Title: Harbor Lights

Author: Miss Barrowmaniac

Summary: An accident changes the course of the Potter family, and it's up to Draco to pick up the pieces.

Pairings: Harry/Draco, mentions of Harry/Ginny, Draco/Astoria, Ron/Hermione and maybe others along the way.

Rating: T, for now.

Warnings: This is a SLASH story. It means there are two male characters involved in a romantic/sexual relationship. If this is not your thing, there are plenty of other good stories out there for you that won't cause unnecessary upset for either of us.

Disclaimers: I do not own Harry Potter or any associated trademarks, they're property of JK Rowling, WB and who knows who else. I don't get anything out of writing these stories expect the fun of doing so and hopefully entertaining my readers, so please don't sue me!

Author's Note: It's been a while since I wrote anything, and specially about Draco, who isn't usually a main character in my stories, so he's probably (not excessively) different from canon. I'd like to think it's because he grew up, but let me know if I'm going too far off! Also, the children are nothing like they are in the Epilogue - but that's mostly due to the circumstances, and is perfectly intentional. Finally, please leave me a review! If you can spare just a couple of minutes to let me know what you think, I'd be truly grateful. It's such an encouragement to get feedback.


Harbor Lights


CHAPTER ONE

The deserted cobblestone street echoed the steps of the men gathering by a seemingly abandoned house, the heavy clouds providing them cover from the moonlight. The weak light coming from the street lamps was barely enough to reveal figures moving though the shadows in dark hooded robes, hardly emitting a sound in recognition of the new arrivals.

They came from all directions, reaching their destination a few minutes after faint cracking sounds were heard in the distance. The leader had arrived fifteen minutes before, five ahead of schedule, but was rapidly losing his temper for being made to wait. When finally the last one of them joined the group, the leader quietly motioned towards the door with his head and led them inside.

The stairs creaked under their feet, and though they'd been careful not to raise their voices, the noise didn't seem to bother any of them. They'd made sure there wasn't a single living soul in a radius of miles from the shed. In screaming contrast with everything they'd seen so far, the main room upstairs was in perfect condition, with a polished wooden table large enough to sit twenty, maybe thirty, and though they had a slight coating of dust, the elegant, matching chairs were in perfect shape.

With a quick flick of his wand, the leader cleaned the seats and took his place at the head of the table, giving his lackeys a few moments to settle while another silent spell was cast in the room, this time to make sure no sound escaped. Once they were at liberty to speak, chatter quickly spread among the present, but all it took for the man at the head of the table to silence them was raising a hand. All eyes turned to him, the atmosphere suddenly turning serious, almost solemn.

"We are gathered here to conclude the preparations of our carefully elaborated plans." His voice was low, but nobody in the room had any doubt about what was being said. Some even had to fight down shivers running though their arms in a mix of fear and anxiety provoked by the voice. "We all have lost, and in great measure, to our target. Perhaps it took ten years, but our shot at revenge has finally arrived, and it shall not be wasted. Either we finish our mission, or none of you will be alive to analyze what went wrong."

A few men swallowed hard at the threat, not for a moment doubting their leader's words.

"Are you all familiar with the plans?" A round of nods followed the question. "You better be certain of your position at all times, because one step left or right will get you killed, and I won't move a finger to change that, and neither will any of you. By tomorrow, they'll be dead and we'll have had our revenge. And if the repercussions of our attack are as planned, my friends, we shall rule the Wizard World as we are entitled to."

He carefully met the eyes of all the present, not failing to notice hesitance in a pair of hazel eyes in the furthest chair to his left.

"Do you have anything to add?" Though he didn't vocally direct the question to anybody, there was no doubt who he was talking to. A trembling head shake was his reply. "We have no room for hesitance here. Either you are completely committed to the plan, or you're out of it. Which one is it?"

"Master, I..." The voice sounded young compared to the only other sound they'd been hearing for the past few minutes, and the face it corresponded to seemed even more childish under the flickering light coming from the fireplace and the fear it transpired.

"Speak up." The order came in a low, authoritative tone, making all around the table shiver slightly.

"Are you sure it must be done this way? Certainly just killing-"

"They all must be dead." The hissed interruption was accompanied by the man standing up, wand pointing straight at the young man's chest. "You knew when you accepted my invitation what you were in for. There is no room for doubt or hesitation here."

"Y-yes, Master."

"Or for cowards." He said quietly. "Avada Kedavra." The room was filled by green light and the sound of the dead body slipping from his chair to the floor. Some eyes widened in panic, some averted their gaze slightly, but nobody dared make a sound. "Anybody else has anything to add?" He asked sitting back down, and immediately all heads shook in a negative reply. "Tomorrow we attack. Meeting adjourned."


"Mom, are you sure you don't mind? They're sick, and James gets very fussy when he's sick." Ginny asked her mom, handing little Lily over. The baby had just turned 11 months, and gladly moved to the arms stretched out to hold her. She adored her grandmother.

"Of course, Ginny dear. And it would be far worse if you had to drag them shopping with you. You know the boys hate it even when they're not sick." She smiled, looking over her shoulder to the living room couches where the two older boys were currently sleeping under their blankets.

With another Halloween just around the corner and an ever-expanding family - Molly was now at 12 grandchildren, and still expecting her children to provide her with an even larger herd -, celebrations were in increasing demand.

That year's party would be at the Potters new estate, a country house with enough rooms to accommodate the whole extended family and a large enough yard to allow everybody to mingle comfortably and even set up full-team Quidditch matches. As a special treat for the sport lovers in the family - himself included -, Harry had concealed Quidditch poles and set in place spells that wouldn't allow the snitch to escape the property, allowing them to have real games when they got together and hopefully, in the near future, for his children to practice when they joined their Hogwarts teams. James already showed great interest in the sport.

"Go on, then!" Molly shooed her daughter, smiling. She'd arrived at Grimmauld Place not too long before, and Harry smiled as she was already feeling at home enough to boss them around.

"Come on, Gin. The kids will be alright." He smiled at her, resting a hand on her lower back and steering her towards the fireplace. "Of course, as long as your mom can restrain from giving them too many sweets..." He joked as they entered the fireplace, and the couple smiled as they disappeared, being spared the short lecture that would surely follow.

Harry and Ginny arrived at the Leaky Caldron, and spent several minutes greeting nearly every costumer, as they always were forced to do when they went anywhere public. Even now, after nearly ten years of the end of the war, the bespectacled man was still treated like a celebrity, much to his dismay, and by extension, also was his family. He dreaded to think what it might do to his children once they were old enough to understand.

Finally free to move on to their shopping, their first stop was Madam Malkin's. They'd decided to have a costume party, and so far none of the hosts had spared a second thought to their outfits. Harry was a little scared of that part of their trip - he knew by experience that Ginny, like every other woman he knew, could spend hours trying on clothes, just to decide they don't fit them after all -, and put all his energy into being as patient and nice as he possibly could.

"Mr. and Mrs. Potter! What a pleasure to have you in my shop!" Madam Malkin greeted them cheerfully, slowly making her way towards them. The years had taken their toll on her, certainly aggravated by the stress of the war, but still she refused to retire. According to her, she still hadn't found an apprentice whom she could trust. "What brings you here today?"

Due to their public status, short after the war was over and things returned to a relative normalcy, they'd both agreed to avoid public spaces if at all possible, and generally had a house elf run their errands, including shopping for clothes. As a "special costumer", the shop owner often allowed them to take their clothes home to try on before deciding what to keep, so it'd been years since they set foot in the place.

"We're looking for Halloween costumes." Ginny smiled, and the other woman visibly brightened up.

"For your little ones, I assume?" She asked, turning her back at them and heading to a room on the right, motioning for them to follow. "It's a shame they couldn't join you, I'd love to meet them, and it'd make it so much easier to get the proper fit for their clothes..." Her voice trailed off.

Ginny and Harry looked at each other moments after entering the room, equally surprised looks on their faces. It was an enormous room with all available space covered in every costume imaginable, in every size.

"Are you looking for anything specific?" The old woman's voice brought their attention back to the matter at hand.

"James says he wants to be a Quidditch Player." Harry smiled. "Chuddley Cannons, under his uncle's influence."

"But that is so... Common, Harry..." Ginny whined, sighing.

"It's what he wants, Gin. Trust me, nothing else will make him as happy."

"Well, I suppose..." She agreed, letting her eyes wander around.

"How old is the boy again?"

"He's five." Harry supplied, smiling kindly at Madam Malkin, who disappeared behind a pile of costumes and returned shortly after with the said costume, handing it to him. "I think the size is about right, what do you think?" He asked, turning to Ginny.

"Hm." She looked thoughtful for a moment, turning the costume in her hands. "I guess it'll do... Maybe the sleeves will be a bit long, but we can have one of the elves bring it back for adjustments in the morning." She nodded.

"I guess it's complicated to shop with children, especially when you're as famous as you." The older woman smiled gently.

"We were planning to bring them, but they're down with the flu." Harry explained while Ginny walked around the room, looking at the costumes.

"Oh, what a shame! The little one too?"

"No, Lily's fine, but babies are complicated, and Molly offered to babysit."

"There's one woman who loves children."

"How about this one for Lily?" Ginny turned to him holding a costume by the hanger.

"You are not dressing my daughter as a pumpkin." He said seriously, almost shocked she even suggested it.

"Why not? I think she'd look adorable..."

"No food costumes, Gin. They're children, not..." He paused for a moment, looking for the right word. Unsuccessfully, he completed lamely, "Food."

She shrugged. "I still think it'd be good..." She mumbled, putting it back on the rack and moving on.

"What has been popular this year?" Harry asked the shop owner.

"Oh, you are ever popular, Mr. Potter." She giggled, and Harry felt the blood rushing to his cheeks. He scratched the back of his neck, embarrassed. "By far the most requested. But Quidditch players are always popular, mostly among boys. As are dragons, and this year also that child hero from the new book series?" He nodded. Apparently there was a new fictional hero selling millions of copies for children between nine and thirteen. "Girls prefer fairies and veelas and other more delicate costumes."

"Sounds about the same it used to be in the muggle world when I was growing up." He smiled, remembering all the Halloweens he never got to dress up to or go trick-or-treating.

"You know, the other day a boy came in, he was about... eight, I think, and he insisted he wanted to dress up as a muggle. His parents weren't very happy, and tried to dissuade him, but he threw a tantrum and refused to leave without the costume." They laughed, and the sound attracted Ginny's attention, who glanced quickly at them before turning away again.

"Well, muggles like to pretend they're witches and wizards, so I suppose the other way around is also possible..."

"They do, do they?"

"Yeah, but you should see some of the things they think wizards are..." He smiled.

"How about this one, Harry? Specially for Ron..." She smiled at him, holding a spider costume with animated legs. He laughed. "Yeah, I guess it doesn't look much like Lily or Albus...

"Hey, we could have Albus be Godric Griffyndor, with a sword and all..."

"Harry, I absolutely do not want a sword in the hands of a three-year-old, even if it's a fake one." She replied seriously.

"I suppose you're right... Maybe we could get him half-moon glasses and a white beard and have him be his namesake?"

"Or a black wig and black robes and be his other namesake." They smiled at each other.

Two hours later, they finally made it out of the shop with all five costumes they'd need: Harry would be a troll, in honor of the first Halloween he spent in Hogwarts; Ginny chose a mermaid's costume, open on the end so she could actually walk; James would have his Quidditch uniform, and they decided to match Albus with him; and Lily would be a lovely black cat, the only costume they managed to agree on.

Clothes shopping done, they headed to the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes to make sure George was on the same page as them on what would be brought to the party - even after he'd had kids of his own, they still doubted his common sense when it came to age-appropriate pranks -; the next stop was the party supplies and, just to be certain, the new potions shop to make sure they'd have all first-aid gear necessary in case the Quidditch game which would inevitably be organized got out of hand. And, though it was already very cold for that time of the year, they decided to have some ice-cream at Florean Fortescue's before heading home.

It was as they were sitting and talking about the latest report James got from pre-school - it seemed his cousin Fred wasn't being too good an influence on him -, that the mayhem started.

The events unfolded very rapidly. On one moment, they were enjoying their treats, on the next, they were covered in dust, with people screaming and running left and right, and hearing spells hissing past and over their heads. With his auror instincts kicking into gear, Harry kneeled, pulling Ginny with him and turned their table into a shield. When he looked at Ginny again, the redhead nodded at him, wand at hand.

Trying to see through the dust gathering around them, he noticed a figure about ten feet away, and the spell coming out of his wand headed their way. Without a second thought, he struck back, missing the first try, but knocking the man unconscious on the second. With his back against the table, he looked around again, just as Ginny hit a man on her side, brows furrowed in concentration.

"What the hell is going on?" He heard the redhead ask over the noise.

"No clue!" He replied, cowering a little when a spell hit the table just beside his head, blowing a hole into it. "You have to get out of here!"

"Me? What about you?" She would've been mad at him if she weren't too busy fighting for her life.

"I'm an auror, Ginny! I have to be here and make sure everybody else is safe until backup arrives!" As he said it, he realized he hadn't sent for backup yet and immediately let out a silver stag.

"Well, I'm staying here for as long as you are!" Harry smiled, peeking over the table. "I think there's more coming that way!" She exclaimed, getting his attention again. She was pointing to the completely unprotected way ahead of them.

With the dust settling down, they were finally able to make out who they were fighting.

The figures in dark robes, with their faces covered by the pointed hoods, reminded them both too much of Death Eaters for either of them not be apprehensive.

"We have to get out of here." Harry whispered as much to himself as to his wife. With a quick glance around again, he realized their attackers were the only living beings around them - living, because he counted at least three bodies spread on the ground. They were obviously the target of the attack.

"Help will be here any moment now." He heard Ginny say, and couldn't tell if she was trying to reassure him or herself. "W-we'll be fine."

"Let's just apparate out of here, Gin."

"What about the innocents around? We have to protect them." She insisted, quickly glancing over her shoulder before casting another spell which, judging by the sound, missed its target.

"They're dead already." He replied bitterly, dodging a spell aimed between them. "The attack is on us. Me, probably. Maybe if we leave, they also will."

"I don't know, Harry."

Before they could continue their discussion, a wall to their left exploded, throwing debris over them and barely giving them time to cast a shield over themselves. Furious, Harry cast a series of spells, less concerned with accuracy than with frequency of the shots, and after fifteen or twenty seconds, things seemed to calm down slightly.

"Do you think they're..." Ginny stumbled at the words, but forced herself to finish her question. "Death Eaters?"

"Looks like it, Gin." He nodded weakly, trying to see where the remaining attackers were. "I thought we'd caught them all, but it would seem I was wrong. But why wait so long before resurfacing, that's beyond me..." His voice trailed off as another spell left the tip of his wand.

They remained in tense silence for a few seconds, both sides catching their breaths. Harry could see shadows moving, indicating he hadn't taken them all down yet.

"Ten years, Harry..." Ginny said suddenly, thoughtful.

"What?" He asked confusedly.

"The announcement." She explained. "After ten years, security measures were considerably lowered, because they thought they'd gotten all of them..."

"No patrols." Harry remembered out loud. "No permanent protection spells, no suspects being tracked anymore."

The redhead nodded. "The Minister announced just the other day that things were officially back to normal."

Harry cursed out loud, but his voice was muffled by the sound of another explosion. Ginny stretched up to look at the apparent point of origin of the enemy fire, and a moment of distraction was all it took. She was pointing her wand and considering what spell to cast, then she wasn't.

The brunet was concentrated on disbursing the debris, and only noticed the motion on his peripheral vision, being unable to assess what exactly had happened.

"Gin?" He called, trying to make sure it was safe to look away from the massive piece of wall hovering above their heads. They were still under enemy attack. "Ginny?" There was a little more than worry in his voice; there was a distinct note of desperation. Hoping his magic would be strong enough to protect them, he looked away, and immediately wished he hadn't. "Ginny!"

His scream could be heard all through Diagon Alley, and the threw himself over her motionless body, dropping his wand and any other thought in his mind. He barely had time to kneel beside her and grab her shoulders, intent on shaking her back into life, before the wall fell on his head.