A/N: Yes, I'm back after a very long hiatus. Unfortunately, life got in the way. It's been a tough year but now that we're coming up on a new year I'm hoping things will be better and I'll be able to start writing more again. And so, with that I give you the next chapter. It's a very reflective chapter first of what the aftermath of the Final Battle was like and then switching to Draco's POV as to what happened to him after the war. There's not too much action but hopefully I'll be writing again very soon! Thanks!

Chapter 10

The days after the war were chaos. While there was plenty to celebrate, there was also an enormous amount of destruction and grief. It seemed that the war had touched everyone and no one had escaped its fury.

People reacted in different ways. That night there was a lot of drinking and celebrating, though there was definitely a subdued effect to the party. The next morning everyone woke up to a hangover and emptiness as the depth and loss sunk in. Then, the work started.

For weeks funerals took place, each person who fought for the "good side" in the battle honored with their own funeral and memorial. Those who died on Voldemort's side where given a simple burial together which even their families didn't attend, lest they be implied as accomplices.

The Ministry was busy trying to round up the Death Eaters that had run when it became clear that Voldemort would lose. It was a tough job since many had planned their getaways ahead of time. However, this was not the case for the Malfoy family.

While his family had switched allegiance mere hours before Voldemort's death, they knew they were not safe and definitely couldn't expect to continue as they always had. They sat in the Great Hall after the Final Battle and watched as all of the survivors piled in to mourn the dead. After a few hours, they decided it was time to leave and discuss their options at home.

The fighting lasted hours after that until it was well into the morning. Draco's mother wanted them all to run and flee to another country but his father refused. Whether it was his pride or vanity, they would never know because by the time the fighting had ended Aurors were at their door to arrest his father. They also took him and his mother in for questioning.

While some may have crucified them for merely being associated with Voldemort, the Ministry knew that it would cause too much of a riot to arrest every person who was attached to Voldemort's followers, including many very old and important families in the wizarding community. Therefore, they decided that only those who had specifically taken part in torturous or murderous activities of their own free will would be sent to Azkaban.

Because of this, Narcissa was let go because she had never actually taken part in any of the activities and was even thanked for her service to Harry during the Final Battle, even if she was motivated by the desire to save her own son. Draco, on the other hand, was held for a few days as they questioned him mercilessly. Unfortunately, he had the Dark Mark on his arm to prove he was a Death Eater and it was well known he had been in the tower the night Dumbledore was killed. In the end, however, it was Harry who saved Draco, by vouching to the Ministry that any crimes he had committed were to protect his family and that he never did any of Voldemort's bidding willingly.

He could never understand, even to this day, why Harry had saved him, not only once, but three times when he counted the two times he had been saved during the Final Battle. He was even more surprised when later he had forgiven him for everything that he had done and welcomed him into his life.

The first time he saw Harry after the battle was at a hearing to determine Draco's verdict. Because his crimes were minor it was a smaller trial. Harry provided his testimony which was enough to get Draco cleared entirely. Afterwards, Draco stopped Harry in the hallway.

"Potter," he said not sure how to react. He had been preparing himself for Azkaban and was suddenly a free man.

"Malfoy," Harry replied turning around to face him.

"I just…I…why did you do it? You didn't have to."

"I know that. But I've come to realize recently that perceptions can be wrong and people who you think are bad can change. After all, if Snape could give his life to save me, I think I can tell the truth to save you."

Draco barely comprehended any of this. He had known Snape had died though he didn't know that he had died to save Harry. This revelation also came as a shock to Draco since he had never really considered his perceptions of people to be wrong and couldn't imagine that he would ever do the same for someone he hated as much as Harry had to hate him.

"Well, thanks." Draco replied with a nod. Harry nodded back but didn't say any more. After a few moments of awkward silence, they went their separate ways.

The next time Draco saw Harry wouldn't be until almost a year later when they both got jobs at the Ministry. Harry had been working there since the end of the war, while Draco had been staying home to tend to his mother and their family affairs. After his father was sent to Azkaban there was a lot of financial and other issues to sort out which had taken priority.

However, with them all finished, he couldn't stand to stay cooped up in the house all day with his mother any longer. All she did was walk the house like a ghost. She barely ate and never smiled. To her, she had lost everything now that her sister was dead and her husband in prison. Though Draco tried to take care of her, she was stubborn and he needed an escape.

Getting a job wasn't as easy as he had anticipated. His name, which once would have secured him almost any job he wanted in the Ministry, was now something to be ashamed of. He probably wouldn't have gotten a job at all if it weren't for the shortage of qualified wizards. Most had missed at least a year or two of school because of the war and were, therefore, far behind. Draco, of course, had mostly finished his 7th year by the time of the Final Battle and so he was qualified for most work. That being said, he was still put much lower on the chain of command than he would have before the war and had to work his way up the rankings. He was given a position on the accidental magic reversal squad in the department of magical accidents and catastrophes. It wasn't a noble or envied position but he considered it a better substitute than watching his mother haunt his house all day.

Most of the people he worked with were people who had known him from before and hated him, either for the way he had acted at school or for his family's allegiance. His first few months were hard and he almost considered quitting and just living off his family's money. However, he stuck it out and was soon promoted ahead of others due to his skills and a certain amount to his charm. Although he disliked a majority of the people he met or worked with, he could still find his way into people's good graces as he had done many times in the past, especially at school.

It also probably didn't hurt that Harry Potter, the chosen savior, or whatever they were calling him these days, had publically accepted Draco at the ministry. It was no secret that they had been less than friends at school yet one day in the café he came up and quite nicely asked Draco to help him on a case he was working on in the Auror department. While it may have seemed like a fairly casual and normal conversation, it sparked a change in the way people interacted with Draco and he noticed a much warmer atmosphere from that day on.

That was why, for the first time in his life, he was feeling truly guilty for something. While he and Potter had never become the best of friends, he did, grudgingly, owe quite a bit to him. And now he had kissed his girlfriend.

How could something so wrong feel so good? He had loved every second of the kiss and played it over and over in his head. Her mouth yielding to his, the smell of her skin so close to his and the feel of her soft body…if he followed this train of thought he would soon be going even further. And he had to stop, didn't he? In general, Malfoy's hated being in the debts of others and he already owed more than he ever wished to admit to Harry Potter.

But what about Ginny? If she left Potter, surely it would be ok for him to pursue this, he thought. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair and sighed. He knew that even if Ginny broke it off with Potter that he would be seen as a traitor the second anyone knew they were together. His shaky friendship, if he could call it that, would be lost forever and who knew what else he would lose in the process. Was she really worth it? He quickly threw back his glass of scotch and went to get another as he continued to ponder the spectacular situation he had gotten himself into.