Epilogue Final Chapter: Twilight

Disclaimer: None of the Characters from the Harry Potter books belong to me, they belong to JK Rowling.

Ron was looking daggers at Draco after informing the Slytherin of his wife's continued love for him.

Harry, fresh from his unhappy little talk with Ginny, felt Ron's unhappiness deeply. The last thing he wanted was that he or Draco be the cause of the sorrow of yet another member of the family he loved.

'Ron,' Harry said thoughtfully, 'it is like I said before; you just moved too quickly. You barely knew her at all when you agreed to marry her. You had no idea what you were getting yourself into.'

To Harry's surprise, Ron shot back angrily, directing his bitter response at his friend, 'we both said that to one another if I remember correctly. Perhaps you moved a little too quickly into your relationship as well.'

'There is no way in hell you can compare our relationship with yours, Weasley,' Draco said, breaking his speculative silence.

'You made certain of that, didn't you?' Ron shot back.

Harry glanced quickly at Draco, a little confused by the conversation. He had arrived late on the scene and Ron's words made little sense to him.

Apparently they made little sense to Draco as well, 'I had nothing to do with it; if you had taken the time to inquire of anyone who knew Pansy, anyone at all, they could have told you that you were making a big mistake.'

Harry broke in attempting to squelch what appeared to be turning into a huge row, 'Ron,' he said giving Draco a hard glance, 'I know you are upset, why don't we get some rest, we have a big day tomorrow and it would be-'

However, Ron cut him off, 'why don't you ask your boyfriend why I am so upset, Harry?' Ron turned to face Draco, 'he knows very well why my wife continues to profess love for him even after everything he has done to her.'

Harry looked at Draco, but the Slytherin was shaking his head with confusion, 'Weasley what are you on about? I don't know what she's been telling you, but you can be certain it is a pack of lies.'

Ron lunged forward, but Harry was quick to restrain him, 'Ron, calm down,' Harry demanded. He quickly sent a silencing spell about the room so that only its occupants could hear what was going on. While most of the members of the Order had left, he didn't want Mr. or Mrs. Weasley to become involved.

Ron was boiling with anger, 'you are going to stand there and pretend that you didn't perform a heart binding ceremony with her when you guys were in fifth together?'

Draco gave a breathy burst of frustrated laughter, 'for the love of Merlin,' he murmured moving his hands over his face.

Harry was looking at Draco and noted that the Slytherin was not denying anything. 'Is it true?' Harry asked.

'Of course it's true,' Ron spat.

Draco sighed, 'we performed a ridiculous ceremony back at Hogwarts; I guess it was during fifth term because we still liked one another. But the incantation was a farce; we didn't know what we were doing and we didn't even have all of the proper ingredients for the potion. Ask Blaise, he was there.'

'Ask me what?' Blaise asked.

Harry looked to where Blaise stood, having just returned to the room with Hermione and Ginny. Hermione and Ginny hung back a little.

'Weasley here is under the misguided notion that I am responsible for Pansy's crazed behavior due to that inane heart binding ceremony we did during fifth term,' Draco responded.

Blaise chuckled, shaking his head sadly at Ron, 'you should just divorce the bitch and get on with your life,' he said roundly.

Ron lunged forward again, his face creased with anger and Harry tightened his hold.

'Keep your fat nose out of it, you stupid, smug, bastard,' Ron shot at Blaise.

'Ron, calm down,' Hermione said moving forward.

'Shut up, Hermione,' Ron snapped, looking at her with sparks flying from his eyes. He twisted his way out of Harry's grasp and stood fuming, his deadly stare aimed once again at Malfoy.

'You are just full of smoke and powder tonight, aren't you?' Blaise said, his tone calm, 'the ceremony was a joke, completely defunct. If it makes you feel better to blame Draco for your troubles, by all means do so, but that won't change the fact that Pansy is making a jackass out of you.'

Ron, boiling with anger, whipped out his wand. It was his only option; Harry was still standing beside him and there was no way he could reach Blaise and physically throttle him before Harry restrained him.

Wands flew to hands rapidly after that, pointing in all directions. Blaise, Draco and even Hermione had quickly drawn wands upon Ron dragging his from the folds of his robe.

Blaise was quickest of them all, his stunning curse sailing nastily through the air toward Ron who had released one of his own, albeit a millisecond later. Draco shoved Blaise out of the way of the oncoming curse, but it was all for naught, Harry had moved faster than everyone, not requiring a wand at all.

Shielding himself, he moved between his battling friends and absorbed all of the curses, snatching Ron's wand from his hand at the same moment. He suddenly felt as if he was back in the chaos of a hex war at Hogwarts.

Harry grabbed a hold of Ron who looked as if he were about to take off after one of the Slytherins, his mind bent on bodily harm.

Blaise stood behind Harry, calmly watching Ron struggle and Draco remained where he was, a small distance away, thinking that his boyfriend was going to give them all hell in about ten seconds.

He was right. Harry suddenly shoved Ron forcefully backward, 'stop it!' he demanded, 'you all act as if you have forgotten what we are doing here. Don't you realize that none of this will matter if we don't stop this new Dark Lord?'

Ron was still very angry, but he hadn't moved again, 'I think maybe the new Dark Lord is in our midst,' he said roundly, his eyes trained upon Draco.

Draco raised his brows, 'indeed,' he said rolling his eyes darkly at Ron.

'Harry can't protect you forever,' Ron declared, his tone deadly.

'Really? And what is it I would need protecting from?' Draco asked, sarcasm racing through his tone and he regarded Ron from head to toe.

Harry took a deep breath and spoke before Ron could respond, 'I can't believe this. Are you guys going to keep going with this all night? There is a DARK LORD on the loose and it would seem to me that would be a little more important to you than personal matters right now.'

'It's driving Pansy insane,' Ron said, as if Harry had not spoken at all, 'and I need you to reverse whatever it is you did to her back then.'

'Believe what you want to believe, Weasley,' Draco answered, 'but I am telling you, the potion and the ceremony were both ineffective. Whatever Pansy is telling you is a figment of her imagination, including her ongoing love for me.'

Harry looked at Ron and Draco in exasperation and then threw up his hands, 'fine, kill each other, I don't give a damn. I took Voldemort out alone and I'll do the same with Marcus Julien.' He then turned on his heel and stormed from the room toward the back of the house, passing a worried looking Ginny on his way out.

Harry's leaving took the winds out of everyone's sails a bit and the tension in the room, while still high, waned a bit.

'Weasley,' Blaise said, his tone still tranquil, 'did it ever occur to you to wonder why Draco, who also took the potion and participated in the ceremony, is not in love with Pansy?'

Ron looked at Blaise and a little uncertainty began forming in his eyes, but it slowly cleared, 'how can you be so certain he isn't?'

'Fuck this,' Draco said as he turned and walked rapidly from the room. He went immediately in search of Harry, thinking that he'd be damned if he'd let stupid Weasley be the cause of a rift between him and his mate; especially when the issue centered around crazy Pansy Parkinson.

When Draco left the room, Ron's anger seemed to deflate further.

Seeing this, Hermione moved quickly to stand before her friend, 'Ron, it doesn't make sense; you see that don't you? They would both be effected not just Pansy.'

Ron looked up and a little heat flamed his eyes once more, but staring at the sympathetic face before him, his ire quickly died. He tilted his face into one of his hands and began wiping at his eye, 'I don't know what to think. You should see her; she is like a mad woman. She rants and raves about what Draco has done to her and I- I can't help her, Hermione.'

'There is only one way to help her,' Blaise said from behind them.

Both Hermione and Ron looked at the Slytherin.

'As soon as she is released from house arrest, she needs to do a stint in St. Mungos.'

Ron dropped his eyes and Hermione turned to him once more, fearing that Blaise had the right of it.

'I'm going to bed,' Ron snapped a moment later, lightly pushing Hermione out of his way as he too stormed toward the back of the house.

Ginny, Hermione and Blaise looked at one another in silence, but with much to say. The problem was that neither Blaise nor Ginny wished to speak on the topic in front of the other.

'We'd better go,' Blaise said finally.

Hermione nodded and gave Ginny a hug and a meaningful glance indicating they would talk later. She slowly began following Blaise from the house.

Draco found Harry alone in the study; everyone else had left or retired for the evening. Harry was sitting at the large table reading through a scroll that had been prepared by Tonks during their earlier meeting.

'Hey,' Draco said a little hesitantly when he entered the room.

Harry looked up, 'hey,' he replied, 'everyone else dead?'

Draco's slow laugh eased out, 'I left; you were right, now is not the time or place and besides, Ron is determined to believe that I am responsible for Pansy's ongoing mental breakdown. There is no convincing him otherwise, even though she's been like that for years and it has nothing to do with that god-forsaken ceremony.'

Harry sighed, 'well it is ridiculous for him to assert that the ceremony is responsible; had it worked you would be in love with her as well and you aren't. You're in love with me.'

Draco's smile departed and he sat on the table and began sliding across it until he was settled in front of the Gryffindor, his legs dangling off the table on either side of Harry 'that, I am,' he said, staring down into Harry's emerald pools.

Harry had swiped the scroll from the table moments before the Slytherin's butt would have collided with it and he placed it to the side. He slowly arose and slid his hands onto the Slytherin's shoulders, 'Ron will see that; he is just extremely upset. But you guys didn't have to add fuel to the fire by taunting him.'

'I didn't taunt him-' Draco began.

'Blaise did.'

Draco shrugged, 'Blaise has always been rather blunt.'

Harry sighed again.

'Kiss me,' Draco demanded after a short silence.

'You don't deserve it,' Harry said, his tone remonstrative, 'you deserved to be spanked, all of you; you were acting like spoiled little brats.'

'So don't kiss me,' Draco responded pertly.

Harry began leaning his body toward his boyfriend's seated form and his arms doubled about the Slytherin's neck, 'I won't,' he said gruffly and then promptly captured Draco's lips with his own.

Blaise and Hermione arrived at the Burrows early the next morning together with several other members of the Order. After a very brief meeting in the study, the group headed for the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley had prepared a delicious breakfast.

Hermione and Blaise had already eaten and he stayed her progress in the hallway that led to the kitchen.

Blaise pulled Hermione around to face him, hugging her into the warmth of his straw colored, wool coat, 'at the first sign of any possible trouble you are to portkey home immediately, understand?' Blaise's voice was stern, but there was love shining from his eyes and it was evident to Hermione his words stemmed from the heart.

'I shall pop home at the first sign of trouble, I promise,' she responded, a sly smile stealing its way onto her lips, 'and as soon as I arrive home your mum will promptly attempt to kill me.'

Blaise chuckled, 'she wouldn't dare,' he said with mirth in his tone.

Hermione heard the amusement, but there was a steely undertone to his words that was comforting. The mysterious or odd circumstances surrounding the deaths of his mother's eight dead husbands still gave Hermione pause when she stopped to consider it.

However, after spending time in the company of Blaise and his mother, it was clear that her son held a curious control over her. Ms. Childes seemed to have reluctantly accepted Hermione as her future daughter in law; just that morning she had insisted that Hermione go over several volumes of family history with her. Hermione, while interested, was somewhat happy that they were bound for the Burrows. She was still not quite ready to be alone in Blaise's mother's company.

Hermione leaned from Blaise's embrace and looked at his strong, lithe figure. She was once again reminded of his predilection for danger and taking substantial risks, 'you be careful too,' she admonished, 'don't do anything crazy, Blaise. I want you there when our child is born.'

'I'll be there,' he responded gingerly. He leaned forward and captured her lips in a sweet kiss, 'I am going to bring the portkey Harry prepared inside; I want you to have it near you.'

Hermione rolled her eyes, but she was smiling, 'okay. I will be in the study.'

Blaise nodded and she watched him move toward the kitchen where the members of the Order had gathered to see Harry and the others off. Hermione turned toward the study; she was planning to set up a little area in which she could organize information that was gathered by those moving out to seek the Dark Lord.

She pressed the door to the study intending to step through, but paused on the threshold. Standing alone in the middle of the room, Harry and Draco were in the midst of a rather wicked embrace. She hadn't realized they had not left the room with the others.

Draco's hands were on Harry's cheeks as he pressed a very romantic kiss on his boyfriend's lips. Hermione's first inclination was to back away, but she had never seen them together romantically before and the sight was intriguing. It was as if until that moment she had not fully appreciated the fact that Harry and Draco were truly lovers.

Harry's glasses, which he had precipitously pressed upon his head, fell to the ground, seemingly unnoticed by the pair as the Gryffindor pressed forward to meet the caress of his lover's kiss. His hands moved a little urgently over the Slytherin's arms, his fingers pressing tightly against the sleeves of Draco's open robe.

Draco pulled away a little, in order to rein a series of small kisses against Harry's eager lips and Hermione took that as a signal that the little romantic moment was soon going to come to an end. She stepped quickly backward into the hall and waited until she heard the two talking and moving toward the door.

'Hi,' Hermione said when they met at the door a few seconds later.

'Hi,' Draco answered.

'Hermione,' Harry said brightly, 'we are just about to set out.'

Hermione noticed that both Harry and Draco faced her with flushed cheeks and bright eyes, clearly a consequence of their recent expression of love for one another.

'Just working out final plans?' she inquired a little naughtily.

However, neither was aware of her recent voyeurism.

'Yup,' Harry said, his eyes sliding quickly to Draco and back to meet Hermione's again, 'just finishing up a little left over business.'

'Ah,' remarked Hermione. Something inside of her suddenly burst inside with happiness for Harry and she moved to give him a spontaneously hug, 'be careful.'

Harry returned her hug, feeling the warmth springing from her heart, 'always,' he lied.

And Hermione knew it was a lie. Harry was worse than Blaise when it came to taking risks and seemed to relish marching headlong into danger.

A short time later, Harry, Draco, Ron and Blaise set out via portkey for Surrey. The portkey trip was a little wilder than usual and set them down sprawling on a grassy knoll.

The four gathered themselves up from the ground, staring at the misshapen portkey that Mr. Weasley had prepared for them.

'I am glad you prepared Hermione's portkey,' Blaise said to Harry with disgust racing through his tone.

Harry laughed as he stood knocking the stray grass that had attached itself to his robe.

Blaise too began dusting off his clothing, 'well that was a damn hard landing, imagine if she had come along with us.'

Draco smirked at his friend, 'I think your little one month old wizard would have survived, but it is good she didn't come.'

Harry looked at Ron, still sullen after the evening before. It had taken Harry the better part of a half an hour to convince him to come along. The truth was that Ron and Hermione had played a huge role in his stability during the last war and he deeply desired at least one of them to be with him while he sought out the new evil lord.

Ron had known how Harry felt and in reality his objections to venturing out with Harry had not been heartfelt. When Harry had begun promising to assist him with Pansy once their quest was over, Ron had finally given in. He hadn't wanted to discuss the matter with Harry; he knew in his heart that the ceremony was not what was affecting her and he had grave doubts that anyone would be able to help him with his marital problems.

'The center of town is about a kilometer from here,' Harry said to Ron, pulling out the small map he'd brought along. We can walk there and meanwhile you can perhaps figure out the best location for our temporary headquarters. The castle is just a couple of towns over, in this direction,' Harry indicated an area of the map.

Ron shook his head and took the map. He had proven his aptitude for figuring out strategic places for setting up camp during the previous battle and had more or less expected Harry would ask him to do so now.

Draco began shaking his head, 'hard to believe that this Marcus Julien is using the castle. I mean it sits in a great location for a headquarters, but he has to deal with my cousin Vendi who owns the castle and, to put it nicely, the man is missing a few marbles.'

Blaise uttered a brief chuckle, 'I remember him; he was a fairly staunch death eater, although I don't recall seeing him among the believers. But I do recall that he seemed to have a few screws loose.'

Draco nodded, 'one of several nutcases dotting my family tree; he likely was a believer and merely missed all of the meeting dates as a result of his natural air-headedness.'

'Too bad they didn't round him up with the death eaters,' Harry mused, 'from the sound of it, he would have been a good source of information about the new Dark Lord and perhaps just loopy enough to give everything away. We could use a little more information.'

Blaise looked at Harry, 'I was thinking, we might be able to get a little more information from a couple of friends of mine,' he glanced at Draco, 'Armand and Leticia.'

Draco nodded in agreement, 'they might just know something,' he looked at Harry, 'remember I told you about Armand?'

'Yeah, I do.'

'Well Armand told me everything he thought important,' Blaise added, 'so I doubt he knew about Voldemort's son. However, he may have heard something while working with the death eaters or the believers and not realized its significance.'

Draco readily agreed, 'if we tell him what we know, he may be able to add to what we have.'

Harry frowned slightly, 'I don't really want to veer from our current plan too much,' he said hesitantly.

'Well they live pretty close,' Blaise offered, 'I could apparate us to their home and we could speak with them quickly. It wouldn't set us back much.'

Harry nodded, 'alright, let's go by after we find a suitable place to serve as a headquarters.'

Upon the arrival in the town of Surrey Heath, the four moved quickly toward the town center, avoiding the wizard town situated at the outskirts. Ron pointed to a part of town he felt would be most strategic for their purposes. It was obscured from the busy section of the city by a small hillside and Ron figured it would house the least number of Muggles.

Ron was correct; the small section on the other side of the city seemed almost abandoned. There were several large homes tucked along a quiet street and not a soul in sight. Hoping to find an abandoned home, the four searched the street, but all of the homes appeared to be occupied.

'It doesn't matter,' Draco said, looking at a rather large house at the end of the block, 'we will simply borrow a room in this Muggle home. Come on.'

Draco led them to the side of the house and then stopped. Harry looked at Draco inquisitively and his boyfriend winked and asked to borrow Harry's invisibility cloak. Harry pulled it from the small pack on his back and handed it to the Slytherin. Draco whipped it around his body and began walking toward the rear of the house.

'Wait here,' Draco's voice boomed from under the cloak as he ambled away.

Harry, Ron and Blaise remained out of sight next to the house, constantly looking about them for any wandering Muggles.

'I hope he doesn't get caught,' Ron said eyeing the house.

'He shouldn't,' Harry said hopefully.

A short while later, the three jumped slightly when Draco suddenly uncovered himself before them.

'It has a basement that will serve our purposes perfectly,' the Slytherin declared, 'I have already placed wards about it and a silencing spell.'

The others nodded and followed Draco as he led them to the rear of the house behind a rather tall bush that obscured them from the windows of the house.

'Everyone grab hold,' Draco said quietly.

The other three placed their hands on Draco's body and he apparated them into the basement of the home. The basement room was rather large and had comfortable, old chairs already in place. Harry passed coins around which he had prepared for messaging spells so they could communicate with one another.

Harry looked about him at the cobwebs lining the walls, 'this is perfect. It doesn't look as if the Muggles have been down here in years.'

'I am fairly certain they use it merely for storage,' Draco concurred.

Blaise cleared the cobwebs from the three chairs with his wand and looked a little less pleased with the basement than his friends. Placing his wand back into his robe he looked at Harry with an expression indicating his distaste of the place, 'We should head over to Armand's now,' Blaise said, his tone indicating his desire to be gone from their headquarters as soon as possible.

'I'll remain here and keep an eye on things,' Ron said immediately.

'There is really no need for you to stay here,' Harry said.

'I would prefer to,' Ron said, seating himself on one of the chairs, 'you go ahead.'

Harry nodded, realizing Ron wanted time alone to think.

'I'll rejoin you here shortly,' Blaise said, his face indicating he wasn't looking forward to it.

Ron nodded, his thoughts seemingly far away.

Apparently feeling that enough had been said, Draco grasped his friends and upon receiving a curt nod from Harry, apparated them out of the basement. Blaise then took over; still holding them both, he apparated them twice more to Armand's home.

Blaise escorted Draco and Harry to the front door of Armand and Leticia's home. The couple had moved back to their original home from the safe house where they had spent a few weeks while the believers were being rounded up.

Armand opened the door himself and a delighted expression creased his features the moment he set eyes on his visitors. He seemed especially happy to see Blaise.

'Damn your eyes man,' Armand said jovially, 'you get us out of the safe house and we haven't seen sight of you or Hermione since.'

Blaise laughed, 'been a bit busy,' he said while turning his body slightly, 'this is Harry Potter; I don't think you two have met.'

'No we haven't, hello, Harry and welcome,' Armand said in his normal friendly fashion while reaching out to shake Harry's hand.

'I feel like we have met,' Harry responded, 'Blaise and Hermione speak of you and Leticia frequently.'

'Oh they do, do they?' he eyed Blaise suspiciously, 'I am afraid to ask just what he has been telling you.'

Harry began chuckling as he watched Armand move to shake Draco's hand.

'Let's go into the front room, Leticia has gone to Hogsmeade, she will be crushed that she missed you all.'

'We'll come again,' Blaise said, his tone teasing, 'especially if Leticia makes one of her delicious meals for us.'

'Oh I remember those,' Draco mused, 'she is a great cook.'

The four men sat in the Rosier's comfortable living room and Blaise began speaking at once, 'we came because as you may or may not know, the battle is not quite over yet.'

Armand frowned and looked at Blaise inquiringly.

'Have you ever heard mention of a wizard named Marcus Julien?'

Armand shook his head in the negative, 'Marcus Julien? No, who is he?'

'From what we have been able to ascertain,' continued Blaise, 'he is the Dark Lord's son.'

Genuine surprise erupted across Armand's face, 'A son?' he began shaking his head slowly, 'I never heard anything about the Dark Lord having a son. Nor does that name ring any bells.' A small amount of disbelief entered into his expression, 'the Dark Lord had a son?'

Blaise frowned, 'yes and it is curious that so few people seem to know of his existence; it seems a rather big secret to be kept so tightly held for so many years.'

Armand nodded in agreement, 'so many years?'

'According to what we have learned, he is about my age or a little older,' Blaise answered.

'Well that is an amazing,' Armand frowned a little, 'are you quite certain that it is true?'

Draco nodded, 'the ministry obtained the information from Bertram during interrogations.'

Armand appeared to be shocked by the information. However a frown formed across his features shortly thereafter, 'why has he not come forward? It would seem that any son of the Dark Lord would have materialized sooner and assisted the believers.'

Harry looked at Armand wryly, 'perhaps he knew it was going to be a hopeless effort.'

Armand shook his head a little, 'that doesn't make any sense. If his son had half of the Dark Lord's ambition, he could have acted as a driving force for the believers. In addition, he would have had a ready army behind him.'

'Unless,' Draco said slowly, his eyes narrowed and unfocused in thought, 'he was actually in control of the Believers and worked in the shadows.'

Harry nodded his head, 'that is entirely possible. In any event, it is evident that Bertram and Malfoy were working to pave the way for Voldemort's-'

Armand flinched and made a small verbal grunt at the mention of the name and Harry paused.

Armand brought a hand to his face and grinned, 'sorry, old habit. Please continue.'

'Well they were working toward Voldemort's son coming into power.' Harry finished.

Armand nodded, 'it would appear that is what they were about, although the majority of us were under the misconception that we were preparing for the return of the Dark Lord himself.'

'What I think,' Blaise said slowly, 'is that what we have here is a wizard who is still wet behind the ears and Bertram and Malfoy knew it. He is only our age or a little older and based on what we know, he has had little experience in the real world. I rather doubt he was behind the believers; I think we might be attributing too much strategic genius to the man.'

Harry nodded, 'well that is also possible. It would explain why his attempts since taking over have been so poorly executed…the catastrophe in Hogsmeade and the earthquakes and tornados that did not kill anyone, but only injured a few.'

'True,' conceded Draco.

'What happened in Hogsmeade is attributed to him?' Armand asked then, his interest clearly piqued, 'the Prophet reported the event as if it had been some kind of joke.'

'It was no joke,' Blaise replied readily, 'I was there and while they bungled the whole thing thoroughly, it was a serious attempt to frighten those present.'

'Well independent of any involvement he has had up to now, from what we know of him he appears to lack the expertise of his father.' Harry said, 'that will serve as an advantage for us.'

'Still,' Armand said thoughtfully, 'I would not underestimate any child of…Vo-Voldemorts.'

A smirk slung itself across Blaise's face, 'I knew you had it in you,' he said to his friend.

Armand chuckled a little and gave Blaise a punch in the arm.

'We had best be on our way,' Harry said rising, 'it was nice meeting you Armand, and I look forward to meeting your wife.'

'My pleasure, I have wanted to meet you for a very long time,' Armand smiled kindly, 'I am just glad it is now rather than before when I was rather…misguided.'

Harry smiled, 'me too.'

'Let me know if you require my assistance, I am happy to help in any way I can. Sorry I could not be of more help,' Armand said to the room in general as his guests prepared to leave.

Blaise moved to speak privately with Armand for a few moments while the others moved toward the door. The happy way in which Armand congratulated him shortly thereafter made it evident that Blaise had passed on the good news that he was to become a father.

'Look at him,' commented Draco staring at Blaise's glowing face, 'underneath that solemn façade he likes to show, he's as soppy as a Gryffindor.'

Harry's laughter jetted up once more as he gave Draco a quick, playful whack on the head with his hand.

The three returned to the basement headquarters in the Muggle home to find Ron seated in the same place they had left him.

Ron looked up at the group when they appeared, 'find out anything?'

Harry shook his head, 'no, not really. Anything happen here while we were gone?'

'Nope, and I haven't heard anyone moving about the house either. I think the owners must be out.'

'Good,' Harry said, 'the two of you shouldn't have any problems then.'

'You two had better get going,' Blaise mumbled, staring at Ron. It was apparent he wasn't looking forward to the next few hours alone with the Gryffindor in the grimy basement.

Harry nodded and moved next to Draco so they could apparate. Draco looked at Blaise with amusement in his eyes, knowing exactly what was passing through his friend's mind. He winked at Blaise, his expression and the gesture evidencing his meaning: better you than me.

Harry and Draco set off for the town of Waverly, where the castle was located. They apparated twice in order to arrive inconspicuously, appearing at points that the Order members had recommended.

Draco led them to the outskirts of the town where a rather large wizard village was situated. Draco's cousin's castle loomed over all of the other houses and buildings; a dark, rather gloomy building constructed of stone. Harry and Draco slipped quickly under the invisibility cloak and moved slowly toward the castle.

When they arrived, Draco signaled that they enter through a rear gate that led to an immense garden.

'Just over there, there is a ground hatch that leads into the castle,' Draco whispered, 'if it is still there, that is; I was last here as a boy.'

Harry nodded and followed Draco across the garden to the area where the ground hatch was located.

Delighted to find it still in place, Draco lifted the hatch door away revealing a hole. He nimbly dropped into it and Harry heard him land on a hard surface a few seconds later. Harry jumped in after Draco and could barely make out the Slytherin standing next to him. They appeared to be in a cavern shrouded in a dank, darkness.

'Lumos,' Draco said softly and his wand began shining light for them. 'Espersatium,' he said then to make the light permanent.

Draco led the way, Harry close behind him and the two began to traverse the tunnel leading to the castle. There was some type of liquid on the ground; too thick to be water, but because Draco seemed to ignore it, Harry followed suit.

The two sloshed through the twisting tunnel and eventually reached a stairway. Draco ascended slowly, attempting to keep his footsteps as silent as possible. When they reached the top another hatch greeted their eyes.

Draco send a concept, 'leads to kitchen.'

Harry nodded and watched as Draco extinguished the light from his wand and slowly pressed the hatch door open.

There was no sound above them and Draco eased his head through the opening. Seeing no one, he signaled Harry to follow him and they alighted into a very large, deserted kitchen. The sweet smell of something baking filled their nostrils as they slid the hatch door closed and began moving stealthily toward one of several doors leading from the kitchen.

The door they selected led to what appeared to be some sort of odd dining room. There was a large table and chairs, but the room also contained numerous boxes, piled high along the walls of the room.

Harry looked at Draco with a question in his eyes.

Draco shrugged, 'my cousin is crazy,' he reminded Harry via concept.

Harry nodded and the two moved toward another set of doors leading from the room.

Draco opened the door slowly and then quickly pulled back, although he did not shut the door again. He signaled Harry to peep through it with him and the two found themselves looking in upon a large antechamber that appeared to be just inside the main doorway of the castle.

Three barely discernable robed figures stood huddled together facing two large, wooden doors. The room was very dark, the only light was provided by three candles, hanging from the walls. The robed figures stood silently with an air of reverence about them. A hissing sound reached Harry and Draco's ears and appeared to be coming from the room behind the closed doors.

A small sound broke the silence; it had come from the kitchen. Harry and Draco tensed and turned toward the sound. They could hear footsteps drawing close to the other door in the dining room and both reflexively held their wands at the ready.

However the footsteps retreated and they heard the sound of a door open and close, and then another. Apparently the person had accessed the kitchen through another door and had departed using the same path.

Harry and Draco retrained their eye on the robed figures and suddenly the large wooden doors they faced burst open and another robed figure appeared; he was backing out of the room behind the doors, bowing all the while.

'It's Vendi, my cousin,' Draco said in a conspiratorially soft tone,

Harry didn't respond; the bowing wizard had begun speaking.

'Yes my Lord, your desires are our desires, I will be back within the hour.' Vendi declared reverently, still bowing as he began closing the large doors.

His promises were met by what sounded to be laughter emanating from the room; a small odd chuckling sound, mostly drowned out by the sound of the hissing.

Vendi turned and faced the three robed figures and Harry could make out his long, sallow face in the candle light.

Vendi lifted his head toward the ceiling, 'it is time we apparate to the Ministry and join the others. I have just been given instructions by our master who has conferred with the offspring of Nagini! We will take the Ministry in the name of our Lord, the son of the Great One and following our victory, he alone shall rule the wizard world.'

The three robed figures stared on in silence.

'We've got to warn Kingsley,' Draco whispered urgently, 'they are planning to take the ministry.'

Harry's face was set with determination, 'We've got to get inside that room.'

Draco frowned at his boyfriend's apparent singular intent, 'I'll send a message to Blaise about the ministry via coin.'

Harry nodded distractedly as Draco pulled a coin from his pants pocket and began tapping it with his wand.

The Gryffindor's attention was trained on Vendi who had suddenly reached his arms toward the ceiling.

'Come,' he commanded the robed figures as he turned toward the front doors of the castle and rather dramatically began marching toward them. It seemed to Harry that the three robed figures followed him with some reluctance.

When Vendi and the trio of robed figures had left, the house took on an eerie character; the loud hissing continued, reverberating through the darkened antechamber.

'It appears as though everyone has left…except the Dark Lord,' Harry said softly.

'If he is anything like Voldemort, he will have minions at his side in that room,' Draco murmured.

'Most certainly,' Harry agreed.

The two fell silent again; Draco looking about their surroundings and Harry's eyes fixed on the door.

'That hissing is horrendous,' Draco whispered, breaking the silence, 'what do you suppose it is?'

'Well he mentioned something about the offspring of Nagini, 'Harry said slowly,' I imagine it could be snakes.'

'It sounds as if they are being tortured,' Draco said frowning a little, 'you know the fact that this dark lord has placed faith in Vendi does tell us something about him. He really must be an amateur.'

Harry narrowed his eyes at the doors, 'come on,' he said determinedly.

Draco didn't hesitate although a small amount of fear had begun to kindle in his heart. Amateur or not, the dark lord would use everything within his means to kill them, that was certain.

They moved into the dank and somewhat cold antechamber and traversed the plush carpet that covered the floor. The two came to a stop before the grand double doors and the moment they arrived the hissing sound suddenly stopped.

Draco and Harry looked quickly at one another, both feeling that the dark lord on the other side had become aware of their presence. They heard footsteps through the door; it sounded as if someone were running about inside the room. The footsteps stilled and were replaced by a repeated soft clicking sound and moments later the excruciating hissing began again.

Harry's tone was soft, but calculated, 'I don't think he knows we are here. Hopefully we can surprise him; that should garner us a few seconds. You attack any minions and I will concentrate on the Dark Lord.'

Draco nodded and moved his wand before him watching Harry grasp the handle on one of the doors.

Harry paused a moment with his hand on the handle. He closed his eyes briefly to allow the vision of his parents faces to pass through his mind. It served as a strong motivation and he suddenly felt the strength that had moved through him when he went into the cavern to face Voldemort surge through his body once more.

With his wand at the ready and his body tense, Harry suddenly pulled on the handle and flung the door open.

Harry and Draco raced forward, knowing that they would have only the few seconds resulting from their surprise attack to gain any possible advantage over those present inside the room.

However, upon entering Harry and Draco froze, their wands still stretched before them and their eyes wide.

There was no throne with a Dark Lord seated upon it, no minions racing toward them to attack and no snakes sent to assault them. The room had only one occupant; a small child of maybe five or six, who sat on the ground before them, his eyes as wide as their own, full of curiosity.

The hissing sound had grown louder and Draco and Harry immediately discovered the source of it. The child sat before a huge magical track upon which jetted several toy trains, hissing loudly along hills, valleys and through complicated tunnels and overpasses. In fact the room was full of…toys.

Harry was so stunned for a moment, he could do nothing more than stand and stare, but then his senses began to return. He looked quickly around the room, searching for a doorway or some other place the Dark Lord might be hiding. But there seemed to be nothing at all, just the small boy surrounded by numerous toys and his hissing train set.

Draco had lowered his wand, but Harry had not. He looked to the child who continued staring at him, his wide brown eyes full of question.

'Who, who are you?' Harry asked, still trying to assimilate what was happening.

The child spoke immediately, 'Marcus Julien,' he replied softly.

Harry furrowed his brow, 'Marcus…Julien…and you are here alone?'

The child tilted his head a little, 'Matilda is making me cookies and milk. Who are you?'

'Matilda? Is that – who is that?' Harry asked, ignoring the child's question.

'One of my Uncle's servants,' the child responded, staring at Harry's wand.

Harry lowered his wand, 'your parents, where are they?'

'They are dead,' the child replied, not unhappily, 'my father was the king and my mother was the queen and they were put to death by the countrymen. I have to live with my uncle until I grow up and am old enough to be king.'

The child looked between Harry and Draco, but Harry noted there was no real fear about him although they had burst through the door tense and ready to do damage, pointing their wands at his head.

Draco found his voice, 'you said you live with your uncle? Was that your uncle? The man that was in here a few minutes ago?' he asked.

'Uncle Vendi?'

'Yes, Uncle Vendi. He is your uncle then?' Draco asked, his eyes narrowing.

The child nodded. 'Are you new servants?' the child asked them.

Harry turned to Draco, a deep frown marring his features, 'something is not right,' he murmured, again ignoring the child's inquiry.

Draco's eyes began to take on a speculative look, 'what I think is not right is my cousin Vendi; not right in the head that is,' he mumbled. 'I am beginning to believe that this was some sort of far fetched plot he hatched…but I don't know who the child is, he has no children to my knowledge.'

Harry looked at the child again, 'you say that your father was the king, do you know what his name was?'

'King Thomas,' he said brightly. Little Marcus stood up and walked over to a bookshelf and pulled out a small children's book. He brought it to where Harry and Draco were standing and opened it for them to see.

A king and queen sat with a baby in a carriage waving at them.

'See, that is my father, King Thomas and my mother Queen Anna next to him and the little baby is me.'

Harry looked closely at the photo, but the people in it were unrecognizable. It was certainly not Tom Riddle.

The child turned the pages and showed Harry and Draco what he believed to be his life; a king and Queen taken away and killed by the countrymen, leaving a baby who would grow to be a wise and powerful king and rule the land.

Harry was still frowning deeply when the child finished, 'you say that only you and Matilda are here?'

The child nodded again, closing the book and moving to return it to the bookshelf, 'my Uncle Vendi left with some of the other servants. Would you like to play with me?'

Harry watched the child placing the book neatly back into the bookcase. Apparently he assumed they were his uncle's servants.

The child turned again, 'you two can be the trolls!'

'The trolls,' said Harry, his mind still working frantically to try and piece together what was happening.

Little Marcus smiled, 'Uncle Vendi has gone to capture the dragon and the dragon will return to eat you!"

'The dragon?' Harry inquired.

Marcus ran for another book, this one containing all sorts of creatures and the star of the book was a mighty, fire-breathing, Dragon.

'Acurius the Dragon,' Marcus said with awe in his tone while pointing out a grand looking beast in his little book, 'he will come and try to eat the trolls!' He looked up then with excitement in his eyes, 'but I will protect you with my sword!' he declared. Marcus then ran to another shelf and after placing the book he held on top of it, he pulled a sheathed toy sword from one of the shelves. He unsheathed it with a flourish and waved it about the air.

Suddenly, the great wooden doors behind Harry and Draco flew open. They turned as one to face the doors, their wands once again at the ready.

A small framed woman carrying a tray holding milk and cookies was entering, but upon seeing them she immediately dropped the tray. As the tray and its contents crashed heavily on to the ground, her hand flew beneath her robe for her wand.

Draco's wand was already pointed in her direction however, and before she had fully extracted her wand, he sent a curse sailing her way. The light flew directly into her face and the woman's body stiffened for a moment before falling heavily to the ground.

Harry ran forward and at once recognized the curse; it was the same Draco had used on the house elf.

'You put her to sleep.' Little Marcus' voice startled Draco and Harry and their heads whipped around to face the child.

Harry's brow furrowed as he regarded the child, 'y-yes, we had to put her to sleep.'

Marcus nodded as if 'putting people to sleep' was the most natural thing in the world and turned to return his sword to the bookshelf.

Harry met Draco's eyes and the two frowned at one another. However, before either had a chance to make a further response, a loud crack sounded in the air and suddenly a multitude of Aurors began running into the room.

Seeing Harry and Draco stooped over the woman on the floor, the Auror in front of the charge stopped in his tracks and stared, those behind him similarly stopping.

'In here,' the Auror called in a loud voice.

There was a little commotion behind the door and moments later Shacklebolt himself came storming in, wand in hand and primed for battle.

Kingsley looked from Harry to Draco to the woman, 'what has happened?'

However, before either could respond, Marcus moved forward from the bookcase and came to stand near Harry.

'Who is he?' Shacklebolt asked, his brow deeply furrowed.

Harry stood up and faced the Minister, 'this,' he said looking down on the lad, 'is Marcus Julien.'

Shacklebolt's face was incredulous, 'this?' he murmured, confusion moving about his face.

'And this,' said Draco moving forward and indicating the woman with his hand, 'is Matilda.'

Shacklebolt's moved from the child to Matilda and back to little Marcus again. The little lad with large brown eyes and blonde hair that ended in ringlets about his forehead and tapered around down the nape of his neck was not at all what he expected.

The Minister faced one of the Aurors, 'take the lad and wait outside the door,' he said curtly.

The Auror nodded and then moved to guide Marcus from the room. The little boy did not protest at all, almost happily following the Aurors from the room.

When the door closed behind them, Shacklebolt looked about the room, his eyes remaining for an extended moment on the spilled contents of the tray on the floor before facing Harry and Draco again, 'I am not sure what is going on here, but we have just come from the ministry. Blaise and Ron appeared a short while ago to warn us that there was going to be some sort of attack on the Ministry. Not seconds later a very amateur and botched attempt was made by five individuals to take over the Ministry.'

Harry regarded the Minister with some confusion, 'only five?'

Shacklebolt nodded, 'they stormed into my office and indicated they were working on behalf of the new Dark Lord, Marcus Julien. They demanded I surrender my office to them and control of the ministry. However, I had already increased security and within seconds of their demand, Aurors were swarming my office; we managed to restrain them all within seconds.'

Draco gave a short laugh, lacking mirth, 'it is as I thought. My cousin Vendi was evidently behind this. He decided to act in this child's name and attempt to fool the wizard world. It evidently wanted to make everyone believe that Marcus was older and that he was acting on his behalf.'

Shacklebolt nodded, 'that sounds about right; a small amount of Veritaserum and Vendi revealed that the Dark Lord was here at his castle. He failed to mention however that he was still a tike. Nonetheless we set out immediately planning to back up your efforts here and I sent Blaise and Ron to inform the Order.'

The woman on the floor began to revive, her arms and legs shuffling lightly against the floor.

'A little Veritaserum might be in order now,' Draco said, regarding the woman.

The Minister nodded, moving quickly out of the room and returning with a small vile. The woman continued to struggle for consciousness on the floor and Kingsley knelt at her side and lifted her head slightly. He then forced the vile between her lips and urged the liquid into her mouth.

Matilda coughed and sputtered a little, but before long her eyes blinked open and upon seeing the Minister, Harry and Draco, fear entered into them.

'It's alright,' Draco said at once, 'we are not going to hurt you.'

The woman began struggling out of the Minister's light hold and slowly stood. She stared at them, fear still flowing through her eyes, 'w-w-who are y-you,' she asked, her voice trembling. Her eyes moved around the room and then back to the three of them.

'What have you done with the boy? He knows nothing, don't hurt him.'

Harry put his wand away, 'we are not going to hurt any one.'

The woman focused on Harry and her brow suddenly wrinkled as recognition dawned in her eyes, 'y-you are H-Harry Potter.'

Harry nodded briefly, 'and this is Draco Malfoy and the Minister of Magic,' Harry answered at once, 'and you are, Matilda?'

The woman nodded as her eyes widened a bit more. However, her body seemed to lose some of its tenseness.

'The lad,' Draco said, his voice commanding, 'he is Tom Riddle's son?'

The woman suddenly looked frightened again, 'yes' she spat, the word seemed to be forced from her throat. Surprise began stealing across her features, 'You have given me Veritaserum!' she accused.

'That's right,' Draco said, his voice commanding.

'The Dark Lord will see to the lad's protection and he will see to mine,' she returned nastily.

Harry nodded, and his eye's intensified, 'how old is this child?'

"Six," the woman snapped unwillingly.

'Who is his mother?' asked Draco.

'An-Anna In-Ingram,' she sputtered, trying desperately to still her tongue.

'Anna Ingram, who is that?' Harry inquired.

Matilda looked at Harry with hatred and it was evident that she had no qualms about answering the question, 'Anna was a faithful servant of our Lord as am I.'

Shacklebolt frowned, 'where was she from?'

Matilda struggled once more, but was unable to defeat the serum, 'France,' she said a little wildly.

Shacklebolt's face cleared a little, 'and she agreed to have Voldemort's child?'

Matilda flinched at the mention of the name of the Dark Lord, but once again the words flowed easily from her throat, 'yes, obviously. She was honored to do so! As any of us would have been.'

'Where is she now?' Draco inquired, his tone indicating how disgusting any mating with Lord Voldemort six years ago would have been.

Matilda struggled for control of her tongue, but lost, 'Sh-sh-she's dead,' she wailed.

'When did she die?' Harry asked.

Matilda's mouth moved awkwardly as she tried to shut it, 's-she died w-while giving b-birth.' Matilda's eyes became a little wild and her speech freed, 'but not before the Dark Lord had shared his power with the child! And the child will one day rule the wizard world, carrying out the heritage of his father!' she finished grandly.

'And Marcus is your master now?' Harry asked a little confused.

'The child knows nothing!' she cried heatedly, 'but he was created for greatness and one day he will-'

'Rule the world,' Draco finished, 'yes we heard you the first time. 'So the child has no idea who his father is?' he inquired.

'It was not yet time to inform him of his heritage. He is too young, too tender, he does not yet understand his power. I told Vendi it was too soon,' she said venomously, 'I told him that we should not act until the child was older, until he could take his rightful place as leader and show us the way, but Vendi insisted!'

'Because he is insane,' Draco said sourly.

The woman looked at him with daggers in her eyes, 'we serve the Dark Lord and all of you who have defied him shall suffer; especially those of you who betrayed him!'

Draco nodded, 'you are also insane I see.'

Shacklebolt's voice boomed forth, 'why was the child brought here? Why didn't Voldemort take him when his mother died?'

Matilda's face turned purple as she struggled to keep her mouth tightly shut, but the Veriserum was too great for her, 'he…could…not keep him. He had to move and the child…just…got…in…the…way.'

'So he charged Vendi to bring him to this castle, to care for his son?'

The woman looked murderous, 'No! He was brought here to live, but the master charged a few special, privileged people to nurture him, to prepare him for his birthright. He was to join his father's side when our master came into power.'

'Well that didn't work out,' Draco said unable to stop the smirk from spreading across his face.'

'But it did,' Matilda said, her eyes glowing fanatically, 'the Master will rule the wizard world through his son; it was his means of ensuring his return!'

'That is exactly what Voldemort was thinking,' Harry murmured.

The woman again cringed upon hearing the use of her master's name, 'you dishonor the master and for that you shall be one of the first to face his wrath,' she warned evilly, 'Marcus Julien will reign, he was born and raised for the task.'

'Exactly what have you done to the boy?' Shacklebolt asked.

The woman seemed to have given up the battle with the serum, it was obviously inducing too much pain for her to resist answering, 'he is… not yet ready! He is too young to understand the greatness that awaits him. We will teach him everything and tell him all when the time is right. He will not be able to deny his heritage and all who have moved against us will suffer at the hands of the Dark Lord's child!'

Harry looked at the woman, his face unfathomable, 'he thinks his father was a king and his mother a queen.'

'The stupid storybooks!' the woman barked, 'The child should never have been told that pack of lies; that was a mistake.'

"I've heard enough,' remarked Shacklebolt. He turned and opened the door, calling for a pair of his Aurors. 'Take this woman into custody,' he directed.

The men took hold of the woman and carried her struggling from the room.

Harry and Draco followed the Minister into the antechamber.

Little Marcus stood within the group of Aurors near the door and his eyes followed Matilda as she was carried from the castle. 'She woke up,' he remarked nonchalantly.

Harry felt something move inside of him; the child appeared to be completely unfazed by what was happening about him. It was evident that he had witnessed such events before and that someone had taken the time to ensure that he misunderstood the significance of those events.

He looked healthy, but Harry wondered exactly what condition his mind was in. There was also the little matter of the power that Voldemort had 'shared' with him according to Matilda. That power might prove fatal to the wizard world in the future.

Shacklebolt called one of the woman Aurors forward, 'take the young one to the Department of Abandoned and Stranded Wizards. Ask them to keep him until we decide exactly what to do with him. I suppose we will have to find him a home although one where we will be able to keep a close eye on him.

The Auror looked at Marcus with wariness, 'unless I am mistaken, this one will be extremely hard to place,' she said sadly, 'and such a cute little mite. But his heritage will likely scare off most people. Perhaps a Slytherin family will have him, although I am not sure if that would be wise.'

Shacklebolt looked grim.

The woman Auror nodded, 'well I will inform the department to make living arrangements for the lad, we have no such thing at present and he may be with us for quite some time.'

Marcus' face suddenly became troubled, apparently he had come to the sudden realization that they were referring to him. 'I don't want to leave,' the child said softly, looking from the woman to the minister.

'Your Uncle Vendi is not coming back and neither are any of the others who were living here with you,' Shacklebolt said gently, 'we will have to find you a new place to live.'

Little Marcus looked slightly stricken, 'a new castle?'

Shacklebolt smiled at the child, 'it will be a very nice place, I promise and you will like it.'

'Where did everyone go?' Marcus asked.

'They have had to go far away and will be gone for a very long time,' Shacklebolt responded, 'so someone else will have to care for you.'

'They always go away, but someone always comes,' Marcus responded hopefully.

'No one will be coming now, that is why you must go to a new place where someone can take care of you.'

Marcus frowned, 'can I take my toys?'

Shacklebolt nodded, 'of course you may.'

The child's face brightened at once and Harry again felt a twinge in his soul. The boy didn't seem to have formed any attachment whatsoever to anyone, not even his uncle Vendi. It appeared that his unhappiness stemmed primarily from the fact that he believed his toys would be left behind. He reminded him of himself in a way, growing up in a household where he was more like a piece of furniture than a family member.

However, unlike him, Marcus had clearly never been mistreated; while he'd not likely received much love from the many minions of Voldemort who had come and gone over the years, they would have treated him with respect, fearing Lord Voldemort's wrath…or the wrath of the child himself when he came of age and became their lord.

Marcus looked at the room where he had been playing, 'my toys are in there,' he said in a small voice.

Shacklebolt turned to his Aurors once more, 'go and gather the toys. Shrink them so we may carry them along.'

The Aurors nodded and three of them moved into the room.

'I will have them brought to you in your new home,' Shacklebolt said to the small boy.

Marcus nodded smiling up at the woman Auror.

Shacklebolt looked at the woman Auror, 'take him along and prepare a room in the Ministry for his stay; hopefully we will find a suitable family shortly.'

Harry looked at Draco and concepts flew between them at almost the same moment.

Harry stepped suddenly forward, 'wait,' he called to the woman Auror as she grasped Marcus' hand.

'We'll take him,' Harry said hurriedly, 'that is, we would like him to come and live with us.'

The Auror paused looking at Shacklebolt. The Minister looked at Harry for a few long moments before signaling to him and Draco to follow.

They moved to the far side of the room and Kingsley looked at Harry, his brow deeply furrowed, 'I am not so sure that would be wise.'

'I am positive it would be,' Harry responded at once.

'I think it would be the best arrangement,' Draco added. The ministry will want to keep an eye on him, and unless I am mistaken, the child needs a home and a…family badly right now. We can provide both.'

'What he needs,' Harry said slowly, 'is a family that won't look upon him with suspicion and treat him like, well like Voldemort's spawn prone to do evil. That type of life just might lead him to turn out like his father.'

'Or even worse, he could end up with some family who thinks it would be a smashing idea for him to turn out like his father and raise him for the task,' Draco said wryly.

'Well I certainly agree with you on that point,' Shacklebolt said heatedly. He looked to the young Gryffindor, 'are you certain you wish to do this Harry? I know that you and Draco want to have a child, but this is the son of Lord Voldemort, the man who…killed your parents.'

'That was not his fault,' Harry said immediately, 'he is not responsible for any thing his father did.'

Shacklebolt's face lightened somewhat, 'to be honest, I don't think that we could find a better arrangement in the entire wizard world,' he said finally. 'I just thought that his heritage might make it difficult for you, Harry.'

'From what I can tell, he knows nothing about his father's past…it would seem he knows little about the wizard world altogether unless I am mistaken.'

Shacklebolt nodded, 'you would both have to watch him carefully over the years; we have no idea what spells or incantations Voldemort placed on the child at his birth.'

Harry met Kingsley's eyes, 'Voldemort inadvertently shared a little of his power with me too, remember? It is not the power, but what Marcus chooses to do with it that will matter. I had Dumbledore to help me in that regard and Marcus…will have me.'

'And me,' added Draco.

Harry smiled at his boyfriend, 'yes, between the two of us,' he retrained his eyes on the minister, 'I believe-'

'That at the very least,' the Minister interrupted, 'we will have a mischievous, headstrong little bundle of power.' He smiled then, 'but all things considered, I too believe it would be the best arrangement.'

Harry sheepishly returned the minister's smile and glancing at Draco he moved to where Marcus stood, 'I am Harry; what do you think about coming to live with me and,' he turned and pointed to where Draco stood, 'and with him, he is Draco.'

Marcus looked up at Harry, his eyes inquiring, 'do you live in a castle?'

Harry smiled a little and Draco began smirking.

'No,' Harry replied, 'but it is a very large place and you will have a smashing room of your own.'

'But I am to be the king and I have to live in a castle,' Marcus said, his little voice holding sincere confusion.

'The entire realm was destroyed,' Harry invented quickly, 'there is no longer a need for a king. Now you don't have to worry about any of that anymore; you can just have fun and play. There are lots of people to play with living near our home; you can make friends with them.'

'Like Matilda and the other servants?' Marcus asked, evidently the knowledge that he would no longer one day be king was of less importance to him than Harry had thought.

'No,' Draco said walking over to join them, 'friends who are the same age as you, you will have a lot of fun with them.'

'Oh, like Argus,' Marcus replied smiling, his eyes brightening.

Draco's brows lifted, 'ah, so you know Argus.'

Marcus nodded rapidly, 'he comes to play with me every week. We have fun; the servants don't play the way we do.'

Draco smiled, 'well there will be many like Argus and you will all play together.'

Marcus smiled happily.

'Argus,' Draco explained to Harry and the others present, 'is the young son of another of my…cousins, Caston Black.'

'Captured at the ministry today,' added Shacklebolt.

'Not surprising,' Draco said shaking his head wryly, 'almost as big a fool as Vendi.'

Harry and Draco did not apparate home immediately with their new son, instead they went to Hogsmeade and allowed Marcus to assist in selecting furniture for his new room. To Draco's delight and Harry's amusement, he elected furnishings fit for a king.

It was obvious that the child had received many things while living at the castle, but had had no idea that the things had been purchased before hand. He wasn't so much spoiled as completely astonished that one could buy toys and furnishings.

Draco insisted that they pass by the toy store as well and he and Harry watched a thrilled Marcus run about the store with wide eyes. He was impressed with everything he saw and asked them to 'buy' (his new favorite word) everything he set his little eyes upon. He didn't become upset when some of his requests for toys that were beyond his years were denied, but merely ran on to the next thing he saw and asked for it.

Draco was eager to indulge every desire of the child while Harry was inclined to act with more restraint, but they walked out having purchased numerous toys and oddities.

Once home they set up Marcus' new room and the child seemed delighted.

By nightfall all three were fairly tired and Marcus did not object to going to bed. Harry and Draco tucked him in and then Harry sat next to the child on the bed and read him a bedtime story. Little Marcus crawled nearly onto Harry's lap in his attempt to look at the moving pictures in the book while Draco looked on from a chair he had pulled up next to the bed.

The story was about a family and the father taking them on a trip which turned out to be an exciting adventure. It ended with the family arriving home and the children being tucked in bed, thanking their father and declaring they loved him.

Marcus looked at Harry when he closed the book, 'are you going to be my father now?'

Harry smiled and nodded, 'yes I am and so is Draco. You have two fathers.'

'I will call you daddy,' he said to both of them, obviously wishing to mimic the children in the book.

'That would be great, Marcus,' Harry said, 'but it may get confusing if you call us both Daddy. Why don't you call Draco, daddy and call me papa?'

Marcus nodded, 'okay, who will be my mother?' he asked recalling her from the story.

'Well you will just have two fathers instead of a mother and father, but still, two people who will be with you just like the father in the book and who will love you just like the parents in the story loved their children.'

Marcus looked a little confused, but whatever was causing him confusion passed rather quickly. His little face cleared and he asked his new papa to read him another story.

Harry complied, marveling at how quickly the child seemed to adapt to whatever went on around him. He was certain it was a result of the child's having lived in an environment where people came and went on an almost daily basis. He'd clearly had very little stability during his short life. Harry was already deeply devoted to the little one as was Draco. They had both become almost instantly and inexplicably attached to the child during the short time they had spent with him. Marcus' fairy tale life up to that point had somehow accentuated rather than limited the child's innate charm.

It took Marcus about a month to get used to constant attention and direction of his new fathers and from that point on he began to change. He became quite possessive of his fathers and disliked it greatly when either left home. However, within a few months he became used to the rhythm of the household, realizing that his two fathers returned every night if they did leave, as promised.

Marcus made friends with the children near their home and also 'played' frequently with his fathers who seemed determined that he should be the greatest seeker known to man kind. He loved to play Quidditch with the little broom his Daddy had made for him, but while good, he didn't seem to have the talent of either of his parents.

Draco's business blossomed and his brooms became the choice of both professional and amateurs. Harry had decided against becoming a healer in the end, feeling it would take too much time away from being with his family. Instead, he accepted a position with the ministry as head training Auror that only required he work four to five hours per day, four days a week.

Despite their family and work responsibilities, Draco and Harry still found time to be alone together. On those evenings they would generally leave little Marcus at the Burrows under the care of the Weasleys. Oddly enough, Ginny had become terribly attached to the child and through him her relationship with Harry was knit once again. She adored little Marcus and even when she began dating a wizard who had come over from the Americas, she continued to make time for her favorite little one.

Other times they left Marcus with his grandmother, Narcissa, where he played with his little 'uncle', Tirus. Both Narcissa and Lucius had readily taken Draco back into their full and unequivocal embrace upon learning that he and Harry had adopted Voldemort's son. However, only Narcissa really came to accept Draco and Harry's relationship; Lucius was positive that the two would break up and carried that belief to his grave. Nonetheless he loved his grandchild who he only came to know after being released from Azkaban and rehabilitated.

It was evident that Marcus had unusual magical abilities almost from the start. However, the fear that he would turn out like his father would never materialize during his lifetime. While he was certainly mischievous and up to all the pranks when he finally made his grand appearance at Hogwarts, he had a good heart and his actions reflected that. It was something that Harry and Draco had carefully instilled within him.

When he was ten, Draco and Harry explained the truth of Marcus' heritage to him. They wanted him to be prepared for any possible taunting when he went off to Hogwarts, and Harry felt it was important that he know who his father was and what he had done.

The child took the news that his real father had killed his grandparents, Lily and James and that his papa had been the cause of his real father's death with equanimity. It lingered almost like a fairy tale in his mind for a good number of years. Indeed when any of the other children at Hogwarts taunted him about being Voldemort's son, he would growl at them with a scary visage and then break into laughter. Soon the taunting stopped; it became overwhelmingly evident he was not made of the same material as his real father.

Marcus was sorted into Slytherin house and became quite popular among his classmates; especially the girls, earning him the dubious moniker of the 'Heartthrob of Hogwarts.' He also made Slytherin's Quidditch team as seeker and while still not great at the position, his team managed to bring the cup home for Slytherin two of the four years during which he held the position. His fathers were terribly proud; listening to them glorify their son's playing, one would think he had been an Allstar.

Marcus became the favorite of both Snape and Lupin while at Hogwarts; they consistently mentored the boy while he attended and both Snape and Lupin strongly advised Marcus that the other had 'no idea what they were talking about.' Marcus thought them both smashing people in their own way and got to know them very well. Some years later, it would be he who 'outted' Snape and Kingsley to his parents.

Harry and Draco presented little Marcus with a sister, Brianna, when he was eight and the child was delighted. He was also delighted with his little 'cousins' that he regularly played with at the Burrows; Blaise and Hermione's two little boys Jocelyn and Christopher and their older sister, Liana, (not one of whom was a squib to Blaise's delight and Hermione's amusement at his delight), James, Sirius, and Andrea, Remus and Tonks' children (none of whom were werewolves, although little Sirius had a decided liking for rare meat) plus numerous Weasley children.

This included two of Ron's children; he had divorced Pansy on the day her house arrest was finished and a few years later he fell in love with and married Jennifer, a girl who'd been a couple of years below them at Hogwarts. She was a Gryffindor. Pansy spent five years in St. Mungos but she never quite got over Draco Malfoy. Nonetheless, she did finally accept the fact that he would never leave Harry and be hers. She ended up marrying a Slytherin who was ten years her junior. They had one son and she named him Draco.

Blaise and Hermione's little girl, Liana, would eventually win Marcus' heart. She was six years his junior when the two married; she just twenty-one and he twenty-seven, but the news completely delighted of all of the parents involved. Marcus would become a healer, pleasing his father Harry greatly; it was an indication to him that he had done his job well; just as Dumbledore had done with respect to him. Marcus was using his power for the greatest good. His wife thought so too; blessed with the intelligence of her parents, Liana became a hospital alchemist and worked at her husband's side.

But that was the wonderful future that was in store for Harry and Draco's family and their friends.

On the evening they brought their new son home and after tucking him in to sleep, Harry and Draco retired to their own over-sized bedroom, completely exhausted.

Harry moved to where a shirtless Draco stood in the middle of the room and placed his hands on Draco's shoulders, letting them fall slowly along the muscular biceps. He looked down at the soft skin that held the dark mark and moved his thumb about it.

Draco's face became animated and amusement twinkled in the depths of his eyes. Raising his hand to trace Harry's scar with his forefinger he met the Gryffindor's eyes, 'it would seem that Marcus' parents both carry a small legacy from his natural father.'

Harry grinned, 'it is almost as if it were meant to be. The man took my parents away from me and for years, until I killed him, hatred boiled inside of me for what he had done.'

Harry's voice grew contemplative, 'after that, the hatred went, but the emptiness never did. Revenge turned out to be poor vengeance and I really never thought to lose all of the negativity that Voldemort had made a part of my life. There was still a little part of me that held a bit of all of that bottled up inside.

Draco nodded and his finger fell from the scar as he placed his hands gently on Harry's waist.

Harry smiled, 'that is, until I held Marcus in my arms tonight and told him that bedtime story. When he lay there asleep in my arms, I felt something incredible come over me. I realized I had received a very precious gift from the same man who I thought had scarred my life forever. In that moment I felt completely healed.'

Draco's eyes were full of understanding, 'we are going to have a beautiful life' he said, his tone serious. Then his familiar smirk appeared, 'you and me and our little dark lord.'

Harry through back his head and laughed.

Twilight settled over the lovers as they began kissing one another fervently, knowing it was the first of many romantic nights they would share during the grand adventure that lay before them known casually as 'life'.

The End.

A/n: We have finally arrived at the end…or shall we say beginning? For Harry, Draco and everyone else it certainly is the latter! Hope you all enjoyed the story and the epilogue. It was fun to write!

I would love to hear your final impressions of the story – please leave me a note. (I regularly check the site and my email, so I will get your note even if you write it well after the final publication date).

Now it is my turn to read! If you have listed yourself in my favorites or on alert for this tale, I will start by reading all of yours!

Have a magical life, Jazz