Darkmoon and LIght

A/N It’s short I know… but better to have a short chapter then no chapter…

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.

Thanks once again to Periculum and her wonderful job as my beta.

CHAPTER NINE

Poppy stormed through the halls of Malfoy Manor, in a way that was reminiscent of the resident Potions master. Her only spoken words since she had arrived had been directions to wherever the rest of the current residents were, and an order to get everyone into the same room.

Stalking into the library that she had been directed to, she wished for only a moment that one of them had not shown up. It would have given her a reason to hunt the perpetrator down on her own. Stopping in front of Lady Silverstar, she placed her hands on her hips and growled down at the Elf. “Explain?”

“Explain what exactly, Poppy?” Eve asked.

“Don’t play games with me, Evelyn. You can explain to me why exactly I have a young man, who is supposed to be kept extremely calm, in a sensory deprivation bubble, crying his eyes out ionn William Weasley’s shoulder?!?! The only thing that they managed to get out of him before everything became too much was that you and everyone else here wouldn’t listen to him when he tried to tell you that Draco was not his Mate!”

“But he is,” Eve stated.

“No I’m not!” Draco hissed. “Loved but not Beloved, brother and protector of his heart but not the keeper.” Breathing deeply, he glared at everyone in the room. “He tried to explain but you were so busy happily plotting his future that you didn’t listen to what he wanted, or to what I wanted either.”

“But I saw the jealousy in your eyes last night,” Hermione told him, wide-eyed, asking silently for the information she needed to understand.

“Yes, you did. But it was for what the three of you share. The closeness of friends who are as close, if not closer, than family.”

Hermione grew silent, her thoughts turned inward, as Ron looked over the younger Malfoy, before nodding his head in a silent truce. “I tried to get to headquarters but the Floo was blocked. Is Harry alright?”

“He will be fine, Ronald. Remus had Bill send for me, to help with Harry’s breathing and panic attack, but he will be fine once he calms down.”

“You said he was in a sensory deprivation bubble, with William Weasley, of all people; care to explain to me why?” Severus asked softly, speaking for the first time.

Poppy sank into the nearest chair, and conjured herself a cup of tea, before rubbing her eyes. “Harry told us that he ‘felt’ Eve, ordering around his life without giving him a say in it. That she wanted him to ignore that little part inside that said that there was someone else out there for him. When Remus and a few others reacted with anger, he curled up in a ball in the furthest corner of the room, whimpering that it hurt. Charlie sent Bill to help block Harry’s mind, and put up the bubble around the two of them.” She explained, trying to keep the pitiful sight of Harry trying to hide from the pain, out of her mind as well as her voice.

“Dearest Goddess, the boy is a developing Empath!” Severus swore under his breath. “What other surprises will he come up with?”

“Oh yes, Severus Snape, your son is an Empath, and you would have allowed your grandmother to destroy not only his future, but his mind as well.” Poppy raised her red rimmed eyes and glared into his darker ones. “Why didn’t you follow him?” she choked out.

“I tried,” Severus whispered. “He managed to block both of us with the Shadows, while he Shimmered away. The Shadows didn’t relent until any hope of following him that way had disappeared. I tried to use the Floo, but it was blocked all the way around, I couldn’t even make it to the Headmaster’s office,” he explained. “Harry blocked all of the exits. We couldn’t follow him.”

“Well they’re open now; whatever was blocking them has lifted, as I was able to come through the Floo to get here,” Poppy informed them.

“Do you think he’ll consent to coming back here?” Lucius asked quietly.

“I do not know. I can’t even get close enough to him to run diagnostic scans. Every time I tried, Charlie blocked me, or Harry shrunk away from me in pain. I don’t think anyone will be able to get to him unless their shields are strong enough to block what they feel,” Poppy told them, with a pointed glance at Severus.

Nodding his head in thanks, Severus quickly left the room, and moments later they heard the Floo flare to life. When Ron and Hermione tried to follow, Poppy held them back. “He needs his father right now. You hurt him with this one, and I’m not sure what it’s going to take to make it right,” she said quietly.

“It was me this time, Madam. I believed that Ma... Draco was his mate. They looked so comfortable together that I went along with what everyone else said about them,” Hermione told her, her voice soft with sorrow.

“Did you ask him? Did you gather all of the facts before making your assumptions?”

“No,” Hermione whimpered, guilt shadowing her eyes.

“Well I can only say, Miss Granger, for someone lauded to be the smartest witch of her generation, you have acted in the most idiotic manner I could imagine,” Poppy told the girl, anger making her voice sharp. Turning to Ron, she gave him a pointed look. “And what about you, Mr. Weasley? Did you believe this as well?”

Ron held her gaze calmly and shook his head. “Only for a split second, Ma’am. Only long enough to kick myself for it. I know how possessive Harry can be for someone he loves, and he wasn’t showing it in all the interactions I saw between him and Draco. Caring yes, love no.”

“Very well then, I expect you to keep that kind of attitude in the future.”

“Yes ma’am.

~~hp~~

Severus moved quickly from the receiving room at Grimmauld Place to the kitchen, figuring that that was where everyone would be, or would have been when Harry made his appearance. He couldn’t believe that he had started to follow what his grandmother was doing, considering that he’d doubted the facts she was presenting at first. Yes it was plausible for the boys to have been fighting since their entrance into Hogwarts due to their attraction, but he should have known that love wasn’t the case. After all, he fought that same pull for years with James Potter.

Entering the kitchen, he found half of the Order of the Phoenix trying to get close to his son, and being held back ineffectively by Charlie Weasley and Remus Lupin. He could see the effect all these people were having on the boy.

Growling softly, he buried his feelings deep under his Occlumency barriers, and for the first time ever, allowed his signature scent to swell within a room crowded with people who held no idea exactly who he was. As the spicy scent of moon flowers flowed through the room, he could plainly see the calming effect it had on Harry.

“I suggest that everyone back up in order to give the boy room!” he snarled.

“And what exactly gave you the right to tell us what to do?” Moody snarled, his fake eye swirling to watch the dark wizard with distrust.

“I am the one who has been caring for him for the past few weeks. I know that it may have escaped your limited attention that he is a developing Empath and all of you in this room together are making it impossible for him to calm down. I also know, Moody, that I will remove all of you from this room, if only to give myself room to breathe. Back away from Harry NOW,” Severus growled, his scent becoming even stronger as the shadows within the room started to react to his anger.

“Severus, you’re not helping!” Remus called from the other side of the room, breathing in the new scent deeply and correctly assuming that it was coming from the Potions master.

Taking a few deep breaths in order to bring his own emotions back into control, Severus stalked further into the room, advancing on Harry’s position. “Get everyone out, Wolf,” he hissed, kneeling on the floor close to where Harry lay huddled against Bill.

Nodding his head, Remus looked over the crowd of Order members. “You heard him, get out. We’ve been trying to tell you the same thing for the past few hours, but no one has been listening. Harry needs to calm down before he can see everyone again. Move.”

Reluctantly, the crowd started to move back and out into the next room. When the last person left, Remus produced another deprivation bubble around the door, along with a silencing charm, hoping that it would be enough to keep everyone out, before turning back and watching from a guard position as Severus tried to get through to Harry.