Disclaimer: I don't own it.

A/N: This story is AU after HBP, the war went on a lot longer, and a lot of things happened very differently from DH, though I may include concepts and characters from DH. There is also SLASH in this story, you have been warned!

APPLEBY

That night on the tower; Snape, Dumbledore, Draco. And Harry watching. That night was important for Harry – it was the start of everything different. After that everybody looked at him as though he should become Albus Dumbledore, the leader. Harry had done the best he could to help lead, to solve the puzzles with the few clues he had, to do what the greatest wizard of their age hadn't succeeded in doing.

The war had dragged on, and those at the centre of everything fought hard, giving everything they had to fight back against Voldemort.

The beginning of the end was on the night of April 30th, 2001. It was all chaos; witches and wizards everywhere, streaks of light in so many colours streaking across the field. Harry had his closest friends at his back as he threw the final spell. That one spell didn't stop the battle, nor did it end the war – but it meant the end was in sight.

CHAPTER ONE

February, 2003

Harry sat quietly on the couch. His mind tried briefly to make sense of the music he had put on to fill the silence, but his thoughts drifted before long and the melodies blurred together. The twenty-two year old wizard was alone in the two-bedroom house he had been renting by himself for four months already, just like he had been yesterday when he had declined an invitation to lunch with Neville Longbottom; today he had cancelled plans to visit Hermione at her work in the Diagon Alley office of Banks & Moon, the foremost wizarding law firm, where his friend was interning. Harry had made some excuse of being tired and coming down with a cold, but the truth was harder for him to pin down. There was simply something uncomfortable in the idea of seeing his friends, Harry hated the feelings he had when he heard about the endeavours of his schoolmates. For the last few weeks Harry had barely seen any of his friends, each time he did he felt inadequate as they told stories of work and study, occasionally asking Harry if he was doing anything much on his 'vacation'. He would simply give them a smile, clamping down on the nerves erupting in his stomach, and respond that he was simply enjoying doing nothing.

It was coming up to two years since Voldemort had been killed by Harry in a large-scale battle, and around eighteen months since the last of the attacks had stopped. Harry had played a major part in the war, even after Voldemort's death he had been involved, though in a much less dangerous capacity at the urging of various political figures. He hadn't minded being less physically involved, the reasoning behind it, however, irked him. The Head Auror had ordered Harry to stay back because of Minister Scrimgeour's idea that the Boy-Who-Lived shouldn't be risking himself once his job was done, though he was still working with the Auror force fighting the Death Eaters. Harry was too valuable alive to risk. Scrimgeour had used the political repercussions of Harry working with the ministry to keep himself in office for another term. Once the last battle had been fought, Harry had lent a hand re-establishing the wizarding community, showing himself at various projects, including the rebuilding of Diagon Alley and the charming of a new fountain in the Ministry of Magic. Harry had also gone on a six month long tour of several wizarding countries on the advice of both Scrimgeour and Minerva McGonagall, speaking to different communities and fostering ideas of tolerance and solidarity, instead of the bigotry that existed and had spread with Voldemort's efforts. Four months ago, the famous wizard had decided there was little else for him to do, so he had found a house in Appleby – the home of the Appleby Arrows – and taken a vacation from his life to figure out what to do next. He had still ventured out to several celebrations and events he thought were worthwhile, but had for the most part stayed away.

Appleby was a quiet place with a well established wizarding community living alongside the peaceful muggle village. The muggle part of the village was small, with very few public shops and very few residents, many of whom knew something of the wizarding world. There was a small shopping centre accessible to the wizarding population of Appleby, mostly servicing fans of the Appleby Arrows who came to the village; though there was enough there that Harry seldom needed to venture elsewhere for his groceries. For Harry it was a chance to escape much of the lifestyle he had lived while travelling, and, before that, while shifting between Hogwarts and his accommodations with the Auror fighting force. There he had been constantly busy with training, fighting, or attending conferences and meetings; here, though, he thought he had found peace.

Harry's goal in coming to Appleby had been to relax for a while before getting a job or finding another goal to pursue. So far he had found neither. It wasn't that he didn't have job offers, he could probably get any job he wanted, but there wasn't anything that seemed right. And now the dark-haired wizard was sitting alone in the house with his head in his hands, feeling completely and utterly lost.

o

In the middle of wizarding London, another young wizard was stepping out of a large marble building with a smirk that could almost be a smile on his face. Draco Malfoy brushed a hand through his hair, pushing it back from his eyes before placing a warm fur-lined hat on his head as he joined the crowd of witches and wizards making their way through Diagon Alley. The day was unseasonably cool with a crispness to it that Draco appreciated as it made everyone move a little faster down the cobble-stone street towards the offices of Banks & Moon.

Approaching an ornate looking door at the far end of the Alley from the Leaky Cauldron, Draco straightened his cloak and stepped up the steps and inside. The air was much warmer out of the open, and a young witch quickly came up to him to take his cloak and hat before he made his way to the meeting where he was expected. The same witch who had divested him of his cloak led him down a long hallway to a partially open door, behind which a portly, older wizard sat shuffling through a pile of papers.

"Ah, Mr Malfoy, come in." Draco thought the man sounded just a little too keen to see him, but kept his face neutral as he shook the man's hand.

"Mr Banks, I hope everything is prepared?" The tone of voice the younger wizard was well-practiced, a hint of condescension and threat tended to go a long way towards making people do as one asked. Banks' smile dimmed a little before returning once again.

"Certainly, Mr Malfoy, there should be no problems. Please, have a seat." He said, gesturing towards a cushioned chair. He cleared his throat briefly as Draco sat gracefully. "We currently have an intern working with us here at Banks & Moon, would you mind if she sat in on the meeting?"

Frowning a little and pausing, the Malfoy heir let Banks sweat for a moment before inclining his head in acquiescence. The lawyer smiled again before hopping out of his seat and going to another door opposite the one Draco entered through, disappearing briefly before returning, followed by a respectfully dressed young witch carrying a notebook and a tray of coffee. For a moment he wondered why she looked familiar before recognition hit.

"Draco." Hermione spoke politely and held out a hand after placing the coffee on the table.

He accepted her hand with the barest of sneers. "Granger. What a surprise."

Banks looked horrified at Draco's tone, but as his client made no further show of displeasure and motioned for him to begin he took his seat and the coffee Hermione had poured. He placed a few papers on the table as Draco sat back, looking relaxed and confident.

"Well, Mr Malfoy, we should have an adequate case against your father. The aurors have passed on their reports and they have the evidence collected, but your testimony is the most important part of the case." Watching Hermione carefully, Draco caught her look of surprise; clearly she hadn't been fully aware of what he was doing at Banks & Moon. It was reassuring to know that it wasn't common knowledge he was turning against his father. There would be negative repercussions, particularly amongst the other pureblood families, when the public learned that Draco had acted against his father and the Malfoy name, despite Lucius' involvement with Voldemort.

The discussions with Banks continued on for a couple of hours as they planned what Draco would reveal of his father's activities during and after Voldemort. He had plenty to say against Lucius, but there was plenty that would be better unsaid, particularly if he wanted to live as a Malfoy after the case was heard. The biggest concern was that Draco would be seen as doing everything for his benefit, in an attempt to hide his own past actions.

As the clock on the wall chimed subtly, Banks looked up and said that he had another client to see, though he could put them off if there was more Draco wanted to discuss. Declining, the younger wizard rose to leave.

"Miss Granger will show you out, Mr Malfoy. Please, do not hesitate to contact me if there is anything you wish to discuss. Otherwise I will see you in a week's time." Banks gave a respectful nod of his head as Draco left, Hermione trailing behind him.

Out in the entranceway, once Hermione had retrieved his belongings, the young witch turned to Draco, a serious expression on her face.

"Draco," she began, slightly nervous to be speaking with him – he had been a Death Eater after all, "I just wanted to say that I recognise the difficulty in what you're doing; and I … well I think it's very brave."

He raised an eyebrow at her as he placed his hat back on his head, "thank you for that, Granger, it's good to know you think I'm brave." Sarcastic smirk firmly in place, he turned on his heel and stepped back out into Diagon Alley.

The cool air hit him and made him shiver in his cloak as he walked down the Alley. Seeing Granger again, for the first time in a long time, made him irritated. And her self-righteous attitude, who was she to tell him he was brave? He wasn't a damn Gryffindor, he was only doing this because he couldn't have peace of mind while his father was still around; he didn't care about anyone else. His previous good mood ruined, Draco's mind wandered over what would happen when he spoke out against Lucius. There were plenty of possible outcomes, and, unfortunately, a large number of them were not particularly good for him. The blonde wizard knew he had to do it, but that didn't mean he was happy with it.

A loud crack signalled Draco's departure from the alley behind the Leaky Cauldron as he apparated back to the small, bare apartment he was renting in the middle of muggle London.

o

"I'm home!" Hermione called out a greeting to Ginny as she apparated into the foyer of the flat they shared in Hogsmeade. A sharp shriek and a blur of red was all the warning she got as the younger witch came barrelling into her, excitement written all over her face.

"You'll never guess who just asked me out, and where!" Red hair was flying everywhere as Ginny dragged Hermione into the living area, pushing her down to the sofa and handing her a bottle of beer. "Go on, guess!"

Smiling, Hermione sipped at the beer while she thought. It didn't take her long to answer. "Malcolm Fisher; to the Appleby Arrows game."

"Yes!" Ginny shrieked again before collapsing next to Hermione, taking a sip from her own beer as she did so. "Do you think Harry will be going? It's being played in Yorkshire, so it isn't even particularly far away from him. Plus, it's against the Cannons, so Ron will be there."

"I don't know Ginny. He might be, but then he hasn't been out much recently and he told me today that he was coming down with a cold." She sighed into her beer bottle. "To tell the truth, I'm a little worried about him. He's been a bit less social than usual, I just don't know if it's anything more than him being tired."

A small frown graced Ginny's fine features, "I'm sure he's fine. He's probably just enjoying the quiet life after his world tour." She shrugged dismissively, "I wouldn't worry too much about him; he'd say something if he wasn't all right."

o

It was silent, and dark. Harry raised his head from his hands slowly, standing stiffly before flicking his wand in an automatic action to close the curtains and turn on the lights. He hadn't moved from his seat all afternoon, but his stomach had started to proclaim it was time for tea. Harry tiredly made his way to the kitchen, glancing briefly at the wooden clock above the fireplace whose pearlescent face showed the moon cycle as well as the time; he pulled a container of frozen food out of the freezer and gave a quick flick of his wand to reheat it. Molly had sent Ginny over the previous week with some meals for him, proclaiming that a boy living on his own needed home-cooking once in a while, despite the fact that he had been living on his own for a while now.

He was still eating when he heard a knock on the door. Briefly contemplating pretending to be out, Harry sighed before getting up, leaving his half-finished meal on the table.

"Hey, Harry."

"Seamus." He responded with surprise tingeing his voice, stepping aside to let the Irish wizard inside. "I didn't expect to see you here; I thought you were still in America?"

He nervously scratched the back of his head with one hand, his other buried deep in his pocket. "Yeah, well, I didn't expect to be back; not for a while at least. I certainly didn't expect to find myself here. It's just, well, I didn't know where else to go."

Harry nodded absently; busy trying to figure out what the smell was that always clung to Seamus, a combination of the outdoors and cinnamon. It was an all too familiar smell, and he could feel old memories and emotions bubbling to the surface. "How long do you need to stay?"

"A couple of days, maybe a week; is that okay?" Seamus looked as though he too was remembering. "It won't be too awkward?"

He shrugged, it probably would be. "No, it'll be fine. I'll make the spare bed for you. Have you eaten?"

A/N: Hope you enjoyed it! I'd love to hear what you have to say, so review!