Thanks for stopping by to read! The first few chapters are some scene-setting, so bear with me on this... If you're not into Harry+Draco, you've been warned :) These chapters are very stream-of-consciousness style, so I may do serious edits in the future and post it as a new story! Rating subject to change. Stay tuned.
Harry had never spent the summer on the grounds of Hogwarts before, and this was the best he had ever felt in his life. After the fall of Voldemort at the beginning of May, everyone had pitched in to help rebuild the castle and grounds. It had taken their hundreds-strong crew a couple months to properly restore everything, and when Harry checked the Marauder's Map he was pleased to see that everything was indeed identical to its original layout- including all the hidden rooms and secret passageways.
By that time, it had been a week into July. McGonagall, who was naturally chosen as the next headmistress, had decided that all students who wanted to live at Hogwarts over the summer for any reason would be allowed to this year. Although he knew that this exception was put in place because so many young wizards had lost parents during the Battle, Harry took advantage of it and had chosen to stay most of the summer on his own on the grounds. He had plans, of course, to stay for a week or two with the Weasley family for his eighteenth birthday. Until then, he would enjoy the peace and quiet.
He had so far been pleased that the professors, Hagrid included, had taken to only giving Harry a respectful nod when they saw him around the castle. Initially, he was concerned that staying at Hogwarts for the summer would mean constantly having people checking up on him and making him relive the year he had barely escaped alive. To the boys surprise, they simply kept their doors open for the moments in which Harry felt he wanted some company.
Each student whose education had been interrupted by the chaos of the previous term had been given three options for how to proceed. One of which went without saying; as always, students could choose not to return to Hogwarts in September. For students who did want to continue their education, as Harry did, there were two real choices: Students could either repeat the year, or they could come to Hogwarts over the summer to perform a short series of informal exams to prove they had sufficiently learned the content of their year's courses. Any student who missed O.W.L.s or N.E.W.T.s still had either option, but would have to sit for their exams the following June regardless of their choice.
Harry, though exhausted and thoroughly terrified of the reality of what he had faced, still couldn't imagine being anything other than an Auror. (In fact, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all promised by Kingsley that there would be spots waiting for them in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, should they choose to accept them after they finished up their N.E.W.T.s.) Not to mention how Harry's love for Hogwarts had only grown after having everyone fight alongside him only months ago. It was only natural that he would stay on for another year. Following suit, just as predictably, Ron and Hermione did the same. As he thought more about it, Harry couldn't name one person who had survived the Battle and hadn't opted to stay in school. On the contrary, it seemed that now everything appeared to be at peace there wasn't a single wizarding family that didn't want their child at Hogwarts.
Despite the calm he felt, there were a couple things that surprised Harry after things had settled down. The first was that his relationship with Ginny came to an amicable end. He had expected that the absence of the threat of death would have allowed them to finally become completely invested in one another. In fact, early on in their efforts assisting with the Hogwarts rebuild, they had not spent a moment apart if they could help it. However, within a month they had found themselves feeling more like family. At the end of the day, Harry felt like a completely different person after what he had lived through, and wanted more and more time to simply be with himself and focus on his own growth. He even felt guilty not distributing his attention among all the people in his life he had come to love- including his new godson. He knew that deep down Ginny felt the same, and that the love they had felt as young, innocent, and fearful children had burned out and been replaced with a much deeper, fundamental respect and admiration for both themselves and those close to them.
The second, and far more astonishing, occurrence was the reaction of the Malfoys. Harry hadn't paid much attention to them after he had caught a glimpse of Draco and his parents huddled together in the castle as he went to find Hermione and Ron mere hours after Voldemort's death. He had come to learn, however, that the trio had renounced the family name, donated almost all of their inheritance to various reparations, pro-Muggle or mixed-blood support organizations, and Hogwarts itself. Lucius had even appeared in the papers, complete with a picture showing a new hairstyle the length of Harry's, but elegantly combed back. The article featured a written statement by the head of the Malfoy family himself, who swore that towards the end of Voldemort's era he had solely cared about the survival of his wife and son, and now simply wanted to live the rest of his life in peace with the two of them and quietly make up for the damage he had done.
Harry found this out when Professor McGonagall presented him with the article from the Daily Prophet, and asked him if he believed it. Surprised by his instinctive reaction, Harry told her that he did, in fact, completely believe it. He had quite quickly remembered Draco lying about not being able to recognize Harry when he had been captured and brought to Malfoy Manor, his face swollen from Hermione's stinging spell. He remembered Narcissa's whispers to Harry, asking if her son was alive, before lying to Voldemort himself and pronouncing Harry dead. Most of all, he remembered seeing both the Malfoy parents during the Battle defending themselves and firing curses completely off target, as if pretending to be involved while truly only caring about getting to Draco.
When Harry told McGonagall this, she didn't seem nearly as surprised as Harry assumed she would be.
"Good, because as you know, we are in need of a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."
Harry had almost gasped when she mentioned it, knowing what it implied.
"You're not-" Harry started, but didn't allow himself to finish. At first, the ideal of Lucius Malfoy being an instructor was appalling to him, but as Harry let the reality of recent developments sink in, he couldn't deny that the idea had some seriously strong points.
The new headmistress had smiled as she saw the realization spread across Harry's face.
"You're much less hotheaded than you were a year ago, Mr. Potter," she said approvingly. "It seems you understand; if he is to be trusted then there is nobody still alive who knows better how the greatest Dark wizards behave."
A few weeks later, the news had become official; Professor Malfoy would be joining the ranks in the coming year at Hogwarts. McGonagall had even seen it prudent to release a statement of her faith in the Malfoys, and had asked Harry for a brief backing as well. To his astonishment, almost all the wizarding families seemed to take the statement made by the pair of them as the highest endorsement one could find, and overnight all accusations, threats, and mistrust the Malfoy family faced had stopped.
Almost immediately after the announcement, as if to throw themselves wholeheartedly into this new life of redemption, the Malfoys had permanently left their Manor. They had even left the necessary money for it to be turned into an orphanage for children of wizarding families torn apart by the war. After they moved in at Hogwarts, Harry had seen the Malfoys around here and there. Most often, it was in the corridors leading up to the Great Hall, where everyone went during mealtimes. While they didn't make any attempt to get friendly, there was a distinct lack of animosity between them. This was particularly notable between Harry and Lucius, who had most certainly tried to kill Harry in the past. In fact, the blond man had once stopped Harry as he passed by, shook his hand quickly, and spoken to him in a hesitant but professional tone.
"I very much look forward to working with you, Potter."
Narcissa, too, had once sat down next to him in the Great Hall while they were the only ones finishing breakfast, and given Harry a brief hug. He could have sworn he heard her whisper, Thank you, Harry, before quickly getting up again and leaving the hall. Draco, on the other hand, couldn't seem to meet Harry's eyes when they passed each other. He didn't blame Malfoy or pay it any mind, and was quite past the point of needing any thanks from anyone.
Today, now that everything was back in place, Harry was simply laying on the grass in the shade of his favorite tree by the lake and enjoying warm breeze that the late July day brought him. He closed his eyes as he let his thoughts go, for once not worried that relaxing would bring him terrible visions and pain in his scar. Sighing happily and stretching his arms up and behind his head, looking forward to the week he would soon spend with the Weasley family.
As the sun began to sink lower in the sky, Harry knew it was about time for him to pack for his week away. He was leaving first thing in the morning, and didn't want to be in a rush later that night. Harry stood, adjusted his glasses, and rolled the sleeves of his white button-down shirt up in preparation for his walk through significantly hotter sun. It was quite a hot day, and as it turned out, Hogwarts still had a dress code in the summer.
Turning to start down the path he would have to take around the lake back to the castle, Harry noticed Draco walking towards him. Assuming that Draco hadn't known Harry had been laying there, and not sure if Draco had yet seen him standing, he quickly moved out of immediate sight to sit against the trunk of the tree. He tried his best to look casual, as though he typically sat in that exact way, to spare Malfoy any awkwardness. If the blond boy had meant to find Harry, he would still be able to, but if he hadn't then he could pretend he didn't notice anyone sitting there and keep walking by without having to acknowledge it. When Draco got closer, though, it became more than evident that the former was going to be the case. The taller boy looked intentionally at Harry and gave a small nod, raising his hand almost imperceptibly in greeting.
Harry took the cue and stood up, nodding back and taking a couple casual steps towards Draco as he finished his approach. They stood looking at each other for a moment before the blond cleared his throat. Hesitantly, he put a hand in his pocket and produced from it a rather large black silk pouch, drawn tightly shut at the top and finished with an elegant tie.
"So," Malfoy started, seeming to force himself to meet Harry's eyes. "We – uh, well… I… want you to take this. You don't have anyone supposed to look out for you- figured maybe you could use it."
He held the pouch out quickly to Harry.
Harry took the pouch curiously, without a word, and felt the weight of it. He could tell right away that it must contain a fair amount of money. Yet another piece of the Malfoy fortune, in his hands.
"Well," Harry mumbled a little, beyond any level of surprise he had recently felt. "That's… you shouldn't have." He settled on. Then, not wanting to lie and suddenly feeling very awkward, he continued, "Really, I have so much money from my parents and Sirius- you should keep it for yourself."
Harry held the pouch back out, gesturing for the other boy to take it back. Draco scowled at the attempted refusal, and snatched the pouch out of the darker-haired boy's hands.
"Listen, Potter," Draco snarled sharply. "I don't care whether you need it right now or what. Go buy yourself a fancy new broom and pretend like your pathetic team might stand a chance in Quidditch this year, or something."
Before Harry could think of a reply, the pouch of coins had hit him squarely in the chest, causing him to lose his breath for a moment. By the time Harry had gotten air back into his lungs and really processed what had happened, Draco was halfway around the lake heading back to the castle. Feeling a mix of confusion, appreciation, and guilt, Harry gave Draco a few minutes to get his distance before heading back into the castle himself.
AN: Hey everyone! Please feel free to leave any comments with plot ideas or whatever else you think up.
Love you all, thanks for reading!