A New Family For Harry

More of this fic, after quite a wait! I am grateful to anyone who still has interest in this story as I try to find the time to continue the narrative.



Expect another part in this arc "Travels With Harry" to follow -- then we\'ll move forward on the time line after meeting some old friends and developing a few new situations for our characters. Can you guess what they might be? :)



Any feedback you have would be most appreciated!







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As soon as Harry quieted his excited chatter enough to clearly express his wish to remain at the shore for a day or two, Lucius affirmed his desire to oblige him at once.



They managed to secure rooms easily enough at the local hotel, with a cabana reserved to their name for the next day. As luck would have it, Lucius quickly learned of a wizarding establishment nearby, a pub a half mile from the shore. After instructing his driver to deposit their bags in the rooms and dismissing him for the night to secure his own more modest lodgings, Lucius proposed a walk.



Harry fairly skipped beside him all the way to the pub, pleased to no end that their journey would last even longer. He was still young enough -- and perhaps more importantly, small enough -- to hold Lucius\'s hand without a second glance from passers-by, even though, as the proprietor of the last grand hotel had noted, they looked nothing alike. His small fingers in Lucius\'s larger hand were delicate, yet he held Lucius\'s hand with a steady strength while he smiled innocently up at him.



As they turned the corner, after again confirming they were in no one\'s sight, Lucius raised that hand to his lips and spent a few moments bestowing more soft kisses to those knuckles. Harry\'s look became rather more heated, and he pressed against Lucius, clearly communicating how much he would like to climb into Lucius\'s lap and prolong their intimate encounter.



"Later," Lucius told him in an undertone. Harry nodded, but with a mischievous glance, gave a small stroke to Lucius\'s upper thigh, a subtle and quick touch that nonetheless caused Lucius to harden instantly.



"Minx," he scolded in a low whisper. Harry laughed delightedly.



Once inside the common house, Lucius kept an eye on Harry playing in the corner while he Flooed Narcissa to inform her of their change in plans. She seemed pleased he had deemed appropriate to contact her directly rather than let her know by way of owl. They spoke for a few moments, exchanging pleasantries about Lucius\'s journey with Harry and Narcissa\'s activities with Draco.



"We shall expect you a few days hence, then?" she asked in that musical voice of hers.



"Certainly. Should anything change, I will alert you." He paused, noting how her hair was dressed even at this later hour of the evening. Additionally, the material of the robes she wore was quite fine. "Have you company?"



Her cheeks colored prettily. "Only Severus. He arrived earlier with a book for Draco. I thought I might invite him to stay for dinner --"



"Of course," Lucius returned at once. "Just as I would have wished. I am glad to know Severus will entertain you tonight. Please extend the invitation to him with my compliments."



She smiled. "Thank you, Lucius. Do give Harry a kiss for me."



"That I will." They touched fingertips briefly through the Floo, a squeeze far more affectionate than romantic. Then Lucius strode off to find sustenance for himself and his ward.



Despite Harry\'s desire to eat at the noisy pub, where the food was no doubt hearty but crude, Lucius convinced the boy to accompany him instead to a local bistro. Harry pouted a bit about leaving behind some local children with whom he had chatted, but soon enough he came round to the spirit of the evening, enjoying the local seafood specialties they sampled. The lighting inside was muted, the decor quietly elegant, and Lucius relaxed, enjoying the gift of this additional time.



Harry swung his legs at the table like a small boy, but asked knowledgeable questions about the cuisine and the area. Soon the chef who owned the establishment overheard them and joined them, charming them both with his stories of the region, and expressing his pleasure in meeting a boy who expressed such evident interest in cuisine.



Yes, Lucius reflected as he watched Harry carry on a sophisticated conversation about gastronomic pleasures with the chef, all the while absently twirling a lock of his raven hair around his index finger like a child, Harry was at an unusual stage. He was very much betwixt and between, not a little boy any longer, but hardly a full-fledged adolescent (despite the allure of his heated glances at times). It was everywhere expressed in Harry, from his conversation and demeanor, but perhaps nowhere more evidently than his appearance. Though he remained smaller than Draco, he had grown of late, of course, and seemed every day to need new shoes or larger clothes. Additionally, his face had lost that cherubic look only the very young had, beginning to hint at the definition of his jaw and cheeks he would bear as an adult. But he retained his cherry red full lips, Lucius noted as Harry talked on, his downy soft skin that glowed golden in the candlelight, and his wide-sparkling eyes, shining at Lucius as he turned to include him in the conversation. It made Lucius long for the beauty of the child he was now, but also anxiously anticipating the fine young man he would soon become.



The decision to remain on their trip a few days more, Lucius thought as he stroked the head of his cane the way he would like to caress Harry\'s bare slim shoulders, would be a pleasure for them both.



* * *



At last they retired to their suite of rooms at the topmost floor of the hotel. Harry\'s eyes were bright and his hair mussed from excitedly ruffling it as he conversed with Lucius. But he blinked and yawned often, betraying how very tired he was. After a brief dispute over whether the night was too young for pyjamas, Harry acquiesced to begin his nightly ablutions and after presenting himself with freshly-scrubbed face and teeth, soon slipped into his bed.



"And will we wade in the water tomorrow? And built castles in the sand? And feel the heat of the sun? And catch crabs and things?" Despite Harry\'s eager questions, his eyes were already closing as Lucius settled the bedclothes around his lithe body.



"We shall do whatever you please," Lucius answered. With one brief kiss to Harry\'s forehead, and one rather longer to Harry\'s sweet lips, Lucius bade him good night.



Harry fell asleep nearly the instant his cheek touched the pillow.



Lucius, espying a few familiar-looking owls perched about the rooftop, opened the windows out to let in what no doubt comprised messages from some of his neglected correspondents. They brought nothing more than some mundane tidings of business and social obligations; Lucius scratched out replies quickly on parchment in the parlour between their rooms, and sent them along their way.



He looked on Harry one last time before returning to his own bed.



From the look of the lad, one never would have guessed what a heated and anxious conversation had engaged them that afternoon. Instead of appearing distressed, now Harry rested with a peaceful smile on his face, his rosebud lips slightly parted, his hands relaxed on the quilts. Lucius\'s words had assured him, then. More, Lucius\'s promises had calmed him. A necessary step for them both, Lucius noted to himself as he brushed his fingers against Harry\'s pink cheek and brushed some of the hair away from his forehead. Not only was Harry assured of Lucius\'s support, but Lucius had articulated to himself exactly where his loyalties now lay.



Lucius leaned down for one last kiss, feeling the warmth of the sleeping boy as he brushed his lips back and forth against Harry\'s luscious mouth. It was with some difficulty that he straightened to move away, casting a longing glance back at that golden skin, those fluttering eyelashes, the gawky legs and arms of late lengthening into sinuous limbs.



"Goodnight, Harry," he whispered.



"Love," Harry mumbled before turning over and succumbing to deep sleep.







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