* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *
PART THREE
The Eighth Year
Chapter 5: Back to School, Back to Books
A/N: The chapter title is from the song:
Schools Out by Alice Cooper.
Hermione and Ron both struggled not to laugh at Harry on the morning of September 2nd. He got up early and dressed at top speed and then walked with a spring in his step towards the great hall. It was clear that he was incredibly happy to be back.
"Why is our common room so high up?" Ron grumbled.
"The entrance is on the same floor as the Gryffindor common room," Harry pointed out.
"Yeah, but this tower is taller. There are so many stairs," He said when they eventually reached the bottom of the spiral staircase. He was breathing heavily, and his face was red.
"You're so unfit, Ron," Hermione remarked.
This, of course, offended the redhead, "What? Unfit? Hermione, you've seen me topless!"
There was a giggle from behind them, and Hermione blushed furiously, "Ron!"
"I'm just saying!" Ron said, glancing behind them to see that Megan Jones was the girl giggling and her friend Susan Bones was smiling with amusement.
"That wasn't my point!" Hermione said, recovering from her embarrassment, "I didn't mean physically, I meant in a sporty way! You've stopped playing Quidditch. When you start playing again, you'll be back to your normal...you know...fit self."
There was more giggling, and Hermione blushed again. Ron grinned in amusement. Harry knew he got a kick out of making Hermione uncomfortable.
They continued on their way to the great hall and bumped into Ginny on the way, "Oh, morning, how's your new common room?"
"It's okay," Ron reasoned, "Not much different to the Gryffindor common room except the colours."
Ginny smirked, "So you aren't sharing a dorm with Malfoy then?"
Harry laughed, "No, it's just the five Gryffindor guys like it was in the old dorm."
"Thank Merlin," Ron muttered.
"I thought you were trying out this whole being civil thing," Hermione said pointedly.
"I am civil!" Ron remarked, "But that doesn't mean I want to share a room with the ferret! I bet it would stink of hair gel."
Harry snorted, and Ginny cut in, "Just for the record, Ron, that doesn't sound very civil."
Ron rolled his eyes, "Whatever," he mumbled as they got to the busy, bustling great hall.
They were just about to head over to the Gryffindor table when Harry heard his name being called loudly from the other end of the hall.
"Potter!"
When Harry turned around, he realised that the person shouting was Draco, "What?" he called back because he really couldn't be bothered walking to the Slytherin side of the hall.
McGonagall had been walking up the Gryffindor table handing out class timetables, but she paused to look up at them suspiciously. She clearly thought they would start jinxing each other or swearing at each other across the hall.
"Slughorn told me to tell you he's having a party tonight at eight!" Draco shouted over the noise.
"Thanks!" Harry shouted back, and McGonagall shook her head. She looked exasperated, but her smile gave her away. When Harry joined his amused friends at the Gryffindor table, she said, "Mr Potter, while it is fantastic to see you and Mr Malfoy on civil terms, I would appreciate it if you refrained from holding conversations across the Great Hall."
Harry grinned sheepishly, "Of course, Professor, it won't happen again."
McGonagall tried and failed to look strict, but Harry had seen past her façade now anyway. The Headmistress handed them all a timetable and then brought out some badges, "With everything that happened, we are a little behind schedule with all the badges and titles," she explained as she handed one of the badges to Hermione,
"Miss Granger, Head Girl, well done."
Hermione grinned broadly and stuck the badge onto her chest proudly. Harry smiled at her; he knew she had always aspired to be Head Girl.
"Mr Potter, Quidditch Captain, once again," McGonagall said, and Harry accepted his badge with a grin.
As McGonagall moved further up the table, Harry glanced over at the table closest to theirs. By the looks of it, Justin Finch-Fletchley, who played chaser, had become the new Quidditch Captain.
Further over at the Ravenclaw table, the Quidditch Captain title had gone to Michael Corner, a beater for the team. Harry had to sit up a little straighter to see the Slytherin table at the opposite side of the hall from Gryffindor. Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott were both holding badges which meant that one of them was Head Boy and the other Quidditch Captain.
Harry relayed his findings to Ron, Hermione and Ginny.
"Malfoy won't be Head Boy," Hermione said matter of factly, "After all that happened with Dumbledore, I don't think McGonagall can say he's a good example for the younger students."
"Says the Head Girl who ran off with undesirable number one, effectively abandoning her last year of education," Ron grinned. He knew what was coming and ducked when she swung her arm at him to whack him over the back of the head.
"I think helping bring Voldemort down is an excellent example for younger students," Hermione said as she crossed her arms and glared at Ron.
"I was just having a laugh," Ron muttered as he cowered away from Hermione's wrath.
Harry chuckled and said to Ron and Ginny, "I'm going to hold Quidditch tryouts a week on Saturday if you two want to re-join the team."
Ron and Ginny nodded simultaneously, "I'll try out," Ron said simply.
Ginny added, "Me too. I'm thinking of making a career out of it. I'd love to join the Holyhead Harpies."
Ron snickered, and Ginny glared at him, "Just because you don't think I'm good enough, that doesn't mean everybody else thinks that too," she said angrily.
"He's just being a git, Ginny," Harry said casually, "And you are good. Don't tell Angelina or Katie, but I'd say you're even better than they were."
"You're biased though, you and Ginny are friends," Hermione pointed out.
Harry snorted, "Ron's my best mate, and I'll admit that he played badly sometimes in sixth year."
Ron glared at him but in good nature, and Harry chuckled as he glanced down at his new timetable.
"Potions first, Ron," Harry said as he glanced down the column for Monday. His eyes scanned over it. Potions first period, a free period, Transfiguration, Herbology and then Defence Against the Dark Arts with their new Professor.
"Harry!"
"Ron!"
The two boys looked up at the same time and said simultaneously, "Professor Dumbledore!"
Hermione rolled her eyes, "Yes, Aberforth Dumbledore. He's sitting at the table right up there."
"Well, I knew it wasn't going to be Albus Dumbledore," Ron said, "I'm not completely stupid, you know."
"The way you both said it made it seem like you thought he was back from the dead," Hermione said with a raised eyebrow.
Harry just chuckled, "Oh Merlin, this year is going to be fun. Doesn't Aberforth hate kids?"
"And teaching, yes," Hermione said in amusement.
"How the hell do you think McGonagall convinced him to take the job?" Ron asked them.
"He clearly owes her a favour," Hermione smiled as the owls came in and dropped post on all of the tables. A large one dropped Hermione's copy of the Daily Prophet, and she frowned when she read one of the stories on the inside page.
"Hey, what's up?" Harry asked quietly as he slid closer to her.
Hermione frowned, "Malfoy Manor has been donated."
"How can you donate a house?" Harry asked in confusion.
"Purebloods do it sometimes," Neville said from where he was sitting across from them, "It's quite an old tradition, but to repent for their sins, purebloods would often donate houses to be used as orphanages or hospitals."
"That's not why they did it," Hermione said quietly as she read from the newspaper article under her breath.
"In a statement to the Prophet, Mrs Narcissa Malfoy informed us that the house was filled with too many bad memories for herself and her son Draco (who is currently re-sitting his final year at Hogwarts). Her husband Lucius Malfoy, who is now serving his life sentence in Azkaban, was one of Lord Voldemort's followers (known as Death Eaters). Mrs Malfoy informed us that unspeakable things happened in the house and that she and her son can no longer live there."
"So they think they can just get off with everything by donating the house?" Ron fumed, "It's just like the last time when Lucius Malfoy claimed he was under the Imperius Curse, and now they're playing the victims saying they can't live there because bad things happened!"
"Ron, calm down," Hermione hissed.
"Hermione, you can't be on their side here-"
"Ron," Hermione snapped, "I'm not on anyone's side, but I don't want you shouting about what happened to me there when half the Great Hall can hear," she told him in an angry undertone.
Harry nodded, "Leave it be. We'll talk about it later in private," he agreed as he glanced across the hall to Draco.
Draco clearly knew about the donation of the house, but he gave nothing away about his feelings about it. He was just moving his cereal around his bowl absentmindedly with his spoon.
"But-" Ron began.
Hermione stood up abruptly, "I don't want to be late for potions," she said as she stalked off ahead.
Ron frowned after her and turned to Harry in complete confusion, "Harry, I'd thought what happened at Malfoy Manor would be worse for her than me."
Harry sighed as he and Ron got up and left the hall. He was suddenly quite aware that Draco and Blaise were walking quite closely behind them on their way to Potions, "It was Ron. It was probably the worst thing to ever happen to her; that's why she doesn't want to talk about it."
"But she's the one telling me to be nice to Malfoy, and she said she felt sorry for him because his father was in prison and he-" Ron was cut off by Harry, who understood Hermione's pain much more than Ron did.
"You know, Lucius Malfoy didn't do it, Ron. Yes, he didn't stop it, and she probably thinks he deserves to rot in Azkaban for that and for everything else he's done. But the hell she went through at Malfoy Manor, that was all inflicted by Bellatrix, and she's gone now. I think that's enough revenge for Hermione," Harry reasoned, and he was glad they had reached the door to the Potions classroom so that he and Ron wouldn't get into an argument over the issue.
When they got to the door, everyone was waiting outside. Harry smiled at Hermione and whispered, "Don't be too hard on him; he's just never gone through something like that."
The way trauma had affected himself and Hermione was something Ron had thankfully never known. He had lost Fred; he knew what it felt like to lose someone. But he had never had pain inflicted on him in the same way that they had, so he couldn't understand. Hermione seemed to accept this because she gave Harry a slight nod and smiled at Ron.
The door to the classroom opened, and as they walked in, Slughorn told them to line up along the wall. The confused group did so. The N.E.W.T potions class had gotten a little larger but was still relatively small, with only 12 students taking it.
"The Headmistress has asked all Professors to sit pupils with classmates from different houses this year so that we can promote house unity," Slughorn told them all, "Which means this year, you will be allocated a seat."
Ron groaned; he relied on Hermione to help him because he was terrible at Potions. Harry felt the same; ever since he had lost the Prince's book, he had gone back to being a dunce at the subject. Slughorn began picking people from the line at random and pairing them off. Blaise Zabini and Sally Smith were given one of the two tables at the front of the classroom, and Ron was given the second one and was paired with Daphne Greengrass.
He smirked at Harry as he went to sit down next to the beautiful Slytherin.
Ernie MacMillan and Michael Corner were seated at the table behind Blaise and Sally and Hermione and Theodore Nott behind Ron and Daphne. Harry glanced around; only himself, Draco, Justin and Terry were left.
"Boot and Finch-Fletchley," Slughorn said, pointing to the table behind Hermione and Theo. Harry's stomach dropped; this left him and Draco.
"Oh yes, and Harry, you and Mr Malfoy in this corner here," Slughorn said with a smile at Harry, "I hope you will make it to my little party tonight," he added as Harry and Draco silently took their seats and pulled their books out.
Harry had absolutely no intention to attempt to make said party.
Slughorn told them what ingredients they needed and wrote instructions on the board to make a hate potion.
"This is a potion that will come in handy for anyone planning to be an Auror," Harry and Ron shared a grin across the classroom.
Slughorn continued, "It reveals the worst faults and habits of the target to the drinker."
The instructions continued to write themselves up on the board, and Slughorn add, "Of course, it is strictly for professional use. We will not be using it on anyone in the classroom today."
Slughorn chuckled a little anxiously and sat down behind his desk, leaving them to get on with it.
For the first 10 minutes of the lesson, Draco and Harry chopped and stirred in awkward silence.
"I hear you and your friends are trying to be civil towards me this year Potter."
Harry inwardly rolled his eyes, "We're giving you the benefit of the doubt, Malfoy, out of the goodness of our hearts."
"It's not out of the goodness of your heart, Potter," Draco drawled, "It's because my Aunt Andromeda is your Godsons Grandmother, and she's a meddlesome, gossiping Witch."
Harry had to fight back an amused chuckle, "She is meddlesome."
"She told you to befriend me," Draco stated.
"Not exactly," Harry replied, "She told me that I should make amends with you, which I did. We made our truce."
"Indeed," Draco said as he measured out an ingredient for the potion.
"Why did your mother donate your house, Malfoy?"
"That's none of your business, Potter," Draco said quietly.
"Was it really because of what the Prophet said, or was it just because you felt guilty about what happened there?" Harry asked the blonde, aware he was pushing all of the wrong buttons.
Draco's eyes flashed angrily, "We donated the house because I saw people die in the cellar, and I saw Granger nearly die on the floor of my drawing-room," he hissed, "And yes, I do feel guilty about that."
"Well, at least you've got some remorse," Harry retorted. He had been honest with Ron when he said that he didn't expect to become friends with Draco, "Where is she going to live, your mother?"
"My Aunt Andromeda asked her to move into her home," Draco said, "Not that it's any of your business, but I suppose you would find out one way or another. The wolf boy is your Godson, after all."
"Don't call him that," Harry said irritably, "He's a baby, not a wolf."
Draco was silent for a moment as they diced some frog's spleen, and then he said, "For the record, Potter, I had a terrible year too. I spent a year trying to protect the people I love, and I failed every single one of them. I tried to help Granger, but my father stopped me, and…it was too little too late anyway."
Harry frowned. He was sure he heard genuine remorse in the Slytherins voice, but he didn't dare look him in the eye.
Instead, he kept his eyes on the potion ingredients as he said, "I don't blame you, and neither does she. It was your Aunt who did everything."
Draco kept his eyes cast downwards as he said, "My family and I were proud. I was arrogant, but I never wanted to become what I did last year."
After a moment, Harry nodded, "I know," he said simply.
They carried on with their potion as if the conversation had never happened. Still, it had gotten Harry thinking about what Andromeda and Molly had said about Draco being lonely and probably needing a friend. His mind was elsewhere, and he accidentally added the wrong amount of armadillo bile to the potion.
"Shit," Harry muttered under his breath.
Draco rolled his eyes, "How the hell were you so good at Potions in sixth year, Potter?" he drawled as he leant over the bench and glanced at the thick substance in Harry's cauldron.
"I cheated," Harry shrugged, "Found a book with tips written in it."
"Well, that makes sense," Draco said as he threw some powder into Harry's cauldron, "I wondered how you could go from being dreadful at a subject to suddenly being top of the class."
Harry watched him as he stirred the liquid in the cauldron anti-clockwise a few times. The colour returned to what it was supposed to be, and Draco returned to his cauldron, leaving Harry feeling thoroughly bemused.
"I thought it was just because you and Snape hated each other, and we had a new Professor that year," Draco mused.
Harry chuckled, "Well, Potions was a lot more bearable that year," he admitted.
Draco nodded, and they didn't talk again after that as they concentrated on their potions. Occasionally Draco would point out something Harry was doing wrong or help put his potion right if he missed out a step, but that was all. At least the environment was civil, though; he had never thought he and Draco would achieve that, not with all the hatred that had been between them.
They all packed up and left the classroom. Hermione said she would meet Harry and Ron in their favoured courtyard at break, and then she rushed off to Ancient Runes. Ron was meeting up with Seamus and Dean to catch up after the long summer break. Harry had a free period too, so he trudged up to the eighth year common room. When he reached the door, Dumbledore's voice filled the landing with another riddle.
"What can you catch but not throw?"
Harry was silent as he tried to work it out, "A cold?"
"Precisely!" The voice said cheerfully as the door to the common room swung open.
Harry walked in, dropped his bag and sank into a scarlet armchair by the fire. He shut his eyes and fell deep into thought about Draco Malfoy and whether he was a good person who was trying to make amends. Maybe he just also happened to be a sarcastic git.
Just as he was thinking about the Slytherin, the door opened, and he walked in, "Oh fantastic," the blonde drawled, "And I came here looking for peace and quiet."
"There's not a rule saying you have to talk to me, Malfoy," Harry pointed out.
Draco sat down in an armchair and surveyed Harry, "True."
"Do you want to be my friend or not?" Harry asked curiously.
Draco scoffed, "Please, why would I want to be friends with you, Potter?"
"Because you don't have many other friends by the looks of it," Harry said
Draco rolled his eyes, "I have plenty of friends in my own house, and I don't buy any of this ridiculous house unity nonsense."
"McGonagall is just trying to help us adjust," Harry said sharply, "Because otherwise, we're going to get a shock when we emerge into a new Wizarding world which doesn't have these stupid blood and house prejudices."
"Yes, well, putting us into a common room isn't going to make us all magically become friends," Draco pointed out.
"I am aware of that," Harry said as he sat back in his armchair, "Are you Head Boy, by the way?"
Draco scoffed, "Of course not. Wouldn't I be a fantastic role model for the younger students? An ex-Death Eater who stood by while one of the wizarding world's greatest heroines was tortured."
"So Theodore Nott then, he's Head Boy, and you're Quidditch Captain," Harry realised.
Draco nodded, "Yes. Although I have no idea why they didn't make you Head Boy, you are our golden saviour after all."
Harry smirked, "Because I asked McGonagall to make sure that I wasn't Head Boy."
"You asked her not to make you Head Boy?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow, "I always knew you were a bit odd, Potter."
Harry chuckled, "I didn't want the responsibility. In the real world, people look up to me all the time. They think I'm this fantastic hero who can do no wrong. I want a break from that this year. I don't want the younger students to start adoring me."
Draco watched him with interest, "So you aren't this fantastic hero who can do no wrong? Interesting."
Harry rolled his eyes, "I'm not going to fudge my words with you, Malfoy. I'm not a pureblood, and I can't be bothered by how you lot dance around subjects instead of discussing them. I'm not a hero, and I'm not perfect. I did things that I regret during the war, I saw things that changed me, and I lost people I loved. Right now, I'm just sifting through my life to try and make things feel normal again, and nothing feels right. So you know what I do? I look for adrenaline because I'm bored. I'm bored because Voldemort is gone."
Draco had surveyed Harry throughout his little rant. When he had finished, the blonde man said, "I did things that I regret and saw things that changed me too. I lost someone that I loved, and I nearly lost more. I understand your predicament, perhaps better than you realise."
Harry nodded, "I'm sorry about Pansy."
Draco cleared his throat and looked away, "Thank you."
Harry sighed, "So we're two sides of the same coin, aren't we? Like the sun and the moon, both trying to shine but one of us is always in the dark, and the other in the light."
Draco raised an eyebrow at him, "Potter, if you are trying to hit on me, I am not-"
"No!" Harry exclaimed, "Oh Godric, no. I'm not that way inclined either."
"What is your point then?" Draco asked irritably.
"Just…do you want to be my friend?" Harry asked.
Draco seemed to think about that for a long moment, "I suppose I could handle being your acquaintance," he drawled, "But do not expect me to be nice to you. I am always like this."
Harry smirked as he pulled a book from his bag, "Fine. Do you want to sit in silence for the next hour then?"
He could tell that Draco was trying not to smile as he pulled a book from his bag and said, "Suits me fine, Potter."
On his way to meet Ron and Hermione for break, Harry bumped into Neville.
"Oh, hey Nev," Harry said with a smile, "How are you doing?"
"I'm good," Neville chirped, "It's weird to be back, isn't it?"
"Weird, but good," Harry said thoughtfully, "Is it weirder for you since you spent more time here last year?"
Neville shrugged, "I didn't see much more than the Room of Requirement and the Dark Tower last year."
"I still can't believe they imprisoned kids," Harry said in disbelief, "I really think you guys had it worse than us."
"You were killing Horcruxes," Neville said in disbelief.
The news story had hit the press during the summer. Everyone knew the whole truth about the war now.
"We spent most of our time hiding or running," Harry said with a shrug, "There was the odd fight, but it sounds like you fought all year."
"Kind of, it was like guerrilla warfare," Neville admitted.
"Guerilla warfare?" Harry questioned.
"Like in the goblin wars," Neville added.
Harry frowned, "Since when do you listen in History of Magic?"
"I don't, but Ginny does," Neville said with an amused smile.
"Have you worked out why killing the snake was such a big deal yet?" Harry asked his friend curiously.
"I'll hazard a guess and say it was a Horcrux," Neville said, shooting Harry an amused smile.
"Got it in one," Harry chuckled, "Which makes you part of an elite club that helped kill Voldemort's Horcruxes."
"Who killed the others?" Neville asked curiously.
"Me, Hermione, Ron, Dumbledore and Crabbe technically," Harry said, "But he doesn't count because he did it by accident and out of stupidity."
Neville snorted in amusement, "Well then, I'm honoured."
Harry laughed, "And do you know what? I think I just became friends with Draco Malfoy."
"Ron will love that," Neville retorted.
"I don't get it," Harry admitted, "I don't get why Ron has such a strong hatred for him, and I don't get Malfoy at all."
"I don't think anyone understands Malfoy," Neville pointed out, "He's cryptic and sarcastic and irritating most of the time. He does the right thing when it suits him; he was never on the dark side or the light side during the war. He was just on his own side; all of the Slytherins were."
"So you weren't friendly with him during the war?"
Neville shook his head, "We had a couple of civil conversations. Ginny saved his best friends life once, and then he saved mine. That was about the extent of our interaction during the war."
"Who is his best friend?" Harry asked curiously.
"Theo," Neville replied, "He's a decent guy. I fought with him in the final battle, he's a bit soft, but you'd expect that of a Slytherin. Malfoy, on the other hand, I just wanted to punch him half of the time."
Harry snorted, "You should have. I bet you'd beat him in a duel."
"Hands down," Neville grinned, "But I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt for the sake of house unity. He seems different too, don't you think?"
"I suppose," Harry said, "But he could also be planning something."
"Planning something?" Neville asked in amusement, "Harry, there is no war, no Voldemort. What could he possibly be planning?"
"I dunno," Harry admitted, "But Draco Malfoy being kind of nice is too weird to be legit."
Neville grinned and patted his friend on the back, "You, my friend, are paranoid."
Harry rolled his eyes, "You sound like Hermione."
"I'll take that as a compliment," Neville chuckled as they reached the entrance hall, "See you later, Harry."
"Yeah, see you, Nev," Harry said absentmindedly as the bell for break rang.
Harry walked towards the courtyard through the flow of students. When he reached the courtyard, Hermione and Ron were already there, sitting on a bench holding a jar of Hermione's famous fire to keep their hands warm. He joined them and warmed his hands up on the jar.
"So, I just became friends with Draco Malfoy, sort of," Harry said with a frown, "It was a strange and surreal experience."
"What happened to just being civil?" Ron asked in disbelief.
"I felt sorry for him, and he doesn't actually seem to be that much of a dick," Harry shrugged, "I think his idea of good and bad are just a bit different from ours."
Hermione chuckled, "Well, it's up to you who you befriend. It doesn't mean you have to become friends with him, Ron."
"Yeah, well, I don't even think he should have been allowed to come back," Ron said irritably.
"Yes, because that's the way forward, to treat people who have wronged in the past like lepers," Hermione said sarcastically.
Ron frowned, "What the hell is a leper?"
"It's a Muggle skin disease," Harry yawned, "They thought it was a sign of the devil or something in medieval Britain, so people who had it became outcasts."
Hermione and Ron both looked at Harry in surprise.
"How did you know that?" Hermione asked.
Harry smirked, "I did go to Muggle primary school too, Hermione. Occasionally I actually listened."
Hermione smiled slightly, "Well, I think it's a good thing that you became friends with Malfoy, and I'm not surprised that you disagree, Ron. It's just like the Yule Ball when you accused me of fraternising with the enemy when the whole idea of the tournament was to promote unity between the schools. It's the same situation here, only with houses."
"I don't think that had anything to do with Ron being against inter-school friendships," Harry grinned as Ron's ears began to turn red, "I think he was just jealous that you went to the ball with Krum."
"Shut up, Harry," Ron muttered.
Hermione's cheeks flushed, and Harry added, "And I think he had reason to be worried. Did I ever mention that I saw you snogging him in the rose garden?"
Ron's eyes widened, "And you had the nerve to slag me off for snogging Lavender in sixth year?"
"That was different," Hermione said quickly, "I kissed Viktor a few times in private. You were snogging her all over the school in front of everyone, and it was grotesque!"
Ron huffed at her words, "Grotesque? Cheers, Hermione."
"I don't know what's worse, grotesque or wet," Harry mused.
Ron snickered, "Yeah, well, if you will snog a girl while she's crying about her dead ex-boyfriend."
"Ron!" Hermione chastised, but Harry let out a reluctant and somewhat girly giggle at Ron's words which sent the redhead into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
Hermione shook her head at the two boys as she hid a smile, "What do you think Defence Against the Dark Arts will be like with Aberforth as the Professor?"
Ron snorted, "Hilarious?"
"Merlin knows," Harry said as the bell rang, announcing that they had to start making their way to Transfiguration, "I think it could be a laugh, though."
"He's probably going to be quite a good Professor," Hermione said thoughtfully as they walked with the crowds, "I mean, he was amazing in the final battle."
"He is Dumbledore's brother," Ron said.
Harry nodded, "Yeah, it makes sense that he's a powerful wizard. I just don't think teaching is his thing."
"Could be a bit like Moody," Ron added.
"Except that Moody wasn't Moody, he was Barty Crouch Junior," Hermione reminded them both.
"Yeah, but saying a bit like Moody is easier than saying, a bit like Moody who wasn't really Moody though because he was actually Barty Crouch Junior," Ron retorted.
Harry had to refrain from sniggering as he sped up to walk ahead of his bickering best friends.
"Are you certain you don't mind me moving in, Dromeda?"
Andromeda scoffed, "I am delighted, Narcissa, and I completely understand why you had to leave that place. It's toxic, just like Lucius was."
"No," Narcissa sighed, "Lucius wasn't always a bad person, Dromeda. I loved him at first; I honestly did."
"Yes, well, your taste in men was always questionable," Andromeda teased as she helped move boxes of her sister's things into her house, "Personally, I never liked him. He was far too arrogant."
"It was all part of his charm," Narcissa said as she dropped a box in the hall and paused to catch her breath.
"Well, I'm happy to have you here Cissa, and Draco, if he decides to visit at Christmas," Andromeda said as she straightened up, "The house is certainly big enough. I may have been disowned, but Ted and I still did alright for ourselves."
"I can see that," Narcissa smiled, "Your house is beautiful."
"And not filled with an attic of incredibly dark and dangerous things like yours," Andromeda added.
"Well, it was never my house," Narcissa said as they made their way into the drawing-room for tea, "It was Lucius's and I was only able to donate it because Draco became Head of the family when his father was sentenced to life in Azkaban."
"It was Draco who made the decision?" Andromeda asked.
Narcissa nodded and sat down on one of the sofa's in the drawing-room, "Yes, it was his choice, and I happened to agree."
"Well, he's wise beyond his years then," Andromeda smiled, "It's his first day back at school today, isn't it?"
"Yes," Narcissa replied, "I'm expecting a letter tomorrow about how it went. I do hope he makes some friends; he has a few Slytherin friends which I can find some comfort in. He and Theo have been close for years, and he used to date Daphne. You know Daphne Greengrass, don't you? Lareina and Cygnus's daughter."
Andromeda laughed, "I used to date Cygnus's older brother at Hogwarts!"
"I remember!" Narcissa chuckled, "You and Phineas! You swore you wouldn't marry your cousin; is that why you broke up with him?"
Andromeda was still laughing as she nodded, "I was adamant that I wouldn't marry my cousin like everybody else in our family did, so I broke up with him. It was quite a shame; he was a lovely man back then."
"And he's a wealthy man now," Narcissa pointed out, "That reminds me. Are you going to keep your married name, now that you are widowed?"
"I see no reason to change it," Andromeda admitted, "Why do you ask?"
"With Lucius in prison, I am within my rights to annul the marriage," Narcissa admitted, "I am incredibly tempted, but I have yet to talk to Draco about the idea. If I decide to do so, I may go back to Narcissa Black."
"Now that's a name I haven't heard in years," Andromeda chuckled as she picked Teddy up from the travel cot he had been sleeping in.
"Oh, I know," Narcissa said, smiling down at the blue-haired boy who was just beginning to open his eyes, "Oh Merlin Dromeda, is this your Grandson? He's gorgeous."
"I know, everyone adores him," Andromeda chuckled, "Would you like to hold him, Cissa?"
Narcissa nodded and gently took the baby from her sister, "Goodness, I haven't held a baby since Draco was small," she said softly.
"It's odd that you don't seem to forget how," Andromeda said thoughtfully as their tea arrived. She watched her sister rock, Teddy, as she poured out two cups and gently placed the teapot back on the tray.
"Does Draco have a girlfriend, Cissa?" Andromeda asked curiously.
Narcissa frowned, "No. He doesn't tend to discuss his love life with me, mind you. I know he dated Daphne, and during the war, he was very much in love with Pansy Parkinson. You know, Roland and Miranda's daughter?"
"Yes," Andromeda nodded, "She died in the war, did she not?"
"Yes, she was killed by an Auror," Narcissa said sadly, "Draco was very withdrawn after that. He did terrible things to protect her and their unborn child. He re-affirmed himself to the Dark Lord to keep them safe when it looked as if the light would not win the war."
"She was with child when she died?" Andromeda asked in surprise.
Narcissa nodded, "Yes, they were to be married before it became apparent. Draco took the loss very hard; he cared for her a great deal."
Andromeda sighed, "I can understand why now. I wondered why he was so closed off."
"He has always been that way," Narcissa admitted, "His father was too hard on him as a child."
Andromeda appeared thoughtful, "It is a fine line. I wasn't tough enough on Dora, and she was a rebellious pain in the arse, but I still loved her, and I miss her so much."
"It sounds like she was like you," Narcissa said with a sad smile, "You were always rebelling against our parents."
"Yes, well, they were horribly traditional blood purists," Andromeda pointed out, "That will change now, of course."
"It has to," Narcissa agreed, "And we shall all be far better for it."
* ~ TBC ~ *