Darkmoon and LIght

A/N – Life sucks… really, really sucks. This chapter has been done and beta’d for awhile now, but I just haven’t had the time and interest putting it up. Now that I’m done in court, and have finally managed to put my life into some order of normality I hope to get a few more updates done for this and my other stories up real soon. To those who are interested, I have about half the chapter for ‘Bonds that Tie’ done and should hopefully have it up for you soon.

Once again many thanks to Periculum for her beta work.

And finally….

Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J.K Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Warner Bros, Bloomsbury. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.


Chapter Ten

Bill watched in uneasy silence as Severus cautiously approached where he sat with Harry, unsure if allowing the man who had taken such joy in persecuting the young man huddled in his arms to come closer was a good idea, given the state Harry was in. The reassuring nod he received from Remus was at this point the only thing stopping him from attacking, but even so he had a spell ready to disable the man if need be.

Able to follow the oldest Weasley’s train of thoughts with relative ease, Severus gave his silent approval to the redhead and moved slowly, telling himself that it had more to do with what sudden movement could possibly do to his son at the moment, than wariness of what the curse-breaker could do to him. //I am so sorry, my son// he whispered in Elvish. //I knew almost immediately the mistake I made// he finished, hoping that the blocks on Harry’s Elven heritage had broken enough for the teen to understand what he was saying, even as he continued to whisper soothing words in the language of the elves.

As the bombardment of emotion that had been hitting Harry eased up once again, Harry allowed the unusual yet familiar scent that had charged the air to soothe his soul. He could still feel a few foreign emotions, but nothing like what had been hitting him before. Unwilling to raise his head to see who was still in the room, Harry stretched out his senses, like Bill had shown him in those brief moments they had held mental contact and tried to identify who had remained in the kitchen.

A feral sense from the other side of the room was immediately identified as Remus, while the cool sense of rain after a hot day he tentatively acknowledged as Charlie. The soothing feel of warmth almost exactly like he had felt when the sun bathed his face after waking up at Malfoy Manor, which surrounded him and kept him anchored, he knew without a doubt was Bill.

He flinched away slightly from the deep feeling of remorse, only to find that the closer it got, the more it seemed to fade away into nothing. The unusual phenomenon had him concentrating harder to identify this person, still unwilling to look up from the calm shelter he had found in Bill’s arms, until the musical language of the elves whispered in that dark voice silky voice he knew so well fell on his ears. Stilling completely for a moment, he allowed the soothing language to flow over him, and found that the longer he listened the more he could understand. Turning his head slightly, he looked up just enough to confirm that it was his father sitting there. //Papa?// he hesitantly asked, unknowingly in the same language.

//Aye, child. // Taking a deep breath Severus gave the teen a very slight smile. //I am so very sorry, young one. //

With a stifled sob, Harry released his hold on Bill only to be gathered in his father’s arms. With the soothing smell of moonflowers mixed with the earthy scent of potions ingredients surrounding him, he allowed himself to cry. With this loss of control he unknowingly allowed everyone in the house to feel exactly what he was feeling as well. Pain, remorse and guilt bled together as he finally let the emotions he had been denying himself all his life boil to the surface, until there was nothing more to give. Calming softly an indefinite time later, Harry wept tears of hope for the family he had finally found after years of having no one.

Emotionally spent, and content in the unwavering support he found in the arms of his father, he let himself fall into a deep, emotionally healing sleep, knowing without a doubt that he would be kept safe.

Feeling his son finally go limp in his arms as he fell into sleep, Severus once more incanted the spell used to help Harry’s breathing, before looking up. Both eyebrows rose in surprise when he found himself surrounded by far more people than he had been expecting, all of them holding wands. Slowly surveying the kitchen, his eyes widened in shocked understanding.

The kitchen had nearly been destroyed as Harry’s magic, in tune with his emotions, had lashed out at the surrounding area, and the entire Order of the Phoenix, along with the Malfoys and his grandmother had cast shielding spells, trying to keep the damage contained to this one room. Ignoring the grave eyes of the Headmaster for a moment, Severus nodded towards the Medi-witch. “Madam, if you would be so kind as to check him over so I can put him to bed where he will be able to recover properly?”

Poppy quickly started to run a series of spells over the teen to ensure that none of his previous healing had been set back, and smiled slightly in relief at the results. “Other than his magic being depleted, he has only slightly aggravated his lungs once again, but nothing that a good night’s sleep won’t cure. He should probably stay in bed tomorrow as well, but it won’t matter all that much if he is up and about, as long as he keeps following the rules already in place. He will also more than likely wake with a massive headache, but that’s only to be expected after all of this,” she quickly reassured Severus.

Bill watched as Severus tried to stand using the wall for support, but knew with Harry in his arms; Severus wouldn’t be able to do so. He quickly stepped forward, gathered the teen in his own arms, and easily stood once again. With a nod of his head, he indicated to the older wizard to lead the way and fell into step behind the Potions Master.

~~OoO~~

Returning to the kitchen after putting his son to bed, Severus observed the damage with a renewed interest, unable to believe that Harry had caused as much damage as he had. Stopping beside Lucius, he tilted his head slightly to the side in question. “How long did we sit there?” He asked softly, still unwilling to explain everything to the rest of the Order just yet.

“I’m not sure exactly,” the blond stated quietly. “We were called in to help by the young Ronald shortly after he followed you through. That was about half an hour ago.

“From the time he curled up with you to the time you looked up was about an hour. It looked like the three of you were sitting in the middle of a rampaging storm. I’m not sure how much of that was his unconscious desire not to hurt you and Bill, and how much of it was Bill shielding the two of you from the worst damage, though,” Remus added softly, overhearing the question.

“How much did he tell you before he was forced to retreat into himself?” Severus asked, his desire for a greater understanding of the events that had taken place after Harry had arrived outweighing his usual reserved behavior with the wolf.

Remus looked Severus over slowly, trying to figure the man out. “Not much, really. Most of it was babbling through the tears. He did say that Lady Eve accused someone of being his mate and not listening when Harry said otherwise; he didn’t say who, but I think it’s safe to assume from the presence of the Malfoys that he was talking about Draco.”

Nodding his head to indicate that Remus was correct, Severus explained a little bit more, in a slightly louder voice so the Headmaster, who was listening in, could hear as well. “There was quite a bit of damage done to Harry’s lungs, and he found that he breathed better if he was leaning up against someone. Between being elevated slightly and the body heat from the other person, he was able to sleep most of the way through the night. Grandmere figured with that evidence that they were mates.”

Albus, hearing this, raised his eyebrows in surprise, before joining the conversation. “Severus, would you care to explain what exactly happened here, and why you know so much about Harry’s whereabouts this summer?”

When sounds of agreement travelled through the room, Severus sneered at everyone in general. “Not particularly, but I doubt that I have much choice in the matter.” Giving his grandmother a rather pointed look, he turned to leave the room. “This conversation would be better taking place where everyone can sit,” he called over his shoulder, leading the way to one of the larger rooms that they used for Order meetings.

Foregoing his usual spot by the door, Severus crossed the room to lean against the fireplace mantel and started to order his thoughts, trying to figure out exactly what was needed and where exactly to start. When everyone was situated in their usual spots, with the Malfoys sitting closest to the door, he took a deep breath and started at the beginning.

“I realized after coming into my full inheritance on my 17th birthday, that James Potter was my mate…”