A/N: For the people being like "Dumbledore and the Ministry wouldn't let Petunia do this I want an explanation", I'm afraid you are gonna have wait for a full explanation. There's a little bit on it in this chapter, but it still has many holes in it. You'll find out the details when Harry finds them.

Also, to back up my claim of Dumbledore and the Ministry sometimes can't do shit if Petunia puts her mind to it (to a point, but you know), go read An Aunt's Love by Emma Lipardi :)

Still looking for a BETA, so DM me if you're interested.

…

Draco was hesitant to speak to his Father, although he was confused as to why. He spoke to his Father frequently, daily even. It wasn't like he was admitting to something terrible either, he was just going to admit that he may have found Harry Potter.

Right.

What was he so worried about? Surely Father would believe him, he'd know what to do with the information. Father wouldn't think he was lying or being stupid.

"Pull yourself together," Draco gritted his teeth, muttering to himself. He was twenty-two for Merlin's sake, he should not be acting like he was. So – so childishly. It was just not done, especially by a Malfoy.

Draco walked slowly to the lounge, where his Father liked to spend evenings. He found him there, sitting comfortably in the armchair by the fireplace with wine and a newspaper. The newspaper wasn't written in English, it appeared to be French.

Lucius Malfoy looked up as his son entered the room, motioning for him to sit down.

"Draco," Lucius said in a way of greeting and poured a glass of wine for Draco while refilling his own. Draco took it graciously and took a sip, hoping to calm some of his nerves with it.

"I wished to talk to you about something Father,"

The elder Malfoy raised an eyebrow. "You seem nervous Draco, is something wrong?" There was some concern in his voice, reserved only for his family in private. Lucius Malfoy showed no such emotions to the public, it was preposterous to even think it.

Draco hesitated, but he was urged to speak up by Lucius. "It's nothing serious, I'm being stupid." He admitted. "I don't know why I'm nervous to tell you this."

"And what exactly is 'this'?" Lucius drawled.

"Well," Draco took a deep breath. "I went to pick up some plants for that potion I told you about last week, but Cornfoot wasn't there. I got the plants from his subordinate."

"Draco, get to the point. I hope to Merlin that what you just said wasn't it, as it was just wasting both of our times." Draco's cheeks turned pink in embarrassment.

"It's his subordinate, Father. He signed the collection form as Harry Potter."

Lucius paused, wine glass raised half way to his lips.

"He looked a bit like those photos of James Potter I saw before. Father, I think it actually might be him."

…

When Harry came home, Ian was there already. He lounged on the battered sofa, with his feet on the coffee table. His head was leaned back and his mouth was wide open. He was snoring rather loudly and there was a book open on his chest.

Harry carefully put the book to the side, bookmarking the page it was open on, before promptly waving his hand. Water appeared in thin air above Ian and fell down on him. The man woke up immediately, spluttering.

"This isn't a hotel you know," Harry smirked, walking over to the kettle and pouring fresh water into it. Ian grumbled, waving his hand and drying himself as well as the area around him.

"I'm your friend, I just came round to visit."

"Ian," Harry laughed. "You're here more than I am."

The other man shrugged, having no valid excuse for that. "Technically, that is your own fault. I usually hand around waiting for your skinny arse to appear."

"You could call me," Harry said. "Or you know, use those two-way mirrors you were so insistent on? Waiting about in my flat, hoping for a slim chance of me appearing isn't very productive."

"It's your flat, you're bound to come back sometime."

Harry sighed, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed. "Ian, you've stayed here for three weeks once, because you forgot I was on holiday."

"It is not my fault you were off playing boytoy for some rich guy and didn't mention it to me before you went."

"I did though. Also, I was not a boytoy for Adam. Boyfriend doesn't equal boytoy."

Ian shrugged. "Two weeks in advance, can't blame a guy for forgetting. Let's face it, Adam totally saw you as a boytoy."

"Can we not have this conversation again?" Harry brewed the tea, handing one to Ian. He took it and used his magic to stir sugar into it. Harry did the same.

"You started it." The older man pointed out. Sometimes it was hard to believe that Ian was older and a teacher. Unlike Harry, who spent most of his time under the strict rule of the Dursleys, Ian grew up carefree and never really stopped being a kid. It's partially why he became so popular with his students, they felt they could relate to him. Harry too, felt like that and Ian's young outlook on life turned the teacher into a friend and someone Harry could confide in.

The two talked for a while, mostly keeping the conversation to light banter. They both had a long day of work behind them and the simple conversation was refreshing and relaxing. After a while though, Harry remembered what happened earlier at the shop with Mitchell and brought the situation up.

"Well that would explain why he is so good with plants," Ian pointed out. "Squibs don't have enough magic to be trained in it, but they still have some. It seems Mitchell's core is the reason behind his exceptional skills. Herbology and Potion skills are common in squibs."

"I thought squibs were basically cast out of the magical community? He was doing business with wizards, I thought most of them weren't too keen on it."

The older man shrugged his shoulders. "Most aren't, but some are pretty okay with it. Mostly those who had squibs in their own family. What did you say was that wizard's name?"

"He said it was Malfoy," Harry replied. "He didn't look too happy to be speaking to me, or the prospect of talking to Mitchell really. He seemed odd when he was signing the forms."

"Ah," Realisation came over Ian, making him laugh. "Malfoy is an old pureblood name, he must have hated doing business with a squib. The Malfoy heir has started his Potions Master career though, so there is no doubt as to why he needed those plants."

"I think he recognised me," Harry bit his lip, the last thing he wanted was the wizarding world after him.

Ian wasn't too worried, after all the wizarding world hasn't came after him yet and they had years to do so. As long as he stayed away from places like Diagon Alley (which he seldom visited anyway, he hardly had need for it), Ian thought he would be fine.

"Besides," Ian added. "You can hardly be the only Harry Potter in London. Chances are, Malfoy will take you for a muggle with a similar name and forget about you soon enough."

Harry nodded, but he had a strange feeling about it all.

…

Draco left Lucius with much to think about. He loved his son and wanted to trust him, but the chances that he actually found the Harry Potter in some squib's flower shop? It was baffling to even think about.

However, on the off chance that it was actually the right Potter, the matter had to be investigated.

The wizarding world as a whole did not have an official 'hunt' for Harry Potter. When the news broke out all those years ago that Potter didn't turn up to Hogwarts, it caused a mass panic and months of rumours.

Hogwarts and the Ministry worked together, albeit unwillingly, to find the young wizard. The matter was closed without an explanation given to the public, although Lucius found out through his connections that Potter's guardian refused the Hogwarts letter on Potter's behalf. There was an investigation that followed, but nothing came out of it.

Through some coincidences, the matter was closed and put to rest without anyone actually speaking to the Potter boy. No one picked up on the matter again due to the changes that went on in the government, and the world around them as a whole, which became more of a priority. The case was forgotten and the Boy-Who-Lived became nothing more than an old rumour.

Lucius thought that the Ministry should not be involved just yet. Potter was not officially listed as missing and he was not a minor anymore – it would be difficult to find a loophole that would allow the Ministry to be directly involved in his life, if the man Draco saw was truly him.

This was a more personal matter, even if some people involved were Ministry officials. He would inform them naturally, but in due time.

For now there was one other he would tell – and pay a visit to the flower shop as well.

…

It was a Friday, over a week since Harry found out about Mitchell's side business and magical history. They moved on from it and not much has changed in the shop. Harry admitted to Mitchell that he'd rather not be involved in the magical side of the business, which Mitchell accepted and kept him from it.

Both Mitchell and Harry were in the shop, it was a sunny morning and they've decided to take some of the plants and have them displayed outside of the shop. They moved a few boxes of flowers and Mitchell went back inside to fill his watering can while Harry remained outside to put the prices on the flowers again.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed a cane on the sidewalk next to him. It came attached to a man, who under further inspection had remarkably long pale hair and held similarities to the young Malfoy Harry remembered from last week. He suspected a relation there, the man in front of him was probably the other's father.

"I don't suppose you can help us young man, we're looking for a Mr Harry Potter." The long haired man drawled, when he saw that Harry noticed their presence.

Harry's eyes darted to the man on the other side to who he presumed was another Malfoy. He was taller than both Harry (which wasn't too difficult, Harry was always small for his age) and the other. He was handsome, with pale skin, dark eyes and even darker hair with a slight curl to it. He looked a bit younger than the Malfoy man and his whole posture radiated confidence and power.

He just oozed off power with a hint of danger.

Harry felt himself blush slightly, it wasn't everyday that he saw a man as attractive as that. He wasn't about to voice it anytime soon though. He was attractive yes, but so were many other men who didn't look as dangerous.

"What do you need from him?"

"We just want to talk," The blonde man smiled politely.

"I'm sorry, but somehow I don't believe that." Call him paranoid, but a gut feeling was telling him that there was something off about those men. "Now if you excuse me, I have to get back to work."

Harry slid past the men and slipped back into the shop, feeling a little bit safer. It was a stupid thought, because if they wanted to hurt him they had more of a chance inside the shop rather than on the open street. However being closer to Mitchell and in a space he was familiar with comforted him.

Mitchell walked out from the back with the watering can and froze when he saw the two men enter the shop after Harry. His deer in the headlights look would've been comical if Harry wasn't nervous himself. It looked like Mitchell recognised at least one of the men.

"I assure you Mr Potter that we only wish to talk." The blonde man spoke again. Harry had his back to him, walking towards the counter. Mitchell didn't move.

"You seem to be working on the presumption that I am the Mr Potter you are looking for." Harry said evenly. He wasn't going to show his nerves, especially after he saw the way Mitchell looked at those men. That look implied familiarity and unfortunately, unpleasantries.

"I have known your father before his passing, you look too much like him for it to be a coincidence."

"My father is alive and well, thank you very much." Harry lied through his teeth. He knew that the lie would be proven false quickly, if not immediately, but he hoped that it would buy him some time.

"Is that so," This time, it was the dark haired man that spoke. His voice was deep and smooth, almost like a purr.

"Yes," Harry insisted. "Now if you excuse me, I have work to do. If you're not going to buy anything, I suggest that you leave."

It has come as a great surprise when after a moment or two, he heard footsteps leaving. Harry released a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"They will be back you know." Mitchell said when he felt the pair was no longer close to their shop.

"I know," Harry sighed. "I just don't want to deal with them. They were wizards, weren't they?"

Mitchell nodded. "The blonde was Lucius Malfoy if I remember correctly. I'm not sure about the bloke with him, I can't recall ever seeing him, but he must be some sort of pureblood if Lucius was with him."

"He felt dangerous." Harry commented, mostly to himself. "I don't know why all this is happening so suddenly, I mean, I lived twenty-two years without any wizard ever contacting me and now I see Malfoys on every corner." Any wizard besides Ian, that is, but the man didn't really count as an ordinary wizard. Plus, he lived mostly in the muggle world.

Mitchell shrugged, patting Harry on the arm as if to console him. "I'm not sure Harry, but this can't mean anything good. Nothing to do with Lucius Malfoy was ever good news."

"I know," Harry replied, wishing that he could just live his perfectly normal life. Why did the wizards have to meddle all of sudden? "I know."

…

A/N: Firstly, thank you so much for all the alerts/favourites and reviews! Please keep them coming, I appreciate every one of them.

This chapter was mostly a way of introducing you to Harry's life before all the shit kicks off. I wanted to establish him being confident in his sexuality. It's mostly because this isn't a 'Harry realises he likes boys' story. Plus it just shows that Harry had a life before Voldemort sweeps him off his feet. Some may think it's a filler really, but I feel it is vital to establish early in the story.

Before you ask, yes the Malfoys will be important in this story. I love them to pieces, especially how I imagine Narcissa in this particular AU (but more on that in later chapters!). I'm also sure you all know who the mysterious man is ;)

(Also if you think that Lucius and Mr Tall Dark and Handsome left too easily, worry not, there's a reason for it!)