17. SOME THINGS DON'T CHANGE
Lucius and Harry landed safely in the Headmaster's office in more or less the same place they had left from, with Dumbledore twinkling at them in welcome. The veela gently woke his small burden and Harry freed himself from his embrace, looking around.
The first person he saw was Remus, who looked mildly uncomfortable and very nervous as their eyes locked, as if he wasn't sure that he should really be there.
"Uncle Remus," Harry exclaimed, hugging him fiercely before quickly stepping back with a blush and a small tremor.
"Harry." A relieved smile spread over the werewolf's face and he grasped Harry's hand to squeeze it briefly. "I'm glad you are back, cub. Are you okay? I was so worried when Lucius got the call and then I remembered." He gulped, tightening his other hand into a fist.
"I will be." Harry smiled carefully before freeing his hand to look around the room.
Lucius had taken a seat next to a very tall young man with light brown hair and impressive turquoise eyes, who was looking at Harry as if he was a very delicious sort of food. Harry blushed, quickly turning away, his eyes finding the black eyes of his Potion's Master.
"Professor,..." he trailed of uncertainly as Severus' expression didn't change in the least, sadly lowering his head - so Severus, his best-friend in the past, hated him now.
"I was under the impression, Mr. Potter, that we were on a first name basis," the tall man stated, smirking as Harry's head snapped up. "Come here, brat. How could you believe that I would be able to hate you?"
Harry gratefully buried his head in the black robes, taking a deep breath of the familiar smell of herbs and potions' fumes as Severus closed his arms around his young friend.
"You did a very credible imitation," Harry murmured. "I was really afraid."
"Forgive the bitterness of an old man, Harry," Severus asked. "I could never hate the real you. Forgive me for being blind and blinded."
"You are not old," Harry protested.
"I see you didn't argue me being bitter." Severus chuckled, gently running his fingers through Harry's hair. "I missed you, Harry, and this will be the only time you'll ever hear me say something along those lines, so you better remember it well."
Harry laughed at that, hugging the older man once more. "Can we still be friends?"
"As long as you don't expect me to go gallivanting around with your other friends or send you inconsequential letters during class, I'm sure that can be arranged," Severus drawled.
Harry sighed in relief, snuggling into the older man.
Dumbledore cleared his throat, accompanying this sound with one last loud slurp from his cup of tea. "May I introduce you to Sébastien DeLamare?"
The slender, sinewy young man next to Lucius stood with a flourish, sending Harry a brilliant smile before taking his hand and kissing the back of it lightly, in much the same way as Sirius had done at their first meeting.
"I'm delighted to finally meet you, Harry. I've heard quite a lot about you," Sébastien greeted him in a very sensual and alluring voice, which had the hint of a French accent. "Though, reality belies all those descriptions."
Harry blushed, pulling back his hand and hiding it in the folds of his robes, carefully taking a step back.
"Harry, is something the matter?" Sébastien asked, furrowing his brow in concern. "I didn't mean to offend you."
"I love Sirius," Harry whispered. "I love him. Why isn't he here? Is he dead?"
There was a brief but profound silence and then Dumbledore answered with one single word that threatened to shatter Harry's entire world, "Yes."
"What?" Harry demanded, looking from Dumbledore to Lucius, then to Remus, who looked almost as shocked as Harry himself. "You're lying."
"I understand that this is a hard blow for you, Harry, but you will have to accept the truth," Dumbledore replied solemnly.
"No," Harry protested. "I don't believe you. Sirius isn't dead. I would feel it! Wouldn't I damn well feel it?! Lucius?!"
"Harry... believe us. Sirius Black is dead," Lucius answered with an impassive face.
Harry clenched his hands, straining against the order. "This is unfair, and you know it. If what you say is true, why would you have to fall back on such cheap tricks? Where's his body? How did he die? I want to visit his grave."
"Harry, I apologise and take back my order," Lucius replied earnestly.
The black-haired young man breathed a sigh of relief. "He's not dead. I know he isn't so why isn't he here?"
"Harry, take a seat, all right?" Lucius motioning the elf closer.
"Why isn't he here?"
"You see, Harry," Dumbledore started, while Lucius gently embraced the distraught Gryffindor. "We hadn't anticipated that you would fall in love at all, much less with Sirius Black."
"Did you think I would fall in love with my dad?" Harry asked incredulously. "Or that I would try to steal Lucius from Narcissa?"
"Yes, well, Harry, I'm sure you will be able to find love with Sébastien here and get over your crush." the Headmaster twinkled at him and Harry's hands curled into fists.
"I want to know what happened to Sirius," he pressed out. "Please, just tell me, Lucius, please?"
He shyly nuzzled the blond's neck, putting his arms around him. Lucius' eyes dilated slightly and Sébastien growled with jealousy.
"Black is serving his life sentence in Azkaban, Harry," Lucius cautiously embraced the small elf a little tighter as Harry stiffened. "You wouldn't be safe with him."
"Why?" Harry whispered, "I don't understand, Lucius, why?"
"Do you know what a secret keeper is?" Lucius asked gently, tucking Harry's head under his chin as the small submissive gave a shaky nod. "Severus warned your parents that the Dark Lord was after them and they went into hiding. They asked Black to be their secret keeper. He betrayed them to the Dark Lord and when Pettigrew cornered him, he not only killed him but also blasted the street, killing a dozen Muggles. All that was left of Pettigrew was a finger."
"But..." Harry closed his eyes tightly. "He loved my father, they were like brothers."
"That's what everyone thought, Harry," Remus spoke up in a hoarse voice. "But he must have changed sides without anyone noticing. Professor Dumbledore offered to be the secret keeper for your parents, but James insisted on Black. And since Voldemort found you... I'm sorry, cub, but the Sirius you and I knew doesn't exist anymore."
Harry sobbed, his wings coming out to shield him from everyone in the room, as he slipped from Lucius' arms and curled up on the floor.
"Harry, I know this is not easy for you," Dumbledore said after a while. "But I'm sure Sébastien will take good care of you."
"You know nothing," Harry said after a long silence and got up slowly. "So don't pretend you do, Headmaster. I love Sirius and I can't just turn it off because it doesn't suit your plan. I have to think about this."
He shakily made his way over to the door, forcing his legs to obey his will, and then hid in one of the classrooms, opening the window wide. No! No, no, no, no! This just couldn't be true. Sirius loved his parents, he would have died for his father. Sirius hated the Dark Arts, hated everything with only a touch of darkness with a passion. There must have been a terrible misunderstanding! Or maybe not, the traitorous little voice in his head supplied, that explains why Remus never mentioned him, why Lucius was so adamant about them leaving immediately, why he seemed so shocked when he had found out about them. It explained why Remus had looked so pained and almost desperate as he returned and had said that he loved Sirius. It explained a lot, but it didn't change the fact that Harry loved Sirius and that he wouldn't give up on him before knowing all the facts.
He quickly got up, brushing away the tears that still rolled down his cheeks and retracted his wings. He needed to find Severus.
However, he didn't get very far before someone called for him to stop. Harry halted immediately, nervously looking over his shoulder as Sébastien caught up with him, smiling once again.
"Harry, I was looking for you. Are you feeling better?" there was real concern in his voice and Harry decided that he liked the young man, though a small part of him couldn't stop resenting him for wanting to replace Sirius.
"Not really," he answered. "Please, can I go? I need to sort some things out for myself."
"Of course. I understand that." Sébastien rubbed Harry's back gently and the elf gratefully soaked up the friendly contact. "I didn't know that you had already found someone and I apologise for being so insensible. I know how it is to lose someone you really love." A look of sadness swept over his face and Harry felt the sudden urge to comfort him, leaning up to shyly caress the older man's cheek.
"I'm sorry," Harry whispered. "I'm sorry you lost your mate."
Sébastien gave him a small, sad smile before answering, "It was of no one's fault; his time had come. He was already very ill when I met him. The healers didn't know what he had and they could do little to slow down the process. We had many beautiful months together, almost three years and I know that he had a happy life and did everything he wanted to do."
"What was his name?" Harry asked softly.
"Aaron, Aaron Dassine." Sébastien had the same wistful expression on his face once again before he focused on Harry. "Harry, I don't want you to believe that you are only a replacement for him. No one could replace him, just as no one could replace you. If you want to, I'm certain that I could give you my love and I will protect you and always be there for you. Or if you don't want that, we can always be friends. You can always come to me, Harry, whether you need someone to love you or just someone to talk. I will be there."
"Thank you." Harry quickly wiped away the tears that had started to flow once again. "I think I'd like that, if it doesn't bother you."
Sébastien chuckled lightly, leaning down to kiss Harry's cheek. "You are sweet. It won't be a bother at all. Now, where can I take you?"
"I can walk by myself," Harry protested, still blushing bright red.
"I don't doubt that, but it seems like a good idea to me to keep an eye on you." Sébastien laughed. "I heard you have the habit of attracting trouble."
Harry grumbled, displeased, but led the way down to the dungeons and Severus' office. "So what do you do?" Harry asked mostly to say something, but also because he wanted to know.
"Oh, I'm a healer in the research department," the other wizard answered. "It's a pretty cool job, if I do say so myself. We work in small teams with up to five wizards or witches and look for new cures, spells, potions and ingredients for potions; and then we test them. Sometimes we also try to gather information on certain illnesses and research old methods in the hopes of finding something that might help the patients."
Harry nodded absently before posing another question. "What kind of creature are you? You don't smell like a veela or an elf."
Sébastien chuckled. "I'm a siren, you know like those women in the fairytales that attracted the mariners with their voices and made them crash into rocks. Well, only that I'm male and that I don't sink ships in my free time."
"Oh," Harry said. "You have a nice voice."
"Thank you." The young man chuckled at Harry's blush. "I like your ears."
Harry blushed even more, fastening his steps to escape the embarrassment, but the siren stayed at his side, still smirking in amusement as they reached the door to Severus' office and as he said his good-byes.
"Harry," Severus greeted him neutrally as he opened the door, ushering Harry inside and almost immediately wrapping him in his arms as the door closed. "Are you okay?"
"I don't think so," Harry whispered, leaning heavily against him.
"You know that I never liked Black much, but I really wished it hadn't turned out like this, if only because of you," Severus murmured, pulling him to his chest.
"Severus, I can't accept it just like this." Harry looked pleadingly at him. "I can't. Sirius isn't like this. He wouldn't have become a Death Eater, never. Not Sirius." The muscles in Severus' jaw tightened and Harry looked up at him. "I didn't mean it like that, but you're different, Severus. You never hated the Dark Arts like Sirius does. It doesn't make sense."
"He changed after Lucius took you away," Severus offered. "He was desperate to find you. I agree that Black despised the Dark Arts, but I also think that he would have been willing to go to any length necessary to get you back. He and your father were close, but Black loved you, Harry. If he thought that the Dark side could help him find you, he wouldn't have hesitated long."
Harry bit his bottom lip, trying to find fault in Severus' logic. "I still have questions."
"I will try to answer them as best as I can," the Potion's Master answered tenderly.
"I want him to answer my questions," Harry whispered and the taller man's arms tightened around him. "Will you come with me to Azkaban?"
"Harry, Azkaban is no place for you," Severus argued. "You can't just walk in there for a little weekend trip."
"Please, Severus," Harry begged. "You're the only one whom I could ask. I don't know Sébastien and Remus scares me and Lucius wouldn't allow it..."
"With good reason," Severus retorted.
"It hurts so much." Harry whimpered. "I want to have answers, answers only he can give me. It hurts so much and I want to know at least the reason why."
"Can't you just forget about him?" Severus asked hopefully, sighing in resignation as Harry shook his head. "He might already be insane. He was imprisoned almost immediately after your parents' death."
"I know." Harry shuddered. "But I just have to try, Severus. Wouldn't you want answers?"
"You know there will be many Dementors and if I remember correctly that your reaction to them is not too favourable," Severus impressed on Harry, who nodded shakily. "Very well, I want you to rest. It has been barely three hours for you since Pettigrew tried to rape you. I want you to have at least a bit more distance. I'll pull some strings to get us a visitor's permit."
"Thank you, Severus." Harry leaned up to kiss his cheek. "Can I stay here? I don't want to go back to that room where Ma... Draco..."
Severus hesitated briefly, but then led Harry into his private chambers. "Remus wanted to come by later, but we'll stay out here, alright?"
"So you are still together?" Harry grinned up at him as the Potion's Master blushed, a barely noticeable pink staining his pale cheeks. "I knew it!"
"That better stays between us," Severus growled, sending Harry a stern glare.
Harry only chuckled and disappeared in Severus' bedroom, cautiously curling up under the heavy black blankets.
"Sleep, Harry." Severus tenderly tucked the delicate elf in. "I won't allow anyone to hurt you. I'll take care of everything."
"Thank you, Severus. At least, I still have you." Harry sighed as he was gently kissed on the forehead before the professor left the room, softly closing the door behind him.