Hello everyone! Massive love to all my reviewers, I just want to put out there to Tiliapetiolaris (love) and everyone else; yes that sex scene was supposed to be extremely awkward. I wanted Draco and Algernon to have little to no sexual chemistry and yet to be amazing friends. So it is a weird relationship because on one hand Draco has someone he can confide in and like, but not really love or enjoy intimacy with. I wonder who he will enjoy all that with? Hmmm . . . Also this chapter has one very awkward scene of heterosexual sex just for the people who thought Harry seemed really straight. Mwhahahaha.

Chapter 12:

"Yes," Laura moaned, preening as though she was on parade. "More."

Harry wasn't quite sure how he was supposed to give her any more when he was on the bottom, his hands bound to the posts of the bed with silk ties. Frankly Harry wasn't much into half the things that Laura insisted would spice up their lovelife but he went along because he figured that's what a good boyfriend did. Besides, Laura was bloody hot and a minx between the sheets. She was every man's fantasy. Right?

So why was Harry thinking right now?

Harry thrusted his hips up once and then again, eliciting another moan from Laura, who tossed back her shimmering blonde hair and bounced up and down widely, as if in approval. Harry moved again, and again, closing his eyes and letting the natural rhythm of things take their course.

"Ooh," Laura chanted, over and over. Sometimes Harry wished she was a bit more silent-but that was such a stupid thing to think-wasn't it?

"Ooh, Harry." Thank Merlin, she was done. Harry finished up and sank blissfully into the mattress, enjoying the afterglow.

Laura sank on top of him and after only a moment she untied his hands and gave him a brief peck. She rushed off into the bathroom, humming some song that was a top-ten single on the wireless. Harry disliked that too-he would like sometimes for her to lay down and cuddle with him. He had brought it up initially, and she had; but Harry could tell that Laura was only doing it with the patient tolerance that a mother would have had for an unruly child. Harry let it go, he figured that it was all for the best. Laura really was a good girlfriend, otherwise.

Laura came back with a glass of water for him and Harry smiled. "Thanks, honey." he said, knowing Laura's penchant for idiotic nicknames.

"No problem," Laura smiled blissfully. "I guess you're going to be going home for Yule, Harry?"

"Yes," Harry sighed. He had gotten three letters consecutively from different members of the Weasley family, not including Hermione. Harry knew he had to bite the bullet and go home again, but this time he really didn't want to. His relationship with Laura was early days and he wanted to go meet her family-she had extended the invitation, but if he went home he'd miss out. Also, Yolanda and Tony were having a do on Boxing Day and had invited Harry and Laura; even though Yolanda was still suspicious of Laura this was a major olive branch.

Laura pouted. "I suppose you're going to go home and get drunk and hook up with one of your English fans."

Harry laughed at the absurdity of that notion, although it was kind of attractive that Laura was jealous. "No, I'm not-they're stalkers, it's disgusting. Besides none of them are half as pretty as my American girlfriend."

Laura fluttered her eyelashes coyly. "You're just saying that so you can stay on my sweet side for Floo call sex."

"No, I'm not," Harry blinked owlishly-he had never even thought of that-did Laura want to try it? Gods.

"I'll miss you," Laura sighed, brushing her hands through Harry's wild hair. "It makes me want to open your Yule present early just to see what it is."

"You better not," Harry scolded. He had had to be put on a waitlist to get Laura the designer handbag she had wanted and inside he had put a fancy ring that she had pointed out that she admired on Fifth Avenue. Harry knew that Laura would like all of it but he wanted her to wait and to open it on a Floo call with him-not to get impatient and start wearing around the city now.

"Okay," Laura beamed, mollified, throwing her arms around Harry's shoulders and pressing her body into his chest. Yes, Harry would miss her. A bit.

"I'm gonna miss you so much," Yolanda sniffed into Tony's new dragonhide jacket. "You better owl us every goddamn day, Potter."

"I will," Harry said, pulling Yolanda into a giant hug. It was such a bittersweet goodbye to leave New York on this extended holiday. Being away for two months meant that he would be away from his new mates for what felt like ages after being surrounded by their company day-in and day-out for nearly a year. But Harry desperately missed his old friends and his home as well.

"I'll miss you, man." Tony said gruffly, clasping Harry's hand. "Take care of yourself and piss in front of Buckingham Palace for me."

Harry laughed, but it was stiff. "I won't be anywhere near there, Tony."

"Just take care of yourself then," Tony said kindly. "Come back in one piece, alright."

"Alright," Harry agreed, and picked up his portkey to go home.

"Harry!" Charlie and Bill cried at the portkey terminal.

Harry rushed over to them. "It's so bloody good to see both of you again!"

Harry had expected Charlie or Bill or all the Weasleys to look rather differently since a year had passed, but of course they didn't. A year rarely drastically changed people- Charlie was still dangerous but handsome looking with his dragon's tooth earring and Bill was still badly scarred-his face still mending from the aftermath of the war. Harry sighed. He felt differently inside but it was too much to imagine that because he had gone away and was now his own man that other people were now going to lay down their arms and act as though the war had never happened.

"How's America?" Charlie asked, ruffling Harry's hair into worse disarray. "Good," Harry beamed. "How's Romania?"

"Still spitting fire." Charlie shrugged. "Is our plan ready?"

"Almost," Bill replied cryptically.

"What plan?" Harry asked. Bill was stationed by the portkey terminal windows and he looked rather like a bloodhound that had gotten the scent of something foul.

"The paparazzi have gotten hold of the fact that your coming back here," Bill muttered. "Charlie's going to apparate with you back directly from the terminal and I'm going to cause a bit of a distraction here."

"Is that safe?" Harry asked curiously. There were quite a few children lurking about.

"Just a few Wheezes, it's harmless," Bill said with a glint of mischief in his eye. "See you back home."

As soon as Harry and Charlie arrived at the Weasleys Harry realized that literally everyone was there-there was Ron and Hermione, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Bill, Fleur and their little daughter, George and Angelina, Percy and Audrey, Charlie, and Ginny and Theo Nott. Harry blinked at wiry, smirking Theo Nott and his arm around Ginny like it had found it's home there a long time ago.

"Harry," Mrs. Weasley cried. "You must be bone tired child-do you want a hot bath or something to eat-maybe a nice soup?"

"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley," Harry laughed. "I'm running on the time difference and happiness. It's good to see all of you."

"We 'ave missed you, 'arry," Fleur smiled, rocking her baby girl. "You should not stay away so long again."

Harry sat down and took out his set of photographs to show the Weasleys. It felt as though he had been on extended holiday-the Weasleys were his family but the people he had met in New York City felt as distant as martians when he was here. It was funny that the opposite was true when he was in Manhattan-then he could not conceive of the Weasleys in New York, walking around Midtown and watching a play on Broadway. It felt as silly to him as magical people probably felt to Muggles.

"Who's this girl, Harry?" Bill asked. "She keeps popping up."

Harry took the photo. It was a photograph of Harry, Laura and Tony, probably taken after Auror training, since they were both wearing sparring gear, which was very tight. Tony looked his usual kindly and stylish self, and Laura was posing as sultrily as she could into the camera, leaning her arm on Harry's shoulder.

"That's Laura," Harry said, tossing the picture back to Bill. "She's going to be an Auror as well-we're dating."

"Oh ho," George cried, snatching up the photograph with glee. "Ickle Harry has got hisself a girlfriend. And what a girlfriend."

"Leave Harry alone," Mrs. Weasley said mildly though she looked delighted that Harry wasn't all alone in the wilds of the colonies. "Let him be, he's only just arrived."

"Aw, Mum, he's already broken in," George whined. "If we can't tease him, who can we tease? Harry's family."

Harry grinned.

Yule at the Weasleys was wonderful-it was like coming home again. Mr. Weasley put up the Christmas tree only his sticking charm wasn't as good as he thought it could be and the tree sort of leaned to one side-he and Mrs. Weasley spent a good ten minutes quarrelling good naturedly about that before they finally left it alone. Angelina had brought her piano from home shrunk in her trunk and she and Fleur and Audrey had taken turns playing Yuletide songs, including a few Celestina Warbeck favorites for Mrs. Weasley who sniffed though My Man's a Solider and He's Met the Hex Man Tonight.

Everyone loved their American gifts as much as Harry loved his new black and green Weasley sweater. After dinner and the pudding Mrs. Weasley ,who had cooked everything along with Fleur's help, went to have a lie down with baby Victoire upstairs and Mr. Weasley went to putter outside with several of his new Muggle gadgets that his sons and Hermione had gifted him in his shed. That left the younger generation to put on the wireless and have quite a few drinks of the wassail that George and Ron had made secretly in caldrons in the back of the Wheezes in order to hide it from their mother who would never let them have more than a few sips of mullied wine on a sacred holiday.

After a few drinks of George's wassail Harry was sure he was going to meet the Hex Man tonight he because was so bloody pissed. He walked out into the Weasley's back garden, hoping that the cold air would sober him up.

"Harry," Ginny said. She was standing in the shadows in a cloak lined in fox fur and she was smoking a cigarette. Harry had never known her to smoke-it was almost like watching a masquerade.

"Hello," Harry said numbly. "How are you?"

"Good," Ginny said simply, exhaling smoke into the night air. "How do you find New York? I enjoyed reading about it from your letters."

Harry winced. That was a cut if he ever heard one-he hadn't written Ginny not even once-only a card on her birthday. Merlin, he felt like a cad.

"I'm sorry, Gin," Harry said biting his lip. He felt entirely too drunk to be having this conversation. "I should have written, I should have Floo called-"

Ginny pulled on her cigarette and a moment later exhaled. "What for?" She said sharply. "At least let's be brave we are Gryffindors-I doubt you know me. For you I was always an extension of my brother-Ron's little sister more than I was ever Ginny Weasley, witch and human being. I don't think you even know my favorite color or my favorite play and we dated for a year. Which is sort of pathetic because we've known each other ages. I just thought you'd do the decent thing and at least try to be my friend after the breakup, Harry."

Harry winced. Ginny did have a point-he had dated her because it had been the easy thing to do; not because it had been the right thing to do and he had regretted doing that to her. He wasn't sure if he did that because she was Ron's sister, or a friend, or available, but it hadn't been right. As for the rest, he should have at least tried a friendship with Ginny, even though that was a two-way alley. She could have called or written him at any time as well.

But there was no use talking about that now-it would only be an argument or a scene and they had both moved on.

"Are you happy, Ginny?" Harry asked instead, smiling at her hopefully.

"Happy?" Ginny barked out a smoke filled laugh. "Oh, you mean with Theo? Yes, I suppose I am. Theo's very good to me-he's a very stable person, very clever and calm-after wars end, Harry, no one wants to be shackled to an unpredictable hero."

With a toss of her red hair Ginny stubbed out her cigarette and walked into the Burrow, finally having the last word over Harry.

Harry went over to Mrs. Tonks' for Boxing Day rather nervously. He knew that a few months was like years to a toddler and Teddy was nearly three now-even though he saw Harry once a week through a fire for a chat; Harry wondered if he would be able to put together the fact that the bloke that talked to him and asked after him in fuzzy green shapes was the same bloke who was coming over to his house for day-old pudding and to see all the gifts that Father Christmas had left under his tree. Harry apparated along the pathway to Mrs. Tonks' cottage and smiled. Last night it had begun to snow during the early hours of the morning and so while they hadn't had a white Yule, they certainly had had a white Boxing Day to wake up to. The scene was beyond picturesque as Harry made his way to the little cottage-it looked like the gingerbread houses that the Durselys had been so fond of making and that Dudley had been so found of eating, with rather a lot of icing on Mrs. Tonk's strong stone roof. From the chimney emanated a healthy puff of green smoke as Mrs. Tonks' Floo fire worked overtime to keep both the family warm and answer well-wishing calls.

Harry made his way to the door and knocked his Wellies against the old wood, smiling at the Happy Yule written in a childish hand as though an adult had guided a quill on the front door. He hadn't been more excited to see Teddy in ages.

Mrs. Tonks opened the door. "Harry," she smiled. "How good of you to come-you're the last one of our little merry party."

Harry looked at her bewilderedly until he walked into the cottage. Susan Bones was sitting in front of the telly, and unlike the last time he had seen her, her short boyish hair had grown out into a smart bob. She wasn't wearing robes this time either-instead a pretty red dress with long sleeves that matched her sharp red lipstick. Cuddled on her lap was Teddy.

"He fell asleep, poor love," Susan smiled. "He's been so excited with the anticipation of seeing you that he's quite knocked himself out."

Harry smiled at Teddy's huddled figure. To Harry he looked enormous-nothing like the baby he had left behind a year ago. Harry reached out and touched his turquoise hair carefully, not wanting to disturb whatever sweet slumbers Teddy was having.

Mrs. Tonks came in the room and clucked her tongue. "He won't wake-he's a Black; we'll sleep through everything. I'll take him upstairs-don't worry Harry, he'll be up in about an hour or so."

Mrs. Tonks slung Teddy up and into her arms and disappeared up the stairs taking a bit of Harry's heart with her. Slowly Harry turned to Susan Bones. "Hi Susan," he said lamely, not sure at all what to say to Susan under the circumstances.

"How is New York, Harry," Susan said archly, reaching into one of those quilted purses that Laura had wanted so desperately. Harry had always thought that on Laura they would have looked a bit like someone playing pretend, but on Susan it looked like an extension of her personality.

"Good," Harry said. "I've met a lot of amazing people and I'm quite enjoying my classes-"

Malfoy came rushing down the stairs, wearing a red Auror Academy hoodie, a pair of extremely tight jeans and nothing else. Harry stared at him. Had Malfoy joined the Aurors? Harry felt a bolt of extreme jealousy lace through him at the idea of that-how could Malfoy, who had been involved on the other side of the war manage to secure a position that Harry hadn't been able to secure himself? Harry had thought it had been because of his fame but Malfoy was just as well known, if only because of his notoriety.

"How's your hangover?" Susan asked Malfoy sweetly as he sank into a recliner.

Malfoy held up two fingers and pulled the hood of the hoodie over his head. "Remind me never to go to Landsdowne again during Yule-your uncle mixes drinks like Snape used to brew potions."

Susan laughed. "Surely it wasn't bad as all that."

Harry looked at Susan oddly. Wasn't she in a relationship with Malfoy? Wouldn't she know if Malfoy had gone to see her relations and how it had went?

Just then a muscle-bound bloke came bounding down the stairs. He was a handsome, pleasant sort of looking wizard; the sort of fellow that you saw all around the bullpen and in gymnasiums in New York City-the type that had a thick neck and looked as though he spent most of his waking hours in a weight room, and quite enjoyed drinking those protein supplement potions that most Aurors never swallowed down because they were so chalky. He was wearing a plain grey t-shirt that looked as though it would rip if he should so much as think about flexing a muscle and a pair of baggy sweats that said Auror Academy No. 22 Bones.

"I'm making sidecars," the bloke said cheerfully. "Do you want one, love?"

"Oh, bugger off," Malfoy cried, getting up and following the bloke into the kitchen. "You and your bloody sidecars. I'm not going to Transfigure lemons if we don't have any."

"But we already buggered twice today," the man said sweetly and Harry coughed on some saliva that went down the wrong pipe. "Unless that's an offer for a third and in which case I could do without the audience."

"Shut it liar," Malfoy laughed, poking his sides. "Bloody Potter is here and the last thing I need is you too to deal with."

Harry turned away, grimacing as the bloke kissed Malfoy on the cheek.

"My cousin," Susan smiled. "Algernon Wallace Bones. He'll eventually come up for air and introduce himself but I doubt it will be anytime soon-he and Draco are quite fond of each other. My Aunt and Uncle are ecstatic you know-they're very progressive about the war movement, so they think it's delightful having a former Death Eater in the family. A certain cache or something like that. What do you think about the war movement?"

"Er," Harry said dumbly, trying not to watch Bones and Malfoy in the kitchen as they elbowed each other and laughed. "I don't really know. It's not covered in New York."

"Oh," Susan sniffed as though Harry had said he had never heard of water being wet. "Well, I suppose people would choose to remain ignorant there."

"Drinks for getting drunk on," Algernon Bones sang holding out a tray of four sidecars. Harry took one gratefully and exited the couch so that Malfoy and Bones could sit with each other. Malfoy plopped down next to Bones and smirked in Harry's face, putting his bare feet in Bones' lap. Bones played idly Malfoy's still-brown hair with the same awed expression that Pansy Parkinson had wore sixth year. Harry looked away, annoyed for some reason, and into his drink.

"So, you're an Auror," Harry said when the silence finally became too weighted. "I went New York for that."

"Really," Bones said with the false interest that the women journalists on the WWN often saved for their most boring human-interest pieces. "Do tell us more." Malfoy snickered and even Susan hid a smile. Harry glared-he wasn't sure if Bones was making fun of him or with him but frankly he didn't care to know. Being an Auror had been his dream since he had thought of careers in the wizarding world and he'd didn't like someone belittling that-even a fellow Auror.

"Oh," Susan tsk'd, "Leave off Al-not everyone gets your sense of humor right out the gate. I'm sure that Harry just wanted to commiserate about the boredom of being on the job, stake-outs, that sort of thing."

"There aren't any," Bones said grandly and Harry wanted to scream. "You just walk around all day looking like a cardinal or a Muggle stop light and beautiful young men simply fall into your lap like bits of stardust from the heavens," And with that Bones gave Malfoy such a sickly sweet expression that the urge to scream quickly transmuted itself into an urge to be sick.

"Look who's awake," Mrs. Tonks called out. Teddy walked carefully down the stairs, taking each one at a time. At the foot of the stairs he stared at Harry and tilted his head, as though confused, his hair changing from brown to red to golden before he toddled over to where Susan was seated.

"Story," Teddy demanded, and then when Mrs. Tonks stared at him, he amended. "Please, Susan."

Harry felt his heart sink to his feet.

"But Teddy," Susan said reasonably, turning Teddy so that he would once again see Harry's face. "Harry has come a long way to see you-all the way from America. Can't Harry read you your story today?"

"No," Teddy huffed, crossing his arms and glaring at Harry as though Harry was the Shropshire Severing Hex-er brought to life in his home. Then he turned to Malfoy and gave him the most woebegone expression.

Malfoy sighed. "Oh, just read it to him, Susan. Potter will understand."

Harry did understand-mentally. But his heart felt as though it were breaking into a million pieces to watch Susan Bones read to Teddy while her cousin and Malfoy cuddled in close and played happy families. No-they were happy, Harry could tell. Everyone was happy-the Weasleys, and Teddy and even pretty Malfoy and his marble statute of a boyfriend. Everyone was happy and moving on with their lives. And Harry felt like a leaf blowing in the wind between England and New York.