Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did I would have someone cook me fantastic meals with caramel cheesecake for desert. Every day. For the rest of my life. Yum!
Thanks to AngeliqueCollins, Wizzabee, Brielle, and Katie: your reviews mean a lot
Special thanks to constant reviewers, zippy zany, DCoD, avalon64, and Alexandria J. Malfoy, well, less talk and on with the chpts
He didn't know why he woke up just then. He was still in his office, his head resting on his right arm which was outstretched on his desk and his left arm on top of a wrinkled parchment. Last night he had been writing down all of the Transfiguration spells he could remember and his left hand still clutched his eagle feather quill. Slowly he opened his eyes, blinking in the morning light. He vaguely wondered what time it was, he hadn't been sleeping in past seven for the last few days.
"It's eight am Mr. Malfoy," said a kindly voice.
Draco jerked off of the desk top, throwing himself backwards in his chair to get away from the stranger while pulling out his wand in such a quick movement that even the late Alastor Moody would have been impressed. However he forgot that his chair was wheeled and his sudden shove caused the chair and its occupant to smash into the bookcase behind him. Several volumes of folders and binders tumbled to the floor, some falling on top of him on their way down as Draco stared at his visitor, his wand aimed at the intruder's heart.
Dumbledore and McGonagall were sitting in chintz arm chairs in front of his desk. Draco was surprised the chairs fit in his tiny office. He dragged his gaze up to the two professors. McGonagall looked shocked; Dumbledore was smiling and his eyes twinkling.
Draco lowered his wand, still gasping for air after his fright. "My apologies, Headmaster, Professor," he said, nodding to each of them in turn and rolling his chair back to his desk. "Is there something I can help you with?"
"Actually, yes. It seems Minister Fudge wants the key players in the final battle to enter the service this afternoon in a special procession. We will be meeting in the front lawn at twelve-thirty this afternoon and your presence is expected. Will you be able to attend this meeting, Mr. Malfoy?"
Draco blinked. They wanted him in a procession? "Yes, sir," he said, dubiously.
"Very good, 'til then Mr. Malfoy," said Dumbledore. He and McGonagall stood up and as soon as they did the chairs disappeared. Draco watched them exit, but Dumbledore turned in the doorway. "You know, Draco, I did not give you that office so that you could hide away from the world."
"I've been busy," said Draco. "And the world and I aren't on the best of terms at the moment."
"I think you should go to breakfast, and you will find that the world may have changed its mind. Besides, you look ill. Overworking yourself can be just as deadly as a dagger." Dumbledore smiled reassuringly at him and left.
Draco tidied up his room, went to the dorm to shower and change, and then went to breakfast. Dumbledore hadn't ordered him, but he was the Headmaster. He would make sure that he was out of the dining hall by nine when all the parents and family members came in.
There were quite a few students in the hall, and they nodded or smiled in greeting as he walked by them. Draco returned the greetings, surprised. Dumbledore was right, but then he should have expected that. The old man was never wrong.
After breakfast, which he managed to escape as soon as he saw parents come in, he headed down to the Potions Lab. Sev was there, brewing Veritaserum for the ministry to use in the Death Eater trials. Sev moved over without a word and handed him a bunch of dragon fly wings to mince. Draco liked that about his godfather, he never expected Draco to talk to him unless he needed to and he always seemed to know when Draco just needed to do something. They worked in silence, each knowing the directions by heart and so not needing to ask questions or give directions. When they were finished Draco followed Severus into his office.
"I think I may leave, after NEWT's of course," said Draco, flopping onto the couch and staring at the fire.
"Oh?" asked Sev, taking his place in the armchair after putting on a kettle for tea.
"I can't do school and the business, I feel tired. Tired and stifled."
"School's almost over. Graduation is a week after NEWT's."
"I know," said Draco. He sighed and then pulled himself into a sitting position on his favorite end on the couch. "I'm just sick of this school. I can hardly eat here, I keep thinking about when I killed Lucius, and everyone who died here. I have to keep working or doing something to keep my mind off of it. I was thinking last night that I could just take the NEWT's and then leave. I have to arrange a funeral for Mum and Lucius, and that has to be back at the Estate, and it has to be soon, so I figured it would just be easier to leave. Then after the funeral, I have to go to America."
"The States?" asked Sev. "Why would you want to go there?"
"Business. I received a proposition from a company that specializes in incorporating Muggle technology and magic. It's just a start-up company and they're floundering rather badly, but if I can make this thing work, then it will be the biggest thing since collapsible cauldrons."
"I see," said Sev.
"I'll have to talk to Dumbledore about it, maybe you could put in a word for me."
"I could," said Snape. "Are you sure this is what you want?"
"I think so," said Draco.
"You think so? I want you to be sure, you're only seventeen. And you're proposing to go half way across the world."
"It's what I want," said Draco.
"Alright," said Severus. "I'll speak to Dumbledore for you. Now you had better go study, Heightmayor's Draught hasn't been on the NEWT's for four years now, and it could be on it this year."
"Thanks Sev."
"What else are godfathers for?"
Draco smirked and headed back up to his office and spent the next few hours studying his Potions. At twelve-twenty he left and headed out to the front lawn. He was one of the last to arrive and he saw the Golden Trio, a few select DA members which consisted of Longbottom, Lovegood, and the Weaselette, and a few Order members, Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, Lupin, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Nymphadora Tonks, and then Blaise and Pansy.
"Oh, very good, are we all here?" asked Fudge. "Good, good. Now then, let us get started, hmm? We're going to have the audience be seated and then the band is going to start up-"
"There's a band?" Draco whispered to Blaise who had come to stand by him to show off his handsome cherry wooded, gold headed cane.
"Yeah, England's Wizarding Symphony."
"-and then all of you here will walk down the center aisle. First of course is Harry. Harry, my dear boy, I'm going to have Aurors around you, just in case some irate Death Eaters show up."
"No," said Harry. "No Aurors."
"But, my dear boy, we have to protect you, you know."
"We can protect him just fine," said the Weasel, speaking up. "We've done it before, we can do it again."
Draco knew that Harry was not in any real danger, Dumbledore was there for Merlin's sake. He also realized that the sight of the Boy-Who-Lived surrounded by Aurors would make it that much more exciting and elections for Minister were coming up soon. Fudge was looking out for his own gain. He could tell that none of the Gryffindors were fooled either and that Harry did not want even more attention.
"Well, yes, you have done an excellent job of it," started Fudge.
"And we will continue doing an excellent job of it," said Ginny, in a no nonsense sort of voice that made Fudge rather flustered.
"It's just that the Aurors are trained to recognize dark wizards and curses," Fudge tried again.
"So there is no problem then," said Draco, speaking up. Everyone turned to look at him. "Blaise, Pansy, and I not only know how to recognize dark wizards, but we know most them quite personally. We have also grown up with the Dark Arts, and so with our added protection, Potter will be quite safe."
"Well, I suppose," said Fudge slowly, trying to think of a flaw in the plan. "It's just that these are dark wizards-"
"As am I," said Draco, an edge in his voice. "Now then, because Harry is not going to be surrounded by Aurors, the Headmaster, Professor Snape, and Professor McGonagall will go down the aisle first, that way they can make sure no one is in the audience that shouldn't be. Then Harry will go down the aisle accompanied by myself, the DA, and Mr. Zabini and Ms. Parkinson. We will be followed by Mr. Lupin, Ms. Tonks, and Mr. Shacklebolt, is that acceptable?"
Fudge spluttered but Draco's voice was commanding and full of hidden threats. "I suppose so," said Fudge.
"Splendid," said Draco, sounding anything but enthused. "Shall we get started then?"
The band positioned underneath the podium struck up a moving march and Dumbledore made his way down the aisle after winking at the group. The practice wasn't completely unnecessary, Draco thought as he was heading back inside to change into his dress robes, they all new how to walk, and going down an aisle really wasn't as hard as conceptual potions.
"You know," said Blaise, once they had reached the dorm they shared. "I think the cane makes me look dashing."
Draco looked at his friend and then burst into laughter, Blaise joining him.
"Thanks, Blaise," he said once his laughter had ceased. "I needed that."
"No problem," said Blaise. "I'm going to grab a quick shower, I got up ten minutes before the meeting and didn't have time to take one then."
"Lazy bum," said Draco as Blaise rummaged around in his closet for his robes.
"Yup," agreed Blaise.
Draco turned to his own wardrobe and searched for his black and silver dress robes. He heard Blaise leave for the bathroom and finally found them. He stared at it for a long time, and then put it back, his eyes fastening on the emerald green robe that someone had mended and cleaned and put it away. He took the uniform out and laid it on his bed, his hand reaching up to tug on his hair.
The door opened and Pansy came in. Her blonde hair was down, falling in gentle waves and her emerald green robe fit her curves perfectly.
"I thought it might be nice if we wore them," she said. "So I fixed it."
Draco's hand lowered to brush the green silk; he remembered when he had ordered them. He needed something that his father would approve of so that Lucius would cover the expense. He could have bought them himself with his Gringott's account, but Lucius had the habit of occasionally checking his expenses and it would look suspicious if he had hid the uniforms. So he had told Lucius that they had wanted Junior Death Eater robes. Lucius had suggested dark grey, but Draco wanted something that would stand out to 'show those Gryffindors how powerful the Slytherins were' and was thinking maybe green. The real reason was because he planned to enter when the Death Eaters were winning, to take the heat off of Potter and the others so that Potter could kill the Dark Lord. Lucius had agreed that green would be nice, and then he had scheduled them in for a fitting at Monsieur Talkim's, a famous Italian designer. The result was that they were the best dressed army to ever engage in battle, and the robes fit them so perfectly they were easy to run, jump, and do pretty much everything in.
He changed into black trousers, a black button up shirt, and then pulled the robes on top. He didn't bother having Pansy leave while he dressed. They had grown up together and were practically brother and sister. Their parents hoped that they would marry, but their relationship was purely plutonic. He was pulling on his black dragonhide shoes when Blaise appeared, his curly black hair still wet form his shower. He was wearing his green robes as well.
"I thought it might be nice," he started to explain, when he caught sight of their uniforms.
"We thought so too," said Pansy, her cheeks gaining a light flush. Draco frowned. Why was she blushing? He turned to Blaise and saw that his friend was giving a nervous grin, his eyes looking anywhere but at Pansy. Realization hit him like a hippogriff. They liked each other, and although it was apparent it was a mutual interest, none of them had the courage to say anything. Draco turned from one to the other in surprise, why hadn't he seen it before? He had been busy, but to have something of this magnitude completely pass over him was disturbing. He then felt the tension in the room and sighed heavily. He could not put up with this.
"Pansy, Blaise has something to tell you."
"He does?" asked Pansy, looking rather nervous.
"I do?" asked Blaise, surprised and a little wary.
"Yeah," Draco prompted and then said in a stage whisper, "About how you like her."
"Oh, good," said Pansy relieved. "You told him, Blaise?"
"Told me what?" asked Draco.
"I didn't tell him anything," said Blaise.
"You said you were going to," said Pansy.
"I was. It just- just wasn't the right time."
"You said that two days ago."
"I was going to tell him today," said Blaise. "I swear I was."
"Tell me what?" asked Draco, utterly confused and hating it.
"That Pansy and I want to go out on a date, if it's okay with you," said Blaise, adding on the last part hastily.
"Why wouldn't it be okay with me?" asked Draco.
"Well, because we're best friends and you two were, well, you know, were supposed to get together and ally the Malfoy and Parkinson Houses and all that," said Blaise.
Pansy made a face. "No offense Draco, but I never like you that way."
"We've already had this discussion," said Draco. "We both agreed we had no feelings for each other and that we wouldn't get married."
"I know, I'm just making sure that your okay with it," said Pansy.
"Of course I am," said Draco. "But Blaise, best friend or not, Pansy is like my sister. If you hurt her, I have reason to seriously maim you."
"If I hurt her, you have permission to kill me," said Blaise sincerely.
Draco grinned. "Then you two have my blessings."
Pansy gave a delighted shriek and launched herself at Draco, giving him a crushing hug. "Thank you so much, Drake."
Draco returned the embrace, kissing the top of her head. "I think your man is getting jealous," he said.
Pansy laughed, released him and jumped Blaise, locking their lips together.
"Not in front of me!" Draco protested although he was smiling.
"Sorry," said Blaise, pulling back, though he was still holding Pansy.
Draco made a face at the two of them. "Well, shall we head out then?"
"We shall," said Pansy, grabbing Blaise's hand and dragging him along after Draco. They exited the dorm and met Ginny who was waiting for them outside.
"I'm to take you to our meeting place," she said, "so that everyone will be wondering where we are and then when the band starts, we can surprise them by walking down the aisle." Her voice was inflected with just the right amount of excitement so that her opinion of disgust and exasperation came through clearer than a crystal ball. "Fudge's idea, he's to lead us down the aisle. I think he might be afraid we'll get lost."
The Slytherins snorted along with the Gryffindor and followed her up to the charms classroom. The others were already gathered and looking completely unenthused as Fudge rubbed his hands together in the knowledge that he would soon be leading the heroes of the wizarding world out to the applause of a large amount of voters.
"Eight hundred people! And they are still coming strong." Fudge told Draco as the Minister passed him to peek out the door. "And you wore your fighting robes, good touch that."
Draco didn't even bother glaring; he wasn't worth it. He sat on one of the tables and wished that this was all over.
"The band has begun!" exclaimed Fudge. "Places, places! Dumbledore, stand at the door there, but don't go out yet. My dear Minerva, you will be on his right, Snape, on his left. Let him be a little in front of you. Now Harry, let them get a good couple of feet in front of you before you start out. Draco, you'll be on Harry's left, a little bit behind. And now Harry's army can line up behind him and you two in green, behind Draco. There we go. And you three, however you wish it. Nymphadora, must your hair be that shade of blue?"
Draco looked behind him to see the Auror with bright cyan colored hair in a sleek, fashionable bob.
"After you called me that, yes it does," said the woman with a glare.
"Oh, very well. Are we all ready? Good. Now then, follow me." Fudge took his place at the front of the line and strutted out. The three Professors followed him and after a moment Harry walked out as well, Draco on his left, a step behind him.
"I can not believe this," Harry muttered under his breath but Draco picked it up on it.
"Not one for theatrics, Po-Harry?" he asked.
"Sometimes I think it would just be easier if I died in the battle," Harry whispered with a grimace.
"It would be worse," said Draco. "They'd probably mummify your body and put it up in the Ministry for exhibition."
Harry chuckled wryly as they neared the front entrance. "And then they can charge admission."
"And then they would have a new source of revenue," said Draco thoughtfully.
"And they could lower taxes."
"And they can add on your death inscription, Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, Slayer of You-Know-Who, and Reducer of You-Know-What."
Harry laughed and then they were out the door. They stopped short as they took in the sea of humanity before them. There must have been at least a thousand witches and wizards present. All of the chairs had been filled and more had been added on so that the additional rows reached all the way to the bottom of the front steps. The raised dais seemed so far away, straight down a path lined by wizarding folk that were ignoring the chairs and standing up, applauding and cheering so that the magnified march from the orchestra was completely drowned out.
"Scared, Potter?" taunted Draco, taking in boy's pale face and wide eyes.
"Are you?"
"Nah, I get this all the time," said Draco, nonchalantly.
"Liar," said Harry.
"Yeah, but at least I'm not frozen on the top step while thousands of wizarding reporters are taking my open-mouthed picture to smear on every magazine and newspaper in the world."
Harry closed his mouth and started down the steps, Draco followed.
"So are Weasley and Granger going out?" he asked.
"I think they would like to," said Harry, doing as Draco intended, forgetting about the crowd and beginning down the aisle.
"But?" Draco prodded, not worried about being heard by those behind them because he was barely able to hear the boy next to him.
"I think they are afraid of what I will say," said Harry. "And I don't know what to do."
"I had the same problem," admitted Draco. "With Blaise and Pansy. Blaise was too afraid to tell me that they wanted to go out, and they felt like they had to get my permission."
"That's exactly what's happening," said Harry, "But it's hard because we've been best friends since first year."
"I know what you mean," said Draco. "Pansy and I were supposed to get married."
"You were?" asked Harry. "Since when?"
"It's been planned since we were infants," said Draco.
"What happened?"
"They shoved us together since we were one year old, and since neither of us had any brothers and sisters, we became like siblings."
"Oh. So what did you do?"
"Told Pansy that Blaise liked her in front of him, and then gave them my blessing."
"Huh," said Harry. "You think that would work?"
"Yeah," said Draco.
They finally reached the front of the dais and sat in the front row of the seats. The other Aurors, Order members, and DA students were there as well, as was Zacharais Randell, the only other surviving member of the Slytherin Army. His light brown hair fell over the white bandages still tied around his eyes and he too was wearing his green robes.
"Please, your attention! May I have your attention?" Fudge called over the cheering that didn't seem like it would be stopping anytime soon. The applause slowly died out and an anticipating silence fell over the crowd.
"This has been a trying time for our country," said Fudge. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was determined to destroy us, but we held firm and thanks to one boy-" He was interrupted by applause. "Yes, thank you, as I was saying, thanks to one-" More applause and a few cheers. "Yes, thank you," said Fudge rather testily. "We survived thanks to Harry Potter."
"HARRY!" screamed a voice in the crowd. There were a few chuckles and a smattering of clapping for the rowdy audience member.
"Yes," said Fudge. "But not only did Harry Potter come to our rescue, but thanks to a well run Ministry-," His attempts at self flattery died as the crowd got bored with his speech and started chanting.
"Harry, Harry, Harry, Harry, Harry!" Fudge tried to speak over them, but it was no use.
Draco smirked as the Minister failed to gain the attention of the audience. He had turned this service, that was supposed to be a ceremony for the fallen, into a political campaign. He was getting what he deserved. Beside him, Potter sighed in exasperation, and then stood, ran up the steps to the dais, and Fudge begrudgingly relinquished the podium which caused another bout of cheers. Harry held up his hands and quieted the crowd.
"Hello," he said. Applause. "Can you all hear me back there?" More applause. "Alright, then. I would like to take this time to thank you all for coming out here and supporting all of those who havedied in the war and also Headmaster Dumbledore and Minister Fudge for hosting this ceremony." There was a polite amount of clapping, led by Harry. "Okay," he said, looking out over the crowd. Draco could tell he was nervous. "I'm not really good at this sort of thing," he apologized, and the audience immediately loved him for his honesty. "I have a speech here," he said, pulling out a folded piece of parchment, "If you wanted to hear it, that is," he said, seeming unsure of what to do now that the crowd was hanging on his every word.
"SPEECH!" cried the same audience member who had screamed 'Harry' and people cheered again.
"Alright, then," said Harry. He took a steadying breath and looked to his notes and then up at the crowd. "I didn't ask for this," he began, his voice completely sincere and raw with emotion. "I didn't even know that magic existed until I was eleven years old, and I didn't know that my parents had been murdered by a Dark Wizard. Up until then, I had been told that they had been killed in an automobile accident, and suddenly hearing that I was supposed to be some sort of hero was a shock. But I am thankful that I did not have to go through this alone. I made some wonderful friends here at Hogwarts and met an extremely talented group of Professors who all helped me accept who I was, and who I was destined to be. In that final battle, I had more allies than I could have ever hoped for. I had Aurors fighting with me, the DA fighting beside me, the Order fighting for me, and a group I never expected fighting next to me.
"I am not some wizard genius, that is not how I survived Voldemort and that is not how I defeated him in the end. You see, my mother loved me so much, she died for me, and her love was more powerful than the curse Voldemort tried to strike me with when I was a child. And when our two curses met, I realized that Voldemort, or Tom Riddle as he used to be known, did not possess the power to love. The wisest man on earth told me that to hate some one is easy, but to love someone unconditionally takes true strength. And as our curses fought each other, it was my thoughts on how I loved my friends and how I knew that they would still love me even if I didn't win that finally defeated Lord Voldemort.
"I believe that a bit of Voldemort still lingers. He is in the hurtful remarks we make to one another, he is in the taunts and teasings that ruin our school years, and he is in the prejudice that is still felt between Muggle-borns, Half-bloods, and Pure-bloods. Every time we succumb to the hate, he wins back a little more power and every time we look past these differences and get to know one another, it is like we are defeating him once again.
"Too many people died in this war, let us not sacrifice anymore lives on the late Lord Voldemort. Thank you."
Dead silence, then the same "HARRY!" and immediately thunderous applause broke out as witches and wizards surged to their feet, cheering and yelling. Draco stood as well, clapping along with the rest, completely shocked at the speech but extremely glad to know that he had joined the right side after all.
"Okay, if you could all quiet down now, I would like you to hear from a few other people. Without their support I would not have survived to destroy Voldemort, so they are rather important people, the first being Kingsley Shacklebolt, Head Auror."
The large black man formally took the stage. "Thank you very much. During this war the Ministry lost many employees and not all of them were Aurors. However, I know that they were willing to give their lives in the knowledge that their sacrifice was not in vain and that they would not be forgotten. And indeed, they will never be forgotten for they live on in our thoughts and memories. Thank you."
His speech was exactly like him, to the point without a waste of words. Draco clapped and Harry introduced the next person.
"Our next speaker is from the DA, and the speaker is Miss Ginevra Weasley."
Draco watched in surprise as the slight red-head skipped lightly up the stairs and stood on her tiptoes in front of the podium to see over it. "Hello to you all," she said, no nervousness apparent in her voice. "I was chosen to speak for the group because although we have fought Voldemort himself, everyone else was too afraid to make a speech." The audience laughed. "I would just like to say that the DA was not originally intended for battle. We began as a study group and while I will not go into many details on why this was necessary I will say that if Dolores Umbridge is out there, she should know that she should be expecting a lawsuit soon from the DA on counts of child abuse and attempted murder." There were gasps from the crowd and whispering. "But," continued Ginny, "that is not the point of my speech. The DA went from a practical study group to a full out army in a years time and that is a feat to be proud of. It has been said that children are the future, and that is true. We were not just kids fighting for our friend, we were fighting for our lives, for the future of the wizarding world. For the skeptics who say children can not fully understand the impact of war, I tell you this: we knew, that should Voldemort win, those of us who survived would be executed and that our families would be beaten and ravaged. Many of us had family members that we lost in various battles already, and we could fully understand what war meant. And that is why we fought, because if the future wouldn't fight, who would? I am proud to say that I fought and my sentiments are echoed by the other members of the DA, both the living and the dead. We helped secure our future and helped a friend, two of the highest callings we could ever hope to undertake."
She stepped back as the audience applauded, shook hands with Harry, and then turned back to the podium. "And contrary to the Daily Prophet, I am not dating Harry Potter."
Laughter, applause and a bunch of teenaged girls screaming, "Harry, we love you!"
"And now I will introduce the Headmaster of Hogwarts and my mentor, Professor Dumbledore," said the boy turning red.
Dumbledore took the stage resplendent on deep violet robes. "Thank you, Mr. Potter. As many of you are already aware of, thanks to our wonderful press which always seems to get in on the secrets, I headed an organization against Voldemort, or Tom as he was to me. This group was made of the strongest and most devoted wizards I have ever had the privilege to know. And although this group suffered the loss of many members, I know that they would all give up their lives again if it meant that this outcome could be reached. I had imagined all sorts of results, but I never expected that this war would have ended so peacefully. I am proud to have been able to offer some words of advice to Mr. Potter here and there and I am proud that he pretended to listen to an old codger such as myself. You exceeded our expectations, Harry."
And the old Headmaster pulled Harry into an embrace while the crowd cheered.
"And last, but not least," said Harry, once Dumbledore had left the stage, "the biggest prat and spoiled brat this school has ever known, the boy who saved all of our lives, Draco Malfoy."
Draco stood and gained the stage. Harry was at the podium and to shake his hand before he began. "I never liked you either, Harry," Draco whispered, but the podium had a voice magnifier on it, which was easier on the throat than the sonorous charm, and so his words carried across the crowd and the audience laughed.
"It's true," said Draco, addressing the crowd. "I was one of the few boys that hated Potter in school and so I made his life miserable with the help of a few Slytherin friends. I can quite honestly say that it was expected of me, because I was a rich little Pure-blood with Death Eater family members. I even met the Dark Lord in the summer before my fifth year, and he ordered me to do everything in my power to make Potter unhappy. I was actually quite surprised he didn't want me to kill Harry, and so went about my job enthusiastically. I suppose I had an epiphany after fifth year. I always knew that while torturing Muggles and Muggle-borns wasn't necessarily right, I didn't know that it was wrong until I glimpsed a Dark Revel. The carnage was astounding, and I saw innocent children no more than four years old being murdered. Then I knew that I wanted nothing of it.
"I started our own Defense meeting, mainly because if Potter had an army, then I was going to have one too, but also because I knew that if me friends and I planned on surviving the war, we would need to train. I am sorry to say that even at that moment I did not know who I was going to fight for. Rebelling against the Dark Lord would mean rebelling against my family and my father, and that was an extremely dangerous thing to do. However, when I began my seventh year, Lucius revealed to me that I would receive the Dark Mark the night I graduated, so I told my group that I wasn't supporting the Dark Lord and they agreed with me. We kept our allegiance a secret, because we knew surprise was our best offense, and when the time came, they followed me in without hesitation. To say I am proud of them is a severe understatement. They went against the most powerful Dark Wizard of our time, and they went against family, which is ten times as hard. They have forever redeemed the Slytherin House and will forever be remembered."
He stepped back as the applause thundered and Fudge waited for the cheers to die down and then took the podium. Draco started to leave but Fudge called him back. "Oh, not yet, Mr. Malfoy. If I could have all of those who were in the processional please come onto the stage, I have something to give you."
The members of Fudge's impromptu parade made their way up onto the dais looking about suspiciously.
"I have the pleasure," announced Fudge as his assistant brought for a large, thin velvet box, "to award these outstanding witches and wizards behind me, with the Order of Merlin, First Class Medal." There was applause and Fudge went to Harry's side. "For services to the country, I, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, award you, Harry James Potter, with the Order of Merlin, First Class." He hung the medal around Harry's neck and moved to Draco who was next in line. "For services to the country, I, Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic award you, Draco Cyrus Malfoy, with the Order of Merlin, First Class."
Fudge placed the medal around his neck and moved to the next person in line. Draco looked down at it, stunned, then turned to see Harry grinning broadly at him. He returned the smile and then drew his attention back to Fudge.
"-award you, Severus Tobias Snape, with the Order of Merlin,…"
Draco stared at his office now completely empty except for the chair, desk and bookcase. It was Thursday afternoon and he had just finished his last NEWT. It was Transfigurations and his brain now felt incapable of thought. While he had been testing, Snape had sent his stuff ahead to the Malfoy Estate where he would be residing since Dumbledore was allowing him to go home and skip the last week of school. He had said he could still come to graduation, but Draco planned on being in the States at that time.
Draco looked around the room, figuring that a first office was like a first love, you always remembered it. He then sat in the chair behind the desk and did what he had wanted to do since the moment he had the office, he started spinning. He kicked off the floor and spun the chair around in circle after dizzying circle, leaning back and watching the ceiling revolve.
"So this is what businessmen do," said a voice.
Draco planted his feet and tried focusing on the figure in the doorway. He was able to make out the form once his world had straightened itself out again.
"Harry, what brings you down here?"
Harry shrugged. "Heard you were leaving, thought I'd figure out why."
"Business," said Draco.
"You sure you're not running?"
Draco didn't answer.
"Well, good-bye then I guess," said Harry. He bent and picked something up off of the floor underneath his desk. It was a small, old book. "Cursed Weapons," Harry read, just as Draco demanded, "Potter, give me that!"
Harry looked up, surprised, but then something clicked into place for him. He flipped through the pages, noticing the depicted swords and daggers.
"The stab wound you received," said Harry, "It was cursed?"
"I thought it was," said Draco, "but the curse was old and it wore off. I just- the fact, the fact that my own father would do something like that to me…" he trailed off.
"I'm sorry," said Harry.
"Me too," said Draco.
"Are you coming back for graduation?"
"No."
"But you're salutatorian," said Harry, surprised.
"I've got work to do," said Draco, shrugging.
"Oh," said Harry. He handed him the book. "Well, I'll see you around, alright?"
"Yeah, see you, Harry."
The boy savior left and the door shut behind him. Draco was left staring at nothing, trying to prepare himself for a whole new life.
There you go! The back story is done, and next chpt its six years later! It's going to be great! Sry bout the rather long update time, but college keeps me busy. DCoD, the spinning is all you.
Read and review!