Chapter One: Integrity
The Three Broomsticks was magically cooled against the blazing hot early July weather. Cho Chang looked around for almost a full minute before she spotted him. She had to confirm it with her cameraman before she was sure. And even he, of the normally sharp eyes, took some time.
"That's him all right," Colin Creevy said, hefting his camera bag onto his shoulder.
They walked to the table where he sat, watching them. He rose as they reached the table.
"Hello, Cho." he said, hugging her gently. "Hello, Colin." he shook Colin's hand firmly. "It has been a long time."
"Hello Harry," Cho smiled. She looked at him very carefully. "I almost didn't recognize you."
Harry Potter grinned. "I don't hang out in wizarding establishments much. And I don't wear robes unless I'm working or something."
Cho and Colin sat down. "I meant," Cho said. "Your glasses are gone." and she looked again. "And your scar."
Harry smiled. "Security precaution." he said. "There are still plenty of people out there that want to see me dead."
Cho nodded and brought out parchment, ink and quill. Harry watched her quietly. She didn't get the same feeling from him that she did at school. He was more serious now. More sober. Or maybe that was an act. He had killed You-Know-Who and that had to change a person.
She grasped the quill and took a breath. "This is the first interview you have granted since the downfall of You-Know-Who." she began, "You have been very reclusive. No one has been able to find you in the two years since then. What makes you grant an interview now?"
"The Wizards Tribune is a new paper." Harry said, smiling softly. "I can't trust the Daily Prophet to report anything properly. I refused all requests from them for an interview. I have high hopes that the Wizards Tribune will show itself to be a paper of quality."
Cho felt like someone had put a building on her shoulders. She knew a warning when she heard one, no matter how thinly veiled. She was going to have to be very careful in this interview. Her editor was probably going to have a conniption.
She cleared her throat. "So no pressure?" she said lightly.
The soft smile never wavered. The green eyes twinkled a moment. "Not a bit." he said, as he reached for his tea.
Harry Potter had been a nice looking boy at school. He was gorgeous now. Dressed in a white button down shirt and black slacks, he looked every bit the Muggle. Cho could see more muscle than she ever remembered on the arms that came out of the short sleeves. He was unquestionably taking care of his body. She took a breath.
"Everyone wants to know what Harry Potter has been doing with himself these days." she said, looking at him as professionally as she could. "Everyone knows you are rich, but you mentioned work. Where do you work?"
"I am with a very small branch of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." he said vaguely.
Cho nodded. "That is a huge department. Would you care to be more specific for our readers?"
"No."
Cho swore inwardly. She would have to hope she could find out. Her editor had big plans for a series of articles. But it was beginning to feel like this was going to be a one shot deal.
"Do you enjoy your work?" she said, hoping he might reveal something.
"It is," and he paused. "Intrigueing." the smile on his lips apparently fixed. Cho made a quick note to herself: Dept of Intrigue?
Cho nodded. "When did you have your eyesight corrected? Or are those contract lenses?"
"My eyesight was magically corrected about six months ago. At the same time the scar was removed." he said, and Cho caught but could not interpret the look in his eyes.
Cho took a deep breath. She knew this was not going to be a long interview, so she had to make her questions good.
"The papers were filled with Ron Weasley's death. What is," she began.
Harry's whole face darkened. "No comment." he said suddenly and with such finality that Cho was completely at a loss.
"All right then." she stammered. "On a lighter note, then, shall we? There were a lot of girls in school who had a thing for you. I remember." she said, remembering that she was only one of many lined up for Harry Potters affection. "Have you finally settled down?"
Harry's smile finally widened. "As a matter of fact, I will be taking vows very soon."
Cho almost jumped from her seat to dance around the room. She'd hit pay dirt! "Really? Congratulations! Who is the lucky girl?"
Harry laughed out loud. "You don't honestly think I am going to tell you, do you?" he said. "I may be giving the Wizards Tribune a chance, but I am not about to hand anyone over to them on a silver platter."
Cho sighed. This was her first assignment and it was looking like it was over. She nodded. "All right. Maybe the next interview." she said, as she rolled up the parchment and put it and the quill and ink away. She glanced at Colin, who was opening his camera bag.
Harry was also watching. "No photo's, Colin. Sorry."
Colin looked up. There was no surprise whatsoever in his face. "Somehow I didn't think so." he said, grinning. He closed his bag. He watched as Herry drained the last of his tea. "So, Harry, now that the interview is over, why don't you tell us what's really been going on with you the past two years. All I've heard is rumors."
Harry seemed to look inside of Colin. "It's been a rough couple of years, Colin." he said.
He looked at Cho with a softening expression. "I didn't mean to be so sharp when I cut your question about Ron short." he said. "I'm still a bit tetchy about it."
Cho smiled. "I understand." she said. "How have you been, really. Off the record, I promise."
Harry laughed. "It had better be." he said. "Really? It's been a roller coaster two years. The highlights? I joined the magical police department, I fell in love, my best friend was killed."
Colin flinched. "Two out of three?" he laughed nervously.
"Well, the Department was something to do for a long time. Yes, Cho, I am rich. I don't have to work. I work because I like the challenge." Harry said, glancing over at Cho with half a grin.
"Well, your girl must work, right?" Cho said, not being able to avoid just one more attempt to find out some information she could use.
"Off the record, remember Cho." Harry said, with a sly grin. "If any of this shows up in the papers, I will never trust you or your paper again." and she knew that was no threat. It was a promise.
"Off the record." Cho sighed, although she knew she was going to regret it, she would keep it out of the papers.
Harry sat back in his chair and surveyed them. A waitress brought them more tea. Harry took a deep breath. "On July fourteenth I will be taking my vows."
Colin smiled. "But to who? I have been trying to figure out who would get famous Harry Potter. That's the dream of every witch in Britain."
Cho nodded. If she was going to get an answer to a question, it was this one. Who will Harry Potter be marrying. She knew she couldn't use the information, but she wanted to know for her own self.
Harry laughed and drank some of his tea. "Every witch in Britain is going to be disappointed." he said. "I am exchanging vows with another man."
Cho's mouth fell open. Colin choked. Harry reached over and patted Colin on the back until he regained his color. He then reached over and very gently closed Cho's mouth.
"You're joking." Cho said. "You can't be gay, Harry. You just can't be."
Harry laughed, "And why can't I be, Cho?" he asked. "Because I am Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived? Because I am the one who killed the most feared wizard in who knows how long?"
Cho turned red. "Well, yes," she stammered. "That and you just don't seem gay."
Colin laughed along with Harry at this. "And what does gay look like, Cho?" he asked. He pointed to himself with both hands. "Me? Small and skinny and weak?"
Cho turned a deeper shade of red. "Well, no. I." she struggled with her words.
"Well, good." Colin said. "My girlfriend will be glad to hear that."
Harry smiled at Cho. "I don't know how and I don't know why." he said. "You know I was with plenty of girls while I was at Hogwarts." and he took a mean pleasure in Cho turning yet another shade of red remembering her fifteen minutes of fame up in the astronomy tower towards the end of her seventh year. "When my boyfriend came into my life, or I should say back into my life, he changed it completely. I started falling in love with him almost immediately. From our first conversation."
Cho noticed his grin as he remembered. "All right then." she said. "But who? What man was able to turn Harry Potter into a bender?"
Harry frowned slightly at the derogatory comment. Cho realized she may have made a very bad mistake in her thoughtlessness. But for some reason she was angry and hurt and let down. Harry Potter was a faggot. And she'd had sex with him. How could he be gay? It was insulting to her ego.
"I wouldn't put it quite that way, Chang." came a soft and silky voice from directly behind her.
She whirled around and found herself looking a pair of cold grey eyes. The man standing behind her was as blonde as Harry was raven haired. His body build was very similar to Harry's, but he was a bit broader than he was. She remembered the muscular body well. It was not in the Astronomy tower, but in the dungeons of Hogwarts where she'd gotten to know it, albeit briefly.
"Draco Malfoy." she breathed.
Colin's mouth dropped open. Then he began chuckling and shaking his head. He was not laughing outright, perhaps in the hopes of not attracting any undue attention to their corner.
"Hello, Cho." Draco said. He seemed only slightly amused. "Long time no see. I almost didn't recognize you. Dressed."
Cho sucked in a breath. "You." she said, disbelief etched in her face and voice. "You are Harry Potter's lover?"
Draco walked around the table and pulled up a chair. He looked at Harry a moment as if considering and then he did it. He kissed Harry Potter full on the lips right in front of everyone. Cho heard the gasp escape her lips. The kiss was deep and passionate and even involved tongues. Cho's stomach turned as she realized that the had the biggest story of her short career. And she didn't know what to do about it.
Draco broke the kiss and sit down. He looked at Cho with half a grin on his face. "Yes. I am Harry Potters lover."
Draco looked across the table at Colin. Colin was still chuckling and shaking his head, but he managed to speak. "Hello, Draco."
Harry looked at Colin with mild concern. "Colin, are you all right?" he asked.
Colin took a handkerchief out of his robes and wiped his eyes. "Yes, Harry. I'm fine. The look on her face." and he began chuckling softly again. "Priceless. Abslo-fucking-lutely priceless."
Both Harry and Draco laughed at this. "Yes, it was wasn't it?" Harry said, now looking at Cho. "What's the problem, Cho? Is it that you can't handle famous Harry Potter being gay? Or is it that you can't handle famous Harry Potter who fucked you being with another man you fucked?" and at the look on her face continued. "I knew you fucked Malfoy when it happened. It was all over school, you know?"
Colin was crying with mirth still. "It was, Cho." ha said, trying to catch his breath.
Cho stood, reached over the table and slapped Harry as hard as she could manage. She grabbed the bag with her story in it, spun around and marched out of the Three Broomsticks.
Harry didn't move, he and Draco joined Colin in laughing.
Colin sobered finally. "She could make it difficult, you know." he said, wiping his eyes. "She is so mad she might decide to publish that, even though it was supposed to be off the record."
Harry shrugged. "She won't publish it. And, to be honest, Colin, I don't really care if she does."
The article appeared on the morning of Harry and Draco's wedding. Nothing they discussed off the record was in it. Harry had to admit he was impressed that Cho Chang showed some integrity.
The Three Broomsticks was magically cooled against the blazing hot early July weather. Cho Chang looked around for almost a full minute before she spotted him. She had to confirm it with her cameraman before she was sure. And even he, of the normally sharp eyes, took some time.
"That's him all right," Colin Creevy said, hefting his camera bag onto his shoulder.
They walked to the table where he sat, watching them. He rose as they reached the table.
"Hello, Cho." he said, hugging her gently. "Hello, Colin." he shook Colin's hand firmly. "It has been a long time."
"Hello Harry," Cho smiled. She looked at him very carefully. "I almost didn't recognize you."
Harry Potter grinned. "I don't hang out in wizarding establishments much. And I don't wear robes unless I'm working or something."
Cho and Colin sat down. "I meant," Cho said. "Your glasses are gone." and she looked again. "And your scar."
Harry smiled. "Security precaution." he said. "There are still plenty of people out there that want to see me dead."
Cho nodded and brought out parchment, ink and quill. Harry watched her quietly. She didn't get the same feeling from him that she did at school. He was more serious now. More sober. Or maybe that was an act. He had killed You-Know-Who and that had to change a person.
She grasped the quill and took a breath. "This is the first interview you have granted since the downfall of You-Know-Who." she began, "You have been very reclusive. No one has been able to find you in the two years since then. What makes you grant an interview now?"
"The Wizards Tribune is a new paper." Harry said, smiling softly. "I can't trust the Daily Prophet to report anything properly. I refused all requests from them for an interview. I have high hopes that the Wizards Tribune will show itself to be a paper of quality."
Cho felt like someone had put a building on her shoulders. She knew a warning when she heard one, no matter how thinly veiled. She was going to have to be very careful in this interview. Her editor was probably going to have a conniption.
She cleared her throat. "So no pressure?" she said lightly.
The soft smile never wavered. The green eyes twinkled a moment. "Not a bit." he said, as he reached for his tea.
Harry Potter had been a nice looking boy at school. He was gorgeous now. Dressed in a white button down shirt and black slacks, he looked every bit the Muggle. Cho could see more muscle than she ever remembered on the arms that came out of the short sleeves. He was unquestionably taking care of his body. She took a breath.
"Everyone wants to know what Harry Potter has been doing with himself these days." she said, looking at him as professionally as she could. "Everyone knows you are rich, but you mentioned work. Where do you work?"
"I am with a very small branch of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement." he said vaguely.
Cho nodded. "That is a huge department. Would you care to be more specific for our readers?"
"No."
Cho swore inwardly. She would have to hope she could find out. Her editor had big plans for a series of articles. But it was beginning to feel like this was going to be a one shot deal.
"Do you enjoy your work?" she said, hoping he might reveal something.
"It is," and he paused. "Intrigueing." the smile on his lips apparently fixed. Cho made a quick note to herself: Dept of Intrigue?
Cho nodded. "When did you have your eyesight corrected? Or are those contract lenses?"
"My eyesight was magically corrected about six months ago. At the same time the scar was removed." he said, and Cho caught but could not interpret the look in his eyes.
Cho took a deep breath. She knew this was not going to be a long interview, so she had to make her questions good.
"The papers were filled with Ron Weasley's death. What is," she began.
Harry's whole face darkened. "No comment." he said suddenly and with such finality that Cho was completely at a loss.
"All right then." she stammered. "On a lighter note, then, shall we? There were a lot of girls in school who had a thing for you. I remember." she said, remembering that she was only one of many lined up for Harry Potters affection. "Have you finally settled down?"
Harry's smile finally widened. "As a matter of fact, I will be taking vows very soon."
Cho almost jumped from her seat to dance around the room. She'd hit pay dirt! "Really? Congratulations! Who is the lucky girl?"
Harry laughed out loud. "You don't honestly think I am going to tell you, do you?" he said. "I may be giving the Wizards Tribune a chance, but I am not about to hand anyone over to them on a silver platter."
Cho sighed. This was her first assignment and it was looking like it was over. She nodded. "All right. Maybe the next interview." she said, as she rolled up the parchment and put it and the quill and ink away. She glanced at Colin, who was opening his camera bag.
Harry was also watching. "No photo's, Colin. Sorry."
Colin looked up. There was no surprise whatsoever in his face. "Somehow I didn't think so." he said, grinning. He closed his bag. He watched as Herry drained the last of his tea. "So, Harry, now that the interview is over, why don't you tell us what's really been going on with you the past two years. All I've heard is rumors."
Harry seemed to look inside of Colin. "It's been a rough couple of years, Colin." he said.
He looked at Cho with a softening expression. "I didn't mean to be so sharp when I cut your question about Ron short." he said. "I'm still a bit tetchy about it."
Cho smiled. "I understand." she said. "How have you been, really. Off the record, I promise."
Harry laughed. "It had better be." he said. "Really? It's been a roller coaster two years. The highlights? I joined the magical police department, I fell in love, my best friend was killed."
Colin flinched. "Two out of three?" he laughed nervously.
"Well, the Department was something to do for a long time. Yes, Cho, I am rich. I don't have to work. I work because I like the challenge." Harry said, glancing over at Cho with half a grin.
"Well, your girl must work, right?" Cho said, not being able to avoid just one more attempt to find out some information she could use.
"Off the record, remember Cho." Harry said, with a sly grin. "If any of this shows up in the papers, I will never trust you or your paper again." and she knew that was no threat. It was a promise.
"Off the record." Cho sighed, although she knew she was going to regret it, she would keep it out of the papers.
Harry sat back in his chair and surveyed them. A waitress brought them more tea. Harry took a deep breath. "On July fourteenth I will be taking my vows."
Colin smiled. "But to who? I have been trying to figure out who would get famous Harry Potter. That's the dream of every witch in Britain."
Cho nodded. If she was going to get an answer to a question, it was this one. Who will Harry Potter be marrying. She knew she couldn't use the information, but she wanted to know for her own self.
Harry laughed and drank some of his tea. "Every witch in Britain is going to be disappointed." he said. "I am exchanging vows with another man."
Cho's mouth fell open. Colin choked. Harry reached over and patted Colin on the back until he regained his color. He then reached over and very gently closed Cho's mouth.
"You're joking." Cho said. "You can't be gay, Harry. You just can't be."
Harry laughed, "And why can't I be, Cho?" he asked. "Because I am Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived? Because I am the one who killed the most feared wizard in who knows how long?"
Cho turned red. "Well, yes," she stammered. "That and you just don't seem gay."
Colin laughed along with Harry at this. "And what does gay look like, Cho?" he asked. He pointed to himself with both hands. "Me? Small and skinny and weak?"
Cho turned a deeper shade of red. "Well, no. I." she struggled with her words.
"Well, good." Colin said. "My girlfriend will be glad to hear that."
Harry smiled at Cho. "I don't know how and I don't know why." he said. "You know I was with plenty of girls while I was at Hogwarts." and he took a mean pleasure in Cho turning yet another shade of red remembering her fifteen minutes of fame up in the astronomy tower towards the end of her seventh year. "When my boyfriend came into my life, or I should say back into my life, he changed it completely. I started falling in love with him almost immediately. From our first conversation."
Cho noticed his grin as he remembered. "All right then." she said. "But who? What man was able to turn Harry Potter into a bender?"
Harry frowned slightly at the derogatory comment. Cho realized she may have made a very bad mistake in her thoughtlessness. But for some reason she was angry and hurt and let down. Harry Potter was a faggot. And she'd had sex with him. How could he be gay? It was insulting to her ego.
"I wouldn't put it quite that way, Chang." came a soft and silky voice from directly behind her.
She whirled around and found herself looking a pair of cold grey eyes. The man standing behind her was as blonde as Harry was raven haired. His body build was very similar to Harry's, but he was a bit broader than he was. She remembered the muscular body well. It was not in the Astronomy tower, but in the dungeons of Hogwarts where she'd gotten to know it, albeit briefly.
"Draco Malfoy." she breathed.
Colin's mouth dropped open. Then he began chuckling and shaking his head. He was not laughing outright, perhaps in the hopes of not attracting any undue attention to their corner.
"Hello, Cho." Draco said. He seemed only slightly amused. "Long time no see. I almost didn't recognize you. Dressed."
Cho sucked in a breath. "You." she said, disbelief etched in her face and voice. "You are Harry Potter's lover?"
Draco walked around the table and pulled up a chair. He looked at Harry a moment as if considering and then he did it. He kissed Harry Potter full on the lips right in front of everyone. Cho heard the gasp escape her lips. The kiss was deep and passionate and even involved tongues. Cho's stomach turned as she realized that the had the biggest story of her short career. And she didn't know what to do about it.
Draco broke the kiss and sit down. He looked at Cho with half a grin on his face. "Yes. I am Harry Potters lover."
Draco looked across the table at Colin. Colin was still chuckling and shaking his head, but he managed to speak. "Hello, Draco."
Harry looked at Colin with mild concern. "Colin, are you all right?" he asked.
Colin took a handkerchief out of his robes and wiped his eyes. "Yes, Harry. I'm fine. The look on her face." and he began chuckling softly again. "Priceless. Abslo-fucking-lutely priceless."
Both Harry and Draco laughed at this. "Yes, it was wasn't it?" Harry said, now looking at Cho. "What's the problem, Cho? Is it that you can't handle famous Harry Potter being gay? Or is it that you can't handle famous Harry Potter who fucked you being with another man you fucked?" and at the look on her face continued. "I knew you fucked Malfoy when it happened. It was all over school, you know?"
Colin was crying with mirth still. "It was, Cho." ha said, trying to catch his breath.
Cho stood, reached over the table and slapped Harry as hard as she could manage. She grabbed the bag with her story in it, spun around and marched out of the Three Broomsticks.
Harry didn't move, he and Draco joined Colin in laughing.
Colin sobered finally. "She could make it difficult, you know." he said, wiping his eyes. "She is so mad she might decide to publish that, even though it was supposed to be off the record."
Harry shrugged. "She won't publish it. And, to be honest, Colin, I don't really care if she does."
The article appeared on the morning of Harry and Draco's wedding. Nothing they discussed off the record was in it. Harry had to admit he was impressed that Cho Chang showed some integrity.