "It appears that your day was as tiring as you had anticipated," he said drily. Harry huffed a laugh.

"You can say that again."

Reaching up, Harry ineffectively tugged at Severus to join him. "I believe the bed would be more comfortable than the dungeon floor," Severus drawled in no little amusement as his younger lover grasped at his robes.

"Nooooo," Harry moaned, giving up and covering his face instead.

Severus smirked and leaned over to whisper in Harry's ear. "The bed is also good for other things than sleeping…"

"No energy," Harry muttered, and Severus shook his head, losing the smirk to a tender expression. Casting a featherlight charm on his lover, he picked him up and carried him to the bedroom, laying him on the bed and stripping him to his boxer shorts.

"I will be with you shortly," he told the 21-year-old as he pulled up the covers. A few minutes later he slipped in beside his partner, magically extinguishing the torches that lighted his bedroom. Harry promptly rolled over and pillowed his head on Severus's chest.

"Today," he began tiredly, then broke off with a huge yawn.

"Tell me tomorrow," Severus said quietly, rubbing the flat of his hand along Harry's back. "Whatever it is, it can wait until you are rested."

"Mmh," Harry agreed, drawing even closer to the Potions Master. "G'night."

"Good night, Harry."

OoOoO

Harry slept deeply and without any nightmares, to both men's relief, and joined Severus for breakfast in the Great Hall. As it was Saturday there weren't many students there yet, but those present stared when they walked in together. Harry mostly ignored them, only nodding to the people he knew.

"Draco visited you last evening, right?" he checked with Severus, who nodded.

"Indeed. I believe he informed Minerva directly afterwards, and she is likely to inform the student body at dinner."

"That's what I thought." Reaching the Head Table, Harry greeted Minerva amicably and nodded to Madam Hooch; the other teachers hadn't arrived yet. "I think today Amelia's likely to announce Dumbledore's trial to the Wizengamot," he said quietly as they seated themselves. "I think it would be good for the professors, especially Minerva, to attend his trial. You can hardly leave Hogwarts unsupervised, though... Maybe Amelia will be able to lend some Aurors for a day?"

"That would be a reasonable solution," Severus agreed pensively as he poured himself a cup of coffee. "I admit that I would like to attend the wizard's trial."

"How is he doing, anyway?" Harry asked. "I'm guessing he's still in the Hospital Wing, but I haven't stopped to visit him at any point."

"He is," the Potions professor confirmed, sipping carefully of the hot liquid. "According to Poppy he has been nearly incapable of movement, writing letters and notes with a dicta-quill. She does not know what he writes; he puts up a privacy charm beforehand, and she is loath to breach his privacy by looking at his notes."

Harry looked at Severus with narrowed eyes, hand poised over the plate of sausages without taking any. "I don't like it," he said, and Severus raised an eyebrow.

"You believe that I do?" the man asked, deftly transferring two sausages to Harry's plate. "Eat. Minister Bones will deal with whatever he is planning." Taking a sausage for himself, he sliced it into proportionately sized pieces – Harry didn't think the Potions Master even thought about it anymore. "I am more interested in when the spells he has maintaining fall," Severus said, giving Harry a meaningful look as he took a bite of bread.

Harry paused, considering that. "You have a point. Is he still powering them?"

"Is he not?" Severus countered, pointing his fork in Minerva's direction. Harry bit his lip.

"He'll probably try to keep them going until the day he dies," he conceded. "Should we do something about them? No," he answered his own question, "it's better if they're still going when he's questioned. Maybe I should slip Amelia some questions..."

Severus simply inclined his head before focusing on his meal. Harry sighed and turned to his breakfast as well.

OoOoO

By the time the owls arrived with the morning's mail and newspaper they had turned to discussing the previous day, Harry telling Severus in detail about the day's events. Severus was not impressed by his godson's behavior, though he grudgingly agreed with Harry when he pointed out that most people would hate their father's killer. He raised a skeptical eyebrow when Harry mentioned that Draco would be unable to order around the house elves and warned Harry not to become complacent in his role as Draco's Head of House, firmly believing that the boy would make at least one assassination attempt.

"If he is wise, he will bide his time and strike at you when you're least prepared," he cautioned. "Most likely when your arms and attention are occupied with a child, if he chooses to strike in the Black manor. Your house elves may be able to detect a threat to you, so ensure that you instruct them on the situation," Severus said, his tone level but his eyes conveying his concern.

Harry nodded grimly. "Make sure you keep an eye out as well," he returned. "It's common knowledge now that you were a spy, and some sympathizers or Death Eater children may want to hurt you. Be careful, alright?" He didn't suggest Severus get his own house elf only because he would ask Dobby to keep an eye on the Potions Master for him.

"I will," Severus inclined his head, a soft smile on his lips instead of the sharp words anyone else would likely have gotten at the suggestion that he was anything but constantly on his guard.

"Oh!" Harry exclaimed, immediately brightening. "Let me tell you about Peter," he said eagerly, distracted momentarily by the owl winging in with that day's Prophet. "Peter Oakley is the Muggleborn wizard the goblins found to balance out Narcissa, and he's great! We had dinner together last night so that I could get to know him – he is my employee, after all," Harry clearly wasn't sure how to feel about having employees beyond Dobby, "and he seems perfect for the job. He clearly loves children very much, and is very cheerful. Informal, too, which I like but Narcissa will probably hate," he chuckled, "and he seemed to get along well with the house elves when I left him at the manor. All in all a good choice, I think."

"Excellent," Severus said, paying the owl and accepting the newspaper it carried. "What is his age?"

"Er, I think he's 28," Harry replied with a questioning lilt to his voice. "He's taller than me, too – though not as tall as you – with brown hair and blue eyes. He has a friendly face and a good build. Fairly attractive, actually – I hope there won't be problems with the girls when they join the home," he frowned slightly, then laughed. "I can just imagine Pansy Parkinson fawning over him," he chuckled. "Wonder how Draco would feel about that?"

Severus smirked. "Draco is not an unattractive boy, and though no longer the heir to the Malfoy family, he is now a member of an even older Pureblood family. Parkinson is too focused on status to find a Muggleborn wizard appealing," he drawled.

Harry snorted and reached for the rolled-up newspaper lying at Severus's elbow. "Ah, I thought that Rita would somehow catch wind of this," he sounded amused as he pointed at the front page headline: MALFOYS BROUGHT INTO THE BLACK FAMILY. The article seemed to cover the basics of his business at Gringotts, detailing in rather sensational writing how he had annulled Narcissa's marriage and sworn Draco into the Black family. There was speculation over Draco's chances of becoming Lord Black, the current location and activities of Sirius Black, and a mention that it seemed Lord Potter-Black was true to his word when he said that the children of Death Eaters weren't to be blamed for their parents' crimes. The absence of Lucius Malfoy was alluded to but not expressly mentioned.

The other front-page article raised questions about the children Harry left the Ministry with, including a photo of Harry and Peter holding a boy each. That they were Death Eater children was made clear, and the journalist wondered what business the Lord Potter-Black may have with infants, speculating that the Lord was personally taking them to an orphanage. "I should probably give a statement," Harry muttered. "Who knows what theories people will come up with otherwise..."

A look at the gossip column had him nearly choking on the drink he had just taken. "Seriously?! I had only just met the man for the first time!" he exclaimed, pointing at the part that wondered whether he and Peter were a couple. "'Two dashing men with children, the picture of the perfect family'," he read the caption for a photo that showed the two of them arm-in-arm just before apparition. "I didn't even know homosexuality was accepted in the wizarding world," he turned to Severus with an incredulous expression.

"Homosexuality is... complicated," Severus said slowly, his eyes flicking to the photo of Harry and Peter. "To wizarding society, the most important thing is continuing the bloodline – and bastards are frowned upon, of course, and adoption doesn't count in the eyes of most Purebloods. Thus, the preferred option is for a man to marry a woman, have at least a son to continue the line – but then the couple is free to take lovers, provided they remain discreet. Indeed, you are now more likely to receive offers from women who ask to be Lady Potter-Black while telling you in all sincerity that you're welcome to keep your lover on the side," he sneered.

"I... see," Harry blinked, looking back down at the newspaper in his hands. Looking back at Severus, he laid a hand on his arm. "You do know that I'm not at all interested in Peter, right?" he asked softly, searching Severus's face for traces of uncertainty or jealousy.

Severus's face softened. "I know, Harry."

"Good," Harry smiled in relief. "Eventually someone's going to find out about us, though; how do you feel about that?" Even now he could feel the eyes watching him interacting with the Potions Master.

Severus hesitated. "I am not a very expressive person in public," he began, "but I will admit that I am a possessive man. Should the situation escalate I am likely to publicly stake my claim, but I would prefer if it remained private. I do not believe my private life to be anyone's business but my own."

Harry nodded with a wry smile. "I agree. I'd rather not have the entire wizarding world aware of my private life," he said, "but it's always seemed to have an unhealthy interest in me, so I won't hold my breath."

An expressive grimace was Severus's only reply, and Harry turned his attention back to the newspaper. "I'll probably have to leave for the Ministry soon," he mused as he skimmed over the pages detailing the previous day's trials. "Maybe I should even get there a bit early so that I can hold an impromptu press meeting about the children..."

"That may be a good idea," Severus agreed, and Harry put down the newspaper with a sigh.

"Then I'll see you tonight, I suppose," he said with a wry smile as he stood. "Sorry that I haven't been around at all..."

The look Severus turned on him clearly questioned his sanity. "It is hardly your fault," the man said drily. "We will simply have to persevere until wizarding Britain is capable of standing on its own two feet and then we can have all the time we want," he said, a small smile pulling at his lips. "Tell me, which country would you like to visit first?"

Harry laughed and turned to go. "Egypt!" he called back over his shoulder, laughing harder at Severus's grimace.

"Overruled," the man called back calmly. "France."

Harry laughed the entire way to the entrance hall, ignoring the incredulous eyes watching him.