"Harry, do you want to come see Lily and James off?" Remus called out, Lily and James all packed and ready to move to their new house.
Harry came down, hugging the dragon plush Draco had gotten for him in first year, his body language keeping him small as he looked up at them. It was now the Christmas holiday, about a month after Harry had been rescued from Dumbledore, and he still couldn't speak to anyone, but he was still doing better.
"You're always welcome to come over," Lily smiled down at Harry, though she was a little sad that her first child didn't want to live with them, she understood how hard life must have been for him. If he felt safer with Sirius and Remus he should stay with them.
"We know you're going to continue living here, but we hope you can think of ours as a part of your home too. We love you." James held out a house key to Harry. "No need to let us know before hand, even if we're not home. This is your key."
Harry nodded, taking the key, hiding his face behind the dragon a little. He still felt a little guilty about not living with them with how clearly they were struggling with not being as close to Harry as they wanted to be, if he could control how he felt then he would trust them, and be able to talk to everyone, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't.
"This feels like far too serious of a goodbye for people we're going to see again tomorrow." Remus shook his head as he opened the door for him.
"Well we're not living with you any more." James' voice was a little defensive as he gave Sirius a rather tight hug, Lily rolling her eyes behind his back.
"Thank you for letting us stay with you all, seriously." Lily shook Remus' hand, overly formal as it may be, this was Lily and James moving out for good, however often they may visit in the future.
"With how long the Potters took me in, this was the least we could do. It's nicer now we live closer." Sirius grinned.
Indeed, unlike the hour's trip it used to be between the two households, Dumbledore having insisted that the Potters not be linked to the floo network for safety, they now lived only a few doors down from each other. Close enough that without even trying they would be hard pressed not to see each other every week if not every day. It was an area that suited James and Lily better than Godric's Hollow had ever been, they had been fools when they trusted Dumbledore's words on where would be safer.
"We're going to go to their house for dinner tomorrow to celebrate their new house. If you don't want to come, that's fine, but I don't want to leave you alone during dinner time, so when we're leaving choose if you want to go to Lily and James' or the Malfoys'." Remus explained to Harry who nodded.
Harry went back to his room, where he was writing a response to Fred and George. Harry had never really been close to them, but it was still true that they had helped him out, and he enjoyed exchanging letters. Neither party exchanged much that was personal, mostly the pranks the twins pulled and how Harry was doing in school or with his new house.
Fred, George, Ginny, and Arthur moved to France after the trial, the children now attending Beauxbaton, and it seemed they were now having a much better time than they did in England with their other relatives. Apparently Arthur wasn't allowed to use much more than basic magic at the moment, with constant check ins from aurors, and they had had a few visits from the eldest 2 of their siblings.
From what Fred and George wrote, it seemed like Hermione and Ginny were getting closer through the letters they exchanged, though Harry neither knew nor asked what was in them.
The Malfoys were currently on holiday in Iceland, though they were due to come back that very day, but Harry still bitterly missed Draco. Harry's speech may have met a serious road block, he was at least no longer as reliant on the presence of Draco as he was shortly after being returned to normal, though that's not to say Harry didn't prefer the time the two of them spent together.
-----
"You want to have dinner with the Malfoys?" Sirius checked, Harry nodding.
Neither man could say they were surprised with Harry's choice, it had been a while since the two boys saw each other and dinner would likely take a while, which Harry might well struggle to handle seeing how awkward he was with Lily and James, though it couldn't be said they weren't a little sad for the parents.
"I'll floo you there and then come back and we'll go. Let us know before we come to pick you up if you want to stay." Remus kissed Sirius on the cheek as he passed, taking Harry by the hand as they stepped into the fireplace.
It was a fault with such fast methods of transportation that Harry was legally allowed to do at the moment that they required spoken commands. Almost every other type of magic could be done non-verbally, why not this one?
Harry visibly perked up when he saw Draco, letting Remus give him a peck on the forehead before running over to him.
"We'll let you know with the mirror if he falls asleep." Narcissa waved Remus goodbye as he flooed back to the Lupin household.
"All good?" Sirius held his hand out for Remus to leave the fireplace, dusting him off.
"Of course, they looked a little tired, but the boys lost all signs of it when they saw each other." Remus smiled fondly as he remembered how Sirius used to react the same when when he saw him, how it had taken them both so long to realise their feelings were mutual he had no idea, and even less so for how James managed to put up with them.
"Let's get going then, dinner waits for no man." Sirius grinned.
"Except James, frequently." Remus laughed.
-----
"Actually," Lily broke the silence filling the room after they finished dessert, James' dinner being excellent as usual, "We have something to announce. I'm pregnant."
"Congratulations." Sirius and Remus said in almost perfect unison.
"You don't think Harry will think we're replacing him?" James asked the main worry the couple had, sure, they hadn't planned to have another baby so soon after becoming free, not that they were complaining, but it wouldn't be strange for someone in Harry's position to see it as a personal rejection.
"I think he might need the same amount of talking to as any older sibling, but I'm sure he'll know he won't be replaced before the baby comes, don't worry." Remus said.
((A/N: I know I said that I wouldn't update anything else until the oneshot is released, and it's not yet, though it is already longer than your typical novel, but I am getting help from a friend for the current part as I know absolutely nothing about America and that's where the characters are for a bit. I thought in the meantime nobody would complain about a sneaky surprise chapter. I don't know if I'll upload anything on Christmas day, so this is everyone's early Christmas present. I love you all!))
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Changed (Drarry)
FanfictionAgony. White hot agony that seemed to burn every inch of him, itching to get him to rip his own skin off, but he couldn't move, he couldn't even scream, but he could vaguely hear people laughing at his torment and quiet whimpers from beside him. Har...
