A Family Affair

Sirius and Sean moved away from the dungeon suite and up through the deserted hallways to the front doors of the castle. Feeling conspicuous under the bright light of the nearly full moon, they quickly made their way to one of the many sheds on the grounds.

"Lumos," Sirius murmured, using his wand for light inside the pitch black building. He moved quickly to pull back a heavy canvas tarp, shining the light from his wand on what lay beneath.

Sean sucked in a surprised breath. "Nice," he said, his tone allowing that the word was a bit of an understatement.

Sirius smiled proudly. "1977 Triumph - with a few special modifications which I think you'll like."

He cast a charm on the motorbike that would mute the sound of the engine and then straddled the bike, twisting his cloak around himself awkwardly to make room behind for Sean. Sean took a seat behind Sirius, barely managing to find room to do so, and tucked his own cloak in so that the wind wouldn't whip it about too badly.

"Hold onto me. And hold on tight," Sirius instructed as he started the motorbike. He extinguished the light from his wand and then drove slowly out of the shed. Outside, he cast a spell to close and lock the door behind them. Securing his wand for the trip, he made certain that Sean was ready, and then he sent the bike speeding across Hogwarts' lawn.

When the Triumph left the ground and shot toward the clouds, Sirius felt Sean's arms tighten convulsively around his middle. He was reminded strongly of the first time he had taken Remus riding - although Remus had actually been expecting the bike to fly - and he couldn't keep from laughing.

When at last they touched down in a spot far enough removed from the Malfoy home to minimise the risk of being seen, Sirius wondered for a moment if Sean would ever let go.

"You could have warned me," Sean admonished, slipping his arms from around the other man.

"Where would the fun have been in that?"

The two dismounted and made certain that the bike was adequately concealed.

"For the record," Sean said, "that was absolutely fucking awesome."

Sirius smothered a laugh in the folds of his cloak. "Stay close," he instructed, and turned to lead the grinning Muggle toward their destination.

Sean's first sight of Malfoy Manor took his breath away. It looked like something out of a medieval fantasy movie - smaller but not too dissimilar from the castle they had just left. "Holy shit," he whispered. "That's where Draco grew up?"

Sirius nodded, reaching out with his senses for any trace of Remus and Severus. He knew there was a better way. "I'm going to warn you this time," he said quietly. "We've got to find the others, and the easiest way for me to do that is to track them in my Animagus form."

"What's a....aniwhatsit?"

Smothering a chuckle, Sirius explained. "Animagus. Erm. In short, I can take the form of an animal."

Not fully comprehending, Sean blinked quizzically. A moment later, he was staring in disbelief at the large black dog that had appeared in the spot where Sirius had stood an instant before.

Snuffles put his nose in the air, trying to catch even the barest hint of a familiar scent. He sniffed the ground and headed off slowly toward the nearby tree line, his nose twitching. Sean followed the dog through the small wooded area to the edge of a clearing, where Sirius transformed back into his human self.

"About time you got here," Remus hissed out of the darkness above them. A moment later he dropped from a tree and stood facing the two men.

"We're early," Sirius argued in a whisper.

Severus slipped out of the surrounding shadows. "I've spent the last four hours watching Lucius Malfoy sleep," he complained in a hushed voice as he handed his enchanted omniculars to Sirius. "Even if you are early, which I highly doubt, it is still past time for your arrival."

Sirius smiled at his once-enemy and clapped him on the shoulder. Remus gave Sean brief whispered instructions on the use of the specially enchanted omniculars; the devices allowed one to see at great distance, allowed one to see through thin barriers such as non-enchanted draperies, and recorded everything for later playback.

As Severus and Remus headed back to Hogwarts, Sean and Sirius scouted the perimeter of the castle. Seeing very little movement, they settled into holding positions to pass the early morning. Even with the enchantments on the omniculars, it became suddenly clear that the task of gathering information on movements of those within the castle would not be an easy one.

************

Draco had been asleep only a short time when the soft whisper of the door opening jerked him from muddled dreams. He instinctively reached for his wand, which was now pressed against him quite uncomfortably through the back pocket of his jeans. The movement brought a soft moan of protest from Harry, who had decided to use Draco for a pillow at some point after the blond had fallen to sleep.

The moment he realised that Severus had been the one to open the door, Draco relaxed, keeping his eyes open through sheer force of will. He was aware that the man was looking at him and Harry with amusement flickering across his features, but he was much too tired to care. It had, after all, been a long and eventful day.

"For Merlin's sake, go to bed, Draco," Severus urged in a hushed voice. "It's past daybreak, and Alexis will be dragging us all out of bed in another hour."

"I wanted to speak with you," Draco explained. "About Alex."

Dread gripping his heart in an iron fist, Severus gestured for Draco to follow as he moved from the common room into his bedroom. He shut the door behind the younger man, considered sitting, decided to remain standing.

"What is it?" Severus demanded, his fear communicating itself as impatience.

"I spent a great deal of time tonight thinking, Severus. About a good many things, actually." He paused for a moment, trying to put his thoughts into order. "If I somehow manage to survive this meeting with my father, I'm not certain I'll stay in Britain. My life, such as it is, lies on the other side of the Atlantic. I'm not a wizard, really, and though I'm not a Muggle either, at least the Muggles aren't going to look down their noses at me for....well for a lot of things. For being a Malfoy. Or for not having finished up at Hogwarts."

Severus turned away and closed his eyes, waiting for the hammer to drop - waiting for Draco to say that he intended to take Alex with him. Well, he wouldn't take her. Not without a fight. With an effort, Severus clamped down on the rage welling up inside of him.

"What I'm saying," Draco continued, "is that even if I get out of this alive, I might not be able to be there for Alex. She belongs here, whether I do or not." He moved in front of Severus, forcing the older man to look at him. "Severus, if I have to tie you up and lock you in your own dungeons, you're staying behind when we go after Lucius. Alex needs you too much for you to go risking your life."

Snape felt suddenly light-headed. He groped for the edge of the bed and sank down onto it, overjoyed that Draco had no intention of taking Alex away. He desperately wanted to keep Draco safely with his sister, but knew that the headstrong boy was determined to go through with this foolish plan to face down his father.

"Draco," he said quietly. "I hope you'll reconsider the necessity of your own role in all of this."

"I know what I must do, Severus. And I know what you must do. Promise me you'll stay out of it," Draco begged.

Severus sat in deep thought for several minutes. At last he gave a small nod. "For Alex's sake, I will do as you ask," he agreed at last. The thought of sitting idly by did not set well with him, but neither did the thought of leaving his daughter to face the world alone.

"Thank you," Draco said softly. "Good night, Severus."

The young man disappeared back into the living area, leaving Severus alone with his whirling thoughts and conflicting emotions. He was still lying awake, sorting through the jumble in his mind, when Alex crawled into bed with him some time later. As he cuddled the little girl close to him, Severus silently offered up his thanks to whoever would listen for the little miracle that was Alexis Malfoy.

***********

Waking up to find Harry Potter snuggled up against him would always remain one of the most disorienting experiences of Draco's life. As he scrambled out of the bed, he noticed that the troubled young man looked quite peaceful in his sleep; he was glad that Harry had managed to find a temporary reprieve from his misery. Pausing only to dig a change of clothes and his toiletries from his backpack, Draco wandered into the living area where Severus was already awake, sitting at the table and marking potions essays.

Wary of the man's scowl, Draco slipped past him and into the bath for a shower. When he emerged much later, Harry, his eyes still heavy with sleep, was sitting on the sofa with Alex perched in his lap. She was chattering away about the Muggle movie she had been watching.

"Simba runned away because he thought he killed his father," she was explaining. "But he didn't really. Scar did. It wasn't Simba's fault. But he thought it was, and he runned away and he wouldn't come back, even when everybody really, really needed him to come back and fix everything. He just runned away, and everybody thought he died, too, and his mummy and his friends was so sad."

Draco froze in the doorway, wondering if the child had any idea exactly how appropriate her story was as concerned the man holding her. Harry, he noticed, looked sad and more than a little thoughtful.

"I think I'd like to see this movie of yours, Alex," Harry said quietly.

"Alexis," Severus called from his position at the table, stopping the smiling girl from bounding away to her room.

"Yes, papa?"

"Are those horrible Muggle films responsible for your butchery of the English language?" Although he was quite serious, there was a tenderness in his voice that took any sting from his words.

Alex looked completely perplexed.

"'Ran away', Alexis. Not 'runned away'. His mother and his friends 'were' sad, not 'was' sad," he corrected gently.

The little girl smiled and darted across the room to hug her papa before hurrying towards her room.

"Alexis," Severus called again.

With a frustrated huff, the girl turned to look at Severus wearing a scowl that Draco had seen many times before - on his own face in the mirror. He stifled a chuckle.

"I don't think it would be polite to wake our guest in order to watch your Muggle film."

"S'okay," Sean said as he entered the room, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "I'm awake."

Draco laughed. "You look it," he teased.

Sean tried to glare at Draco, but his facial muscles simply weren't up to cooperating. He flopped down onto the sofa, taking the seat which Harry had just deserted. Draco playfully ruffled his friend's hair as he passed by on his way back into Sirius' room.

Dropping yesterday's clothing into the hamper for the house elves, Draco continued on into his sister's room.

"May I join you?" he asked, presumably addressing himself to Alex, but fixing his gaze on Harry.

"You want to watch my movie?" Alex asked.

"If that's all right."

"Of course it's all right!" Alex cried.

Harry gave him a little smile and moved over on Alex's bed to make room.

*********************

After the movie, Draco and Sirius convinced Harry to join the other adults in finding ways to entertain Alex until teatime. That proved a more difficult task than any of them had imagined. The demanding child dragged them into a game of Exploding Snap (which Severus had joined in on to Draco's and Harry's great surprise) and then pleaded with Sirius to read a story to her. That done, she had insisted that Draco play music for her; Draco initially protested, but when Harry's encouragement joined Alex's demands, Draco knew it was pointless to try to resist.

After Draco played a couple of songs that were not too very inappropriate for a child, he set the guitar aside and gently refused his sister's cries for more. Luck was with him, and the house elves arrived with tea just as Alex was digging in for a long battle.

Tea turned out to be more of a late luncheon - a complete repast with soup, roast chicken, and various side items. The table hadn't been designed to seat six people, and there was a shortage of chairs, but the house elves managed to remedy the situation quickly, and the little group sat down to chat over their meal.

Ravenous, Draco gratefully spooned the soup to his lips. The flavour was vaguely familiar, but nothing he had tasted in recent years. Somehow, it reminded him of his childhood. Between mouthfuls of the rich liquid, he mused over how something so refined was a mark of his childhood. As he watched his sister, Draco couldn't help smiling at the indulgent way that Severus and Sirius allowed the little girl to eat a rather sizable slice of chocolate cake as her first course. Had she been raised in Malfoy Manor, as Draco had, such a thing would never have been permitted.

When his body began to tingle unpleasantly all over, Draco had a sudden flash of memory. He knew now why the soup reminded him of his childhood. Dropping the spoon into his bowl with a clatter, Draco gave in to the urge to try to rub away the itching, burning sensation, forcing himself not to actually scratch at his arms in his attempt to escape the discomfort.

"Draco, are you all right?" Sirius asked, suddenly alarmed.

"What...what is that?" Draco groaned, indicating the soup he'd been devouring.

"Shrimp bisque?" Sirius replied, not at all certain that it was indeed shrimp bisque now that he saw how Draco was reacting to it.

"Oh fuck," Draco groaned, leaning backward to scratch his back against the chair.

Alex gasped and clapped her hands over her ears at the sound of her brother swearing. Severus assured her that she needn't keep them covered and then summoned a house elf to do away with the offending food.

"How bad is your allergy?" Severus asked.

Draco opened his mouth to say, "If memory serves, really fucking bad," but instead he lurched out of his seat and dashed towards the lavatory.

"I guess that answers that question," Sean said.

Sirius rose, intending to go and see to Draco, but Sean stopped him. "I'll go. I'm used to this, though it's usually from too much tequila instead of seafood," he said with a wry grin.

By the time they emerged, Sean supporting the pale and shaky blond, everyone except Alex had given up on tea. Sirius tucked Draco into an armchair and asked if he should call for Madame Pomfrey, the resident mediwitch.

"It'll pass," Draco croaked weakly.

Watching the other young man struggle with his illness, Harry fought back a wave of sudden sadness. Pushing painful memories aside, he summoned a cool, damp cloth which he gently applied to the back of Draco's neck.

Draco's eyes flickered open to look a question at Harry.

"I'm trying to remember what worked for Bella," he explained, fighting to keep his voice even. "The morning sickness was horrid." He paused and swallowed hard, swallowing his tears. "I'll be right back," he promised, and hurried from the room.

Draco was just settling back into his chair after a second round of helpless retching when Harry returned with a steaming cup which he forced into Draco's hand. The blond wrinkled up his nose at the brew; although it actually smelled pleasant, the idea of putting anything else into his stomach horrified him.

"Just sip it," Harry insisted. "It should help."

To Draco's great surprise, it did help, calming the cramping in his stomach and settling his nerves. The drink, coupled with the ointment Severus had scrounged up to treat his hives, made Draco feel quite a bit better. Still feverish and shaky, he dozed fitfully in the chair dreaming that his father had left his six year old self to die of his food allergy.

************

Soon after his shift on watch at Malfoy Manor ended, Ron headed for Hogwarts. He needed to report to Sirius, and he wanted very much to see how Harry was doing.

As he rounded a corner and strode into the hallway where Severus and Sirius were quartered, Ron saw a familiar figure moving down the hall towards his intended destination. Hurrying his step, he caught her up.

"Hermione," he called gently, flinching at the way her posture stiffened at the sound of his voice.

She turned to face him, her face a mask. "Ron," she returned levelly.

"Hermione...I'm sorry about all those things I said last night."

"You can't just say 'I'm sorry' and expect for it to make things right again," Hermione admonished.

"I don't," he said softly. "I know I was a complete prat, and I don't expect you to forgive me, but I just wanted you to know that I really am sorry. I...I don't know why it is I feel the need to hurt you," he added sadly.

"Don't you?" she asked crossly. "Ron, you've never been good at really saying what you're thinking or feeling. I think if you tried, it might help. I still might not understand you, but maybe you could at least understand yourself."

To her surprise, Ron considered her words, and then nodded in agreement. "Perhaps you're right," he acknowledged.

Hermione leaned against the wall, her most long-suffering expression pasted on her face, waiting.

"I said those things because I wanted to hurt you," Ron admitted after a moment. "I wanted to hurt you as much as you hurt me."

Although there was not the slightest hint of accusation in Ron's words, Hermione winced. She had never meant to hurt him.

"I'm still not certain exactly what I did wrong, but I miss you, Hermione," he continued, his blue eyes full of pain. "I...I still love you." His voice cracked, and he turned away from her to hide the tears that threatened to fall.

"I don't think it's me that you miss," Hermione said quietly. "I think what you miss is your idea of what we could have had, or maybe you miss the person you wanted me to be."

"That's not true," Ron argued, whirling to face her. "It is you I miss. I miss the way things were before. Before we ever got the notion in our heads to be more than friends. Back when it was you and me and Harry...." His voice faded into silence and he fidgeted with the clasp on his cloak. "It seems my whole life's gone to hell," he muttered plaintively. "Bill and Percy killed in battle...Dad laid up at St. Mungo's....Ginny taken by Malfoy...Harry... Gods! Harry..." Ron raked his fingers through his hair, causing it to stand up at funny angles. "I need you, Hermione," he breathed.

Her heart aching, Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but Ron silenced her with the barest touch of his fingers to her lips.

"I need my friend," he clarified, his voice low and a little shaky. "Do you think...?"

It was Hermione's turn to wordlessly call for silence. "I've never stopped being your friend, Ron. I just couldn't bear pretending to be more," she explained tearfully.

Ron nodded, not trusting his voice.

"You're not the only one in need of a friend right now," Hermione continued.

"Harry," Ron said softly, sorrow reflected in the depths of his eyes.

"He isn't well. Severus says that Harry took to drinking while Sirius and I were away."

"Drinking? Harry? You must be joking!"

"I most certainly am not joking," Hermione replied stiffly. "I saw it for myself yesterday."

"Drinking," Ron repeated, shaking his head in disbelief. "After what happened at my bachelor party, Harry swore he'd never touch so much as a drop of alcohol ever again. We even had to come up with a creative substitute for champagne for his wedding."

"I never knew that. What exactly did happen at your bachelor party?"

"Harry got thoroughly pissed. We all did, really, but Harry was the worst. He got all moody and philosophical. Started rambling on about metaphysics and who-knows-what."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Hermione interrupted.

Without dignifying Hermione's comment with a response, Ron continued. "He started going on about how he was losing his best mate and how things would never be the same again." Ron paused for dramatic effect, trying to force down the blush he felt rising into his face. "Then he tried to take me to bed," he said, looking anywhere but at his ex-wife.

"What?" Hermione cried, incredulous and somewhat amused.

"He crawled into my lap and kissed me. I was too drunk and too stunned to respond at first, but then Colin - the little bastard - started snapping pictures. That brought me around quick enough. I don't really remember what happened after that. I know I lost my temper, though. I hit Harry, and he hit me back. Bill and Charlie had to drag us apart. Anyway, the next day, Harry didn't remember any of it. Fred and George explained it to him, but he thought they were joking - until they showed him Colin's pictures. He spent the next several days apologising and insisting that he's not gay."

"Poor Harry," Hermione said.

"Poor both of us," Ron lamented.

"The expression on your face must have been priceless," Hermione teased, trying unsuccessfully to stifle a giggle. "I wonder if those pictures are still around."

Ron flushed. "Let's hope not," he mumbled.

"I'll have to remember to ask Fred and George," Hermione said, her eyes twinkling with mischief. Without another word, she raised her hand to knock on Severus' door. A moment later, Sirius was ushering them both inside.

Harry looked up from his post in a chair near Draco, who had taken another bad turn and was now sipping another cup of Harry's herbal tea. Harry was glad to see his two closest friends sharing space without fighting.

"It's good to see you, Harry," Ron greeted.

Harry welcomed his friend with a warm embrace and a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Good to see you, too. It's been awhile."

Ron looked a bit guilty. "I'm sorry about that. I should have come around before."

"You've had a lot on your plate," Harry said.

Hermione nudged Ron aside to give Harry a quick hug before settling into the chair that Harry had vacated. "You look horrid," she told Draco, not unkindly. "Are you all right?"

Draco shook his head weakly, afraid to attempt to speak. Even the slight movement proved to be too much for him, and the next instant he was again dashing for the lavatory.

"I take it he's quite ill?" Hermione asked, concerned.

Harry nodded.

"We were supposed to be going out for our turn at surveillance," she began.

"I can go in his place," Harry said, at the exact same instant that Ron piped up with "I'll go with you."

The two men grinned at one another.

"Ron, you've already done your duty today. Go home and get some rest," Sirius suggested.

Ron just shrugged. "Not like there was much to see, really. Mostly I was just forced to watch some Death Eater make passes at Pansy Parkinson," he said, wrinkling his nose up in disgust. "I did see Ginny, though," he added more quietly. "Just the back of her head, really, through a window. But she seemed all right."

"I'm glad she's all right," Harry said, helping Draco settle back into his chair.

"For the record, so am I," Draco rasped.

"I really don't mind going out again," Ron insisted.

"I could use the distraction," Harry admitted, more to himself than to anyone else. He considered for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly as he thought. "The three of us should go," he said at last.

"We could cover more ground that way," Hermione said logically.

Ron nodded. "We've always made a good team," he added.

"Good," Draco snapped irritably. "It's decided. Now go, and let me sleep."

After brief pauses by both Hermione and Harry to fuss over their sick friend, the three Gryffindors made their way past Hogwarts' wards, all of them suddenly feeling as if they had found something they hadn't even known was missing.