The Old Black Magic
Author's Note: Thanks to Sabina for the picture.
Three of the four men in the Lexus SUV were conspicuously quiet as the vehicle shuddered to a stop on the mist shrouded road. The fourth one, a darkly handsome man dressed with a casual elegance that did not quite match his companions more modest appearance, sat in the driver's seat of the convertible and steadily and creatively cursed for a good seven to nine minutes. Finally, he slammed his hands down on the steering wheel in impotent fury. None of the men noticed that this display of eloquence and temper had an audience of two. There was a good reason for this, of course, as none of them were accustomed to looking for people hovering on brooms some forty feet above their heads.
The man seated to his left turned to him then and asked brightly, "Well, given that your usual 'magical' incantations didn't work, and Lucy Lexus is still stopped, shall I get out and actually try, oh, I don't know...the engine maybe?" Emmett met the glare directed back at him with his own unflinching stare, while the two broom riders looked at each other in surprise at his words. Emmett had decided long ago never to let Brian get to him, and it was an attitude that had served him well over the years.
It worked now. While Michael and Ben, sitting in the backseat, visibly winced and braced themselves for another explosion, Emmett grinned to see the elusive Kinney smile break out...not a smirk, or his half-hearted, one side lifting up smile, but the full blown, devastatingly gorgeous, "intense hazel eyes peeping out from under impossibly long lashes and both sides of those lush, raspberry colored lips turning up" smile that was enough to make any woman, and certainly all gay men, weak in the knees.
"You could do that if I could figure out how to open the hood on this thing when all of the power seems to have leeched out of it. We'll be lucky to get the doors open, but I think there is a safety mechanism that does allow for manual by-pass of the electrical doo-hickeys in a situation like this."
Predictably, Michael started to panic at the thought of being trapped.
"Brian! How could you bring us out here and get us lost, then let the car break down? Ben needs to get someplace warm and dry for the night...he needs food, we can't be stranded here...he needs..." The short dark haired man started jerking on the door handle frantically.
"What Ben needs is a 'wife' who doesn't go into hysterics!" Brian said sharply, releasing the child safety button on the driver's door, which had inadvertently been activated. Ben smiled gently at Brian and the handsome man bit back any further insults, leaving it to the Professor to calm Michael down as they all got out of the car gingerly, looking at the ominous woods that surrounded them. Meanwhile, an urgent conversation was taking place within the privacy of a Silencing Bubble Charm, about fifty feet over their heads.
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"Do you think they're wizards of some type?" Draco asked doubtfully, looking askance at the men's obviously Muggle mode of dress.
"Who cares, that one guy is hot...he can work his magic on me anytime," Harry grinned, looking at Brian's lean body as he bent over the car's engine with Emmett. He pretended he knew what he was looking at. "And the big guy isn't bad either...although he looks a bit off, kind of pale, don't you think? Nice muscles, though. Like one of those footballers Dean used to go on about all the time."
"The tall one's a raving pouf," Draco pointed out, running his practiced eye over Emmett. He didn't even bother looking Michael over. The little one epitomized everything the purebred blond wizard disdained about Muggles, weak, whinging and totally without charm. Draco could whinge with the best of them, but he was far from weak, and could turn on the charm...when he saw a reason to do so. Which just didn't happen to be all that often.
Harry bumped shoulders with him, smiling fondly. "You're a raving pouf," he pointed out, reasonably.
Draco stuck his aristocratically pointy nose in the air. "Yes, but I am your raving pouf, and since you already have me, the finest to be had, there would be no need for some knock-off version. You don't even know if he is a wizard, Potter. I realize you have a penchant for picking up strays, and I have no objection to slumming once in a while for a little spice and variety...but let's make it spicy variety at least and go for the hot stud, and not the American version of a Liverpool Queen."
Harry laughed and pulled Draco's broom, the latest edition of the Firebolt 5000, close to his, so that he could swing his leg over it. Soon he was straddling both brooms between his muscular thighs and his groin was pressed tight against his lover's arse. He knew that Draco's peevishness was only a mask for his insecurity, and the only way to combat it was frequent and thorough displays of affection. They both forgot the men beneath them and their car troubles as Harry concentrated on convincing his bond mate that a natural appreciation for a fine male specimen aside, his soul belonged to a certain difficult, gray eyed, blond haired git, and always would. Once that was done, there would be plenty of time to explore the strange magical signature he felt emanating from the men below.
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Emmett, raving pouf or not, happened to be the only one of the four who had any clue about mechanics, so, with a sigh, he handed the flashlight to Brian and bent his head under the rental car's hood to see if he could determine what was wrong. Brian accepted his task without a word and watched as the tall queen bent his head and checked various mysterious looking objects in the engine area, none of which held the least bit of meaning to him. He would never admit it, but Emmett's automotive knowledge impressed him; he always had respect for knowledge and Emmett's unexpected expertise in this area was as arcane to him as, well, as sorcery would be, Brian thought, repressing a smirk. After several minutes of intense concentration, which Brian watched silently, (something Michael never would have managed but Ben proved himself a miracle worker by successfully distracting his partner by pointing out usual plant life nearby), Emmett straightened up with a heavy sigh.
"Well, what is it?" Michael was drawn back to the car in a flash, his puppy dog eyes worried. Ben looked over his head at Emmett and Brian and even his normally zen like calm seemed ruffled. The dark forest that loomed nearby was ominously quiet.
"The car is dead," Emmett announced cheerfully.
"Even I know that," Michael snapped. "The question is, can you get it started again? What is wrong with it? Why did it stop? How are we going to..."
"Why don't you let him speak and perhaps then we can hear something of more value than your voice spouting useless questions?" Brian suggested, his voice deceptively calm.
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Harry grinned and turned to Draco.
"You know, the hot one reminds me of someone and I can't quite..."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Of course you know who it is, you prat. Severus." At Harry's surprised look of recognition, Draco smirked knowingly. "You really couldn't figure it out? You are priceless in your innocence sometimes, Potter. I bet you had a crush on Severus and never even realized it, not unlike your love/hate dynamic with yours truly. Look at the man. That air of superiority, that whole sex on two obscenely long slender legs...and before you ask, yes, I have seen Severus' legs, and no, I'm not saying when but we were on the run together for Salazar's sake, you get close to a man. That man down there has the same seductive appeal, although in a more conventionally attractive package. Yet, it is more than looks, it is power, and charisma, and even without his looks, I think that man would have the same appeal. Is he the wizard?"
Harry smiled again and wrapped his arms around Draco. They still sat together, but had moved to the branches of a nearby tree, shrinking their brooms and pocketing them for the time being. They kept their silencing bubble up as a precaution even though they were still a good thirty feet above the men and had cast a disillusion charm as well.
"You sensed a magical signature also?" Draco nodded. He wasn't as sensitive to that type of magic as Harry was; Harry was probably the most powerful natural wizard alive since Dumbledore's death, but Draco was a strong enough wizard in his own right to be able to sense the presence of a third wizard in the vicinity. "There is something strange about it, however, isn't there?"
"Yes, almost like that of a child...but not. It reminds me of the presence I felt when around wizards in Africa and certain parts of South America, where they were powerful but untrained by our standards. It is a raw power, unfocused, yet contained at the same time. It is difficult to explain as it is so alien to the way we develop our powers."
"Well, not if we are raised in a cupboard," Draco suggested slyly. One of the things Harry loved about Draco, odd as it seemed, was that he refused to ever give him pity for the truly pathetic aspects of Harry's past.
"No, not then," Harry agreed, squeezing Draco hard enough to make him gasp for breath even as the blond snickered. "Prat. Anyway, it is either your sex on two legs or the raving pouf, can't tell from here...both of them have been standing so close. Maybe they both are?"
"I think it's sex on a stick."
"Why?" Harry raised an amused eyebrow.
"Because I want it to be," Draco replied imperiously.
Harry laughed. "Well, that settles it. But, in the meantime, I think we better do something to help them. They're stranded as that Muggle appliance won't work anymore having gotten that close to the Forbidden Forest. Plus, I'm not sure, but I think the muscular one could use some help from Severus, do you think...?"
"If we both ask...maybe. Better yet, if we get Minerva to tell us to stay out of it and then we ask, he is sure to be more inclined," Draco suggested impishly. "Time to make an appearance, you think?"
Gaining Harry's agreement, the two young men quickly gained the ground, still under the disillusionment charm, and then spelled away their robes. As the Hogwarts Transfiguration and Charms professors respectively, Harry and Draco did not find either action to be much of a challenge. Fortunately, they had worn Muggle clothes that day beneath their robes, and their jeans and sweaters were ordinary enough not to raise suspicion. Draco's was black, and of the finest cashmere, naturally, while Harry's was a lovely green cable knit that Luna and Neville brought back for him from their honeymoon in Ireland. They were so focused on masking from the four men the true direction of their approach and the fact that they had been in the area for some time that neither noticed that another watcher started at their appearance and after a few minutes silent observation, quietly left the scene, a disgruntled expression on her once lovely countenance. Bellatrix Lestrange, nee Black, did not like having her plans disrupted, and the appearance of her nephew and Harry Potter most definitely disrupted her plans for the men who'd fallen into her trap.
"The icle Potter and my widdle nephew...it complicates matters...but not too much...never too much...water is thinner than blood...or something like that...." The woman smiled and the almost childish prettiness of her features was disturbingly eerie... or eerily disturbing. The distinction was never quite clear to Draco, although it was something he used to ponder during interminable family dinners when young and trying to distract himself from worrying over whether crazy Aunt Bellatrix would try to AK his father or godfather Severus before dessert was served. His mother Narcissa would invariably take to her room with one of her bad headaches when her sister visited, but his father insisted that Draco stay under his watchful eye.
It was years later that Draco learned that Lucius did not mean that as the punishment it seemed; it was one of the few times his father was actually protecting him as it seemed his Uncle Rodolphus Lestrange had a tendency to wander. His mother was safe. Bellatrix would protect her own sister from her husband, and indeed, his wandering tastes did not run to a paler copy of Bellatrix, but to a younger, maler variety of his wife's blonde beauty. The one time his uncle did catch Draco alone it was his godfather who found the young Slytherin struggling to escape the larger, stronger wizard, and Draco had his first chance to see a Cruciatus curse cast on a human. When the circumstances were explained, even Lord Voldemort approved and permitted Lucius and Bellatrix to cast a few more unforgivables on the hapless Rodolphus for good measure. His death, at the hands of Remus Lupin during one of the final battles, was not mourned. Indeed, it freed Bellatrix to seek a new husband, one better suited to her plan to give birth to a new Dark Lord, one raised with all the strengths of the last one...and his nemesis. If a mother's love is what Voldemort had lacked, her new Dark Lord would have it...as only a Black heart could love.
The lovely blonde smiled as she watched the Boy Who Lived...Yet Again and her Narcissa's brat approach the four Americans. She was childishly amused that none of the men suspected that it was more than mere bad luck or the proximity of the Forbidden Forest's magic that had caused the Muggle machine to fail. She had planned everything so very carefully. Tom Riddle was the product of a Muggle father and a purebred mother. So too would be the new Dark Lord. All she needed was the seed of a Muggle. The two young wizards were but a temporary inconvenience.
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"Oi," Harry called out as they approached the Americans. "Having some trouble? Perhaps we help?"
Brian eyed the two young men and smiled his tongue in cheek smile. His gaydar was pinging like crazy.
Emmett wiped his hands on a towel from one of the overnight bags and gave his wide, welcoming grin.
"I sure hope so! Otherwise we're stranded here! Our car just up and conked out on us like..."
"Em! Are you nuts!" Michael hissed at Emmett warningly. The tall queen looked back at him with a perplexed expression while Brian just rolled his eyes and leaned against the dead car, crossing his long legs and folding his arms across his chest. Ben sighed and moved to lean against the car as well. Brian noted that he looked tired in the dim light from the waxing moon.
"You okay?" Brian murmured as Michael tried, in what he fondly imagined was a whisper, to convince Emmett, not to trust the two young strangers with any information as they were undoubtedly young British hoodlums. Ben just attempted a wan smile in reply. Brian thought they looked harmless enough, and were their best bet for getting Ben to a warm bed before it got really cold. These Scottish nights were as fucking cold as Pittsburgh. Come to think of it, the dark haired one who spoke, with the dark hair that had that just got fucked and fucked well, thank you very much, look to it, definitely had an English accent and not a Scottish one, while the clothes on the blond screamed upper crust London gay if Brian knew his fags...and he did. At the moment, however, he had more important things to think about than Michael's paranoia or where two young British twinks came from in the middle of a Scottish roadway next to a creepy Scottish forest that didn't appear on any map. Ben looked ready to collapse from exhaustion and given that Auntie Em was capable of chatting all night in search of the rainbow connection, and Michael was equally capable of refusing help in favor of sulking, it was clearly up to Brian to take matters, if not the twinks, into his own more than capable hands.
"Michael, enough. Emmett, I have it from here. Boys, I'm Brian Kinney, this hunk of manliness and Buddhist serenity to my left is Professor Ben Bruckner, but you can call him Zen Ben, as we do. His partner is the little squawking fellow there to your right, my lifelong friend and loyal sidekick, Michael Novotny. Last but certainly not least, if the legions of porn fans of Fetch Dixon are to be believed, is our very own Emmett Honeycutt, currently proving that spandex is a privilege and not a right. And you are? That is, aside from being our potential rescuers, and the hottest twinks I've seen since leaving London...."
Brian raised his eyebrow inquiringly while Emmett snickered and Michael huffed in annoyance. Draco, always ready to take the lead in a social situation whereas Harry was more one to rush ahead when a rescue was needed, stepped forward now that this context had shifted from rescue to social.
"Draco Malfoy, at your service. This is my...friend, Harry Potter. We are both professors at a nearby...preparatory school. It is a pleasure to meet all of you." Draco offered his hand to Brian and then Ben, while Harry, following his lead, shook hands with Emmett and then offered a friendly hand to Michael, who looked at it suspiciously.
Draco frowned as, from the corner of his eye, he saw the Muggle rejecting Harry's friendly overture while he was shaking hands with the largest of the Americans. Before he could say anything, or preferably, hex the unpleasant man, the man named Ben spoke quietly to his partner, causing an unattractive flush to break out over the man named Michael's sour face.
"Sorry, didn't see your hand at first," he muttered, giving both Harry and Draco's hands a perfunctory shake. Draco wiped his palm on his form fitting jeans before turning and shaking hands with the last of the four, the tallest of them.
"Well, we can help you carry some of your overnight things to the cas...the school tonight, and then send someone back here in the morning to fetch the rest," Harry suggested, looking at Draco for approval. Planning was not his strong suit; it was much more a Slytherin trait. He figured, however, that if they could sneak the four men into Hogwarts, using the same entrance used for visiting Muggle parents and settle them in quarters kept for visiting non-wizards, then he could easily dispatch Dobby, the house elf, for the remainder of the men's luggage. It would be a bit of a walk, but he couldn't see anyway around it. While he definitely sensed magic around someone in the group, the individual was either masking it, or it was latent. There was no indication that the men were aware of the existence of a magical school within a mile of where they'd broken down.
"That would be appreciated," Brian began, looking at the lines of exhaustion on Ben's face and Michael's peevish expression, "but is there any way of getting another car out here? Maybe I could go with you and bring one back? Ben hasn't been well, you see and..."
"Somnolencio." Draco suddenly cast the spell, rapidly moving his wand in an arc in front of him, brushing Harry back out of range of the spell's effect. Instantly, all four men were asleep and Harry quickly cast mobilicorpus before they could hit the ground...well, all except Michael. Draco snickered as the short, dark haired man landed with a thud as his three friends floated gently in the air above him.
"It isn't my fault!" Harry protested. "He was the furthest from me, and the shortest, so naturally he hit the ground first. You could have cast on him, you know."
"If I had any interest in keeping him from banging his head, I could have," Draco agreed. "Come on, let's get them to the Castle and send Dobby back for their bags. I can put a following charm on them and then we can fly back, which will get us back there a lot sooner. The sleeping charm should last at least an hour, which gives us plenty of time to find Severus or McGonagall and figure out what to do with these men."
Harry gave Draco a sly look as he ended the shrinking charm on their brooms. "I have an idea of what we could do with Brian. Ben is fairly fit too, though it is a shame he's sick. I'm afraid he must have the Muggle illness I told you about, the one gay Muggles get, that Severus gave us that potion to ward against when he found out we were going to Muggle clubs in London."
"It was mainly for you...wizards don't get it," Draco reminded him. "Being half Muggle, he wanted to make sure you were safe. I just took it to keep him from going spare on me. Like being a half blood is something I could catch!"
"No, but immune deficiencies is," Harry said somberly. "I happen to agree with him. Hermione was upset though, when she learned there was nothing he could do to share his preventative potion with the non-wizard related Muggle world. The Ministry of Magic won't permit it. They forbade him to do any research into cures either, saying that our world cannot interfere to such a drastic extent with the non-wizard world. It's a shame though."
"You say that now, Potter," Draco drawled, traces of the old Malfoy sneer on his aristocratic face, "but you'd be singing a different tune the second that a less than grateful Muggle mob showed up with their pitchforks and lighted sticks looking to burn your friend Hermione and all you Gryffindor do-gooders at the stake. People fear what they don't understand and what they can't control. Wizards are both to the so-called normal human population, like that sour faced dark haired Muggle floating behind us. How long do you think it would be before he would be screaming for the Muggle authorities if he realized that the two young men who came to his and his friends' aid near the forest weren't two young...what did Kinney call us, 'twinks'? But if he instead knew you to be the most powerful wizard in the world today...and myself, what do you think, number four or five on the power scale? I'd give him three minutes...tops. Half that if he has one of those circular phone thingies."
"Cellular," Harry corrected him automatically. The dispute was an old one between the lovers, dating back to their school days and the early years of their relationship. Harry wanted to believe that Muggles and wizards could live in harmony. In reality, his own experience told him that it wasn't a common occurrence. Look at his own family, where his Aunt Petunia rejected her sister so badly that she preferred to claim she died in an auto accident, victim to her wastrel husband's drunk driving, when in reality both Lily and James Potter died courageously, slain by Lord Voldemort in his first uprising, and were remembered by the wizarding world as war heroes. Lily Potter gave her life to save her infant son Harry, who, in turn, survived the killing curse, and in doing so, vanquished for eleven years, the terrible dark wizard. Five years earlier, at the age of nineteen, with Severus and Draco by his side, he'd defeated him for a second and final time. Yet, even as a hero, Harry was rejected by his only blood relatives, his mother's Muggle relatives, who hated everything that magic represented. Finally, to safeguard them from Harry's remaining enemies, and Harry from their enmity, Harry resettled the family, with ample funds, in Australia, under a powerful fidelius charm with Severus as the secret keeper, then promptly worked on forgetting their very existence.
Could Muggles and wizards get along? The Dursleys were an exception, surely, to the rule. The Grangers were Muggles...they were dentists, for Merlin's sake, and they seemed to accept their daughter's abilities. Of course, since the war ended, Hermione spent more and more time in the academic wizarding world and very little time socializing with her old school friends. Whereas, once Harry was sure that she and Ron would marry, the differences between Hermione's background, and Ron's poor, but pureblooded Wizard background, caused so much strain that they eventually decided they were meant to be just friends.
Draco looked thoughtfully at Harry. He hadn't spoken since they'd started back to Hogwarts and the gray stone of the castle was looming in front of them. He knew that Harry had a tendency to disappear into his thoughts. It was one of his endearing characteristics, and made winning an argument fairly easy. His inherent Gryffindor fairness made him consider all sides of a dispute before proceeding while his Slytherin instincts made him sometimes come up with arguments in favor of Draco's position that even Draco hadn't considered! On this issue of treating Muggle illness with wizard medicine and potions, Draco was fairly sure that Harry would eventually come out on the side of wizards, as a general rule; it would be up to Draco to come up with a way to get around that rule if it proved inconvenient to Harry being happy, because that was a personal goal of Draco's, and as a Malfoy and as a Slytherin, he did not see Ministry policy as taking precedent over his personal goals or his lover's happiness. If Harry wanted to help this one Muggle, Draco would find a way to convince Severus to do exactly that.
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"No."
Severus Snape was relaxing in his private quarters for the evening. It was bad enough that the resident lupine had decided that surviving twenty some years without killing each other must necessarily mean that they were friends and had invited himself into said private quarters for a game of chess, the quiet suggestion that he look up the meaning of the word "private", eliciting nothing more than a friendly grin.
Short of hexing the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, which he had no doubt he could easily do if it were not frowned upon for senior staff to hex slightly less senior staff and lead to one of those interminable teas with Minerva where she tried to delve into his unhappy youth under the amused gaze of Dumbledore's damned portrait, he had no choice but to gracefully acquiesce. Well, grudgingly acquiesce, but it was an acquiescence nonetheless. Lupin should be happy to take what he could get.
That being said, he was soundly trouncing the beast, when the two brats appeared, mischief written all over their faces.
"I really must start reading Minerva's staff scrolls. Clearly she has called a staff meeting for my quarters tonight and I am disgracefully ill prepared. I would have, at the very least, ordered the house elves to bring chocolate for Lupin, pumpkin juice and a bib for Potter, and the finest Russian caviar for Professor Malfoy had I known I was to play host this evening." Severus tried to look annoyed as Harry sprawled on his sofa after hugging his favorite dark creature warmly.
"Nonsense, Severus," Draco said briskly, then, seeing that Lupin had looked as wistful at the mention of chocolate as Harry had at the possibility of getting his thirst quenched with his favorite beverage...Gryffindors being woefully slow on the uptake when it came to sarcasm...he snapped his fingers and conjured trays of refreshments. Technically, this was the Transfiguration professor's area of expertise but he was capable of setting a decent tea for four. He was a Malfoy and his mother, not having a girl to teach such skills to, passed all of her considerable hostess skills to him before her untimely end. Accordingly, a splendid tea, suitable for the private quarters of the Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts was laid before them. Minus caviar, of course. That would not be suitable, as he proceeded to elucidate, primarily for Harry's edification and Severus' annoyance, as the older man was well aware of the fact. By the time he was done, his godfather was livid, Harry was restraining a giggle, and even Lupin was holding back a grin.
"But of course, Severus, dear, if you should have a hankering for some Beluga, the proprieties be damned, you need only speak the word, and it is yours. As you can see, I did only prepare tea for the four of us. I trust, since I do read Minerva's scrolls to staff, that we need not expect our colleagues to come tottering in. It has been a rather fatiguing evening already and the thought of suffering through Professor Sinistra groping you, or that charlatan Trelawny predicting Harry's demise yet again, is a bit more than I can take sober and I may need something stronger than tea."
The other three men shuddered at the images he provoked while he sat innocently sipping from a porcelain cup. After a moment, Draco rolled his eyes, and, with a flick of his wand, the tea part of the service disappeared, leaving butterbeer (a comfort drink for the adult Harry as much as pumpkin juice was for the child version), scotch for Severus, and, with a moment's thought, a chilled pitcher of chocolate martinis for Lupin, who had a hard head for the strong drink. Draco chose a fine port for himself.
"Now that we are more comfortable, and all bad images banished, may I proceed to illuminate you as to the purpose of our visit, which so unfortunately interrupted your game? Although, really, Remus, Queen's knight to..."
"Draco." Two or three strong sips of the scotch having restored Severus' milder demeanor, he was able to quell Draco's advice to his opponent with just a word and the raising of one slender dark eyebrow. Harry and Remus grinned in appreciative anticipation. It was always amusing when Severus and Draco sparred. All of the intelligence and humor was present but none of the nasty edge that still had the power to hurt both of them. "Please endeavor to elucidate without your normal verbal equivalent of parenthetical digressions into the flotsam of wizard existence."
Draco turned to Harry and smiled lovingly. "Severus once described our relationship in just such terms...only you may have been jetsam, love. I can't be certain, I tend to tune Severus out when he rants."
Harry took pity on the Potions Master, who was losing the calm bestowed by the hundred year old scotch. He also thought Draco's winding up of his temperamental Godfather, while amusing, was not conducive to their goal of securing his help for Ben Bruckner, now safely bestowed in the Hogwarts' guest quarters.
"Draco and I rescued a quartet of Muggles earlier, at least some of them are Muggles. I'm not completely convinced all four of them are. I'm getting strange magical vibes from one and possibly two of them. Nothing Dark," he was quick to assure the two older wizards, as he saw their concerned expressions, "or we never would have brought them into the school. It seems more latent, like natural magic, like I've seen in some of the Irish children raised out on the Isles in the old Celtic ways, with no formal wizard training."
"Or in a cupboard," Draco murmured, causing Harry to flush and Severus and Remus to frown at him. He looked up. "No, for once I'm being serious. If a mudbl... excuse me, I mean to say, Muggleborn wizard were abused by his birth family, he might repress his natural abilities to such an extent that they manifest in some other form. When I shook the hand of the one man, Kinney, I found him to be amazingly charismatic."
Severus noted that Harry's expression was carefully noncommital. Hmm, disagreement in paradise, or whatever approximation of it those two unlikely paramours had achieved? That bore inquiry. Only he was permitted to mar their bliss. Despite his irascible facade, he was devoted to the boys, and highly protective of them. Woe to anyone who dared bring hardship to either of them, even Harry, who'd earned his respect, then his trust, and eventually, his reportedly non-existent, but fiercely devoted, fatherly love.
"Mr. Potter!" he barked, mimicking the voice he'd used to good effect during their former training days. It worked; all three men jumped. "Set forth your observations, if you please, in order."
"There were four men, sir. Three were of tall stature, two of them emanating possible magical signatures, although I was unable to distinguish between the two, even after physical contact. I noticed the sensation Draco described, but am not certain that was magical in nature." At this point in his dry recitation, Harry blushed. With effort, Draco kept his own face expressionless and wished there were a little more Slytherin in his lover sometimes.
"What do you mean, Harry?" Remus inquired.
"Well, um...." Harry looked to Draco for help.
"What Harry is trying to say, in his own adorably inarticulate way, is that the man named Kinney, if not a wizard, had a sex appeal strong enough to qualify as his own brand of magic. Merely shaking his hand was enough to make me come in my..."
"I think we get the picture," Severus commented dryly as Remus and Harry laughed at Draco's exaggeratedly blissful expression. "Please endeavor to restrain yourself while your bondmate continues his recitation, or should I have Lupin refresh your recollection of cleansing charms?"
"Nope, just covered them with the third years, so I'm in good shape," Draco shot back. "Cleansing charms third year, along with a simple lubrication spell, good for wanking. The advancing sex charms I don't cover until six and seventh years..."
"You cover sex charms in your curriculum!" Harry and Remus exclaimed in unison. Severus rolled his eyes.
Draco looked at them with mild surprise. "Well, of course. I thought you Gryffindors surely would approve of this! Once I found out that Severus was the only Head of House who covered simple sex education with his students as a matter of course, which practice I continued as Head of Slytherin, and then, upon reflection, realized that of course, Minerva wasn't teaching sex education to anyone for good reason, same with Sprout...."
Severus interrupted quietly but firmly. "Did I not say something to you about digressions, Draco? Did you think they applied only to your own speech?" Severus sighed; he really had not needed to hear the word sex and Minerva, much less Sprout, in the same sentence, he reflected. Sometimes one could not blame Lucius for his harshness with that boy.
"Sorry, Harry love, go ahead with your battle report to the Master." Draco bit into a dainty fairy cake, and smiled unrepentantly at Severus, the sparkles of frosting twinkling about his pink lips. Harry had to pause to swipe at the sugary spots with his tongue before continuing his report...he really couldn't resist.
"The second thin tall man, really the tallest, was very flamboyantly dressed. He also gave off indications of latent magical power but it was difficult to evaluate. It fluctuated wildly with his mood, which flared when he was excited, which happened often and easily, accompanied with the clapping of hands and a squealing noise..."
"Squealing?" Remus questioned, raising a blond eyebrow.
"Like a gaggle of Hufflepuff firsties at their first sight of Harry," Draco explained. The two older men winced. He added with a side glance, "Or any age Creevey to this day."
Even Severus' lips twitched at that while Harry glared and Remus hid his smile behind his martini glass. It turned out the Creevey clan rivaled the Weasleys in fertility and every one of them had stalker tendencies when it came to their favorite boy hero. Draco took to calling him Potter's Blight of the Seven Dwarves, as they tended to be a bit height challenged.
Severus realized with a start that he was digressing now!
"Ahem. Please proceed, Harry. What about the remaining two gentlemen? Any magical indications from them? And did any of the four seem to present a threat, although I would presume not, since you secured permission from Minerva to bring them here."
Harry proceeded to describe Ben and Michael in detail, which eventually brought him to why they brought the four men to the school, and why they sought Severus' aid, which in turn brought them to the Potion Master's very emphatically negative reply.
"No."
"But sir, he is really a nice man..."
"Would it hurt you to meet them and at least..."
"I imagine Minerva would frown on any interference with the progression of a Muggle's illness."
Surprisingly, it was Lupin who made the most Slytherin comment of the three. Snape's expression went from fixedly unencouraging, to devilishly considering. Draco shot an amused glance at the werewolf, which he quickly masked, while Harry's look was frankly admiring until Draco elbowed him and then moved forward to pour his godfather more whiskey.
"That is true. We should have considered that before asking," he agreed somberly. "The Wizard-Muggle Compact of 1632 clearly provides, at Article Sixty-Seven, that the healing of Muggle diseases for which no Muggle cure is known is only slightly less reprehensible than the afflicting of Muggles with Wizard illnesses for which there are no known Muggle cures. One must admire their independence...I suppose." Draco let his pleasant tenor trail off in a doubtful tone.
"I don't see it being the same thing at all," Harry replied, still not with the programme, but it was one of the adorable things about him, Draco felt. All that lovely passion for fairness. So alien to a Malfoy...or a Black. Now torture, he should be homogenous for that trait, given his gene pool, but fairness? He smiled at Harry and shook his head at him imperceptibly. It was Severus they were trying to win over, after all; Harry already wanted to heal the Muggle professor.
Severus was sitting with his long elegant fingers cupped around his whiskey. It was in a lovely Lalique crystal tumbler, with an owl etched on it, no less. Draco conjured only the very best. Severus made a mental note to request the complete set for Christmas.
"I make no promises but I will meet with the man tomorrow. I will need some blood samples. I trust you will utilize care in obtaining same. I do not want the samples contaminated...Draco, you will be the one to obtain it. Harry's potions' skill, while improved, is not up to your level. Do not raise this gentleman's hopes, as I am unaware of any 'cures' even in our world, for his condition, if indeed it is what you believe it to be. That is why I had you take the precautions I did. But, it would not do any harm to consider the problem. Which brings us to our next dilemma. While it is fortunate that school is on break for the Spring holidays and there are few students here at present, what will you tell the men?"
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"So while the students are away on an extended field trip, running into the spring break, this castlelike school is undergoing renovations?" Brian spoke incredulously. "What for, to bring it into the thirteenth century?"
The six of them were currently in the dungeons. A simple confundus spell was necessary to get them from the private quarters to the hallway in front of Snape's laboratory, as there was simply no way Harry could convince all of the portraits to refrain from comment, much less movement. He didn't want to knock them out again, so a confusion spell seemed the most innocuous way to get the four men from point A to point B, without raising undue suspicion. Remus had joined them, and did his part to distract the men even further with conversation about Scotland and their travels to date. All of the house elves had been warned to stay out of sight, and Draco had the Bloody Baron keeping guard over Peeves the Poltergeist, who normally would have ensured that their progress was marred by every disaster his twisted mind could dream up.
Even with every possible precaution, Harry breathed a sigh of relief as Snape's door came into sight. He couldn't help but notice that while Ben chatted warmly with Remus, Michael hanging on their every word jealously, Emmett was looking around with the same expression of wonder Harry could remember from his own first day in Hogwarts. Brian, on the other hand, was torn between looking at the castle, and staring intently at Draco and Harry, which scrutiny was making the green-eyed wizard more than a little aroused. From the look of Draco in those black leather pants, (which he insisted on wearing today, despite Harry's assurance that leather was not Muggle everyday wear, nor were leather trousers the same as wearing a leather jacket like the one that looked so damn good on Brian but did Draco ever listen to Harry?) he was every bit as affected by the hazel-eyed Muggle as Harry was.
"Are you ever going to request entry, Professor Potter, or is it your intention to have your guests remain on my doorstep for an indeterminate length of time?"
Severus Snape stood in front of the men and all conversations stopped.
Until Emmett squealed, that is.
The two men stood eye to eye, blue eyes looking into obsidian, as three wands were surreptitiously drawn, ready to protect the enthusiastic American pouf from being hexed within an inch of his life. Or past it, which was Draco's expectation. But, to their surprise, the Potions Master bowed in his courtly fashion and offered his arm to Emmett.
"You must be Mr. Honeycutt. May I have the pleasure of inviting you into my humble abode? Please, Mr. Kinney, Professor Bruckner, Mr. Novotny, join us. I have tea set up in my private quarters, and then perhaps we can discuss your journey here. I sense there may be more to your trip here than Professor Potter and Professor Malfoy were able to learn in the short time you spent with them last night."
Remus, Harry and Draco stared at each other in shock as Michael and Ben followed Emmett and Severus into the lab, and on into Snape's rooms. Brian held back and looked at them, his eyebrow cocked up.
"Let me guess, Count Dracula there, isn't usually welcoming to strangers?"
All three shook their heads numbly. Brian nodded, his tongue firmly in his cheek again.
"Well, it isn't because he is a homophobe that you feared how he'd receive us, as my gaydar is telling me we've landed among our own kind with all four of you, although I'm sensing you swing either way, huh?"
Remus blinked, but with his normal quiet smile, nodded once more. Like Harry, he wasn't sure if this man was magical or not, but he had charm and charisma by the bucket. Remus was reminded forcefully of Sirius...before Azkaban made him a shadow of his former self and it choked him up for a second. Brian gave him an understanding smile and looked away. He seemed to sense that he had triggered something painful and moved on to the younger men in a teasing tone.
"I've seen it a thousand times. Sometimes the most fearsome tops go for the prancingest pansy at the pride parade...and that would be our Emmett, hands down. Or bottoms up, I guess would be more apropos. Shall we go in and stop Mikey from bothering the two lovebirds?"
Harry shook his head. Severus and lovebird did not belong in the same sentence. Unless it were a potion recipe that called for the addition of one heart of lovebird, crushed finely, he thought dazedly. Draco merely smirked along with Brian and led the way. Brian looked down at the pert arse encased in black leather.
"I'm beginning to like Scotland," he declared to the stone walls.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
A few hours later found Brian, Harry and Draco walking on the grounds, having left the others behind in Severus' quarters. They ended up down by the lake. Harry hoped the giant squid stayed out of sight.
"So, when are you two going to confess?" Brian asked lazily, leaning back on his elbows as he stretched out his long legs. He'd kicked off his shoes as the weather had warmed up and Harry stared, fascinated, at the American's long, sexy feet. He couldn't believe he was getting off on feet, but Draco did such incredible things with his sometimes. He had sexy feet too, small, compact ones. This man's were built along the same aristocratic lines, but longer. Draco saw where Harry was looking and had to bite his lip. He knew full well what Harry was thinking...fuck, he was thinking it too. But one of them had to concentrate. What was the gorgeous hunk saying? Confess? Oh fuck. Think, Malfoy.
"Pardon me, Brian, whatever could you be talking about? Confess what? Harry and I are as normal as you..."
"Well, that's a relief," Brian purred and rolled over onto his stomach, reaching a hand out for each young wizard's crotch. "Because I am feeling a very normal urge to have sex with you two fine looking young men...and hope my feeling is reciprocated."
Harry and Draco had a whole new understanding for the urge to squeal in excitement, but manfully resisted...the squealing. Not any other urges. Each giving the other a quick glance to ensure that this was okay, they lowered their heads down, and tentative lips met skillful ones. Brian guided the two beautiful young wizards, who were unused to threesomes, into a passionate threeway kiss, moving his hands caressingly along, had he known it, bodies that had been toned by the demands of Quidditch and high speed flying on brooms, not to mention the rigours of war in the not too distant past. All Brian knew, however, was that the bodies he stroked and kneaded were slimly muscled, the way he liked them, one man fair and lean, but thankfully not blue-eyed, so as not to stir fresh memories, but gray like a rainy day; the other broader and olive skinned, with wild black hair that was yet soft to the touch, and eyes of emerald green.
Both young men had scars, not only the startling "z" shaped one on Harry's forehead, but various ones, some faint, some darker, all along their bodies. Brian discovered this when eventually they moved their activities inside to the bedroom Brian had been given to himself. Brian had his own scars, some visible, most not, and this discovery about his young lovers brought out his protective side. Someone had been cruel to both of them, at a very young age he surmised, and he could relate to that. He no longer wanted to just treat them as some tricks he found along the way on this crazy trip Emmett had dragged them on. Seeing their scars made the two young men, Harry and Draco, dear to Brian Kinney as they made love through the warm Scottish afternoon.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Severus is absolutely wonderful, Brian, I can't begin to tell you!" Emmett was giddy with excitement.
"Well, if you've been chattering about it for forty minutes and you still haven't begun to tell us, we're in trouble, I'd say, wouldn't you, Mikey?" Brian rolled his eyes for form's sake. He was feeling pretty good himself. He'd been dragged back outside by a cranky Mikey and insisted Emmett come along with them in hopes that the tall queen's happy mood would rub off on his best friend. Ben was resting. It seemed that Emmett's Professor thought he might be able to come up with a medicine that might help Mikey's Professor. Given that Ben had pretty much gone through all the conventional cocktails, and was running out of options, Brian didn't think it would do any harm to try. Ben was ready to give up, and if he wanted to try one more time, then more power to him. It was his fucking body, something that Michael was going to have to understand. And accept, like he claimed he could do when he signed on for this years ago.
"Well, I don't like these people. I think we should call Triple A and get the fuck out of here. And that's another thing. Have either of you stopped flirting and fucking long enough to realize that our cell phones aren't working either?"
"They aren't? Are you sure?" Emmett looked surprised.
"What do you mean is he sure...he's probably tried calling mommy six times already, so if he says they aren't working, they aren't working. But big deal, we are in the middle of the fucking Scottish highlands, Mikey, do you see a cellular tower anywhere because I sure don't. The school seems pretty archaic to me, but ask Harry or Remus if you can borrow a phone if you want to leave. I don't, however, and Emmett doesn't. I don't think Ben does either, so if you go, I think you're going alone."
Brian looked at Michael with a blank expression. He'd found that the best way to deal with Michael's manipulation was to refuse to give in to it and allow Michael what he pretended to want. As in this case.
"I don't want to go home alone," he whined. "I just think that you guys aren't being careful enough. What do we know about these people?"
"I know that...that..."
Suddenly Emmett's voice became deeper and his eyes darkened to a deep, midnight blue, as he raised his arms wide and spoke:
The one who was will not come again
But his most loyal does not wait in vain
She seeks to start a line of evil again
Mixing the line of Black and man to reign.
Brian caught Emmett before he could hit the ground in a swoon. His effort was wasted as Bellatrix' hexes knocked all three of them to the ground, unconscious.
When Brian awoke, he found himself shackled to a stone wall. Naked, but for a leather thong of some sort which barely covered his cock and sack. Bare being the operative word. He wondered for a second if this was some kind of joke being played by Draco and Harry, but quickly rejected the thought. Amazing as it seemed, he trusted the two young men. If either of them were going to tie him up...and he wasn't ruling that activity out. He had plans for those boys, that Harry had a wicked tongue and Draco had a delicious ass...he instinctively knew that they would ask permission first. Nor would they involve Emmett, since he had been claimed by that intimidating man, Severus Snape, who seemed to be some sort of mentor slash father figure slash drill sergeant to the two of them. And they most certainly would not involve Mikey. No one ever wanted to include Mikey. Even now, Brian noted that his friend was clothed in the leather equivalent of boxers and t-shirt. For which he was devoutly thankful. He was seriously concerned that the sight of Mikey in a leather thong could be enough to finally turn him straight. Emmett, little as he did for Brian, still managed to look half decent in a thong. He did put in his time in the gym, and thank God he shaved his chest. If Brian were forced to look at that little tuft of hair on Mikey's chest, he might be forced to....
Their captor strolled in. Brian blinked.
"Oh my God, where did you get those boots, girlfriend! They are to die for!" Emmett squealed.
"Will you shut the fuck up," Brian hissed, wondering if, in fact, Emmett would die for his impetuousness finally. Michael, thankfully, was frozen in shock. The blonde woman was wearing thigh high leather boots, a bustier, and micro mini hotpants, all in black leather. The only touch of color in her outfit was a bright green snake that she wore around her arms and shoulders rather like a lime green boa. In fact, at first Emmett thought it was a lime green boa until it raised its head and hissed at him, then stretched out its length, unwrapping from the blonde's body and slithering to the floor, past the bound men and on out of sight. It was at that point that Michael gave an anguished moan.
"Briiiiiiiaaaaan! Dooooooooo soooooommmmmmethiiiiiiing," he whined, in the same nasal tone he first perfected in junior high. Emmett wondered just what Michael thought Brian should be able to do? Use his Rage powers to break free of the bonds that held them to the walls, and subdue her with mind control? Not going to happen. Especially not with a female, Emmett thought with a roll of his eyes.
Bellatrix narrowed her eyes. "You are annoying me, little man. There is no way you could be the father of the next Dark Lord. You are a toad." With a wave of her wand, Michael slid out of his bonds and sat croaking on the ground. He was a toad.
Brian frowned as Emmett stared in astonishment. Either he was having a really bad flashback from the last shit Anita had sold him, and he'd known that was bad shit she mixed up that time, he really should go with his gut, but he was pretty sure he was lucid at the moment, in which case Mikey was in really deep shit. Bearing in mind that the wack-job in black leather in front of him was wielding what looked like a whip in addition to that wooden stick that she waved at Mikey before he became amphibian, and that she seemed to object to whining, Brian was careful to keep his tone of voice level and pleasant.
"Emmett, you are from the country, correct?"
"Yes, Brian, I am." Good, Emmett seemed to have a good idea of how one acted around crazy people also. Speak slowly and no sudden harsh noises. Sudden movements were out of the question anyway.
"Correct me if I am wrong, but what is the diet of the average snake?"
"I believe snakes to be fond of frogs and, um, toads." Emmett's voice broke a little on the last word.
"That is what I thought." Brian turned his gaze back to the blonde, who was watching him expectantly, a devilish grin on her face. She reminded him of someone, although he couldn't place who it could be.
"Miss...Ma'am, Mistress...I am rather fond of that man whom you've turned into a toad. I was wondering if you would please turn him back into his former, admittedly annoying self. I promise I will endeavor to keep him quiet."
Emmett was amazed at Brian's humble tone and words. He really loved that man sometimes and right now was one of those times. Tied to a cold stone wall, clad in nothing but a few square inches of leather...okay, admittedly, that helped feed the love...and the proud man was willing to beg the cold evil witch in front of them...wait a second.
She was a witch. Suddenly, with a certainty that was as solid as his knowledge of his Grandma Honeycutt's cornbread recipe, Emmett knew that he was looking at a real witch. And no Glinda, let me help you find your way back home witch, but a dark arts, let me use your bodily fluids in evil ways kind of witch who would torture them until they did what she wanted, and afterward she would torture just because she could and she liked to cause pain. Emmett didn't know how he knew this, he just knew that he did.
"Send Michael home. You don't want him and he will be in your way, so restore him and send him home. If you harm him now, you will get no cooperation from either of us," he intoned in what Brian was already thinking of as his portent of doom voice.
"What the hell are you...?" Brian started to ask Emmett what he was doing but before he could get the entire question out, Michael was standing before him, fully restored, albeit with a dazed look in his eyes. He stopped talking as the crazy woman was looking at Emmett now.
" I see that you will not serve my purpose either. But I will accept your offer. Your friend will be port-keyed to safety, in exchange for your agreement not to interfere, Mage. If you lift a finger to stop my plans, he will die. Agreed?"
"Emmett, what is going on?" Brian hissed.
"Do you agree that Michael will be safe and returned to his home tonight, unaffected by your plans and never bothered by you or anyone connected with you again, by whatever vow will bind your kind?" Emmett tried to think of as many contingencies as he could.
Bellatrix shrugged carelessly. "Fine, I care not about him. He is meaningless. He will be returned to Pittsburgh, remembering only that he wished to return ahead of the rest of you, much as he threatened when I was listening to you talk...he didn't mean it then but I can make it happen. By the blood of my Lord, by the house of Black, it is so."
Bellatrix tossed a small green snake at Michael which, in transit, became a lime green boa; as it touched him, wrapping loosely around his shoulders, he disappeared.
"You want to explain that, Em?" Brian asked, not taking his eyes off the woman with the crazed eyes who was staring at him like he was the last cigarette at an AA meeting.
"The good news is, Michael is safely away," Emmett chirped brightly. As Brian turned to glare at him, he sucked in his breath and as he let it out, he whispered, "the bad news is, she is determined to have your baby, stud."
"Why the fuck...!" With a quick glance over at the woman who was cleaning her nails with the nastiest knife Brian had ever seen outside of a horror movie, he gulped and asked in the lowest voice he could manage, "Why does she want to have my baby?"
"To raise the next Dark Lord, of course."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Draco and Harry burst in on Severus.
"There's trouble, Severus, we need your help."
Instantly, the Potions Professor was gone, and the Spy and Dark Arts Dueling Expert was back. "Who, where and what?" he snapped.
"Bellatrix, just outside the Forbidden Forest, took Brian, Emmett and Michael, we think to one of the Death Eater hideaways, thought you might know where..."
Snape held up a hand. "I put a tracer spell on Emmett earlier today. Are you telling me you didn't do the same with Mr. Kinney?"
Both of the younger wizard flushed. They'd been too busy to think of normal precautions.
Severus huffed. "Outside, beyond the anti-apparition wards. Inform Lupin so he can stay with Prof. Bruckner and guard him just in case."
Within moments, Severus got a fix on Emmett's location and he side-apparated with Draco and Harry, to just outside the building. It was familiar to him from his days as a spy in Voldemort's camp. He was surprised it had not been leveled by the Aurors long before now. At this point, Harry took the lead, as the most powerful of the three. He cast a strong disillusion over the three of them that rendered them invisible to Bellatrix and silently directed Draco to dismantle the wards she'd set up. As a blood relative, Draco easily did so; Malfoys and Blacks were both partial to blood wards, he knew, and he was able to take down his aunt's security system within minutes when a team of the Ministry of Magic's finest Aurors probably would be been stymied for hours.
They didn't have hours. With Emmett forced not to even try to help his friend by his promise, given to secure Michael's freedom, Brian was now at Bellatrix' mercy. And Bellatrix Lestrange had none.
Brian was stretched out on a table, completely naked, a spell cast to achieve arousal since, to her anger, he was not excited by her charms. She stood next to him, also unclothed, and was ready to mount the angry but unflinching man, when Harry shouted, "Stupefy!"
To his surprise, Bellatrix turned, unaffected by the spell, and raised her wand at Draco with an evil grin on her face.
"Ooo, the ickle Potter is perplexed? I have a protecting spell on me...a woman about to become a mommy can't be too careful, Pottsie dearie...so it is time for you to say beddy bye to your Drakky poo, Avadra Ke... "
"Nooooooo!" All five men shouted but it was Emmett's wandless cast of a blast of pure power that forced Bellatrix out of the space of her shield. She stumbled forward past the table where Brian was stretched out, and Severus took immediate advantage of that fact, casting his own Killing Curse. She fell dead at his feet.
Severus looked up at Harry.
"I believe I can discern which one is the wizard."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The eight new friends sat in the Room of Requirement for tea. Brian found it amusing that Severus and Remus insisted on calling it "tea" even when every one of them was drinking some form of alcoholic beverage. He has his usual JB, Harry had some form of beer which was putrid from what he could tell, but to each his own, after all. Em still drank Cosmos for fuck's sake. Snape, a man after his own heart although neither of them would ever admit it, drank extremely fine old Scotch, so if Brian were to steal anyone's drink it would be his. Draco was a wine drinker, and he was always trying to get Zen Ben to try some, and some nights he was even successful, such as tonight, when they learned that Mikey was happy back in the Pitts and willing to leave Ben to his own devices.
Remus was proving to be one of those devices. Snape had wrought a remarkable improvement in Ben's condition and it had something to do with the quiet shaggy haired man. Something about some medicine he took that would help Ben, but Ben could only take it safely if he had the same condition Remus had. Brian wasn't sure what was involved, but hell, if it made this kind of improvement in the man, and brought that glow to both their faces, Brian thought they should go for it, and fuck anyone who thought differently.
Snape and Emmett. Now there was an unlikely pair. Brian grinned over his crystal tumbler of Beam. Yet, it worked. Light and Dark. With a fucking twist, he thought, smirking.
And then there were his own two beautiful boys, light and dark in and of themselves. Unlike Em and Ben, he'd have to be getting back home soon. He had a company to run. But his time with Harry and Draco had brought something back to his life that had been missing since Justin had left to pursue his art...a touch of magic. Maybe he should make a stop in New York before heading home and rekindle the flame with Justin for awhile. He caught Emmett's eye and his tall friend nodded at him.
"That would be a good idea, Brian. It might be a good idea to invite Harry and Draco to visit you in Pittsbugh too...they're just a little bit of fairy dust away, you know," Emmett said brightly
Brian shook his head as they all laughed. This magic stuff was really going to get out of hand, he could see it now and it didn't take any fucking magical ability to divine that future either.
"Conjure me some more Beam, Draco...I'm going to need it."