A/N: I'm so so so so sorry for the long wait. But well, shit happens. Major writer's block, the hailstorm of plot bunnies, brother-in-laws killing your dog, grandparents dying, piles and piles of homework, (which I should be doing now), weekend trips, and tons of other things besides. But I'm sure none of you care, and you're all saying, get over it! Finish the damn story! Trust me... I want to get this done too. Even if it does make me sad to say I'm almost done.
This chapter is shorter than normal but if I would have gone any further, it would have been a cliff-hanger, and as many of you have pointed out, I have a lot of those. I thought I'd be nice for once. ::grins:: Oh well, this one is still thirteen pages long - about the length of the first chapters. Oh, and chocolate frogs to everybody who has reviewed. I appreciate it muchly! So without further rambling, I give you chapter fourteen of Changing Face.
Chapter Fourteen
Faintly in the back of Harry's mind, he wondered why he could smell the acrid scent of burning flesh. Without being cautious, they ran up the driveway to the abandoned house.
There they were met by a sight that made their hearts jump into their throats.
Five forms were hanging from trees and alight with fire. It took Harry a moment to process that those forms were the bodies of five of his aurors. Sickness rolled over him and he fought off nausea. He could hear the startled cries and screams of the people around him. Draco had grabbed his arm tightly and seemed to not be breathing.
"Harry... oh, Merlin. One of them is still screaming and moving. She's alive," he whispered, horrified.
And Harry realised that the screaming he heard was not from the people on the ground. It was from a woman in the tree. But as soon as he realised this, she stopped and was still, the flames still licking her body. He swallowed and finally came to his senses and walked forward to put the flames out. He held up his hands and sent jets of water at three of the bodies and extinguished the fire while two other people did the same with their wands. They were then levitated to the ground and laid carefully out. There was no recognising these people. Their skin was completely gone and bones were now showing.
Harry looked around at his living aurors and pointed at two of them, not caring what their names were at the moment.
"You two, go look around the perimeter of this land. See if there is anybody there. Be careful, they might take you by surprise if there is somebody."
Draco came and stood next to Harry again and stared down at the bodies in horror.
"Do you think they're trying to be funny or something? They hate Muggles. Muggles used to burn wizards. Now they are burning wizards. Irony at its worse."
"I'd say," Harry whispered faintly.
The two aurors Harry had sent out came back and said that there was nobody hiding in the woods. Harry's mind immediately went into a mode where he had no control over it. He didn't remember telling somebody to Apparate to the office in Hull so that they could get a coroner for five people. He didn't remember telling three people to stay with the bodies and he certainly didn't remember driving back to Hull and then Apparating back to the Ministry in London. To all appearances, he was in control, but in actuality, he was falling apart.
This fight against the Death Eaters was taking its toll on him. They seemed to know what they were doing. Wear down Potter until he can't go on anymore and then we'll get it. It seemed to be their plan. Some people would say that he was weak for wearing down so quickly. But Harry figured he would hex them if anybody said that. He had been fighting this his entire life. And from the looks of it, it would never go away.
Harry wearily walked into his office, shut the door and sunk down into his chair. Even with his hands over his face, Ron's voice didn't surprise him. He hadn't noticed his friend sitting in his office when he walked in but he could sense him.
"All right there, Harry?"
He looked up wearily into his friends face and leaned back in his chair. "Ron?"
"Yeah?" Harry sighed and looked up at the ceiling, giving the impression that it was the most fascinating thing in the world.
"Will this ever be over? Will I ever get to live the life I've always wanted? I just... I just want a family with no worries about Voldemort and Death Eaters. I want to be able to teach my kids how to fly in the backyard without worrying. I want normal. Is there even a such thing?"
"I think so. There is a normal, but since you have yet to experience it, it doesn't seem like a reality. Harry, you must never give up hope that this will be over. We'll beat them, you and Ginny will get married, have your baby, and then have even more babies. You'll be able to teach your kids how to fly.... though I doubt they'll need to be taught. They'll probably be reaching for those broomsticks the moment they get out of the womb."
Both men smiled and laughed a little. "I hope so, Ron. Merlin, do I ever hope so."
*~*~*
The next two days passed without any significant events. Harry continued going into work and making plans for a future ambush on the Death Eaters, and collecting information on their activities at Malfoy Manor. It seemed as though they had sneaked in a few prisoners by the cover of night. What was odd, was that nobody had filed a missing persons report, so they had nothing to go on. Pansy Parkinson was currently doing an excellent job as an undercover agent. She had disabled all charms working against the aurors in the Manor without being too obvious. The charms were now irreparable. They had been smashed into bits and a couple well placed charms made them so that no more magic could be placed on them. All in all, Harry was happy with the way things were going. With all the activity going on, he almost forgot about Wormtail's trial on Saturday. Almost.
On the morning of, Harry's house was bustling with people running about. Remus, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione were there helping Harry with anything that he may need help with. Which was mainly moral support. Without them, he would have gone on a rage. Just thinking of Wormtail was enough to make his blood boil. The only one of the five adults that was not going was Hermione, since she had a baby that needed to be cared for. With all of them dressed in their best robes, they Disapparated with a small pop to the Ministry of Magic to witness Wormtail's conviction.
The room that it was being held in, was much like the room that Harry had fallen into when he had been looking into Dumbledore's pensieve in his fourth year. There was a chair with magical ropes attached, waiting for the prisoner to be brought in. And hundreds of seats for people to sit to watch the proceedings. Harry took a seat in the front row with Remus on one side and Ginny on the other. Ron had gone to sit with some other aurors that he was friends with. Harry was very grateful for having Ginny at the moment. She seemed to be clinging to him for support, which was helping tremendously. The fact of knowing that the rat had helped kill his parents and then Sirius, was enough to make him collapse with a combination of anger and grief. He wanted the man to rot in hell for all he had done.
The man heading the proceedings came in and took his place to the left of Harry. He called for Wormtail to be brought in. Two dementors came in, dragging a very tired and old looking Peter Pettigrew between then. Harry felt his insides go cold and he retracted from the horrid beings. Remus, sensing this, put a hand on his knee and leaned in. "I have chocolate in my pocket." The absurdity of this statement made Harry laugh loudly but he quickly stifled it as soon as the majority of the room glared in his direction.
"Thank you. But I think I'll be fine for now. Just as long as they don't come too near." Remus smiled a small smile. He had been a bit out of sorts all day. It was probably due to the fact that he'd be seeing his once best friend being sentenced to either life in Azkaban or the Dementor's Kiss. "Are you going to be okay?" Harry asked softly.
"Yes. It's just a little weird. If somebody had told me back in Hogwarts that one of my best friends would be here, waiting to be sentenced for killing my other two best friends," he choked on his last words and looked down. Harry wrapped a comforting arm around him.
"I know. I can see what you're going through, Moony. I'm sorry. It shouldn't have been this way."
"I know. We were Marauders. Nothing would ever get us. We were invincible. Sirius always said that. 'We're the Marauders! Nothing and nobody will ever get us!' And then your dad would jump in with this stupid song that he had dubbed our theme song. He'd sing it at the top of his lungs until somebody would shut him up with a charm. The only way he'd get out of it was by going to Lily and giving her puppy dog eyes."
"What was the song? Did he make it up?"
"The words, yes. But he put it to that one Muggle song, 'We Are the Champions.' 'We Are the Marauders'" Remus chuckled quietly. "It didn't even fit with the tempo of the song but he'd speed the words up just to make it fit. It was terrible."
Harry looked up at Wormtail, who was now tied down to the chair. The Dementors were gone now and it looked as though he had energy coming back into him. They made eye contact and Harry could have sworn that there was a pleading look in his eyes. Harry merely glared. There was no room for sympathy when it came to that rat. The proceedings started a moment after and Wormtail was given Veritaserum.
"Please state your name," said the man heading the court.
"Peter Pettigrew," he stated in a monotone voice.
"And are you, or are you not, a Death Eater?"
"I am."
"Where were you on the evening of January 5, 2003?"
"I was at a wizard's park in Los Angeles, California."
"What was the purpose of this visit to this particular park?"
"I went there with my fellow Death Eaters in hopes that we would finally be able to kill James Newark."
Harry looked at Ginny nervously. "Why did he use that name?" he whispered.
"I don't know. Could it be possible that he didn't know?"
"I have no idea." Harry closed his eyes. "I hope he doesn't say anything."
"And what happened when you arrived?"
"We waited in the trees, watching Newark, the Weasley's, Black, Lupin, Draco Malfoy, and some Muggle eating and playing Quidditch." At this the man looked confused.
"A Muggle was playing Quidditch?"
"No, he was watching."
"Okay, what happened that night?"
"They were eating dinner when Sirius Black stood up all of a sudden. I think I was the only one to see. He ran to us but I couldn't find him even after I changed into my rat form to look. He disappeared and plus it was getting dark and his Animagus form is black. When I changed back to my human form, he was just getting back to the table. I decided to take matters into my own hands and try to aim for Newark to finally finish him off. But Black was stupid and jumped in front of Newark. So, it was Black who died instead of my intended target.
"I saw a shield go up around the table by Newark's bodyguards and Newark fell over Black's body and I could see them speaking. I knew when Black finally died because Newark laid his head on him. But then after he spoke to Lupin, he stood up, had an argument with his bodyguards and walked right through the shield. I was still the only one who had seen him leave the others. But he turned invisible and I couldn't tell where he was. I only had time to warn the others that Newark was coming before somebody started to attack us. He killed about seven of our numbers, and stunned me so that I could see what I did. Or at least, that is what he said."
"Okay." The man turned to a woman beside him. "Please contact this James Newark. We will need to speak with him." With terrified eyes, Harry looked between Remus and Ginny. Remus squeezed his arm while Ginny squeezed his hand even tighter. "And how long, Mr. Pettigrew, have you been a follower of You Know Who?"
"Since 1979."
"And what caused you to become one?"
"The woman I loved married somebody else. The day after her marriage, I went to the Dark Lord. He had been wanting me anyway, so I conceded after she betrayed me."
"And who was this woman?"
"Lily Evans."
Remus stood up so quickly that Harry started. He didn't know who to stare at more, Remus or Wormtail. "You filthy liar!" Remus shouted while pointing his shaking finger at Peter. "Lily never betrayed you. She never even knew that how you felt about her. Don't you remember that I was the only one you told?"
"I told her the day before the wedding. She refused me, Remus."
"And for good reason, you disgusting excuse for a human!"
"At least I am a human," Wormtail sneered back.
This time Harry jumped up and started for the little rat so that he could strangle him himself, but Remus held him back. "It's not worth it," he muttered.
"ENOUGH! This is a court. I suggest you deal with this later. I have a line of questioning for this man. Now, sit you two." Harry and Remus both sat, both turning slightly red in the face.
"Peter Pettigrew, is this why you let You Know Who kill Lily and James Potter? Because you believed Lily to have betrayed you?"
"Yes. Lily and I could have been happy together." Harry felt himself clenching his jaw and balling his hands into tight fists. Ginny, seeing this, unfolded his hand and held it in her own.
"That will be all, Mr. Pettigrew."
Two dementors swarmed in and took Wormtail by the arms and dragged him out. "The court now calls Mr. Harry Potter."
Harry took a deep breath, stood up and walked to the chair. Thankfully, the thing did not tie him up. Though he knew it wouldn't, he still had the crazy idea that it would as soon as he sat down. A balding, muscular wizard walked to him with a vile of clear liquid.
"Open your mouth and hold up your tongue," he instructed. Harry complied and he felt three drops of the liquid drop into his mouth. The effect was instantaneous. His head cleared of all thought and a slightly queasy feeling entered his stomach.
"Please state your name," he heard a voice from far away state.
"Harry James Potter," he said without thinking.
"Mr. Potter, where were you the night of Mr. Sirius Black's death?"
"I was at a wizard's park in L.A."
"Really? Mr. Pettigrew never mentioned you. Why is that?"
"I don't think he knew that I was there."
"And why would that be?"
"He thought I was James Newark."
"So, it was you who caught and killed all of those Death Eaters?"
"Yes, it was me."
"That explains it better. Do you know, Mr. Potter, why the Death Eaters would want to kill Mr. Newark?"
"Yes, I do."
"And? Why would they want to?"
"Because they have wanted to kill me ever since I destroyed Voldemort."
A collective gasp went up in the room and whispers started. Harry could hear people exclaiming in wonder that it really was him who had saved them again. And even more exclamations about how he said his name.
"Please, Mr. Potter, do not say his name here. You will upset people."
"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself. He is gone, he won't hurt anybody anymore. I will say his name all I want."
A large sigh. "Fine. Could you please elaborate, Mr. Potter? How would killing Mr. Newark help them kill you?"
"Because I am James Newark."
Another gasp went up around the room and more whispers started up. "Silence! How is this possible, Mr. Potter?"
"James Newark was my alias when I left the wizarding world for the States. Sirius found me almost a year ago and persuaded me to come back to play professional Quidditch. I did not want to come back as Harry Potter so I opted to keep my alias. I did not come out as Harry Potter again until only a couple months ago."
"Please!" Remus exclaimed suddenly. "This has nothing to do with Peter Pettigrew! I ask that this information not be released until Harry is ready to release it to the public. He will come clean soon. He promised Sirius before he died."
"Fine." He turned to all the reporters whose quills were moving rapidly. "Do not print this in the papers. That is up to Mr. Potter." Deep inside, Harry was rejoicing. He had tried to stop himself from speaking but it all came flooding out of him. The questioning continued that had to do with Peter Pettigrew and Harry heard himself answer everything he knew of the man. When Harry finally returned to his seat, he was shaking badly and he could feel the effects of the Veritaserum finally wearing off. Whispers started up again when he stood but Harry kept his head up and sat down beside Ginny and Remus again. Ginny wrapped her arms around him and Harry kissed her cheek.
"I didn't know they were going to do that," he said shakily.
"It'll be fine, Harry," Ginny soothed. "The reporters won't say anything." Harry scoffed.
"Since when has a high member of a court stopped them from saying anything? Especially when the story is this big? I can just imagine the headlines tomorrow."
"Don't worry about it now. Only worry about it when it comes, okay? Who knows if it will until you say something." Harry nodded and looked up at the two rows of reporters. The first one he saw was the one who had gone to his house for Witch Weekly. She was looking at him strangely. Harry wondered if the memory charm had worn off or not. The rest of the proceedings passed slowly even though only two more people were interviewed. One of them being Remus, though Harry could tell that nobody was taking his testimony seriously, even under Veritaserum. This angered Harry to no end. He swore to himself that if he could, he'd get the law changed in favour of Remus, so that he could be considered human.
After all were questioned, the court was released for a recess while the verdict was decided. Remus, Harry, Ginny, and Ron all made their way into a room off of the court to drink pumpkin juice while they waited. Swarms of people were moving through the room, giving Harry confused, and admiring looks as they passed. Harry would just smile and nod at them, squeezing Ginny's hand tighter each time.
"Excuse me, excuse me! Mr. Potter, could I have a word with you?"
Harry spun on the spot to see the woman who had interviewed him at his house, squeezing through the massive crowds. He smiled nervously and nodded. "Miss Wendling? Correct?"
"Yes. Mr. Potter, I was just wondering when you were planning on coming out to the public about your alias. Especially with all those rumours before, it would certainly explain a lot."
"I'm not entirely sure, actually. I guess it just depends on when I get done with my work at the Ministry. Hopefully, it'll be soon, I did promise Sirius to tell everybody who I really am."
The reporter smiled shyly, which Ginny glared at. "I was also wondering if you'd um... like to go out for dinner sometime?"
Harry gave a start and winced a little when Ginny squeezed his hand to an almost unbearable point. "Oh! Well, I'm flattered, really I am. But you see, I'm engaged to Ginny here."
The reporter turned a slight pink colour and offered Ginny an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. I didn't know if that was part of your facade before, you know? I thought I'd give it a try."
"It's alright," Harry assured.
"Well, I um... better be going. Congratulations." She scurried off through the crowds again. Harry made sure that she was well out of ear and eye shot before he burst out laughing, Ron joining in from beside him..
"Oh, I'm sorry, but that was hilarious. I can't believe she actually asked you out!" Ron exclaimed.
"Part of my facade. Honestly," Harry said, shaking his head.
He turned and looked at Ginny, and tried to keep back the insane grin from spreading across his face when he saw that Ginny was still looking murderously towards where the reporter had disappeared to. Harry wrapped his arms around her and nuzzled his face into her neck. She sighed with content and hugged him back.
"Okay, you two lovebirds. They're calling us back in," Remus said, very obviously amused.
Harry pulled away from his fiancee and slapped Remus over the shoulder. "You get pleasure in breaking us up, don't you?"
Remus gave him an innocent look. "Why, I do believe I know what you're insinuating, but I don't think I like it one bit!"
Harry rolled his eyes and began making his way through the crowd back into the courtroom. They took their previously vacated seats, waiting for the proceedings to begin once again. After a long ten minute wait, everybody was seated once more and Peter Pettigrew was called in once more. The Dementors placed him in the chair where he was once again bound.
"Peter Pettigrew! You have been brought here today under the accusations of being a Death Eater, the direct murder of Mr. Sirius Black, the murder of thirteen Muggles, and of turning Mr. James and Lily Potter into You Know Who twenty-four years ago.
"Under the evidence and testimonies given here today, the day of February 3rd, 2003, we have come to a verdict. Mr. Peter Pettigrew, for the murder of Sirius Black, you are hereby sentenced to a life-term in Azkaban prison. For the murder of thirteen Muggles, one and a half lifetimes in Azkaban prison. For revealing James and Lily Potter, one life sentence will be served in Azkaban prison. Last but not least, for conspiring with You Know Who and his Death Eaters, two lifetime sentences in Azkaban prison, no chance for parole. Let it be known that Mr. Peter Pettigrew is an Animagus in the form of a rat, and will be placed in a anti-Animagus cell, and will be monitored day and night by no less than three Dementors. This court is dismissed."
A large round of applause rent the air as two Dementors came in and escorted Wormtail out of the room. Harry caught his eye on the way out and gave him a smile. Wormtail immediately looked away, and back into his impending doom.
"He's gone from our lives for good now, Harry," Remus said quietly. "One less Death Eater on our lists."
"One down, fifty to go." Ginny took his hand as Remus laid a hand on his shoulder, and they walked out of the courtroom, happy that justice had finally been served for three people who lost their lives prematurely because of a man they had once trusted. "Monday starts a new work day for me. Those bastards better be scared, because I'm coming for them."
***
"Harry? Harry. Harry. Harry! Wake up!" "Shh... I'm looking for the leprachaun."
"Um... what?"
"I'm looking for the leprechaun. Quiet, it'll get away again," Harry mumbled.
"Harry, what in the world are you talking about? You are not looking for a leprechaun. Your lazy arse is still lying in bed when you said you'd come to the doctor with me today."
Harry mumbled something incoherently and rolled onto his stomach, where he promptly began to snore. Ginny sighed, clearly exasperated. She pointed her wand at him and sent a shock at him.
"Ahh!" he screamed as he jumped up. "Why'd you do that for?" he asked sleepily.
"I've been trying to wake you up. My doctors appointment is in twenty minutes."
"Oh! I'm sorry! I'll get up right away."
As Harry jumped up from bed, Ginny began to walk towards the bedroom door. "By the way, you have strange dreams about leprechauns," she threw over her shoulder as she closed the door behind herself. Harry shook his head and continued to dress, muttering dark things about leprechauns under his breath. Five minutes later, Harry was running down the stairs and into the kitchen, where he nearly ran into Remus.
"Morning, Remmy. How'd you sleep?"
"Here's a cup of coffee. I knew you'd need it. And I slept fairly well. How about you? I hope those pesky leprechauns aren't getting you again," Remus replied with a smirk.
Harry flushed slightly and sat at the kitchen table. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said lamely, taking a drink from his mug. Remus guffawed loudly and left the room.
"Harry, we need to leave!" came Ginny's voice from the hallway.
"Yes'm," he groaned.
"I heard that," Ginny shot back at him.
Harry threw his coffee cup into the sink and ran out the door after Ginny. Immediately after she Disapparated, he followed to the nearest wizarding doctor's office in London. "Come on, slow poke," Ginny teased as soon as he appeared by her side. Harry poked her in the side in retaliation. She merely ignored him and continued into the receptionist area. "Hello," she said as she walked up to the front desk. "I have an appointment for 8:30 with Dr. Weinman."
"Name?" the receptionist asked. The woman looked up at Ginny and Harry felt shivers go down his spine at her eyes. They were a creepy dark purple colour. Ginny, however seemed unfazed.
"Ginny Weasley."
"Have a seat, Ms. Weasley. I'll inform Dr. Weinman that you're here."
"Thank you."
Harry had already taken a seat and had picked up a Quidditch magazine. The front was splashed with a bright orange, proclaiming the Cannons to be in their best season ever. Harry sighed, slightly sad that he couldn't take part in it for a while. He really missed the rough contact sport. Opening the pages, he flipped to the page with his team's article on it. The reporter had concentrated on each player in turn and at the end, there were a few paragraphs about Harry, or rather James Newark, saying how he was currently on a leave of absence for unknown reasons.
"Do you miss it?" Ginny asked, breaking Harry from his reading.
"Yeah. I love being an auror and all, but it's nothing compared to Quidditch. I love doing something where I know that the possibility that I might have to kill somebody is there. I'm tired."
Ginny nodded, knowing that he wasn't speaking about lack of sleep. "So am I. But you're getting closer. You'll get there soon."
"We will. But, let's not talk about it right now. When can we find out what the sex of the baby is?"
Ginny looked at him surprised. "You want to know?"
"Well, yes. Don't you?"
"I've always wanted it to be a surprise."
Harry threw the magazine back on the table beside him and stared at the London traffic outside, zooming by. "Oh. What are we going to do then? I like knowing what's going to happen."
"I don't know. We wouldn't be able to find out until I'm four months along anyhow. So, we still have two months to figure that out. A little more than that actually. I'm only about five weeks along right now."
"Ms. Weasley?"
"Yes, that's me. Come on, Harry."
Harry stood up and grabbed Ginny's hand, and they followed the short balding man into a back room. When they arrived, Harry was surprised to see that they had Muggle machinery in the room. Ginny immediately laid upon the table, waiting for the doctor to begin.
"Are you the father, then?" Dr. Weinman asked.
"Yes, Harry Potter," he replied as they shook hands.
Nothing flashed behind the doctor's brown eyes and Harry was extremely relieved. "Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Potter. Ms. Weasley, a pleasure as well. As I'm sure you've both noticed, we have Muggle equipment here." At Harry and Ginny's nod, he continued. "We have found that their equipment has worked very well. There have been a few adjustments made on them of course to make them better. Our system for ultra-sounds here in wizarding London are the most advanced in the world, with Muggle technology and new wizarding spells combined. The picture is very clear and you can actually see what the baby looks like, though it still is a little fuzzy. We'll just get started then."
The doctor began spreading a gel over Ginny's stomach, cast a spell on her, then took out some sort of Muggle instrument and pressed it to different parts of her stomach. Harry watched the screen and admitted a little gasp as a clear picture came up of the smallest human that Harry had ever seen.
"I'll zoom up so that you can see the face. There isn't much there yet as you aren't that far along."
The picture zoomed up, and Harry saw that his soon to be son or daughter looked a little like an alien. But to him, it was the most beautiful thing in the world. He grabbed Ginny's hand and smiled at her. "Would you like to hear the heartbeat? I'd say it only started about two weeks ago."
"Yes," Harry and Ginny said in unison.
Moments later a strong heartbeat filled the room, and Harry felt his heart clench happily in his chest. "That's amazing," Ginny murmured. She turned her head from the screen and smiled at Harry again. "We made that." Harry smiled softly and kissed her nose.
"Yes, we did."
Ginny smiled a watery smile and turned back to the screen. Harry sighed happily. This was what he'd been waiting for all his life. As simple as it was, he'd only wanted a family. And he was finally getting it. ***
The happy couple arrived home an hour later, feeling very estatic about their coming baby. It seemed that nothing could ruin their happy mood. But then they had to go and ruin it by walking into Harry's house. The sight that met them did not bode well in their favour - at all.
"Virginia Weasley and Harry Potter!" stormed Molly Weasley. "I demand an explanation right now!"
Harry looked nervously at his fiancee before smiling weakly and letting go of Ginny's hand. He moved boldly forward and kissed Molly's cheek. "Good morning, Molly. Would you like anything to drink, eat, anything? Anything at all?" he asked as he led her to the living room.
"Oh... tea would be nice."
"Ginny and I would be happy to get you some. Just sit in here and we'll be right back in here and explain whatever it is that you want from us."
"You better not think you're getting off the hook for anything, Harry Potter. Because you most certainly aren't."
"I didn't think so. I just want to be a good host. Come on, Ginny. Let's get your dear mother a cup of tea."
Ginny rolled her eyes but followed Harry anyway. "You sure do know how to put it on, don't you?" she asked once they were in the kitchen.
"Yes. I learned to do it while in the States. It's a useful trait to have, you know."
"I've already put a teapot on," said Remus coming into the room. "I thought Molly might need it when she came over here in that rage."
"What exactly is she angry about, Remus?" Ginny asked curiously.
"I believe it's because you two haven't set a date for the wedding yet."
"Oh, please," Ginny scoffed. "That is no reason to be so upset."
"According to her, it is. I suggest you hurry up with that tea. I'm going out to meet old Mundungus. We haven't seen each other in a while. Oh, and I suggest July 15th."
"Why?" Harry asked curiously.
Remus gave him a confused look. "Did we really not tell you that much about your parents, Harry?" Harry shrugged. "Well, remind me to do so later. That was the date your parents got married. You'd be getting married on their twenty-fourth anniversary that way. But it's up to you. It's just a suggestion."
"We'll take it into consideration, Remus. Thank you," Ginny replied smiling.
"It's nothing. I'll see you two later."
"Have fun with Fletcher," Harry called after him. Remus waved and disappeared around a corner. By this time, Ginny had the tea done and she walked into the living room with three cups on a tray.
"Good. I thought you two had forgotten about me," Molly said irritably.
"Really, mum. Harry and I not setting a date isn't something to get so worked up about."
"I should think it would be! Ginny, you're pregnant with his child! You should be getting married to him, immediately!"
"Molly... there are things that wouldn't work if we got married right now. That's why we're waiting. The baby - well, that was unexpected, but it happened and there isn't anything we can do about it."
"Yes, mum. I agree with him. With Harry being an auror, I don't want to get married. I mean, what if something happened to him?"
"Shouldn't that be a reason to be married to him? You'd regret it if something did happen, Ginny!"
"Maybe, but I just can't do it. I want to wait until things have settled down again. If it'll make you happy, we'll set a date, but it's not definite. It depends on a lot of things."
"Well, what's the date then? We need to start planning this out."
Ginny sighed. "July 15th sound okay, Harry?"
"Yeah. It sounds perfect." Harry smiled.
"Great," Molly replied briskly. "Now, Harry - I expect you to help out with every step. You need to have a say in everything, from colour, to food, to flowers."
Harry groaned.
***
Much to Harry's dismay, he spent the rest of Sunday planning out details for a wedding. Ginny wasn't thrilled at first but she quickly got into it and was squealing right along with her mother. Harry had never wanted ear plugs so badly as he had that day.
Though when Monday came, he found that he would much rather have it be Sunday again, and listen to his future wife and mother-in-law plan out his wedding. Things were getting worse by the minute with the Death Eaters and Harry knew that his team of aurors would have to strike soon or suffer the consequences. Draco Malfoy spent next to no time in his cell on Monday because he was helping the strategists with the plan for attack. Ron spent the day in the field, getting more information, while Harry sat in his office, doing paperwork and watching over the work that was being done around the office.
It wasn't until almost three in the afternoon that anybody actually approached Harry to speak with him. Everybody knew that he was in a foul mood. But the person who approached him had never had any qualms with this before, and walked bravely in without knocking.
"Potter."
"Malfoy," Harry replied with a quirk to the side of his mouth. Draco seemed to be in high spirits about the way things were going, and was in an especially good mood, even for being in the custody of the Ministry. "To what do I owe this honour?"
Draco smiled winningly and sat in a seat before Harry's desk. "I've just come to visit. They didn't really need me anymore and I didn't want to be dragged back down to my cell... so I hauled arse into here."
Harry smiled a little sadly at Draco, signed a paper, then threw his quill onto his desk. "Don't worry about it, Draco. You won't be in there for that much longer. So, how are those plans coming with Malfoy Manor?"
"I think they've turned out well. I believe they're done and just waiting for approval."
"Well, I'm sure they'll be fine. Why aren't they bringing them to me yet? I need to know the plan."
"Don't get your knickers in a bunch, Harry. They'll get to you."
"I should hope so. But I'm guessing you don't really want to speak about this right now."
"Not particularly. No."
"Okay. I've been meaning to ask you something anyway."
"What's that?"
"When you get out of this mess, what do you plan on doing?"
Draco shook his head slightly. "I don't know what you mean."
"Well, you'll have Rebecca back, you'll be cleared of all charges - what are you going to do? Get married? Have kids? Play some more Quidditch? Get a job at the Ministry? What are your plans? I'm sure that you've had time to think these sorts of things through."
"More than enough. Believe me. I suppose I'll do everything that I've wanted to do for the past five years. I have an engagement ring ready to give to Becca, kids would be good. My mother would be extremely happy to have some grandchildren running around. I don't know if I'll go back to Quidditch though."
"Why not?"
"Being in the public eye after being accused of being a Death Eater, Harry? Surely you know that that's not any fun."
Harry swallowed. "Yes. I do know that unfortunately."
"I just... I don't know if I want to go back to that. Sure, I love Quidditch, but I'm just not sure that I want to go back to it. What about you? After all this is over, are you going to stay an auror, or are you going back to the Cannons?"
"I want to, yes. It all depends on what happens, I reckon. I think Ginny wants me to, and I know I definitely miss it. It's sad to say it, but I don't know if I'd want to play if you weren't there."
Draco looked genuinely surprised by this announcement and only managed to stare at Harry for a few moments, making Harry laugh a little. "Yes, that is what I said. I don't know if I'll play if you're not there," Harry repeated.
"Yes. I know that. But... why?"
"Because you've always been there. The only time I didn't think Quidditch and think of you was in first year... well I suppose that's a lie. I always thought of how jealous you must be of me..."
Draco scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest, looking very irritable about that. Harry smiled and leaned back in his chair. "It's the truth though. It's been a nice change of pace to actually play the game with you, not against you. And that isn't just saying for the field either, Draco. I mean all the time."
Draco nodded and smiled a little, which the smile then turned into a smirk. "Well, Potter, I'm glad we had this sentimental talk, but if you don't mind, I think I'll be throwing myself into my cell and throwing away the key. Don't bother to come visit me because I'll have gouged my ear drums out, only so that I will never have to listen to you again."
"Well, that would be a shame. Try not to leave too much blood on the floor."
Draco smiled and drew his knees up to his chest, and wrapped his arms around them protectively. "No, but really, Harry - I know what you mean. It's a nice change of pace. I don't think I would change a thing."
A/N: Again, sorry sorry sorry for the extremely long wait for this chapter. I would appreciate reviews ever so much! :) So, please click that review button, even if it's to tell me how stupid I am for making everybody wait for so long. I'll try harder for the next chapter. The next chapter will be starting right into the action I believe. I've got it mapped out in my head, but it's subject to change a bit! Thank you so much to everybody who has already reviewed. Your constant reminders helped me keep going with the story through everything, even if it was to only write a paragraph a week, I got through this chapter! There's now only two or three more chapters to go before I'm done! ::sniffle:: This is my baby! :) March 4, 2003