Harry Potter and the Sword of Gryffindor - 9. Chapter 9

When Dumbledore said trouble, he meant trouble. The last couple of months had been relatively quiet, as far as Voldemort and his death eaters were concerned. As Harry and Draco sat in the living room of Black Manor, drinking some tea, with Professor Snape hovering behind them, they learned that the period of calm was over.

Forty dead muggles and two dead wizards in Lower Brighton. An entire wizard family, and their muggle relatives were dead outside Manchester. Twenty-six dead muggles and three squid families dead in the center of London. On and on the list of attacks went. All made on Christmas day and all the work of Death Eaters. All told, over three hundred muggles and nearly sixty wizards and witches were dead. All had some relation to the magical world or had been near the places of attack. No mercy had been shown in any of the attacks whatsoever.

The only gleam of hope had been that the attack on the Burrow failed miserably. Ron and Hermione had captured two Death Eaters while Fred and George had captured another. Charlie, who was visiting for the holidays, managed to kill another with a flame curse he had learned overseas. Arthur and Mollie had managed to subdue two more Death Eaters, one of them from the Parkinson family.

In the other attacks, three Hogwarts students had been killed. One of them had been a student attending their D.A. meetings. The seventh year Hufflepuff had managed to hide her younger sister with an disillusionment charm then fought off a Death Eater, knocking him out in a wizard’s duel before two more Death Eaters arrived, killing her after a few minutes. The younger sister had survived. She was in her first year at Hogwarts, also a Hufflepuff and was able to provide a detailed account of her sister's defense of her family. Kingsley had been the Auror who first arrived on the scene and forwarded the story to Dumbledore.

“Harry, you can’t blame yourself.” Dumbledore said softly as Harry flinched at each and every bit of information. Draco was putting an arm around him, trying to keep him calm but he lost it entirely.

“How can you say that?” Harry yelled, throwing Draco’s arm off. “Oh sure, while I’m sitting there sipping tea with Voldemort’s right-hand man and getting engaged to his son, hundreds of people were dying! I should have been here where I could have done good!”

“Harry!” Draco exclaimed, a look of hurt on his face.

“Sit down, Potter.” Snape snapped irritably. “While you’re at it, get your damn heart off your sleeve. You’re stronger than this and you know that.”

Harry stared wordlessly at the greasy-haired Potions Master. Anger, rage, and hatred flowed through him and for a moment he was tempted to go for his wand. He didn’t though when he saw an emotion flash through the man’s eyes. Sympathy was the last thing he ever expected from this man.

“How…why…” Harry stuttered at the man.

“Not more than three hours ago I stood in the place of your father at your engagement.” Snape snapped at him. “Don’t you think that incurs some responsibility for you on my part?”

“What do you mean?” Harry snapped suspiciously.

“It means that so long as you are engaged, or married, to Draco Malfoy he will act in the role of your father.” Dumbledore said softly. “He will listen to you when you need someone to talk to about your relationship, he will tell you when he thinks you are being foolish, and he will be there to support you.”

“What?” Harry screeched, causing both Snape and Draco to flinch. “You…you have no right!”

“Mr. Potter.” Snape said crisply. “You may not fully understand this, but I have gotten to know you quite well over the last year. While I do not agree with you on many topics, while I find myself quite irritated at some of your habits, and while you still grate on my nerves every time you wear your heart on your sleeve, I have still come to care for you. I won’t lie to you, I detested your father and a lot of my dislike of you over the years stems from how much you resemble him. However, your mother was someone I respect still to this day. Out of that respect for her, and from what I have learned of you during our Occlumensy lessons, and my caring for your fiancé, I stood for you this morning. I will fulfill my obligations to the utmost of my abilities. The only thing I expect from you is that you will listen to me when I speak to you.”

“Does this mean Tonks will try to mother me?” Was the only thing Harry could think of to say. He felt pole-axed, and he was certain he looked that way as well. He looked over at Draco and saw the concern, and love in those grey eyes and couldn’t help but let out a sigh and let go of the anger he was feeling.

“You did this to me, you bastard.” He said softly, letting Draco settle him back down in the chair.

“Harry, the tragedy of yesterday will probably do more good in the long run than anything else.” Dumbledore said bluntly. “The loss of life has been tragic, yes, but in the long run it will work in our favor.”

“How does the death of hundreds of people work in our favor?” Harry asked miserably.

“Voldemort has otherwise been quiet since the attack on the Ministry.” Dumbledore explained. “There are elements in the Ministry that have been arguing that the Ministry attack, and capture of the senior Malfoy broke the back of Voldemort’s organization. They have been arguing that he does not pose as great a threat as we have been warning. I’ve made certain…moves to make these elements as discredited as possible. Fortunately, their leading force was already discredited and it was easy to maneuver situations to further discredit them. Now, their support in the Ministry will be non-existent. Minister Fudge, for all of his shortcomings, is excellent at political maneuvering. Now he is left with no room except to maneuver in the direction that the Order needs him to move.”

“Umbridge.” Harry said after a moment, and saw the smile on Dumbledore’s face. “That’s why she presided over Draco’s trial. You knew it would discredit her more than she already was.”

“I had certainly hoped she would perform to her usual…abilities.” Dumbledore admitted with a chuckle.

“What do we do about these attacks?” Harry asked.

“Minister Fudge is calling a meeting later today.” Dumbledore explained. “You will be invited as will I. We will arrive together. First however, I will need to teach you how to Apparate.”

“But it’s not legal to do that until I’m 17!” Harry remarked in surprise. Dumbledore smiled and handed him a piece of parchment.

~By Order Of ~

The Minister of Magic

Harry Potter, of Black Manor, is hereby granted this special license to learn and make use of the Apparate and Disapparate abilities. In recognition of his outstanding service to the community, and in recognition of his proven judgment, he is also exempted from the statutes regarding the Underage Use of Magic effective this date. This order shall inure him from prosecution of the applicable section of wizarding law.

Cornelius Fudge

Minister of Magic

“I don’t believe this!” Harry exclaimed. “The man hates me!”

“Yes, but you’re his best hope of surviving the political backlash from the attacks.” Draco said firmly. “If you show up in the papers as blaming him for not being prepared, he’s dead politically. If they show you standing next to him, with you helping him, he might survive this.”

“Astute, Mr. Malfoy.” Dumbledore said.

“Which is why you’ll be keeping Harry next to you.” Draco added. “If Fudge wants in the picture, he’ll have to stand there with you also in the picture. Which means that if he publicly opposes you while Harry’s at Hogwarts, he’ll pay a heavy political price.”

“Again, very astute, Mr. Malfoy.” Dumbledore said with another chuckle.

“Come with me, Mr. Malfoy.” Snape said at a signal from Dumbledore. “Let’s see if those Weasley brats left any potion ingredients here.”

The next three hours almost caused Harry to have a heart attack. Apparition wasn’t the easiest of spells to learn. He remembered how long it had taken the twins to do it, but with Dumbledore’s patient guidance Harry managed to master it within the time frame. Draco came back down with Snape just in time to give him a farewell kiss. Snape looked like he was about to object when Dumbledore gently reminded him that they were not at school.

Harry would never admit it to Draco, but the look on Snape’s face at the moment was why he was smiling as he disapparated from Black Manor, not the kiss. Okay, not only because of the kiss.

The scene as Dumbledore and Harry entered the Ministry of Magic was pandemonium. There were so many flashes going off, shouted questions, and pushing that Harry wasn’t sure if he would managed to get through or not. However, Dumbledore’s presence cleared a path through them. Sure enough, Fudge met them just beyond the rope barrier keeping people from leaving the lobby and he immediately tried to maneuver Harry to where their picture could be taken without Dumbledore in the shot. He gave up after five minutes and his smile faded from his face as he invited them upstairs.

The meeting room was full of people. Every Minister was there, as were most of their Assistants. Percy sat in a corner of the room, looking quite miserable. Arthur Weasley looked haggard. His hair was uncombed and there were still soot marks on his face, but he gave Harry a big grin and a wave when they entered. The Minister immediately sat at the head of the great table, pointing Dumbledore to the open seat at his right. Harry took the empty seat next to Dumbledore’s. A few of the Ministers gasped as he sat at the table, but no one said anything. The flash of a camera announced that there was at least one reporter in the room, and Harry smiled thinking it would be all but impossible to get a shot of him and Fudge without Dumbledore in it as well.

“This special meeting of the Council of the Ministry of Magic is hereby called to order.” Fudge said gravely. “Let the record show that all Deparment Heads are in attendance. Special guests include Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts and possessor of many other honored titles as well as Harry James Potter, Order of Merlin Third Class.”

“I can see the need for Dumbledore,” an older wizard halfway down the table spoke up, “but I see no need for the whelp to be sitting at the table.”

“Be quiet, Konlad.” Mr. Weasley snapped irritably. “My family survived the attack on our home last night thanks to him.”

“Thanks to him?” The same wizard snapped back. “What did he do? From what I heard he was sipping tea at the Death Eater den, Malfoy Manor!”

“He’s the one who made sure my kids knew how to defend themselves last year when your pet Umbridge wasn’t teaching them anything!” Arthur Weasley yelled in anger. “He’s the one whose been making sure they were even more prepared this year, and he’s the one who has fought Voldemort four times while you’ve sat there and hid your head in the cauldron!”

The entire room gasped at the mention of Voldermort’s name and one of the Assistant Department heads in the back of the room fell out of her chair. Harry almost chuckled aloud at hearing the affable and usually friendly Mr. Weasley not only yelling but calling the Dark Lord by his name. Fudge was banging on the table trying to grab attention back, but it was Dumbledore who stepped into the moment.

“Now is not the time to cast about blame or argue amongst ourselves.” Dumbledore said firmly. “I believe what the good Minister of Magic here wants is for us to figure out what steps can be taken to opposing Voldemort and his Death Eaters as well as instilling confidence in our citizens.”

“Exactly.” Fudge broke in, trying to look in command of the meeting and failing. “I have asked Mr. Potter and Headmaster Dumbledore here to help us in formulating a response to the tragic attacks of last night. First I would like to see if we can piece together a more complete picture of what has happened.”

“So far we have identified over forty attacks throughout England.” The wizard in charge of the Aurors reported gravely. “Each attack was performed by a number of Death Eaters ranging from at least five to as many as twenty. They took place over a period of several hours so it would seem that many were performed by the same groups, not by forty separate groups.”

“Well that’s some good news.” A witch near the end of the table muttered aloud.

“Yes, yes, of course.” The Auror Head replied. “The last two attacks were actually spotted by some Aurors from my department. They managed to capture three of them and kill two more. Except for the defense of the Weasley home, this was the best defense of the night. In most of the attacks the Death Eaters met little or no resistance.”

“Was there any pattern to those attacks where they were resisted?” Harry asked, earning him a glare from Fudge.

“Um, yes, there were.” The Auror Head said uncomfortably. “Where the attacks were resisted in any way, all the evidence indicates that those who resisted were students at Hogwarts.”

“You can’t expect me to believe that children resisted Death Eaters while full wizards and witches just died!” The older wizard sitting next to Harry commented. He seemed vaguely familiar, but then he’d met with a good many of the people in the room over the summer.

“Remember who you’re sitting next to?” Arthur Weasely asked the man sarcastically. “I seem to remember he’s gone toe to toe with Voldemort a few times.”

Again that name got quite a few gasps.

“Was there anything in common about the students?” Dumbledore asked in the silence following Weasley’s statement.

“Yes.” The Auror Head said, clearing his throat. “The students were from all four Houses of Hogwarts, including Slytherin, but they all stated that they attended the training sessions established by Mr. Potter last year or started this year. Most had just started this year and were in the fifth year or higher.”

“Harry, what does that make you think?” Dumbledore asked.

It took Harry a moment to respond as he thought about what he’d heard. When Dumbledore first told him about these events he’d blamed himself for not being there to fight back, but hearing this information made him realize that in a way, he had been. While Hermione and Ron had played a role in getting the D.A. going, it was he who had made it work. Then he remembered something Lucius Malfoy had said to him in this very building before Sirius had died.

“Last year I made a mistake and fell into a trap set by Voldemort in this very building.” Harry said quietly. He was speaking just loud enough that his voice carried through the room, but quietly enough that people were leaning forward to catch every word. “Voldemort was after a prophesy that he needed me to retrieve. I had just gotten it, and was trying to leave when Lucius Malfoy cornered me and my friends. He had more Death Eaters than I had friends with me and they were taunting us, attempting to get me to hand it over to him. He told me ‘It’s time to learn the difference between dreams and reality.’ They are the words of a Death Eater, but they are words we all need to remember now.”

“What do you mean by that, Harry?” Mr. Weasley asked in a kind voice.

“The real world is that Voldemort is back and he will stop at nothing to terrorize the people enough until they surrender to him.” Harry answered in a strong, confident voice. “We can train more Aurors, we can make more laws that don’t really do anything but make people feel safe when they aren’t, we can try to instill confidence by holding meetings after meetings, but none of those will really work. The reason the Death Eaters were opposed at all yesterday was because some of those that they attacked were prepared to meet that attack. Yes, they were students, but they were ready, and because they were ready they succeeded where many full wizards and witches failed. Last night, a Hufflepuff who couldn’t cast a good Expelliarmus four months ago not only cast on illusion charm to hide her sister but stood one-on-one with a Death Eater and won. The only way we will ultimately win this war is if the wizards and witches who live in it our prepared to defend themselves. Once we don’t have to worry about protecting them, that frees us up to hunt these creatures down and eliminate them before they can do more harm.”

“What is it that you are suggesting, Mr. Potter.” A middle-aged witch halfway down the table asked.

“It’s simple really.” Harry said in a softer tone. “We have Aurors and other qualified teachers set up classes throughout the Wizarding communities to teach people how to defend themselves. They can identify the best of these people and deputize them to take over the courses after a few months. Then the Aurors and others can hunt down the Death Eaters.”

“But we don’t have enough Aurors to…” The Auror Head complained until Dumbledore cut him off.

“I can provide you with the names of many wizards and witches who are quite capable of teaching such courses. Most have passed through my school and I am therefore quite familiar with their abilities. Charlie Weasley is one such that I can name immediately, if we are able to pry him away from his dragons for long enough”

“You can’t seriously be thinking about adopting this boy’s crackpot idea!” The wizard next to Harry all but shouted.

“Why shouldn’t we?” Arthur Weasley asked aggressively. “It’s fairly obvious his idea works!”

“Because he’s all but a Death Eater!” The wizard cried out. He grabbed Harry’s arm and pulled it into the air so the silver bracelet gleamed in the light of the room, the Malfoy Crest clearly visible. “Look at this! He sits here quoting a known Death Eater who we have just learned escaped from Azkaban and he wears an engagement bracelet to that very family!”

Gasps filled the room at this and a few people shied away from where Harry was sitting. In a fit of anger, Harry pulled his arm out of the man’s grasp and looked around the room. Many of the people were looking scared, or unsure of him now and he could feel their support slipping. Arthur Weasley looked at him with a hurt expression on his face and Harry shot him a questioning look.

“You got engaged and didn’t invite Molly or I?” Arthur Weasley asked in a hurt tone.

“Sorry, Mr. Weasley.” Harry replied, adding his chuckle to the few others that were chuckling at the question. “Draco and I were going to tell you at dinner when you visited later this week.”

“Oh, okay then.” Mr. Weasley said with a smile. “Just be ready for Molly to dote over your two.”

”Thank you sir.” Harry said with a smile that turned to a scowl as he faced the man next to him.

“For your information, sir,” Harry’s tone took on a hint of steel as he addressed the wizard directly. “I am engaged to Draco Malfoy, not Lucius Malfoy. Lucius is already married and even if I did desire him, which I don’t, I wouldn’t dare the wrath of his wife. His son, Draco however, I am in love with. This is the same Draco Malfoy who refused the dark mark and refused service to Voldemort. Before you try to throw his attack on me as a reason why I would possibly support Voldemort, I will point out that at that time Draco was dealing with the loss of his father to prison and several other personal issues stemming from five long years of feuding with me at school. We worked out those problems, became friends and are now engaged. Albus Dumbledore would join Voldemort before either Draco or I would consider doing so! Voldemort killed my parents before I ever had a chance to know them. He tried to kill me while I was still in my cradle! He has tried to kill me every year since I re-entered the wizarding world! I remember you now, sir! Professor Umbridge had a picture of you in her office. She referred to you as her mentor! Last year when I refused to lie and say Voldemort wasn’t back, she gave me detention and forced me write using a quill that cut her lies into my skin! Not once in any of her classes did she ever do anything that helped prepare her students to oppose him! It is you, and people like her who have spent the last four years making sure that when Voldemort attacked last night almost no one was prepared to fight him off. You want to know why he isn’t worried about the Ministry’s response to his attacks? It’s because you’ve done half his job for him already!”

“HOW DARE YOU?” the old wizard roared, leaping to his feet with his hand on his wand. Harry just stared at him with a cool eye. “YOU INSULT ME AND MY HONOR! IF YOU WERE OF AGE I WOULD CHALLENGE YOU TO A DUEL.”

“Stop hiding behind my age as an excuse.” Harry smirked in perfect imitation of Draco. “Minister Fudge I’m sure you can pass some kind of exemption so I can duel this farce of a wizard. I promise I won’t kill him.”

“How dare you!” the wizard roared again.

“Please stop repeating yourself.” Harry said with another smirk. “I know you’re getting old but can’t you come up with another sentence to express how outraged you are? I’m not scared of you, sir. I’ve faced Voldemort and if you were more powerful than him I know you’d have ridden off on your white horse to rescue the wizarding world.”

“If you’re so good why haven’t you defeated him?” The wizard spat back. “You’ve faced him four times already, but he’s still around.”

“I can’t believe a grown wizard would expect an eleven year old to kill Voldemort for him.” Harry retorted, still smirking. “Maybe that’s part of the problem. People want someone to ride in and save the day for them. Well I can’t be everywhere at once. Until we do manage to corner Voldemort and blast him out of existence, people are going to have to learn to defend themselves. Last night proves that with a little training, they can do that. That’s what they need to learn.”

“Well I won’t be a party to this!” The wizard’s voice rang out.

“I accept your resignation effective immediately.” Fudge said at last, casting his lot with Dumbledore and Harry irrevocably. The old wizard stomped out of the room slamming the door behind him.

“We have a proposal on the table.” Fudge continued as soon as the echoes of the door slamming were gone. “Is there any opposition?”

There was none, and talk turned to exactly how to implement this plan. The talk went on for hours and Harry stayed pretty much silent unless he was asked a direct question. When it was done, Fudge, Dumbledore, and the Auror Minister all left to give a press conference and the room began to clear. Arthur Weasley stayed behind to talk to Harry as people filed out of the room. They all paused as they passed by Harry and said a few words to him which he politely acknowledged.

“Quite a show, my boy.” Arthur said rather jovially when they were the only two left.

“Thank you, sir.” Harry replied.

“Congratulation by the way.” Arthur said, pointing to the bracelet.

“Thanks.” Harry said with a blush, not really feeling like talking at the moment.

“Yes, well, I best be getting back. Molly will be anxious to hear about everything. See you on Thursday at the Black Manor!” Arthur said cheerily as he left. Harry continued sitting there for a while, playing with the bracelet. Dumbledore returned alone and escorted Harry out of the building.

When Harry apparated back to Black Manor, he immediately ran up to his room and Draco was standing there waiting for him. The rest of the afternoon passed with Harry crying into Draco’s shoulder while Draco tried to soothe him. When he was done, he fell asleep in Draco’s arms, totally drained.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

When Harry woke, Draco was gone. Harry couldn’t help but smile as he remembered the feeling of going to sleep in Draco’s arms. It had been very pleasant, and after the stresses of the day, exactly what he needed. Once more he marveled at the difference between the Draco everyone else knew, and the Draco only he really knew.

Ron would never believe how loving and compassionate the blond Slytherin could be. Harry had tried to tell him one time, but his best friend had just shook his head in disbelief. Hermione had even looked at him like he was trying to sell her a cheap potion.

Barriers, walls, secrets.

They were becoming more and more a part of his life. He understood so much more now than he had before Draco had come into his life and started explaining things to him. The explanations weren’t about prophecies, magic, or things like that. It had been about how people act, what might be their motivations, and how to analyze them.

Harry chuckled out loud as he got out of bed and began to draw a bath. For someone who was quite familiar with analyzing people, Draco had a peculiar blind spot when it came to himself. Okay, Draco had explained that as well. People who are great at political maneuvering and analyzing others often have a blind spot when it came themselves.

As Harry sat in the bath, letting the warm water soak into him, he was once again struck by a wave of grief. Everything in this damn house reminded him of Sirius. It hurt, but it also felt comfortable. Instead of shying away from the painful memories this time, Harry decided to revel in them. He brought up memories of time with Sirius the summer before, and he soon felt tears fall slowly slip down his cheeks.

Dumbledore had been right.

Harry loved Sirius and missed him a lot, but he had to admit the man had had flaws. Despite his rejection by his family, Sirius had truly been an aristocratic Black. He had treated Kreacher harshly, not recognizing the elf might have feelings just like a human did, and he had paid for that mistake with his life. Sirius had made the same mistake that Lucius Malfoy made with Dobby, and both had been betrayed by their elves.

Something inside Harry healed at that point, and he idly wondered if Kreacher would ever appear from wherever he was hiding. To himself, he vowed that if the elf did, he would treat it better than Sirius had. He’d even be willing to hang the little elf’s head on the wall with his ancestors, if that is what Kreacher really wanted.

Those thoughts made him look back at the time in Dumbledore’s office after the Ministry attack. He was still angry at the old man, but his memories of Dumbledore’s words also filled him a sense of love. He knew now the old man had been trying to say, in his own way, that he loved Harry. It was that love that had stalled Dumbledore’s tongue each year. It was that love that kept Dumbledore from telling him about the prophecy that either Voldemort must die or Harry must die.

“I would rather let people die than deny you the happiness of being young” Dumbledore had said, or something very much like that. His words rang in Harry’s heart and more tears came to his eyes. Sure, he’d been working with Dumbledore since then, but it was more out of need, than out of love or even caring.

Then there was Snape and his pensieve where he hid the memories about Harry’s father. Snape’s reaction to Harry seeing that had been violent, yet he’d gone searching for Harry in the forest after they’d lured Umbridge there. Harry had held onto the anger he felt for the man, becoming furious when he learned the full import of Snape’s involvement in his engagement to Draco.

His stomach growled and he put thoughts of Snape aside for the moment. He got out of the bath, dried himself and got dressed in a casual set of wizard clothes. As he made his way downstairs, he could smell dinner being prepared and let out a relieved sigh. When he reached the kitchen, he was surprised to hear voices talking softly, and immediately recognized Draco’s.

As he opened the door, he realized that his thoughts in the bathtub were about to be put to the test. Kreacher was levitating a pot roast out of the oven, chatting away with Draco in a happy squeal. He heard the door open, turned and saw Harry. A look of fear crossed his face and he looked like he was about to disappear.

“It’s good to see you, Kreacher.” Harry said quickly but gently. “Will dinner be ready soon? I’m hungry.”

“Ma…Master Potter, sir?” Kreacher stuttered, a look of surprise warring with the fear in his face. “Does Master want to punish Kreacher for…”

“Not really Kreacher.” Harry said with a sigh. “You thought you were serving the Black family. It’s not worth it to me to punish you any more. I’d rather you serve me as well as you did Madame Black. You always were loyal to her.”

“YES! Master Potter!” Kreacher nearly screeched. He began a little dance around the kitchen. “Oh, Kreacher has two new masters who are worthy of serving. Oh yes, things are so much better than when that nasty…”

“Kreacher.” Harry said firmly, reigning in the anger he was feeling. “Do not speak bad of the dead or your head won’t be on the wall with your ancestors. I expect you to treat not only us, but any of our guests with respect, just as I will expect them to treat you with expect. If any do not, you are to tell me in private.”

“Yes, Master Potter!” Kreacher screeched again. “Kreacher will do what you say. Dinner will be ready in ten minutes!”

“Very well.” Harry said, turning from the elf to look at his lover. Draco was just smiling at him with that smile that no one else would ever see. Harry crossed the remaining distance and sat down in Draco’s lap.

“Ummmff.” Draco muttered as he put his arms around Harry’s waist. “There’s plenty of chairs.”

“If you insist.” Harry shrugged, starting to get up only to be pulled back down by Draco.

“You just happened to sit in the human trap chair.” Draco chuckled. “Now you won’t be let up until you’ve snogged the trap so well it can’t hold you anymore.”

“Hmmm.” Harry murmured, brushing his lips against Draco’s. “I think I like this trap.”

They snogged until Kreacher laid dinner on the table. They only used one plate, taking turns feeding each other and whispering sweet nothings to each other. For Harry this was perhaps the most enjoyable dinner he’d ever had. Kreacher left soon after dinner was on the table and began cleaning the upstairs. He bemoaned that they were so dusty and he was all alone before disappearing.

“What happened to the elves Mr. Weasley was supposed to get?” Harry asked quietly.

“Kreacher drove them insane within a week.” Draco said with a smile. “Just be glad I know how to deal with his type.”

“Your dad didn’t seem to have much luck.” Harry mentioned, then almost regretted his words until Draco chuckled.

“No, but mother taught me better.” Draco admitted.

As they finished supper, Harry began to tell Draco the details of the Ministry meeting. That discussion lasted long after dinner when Kreacher appeared and announced after dinner coffee was prepared in the sitting room. He even bowed when Harry thanked him.

Draco’s legs had fallen asleep so it was hilarious getting him back up and walking to the sitting room. Draco was muttering about how he’d kill Harry if he even mentioned to his friends and Harry was just laughing. They sat in the small sitting room, sipping coffee, staring into the fire or at each other, and talking about various topics, including Harry’s thoughts while in the bath.

As evening turned into night, Harry realized that his life had really changed now. He’d been raised in a middle-class muggle neighborhood, associated with middle-class wizards and witches, and argued with the children of the of wizard aristocracy. Now he was a part of that aristocracy and he felt distinctly out of place.

“Is this what life is going to be like for us?” Harry murmured softly to Draco, who was now sitting next to him on a loveseat in front of the fire.

“On the good days.” Draco said. “There’s always Ministry parties to attend, private parties being held by other families, your own parties to hold. There’s something always going on that has to be considered.”

“I don’t know…” Harry whispered, expressing his doubts about if he could do this.

“You’ve got a year.” Draco replied softly, smiling at Harry. “If you’re not use to it you can always tell me no.”

“I don’t think I could do that.” Harry replied, hugging Draco closer. “I would rather have you around.”

“Good.” Draco said, tugging at Harry as well. “If neither of us already have one, we’ll have to get a vacation home on the Mediterranean or over in America that we can escape to when we need to get away. Live like regular people for a week or two.”

“I like that idea.” Harry said, and then they began to voice flights of fancy about all the things they would do together after Hogwarts. It felt good to think about ordinary things. No war, no implacable enemy, no death and destruction. Just beautiful visions of the future together, which of course Draco just had to ruin.

“Of course mother is already trying to pick out future mothers for our children.” Draco said with a smirk, awakening a sense of horror in Harry. “She wants a list of all the Slytherin and Gryffindor girls. I think she’s trying to find two with the appropriate blood lines who come from poor enough families they might accept the positions.”

“What?!” Harry exclaimed. “I know we talked about having children…but this soon!”

“She wants grandkids, Harry.” Draco said with a chuckle. “She’s a little impatient.”

“Well she’ll just have to wait.” Harry harrumphed, getting another laugh. “Besides, how does this work with the mothers? I don’t quite understand what their role is once the children are born.”

“Why, they are the children’s mothers!” Draco exclaimed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “You can’t take children from their mothers! Only muggles would do something so barbaric. The mothers become permanent members of the family staff as soon as they conceive. They can never be terminated unless they seek to harm the child or the other parents. They have the right to advise on how the children are raised and can even appeal to the Wizengamot if they believe the children are being harmed. They usually also act as governess to the children and tutor them until they enter school. By law we are required to provide them a home so long as they live. That’s why the selection process is so important. We have to get along with them, even be friends with them. If Granger were pure-blood she’d be a great choice. However, usually the best choices are a female couple who want children as well. If we can find a couple like that at school we’ll be very lucky.”

“Oh.” Was the only thing Harry said. Draco stayed silent and started nuzzling into Harry’s neck. The gentle kisses that slowly started turning more enticing were lighting a fire deep inside him. Within minutes he was groaning and Draco’s attentions were becoming even more passionate. His shirt had been open and Draco was teasing his nipples when Harry grabbed his blond head and pulled him up for a kiss. When Draco pulled back from the kiss and Harry stared into those gray eyes that burned with passion, he reached a decision.

“Draco,” Harry breathed out in a hoarse voice filled with his own passion. “We’re engaged, and we’re not at school, do you think you’re ready for more?”

“Oh Merlin, yes!” Draco drawled, his face showing his excitement. He leaped up from Harry, then bent down and swooped a startled Harry into his arms. Practically running, Draco carried Harry up the stairs and into the bedroom where a fire had been burning long enough to warm the room. As Draco set Harry down on the bed gently, Harry knew this was a night he would long remember.