Evocation 04

• Partners •

"Mother, what you do effects me as well," Draco said. Harry could hear him moving about, as if pacing. Harry realized that Draco must be trying to dissuade Narcissa from seeing him again, even though Draco didn't know who it was. Harry smirked, wondering if Draco would ever know, and how he'd react if he ever did find out.

Consciously Harry hoped that he wouldn't have to deal with that, he'd had enough of death for his entire life.

"You are a Malfoy," Draco snapped. "And my mother," he added, as if it wasn't as important as the name. "Anything you do effects our family in the long run, whether you deny it or not."

"I've denied nothing, nor do I intend to."

"There isn't a single man I know of who would defy me in such a way and sleep with my mother."

Narcissa laughed while Harry smiled from the bathroom. Draco had never learned to think properly, even after everyone that had supported him during the war was killed or stuck in a cell without a soul. It was foolish for him to have not adapted to the new life where he wasn't all powerful as his father had been promising since he was a child. Draco had friends, yes, but they weren't the sort of people that would hang on his every word. Draco had friends because he was the heir to the Malfoy estate, and had that not been the case, Harry doubted that many of them would be around at all.

"You defile the house through your indiscretions." Malfoy hissed. "You bring shame upon the Malfoy name."

Right then Harry almost marched out of the bathroom in the robe to bring Malfoy to his senses. It seemed that Draco had not realized how ineffective his arguments would be, how pointless it was to confront her, she was only going to irritate him more.

"Hear me woman," Draco snapped and Harry smirked. Narcissa must have been ignoring him, which was something she rarely did, she must have been infuriated at him.

"You simply repeat yourself Draco, it's as if you've forgotten everything you were taught," she chided.

A small part of the anger that had been building up in Draco spilled out. He screamed loudly and Harry could imagine his face turning purple with rage, just as his uncle's had done once upon a time.

"You... are... my... mother..." Draco said venomously slow. "I... will... not... allow... you... to... be... with... another... man..." he paused again, and Harry could picture him trembling, his fists clenched in anger. When he spoke again he'd regained some of the composure. "I am here to insure that."

It was all Harry could do not to chuckle out loud. As if Draco could take on his mother, the boy was just as much a fool as his father, likely even more so, there was no way that he would have any control over his mother's actions. Harry had learned a long time ago that Narcissa did whatever she pleased, and no one, not even an army, could stop it.

"If you do not end your relationship I'll disregard your claim to the Malfoy estate. You'll have nothing."

Draco was irritating, and foolish, but he wasn't stupid. He hadn't graduated in the top 10 of their class simply because he had money. Irritated, and still smirking at Draco's ignorance, Harry just shook his head to keep in control. The longer Draco talked the more that he wondered if Draco had some other plans. There was always something devious going on in his mind.

"Do as you wish," Narcissa said, surprising her son. "There is more to the world than money."

Harry opened his mouth, slightly surprised too, and wanting to respond. He wasn't sure what to say though. Money wasn't important to him, he could get along without a fortune, but she had always been very balanced about it. At first Harry had thought that it had been what drove her to offer some help in opening the shops they owned, but now, as he thought about it, he wasn't so sure.

Something was different, something about Narcissa had changed since he'd gone to bed with her the night before. It was confusing Harry, making him wonder about things he hadn't thought about before.

•

"Money isn't the concern here." Narcissa said, looking Harry in the eye. "If that was why we were resurrecting the business then there'd be no point, would there?"

They were sitting in the middle of a dusty room, just the two of them. It smelled of burned wood and blood, a smell that disgusted Harry. He glanced at the sign that had been taken from the outside when the shop had originally closed. It was burnt on one side, no doubt due to some explosion from a curse gone astray during one of the many attacks Diagon Alley had been victim of only a couple of years before.

The store, just as many had been, was closed down during those times. People hid from the world as best they could to avoid Voldemort and his followers. No one had set foot in this shop for well over a year now, not since the war had ended.

'Number Ninety Three, Weasley' Wizarding Wheezes' the sign proclaimed brightly.

It was from before – before the war had really started, before the Weasley's had all died. Of course somehow the twins had managed to write up a will at some point during the war. Their share was to be split between Lee and their family, but no one else had been alive to receive the inheritance, so Harry had received sole ownership. He hadn't wanted it, but he wouldn't get rid of it either, so he'd purchased the building from the owner, who sold it to him for a very reasonable price, and locked it up with magic so that no one could enter.

Of course, other businesses had made offers after the war. Some of the work the twins had done had become popular, and there were a lot of people that would have gladly snatched up whatever they could. Good business practice. Harry had been angry that they'd even considered him wanting to sell, and eventually the offers had quit coming.

He blinked back the tears that were hiding behind his emotionless face and looked away from the sign. Narcissa was staring at him.

"Did you say something?" he asked quietly, his voice betraying the emotion that his face hid.

Her hand slid across the table and she smiled gently, interlacing her hand into his. She squeezed gently, making Harry feel a little stronger inside. "They were your friends," she stated reverently. "That's why we're going to reopen this business, because it was something they wanted."

Harry nodded and looked at the sign again. He was finally getting his life straightened out, doing the things that he wanted to do. This was at the top of the list. It was something he couldn't bring himself to do before now, something that had caused him too much pain. It hurt to even walk past the store when he was shopping. However, he was facing it now, facing the ghosts of his past and trying to make sure that he lived their lives for them.

"If you're not ready..." Narcissa said, letting the words sink in. She spoke softly, something that she only did when it was just the two of them.

She was a strong woman, but she understood him, understood the pain of doing this and it made Harry feel strong enough to go on. She brought that out in him, his strength, just as Voldemort had done, but in a completely different manner. Voldemort had brought out Harry's power, the magic that had eventually caused the-pompous-assholes defeat. While Narcissa brought out his inner strength, she helped that small voice inside, kept it going.

She'd made him quit drinking, made him quit trying to forget the things that never should be forgotten. It had been five long months since he'd touched the stuff and he promised himself he'd never return to it. Narcissa had helped him do it. She'd dealt with the mood swings and memories, letting him vent his anger and frustration when they were alone. She'd even allowed herself to be seen with him publicly a time or two when he was in need of a friend to keep him on the path.

Of course, it had all been because it was needed, as soon as he was strong enough she quit allowing it, because it was nothing more than a sexual relationship. So, their relationship stayed a secret, something Harry didn't mind, because it meant more to him that way. At first he'd been worried that she wanted something from him, something other than sex, but that thought had passed after a time.

He knew it was wrong to be doing it. He had after all killed her husband, and she was much older than him, not that it really showed all that much. It was something that troubled him constantly, but he allowed a little corner of his mind for those problems, and the rest kept focusing on the road ahead.

"We're going to have to interview candidates for creating new products and going through notes on how they made the old ones. There will be people in her constantly. I'm not sure if you're…"

Harry cut her off with a look. She knew his every mood by now. "It's alright," he said. "I'll get through this."

"We'll get through it," she said softly, squeezing his hand gently again before he nodded. She played the supportive role perfectly, and Harry wondered if it was because she was doing it to keep him around, or for some other reason. It didn't matter though, not at the moment. For now he needed someone with him if he was going to do this, and her being there was enough to keep him confident. This had been one thing that Luna couldn't return too, not yet. Ron had spent a good deal of his time working in the store before it had closed, and some of her fondest memories had been in the backrooms.

As they cleaned up the place (it had been closed after the attack – and had never been cleaned since, everyone was too busy to worry about it) Harry glanced at Narcissa several times.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked. "This is something I want to do. You didn't even like the Weasley's."

Narcissa didn't respond, not at first. She wouldn't even turn to face him, she continued picking up scattered items one by one. She stood several minutes later and placed the last of them in a box that had been set aside and finally turning to Harry. "It's something that's been bothering you for a long time. And, well, if we're partners like you suggested, it could make a bit of money."

"Money doesn't matter." Harry pointed out, something she'd said a few minutes before.

"Perhaps," Narcissa said, shrugging. Then she turned back to the work she'd been doing as if nothing happened. Harry didn't asked again, he had the feeling that she didn't want to talk about it, so he let it lay. Not that the thought didn't come up again, it was just something that he had to figure out for himself.

When they finally did have the place cleaned, Narcissa sat down with him in the middle of the room and outlined what would need to be done, including money that would have to be invested. His eyes widened when he saw the cost of getting everything going. It wasn't that he didn't have the money, between the Black family fortune he had inherited and the Potter fortune, he was quite rich. Still, the money that she wanted to invest was quite a large sum, and unexpected.

Narcissa either missed the look, or ignored it, because she went through the contract explaining the business relationship that would be needed. Everything was split fifty-fifty, he was the owner and she was a silent partner even though most of the decisions would go through her.

The publicity would be routed to, and through him, so that the store would be a big hit. It was one of the things they'd talked about since Harry had detested dealing with the wizarding world. Even though he'd given up the bottle, he had stayed out of the spotlight unless it was absolutely necessary, even refusing a seat on the Wizengamot. Whenever he went out it was always with a hooded no-descript cloak, something he could hide under.

"You'll have to face them all again," Narcissa said after pausing over the terms. She'd said it before, and was brining it up again. "Everyone. There well be autographs and public appearances, if this is going to be successful you need to appear more than a few times."

"And you get to hide in the dark," Harry said, smirking. Reaching over, he leaned down and kissed her softly on the cheek. "I know. I'll be able to do it."

She seemed stun by the outward sign of affection, with nothing more intended. Harry had forgotten until that moment that she had rarely ever done anything like that outside the bedroom. Not that they were together very often anywhere else, but she was always a little colder when they were elsewhere, even if it was just the two of them. There had been a sort of silent agreement not to, and he'd just broken it. Squeezing his hand was a sign of support, but a gentle kiss was something altogether different.

"… the business will be split into equal shares," she said, looking back to the contract, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had suddenly appeared. "Once the original investment has been repaid, all revenues will be split equally between the two of us. Should the business fail before the original investment is repaid, all assets will be sold towards that cost."

"So if this doesn't work out, you don't make anything?" Harry asked, surprised. She smiled. "This is your business. And money isn't everything…"

•

Nothing more was said about money, and never had been since then. The contract, simply existed. Harry wondered what it was that was more important to her than money, because, for a few brief moments he'd wondered if it was him.

Of course, his mind had dismissed the idea as impossible, she'd given him up before and could readily do it again. She kept their relationship a complete secret, which was something he was wondering about lately. She seemed to hate the idea of the relationship progressing any further than what it was. She never asked him over, rather invited him. If he didn't come it was as simple as that, and she'd never pushed it any further. However, when he did deny his needs it took her days before she'd accept him back. He knew he couldn't be more important to her if she could give him up so easily.

•