Harry Potter and the Secret Promise by SaimheofAvalon
Summary: At the end of GoF, Harry is sent home for a very specific reason – it is time for the secrets of Harry’s past to end, for a new journey to begin and for old friendships to be tested, new friendships to be formed. And, as always, Dumbledore is right, only through friendship, trust and love will the treat of Voldemort be ended.
Categories: Parental Snape > Biological Father Snape > Severitus Challenge Main Characters: .Snape and Harry (required), Draco, Hermione, Original Character, Ron, Sirius
Snape Flavour: None
Genres: Drama, General
Media Type: None
Tags: None
Takes Place: 5th summer
Warnings: None
Challenges: None
Series: None
Chapters: 39 Completed: No Word count: 124421 Read: 94745 Published: 02 Feb 2005 Updated: 05 Nov 2005
Starting Over by SaimheofAvalon
Author's Notes:
To all my reviewers – thank you.

Key: //translation of text//

Day One

It was a little after half two in the morning when Arabella and Severus returned to their rooms and settled their two sleeping infants into the bassinet that was step-up beside their bed. They had spent the two hours following Harry and Hermione becoming "new borns" discussing and making final decisions on how to raise and re-age them. There hadn't been much to decide; mainly it was three items - whether or not Arabella would breastfeed the babies, whether or not Sirius and Remus would join them at Tywyllwch and how far they could safely jump back in time.

The first decision had been hard to make - but made quickly. While none of them were entirely - emotionally - comfortable with the idea, none could dismiss the benefits of Arabella breastfeeding Harry and Hermione during their first "year." The breast milk of wizarding mothers contained properties that reinforced magical and physical bonds between mother and child; it was the basis of many of the early relationship potions. For that reason, she decided to follow through on the idea when it first occurred to her weeks earlier, regardless of the guilt she felt as a result. It was a way she could protect the children and she had to believe that Lily Potter and Anne Granger would have understood.

The second decision and been far easier to make - but took much longer to get everyone to commit to and accept. She knew she wanted Sirius and Remus to accompany them and she knew that both Sirius and Remus were chomping at the bit to spend time with the children and reclaim some of what had been lost to them. Surprisingly, Severus - by himself - hadn't been the actual problem. She'd talked to him before extending the invitation. While she could tell he disliked the idea on a personal level, he understood what it would mean to both her and Harry and wouldn't deny them. The problem had been the sheer stubbornness and reflexive antagonism between Severus and the other two. In the end, she had pulled rank as primary female in all their lives and made an executive decision - Sirius and Remus would go along with them. Amazingly, and to the obvious delight of Professor Dumbledore, all three men accepted her claim to authority over them with no arguments.

Which left only one thing to decide - how far would they turn back in time?

It was Dumbledore who first offered the solution. While the others had talked of the alternatives - none of which really were sufficient or safe enough - the Headmaster had stared at her and asked a silent question. As the current Merlin of Britain, a title he kept secret for safety reasons just as the rest of the Council of Avalon - save Arabella - did, he knew of one object that could transport them far enough and securely enough back through time. As the current Lady of Avalon, Arabella was the only other living person who knew of its existence - it was know simply as "The Veil of Time." It had been stored in a special vault in Gringotts for several hundred years and had been placed there a millennia after its existence had been long forgotten, even in legends. At her nod, Dumbledore had offered its use and been met with three gob smacked expressions. Nevertheless, it had settled the final matter and all present had retired for the rest of the night.

The rest of the night turned out to be forty-five minutes.

The wail of two hungry babies had awakened Severus and herself. She groaned and silently wished the spells that caused her body to lactate worked faster; at the moment, 12 hours seemed way to long. Luckily, however, her husband reacted quickly. He had jumped out of the bed and lifted Harry from the bassinette and immediately headed toward the kitchens where several premixed bottles were stored. Putting on her dressing robe and tossing Severus' over her arm, she reached into the bassinette and retrieved Hermione. The small girl settled slightly, her cries no longer so pitiful but still quite demanding. Tiredly, she went towards the kitchen, where she could hear Severus talking quietly to a still crying Harry.

When she entered the large room, she tossed Sev’s robe across a chair and then stopped and stared at the picture perfect moment in front of her. Her husband stood a few feet from her, cradling Harry in one arm and holding a small bottle to the baby's mouth with the other. He was swaying gently as he talked softly to his son; both were completely captivated by the other. If Harry could remember this one moment, she knew he would have no problem truly believing and accepting that Severus' loved him unconditionally. Everything about the way he was in that moment was different from how Sev usually presented himself. He wasn't still, cold or formal. His usually sarcastic tongue was talking tenderly - lovingly - to the infant in his arms. Occasionally, he would stretch his head down and place a soft kiss on Harry's forehead. When he pulled his head up, he would smile down on Harry - a big, open, smile Bella knew went clear to his eyes. Whenever Harry flapped his arms excitedly, Sev would chuckle. It was an amazingly happy sound that Bella hadn't heard in nearly fifteen years.

A frustrated cry from the infant in her arms drew both her and Severus' attention to the agitated infant. Immediately, she looked down and started to comfort the small being as she made her way toward her husband and the bottle that sat on the counter. With little fuss, she placed the bottle in Hermione's mouth before leaning over and placing a small kiss on the child's head and resuming her soft, comforting chatter to the infant. She could feel the beginnings of attachment, of love, unfurling with her chest as she gazed down on the small creature nursing hungrily.

When the girl seemed completely content and absorbed in her bottle, Bella raised her eyes to find her husband staring at her with the most intense expression. She felt a warm sensation building in her core and spreading throughout her body in reaction. It wasn't just the deep love or passion she saw shining in his black eyes, but the awe, the protectiveness and the possessiveness that overwhelmed her senses. She could feel her body moving toward him, drawn by a powerful force. She desperately wanted to touch him, feel the strength of his emotions as they rushed over her. She leaned over, careful not to crush Hermione between herself and his arm, and placed a small kiss his cheek. She then whispered in his ear, "Do you have any idea how sexy a half naked man with a baby is?"

She smirked, hearing him groan softly and feeling the slight rise in his body temperature. When her eyes met his again, she felt her own temperature climb and her body shudder as she exhaled. Severus leaned forward then, somehow managing to manipulate his body to protect the infants while he lowered his lips to hers in a demanding kiss.

"Uh! Can't you two confine that sort of behavior to your room?"

Bella groaned and then signed in annoyance at the sound of her brother's - in her opinion - poorly timed interruption. She heard Sirius walking towards them and when she turned to glare at him, she found she couldn't. The closer he came to her, the easier it was to feel the waves of emotion coming off him. The usual darkness and despair that was Azkaban's legacy was hidden beneath a powerful feeling of love, happiness and a sense of being settled, like what he saw before him was as it should be. It surprised her knowing the antagonism and acrimony that existed between her brother and her husband. She felt her eyes well up with tears as she smiled at him before internally cursing the hormones that were surging into her system and wreaking havoc with her emotions.

"Why don't you let me take her so you can go back to sleep?" Sirius asked when he reached her side. "You need to rest if you are going to do that spell with Dumbledore tomorrow."

Her immediate reaction was to deny her brother's request but an annoying inner voice told her he was right. Casting a quick glance at Severus, she saw that he shared her reservations and yet, had come to the same conclusion. He nodded his head, encouraging her to take the offer. With a bit of hesitation, she turned back to her brother and carefully transferred Hermione to him. She watched him intently as he settled the tiny person in his arms. She smiled softly at the sight before placing a soft kiss on her new daughter's forehead. She did the same for Harry then bid her husband good night with a soft kiss on his cheek.

It was harder to leave the room than she ever thought it would be; every instinct was telling her to stay with her children but she recognized that she truly did need to get some rest. Tomorrow was going to be long and tiring enough without at least a few hours of sleep. Curling up on her side, she tried to ignore how alone she felt in the large bed. She had grown quite used to Severus' presence at night, both physically and emotionally. Closing her eyes, she tried to will herself to sleep but found it nearly impossible. Rolling over, she grabbed Sev’s pillow and hugged it to herself. Closing her eyes, she conjured up the memory of the first night she and Sev had shared their bed since her arrival at Haven. She smiled as the remembered emotions and warmth of their connection washed over her; it had shocked them to discover that they had both used the connection between their rings to reach out to each other subconsciously as they slept over the years. Their close proximity that night caused a surge of magical feedback that had awakened both of them.

A similar tingle danced along her body as she felt the bed behind her sink down and warm arms slip around her waist. With a sleepy sigh, she rolled over to face her husband.

“Where are the babies?” she asked softly as she snuggled up to him.

“With Sirius,” he replied softly, brushing a kiss against her forehead as he settled himself.

“You left my tiny babies with my brother?” she asked, propping herself up a bit. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her brother; she just couldn’t believe Sev would leave them both – especially Harry, with Sirius.

“He had a point,” he admitted grudgingly, “We both need our sleep for tomorrow more than he does. Besides, we will be up in two hours anyway. He said he would wake Remus if he needed help.”

Accepting his response, she nestled down, placing her head on his chest and smiled to herself. She felt his arm wrap around her, securing her to his side and sighed. Closing her eyes, she let the rhythm of his heartbeat lull her to sleep.

=============================

The sound of happily gurgling babies called to her, pulling her from a deep sleep. She smiled as she opened her eyes to see two small forms on the bed beside her. Both looked like they were ready for the day, dressed in warm, footed sleepers – Harry in purple with gold snitches, Hermione in red with little black cats. She was overcome with a feeling of awe and protectiveness as she looked at them; she wanted to lift them into her arms and hold them tightly, never let them go. She felt the bed jostle slightly and looked up, smiling as Severus, fully dressed in imposing black robes, stretched out carefully on the bed opposite her. She watched his as he reached out and brushed his finger against Harry’s check. She laughed in delight at the unusually gleeful and surprised look on her husband’s face when Harry reacted happily to the stimuli. He glared at her briefly, but the irritation that showed in his face didn’t reach his eyes. On the contrary, to Arabella, his eyes seemed to be lit from within, glowing with simple happiness. It was a look she hadn’t seen since their wedding day.

Severus glanced back at the infants and tentatively extended his hand over his daughter and gently stroked her small hand. Reflexively, Hermione grabbed on to his finger, making delighted baby noises as she shook her arm with Sev’s index finger locked firmly in her tiny fist. He smiled at the little girl curiously and Arabella couldn’t help but wonder how long it would be before he lost his heart completely to the little girl. Sev looked up and smiled at her. Slowly and with great care, he propped himself up and leaned over the babies to place a gentle kiss on her lips. She closed her eyes and let his emotions wash over her, felt the love and sense of belonging that dominated him at moment. She opened her eyes as he pulled back.

“You should get up. We’ll be leaving soon,” he said softly as he climbed back off the bed and straightened his robes. “Everything is ready.”

Nodding, she slid out of bed, careful not to disturb Harry and Hermione. Quickly, she discarded her sleeping shift and pulled on travel robes over a Muggle blouse and jeans. A few quick spells plaited her hair down her back and cleaned her face. Going back to the bed, she carefully lifted Hermione into her arms. Snuggling the child close, she found it hard not to breathe in the sweet baby smell or to resist the urge to smother the child with affection. After placing a kiss on Hermione’s forehead and talking softly to her while making a few silly faces for a few minutes, she looked up to see her husband holding Harry carefully, equally hypnotized by his son. With Hermione settled in her arms, she walked over and placed a kiss on Harry’s forehead before walking out of the room and joining those waiting in the common room.

Just over an hour later, she found herself, along with her children, husband, brother, friend, a house elf and Dumbledore on a remote coastline in Northern Wales. Hidden at the foot of a cliff, she watched as Dumbledore withdrew a long, narrow wooden box about four, maybe five feet long, but no more than two inches in height or width from inside his robes. Placing it lengthwise on the sand in front of him, he turned and extended his hand toward her.

“Are you ready, Arabella?” he asked.

She nodded, feeling a bit apprehensive now that the moment was actually here. Opening her cloak, she revealed Hermione, who protested at the sudden change in temperature while Arabella held her out to Sirius. She smiled briefly as her brother settled and comforted the infant before turning back and stepping up beside and taking Dumbledore’s hand. Closing her eyes, she narrowed the focus of her mind, tried to only see and feel the magical energy within her and that surrounded her.

Long ago, when the Priestesses and the Druids had worshipped the natural gods, they had believed all their magic came from them. They had no use for wands and only used staffs for the most powerful of spells. After the arrival of Christianity to Britain, they’d learned or perhaps accepted that, while the ability to perform magic maybe a gift from God or the Goddess, the power did reside within themselves. As wizarding education and the use of wands to channel magical power began to spread, more and more drifted from the strict teachings and practices of Avalon in favor of a more generic magical education. Many of Avalon’s teaching were reserved to only a select few chosen from the best and the brightest, but not necessarily the most powerful, to be among the elite of small community while the rest of the wizarding world forgot about ways and techniques that were once common place. Forgotten amongst those ancient secrets was the true nature of “wandless” magic – that you didn’t need to be particularly powerful to utilize magic without a wand; all you really needed to know was how to focus, to concentrate the magic, to believe in the magic and to channel it through your words and body like the ancient Priestess and Druids did with their invocations and prayers.

Feeling the tingling in her hands, she opened her eyes, seeing the world through her magic; it seemed to dance and sparkle with a life unseen to the average eye. Glancing toward Dumbledore she gave him a nod and listened as he slowly began the chant that would weave the magic of the spell.

//

Mother, hear us

Time, hear us

We beseech you to answer our call.

A time has come we wish to visit once more

A time has finished we wish to reclaim

One year passed we would live again.

Mother, Hear us

Time, hear us

We beseech you to answer our call.

Open the gates

Let us pass through

To a time that was once and is no more.//

Arabella could feel the power pouring out of her, energizing her as she chanted repeatedly in time with Professor Dumbledore. She could see the mists rising around them and the curtain of shimmering energy that emerged like a golden veil from within the box at their feet. Time seemed to suspend, leaving her floating in a cocoon of warmth and peace that seeped into her through her very pores. She knew, in that detached moment, why her ancient sisters believed they were standing in the presence of the divine. Truth was, in that moment, she believed it herself and looked into the shimmering light that surrounded her and sent out to whatever ultimate power existed all the love and acceptance she had within her, as well as her profound gratitude that he/she had understood her desire to protect and shelter her family and answered her prayer.

Dropping Dumbledore’s hand, she raised her hands high and continued repeating the chant. She could feel the magic vibrating around her. She felt the winds pick up around her slightly and then die as the door slide open. There was no other way to describe what she felt as the portal opened itself. Dropping her arms, she stepped back and stared in wonder at the iridescent shimmering veil that hung in the air in front of her, a thin slit down the center ruffling in a non-existent breeze. Turning toward Professor Dumbledore, she smiled, “Congratulations, Lord Merlin.”

Dumbledore laughed, his eyes sparklingly merrily, “And to you Lady Avalon. I see now why your grandmother chose you to succeed her, even at such a young age. Perhaps, if I had realized years ago, things could have been different.” As he said the last, his eyes flitted toward Severus and Harry and then towards Sirius. She knew what he was not saying; she could see in his eyes how much their suffering pained him. She knew, in that instant, as well, that what had been, what had happened – had to be. Any deviation from that path could have led them all to destruction. There were so many variables, so many what-if's that she couldn’t even guess at, yet she simply knew that things had happened as they had for a reason beyond them all.

Smiling up at him, she took his hand and opened a connection to Albus, She let him feel her certainty as she knew she could never explain the feeling to him. “What happened had to be, Albus. You knew that far better than I ever did. Perhaps that is why we have this opportunity now, a chance to heal some of those wounds, without losing the blessings the suffering bought us.”

He looked at her quizzically for a moment before he nodded. They turned then as one to face three amazed men. Their shocked expressions were almost amusing.

“That was…” her brother started to say, “amazing.”

“You are certain it worked?” Severus asked. She knew he had been a bit skeptical of what Dumbledore had suggested, his faith in the Headmaster and in herself the only things that kept him from voicing that disbelief.

“Certain,” Dumbledore replied, “but you are welcome to verify that if you wish.”

Severus nodded and took a step toward her, slowly shifting Harry so he could place him in her arms.

“Wait, Severus,” Sirius called out, “let me go. As much as I hate to admit it, Bella and the babies need you right now more than they need me. If something is wrong...”

“Stop it, Sirius!” Bella exclaimed, alarmed by the resigned sadness that flashed in her brother’s eyes, “Don’t ever talk about me not needing you ever again."

“That isn’t what I meant, Bella,” Sirius said, contrite. “I just meant that Severus is more necessary for your protection right now.”

As he spoke, Remus caught her eye and smiled at her gently before turning and quickly moving through the portal. All of them rushed forward at once, looking through the shimmering translucent veil to see Remus standing, visibly unharmed, on the other side.

“Give me a minute and I’ll check the date and the general area,” he said, his voice, as it drifting through the veil, sounded distorted and distant. He disappeared from view and Bella spent several anxious moments waiting for him to reappear. Several minutes later, he stood before them smiling.

“Everything is in order,” he said.

Immediately, Severus, Sirius and the little house elf sprung into action. Trunks were placed under locomotor spells and followed the house elf through the veil. Severus with Harry and Sirius with Hermione followed, leaving only Arabella and Dumbledore on the other side. With one last glance at the elder wizard, Arabella smiled.

“See you tomorrow?” she asked, trying not to smile at her own corny joke.

Dumbledore laughed gleefully as she stepped through the veil. As one they raised their arms,

//Thank you, Mother for hearing us.

Thank you, Time, for granting our request. //

Almost immediately, Bella could felt he magic dissipate and the shimmering light of the veil faded leaving behind only the mists that had surrounded it. When she turned toward the small crowd on the rocky shoreline, she saw her brother still holding Hermione, Remus, who was now holding Harry and that elf – Winky. Severus was gone. Looking out toward the rolling waters, she could just make out the small boats that were coming toward them with Severus standing in the lead boat.

Walking up to Remus, she reclaimed Harry and carefully cuddled him in her arms. Dipping her head down, she whispered softly into his ear, “You got your wish, my Harry-bean. Your papa is coming to take us home.”

To be continued...


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