The Road to Hell...

by SpeedyTomato

Summary:

Harry and Sirius have a couple very big secrets, ones they’ve kept for almost a year. Now they’ve done something to throw the war into a tailspin. While some might see it as the road to hell, they don’t. It’s what they want and adore it.
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Content Warning! This story contains some very dark themes and odd paraphilias. These include, but are not limited to, incest, DaddyKink, ABDL, Ageplay and various psychological issues. You’ve been warned.

Notes:

Disclaimer: I don’t own Harry Potter and make no money off this story
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Special AN: While this will cover the same kink as Preventative Measures, it’s not the same story and won’t be as ‘light’ as PM. It will also kick off with the relationship already there and those involved in it without the easing in of the other story. Also, This is a threesome story (maybe more, not sure yet).
~Speedy

Chapter 1: Prologue

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

-St. Bernard of Clairvaux

 

 

         Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, defeater of Voldemort as an infant, sometimes hero of the Wizarding World, was once more up to something.  Unlike times past, Hermione and Ron weren’t involved.  This time he had a new cohort in sneaking around.  Even stranger, he wasn’t at Hogwarts doing it.  No, he was at Grimmauld Place. It was Christmas break and he was pretending to hide away from everyone, letting them think he was upset by what happened with the vision, fearing himself possessed or some such rot.  It wasn’t the case, though.  He was up to something and it had it do with Sirius.

         At the moment, he was hiding up in the room Buckbeak was staying in, petting the hippogriff while trying not to keep glancing at his watch.  As he well knew, what Sirius was doing was dangerous.  Not only was he out of the house, something no one but himself was aware of, but from what he knew, the cave would be tricky to work with.  His godfather had a plan for it, of course, a good one, but it didn’t mean plenty couldn’t go wrong and Sirius would be lost in the cave just like his brother had been.  That’s what had him on edge.

         While he waited, he kept an eye on the map Sirius created for them of the house.  This way he could pay attention to who was where so he could avoid everyone.  Plus, he knew who was coming into the house in order to stay alert.  Remus was the big one there.  Sirius was worried his old friend would come looking for him though Remus had plans for the night.  If he did, questions they didn’t want to answer would be asked.  And there were no answers for them they wanted to give or a way to make it sound good without giving up the truth.

         After fighting the urge to look at his watch once more, he then glanced at the communication mirror Sirius had given him.  He knew Sirius had his on him in case something went wrong or he needed help, but it had stayed a real mirror the whole time.  Harry wanted to ‘call’, as would be expected, but he didn’t.  No, this task was too tricky to bother Sirius during it.  He would just wait, despite how hard that was. 

         By now, he realized Sirius had been gone for almost two hours, about the time his godfather told him it would take to accomplish what he needed to do.  As it wasn’t easy and would take both Sirius and Kreacher, who was helping him, Harry knew it might take longer.  Still—it was the waiting.  He was already going mental from it.  When it pushed beyond what was planned for, it would grow worse.

         When he heard the clock in the hall chime the hour, Harry let out a ragged breath then shut his eyes, head dropping back.  He hoped Sirius would hurry the best he could.  This was plenty dangerous, though he understood why Sirius wanted to do it.  After all, if it was someone he was that close to, especially a family member, he would do the same.  It was just the idea.

         Minutes ticking on, Harry leaned against Buckbeak, who was grooming his hair with his beak, then he about jumped out of his skin when there was a loud crack.  Eyes flying open, he was relieved to see Sirius standing there with Kreacher and Regulus.  It had worked.  He had managed to bring his brother back.

         “It all went fine?  No problems or trouble?” He asked, though part of it was obvious since Regulus was standing there.

         “It’s good, Harry,” Sirius said, coming over and ruffling his hair then taking a seat by him.  “Went just how we planned.  Replacing the real locket brought Regulus back.  He came up from the pool there just how I thought.”  Then he grinned and introduced his brother to his godson. 

         “Hey, Harry,” Regulus said, taking a seat on the other side of the teen.  Sirius had explained some, after the typical greeting, but would fill him in after they rested a bit.  Either way, he didn’t care.  He was just glad he was out of that Purgatory and back where he belonged.  After all, he thought he was there forever, alive in a way, but unable to come back unless someone figured out to put the original locket back.  Thankfully, Sirius managed.  Now they could get on with their lives as they planned for so long ago.  It would be different now, but he was fine with it.

         “Hi, Regulus,” Harry told him with a smile.  He had seen pictures of Regulus, of course, but seeing him in person made him realize how much he looked like Sirius.  “Welcome back,” he then grinned.

         “Thanks,” Regulus told him, taking a butterbeer from the happy Kreacher.  After a sip and relishing the taste, he said, “Right, there’s plenty to work out, isn’t there?”  He then looked at Sirius and asked, “Harry knows about us?”

         “Filled him in, don’t worry,” Sirius nodded, happy his brother was back.  “And we have plenty to work out, more than you know.  We’ll manage.  It’s nothing we have to do tonight.  We have a couple weeks yet.  As long as we have it all in place and you’re up to speed by the time Harry goes back to school, we’re fine.”

         “Good,” Regulus nodded with a smile.  “Tonight—just want to relax after all that bit.  And eat.”

         “We won’t get into it tonight,” Sirius told him.  “Just some you’ll see.  Most of it will come after everyone goes to bed.  Harry can slip out then and join us.  Then we’ll cover some of it.”  

         “Good,” Regulus nodded, taking a plate from Kreacher when he popped back in. 

         Sirius slipped one arm around Harry and pulled him close then put a hand on Regulus’ back.  Right now, life was perfect.  Oh, there was plenty to work out, but he had the two he cared about with him.  As long as they were with him, it would work out in the end.  They just had to put as much in place as they could then come up with the one thing they needed to put his plan fully into action.  In the end, they’d come up with something or it would present itself.  Either way, by summer, they would be together just how he wanted.

Chapter 2: Chapter 1

         Taking care, Harry replaced the faceplate to the light switch then tapped the screws with his wand so they went in right.  This was the worst of what he had to do as it had to go on just right so it didn’t look like it had been taken off.  The runes marked on the back of it would turn the lights off and on like normal until tomorrow night at dusk.  Then the light would stay off and the runes would vanish.  This was just going to buy time so no one knew he was gone yet. 

         Once it was back in place, looking normal without anything odd on it like scratches, he let out a sigh of relief.  That project was the worst of what he had to tend to.  Now he just had to finish double checking and duplicating what he needed to take.  As there wasn’t much he was bringing with him, it wouldn’t take long.  Hedwig was already off, told to find the house.  With as smart as she was, she’d manage and be fine.  Now it was down to him to finish and use the Portkey on time.

         After taking a seat on the floor in front of his open trunk, he glanced around to make sure everything he needed was gathered here.  Since it was, he nodded then checked everything else, making sure the room was in its normal messy state so no one would think anything off.  As it was, he was good.  A glance at his desk showed the letters scattered all over just how he wanted them, unopened.  This was part of the plan as well.

         As he and Sirius hoped, an opportunity to put their plan in action had presented itself.  The whole bit with the visions gave them what they needed.  Regulus had Kreacher go feed false information to the Malfoys then he followed along with the vision, pretending to believe it was real when it came to Sirius.  He knew it wasn’t, of course, but pretended.  To not have would have looked plenty odd with everything going on.  The battle at the Department of Mysteries had happened with Sirius supposedly going through the Veil to his death.  He hadn’t.  It was a ruse.  Sirius had sent a golem of himself through and hid.  Harry had seen him of course, but acted like he hadn’t.  When he went back to school, he furthered the ruse, pretending like he was severely depressed and not talking to anyone after several fits of temper with people, including Dumbledore.  While he didn’t want to worry his friends, he knew why it needed to look good, so he went with it. 

         Once home, he pressed on with the ruse.  He didn’t answer his friend’s letters, kept to himself, mostly staying in his room, all he needed for it to appear he was severely depressed.  This was to not only look good, but for the plan to work.  It was, perfectly.  Since it was only a week after school let out, he didn’t have to pull it off for long and keep up the ruse or have someone step in.  Now he had to finish so he could get out.  No more crap, schemes, plans, whatever.  He would be out and with the two people who loved him the most in the world.

         He quickly removed the two bags from his pocket and put one on either side of him.  The first one he grabbed was the magical one which would duplicate any belongings he put in it.  There wasn’t much he was going to take, but some.  Since they were items which would be missed, he needed the copies.  Grabbing his cloak and the photo album, he stuffed them in then nodded when exact copies, down to showing the wear on the album, materialized right where they had been in his trunk.  It was working.  Perfect.  He then grabbed the few other things, like his broom and such, stuffing them in.  Once he finished, he did a quick double-check to make sure then put the bag on the bed.

         The next bag was easier.  It was for items no one knew about that were stored in a secret compartment in his trunk.  As everything in that compartment was going, he just snatched it all and stuffed it in.  Didn’t take but a couple minutes.  And that was the end of that.

         Leaving his trunk open, with plenty draping out like it normally was, he put the other bag on the bed.  Then he went to the dresser and opened some of the drawers, leaving them hanging out.  This was normal and how it usually was in his room, so he wanted to make sure it appeared that way.  Once finished, he went over to the nightstand by his bed.  He then grabbed the bag which would leave duplicates and began loading the few small items, like the picture of his parents he had on his nightstand, in it plus some other personal items.  When he was done, he put it down and grabbed the other one.  The only thing in the drawer he was taking was the communication mirror.  He slid it in the other bag.  While he would take a quick look around to ensure he didn’t forget anything, he thought he had everything he wanted aside from one hidden item he would grab just before he left.  It was best to make sure since there was no coming back for it.

         When he finished checking around and consulting the list he had, Harry nodded then looked at his watch.  It was almost time.  Good!  Standing up, he grabbed the two bags and hoisted them on his shoulder.  Turning the comforter and sheets down to make sure the bed looked slept in and normal since he wasn’t one to make his bed every day, he reached under his pillow and grabbed the teddy bear hidden there.  Though it was just a standard stuffed bear, tan in color, it meant the world to him by now.  He then gave its right ear a tug, making it grow to full size, one that was comfortable for him to hold and cuddle on without it being too small, wrapped an arm around Humphrey and held him close. 

         He then snatched up a small rucksack which was on the floor by his nightstand.  In it were a few items he had to leave behind.  Still holding onto to Humphrey tightly with one arm, he fished around inside the rucksack and pulled out a broken wand.  It was identical to his including the Phoenix feather core.  Uncle Reg had duplicated his then broke it.  Since it was snapped clean in two with the feather broken and shredded, what showed of it anyway, there was no repairing or testing it for whatever spells.  Even if they managed, it would just show the last ten he did on the train ride home from school, nothing after, as would be expected with it being summer.  He then tossed it on the bed and grinned.  The wand was enough to cause plenty of panic, and would manage to make everyone run in circles.

         Once more fishing in the rucksack, he pulled out a small orb looking thing.  While he wasn’t sure what it was called, he knew what it did.  Tomorrow night, after the runes expired, it would go off, causing a small amount of damage in the room, like there had been a fight of some kind.  It wouldn’t make noise or anything to alert anyone, but would make it look good.  He tossed it under the bed where it wouldn’t be seen if someone came in before then.  That was the second biggest item to take care of.

         The last item in the bag he just tossed on the bed.  If someone poked their head in overnight, it would mimic his body there, like a very dark shadow of some sort.  Since it was around the time of the new moon, it would work.  Well, as long as they didn’t come in and turn the lights on.  It would only work tonight then the small charm-like item would vanish.  Since his family wasn’t the sort who really cared, just wanting to make sure he was there and not causing problems, it would suffice.

         As he stood there and made a mental checklist of everything, making doubly certain he had it all and tended to what he needed, he stopped, head cocked and listened.  Once more he could hear someone outside his door, probably putting a food tray down.  By now, he had figured out it was Dudley.  He ignored it, but stood still and made no sounds until he heard the footsteps going down the hall away from his door.  Since he hadn’t picked up any of the other trays there, it wouldn’t look odd for him not to want this one.

         When he was sure he had everything and the rest was set up how he needed it, he checked his watch again.  With a grin, he nodded.  It was time finally.  The Portkey, not the normal sort, but one Uncle Reg made out of runes, had a half an hour on it from the time he activated it, there was plenty of time to go.  He didn’t need it, though, since he was ready.

         Harry then made sure he had the two bags and the rucksack before pulling the small metal slug out of his pocket.  While it looked like a standard slug you could pick up anywhere, it had some runes carved on it.  Holding it tightly in his fist, he clutched Humphrey firmly to his chest then rubbed across the slug with his thumb.  The familiar feeling of the hook behind his navel came then he was whisked away, a grin on his face.  While he didn’t know exactly where he was going, only that Sirius was waiting for him, he didn’t care.  He was out and would be with the two who meant the most to him in the world.  Whatever problems came they would work out from there.

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         Though he landed on his arse, like normal when it came to the Portkey, Harry quickly stood up and looked around.  As expected, he was in some kind of an abandoned house.  He knew this was part of the plan, just not where it was.  After standing with a groan, he brushed off the seat of his jeans, still holding his teddy close.  As he did, he looked around, waiting, heart beating slightly faster.  Then he heard the familiar voice he was waiting for.  When he glanced in the direction of the voice, he grinned.  As he promised, Sirius was waiting for him.

         A grin on his face and feeling relieved as plenty could have gone wrong with the plan they made, Sirius stepped into the dilapidated entrance of the ancient manor house then over to Harry.  “It went fine, didn’t it?  No problems and no one suspicious?”

         “Just how we worked it out,” Harry assured him with a nod.  “No problems.”

         Sirius put a hand on the back of Harry’s head and rubbed it then asked, “You have everything and didn’t forget anything, right?  Everything else is in place?”

         “I do,” Harry told him with a smile, adoring the touch.  Glancing around, he asked, “Where’s Uncle Reg?”

         “He’s at the new house making sure it’s all ready for us, nothing to worry about.  He’ll pop in a couple times a day to visit, however he’s busy.  The elves we bought are hard at work, but someone needs to keep an eye on them so they don’t do something wonky.  Since the paperwork just went through for it last week and it needs plenty of work done, we’ve been hard at it.”  Sirius explained.

         Harry nodded, understanding, then glanced around, clutching Humphrey close.  “Where are we?  I mean, I know it’s abandoned as you explained that’s what we were going to do.  You just didn’t say where.”

         “Just south of London,” Sirius told him, slipping his arm around Harry and pulling him close.  “Nothing to worry about.  We’re only staying here for the night.  The elves cleaned up two rooms for us and will make sure they dirty them up again when we leave.  They’ll be bringing food and whatever else when we call.  Tomorrow we’ll move again.”

         “To the house?”  Harry asked, though he didn’t think so from what was explained going in.  He just wanted to make sure he knew the plan, nothing more.

         “No,” Sirius shook his head.  “For the next week, we’re going to hop between abandoned houses, staying in a different one every other day.  Doing so will give Reggie a chance to finish the house and throw everyone else for a loop.  We think, and are planning for, them to realize you’re gone tomorrow night.  If it happens later, it’s even better as they won’t have a clue when you did vanish.  The wards will still be in place as you were there long enough to keep them up for another year.  After the week, we’ll finally go to the new house.  Since that will be home, finally, those wards are going to come down.  It’s then panic will set in.  If they find out before then, it’ll help even more.  I’m sure they will as Arabella and the ones keeping an eye on you will notice you’ve not come out of the house then someone will check on you.  You didn’t write to your friends, right?  Just ignored the letters.”

         Harry nodded at the explanation, understanding why, something which made him grin.  Then he answered, “I ignored them.  They’ll find the letters scattered all over my desk, unopened.  I just tossed them there.”

         “Good,” Sirius nodded.  “I’m sure the alarm will sound before we move to the house and the wards come down.  Not going to chance checking on anything, of course, but we’ll hear in some way.”

         “Oh, I’m quite sure,” Harry chuckled, shifting from foot to foot, clutching his teddy close with both arms now.  While he adored this, he was also anxious to press on like they talked about for the last several months. 

         A grin splitting his face, Sirius gently pushed Harry back against the door then kissed him passionately.  Time to press on. 

         He quickly broke it off, not wanting to arouse either one of them too much then looked down at Harry and asked, “You’re wearing what you’re supposed to how Daddy told you?”

         “Yes, Daddy,” Harry stammered out, shivering slightly.  Yes!  This was what he wanted.

         “Good boy,” Sirius praised.  Backing up slightly, he ordered, “Get undressed.”  Then he waited.  The time to press on with what they all wanted was here and he couldn’t wait.

Chapter 3: Chapter 2

         Harry didn’t need told twice.  Still clutching Humphrey with one arm, refusing to let him go, he began tugging off his shirt.  While not easy, he was managing.  As he worked, he was shaking from excitement.  This is what he had been waiting for and wanting for so long.  Now it was time, finally.

         Though Sirius wanted to step forward and help, knowing what this signaled for both of them, he didn’t.  This was something Harry had to do on his own.  It was part of the step forward.  Oh, it was damned obvious Harry planned to do just what he said, but he needed to do it on his own.  Which meant he had to wait and stay patient.  He could do that.

         Finally managing to get his shirt off without letting loose of Humphrey, Harry then went to work on his pants after kicking off his old beat-up trainers.  Those were far easier and he could manage one-handed.  As he tugged the zipper down, he shook harder, though he hadn’t thought it possible.  This was not only meaning he would get what he wanted and they talked about for so long, but the first time Sirius was seeing him in what was under his jeans ‘live’, not just in the mirror.

         After what seemed like an eternity for both of them, Harry shoved his jeans down, kicking them aside, standing there in just his nappy and socks.  Though he started to undo the fastenings on the nappy, he was stopped by Sirius’ voice.  Looking at his Daddy, he waited.

         “That’s far enough,” Sirius told him with a smile.  “Good boy,” Sirius praised, smiling at him.  He then stepped closer and put a hand on the back of Harry’s head, pulling him into a soft kiss.  “We’ll get rid of these after you make sure there’s nothing in the pockets.  I have your little boy clothes in the room we’re staying in tonight.”  Picking up the clothes, he handed them to Harry to check the pockets then planned to vanish them.  This was symbolic for the start of their ‘new’' life together with his brother and they wanted it done right by getting rid of the final remnants of the old one Harry had been forced to live for so long.

         With a smile at what his Daddy said, Harry took the clothes then quickly check the pockets, though he didn’t expect to find anything.  “Nothing there,” he told Sirius when he finished, holding them out for his Daddy to take.

         “Good,” Sirius grinned then pointed his wand at them.  One spell later and they were gone.  Perfect.  “You didn’t pack any of your clothes, did you?” he asked, pulling the now shivering Harry close, holding him there.  “Cold?”  He then asked.  He didn’t think Harry was cold, but just shivering from nerves.

         “No, not cold,” Harry told him with a shake of his head, leaning into Sirius with a smile.  “I left them all behind, just like we talked about.”

         “Perfect,” Sirius grinned, pleased Harry didn’t forget that important detail in his nervousness to get out.  It meant this started out just how he wanted.  When he spied the amulet around Harry’s neck, the one he and Reggie had charmed for him, he nodded.  Good.  It appeared Harry had remembered everything he needed to.

         After giving Harry a squeeze, he let him loose then grabbed the bags Harry brought with him.  Shouldering them, he then scooped Harry up and held him close like you would a child, grinning as Harry wrapped himself around him, head resting on his shoulder.  After giving him a squeeze and patting him on his nappy covered bottom, he said, “Let’s go settle in and get you into your jammies.  Since I know you haven’t eaten well, we’ll send for the elves to bring you something.  And to let Uncle Reg know you made it safe.  Once we’re settled in, I’ll explain everything in more detail.”

         As he clung to his Daddy while they walked to the other room, Harry slipped his thumb in his mouth, head resting on Daddy’s shoulder, smiling just a little.  This was great and what he wanted for so long.  It was finally happening, something he was sure wouldn’t come to pass because of so much crap.  Now he would just enjoy it.

         “Daddy’s good boy,” Sirius told him, rubbing his nappy covered bum as he walked.  He, too, was happy this was finally happening.  It had taken them almost a year to get it to this point and they weren’t sure they could manage, but they had.  It would be well worth it, for all of them.  Now they would press on.

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         Seated on Sirius’ lap with Uncle Reg’s hand on his back, Harry was tucking into the wonderful meal the elves had bought him.  He was also dressed in onesies, like they kept talking about.  It was something he thought would bother him and there would be issues with the first time, but it didn’t.  He adored it actually, loving having his Daddy and Uncle there with him.

         Uncle Reg had come over with the elf Sirius summoned to check on them and make certain everything went fine.  Well and to see him, of course, something he adored.  While he wouldn’t stay more than an hour, Harry loved that his Uncle Reg was there too.  At first, he wasn’t sure if he could handle the relationship between Uncle Reg and Daddy because he wasn’t used to sharing his Daddy with anyone, other than his friends.  He would admit there was a tad bit of jealousy there over it, but it evaporated quickly.  Uncle Reg was different than Daddy and it just added to what was going on.  Plus, Daddy loved him dearly, something Harry could easily see.  It smoothed the way for plenty and helped.

         “It won’t be completely done by the time you arrive, but most will be.  At least the top and bottom floors.  The other two—no.  As we don’t need them for much, it won’t be a big deal,” Regulus explained, passing the pictures he had so far of the progress and how he was setting up the house.  “The top floor is being gutted and turned into what we talked about.  The bottom will look normal.”

         “Where is it?”  Harry asked, looking through the pictures his Daddy was holding, nodding at what he saw.

         “The outskirts of Birmingham,” Regulus told him, reaching out to rest a hand on the back of his head, smiling.  “We thought it best as the town is big enough we won’t stand out with no dedicated place for our kind.  While I doubt we’ll go out much as it’s too risky, we can do so if we have to.  The house is located in a place where there are stores close by so we can grab whatever.”  This was for Harry’s benefit since Sirius knew where the house was.

         “Good,” Harry nodded, tucking back in after Sirius passed the pictures back to his brother.  “Is there a plan for Grimmauld Place or is it just going to sit there?”

         “For now, it’s sitting just as it is,” Sirius told him, rubbing his back as he sipped at a beer.  “Kreacher will take care of Buckbeak until Albus does something about him.  The hippogriff knows what’s going on as I explained it to him.  Not to worry there.  Everything else—it’s safe.  We made damned sure we cleared out anything which might give away plans if anyone takes it in their head to do some snooping.  Kreacher doubled checked for us to make sure.  If he does run across anything, he’ll bring it to us, not to worry.  If anything comes up, Reggie will pop over there and tend to it, not me.  I’m going to stay hidden.”

         “The way to handle it,” Harry nodded as he finished up the first good meal he’d had since the end of school.

         “Did the letter to Remus go out today?”  Regulus asked his brother.  He knew the plan was for it to, but wasn’t sure if it had.

         “Right on schedule,” Sirius assured him with a grin.  “I made sure there was an auto-confirmation for it.  Might take him and Snape some time to figure out what I mean by it, but they will eventually.  Then we’ll go from there.  Hoping it won’t be until after everyone knows Harry is gone and the wards come down.  I made damned sure it was worded in such a way that it wouldn’t be easy to figure out.”

         “Good,” Regulus sighed and nodded.  “Just so we have some time.”

         “What are we going to do about information about what’s going on?”  Harry inquired, leaning back and curling up to his Daddy while sipping his butterbeer.  “We can’t chance too much and keeping watch.”

         “It’s mostly going to come from the Prophet,” Regulus told him, scooting closer and putting a hand on Harry’s knee, giving it a squeeze while slipping the other around his brother’s shoulders.  “I’m going to try popping around to places to pick up information.  Sirius and I look quite a bit alike, but I can change my looks enough to throw them off.  Besides, no one would think it’s me anyway as I’m supposedly dead.  As our magical signature is completely different, it will throw plenty off.  Little Whinging is out there.  I’m not willing to chance going there and risk being seen.  We’ll just have to play some by ear.  Not to worry.  Where we are will be safe enough we won’t have to worry.  Once we break the Trace on you, that is.  Sirius will tend to that tonight then they can’t use it.”

         Regulus then sobered up and added, “Just make sure you both stay alert.  I mean it.  This house is one of the safer ones you’ll use.  The others aren’t that way.  We’ve put up plenty and the elves did what they could, but we can’t use the biggest we could pull out as it would look odd or alert the Ministry.  Any sign of anyone poking around or the elves alert you, hop to one of the safe houses we set up then send for me.”

         “Will do, don’t worry,” Sirius assured him with a nod.  “I have alarms up and warded the rooms we’ll use.  Then employed several tricks I learned in Auror training for others and the house itself, such as warding.  Mostly worried about Muggles, not our kind.  Those—we can manage to get rid of them.”

         “Any problems or people turning up, let me know and I’ll get here to help,” Regulus told his brother.  Between the two of them, they could manage to keep all of them safe.

         As the two discussed what they needed to do and plans for keeping them safe until they moved into the house, Harry just listened in, letting his thumb slip into his mouth.  Head resting on Sirius’ shoulder, his thoughts began to drift away.  This wouldn’t be easy, as was explained to him when they began to make the plan, but they would manage.  The other part his mind drifted to was this part of the relationship, being their little boy.

         When the plans were being finalized, he was told nothing would happen between him and Sirius until they were in the house, other than staying in their roles, or as much as they planned for.  While he agreed, he wanted to, obviously.  It was quite clear he wanted the sexual part.  That would wait until the week was up.  It was told to him firmly.  Part of it was the protection part, as they wouldn’t be the safest and have to watch out for plenty, but the other was to start it off right, making the new beginning complete by not doing anything until they were ‘home’.  He understood, of course, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want to.  It was just a case of he would see as they went along.

         As the adrenaline began to wear off, his eyes drifted shut.  While he wasn’t tired enough for bedtime yet, a nap would do him good.  Oh, he wanted to stay awake to talk to Uncle Reg, but he didn’t think he would manage, though.  He was just too tired.  Soon enough, he was asleep, breathing deeply, relaxed and content.

         A glance down at Harry when he heard his deep breathing, Regulus grinned then chuckled.  “He’s out,” he then chuckled again, shaking his head.  “The stress of it must have taken it right out of him.”

         “Would have most of us,” Sirius agreed, giving the napping Harry a squeeze.  “He had to deal with more than we did on his end and to make sure he had everything covered, ensuring he did it just so then not to forget anything.  Coupled with how that house is and his family, he’s probably more relaxed than he has been in quite some time.”

         “Let him sleep,” Regulus said, giving Harry a pat where his hand rested.  “I’ll pop over before bed tonight to check on you both.  He’ll get to see me again then.”

         “Just be careful,” Sirius cautioned, knowing how dangerous this was.

         “Don’t worry, I will,” Regulus assured his brother.  He then leaned over and gave Sirius a passionate kiss.

         When he broke it off, he stood with a groan.  “If you need anything at all, send for an elf.  They know to pop in when you call, tending to you before anything in the house.  Even if it’s just an odd feeling, Sirius.  This is the most dangerous part of what we’re doing and carries the biggest risk of being caught.”

         “Will do,” Sirius nodded, smiling at the kiss.  “Don’t stress too much about us.  We’ll be fine.”

         “I know, but this is bad.  Especially when you start hopping around and we have no way of knowing when it’s discovered that Harry vanished.  Stay on your toes, Sirius, and don’t let yourself become too distracted.”

         “I won’t,” Sirius assured him again.  With a grin, he then added, “Not going to let Harry coax me into it either.  He’ll try, we both know he will, but not going there.  Will keep him at bay until we’re in the house.”

         “You better as I’ll be plenty pissed if you two go there and I’m not involved,” Regulus laughed, shaking his head.  He then leaned down and kissed Sirius again.  “I’m going.  Remember; anything off, you get out.  Hop to the safehouse then summon an elf.”

         “I will,” Sirius reassured him once more.  Then he sighed when his brother popped out.  Head going back, he groaned softly, holding Harry close.  This—yeah, it would make him completely mental until they were in the house and safe, but he’d manage. 

         With a smile, he looked down at the dozing Harry.  After giving him a squeeze, he said softly, making sure he didn’t wake his sleeping little boy, “I’m going to put you in the bed so you’ll be more comfortable.  Nothing to worry about, Daddy will be with you the whole time.”  Then, being careful so he didn’t wake Harry, he stood with a soft groan.  While Harry dozed, he would stay with him, but spend the time making sure all the spells he put in place were functioning as they should and monitoring the grounds around the house.  It was time to step up being cautious.  If he started in the safest of the houses, it would stick when they were in the others.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         As always, Severus scanned around vigilantly when he Apparated onto the doorstep of Remus’ small cottage.  While he knew his lover had every protection in place he could find, aside from the Fidelius, he always wanted to make sure as him turning up here would look damned suspicious.  When, as normal, he saw nothing, he let himself in the front door, finally starting to relax.

         “No problems, Severus?” Remus asked when his lover came in then took a seat across the table from him.  He then summoned a cup of tea for him.

         “Nothing,” Severus sighed, taking the tea and putting in what he liked.  “It’s all clear around the cottage, from what I can tell anyway.”

         “Since you’re spending the weekend, I made sure to put up extra protections and warning signals,” Remus told him, leaning back in his chair with a soft groan.  “I’ve also made sure no one will pop over.  While I’ll take my turn over on Privet Drive to watch, I made some excuses so I’m left alone and they’ll Floo instead of popping over, especially Tonks.”

         “Good,” Severus nodded, pleased.  “I have the signal up at home in case someone Floos.  I don’t expect anything, of course, as I made noises about something to attend to.”  Then he asked, eyebrow going up, “Tonks hasn’t taken the hint yet?”

         “No,” Remus sighed, shaking his head.  “Pulling out what would be expected of me, but she’s pressing on.  I’ll manage, don’t worry, and let her down gently without giving the real reason.”

         “I don’t fancy your chances of her catching a clue without having to use a firmer stance, Remus,” Severus snorted, looking sour.

         “In the end, I’ll manage.  I just don’t want to hurt her or make her angry,” Remus told him with a sad shake of his head.

         “Anything I need to know about?”  He then asked, shifting off that topic as it was plenty touchy with Severus.

         “Nothing so far other than the normal,” Severus told him with a little smile.  “Everything is pressing on like usual with nothing to concern ourselves with outside the normal.  Which is good.  We need no more stress.  Albus is concerned about Potter, of course, relaying he hasn’t written to anyone since leaving school though they are owling him.”

         “Harry took Sirius’ death very hard,” Remus told him softly, looking a trifle sad himself at the topic.  “Especially with how it came about.  Don’t blame him there.  Albus should have explained to him just what was going on and his suspicions to stave off the disaster that happened.”

         “No arguments from me about the topic,” Severus gruffed, looking sour himself.  “Either him or told some of the rest of us so we could stop it before it happened.  I had no idea what was going on, aside from the visions.  If I had, I would have stopped them.  The vision would have set almost anyone off and had them scrambling, especially since there was no one for the boy to go to or a way to confirm it.”

         “He thinks Potter will snap back to normal once at the Weasleys,” Severus then added, hopping back to the original topic, sneering as he did.  “Not sure what is going through his mind there, but I don’t think he understands, or doesn’t want to, just the kind of pain the boy is dealing with.  We won’t go into the guilt which has to come along with it.”

         “Maybe I should try to slip in and talk to him during my time over there,” Remus suggested, sounding worried. “Albus—his platitudes on so much don’t help like he thinks they do.  I’m sure it’s the case with Harry as well.  Let me see what I can do there.”

         “Might be worth it so the boy doesn’t end up going down a very dark road,” Severus agreed with a nod.  While he had an act to uphold in school, he didn’t hate Potter the way most thought, especially since he knew so much Albus kept from him from Remus.  In this case, he planned to do just what he promised, protecting Potter, just not in the way Albus thought he was.  If it meant the boy was out from under Albus’ thumb, so be it.  “At least get a feel for what’s going on there then I’ll give all the advice I can.  Won’t do any good to guess and speculate what to do until we know what we’re facing.”

         “I’ll do what I can to talk to him,” Remus said with a nod.  “Then we can go from there.  If he’s severely depressed, like it sounds, we might need to step in and help before Albus decides he can leave for the Weasleys.”

         “We will,” Severus agreed.  “Not sure how, but we’ll manage.”

         “There is something I want you to look at,” Remus then said, summoning the letter he received earlier, sliding away from that topic.  “It’s from Sirius’ Solicitor.  I thought it was the standard you sometimes make up to have delivered after your death.  Well, until I hit a certain section of it.  I’ll let you look it over to see what I mean.”

         Now curious, Severus nodded then took the letter when it was handed over.  Brow furrowed, he read through it.  Most of it was the usual, wanting Remus to have some personal items, but there was an odd section which was worded very strangely, almost like it contained a message of some sort you needed to decode.  It did fit with the tenor of the rest of the missive in it was the sort you sent to someone after your death.  It was—he didn’t know.

         After reading it again, he stroked his chin then said, tone distracted, “This is odd.  It’s like there is a hidden message of some sort.”

         “What I thought as well,” Remus agreed with a nod.  “We used some codes in school to pass messages or whatever, but it’s not one of those.  There is something familiar about it, though.  I just don’t know what.  He’s trying to tell me something.  My hope was you saw the same thing then could help me figure out what it is.”

         “Very curious and I will,” Severus told him, sounding distracted as he read through it again.  “Explain to me the codes you used in school then we’ll go from there.  The message is there and it almost sounds like he wants you to find something.  I don’t know, though, as it’s not real clear.  Until we unmuddle this, I can’t be sure.”

         “My thoughts as well, but I can’t think what it would be,” Remus agreed, summoning some of his old school books and notebooks he kept because of what he had written in them, the keys to the codes they used or other areas.  “If there was anything, it would be in Grimmauld Place.  It’s not mentioned in any way.  I thought to go over there and poke around, but we can’t determine who owns it yet.  If it’s Narcissa or Bella, it’s not safe.  I won’t chance it until we know for certain there.  Then I might, if we can’t figure this out.”

         “We should be able to, between the two of us,” Severus assured him, summoning a quill and parchment.  While this wasn’t how he planned to spend the weekend with Remus, more physical and intellectual pursuits coming to mind, he didn’t mind either.  A good mystery was something to hone your mental skills and keep you busy.  Besides, he was now curious himself and wanted to know.

Chapter 4: Chapter 3

         Harry came to an hour or so later, then looked around and squinted, still groggy.  Like normal, he reached for his glasses on the bedside table.  Though Hogwarts and his room on Privet Drive were set up differently, both had a table in the same place by his bed so he could easily find his glasses when the world was a giant blur.  It was then he frowned.  He couldn’t find the table by feeling around like normal.  About to sit up as he groaned, he then remembered he wasn’t in either place, but with Sirius.  “Daddy?” He asked, glancing around though the world was blurry still.

         “Right here,” Sirius told him, putting Harry’s glasses in his hands.  Since there wasn’t a table on the side of the bed Harry slept on, he had put them on his side.

         With a sigh of relief, Harry took his specs and slipped them on, the world coming into focus once more.  He then glanced around.  They must be in the other room as this wasn’t the same one they had been in when Uncle Reg was around.  Then he asked, “Where’s Uncle Reg?”  He assumed he had left to tend to the house again since he had fallen asleep, but wanted to make sure.

         “He had to leave, but told me to tell you he’ll pop back in before bed tonight to see you and spend time with us,” Sirius told him with a smile, arm slipping around his shoulders.

         “Good,” Harry smiled, leaning against Daddy.  Then, with a sigh, he asked, “Is the loo ready or are we using something else?”  He figured they were doing something else as he doubted the bathroom factored in since they could easily go about it another way.

         “Something else,” Sirius told him.  Then he pointed to a folding screen in the corner of the room.  “What we’re using is behind that.  Go ahead and take care of it.  When you come back, we’ll talk for a while so I can explain what we didn’t cover before.”

         After making sure he held onto his bear, Harry nodded then bailed out of bed, padding toward the screen, undoing his onesie as he went.

         Sirius watched Harry toddle off with a grin, then slid out of the bed with a groan.  After a good stretch, he summoned the table and chairs from the other room, settling them in front of the window.  Once they were in place, he took a seat and summoned the cooler type thing they had packed for snacks.  When it came in, he put it under the table.  Then he scanned around the outside of the house from the window.  They had purposely picked the front of the house to stay in and the rooms which gave them the best view so he could keep an eye out.  This wasn’t a busy area, but there were people living around here, so he wanted to keep watch the best he could. 

         Once he scanned around, he let out a soft sigh then looked over at Harry as he came out from behind the screen.  “I have some snacks and drinks for us if you’re hungry or thirsty,” he told his little boy.

         “Just something to drink,” Harry told him sliding into the chair, looking out the window there.  “Not really hungry at the moment.”

         “That’s fine,” Sirius told him with a smile.  “If you want something else we can call an elf.”  He reached down into the cooler and handed Harry a butterbeer then settled back.

         After cracking it open and taking a sip, Harry gave a contented sigh, holding his bear close then curling up in the chair a little.  “See anything around we need to worry about?”  He then asked, looking out the window himself.

         “Nothing,” Sirius said with a shake of his head, looking outside again.  “We have plenty set up to help us detect anyone.  Can’t do the Fidelius since this is a well-known house here and it would look strange for it to vanish for a time.  Most of the strongest wards won’t work for temporary use.  The anti-Muggle ones we used are the ones which work temporarily.  They’ll work until we move tomorrow then come down.  When it comes to the really strong ones, like we put on the house and Reggie is still fiddling with, they take time to settle, like a few days, and for them to come up to full strength.  It’s not needed here and would just end up noticed in some way as we would have to work for a few hours with them outside.”

         “As long as we’re safe for tonight we’re good,” Harry nodded, then glanced around the room.  While clean, it didn’t have much in it, just the basics like a bed, settee and the like.  He could see some of his stuff here with a couple of bags he assumed were Sirius’.  “Did Uncle Reg take my bags with him?  Well, other than the one I see.”

         “He did,” Sirius confirmed.  “Nothing you’ll need and we won’t have to worry about moving it with us that way.  Just going for keeping it simple with this when it comes to objects.  There’s plenty to keep us busy so we don’t end up bored to tears.  If we need anything else, we can just call for an elf.”

         “That’s fine,” Harry agreed amicably, leaning back in his chair, holding Humphrey close.  “Just so we’re together, it doesn’t matter to me,” he then added with a smile.

         “My thought as well,” Sirius nodded.  Then he held out his hand in a gesture for Harry to come over and sit on his lap.  They had gone through plenty to make it to this point, so he wanted to enjoy it.

         Harry needed no more encouragement than the gesture, sliding out of his chair then going over and planting himself on his Daddy’s lap, curling up.  When he felt Sirius wrap his arm around him, holding him close, he gave a contented sigh.  Head resting on his Daddy’s shoulder, he asked, “Aside from the obvious, do we need to worry about anything else?”  With the hand not holding Humphrey, he began to toy with the buttons on the front of Daddy’s robe, undoing them so he could slide his hand inside and touch him.

         “Nothing really, just keeping watch,” Sirius smiled, hand drifting down to rub Harry’s bum.  Then he snorted and grinned, adding, “And you’re not going to get what you want, Harry.  No playing that way until we’re in the house.  Besides, Uncle Reggie would end up plenty upset if we did anything and he wasn’t around.”

         Unable to help himself, Harry snickered, pleased when his fingers were able to touch bare flesh after wiggling them into Sirius’ robes.  “I know,” he said though mentally added ‘going to try, though’ to it.  He wanted time with his Daddy without the fear of ending up caught like in Grimmauld Place.  Besides, he could be what he wanted now and would love it.  Tonight he probably wouldn’t because of the stress and newness, but it was coming.

         “If we need to know anything, Reggie will come over or send an elf.  He’ll also send the Prophet each day and some other papers so we can keep up on the news.  With what happened in the Department of Mysteries, we’re sure when it’s found out you’ve vanished, it’ll hit the papers and most will think the worst.”  Sirius told him, though grinned as Harry kept right on playing.  He knew his little boy well by now and figured he’d try, it just made him grin that it started so soon.  This meant he’d have to stay alert for anything Harry might pull to entice him into going there before they moved into the house.

         “While I feel bad my friends and those who care about me will worry so much, this is best,” Harry said, letting his fingers trace up and down Sirius’ chest, smiling just a little.

         “It is,” Sirius nodded.  “The fight is a good one, we all admit it is, but there is plenty wonky none of us like.  Being out is better for all of us.  We’ll help if we can, but we’re not throwing ourselves into the fight.  There are better ways of handling this than how this is going.  Once Remus figures out what I sent him, we can get some help that way or help them.  That’ll just take time.”

         Harry gave a distracted nod as he unbuttoned more buttons and let his hand roam.  It felt good to not have to worry about so much, being able to spend time with his Daddy and just playing.

         Grin returning at what Harry was doing, Sirius snorted. “Bratty little boy,” he chuckled, giving Harry’s bum a pat.  “Teasing Daddy won’t help, warning you of that now, Harry.”

         “Doesn’t mean I can’t try,” Harry told him with a cheeky grin, still playing.

         “I’ve prepared for this, warning you now, Harry,” Sirius told him, eyebrow up, but still grinning, rubbing his bum.  “You won’t manage, I swear.”

         “Doesn’t matter as I can try,” Harry snickered, pressing on, adoring he now had all the time in the world with his Daddy and didn’t have to worry about being caught.  While he might not persuade Sirius into what he wanted, this was just as good with him, honestly.

         “You can, just saying it won’t work,” Sirius shot back, giving Harry a squeeze.  Then he kissed him on the temple and rested his head against Harry’s.  Like Harry, he adored this and no longer had to worry about the stress of ending up caught.  Since the year before, it had ended up plenty stressful with so much to hide, he was always tense.  Just to relax and allow themselves to enjoy was good with him.  He’d let Harry play all he wanted and try, but wouldn’t go there.

         As Harry touched him, Sirius began asking what his little boy wanted to do to keep himself occupied.  They could find plenty or send an elf to fetch something.  While there was much to talk over and work out, he thought they would just relax for a while.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         Severus looked up from the book he was taking notes from when the door opened.  As expected, it was Remus returning from his time on Privet Drive.  With a nod, he pushed aside everything then warmed up his tea before taking a drink.  “Anything to report?”  He didn’t expect so, but wanted to make certain.

         “Nothing,” Remus told him with a shake of his head, taking a seat with a quiet groan then summoning a cup for himself.  “From what I heard when I took over then saw, Harry hasn’t left the house.  You could see the light on until a certain time, then it went off.  It tells me he’s probably still dealing with the aftermath of Sirius’ death and taking it hard.”

         “Not unexpected,” Severus nodded.  “Has he come out at all, from what you’ve heard?”

         “From what I can gather after a few questions, he hasn’t,” Remus sighed, looking troubled.  “I can also confirm he’s not answered any letters from anyone.  We don’t know if this means the Dursleys have once more pulled a stunt which won’t allow him to, like after his first year, or he just doesn’t want to.  Arabella doesn’t know either as they are no longer talking to her.  What she can provide just goes by her observations and her cats.”

         “Troubling,” Severus admitted, brow furrowed.

         “I also heard Albus plans to have him out of there before the end of the month,” Remus passed on.  “Within the next couple of weeks, from what someone told me.  While this is good as he doesn’t need to stay in that awful place, it also seems like it means no one is overly concerned.  I think the mindset is whatever Harry is dealing with will end up handled at the Weasley’s and they think he’ll snap out of it.”

         “I don’t think it’ll end up that easy,” Severus grumbled, shaking his head, thinking over the situation.  “When is your next turn at keeping watch over there?”

         “The day after tomorrow,” Remus told him.  Then he asked, “Why?”

         “If no one has seen the boy before then, you might want to find a better way to check on him,” Severus sighed.  “Just to assure us he’s as well as possible and there are no real issues.  If the lights are going on and off, he’s obviously there.  More for our peace of mind, of course, and, well, to find out what the situation is.”

         “I’ll do so,” Remus nodded, seeing no downside to the suggestion.  Besides, he wanted to know as he found himself plenty concerned about Harry.

         “Are you finding anything with the code in the letter?”  He then asked Severus, glancing around at all the papers.

         “No,” Severus groused, looking plenty sour.  “I’ve been through all the books you had that the lot of you used in school and can’t find a match.  Since then I’ve pressed on to the most common.  It doesn’t match any of them either.  Now I’m trying to find a match with others.  The more I look at it, the more I think it is a code of some kind, like there is a message he wanted to impart.”

         “I’m sure as well,” Remus nodded.  “And it looks familiar, Severus.”

         “It does,” Severus agreed.  “I just don’t know where I’ve seen it before.”

         “We’ll figure it out eventually,” Remus sighed, clasping his hands on the table.  “It has me curious what it could pertain to if Sirius went to these lengths to hide the message.  His solicitor wouldn’t cause issues with anything unless it was illegal.  Even then, he could dance around it.”

         “My thoughts too,” Severus agreed with a nod.  “Speaking of solicitors—have you heard if Albus knows anything about Grimmauld Place?  I doubt there is anything in it which will cause the Order issues, but it’s a concern.”

         “From what I heard, he thinks it belongs to Harry now. What he and I knew said Harry was Sirius’ heir.  He did go in to retrieve Buckbeak since there isn’t anyone around to feed him and it didn’t appear like anyone had been in there since the mess at the Department of Mysteries.  If it belonged to Bella or Narcissa, I’m certain both would have already done something with it.”

         “As am I,” Severus agreed, pleased with what he heard.  “As chaotic as matters became after the debacle, they would have tried, despite Lucius landing in Azkaban.  Bella would have wanted in to pass whatever to the Dark Lord as it could only help him.”

         “I agree,” Remus nodded, relieved it wasn’t an issue which could cause more problems.

         After a glance around the table, Severus shook his head then cast a spell to stack everything up and move it elsewhere.  Clasping his hands, he grumbled, “We need to do some planning, Remus.  Albus is up to something and hunting some clues he has for—well, I don’t know.  He’s being more secretive than normal with whatever this is.  When he becomes more secretive it means trouble for all of us as he doesn’t want us knowing as he knows it’ll cause issues.  I think we need to finally pull out the plans to go into hiding we discussed over the last year.  And, as much as it may cause problems, I think we need to do something to bring Harry with us.  While he might not like it or will fight us, I think we need to protect him from both Albus and the Dark Lord.”

         “I agree,” Remus nodded without even having to think it over.  “We just—well, there isn’t much time here, Severus.  If Albus is planning to move Harry soon, we’ll have major problems removing him from the Weasleys.  In the scant amount of time we have, we can’t come up with anything.”

         “Very true,” Severus agreed with a nod, looking sour.  “As long as he’s safe for the time being, we can plot then implement it when he’s in school.  I can manage to get us out of the castle if need be.”

         “After the start of term gives us the time we need, I think,” Remus agreed, happy they didn’t have to toss something together quickly as there wasn’t anything he knew which could manage.

         Summoning a clean sheet of parchment and quill, Severus began to draw columns on it then labeled them for what they needed in order of priority.  “The first thing is somewhere to go,” he started then began to ask about ideas.  While they wouldn’t manage this tonight, at least they could start and would look for a solution.  The more they worked and honed, the more they would come up with.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         “Brat boy,” Regulus chuckled, giving Harry a playful swat on the arse.  It was just before the time they all normally went to bed, so he had come over to see the two, checking on how they were doing and to just spend time with them.  He had Harry on his lap so he could hold him a little and the young wizard was wiggling around, making sure to grind on his crotch.  As Harry looked plenty tired, he knew it was just to play around, nothing more.  Since he needed to build on the relationship more than Sirius, he didn’t mind as it gave him a chance to muck about a little with him.

         “He always is,” Sirius chuckled, sipping at his butterbeer and grinning. 

         “You both like me this way,” Harry told them with a winning grin.  He then snuggled in, leaning fully back against Uncle Reg and giving a contented sigh.  As tired as he was from all the stress he had dealt with since this whole plan went into action, he felt like he could sleep for days, but planned to stay awake until Uncle Reg left.  Then he would sleep.

         “Of course we do,” Sirius agreed, still grinning. “It’s even better when you’re tormenting Reggie instead of me.  Since I’ll be around you all the time until we move into the house, you’ll do it plenty.”

         “Thanks, Sirius,” Regulus laughed, though he gave Harry an affectionate squeeze.  He did like this as he hadn’t had a chance to spend all the time with Harry that Sirius had.  It was nice to hold him and understood more each time why they had gravitated towards this paraphilia.  There was something quite satisfying about it.

         “You’re welcome,” Sirius chuckled, shaking his head.  He adored this, honestly.  They weren’t talking about anything too stressful or heavy, just shooting the shit and spending time together.  Since they hadn’t had the chance much, other than through the mirrors, it was satisfying in plenty of ways.

         “I have a question,” Harry started.  When the two motioned for him to go on, he asked, “Why are we doing this whole hopping around for a week instead of just going to the house?”  The topic hadn’t been explained to him, so he was curious.

         “Mostly it’s the warding,” Regulus told him.  “We just signed the papers, so we didn’t have the time needed to put up what we have to have to stop people from tracing you.  It’ll take until the day you finally arrive there for it to all end up in place and settled.  While we could get by with the house not being done, we can’t with the warding.  As it is, we have to ensure the Trace on you is gone.  Sirius will tend to it while you sleep.  Then we have to make damned sure they can’t trace you other ways.  To protect all of us, we need those wards up and the Fidelius on.  It I do have on, thankfully.  The wards to negate ways to trace won’t go on until last as they have to weave in with all the others for maximum protection.”

         “We also thought, since we have no idea when they’ll discover you’re gone, to keep moving so we can stay a step ahead of anything they might pull out.  There’s a greater chance of discovery if we stay in one place.  The houses we’re using aren’t the best, but it’s also doubtful anyone would think to look for us in these sort.”  Sirius then added.  “Reggie and I aren’t worried about us, but you.  The minute everyone finds out you’re gone, they’re going to pull out everything they can think of.  While we covered what we know is generally used, there is plenty we don’t know about.  Which means, we think it’s better to keep moving.  It does help.”

         “Understood,” Harry nodded, thinking it made sense.

         “Sirius is also better at protection when it comes to so much than I am,” Regulus added.  “He can defend you better.  Since he can, I took on the house end.  Besides, it’s easier to defend and do whatever else with two people rather than three.”

         “More I didn’t think of,” Harry admitted.  “Not complaining, honestly, just wanted to know.”

         “It’s odd, but we think it’s best.  We can protect you a bit better this way.  What we think is whatever they might use to try to trace you will send up a warning with some of the spells we used and the detection devices.  If you receive the warning, you can get out then they’ll just find an abandoned house which looks like no one has been in for years.”  Regulus said, giving him an affectionate squeeze.

         “Would throw them off completely,” Sirius added.  “The elves know spells to completely negate anything they could use to detect the use of magic.  It would keep them running in circles and give us time to either go to the safe house which we have plenty protected or, if it’s bad enough, to hop to the house itself.”

         Harry glanced at some odd-looking instruments placed on a small table by the bed.  Those were the detection devices and alarms.  Giving a slow nod, he said, “Sounds good.”

         “It’s not perfect, but will give us what we need,” Sirius told him.  “Honestly?  I’m more concerned with Muggles seeing something odd then investigating than our kind.  After it comes out you’ve vanished, then I’ll worry about our kind.”

         Though he nodded, Harry didn’t say anything, pleased the two had thought of the best way to handle this.  He wouldn’t have ever been able to cover the issues like they had.

         Regulus nuzzled Harry’s head with his and smiled.  “Let’s play a couple of hands of cards before I go.  You can also give me an idea of what we might need still.  The elves can manage to put together whatever from there.”

         Sirius summoned the cards and started to shuffle them, discussing what they wanted to play.  While he thought they had most everything in place they needed, it was best to cover it again and ask Harry since he might have ideas. Since Reggie would have to go soon and Harry would want to sleep, he wanted to spend time with them before then.  After all, this was the first night of a different life, so he wanted to start out right.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         As he stepped back up to the bed, Sirius slipped his robe off then slid in next to Harry once more, curling up to him.  As expected, Harry muttered something in his sleep and pressed up against his body once more, still clutching onto his bear.  With a smile, Sirius kissed him on top of his head and draped an arm over him.  It pleased him Harry didn’t wake while he was gone.  As tired as his little boy was, he didn’t think he would, but with the strangeness of all of this, it had been a possibility.

         Eyes drifting shut as he relaxed once more.  Though it was about two in the morning, he had woken to check around to ensure everything was fine.  The alarms hadn’t gone off, but he had to check for his own peace of mind.  Besides, he wanted to make damned sure he stayed alert for anything odd.  He didn’t want caught off guard after everyone found out Harry vanished, so was best to start now.

         While he listened to Harry’s deep breathing, he smiled.  This was good and right, something he loved.  He just wanted the week to speed by so they could relax in their house and not have to worry about all that could go wrong.  Until then, he not only had to stay alert, but doubted he could fully relax.

         Once he shifted around slightly and found the perfect spot, taking care not to wake his little boy, he let out a soft sigh and tried to focus on Harry’s breathing.  He did need rest or he wouldn’t stay as alert as he needed to for so much, though he found even falling asleep earlier hard.  Even if was just naps, he’d be fine.  As he focused on Harry’s breathing, something which did help, he tried to calm his thoughts and not go over everything in detail, fretting over what could cause problems.  Not easy, but he would try.  After all, he was Harry’s only defense until Reggie could join them, so he needed to not only stay on top of his game, but well rested.  He could find a way, it would just take him relaxing.

Chapter 5: Chapter 4

         After Apparating into the safe house with Sirius, Harry looked around and shook his head, shivering slightly.  “I can see why we couldn’t use this the whole time,” he muttered, feeling slightly claustrophobic.  There were two rooms, no windows, and all of it was concrete, painted a dull grey color.  While there were two rooms, they were both small.  He could tell there would be enough room to put a bed and a few other items, but it would make it very close quarters.  Though not for certain, he didn’t think there were any expansion charms on it.

         “Yeah, we’d both go mental in here,” Sirius sighed, shuddering slightly at the thought.  “Even short times would be a trial, honestly.  We have it set up to circulate fresh air and a little in here so we have something to do, but it’s not a place you want to inhabit for long.  Especially because we can’t put expansion charms on it for various reasons.” 

         As he guided Harry over to the table, he explained, “This was some sort of Muggle fallout shelter from the second war.  Not only is it solid concrete, but its lead lined.  Which helps us because we can layer on plenty to hide us, not to mention the lead having a natural effect on magic.  However, the wards we have on it are only good for six hours, max, before they stop working well and have to recharge for 24 hours.  We set it up that way to give us time to hide behind the best we can manage before moving again.”

         “Not sure I would want to spend six full hours here, honestly,” Harry told him, taking a seat.  “Even that long would end up enough to make you loony.”

         “More I agree with,” Sirius nodded, taking a seat across the table with him.  “It’s just for temporary use until we can hop elsewhere.  Like now, it’s just for an hour or so while the elves check the new place and the wards we put up.  Won’t be more than that, then we’ll move there.”  Sirius explained, taking their brekky out of the small basket the elves left so they could eat.

         “Good,” Harry nodded, still looking around.  He then took the plate Sirius passed him and tucked in.  As he ate, he asked, “About this hopping around for a week—I understand the bit about the wards, but is there more to it?  I mean, we could have just waited the week.”  However, he added with a big grin, “Not that I mind, of course!”

         “Didn’t figure you did,” Sirius grinned back.  He then sobered up and explained, “Partially because we have no idea what Albus plans to do with you this summer.  With you not answering your mail, we have no way of knowing anything.  It’s best to get you out now than end up scrambling at the last minute to try.  With all that’s going on, we’d have a bitch of a time getting you out of the Burrow, so we didn’t want to take that chance.  Besides, this way we will have caused enough of a distraction that they won’t know when you left and the trail will end up cold when it comes to tracing you.  Anything they try won’t work because you left more than 24 hours before they found out.  That is buying us time and being safe, able to stay ahead of them.  Part of it, as you heard, are the wards.  Those have to settle, period, for us to stay safe.”

         “We initially thought the two of us would hole up in a Muggle hotel of some kind, one where we wouldn’t end up noticed.  Eventually we discounted that idea.  Since we have no clue when they’ll discover you’re gone and what kind of alarm will sound from it, it’s best to stay hidden.  I’m sure when it’s discovered you’re gone and it looks like a fight came from it, they may involve the Muggle authorities.  We didn’t want to chance it.  This was safest, for all of us.  Reggie can handle the house and wards while I protect you.  No one will look for me and Reggie.  Hell, they probably would assume we were someone else if they did encounter us since it’s well-known we’re dead.  You, though, is a whole other matter. We could hide your scar, but your eyes are a dead giveaway.  Since we can’t just go out and get you contacts or something to change your eye color, we need to keep you out of the public eye or somewhere you might end up seen and remembered by Muggles.”  Sirius sighed, shaking his head. 

         “This is what we thought was safest, for all of us.  We’ll hop around then settle once the wards are done.  Reggie is trying to push those as fast as he can, but you can’t half-arse wards or you end up crashing them all then have to start over, so you have to take care.  He’s doing all he can.  Then we’ll keep an eye on the Prophet for any stories about you.  If it comes down to them finding out you’re gone before the week is over, we’ll do what we can to stay hidden.”

         “Understood,” Harry nodded, now getting why they wanted to go about it this way.  Looking around the room, he asked, feeling slightly more claustrophobic, “How long do we have to stay here before we can hop to the next house?  This—I don’t like this place, at all.”

         “Me either,” Sirius groused, looking sour.  “An hour, tops.  We just have to wait for the elves to give us the all clear then we’ll hop over there.”

         “Good,” Harry sighed.  “Any more than an hour and I think I would go mental myself.”

         “I agree,” Sirius told him, eating a few bites.

         “How is Remus factoring into this?  I know you sent him some kind of a cryptic, coded note.”  Harry asked, curious about this.  Daddy and Uncle Reg mentioned this and it sounded important when it came to the plan, but he didn’t know the details.

         “There is a bit more going on with Remus than you’ve known,” Sirius started.  Then he ordered his thoughts and explained, “First of all, despite what so many think, he’s not with Tonks.”

         “I never heard that,” Harry admitted, eyes widening.  “Him and Tonks?  That’s odd!”

         “Well, it’s what she wants,” Sirius snickered, shaking his head.  “Won’t ever happen.  She’s made it clear, but Remus would never end up with her.  While he’s bisexual, he tends to lean more towards the blokes than he does birds.”  Then he grinned, knowing this would floor Harry, “Besides, he’s heavily involved with Snape and has been since the year he taught.”

         “What?!?!?!?”  Harry stammered, eyes overly wide, unable to believe his ears, fork dropping out of his hand.  He didn’t have a clue this was going on.  In fact, in school when he taught, Remus didn’t seem to deal much with Snape, let alone look like he had something else going on with him.

         Unable to help himself, Sirius grinned.  “That was about my reaction when I heard, though there were several four-letter words involved.  I was floored.  However, it’s the truth.  Apparently, when they were teaching together something happened and they started some sort of relationship.  Wasn’t what it is now, but it started.”

         “Snape is the reason Remus had to quit,” Harry said, shaking his head, not understanding how this came about and blindsided, picking his fork back up. 

         “From my understanding, it was something the two worked out to cover up the fact Remus actually told Albus off and quit.”  Before Harry could ask, he explained, “He was furious what went on with me and how Albus could help Snape after the first war but not me.  Then how it came out I was completely innocent.  From what he told me later, he was angry that Albus had enough influence to help Snape get off, but didn’t do anything to help me.  If the old goat wasn’t willing to do anything for me, even though he was on the Wizengamot when I escaped, Remus wouldn’t work with him, so he quit.  He and Snape came up with the idea of Snape letting it ‘slip out’ he is a werewolf so it would appear he had to quit.  Albus never contradicted them for his own reasons.”

         “Since then, the two have worked towards something serious,” he continued.  “They both are actually rather happy.  It’s something they’re keeping a secret, obviously, but they like it.  I think that’s all that matters.”

         “Well, yeah,” Harry agreed though still stunned, eyes overly wide.  “You have to admit it’s odd.”

         “Oh, that it is,” Sirius nodded.  “Even to me,” he laughed.  “I couldn’t believe it at first.  Since then—let’s say I believe it.  Though I find it odd, it’s working for them and Remus is happy.  It’s all that matters to me.”

         Though Harry nodded, it was still something he couldn’t wrap his mind around.  Instead of trying, he shook his head and jumped back to the original topic.  “How does this factor in?”  He didn’t really want to hear about a relationship with Remus and Snape as he was sure it would give him visions he certainly didn’t want or need.  However, since it did come into play with so much, he wanted to know before he ended up blindsided once more.

         “It comes down to information and protection,” Sirius told him, polishing off his food and sipping the tea he had poured for himself from a magical thermos.  “Remus might end up stunned I’m still alive and Reggie is back, but he’ll rise to the occasion.  From what he said to me privately, many times in fact, was he agreed with the view we have that Albus is up to something no good when it comes to you.  He told me once Snape felt the same way and was plenty angry.”

         “Snape?”  Harry asked, stunned, brow furrowed.  “He hates me!  I mean, he’s gone out of his way to make my life a living hell since I started school.”

         “Not sure there,” Sirius admitted with a shrug.  “Remus mentioned a promise of some kind and looking good, not fully explaining it.  While I tried to get it out of him, I didn’t have enough time before the end of the school year to manage.  We’ll just go from there and trust what Remus said.”

         Then he continued, explaining the note, “I didn’t want to make this too easy on them or warn them ahead of time what I was doing, so I made a tough code based on one we used in school.  My hope is he won’t figure it out until after it’s discovered you’re gone.  Let them scramble for a bit before he does.  There’s a good bit to explain to him, like Reggie and the relationship with you, but he’ll come on board.  No question in my mind about that because of what I know of him and his stance on plenty.  Once he does, he’ll be a huge help for us.”

         “You sure Snape won’t give us up?”  Harry asked softly, brow furrowed as he thought about that bit of this.  “I mean, you know what he’s like and the relationship with Dumbledore.”

         “We were worried about that, I admit it,” Sirius nodded.  “We finally decided, after a great deal of talking, that if Snape is in a relationship with Remus and what I talked to Remus about was true, it would mean he won’t say a word.  We’re also going with the plan that I won’t say anything about you at first.  After a few meetings I’ll bring it in just to make sure.  Then we’ll go from there.  While we have most everything we can think of in place, we’ll need help, plenty of it as time goes on.  Mostly it’ll be to ensure we all stay safe and anything we might not read in the Prophet.”

         Harry listened intently then, after thinking it over for a few moments, he gave a slow nod.  “It makes sense.  After all, you can’t get the true scope of anything from the Prophet.  Even the big stories there.  We would need more information.”

         “Exactly,” Sirius agreed.  “Since we don’t have any contacts to get the real truth or news which might not make it in, we need something.  This would work for that.  And we can help with the war, in a way anyway.  I think we all want to, just not with the Dumbledore end.”

         “Oh yes,” Harry nodded.  He was about to ask another question when an elf popped in, startling him.

         Looking relived that it was time to go, Sirius nodded then stood.  “We’ll finish the meal there.  Let’s get out of here.”

         Quite relieved to be out of this confined space, Harry nodded and stood.  Though there were plenty of questions he wanted to ask, they could wait.  After all, they had all the time in the world now and could take their time. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         “All is well?”  Severus asked Remus as he came in the door.  From what he knew, his lover had a meeting with Albus then planned to go help with the wards on the Burrow in preparation for Potter going there when released from the Purgatory on Privet Drive.

         “Nothing to worry about,” Remus assured him after taking a seat with a soft groan.  After summoning a cup of tea, he explained, “Albus plans on moving Harry next week around midnight to throw anyone from the other side off if they are watching.  He said he wanted him out of there sooner this year as he suffered such an emotional event at the end of the school year.”

         With a snort of disdain, Severus sneered, “If he was so worried about that, he would have not only done something before now, but put something in place so the boy had somewhere to go for help as it happened!  Pardon me if I don’t believe it and see it as just another of Albus’ manipulations of Potter.  It has to factor into plenty of his plans.”

         “Nothing I’ll disagree with,” Remus sighed, shaking his head.  “There were times while he talked where I had to bite my tongue as I was about to say something similar.”  Then he pressed on, “The wards—we did all we could today, but they need to settle a tad.  We’ll go back over in the next couple of days then work at them some more.  These won’t last forever, just until after the start of the term, but they’ll hold up while Harry’s there.”

         “Good,” Severus nodded, piling up the books he had been going through about cyphers.  He then leaned back and laced his fingers behind his head, stretching his long legs out, crossing his ankles.  “Has anyone heard from him yet?”  He wanted to know since Remus had mentioned more than once Potter hadn’t answered any of the owls he received.

         “No,” Remus sighed dejectedly, shaking his head sadly.  “I asked when over at the Burrow and no one has heard from him.  They are actually rather disturbed by the lack of communication and worried.  Tomorrow while on duty over at Privet Drive I’ll pop in and talk to him.  I think—yes, I need to see what’s going on.  If it’s bad enough I’ll try to motivate Albus into moving him faster.  Not sure if I can manage as he doesn’t tend to move on set plans unless there is a good reason or increased danger, but I’ll give it a shot.”

         “Good plan,” Severus nodded.  “If it is bad, come back here first and we’ll formulate the best way to get Albus moving how we want.  I can’t jump in for obvious reasons, but I feel I know how to get him going the direction we want.  If Albus won’t, we’ll come up with a way for you to visit him and try to help.  That—we can manage between the two of us.  If nothing else, we’ll do it late at night and I’ll stand guard to keep an eye on you.”

         “I have a feeling, with what we know of Albus, we’ll have to go with your suggestion as I doubt he’ll move,” Remus told him gloomily, shaking his head sadly.

         “As do I,” Severus agreed, looking plenty sour.  “You can help plenty and give him someone to talk to.  Albus won’t like it, as he’s done everything in his power to keep you away from him and becoming something akin to an adult figure in his life, but he’ll deal since there won’t be anything he can do about it.”

         “I should have stepped in long ago, Severus,” Remus told him, looking down at the table, feeling plenty of guilt over listening to Albus on the topic so long ago.  “What I saw in school—yes, I should have done more.”

         “We should have,” Severus grumbled, slouching down slightly, shoulders slumped.  “It came down to all of us, me included, thought he was doing the right thing by the boy.  None of us had any idea of what Potter was going through with that family.  We’ll manage at some point, even if it’s just you and I after we get out.”

         “I think—yes, out is needed, Severus.  For plenty of reasons.  I don’t even want to ponder the problems Harry will have when he is an adult over so much of this.  And it just keeps piling on, growing worse each year.  We can at least start working on repairing them.  If we start him down the road, he’ll have the tools to deal with the rest.”

         “Which we need to start on before more piles on,” Severus told him pointedly.  Planning to talk more to Remus about plans for that, Severus then shifted to a new topic.  “About this code—the more I look at it, the more I think it’s a combination of two cyphers.  One is the code you used in school.  The other I think is an old one.  I’m going to need some help putting them together.  Might take us a couple more days, but I think we’re on the right track.”

         Heartened, Remus slid over by Severus and glanced at the notes his lover had taken.  Then he had Severus walk him through everything.  Though not sure what Sirius would have put in code since he was dead and nothing mattered now, but he was curious, certain it was important.  Now he wanted to know.  Between the two of them, they could manage and would.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         After settling into a comfy chair by the front window of the house, Harry finger combed his still wet hair.  He had just taken a bath, well, Daddy bathed him in a tub the elves produced for them.  And he had loved it.  It was different and gave him the good sort of tingles at the soft touch of someone you adored.  A smile still on his face, he leaned back in the chair and grabbed the butterbeer he had opened after coming in from the bath.  Snuggling down in the chair, he smiled and sipped.  This was good!

         Eyes drifting to the front window near where he was seated, he scanned around though doubted he would see anything.  From what he could tell, they weren’t anywhere near a town and this place was surrounded by lots of tall grass, overgrown weeds, wildly out of control hedges, and plenty of other natural barriers.  However, it was best to keep an eye out.

         He pulled his eyes away when he heard something behind him.  One glance over his shoulder and he smiled.  As expected, it was just Sirius coming out after taking his own bath.  “All’s clear,” he told his Daddy then his eyes drifted back to the windows.

         As he grabbed a butterbeer for himself out of the once more full cooler the elves provided, Sirius walked over to the table Harry was seated at.  Instead of conjuring a chair for himself, he patted Harry on the back, having him stand, then sat on the chair and pulled his little boy into his lap.  One arm wrapping around him, he held him close, snuggling on him as he drank.  “This is fairly isolated, though there is quite a bit of traffic from the road close by, so we need to keep watch.”

         Though he nodded, Harry was more interested in snuggling with his Daddy.  As he clutched his teddy close, he smiled, shifting sideways then letting his head drop onto Sirius’ shoulder.  With a contented sigh and smile, he asked, “Is Uncle Reg going to come over today?”

         “He will,” Sirius assured him, nodding. “I’m sure he’ll come over soon for a short visit and to check to ensure we’re fine and everything is working as it should.  Probably won’t be for long, though, as he’s busy.”

         When Harry nodded, Sirius smiled, giving him a squeeze then said, “When we get moved to the house I’m going to have you spend extra time with Reggie.  You’re used to me plenty and him only a little. Since he’s your uncle now, it’s best you get to know him as well as you do me.  It’ll do both of you good.”

         “I’d like that,” Harry told him, rolling his eyes up so he could look at his Daddy.  “Uncle Reg is fun to be around, too.”

         “He is,” Sirius grinned, looking down at him.  “You’ll love it.  So will he, honestly.  We’ll be together for a long time, so it’s best you get to know him better.  He wants to do the same and has told me that.  We discussed making sure both of us have time alone with you each day.  That’s a good idea, honestly.  The same with all of us having time to ourselves. Once we’re together, we’ll figure something out.”

         Harry nodded slowly after listening, agreeing.  It was one thing to adore the relationship, something he obviously did, but it was another to be with someone all the time.  He knew from reading and other things that if you did that bit, it wasn’t long before you ended up on each other’s nerves.  No, he didn’t want that to happen.  It would end up bad enough they’d mostly be stuck in the house that they didn’t need more stress added on.

         “We can relax when we get there, though,” Sirius told him with a small smile.  “It’ll be as protected as Hogwarts and Grimmauld Place, if not more so.”

         “Which is good,” Harry agreed.  “Anything in the Prophet today we need to worry about?  I just glanced through it, but didn’t see anything.”  He couldn’t stand the Prophet and didn’t read it unless forced, so he might have missed something they needed to know.

         “I didn’t see anything,” Sirius assured him.  “Just the mundane about the normal and the war, nothing more.  No mention of you anywhere, thankfully.”

         “Good,” Harry said with a relieved sigh.  “Buying us time.”

         “For now, I’m not too worried about anything,” Sirius told him.  “It’s after they’ve discovered you’re gone which worries me.  That’s when everyone will be out hunting you.  We’re just hoping it isn’t until the last day or so before the house is done, though we aren’t counting on it.  None of our luck is that good.”

         “Nope,” Harry said with a dry snort, rolling his eyes.

         “We won’t worry about it until it happens,” Sirius assured him.  “It’s just down to us watching out for Muggles, nothing more.”

         Harry nodded at that then asked, shifting to something he was curious about.  “Is Uncle Reg still having the bad nightmares?”  From what Daddy told him, Uncle Reg was having issues coming from the time he was trapped in that cave.  He couldn’t even imagine how bad that was and figured it was normal to have problems because of it.”

         “Some,” Sirius admitted.  Then he began talking about them.  For now, he just wanted to relax.  Reggie would be over later, so he wanted the worst out of the way so both of them could enjoy the visit.

Chapter 6: Chapter 5

         Pale as a ghost, Remus rushed into his house, trembling intensely.  When he saw the concerned expression on Severus’ face as his partner stood from where he had been seated at the table with papers scattered all over, he panted out, “Harry isn’t there, Severus!  Not sure how long he’s been gone, but it appears from what I saw in his room there was a fight!”

         Severus went pale himself, clutching his wand out of habit then asked, trying to keep a level tone so Remus didn’t panic more than he already was, “Have you alerted anyone?  Like Albus?”

         “Yes,” Remus told him with a vigorous nod.  “I used Arabella’s Floo and contacted Albus.  He’s rounding up the troops and will be there shortly.  He sent me to contact a list of people.  You were one of them.”

         “Good,” Severus nodded, mind racing all over.  “Get in touch with who you need to and I’ll ensure I stay out of the way.  Tell me everything you saw.”  Then he summoned the scotch Remus kept for medicinal purposes.  Pouring a shot into a glass he conjured, he passed it over then glared at his partner until he drank it.

         After swallowing the shot in one gulp, ignoring the burn, he managed to say, voice uneven, “I snuck into the house under a Disillusion Charm.  Petunia was there, but no one else.  Of course, I made sure I wasn’t seen.  When I went into the room I know is Harry’s, I saw spell marks and burns all over.  It looked like superficial damage you see from spell marks.  The furniture was broken and turned over, looking like there was a fight.  Though I took only a quick look, it appeared as though all his belongings, including his wand, are there.  This—it’s not good, Severus!”

         “No, it isn’t,” Severus told him, looking plenty grim, mind all over trying to figure out what might have happened.  Trying to stay focused, he asked, “What plan does Albus have and what does he want us to do once you’ve contacted everyone?”  Though this was a short time, he was certain the old coot had something already formulated.

         “He’s contacting the DMLE first then wants everyone to meet him at the castle.  Tonks and Kingsley are two he’s contacting as well to send up the alert.”  Remus explained, still trembling, though it had lessened. “I tried not to touch anything to preserve the scene, but did a quick check around to ensure he wasn’t anywhere.  Arabella said she’s not seen him since he came home from school or anyone odd around the house, so I told Albus I was concerned and wanted to check.”

         “You should be covered,” Severus told him, putting a bracing hand on his shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze.  “No one will think anything off and you did nothing wrong.”

         Remus nodded once more then said, glancing at the Floo, “I need to contact everyone.  Can you stay while I do and we’ll go together?”

         “I will,” Severus assured him.  Between losing Sirius and now Harry going missing after it appeared there was a battle, he knew his partner would be taking it hard and unable to focus as well as normal.  Besides, the faster they could get the task done and head out, the better they’d end up.  In cases like this, time was of the essence to give them areas to work with before the trail grew cold.

         After Remus seated himself at the Floo to start contacting those on his list, Severus ensured he Disillusioned himself and stayed behind a shield so no one could detect his presence, he questioned Remus more between calls so he had a full scope of everything he encountered or saw so he was completely up to speed before they had to go see the old man. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         After a glance around to ensure everyone who could get here had arrived, Albus sighed.  Not all he wanted were here because it was the middle of the work day and most couldn’t leave their jobs for no reason.  This would do, though.  It would have to as he had no other choice.

         He then cleared his throat, hoping to get quiet and get everyone to focus so the panic didn’t rise anymore.  Once everyone started to focus on him, he folded his hands on his desk and looked intent, gazing around.  “Let me fill you in on what I know so far.”  Then he launched in and explained what Remus found.  Though it caused plenty to panic, he kept going. 

         Once he finished the basic run through of that, he pressed on.  Raising his voice so he could be heard over the cacophony now raging, he said, “I contacted the DMLE.  For once, I can assure you they are taking this seriously, especially since it appears like a fight took place.  They should be there by now.  Before them, I sent word to Kingsley, Tonks, and a couple other Aurors I know.  They’ve checked in and confirmed what Remus saw.  Then they locked it down to preserve the scene. From what they told me, they are staying as well to help with others being called in.”

         As he looked around at the worried and concerned faces, hearing the panicked questions, he ignored it all then pressed on.  “No one knows what happened, just that it looks like there was a fight, nothing more.  They will take readings and do what they can to find out.  They will question the Dursleys to see what they know.  From what we all understand, Harry’s not left the house since coming home from school, so I don’t think it’s a case of someone following him in or attaching to him some way.  I also haven’t heard any triggering of underage use of Magic.  We would know if he did.  This means we have to wait for the DMLE to do their job.  However, we’re going to go help all we can.”

         He then looked around and explained before anyone could ask, “The DMLE will need help questioning plenty of people and other areas.  This we can do.  And we need to.  The more help they have, the better and faster they can manage.”  Then he imparted sternly, “We do not need panic and hand wringing.  Remember that.  We need cool heads and calm.  Listen to the DMLE and what they want you to do.  I’ve already passed the word you are coming.  What I need now is for you to either go home and change into Muggle attire or transfigure your clothes.  Then we’ll all meet in the play park Harry likes to frequent.”  Eyes flitting to Severus, he added, “Except Severus, of course.”  Straightening up, he shooed everyone out, not answering any questions, but urging everyone to hurry, promising he would fill everyone in tonight when he could.

         Stiff, Severus waited for what Albus wanted.  Oh, he planned to go help with a disguise, but he figured there was something the old man wanted.  Before the old man could say anything, he told him, “I’ve heard nothing from the Dark Lord, Albus.  If this was his plan or doing, I would have heard in some way.  He wouldn’t keep it a secret.  In fact, I’m sure our whole world would know.”

         “My thought as well,” Albus nodded, looking plenty grave and worried.  “The only thing I could come up with so quickly is if there are any of Tom’s followers who might do this to gain favor?  I doubt they would do anything to Harry alone as they would have to know what would happen to them, but I wouldn’t put it past some to give it a shot to raise their position or look good.”

         It didn’t take but a moment for Severus to come up with a name.  “Lucius, probably with the help of Draco and Narcissa.  He is in serious disfavor.  With that plan the Dark Lord came up with for Draco once school resumes, they might have dreamed up something to negate it and put Lucius back in favor.”  With a shake of his head, he told Albus, sounding weary, gut clenching plenty over what this could mean, “The Dark Lord is occupying Malfoy Manor as a way to humiliate Lucius for his failure.  He has to know it’ll get worse from here if something doesn’t happen.  In my estimation, he’s the only one with brains enough to do this.  Bella would just go in, spells flying, to take him.  The same with the others.”

         A grave look on his face, Albus nodded after thinking it over.  “You’re right and I agree.  Let me see what I can do to point everyone in his direction.”

         “If it’s not them, I have no idea who could have done this, Albus,” Severus told him honestly with a shake of his head.  “The Dark Lord would have made sure we knew and others would have hung a Dark Mark over the house to ensure everyone knew why it was done.”

         “I agree,” Albus sighed, shaking his head sadly.  “Let me see what we can find out and the Ministry can come up with when it comes to clues.  If you could, when you can manage and it doesn’t look odd, poke around among those you know to see if anyone drops any kind of hints.”

         “I will,” Severus nodded, planning to do just that.

         “While it might put you at risk, I want you to help with this operation, Severus.  Disguised, of course, as we both know you can manage.  You might see clues we can’t because of all you know.”  Albus told him gently, unsure how he would take it.

         Though he scowled and huffed, looking thunderous as Albus would expect, he gave a stiff nod. “Give me some time to go home and change. Then I’ll join you,” he sighed, looking sour but feeling pleased.

         “I have some Polyjuice if you like,” Albus offered, though he knew Severus could easily disguise himself better than most people.

         “That I’ll take,” Severus told him without thinking about it.  It would be far better than a disguise that might slip or have someone looking too closely at him. Yes, it was the better way to go about the operation.  “How long do you anticipate this will take or don’t you know?”

         “I honestly don’t know,” Albus sighed, shaking his head.  “I have enough Polyjuice for many hours.  The time—it’ll depend on what we find, honestly, or what the DMLE can uncover.  Let’s see what happens and go from there.”

         “Will do,” Severus nodded, holding his hand out for the potion. He would go home and change, of course, then find some hair then join everyone.  Either way, he wanted some clues so he could help put the mystery together.

         After pocketing the potion and assuring Albus he would meet him in the park, he swept out.  As he headed to the place beyond the wards they used to Apparate, he just hoped like hell it wasn’t a Death Eater who took Potter. If it was, the boy would end up dead shortly and they would all no longer stand much of a chance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         With a grin, Sirius watched over Harry’s shoulder as he put the finishing touches on an owl he made out of modeling clay.  They were seated at the front window of the new house they hopped to, just relaxing for a while.  Since this one was out in the middle of some fields with only a road in front of it and farm houses miles away on each side, it was fairly quiet.  The only vehicle they had seen so far was a tractor going somewhere, probably to one of the fields close by.  This was good.  The only problem he had with the house was the smaller communities tended to notice anything odd quicker than in busier places.  While he and the elves were good, the chances were a tad higher with places like this.

         After putting the finishing touches on the owl, Harry looked at it and grinned.  It actually turned out very well, better than he thought it would.  Cocking his head to one side, he then nodded and pushed it back instead of demolishing it like he had with the others he had done before. “I think I want to keep that one.  Will let it dry then paint it.  While it’s not the best, I like it,” he told his Daddy.

         “It turned out great,” Sirius told him then cast a charm on the clay to help it dry faster.  When he finished, he wrapped both arms around Harry’s waist and held him close, chin resting on his shoulder.  “Want to work on more with the clay or do something else now?”

         As he wiggled on his Daddy’s lap, making sure to grind on his cock, Harry grinned cheekily then said, “Play with Daddy.”  He then reached down and began to stroke Sirius’ leg, though not making any move to slip his hand between their legs to fondle him there.  While he knew the answer, as Daddy had made it clear already, he had to try.  After all, he had waited so long for this that he really wanted it, more than he cared to admit.

         “Brat boy,” Sirius chuckled, giving his nappy covered bum a light, playful swat.  “We aren’t playing that way until we get in the new house and you know it.”

         Turning sideways in his Daddy’s lap, Harry snuggled in then began to run his fingers lightly up and down Sirius’ chest, drifting further downwards with each stroke.  “But I want to,” he whined, making sure his voice sounded more like a little kid’s than his normal one.  “Wanted to play with Daddy for so long!”  He then added, whimpering softly, wiggling around more.

         “And Daddy wants to play with you,” Sirius told him, voice husky, holding him close with one arm.  He then put his other hand over Harry’s roaming one.  While he didn’t stop it from its journey, he planned to keep it from drifting too far southwards, though he doubted Harry would do so.  This was just Harry being the bratty little boy he adored and playing, nothing more.

         Harry then buried his face in his Daddy’s neck and started kissing it, licking just a little.  “Want my Daddy so bad,” he whined again.  “Missed you so much, too.  Want playtime.”

         “So do I,” Sirius admitted, shivering a little at the feel of Harry’s mouth on his neck.  A low moan escaping him, he panted heavily.  “We can’t right now, though,” he admitted reluctantly.  His cock was already hardening from this small playfulness.  Though he wanted it to go on and press further, he knew he couldn’t let it.  They needed to stay alert.

         “Love my Daddy,” Harry muttered before starting to suck on Sirius’ neck.

         Unable to help himself, Sirius moaned loudly, whole body shivering and cock fully erect, throbbing madly.  Head dropping back, eyes drifting shut, he panted, feeling his whole-body tingle from the sensations.  Yeah, this was enough because if they went any further he doubted he would be able to stop it. 

         As the biting grew a little harder, Sirius shuddered then gently pushed Harry away before enfolding him in a hug.  Kissing him on the scar that marred his forehead, he chuckled unevenly.  “It’s not nice to torment your Daddy that way.” 

         “I like teasing Daddy,” Harry muttered but didn’t return to the behavior.  He knew this was Sirius’ way of telling him to knock it off.  His own cock throbbing, shivering slightly, he whimpered softly.  Yeah, he not only tormented Daddy, but himself as well since he was now highly aroused from what he did.  Snuggling back in, he sighed, eyes going shut.  However, he did add, some whine in his voice, “I want my Daddy to play with me.”

         “I want to as well, you know this,” Sirius told him, lifting his eyes to the window when he heard a vehicle coming.  He watched it until it drove past without slowing down.  “Now isn’t the time, though.  Besides, Reggie would end up pissed as hell at both of us if we did and he wasn’t here.  We certainly don’t want him that way, do we?”

         “No,” Harry admitted, grinning just a little at the idea and how Uncle Reg would huff at Daddy, something he always thought was funny anyway.  Though Daddy was the older brother, Uncle Reg had no problems at all putting him in his place if the situation called for it.

         “He would too and you know it,” Sirius grinned, willing his cock to wilt faster.  This little interaction brought back full force just how much he wanted to press on.  However, they couldn’t and he knew it.  The time would come soon enough, he told himself.  Until then he would just put up with Harry’s teasing.  Looking down at him, he asked, “What would you like to do now, if anything?”

         With a sigh, Harry thought it over, not opening his eyes.  Honestly?  He was just tired.  Because of the stress and so much else, he wasn’t sleeping well, leaving him plenty tired.  Though it was morning still, he thought he could take a nap.  As they really didn’t have anything to do, he could.  Then yawning, emphasizing how tired he was, he shook his head before saying, “I think I just want to lay down for a while.  I’m still tired and think I would like a nap.”

         When he heard Harry yawn again, he nodded, grinning a little.  Honestly?  He was tired himself because of so much, so a nap would do him good.  He knew if something came up, he would hear it and wake or the warding would sound an alarm.  Besides, as alert as he was, he wouldn’t sleep deeply anyway.  “We can do that,” he told Harry.  “I think a nap will do us both good.”  Then, making sure Harry had his bear, he stood and carried Harry over to the bed.  Later on they would find something to do to keep them from going mental and to stay occupied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

         As always, Severus looked around after Apparating through the wards at Remus’ cottage.  Like normal, nothing was off, so he let himself into the house.  Worn out, he sought out Remus, planning to just relax with his partner until bedtime.

         Like he anticipated, Remus was seated in the parlor in front of the fire, sipping a drink, looking tired himself.  This was expected as it had been a long night for all of them.

         Once Severus took a seat, Remus asked, passing him a drink he summoned for the man, “Did Albus say anything we need to know about?  We all know we found nothing in the search and the DMLE was still working, so we couldn’t get anything out of them yet.”

         “Not much other than he’s highly concerned,” Severus told him after a sip of his tea.  “From what he said, the DMLE isn’t getting far.  The Dursleys know nothing and didn’t hear any commotion. That I do believe as I’m sure they would have said plenty if they heard noises like that room was being taken apart and a battle.  I also heard they don’t seem all that distressed over him being gone.”

         “From what I know, it’s more of a case of good riddance as they don’t want him there anymore than he wants to stay,” Remus sighed, looking sad as he shook his head.  “Anything else?”

         “The only tidbit which he knows so far is that Potter has been gone more than 24 hours.  The residual Magic used has dissipated.   Which isn’t good.  They now don’t know how long he’s been gone.  And, as you noticed, his wand was there.  Nothing came of I that I heard.  It’s one Albus is checking on to see if Potter fought back or was caught completely off guard.”

         After a nod, Remus then added, “If he didn’t fight back, he might not have for fear of going through what happened last year or it was someone he knew and trusted.”

         “I’ll add those to the pile when I talk to Albus next if we find out more information.”  Severus nodded, looking grave at the thought of what Remus mentioned.  “The DMLE did talk to Arabella and she gave up all she knew, from what I was told.  It can help on the timeline of when he vanished as she did see the lights going on and off at times.”

         After a nod, Remus then sighed and said softly, “I don’t like this, Severus.  Something—it’s wrong with the situation and makes me fear for Harry’s safety.  You haven’t heard anything from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named’s side, have you?  Any hints as to who might have done this?  I can’t think of anyone else other than Death Eaters honestly.”

         “Nor can I,” Severus admitted, slouching down in his chair with a grumble of discontent.  Then he told Remus everything he had mentioned to Albus.  When he finished, he added, “The more I think about it, the more I feel Lucius is involved.  If the Dark Lord was, we would have heard he had Potter.”

         “That’s a chilling thought,” Remus muttered, shivering slightly at the thought of Lucius getting his hands on Harry.  “This—no, this is about as bad as it gets.”

         “I agree,” Severus admitted with a defeated sigh.  Putting his cup down on the table by his chair, he ran one long stained finger over the rim of it, gazing into the fire.  “Let me see what I can find out.  If Lucius does have him, he’ll turn him over to the Dark Lord as soon as he can to curry favor and once more elevate his status.  Probably to get Draco out of the mess he’s in as well.”

         “True,” Remus groaned, slouching down in his chair, his long legs stretching out in front of him, crossing his ankles.  “What do we do now?”  He asked, though he didn’t think Severus had any answers to that question either.

         “Between you and me, we’ll investigate ourselves and see what we can find,” Severus told him firmly.  “While the DMLE is good, we both know some sneaky tricks they might not think to look for.  We’ll employ those.  Once we’re sure the DMLE is done with the house, we’ll go and take a look for ourselves.  Then I’ll get everything I can out of Albus.  After that—we’ll go from there to see what we can manage.”

         “If Albus and the DMLE don’t find anything, I don’t fancy our chances, Severus,” Remus told him with a sad chuckle, shaking his head.  “We’ll try though.”

         “All we can do,” Severus nodded.  “No one anywhere is going to keep Potter hidden if they went through a battle to get him.  That alone tells me it’s not someone friendly who took him.”

         “I do agree there,” Remus said.  “We’ll manage something, I think.  If nothing else we can find whatever and hand it over to those who can do the most good.”

         “Which would be the Ministry,” Sirius told him firmly.  “We do not give it to Albus, Remus.  While I’m sure he would do what he could to free Potter, he has too many other agendas to turn such things over to them.  Let the Ministry sort it out and we go from there.  We’ll just ensure it gets there in such a way as to not expose us or it to those who would feed it to Albus.”

         After a nod, Remus downed the last of his drink then sighed, reaching up to rub his tired eyes.  “I say we go to bed.  It’s been a long day and I’m exhausted.”

         “A good plan,” Severus agreed.  “While most times he wanted more than just sleep when he stayed with Remus, this time all he wanted was a good night’s rest.  Finishing off his tea, he stood with a groan then waited for Remus.  Maybe sleep would clear his head enough that he could see the situation clearer in the morning.  At least he hoped.