Windows of the Soul

Author's Notes: This story ignores HBP and DH; it starts the beginning of the summer before Harry’s seventh year. Thank you to my beta Sometimeselkie for all her hard work.

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

Chapter 13 – More explanations


Harry took in a deep breath as he got to the portrait of the Fat Lady. When he got there he realised that he didn’t have the password. There wasn’t anyone else around so he walked up to the portrait. The Fat Lady smiled as she recognised one of her favourite boys. She was glad to see him and he was looking a lot better this year than he had been. She knew that he had been at the school for a few weeks and was a bit miffed that he hadn’t been to visit, but knew that he had to have been busy, what with the Dark Lord and everything.

Harry stood shuffling his feet for a few minutes and looked up at the portrait; she looked back at him with a kind smile on her face. “Hello, Harry. No-one told you the password then?”

Harry smiled at her. “No, I’m sorry. They didn’t have time to tell me at the welcoming feast.”

“That’s OK. It is family,” she replied with a smile and with that opened up.

With a quiet thank you, Harry stepped through into the Gryffindor common room. He found the common room deserted except for Ron and Hermione, who both looked up as Harry came into the room. They moved apart on the sofa and made room for Harry between them; Harry sat down and took a deep breath, looking at both his best friends.

Hermione looked at Harry with concern. “Harry, you said that you would explain everything, so now would be a good time.”

Harry took another deep breath and started to explain about his summer, and about Remus having a daughter with Sirius and not knowing her. He smiled as he remembered the first meeting of Remus and Elli and, told them all about staying at Grimmauld Place with Severus and Draco. Ron loudly protested over that, but Harry calmed him down. He told them what happened after he had been hit with the curse and brought to Hogwarts, and the last few days before school started. Harry stopped talking and looked at Ron and Hermione. They both had thoughtful looks on their faces, but Harry just waited for things to fall into place for Hermione.

He didn’t have to wait long.

“Harry, wait. There are some things that you haven’t told us. Like why do you call Elli your sister? I know Remus is like a father to you but he isn’t really, and what was that with Draco earlier? You called him ‘love’. What is going on?”

Harry flinched at the barrage of questions his friend threw at him and also at the look of disbelief on Ron’s face.

“OK, let me tell you about my birthday. Maybe that will help to shed some light on things.”

#Flashback#

Harry woke very early on the morning of his seventeenth birthday. For the past few days he had known that the others had something planned for today, but they wouldn’t tell him anything as they wanted it to be a surprise.

He rolled over and reached his hand out to touch his boyfriend, but felt only empty bed. Harry got up and padded over to the en-suite bathroom and popped his head around the corner. “Draco, love. Are you in there?” There was no reply. Harry then decided to get ready and go downstairs for breakfast; if Draco didn’t want to be with him today, then so be it.

After showering and getting dressed Harry walked downstairs to the kitchen. Everywhere was quiet, which was unusual. He stopped before the door and listened. He couldn’t hear anything so he thought everyone must either be still in bed or out. Harry opened the door and walked into the kitchen when suddenly:

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HARRY!”

Harry couldn’t believe it. The kitchen had balloons and garlands strewn around the ceiling and there were all sorts of breakfast food on the table, which had a pile of presents at the end of it. Elli and Draco sat at the side whilst Severus and Remus puttered around getting plates and cutlery.

“Why...what...?” Harry asked, befuddled.

Draco smiled at his bewildered boyfriend and touched Elli’s elbow. She stood up, walked over to him and guided him over to the chair in front of the pile of presents. “We wanted to give you a special birthday, one that you won’t forget, because we love you.” At that, they heard a snort from the direction of Severus. They all smiled at that.

“Harry, sit down and open your presents.” Remus smiled at the look in his “son’s” eyes as he gazed upon the small pile of presents each with his name on them.

Harry opened the ones from his friends first. Hermione had bought him a book on advanced charms, and Ron had bought him a big box of chocolates from Hunneydukes. The twins had sent him a box from WWW with a warning that they were experimental so not to try them indoors. Mrs Weasley had sent him a pair of socks that she had knitted him in Gryffindor red. Harry was surprised when he found a present from Severus; he gave the Potions Master a quizzical look.

“Don’t just sit there with it in your hands! You are meant to open it, Potter.”

Harry smiled and ripped the paper. He gasped as he found a gold frame and in it there was a picture of his mother, not as he had seen her in other pictures, but from when she was about eleven. She was sitting on a swing and she looked so happy and carefree. Harry looked up at Severus with tears and questions in his eyes. “How...why...?”

Severus looked uneasy, but with a quick look at Remus he seemed more settled. “I knew your mother when we were children. We were even friends until our fifth year at Hogwarts. That picture was taken a week before we took the train for the first time. You never knew her, but I thought that this could bring you a bit closer to her.”

Harry wiped his hand across his eyes and looked up at Severus, “Thank you, Professor.”

Elli picked a present from in front of her. “This one next.”

Harry smiled at her, taking it and ripping the paper away from it. In it was leather bound book. The pages were empty and there was a space on the cover to write something. Harry looked at Elli, who smiled. “It’s a family book. You write your family name on the front and your family tree appears in the front pages, magically. You can place photos and write things about your family in it. I thought you might like one to put your family in there.”

Harry leaned over and hugged her, whispering. “Thank you, I love it.”

There was only one present left and it was from Remus. It was a scroll. Harry opened it and gasped as he read it. With teary eyes, he looked up at Remus, who had a worried look on his face.

“Are you sure you want to do this? You don’t have to.”

Remus came over and knelt down in front of Harry. He took the boy’s hands in his own. “I know I don’t have to do it, but I want to. I want you to be part of my family. I want you to be my son. If you are not sure then you don’t have to sign it.”

Draco looked at the two men at the head of the table. “What is it, Potter?”

Harry turned his head towards Draco. “It is adoption papers. Remus wants to adopt me.”

“So do I. I want a little brother.” Elli stood and put her arms around Harry’s shoulders, holding tighter when she felt the sobs wracking his body.

Remus looked into Harry’s eyes. “Only if you want to, Harry. I know we have talked about it, but I thought it would be a lovely surprise. If you have any doubts, then that’s ok.”

Harry shook his head. “No, I don’t have any doubts, and I’ve always wanted a family. Now I have one.” With that, he picked up the scroll and took the quill that Severus handed him and signed it. As soon as he signed the scroll and placed it on the table, suddenly the scroll rolled up and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Harry looked at Remus in surprise.

“It’s gone to the Ministry, where it will be filed.” Remus smiled at both of his children. “Happy Birthday, son.”

Harry beamed at Remus...no, his father...and hugged his sister. He had never felt so happy...or loved.

#End Flashback#

Hermione's mouth was hanging open in surprise. “So Remus adopted you and Elli is now your sister?”

Harry nodded. “Yes.”

Hermione smiled, “That explains that, but not about Malfoy.”

Ron nodded, and Harry gritted his teeth, knowing that this could get messy.

“OK, last year Draco and I decided to call a truce. Somewhere in all of that we fell for each other and have been going out ever since.”

“YOU AND THE FERRET?” Harry cringed. Ron had gone the same colour as his hair.

“Yes, me and Draco. We were going to hide our relationship like we had last year, but I couldn’t do it again.”

Hermione shook her head. “Harry, you do know that his father is Voldemort’s right hand man and that Draco will probably become a Death Eater like him, don’t you?”

Harry shook his head. “No he won’t. Draco doesn’t want that. He has decided to defect to our side. He stayed with Professor Snape throughout the summer, only seeing his father the day we went to Diagon Alley. I know you don’t like him, but I care for him and I want this thing with him to work. So I’m asking as your friend, you don’t have to like him, just be nice to him, for me.” Harry looked at his two best friends, knowing that he could lose one or both of them.

“I will never like him, but for you I will be civil to him.” Harry felt his mouth drop open with those words from Ron.

Hermione looked at him sternly. “I will try and get on with him, if he stops calling me Mud-blood and insulting the Weasleys.”

Harry smiled and nodded. “He will, I promise, and thank you.”

Ron looked at Harry. “What was that earlier with Elli and the Hufflepuffs?”

With that, he suddenly found he had a lap full of Hermione and Ron’s arms around his shoulders.

Draco closed the door to Harry’s room after his meeting with Severus and Remus. Both the men were worried about their daughter, but Draco explained that she was sleeping and that he and Harry would check on her in the morning so she would not be left alone. Severus was worried about the problems that would undoubtedly arrive with the outing of Harry and Draco’s relationship; Lucius’s reaction would be one for Severus to watch as he would be furious that his heir and only son would deny the Dark Lord. Draco had orders that he was not to open or touch any post until one of the teachers had checked it for curses or Portkeys.

Draco curled up on Harry’s bed and fell asleep waiting for his boyfriend to return.

Harry finally managed to get Hermione disentangled and returned to his rooms to find Draco curled up, fast asleep. Harry removed Draco’s shoes and spooning up behind him, pulled a blanket over them both. Holding his boyfriend close, he fell asleep.