Harmony "Harm" Potts hasn't always been known as such. She was known under a different name while she was in school. None of her classmates knew what her real name was, or even what gender. She had posed as a boy for her entire seven year education and only began living as a girl when she faked her own death in the Battle Of Hogwarts that ended the Second Wizarding War.
Harm was a best selling mystery suspense author and happy in her new life. She had only one friend and that friend was also her manager, Rocco Morocco. She was happy to keep everyone else at a distance, not letting fans get to know her, never giving suitors a second glance, abandoning all relations she had in school, even her best friends. The only person from her past who knew who she was in her new life was her old Transfiguration professor, Minerva McGonagall. Other than McGonagall and Rocco, she was alone and liked it that way. After all the fame and hype the name Harry Potter had given her, she let the fame brought on by her books as Harmony Potts stay at bay. After all, authors are considerably less interesting than World Saviors.
Harmony Potter had lived nearly eighteen years as Harry Potter, changing her last name to Potts and returning to her real name of Harmony only after the world was sure that Harry Potter had died saving the world from the darkest wizard of the ages, Lord Voldemort.
For the past ten years, Harmony Potts lived in relatively quiet peace in a flat high above San Francisco's Theater District, happily writing novel after novel, never meeting the fans that brought her books to the top of the best sellers' list. Today was the first interaction she'd ever had with fans and it was a book signing. After abandoning the name of Harry Potter, she thought she'd never be asked for an autograph again, but she was. She was happier about it this time around, though, because she knew she was famous for something she'd worked hard to accomplish, not something she had no control over such as getting cursed as a baby and nearly killing someone by simply living.
Harm passed a news stand on her walk back to her apartment. She couldn't help but look when someone called out her old name.
"Ten years since Harry Potter's death! A retelling of the epic Battle of Hogwarts by Potter's own friends! Words straight from Ron and Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger, Nevil Longbottom and Luna Lovegood! Get your copy! Five dollars!" The man saw that harmony had stopped to listen. "Aha! I see that we have a Potter Fan! Care to read up on the Battle that saved the wizarding world?"
Harm considered it. She hadn't spoken to any of the people mentioned since that fateful night. "Who is the article written by?" she asked in her best American accent.
"Why, none other than the world renowned Rita Skeeter!"
Harmony's smile faded. "I'll pass."
"But these are words directly from the friends of our savior!"
"A lot more happened that night than just Potter saving the world. More people were in the battle than just him and he wouldn't have been able to do it without them." It still irked Harm how the story came out. There was an entire battle, but all that people remembered was that Potter had died killing He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. "Plus, Skeeter has a way of making you say one thing, but twisting it to mean something completely different. On second thought, how many issues do you have here?"
The newsman looked questioningly at her, but answered, "About two hundred. Why?"
"I'll buy them all off you." Harm pulled her backpack off her back and fished out her wallet. Before the newsman could formulate a response, she had a check written out for a thousand dollars. "And to whom do I make the check out to? The Whole Shebang Newsstand?"
The newsman looked around in wonder. Someone was going to buy a thousand dollars worth of the same magazine! "Yes, that's fine."
She wrote it out and handed him the check. Glancing around to be sure that she wasn't being watched by muggles, she pulled her wand out and quickly shrunk all the magazines so they would all fit in a single shopping bag.
"It's a pleasure doing business with you, Miss Potts," said the man with a large smile on his face. Harm simply smiled and nodded. As soon as she was far enough away that she was certain he wouldn't see, she threw the bag of magazines into a garbage can. She'd rather no one read how Skeeter could twist her old friends' words around.
Draco sighed and leaned back in his chair. The British Minister of Magic and the American Secretary of Supernatural had been arguing for the past half hour and it was wearing thin on Draco's nerves.
"It's simply not safe to have something of such dark magnitude out in the open where thousands can potentially be affected by it." The British MoM punctuated his sentence by slamming his hand on the table.
"It is completely benign," the American SoS replied calmly in her Texan accent. "It hasn' shown any signs of activity since the nineteen thirties. Plus, it's the Sweetwater Allstars' good luck charm. You don't expect them to play the World Cup without it."
"I don't care if it is the cure for dragon pox. The Slyphur Diamond cannot be present at this year's World Cup. I simply forbid it!"
"So what you're sayin', Sir," she said with disgust dripping from her lips, "is that you forfeit the World Cup because you're scared of a little diamond?"
"Forfeit!?" Draco found that the minister seemed more upset about forfeiting the Cup than he was about the presence of the Slyphur Diamond. "I said no such thing! We would never forfeit to a lousy bunch of yanks like you!"
Before this could turn into a brawl between nations, Draco spoke up. "Sir, if I went to the arena and saw to it that the Slyphur Diamont was, in fact, benign, would you approve the Wimbourne Wasps to depart for the Cup next week?"
Both political leaders looked at him, both wearing surprised looks as if they had forgotten his presence in the room.
The American SoS sat in her chair. "I don't see any problem with Mr. Malfoy coming to inspect it to tell you what I've already said in here."
The minister sneered at the contempt in her voice, but sat down nonetheless. "I suppose that would be satisfactory. Are you certain you will be able to test it properly?"
Draco smiled his most convincing smile at the minister. "I didn't get to be the head of the Dark Artifacts Office for nothing, Minister."
"Then it's settled. You shall depart for America in four days and report straight back when you are finished inspecting the Diamond."
"Whoa, now, Minister. If he's going to be the solution to our dispute here, he deserves a little sumthin' extra." The secretary reached into her purse and pulled out a small booklet. "Here you go, Mr. Malfoy, as thanks for your help and cooperation."
Draco took the booklet without looking at what it was. "Thank you, Secretary. It's really my pleasure. I've been meaning to request an appointment to examine the Slyphur Diamond for some time now."
The American SoS smiled a smile that was more of a grimace as she stood. "It's been… a pleasure to see you again, Minister."
The Minister didn't even bother to pretend to smile. "Until next time, Secretary."
Draco watched as they shook hands mechanically, more to be diplomatic than because they valued each other's company. He wondered why they didn't just firecall each other instead of making a big deal out of actually requesting the American Secretary to floo to the ministry.
The American Secretary turned to Draco before she reached the fireplace. "Oh, and Mr. Malfoy?"
Draco smiled at her. "Yes, Secretary?"
"Be sure to drop by the Magical Capital while visiting. I do always enjoy your company."
Draco wanted to vomit at the blatant come-on. "Of course, Secretary, if time permits."
She winked and tossed her orange curls over her shoulder just before she vanished in green flame, back to America.
Draco bid the Minister goodbye and left the office. Once he was in the hallway, he looked at the booklet gifted to him from the Secretary. It was a bundle of ten tickets to the World Cup, all seats in the Secretary's Box at the Arena. He would have been more flattered or even thankful if he hadn't already had tickets to see the game in the Invitation Box, exclusive to those invited by the Sweetwater Allstars' and Wimbourne Wasps' coaches and owners. Marcus Flint owned the Wimbourne Wasps and had sent him an invitation months ago, as soon as the teams were chosen for this year's World Cup. After Flint graduated, he kept in touch with Draco if only to keep up on how his old house team was doing. Flint gave season tickets to all classmates who ever played with him, though he only gave Draco tickets to the World Cup due to their long standing friendship and pen pal habits.
Draco sighed. He'd have to make an appearance in the Secretary's box, if only to say that he was sitting in the Invitation box with friends. He really disliked the Secretary. If it weren't for the fact that she ran the wizarding population of America better than the Minister ran the wizarding population of Great Britain, he'd hate her and treat her with the same disdain that the Minister did. He didn't like her, but he respected her.
Draco apparated to just outside the apparation wards and walked briskly to his front door. The first thing he always did when he got home was check his mail. He had the usual letters from Pansy, Flint and Blaise, the Daily Profit and a postcard from the United States.
He set aside everything but the postcard turning it over in his hands. On one side, it held an illustration of a woman with a quill in her hand and a book in the other, with the words Auror Adventures - Case 7: Rogue Slayers in New York City floating above the woman. On the other side was a short typed letter from the Harmony Potts Fan Club stating that there would be a signing of Harmony Potts' latest book in San Francisco in only a few days.
Draco clutched the postcard. His favorite author was going to be having a signing in the very city he was going to be staying in while he was staying there. He couldn't believe his luck.
He loosened his grip on the postcard, careful not to show emotion, even to his house elves. He could barely keep himself from running to his room to begin packing for his trip, filled with a new excitement. The first thing he put on his bed to pack was his pristine copy of the most recent Auror Adventures book.