Disclaimer: See chapter 01.

Chapter 05

Harry sat back in the long chaise and thought about his life. Was it even possible to be there, sitting in that gorgeous garden with Sirius' latest letter in his hand, feeling his belly get more rounded each day, drinking ice tea, wearing fancy clothes and watching Narcissa Malfoy read a book a few feet from him?

Sometimes he had the feeling it was all a dream and he would wake up in his cell to discover he was finally crazy. Did crazy people know when they were crazy? Well, if this was crazy he didn't mind because he had ever been so happy in his whole entire life and things were only getting better everyday as Draco and his parents did all they could to make Harry feel at home with them, going as far as bringing Remus and Sirius over on Harry's birthday so they could all spend a couple of days together. Harry couldn't help but smile at the memory.

"You look very happy today, dear" Narcissa said. Harry knew her well enough by now to know that she was smiling behind her book.

"I am very happy today, thank you mother, as I was very happy yesterday and the day before... I can safely say this is the best summer of my life" Harry´s smile grew larger when he saw Draco approaching.

"Oh, My! To be young and in love. It is really something, isn't it?" she teased.

"Narcissa, dear, leave your poor son-in-law alone." Lucius intervened coming out of the house and kissing his wife on the forehead. He petted Harry on the head, messing with his hair before sitting by Narcissa. "It's not nice to tease."

He had been living with the Malfoys for almost two months now and it felt like home. Lucius and Narcissa, or father and mother as they requested he would call them, had done everything to set him at ease and Harry was growing fond of them as time went by.

Lucius' acceptance was something that Harry doubted for days, until Lucius sat down with Harry so that he and Draco could explain to the raven haired teen why family was more important than political stands for the Malfoys. It was a timid beginning but they manage to overcome the initial difficulties and were getting along a little bit better now.

"News from home, I presume" Lucius said indicating the letter on Harry's hand.

"Oh... yes" Harry snapped back to reality, "They are doing better now that they can walk in the gardens and have the Malfoy wards to protect them. They are feeling safer, that helps... the fact that Remus is taking the wolfsbane potion every month now is also a plus."

"Everything will get better now, love. You'll see." Draco offered him pulling Harry in to his arms and kissing him. "We'll make sure of that."

A house-elf popped near by and announced that dinner was served and as one the Malfoy family made their way to the dinning room.

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Later that night, Harry and Draco were laying in each others arms in their room talking about the future.

"We are going back next week, love." Draco whispered in Harry's ear, "Will you be ok at the manor?"

"I would be better by your side," Harry signed, "but mother and father will be there with Sirius and Remus... Snape will drop by often to deliver our potions..."

Draco chucked at the mention of his godfather.

"Yeah, all right, not exactly a plus there" Harry agreed "but his potions are above average and our baby will have nothing but the best. I'll even be civil to Snape for that."

"I'm very proud of your bravery" Draco laughed and than added more seriously, "You will write me often, right? Send your letters through Severus so no one will be able to intercept them, and send lot's of photos. I'll be home every chance I get."

"Won't that raise suspicion? I don't want you taking unnecessary risks. I need you to be safe, everything will be alright as long as you are safe."

"Shh. I'll be safe and we'll be together in no time. Ok?"

"Ok"

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Two doors down the hall, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy were having a slightly different conversation.

"I wish there was more that we could do," sighed Lucius nursing a glass of wine "but to publicly clear his name now would put him in the spotlight again and Dumbledore would be hell bent on getting his golden boy back under his 'care'. I would like to avoid that."

"I know, dear. I just don't like to see him nervous every time someone knocks on the door or we have visitors over... at the very least it's not healthy for the baby." Narcissa answered, "and having Sirius at his side will do wonders for him, but he will worry about his godfather as well."

"Yes, I know." Lucius pondered for a few minutes about their son-in-law's problems and turned to his wife, "maybe there is something that we could do and I'm sure Mme. Bones would be glad to assist in this one as well"

"What do you have in mind, dear?"

"What if, please notice that the Malfoys would have nothing to do with this... unfortunate turn of events, but what if one of the Dark Lord's raids went terribly wrong and a few Death Eaters found themselves as guests in the Ministry holding cells?"

"I fail to see how that would put Harry in a better mood, Lucius."

"Well, if Peter Pettigrew were one of the Death Eaters captured, a certain cousin of yours could be found innocent of the crimes he was sent to prison for"

"And Harry would have a free godfather and one less reason to worry about ministry or order raids at the manor." Mused Narcissa. "It could work. Sirius could issue a statement saying he is leaving England so no one would go looking for him... the order and the Dark Lord would think he was still mad about Harry going to prison and the general public and the ministry would think he just wanted to go away from all the sad memories and he would be free to stay with us at the manor without any worries."

"My beloved" smiled Lucius taking Narcissa in to his arms "I always love the way you are so rational about everything."

"And here I thought you loved best when you managed to make me lose all control" she smiled back at him.

"Lets work on that, shall we?" and with that Lucius picked her up and walked to their bed.

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The rest of the summer went by quickly. In one week they were back in England, Harry and Draco once again took the train home since Harry could not take a portkey. Draco did his school shopping at Diagon Alley, Harry's had been done in France for both schooling and the baby so no one would be suspicious, and sooner than they wanted it was time for Draco to go back to Hogwarts and the family fell in to routine.

Everyday Harry would have breakfast with Lucius, Narcissa, Remus and Sirius in the morning room in his wing of the manor. Lucius would go to the ministry and Narcissa to her social functions writing letters or organizing tea parties to raise funds for this or that charity institution. Remus and Sirius would spend the morning teaching Harry.

A snack would be served mid morning and lunch at noon, always in the morning room and Narcissa would usually have lunch with them.

The afternoon would include a small walk in the gardens, more lessons. Tea in the garden if the weather was good and free time to do whatever they felt like until dinner. Served in the dining room, the only time Harry would enter the main body of the manor for safety reasons. Twice a week Narcissa would give etiquette lessons so that Harry was prepared for his new life as a Malfoy after the war was over.

Harry knew it was a long way from Azkaban but he couldn't help feeling a little trapped inside the manor, as huge as it was, but he had to admit that everybody went out of their way to make him feel welcomed and it would be hard to get bored with Sirius and Remus as teachers anyway.

Lucius, on the other hand, was spending more and more time away from home. Coming and going at odd hours and never being very clear as to what he was doing. The mystery came to an end quite abruptly at the end of September when a scary black owl landed at his side on the dinner table. Lucius quickly took the note from it and read it.

"Oh, terrible news, I'm afraid," he said, but he had a smile that said otherwise on his face, "apparently there was an attempt to break in to the ministry last night. Three Death Eaters were captured. I am to go to the ministry and make sure they don't do too much damage to the cause."

"Really?" asked Sirius raising an brow, "Funny that is the first time ever I see you mention something about your... other job, around us. And you seem awfully pleased with what happened."

"Indeed, cousin, but I have good reason. You see, the Dark Lord is extremely worried because a very faithful servant of his was captured and Merlin only knows what kind of information a man like Peter Pettigrew could divulge to the aurors." Lucius smile broadened as he waited for the other shoe to drop. As usual, Harry was the first one to react, Lupin was shocked, too shocked to move and Sirius caught on to it a second latter.

"Pettigrew was captured by the aurors? How? When?" Harry sputtered.

"Yes, Peter Pettigrew was captured last night, as I said before and as for how... well, maybe Mme. Bones got a tip from a well placed source." Lucius answered sipping his tea. "I'm afraid I won't be able to stop him from answering a few well placed questions under Veritaserum. I hope the Dark Lord finds in his heart to forgive him."

"Lucius, I love you." Yelled Harry throwing his arms around Lucius's neck. "Thank you, thank you, thank you... Oh, Merlin, I've got to write Draco," and with that, he ran out of the room.

"Yes, I guess you did make him happy, darling." Said Narcissa placing a kiss on her husband's face.

"Thank you, Lucius." Said Sirius pulling the blond in to his arms.

"Don't mention it, Sirius, just make sure Harry is happy."

"Don't worry, I will."

"We will." Offered Remus shaking Lucius' hand.

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"Did you see the Prophet today?" yelled Harry the next day, practically running into the morning room where Narcissa, Remus and Sirius were having breakfast. He stood before them bouncing on his feet.

"Don't run, cub" smiled Remus, it was hard to scold at Harry when he was happy. Sirius and Narcissa just smiled. "It's dangerous for the baby."

"Never mind me running, take a look at this!" beamed Harry throwing the newspaper in Remus lap, who looked at the paper and gasped. Sirius quickly took the paper from him.

"Oh, come on, what does it say?" and froze reading the headline. Remus took advantage of his friend's shaken state and took the paper back, proceeding to read the front page out loud.

SIRIUS BLACK INNOCENT
By Rudolf North

Early last night the alarms in a high security area of the Ministry of Magic went off indicating a breach in security. Aurors were fast in their response and fierce in their action capturing three Death Eaters who managed to find their way in.
Our brave law enforcers, still showing signs of the battle they had to undergo but conscious of their duties proceeded with the interrogation of the prisoners, only to discover one of the most appalling injustices ever committed by this administration. Amongst the prisoners was one Peter Pettigrew who was believed to be dead by the hands of Sirius Black, escapee from Azkaban.
During the interrogation, the real facts that took place on the fateful Halloween night of 1981 and its aftermath came to light. It was Pettigrew, and not Black, who was the secret keeper for the Potters. It was him, and not Black, who told the Dark Lord where to find the ones he had called friends...

Remus trailed off while he continued reading.

"Oh, look, they call Peter a 'master mind in the path of darkness'. Can you believe it?" Remus was almost chocking with laughter.

"Well, look at it this way, at least now he is getting some of the recognition he always craved" Narcissa offered sweetly sending Sirius in to fits of laughter.

"Oh! Cissa, I always loved your sense of humor."

"But what does it mean?" pressed Harry, "What happens to Sirius now?"

"Well," Remus rapidly read the rest of the article, "they will be interrogating him again today and pending on the answers, Sirius will receive full pardon and a hefty sum for his wrongful imprisonment. Nothing is official yet, of course, but I think this is the best news I have ever received in my life!"

"I'll drink to that." Said Sirius lifting his glass of orange juice. "Is that the reason Lucius is not with us today?"

"As a matter of fact," nodded Narcissa, "he is at the ministry. Ostensibly in order to get as much information as possible if not to get his 'colleagues' free. We do have to keep up appearances I'm afraid."

"Will they get free then?" asked Harry a bit worried.

"Not before the damage is done, dear." Smiled Narcissa.

"Even Wormtail?" the hurt in Harry's voice was overwhelming.

"Maybe not him, it all depends on how much he will spill before the interrogation is over. If he talks enough the Dark Lord will definitely want a word with him in the future, Veritaserum or not." Narcissa gave a knowing wink to Harry.

"Well, in that case I can live with him escaping once more" said Harry after a few seconds considering the kind of words the Dark Lord would use to express his disappointment. He could bet 'crucio' would be one of them.

The day went by slowly and Lucius only made it back in time for tea but he brought home great news. It was a matter of time before the ministry issued an official pardon for Sirius and nobody suspected of his involvement in the whole affair.

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"We have a problem" Amelia Bones said as she stepped out of the fireplace in the main hall of the manor.

"Mme. Bones," Lucius offered her a hand and led her to the library where Narcissa and Sirius were having tea, "What happened? When I left the ministry not one hour ago everything seemed to be in order."

"Peter Pettigrew! That is what!" She sighed exasperated. "During his interrogation some auror asked the wrong question and now the whole ministry is falling apart"

"Good lord. Why?" asked Narcissa handing Mme. Bones a cup of tea.

"He said he was part of the group responsible for framing Harry Potter of murder. Everybody at the ministry already knows Mr. Potter is innocent, it is a matter of minutes before someone tells Dumbledore and the Prophet will make a headline out of it for sure. Tomorrow the whole world will know."

"It's too early! Lucius, what do we do?" Narcissa turned to her husband and caught the look he was exchanging with Sirius, they both nodded in silent understanding. The family would take care of everything.

"I have to get back to the ministry" said Bones, "They will notice if I'm not there."

"Mme. Bones, if I could impose" Lucius interrupted, "perhaps it would be better if we had a word with Fudge, before things got out of hand. There is still the matter of protecting Harry until the baby is born and we both know the headmaster will not be pleased with Harry's association with my family. Merlin only knows what he might do."

Amelia Bones sighed "If anyone ever told me a few months ago that I would 'conspire' with Lucius Malfoy to keep thing hidden from Albus Dumbledore, I would have sent them to St. Mungo's without thinking twice."

"I know Mme., but that is the way things are. We better hurry." Said Lucius offering his arm to Mme. Bones and leading her to the fireplace.

Narcissa and Sirius set their tea cups on the table and made their way to Harry's rooms to prepare the young man for the storm that was fast approaching. The next few days would be very trying for the small pregnant wizard.

"Cissa, How did this happen?" asked Sirius as they made their way in to the library where Harry was studying with Remus.

"Lucius had no idea Pettigrew was in the group that framed Harry. We thought the Dark Lord had only sent the younger members of his forces. Harry is already free, not a problem there, but tomorrow the whole world will know about it; there was no way we could anticipate something like this. Come, we must prepare him." Explained Narcissa opening the door to the library.

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The morning came fast upon the world and caught quite a few wizards and witches by surprise. Sitting at the head table, Snape had a front row seat for the day's events and couldn't help but smirk at the reactions the Daily Prophet provoked that morning.

Hermione Granger paled and gaped like a fish, Ronald Weasley almost fell from the bench, all mighty Albus Dumbledore dropped his cup and he couldn't be sure of how many just yet, but at least 5 Hufflepuffs fainted at once. Satisfied with the show and carefully avoiding eye contact with his godson, Snape calmly got his copy of the newspaper and read the first page.

HARRY POTTER INNOCENT
By Rudolf North

Yesterday in a dramatic moment during the second day of interrogation of one Peter Pettigrew, who just the day before confessed to be the one who betrayed the Potters to the Dark Lord and later framed Sirius Black for his crimes, brought to light another one of his horrible misdeeds.
It seems that last May, Mr. Pettigrew was part of a group of Death Eaters who went to Hogsmeade and staged the rape and murder of one Ginevra Weasley, framing Harry Potter, the boy-who-lived, for that hideous crime. The ministry is still not releasing the details of how that was accomplished but a reliable source inside the ministry confirmed that there is no doubt as of what really happened and that Mr. Potter is indeed innocent. Still according to Pettigrew, Miss Weasley is very much alive and doing fine, currently working quite willingly under the orders of the Dark Lord.
What this reporter wants to know now is how far this deceit goes? How many of the Weasleys are servants of the Dark Lord. One can not ignore the results of that unspeakable act of betrayal. Not only was Mr. Potter thrown in Azkaban but also the so called grieving family pressed hard and quite loudly for a harsher punishment, demanding not only that Mr. Potter was sentenced to the kiss but also that all of his possessions would revert to them, including the family vaults, thankfully none of those requests were granted by the ministry.
Even thought, isn't it strange that with the imprisonment of Mr. Potter so many 'benefits' have befallen on the said family? Like the broom used now a days by the youngest son, Ron Weasley, former best friend of Mr. Potter, as anyone can see on the picture below, the said young man was the proud 'owner' of a Firebolt at the last Gryffindor match, a fine broom which strangely enough exhibits the same serial number as the one owned by Harry Potter.
Also, according to sources inside Hogwarts, a certain rare and valuable invisibility cloak left to Mr. Potter by his father mysteriously found its way into the hands of one Hermione Granger, also a former best friend of Mr. Potter who was very vocal on his turn to evil (for a complete recount of the interviews of both Mr. Ronald Weasley and Miss Hermione Granger turn to page 12).
Is it the habit of Hogwarts current headmaster to award personal possessions of students to another as if belongs to him? If so, it is certainly a new system that the board of education and the school governors know nothing about. Mr. Lucius Malfoy, school governor, assured this reporter that any possessions that Mr. Potter might have left at school will be transferred to a secure location and no one except its rightful owner will be able to claim them, also a thorough investigation will be conducted in order to verify the claims of inappropriate acquisition or disposal of the said possession by other students. We can only hope that the board of governors see that some measure of justice is served in this appalling case.

Snape glanced at the pictures illustrating the article. Mr. Creevey's skills were improving; the quality of his work left nothing to be desired. Maybe he should ward some points?

Once he finished his breakfast, Snape got up and made his way in to the dungeons. He had quite a few things to do today and Albus was certainly going to call a meeting of the order before the morning was over. The old meddling fool.