A/N: Hey everyone! This is my new Drarry story. I'm liking it a lot, so I hope you all feel the same. But it wouldn't be half as good without my wonderful beta's, Steph (Discombobulatedperson) and Elise (LJ: icelisou68). They are both wonderful.

This story is almost finished..just editing and whatnot needs to be done, so it will be posted weekly or sooner, no need to worry. But anyhow, read on and enjoy. Don't forget to review :)

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Gaining The Advantage

Hermione sat in the seat her husband pulled out for her, as they waited for their credit representative to greet them. Although she scoffed at the idea of credit being introduced into the wizarding world, she was quite grateful for it now, even if she still had some doubts about how it would affect their economy.

But it didn't matter just now. Her dream was about to become a reality. After the war had ended, she was devastated to see so many families becoming homeless and children being thrown into overcrowded orphanages. Her Family Home, for war victims, would be able to help those who've lost everything get back onto their feet. She would be able to really make a difference.

Ron had agreed to join her, saying that George could always hire help at his shop. It was important for him to help his brother out after Fred's death, but George had finally come to accept things as they were, and could probably run his shop by himself if need be.

"Where is she?" Ron groaned from the seat beside her. She turned and smiled at her husband. He was just as impatient as he was in school. She use to cringe at the flaw, but now it had become something she adored.

"It's only been a few minutes, I'm sure she'll be here soon." Ron let out an exasperated sigh and began drumming his fingers on the arms of the chair. Hermione just turned her attention to the lonely desk in front of them.

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley," Stephanie, their credit representative, greeted them as she sat on the opposite side of the desk. "Sorry to keep you."

"Not a problem," Hermione responded, suffering from suspense. She wanted to get started as soon as possible. Stephanie reached into the filing cabinet behind her desk for a moment, pulling out a thick manilla folder.

"Okay let's see here," She opened up the folder and began rifling through the pages. "Oh," She said with her brows furrowed, causing Hermione to inch to the edge of her seat. "I'm sorry, but it says your application has been denied."

"Denied? But last week you said everything looked fine and we were sure to get approved."

"Yes, I did, and you should have been. Let me speak with my supervisor. One moment." The woman scurried out of the office as Hermione began to drum her own fingers against her thigh.

"I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding Hermione, calm down."

"Calm down? If we're not approved, we'll never be able to afford a place large enough to house everyone."

"We'll get approved. If worse comes to worse, we can always use the media against them. War heroes denied the chance to help those in need. They'll eat it up."

"Ronald! You know I would never approve of that. We need this loan." Ron rolled his eyes, and began to hum to himself to avoid having to listen to Hermione's mumbling of unnecessary worry. After about five minutes Stephanie came back in looking as if she had no success.

"I'm sorry."

"But why?" Hermione practically yelled at the woman. "Everything is in order. What happened in the last seven days to change this?"

"It's not your finances. It appears this was originally accepted but was denied by the owner of Magic Galleons Credit. He has the right to push whatever applicants in or out as he sees fit. There is nothing I can do."

"Why would the owner refuse a war refuge for homeless families?"

"I don't know. You'd have to take that up with him. Unfortunately, he keeps his identity secret from his employees."

"Well how am I supposed to contact him?"

"We have a contact address for complaints." Hermione nodded, accepting the scrap of parchment with the address. An owlery of course. It was a bit curious why the owner of the only wizarding credit agency was so secretive. It didn't make any sense.

"Thank you for your help," She said as she walked out of the office feeling very pessimistic. Ron wrapped his arms around her in an offer of silent comfort before he apparated them both home.

**

It was two weeks until Hermione got a response from the owner of Magic Galleons. She was afraid she had been a little too harsh in her letter, causing it to become lining for owl droppings, but the letter sealed with the M.G.C. logo did come, and Hermione practically ripped in it half in her haste to open it.

Dear Mrs. Hermione Weasley,

I would be pleased to discuss your case in person if it suits you. In order to be reconsidered, your husband, Mr. Ronald Weasley, and yourself, must both be present at the meeting. Please bring all proof of income and property deeds. Also, it is vital that your witness, Mr. H.J. Potter be in attendance as well. If you agree to the terms, please reply in the next ten days, or your application will be denied. Thank you.

Yours truly,
Owner and Operator of M.G.C

"He didn't even sign his name. Don't you think that's odd?" Ron grabbed the parchment and read it over.

"I think him needing to see Harry is a bit more odd." Ron replied, finally putting the pieces together.

"How so? He signed our forms as a witness, he probably just needs him to sign something else."

"Or maybe it's someone who saw the name Potter and became star struck. That's probably why we were denied in the first place. He was just hoping we'd write him so he could make this bogus claim that he needs to see him in person."

"Don't you think that's a little far fetched?" Ron just looked at her as if she was being naive. She scolded him with a slap to the arm, even if she knew there was a good chance he was right.

"Even still, it's a small price to pay. Do you think Harry would mind?" Hermione asked worriedly. She knew Harry hated dealing with fans.

"Nah, he has to deal with that sort of stuff all the time. He won't care if he's helping us out in the process."

**

Ron and Hermione decided to invite Harry to lunch at the Three Broomsticks the following day in order to ask him. The three usually went there to catch up when their work loads kept them too busy to make time for each other, and Hermione tried her best to slip in the question without making it seem like a big deal.

"Yeah, of course I can come, but why does he need to see me?" Harry answered quickly, not sure why his friends even bothered asking. He fully supported their plan. He even offered to fund it for them, but they insisted they do it on their own, so he let the matter drop.

"Oh, just because you signed as our witness, I'd imagine they'd need your signature a few more times." Hermione lied, but Ron interjected.

"Or, it may be a crazed fan who wants to meet you."

"Oh," Harry was about to tell them it didn't matter and he would still do it, but Hermione's interruption was too good to miss out on.

"Oh, Ron doesn't know what he's talking about Harry. It is common procedure for a witness to be present during a transaction like this. It's likely the owner doesn't even know who you are."

"Does anyone not know who he is?" Ron began to laugh and so did Harry when he saw how wide Hermione's eyes had gotten.

"If he is from overseas, he may know nothing of our war Ronald. Harry, to be honest, we're not even sure why he needs to see you, just that he does."

"Guys, we're best friends, you don't have to ask."

"But Harry, if we don't-oh." Ron and Harry both smiled at each other as Hermione's face grew red."Well it's tomorrow afternoon, meet us here," she passed him a small bit of parchment, -"At twelve thirty."

"The appointment isn't until one." Ron laughed, but Hermione shot him her look as if he had just argued to play chess instead of studying.

"We ought to be prepared."

"Right, right. I'll be there at twelve thirty. You know Kingsley is going to have my arse for not giving him more notice than this. Especially considering I already told him I needed the whole evening off."

"Another date with that Russian bloke?" Ron asked and Harry nodded, feeling quite happy. This was the first wizard he had dated, and they were scheduled for date number five tomorrow. When he first realized he was gay, he was a bit embarrassed of the press finding out, so he stuck strictly to muggles. But dating a wizard was so much easier. You didn't have to lie constantly, or explain why you're being followed by 'a bunch of cross-dressing freaks' as his last boyfriend continued to ask.

Harry decided not to let the press dictate his life, so he decided to ask out the cute Russian guy, Alexander, who came to work at the Ministry. So far, news of their relationship hadn't leaked, only his close friends, and Alex's of course, knew the truth. They both decided they would go public if things got more serious.

"How are things going between you two?" Hermione asked, craving some gossip. As soon as she found out Harry was gay, she immediately began the attempt to transition him to one of the girls. It wasn't working, no matter how hard she tried. Harry was one of the guys through and trough, even if Hermione's only female friend was Ginny, which was enough to keep Harry at a safe distance from any girl outings.

"Good. Really good. I think tonight we're going to, you know, do it."

"How old are you Harry? If you can't say it..."

"Fine, I think tonight I'm going to bend him over my couch and fuck him until he can't sit down anymore."

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, his lack of social courtesy causing her to blush.

"Yeah mate, even I have to stop you there," Ron added in, but Harry just laughed. He remembered feeling so nervous telling his friends he was gay, but they both took it great, telling him he was silly to think it would change anything.

The only person who took it hard was Ginny, feeling it was her personal fault he wasn't attracted to her. She got over it, but she still only talks to Harry during holidays spent at the Burrow, where she can't easily ignore him. Harry didn't really mind, their conversations were always incredibly awkward, so keeping them to a minimum was quite satisfactory.

**

"Merlin Harry, you're twenty minutes late!" Hermione exclaimed the second he walked into the small muggle cafe, still in his Auror robes. "And could you be anymore suspicious?" She whispered quietly. The surrounding muggles looked at him strangely, but didn't say anything aloud.

"Hermione, we still have ten minutes. The guy isn't even here yet. Relax." Ron earned a stern glare from his wife for the comment so he promptly shut his mouth.

"Sorry, I got trapped at work. Kingsley must have yelled at me for a good thirty minutes. I told him I was doing you a favor, so he said he'd be having a word with you." Kingsley didn't say such a thing, but the look on Hermione's face made it all worth it to Harry. "So what am I supposed to do?"

"Well, I'm not sure, but if Ron's theory is correct, just be polite."

"Am I normally not polite?"

"To fans? No, you're usually not." Hermione answered simply. It's not that he was mean exactly, but if someone kept pestering him, he usually just ignored them.

"Alright, pretend I enjoy the attention. Got it? And if that's not why I have to be here?"

"Then you'll probably just have to sign some paperwork. Same as before." Harry nodded and sat staring out the window while Hermione lectured Ron on everything not to say. When Ron kept making jokes about it, she made it forbidden for him to speak at all.

As he watched the people on the street walk by the glass windows, he saw someone he hadn't seen in five years, since the day he stood trial for being a Death Eater to be exact. He thought he might be imagining it until the snarky blonde walked into that very cafe.

"Malfoy!" Harry stood with a firm grip on his wand inside his robes. "What are you doing here?"

"Now, now Potter. Is that how you treat your friend's future benefactor?" He drawled, a smirk adorning his lips.

"You're the owner of M.G.C.?" Hermione asked in shock. She was suddenly aware of why he was so eager to deny them the loan on the property they've chosen. It wasn't her first choice, but it was the only local place large enough to house everyone.

"Would you expect anything less of me?"

"Actually, yeah." Ron replied, Hermione reprimanded him with a kick in the shin. "Ow." Hermione didn't like the chances of this meeting going smoothly. But if Malfoy was the owner of M.G.C., she would do what she must in order to win him over.

"Don't mind him Mr. Malfoy," Hermione said in her most polite tone, Harry and Ron just gawked at her. "Please sit down."

"As soon as Potter loosens the grip on his wand, maybe I will." Hermione stared wide eyed at Harry until he reluctantly let go of his wand and sat back down.

"Don't you think you should be a little quieter about the mentions of wands, Malfoy," Harry whispered. "This is a muggle cafe, you know?"

"Yeah, I'm sure those neon robes aren't drawing any attention Potter. It's the word wand that has all the customers looking at us." Harry then blushed slightly realizing Malfoy was in fact wearing muggle clothing, deeming himself as the only one dressed inappropriately for the occasion. Malfoy was wearing a fancy formfitting muggle suit, which looked much better than any wizarding robes could. He looked, well, handsome. Of course this line of thought just caused Harry to blush further, and he kept reminding himself that this was Draco Malfoy.

"So Mr. Malfoy, about our loan application," Hermione started but Draco focused all his energy on Harry.

"Seriously Potter, that color is dreadful, why would you even own anything like that. It seems your style hasn't improved since school."

"Maybe you haven't heard, considering you've been hiding for the past five years, but I'm Head Auror at the Ministry now, this is my required uniform." Harry said a bit smugly. He was proud of his position at the Ministry, and felt a bit egotistical about being the youngest Head Auror in history.

"Head Auror? Hmm, I guess saving the world really puts you above all else, even if you're not qualified." Malfoy's smirk returned in full force with the comment.

"Harry is more than qualified and you know it," Ron jumped into the argument, "Save your jealousy for someone who gives a damn. Come on, let's just go." Hermione reluctantly stood up with her husband, feeling quite low. She knew this was an end to her dream, but it was obvious they weren't going to get anywhere with Malfoy. Harry followed the two out of the cafe without looking back at Malfoy.

**

Harry returned to his office to find a mountain of paperwork. Being a mentor and leader to the other Aurors and working in the field were all amazing aspects of his job. They really completed who he was as a person, but on days like these, he hated his job. Paperwork just bored him to death, and today he seemed to have three times as much as usual. He knew Minister Kingsley was punishing him for all the time off he requested.

He sat down gloomily and got to work. After an hour that seemed to stretch on forever, he began hoping some disaster would strike so he'd have to go and resolve it. Unfortunately, another hour passed and no such luck, he did however get a distraction when there was a knock on his door.

"Come in," Harry said a little too happily. He knew it was probably something mundane, but anything had to be better than this. And it definitely was better when Alexander walked in.

"Hey cutie," He greeted, placing a small chaste kiss on his lips. "How's your day been?"

"Oh, terrible. Kingsley loaded me up today to punish me for asking for tonight off. But I imagine it will all be worth it in the end." Alex shrugged, making Harry a little upset. "What's wrong?"

"It seems it may not be worth it," he said apologetically. "I can't make it tonight."

"What? Why?"

"My sister got engaged last night, and she's insisting that I come over and have some celebratory drinks tonight. It was impossible to refuse."

"Oh," Harry said, a little upset. He would hope he would have been invited to meet his family, but Alex must have felt it was too soon for such. "That's okay. She's family. Tell her I said congratulations."

"I really am sorry. I would invite you, but it's sort of a me and her thing, you know? Her fiance isn't even going to be there."

"Yeah, I get that, " which he did. He was much happier knowing that it wasn't him personally that wasn't invited. "But I am going to have to request you make it up to me next time."

"Oh yeah? What do you have in mind?"

"I'm sure I can think of something by then," he said with a wicked grin, causing Alex to lean over to give his boyfriend a passionate kiss.

"I can't wait." Alex said as he pulled away, licking Harry's taste off his lips.

"Who knew Potter was a poof?" Harry snapped his head up to face the open doorway where Draco Malfoy stood.

"What are you doing here Malfoy?" Harry stood, wand in hand, pointed directly at the man. "You have some nerve eavesdropping on me in my own office. You better have gotten permission to be here, or I'll arrest you for trespassing."

"So distrusting," he drawled out, looking Alex up and down and completely ignoring Harry's wand. "Rest assured, I followed all Ministry procedures. I just came to relay a message to your friends."

"Harry, who is this?" Alex asked worriedly. He had never seen his boyfriend act so strangely towards anyone before.

"One of the few Death Eater's who walked." He said with a grimace. Of course, it was only because he testified on Malfoy's behalf. He didn't think Draco deserved Azkaban for life, but he surely never expected him to walk free of any type of punishment. When Malfoy went into exile, he got over it, but now here he was, running a huge corporation and annoying him once again.

"Now, no need to bring up the past Potter. The name's Draco Malfoy," he offered his hand out to Alexander, who shook it reluctantly. "I've just come to make an offer to Granger and Weasley, and was hoping you could relay the message."

"Granger?" Alex asked, getting more confused by the moment.

"Hermione's maiden name," Harry answered before returning to Malfoy. "Well, what's your message?"

"I'm sorry, but personal information must be kept confidential, as you know. I cannot relay anything to third-parties."

"Figures," Harry turned to Alex and nodded to let him know he would handle this alone. "I'll call you later on."

"Alright, I'll talk to you then." He hovered awkwardly for a minute, unsure to kiss him or not. In the end, he opted not to and walked passed Malfoy, heading for the lifts.

"Alright Malfoy, tell me the message so you can get out of my life."

"All business I see," Malfoy closed the door and sat down in the seat adjacent to Harry's desk, putting him just a foot away from Harry's wand. "Please Potter, if I was planning to hurt you, I sure wouldn't choose the Ministry of Magic as the venue."

Harry lowered his wand but didn't release it. Malfoy just laughed.

"I guess that kind of attitude is what made you Head Auror." From anyone else, it was a sincere compliment. From Malfoy, it was mockery.

"The message, Malfoy," Harry reminded him.

"Yes, I guess we'll get this over with." He pulled out a roll of parchment from his robes and handed it to Harry. "It simply explains that I'll approve the loan if they find a change in venue." Now it was Harry's turn to laugh.

"That's what this is about? Don't want a muggleborn owning your old home? Afraid it might get tainted?"

"Hardly," Malfoy said seriously. "That's my home Potter, or at least it was. I've been working like crazy the past five years to ensure it is my home once again, I won't have it taken by two people who have no right to it."

"They have just as much right to it as you do."

"The Ministry had no right to take my home!" Malfoy shouted causing Harry to raise his wand again. "They left me and my mother homeless, Potter. They took all our money."

"Isn't it fitting that your home be used to house those like yourself? I'm sure Ron and Hermione would save you and your mum a room." In a flash Harry felt his head fly backwards as Malfoy's fist came in contact with his face. He immediately jumped back on his guard binding Malfoy to the spot.

"You know Malfoy, assaulting an Auror has a maximum punishment of one year in Azkaban. Being Head Auror and all, I'm sure the Wizengamot wouldn't go easy on you."

"Sod off, Potter!"

"Such attitude. Maybe I'll set it up so you can share a cell with your father. Call it a family reunion."

"Watch your mouth Potter." Harry smirked and dropped the body bind, letting Malfoy fall to the floor.

"You're not even worth it Malfoy." Draco just stared up at Harry with wide eyes. This wasn't the same boy he had known in school. He wasn't sure if it was from growing up, killing the Dark Lord, or something else, but it was obvious he had changed. Without chancing infuriating the man anymore, Draco left.

**

"Merlin Harry, what happened to your face?" When Ron heard a knock at the door, he wasn't expecting to see Harry considering he was supposed to be on a date. But most of all, he didn't expect to see him sporting a shiner either. "Alex didn't hit you, did he?" Ron joked, knowing it must have been work-related. It wasn't likely for Wizards to harm the Aurors using physical violence, but it did happen sometimes.

"Offering me a drink would be the polite thing to do," Harry pouted, making Ron laugh. Nonetheless, he went to the kitchen and poured them each a glass of firewhiskey.

"So who was it?"

"Malfoy."

"What?" Ron said truly shocked. "You didn't go back to see him, did you?"

"Of course I didn't. He found me, making me message boy for you two. We had a bit of a row about it, he hit me, I binded him, threatened him, and let him go."

"You let him go? You're crazy! I thought you wanted him in Azkaban." Harry shrugged. After his initial trial, Harry had been pretty angry. Mostly, because it was his own fault for testifying on his behalf.

"I did, but he's not even worth it anymore. Besides, I have a much better idea for revenge."

"Yeah, what would that be?"

"Well, this whole application thing is all about keeping the manor on the market so he can buy it back, right?"

"Hermione figured as much. We're going to look for something else again, but it doesn't look likely." Harry just shook his head.

"Don't bother. I bought it."

"You bought what?" Ron asked, not really believing his ears.

"Malfoy Manor, well, I guess it needs a new name. It cost quite a bit too. Practically emptied my vault, but it was worth it."

"You bought a mansion to get even with Malfoy?" Ron said looking at him like he grown two heads. "You know that's insane?"

"Well that's not all of it, but yeah, getting revenge on Malfoy does give me an awfully satisfied feeling. But I figure this way you guys can open your home without having to deal with Malfoy."

"Mate, I appreciate the offer, but Hermione would never go for that. She said so herself when you offered it the first time."

"What's the difference? You guys can pay me back if you don't want the hand out. It's no different than getting a loan."

"I'll talk to her about it, but I doubt she'll see it that way." Harry shrugged. Even if they didn't take it, he still thought it was worth it. He only wished he could see Malfoy's face when he finds out.

**

TBC

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