Title: The Life I Now Lead

Rating: M – Due to the adult themes involved and mentions of sex and violence.

Genre: Action/Adventure, Romance, Angst. SLASH!

Disclaimer: I don't own it. Seriously.

Pairings: LM/HP, RW/HG

Thanks To: Dracavia – For many many things ;-)

A/N:


Chapter 1 – Faith

The sun rose merrily over the small Village of Godric's Hollow. The birds flew in the skies, children made their way to school and Harry Potter stood in his small cottage, surveying the work that had recently been finished.

He had hired a muggle company to build the house, he had discovered that the ground on which his parents cottage had stood, belonged to him. It was in its own grounds with a large garden. The house, though bare, was now ready for decorating.

He felt quite happy, at the present moment he had a bed and the belongings he'd had when he was at school. Hermione and Ron had been impressed with the house so much that they had hired the same company to do their own house. With Hermione pregnant they were quite keen to get their own house done as soon as possible.

He didn't have much yet but as he saw it there was no real rush. He'd furnish it slowly, no real point to do it so fast seeing as it was only himself living there.

"Mine…" he said softly as he walked around the house. "All mine…"

Across the country in the heart of Wiltshire, things were very different for one Draco Malfoy. His mother was ill with nerves and heartache, his father was incarcerated and his house had been subject to the Ministry of Magic raids during the war, so it therefore had much of its furniture missing. Naturally it was being returned, but slowly and damaged.

As Draco kept his father's house running, he also kept on top of the Malfoy fortune and his fathers many well thought out investments. Also keeping an eye on the several businesses in France that the family owned.

Being head of the family was hard work he determined. Especially on his own and with much suspicion being thrown his way despite the fact he had defected during the war and become a spy along with Severus.

Severus… if only he were able to help him run the family, but currently being in a coma would hinder that desire.

Between all these things Draco had been searching for a way to get his father out of jail. He had tried many avenues, calling in his father's favours at the ministry had been no help, bribery had been no help, threatening the people in charge of his father's care had been no help and legitimate ways had been no help either. Every lawyer he had hired had told him the same thing, that it was hopeless.

Well, Draco Malfoy did not do hopeless anymore.

He had recalled as a child his father and grandfather used to tell him tales of people who protected their family. Draco didn't know if he believed the stories but essentially they were of old Elvin Legends.

The legends were that the Elves came first to the world and watched as humans began to live and learn. Some Elves gave magic to a small clan of people and that was the people who became magical. Most people in the magical community ridiculed the stories, but among the Purebred families the stories persisted.

The Malfoy family had their own tale. Lucius, and his father before him, had claimed that there was an old book somewhere in the Manor detailing a contract between their family and an Elvin Clan.

Draco had spent the last five weeks looking for this book and he was beginning to think it didn't exist. Granted, the library was vast but he had two of his friends helping him look for it.

He had a week to find the book now. One week before his father's scheduled execution would be carried out, the ministry had finally got a clue and had stopped using the Dementors. They were too quick to turn on the side of good and so they now executed those who previously would have received the Dementors Kiss.

He sighed as he sunk down into the couch in Malfoy Manor looking around the vast room.

"Perhaps it doesn't exist…" he said softly to the empty room, despair gnawing at him. He sighed softly and looked around. He had one week, he would look for that book and find it, if it existed. If not, then truly there was no hope for Lucius Malfoy.

Fifteen death eaters had been executed so far. Death Eaters were counted as the 18 individuals who were closest to Lord Voldemort, including Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape. Currently the last Death Eater, who was truly a Death Eater, was Lucius Abraxas Malfoy.

Lucius had been kept in solitary confinement, something Draco had long argued with the ministry over. Surely he had the right to see his father before he was executed? He had been duly informed that Lucius would be allowed visitors no sooner than the last day before his execution.

This information had not gone over especially well with Narcissa, hence her state of mini nervous breakdown. She had locked herself away in her suite, allowing Draco to enter once a day only to make sure that she was still alive. He had one of their three remaining house elves feed his mother every day and make sure she was eating properly.

The Ministry had been a flurry of activity in the preparations for Lucius' death. They had no proper Death Eaters left, but there were still those who sympathised with him and respected him. Some even believed his story of Imperius for the second time. Such was the nature of Lucius Malfoy's manipulation on the world that people wanted to believe him.

Harry was sitting in a coffee shop with Hermione who was now three months pregnant and very excited with the prospect of her first child.

"Ron keeps trying to get me to rest and Molly keeps insisting it's not an illness and that I'm perfectly fine. I'm very glad for Ron's mother, she's quite sensible. My mum and dad naturally are thrilled," she said as she sipped her hot chocolate.

"As you know 'Mione, I'm really happy for you," Harry smiled at her as he sipped his coffee. He looked at the coffee and couldn't help but wish that there was a bit of something stronger in it.

Hermione smiled brightly, "Yeah, I know." She paused a minute as if pondering a very difficult question.

"Harry? Can I ask you something personal?" she asked.

Harry nodded, "Sure, go ahead."

"Do you think you and Ginny will ever get back together? I think Ron was quite keen on the idea of you both being together, and I'll admit, so was I," she said all this quite quickly, as if afraid he might get offended.

Harry sighed a little and looked down at his mug.

"No… I honestly don't think she and I would go well together now," he said quietly. "We're far too different now. She's still… young…"

"Harry…" Hermione said with a deep frown, "You're not even 19 yet and you think you're old?"

Harry looked at her, "I feel old… I mean, there's only so many people you can kill without feeling old…"

Hermione looked at him sadly. She herself had killed people during the final battles but Harry had done so much more. She had heard a rumour that he, Severus and Draco Malfoy had tortured a Death Eater to death for information though the rumour was never confirmed, nor was it denied.

"I'm sorry Harry… I understand what you mean though. I suppose you and she are different now," she said softly, resting a hand on his arm.

He nodded once more, "Yeah… well. At least this will all be over in six days. That rat bastard of a man Lucius Malfoy will be dead and that will be all of them."

Hermione smiled a touch, "Yeah… Draco will be none too pleased though."

"I know… he's a bastard too… don't care if he was on our side, he's a bastard and his family deserve everything they get," Harry said vehemently.

He drained the last of his coffee and looked at Hermione, "Better get you back to Ronald or he'll be having a fit."

Hermione giggled a bit, "Let him. We can go get some ice cream and that will be that," she said amused.

Harry nodded and they both left the coffee shop together, unaware that they were being watched…

His head pounded, he had just taken a potion to help with that. His mother lay on the bed with the healer beside her, healing her self inflicted wounds. A suicide attempt it seemed. She was unconscious now, healing well.

Draco was utterly lost, he had no idea what to do. He had to look after his mother, yet he also had to find that book to save his father's life.

As one of the House Elves entered the room with a meal for him, she looked up at him, "M-Master… is something t-troubling you?" she asked in a meek voice.

Draco looked at her, "What's your name elf?"

"G-Gloran, s-sir…" she seemed shocked to be asked her name.

"Well Gloran, my mother tried to kill herself, my mentor is in a coma, most of my friends are dead, I am followed whenever I go into Diagon alley because I was a fucking Death Eater, I have no idea how to speak French and have to look after several of my father's French businesses and investments and speaking of my father he is in prison and I am on a wild goose chase for a fucking book about 'the Elvin Kin' that doesn't exist. How is that!?" his tone was angry and the House Elf ducked in fear of a blow.

The blow never came. She thought about what Draco had said and then turned and gasped, "You mean the Anra Corel!"

"What?" Draco spat, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"The Anra, it's the book you're looking for. Gloran knows where it is! Come, come!!"

Draco looked at her in shock. The House Elves… of course he should have asked the House Elves. The family had only been living with the Malfoys for 200 generations… gee Draco, really clever.

"Then show me!" He got up, his mother's need forgotten as the little House Elf sped through the manor with Draco hot on her heels.

They ran to the third floor and across the hall and stopped in front of a dead end. "Tis in here sir!" she pressed her finger against the wall on the brick that was very slightly discoloured and a doorway opened into a small room.

Draco moved in and gasped very softly, the room was very much like a temple. It had three rows of stone seating and an alter with a huge tome on top. Draco approached it and on the cover it said

"The Anra Corel"

He had no idea what it meant, he opened the book and frowned deeply.

The book was blank.

"Fuck!" he said loudly, loud enough that the House Elf once again recoiled. He looked at her, "Do you know anything about this book?"

"No sir… only that it is to be protected above all other things in the manor. We made sure the nasty ministry officials didn't find it sir."

Draco smiled a little, "Good… get going, I need to work out how to work this book."

The House Elf nodded and disappeared quickly from the room. Draco stared at the tome, "Right… now I've found it… just need to figure out how the fuck to read it…"

He sat down in front of the alter and began his work.

"… The Chudley Cannons put on a majestic performance before the Montrose Magpies. Being ridiculed for years it seems the Cannons have finally been able to turn their fortunes around by the purchase of player Cho Chang. "Having went to school with Cho and watched her myself I can safely say that she is a brilliant seeker and we are proud to have her on the team. As soon as I got the position as a scout I just knew we had to have her for the Cannons. This year we might finish in the top half of the league!" said Ronald Weasley. To his credit, since joining the scouting team for the Chudley Cannons, Ronald has brought in talent after talent. In fact half of the young team are from his own recommendations and they are now at the top of the small team league."

Hermione smiled at the report in the 'Weekly Dragon'. She had done a good job over the past year as establishing the newspaper as fourth to the daily prophet. She, Ginny, Neville Longbottom and Daphne Greengrass had gone in together to start a newspaper.

Hermione had money from a trust fund her parents had set up when she was a baby as well as money the ministry had awarded her for helping kill Voldemort. Neville had money from his parents' inheritance, it wasn't a lot but it was something, Daphne was a year above Hermione and had offered her own money. All of them had been sick and tired of the Prophet's biased viewpoints and so had banded together to create a weekly newspaper aimed at young adults of the 'new generation'.

Slowly they had started their paper alongside the Quibbler, it became painfully apparent that people began to buy the Quibbler to get the Weekly Dragon on a Saturday as sales always trebled that day. So, they broke off from the Quibbler and became very successful with their many intriguing and non-biased stories, advertising, muggle and magical news of the week. It was very popular among the young adults and the Prophet didn't seem to mind the competition as it was only once a week.

Hermione was now head of a small office building, having put up the most money herself for the business with Ginny, Neville and Daphne below her helping to oversee things. She'd be going off for maternity leave and the three of them would run things together.

She had tried to convince Harry to take a job there but he had point blank refused, he didn't want to be any kind of celebrity anymore. Hermione suspected if people forgot his name tomorrow he really wouldn't care, He'd be quite happy.

She felt very sorry for Harry, and for Ginny, she still had feelings for Harry.

Hermione sighed a little and looked out the window at the gloomy day. Three days and Lucius would be dead and this whole charade would be over.

Spells hadn't worked… water hadn't worked, magic ink, normal ink, incantations, herbs, bashing it with a spoon (highly scientific Draco would have you know) hadn't made the book give up its secrets. He leant over the open pages and sneezed.

He swore as he saw blood on the pages. He wiped his nose quickly and looked at the pages to clear it away.

The blood was gone.

Draco's eyes opened in realisation.

He stopped his nose bleeding and looked around. In the drawer in the alter there was a small very sharp dagger. He sighed looking at it, "I really am quite thick sometimes…" he said to himself.

He closed the book and noticed it seemed to be cut to let the blood flow down from the cover through the pages. He held his hand over the book, the centre had a small dip and he cut across his palm. The blood spilled onto the book and magic began to radiate from it.

A gust of wind picked up around the room and all the candles in the room lit at once as the door slammed shut.

Draco jumped in fright.

He looked at the book and it now said on its cover

"The Book of Faith."

He looked at it and sat back down. It seemed the room would not let him leave until he had found what he was searching for.