Family is Everything

Harry sank back into his seat, kicking his feet up onto his desk with a heavy thunk from his boots. He rubbed at his eyes roughly under his glasses, the rim digging painfully into his forehead. The day had been long, his body was aching all over, and he still had his monthly meeting with Lucius Malfoy.

Overall, Harry loved being an Auror. He'd only been fully qualified for a year, but it was so fulfilling.

Except the odd day where it wasn't.

Days where whisperings of a witch or wizard doing exceptionally Dark magic on a Muggle and Harry would feel a deep-seated fear that another war was starting. And it would haunt him doggedly until he was satisfied it was just that; a whisper.

A knock, sharp and loud, at the door pulled him out of his thoughts. Harry sat up quickly, his feet hitting the floor hard. "Come in," he called, placing a hand on his wand sitting on his desk.

Precisely five minutes late, like he was always, Lucius Malfoy strode into Harry's small office, the door slamming shut behind him. Harry watched with a bemused smile as the man flung his black robes over the back of the chair on the other side of his desk, placed his own wand on the desk in front of Harry's and sat down.

Lucius crossed his legs as he sat back and clasped his hands on his lap, his knuckles turning white at the grip. "You'll find it all in order. As always."

"I could always pass on your wand checks to someone else." Harry held his gaze firmly. Lucius raised an eyebrow and said nothing. "Thought not."

"It has been five years, must we continue with this farce?" Lucius asked, his tone bored by his gaze sharp.

Harry smiled at him. "You really want me to answer that?"

"If you say thirteen years to me one more time—"

"You know—"

"Or Severus Snape, I'll—"

Harry relaxed back into his chair, letting go of his wand. Lucius sighed heavily. They watched each other for a moment, almost silently daring the other to start something first.

"Drink?" Harry asked, already reaching for the small trolley of various drinks behind his chair.

"I thought you were going to make me leave here parched," Lucius muttered. "How is Miss Weasley?"

Harry lifted a bottle of cognac at Lucius who gave him a single nod. "Pregnant," Harry admitted quietly.

"And she's still Miss Weasley, not Mrs Potter?" Lucius asked with a smirk.

Harry shrugged as he placed two cognac glasses on his desk before pouring them a drink each. "We'll be the scandal of the year," he said with a laugh.

"Molly Weasley will haul you down an aisle in no time. You mark my words." Lucius pointed at him as he reached over to take his glass.

"How are the wedding plans?" Harry asked.

"Narcissa is in her element." Lucius took a sip of his drink. "Even if it is a Greengrass Draco is marrying."

"Scandalous," Harry said with a smirk.

"Yes… well," Lucius said quietly, not really finishing the thought behind his sentiment.

Harry took a small sip of his drink, letting it sit across his tongue for a moment before swallowing, the liquid leaving a comforting warmth as it trailed down his throat. Lucius glanced idly around Harry's office, his eyes landing on a large piece of cloth covering an item.

"Confiscating items again?"

"An early birthday present from Kingsley." Harry turned in his chair to look at it. "Feel free to have a look."

Harry watched Lucius expectantly as he placed his drink on the desk and got up. Harry had long suspected Draco had gotten his prying nature from Lucius, and the man never failed to prove Harry wrong on that front. Even after all this time, with the two of them always being honest with one another, Lucius still couldn't help himself in knowing everything.

Lucius reached for the cloth, turning to peer over his shoulder at Harry, a mild suspicious look on his features. Harry raised his glass at him with a wide grin.

With a sharp tug, the cloth came away easily. Lucius dropped it like he'd been burnt when he saw what the cloth had been hiding. Harry watched Lucius' reflection in the Mirror of Erised; all he could see was Lucius, not everything that Lucius could see.

Lucius' eyes shot up to the top of the mirror, reading the inscription, before bringing his gaze back to his reflection, his mouth slightly open and a deep frown on his brow. Harry waited silently.

"I've never actually looked into this mirror," Lucius admitted, his words catching a little in his throat. "Why would Kingsley give this as a present to you?"

Harry slowly placed his drink down and joined Lucius at the mirror. He smiled the moment he stood before it, their reflections surrounded by the people Harry missed every day; his parents, Sirius, Remus, and Tonks.

"I always wonder what it is people see when they look in it, especially people like you," Harry said, watching his mother place a hand on his shoulder.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Lucius asked. Harry was sure he would have said it in a more annoyed manner, but Lucius couldn't let his full attention be pulled from whatever he was seeing.

"People who appear to have everything," Harry said simply, shoving his hands in his pockets. Lucius said nothing, a hand reaching out to touch the glass. "I see my parents… my family."

That seemed to pull Lucius out of the spell the mirror seemed to put so many people under. He moved quickly, picking up the cloth and throwing it crookedly over the mirror. Harry followed him back to the desk, making a point to not watch Lucius' shaking hands as he picked up his drink and finished it in one large gulp.

"Do get on with the check, Potter. I'd like to go home at some point this evening," Lucius snapped when Harry hadn't moved or said anything since they'd sat down.

Harry made quick work of checking Lucius' wand for any spells he shouldn't be using, catching Lucius staring at the covered mirror from the corner of his eye. When he was done, he gently placed the wand in front of Lucius. "I'll need Draco to come in a day early for his next week, would you tell him?"

Lucius nodded once, grabbing his wand and standing up, grabbing his robes from the back of the chair.

"It's not a weakness to have a desire, you know?"

Lucius stopped at the door, his hand on the doorknob. It took him a few deep breaths before he spoke, not turning to face Harry, instead, staring at mirror. "My problem with the Greengrass woman is not her views, as many seem to think, but it's that she has a blood curse. One that will prevent Draco having children of his own or shorten her life drastically."

Harry glanced at the covered mirror in confusion, a little bit of not quite covered at the bottom. "What did you see?"

He'd asked the question, but never thought he would get the answer.

Lucius seemed frozen to the spot, still staring, hand still on the doorknob.

"Children… Draco's siblings," he finally answered. He turned back to look at Harry, a brief flash of pain in his eyes. "I was a lonely child. I'd promised myself I would have a large family… but it wasn't to be." Lucius straightened up, the pain long gone.

"There are plenty of children that need homes," Harry said gently. "There still are."

Lucius stared at him blankly, not responding to the comment. Instead he said, "This goes no further."

Harry nodded. "Of course."

He sighed heavily when Lucius slammed the door open, striding out at the pane of glass smashed. Harry flicked his wand, causing the glass to go back and the door to shut.

It had barely clicked shut when it opened again, Lucius' head peering around it. "If you even suggest a Muggle orphan to me, I'll kill you myself. In front of Shacklebolt."