To Defeat a Dark Lord.

Disclaimer.... Do I even have to say it?? Not mine, never will be either.. I also didn't make any money from writing this fic.
A/N Thank you to Sandra for going over this for me..... couldn't have done it without you. Also want to apologies to the shortness. But what I want to happen next would have taken a full chapter so I ended here. Luvs ya all.

Also wanted to send out a huge thank you to Kei. thanks again Luv.

Chapter Eleven

As soon as the door closed behind the last of Fudge's lackeys, Harry found Draco's arms wrapped around him, and let himself be maneuvered into the chair next to Severus, knowing that Hermione's disapproving gaze was fixed steadily on him. At the moment he really couldn't care, as the trip up to the Headmaster's office and the confrontation with the Minister had all but drained him of the little energy he had.

“Merlin Harry, I don't understand how exactly you can be moving at the moment, but I'm sure glad that you are!” Draco whispered in disbelief with Ron nodding his agreement from where he stood behind Draco.

While the boys had been settling Harry into his chair, Hermione had brought out the Snake Kit, and handed it over to the Potions Master, who, even as he opened it gave her a questioning look, wondering what exactly was going on, and knowing that she had the answers.

Hermione sighed softly as she took the opened Kit back. “He's blocking as much of the pain as he can, but enough is leaking through at the moment to make the three of us ache. As you found out a few weeks ago, he can and will block an extreme amount of pain from us, but this time it's just not working,” she said softly as she pulled out the strongest pain killer in the Kit along with three of the less powerful ones, and handed them out to all those in need.

Harry eagerly drank down the pain potion he was handed without complaint, and waited in silence as it performed its own brand of magic. When his pain levels lowered enough that he wasn't leaking any more through the link to the others, he opened his eyes and winced when his gaze meet that of Madam Pomfrey, who by the evil glint in her eye, had just figured out that he had been lying to her about how he had been feeling.

Ignoring her in favor of figuring out what was going, he turned to the Dane. “Damean, please, what happened? The last thing I remember is breaking through the circle of werewolves to get to Severus, relaxing slightly when they where gone, and then pain,” he told the group.

“Well my boy…” Albus tried to cut in, only to be startled into silence by a low growl from the two vampires and Harry's cold gaze.

“I didn't ask you, Old Man. From what I could see, you were not even there!” Harry snarled. He waited as Albus sat back in his chair in surprise, and then waited a few minutes more to make sure that he would not be interrupted again. When nothing else was forthcoming from the Headmaster he looked back over at Damean and nodded his head to continue.

Damean looked over at the others for a moment and then took a deep breath. “I'm going to give you the honest truth, regardless of what the others may or may not want you told. I'm not sure exactly how much you where able to take in from the battle itself, but from what I remember going in, those who where in Knockturn Alley, were severely outnumbered, and not just by the Dementors. There were already many Death Eaters in that Alley, and from what information we have been able to gather, it was in retaliation for rescuing Severus and you both from your respected prisons. Tom Riddle has been well aware of the abuse you suffered through every year, and was planning on killing Severus before coming for you. When he received neither opportunity, he went for the public.”

Harry dropped his head into his hands and started to rub his temples. The silence stretched on for a few minutes as he tried to figure out what to do next. Finally looking up he kept his eyes steady on the man in front of him. “In your opinion Damean, what will Snake-face do if Severus and I dropped from sight completely?”

Damean searched those green eyes, before he voiced his thoughts. “If he two of you and the Malfoys all disappeared for awhile, he will more then likely try to find you, but won't attack right out. He's going to try to find out what's going on, and see if he can get another spy close to Dumbledore.”

“So everyone should remain safe for a little while, or as safe as they can get, while he tries to replace his loses, in other words?” Turning to the others in the room he asked, “Do you agree with this?”

Lucius sat back in his chair and thought about it for a few minutes before slowly nodding his head; Severus also expressed his agreement, and they all watched as Harry went back to thinking.

When Harry finally looked up, it was with a clear case of determination that he stood and faced his siblings. Hermione was the first one to catch on to what he was thinking and started protesting. “No Harry we are not going to be left behind while you go into hiding. You know as well as we do that we would have been targets even without being friends with you. Ron's whole family has stood firmly behind the Headmaster for years, I'm a Muggle-born, and the Malfoys are now traitors.” A look of determination that matched Harry's came across her face, and was reflected in Ron and Draco's as well. “Where you go Harry James Potter, we will follow. Do you understand me!?”

Harry's shoulders sagged in relief, as he started to laugh softly. “I wasn't going to try and stop you this time. I was actually getting ready to argue for you leaving with me,” he said ruefully.

“Good. Don't think that we're going to leave you alone again in this lifetime!” Draco snarled as he pulled Harry into a hug that quickly turned into a group hug as the others joined them. “Now the only thing left to do is to find someplace safe for all of us.”

Harry pulled away from the others, and made sure that his slight wince of pain was well hidden from Madam Pomfrey, “Don't worry, we'll think of something. We always do,” he said and then added even softer so that the Headmaster could not hear him, “But not here. We need to talk somewhere so that he can't meddle.”

The others nodded their agreement, before Harry turned to face the Headmaster. “Headmaster, I want to thank you for your hospitality, but it's time for us to leave. We'll be back in time for the Welcoming Feast,” he said firmly, then turned on his heel and left the room, not giving the man a chance to stop him. The others, taking their cue from him followed, and with a quick glance between the adults, they to left the Headmaster sitting alone in his tower, seriously wondering where he had gone wrong.

~~hpss~~

Traveling by Floo was not Harry's favorite way to go, and never failed to leave him disoriented, shaking, and sick to his stomach. Knowing that he had to face one of his adopted mothers at the end on the journey didn't help matters either. True to form, even before he could get his feet back under him after leaving the Floo, he found himself in a pair of warm arms as Molly Weasley pulled him into a hug. Welcoming the support he returned the hug, before letting go and meeting her scrutinizing glare.

“Harry Dear, are you alright? You had us all so worried,” the matriarch of the Weasley Family asked.

“Yes mum, I'm fine. You know Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let me leave unless I was.”

“Harry James Potter, you know that's not what I meant. How could you keep what that disgusting Muggle did to yourself?!” With each word her voice became louder and fury laced her voice, fury that quickly turned to puzzlement as Harry backed away from her.

Harry was no longer registering the person behind the voice. After everything else that had happened that day, combined with the dizzying trip through the Floo, his mind came up with a different face to go with that fury, just like before with Lucius Malfoy. He once again saw his Uncle reaching for him, those large hands that caused so much pain, drawing closer. Backing up in the vain hope of getting away, of readying himself to run before more damage could be inflicted, while the hateful words, 'freak’, not wanted’, and ‘dispose of the waste of flesh' rang in his ears. He took one final step backwards and ran into a wall of warm flesh, and strong arms wrapped around him. Full fledged panic fueled his fight for survival and he tried to wrench himself around in his bid to escape. But those arms just tightened their hold on him and pulled him in closer. After a few minutes of helpless struggling, he finally went limp, and the started to hear the words being whispered in his ear, even as the smell of sandalwood, long associated with protection, reached his nose.

“Harry? Harry, come Little One, he's no longer here. You’re safe now. Close your eyes and breath deep, and then release. In, out, in out. Good, keep going. No one here will hurt you. You’re safe; I will not allow anyone to hurt you like that again.”

Soft words of comfort rumbled in his ear in that soft silky voice, banished the panic, although some of his fear remained, and Harry turned in those strong arms, hiding his face into the chest behind him, his hands coming up to clench hands full of the black fabric, and he finally allowed himself to be comforted.

The arms around him tightened for a moment, before loosening and he was gently pulled away from the warmth, forcing him to release the robes from his grasp as he was passed into another set of arms. This time the smell of a pine forest came to him, and because the one he trusted most placed him there, he knew he was safe, and so he allowed himself to be escorted away to another room.

Gidean led Harry into the Living Room and settled himself on the couch, pulling Harry close and started humming just loud enough for the boy to hear, and waited for the trembling to stop and the tears to begin, all the while cursing the red haired woman in his head.

Professor Severus Snape, Potions Master for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, maintained tight control of his own fury, as he tried to deal with Harry's panic. Handing the teen off to his cousin, he waited until both left the room, before placing silencing spells up. Then and only then did he allow his fury to bubble to the surface.

Rounding on Molly, eyes snapping with purple fire and his body tense, his fury finally found voice. “MOLLY WEASLEY! How DARE you raise your voice to him? After everything he has gone through, the ONE person I fully expected to mother him manages to send him into a flashback moments after arriving. If Gidean and I cannot pull him back out, you will no longer have to worry about the Dark Lord, because I will PERSONALLY wipe you out of existence. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?”

Shocked silence met this outraged statement and Molly could do nothing more then nod her head. Looking through the doorway to where she could see the shuddering teen, who had wrapped himself tightly around the older man, and her heart broke. She started to go to him, only to have her way blocked by the other stranger in her house. Locking her eyes with his, she started to swell once more in anger, and as she took in a deep breath the violet eyes she was staring at started to glitter.

No other outward show of Damean anger manifested, not even in his voice, which was still warm and friendly. “Your anger, Madam, is the reason why you will not pass me, as Harry will sense it. Just like Severus' anger is also the reason he is not with the Young One. Rest assured, if his anger was not in the way, Severus would be in there instead of my son.”

Bill Weasley who had been visiting his parents with his brother Charlie sat back and watched his mother's interaction with the two strangers and Snape. He had noticed that the Malfoys arrived and could see some kind of bond between Draco, Ron Hermione and Harry, which was one of the reasons he had held back his two brothers from attacking. A closer look, after his ex-professor’s outburst had also shown him two bonds between Snape and Harry, one active and one broken. He had also taken a better look with his own senses at the man facing down his mother and barely managed to bite back a curse. The sharp gasp that come from Charlie told him that he had also noticed the same thing he himself had. These two 'men' were not human. As one the two of them stepped forward, pulled their mother back and stood between the two.

Much to the amusement of Hermione, Ron and the Twins (not to mention the Malfoys) the two of them made identical bows, as Charlie started to speak. “My Lord, we are honored to meet you,” he began. Bill followed with, “Our home we offer for shelter, our table for substance, if needed the Gift of Life is yours for the asking.”

Going from Damean to Dane in a heartbeat, the Dane gave them a short bow in return. “Thank you for your welcome. I accept your offer of shelter and substance for myself and mine. The Gift of Life is not needed ever from you or yours, unless in times of great need, as it has already been paid once and never taken twice.”

Bill and Charlie exchanged a glance and then turned to Ron and the Twins with a glare, which caused Damean to laugh. “Oh no, it wasn't them. Young Harry accepted the Blood Price for you all. And as for being your Lord, I can say that I am not. Please call me Damean, my son is Gidean, I am sure you all know the Malfoys and young Harry, and of course Harry's Guardian and my nephew Severus. I already know who all of you are, and any friend of Harry's is a friend of mine.” Casting a sly glance at his nephew, he continued, “Now do any of you have an idea on how to get Tall Dark and Snarky to calm down enough so we can reassure the She-Wolf behind you that her adopted cub is safe?”

A snort of laughter from the other end of the kitchen broke the rest of the tension in the room, while causing Severus to glare at his uncle. Molly finally remembered her manners and had the grace to flush in embarrassment and offered everyone refreshments, while Snape canceled the silencing spell, then took his own seat at the table, close to the Malfoys.

Before tea could be poured, Gidean popped his head through the door. “Sev, The young one has me totally confused, it honestly looks like he is suffering under some kind of pain curse, but there is no one around casting it.” he said anxiously.

“SHIT!” came from four different sources that was almost loud enough to cover the sound of something hitting the floor in the Living Room, followed by the sound of four chairs being toppled away from the table as Severus, Hermione, Ron and Draco all went running to Harry's side.