'The Return of the Boy-Who-Lived!'
Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, has at long last returned to the Wizarding World! The Chosen One was seen in Diagon Alley just today by this sharp-eyed observer, but the brooding young man declined the opportunity to be interviewed at this point in time. He appeared in good health and much more grown-up than the last time we saw our Gryffindor Hero; bloodied and weary on the battlefield. The day after the Battle of Hogwarts was the last time in fact that anyone in our world saw our Saviour; which also famously included his closest friends at the time. This reporter is unsure as to what Harry Potter's intentions are, perhaps to complete the Auror training he was meant to begin two and half years ago, but I myself hope that he is here to stay. I know we are all waiting with baited breath as to what our celebrated celebrity will do next.
Betty Braithwaite - The Evening Prophet - August 21st 2002
...
Harry scowled as he hunched his shoulders and trudged onwards towards The Leaky Cauldron. He had caught sight of the headlines screaming his name as he shouldered his way through the crowded alleyway and it had set his teeth on edge. Less than a day back in London and he was already making news. If he hadn't had to visit Gringotts personally, he never would have set foot in Diagon Alley ever again.
Harry pushed his way into the grubby pub and walked straight up to Tom behind the bar without making eye contact with any of the other patrons.
"Mr. Potter," Tom smiled, looking genuinely pleased to see him. "Your party is already here and settled in meeting room two."
"Thanks Tom." Harry nodded without smiling and quickly strode past the end of the bar towards a small darkened hallway that had two wooden doors leading to a couple of private meeting rooms. The pub's meeting rooms were sparsely furnished and only held a large table with eight mismatched wooden chairs, a large fireplace, and a desk.
Harry paused before the door on the left with the skewed number two hanging in the centre of it and closed his eyes. He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. His heart was pounding in his chest, his palms were sweaty and he felt cold all over. He knew this moment had to come - and he wanted it to - it was just going to be so hard to act naturally when he had a dark secret eating away at him from the inside. He had never concealed anything important from his friends before, which was exactly the reason he had left over two years ago.
Harry opened his eyes and, with a sudden burst of determination, opened the door.
All conversation immediately came to a halt as every head in the room instantly turned towards him and he quickly searched for Ron and Hermione's faces amongst the small group. He saw them standing together near the fire and offered a hesitant smile.
All hell seemed to break loose after that.
"Harry!"
"Harry oh my god, we've missed you!"
"Where have you been?"
"Where did you go?"
"How are you?"
"You're taller!"
Harry couldn't help but grin as all the ecstatic familiar faces swarmed around him. A part of him had thought that there might have been hard feelings, after all he had just up and left without a word, and he'd only ever sent one letter to let them know that he was alright but wanted some time alone. That time alone had then stretched into two and a half years.
"Come sit down, mate," Ron urged, pulling on his arm and leading him to one of the chairs at the table before he could even get one word out in answer to the frenzy of questions.
Harry gratefully grasped the bottle of butterbeer shoved in front of him and took a gulp before smiling at his old friends as they settled themselves around the table.
"Wow," Harry said in amazement, perhaps not the most articulate of greetings but no other word came to his mind in that moment.
There was a murmur of quiet laughter which seemed to edge out any remaining awkwardness.
"So, did you find what you were looking for Potter?"
Harry couldn't stop the grin that split his face at the familiar drawl. He looked over at Draco Malfoy sitting casually in one of the chairs to his right. The absolute normalcy of it all filled him with a warmth that he'd been sorely missing for quite some time.
Seventh year had brought about a few new developments at Hogwarts, the most notable being that a few of the Slytherin students had decided to defect from their families and from their impending Death Eater initiations. Draco had approached a stunned Harry one day early in term to tell him about their plans. After a great deal of convincing, Harry had decided to trust Malfoy and the others and the tentative truce led to a close friendship between them all. Standing side by side during battle definitely forged a strong bond that even now, years later, still held fast.
"'Fraid not Malfoy, that's why I came home," he replied flippantly.
There was more laughter as Draco smirked.
"Does that mean you're home for good?" Ron asked hopefully.
Harry shrugged, not wanting to dampen the mood but not wanting to get their hopes up either if it didn't happen. "Not sure yet," he replied vaguely.
"So tell us all about your travels," Hermione interjected with a smile, clasping a steaming cup of tea between her hands.
Harry smiled warmly at her and leaned back in his chair, fingers absently playing with the paper label on his butterbeer as he replied. "I went everywhere really, visited almost every continent. Australia was probably my favourite, I went there near the beginning then ended up going back for another six months before deciding to head home again."
"What made you decide to come back?" Neville piped up. "I mean, how could you leave the warm sunny beaches of Australia to come back to this," he added, thinking of the dreary weather in London at the moment and making a face.
Harry smiled. "I missed it. I've never lived anywhere else and… I dunno, I guess I was homesick. I met some nice people but I didn't really have any close friends either."
"Aw, did you miss us Potter?" Pansy asked coyly, fluttering her dark lashes at him.
Harry laughed along with the others.
"You seem happier."
Harry turned to Luna. The small blond girl looked exactly the same as when he'd left; still dreamy-eyed and still outfitted like an eccentric school-girl. He smiled warmly at her.
"I am, I think," he replied a little awkwardly. "I hardly knew what to do with myself without Voldemort hunting me down," he joked, pushing away the dark thoughts that threatened the steadiness of his voice.
"Are you going to join Auror training?" Blaise Zabini enquired curiously from his seat next to Draco.
"Erm…" Harry knew questions about his future plans were going to pop up and he still wasn't prepared to handle them. He wasn't surprised that Blaise had asked this particular question, as the Slytherin was nearing the completion of his own Auror training now, along with Ron. "No, I don't think so. I think I've had enough of chasing the 'bad guy' for a lifetime," he replied casually, trying to brush it off.
"What are you going to do then?" Ginny asked, propping her head in one hand on the table as she looked at him. "Quidditch?" she asked expectantly.
Harry smiled and shook his head. "Nah, too old and rusty for that." He paused then continued on. "Look, I don't really know what I'm going to do now, I haven't even a place to stay yet, I'm still renting a room here at The Leaky."
"You should move in with Draco," Luna suggested cheerfully, "he has an extra room in his flat."
Harry burst out laughing then raised his brow at the appraising look Draco was giving him.
"If you need somewhere to stay while you sort yourself out then I do happen to have the room," the blond merely replied.
Harry stared at him and then slowly smiled. "Yeah alright, why not?"
Draco smirked and Ron couldn't help grinning at the two of them.
"Well this should be interesting," he commented.
"If you wish to create more headlines Potter, then this will do it," Pansy said with an arched brow. "Harry Potter blows up half of Knockturn Alley in explosive duel with ex-school mate over whose turn it is to do the washing up."
They all laughed and Harry turned to Draco. "Do you really live in Knockturn Alley?" he asked.
"Yes, will that bother you?" Draco asked challengingly.
Harry smiled, undaunted. "Nope, sounds perfect." He then turned to look around at the group. "So… what have I missed?"
The group then exploded into a fast-paced summary of what they'd all been up to during his absence. Harry found out that Ron and Hermione had finally moved in together and shared a small flat in Devon, very close to Ottery St. Catchpole and Ron's family; Ginny was playing professional quidditch and enjoying the single life; Neville was working as a Herbology consultant for a local wizarding toxicology centre; Pansy was a 'kept woman' and living the high life thanks to a very wealthy husband; Blaise was finishing his Auror training and dating a Muggle (Harry's eyes had widened in shock at that one); Luna was now running the Quibbler and had her own WitchEtsy page at the back of the paper for advertising and selling her surprisingly popular craft creations; Hermione was a workaholic at the Ministry, employed as Assistant to the Minister for Magic with her sights set on being elected to office when Kingsley retired - in the very distant future; and Draco ran his own security business.
Harry finished his butterbeer and sat back, drinking it all in as they cheerfully filled him in on their lives. He refused to allow himself to be dragged under by depression or resentment as they happily nattered on about their future plans and careers.
Once they had finished all the drinks and there was no more news to be shared, the group began to stand, gathering their cloaks and readying to leave.
Harry knew he was going to have a tough night ahead of him. He knew once he was alone again, the gloomy thoughts would drift back in and attempt to drag him under. He shook his head and stood, trying to recapture the joy he had felt all evening.
It had been a surprisingly good night. He hadn't known what to expect when he'd contacted them all and suggested a group meet-up to get his return over with all in one night. Not one of them had been angry or held onto any bitterness about his abrupt departure and he had been so relieved. He hoped now that this night was over he could have some semblance of a normal life again, such as it was.
Harry smiled as he slipped into his cloak; he was happy to be home. He'd made the right decision and that felt good in and of itself.
"Harry, when did you want to bring your things over?"
Harry looked up at Draco as he fastened his black cloak around his shoulders. He looked at him a moment before replying. "Is tonight too soon?" he asked.
Draco's lips twitched in amusement as he shook his head. "Not at all. Follow me."
Harry bade everyone else good night before following Draco out into the main room of the pub. The tall blond waited downstairs as Harry packed up his few belongings into his trusty backpack and hefted it onto his shoulders before rejoining Draco and following him out into the night.
"So… Knockturn Alley, eh?" Harry said, glancing sideways.
Draco stared straight ahead of him as he replied. "Yes, that's where my business is located and I live above it."
Harry smiled as he turned his gaze to the cobblestones passing beneath his feet and shoved his hands into his cloak pockets. "You mentioned that your business is security related? What do you do exactly?"
"I provide security systems for personal residences as well as commercial businesses. The system I use is a mix of Muggle and Wizarding technology, so it fools most of the idiots who believe they can get passed it."
"Wow," Harry replied, impressed, "that's very clever of you."
"I know," Draco replied smugly, causing Harry to snort with amusement.
"What made you add Muggle technology?"
"Blaise's Muggle girlfriend has a father that works at a security company. She was talking about it one day and I thought it would be a nice addition to my Wizarding defense system since most wizards are unfamiliar with Muggle equipment. The mix of magical and Muggle seems to be a winning combination so far."
"So you're fairly successful then I take it?" Harry asked as they rounded the corner into Knockturn Alley.
Draco nodded and Harry could see the hint of pride in his eyes that he imagined stemmed from creating a thriving business all on his own.
They fell into companionable silence as Draco led the way to a simple black door halfway up the alley.
Harry was relieved to see that the local shops and patrons were not as dodgy as they had once been before the war; Knockturn Alley was almost respectable.
Almost.
Harry watched as Draco performed a complicated wand pattern, then the door in front of them unlocked with the heavy clang of metal. Harry glanced at the darkly tinted window beside the door then looked around for a sign.
"How do people know what your business is if there's no sign?" he asked as Draco opened the door.
"I have a card delivered to them and only while they hold the card against their skin can they make out the address and read the sign," Draco replied over his shoulder as he led Harry inside.
"Huh." Harry was certainly intrigued by Draco's business; it was all very James Bond.
Harry walked into a beautiful reception area and glanced to his right to see a professional looking office which he assumed was Draco's. There was another door in the fancy reception room which Harry assumed would lead upstairs to Draco's residence.
Harry started to walk towards it but Draco wasn't following.
"That's just the show room," the Slytherin explained as he headed into the office instead.
Harry followed along behind, shifting his dependable backpack up on his shoulders as he entered. The office was painted a soft grey and the furnishings were all white and black.
Draco walked behind the desk to where a row of tall bookcases sat.
Harry smiled. "Please tell me that you have a secret stairway behind the bookcase?"
Draco smirked and removed a large blue book from the bottom shelf. He opened the book to the centre page and placed his hand, palm down, on the page. The parchment glowed bright for a moment then the bookcase swung open on silent hinges to indeed reveal a hidden staircase.
Harry grinned and shook his head before following the smug blond up the steps.
Draco's flat wasn't as ostentatious as Harry thought it was going to be. Harry dropped his backpack into the spare bedroom Draco showed him to then returned to the lounge to collapse into one of the chairs situated next to the fire.
"Whew…" Harry exhaled. "That was a long day."
"Scotch?" Draco offered from the kitchen.
"Please." Harry looked around the comfortable lounge, part of him somewhat disappointed that it wasn't Slytherin green and silver. In fact, it was tastefully decorated in simple muted tones and rich leather furnishings.
"Thanks again for letting me crash here," Harry said as Draco handed him his drink and sat down opposite him.
"Not at all," Draco replied, settling back and taking a sip of the rich amber liquid. "I'm the only one who isn't going to fawn all over you day and night, so I was probably your best choice."
Harry grinned and took a sip of his drink.
"So, now that the pleasantries are out of the way, you want to tell me what it is you're hiding from everyone Potter?"