Twenty minutes later Draco crept into the room, house elf trailing behind.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't think you would be awake. I see Harry's fast asleep though." He said by way of greeting when he noticed Severus.
"Yes, he was quite exhausted. Could you wake him up though? I want to get some food in both of you before we leave." Severus asked taking the breakfast tray from the house elf before gently pushing it out the door and closing it securely. Draco was standing by the bed, tears falling down his cheeks silently. He had made no move to wake Harry.
"Draco... are you alright?"
"I can't wake him... I... can you do it, please...?" Severus set the tray down and led Draco over to the chairs.
"Why can't you wake him?" Draco choked on a sob and clutched his stomach tightly.
"I've soiled him enough as it is... he's seen me... who I am..."
"What your father makes you, not who you are. Draco, you mean more to Harry than anything. There is nothing you could do, say, or reveal that will change that." Severus told him gently. Draco folded over his knees and tried to stop the flow of tears that had been running since he got back to his room the night before.
"*I* believe you..." He choked out "I just wish my *heart* did..." Severus pulled his charge close and rocked him for a minute.
"There is nothing I can say to make your heart believe me. You'll just have to wake Harry up, maybe it will then." Draco remained quiet for a moment. Severus was usually right about such things, but he was terrified that Harry would wake up and be disgusted with him. But slowly, he got up and made his way to he bed. Harry slept on soundlessly, oblivious to all the pain around him.
"Harry...? Harry wake up..." He whispered, but it didn't work. He shook his lover slightly, and still nothing. Biting his lip he leaned forward and kissed Harry gently. /Just this last kiss.../ he thought, prying Harry's lips open gently and letting his (thoroughly cleansed) tongue slide inside. Harry moaned softly and brought an arm around Draco's neck pulling him closer. "Wake up, Harry." Draco choked, pulling away. But Harry didn't let him go, in fact he pulled the blond into bed with him.
"Gracious heaven, Draco!" He sobbed, searching blindly for his glasses (they had been removed at some point in time the night before) but gave up when he couldn't find them and settled for pushing Draco away a little so he could see him. "How...? My God! And you asked why *I* turned out so well?! How...? I swear on my life you will never *ever* have to do that again... even... even if you don't want me anymore, I'll still make sure you never go back to that..." A sudden state melancholy settled over him and he cried helplessly, releasing Draco to sit up.
"Why would you think that *I* wouldn't want *you* anymore?" He asked, real confusion falling over his angelic features.
"Because of what I did to you last night..." Harry supplied reluctantly. Draco choked out something between a sob and a laugh.
"Harry! What you did to me? What did you do to me...? Nothing-- I would have done that for you gladly, in front of the entire school... the entire wizarding world, if that's where you wanted it. I love showing off talent." Harry managed a choking laugh and pulled Draco back to him crushing their lips together furiously.
"Oh, my god! Did you clean...?" Draco was momentarily puzzled.
"Oh, no, I can't do that in my room. I need to do that though." Severus agreed quietly, both to hurry Draco along as well as to remind the boys he was there.
"Are you going to get it all out okay?"
"Harry, it's only been two and half hours. The potion is good for twenty-four. Besides, I slowed my digestion before dinner last night. It will all come up fine." Draco assured him.
"Okay... but you better have Sev help, or you'll suffocate."
"Sev?" Draco asked, smirking. "He lets you call him Sev?"
"He doesn't *let* me, but that doesn't stop me from doing it." Harry told him, kissing him again and struggling out of bed, despite how tired he still was.
"Alright, that's enough of that!" Severus snapped "Draco, if you need my help just call."
"You're not going to go help him?!" Harry accused.
"Harry... I'm a bit of a veteran at this...I don't really need help." Draco soothed, taking the offered vials from the potions professor.
Harry tried to get breakfast down with the background sound of Draco cleaning himself out. And failed.
"How can you eat with that noise?" He asked Severus, who was eating calmly.
"We've done this a few times, I'm used to it." Harry shook his head and made his way into the bathroom, intent on making it easier for Draco if he could.
Two minutes to seven Harry, Draco and Severus (all properly dressed) stood in a circle, ready to apparate back to Hogsmead; Sirius and Remus would be there to meet them and they would walk back to Hogwarts. They apparated behind the Shrieking Shack where Sirius and Remus were reclining behind a tree.
"There you all are! How did it go?" Sirius asked immediately. Harry laughed and allowed Sirius to walk circles around him to confirm that he was alright. Remus did likewise then did quick circles around the other two. They exchanged glances but said nothing.
"So, do we check out?"
"Besides the fact that you look like absolute crap, and obviously haven't slept. Yeah, you're fine." Sirius decided. Remus was holding the back door to the Shack open.
"Shall we?" He inquired.
Back at Hogwarts they all unanimously decided to get some sleep and have their own little Christmas celebration later, but as they were headed to the dungeons, Sirius pulled Harry aside.
"Go on up to my quarters and wait for me, Draco. I won't be long, I promise.” Draco nodded and stumbled along the corridor.
"Harry... what were you up to last night...? I'm sorry to be blunt but all three of you, especially Draco, smell so strongly of not just sex but so many different people that I can't even sort it out." Remus whispered. Harry yawned.
"Can we talk about this when I've gotten some sleep? I promise, I'll tell you everything tomorrow morning."
"Why not tonight?"
"Because we're having *our* Christmas party tonight." Harry reminded him unsuccessfully trying to stifle a yawn. Neither Sirius nor Remus looked happy and both sighed, looking at each other, absolutely sober and completely unhappy.
"Alright, but first thing in the morning. I'll I want to know now is this: is there any danger to any of your lives as a result of this unexplained sexual activity?"
"No."
"All your partners were one hundred percent clean?" Remus asked suspiciously.
"No."
"Then how do you know you haven't picked up anything?!" Sirius hissed. Harry winced; his head was hurting too much for this.
"Look, we all cleaned ourselves out early this morning. We're completely and wholly clean, but will probably test later just to make sure. May I please go to bed?" He snapped. Satisfied for the time being they nodded and exchanged hugs before parting to their separate quarters.
Harry was dressed very different than he usually was. He was wearing a white turtleneck, lose black pants and a dark emerald robe around his shoulders. Draco smiled at his lover, wrapping his arms around him and smiling.
"You look stunning." He decided quietly, nuzzling his neck. Harry rotated in his arms.
"And you look no less so." Harry smiled down at him in awe and love and wondered just how Draco managed to bounce back so easily; the things that had been done to him, it was an absolute wonder that he wasn't a complete mess. Harry was forced to speculate on how much of that was carefully hidden pain. Draco smiled, his cheeks turning a sweet shade of pink that offsetting his soft blue shirt and black dress slacks.
"Maybe you should go by yourself? I don't think..."
"Nonsense!" Harry interrupted sharply. "You and Severus are both coming with me. If Remus and Sirius don't like it, that's their problem!" Draco sighed, recognizing that the battle was lost before it had begun. They remained in front of the mirror for a few minutes, ignoring the whistles and catcalls issuing from the silver surface. Moments later they were startled out of their companionable silence by a soft cough. The knight was peeking around the room's sole frame.
"Professor Snape is here." He announced. Draco made another last-ditch attempt to get out of the Christmas party but Harry pulled him to the door insistently and they met Severus on the other side. Picking up a bag of packages, Harry pushed Draco out the door.
"You two are looking nice this evening." Severus commented a little dryly.
"You're not looking half bad yourself, Professor." Harry returned, and he wasn't just flattering him. Severus had his long hair pulled back into a lose ponytail at the base of his neck, dressed in a green sweater and lose black pants that looked suspiciously like silk. Severus said nothing but Harry was becoming accustomed to that fact that in the halls, Severus Snape was the Severus Snape that had taught all his potion's classes for six years. He was not the Severus Snape that had come to be a close friend. Harry led them unerringly through the deserted halls, with a sufficient amount of care, he opened the secret passage leading to Remus, and Sirius' shared quarters.
Sirius was sitting on the bed and glaring at his lover while Remus ranted on about the state of the room, while he pushed furniture out of the way and fixed a few decorations on their small tree which had been knocked askew. Harry laughed as he came through the door. Remus turned and smiled brightly, casting one last sour glare at his lover before rushing foreword to greet his guests.
"Sorry about the state of the room, Sirius...." His sentence trailed into a growl, but he shook it off quickly and exchanged it for a smile. "I hope you all are feeling more rested." He commented, surprising Draco by pulling him into a friendly embrace. The blonde stammered a bit before stepping slightly behind Harry, eyeing the werewolf with distrust. Remus only smiled and turned to Severus, but before he could take two steps, Severus pushed his own bag of parcels in the other man's arms.
"Yes, it's good to be seeing you again too." He stated a bit dryly before giving Remus a look that clear said 'touch me and you die.’ Remus got the picture and took Harry bag before turning to leave them under the tree. Harry was laughing quietly and Sirius was about to fall off the bed. "It wasn't *that* funny you mangy--"
"Severus!" Harry snapped, though Sirius really didn't seem to mind.
"Yeah, I love you too man." he replied, sending Severus into a dark glare, Harry returned it and eventually the older man subsided slightly; they could both sit there and glare at each other all night and it would do little good.
"Fine..." The potion's master muttered. "But… You owe me!" He hissed in Harry's general direction.
"I think we're just about even." Harry returned and for a moment the old hostilities were back full force and Severus found himself standing off with a taller version of the Gryffindor that had plagued his classroom for six years. Harry sighed and turned away. "Let's not fight tonight, Sev." Severus snorted.
"I don't know who gave you permission to call me that, but you might want to stop."
"Or what?" They were teasing each other now and the room had relaxed.
"Or I might start calling you something equally stupid." Harry's shoulder's bounced as he slid an arm around Draco's waist and led him over to the coach.
"Go ahead. Believe me, I've been called too many stupid things to mind, Sev." Draco elbowed him in the ribs a little and stifled a laugh.
"You're pushing too hard, Harry... he's going to tear you apart." Draco whispered softly. Harry only smiled at him, then pulled him a little closer, and looked up at their hosts. Remus snapped out of his contemplative reverie and smiled at them.
"Right, probably want to get started huh? I had dinner brought up." Remus declared a little awkwardly.
"Well, social obligations done, I think I will go make up for some lost sleep. Harry, Draco... Remus, Sirius. Goodnight." He inclined his head to each of the various guests before leaving the room. The tension in the room dropped drastically.
"Harry? I need to talk to you. Alone." Remus told him quietly. Harry nodded, already anticipating the questions. He kissed Draco on the forehead, who in turn set a pleading look on him. Harry stroked his head reassuringly and followed Remus into a separate drawing room. Draco watched him leave longingly, thinking perhaps he should have gone with Severus.
"I don't bite." Sirius told him, sensing his discomfort. Draco reluctantly turned to face him only to see Sirius chewing on the dog bone Severus had given him. He just barely stifled a laugh.
"So...? How did you and Harry meet?" Sirius asked after a moment of uncomfortable silence. Draco's guards flew back up and he shrugged carelessly.
"It's sort of a long story..." He said noncommittally. Sirius caught the hint but decided to push it anyway.
"Well, knowing Remy, I'm sure we have time..." Draco glared a Malfoy glare at him, attempting to make the Animagi back off, but Sirius didn't.
"It just... happened." Draco said finally.
"You know, Draco... I haven't any qualms with you. Maybe with your father, but you are not your father. If Harry sees something in you-- and trust me, he does-- then I'm going to do my damn best to find it as well. You obviously mean something to my godson... and I'm going to do my best to make you feel welcome, but you've got to work with me a little." Draco starred at him like he had suddenly grown a second head. However he was saved from having to make any comment and Harry and Remus came back into the room.
Harry followed Remus into the study, not with any sort of apprehension but a calm and even a sort of joy at being able to talk to Remus again.
"Alright, Harry. You have some explaining to do. And while you're doing that, I'm going to run a tester on you and make sure you didn't pick anything up from your little escapade." He growled, motioning to a seat. Harry recounted the events of the night before with a professional detachment so as not to start crying again. He purposefully left out the most of his feelings on the matter though he did comment on the 'cleaning' he had received that morning. Remus was so shocked that he nearly dropped his detector crystal.
"So what are you going to do with that thing?" He asked finally, voice warming a little once away from the gruesome topic. Remus visibly shook himself and placed the small round crystal in the boy's hand.
"Here, just hold this for a few minutes. I'm going to give you each one of these and I want you to use them any time you get into such a situation. Don't neglect the cleaning though, that's still a good idea. You hold it for about five minutes; if it turns pink you should do another cleaning and check again. If it's green, you’re absolutely fine, blue means your a little sick-- like a cold or something-- but if it turns red you find me immediately. If it's black...you didn't use it soon enough." Remus told him, also very professional for the same reasons.
"I take it black is bad." Harry commented.
"Black means you’re going to die, Harry. Don't let it get to black. Red means you've been infecting and need a cure immediately."
"Infected with what? And I thought some STD's don't have a cure, namely AID's, which I assume you are currently checking for." He was peering at the little crystal between his fingers watching the tints change drastically.
"In the Muggle world AIDS doesn't have a cure, however we as wizards do, but only if it's sought early enough; once it's past a certain point we can't fix it either." Harry nodded absently. His hand was become almost unbearably hot. Remus touched his hand then nodded.
"That's how you can tell it's done. Open your hand." Harry complied, looking at the crystal curiously. It was swirling green causing the werewolf to sigh in relief. He took the crystal away and set it in a box with two others, which he handed to Harry and motioned that they should head back out.
Remus was silently mulling over the information Harry had given him and felt disgust rise in his chest. He looked over to Draco and felt honestly sorry for him as well as amazed. How could the boy have been through so much? He cuddled into Sirius' arms and watched as Harry slid his arms around Draco's waist and pulled him close. Draco sighed contentedly and nestled into his side, and ignoring the other occupants in the room fell asleep quickly. Remus placed his head in Sirius' lap and allowed the larger man to stroke his head as he too fell asleep, troubled thoughts giving him rest for the moment.
Harry and Sirius were quiet for several long moments, as their lover's slept. So it was that when Harry spoke, it almost sounded as though he had screamed.
"May I ask you a question, Sirius?"
"You just did." His godfather answered, eyes twinkling in amusement. Harry chuckled softly.
"May I ask you another question, after I finish this one?" Sirius returned his chuckle and nodded.
"The first night you two got here, when Remus started...nibbling on my ear... that didn't bother you at all? To see your lover with your godson?" Sirius sobered up for a moment then took a deep breath and returned to stroking Remus' head.
"Remus and I have been through so much... alright, long story for you.... Stop me if it gets to be too much information." He smiled weakly at his godson, memories already rushing him and bringing a moist sparkle to his eyes. "You may not want to know this, but your father and I were lovers as well as best friends. It wasn't ever anything serious, just two young boys experimenting. Half way through the first year we brought Remus into our 'little love nest’, as he was fond of calling it. We were so relaxed about sex at that time... Gods, we changed partners so many times I couldn't even count them, but we always went back to each other and we were real lose on 'sex among friends'. Peter wanted nothing to do with our 'demented love triangle' though he of course remained a close friend. Then James met your mother. Sweet little Lily Evans." He shook his head a little, remembering the young girl hanging nervously on James Potter's arm. "She was something, and she was so surprised to be going out with James Potter Gryffindor seeker and all around good guy, that she wouldn't even talk to me for the longest time, afraid that she had upset me somehow. James abandoned us sexually and became completely monogamous. He loved her so much.... Well anyway, Remus and I just kept going as we always had, bedding whomever we damn well pleased and spending the rest of the nights together. Our beds were not empty much, I'm surprised we don't have any children yet! Well, by our seventh year we'd calmed down a bit and spent more time with each other than with the rest of the school, but we never were particular and were never hurt when the other was off sleeping in someone else's bed. Disregarding my time in Azukaban we remained that way, though being in our thirties, we really have mostly stopped. So when Remus started 'nibbling' on your ear I was okay with it because I was used to it. So no, it didn't really bother me." Harry stared at him incredulously.
"And you tease me about being such a playboy!" He accused. Sirius laughed a bit and Harry continued. "You mean to tell me that had Remus taken me to *your* bed you wouldn't have minded?"
"I wouldn't have stayed in the room past anything even resembling kissing, but no I wouldn't have minded."
"Would you have stayed in the room if it had been someone else?" Harry asked, eyes narrowing. Sirius laughed a little louder though made a conscious effort to quiet his voice when Remus stirred on his lap.
"If it was okay with them, sure I would have." Harry's jaw dropped. Shaking his head, he turned to other subjects.
Sirius and Harry remained on the couch and talked for a long time about little nothings and big nothings. At some point, Remus had woken up, kissed his lover goodnight, nearly kissed Harry before he remembered that Harry wasn't his to touch anymore before stumbling off to bed. Sirius watched him go with a slightly wistful expression and Harry decided that it was time to go.
"Draco... Draco, love. Come on, up with you now!" Draco groaned and stumbled to his feet waving weakly at Sirius before leaning haphazardly against his lover and trying to go back to sleep. Harry laughed and lifted him into his arms. The halls were deserted anyway as no one else from Slythrin had stayed for the holidays.