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Chapter Text

Harry stared at the ceiling with unblinking eyes. He could almost remember the sunshine. He wondered if it was even summertime. It was hard to keep track of time in a place like this.

There were shouts from down the dingy hall, but Harry was a pro at ignoring noise of any kind. Although no one went crazy from Dementors anymore, thank Merlin they were gone, many inmates went crazy from the isolation. Or maybe it was cruelty heaped upon them from fellow inmates. Who knows what truly triggered the insanity.

There a loud thump from next door. Harry didn't tear his eyes away from the ceiling. Rabastan periodically banged against the wall that separated their cells. It was an attempt to draw Harry's attention. It never worked.

Just like he knew would happen, Rabastan started talking. "You're so quiet, Potter. It's unnerving."

Suddenly, there was a loud door banging open. For the first time in what was probably hours, Harry sat up and scooted so his back was against the hall. He held his breath as a human guard walking up and down the aisle. He prayed for the guard to pass him by, but his luck had always been shitty.

The guard stopped in front of his cell and stared at him with cruel eyes. The shiny key on the shiny ring magically appeared and before Harry knew it, his cell was opened and he was magically bound, being levitated behind the guard. He didn't struggle to get free. What was the point?

He was taken to the back office. He didn't show any fear. He wouldn't give the bastard that satisfaction. In a lot of ways, this was worse than what many of the prisoners did to him. They were criminals; he didn't expect them to show basic human decency. Guards used their power to intimidate and hurt because no one cared about what happened to a lowly prisoner. It was disgusting!

The guard undid Harry's trousers with rough hands, never even pretending gentleness of any kind. And without any sort of preparation, the nameless guard entered Harry in one smooth motion. Harry was used to it by now so didn't even wince at the unwelcomed intrusion.

With the uneven rhythm started by an overweight, grunting guard, Harry's mind wandered so he didn't have to be in the here and now as he was brutalized. He thought about how he came to be here.

The war had been going on full force for three years. Remus and Sirius had already been killed by Death Eaters. Others had fallen, of course, but no one that meant more to him than those two. Remus had been killed while his wife was pregnant and Tonks was shipped to a safehouse. Everyone had been scared she'd be a target. She fought it, wanting to fight and avenge her husband, but her need to protect her unborn child, the only link she had left to Remus, made her see reason. She and her father both went to the same safe house since he was in danger as well because of his blood status and the fact he married into a prominent Pure-blood family. Andromeda would have gone as well, but she was a trained Healer, and it was decided her skills would be useful to have during the war.

Harry had hardened. He lost his remaining two family members. The Weasleys also suffered some loses. Fred hadn't survived. Neither had Ron. Hermione was hurt so badly that she was in a coma, and no one knew if she'd ever wake up.

Up until then, Harry was doing everything he could to not go too far, but Hermione was the last straw. He starting using the killing curse against Death Eaters. Dumbledore always said he shouldn't fight with Unforgivables, but the Death Eaters were using them. And if the light side had any hope of winning, they needed to fight fire with fire as the Muggles would say. Simply disarming wasn't working. They were losing people! Harry felt fully within his rights.

Some agreed with him, but they were in the minority, and the ones who did agree weren't brave enough to actually go against Dumbledore and use the unforgivable curse.

Even though they disagreed on fighting styles, Harry couldn't believe that Dumbledore decided to throw him into Azkaban at the age of seventeen. How could Dumbledore put him here? He was trying to win a war with as few casualties on their side as possible. Dumbledore's way wasn't going to win it. Harry did what he thought was right, but Azkaban was where he was now. He wasn't sure what game Dumbledore was playing, but obviously, only the old man knew the rules. The prophecy said Harry alone was the one who'd defeat Voldemort. How did Dumbledore expect him to do that from Azkaban?

Hips that sped up brought Harry back from his reminiscing. "You're such a slut," the man grunted. "You like my big cock, don't you, you little bitch."

If Harry wasn't so tired, he would have rolled his eyes. The words were so unoriginal. They always said the same things.

Finally, the man spilled himself inside of Harry. He made the mistake of grimacing at the stickiness and the guard raised his hand and backhanded Harry for his attitude, knocking him to the floor.

"Just for that, I'll make sure you're not done yet. I happen to know someone who loves to have you as a playmate." The guard lifted him up, and while keeping a beefy arm around Harry's neck, pulled up the dangling trousers, not snapping the buttons closed, and dragged him to the cells.

There were jeers and laughs about him taking it up the ass like a good little slut. They stopped in front of Rabastan's cell and once the cell was opened, he was unceremoniously thrown in and the door slammed shut behind him.

"Have fun, Lestrange!" the guard taunted.

There was shuffling as Rabastan came to him. "You okay, Potter?" he whispered, careful to not have any of the other prisoners overhear them.

Harry didn't take his eyes from the floor. "You ask stupid questions," he whispered back.

Rabastan gripped his chin and raised Harry's head so their eyes met.

"You going to take your turn?" Harry asked. He wasn't afraid to show a little bit of his backbone to Rabastan.

"If I don't, the guard will give you to someone else who will."

Harry closed his eyes as Rabastan's lips touched his forehead. He knew it could be worse. Out of everyone in Azkaban, prisoners and guards included, Rabastan was the one who took the most care and tried to not hurt Harry. He even tried to get Harry to enjoy it. It could be much worse than Rabastan.

Harry opened his eyes and dragged Rabastan's lips to his in a hard kiss. Rabastan groaned, his tongue pressing against the seam of Harry's lips. The younger man opened his mouth and gave into Rabastan's hands."

"Let's do this quickly," Harry whispered harshly.

A shadow seemed to cross Rabastan's eyes before it was gone so quick Harry thought he might have imagined it. "Of course. Just lay down and let me do all of the work."

Harry did as he was told.

Rabastan pressed against Harry's neck, kissing and biting, sucking on the pulse point. His hands pressed against the cock that was hiding by Harry's trousers, palming it with a soft hand.

"Hurry up," Harry said. "I'm already loose. Just get it over with!" he ordered.

"Of course," Rabastan agreed. He undid his own trousers and took out his cock that already half hard.

Harry couldn't help but watch as Rabastan brought himself to full hardness. There was something that Harry found enticing to watch. He didn't understand it, but he had such few pleasures in his life now. He wasn't truly going to question it.

When Rabastan was fully hard and ready, he hovered Rabastan and entered him slowly, stopping every inch or so so Harry could adjust. He just had a cock in him so he was still pretty loose, but Harry did appreciate the consideration.

And once Rabastan was in up to the hilt, he thrust in and out, his hips snapping forward with a fierceness that always took Harry by surprise.

Harry wrapped his legs around Rabastan's waist, and Rabastan went deeper with that position.

Rabastan leaned down and kissed him, their tongues tangling as thrusts became more frantic. Rabastan groaned into Harry's mouth, sending shivers up and down Harry's spine.

Rabastan pulled back, and they looked into each other's eyes. Rabastan grabbed Harry's cock that actually got hard this time—it didn't happen every time—and he pumped it, teasing the sensitive head, in time with the snap of his hips.

As both of their orgasms neared, Harry felt a sliver of affection for Rabastan. After all, Rabastan was the only one who didn't go out of his way to hurt Harry. How could he not feel some affection for the man?

And together, they erupted. Harry's release ended up all over Rabastan's chest while Rabastan's seed slid out and down Harry's legs.

They breathed deeply as Rabastan pulled away, stuffing himself back into his dirty grey trousers.

Harry sat up and did up his own grey trousers. "You think that will satisfy the bastard for a while?"

Rabastan grabbed Harry's hand in answer and leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to Harry's lips. The once-upon-a-time-savior quickly backed away. They never kissed when the sex was done. It was an unspoken rule, and Harry didn't like that Rabastan was changing the rules. It unsettled him.

Harry scooted away and went to the far wall, where he leaned his back and waited for the sadistic guard to come and put him back in his own cell. And he did whatever he could to not meet Rabastan's gaze.

Chapter Text

Harry stared at the ceiling of his cell. He heard the unmistakable sounds of sex. He closed his eyes and imagined who might it be. He wondered if it was consensual or like it was for him.

Then there was a groan. It sounded like Rabastan, but it could have been Rodolphus. Their sounds of pleasure were eerily similar. If it was Rabastan, he sounded very appreciative. Unexpectedly, he felt a stab of jealousy at the thought which was utterly ridiculous. If Rabastan got off with someone else, that made him less likely want to get off with Harry. He should be thankful.

There was a loud slam and Harry quickly sat up, his breath becoming uneven. "Shower Time!" a guard bellowed.

He didn't relax, but he did stand up and moved his eyes to the ground, knowing better than to look at any of the guards in the eye. They always took it as a challenge. When the cell opened after he was magically bound, he left the cell and fell in line behind Rabastan.

A hand squeezed his arse as the guard walked passed him to the front of the line, but Harry kept himself from jumping, even while a feeling of dirtiness wanted to consume him.

When they got to a large shower room, no dividers to make stalls—just one big room—Harry stared at the porcelain wall. As soon as the guard left the room and the water started pouring out of faucets, Harry found himself targeted by Yaxley and Avery. He backed himself against the wall.

"We're going to have some fun with you," Avery sneered.

Not for the first time, he wondered if there was a way to kill himself here. Anything was better than being Death Eaters' plaything. That's not even including what the guards did to him.

Yaxley stalked him, staring him up and down, hunger in his eyes.

Bellatrix's cackle could be heard, but Harry only had eyes for the two in front of him.

"We're going to make you beg," Yaxley promised.

Suddenly an arm that didn't belong to either Yaxley or Avery came around, squeezing his neck in a fierce hold. Harry choked in surprise.

"Sorry fellas, I decided I'm going to keep him for myself. I don't feel like sharing anymore," Rabastan easily drawled.

"What?" Harry squeaked, unsure of what was happening. Rabastan had never gone against any of his fellow Death Eaters before.

"You can't be serious," Avery snarled, his hands curled into fists at his side.

"I'm very serious," Rabastan said, squeezing a little tighter as if warning Harry to keep quiet. "He's such a good bitch. He knows exactly what I like. Why should I share him with you? Besides, you'll just break him. I'll be able to get good use out of him."

Yaxley glared and his fingers twitched as if they yearned to hold a wand in his grip.

"You want to take me on, Yax? You were never able to beat me with a wand. You think you could beat me with your fists?"

That seemed to do it, and Yaxley stomped away. Avery took a step forward threateningly.

Rabastan pushed Harry roughly behind him, and Harry hit the wall with a thud. With Rabastan unencumbered by holding Harry, Avery thought better of doing anything and followed Yaxley's path to the far end of the shower room.

Rabastan faced Harry.

"Why?" Harry whispered.

Rabastan shrugged. "They would have broken you. Maybe this isn't ideal…"

Harry nodded. "It isn't ideal. I rather not be forced to have sex at all, but if I have to, at least it won't hurt so much with you."

"Sorry to do this, but it needs to be done to send a message to everyone else," Rabastan apologized in a whisper as he peeled his trousers off of himself so he stood completely bare to all in the room.

Before Harry could ask what he meant, Rabastan had grabbed him, flipping him so his front was pressed against the wall. He roughly shucked Harry's trousers off and in front of everyone's eyes, took him from behind.

Harry cried out in surprised pain. Rabastan had never been so rough, not even the very first time they were together. There were no kisses, no touching Harry. There was nothing to distract him from what was going on.

Rabastan acted like everyone else, only caring about getting off. Harry's eyes were closed as tears fell from eyes. The quick thrusts pushed him against the wall. Harry felt like he was suffocating and then Rabastan emptied himself inside of Harry's abused arsehole.

"You are such a good little slut," Rabastan praised, pulling away, uncaring of Harry's flinch. He fell to his knees as the cold water pounded on him from the shower spray. It would never wash away the complete filth, though.

Suddenly a guard was back. 'Where was he when I was being raped?' Harry thought. He knew the answer. The guard probably knew but didn't care. After all, he enjoyed Harry's body, too. "Showers are over!"

Harry kept his eyes averted as all of the prisoners walked out of the shower room, looking at him with cruel eyes. He knew if he looked up, he'd see their enjoyment at the show.

Rabastan left too, and Harry stood on shaking legs, pulling his trousers up. As he walked passed the guard, the man cupped Harry's prick through his clothes. "Enjoyed that, didn't you? Such a cock bitch!"

Harry wanted to scream, 'Tell yourself what you need to in order to sleep at night! You'll do anything to not feel like dirt! You're no better than them!' Of course, he didn't say that, though. He wasn't stupid.

He waited in front of his cell, but he wasn't let in even while all of the other prisoners were. 'Please no. Not again,' Harry prayed even though he no longer believed there was a God. If there was a God, he was a sadistic bastard to let this happen.

The guard grabbed him and dragged him to Rabastan's cell. "I don't think Lestrange is through with his fun yet. The cell was opened and Harry was pushed through.

He fell to his knees, shaking as the cell slammed shut with a clang. Rabastan crawled over to him. "Please no." Harry tried. He never begged, but he hoped Rabastan had an ounce of empathy in him.

Rabastan wrapped an arm around Harry, dragged him onto his lap, and held him. "I had to do that. I had no choice. I needed to show them I wasn't going soft. Otherwise, they would have kept coming after you. Now they know you're mine, and they'll leave you alone."

Harry looked into his eyes. "You're as bad as them. I fooled myself. I thought you were nicer."

Rabastan glared at him. "Let's get one thing straight. I'm not a nice guy. I'm a Death Eater. I don't particularly care for rape, but I do have needs that need to be met despite being locked up. That's why I've done everything I could so I could get a release and you could enjoy it. What happened in the showers had to happen. Yaxley and the others wouldn't have taken my threat seriously if they saw me being too nice to you. I did what had to be done. You should grow up."

"I've grown up way too quickly," Harry quietly refuted.

Rabastan conceded that with a nod. His lips descended in a soft kiss. Harry stiffened, expecting hands to touch him. Rabastan's hand stayed firmly on his waist as his lips tasted Harry's with a softness that was such a drastic difference from the shower room.

Harry felt himself relax, realizing Rabastan wasn't going to take it any further. Rabastan let go of the kiss when air became an issue, pressing short pecks at the end.

"Despite what the bastard guard wants to happen, no more tonight," Rabastan promised.

Harry nodded, finally realizing that maybe Rabastan hadn't turned on him. He said he wasn't a nice guy, but he was acting like the nicest guy here. That might not count for much overall, but right now in the present, it meant the world to Harry. Maybe Rabastan was the only one he'd have on his side. Maybe Rabastan did have to do what he did. The guards might still bother him, but if the other prisoners left him alone, Rabatan's treatment of him in the shower room would be worth it.

Rabastan laid down on the grimy floor, pulling Harry with him. He stiffened at the new position, but when Rabastan simply held him without forcing anything else, Harry rested his head on the muscular chest and closed his eyes, letting himself fall asleep in someone's arms for the first time ever.

Chapter Text

After that, there was a sort of routine. Harry was made available to Rabastan whenever the older man wanted. And in turn, he kept the other prisoners away from him. There was nothing that could be about the guards of course, but when the guards threw him in with Rabastan, thinking there would be more torture, Rabastan was very careful with Harry. He made sure Harry enjoyed it as much as possible in the circumstances.

All in all, Harry's life, or half-life as it might be, was better than it had been when he was everyone's toy. At least Rabastan never took perverse pleasure out of beating him up during sex as Travers did. In fact, Rabastan was what he would have called gentle, acting like Harry was going to break.

It was the exact opposite. Rabastan's care was making Harry stronger. Still, he was locked up in Azkaban for fighting a war he was forced to fight his way instead of a Dumbledore approved way.

Sometimes, he found himself thinking about Tonks. He hoped she and her baby were okay. He wondered if she knew what had happened to Harry. He had never been exceptionally close to her since he didn't know her well enough, but Remus loved her and she had been pregnant with his son. That was good enough for Harry.

Maybe she was still in hiding. He wasn't sure how long he had been locked up, so he had no idea if she had already given birth or was still pregnant.

He hated not knowing how long it had been.

There was a loud crash. Harry sat up in his cell, curious about what was going on. That didn't sound like it came from inside the prison. Harry heard screams and cheers.

Cheers from Death Eaters. That couldn't be a good thing.

Harry brought his knees up to his chest and hugged them. "Hello, my loyal followed," a voice said smoothly.

Harry sighed. He knew happy Death Eaters wasn't a good thing. The guard door slammed opened and before the guard could get very far, he was shot down by the killing curse.

Harry couldn't find it in himself to really care. The guy was a psychopath. Frankly, he should have been behind bars as well.

There was a silent reducto and some of the cells were ripped open. Death Eaters ran out and stood behind their Lord, ready to do his bidding.

Most of the cells were opened, one or two at a time. His cell was left untouched, though.

Steps could be heard and very quickly, he was faced with red, glowing eyes. "Well, well, well, Harry Potter. How the mighty has fallen."

There were snickers but no one taunted him about the tight arse he had as they had before. Maybe they didn't want their Lord to know that they had lowered themselves to touching a half-blood sexually, even if it was against said-Half-blood's will.

"No one to save you now. No one cares about what happens to their precious savior, do they? It's too easy, almost boring." Voldemort smirked, eyes glinting evilly. He pointed his wand at Harry.

"Wait!" Rabastan blurted.

Harry blinked in surprise. He had been looking forward to sweet death. There would be no more pain, and he would have been able to finally rest his exhausted mind, body, and soul.

He wasn't the only one flabbergasted at the outburst.

"You better have a good reason for wanting to stop me, Lestrange," Voldemort lowly stated. Anyone with ears would be able to hear the danger lurking in his voice.

Rabastan stepped forward. "Think about it, Milord. The so-called light locked him up as if he was like us when the only thing he had been trying to do was win a war for them. They didn't care what happened to him here and trust me, it was no picnic being the boy-who-lived while being locked up with many of your inner circle. Do you really think he'll help the light? Imagine them finally coming to him for help because of the prophecy and then seeing their faces when they realize he won't help them."

Voldemort was silent for a moment. "That would be delicious," he admitted, "but there's no guarantee he won't fight even if he hates the light. He does have a hero complex."

This whole time, Harry had averted his eyes, not wanting to look at Rabastan as he tried to save someone that was supposed to be his enemy.

"Look at him," Rabastan said. "He's defeated. And I've heard him say the light can screw themselves if they ever deign to visit him. With his godfather, the werewolf, and his friends gone, he has no reason to really save a world that turned their backs on him."

Voldemort didn't answer right away. "You're right. Frankly, I think he wants to die."

Harry looked up and glared at the Dark Lord.

Voldemort smirked. "I saw the eagerness in your eyes. And I'm not going to give you the pleasure of something you want so badly. It's no fun if you want to die."

Harry didn't twitch. Frankly, he didn't know how to feel. He was confused. Why did Rabastan care if he was killed or not? They were enemies.

Voldemort walked closer to the cell. "You could come with us. Fight on my side. I bet Dumbeldore would regret tossing you away like you were garbage if you did that."

Harry stiffened. "It's a thought, but I don't want to fight either way. And even if I cared enough to fight in this war, you killed my parents. And your followers killed the remaining links to my parents. Not to mention, Fred, Ron, and Hermione. I would never fight on your side for them alone."

Voldemort didn't look surprised. "At least you're honest. Suit yourself. Enjoy the alone time you're sure to get."

Harry's bark of laughter was eerily similar to Sirius' sarcastic snorts. "Frankly, I think alone time would be a vast improvement over the last few months." Harry tilted his head. "Out of curiosity, can you tell me how long I've been locked up?"

Voldemort arched an eyebrow at Harry's almost congenial personality. "Almost eleven months."

Harry nodded. 'So Tonks has given birth. I hope she and the baby are okay.'

Voldemort turned and stalked out of Azkaban and the Death Eaters followed behind him like puppy dogs that trailed after their master. All but one Death Eater. Rabastan walked to the cell. "You could have gotten freedom."

"I'll never fight for him. No matter how much I hate Dumbledore I can't. Not after my mum, dad, Sirius, and Remus."

Rabastan nodded and knelt in front of the cell. He reached his hand inside. Harry hesitated but grabbed Rabastan's hand, giving it a light squeeze. "I never thought I'd thank a Death Eater, but thank you for looking out for me."

"At least the majority of your tormentors will be gone," Rabastan conceded.

"I'm happy about Avery, Yaxley, and Travers. And Bellatrix of course. Not to mention the guard that was killed was the cruelest one. But I don't think I count you as one of my tormentors."

"Remember, I'm not a nice man," Rabastan warned.

Harry stared into his eyes. "I know. But in comparison, you are the best."

Rabastan opened his mouth to say something but snapped it shut.

Harry found himself curious. "What?"

Rabastan shook his head. "Nothing. Just…" He paused, thinking it over, but he shook his head again. "Nothing," he stated decisively. He stood up and quickly strode out of the prison, hopefully before Voldemort realized he stayed behind for a moment.

Harry swallowed down a lump. It was eerily silent, and he was alone. He wondered how long it would be before they realized there was a breakout? Would it be at the next guard shift change, or was there some kind of magical alarm that alerted whoever. He laid down and stared at the ceiling, his favorite pastime in this place. He guessed that only time would tell, and he might as well wait for the fireworks to explode.

Chapter Text

It didn't take long before the break out was discovered. It was definitely before the next guard was scheduled to come in. It was almost funny. The guard ran around as if he was a chicken that had his head cut off. The guard obviously hadn't been trained to keep his head no matter what the situation.

And after that, Dumbledore graced the prison with his presence. He should have known the old man would have come in person to see the wreckage and missing prisoners. He felt anger at the sight, but he kept a tight lid on it. After what he had been through, there was nothing more Dumbledore could do to him.

"My boy," Dumbledore said in a grandfatherly way.

Once again, Harry found himself repressing his anger. He was not Dumbledore's boy! He was not Dumbledore's anything! He didn't answer.

Dumbledore continued. "I'm guessing it was Voldemort." Dumbledore shook his head and muttered, "Of course it was Voldemort."

He went back to laying down and staring up at the ceiling. He was wondering how long it would take for Dumbledore to show his annoyance. Maybe Harry could make it a game.

Dumbledore sighed. "The war is getting worse."

Harry kept silent, but he was listening. He didn't think Dumbledore would come so soon and try to make nice, but maybe the Death Eaters being broken out scared him enough to swallow his pride.

"My boy, we need your help."

Harry could almost appreciate how gutsy Dumbledore was. To come right out and say that, he had some nerve.

"People are dying," Dumbledore tried.

That got Harry to look at the old man. "The people I love are already dead or as good as dead. Everyone else can burn in hell."

"What about the rest of the Weasleys?"

Harry sat up. "You mean Molly? The woman who said being locked up was for my good. Or Percy? The man said I deserved everything I got here. Or Arthur? Who did nothing? Just allowed me to be sent to Azkaban for fighting a war and trying to end it."

"You will killing people,' Albus growled, his blue eyes flashing.

"Death Eaters who were killing our side. No one wins a war by playing nice. Considering you're losing now, maybe you should finally admit the truth. I was right, and you were wrong." Harry paused to smile smugly. "And you are losing. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here."

"Stop being so difficult. You're acting like a child."

Harry blinked. "If you want my help, you should learn to ask nicer."

Dumbledore gritted his teeth.

The old man was losing his patience. Harry almost smiled. Almost.

"Will you please help us, Mr. Potter?"

"Was that so hard, Dumbledore? And my answer is no. The whole wizarding world could burn, and I wouldn't care the slightest bit."

"What about Miss Tonks and Teddy?"

Harry stared. "Teddy?"

"Her and Remus' son. Do you want them to burn as well?"

"Where are they?"

"That's for me to know. Maybe if you cooperate, you'll get to see them."

Harry ached for a wand so he could wipe the smug smile off of the old man's face. How can no one realize he's as manipulative as Voldemort. Harry rolled his eyes. Then again, he hadn't realized Dumbledore wasn't the best thing in the world until he himself was unfairly thrown into Azkaban. Still, he didn't believe he'd intentionally put anyone in danger. He might be using Tonks and Teddy as leverage to get Harry to agree to fight, but Harry didn't think he'd hurt them if the boy-who-lived refused to cooperate.

Harry laid back down. "I'm not helping you."

"Oh, my boy, I thought we could do this the easy way. I guess I was mistaken."

He didn't hear the spell, but when he was stupefied, he wasn't surprised.

Harry's ears still worked even if he couldn't move or talk. "Bring him along, Alastar. We have things to do and places to be."

And he was levitated, forced to leave a prison he shouldn't ever have been in, to begin with.

Chapter Text

When he was released, he wasn't surprised to be at 12 Grimmauld Place. Sirius was dead. The Order of the Phoenix had no right to continue to use his ancestral home. As Sirius' godson, maybe he could get them kicked out. It was a thought at least.

He was brought to a room he had once shared with Ron. He almost cried as memories assaulted his senses.

The door was shut. He tried opening it. Surprise, surprise. It was locked. He focused, imagining the unlocking charm. Before he was locked up, he had been dabbling in wandless and silent magic, but with no practice for months and no basic care, his magical core was probably very weak.

Nothing happened to the doorknob. Not even a twitch. He sighed and sat on the bed. That was the only thing he could do.

"Sirius, I wish you were here," Harry whispered, not for the first time missing the first person he let himself love as family.

The door opened, and Harry stood up, ready to fight. Molly Weasley walked in, but he didn't drop his guard.

"Hello, my dear. Considering that awful place, you look good." She looked him over in a mothering way, the kind of way that Harry craved once upon a time.

"Dumbledore is truly a stupid man if he believes you'll soften me."

Molly put her hands on her hips. "Dumbledore is a great man. You should have more respect for him."

"I respect people who earn it."

"Dear, what we did was for your own good."

Suddenly, Harry wanted to blurt out everything. Just so he could see her disgust as she realized what she helped happen. "My good? Was it for my good that I was raped by Death Eaters? Was it for my good that Travers broke my arm multiple times while he raped me? Or maybe the fact he put his hands around my throat during sex so I almost passed out from a lack of oxygen multiple times? How about the guards? People that are supposed to keep order and peace? How about the guards that beat me and raped me? Was all of that for my good too? Now, get out! The only ones I want to see is Tonks and Teddy. If I can't see them, I don't want to see anyone! Get out! And Stay Out!" The wind picked up around him, his magic responding to his anger. Maybe he could tap into magic wandlessly with some practice.

Molly ran out with a fearful look in her eyes.

Harry wasn't sure why he didn't mention how he had to become Rabastan's exclusive plaything for protection. Maybe he still felt some affection for Rabastan, and he didn't want to put him on the same level as everyone else. Rabastan did save his life when Voldemort came, even if Harry wouldn't have minded the killing curse.

Harry sat down on his bed, wondering who was going to be next. Maybe they'd wise up and just let him see Tonks and Teddy. That would be the smart thing to do.

Then again, Dumbledore was stubborn, and he didn't like anyone else believing they were in charge. Dumbledore had to hold the power to be happy. Dumbledore and Voldemort really were very similar in that respect.

Harry didn't know how long he sat on that bed. He heard yelling downstairs and then footsteps running upstairs. When the door opened, it was a ghost from the past. Well, not a ghost per se.

"Hi, George."

"Harry."

They stared at each other. Seconds became minutes. Harry felt weird. He was never really angry at George for not doing anything. After all, he had been grieving because of the loss of his twin brother. George never said anything for or against his imprisonment, so he had no idea where George stood on it. Then again…

"I heard yelling."

"I haven't spoken to my family in a while."

Harry nodded. That really said it all.

George took out his wand and raised it, doing some silent magic. "There. Had to get rid of the listening device so no one could eavesdrop on us."

Harry crossed his arms over his chest. "I should have known."

George continued as if Harry hadn't said anything, "I tried to rally people that were on your side, people that were high enough to get you out of Azkaban. Amelia Bones was helping, but she ended up dead. Her house went up in flames, and she was trapped in the burning inferno. I never gave up trying to get you out, though."

Harry's heart warmed a bit. "I believe you."

"I haven't set foot in here for months, but Mum Floo-called me. I was ready to disconnect, but she said your name, so I listened. Things she said happened to you…"

"I was raped in Azkaban. A lot. I wished for death. When Voldemort came and broke out his Death Eaters, I hoped that it would be it for me, but he didn't want to kill me if I wanted it. No fun for him. But he's pretty sure I'm not going to fight him in the war because I hate Dumbledore so much."

George reached for his hand.

Harry flinched back. "Sorry," he apologized at his natural reaction to physical contact.

"Don't be," George answered. "I wish I could have done something for you."

"The fact that you tried means a lot to me. Unlike Molly who kept saying it's for my own good."

"I'm disgusted by her. Fred would be too. You were fighting to save everyone, and they treated you like a Death Eater."

Harry took a shuddering breath and then he was crying. Deep, heaving sobs. He saw George reach for him and hesitate, remembering Harry's aversion to touch. But Harry didn't care. He wanted to be held by gentle arms. The closest thing he had to that experience in the last few months is Rabastan. He threw himself into George's arms. His body shook as he cried. It had been so long since he allowed himself this weakness.

He cried for everyone he lost. He cried for everything he lost. His innocence, his optimism, his childhood, his family, and his friends.

George held him, not speaking. Crying was the best medication.

His sobs tapered off to hiccups. "Sorry," he muttered.

"Never be sorry for crying. If anyone deserves a good cry right now, it's you."

"Have you seen Tonks?" Harry asked, shuffling away from the comforting embrace.

George allowed the distance. "Yeah. She misses you so much. She found out about you being in Azkaban after Teddy was born. She was furious and threatened to storm Azkaban to break you out. She never did, though. I think Dumbledore said something, something that scared her enough to keep her in line."

Harry looked down at the bedspread. "The only thing he could have said to scare her was a threat to Teddy. In Azkaban, I thought Dumbledore was manipulative, but he'd never threaten innocent people to get his way. But…"

"He threw you in Azkaban for shooting off the killing curse at Death Eaters. You weren't turning against us, but you weren't doing what he wanted. You were showing too much of a backbone, and he couldn't control you any longer, so it was easier for him to get you out of the way. Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if he did threaten Teddy to get Tonks to do what he wanted. I feel like this side is no better than Voldemort's side."

"I thought the same thing in Azkaban."

George stared at him. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Get me out of here," Harry tried, although he knew George wouldn't be able to do anything.

"I wish."

"They thought you'd bring me to their way of thinking." Harry found it almost funny.

George rolled his eyes. "I thought they were smarter than that." They were silent, each lost in their own thoughts. "Do you think you'll ever fight the Death Eaters?"

"I hate this side almost as much as I hate Voldemort's side light now. I hate the idea of helping them, but the Death Eaters are still killing innocent people. Then again, those innocent people didn't do anything to help me. Why should I help them?"

George picked up his hand and squeezed it. "Some of them were on your side; there was nothing they could do, though. Amelia had been working on it when she was killed. Unfortunately, getting anything done is a slow-moving process."

Harry nodded. He knew George was right and he wasn't angry at George, so it wasn't fair he was angry at people who he didn't even know. Then a thought came to him. "Whatever happened with Ginny anyways? I don't remember seeing her before I was sent to Azkaban."

"My dear sister is a spiteful little bitch. I'm guessing she was hurt when you refused to date her because she actually told Dumbledore she thought you might be going dark. Granted, Dumbledore probably would have locked you up anyways, but Ginny's testimony certainly didn't help matters at all."

"Wow, I didn't know that. Doesn't she realize she was playing a game that little kids play when it was a serious adult matter? I haven't even seen her."

"Good. She's dating a Zacharias Smith right now, but now that you're out of Azkaban, I can imagine her trying to cozy back up to you."

"After what she said. I hadn't known about it until now, but if I had known, does she really think I'd want her around me?"

"My sister is delusional and thinks every guy should fall at her feet."

There was a loud bang downstairs. Both looked towards the door but there was no running upstairs so whatever happened wasn't because or for Harry.

"I know you hate your family, but I hope you continue to come visit me. It looks like I've traded one prison for another, so I could use a friendly face."

George hugged Harry, careful to reach for him slowly so Harry saw it coming. "Trust me. You're not getting rid of me that quickly."

X

"You're my little bitch, aren't you?" Avery sneered. His hands were all over Harry, pinching and groping. No reaction came from Harry, and he was happy his body didn't betray him. He struggled to get free, but he was paralyzed, whether it was by magic or his own fear, Harry didn't know.

"I could never want you," Harry said.

Avery's face morphed into Rabastan's.

Harry stopped struggling. "Rabastan?" Suddenly Harry's hands were free, and he could move. He sat up.

Rabastan was gentle, taking his face between his hands and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. Harry's body reacted to the touch, and Harry found himself moaning.

When Rabastan touched him, palming Harry's cock through his pants, Harry didn't yearn to get away In fact, he craved more, and he gasped in delight.

Rabastan's kisses moved to Harry's neck, and the younger man arched, baring his skin to give Rabastan better access.

Harry found himself wanting more.

"I want you so much," Rabastan groaned, thrusting against Harry's body. Their cocks were both covered by clothes, but that didn't stop either of them from getting hard.

"Yes," Harry moaned, closing his eyes and arching for my friction.

"I"m going to shag you so hard," Rabastan promised.

"Please," Harry moaned, winding his arms around Rabastan's neck, pulling their lips together for a searing kiss.

X

Harry's eyes popped open, and he slowly sat up. "Wow." He had never had a sex dream before. Not even before Azkaban. He never really felt a strong attraction to another person, male or female, so it made sense he wouldn't dream about having sex with another person.

The fact it was about Rabastan scared him a bit. Rabastan had been as nice as he was allowed to be, given the circumstances, but the sex had still been non-consensual. Rabastan had been the lesser of two evils, but rape was rape. The fact that Harry's body had liked it usually was probably just confusing his body and mind. Or maybe it was about the fact that Rabastan had been preferable over Avery or the others. The dream had started out as a nightmare with Avery, and then it had morphed into something else entirely.

Harry closed his eyes. He wondered where Rabastan was. How many people had Rabastan killed since being broken out of Azkaban? That was what he had to remember. Rabastan was a Death Eater that killed people. Like Rabastan continuously told Harry, he wasn't a good or nice guy. He had to remember that very important fact.

Maybe George would come by today. He really needed someone he trusted to talk to, and in this house, there was no one that fit the bill.

Chapter Text

Harry faced the wall in the room. It was the only thing he could do. Periodically he had visitors, but no one was received as well as George was. When he first saw Kingsley, he had been hopeful because the Auror had always seemed like a fair man, but Harry quickly learned Kingsley was too blinded by his loyalty to Dumbeldore to see that the man wasn't infallible.

Ginny did make an appearance, but Harry's scathing words caused her to run away in tears. Arthur came in, ready to defend his daughter, but Harry looked right through him, saying, "Now you have a backbone?"

Arthur opened his mouth, closed it, and then opened it again. When it looked like he was finally going to verbalize something, George made a welcome entry.

For the first time in two days, Harry smiled.

"You should go, Dad," George said, but there was no softness in his tone.

"Why two days?" Harry asked as soon as they were alone.

"Dumbledore wouldn't let me see you. I'm sure he wanted someone who listened to him better to connect with you so he could get you under control. Alas, he obviously didn't get what he wanted."

Harry chuckled, but he stopped as quickly as it started. "I had a dream about Hermione last night."

George sat across from him on the bed. "Oh?"

"I never even thought to ask about her."' Harry's breath hitched as the memory of the curse that put her in St Mungos indefinitely.

George's eyes showed his remorse. "She's the same. According to the Healers, the only thing keeping her alive is her magic. They don't think she'll ever wake up."

'It might be more humane to let her die.' Harry didn't say it out loud, of course, but it wasn't fair that Hermione was forced to live like this when there was no chance of her coming out of the coma.

If he ever got the chance to visit, he thought about possibly putting her out of her misery, but he didn't know if he had the courage.

"I want to see her."

George arched an eyebrow. "You know, you could probably get almost anything you want."

Harry stared at him.

George shrugged. "I said almost anything. You won't be allowed to leave obviously. But, if it gets Dumbledore on your good side, I bet he'd let you visit Hermione."

"He won't even let me see Tonks and Teddy. Why would Hermione be any different?"

George laid down on his side on the bed, staring at Harry unflinchingly. "Because Tonks can say you're right to not trust him. Hermione isn't able to talk you out of listening to Dumbledore in all of his wisdom. That, and your bond with Hermione. He'll probably think seeing her would make you realize that you need to fight in this war to avenge her. You'd have to play it cool, though. If you show any outright hostility, he'll keep you locked in here."

Harry nodded. "Go get Dumbledore."

George jumped up and raced out of the room. It didn't take long for Dumbledore to come. Harry was amused to note he kept his distance, as if afraid of what Harry might do.

"If you let me see Hermione, I might decide to play nice." Harry no longer hesitated to say what he wanted. Why waste all of that time?

"Dear Boy, she won't even know you're there."

Harry fought to keep himself from glaring at the term of endearment. 'Play nice, play nice, play nice,' he told himself. "I know, but she was my best friend for years. My sister in every way but blood. I want to see her. I need to see her."

Dumbledore studied him. Harry averted his eyes, careful of his legilimency. Finally, Dumbledore agreed. "I think we can arrange that, but you'll have to be on your best behavior at St. Mungos. If you do anything to draw attention to yourself, you won't be seeing the outside of this place for a while."

Harry fought to control his temper. The man had the gall to actually threaten him with continued imprisonment. He kept Hermione's face in his mind. This was all to see her. "Deal, but I want George to come with. He's the only one I trust."

Dumbledore had the nerve to look hurt. "My boy-"

"And stop calling me 'my boy,' Harry interrupted, "You no longer have that right. When are we going?"

Dumbledore still tried his best to make Harry feel guilty with his solemn expression. "Tomorrow. I'll let her regular healer know to expect some visitors."

Harry nodded and turned away. "I want to see George again."

Dumbledore left and was soon replaced by the only Weasley Harry still liked. "Good job, kid," George praised.

Harry stared at his hands. He was a bit nervous about seeing Hermione, and he knew she wouldn't even know he was there, but one could never be 100% sure. Muggles think coma patients can hear people around them. Maybe Hermione would know he was there, and maybe if she heard his voice, it might be what she needed to wake up.

"I know what you're thinking," George said.

Harry stared at George with wide. "What am I thinking?"

"If Hermione hears you, she'll wake up. The Healer says she has no brain activity, though. Even you being there is not going to help her wake up."

Harry deflated. There goes his fleeting hope. If there was no brain activity, Hermione would almost definitely not wake up. And if by some miracle she did, without brain activity, she'd be a vegetable, and if that was her life, Hermione would be better off dead. She'd never want to live life as a vegetable. "Oh, I see."

"But at least you'll be able to see her," George said.

Tears wanted to fall, but Harry held them back. He was not going to cry on George once again. Otherwise, the older man might stop visiting. "Yeah, at least I'll get to see her."

X

Harry walked into St. Mungos. Many people stopped and stared at him. He kept looking forward. George put an arm around him and didn't acknowledge Harry's stiffness at the touch. "Ignore everyone," he whispered, "Remember why you're here."

Harry nodded. "Now if only he could ignore Molly, Percy, and Kingsley so easily."

They hovered around him as if he was going to bolt. Harry would be lying if he said he didn't think about it. If he thought he'd escape, he might actually do it. He knew George would help him, but he didn't think he'd get away. And he feared George would be sent to Azkaban on the charge of aiding and abetting. Harry wouldn't risk George's freedom for selfishness.

A Healer was in Hermione's room. The woman stared at him. "I know you've been told she won't wake up due to brain inactivity. I'm not sure why you're bothering with someone like her."

Harry's eyes narrowed at the woman. "What do you mean by someone like her?" Out of the corner of his eye, he saw George's eyes widened, and he took a slight step back. George knew to be wary of that tone.

"Well, she's a Muggle-born, not that important, and-"

The wind picked up around him. "Not that important. My best friend in the world is not that important. The girl who always had my back, who saved me more times than I can remember is not that important? And you call yourself a Healer. You're lucky I no longer have a wand on me."

The wind got rough, whipping around like a weapon. A gust cut the Healer's cheek, and blood seeped out of the wound.

"Harry, stand down," Kingsley ordered, taking out his wand.

George glared behind Harry. "This is your fault! He doesn't have a wand to channel his magic through, so it's going nuts based on his emotions!"

"He just threatened the woman," Kingsley defended the decision to not give Harry a wand, "It's a good thing he doesn't have a wand!"

"Well, considering the Healer just insulted Hermione because she's a Muggle-born, you might want to check her arm for a dark mark."

By now, Harry had managed to rein in his emotions, and his magic was calming down with it. He took uneven breaths and looked at George. "Doesn't matter. She probably doesn't have a Dark Mark. I'm sure St. Mungo's checked for it. Anyways, Rabastan told me that a lot of Voldemort sympathizers were unmarked, so they could safely spread anything Voldemort wanted to be known and not be arrested for being a follower."

George arched an eyebrow. "Rabastan said that? As in Rabastan Lestrange?"

Harry nodded. "He was my neighbor."

He didn't have to say where they were neighbors. Molly, Percy, and Kingsley all flinched. George's eyes showed compassion, but there was a question in his eyes. Harry was sure George would have questions about his familiarity with Rabastan enough to use his first name when they were alone.

Harry turned back to the Healer that had already healed her cheek, and now she glared at Harry as if she wished she would be allowed to spew her own curse at him. "Voldemort sympathizer or not, you should be ashamed of yourself. No one should say a patient is unimportant, no matter what her blood status is. Everyone here has someone who loves that person, and you should be sensitive to that." He looked passed her, and his heart clenched at the sight of his best friend laying so still. She looked pale, but there were no tubes or wires because this was a magical hospital. "You can go now," he whispered, walking past her as if she wasn't even there. Of course, he wished he could demand a different Healer for Hermione, but since she wasn't going to get better, he doubted anyone would listen to him.

"Hermione," Harry murmured.

She looked peaceful. If he didn't know better, he would think she was sleeping. Isn't that what people normally thought when they saw a coma patient?

"I wished I could have visited you sooner. You wouldn't believe what I've been through. I'm sure you would forgive me for not visiting once you knew the truth." Harry's breath hitched, catching in his throat. "They say you have no brain activity, so you probably can't hear me. And if you can, you won't know what I'm saying. You've always been remarkable, though, so who knows?" Harry closed his eyes. "I love you so much. Every day I was in Azkaban, I replayed the day you got hit by the curse that put you here. I looked at it from different angles, wondering if there was something I could have done differently. If I had been faster, stronger, smarter, maybe there was something I could have done to stop it from hitting you. You were only on the front lines because you were my best friend. If we hadn't been best friends, you would have probably left the UK and went to another county that would have given you sanctuary like all of the other Muggle-borns did. Of course, Hermione Granger could never leave her best friend when he was in the middle of a war. You're too loyal. You wouldn't have been you if you left. I wish you did, though. At least then, I know you would be safe. Maybe you would have fallen in love with some handsome American boy. I can totally see you dating some American scholar. I'm so sorry, 'Mione. I love you so much."

George put his arms around Harry from behind, and he didn't even jump this time. "It's not your fault. You were right. She wouldn't have been her if she didn't stay and fight. And even if you guys hadn't been best friends, she might have still chosen to fight. She wasn't the only Muggle-born who stayed. And she's so brave; I don't think she would have even considered running away. Running away just wasn't Hermione's style."

Harry turned around and buried his face in George's shirt, sniffling. "In the Muggle world, there's a way to pull the plug if someone is going to forever be like this. There's a machine that can be shut off to allow the person to die when there's no hope of them getting better. I wish there was something like there here. Hermione deserves better than to live like this." He kept his voice low, so the room's other occupants couldn't hear him.

George held him and rubbed his back. George answered softly, "I wish I was brave enough to do what needed to be done, but Harry, I can't. I know Hermione would be better off, but I can't be the one to do that to her."

"I know; I'm not asking you to. I just wish..."

"I know."

Harry's shoulders shook as he cried. He had been crying a lot since being released from Azkaban. "I didn't cry so much while I was in Azkaban. You're a bad influence on me, George," he weakly joked.

George pressed a kiss to his forehead. "Sorry, but I think crying is a good thing for you. You never allowed yourself to cry for Hermione before."

"Or Ron," Harry whispered, "I never cried for Ron either."

Molly took that moment to intrude. "We should go."

Harry pulled back and wiped his eyes. "Are they puffy?" he asked George.

"A little red but not puffy."

Harry nodded.

Molly held her arms open as if waiting for Harry to hug her for comfort.

Harry stared at her as if she was nuts. "You're kidding me, right?" He looked passed her at Kingsley. "Let's just go. I have a prison to get back to."

"It's not a prison," Molly said shrilly. "It's for-"

"If you say it's for my own good one more time, I will scream," Harry interrupted.

Molly didn't say anything more. He grabbed George's arm and they left the hospital room together, the other three following behind like they did when they entered the hospital.

They were heading towards the room that had the public fireplace to floo from when there was a bang and then screams of mayhem. Kingsley ran with his wand out. Molly ran too. She wasn't much of a fighter, so Harry wasn't sure what she thought she was going to do. Harry might have taken the chance to run away in all of the commotions, but as if reading his thoughts, Percy gripped his arm. "Don't even think about it, Potter."

George and Harry shared a look. George nodded at him, and Harry got the message. 'If you see an opening, make a run for it.'

Their silent connection was broken by two black-robed figures running their way, both of them wearing skull masks.

Percy took out his wand. One of the Death Eaters shot a curse at him and George jumped on both him and Percy, knocking them to the ground.

"Go," George whispered.

Harry didn't have to be told. He was already getting up when George whispered the command and running in the opposite direction from the Death Eaters.

"Potter, come back here!" Percy ineffectively screamed.

Harry shook his head. Like he was really going to listen to that.

He stopped short at the sight of another Death Eater. He looked around. He didn't have a wand for protection so he ran into the hospital room and hid. It just happened to be Hermione's room. He looked at her bed. "You're always with me, 'Mione, aren't you?"

Hopefully, the Death Eater hadn't noticed him. Luck was not on his side and soon the taller figure stood in the doorway.

Harry gulped and took a step back. There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. If he could control of his magic wandlessly, he might have a chance.

"Got to admit, I'm not that surprised to see you here," a familiar voice spoke from behind a mask.

"Rabastan." It wasn't a question.

"Potter. Dumbledore already got you to do his bidding again. Got to admit, I'm a little disappointed in you."

"I'm not doing anything for Dumbledore. I'm practically a prisoner. The only reason I got away just now is because George knocked Percy down, the one who was holding my arm, down when Kingsley and Molly ran to help. I don't even have a wand. George is the only one on my side."

"Why are you here?" Rabastan asked, no inflection in his voice about Harry's plight.

"Pretending to play nice so I could see Hermione." He gestured to the still body on the bed.

Rabastan looked, but Harry couldn't see the expression on his face due to the mask.

"So, you're going to kill me or take me to your master? Frankly, I might still welcome sweet death."

"You could always join our side. I'm sure the Dark Lord could get your wand."

Harry shook his head. "Not going to happen. I don't trust Dumbledore, but I don't trust Voldemort either. I need to make my own side in this war."

Rabastan nodded. "So, how do you want to play this?."

"Like I said, I don't have a wand, and my ability to do wandless magic isn't very consistent. So, it's your show."

"My show?" Rabastan asked, not comprehending the meaning.

"Muggle figure of speech. It basically means your rules."

Rabastan raised his wand. He hesitated.

"Do it," Harry ordered.

Rabastan's shoulders slumped, and he lowered his wand. "I'm a lousy Death Eater."

Harry arched an eyebrow. "You're the baddest of the bad."

Rabastan chuckled. "I can't kill the boy-who-lived. That makes me the worst of the bad, or the best of the bad, or… um…"

"I know what you mean," Harry assured him.

Rabastan stepped inside the room fully and closed the door. He took off his mask. "What are you going to do?"

"If I can get fully away from my keepers, I'm going to… You know what? I don't know what I'm going to do. My only thought was to get away from Percy. I've been locked up in a room since they took me from Azkaban. No wand. Frankly, if I don't fight for them, I'm liable to be stuck there for the rest of my life. And I'm sick of everyone saying being locked up was for my own good. Even when I told them what happened to me, I didn't get a sorry. Not even an insincere one. And they call themselves good." The last sentence was muttered under his breath.

Rabastan walked to him and took Harry's face in his hands. "If I could help you escape I would, but…"

"There would be no one way to sneak my passed the Death Eaters. I know."

Harry looked into Rabastan's dark eyes. For someone so evil, Harry felt almost safe with him. On a whim, he stood on his toes and pressed his chapped lips to Rabastan's.

Rabastan let go and backed away quickly in shock. "What was that for?'

Harry shrugged. "I felt like it." He looked at the bed and a thought came to him. "I know you can't help me escape, but there is something you can do for me."

Rabastan tilted his head. "What is it?"

X

Harry slowly opened the door. He looked both ways and left the room when the coast was clear, making sure the door to Hermione's room was closed behind him. He made it to a second hallway before he was caught.

"Got you," Percy crowed.

"Instead of helping them fight, you babysitting me," Harry stated in a monotone voice. "You should be so proud of yourself."

George sighed forlornly.

Percy ignored the insult. "You thought you could escape, huh? Not so fast, are you?"

"I don't have a wand to protect myself. Do you really believe I trust you to protect me?"

Percy ignored Harry's words and glared at George. "You helped him," he accused.

"I might have saved your life since you were too stupid to raise a shield." George met Harry's eyes.

Percy took them to the room to Floo back to 12 Grimmauld Place while there were still duels going on, and he was pushed into his bedroom/jail cell. George followed him. Percy tried to stop him, but George didn't back down. "Do you really think you can take me on?"

When the door was shut, George flopped on the bed. "Couldn't get away?"

Harry started ticking all of the reasons he couldn't get away on his hand. "Let's see. No wand, nowhere to go, no allies that are alive and willing to help me, besides you, Death Eaters everywhere. I had a lot going against me. If I decide to try to make an escape, I need an actual plan."

"Too bad we're not Ravenclaws. They would be able to think up an escape plan easily."

"True, but would they be able to execute it? Or be brave enough to execute it?"

"Lovegood probably could, but she's an anomaly."

Harry started. He felt guilty about forgetting about the eccentric blonde. "Is Luna okay?"

"She's fighting the war. She hates Dumbledore for what he did to you, but her nature won't let her turn her back on people who are dying. That girl really would have done well in Gryffindor."

Harry nodded and laid down next to George on the bed. "Even with her oddities, she's a lot like Hermione with her courage and loyalty."

They talked for a while longer when there was a bang downstairs. Harry sat up, and George followed suit, sharing a look.

When the door slowly opened, Harry wasn't surprised. What he was surprised by was Charlie's face. "They're sending you. They must really be scared of me."

"They're hoping your feelings for me are more on level with your feelings for George than them for this news."

"What news?" Harry decided not to verbalize what he felt for Charlie. He didn't hate Charlie, but he didn't trust him either. Truthfully, he didn't know Charlie well enough to care either way.

"Hermione's dead. They found her in her room. The Killing Curse had been used. Obviously, a Death Eater did it. They probably wanted to finish what they started."

Harry looked down at his hands.

"Harry, you okay?" George asked, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder.

Harry nodded. "You can go, Charlie." The door closed with a soft click Harry looking up.

When they were alone, George asked, "Did you do something?"

Harry's eyes met George's. "I don't have a wand. How could I do anything?" Silently, he thought, 'Thank you, Rabastan.'

Chapter Text

"You're such a tight little bitch. I'm going to make you scream my name," Yaxley growled, gripping Harry's limp cock in a tight fist.

Harry writhed on the floor, but not in pleasure. He closed his eyes as Yaxley entered him, forcing his mind to go blank. That's the only way he'd survive this hell.

"No! No! Noooo!"

There were hands touching him, shaking him, yelling his name.

"Don't touch me! No! Get off me! Nooooo!" Harry's eyes opened wide, and he sat up in bed, a burst of magic leaving his body, sending three people flying away from him in the explosion.

Harry breathed heavily, his eyes on his blanket. He felt the bile rise up and leaning over the bed, emptied the little that was in his stomach. When he had nothing left in his system, he still dry heaved, causing his stomach to cramp.

All the while, the occupants in the room stay silent. When he was sure nothing else was coming, he sat up, clutching his stomach as it spasmed. Someone muttered a cleaning charm.

Harry didn't look up, afraid to see who was in the room with him. He didn't want to see their disgust.

"Harry," Charlie's soft voice prodded gently. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Harry kept his voice toneless. "I've already told Molly I was raped. I'm sure the whole Order of the Phoenix knows it by now. What's left to talk about?"

Kingsley was next. "Maybe if you'd talk about it-"

"Like I'd talk to any of you. You're the ones who made sure it happened," Harry interrupted.

"Harry, dear-"

"Molly, I want nothing to do with you. I don't want you talking to me. I don't want you touching me. I want nothing from you. I wished Voldemort just killed me that day in Azkaban. Too bad he's too much of a sadist."

Harry laid down and closed his eyes. He saw Yaxley in his mind and started shaking.

"I'm going to Floo George first thing tomorrow morning," Charlie whispered.

"We don't need your brother," Kingsley tried.

"Like it or not, George is the only one Harry likes or trusts around here. George is the only one Harry will talk to, and considering what he went through in Azkaban, I'm not sure I blame him. You both know I didn't agree with Dumbledore. You guys are upset your hero doesn't want to fight for your cause. Maybe you should have made sure he wasn't broken. You have no one to blame but yourselves!" Then footsteps retreated.

Harry wasn't sure if he was meant to hear that so Charlie would be able to gain his trust and then spy on him for Dumbledore. Or maybe Charlie meant it. He could ask George. If anyone knew what kind of man Charlie was, it would be George.

X

Harry was on the floor with a book opened before him when George walked in the next morning. He did the normal perusal, getting rid of all eavesdropping charms. George crossed his arms over his chest, and the first thing he said was "Charlie is afraid your suicidal."

Harry blinked. "I told you I wished Voldemort had killed me that day. Don't act so surprised."

George sat on the floor next to Harry. "He told me about your nightmare and your bout of magic."

"Did he also tell you I got sick all over the floor?"

"Yep. Want to talk?"

"It was a nightmare," Harry muttered.

"I figured." George fell silent.

Harry kept his eyes averted. He didn't want to talk about it. He wanted to forget it happened. "I was their plaything. Almost every day, someone got to play with me. Sometimes more than one person a day. No, not person." He shook his head. "Animal. People don't treat other people that way."

"You were everyone's plaything but Rabastan's?" George asked.

Harry didn't meet George's eyes. He knew George would have questions about Harry talking so easily about a Death Eater. "Rabastan had sex with me. He's no angel. But he wasn't as bad as the others. He was gentle. He did what he could to not hurt me, to make it somewhat pleasurable. The first time my body reacted to his touch, I was so confused. I was horrified, too, but I realized he was trying to make me feel good so I didn't hate it so much. He even protected me from the other prisoners as much as he could."

"Harry, he's still a Death Eater."

Harry rolled his eyes and stared at George. "I know. He reminded me more than once that he wasn't a nice or good man. It was like he was afraid I was going to forget that and fall in love with him."

"Did you?"

"Of course not. He became my ally in a way, though. In Azkaban, he was probably the only one I wasn't completely terrified of."

George stared at Harry hard; his gaze was so serious and unwavering.

It frightened Harry. What did that look mean? "What is it?"

"At the hospital two days ago, did you see him?"

Harry nodded. "He had his wand trained on me."

"He let you go," George surmised. Harry didn't answer. "Looks like he might have some fondness for you as well."

Harry shrugged. He would never pretend to understand how Rabastan's mind worked.

"Is he the one who killed Hermione?"

Harry thought about lying, but he hadn't lied to George yet. What was the point of starting now? "I asked him too. She's better off."

George put his arm around Harry's shoulders, squeezing him close. "I get it, but if the others find out, they'll use that as an example when they declare you're going dark."

"I put her out of her endless misery, and I'll never apologize for that, not even if I get sent back to Azkaban."

"I get it, I do. You know I'm on your side. But you know they'll use it as proof they were right about you all along."

"I know."

"We need a game plan. Otherwise, you'll spend your life here without a wand."

"I've been thinking about that." Harry raised his eyes and met George's. "I need to get out of here, but the only way Dumbledore is going to give me even a little freedom is if he thinks I see things his own way."

"It won't be easy to trick him," George cautioned. "He's too suspicious after years of war, and it can't be an instant thing. You need to slowly change your attitude towards him and others. It needs to be gradual. Otherwise, he won't believe your change of heart."

"I'm going to have to be nice to Molly?"

"Definitely. And Percy, and Dumbledore, pretty much everyone you've been antagonistic to since you got here.

"Fun."

"So, the question is how bad do you want out of here?

Chapter Text

Harry was wide awake in bed. He knew the time was after 2 am, so now was as good as any to put his plan into motion. He took a deep breath. Here it goes.

"Nooo!" Harry screamed, eyes opened wide when two people came barreling through the doorway. He made a show of panting heavily, gripping his hair as if he wanted to pull it out of his scalp.

"Harry, Dear, are you okay?" Molly asked, coming to sit on the bed next to him, putting a hand on the leg that was covered by the blanket.

It took everything in Harry not to sneer at the daft women. Did she not have a brain cell in her head. She should not make a bold move to so quickly go to a rape victim and touch that person. George learned that pretty quickly, but obviously Molly believed she above the normal rules of common sense.

He hated letting her touch him, but he couldn't show it. The whole point was to get them to trust him. He swallowed his pride and flung his arms around her neck, holding her as his shoulders shook with the fake sobs he forced his body to produce.

Thankfully, George wasn't here to witness this pathetic display. He'd probably get a good laugh from seeing it.

Molly rubbed his back. "It's okay. Everything's going to be okay, sweetie."

"Molly, it was horrible," Harry whispered, sounding as frightened as possible.

"I know, Harry. It's over now, though, I promise."

X

Harry was stretched out on his bed. So far, his plan was going well. Molly kept visiting with him, bringing him treats to eat that he used to like before Azkaban. Kingsley visited as well, but Harry saw he was more suspicious than Molly. Harry made sure to throw a few more tantrums, so Kingsley would forget about his suspicions. Harry had even been able to bite back his angry words when Dumbledore stopped by to check on him.

Harry did ask about Tonks and visiting with her even though he didn't expect Dumbledore to give in. If he stopped asking, Dumbledore would know something was up.

Charlie visited a bit too. Harry was more cautious. He had forgotten to ask George about his take on Charlie, but something about the second oldest Weasley son made Harry want to trust him. It was his gut. Once upon a time, he would have trusted that instinct blindly, but those days had long passed.

Still, there was something about Charlie that called to Harry.

"How are you doing?" Charlie asked three days after Harry began his plan when he came into the room.

"Fine," Harry muttered, playing with the blanket, avoiding Charlie's eyes.

"You don't sound real fine."

"Who do you expect?" Harry exploded. "I've traded one prison for another. All I want is to be free. I don't want to fight this war anymore. It should have already ended. It's not my war. I'm so tired. I've lost everything. If that window would open," He nodded to his one bedroom window, "I'd probably jump to my death just to be free."

Charlie sat on his bed. "Your magic might instinctively save you."

"Great! So I probably wouldn't even be able to kill myself properly." He flopped down on the bed. "Every time I sleep, I have nightmares. Frankly, I'm not sure which side of the war is worse. Some of my nightmares are about Azkaban, but some of them are about being locked up here, isolated, cut off from the few people I still love. I get to see George at least, but I'm not even allowed to see Tonks and Teddy. Remus was like a second godfather to me and before he died, I promised to watch out for Teddy if anything happened to him. I'm failing him because I don't even know what Teddy looks like." Harry wasn't sure why he was telling Charlie all of this. It was just a feeling, and maybe if he talked about it, Charlie would join George in helping him escape.

"I was raped," Charlie stated without any preamble.

Harry sat up and stared at the redhead with wide eyes. "You're so big and stocky, though."

Charlie arched an eyebrow. "Even big and stocky men can be raped. I knew I was gay since Hogwarts. In Romania, I agreed to go on a date with a guy I didn't really like. I just didn't want to hurt his feelings by turning him down. I figured I'd give him a chance, and then let him down as nicely as possible. The date was boring, and I couldn't wait for it to be over. The guy obviously thought I liked it as much as he did. When I told him I just didn't feel anything for him and apologized, he got really angry. Called me a tease. Bound me with a spell, so he could do whatever he wanted to me. I have no skill with wandless magic. There was nothing I could do to stop him and afterward, he thanked me for a great time, as if it was completely consensual."

Harry swallowed. "Did you tell anyone?"

"Bill. He's the only one who knows."

Harry hadn't seen Bill, or Fleur for that matter, since he was released from Azkaban and wondered why. That was a question for a different time. "I never saw you date. I mean, there was a war going on so I assume that was why, even when Bill got married, and Hermione and Ron got together. But, is it because…"

Charlie nodded. "I couldn't stand the idea of someone else touching me after that night. The very thought made me sick to my stomach."

Harry scooted closer. "One of the Death Eaters was kinder to me. He was as gentle as possible-"

"It was still rape," Charlie interrupted.

"I know, but he protected me from the others. And he never went out of his way to hurt me. My body responded to him more times than it didn't. Is there something wrong with me?"

"No," Charlie shook his head. "You're young, you're body is supposed to respond to stimuli. Just don't confuse that with wanting it." He paused. "Are any of your nightmares about this particular Death Eater?"

Harry blushed as he remembered. He definitely dreamed about Rabastan, but he wouldn't call them nightmares. He couldn't admit the truth to Charlie. "No. Mostly about the Death Eaters and guards that went out of their way to hurt me."

Charlie nodded in understanding. "I can't say you get over it because I still struggle with it regularly, and what I went through can't possibly compare to the torment you experienced. I know that. But you aren't the only person who has been hurt, and you can't shut down because of it. You can't give up on life. Otherwise, they win."

"They?" Harry asked.

"They. They as in the Death Eaters. The guards. Albus and everyone who blindly follows his word and believes Azkaban was for your own good. You can't let all of them win. You're stronger than that."

Harry closed his eyes. Charlie's words were pretty, meant to entice Harry to trust him, but could he trust him? Was Charlie being honest or just playing with him? Only time would tell.

X

Harry stared out of the window, longing for freedom. He pressed his hand to it and curled his hand into a loose fist against the glass.

HIs door opening made him pull back. Kingsley walked in. "I've spoken to Dumbledore. I got him to agree to let you be there for Hermione's funeral, but you have to be on your best behavior. Otherwise, it will be a long time before you're allowed outside again."

Harry wanted to say something snarky, but he didn't want to lose his chance to go to the funeral. He simply nodded as he kept his mouth shut.

"If you want to say something about Hermione, you're welcomed to as well." Kingsley turned to leave but hesitated, staring at Harry for a moment.

"I"m not going to thank you for allowing me to say goodbye to my best friend. It shouldn't have even been in question."

If Kingsley didn't have dark skin, Harry knew he would have been flushed with embarrassment as he hurried out of the room.

X

When Harry stepped in front of the grave. Charlie was behind him in case he decided to run. Running was the last thing on Harry's mind. His eyes were trained solely on the casket that was being lowered into the ground.

' Rest in peace, Hermione. You're finally with Ron again.'

"Do you want to say something?" Charlie asked quietly, his presence solid against his back.

Harry mutely shook his head. He already said his real words in the hospital room when he left Rabastan and her alone. There was nothing more to say.

He felt a prickling sensation at the back of his neck. He looked up and stared at the people behind. Everyone's eyes were on the ground or on the casket. Even Charlie's. He swore it felt like someone was watching him. He raised his gaze a little higher, and there the mystery pair of eyes were.

Rabastan stood in his robe, a hood pulled up to hide his face by shadows. Harry still recognized the form, though. And he certainly recognized the dark brown eyes that almost seemed to glow in the darkness that surrounded them.

Was this an attack?

Harry thought about telling someone. No matter how much he hated most of the people here, he didn't want their blood to be on his hands. He hesitated. And in his moment of indecision, Rabastan turned and left.

'Not an attack then.' Harry relaxed. Rabastan had come alone. To see if Harry came maybe? But why did Rabastan care? They were nothing to each other.

Harry turned back to stare at the casket. 'Maybe if I keep saying that, I'll believe it.' Harry's thoughts sure sounded sarcastic, didn't they?

X

Harry's eyes popped open in the middle of the night. A vision, something he hadn't been forced to endure for quite a while, took him by surprise. He pressed his hand to his forehead, trying to stop the migraine already forming. He had almost forgotten how badly they affected him.

He stood on wobbly legs and held his bed for support. "Come here!" Harry screamed. "Help!" He waited, but there were no footsteps. 'Great, when I actually want someone, no one can be bothered. Of course. The story of my life.'

He made his way to the door and pounded on it. "Help! Help! Trouble! Someone!"

Finally, Harry heard running footsteps and backed away before the door could slam against him.

"What is it, Harry?" Kingsley asked, his wand ready, as if 12 Grimmauld Place was under attack.

"Vision. Attack. Diagon Alley," Harry panted.

Kingsley's eyes narrowed. He nodded and left with a flurry of robes.

Harry collapsed onto the floor and pulled his knees up to his chest. He wasn't sure how long it was before he fell asleep, but when he woke to light shaking, of his shoulders, it was daylight. Harry squinted, suddenly and foolishly realizing he had forgotten his glasses in his panic in the middle of the night. "Charlie? I think? What happened?"

Charlie helped him up and pulled him back to the bed. He grabbed Harry's glasses and gave them to him. "There was an attack. It was pretty bad."

"People died." It wasn't a question.

"It would have been worse if you hadn't told us. More people would have been dead this morning."

Harry stared at his lap. "No matter how I feel about Dumbledore, your mum, or some other Order members, I would never keep a vision a secret so people would die. Despite what everyone said about me using the Killing Curse, I'm not evil. Or turning evil. I'm just sick of being the light side's whipping boy."

Charlie smoothed Harry's wild hair even though it didn't stop sticking up in various directions. "I know."

Harry looked into Charlie's eyes and felt his breath catch at the sight of something in the redhead's blue gaze. "Charlie?"

The older man backed away. "Sorry, it's just, I feel a connection to you. Maybe it's because of something we both went through. It's-"

"It doesn't matter the reason," Harry interrupted, "What matters is I'm not interested."

Charlie nodded and lowered his eyes to the ground. "I understand. Maybe with time, you might change your mind."

Harry didn't say it, but he doubted that would happen. Charlie could never be what he wanted. He didn't know how he knew that but knew it he did.

X

"It's been decided that you'd be joining us in some battles for now on," Dumbledore stated in his grandfatherly tone. The damn twinkle in his eyes was working overtime."

Harry arched an eyebrow. He shared a look with George. They knew they were thinking the same thing. 'That's unexpected.'

"Really?" Harry couldn't keep the disbelief out of his voice.

"Of course. You told us about your vision. Obviously, you're seeing things the right way."

Harry cut a looked at George again. Translation: Dumbledore's way. He wasn't going to disbase Dumbledore of that idea if it got him a wand back, though.

George nodded. He was going to take the lead in order for Harry to not seem overly eager. If Harry showed happiness, Dumbledore might second guess his decision. George took a step forward. "So, does that mean Harry will get a wand? He certainly can't fight without one."

Dumbledore's twinkling eyes seemed to increase with intensity. "Of course, but he'll only have the wand during a fight. He doesn't need his wand here."

Harry's shoulders slumped. 'So, I'm not trusted yet. I wonder if I'm still going to be locked up. Like a true weapon. Take me out when I'm needed, but then lock me away when I'm not needed.' Still, with time, Harry would gain trust and be able to escape. Sooner or later, Dumbledore would get lazy and leave an opening for Harry. The boy-who-lived just had to bide his time and play the game until such an opening appeared.

Harry sighed. "Fine, but I'm sure my wand was snapped or whatever. I'll need a new one."

Dumbledore shook his head. "I kept your wand safe. After all, I knew you'd need it."

Harry curled his hands into fists. Dumbledore must have been planning this the whole time. He always planned for Harry to be released from Azkaban after things got bad. This really was just a game for the old man. "Great," he stated through gritted teeth. "So, am I allowed to leave my room now?" he asked even though he knew the answer.

"Why would you ever need to leave the room? You have everything you could possibly ever want here." Dumbledore turned and left before Harry lost his composure and told the old man what a manipulative, controlling bastard, right up there with Voldemort, he really was.

George placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "It'll be okay."

"I'm getting more trust. Sooner or later, I'm getting out of here," Harry vowed.

"I know," George said. "I know."

Chapter Text

Harry held the wand. He wanted to close his eyes and savor the feeling of the slender wood in his hands. He missed it so much. When he first gripped it, it felt so warm. It was like greeting an old friend.

He looked to his left. Charlie was close, probably to keep an eye on him. Harry shook his head. Half of Charlie's brain was going to be on stopping him from escaping, which meant only half of his brain was going to be focused on staying alive. Dumbledore probably didn't care about his puppets dying, but if he didn't care about them as people, he should still care because if all of his puppets died, who would he have to fight on his side? Very short-sided of the old man. Maybe a sign of senility.

His focus was taken by the Death Eaters swarming the area. The first spell shot was by a masked figure. Too tall to be Rabastan.

Harry shook his head. He couldn't wonder if every one of them was Rabastan. He couldn't hesitate. Even if Rabastan was one of them, who cared? That shouldn't matter to him in the middle of a fight.

Harry pointed his wand at the Death Eater who shot the first spell and attempted to disarm him. The Death Eater dodged it.

He yearned to shoot out the curse that would definitely kill, but he was getting closer to freedom. Doing that would put him back where he started since his release from Azkaban.

Before long, the whole fight was on. He dodged spells. He zigged when the Death Eaters thought he'd zag. All the while, Harry noticed Charlie sticking to his side like glue. Dumbledore really had told Charlie to babysit him. Didn't Charlie realize how wrong that was?

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a vibrant red curse go towards Charlie. It looked familiar, and Harry knew it was the Cruciatus curse. Charlie was unaware of the pending danger.

Harry turned away from the path he had been running and jumped on Charlie, pushing him down, Charlie's cheek pressing into the dirt. The curse sailed over their heads.

Charlie sat up and looked where the curse had gone.

"That's what happens when you're focused on someone on your side instead of the enemy. Don't make me have to save you again." Harry stood up and took off running, chasing a Death Eater that was far off, away from the rest of the battle.

Harry ducked the more dangerous spells and putting up shields against the other type of curses. All the while, when there was an opening, he yelled blasting curses and disarming spells, but they did little damage.

The lone Death Eater saw him coming and ran into a bunch of trees. Harry followed and no one noticed it.

Harry raised his wand and shouted, "Reducto!"

The Death Eater dodged behind a tree.

Harry shouted again. "Reducto!"

A massive hole blew into the tree trunk.

The Death Eater turned around but didn't raise his wand.

Harry had no such qualms. It might not be considered honorable to dual someone who didn't raise his or her wand, but that was the Death Eater's choice. And anyway, this was a war. His lack of honor could be forgiven.

He opened his mouth, ready to shout a curse. What curse he didn't know, but he hesitated. There was only one Death Eater that might not raise his wand to Harry. He slightly lowered his arm.

"You're leaving an opening by doing that," Rabastan cautioned.

"I thought it was you," Harry muttered, completely lowering his wand, although he didn't pocket it.

"Does it matter?"

Harry could hear the cockiness in Rabastan's voice. "You tell me. After all, I haven't seen you raise your wand to me yet."

"Just surprised to see you here. Have they really succeeded in getting you on their side so soon?"

"No, I'm just playing Dumbledore's game until it's time to make my move."

Rabastan took a step closer.

Harry watched him closely, but he didn't raise his wand again.

"I should take you with me. After all, I assured my Dark Lord that you wouldn't fight for Dumbledore. He's going to punish me for being a liar. If I brought you to him, I could probably escape punishment."

Harry slowly blinked. "Then why don't you?"

Rabastan stopped when their toes touched. He took off his mask. His confusion was easy to see on his face. "Because I don't want to. No matter what happens to me as a result, I don't want to deliver you to him because I know what would happen to you." He cupped Harry's face, his thumb gently rubbed against Harry's cheek in a slow circle.

Harry's breath caught in his chest. He found himself wanting to lean into the touch. "This is very wrong," Harry breathed.

Rabastan nodded in agreement before he leaned down and pressed his lips against Harry's in a searching kiss.

Harry's eyes fluttered closed. He placed his hands on Rabastan's upper arms, digging his fingernails into the fabric of the black robe.

Maybe it was confusion leftover from Azkaban. Maybe he was confused because Rabastan hadn't treated him like he was less than human. Maybe it was because, in some ways, Harry trusted Rabastan more than he trusted many of the people that he was supposed to be on the same side as. Whatever the reason, Harry's body responded in a way that was similar to how it responded in Azkaban, at least where Rabastan was concerned.

Rabastan's lips moved over Harry's, ripping a soft moan from his mouth. That made the Death Eater pull back.

Harry saw Rabastan's eyes were glazed, and his cheeks were flushed. It was good to know Harry wasn't the only one affected by the kiss. "We are both in so much trouble," Harry stated the obvious.

Rabastan nodded. "Trouble."

"Harry!" A voice screamed, breaking through their staring contest.

Harry looked. "That's Charlie. The fight must be over."

"The redhead right? You saved him." There was something in Rabastan's tone.

Harry arched an eyebrow. "Now is not the time for jealousy."

Rabastan turned his head away. "You didn't have to save him," he muttered.

"I'm supposed to be a hero, remember?"

"Harry!" Charlie called again.

Harry stiffened. "You need to go. Now!"

Rabastan looked at him. He took Harry's face and planted a quick, but fierce, kiss on his lips before he Apparated away.

Quickly, Harry threw his wand a few feet away, making sure he saw where it landed, and then got on the ground, laying down just as Charlie appeared.

The redhead rushed over to him. "Are you okay?" He knelt down and touched Harry, feeling him for injuries.

"Yeah, I think so. I guess I'm just rusty. I haven't fought in a battle in a long time. I lost my wand."

Charlie stood up and searched the area. Harry breathed a sigh of relief when Charlie zeroed in on where his wand laid almost immediately. "What happened to the Death Eater?"

"He Apparated when he heard your voice. I guess he thought it might be more than just you coming, and he didn't want to take his chance on an uneven fight."

"Do you know who it was? Did you recognize the voice?"

"He never talked to me," Harry quickly stated.

Charlie didn't look convinced. "But you know why he left when he obviously overpowered you."

"It was a guess using my common sense. If I had the upper hand, but I heard my enemy coming, my first thought would be was there was more than just one person coming. I wouldn't have stayed to find out if I was right."

Charlie still looked a bit suspicious, but he didn't ask any more questions. He pocketed the wand and gave Harry a hand. "Come on." Harry was pulled up.

Harry didn't try to get Charlie to hand over the wand. He wasn't going to push his luck. He could nudge a little bit, though. "I think I might need some training. I haven't practiced spells in months. I'm nowhere near the level I was before Azkaban. How am I supposed to keep up with the Death Eaters? Or maybe Dumbledore wants me to die in battle."

"Don't say that," Charlie ordered, "You might question Dumbledore's motives, and I've been questioning them myself ever since you were sent to Azkaban, but he'd never plan to have someone on his side die. I refuse to believe that."

'It must be nice where you live.' Harry wanted to say it out loud, but he bit his tongue. Hopefully, Charlie would bring up Harry's need for training to Dumbledore. If it came from Charlie, Dumbledore might actually listen.

Chapter Text

Harry stared up at his ceiling. He thought about the kiss. It was seared into his brain. It felt different this time. This time, it wasn't coerced. Rabastan hadn't kissed him as a way to distract from sex that made him feel dirty, it wasn't used as a distraction to make the sex less painful. This time, Harry had wanted it.

He had been accused of going dark because of his use of the Killing Curse. This was the first time he thought they might have been right to worry about his state of mind. How else could he explain wanting to kiss Rabastan? The man had committed numerous atrocities. The face of Neville popped into his mind. Rabastan had helped send Alice and Frank Longbottom to insanity, making them unable to raise their son. How could he even let the man touch him when Neville been orphaned, despite having a grandmother to raise him?

It was disgusting.

Harry turned on his side and curled into a ball. The answer was simple in Harry's mind, although he didn't dare verbalize it out loud. Rabastan made him feel alive. He had felt like he was suffocating the whole time until Rabastan's lips had touched his.

The door opened.

Harry didn't look. No need to acknowledge one of his many keepers.

"No 'hello' for me? You positively wound me."

Harry sat up quickly. "Sorry, I thought you were one of the others."

George grinned. "I figured. So, I heard you had a close call today. If my dear brother hadn't gone to find you, we might not be talking right now. I guess I should thank the guy even though we don't see eye-to-eye on most things lately."

Harry needed to talk to someone, and George was the only one he could trust. George might not get it. After all, George had reminded Harry that Rabastan was still a Death Eater when Harry first explained about their strange relationship in Azkaban, but he needed to get everything out in the open to make sense of it. And Charlie didn't really deserve any credit for 'saving Harry.'

"George.." Harry paused, unsure of what to say.

George's smile disappeared. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Rabastan was the Death Eater."

"And?" George asked.

"We didn't fight. We never shot one spell at each other. We talked and…"

"And?" George prodded, keeping his voice judgment-free so far.

"And kiss a bit. I let him go when I heard Charlie's voice."

George rubbed a hand through his red hair. "Boy, this is a mess."

"I know. And Rabastan knows as well. We both know the kiss was wrong. We both know the feelings are wrong, but neither of us can seem to help it."

George's eyes studied Harry. "Are their feelings? Real feelings? Maybe you just confused because everything you went through."

"That's what I told myself during the kiss, but I'm not so sure now. I feel something for Rabastan. I know it's wrong. I know he's a dark wizard. I know he can be a bastard, but I still feel something for him."

George sat on the bed. "Are you sure it isn't one-sided? Rabastan could just be trying to keep your trust so he could turn you over to Voldemort."

"Trust me. He could have yesterday. He even said he should take me to Voldemort because he's going to be punished because in Azkaban, he told Voldemort I'd never fight on Dumbledore's side now. Even when I had my wand pointed at him, he never once raised his wand to me."

"What are you going to do?" George finally asked after a minute of absolute silence.

"I don't know. How about you? Are you going to tell Dumbledore?"

George didn't hesitate with his response. "Of course not. Things are going to just get messier from here. You know that, right?"

"I know. I'm just not sure if I can fight him. As soon as I realized it was Rabastan behind the mask, I couldn't shoot a spell at him. Maybe they were right about my mental state before Azkaban. Maybe Azkaban just made it worse."

"Stop it," George ordered. "You're not dark. You're not evil. Rabastan showed you kindness when no one else did. It's no surprise you latched onto him. Maybe your feelings will go away on their own after more time out of Azkaban."

"Maybe, but what about Rabastan's feelings?"

George didn't have an answer for that.

X

Harry felt eyes on him. He looked at Charlie who wasn't making his staring a secret. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing. It's just… well, I talked to Dumbledore about giving you some training."

"And?"

"He thinks you'll be fine without it. He thinks you'll get better the more battles you fight in."

"Or I'll die fighting," Harry muttered, but it was loud enough for Charlie to hear the bitter sentiment. In a raised voice, he said, "Dumbledore better hope I take Voldemort out with me. Otherwise, he might have to get off his arse and actually fight in the war."

"That's not very nice," Charlie admonished.

Harry shrugged. "Well, he expects me to survive without any type of training. I bet Kingsley does regular training exercises. It's a little suspicious, don't you think?"

Charlie averted his eyes. "Dumbledore has his reasons."

Harry sighed. "You're so blindly loyal. That's going to be your downfall."

"I have to believe Dumbledore has a good reason for all of this. I have to believe it's because he's trying to win a war."

Harry decided to stop trying to get Charlie to see reason. Charlie would probably have to be hit over the head before he admitted that Dumbledore had made a lot of mistakes. He decided to instead ask a question that had bugged him.

"Where's Bill? And Fleur? I've seen every single member of your family except Bill."

Charlie kept his gaze on the bedspread. "He and Fleur are in France."

Out of everything he thought he'd hear, Bill being out of the county wasn't what he expected to be told. "For how long?"

"About a month after you went to Azkaban. "That had made him doubt Dumbledore, but then when Fleur said she was pregnant, all he cared about was making sure Fleur and the baby were safe, so he decided to take his family and run instead of fighting in a war. He didn't want his son or daughter to 'become a pawn in Dumbledore's chess game.' And that was Bill's exact words."

'Bill sees things the way George does. I'm glad he and Fleur are safe.' Do you have a way to get a letter to him?"

"Yeah, of course."

"I want to write to Bill. Obviously, I don't have any way to send a letter." He felt a pang at the reminder of his loss of his faithful companion, Hedwig.

"I'll send a letter for you."

Harry stood up and went to the chestnut desk. He took a parchment, a quill, and opened a bottle of ink. He didn't know why they provided these items for him. Maybe it was so he could write books to stave off his absolute boredom, but he was thankful now.

He thought a moment before he jotted a letter.

' Dear Bill, Fleur, and'

There he stopped. "Hey, Charlie, what's the name of Bill's son or daughter?"

"Her name is Victoire."

Harry nodded. He stared down at the parchment again.

'Dear Bill, Fleur, and Victoire,

I hope the three of you are well. Charlie told me about you leaving the UK when Fleur fell pregnant, and I'm glad you put your family first. I wish my parents had decided to run when my mum was pregnant with me. My life could have been so different.

Things are going okay here, considering everything that happened. I know you Bill. I also know you Fleur. Just because I'm out of Azkaban, you guys stay away. You need to think of Victoire before you think about anything else.

The reason why I'm writing to you is so you can see/hear/whatever that I'm alive and unharmed, relatively speaking. You don't need to come to the UK to check up on me.

You take care of Victoire. Give her a childhood full of happiness and tell her that her Uncle Harry loves her even if he hasn't met her. I'm planning to survive this war, so I hope I will get to meet her when everything is over.

I love all three of you.

Harry

He kept the letter as innocuous as possible in case Dumbledore decided to look at it before sending it off. There was nothing that Dumbledore might find offensive, except maybe the bit about Harry planning to survive the war. He handed the letter to Charlie.

It wasn't folded or anything, so Charlie read it over. He nodded at Harry's words. "If I remember correctly, Fleur had wanted you to be named godfather, but they hadn't been able to because you were in Azkaban. I'll make sure to get this letter sent as soon as possible."

"Who was named godfather and godmother?" Harry questioned.

Charlie stared at his hands. "They decided on Gabrielle as godmother and George as godfather."

"Oh," Harry said. He didn't say it but thought it would have been Charlie. Bill always seemed closer to Charlie than George because their ages were closer.

As if reading Harry's thoughts, "I don't think Bill and Fleur trusted me with their daughter after I stood behind Dumbledore's decisions."

Harry felt a little bad, but it was Charlie's own doing by being so blind to Dumbledore's machinations. "Maybe you should think about that," Harry softly reprimanded.

Charlie quickly left the room, the letter clutched in his hand.

Harry was sure Dumbledore would read it before it was sent, to make sure Harry wasn't plotting an escape, but there was nothing hidden in the letter. He just hoped Bill listened and stayed away. If he came to the UK to see Harry, Dumbledore might make it hard for him to leave again.

X

Harry was laying down when George came in. "Saw Charlie on my way up. You sent a letter to Bill yesterday?"

Harry nodded. "I hope they stay safe there."

George crawled onto the bed and plopped his head on the pillow, sharing it with the younger man. "I've been working on Dumbledore, trying to get him to agree to let you see Tonks and Teddy."

"He's never going to do it. He likes to have them dangling in front of me but keeping it out of my reach."

"I'm trying to persuade him by saying that if he gives in, you might feel more loyalty to him. Be grateful to him for the allowance."

Harry snorted a laugh. "He's not that gullible."

"Well, he didn't say 'no' right away, so maybe he is that gullible."

"Figures." He paused and then turned his head to look at George. "I had a dream last night."

"Nightmare?"

"Nope. It was about Rabastan. And me. And there was touching. A lot of touching."

"You had a wet dream."

Harry blushed. "I've dreamed about Rabastan before, but it always started out as a nightmare with one of the other Death Eaters or guards. And then it morphed into Rabastan because he wasn't as bad. It never was Rabastan right from the beginning. And I definitely wasn't scared in the dream."

"Wet dreams are perfectly normal."

"It's about a Death Eater. That part isn't normal."

"You already admitted to yourself as well as me that you might have feelings for Rabastan. So don't act so surprised."

"It's doomed. I know it is. But…"

"Nothing's ever easy for you, Kid."

"Not a kid," Harry muttered. He started laughing to himself at a memory. "Rabastan had been jealous because he saw me save Charlie from a Cruciatus curse."

"That was so important in the grand scheme of things, huh?" George sarcastically asked.

"I kind of liked him being jealous. Is that wrong?"

"Nowhere near as wrong as you having feelings for a Death Eater. At this point, who cares?"

"I wonder if there's an alternate universe, one without a Voldemort or Dumbledore, where Rabastan and I could have been happily together."

"There would still be the age difference to contend with."

Harry scrunched his nose. "He did go to school with my parents," Harry conceded. "I feel like, though, that I can never be with someone my own age. Not after Azkaban."

"Makes sense," George agreed.

Harry sighed. "I'm not sure what's the point of thinking about Rabastan. At least in this universe, we won't ever be able to be happy together."

"Never say never," George advised.

Harry's eyebrows raised. Why was George trying to give him hope? They were on opposite sides. Even if Rabastan chose him over the dark side, Voldemort would kill Rabastan before he was allowed to leave the inner circle. And let's not forget about what Dumbledore and some of the other more fanatical Order of the Phoenix members would do if they caught wind of a clandestine relationship. He closed his eyes. It was hopeless. And it was fruitless to hope for something that could never be.

Chapter Text

Harry stood in front of a Death Eater. His wand was raised, and he was hunched. There was only a moment before the Death Eater made a move. Harry was ready, though. "Reducto!" he screamed.

The curse blasted against the Death Eater's wand arm.

The Death Eater screamed. Blood spurted out of the wound.

Harry eyed the enemy. His wand laid on the ground, and the Death Eater had only a stump where a hand used to be. He shouted the spell to bind the Death Eater.

Harry pocketed the wand. He turned to leave the guy to the Aurors, but a voice stopped him.

"You think you're so high and mighty, but you're still just a little bitch who screamed when I gave it to him good," the Death Eater snarled.

Harry stiffened. He knew that voice. Yaxley. He turned back around and strode over to the man, if he could be called a man, and ripped off the offensive mask. And it confirmed Yaxley's identity.

"What? You're going to teach me a lesson?" Yaxley taunted.

Harry took out his wand and pointed it at the smirking monster. "It wouldn't be the first time I AK'd someone. And I have no qualms doing it again."

Suddenly there was a pop behind him and before he could whirl around and go on the defensive, a hand covered his shoulders. "Don't do it," Rabastan's familiar voice filled his ear.

"When did you get here?" Harry asked, not taking his eyes off of Yaxley, whose eyes had widened at Rabastan's surprising appearance.

"I've been here the whole time."

"You're stalking me now?"

"No, but there wasn't a reason to get involved if you can handle it."

Harry's heart skipped a beat. "So you weren't here as Yaxley's co-fighter? You were here as my… as my… whatever I am to you?"

"Exactly."

"What?" Yaxley spluttered in shock. "The Dark Lord will hear about this treachery!" He threatened.

"So, why are you stopping me?" Harry continued as if Yaxley hadn't spoken, "Decided maybe you should save Yaxley's worthless life?"

"Of course not, but you shouldn't be the one to use the Killing Curse."

"I've done it before," Harry argued.

"And you ended up in Azkaban for it. If a Death Eater is found AK'd, the first thing Dumbledore will do is check your wand. And if the curse is listed as being used, as soon as you have outlived your usefulness, you'll be right back there. You know I'm right."

Harry took a shuddering breath as his arm shook with the effort of keeping it raised. "He deserves to die. You know what he did to me."

"I do know, but you need to stay under the radar if you're going to be able to escape." Rabastan reached for Harry's arm and pushed it down. He stepped in Harry's path. He stared into Harry's eyes, although Harry couldn't read the expression with the mask on Rabastan's face. "Let me take care of this for you." He removed his mask enough so he could kiss Harry gently, exploring the mouth that Harry couldn't help but open to him.

Harry moaned, wrapping his arms around Rabastan fit torso. He was skinny, but he still had some nice muscles. He bunched up the dark robe that covered Rabastan's body, arching his body against the older man.

Rabastan broke the kiss with a groan. He pressed one more soft kiss to Harry's lips before turning back to Yaxley and putting his mask back in place. Harry never saw his face and felt a slight loss at the knowledge.

"You're a traitor, Lestrange. And our Lord will find out about it," Yaxley threatened.

Rabastan stared straight at Yaxley as he lifted his wand. "Probably. But it won't be by you. Avada Kedavra," Rabastan intoned, and the sickly green light struck Yaxley, killing him instantly.

Harry pressed his hand to Rabastan's back.

Rabastan faced him, pulling Harry into a bruising kiss that left Harry breathless and weak in the knees. "You should go," Rabastan ordered, "You shouldn't be found anywhere near the body. Even if your wand doesn't show the spell, it would still be suspicious."

Harry nodded and quickly ran away, his heart hammering at the knowledge of what Rabastan was willing to do for him.

Harry made it to where everyone else was and started fighting, hoping no one noticed his sudden appearance. It wasn't too long before the cracks of apparition started. And then Dumbledore appeared. Merlin forbids, he joined in on the actual fighting. Harry guessed Dumbledore was too good for that, though.

Dumbledore looked at everyone. They all had dirty faces and were breathing heavily from the exertion of battle.

"Any casualties?" Dumbledore asked.

There were shrugs.

"No one on our side," Kingsley stated.

Dumbledore glanced at Harry, and he did his best to look innocent while avoiding the old man's penetrating gaze.

"I'll look around," Dumbledore decided.

'He doesn't trust me,' Harry thought.

Of course, with Dumbledore's nosiness and inability to let things be, he found Yaxley relatively quickly despite the fact Yaxley had been separate from the fight.

Kingsley stepped up next to Dumbledore. "There are no wounds besides his hand, and he wouldn't have died that quickly from blood loss. He was killed by the Killing Curse."

"Yes, it seems so," Dumbledore agreed. He looked right at Harry. "Would you know anything about this?"

Harry arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms over his chest. "No, I don't."

"Really? Because I know your preference for the Killing Curse." There was almost an edge to Dumbledore's voice.

"So? I didn't do it?"

Dumbledore didn't look like he believed it. "I do know Yaxley was particularly vicious to you in Azkaban. It would be almost understandable if you wanted to get vengeance."

Harry stiffened. "It's nice to know you were aware of what was going on, and you allowed it to happen. It says so much about you as a person. I still didn't kill him. Although I'm not going to deny my happiness that Yaxley's wiped off of the planet."

Kingsley held up a hand to forestall any more argument that Harry did commit the deed. "This is easy enough to solve. Harry, your wand?"

Harry handed it over without any complaint. Kingsley tapped his own wand and muttered the charm, "Priori incanti." That was a version of the reverse spell. Instead of just showing the previous show, it showed multiple spells that were recently used.

Lists of spells that Harry used were displayed all for it, and there was nothing worse than a Reducto.

Kingsley arched an eyebrow at Dumbledore. "You owe Harry an apology."

"That will never happen," Harry muttered.

"I know he had something to do with it," Dumbledore exclaimed, unable to admit that he might have been wrong.

"Not according to his wand. Unless you think he took someone else's wand to perform it?"

Dumbledore didn't say anything.

"I could check Yaxley's wand," Kingsley offered, "but considering he is a Death Eater, that really wouldn't prove anything."

Dumbledore glared at Harry. Unflinchingly, Harry returned the look, refusing to be cowed by anyone, especially Dumbledore. He turned to look at Charlie. "Are we going back to headquarters?"

Charlie nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll take you."

Harry stepped closer to Charlie and the two of them did side-along-apparition.

Charlie didn't say anything about how weird Dumbledore acted, how he almost wanted to be right about Harry, and Harry didn't say 'See? I told you he can't be trusted.'

They had come to an uneasy peace, and neither one of them wanted to disturb it any time soon.

That night, Harry wasn't surprised by George showing up. He also wasn't surprised when George discovered a listening charm and canceled it out. Dumbledore must really want to hear a confession.

"So, what happened to Yaxley?" George asked without any hesitation.

"Are you accusing me of something?"

"No, I know you didn't do it, but I have a feeling you know who did it."

Harry thought about drawing it out, to make George work for it, but decided to be nice about it. "Of course I do. It was Rabastan."

"Was that his way of proclaiming undying love to you?"

"No, nothing quite so romantic."

George waited patiently for Harry to continue.

"I was going to kill Yaxley. I was going to do the Killing Curse. Yaxley had been the worse. No, I shouldn't say that. The guards had been worse because they used their positions of power. But Yaxley had been the worst of the prisoners. I wanted to do it, and I would have if Rabastan hadn't shown up. He knew Dumbledore would check my wand, and I would have been pretty much guaranteed a trip back to Azkaban. He did it because Yaxley was going to tell Voldemort Rabatan was a traitor. He did it so I wouldn't. He did it…"

"He did it to protect you," George finished, "It wasn't completely selfless because his secret about you would have come out-"

"But Rabatan could have stayed hidden," Harry interrupted, "He chose to come out of hiding to stop me from being the one to kill Yaxley."

"A regular Prince Charming," George wryly commented, remember the Muggle phrase when Hermione showed him one of her childhood fairytale books.

Harry swallowed, remembering Dumbledore's single-minded focus. "Dumbledore wants me to be guilty. I'm not sure if he'll ever give me freedom, even if I take down Voldemort and the war ends."

George lost his mirth at those words. "Then we better start working out an escape plan in case the worst does happen."

Harry nodded. He definitely didn't trust Dumbledore. Kingsley was fairer and more honest, but he was still too loyal to Dumbledore to be trusted. Charlie, Harry didn't know. Charlie wanted to believe Dumbledore had his reasons and hated to be told anything to the contrary, but also believed in doing the right thing. His standing up for Harry in the past few weeks proved that. Maybe Charlie would let himself see the truth with time. Maybe Charlie would actually see the truth before it was too late. Harry hoped so. It would be nice for George to have another brother he could count on since the only other one he trusted was in another country.

Chapter Text

Harry read through the Defense Against the Dark Arts textbook. 'It sure is nice for Dumbledore to allow me to study.' Even Harry could hear the sarcasm in his thought.

He shook his head. Reading the textbook was useless when he wasn't allowed to practice. It was like his fifth year all over again; except, this time, he wouldn't be able to start an underground defense association. Theory is all good, but if he couldn't actually perform the spells, the theory was useless.

Harry was sure Dumbledore was trying to have him killed while making it look like it wasn't his fault; it was the war's fault. He would make Dumbledore's life easier if he died in battle. It would be like a present wrapped with a neat little bow.

He fingered the page of the textbook before he sat up, a look of determination coming over his face. He might not have a wand, but he could still practice his magic. He had the capability of wandless magic. He had already proven that; it was just a matter of controlling it.

Maybe Harry would be able to tame it with a little practice.

"Let's start with an easy spell." He ripped off a corner of a page in the textbook. Hep placed it on the bedspread and focused on it. "Wingardium Leviosa." Nothing happened. He squinted his eyes at the offensive piece of paper. He tried again. "Wingardium Leviosa." Still nothing. Not even a flutter.

Harry bit his bottom lip. Maybe it was because his mind was busy worrying about other things? He remembered some of his Occlumency lessons with Snape. He remembered meditating and clearing his mind.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply and evenly. He inhaled, held it for three seconds, and then let it out. He repeated that, over and over again, until he felt his body relax.

He emptied his mind of all of his worries, all of his concerns, and all of his mixed-up feelings for Rabastan. Harry opened his eyes again and stared at the bit of paper. "Wingardium Leviosa." The paper fluttered off of the bed. It didn't rise very high, but it did something on his command. Harry grinned. Maybe he could do this. He probably needed more power to get it to go higher. Still focusing on the paper, he prepared himself to put more power behind his words and thoughts when the door opened.

Harry quickly grabbed the slip of paper and stuffed it underneath his pillow. He closed the textbook and glared at the intruder. "What do you want, Charlie? I'm reading."

Charlie didn't seem to mind Harry's bad attitude. He came and sat on the bed, pushing the textbook away. "How are you doing?"

Harry narrowed his eyes. "Fine, why?"

"Can't I be curious about your wellbeing? I know you're probably going crazy being stuck in here."

Harry's felt his defenses rise even more. "You've never asked before how I'm doing? Why are you bothering now?"

Charlie stared into his eyes. "I hate the fact that you're stuck in here. I know Dumbledore has his reasons, but it's like he's punishing you for something you might do in the future."

Harry forced himself to not retort to the whole 'I know Dumbledore has his reasons' bit. It was useless arguing with Charlie. "Charlie, I know you want something."

Charlie didn't deny it. "Well, I know you had more than one tormentor in Azkaban, but I also know one of your main tormentors is dead."

Harry's eyebrow rose, but he didn't say anything. He never went into detail about what Yaxley did. George must have talked, but Harry was sure George had his reasons. Unlike how he feels about everyone else, he wasn't going to doubt George's loyalty just because he talked to Charlie. George was probably trying to bring Charlie over to their way of thinking.

If Harry was going to make an escape, they would be better off with at least one person within the Order of the Phoenix that was trusted. Despite being a Weasley, George wasn't trusted because of his loyalty to Harry.

"I feel something for you," Charlie finally said in a rush. "I think if you give it a chance, we could have something special. I understand what your fear is like. No one else could understand you the way I do. I could help you forget that fear, though. We could be good together."

Harry scooted away. "I'm sorry, but no." His heart hammered, but it wasn't in excitement. It was in fear. In Azkaban, if he didn't answer the way they wanted him to answer, they made him wish he had complied.

Would Charlie make him regret saying no? Would Charlie hurt him? Charlie might have been raped in the past, but that didn't mean he wouldn't do something if he had hurt feelings because he was rejected.

Harry trusted Dumbledore would look the other way if Charlie decided to take what he wanted. Who cared about a weapon after all?

Charlie didn't show any signs of anger, though. Just hurt. "You didn't say so much, but George let it slip that you thought of yourself as bisexual. I know it might be scary to be with a man again, but I won't hurt you. What can I do to make you like me?"

Harry averted his eyes. "There's nothing you can do, Charlie. I just don't think I'll ever have feelings for you. There's…" He paused but decided to go ahead with his idea. "There's someone else I like. Someone else that I care about." Now hopefully, Charlie wouldn't look too deeply into it because he hadn't meant anyone outside of who was in headquarters and Death Eaters since before Azkaban. Maybe Charlie would think it was someone from before Azkaban, someone he hadn't been able to forget about.

"Is it George?"

Harry's eyes widened. He almost screwed up his face in disgust. Not that George wasn't good-looking, but they might as well be brothers. It was practically incest to think about George in that way. But maybe it was easier to let Charlie believe that. It wouldn't invite any more questions. "George has been there for me. I trust him more than anyone. And every good relationship has to be built on trust." There. He wasn't denying it to admitting to it. Charlie could take it any way he wanted to.

"George isn't into men like that," Charlie carefully pointed out.

"I thought so, but even if he could never return my feelings, I still have them, and I don't want to be with anyone else. At least not right now."

Charlie nodded. "Okay, I understand."

That should be the end of that. Charlie wouldn't rub salt into an open wound. He hoped.

"So, if you decide you're ready for a relationship…"

"I'll keep you in mind," Harry promised. All the while, he thought, 'Never going to happen. And I guess Rabastan had been right to be jealous.'

Next time George stopped by, Harry would explain his lie to Charlie, so no cover was blown. He really didn't want to revisit this conversation with Charlie.

Chapter Text

Harry's eyes immediately zeroed on the Death Eater that hung away from the mayhem. It was becoming second nature for Harry to attempt to find him in the crowd of battling witches and wizards.

He moved towards the figure, dodging spells that came his way. He attempted some easier hexes he had been working on wandlessly, but they had different levels of success. He definitely needed more practice before he started using the more dangerous spells in battle.

Rabastan saw him coming and fled into the nearby woods. There seemed to always be woods near the battle sights. Harry was pretty sure Rabastan didn't influence Voldemort's decision in that way, but how could they be so lucky to always have the chance to disappear because it was easier to hide in the location.

Rabastan only went deep enough for cover, but not so deep that it would be a trek to get back to get the clearing.

Harry stopped when Rabatan turned around. His mask was already removed.

He studied the older man's face. There was a new scar, running along his cheek from the bottom of his eye, all the way to his chin. It must have been made by dark magic if it hadn't healed yet.

"Did Voldemort do that?" He stepped closer, reaching to Rabastan's face.

He was surprised by Rabastan stepping back. "It was part of my punishment."

Harry remembered Rabastan's words from that first battle he participated in. "It was because I fought on Dumbledore's side after Voldemort decided to let me live." It wasn't a question because Harry knew the answer.

Rabastan nodded.

"I wanted him to kill me. He didn't have to listen to you and let me live."

"I vouched for the fact that you were utterly defeated. I was wrong, so I had to pay."

"Were you also crucioed?"

"Of course, that's the Dark Lord's favorite punishment of all time."

Harry couldn't keep the distance anymore. He quickly ran the rest of the way to Rabastan and wrapped his arms around his torso. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I made my decision."

"Do you hate me?"

"How can I hate you for something I decided to do? Where's the logic in that?"

"I'm hated for things other people decide to do all the time. It's part of the charm of the Wizarding World in this country."

Rabastan cupped Harry's face. "Well, that's not me."

Harry's eyes fluttered closed, and he tilted his head up, silently asking for a kiss. It was the first time he really initiated something, so it was a milestone, but it didn't feel that spectacular. It simply felt right.

Rabastan bent down and pressed his lips against Harry's, a soft caress as his fingers tangled in Harry's black hair. His nails scratched Harry's scalp, making Harry tingle in all the right places.

Harry moaned. He felt Rabastan's erection pressed against his stomach and pulled back in shock, ripping himself out of Rabastan's embrace, putting distance between them.

Rabastan panted harshly, taking deep gulps of air. "What? You can't be that surprised that I'm turned on by the kiss."

"I guess…" Harry averted his eyes. "I guess I didn't realize…" Harry shook his head. "It spooked me. I have nightmares still," he quietly admitted

Rabastan sighed, and it sounded harsh to Harry's ears. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that you have nightmares about me. When we first kissed outside of Azkaban, I thought maybe you were past what I did to you in Azkaban. I can't believe I thought you got passed it that quickly. No one's mind heals that quickly. I shouldn't be so naive."

Harry shook his head. "You misunderstand. I do have nightmares, but they're not about you. I mean, I do dream about you, but when you are featured, I'm never scared. It's the others that are in my nightmares, and I just can't handle any sign of sex. I mean… Well… I'm not saying this right."

He turned away, pressing his fingers against his head. He had a migraine coming on even though he hadn't experienced a vision in almost a week.

"You're not scared of me, but the thought of sex scares you. Do I have it right?"

Harry nodded, but he didn't look at Rabastan. "Well, you should be scared. Like I've told you more than once, I'm not a nice or good man. You seem to be forgetting that."

Harry snorted a laugh. "Than you should stop helping me. And you should definitely stop kissing me. It's your fault I keep forgetting that."

Rabastan walked closer. He put his large hands on Harry's shoulders and rubbed them, softly but firmly. "I'm a bad, evil man, but I can't stop kissing you. Trust me, I wish I could. My life would be so much easier if I could."

Harry turned back around so he stood toe-to-toe with Rabastan. "This won't ever work," he stated with determination.

"I know, but I don't think I can stay away from you. Somehow, I just need you. I never felt this way about anyone. It's why I never married. I never even had a casual lover. No one interested me enough. Not until now."

"I don't want to be anyone's casual over."

"Trust me, you're not. You're more than a lover. I need you."

Harry pressed a kiss against Rabastan's jaw, right where the scar started. "I hate most of the people on my side, but there are one or two I feel loyalty to because they tried to help me. And I know one of them will help me once I figure out how to escape."

"Is it the redhead you saved?" Rabastan asked dangerously.

Harry chuckled. "Wow, you really have a one-track mind, but no, it's his brother. George. Who's very straight and my best friend, now that Ron and Hermione are gone. There's also their other brother, Bill, along with Bill's wife and daughter. Those three are in France, though, but I know they'll back me up if it comes down to it." Harry decided to not tell Rabastan about Charlie's confession of feelings. He wasn't sure what a jealous Rabastan would do and didn't want to chance it.

Rabastan gripped Harry's neck, and put light pressure on it, but not enough for discomfort. "If you get a chance to escape, take it, and don't look back."

"What about you?" Harry asked. "You have to know, sooner or later, Voldemort will kill you. You could escape with me." He couldn't believe what he was suggesting. They were barely a thing, but he was offering the idea up that Rabastan should run away with him.

Rabastan pulled back slightly and stared at Harry as if he lost his mind. "You're kidding, right?/ It would be hard enough for just you to get out of here. Add a wanted Death Eater to it, and it will be nearly impossible."

Harry swallowed passed a lump. "Then maybe you should stop helping me. It's just going to make you a target."

Rabastan's response was a kiss that made Harry's toes curl. He ripped his lips away as fast as he started the kiss. "I will if you stop needing my help."

Harry glared. "I better get back, and I'll try to not need your help anymore."

Rabastan was left blinking as Harry ran back into the melee of battle.

X

The battle didn't last much longer after Harry arrived, and this time, Dumbledore didn't throw around any accusations, although he did look at Harry with suspicion.

Harry glared right back. He might be a prisoner at Headquarters, only let out to do Dumbledore's bidding, but he refused to let the man intimidate him.

When George followed him into his bedroom, George canceled the listening charm right away. "You think they'd be smart enough to not plant them when I come up with you. After all, they should know that I'll just get rid of them."

"They're probably from last night. They probably enjoy listening to my nightmares. Probably gets them off."

"You didn't tell me you had a nightmare last night," George lightly accused.

"I don't need to deal with your ego, too," Harry snarked, something he very rarely did with George these days.

"Bad meeting with Rabastan?" the redhead asked knowingly.

"You saw me go off?"

"You're not exactly discrete. I'm surprised no one else noticed. You should definitely be more careful in the future."

"There won't be a future because I'm done with him!" Harry stated fiercely, stomping his foot for good measure before he plopped down on the bed, an angry scowl planted firmly on his face.

"Trouble in paradise already? What did he do? Kill someone?"

Harry's voice was monotone. "Ha ha ha. You're hilarious. I wish he would kill someone, so I could kill him, and be done with him."

"There was Hermione."

"Fine, I wish he'd kill someone when it isn't on my command. Maybe he could kill Dumbledore."

George didn't respond directly to that sentiment. It was hard to tell whether Harry was serious or not. "Okay, he didn't kill anyone. Did he fight at all in the battle?"

"Nope. He waited for me to see him, and then ran into the woods, so I'd follow him. What is with all of the woods anyway? There shouldn't be so many woods in the UK."

"What did Rabastan do?"

Harry laid down and stared at the ceiling with a huff. "I don't know. I'm just angry."

"You're angry for a reason," George tried.

"I did something stupid."

"As stupid as kissing a Death Eater?"

Harry glared at the smirking redhead. "Way past that level of stupid. I talked about coming up with a plan to get away, and he told me to run and never look back."

"Good advice," George agreed.

"I made a statement that might be construed as me inviting him to run away with me."

"Isn't the relationship a little new to be making plans to elope?"

Harry kicked George in the shin. "It's not getting married."

"Maybe it's unofficial marriage, but you asking him to come with you is pretty much you confessing your undying love."

"It doesn't matter. He said no. He said it was because it would be nearly impossible to escape if he was there, but he just didn't want to come with me. I know he just didn't want to come with me, and he was using that as his excuse to say 'no.' And then he had the nerve to say that if I didn't keep needing his help, he wouldn't have to help me."

George blinked. "Uh, Harry, he wouldn't help you if you didn't need it."

"I don't need it. He jumps in before I can solve the problem myself. He should just butt out!"

George did his best to not laugh. "Harry, you're angry he didn't jump at the chance to run away with you."

Harry sat up. "Why didn't he? Rabastan seems to care about me, but he said 'no' to going with me."

"Think about it. Rabastan is a Death Eater. Not only would Voldemort hunt him down, but so would Dumbledore. On the other hand, if it's just you, Voldemort would probably ignore it since you would be out of the way. I think Rabastan is thinking about you in this instance."

Harry averted his eyes. "It hurt. I shouldn't care so much, I know that, but I do. I wish I hated him. Then I could kill him and stop worrying about what he was doing."

George sat down next to Harry. "I know. If it helps, from what you told me, I really do think he cares."

"It doesn't help."

X

Harry sat cross-legged on the floor. He focused on the shredded paper. "Wingardium Leviosa." The paper flew up into the air and nearly hit the ceiling. Harry smiled. He looked at the textbook that laid on his desk. He stared at it and with his hand held out, said, "Accio." The book flew into his waiting hand. He placed the book on the floor and pressed his hand to it. "Reducio." The book shrank in size. "Engorgio." The book returned to its original size.

Harry nodded. He felt very satisfied with his progress. Now whether he could do it in the heat of battle when his focus might be compromised, that remained to be seen.

Chapter Text

Harry slowly opened his eyes. His nerve-endings were tingling, someone who didn't provoke warm and fuzzy feelings inside of him was watching him. His hands curled into fists under the blanket, but he was ready for some wandless magic if it was needed. Pretending he was unaffected by the other person's presence, he slowly sat up and faced a smiling Dumbledore. "You know it's creepy to watch someone while they'll sleep, right?"

"I mean you no harm, my boy."

Harry didn't bother responding to that. It would be an argument that never ended. "What do you want?"

"I have a surprise for you."

"Your surprises are never good."

"Is seeing Tonks and little Teddy a bad thing?"

Harry's eyes widened, and he quickly stood up. "I can see them? When?"

"After lunch."

"What are you up to, Dumbledore?" he asked suspiciously.

"I can't just do this for you? I thought you might appreciate being able to see them."

"I don't trust you. I doubt you're doing it out of the goodness of your heart because I've been asking for weeks. There has to be a reason you decided to suddenly, out of the blue, grant me this."

"My boy, you really shouldn't be so suspicious. You'll turn prematurely grey."

And with that, Harry was left alone in his room. "What are you up to?" he whispered to himself.

X

When Harry was showed downstairs, he was surprised. He thought the meeting would happen in his room. The only time he had been allowed out of his room was for battle or to visit Hermione in the hospital. He wasn't sure why Dumbledore didn't want Tonks or Teddy in his room. Maybe he was afraid of what they might talk about if they were alone. Out in the open of the living area, Charlie was watching them and listening to their conversation. He could have stationed Charlie in his room anyway, Dumbledore never needed permission to do what he wanted in the past, but he was obviously trying to show Harry that the prisoner was trusted more. Maybe he hoped that Harry would let his defenses fall if Dumbledore threw him a bone.

"You can sit," Charlie offered, leaning against the banister.

Harry ignored that. He had too much nervous energy to sit right now. The door flew open, and Tonks ran in, a baby clutched in her arms.

Harry's breath caught. "Tonks."

One arm holding the baby, the other arm wound around Harry's neck. "Thank Merlin you're okay. I begged them to let me see you, but they refused every time."

"I know. I asked to see you as well."

Tonks pulled back. "You're eating enough?"

Harry laughed. "Please don't ask that. You sound too much like a mother." What Harry really meant was she sounded too much like Molly and her faux caring.

"Well, I am a mum now."

Harry's eyes drifted down. The baby's face was hidden by his sky blue blanket. "Can I see him?"

Tonks shifted Teddy and lowered the blanket.

Teddy had chubby cheeks and a button nose. His eyes were closed, so he couldn't see their color. He had wisps of… Harry blinked. "Is that green hair?"

Tonks laughed gaily. "Yeah, it seems he inherited my metamorphosis abilities."

"The professors at Hogwarts will have their hands full."

"With me as a mother and a Marauder as the father, definitely."

Harry pressed his finger lightly against the chubby cheeks. "He's beautiful. Remus would have been totally in awe."

Tonks sniffled. "Yeah, I know. Remus loved you so much, and I saw what kind of father he would have been after watching him with you."

Tears came to Harry's eyes. "Remus had problems, especially with him not believing he deserved happiness or you. But loyalty was one of the best things about him."

The two of them sat down next to each other.

"I have something for you," Tonks whispered. She pulled out a parchment. "This isn't the only copy, but I thought you should see it." Harry saw words written in Remus' neat handwriting, but before he could read it, it was snatched out of his hands.

"Hold it," Charlie quickly said, reading over the words.

"Dumbledore wants to make sure it isn't a plot to overthrow him? Or a plan for my escape?" Charlie blushed bright red as he continued to read the letter. "And yet, you still blindly follow him. I wonder how long it will be before you learn to think for yourself."

Charlie gave the letter back, not responding to Harry's insightful remark. Or at least Harry believed it was insightful. "Here, it's safe."

Tonks rolled her eyes. "It's just a goodbye letter Remus wrote to Harry in case something happened to him. So much suspicion!" Tonks winked at Harry.

The raven-haired man frowned and started reading the letter, instantly understanding the reason for the wink.

Dear Cub,

If you're reading this, I didn't survive the war. I may not even get to see my child be born. I hope you never have to read this because what I'm about to ask of you, as well as tell you, I want to do it verbally. But if I can't, I can't. I know the price of war.

First of all, this letter is charmed. The only people who can read the words will be people that don't follow Dumbledore blindly. The ones that think for themselves will be able to read this letter. And people that you trust will be able to read it because I trust your judgment. Otherwise, it will appear to be a harmless goodbye letter.

Harry, you have to know by now that Dumbledore can't be trusted. He had once believed in saving the Wizarding World from corruption, and maybe in some way he still believes it, but the way he goes about it now is wrong. He believes his way is always right, and every other way is a sign of the person being dark or evil. As the Muggle saying goes, it's his way or the highway.

I hope you realize that by now. I don't trust him. I don't trust him with Tonk's life or my child's life. And I certainly don't trust him with your life. He's way too interested in what you're doing. It's like he's looking for a reason to punish you. I believe it's because you're powerful in your own right, and your power threatens his power. That, and people follow you. They're drawn to you as a leader, and that's something else Dumbledore can't stand.

What you have to do is find a time to escape. I don't care if the war is over. Just run. You need to get away from Dumbledore the first chance you get.

I told Tonks the same thing. I hope she gets an opening. If you guys can, run away together, but it may be safer to run separately.

Harry glared at the offensive paper. He didn't like where this was going. How could he just run and leave Tonks and Teddy to Dumbledore's machinations?

Harry, I know what you're thinking. You have that hero complex thing going on, and you're probably grounding your teeth at the thought of leaving them behind, but you have to. Tonks knows what I'm telling you. I told her the same thing. If she gets the chance to run with Teddy, she will, even if it means leaving you behind. Bill in France can be trusted. If you can get to France, their Wizarding world will give you sanctuary. It helps that Fleur's father is the Franch Minister of Magic, and she mistrusts Dumbledore as much as I do.

Another thing, I named you godfather so if anything happens to Tonks, Dumbledore can't get his dirty hands on my child. All you have to do is bite your thumb so you bleed. On the bottom of this letter, there's a spot to put your bloody thumbprint, and it will acknowledge your agreement to be godfather. And the godfather contract will override any other contract that might be in place that both me and Tonks are unaware of.

Harry, I love you. Remember, find an opportunity and run. Fall in love. Be happy. Live your whole life. And never look back.

Remus

Harry didn't even have to think about it. He pretended to read as he inconspicuously bit his thumb hard enough to bleed. Then he put pressure on the letter. The thumbprint glowed for a moment, and then the glow died quickly.

Tonks placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Remus loved you as if you were his own son."

"I loved him too. I loved Sirius of course, but he was more like a fun uncle. Remus was like what I imagined a father to be like. I just wish I had more time with him."

Tonks squeezed his shoulder. "There's never enough time with people you love. No matter what you do, remember Remus' words."

Harry reluctantly nodded. He still hated leaving Tonks and Teddy behind, but if she wanted him to follow Remus' orders as well, he wasn't going to go against them. "Can I hold him?" he shyly asked.

Tonks didn't answer. Instead, she passed Teddy over to Harry carefully. "Make sure his head is supported," she cautioned.

Teddy's eyes opened at the change of hold. His brown eyes stared into Harry's emerald gaze. Harry blinked when Teddy's eyes suddenly changed to green to match his newly minted godfather. He smiled. "Hey, Teddy, you are such a beautiful baby."

Teddy closed his eyes and went back to sleep, perfectly content in the new arms holding him.

Tonks smiled. "He feels safe with you."

Harry shared a look with her, and an unspoken conversation passed between them.

' if anything happens, I'll protect him.'

' I know. And Remus knew.'

Chapter Text

There was an ambush on Hogsmeade. There hadn't been such a bad attack since St. Mungoes. It was a full-fledged assault as if Voldemort was trying to prove a point.

Harry was battling. He shot out some wandless spells to supplement his wand casting. It was good practice, and if something went wrong, he had his wand as an alternative.

He was in full form. He made it a point to not look for any Death Eater standing in the back or off to the side. He was done with Rabastan. He wasn't going to look for the older man any longer. He couldn't continue with his infatuation. It was sickening.

He started fighting a Death Eater who was the right height.

Harry's heart skipped a beat, but he continued to fight. The Death Eater wasn't doing anything lethal. Even if the curses happened to hit Harry, they would do very little damage. The Death Eater was holding back.

Harry glared. "Reducto!" he screamed, putting all of his emotions behind the attack.

The Death Eater hadn't dodged or put up a shield fast enough, and it got him on his shoulder. He groaned in pain, putting his hand against the wound.

Harry swallowed passed a lump that was lodged in his throat. He knew that groan.

When the Death Eater ran from the battle, Harry didn't think twice. He followed. He knew George saw him but instead of trying to stop him, he heard George scream a spell to stop an attack from hitting Harry.

'Thank you, George,' Harry thought, He followed the masked fugitive into an alley. There were three connecting alleys and instinctively knew the Death Eater would have gone to the third one, as it was the one farthest from the street.

And Harry was right.

Rabastan didn't have his mask on any longer as he leaned against the wall, panting harshly. "You really were trying to prove a point, weren't you."

"I hadn't been positive it was you."

"If you knew for sure it was me, would you have lessened the attack."

Harry thought about it. "I'm not sure. I was trying to prove that I didn't need your help. That I didn't need you."

A shadow seemed to come over Rabastan. "Well, I call it a success then. You definitely don't need me."

"Well, I don't call it a success. I went after you," Harry spoke accusingly.

"And that'smy fault?"

'Yeah. Because you're irresistible!' Harry shouted in his head, but he kept his thoughts to himself. Instead, he simply glared, wishing he had heat vision so he could show Rabastan how his fault it was.

Rabastan chuckled. "If it makes you feel better, I would have gone after you if our roles were reversed."

"It doesn't make me feel better," he stated in a deadpan voice.

Rabastan let go of his shoulder.

Harry winced at the sight of the nasty wound. He wanted to heal it, and he hated himself for it.

"Harry, I'm sorry."

Harry blinked. That was something he hadn't expected. He didn't think Death Eaters apologized for anything. "For what?"

"For a lot of things. But mainly for saying I was going to stop helping you. I don't think I could stop helping you."

"Are you sorry for saying you won't come with me?"

"No, because I don't think you'd be able to get away if I was there. It's better for you that I'm not there."

Harry pushed away from the wall and stomped over to the older man. "I don't think it's better," he growled, wrapping his arms around Rabastan's neck and pressing his lips fiercely to Rabastan's.

Rabastan groaned deeply in his throat, returning the kiss with equal fervor Harry's hands slid to his shoulders.

Rabastan moaned, but this time it was in pain as his wound was touched with none-too-gentle hands.

Harry pulled back from the passionate kiss. "Sorry."

"Maybe you can heal me?"

"They'd be suspicious of a healing spell if my wand was inspected."

"True, although, you could always say you used it on yourself. I may be a skilled dualer, but I was never really good with healing spells. Those weren't needed to be part of the Dark Lord's inner circle."

Harry backed away and pointed his wand at the wound that was turning purple around the edges. He muttered a basic healing charm that he still remembered from Hogwarts. Although the grossest part of the wound was healed instantly, it was still a little off-colored.

"That will do," Rabastan decided. He reached for Harry again and dragged him in for another heated kiss."

Harry returned it without reservations.

Rabastan's thigh pushed itself between Harry's leg, and Harry straddled the appendage, loving the pressure. Rabastan broke the long kiss and pressed short pecks before pulling back entirely. "I have something for you."

Harry's eyes were glazed over with passion. "What?"

Rabastan produced a coin and gave it to Harry.

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Is this for good luck?"

Rabastan raised his eyebrow. "No, if something happens, if you're in danger or need me for anything, hold it and think of me. It will alert me, and I'll be able to find you because it also serves as a tracking charm."

Harry stared at the coin. "Really?"

"Yep. Wherever you are, I'll be able to find you. Not even wards could stop me."

Harry pocketed the valuable coin and pressed his lips against Rabastan's lips again. He moved his lips to Rabastan's neck, pressing feather-soft kisses to his pulse point.

Rabastan groaned, his fingers going through messy raven strands.

Harry ripped his lips away. "I have to go." He ran out of the alley, back to the battle that was still going on. When he rejoined the fighting next to George, his best friend gave him a significant look.

Harry avoided the look, but he knew he was going to hear about it later. He could just hear George's good-natured taunts.

' I thought you said you were done, Harry. Don't you have any willpower?'

It would be a tedious exchange and one that would probably leave him flushed with embarrassment. As the memory of Rabastan's lips was burned in his memory, Harry decided it was worth the teasing.

Chapter Text

Harry woke up to angry shouts happening downstairs. He blearily looked out of the window, seeing that it was still dark, wondering if there was an attack going on. Maybe he'd get to see Rabastan. He shouldn't wish for an attack, of course, but it was the only way to see Rabastan. He knew their relationship wasn't conventional, but something about Rabastan drew Harry, and for the first time in so long, he had someone other than Teddy, Tonks, and George to live for.

He stood up, waiting for someone to come get him to bring him to the site of the battle. Minutes passed and still, no one came. There were still angry shouts, but there were no footsteps coming up the stairs.

He found himself sitting on the bed and frowned. "What's going on down there?"

He wasn't sure how much time passed, but Harry noticed the sky began to lighten as time continued moving forward. He didn't try to go to sleep, knowing that as soon as he did, he'd be disturbed. That's the way it always happened.

"That's it! I'm going upstairs! No one stop me!" a familiar voice bellowed.

"George," Harry whispered.

If George was that upset, something bad had happened. Harry swallowed, suddenly afraid and not wanting to hear the bad news. Sometimes, it was best to remain ignorant.

When the door slammed open, Harry was back to standing up. George's face was a mask of heartbreak mixed with fury.

"What happened?"

The fury left George's face. "Harry, there was an attack."

"I figured but no one came and got me."

"Yeah, no one knew about it until it was too late, but I have my doubts about whether Dumbledore truly didn't know about it. It would be like him to ignore an attack if it did what he wanted."

"Who was attacked?" Harry asked.

"The safehouse where Tonks and Teddy were being kept. Somehow, their location was found. Hence, my suspicions about Dumbledore."

Harry's breath hitched. "No, no, no." He shook his head, tears springing to his eyes.

"Tonks didn't survive. Teddy had been hidden, though. He's fine. Not a scratch on him."

"Can I see him? Please?"

"I want you to see him, trust me, but getting them to agree is going to be a challenge."

"I don't care. I'm his godfather. There's a contract. They're not going to keep me from him. If Dumbledore thought this would be an easy way to get his grimy hands on Teddy, to use him as a pawn in this gigantic chess game, he has another thing coming."

George nodded. "Come on. We might have a fight on our hands.

They left the room and marched downstairs. Kingsleys was ready, his dark black eyes focused on the stairs. Harry was gratified to not see a wand in his hand. Percy, on the other hand, had a wand, although it wasn't pointed at the stairs.

"You can't keep me from Teddy," he intoned. Harry was ready for a fight. He'd do whatever he had to in order to get to that baby.

"Harry, I know you're upset -" Charlie tried.

Harry interrupted him. "You don't know anything. Teddy is my godson. There was an official acceptance in the contract. If any of you stand in the way, I will find a way to alert the media to it. None of you will be left unscathed."

"You were in Azkaban when he was born. You couldn't have formally accepted the role of his godfather."

Harry arched eyebrow. "Use your brains."

A realization came to Charlie's eyes. "When Tonks visited. There was something in that goodbye letter. I looked." He paused. "Maybe it wasn't even a goodbye letter."

"Smart boy. There's something really wrong for Dumbledore to stop someone from becoming a godfather. Yet, none of you seem to think so. I may not have my wand, but no one is keeping me from Teddy."

Now Percy had his wand pointed at Harry. He actually wore a tiny smirk, like he was enjoying having this power over Harry.

George had his own wand pointed at Percy. George knew about Harry practicing wandless magic of course, but he shouldn't give away his secret until he truly needed to.

The door to 12 Grimmauld Place opened, and Dumbledore walked in, a baby in his arms. "Now, now, there's no need for all of this hostility.

Harry stared at the two. "Give me Teddy, or I won't be held responsible for my actions."

"My boy, you should have told me you became his godfather."

"Like I'd trust you with that information. Give me Teddy."

"Don't you want what's best for the boy? He has lost his mother and father. He would be better off being raised by two adults in a loving, committed relationship. Two people that could provide him a home and give him stability."

Harry narrowed his eyes. He wondered what happened to Andromeda and Ted as he hadn't heard about either of them, but now wasn't the time to worry about that. "You mean like I was? I certainly had a home, if you could call it that, but I wasn't loved. Or how about like how Tom Riddle Junior was left in the Muggle world for stability, despite the horrific treatment he received at the orphanage. I'd never trust you to do what's right for Teddy, and since I'm not in Azkaban or dead, you can't override me. I know Tonks and Remus would have made sure of that in the original contract. So give me Teddy!" he finished his rant with a yell.

Dumbledore walked over to him, and Harry snatched the baby from his arms. He cradled Teddy in his arms. Previously brown eyes turned emerald green like they did the last time Harry held the baby.

"Hey, Teddy, Teddy. It's going to be you and me, huh? Your mum and dad were wonderful people, and I'll tell you all about them when you're older."

"Maybe you'll finally see that I want what's best for both of you," Dumbledore prodded in his all-knowing, grandfatherly voice.

Harry ignored him. He turned and walked up the stairs, the baby cradled to his chest. He knew Dumbledore was going to use this as a way to keep Harry even more tethered to him, but all this did was make Harry more eager to escape. He had to find a way out and soon. Teddy's life and happiness depended on it.

George followed him silently. When they were alone in the bedroom, Harry allowed his tears to fall. "Tonks didn't deserve this."

"No, she didn't."

"Teddy should have had both of his parents to grow up with. This isn't fair."

"It isn't," George agreed.

"I need to be strong for Teddy, though. I have to get out of here."

"I"m here. Whatever you need."

Harry nodded. "I probably won't be going to any more fights. I can't leave Teddy alone, and I don't trust anyone but you with him. Will you be able to tell Rabastan what happened?"

"I'm not sure he'll talk to me," George cautioned.

"Rabastan knows you're my best friend. He knows I trust you. He's going to wonder where I am, so I think he'll listen."

"Okay, I'll try, but if he pulls a wand on me, I'm going to defend myself."

"Understood."

X

Harry heard the commotion downstairs. He knew there was a battle going on. They were smart enough to not come upstairs to try to force him to fight in it.

He glanced at the crib George had conjured up. Teddy slept soundly, his thumb in his mouth.

Teddy was what was important. He had his priorities straight. He couldn't leave Teddy to fend for himself, especially when he might not make it out of any battle alive. If something happened to him, Teddy would be alone and open to Dumbledore. Harry couldn't subject Teddy to that.

Harry closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep.

X

Harry was feeding Teddy, a bottle pressed to his lips, when George opened the door and walked in. "How was it?" he asked.

"Exhausting."

"And Rabastan?"

"You were right. He talked to me. I told him about Teddy and how you weren't going to be attending any more battles, so you probably wouldn't see him again."

Harry bit his bottom lip. "Was he mad?"

"A little bit, but I honestly think it's because he's going to miss you, and he's not used to dealing with that kind of emotion. I think softer emotions unnerve him."

"I think so, too," Harry agreed. "Did he say anything else?"

"He just wants you to take care of Teddy and yourself and get out of here. He also gave me one of those coins he gave you. He's afraid if something happens, you won't contact him, so he wants me to have one. Insurance policy he called it."

Harry rolled his eyes. "He's a worrywart."

"Are you going to be okay not seeing him?"

Harry looked away from Teddy's contented face as he continued to drink from his bottle to George. "I won't lie. I'll miss him, but Teddy comes first. I know I'm doing the right thing."

George nodded, but his eyes still showed his worry about Harry's state of mind.

X

"Come on, Teddy, it will be okay," he soothed.

Teddy's face was red and blotchy from crying. He didn't have a way to measure temperature, but to the touch, Teddy felt hot.

He went to the door and banged on it. "Help! Teddy needs help!" he shouted.

Charlie came running inside the room. "What's wrong?" George was right behind him. His face was a mask of displeasure, so whatever they had been talking about wasn't good.

"He has a fever, and he's in pain. Are there any potions for illnesses here?"

"No." Charlie shook his head.

"He needs to go to St. Mungo's to get looked at. It could be serious," Geroge said.

"I'll take him," Charlie offered

Harry held Teddy to his chest, his grip tightening slightly. "Like I'd trust you, or any of Dumbledore's lackeys, with him alone. Either I go or George goes. I'd prefer to go since I'm the godfather, but I can deal with it being George."

"George has to leave for a two-day mission," Charlie explained.

That explained George's look of dissatisfaction. He hated being far away from Harry since Azkaban for an extended period of time, and with Teddy added to the mix, he hated it even more. "Then I'm going. I'd love to see Dumbledore explain how a one-year-old died from a childhood illness because he was refused treatment. That would not look good for his image of light and goodness."

"I need to get Dumbledore's permission."

"Fine, get his permission, but the longer we wait, the sicker he gets. And if anything happens to him because he didn't get treatment right away, it will be your fault." Harry was counting on the fact that Charlie was good of heart, just blind to everything related to Dumbledore.

And he was right.

"Come on," Charlie muttered.

Harry followed Charlie downstairs, Teddy cradled close to his body. They stepped through the fireplace when the Floo flared up, shouting, "St. Mungo's waiting room."

As soon as Harry had both feet on the floor, he rushed to the desk. "Please, something is wrong with my godson."

The receptionist's eyes were wide. "Harry Potter…" Nothing else came out of her mouth as she continued looking at him in fascination.

Harry groaned in frustration.

For the first time, it was Charlie to the rescue. "M'am, it's time to act professionally. We have a sick baby with a fever on our hands. Do your job and get a healer for Teddy."

The receptionist nodded, a bright flush of embarrassment inflaming her face.

For once, being famous had its perks. Harry didn't have to wait long until a healer was ready to see him.

Charlie placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "I need to call Dumbledore. I'm going to trust you to follow the doctor and not run. But just in case…" He waved his wand and muttered a charm. "A tracking charm."

"I'm not really trusted that I won't run then," Harry said wryly. Normally, he would have been angered that he was losing his chance to escape, but if Teddy was sick, he wasn't going to run anyways. Teddy's health was more important.

He followed the Healer into a private room and placed Teddy in a crib. Teddy was moaning in distress, his little hands balled into fists as he rubbed his eyes. Harry took the hands. "No, Teddy, Don't rub your eyes," he whispered. He was at a loss about how to calm Teddy down, though.

"Don't worry, Mr. Potter. I'm sure it's nothing serious, and we'll get Teddy fixed up quickly.

Harry nodded. He took a shuddering breath as he stepped away from the crib, allowing the Healer to do his work.

The Healer muttered a diagnostic charm. "Ahh, looks like it's mild bout of dragon pox. I take it he hasn't been vaccinated?" he asked without any accusation in his voice. This was during a time of war, of course, so not everyone could take care of the normal preventatives for their children.

"I don't know. His father died before he was born, and his mum just died a couple of weeks ago. I only met him once before she was killed. She was in a safe house, though, so I'm not sure if she had access to Healers and proper vaccinations.

"Doesn't matter. I'll run and get the proper potion. He'll have to be administered it once a day for seven days straight, but he'll be perfectly fine once the potion is used up. Wait here, and I'll be back momentarily with the batch of potions."

Harry nodded, breathing a relieved sigh. He knew people had died of dragon pox in the past, but thankfully, Teddy wouldn't suffer that fate. He had just gotten Teddy, and already, the baby had gotten sick. Intellectually, he knew it wasn't his fault; it would have happened no matter what if he hadn't been vaccinated, but it was hard not to draw a correlation from becoming Harry's responsibility to him getting sick.

A man walked in, but it wasn't the Healer. "You have the wrong room, Sir," he asked, blocking Teddy in case the man had purposely chosen the wrong room because he was a threat.

"No, I don't." Harry narrowed his eyes. Before he could conjure up some wandless magic, the man continued, "George notified me with his coin."

Harry blinked and relaxed his stance slightly. "Rabastan?"

The man, with a face he didn't recognize, nodded.

"Polyjuice potion?"

The man nodded again. "I wanted to see you, and I knew this might be my only chance."

"What you're doing is dangerous," Harry warned. "The healer can come back any minute."

"I think it's worth it." Rabastan moved forward and took Harry's chin in gentle fingers. He pressed his lips against Harry's.

The kiss felt odd. Harry knew it was Rabastan, but it didn't look or feel like Rabastan. He broke the kiss before a need for oxygen demanded it. "Sorry, but kissing this face is too weird. I can't believe George told you I was here."

"He knew I wanted to see you. I think I might actually like the guy."

"Surprise, surprise," Harry murmured. Teddy's cry of distress diverted Harry's attention. He took Teddy's small hand into his. "It's okay. You'll be getting a potion very soon, and then you'll start feeling better. It's okay."

Rabastan stared at the baby. "He's cute."

Harry thought for a moment, but then he asked a question that he wondered about since Tonks' death. "Were you a part of the attack?"

"No," Rabastan shook his head, "I didn't even know about it until after the fact."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Is that normal? I mean, you're part of Voldemort's inner circle. So why wouldn't you participate in it? Or at least be told about it?"

Rabastan pressed a soft hand against Teddy's soft belly. "Yes, I'm a bit concerned too. I wonder if Voldemort is getting suspicious of my allegiance."

"If he thinks you're a traitor, he'll kill you."

"I know."

Harry turned and pressed his lips against Rabastan's cheek, no matter how unfamiliar the cheek was to him. "I know you disagree, but I think you should run. Even if it's not with me, I think you should go. You're being kept out of the loop, and I think everyone probably knows how much I loved Tonks and Teddy. That's not just a coincidence that you weren't told about an attack that was directly linked to me."

Rabastan opened his mouth, and then it snapped shut.

"At least think about it. Tell you what. When I'm ready to make my escape, I'll use my coin to alert you. Either you come or you don't. If you do decide to come, I'm going to France with Teddy. I hope you'll join us."

Rabastan cupped Harry's cheek. "I'll think about it, but I'm not making any promises."

Harry pressed a kiss to Rabastan's hand. "That's all I can ask for." He closed his eyes and leaned into the touch. "You should go. Before either the healer or Charlie comes. I don't know how to explain you to them."

"Charlie? The one that likes you?"

"You think I'd be allowed to come here alone?!" Despite being an unfamiliar face, he still easily read the jealousy in Rabastan's eyes. "You really have nothing to be worried about. I told Charlie there was someone else. He assumed it was George because George is the only one anyone sees me willingly talk to, but you, George, and I both know who the other person is."

"Better be me," Rabastan grumbled.

Harry's response was to kiss him chastely. He really didn't feel comfortable kissing lips that belonged to an unfamiliar face. "Go. Before you're caught in here."

Rabastan nodded. He gave Harry one last lingering look, patted Teddy's stomach gently, and raced from the room.

Harry's heart warmed at Rabastan's acknowledgment of Teddy. He didn't know how Rabastan would react to Harry becoming Teddy's guardian. Of course, Rabatan didn't have a say, but it was nice to know that Rabastan didn't mind the change in circumstance, other than the fact he'd no longer see Harry at battles due to the new responsibility.

The Healer and Charlie came back together two minutes later.

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. It had been close, but no one had seen Rabastan's departure. Harry got the required potions and was once again told that Teddy had to take one vial a day, seven days straight, and he'd be fine at the end of the week.

Harry nodded and allowed the Healer to give Teddy the first dosage. Thankfully, Teddy seemed easy and didn't fight the potion, despite the foul smell. Hopefully, he'd be just as easy for Harry.

X

Two days later, when George came back from his forced mission and received an enthusiastic hug from Harry, there were some raised eyebrows, but no one found it too odd. They all assumed Harry just missed George.

Only the two participants in the hug knew it was because Harry was thankful to George for alerting Rabastan to the trip to St. Mungos.

Chapter Text

Battles seemed to escalate in number as well as intensity. Part of Harry missed them, if only because he got to see Rabatan, but the majority of Harry was thankful for the reprieve. It meant he wasn't going to be killed.

George kept him updated on Rabastan, as much as he could at least. Rabastan never engaged George in battle, not wanting to accidentally do something to the redhead that upset Harry. Rabastan had no problem fighting Charlie, although he didn't use lethal curses.

Harry shook his head. He thought Death Eaters were supposed to keep his emotions under control, but his dislike of Charlie was plain for anyone to see. He never knew someone to get so jealous when nothing actually happened.

Ginny had paid him more visits lately, supposedly to coo over Teddy, but Harry knew it was to try to get closer to him again. Harry glared at her. "Even if I wanted a maternal figure for Teddy, you and Molly would be my last choices, so don't even think to use him as a way to get your hands on me or my inheritance." When Ginny gasped shocked, Harry smirked nastily at her. "You surprised I know how greedy you truly are? I'm not as naive as I was before Azkaban. Find some other rich wizard because I'm not stupid enough to marry you."

Ginny huffed in annoyance and left in his room in a flounce.

He couldn't even find it in himself to feel bad. Everything he said was true after all.

One night, George told him he thought the final battle was coming. Still, Harry hadn't found an opportunity to escape. He knew he had to do something. He would be expected to fight in the final battle. Thanks to the prophecy, nothing Harry would say would convince Dumbledore that someone else could take down Voldemort. And if he was still there after Voldemort lost, Harry didn't know what would happen to him. He didn't trust Dumbledore to let him live his life with Teddy.

There was always someone in the house with him at all times, though. Someone other than George that is. Dumbledore didn't trust George much either.

X

Harry was woken up by his door quietly opening and shutting. For once, Teddy was sleeping soundly, and Harry was getting a full night of sleep. Of course, this would be the night someone decided to come into his room.

Charlie had his back pressed against the door. There was a look on his face.

"Charlie, what's going on?" He clutched the blanket in front of him. "Why are you in here?"

Charlie took a step closer, and Harry stood up, standing with his back pressed against the wall. He didn't think Charlie would hurt Teddy, but considering Charlie expressed some desire for Harry…

Well, Harry didn't trust him coming into his room late at night when he never had before.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Charlie whispered.

"Then why are you in here?" Harry repeated his earlier question.

Charlie took out his wand. "You need to get out of here."

Harry blinked. He hadn't expected that. "What?"

"The final battle is taking place two days from now. You need to leave. I heard Dumbledore talking to Percy. He expects you to die in the battle, and if by some miracle, you survive, he's going to make sure you go back to Azkaban. You were right this whole time. You need to take Teddy and run. Get somewhere he can't touch you."

Harry didn't take any pleasure in Charlie admitting he was right. "How can I do that?"

"I'm the only guard here tonight. They trust me, unlike George. We're going to pretend you surprised me when I came up to check on you. I know you've been practicing wandless magic."

Harry was astonished that Charlie never told Dumbledore about it despite believing Dumbledore was a good man with the best of intentions.

"I'll say you used a disarming spell on me, and everyone knows I've never been able to do wandless spell casting. So, you wandlessly disarmed me, stole my wand, took Teddy and ran. Don't tell me where you're going. I know you probably have a plan in place, but I don't want to know. If I don't know, there's no way for Dumbledore to get the information out of me."

There was so much information to process. "Dumbledore will find out that you helped."

"Not for a while, though. He'll be too focused on finding you that he won't think to question me right away. There will be enough time for you to getaway. I know George will probably join you, but he probably won't until he knows he'll be able to get away without being tracked to your location. He's sneakier than me. He'll be able to avoid detection."

"Your wand, though?" It was almost the worst kind of Hell, for a wizard to have his wand stolen. Or broken.

"I'll get a new one. The only way anyone will believe, even for a little while, that you overpowered me, is if you managed to get my wand."

Harry took the wand.

"Stun me," Charlie ordered.

Harry hesitated.

"Do it. It will buy you more time because if I'm awake, Dumbledore will ask me why I didn't alert him sooner."

Harry pointed the wand at Charlie. "Stupefy," he commanded.

Charlie became stiff as a board as he fell backward.

Harry grabbed Teddy, hesitated, grabbed the galleons and knuts in Charlie's pocket, and ran out of the door. He'd find some way to pay Charlie back, but he'd need the money. He didn't stop. He didn't even glance at the fireplace as he left 12 Grimmauld Place. That particular Floo was never part of the plan, not with how easy it was to track.

He muttered a glamour charm, disguising him. His short, black hair, became medium auburn hair, reminiscent of the shade of Lily Potter's hair. His emerald green eyes a dull brown. Whereas he was skinny from a lack of physical activity, except for a few battles, his new disguise made him gain weight, becoming round and chubby, kind of like Neville from their early years at Hogwarts.

Teddy had been kept out of the public eye, even after Harry had taken custody, so he was pretty sure he didn't need to disguise the baby. And with Teddy's inherited abilities from his mother, any disguise Harry produced could be altered. He pointed out the borrowed wand, calling for the Knight Bus.

The bus pulled up to a stop. The driver wasn't Stan Shunpike. "Where you going?" the tall man with a gruff voice asked.

Harry swallowed. "St. Mungo's."

He got a seat and held on for dear life as the bus started quickly He closed his eyes. He really hated the knight bus. Teddy woke up at the jolt but stayed quiet. He really was an easy baby.

They came up to St. Mungo's quickly. Harry quickly paid the fare and found his way to the Floo within the hospital. He threw powder into the fireplace. When it flared bright green, Harry shouted his destination.

He ended up at the Three Broomsticks. He stepped away and waited for twenty-five minutes. After time ticked by, he went back to the fireplace. He took the powder and threw it into the fireplace. When it flared green, he shouted his next destination. "Gringotts Wizarding Bank."

He ended up at his destination. This time, he only waited ten minutes before he went back to the fireplaces. He grabbed a handful of powder again. He threw it in and when it flared green, he shouted his next destination. "The Leaky Cauldron."

He stepped through and quickly stepped aside, seeing a line of people crowding around the fireplace. He covered Teddy's face with the blanket just in case the baby was recognized. By now, Teddy was beginning to get fussy, but this was a necessary evil. All the floo jumping would make it harder for Dumbledore to track him. There would be only three more jumps to make. He waited fifteen minutes before approaching a fireplace once again. He grabbed the powder, threw it in, and waited for it to flare, before he shouted another destination. "Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."

He stepped out, but this time, he didn't wait more than two minutes. With a wide smile on his face, he turned around, grabbed a handful of powder, and threw it into the fireplace. Once again, he shouted, "International Travel of Britain!"

When Harry arrived at his destination, he was surprised to see it wasn't very crowded, but maybe he shouldn't be. It was late at night.

He walked down a row of fireplaces. There was one to Australia. One to Russia. One to North America. One to Japan. He kept walking. There was one to Ethiopia. One to Brazil. One to France. Harry stopped.

He looked to the left, and he looked to the right. No one was paying any attention to him. He walked over to the attendant. "The price will be 25 galleons, 11 knuts, and 2 sickles."

"Someone told me you could send a bill to a person. That's true, right?"

The attendant nodded.

"William and Fleur Weasley can receive the bill. I don't know the exact address, but-"

"We have our ways to find it," the attendant interrupted. "You do know if they don't pay, you will be held responsible, right?"

Harry nodded. He didn't know how he'd pay. Dumbledore never allowed him to access any of his funds in Gringotts after being let out of Azkaban. He never touched the Potter or Black inheritances. He only ever touched the personal vault for his school supplies. For all he knew, Dumbledore had depleted the vaults, and now he might never find out what happened to the money or gain access.

He trusted Fleur and Bill would help him, and of course, he'd get a job once he was safe, and pay them back with interest for their trouble.

"Okay then. When you step through, you'll shout 'International travel of France.'"

"Understood." Harry pressed a kiss to Teddy's forehead. "Almost safe," he promised in a hushed voice.

Harry took a deep breath and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a familiar coin, one he always had on him but never used until now. He held it in a tight grip and closed his eyes. 'Rabastan, I'm leaving. Please come,' he thought.

He opened his eyes and waited for something. He didn't know how long it would normally take for Rabastan to respond. He waited for almost ten minutes. He could tell the attendant was getting impatient with Harry's continued presence. Harry closed his eyes again. 'Rabastan, where are you?' he asked himself.

He couldn't keep waiting. Maybe Rabastan had decided not to come. Maybe he couldn't get away without arousing suspicion. Maybe he decided Harry wasn't worth the trouble. Maybe… Harry took a deep breath. The last thought was the most troubling. Maybe he was dead, killed by a suspicious Voldemort.

He let a tear roll down his cheek. It didn't matter. He couldn't wait. He tried. Either Rabastan had made his decision, or he was unable to join him. He had to go now. "I'm ready."

The attendant gestured for him.

With Teddy held closely, he stepped up to the fireplace, grabbed a handful of powder, and threw it into the fireplace. It flared bright green. And once again, he screamed a destination. "International travel to France!"

Harry stepped in and soon he stepped out in a place that looked similar to the place he just left. Except there were no British witches and wizards. They were all French.

Harry looked around, feeling lost, but suddenly he saw a familiar face. "Bill?" he whispered. He moved quickly to the older man, someone he hadn't seen in a long time, but looked like a taller and more muscular version of George. He still wore the same long ponytail and had the fang earring in his ear that Harry had always thought was cool. "How?" he asked, reaching the man.

"When the bill was sent to me, I was notified instantly." He paused and gave Harry a once over. "Nice disguise, by the way."

"Sorry, I'll pay you back somehow. I didn't have enough on me and no way to access my vaults."

"Don't worry. Consider it part of the reparations for what most of my family did to you."

"You shouldn't have to pay me reparation for their deeds."

"They're not going to. They'll never admit they were wrong." Bill brought Harry into a hug. "I'm so glad you're here. And you're safe. And little Teddy is here and safe as well."

"Are we safe?" Harry cautiously asked.

"Fleur's dad is going to make sure no one from Britain can touch you without your permission."

"I alerted someone I was coming. Someone I've grown close to. He didn't respond, but I have something that acts like a tracking charm attached to him. I'm hoping he'll show up later."

"You're not mentioning a name."

Harry nodded. "It's someone you might not approve of, but I've grown to care about him, and he has protected me quite a few times, both in Azkaban and out of Azkaban."

"A Death Eater," Bill surmised.

Harry nodded in agreement.

"If this Death Eater comes, and he can behave himself, and not start killing random people because of their blood status, I'm sure he'll be able to be granted sanctuary as well. He might even get a clean record and be able to start over, and live a normal, crime-free life."

"If he comes. He never promised me he'd come. He said he'd think about it. And his decision might have been to ignore my alert."

Bill pulled away from the embrace and stepped back. "Harry, don't lose faith. He has a way to track you. Maybe he couldn't escape yet. It doesn't mean he won't come. Just keep hold of whatever you have.

Harry nodded. "Can we go? It's been a long night, and I'm really tired. And I'm sure Teddy is too."

"Of course. Time to get to your new home. And tomorrow, you can meet Victoire. I can't wait for you to meet her."

"I can't wait to meet her either. And Teddy will have a playmate."

Bill put his arm around Harry's shoulders and dragged him over to the fireplace connected to the local Floo network.

Harry groaned. "Not another one."

"One more tonight."

"Sorry, Teddy. I know you're as tired of green soot as I am."

Bill smirked. "We're staying in Fleur's childhood home. She wanted to be close to her sister and parents."

Harry arched an eyebrow at the idea of a recently married couple living with the wife's parents. Although he was sure it was better than living with Molly and Arthur.

Bill continued smiling. "We have our own wing so there is privacy, and there's plenty of guest rooms, one for you and one for Teddy, although I'm sure he still sleeps in your room."

Harry nodded in the affirmative.

"The phrase is Delacour Manor."

Harry watched Bill go through first and for the last time that night, grabbed a handful of powder, tossed it into the fireplace, and when it flared green, spoke his destination. "Delacour Manor."

And then he was at his destination for the night.

"Who's ready for bed?" Bill asked with a tired smile.

Harry mutely raised his hand. Teddy, who was awake at this point, giggled and raised both of his hands in the air as well.

Chapter Text

Epilogue

Harry sat by the pond in the garden. Teddy was on a blanket, enjoying the nice weather, absolute joy on his face. Teddy had been forced to be inside so much since he was born; Harry was glad he was now able to get the simple happiness of fresh air. So many people took that kind of thing for granted.

He turned his gaze to the pond. It had over three weeks since he arrived in France. So far, no one from Britain had tried to make contact with him. Fleur's dad said they wouldn't dare unless they wanted a war with France. Harry tried to not think about who was missing. He had hoped George would join him by now, but he was still a no show. Bill had tried to contact him, but his owls went unanswered.

That scared Harry. Everyone knew that George was loyal to him and not Dumbledore. Charlie was sure George would be sneaky enough to get away, but if that was so, where was he? What had Dumbledore done to him?

And then there was Rabastan. He hadn't heard anything. He didn't know if Rabastan was dead or alive. He didn't know if Rabastan had just decided to not come because it was too risky. The not knowing was what was killing him.

Besides Teddy, George and Rabastan were the most important people in Harry's life, and he felt as if there was a gigantic hole in his heart because they weren't here with him.

Bill and Fleur had been great, and Gabrielle was still as sweet as ever. And Harry absolutely adored Victoire; he could already tell she'd be just like her mother when she grew up. Bill better be ready to properly threaten the teenage boys. Bill, Fleur, Gabrielle, along with Mrs. and Mr. Delacour doted on Teddy and Victoire equally. Teddy had always just had one or two adults to care for him, so Harry was happy he was getting more attention. Still, he couldn't be completely satisfied with how his life was going because his family felt incomplete.

Suddenly there was an alarm, the wards alerting to an intruder. Harry picked up Teddy, afraid that this was it. Dumbledore had come for him. Or had sent someone. Maybe Kingsley or Hestia.

Fleur came running out the back door of the manor. "Harry, come quick," she commanded," her accent even more pronounced in her excitement.

Harry followed the happy woman. He wondered what was going on. She wouldn't lead him into danger, so maybe the alarm was a good thing?

They made it to the front, and Harry felt his breath catch when he saw George being led away by Bill. George leaned heavily on Bill, obviously injured. He moved to go to his best friend but stopped when he realized there was someone else standing at the gate.

"Rabatsan," he whispered.

"He saved George's life," Fleur explained quietly, "And brought George here by side-along. I guess the tracking charm worked."

Harry stupidly blinked. It felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest. He quickly handed Teddy over to Fleur's waiting arms and ran to the man he thought had given up on them.

Rabastan leaned heavily against a tree, exhaustion evident on his face. He didn't look injured thankfully, just tired.

Harry wound his arms around Rabastan's neck and held on for dear life. He laid his head against Rabastan's chest and listened to the heart beating a steady rhythm.

"Sorry, I took so long," Rabastan murmured.

"All that matters is you're here now. Although I wonder what happened that brought you and George here at the same time."

"That's a long story," Rabastan muttered.

"We have time," Harry promised. He tilted his head up.

Rabastan caressed Harry's cheek and leaned down. His lips met Harry's in a soft kiss, moving his lips and prodding Harry to open his own for exploration.

Harry returned it, holding Rabastan close as he lost himself in a touch he didn't think he'd feel again.

When air became necessary, Harry reluctantly broke the contact. He reiterated his earlier sentiment. "We have nothing but time now."

Rabastan's answer was to kiss him again.

The End