Harry leaned against a pillar within the atrium of the Ministry of Magic and nursed a cup of cold coffee. He watched the reams of Wizengamot members enter, either via the floo or apparate in, to attend the session in an hour.

Some of them seemed almost hyper-aware of their surroundings. Likely the result of the attack during the coronation, causing the upper crust who were not in the know to be afraid. As Avery had said, they had lost several significant members of the Sacred 27, which was one of the older institutions in their history. If the Sacred 27 could be attacked, then so too could the Wizengamot.

Harry swirled the cup, the dregs of coffee splashing up against the sides. The irony of the situation was that the most paranoid of the Wizengamot were the least important to Tom's cause, the ones who were in the know, so to speak, the ones who thought they were safe from any political machinations from the throne, were the ones in danger. One day the other shoe would drop, right on their necks.

With Avery's report in his inner pocket, Harry waited for Lucius and Draco to make their appearance. The Wizengamot sessions always included a representative from the Sacred 27, Lucius being their usual appointee as no one else was that interested in doing so. Shacklebolt, Abbott, and Crouch were the other more common representatives. Today though, was going to be Draco's trial run. He was of age now, and Lucius had arranged for his son to be their spokesperson. It was a relatively unimportant meeting of the Wizengamot, a budgetary meeting, and thus, the other members of the Sacred 27 hadn't cared to send anyone else.

The Weasley's probably could have been a substantial influence as representatives as they were the most outspoken family from the light side, but their poverty level did not allow for them to take time off their jobs to do unpaid work for an entire day. Their refusal to use contraceptive spells had been a boon for the more dark aligned members. Perhaps there was even a debt they were unable to pay off. If so, who owned it?

Draining his cup and tossing it into the bin, Harry decided if that was the case, it was Avery.

The appearance of a pair of blonds at the entrance of the atrium had Harry pushing himself off the wall and striding towards them. Draco had sent him a letter the other day, letting Harry know he would be having his first step into the political arena, even if it was nothing but a budget meeting. For the average Wizengamot member, it was nothing to write home about, but for a member of the Sacred 27, it was something to note, as they were so low in number, but high in political strength.

Harry had responded to Draco saying he would be there to support him. Draco's response had seemed surprised that Harry had the time to do so.

His reply was that he would make time for his friend. He was pleased with his apparent foresight on agreeing to attend. Avery had given him the assignment, and it was serendipity it was the same day of Draco's first gig as a representative. If Avery was impressed by his speed on doing this, perhaps he could gain his trust, find out what he wanted from Tom, and retrieve the cup for the painting.

All he needed to do now was put the report into the Sacred 27's Ministry outbox. A copy would go to the DMLE, and another would go to Tom. Then his assignment would be finished.

Draco spotted Harry approaching and stopped himself and his father. They both raised an imperious eyebrow to him and inclined their heads.

Harry returned the incline. The Sacred 27, much less the rest of the public, did not know how to treat the royal inamorato. Was he supposed to be held in esteem, or should they just treat him as any other advisor who just happened to have certain privileges that no one else did?

"Congratulations, Draco. I am certain you will be a first-rate representative," Harry said as his greeting.

A smile broke out on Draco's face, and his chest puffed a bit with pride. "It's a fact."

Lucius was looking Harry up and down. "I'm glad to see you have recovered from the attack."

Harry cocked his head to the side. It had been healed pretty quickly after the attackers had been killed. "I'm surprised you noticed. Thankfully, it was nothing more than a bludgeoning curse. I have to say I was impressed at your battle prowess. Of course, I wasn't surprised by it, since we all know you're a powerful wizard, but you were able to hold the attackers off during their final push so well. Took down the traitor, Edgar Bones."

Draco was beaming at the praise of his father, and while Lucius was more restrained with his pleasure, there was still a smug smile dancing across his lips. There was a brief moment where Lucius' grey eyes flashed in recognition behind Harry before he spoke again, locking Harry's attention on him. "You flatter me. I did no more than anyone else would in the same situation. To have protected the injured and served his majesty while doing away with terrorists, well, it was an honour."

An angry huff from behind had Harry turning to see who Lucius was determined to upset. Amelia Bones was walking away, her shoes clicking loudly against the floor. Alice Longbottom stood with her arms crossed, an expression of obvious disgust on her face.

James stood next to her. There was no such distaste or anger on his face, merely resigned disappointment as he locked eyes with Harry for the briefest of moments. He put a hand on Alice's forearm. "Let's go."

Harry didn't say anything. Didn't want to. Once, not even a long time ago, such a look from his father would have him upset and attempting to prove that he wasn't a dark Slytherin, but merely ambitious. Now, all he felt was contempt at his father's moral rigidity.

The Malfoy's had stepped up behind him, Lucius gripping his shoulder and giving it a small squeeze. It was the most comfort someone could get from a Malfoy in such a public setting. Nevertheless, Harry appreciated the gesture.

##

Harry had passed out about two hours into the session. There was only so much editing he could do on Crocker's manuscript before he considered eating his inkwell as something to do for fun, and he was dangerously close to trying it.

He had been amused at the beginning, seeing Draco go from excited to impatient to annoyed before he finally settled on bored. Lucius had likely warned Draco it would be a dull meeting, but nevertheless, his friend had been excited. The only time of note that Draco was able to speak was at the very start, and if he had spoken again… Well, Harry had slept through it. The Sacred 27 had little to say regarding the Quidditch World Cup bidding budget, beyond that it should not pass a certain tax bracket before it caused a tax increase to fund it.

The doors swinging shut as the Wizengamot began to exit the room was what woke him. Harry began packing up his work, listening for anything of note in the surussus of the crowd as he did so. There was some conversation about him and what he was doing at the meeting, some comments regarding the coronation, something about some legislation that was being sent up through the chain-of-command, and then there was a single, hushed, mention about how Amelia Bones should step down with what happened to her brother.

Harry ran his fingers through his hair. Maybe he should start a rumour that the head of the DMLE position was cursed. None of them seemed to escape it unscathed as it was.

He needed to talk to Tom about James. At the beginning of their relationship, Tom had promised that he wouldn't let either of Harry's parents be harmed because of him. Harry still wanted that, but with the fallout of their last meeting, Harry feared James would force himself into a position where either he or Tom would have to take action. He had hoped that James would take either of the jobs at the school.

It had been a wonderful opportunity for James to be set to the side and out of the way. Instead he had passed on the position and suggested to McGonagall to take on Remus and Sirius. He would have paid money to be a fly on the wall when that was proposed. The fact that McGonagall had been desperate enough to accept Sirius had said something about the pressure Tom was putting on the school to accept someone.

Regulus had confided in Harry that Tom had asked him to apply for one of the positions, as well as his cousin Narcissa, Draco's mum. He could only imagine the others who Tom had thrown at the opportunity on top of Snape's initial application. He had honestly thoughtFrank Longbottom might take the defense position, but the man had other plans and was focused on recovering from his injury to start working in the field again.

Perhaps, when it came up again, Tom could pass a royal decree increasing the amount of teachers at Hogwarts, and James could be pushed in that direction.

Harry slung his bag over his shoulder and began making his way down to the Malfoy's. The only thing that got in the way was the fact that James was already employed by the Ministry and had no reason to work at Hogwarts. Unless Harry decided to manufacture some sort of scandal that would force him to step down. He made a mental note to think of something that could humiliate his father at work, but not so much that he wouldn't be allowed to work at the school.

"You were snoring," Draco said. He was leaning up against the wall and checking his nails for grime, only stopping to send Harry a glare. Lucius was beyond the door, in the hallway, speaking to an elderly witch.

"Would you believe it was the woman sitting next to me?" Harry smiled. "Sorry about that Draco. I've had a few long nights, and the numbers knocked me out. Your statement was good though, so I saw the most important thing after all."

Draco rolled his eyes and pushed off the wall. "You're not wrong. I was the damned highlight of the meeting. I can see why the rest of the nobility can't be bothered to do the work. Quite a bit of tedium."

"And that's where they make their mistake." Lucius had finished up with his conversation and was turned to them. "They avoid the tedium and miss the opportunity to make contacts and influence as we do." Lucius pinned Harry with a long look. "You snorted quite loudly a few times."

Harry's eyes darted up to the little wrinkles on Lucius's forehead. They were at medium annoyance. "I'll make sure to have a coffee enema before the next meeting."

"Come, Draco, we must sign the transcript before we may leave." Lucius put a hand on Draco's shoulder and guided him out of the room, very firmly ignoring Harry's last comment.

Harry followed them through the halls to the transcript room. He had told Draco he would buy them a round of drinks to celebrate afterwards. There was a chance that Draco was suspicious of Harry's motives; Harry didn't tend to show up for all of Draco's firsts (outside of walking in on his first blowjob). It was a bit of a Slytherin move to visit your friends for ulterior motives, and that was why Harry was here. He would still just try to pass it off as wanting to talk about the latest in their lives.

Then again, wanting to visit your friends and trying to pass it off as ulterior motives was also a Slytherin move. Harry sighed. Sometimes his life was so hard.

Once in the transcript room, Lucius guided Draco through checking the document and then signing to verify the accuracy. It was tedious, behind-the-scenes work that no one thought about.

Harry sat on the edge of a desk and watched the two. Draco and Lucius were faced away from him, Lucius resting his hand on Draco's shoulder, occasionally giving a squeeze whenever Draco asked something.

He leaned back and rested his hand on the desk, fanning the documents out and glancing at them for any pertinent information. He took Avery's report and unfolded it, setting it in the middle of the reports that were outbound to the DMLE. Whoever ended up with it would just assume it got mixed up in the inter-departmental mail.

Once Draco signed off on the transcripts and submitted them to the archives, Lucius escorted them from the room and locked it behind them. "Draco, I'll be heading to the solicitors. I'll be there for two hours if you need to speak to me, otherwise, you'll find me at home." Lucius inclined his head to Harry. "Seeing you was unobjectionable." He turned on his heel and left them in the hall.

"I think that's the nicest thing he ever said to me," Harry said, hiding his smile behind his hand.

"I think that's the nicest thing he's ever said about you." Draco scoffed. They began to head down the hall, following Lucius's path at a more sedate pace. "So, where do you intend to buy me my celebratory drinks?"

Harry shrugged. "I didn't really think about it. You're so picky as it is."

The blond rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Making me do all the emotional labour for my celebration."

"Well, it can't be the Leaky Cauldron," Harry said and put his index finger up. "Too many of the common folk will be there for your distinguished self. We can't go to Pemberton's since I don't have a membership, and you would be paying. The drinks at the Maypole aren't the best, even if the entertainment is good." He ticked off two more fingers. "The Bent Staff was shut down for safety violations last week, and the Tipsy Elf has good drinks, but shit entertainment. "Now, there's always Madame Smoke's Boutique, which has good drinks and entertainment." Harry said with a wink.

Draco shot him a look for that suggestion. Harry could tell he was interested.

"I'm only paying the cover charge and buying drinks. If you want a call girl or rent boy, that's out of your pocket."

They were the only people in their elevator, and Harry suspected Draco would have slammed him into a wall and covered his mouth for suggesting the noble Draco Malfoy would ever pay for sex. Instead, Draco shrugged. "Whatever."

They walked in silence to the atrium. Harry could see the internal conflict on his friend's face. Draco had never been to Smoke's before, and the idea intrigued him. Back during their fifth year, Graham Montague had come back from the winter holidays and told his friends he had spent four days straight trying the wares.

Now, Harry had been doing his customary eavesdropping on the groups in the Slytherin common room and had extended the spell to let Draco listen to Montague's tales. Usually, he wouldn't have done so, but Montague had snubbed Draco before the break, and he figured that his classmate would like to have something to mock Montague for. Within days, it was an accepted fact that Montague could only have sex if he paid for it.

Once they were at the apparition point, Harry asked, "Well?"

"Yes, let's go to the last place." Draco spun on his heel and apparated with a loud crack that didn't stop Harry from seeing his reddening cheeks.

Harry followed suit and apparated to the entrance of Arrow Tick Alley. He and Draco lifted their hoods and made their way down to the end, where it was particularly… smokey. Harry paid the cover charge to the half-giant guarding the door, and they strode into the foyer.

Sitting on a floating divan and making notations on a piece of parchment was Madame Smoke. She lifted her head to them. "Esteemed guests, do not be afraid to show your faces. We pride ourselves on discretion."

Harry dropped his hood and smiled. "Hello, Misty. We're here to raid the bar."

She slipped off the floating divan and rushed over to lift him in a tight hug. "Harry! You're so much taller!" She gave him a squeeze and returned him to the ground. "You've been doing quite a bit of social climbing. I'm proud of you. And who is your guest today? " Madame Smoke tousled Harry's hair and turned to Draco.

"Just a friend from school."

Draco lowered his hood, his eyes wide as he looked between Harry and the Madame, clearly bewildered by their familiarity.

"Oh, you must be Narcissa's son, Draco. You are really taking after your father." She patted Harry's shoulder. "Go have your drinks, just no bar fights."

He laughed and guided the stunned Draco to the bar. The room was empty except for the bartender who was wiping the counter down.

Guiding Draco to a seat next to the fireplace, Harry sat down and then held up two fingers to the bartender. "Firewhiskey, please."

Draco was staring at him. "I honestly thought I knew most of your secrets. How long have you been coming to a brothel?" His eyes widened suddenly. "Does the king know?"

Harry snickered at Draco's growing befuddlement. "I haven't been here in ages, and even if I did, I don't partake in the wares."

Two glasses of firewhiskey were placed on a table between them as well as a half-full bottle. Draco took a long drink and grimaced at the burn. "I don't even know where to start."

Harry tossed a quick privacy ward around them. "A few years back, James got reports about a brothel owner blackmailing clients and that the DMLE was going to raid the place. I showed up a week before it was supposed to go down and told Misty that I would give her the date of the raid in exchange for information."

"I assume she said yes."

"You'd think so." Harry swirled the alcohol around the bottom of the glass. "Anything that happens within these walls can not be spoken of outside of them. Discretion is king here."

Draco looked taken aback. "That must be some powerful spell to make that work."

Harry shrugged. "You'd have to ask Misty."

"Wait, Montague said—" His brows furrowed before he looked at Harry with dawning realization. "You knew he was lying?"

Biting back a snort, Harry nodded. "He was full of shit and got humiliated for it. How could I pass up that opportunity?"

Draco sat back in his seat and chuckled. "And because of the spell, you can't tell anyone you've been here—wait, I thought she was blackmailing people?"

"Nah, Misty would never. She paid me to find out who was submitting the tips to the auror office. Turned out it was a rival souteneur trying to destroy the competition."

Draco gave him a small, acknowledging nod. "Interesting."

"Anyways, all that aside." Harry held his glass up to Draco in a toast. "Congratulations on what is just the first of many boring meetings in your life."

Draco raised his own and clinked it against Harry's. "Cheers." He drained the glass and topped it off with more from the bottle. "Anything you want to talk about? I've barely heard from you since graduation and now you're attending Wizengamot budget meetings."

A shrug was the only response he gave.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, staring into the fire. "So, how's everything?"

"It's fine. The investigation into the attack is going well, so there should be movement on it soon. His majesty is delightful as usual and did his best to charm my mother. So, maybe we can convince her to have dinner with us at some point. The destruction of Dumbledore's reputation continues." Harry patted his bag with the manuscript. "The coup de grâce should be published around winter."

Draco was watching him, his fingers loosely holding the rim of his glass as he swirled the firewhiskey around. The amber colour glinted where it refracted from the fire. "How about Granger? I haven't heard anything about her situation."

Harry topped up his glass and drained it. "No news to report. My mum and I visited her the other day, and she reacted the same as the last time we visited. The mind healers don't have any answers. Tom said he would take a look at her for me, but you can imagine how busy he is. It's not like he can step out of ruling the country to take on a project like that." The firewhiskey settled heavily in his stomach. He didn't think Draco would care enough to ask about Hermione. He shook his head slightly, trying to clear away the depressing thoughts threatening to converge. The painting had made fun of him for doing so while using occlumency, though Harry didn't care; it worked, and that's what was important. "Any news from the noble and most ancient house of Nott?" Draco had always been closer to Theo than he had.

Draco puffed out his cheeks. "That's a loaded question, to say the least. Theo's been scrambling to pick up all the pieces his father left around. Looks like Ulysses had more pies than he did fingers to stick in them and hadn't taught Theo enough since he'd been at school. Guess the old sod thought he was going to live forever. He requested my father visit to advise him on some matters, and he did. Father is helpful like that. A few of the other patriarchs have also seen fit to try and assist him. I know Slughorn, Flint and Lestrange all stopped by to help."

Harry raised a brow. "Did they actually help or did they take advantage of his ignorance?"

"How do you think I would know? I wasn't there." Draco licked his lips. "I know you and Theo left off on the wrong foot, I think you should visit him and offer a truce. He could be a valuable asset to you and his highness with enough coaching."

Harry was about to protest the mere thought, then came up short when he actually thought about it. It was a valid point. The main factor in their antagonism, outside of Theo's elitism, was Ulysses. With him gone, they could potentially be more amicable to one another. Tit-for-tat, Harry may not be a pureblood, but he was the king's consort. He did have resources and so did Theo. He levelled Draco with a long look and then nodded. "Alright. You make a good point."

"Of course I do, I'm a Malfoy."

The door opened, and the sound of laughter, talking, people stumbling into each other and music drifted in. They looked to see a gaggle of ministry officials and brothel employees walking arm in arm in various states of undress. There was an auror Harry had met once whose pants were beginning to fall down his ankles as he stumbled with one of the boys over to a table and sat down heavily.

Harry smirked and raised his glass to Draco. "Cheers."

Draco saluted back with a smile and was about to toss his drink back when his brow furrowed. "Wait, did the Madame say she knew my mum?"

Harry released a cackle. He didn't know anything about how Smoke might know Narcissa, but it wouldn't stop him from pretending he did to mess with him. "I'll never tell."

###

AN: i have no clue how i've managed to write multiple chapters in a short period of time. could it be the new meds? coffee? the sunshine? struck by inspiration? a combination of all those? needless to say, i will be taking advantage of this weird burst of productivity and y'all can benefit. things are going to be moving along storywise and I'm excited.

A million thanks to my beta eris. she never responded to the comment on the coffee enema joke so it's staying in. ;)

there's been some discussion with eris and in the summer we might go and fix up wwmb since i know it has...issues.

thank you everyone for reading and commenting, it means the world to me.