Second Place - Romance

Christmas morning found the Weasley household in a slightly more somber mood than usual as most of the inhabitants had had a late and disturbing night.

Harry smiled when he awoke and felt the strong arms of his husband wrapped around his body. Squirming back into the older man, Harry was pleased to feel the hardness nestled against his cheeks. Rocking back and forth, slowly at first, Harry grasped his husband's hand and brought it down to his own erection. Sensing that his mate was awakening, Harry sped up his motions and he was rewarded when the slender fingers began stroking him through his pajamas. Grunting quietly, the two men allowed their arousals to build. Feeling the impending rush of his climax, Harry twisted around slightly to capture his husband's willing lips with his own. Harry cried into his mate's mouth as the waves of orgasm crashed through his body. Stiffening, he felt Severus quicken his thrusts against his backside until he too reached completion. Joining his husband in the afterglow of orgasm, Severus sighed happily.

"Morning, Sev," Harry quietly said once he was capable of speaking again.

"Good morning, brat," his husband rejoined.

Smiling up at his husband, Harry reached up and placed a kiss on the tip of the prominent nose. Then as he sat up, he waved a hand to rid them of the mess they had both created. Harry knew from experience that they had better get up soon and join the rest of the Weasleys downstairs or risk being dragged down by an over exuberant Ron.

Ron was indeed up early despite the events of the previous night. While he felt bad about Percy, the truth was that they had never been all that close. Percy had always held himself apart from the rest of the family, and Ron wondered if they shouldn't have seen this coming long ago.

Draco proved to be a bit harder to awaken than even Harry, and it wasn't until Ron threatened the blonde's hair that the young man begrudgingly got up. Ron smirked as he thought that at least some things never changed.

Hermione awoke first, and sighing, she gently woke Ginny. Hermione felt badly for the Weasleys as she knew how much they valued family. Shaking her head as she dressed to go downstairs, she wondered how anyone could throw something so precious away.

Molly moved slowly after a long and sleepless night. Her heart was broken by the actions of her son, but she mentally pulled herself together. It was Christmas morning after all, and she still had a family to look after.

Arthur smiled slightly as he recognized the determination in his beautiful wife's face. Once again he thought that he was truly blessed to have such a wonderful woman by his side. Together they had already faced many challenges, and he knew that they would weather this also.

Charlie stretched as he awoke. In an odd sort of way, it was comforting to be back in his old room at the Burrow. He frowned as he recalled the events of last night. Guess he shouldn't be surprised that Percy would be such a prick. He only hoped his parents could get through this all right. Charlie made the decision in that moment to take a leave of absence from his job at the dragon reserve. He thought that his presence here was needed for the time being and the young man was determined to be there for his family. After all, he was a Weasley and Weasleys, Percy notwithstanding, stick together.

Molly was putting the finishing touches on breakfast when the twins arrived in a whirlwind of activity. Remus followed much more sedately behind the spirited duo. Last night had been a rather wild ride and the werewolf was not quite as young as he used to be. Bill and Narcissa arrived soon after, and the gathered clan sat down at the large table.

Seeing an encouraging nod from his wife, Arthur cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention. "Family, something happened last night which you need to know." Pausing, he gathered his courage to continue. "After we retired for the night, Percy tried to poison both Harry and Severus."

He was interrupted by the twins' outburst at this upsetting piece of news. Raising a hand, Arthur silently signaled that he wished to continue. "Now, as you can plainly see, both Harry and Severus are fine, but as you might imagine we are all rather upset. Fortunately, Severus was suspicious of Percy's sudden arrival yesterday and they were prepared for the attack. Your brother Charlie and I took Percy to the Ministry last night where his is being held, pending a trial. Now, as today is Christmas, I must insist that for the moment at least, we put this aside and enjoy our day together. Tomorrow we will again worry about the situation. But for now, we will rejoice in our health and our happiness."

Molly beamed at her husband. Yes, he could certainly be eccentric with his fondness for all things muggle, but he was also an eminently practical man and he had been her rock for a great many wonderful years.

Remus regarded Harry with concerned eyes. He knew all too well that Harry tended to blame himself for everything that went wrong around him. Having learned some of the particulars concerning his upbringing with the horrid Dursleys, Remus had come to understand the situation. He had even looked it up in a muggle psychology book. The term was �internalization,' and Harry exhibited all of the classic symptoms. Apparently the poor boy had been continuously blamed for every mishap the family encountered until Harry had learned to blame himself. After a while he didn't even need others to tell him he was at fault. He had already done that job for them. What Remus had also learned was that since it was a long process of learning the behavior, it was an equally long process of relearning appropriate responses to such situations. Remus sighed. He would have to make an effort to speak to Severus later today.

Then, determined to follow Arthur's advice, Remus turned his mind to other matters. A small smile passed across his face as he recalled the twins' promise to show him their father's collection of muggle appliances that were housed out in the shed. The winks and smirks that had accompanied the invitation left no doubt that the collection was not the real reason for the visit to the shed. It had only been a few weeks, but already the werewolf was addicted to the pair. He tried not to think about what the future might bring, when they had tired of him and were ready to move on...

Narcissa bit her lip as she listened to the description of the previous night's events. She tried to tell herself that she was being paranoid, but somehow, she had the idea that her, thankfully, ex-husband was involved. Frowning, the blonde woman decided that a talk with Albus Dumbledore was in order. Silently she slipped a hand into Bill's, hoping that he would accept her encouragement and support. A glance and a smile sent her way let her know that it was indeed.

Ginny held onto Draco's arm, glad that the formerly arrogant young man had allowed himself to reach beyond his father's influence. She knew that she was still young and that she still had more than a year left at Hogwarts, but she had often found herself hoping that there could be a future for the two of them. Smiling shyly at her boyfriend, the youngest Weasley was rewarded when the young man in question placed a reassuring arm around her.

Draco was aware of the intense gaze emanating from his girlfriend. Smiling, he quietly scooted over on the bench and he tucked her into his side and thought about what he had decided to do. Last night, after the excitement surrounding his godfather and his mate had settled down, Draco had made a very important decision. He would try to find a private moment with Mr. Weasley later today and ask the older man's permission to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage. Draco knew that they would have to wait until she had graduated from Hogwarts, but he thought she was well worth the patience.

Ron hugged his new fianc�e as they listened his father speaking. After his father and Charlie had returned from the Ministry they had indulged in a few or more glasses of firewhiskey. After the bottle had died an honorable death, the men had finally found their way up to their rooms. It was perhaps the latest Ron had ever risen on Christmas morning. Draco had smirked knowingly at him in the morning when they had finally roused, but even in his condition, Ron could see that there was no real rancor in the gesture. If he had been asked a year ago if he and Draco Malfoy could have ever gotten along he would have laughed at the speaker. But it seemed that they had all grown up some, and as much as he hated to admit it, Ginny did seem to be happy with the blonde Slytherin. Looking over to his fianc�e, Ron blushed as he saw the happiness shining in Hermione's eyes.

Charlie watched his mother as she bravely tried to put on a good face. He knew her well enough to know that her family was everything to the fierce woman. Charlie hoped someday to find someone just like her. He still was open to the idea of his beloved being either a man or a woman. The sex didn't matter to the dragon researcher as much as the qualities they possessed. He had experimented and had found that he really didn't have a preference as to the sexual persuasion of his mate. What did matter to him, though, was their character. As yet, he had found no one who could truly ignite his passion, but he was an optimist.

Harry sank down in his seat as Mr. Weasley spoke. Realistically he knew that it wasn't his fault Percy had attacked him, but he couldn't help but feel responsible. If only, he found himself wondering.

Severus sighed as he felt his young mate indulging in self-recrimination. Glancing across the table, he caught the werewolf's eye and he nodded. Yes, they would be speaking later. There had to be something he could do to help Harry.

Understandably, the meal was a rather sedate one as the family and guests considered the treachery of one of their own, but the twins did their part to buoy spirits. Soon, the participants were laughing at the pranksters' antics and the mood lessoned considerably after that.

After breakfast, gifts were exchanged and Harry was delighted with his take. He didn't think it could ever be Christmas without one of Mrs. Weasley's hand knitted sweaters or the chocolate frogs from Ron. In addition, this year the young man was astonished to receive an eyesight-correcting potion from his husband. Shortly after entering the wizarding world Harry had looked into options for his hideous eyesight only to be disappointed to learn that a potion was indeed available, but was so terribly complicated that only a master could make it and only a select few could even think of affording the potion. As such, it was not even available for sale, as the potential market was so small.

Harry hugged his husband in front of the assembled group, heedless of the older man's slight embarrassment. Bright green eyes looked up into deep onyx ones and the young wizard briefly kissed his reticent husband to the amusement of the extended family members.

Severus smiled in spite of his embarrassment at the rather public display of affection. The potion had been a labor of love and he felt more than amply rewarded by the bright smile and astonished expression of his beloved. In turn, he was equally surprised and pleased by the obscure potions manual that Harry had managed to obtain for him. It turned out that his dear husband had spoken with Albus and had gotten the name of a reliable potions dealer who had connections... And, well, Severus hated to think of what his young husband had shelled out for such a volume, but he was truly appreciative. In fact, he would have to find a way to adequately thank the young man later in private.

As promised, the twins invited Remus to view the collection of muggle artifacts gathering cobwebs in the shed. Unsurprisingly, no one else had been interested in coming along, although there had been a few tense moments when Arthur had volunteered to personally conduct the tour, but fortunately Draco had intervened and had asked for a private audience with the Weasley patriarch.

Successfully reaching the quiet of the shed, George securely shut the shed door behind him. Muttering a few strong locking and silencing wards, he turned and winked at his twin. Fred, seeing the sign, pulled Remus to him and began to thoroughly kiss the older man. George moved up from behind Remus and reached around to begin unbuttoning their lover's shirt. Running a hand over the lightly furred chest, he pressed closely to the man he knew they wanted to spend the rest of their lives with. George ground his erection into the firm arse facing him and he felt his twin grasping the slim hips as he ground his own hard length into their lover.

Remus moaned at the twin assault and even in his arousal as able to smirk at the pun his mind had supplied. He eagerly allowed his hands to roam wherever, not really caring which lover he was touching. In his mind, they were an extension of each other and one did not exist without the other. He could not imagine being with only one of them.

Hands, it didn't matter whose, undid Remus' trouser button and zipper and gently pulled the offending article of clothing down and out of the way. Soon he felt similarly unclothed bodies rubbing against him and before he was able to wonder how that had happened, he felt his arousal build. A hard cock rubbed along the crevice of his buttocks while another danced with his own and the sensations of hands and lips and cocks against him were enough to drive the werewolf to completion. With a muffled shout into a willing mouth, Remus shook as the orgasm ripped through him. Fred quickly followed his lover into the throes of ecstasy with his twin joining in the aftershocks of climax. One of the twins muttered a cleansing spell and with the mess magically cleaned away, the men sighed. After the trio redressed, a few more kisses were exchanged before Fred pulled back. He and George shared a knowing glance and together they faced their lover.

"Remus," began Fred.

"We have come to love you in our lives," George picked up.

"And we would like to keep you in our lives," Fred continued.

"Since you are a werewolf, we can't marry," George carried on.

"But we have found a way for us to be bonded together," Fred said.

"So will you bond with us?" the two asked in unison, nervous anticipation evident in two pairs of hazel eyes.

Whatever Remus had been expecting, this was not it. Where they serious, he wondered? Looking into the anxious eyes, Remus finally understood that this was what they truly wanted. Smiling shyly, the werewolf nodded and somehow found the nerve to say, "Yes."

Broad smiles broke out and the pair hugged their fianc� tightly. Lips vied for the same mouth and the trio laughed in their joy.

Draco came out of Arthur Weasley's private study with a huge grin on his face. He knew that it wasn't dignified for a Malfoy to grin, but he couldn't help it. He had gotten an enthusiastic nod of approval for his courtship of Ginny Weasley and the grin just wouldn't go away.

Walking over to his girlfriend, the young Malfoy whispered in her ear and was rewarded when she shyly took his hand and led him back into the room he and her father had just vacated. Several minutes later the pair came out and with a bounce in her step, Ginny ran over to her mother and father and hugged her parents. Draco made quick work of explaining his new fianc�e's exuberance to the bemused family. He looked over to see his mother gazing at him with a smile on her lips and a smile in her eyes. The young man had never been happier; but come to think of it, he had never seen his mother so happy either.

Fred, George and Remus walked in to hear their sister and Draco being congratulated on their engagement. Smiling, the twins decided that the more the merrier, so they might as well add to the joy...

The Flipside of Sanity - Chapter 31

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