Chapter Six

Going Under(cover)

Harry sighed and ran his hands through his—brown—hair. It was still messy, unfortunately, but so far no signs of anyone recognizing him, like an inordinate amount of staring, or people running up shouting "oh my god, it's Harry Potter!" He also rubbed his hands over his eyes, which itched. The contacts didn't hurt or anything. They just itched. Like having an eyelash stuck in your eye. All the time. Merlin, he hated contact lenses.

Not that the allegedly clever disguise was getting him anywhere. It was keeping him stuck right here at this desk, grading papers. Was there never an end to the damn paperwork? Normally, he wouldn't be this frustrated with becoming a teacher again, for however brief a time. He was frustrated because his so-called investigation was producing precisely nothing and he had no idea how long he would be here.

He went through the things he had learned this week in his mind. He had learned to avoid a girl named Flip. He had learned that these kids were far from normal, even when comparing British to American teenagers. He had learned that Stacey Law played club soccer and would be voted most likely to succeed when he graduated, which was still over a year away. He had learned that what passed for European History was hilarious, especially since they were approaching the witch-burning craze in their curriculum. He had learned that a British accent could get you anything if you knew how to use it—which he really didn't. He had learned that Edward Cavanaugh was excellent at reading lips, after the funny looks the kid gave him when he was swearing things like "Merlin's balls" under his breath. He had learned that when a kid showed up to class looking flushed and energetic, that was a kid on this mysterious drug that didn't show up on drug tests. He had learned that following them didn't help and neither did trying to sweat it out of them. He had learned . . .

"Nothing," he growled. "I've got absolutely nothing, and I can't find any evidence of magical plants being brought into the area." He scowled at the half-graded stack of short essays. "My life sucks," he informed them with due seriousness. "And I miss my wife. A lot."

He buckled down and graded the rest of the essays as quickly as possible. Let the kids say what they would to their parents, who would throw a fit at any teacher being less than completely committed to educating their children. Hank could deal with it. Harry had better things to do.

When he got back to the one-room house Peter had rented for him and connected to the Floo Network, he called home, hoping someone would still be awake. Luckily, Ginny was there, curled up in a chair and reading a book.

"Harry!" she exclaimed happily. "How are you, babe?" Then she saw his look and her face fell. "You're staying longer, aren't you?" she asked, setting her book aside.

"I am."

She got down on her knees to be closer to his image. "We miss you."

"I miss you, too. That's why I want you to come join me."

"What? Really?"

"Why not? I need to be with you guys. I can't stay away for who knows how long. Come over here, Sunshine. You and the kids. I'll ask Peter to find a bigger house for us to stay in. Please?"

"Of course we'll be there," Ginny said, looking pleased. "Wow, when's the last time we went on vacation?"

"Um. Never. But I won't be on vacation."

"Right. But it'll be fun for the kids to see someplace new. Have you already arranged things with Peter?"

"No, not yet. I wanted to check with you first."

"Work can do without me," Ginny declared grandly. "We're coming."

"Great. Now I've got to call Draco."

"Hunh?"

"I need him to come over, too. I can't spot anything, but maybe he will, he's more familiar with plants and maybe he'll realize something weird is growing in the area. Besides, if I know him, he'll be here two hours and have the kids piling their supply at his feet."

"Harry, he and Vianne haven't been married very long. I think they were looking forward to this summer as a chance to connect."

"Vianne can come, too."

Ginny gave him a look that made him quail, but he didn't back down completely. He really needed Draco to be here with him. He always did better when he had someone to bounce ideas off of, and Draco honestly could get the students to say things they would never tell Harry. He called them next, knowing they always stayed up late because Draco usually didn't get back from Hogwarts until eight or nine.

Draco and Vianne were curled up in front of their fireplace when Harry's head popped up in it, spitting with sparks because of the long distance. They both jumped, and they both immediately looked apprehensive.

"Do I really bring bad news that often?" Harry quipped, knowing with an inward wince that they weren't likely to find this call a real joy, either.

"Not bad news so much as more stress," Draco said plainly, though he smiled. The smile probably had more to do with having his wife in his arms than with his sarcasm, Harry thought. He didn't really get what was so incredible about Vianne, but then he had Ginny to compare her to. If she made Draco this happy, he wasn't about to object. "Well, spit it out, Harry. Did you get a good sample for me?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I need you to come out here."

"What?"

"I could use some help. Here. At the school."

Harry explained his reasoning, and watched Vianne's face falling. Merlin, he was such an ass. It couldn't be helped, but it didn't stop him from feeling like a real creep. Vianne was wilting because she could tell how much Harry needed Draco's help, and she knew Draco wouldn't refuse.

"Final exams are this week," Draco said slowly. He looked at Vianne, sighed deeply, and kissed her hair. "We can be out there next week. Let's get this one wrapped up quickly, please?"

"I'm counting on you for that. But I'll let you guys talk it over. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," Draco said for both of them, his eyes on Vianne.

Oops. Harry thought he might have just put his friend in the doghouse.

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Vianne played some sort of hand-clapping game that she'd taught Charlotte with a distracted look. Ginny finished extracted the chewing gum from Crash's hair, but forced him to hold still when he tried to dart off.

"Wait a second," she said sternly, and used her wand to regrow the section of hair she'd had to cut out. She was trying to keep it short, but Sirius had become fascinated with the state of his older brother's hair and was now trying to be like him. The couple of times she'd tried to trim it, he'd come home from school with the whole length back. Ginny kind of wanted to kill Matt over that. He was taking advantage of being away from home, and the just-turned-fourteen-year-old had hair so alarmingly neglected that he could probably put it in a ponytail if he wanted to. She was planning to tie him to a chair this summer and cut it.

Finally, she turned to Vianne to see her face painted with a slightly bitter smile while she entertained Charley.

"Is Draco still being stupid about having a baby?" Ginny guessed in a quiet voice.

Vianne's eyes welled with tears. "I want him to have kids. He would be a good father, but he won't take the chance. He puts me off and puts me off when I try to talk about it. I'm not getting any younger, Ginny."

Ginny had heard all this before, and she had only the same comfort she had offered before. "Give him a little bit of time. He's never been married before, and he needs to get used to that before he can think about being a father. I'd bet that after you celebrate your first anniversary, he'll be a lot more open to discussing it."

"I think he will, too," Vianne said. "The real problem is that he doesn't believe I'll stay with him. He keeps waiting for me to come to my senses. After being married for a year, it will hopefully become easier to convince him that I'm not leaving. I don't know," she sighed. "It's just hard. He avoids the conversation, and now he's going to New York . . ."

"What, aren't you coming?" Ginny asked in surprise, taking Charley from her and sending her with a push in the direction her brother had gone. This was news to her. She'd assumed they would all go together. She'd been counting on having Vianne, whom she was getting closer to all the time, to keep her from being bored and lonely with just the kids for company while the guys were working.

"I can't. I have to get the house done."

"You mean that redecorating project you and Draco have been talking about for almost a year?"

"That's the one. We haven't even started yet, and we were counting on having the time for it this summer. We won't be able to do it once autumn comes around again. I'll be designing and he'll be back at school. It has to get done this summer, so I have to stay here to do it."

"Have you two talked about this?"

Vianne nodded. "He's not happy. He wants me to come with him. But neither of can stand being in the house the way it is any longer. We couldn't wait another year, we'd both go crazy."

"I know, I've been there," Ginny said with a dramatic shudder. "His grandfather had style, didn't he?"

"If you like having an aura of arrogance and avarice hanging around you all the time," Vianne answered. "Draco hates it, more than he lets on. I'm not thrilled with it, but at least I don't have a pile of awful memories associated with it."

"So, you're going to be alone all summer?" Ginny asked with worry. She didn't think either of the newlyweds would take it well.

"No, Ran wants to stay, too."

"Oh?"

"He hasn't even officially moved in to the house yet, he's been at school since we came back from our honeymoon. He wants to get settled in and know what home looks like before he's back at school again. Besides, can you blame him? He's a fifteen-year-old wizard. He doesn't want to spend the summer stuck without friends or any magic whatsoever."

Ginny grimaced. "Does Matt know about this plan?"

Vianne smiled her first genuine smile all day. "Ran already asked if Matt can stay at the Manor. I told him he should know better than to ask without finding out if he had permission from you yet."

Ginny sighed. "Well, it does make sense. I'd rather not have Matt hanging around bored to tears all summer. He'll probably try to get involved in his father's investigation and practically get himself killed. Again."

"He's welcome to stay with Ran and me."

"I'll talk it over with Harry first, but thank you. I get the feeling he's going to be hopping all over the country this summer, staying with Basil and visiting the Forsythe kids . . ."

"Matt's been a really great friend to those kids, you know. Ran says he can't be around them without thinking about what happened, but apparently Matt is wonderful to them."

"He goes with the twins to visit Faith at her aunt and uncle's house, sometimes," Ginny said, feeling a deep sadness. "He was there when Faith tried to kill the baby."

Vianne wrung her hands together. "I'd nearly managed to forget about that."

Faith had professed her undying devotion to her child and to raising it with pureblood pride, right up to the day of her delivery. Then she'd tried to smother the newborn girl in its cradle. The baby had been given to a Muggle couple who had been told that if the baby developed any unusual skills it was nothing to worry about and they'd be contacted in about ten years. They didn't want that child to know her parents or the circumstances of her birth. They were hoping to bring her to Hogwarts believing herself to be a Muggleborn when she turned eleven. Few in the wizarding world knew Faith had even been pregnant, much less where the baby had gone, so hopefully it would work.

"Your Matt is a lovely boy," Vianne said, laying her hand over Ginny's as they experienced that moment of grief together. "I don't know how you managed to raise a boy with that much confidence in his own feelings. Ran isn't likely to win any prizes for emotional sensitivity at school."

"Don't ask me," Ginny shrugged. "Anyway, Ran is extremely emotionally mature. He's just not as open about it. Matt used to be shy, but he's always been willing to open himself up to the people who approach him. Ran isn't like that."

Vianne looked sad. "His father did that to him. He doesn't trust people, he never did after his father left. He has a great deal of compassion and strength, but he won't share it with you until you prove yourself to him." She smiled again. "That's how I knew Draco was special. Ran couldn't stop talking about him. I knew anyone who could get so close to Ran had to be amazing."

"The story of how you two met has always given me that impression," Ginny agreed. Her original feelings for Draco Malfoy had been so completely destroyed that she hardly even remembered the arguments she and Harry had once had about him. "There he is, dragging himself through a snowbank when he can barely stand up because Letty is his responsibility, dammit."

"This summer is going to be so hard," Vianne whispered. "I know it might only be a few weeks, but I don't want to be apart from him. It's just . . . there's so much to do." She straightened her shoulders a bit. "We'll get through it. I don't know why I've been such an emotional mess lately."

"Welcome to marriage," Ginny said dryly. "Speaking of which, we both have husbands who are probably eager to hear about the plans we're supposedly putting together for the summer. Let's talk about bringing Matt and Ran over to stay for a week with us at some point."

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"I'll be back, I swear on Merlin's name," Draco said for the umpteenth time. Minerva (he'd only been able to bring himself to call her that a month ago) was standing just inside the classroom he was packing up, her stern face turned toward him while the student she'd pressed into service turned his face away and tried to look like he wasn't there. "It will only take a couple of weeks."

The headmistress looked unconvinced. "Perhaps. And perhaps it will take two months—"

"Which is still enough time—"

"—or perhaps it will take a year. I was under the impression that nothing was certain."

He sighed loudly. A year ago, he still wouldn't have had the courage, but a year of relative peace (apart from Quentin's occasional fits and Gilbert's constant state of near-starvation or exhaustion) had left him plenty of time to develop his relationship with the rest of the staff and find a way to be a good professor and Head of Gryffindor while going home to his wife every night. He knew why Minerva couldn't leave him alone. He was just that damn good. He was starting to accept the idea.

"I will be back here either way. No later than September first. I know you need me here at least as much as Harry needs me there. I will find a way."

Minerva's expression softened just a little. "If anyone could, it's you."

"You make me sound like some kind of miracle worker."

"I think I'm still in shock," she said dryly. "Draco, I taught you Transfiguration. I never expected you to amount to anything, if you even lived through the war. And here you are now, one of the best professors I've ever worked with and by far the favourite of the students. On top of that, you're always consulting with the Aurors and romancing a truly lovely woman. It is something of a miracle. Forgive me if I'm not eager to lose you when you've become so vital to this school."

"You're not losing me, I'm taking the summer off." He approached her and laid a placating hand on the arm that wasn't firmly gripping her escort. "I did the exact same thing last summer, and the summer before that. It's nothing new. I'll be here."

Her severe face creased with a real smile. "All right. I believe you. Take care of yourself, will you?"

"I'll do my best," he said with his own smile, knowing she was somehow aware of when a person was smiling or not smiling. "Have a good summer, Headmistress."

He caught up to Remus Lupin as he was carrying a few of his own things from his classroom to put on the train. They both planned to make a round of the school to ensure everything was in order once the students were gone, then Apparate to King's Cross to pick up their things. Their relationship was still somewhat tenuous. Remus had been much more directly affected by the actions of the Malfoy family than some of the other professors, and he was so much older than Draco that it was hard to find a solid connection. Harry considered him almost an uncle, and certainly a friend, but Draco still found himself uneasy at times. Of course, he used to feel that way around Minerva, so he was hoping the feeling would die away eventually.

"I suppose you're off to join Harry?" Remus inquired politely.

"Tomorrow," Draco said. "Your wife is taking over while Harry is away, isn't she?"

"Yes, Harry's put her in charge of the Aurors for the summer." He looked unsatisfied. "I likely won't see much of her."

Draco shrugged. "At least you'll still be together."

"Oh, that's right," Remus recalled, sounding apologetic. "Your wife is staying here."

"Afraid so. It will drive us both mad, but the house has been doing that for months. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we can wrap things up in the States within a couple of weeks. Harry isn't optimistic, but then, he never is."

Remus smiled at that. "He does tend to be overly cynical. Well, with both of you working on it, perhaps your hope isn't unjustified."

They said a slightly awkward farewell to each other and headed in opposite directions to check the school for things out of place. Draco ran his hand over his face and thought ahead to tomorrow. He and Harry were supposed to go meet Peter's superior to get officially approved, then it was undercover work at the school. He wondered what a bunch of prep school Muggle kids were going to make of the eyepatch. He grinned to himself as he gathered up a couple of forgotten items to send to students. He was going to have fun with their parents.