Xenophilius was doing much better and they were even thinking of letting him out of St Mungo's early.
Narcissa had woken up, and she had been able to give Sirius and Alastor Moody a full retelling of what had happened, even though she found it hard because of all the emotions it stirred inside her. She was shaken, wasn't expecting Lucius to react this way since he had never been violent towards her before. The last tiny bits of love she had felt for him were now gone, forever and she hated him with a passion.
She wanted to see him pay for attacking her, she wanted him to be in pain.
She was to stay a bit longer at the hospital and, after a long talk with her son, she had asked Andromeda to start the procedure to get her divorced from Lucius, officially. Since he was a wanted fugitive and an official high ranking Death Eater, she was sure that the Ministry of magic employee in charge of these things wouldn't be too difficult, if he did try to prevent her from getting the divorce, it would mean that he's on Voldemort's side and he'd be arrested, so she knew that she'd get what she wanted.
She was ready for the wizarding world to know that they weren't together anymore, that she wasn't associated with him in any form anymore. She was her own woman, Narcissa Black once more. As for her son, he was ready to show his true colors, to stop pretending he was a spy for Voldemort when all he truly wanted was his freedom and happiness. Draco was ready to stand by his mother's side against his father at the first opportunity and he was even thinking of making an official demand to take on his mother's maiden name instead of the Malfoy's name.
As for what would happen in Hogwarts, he decided that he would see. In case things turned too difficult in the dormitories and common room, Dumbledore had offered to give him private quarters and he'd be watched through paintings and ghosts. He knew that he'd be safe.
Narcissa's recovery would be long, but she would be able to go home soon as well, as long as she was able to rest, which wouldn't be a problem since Kreacher was more than willing to help her out and she now had friends willing to sit by her side and keep her company. Of course she also needed fresh air, and so they contemplated the possibility of having her stay at the Marauder's lair, though Xenophilius offered to have her visit him every time she needed fresh air or even just company. He had grown used to her company, their conversations were pleasant and, surprisingly, it made him happy to have someone adult and sensible talking with him.
Plus, she seemed willing to listen to him speak about nonsensical creatures, even though she didn't believe in him, which was more than he could say about most adults.
"I think it would be best if I stayed at the headquarters but visited Xenophilius or Andromeda for fresh air." Narcissa decided.
Deep down, even though the Headquarters looked a bit like a fortress, she liked it because it made her feel safe, untouchable, while she was there. And in the long run, she couldn't stay at Sirius' since he'd be going back to Hogwarts once school started.
"Of course." Sirius nodded.
"Sirius, you'll keep an eye out for Draco once at Hogwarts, right? You'll make sure he's fine?" She asked him in a small voice.
"Of course I will, you know that. Severus will too, and I'm sure the other teachers will also keep an eye out. Dumbledore has also asked the Ghosts and portraits to keep an eye out for him. Don't worry." He reassured her.
"Are you still taking them all to Diagon Alley tomorrow to get their school supplies?" She asked him.
"No, Dudley's parents are coming to pick him up tomorrow, so we'll go the day after. Don't worry, we'll take Draco with us, he'll be fine, have everything he needs for school. We'll even go to Gringotts so he can grab a bit more money out of your family vault." he smiled.
Dudley had spent such wonderful two weeks with his cousins that he hadn't seen time pass by until his parents hung up the mirror by saying "see you tomorrow son". For the first time in his life, he wasn't looking forward to going to his Aunt Marge's house and, big surprise, he hadn't missed TV one bit.
Dudley had managed to ask his parents to stay for lunch and, surprisingly, they had agreed. He had expected them to refuse, make some excuse about the road being long and needing to get a head start, but they were making an effort and he liked it, so did Harry and Rose.
The morning of the day Dudley was going to leave, Harry received some unexpected mail, from an owl he didn't know.
"What's going on, Harry?" Sirius asked him, seeing his godson's confused face.
"This letter, it's from the head of St Mungo's charity financing or event planning, or something like that. They're going to have an auction to help pay for the hospital bills of the victims of the war who can't pay and they were wondering if I could donate something to Auction off." Harry explained, showing Sirius the letter.
"Hey, I remember that name, I think I dated her for a few days back in Hogwarts." Sirius exclaimed, recognizing the name.
"Old love?" Dudley asked.
"Not really, I was kind of a dating machine back then. A serial monogamist. A real heartbreaker... Ha... I do miss the old days..." He smiled nostalgically.
"Why would they want something from me?" Harry frowned.
"No matter how hard you try to ignore it, Harry, you're famous. People will definitely spend money for something that used to belong to you." Rose replied.
"What should I donate?" Harry wondered with a nod.
He had no idea what people could possibly want to buy that used to be owned by him. Surely they wouldn't be happy with an old pair of miss matched socks like Dobby had been.
"You know, soccer players often auction off their official team shirts, they sign it and sell it. Maybe you could do it with your Quidditch shirts? I mean, you grow up so surely you have several that are too small now, right?" Dudley suggested.
"That's actually a great idea!" Rose exclaimed.
"Alright... I can't give them this year's shirt because Ginny has it, she wears it to sleep in and I don't want to take it from her, but the ones from 1st, 2nd and 3rd year, definitely." Harry nodded.
"What about the shirts from the Tri-wizard Tournament? The ones you wore during the tasks." Sirius asked.
"I still have those too, I think they're at the bottom of my trunk. They have holes and some dirty patches that can't be cleaned but I guess it gives them some backstory..." he nodded.
"I'll show you a spell you can use to sign them permanently." Sirius suggested.
"When's the auction?" Rose asked.
"The letter says on Halloween, but they'd like to have everything before September 1st to organize themselves and publish a list of items people can bet on." Harry replied, handing his sister the letter.
"We can take care of that this afternoon, once Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia leave. We'll think of something original for your autograph." Rose suggested and Harry nodded.
"Dad gives them free advertisement in his paper every year, and he sends them free issues to place in waiting rooms." Luna commented before she went back to playing with Dudley's Pygmy Puffs before they left.
Not wanting to overcrowd Sirius, Draco had gone to spend the day with his Aunt Andromeda. He wanted to make an effort to get to know her and his uncle Ted. After all, they had raised Nymphadora Tonks-Lupin, they had to have a fun side hidden somewhere.
Rose and Kreacher had been cooking today's meal and the muggle couple arrived just in time. Dudley and Harry had been outside, waiting under the wards until they saw the car approach. That's when they got out from under the protections to show the couple where to stop.
Of course they were happy to see their son, and Petunia even surprised Harry by giving him an awkward hug. It was awkward because it was unexpected and unusual, but Harry liked it. She was, finally, becoming his aunt, the one he would have loved to have all along. It was nice to see that people could, indeed, change for the better.
"Welcome. Come on in." Harry told them, getting over his shock from the hug.
"You warned us, but it's still weird to see now a house that wasn't there before." Vernon commented, looking at the house.
"It's a spell that keeps us safe." Harry smiled.
The muggle couple came inside the house and they were greeted by everyone. Luna was kind and welcoming towards Dudley's parents but the one who intrigued them the most was Kreacher, who popped away as soon as he was done with the cooking. Sirius explained houselves to them and Harry could tell that his aunt wished she could have one of those, though the thought was quickly pushed out of her mind once she saw the Pygmy Puffs, who seemed eager to cuddle her hand.
They settled around the table, that Rose and Luna had set, and started eating. Luna and Dudley were sitting side by side, promising each other to keep in touch.
Vernon, who wasn't sitting far from them, could hear everything and it was amusing to see his confused face. He obviously didn't know if she was sane or not.
"Do these creatures really exist?" Vernon asked Rose in a curious and worried whisper.
"I'm honestly not sure. Not many people seem to know about them, or even to believe in their existing. Maybe they're just rare or they have the ability to hide themselves really well, or their extinct... Or it could be made up. I don't know, but she believes in them, no harm done in humoring her and going along with it. She wants to be a magizoologist, you know, study magical creatures, find them, protect them, heal them... maybe she'll prove their existence one day. I know Dudley is going along with it to be nice, because he likes her." Rose replied.
"Likes her?" Vernon asked her, a hint of panick in his tone.
"As friends. She doesn't have many friends, people tend to find her weird and to stay away from her because of that, but she's really nice. Maybe a bit too innocent... I know she dresses a bit weird with her strange earrings and necklaces, but give her a chance, you'll see. She's... a breath of fresh air. hen you spend time with her, you tend to forget that there's evil in the world, she tends t make you see the best in everything." Rose smiled and Vernon nodded.
Petunia was talking with Sirius and Harry about the possibility of coming to visit over Christmas break and they seemed to be getting close to an agreement.
The meal went fine and Dudley was actually sad to leave. He was going to miss his cousins, but he'd also miss Luna's friendship. She always made him smile, she found ways to make him feel good about himself and he really hoped she'd stay in touch with him.
What did you think? It's a filler chapter, nothing really big happening...
I'm still spacing out my updates, sorry, but sadly, not much inspiration to write a lot lately... It will come back, just a bit later.
Review please?
Lorelei Candice Black