“Can we go flying this morning, Uncle Sev?” Harry asked as the three made their way up to the Great Hall for breakfast the next morning. Thanks to Dreamless Sleep, Harry and Draco both slept through the night and all three woke the next morning feeling well rested for the first time in weeks.

“As long as you two promise not to try any stunts, I don’t see why not,” the man replied. “But if you try them…”

Harry sighed. “I know, I know…our brooms and our bums are yours…”

Chuckling, Severus ruffled the boy’s ever messy hair. “Just behave, alright?”

“We will! Maybe Beau and Rae can go with us…”

“I’m afraid that won’t be possible. They will be taking some tests this morning to see where they stand to make sure that we put them in the right classes. But perhaps they might find some time before dinner.”

“Yes sir,” he replied, before heading over to the small table that had been set up for the four students.

Severus looked down at his other son who was still standing by his side. “Is something wrong, dragon?”

“Do I have to go over there, Uncle Sev? Can’t I eat in your quarters?” the boy asked.

Sighing, Severus knelt down in front of him. “No, you my not eat in my quarters. Miss Kelly is a member of your House and one of your year mates. You will be seeing quite a bit of her, so you may as well get used to it now. I will give her the House rules lecture as soon as I can, however if she continues to give you problems, you know that you can come talk to me.”

“She hit me for no reason!”

“And I’m sure that her guardian has already dealt with it. But remember our House rules…”

Draco sighed dramatically. “Present a united front.”

“That’s right,” Severus said, pulling the boy into a hug. He would not have even attempted it had they not been out of sight of those in the Great Hall. “I’m proud of the way you handled it yesterday, dragon.” Draco nodded and pulled away, walking into the Great Hall and joining the other three. Sighing, Severus stood and went to his seat.

He picked up his paper and swore loudly. “Of all the…that damn idiot!” he exclaimed and every head in the room turned toward him. Severus looked over at the headmaster. “Albus, I need to speak to you immediately,” he said, getting up and leaving the room without waiting to see if the older man followed.

Once the headmaster had left the room, Harry darted over to the big table and grabbed the paper, bringing it back over to his seat so that they could see what had upset Severus so badly. There were two articles on the front page: one about Lucius Malfoy dying in Azkaban and the other about a murderer named Sirius Black escaping from Azkaban. When Draco saw the article about Lucius, he jumped up and ran from the room.

“What’s wrong?” Beau asked, glancing over Harry’s shoulder at the paper. Harry handed the paper to the older teen, who passed it on to Rae without even reading it.

Rae gave him a very pointed look, but quickly skimmed over the article about Lucius. “Lucius Malfoy…former Death Eater...imprisoned for using Unforgivable on Harry Potter and for kidnapping Orion Potter after birth…found dead in his cell in Azkaban. The baby believed to be Orion really Draco Malfoy died the same day that the Potter twins were born…Draco Malfoy really Orion Potter, now Orion Snape…” She looked up at Harry. “Draco…Orion…huh?”

Harry sighed. “His real name is Orion, but he’s always gone by Draco, so it’s kinda habit now. And Uncle Sev calls him dragon, which is what Draco means. I mean, my last name has changed too, but people will always consider me Harry Potter,” he said with a shrug.

“I guess it was kinda a shock to find out that way that the man you thought was your father died,” Beau said. “What does the other article say, Rae?”

“You need to learn how to read, you overgrown Rebel,” the young witch snapped.

Harry looked up at him. “You don’t know how to read?”

Beau shot the girl a look before turning to Harry. “No. I just couldn’t seem to get the hang of it.”

“What do you do about school?”

“I was in and out of school growing up, but I have a good memory. So anything we did in class I could remember. My teachers just thought I had trouble seeing. I’m going to have to learn how to read this year to take the OWLs. I’ll have to find someone to teach me.”

“I bet Uncle Sev will…or maybe my friend Hermione. She’s brilliant!”

Beau chuckled. “I’ll think about it. Rae…are you going to tell me what is in that article?”

She sighed. “I will, but when you learn how to read I’m going to make you read the paper to me every morning.” She picked up the paper again and started to read. “Notorious mass murder Sirius Orion Black escaped from Azkaban…”

“Hey…” Harry interrupted her. “I think he was a friend of my mum and dad. My brother is named after him…”

“Are you going to let me read?” she asked sharply.

“Sorry…”

Making a face at him, she continued to read. “Black killed Peter Pettigrew and twelve muggles…only found Pettigrew’s finger…handed James and Lily Potter over to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named…”

“Rae, I think you should stop reading,” Beau said softly, looking down at Harry who had gone pale. After a moment he too got up and left the room.

--

Severus dropped into his usual chair into the headmaster’s office. “Albus…why didn’t Black get a trial?”

Albus sat behind his desk. “Black was the Secret-Keeper. He’s the only one who could have handed them over to Voldemort. He was also found at the scene where he murdered Peter and all those muggles.”

“That doesn’t explain why he didn’t get a trial. Didn’t he claim that it wasn’t him? What did you do to see if he was telling the truth?”

“Weren’t you the one that said Sirius could…what was the phrase you used…ah yes, rot in hell?” Albus asked, giving Severus a look.

Severus sighed, he had known this wasn’t going to be easy. “Look, I’ve never liked Black…I still don’t like him. But I happen to think that he might be innocent and it’s not right to let an innocent man serve time in Azkaban. I was planning to come talk to you this morning anyway, but then that idiot had to go and escape.”

Albus folded his hands and looked at his Potions Master. “What evidence do you have, Severus?”

“No real evidence, but enough information to cast doubts…which will warrant an investigation. An investigation that should have happened twelve years ago.”

“Well, let me hear this information.”

“Pettigrew was an unregistered Animagus. So were Potter and Black. Pettigrew’s form was a rat. I’ve read the report. When the Aurors got to the scene there were rats fleeing. He could have easily been one of them, considering that all they found of him was a finger. Not one of the dead muggles was that badly mutilated.”

“Where did you get this information, Severus?”

Severus sighed deeply. “I spoke to Lupin yesterday. He gave me some of it. The rest I got from the Auror reports after the incident.”

“Why are you doing this now?”

“For two reasons…first and most importantly, because Lily asked me to, in a dream.”

“You still love her,” Albus said simply.

“I never stopped, old man, and you know it,” snapped Severus.

Albus nodded. “And your other reason?”

“Black is the godfather that James and Lily chose for their sons. Regardless of my feelings towards him, if he is innocent then he shouldn’t be sitting in Azkaban.”

“I’ll see what I can do, Severus, but I’m afraid that some things can’t be done until he in apprehended.”

Severus stood, something suddenly clicking in his mind. “Albus…please tell me that you didn’t ask the court not to give him a trial so that he wouldn’t be able to take Harry and the boy would have to go to the Dursleys. Tell me you didn’t subject that boy to all those years of neglect and abuse when he could have been loved and happy.” When Albus didn’t answer, Severus glared at him. “You meddling old fool! How many lives have you interfered with? How many lives have you ruined with your plans?” He turned and walked toward the door.

“Where are you going, Severus?”

“To find my sons. And you better keep your plans far away from me and my sons or I’ll take them and you’ll never find any of us.” With that he stormed from the office, slamming the door. He could sense that something had distressed both of his sons while he was talking with Albus. Now he just needed to find them and find out what was distressing them so greatly. Had they seen the article in the paper about Black? Had it been something else?

He pulled the mirror from his pocket and tried to decide which son to find first. Or were they together? Harry was could sense when Draco was upset, but his dragon had gotten fairly good at Occlumency and was probably shielding his emotions from his brother. Draco had already been upset about something this morning so it was probably best that he speak to him first. He called the boy’s name and after a moment his face appeared in the mirror. “Where are you, dragon?” he asked gently.

“In the common room,” Draco answered, sniffling.

“I’ll be there in a moment,” Severus told him, before heading toward the Slytherin common room. When he got there, he found Draco curled up on one of the sofas, hugging his knees. The boy was wiping his eyes on his robe. Severus sat beside him. “You saw the Prophet…”

Draco nodded. “Yeah…I shouldn’t be crying.”

He reached over and started rubbing the boy’s back gently. “It’s alright to cry sometimes, dragon. I do.”

“You do?” he asked.

“I cried when my mother died…and I cried when Lily died. My father was the Dursleys and Lucius combined, and even in spite of everything that he did, I cried when he died too. He was my father and even though he hated me because of my magic, I still loved him. I tried very hard to please him and to get him to love me. James had a wonderful relationship with his father. It was very much like what we’ve always had, Dragon. I was very jealous of James and I wanted that so badly with my father. When he died, I cried because we would never have that chance anymore.

“Even though Lucius wasn’t your real father, you thought he was…and you loved him, didn’t you?”

Draco nodded silently.

“Then go ahead and mourn him, little dragon. There’s nothing wrong with that.” Draco leaned against the man’s side and Severus put his arm around him, holding him close.

Severus left Draco in his quarters a short time later, reading a book, and went in search of his other son. He found Harry in the Owlery, stroking his snowy white owl. He walked up behind the boy and rested his hands on his shoulders. “What’s wrong, Harry?”

Harry sighed deeply. “We read the paper after you left. He was their friend! They even named one of their sons after him…and he…he…he turned them over to Voldemort! How could he do something like that?!”

He gently turned the boy around to face him. “The Prophet doesn’t always print the truth, Phoenix . Sometimes it prints what will sell papers. The truth is…the truth is that I don’t think Black handed your parents over to the Dark Lord. James and Black were like brothers.” He reached up and wiped away the lone tear falling down Harry’s cheek with his thumb. “Black and I hated each other in school. I still hate the man…but James named him your godfather, Harry, and Black was thrilled. He adored you and would have done nothing to harm you or your parents.”

Harry stepped forward and buried his face in Severus’ robes, wrapping his arms around the man’s waist. Severus held the boy close, giving him the comfort that he so obviously needed. That Draco had needed half an hour before. Holding the boy with one arm, Severus ran his free hand through the boy’s mop of unruly hair. It was a gesture that his mother had often used to comfort him when he was little and now he used it to comfort his sons. If only his mother could see him now.

--

Severus sat in the stands at the Quidditch pitch, watching as his sons chased a practice snitch. They had both been quiet and withdrawn for nearly two days and he had finally hauled them out here and practically ordered them to get on their brooms. Normally it wouldn’t have been a problem to get them on their brooms, but Draco was showing signs of being mildly depressed and Harry hadn’t wanted to fly without his brother.

School would be starting in a few days and he hoped that this would help get the boys out of the funk that they had been into the last couple days. Dealing with two moody teenagers was not going to help his patience in the classroom at all. And Albus was being his usual difficult self about Black and Pettigrew and more than once in the last two days of arguments with the old man, Severus’ hand had itched to use an Unforgivable. Sure there had been a time when it would have been second nature to cast an Unforgivable, but he was a changed man. He had given that up after he had unwittingly given the prophecy about Lily’s son to the Dark Lord.

Severus was pleased when he saw the two new students walk onto the pitch, brooms tucked under their arms. He had been watching them since he had met them and was pleased to find that they were general well-behaved and agreeable teenagers. Though he was a bit concerned that the auburn-haired, third year Slytherin would end up giving the Weasley twins a run for their money. From what Daniel had told him, the girl had a wide mischievous streak. He had a feeling that Beau would end up being a good friend to his sons. Over the last couple days he had noticed that the tall, muscular young man tended to treat his sons like one would treat a favorite younger brother. From what he had seen, the Hufflepuff possessed all the values that the Founder of his House had looked for in her students. Yes, these two new students would do well here.

Daniel Cole sat beside him and handed him a bottle of butterbeer. Out on the pitch, his two apprentices joined his sons in the air and the four began to talk about something.

“When do you leave?” Severus asked the man he was quickly coming to consider a friend. That in and of itself was a small miracle, because he hadn’t had anyone he could truly consider a friend since his Hogwarts days.

“Day after tomorrow,” the man answered. “ Halle ’s trying to arrange an international portkey so that she and the other three can see me before I leave…and to give Beau’s siblings a chance to say one more goodbye before the term starts. They are quite attached their brother.”

Severus nodded. “I wish you well on your assignment…and I’ll keep a close eye on your apprentices there.”

“I’d appreciate it, Severus.”

--

On September first, Severus took the four students to Platform 9 and ¾ via portkey so that they could ride the train with the rest of the students. Severus introduced the two new students to others in their year and house and then settled them both along with his sons on the train, before Apparating back to Hogwarts to await the Opening Feast. He hoped that being around their friends again would improve the mood of his sons.

Harry found Ron and Hermione alone except for a man in the corner that was sleeping, with the collar of his coat pulled up to cover his face. “Hey guys.”

“Hallo, Harry,” Ron said. “I was just telling Hermione about the girl that hit Malfoy. It was bloody brilliant, ‘Mione! Wasn’t it, Harry?”

“Ron!” Hermione fussed. “Draco is Harry’s brother, remember? I’m sure he didn’t think he brother getting hit was brilliant.”

Ron’s blushed slightly. “Sorry, Harry. I forgot for a minute.”

“It’s alright, Ron,” Harry said, settling in across from them.

“Have they been Sorted yet? Or will they be Sorted with the first years tonight?” Hermione asked.

“They got Sorted the other day. Rae’s in our year and is a Slytherin. Beau is a fifth year Hufflepuff.”

“Do they play Quidditch?” Ron questioned.

“For fun,” Harry replied. “Neither of them really wants to be on a House team, though Beau is a great beater! Oh, ‘Mione…Beau has trouble reading. I told him that you could help him out. Can you?”

Hermione sighed softly. “I’ll do what I can, but I’m taking extra classes this year, so I’m not sure if I can manage it.”

“Just try, ‘Mione.”

“Did you read about Sirius Black in the Prophet?” Harry asked them a little later that day.

“I did, mate,” Ron replied.

Hermione nodded. “I wonder what the Ministry is doing to catch him.”

“Uncle Sev thinks he may be innocent,” Harry told them.

I wish you could hear this, Padfoot, Remus thought as he caught the conversation between naps. Even with the Wolfsbane, the full moon still worked a number of him, though the potion did help.

Ron and Hermione sat up at Harry’s comment. “Why?” they asked him.

Harry closed the door and then glanced at the sleeping man before he answered them. “He said that Sirius Black and my dad were best friends…almost brothers. Sirius Black is my godfather and Uncle Sev said that he loved me very much and wouldn’t have done anything to hurt me.”

“Who does he think it is?” Hermione asked.

“He didn’t tell me, but he’s got Dumbledore looking into it.”

That was the last Remus Lupin heard as he dozed off again. When he woke again, Ron and Hermione were asking Harry about living with the Potions Master.

“It’s great. He’s not too strict, as long as we stay out of trouble. We each have our own rooms as his house, but we have to share a room in his quarters at school. My side of the room is Gryffindor and his side is Slytherin. Uncle Sev got a little mad at us because we kept using color change charms to change the color of the each others things,” Harry told them.

“What did he do?” Ron asked.

Harry laughed. “He did something so that we can’t do magic in there anymore…and then he used his own color change charms. Everything is blue and yellow!”

Remus had to fight to keep from laughing. Prongs…I told you that he would have made a great Marauder!

Just then the train stopped and everything grew dark and cold.

“I wonder if she got mad again,” Ron joked.

Remus sat up slowly, trying to listen. There was only one thing he knew that could do this: Dementors. The door to the compartment slid open and a black, hooded figure glided in, its bony hand reaching for Harry. Remus cursed himself for not keeping his wand handy as he fumbled to pull it from his pocket. He knew better! Harry slid to the floor as Remus pointed his wand at the Dementor. “Expecto Patronum!” A silvery light burst from his wand and took the form of a large wolf. It drove the dementor from the compartment. “Stay with Harry,” he told Ron and Hermione as he followed it to drive it from the train completely, as well as check on the rest of the train.

Thankfully, the Dementors had only really bothered a handful of other students, and none so badly as Harry, though Draco did look ghostly pale. After getting the train moving again and encouraging the affected students to eat some chocolate off the lunch trolley, he returned to the compartment where he had left Harry, Ron and Hermione. He retrieved some chocolate from his own personal stash and knelt beside Harry as the boy started to wake up. “Here, Harry. Eat this. It will help.”

“Thank you,” the boy whispered, nibbling on a corner of the bar of chocolate from Honeydukes.

Remus cast another Patronus charm and sent it on to Hogwarts to deliver a message to Severus about the Dementors. “You probably don’t remember me, Harry, but I was a friend of your parents,” he told the boy, trying to take his mind from the dementors. “I’m Remus Lupin and I’ll be teaching Defense at Hogwarts this year.”

Harry looked up at the man, taking in the kind eyes, sandy hair and scars on the man’s face. “’Ri’s named after you.”

“Ri? Oh yes, your brother was named after me as well as Sirius Black.”

“Is he alright?” Harry asked suddenly. ‘Ri…’

‘Yeah,’ came the weak reply through their bond.

‘Are you alright?’

‘Just a little shaky. You?’

‘I heard someone screaming and then passed out.’ Harry told his brother.

“They’re twin-talking,” Ron explained to Remus as the man helped Harry back onto the seat.

“You say it like it’s a bad thing, Ron,” Hermione said. “I’m glad that Harry finally has a family.”

“I didn’t say that I wasn’t glad that he had a family.”

The door to the compartment opened and Draco stepped inside. “Must you two argue all the time?” he asked.

“Just ignore them, ‘Ri,” Harry told him. “I do it sometimes.”

Draco sat next to his twin as Lupin handed him another piece of chocolate. “You still look pale,” Lupin said. He turned and cast another Patronus, whispering something before the silvery creature turned and bolted down the hall outside the compartment.

“What was that, Professor?” Draco asked him.

Lupin sat down facing the boys as a now quiet Ron and Hermione sat down as well. “That is a Patronus, Draco. A Patronus is a kind of positive force, and for the wizard who can conjure one, it works something like a shield, with the Dementor feeding on it, rather than him. They can also be used to send messages. The one I just sent was a message for Severus.”

“Why did you send Uncle Sev a message?”

“I thought he should know and might want to meet the two of you at the station.”

“We’re not babies!” the boy protested.

“I know, Draco, and I’m not saying that you are. But the Dementors caused Harry to pass out and you still look like you might pass out. It’s best that he checks you both over.”

The two boys sighed, making faces.

--

Severus was indeed waiting for them on the platform when they pulled into the Hogsmeade station. Not caring that there were other students around, he pulled both boys into his arms. “Are you two alright?” he asked. Both boys nodded against his chest. He looked over at Remus. “Th…Thank you, Lupin.”

“You’re welcome, Severus,” Lupin said, slinging his coat over his shoulder and following the students toward the carriages.

Once the station had cleared out, Severus knelt in front of the two boys. “Tell me what happened.”

“Harry passed out,” Draco said, trying to keep the attention away from him.

Severus looked at Harry. “What did you see? What did you hear?”

Harry sighed deeply and looked down at his trainers. “I heard a woman screaming my name…and then I saw a green flash of light.”

“Oh Merlin! You saw that?!” When Harry nodded, the Potions Master pulled the boy into his arms once more in a tight hug. “Harry, I’m so sorry, son.”

Harry looked over at his brother. “What about you?”

Draco shrugged. “Just the last beating he gave me.”

Severus pulled his other son into a hug as well. “You are both safe. I won’t let anything hurt either of you again.”