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Lucius and Harry

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*NB. Everything happened as normal except Dumbledore, Remus, Sirius are not dead. Oh and Remus never married Tonks and had a baby. Also it happened a year sooner somehow so this is set in the summer at the end of his sixth year.*

Harry Potter would always be thankful he had defeated the Dark Lord but right now he was wishing he hadn't. Since the defeat he had become the world's biggest celebrity and was constantly invited to parties at the Ministry which he had no desire to attend. Unfortunately he had to as it would have made him look really bad if he didn't and his Godfather and Remus made him. They liked the idea of Harry going out and socializing with people in high up places so he would have a certain job when he got out of school.

Today he was at one of the Ministry Benefits for Brain Damaged Patients for the Cruciatus Curse and he was bored out of his mind. Neville Longbottom was also there saying over and over how the healers had been so incredible to manage to heal his parent's minds. As much as Harry hated having to hear him retell the story over and over he did think that Neville deserved for his parents to be well again.

Harry was slumped at the bar in a melancholy mood after the breakup with his third ever boyfriend. The man at the bar had known he wasn't yet of age but after a few galleons extra parted Harry's company he had grudgingly given Harry what he wanted. He was currently swirling his glass of firewhiskey around when someone came over and ordered something.

At once he recognized the cold elegant voice from the man standing next to him and cocked his head to look. Indeed there was Lucius Malfoy looking the same as he had in the pictures in the paper the other day. He hadn't really read the article because another one had caught his eye with him at the center of it. Lucius Malfoy was returning with Harry to the school when it restarted as the new Arithmancy Professor. Harry was due to start Arithmancy that very year.

"Yes, I'll have the best scotch you own if you don't mind. And my friend here will have a glass of cold water."

Harry realized that Lucius was gesturing to him and stared as the waiter walked away. Lucius slunk down onto a seat next to him and then turning to Harry said, "You're not of age to drink yet, Mr. Potter, so why do I find you here clearly drunker than a monk?"

"I thought you of all people would know, dear Lucius, that drink is rather good for drowning your sorrows," Harry replied bitterly.

"Oh, yes, the article which was in the newspaper. At least I presume that is the sorrow you were talking about? What a foolish little brat for trying to leak those photographs to the press. Bad luck, Mr. Potter."

Harry snorted angrily into his glass and then swirled it a final time before downing it. Lucius said slightly frostily, "Now I know you have had too much Mr. Potter so maybe you should call it a night? In fact as you're soon to be Professor I insist you stop drinking right now."

"Eurghh, don't worry I will. I feel really sick now," he replied going a not very nice shade of green-grey.

"Have you ever had alcohol before, Mr. Potter?"

"Glasses of champagne here or there but never like this before. Oh, God I think I am going to be sick."

Harry ran as fast as he could through the crowd and straight into the bathroom where he fell to his knees inside a cubicle. He was violently ill into the toilet but noticed when someone pulled his long hair back and tied it with a ribbon. Then the hands gently stroked his back as he emptied his stomach of all the alcohol he had consumed that night. Eventually he felt empty and turned away from the toilet to see who had been comforting him.

"Are you alright, Mr. Potter?" asked Lucius with concern in his eyes.

Harry could have held his head high like he had done for so many minutes the past few days. He could have looked Lucius in the eyes and straight out lied to him but instead he just shook his head. "No, and I don't think I am ever going to be alright again."

Then he burst into loud sobs whilst rocking himself back and forth on the floor. Gently Lucius leant forwards and hugged Harry to his chest whilst he cried into it dampening his shirt. It was a long while until he was all cried out – for then at least – but Lucius sat patiently through it without saying a word. Harry looked up at Lucius with his bright green eyes still glistening with old tears and said quietly, "I need to go home now. Thank you."

But Lucius wasn't finished with him quite yet as he knew that it wouldn't do for him to be seen with tears on his face. He pressed Harry very close to his body again as they stood and then quickly ushered him through the party until they reached the door. From there he apparated Harry back to the home he shared with the two most parental figures in his life.

Harry could barely stand when they landed on the steps outside the brick house and clutched Lucius for support. Lucius knocked once on the wooden door and waited for someone to come and open it for him. Eventually Remus Lupin appeared at the door smiling but immediately he looked worried upon seeing the state Harry was in and who was holding him up.

Then Sirius Black appeared and after taking one look at Harry swept him from Lucius' arms and deeper into the house without a word to anyone. Remus looked at Lucius for a long minute and then said gently, "Can you please tell me what happened to him?"

"I met him at that social evening where he was at the bar drinking himself silly. Don't be angry with him in the morning, he just seemed really cut up after that break up with Blaise Zabini. Then he ended up being sick in the bathroom and I simply stayed with him and tied back his hair. Unfortunately at that point his emotions overcame him and he began sobbing uncontrollably so I tried to comfort him. Then I managed to get him out of the party without being seen by anyone and apparated here."

"Thank you for your unusual show of kindness Lucius; it will be greatly appreciated by the three of us. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other soon enough and of course Harry is your student now."

"Yes, he is indeed." The pale blonde haired man turned away but as Remus began to shut the door he turned and asked, "Could I come and check on the boy in the morning?"

Remus looked surprised but soon composed himself and smiling slightly said, "If Harry obliges I don't see why not."

Lucius nodded once more at the man who he used to hate with a vengeance and then apparated off into the night. Remus slowly shut the door looking still at the spot where he had been and came face to face with Sirius. Sirius' eyes were worn and tired; neither of them had anticipated ever becoming a parental figure to their best friend's son even though they wouldn't change it for the world.

"He's sleeping now," Sirius muttered and then the two men walked through to kitchen to pour themselves a drink. They drank their gin in perfect silence until Sirius said almost to himself. "He's not much like James."

"That's because he's not James. He is a beautiful mixture of the arrogant boy we knew and the beautiful girl that he loved with all his life. James would be so proud of him now, but so angry to see how badly he is hurting at the moment," Remus replied placing a soft hand on Sirius' shoulder.

They both looked at each other for a minute, sharing the bond that only lifetime friends can have, and then drained their gin simultaneously. Together they walked up the stairs and then after a small hug goodnight went off to their own bedrooms.

Harry woke the next morning – or was it afternoon? He couldn't tell from the light coming through his window – and was immediately aware of how much pain his head was in. Walking downstairs groggily in his boxers he suddenly began to remember exactly what had happened last night. He walked in to the kitchen blushing furiously at the memory and then he wanted to die from what he saw.

Sirius, Remus and Lucius were sitting fairly stiffly at the kitchen table seemingly waiting for something. Before Harry could run out to hide his half-nakedness they all turned to look at him and he noticed Lucius blush slightly.

"Sorry," muttered Harry embarrassed, "I didn't realize that there was going to be company in the kitchen."

Lucius got up and walked over to him before holding out a hand for him to take and shake. Harry then was unsure of whether to go back upstairs and get dressed or sit down with the men. Remus gestured for him to come and sit and so trying to ignore his state of undress he did so.

"Lucius is here to see how you are Harry," Sirius spat vehemently.

"Yes, I was rather concerned after I saw you last night. I wanted to check that you had woken up feeling slightly better this morning. I also wondered if we could maybe have a little chat about last night's talks."

Harry looked at Remus and Sirius who both jumped up in unison mumbling about going to make tea even though there was a steaming pot in front of them. Harry noticed that Sirius seemed to hesitate slightly as he left as if he was unsure whether he should leave or not. But suddenly they were alone together and Harry looked down at his hands unsure of what to say.

"Harry how are you?"

"OK, thank you."

"No, that wasn't what I mean as you fully well knew. I meant how do you feel on the inside? You said last night that you weren't sure whether you would ever be alright ever again."

"I was just being melodramatic and drunk most probably," Harry replied as a blush crept to his pale cheeks. "I mean I am still pretty hung over today to be honest with you."

"Take some of this first then," Lucius answered pulling out a small vial of purple fluid. "This is hangover potion to make them at least less painful," Lucius said when he saw Harry's apprehensive face. Harry swallowed it and at once he had slightly more colour in his cheeks and felt ages better.

"Now I do not believe you when you say you were being melodramatic; I think you were being honest with yourself and me. What you need is some fresh air and a distraction which brings me rather nicely to my question of what are you doing today? Or if you're busy today then when are you free?"

Harry wondered whether the hangover potion had some sort of side effect that stopped him hearing properly. "Sorry?" he stammered out. "I don't think I could have heard you correctly."

"Yes, Mr. Potter I really was being nice, I wanted to know when you are free for the day. Now can I get an answer?"

"I guess I am free today. I was just going to spend it moping around but doing something sounds like a much better idea."

"Excellent. Now what would you like to do?"

"Your choice," replied Harry who had become remarkably indecisive since the war had ended. Before he was always quick to act without thinking, during he acted after thinking through carefully but now he just couldn't think up his own response to anything. Lucius let out a slight sigh.

"I am happy to do whatever your little heart desires Mr. Potter so please make a decision."

"I really don't know. I'm sorry; I'm finding it really hard to think straight since the war has happened. All the time I find my brain off on some tangent and I can never formulate a proper sentence even."

Lucius chuckled lightly at the earnest worry that shone in the young boys handsome eyes. He seemed genuinely concerned that by not being able to make a decision he had upset Lucius. Normally Lucius would have manipulated a situation like this to his advantage but today wasn't about him. So he tried again.

"What did you used to do when you were a muggle child?" he asked thoughtfully.

"I…" Harry stammered and then looked away. Lucius could sense at once there was more to Harry's story than just that. Yes, definitely something was being kept from him but he had no idea what that could be. He could only ask.

"Mr. Potter, what is the matter?"

"My muggle childhood was very unhappy, sir. I was beaten daily, starved, pushed down stairs, locked in rooms for days and touched by my cousin. I hate even thinking about it."

"I'm sorry," Lucius said. Harry looked up into his cold steel eyes, so much like his sons, and knew that he really meant it. Harry gave him a weak smile and then said, "What about a walk and a picnic?"

Lucius was definitely not the sort of man who usually went on picnics with people. Indeed his son had begged him to come for years when he was younger but Lucius had never relented. But something about the innocence, so pure and sweet, in Harry's eyes told him he couldn't refuse. "OK," he replied with only a slight hesitance obvious in his voice, "Let's go for a muggle picnic."

"I'm just going to go tell Siri and Remy that I am going out for a while and then I'll get some stuff from the kitchens. Meet you in the main hallway in five minutes?"

Lucius nodded as Harry skipped off to find his two – well what were they? His godfathers both of them he supposed – and found them in the drawing room. "Hey, Siri, Remy, how are you? Right, now I was just wondering if there was any chance I could go off with Lucius for a little while."

Remus and Sirius both looked at each other as if they were about to say he couldn't meet them but then seemingly changed their minds. "Harry you go get some stuff from the kitchen and I'll go and talk to Lucius for a minute until you get back. No, Sirius you can go with Harry for now."

Sirius didn't look best pleased with the arrangement but what Remus said he did and so he led Harry down the stairs to the kitchens. Remus walked out into the hall way to find Lucius standing there looking around at the house interestedly. When he saw Remus he gave the man a tight lipped smile and said, "Nice to see you, Remus."

"Good to see you as well. I just was wondering why in particular you were so interested in taking Harry out for a picnic. Call me stereotypical but I never imagined you to be the sort of man who did that sort of thing."

"I'm not really but I did offer to do anything and he had a pretty poor childhood which I feel needs making up for. As much as I am sure you are doing an excellent job of this yourselves I just thought today I could lend a hand."

"So your intentions are completely innocent then Lucius?" Remus asked with a note of snideness in his voice.

"Yes, Remus, they are. And here is the boy in question!" Lucius smiled as Harry came towards them with a huge basket in his hands and an annoyed Sirius trailing behind. "All ready to go then?"

"What time will you have him back?"

"I expect he shall be back by around six because I assume he is being forced to attend the same benefit as I am for the rights of House Elves?" Lucius asked more to Harry than any one else.

"Yeah, I am," Harry said miserably his face clouding over. "But I guess it won't be that bad and it is for a good cause..." he said sounding like he didn't believe a word of what he was saying let alone anyone else.

Harry then grinned up at Lucius and said, "Come on then, let's get going before the sun stops shining!"

They went for a walk before their picnic over many hills and through a couple of forests reminding Lucius how fun his childhood had been. At one point they were in an area of the forest which had many roots sticking out of the ground although they weren't always obvious. Harry tripped over one gnarled root and stumbled but Lucius grabbed his hand and pulled him up again. However Lucius then noticed that Harry made no effort to release his hand from the grip and instead tightened it slightly.

They reached a small field about half an hour after that and they let go of each other so they could set up the picnic. Lucius unfolded the blanket then Harry unpacked the food before they both began to eat. Halfway through Lucius noticed that Harry was watching his every move and almost exactly mirroring it, as if he didn't want to make a mistake. Lucius smiled at him as they sat there and then said, "So how is life going with you then?"

"S'alright, I guess," Harry said.

"Oh come on you can tell me the truth you know, I'm hardly going to go and tell your Godparents if it's not fantastic. Come on," Lucius urged.

"I'm just so bored of having to go to all these functions all the time. I mean I know that they are for the best and everything and me being there makes them gain more money but I'm just sick of them. I mean why should I have to spend every evening going out to them. However it's not so bad when I drink myself silly all the time, I mean it takes away some of the boredom."

"You shouldn't drink you know, it's not good for you."

"What am I supposed to do, sit around all the time on my own like some sort of sad loser or something? I'm a teenage boy for God's sake I just want to have someone to talk to about intelligent things for a change."

"Have you tried mingling with people, finding people to talk to and chat just generally about rubbish with?" asked Lucius.

"That's the biggest problem," sighed Harry, "People either want to hear how I defeated Voldemort or have their own agenda when they talk to me. After a while it gets bored of explaining that it is too complicated to explain properly how I defeated Voldemort or try and work out what people think they can get from the conversation. That's part of the reason I was sitting alone the other day... drinking."

"Well tonight you shall be staying with me," declared Lucius, "And together we shall dance and talk the night away, alright?"

Time flew that day until suddenly they both knew they had to apparate back so as not to get into trouble with Harry's guardians. But as they stood on the steps Lucius turned to Harry and said quietly, "Harry, tonight will you accompany me to the ball?"

"I... yes, of course," Harry said blushing.

"When you leave apparate to just outside my gates as opposed to straight there and then we shall arrive together. Is that a deal?" asked Lucius looking slightly hopeful. When Harry nodded silently he just leant forwards a pressed a short chaste kiss to Harry's lips before apparating away.

That night they danced and they swayed to whatever song played without a care in the world. But they were standing there wearing the weight of the world on their shoulders. However when Lucius pressed his lips gently to Harry's in the rose garden, it just didn't matter any more.

FINITO.