* ~ The Eighth Year Universe ~ *

Love Wins

Heaven Knows How I Loved You

The chapter title is from the song:

Heaven Knows – Five for Fighting.


Previously…

Harry moved to cast a shield charm over the crowd, but before he could, a blast of blue magic appeared from nowhere, and it took Harry a second to realise that Hermione had done it – all of it, wandlessly and without a single word leaving her mouth.

She rose to her feet, fury painted across her face, but without a single tear in her eye, and she looked out at the astounded crowd.

"Let this be a warning to anyone else who would seek to attack this ministry," Hermione said lowly, "Not on my watch!"


After Hermione's declaration, Harry ordered the Aurors and the MLE squad to evacuate the ministry. The atrium emptied quickly, and Harry stepped forward to place a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't touch me, Harry," Hermione snapped, looking down at Draco's lifeless body.

"Hermione," Harry said, his voice breaking, "Hermione, look at me."

Hermione swallowed down her pain and turned to look at Harry, whose face was streaked with tears.

It was almost enough to break Hermione's composure, but not quite. Not until two people strode towards them while the rest of the crowd ran for the exits. Two people who loved Draco as much as she did.

Theo dropped silently to his knees next to Draco's body and rested his head on the other man's chest, "No," he said in a choked whisper.

Tears were streaming down Sadie's face as she looked at the two men. Then suddenly, her eyes lit up as if a lightbulb had gone off in her head.

"I can fix this."

"Sadie," Harry cut in, "Sadie, no. I know what you're thinking, and you can't."

Hermione looked up hastily, "What are you thinking?"

Sadie looked her dead in the eye, "You saved a dead man once."

"No!" Harry said, moving closer to the two women, "What we did was different, Sadie. A whole crowd saw Draco die. You can't undo that!"

With a fire burning in her eyes, Sadie asked, "What if I already have?"

"And what if you create a paradox?" Harry asked quietly, "What if you save Draco, but you create an alternate timeline? I might not be an Unspeakable, but I know what happens if you rip a hole in time, our entire reality starts to crumble around us."

Sadie looked away from Harry, "It's not your call, Harry."

Hermione swallowed, "No, it's mine."

Sadie's eyes didn't waver from Hermione's. After a fraction of a second, Hermione nodded, "You have my authorisation."

"Hermione," Harry said weakly, "I know you love him, but this isn't the way. If you play with time, there are consequences."

"There weren't any when we brought Sirius back," Hermione said coolly.

"Yes, there were!" Harry snapped, "He survived, but for what? Two more years, two miserable years! He was locked up in a house that he hated, forced to relive his abusive childhood with only Remus for company. Remus, who couldn't love him the way he used to after all the mistrust over whether Sirius had killed my parents."

"But he still lived," Hermione argued, "And time didn't fracture."

"He lived on borrowed time, and then he died, for good," Harry said darkly, "You could go as far as to call it a half-life. Do you think that's what Draco wants?"

Hermione turned on Harry then, pressing her wand against his chest, "It doesn't matter what Draco wants because he isn't alive to make this call, but I am! And if this was Daphne, you would do anything to save her. Don't even pretend that you wouldn't!"

"I wouldn't," Harry said, his eyes meeting hers, "It would hurt me more than anything ever has, but I would not mess with time to bring her back. I wouldn't compromise our entire reality for one person, even if that person was the love of my life."

"Well, I'm not you," Hermione said fiercely, "And I have made my decision so stand down, Potter."

Harry was furious when Hermione turned away from him to nod at Sadie.

Sadie nodded back, then ran into a stairwell that headed down to the Department of Mysteries.

Theo eventually lifted his head to look at Harry.

"You can't agree with this," Harry said weakly, "Theo, I know you, and you can't seriously think this is right."

Theo looked up. His eyes were empty, no tears ran down his cheeks. He shook his head and looked back down at Draco, "I…don't know."

He let his head drop onto Draco's chest once more, and his words were quiet and muffled.

"I just don't know, Harry."


Sadie felt less secure in what she was doing when she walked into the Department of Mysteries. Even though they probably weren't, she felt like all eyes were on her. Still, all she could do was hold her head high and pretend she was here for business as usual.

She felt sick as she placed her hand on the buzzer to enter the time room. The wait for it to recognise her magical signature seemed to be much longer than usual, and when the door buzzed, it was all she could do not to let out a relieved sigh.

When she stepped into the time room, she bypassed the research station. She walked straight by the open, swirling wormhole at the centre and past the observation area for the timeline. The room was empty, so she used her wand to unlock the cabinet full of time-turners and grabbed one of the 'one-hour' ones. She slotted it into her robes, glanced around and exited through a door at the back to the space room.

From there, she slipped out into a corridor and headed up a back stairwell. Her heart was racing as she held the time-turner in two hands, flipped it and closed her eyes as the world raced by around her.

When it all settled down, she put it back in her robes and slipped back into the space room to grab an Unspeakables robe. She put it on and pulled it up so that it covered her face, then she headed out into the atrium. Surely enough, the large clock on the wall marked that it was one hour earlier.

All she had to do now was set the wheels in motion. Taking a breath to calm herself down, Sadie left the ministry and apparated to the security point for Azkaban prison. When she got there, the Auror in the box immediately stood up a little straighter. Unspeakables meant business. Even Aurors were intimidated by them.

"I am the Head of the Department of Mysteries," Sadie said, her voice disguised. She held out her wand, her hand gnarled with a glamour.

The young Auror scanned her wand nervously, then nodded, "What business can I help you with?"

"We need an inmate for a research initiative. Someone from the high-security sector who has no family to speak for them."

He swallowed and nodded, "Of course. I'll…I'll get on that straight away."

"Be quick."

"Yes, sir, or ma'am, uh, yes," The young Auror said as he tapped another Auror and muttered, "Keep watch. I'll be back soon."

The other Auror looked at Sadie and paled. He nodded and stood at the desk but didn't say a word.

Sadie took a step back. At least when she was dressed like this, people didn't try and make small talk.

As it so happened, the Auror returned 15 minutes later with an inmate in tow. He was a middle-aged man, skinny from malnutrition in Azkaban and covered in prison tattoos.

"His crime is murder," The young Auror said as he handed him over, "He joined the Death Eaters to inflict pain, and his entire family are dead."

Sadie bowed her head and gripped the man, who was already bound and silenced, by the arm. She pulled him over to the apparition point and whisked them away to an old Cauldwell property in Somerset.

Cauldwell Tower wasn't far off a ruin these days. It had a roof, but it didn't do much to keep the water out.

Still, Sadie took a steadying breath once they were there because what she was about to do was probably the most immoral thing she had ever done in her life. For a second, she hesitated, but then she saw Hermione losing control of her magic, Theo sobbing and Draco's unseeing eyes.

"Imperio!"

The man's eyes glazed over, and Sadie spoke clearly, "You will drink polyjuice potion. You will pretend to be Draco Black, and when you are by the Minister for Magic's side in the atrium of the Ministry of Magic, you will jump in front of a curse to save her life."

The glazed over look in his eyes remained, and he nodded.

"Good," Sadie said darkly, "Let's go."

Getting a hair of Draco's was easy. She plucked it off his pillow. As the only person in their family with short blonde hair, it was easily done.

She forced the inmate to take the potion and transform into Draco, then she disillusioned them both and waited in the shadows for Hermione, Harry and the real Draco to take to the 'stage' in the atrium.

Sadie seized her moment when Harry walked forwards, but Draco didn't. He frowned and looked around as if he sensed her presence somehow.

"Stupefy," Sadie whispered, casting a wandless cushioning spell on the ground as he fell so that the sound wouldn't alert anyone.

She then took the disillusionment charm off of the inmate. She whispered, "Walk over to Harry Potter and make a comment about how you wish the minister had increased her security and remember, jump in front of the green light."

The fake Draco nodded, and Sadie noticed Harry turning back with a frown, probably wondering where Draco had gotten to.

"Go," Sadie whispered.

The fake Draco walked forward, and Sadie placed a portkey on top of the disillusioned, unconscious Draco. It whirred quietly then whisked him away to the whiskey cellar in Blacknot Castle, which was locked and warded from the outside.

She watched from the sidelines as Hermione gave her speech, and the ray of green light flew across the atrium. The fake Draco jumped in front of it, and Hermione lost her temper, and her magic blasted out of control, just as it had the first time. When it all died down, and the Aurors started shepherding people out of the atrium, Sadie watched herself and Theo run over to Draco.

It wouldn't be long now until the previous version of herself left for the Department of Mysteries.

Sadie watched the argument unfold again, and a sinking feeling in her gut told her that Harry was right. But it was too late for that now. She had made her decision.

After the previous version of herself left, Harry looked at Theo and said, "You can't agree with this. Theo, I know you, and you can't seriously think this is right."

It broke Sadie's heart to see the look in his eyes when he looked up at Harry. They were empty, dead, devoid of emotion. It pushed the guilt down a little, but not entirely.

"I just don't know, Harry," He said, his voice muffled and his head on Draco's chest.

Sadie took a breath and took off the disillusionment charm. She de-robed and shrunk the Unspeakables robes down so that they would fit in her pocket, then she took off her glamour and voice masking charm and stepped out of the shadows.

"Sadie," Hermione said in surprise, frowning at her, "Did you…did you change your mind?"

Sadie shook her head, "It's done."

Harry cursed and turned around in an attempt to hide the fury in his eyes from Hermione.

"But…" Hermione's eyes filled with tears, "He's…he's still…."

She looked at Draco's lifeless body.

Sadie shook her head, "That's not Draco," she said as she cast a complex spell – it was a very twisted, complicated version of Revelio.

The body then began to shift into that of the inmate she had taken from Azkaban.

"It was never Draco, so there was no paradox," Sadie said, looking at Harry.

"You couldn't have known that!" Harry snapped, spinning around to glare at her.

"Yes, I could have!" Sadie snapped right back, "Because this is my job, Harry. I know how time works, better than you ever have."

"And you think that gives you the right to abuse that position of power?" Harry hissed.

"But you weren't abusing yours when you used the elder wand to save Neville's back and Lilly's babies?" Sadie quipped in return.

Harry looked at Hermione in disbelief, "You told her about that?"

"She's my best friend," Hermione said weakly.

Harry let out a reluctant, bitter laugh, "Yeah, so was I."

"Harry-"

"No," Harry cut in, "I don't want to hear it, Hermione."

Sadie fixed her gaze on Harry, "It was never Draco because I was always going to go back and fix it. That's how time works, Harry."

"She's right, Harry," Hermione said quietly, "When we went back to save Buckbeak and Sirius, it worked because we hadn't actually seen either of them die. You can't undo what has been seen, but all three of us? We looked away before the axe came down when Buckbeak was executed, and you passed out before you saw Sirius get the dementors kiss."

"This was different, and you know it," Harry said quietly, "We all saw Draco die, and Sadie used a loophole to fix that. She let someone die to fix that!"

"If it makes you feel any better, he was a Death Eater and a murderer," Sadie said dryly.

"And do you know what?" Harry said, turning on Sadie, "So was Draco, but he was still a good person. Letting someone else die to save someone you love? That's not okay, especially since I doubt this guy came willingly."

Sadie's eyes flashed with guilt.

"You used the imperius curse?" Theo asked in a shocked whisper.

Sadie looked at her husband, "It was the only way, Theo-"

Theo took a step back, "No," he said, shaking his head, "That's never the right way."

Sadie looked at him in disbelief, "You're really siding with Harry here? You would rather Draco was dead?"

"No!" Theo snapped, "Don't you dare try to guilt-trip me. You know what he means to me. You know what his death would have done to me. But what you did? It's…it's too far, Sadie."

"And you authorised it," Harry said, venom dripping from his voice as he looked at Hermione, "And you know what? That reeks of Albus Dumbledore."

"Harry-"

Harry shook his head and began to walk away, "You aren't who I thought you were, Hermione," he said as he stepped into an elevator and shut the door behind him.

Back in the atrium, Hermione swallowed and looked tearfully at Theo.

"Theo, you would have made the same call-"

"No," Theo said, shaking his head.

"I wouldn't have because yes, I love him, but I love him enough to know that he will be furious when he finds out what you two did. You undermined his sacrifice, and you," he took a breath, "You went against his moral code. When he became an Auror, he knew that there was a chance he'd die in the line of duty. We all did."

"But-"

Theo shook his head and held up his hand, "Sadie, where's the real Draco?"

Sadie looked at him tearfully, "Unconscious in the whiskey cellar at the castle."

Theo laughed bitterly, "Locked in a cell? Nice, really poetic."

"Theo-"

"No," Theo snapped, "Because I know how it feels to wake up locked in a cell, Sadie!"

Without waiting for a response, Theo stalked towards the fireplaces to floo back to the castle.

"We need to go after him and-" Hermione began to say.

"No," Sadie said, shaking her head, "You need to issue a statement that a hit wizard was disguised as Draco for security reasons."

Hermione swallowed and looked at Sadie, wondering how she could remain so calm despite the circumstances.

"Say that you and Draco received death threats after you were elected," Sadie continued, "The hit wizard volunteered to protect the Minister and his country. But he cannot be named because hit wizard's identities are unknown. Tell them that the real Draco is perfectly fine at home. You need to do it now because the longer you wait, the more suspicious it looks."

"How do I explain my reaction?" Hermione asked, looking at her best friend with fear burning in her eyes, "I killed three people."

"You don't know that. Your cascading jinx went through their chests, not necessarily their hearts," Sadie said quickly, "And it's simple. You say that you didn't know that Draco was a decoy until afterwards. It was all handled by your advisors and the head of the DMLE himself."

Hermione nodded, "Okay. Sadie, how are you so calm about all of this?"

The look in Sadie's eyes was dark when she looked Hermione in the eye then, "You don't know what I've been doing down there for the last 15 years, Hermione."

The last words between them were unspoken, but they both knew they were there.

And you never will.


Theo unlocked the whiskey cellar and ran inside, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw Draco lying against the barrels. He rushed over and muttered, "Enervate."

Draco opened his eyes blearily, "Theo?"

Theo nodded and held his face with both hands, "Hey," he said softly.

Draco saw the concern swimming in his best friend's eyes, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Theo said, relief flooding him as he rested his forehead against Draco's and took a steadying breath, "I'm good, we're good."

Theo pressed his lips against Draco's, and despite having no idea what had happened, Draco kissed him back. Theo moved his hand from the side of Draco's face to the back of his neck, and Draco found that he struggled to lift his hands because they felt heavy. It was an after effect of being stunned, which brought him back to reality.

He pulled back and looked at Theo, "What happened?"

Theo shook his head, "It's a long story."

"I don't care," Draco said simply, "I wake up here, obviously having been stunned, and you just kissed me like it was the last time you ever would. Something happened."

Theo sat down by his side, leaning against a whiskey barrel, "I just watched you die, so yeah, maybe that was a bit intense."

"What?" Draco asked sharply.

Theo shook his head and moved to kneel in front of Draco, "Just look in my head. It will be easier."

Draco frowned but leant his head forward enough that his forehead was resting against Theo's.

"Legilimens," Theo murmured, letting Draco into his head.

Draco watched Theo's memory play out. He watched Hermione give the speech, and then he saw himself jump in front of the spell for her. Then Draco saw the conversation play out when Sadie told them what she was planning and then returned to explain exactly how she had saved him.

The memory ended when Theo walked away from the main group. That was when Theo ended the spell and looked into Draco's eyes.

Surely enough, he saw precisely what he expected to see there.

"She should never have done that," Draco said, "Sadie and Hermione….they had no right, Theo."

"I know," Theo said, his brow knitting into a frown, "But you were dead Draco, and as much as I want to claim the moral high ground…I think I would have sold my soul to get you back."

"Your wife did," Draco said, frowning at Theo, "I never thought….Sadie and I….I never thought."

"I know," Theo said, he leant back against the barrels, "Sometimes we forget that she loves you as much as Hermione and I do."

Draco was silent for a moment, "How are they going to explain that I'm alive?"

"I don't know," Theo confessed, "They'll probably come up with some cock and bull story about a decoy being used for security or whatever."

Draco's frown deepened, "But the only person who would suggest a decoy would be the Head of the DMLE."

"Yeah," Theo agreed.

Draco swallowed hard and pushed himself to his feet.

"So how the hell am I going to expect respect from the Aurors I worked with, the Aurors I trained, when they think I'm so much of a coward, I let a decoy die for me?"

Theo looked up at his best friend, "I…don't know," he replied honestly.

"I need to go into the ministry and deal with this," He said lowly.

"Draco," Theo said, scrambling to his feet, "I don't think that's a good idea right now."

"I don't care," Draco snapped, "I need to clear up our wives' mess."

"Draco, you're alive," Theo said, gripping his wrist, "I know you don't agree with how they did it, but you're alive."

"And I shouldn't be," Draco said, his eyes flashing, "I cheated death, Theo. You and I both read the Tale of the Three Brothers as kids. We know what happens when someone cheats death."

Theo's eyes darkened, "No…that's just a story, Draco."

"No, it isn't," Draco said quietly, "It's real, and when death is cheated, he gets angry. There is always a consequence, Theo. Like with the third brother, death kept searching for him until he took the cloak off."

"You do not get to talk to me about living on borrowed time," Theo said quietly, his voice breaking.

Draco's eyes softened. His hand was still in Theo's, so he tightened his grip on the other man.

"I have been living on borrowed time for the last 15 years," Theo said, his eyes boring into Draco's.

"But I got to tell the man I loved how I felt, and I got to raise the most wonderful family. I should have died in that cellar, but I didn't, and I'll be damned if I let you wallow in the fact you're alive because the last 15 years have by far been the best of my life."

Draco swallowed and nodded, "This is different, Theo. I was dead, and she messed with time to make me not dead. She didn't just cheat death, she messed with time, and when you mess with time, it tends to mess back."

"That's not going to happen," Theo said firmly, "Because I will not let anything happen to you. I can't watch you die again, Draco, I can't."

Theo blinked away the tears in his eyes, "So even if you don't believe it, pretend that you do, for me."

Draco nodded and closed the gap between them, capturing Theo's lips and pressing him against the cold stone wall. Theo didn't fight it at all. Instead, he just leant into the kiss, deepening it and gripping Draco by the waist to pull him in closer. Draco dipped his head a little lower, and Theo opened his mouth, granting the other man access. What was usually a passionate battle of tongues and dominance was actually a rather languid kiss.

It ended on an exhale of breath and whispered words. Draco's eyes were still shut, and his forehead rested against Theo's.

"Just live on borrowed time with me," Theo begged.

Draco opened his eyes and met Theo's scared, hazel ones.

"I will, for as long as I can," He promised.


Harry didn't get nervous before speeches anymore. His heart raced for an entirely different reason when he stood in the main corridor of the Auror department. He was prepared to address the people he had spent the last 15 years working with and training.

"Hey, everyone. Look, I just have something I need to say to you all today," Harry said, looking out at the expectant faces.

"But I want to start by thanking all of you for the service you have provided this ministry. Whether that's been for ten years, twenty years or you're a fossil," he looked at Rob with a half-hearted smile.

Rob didn't laugh, he could see the pain in Harry's eyes, and he knew that whatever he had to say, it was big.

"Whether you're a junior who has just graduated from the training centre," Harry said, looking at their newest recruits, "The next generation of Notts, or Potters, or Wolfe's. Whether you are a Muggle-born who decided this is what you wanted to do, or whether you followed in your parent's footsteps. Whoever you are, and whatever the length of your service, thank you."

Harry cleared his throat, "It has been an honour serving with each and every one of you."

Eyes began to widen as people realised quite what this speech was about.

"Ever since I stepped through the door as Head Auror, all I have tried to do is bring about change for the better," Harry confessed.

"All I wanted was an equal wizarding Britain, united against hate and poverty. I wanted us to be a nation that worked for everyone, not just the privileged few."

He smiled out at them, "And looking at the Closes, looking at Knockturn Alley. Even just looking at our crime rates now compared to those 15 years ago, I know that I have done that. I have achieved every goal I had as Head Auror, and that is down to all of you and all of the hard work you have put in over the years. I have not been alone in pulling double shifts or slogging all night in this office. All of you have been here with me through that, and together, we have built the better world we hoped to."

Harry fought the tears that threatened to spill. He swallowed hard and composed himself before looking up again.

"But now we are faced with another fight, and I find that I cannot reconcile myself with the approach our ministry has decided to take concerning that. But we cannot be divided now, which means it is time for someone else to lead this fight.

I look around this office, and I see purebloods, half-bloods, muggle-borns," Harry smiled, "I see kids who were raised in mansions and kids who were raised in the Closes, and to you guys, it doesn't matter. All you care about is that you trained together and that you have each other's backs. That's right, that's the way it should always have been and the way it will always be if you fight to keep it so."

Harry took a steadying breath and looked out at them all, "So, it is with a heavy heart that I formally resign as Head Auror today."

The gasps that echoed around the room weren't a surprise to Harry. Ben looked at him in disbelief, shocked that he hadn't seen this coming when he could normally predict Harry's every move.

Harry took his badge off and handed it to Ben with a smile.

"In my place, Benedict Smith will be your acting Head, and I will strongly advise the Head of the DMLE to make that appointment permanent."

Ben took the badge and looked at Harry, worry written across his face, "Harry, are you sure-"

Harry nodded and pulled himself up to his full height, "I'm sure, Ben."

He addressed the rest of the Aurors once more, "I truly mean it when I say that it has been an honour. And the highest honour you can do me is to continue to run this department the way I spent years doing so. We are a family, we have each other's backs even when it's hard, and regardless of our blood status, our background, the colour of our skin or who we love, we support each other."

Harry smiled as he finished, "We stand together, in peace and in times of war. And if we fall in the line of duty, then country roads take us home."

The last line made a few people tear up. While that song had always been associated with Jack, it had become synonymous with the department now. It was played on the old wooden guitar that sat in Harry's office before any significant raid. And more than one fallen Auror had requested it be played at their funeral.

The office burst into applause, and Harry smiled tearfully at the work-family he had made for himself. He left via the back corridor before they could bombard him with questions or convince him to stay. He took five minutes to gather himself before going along the corridor to leave his resignation on Draco's desk.

Harry didn't knock because he assumed Draco wouldn't be there, so he was shocked when he saw the other man standing behind his desk.

"Draco."

Draco looked at him and smiled wryly, "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"That isn't funny," Harry said, crossing the room in three strides and pulling Draco into a hug.

Draco hugged him back tightly, "I'm okay," he murmured.

Harry let out a shaky breath and drew back. He kept his hand on Draco's shoulder, and he looked at the blond man carefully, "Yeah, you are."

"But at what cost?" Draco asked, darkness swimming in his eyes.

"You don't agree with her?" Harry asked.

Draco scoffed, "Of course I don't agree with her. She released a statement saying that I authorised the use of a decoy for security purposes. How is anyone in this department going to respect me, Harry?"

Harry didn't answer because he knew what he would have said wouldn't have been what Draco needed to hear.

"I spent my whole life, my entire career, fighting to prove that I was more than Draco Malfoy," Draco said, the fury in his voice evident, "To prove that I wasn't a coward and now this? It just shows the world that Draco Black has been Draco Malfoy all along."

"No," Harry said firmly, "Because the people who know you know that isn't true. You are not a coward, Draco. You were my Auror partner for a decade. You had my back so many times. You saved my life, and you took a cutting curse to the face for me."

Draco reached up and ran his hand along that old scar on his cheek absentmindedly.

"And you took a cursed wound to the leg for me," Draco pointed out.

"Regardless of how I feel about Hermione right now, I'll never stop respecting you," Harry promised.

"You are not a coward, and if you want me to shout that from the fucking rooftops, I will. I'll sell the Prophet an exclusive because for Hermione to make that call, then put it on you? Fuck, that makes me even angrier than I was before."

Draco swallowed and nodded, "Thank you, Harry. That…it means more than you think."

Harry nodded too, then he sighed and put a scroll of parchment on Draco's desk, "I don't want to do this, right now. Honestly, I wasn't expecting to find you here today, but….that is my resignation."

Draco's eyes widened, "What?"

"With immediate effect," Harry said, pushing down the guilt that bubbled up inside him.

"Harry," Draco said quietly as he looked at the words on the parchment, "Please, don't do this. Not now."

"I have to," Harry said simply, "Voldemort – that was my war. I fought in it, and then I reformed the ministry that he and his followers corrupted. That was my fight, Draco. This? I can't fight this one the way I need to from within the ministry, and I can't in all good conscience work for a ministry led by Hermione at the moment. Because I don't like what I see, it reminds me too much of Dumbledore…the greater good, by any means."

"I don't know when she changed," Draco said quietly, "And I don't know how I didn't spot it, but she has and…if it weren't for the fact I have to live with her, I think I would be doing the same thing as you right now."

Harry sighed, "So you understand?"

Draco nodded, "I do. But it has to be said, you are the best Head Auror this department has ever seen, and you leaving now when war is imminent…it makes me worry about the outcome."

"I didn't say I wouldn't fight," Harry pointed out, "Just that I can't do it from within the Ministry."

Draco met his eye, and Harry could see that there was a degree of understanding there.

"I've put Ben in charge, temporarily, but I strongly advise you make the position permanent," Harry said, looking Draco in the eye

"You and I both know he's just as capable as me. You and I trained him, Draco. He's got my skill, your political know-how and more importantly, he's sly. He can do this; I have complete faith in him and every Auror in that department. They can do it without me."

Draco sighed but nodded, "But this is all, ultimately, because of Hermione, isn't it?"

"Yes, but I give you my word. I will not say that publicly," Harry promised.

"Out of respect for everything she has done for me, I won't put her under the microscope like that."

Draco studied Harry for a moment, "I don't think I've ever seen you so angry at her."

"I've never been this angry at her," Harry admitted, "Maybe you can forgive her, but I can't. I don't know if I ever will."

Draco frowned down at the desk, "I will forgive her, you're right. It will take time, but I will because she's my wife and," he broke off and sighed.

Harry watched him carefully as Draco sat down on the edge of his desk, "She forgave me for everything I did during the war. If she can forgive me for that, then I would be a hypocrite not to forgive her for this, and I hope one day, you can too."

He met Harry's eyes, "Because you two have gone through too much together to throw that all away now."

"I thought so too," Harry said quietly, "But maybe she doesn't feel the same. Because if she did, Draco, she would have had some regard for my opinion. But not only did she ignore me, she actively pulled rank over me and effectively ordered me to stand down, so that's what I'm doing."

"Then I accept your resignation, albeit reluctantly," Draco said, smiling sadly at Harry.

"Consider yourself honourably discharged from the Auror department, with full honours and benefits befitting the service you have given the Ministry."

Harry smiled slightly and nodded.

"And I wish you luck as you move on to pastures new," Draco added.

Harry smiled and held out his hand, "See you around, Draco."

Draco smiled back and shook Harry's hand, "If you think we're letting this disagreement get between us, you are wrong. I expect to see you at the Snake and Lion on Thursday at 8 pm sharp."

Harry chuckled and let go of Draco's hand, "Like I'm going to let go of a five-year tradition. Course you'll see me there."

- TBC -