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Vidar, Norse God of Revenge

-

I hardly ever fought with Rose. She was my best friend and the person outside my family who I cared for the most. She would talk about all the fun she was going to have when her parents agreed to let her go to Hogwarts. She would bounce up and down with excitement, knowing how she was going to enjoy the Hogwarts life.

It pissed me off the see her so excited about Hogwarts.

I would be stuck in a Muggle school, and she'd be learning things that actually mattered.

The last time she visited that summer, I yelled at her. She was showing off the books she had and I yelled. It all finally boiled over.

Although I was only eleven, I had lost so much. My daddy was gone; I never knew my baby sister or a normal life and the one thing I thought would have been certain was ripped from me.

It was just too much for me.

I hated yelling at her like that, but she was the only one there to catch it all.

And when I was finished, she hugged me. It was just like the hugs Aunt Hermione gave me. There was love and kindness and warmth. I started to cry. It wasn't fair. Voldemort didn't even know of my existence and yet he had destroyed my life.

-

Spells flew at each other, blinding streams of red and blue lit up the cold stone walls of the Room of Requirement as the two seventh-year students dodged each other.

With a simple flick of his wrist, and without saying a word, Harry disarmed Draco, stopping the match.

"You don't have a defence," Harry muttered, picking up Draco's wand. Scorpius was sitting in the far corner, bubbled in a spell Harry had cast on him before the match has started. He was completely impervious to the slighter hexes they were using.

"You weren't out to kill me," Draco countered with a shrug of his shoulders. "I didn't see any real reason to put up a defence."

Harry sighed, glancing at the younger teen over his shoulder. Scorpius had been there for his dad the moment he found out Blaise Zabini had been taken by the Death Eaters.

"And what are you teaching Scorpius with that attitude?"

"Scorpius isn't going into battle ever, so it doesn't really matter."

Draco was walking closer to Harry to retrieve his wand. Since word of Zabini's abduction got around school, Draco had been itching to train with Harry. The brunette knew it was so he could get his mind off his missing ex, so he had complied.

He was thankful Scorpius was there. It was less tempting...

Harry stopped his thoughts. Whenever he thought about those kisses, he only wanted more, and the Slytherin was now close enough to smell.

The slighter hand of Draco wrapped around the wand in his own before he pulled it away. That didn't stop Harry's own hand from following, if only to brush against Draco's.

"Potter," Draco warned weakly, craving the touch the brunette was offering. His eyes lowered as he let out a breath.

"Are you alright?"

Draco shook his head. "Blaise...he might have been a fool...but he..."

Understanding, Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's shoulders, pulling him in closely.

Just being there in Harry's arms made Draco feel better, his fingers grabbing at Harry's clothes weakly.

Harry looked up at Scorpius when he felt the boy's eyes on them. He was getting up from where he had been reading, heading for his parents.

He didn't get too close. In a move that was far too comical for the situation, Scorpius bounced off his dad as he tried to hug him. Landing on his rear after bouncing a fair way away, he couldn't help but laugh at what had just happened.

Both Harry and Draco joined him, watching him as his protective bubble kept him safe from everything around him.

It certainly lightened the mood.

Draco slipped out of Harry's arms to approach his son. Reaching to the boy to help him up, the three burst out into laughter as Scorpius' body was physically thrown away from the appendage. He bounced off the far wall and came to a halt before his parents.

"You should have done this sooner," Scorpius grinned before he took off running towards the closest wall. He flew back feet before he actually came in contact with it, barely missing Harry.

The distraction was just what Draco needed.

He stood, watching his son's antics with a smile when Harry wrapped his arms around his shoulders again, this time from behind.

The brunette pressed a kiss on the corner of Draco's left eye, catching the barest teardrop.

Draco chuckled lightly, his hands coming up to rest on Harry's wrists. "You're not allowed to kiss me."

"Oh? So, it's all good for you to kiss me, but not the other way around?"

"It was better than good," Draco admitted, loving the way Harry fit around him. They were perfectly fitted for each other.

Harry hummed, agreeing with Draco's comment. "Your son is going to kill us."

Draco's laughter got louder as Harry's arm travelled around his waist to pick him up and move them just before Scorpius' bounding body came at them.

"I'll try to get him back," Harry whispered, his arms tightening around Draco. "I'm going tonight with the Order. We'll try..."

Suddenly, Draco started to shake his head. "No. You're not allowed to. I'm not letting you go."

"Malfoy...I'd almost think you're falling for me," Harry laughed weakly. "If he's alive, we'll bring him back. I promise."

"You come back as well."

Harry nodded his head, lowering his forehead to Draco's shoulder.

"It'll be okay," Scorpius told them, getting as close as he dared to. "He comes back from this raid alive and well...it takes more than what they have waiting for him to defeat the great Harry Potter."

"See? I'll be fine."

"Don't let that get to your head, Potter," Draco snapped. "Even though you know this, still go as if you don't. I'm not going to ever forgive you if you get the slightest scratch."

Harry chuckled, tipping his mouth to Draco's ear. "You can examine me in person when I get back. I promise you, there won't be a single scratch, bruise, abrasion-I won't even let a mosquito bite me."

Draco was thankful the words were whispered. He was certain Scorpius didn't need to hear Harry's invitation.

"I'll hold you to that."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Scorpius cocked his head to one side, feigning innocence. "Is Harry my new papa?" he asked with a bold grin.

They broke away instantly, blushing deeply at the insinuation.

Draco couldn't help but feel guilty for being so close to Harry. "Scorp, can you leave us for a while?"

Green eyes widened briefly before Scorpius agreed. Both Harry and Draco watched as he left the Room, slipping on the Invisibility Cloak as the door closed behind him.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked, scratching at the back of his head. "Did I do something wrong? I mean, you're the one who originally came on to me..."

Draco smiled weakly. "I'm in love with Scorpius' papa...this isn't right..."

Shocking him, Harry laughed. "Of course whatever this is isn't right. I'm a Gryffindor, you're a Slytherin. I'm destined to destroy the man your father hails as a god. This was screwed up to begin with." He reached up, placing stray hairs behind Draco's ear.

"Don't even think about kissing me," Draco objected, stepping back. Harry laughed even more. "I'm serious, Potter. I'm falling for Scorpius' papa, not you."

"This is purely physical. I never said anything about falling in love. I'd prefer it if you fell in love with his papa instead of me. The thing that's going on between us shouldn't get that far. You end up with your husband and I end up with mine."

"Right."

"This is just..."

"Electric?"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You're a pureblood; you shouldn't know what electricity."

"I took Muggle Studies for a semester," Draco admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "Why don't you take it? You grew up Muggle..."

"I'd rather forget that," Harry muttered, brushing Draco's cheek with his knuckles.

"You should really stop that." He was grinning.

"So, now that we've talked that through, shall we bring Scorpius back in?"

There was a playful glint in Draco's eyes. "You didn't take any of that in, did you?"

The toothy smile Harry gave him was proof enough.

-

They hadn't planned much of it, but when Severus came back with news of their whereabouts, the Order attacked.

It was questioned whether if Zabini was worth saving or not (courtesy of Ron) before Severus added that several of the Inner Circle was to be there without Voldemort present. It was a rare prize, and the temptation was too much for some of the members of the Order. The idea of having so many Death Eaters without Voldemort was just too good to overlook.

The plan was as good as it was going to get with the minimum time they had. It was a basic ambush. According to Severus, the Dark Lord had left Zabini with a group of Death Eaters so they could torture him in front of his own mother. He had never heard of such a ritual within the Inner Circle, but it was happening.

The way he was told it made him really wonder what was happening with the whole situation. He recalled how Voldemort sighed before issuing the order with a dismissal wave of his hand. Severus had been the one to chain the boy and deliver him to the location. The Death Eaters were already present by the time he got the boy there. That meant that he had less of a chance to be discovered. The house had also been a previous hot spot, and the Order had lined the premises with devices that went off when the area was breeched. The potions master hadn't been told of these, but the silent alarms rang within Albus' office the moment a Death Eater placed a foot within the area.

It wasn't normal of the Dark Lord's behaviour to have so many of the Inner Circle together in the one spot without him. That fact worried Severus to no end. He couldn't imagine what was actually going on.

He wasn't given much of a chance to get word out to the Order. For a mere moment, he was left alone and that was all he needed. They hadn't even noticed he was gone.

Roughly half an hour later, before any of the torturing had taken place, Zabini's mother had been brought in. Mrs. Zabini shrieked in fear when she saw her son in chains against the wall the way he was. His own fearful eyes followed her as she was held down on the other side of the room, in perfect view of him.

It was Lucius Malfoy who gave the order to start the torment.

She screamed louder than Blaise did, yelling at the others to stop what they were doing. Her cries were dutifully ignored as curse after curse hit her son.

Severus often battled his inner demons regarding what he had to do. For the first time in his life, the man in him nearly won over the devil. Blaise Zabini was still his student, no matter how he looked at him. Regardless, he threw the hexes at the boy, ignoring his begging.

He could only hope the Order got there in time.

-

The moment the shield had left him, Scorpius had pouted. It took him five minutes after Harry let the Room of Requirement for his brain to catch up.

"Oh shit," he breathed, covering his mouth with his hand.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked. He was sitting on a fur rug in front of a fireplace, courtesy of the Room. Surrounding him were several books.

"What's today?"

"Thursday."

"Thursday the what?"

"The twenty-seventh."

"Oh shit," Scorpius repeated. "This battle isn't supposed to happen this early. Things are five days early...what if...what if he doesn't come back..."

His father moved over to him as quickly as he could, hearing the laboured breathing coming from the other boy. "It's okay. He'll come back. He promised me he would." He wrapped his arms around his son, worried for him now that he was shaking. "It's okay, Scorp. Potter's not going to die so easily...I've tried on more than one occasion to get him into serious trouble and he always avoids it."

Scorpius shook his head. "He's human. No matter what everyone seems to think of him, he's still a teenager who's being thrown into these things. He's not immortal, Dad. I don't want him to die..."

"He's not going to," Draco reiterated.

-

Mrs. Zabini wouldn't stop screaming for the torture to end. She hated to see her son going through so much pain.

All too happily, the Death Eaters used spells to increase the volume of his cries, grinning sadistically back at her.

Severus's eyes found the one man who removed his mask. He saw the younger version of this face on a daily basis.

Theodore Nott Senior had spent a few months in Azkaban and since then, he had gotten more and more violent. The killings he conducted involved a lot of pain and blood. He enjoyed torturing innocent Muggles, often bragging about how much they screamed when Voldemort summoned him. The widower smirked back at Mrs. Zabini before he turned back to Blaise. The other Death Eaters fell silent, having been present to one or more of his attacks.

From deep within his robes, he pulled out a kris, dirtied from previous and several victims. Despite Blaise's beaten, bloodied and broken body, he still managed to cringe and tried to move away from the older wizard. He struggled against the chains right up until Nott was before him.

"Get away from my son!" Mrs. Zabini hissed out but was pushed back into place by the Death Eaters around her.

"Hold him still," Nott ordered, cocking his head towards Blaise. The boy tried to fight against the hands that grabbed him but had no effect on them. He was far too weak from blood loss and the pain of far too many Cruciatus Curses to make any difference.

They pinned him easily, giving him up to the widower. He unchained Blaise's arms, forcing one under a Death Eater's knee and the other under his own.

"Be sure your mother hears you," Nott whispered to him before he lowered the kris to Blaise's wrist.

Severus nearly looked away, holding back Mrs. Zabini, and felt his stomach curl at Blaise's scream. He was shielded from seeing what was happening, but hid his revulsion as Nott threw the boy's hand to his right. Mrs. Zabini shrieked again at the sight, her tears cascading down her face.

There was an urge to punch the man to Severus' own right as Lucius Malfoy positioned himself in front of the distressed mother. "This is what you get for being a whore," he hissed, snatching up her chin in his hand. "Our Lord is forever taken; his lover wanted you to suffer. Your inability to keep you legs shut caused this." He leant in close to whisper to her. "You killed your son."

He let her face go, turning to see what else was happening. Several of the Death Eaters backed off, seeing the Dark Lord's snake head towards the hand on the floor. Her gaping jaws took it in without a problem before she slithered back again into the dark shadows.

Another cry from Blaise assaulted their ears and his other hand was thrown to Nagini.

Mrs. Zabini had hit hysteria; the words she babbled made no sense.

Blaise didn't have the strength in him to vocalise his pain as his left shin was removed by Nott and his deadly kris.

"Remove it of its clothes before you give it to her," Malfoy ordered and Nott handed the limb to a nearby Death Eater. He barely removed his mask before he vomited. Another stole the leg from him, ripping the pants leg, the shoe and the sock off. Seemingly honoured, he walked right up to the snake to hand feed her.

His own shocked cry alerted the Death Eaters to the face that they weren't supposed to go near Nagini. He dropped the leg, holding his right arm, trying to stop the blood flowing from the two puncture wounds she left behind.

"Moron," Malfoy snapped while Nott snickered to himself. "Nagini has altered venom; you're dead in a few minutes."

The obviously younger Death Eater ran to the closest door and left the room.

-

The Aurors were swift in their arrival, taking Harry alongside them. He hadn't had time to get his licence and was forced to side-Aparate with Remus to the location Severus had informed them of. He hoped (for Draco's sake more than anything) that Zabini was still alive and in a good enough condition to bring home. He also hoped that Severus was right with his information. Although he had improved with his skills, Harry was certain he wasn't yet good enough to defeat Voldemort.

Moody led the pack of them through the house. It was easy to tell where they were-the screaming certainly helped.

There was no trouble to begin with. The first floor was completely clear of all Death Eaters. They made sure they checked the whole first floor to make sure they wouldn't have any surprise attacks from the front. Tonks quickly blocked the floo to prevent any other guests from arriving that way.

Going up the stairs to the second floor gave them an issue. The wood creaked under their every step and was sure to alert someone of their presence. Harry (though he felt quite disturbed for these thoughts) was glad that Zabini was screaming so loudly. He was certain to drown out the noise of their arrival.

Moody still stayed in front, hissing out oaths as he ran into the first Death Eater of the night. The man was dead, in the middle of rapid decay as something vile ate away at his skin. His mask was held in his left hand-the majority of his right hand and arm was missing. Whatever it was that had done this to him had eaten away the skin of his hands and his face from what they could see.

"Madigan," Moody muttered, barely able to identify the bastard. "Light on our radar, but there. It looks like Voldemort's snake got him."

His words were quiet and without any sorrow.

"Mister Weasley..." Harry started, remembering the time Arthur was attacked by Nagini.

"You-Know-Who has altered her venom. It's acidic to flesh now," Tonks briefed him quickly. "Looks like you'll have to be extra careful, Harry."

Harry nodded his head before they continued, wands at the ready.

They got closer and closer to the room where the door was opened slightly. Harry peeked in to the best of his abilities just in time to see Zabini's other leg being thrown across the room. He felt his stomach churn at the sight.

Blood covered that side of the room. It was over the wall, the floor and the ceiling. It wasn't hard to imagine how it got there, not with the way that man was flinging the limbs.

"Zabini's not coming home with us," Harry breathed weakly. Remus looked over his shoulder before he pulled him back.

"How many did you see?"

"There are about five huddled in one corner...I didn't see the rest."

The oldest of them all was about to get into a strategy, but was rudely cut short. A Death Eater had taken to the door, wrenching it open with shaking hands before he was sick at the door jam. When his eyes rose, he found himself staring at several wands.

Without thinking, someone Stunned the man, which set off the entire squad of Death Eaters. One pop was heard over the hustle before the door swung completely open.

Spells, hexes and curses flew from both sides of the doorway with the Order members spreading out. The first to be taken down were the five Harry had pointed out.

Harry ducked and weaved around the green lights being shot at him. He heard the Death Eaters hiss out his name as they trained their wands at him, intent on either killing him or capturing him. Using the wordless magic to knock back their capturing attempts, Harry found it much easier to take them by surprise. The few Death Eaters were overpowered easily, though most Aparated away once they were defeated to prevent their own capture.

The Death Eaters were careless with their attack, using the Avada Kedavra every chance they got. Harry saw the only mask-less Death Eater fall to his own comrade through the curse.

Harry tried his hardest to locate the familiar cane of Lucius Malfoy, but found himself thoroughly disappointed. It was then that he realised who it was that Aparated away before the second spell was cast.

Once the barrage of spells ceased and all the uncaptured Death Eater Aparated from the scene, the Order was left with the unconscious and the mother and her child.

Mrs. Zabini had crawled over to the mutilated boy on the other side of the room the moment she had been released. Her ramblings continued as she rocked back and forth, cradling her son's mutilated body to her bosom. It was as if she didn't notice the handle of the kris protruding from her son's chest.

-

They had all returned safely, Harry realised with a heavy sigh. Someone had received a Cruciatus, but that was as extreme as the injuries were. He shook his head ruefully. The sight of Zabini's body had made him physically ill. The first thing he did when he got back to GryffindorTower was empty his stomach of whatever it had inside it. And then the thought struck him-he had to tell Draco that this had happened and that he couldn't save Zabini the way he wanted.

His body wasn't brought back with them. Mrs. Zabini hadn't broken free from her son. She didn't want the Order members anywhere near him. She blamed them for what had happened.

Although he wouldn't admit it, he was slightly worried for Severus. The man had no way of contacting them if he was caught in the crossfire like Nott Senior had been (Harry was later told by Moody just who that man was).

The second stop (and possibly final stop) of the night was to the Room of Requirement. He had to get to Draco and Scorpius before the night was through. The doors immediately let him in and he felt his own heart skip a beat.

In the middle of the room was a large, four poster bed. Scorpius was curled up under the blankets with his head resting in Draco's lap as Draco read to him in the softest voice Harry had ever heard.

Draco's eyes turned up towards the door, watching Harry's entrance. His reading haltered as he let off a relieved sigh, though his breath caught. The clothes Harry wore were splattered with blood, but he couldn't see any wounds from where he was.

"You're alright?"

Harry approached the bed, kneeling on the mattress before he sat up with Draco on the pillows. Scorpius was sleeping soundly, but had obviously had trouble getting to that state.

He stirred when Harry ran a hand through his hair.

"Papa?" he muttered, his hand grabbing at Harry's shirt. Draco put the book down before he leant over, resting his head on Harry's shoulder.

"All that blood...you promised..."

"None of it is mine," Harry whispered, nuzzling Draco's hair.

"Blaise?"

Before Harry could answer, Scorpius rustled against his dad's hip, stirring awake.

In his sleepy haze, he murmured. "Papa?" He pushed himself up on his arms, slowly waking to the fact that both Draco and Harry were there. "You're back." He blinked quickly. "And-and you're covered in blood. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Harry told him, ruffling his hair. "It's just as you said."

He couldn't help but smile as Draco pulled the blankets up Harry's legs. It was almost like a silent invite into their family.

Harry kissed Draco's cheek, pushing his hand through Scorpius' hair.

The more time he spent with the two of them, the more he felt like this was a family. He didn't know much about families and what they were supposed to feel like, but the warmth he got in his tummy had to be the real thing. It just had to be.

That forced him to realise yet again that he wasn't meant to be in that family. Whoever was Scorpius' papa was to fill his spot.

Draco curled up next to Harry, almost as if he had read the teen's thoughts. He couldn't deny it; although he mightn't have a permanent spot in that family, he certainly enjoyed his time with them and wouldn't change it for the world.

"Did you get hurt?" Draco asked, completely resting his body on Harry's.

"Too bad if I did," Harry chuckled, wrapping his arm around Draco's body. "You would have crushed me by now."

Draco smiled at the taller boy, settling himself comfortably in his arms.

"Not a scratch?"

Harry grinned, burying his face in Draco's neck. "I don't recall any injuries."

"How about everyone else?"

"Everyone in the Order got back just fine," Harry informed him. "We caught a few Death Eaters..." He felt Draco stiffen next to him. "It's fine, if you're concerned about your father."

The blonde turned his face away. "Why would I be concerned about him? It's not like he would have been there or anything."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow at his dad's blatant lie

"You're not convincing anyone, Dad." Scorpius crawled up, stretching his body along both Harry and Draco's legs.

Harry's arm tightened around Draco's waist. "We need to talk."

"Regarding the blood on your clothes?" Draco asked with a questioning look on his face.

-

Black eyes darted up as Severus heard the door to his private room open up.

"Someone got you," Remus observed, looking at the man he knew to be his future husband.

"I got him back," Severus told him with a smirk. He was sitting on the edge of his bathtub, looking at his reflection as he applied lotions to his facial wounds.

"Is there anything worse than this?" Remus stepped up close to him, bending to examine the scratches covering his face.

"Just a few grazes."

The werewolf took the balm from Severus' hand. He took over the tending of the wounds. "Did you make this?"

"Are you trying to make a conversation?" Severus countered.

"I thought it'd be less awkward if we actually talked to each other, rather than me just putting my hands all over your body in silence."

Severus cocked his eyebrow at Remus. "Who's to say you'll be doing that?"

He received a toothy grin. "I'm sure there'll be some grazes you can't reach." His fingers moved over the scratch on Severus' upper cheek. "How the hell did you get so many of these? Shirt off."

At first, the potions master argued, but lost the battle, figuring it was much less of a bother to fight with a werewolf so soon after a full moon.

"What the hell happened to you?" Remus asked, looking at the injury to his left side. "Did someone throw you out of a moving train or something?"

The abrasion started just under his ribs and moved down as far as Remus could see.

"I'm certain Moody did this one."

Remus knelt next to him, scooping out the cold gel to apply it to the broken skin. Severus flinched slightly, hissing at the contact. He felt Severus' hand sifting through his hair and had to stop himself from smiling too much at the open show of affection.

The hand moved down to cup Remus' jaw. His face was lifted slightly before Severus claimed his lips in a soft kiss. When he pulled away, Remus looked down bashfully, suddenly shy with the taller man.

"I'm glad you're not hurt," Severus muttered honestly.

Blush spread over Remus' face, so he focused more on the wound than what Severus was saying.

"How far does this thing go?" Remus demanded, looking at how the scratch went past Severus' pants line. He pushed the material down, finding no end to the abrasion.

"Not much further," Severus informed him, eyeing the other man. He tipped Remus' face to his again, kissing him deeply.

"You're injured," Remus objected, pulling away. He blushed even harder when he realised how low he had forced Severus' pants down. "I'm sorry."

"You were moments away from turning into a wolf and you were insisting we had sex."

He had a point.

"That's different though...I wasn't bleeding everywhere like you are."

"I'm not bleeding anywhere," Severus smirked, shifting forward to press his face into Remus' neck. "I want you."

Remus was shocked by Severus' wanton words, but shuddered as he felt those lips attack his skin. He couldn't help but pull the Slytherin close to his body, wrapping his arms around Severus' shoulders. Severus stood swiftly, dragging Remus' up with him and out of the bathroom.

The werewolf was quickly led to the bed. He couldn't help but grin when he fell back, pulling Severus along with him.

-

Draco had sent Scorpius off to bed. He had a feeling it wouldn't be good for the young boy to hear what Harry had to tell him.

They curled up on the fur rug before the raging fire together as chastely as they possibly could. Harry spooned Draco tightly, who used Harry's arm as a pillow.

"I'm guessing Blaise is dead."

"He was brutally tortured," Harry admitted, kissing Draco's neck lightly. "We didn't make it in time."

"I wanted him to survive..."

"After what they did to him, he's better off dead." Draco cringed. "Both Zabini and Nott Senior were killed by the Death Eaters..."

"Mister Nott? Why would he be killed by Death Eaters?"

"We reckon he was caught in the crossfire. It was he who did all that to Zabini though. And his mother was forced to watch the whole thing."

Draco turned around in Harry's arms and kissed the brunette soundly. "I don't want to go to bed just yet."

"Then I suggest we play chess or something..."