* ~ The Eighth Year Universe Series ~ *

PART FOUR

Brave New World

Chapter 38: The Letters from Hogwarts

"I'm not looking forward to this as much as I was last week," Harry mumbled to Neville while they walked towards the simulation room on Friday afternoon.

"Neither am I," Neville admitted, "I didn't realise it was going to be as tough as that so early on. I thought we'd get to have a bit of fun with it at first."

Harry nodded, "I know, and that's just the first room. The situations are going to get tougher every time we move up."

"It makes you wonder what's going to be in the next room," Neville said quietly.

They reached the waiting room and fell silent. Sheppard was already waiting for them, and all of the other pairs were gathered there.

"Good afternoon, recruits," Sheppard said, "Last week, we threw you in at the deep end with a pretty brutal dragon attack. We like to do that here; we don't believe in giving you an easy start or easing you into something because that's not what being an Auror is about. You don't get to ease yourself into a tough case; you get chucked in at the deep end with at least one dead body to contend with."

Harry could completely understand Sheppard's point of view. Next to him, Neville nodded thoughtfully.

"So today, we're going to give you a slightly more mediocre situation to deal with," Sheppard continued, "Yes, dragon attacks happen, and when they do, they are horrible. However, we are aware that they are a once in a decade occurrence. Today's situation is more of a common everyday occurrence. Can anyone guess what it is?"

Blanche raised her hand, "Murder?"

Sheppard nodded, "Murder. I can guarantee that when you are working as an Auror, you will have a murder every couple of days at the least. Witches and wizards think they can get away with anything because of magic, including murder, but it's our job to show them that they can't."

There were nods all around.

"When you guys go into the simulation room today, you are going to be thrown into a little corner of London where a serial killer has been on the loose. I want all of you to work together to catch the murderer; we will be monitoring you as always. Are you ready?" Sheppard asked.

Everyone nodded or said, "Yes," so Sheppard opened the door to the simulation room. They all filtered in and took in their surroundings. They were in some sort of office; it looked like it had been converted so that they could use it as a bullpen to work from.

Neville looked out of the window, "Oh, we're in Hackney; this is where Lilly is from."

"That means at least one of us knows the lay of the land," Draco said, "That's good."

"I know London pretty well too," Maxwell piped up, "I grew up in Enfield, but I used to roam the streets a lot."

"Good," Harry agreed, "The fact you two know the lay of the land will save us time. Is everyone okay if I write the case facts up on this board?"

Nobody argued, so Harry got to work writing out the facts of the case and sticking up the photographs in the case file. When he was finished, he said, "Okay, guys, let me do a quick brief. There have been three murders in the last two weeks; they all happened in this little corner of London. Jessica Parsons was the first victim; she was found outside the pub just below our makeshift office. Georgia Reynolds was the second victim. She was found in the pub toilets. Kelsea Hawes was the third victim, and she was found in the alley behind the pub."

"So the pub is our instant connection," Draco realised, "And the victims are also all blonde."

"With blue eyes," Theo added.

"So our serial killer has a type," Ophelia said.

"Were any of them sexually assaulted before they were killed?" Blanche asked.

"All of them were sexually assaulted," Harry said as he glanced down at the case file, "After they were killed."

"Ugh," Emily said, "This guy is a creep."

"That's disgusting," Maxwell agreed, "What age were the victims?"

"Jessica and Kelsea were both 17, and Georgia was a few days away from her 17th birthday," Harry replied, "All three girls lived here in Hackney, and all three were Muggles."

"How were they killed?" Draco asked.

"The Muggle medical examiner said the cause of death was a heart attack in all cases," Harry said, "She concluded that all three victims had died of fear. In other words, had become so terrified that they had a heart attack."

"So it was the killing curse then," Ophelia said.

Harry nodded, "The wizarding medical examiner found traces of the magic emitted when the killing curse is cast. He also found signs that magic had been used to bind the hands and feet, but that healing charms had been used to cover it up."

"Were they kept captive before he killed them then?" Blanche asked.

"In all cases, the victim was found around 24 hours after they had last been seen," Harry said with a nod, "And if the timeline in this file is right, he's got a new victim at the moment. I would say she probably has about an hour to live."

"So arses in gear then," Maxwell said with a nod, "What are we doing, boss?"

Harry looked up in surprise, "I'm not automatically the boss Max. Someone else can take the lead on this one if they want?"

Theo tentatively raised his hand, "I think this case requires a lot of logistics. I'm quite good at putting people in the place where they will perform best, so I think I would be a good leader on this one."

Harry smiled and stepped away from the board, "Take it away then."

Theo looked a little nervous. Draco smiled at his best friend, "Don't look so worried. You lead our rebellion during the war; we were lost without you when you got captured."

At this, Theo smiled genuinely and stepped up in front of the group, "We have limited time to find this guy, so I think our best option is to split up and make the most of the amount of people we have here. These kinds of guys don't tend to live or work far from the place they dump their bodies. They tend to hide in plain sight, so I think one line of enquiry that we have to follow is the employees at the pub. The other line is the buildings near the pub, particularly any apartment blocks that might have a basement or any empty buildings in general."

"It's Hackney Theo. There are a lot of empty buildings," Neville said.

"In that case, let's focus on those in the immediate vicinity of the pub. He isn't going to try and carry a body any further than he needs to," Theo said, "Blanche and Ophelia, I would say you two are the most resourceful when it comes to paperwork and probably the fastest too. Would you stay here and try to work out if any of the employees at the pub live nearby or have a connection to any of the buildings surrounding the pub?"

Blanche and Ophelia both nodded.

"Harry and Nev, you guys are probably going to be at your best searching the empty buildings," Theo said, "You'll make quick work of it, and you are probably also best equipped to deal with this guy if you come across him."

"Alright," Harry said while Neville nodded.

"Max and Emily, I think you guys should do a thorough search of the pub and the area above it," Theo said, "This room can't be the only office above the pub, and you never know if something might have been missed."

Maxwell and Emily both nodded and accepted their orders.

"What are we doing then, Theo?" Draco asked.

"We'll help Harry and Nev search the empty buildings," Theo said, "With four of us, we have a better chance of finding him before he can kill anyone else."

"Alright, are we moving out then?" Harry asked.

"Not quite yet," Theo said, "There's no point spreading out unless we can communicate with each other. Is everyone familiar with the Patronus spell that's used for communicating?"

Everyone nodded apart from Harry; he didn't want to look like an idiot, so he stayed silent. Theo explained it quickly, anyway, "Great. Just cast a Patronus charm, catch your Patronus, shrink it and put it in your ear. Every time you say, "Patroni", everyone in the group will hear you."

Harry shot Neville an impressed look while they all cast their Patronus charms, "Theo is pretty good at this."

"Watch out. At this rate, he's going to make you look bad," Neville joked.

Draco and Theo had learned that if they were going to be home late, there was no point going to their own houses because their other halves would inevitably be together. On this Friday night, the simulation had run over, so by the time they apparated into Grimmauld Place, they were half an hour late.

"So, which house are we banking on tonight?" Theo asked as they stood on the street and looked up at their homes.

"Could go either way," Draco replied, "If Hermione's had a hectic day, Sadie would have cooked for her because she's nice that way, but if Sadie's stomach has flared up again, Hermione will have cooked her a nice bland meal because she's brilliant at them."

Theo snorted, "Backhanded compliment, much?"

Draco sniggered, "I'm guessing Sadie's cooked."

"I'm hoping she has," Theo said as they stepped into the hall of number 11, "And if dinner is at your place, I hope Hermione asked the elf to cook," he said in a whisper.

Draco shot his friend a grin, "I smell food."

Theo fist-pumped the air and yelled, "Sorry, we're late, babe!"

"It's okay! We're in the kitchen."

"Called it," Draco murmured. Theo chucked, and they made their way into the kitchen together, where their other halves were sitting with empty bowls and full glasses of wine.

"Hey love," Draco said, kissing Hermione on the cheek and dropping down next to her.

"Hey baby," Theo murmured as Sadie got up and kissed him lightly on the lips, "How was your day?"

"Dull," Sadie replied, "How was yours?"

"Interesting," Theo said with a grin.

"Interesting?" Draco scoffed, "Come on, give yourself credit, Theo. You were fucking amazing today."

Hermione raised an eyebrow, "Do elaborate."

"Simulation room," Theo said, "We all had to work together again, it was a serial killer this time, and I took the lead."

"And you caught him?" Sadie asked proudly.

"Yeah, we caught him," Draco said. He grinned proudly at Theo, "Before he killed the fourth victim too. I mean, he got Harry and Neville to do the dirty work and arrest the guy, but you should have seen him. He put everyone where they were meant to be, had all of us working on separate stuff, but it all came together perfectly at the end."

Hermione smiled slightly, "Well, I'm not surprised. Theo's the smartest here."

Theo raised an eyebrow at her, "Who are you, and what have you done with the Gryffindor princess?"

Hermione snorted, "You're smarter than me, Theo. I'm more logical and perceptive, but that doesn't make me smarter. You didn't just have that happen by chance, did you? You put everyone in the right place and set the game into motion with your knights ready to arrest the guy, your bishops in the background gathering intel, your rooks on the lookout. Then at just the right moment, you said check-mate."

Theo smirked and leant across the table, "Well, princess, I did not think you understood me that well."

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, "You're a perfect Slytherin."

"Are they flirting?" Draco asked, looking over at Sadie.

Sadie shook her head in amusement, "I'm past caring if they are. You two flirt all the bloody time."

"We don't flirt; we banter," Draco remarked.

"And we're not flirting," Theo said as he leant back in his chair, "I'm just glad that someone finally understands my genius. But I mean, she did call me a perfect Slytherin, which might be the nicest thing someone has ever said to me, so watch your back, Sade."

Hermione laughed, "Do you want me to finish that sentence? I was going to say, you are a perfect Slytherin because you get everything ready to go, you line up all your pieces like a Chessmaster, but you don't get your hands dirty."

Theo frowned, "That's still a compliment, Princess."

Draco hid an amused smile as Hermione tried to hit him across the table, but he ducked and grinned at her.

"So you guys had a good day then?" Sadie asked through her laughter as she set two bowls down in front of them.

"We had a brilliant day," Draco agreed, "How was your day, Hermione?"

"Don't get her started," Sadie said with an amused grin as she topped up Hermione's wine glass.

"It was bloody awful!" Hermione exclaimed.

Theo looked at Draco and used their 'mind link', which had been growing stronger thanks to Auror Emmagens classes. Why the fuck did you ask?

She's my fiancé; it's polite to ask.

But we don't give a fuck about what Mr Jeremiah in the fucking Wizengamot office said to Mrs Hastings, Draco.

Draco bit back a grin and nodded sincerely as Hermione reached the climax of her story.

"Honey, I'm home!"

Daphne laughed, "Very funny. I'm in the kitchen."

"You're in the kitchen, and I smell food," Harry said as he walked towards the door into the kitchen, "Are you cheating? Is there a house-elf with you?"

"There is a house-elf with me, but I'm doing the cooking," Daphne said indignantly.

Harry laughed and stepped into the kitchen; she was indeed cooking.

"Kreacher is just teaching me, right, Kreacher?"

Kreacher nodded, "Yes, Master Harry."

Harry smiled at her, "You're learning to cook for me. I guess it must be true love."

Daphne shot him an irritated look, "I'm learning to cook for Teddy. I figured it would be a useful skill to have when raising a child."

"What are you cooking?" Harry asked.

"Just ravioli," Daphne admitted, "But I think it tastes good."

"It looks good," Harry said as she began to plate it up.

They sat down at the table, and Daphne poured out two glasses of wine, "So, how was your day?"

"Strange," Harry admitted, "Theo took the lead in the simulation room today."

"Oh, Merlin, how badly did you all fail?"

"We didn't actually," Harry said, "He was great. He put everyone in the right place so that we all worked to our best ability. It was a serial killer we were trying to catch, and we wanted to get him before he killed anyone else."

"Did you manage?" Daphne asked.

Harry nodded, "We caught him, and we saved the girl who would have been his fourth victim. Nev and I did the catching, but Theo was an outstanding leader."

"That actually doesn't surprise me," Daphne admitted, "Everyone thought that Draco led our little rebellion during the war, but he didn't really…Theo was the real leader."

"Yeah?" Harry asked.

Daphne nodded, "We fell apart when he was imprisoned in the Dark Tower. Draco and Sadie kept each other afloat; they barely slept; they constantly looked for a way to get him out. Neither of them ever gave up on him. Even back then, you could tell that both of them loved Theo in their own way."

Harry listened with interest because Daphne rarely talked so openly about her experiences during the war.

"But Theo held us together," Daphne said, "He was the one with the smart ideas, the sneakiest of all of us. He should never have gotten caught; he didn't make mistakes like the rest of us. He would think a plan out in his head, and he would calculate all the risks, he would know who he was likely to bump into, and he had about five plans running through his head at any given time."

"How did he get caught then?" Harry asked curiously.

"Because he's kind," Daphne said with a smile, "And he doesn't often show it. I mean, I think you see it now, but back then, he wouldn't want anyone to know it. He saw Luna being tortured, so he yelled to get their attention and told her to run away."

"He's noble for a Slytherin," Harry said with a smile.

"He doesn't like to see innocent people suffering, and that's because of what happened to his mother," Daphne said.

"He'll make a great Auror," Harry stated with confidence, "And he earned a lot of respect from me today."

"Merlin," Daphne groaned, "Don't tell him that, if his head gets any bigger, it won't fit through his front door anymore!"

Harry laughed heartily at that, "This is great, by the way."

Daphne smiled cheerfully, "Is it? Thank Merlin, I was worried it would be awful!"

It took Neville a very long time to get to France on Friday night because he did it properly. As he waited in line at the English International Apparition Centre to get his wand checked and be cleared to apparate, he wished that he had just done it on the fly like he had the last time.

Eventually, a surly security wizard checked his wand and his rucksack then cleared him to apparate. He didn't have to wait in line at the other side, but he did need to have everything checked again by a French security wizard.

Luckily he didn't have to try to get past the security at the centre straight away. Lilly had owled him earlier in the week and told him to meet her and her friends in a bar in Amiens. By the time he had apparated to Amiens and found his way to the bar, it was nearly 10 pm, and he was already knackered.

He walked into the busy bar and scanned the room for Lilly. He frowned as he looked around because he couldn't see her anywhere, and he began to wonder if he had gone to the wrong place.

"Nev!" A familiar voice called.

Neville glanced over and saw her waving from the other side of the room. He frowned as he walked towards her because even from a distance, something looked different. When he reached the table that she was sharing with a few other people, he realised what it was, "You put your hair back to its original colour!"

Lilly stood up and hugged him, "Yeah, I didn't think you would notice. Do you remember it being this colour?"

"Of course I do," Neville said as he took a step back and looked at her properly, "It looks great, Lil. It really suits you."

Lilly smiled, "Do you think so? I was worried that you would hate it."

"No," Neville said, he smiled at her, "I love it."

Lilly grinned, "These are my friends from the course, by the way. This is Lucille, she's from Jamaica, and this is Savannah, she's from America. Oh, and this is Charlotte, she's from New Zealand. And this is Michael; he's Canadian. Guys, this is Neville, my boyfriend."

"Lovely to meet you all," Neville said politely as he slipped into a seat at the end of the table.

Savannah sighed, "Do you have any single friends, Neville? I love that whole posh English accent thing."

Lilly snorted, "Posh? Please, Neville doesn't have a posh English accent; he's northern!"

"Coming from you?" Neville teased, "I mean, you're from Hackney. Your accent couldn't be more common if you tried."

"Oi, watch it!" Lilly said. She whacked him around the head while her friends sniggered, "And as I was about to say Savannah, you should meet our friends Draco and Theo. They have posh English accents."

"Are they single?" Savannah asked.

"One of them is married," Neville replied with an amused smile, "And the other one is engaged to Hermione Granger, so you don't want to go anywhere near him."

"You didn't tell us that you were friends with Hermione Granger!" Savannah said, "She's like a hero to us girls! Everyone says she's one of the people who fought right next to Harry Potter in the war."

"Harry Potter isn't that big of a deal, to be fair," Neville said.

Lilly smiled slightly, "Harry is Neville's Auror partner," she explained.

"He's a bit of dick, to be honest," Neville added.

"Neville!" Lilly chastised.

"Is he really?" Michael asked.

"No, he's lovely," Lilly assured him.

"What other famous friends do you have, Lil?" Charlotte asked.

"That's about it," Lilly said, "And they aren't these big famous icons for me because I went through school with them. I remember Harry's awkward phase when he turned into a tomato every time a girl talked to him."

"I'm not convinced he's grown out of that yet," Neville joked while the others laughed.

Lilly laughed too, "And I remember Hermione's massive lapse of judgement when she dated Viktor Krum in fourth year."

"What?" Lucille asked in surprise.

"But she's so intelligent! Why would she date a dumb Quidditch player?" Savannah asked.

"I guess us intelligent girls like dating dumb guys," Lilly joked as she shot Neville an amused look.

"Excuse you, Lillian Moon," Neville said with a raised eyebrow, "You have to be very intelligent to get into Auror training. Can you name every plant in 1001 Magical Herbs and Fungi off the top of your head?"

Lilly raised an eyebrow at him, "I am in an elite course training to be a Trauma Healer, Nev."

"Right," Neville laughed, "Yeah, of course, you are. I'm just so used to being the only competent Herbologist at the moment; you know, sharing a class with Harry, Draco and Theo?"

Lilly laughed and started to explain to her new friends who her old friends were. Neville smiled at her and took her hand under the table; he appreciated her so much more now that their time together was limited.

"Daph, are you nearly ready?" Harry called up the stairs, "We're going to be late!"

"I'm coming," Daphne called from upstairs.

Harry smiled in amusement and glanced at the clock. They had been invited to Greengrove House for a meal along with Draco and Hermione. Andromeda had asked them to be there at 7 pm, and it was currently 6.55 pm.

Harry didn't hear any movement and was about to shout up the stairs again when Daphne appeared at the top of the staircase.

"You look great, but I don't know how it took an hour to make you look that great," Harry said when she reached the bottom of the stairs.

Daphne rolled her eyes, "I know you think that I just wake up perfect, but this takes work."

Harry shot her an incredulous look, "You do wake up perfect."

She shook her head, "I really don't. Now come on, weren't you the one complaining that we were going to be late?"

Harry wasn't sure how she always managed to make everything his fault, but she had a real knack for it. When they got to Greengrove House, a few minutes late, Daphne announced that it was Harry's fault that they were late.

Harry caught Draco's eye and shook his head in disbelief. The Slytherin smirked and looked away before Daphne or Hermione caught him.

"Come on through, Teddy is in bed," Andromeda said to them, "He wanted to wait up for you, but he was exhausted."

"Oh, there's no point keeping him up past his bedtime for us," Daphne said with a smile, "We'll see him tomorrow anyway. Hey guys, hello Narcissa."

They all made small talk as they sat down in the dining room. Luckily Daphne could keep a conversation going with most people; it was a skill that Harry wished that he had. They talked about their new jobs, Auror training and how Teddy was getting on. Then the subject of wedding bells came up.

"Speaking of new beginnings," Narcissa said slyly, "When will you two be journeying into marriage?"

"Mother," Draco said quietly, "Do we have to talk about that right now?"

"Draco," Narcissa said in a reprimanding tone of voice, "You have been engaged for a few months now, and you have told me nothing about your wedding plans. Have you set a date yet?"

Hermione looked a little sheepish, "Uh…."

"We haven't even set a year," Draco said.

Narcissa tutted, "Then what on earth is the point of an engagement, Draco?"

"I proposed because I love Hermione, and I wanted to show her how committed I was to making our relationship work out of school," Draco said honestly, "But that doesn't mean that we want to rush into marriage. We were thinking of having a long engagement."

"Rushing into marriage after war just seems a little reckless," Hermione admitted.

"It worked for your friend Theo and his wife," Narcissa reminded them.

"Yes, but Theo and Sadie have known each other since they were kids," Draco said, "They have been friends since they were 11 years old. They didn't spend seven years insulting each other and then fight on opposing sides of a war, did they, Mother?"

"Draco Abraxas Black," Narcissa said in a low, dangerous tone of voice, "You may make a fair point, but if you ever take that tone with me again, then you will find that you are never too old to be sent to your room."

Harry couldn't hide the fact that he was laughing, but Daphne covered it up rather well behind her hand. Hermione sniggered while Draco went red and complained, "Mother!"

"I do not appreciate being spoken to like that," Narcissa said shortly, "And long engagement or not, you must have some plans."

"Well," Hermione said, "I think we want to get married in St. Albans because that's where I'm from."

"Do we?" Draco asked, "I thought we wanted to get married in Somerset."

Harry bit his lip in amusement; he sensed an argument coming on.

"Traditionally, Draco, you get married in the bride's hometown," Hermione pointed out.

"Does that mean it's going to be a muggle wedding? With loads of muggles?"

"Yes, Draco, there will be a lot of muggles there since my family are all muggles!" Hermione said shortly.

"Draco, you sound like a prejudiced prat," Daphne said before the argument could get much worse, "Hermione is right. You will have to have two weddings."

"Two weddings?" Hermione asked.

Daphne nodded, "Normally, the bride and groom have the wizarding ceremony first, just before the big white wedding. The bridal party attend, you get married and then you have a muggle wedding. It's just for show, of course, because you will already be married."

"How do you know so much about this?" Harry asked in surprise.

"I looked into it in case you wanted to have two weddings," Daphne said honestly, "I didn't know if you had any muggle friends that you wanted to be there."

Harry smiled, "That was very sweet of you. But I'll be quite happy just having a wizarding wedding. The only muggles I'll invite are Aunt Petunia and Dudley, who know about magic anyway."

"See that," Hermione said as she glared at Draco, "That is what you should have done!"

Draco opened his mouth to apologise, but Hermione had already gotten to her feet, "But no! You just insulted my upbringing and my blood status, like you always have done because your view on muggles hasn't changed a bit!"

Before Draco could try to defend himself, Hermione had stalked out of the room. Draco threw his fork onto the table loudly and got to his feet, "Happy now, Mother?" he asked angrily as he rushed after Hermione.

Narcissa shook her head, "I have no idea what I did wrong," she mumbled, "But I don't feel overly hungry anymore. Forgive me, Andromeda."

Andromeda shook her head in disbelief as she looked around the half-empty table. Then a cry sounded from above.

"I was wondering if the noise had woken him up," Daphne said when she heard it, "I'll go up."

She left the room, and Harry said, "Well, that escalated quickly."

"Things have always been a little tense between Draco and his mother," Andromeda admitted, "But I thought they had improved recently."

"I think things will always be a bit tense because of everything that's happened," Harry said honestly, "We got your contract, by the way."

"It certainly wasn't light reading, was it?" Andromeda asked.

"I didn't read it, but Daphne did," Harry said, "She told me the basics. She just wants Hermione to read over it tomorrow since she deals with legal documents a lot at work."

"It does no harm to be entirely certain of what you are entering into," Andromeda said sensibly, "My solicitor was very thorough when drawing it up. He claims that too often adoption paperwork is not done correctly."

"Is that why there are all of those conditions?" Harry asked quietly.

Andromeda frowned and looked up when she heard his accusing tone, "Heavens Harry, you don't think I asked him to put all of that in, do you?"

"No, no," Harry said with a shake of his head, "Daphne said it would just be a standard thing, but…I didn't like to think that you felt that way."

"Harry, I have absolutely no concerns about Teddy's welfare with you and Daphne," Andromeda promised him, "I know he will be loved, fed and cared for. My solicitor just wanted to make sure that everything was done correctly. Clive is very thorough like that."

Harry nodded, "I'm sorry that I thought otherwise, Andi. I've just been so suspicious since the war…I feel like everyone has an ulterior motive."

"You ought to talk to someone about that," Andromeda said.

"I will," Harry promised, "Senior Auror Sumner thinks I have post-traumatic stress. He wants me to talk to someone about it, but I need to wait until she arrives. Apparently, the Mental Health Healer does rotational work with the Aurors and St. Mungo's."

"When you do get the chance to talk to her, don't be afraid," Andromeda said, "Talk to her about everything."

"I will."

"Make that a promise Harry," Andromeda said, a little more firmly.

"I promise."

"We have a letter from Hogwarts…."

Harry frowned over at his fiancé from where he was supervising Teddy. The little boy was currently massacring scrambled egg and throwing more on the floor than he was eating, "What?"

Daphne stepped away from the coffee pot and showed him the letter which was addressed,

"Mr Harry James Potter and Miss Daphne Lareina Greengrass

Potter Manor

Surrey

England."

"I'm curious now," Harry said, "Go on – Teddy, eat your toast, please! – read it to me."

Daphne opened the letter and read aloud,

"Dear Mr Potter and Miss Greengrass,

I would like to formally invite you both to the inaugural Founders Ball as guests of honour. It will take place in the Great Hall at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on the 4th of September. Please RSVP as soon as possible to confirm your attendance. The ball begins at 7 pm.

Mr Potter, I would also like to invite you to represent Godric Gryffindor at the ball. If you consent, please let me know, and I shall ask you to a meeting with those representing the other founders of Hogwarts.

I look forward to your prompt reply.

Professor Minerva McGonagall

Headmistress at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"She wants me to be Godric Gryffindor?" Harry asked in disbelief.

"You should say yes," Daphne mused, "It would be quite an honour, wouldn't it? To represent your house founder, you are such a proud Gryffindor after all."

"How did you manage to make that into an insult?" Harry asked. He shot her an amused look.

Daphne smiled mischievously, "It's a special talent. I really do think that you should do it though, I doubt McGonagall will ask you to do much more than walk into the hall in costume then dance."

"With who, though?" Harry asked, "Because if it's you, then I don't mind, but what if it's a random person?"

"It won't be a random person," Daphne said, "Gryffindor was married to Hufflepuff, so I expect you'll have to dance with the person playing Hufflepuff. They will want to pick someone fairly well known or influential…."

"Like Gwenog Jones?"

"I think she might be a bit old," Daphne mused, "You never know; it might be Susan."

Harry snorted, "That would be awkward. Do you think I should say yes?"

Daphne nodded, "Yeah, I mean, they have never had a Founders Ball before, and if this doesn't work out, then they might never have one again. This could be a once in a lifetime chance, and I think that you should never turn one of those down."

Harry nodded thoughtfully. He was about to open his mouth to say that he would tell McGonagall that he would do it. However, before he got the chance, a large lump of cold, slimy scrambled egg collided with his face and Teddy started laughing hysterically.

Daphne snorted in amusement, "Makes you wonder if Godric Gryffindor faced the same struggles as the great Harry Potter, doesn't it?" she joked with a wicked grin.

"Babe, we have a letter!"

"Addressed to both of us?" Susan called from the bedroom.

Percy swallowed his mouthful, "Yeah, it's from Hogwarts. Can I open it?"

"Yeah, I'll be there in a minute!"

By the time Percy had opened the letter and scanned its contents, Susan had stepped into the kitchen.

"Are you planning on putting on more clothes?" Percy asked with an amused smile.

Susan raised an eyebrow at him, "I'm not planning on catching bad guys in my underwear, although I'm pretty sure it would work."

Percy laughed, "Yes, I think it probably would. Do you fancy going to a Founders Ball, by the way?"

"What's a Founders Ball?"

"A new thing that McGonagall is doing up at the school," Percy replied, "It's next weekend. She wants you to represent Helga Hufflepuff."

Susan looked up in surprise, "Seriously?"

Percy nodded, "I think it might be fun. If we're invited, then everyone else will be too."

Susan hummed thoughtfully, "I definitely can't turn down a chance to play Helga Hufflepuff. I idolised her when I was at school. Do we need to RSVP?"

"Yep," Percy said, he put the letter down on the table and added, "I'll let you reply since you're going to be the real guest of honour."

Susan grinned and picked up the letter, "It's a good thing I look good in yellow, isn't it?"

"That must be an interesting letter," Hermione said when she stepped into the kitchen, "You're never up so early on a Sunday."

"The owl woke me up with its tapping," Draco explained, "It's from McGonagall."

Hermione frowned, "Is she alright?"

"She's fine," Draco replied, "She's invited us to a Founders Ball…."

"What on earth is a Founders Ball?" Hermione asked. She put the kettle on to boil and pulled out two mugs.

"It's the first time it's been done, so I don't entirely know," Draco admitted, "I suppose it's some sort of celebration for the founders of Hogwarts. She's asking people to represent the founders. Someone from an influential family is being picked from each house."

"That's interesting," Hermione mused, "I wonder if a Weasley or a Potter was asked to play Gryffindor."

"I suspect she asked Harry," Draco said, "The Potters are an older family, and they have direct links to Gryffindor and the Peverell's."

"That's true," Hermione agreed, "Aren't your family connected to Slytherin?"

Draco nodded, "The Malfoys are…I suppose that's why she asked me to represent Slytherin."

Hermione's head snapped up, "Did she?"

Draco nodded.

"Why do you look so unhappy about that?"

Draco sighed, "Salazar Slytherin wasn't a nice man, Hermione. I'm not entirely sure that I'm proud that my family is connected to him. I used to be, but…times change."

"He wasn't a nice man, that much is true," Hermione agreed, "But he did a pretty great thing, co-founding a school that became a safe haven for so many people over the years."

Draco still didn't look convinced, so Hermione added, "If it helps, don't think about it as if you're doing it because you look up to Slytherin. Do it for all of the students in Slytherin who need a good role model to look up to. I mean, when you were in that house, could you have named anyone in the public eye who was good and who came from Slytherin?"

"I knew good people, like my mother and my godfather," Draco admitted, "But not anyone in the public eye."

"Well, you are in the public eye, and you are good," Hermione said gently, "Be that person that they can look up to. Show these young Slytherins that they don't have to grow up to be slimy bastards; show them that they can be Aurors. Show them that they can be heroes."

Draco looked up at her, "I'm not a hero, Hermione. That's Harry's job."

"Harry might be the wizarding worlds hero, but that doesn't mean that you aren't a hero to someone Draco," Hermione said softly, "You grew up with a horrible man for a father. You were manipulated and used as a teenager, but you got to where you are now, and you did that by yourself. You changed your ways, you changed the way you look at the world, and that's harder than people think. To those Slytherins, you would be a hero."

Draco looked down at the letter for a long moment. Eventually, he nodded and said, "You're right, I should do it. Would you be my date?"

"If we're being historically accurate, then your date should be Rowena Ravenclaw, but yes, I will be your date," Hermione joked.

Draco chuckled, "I wonder who they will ask to play Ravenclaw."

"I'm not sure," Hermione admitted, "I can't think of any influential families connected with Ravenclaw off the top of my head."

"I expect Susan might be asked to play Hufflepuff," Draco said, "The Bones are rumoured to be descended from Helga, but I'm not sure about Ravenclaw."

"We'll find out when we go to the ball," Hermione said cheerfully, "When is it, by the way?"

"Next Saturday," Draco replied.

"Ooh, soon then! I'm looking forward to it," Hermione said happily, "Anyway, since you're up now. What do you fancy for breakfast?"

"Nev."

Neville groaned, "I'm sleeping, Lil."

"I know, but I just got this letter," Lilly said. She nudged him again, "It's interesting, come on, Nev."

Neville opened one eye, "Who sends interesting letters at this time on Sunday morning?"

"It's 10 am, Nev," Lilly said pointedly, "You're just hungover because you drank far too much wine last night."

"You were the one who told me to embrace the French culture," Neville mumbled, "That food was amazing, by the way, and so was the wine."

"I know!" Lilly said, "And who knew there was so much to do in Amiens, right? Amiens Cathedral was so pretty, and I think I'm going to love you forever since you took me to the home of Jules Verne."

Neville smiled sleepily at her, "So I made you love France?"

"I wouldn't go as far as to say love," Lilly admitted, "But exploring is definitely more fun with you. I have an idea of what we could do today that I think you would find fun."

Neville opened another eye, "What is it?"

"The Botanical Gardens in Amiens," Lilly said, "Clara told me that there's a secret wizarding section. You just need to go through the false door at the back of one of the greenhouses."

Neville's eyes widened, "That sounds amazing."

Lilly smiled, "I thought you would enjoy it. Do you want to hear about this letter now?"

Neville yawned, then nodded, "What about it?"

"Well, it's from McGonagall," Lilly said, "She's doing a new thing, a Founders Ball. She wants people to play the Founders, and she has asked people from influential families to play the founder of that house. I suppose she asked Harry to be Gryffindor, Draco to be Slytherin and Suse to be Hufflepuff."

Neville nodded. He was just about following her even though he had just woken up, "The whole thing is a celebration of the Founders and what they did for all of us, and you will never guess who McGonagall asked to be Ravenclaw."

"Who?" Neville asked stupidly.

Lilly grinned, "Me! She asked me, Nev! I'm not even from an influential family, I mean, I'm just a muggle-born, but she said she would be honoured if I would play Ravenclaw. She said that I was a model pupil and would be an excellent role model for young Ravenclaws!"

Neville smiled broadly at her, "That's great, Lil."

"I know!" Lilly said excitedly, "I don't know what I did to deserve this, but I've already written back saying that I would be honoured."

Neville's smile didn't wafer, "You might not be from an influential family, but I can completely see where McGonagall is coming from. You spent the war helping heal the injured, you ran a hospital wing in the room of requirement, and now you're in an elite course. You had to get top grades into everything to be accepted Lil, of course, you're an inspiration."

Lilly smiled at him, but not as brightly as she had before, "We've never talked about that time, you know?"

"What time?" Neville asked.

"The war," Lilly replied, "We were both there for most of it. You, Susan and Seamus, got those kids out of the dungeons, and Ginny, Hannah and I healed them, but we've never talked about it."

"I didn't realise that there was anything to talk about," Neville admitted as he caught her eye, "I'm sorry if that was wrong of me."

Lilly shook her head, "It's okay. I mean, you know that it hurt me to see you acting so recklessly with Ginny."

"It almost broke our friendship apart, actually," Neville cut in.

"It was just too out of character," Lilly shrugged, "The Hufflepuff in Gryffindor colours screwing his friend's girlfriend."

"I know," Neville said guiltily, "I mean, I know why it happened. You and I…we clashed that year, you had your hospital wing, and I had my rebellion, isn't that what you said to me at one point?"

Lilly bit her lip, "Sounds familiar, yeah."

"So it was Ginny that was in the thick of it with me," Neville said quietly, "She was by my side when we had to drag those kids out of the dungeons or save our friends from the Dark Tower. We had each other's backs, we duelled together, and we had always been friends. It had never been anything more than that, but I think when you're in such a tense situation, you feel this sense of closeness to the person that you're in it with. It wasn't right, and if we hadn't been in that situation, it never would have happened, but those conditions were just…they weren't normal."

"Yeah," Lilly said quietly, "And Harry was hardly a saint while he was away, I know. But I didn't enjoy watching it unfold. As you said, Ginny was by your side, and I had my hospital wing. It was Ginny that you confided in that year. I was just the girl you used to be friends with, and if I'm honest, that fucking hurt. It's why for a while back then, I just didn't recognise you."

"For a while, I didn't recognise myself," Neville said truthfully, "We did what had to be done, but we didn't think too much about how that was going to affect us, did we?"

Lilly shook her head, "No…it left a mark on all of us; that's for sure."

"Still," Neville said, "You were my friend, and I let us drift apart when I started to get closer with the likes of Harry and Hermione. You were there for me when everyone was bullying me, and nobody else liked me, but when I got more popular friends, I let you fall by the wayside, and that was a dick move."

Lilly smiled slightly, "Yeah, it was," she agreed.

"I'm sorry about that," Neville said honestly, "I was a stupid kid who didn't realise what he had when it was right in front of him. I'm just really grateful that you gave me a second chance."

"That was sappy," Lilly said. She kissed him lightly on the lips.

"I do sappy rather well," Neville murmured as he returned her kiss.

"Love! Are you up?"

Sadie emerged from the bedroom in Theo's dressing gown, "Yeah, I was just thinking about having a shower."

"We got an interesting letter this morning," Theo said as he waved the letter in the air, "McGonagall is doing a Founders Ball next Saturday at Hogwarts. We're invited, and it sounds like fun, don't you think?"

"I suppose so."

"Are you going to be this short with me all day?" Theo asked, "Because I don't know what I've done."

"You haven't done anything," Sadie said irritably, "I'm just not particularly looking forward to going back to Egypt tomorrow."

"Well, don't take that out on me," Theo said, "I told you to drop out if you hate it so much, but you're determined to see it through."

"I don't give up on things, Theo," Sadie said shortly, "You're supposed to be my husband. You should know that about me!"

"I don't know everything about you, Sadie, despite being married to you!" Theo snapped, "And I don't want you to spend our last day together, acting like a bitch just because you don't want to go back to Egypt."

Sadie glared at him, "You're supposed to be sympathetic Theo, that's what good husbands do!"

"I won't do what I'm supposed to do just because I'm your husband," Theo barked, "I'll do what I've always done in our relationship, and that is say things like they are even when you don't like it! You are acting ridiculously; you can't just whine and complain like a little girl. You don't like Egypt, but if you want to finish your course, you need to suck it up and deal with it. So get over it, Sadie!"

If looks could kill then, Theo would have been lying on the floor, cold as stone. Sadie turned on her heel, and as she slammed the bedroom door, she said, "Well, if that's how you feel, then I'll just leave now!"

Theo groaned in frustration and kicked the wall hard. He loved Sadie more than he had ever loved a woman in his life, but the way she was acting at the moment was infuriating.

* ~ TBC ~ *